The Innkeeper

Traveling underground was an experience unto itself. Once he got over the fear that his soul would crash into something, and actually sped up, he discovered that there was a lot more to the underground than just endless dirt and rocks.

There were so many plants, not even counting the extensive root network for whatever plants could bury roots so deep. There were living creatures with underground colonies that gave Lex wonderful ideas for his own Inn. There were more than just a few underground rivers with water to clean and cold, Lex actually felt tempted to stop and take a drink.

Eventually Lex spread his soul sense out as well, and was amazed at the fact that life was thriving just as much this deep underground as on the surface.

Lex also found something he completely would never have expected. A massive network of chambers had been excavated to create somewhat of an abode, and it was covered in remnants of protective formations.

Out of curiosity, Lex stopped by and discovered the remains of a cultivator who seemed to have died alone at some point. All his belongings were still present, including a personal diary that Lex perused for a brief moment.

As it turned out, the fellow became a hermit after getting dumped by his fiancee who then married his own father. He was too ashamed to show his face in society ever again, and so spent the rest of his life underground.

Lex put the diary back, only reflecting on the fact that the fellow was not ridiculously large, and was only 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall.

Since there was nothing related to the resin here, he decided to leave the abode as is. But, on yet another whim, before he left he carved his initials into the wall, leaving a mark to show that he had been here. He also took out a small lock box and put a copy of Evisceration, and a vial of spirit liquid in it, leaving it there for anyone to discover.

The lockbox was special, in that it would perfectly preserve its contents as long as it was closed. It would either open on its own after a set number of years, which Lex decided to set as 1000 years, or when someone channeled enough spirit energy into it. It was like leaving a small gift behind for someone fated for it, although chances were high that no one would ever find it.

He had done something similar in the Midnight Inn, leaving presents here and there for people to find, and so far no one had really found any, which is why he didn’t expect anyone to find this either. But the possibility intrigued him.

He moved on, further increasing his speed the longer he went on. With his soul sense spread out, he could easily avoid other souls so his concern for crashing into other things was reduced considerably.

But just as he was beginning to feel anxious, despite the fact that he was doing his best to stay calm, Lex finally found something that caused him to pause.

Even further below him, on the very edge of his range for the Glyph, he sensed something giving a very large reaction. He descended slowly, and was mesmerized by what he saw. He was on the edge of something massive!

By massive he meant that it extended for miles and miles till the very edge of his spirit sense in either direction, and was deeper than he could sense as well. The reaction he was getting from the Glyph was greater than anything he had seen so far, making him feel confident that he had finally reached the resin.

“Pel, take a look at this,” Lex said as he transmitted his vision to the ring as well. “Tell me if you know what it is.”

“Master, this is the corner of a sealed domain,” Pel responded in a solemn voice. “I think… master, my memories about sealed domains are incomplete, but I think that the Amber Chaos resin is not enough to form this. From what I recall, despite being valuable, the Amber Chaos resin is not really an energy source. But for such a domain to form, not only does it require very special circumstances, but it also requires a massive energy source.”

Lex frowned, and then recalled all the information he had received about the region surrounding the resin. Although he was aware that the resin was sealed, he did not get any information about anything that could be a significant energy source. That meant that either the information he received was not actually complete, and was just a brief overview of the realm, or that someone else had created this.

He felt more inclined to believe the first one. After all, the realm was massive, so for Lex to believe he could get all the information about all of it in such a short time was pushing it.

“So how do I access the domain?” he asked as he continued to come closer to it.

“There are two ways. The first is to be so superior to the domain that you can unravel it yourself. That is not so easy to achieve. The second option is to go to the entrance of the domain and enter normally. As long as you obey the rules of the domain, it is entirely possible to get through not only unharmed, but be rewarded with the treasures the domain hides as well.”

“What are the rules? How do I find the entrance?”

“The rules for each domain are separate, master. But you can probably find the entrance as long as you follow its wall. There should be more than one entrance anyway.”

“How… how long do you think it will take to resolve this domain?” Lex asked. He still had things he needed to do as the Innkeeper. He couldn’t just disappear for days or weeks.

“That’s… hard to say. But I think it’s safe to say that it won’t be quick.”

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