Endless Evolution: Last Star

The First Star offered selected monsters the opportunity to immerse themselves in the dark dream and accept the black flash very rarely, not only because it was considered a blessing, but also because it required a lot of strength and energy to create a suitable hideout for the Flash Carrier.

The Crypt of Ancient Soul was a clear example of this. Unlike Arnoth's situation, where he arrived at the Fallen Ring Castle lands too early and was forced to capture the castle and subjugate the serpents, Lyrod's part was much better.

Not only did the black flash transport him to the Tarnished Lands instead of the Dead Lands, where there were many Phantoms, but Lyrod also had two Elders and a crypt with a multi-level defense system.

The oval knight standing in front of Adam and Dayra, towering over them thanks to his five-meter height, was the first threat on their path.

Sure, Dayra warned Adam about everything as they descended the very long staircase leading from the gate, as well as the fact that the oval knight was not the main threat.

Step. Step. Step.

The oval knight stepped forward, causing the platform to shake.

At the same moment, energy gathered at the walls and turned into twelve identical mirrors floating above the ground.

Adam nodded slightly, remembering Dayra's words.

"As she said, the main problem is not the guards, they are quite weak, but the fact that there are several External Artifacts located on the crypt's territory."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The ground shook with every step the oval knight took, but Adam paid no attention to it. He turned to Dayra.

"Hey, the artifact you were talking about is on this floor, right?"

Dayra nodded seriously.

"Yes, be careful, because this knight shouldn't be here. He's usually on the sixth floor, under the altar. Lyrod deliberately switched the guards around because he knows what the External Artifacts on these floors are capable of."

He wanted to say something else, but the oval knight had already taken action.

He surged forward, aiming his lance directly at Adam. His movements were quite slow, the oval knight was significantly slower than Kolos or even the green lizard, but that wasn't a problem because he was on the first floor.

Whoooooosh.

With a bright flash running across his silver armor, the oval knight became several times faster as the lance tip appeared right in front of Adam's right eye.

Suddenly, the oval knight was not just fast, he was moving much faster than Kolos!

But...

The effect of the External Artifact worked not only on him, but on everyone on the first floor.

It didn't matter if it was the oval knight, Dayra, or the enemy Phantom.

Whoooooosh.

Acting on instinct, Adam jerked his head to the left at the last split second, dodging the oval knight's attack.

Blood spurted from the cut on Adam's cheek as his eyes widened in disbelief.

Dayra told him that the External Artifact on the first three floors made everything significantly faster, but he couldn't even imagine the scale of this effect.

"Holy shit! What the fuck was that? I was moving faster than I thought!"

But before Adam could recover, the oval knight was ready to launch his next attack.

Bright energy gathered at the tip of the lance as the great weapon was aimed directly at Adam.

Normally, if the oval knight had been on the fifth floor, it would have taken several seconds to prepare this attack, but here... the beam of light was already flying towards Adam, about to blow a wide hole in his head.

Adam ducked as the beam flew right over his head, burning some of his hair.

Again, if he had been even slightly slower or weaker as a fighter, he would have died twice.

"Damn, this is annoying. I need to end this. One attack will be enough for this knight!"

The first needle appeared in Adam's outstretched hand as he was about to attack while the oval knight was preparing for his next move, but something sent a chill down Adam's spine.

The beam of light that had missed him flew straight at him again, even though the oval knight wasn't doing anything!

Step.

Adam stepped aside as the beam flew right in front of his chest. His eyes followed the beam to understand what was happening.

As soon as the beam reached the mirror, it flew inside like a portal, only to come out of another mirror looking straight at Adam.

Now, he was once again under attack, which the oval knight had made long ago, given the speed of events in this place.

"What... you..."

Instead of fear or trembling, this only caused Adam to smile nervously.

He hadn't been on the first floor for five minutes when this place already annoyed him madly.

This couldn't go on.

Crack.

Adam dodged the beam of light as he loosened his grip on the needle's handle. The first needle shattered into fragments as it was replaced by the second needle, small and full of energy.

"Maybe I'm not as focused on speed as the Phantom, but..."

Adam's eyes grew colder as he raised his hand, preparing to make a single swing with his needle.

"I have something you won't be able to react to, even with the help of an artifact!"

The oval knight understood what Adam was talking about, but before Adam could finish his sentence, it tried to get into a defensive stance.

A flash ran across the shield, indicating that Adam's attack would most likely be deflected, but that didn't matter to him.

His frame shook as he turned into a shadow, disappearing from his spot.

The oval knight's posture made it clear that he was confident in his defense, but... he still couldn't understand where Adam had disappeared to after leaving a short white line in the air from his needle.

Tap.

An echo sounded from Adam's step as he appeared behind the oval knight's back. His needle shattered into pieces, flying past his calm eyes.

Then, the oval knight collapsed to the ground, and all the mirrors simultaneously shattered, filling the first floor with a myriad of shards.