Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 50  First Ring (Part 1)

"How does it feel? I bet you feel invincible right now." Silvana asked, turning off the simulation. Adam didn't answer, he just stared at his left hand with a deep look. His hand was shaking slightly and the skin was cracked in some places, like from a hard fall. Sure, it was impossible to get injured in the virtual zone, but that wasn't really true. If the virtual monster killed or severely injured Adam, everything would return to normal once the simulation was over. However, if he used his Nexus two times in a row, his arms would hurt, the same thing happened now.

"Is something wrong?" Silvana asked, walking into the room. "I'm not sure... My second Order definitely has more destructive power than the needle, but I'm hurt too. The recoil is weaker than from the Nexus, but I can feel it." Adam uttered, turning to Silvana. Silvana nodded.

"One attack was enough to kill Reckless Torok, obviously something like that would have a heavy load. Don't forget that before you opened Lock, it was impossible for you to defeat Blue Threat Level. Reckless Torok would simply crush you because of the trivial difference in physical strength."

Adam nodded. He knew he had to learn how to use his new abilities, and moreover, he still had Nexus and Artifact development ahead of him. There was more than enough work to do.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you about something. It's about the Key..." Adam muttered, but he didn't have time to finish. Silvana gestured for him to stop. "Hmm? Is something wrong?" Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Silvana shook her head and said, "You need to stop and slow down a bit. You've gotten stronger and wanted to test your new abilities this fine, but now you need to rest. Moreover, it's not good to not keep your promises."

"What? A promise? What are you talking about?" Adam tilted his head. He didn't remember anything related to it, for all his thoughts were centered only on the force, development, and future missions.

"Jena. She was personally involved in your treatment as promised. If you were in a military hospital, you would have woken up only after a couple of days, and it's unlikely that the military doctors would have been so diligent in removing the scars from your body. However, you still haven't fulfilled your second promise. You told her your preferences, but you haven't gone on a date with her yet."

Silvana looked stern, it seemed like she was reprimanding him, though she just wanted to get Adam to rest.

Rest was an important part, both physically and emotionally. A man's will and mind could get ahead of his actual capabilities. It was obvious from the outside, so Silvana had to control it.

Adam scratched the back of his head. In fact, he'd completely forgotten about it, but he realized it was impossible to refuse.

"Yeah, you're right. Jena has done a great job, but where do I start...? Before I became a Phantom, I was always hanging around the slums, picking up trash to sell or looking after Trici. I have no real experience with girls."

Silvana nodded.

"It's normal to get a little overwhelmed, but I assure you going on a date is a lot easier than going through what you've managed. I'm sure Jena will be in touch with you soon."

Adam didn't notice it, but at that moment Silvana was typing something on her phone. Her hands were behind her back, as usual, so Adam had no reason to suspect anything.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

At the same moment, a few messages from Jena came in on Adam's NEP, some of which were pushy and stiff, pointing out his promise.

"Speak of the devil... right?" Adam sighed, then a slight smile appeared on his face, "By the way, do you know anything about the Amber Ocean restaurant?"

Silvana nodded.

"Sure. It's an extremely highly rated restaurant in First Ring known for its seafood and quality meats." Silvana explained.

"The restaurant..." Adam's eyes sparkled.

There were no restaurants in the slum, and going to the nearest one in Third Ring, their family simply didn't have the money. Maybe it was strange to some, but right now Adam felt like a kid before Christmas expecting something new and cool that he hadn't had access to before.

His life had changed too drastically from nobody to K1 Phantom. He needed time to adjust and accept his new life instead of just being a monster killer, a tool in the hands of the Citadel.

"Surely I must have to dress specially somehow, and everything in Amber Ocean must be awfully expensive, right?" Adam asked worriedly.

Silvana smirked.

"Well, if you want, I'll pick out a variety of formal suits for you, but you're the Phantom. You can go to even the most expensive restaurant in your pajamas, and no one will look at you funny. Your status doesn't depend on your looks, clothes, or education but on your accomplishments in Dead Lands - nothing could be more important than that."

Adam nodded with a deep gaze. Frankly, he liked that, because before he'd become a Phantom, that was how he'd envisioned them - free, willful, and slightly chaotic.

"Now, about the money. You needn't worry about it. Unfortunately, or luckily you've never yet managed to return to the Citadel after completing a mission, so... Every time, I've had to pick up the reward from the missions department. You can just check your account and see how many credits you got for any given mission." Silvana waved her hand slightly as the corners of her lips went up. Adam immediately did so, and his eyes went wide.

Douglas had given him 10,000 credits at the beginning, but in almost a month, he only had about 8,000 left, and that was considering he didn't have to pay rent on the house this time.

The average wage, if one could call it a part-time job, in the slums was 75-125 credits per month. For ordinary people not working for the Phantoms, the average salary in the Third Ring was between 1,000 and 1,500 credits.

Then, how much could a rookie Phantom get after completing his missions?

[Collecting Paws of the Living Strings - 2,000 credits Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Additional reward for destroying the Prime Stone Goliath - 3,500 credits.

Complete destruction of the Golden Searchers Nest, kill the Queen, and get the Golden Egg - 7.500 credits.

Bonus reward for becoming K1 Phantom and defeating Crown Type Monster, Brass Puppet - 15.000 credits].

Thus, Adam's account total was - 35,780 credits, taking into account the mission rewards and his savings. This statistic took into account everything from the mission rewards themselves to the sold monster parts collected by the Harvesters and the already counted share as in the case with Oren. The two of them fought against the Golden Searchers. "Wow... I didn't even expect it to be this much. Now I don't have to worry about money." Adam muttered with a happy smile.

Silvana nodded.

"I think now is a good time to get some rest, the date will be tonight, so until then you can be with your family. I'm sure they were more worried about you than anyone else since this is the kind of thing the military department reports personally. They've gotten messages about your condition every time."

Adam smiled and said, "Yeah, you're right. Although, I can't wait to see what's in the First Ring! It's the center of the Citadel, after all!"