Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68 City Lady

The first thing Sylas did after giving the two women a nod was take a glance around. The shack was simple, just a desk, a bed, and what looked like a barrel used for simple baths. It was all completely normal except for one object.

A floating cube glowed a dull grey color, hovering above an altar in the corner of the small shack. It could only be one thing.

'City Stele…' Sylas thought to himself.

His brows raised. This was definitely not an area you should casually allow anyone to enter. These two were probably the only ones who knew that the City Stele was located here. Technically speaking, Sylas only had to put his hands on it to trigger a conquer sequence.

Sylas' brows lowered, and he looked toward Cassarae.

Olivia's jaw almost hit the floor. 'Is that a smile?'

It definitely was. She hadn't known Sylas for long, but even Morgan cracked a quirk of the lip or two at Alex's antics. Sylas himself almost pretended as though he hadn't heard anything at all.

Well, calling it a smile was probably pushing it. Sylas' expression just seemed to be a hint warmer than the stone cold she had become used to.

"Sylas, you're here," Cassarae nodded, "that's good. I heard from Olivia that you helped us gather up some very important strategic resources, so I wanted to make sure that you were properly compensated for your efforts."

"Oh?" Sylas didn't seem too surprised by this. He felt that this was an expected outcome.

Cassarae rolled her eyes. "Can't you react with some gratitude? Maybe an: 'oh my, City Lady, you're so generous.'"

Same Sylas, pretending as if he knew everything.

Sylas gave an exaggerated formal bow. "You're right, the esteemed City Lord has done me a great service."

"City Lady," Cassarae corrected.

"There's no such term in history," Sylas stood to his full height again and replied without missing a beat. Well, City Lord wasn't an official historical title either, but she didn't need to know that.

"Who cares? My city, my rules."

"Your Rudimentary Village, you mean."

"You trying to pick a fight, Sylas?"

"If you want one."

Cassarae looked both irritated and amused at the same time. She never understood people who said Sylas wasn't funny, his words themselves were, it was just that delivery was almost too quick and lacked flare.

Olivia looked back and forth between the two and suddenly let out a sigh.

"Holy shit, I completely misread this situation."

Sylas and Cassarae looked at her at the same time with accusatory glances that seemed to say: "What's that supposed to mean?"

Olivia held up her hands in surrender, not even quite knowing what she was apologizing for.

Cassarae cleared her throat. "Anyway, like I was saying, we appreciate your efforts. We spoke about it and think that a good reward is giving you access to the Nexus."

"Nexus?" Sylas asked.

"It's a hub you can access through a City Stele or during Quick-time Events in the wilderness. It's essentially a place you can pay for information, form connections and, maybe most importantly, access the system store. One of the perks of being a budding City Lady."