"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?Far out in the vast universe, a small spaceship was flying through the expanse. The crew consisted of only four men, since the ship itself was too small to accommodate more. Though not exactly routine, their mission was not exactly unheard of either. Aboard a ship designed to be covert and quick, they were personally tasked by Ragnar to deliver a batch of goods to the nearest Jotun operational planet. Their cargo included various rare metals, some extremely rare demonic resources, a few plants, and some documents. What they were unaware of was a small box full of hundreds of Golden keys that had been secretly placed alongside the cargo.
This was one of a dozen such ships that had been sent out, but what made this one unique was that three of the crew members were dead and the remaining member seemed to be casually eating a meal and waiting for something. Soon, the ship was intercepted by a much larger vessel. As much as the crewmember would have liked to stop the ship himself, he could not control the ship, so rougher means were required.
Once the ship's engines were disabled, the Jotun ship was pulled into the cargo hold of the larger ship which, upon closer inspection, bore the insignia or some random space pirates.
"You wasted a cover you've held for seven years," said one of the pirates that welcomed the remaining crew member. "I hope it was worth it."
"Oh ho, you have no idea. There's a whole batch of high leveled demonic resources! We're going to be rich!"
The pirate was startled at the news, but suddenly started laughing with excitement! Indeed, they were about to get rich!
*****
Lex secretly watched John for a while, but the man did nothing except pace around his room. This would not get him any results. Lex had to think of a different way to determine John's abilities. He could think of only two ways: either he sent John on a trial, the way he had sent Marlo, and analyze his skills that way, or he set a condition for John to pass the mystery trial..
They both came with their own problems, however. Lex had no way of knowing John's cultivation level, and so any trial he could come up with might not be accurate. The Mystery trial itself had never been finished, and it was unknown what the difficulty level for that was.
After considering his options for a while, Lex still decided to stick to the Mystery trial. Its difficulty was a form of quality control, and Lex was in no particular rush.
Furthermore, there was another very important issue with giving John a trial. The only information Lex had received from John's status was that his cultivation was sealed, and finding a way to fix that issue would also be an important factor in having him do his second job, so more time was a good thing.
He appeared in Battle Axes lobby, and asked Doe, John's AI assistant, to let John know that the Innkeeper wished to speak to him. Doe dutifully hurried to inform John, whose expression stilled when he heard the news. Instead of letting panic take over, John settled his emotions and receded into a state of suppressing his emotions. His previous occupation put him in a lot of difficult situations and he would not be able to survive if he lost control so easily.
Furthermore, even if the Innkeeper knew something about the system, there was no guarantee that he would even be interested in it.
John entered the lobby with a smile and welcomed the Innkeeper inside, as he observed the Innkeeper. He was as warm and genial as ever, and John was unable to garner any other information about him at all. Even his finely honed instincts only told him that in front of him was a regular human with no cultivation, which was impossible!
"How have you been doing, John? It seems you've adjusted well to the Inn."
As ever, John was dressed like a biker from Earth. His leather jacket and jeans combination had made him easily identifiable to the many guests, and he always wore his aviator glasses, even indoors. Of course, everyone knew those glasses could hide one's appearance and identity, many guests wore them, but no one commented on them.
"I have been doing very well, Innkeeper. The work is rewarding, the environment is safe and relaxing, and there is always something interesting happening to keep me entertained. I have earned quite a bit of MP betting on a particular beast during the games, and I'm very hopeful about its performance."
"Oh, which one?" Lex asked, curious about who his employee supported.
John waved to pull up a screen that automatically focused on one of the participants. But at viewing the scene, Lex quietly looked away and John went pale. The beast he had bet on was dead! He was broke again!
Lex coughed, waking John from his misery, allowing him to dismiss the window.
"I also get to meet a lot of interesting people," he said, smiling weakly.
"Yes, it's a diverse crowd here at the Inn. I'm glad to know you're getting along fine. But I wonder, have you thought about your future?"
"My future?"
"Yes, I mean. Do you want to stay here at the Inn, working at the Battle Ax? Are there other things you are interested in? Or perhaps, do you want to leave the Inn one day? Something along those lines."
John was silent for a moment, before saying, "Since you've brought this up, do you have something in mind?"
At this point, he was all but sure that this matter had to do with his system, but he would never admit it unless the cards were laid on the table.
"Indeed, I do, actually. I have an opportunity for you, if you can grasp it. I was looking for someone with the skills of an assassin and thought you would be a good fit."
"Innkeeper, there must be some mistake. I am no assassin."
The Innkeeper gave John a knowing smile before saying, "Haha no John, I never said I was looking for an assassin, nor am I interested in having anyone assassinated. I said I was interested in someone with the skills of an assassin for a job. No need for any concern. I don't mean to harm anyone – quite the opposite, in fact.
"But I won't speak more on it for now. If you are interested in grasping the opportunity, there are still things you need to do to qualify. But I won't make it too difficult for you. How about you successfully complete the Mystery trial and unseal your cultivation. Once you've done that, you can come find me for the other job."
Without giving John any time to respond, Lex left. By letting John take care of his own sealed cultivation, he was reducing a burden on Lex's shoulders and elevating Lex's image in John's mind. And if he took too long to do either of those conditions, Lex could just look for another candidate. Then John would have no one else to blame but himself.
With that taken care of, Lex considered watching the ongoing game. He really hadn't been following the games too closely and was surprised to find that the Beasts had taken the lead in points.
But, just as he was deciding on what to do, he felt something strange happen to his body. It was the feeling of relief one got when they cracked their bones after sitting still all day, but… the feeling wasn't coming from his bones. It was coming from something deeper…
Lex teleported to his apartment and then pulled up his status to see if anything changed, especially with his tumor, but what he saw surprised him greatly.
Name: Lex Williams
Age: 23
Sex: Male
Cultivation Level: Regal Embrace Body Tempering Stage 3 Complete
He was too stunned to view the rest of his status as his gaze was fixed on his cultivation. The third stage was already complete?
"Hey Mary, I think my third stage is… complete," in equal parts confusion and excitement.
"In that case, I suggest you either complete the fourth stage right now, or after the event ends, as this process should take 2 to 3 days."
Lex hesitated for a moment, but his excitement got the better of him. He had 6 days before the event ended, so he could make it in time for the closing ceremony, even if the procedure took a little longer.
"In that case, Mary, take care of things while I'm away."
Not waiting any longer, Lex immediately began the fourth process. Once again, teleported to the familiar white room, Lex lay down comfortably on the bed and fell asleep. This time, his body was no longer injected with anything, and it appeared as if he was just sleeping. But if anyone else were to enter that room, if their cultivation was not strong enough, they would explode under enormous pressure.
Slowly, his body, spirit and soul were being melded into one completely new entity, never before seen in this universe. At the same time, in his Inn, a group of drunk space pirates stumbled through a bright light, completely unaware of what happened.
Mary's projection floated over Lex's sleeping body, utterly confused. His soul had stabilized way too quickly, right? But, whatever. There was a saying on Earth that went like, 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'. She had no idea who would gift someone a horse, but the idea was all that mattered.
Before she could ponder more about the metaphors and phrases from Earth, she was notified about an issue. A bunch of new guests had shown up, and had started a fight. The problem was, they were fighting amongst one another, so the guards weren't sure if they needed to stop them and so they contacted her.
Mary disappeared to take care of the issue, only to find most of them were already asleep or unconscious on her arrival. A few were fighting amongst themselves, but shortly after pulling them apart, they too fell asleep. Now Mary really was lost, they had never taken care of drunk guests before. But perhaps it would be too much to punish them just for this, so she had the guards carry them somewhere secluded where they could nap out in the field. She would deal with them when they woke up.
Just like that, Mary was putting out fires all over the Inn while the Innkeeper slept like a baby. The hours passed and the final game for the Foundation experts finally ended. Of the 1000 soldiers that had followed Alexander, only 600 were in fighting condition by the end. Almost 200 of them died while the rest were gravely wounded. The casualties for the rest were drastic as well, though the Jotuns only had casualties because of Pramod's surprise attack.
Surprising everyone, the Beasts had taken the lead in points during the last two matches, and Earth had fallen far behind both. This was because, split up as they were, many soldiers ended up using their points for extra strength whenever they were in precarious situations..
The next day, the sixth match, and the first of the Golden Core experts, would begin. The zombies, the Jotuns and the beasts had armies ready and waiting, but the Earthlings only managed only 800 Golden core experts of their 5000 quota. This was because, to begin with, Golden Core cultivators were rare on Earth, and the ones that managed to reach that realm often were not fighters.
Of those 800, only 10 were Brandon Morrisons followers. The Morrison family had decided not to participate heavily in this section of the games, as they no longer had much to gain. The only reason these 10 were even going was because they wanted to follow Brandon. As for the reason Brandon wanted to go, he claimed he needed the exertion to help him breakthrough the Nascent realm.
"You performed well," Brandon said to his son, who was busy recovering from his latest wounds, "but you took on too many wounds. Your combat style is immature. Compare yourself to the Jotun soldiers, who suffered almost no casualties and few wounds under normal circumstances. Think on how you can improve, and if you need inspiration, watch my match tomorrow."
Brandon was always extremely serious, a large contrast to his own father, but he was also extremely remarkable. Despite the fact that Ragnar was the Nascent realm cultivator of their family, Brandon was the one that had built up their strength and raised their armies. Alexander had never seen his father fight properly, so he was looking forward to it.
In a different part of the Inn, Blane had taken Iris to the Recovery room to heal. Behind him stood Chen and Lily. Blane was completely broke, since he had spent his time looking for Iris and had not worked at all in that time, so he had to ask Chen for a loan to heal Iris.
Yet again, in another part of the Inn, Little Blue was searching for its father, the Galactic Sovereign turtle. But the turtle had gone back to its planet temporarily, and so the whale was unable to find him, which caused it a lot of distress. Unaware of what else to do, the whale went towards Main street to find Z. Unknowingly, somehow this reclusive and anime obsessed AI had become the support system for many of the Inns permanent residents.
As night fell and the pirates finally woke up, Mary quickly appeared and had the guards reproach them heavily. Confused, scared, but mostly hungover, the pirates got a vague understanding of things before promptly returning to wherever they came from.
In a different place, Larry was waiting for Lex, who had said he would return at night. But as the hours passed and Lex never showed up, Larry began to worry. His thoughts, however, were hidden well behind his smile and constant flirting.
The night passed, and the next day the first match for the Golden Core experts began. Some people found it strange that the Innkeeper didn't make an appearance, but things continued as usual.
Harriot Shelby Ruby Selma Jane, the zombie leader whose name only Lex knew, did not behave as pragmatically as Pramod when the first match started. Since the zombies and the Jotun empire spawned in the same place, she instantly ordered a fight to the death.
Unlike the fight with Foundation realm experts, which somewhat resembled a fight between mortal armies in terms of formation and weapons, a fight between Golden Core experts was vastly different. The spiritual techniques were of another realm, and the repercussions of the fight could be felt across the current map. Speaking of which, the environment was actually underwater! They were literally fighting against not only each other, but the ocean currents as well!
Brandon made a beeline for the ongoing fight while the Beasts headed towards the node. Compared to their somewhat mediocre performance in the previous rounds, this time, the Beasts were a lot more aggressive.
A lot of viewers had their eyes on Brandon, despite so many other options, as a lot of bets had been placed on him. As the father of such a well-performing candidate, Alexander, the crowd expected nothing less from him. And, true to the Morrison name, Brandon was extremely lethal on the field.
If Alexander's performance could be described as explosive, then Brandon was steady. In less than an hour, he killed over a dozen Golden Core zombies, and was involved in a direct clash against Harriot. To be more exact, he was fighting the third body Harriot inhabited! Every time he killed the zombie, even crushing the zombie core to dust once, Harriot would somehow take over another zombie. Were Lex watching this match, he would recall that Harriot suffered from a condition the system described as a failed artificial animation, and would wonder if this had anything to do with how she kept coming back.
If she had been smart, Brandon would have had no way of knowing that she had taken over another zombie, but each time she would start cursing and screaming at him, even going so far as saying she was immortal and that she would not rest until she took over Brandon's body in revenge!
If the situation bothered him, no one could tell, as Brandon's expression did not change even a little throughout the game. Even when the game ended in only four hours because the beasts had somehow decimated the zombie army defending the node, Brandon was unperturbed.
Like that, Brandon became a fan favorite, even more than Alexander, and quite a few ladies tried to court him. It was unfortunate for them that he treated them with the same indifference as the zombies that he killed. The very same indifference he kept when Harriot herself courted him between matches.
Like that, two more days passed by, and nothing too out of the ordinary happened. The Beasts had an irrecoverable lead now, as they continued to destroy the nodes on their own in the following two matches. At this point, even the Jotun army had changed their strategy from trying to destroy the node to keeping the pressure off the beasts. All they cared about was reclaiming the planet, so if they did not win the final prize, it was alright.
It had to be noted that only 200 of the Golden Core cultivators from Earth were still participating. The casualties they had suffered in the first match had been extremely heavy, and most of the survivors refused to participate anymore. The only ones still fighting were like Brandon, wanting to ready themselves for a potential breakthrough in the future. With access to the Midnight Inn, the Golden Core realm was not the end of the path for them and their buried ambitions had been rekindled.
It was on the morning of the ninth Midnight game, and the second last match, that something unusual happened – at least for those who came from Earth.
New York had been declared an independent country as well as a monarchy, under the rule of its first King, Hanson Marlo Bravi IV, as recognized by the Council of New Order. No one saw this coming, and everyone was extremely confused by what had happened. Though Marlo had a reputation, it was not as if everyone on Earth knew him, so many were wondering who this random upstart was that had somehow obtained recognition from the council.
Only a very few people knew that it wasn't Marlo receiving their recognition, but him sparing their lives for provoking him in the first place. Based on his personality, he could not be threatened the same way the other family heads were, and they had not planned for a sudden new powerhouse either. In fact, he was not even too interested in taking over New York, but the council had already offered it to him to placate him, and he did quite like the sound of King.
What they didn't know was that it was not Marlo's lack of ambition that saved them. He was too worried about his son's condition to care about measly titles. In fact, if someone from the council hadn't specifically provoked him, he would never have even bothered with them at all. As for what happened after his son recovered… that remained to be seen.
Although Marlo had declared himself King, and New York had gone from being a state to an independent country, practically there were no changes in the way things operated. No laws were changed, no new government bodies were created, and no one got any special privileges.
Still, for the people of Earth, such a change overnight was too drastic to accept. Riots and protests erupted the very next day and filled the streets of Manhattan. Instead of dispersing them, though, the police only maintained the peace. At the end of the day, the Governor of New York made an announcement that, in summary, stated whether the people accepted or rejected the truth made no difference. The whole world was changing, let alone New York, and they could accept the changes or test their luck.
Perhaps once he had dealt with his private matters, Marlo would turn his attention back to New York or even all of Earth, but neither the council nor the politicians in New York had any way of knowing what would happen.
Of course, the council was not going to leave this threat hanging over their head, and while Marlo returned to the Inn, they already began taking precautions. How effective the precautions would be could not yet be determined. The council considered him a normal Nascent cultivator, and did not have a concept of what it meant to be a Prime. Who could blame them? Few in the entire universe did.
*****
Sometime later that day, Lex finally woke up. Unlike his previous procedures, it was not a gradual process. One moment he was asleep, the next he was completely and fully awake. Even without moving, or opening his eyes, Lex felt a tremendous difference! It was not just his strength that had increased, but the fluidity with which his thoughts flowed was unprecedented. It was like he had been wearing shackles that were keeping him in place, but had finally broken free of them.
Still lying in bed, without opening his eyes, Lex called up his status.
Name: Lex Williams
Age: 23.
Sex: Male
Cultivation Level: Regal Embrace Body Tempering Stage 4 Complete
Health: Optimal
Midnight Points: 9,730,745
Midnight Inn Level: 3
Remarks: Even hibernating bears aren't as irresponsible as you! Go take care of your guests!
A relieved smile crept onto Lex's face. As he had learnt, oh so long ago, by completing all four stages of the Regal Embrace, his tumor had been removed. He was in perfect physical and mental condition, and for the first time in a long time, Lex felt like himself again. He felt like that guy who had made video games in his spare time, like the guy who had negotiated a $7,000,000 deal, like the guy who had graduated with honors by pulling off nothing but last-minute all-nighters.
"Mary," he called out, as he slowly sat up. He was slow, not because he needed to relearn how to control his strength. No, despite the massive increase in strength, he felt like he could control himself even better now. He got up slowly, because he was preoccupied with thoughts of how his journey had begun.
He thought back to that night when he felt so restless in his home that he went to a park in the middle of the night. He thought of the shooting star he saw. He thought of the wish he made. He thought of the first time he heard Mary's voice, and thought himself crazy.
"You're finally done," Mary appeared in front of him with a smile. She was suited up, similar to Lex, and her red hair was tied up into a neat bun. Lex remembered when they had met, she had taken on the appearance of Mary Jane, and was named after her too, but now somehow he felt like she had subtly changed.
"Yeah, I am. Finally." He smiled warmly at her, but didn't move, and didn't say anything else. After a couple of moments, Mary looked at him with a confused look.
"Is anything the matter?"
"No no, nothing's the matter. I was just thinking back on everything I've done with the Inn so far. I've been to different worlds. I've fought zombies and I've fought wolves. I've had guests from different species and different galaxies, maybe even realms. I hired some AI, got a barber, made a small lake then a big one. I hired a gardener and then hired a turtle to garden. Everything was so… so random. I guess having a tumor made it hard for me to focus on one thing for too long."
He flashed Mary a smile, who responded with a weak smile of her own. Lex's words and tone did not seem to match. The words sounded like he should be happy, but his tone sounded scrutinizing.
"But I guess life's random sometimes, huh? As random as a system falling out of the sky. A system that can transport people from across the universe, but somehow lagged and fell into me while scanning Earth."
At this point, Mary definitely understood that Lex was suspicious, and not just about the system, or else he would not have been giving her such a strange look.
"Yes, I suppose that's how it is. Life's as random as an 'augmented reality avatar provided by the Midnight Inn for my acclimation'. Those were your exact words, right? God, you talked a lot like a robot back then, though that changed pretty quickly."
Mary let out a defeated sigh and said, "You can just ask what you want to ask, there's no need to be so sassy. I can't lie to you, anyway."
Lex chuckled, his previous critical demeanor gone, and he was back to his usual self. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just felt a little dramatic. But even if I ask, I'm pretty sure I already know the answers. Something about my authority not being enough. But, let's try anyway. Who knows, maybe I have enough authority for a hint."
Now, Lex was just being cheeky and Mary looked at him with annoyance in her eyes.
"Let's get reacquainted, shall we? Where did the system come from?"
"As of right now, your authority is insufficient to know the origin of the system."
"Alright, guessed as much. Next question, are there other systems out there?"
Mary let out a defeated smile. It seemed the disappearance of the tumor had affected Lex greatly, and some things that were hidden in plain sight could no longer fool Lex.
"As of right now, your authority is insufficient to know such a question."
"Why did I get the system?"
"It was coincidental. The system lagged, and you happened to be in its path."
"Yes, yes, a system that can literally create AIs out of nothing lagged while flying over my head. I thought you said you couldn't lie."
"I cannot, this is the answer provided to me by the system."
Lex rubbed his chin as he observed Mary, trying to decide whether he believed her or not. Truthfully, he trusted her. But there was a lot of ambiguity about the system that just made him feel unsettled.
"Alright moving on. The system talks to me using 'remarks'. Does that mean the system is alive?"
"As of right now, your authority is insufficient to know such details about the system."
"Predictable, predictable. But it remains a fact that the system can talk to me, since it does so in the form of remarks. But you, Mary, are not the system itself, correct?"
"Yes, I am an assistant provided by the system to help the host."
"See now, I find it strange that the system gave me such a good helper. I can't seem to understand the purpose of the system. From the beginning, when I opened the starter pack, the system has made a point not to help me out and let me do things on my own. It did not help with my cultivation, it did not help with information about the universe, it did not give me the option to keep out hostile guests. It was complete, dumb luck that I ended up getting the Regal Embrace. It even went as far as threatening death in its first few quests, when I was at my most vulnerable and most likely to fail. With everything about the system designed to make me do stuff on my own, and give me a tough time while doing it, why would it give me such a helpful assistant? It feels… contradictory."
"If you are asking the purpose of the system, it is to host the greatest and grandest Inn in the universe, without any comparison."
"Ahan, and why is that?"
"As of right now, your authority is insufficient to know the reasoning behind the system. You know, for someone who benefited a lot from the system himself, you sure are sounding ungrateful."
Lex laughed at Mary's accusation.
"I don't mean to be ungrateful, honestly. The system is amazing, and has improved my life in a million different ways, not to mention it literally saved my life by removing a tumor I would not have even known about without the system. I just feel like things aren't as simple as I was assuming them to be."
While talking to Mary, Lex was also adjusting his emotions. When he got the system, he'd accepted such a massive change way too easily, probably under the influence of his tumor. Now that he was free to think properly, he was just processing the shock that probably should have hit him right on the first day.
"Right, last question. And you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
At this, Mary raised an eyebrow. This new and improved Lex was… way too thorough.
"Before the Midnight Games, before I even got the quest, you told me to ace the next quest. I don't think the system would let you give me hints even before it gave me a quest. So, what was that about?"
Mary looked at Lex with a mix of frustration and pride. It frustrated her at how critically he was questioning her, but at the same time she was proud of how careful he was being. The system really was an entity that was beyond Lex's understanding. It let him confuse beings so much more powerful than him that currently, Lex could not even properly comprehend how weak he was. Using the system, he was affecting events on a galactic scale, if not universal yet. So an adequate amount of prudence was a good thing. It just made things slightly awkward for her.
"I can answer that question, there is a bit of leeway there. But if I answer it, you'll be able to draw a lot of conclusions, Lex. And those conclusions won't be any good for you, and will in fact get in the way of your growth. So, if you trust me, then I would give you the advice to stop asking questions about the system until you are much stronger. I'd say the minimum acceptable level would be Ragnar's. But if you still want to know, I can answer."
Lex wondered for just a moment, then dropped the matter. For better or for worse, he was stuck with the system. Even if it wanted to harm him, there was nothing he could do about it. Waiting until he got stronger was the correct move.
Lex clapped his hands and jumped off the bed.
"Alright then, let's get to work."
With that, both Lex and Mary disappeared from the white room and returned to Lex's apartment.
"Anything important happen while I was asleep?"
"A group of pirates entered the Inn. I don't know where they got the golden keys from, but they left as soon as they were sober enough to understand that our guards were stronger than them. They didn't cause too much trouble though, so that's good. Other than that, the fourth Golden Core Midnight game is currently going on. Tomorrow will be the last match, so you woke up just in time. Other than that, not much related to the Inn has happened. Blane was looking for you, but you weren't available, so he said he would wait. He said he wanted to meet you privately, without his companions finding out.".
"Blane…" Lex muttered as he scanned the Inn, and found the man sitting in the guild room with Chen, Lily and Iris, and watching the match.
"Alright, have his personal hologram tell him I'm available. If he wants to see me privately, he should step outside the room and I'll summon him to me."
The message was passed along, and a few minutes later, Blane excused himself and stepped out of the Guild room. Lex teleported him, but not to Lex's bedroom where he was when he sent the message. Blane appeared in a secluded campsite on Midnight mountain, overlooking the rest of the Inn.
Lex was already sitting on a bench, staring out at his Inn.
"I hope you did not have to wait too long," Lex said, without turning back. At the moment, looking at the Inn, he was feeling extremely emotional and didn't feel like putting up a front.
"Not at all. You must have many matters to take care of. I apologize for disturbing you."
Lex did not correct him, nor did he dissuade him from the excessive flattery as he usually would. He simply said, "How can I help you, Blane?"
"That… er…" Blane felt slightly awkward bringing up his request, but eventually worked up the courage. "I was hoping to get married to Iris, at the Inn. But eh… I didn't know if you would allow that here… and eh, I don't exactly know how to get married either."
Lex was startled by the revelation, and looked at Blane in wonder. He supposed it made sense, considering how much the man loved the woman. Lex just somehow never considered that someone might want to get married at his Inn.
"Well, of course, you can have a wedding. What do you mean you don't know how to get married? Don't they have weddings back at Vegus Minima?"
"People remember marriages, but, the way life was, it's probably been over a 100 years since anyone got married. After all, your partner could die the next day. Not to mention, there was no shortage of other problems to worry about. That isn't to say that there weren't any couples. But, at least I don't remember seeing anyone get married. Even Chen and Lily, their parents, probably weren't married. Wait, they probably don't even share both parents."
Lex was both amazed and filled with pity at listening to Blane's story.
"Do you have anything in mind about how you want to do it? Or would you like some suggestions?"
"I don't know how it's supposed to be done, but I have an idea. I wanted to…" Blane discussed his marriage plan with Lex, and as simplistic as it was, for warriors such as them, Lex felt like it was perfect.
Blane let Lex know that he had taken a loan from Chen for the wedding, and would pay whatever the Inn charged. Although technically this was an event, and Lex planned on using the event panel to hold the wedding, he only charged Blane 1 MP for the wedding. He wouldn't be so sentimental if the wedding had been happening at any other time, but currently he was very emotional and did not feel like charging the man for his wedding. If Alexander could get up and go to war on a whim, why couldn't Lex sponsor a wedding on one?
"Go back, I'll prepare things. We'll start at night," Lex said, and then sent Blane back. If he was gone too long, his friends might start wondering where he was.
Lex teleported to the absolute peak of the Midnight mountain. The peak was barely a dozen feet across and had nothing except snow. Furthermore, it was forever surrounded by clouds, making it invisible for anyone to view. But the peak also contained a secret Lex had prepared for any curious adventurers who climbed so far, but the secret would only reveal itself if the guests climbed manually and did not fly over or somehow use their cultivation.
Actually, the surprise was likely not a big deal to high leveled cultivators, but Lex liked it nonetheless. Once someone climbed to the peak, if the secret activated, they would be able to climb the clouds as well, as if they were solid, until they climbed to the top of the cloud. The view was a sea of clouds, illuminated by hundreds of sky lanterns. There was no need to embellish, as to Lex, the sight was absolutely amazing.
Lex activated the event panel and started the second event, which was Blanes' wedding. He built a small stage on top of the clouds, with a simple bonfire in the middle. The warrior did not want roses or flowers; he wanted simple and straightforward. Though getting married on top of a literal cloud was anything but straightforward, Lex could not help himself from up-scaling the wedding a little.
Then, using the event panel, he made two silver-colored daggers, each engraved with a name. Making these daggers was the real reason Lex wanted to use the event panel, as these were momentos related to the event. Without it, Lex would not be able to make them. They were nothing too special and had no attacking power over a normal dagger. But they would last.
A few hours later, once the match was over and night had fallen, Blane asked his friends to follow him. Curious about why their friend was acting so mysterious, they followed him to the base of the mountain, where the Innkeeper was waiting.
"Are you ready?" the Innkeeper asked.
"Yes," Blane replied simply.
With that, the Innkeeper gave a simple nod and teleported Blane, Chen, Lily and Iris along with himself to the stage on top of the clouds.
For a few minutes, everyone was stunned by the sight, as they had never witnessed anything like it. A cold wind blew over the clouds, but the gentle warmth of the bonfire kept everyone comfortable.
"Blane, what is this?" Iris asked, finally turning to look at her boyfriend. That's when she noticed that while everyone else was looking at the lanterns floating in the sky, as if stars that were within reach, Blane was only looking at her.
"Iris, I cannot say that the thought has never crossed my mind, but the time was never right," Blane began. By now, Chen and Lily were also observing him as an idea of what might be happening crept in their minds.
"Whether it was war or famine, or zombies or hunters, the future was too uncertain, and I did not want to make a promise that I would eventually break. But things are different now, and our lives have changed. Yet even if they had not changed, I would have no doubt in my mind that the reason I live, the reason I fight, the reason I survive is for you."
He took the silver knife that had his name on it from Lex, and cut the palm of his hand, staining the blade with his blood.
"I do not have much to give you, Iris, only the blood in my body. But if you will have me, then everything that is mine will be yours. Iris, will you be my wife?"
Blane held out the dagger to her with his bleeding hand, the drops of his blood falling into the clouds.
For a moment, Iris was too dazed to respond, but when she came to, she quickly cut her hand on the other dagger and exchanged it with Blane.
Before the man could spew more nauseating romantic lines, Iris had hurled herself into Blane's arms and kissed him furiously.
Throughout the process, Lex never got the opportunity to speak at all, and it appeared that he did not need to ordain the event. Just like that, with a simple exchange of blood and daggers, the first Vegus Minima wedding in over a hundred years took place amongst the clouds.
Lex did not receive any notifications or quests from the system, but he did not care. While he did not understand the metric with which the system judged events as important, he knew that he would remember this simple wedding forever.