Endless Evolution: Last Star

As Adam had expected, their results from the second attempt weren't much different from the first. Sure, they collected a lot more Glowing Tips, but they had more time as well.

"Tsk, we haven't made any progress at all?" Alexia snorted as she spat out a clot of blood. One of the ghost spiders had hit her in the side quite hard.

Adam shook his head.

"Not exactly. With each Glowing Tip, the golden spiders become faster, and the ghost spiders become stronger. That is, collecting five tips when you have 0 and when you already have 25 are two different levels of difficulty.

"However, you're right. That's not enough."

Then, Adam looked around, looking at the surface of the lake. Only about 20% of the lake was covered with stone paths. Obviously, this hindered Adam and Alexia. If a golden spider was between the peaks, they had to move through the air to avoid falling into the water.

In any case, this significantly reduced their effectiveness, and they had to take action if they wanted to move forward.

"Alexia, I have a question for you."

"Hmm?" Alexia tilted her head, confused.

"As I understand it, most of your abilities are still related to ice. Moreover, your Nexus hasn't changed much since we last met. It has become more complex and powerful, and now you have not only gauntlets but boots as well, but the foundation is the same, right?"

Alexia nodded silently.

"I see. In that case." Adam pointed to the lake around them. "Can you turn everything here into ice?"

Instead of answering directly, Alexia walked to the edge, crouched down, and stretched her arm toward the water. The energy condensed in front of her palm as the temperature dropped significantly.

After a few seconds, a layer of ice began to form on the surface of the water, but much more slowly and more weakly than Alexia had expected.

If she had been facing a pond with simple water devoid of energy, she would have only needed to release her aura to turn it into a large chunk of ice.

"Tsk. Everything here, from simple stone to water, is saturated with such dense energy that it will take a lot of effort to freeze even a single path."

Adam blinked. "But you can do it, right?"

In response, Alexia grinned widely.

"Of course. What's more, unlike you, I have a real plan."

"Agh?"

Alexia pointed at him.

"Silvana told me what your new Nexus, which you recently received, is capable of. Why haven't you used it yet? You can move very quickly with it, can't you?"

Adam blinked several times, caught off guard.

The truth was that he had forgotten about it, or rather, he just hadn't thought in that direction. He wanted to know what results they could expect without abilities, and even though his new Nexus made him faster, it didn't happen directly. So, Adam thought about other options, but not this one.

"Hah, looks like someone isn't as smart as they thought!" Alexia mocked him before poking herself in the chest. "Because I'm the smartest, and we're going to follow my plan!"

Adam chuckled.

"Whatever you say. What's your plan, genius?"

"It's simple."

Alexia pointed at him.

"I'll freeze everyone, and you'll be the only one to catch up with them!"

"Agh...?"

Adam was lost. This wasn't what he expected.

However, he didn't reject the plan. It made him think.

"Wait, this might work. If they're frozen or at least slowed down, it'll be much easier for me. I'll be alone, but I might have enough time," he muttered, rubbing his chin.

"Hey!" Alexia waved her hand. "Are you listening to me? Do you agree or not?"

Adam nodded weakly.

"Yeah, I agree. I'm ready to start right now."

At the same moment, Adam's aura became significantly stronger. Black boots and gloves appeared on his hands and feet, as if carved from iron, as did the black staff, the Staff of Defeat, his Stellar Nexus.

But that wasn't all Adam was going to use to pass this trial. If he used his Nexus, then the next attempt had to be the last and result in their victory.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Adam's aura reached a terrifying magnitude, causing Alexia to instinctively take a few steps back.

A four-pointed star appeared in Adam's left eye as Silvana's energy surged through his body, and his right eye turned green.

He did not use his needle, but that did not prevent him from using the power of the Silver Weaver.

Now, Adam was in his most deadly state.

"Go ahead, we're ready."

The platform shook as Alexia's eyes widened. She quickly summoned her Nexus and stood in the very center of the lake.

Adam had to catch 60 golden spiders alone, but he believed that with Alexia's help, he could do it. Now each had their own role, and quite often it was more effective than when both did the same thing.

[The trial has begun.]

[You have 10 minutes to collect 60 Glowing Tips.]

As soon as the Ancient Voice sounded, the spiral crystals trembled, and dozens of ghost spiders appeared from all sides.

Tap.

Before Alexia could cause the frozen wave, Adam tapped his staff on the ground.

"What?"

At the same moment, he disappeared from Alexia's field of vision and reappeared a few meters ahead.

Crack.

The black staff slammed into the golden spider, turning the monster into nothing more than a blob of energy.

It was their first Glowing Tip, but there were still 59 more to go. Alexia had to get moving.

"Alright, now it's my turn!" Alexia exclaimed as cold steam poured from the pipes on her gauntlets.

Without hesitation, she struck her gauntlets together, but they did not collide. Instead, a tiny frost orb formed between them, absorbing more and more energy with each passing moment.

The temperature dropped rapidly, and a layer of ice covered the ground around Alexia as she spread her arms wide and clapped her hands together with all her might, exploding the frost orb.

Under her gaze, everything around her turned to ice, and nothing could escape her cold.