Endless Evolution: Last Star

At the beginning of the battle, it was necessary to understand what type your opponent belonged to, what their strengths and weaknesses were.

When Phantom fought against a massive monster with heavy but slow attacks, a plan of action against the large, unwieldy enemy immediately formed in his head. One missed strike could cost him the battle, but it was quite difficult to land that strike if he dodged in time.

With agile and fast opponents, the situation was the opposite, and it was obvious that Ureyn clearly fit this type better.

'Hmm, when I fought Fromund, I actually had the advantage.'

Adam thought as he watched Ureyn calmly stride toward him.

'Fromund is much better than I am at mass attacks, while my abilities are suited for 1 vs. 1 battles, but... Ureyn isn't just the same, he may be much better than me at this, right?'

No matter how much Adam learned about the Forgotten Mills and the three factions, only by fighting one of them could he fully understand what a member of the Gray Needle was capable of.

Adam couldn't compare Ureyn to Arnoth or the Crimson Monarch, perhaps because it was a different situation, or perhaps because of the age difference between him and the other two, but the closest comparison would still be Fromund.

'Fromund has always been physically stronger than me. So, what about Ureyn? Is he the same kind of mutant as Fromund, or will that be to my advantage?'

There was only one way to find out:

Crack.

Adam lunged forward, locking eyes with Ureyn. He had to dodge the first attack and step back, but now it was his turn to attack!

His frame trembled as Adam appeared right in front of Ureyn, who was already ready to attack. He acted technically, taking a step back and throwing his arm up as his needle was already heading straight for Adam.

"This time I'm not going to run away!" Adam exclaimed, putting all his strength into blocking Ureyn's attack.

Ureyn was right in that their needles were different, not only in appearance but also in their properties. Adam's needle was much heavier, and the blade was wider, and this could not fail to have an impact on the fight.

Clang!

A cascade of sparks flew to the side, rushing past Adam's eyes, full of excitement and Ureyn's focused ones.

Ureyn's hand trembled, it was difficult for him to withstand the recoil from the full weight of Adam's strike, but he was already ready to attack again.

His left hand shot forward as streams of gray wind ran along his wrist.

But that was exactly what Adam was waiting for—he needed to see which of them was stronger.

Clutch.

With a sly grin, Adam grabbed Ureyn's wrist, stopping his hand right in front of his face.

"I see... Hah, it's as if I've ended up on the other side of a battle from the past."

Ureyn didn't understand what Adam was talking about, but it wasn't what he was thinking at that moment.

'What? My hand, I can't move it. Is he really that strong?' Ureyn thought in disbelief.

At the same moment, Adam jerked his hand, slamming Ureyn to the ground with a crash.

Before Ureyn could recover, Adam raised his needle high, a glint running across the blade as he brought it down directly on Ureyn.

Ureyn's eyes widened as wind bursts erupted from his body, allowing him to move one meter to the side. Without waiting for a response, Ureyn took a few more leaps backward, landing on the broken tree of his destroyed mill.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Ureyn breathed heavily as his gaze turned to the ground.

It seemed that the situation was not so dangerous, but the wide cleave that cut through the ground showed the opposite.

If Ureyn had not reacted in time, Adam would have cut him in two, and their battle would have ended there.

Would Ureyn have died in that case?

No.

Since it was the String Duel, someone in the audience would have saved him, and the same would have been true for Adam, even though he was a human.

But neither defeat nor death was a satisfactory outcome for either of them.

Adam smiled contentedly as he pulled his needle out of the ground along with pieces of earth.

"Well, well, have they scared me with stories about my opponent?" Adam wondered inwardly.

Silvana frowned, not sharing his optimism. "I doubt the Connected String was wrong. Adam, your self-confidence is always a big risk. I'm sure that, like you, Ureyn has a way to win, quickly and painfully. Pull yourself together and wipe that stupid smile off your face!'

In response, Adam just shrugged.

"Alright, I know what I'm doing, Silvana. I'm just glad that I'm finally physically stronger than my opponent."

Unlike Silvana, who believed in the threat posed by Ureyn, the audience was left with mixed impressions, and even Nollura had doubts about Ureyn's abilities.

"Something's not right..." Nollura muttered, her eyes darting from Adam to Ureyn and back.

Norax raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? What are you talking about, little one?"

"The wind. Why does Ureyn hardly use it? Unlike most in the Gray Needle, he always preferred his wind to his needle, using the needle for defense while his wind tore his opponents to pieces."

Since Ureyn had been behind closed doors for a long time, even Norax had no answer to that question.

"Hmm." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

But, as always, he had a theory about this.

"Maybe he realized that it was his weak point? His practice lasted quite a long time, considering his talent and way of thinking, he must have come to some decision."

Norax grinned.

"The needle has always been his main strength, and the wind should help the blade reach its target. Has he finally understood this?"

As if in response to Norax's words, gusts of wind raged around Ureyn, causing his gray eyes to sparkle with a white, pure light.