Chapter 1261: Glass Bridge (Part 1)

Garrah told Adam a lot about the Glass Bridge. Sure, he didn’t know everything, and most of the details were unknown to him since things were constantly changing, and he had last used the bridge many years ago.

However, he told Adam that crossing the Glass Bridge might not be so easy, and now Toa showed him his first obstacle.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to pay, human. Well, if you want to continue, that is.”

Toa smiled as she turned around once, looking around dreamily.

“I’m sure this is nothing new for you, as a human, right?”

“Pay?” Silvana’s indignant voice rang out. “Are you monsters or merchants? What does that even mean? You don’t have currency!”

Toa giggled. “Sure, we don’t have money and coins like you humans do. At least in most lands. However, we do have currency—energy.”

Silvana was about to say something, but Adam stopped her with a gesture.

“What if I don’t want to pay? You’re right, for me as a human, this is a familiar situation, but I’ve been through enough to understand you monsters well. No matter what your goals, rules, or currency are, power is what is valued most.”

“Well, that’s true for humans too,” Toa replied as her gaze darkened. “Just… You’re like a K4-Phantom, you don’t understand that real monsters are one step above you in evolution. Do you really think that among the Second Rank Phantoms, there is anything more important than power?”

Silence.

There was no answer.

Then, Toa sighed and glanced at Kara, who was getting angrier by the second. She clearly didn’t like how Adam and especially Silvana were behaving.

“As for your question, you cannot defeat us. You are stronger than us, I can feel it in your aura, but we can escape because this is our territory. And, without our permission, you cannot leave the bridge.”

At that moment, Adam’s eyes turned toward the abyss and the lands of two different regions.

He didn’t know if he could negotiate with Kara and Toa, but before he could do anything, Toa shook her head.

“Don’t even think about it. You can’t cross the gorge by air. The beetles you saw are just a few of the monsters living under the bridge. No matter how much you want to, without our permission, a K4-Phantom cannot cross the Glass Bridge.”

Toa and Kara had long been guardians of the Glass Bridge and were experienced. They knew how to negotiate, although Toa was usually the one who did it.

The Phantoms weren’t the only ones who tried to cross the Glass Bridge. In fact, the Phantoms were in the minority, as most of the time it was monsters from other territories who came here. If they wanted to cross into a deeper region, they had to choose one of the routes, and the Glass Bridge was often their choice.

What about the Second Rank Phantoms?

Well, if for some reason one of them needed to cross the Glass Bridge, all Kara and Toa could do was step aside and not interfere. The best solution for them would be to hide, but the last time that happened was a very long time ago.

Such creatures could simply fly high above the ground, and no one would dare stop them.

But Adam was not a Second Rank Phantom; he aspired to be one, but until his time came, he had to play by the rules.

“I see…” Adam muttered as he turned to Toa. “Then how can I pay you? What exactly do you want? Should I have brought you the energy crystals?”

Toa shook her head.

“Most often, people come to us with the Midnight Crystals. I think that’s not surprising, it’s a valuable resource that can be transported. However, there are many other things in this world that are full of energy, and one of them is in your possession, isn’t it?”

Adam knew that it would come to this as he nodded deeply and took a black root out of his pocket.

Kara’s eyes widened for a moment, revealing how valuable this small, palm-sized root was.

“This will be enough, won’t it?” Adam asked calmly. He wasn’t worried that anything could go wrong.

For some reason, he trusted Garrah completely and knew that if Garrah had given him this root, then he knew what he was doing.

Toa examined the root and nodded deeply.

“Yes. Considering that your destination is the Forgotten Mills, we accept your payment.”

Step.

Kara stepped forward.

“Follow us! Don’t even think about doing anything else, or the entrance will be closed to you!”

Adam shrugged and followed the two guards. Everything went pretty well, better than he expected.

However, when they crossed the middle of the bridge, Kara and Toa stopped and turned to him.

“Is something wrong?” Adam frowned, he didn’t like this.

Without saying a word, Kara and Toa put their palms together, directing energy downward.

At the same moment, in front of Adam, on the bridge, a complex seal appeared, consisting of many runes and several circles corresponding in size.

Soon, the seal adjusted to human size.

“You must stand in the center,” Toa said. “This is the final test. We don’t know if you are harboring any artifacts or resources that could harm the region. Consider this an additional check, just like you humans have.”

Kara nodded.

“You can’t even imagine what monsters have tried to cross this bridge, even though they knew it was forbidden. What’s more, this seal will test your mind.”

“What? What does that mean?”

Toa explained. “Nothing serious. It’s our way of making sure that your destination is really the Forgotten Mills. I think you understand why this is important.”

Adam and Silvana exchanged glances and nodded as he stepped forward, standing in the middle of the seal.

Several energy rings swirled around him, conducting the check.

Everything was going well until… the dark energy inside him attracted the attention of the dormant creature at the foot of the bridge.

Unexpectedly, a massive shadow swept across the pillar, leaping high into the air.

RUMBLE!

With a rumble, the huge beast hidden in the shadows appeared in the middle of the bridge as if it owned the passage. Its mere presence caused Kara and Toa’s faces to pale and their eyes to fill with fear.

The beast’s blue eyes did not look at the two guards, but were directed at Adam, showing him a broad grin full of curiosity.