Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 879: Youʼre Not Worthy (Part 2)

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The waiter knocked on the door.

”Mr. Adam Vinter, your room order has arrived!”

A few seconds later, the door opened, letting the waiter forward along with a cart full of various food and drinks.

The girlʼs eyes went wide for a moment, the room was in utter chaos as if the place hadnʼt been cleaned in weeks, though that couldnʼt be the case. At the Twilight Palace, there was regular cleaning of all the rooms.

The only exception was when guests were in the room, in which case the cleaning was simply postponed to the nearest available time.

In the bed were two people, a young man and a female, the blanket was the only thing hiding their naked bodies.

Silvana rose slightly.

”Thanks for your work... Leave the food somewhere that has room...” Silvana waved her hand, her eyes running over the chaos in the room.

Keeping it professional, the girl nodded and did as Silvana said.

Then, she stepped out and bowed slightly.

”Have a good holiday, both of you, but... Mr. Adam, thereʼs something I have to tell you.”

Just those words made Adam crawl out from under the blanket and look at the waiter.

”Hmm? What do you mean...?” Adam mumbled sleepily.

”Administration would like to know when youʼre going to have your fight for the fifth twilight coin?”

”Agh?” Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion, ”Why should they care? Does the administration have anything to do with the fights?”

”No, observers can only approve official fights for fighters to earn or lose twilight coins, but...”

A sharp glint passed across her eyes.

”Powerful people can only place real bets on selected fights by the administration. More specifically, on the fights of selected fighters - youʼre one of those.”

”I donʼt have a time limit, do I?”

The girl simply nodded. She wasnʼt going to argue with Adam or convince him of anything. Her job was simply to relay the information to him.

”I see... Well, when I want to fight then it will happen.” Adam waved his hand nonchalantly.

”I see.”

With a final nod, the girl closed the door behind her.

Adam and Silvana glanced over at each other, they just shrugged before they started eating.

...

They had spent the last two days with each other and not even their suite. They had no reason to do so, they had everything they needed to rest: food, water, TV, and bed.

But, sooner or later everything would come to an end.

”Woah!” Adam yawned widely, walking along the aisle, hands behind his head.

Silvana followed silently behind him. She looked around with mild curiosity, noticing one odd detail - almost none of the nobles here were with the Operators.

She didnʼt know what the reason for that was, but it was simple - unlike Adam, the nobles came here of their free will.

Nobles knew that they could stay for weeks or even months at the Twilight Palace. The length of their residence was entirely up to them.

Some took a long time to prepare for every battle, while others were constantly losing and winning, unable to get out of the cycle.

In such a situation, there was no need to force their Operator to be around all the time. Operators were people too, they had their duties and things to do in their spare time.

For the most part, the Operators that Silvana saw were the few that decided to come here willingly, waiting for their Phantoms to collect five coins or lose everything.

From time to time a glance fell upon them.

Adam held at the Twilight Palace three battles, each time something unexpected happened, it was enough to make everyone recognize him.

The nobles began to study his history, which only gave him a new wave of popularity, especially when they heard about the Moon Colosseum and his victory over the Crimson Monarch.

Given the increased interest in his persona, it wouldnʼt be surprising if someone approached him and asked to fight him.

Whoosh.

Suddenly a girl appeared in front of Adam and Silvana. She had waist-length ginger hair, dark amber eyes, and a confident look.

”Adam VInter, stay where you are!”

She exclaimed, pointing at him with a fiery eagerness.

Adam blinked a few times before pointing to himself.

”Me? Itʼs not like Iʼm running anywhere,” he shrugged carelessly.

”I am Heira Veranie, challenging you to a fight! I want to fight against you Adam Vinter!” she exclaimed, pressing her palm to her chest.

She was worried, at least Silvana could tell.

Adam, for his part, didnʼt care.

”Fine, the bet is one coin. Letʼs wait for an observer and start the fight.”

”Agh...? Just like that...?” Heira gulped in disbelief.

Adam looked at her like she was strange.

”Why does it have to be complicated? Iʼm sure you know I only need one win, so Iʼm willing to do it right now. One coin and Iʼll get out of this place.”

Something in his words made Heira both pleased and disappointed at the same time.

”W-What...? You sound like youʼve already won! Donʼt think it will be that easy!” she exclaimed trying to sound confident.

Adam didnʼt answer anything, he only studied his future and latest opponent intently.

ʼIt doesnʼt matter what you say, I can see it all in your gaze...ʼ he pondered, ʼYou were surprised I agreed because you donʼt think youʼre worthy. With that mindset, youʼve lost. How can you defeat a stronger enemy if you donʼt believe in it yourself?ʼ

Heira was excited. Everything said it, her gaze, her posture, and her trembling fingertips. She wanted to beat Adam, this was her chance to beat Giselle.

But... not five or ten minutes later an observer did not appear.

”Hmm? Whatʼs going on?” Heira frowned, ”Observers are never late. Did something happen?”

Adam frowned at that too.

ʼLooks like itʼs not going to be that easy, right? Still... It would be nice to know whatʼs going on here, though?ʼ

Beep.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, an alert from the hotel administration arrived on their NEPs. Its content was simple and straightforward:

[The fight between Adam VInter and Heira Veranie has been denied. Reason: unequal fight, insufficient number of people willing to make a bet.]