Chapter 1324: Lack of Patience
Although not in the most conventional way, Adam was able to pass the first stage and rebuild the beginning of the Energy Axis. In percentage terms, it was about 15%, which was not bad, significantly better than before, but clearly not enough for Adam to return to his peak strength.
The Energy Axis was one of the reasons why the K4-Level was the longest for both the Phantoms and the Black Threat Level monsters.
Usually, at each level, there was one global obstacle that the Phantom had to overcome to move on, whether it was defeating the Beginning Monster, creating the First Key, the Two Walls, or the Crystal Gates.
At the K4-Level, it was the Path Construct, but it wasn’t the only thing that made the Phantom stronger. If all previous methods restrained the Phantom’s true power so that he would not harm himself, then the Path Construct and the Energy Axis were designed to make the Phantom as strong as possible.
Sure, possessing such great power came at a price, and sometimes, Phantom was the wild beast that had to be restrained for his own good.
Even though Adam passed the first stage quickly and successfully, it didn’t mean that in a few hours he would be able to completely rebuild his Energy Axis and turn the myriad threads into a straight line that would conduct his energy without loss, as it had always been.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The space around Adam trembled slightly, and every few hours, waves of energy emanated from him and quickly disappeared.
This meant that he was able to direct another thread to the main line, just one in several hours.
Thus, Adam’s training, or rather his recovery to his former strength and acquisition of new strength, had already lasted a whole month.
Only two months had passed since his fight against Ureyn, and for Ureyn, who did not know how early Adam had awakened, this was bad news. According to his calculations, or rather Misty’s words, he thought that Adam would wake up only in two months, that is, in the next few days, and after that, he would need at least four months to rebuild the Energy Axis.
Ureyn didn’t believe it. He understood how dangerous Adam was, so he set himself a limit of five months, but even that might have been too long.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knock on the wooden gate made Adam open his eyes as Narica entered with a table full of food and drinks, moving slowly toward him.
“How are you doing?” Narica asked with a calm expression as she opened a bottle of wine.
Adam frowned as he got up from the ground.
“Bad! I’m not sure exactly how many threads I’ve connected, but it’s not enough! Norax said that a month ago, I had 15%, now I have 20% at best! At this rate, it will take me a whole year, maybe even more!”
In response, Narica snorted.
“Pfffft, do you even realize how unrealistic your expectations are? Although…” Her gaze stopped on him. “Who am I even asking?”
Then, she lowered her gaze to the trays filling the table.
“As you requested, I added more meat and drinks. I suggest you eat now while the food is hot.”
Adam nodded and sat down at the table.
“Thank you. This isn’t what I expected at the Tarnished Lands, but your food is actually top-notch.”
“It’s my job. There’s nothing special about it, but…” She paused. “It’s nice to know that you’re not completely selfish and can appreciate the efforts of others.”
Narica stepped aside, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Usually, she would leave, leaving Adam alone, but this time she wanted to watch him.
‘Come to think of it, maybe my reaction is wrong. One month? For me, and even more so for Mr. Norax, it’s nothing, but he’s only 18 years old, and if he’s come this far in just one year, that’s a long time.’
Her eyes narrowed as Adam quickly and happily ate everything she had prepared.
‘Any gourmet, monster, or human would envy these dishes, but he’s not going to spend time on that, right? Now, he just wants to regain his strength and get back to work. That’s… That’s good.’
Crash.
Adam slammed his empty glass on the table, took one last bite, and looked at Narica.
“I’m done! I’ll try to figure this out quickly!” Adam exclaimed and sat down cross-legged.
Narica nodded silently and returned to the kitchen, where, unlike the chamber where Misty was cooking, there was also electronic equipment. Not only were the screen and console connected to the generator, but electricity was available in most rooms of this mill. It was a unique place in all of the Dead Lands.
Ten minutes later, when Narica finished her quick cleanup, she frowned and hurried upstairs, knocking respectfully on the door to Norax’s chamber.
With no response from the other side, the door opened, letting Narica inside.
She looked around. Norax was not in the room, and even the console was turned off, as was the screen that usually glowed brightly from some video game.
Narica’s gaze shifted as she noticed a figure standing on the balcony—it was one of the highest points in all of the Forgotten Mills, offering perhaps the best view of the distant lands of the Blighted Scar.
Carefully, Narica headed there as she turned to Norax, who was calmly watching the evening landscape. He held a cup of black coffee in his hands as wisps of steam drifted past his deep eyes.
“Sir…” Her eyes turned to the cup. “If you are thirsty, I would be happy to make you coffee at your first word.”
Norax’s lips curved upward into a slight smile.
“I am capable of cutting down gods. Do you think I cannot prepare myself a bitter drink?”
Her face paled. “Sir! That’s not what I meant!”
“Hahaha, relax. I’m just teasing you. And…” His gaze shifted from the Blighted Scar lands to the bright silver light in the distance. “I didn’t expect us to get another treasure in this World Wipe, but life is full of surprises, right?”