The Innkeeper

Lex internally raised an eyebrow as he was surprised at the Hidden Quest notification. The last time he got it was when he completed a hidden requirement, but this time his conversation with Alexander triggered the quest. He couldn't tell what exactly was the difference between triggering a normal quest and a hidden one, but based on the rewards he got last time he was looking forward to it. He quickly read the quest.

Hidden Quest:

Despite your lackluster performance, a guest has become interested in becoming a permanent resident of the Midnight Inn. Develop a permanent guest district! To develop a permanent guest district you must:

Purchase a permanent guest district pass

Allocate area of permanent guest district

Raise Inn rating to 3 Stars

Grow a Winding Road Vine

Have at least 1 Karmic Lily

Time limit: none

Quest reward: subject to change based on performance

Lex was quite surprised. This was the first time he encountered a quest that had multiple requirements, with each one being very difficult to achieve. Along with the details of each step in the quest, Lex also received additional information about the last two parts of the quest. They were extremely difficult, as at least the first three could be completed with the system's help. The last two were plants that Lex needed to grow, but first he would need to find their seeds or the actual plants themselves.

Winding Road Vine was an unusual vine that only grew in the cracks between space, whatever that meant. The Karmic Lily itself had no use, but was used as a supplementary ingredient for many things from alchemy to crafting items to setting up arrays and more. The reason why it was so useful was that it enabled one to influence karma.

He was also given brief requirements from guests to be able to get a permanent residence at the Midnight Inn, which made him breathe a sigh of relief as even the Morrison's would not be able to get a permanent residence, giving him plenty of time to set it up.

"Yes," Lex replied to Alexander, "we offer permanent residences instead of rooms to guests. But before one can get a permanent room they need to fulfill certain requirements. The first one is to spend 1 trillion MP at the Inn."

Lex's smile did not waver as he spoke but Alexander was visibly shook. But he recovered quickly. It made sense. The Inn catered to the whole universe, how can the wealth of a family that only owns one planet compare to the wealth to those that might even own entire solar systems, or more?

"In that case, I'd just like the courtyard for 2 weeks."

"Of course," replied Lex and charged Helen.

The duo was just about to head out when they saw a strange shadow pass them by, and looked up into the air to see Ayesha flying with Little Blue. Alexander only took a moment before he started walking to Main street. He had quickly adjusted his mindset to not be bothered by what he saw at the Inn. Furthermore, he had another objective in coming here. Last time he returned to Earth he received a message from RussianPrincess77. She asked him to send her money in a certain account, and in exchange she will give him some very useful information. Since he had not been disappointed by her before, Alexander transferred the money. She responded by telling him he should see John at the Midnight Inn to get something useful. Most likely, Alexander would have encountered John anyway, so the mischievous girl extorted him for some money before he got the chance.

As Lex watched them go he smiled as he was ready to do something he had been wanting to do for a while now. He simply had to wait for a few guests to appear before he could do what he wanted, yet right before he was about to leave he felt more guests coming. This time the guests were coming through the Golden door, and since its origin planet was Vegus Minima he readied his Butter knife.

Fortunately, the guest that appeared this time was not a zombie. A man came limping out of the door, moving as quickly as he could manage. He was bleeding from his forehead and his right arm and leg seemed to be severely hurt. He must have been running from something because it took him a moment to realize his surroundings had changed. Alarmed, he stopped to survey his new environment and when he saw Lex he quickly took a step back and assumed a defensive position.

Name: Slag

Age: 99

Sex: Male

Cultivation Details: Golden Core mid

Species: Human

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Condition:

Debilitating wounds across his body, but his cultivation is secure and will heal quickly given the chance

Remarks: He has the smell of a soldier all over him. He's probably broke. Meh

"No need to be alarmed, dear guest. No one will harm you. Welcome to the Midnight Inn, you may call me the Innkeeper."

As soon as Slag heard the term 'Midnight' he was greatly surprised. All Captain level soldiers and above were briefed a few days ago that they might be embarking on mission 'Midnight' and all nonessential operations were halted for the time. He did not know the details nor the relevance of the term, but he did not believe for even a second that the term being repeated here was a coincidence.

"It appears as though you are injured. Would you like to go to the Recovery room?"

Slag quickly realized that he hadn't responded to the Innkeeper and quickly gathered his thoughts. His priority in this situation was to quickly learn his new circumstances, gather as much information as possible and return to Vegus Minima as soon as possible.

"Where are my manners, excuse me. I am Lieutenant Slag of the 7th Forward Battalion, under the command of General Ragnar of the Jotun Empire. If you have any medical facility then I would be grateful for your timely assistance and be sure to pass on news of your aid to the Empire."

Informing the other of his true background may seem like a stupid idea to some, but Slag had enough training to judge the situation accurately. The Innkeeper was clearly someone with a higher cultivation than himself, and usually it was very difficult to lie or keep secrets when the difference in cultivation between two people was massive. Furthermore, the identity of belonging to a Battalion from the Jotun Empire was nothing to scoff at, and carried sufficient deterrence to assure his safety in most situations. In fact, very few other than Demons would even consider any kind of hostility against him. Yet he was slightly disappointed when he saw the other had no significant reaction at the mention of the Empire.

"Follow me," said the Innkeeper warmly and started leading Slag towards the Recovery room.

"The Midnight Inn offers many services, not just medical attention. Once you have recovered, I encourage you to tour the place. In a couple of days we're going to be having a grand event hosting dignitaries from many planets, if you're free then you might want to stay for the event."

Slag mentally linked the date of the event with the date for operation Midnight and confirmed that this place definitely had something to do with the operation.

When they reached the Recovery room, Slag was dumbfounded to learn that he was expected to pay. He had no money on his person, and no payment tool.

"You just need to agree to pay and decide which of your assets you want to pay with, and the Inn will take care of it. Or, you can forward the bill to your battalion as this is technically an operational expense, don't you think?"

Slag was dumbfounded and confused by what the Innkeeper said, but then found a digital panel that appeared in the air in front of him that required his signature. Should he sign, his expenses from the Inn would be forwarded to the Battalion. Unsure if this was a scam, Slag eventually signed as he was sure no one could scam the Battalion and got in the Recovery Pod.

Leaving his newest guest to recover, Lex was finally free to do what he had wanted earlier. He returned to his residence, removed his suit and wore the Clark Kent glasses. Donning the appearance of Leo, Lex quickly teleported to the Gamer's Den, ready to finally interact with his guests without worry. He found Z sobbing in the corner as he watched an episode of My truth in December (can you guess this one) and shook his head. This kid had too much time, Lex should think of ways to go and play outside. He froze as soon as that thought came to him.

'Great, now I'm sounding like my parents,' he complained, but quickly put it behind him. He would start laying the road for his secret dream of hosting an interplanetary gaming tournament today!