The Innkeeper
chapter-6

Lex led the cat Bastet to the lobby and gave her a tour of his humble establishment. Initially he had been very pleased with the manor, but while showing her the eatery, the lounge and the back garden he was all too aware that Mary had said the Inn was at most acceptable for those at the Foundation Realm, and Bastet was clearly above that. He did not know exactly what requirements beings at higher power levels had and how he was expected to meet them, thus he did his best to make his place seem as accommodating as possible. He did not want to lose his first guest.

To his relief, Bastet did not voice any complaints as he showed her around, though she didn't pay any compliments either. She viewed everything in silence and how she felt about the place was known only to herself. When the small tour ended Bastet asked softly, "What are the arrangements required to stay at your establishment?"

Hearing those words immediately put a smile on Lex's face. He quickly looked over the information provided by the suit and informed Bastet, "You can rent a room for 50 Midnight Points a day, and can share the room with one guest if you wish. At the time of check-in you have to pay in advance for the number of days you are planning on staying. Breakfast is provided with the room everyday between 6 am to 11 am."

Bastet paused for a moment before saying, "I'll take two rooms for a month. This should cover the expense." The cat turned its paw and a small, red ruby appeared in the air before her. Using his control over the Inn Lex accepted the ruby and it vanished into this air.

As soon as the ruby vanished Lex received a notification from the system but he temporarily ignored and turned to Gerard who had been quietly following them.

"Gerard, please show these guests to their rooms and help them with anything they need."

"Of course," Gerard replied in a smooth, suave voice, and led the bull and cat up the stairs. It was somewhat of a peculiar sight, watching a bull with a cat atop its back effortlessly climbing up a staircase, yet Lex was hardly bothered by it now.

It seemed as if he was watching them leave but his attention was now diverted to the Systems notifications:

System notification: 3000 Midnight Points accepted! 2 rooms booked for 30 days! 2 guests of Demi-Daolord realm accepted!

Quest update: Quest Complete! The Host's rewarded is being calculated:

- Reward upgraded for completing quests in less than 12 hours

- Reward upgraded for hosting multiple guests at the same time

- Reward upgraded for hosting guests many cultivation levels above host

- Reward upgraded for hosting the strongest being on planet: Earth

Reward Rank: SSS+

Reward: 1 Unique Opportunity token! Midnight Inn Level +1!

Remarks: Truly the luck of a protagonist! Maybe you should try the lottery!

New Quest: As the most renown Inn in the universe, the Midnight Inn does not only host the rich and the powerful! Setup and develop the Pro Bono wing of the Inn and accept your first Pro Bono guest!

Lex couldn't stop himself from grinning. The cat and bull really brought him a lot of gifts, and also inadvertently gave him a lot of information. Firstly, their realms were Demi-Daolords, which just by the name sounded extremely intimidating. From what Bastet had said he also learned that it had traveled to other worlds before, which meant interplanetary travel was possible for powerful beings although he had no idea yet how that was possible.

Furthermore he learnt that both Bastet and Falak were the most powerful beings on Earth, and if he could befriend them there was much he could gain! He seriously lacked information about the cultivation world and cultivation, and this was one potential path for him to learn more, if nothing else. Another important thing he learnt was that rewards could be upgraded based on performance. Things like getting the most powerful being on the planet as a guest was something out of his control, for now at least, but finishing quests as quickly as possible was still something he could focus on.

The last, and potentially most important two things he learnt were about how he can get benefits from the Inn. So far anything given to him by the Inn made sure not to give him too many advantages, whether in terms of defense or cultivation. He also quickly learnt about the Unique Opportunity Token!

The Inn rarely gave him any direct benefits but it provided him with the opportunity to interact with various kinds of people, and exposed him to unique treasures and opportunities. It was up to him to figure out how he can take advantage of them.

As for the token, as soon as it entered his inventory the Host Attire suit informed him of its benefits, as well as the fact that he should use it as soon as possible. In this universe there were a few opportunities that could exist only once, through out the lifetime of the universe. Each one of these opportunities would taken billions of years to form, or would come to exist through a series of coincidences, and could continue to exist for billions of years as well until someone harvested them. However, once they are harvested, they can never exist again. The token that Lex had obtained would automatically present him with one such opportunity. Theoretically, since they were so rare the chances of someone getting even one within his entire lifetime would be infinitesimal, yet there was no need to take a chance.

He summed the token which looked like a small, gold coin with the letters MI (Midnight Inn) engraved in it. Lex looked at it for only a moment before crushing it. A hologram appeared in front of him with five items listed and their descriptions along with them.

Mo's Blessing

A cultivation technique carried by a specific being in the universe as a part of his collection. Mo's Blessing boasts the strongest attack power of any cultivation art and can let whoever cultivates it challenge those even above their cultivation level in a head on collision. It has stringent cultivation requirements but at it's highest level the cultivator can cut through the universe itself.

Regal Embrace

A cultivation technique carried by a specific being in the universe as a part of his collection. Regal Embrace let's the cultivator build an impenetrable defense which can take head on attacks even from those at a higher cultivation level. After certain accomplishments in this cultivation technique, the cultivator can stand there and embrace his enemies attacks. At it's highest level it can allow its cultivator to survive even the destruction of a universe.

Essence Wormhole

A unique existence that can be absorbed by a living being. Once absorbed it will absorb the consciousness of the beings past, present and future so that the being is aware of the existence of its entire lifetime and all the events that take place during it. However, a being that absorbs the Essence Wormhole will have all the events in its life become a fixed constant that cannot be changed.

Bangle of Narn

A single galaxy condensed into a bangle that can be worn without any harmful consequences. Everything that exists within that galaxy can be used and controlled by the wearer. The aura of the Bangle cannot be suppressed and can be easily identified by all Dao Lord realm cultivators within 99 million lightyears.

Breath of Elizabeth

An item in Elizabeth's possession. It's use and function cannot be identified by the system. It is suspected that anyone who takes the Breath of Elizabeth will attract Elizabeth's ire.

Lex's body trembled as he read the description for these items. He directly disqualified the Essence Wormhole and the Breath of Elizabeth, he had no interest in becoming enemies with some mysterious person nor did he want to live a life where he would be like an actor in a movie, playing out a role knowing the beginning and end without being able actually change anything. Surely there was more to the Essence Wormhole, but he did not want to take any chances. The other three items however greatly attracted his attention.

When he envisioned Mo's Blessing he could help but let his mind wander and think of himself like every superhero or movie protagonist he knew, fighting through a hoard of enemies to get what he wanted. He even imagined himself saying the cliché line of destroying the heaven and earth if they stand in his way.

Yet despite that he also couldn't stop himself from being attracted to Regal Embrace, as though that would not let him fight through a hoard of enemies, it would be what kept him safest. Managing the Midnight Inn sounded like it could attract some real trouble and being indestructible would really help with that.

However what attracted him most was the Bangle of Narn. Lex never imagined himself as someone who was greedy, but owning an entire galaxy and everything in it carried an irresistible temptation that wholly overwhelmed him. It was a kind of temptation that he had never understood before and honestly, if it weren't for the fact that the Bangle gave off an aura that could be sensed he would have chosen it without hesitation.

He had no idea what a Dao Lord realm was nor how powerful that would make someone, but if that person could detect something 99 million lightyears away they would absolutely not be weak. There was a part of him that told him it'd be safe so long as he took it and kept it in the Inn, since the Inn could only be accessed through the doors he created with the golden tickets, but he had no way to be sure. The Host Attire would not tell him if anyone could access the Inn directly from wherever it was built, nor how safe it was, nor if it could suppress the bangles aura. The temptation was great to the point of almost overwhelming him, but it was just too dangerous.

Lex was struggling, completely unsure of what to pick as his hand hovered over the Bangle. But then something happened and Lex was shocked!