Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1817: The Aura Is Everywhere

Adam had never had any problems with water, since he knew how to swim. He had learned this skill even before he became a Phantom.

In fact, up until that point, he had practically never needed to swim. The only times he found himself underwater were after a powerful attack from an opponent that sent him sinking to the bottom of a river or lake.

In that state, Adam acted on instinct, and all he had to do was leap forward to break free at high speed.

Now, at Tooth Lake, he found himself underwater for the first time, not because of a battle, but for another reason. Laroza had thrown him in, and she knew it would be difficult for Adam to get out, at least the first time.

Just in case, Laroza remained suspended in the air, watching what was happening from above. If anything happened to Adam because of her, she’d be in trouble.

Blp! Blp! Blp!

Bubbles escaped as Adam tried to take a breath or hold his breath, but his oxygen was running out rapidly.

“Something’s wrong!” Adam exclaimed inwardly, thrashing from side to side. “Even if the water here affects me the same way it does an ordinary human, I shouldn’t be having this much trouble!”

Before becoming a Phantom, Adam could hold his breath underwater for nearly a minute. However, now less than ten seconds had passed, and his vision was already starting to blur.

In the distance, the red eyes of approaching monsters came into view, but Adam couldn’t waste time on them.

‘Tsk, I don’t know what Laroza has in mind, but I have to surface right now!’

Adam tried to surface. He pushed off from the energy blob beneath him and was steadily making his way toward the surface, until… someone decided to get in his way.

Crack!

The monster swam over him, striking Adam with its long tail.

Because the water was so murky and he was gasping for air, Adam didn’t have time to react.

Two more monsters appeared to his right and left. They weren’t in a hurry to attack, but circled him, waiting for the right moment to tear him to pieces.

Panic quickly began to well up in Adam’s eyes. His heart began to beat faster, and his fists clenched in anger.

“Are you telling me I’m going to lose to these weaklings because of some water?” Adam exclaimed inwardly, but it had no effect. He still couldn’t figure out how Tooth Lake worked.

Laroza, watching from above, smirked.

“Huh, Adam, you still don’t get it?”

For a moment, a glint flashed across her eyes as her vision shifted. Now, a purple veil covered all of Tooth Lake, looking both menacing and tense at the same time.

“Well, I think you’ll figure out what’s going on here soon enough.” Laroza shrugged. She knew it was only a matter of time before Adam found a solution. “In any case, you’d have to learn this sooner or later.”

Adam’s frustration was growing. He was ready to use his abilities to clear the monsters out of the way and create the hollow in Tooth Lake.

In fact, he could do it.

But before the black needle could appear in his grasp, something stopped Adam.

“No, that’s not the answer. Even if I can destroy the water here, what will I do at the Gray Sea? There must be another way. How do the other monsters and Phantoms withstand this pressure?”

Suddenly, Adam’s expression froze as several air bubbles flitted before his eyes.

Adam realized something.

‘Right… Why do I feel such intense pressure? This lake isn’t particularly deep, and I’m not even at the bottom. This pressure isn’t coming from the water but from something else, isn’t it?’

Then, a satisfied smirk formed on his face as a purple light reflected in his eyes.

Now, he saw the same thing as Laroza, who was hovering above. He watched the energy emanating from Tooth Lake, permeating every part of it, and this energy was exerting pressure on him through…

“Aura! This lake has its own aura!” Adam exclaimed inwardly when he finally figured out what was happening here.

He still couldn’t breathe, but now Adam seemed to have forgotten about it as he turned to look at the horned skull.

“Does this aura come from the skull, or is it because of all the water here?”

Adam knew that the farther away the lands were from the Citadel, the more energy there usually was in those territories. This affected everything, monsters, anomalies, and even how durable a simple rock or tree was.

However, up until that moment, no matter how durable a static object was, it didn’t have its own aura. This was something unique to living beings, and Artifacts were the only exception.

Adam had several theories as to why this was happening, but in reality, it didn’t matter to him at all right now.

He realized why he couldn’t breathe, the Tooth Lake was pressing down on him with its aura.

“Tsk, I’d have been wrong to use my abilities.” Adam frowned as a glint flashed in his eyes. “We need a different solution here, don’t we?”

There were now more than a dozen monsters around him, but Adam wasn’t worried, since his main opponent was the lake itself.

Ripple. Ripple. Ripple.

A tremor ran across the lake’s surface, causing Laroza to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh, has he already figured out what to do? I thought he’d try to get out first. Huh, I was already ready to throw him back to the bottom.”

She narrowed her green eyes as gusts of wind ruffled her long crimson hair.

Soon enough, the gentle ripples turned into a vigorous tremor when a bright white flash appeared amid the gray lake.

In the blink of an eye, Adam’s aura burst forth like a white flame at full power, causing Tooth Lake to tremble.

Unlike energy and abilities, the aura had no physical effect on objects, so the water still surrounded Adam, though the monsters were frightened and retreated to a safe distance.

However…

“Great,” Adam said, creating a barrier around his mouth.

Now the water of Tooth Lake was no different from ordinary water.