Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1634: Another Solution

Crunch.

Silana took a bite of a chocolate cookie, gazing at the forest ahead, which seemed both real and unreal at the same time.

"By the way, about that farm and the house up there." Silana looked at Tron and Riska. "Do you live here? Does that house belong to you?"

Tron shook his head.

"Everything here belongs to the government and is under the control of the Dark Order. But yeah, most of the time it’s just Riska and me in that house. The rest live elsewhere or hold other positions."

He waved his hand.

"My opinion is that this is a peaceful and nice place. If you think about it, the Second Ring is the only place in the whole world where you can have a peaceful farm."

He was right. If it were someone like Goen, building a farm in the Dead Lands would hardly be possible.

"I see. How long do you think this training will take, Adam?"

Tron shrugged.

"Who knows? His case is special, huh... as always. Usually, the Phantoms first learn about the Ancient Energy, usually just like you, after visiting the Primal Lands. They return to the Citadel, undergo training, and over the next few months hone their control over this power.

"Then, when a Phantom nears the limit of his evolution, the moment comes when he must learn about the Dark Energy. But Adam not only discovered two energy types within himself in a single mission, but also finds himself in that rare situation where he received the Dark Energy at his current stage."

He turned, watching as Adam failed time and again. "Still, that doesn’t mean he’ll face problems he can’t solve. He might need more time."

Riska stood up from the table, collecting their empty glasses.

"I’ll go get some more juice."

Before she could leave, Silvana called out to her:

"Wait!"

Riska turned around. "Hmm? Did you want something?"

"Y-Yes..." Silvana said uncertainly as she lowered her gaze. "That pie you made for our visit. If it’s possible... I want to learn how to make it for Adam. He gave me a nice surprise recently, so I’d like to return the favor."

Riska’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"Oh, I see. Sure, but be prepared. When it comes to food for our Phantoms, I get very strict."

Tron waved his hand. "She’s not lying. Even I’m afraid to go into the kitchen when she’s there—it’s a terrifying place."

The corners of Silvana’s lips turned up.

"Sure. I’m ready."

Tron watched their retreating backs, took a deep breath, and approached Adam.

"What? Was it not as easy as you thought?"

Adam turned to see Tron towering over him.

Strangely enough, the answer wasn’t what Tron had expected.

"Nah, I already figured out what to do."

"Hmm?" Tron raised an eyebrow. "If that’s the case, then why haven’t you passed this trial yet?"

"Look."

Adam placed his palm against the glass cube, channeling his ancient energy into it.

Tron’s energy tried to repel his energy as before, but Adam effortlessly blocked the first pulse.

Now, two energy blobs hovered in the glass cube, facing each other.

"I figured out it’s all about density. It took me a while to learn how to compress the Ancient Energy. Hah, compared to regular energy, it’s way harder—it’s like comparing copper and steel in terms of hardness — but it’s still doable."

Tron nodded deeply. These were exactly the steps he had expected from Adam. It was part of his training plan.

"Good, but what’s stopping you? All you need to do now is use more of your energy and drive my energy out of the glass cube. I deliberately used only a little energy so that the difference in our power wouldn’t prevent you from understanding this."

Adam smirked.

"I can drive your energy out of the glass cube, but I want to destroy it. That’s harder, much harder. Look."

Tremble.

Adam’s energy trembled as it approached Tron’s. His energy tried to resist, but Adam’s energy blob wouldn’t let it attack and pressed it right up against the glass wall.

"If I keep going, your energy will just spill out. That’s not what I want."

Tron nodded.

"I see. Well, if you want to take the difficult path, I have one piece of advice for you. Split your energy, send a small part to my blob, then create your energy around that part. That way, you’ll destroy my blob from the inside. But for that, you’ll need greater energy control."

Without hesitation, Adam tensed his hand as his energy blob split into countless particles and, at tremendous speed, crashed into each other like flying asteroids.

Under the pressure, the fist-sized energy blob transformed into a compressed orb no larger than a fingernail.

Tron’s eyes widened as his gaze fell.

Drip.

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Adam’s mouth as his breathing grew heavier. Performing a feat like this put more strain on him than using his abilities.

"And now... I have another plan."

"Hmm?" Tron was confused as the energy orb trembled.

Like a tiny but dangerous star, the energy orb shot forward. The sheer pressure of it was enough to tear Tron’s energy apart as well as shatter the glass cube into shards.

Whoooooooosh!

The energy orb flew on, leaving a jagged trench on the ground, shattering the surrounding rocks and damaging the nearest trees, tearing the bark from the trunks and snapping branches.

In the end, the energy orb stopped, trembled, and, due to a lack of power, collapsed.

"Huh..." Tron was impressed. "Not bad, not bad at all. Maybe trying to create difficulties for you through subtle work was the wrong approach. You always find a way to solve problems through brute force."

"Hey! My energy control has gotten better!" Adam protested.

Tron scratched his ear with a nonchalant look.

"Yeah, but you did it so fast that now it seems to me it wasn’t enough."

The glass orb appeared next to him as Tron pondered. He needed to come up with something simple yet challenging for Adam.

"Well, I have an idea."

With a wave of his hand, space trembled as seventy massive steel blocks appeared in the middle of the forest. The weight of a single one was enough to shake the ground.

Tron smirked.

"The next trial — damage each one with a single punch."

"AGH?"