Endless Evolution: Last Star

In order to use any ability to its fullest potential, it took practice to understand the best ways to apply it. This rule was almost absolute

However, when Phantoms received a new ability, they immediately had a certain knowledge of how to use the ability.

Thus, when Adam unlocked the Third Trait of his Artifact, in a moment he knew what ability he had received and how to use it. It was comparable to being able to breathe, a completely natural process that required no training.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Electric shocks instantly traveled across, from the sky to the ground, as the thunderbolt unleashed its full power on the Steel Knight

Normally, his armor was his defense, even opponents of the same threat level would hardly be able to damage his armor, however, the metal was a great conductor of electricity and was also capable of melting!

Whoooooooooooooosh.

At the last moment, all the Steel Knight could do in the split second allotted to him was raise his sword high, trying to use his weapon as a lightning rod.

Lightning traveled towards the sword tip, immediately melting it and passing through his arm, traveling to his feet through his entire body, and descending into the ground.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sword as well as the Steel Knight's right arm melted due to the high temperature and dripped down to the ground, depriving the Steel Knight of half of his strength.

Part of his armor was deformed due to the heat, and cracks appeared on his head and right shoulder, it seemed that if the lightning was a bit stronger, the Steel Knight would be blown up.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..."

Adam was breathing heavily. Use of the Thunder Punishment was comparable to Nexus, but if Nexus put a heavy strain on Phantom's body, Third Trait drained Adam's energy reserves. He could still use his Order but couldn't summon another Thunder Punishment for the next few hours.

"Shit... As I suspected... You survived. Well, I'd be disappointed if that was the end of it." Adam muttered with a bitter smile, trying to regain his senses.

Then, he glanced at the scarlet cross on his chest. The red threads had already loosened slightly, for ten minutes of the fifteen minutes had already passed.

Adam had only 300 seconds left to win, or he would remain here, among the icy debris - forever.

Step. Step. Another step.

The Steel Knight took a few steps forward, glaring at Adam. It was unknown what the monster was thinking, but from his posture, it was clear that the Steel Knight had underestimated Adam.

Adam took a deep breath, about to get back into the fight, but no sooner had he taken a step than he stopped because of the Steel Knight.

The Steel Knight thrust his hand into the ground, then his whole body shook, the vibrations were happening so fast that soon they began to spread across the ground.

"What the hell...?" Adam muttered in disbelief as he found it hard to keep his balance.

Very soon, the ice sheet began to break as the damaged buildings one by one began to fall like a massive earthquake.

The area was not very large, yet the quake might grew steadily - reaching a point where massive cracks spread across the ground, opening gaps to nowhere.

Several crystals containing Harvesters and Phantoms fell into these gaps, the cold rock shattering them, turning into trickles of blood flowing downwards.

'Bastard... did he do that to piss me off? No, he must know that he can't provoke me like that, moreover, he's completely lacking in morals. So there's another reason for this!' Adam inwardly uttered, trying to keep his balance.

Then, the Steel Knight reached out his hand, grabbed his sword, and swung it, launching an almost invisible kinetic blade of vibrations at Adam.

Adam's eyes went wide as he abruptly jumped aside, the blade flying right next to him, slicing through the ground and creating new gaps in the earth around him.

At the same moment, the Steel Knight rushed forward, nimbly jumping over the gaps, quickly changing his position, ending up here and there, gradually surrounding Adam. The Steel Knight made it so that it was unknown where he would attack from next time.

'I see... He created a suitable battlefield for himself. Shit! I only have three minutes left! Will he attack or not?!'

Whooooooooooooosh.

Steel Knight swung his sword, launching another kinetic blade at Adam, however, that one was slower and weaker. It seemed Steel Knight couldn't use this ability often.

Adam swung the needle to deflect the kinetic blade, but he realized too late that the Steel Knight disappeared.

A stream of blood rushed from Adam's back as the sharp blade of the sword left a long slash on it, cutting into his flesh.

"Argh!!!!" Adam exclaimed in pain, but quickly regained his senses, attacking the Steel Knight.

However, the Steel Knight was no longer behind him, as he continued to quickly jump around Adam again, preparing for his next deadly attack.

'Fuck! Even if he can't use his ability once more, he'll surely think of a way to distract me. I can't wait for an attack from behind, because he's all around me, he's everywhere!' Adam exclaimed to himself, clenching his fists tightly and gritting his teeth.

He urgently needed a plan of action. The goal was simple - take away the Steel Knight's advantage, but how?

Then, electric shocks went through Adam's eyes when he realized he could use the Steel Knight's weapon against himself!

Adam smirked as he leaped forward - into the biggest gap. Though there was only darkness below, it wasn't a portal to hell, just a split in the ground.

With a needle stuck into the wall, Adam was able to stop about midway, where there was enough room to maneuver but not too narrow. His feet touched both sides of the gap.

It didn't take long for the Steel Knight to realize he had accepted Adam's rules and stepped down into the gap as well.

His sword trembled, but he could no longer launch the kinetic blade, so the Steel Knight simply rushed forward at his top speed.

He sliced the ground with his sword and, before he collided with Adam, made a sweeping motion, throwing a cloud of dust at Adam.

However, the sword could not hurt Adam, for it was stopped by silver claws woven from hundreds of strong threads.

Adam gripped the Steel Knight's sword tightly, the blade quickly sliced through the threads, leaving cuts on Adam's arm, but for a while he could withstand it.

"Alright, it's time to call it a day, isn't it? I only have 30 seconds left, I have to hurry!" Adam exclaimed before swinging the needle.

However, he aimed not at the Steel Knight's head but at his wrist, loosening his grip for a moment.

This was enough for Adam to rip the sword out of Steel Knight's hand, toss it aside, and grab Steel Knight.

Adam brought the Steel Knight's head down against the wall, while the silver claws of his gauntlet, slowly dug into the damaged armor.

"I'll be honest... If it wasn't for the help of my mate, I would have lost to you, because... you only have ten seconds to last before you win..." Adam muttered with a sad look before crushing the Steel Knight's head, crumpling it and shredding it into pieces.

Soon, the scarlet cross began to dissipate, and now Adam had only one thing left to do - absorb the gene of the Crown Monster!

Technically, this would be the first time since Brass Puppet was the Beginning Monster for Adam in the first place.

Adam's genes waited and trembled in anticipation of the great reward!