Endless Evolution: Last Star

It wasn't just the Phantoms who had problems and difficulties; the Operators were in the same situation, and sometimes things were even more complicated for them because of their Phantoms.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Adam cut one bubble after another only to find himself trapped in another. If he tried to use a lot of energy inside the bubble, it would simply teleport him to another one, and so it continued in what seemed like an endless cycle.

In the first few minutes, Silvana tried to help him with advice and her assumptions, but now... She watched the scene with a blank stare.

'No, I can't watch this anymore. I need coffee!'

Click.

The coffee machine filled her cup with black coffee as she returned to her workstation. Despite her distant expression, she knew that Adam was fine. If necessary, she could see and hear everything in any position, from anywhere, and without technology, but it wasn't very convenient.

"And? What's your plan?" Silvana raised an eyebrow disapprovingly as she watched Adam's unsuccessful attempts.

Heavy breathing could be heard from the other side.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..."

Adam wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"What the hell? Why is there a spatial anomaly here? Or is it just a type of toxic anomaly? Tsk, either way, it's time to end this!"

"Oh, do you have an idea?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to approach this artifact. I'll just take it with me while I'm leaving here!"

Before Silvana could finish speaking, Adam sprang into action. First, he cut open his bubble to get out.

But before the other bubbles could engulf him, he got rid of the first needle and summoned the second needle with a wave of his hand.

Then, seeing his reflection in dozens of bubbles, Adam made a quick slice, creating the lesser path.

Whoooooosh.

With a speed exceeding the anomaly's capabilities, Adam turned into a white flash, instantly rushing forward along the line.

In that brief moment, he not only left the anomaly but also grabbed the artifact.

A few drops of blood remained behind, since Adam acted quickly and cut himself on the sharp edges of the artifact.

Could Adam have left the artifact in the anomaly?

Sure, his main task was to get out of the trap and find the Flash Carrier, everything else was irrelevant.

But, in that case, he wouldn't be pleased with himself.

"Hah, here it is! I've got it!" Adam exclaimed, holding the glowing artifact in his hand.

Silvana rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you pleased with yourself?"

"Fuck yeah! This thing is useless to me, but if I had just run away from the anomaly, I would have been thinking about it constantly!"

Adam was about to move the artifact into his inner space when Silvana's eyes widened.

"Wait!"

Her timely shout stopped Adam at the last moment.

"Hmm?" He raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Hah..." Silvana smiled nervously. "You see, maybe this time it wasn't just your recklessness, but part of the plan!"

Adam became even more puzzled than before.

"You see, your aura can both attract and scare monsters. But the energy of the artifact will definitely attract everyone, even the very strong ones! All you need to do is find a free spot and direct your energy into the artifact."

After a few questions, a broad grin spread across Adam's face as he nodded contentedly. He liked Silvana's plan.

"Damn, I'll turn this artifact into something like an energy bomb? That's what I need!"

The search didn't take long.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam found himself in the middle of an empty square. The black earth and green crystals growing out of the rocks were still an integral part of the Corrosive Lakes, but this place looked like part of a ruined city.

Numerous buildings and several towers around him towered over Adam as their shadows pointed him to the center.

After passing through several pillars, Adam stopped in the center.

"Well, I think this is the most suitable place."

He placed the artifact on the ground and closed his eyes.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

In a heartbeat, streams of his energy flowed directly into the artifact. No matter what level the artifact was, if it wasn't an External Artifact, one burst of Adam's energy was enough to fill it to the limit.

A bright green light burst out, forcing Adam to take a few steps back.

Because of Adam's intervention, the artifact was at risk — it could explode if it didn't get rid of the excess energy.

"Hah, it works!" Adam's eyes widened with childlike excitement.

The green shock waves emanated from the artifact one after another, spreading far beyond the square.

Less than ten seconds later, the artifact's energy reached the place where Adam had fallen and continued to spread further.

Everyone understood what was going to happen next — soon, a multitude of monsters would rush into the square.

Adam could have hidden and set up an ambush, but he didn't. The reason was not only his self-confidence and desire to fight but also because he didn't know who his target was.

It wasn't long before the ground shook from the approaching wave of monsters, the pounding of their paws audible.

"Here you are." Adam's lips curved upward as he looked at the dozens of monsters surrounding him.

The first ones were beast-like creatures with dark skin, elongated jaws, and green eyes, streams of flame running along their clawed paws. Some were much larger, like bears, and behind them hid several knights in black, spiked armor and flaming maces.

Adam's eyes darted from one monster to another, but none of them exceeded the F1 Black Threat Level. He didn't need Silvana to understand this, because he could feel their weak auras.

Then, when the monsters were ready to attack Adam, he nodded quietly.

"You saw that too, right?"

"Yeah," Silvana confirmed. "On the western tower. So someone is there, but they don't want to show themselves at all."

"Well, now at least I know who I need!"

Adam was about to rush into battle, but... he didn't summon his needles or use any other artifacts.

Instead, his Initial Gene trembled as a stream of red flame burst from his chest.

'It's time to see what you've created — Lone Blaze!'