The Innkeeper

From his office, Lex was handling the various situations while standing and looking out the window. Despite the layout of the Inn staying the same, the difference was immense. The previous Inn eventually became quite large, and the limit of the sky was massive, giving enough room for flying cities, mountains and ships to hover about above the Inn.

But even so, now it actually felt like he was in a real world rather than an enclosed space. Up in the sky, there were a number of suns giving them light, rather than a projection of a sun. Though, if one was being technical, the suns in the sky were not stars, but rather a number of orbs of a special spirit crystal that was slowly dissolving in the air.

These orbs had unusual properties which made them float high above land, though they were free to move around as they wished. A result of their sometimes erratic movement was unpredictable patterns of light, though there were enough of them in the sky so that Menara had never actually seen night save when the clouds filled the sky.

There were enough of the orbs in the air to light this place for a long, long time so Lex did not need to worry about it suddenly getting dark here. Moreover, as the spirit orbs dissolved, not only did they give off light, they fed extremely concentrated spirit energy into the atmosphere.

But the dynamics of the lighting and the depth of the sky were just a small part of it. The Midnight Inn was both hidden and out in the open. It was hidden from the rest of the universe, but once here, it was open for an entire, massive realm.

The fact that someone could just walk right up to the Inn and come in from the outside world just made it feel different somehow. Even now, from the gate that he left open, Lex could see small animals peeking in, and carefully crossing the boundary to see what happens.

Speaking of which, there were countless animals and beasts within the boundary of the Inn as well, and many of them were quite dangerous and savage. He would need to establish patrols near the main settlements and give guests disclaimers about venturing, just in case they encountered a dangerous situation. Considering those beasts and animals didn't obey him or the rules of the Inn, he more than expected them to cause some minor issues.

In the distance, a trail of dust could be seen rising. A number of golf carts had come to life and had gone off roading. There was no way that could end badly at all.

There was a soft knock on his door, before John opened it and timidly stepped in. He had never been the same since his system was destroyed. Originally Lex wanted to give him space to recover on his own, but now it seemed he needed a push.

"You summoned me, Innkeeper?" he asked with a bow.

Lex, still looking out at the Inn, only nodded and did not immediately answer. Silence filled the room as John began to feel more and more nervous. After a minute, he began fidgeting his fingers.

It was at that point that Lex could no longer suppress his sigh.

"How long have you been at the Inn, John?" the Innkeeper asked, turning around finally. "It has been a short while, hasn't it?"

"A little over two years, probably," John said, wondering how to count the strange passage of time he had seen from the platform.

"You cut such an impressive sight back then. There was so much confidence in you. But now, without there even being an issue, you cannot even stand in silence for a few minutes without getting nervous."

John looked down. He did not know how to respond.

"You stumbled, child. That is normal. But you forgot to get back up, that is not normal. Why do you think that is?"

John continued to look down at the ground, unable to come up with an answer. Was he supposed to admit that he was afraid to let go of his system? Him? An experienced assassin who has ended the life of countless others, afraid? Him, who held immense power in the palm of his hands, now broken and shattered?

How could he say it? He had the words in his heart, but all he could do was continue to look down without answering. Everything he had, he'd gotten from his system. It was only once it went away that he realized how weak he truly was.

"Do you want me to tell you the answer? It's quite a simple one," the Innkeeper continued, but John remained silent.

"It's because you think that, without your system, you are completely alone. But John, that is far from the truth. I gave you some time to come to terms with the situation on your own. Now, however, it's time I help you pick yourself up."

Lex took out a platinum key and handed it to John.

"Back then, you established the Battle Ax without officially joining the Inn. It was because you had the confidence that you got from your system. But now, after spending so much time here, you have already become a part of the Midnight Inn family. You were not shy about extending your helping hand when those in the Inn needed it, now it's about time you drop that crutch that is the system and take help from someone else instead.

"You probably have some excuse you're ready to give, but John honestly, it's time you stop feeling sorry for yourself. The best way to do that is by helping others, and reflecting along the way. As you are right now, there's not much I can ask you to do - not because you've lost your cultivation, but because you need to ease back into things.

"You may or may not have realized, but there's a lot of newborns in the Inn. One in particular needs your help. You can begin by helping him, and then we'll move on from there."

If words alone could wake John from his slump then they would have worked the last time he gave John a pep talk. Since they didn't, he had to walk John through the healing process by showing him a bunch of others who had unique problems of their own. Honestly, with the current situation at the Inn, it wasn't hard to accomplish.

John nodded, unable to say anything else.

"This particular newborn is stuck in a body that's too powerful for him. I need you to design a cultivation technique for him that will strengthen his soul by absorbing the strength of his body."

Lex teleported John over to the dragon in his personal meditation room and began to observe John. He had to carefully guide him to ensure his progress goes in the direction that he meant. After all, Lex planned on absorbing the system in just a few more days. That meant he had to ensure that in just a few days, he had to guide John's state of mind to one where he could let go of it.

He did not mean to dismiss depression as something easy to cure, for his intention was not to cure it. His intention was to get John to adopt the mindset where he was ready to face challenges to improve his own situation.

John was not a weak man. Once he gained some momentum, Lex expected it'd be much easier for him to pick himself back up. In the meantime, getting some exposure to others who had it rough as well might help him get some perspective.

In Lex's meditation room, John was teleported over but did not immediately observe his surroundings. He just let out a sigh of relief now that he was no longer in front of the Innkeeper. As he tried to rub his eyes, the cold touch of the platinum key on his face gave him pause.

When he opened his eyes to observe it, the massive dragon sitting right in front of him gave him a fright.

But as he stumbled back, the dragon did not move at all. It did not even respond to his presence, as if he was asleep.

While John looked up at the monstrously large being in front of him, a baby teleported over.

"John, I'm glad you're here," said Lex with a smile.

"My cultivation mat here has come to life, but it can't move due to the burden of its body. If you can help it come up with a cultivation technique that would weaken the body and strengthen the soul, that'd be great. I'm Leo by the way, without the disguise. You can call me Lex."

"You… you really became a baby!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, my body turned to mush. When it healed, I became like this. Nothing I can do about it but grow back up over time I guess," Lex said with a shrug. "Now, about the cultivation mat…"