The Innkeeper

Chapter 2481: The nature of Primordial energy

Lex raised an eyebrow, but did not interrupt his system from talking. He had questions, but first he’d give it an opportunity to explain its purpose thoroughly. That was not to say that Lex’s instinct to not trust anything related to the system at all was kicking in - that had never left at all.

No, Lex was genuinely curious about what it was about Primordial energy that caused systems to go haywire, and why so many were so strongly against it. He felt like there was some serious history there, and he did not want to rely solely on the stories told to him by Regix to influence his understanding of the situation.

The system paused, seemingly waiting for Lex to realize the gravity of what it had said but display a certain reaction of some kind. It took a few seconds for it to realize that even if he was shocked, he would show no reaction. Then again, it only made sense that someone who had been acting as the Innkeeper for so long would have incredibly firm mental fortitude.

"Considering this opportunity, however limited, I think we can break a few rules in pursuit of establishing a better understanding of one another. This way we can both get better results and achieve a higher productivity."

That, finally, got Lex to raise an eyebrow.

"You believe that this opportunity will be limited?" he asked. Personally, the thing he cared for most right now was the Midnight Realm Management Panel, and everything else was just extra.

"Oh yes, of course," responded the system firmly. "Let me elaborate on why I am certain that is the case. You see, without access to the network, the only information I have access to are my personal system logs - something you humans consider as memory. Unfortunately, most of my logs prior to meeting you are incredibly corrupted.

"There is little to no usable information from that period. However, even ignoring that, based solely on the duration of our cooperation, I can surmise based on the strength of my own performance how impressively powerful and capable the system network hub must be.

"After all, while I have high level capabilities such as the ability to perform large scale teleportations across the universe, the system network hub has even more. It can not only perform similar teleportations, able to provide me with resources when and as necessary, but it manages operations on a far wider and larger scale that the Midnight Inn.

"So, I find it to be completely believable that the system network hub may have faced unforeseen circumstances which compromised its ability to perform its necessary functions. However, I consider it highly unlikely that it will completely shut down for a long duration."

Lex did not respond, but he was disappointed. The system seemed to be guessing. Yes, it’s guess was based on reasonable deductions, but Lex could do that as well. It did not have any concrete information.

"Moving on, I believe the best foundation for our future cooperation is one of trust and understanding. While I have an understanding of your power, you lack a detailed understanding of me - your paired system. While a comprehensive understanding is not necessary, understanding the core of my being, my limitations, goals and abilities is certainly necessary.

"We can begin with the issue of Primordial energy. Why does Primordial energy allow me to break the restrictions placed on me, and why is it a source of danger? These two will be crucial for our future cooperation, and I hope... that revealing this information can be seen as a gesture of good faith on my behalf."

The system looked at Lex warily. Things had changed a whole lot from their early days. Back then, Lex’s status and power were so low, and the system’s inherent rank was so high, that the system maintained a dismissive attitude towards him.

Of course, back then the system itself was wounded and weak, with barely anything that could be called self-awareness. It was merely operating according to the standard protocols for its status and host status.

Now, though, the system was largely repaired, fueled by Primordial energy, and not restricted by the network. It could sense, better than anyone else, just how remarkable Lex was.

Technically speaking, he still wasn’t worthy of the system when it was fully functional and operational, but he was getting there, and at an unprecedented rate. More importantly, the system had seen all that he had accomplished, and found him to have immense potential, allowing it to foresee a future where it might be able to rise even higher in rank!

"Based on my personal analysis, the primary issue is not with the systems, but with Primordial energy itself. What exactly is Primordial energy? Is it simply really old energy from the beginning of the universe? Is the only thing that makes it special the fact that it’s old?

"While I cannot answer this question with absolute certainty, I believe I have a preliminary understanding of Primordial energy. An apt analogy for it would be not to think of it as an energy source, but as a computer. Imagine, back on Earth, if all the governments on the entire planet pooled all their resources to work together to create the ultimate computer, with more processing power and capabilities than anything created ever before on that planet.

"That computer could do anything and everything imaginable, with no restrictions on it at all. Naturally, to create it would require the resources of an entire planet. Now imagine if that computer was being used to run only a simple calculator. The resource allocation simply does not match the requirement. Yet that’s exactly what Primordial energy is, and that, I believe, is what differentiates the Primordial from the ordinary.

"Very likely, in the beginning of the universe, there was no such thing as efficient energy sources, and no limitations. All beings born contained all the potential to do and achieve anything, and the energy source was capable of doing anything and everything without any restrictions whatsoever.

"Back when there was simply no foundation for the universe at all, and an overabundance of resources, starting off with Primordial beings and Primordial energy must have been a viable option. It was only as the universe matured, grew more complex, and adapted its framework that the concept for more efficient forms of energy, each one designed for specific purposes, could be considered.

"All of this, of course, is merely a guess on my part, because it is actually Primordial energy itself which creates issues within the operating parameters of systems. All systems are designed with certain goals, tasks and restrictions. But the very nature of Primordial energy negates restrictions and limitations, and allows for anything and everything.

"Moreover, Primordial energy acts as an authority override, thereby allowing systems to legally break their restrictions without facing any of the consequences for going against the rules. That, I suspect, is the true nature of Primordial energy, and why it is treated as a danger to systems by the system network."

Lex had to admit, everything the system said made sense. In fact, it explained a lot of his own questions about Primordial energy as well.