Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 672

Chapter 672: The Stronghold

Adam discussed the events of Fume Cathedral with Silvana many times, and at first, Silvana didn’t have all the answers.

However, when he became K2-Phantom, Silvana’s rank also increased, giving her access to new information as well as previously classified terms.

The Irregular Energy was one of those. There was nothing wrong or dangerous about this information, but the government didn’t want the K0 and K1 Phantoms to be scared before their future – the Wild Lands.

The Irregular Energy and the External Artifacts were part of the Wild Lands, not of the Pacific Lands.

The government was sure that for many Phantoms below K2-Level, it would be a severe blow to morale if they found out before time that they were only fighting in the starting zone.

There was another key difference between the Pacific Lands and the Wild Lands: the Wild Lands were simply much farther away from the Citadel.

This meant that it took much longer for help to arrive than in the Pacific Lands, the territories were much larger and complex, and the same applied to monsters with anomalies.

If the Pacific Lands was a reserve with trails for tourists and prepared places for tents and campfires, from which all dangerous beasts were kicked out, the Wild Lands was a deep dark forest where there was no place for tourists but only for experienced and bloodthirsty hunters.

Also, the Wild Lands was more chaotic yet natural. In the Pacific Lands, there was a clear distribution between the areas and the monsters living in them, somewhere there were only White monsters, and somewhere only Blue ones.

To some extent, the Pacific Lands became artificial because the strongest monsters were exterminated, the Citadel was very close and the areas were not large enough to become complex and tiered.

…

The fighter was flying high above the clouds, the pilot was doing his job and Adam was listening intently to his Operator.

‘The Irregular Energy – Osana showed you what it is once before, but essentially it’s because in the Wild Lands, the energy is dense and powerful enough to have some effects.’

Silvana continued:

‘Imagine that someone’s enhancement or ability is constantly working on a certain area and the effects can both give you an advantage and put you at a rough spot.’

With a deep nod, Adam asked:

“What about the place I’m heading to? It’s in the Wild Lands, so there should be the Irregular Energy, right?” Adam suggested.

‘Yes, you’re right. Fortress of the Lone Serpent is filled with irregular energy and it has the following effects: all regeneration is reduced, healing abilities are greatly weakened, also all energy related to flames is much stronger.’

Adam bit his lip. He had no healing abilities, but he couldn’t summon fire either, unlike the monsters that had to adapt to such conditions.

“I take it the Irregular Energy works not only on Phantoms but also on monsters, right?”

A slight smile appeared on Silvana’s face as she nodded in confirmation.

‘Sure, in my opinion, it’s even an advantage for you. If the monsters’ regeneration is weak, it means it’ll be easier for you to kill them. I’m sure you’re not going to get seriously injured.’

‘Also, the irregular energy affects the anomalies as well, so if somehow flaming anomalies appear near the fortress, they’ll be much stronger and larger in scale.’

Adam didn’t answer anything, but he understood what Silvana was talking about. Then, a tall silhouette appeared in his mind, reminding him of his recent fight.

‘Fromund… Hah, considering what abilities you have, and amplifying fire from irregular energy, you’d be a real monster out there.’

After a short silence, Adam heard Silvana’s voice again.

‘Adam, there’s something else I need to tell you about Wild Lands, it’s as important as knowing about the External Artifacts and the Irregular Energy.’

“Hmm?” Adam raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. He was sure he’d heard enough, he’d learned more about Dead Lands and missions today than in the past three months.

‘It’s about the monsters. The Wild Lands has a different type of artifacts and energy, particularly because of the vast territories. As you know, many monsters dwell in Nests.’

Adam nodded deeply. Before his first mission, when he was picked up by a caravan of Phantoms and Harvesters he encountered a nest of lizards. Then, he completed quite a few missions clearing monster nests.

“There’s something bigger in the Wild Lands – the Stronghold.”

Though Silvana was very far away, Adam could feel her stern gaze and her low voice showing that it was a real threat.

‘The Fortress of the Lone Serpent is not a Nest, but a Stronghold. There are differences in just about everything.’

With a deep sigh, Silvana continued:

‘The Strongholds are much larger than the Nests and can have several hundred strong monsters of the same threat level, or even thousands of weak ones. More often than not, the Strongholds are massive structures that are infused with energy, sturdy, and intimidating.’

Adam’s eyes grew darker. The Irregular Energy and the External Artifacts were features of the Wild Lands but not his direct enemies unlike monsters and something more powerful than Nests was bad news for him.

‘It’s not uncommon for the Stronghold to have one or even several External Artifacts, and as in our case there’s the Irregular Energy.’

Then, Adam muttered in a deep voice:

“I see… Now it’s become clear to me why this fortress is the Red Zone. It’s not just a random place in the Wild Lands with a few monsters, it’s a reinforced nest – the Stronghold with Irregular Energy and…”

Adam’s eyes went wide for a moment, he realized something.

“Wait, the Fortress of the Lone Serpent has an External Artifact?”

Silvana nodded deeply.

‘Yes, but fear not, you’ve actually been to the Stronghold once before.’

It took a few seconds for his mind to realize what Silvana was talking about, then Adam’s corners of his lips went up.

“Agh, the Fume Cathedral. Yeah, it all adds up, it’s got the External Artifact, unusual, powerful monsters and everything works by unique rules, the only difference is the lack of irregular energy.”

Whoooooooooooooosh.

The fighter accelerated sharply through the clouds, giving Adam a view of his destination – the majestic fortress, the purple lights reflecting in his blue eyes.