The Innkeeper

Lex had been checking the Inn on and off, ensuring that no issues occurred. Unfortunately, despite the deterrence of a dragon, petty fights still broke out often. Not all guests were as particular about how they behaved, and others believed themselves special. Lex actually laughed the first time he overheard someone screaming 'do you know who my father is?'.

Now, though, even mild irritation was a huge reaction for such behavior. After all, it was just too common. But, considering that currently he had a little over 5 million guests in the village, it was excusable!

The pressure of so many guests was immense, but so was the reward. On average, most guests came in parties between 2 to 4. Even if all of them shared a room, and only rented the cheapest room, then on the average of 4 guests to a room Lex was earning 62.5 million MP a night! But they most certainly were not just renting the most basic room, and they didn't always cohabitate either. Other than the rooms, Lex was earning a lot from food not to mention the income Lady Cosmos was generating directly.

All in all, Lex currently had 978,666,432 MP! This was after he spent another 10 million MP on more security, and another 5 million on more temporary employees. This time there were no more dragons or other over the top cultivators, mostly because what Lex needed was a higher number of guards, not higher quality of guards. After all, just the 30 Earth immortals he already had as guards were more than enough. As of yet, despite the massive influx of guests, Nascent realm was the highest level guest this event attracted. This proved that the kind of attendance he got for the Midnight Games was an anomaly.

Lex was very excited because with this kind of MP, and his elevated authority, he could really upgrade the Inn way beyond its current situation. But that would have to wait till he had more time. Currently, he was just checking in. He saw a system notification stating that due to the Destiny Protection upgrade Lex had previously received as a reward for the Midnight Games, many attempts at scrying or tracking his guests had been blocked.

For once, he was glad an issue was resolved before he even had to do anything. Feeling slightly generous due to his newfound wealth, Lex distributed 566,432 MP to all his permanent workers as a bonus. Obviously, the higher-ranking workers, such as Gerard and Velma, received a higher cut, but either way, it was sufficient for all his workers to enjoy for a while. As it happened, through sheer coincidence, after the bonus, Lex was left with a neat 978,100,000 MP.

With that, Lex stopped monitoring the Inn and decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

A few hours later, Lex was woken up, and the group continued their journey in the desolate silence. For the most part, they were going through valleys, or around hills, but the last stretch was too wide a diversion, causing them to climb directly towards the top of the last mountain to get to the other side.

The gentle blue glow seemed to get brighter as they neared the top, but it was in sharp contrast to the weight that seemed to be pressing them down into the ground. With each step, it grew stronger and by now, it was no longer something that could simply be ignored. There was something up ahead that was influencing them from afar, everyone had already come to that conclusion. All they could really do was bear with it and be prepared for anything.

As they approached the final peak, along with the pressure, suspense grew. Lex felt his heart beating in his chest, each beat harder than the last. In the silence, he felt like he could even hear it.

But Lex did not feel like letting the moment lord over him, so his speed only grew until he found himself standing at the peak of the mountain, looking over.

In front of him lay a wasteland. Time had surely corroded away the truth of what happened here, but hundreds of bare craters covered the land. Bits and pieces of armor were still visible, after all this time, but most of it had faded away. In certain areas, the earth as black, as if scorched eternally from the fiercest of flames, marking the land forever.

This was the site of a once great battle, that much was certain. In the center of it all, in a structure like a Roman Pantheon, was a gold dish with a massive blue flame. Right in front of that flame, however, stood a dark figure with its back turned to them. Yet even from so far away Lex could identify who, or rather what, that figure belonged to. Suddenly it all made sense. The pressure they had been feeling, the sense of deja vu, all of it. It was a Kraven, as well as its coercion. No doubt it had already killed every beast and animal in these mountains.

It made no sense though. What was a Kraven doing here? How did it get here? Why was there only one? But that didn't matter. As if orchestrated by an invisible hand, before them stood their mortal enemy guarding what Lex suspected was their objective to begin with.

"Mr. Innkeeper, that flame is absorbing all the energy in the area. If you put it out, the energy will be free for you to take."

Lex nodded, showing his understanding, but his companions mistook his gesture. To them it seemed like Lex had mentally prepared himself for a tough fight.

"What the hell is a Kraven doing here?" asked Ness, dumbstruck.

"I don't know about that, but I suspect that blue flame has something to do with it," answered Lex.

"It's refining the realm," answered Cwenhild gravely. "It's found the focal point, and is taking the realm for itself. Patrick, can you scan it? How strong is it?"

"I can't confirm how strong it is specifically, but it's somewhere in the Golden core realm," Patrick answered with a look of disgust. He knew that they would have to fight that thing, and he wasn't really looking forward to it.

"A lone opponent in the Golden core realm, it's nothing we can't deal with. This is exactly what we've trained for, to fight enemies stronger than us. Once we beat it, the prize is ours. Cindy, scout out the area. Make sure there are no other surprises waiting for us. Silvia, bring everyone to top shape. Jovi, start planning the best approach. Tim, replenish your strength as much as you can, we'll be depending on your bloodline. Sohee..."

Cwenhild did not let anyone dwell on the task that lay ahead of them and immediately started making preparations. It was fitting for the final enemy to be a Kraven. No one would hold back, and everyone here had trained exceptionally long on how to defeat one. Furthermore, everyone here was an elite. The difference in a major realm was not one they couldn't overcome.

Whether Cwenhild's distractions worked or not, Lex didn't care. He wanted that fire put out so he could get the energy, so he was ready to fight, he needed no pumping.

No one was taking the upcoming fight lightly so the preparations took a few hours. There were no indications of any other Kraven which was a huge relief for them. With everyone ready, they directly trekked down the mountain.

They did not try to be stealthy, or hide their approach. Their actions were not out of bravado, but simple knowledge of their enemy. None of the races had studied the Kraven with as much depth as the humans, which is why everyone knew that this creature that had been dominating the Crystal realm was not doing it out of sheer luck. Its senses and awareness were beyond many other races, and had several extra senses than just sight or hearing to detect enemies.

Let alone the echoes that had been heralding their approach, just the slight temperature difference their bodies caused in the ground was enough to alert this enemy. A simple example of its foreknowledge was the coercion it had been putting out on them the last two days.

Coercion was not a trait specific to Kraven, and even humans could do it once their cultivation rose a bit, which is why there was such a deep understanding of it. Coercion didn't naturally exist, and had to be exhibited. Just this was proof that the Kraven had been warning them not to approach.

But since when had the human race taken instructions from Kraven? Bearin loudly popped his knuckles as they continued their approach, and Ness was sharpening her blade. Sohee's eyes were already emitted a purple glow as she readied her spells. The rest were also winding themselves up for the incoming fight.

As for Lex? It seemed like he was simply walking with his hands in his pocket, but internally he was debating. Should he risk using an array, or should he risk using Evisceration?