There were many thoughts going on in Sylas' mind, but ultimately, he knew many of these things weren't under his control. Even so, as he brought out the corpse of the gnoll elite, his mind was fluttering with a thought.

'Genes seem to be the foundation of everything… if this system ends up being a shackle, then I will just need to figure out a way to collect them and use them without the system as a bridge.'

---

[Threshak]

[Gene Detected]

[Common Gene: (2) Intelligence (F); (3) Wisdom (F)]

[Attempt Assimilation?]

[Yes][No]

---

Sylas passed it all to the Gene Crystal. He could feel himself inching closer to unlocking it.

---

[Basic Aetherflow]

[Aether comes naturally to you, even when it's outside of your body. Your ability to extend your Aether away from your core, attaching it to objects to control and wield, far exceeds others]

[+5 Intelligence; +5 Charisma (Fragmented)]

[+10 Intelligence; + 10 Charisma (Common)]

[+20 Intelligence; + 20 Charisma (Bronze)]

[>Requirements to Unlock (Bronze)]

[(2) Speed, Wisdom]

[(3) Dexterity]

[(7) Charisma]

[(6) Intelligence]

---

'Maximillion and Jared both had far more Genes than the gnolls… I wonder why that is…'

Though Sylas wondered, he didn't dare to ask the Madness Key. The gnolls were spawns of the system. Who knew if he would touch on another taboo?

The spike was already far worse than he expected. After another seven days, he would be spending all his time hunting to feed the thing instead of improving himself.

Then again, with all these Gene and Stat Limits… at least he was making use of all those excess Genes somehow.

---

[+30 coins (F)]

---

This time, there was no bone ax, so Sylas moved on. He ignored the normal gnolls because with the new insatiable requirements of the Madness Key, he would definitely be needing them. Plus, the stats they provided—Strength and Constitution—the Gene Crystal didn't need anymore.

---

[Zurog]

[Gene Detected]

[Common Gene: (2) Intelligence (F); (2) Wisdom (F); (2) Charisma (F); (2) Will (F)]

[Attempt Assimilation?]

[Yes][No]

---

Sylas passed them all over to the Gene Crystal again.

---

[>Requirements to Unlock (Bronze)]

[(2) Speed]

[(3) Dexterity]

[(4) Intelligence]

[(5) Charisma]

---

The remained two Will was absorbed by the Madness Key, but this time Sylas really observed the process.

'I lost three months of time because of this key… those glitches as well… it's possible that it exists outside the parameters of this system, at least in part. In that case, observing it might be a key to learning how to absorb Genes without the input of the system.'

Sylas wasn't sure if Gene and Stat Limits were artificially placed by the system or not, but if he could gain an inkling from observing the Madness Key, maybe he could find out.

Unfortunately, he got nothing out of it. There was just a pulse of energy and then it surged into it. He had no choice but to table the idea.

---

[+100 coins (F)]

---

The total brought his coins up to 3315. However, there was actually another item in the Reward Orb this time as well.

---

[Dungeon Map —(FF+)]

---

A scroll appeared in Sylas' hand, but when he tried to open it, nothing came of it.

---

[Map Locked. Requirements not met]

---

Sylas frowned and was forced to turn to the Madness Key. Only then did he learn what was going on. It seemed that the map wouldn't unlock until he actually entered the Dungeon. However, with it, he could vaguely feel the general direction the Dungeon was in as well.

'It might not be the best time to leave considering what happened before, but I doubt there'll ever be a "best time." I'll also need to leave one way or another so that I can raise my Madness to Bronze Mastery.'

Sylas made a decision and stood, but he immediately got hit by a wave of dizziness.

He had pushed himself very hard the previous day, having fought not just one or two battles, but effectively four of them, the third of which was extremely drawn out due to the waves of Rotten Wolves.

It seemed he hadn't fully recovered. He had cut his sleep short because of the excursion to the gnoll village.

'I'll catch up on rest, then eat some of the animals I killed on the way there and back… then I should be good to go.'

Sylas reined in his eagerness, trumping his desires with a familiar discipline. Sliding onto his new hay mattress, he closed his eyes and drifted off.

**

"They're dead."

Darius Blackwood was a man who could be considered quite calm most of the time. But news that two of his Level 4s didn't return was like a knife stabbing into his heart and twisting. Those two were firmly within the top five of his group, and they weren't four and five either.

"Are you sure they haven't defected, City Lord?"

---

[Benjamin Cross (FF-)]

[Level: 5]

[Profession: Steward (Common)]

[Favorability: 8/10]

---

"No. I would have seen it happen."

"It's possible. There are many methods of deceiving the eyes."

Darius nodded, agreeing with Benjamin's sentiment.

"I agree. That's why I never trust this bullshit system with anything. How can it read a person's heart? Or assign a value to a person's Will? I prefer to look someone in the eye, and Max and Jared were two trustworthy men. They wouldn't run off with the treasures alone."

Darius took a breath and exhaled. He stood from his desk and moved to the City Stele, checking something in the Nexus before pulling back.

"Casstle Main has progressed to the status of an official Village."

He let the words hang in the air as he paced. Sylas could only see the name of the cities, but Darius could see far more, and this confirmed exactly what his speculations were.

"Something has changed," Darius thought aloud. "The City Leaderboard is based purely on the progression of the city, not the strength of the city. I thought Casstle Main put too much emphasis on pushing up their city's level, and not enough on nurturing its warriors, so I wasn't worried."