Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1428: Another Bun

Two days had passed since Adam’s battle against Anelez and Erada. During that time, the Path Construct had absorbed almost all of the energy of the Dark Heart, but it still needed a little more time.

Adam didn’t mind staying in Izardo for a while longer. He knew he would have to return home to the Citadel via a difficult route. It was unclear what would happen during this period, as he couldn’t simply teleport or summon a fighter jet to take him away.

The Tarnished Lands and Izardo were too deep in the monster lands. Here, Adam had to follow the same rules as every other monster.

Sure, monsters also had ways to move quickly, but they weren’t available to a K4-Phantom.

The Renegades, the monsters at Izardo, and many others were neutral towards the Phantoms, but that didn’t mean they were friends or allies. Moreover, many monsters feared Adam. They understood that he was their enemy and didn’t know what he would decide to do next.

So, Adam decided to go for his usual walk, as he had done several times while staying in the Citadel between difficult missions.

Last time, he had practically gotten lost in Izardo, and this time, the same thing happened, almost the same.

Izardo was a huge, confusing city, so Adam needed Helas’s help to find one specific place.

Step. Step. Step.

Slowly, Adam approached the stall where, just like on his first day in Izardo, a burly man was still working hard. His job was simple but important: he prepared food, namely buns with various fillings, from sweet to savory.

Two girls were always with him, working as his assistants.

“Oh, looks like someone’s starting to find their way around our maze, right?” The burly man smiled broadly when he noticed Adam’s frame.

Adam chuckled, pointing over his shoulder.

“It took me an hour to get here.” He looked at the buns, steam rising from them. “I hope they’re worth it.”

The burly man shrugged.

“I can’t say anything bad about my product, so only my visitors can be honest critics. Although I’d venture to guess that you liked it last time, otherwise you wouldn’t have come back.”

Adam nodded slightly.

“You’re right about one thing, but wrong about another.”

“Hmm?” The man raised an eyebrow.

“I did like the taste, but I would have come back here anyway.”

Before the burly man could say anything, Adam placed a bundle of ten coins on the table. The burly man and the girls’ eyes lit up as they immediately noticed that these were no ordinary coins. Right now, there are 10,000 tarnished coins on their table.

“I hope this will be enough. I don’t take no for an answer.”

The burly man nodded and took the bundle of coins. He knew who Adam Vinter was and that Adam had earned quite a lot of money at the Red Eye Arena.

Well, after everything that had happened, almost every monster at Izardo knew that Adam Vinter was here now and what he had done. Thousands of monsters from their city had watched his fight against Erada and Anelez.

“I see.”

The burly man closed his eyes.

Then, he smiled broadly and waved his hand, pointing to the boxes.

“In that case, I advise you to take as many as you can. Hahaha, you paid for several hundred buns in advance!”

He turned back to the oven.

“Girls, get to work! We have an important guest!”

Throughout their conversation, the girls couldn’t take their eyes off Adam. Their faces showed both interest in the rare Phantom and slight embarrassment.

But as soon as the burly man’s voice rang out, they flinched and returned to their duties.

“Yes! We’ll get everything ready right now!”

At the same time, Adam rubbed his chin, looking curiously at the various buns.

“Alright, then I’ll have three of these, two of these, four more sweet ones, two with cheese, one with mushrooms, and five with meat.”

The order was as large as Adam’s appetite. However, the burly man’s eyebrow didn’t even twitch. When hungry Hybrids came to him, their orders really scared him and the girls. When that happened, they knew that for the next half hour, they would have to work twice as hard.

Ten minutes later, Adam had a box full of buns in his hands, and the hot steam went straight to his face, making him smile with satisfaction.

The burly man brushed the sweat from his forehead and sighed deeply.

“Great, the order is done.”

The girls breathed a sigh of relief. They could finally rest.

“I understand this is our last meeting, right?” The burly man turned to Adam.

Adam nodded. “It seems so. I’m sure you know why I came to Izardo, so I got everything I needed. It’s time to go home. Although if I ever come back here again, I’ll be sure to visit you again.”

Before leaving, Adam turned to the burly man.

“Why do you do this? I wasn’t sure last time, but now I can clearly see that you immediately understood that I was a Phantom even though I was hiding my aura. You’re strong, old man.”

“Hah, I’m not as old as you think.” The burly man chuckled as he looked up at the bright sun. “It’s useful work that I’m good at. It’s much better than spending my days and years doing nothing.”

“What’s more.” He glanced over at his helpers. “Without them, I would be bored, and I can teach them something useful. I think that’s more than enough.”

After a few moments, Adam nodded as he continued on his way.

“Yeah, that’s for sure. Good luck.”

The burly man smiled as he watched Adam’s fading back.

‘The stellar phantom, right? Hah, Izardo is an incredible city after all. Where else could such a meeting take place? But… You should be careful, Adam Vinter. The stronger the Phantom becomes, the more valuable it becomes to monsters and energy hunters.’

Adam walked forward in the sunlight and enjoyed the taste of the buns. Soon, he would have to leave Izardo, but now he had another goal. There was one place he wanted to visit before returning to the Citadel.

Ahead, he could see a tall building where decades of knowledge had been gathered, and right now, there was one Hybrid there who didn’t want to be there but was obliged to do so.