Chapter 1084 No time for adventures
Exploring the Midnight realm was a lot of fun, and offered many new adventures and experiences, so it was a little sad that Lex had to forgo them. When he reached the Notknit Islands he saw countless communities and various interesting races.
The islands seemed to be mainly occupied by beasts and sentient plants who learned how to move around. They formed an interesting dynamic between them, which resulted in a rich history and diverse culture, not to mention some strange customs.T/his chapter is updated by nov(ê(l)biin.co/m
Lex wanted nothing more than to jump in between them, get to know the locals, have a run in with the territory's bullies, and slap a few faces. Even challenging the Island leaders seemed like an interesting experience, as they somehow managed to capture and train monsters that could live in the chaos sea. But he did not have time for any of that.
He immediately turned on his treasure hunting Glyph, jumped through the hole that led to the underground continent that was much larger than any of the three continents above ground, and began to search for the Crystal.
He eventually discovered the reason it could not be found was because the Crystal was held as a holy item by a secret race that had been hiding in the so-called Underworld for a long time, and had abilities that could manipulate memories and cast illusions. Many thousands of years ago their ancestors had made a promise to a young monster trainer to forever keep the crystal safe.
Lex really felt like he was missing out a lot, like he was playing a video game without watching the cutscenes - something he'd never done. But he just didn't have time. Eventually, he found the Crystal, took it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the system could absorb it - though it was only a Heavenly Immortal level ingredient.
With that done, he said farewell to all the mysteries of this place, and promised to come back when he had time - but deep inside he knew it was unlikely. It was like promising to replay a game he enjoyed a lot, with the aspiration to play in a different style and unlock a different story tree. The idea was there, but for whatever reason, he never came back to those games.
"This is the third battlefield we've found like this. So much open warfare is uncommon. If we want to pursue answers, we should look for the associated countries."
"But why is it that every battlefield is near a Barathian-Gold mine? This is too much of a coincidence. Not to mention, whenever we go to the mine, it's been stripped clean. I mean, Barathian-Gold is not supposed to be so valuable."
"I know no use of it that other metals can't do better. Any time that metal is even produced, it's because the ore happens to be alongside ores for other, more valuable metal ores."
"So you think whoever is targeting the mines is after the other ores?"
"It will need investigation to be sure. Shall I request an investigation?"
"No, no, I can't rely on the talons for everything. We must investigate this ourselves. Let's see if we can find someone living on this accursed battlefield. They might have answers."
But there was no one alive. Eventually, Jack was able to locate one of the countries at war, and discovered that it was a country of mutated insects who had become much larger. They'd also moved towards a unified colony, where various insects shared one, single colony that supported all of them.
Using his new found stealth abilities, Jack began to investigate the country. He was totally not doing this because his main body was missing out on adventures. That is when he accidentally discovered, for the first time, signs of a deity in the Midnight realm.