Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 2464

Chapter 2464: Except for One

Gros Tera appeared at the opposite end of the lobby as the challenge formation finished sealing the space around them. Black markings ran from his wrists beneath the sleeves of his robes, and every time his Will stirred, the Mesh of Reality around those markings seemed to settle beneath an invisible weight.

Sylas recognized the principle almost immediately, having seen a far simpler Hell Rune built around the same idea during his first visit to the Creation Tower.

Gros had taken that principle and turned it into a Path, using Runic weight to decide which portions of a structure the rest would be forced to accommodate. It suited the Sage Heaven well, especially with its long tradition of Decoders and Rune Masters who specialized in dismantling the work of others. Whether it was good enough to matter here was another question.

He likely had no idea that Sylas had deduced his path the moment he walked in.

"So you’re Sylas Grimblade." Gros looked him over with a faint smile. "The Ancestor told me all about what happened the last time you came here, but I wonder how much of that confidence remains now that the Creation Tower isn’t protecting you anymore."

Sylas didn’t respond, and Gros’ smile sharpened as he spread his hands toward the empty lobby around them.

"I’d like to see you kick the Tera Clan out again without the Tower doing it for you." He waited several seconds before realizing Sylas had no intention of answering him.

The floor beneath them lit up before Gros could continue, splitting into two equal fields as the rules of the challenge appeared overhead. Rather than pitting their Runes directly against one another, the Tower would give them three problems and judge how well their respective Paths solved them. Completion perfection came first, while speed would only matter if their results were otherwise equal.

—

[Authority Challenge Initiated]

[Challenge Type: Path Contest]

[Three Trials will be generated.]

[Victory Conditions:]

[Higher Completion Perfection]

[If Completion Perfection is equal: Lower Completion Time]

[Two victories are required.]

—

Gros glanced over the rules and seemed satisfied with what he saw. "Good. At least there won’t be any excuses when this is over."

Sylas’ attention had already shifted away from him as the first Trial began forming between them.

A single C-tier Rune appeared inside a transparent sphere, only for its internal structure to begin shifting before it fully settled. Changes in the surrounding Mesh kept forcing small adjustments through the Rune, and each correction created new relationships that caused further changes elsewhere.

The task was simple enough to understand: stabilize the Rune without destroying its function, while making as few unnecessary alterations as possible.

Gros moved first, sending several black Runes into the Mesh surrounding the sphere rather than touching the unstable structure itself. Whenever one portion shifted too far, he increased the Runic weight surrounding it, forcing nearby sections to reorganize around that point before moving the pressure elsewhere.

The method was clean, and after a little over thirteen seconds, the entire structure settled.

—

[Gros Tera]

[Completion Perfection: 99.47%]

[Completion Time: 13.22 seconds]

—

Gros looked toward Sylas as soon as the result appeared, but Sylas had already finished understanding the problem. There weren’t thousands of separate instabilities inside the Rune; there were four relationships repeatedly feeding changes back into one another. He altered those four points and let the structure settle on its own.

—

[Sylas Grimblade]

[Completion Perfection: 100%]

[Completion Time: 13.25 seconds]

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