Endless Evolution: Last Star

Dahla coughed as she looked at Adam.

"As you've already realized, to advance further you need to break the Two Walls and it's not just a small challenge you can handle in a few days."

Dahla folded her hands together, leaning forward slightly.

"It's so serious that, unlike past levels, the K2-Level is divided into several stages."

Adam's eyes grew wider.

"Stages?"

Dahla nodded.

"Yeah. W1 and W2. So, at this moment, you are the K2-Level of the W0-Stage Phantom. As I said earlier, the further you go on the Phantom path, the harder it becomes to get stronger."

Silvana joined the conversation:

"What Dahla said is your official status, but it's common to use an abbreviated version such as K2W0-Phantom or just W0-Phantom if you're only talking about K2-Phantoms."

"I see..." Adam muttered thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

Then, he raised his eyes to Dahla.

"So... when I get through the First Wall, I'll be a W1-Phantom, right?"

Dahla smiled bitterly.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't advise you to do that, though it's unlikely you'll be able to manage that quickly."

Her words sounded strange. Adam didn't understand why he didn't need to hurry.

Riska shook her head as she said:

"It's all about the wedding between the Rouzet Family and the Marzo Family. As you already know, in The Rule of Power, two Phantoms of the same power level are fighting. So while you're a W0-Phantom, the same W0-Phantom will be matched against you."

Adam's eyes went wide when he finally realized what Osana was talking about and why she was sure he could win.

"Hahaha, I understand it all now. It's impossible to reach the limits of the K2-Level in a short period like 80 days, but... reaching the limits of the W0-Stage is quite possible, right?"

Dahla smirked as she leaned back in her chair.

She waved her hand and said confidently: "Yeah, you're thinking in the right direction. Adam, have you ever thought that K2-Level is too hidden compared to K0 and K1?"

"Hmm?" Adam raised an eyebrow, he didn't quite understand what Dahla was talking about.

Dahla proceeded to explain.

"Previously, you could immediately know what you needed to do to improve your ability, Nexus, or artifact. Moreover, the Evolution Tree gave you more accurate information about everything, rather than some descriptions with blurred meaning."

Adam was about to say something, but Dahla stopped him by thrusting her hand forward.

"Furthermore, haven't you noticed that you still don't know what you need to do to get stronger? I mean, yeah, you've learned about the Two Walls, but those are just challenges. What about the Second Key? Can you find out from your Evolution Tree what you need to create it?"

Although Dahla asked many questions at once, Adam didn't need to answer them, they were all rhetorical.

Adam's gaze deepened as he realized that Dahla was right.

In fact, all he had right now was his new abilities, his Nexus, and the Two Walls waiting for Adam to become strong enough to break them.

"So... My current task is to reach the limit of the W0-Stage, isn't it? Do you think I'll be able to do that before the wedding starts?" Adam asked, his tons were slightly unsure.

He looked around, asking for their opinions.

Silvana nodded.

"Yeah, to some extent that's the plan. At first, it was Osana's plan, then we realized that there was enough time to achieve such a result, but it won't be easy."

Riska smiled as she nodded deeply.

"What you should think about is not whether you can make it in time, but whether you can do it at all. Moreover, you should first learn what you need to do to reach the boundary of the W0-Stage."

With those words, Riska cast a glance at Dahla, indicating that she was the one who had to explain it.

Dahla crossed her arms over her chest as she lifted her chin looking at Adam from top to bottom.

Adam scratched the back of his head baffled.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I mean, I just need to go through the First Wall, right?"

"Hahaha! I haven't heard such nonsense in a long time." Dahla giggled.

Then, she narrowed her eyes, staring intently at him.

"First of all, if you pass through the First Wall, you'll become a W1-Phantom, and our goal is for you to reach the limit of the W0-Stage and win in The Rule of Power."

Dahla waved her hand:

"Secondly, don't even hope that you can break the First Wall right now. I don't know why your Evolution Tree was so stubborn, but it just shows that your Two Walls will be a really tough challenge."

Adam sighed heavily as he shrugged. He had realized this back when the Evolution Tree decided to talk to him at the very end.

"I see... Each Phantom has a different difficulty of the Two Walls, and there are differences in the challenges, right?"

Dahla nodded deeply.

"Yes, but the structure is all the same."

Then, Dahla stood up from her seat and pointed two fingers.

"The progression of the First Wall is divided into two parts. Our goal is that in these 80 days of training here, you should be able to pass the first part."

Adam frowned slightly as he grudgingly crossed his arms over his chest.
Find your next adventure on empire

"Only the first part? I used to go from K0 to K1 in a few weeks, then it took me months to go from K1 to K2-Level and now you want me to spend the same time on just the first part of the First Wall?"

Step.

Silvana moved her chair slightly to be closer to Adam and gently took his hand.

"Adam... I told you earlier that K2-Level is a different story compared to K0 and K1."

Adam was silent for a while, his gaze remaining irritated, but soon he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Right, you're right, it's just that it all sounds rather complicated and long. Anyway, why don't I try to get through the second part at once? Why stop at just the first part of the First Wall?"

Adam asked with a slight wave of his hand towards Dahla.

Dahla rested her cheek on his hand and slowly said: "Because passing the second part means destroying the First Wall, which means you'll stop being a W0-Phantom and become a W1-Phantom. In that case, you definitely can't win in The Rule of Power."

Dahla continued with a mocking smirk:

"But, don't worry, even if you want to you can't do it. Just focus on getting through the first part."

Adam's eyes went wide with slight joy on his face.

"Oh, so it only takes two things to destroy the First Wall, for some reason I thought it would take more than that. Fine, just tell me already what I need to do."

Adam stared intently at Dahla.

"How do I get past the first part?"

Dahla smirked as she waved her arms to the sides with an innocent expression.

"Oddly enough, it's quite simple and difficult at the same time. The Two Walls turn out to be two walls and you need to break them. Before I give a more detailed explanation go to your inner space and hit the First Wall with all your might."

Adam tilted his head, instead of giving answers, Dahla sent him punching into the wall, but he had no other option for now.

Tap.

Before Adam could close his eyes, Dahla stood in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Agh...?"

Adam raised his eyes meeting her intense gaze.

"Is something wrong?"

Dahla only squeezed his shoulder tighter, she was much stronger than Adam and he could feel it.

"Hit with all your might, I'm serious. It will help you better understand the meaning of my words and how difficult it will be to get through the Two Walls, especially in your case."

Adam gulped.

Usually, Dahla acted cold or arrogant, he rarely saw her this serious.

"Sure, I'll try." Adam nodded about to close his eyes, but Dahla stopped him again.

"Not here, or our dear Operators might get in trouble." Dahla muttered glancing at Riska and Silvana. Unlike them, they were ordinary people, well... one of them for sure.

"Alright...?" Adam said uncertainly and stepped farther away, towards the center of the training hall.

Dahla stood not far away, leaning with her back against the wall, while Silvana and Riska watched from afar.

Adam closed his eyes, as he always did, he was immediately in the inner space.

His gaze immediately went to the Two Walls that were shaped like a square seal, small, hovering in the middle of the vast darkness.

"So... I want to try to destroy the First Wall. Will you help me with that?" Adam hesitantly said lifting his head.

He looked up at the Evolution Tree.

But... there was no answer.

However, if the Evolution Tree was ignoring him, the Two Walls were ready to accept the challenge right now.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The seal shuddered as one of the two walls became much larger, regaining its former size.

Then, the First Wall soared above the darkness, appearing in front of Adam and waiting for him to strike his first blow.

Adam gulped.

When Dahla told him that he should strike the First Wall he thought it would be easy, but now he didn't think so at all.

Sure, he hadn't thrown a single punch yet, but he felt that it wouldn't be easy at all, otherwise, getting to K3-Level would be as easy as all the others.