Chapter 1276: Damien
When Adam reached the K4-Level, and especially after he survived the attack at the Dark Shore, he began to realize that more and more monsters knew who he was.
In fact, it was surprising how many powerful monsters knew about Adam Vinter, from Bathild to Targon and now Gareyna.
He had become a Phantom just over a year ago, and not much time had passed since the events at the Dark Shore. However, it was enough for rumors about him to spread throughout the world, to territories close to the borders, and even to the Tarnished Lands.
But it was obvious that he was the most popular Phantom. There were many K4-Phantoms that the monsters knew more about, not to mention the Second Rank Phantoms.
Obviously, among all the thousands of Phantoms, there was only one that stood out from the rest—Damien.
For Adam, he was an ally and sometimes even a teacher at certain moments, but… the monsters had a different opinion about who Damien was.
Gareyna was a Lord, powerful and influential, she owned a white mill at the Forgotten Mills and was powerful enough to instill fear in most monsters in the two nearest regions of the Tarnished Lands.
However, as soon as Adam uttered Damien’s name, Gareyna understood who he was talking about in a split second.
That was enough to make her face pale, her lips colder, and a shiver run through her body.
Animal fear consumed her for a moment, but soon she was able to pull herself together and shook her head, regaining her serious expression.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect to hear something like that right now…” Gareyna said, her gaze fixed on the ground.
“This…” Adam muttered. “I didn’t think you would react like that to Damien. Have you encountered him before?”
Adam didn’t know what to assume. This was the first time he had talked about Damien with a monster. Well, until K4-Level, talking to a monster was almost an impossible task. Only now was it gradually becoming something normal.
In response, Gareyna smiled bitterly.
“Hah, I’m afraid you don’t quite understand what you’re talking about, Adam. If I had encountered Damien, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be alive anymore. I mean, if for some reason he had paid attention to me.”
Adam tilted his head in confusion.
“Hmm? What do you mean, if he had paid attention to you?”
“What I said.” Gareyna waved her hand. “You have no idea how big the difference is between someone like me and him. I’m simply not worth his attention. However, the same can be said about 99.9% of all monsters.”
Silence.
For a while, no one said anything.
A strange feeling came over Adam. It was as if they were talking about two different people. Adam would never have thought that anyone could have such a reaction to Damien.
But…
‘That’s what I should have expected, isn’t it?’ Adam thought.
Silvana nodded in agreement.
‘Yes. He’s our ally, and although I don’t know any more about him than you do… It’s too high a level for us, but Gareyna’s reaction makes sense. Considering the power Damien possesses and how many hundreds of years he has lived in this world, he has done a great deal…’
Everything Adam and Silvana knew about Damien was either from him personally or public information available to everyone, even ordinary people not connected to the Dead Lands.
Everyone knew that Damien was the strongest Phantom and defender of the Citadel.
Perhaps only Queen Elisa was more important than he because of her incredible ability to create barriers, which allowed humanity to achieve what they have now.
But, unlike Damien, Queen Elisa could do nothing. She was a hostage to the situation, which was both her curse and her blessing.
“I see,” Adam said after a long pause. “Well, in any case, we’re not talking about Damien now, but about the String Duel, are we?”
He continued, his gaze becoming more serious.
“I came here for the Connected Heart, and obviously I won’t leave until I get it.”
Gareyna sighed deeply. She knew she had behaved badly towards Adam, but the mention of Damien had really thrown her off balance.
“Sure, you’re right. As for the String Duel… Since it’s a duel, you need an opponent. And for that, you can use the Connected String. Come with me, I have a way to make it easier for you so you don’t have to check one mill after another.”
Then, Gareyna got up and headed for the stairs.
“Follow me.”
Adam flinched, quickly finishing his tea.
“Where are we going?”
She looked at him over her shoulder.
“Isn’t it obvious? We’re going upstairs, where you can see most of the mills. I’m sure at least one of them will be a good fit for you.”
There was nothing else to do—they went up to Gareyna’s mill.
Click.
The door opened as they found themselves on the opposite side of the rotating sails. This part of the mill was unknown to Adam because he had come from the south, while this mill faced north.
Adam stepped forward as a previously unseen landscape opened up before him.
Many mills of different colors rose on peaks, hills, or opposite in the ravines or on the edges of rifts. Some stood serenely in the middle of spacious plains like Gareyna’s.
The gray earth, tall grass, and sparse flowers, usually yellow or white, seemed to reflect the unusual cut clouds through which the faint light of a seemingly non-existent sun struggled to pass.
Most of the mills were either white or gray, the same picture Adam had seen at the very beginning when he first entered the Forgotten Mills lands.
But, only by narrowing his eyes and looking closely, Adam could see several black mills rising in the distance. They seemed to be trying to stand apart from the gray and white ones.
It wasn’t because they were better or different—there was another reason for that, and Adam soon noticed it.
A dark, evil crimson light fell on the distant mills, arousing Adam’s interest in the distant region where it was too early for him to go.