The Innkeeper

Lex was running low on Qi, but he couldn't afford to be conservative. The only detail he had was that the volcano would erupt, not how strong or large the eruption would be. But, with his luck, and the fact that he felt like that uniformed man from earlier was targeting him somehow, he was sure it would be a massive eruption.

In that case, even running would not put him out of the danger zone, but he couldn't think of any other solution. He could buy Icarus' wings from the Gift shop at the Inn, but a part of him was sure he was under surveillance and did not want the extra attention pulling something out of thin air would garner him.

It was while he was thinking of solutions while running downhill from the volcano as fast as he could without tripping, that he heard a sound similar to the new quest sound in his mind. He stopped running for a moment to check the system and then grinned.

System notification: A massive buildup of natural spirit energy detected. Should the system absorb it?

"Mary, why is the system asking me if it can absorb the energy now, but not during the snowstorm?"

"According to system surveillance... the energy signature within the snowstorm belonged to something, and so was under its influence. The energy signature now is the result of a natural phenomenon and is not under the influence of anyone or thing, which means the system can absorb it. I suspect the impending volcanic eruption is partly due to the massive surge in energy."

"Which means if the system absorbs the energy, the eruption shouldn't happen, or at least should not be as big."

Without waiting for Mary's answer, he directly let the system absorb the energy. He expected it would take a while, but only a few moments later, the system had already absorbed it, and his progress bar for energy accumulation went up to 0.5%.

Immediately after, a few things happened. Firstly, Lex felt a minor earthquake, but that was it. Secondly, he received a bunch of system updates, which were apparently a thing. Thirdly, he finally received a quest.

Lex checked the updates, but they all culminated into a performance index. Basically, because the system had been forced to activate additional features due to the advanced authority, while not meeting the energy requirements to actually run those features, the system had selectively turned off features to compensate. Long story short, the system was currently performing a lot of features at a subpar level. That was also the reason why he had only just received a quest - the absorbed energy helped the system loosen its restrictions.

This was also bad news for Lex in a way, since if the system kept using the energy he absorbed to run its features, the accumulated energy would slowly decline.

Lex put that thought out of his mind for now, since he literally could do nothing about it except avoid using advanced features, and checked out his quest.

New Quest: Investigate the source of the anomaly in 7 Nation Crystal Realm

Quest Reward: Realm Seed

Remarks: Your reflection is not the anomaly, you really are that ugly.

"What is the anomaly? The quest doesn't say," Lex asked Mary.

"Whatever caused you to enter the realm is the anomaly. Entering and exiting a realm is no simple feat, even for a small one like this."

"And how exactly am I supposed to look for it?"

"To be honest, I don't really think you can. My suggestion is that you just focus on getting enough energy to come back. If this quest were easy, the reward wouldn't be so big."

"The Realm Seed? What is that?"

"It's an upgrade for the system. It'll allow you to convert the Midnight Inn into its own realm. Currently, the Inn exists inside an artificial Minor realm inside the Origin realm, but upgrading to its own realm will massively increase the Inn's capabilities."

Lex's jaw nearly dropped, and a familiar tinge of greed appeared in his heart before he quickly suppressed it. Since the quest had no time-limit... it was definitely one he would complete one day. But for now, Mary was right. Returning took priority.

Lex continued to jog for the rest of the assessment, but nothing happened the entire time. There was no eruption, or earthquake, or anything that might even remotely endanger him. His next assessment sent him to a detention center. He shared a cell with another prisoner and had to wait 4 hours before the assessment was over.

Lex knocked him out and tied him up, not taking any chances that he may call guards. The assessment after that put him on stage in front of thousands of people who were waiting for him to give a speech. Lex did not know what the event was for, or what subject he was supposed to give a speech on, but he had to survive for 30 minutes before it ended. Lex flawlessly gave a speech about the importance of having fun. As for stage fright? Please, Lex was used to talking down to devils, let alone a crowd of humans.

The assessment after that put him in a pitch black environment. There was no source of light, but Lex could hear a lot of things moving in the darkness close to him. He didn't risk trying to turn on his own flashlight, as even the usual yellow ball was replaced by something that whispered his assessment in his ear.

All he had to do to pass was remain undetected for 10 minutes. Lex slowed down his breathing, and didn't move even when something brushed against him, easily passing the assessment.

Like this, the assessments continued for what felt like days. Lex did everything from teaching kids a subject, to cooking at a restaurant, to fighting for a crowds entertainment. Most of the assessments were a blur to him, but the one that he remembered clearly was executing an imprisoned Kraven.

Lex paused for a moment, to observe the strange creature that had caused a war that continued for centuries. Then his quest, the one that he had given up on, updated.