Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 56  Ice Creatures

"It's Hazel! She's number two in our squad!" Zera exclaimed vigorously, pointing at the girl standing to her right.

Hazel had short blue hair, glasses, and azure calm eyes. She was considerably shorter than Zera and looked modest, but her gaze was annoyed.

"And this is Dargo! He's the third in command!" Zera announced, indicating to a muscular man with short gray hair.

Dargo stood by the truck with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked away with a calm, confident look, then turned and glanced at Adam.

"Hi." Dargo nodded slightly before turning away again. He watched the other Phantoms and Harvesters with some concern.

"Nice to meet you." Hazel said calmly, "I saw your fight against Brass Puppet. You made a lot of mistakes, but it was still impressive."

Adam was puzzled.

"Thanks, I guess..."

"Come on! It's time to set off! I'm sure it will be an interesting mission! Cluster Missions never go quietly!" Zera vigorously said, opening the door to the truck.

Hazel and Dargo headed for their trucks. Scarlet River Squad had a lot of Phantoms, so they could also be drivers, which Zera did.

"Hey! Get in my seat?" Zera waved her hand, then a sly grin appeared on her face, "Or maybe you want to lie on my lap? I don't mind, you know."

Adam shook his head and without further ado sat down next to Zera. He was sure she would get sick of it at some point, it was hard to tell how right he was. Each truck had black cases attached to it, some were inside, like in Zera's one. It was their Nexuses, but Adam was surprised at how big the cases were for Zera, Hazel, and Dargo compared to the other Phantoms.

"What, interested in seeing my Nexus?" Zera grinned.

"Well, I won't hide it, though Hazel seems to have something more interesting. Her case is bigger than herself. By the way, are they members of the Crimson Path, too?"

Zera shook her head.

"Out of the entire squad, it's just me and Dargo. I worked with them before figuring out my worldview, and that's a good thing. What we do in the Citadel shouldn't clash with the battles in Dead Lands. It's the same with work and relationships, it's best not to mix them." Zera replied calmly before hitting the gas.

Adam nodded and closed his eyes, sinking into his space. His Evolution Tree had evolved, and the Initial Gene had gained a new ability and improved on a past one, but Adam had not yet reached the limit of his power at K1 Level, for his Artifact and Nexus were still the same as they had been before the battle against Brass Puppet.

[Weaver's Treasure

The gloves are ideal for one who is used to working with a needle, providing excellent protection for the weaver's hands and increasing the overall strength and speed of the needle through the connection of the threads into a single intertwining system.

First Trait - First Melody: Soul Cry Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Second Trait - ???? (10 Purple Threat Level Genes required)]

Adam nodded, then his gaze went to the Artifact hovering on the opposite side.

[False Orb (First Rarity Level.)]

First Trait - Lightning Reflexes.

Second Trait - Lightning Step.

Third Trait - ???? (Requires 1 Purple Threat Level Gene and 3 Zero Rarity Level Artifacts.)]

Adam looked thoughtfully at his gloves floating amongst the starry sky. He thought he would be able to get them all after he opened the Lock, but the situation was more complicated.

'Damn, besides needing a hell of a lot of resources to create the Key, I can't even get my full power without genes and artifacts.' Zera was right, this is a really profitable mission because the total I need is 13 artifacts, that's a hell of a lot!'

Then, Adam closed his eyes and returned to the truck.

They had already approached the Rusty Ruins, heading towards the slope that overlooked the western part of the area.

The route had been preplanned so they wouldn't run into any monsters, although that was unlikely. It was now early morning, and most monsters preferred to stay away from the anomaly cluster because it could be a threat to them as well.

"Here we go." Zera uttered, exiting the truck, Adam followed her.

Adam took a few steps forward, standing on the edge of the slope, and as soon as he did so he was hit by a freezing torrent of wind. Memories from Desolate Forest instantly filled his mind, but he was in a different place now.

"Shit... This is not the same as the anomaly I took my artifact from..." Adam muttered with a dazed expression.

Ahead, hundreds of square meters of frosty winds stretched out, passing among the icy iron buildings. Here and there, ice crystals emerged from the ground, and the low temperature made itself felt even at a kilometer's distance.

Each anomaly had its own center with an artifact and many monsters as well as the strongest elemental effects. There were over ten frost anomalies in this cluster, maybe even dozens, and each one had at least one artifact!

"Damn... Even though I can't see them because of the energy shell, they're definitely artifacts, aren't they?" Adam asked with a dazed expression.

He had already forgotten that inexpressible feeling when he saw his first anomaly and received the False Orb. Artifacts were one of the pillars of the Phantom's power because only their bodies could absorb and withstand it. They could grow, evolve, and grant their owner new abilities.

"Sure, there are enough of them here to buy out an entire neighborhood in the Third Ring. Although only an idiot would sell artifacts, after all, it's a valuable resource." Zera calmly said while looking at the monsters in the distance.

Archers with massive bows were moving leisurely among the roads, their iron armor was covered in a thin layer of ice, and the frost was coming from the edges.

They were Frost Archers - Blue Threat Level, White Book.

Hovering above them were mechanical birds or gargoyles. They were much fewer than the Frost Archers, but their wide wings and long necks showed that they could spot any threat.

However, Frost Archers and Mechanical Gargoyles were not the main threat in this place. In fact, even though the Scarlet River Squad had not yet entered the territory of the anomaly cluster, some of the creatures were looking straight at them.

'Adam, these are the Ice Chasers. You should be careful with them, they're much stronger than Frost Archers or Mechanical Gargoyles. Blue Threat Level, Red Book. Moreover, there might be enhanced species among them, it's unlikely but possible.' Silvana explained.

Ice Stalkers had two long paws with three ice claws on top of their palms and powerful legs. Their bodies were covered in a thick layer of ice broken into crystals, like massive scales glistening in the morning sun.

The Ice Stalkers had no eyes, only powerful jaws with three long tongues and a strong tail with a lengthy ice blade slowly swaying from side to side. They already felt the threat and were ready to defend their territory, because if the Phantoms took the Artifacts, they would disappear, just like the other monsters.

"Alright. Time to get to work." Zera said confidently, heading towards her case.