The Innkeeper-Novel

Time seemed to freeze as the murderer looked at Lex's palm. He forgot that he was wearing special armor, and even forgot that he could do something to move. The sight of Lex bursting directly through the body of a monster to approach his bubble was eared into his brain.

Though the monster was made of dirt, when dirt was compacted enough it was not easy or simple to break through it. Then there was the look in his eyes. The disdain in his eyes was as clear as day, and the murderer was spellbound. He could look nowhere else.

They were eyes that told him that no amount of luck could deter him. No amount of help from his system was enough. No sword was fast enough or strong enough. They were eyes that told him death was nigh.

The murderer's mind collapsed, but there was not enough time to show it. A bright, yellow light shone out of Lex's palm. The next moment, a beam of yellow light with a 10 feet (3 meter) diameter was launched out of Lex's hand.

It was silent. There was no loud bang, no sonic booms. Moreover, there was no sound of a collision, or something crashing. One moment all was well, and the next a massive yellow beam seemed to appear, and traveled to infinity.

From afar, it actually looked pleasant. Nearby, however, anyone would be too distracted by the searing, immolating heat the beam gave off.

When the light disappeared, everything that had been in its path disappeared. Even the ground disappeared perfectly in the shape of the circular beam of light where the light touched it, its cooked edges slowly giving off smoke.

The attack had been the most devastating that Lex had ever released, clearing almost everything in its path. Almost because a single figure fell to the ground when the light disappeared. The armor the murderer had been wearing had melted into a puddle and had been blown away, yet the murderer had survived because of a protective amulet he had been wearing on his person.

The amulet, through some unusual coincidence, had been specifically made to protect from heat based attacks, and had been used up entirely to protect the murderer.

Lex was not disappointed to see the murderer survive. He felt nothing. No matter how many times he avoided death, all Lex had to do was try again. Wasting no time, Lex arrived in front of the murderer and lifted him by the throat.

The murderer was unresponsive, for his mind had collapsed due to fear. Lex ripped off his shirt and removed any and all jewelry or talismans he wore to further reduce his chances of survival. It was much easier now that the murderer was simply limp.

Once he was sure the murderer had nothing else on his body, Lex punched his face, completely determined to kill him with that hit.

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, landing directly on Lex's crown, paralyzing him and preventing him from completing his punch. Oddly enough, the lightning did not affect the murderer. When Lex recovered he tried again, but the unusual land they were in experienced an Earthquake, causing Lex to stumble.

He tried again and cramped in the foot. He tried again and a massive gale started, pushing Lex to the ground. He tried again and darkness fell, causing him to miss. He tried again, his expression constant throughout.

He was Lex freaking Williams, and even an act of God, or several acts, would save the murderer from him after crossing him.

*****

Serene Williams, mother of Lex Williams, trembled as she looked at the person who arrived on the planet. It was her eldest daughter, Belle. Her face was as expressionless and cold as ever, and only the fierce determination in her eyes set her apart from an emotionless doll.

The silence echoed through the hall as the two marinated in the tumultuous emotions that filled this moment.

Finally, unable to control herself, Serene opened her mouth to speak, but Belle beat her to it.

"I've officially graduated from Ventura Gold, but I have no intentions of continuing onto Ventura itself."

After trying to speak and failing multiple times, all Serene could say was, "how?"

"How could I not? I had the love and affection of my parents supporting me. All that was left was to break through my limits time and time again, use all the resources available to me and steal the ones that weren't, and force myself into the Immortal realm."

Even as she said this, and hinted at the grave dangers she faced all without informing her family, her expression remained impassive as ever.

"And you're leaving Ventura to go back to… them?"

"It is my duty and my place. I do not need the honor given to me as a birthright. I will take it on my own."

"You… you do not know the full story. They will kill your brother if they ever meet him. They are not the angels that they claim."

"Even better then, that I become sovereign of the William family then, isn't it? I can then protect my baby brother with my own hands."

"You do not understand…"

"Enough!" said Belle firmly. "I am not here for this. I only came to let you know that I have become Immortal, and to ask you a question. Will you continue to create a cultivation technique tailored to me, or shall I go to the family and take a complete one on my own?"

There was a painful moment of silence before Serene's eyes also became determined. Belle was always like this, from the time she was a baby. If she could not prevent her from taking this path, all she could do was help her.

"I'll continue to create a technique for you," she said, her voice regaining the command normally embedded in a parent's voice. "But since you are determined to take your own path, do not blame others for doing so as well. If you change your name to Evangeline, then your fathers sword will be drawn before its time - you know how he is about these things. Now come, explain your breakthrough to me thoroughly. We need to establish what tenants your future cultivation will be based on. No child of mine will ever cultivate a subpar technique, it needs to be perfect."

Despite her usual impassiveness, Belle could not help her lip twitching at her mother's comments. Only she, Serene Williams, could call the cultivation technique provided at the Ventura academy and Williams family subpar. After all, as far as humans were concerned, no one could form a better cultivation technique than her. Even her own father gave up his entire cultivation to start again under her guidance. Although his cultivation realm was now much lower than what it once was, no one dared to test his sword. No one.

*****

A beaten and battered Lex punched the murderer once again. It was ridiculous that the murderer himself had not been able to hurt Lex, yet the unusual coincidences had him drenched in his own blood.

But even then, it was just to the extent of spilling a little blood. Whether it was earthquakes, tornados, lightning strikes, meteors, collapsing buildings, sudden cramps, loss of control of spiritual energy and even a minor heart attack, Lex remained undeterred.

He was genuinely amazed that even his body was susceptible to these coincidences. He really wanted to understand what was the cause, but he wanted to kill the murderer even more.

Moreover, while the attacks his body suffered were lethal for normal people, to him they were naught but minor inconveniences. He could live for hours and hours even if his heart completely stopped beating, so a small heart attack was nothing. Due to the resilience of his meridians, the loss of control of spiritual energy was even less dangerous.

Of course, if the coincidences became too dangerous, he would stop. For now though, they were within an acceptable range.

But, the next moment, though he was not expecting it, nothing stopped his fist from connecting to the murderer's face. His end was quite abrupt and gruesome. Lex suddenly left the overdrive state and was hit by the urge to wipe his hand. Not to be graphic, but not much remained of the murderer's face at all, simply because Lex had used too much strength. Much of it had been blown away, but some of it was still stuck to Lex's hand.

He did not know when or how he would return, as apparently he would be sent back after one of them died, but then something unexpected happened.

He heard the familiar sound of a notification from his system.

System Notification:

New system detected! Analyzing the secondary system. Murder system grade D+ detected. Host can choose to assimilate with the secondary system and have two concurrent systems, or absorb it to strengthen the existing system. Please note: this decision will be fixed and final, and will result in the same action for all subsequent systems discovered.