The fighter had been flying for a few minutes, it wasn't a long period, it was hardly enough time to drink a cup of coffee, but they had already traveled far away from the Citadel.
A few minutes was enough to cover several dozen kilometers, flying over various areas filled with monsters and places Phantoms.
"Hey, we'll be arriving at the location soon. You know you'll have to manage without parachutes, right?" The man asked, starting to lower himself slightly, which in any other situation would have been an odd decision, but not now.
Adam and Katrin nodded, preparing to walk towards the exit.
The thing was, it was too dangerous to use parachutes in Black Cinder Forest.
The whole point was that it was a flaming location, and if something or someone lit their parachutes on fire when they were several kilometers high, Adam and Katrin would simply crash to the ground in bloody chunks.
Sure, that might not happen, but there was no point in risking it, because they were strong enough for the second option, which in this case was safer.
The pilot was going to lower the fighter as low as possible - only a hundred meters above the ground. Black Cinder Forest had plenty of places to ensure a soft landing.
"Ready?" The man asked, flying up to a convenient spot. He had to do everything quickly so the monsters wouldn't pay attention to him and attack the fighter.
"Yeah, go ahead. Don't put yourself in danger. I can already see where to fall." Adam said calmly, looking at the ground below.
The man nodded and immediately opened the door.
Powerful torrents of wind rushed inside, fluttering Adam's and Katrin's hair.
Step.
Adam stepped forward first, disappearing downstairs. Katrin immediately followed, afraid of losing even one second.
Undeterred, they felt the wind trying to throw them as far away as possible. Their bodies resisted the serious pressure while they were quickly approaching the ground.
From the outside, it looked much faster than it felt.
Whoooosh.
Adam's eyes shifted abruptly from one point to another, staring intently at the massive mound of ash.
In a heartbeat, Adam with Katrin crashed into that hill, plunging deep inside. The speed was so great that the outside of the hill exploded, raising waves of black ash that covered everything around them.
Some pieces of ash fell on the small fires burning on the ground, causing them to go out, only to reappear soon, bringing with them both warmth and danger.
"Well, let's get started," Adam said before stepping forward.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
At the same moment, something began to rise from the ground next to Katrin.
Before Adam could react, two paws with four red claws came out of the ashes following the head which had only one massive jaw.
The monster was going to grab Katrin's legs to plunge her deep underground where it would be much harder for her to save herself.
The monster had to act fast and it did so successfully because Adam didn't have time to turn around and attack the monster, the distance was too great.
Crackle.
The sharp tip of the wooden staff pierced the monster's head, forcing its jaws to stop. The monster shuddered before the half of its body that had emerged from the ground fell to hot ash.
Katrin looked at the monster with disdain and swung her staff, knocking the blood off its tip.
Adam stared at Katrin wide-eyed.
"Hmm? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? I may not have the same powerful attacking abilities as you, but my Nexus is strong enough to kill a simple monster." Katrin said confidently before stepping forward and walking next to Adam.
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Adam nodded, then his gaze went to her staff. Just then he thought about something important - Nexus was an essential part of the force dependent on Evolution Tree and Initial Gene, so...
"Wait... If you change your Initial Gene, then your Nexus should be different too, right?" Adam asked, looking puzzled at her weapon.
Katrin stopped, looked at her staff, and nodded with a deep look. She didn't want to part with her weapon that she had been through many fights with, but it was just necessary for a greater goal.
"Yeah... Not just the Nexus, but my Artifact as well. However, I'll get a new Nexus right away with my blood and energy, but I'll have to find a new Artifact..." Katrin muttered slightly biting her lip.
Then, she sighed heavily.
"I spent a hell of a lot of time trying to find a suitable artifact that would accept my Initial Gene... Well, I'll have to go back to searching again."
Adam's eyes went wide as a slight shiver went through his body.
Then he realized something momentous:
'Changing the Initial Gene leads to a change of absolutely everything... It will be a completely new Phantom, only the power and experience will remain.'