Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 316: Midnight Crystal (Part 41)

"Well, well, of all the people I've met in Dead Lands before, you're the ultimate freak."

Adam stared at the monster whose face looked like a creepy mask with a perpetually frozen grin. The eyes on the mask were part of the monster's face, they were completely black with slow-flowing dark tears as if the eyes consisted of thick ink.

The monster's body was elongated and very long, covered only by gray skin stretched over the torso by nails that held all the parts together.

And... it might have looked like a creepy worm or maybe a snake, but that was not the correct definition, for this monster looked more like a centipede than anything else.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Dozens of white arms that were strikingly similar to human arms, only slightly longer and with sharp claws, made an eerie crackling sound as they moved in time with the monster's body. It used its limbs both as legs maintaining contact with the ground and as multiple arms to reach its victim.

"Silvana, what is this incest victim between a puppet and a centipede?" Adam asked frowning heavily. Despite his caustic remarks, he was uncomfortable with the monster's gaze and the aura emanating from it.

'It's a Weeping Haraha, like Gray Stalkers, it's Light Yellow Threat Level, but they're much stronger than Gray Stalkers. If Gray Stalkers are the real trash among Light Yellow monsters, then Weeping Harahas are a bit higher. However, there are many monsters stronger than them among Light Yellow.' Silvana quickly replied.

Adam nodded while glancing around. There were only five Weeping Harahas, but the new monsters were getting closer, so he needed to hurry up to make his situation easier.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Adam's eyes shone as a long needle of many silver threads appeared in his hand, thick and long with a sharp tip capable of piercing any armor.

He was ready to rush into battle, but no sooner had Adam taken a step than he felt the active wind currents around him.

Adam turned around and saw Osana, who was using her ability on Adam again. Snow-white ghostly wings appeared on his feet, rippling slightly before freezing completely.

Then, Katrin made her move and used her Nexus again, aiming the seed directly at Adam.

The effects of the last seed had long since passed after the battle against the Prime Thunder Demon and the explosion of the volcano.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The roots quickly covered Adam's body giving him a powerful exoskeleton that enhanced his physical abilities. Sure, his face contorted again in pain from the sharp spikes embedded in his flesh, but this was the second time Adam had experienced this so the reaction soon passed.

As Adam chased after Prime Thunder Demon, Adam had the two enhancements on him, but... that wasn't all.

Whoooooooooosh.

Suddenly, on Adam's chest around the seed from which the roots grew, a red magic circle saturated with energy appeared.

Several waves of energy traveled through Adam's body as it had previously happened to Oskar when Lero had amplified it to break the mirror barrier around the larva king.

One of the effects of Lero's enhancement was a slight increase in height, but in Adam's case, it didn't happen. Not because Lero had done anything wrong, but because of the synergy with the other enhancement...

Red waves of energy continued to pass through Adam's body as if not understanding why they couldn't increase Adam's size, but soon they found a way to channel their power.

The energy waves aimed at the roots, traveled along the roots like red lightning bolts, becoming part of them.

Lero and Katrin looked at each other in confusion, they hadn't expected that there could be such an amazing synergy between their powers.

Adam's eyes went wide as he clenched his fist.

Right now he was under three amplifications at the same time, moreover, he could use his artifact and then he would reach his highest peak of power.

"ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"

The Weeping Haraha standing in front of Adam roared furiously, letting out an eerie scream like a crying child before collapsing on Adam with the full force of its body. A multitude of crooked arms moved forward, about to tear Adam apart.

Adam stared at his arm as if mesmerized by his new power, ignoring the approaching monster.

Whoooooooosh.

Whizzing through the wind currents, several arms moved closer to Adam, but for some reason, they couldn't get any further, it seemed like Weeping Haraha just stopped in one place.

"What the fuck...?" Erla muttered with wide-eyed eyes staring at Adam.

Adam's palm was wide open tight against Weeping Haraha's head, or rather its mask.

Weeping Haraha's black eyes looked up, as if in disbelief at what was happening. The monster didn't understand how a lower-level creature could stop its attack with one hand.

"Damn, I guess now I fully understand the power of the squad and especially the supports." Adam muttered with a slight confident grin.

He could feel the power literally overflowing his body. It wasn't some ephemeral statement or pretty speech, it was real.

'Adam, I think I understand how you feel right now, but you shouldn't relax. Sure, you've gotten a lot stronger thanks to Katrin, Lero, and Osana's abilities, but this is your maximum.' Silvana said seriously.

She only had that calm and measured voice when Adam was in real danger.

Adam nodded before stepping forward and turning into a swift shadow passing beneath Weeping Haraha's long body.

The silver needle sliced through the monster's belly with its sharp tip while Adam quickly advanced with his powerful strides.

Before Weeping Haraha could do anything, Adam was already on the other side, leaving behind a long cut along the monster.

Under the pressure, the cut opened up, with organs and chunks of flesh falling out of the monster's body.

In a panic, Weeping Haraha's dozens of hands tried to put everything back in place, the monster wanted to close the open cut or at least keep its organs from falling to the ground, but it was already too late.

Massive chunks of flesh collided with the gray dust on the surface, pouring its thick dark blood all over everything.

"I see..." Adam looked down at his needle and glanced at the monster he had killed, "Such great power has its consequences, right?"

Silvana nodded.

'Unfortunately, neither you nor any other Phantom can absorb an infinite amount of enhancements from the various supports. I'm not sure what your body's limit is, but I think three or four amplifications are your maximum. By the way, for the average Phantom, that's two boosts.' Silvana quickly explained.

The enhancements gave strength due to the abilities and energy of the supports, but one needed a strong body and a mighty Evolution Tree to withstand the new power that came out of nowhere.

It could be compared to a wire and electrical voltage. If the wire wasn't sturdy enough, it would simply melt due to too much power.

Moreover, this was the first situation in which Phantom, with too much amplification, experienced severe pain in his chest and heart and could not continue to fight for a while - until he fully recovered.

Adam was in the second situation of two possible ones.

If the wire could withstand the new power of the electric discharge, but not too long as it gradually heated up until it reached a critical point.

Well, there was a third option when the Phantom did not reach the limit of its amplification, but it was a weakened second option since the Phantom had less power but could function longer.

'Keep fighting as usual, but don't forget that with so many reinforcements, you'll get tired faster than usual.

You didn't feel it much last time since you only chased the Prime Thunder Demon for a few minutes, but now it will have a significant effect.' Silvana warned him.

Adam nodded, he understood what Silvana was talking about. After this attack, he was slightly puzzled, as he had defeated Weeping Haraha with extraordinary ease considering the difference in their strength.

However, although his movements seemed fast and effortless, that was not the case at all.

He felt the recoil in his every move. Adam realized that this attack and the sharp lunge forward took a lot more energy and stamina than usual because this time his strike was much stronger than if he had done it without enhancements. Read new adventures at ???

Sure, compared to his overall stamina this was just a drop in the ocean, but with the enhancements, this drop was several times larger than normal, and thus the ocean - his stamina would be depleted a bit faster.

"Well, luckily I'm not alone this time, otherwise it would be quite difficult to deal with all this." Adam smiled looking at Oskar who was fighting Weeing Haraha.

Then, Adam turned to the side and frowned looking at the approaching silhouettes in their direction.