The Innkeeper

Lex, who was a powerful cultivator and was firmly seated on his chair, tripped and fell to the ground when he heard that. Someone pulled a system out of the well? How was that even possible? Why hadn't he tried to use it yet? Why had he even made the fishing well public? He should have hidden it and kept it for himself.

Unable to take it, Lex scanned the Inn, but discovered an endless line awaiting their turn at the fishing well. Dammit!

Lex had been extremely successful in turning this neglected feature into one that became one of the most sought after services at the Inn. Most people who used the well got extremely common items, such as rocks or seashells. If they were slightly lucky, they would find a gold nugget or an uncut gem. Very, very few actually got anything worthwhile. But with the well being in constant use, there was someone who fished out an extremely valuable prize every day.

For a moment Lex considered using his authority to cheat the system and force himself to have a turn, but decided against it. The chances of another system being fished out were ridiculously low, so there was no rush.

Instead, he asked Mary to add himself as Lex to the queue. Not everyone who was waiting a turn was present personally, and had instead asked their holograms to save their space in line. Like this, they would be notified when their turn was close, preventing them from wasting their time.

With that taken care of, he turned his attention back to the snake. Unlike other contestants who had hidden their identities, Garlin not only did not hide but also publicized his win. Either Garlin was very confident in his strength, had some surety in his own protection, or had received a system which focused on attracting a lot of attention.

Lex personally thought it was the final one, but refrained from making an early judgment. He ordered Mary to keep an eye on Garlin and provide him with a report. He absolutely could not ignore system users. Who knew, maybe he could make a deal with the snake the way he had with Alysha, the wielder of the desert farming system.

By then, an hour had nearly passed, and the effects of the coffee were wearing out. He decided to go get some rest one more time. When he woke up, it would be time to head to the Crystal realm.

Before he went to sleep, however, he went and bought 5000 more acres of land for the Midnight Inn for 50 million MP. There was no development planned for this area, and instead, he just planned on moving any future refugees there. They were already getting cramped, and if more kept arriving, the situation would only get worse.

There had to be a better solution, but he would either leave to the planning division, or think of it once he woke up. For now, he needed rest.

*****

For a long time now, every guest who entered the Midnight Inn would appear at the Inn's gates. Not only was this place far from any of the Inn's main attractions, this place was covered in various defensive and protection formations. The protection was in case someone decided to invade the Inn.

Lex could, of course, kick any invaders out of the Inn, but he found it more useful to seal all invaders in a place and let his guests watch as they were defeated. It was both a source of entertainment and revenue.

But other than protective formations, this place had also developed a holistic transport system. A large yet beautiful transit station had been built which had terminals not only for the Midnight train and golf carts, but various air and water-based transport systems as well.

It had to be mentioned that the various animals which had grown and lived inside the Inn, which had undergone various stages of growth due to the increase in star ranks, were also available as mounts for anyone who wanted to ride. Peacocks were the most common animals used as rides amongst children, but there was a notable lack of variety of mounts for adults. This was something that had been brought to the attention of the Innkeeper, or at least, one of the many things awaiting his review.

Unfortunately, this was one instance where Lex had not gotten to an issue in time. Or really, not even an issue, but a simple oversight. But, what did that matter?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A LARGER PEACOCK FOR ME?" hollered a woman at the staff of the transit station. She was a mature woman, though she did not seem like she was burdened by the disabilities brought about by age. Her blonde hair with thin brown streaks was styled in a bob cut, framing her scowling face perfectly to magnify her arrogance.

Her fair skin was pristine, and untouched by a single speck of dirt, let alone sweat, which formed a large contrast to her entourage. They wore clothes marred not only by dirt and grime, but also blood. Their hair was disheveled and their eyes barely had any light left in them. Their bodies had suffered innumerable tortures, but their souls were what had been crushed.

A little farther away from her, a young girl of age 4, dressed in a princess gown, was sitting on a peacock, doing her best to pull out its hair.

"Ma'am, although the peacocks have strengthened, they cannot support the weight of an adult. We have…"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY CAN'T SUPPORT MY WEIGHT? ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?" she roared once more, spit flying out as she yelled.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO MY HUSBAND IS? I WON'T STAND FOR THIS INSULT! CALL YOUR MANAGER, I DEMAND TO SPEAK WITH HIM!"

A small crowd had begun to gather as they heard the screaming woman, and the security team had been alerted in case the situation escalated.

Eventually, upon the woman's insistence, a manager was eventually called over.

"My name is Karen…" the woman said in her most delicate voice as she looked at the rather handsome manager who had stepped out. But while the manager was confused, and began to listen to the complaint, her followers trembled when they heard her soft voice.

The destroyer had arrived at the Inn.