The Innkeeper

Unlike the previous tests, where Lex won after exchanging just a few moves, this one took him a little over an hour. The deep-sea creatures, still in the Golden core level, seemed to have a very strong resistance to lightning. The only reason they took any damage at all was due to the tribulation attribute attached to those specific lightning bolts.

It was a trap which took advantage of his assumption that lightning would naturally work well against creatures in water. It was only after Lex had this realization and changed his form of attack that he made some significant progress.

All Lex needed to do was rely on his left eye to check their weaknesses. If he had done that from the start, he would have avoided wasting time, but he had not since he had made an assumption.

This particular test did not teach him to rely on his left eye, contrary to what it may seem like. Instead, it just emphasized his need for knowledge. If he had known about the creatures from the beginning, he would not have made a mistake. Of course, the simple oversight reminded him that he should always use all the cards available to him.

The creature's weakness was light. The brighter their environment, the more their own biology would prompt them to enter hibernation. All Lex had to do was illuminate the map using his array and all the creatures became extremely drowsy. That also allowed him to take his time and easily target them with Evisceration.

The test was still within his capability, but it had pushed him to use more of his arsenal. Lex's limited combat experience with different enemies made it so that he usually stuck to one kind of skill or ability. These tests were forcing him to use more of them, but that was only increasing his own familiarity with his own abilities. Although Lex had not officially begun training, he was already stronger than when he started.

Still far from exhausted, Lex hurried to his fourth test. He was enjoying them now, and looked forward to what his next challenge would be.

As soon as he entered the next gate, and once again began the test, he found himself in a lava filled cavern. The environment was complex, and there were many tunnels leading deeper into whatever area he was in. But reaching the tunnels was not so simple. Rivers of lava flowed all around him, and a few lava falls also obstructed his path.

The energy in this environment was also boiling, and Lex suspected that if he had not bonded with Lotus, he would have faced some minor irritation while absorbing this energy.

Due to waves of heat that seemed somehow radioactive as well, Lex could not cross over the lava rivers, nor come anywhere near the flowing lava.

The ground he was standing on was only slightly higher than the rivers and displayed signs of approaching a melting point as well. His feet were already somewhat sinking into what should have been solid rock. If Lex knew his new weight, that would have made sense, but he did not stick around to see how long it would take for him to drown in rock.

Using his left eye, his spirit sense as well as his more mundane senses, Lex studied his surroundings as he tried to gain some distance from the lava. He was also on the lookout for enemies, but so far, he had not detected any signs.

After walking around for a bit, Lex concluded that at one point or another, he would definitely have to cross the lava, for there was no access to any of the tunnels from where he stood. He used Harden and erected a few shields around himself before leaping over one of the rivers.

He anticipated an issue while crossing. After all, this was a test, so how could it be simple? But even he was not prepared for the fact that his shields caught fire as if kindling brought close to a great flame.

Since Lex was on guard, he immediately identified the problem. As expected, the lava that surrounded him was far from ordinary. It was burning up anything that contained spirit energy, save for the very hot energy that filled the cavern. Or perhaps, that burning hot energy was the residue of every other kind of energy being completely burnt.

Lex immediately canceled the techniques lest the fire follow the energy to him and directly start burning his Golden core! But while that put out the flames, he was left exposed to the hot air above the lava.

As if composed of the most toxic and corrosive gasses, they buffeted him, leaving a fierce burning and irritation all over his skin. His baby hairs, nearly invisible though they were, burnt to a crisp, leaving his delicate skin covered in ash and soot.

With watery eyes, Lex jumped forward to build a distance between himself and the lava, hopefully getting closer to an exit. It was unusual that the hot air affected him so badly even though he had stayed far from the lava, but that only motivated him to keep his distance.

As he wiped his eyes and entered a tunnel leaning upwards, he did not drop his guard. This was the perfect opportunity for him to be ambushed.

The ground trembled beneath his feet and a shockwave traveled through the cavern, causing a few rocks to fall from the walls into the flowing lava beneath.

Lex froze as a sense of horror filled him. That was not the tremor of a massive creature approaching - no. It was an earthquake, and in such a situation, Lex could not help but think that it was a prelude to an eruption.

"No, please, not again," murmured Lex as extended his senses to his utmost and picked up his pace. How many times had he run from a volcanic eruption by now? Why did it always have to be lava? He'd like to get caught up in an avalanche from time to time, and get some distance from all this heat.

Even as he ran, a premonition filled his mind. Most likely, the eruption would happen soon.