The Innkeeper

Lex observed the spirits in trench coats for a while, but when they did not seem to be doing anything suspicious, he let them be. He did, however, turn his attention to the lightning tribulations. After isolating the abodes, Lex had not paid much attention to the tribulation, for they never really struck anyone other than their main target. Even the massive spaceship did not seem to be an obstruction, as wherever the ship was an obstruction, the lightning clouds would just form under it.

But it seemed like he could not just let them be. After all, since he was instructed to create a tribulation room, and it would become an eventual facility, he should get it done as quickly as possible so the maximum number of guests can benefit from it.

It would be so convenient if he could just look up the information on tribulations on the Henali portal so that he could prepare for them, but unfortunately, no information showed up when he searched. He suspected this was, once again, something he would need to raise his permission or authority within the portal to search up.

But all was not lost. Since he couldn't research it online, he instead paid the utmost attention to it in person.

At the moment, 4 guests were undergoing the lightning tribulation. That was a ridiculously high number, and was a sight even the most prosperous of nations would never give birth to. Yet it had to be remembered that the Inn had been flooded by devils in the millions, many of whom were at levels too high for Lex to even see.

It was no surprise that many of them were undergoing such tribulations then, for the devils had sent anyone who could come under such short notice and was near someone with a golden key.

This only benefited Lex, for he observed the tribulation from every possible angle from start to finish. He saw the formation of the lightning, gathering power within the cloud, to how it struck down and hit the target. He saw how various targets would deal with the lightning. Most devils let it fall onto their bodies, for their resilience was formidable. Others, however, had employed protective formations around themselves, or straight up tried to attack the lightning with their own attacks.

Each tribulation was very long and took anywhere from a couple of hours to a whole day, depending on how successful it was. As such, Lex spent the next 30 hours carefully studying the tribulations.

Perhaps it did not require so much time studying, but considering how success or failure would literally determine the life or death of his guests, he wanted to get things right. In the end, it was a good thing he paid attention for so long, because the fire tribulation, which was a lot less conspicuous than the lightning tribulation, would start a few hours after the lightning one ended.

But any and all who underwent the fire tribulation never actually caught on fire, or interacted with flames in any visible way. Despite that, however, black smoke could be seen escaping the cultivators' orifices and their skin would often crack up. The unlucky ones who could not survive were often only left as a husk while their insides literally evaporated away with the smoke.

It was... disturbing, to say the least. He could not understand what exactly the fire tribulation involved, and so wasn't sure how to combat it. After all, while the lightning tribulation could be blocked using attacks or arrays, it didn't seem like the cultivators made much preparation for the fire one.

During the time Lex was studying the tribulations, he also allowed a portion of his mind to check up on the rest of the Inn. He finally got around to looking up who the guest was who wanted to meet with him. It did not take him long to figure out that the man in question was literally the emperor of the Empire!

Instead of feeling a rush to go and meet with him so that he wasn't left waiting, Lex instead decided to make him wait even longer. After all, he absolutely could not meet someone of his caliber if he didn't have his spirit sense in control.

He also 'accidentally' spied on Larry and discovered that his girlfriend was a Neko, meaning a cat-human!

'Kinky,' was all Lex was able to comment.

Like this, Lex remained satisfied that he wasn't ignoring anything too important happening at the Inn while he studied the tribulation. When he finally concluded his study, it was time to turn his attention to the Room Design.

But, worried that he might not be able to use the feature effectively, he decided that his first official room would be for his spirit guests. After meditating for a short period to calm his mind and help him refocus, Lex began to work.

*****

On Main street, there was a massive gray cathedral that could even be described as gothic! The various gargoyles and demons displayed as statues all over the building built an ominous atmosphere, while the stained glass depicting angles made it look holy.

It stood out from all the other buildings on Main street, not only because of its appearance, but because of one other very special reason. Although there was no official facility attached to this building, as even when guests entered they would not be offered anything special or experience anything out of the ordinary, it needed nothing extra to attract guests. All the guests needed to know was that the giant wolf pup, which was commonly believed to be the Innkeepers pet, had made a home in the cathedral.

While such a thing would normally attract many guests, currently only a flying whale was found inside. Little Blue had gained in cultivation as well due to the recent upgrade, but its breakthrough had been easy. Fenrir, on the other hand, seemed to be going through immense pain!

Its once massive body had shrunk down so that it could fit perfectly into the black marble bowl in the center of the hall. His body was being bathed in the diluted divine energy of the hall, and bit by bit, it was replacing the spiritual energy in its body.

The flying whale flew in circles around it as it tried to suppress its anxiety. If only the turtle was here to look at the pup, but it was also locked in cultivation. All it could do now was wait and watch.