NOVPUBLex opened his eyes slowly, as if waking up from the most relaxing siesta of his life. He found himself in a random bedroom within the Midnight castle, and immediately sensed that the castle was still full of Celestial level guests.
His mind went to Little Blue and Fenrir. He genuinely had no idea how long it would take for them to get free, but he had a feeling it would not be quick. If that was the case, then he needed to make the most of his time and use it productively.
Fortunately, Abaddon did not cut his connection to the Midnight Inn. Through his projections and his system, he could still run it safely, while working on his plans in Abaddon in the meantime.
He got up and found his way to Kaemon who was drinking malt from a soup dish and regaling a firefly with stories of home.
"...and then we started roasting marshmallows, but the marshmallows were incredibly insidious, and hid within their wafer houses. Fortunately, my fire was strong enough to deal with the unexpected hurdle, or that would have been one very disappointing bonfire."
"These marshmallows you speak of, they sound very tactical and enlightened. A formidable foe to look out for in the future," said the firefly. "Very unlike the humans who inhabit this castle. I fail to see the tactical advantages of their actions. Do you know they wrap their feet in fabric and call it fashion? How absurd."
"If you think that's strange, wait till I tell you about…" Kaemon, who was excitedly sharing some news with the firefly suddenly turned towards Lex, as if he had just spotted him. He suddenly wore a guilty look, as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have.
"It's good to see you're enjoying yourself," said Lex as he walked up to the Magma Lion. "I hate to take you away, but do you have a moment to spare? There's a few things we need to discuss."
"Of course, of course. Excuse me Professor Burns, I'll be right back," Kaemon said to the firefly, who did not seem to mind the interruption.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon. I heard you were gravely wounded and would be healing for a while," Kaemon said, though there was a hint of doubt in his tone.
"I was injured, but I've since healed," Lex said dismissively. "I have an update on our scouting party. There's good news and there's bad news."
"Bad news first," Kaemon said, his expression turning solemn.
"The bad news is that we may be stuck in this jungle for a long time - it's hard to say. The good news is that the scouting party ended up encountering a huge opportunity, and are in the process of receiving it. Until they're done, we won't be able to leave, even if we want to."
Kaemon raised his eyebrow. That news was not nearly as bad as he was expecting to hear, all things considered. Even so, it was definitely odd, and a huge speed bump to their mission.
"Can you tell me why we won't be able to leave?" Kaemon asked. "Not that I'm willing to leave a man behind, but I'd just like to know."
"Oh that's an easy one. It's because the incredibly powerful being that is giving them the opportunity won't allow us to leave until they're done. I don't know about you, but I don't really have the confidence to go against one of the powers of this jungle."
When phrased like that, Kaemon realized that they were genuinely stuck. Although they did not know what had happened outside, he had witnessed multiple Dao Lords with his own eyes. Even by Abaddon's standards, this place was unusual.
"Well, that's not necessarily bad news. The Condottiere wants a tree sapling from this forest, and it won't be so easy to get our hands on it according to some of the new guests I've talked to in the castle. This might be a good opportunity for us to heal up completely and explore the jungle a little, and harvest some of the resources here."
"I'm glad you're taking things positively," said Lex. "I'll admit, I was a little bummed about having to spend some time here. But this might help me find a way to locate the Chalice quicker, so I don't mind."
The two talked for a while longer, discussing their plans, before splitting up. If they were going to be settled here for a while, then it would be best to make the most of their situation. But as Lex left, Kaemon looked at him with squinted eyes.
Z had told him about how Lex was secretly a powerful badass, hiding his true cultivation level. Kaemon didn't believe him, because Lex should not have been able to hide it from Abaddon. Or so he thought, because he remembered how wounded Lex appeared to be last time they saw each other. Now he was just fine. Such a thing was not so easy to explain.
Lex sensed the doubt from Kaemon, but didn't pay it much attention.
Instead, he thought about the many system prompts he had gotten about items that could help the system repair itself. Although those notifications were inside the inner jungle, who was to say the outer jungle was also devoid of them. He could use this time to search for such items.
Also… the blurry figure seemed to doubt that Lex had the ability to stir things up on a universal level. He couldn't explain why he felt so offended by something that should have been common sense. All he knew was that if it was a challenge, then the challenge was officially accepted.
Within the Jolly Rancher, Jack opened his eyes. Their journey was about to come to an end. They were about to arrive at the Artica realm - accompanied by seven Dao Lord dragons.
"Tiny-Sparkles," Jack called out to his first mate. "Find me Bob. I have a task for him."
