The Innkeeper

The turtle has grown massive in size, but its cultivation realm remained uncharged. That was not surprising as it was already in the Nascent level, and the Midnight realm would not allow further increase. While he planned on using the Temple of Fasting to help his human workers grow stronger, he needed to get permission to send his other works there as well, at least to experience breakthroughs.

But that was a concern for later. For now, he approached the turtle who was silently watching Little Blue undergo its evolution. It had taken care of the whale from the moment it had come to the Inn, and so it only made sense that it was greatly attached to it.

In fact, Lex had noticed that it was incredibly fond of adopting strays, or anyone down on their luck. Lex himself had once been saved by the turtle, when he was first exploring Nibiru.

Lex suddenly paused, and his instincts kicked in.

He realized something in that moment. He always knew that Nibiru was special. After all, back when he had the talent show, he had seen a number of extremely bizarre beasts the likes of which he had never encountered again. That is also where the turtle had come from.

But it was only now that he realized that… he might have severely underestimated the value and worth of Nibiru. He hadn't spent much time there, since it was ruled by beasts. But for a planet to give birth to a Sovereign, it must be hiding some extreme secrets.

This was not just his guess. His instincts were telling him, acting on the memory of his time spent there. Nibiru was extremely special, and hid something of tremendous value.

The fact that his instincts labeled it as something of tremendous value, when nothing in this new realm had yet caused such a reaction, was startling news.

Lex made a mental note. He would put that on the forefront of his agenda when he returned to the Origin realm. But Lex was unaware that a war between beasts and humans was going on, and Nibiru was very much embroiled in it. What the situation would be when he finally ventured forth would be entirely unpredictable.

"How are you finding the change?" Lex asked as he approached the turtle. He found himself asking the question often these days, and not only because he enjoyed the praise that followed. He was now aware that there were more than one hidden dangers in this new territory, the least of which was something he identified as spiritual energy fatigue. Too much energy was not always a good thing, even with the system maintaining it to safe levels within the Inn.

"Oh dear, this garden is too big," the turtle said in distress. "It will take a long time to tend to all of it."

Lex found himself amused by the turtle's lament. No doubt he was referring to the entire realm rather than just the Inn's territory. At least this was good enough to entice the turtle to stay for a long time. He had not forgotten the invitation the turtle had received from Zuri Adissa, the Celestial level lady who also had a clone within the Inn.

Fortunately, while his precautions had not worked, the clone did not wake up upon being nourished by this realm. In fact, the clone became less vibrant, as if it had truly lost its connection to the main body, and had reverted to a simple tree for the time being.

"It is considerably large, yes. In fact, there are already some weeds affecting this place. I thought I'd ask if you're interested in preserving it before removing it myself."

Although Lex appeared as the Innkeeper, and not as a baby, he had to look up towards the turtle whose face hung high in the air above him. He could fly to its level, of course, but he felt that the Innkeeper would not care about such trivialities, so he stayed on the ground.

The single horn jutting from the turtle's forehead glowed briefly, absorbing a single strand of the light surrounding Little Blue, before the turtle turned to him.

"Let's take a look," he said, his voice tinged with a hint of eagerness. Although the size of the realm was daunting, it also excited him.

Lex teleported the both of them over to the ever expanding field of wild potatoes and observed the way it spread across the landscape. For hundreds of acres, there was naught but potatoes.

Lex, feeling intrigued, scanned it just to see what the system would reveal.

Name: Scourge

Age: 679

Sex: -

Cultivation Details: Foundation peak

Species: Solanum tuberosum

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Condition: Severely malnourished

Remarks: Boil it, mash it, and stick it in a dungeon.

All in all, the potato plague did not seem as menacing as its effects stated it to be. How could one Foundation realm vegetable cause all animals and beasts over hundreds of acres to flee out of fear?

"Oh dear, this one's no good," the turtle said as it approached without concern. It seemed even the turtle had detected something that Lex had not. But he just stood by and watched. Anything plant related was firmly within the bounds of the turtle.

That thought suddenly reminded Lex of a worker he had not seen in a long time: the Gardener. Last time Lex checked, he had been given free reign to practice his art in one of the Minor realms. Had he… just been living there ever since?

Well, Lex at least hoped his art was coming out well.

Lex stopped his random thoughts, as he for the first time saw the turtle attack!

The horn on its head glowed to a bright head, before releasing a visible pulse of red energy that attacked the field of potatoes.

Much in the way Lex visualized a Trelop taking control of the landscape, the entire region in front of him seemed to tremble. A shriek with no origin filled the air, and countless vines grew out from the dirt and began targeting the turtle.

A Foundation realm plant had actually survived the turtle's attack? Either the Sovereign was being lenient, or this was one tough potato.