The Innkeeper

Harry wrapped Lex in the Barbers cape and sprayed his hair with cool water.

“Before I begin I just want to be sure, you’re okay with me styling it as I want, right?”

“Yeah no problem.”

Harry nodded and as soon as he began his expression abruptly changed. Lex was staring at the kid in the mirror and saw his focused and serious look as he combed Lex’s hair into various styles. Once he decided what he wanted to go with, he started snipping.

The teenager was snipping at an even pace, as if he knew exactly how many times he needed to cut in one area and by how much. With his comb in his hand he would measure Lex’s hair length and then cut it as was required.

After a while Lex stopped paying attention to Harry and just relaxed. For some reason Lex always found the process of getting a haircut very relaxing. The gentle combing, the snipping sound of the scissors, the occasional cool spray of water, all soothed him. Without realizing it, Lex closed his eyes and slowly started meditating. His thoughts didn’t wander towards the Inn, or his guests, or his cultivation. He was simply existing. The sound of the cutting and the feeling of Harry moving around him kept him from falling asleep, but the gentle rhythm relaxed him.

Time passed and eventually Harry finished grooming Lex’s hair, but Lex himself was completely unaware and he was already meditating deeply. Harry noticed Lex’s peculiar state, but did nothing as he had many customers who had inadvertently fallen asleep while he worked. He took it as a compliment, and was proud of his skills that would allow his customers to enjoy so much.

Harry gently took Lex’s head and had him rest it backwards on the neck rest to get him ready for the shave. At some point earlier he had placed a face towel under hot running water which he now grabbed using tongs. He placed the towel of his forearm once first, to ensure the temperature was not too hot, then gently placed the towel over Lex’s cheeks and neck. The warm, wet towel heated up Lex’s face and opened up his pores. The sudden high temperature almost woke Lex from his meditation, but Harry quickly started massaging Lex behind the ears which helped calm him down._.

After a short while he stopped the massage and prepared the lather, before removing the towel and applying it to Lex’s face. Once that was done Harry took out a fresh blade and started to shave Lex. The shave itself did not take too long and once it was done Harry took out another face towel that he had placed in an icebox and put it on Lex’s face like he did previously. This time the cold woke Lex up from his meditation, but the man discovered that he was feeling extremely refreshed. He felt even better than after waking up from a short nap, and was genuinely amazed at the experience. He had never gotten someone else to shave him before, but now he could say that the experience wasn’t bad.

Removing the towel Harry messed up Lex’s hair once with his hand, before using a blowdryer on it. Afterwards he quickly styled it and then retrieved a mirror to show Lex his hair from the back. Lex was surprised by how much he liked the new hair style and enjoyed the experience. He decided right there and then, he MUST hire Harry for his Inn. He was sure his guests would enjoy the experience, and even if they didn’t he definitely would.

“You’re better than I was expecting,” Lex said as he took out another $50 from his wallet. “I’m impressed.”

“I said for the first time there’s no charge,” Harry said, as if very disciplined. Although Lex tried to say it was a tip, the young man was proud and refused to submit. For some reason, that made Lex like him even more. They exchanged contact information so Lex could contact him in the future, but Harry was unaware that Lex was planning on seeing him much sooner than he anticipated.

Lex exited the building and returned to the Inn from somewhere nearby. He would wait a few hours before secretly sending Harry a platinum key to recruit him so that he does not associate Lex with the Inn.

Back at the Inn he teleported directly to his room and investigated what prestige did.

Prestige:

Gives guests different levels of perks based on how much MP they spend at the Inn.

Perks at Prestige level 1:

Can receive glasses equipped with Clark Kent effect (only work while at the Inn)

Perks at Prestige level 2:

Can instantly teleport to the Inn from anywhere in the universe once (great for escaping enemies)

Perks at Prestige level 3:

Can travel to a world connected to the Inn

Raise host authority for higher prestige classes.

All guests who arrived at the Inn would automatically reach Prestige level 1, but to reach level 2 they would need to spend 10,000MP and then 100,000MP for level 3! Since the prestige system was just unlocked it only just started counting the MP expenditure, and did not count any MP anyone had spent prior to this.

Lex was quite happy with this as it gave his guests an incentive to spend more while at his Inn. With nothing else to do now Lex really wanted to just relax and game for a bit, but for now he could not let himself relax. Once his cultivation was raised he could afford to take a few more breaks. He promptly returned to the meditation room and spent the next few hours both succeeding and failing at meditation. Once it had been long enough he teleported back to Earth, ready to send Harry the platinum key.

Something interesting he learnt was that he did not need to wait for people to use his keys, as long as they were holding them Lex could remotely activate them. This way he would not need to wait for Harry for a few hours or days or weeks like he did with Marlo.

How would he reach Harry’s apartment? Of course, the easy way. It was already night so after making sure no one was in the area Lex equipped Icarus’ wings and quickly flew to Harry’s apartment window and snuck in. He had made sure to secretly unlock the window while he was at Harry’s apartment.

The teenager was asleep at his desk, on his laptop in front of him a video about styling hair was playing. Lex nodded in appreciation at the dedication and dropped the platinum key in the kids hand before sneaking back out. As much as Lex felt the urge to fly around the city, he knew he would get into trouble so he resisted. As soon as he returned to the Inn he mentally activated the platinum key and was once again teleported to the familiar white room.

Soon Harry appeared in the room as well, still in a half asleep state. Drool was dripping down his chin and though he was standing, it looked like he himself was unaware that he was awake now.

Lex viewed his status to check for any unexpected information before he began.

Name: Harry

Age: 17

Sex: Male

Cultivation Details:

– None

Species: Human

Remarks: Seems extremely ordinary, so already better than the host!

Once he was sure all was as it seemed, he was ready for his performance.

“Welcome, young Harry, to the Midnight Inn,” a booming voice shook the poor teenager awake from his reverie. The teenager was alarmed when he realized he was in an unfamiliar place, but before his thoughts could stray further away, his attention was attracted to the man standing in the middle.

“I am in the Innkeeper, and I have summoned you here because I’ve had an eye on your talent. The universe is a vast place, it would be a shame if your skills would be left unearthed…” Lex was using the full might of the Host Attire on the young man so that he could make a strong impression on him. He did not want to lose another potentially great employee due to carelessness.

*****

Hera was still dazed as she stood beside Will, who was welcoming a few guests to his house. Yesterday when she saw him looking so young and energetic she did not recognize him at all. The old man looked as if he had never been sick a day in his life, and as if he were the model for good health. Just as Hera was dealing with the shock of his recovery, the old man introduced her to the world of cultivation. He told her the repayment that he had promised her that was worth much more than money was cultivation, for her and when he came of age, for her son.

Since then she had seen countless amazing things, and the old man had already gotten an instructor for her and her son. She had started training her body today, but since she was not too athletic and completely out of shape it was very tough for her. Yet the old man promised that soon, he would help her overcome that barrier.

Once the last of the guests entered the room the doors were firmly closed and Will’s bodyguard, Hugo, stood at the door.

“Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the Rose Society, where we left off so many unfinished things long ago. I have found for us the path to salvation and redemption.”

With a wide grin Will took out seven shining, golden keys from a pouch and started passing them around.