Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1904: The Gorge and the Golden Tree

Adam realized that the demon-knight and the man had noticed him long ago. He just wasn’t a priority.

Even the Lesser Lords weren’t significant opponents for these two, and it seemed that this situation wasn’t unusual at the Grand Abyss.

“You… It seems you and your friend are having a conflict?” Adam said, keeping his guard up.

“Hahahahaha!” The man laughed briefly. “Yeah, something like that. Don’t worry, Blafor won’t be back anytime soon, and he definitely won’t attack you even if you happen to run into him somewhere.”

“Hmm? What makes you so sure?” Adam raised an eyebrow, confused.

“Well…” The man waved his hand. “I’ve known him for a long time, and he would never be the first to attack someone significantly weaker than himself. I’m afraid that’s the case with you, young man.”

Adam clenched his fists.

“Hahaha! I know that’s unpleasant to hear, but it’s the truth. But you should know that too, after all… It’s not often you come across a K4-Phantom at the Grand Abyss!”

A glint flashed across the man’s eyes as he stared intently at Adam.

Adam looked around. The man was right, Blafor was long gone. Even the faint ripples from his aura had already dissipated.

Whoooooosh!

With a shudder, the man appeared right in front of Adam, making him jump.

“Relax, I’m not going to attack you. I’m sure you had to fight your way through many battles to get here, right?” the man asked, keeping his hands behind his back. His expression was calm, as he was certain of the answer.

Strangely enough, Adam shook his head.

“No, not exactly.”

“Hmm?” The man looked confused.

“The truth is, this isn’t just my first time at the Grand Abyss, it’s my first time at the Gray Sea, too.”

“Oh…” The man’s eyes widened for a moment. “It’s been a long time since I’ve met complete newcomers like you. Also, you’re a human. Huh, I’ll have to remember this day.”

Adam nodded slightly before continuing.

“When I first arrived at the Gray Sea, I had to get involved in a few battles. That’s true, but on one of the islands I encountered a massive serpent, Prasyx. He summoned the giant oyster that helped me get here,” Adam explained.

He decided not to hide anything, as he saw no point in doing so.

He understood that Prasyx, Blafor, the man in front of him, and even the giant oyster knew far more about this territory than he did.

They were stronger than him, and some of them might have lived here for decades, observing everything that happened around them.

Any information about the Grand Abyss or their experiences was valuable to him.

Prasyx had helped Adam in many ways, even though it had been just a chance encounter.

“Prasyx?” the man said in surprise. “You actually managed to meet that old fool who acts like he’s 15?”

Unable to hold back, Adam chuckled.

“Hah, yeah, that’s a pretty accurate description. He attacked me because he decided I wanted to steal his pears. Then, we talked, and he offered to help me. Something like that.”

“I see…” The man nodded deeply, touching his chin with a pensive look.

Then, he gave Adam a long look.

“I take it you came to the Grand Abyss with a specific purpose?”

Before Adam could answer, the man looked up as something dawned on him.

“Wait… I can’t remember how many years it’s been since anyone used this passage. Looks like you’re one of the brave ones, huh?”

Adam smiled faintly.

“It was Prasyx’s advice, and I decided to take it – that’s all. As for your question, yes, I have a reason for coming here.”

“Hmm, in that case, let’s not linger here. My aura and Blafor’s are quite powerful. Who knows who might want to come here.”

Then, the man turned as his gaze shifted westward.

“Follow me and try not to fall behind!”

At that very moment, the man surged forward, leaving a trail of flames in his wake.

Adam blinked as he realized the man was already nearly a kilometer ahead.

“Damn it!” Adam hurried to catch up with the man, channeling his energy into his legs.

He didn’t think about what was happening around him or what kind of terrain they were flying over. All he was focused on at that moment was not losing sight of the man.

It was hard, but Adam was barely managing to keep up. The man ahead looked to him like a black dot that was gradually getting smaller and smaller.

Soon, Adam was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The man stopped, and Adam did too as he looked ahead.

The landscape that opened up before him was drastically different from what he had seen near the passage. There were no water-filled rifts here, nor any ruined hills covered in lava and dark vines with red flames.

The area before him shouldn’t have been underwater, but his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

“Huh… The Grand Abyss never ceases to amaze me…” Adam muttered as a gust of cold wind swept past him.

He looked at the mountain range ahead. Between the two peaks lay a gorge filled with a wide river cascading into a waterfall.

To the right of the gorge and the waterfall, atop the mountain, stood a golden tree with gleaming branches and foliage.

Between the tree and the gorge, to the right of the waterfall, lay a plateau with a simple wooden house on it.

In some ways, this place reminded Adam of Goen’s house in the Primal Lands, but this scene seemed to be from a fantasy world rather than just a hunting cabin by the forest near a lake.

“What do you think? I found myself a pretty nice spot, right?” the man asked, pride evident in his voice.

“Yeah, I can’t argue with that. But I still don’t know your name.”

“Oh, my bad.”

The man nodded and turned toward Adam, extending his hand.

“My name is Ergrander. What about you, young man?”

Adam smiled.

“Adam, Adam Vinter. That’s my name.”

Suddenly, Ergrander’s expression changed as his gaze grew colder.

“Adam Vinter… The real one?”

Adam grew wary.

“Is that a problem?”

Ergrander shrugged.

“Who knows?”

…