The Innkeeper

It took nearly eight hours for the poison to be cleansed from Lex's body. He wasn't completely healed by the time that was done, but he was well enough that he exited the tube to complete some of his other tasks. During this previous expedition, though he had a sword, he had not ended up using it even once. He had practiced using it a little, but the matter of fact was that he was nowhere near competent enough to use it skillfully.

Heck, he had only been a cultivator less than a year, or a little more - he had lost track of time - but he had been so busy during that time that something like training methodically and systematically was impossible. He had gotten better with his gun, but only because his enhanced senses made using it simple. The amount of time he had trained was miniscule.

As such, for now at least, carrying such a weapon was not feasible for him. Perhaps later, when he had the time to train, he would come back to it. Now, though, he decided to go even simpler.

He made his way to the weaponsmith who he previously used to work for and used his newfound wealth to purchase a pair of black gloves. Other than providing basic protection for his hands, the gloves provided him with a series of benefits due to their enchantments. The gloves conducted spiritual energy, and so would not get in the way of his array casting, while another enchantment would stabilize his hands and fingers to help his precision while drawing characters.

It also had a simple yet powerful shockwave ability. Lex could store spiritual energy into it and activate it while hitting something to launch the shockwaves.

He also bought new armor and gear. He no longer lived with the delusion that either the armor or gear would serve him for long, so he went for items with greater immediate benefits rather than that could serve him long term. After all, it was all too common for him to lose or break whatever gear he had. He still couldn't get over the loss of his Fancy Monocle.

With that done, he returned to Cwenhild. While he was recovering, she had submitted the report of her success, as well as the numerous sleeping Crystals in her new realm. Even the admin for the academy had been startled by the news. An investigation was ongoing and this would most likely turn into a bargaining chip for the academy with the Crystal race. It was not easy to earn their favor, and so they would be sure to make the best use of this opportunity.

Suffice to say, once her realm was thoroughly explored, and the scope of her situation was understood, Cwenhild would be appropriately rewarded. Entrance into the core of the academy was all but guaranteed for her at this point.

Of course, she had also silently and secretly sent information about this event to her mother. Who knew, maybe this could prompt the woman to even come back to the academy, which was something Cwenhild would have enjoyed. After all, there were certain things she could only do with her mother around. Cwenhilds ambitions were no less than her mothers.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Lex. What he was after was something else entirely.

"This is the list of Minor realms with Foundation realm only designations," Cwenhild said, as she handed Lex a list. "A detailed report of what's happening inside is hard to get, as currently the only source of information is the students who have left. There is one, however, that I think fits your criteria well, though I personally am not so sure about it.

"It has the highest chances that no one has gotten even close to figuring out where the focal point is because the realm is overrun by Imps. And when I say overrun, I'm being modest. Tens of thousands of imps occupy this realm, all part of various warring clans that, I assume usually fight each other, but as soon as the students appeared they all attacked them immediately. There have been dozens of casualties confirmed, with hundreds of missing students, presumed dead or captured. There's a massive battle that's been going on for the past few hours between students and thousands of imps. It is by far the most chaotic realm so far."

"Ah such terrible news, so many innocent students coming to harm. I suppose it is my responsibility to go and end their suffering by taking over the realm and ejecting them from whatever prisons the imps have kept them in."

Cwenhild gave him a bland look, as if she was not at all impressed by his humor.

Lex chuckled and said, "Don't worry, just have a buyer ready for me by the time I come back. You're sure there are no reports of Kravens in the realm? Or any other Golden core creatures?"

"No, that Kraven was an anomaly that the academy is looking into. Such a thing should not happen. As for other Golden core creatures, that's entirely possible. In such matters, as long as the disadvantage is not overwhelming, the academy does not interfere. But Lex, are you really sure you want to do this alone? You've experienced firsthand how difficult it was to claim a realm."

"Don't worry. Even if I can't get this one, I'm sure I can manage at least one. As for going alone, I think it's for the best. No one will be looking for or expecting a lone person to take a realm. Besides, if I don't need to worry about warning others about danger all the time, and only have to look after myself, I'll be much faster."

Cwenhild did not argue. She did not believe in being pedantic, and showing concern for his wellbeing once was already uncharacteristic for her usual self. Besides, Lex's business proposal of capturing realms, and then instead of reporting it to the academy, selling them to students who are pursuing the core of the academy was an extremely... lucrative idea. It was madness to be honest. Who would value money over getting to the core of the academy? Lex apparently. If anything, it seemed he thought of it as an inconvenience to avoid.

She shook her head and then signaled one of her attendants. An academy administrator came into the room and, after being informed of which one, opened a portal for Lex to the realm. By going to the realms from Cwenhilds apartment instead of the public entrances, they could better hide their movements. After all, if the academy registered the achievement of claiming a realm under Lex's name, the value of selling the realm would diminish drastically.

Lex was all too familiar with the sensation of passing through a portal by now and took it in his stride. He was looking forward to the next few days. He had been planning on going to Minor realms in search of energy reserves anyway, but now he could gain double the benefits.

The moment he arrived in the Minor realm, however, a massive hammer the size of a car door smashed him directly in the face. It happened too fast for him to even sense, let alone dodge.

His body was thrown in the air but the disorientation lasted only a moment, and he gathered himself before he even landed. He didn't even need to glance around to realize that he had arrived right in the middle of a massive battle.

Lex crashed into a few imps and while the force of the crash severely damaged them, Lex quickly hopped onto his feet to look around. Hundreds of students were fighting against thousands of imps, as well as trolls.

Lex was already familiar with these two races, as he had studied them in his classes. Imps and trolls were both humanoid creatures, but drastically different in size. Imps were usually around 3 feet (0.9 meters) in size, and were feral creatures with only basic intelligence. They were, however, feral in nature and carriers of various diseases. Trolls were usually anywhere between 8 to 12 feet (2.4 - 3.7 meters) in size and were even dumber, making them easily manipulated by the imps. They boasted mild immunity to spiritual energy and great physical strength.

Still, the academy students were not pushovers and the numerical disadvantage did not deter them.

Yet the fight was a wild skirmish, with each doing whatever they saw fit, which only served to increase the chaos.

Lex paid no attention to any of that, though. Masterfully dodging any attacks coming his way, he rubbed his nose that had taken the brunt of that hammer, and waited for the Lotus to tell him about any nearby energy reserves.

He was not disappointed, and as soon as he got a direction, he used Hearts marathon to bolster his speed and ran off. The one thing he had learnt while helping Cwenhild was that, as long as he only faced those in the Foundation realm, he had little to fear. That's what gave him his confidence in trying to claim multiple realms. Now, he had to put his skills to the test.

*****

Origin realm, Pendal Galactic Battlefront

Ragnar's command carrier did not alter its paths as it tore through asteroids bigger than Earth, though it had begun to slow down. Six other command carriers were stationed on the border of this battlefront; a void without any stars, let alone star systems and planets. Only an endless field of rocks and desolation as far as the eye could see, with no indication of what this region had once been.

This would be the first time, in a long time, that Ragnar would face an enemy other than demons. But just as that was a war he had to face, so too was this. But, unlike the clash humans had against Devils, which was personal, this battlefield was one they were obligated to fight in, so long as they took advantage of the Henali conventions.

Somewhere else in the command carrier, a tired Alexander looked out into space. The former golden child of destiny was now naught but an exhausted soldier. Yet, hidden deep in his eyes was a fire that burned brighter than the stars. So long as he was alive, the universe had not beaten him.