Chapter 1174: Old Adversary (Part 2)

There was only one day left before the mission began, but it passed almost unnoticed. From time to time, thoughts of the World Wipe and a new life tried to creep into Adam’s mind, but he tried to ignore them as he had already made his decision.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but Adam tried to convince himself that it was the right thing to do, that it was better to accept the inevitable and do everything in his power to prevent it from happening to him and Silvana again.

After lunch, he headed to Fort Norton, or more precisely, to its numerous underground levels that connected Fort Norton to all the other levels. This is where the teleportation chambers he had used earlier were located.

However, Adam would not be able to teleport directly to the Corrupted Volcano lands. Near the Tarnished Lands, there were many spires where the Phantoms constantly teleported.

But the border of the Dark Shore was much more heavily guarded.

Sure, Adam had no intention of returning to the Dark Shore, but the Corrupted Volcano was located in the Dead Lands, in its farthest part, which was too close to the Dark Shore to build a spire there.

Did this mean that Adam would have to fly for hours on a fighter jet?

No.

In this case, he needed a hybrid option. First, he would use teleportation, then board a fighter and fly to the desired location.

Step. Step. Step.

Adam walked down the empty corridor as he reviewed the details of the mission.

“Hmm, the Bastion Opard? When was the last time I was at the Bastion? I think it was the Bastion Radon, right? Hah, back then I was defending the Bastion with the other Phantoms from waves of monsters because of the Eclipse.”

Then, he smiled bitterly, remembering those events and how fiercely Alexia, their leader, had fought. At that time, she was stronger and more experienced than he was.

‘Well, those were good times. I had a lot fewer problems when I thought the biggest threat was a random monster or the Eclipse, not the destruction of the world!’

Shaking his head, Adam turned and headed straight for the teleportation chamber. His partner on this mission was supposed to be waiting for him there.

Silvana had kept this a secret from him until now. Adam didn’t mind, he understood that he would see everything for himself very soon, but he couldn’t hide his immense curiosity.

Crack.

The steel doors opened, letting him inside.

Several Gamma Division members were working on setting up the teleport. One of them glanced at Adam, nodded slightly, and returned to work.

Adam turned around and then… his eyes widened.

A young man with blue eyes, just like his, and crimson hair, with a carefree expression, was eating French fries dipped in garlic sauce.

Obviously, there was no kitchen here, so he first ordered something at a cafe and came to the teleportation chamber. It wasn’t forbidden in any way, but… many Phantoms would not have behaved this way.

The young man blinked several times, seeming not to know who his partner would be either. Perhaps their Operators had conspired, or perhaps it was just a coincidence.

“F-Fromund? So you’re my mysterious partner?” Adam exclaimed in disbelief.

Crunch.

Slowly, Fromund swallowed a french fry and smiled faintly.

“Hah, Adam, long time no see, right? From the Rule of Power, right?”

Neither of them considered the other an enemy, but that was precisely what made the situation so awkward. The only time they had seen each other was at the Moon Colosseum, when they had fought each other to the death.

Well, someone had died then — Nirosh — but he wasn’t an official participant in the arena battle and was merely the culmination of the Rule of Power.

Fromund stepped forward and held out his hand. There were a few crumbs on his palm, but that didn’t bother Adam at all.

Clutch.

“Looks like we’re on the same side this time?” Adam asked as a fire lit up in his eyes.

Fromund nodded deeply.

“To be honest, I can’t believe it. How did you evolve so quickly? I mean… How much time has passed since our fight? A few months?”

“I could say the same about you. You’ve become a K4-Phantom, and it looks like you’ve already unlocked the Path Construct, haven’t you?”

In response, Fromund scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah, it turned out to be harder than I expected. For my first star, one of the requirements is a Twilight Crystal. Damn, I don’t even know how to work with them.”

Adam blinked several times as the realization gradually dawned on him.

Sure, Fromund’s progress was tremendous, just like Adam’s, but there was a significant difference between them. Fromund had not been at the Dark Shore, which meant that for his evolution at the K4 Level, he had absorbed the Midnight Crystal instead of the Twilight One.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you. I had to absorb that crystal to survive.”

“What?!” Fromund’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Tell me about it! Arayna said they are very different!”

Adam looked at the Gamma Division personnel, who were still setting up the portal, so they had a little time.

“Of course. It will be useful for the mission. Considering we’ll have to fly part of the way in a fighter, we have enough time.” About ten minutes later, everything was ready. Adam and Fromund could leave for the Bastion Opard at any moment.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Adam to tell Fromund everything that had happened to him at the Dark Shore and about the Tarnished Lands.

Fromund was shocked and even envied him, but he understood that it wasn’t a fun adventure, but a life-and-death battle that Adam had gone through.

“Damn, the Dark Shore… It wasn’t as scary as I imagined, I mean, on the outside, but… Lots of Lords are fighting each other. It sounds like I’d die from a random shockwave if I were anywhere near them.” Fromund shook his head as he stepped onto the platform.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The teleport activated as energy engulfed their frames.

Adam shrugged.

“I’m sure you’ll get there sooner or later, and I’ll be back.”

Fromund poked himself in the chest with a broad grin.

“There’s no doubt about that. However, we have another task at hand. Let’s give it our all!”

Adam sighed.

“We have no other choice. As always.”