Gerard was having a very good day. He was at the peak of the Qi training realm, and his bloodline had upgraded! A bloodline evolution was ridiculously difficult, because there was no set way to make a bloodline evolve and level up. Of the people who had bloodlines, most went their entire lives without upgrading their bloodline, regardless of what their cultivation level was.
Of course, Gerard didn't know that. All he was concerned about was that, with the golf cart that Xeon had upgraded and his new bloodline, his rides would be a lot smoother.
Furthermore, today was his day off, so he was spending time with his friend. How could he not be happy?
"How is Pamela doing? Has she recovered from the incident?" he asked as he took a sip of hot chocolate from the finest china.
"She's fine, she's fine. She was over it in a couple of hours. These days though, she seems to be spending all of her free time at the Gamer's Den," Velma replied, a special gleam in her eyes. She loved to gossip – it gave her such a thrill. Since Helen had disappeared, she had lost her gossiping buddy, so now she rarely had an opportunity.
"It's good that the kids are getting along," replied Gerard, the worker who, himself, was only a few months old.
Just as Velma was about to elaborate on the juicy gossip surrounding Pamela and Z, a Raskal appeared in front of them. The duo had been having their chat in a picnic spot in the forest near the greenhouse, so that they could have their privacy. The appearance of a guest here, so far from all the main structures, was unusual, but not impossible.
Despite being on a break, the duo prepared to greet the guest when the Nascent launched a spirit attack on them. There was a devastating explosion and a smoke cloud filled the air while some of the surrounding trees fell over, now leaning against the trees that had not yet broken.
The Raskal had already looked past the two Qi training insects and was sweeping the area with his spirit sense, his attention attracted towards a formation he discovered in the forest.
"That was quite rude," said Gerard with a frown, as he dusted off his waistcoat with a frown. His right was still holding onto the cup, the hot chocolate in it without a single ripple. Behind him, Velma was disoriented and leaning against Gerard for support, her hair a mess but otherwise unharmed.
The Raskal was taken aback, but suddenly started sweeping the area with his spirit sense, trying to see the hidden expert that had protected the two. But, after a few seconds of searching, he found no one.
"The assistant innkeeper has informed me that you are from a group of invader, and that we are understaffed at the moment, so I'll have to take care of you myself," Gerard spoke, as he put the teacup on the floor, his eyes starting to shine with a silver light as he did so.
Gerard, like the other workers at the Inn, was the proud owner of the Regalia Bloom bloodline. This was an incredibly powerful bloodline that came along with an immense cost. The bloodline allowed the user to take control of energy within a certain zone around himself. As for what kind of energy? Any energy that the user can perceive, whether it be gravitational, kinetic, heat, electromagnetic, chaos, primordial, spiritual, etc.
They could then manipulate that energy to coat any item or weapon of their choosing as a medium for that energy.
It sounded straightforward, but it was anything but simple. An example would be that if Gerard stood in the epicenter of an explosion, he could channel all the heat, sound and kinetic energy produced into the thrusters of his new golf cart, and then use it to propel the cart, all without suffering any harm.
Of course, there were limits to how much he could transfer, as each time he used the ability, he would suffer physical exhaustion, and his bloodline would also need to recover. So it was not like he could be dropped into a nuclear explosion, and then be expected to transfer all of that energy away from himself. Even if he had a dozen hot chocolates, he would eventually be physically exhausted to the point where he could not use the ability, and then the explosion would kill him.
If, however, he had the physical capabilities of Marlo, then it could not be a problem at all for him to channel the energy from a nuclear blast. But, no great power came without price. The Regalia Bloom was the same. In exchange for granting him access to all the energy in the universe, the bloodline altered his body, slowly and steadily, like a cancer that could not be treated.
Yes, no matter how he tried to resist, Gerard was unable to avoid the price. The Regalia Bloom continued to work on his body, slowly making him irresistibly attractive. Do not underestimate the seriousness of this burden. This was not the kind of delicate beauty mentioned in novels that would make the MC fairer and more beautiful. No, this was an attraction that transcended space and time.
Without actually changing his appearance, Gerard would slowly become beloved by any who saw him, regardless of their preferences or tastes. He originally underestimated the effects of the bloodline when he gathered a host of old ladies who only wanted to be chauffeured by him.
Now, even countless middle-aged women expressed their love to him, unable to resist the sheen of his white hair. But how could he, a gentleman, tear up their families? The burden of their endless love was one he had barely learnt to tolerate.
But, it was important to remember, all that was the effect and price of the Regalia Bloom bloodline before he upgraded it. Now though…
As the silver shine in his eyes grew stronger, Gerards body was lifted up into the air and he looked down at the Raskal like a King, looking down at a peasant.
"Don't you know it's against etiquette to strike a lady?" he said, his voice hitting the Raskal like a shockwave, threatening to tear his ear drums.
"Let me teach you some manners."
Gerard's new and improved golf cart, which had been parked outside the forest, flew to him like a silver star shooting through the sky. Gerard carefully took off his blazer and put it down, just in time for the golf cart to appear, setting the blazer on the passenger seat as he himself took his place behind the wheel.
Giving no time to the Raskal to respond, the moving golf cart drifted through the air and smashed against the side of its body against him without so much as scratching the new paint job.
The Raskal was launched mercilessly through the forest, crashing through a series of trees. Even as the alien tried to stop itself using its spirit sense, the golf cart appeared again, this time smacking him in the face with one of the tires.
"Oh and, welcome to the Midnight Inn."
The Raskal was smashed into the ground, forming a large crater with spiderweb cracks that spread across the forest floor. He was injured and a trail of blood flowed down from his lip, but that was the extent of his injury.
It was not anger that filled the Raskals' eyes, but discipline. He was a trained soldier, but more importantly, he did not have much room to think. In this disadvantaged situation, the only thing running through his brain was the training he received.
He drew his weapon, a section staff with four chained staffs instead of the usual three. Each one of his hands firmly held onto one of the sections. Letting out a battle cry, he attacked!
Dashing up into the air, the Raskal swung his staff furiously at the flying, shining golf cart in an attempt to squash it like a fly.
Yet, instead of clashing, the staff gently patted the cart as all its energy had already been diverted. A green flame shot out of two exhausts at the back of the cart, before the cart seemed to jet out towards the flying alien.
Yet, the cart was still in its original location. What flew towards the Raskal was an attack in the image of the cart, followed closely by a few more!
No longer underestimating the opponent, the Raskal promptly dodged the raining golf carts and pulled back his staff. Holding the two ends of the staff, he started swinging it around himself like a jump rope, while his two free hands pulled out a slingshot and took aim at Gerard.
It did not matter if his attacks were useful or not; the Raskal was not able to think so far ahead. All it knew was to attack, and so it did. Launching endless projectiles at the cart, the Raskal also moved closer to smash the cart with his staff that he was constantly swinging. Even if Gerard absorbed some energy from it, the alien was providing energy constantly. And yet, it seemed to make no difference.
Like a swan gliding across a lake, the golf cart moved around the forest, easily dodging the attacks. Realizing his attacks up until had now failed, a seriousness entered Gerard's eyes as a silver, shining clutch and gear appeared beside him.
Wiping off the first bead of sweat he had ever experienced in his entire life, Gerard revved the cart. He was far from done.
*****
Near the forest, four Raskals were searching for enemies. Since they had appeared in an isolated area, Lex had yet to teleport them into the formation because they were not a priority and he was too busy taking care of nonstop emergencies. Suddenly, they heard a familiar battle-cry coming from the forest, and immediately turned that way.
The battle-cry was actually a signal of a tough fight and a call for reinforcements. Since their aid was needed, they would respond, for that was how they had been trained. They began jogging towards their goal, pulling out their weapons as they did.
*****
Z was at the edge of his seat, watching an anime called Sasuke, doing his best to hold back his tears. The start of the show was so emotional, and he could really feel the protagonist's pain, while cursing the antagonist of the show, Sakura, with all his heart. But then, suddenly, everything changed.
One moment he was in the Gamer's Den, the next moment he was at the front gate of the Inn. Before he could even begin to feel confused about what had just happened, the assistant innkeeper sent him, as well as all the other workers, a message telling them that they were being invaded.
Still amped up by all the emotions he had been feeling, and filled with frustration and hate, he immediately turned on his battle music and let loose a war cry. Instead of a single card, all 52 cards from his deck started flying in the surrounding air, before they flew directly into the army of Raskals.
This time, he did not use the flat of the cards, and used their sharp edges to cut through the enemy horde! He was visualizing all the enemies from every anime he had ever seen, and did not forget to yell the name of his attack while he was at it.
"Is-this-your-card jutsu!"
But, as spirited as Z was, unlike Gerard, he was neither at the peak of Qi training nor had his bloodline evolved. Let alone killing, even hurting the Foundation realm Raskals was a difficult task for him.
Fortunately, even as his cards swept through the enemy ranks, and the surrounding guests were starting to realize something unusual was happening, he was not the only staff member there.
Doe, the rarely seen worker who was John's assistant, along with Pamela, were up on their feet and quickly bringing the guests to a corner away from the fighting that had abruptly erupted.
Gerards fellow chauffeurs were also doing their best at separating the enemies and the guests, even as Lex began teleporting them away one by one. The caretakers and staff from Avallon were doing their parts as well.
On one side, Harry was frozen in fear, unable to fight because he was just a normal human until recently… not! He was standing still because he was using his sorcery and literally burning the souls of any Raskals that dared near him. He was born and bred in New York. Something as mundane as a fight to the death could not phase him at all.
But, even with all their help, as well as the hundreds of vines that started to emerge from the ground to attack the Raskals, the Inn staff was but a single strong attack from the Nascents away from being destroyed.
So far, the only reason the strongest of the Raskals hadn't attacked yet was because, according to their training, they had to let their subordinates test out the enemy's strength first. They would wait 2 whole minutes before attacking, unlike what they would have done if they were alone, in which case they would have attacked immediately.
The Golden core Raskals would attack after 1 minute. While these intervals were short, they were enough to analyze the enemy's battle strength. Fortunately for the Inn, this is where their lack of intellect played in. The strategy they employed was for direct or pitched battles, and not a surprise raid, in which case they should have used their strongest attacks first.
This gave the Inn's staff, Mary and Lex enough time to respond.
*****
While Lex was still teleporting his guests away, managing to move several each second, Mary was not resting either. She was controlling the vines, yes, but she was also doing something else equally important.
John had not even begun to torture- no, eh, to interrogate his attacks when she appeared right before him.
"John, the Inn is under attack. I need you to go to the front gate and help out," she said in a commanding tone.
John, however, was not too keen on it. Not that he didn't want to help, but that he would rather not get involved with anyone with the guts to attack this Inn, whether they were misguided or not. He was even more reluctant to fight since his cultivation was actually sealed, and while he had a tough body, in actuality, he was not a body cultivator. Not to mention, he was not an actual official Inn staff member as he had never used the Platinum key, so technically, it was none of his business. Finally, while the Innkeeper was mysterious and powerful, he could tell this assistant was nothing more than a hologram. She did not intimidate him.
"Assistant innkeeper, I don't mean to be rude, but you probably know that my cultivation is actually sealed. Although it may not seem like it, I am not really able to fight."
Mary, who had been about to leave, froze. She turned and gave John a look that spelled death.
John was not deterred, and just as he was waiting for her to threaten him or something, he heard a sound that he never would have expected. It was the familiar ping of his system.
New Quest: Eliminate invaders
Quest time limit: 5 minutes
Quest Reward: Jericho puzzle piece
Quest failure punishment: Permanent drop in cultivation by 1 major realm
Remarks: A good assassin needs to be able to eliminate armies
John was not only startled, he was aghast. This was not the kind of quests his system usually gave him, and he had never encountered a ques punishment before. But more than that, he dreaded a single thought that was roaming in his mind.
"But, despite my inability, as a part of the Inn, I will do my best to protect it," he quickly said, and bolted towards the Inn's gates. 5 minutes was not a lot of time, he absolutely could not suffer such a disability as letting his cultivation drop. To be fair, he had gained all his cultivation through the system so it made sense that it could also take it away. Still, it was not something he wanted to experience.
Especially since, in the back of his mind, he could not stop imagining the death stare Mary gave him moments before his quest popped up.
'Could she have… No, It was Impossible!' he thought to himself, but his grimace only worsened.Chapter 252 Punishment
From the moment the Raskals entered the Inn to Mary telling John to fight, roughly 40 seconds had passed. In this time, Lex had teleported nearly 100 guests away and coordinated with Mary to have her attack certain areas with the Delinquent Viper Vine. With the immediate threat to most guests and his staff gone, Lex started going through his various new permissions to see the best way to resolve the situation.
Back in his tent, Lex had gone pale and his entire body was drenched in sweat. His mental exertion had gone beyond anything he had ever experienced before. Between constantly scanning the Inn, coordinating, teleporting and ensuring everyone's security, in these few seconds, he had already done hundreds of tasks, and he was not done yet.
The quicker he found a solution, the better, so now all his focus was on searching for an answer.
*****
Gerard was already panting and his hands were trembling, but his grip on the steering wheel never loosened. Even now, he had not suffered a single attack, but he was showing signs of exhaustion. After all, regardless of how powerful his bloodline was, he was facing an enemy 3 major realms higher than himself!
But, despite his severe disadvantage, surprisingly, the Raskal was in a worse condition. He was not bleeding or hurt, but his leathery skin was pressing against his bones as if he was malnourished. The frequency of his attacks had dropped, and he had stopped flying, deciding instead to stand on the ground.
There was no time for hesitation so Gerard sped his cart towards the Raskal in an attempt to ram it once again. Suddenly, as if out of thin air, a massive ball of flame appeared in Gerards path, threatening to crash into him, but just as it touched the cart, it seemed to vanish, as if siphoned into the cart itself.
The four Raskals that had worked together to set up the ambush were dumbstruck, as that attack should have worked. The next thing they saw was two jet blue flames erupting from behind the cart as it smashed into the Nascent Raskal, once again launching him into a crater.
Gerard was not surprised at the presence of the additional enemies, for he had identified them as soon as they started using their techniques. He was, however, concerned about facing more foes. Velma, fortunately, had already retreated somewhere, so at least he didn't need to worry about her.
It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but that she was too weak compared to these enemies to make a meaningful difference.
Quite sure that he hadn't managed to deal significant damage to the first Raskal, Gerard instead turned his attention to the other four that had just arrived. Two of them were in the Golden core, and two of them were in the Foundation realm. They, at least, shouldn't be as much of a challenge.
Gerard reversed the cart without looking back and swiftly made a turn, changing the direction of the cart to face where the Raskals had been hidden amongst the tree branches. Not giving them any time to evade, he promptly launched the long range attack that traveled forth in the shape of the cart.
The two Golden core Raskals managed to evade, barely, but the two Foundation ones were hit dead on, blowing up their bodies in the process.
An attack hit the golf cart from behind, as the Nascent realm Raskal climbed out of the crater, but it was impossible to surprise Gerard as he was aware of all changes in the surrounding energy. Like all the others before, this attack vanished, and the energy from it was channeled into another attack that Gerard launched towards the other Golden Core experts.
At this point, despite his best efforts, Gerard was having a tough time keeping his eyes open. It might be a good time to retreat.
"Oh dear, oh dear, you Raskals really know how to make a mess," the Galactic Sovereign turtle said, as it walked through the woods. Somewhere behind it stood Velma and the gardener. Velma was looking at Gerard with worry and concern, while the gardener… well, he was crying over the trunk of a broken tree. His art, it seemed, would never see the light of day.
"It seems some punishment is in order," it said, once it got a clear view of all the destruction. What happened next will shock you! No, eh, what happened next was very anticlimactic.
The grass on the ground started growing around the Raskals, tying them up. They tried to resist, but whether it was brute strength or a complicated spiritual attack, the grass seemed impervious.
The Nascent Raskal was especially concerned because it discovered that not only was the grass trapping its body, it was also trapping its soul. In such a dangerous situation, with no alternative, it decided to use the final ultimate attack it had been trained to carry out - the destruction of his core!
As soon as it activated the technique… nothing happened. Like a mummy wrapped in grass instead of cloth, the last Raskal fell over as Little Blue flew over to pick them up one by one. Seeing the situation resolved, Gerard finally relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and nearly fell out, but Velma quickly appeared to help him.
They turned to thank the turtle, but it had already moved on, dragging the weeping gardener behind it. As for the Raskals… back in the day, Lex had made an interrogation room near the greenhouse where Little Blue went and deposited the still struggling Raskals. There were already a few in the room, neatly stacked in a corner.
*****
For the first minute of the fight, the Inn's staff managed to hold their own against the small army of Raskals. But, as the second minute started, they immediately fell into a disadvantaged situation. After all, on one side was a trained army and on the other side were waiters and waitresses.
More than Z, who had caused a lot of the Raskals to nearly bleed out, Harry proved to be the man of the hour. Dozens of bodies lay on the ground around him. They were not dead, and in fact, seemed the exact picture of health, as they were still at their physical peak. It was their souls that had been badly damaged.
Harry didn't even need to try to kill anyone, as at lower levels, even the mildest of damage to the soul left one nearly crippled and unable to move.
Whether they were Foundation experts or Golden Core ones, just an altered version of the spell he used to cut hair left them with cuts all over their souls. Even if they managed to avoid being crippled, the pain was enough to leave them powerless.
Yet despite his success, he was no longer actively attacking enemies. Now he was focused on defending the Inn's staff. The golf carts, unfortunately, had been destroyed and a lot of the staff were injured to various degrees. On this battlefield, only three warriors from the Inn remained in relatively good condition.
One was Harry, of course, while another was Z, and the last was one of the lifeguards from the lake called Todd. Standing at 6 feet eight inches with a body sculpted as if the after in a 'before and after' collage, Todd had activated his Regalia Bloom bloodline mid battle, and used it on his surfboard to smash enemies like beavers in a carnival game.
With the combined efforts of the three, they had managed to barely hold off the enemies, but no one knew how long it would last. Then, just as the song on Z's speaker changed, and the first chords of 'Seven Nation Armwrestlers' played, John fell from the sky right in front of the three.
He did not waste any time in talking and immediately started a massacre, his speed only increasing the deeper he went into the enemy lines, not slowing down. Out of everyone here, he seemed the most anxious to resolve this battle.
This was because, while his cultivation was sealed, as he had achieved the Earth Immortal realm, his body had gone through a transformation to immortality. Compared to these lower leveled cultivators, his body seemed like an unrelenting force of nature.
As someone who had benefited from such an advantage, it made perfect sense that he was determined to complete his quest, otherwise his cultivation would fall back down to the Nascent realm.
His skills as an assassin were finally put on full display, and even unarmed, he was like a scythe cutting down grass.
For a moment, it seemed like the tide had turned, but then the strongest few of the Raskal army decided to change their plans. According to their training, when fighting an enemy much stronger than themselves, they should focus on causing as much collateral damage as possible.
Following that logic, they gave up on observing the fight and all ran in different directions, determined to kill as many people as they could manage before John got to them.
Chapter 253 Lex, the harbinger of loopholes
In his tent, Lex was completely drenched in sweat. His shirt was stuck to this skin and his eyes were squeezed shut because he could not continuously wipe them. Right now, it was only due to his 'flow' state that he was not panicking.
No matter what his authority, the Inn never provided him with a single direct way of defending itself. There were a few very specific defensive formations he could buy, but he had neither the MP nor the energy to power them.
Every few seconds he would scan the Inn to ensure everything was not deteriorating into a mess and, fortunately, things had taken a positive turn. John had joined the fight and was rampaging amidst the enemy army.
If only he could buy guards similar to that who could just fight alongside him, but the Inn prevented him from doing that. The only way he could buy anyone with any fighting ability...
"Eureka!" Lex literally yelled out as his mind quickly moved to implement his idea!
*****
20 Nascent Raskals invaded the Inn. Of those, 1 had fought Gerard and 1 was currently exploring the Midnight Mountain, unaware of what else was happening, and the remaining 18 were on the battlefield.
When they decided to split, all 18 moved at the same time. 3 of them decided to target John, to hold his attention and distract him from what the rest were doing. Of the remaining 15, 2 decided to attack the Inn's staff for the same purpose, while the remainder tried to escape the formation.
The speed of a Nascent cultivator was one that was near impossible to keep up with under normal circumstances, and their attacks were only faster. Z and Todd sensed a massive surge in some kind of energy, and immediately tried to divert it all, but not only were they limited in how much energy they could divert at a time, the attack was too fast!
They only saw a bright light, and before they could understand what was happening, they were blown away, crashing into those they had been trying so hard to save.
Harry similarly had sensed a surge in soul energy, and immediately attacked it! His attack had slowed down the other Nascent soul Raskal attacking them, but could not stop it. The Raskal didn't even need to attack Harry - he fainted from exhaustion on his own.
The battle, which had so far been a concert of yelling and clashing weapons, had been blanketed by a shocking silence, followed by endless explosions.
John was an assassin, not a frontal fighter, so the three Raskals that went after him were more than enough to trouble him. He had dodged a dozen sudden attacks without any chance of retaliating. The Raskals, who knew they were ultimately the weaker ones, continued to use long range area of effect attacks, resulting in dozens of explosions that, ironically, did more damage to other Raskals than anyone else.
It was a split second, and the tide of the battle had drastically shifted. The worker who was holding onto Z's bloodied and unconscious body had only just recognized what, or rather who, he was holding when their assailants flashed in front of them.
The workers could not even respond. They only looked at the four-armed, leathery alien like the harbinger of death. The Raskal did not waste any time and gathered a shining white energy in its arms to attack when a shadow fell over its body.
Surprised, it looked around to see for any incoming attackers when a giant, ivory foot crushed him into the ground. The other Nascent Raskal, who had seen the giant appear out of thin air, tried to retreat. Unfortunately for it, the giants size did not diminish its speed in any way, and before the Raskal could move but a few feet, the giant kicked it, breaking dozens of bones and incapacitating it.
The appearance of the giant caused a huge disturbance, as almost everyone turned to look at it as neither the Raskals nor the workers had seen it before.
But, after the initial shock, many immediately realized that the giant strongly resembled the faceless training dummies in the Training room. But while the other training dummies had been made of wood and did not do much other than attack physically, this one seemed to be made of ivory and actually used various techniques.
The ivory giant did not wait around to observe or give his opponents any time to react. It identified its next target and rushed, breaking the sound barrier as it did so, before seriously damaging each one of its targets.
The dummy did not kill any of the Raskals, its sole purpose was training after all. Instead, it helped them train their will power by leaving them with broken bodies and extreme pain.
Just as drastically and quickly as the battle had begun, it ended, and the dummy left the formation to pursue the remaining few Raskals. Except that no one clapped or wooed as the crowds usually did after a tournament. They were still in shock.
"What are you just standing round for?" Mary asked, as she appeared in front of the workers.
"Take all the injured to the Recovery room, quickly! The danger has ended."
She quickly started organizing those that were uninjured or less hurt and, after giving one look to the ruined landscape of the Inn and a kneeling, panting John, turned to her duties. The Raskals were not killed and if left alone, they could cause more of a mess. Fortunately, Lex let her know that the Galactic Sovereign turtle was on the way, and that he would take care of imprisoning the Raskals and fixing the damage from the battle.
She had to focus on only a few things now. First, she had to make sure no one died by immediately sending them to the Recovery room. Second, she had to apologize to all the guests who were caught up in this mess and give them all a one week free stay at the Inn, as instructed by Lex. Of course, it wasn't really free as he could pay for their stay.
Thirdly, and perhaps, most importantly, it was her job to oversee the interrogation of the Raskals and find out exactly why they had come and what was their goal. They needed to know if more enemies would be on the way.
The only suspects Lex had at the moment were the pirates who visited every so often, just because of the nature of their work. But that didn't make sense. She needed to find out if there was any lingering danger.
*****
Lex collapsed onto the ground, his state of flow immediately breaking once the situation at the Inn was resolved. Although the system did not let him directly buy any kind of defensive measures, he had once again found a loophole. He upgraded the Training room even more than he previously had the greenhouse, spending 500,000 MP on the upgrades alone. Then he spent another 250,000 MP on this massive, incredibly powered Training dummy that could reach the peak of the Nascent realm in strength.
This was of course the theoretical peak of the Nascent realm, and also took in mind species much stronger than the Raskals as well, which is why it would be able to easily defeat them. But, technically the training dummies shouldn't have been able to leave the training room, however once upgraded, the room had more features. Not every kind of training can be done in a secure environment, and not every technique can be carried out alone. This is why the Training room allowed for the training to be conducted in any environment within the Inn, and could target not just one person, but entire groups.
Using a massive amount of MP and his remaining energy, he bought and powered this massive training dummy, while registering the entire invading army for training sessions for near death harm and threats.
This was a method Lex would be able to replicate in the future should he be invaded again, but this massive dummy would need him to absorb extra energy to run. This was not to mention that, now that he was once again down to 0% energy, the systems operations were once again compromised and it was running on metaphorical energy saving mode.
While Lex lay on the ground panting like he had just run a marathon, his mind still recovering from the extreme exertion it had just experienced, two thin wooden roots emerged from the ground behind him.
At first, they froze once they left the ground, as if to see whether they would be detected. But, after a few seconds, when Lex didn't show any reaction, they slowly continued to pull out of the ground silently, and stealthily moved towards Lex's neck.
The two roots slithered in the air, as if snakes, slowly approaching helpless prey and only took a few moments before reaching Lex. Too tired, and too caught up with the invasion at the Inn, Lex was completely unprepared when the roots wrapped around his neck!
Chapter 254 Bro
Lex was so mentally drained that at first, he didn't even notice the increased pressure around his neck. But when his head actually moved a little because of one of the roots, he promptly realized… someone was giving him a massage.
Alarmed, he jolted up and turned around to see two roots bending upwards, as if someone was holding up their hands to explain they meant no harm.
"What the…" Lex murmured while he tried to make sense of the situation.
"Bro, broseph, brobert, brosellini, relax. You're so stressed. It's totally killing my peaceful vibe."
The voice… seemed to be coming from the roots. Lex saw no mouth and no one else, so it could only be that.
"Are you a… Trelop?" Lex asked, suddenly remembering something from one of his classes. Trelops were one of the main 7 races of this realm, but the information about them seemed to be vague. What he could firmly conclude, however, was that they were some kind of sentient plants.
"Bro, of course I'm a Trelop. The name's Karom, nice to meet you. I must say, the negative vibes you've been giving off got me shook, bro. You need to relax. It doesn't suit your aura."
"Karom, like the Forest? The forest is named after you?"
"Bro, why you gotta do me like that? If you must use my full legal name, it is Karom Alejandro Forest III. I am the forest bro, it's not named after me. Well, I'm the forest up until the Deadfall cliff. After that is my cousin, Goli Malevolent Forest. Don't let his fresh maple appearance fool you, that bro is a racist. He don't deal with no one other than Trelops."
Lex was once again confused, but he tried to let go of his normal precepts about living beings, since he was in a new realm now. This was a forest full of hundreds of different species of plants and probably hundreds of thousands of trees. Yet Karom claimed to be the whole forest itself - how was that possible? But, it seemed that it wasn't that the definitions of Trelops that were vague in his class, just that he was unable to comprehend them properly.
"Well, it's nice to meet you too," Lex finally replied, getting a handle on the situation. "In the future, you shouldn't wrap your roots around someone's neck without asking, it can be considered rude."
"Bro, can you blame me? You're the one that lay down on my roots. If anything, that was rude. But it's fine, I get it, you humans are weird. I keep telling that other human as well that Goli won't like it if you pass through him, but he's adamant. Well, it's no bark off my trunk what you guys do. Say bro, you wearing some cologne or something on your back? It smells really nice."
"No cologne," Lex replied briefly as he sat back down on the ground. The surprise of having roots around his neck gave him a boost of adrenaline, but now that the situation had calmed down, Lex was once again reminded that he was tired. Furthermore, he suspected the 'nice smell' that Karom was referring to was from the Lotus on his back. There would be no way Lex would share any information about that. Just another half a million years and the Lotus would give him a 5 star world.
"Damn bro, that sucks," the roots replied as they slumped, looking disappointed. "I was hoping to use a cologne to impress some meadows. My moms been on my case about getting a girlfriend. It's true what they say, even when you move out of your parents' forest, they never stop trying to control you. She says if I don't get a girlfriend on my own, she'll set me up with a swamp! Swamps are too clingy bro, trust me, you don't want to get with a swamp!"
"Is that the reason you came to me? To ask about the cologne?" Lex was a little protective when it came to matters of the Lotus, predictably, and this was the first time anyone had shown any indication of sensing the Lotus.
"Partially. You smell nice, so it won't be a problem for you to get along with most Trelops. Not Goli though, so don't even bother trying."
Lex nodded and continued, "this other human you're talking to. His name wouldn't be Ptolemy, would it?"
"Yes bro, Ptolemy. He reached out to me a few weeks ago, and we cut a deal. I'll be moving the trees out of his way until Deadfall cliff, and in exchange, he brought me some very rare seeds for my forest. Bro, once I'm done renovating, you won't recognize me anymore."
On some level, Lex had to admire how well prepared Ptolemy was for this expedition. In that case, he should take a page from Ptolemy's book and start making his own preparations.
"Hey Karom, since you can cover a much larger area than me, I have a question for you. Do you know about any spirit stone mines or large reservoirs of energy nearby?"
"Many bro, and they're all underground. But, I can't tell you bro because I need them. But, I don't mind telling you of a few in Goli's territory. If he had to move away, I would be so happy, bro. He's so annoying."
Unexpectedly, just like that, Lex learnt the location of several spirit stone mines. If their expedition could uncover even one it would be considered a success, which is why Lex knew that it shouldn't have been so easy learning about them.
He spent the rest of the day chatting with Karom, asking him indirect questions to learn more about Trelops. He refused to believe that there wasn't more to it, and that a living being could be something that should be a part of the landscape. It was too strange.
When he went out for dinner, Karom did not follow as he was not used to talking in front of too many humans. When Lex left his tent, he was surprised to see how much the area surrounding the camp had changed. The trees had started moving out of the way on their own, and as if that wasn't enough, they were using their roots to stamp down the ground where they moved from to create an even and level road.
He could see the relatively straight road leading deep into the forest, but some moving or shuffling of trees in the distance made it clear that the path wasn't complete yet.
After dinner, when he returned to his tent, Karom was missing, which Lex was completely fine with. He scanned the Inn once, to make sure everything was in order, before he went to sleep. He needed rest, for tomorrow the expedition would once again start moving.
*****
Mary stood silently in the interrogation room near the greenhouse, her expression frosty. A part of her, admittedly, was slightly upset that they weren't able to properly interrogate the Raskals. This was because the Sovereign turtle had done something to them that turned them into mindless puppets.
Since she hadn't seen him do anything, she wasn't sure exactly what he had done. Regardless, the result was that the Raskals would answer any question that was asked obediently.
What she learnt was… truly frustrating. The Raskals had no idea what organization they worked for, simply because they had never been curious about it. In a way, they were the perfect soldiers because they could not retain any valuable information to leak.
They did not know the reason for the attack, nor did they know if there would be any follow up. All they could share was that their objective was to destroy the Inn, plain and simple.
She resisted the urge to rub her forehead as she thought of the problems that lay ahead.
Let alone the fact that Z and Todd were injured, and that they would have to remain in their respective RPs for the night, they had no effective measure against any subsequent attacks. Whoever attacked should not give up so easily, and if that were the case, they would need to prepare.
If there was any bright side to all this mess, it was that the turtle was planning on using all the dead Raskals as fertilizer, and was thus very satisfied. They should help speed up the Delinquent Vines growth, or so she was told.
Just as she was struggling with indecision about what to do, she noticed something wonderful!
The Lich, Anita, had completed her trial and had officially become a member of the Inns staff. A wide grin painted her face. Lex had told her about Anita's strength, and it would definitely come in handy should they suffer another attack.
Quickly, new plans started to form in her mind as she decided to get to know Anita a little better. This way, when Lex woke up, she would at least have something to present.
Chapter 255 Don't do me like that
After a much needed rest, Lex woke up to the sound of shuffling and moving. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it as he yawned and tried to summon the energy to get up. But then, all of a sudden, it occurred to him that the sound was way too close.
He jolted up to find a small clump of humanoid shape of leaves munching through some of the dry rations from Lex's backpack.
"Hey bro, you finally exited from your hibernation. I was getting bored."
"Karom?" Lex asked as he looked at his ransacked backpack. The small leaf man came up to Lex's was it, and the facial features looked oddly similar to his own.
"Of course, bro, who else could so easily enter your tent? Do you have any idea the kind of wards that Ptolemy guy has around this camp? If you don't, well, neither do I. But damn, were they a pain to bypass. I doubt anyone else could do it so easily. Anyway, I have like a serious proposition for you," Karom said as he shoved another protein bar in his leafy mouth.
"Those are my emergency rations you're snacking on," Lex said as he looked through his backpack and checked to see if anything was missing.
"Come on bro, don't be like that. I'll drop you some fruit before you leave, it's not a problem at all. Let's focus on the important stuff. My proposition. If you accept, I'll pay you half up front, and half on completion. What do you say?"
Lex did not reply immediately, and took a moment to deliberate. While Lex was still in the dark about various customs and basic common knowledge of this realm, his classes had enlightened him somewhat about how humans perceived and interacted with the other races.
Understanding that, while all 7 races had a similar level of intelligence, because of their inherent physiology, each race perceived the world around them and their relationships differently, was the absolute foundation of the human race's foreign policy.
In a situation where Lex was in the dark about many things, following the broad stance human leadership took towards the various races should somewhat keep him protected.
Trelops were the only plant-based race of the 7 major ones, and like the rest, they had their own territory. But, unlike the rest, they were also widely spread across the regions for the rest of the races, as they usually had good relations with all races, for they had strong influence over plants which could aid any race, not just the main 7. But this did not mean that their population was huge. Quite the contrary, they were probably the race with the smallest population.
Anyway, all of that was unnecessary information for Lex. What his focus was on were the major trade deals of the Hum nation with the Trelops, which usually had to deal with food, mostly. After going through all the information he had received in his political relations class, he suddenly realized how important that class would come to be if he stayed here long term.
"First, tell me what your proposal is."
"Yessssssssss bro! I knew I could count on you!" Karom fist pumped, as if the deal was already done. "It's quite simple, really. My roots have been getting a little stiff lately, and I need to expand my territory a bit, or I won't really be able to reach adulthood. I was just musing about where to spread my forest, you know I have neighbors on all sides. It's the humans on one, my cousin Goli on another, some really, really hot dudes in the radiation wasteland, and then my aunty Jeena.
"Now bro, trust me when I say, ain't no one got the acorns to mess with aunty Jeena bro. And bro, I really wanna hang in the wasteland, but since I haven't reached adulthood yet, it's bad for my complexion. I have a really good thing going with the humans, so that just leaves my cousin Goli."
The Trelop paused, and threw another protein bar in his mouth, then continued. "Now, I remember you asking me about some spirit mines, and I told you about some in my cousin's territory. But how will you ever get to them? Bro, not to look down on you, but they're at least a dozen miles below ground."
Lex did not answer, for technically even he didn't have an answer. He had hoped that maybe he'd be able to buy something from the system gift shop the way he kept on buying Botlam Dew, but with 0% energy, currently he couldn't even buy that.
Karom continued, "which is where my proposal comes in. I'll help you find a way to get to those mines, and you..."
Out from the ground a root came out, holding a bag full of acorns, and handed them to Lex and Karom explained the deal he wanted. Just as Lex had suspected, Karom wanted Lex's help to take over parts of his cousin's forest.
"Won't that hurt your cousin though?" Lex asked, out of curiosity.
"Bro it's no hard feelings, bro. Bro, it's a strategic acquisition of property of declining value, bro. Yeah man, I know big words too. I once attended human business school as a potted plant for the class, I know all about assets and stuff. If anything, Goli will appreciate my help. After all, I doubt you'd just leave those spirit stone mines alone after finding them. Once they disappear, the fertility of the land will quickly decline. In human terminology, that healthy part of Goli's body will quickly turn into cancer."
"In that case, why do you want it?" Lex asked, curious. He did not comment on Karom's suspicions about what Lex would do to the spirit stones. Strictly speaking, by taking those mines for himself instead of declaring them, Lex was committing a crime. But, by helping Karom expand his territory of control without letting anyone know about it was also not something easily shrugged off. Both of them had a vested interest in keeping their deal secret, and such a mutual threat would force them to be good allies.
"Don't do me like that bro! Have some faith, I have my own plans."
Karom shared more of his proposition, and in the end, considering Lex's dire need for energy, Lex said yes. This first half of Karom's payment was the method to reach the crystal mines in Goli's territory. Lex stuffed his acorns, as well as his payment and the fruit he delivered, into his backpack and finally exited the tent.
Now that he had a plan to get some energy, Lex felt much better, and he could finally focus on other stuff. One major part of making a positive impression on a group of new people is to constantly reaffirm it. He had to go socialize with the rest of the expedition while they were still at camp, because it would be too difficult once they started moving.
After a hearty breakfast that he shared with the group of meteorologists, and gaining some basic understanding of the kind of weather he could expect coming up, he started going around camp and spending some time with various groups. It was easy to spot Lex, he was the only one amongst heavily clothed people to wear a half sleeve shirt.
The character of Ice on his hand was giving off a gentle sheen, but it only continued to absorb all the cold energy. Some of the members of the expedition thought it was a unique tattoo, and he didn't bother to correct them.
Finally, after lunch, Ptolemy called for a group meeting and explained the next part of the expedition. They would leave shortly, and their next camp would be at Deadfall cliffs, the border for human exploration. He explained their goals for the expedition once again, though everyone was quite familiar with them, the safety measures that would be needed and what kind of cooperation he expected from everyone.
Lex couldn't help but notice that he never mentioned Karom, or his cousin Goli. He had understood enough of Ptolemy by now to know that the man must have made some preparations to face the upcoming hostile Trelop, and Lex was curious.
It did not hurt Lex's ego to admit that he found it quite insightful to study how Ptolemy operated. But, since the other person had clearly drawn a metaphorical line in the sand between them, if Lex were to go up and ask him now, he would stir up the possibility of trouble.
After a moment's consideration, he decided to go ask, anyway. Of course, he wouldn't directly ask him the question. If there was anything Lex learnt from being the Innkeeper, it was to hold the power and authority in a conversation. If Lex asked him the question, he would directly be putting himself in the weaker position from the start of the conversation, and there was the chance Ptolemy wouldn't answer.
He had a much better strategy to get his answer.
After the meeting, he went and waited by Ptolemy's tent until the latter arrived. Lex gave him an amused look, as if he was watching a performance, before saying, "I noticed you didn't tell anyone about the upcoming dangers of a hostile Trelop. Not a bad plan, no need to cause unnecessary panic. After all, since you don't need my help, I'm sure you have your own plan for how to deal with an entire forest that hates humans."