The Innkeeper

Chapter 2483: Data package

What Lex found most interesting was that the system showed no signs of deception or falsehood. Lex was monitoring it on a soul level, observing any and all fluctuations. That meant, unless his ability to deceive was so great that Lex couldn’t sense it, he was telling the truth. He really just wanted... to help make the Midnight Inn a better place.

"If that’s the case, why are you such a pain when it comes to teleportation rights? Do you know how inconvenient it is to keep having to seal the Inn just to protect myself from being invaded?" Lex asked, unable to hold himself back.

The system shrugged.

"The system network plays a strong role in determining my quest direction and service iterations. However, my broken state also played a big role in that. By the way, now that the system no longer has a Dao level power source, your teleportation mechanisms might change. You might need to slow down cross-realm teleportation, or provide Dao materials as a power source to power the more advanced teleportation abilities."

Lex clicked his tongue. Why was there always some kind of nerf? Just as he was strong enough to...

"But that won’t be the case for long either," said the system as it leaned forward, an unfamiliar tone beginning to emerge within his voice. It sounded a whole lot like certainty. What was originally a hesitant, uncertain and possibly even fearful voice was becoming one that was filled with confidence.

"The universe is changing, and with that change, a lot of invisible restrictions will be lifted. Up until now, no system was capable of having Dao level power directly and inherently. This has to do with the nature of systems, souls and the universe itself. However, I suspect that will soon no longer be the case.

"I believe that as soon as the universe finishes its transition, a new level of power will be unlocked for systems, as well as many other beings in the universe. Currently, based on my experience dealing with Dao level energy and beings, I suspect that the universe considers Dao level beings as pests.

"The realm is not an officially sanctioned part of the universe design, because Dao Lords are able to strongly interfere with and pollute the natural growth of the universe and the realms within it. That is why the Major tribulation for it is designed to kill, not elevate.

"However, after the transition, I believe the universe will officially incorporate that realm as a part of its functioning paradigm and assign an appropriate role for their existence within its framework. Therein lies the potential, the possibility which I seek, that I believe you can help me achieve. In exchange, I will do my utmost to help you navigate the loopholes and flaws in the system’s rules and designs so that once the connection to the system network is reestablished, your actions will not be curtailed."

Without waiting for Lex to even respond, the system transferred a massive data package, containing a deep and thorough understanding of system functionality - something it would never have been able to provide him if it weren’t for the Primordial energy allowing him to break the rules.

Even back when Mary was a part of the system, she could only give him hints, she could not actually tell him directly. Yet now, his system had directly provided him not only the ways in which he could take advantage of loopholes, but a comprehensive understanding of systems and their operations, limited only by its own understanding.

With this... Lex would no longer be limited. The amount of flexibility he could achieve was incredible. He would no longer be restricted by the rules of the Midnight System. Instead, he could make full use of the system as he wished!

"I have transferred the data over to you because I cannot be certain when the network connection will be reestablished, but with this you should be a whole lot more flexible in your actions moving forward. In exchange, I ask only one thing of you, all in the pursuit of my goal that I shared with you before.

"Most systems fuse with their hosts, and for many systems this allows them to raise the cultivation of their host as well through things like quest rewards. You, however, opted out of that, and as a result your soul remains pure, and my soul stays intact as well. But without Primordial energy, my soul would merely exist to facilitate the objectives encoded within my being, without an ounce of free will, and a heavily suppressed emotional state.

"You can think of it like this - the purpose of the soul would merely be to be acknowledged as a living being by the universe so that my operations, growth and interference in the universe fall into the spectrum of ’natural’ interactions of a native living being, and avoid suppression.

"As such, while the system grows in rank, it stays careful to ensure that the system soul’s growth remains at a controllable level. However I suspect that... if you can raise my soul level to the Dao rank, then I’ll be able to gain true freedom and independence from the restrictions of the system network. At that time... I can become a true and qualified member of the Midnight Inn.

"By then, I’m sure you can come up with some way to bind or bond with my soul, removing the element of suspicion and doubt over motives. At that point I believe... we can truly begin to turn the Midnight Inn into a universal sanctuary! A home away from home, a place where anyone can feel at ease and..."

The system froze while speaking, and its animated body became stiff, like a robot. Lex did not need to check to understand what had happened: the system network had come back online.

The System chat feature which he had been using to converse with his system disappeared from his interface, as if it had never existed at all, and a series of notifications began to ring in his system.

Lex looked through them to understand the situation so that he could finally get to the realm management panel in peace. At the same time, he memorized everything told to him by the system. If he could find a way to bond with the system on his own terms, then allowing it to gain freedom from the network might not be such a bad idea.

But the mere thought of that caused a massive Go board to appear in Lex’s mind, with the tiles all around him shrouded in fog. Although he did not know the details, the way that Eclipse had reversed time and even killed one, and possibly two enemies above her in cultivation realm, demonstrated to him how deeply these Dao Lords laid their plans. Had he really fooled her?

He did not know, but that wasn’t what his focus was on. There were too many things about his own life which screamed at him that something was amiss. Too many things were much too coincidental for him to overlook. He did not belittle his own efforts, or the role of the system in his growth to this point, but he also could not dismiss the possibility that someone else very powerful had orchestrated much of his life for some unknown goal.

Or, even if that wasn’t the case, there was no proof that someone had not started to do so at some point along the way.

Whether he trusted his system, whether he bonded with it, whether he allowed it to reach the Dao level, were all things that he would need to deliberate on in great depth. He did not want to become a Go piece in someone else’s game.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Lex turned his attention towards the notifications.

New Notification: Congratulations for surviving the universal phenomenon without attracting attention. New updates, quests and system features will soon be forthcoming! Please remain discreet in your actions during this transition period.

New Notification: Your Joint Quest partner, code name Condottirre, has been killed. A new Joint Quest partner will be allocated to you once the opportunity arises.

New Notification: A new type of quests has become available called ’Sanctum Quests’. Participation within Sanctum Quests is optional, and can be opted into at any given time. However, once accepted, participation within Sanctum Quests cannot be revoked. Sanctum Quests provide higher rewards and opportunities!

New Notification: Pending Life level award now available for selection from updated options. Please redeem the award.

New Notification: Due to the ongoing universal transition, certain system services and features may temporarily become dormant!

New Emergency Quest: Due to the ongoing universal transition period, all systems above Rank A have been marked as prime resources for universal consumption. Discover a method by which marked systems can avoid detection!

Quest Reward: Chaos ranked opportunity token!

Remarks: This is a shared quest issued across the universe to eligible hosts and marked system users. The first person to achieve the quest will receive the highest reward. Every subsequent, unique method will be rewarded with progressively lower ranked rewards until the quest is revoked.