The Innkeeper

"You said you've kept a small piece to lure out Zagan?" Lex asked casually as they returned the formation that would take them out of here.

"Indeed," replied Aegis, as he gulped nervously. "It's much, much smaller than the one you took, but it should be more than enough to attract Zagan"

"Not bad, what's this crystal called?" he asked, still enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling that had enveloped his body.

"We're not sure if it has another name, as there's been no record of it before. Joseph, who found the crystal, called it Blue Crystal Essence. It is filled with an extremely potent destructive energy that is normally used to power formations."

Aegis gave him a look from the side of his eye but said nothing more. Lex on the other hand was quite confused by the destructive description, but how could he be blamed for considering it gentle when he only had less than 1% of the energy in his body.

"I've spent many years studying it, trying to figure out how it was formed," said Joseph, who politely included himself in the conversation. He suddenly felt it was very important to maintain good relations with Lex.

"I was unable to figure out how it was actually formed, but I did learn how it definitely wasn't formed. The formation of the Blue Crystal Essence was in no way familiar to that of spirit stones, and there was no energy accumulation process in the vicinity. In fact, there are no spirit stone mines anywhere nearby this area."

"Do you have any more in the area? I'd be willing to trade for it. Speaking of which, I've managed to get my hands on many of the items you put down on your list for me. You can drop by whenever you want to check them out."

"I'll make sure to visit soon," Joseph replied, looking away. He knew for a fact that no unknown people had come in or gone out of the tavern these past few days, so how did he get his hands on the required material? Not to mention, he got it so quickly.

Once Lex returned to the tavern safely, he told Aegis to stick by as he would give him the platinum key soon. Aegis wanted to take Fenrir out hunting again today, as the pup had shown great promise during their last venture out, but Lex told him next time. Since it was very likely he was about to return to the Inn, Fenrir would be returning with him.

Once alone, Lex did not immediately check his system. His body was still warm, and while he felt great after such a massive increase in strength, he felt slightly disoriented. His brain was not yet used to controlling his new strength and was causing him problems.

Not bothering with anything, Lex jumped directly into bed and took a nap. Though what he assumed was a nap lasted two whole days. A part of his rest was because of his brain once again getting used to a new, more powerful body, but also because of the tattoo on his back.

It had grown bigger, slightly, and more petals had appeared in each layer. Previously, the petals had been arranged in three layers, with five petals in each layer. Now, instead, there were 6 in each layer.

Such a change did not seem drastic, but that was only from a visual point of view. The Lotus had grown much stronger and gained immense potential, but as a result, had also increased the strength of its body with Lex's body.

When Lex finally woke up, completely unaware of the amount of time that had passed, he stretched like a cat before lazily checking the system from right inside his bed.

New Notification: 100% progress reached, host can return to the Inn at any time!

New Notification: 100% energy surpassed, channeling excess energy into dormant system functions.

New Notification: 1100% excess energy being transferred, new building/features unlocked!

New Features:

New status panel for monitoring Inn unlocked

New status panel for workers unlocked

New status panel for tracking multiple events unlocked

New status panel for locating quest potentials unlocked

New Building: Innkeeper's office building unlocked

Innkeeper's office building

A small building where the Innkeeper may see guests who wish to meet.

Lex raised an eyebrow, caught by surprise that he had actually surpassed the energy requirements. Moreover, while the description for his new unlocked features seemed simple, he doubted that was the case.

But all of that could wait. It was time to go home!

Lex immediately selected to return to the Inn, and felt a familiar sensation take hold of him. The teleportation was not as quick as he was used to from the Inn, but for some strange reason he lost track of time while teleporting. He only knew it wasn't quick.

But the moment it disappeared, Lex, who had his eyes closed, could immediately tell that he had returned.

It was in the freshness of the air, the smell carried on the breeze, the gentle sunlight on his skin. A smile formed on his face as he took in a deep breath and, after holding it in for a moment, let it all out with a satisfied sigh.

When he opened his eyes, a projection of Mary was standing there waiting for him. The smile on her face was no less than his. Truth be told, she was extremely nervous the entire time Lex was gone.

"Welcome back, Innkeeper," she said simply.

"It's good to be back," he said with a grin.

"It's excellent that you're in a bright mood," she continued, "because someone showed an interest in the jobs put up by Ragnar, but he said he wanted to meet with the Innkeeper before he accepts the tasks. I hope you're ready to convince him to take up the tasks, because depending on how this goes, you could be on the verge of becoming a trillionaire."