Endless Evolution: Last Star

Adam was in high spirits as he headed towards the mission pad. Yesterday, he and Silvana had discussed all the details, so today, early in the morning it was time for him to meet with the Travelers Squad.

It was a small-sized Squad, consisting of five Phantoms and ten Harvesters. For a large Golden Searchers Nest, this was more than enough, considering they had K1 Phantom - Adam Vinter - with them.

Naturally, for Adam, the main goal was to fight the Prime King of the Golden Searchers and get purple threat genes to improve his Nexus. After this mission, he would take another step forward towards the first Key!

'Hmm... Besides genes and artifacts, I also still need some Midnight Crystal. I asked Silvana about it, but she said I first need to reach a peak level of power before I reach that stage... Well, it looks like it's going to be something difficult.' Adam pondered as he approached the Travelers Squad.

The first person to notice him was a girl with green hair and brown eyes. It was Barna Worlon, K0-Phantom and leader of Travelers Squad.

"You're finally here! I was worried that something had happened. We're only a few minutes away from the mission starting." Barna said respectfully as she bowed slightly.

Adam nodded.

"Is everyone here? I hope the mission department wasn't wrong, and I can fight the King!" Adam clenched his fist with an excited expression.

Barna nodded as she looked sideways at the squad members. The Phantoms and Harvesters were talking about something, but as soon as Adam arrived, they stopped.

Adam's eyes went wide, for among the five Phantoms, he was familiar with three at once!

In the center stood, Katrin, the girl Adam met in Desolate Forest. She had gray hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and the same cold stare as before.

To Katrin's right, was Mark, another member of their temporary group at Desolate Forest. His blue hair was slightly longer, and his azure eyes were full of enthusiasm.

These two were already enough to surprise Adam, however, Katrin and Mark were just as shocked, especially Katrin.

They didn't know who their K1-Phantom would be, only Barna and her Operator had that information.

However, the most interesting part was ahead, because the third Phantom was Kody!

While Kody, Mark, and Katrin stared wide-eyed at Adam, a fifth Phantom stepped forward. He was a stout man with short black hair and a scar over his right eye.

"Hi, I don't know what happened to the others, my name is Sirgus! I'd be happy to work together with you! I watched your fight against Brass Puppet, it was impressive!" Sirgus said excitedly, extending his hand.

Adam, with a slight smile on his face, responded to the handshake.

Then, he looked at Kody. He had a band-aid on his nose, it was obviously badly damaged or even broken for some reason.

Step. Step. Another Step.

Kody stepped forward, meeting Adam's gaze and clenching his fists tightly.

Barna glanced at them, slightly alarmed, for the tension between them could be felt by everyone. It was so obvious, it almost felt like matter.

Then, Kody sighed and bowed low.

"I apologize for yesterday!"

Adam was shocked. He hadn't expected Kody's behavior to change so drastically. It seemed that in that moment, faith in humanity could have been born in someone.

"Looks like you two know each other, right?" Barna asked, glancing not only at Kody but also at Mark and Katrin.

"Yeah, something like that. They're all excellent Phantoms, so our mission is definitely going to be a success!" Adam said, showing a thumb up with a bright smile.

Kody's eyes went wide. After all, Adam didn't have anything specific to say about him. It caused him to smile slightly and a good feeling in his chest.

"That's good." Barna nodded, "I hope your luck doesn't turn against you this time, Adam."

"Hmm?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Do I have any problem with luck?"

Barna, Katrin, Mark, Sirgus, and Kody had strange expressions on their faces. All of them knew Adam's mission history for one reason or another, even Kody - he had a serious motivation for it.

"Adam... you may be used to this by now, but what's happening on your missions with surprising frequency is not normal." Katrin muttered, scratching her cheek.

In fact, when she saw Adam, she had begun to envy his success greatly, because she was still a K0 Phantom and was preparing to fight her Beginning Monster. However, she knew the cost of Adam becoming a K1-Phantom so quickly.

Adam shook his head.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but better complex missions than simple ones. What's more!!! Even if I'm unlucky, I'm still alive and ready to fight! Everyone, let's go!" Adam waved his hand slightly annoyed, and sat down in the truck.

Barna sighed heavily, putting her fingertips to her forehead.

'Yeah... You're still alive, after all, you've come out victorious from every battle, but what about the others? It seems like when you show up in the squad, no one else has a chance to be the main character.' Barna inwardly muttered before sitting down next to Adam.

...

Golden Searchers mostly lived in the Scorching Desert - their squad was headed here, to the northeastern part, the farthest and most dangerous.

Scorching Desert considered the area for Rookie Phantoms, as most of the monsters living there were White or Green Threat Level.

In fact, a monster like the Prime King of Golden Searchers was an anomaly and the strongest that could even appear in the Scorching Desert.

Finding information about such monsters was one of the top priorities of the mission department because if some K0-squad encountered the Prime King, no one from the squad would survive.

Fortunately, it was easy to find out about the arrival of such monsters. The Prime King of Golden Searchers was the strongest in this area, he stood at the top of the food chain, and no one could oppose him.

"Hey, have you met Adam?" Kody asked, riding in the same truck with Karin, she was driving and Mark.

Katrin nodded.

"Yeah, we were unlucky enough to get hit by a spatial anomaly, but we were saved by Damien."

"Damien...?" Kody's eyes went wide, they literally sparkled.

Damien was one of the few Second Rank Phantoms, so his name was known by almost every Phantom, after all, he was one of the pillars their Citadel stood on.

Katrin could well be called a true Damien's fan. Becoming a Second Rank Phantom was her main goal.

"Yes. He's just like you imagine him to be, free-spirited, energetic, egotistical, boisterous, and most importantly... insanely strong." Katrin uttered, gripping the wheel tightly.

Her gaze was directed at Adam, who was driving ahead.

Damien's interest in Adam was another reason why Katrin envied Adam. In her case, though, it was an impulse for progress and motivation.

Even negative feelings could be put to good use, it all depended on the person and the mindset.

...

Soon, the Travelers Squad reached a point - the huge Golden Searchers Nest of the open type.

That meant all the rooms, structures, walls, and buildings were on the surface instead of deep underground.

"Oh, looks like I can already feel it." Adam smirked, looking into the distance of the nest where a powerful aura was emanating from.

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