The Innkeeper

"I hope you understand, Mr Marlo," the man said as he pulled on his collar with one finger, loosening it. "I am only here on behalf of my client. None of these things are my doing, I'm just delivering a message."

Despite the smile on the man's face, his nervousness could be seen by the amount he was sweating.

"Please, enlighten me as to what your client wants to convey," Marlo said, as he leaned back in his chair. He was not sitting in the luxurious furniture he had picked out for himself in his apartment. No, he was currently sitting in the seat of the Regional Director for Bluebird in the main Bluebird office.

The lawyer did not know how, or why, the man could so casually sit upon such an important seat, and why no one else in the building seemed to be saying anything to the man, but it was too late to change the plan.

"It's like this, Mr. Marlo. You have built up a lot of prestige for yourself over the years, but at the same time, everyone also knows that you are gravely injured. You could probably put up a good fight against other Golden Core experts, but that fight would be your last. And with your recent disappearance, everyone is suspecting that your old wounds have made your situation worse. I mean, your students were harassed so much, one of them even quit your class and yet you did nothing. Your reputation has taken a hit."

The more the lawyer spoke, the wider Marlo's grin grew, but for some reason, it only made the lawyer more nervous.

"Having said that, my client deeply respects you and does not want to cause you any trouble. We only need Larry Dershaws whereabouts. So long as you tell us where he is, your bank accounts will be restored and all your businesses will once again run normally."

Instead of replying, Marlo started laughing. But the harder he laughed, the louder his voice became, the more pressure the lawyer felt. He was only at the beginning of the Foundation realm, so even Marlos regular aura would easily suppress him, let alone his rising aura now.

The more Marlo laughed, the angrier he got. Until, suddenly, something in his body clicked. His new form of cultivation, that had been suppressed on the verge of completion for so long, was finally complete. He was no longer a cultivator. He now walked the path of a Prime.

With his breakthrough complete, Marlo's aura exploded outwards with a strength Earth had rarely witnessed. Had any of the five family heads, previously the strongest humans on the planet, been here, even they would have been suppressed.

The lawyer fell out of his chair as he looked at the madman, roaring with laughter.

*****

Midnight Manor, The Midnight Inn

"Innkeeper!" Blane exclaimed in excitement, "it has definitely been a while! But I'm great! I finally got to reunite with my girlfriend, Iris!" Blane looked towards the girls whose hand he had firmly gripped, and the wide grin on his face could not be more pure.

The last time Lex had seen Blane, and even to this day when he saw Chen, the duo was usually very submissive in front of Lex. After all, they had met Falak, and seen how even he was respectful to the Innkeeper. But now, Blane was radiating endless joy and excitement, nothing else.

Lex observed the heroic woman that caused Blane's heart to swoon and read her status.

Name: Iris

Age: 24

Sex: Female

Cultivation Details: Qi training 4th level

Species: Human

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Condition: Has suffered grave injuries and can no longer cultivate or undergo severe exertion! Her lungs have been severely injured, and can only be treated to reduce pain, but cannot fully be healed. Multiple small wounds across her body were detected. Patient suffers from greatly depleted vitality!

Remarks: She has lived the life of a warrior, but managed to escape the death of one. Definitely deserves a soft onesie!

Lex did not let it show on his face, but her condition let him know just how difficult a life she had lived. It made sense, since living on Vegus Minima was all but hell until recently.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lex said to Iris, his voice filled with sincerity.

"No, no, the pleasure is mine," Iris said, as she bowed towards Lex. "Blane told me how you saved his and Chen's life. I had almost given up on everything when I thought he was dead. I can't tell you how relieved I was when he contacted me! Please, accept my thanks."

Though she managed to keep her tears from falling, how could Lex not notice her watery eyes?

"It is my duty, and my privilege. Please, stand up straight. Would you like me to show you around? Chen and Lily are also at the Inn, so if you like, I could take you to them as well."

"We'll get around to meeting Brother Chen," Blane said, "but first I thought I'd show Iris around. The place has changed so much, it seems like I'll have to explore it again as well."

"Then please, by all means, enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, your personal holographic assistant is always available."

Lex let the happy couple explore on their own, as it was perfectly clear that Blane wanted to spend some time alone with her. But, right before they left, Lex sent him a mental message knowing that Iris, though not completely healable, would benefit greatly from visiting the Recovery room.

He took this time to interact with a few more of his guests, until the fifth Midnight Game began. This time, the terrain seemed difficult to determine. Everyone appeared in tunnels, some wide and some small, and were split into various groups.

Before any of them could begin to explore, however, the surprise challenge for this round was announced immediately! All the contestants could use whatever points they had accumulated so far to increase their strength! The more points they spent, the greater the increase. But at the same time, the increase was also temporary, so it had to be timed perfectly!

This was a huge risk. By utilizing their points, they could gain a lead on the other world in destroying the node, but if too many participants used too many points, the gain in points from destroying a node would be outweighed by the points lost. To top it all off, since the contestants were so split up, they could not plan properly either.

The crowds watching the match went crazy, and the anticipation was at an all-time high. Blane and Iris had gotten seats in the Coliseum, and for the first time enjoyed a cheering crowd.

But Lex was distracted by a notification he received. Apparently, one of the skills he'd entered into the Mystery trial that he was looking for, had been found.

The skill he had discovered was assassination, and the person who had it happened to already work for him: John. This was interesting, the man seemed so amicable, Lex would have guessed he was an assassin. But that was likely what made him good at it.

Lex decided to observe him for a while, and then decide how he was going to ask him for what Lex had planned. And no, Lex was not planning on carrying out assassinations.

In the IT field on Earth, there was a certain job called Penetration Testing. It was when someone checked a software, a business, a building, anything really, for vulnerabilities. For example, if security was weak at a data center, regardless of how secure the firewalls were, they could not prevent them from being physically accessed. If a software had obvious flaws, it could easily be hacked. If a business was not taking precautions, it could be taken advantage of.

Following this line of thought, Lex thought of offering a form of penetration testing as a service, up to a certain level, of course. The client would hire a tester, who would then try to infiltrate or 'assassinate' the client, then provide a detailed report on whatever weaknesses or flaws they encountered. Considering how dangerous the universe probably was, Lex thought it was a good idea.

Now all he needed to do was get a good idea of how skilled John really was, and what his cultivation level was. To be honest, he had some doubts about John. Apparently, he had been to the Mystery trial numerous times, but had not solved it yet. Was he really any good? Then again, to be fair, so far no one had completed the Mystery trial.

In his room above the Battle Ax, John sat on a sofa as he considered his gains for the day. Today, finally, for the first time, he had made some progress towards solving the Mystery trial. So far, each and every assassination he had attempted had been planned and provided guidance from by his own Assassination System. Each time, however, he failed.

Out of frustration, this time John did not wait for his system to guide him and used his own instincts to attack, and finally made some progress! Though he still failed, he figured something out. If he wanted to pass the trial, he could not rely on his system.

But instead of relief and finding a breakthrough, John was filled with fear. How could the trial differentiate between when he used the system and when he didn't? And if the trial could do so, did that mean... the Innkeeper had also seen through his system?