The Innkeeper

Chapter 1333  Unexpected guest

”The system is asking for your demands,” Mary informed Lex, as she sat on a tiny chair that Lex summoned for her atop his office table. ”It is also asking to let you know that if you break the rules too badly, then both it and you will be punished accordingly. It has not stated the punishment, but it sounds serious.”

”First off, I want complete control over where the system is available from. We are going to limit ourselves to planets and realms where the highest level is the Nascent soul for now. That essentially means that even within the Origin realm, weʼre going to have to figure out a way to limit the use of golden keys to either Nascent realm cultivators, or perhaps they should only work on planets where the strongest is in the Nascent realm.

”I realize that such an action might not look good, but in a few thousand years, who will even remember? We can use the excuse that weʼre renovating our realm so the branches for higher level guests are not ready yet or something along those lines. I donʼt want to draw too much attention to the realm itself, but maybe we can say that weʼre growing the realm to accommodate stronger cultivators to explain the partial shutdown

”Weʼre also going to stop using the ʼbest Inn in the universeʼ slogan, although weʼre not going to replace it either. When we have a more universal presence we can bring it back. Calling ourselves a universal establishment attracts too much attention from entities and organizations on the universal level, and I do not want to attract their attention yet.

”I also want a revamp of how new planets and realms are integrated into the Inn. Going there myself and spending time there is highly inefficient. At most, I am willing to agree to deploying the tavern there for a period of time to act as my substitute.

”I also want a clear direction or preferably even outline of how to increase my authority and improve the Inn. I feel like the realm has improved a lot, and the Inn has a bunch of new features but… well, the Inn itself has not improved much in a long time.

”I also want more quests, but the quests should be manageable and reasonable according to the level of the Inn, which will be geared towards Nascent realm cultivators.

”Also…”

”Can you take a break for a minute and let me reply,” Mary interrupted. ”The system is going haywire with all your requests. The problem is, in a lot of things, youʼre moving backwards in the features that the system provides, not forwards, and thatʼs a huge issue. Like limiting the level of the guests now, after the Inn has never imposed such a limit from the get go, is going backwards. Doing such a thing is a huge transgression, and breaks countless rules. Thereʼs no way the system will agree.”

”Iʼm not saying thatʼs how we do it, but thatʼs just the ultimate effect we want. We can take advantage of the systemʼs broken functionality to somehow come up with a loophole that ultimately ends up with such a result. Honestly, the system is messed up in many ways.

”It has access to an entire realm, something it definitely should not be able to do based on our current level. I mean, our Recovery rooms just reached the level where they can treat immortals - and that too because I just reached that realm. Yet it doesnʼt matter, because none of our doctors or nurses are equipped to treat them.

”Heck, when was the last time we got a decent new room? Do we have any rooms that help with training and understanding tenets? Having rooms where we can practice against lightning and fire tribulations is cool, but now that Iʼve been through some tribulations, I can tell you man, the real thing…”

”Your tribulations are as abnormal as they can possibly get,” Mary said dismissively. ”That comment was from me, not from the system.”

Lex was about to argue back when he suddenly felt something. No, someone had entered the Midnight Inn, and that person was extremely powerful.

The feeling was strange, as it was a mix of feedback he got from Lotus, who was fused with Menara, from the system, which helped him observe the new entrant, and his own instincts which recognized a kind of power very different from what he was used to seeing.

In front of the Midnight manor, a man wearing gloves, a suit and some shades appeared, and from that man, Lex felt the power of influence. It was as if the influence that the man controlled was exceptionally large - larger even than the Governor he had recently met - and much more importantly, Lexʼs instincts told him that the man could directly influence his life, for the better or for worse.

Oddly enough, while the system reduced the direct impact of auras on people, allowing them to exist close to beings that should have otherwise killed them from just being in the presence of, it did not suppress the very unusual aura of influence the man had. From his office, using his Host Attire, Lex observed the man, dismissing the idea of completing his negotiations with the system for now. This was exactly the kind of situation he wanted to avoid, but now that it had arrived he had to face it head on.

”Dear guest, welcome to the Midnight Inn,” said a staff worker who approached the man. ”Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with, or if there is anything you need.”

Lex tensed up, for there was no telling how these influential types reacted to other people. He had read enough books and seen enough of reality to know that many people suffered from massively inflated egos when they became powerful. Fortunately, that did not become an issue.

”Thank you,” the man said politely, and took out a business card. ”My name is Ripley, and I am an auditor for the Versalis Bank. I was wondering if I could possibly meet with the Innkeeper.”