Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 280: Midnight Crystal (Part 5)

Phantom was in a difficult situation if he dared to remove his Initial Gene from the Evolution Tree, literally starting the seven-minute countdown to his death.

However, there was one way to avoid death: get a new Initial Gene. But Phantom could not insert any Initial Gene into his Evolution Tree, certain rules had to be followed, both in the process and during the battle.

”First of all, Phantom cannot absorb the gene of a stronger monster than himself.” Katrin began pointing one finger, ”That means that I, as a K1-Phantom, can absorb the genes of any Purple Threat monster and anyone weaker.”

Adam nodded, but soon a slight look of puzzlement appeared in his eyes.

”Wait... There are no restrictions here? I mean, can some K1-Phantom that a few days ago revealed his Lock, take Thunder Demonʼs gene as an Initial Gene?” Adam tilted his head in confusion.

Katrin smirked, shaking her head ironically as if Adam was talking complete nonsense.

”Of course not. A K1-Phantom rookie should fight Blue Threat Level monsters, if such a Phantom tries to absorb the gene of the Top-2 Monster at Purple Threat Level, its Evolution Tree simply canʼt withstand such power. Thunder Demonʼs gene, will tear the Phantomʼs body apart.”

Adam nodded.

”I see... So before getting a new Initial Gene, you have to determine your strength limit. For example, even if K1-Phantom can already fight with Purple Threat Level, that doesnʼt mean he can absorb Thunder Demonʼs gene making it his Initial Gene, right?” Adam suggested, trying to understand the boundaries of the rules.

This was important if he wanted to help Katrin. He didnʼt know exactly what he would need to do yet, but any information about the Initial Gene was valuable.

Phantom had nothing more precious than Initial Gene, it was the core from which everything started.

”Yes. For example, if you wanted to make Thunder Demonʼs gene your Initial Gene, you wouldnʼt have any problems. Youʼre obviously strong enough.” Katrin sighed heavily, slightly envious.

Even if their mastery and experience were on the same level, Katrin would never be able to defeat Thunder Demon alone, for the nature of her abilities did not allow her to do so.

This was one of the reasons why Katrin did not intend to put up with it anymore. She didnʼt want to accept the role of the support, for it was destroying her from the inside out. Her Initial Gene didnʼt match her personality and desires.

It could be compared to the average person who worked in an unwanted profession. Often this happened because of parents who forced their children to go for the job they wanted but not their child.

An engineer who wanted to be a musician could be a happy person and even be a master at his job, but... something would always devour that person from the inside out because he realized that it wasnʼt what he wanted.

”I see... So, if you want to absorb the Initial Gene of the Top-11 monster, you must be strong enough to defeat that monster, right?” Adam suggested.

Katrin shook her head.

”Not really. I might be more experienced and stronger as a Phantom than some Phantom who can defeat a Top-20 monster alone, but because of my abilities, I canʼt do that. However, that doesnʼt mean that my level is lower than that of Phantom. In fact, you can check it with the aura.” Katrin said seriously while looking intently at Adam.

Adam nodded. He realized that there was a logic to it.

A Phantom with damage-oriented abilities could defeat a stronger monster than Katrin because her abilities had a different purpose. However, she as a Phantom could be stronger and the best indicator of that was the aura.

”Before coming to you, I was on a mission. I specifically chose a squad that was going to hunt Dark Tyrant, Top-10 of the Purple Threat Level.”

Adam nodded as his eyes grew slightly wider.

He remembered Dark Tyrant because that monster had been summoned by the anomalies to defend itself from Thunder Demon.

However, it couldnʼt hold Thunder Demon back even for a minute, the difference in strength between Top-2 and Top-10 was terrifying.

”I asked for time and faced Dark Tyrant 1 vs 1. Sure, I didnʼt fight with abilities, but with my aura. Not without difficulty, but my aura was able to surpass it. Thus, I should be somewhere on the level of the Top-9 or Top-8.” Katrin waved her hand, lifting her chin.

There was pride in her voice and movements, and she had every right to be honored for her accomplishments. She was an Artificialborn Phantom and had managed to achieve such achievements. It took talent as well as perseverance.

”I tried to find a mission on Snow Follower, Top-9, but it was like they disappeared! Every single one of them!” Katrin clenched her fist irritably, ”How did they become Top-9 if they donʼt want to fight!?”

Adam smiled bitterly. Unlike Katrin, he knew the answer to that question.

”Well, when a monster is driven by interest rather than a desire for power, challenging it to a fight becomes difficult.” Adam shrugged.

Katrin cast Adam a strange look. She was keeping a close eye on Adamʼs accomplishments to keep up with him, but she hadnʼt heard of him fighting Snow Follower.

Though, he hadnʼt. Nessa had started the fight against Snow Follower and finished it within moments of his transformation.

It was worth realizing that even though Katrin was an Artificialborn Phantom, it didnʼt mean that she had no chance of surpassing Adam or Alexia.

As Damien once said, the path of the Naturalborn Phantoms was like an incredibly sharp dual-edged sword.

The Naturalborn Phantoms had their advantages such as free artifact selection, more potential, and a more empowered Evolution Tree, because they got their Initial Gene without any help from anybody.

However, because of this, they often found themselves in dangerous situations as the monsters wanted to fight the strongest and get their energy.

Roughly speaking, the Naturalborn Phantom had more opportunities, but the challenges that awaited it on their path were more difficult in most cases.

If Artificialborn Phantom tried hard, reached the maximum of his power, honed his skills, and went through dangerous battles, there was nothing to prevent him from surpassing Naturalbron One. Enjoy more content from m-v lʼe|-

It only took time to find the right artifact and the boundaries of potential could be expanded, slowly but surely.

”Well, I think I understand. Given what you said, youʼre strong enough to absorb Essence Scarlet Pyromancerʼs gene and make it your Initial Gene. Heʼs a Top-8, so it wonʼt be a problem.” Adam said calmly while watching Katrinʼs reaction.

”Hah, of course! You donʼt have to worry about that.” Katrin exclaimed, ruffling her hair with her hand.

Then, Adamʼs gaze changed as he stared at Katrin.

”But... Why do you want me?”

Katrin sighed heavily, shrugging her shoulders frustratedly.

”I canʼt defeat Essence Scarlet Pyromancer alone, but you can. However, I have to contribute more to this event than you, or else your genes will mess up Scarlet Pyromancerʼs gene and I wonʼt be able to make it my Initial Gene.”

Adamʼs eyes went blank as he blinked several times.

Katrin slapped her palm on her forehead, realizing that Adam didnʼt understand anything.

”Damn, because this is different from just absorbing genes, itʼs more complicated than that.” Katrin sighed heavily preparing for the next round of explanations.