Endless Evolution: Last Star

"Wait... Are they actually going to fight?" Silvana asked, nearing the end of the cleanup.

Riska nodded.

"Yes. Max is an ordinary human, but he's very strong. If he were to become a Phantom, he'd blast through to K2-Level in a month, I'm sure of it."

Silvana gulped.

She didn't question Riska's assumption since she saw what Max was capable of.

'Hmm... If only he had become a Phantom. What a shame he didn't get the Spark...' Silvana internally muttered with a slight regret in her voice.

Crackle.

At the same time, Dahla returned to the spectator room. Her face was calm, with new makeup and no trace of tea, even her hair was neatly styled.

It seemed that she was delayed because she was tidying up, but... Silvana knew what the real reason was.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little late. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Riska shook her head.

"You don't have to. I'll be uncomfortable with K4-Phantom helping two Operators. Moreover, we're almost done here."

Dahla nodded deeply, exchanging glances with Riska and Silvana before stepping forward, looking at Adam, Max, and Tron from afar.

...

"Adam, I understand your skepticism, but you'll figure it out soon enough." Tron smirked before walking to the wall, to a stone slab like the hundreds of others covering the training hall.

Lifting the stone slab, Tron revealed a small but deep room with many different devices, several screens, and most importantly a massive chair.

Next to the chair lay a high-tech helmet, numerous tubes, sensors, and wires were attached to the chair as if it were a mechanical brain.

"Max, please." Tron pointed to the chair, Max already knew what to do.

"One moment." Max took his time.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and lit a cigarette.

If Max had any weakness, it was his addiction to smoking. It was his undefeatable enemy, to whom he was happy to lose time after time.

Oddly enough, Tron didn't rush him, allowing Max to take his time.

Then, when he had fully smoked his cigarette, Max serenely stepped forward, put his black coat aside, and sat down in the chair.

He put on his helmet while Tron attached sensors to his arms, legs, chest, and all other parts of his body.

Adam understood what was happening, but he didn't know what result it was supposed to lead to. He had never seen something like this before.

"Ready?" Tron asked, approaching the panel on the wall.

Max nodded.

"Yeah, hopefully, this will be an interesting fight."

Tron smiled and clicked on the screen.

At the same moment, several light waves traveled across the chair and Max closed his eyes.

Then, the platforms in this area of the training hall trembled, releasing a faint, blue glow that created a square-shaped barrier going up to the ceiling.

It seemed like another space had just been created inside one, but... how were they different?

"Hmm. I think you should defeat the base version of him first." Tron muttered thoughtfully before nodding and pressing the panel once more.

A few seconds later, a silhouette appeared in the blue area that was the size of a medium-scale arena where several people could fight freely.

Soon everyone saw that it was Max, but... it wasn't the actual him, as his real body was now lying in a chair inside the room that was outside the blue zone.

"What the hell...?" Adam muttered in confusion.

He stared in disbelief at Max who was now in front of him.

"Adam, listen to me carefully."

Tron said seriously as he stepped between him and Max like a referee.

"It's somewhat similar to the virtual reality chamber in the Forts, but it's a more complex and advanced technology. This technology is called Blue Zone: Imagination."

Tron continued:

"Obviously, Max and you can't fight on equal terms. You're just faster and stronger, and his blows won't even leave a scratch on you, but that'll change if we give Max the same capabilities."

Adam scratched the back of his head.

"Wait... Even if his hologram is contentedly strong now, it still has nothing to do with reality, does it?"

Tron nodded.

"Sure, that's why you'll do the same. I just wanted to demonstrate it to you." Tron said and walked over to the wall, lifting another stone slab behind which was a similar room to the one Tron was in.

"Sit down." Tron pointed to a chair.

After a few minutes, everything was ready, Tron walked over to the panel and glanced at Adam.

"Adam, you have a limited version of the Blue Zone: Imagination, you'll see what I'm talking about a little later, but your copy will have exactly all of your abilities and the same physical stats."

Adam's eyes went wide, then his gaze filled with skepticism.

"Hmm? Even energy? How is that possible?"

Tron shook his head.

"Adam, recreating the energy and your abilities is pretty easy since it's just program code for the virtual zone. Think of it as some sort of computer game. You wouldn't be surprised to see a mage who can shoot fireballs in a game, would you?"

Adam nodded slightly.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Experience exclusive tales on empire

Then, Tron tapped a panel.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Soon, in another part of the blue zone, Adam appeared, it was a copy of him.

He took a few steps sideways, jumped up on the spot, and clenched his fists.

"Wow... I can feel all my muscles perfectly. Even when I was a K0-Phantom and went to the virtual zone chamber in Fort Norton, I felt a little limited."

Tron shrugged.

"Like I said, it's more advanced technology. Unless you're a Second Rank Phantom, Blue Zone: Imagination can handle copying you. There is a response delay, but it's so minimal that it's 97% comparable to the speed of electricity that moves through the neurons in your brain. So consider that the delay simply doesn't exist."

Adam nodded. He realized it himself, for compared to when he was K0-Phantom, the control over his body had gotten much better.

He would feel even the slightest mismatch with reality, but he felt no difference in the blue zone.

Tron waved his hand pointing at Max.

"One of the features of the Blue Zone: Imagination, is that you can customize the capabilities of your copy yourself. Thus, Max's physical stats are currently at the level of Light Yellow Crown Monsters. I didn't go for any particular one, so Max got something average."

Adam tilted his head in confusion.

"What...? Light Yellow? I've already fought against some monsters of this Threat Level, they weren't very strong. Especially compared to the Plague Reaper."

Tron nodded.

"Yeah, but if you ignore the Fume Armors that you haven't fought against because of their peculiarity, then you haven't met a single Light Yellow Crown Monster yet. Well, it doesn't matter much since your opponent is not a monster now, but a human. Max has just gained physical capabilities that can compete with yours."

Adam took a deep breath.

"I see... This technology is impressive. But, none of that matters until I see Max in battle!"

Tron smirked as he stepped out of the blue zone.

"You can start anytime, but stay within the blue zone, there's more than enough space."

Adam nodded, he took a step forward looking intently at Max, who unlike him acted serene and calm as if this was part of his routine work day.