The Innkeeper

Countless thoughts swam through Lex's mind as he followed Mateo. The feelings of nostalgia did not last long, and Lex quickly realized how unusual the situation was for him to be caught up in such emotions.influenced so easily. There was definitely more to the door than it seemed, and it was definitely not as happy or endearing as the emotions it evoked.

But considering how this temple was filled to the brim with extraordinarily high leveled items, it was no surprise that Lex should encounter one. The only thing worthy of note was that Mateo had mentioned that the door should not have appeared here, and its presence betrayed the fact that the temple was malfunctioning.

Lex put his thoughts of the unusual door behind him as he entered the new room where he would be sunbathing. A single survey of the room revealed the fact that, unlike his previous two experiences, which were very relaxing, this room most likely had an ulterior motive.

It looked like a simple beach, where there was a reclining chair spread out for him, as well as a pair of sunglasses. But the steam coming out of the sand each time a wave of water receded, and the unusual rippling of air akin to that above of a bonfire told Lex that the sunlight was a tad hot.

Of course, to Lex it did not feel like anything other than a gentle warmth from the sunlight. He was reminded that besides allowing him to replenish his exhausted strength, the purpose of these few days was also so that Cassandra could study his limits thoroughly. Although Lex could not estimate the various metrics she was studying, that did not mean she was slacking on her job.

Aware of the fact that his leisure time was bound to end soon, Lex stripped down to his undergarments and lay down on the chair, putting on the appropriately sized sunglasses to protect his eyes.

Since he had a few hours to spare, and did not plan on napping before going to bed at night, Lex spent the next few hours practicing the anti divination technique.

By the time Mateo returned to escort him back, Lex felt somewhat more familiar with the technique, but was nowhere confident enough to use it passively. He could already tell that reaching such a level would take a long time.

The sunbathing gave him no noticeable benefit, although he noticed that by now even the water was boiling and steam was rising from the sand all around him. Was it supposed to be really hot?

It appears that after training in lava, he had a much higher tolerance to heat than before. That was already expected though.

In his bedroom he was once again faced with a pod full of sand. Already familiar with it, he did not hesitate to get it, use his anti-divination technique and then go to sleep. He was looking forward to his training the next day.

When he woke up, Lex felt a noticeable difference. He did not feel stronger, but rather more comfortable in his own body. Moreover, he had a vague sense that he had barely slept a couple of hours, unlike the last few days where he was sleeping nearly twelve hours.

When he exited, he found that Cassandra was waiting for him, though her gaze seemed to be fixed on her clipboard.

"From today onwards, your routine will change. Although you will still have to sleep and eat every day, the amount will be much less than the previous few days. I've also adjusted the intensity of your training. It seems that I originally underestimated your tenacity. Now that I know your body can tolerate a much harsher beating, I've condensed several individual lessons into single, more demanding lessons. Have your breakfast and let's go."

Instead of a feast, what awaited him was a single bowl of porridge, a glass of milk and what looked like a protein bar. Lex couldn't deny the disappointment he felt after being spoiled the last few days, but he did not let them affect him.

He hurriedly consumed his breakfast, not bothering to waste time savoring it. As much as he enjoyed good food, he currently felt impatient to see what kind of training awaited him.

Once he was done, Cassandra led him wordlessly to their first training room. Usually Lex would have tried to strike up a conversation with her, but today he decided to let it go. For too long had he been waiting to see what the training of the temple really was.

Compared to how grand the temple was, the first training room seemed unusually mundane. It was a square room with dark gray walls and barely any lighting. If not for his improved eyesight, Lex would practically be blind here.

"Here put this on," Cassandra said as she pointed to a gray, leather armband that was placed on a table in the corner.

It looked ordinary, but as soon as Lex touched it he felt a strange suffocating feeling as his access to all the spirit energy in his body was cut off. Startled, Lex nearly dropped the band, but he regained composure quick enough. He looked towards Cassandra, as if demanding an explanation.

"Originally, I was planning to begin your training by helping you sense divine energy. Then there would have been a session to help you control divine energy while keeping it outside of your body. If you absorb divine energy, your cultivation technique will automatically convert it to your unique brand of energy stored within your core, which is why it is important to manipulate it outside of your body.

"After that, you would have begun amalgamating the external energy into your attack patterns. You already know how to boost and strengthen your weapons using your internal energy, but you can do the same with external energies as well. You can also already control external energies, because if you did not you would not be able to use your spatial affinity so fluidly - after all, it requires manipulation of spatial energy.

"Considering your familiarity with the concepts, I anticipated that it would take you three to four days to learn all of this. But, considering your inhuman resilience, your ridiculous healing capabilities and your amazing comprehension speed, we will do all of that today.

"By blocking off your control over the energy within your body, you will only be able to use external energy. This particular room is designed to filter all kinds of energies, allowing only a specified one inside. As such, I will flood the room with divine energy. Then I will give you a sword capable of enhancement via divine energy, and then put you up against a foe many times stronger than you, as well as more skilled than you in combat.

"Can you guess what happens next? You're right, it will be a fight to the death. Of course, should you fail, I'll stop before you really die, but don't doubt that I will fully allow you to get hurt very seriously. After all, at the temple, we can heal you and bring you back to a fighting state.

"But, do not worry. Leaving you to fight a far superior foe without guidance is not my style - for this level of training, at least. Step-by-step instructions on how to deal with the foe will be transmitted directly to your brain. They will include two steps. The first step will be the physical maneuver, and the second step will be the divinity enhancement. If you manage the first and not the second, you will not be able to reproduce the desired effect, but you also won't die too quickly.

"Now, put on the band and take your sword. You can practice a little before we summon your opponent."

"This… how can you call this training?" Lex asked in an exasperated way. Even Marlo at least taught him some basic moves, and that fellow was unhinged!

"This is, of course, not your training," Cassandra responded, her voice and expression completely neutral. "This is only the first step. Activating your sense of danger will push your brain into a hyper state, thereby speeding up your learning process. This is just so you can figure out how to control external energy faster. The actual training begins afterwards."

"I don't need the threat of death to do that," said Lex as he put on the armband and grabbed a longsword which magically appeared in the air in front of him. "I can do that on my own."

As if to explain to Cassandra what he meant, Lex entered his state of Flow.

A projection for a simple slash entered his mind, similar to the one had been practicing but never satisfied with, but with minute differences all the same. Moreover, there was a distinct moment right at the beginning of the move when the edges of the sword began to glow, giving off a soft, white light.

Devoid of all emotion, Lex tried to replicate the move. Although the sword did not ultimately glow, Cassandra was able to detect a ripple in the divine energy within the room. A faint expression finally appeared within her usually neutral eyes.