Endless Evolution: Last Star - Chapter 961

Chapter 961: Rock Worms (Part 1)
Adam closed his eyes, sinking into his Inner Space. It made little sense now because he didn’t need to slow down time – he had a long way to go to the Fallen Ring Castle.

He made it to look at the Crystal Gates and his Evolution Tree.

“Well, well…” Adam muttered looking at the three open gates. Only two remained, they contained the last bits of Adam’s power and held back the Stellar Flow.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam walked around the Crystal Gates to get a better look at the Stellar Flow, yet he was in no hurry to approach the still dangerous and powerful stream.

“Hmm,” he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It’s gotten considerably smaller, though that’s not surprising. I’ve already opened three gates and given the zero orb. I’ve destroyed the four orbs. There’s only a small part of it left to go.”

His eyes narrowed, staring intently at the shimmering stars in dense energy in an endless cycle hitting the remaining gates.

“However, I feel that the Stellar Flow is distributing its power unevenly.”

[Hahaha…]

The Evolution Tree’s low laughter echoed behind him, causing Adam to turn around, a slight frown on his face.

[Did you finally notice that?]

Adam waved his hand. “I don’t have time for your riddles. Better to tell it straight as it is.”

[The Stellar Flow has given you most of its volume since you destroyed the four orbs, but… it retains 50% to 60% of its power…]

“Tsk… I get it. So when I fully open the Crystal Gates, I’ll be almost twice as strong?”

[Something like that. However, the difficulty will be increased…]

Adam raised an eyebrow.

“So you know what you have to do, don’t you?”

[Hah… Of course, I do… but… I’m not going to tell you… It’s better if you figure it out for yourself, it’ll go faster that way…]

“The usual,” Adam rolled his eyes. “You better tell me. Do I have a chance?”

[Hmm…?]

“Come on. You know what I’m talking about. To defeat the S5 monster, I at least need to open the fourth lesser gate. Ideally, I need to open the fifth gates as well, whether it’s during the fight against Arnoth or before. What are the chances I’ll accomplish this?”

[Khm… Adam, you’re making me serious… This is a difficult question. If you have 20 days like that serpent said… You can open the fourth lesser gates… I’m 90% sure of it.]

[But…]

The Evolution Tree took a long, tense pause.

That couldn’t have been a good sign for Adam.

[The fifth lesser gates…? Adam, you don’t know what you’re asking me. Do you have any idea how fast you’re advancing compared to the other Phantoms…?]

“Yeah, because I’m fighting and not training. That was also the case, but only a small part of my journey. In fact, you heard it all yourself – almost every Phantom at the Lower Ring acts the same way I do.”

[Sure… but this girl… Risha, she’s much weaker than you… I can see from the look in her eyes that she’s been trying to open the third lesser gate for a long time, but she can’t… At the same time, I had to hold back your artifact and elemental root so that I wouldn’t get a useless Foundation Artifact.]

Adam glanced at the Evolution Tree. The Wreath of Hope became a part of it, sinking into the bark just like the Initial Gene and the Power Gene.

‘Is it possible that at some point an artifact could become a full-fledged gene? Well, that’s not what we’re talking about right now.’

“Risha isn’t as talented as me. Though I’ve never really thought about it. I don’t consider myself a talent, genius, or prodigy. Save those words for the arrogant nobles.”

[Hah… Are you saying that you wouldn’t be pleased to hear such words spoken to you?]

“Pffft! Who needs it? I’ve only started chasing power recently. At first, I was just going with the flow, but now I realize that if I want to figure out what’s going on in this world, I need to be much stronger than a simple K3-Phantom.”

Strangely enough, the Evolution Tree didn’t quickly begin to reply with something cheeky and bantering as usual.

Only after a long pause, did the Evolution Tree’s low, sad voice rang out along the space.

[This is related to Queen Elisa… right?]

“Not just with her. Aiden Henk, Wilfred and Damien. Why do I feel like they’re all on the same level of importance? I’m not talking about power. I’m sure each of them knows things about our world that I don’t. Furthermore… why does Heaven Island even exist?

“I will never believe that the government couldn’t create a top-secret area in the center of the First Ring or underground where the queen would be. Damn, at the Second Ring, there’s enough room to fit several Heaven Islands not to mention the Queen’s chamber!”

Adam turned around, looking deeply at the Evolution Tree, at his genes, at the bright white bark full of energy and at the two main branches giving him power.

‘And…’ Adam muttered internally. ‘Why did Queen Elisa’s evolution tree end up in the real world? Why does she look more like a living statue than a human? And why, despite all this, is she so important to humanity?’

“Screw it,” he shook his head tightly clenching his fists. “Tell me what my chances are of opening the fifth gates, and I’m outta here.”

The Evolution Tree noticed Adam’s dark gaze but paid no attention to it.

There were actually more important things to do right now.

[If you’re planning on doing this before the fight against Arnoth, I’d say you don’t have more than 5%. After all, a fully opened Crystal Gates means that you’ve reached the edge of the K3 Level… All you have to do is create the third, last key…]

[If you want to do it during battle, it’s up to you… I’m afraid I can’t force things at this level…]

With a bitter smile, Adam nodded.

“I understand, thank you…”

Then, Adam opened his eyes, but instead of a calm path, he saw Risha, who was preparing for battle.

In smoke explosions, through the cracks above, shadows rushed in eager to attack the lone serpent before he reached his home, albeit a conquered one.