Arlemit

Chapter 1275: Death or Duel?


Chapter 1275: Death or Duel?


On his way to the Forgotten Mills, Adam passed through several points: the dark forest, the Glass Bridge, and the first white mill.


But he never forgot that all this was done for one purpose only—to obtain the Connected Heart.


If he wanted to do that, he had to kill the monster, the one who shared the same origin with him. So that their abilities, genes, and energy would have similar characteristics.


However… Was that really the only way?


Damien told Adam a lot, but he was clearly not one to give lectures and talk about every possible outcome and all the details. His approach was simple—give a general overview of the situation and move on.


Silvana could have given Adam a whole presentation on a single topic, but Damien would not.


He didn’t take anything in life seriously.


Nothing except killing Lords.


Adam gulped as Gareyna’s question caught him off guard.


He had only one answer for her, and he was sure she wouldn’t like it.


Sure, Gareyna didn’t think very highly of monsters from other factions, especially the Black Cut, but they were all the same kind as her, like the hidden ones of the Gray Needle and the cruel guys from the black mills.


“Yes, that’s why I came here.” Adam clenched his fists.


He saw no point in hiding it, as Gareyna was perceptive enough to know whether he was lying or not.


“I need the Connected Heart, and the Connected String led me here. Well, this was the best place of all, to be precise. I understand how it sounds, but I have no other choice, and I hope you understand that I will do it anyway.”


Strangely enough, Gareyna took his answer calmly. On the contrary, her gaze glimpsed respect for his straightforwardness.


“I see. I can say that you are right about one thing and wrong about another.”


“Agh…?”


She locked her fingers on her lap.


“You have no choice but to obtain the Connected Heart. I can see that you will either do it or die. You are one of those who pursue great goals… It is a dangerous path littered with corpses, but no words of mine will change your mind, and frankly, it is none of my business whether you live or die. Everyone has their own path.”


Adam nodded. He had nothing to add.


“However, you are mistaken in thinking that you must kill your opponent to do so.”


“B-BUT!”


“Be quiet, young man.” Her cold voice silenced him. “Show respect to your elders. When I speak, you remain silent and listen, is that clear?”


Gareyna’s sudden change in attitude alarmed Adam, but he nodded silently.


In fact, it wasn’t that important to him whether he killed his enemy or not. He had to get used to the fact that enemies had to die, and almost always, the enemies were monsters. That’s how the world worked, and that’s what every Phantom went through.


His main goal was to obtain the Connected Heart.


If there were different ways to do that, he was willing to consider each one.


“So, you can certainly kill a monster from our lands that is suitable for you and obtain the Connected Heart. The Connected String will show you where to go. But there is another way, because the Connected String is not just a guide to monsters similar to you, it is a tool.”


She continued, her voice stern as ever.


“Using the Connected String, you can summon a suitable monster to battle. We call it the String Duel.”


Adam remembered the Moon Colosseum and The Rule of Power, as well as the battle against Fromund.


‘Hah, that reminds me of something. At least this time, there aren’t hundreds of nobles watching you and interfering. And Osana… Damn, how did she manage to drag me into this back then? I was too inexperienced.’ He shook his head internally.


Only now did he realize that Osana had used her three wishes as effectively as possible.


“String Duel? And… How does it work? I mean, we have to sacrifice something to get the Connected Heart without dying in case of victory, right?”


Gareyna nodded deeply.


“Sure. You see, the Connected Heart is a dense cluster of energy, almost the same as essence, only it is created through the Connected String when two similar beings of the same power level collide.”


“So, in fact, the Connected Heart is something like a special essence? It doesn’t depend on an anomaly, artifact, or the Essence Monster, but on the conditions set by the Connected String?” Adam asked to make sure he understood correctly.


“Correct. I don’t know who told you about the Connected Heart, but this one did a very poor job. The reason you can’t kill any monster of the same level as you and get the Connected Heart is that the Connected String accumulates all the energy in your hearts before the fight. It’s like a bet.


“Obviously, if you kill your enemy and extract the energy from its heart, you get that essence, that is, the Connected Heart, but you can do it without killing by absorbing only the essence, leaving the heart intact.”


Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.


Adam scratched the back of his head, trying to put all the pieces together.


“I think I understand. Instead of attacking each other and tearing the enemy to pieces, we will allow the Connected String to create the conditions and the essences. But what happens in the case of defeat? What is the price for avoiding death through this method, through the String Duel?”


Gareyna sighed as if it were obvious.


“A huge loss of energy. If your opponent is an Elder, then after defeat, it will fall to the very bottom of the Black Threat Level or even to the top of the Red Threat Level.”


‘This reminds me of the dark dream…’ Adam thought.


“Naturally, in case of victory, the winner becomes stronger due to the addition of this pure, saturated energy. Is everything clear to you now?” She narrowed her eyes.


Adam nodded several times with a slight smile.


“Yeah, I think so. By the way, you’re right, whoever told me about the Connected Heart did a terrible job.”


“Hmm?” She raised an eyebrow. “And who was that? Your Operator?”


“Nah.”


Adam waved his hand before answering casually.


“It was Damien.”


Adam didn’t mention his last name, title, or nickname, nothing but his first name.


But…


“Agh?”


That was enough to silence Gareyna, and her face became paler than her snow-white threads, reflecting only the horror that wasn’t even on Kara and Toa’s faces when Targon appeared on the bridge.