The Innkeeper

Elinor Jotun had been enjoying her time with her husband when they were approached by a guest quite suddenly. Although she did not know the guest personally, she recognized his uniform immediately. It was someone from the Henali court.

She immediately stepped aside, allowing the guest to pass something to the emperor while she blocked her senses from detecting anything that was confidential. But it turned out to be an epistle.

"Call my brothers," Jotun said to her via his spirit sense, speaking directly into her mind. "There's a situation."

"Is… is everything alright?" she asked hesitantly. Despite being his wife, there were too many things she was not allowed to know.

"I'm not sure," he responded, his voice becoming monotone. "Once you call them, leave the Inn. I'll let you know if you should come back."

"I understand," she said before hurrying out.

Soon all the Sephore brothers were gathered in a room, awaiting their elder brother's instruction.

The bond these five brothers shared was exceptionally deep and beyond what could be understood by others. They used to have many other siblings as well, not to mention other family members, but with the passage of time only these few remained.

Technically speaking, their kids all continued their family lines along as well, and they did have some level of connection with them. But that could not replace the lifetime of experiences and struggles they had faced together.

It was also because of the bond that they shared that they immediately picked up on the somber mood their brother displayed. They also did not notice that William had suddenly grown stronger.

Even if the growth in strength was slight, at their level such a change required thousands of years. So the fact that he had suddenly grown stronger at all was not something that could be overlooked. Not to mention, the growth was not slight at all!

Even Jotun was surprised, and decided to ask first before getting to the reason why he called them.

"What's happened to you William?" he asked, voicing the question everyone was wondering.

"Believe it or not, I've unlocked a bloodline."

The group was stumped. That was not what they had been expecting at all. Such a thing could be replicated, and thus their own hopes of growing stronger were quashed.

But such a thing was completely bizarre. Technically speaking, all of them had already unlocked the bloodline they inherited from the Sephore family so there should be no bloodlines for them to inherit. They were also sure that William would not absorb any blood essence from any beast to unlock any bloodline either, due to his body carrying a seal for certain reasons. So where did the bloodline come from?

Did they have some ancient ancestor who was still alive and had created a special technique, allowing William to unlock it? But that didn't make sense. There was more than one issue with that theory.

What most who relied on bloodlines did not know was that the powers that appeared from bloodlines were not magically appearing out of nowhere. They were actually the result of the resonance between the blood and certain laws which brought about certain effects. Due to this little detail, someone who relied on a bloodline would always be weaker than someone who had mastery over the same laws. But at the same time, gaining access to certain laws due to a bloodline was infinitely easier than learning to control laws.

The fact that William suddenly gained a bloodline meant he suddenly had access to new laws. Yet just because he had a bloodline did not mean it would be good, or even strong. How much of a result a bloodline could produce from its corresponding law or laws usually determined how strong it was. For example, the Gelid Anima bloodline that William created was actually considered an S class bloodline, even superior to the A+ bloodline Jotun created for his own descendants. That meant the results it could display were incredible, but it was also that much harder to unlock the bloodline. That was the reason why his family was so much weaker than his brothers.

"What ability did you unlock?" Jotun asked, trying to understand the phenomenon.

"It's… it's an evolution of my Gelid Anima. You could basically say… I've gained the Gelid Anima myself, just an upgraded version. In the long term the bloodline won't be too useful, but it will drastically boost my comprehension of the laws involved in the bloodline to begin with. When that happens, I can continue to raise my realm without issue!"

The brothers were once again stumped. This situation was completely unheard of! Gelid Anima was a bloodline that was a weaker version of an ability William himself had created. Technically speaking, the bloodline was weaker than his own ability. Yet now, he had gained the bloodline, and it had somehow surpassed his own understanding of the laws involved in his technique! It made no sense!

"Do you know why it happened?"

William shook his head despondently. This was the most unusual power up of his life.

"We can continue to look into this situation later. For now, there's been a new development."

The brothers turned to look at Jotun, the seriousness of his expression letting them know this was no simple matter. Such an expression for him had been a rare occurrence as of late.

"I've received a reply from the Henali to the Innkeeper's proposal. They've rejected it, and made some… strong demands. Although the Innkeeper has been very hospitable so far, I don't want to take any risks. There's no way of knowing how he will react to getting such a refusal. I want all of you to exit the Inn, and return to the empire.

"We've been away for much too long, and let the human race lead itself. They have proven themselves to be what they have always been, susceptible to greed. We need to set things straight and strengthen our hold over the empire.

"Cease all expansion operations, and begin rooting out the problematic elements within the empire. In the next 10,000 years, I want the entire human race to undergo an evolution! The growth of the Origin realm has been sped up, and this is the time that we can use to strengthen our foundation. Opportunities can be found around every corner, so now start scouring the galaxies we control. Don't miss a single chance…"

Over the next few minutes, Jotun passed on a blueprint of what he wanted his brothers to do for the next few years. It was not said expressly, but it was understood that Jotun was caught in between two quarreling giants. There was nothing he could do if one of them wanted to vent their anger onto him except bear it.

Although the Innkeeper had not shown the kind of temperament to harm the messenger, he had also not been rejected and then made demands from before. Such a situation would anger even common mortals, let alone a Daolord. In fact, they all had seen exactly how the robot invader had been taken care of just a short while ago.

Not only had the specific robot been targeted, the others around it had also been harmed as a warning not to repeat its mistakes. If the Innkeeper had nurtured such a temperament in his employees, then he himself would be of a nature to appreciate such things.

Finally, there was no more to be said. Jotun did not need to micromanage things, his brothers were competent. Even if he died, he knew that the empire would not fall, for he had prepared for such a situation. Not to mention, it was not without reason that the Henali were using him to deliver messages. Over the years, he had done countless dangerous tasks for them, and in exchange they had provided him with the resources he needed to grow stronger, as well as develop his nation. If he died in the line of duty, a 15,000 year protection period would envelope his empire protecting it from invasion from external threats.

So with a direction for his empire decided, he instructed his brothers to finally leave. For better or for worse, he had to face the Innkeeper. Once his brothers left, Jotun adjusted his mood to make sure he was in the optimal state of mind.

Regardless of the danger, he took his tasks very seriously. If he had to confront a Daolord, he would do it. He just needed to be in the right frame of mind first.

Eventually, he was ready. He walked to the Innkeepers office and walked through the lobby. The walk never became easier, and humbled him every time he crossed. For some reason, the walk this time seemed especially daunting.

"I would like to see the Innkeeper," Jotun said to Luthor.

"He is indisposed for the moment," Luthor replied without a hesitation. Mary had already informed him that the Innkeeper would be busy for a short while. "I can inform him about your request once he returns if you wish."

"Very well. I will wait here in the meantime."

Not bothering with the pressure bearing down on him, Jotun took a seat in one of the waiting chairs and began to meditate. Regardless of the difficulty, he would wait until the Innkeeper was ready to see him.