Chapter 1270: Flowers and Tea (Part 1)
The Forgotten Mills were just as Adam had imagined them—spacious, misty, and grand.
From his hill, Adam couldn’t see the mysterious four peaks and the white light hovering among them. He knew they were somewhere nearby, but he wasn’t sure if he should go there at all.
But one thing was clear—this was the Forgotten Mills. Adam could tell by the gray clouds cut into lines, like great threads dozens of times larger than himself, streaking across the ancient sky.
The gray mill was the first one on his path, but Adam didn’t dare approach it. Outwardly, it did not look dangerous and did not emit a menacing aura or anything like that. However, Adam remembered Targon’s words and took them as seriously as possible.
“Hah, that’s pretty funny…” Adam smiled bitterly as he slowly climbed the hill.
Silvana touched her lower lip, puzzled. “Hmm? What do you mean?”
“I mean, at the very beginning, especially at the K0 and K1 Levels, we Phantoms have all kinds of information about monsters, territories, threats, and so on. The further away from the Citadel, the less information there is and the more unexpected developments there are.
“Now, you and I know practically nothing. All we had were satellite photos, which we used to struggle to find the territory we needed.”
In response, Silvana shrugged. She had long since come to terms with the fact that her job as an Operator had changed significantly since their early days.
Now, she mainly helped Adam in combat and through her energy, rather than with mission data, although that was still part of their job. If it weren’t for Silvana, Adam would have died from the bureaucracy that the Citadel authorities forced him to go through every time he did something.
“Well, it’s a natural process. If we had the same detailed information about these places as we do about the areas near the Citadel, it would mean that humanity had conquered the entire world. Obviously, that’s not the case.”
“Hmm…” Adam hummed while the fog slowly drifted past him. “Targon knows a lot about these lands, which is not surprising. I’m sure Kara and Toa also have a lot of knowledge.”
Silvana raised an eyebrow.
“What are you implying?”
Adam waved his hand carelessly as he continued walking.
“Instead of searching for the right places based on the bits of information we have, it would be useful to find someone like a guide, wouldn’t it?”
“WHAT? Are you saying you need another Operator?!” Silvana’s voice exploded in his ears, nearly deafening him.
Adam smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
“Hahaha, don’t yell like that. You’re the only Operator I’ll ever have! I don’t need anyone but you!”
Silvana blushed as she muttered:
“Shut… up!”
Then, her eyes flashed as she remembered something.
“Targon… When he first appeared, he asked you what kind of Operator you were. What did he mean by that? He asked if I was human or a monster.”
Adam nodded with a serious expression.
“Yeah, I was confused too. Even if a Phantom can have a monster as an Operator, how is that supposed to happen? We’ve come a long way to get to where we are now. And… How could you possibly have enough power without an Operator to make a monster equal to you be your Operator?”
None of them had an answer to that question.
However, Silvana was interested in one detail they had overlooked.
“You see, if Targon asked about it, then such Phantoms and Operators exist. Moreover, he probably encountered at least one, so… there must be several, at least.”
“Hmm, or there were several, and now we don’t know how many.”
Silvana raised an eyebrow, confused. “What does that mean?”
“Targon, the Crystal Beast… Then where are his crystals? Sure, the title doesn’t always reflect the monster’s appearance, but I’m pretty sure that the monster we saw isn’t the real Targon, or rather, not his full form.”
Adam continued.
“I think he’s much stronger than he showed us, which means he lives much longer than we can imagine. Many such Phantom/Monster pairs may be already dead, although… that’s just my guess.”
Silvana didn’t answer, she just nodded with a thoughtful look.
She couldn’t help but feel curious to learn more about such Operators, if they existed, of course.
‘Tsk. A monster Operator? Who would even think of such a thing, and why? Aren’t monsters strong enough to fight on their own? Why would any of them want to change their lives and roles so drastically?’
Silvana didn’t know this, but she had a good opportunity to get to know Xyrea when she worked with Gladius. Sure, neither that day nor now did she know who Gladius really was, except that he possessed incredible power, unattainable even to the K4-Phantoms.
One thing was clear—Silvana now had a new goal, and she would achieve it soon enough.
Step. Step. Step.
While Silvana was deep in thought, Adam calmly walked forward, getting closer and closer to the white mill.
During this time, he had gone deeper into the Forgotten Mill’s lands, and many mills appeared around him, but they were all either gray or white.
Adam looked around to see the black mills Targon had warned him about, but there were none. However, this was only the beginning of the Forgotten Mills, and Adam understood that well.
“Alright, let’s see what awaits me here.” Adam smiled before stepping onto a field full of white flowers swaying with every breeze.
The White Mills towered above him like a heavenly tower, pure and innocent. Its sails moved serenely, trailing mist as a bright light emanated from the top, as if drawing in anyone who had lost their way in these lands and did not know where to go.
However… These were not uninhabited lands, and it was time for Adam to learn about them.
As soon as he took a few steps, shadows ran across the field as his gaze rose upward to the top of the white mill.
Several snow-white moths fixed their intense gaze on him.
Their intentions were unclear.
Were they his enemies who awaited death, or new friends?