Di dalam grup obrolan pemburu sistem — tepatnya grup tempat dua Rhinocentaurs menjadi anggota biasa — ada saluran untuk anggota tingkat sangat senior.
Di saluran dengan keamanan tertinggi, salah satu anggota tertua dan paling misterius dari grup obrolan mulai mengetik.
Meski dia tidak berkata apa-apa, hanya simbol mengetiknya saja sudah cukup menarik perhatian semua anggota yang sedang memperhatikan. Lagipula, setiap kali dia bicara, sesuatu yang besar terjadi di alam semesta, dan setiap kali ada sistem di baliknya.
Kali terakhir pengguna ini berbicara, pintu masuk ke Realm Nightmare ditemukan, memicu salah satu perang paling brutal dalam sejarah modern.
Semua orang menunggu dengan napas tertahan, bertanya-tanya rahasia apa yang baru dia pelajari. Namun ketika dia akhirnya mengirim pesan, semua orang terkejut. Itu bertentangan dengan tujuan grup obrolan itu sendiri!
SingleForever55: Sedang terjadi peristiwa konvergensi sistem sekarang. Namun kita tidak boleh mencoba melokasinya, atau mencoba menyusup. Abaikan peringatan ini atas risiko sendiri!
*****
Henali, yang memakai penampilan landak, terlihat sangat mudah tersinggung. Dia bahkan terlihat lebih kesal dari Lex atas tamu-tamu nakal, meski Lex mulai mencurigai alasannya tidak sebagus yang ditampilkan.
Dalam proyeksi — yang membuat Lex ingin bicara dengannya — dia bilang perilaku orang-orang dari alam Asal memalukan realm di panggung universal. Biasanya, Lex akan percaya itu sampai tingkat tertentu. Tapi landak ini punya bahasa tubuh yang terlalu mudah dibaca.
Landak itu kesal karena orang-orang mengalihkan perhatiannya dari yang sebenarnya ingin dilakukannya. Lalu apa yang diinginkannya…
Lex memperhatikan dengan aneh landak itu masuk ke Patisserie dan mengantre, menunggu dengan cemas sambil menatap menu. Beberapa saat kemudian, saat gilirannya tiba, landak memesan kapucino dan croissant, lalu menunggu antusias pesanannya selesai.
Lex menghela nafas, lalu berteleportasi ke sana. Dia memberi kesempatan pada landak untuk ngobrol sebelum pesanan datang, biar tidak terganggu.
"Hey, orang baru," kata Lex sambil mendekat, masih memakai topeng Invincible Tyrant. "Aku cuma peringatkan sekali. Jangan ancam tamu tak bersalah. Bukan cara kita di Inn ini."
Ekspresi landak instan berubah buruk, dia menatap Lex seolah dia telah memblasfemi. Tapi ke luar dugaannya, dia cuma mendapat tatapan acuh tak acuh. Baik kekuatan pribadinya, identitasnya sebagai Henali, maupun jabatannya terbaru sebagai pengawal Inn, tak menakutkan pria bertopeng itu.
"Sebagai Henali, ini hakku mengatur penghuni alam Asal," katanya tegas.
"Dan sebagai karyawan Midnight Inn, hakku untuk nggak peduli. Jangan ancam tamu Inn lagi. Kalau mereka melanggar aturan, beda cerita. Tapi kalau kamu ancam cuma karena tidak sabar, cari kerja lain."
Ekspresi landak jadi sangat serius, menatap pria bertopeng dengan tatapan berbahaya. Sayang buat landak, dia pilih target salah. Lebih penting, apa pun ekspresinya, dia tetap terlihat seperti landak lucu buat Lex.
Keduanya memasuki pertarungan ketat, dan saat seolah akan jadi serius, pesanan landak tiba.
"Baik, baik, aku main baik-baik," landak langsung berseru dan melompat mengambil pesanannya. Dia harus nikmati camilan selagi segar.
Lex menggelengkan kepala, yakin landak tidak serius mengikuti instruksi, dan berteleportasi pergi. Dia tidak punya waktu buat anak manja.
Untungnya, situasi di Inn jadi jauh lebih tenang setelah proyeksi itu, dan semakin banyak pengawal muncul, Lex akhirnya punya waktu fokus ke hal lain.
Tapi Lex tidak buru-buru tangani masalah lain.
Dia sudah sering andalkan sistem, dan tahu kemampuannya terlalu kuat untuk jumlah MP yang biasa dia keluarkan. Belakangan, dia dapat pengawal tingkat Celestial bertahun-tahun lalu, tanpa keluarkan banyak MP. Sekarang tapi, dia habisin lebih dari 10.000 MT sekaligus, semuanya untuk keamanan acara!
Kalau cuma dapat pengawal, dia akan kecewa banget. Alasan asli dia belanja besar bukan karena panik mendadak.
Dia terlalu berpengalaman buat panik gampang. Alasannya dia menguji batas sistem. Pertarungan dua Celestial Immortal cukup menarik perhatian lebih dari 100 miliar tamu dari seluruh alam Asal. Tapi karena salah satu petarung bekerja langsung untuk Henali, Lex memperkirakan Dao Lord dari Henali mungkin muncul.
Belum pernah Lex tantang Dao Lord. Faktanya dia masih tidak mikir begitu, karena sistem jelas menyatakan masih lemah di hadapan Dao. Tapi dia ingin lihat apa yang bisa dilakukan sistem.
Awalnya dia hampir kecewa. Tak ada yang menarik atau menegangkan. Tapi itu saat Pakaian Tuan Rumah menarik perhatiannya ke hal lain sepenuhnya!
Alam Midnight dilindungi formasi tingkat Destiny yang mengisolasi realm sepenuhnya, dan sudah lama jadi andalan Lex. Sekarang, formasi itu mulai menyatu ke dalam realm sendiri, menyebabkan mutasi pada realm.
Seolah belum cukup, dia dapat prompt lain dari pakaiannya, tapi kali ini sangat lemah hingga hampir tak terasa. Sama seperti banyak pengawal baru otomatis dipanggil ke Inn, jenis energi baru dipanggil ke Inn — jenis energi yang belum pernah dirasakan Lex, dan tak bisa dipahami.
Saat masuk ke Inn, energi itu mulai menghilang, bercampur ke dalam struktur realm itu sendiri.
Lex tiba-tiba merasa selama energi itu ada di Inn, siapa pun yang coba meramal sesuatu terkait energi itu, akan menyesal.
Mata Lex berkilat, dan dia langsung berteleportasi ke kantornya, menggantikan proyeksi Pengelola Inn. Dia serahkan semua tugas keamanan ke Gerard dan Luthor, dan dia sendiri fokus pada perubahan yang terjadi di Inn.
Beberapa perubahan, dirasa, permanen, seperti penyatuan formasi protektif. Yang lain, mungkin hanya bertahan selagi acara berlangsung, yang biasa terjadi saat Lex pakai Panel Acara.
Tapi Lex merasa perlu mengukir setiap perubahan langsung ke pikirannya. Dia ingin mempelajari realm dan cara kerjanya, dan perubahan yang terjadi di alam Midnight secara real time begitu luar biasa sehingga dia ragu bisa belajar dari tempat lain.
Setelah pertimbangan matang, Lex bahkan mengaktifkan visi Karma, mengamati bagaimana Karma semua makhluk di Inn berubah seiring realm mengalami perubahan.
Gagasan Lex benar, sayangnya, hampir mustahil baginya dapat gambaran penuh perubahan realm, karena konsekuensi perubahan itu tidak terjadi di realm itu sendiri!
Di salah satu cabang Bank Versalis ada rapat berlangsung, dan sudah berlangsung sejak Ripley ungkapkan kecurigaannya tentang realm Pengelola Inn. Bukan beberapa minggu atau bulan, bahkan abad pun terlalu singkat untuk berdeliberasi atas organisasi yang berpotensi memiliki makhluk di atas Dao Lord! Apalagi yang begitu terang-terangan mengumumkan kedudukan kekuatannya ke alam semesta!
Tapi saat ini, banyak orang di ruangan itu tiba-tiba berdarah dari mata mereka. Bukan semua, tidak. Hanya mereka yang punya klon di Inn, dan mengintai dengan niat jahat yang berdarah. Lalu mereka jatuh, tubuh gemetar seperti kejang.
Lalu semua orang di ruangan itu tiba-tiba merasa tersedak. Untungnya, yang perlu dilakukan cuma berhenti merencanakan kejahatan terhadap Inn, perasaan itu hilang.
Di tempat lain di alam semesta, seorang anggota grup obrolan sistem memutuskan mengabaikan kata-kata suci SingleForever55 dan mencoba meramal lokasi peristiwa konvergensi sistem. Buat jaga-jaga, dia pakai keistimewaan dari sistemnya sendiri.
Tapi di hadapan 10.000 MT Lex, tidak ada tempat yang aman — setidaknya sampai tingkat tertentu.
Ramalan gagal, dan dia kena misi darurat yang pasti akan membunuhnya!
Di dalam Eden, sekelompok Angel rapat membahas cara sopan meyakinkan Lex menyerahkan keinginan Shireen. Tapi seberapa pun sopan niat mereka, balasan sistem pasti tidak sopan.
Bulu mereka mulai rontok dan ketakutan tiba-tiba menyerang mereka.
Seluruh alam semesta, siapa pun yang punya niat jahat sekecil apapun terhadap Midnight Inn, dibuat sadar betapa buruk ide merencanakan kejahatan terhadapnya.
Within the groupchat for system hunters - the very one that the two Rhinocentaurs were basic members of - there were channels for very senior level members.
In the channel with the highest level of security, one of the oldest, most mysterious members of the groupchat started to type.
Although he said no words, just the symbol of him typing was enough to get the attention of all members who were paying attention. After all, every time he spoke, something major happened in the universe, and each time there was a system behind it.
The last time this user had spoken, the entrance to the Nightmare Realm was discovered, leading to one of the most brutal wars in modern history.
Everyone waited with bated breaths, wondering what secret he had learned now. When he finally sent a message, however, everyone was surprised. It went against the very purpose of the groupchat!
SingleForever55: There's a system convergence event happening right now. However, we must not try to locate it, or try to infiltrate it. Ignore this warning at your own peril!
*****
The Henali, who had donned the appearance of an otter, seemed extremely irritable. He seemed even more vexed than Lex at the misbehaving guests, though Lex began to suspect his reasons were not as noble as he portrayed them to be.
In the projection - for which Lex needed to have a talk with him - he had said that the behavior of those from the Origin realm was embarrassing the realm on the universal stage. Now, ordinarily, Lex would believe that to be true to a certain extent. Yet this otter seemed to have body language that was too easily readable.
The otter was irritated that people had distracted it from what it really wanted to do. As for what that was…
Lex watched oddly as the otter stepped into the patisserie and queued up in line, waiting anxiously while staring at the menu. A few moments later, when it was his turn, the otter ordered a cappuccino and a croissant, and then eagerly waited for his order to be completed.
Lex sighed, and then teleported over. He gave the otter the courtesy of having the conversation before his order arrived, so he wouldn't be distracted during it.
"Hey, new guy," said Lex as he walked up to him, still wearing the Invincible Tyrant mask. "I'm going to warn you only once. Don't threaten innocent guests. That's not how we do things at the Inn."
The otters expression instantly fouled, and he looked at Lex as if he had blasphemed against him. Yet to his immense surprise, he was greeted only with indifferent eyes. Neither his personal strength, nor his identity as a Henali, nor his latest identity as a Inn guard intimidated the masked man.
"As a Henali, it is within my rights to govern the residents of the Origin realm," he stated bluntly.
"And as an employee of the Midnight Inn it is my right to not give a shit. Do not threaten guests of the Inn again. If they're breaking the rules, that's one thing. But if you threaten them just because you're too impatient, then go find another gig."
The otter's expression turned incredibly solemn, staring at the masked man with a dangerous glare in his eyes. Unfortunately for the otter, it had chosen the wrong target. More importantly, no matter what kind of expression he made, he still just looked like a cute otter to Lex.
The two entered into a standoff, and just as it seemed like it would turn into something much more serious, the otters order was complete.
"Fine, fine, I'll play nice," the otter immediately exclaimed and hopped on over to grab his order. He had to enjoy his treat while it was still fresh.
Lex shook his head, certain that the otter hadn't actually taken his instructions seriously, and teleported away. He did not have the time to spare on spoiled kids.
Fortunately, though, the situation at the Inn had calmed down a lot after that projection, and as more and more guards began to appear, he finally had the time to focus on other things.
Yet Lex did not rush to handle his other problems just yet.
He had come to rely on the system many times, and he knew that the abilities it boasted were much too powerful for the meager amounts of MP he usually spent. Heck, he got himself a Celestial level bodyguard all those years ago, and he hadn't even spent much MP. Now though, he had spent over 10,000 MT all at once, all on the event's security no less!
If all he got were guards, he would be seriously disappointed. The real reason he had spent so much all at once was not because he suddenly panicked.
He was much too experienced to panic so easily. No, the reason he spent it all was because he was testing the limits of the system. A fight between two Celestial Immortals was enough to attract the attention of over a 100 billion guests from across the Origin realm. But since one of those two fighters was actually someone who worked directly for the Henali, Lex actually expected that a Dao Lord from the Henali might show up.
Never before had Lex thought to challenge a Dao Lord. In fact, he still didn't think of it, since his system had been pretty clear in stating that it was still weak in the face of the Dao. Even so, he wanted to see what it could do.
At first, he almost felt disappointed. Nothing interesting or exciting was happening. But that's when his Host Attire attracted his attention towards something else entirely!
The Midnight realm was protected by a Destiny level formation that isolated the realm entirely, and was something Lex had relied on for a long time. Now, though, that formation began to fuse into the realm itself, causing a mutation in the realm itself.
As if that was not enough, he got another prompt from his attire, though this time it was so weak he almost couldn't feel it. Just as many new guards had been automatically summoned to the Inn, a new kind of energy was summoned into the Inn - a kind of energy Lex had never felt before, nor could he understand.
As soon as it entered the Inn, it began to dissipate, and mix into the very fabric of the realm.
Lex suddenly got the feeling that as long as that energy existed within the Inn, if anyone tried to divine anything related to it, they would regret it.
Lex's eyes flashed, and he suddenly teleported to his office, replacing the Innkeepers projection. He handed all security tasks to Gerard and Luthor, and he himself began focusing on the changes happening to the Inn.
Some of them, he felt, were permanent, such as the fusion of the protective formation. Others, however, would probably only last as long as the ongoing event, which is usually what happened when Lex used the Event panel.
But Lex had a feeling that he needed to imprint every single change happening directly into his mind. He had wanted to study realms and how they operated, and the changes happening to the Midnight realm in real time were so extraordinary that he doubted he could learn about them from anywhere else.
After careful deliberation, Lex even activated his Karmic vision, watching how the Karma of all the beings within the Inn changed as the realm underwent some changes.
Lex had the right idea, unfortunately for him, it was basically impossible for him to get the full picture of the changes happening to the realm, because the consequences of those changes weren't happening in the realm to begin with!
Within a certain branch of the Versalis Bank there was a meeting going on, and it had been going on since the moment Ripley revealed his suspicions about the Innkeepers realm. Let alone a few weeks and months, even centuries would be too short a period to deliberate over an organization that potentially had a being above a Dao Lord! Especially one who was so blatantly announcing his seat of power to the universe!
Yet at this moment, many people in that room suddenly began to bleed from their eyes. Not all of them, no. Only those who had clones within the Inn, and were spying on it with malicious intent began to bleed. Then they collapsed, falling onto the floor, their bodies trembling as if they had seizures.
Then everyone in that room suddenly started to feel as if they were suffocating. Fortunately, all they needed to do was stop trying to conspire against the Inn for the feeling to elapse.
Somewhere else in the universe, a member of the system groupchat decided to ignore the sacred words of SingleForever55 and tried to divine where the system convergence event was taking place. To be safe, the member used a perk he got from his own system.
But in the face of Lex's 10,000 MT, there was no place that was safe - at least up to a certain level.
Not only did the divination fail, he got hit with an emergency quest the likes of which would most certainly get him killed!
Inside Eden, a group of Angels were meeting to discuss how to politely convince Lex to give up on the favour Shireen had asked of him. But however polite their intentions may have been, the retribution of the system was definitely not polite.
Their feathers started to fall out and a certain dread suddenly gripped them.
All across the universe, anyone who had even the slightest iota of malicious intention towards the Midnight Inn was made aware of just how bad of an idea it was to plot against it.
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