Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 26: Golden Searchers

”Are you sure about this? Trici can actually become a Blacksmith? From what Iʼve heard itʼs a pretty difficult and dangerous job.” Leona muttered thoughtfully, with one leg draped over the other.

Adam nodded.

”Orin said she would help her. She has connections at the academy, but itʼs up to Trici. Whatʼs more, Iʼm entitled to a discount since Iʼm a Phantom.” Adam explained.

”And... How much is the tuition?” Gary asked with a worried expression.

They had spent their whole life in the slums, it was impossible for their family to pay even 1.100 credits to rent the house where they now lived, only Adam becoming a Phantom had helped them out of such a difficult economic situation.

However, as their standard of living increased, not only their income increased, but also their spending. Even if Adam became a Phantom, it didnʼt mean he had infinite money.

”Well... Depends on the Academy, but at the one Orin attended, the cost for one year is somewhere around 200,000 credits...” Adam said, scratching the back of his head.

Gary and Leona looked at each other, they knew they couldnʼt even make that much in ten years. It was beyond their capabilities.

”So... How much do you have already?” Leona asked, keeping calm, ”Trici wonʼt turn 8 until spring, which means she wonʼt be able to start studying until next fall. Do you think you can save up the right amount of money in that time?”

Adam sighed heavily and tapped his NEP.

”Given what Mr. Douglas gave me, the last spending, and what I earned from the last mission I have 11,000 credits, but they gave me a bonus for killing the Prime Stone Goliath, so I have a total of 15,000 credits.”

Leona nodded deeply.

”I see. The situation is complicated. The amount is indeed huge, but we have plenty of time. Iʼm sure you can raise quite a lot of money in a year. Leave the house and Trici to us, weʼll take care of that, concentrate on Phantomʼs tasks.”

”Sure.” Adam smiled slightly.

In fact, the academy Orin attended was one of the most expensive, there were more affordable options, but Adam didnʼt want to mention that.

He had already discussed it with Silvana, and she had made rough calculations. Even if Adam didnʼt have a successful career, he should have enough money without major accidents. It wouldnʼt be an easy task, since the amount needed was serious, but it was possible.

”Leona... Maybe we should get a job too? Third Ring pays a lot better than the slums.” Gary suggested.

Leona shrugged.

”We could do that, but only one of us. However, it might be worth spending as much time as possible on Trici, since you wonʼt be able to get a high-paying job. One mission Adamʼs, will bring in more credits than a few months.”

”Stop.” Adam said seriously.

”Youʼve worked your whole life for pennies, in horrible conditions so that Trici and I can have food on the table. Spend your time on yourself and Trici, it will be more than enough.”

Leona and Gary looked slightly embarrassed.

Adam had become much more serious lately as if he had matured a few years. It was unusual for them to experience such concern, but it didnʼt make it any less pleasant.

”By the way... Arenʼt we forgetting the most important thing?” Gary asked, ”If Trici doesnʼt want to become a Blacksmith, then none of this makes sense.”

Adam smiled slightly.

”You know something?” Leona raised an eyebrow curiously.

”Well... Silvana recently gave Trici, a VR Headset, and sometimes she checks to see what games sheʼs playing and what sheʼs doing. Anyway, most of the time sheʼs trying to become some sort of engineer and can spend hours thinking about how to make her weapons better to defeat the next opponent. If she doesnʼt want to become a Blacksmith, Iʼm going to lose faith in this world.” Adam shrugged.

Leona and Gary looked over at each other, nodding happily.

...

The next day, Adam was ready to move out on the mission and was on site right now.

”Hah, today is going to be an interesting mission.” Felix muttered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

”Hm? Something wrong?” Adam glanced at him.

Verna leaned in with a slight smile on her face.

”Heʼs just worried. Usually, there are always a lot more Harvesters than Phantoms, but you donʼt need a lot of Harvesters for this mission. Whatʼs more, in theory, you donʼt even need to kill anyone.”

Adam shrugged.

”Thatʼs good, we almost got killed last time, hopefully, we wonʼt have that problem now. Iʼve only been to the Dead Lands twice, but each time, there was some chaos going on.”

Felixʼs eyes shone brightly.

”Adam... When you fought Prime Stone Goliath you looked so cool, I wish I could be as strong as you someday.” Felix said in embarrassment.

Adamʼs gaze darkened and grew deeper.

”Well, I assure you, you wouldnʼt want to be in my shoes. It was scary, like walking on a sharp blade, one wrong step, and you end up in the abyss, but even if you kept your balance, youʼd be in pain from the cuts until the very end.”

Felix flinched, he hadnʼt expected such gloominess from Adam.

”Hey! Sorry for the delay!” Oren exclaimed, running up to them.

Adam smiled slightly.

”Thatʼs okay, youʼre practically on time.”

Adam touched his earbud.

”Are we all set?”

ʼSure, you may begin.ʼ Silvana uttered.

Zola did the same, but each of them only maintained contact with their Phantom.

”Iʼm back driving again!” Felix exclaimed happily, jumping into the truck.

...

Their current mission was different from the one Adam had done before, or the one Fire Fix Squad had done.

The Golden Searchers were in the west of the Scorching Desert, quite close to the edge of the territory. However, unlike other monsters, they didnʼt just walk around the vast wasteland looking for food and an enemy, because, in some ways, Golden Searchers were like humans.

”Is this our target?” Adam asked, lying on a bare rock that was only partially covered in sand. His gaze traveled up the hill, with a wide entrance to a cave with several creatures around it.

Oren nodded.

”Iʼve dealt with Golden Searchers once before, but then it was a small group hunt, and here they have a Closed Nest, Underground Type.”

”Closed Nest...?” Adam gave him a questioning look.

ʼNests are divided into two types, open ones and closed ones.ʼ Silvana quickly replied, ʼWhen you and the Fire Fix Squad attacked the Lizard Nest, it was the open type. The difference is quite simple - an open type doesnʼt have its own base, but only territory that is hunting grounds like a lion pride. The closed type is more united and often much more dangerous, like a colony of ants.ʼʼ

”Oh. I see... In some ways, they are actually like insects.” Adam nodded with a deep gaze.

The Golden Searchers were of average height and slightly shorter than most humans. They had two long arms with three outstretched fingers and two thick legs with two long outgrowths with sharp ends sticking into the ground.

Their muscular bodies were covered with protective dark scales that glistened in the sunlight. At their elbows were short but sharp blades that most of the time were hidden under the broad plates protruding from their arms.

Along their spine was a golden comb made up of thousands of tiny hairs that swayed slowly in the breeze. Their yellow eyes were narrowed with square pupils filled with agility and obvious visual sharpness.

A long horn growing from their foreheads curved back to the back of their heads, creating a hoop that could be used to both defend and attack.

The final detail was their powerful jaws suitable for grinding stone into dust and dissolving enemy flesh, thanks to the acid in the veins in their mouths.

”Theyʼre not really strong, but since itʼs V2, weʼll meet their enhanced versions, so be prepared.” Oren uttered.

Adam nodded.

”By the way, where is the Golden Egg located? I saw the reward for the mission, from the looks of it, weʼre going to have quite the challenge.”

Oren smirked.

”We donʼt know exactly, but thereʼs only one Golden Egg in the entire Nest, so theyʼll guard it with all their might.”

”Hah, in that case, letʼs not waste any time, the sooner we complete this mission, the less chance of anything happening again.” Adam vigorously said before jumping off the cliff, sliding down.

Oren shrugged, following after him.