Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1530: Too Slow (Part 1)

It took Adam and Alexia a few minutes to understand the trial’s conditions. They had only 360 seconds left to collect 59 Glowing Tips.

It wasn’t an easy task, but they were two K4-Phantoms who had not only already created the two grand stars but also gained control over the ancient energy, albeit in a rather limited form.

They were confident that a few minutes would be enough to complete the task.

So, when Adam got the first glowing tip, he and Alexia started hunting for the golden spiders.

They moved as fast as possible, each taking half of the lake to cover so they could be effective.

However...

”Agh... Agh... Agh...”

Their heavy breathing echoed off the cold walls of the cave as the last sockets went out.

[The trial has failed.]

The Ancient Voice sounded when all the ghost spiders disappeared, and the spiral crystals stopped emitting the field.

[You may try again at any time. All your Glowing Tips will be lost.]

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The amber orbs hovering above their arms trembled and exploded.

Adam and Alexia exchanged glances. Their expressions were not so much tired as puzzled and even lost.

In the six minutes they had since Adam realized what needed to be done, they had only managed to collect 17 Glowing Tips.

Even if they had had 10 minutes, which was the maximum, they would have collected about 30 at best, when they needed 60 to pass the trial.

”Fuck, what was that...?” Alexia muttered, her lips trembling.

She was even more upset than Adam. She was sure she would easily catch every golden spider, but it turned out to be much more difficult than she thought.

What was the problem?

With each Glowing Tip obtained, that is, with each golden spider defeated, the rest became faster, and the ghost spiders became more numerous and stronger.

After they got 15 Glowing Tips, the situation got way worse, which was obvious from the cuts on Alexia’s shoulder. She didn’t expect the ghost spiders, which had been almost harmless before, to get strong enough to hurt her.

”They got way stronger towards the end...” Alexia bit her lip. ”Shit! How could we have lost?”

She slammed her fist into the ground, leaving a crack on the surface.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he recalled everything that had happened.

”No, that’s not the problem.”

”Agh? What do you mean, that’s not the problem? How can we pass this trial if we can’t defeat all the spiders?”

In response, Adam shook his head.

”That’s not important. Even if we could kill all the spiders with a simple snap of our fingers, it wouldn’t change anything. We barely caught up with the last golden spiders, and the more Glowing Tips we have, the faster they are.”

He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Alexia.

”We’ve only collected 17 tips, but what will happen when we have 50, let alone 55+?”

Alexia gulped. She couldn’t even imagine how fast the golden spiders would become at this stage.

Sure, they were both capable of moving quite fast, but that was largely a result of their energy, pure power, and their mighty bodies.

Neither of them had abilities that would make them significantly faster directly.

So, they had to come up with another way if they wanted to win.

”Alright, let’s try again. Now we know what to do and can use every second we have.”

”Is the plan still the same?” Alexia asked.

Adam nodded as he raised his head toward the platform.

”We’re ready.”

Without further ado, the platform glowed brightly as the spiral crystals shimmered, covering the cave with an invisible field.

Adam wasn’t sure they could get through this trial without a plan, but to figure out what to do next, he first had to find out what they were capable of.

What could be their best result?

’17 tips in 6 minutes, right? We need to collect at least 30. Although it’s unclear how much more difficult it will become when we reach 25.’

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A tremor ran through the stone peaks as a large number of ghost spiders appeared from all sides.

However, this time, Adam and Alexia knew what to look for. They saw several golden spiders hiding behind the others, and that was their goal.

Whooooooosh.

Without hesitation, they rushed forward, intent on catching as many golden spiders as possible, although they both knew it wouldn’t be that easy....

Nine minutes later.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam ran after the golden spider that was to become their 30th Glowing Tip. They already had 29, and only one more to go to complete half of the trial.

Sure, it still wasn’t enough; they had to optimize their actions if they wanted to win, but it would be a big step forward compared to their last attempt.

’Shit! I can’t catch up with it!’ Adam exclaimed internally as he ran after the golden spider. Its eight legs moved actively, while the golden trail remained behind it due to its tremendous speed.

The golden spider moved like a flash, and Adam had no choice but to direct energy into his legs and run even faster than before.

’Come on, just a little more!’ Adam stretched out his hand, preparing to grab the golden spider.

Tremble.

At the same moment, the golden spider’s body trembled as the monster became significantly faster in a heartbeat, ending up several meters ahead.

As a result, Adam grabbed only air.

”You little bastard...” His teeth gnashed with rage as he picked up a stone from the ground.

Seeing the golden spider in the distance, he threw the stone with all his might, and, strangely enough, the golden spider did not have time to react.

BAM!

The stone, full of energy, destroyed the golden spider.

A slight smile appeared on Adam’s face, but it was soon to disappear.

[Time’s up.]

[The trial has failed.]

[You can try again at any time.]

It was unknown how many more attempts they might need, and that made Adam nervous.

If this was only the first trial, what awaited them next?