Sylas sat in a private room.
He had found that he was getting too attached to the ways of this world, so there were a lot of things about his environment that he was changing.
Why did he have to wear robes or armor everywhere when he much preferred business casual? Why did he have to cross his legs in some sort of meditative state when he had to comprehend something, when he much preferred sitting in a chair? Why did he have to rely on the research of others when he much preferred doing his own?
He hadn't forgotten that one of the Quests he had received for his Vipermancy Profession required building a lab within it. He still hadn't had an opportunity to do this, but he did know the direction to take.
A City Stele was definitely the bare minimum requirement, but he had to use his Legendary City Stele to give Cassarae the leverage she needed to protect herself.
As far as he was concerned, her safety was more important, especially since the role she would play in his future was not small.
Sylas still had a Legendary City Stele Ticket he hadn't used. But he had a feeling that even as a Primus Imperium, he wouldn't last more than a few seconds in such a challenge.
He needed to become much more powerful first, and he had plenty of plans for that.
From Sylas' understanding, the Stele Tickets were adjusted based on one's Tier. After all, they appeared on Summoned Worlds for a reason. There was no "Tier" one needed to have to become a City Lord. Instead, it was a measure of one's potential.
That meant, Sylas growing strong enough within the F-tier was Sylas' best chance at clearing those requirements.
But for now, and until he was confident enough to do that, he was taking another approach. He would settle for a more normal lab for now.
Well, this space was half a training room and half a lab. It could become either depending on Sylas' whims. When it was the latter, Andromeda would be hooked right into things here, accelerating his analysis when he so needed it.
Right now, though… he didn't need it.
Laid out before him on a stainless steel table were three orbs.
One had a crimson ape pounding its chest and howling into the skies in it.
Another had a snake with violet scales and beautiful eyes, slithering about in a rhythmic dance that hypnotized the senses.
The last was a lion of shocking gold. It stood on a mountain, regal and proud, as though looking down on the world.
Sylas looked at the Lion Lineage for a moment. Originally, he only traded for it to piss Prione off. He didn't care for it in the slightest. Maybe in the future, he would destroy it just to prove a point.
However, looking at it now, he couldn't help but shake his head.
'Truly pathetic.'
It was like a shell, having little to no power of its own. But unfortunately, it was useful. Useful not for what it brought itself, but instead what it could bring to the Serpent Lineage.
It had a false sense of pride but lacked the substance. While the Serpent Lineage had the substance but lacked the pride.
Together, they would be what the Serpent Lineage was actually meant to be.
If Sylas could fuse them together, he actually saw a path that could force Gogo's Gene Locks to be unwound ahead of time.
Right now, the system pegged Gogo as a Gold Beast, and yet despite being so apparently powerful, Gogo's stats were only in the double digits after adjustments.
That was because he descended from the Great Apes. He had a Legendary Gene Class that had mutated and transformed his body. And, maybe just as importantly as any one of these, he had the Madness Comprehension within him.
On top of all of this, the Sylas of back then had yet to perfect his Spark Seed. He was ten times the Rune Master now than he was back then.
He could see the Ape Emperor Armor so clearly now it might as well have been the Emperor Lineage before him right now rather than the Warlord Lineage.
However… taking that path now would be an enormous risk. He had had his Legendary Gene stolen once before, and having it stolen once again was very possible if he was too careless.
Thanks to Gralith, however, Sylas knew something now that he hadn't known before.
There was no Item Spirit to rat on him here.
Would the Ape Emperor Lineage sense him?
Yes.
But would they be able to pinpoint exactly where he was?
A flicker of crimson lit Sylas' eyes. In the back of those eyes, there seemed to be a different sort of plan forming, one that a certain of an Emperor Scorpion Lineage would never see coming.
'Come.'
The roar of an Ape filled the ship, shaking it from side to side.

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