Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 927

Chapter 927: Simple Puzzles (Part 1)
After a few minutes of lingering silence, Orel lit a third cigarette, seemingly not intending to stop until their long conversation had come to its logical conclusion.

“Adam, what I’ve told you isn’t particularly rare, but I wouldn’t call it commonplace,” Orel glanced at Silvana, then turned back to Adam. “I’d say one in five or seven of the new Phantom/Operator pairs at the Lower Ring ends in the death of the Operator.”

Silvana gulped. “That’s 20%… But from what I understand it can be avoided right? I mean, if the third girl hadn’t insisted, she would’ve gotten off with a burn and you would’ve gone looking for the next candidate.”

“Not exactly…” Orel lingered, bringing the cigarette to his mouth. “Even if the Operator and the Phantom are doing everything right, it could just be an illusion on the outside. It’s unknown until the very last moment what the Phantom or the Operator is actually feeling, but… nothing can hide from the Evolution Tree.

“I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. After all, you are a K3-Phantom, which means Silvana received the Evolution Seed a long time ago. Your Evolution Tree has accepted her. The same thing happened to me and Misa when she became my Operator and we reached the Harmony stage.”

Misa smiled warmly, remembering perhaps the most important moment in their couple.

Adam and Silvana looked over at each other, slight smiles showing on their faces. They were glad that they didn’t have to go through such a hard and dangerous journey as the Phantoms and Operators at the Lower Ring.

But, they still had questions that they would make Orel answer.

“Orel…” Adam began. “I get about the bracelets and collars, the Discord and Harmony, the possible risks, but how does the Phantom make the Operator his? Silvana and I have gone through a long road to my K2-Level, we’ve learned a lot about each other and have become much closer – more than a working relationship.

“Still… Phantoms and Operators here don’t have that time that Silvana and I had. How is it possible to make contact without knowing the person and going through challenges with them?”

Adam scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m not sure if I should say this, but I highly doubt my Evolution Tree would have accepted Silvana if I had tried to do so the first time we met or even a week after that.”

“Yeah… I agree,” Silvana nodded weakly, clutching her knees. “I was determined to just work with Adam, to be his loyal assistant something like a secretary to the boss. But… To reveal my whole self to him? To get to a depth of understanding like this? To be his lover? The Silvana from the past didn’t even think of such possibilities – just work and my duty as an Operator.”

“Hah…” Orel chuckled, a grimness in his laughter. “You’re right, you’re both right. We, the Dark Phantoms don’t have that much time, so we do things fast and harsh.”

Then, Orel put the cigarette away and reached into the box of puzzles. He picked up just two puzzles that fit together perfectly, but only on one side.

“Look carefully,” Orel said seriously. “On rare occasions at the Lower Ring, it is possible for the Phantom and Operator to fit together right away. Usually, this happens when the Phantom and Operator have known each other since childhood.

“For example, a boy and a girl that lived in neighboring houses. After a few years, the boy became a Phantom, and the girl worked in a regular store. All this time they were interacting, maybe even in love with each other. Then, at one point, the guy offers her to become his Operator. The girl knows a lot about Operators and the risks, and with a smile on her face, she agrees.”

Orel directed the two puzzles toward each other.

“In this, the perfect case, the odds of the guy’s Evolution Tree accepting this girl as an Operator and them not hiding anything from each other are almost 100%.”

Click.

The two puzzles came together, not a gap or a crack, fitting tightly together.

With a short sigh, Orel continued. “But it is rare indeed. Maybe one pair in a hundred, one in two hundred, somewhere in that range.”

Adam leaned forward.

“What about the less fortunate options? That’s not what you had with Misa, right? I mean, she was your fourth Operator and you met her at the store. Your relationship didn’t have a flawless backstory like your example.”

“Sure,” Orel nodded. “My scenario with Misa is the most common, but let’s talk about you and Silvana first.”

Silvana and Adam pointed to themselves.

“About us?”

“Yeah, your story isn’t flawless either, since you just admitted yourself that you didn’t fit in with each other at your first encounter.”

Exchanging a glance, they nodded slightly. They could argue that they didn’t know what was ahead of them at the K2 and K3 levels, but Orel was right.

Orel turned the puzzles and pointed them towards each other but they didn’t connect.

“That was your starting point, but gradually you changed for each other. I’m sure you had conflicts, good and bad moments, but in the end, you managed to overcome everything.”

Gradually, Orel’s energy traveled towards the puzzles, making them stronger several hundred times. Strangely enough, these puzzles were now weapons that could kill Yellow Threat monsters in a single throw.

“You have worked together to pave your way. You have made it so that you are now the perfect match. It took time and effort, but Adam’s Evolution Tree didn’t just accept Silvana, it did it with pleasure. I’m sure of it.”

In quick movements, Orel rubbed the puzzles against each other like two stones until they were the right shape.

With the next thrust of his hands, the two puzzles joined together even though they didn’t originally fit.

“Agh…” Orel exhaled a cold vapor while staring intently at the two puzzles. “Life at the Lower and Upper rings is different, but the time you have up there is definitely cause for envy for many Phantoms and Operators here.”