Adam didnât know that Hygon was watching them. Risha might have had similar ideas, but she didnât dwell on it too much. She didnât want her brother to always protect her, but there was nothing she could do about his desire.
But... neither Adam and Risha nor Hygon knew for sure that someone else had been watching them all this time.
It was a watcher beyond Hygonâs level since Hygon couldnât sense it. Apparently, none of the serpents or Adam could detect the presence of someone else, even Arnoth remained in ignorance.
"You know, that wasnât a bad fight."
Gladius smirked, watching the video sent on the laptop, not of the lurking watcher but of Adam and Rishaâs NEPs breaking in.
After a few moments, Aiden nodded deeply, his eyes growing thoughtful.
"Youâre right, his strength, his new ability, and his unwavering will to fight... Itâs what we need, but itâs too early to make a decision yet."
Gladius stretched before grabbing a snack and making himself a simple black coffee. He was going to enjoy watching it in great detail.
"Sure, he needs to get a lot stronger. Heâs not even K4-Phantom yet. Considering his battles before, we shouldnât worry about him deciding to stop at this stage."
Tap.
Gladius threw one leg over the other while taking his first sip of coffee.
"Thereâs no telling if heâll be able to go any further, but... You shouldnât have any questions about his warrior spirit, should you?"
"Hmm..." Aiden hummed, the white tips of his hair falling over his forehead. "Youâre right, but I donât like whatâs going on. You know what Iâm talking about, right?"
Instantly, a sly grin covered Gladiusâs face.
It was rare for Aiden to deal with unforeseen events - this was a unique opportunity to savor his confusion.
"Of course. Of all the âpretendersâ youâve prepared, only a few have managed to make it to the K4-Level. However, you didnât see in any of them what you saw in Adam. That said..."
Gladius popped a cookie into his mouth.
"Hah, you werenât even planning on making Adam a pretender. You were too focused on that girl, what was her name...? Ah, right, Lana Tiates! Hahaha, you had high hopes for her and you didnât even realize youâd left a simple young man alone in a chamber!"
What Gladius was doing was rehashing the very moment that made Adam into a Phantom. No matter what Aidenâs intentions or motives were, it was his actions that led to Adam killing his first monster and lighting his Spark.
Normally, this would have been part of Aidenâs plan, but then all of his attention was directed towards Lana, for he saw potential in her. Perhaps mistakenly, perhaps not, but Adam, as well as everyone else, had to stay in the shadows.
Gladius chuckled. "In the end, you decided to just dump this guy in the Dead Lands. After all, he could have become a Natural Phantom, couldnât he?"
Aiden answered nothing, he silently watched Adamâs fight, occasionally pausing at key moments.
He didnât ignore Gladius, it was obvious from the slightest changes in his facial expressions and gaze that he just had nothing to say.
Gladius was retelling the events and telling it exactly as it happened. Aiden saw no point and did not want to justify himself.
Everyone makes mistakes.
Sometimes it could lead to unexpected outcomes, among which could be the much-desired one.
"But, oh wonder!" Gladius exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "This guy not only survived but has a chance to be the best among your experiments and the only one who can be a âpretenderâ!"
Then, Gladius shook his head, maintaining a slight smirk.
"Isnât that ironic, Aiden? Youâve used so many different methods to select strong Phantoms. To select talents among the common people. You even found a way to turn the Artificial phantoms into Natural phantoms, all to create more and more young talents!"
Gladius rose, practically putting on a theatrical performance in his desire to taunt Aiden.
"And, in the end, your one mistake could be your best option. How does it feel to know that everything you did turned out to be less significant than a simple luck factor?"
It seemed like Gladius was trying to piss Aiden off, but it was far from the truth.
"Youâre wrong."
Aidenâs cold voice boomed out.
"Whether Iâm lucky or not, if I hadnât made my countless attempts, I wouldnât get this chance. If I werenât in my position, I wouldnât even be able to engage in experiments. If I noticed Adam, Iâd just send him home like everyone else since he didnât have the Spark."
He adjusted his glasses, his eyes reflecting Adam and Silvanaâs silhouettes in the final battle against Arnoth.
"You can be the luckiest man in the world, but if youâve never once gone to a casino, youâll never win the jackpot. You have to try at least once for that to happen."
Gladius laughed briefly. "Hehehe, youâre right. Unfortunately, you and I are far from being the luckiest people. If we want to make luck work for us, we have to try until we succeed."
Aiden nodded weakly, leaning back in his chair.
His hands were folded in a lock, while his gaze glanced at Adamâs excited smile.
For a split second, something in his gaze changed as he touched his forehead.
"Alright, letâs keep watching. Maybe weâll make it in time this once."
Gladiusâs corners of his lips went up, he knew what Aiden was talking about.
"You know, thereâs a chance this could be your last shot. The guys at the very top are planning something interesting, for all I know."
"Iâve heard about that, too."
Aidenâs eyes darted to Gladius.
"Going to join in on the general fun as always?"
Gladius spread his hands apart.
"Sorry, I canât help it. But, you know. If you have something important to do, Iâll always choose your side. Just like I promised."
Aiden smirked weakly.
"Ah, I hope this wonât be my final attempt. Iâve tried so many times, Iâm afraid to leave things to the last chance."