The Innkeeper

Far out in the vast universe, a small spaceship was flying through the expanse. The crew consisted of only four men, since the ship itself was too small to accommodate more. Though not exactly routine, their mission was not exactly unheard of either. Aboard a ship designed to be covert and quick, they were personally tasked by Ragnar to deliver a batch of goods to the nearest Jotun operational planet. Their cargo included various rare metals, some extremely rare demonic resources, a few plants, and some documents. What they were unaware of was a small box full of hundreds of Golden keys that had been secretly placed alongside the cargo.

This was one of a dozen such ships that had been sent out, but what made this one unique was that three of the crew members were dead and the remaining member seemed to be casually eating a meal and waiting for something. Soon, the ship was intercepted by a much larger vessel. As much as the crewmember would have liked to stop the ship himself, he could not control the ship, so rougher means were required.

Once the ship's engines were disabled, the Jotun ship was pulled into the cargo hold of the larger ship which, upon closer inspection, bore the insignia or some random space pirates.

"You wasted a cover you've held for seven years," said one of the pirates that welcomed the remaining crew member. "I hope it was worth it."

"Oh ho, you have no idea. There's a whole batch of high leveled demonic resources! We're going to be rich!"

The pirate was startled at the news, but suddenly started laughing with excitement! Indeed, they were about to get rich!

*****

Lex secretly watched John for a while, but the man did nothing except pace around his room. This would not get him any results. Lex had to think of a different way to determine John's abilities. He could think of only two ways: either he sent John on a trial, the way he had sent Marlo, and analyze his skills that way, or he set a condition for John to pass the mystery trial.

They both came with their own problems, however. Lex had no way of knowing John's cultivation level, and so any trial he could come up with might not be accurate. The Mystery trial itself had never been finished, and it was unknown what the difficulty level for that was.

After considering his options for a while, Lex still decided to stick to the Mystery trial. Its difficulty was a form of quality control, and Lex was in no particular rush.

Furthermore, there was another very important issue with giving John a trial. The only information Lex had received from John's status was that his cultivation was sealed, and finding a way to fix that issue would also be an important factor in having him do his second job, so more time was a good thing.

He appeared in Battle Axes lobby, and asked Doe, John's AI assistant, to let John know that the Innkeeper wished to speak to him. Doe dutifully hurried to inform John, whose expression stilled when he heard the news. Instead of letting panic take over, John settled his emotions and receded into a state of suppressing his emotions. His previous occupation put him in a lot of difficult situations and he would not be able to survive if he lost control so easily.

Furthermore, even if the Innkeeper knew something about the system, there was no guarantee that he would even be interested in it.

John entered the lobby with a smile and welcomed the Innkeeper inside, as he observed the Innkeeper. He was as warm and genial as ever, and John was unable to garner any other information about him at all. Even his finely honed instincts only told him that in front of him was a regular human with no cultivation, which was impossible!

"How have you been doing, John? It seems you've adjusted well to the Inn."

As ever, John was dressed like a biker from Earth. His leather jacket and jeans combination had made him easily identifiable to the many guests, and he always wore his aviator glasses, even indoors. Of course, everyone knew those glasses could hide one's appearance and identity, many guests wore them, but no one commented on them.

"I have been doing very well, Innkeeper. The work is rewarding, the environment is safe and relaxing, and there is always something interesting happening to keep me entertained. I have earned quite a bit of MP betting on a particular beast during the games, and I'm very hopeful about its performance."

"Oh, which one?" Lex asked, curious about who his employee supported.

John waved to pull up a screen that automatically focused on one of the participants. But at viewing the scene, Lex quietly looked away and John went pale. The beast he had bet on was dead! He was broke again!

Lex coughed, waking John from his misery, allowing him to dismiss the window.

"I also get to meet a lot of interesting people," he said, smiling weakly.

"Yes, it's a diverse crowd here at the Inn. I'm glad to know you're getting along fine. But I wonder, have you thought about your future?"

"My future?"

"Yes, I mean. Do you want to stay here at the Inn, working at the Battle Ax? Are there other things you are interested in? Or perhaps, do you want to leave the Inn one day? Something along those lines."

John was silent for a moment, before saying, "Since you've brought this up, do you have something in mind?"

At this point, he was all but sure that this matter had to do with his system, but he would never admit it unless the cards were laid on the table.

"Indeed, I do, actually. I have an opportunity for you, if you can grasp it. I was looking for someone with the skills of an assassin and thought you would be a good fit."

"Innkeeper, there must be some mistake. I am no assassin."

The Innkeeper gave John a knowing smile before saying, "Haha no John, I never said I was looking for an assassin, nor am I interested in having anyone assassinated. I said I was interested in someone with the skills of an assassin for a job. No need for any concern. I don't mean to harm anyone - quite the opposite, in fact.

"But I won't speak more on it for now. If you are interested in grasping the opportunity, there are still things you need to do to qualify. But I won't make it too difficult for you. How about you successfully complete the Mystery trial and unseal your cultivation. Once you've done that, you can come find me for the other job."

Without giving John any time to respond, Lex left. By letting John take care of his own sealed cultivation, he was reducing a burden on Lex's shoulders and elevating Lex's image in John's mind. And if he took too long to do either of those conditions, Lex could just look for another candidate. Then John would have no one else to blame but himself.

With that taken care of, Lex considered watching the ongoing game. He really hadn't been following the games too closely and was surprised to find that the Beasts had taken the lead in points.

But, just as he was deciding on what to do, he felt something strange happen to his body. It was the feeling of relief one got when they cracked their bones after sitting still all day, but… the feeling wasn't coming from his bones. It was coming from something deeper…

Lex teleported to his apartment and then pulled up his status to see if anything changed, especially with his tumor, but what he saw surprised him greatly.

Name: Lex Williams

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Cultivation Level: Regal Embrace Body Tempering Stage 3 Complete

He was too stunned to view the rest of his status as his gaze was fixed on his cultivation. The third stage was already complete?

"Hey Mary, I think my third stage is… complete," in equal parts confusion and excitement.

"In that case, I suggest you either complete the fourth stage right now, or after the event ends, as this process should take 2 to 3 days."

Lex hesitated for a moment, but his excitement got the better of him. He had 6 days before the event ended, so he could make it in time for the closing ceremony, even if the procedure took a little longer.

"In that case, Mary, take care of things while I'm away."

Not waiting any longer, Lex immediately began the fourth process. Once again, teleported to the familiar white room, Lex lay down comfortably on the bed and fell asleep. This time, his body was no longer injected with anything, and it appeared as if he was just sleeping. But if anyone else were to enter that room, if their cultivation was not strong enough, they would explode under enormous pressure.

Slowly, his body, spirit and soul were being melded into one completely new entity, never before seen in this universe. At the same time, in his Inn, a group of drunk space pirates stumbled through a bright light, completely unaware of what happened.