Endless Evolution: Last Star

Adam and Katrin walked slowly forward, looking around, expecting that Scarlet Pyromancer might have sensed their presence by now.

However, so far, not a single monster had attacked them. This wasn't surprising though, for despite its appearance, Black Cinder Forest was a peaceful area, but... there was one exception.

"When any of the volcanoes start erupting, this place gets fucked up. Moreover, that's why Scarlet Pyromancer should be somewhere near the volcano we're going to." Katrin said confidently, stepping forward.

Crackle.

Something cracked beneath Katrin's feet as she lost her balance. A few old monster bones that she had accidentally broken were holding onto a patch of ash that quickly began to crumble into a deep hole.

Such places were left here because of the monsters that hid underground and dug long tunnels to drag their victims there.

The monster that Katrin had killed had tried to do something like that, and it was obviously not the best solution for this already dead creature.

Katrin's eyes narrowed as she abruptly turned around, about to stab her staff into the ground to keep from falling.

This pit could be empty, or it could be filled with monsters that would immediately attack her and drag her away in an unknown direction. Thus, Katrin had to act quickly.

Tap.

However, before she could stab her staff into the ground, a strong hand grabbed her wrist, instantly throwing her to the other side.

Katrin somersaulted and landed on two feet. She let out a sigh and looked at Adam, slightly surprised. She didn't expect him to give her help so quickly.

"Hey, be careful. That hole is pretty freaking deep. Damn, I didn't notice it was here at all." Adam muttered, rubbing his chin. He looked down thoughtfully, where it seemed there was nothing but darkness.

Katrin snorted.

"I could have done it without you. Don't expect me to thank you."

Adam glanced at her, then shrugged nonchalantly. He would have been surprised if Katrin had given him a different reaction.

Then, Katrin approached Adam, staring into the hole.

Soon, there was a set of red eyes that looked at them disgruntled and ran away. The trap had failed and now the monsters would have to prepare a new one.

"Damn, they make traps?" Adam raised an eyebrow, "Why the fuck are they so smart. I thought only pretty strong monsters were capable of that."

Adam as well as any more or less experienced Phantom knew that a monster's intelligence was often proportional to the monster's strength.

Only Crown Types were exceptions, not because they were weak and smart, but because they were strong and very smart, smarter than the others.

"Well, the average level of monsters in Black Cinder Forest is Purple Threat Level. Blue Threat Level monsters want to get here, but the Purple Threat ones just kick them out." Katrin shrugged, "Here in Dead Lands, the rules of the jungle work perfectly."

Adam turned to her.

"What do you mean by that? What do you mean Purple Threat monsters kick out the Blue ones?"

Katrin sighed heavily, looking around.

"It's all about territory and energy and resources. This place is just a paradise for fire monsters, I think that was clear without my explanation. However, while there is more than enough fire, there are limited resources and energy." Katrin said with a wave of her hand.

Adam nodded slightly, wanting to know a little more about this. He had never really thought about why there were certain boundaries on territories.

Humans often divided their territories amongst each other, but were monsters capable of doing that? Well, everything happened naturally.

"The Black Cinder Forest has a lot more energy than some other fiery area where Blue Threat Level monsters dwell. The Blue Ones are there and not here because they simply aren't strong enough for it."

Katrin continued:

"Blue Threat Monsters would be able to quickly evolve and become stronger if they spent a long time here and even more if they could absorb some resources, be it crystals filled with energy or some plants that consumed the energy that fills the area."

Katrin sighed heavily, looking at the faint streams of flame coming out of the ground. There weren't any monsters around them, as if they were all hiding. In fact, they had no reason to come out of their comfortable holes right now.

"Stronger monsters take the best places to develop. Sometimes they fight and if they win, they advance in strength even further, making a leap. Also, killing and eating a Phantom is a great way to get a lot of energy, it's like finding a huge energy crystal underground." Katrin explained.

Adam nodded, understanding what Katrin was talking about. Earlier, Silvana had explained the rules of monster distribution to him, but he wanted to hear about it from Katrin as well.

In the territories close to the Citadel, everything was somewhat artificial, because the powerful Phantoms had interfered. That was why there were rookie territories where all monsters stronger than Green Threat Level were slaughtered.

Stronger monsters were afraid to enter the beginner area and there was no point. Due to the lack of strong monsters there, anomalies rarely appeared and this caused a gradual decrease in energy throughout the area making it unattractive to strong monsters.

However, the farther away from the Citadel the weaker the Phantoms' influence on the territory division between monsters.

Some White Threat Monsters could live in a Purple Threat Level territory, but in a poor area where there was very little energy.

Despite wanting a better place, it was impossible, because the stronger monsters defended their areas and wouldn't allow the weaker ones to enter.

This was not the personal territories of these monsters, but a kind of unspoken agreement between them.

For example, the Black Cinder Forest was an area for Purple Threat Monsters, so if Green or Blue Threat Monsters tried to break through there, they were either killed or chased away.

However, if Purple Threat Level monsters wanted to enter Black Cinder Forest, no one tried to stop them. They might fight and die in a few days, but there was no prohibition for them to enter because they were worthy of it.

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It could be compared to luxurious restaurants or neighborhoods for the rich. If a person with insufficient money tried to enter, he was simply not allowed in. If a person was rich, he would trivially go inside because he was one of them.

Also, to compare with people could be added huge palaces or mansions with vast territories, which could be owned by one very rich person.

Monsters also had something similar. Particularly strong monsters or numerous Nests could occupy a certain territory, where there were many valuable resources, and use them only for themselves.

Essence Scarlet Pyromancer did something similar. It occupied an area near a large volcano where there was a lot of energy and flames, taking it all to itself alone.

"Come on. Stop looking down, nothing is interesting down there. They're already gone." Katrin touched Adam's shoulder before walking forward.

Adam nodded and followed her.

Katrin was too focused on her goal and Adam was immersed in his thoughts, so they didn't notice how in the distance, around and behind them, bumps appeared above the ground.

They moved quickly as if something was underground and disappeared to reappear elsewhere, and gradually they grew larger.