Chapter 76: Unexpected Allies

Adam was in high spirits as he headed towards the mission pad. Yesterday, he and Silvana had discussed all the details, so today, early in the morning it was time for him to meet with the Travelers Squad.

It was a small-sized Squad, consisting of five Phantoms and ten Harvesters. For a large Golden Searchers Nest, this was more than enough, considering they had K1 Phantom - Adam Vinter - with them.

Naturally, for Adam, the main goal was to fight the Prime King of the Golden Searchers and get purple threat genes to improve his Nexus. After this mission, he would take another step forward towards the first Key!

'Hmm... Besides genes and artifacts, I also still need some Midnight Crystal. I asked Silvana about it, but she said I first need to reach a peak level of power before I reach that stage... Well, it looks like it's going to be something difficult.' Adam pondered as he approached the Travelers Squad.

The first person to notice him was a girl with green hair and brown eyes. It was Barna Worlon, K0-Phantom and leader of Travelers Squad.

"You're finally here! I was worried that something had happened. We're only a few minutes away from the mission starting." Barna said respectfully as she bowed slightly.

Adam nodded.

"Is everyone here? I hope the mission department wasn't wrong, and I can fight the King!" Adam clenched his fist with an excited expression.

Barna nodded as she looked sideways at the squad members. The Phantoms and Harvesters were talking about something, but as soon as Adam arrived, they stopped.

Adam's eyes went wide, for among the five Phantoms, he was familiar with three at once!

In the center stood, Katrin, the girl Adam met in Desolate Forest. She had gray hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and the same cold stare as before.

To Katrin's right, was Mark, another member of their temporary group at Desolate Forest. His blue hair was slightly longer, and his azure eyes were full of enthusiasm.

These two were already enough to surprise Adam, however, Katrin and Mark were just as shocked, especially Katrin.

They didn't know who their K1-Phantom would be, only Barna and her Operator had that information.

However, the most interesting part was ahead, because the third Phantom was Kody!

While Kody, Mark, and Katrin stared wide-eyed at Adam, a fifth Phantom stepped forward. He was a stout man with short black hair and a scar over his right eye.

"Hi, I don't know what happened to the others, my name is Sirgus! I'd be happy to work together with you! I watched your fight against Brass Puppet, it was impressive!" Sirgus said excitedly, extending his hand.

Adam, with a slight smile on his face, responded to the handshake.

Then, he looked at Kody. He had a band-aid on his nose, it was obviously badly damaged or even broken for some reason.

Golden Searchers mostly lived in the Scorching Desert - their squad was headed here, to the northeastern part, the farthest and most dangerous.

Scorching Desert considered the area for Rookie Phantoms, as most of the monsters living there were White or Green Threat Level.

In fact, a monster like the Prime King of Golden Searchers was an anomaly and the strongest that could even appear in the Scorching Desert.

Finding information about such monsters was one of the top priorities of the mission department because if some K0-squad encountered the Prime King, no one from the squad would survive.

Fortunately, it was easy to find out about the arrival of such monsters. The Prime King of Golden Searchers was the strongest in this area, he stood at the top of the food chain, and no one could oppose him.

"Hey, have you met Adam?" Kody asked, riding in the same truck with Karin, she was driving and Mark.

Katrin nodded.

"Yeah, we were unlucky enough to get hit by a spatial anomaly, but we were saved by Damien."

"Damien...?" Kody's eyes went wide, they literally sparkled.

Damien was one of the few Second Rank Phantoms, so his name was known by almost every Phantom, after all, he was one of the pillars their Citadel stood on.

Katrin could well be called a true Damien's fan. Becoming a Second Rank Phantom was her main goal.

"Yes. He's just like you imagine him to be, free-spirited, energetic, egotistical, boisterous, and most importantly... insanely strong." Katrin uttered, gripping the wheel tightly.

Her gaze was directed at Adam, who was driving ahead.

Damien's interest in Adam was another reason why Katrin envied Adam. In her case, though, it was an impulse for progress and motivation.

Even negative feelings could be put to good use, it all depended on the person and the mindset.

...

Soon, the Travelers Squad reached a point - the huge Golden Searchers Nest of the open type.

That meant all the rooms, structures, walls, and buildings were on the surface instead of deep underground.

"Oh, looks like I can already feel it." Adam smirked, looking into the distance of the nest where a powerful aura was emanating from.