The Innkeeper

The six humanoid beings toured the Inn separately, for though they had the same objective and represented the same organization, the differences ingrained in them due to their races kept them from truly working together. The Devil had the easiest time, for he simply walked to the stall the devils had set up at the Inn in their attempts to make deals with various beings from various worlds.

The devils were one of the richest races in the Origin realm, and while their uncanny control over demons was a major source of wealth, their never ending enterprising mentality also played a huge role.

The others either explored on their own or took their personal holograms as guides to fully understand everything about the Inn. Most aspects of the Inn were very normal to them, since their experience was extremely vast. Yet a few things still stood out to them here and there. The Mystery trial was one unique building they could not fully understand, though they could not try it themselves, for it was one of the most popular attractions and always had a line. Another was the way the Lady Cosmos competition was being broadcast so randomly throughout the Origin realm. A rather important one was how the Inn was cut off from the rest of the Origin realm. They could not communicate with anyone outside the Inn while inside it - something they had special equipment for.

All in all, the Inn seemed very ordinary on the surface most of the time, but once in a while it would let slip its specialness.

After their judgment, they regrouped, and made a joint request to meet with the Innkeeper. As Lex was not available, they ended up meeting Mary, as had been the case with everyone who wanted to meet the Innkeeper since Lex left.

"How may I be of assistance?" Mary asked politely as she observed the 6 guests. Though she could not scan them, a glance was all that was required to determine that they were of unusual origins.

Unexpectedly, of the 6 races, it was the human that stepped forward and spoke. "Would it be possible to meet the Innkeeper? We represent a special organization we believe the Innkeeper would be most interested in."

"The Innkeeper has left the Inn on some important business. I cannot say when he will be

back, as I do not know, but you can deliver your message to me and I can directly transmit it to him."

The six were not surprised at being unable to meet the Innkeeper, for how could it be possible to meet a Daolord at a simple request? In fact, it was not even their objective to meet the Innkeeper. Their only job was to initiate contact between their organization and the Innkeeper, and what followed afterwards was none of their concern.

"In that case, I would like to officially present to you, for the Innkeeper, an invitation to the Henali assembly."

The human withdrew from his robe an epistle with the word 'Henali' embossed in purple on the envelope.

"The esteemed Innkeeper can attend at his discretion, and will officially be welcomed as a member of the assembly at the time of his attendance. Of course, it goes without saying that the Innkeeper can maintain his anonymity during the entire process and no one will try to pry into his personal matters. At the same time, I bring on behalf of the assembly a small welcome gift to the Origin realm for the Innkeeper, as well as a copy of the Henali conventions should he wish to peruse."

The elf stepped forward and revealed a small, wooden treasure chest.

*****

For the sake of his guests, Lex put a small illusion formation over the windows so that they would be unable to see the monsters outside, or hear their gruesome screams.

The truth was Lex expected an influx of refugees after his beacon lit up the dark sky, but not a single person arrived. Hours later, the sounds of fighting and screaming on Bakers street disappeared and only a deluge of monsters remained, all charging towards the tavern building.

The ease with which Lex killed them told him that they should barely be equivalent to the Foundation realm in strength, yet somehow none of the residents were able to overcome them. More than the monsters, it was the mystery of what was affecting everyone that scared Lex.

But now that he knew that something was artificially enhancing his fear and trying to disparage his mental faculties, he did his best to not let it affect him. His thinking cap helped greatly in this regard.

In the town if Lex was able to realize this, so were many others. The town guard, consisting of soldiers who would regularly see battle, had honed instincts and excellent battle awareness, so that even if they were afraid, they could hold their own wherever they were. Naturally the five nobles, Mario Ricci and the mayor all were just too strong to fall to enemies of this level, and were able to not only protect themselves but also their nearby subordinates.

This way, a few pockets of survivors and resistance were formed within the city formed of either battle hardened soldiers and mercenaries or nascent level cultivators. All of them saw the giant beacon of light, and while they did not know what it meant, started guiding their survivors that way.

But they weren't the only ones who saw the beacon. So did the killer. But instead of being enraged by the clear indicator of survivors, he grinned with glee. As silent and deadly as an assassin, the killer moved through the darkness, one by one picking off any love survivors heading towards the light.

This was too much fun! Just too much fun!

His sight was not at all hindered by the darkness, for as the wielder of the Murder System, he was uniquely equipped for the task.

In contrast to the deathly desperation engulfing the city, the tavern hall was filled with light and soothing accordion music. The kids, those that came with the guests as well as Rolands friends, were all sitting in a private room playing a bunch of board games Lex magically produced.

The adults all sat in the hall which crowded the room considerably, but they were just too afraid to go into their rooms and be alone. The triplets were serving a soothing green tea which acted as a mild sedative to calm their minds and keep them from overreacting to anything.

Big Ben had to retreat, for all the energy he accumulated in his body from the various drinks he had at the tavern finally caused him to have a breakthrough. Betty was cooking in the kitchen, along with Dino who was baking pies.

Lex had done his best to keep everyone busy so that their minds would remain occupied and would spend less time thinking about the disaster occuring outside. Rick and Roan were the only ones who didn't need to be distracted, for they had unwavering faith in the tavern owner.

Only Lex himself stood still, facing Bakers street while standing on the rooftop. He was looking out for any signs of survivors, but he only saw monsters. Speaking of which, it was a good thing that he had set an illusion formation, or the guests would never be able to calm down.

After all, in the short period since the monsters appeared, Lex had killed over 3000 monsters that attacked the tavern, with even more visible from where he stood. Things were glum.

But, in that moment of dread, Lex heard a familiar sound - the sound of a system notification.

New Quest: Host a Henali assembly at the Midnight Inn

Quest Reward: Subject to success of assembly

Remarks: Maybe if you had friends, you could have hosted them. Instead, you can settle for hosting the oldest geezers in the realm

New Quest: Have the Midnight Inn officially recognized by the Henali assembly

Quest Reward: Guest Registry

Remarks: You're getting fat

Lex was surprised, for he was expecting to get a quest related to the events happening in Babylon, but this was completely unrelated. In fact, he had to scan the Inn to understand what had triggered the quest.

But the 6 representatives who came to deliver the epistle and gifts did not stay long to elaborate, and bid their farewell.

He asked Mary if she knew anything about them, but the system provided her with no knowledge regarding anything they said. Lex was more or less completely in the dark about what the assembly even was.

When he asked her to open the epistle, she was unable. In fact, she was unable to open any of the items left behind.

Lex sighed and told her to put them away. These were destined to be just two more quests that would sit in his system collecting dust for a long time.

An explosion nearby attracted his attention, and Lex finally saw the first survivors heading towards the tavern. It was just two people.