The Innkeeper

Lex paused, and so did a few other guests. They turned to look at the door to discover a gang of hoodlums walking in. They were dressed in shoddy leather armor, and were carrying a number of weapons on their belts.

Lex suddenly recalled what the book said about such situations. First was the direct confrontation, where the main character would not back off because his code would not allow him to take a step back or somesuch. That didn't suit Lex's style.

Next was to ignore them and continue eating until they came to pick on him, then defeat them effortlessly and continue to read his book. Lex looked at his table, and it was still filled with food he hadn't eaten yet.

Yes, he liked that idea. He was going to…

"Pay in advance if you want to book the place," the bartender said in an unimpressed tone. It seemed like he had seen plenty of such actions.

"DO YOU THINK I'M POOR? HOW DARE YOU? IT'S YOUR HONOR TO BE ABLE TO SERVE ME!" the leader of the gang yelled as he slammed his fist on the counter.

The bartender sighed, and grabbed his own sword. That's when he revealed his aura as a Foundation realm expert, and sliced the entire gang in one hit. They weren't dead, but they were definitely seriously injured.

The guests turned back to their food, as if they were used to such a scene. Lex also turned back to his book, slightly disappointed. So the bartender was a secret expert, going by local standards. Or perhaps not so secret.

What Lex couldn't figure out was why everyone in this place was so irritable? He'd already witnessed a dozen or so fights with his spirit sense, all starting from menial issues.

He looked at the dozen or so bodies being dragged about by the waitresses. What was the need for acting so absurdly? Lex couldn't understand.

His spirit sense picked something else up. Another group was coming towards the tavern, and they looked better dressed than the hoodlums, though their expressions were just as mean.

The group arrived just in time to watch as the bodies of the hoodlums were being dragged out, and froze. Then they walked in, ignoring the bodies.

Standing at the door, the group surveyed the entire tavern. It was not the best establishment, but it had its fair share of customers, and the food was good.

The leader nodded to his men, who spread out, while the leader himself walked towards the bartender. Although he was keeping his aura suppressed, Lex could tell that he was in the Foundation realm as well.

The bartender also noticed, and his bored expression changed, though just a little.

"How can I help you, dear guest?"

"I had sent some men here earlier to reserve this place. Why are their bodies being dragged out of the building? That's not the kind of service I would expect one gives to their guests."

"Rserving the place requires advance payment. When I asked for it, your men started yelling at me. My customer service ain't great enough to tolerate being yelled at."

The man nodded, and dropped a coin purse on the counter.

"I'd like to reserve this place now, for the rest of the day."

The bartender picked up the purse and said, "I'll stop new guests from coming in, but you'll have to wait for the existing guests to leave on their own. I don't kick out paying customers."

The man pursed his lips and a dangerous gleam passed through his eyes, but he did nothing.

"In that case, you wouldn't mind if my men just took a stroll around the place, right? Don't worry, we won't draw our weapons."

The bartender thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. One by one, the men, who were basically still just thugs but better dressed, started to approach each of the tables and gently persuaded everyone to leave.

One such goon approached Lex as well.

"Get up, meal times over," the man said roughly as he rested his hand on the pommel of his sword.

Lex just looked at him and raised his eyebrow. He was wondering exactly how he should deal with these guys? Should he oblige, and see what their motives were? Or should he insist on staying here and finishing his meal?

Lex spread out his spirit sense and covered a majority of the city as he searched for what these guys could possibly want. He found the answer almost immediately.

In the building right opposite to the tavern, two young girls were having a secret meeting. They were probably just teenagers, maybe thirteen or fourteen at most. But, from their exceptionally refined clothes, it was evident that they were from prominent backgrounds.

Lex was not too concerned about what the girls were talking about, but he could instantly tell that these guys had something sinister in mind. Perhaps they would try to kidnap the girls once they exited the building.

"There's a lot of food left, I'll go when I'm done…" Lex had not even finished speaking when the guy flipped one of the plates on the table, spilling the gravy everywhere. Lex's clothes were spared because, well, Lex would never let food fall on his clothes. But the gravy had mixed with his other dishes, possibly compromising the taste.

"I said, meal time is over," the man reiterated, leaning forward. Everyone in the room had turned to look at them. No one had seriously resisted the thugs, but it seemed things were about to escalate. A tinge of excitement filled the guests who were about to leave. One way or another, they were about to see a show.

Lex merely looked at the guy, making eye contact with him, before the man's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. In fact, it was not just him. All the other thugs in the room collapsed, including the Foundation cultivation expert.

Everyone in the room froze. What had just happened? Nobody had seen Lex make a move! He just looked at the man, and everyone collapsed!

"Can you refresh all my food," Lex said to the waitress. "Put it on this gentlemans tab."

"Sure thing," she said cheerily, and began picking up Lex's plates. She'd seen too many fights to be deterred by such things, though she could not help but let her gaze linger on Lex.

He was a little thin for her tastes, but then again, for someone that powerful, she could adjust her tastes! She winked at Lex as she stepped over the body on the floor.

Lex turned his attention back to his book. He had made his opening gambit. Rumors of a mystery man would surely spread, even if a little slowly, from this incident. Now what he needed to do was capitalize on this, and continue to behave very mysteriously.

Lex ignored the gaze that the bartender gave him, and continued to read his book while he made more plans. But, he had a feeling that he wouldn't need to do anything to get what he wanted. Considering his luck, he was sure to get embroiled in something soon enough, and considering the temperament of the folks around town, he had a feeling that he was about to begin slapping some faces pretty soon.

The thugs wouldn't wake up any time soon - after all, he blasted them all with a sliver of Domination, so whatever they had planned was probably foiled. After eating his meal, Lex casually left the tavern, giving the barkeep a nod.

After scanning the city he had not been able to find an auction house, or any ongoing auctions, but he did find a very prestigious looking building that served a few purposes. It offered commissions for anyone willing to take up dangerous jobs, as well as served as a point to sell and buy goods as well as information.

It was a strange combination, but Lex was considering how stunned everyone would be if he completed all the commissions.

As it turned out, the moment he stepped out of the tavern, so did the two girls from the opposite building. Their pure white clothes stood out amongst the dirt and muck covered clothes of people in this part of the city, as did their weak physique - compared to the others in the city that is.

"How dare you gaze upon the young lady so lecherously?" a guard yelled at Lex when he saw him looking, and suddenly drew his sword. The young girls themselves were quite startled by the yelling guard and turned to look over.

Lex did not move at all, and instead observed the guard as he swung his sword towards Lex's neck. His eyes were filled with cunning, and anticipation. Clearly he had a reason for trying to stand out.

Lex did not break eye contact with the man even as the sword came and hit Lex's neck - before bouncing off as if it had hit a concrete wall.