The Innkeeper

"I'm lucky? What do you mean? And what happened to the system?"

"Yes, you're extremely lucky! That man, don't think of his name or he might sense it, was an incredibly powerful cultivator! He was even stronger than Bastet, who, by the way, was the sole reason your quest was upgraded enough for you to receive the Regal Embrace! Now imagine what influence someone even stronger than Bastet would have on your quest reward for this quest! Even if he didn't do anything, just merely entering the Inn during the period of the event should be more than enough to upgrade your rewards. At the same time, however, his incredibly high cultivation level is also the reason why the system had to go into hibernation. The chances were very high that a cultivator of his level would be able to detect the system if he came close enough and the system were still active."

Mary's reply was more or less what Lex imagined it would be. It was disturbing to know that his system could be exposed just by being close to certain cultivators, but there really wasn't anything Lex could do about that at the moment, so he stopped worrying about it.

Ironically, his reaction was a lot more calm than his own bodyguard. The Celestial was practically sweating buckets worth, even when his system came back online. Unlike Lex, the Celestials' authority with his system was a lot higher, so he knew a lot more about it, and the risks involved in having the system be detected. At the same time, he was also stressed because this was the first time he had encountered a being on that level. Not that there weren't other Celestials who had reached that realm, there were, but Celestials were so rare that even he had not met another in his long life. His longevity also spoke about how rare it was to encounter a being at such a level.

Yet after the fear faded, the Celestial was filled with endless ambition! Reaching the same level as that being was his goal, and the system provided him with an opportunity to do that, which is exactly why he was so concerned about raising his system's level. One day, he too would reach that realm!

Although Lex had relaxed, he was not happy about the fact that such a being had been in his Inn, and Lex had never even realized it. It wasn't Lex's fault really, considering that even though the Attire made him aware of everything that was happening at the Inn, unless he focused on it specifically, he would not be conscious of it. It was like how a person was always aware of the condition of their whole body, yet they probably wouldn't pay attention to something like the third toe on their left foot unless an itch or pain attracted their attention to it specifically.

So, while he was still free, he started scanning the Inn more thoroughly. Each sweep he performed slower than before, and paid attention to guests more to get an idea of who they were or what they were doing.

In true anticlimactic fashion, he discovered no other hiding experts, nor did he discover any secret meetings or impending conspiracies. The closest thing to a 'secret meeting' was the family heads from Earth, convening yet again to make plans - except Brandon, of course. Lex found it very curious to learn that Earth was secretly being controlled by some people out in the universe, that they were the ones responsible for keeping the peace that ensured cultivators did not kill mortals. At the same time, though, Lex had learnt so many secrets about the universe that he was not too surprised.

He didn't pay it much mind and stopped paying attention to them. He had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that other than their cultivation, these family heads really didn't have much going for them. They had easily been threatened into not returning to Earth by the council, and put their hopes in the fact that many years of service to Fernanda would ensure their return to power. Who could have guessed they would be discarded so easily? On the bright side, they had been informed that the threat of the nuclear bombs had been removed, and should they want to retake power, so long as they do not cause heavy casualties amongst the mortals, they would not be stopped. Unfortunately, there would be very targeted arrays and formations waiting for them the moment they returned to Earth. They were currently planning on how to overcome this obstacle.

But, considering they still did not even know about Marlo's increase in cultivation, Lex did not expect much from them. He turned his mind away from them and focused on the rest of his guests.

The Jotun presence was completely ready to evacuate once the games ended. In fact, many of the soldiers had already left. The beasts from Nibiru weren't particularly interested in the Inn anyway, and were only coming due to the pressure from Golden Hair, and could not wait to return.

For better or worse, it seemed like after a busy few weeks, the Inn would return to relative calm after the games. That would give him an opportunity to focus more on each guest specifically.

While planning things, he continued to watch the match as well. As expected, the beasts were in the lead. Lex paid special attention to the beasts so that he could learn as much about them as possible. At the same time, something he had only done today when his thoughts were flowing more smoothly was to connect his Fancy Monocle to a monitor that surveyed the entire Inn. This way, his Monocle's database would increase at an exponential level, and be more useful to him in his ventures to new planets.

Just like that, with Lex scanning his Inn and occasionally watching the match, with the guests mingling amongst themselves or going about their day, the final match came to a close. With 2,500 Jotun soldiers, 1,879 beasts and 144 Earthlings remaining at the end of the final match, the node was destroyed.

The participants were teleported back, some tired, some wounded, some dying, and some completely unharmed. While the participants were being taken care of, all the leaders turned their attention towards the Innkeeper, who had once again appeared center stage, with all the screens focused on him.

"What an immaculate performance by all our valiant participants. Such ferocity and camaraderie were truly a splendid sight to see, not in the least when it gave birth to yet another story of the righteous triumphing over evil. I could praise their efforts endlessly, yet, I think, they are more interested in their prize than mere words."

Lex's performance this time was coming off much more friendly this time, despite their vast gap in status to all his guests. This was mostly due to a shift in his own mindset, but also because now he was not so desperately hoping to fall into the state of 'flow' he sometimes encountered. Now, Lex did not need external aid as he himself was enough for this small task.

"Without any further adieu, I announce the winner of the Midnight Games, the beasts of Nibiru!"

As the Innkeepers' voice echoed, thousands of beasts broke into a cacophony of roars! They were looked down upon in the beginning for their ignorance, but ignorant as they may be, whether on their planet or over here, they reigned the strongest! For these individual beasts, the prize did not mean nearly as much as the validation of this mysterious being. Yet the sloth gazed upon Lex with expectant eyes.

"Though the winner has been announced, the award ceremony will be held in 6 hours. This is so that all those whose valiant efforts gave us this result may be able to recover, and receive the proper award with honor and dignity."

With that, the Innkeeper once again disappeared, much to the sloth's distress. But it recovered quickly, as a few hours changed nothing. It was also true that this would give the participants enough time to recover and be present at the ceremony in a much better condition.

Lex did it this way because, though they would get no individual awards, he wanted to give them some recognition. So, while it was not technically an award, he prepared something for the exceptional performers.

So, while during these final moments everyone got ready for the ceremony, back on Vegus Minima, Ragnar had struck with relentless fury! As soon as the final node was destroyed, the ships orbiting the planet detected the unique signature of the spawning portal. With the formation threatening to destroy the planet if a high leveled cultivator struck being disabled, finally unleashed his complete strength.

When Hells Butcher made his move, why would anyone else's support be necessary? The troops stood by as he eradicated the largest zombie hordes on the entire planet with nothing but a cleaver. Five hours later, while there were still some zombies left on the planet, they weren't nearly the threat they had been previously.

With plenty of time to spare, Ragnar took a nice, long shower, adorned his military uniform, and went to the Midnight Inn to watch the award ceremony. A couple of moments after he appeared, the ceremony finally began.

Authors Note: Read the Creator's thoughts below for some important information