Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Hey, this is a mission, so... is there any information on where I should go next? This place is pretty strange. There's so much here, but at the same time, I don't see anything specific." Adam scratched the back of his head as he looked around.

The last two times he faced serious battles, he always knew where to go. It wasn't that Silvana was telling him, it was just obvious.

The Fortress of the Lone Serpent and the Fallen Ring Castle were large structures where there wasn't much choice but to move forward and find the main threat.

But at the Corrosive Lakes, everything was different.

There was nothing around but the familiar picture of destroyed buildings and lakes full of dangerous acid, even for him and monsters of the same level.

"Hmm, good question." Silvana's voice came from the other side. "You're right, it's a mission, but I don't have any information about where the Flash Carrier or the Elders are."

"By the way, about them. Do you think they obey this Flash Carrier?" Adam asked.

Silvana nodded slightly.

"Sure. The Elders, like all monsters, strive to one day become Lords, to have their territories and subordinates. If they are here, they are most likely protecting this monster. I don't know how powerful the Flash Carrier will become when it absorbs all the energy of the black flash, but that is something we must avoid."

Adam had few options, so he decided to use not only his intuition but also his instincts.

Adam closed his eyes, releasing his gene field as wide as he could. Basically, he spread his aura to feel everything that was happening around him. If he could detect someone's aura this way, even if it wasn't very strong, it would be something.

He needed direction, and soon he found it.

"Hmm? What's that? I don't think so, something's going on there." Adam turned north.

Without hesitation, he rushed forward, running past an acid lake and a multitude of ruined buildings. Some of them looked a lot like old slum houses, but that could have just been Adam's imagination.

After a few minutes, Adam stopped on a high hill. It seemed he had achieved nothing, as he was met with the same view as before, but something among several small lakes caught his attention.

Then, a slight smile appeared on his face.

"You see that, right?"

"Yeah, that's it..."

On a small patch of black earth, a green object with razor-sharp edges hovered above the surface. It bounced up and down in the air current, distorting the space around it.

It had been a long time since Adam had seen a simple artifact.

Well, he had no reason to, as artifacts were now useless to him; they could only be useful to the Citadel as a source of energy or to weaker Phantoms who had not yet received a Foundation Artifact.

"Are you planning to take it?" Silvana asked. "I mean. I can't say it would be useless. Considering your level, you could just put the artifact in your inner space for a while, but the Citadel has no preference on the matter.'

In response, Adam waved his hand as he slid down the hill.

"Don't worry. It'll be quick and easy. Besides, I still don't know where to go. Maybe this artifact will attract more than just me. If I can find some powerful monster, I'll quickly find out who's the strongest here!"

Step. Step. Step.

Adam headed forward, passing between two small lakes.

"The main thing is that it's an Awakened Monster, otherwise we'll have communication problems."

During the conversation, he didn't notice that he had crossed a certain line. However, Silvana's eyes didn't catch anything unusual either, as the line was well hidden.

It wasn't a trap, it was a real zone where this green, prickly artifact was born and located.

"Agh... What is this?"

On the previously empty ground, there were now many bubbles of different sizes floating. One of them was an artifact, waiting for someone to decide to take it.

"Do you see that?" Adam asked.

Silvana bit her lip.

"Yeah, although I wish I hadn't seen it."

"Pffft, it's not what we expected, sure, but everything should be fine. There are no monsters here, and it's not a trap. Look, I can easily take this artifact!"

Adam wasn't going to hesitate. Immediately after saying this, he stepped forward, intending to take the artifact and leave as he had said.

But...

Whooooosh.

The space in front of him distorted as the outlines of a bubble appeared around him. Adam didn't notice this as he entered one of the bubbles that had previously been completely invisible.

"What?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

He felt strange. There was no threat from the bubbles or the artifact, there were no monsters or dangerous anomalies nearby, but something still alarmed him.

"Adam, even if there is no threat from the anomaly, you need to think about how to get out of this trap. In the worst case, it's a trap, and in the best case, you're just wasting a lot of time, which is not good for us."

"Alright, in that case, I have to try to do that!" Adam exclaimed as he lunged forward.

He tried to run out of the bubble with a sharp surge from his spot.

But...

Adam blinked several times in confusion.

Despite all the strength he put into his legs, he remained in place.

The bubble was not affected in any way; it remained in place, surrounding Adam just as it had a minute ago.

"It seems that speed won't solve this problem. Then I choose strength!" Adam grinned as the first needle appeared in his hand.

With one swing, he easily cut through the bubble and climbed out.

The artifact was very close, but instead of running faster, Adam stopped abruptly, raising a cloud of dust in front of him.

"Tsk looks like you were right..."

Adam frowned as he looked at the dozens of bubbles gathering around him.

"I shouldn't have come to this place, should I?"