Endless Evolution: Last Star

Adam had never considered himself better than others because he was the Naturalborn Phantom, but he did realize that he had certain advantages over other Phantoms.

So hearing that he was going to have trouble because of that was unexpected.

Tron nodded slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I understand your confusion, but I have an explanation and it's quite simple."

Then, Tron poked his fingers into his chest, as if trying to point out something that was deep inside.

"As far as you know, our energy resides within the Evolution Tree. I'm sure you fully realized that when you saw Katrin burn her energy by removing her Initial Gene."

Adam shuddered slightly, remembering the events in the Fallen Crypt. He knew what Katrin did and she ended up with the ultimate reward, the Initial Gene from the Plague Reaper himself, but there was no way Adam would want to be in her place.

"Due to the origin of the Naturalborn Phantom, the Spark is the brightest and thus the Evolution Tree is at its local peak, it is majestic, powerful, and full of energy. Roughly speaking, surpassing similar Evolution Trees of the same level grown from the stagnant Sparks."

Tron explained before moving on to the main part: "So, you'll have a harder time training to Energy Control, as you'll have more energy to work with, which is more dense and saturated."

Adam's eyes were wide open as he listened intently to Tron.

Then, a smile appeared on his face.

"The task will be harder, but the reward will be higher as well, won't it?"

Tron lifted his chin.

"You could say that, but don't get cocky. If it was all just about the origin of the Phantom, there wouldn't be any strong fighters among the Artificial Phantoms. As you realize, that's not the case."

Adam nodded deeply.

"Sure, I didn't mean to sound arrogant. It's just that I like it when you're rewarded appropriately for difficult challenges. It's motivating, you know?"

Tron smiled weakly.

"Good attitude, but unfortunately our life isn't a computer game. You don't always put in a lot of effort and get the right reward in return. But, you always have to try. If you don't even give your work a chance, you've lost before you've even started."

Adam didn't answer anything, he eyed Tron's words with a thoughtful gaze.

"So... What exactly am I supposed to do?"

Tron smirked which was actually intimidating and picked up the barbell, effortlessly lifting it with one hand.

He placed the barbell in Adam's hands, still holding it so the barbell wouldn't crush Adam with its weight.

"I could go on for a long time telling you about the theoretical part, explaining where to start, and taking it step by step. But, come on, this is definitely not the way for me as a teacher and you as a student." Tron waved his hand carelessly.

Adam's lips quivered as he realized what Tron was getting at and he didn't like it at all.

"Then... What method do you think is appropriate?"
Continue your journey on empire

Tron smiled slightly looking at Adam with a kind expression that on his always calm face looked different.

"Practice."

Tap.

At the same moment, Tron loosened his hand, letting go of the barbell.

Just half an hour ago, Adam could lift this weight, since he'd done it before, two disks weren't a serious problem for him. But given the state of his arm and chest muscles, the weight seemed infinitely heavier.

Crackle.

Adam's eyes went wide, filled with shock and fear when the barbell crashed into his chest. His weakened arms couldn't hold that weight for even one second.

This sort of thing happened to ordinary people in the gym as well. A person could miscalculate his strength and be unable to lift the chosen weight. In such a case, someone always had to help, otherwise it could lead to a bad outcome.

Tron could have helped Adam, but he wasn't going to do that.

Instead, he turned and looked at Riska.

"Make me some tea. Three sugar cubes and pick up something sweet." Tron said calmly as if he was going to get breakfast.

Riska nodded with a slight smile on her face.

"As you wish."

Max turned around as if he realized this was a good opportunity.

"Oh, Riska, can you pour me some boiling water?"

Riska nodded.

"Sure."

It seemed the only one who was worried about Adam was Silvana, who was glancing in panic at Adam and Tron, then at Dahla, Riska, and Max who were behaving calmly.

Silvana realized that it was necessary, so she didn't ask them to stop, but she couldn't do anything about her inner worries.

Well, Silvana was having a hard time, but the worst was for Adam, who, unlike Silvana, had real problems.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! How am I supposed to lift this?!' Adam inwardly exclaimed, staring at the barbell that was sinking deeper into his flesh with each passing second, crushing it.

It brought him a vivid pain that gradually intensified. Adam was sure that a little more and he would start to choke because of the pressure on his chest.

Clutch.

Adam clutched the rod tightly as he closed his eyes trying to calm down in such a stressful situation.

He realized there was no point in sinking into panic.

Tron's eyes grew wider for a moment.

'Oh, what a decent level of self-control. Not bad, not bad at all.' Tron thought, slightly surprised.

Then, he decided that following Adam was no longer necessary, he turned around and headed towards the spectator room where Riska was making him tea.

Adam found himself in his inner space, looking at his Evolution Tree. His body was in a difficult situation, but his mind was calm.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Pretty soon, his Evolution Tree trembled. Evolution Tree didn't need words or direct orders from Adam to understand him, as they were part of the same unit.

After a few seconds, as Adam's body urgently needed support, dense, snow-white streams of energy flowed out of the Evolution Tree.

They headed outward as if trying to escape from the inner space where only darkness was.

But, their destination was quite close, it was Adam's body.

Whoooooooosh.

Adam's blue eyes sparkled when he felt something nice and light, like a refreshing stream of water running down his arms, taking away all the fatigue and heat from the intense workout.

Then, the heavyweight in his arms no longer seemed so, getting lighter with every beat of his heart.