Chapter 186: Bussiness

As Adam stared at the apparitions, the entity finally spoke.

“Every time you equipped a talent… one of these guys appeared.”

Adam frowned.

The entity gestured lazily at the surrounding figures.

“They’re the phantoms that came with the talents you equipped. Just floating around in here.”

Adam slowly looked over the crowd again.

The Rapid Hare.

The River Lion.

The Goblins.

The Foul Hound.

The Infinite Worm.

All of them stood silently inside his soul.

Watching.

The entity continued.

“Although… there was one that wasn’t supposed to be here.”

Adam’s gaze snapped back to the entity.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” the entity said, shrugging, “normally the phantoms here are just the creatures you equipped special talents from. Makes sense. This is your soul, after all. And the talents are stored here.”

Adam listened quietly.

“But apparently,” the entity went on, voice amused, “when you equipped that affinity… its phantom managed to slip inside your soul too.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed.

The affinity.

He instantly knew what the entity meant.

The shadow.

The one that had tested him.

The thing that had lead to him getting Chaos.

So its phantom followed me here…

That actually made sense.

All affinities originate from the soul before binding to the genes…

Adam scanned the crowd of monsters again.

But there was no shadow.

Adam frowned.

“…Where is it?”

The entity waved a hand casually.

“Oh. It wasn’t supposed to be here.”

A small grin spread across its face.

“So I erased it.”

Adam stared at the entity for a moment.

Then he looked back at the phantoms surrounding him.

“…Good job.”

The entity chuckled.

“Thanks.”

Adam exhaled slowly and rolled his shoulders.

Then his eyes sharpened.

“So… all I have to do is deal with these guys…”

He gestured at the gathered monsters.

“…and I can leave.”

The entity nodded.

“Pretty much.”

Adam cracked his neck.

“That’ll be a piece of cake.”

Lightning instantly burst across his body.

“Rapid Charge—”

The lightning vanished.

Just like that.

Adam blinked.

“…What?”

He tried to feel for the special talent again.

Nothing.

The entity scratched its cheek.

“Oh right. Your equipped talents aren’t accessible here.”

Adam slowly turned his head.

“…You’re kidding.”

Around him, the phantoms began to move.

The Rapid Hare’s legs crackled with speed.

The River Lion lowered its massive head as it crackled with lightning.

The Goblins raised poisoned blades.

The Foul Hound’s bones shifted and grew beneath its skin.

The Infinite Worm writhed slowly in the distance.

All of them activating the talents he couldn’t use.

Adam stared at the incoming monsters.

Then he sighed.

“…Figures.”

Adam immediately pulled up his panel.

╭───────────╮

〖Name: Adam〗

〖Rank: Profound Apprentice〗

〖Cultivation Talent: G〗

〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect ❖ Analyze ❖ Fuse〗

〖Affinity: Wind ❖ Death+〗

〖SLOT〗

↳ SOUL (5): Rapid Charge D ❖ Cryogen D ❖ Cultivation D ❖ Mind Control E ❖ Bone Generation D

↳ BODY (6): JUDGEMENT

↳ Gene (3): Chaos

↳ Blessing: +5 Star Power

╰───────────╯

[Star Power: 54±]

[Existence: 3,000]

[Martial Spirit: Profound 4 Star]

Adam’s eyes narrowed, every single equipped talent was marked out.

He could see them.

But he couldn’t touch them.

His Star Power was still there. The raw strength hadn’t changed.

But without his talents, he couldn’t use even half of it properly.

And worse, Judgement wasn’t accessible either.

Adam exhaled slowly.

No abilities. No talents. No trump cards.

Just him.

And an army of monsters built from his own power.

Adam cracked his neck.

“…Not the first time I’ve fought without help.”

Then he stepped forward.

And charged.

The Rapid Hare moved first.

With explosive speed under its feet as it blurred forward.

Adam didn’t slow down.

Instead, he accelerated.

The phantom hare shot toward him like a cannonball.

Adam twisted his body at the last second.

The hare streaked past his shoulder, as Adam’s hand flashed out.

GRAB.

He caught the creature mid-air by the ears.

The phantom screeched as Adam slammed it straight into the ground.

BOOM.

Dust exploded outward.

But the moment he looked up, the River Lion was already charging.

Lightning crawled across its massive body as its jaws opened wide enough to swallow Adam whole and the ground shattered as the lion slammed into him.

Meanwhile…

Far away from the chaos inside Adam’s soul.

Remedy stood quietly in front of a mirror.

Her mother had bathed her thoroughly.

The girl now wore a simple but beautiful dress.

Her hair was neatly tied behind her head.

For a moment…

Remedy didn’t recognize the girl staring back at her.

She looked smaller, younger and weaker.

Her fingers slowly touched the mirror.

Behind her, her mother watched silently.

Her daughter looked so adorable.

But in Remedy’s eyes…

Something dangerous still flickered.

Something that had survived far too much.

And refused to disappear.

At that moment, Cynthia gently lifted Remedy into her arms and carried her toward the dining table.

The house felt quieter than usual.

Remedy noticed immediately.

Her father was in the sitting room.

And he wasn’t alone.

Three men sat across from him.

All of them wore dark suits that were sharp, clean and professional.

They looked like the kind of men who didn’t visit houses for casual conversations.

The moment Cynthia and Remedy entered, Henry noticed them.

His face brightened instantly.

“Ah, perfect timing.”

He stood up and gestured toward them with pride.

“This is my beautiful wife Cynthia.”

Cynthia gave the guests a polite nod.

“And this,” Henry continued, placing a gentle hand on Remedy’s shoulder, “is my lovely daughter, Remedy.”

Remedy stepped forward slightly.

Her small holding the edges of her gown as she made a respectful courtesy.

“Good morning, sirs,” she said politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The three men looked momentarily surprised.

Then one of them smiled faintly.

“What an intelligent girl.”

Remedy simply smiled back.

But inside her mind, the clock was ticking.

Time is almost up.

Everyone took their seats.

Cynthia returned from the kitchen carrying several dishes she had prepared earlier and carefully placed them on the table.

The aroma filled the room.

For a moment, the atmosphere relaxed as everyone began to eat.

The food was excellent.

Even the suited men seemed mildly surprised by how good it tasted.

But the peace didn’t last long.

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