Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 925: Hunter and Prey (Part 1)

”Misa, dear, wait a bit. Theyʼve been pelting me with questions, I just didnʼt have time to answer them all,” Orel waved his hand nonchalantly.

Misa nodded quietly, sitting down next to him. ”Sure. We have some rather curious guests, donʼt we?”

”Well...” Orel chuckled. ”Iʼd be disappointed if the Phantoms and Operator from the Upper Ring didnʼt want to learn at least a little about our world.”

Adam leaned forward, his gaze serious.

”So... I donʼt see anything wrong with the bracelet, especially considering the presence of the Void Crystals. To be honest,” Adam glanced at Silvana. ”I would feel comfortable if Silvana had the same bracelet, it provides security.”

Orel and Silvana glanced over, she shamefully turned away, though it was obvious from her face that she wasnʼt against the idea.

”But...” Adamʼs low voice rang out. ”A collar? You said collars and bracelets were for control and security. A bracelet is for security, in which case a collar is for control?”

”Something like that,” Orel shook his hand. ”The collars have the Void Crystals in them too. I donʼt know what you might have imagined during our conversation, but the collars donʼt have a shocker or anything like that. At the Lower Ring, Operators are treated differently, but theyʼre not slaves.”

”Really?” coldness filled his eyes. ”Then why did Misa used to wear a collar too? You seem to be doing well now, but how sincere is your relationship? Can you trust your partner if recently he was wearing a collar like some dog?”

Risha who had been eating chips on the side all this time, froze with her mouth open. Silvana was in the same position, she understood how Adam felt, but his words were too harsh considering that power was not on their side at this table.

Oddly enough, Orel only smiled mockingly as Misa rested her head on his shoulder, running her hand over his chest.

”Well Adam, the answer to your question is very simple - because we were at the Discord stage then. Right now, Risha and her Operator are at the same stage.”

”Argh... Discord?” Adam was baffled.

Misa smiled, looking at him with an ironic smile. ”The Discord and the Harmony. Thatʼs what at the Lower Ring call the two stages for the relationship between the Operator and the Phantom.”

”I realize that figuring this out for an outsider would be quite difficult, but I have a simple explanation for you,” Orel folded his hands together, looking at Silvana. ”The K2-Level. Most Phantoms at the Lower Ring find their Operator at that level. I said so earlier. But, do you know why?”

Adam and Silvana glanced over, they had some guesses.

Orel, so they had too little time to think. ”The Operatorʼs Star. Considering you are already a K3-Phantom, Silvana like all Operators in her situation created the Operatorʼs Star. This was after you had established a deep connection with each other.”

”And... More importantly from an evolutionary perspective,” his eyes narrowed. ”Silvana received the Evolution Seed, which has already developed into the Evolution Sprout since sheʼs the Operator of the K3-Phantom.”

The shock was reflected on Adam and Silvanaʼs faces. Everything Orel said had happened to them. It wasnʼt surprising, but it made Adam think about something.

”Right,” he muttered. ”Anyway, up to K2-Level, the Operators are simple people. They donʼt have any energy or abilities. Only when Phantom reaches K2-Level does his Evolution Tree have enough power to create the Evolution Seed.”

Misa who had been staring at Silvana for a long time smiled sweetly.

”Oh, you donʼt seem upset at all that he came to that conclusion, do you?” she narrowed her eyes.

”Pffft!” Silvana snorted whipping her hair. ”Itʼs obvious. Adam and I have thought about this many times even before he became a K2-Phantom. Until this stage, Operators donʼt really have abilities, but we do other, equally important work.”

Adam nodded, wearing a slight smile.

”Yeah, it all falls into place now, doesnʼt it? Up to K2-Level, Operators help with information gathering, training, and during combat working as a second pair of eyes. Moreover...” he embraced Silvana, caressing her shoulder. ”During this period, Phantom and Operator have time to bond and get to know each other better. Thatʼs the key moment to make a strong pair.”

Click.

Orel clicked as if Adam said a code word. Heʼd been waiting for this moment for some time.

”Exactly. You Phantoms and Operators at the Upper Ring have time for this. Even many K4-Phantoms donʼt realize it, but itʼs a well-thought-out and working government plan.

Just imagine how many formed couples would be ruined if the Phantoms and Operators didnʼt have that long period before K2-Level and the moment with Evolution Seed and the Operatorʼs Star.”

Adam gulped, his eyes growing deeper.

”Hah, very much so. Though at the K0 and K1 levels Operators donʼt have abilities, but Phantoms fight and go on missions. This creates difficult situations, during their solutions the Phantoms and Operators get close. Silvana and I went through a lot of challenges together as well.”

Orel crunched his chips, watching their reactions with genuine curiosity. After all, at the Lower Ring, a Phantom like Adam was a rarity.

”Indeed,” he confirmed.

Then, Adam raised his head sharply looking both at Orel and Misa.

”Wait... Only Phantoms from the Upper Ring like me have this free time. But, how do the Phantoms at the Lower Ring deal with it? I realize that the time to find an Operator is only at the K2-Level, here, but... how do the Phantoms here establish relationships with their Operators?”

A sly grin played across Orelʼs face as he shook his head. He knew that at the Upper Ring, there was no such thing, the Discord and Harmony were only used at the Lower Ring, and he was happy to tell Adam about it.

”Well, I think youʼve already realized that the Harmony stage comes when the Operator receives the Evolution Seed from his Phantom and the Phantom gets the Operatorʼs Star.

”But, the Discord stage. Ohohoh, itʼs not as smooth as Iʼd like it to be.”