The Innkeeper

Name: Lex Williams

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Cultivation Level: Regal Embrace Body Tempering Stage 1

Health: Suboptimal (enlarged brain tumor), crippled right hand, bruised torso, bruised legs

Midnight Points: 17,961

Midnight Inn Level: 3

Inventory: Bathroom Slippers, Self Defense Butter Knife, Host Attire

After recovering from his shock, Lex focused on his health tab for more details.

Health:

Enlarged Brain Tumor:

After growing a certain amount, it has started affecting the hosts' decision making capabilities. It may result in headaches, blackouts, moon swings, impaired decision making, memory loss and more.

"It says my brain tumor has grown and will affect my decision making process," Lex told Mary seriously. "Is this what you thought when you told me to check my status?"

"It's what I was afraid of. This might be an inadvertent effect of the first procedure whilst cultivating Regal Embrace, which causes all your bodily functions to become more optimized. It even optimized the growth of your tumor. The problem should still be solved once you complete all four procedures, but just to be on the safe side you should do your best to make sure you cultivate as quickly as possible."

Lex tensed up in frustration, but after a few moments let out a sigh and relaxed. There was no point dwelling on things he could not affect. He would focus on other things.

"So what's this Mystery trial?" he asked again.

"It's an upgrade for the Inn. Guests can enter and undergo a trial based on their cultivation as well as their personalities. The 'mystery' in its name comes from the fact that no one can know what kind of trial they will encounter. So a soldier or someone who enjoys fighting will have a combat trial, but someone who likes carpentry will have a trial based on building or fixing something. The trial allows you to discover your flaws and grow your skills, and if you succeed then there are even small prizes. The prizes however are only a minor focus, and the growth of your skills and abilities is the real focus of the Mystery Trials."

Lex and Mary kept talking, as Lex was in no mood to explore the planet further and was simply waiting till he could return to the Inn. Hopefully it won't be much longer.

*****

Hugo Laurant left his room, and for the first time in many years felt a sense of contentment. He had reached the Peak Foundation realm and even stabilized his cultivation in only a few days. For the first time in years he saw hope in his future. Although far off, his cultivation was going smoothly enough now that he imagined that he would be able to enter Golden Core sometime in the future. Once that happened, even if the Bentham family could not help him find his enemies, he would have enough influence to find out on his own.

A part of him wanted to continue cultivating in this place, but his soul contract mildly influenced him to let him know that he should either continue investigating or return to old man Will with his information as quickly as possible. Still he was content with his gains. He was planning on visiting the Gift Shop once and then returning to Earth, but as soon as he ventured outside he noticed that the area surrounding the Inn seemed to have changed. Not only did it seem bigger and fuller, but a few hills appeared in the distance. He went to Gerard to ask about it, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that a Meditation room had been built on the hills in the distance, which aided one in cultivation!

Still, as much as he wanted to go test out the new addition, his soul contract kept reminding him to focus on what was important. He went directly to the Gift Shop and carefully went through all the items, memorizing their effects. He only bought a bottle of Botlam's Dew however, as he assumed that it could be useful to the old man. When he received it in card form he was extremely shocked and impressed. If he could learn how to store items in cards it would be immensely useful to him.

With that done, Hugo left the building to explore the rest of the Inn. He saw a new guest sitting in the garden, a young girl. At first Hugo was tempted to go talk to her, but then remembering that he was armed to the teeth he thought it might not be such a good idea. He explored the grounds and then ventured towards the hills. When he finally reached the Meditation room he took his time to admire it, but ultimately resisted his urge to venture in. Making sure he had seen everything at least once and remembered all the details, he summoned Gerard and asked him if the Innkeeper was available. He wanted to say his farewell before leaving, but unfortunately was told that the Innkeeper was away on some business.

With nothing left to do, he thought about returning - the way Gerard told him he could leave - and felt himself being transported away. Slowly his surroundings faded away and he found himself back in the hall in Will's house. He found a couple people waiting for him in the room, and as soon as he appeared they rushed to him to ensure that he was alright. After making sure that he was hurt anywhere, one of the staff members ran off to report to Will while the other led Hugo to a clinic. Even though he said he was unhurt, tests needed to be conducted to be sure.

A team of doctors was ready waiting for him when he arrived. They took blood samples, conducted X-rays, MRI's, eyesight tests, psychological tests to determine his mental state and many more. Hugo went along with all these as he had already been through them once before he ventured to the Inn, so that the doctors would have his baseline. Eventually, while he was still being tested, Will was brought into the room on a wheelchair.

His skin had paled even beyond what it was before, and he looked incredibly weak. He was wearing an oxygen mask and it was clear that his situation had deteriorated drastically while Hugo was gone. This could also explain why his soul contract had been prompting him to hurry so much lately.

The old man didn't speak, but he looked at the mercenary with hopeful eyes.

"I believe you'll be very happy to hear what I have to report," Hugo told the old man as he kneeled before him. He handed the old man the Golden Key he had received when he returned from the Inn, and began his tale.