Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1946: Tea After the Victory

Tap.

Ergander set four cups of tea on the table along with some cookies. Not long ago, he had only one guest, Adam, but now there were three, one of whom was a close friend of his.

“Ha…” Blafor sighed heavily, bringing the hot tea to his lips. “It’s always amazed me, Ergander, how you managed to get this place for yourself. The view from here is wonderful.”

Kalyso looked back, gazing at the golden fields and amber trees stretching far into the distance. Somewhere in that direction lay the territory of the Fallen Amber Sun, as well as the rocky plain.

“Well, I’ve been here a long time, just like you.” Ergander shrugged. “The Light Field has many beautiful places, but most of them are already taken.”

Crunch.

Adam took a cookie and took a bite, washing it down with tea. He liked that even here, at the Grand Abyss, he had the chance to enjoy something as simple and trivial as tea with sweets.

Many events had taken place at the Fallen Amber Sun and the rocky plain, and Adam needed time to recover.

After all, he had finally obtained the Bottomless Void, and now only one last step remained for him to become a Second-Rank Phantom.

But Adam wasn’t going to rush anywhere. He was exhausted and wounded after the battle against Midgar. After all, he had won with great difficulty. Midgar was just one move short of ending it all, and if the Silver Weaver hadn’t used the Path Construct in time, Adam wouldn’t be sitting here right now.

Moreover, enough had happened at the Dark Field that his mind was still trying to make sense of it all.

“Hey! Adam!” Kalyso waved his hand in front of him. “What are you thinking about?”

Adam blinked as he snapped out of it.

“Ah… Sorry, it’s just that so much has happened lately. I’ve only just had a chance to really think it through.”

Ergander crossed his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry about it, Adam. You performed better than expected. I’m sure most of the Lords watching the battle were certain you’d lose.”

“Well…” Adam looked at his reflection in his teacup. “I can’t blame them for that. I doubt the K4-Phantoms often fight and defeat the Viscounts.”

Blafor gave him a sharp, piercing look.

“You’re wrong, young man.”

“Hmm?”

Blafor took a sip before continuing.

“True, I’ve only heard of a few K4-Phantoms that managed to defeat a Viscount-level monster. But a significant number of K4-Phantoms, especially those who’ve already reached the barrier, possess the strength to fight a Baron on equal terms.”

“Pfffft!” Kalyso snorted, pointing at himself. “I’d beat most K4-Phantoms! If it weren’t for that bastard Midgar, I’d have given Adam a good fight!”

Ergander smiled kindly.

“Kalyso, I think you had a victory today too, three, to be exact. You did kill the Barons at the Fallen Amber Sun, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did it for Adam. Though, Adam could’ve handled them without my help. The three of them were weaker than me, and… I lost to Midgar in just a few attacks. So… Adam would’ve beaten them in a couple of minutes, and that’s it.” Kalyso waved his hand dismissively.

Silence.

Silence hung in the air for a moment as Adam took another sip of black tea.

“Blafor, Ergander, there’ll be more monsters like Kalyso now, won’t there?”

The two friends exchanged glances.

“What are you talking about?” Blafor narrowed his red eyes.

Adam leaned forward, wearing a bitter smile.

“He wanted to fight me to test his strength, but… I’m sure news of my victory is already spreading around the world. So, there should only be more cases like this, right?”

True. Even if this had happened before, the fact that a K4-Phantom defeated a Viscount was newsworthy enough to spread around the world. Moreover, it involved Adam, which meant there was heightened attention due to his past achievements.

Ergander shrugged with a knowing look.

“What can I say? Considering who you are, you should be used to this by now. Still, I doubt anyone will decide to attack you anytime soon.”

“Hmm? Why?” Adam looked at Ergander over his shoulder.

“It’s simple, they don’t know how dangerous you really are. All they know is that you killed a Viscount and have now reached the barrier. You have one last step to take, but any worthy warrior would understand that you weren’t at your peak when you faced Midgar.”

Adam slowly clenched and unclenched his fist as he nodded slightly.

Ergander was right. If Adam had possessed the power of the Blue Needle from the start, it would have all ended much sooner.

Moreover, he hadn’t expected his opponent to have such a powerful trump card as a constellation that summoned over a thousand gray demons onto the battlefield.

If not for those two factors, their battle would have ended much sooner. Midgar wouldn’t have had time to figure out Adam’s weaknesses and wouldn’t have been able to do anything against his blue needle.

Sure, it wouldn’t have been an easy fight either, but the likelihood that Adam would have died would have been practically zero in that case.

“So, are you saying I don’t have anything to worry about for now?” Adam looked at them.

Blafor and Ergander nodded in unison.

“Indeed,” Ergander confirmed. “What’s more, even with your talent, it would take you a long time to put the first crack in the barrier, let alone break it.”

Blafor clenched his fist, which caught the others’ attention.

“Ergander, I understand your optimism, but for his own good, it would be better if he knew the truth.”

Ergander narrowed his eyes but didn’t argue. He simply didn’t want to put pressure on Adam after his grueling battle.

“What are you talking about?” Adam asked in a calm voice.

“Adam, you’ve been through countless battles and evolutions. So, you should understand this better than most.”

Blafor’s gaze grew more intense.

“You think that in the future you’ll break through the barrier and become a Second-Rank Phantom. But the reality is that this will most likely never happen.”