Jika Romulus punya pikiran soal apa yang dikatakan Lex, dia tidak memperlihatkannya sama sekali. Dia terlihat santai seperti biasa, sebelum Lex berbagi kabar itu. Lex tidak berani memikirkan apapun untuk menebak pikiran atau motif qilin itu, jadi dia hanya bisa menunggu diam-diam tanggapan setelah selesai bicara.
Sekurang-kurangnya tindakannya memberinya alasan yang masuk akal dan plasibel kenapa dia cukup putus asa untuk menyebut nama Dao Lord yang tidak dikenal. Lagipula, bilang dia memanggil Dao Lord cuma karena ingin belanja di lingkungan yang lebih baik itu cuma mengundang kematian secara tidak langsung.
"Baik, aku mengerti kekhawatiranmu. Jadi, apa yang kau harapkan aku lakukan soal itu?" tanya Romulus, tanpa tunjukkan gangguan sedikitpun.
"Mengizinkanku memasuki benteng Fortune sudah lebih dari cukup. Berdasarkan cerita Mithon, ada waypoint di seluruh Hollow yang bisa diakses dari sini. Aku bisa cari bunga itu sendiri tanpa merepotkan siapapun. Tentu, kalau kau kebetulan sudah tahu lokasinya, bimbinganmu akan sangat berharga. Atau, kalau kau suka, aku bisa ceritakan apa yang kutahu soal bunga itu dan kau urus sendiri."
Di hadapan Dao Lord, Lex tidak punya pikiran untuk dapat deal lebih baik atau motif tersembunyi apa pun. Dia bicara terus terang, rela mengorbankan keuntungan potensial lain, karena dia tidak mungkin menipu Dao Lord.
Satu-satunya alasan dia bisa simpan rahasia sedikit yang dia punya adalah karena perlindungan yang diberikan orang lain kepadanya.
"Aku mengerti," kata Romulus, bersandar di singgasana. "Bagus kalau kekhawatiranmu sudah teratasi. Tetap, aku akan pertimbangkan bagaimana caranya bantu kamu lebih lanjut, tapi itu harus tunggu sampai aku selesai dengan pertanyaanku."
Romulus melontarkan serangkaian pertanyaan umum soal alam semesta, yang anehnya tidak mengejutkan. Tapi pertanyaannya bukan persis seperti yang Lex duga.
"Maksudmu ras qilin bukan tuan ras naga? Itu konyol banget," kata Romulus dengan ketidakpercayaan ekstrim.
Lex menahan keinginan garuk kepala karena pertanyaan yang sangat awkward baginya.
"Nah, di kalangan Beast, Qilin punya posisi tinggi dan dianggap ras Elder. Cuma, soal reputasi, Naga terlihat lebih kuat," jawab Lex jujur sambil berusaha diplomatik mungkin.
"Itu konyol," kata Romulus dengan jijik tidak percaya. "Naga tidak bisa kelola aura fortune di gudang harta mereka tanpa qilin. Mereka totally bergantung pada kami!"
Lex tidak yakin harus menjawab apa. Dia belum pernah nemuin aura fortune atau hal terkait, jadi dia tidak terlalu paham cara kerjanya.
Ini sistem independen yang unik. Lex bahkan curiga kenapa positive karma-nya hilang dulu ada hubungannya dengan Fortune atau aura Fortune.
Itu cuma nampak betapa kompleks dan canggihnya hukum alam semesta. Masih ada hal-hal yang sama sekali asing baginya.
"Oke, baik, lupakan saja damn kadal bersayap itu," kata Romulus dengan gelisah. "Ceritakan soal Bank Fortune's Favor. Pasti itu berkembang pesat sekarang. Itu inisiatif bangga qilin. Aku ragu kau tahu, tapi konsep bank itu sendiri diciptakan oleh kami Qilin."
Lex sekali lagi terlihat awkward karena dia belum pernah denger bank itu.
"Uhh..." kata Lex sambil mikir mau bilang apa, dan akhirnya ekspresi Romulus berubah untuk pertama kalinya.
"Menurutku... lebih baik kalau kau langsung ceritakan apa yang kau tahu soal qilin," kata Romulus.
Lex tidak tahu banyak soal qilin khususnya, tapi dia ceritakan yang sedikit diketahui. Sebagai riset untuk Midnight Inn, dia pelajari dasar kebanyakan ras populer atau terkenal, dan secara alami termasuk qilin.\n
Mereka ras Elder, dan itu cukup menghormati menurut Lex. Romulus, tapi, tidak setuju. Untuk memulai, konsep Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum benar-benar asing baginya. Dia tidak paham gimana ranking acak di batu bisa mempengaruhi seluruh ras di alam semesta.
Dia benci lebih parah kalau Beast lain bisa ranking di atas ras Qilin, yang menurutnya sangat tidak bisa diterima.
"Mungkin karena kau terjebak di dalam Hollow," tawar Lex, coba perbaiki mood-nya.
"Tidak, itu tidak ada hubungannya. Aku cuma junior acak saat masuk Hollow. Ras ku seharusnya jauh lebih kuat dari yang kau ceritakan. Seseorang pasti berkomplot melawan kami untuk mencuri fortune kami," kata Romulus dengan nada berbahaya.
Tapi dia tenang kembali cepat, dan sekali lagi tersenyum.
"Baik, aku putuskan. Karena Gilded Hollow sudah terbuka lagi, aku tidak perlu memperlama. Aku akan paksa buka keluar dari Hollow dalam dua puluh tahun, Nak. Kau harus selesaikan tugasmu dalam waktu itu, atau berisiko terjebak di sini sisa hidupmu. Pergi ke dewan kota - mereka akan beri bantuan apa pun yang kau butuhkan untuk temukan Death Rose."
Jelas diusir, Lex membungkuk lagi, berterima kasih ke Romulus, dan cepat keluar.
Setelah dia pergi, ekspresi Romulus akhirnya berubah jadi cekikikan dan tatapannya bergeser ke panel sistem terbuka di depannya.
Sistemnya hampir tidak membantu sejak dia level Dao Lord, tapi ada satu quest yang berlangsung bertahun-tahun dengan hadiah besar - yang dia coba selesaikan tapi gagal. Kebetulan, quest itu untuk bunga yang baru diceritakan Lex.
Tapi sekarang, dia mulai ragu kalau alasan sistem mau bunga itu terkait dengan orang asing dari alam semesta lain.
"Sistem, aku rasa waktunya kita obrol lagi," kata Romulus serius. "Aku mau jawaban yang proper, atau aku berhenti menjual klon ke gudang sistem."
Di paling atas interface-nya tertulis nama sistemnya: Ultimate Cloning System. Lewat sistem itulah dia berhasil isi bentengnya dengan makhluk hidup, dan lewat bantuan sistem itulah dia selamat di Gilded Hollow begitu lama.
Itu tidak berarti dia akan bantu sistem invasi alam semesta dirinya, kalau itu yang terjadi.
Notifikasi Baru: Undangan obrolan audio dari Prime Kernel/System Daddy diterima.
If Romulus had any thoughts about what Lex had to say, he did not make it apparent at all. He looked just as relaxed as he had been before Lex shared the news. Lex dared not have any thoughts trying to determine the thoughts or motives of the qilin at all, so all he could do was silently wait for a response once he was done speaking.
At the very least his actions had provided him with a reasonable and plausible explanation for why he’d be desperate enough to utter the name of an unknown Dao Lord. After all, saying that he called on a Dao Lord just because he wanted to go shopping in a better neighborhood was just inviting death in a round about way.
"Alright, I understand your concern. So what were you hoping I would do about it?" Romulus asked, without any indication of being bothered in any way.
"Allowing me to enter the Fortune stronghold is already more than enough. Based on what Mithon told me, there are waypoints across the Hollow which can be accessed from here. I can search for the flower on my own without troubling anyone. Of course, if you happen to already know where it is, your guidance would be most appreciated. Or, if you prefer, I can tell you what I know about the flower and you can deal with the matter on your own."
In front of a Dao Lord, Lex held no thoughts of being able to get a superior deal or any ulterior motives whatsoever. He spoke directly, willing to sacrifice any potential gains he may get otherwise, because he could not hope to fool a Dao Lord.
The only reason he managed to maintain what few secrets he had was because of the protection provided to him by others.
"I understand," Romulus said, leaning back on his throne. "It is good that your concerns have already been addressed. Still, I will consider how I can help you out further, but that will have to wait until after I am done with my questions."
Romulus proceeded to ask Lex a series of general questions about the universe, which in itself was not surprising. The questions, however, weren’t exactly what Lex would have expected.
"What do you mean the qilin race is not the master of the dragon race? That is absolutely absurd," Romulus said with extreme disbelief.
Lex resisted the urge to scratch his head because that was an incredibly awkward question for him to answer.
"Well, among the Beasts, Qilins hold a high position and are considered an Elder race. It’s just that, reputation wise, Dragons seem to be stronger," Lex answered truthfully while trying to stay as diplomatic as possible.
"That’s absurd," Romulus said in disgusted disbelief. "The dragons cannot manage the fortune aura on their treasure hoards without qilins. They’re totally dependent on us!"
Lex wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He had not encountered fortune aura or things associated with it before, so he wasn’t quite familiar with how it worked.
This was an entirely independent, unique system. Lex even suspected that the reason his positive karma disappeared to begin with had something to do with Fortune or Fortune aura.
That just went to show how complex and advanced the laws of the universe were. There were still things that he was entirely unfamiliar with.
"Okay, fine, fine, forget the damn winged lizards," Romulus said agitatedly. "Tell me about Fortune’s Favor Bank. Surely that’s doing really well by now. It’s a proud initiative by the qilins. I doubt you’d know this, but the very concept of banks was created by us Qilins."
Lex once again looked awkward simply because he’d never heard of this bank.
"Uhh..." Lex said while he thought of what to say, and finally Romulus’ expression began to change for the first time.
"I think... it’s best if you just tell me what you know of the qilins directly," said Romulus.
Lex did not know much about qilins specifically, but he told the little that he knew. As research for the Midnight Inn, he learned the basics of most of the popular or famous races, and that naturally included the qilin.
They were an Elder race, and that was quite respectable in Lex’s opinion at least. Romulus, however, seemed to disagree. To begin with, the concept of the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum was completely foreign to him. He could not understand how a random ranking on a stone could affect entire races across the universe.
He hated even worse that other Beasts could rank above the Qilin race, which was something he found completely unacceptable.
"Perhaps it’s because you’ve been stuck inside the Hollow," Lex offered, trying to improve his mood.
"No, that has nothing to do with it. I was nothing but a random junior when I entered the Hollow. My race should have been much more powerful than what you have told me. Someone must be plotting against us to steal our fortunes," Romulus said with a dangerous edge in his voice.
Yet he regained his composure quickly enough, and once again began smiling.
"Alright, I have decided. Since the Gilded Hollow has opened once more, I see no need to prolong things. I will forcibly open the exit from the Hollow within twenty years, child. You better manage your task within that time, or risk getting stuck here for the rest of your life. Go to the city council - they’ll give you whatever help you need to find the Death Rose."
Clearly being dismissed, Lex bowed once more, thanked Romulus for his help, and quickly exited.
After he left, Romulus’ expression finally changed into a frown and his gaze shifted to the open system panel in front of him.
His system had hardly helped him ever since he reached the Dao Lord level, but there was one quest that had been ongoing for many years that offered a great reward - one that he had tried to complete, but had failed. Incidentally, the quest was for the very rose that Lex had just told him about.
Yet now, he began to wonder if the reason his system wanted the rose was somehow connected to that foreigner from another universe.
"System, I think it’s time we had another talk," Romulus said solemnly. "I want proper answers, or I’ll stop selling clones to the system warehouse."
At the very top of his interface was the name of his system: Ultimate Cloning System. It was through this system of his that he had managed to keep his stronghold filled with living beings, and it was through the help of his system that he had survived the Gilded Hollow for so long.
That did not mean that he would help the system invade his own universe, if that’s what was happening.
New Notification: Audio chat invitation from Prime Kernel/System Daddy received.
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!