The Innkeeper
chapter-1206

Lex turned around and saw a dog. It was nowhere near as skinny and mangy as the one he saw in the vision, but as an ordinary Golden core beast, in front of him it might as well be. The dog lunged at him… and broke its teeth trying to bite him.

Feeling a mix of shock, fear and anger,, the dog retreated and tried to claw at him, but it broke its nails instead.

Lex sighed, and feeling a hint of mercy, he put the miserable dog out of its misery before it could harm itself some more.

The vision returned, and Lex saw another scene. He wondered if that counted as him passing through the first level. Wasn't that way too easy? Then again, reaching the tower had been hard to begin with. Maybe reaching the tower already ensured that they had passed the level, but needed to motivate contestants to go through levels so they added the condition of passing through at least one floor or level.

This time, in the vision, he saw an older human, though he was at most a teenager. He was leaping from branch to branch, treating the trees in the forest like his home. Yet this was not some casual commute. It was in the middle of a fight with a ferocious ape, who was also swinging through the trees, pursuing him.

The two figures clashed time and time again, but in one particular clash, the human faltered. He was thrown back, and though he tried to latch onto a nearby branch, it broke.

The human fell to the floor with a pointed branch in his hand. He barely had a moment to orient himself before the ape attacked again, and in what was the first spear jab of the entire realm, the human stuck the pointed end of the branch through the ape. The scene ended, and Lex found himself standing on a tree branch.

His instincts warned him of something coming at him quickly, but Lex still didn't bother moving. This time, the beast that he faced was at the peak of the Golden core realm, but it was not enough to harm him, and he quickly ended the fight.

The vision continued, and the scene in front of him was very different. There was a caveman and a woman, wrapped in animal skins during the winter chill. It had not snowed yet, but the low temperatures were too much for mundane humans to bear, and one of them fell to the ground.

The other tried to get her to stand, but she was unable, and soon the chill set in. She was dying, yet the man didn't know what to do. Her eyes closed, and the man lost his mind.

He cried out against the heavens, and beat the ground in frustration, again, and again, and again, until his hands were bloody, but he could not feel pain.

Yet in one of his desperate attacks, he ended up striking two rocks together, producing sparks. The dried mulch on the ground quickly caught flame, and developed into a small bonfire.

The man paused, his gaze mesmerized by the flickering flames dancing in front of him. Man had discovered fire.

The scene shattered, and instead of an enemy, Lex was assaulted by a deep chill. It was so strong that it easily broke through the defense of his clothes, and even caused his body temperature to drop by a degree, but that was it. It was not so easy to affect Lex.

He passed the level.

Another vision appeared in his mind, and one by one, step by step, he witnessed all the monumental moments of mankind in this realm. With each step they took, the challenge they faced grew bigger, and the threat Lex faced became more deadly. Yet it was not near enough to actually threaten him just yet.

Lex witnessed as humans discovered trading with other tribes. He saw when they learned about farming. He was there when they started using teamwork, and started considering using strategies.

By the time long range weapons became a norm, the challenges Lex began to face were finally somewhat challenging. A single hit was no longer enough to kill the enemy.

By the time armor became a thing, Lex needed to put in some actual effort.

When humans discovered complex tools, it was the first time Lex needed to take a step to defeat an enemy. When humans discovered metalwork, Lex finally had to use more than just physical strength.

When humans faced their first tribal war, Lex actually needed to start dodging.

Then humans finally came across a beast. It was only equivalent to the Foundation realm, and it was the first trial he witnessed humans fail to pass. Instead of killing the beast, only a few wounded and injured survived.

That's when Lex faced enemies in the Earth immortal realm who were beginning to give him a tough time.

Yet just as Lex defeated his foe, and he was about to witness the next great achievement, Mary showed up on his shoulder, and her expression was far from her usual chirpy stuff.

"I have some bad news," she said solemnly. "Someone discovered Moon. Someone kept the World Eater busy while there was an assassination attempt. Luckily, Z was there, so she survived unharmed. Since then, the World Eater has changed locations again. But if they can find her once…"

Lex's expression became grim and his mind started working, ignoring everything around him as he thought of solutions.

"Did Gerard and Luthor get back with something yet?"

"Not yet."

"Well send them word. Let them use more drastic measures if need be. We're bringing the deadline closer. Have Velma coordinate everything. Have all forces on standby and ready to take action at a moment's notice."

"Got it."

"How's Moon doing? What's her progress with her connection to the planet?"

"She's fine for now, but as a result of the assassination attempt, her planet took quite a beating. That has slowed down her progress."

Lex frowned, and turned to look back at the image unfolding in front of him. The humans were finally ready to declare their first king.

"I'll take care of it. Make sure the World Eater keeps moving her planet. Don't settle in any one place."

Lex opened the buttons of his shirt one by one, and then undid his second seal on his chest, leaving only the final one remaining.