The Innkeeper

Alexander was relieved to hear that Helen was doing well.

“I had the Sigmund family investigated while I was away. Things are not as straightforward as they appear to be. I’ll share the report with you once we return to Mars.”

“Okay,” she responded simply. She was curious to know the details of what actually happened, and if her parents were involved in the decision to use her in the assassination.

Alexander and Helen were catching up and his seniors were watching from a distance, his grandpa smirking. Lex went to help Harry up, as he could not even stand on his own.

“That really took a lot out of you. In the future don’t use your new heritage without training yourself first. If you are not careful, you could hurt yourself.”

Harry’s eyes were filled with excitement even if his body was trembling from weakness. What he had done with Helen was only the tip of the iceberg of all the new knowledge he had received. He knew his weakness was a result of him not training his body and soul enough, but the heritage also let him know how exactly he should be training. In the future what he could do would be even more. He especially couldn’t wait to go and try out his new found powers on Earth, right up until the Innkeeper said, “for now don’t use your heritage on Earth. Your planet is more complicated than it appears. I will have someone compile some things you should familiarize yourself with first, lest you accidentally get into trouble.”

Harry nodded repeatedly as the Innkeeper helped him to the entrance of his own residence. He stumbled in and collapsed on the mattress, asleep as soon as he shut his eyes.

When Lex returned to the Morrison family he saw the two soldiers and the girl from Vegus Minima outside the shop window and thought it the perfect time to introduce the two groups.

“I see some of our guests from a different planet just outside, would you like me to introduce you?”_.

“Please,” replied Rorick.

As Lex led the group out, he spent 100MP on a one-day universal language translator that applied to the whole Inn. Cultivators with a higher level could communicate through their spiritual sense but not everyone could. To facilitate communication between guests from different planets Lex would have to buy this translator. A permanent translator instead of a one day one would cost 100,000MP! Lex could definitely put off buying it.

“Ah Blane, Chen, Lily, it’s good that I ran into you. There’s someone I want to introduce you to.” The Morrison family stood behind him and observed their counterparts silently, while the three from Vegus Minima also looked at the family as they immediately understood that they were the ones they were being introduced to.

“These are some of my guests from a different planet than yours. This is their first opportunity to meet someone from outside their own solar system, so I thought I would introduce them to you. I think both of you will find an exchange very beneficial.”

Blane and Chen exchanged a look. They paid great detail to whatever the Innkeeper said, and him mentioning that meeting these people could be ‘beneficial’ seemed like him hinting at something. They nodded to one another, as if they were both accepting a mission.

Just as the soldiers were about to introduce themselves Lex felt another guest about to enter the Inn. It was unfortunate, he wanted to be present when these groups from different worlds met and see what they talked about, but a new guest would take priority.

“Please excuse me while I go tend to another matter. If you need any help, just call out.”

With that Lex disappeared. Helen and the soldiers were already used to the Innkeeper appearing and disappearing as he wished, but the Morrison family was caught by surprise. But that worked to their advantage as the soldiers relaxed when they saw that this other group was intimidated by the Innkeeper as well.

“My name is Blane, this is Brother Chen and Lily. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

*****

Lex appeared at the entrance once again, ready to greet his guest, but before the guest, Mary appeared before him.

“Lex, you need to listen to me very carefully. When this next guest appears, you will receive a quest. It’s very, VERY important that you receive at least an S rank on that quest.”

Lex was taken aback by Mary’s sudden serious demeanor.

“Why? Is something the matter?”

“Just trust me,” is all she said before disappearing again.

A giant golden door appeared and from it entered a middle aged man. When he crossed the door he felt as if time froze and in his mind he received a prompt ‘Would you like to hide your identity?’. Intrigued, he selected yet. A pair of aviator sunglasses appeared in front of him and somehow he knew that if he wore those his entire appearance and aura would be hidden. After he put those on and exited, his attire had changed from a prison garb to skinny jeans, a black T-shirt and a leather jacket – of course he was wearing aviators as well. The

many chains that hung from his body changed their appearance from bindings to jewellry.

As soon as the man appeared, true to what Mary said, a new Quest appeared.

New Quest: 20 guests have appeared together at the Inn for the first time. Instead of waiting for them to come to you with their needs, it’s time you do something for them proactively! Prepare an event for your guests to participate in!

Quest time: Start the event in 2 weeks!

Quest Reward: Subject to change based on guests response

Quest failure punishment: -5000MP

Remarks: Why have you stopped offering your guests drinks when they enter the Inn? Go back to college and take a few hospitality courses!

Lex raised an eyebrow. This quest was interesting, and it gave him some time to prepare as well. He would have to plan this carefully – especially with Mary’s reminder of stating its importance as well. But for now he should take care of his guest first. He checked the man’s status.

Name: *&%error%&*

Age: *&%error%&*

Sex: *&%error%&*

Cultivation Details: *&%error%&* (sealed)

Species: *&%error%&*

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Remarks: This man is very suspicious. Charge him extra MP!

Even with the Host Attire helping him to maintain his expression Lex could not keep himself from raising an eyebrow. He had never come across a situation where the Inn could not read someone’s status. Even with Bastet and Falak, the Inn only told him that his authority was insufficient to view their information instead of reporting an error message.

Of course, to the man walking the gesture of an eyebrow being raised represented something else. He suspected the man had seen through his details, and he was not surprised. The man standing there as if waiting for him gave off an aura that even he had never felt before.

“Welcome guest, to the Midnight Inn. You may call me Innkeeper,” Lex said warmly as he readied the Self Defense Butter knife should anything go wrong. Even the system thought he was suspicious so Lex had to be careful. “Whenever you feel tired, wherever you are in the universe, the Midnight Inn will be your best refuge.”

“Thank you. You may call me John. May I ask, did you open the portal to lead me here?”

Lex shook his head. “The Midnight Inn finds weary travelers on its own, so that they can come rest and recuperate before they may return on their journey. Of course, we have many other services than just offering a place to stay. It is up to our guests what services they wish to avail.”

The middle aged man smiled and took a deep breath. It had been a long time since he breathed in fresh air. He glanced at the scenery around him before turning his attention to the Innkeeper. The Innkeeper was the most imminent threat to the man, and in his current condition he could not defend himself at all. He had to stabilize his situation before anything else as he did not want the Innkeeper to send him back to the ship he came from.

“This is an embarrassing question, but I assume you charge your guests to stay at your Inn.”

“Naturally. Our services are the best in the universe, and so are our rates.” Lex, while still wary of the man, was also amused. Who knew that the first bargainer he would come across would be such an enigmatic figure.

“Well there’s a bit of an issue. You see, I was robbed of all my possessions and don’t currently have any money on me. Is there any other way I can pay to stay here?”

Lex frowned as he looked at the man. He was not expecting him to have no money at all.

“Don’t dismiss him directly,” said Mary who reappeared. “While there is no official way to temporarily hire people, can’t you just pay for his stay with your own MP? Ask him what services he can provide. Maybe he’ll have some useful abilities or skills.”

Lex put on the face of an intimidating landlord and said, “What can you do for me? If you have any skills that I find useful, I don’t mind giving you a part time job.”