The Innkeeper

Lex did not need to explain who Barley was since finding him was one of the recent popular requests for oracles in the Origin realm, right behind finding Lex. While initially finding Barley was easy, it had been a while since he disappeared from both public view as well as from the effects of divination.

But unless he was using an abnormally powerful protection measure, such as the formation within the Inn, there would always be ways to find him. For example, most means of protection from divination only target the more common or mainstream methods.

More unique methods, such as Vera's, can often circumvent such protection measures. For example, as long as Barley met Vera in person at some point in her life, she could divine her own future and find him, or predict where and when he could be found at that time. After all, the target of her divination is herself, not him.

"I'll spread the word," Vera said, without drawing any conclusions. After all, almost everyone knew why Barley was famous, and the fact that he had mentioned a 'Lex' in his video.

"How is Leslie doing?" Lex asked, since he didn't see her in the group.

"With the lightning removed from her soul, she is doing much better. She can start divining again, but more importantly, she can start cultivating again. I can't really say you got off easy, since what you did for her was nothing short of incredible, but don't underestimate her divination. She is one of the most sought after oracles of the upcoming generation. It was actually because of that very fact that she attracted a client involved in things she was too low leveled to learn about. She won't be making that mistake again."

Listening to her words Lex frowned. Originally he had planned on spending more time getting to know the oracles, but her premonition of his deep regret left him feeling worried. She had told him the key to avoiding his regret was a blade in his possession. He had assumed that it was the blade of grass containing laws, but he also could not discount that it may very well also be the sword or 'blade' hiding within his soul.

"If anyone gets any leads on him, you can just inform someone from the Inn. They'll find me," said Lex before turning away. Since he was taking a break from absorbing the blade of grass, he might as well focus on learning sword intent.

"Mary, how is Xeons' progress studying the ships?" Lex asked. Since his mind had been diverted towards the topic of strengthening his combat ability, he may as well check up on all his projects in this field.

"He's asked for the millionth time to be allowed to dismantle the Silent Wanderer to study it, but I keep telling him no as per your instructions. He's enrolled in numerous classes on the Henali portal, but that's a gradual process and you can expect him to become an expert overnight. Especially since he's also focusing on refining his body to become a full-fledged dragon.

"He has designed a few weapons that can be attached to ships, though, again, I am not letting him experiment on the Silent Wanderer or the Flying Day care. Speaking of the Wanderer, Captain Cirk has finished going through the manual for the Silent Wanderer and is confident he can pilot it. He's been undergoing simulations in the Henali portal, but if has an opportunity to fly the real thing, it'll be better practice."

Lex looked up and easily found the massive spaceship that was hovering right above the Inn. Lex had to buy a massive plot of land where the ship could hover over so that it doesn't block the sky for the main areas of the Inn. The plus point was that the area under the ship became a 'shadowed' area, where those guests who preferred the dark, or were sensitive to light, could reside.

"For now, I can allow him to test out some of the features of the Wanderer within the Inn. When I get the chance, I'll take him out with me so he can try flying it in space. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. How's the training for the 300 from the new battalion going?"

"It's going well, and they're growing fast. In a few years, they'll be a considerable fighting force."

"They're only the first batch. The Inn will require a lot of strong warriors, so we have to refine our training methods as we go through them. Have someone compile a report on their progress, I'll look at it later."

Lex discussed various projects with Mary, right up until he reached the Midnight mountain. To be more specific, until he reached the sword slash within the mountain. He had been here before, but at that time he was wearing the Host Attire, so he did not feel the true weight of the sword intent gathered here.

Now, standing there without any protection, he was finally exposed to it in its full glory. It was heavy, yet sharp at the same time. It was not cutting his body, but he could tell that the sharpness was imbued within the aura of this place.

To put it in other words, the way a dragon's aura contained an oppressive might, the aura here was honed like a razor. He felt like his thoughts themselves were being cut through.

This was Qawain's abode, in a sense. Qawain, the sword that had gained sentience, gave sword lessons within a small cave at the heart of the sword slash, but first you would have to cross the artificial valley that was filled with this sword intent.

Some saw this as an obstacle, but Lex, who had no experience with sword intent at all, saw this as an opportunity. He summoned a simple, double-edged sword he had bought earlier on from the Guild room and gripped it tightly.

Since he had never formed an intent before, and was not sure how to form one, he would just have to brute force it. He would experience the intent in the valley with his body, and try to recreate it on his sword.

Without any hesitation, he took his first step.