The Innkeeper
chapter-1145

Lex waited and watched as the group of ladies around him struggled to come to a decision on his offer. It was pretty straightforward actually. He didn't expect them to have any reason to say no. But the way some of them looked a little disappointed upon hearing how he turned their entire interaction into a business deal.

Whether they were hoping to actually get close to him, or were disappointed that Lex showed no interest in them, it did not matter. What was important, though, was that they finally confessed why they were all coming close to him.

Gaining votes just by being close to him not only ensured that they would continue to move onto the next rounds, thus meeting higher quality guys who survived the first round of elimination, the votes somehow affected their luck as well.

When someone voted for their survival, their luck on Lover's Island increased. When someone voted to have them kicked out, their luck decreased. It was an abstract thing normally, but during this show, its effects were extremely apparent.

Lex recalled the meteor he saw earlier, and understood that someone had probably voted to kick out Thaliel. More importantly, since he understood how their luck was being affected, Lex used his left to study all the laws around them all, and was able to actually see the manifestation of luck around them all.

That was also why he noticed that while all the ladies were gaining a tremendous amount of luck, he was gaining an even larger amount of bad luck. It felt like a lot of people were voting to kick him out.

When he considered that he was surrounded by countless beautiful women, he could venture a guess as to who wanted him gone. It was all the single men out in the Origin realm hating his luck at the moment. Probably. Not that he asked to be in this position.

"It's a deal," said the woman in the yellow bikini, and as the first domino fell, so did the others.

"Alright then let's get out of here before the sky falls down or something," Lex murmured as he watched his bad luck continuously get worse.

"What?" one of the women asked, but Lex did not respond. He spread out his spirit sense, encompassing all the ladies around him, and continued to teleport. Honestly speaking, he could probably be a lot more forceful in finding Sim, but he was supposing that this planet was filled with dangers beyond just the initial levels of the Earth Immortal realm.

But how could things ever be so straightforward during a game show that had specifically been targeting cultivators for countless years?

Lex's teleportation was hijacked, and when he reappeared he found himself standing on a stage under a spotlight. All the women who had been accompanying him, including Thaliel, were standing in a booth on his right, effectively trapped within. On his left, there was another booth of women, and in front of him there was a crowd of confused men.

"Hello, hello, hello everyone!" boomed a voice across the room, attracting everyone's attention as a projection of a tiny man with angel wings appeared midair.

"I'm your host, Cupid, and this is the first elimination round of this season!"

An applause audio track played all around them, with random hooting and whistling in between, not that Lex or anyone else there was in the mood for such celebrations.

"Yes, I know what you must be thinking," Cupid said, looking out at nothing, as if talking into a camera. "An elimination round? This early in the game? But my oh my, things really heated up quickly this year, and so we had to move up the schedule. Up on stage with us is the legend himself, whose brooding eyes and chiseled muscles can steal more than just a few hearts. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the man of the hour, Lex Dragonsbane! This time around, we'll be doing things differently, as all the eliminations this time around will be decided by Lex and only by Lex.

"On one side we have all the lovely ladies he's managed to swindle into his arms, or, well, into a deal with himself. But, on the other side, we have all the ladies who have made the most genuine connection with their partners! Based on votes, they are the ladies who have most likely already run into the man of their dreams, their knight in shining armor, their prince charming.

"But a new flame can be quickly put out by a strong wind. Will their love connection survive adversity? Let's find out! The rules are simple. On his right, there are forty nine women who agreed to partner with Lex. On his left are fifty one yearning maidens hoping to give love a chance. But out of them all, only fifty can survive, and Lex has to choose which ones!

"By the way, ladies and gentlemen, you might have noticed a small crowd in front of the stage. You might have guessed it, or you may have missed it, but these are the partners for the fifty one trapped ladies, who must watch helplessly as the fate of their love life hangs in the balance.

"If Lex chooses to save the ladies on the left, they can return to their partners if they wish, or accompany Lex if they want. If he chooses the ladies on the right, he can continue on his merry way on his quest. But whichever group he chooses, the gents in the crowd will be able to continue on. What does that mean? It means that even if the ladies in love get eliminated, their partners can move on and find new partners.

"Is that what their partners will do? Abandon the chance at true love to move further on in the show? Who will Lex choose? Or will he just use his formidable powers to escape this decision, teleporting away and leaving everything up to fate? To find out, join us next time, on Lover's Island!"