The Innkeeper



Lex teleported back to his office filled with impatience! He'd gotten his hands on a system much quicker than he expected, but then he was suddenly hit with a reminder. While his system upgrades, it would be unavailable to him!

That… that could be problematic. Should he delay the upgrade? No, there would never be a good time for that. He just had to start the upgrade and deal with the situation as best he could.

For that, it was best he then go somewhere he did not need to teleport out of. He also took off his host attire and didn't even bother with putting his Clark Kent glasses on.

It'd be okay if he spent some time as himself, right? He scanned the Inn and discovered that William and his group were still at the Midnight manor. For whatever reason, they had not left the manor since they had arrived at the Inn, so all he would have to do was avoid them.

But, even if he didn't, what did it matter? Chances were, William would be just as surprised to see him as he had been.

Pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, Lex once again looked towards the system notification he had been reading earlier.

System notification: New system detected! Analyzing the secondary system. Desert Farming system grade G- detected. Begin assimilation? Y/N.

System notification: Desert Farming system detected. The ignorant assume that a desert is not suitable for farming, but they simply lack the skills. Only the toughest and most valuable plants can grow in the harshest of environments. Whether it is the glaring heat, harsh sunlight, tough soil or loose sand, scarce spirit energy, and severe lack of water, they all allow only the most versatile vegetation to grow, and such vegetation yields the greatest benefits! Shake the cultivation world, and plant cacti that can replace spirit stones, dates that can revive the mortally wounded and shrubs with more energy than a star!

The grade was a lot lower than the previous system Lex had encountered, so hopefully the assimilation would be a lot quicker as well. As for the description… Lex began to suspect that systems also had personalities of their own, and the description came from the systems personality.

"Hey Mary, I'm about to upgrade the system so I'm going to lose connection with it. Will everything at the Inn be alright?"

"Yes, don't worry. Everything existing will continue to operate as usual. If it's anything like last time, the only thing that will be affected is your ability to give new orders, temporarily."

"And I can't teleport to other planets during this time either, right?"

"No, unfortunately not."

"Hmm, in that case, you know what to do. There shouldn't be any problems, considering all our preparations. If anyone wants to meet me, just tell them I'm away. Everything else should continue as normal."

"Understood."

Lex tried to tune into his intuition, to determine if it could give him any warnings about whether he should wait. But it was not responding, which either meant everything was okay, or that in matters related to systems, it didn't work so well.

Not one to keep things waiting, Lex chose to begin the assimilation.

His system interface disappeared, and instead was replaced by a single word: updating.

Lex felt a sense of satisfaction, knowing that his system was about to be upgraded. He wondered what new functions it would get. Considering the low grade of the absorbed system, he might not get so many. Whatever it was, he hoped it would be suitable for an Inn.

But, with his system interface gone, Lex was suddenly out of things to do. Well, not completely. There was one more thing he had been thinking about doing for a long time, one which did not require his identity as the Innkeeper or the functionality of the system.

Cracking his knuckles, Lex began to walk in a certain direction. He calculated how much free time he had. The Grand Prix would be held in two more days, and though he did not expect the system to come back online by then, he should at least be done with his current task. After all, how long would it take?

Instead of taking a golf cart, Lex took his time and casually strolled through the Inn, taking in all the sights. But it did not take long for his stroll to end, for he reached his destination: the Mystery trial.

Since Lex had gotten this unique reward from the system, he had been thinking about trying it out, yet he was always too preoccupied to try. Now was the perfect time.

From what he recalled, the Mystery trial would give each person who entered a different trial based on their skills. The main purpose of the trial was to improve their skills, though when someone completed the trial, they would also get a small reward.

The first entry was free for everyone, and every subsequent entry would cost 500 MP. Lex was slightly curious what his trial would be, but there was no point in wondering. It was much easier to just enter and find out.

Lex walked into the trial and was enveloped in darkness. It seemed like only a moment, but when the darkness retreated, he found himself in one of 7 seats around a rectangular table. Five other people sat around him, and a man in a very iconic mask was sitting at the head of the table, a revolver placed right in front of him.

Lex immediately tried to get up, considering the fact that he had a strong feeling towards where this was heading, yet he could not move. He looked down and saw that his legs were chained to the chair, which had been bolted to the ground.

He looked up once again at the man with the white mask. Fake hair came out from beside the mask, and red circles were drawn on each cheek. Though the red painted lips of the mask did not move, a sound came from behind it.

"Would you like to play a game?" the man asked, his creepy voice giving each person on the table chills.

The mask was from the famous horror movie SeeSaw!