Endless Evolution: Last Star

With every minute, the shopping cart was getting filled with more and more ingredients. In fact, Adam and Leona had already bought everything they needed to make lasagna a few minutes ago.

First, they bought eggs, flour, and milk, then tomato paste and spices. So they picked out everything they needed and could go home, but... Adam realized that their large shopping cart was practically empty.

"Are you sure you want it?" Leona mumbled uncertainly pointing to various jellies, oddly shaped cookies, chips, and so on.

Adam was unstoppable. He threw anything that seemed interesting or unusual into the shopping cart.

Even when they lived in the slums, he saw products in the stores that his family just couldn't spend money on. Yogurt for ten credits? Why not? Ice cream that costs several times the average? Sure.

Was Adam turning into a shopaholic? Well, his situation and some ordinary shopaholic just couldn't be compared.

He didn't intend to do it all the time and he didn't have the physical ability to devote much time to it.

Moreover, he wasn't driven by the goal of spending as much money as possible. He just wanted to try something he never could before and more importantly, he realized he wouldn't eat it all, which meant he might enjoy the unusual treats with his family.

'I'm sure mom and dad will appreciate nuts, cheeses, jerky, and good wine, and Trici... Well, candy, chips, and other such foods will be the object of her attention for the near future.'

It went on like this until the shopping cart was completely filled, a small mountain even formed on top.

From time to time, people glanced back at them, as it was quite rare for someone to buy so much at once in this store.

"And... we can call it a day." Adam muttered throwing in the cart, a jar of salted caramel.

"So... Now it's time to pay, right?" Leona asked uncertainly with wide-eyed eyes looking at the mountain of groceries.

Adam nodded with a calm face. He didn't see anything strange about it. Yeah, he got a lot more groceries than the average shopper, but... Was that a bad thing?

"Yeah, come on, I think we'll be surprised at the total, but don't worry, we can afford it." Adam said before stepping forward, moving the fully loaded shopping cart with ease.

Leona nodded silently, following him and looking at the groceries.

'Damn... Besides all sorts of snacks and sweets, he picked up quite a few expensive and good products.' Leona pondered looking at the marbled meat, several kinds of fish, squid, octopus, and so on.

Leona shrugged.

'Well, the only thing I can wish is that every mother has a son like that. But... I don't feel good at all when I think about the way Adam makes this money, or rather at what cost...'

...

"The price of your choice is either death or a new life as the Phantom, but you're ready for it, I can see it in your gaze." Aiden said staring intently at Glara who stood confidently in front of him.

Glara nodded deeply standing in front of Aiden.

"I'm ready to choose a monster. This is the last obstacle before I use Code D, isn't it?"

Aiden waved his hand, calling Glara over to him.

"Yeah, you're right. It looks like you're not as dumb as I think you are. Given your metrics, I've chosen the three most suitable monsters for you. Your job is to determine who will be your opponent."

Aiden continued, not letting Glara speak:

"All of these White Threat Level monsters, all have their disadvantages and strengths, against each of them you'll need unique tactics to win, so think carefully about which one you can defeat or..."

Aiden paused for a long moment, looking at Glara with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Or whoever you want to defeat. The choice is yours. You're unique and valuable, but if you can't defeat the monster then there's no point in you. So don't get your pointless hopes that I'll save you or anything like that."

Glara nodded.

"I wasn't going to. I know I'm either going to die or get killed, I just don't have any other option. Even if the monster decides to spare me, Code D will do its job."

Aiden's corners of his mouth went up slightly, forming a faint smile, which in itself was a rarity.

"Good, now let's move on to the choices."

Click.

Aiden snapped his fingers.

Whooooooosh.

At the same moment, the room went dark and three massive, detailed 3D holograms of monsters appeared from a spotlight embedded in the floor.

Glara's eyes went wide. She'd seen holograms at school and institute, but not of this quality and not of monsters...

Gladius, Sano, and Natta were not surprised, they didn't even move an eyebrow.

The first monster was a large creature four meters tall, with a sturdy triangular shell on its back like a turtle. The monster's skin was thick and gray, covered with sparse, wide protective plates.

The monster's main weapons were its front paws with short, sharp claws and powerful jaws. The monster had two small eyes that possessed mediocre vision.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

This large creature stood on two hind legs that were thick with dense bones and rather short, preventing the monster from moving quickly.

"This is the Gray Choro. It doesn't look very threatening, but quite a few Phantoms have died trying to pierce its armor. And, his powerful jaws will easily snap you in two, though he's definitely not the strongest of the three of them." Aiden gave a small description.

"Gray Choro... Hmm... I see. I should see the others." Glara said confidently turning to the right - to the second monster that looked much more threatening than Gray Choro.

The second monster was like a demon born in the dark forest of death, in its most dangerous corners.

Glara shuddered as goosebumps ran through her body.

The monster's red eyes filled with bloodlust seemed to pierce her soul, though it was only a hologram.