The Innkeeper

Chapter 2124: Life rank Opportunity token

The upgrade in Midnight Inn level was quite straightforward, even if he hadn’t seen an upgrade in a while. It basically increased his authority to do things within his system which was nice. The higher the authority, the fewer the restrictions.

The other things, though, were quite interesting, and required him to check them out.

Life level Opportunity token

An upgraded version of the Unique opportunity token - it allows the Host to attain an opportunity graded at Life level. Only one such token exists in the universe, so use appropriately. Warning: Some Life level opportunities may attract unwanted attention, so choose cautiously.

Additional Note: Dao materials are ranked as Destiny/Fate -> Divine/Oblivion -> Death/Spirit -> Life/Chaos.

Lex was surprised to see the additional note, but quickly understood that he was given the knowledge because of his increased authority. Also, this was the first time he heard that Dao materials were ranked.

That would explain why everyone thought his payment to attend the tea party was so cheap since he didn’t specify the rank of the material required. He found the ranking to be odd though.

From what he could tell, there were four levels of ranking, but there could be two names per rank. So Destiny and Fate could refer to the same rank of Dao material, which was odd. However, what was clear was that the Divine and Oblivion were above Destiny and Fate, and the same was true for each subsequent rank.

Perhaps there were certain nuances within the materials which would allow them to align better with one specific title over the other - he wasn’t quite sure. However, this did bring some clarity to the quest ranks that he used to get.

He tried to figure out what the pattern was between the ranks, but wasn’t able to discover a pattern that fit all ranks. For example, Life and Death were clearly related, but they were at two different ranks. However, Fate and Destiny were on the same rank. Based on this pattern, Lex expected to see Order since there was also Chaos, but in its place there was Oblivion. Divine and Spirit also seemed to lack their opposite, and he couldn’t figure out why Spirit was above Divine even though Divine energy was one of the most potent types of energy in existence.

There was a lot to think about regarding these ranks, but that would have to wait as Lex was too interested in the rest of the rewards.

Innkeeper’s Scent Diffuser

The Innkeeper’s scent diffuser is the perfect tool to create a warm and welcoming environment for guests visiting his office. The diffuser works based on the level of Dao material entered inside it, creating unique and enchanting scents based on each material.

As a side effect of creating the perfect ambience, the scent from the diffuser also has a chance of causing a Dao related enlightenment among peak Celestial and Demi-Dao Lords, increasing the chances of them forming a Dao Heart. It can also promote comprehension of their own Dao among newborn Dao Lords.

Oh, right. It was a tool for creating ambience. Got it. As a side note, it could also increase chances of forming a Dao heart and promote Dao comprehension and stuff, but that wasn’t anything important. Got it, got it.

Lex immediately summoned the Innkeeper’s Scent Diffuser and placed it on his table, taking a good look at it. It looked like a tree spiraling out of a point with the very peak of the tree right above the centre of the pond.

What was interesting about the diffuser was that it could work even with ingredients below Dao rank, though the effects would naturally be lacking. Even so, Lex took one of the peak Celestial level materials he conned from Wu Kong and put it inside the pond of the diffuser.

Immediately the material dissolved, and a thick white smoke covered the surface of the pond.

Slowly, the smoke started to travel up the tree, spreading out across the room as it did. Lex sniffed it, and noticed that it really did smell nice.

In fact, the smell reminded him of the feeling of being in good health - of being able to run, to walk, to...

Without realizing it, Lex fell into an enlightenment state relating to health and recovery. Many of the laws he had recently learned about from Regix started to make sense to him, and their nuances began to make sense to him.

A few hours later, Mary noticed that Lex was in an unusual condition and chose not to inform him of the latest issue that was plaguing the Inn. Instead, she decided to handle it on her own. After all, this was not a minor issue. It was something that needed to be addressed immediately.

Only once before had the guests inside the Inn been unable to return to their homes, and that was when the Midnight Realm was being formed. Now, though, the situation was much worse. The universe was at war, and the reach of the Inn was purposefully being suppressed.

None of the guests could return as long as their target realm was being attacked. Unfortunately, besides the Primordial realm, every realm that the Inn was connected to was being attacked!

The guests could not return even to the Origin realm, and nor could they take on any guests!

Lex’s enlightenment ended only when the diffuser ran out of smoke, showing just how effective the smoke had been!

Even after the enlightenment ended, Lex was dazed for a few minutes before suddenly realizing what had happened!

"Damn, that’s good!" he exclaimed and looked at the diffuser once more. He needed to place that thing right next to his cultivation mat.

Before he could turn his attention towards his other rewards, Lex noticed what was happening inside the Inn!

Lex frowned. He had about 32 billion guests inside the Inn at the moment, and almost all of them lost the ability to travel back to their realms. All businesses inside the Guild room came crashing to a halt, and many of the guests began to panic, and not just because they couldn’t afford to stay inside the Inn indefinitely. If they decided to go to the lower levels of the Inn, the overnight was cheap enough for most guests to stay for years.

But, considering the situation, if he still charged them, then that would be genuinely evil of him.

"Mary, what’s the situation?" he asked even as he scanned the Inn and went through his relevant system notifications.

"I’ve done as much damage control as I can, but you need to make some tough decisions. We have too many guests, and let alone protect them, we won’t be able to manage them at all if things get chaotic.

"Moreover, the mercenaries acting as guards have also stated that they’ve been given orders to return as soon as they’re able. It seems even they are having problems of their own."

Lex frowned, quickly going over his best options.

"Alright, I’ll make an announcement as the Innkeeper soon enough. You mobilise the workers and focus on security. Now, more than ever, we can’t tolerate any security lapses."

Mary disappeared, and now it was up to Lex to handle the situation. Although the situation was far from ideal, he’d long gotten used to handling pressure.

The most important thing was to deal with the number of guests, and somehow reassure them. Barring that, scaring them and keeping them obedient would also work. As it happened, he had the perfect few tools for that.

Long ago, Lex would have panicked and hoped that his plans and strategies worked at controlling the situation. Now, he no longer needed to hope. He was sure of it.

Thus, before beginning to act, he returned his attention towards the rewards. It was best to deal with them as soon as possible.

Universe-wide System Shop token

A token that allows the Host to purchase anything available in any System shop across the universe, regardless of the system or system rank. MP, MT, and other such currencies can be utilised for purchase, as well as items owned by the Host, or in the Host’s possession.

Lex raised an eyebrow. This was a good token, but he had to be selective of when to use it. He should either use it when he really needed something specific, or when he had money to spare.

Although currently he had sufficient funds, he wasn’t sure there was a need for him to buy anything. In that case, he turned his attention to the Life level Opportunity token, and activated it.

Something like that was best not delayed.

Three options appeared in his interface, and Lex went through them.

Pentagal’s Mantle scraps

The remnants of the foundation of the universe known as Pentagal. Their use, level, and condition are unknown. The original rank of the material is far beyond Life, but has been reduced to this state after unknown years for unknown reasons.