The Innkeeper

The expedition party had 120 students, each a part of a subgroup that had a certain purpose. Only 30 of the students had combat related designations, with the remaining having their own reasons for joining the group - from prospectors, to cartographers, to wilderness explorers and more.

Despite their various fields, Lex was still the person with the lowest cultivation level here. Although he had made sure to spend time cultivating, and the rich spiritual energy of this world helped speed up his growth, he had still only reached Qi training level 5.

But, as a consultant and advisor, he would not be on the front lines should they encounter any danger. Well, that was what was technically supposed to happen, but once Lex reported to the leader of the expedition, and confirmed his role, his grimace let Lex know exactly what the man thought of him.

Ptolemy Woodman, the leader of this expedition, had worked ridiculously hard to have this expedition organized. This was not a mission from the academy for him, this was something he had to convince the academy to let him do. He proved himself time and time again, and did endless research and preparation to show the academy that this expedition would be profitable. Not only that, he had to sign a contract, stating that should the expedition end up a failure, he would work for 10 years for the academy to make up for it.

Yet, in the end, they stuck him with some consultant to help him advise on security measures? He was not an amateur who had never seen combat! He had gained experience doing time on both the front lines during such expeditions and in the command center during army drills. This was an insult. But, as someone who understood the rules, he knew throwing a tantrum was pointless. If this is what it took to lead his own expedition, he would tolerate it. For now.

"We're leaving in three days," Ptolemy said, handing Lex a list. "In this time, become familiar with the roles of everyone in the expedition. Also, if you have any requests in terms of gear or personal equipment, turn it in by today. Since the academy is funding the expedition, there is a certain allowance for equipment needed for it."

Lex was surprised by the fact that he could request gear, as he had spent most of his personal earnings during the past month to purchase all sorts of stuff for this expedition. If he could request more for free... Well, as a New Yorker, it went against his personal code of conduct to refuse free things.

The most expensive things he needed were ingredients for a special kind of ink he could use to form arrays even in the Qi training realm, so he did not hesitate to request as many of those as he could. Ptolemy was confused by the request, but didn't care enough to inquire about their uses.

Over the next three days, Lex spent all his time getting acquainted with the students on the expedition. This is where the skills he had picked up at the Inn shone the most. Lex had become charismatic enough to strike up a conversation with anyone he met, and make a favorable impression when he left. Of course, this was not what he was normally like, but in this instance where he was trying to get to know everyone, and build a positive relationship so that the expedition wouldn't be affected, he could turn on the charm like a switch.

In fact, internally, even he was a little surprised by how easy it was. The contrast between how easily he had ingratiated himself to the members of the expedition, and how much of a loner he had been for the past month was drastic. It seemed sometimes, making an effort was the only difference between two entirely different outcomes. That, and the fact that no one had yet connected Lex to the rumors about him that had spread.

Though, that did not mean he regretted having a small social circle. His focus was on making the best use of his time at the academy, not making friends. Only a small part of him admitted that his time during this past month would have been absolutely miserable if it hadn't been for Amelia's company.

Finally, on the day of departure, Lex stood alongside the 120 other members, his backpack filled to the brim, and a small duffle bag on the ground beside him. Of everyone, he had the least luggage, mostly because he skipped out on bringing many spare clothes and focused only on the essentials - a decision he would soon come to regret.

They did not have to wait for long, as soon Ptolemy arrived alongside some school staff. They would have no chaperones during their excursion, and would have to rely on themselves, but for them to reach their destination, they would require the academy's help.

It need not be said that the Crystal realm was massive. The equivalent of a million Earths would not even cover the amount of land held by just the Kraven's, let alone the other races. This explained why so much land was left unexplored, even in established counties.

They followed them to the teleportation terminal, one of the most important and most well supervised regions of the academy. Trying to move around Hum nation on a vehicle would take exceedingly long times, which is why teleportation was such an important feature.

Teleporting a few individuals around, like it had been done to Lex during his assessment, was relatively easy. But to move 120 students far off, all at once, would require them to use the teleportation formation.

"Lex, to me," Ptolemy said commandingly, summoning Lex to his side. Lex did not like his tone or demeanor, but he listened nonetheless.

"From here, we'll be teleporting directly to Karom city, the nearest settlement to our excursion zone. From there, we will head out, and it will take us a few days to reach the boundary of the explored lands. Since you're here on an advisory role regarding security, do you have any suggestions?"

Lex had already done plenty of research on where they would be heading, so he was not surprised by the mention of the city or their route. He was, however, surprised that Ptolemy asked for his advice.

"The outskirts of Karom city's domain is a dense forest, which we will have to travel through unless you have planned some kind of air transport. Moving on foot will be exhausting and difficult, considering the difficult terrain, so I recommend we rent some Delaim lizards as mounts.

"Furthermore, it'll be difficult to set up camp in a forest, so before we enter, we should send scouts ahead to check any for areas suitable or defensible. Considering the fact that we don't know what we'll be facing as we proceed, it's a good idea to always be as rested as possible. For now, that's all I have."

Delaim lizards were a six-legged species of lizards that were as long as alligators and as large as bulls. Despite their aggressive nature, they were commonly used as mounts in Hum nation as they had mastered the art of subduing them. Admittedly, a forest was not the kind of terrain where they could show their advantage, it was better than nothing. Also, despite being somewhat tame, they could also serve as good guard lizards for when they set camp or rested.

Lex had already noted down this suggestion while he was doing research, along with a few other things. Unfortunately, since the place they were going to was unexplored, there were only so many things Lex could prepare in advance. Any other advice he had to give would have to be as things developed. Luckily, he had his Fancy Monocle to help him out in case they encountered something they didn't know about, so he wasn't too worried.

Ptolemy did not comment on whether he was satisfied with Lex's advice, nor did he let show what he really thought. He simply accepted what Lex said, but showed no indication of whether he planned on listening to Lex.

Going through the procedure to teleport so many people took a couple of hours, but it was still nothing compared to TSA.

"Brace yourself," a student advised Lex as they walked into the formation. Lex thought he knew what to expect, but the moment the teleportation formation activated, he knew he was wrong. His previous teleportations had hit him with a whiplash, but this time Lex felt like a sledgehammer smashed into his chest.

Barely managing to keep himself from falling over, Lex managed to prevent embarrassing himself as soon as the expedition started. But, he was not prepared for the chill that hit him next.

He looked around and found himself in a small chamber, along with all the other students who were quickly putting on some sweaters and gloves. A moment later, he identified the sounds of an unabating gale. He looked out the window and saw what seemed like dunes of snow, and a snowstorm that threatened to freeze Lex to his very core.

What was this? His research never said anything about snow. A moment later, he realized he hadn't packed anything thicker than a T-shirt!