Chapter 1318: From Weak to Strong (Part 2)
Everyone knew that monsters and Phantoms evolved and became stronger in different ways.
But was that really true?
Sure, the Phantoms couldn’t absorb energy like monsters did, but monsters didn’t have one thing that the Phantoms had—missions from the government.
A monster that didn’t want to take risks and rush into battle, where death could await it, could instead stay in its nest, cave, or mill and absorb energy for a long time.
To some extent, a few years ago, Ureyn chose this path – he absorbed energy and studied the techniques of the Gray Needle until the very last moment when Adam destroyed his mill and challenged him to a duel.
If a monster were willing to take the risk, it would go into battle against opponents of equal or higher levels. True, many who followed this tactic perished, but those who survived progressed much faster than everyone else.
What about the Phantoms?
Well, in a global scheme of things, it was the same here.
Those who did not want to take risks, like most Phantoms, could take safe and short missions from time to time and then rest. If it were a K2 or K3 Phantom, one successful mission was enough to earn money for several months of luxurious living, if not more.
On the other hand, there were Phantoms like Adam or Fromund. They simply weren’t able to stop when they had the opportunity.
Like everyone else, their initial goal was also money, but their accounts had long since reached tens of millions, which not only they but even their Operators had stopped paying attention to.
Money had no meaning when there was so much of it, and energy and power were much more important.
Thus, although the slow part of the progression differed: for some it was energy absorption and for others it was missions, the fast part remained the same: battles and victories.
This was the path Ureyn took, or rather, he returned to it because he understood that Draug, Gareyna, and the others were wrong and only he and his egoism were right.
Crack.
Ureyn pulled the heart out of a massive monster with thick black fur. Blood flooded the dark earth as the wind swept around tall, bare trees with sharp branches pointing outwards.
In the distance, to the west, he could see spinning mills, cut clouds, and ravines at different heights, creating an unusual but familiar sight.
As Misty had said, for several weeks now, Ureyn had been doing everything possible to regain his former power.
One way to do this was to hunt relentlessly in the territories bordering the Forgotten Mills.
“Alright, that should be enough for now.” Ureyn narrowed his eyes as he looked at the monster’s massive heart, which continued to beat in his hand, slower each time.
Around him, among the sharp rocks, lay about a dozen corpses of monsters like the one before him. They had powerful paws, long claws, and muscular bodies that allowed them to withstand stress and gave them endurance for long battles.
However, all of this was not enough to stop Ureyn. Even the monster with the twisted horn in front of him, which was much stronger than its peers, could not defeat Ureyn.
“Tsk. I had to circle them a few times. Before, I would have cut them to pieces in a few minutes, at most!”
Ureyn accepted his situation, but he couldn’t help feeling angry about what he had to do. To some extent, it was humiliating.
“Those weaklings actually thought they could defeat me, and…” Ureyn made a great grimace. “Considering their auras and mine, they were right!”
With a menacing look, Ureyn squeezed the monster’s heart tighter before absorbing energy directly from it.
His eyes lit up as a stream of energy ran through his body in a golden wave several times.
However, that wasn’t enough.
“I’ve done a good job over the past few weeks, but if I want to give Adam a rematch, I have to speed things up. Misty said it would take him four to six months to reach his limit and rebuild his Energy Axis. But…”
Ureyn smiled bitterly as he recalled their fight.
“Even someone like her can’t understand what kind of monster I had to fight. Four months? Ha! That bastard will do it in three and complain that he spent too much time! I hope he doesn’t wake up soon, or I’ll be in trouble!”
Whooooooosh.
Several shadows flashed among the trees in the distance, only their bright red eyes visible through the fog.
Someone else might have been frightened by this sight, but not Ureyn.
Now, he felt like an experienced player in a video game who, for some reason, had to replay levels he had already completed.
Obviously, if he had done it once, this time it would be much faster and easier.
Bam!
He slammed his fists together as streams of dark wind rose up beside him, eager not just to rush into battle, but to wreak havoc in the forest until Ureyn had enough energy.
“Alright, show me what you’ve got. I don’t have as much strength as I did a month ago, but my motivation is boundless, and that’s my most powerful weapon!”
…
Cling.
The spoon fell onto the empty plate as Adam slammed his hand on the table.
“Damn! That’s delicious! Misty, how can you cook so well without modern appliances?” Adam exclaimed.
Misty took the praise calmly.
“There’s nothing surprising about that, young man. When you have hundreds of years and desire, you can learn anything. More than that.” She pointed to Karso. “I had a personal guinea pig for my successful and not-so-successful experiments.”
Karso, who was picking his teeth with a toothpick, just shrugged.
“You know me, I’m willing to eat anything if it’s even 1% edible. Although… In the beginning, your food was a more dangerous weapon than my fists.”
Misty’s facial muscle twitched, but she said nothing.
Adam looked at the two of them.
“Thanks for the food, but where should I go next?”
Misty smirked, pointing to the far aisle.
“Isn’t it obvious? Norax is waiting for you. He’ll help you reach the limit and beyond.”