The Innkeeper



The first time Lex used the Fancy Monocle, the amount of details it provided were overwhelming. It analyzed the material of each and every item it saw, and started randomly measuring things in detail he found difficult to even imagine ever needing. To be able to keep it at a level where Lex could actually use it, he had to disable many features and keep it limited in what information it provided him. As a result, in the early days, it had even saved his life by detecting the arrival of zombies before he himself was able to see them.

Now, honestly, Lex barely felt the need to use them. Not only were his instincts incredibly strong, but his own observation alongside the use of his spirit sense made it so that he felt like the Fancy contact lenses probably could not keep up with him. That is one of the reasons he hadn't really bothered using them. Another was that, although he kept his left eye's ability turned off, it could also see a lot of details that he still found hard to completely comprehend.

So how could the lenses possibly keep up? But right now, he tried them anyway. Especially because he had also picked up a special spiritual technique that he could use in conjunction with the lenses. He assumed that they might become helpful with that extra push.

He quickly realized just how much he had been underestimating the lenses. Due to his increased cultivation, his brain could now process the massive amounts of data the lenses were providing him with, all without actually distracting him from functioning normally.

Moreover, the Fancy Monocle relied on Lex to fill its database, so the information was a lot more detailed, and revealed information that Lex didn't even know how to comprehend. For example, when he put on the contacts, he looked around the carriage and learnt that the Gangileon atmospheric density within the carriage was 7. What did that even mean?

But aside from the data he could make no sense of, there was plenty of information that he could comprehend. The carriage was made from a kind of material called Sublime composite, which was artificially created using various extremely valuable materials which had excellent energy insulating capabilities. He also learnt that exactly 3.4 tones of Sublime composite was used in the construction of the carriage, and that there were a series of other valuable materials fixed at various edges of the carriage, making it aesthetically pleasing. Yet, underneath all that was a carefully planned formation which used the Sublime composite as a foundation and other items as supporting materials. The lenses were able to recognize the existence of the formation due to key principals which were being applied, though it could not determine the specific formation being used.

Based on his own instincts, he knew that the carriage was no threat to him, but he had been completely ignorant of the fact that the carriage itself was a moving formation.

As such, this served as a learning experience for him. Moreover, due to his increased mental capabilities, encountering these items and gaining an in-depth explanation about how they were being used was enough for him to learn about them for good. In the future, if he ever encountered a similar situation, he would be able to identify them on his own. Moreover, they were serving as inspiration for things to do at the Inn.

He turned to look at Marcus, who was still smiling and talking, and was intrigued by the information the lenses were able to gather.

The first thing the lenses informed him of was that they could only gather surface level information from him because he seemed to be employing a protective technique that protected him from probing. Yet it could still identify his height, weight, skin temperature, and much more. The thing he found most intriguing was that by studying the subtle tightness and relaxed state of the muscles all over his body, the lens could reasonably guess what kind of emotions Marcus was actually feeling. Of course, this was again not a detailed review for a more thorough scan was blocked.

That was the point at which Lex used the accompanying technique for the Fancy contact lenses, and things reached a whole new level!

The contact lenses, instead of providing him with the final conclusion of its analysis, began giving him raw data on what it was seeing. That's when the technique took over.

The world itself became more vibrant, as if Lex was suddenly able to see new colors. Moreover, he could see those colors to absorb new information from them.

For example, the hidden hostility that Lex had detected from Marcus was now as apparent as day, and seemed to paint the entire man in shades of green and red. Feelings of inferiority, jealousy, envy, hatred and a tinge of admiration made up the foundation of his hostility. But that was not all. Lex could almost see into his mind, as if reading his thoughts. Marcus was jealous because… he thought Lex was engaged to Greta Noel, and would thus be joining the main family, and that was the reason he was so appreciated by Joseph.

He felt overlooked and underappreciated, and there was a seed of sinister intentions that seemed to be sprouting within him. Lex could almost actually see what actions he was planning to take, as if he was watching a movie.

Lex looked out to the tower, and saw that it seemed to be acting as some kind of funnel, channeling some unknown energy through its base to its tip, where the energy was gathering. He could tell that when enough energy gathered, the birds would probably come and rest there, and the monthly worshiping ceremony would commence. How intriguing.

Lex spent the rest of the carriage ride in relative silence, as he absorbed the information the lenses were giving him.

When they finally arrived at the building where the teleportation formation was, Lex interestingly looked around like a child at a zoo. The lenses still did not recognize the formation, but since Lex already knew the purpose of it, he could extrapolate even more information. Moreover, he was now more easily able to guess Marcus' plan.

Lex didn't know how much he trusted the information from the lenses, so he started planning out a way to ensure everything went smoothly, without preemptively attacking or punishing Marcus. It was an intriguing challenge, since he already knew what he wanted to do.

"Are you sure you won't accept any payment?" Lex asked one last time, as Marcus led him to the teleportation room. This time around, only he and Fenrir would use the formation, so he expected it to cost a lot, but Marcus was insistent that they could not accept payment.

One had to admit, his acting of being the perfect host was quite remarkable.

"Impossible. Something as minor as this is not even enough to count as being a good host. Next time you visit, you must allow me to throw a banquet for you."

"Then take care of yourself. Next time, we will definitely dine together."

With a smile and a nod, Lex walked to the center of the teleportation platform, a tiny Fenrir following along. A few minutes later, the formation completely turned on, and the two disappeared.

As if a switch had been flipped, Marcus' generous smile turned into an ugly scowl. He had no idea who Lex was, or why his uncle gave him so much importance. Irritation and jealousy filled his entire being, engulfing him. There was a minor struggle in his mind as he wondered if he should really do something. In the end, he concluded that there was no way for anyone to detect if he did anything, and so made a move.

Prior to the teleportation he had not interfered with the formation, as there were many ways to detect such things, and he did not know if Lex would be able to tell it had been tampered with. Yet now that he was already gone, or to be more specific, mid-teleportation, there was nothing he could do.

With eyes filled with sinister intentions, Marcus moved, not towards the exit, but the control room. The teleportation formation, in truth, was quite massive and could not really fit inside a room. The entire formation was hidden from view, with only two points within reach. One was the teleportation platform, and the other was the control panel in the adjacent control room.

Yet the moment Marcus tried to enter the room, he hit an invisible barrier. As if triggered by something, the invisible barrier became opaque, making Marcus realize that he was trapped inside.

"Young man, you're a thousand years too young to be playing such games in front of me," a familiar voice said, startling Marcus. He turned around, but could not find Lex anywhere, so then where was his voice coming from?

"As a small punishment, I'll leave you in this small room for a few months. Use this time to contemplate your life decisions. The next time we meet, I'll ask you about the conclusion you reached."

A trace of fear crept into Marcus' heart as he tried to figure out what was going on. Yet no matter how he searched, he could not come up with an answer, and he could not break the barrier either. He was completely trapped.