The Innkeeper

Chapter 2206: Find your local tavern

"Curse this damned, cursed place," swore the dwarf as he threw his last waterskin on the ground and watched it fade away. That was his final reserve of beer, and without that he would soon return to being sober. There was no way he was going to survive this cursed place sober!

"Damn it!" he cursed again, and kicked the ground.

As an heir of a Dao Lord family, Vana had never encountered such hardship or inconvenience before. Everywhere he went, he was praised, he was worshipped, he was envied, as was right.

He received the best education, the highest level exposure to the upper echelon of the universe, and most elite tutors. Thus, it was no surprise that he had reached the Celestial Immortal realm.

As a dignified Dao Lord heir, and a noble Celestial Immortal, he was never supposed to encounter such hardship. Difficulty was meant for the poor, and the weak.

"How original," responded an elf with a disdainful tone, lamenting his luck. He couldn’t decide which was worse, getting pulled into the Dream realm, or getting stuck with Vana. The dwarf was, somehow, more insufferable sober than he was drunk!

Vana glared at Callon, but said nothing. Unfortunately, Callon’s background and personal strength were similar to his, which is why he had to tolerate him.

"You don’t understand. The Runeking bloodline I’ve inherited relies on alcohol to fuel my invulnerability. Without it, my invulnerability will run out quickly. Our survival in the Dream realm will become even more difficult."

Callon pursed his lips, but said nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, Vana had pulled his weight, and had contributed to their survival so far. If they were weakened, then the dreams would more successfully steal their life to fuel their own. It would only be a matter of time before they fell - even if that timescale was counted in many years.

Just as he was considering how to resolve this situation, they ran into a peculiarly dressed human. He was well dressed, and looked completely at ease even in this dreadful place. Callon was observing the peculiarity of the human when Vana’s aura suddenly erupted!

"Human! Do you have any alcohol on you? Hand it over immediately!" he roared, glaring at the human as if he were an insect instead.

Leonidus felt the aura of a Celestial Immortal try to suppress him, but the suits worn by the Midnight battalion had undergone countless improvements over the years. While it would not allow him to fight a Celestial head on, resisting simple aura suppression at least was no problem.

"I do not drink alcohol, so I do not carry any on me," Leonidus responded calmly. Since the Midnight Inn was a hospitality business, they’d long seen all kinds of guests and customers. He was not new to some slightly more difficult guests.

Callon was surprised by the calm that the human maintained, though Vana felt a little humiliated that his efforts had not yielded the result he had sought. But, while he was endlessly arrogant, he was not stupid. He would not blindly attack someone who might have a decent background, as shown by how easily he’d resisted Vana’s aura.

"If you’re interested, however, I can lead you to a tavern where you might be able to find something suitable," Leonidus continued after making sure that they did not attack him blindly.

Vana and Callon were both taken aback by the claim, but then quickly came to the conclusion that the human might be a victim of the Dream realm, unable to differentiate between reality and a Dream. He could not be blamed - it was incredibly difficult to do so beneath the Celestial realm.

"The Midnight Inn has established a tavern inside the Dream realm for any passing guests who seek refuge from the troubles of this realm. I can lead you to it if you wish."

Vana and Callon both looked at each other. They had not recognised the logo on Leonidus’ suit because they had never been to, nor interacted with anything related to the Midnight Inn. They had, however, heard of its name. Vana, especially, was aware of the Inn because his ancestor, the Dao Lord of the Runeking family, strongly detested the Innkeeper - as was no secret from anyone.

However, that detest alone did not mean they were enemies. After all, they were a part of the Humanoid Alliance, and at least so far, the Midnight Inn had aligned itself with the alliance as well.

"We would be most grateful if you could lead us to the tavern," said Callon. He did not want to risk Vana doing something stupid that might ruin the situation, which is why he decided to take the lead here.

Both of them had many questions regarding the tavern, but they held them back for now just in case they ended up asking something sensitive. Although their time in the Dream realm had not been long, it had been especially difficult.

Leonidus did not mind the silence, and instead focused on his compass. It had only been a few hours since the Midnight Battalion marched out from the tavern, so it didn’t take too long to return.

The moment they stepped into the Midnight space around the tavern, Vana and Callom felt the laws of the realm change around them, and to their unbelievable surprise, they no longer felt trapped.

Traditionally, before the realm was sealed, anyone who got pulled into the Dream realm could exit by waking up. Now though, everyone was forcibly pulled into the realm with their bodies forcefully kept asleep while their minds wandered in the dreams. Now that they had left the range of the laws, they shifted from a dream state to their real bodies.

Simply by stepping into the territory of the tavern, they had freed themselves of the clutches of the Dream realm! It was incredible!

The two of them found that they weren’t the only ones surprised by what was happening. There were a few others, dressed similarly to the one who had led them here, bringing in guests from the Dream realm.

The Midnight Battalion’s original task had been to rescue the Inn workers and guests, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t rescue others and bring the tavern new guests while doing it.

No matter how much Lex hoped to speed things along, this rescue mission wasn’t one that was going to be completed overnight.

"Welcome to the Midnight tavern," said Leonidus as he pointed towards the tavern. "You can find an assortment of drinks, foods, and other services all under a single roof, even in the perilous Dream realm, as long as you find your local Midnight tavern."