Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1642: Night Farm

Several hours had passed since the fight between Adam and Tron.

Adam and Silvana stayed at the farmhouse while Tron and Riska headed to the nearest military facility. Tron wasn’t angry at Adam for wounding him, but he hadn’t expected their training to end this way.

Someone needed to help Tron treat his wound, so they decided to split up for a while and meet up in the evening.

Now, Adam slowly closed his eyes, sinking into his inner space.

The Evolution Vein hadn’t changed at all. Its bright light was just as strong as before, except for a single dark pulse that ran along it from time to time.

”Hah, Glare of Final Determination? I didn’t know that ability would turn out to be a guaranteed hit - well... Tron even less so.”

Tap.

Adam touched the Evolution Vein as runes appeared before his eyes.

[Glare of Final Determination

You have obtained the original version of this power thanks to your Operator, your closest ally. Your spears possess immense power, but sometimes that is not enough against particularly fast opponents, those capable of defending themselves.

Now, nothing and no one can escape your final glare. If the red eyes have locked onto the target, it will inevitably be struck.]

Then, Adam looked up.

”What do you think? Did I do the right thing?”

[Hah... How should I know?]

The Evolution Tree’s voice echoed through the void.

[Tron made it clear to you... No one knows what the outcome would have been if you had directed the Dark Energy elsewhere. But... if you’re interested in my opinion on the ability you’ve acquired...]

The Evolution Tree fell silent for a moment before bursting into low laughter:

[Now, you have a power that will terrify your enemies... It’s not just that you can use it as a finishing move, no... think about it from another angle.]

”Hmm?” Adam was confused.

[Now, you were controlling your spear... You were observing because you wanted to know what functions your ability had, but... there’s no longer any need for that. Just imagine what will happen to your enemy when you and your spear, filled with Dark Energy, attack him at the same time.]

Adam’s eyes widened as realization struck him. Also, he noticed one more detail.

”Right, but that’s not all. As long as my opponents aren’t the strongest Lords, this will be my main advantage.”

[Hmm? What do you mean?]

A smirk formed on Adam’s face.

”The Dark Energy. They simply won’t have any defense against this power! Shit, if I get even stronger, maybe even the Barons won’t be an unattainable peak for me anymore.”

The Evolution Tree was shocked, because despite its wisdom, it hadn’t thought of that.

Adam hadn’t just gained a new, powerful ability. The Dark Energy was what could allow him to win even in a battle where the levels were too different.

[I see... I actually overlooked that part. But, Adam, if I were you, I wouldn’t take the risk unless it was necessary.]

”Why?”

[Even if you now possess a weapon capable of wounding an opponent like Tron, you still don’t have a shield strong enough to match your sharp sword. Moreover, you don’t have any shield at all.]

Adam gulped, lowering his gaze.

The Evolution Tree was right. It was unknown whether Adam would have the opportunity to gain any defensive ability today, but that had always been part of his dangerous path.

’Huh. I don’t think I’ll ever have a powerful defensive ability. But if the Dark Energy were to create one for me, I’d be curious to see it.’

”Well, I guess that’s it. I don’t know what’s next, but the Blood of God and Bottomless Void are waiting for me.”

[Yes... Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that either. Are you going to use that method again?]

The Evolution Tree mentioned the Winding Fragments.

”Yeah, most likely. I don’t have any other choice anyway, right?”

Then, Adam closed his eyes and returned to the real world.

In a few hours, evening would fall, and then Tron and Riska would return, so Adam and Silvana had a little time alone.

He turned to look at Silvana, who was curiously flipping through a rather old book containing descriptions and illustrations of various seeds, fruits, and trees that could eventually grow. She was looking at both unusually shaped apples and the vegetable section, such as the huge, almost red pumpkins that could grow from rare seeds found here.

”Hey, how about we take a closer look at this huge farm?” Adam suggested.

”Huh? Are you done already?” She turned around. ”This book turned out to be more interesting than I thought.”

Adam shrugged.

”I just wanted to learn a little more about my new ability, nothing special. So, what about my suggestion?”

She nodded with a slight smile on her face.

”Sure. Just don’t get lost - this farm is huge!”

”Hah, that’ll be the least of our problems.”

...

With a rumble of the engine, the black car pulled up to the farm as the moon slowly rose to take its place in the night sky.

Riska and Tron stepped outside. He wore a long, black coat with the sleeves rolled down. Bandages covered his right shoulder. Several experienced K4-Phantoms with healing abilities had done a good job on his wound, but it would still take another day or two for a full recovery.

”Well, well...” Tron looked at the house, at its dark windows where lights should be on at this hour. ”They’ve either gone off to train or...”

Before he could finish, Adam and Silvana emerged from the barn at the far end of the farm. Adam held an apple in his hand, while Silvana, with a proud smile, was lugging a red pumpkin.

Even a grown man would have a hard time carrying that pumpkin on his back, but Silvana did it with ease. Being an Operator had its perks, even in everyday life.

”Hah, is it just me, or have those two decided to rob us?” Tron smirked.

Riska shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest.

”Maybe. What I know for sure is that we’re going to have to do something about that huge pumpkin.”

”Any ideas?”

”Sure.”

Tron nodded.

”Good. I’m actually getting hungry.”