The Innkeeper

Charles was taking down notes in a notebook he was holding, while looking up at the sleeping Mountain-man. From time to time he would mumble to himself, as if he was speculating about the effectiveness of certain treatments.

It was only when 'Leo' approached him and coughed, as if clearing his throat, that Charles realized that someone had arrived.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Leo, I'm the owner of the Gamer's Den store. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard excellent things about your expertise in medicine."

"I still have much to learn," Charles said humbly, though it seemed like he really meant it. The conundrum of how to treat the Mountain-man really had him stumped, as its size was a major factor in every treatment method he could come up with. Ultimately, without any cultivation, his methods were extremely limited.

"Well, now that you're one of us, you can just list down whatever you need to help you grow and the Innkeeper will take care of it. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to start cultivating now, either. After all, the stronger you get, the more your capabilities will grow."

"If the Innkeeper can help, that would be great, but I'm afraid it's not so easy for me to cultivate due to my unique physique. I can't absorb normal spirit energy. I need highly concentrated spirit energy found only in extremely pure Crystals. That's not the same as spirit stones as…"

Before Charles could continue to describe what he needed, Lex was reminded of something and summoned out an energy crystal from his spatial bangle. In the Crystal realm, this was a very valuable energy resource used for cultivation by Earth Immortals and the Crystal race. The energy stored within was even more dense, as well as more pure than even the highest grade spirit stone that Lex had ever seen, not that he really used those for cultivation anymore. After all, the environment at the Inn was more than enough to meet his needs.

Charles, though, was stumped when he saw the crystal in Leo's hand! This was not something he expected to find any time soon, as these energy crystals were only formed in the early years of a realms life. They were available in limited amounts in any realm, and could not typically be replenished even across the remainder of a realms lifespan.

"Is this what you need?" Leo asked quite casually, waking Charles from his stupor.

"How… how did you get that? They're unbelievably rare! In fact, they should have all been used up billions of years ago!"

"I wouldn't say they're common, but in one of the realms that the Midnight Inn is connected to, they can be easily accessed by a person with a certain level of connections. At least, that's the case in the one other realm I've been to. It's possible that it's even more common in other realms."

Charles was dumbfounded. When he heard that the Inn catered to guests from across the universe, he took that as more of a spiritual saying or mantra than something literal. How could he imagine that the Inn is actually linked to other realms?

But he quickly suppressed his shock and focused on the matter at hand. If he could get his hands on these crystals, it would be possible for him to quickly raise his cultivation. He was confident of becoming an immortal within a decade, if not sooner. But, the problem right now was that he had no collateral with which he could bargain, and no resources with which he could purchase these crystals.

"How can I get my hands on some of these crystals? With them, I can begin cultivating immediately!"

"Well, the Inn will pay you a salary in MP, and you can use that at the Guild room to request these energy crystals. But that may take you some time, Or… you can get them from me. I don't really need MP as repayment, though. Do you have anything else you can pay me with?"

Charles clenched his fists as he racked his brain, trying to come up with a solution. The only thing of value he had… was his knowledge. Was that something Leo would be interested in?

"The only thing I can pay you with is certain knowledge. Or maybe I can treat you if you're ill."

Lex paused. Both options weren't bad. He wanted to know about Charles' secrets, but at the same time, treatment was also something he was looking forward to.

"We can come up with an arrangement. I do seek treatment, but I'm not entirely sure you're able to address what ails me. If that's the case, you can trade an interesting secret. If I think it's worth it, I'll give you the crystal. Don't worry, I won't be unfair on purpose."

Charles agreed all too quickly. At first, when he had no hope of cultivating anytime soon, he had all the patience in the world. But now that the prize was dangling in front of his eyes, he could scarcely control himself.

What Lex wanted treated were the inscriptions hidden within his body, but he had doubts that Charles could even detect them at his current stage. That's why he was so interested in having Charles cultivate and improve his capabilities.

Feeling fairly confident, Charles inspected Leo's boy and discovered nothing. He did not recognize Leo as Lex despite having treated him before, because the effects of the Clark Kent glasses were quite thorough.

Charles frowned, and investigated for a while longer, before eventually giving up.

"I can't discover anything wrong with you," he admitted, feeling slightly tense.

"In that case, an interesting secret it is. Though I advise you to choose carefully. Revealing a mundane secret, like your current crush, will not really be worth an energy crystal."

Charles felt like Leo was teasing him on purpose. How could he possibly have a crush on anyone? He'd hardly met any elves so far.