The Innkeeper

Lex put up a tough front during negotiations, and at the same time inquired about the rites of passage. But in truth, he did not care too much. The rites of passage were interesting, and Lex would have gone through it just to see what the experience was like.

But mostly, his mind was on the Glyph. When he got time, he would learn more Glyphs and practice them to see what the results were like. Moreover, if his theory was correct where fairies could just replicate special techniques or abilities that were unique to various races because they had all affinities, then fairies would be over powered to a whole other level.

In fact, they might even be the most impressive race he had met yet. In that case, he was 100% sure that there was something else holding back their growth than just a curse that made them more likely to be enslaved.

It was something he needed to figure out, since he had no intention of staying weak.

Eventually, Lex ended up getting a better deal than he expected. Alongside various treasures, they agreed to take Lex to a unique place within the realm that could only be accessed through the shadow plane.

Off the top of his head, he could not recall any such place in the realm. But then again, he received a lot of information about it, and it was incredibly difficult to wield all that knowledge properly. In fact, one of the reasons why Lex could still enjoy exploring was because unless he actively tried to recall some information about a place, and it was actually in front of him, he would have a tough time recalling it.

That was also why he had to go through so much effort to find the resin.

But he was sure he would recognise the place once he went there. Even so, it was an interesting offer, and since the only thing fair Lex had on his agenda at the moment was to adventure and enjoy, he didn't mind accepting such an offer.

As such, they came to an agreement. If Lex could pass the rites he'd be forgiven and not be targeted, and would get his compensation in that case. If he did not, then the owls would not hold back any who wanted to act out against him - not that Lex felt threatened by such a thing. It would just be highly inconvenient being hunted by his own shadow.

One more reason he was looking forward to completing the rite was because the owls agreed to help enchant the Jolly Rancher in such a fashion that it could be stored within his own shadow. That would be very convenient.

So both the Lex's became busy with their own individual tasks, living completely independent lives. At some point, fairy Lex realized he'd need a new name, just to avoid any correlation or connection with his main self, even if it was minor. But the prospect of giving himself a new name seemed very serious.

Since he could not come up with a good one at the moment, he decided to postpone it until he had an epiphany.

Four days later, baby Lex, who was much more of a toddler now after the growth he'd experienced upon touching the resin, finally woke up from the flood of knowledge Haraash was passing to him.

In truth, the transfer process ended a couple of days ago, but it took him much longer to process the information as well. It was only when he recovered that he was truly amazed, and realized how valuable the information he got was.

If he could make it work, then theoretically, the place he hid could hide even from the Midnight Inn! The golden keys would be undetectable there. If he could do that, then there were certain plans of his he could implement.

His mind suddenly went to the Midnight castle and the Chamber of Rebirth. These two were rewards he got at the same time, right after he hosted Pvarti's wedding, alongside the plank protos which allowed him to alter his cultivation technique.

The fact that these rewards could be put in the same vein was enough to signify how incredible they were. He recalled their descriptions.

Chamber of Rebirth (Single use)

The ultimate healing device. So long as a living being is alive, with even a fragment of its soul intact, it will be completely reborn regardless of any injury it sustained. No curses, karma, bloodlines, cultivation, or anything else affiliated to the previous identity will be passed on, with memories being the sole exception. Whoever uses it will be completely reborn anew!

Midnight Castle Blueprint

A blueprint that allows for the construction of the Midnight Castle. This Castle can be built within the territory of the Inn or outside, but only one can be built. The resources to build this castle are extremely rare, and the requisite skill to build the castle itself are impossibly high!

Back then, when he got both of these rewards, he imagined a way in which he could use them. The Chamber of Rebirth was incredible, and could allow him to recover from any wound. Its only limitation was that it had to be stored within Inn property.

How coincidental, then, was it that he simultaneously got the blueprint for an Inn building that could be built anywhere in the universe, even if it was outside the Inn? Moreover, it required Lex to build it with his own two hands. But the fact that the construction of such a thing required mastery of laws, not to mention ingredients that he could not get his hands on, was one of the reasons he never thought about it again.

But now things were coming together, if even just a bit. With his fairy clone, he could theoretically control laws. He also found a way to completely hide a place from detection, including by even the Inn itself. At the same time, he found himself inside a realm with all the knowledge of where he could find ingredients he would otherwise never be able to find.

So if, with his fairy clone, he found a place remote enough that he was convinced no one would connect with him and he could hide in, set up the protection, build the Midnight Castle within, and then shift the Chamber of Rebirth there, he could then possibly store a single drop of soul blood there.

If ever, for any reason, Lex faced a formidable opponent who killed him, or if ever he was discovered as someone who was actually weak and not as strong as the Innkeeper portrayed, then he could recover using this setup.

The greatest part was that even if he were attacked by a curse, or a law, or anything which could trace his destiny or karma or anything along those lines, the attack would not make its way back to that single drop of soul blood.

He had been thinking about his plan for a long time, and was one of the reasons why he didn't want any connection between his fairy clone and his main body. This way he could use his fairy clone to create his entire set up, all the while undetected and leaving behind no clues.

Since this concerned his potential survival, he wanted to take no chances at all.

Upon thinking so far, Lex checked his system interface. He had been distracted for a while, so it was completely possible that it had returned, and indeed it had!

New Notification: Ingredient Amber Chaos resin consumed! System recovery boosted by 5%! Addition of new features unsuccessful due to insufficient energy. Use of the same ingredient in the future will result in severe loss of efficiency and diminishing returns.

System functionality: 28%!

Lex could not help himself from grinning! An entire 5% increase! That was greater than anything he had experienced before.

Haraash, who was watching Lex, assumed that he was extremely pleased with the information he had attained.

"I am glad that you are satisfied with the results of this exchange. But be aware that I will not do the same in the future. To have me help you, whether it is through divination or the passing on of knowledge, is not something that can be sought for. Only through natural and unprompted occurance on both our parts can it be achieved. Also, please, in the future, do not reveal the location of where I am staying to anyone. I value my privacy, and I am here on vacation."

"Worry not, Master Haraash. My lips are sealed. No one will ever know of our exchange."

"Actually, that is true. Once you leave, Lend and I both will go deposit the knowledge of what information you purchased in the Chamber of Secrets. Even we will not know what knowledge you have gained from me."

Lex nodded gratefully. This was something he had thought of, but felt awkward asking for. It seemed like Master Haraash was a master for a reason.