The Silver Weaver and the Hundreds of Rats

Thick black fur, hard and resilient even after death covered Silver Weaver's entire body like thousands of sharp needles capable of frightening any, even the bravest opponent. A long tail with thick bone slowly swayed among the bubbles like the echo of a powerful weapon.

Silver threads ran along the monster's paws with short but extremely sharp claws, no shield could protect against them. Layers of tiny scales covered the monster's belly in several rows, occasionally sending a glint outward.

An elongated neck transitioned into a wide mouth with two rows of teeth and two eyes with sharp vertical pupils. Two pairs of ears, of varying length and size, were at the bottom and top of the head, like the webbing of a lizard.

Many places on the Silver Weaver showed scars, rips, cuts, and countless other wounds.

Adam was not the sole cause of all these injuries, though he had inflicted the most powerful and last one.

"So many scars... At first, I didn't even notice it... Is that really why I managed to kill it?" Adam muttered in disbelief. He didn't know if he should try to hide it or not, since Douglas and Damien already knew everything anyway. 

"Maybe, but we highly doubt it." Douglas replied, "Those scars are old since apparently Silver Weaver became strong rather than being born that way."

Adam gave him a questioning look.

"Ghm." Douglas coughed, "Monsters like Phantoms can get stronger, you should have realized by now that monsters are not one unified army or race. If given the chance they will kill each other and eat each other. Obviously, whoever survives after dozens of such battles becomes stronger than those who lose."

Douglas continued, "Given the number of scars and the approximate age of Silver Weaver as you say... we have an assumption that at the very beginning of his journey, he was an ordinary white threat-level monster, but that was a long time ago."

"Was...?" Adam muttered uncertainly, "In that case, what threat level would you give Silver Weaver?"

Douglas sighed heavily.

"Well... That's not an easy question, since we haven't seen what that monster is capable of in combat. Before you came here, we didn't even know what the correct name of this monster was."

Then, Douglas scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, based on the physical evidence we've gotten, the research department is inclined to believe that the Silver Weaver is at least a purple threat-level monster."

"Purple Threat Level...?" Adam trembled as his eyes went wide, "No... That can't be. You must be mistaken about something. The Azure Salamander in Desolate Forest had the same threat level... If I were to meet such a monster as a mere human, there's no way I would be able to defeat it..."

Damien smirked.

"Yeah, this is where we get to the most interesting part!"

"Agh...?" Adam was puzzled.

"Most likely, the Silver Weaver was heavily poisoned, but the effects of the poison had already passed by the time you faced him. Because otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to become Naturalborn Phantom since someone else's genes would have affected the Silver Weaver's gene and destabilized it!" Damien explained.

Adam got a complicated look on his face. Understanding what he heard was difficult, and realizing it was even harder. 

"I see... I didn't have Spark... which means my only opportunity to become a Phantom is to kill a monster 1 vs. 1 without the genes of other creatures interfering..." Adam muttered with a deep gaze.

Douglas nodded.

"We have two theories as to what happened near Tar Lake. First one: Silver Weaver had just gotten rid of the poison in his body and was looking for a quick recovery and headed to Scorching Desert to kill and eat a lot of weak monsters. The Silver Weaver met you and was about to kill you as another victim, but you were able to fight back and through luck win.

Second one: Silver Weaver was dying of old age or some old injury that slowly but surely killed him over the years, but in this case, it's almost the same thing. That might explain why you were able to defeat him since he was probably at the minimum of his power at the time."

Everyone was silent for a while. Only the thumping of keyboards from the working scientists in the research department could be heard. 

Then, Damien stepped forward and looked at Adam.

"Hey, we didn't bring you here just to show you a previously unknown monster that appeared out of nowhere. We have a proposition for you." Damien said calmly but had a sly smile on his face.

"I don't know what you're trying to say, but I have a bad feeling about this." Adam frowned.

"Hahaha, Damien, why are you scaring him?" Douglas laughed, "Although... it could really be dangerous."

Damien lifted his chin, casting a sly look at Adam.

"I want to give you a localized hell, under my responsibility as Second Rank Phantom. I will send you to the edge of the Scorching Desert, bordering another area known as the Rusty Ruins. It's home to the Desert Mechanical Rats. They're weaker than the Desert Rats, but they are much, much more numerous. They're breeding like the plague in one of their Nests. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Damien smirked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Adam, how many more neutral genes do you need to unlock your Lock?" Douglas asked.

Adam shrugged.

"I'm not sure... In Golden Searchers Nest, I've collected quite a few genes as well as Desolate Forest, but I'm not likely to have collected even 20%. Still, 1,000 neutral genes is really a lot." Adam sighed.

"Exactly! That's why I want you to single-handedly clear that nest! There's supposed to be a squad heading there in two days, but we'll beat them to it!" Damien exclaimed with an excited expression.

Adam scratched the back of his head as he glanced at Damien.

"Are you going to help me?"

"Nah." Damien waved his hand, "I'll be in the distance watching you. My Evolution Tree and Initial Gene are too strong. If I get involved in killing rats, you won't be able to collect their genes. They'll just disintegrate and disappear." Damien shrugged his shoulders.

Then, he stepped forward, towering over Adam.

"If you want to unlock your Lock before the next Eclipse, you have to set up a real meat grinder there, a fucking genocide of hundreds of rats. Then, and only then, can you find out what your Beginning Monster is and finally step forward!" Damien's eyes grew cold, and Adam felt real pressure.

Adam remained silent until he nodded, "Fine, I'll do it. Honestly, I'm sick of being stuck in one place. I want to become as strong as you, but... Why do you both have such an interest in me?"

Douglas interjected into the conversation.

"Adam, you are showing promise, and it is our responsibility as elders to help you grow. Don't forget, everything we do is in the name of protecting the Citadel and humanity."

Then, he sighed.

"That will be all for now. I will contact Silvana and explain everything to her. She'll probably object, but there's nothing she can do against your orders."

"I see... Well, I'll meet you tomorrow then..." Adam nodded, heading towards the exit.

"Sure." Douglas uttered, then the doors closed.

Damien smirked, standing next to Douglas and looking at the Silver Weaver curiously.

"You know... The head of the mission department is going to be furious about what we're about to do. I won't indulge your chaotic desires anymore. This was the last time, at least with Adam." Douglas said quietly.

Damien's corners of his mouth went up.

"Sorry, I'm just too curious about what his Beginning Monster will be like. Naturalborn Phantom getting the gene of a monster unknown until now... That combination hasn't happened in a long time." 

Douglas shook his head.

"One such case is standing right next to me now..."

"Oh, don't make me feel embarrassed."