The Innkeeper



The small town of Babylon was in a remote, nearly forgotten corner of the Crystal realm. For so long, it saw no more excitement than a reputable trader passing through because their normal route was blocked by monsters. Once, the children of the noble family which owned the territory passed through the town, and it was considered the greatest news.

Children gathered in the streets and parents took off from work just to see their carriage pass them by. There was a vast class difference between them, sure, but there was also a difference of cultivation. In the world where strength was the most important thing, there was no greater celebrity than those that wielded great strength, and at that time it was surely the children of nobles.

But since then, as if cursed by the bad luck of a protagonist who happened to be passing by, the town saw one major event after another. A maniacal serial killer terrorized the city. The Sol birds flew away, and left them in darkness. Monsters spawned all around them, trapping them within, still with the serial killer. Then the formations protecting them failed, inviting death and destruction.

Not many managed to survive, but of them the few that did were then further flabbergasted when an immortal monster attacked the town nearly decimating all life.

Yes, the citizens of Babylon had suffered through more than most adventurers who ventured out into the world seeking fortune and fame.

Then, finally, there was a period of peace. The few who survived had never been more thankful for a mundane monday than after those horrid few weeks. Yet now, as if to balance all the pain they suffered, the citizens of Babylon were witnessing the most spectacular event anyone from their ancestry had witnessed for the past 100 generations.

A marriage between two immortal lineages was taking place within their town. Normally that would have nothing to do with them besides give them a few stories to share with their kids. But for whatever reason, the families had decided to make this wedding extremely grand. As if that alone was not enough, the mysterious and powerful, yet remarkably friendly owner of the Midnight Tavern decided their scale was not enough and added a few touches of their own. 

There were rumors that the groom, Pvarti Noel, was good friends with the tavern owner, and he wanted to make his friend's day special. As a result, the citizens did not know whose generosity they were exactly benefiting from, but they did not care much.

Mario Ricci, also known as the Goatfather, walked the streets of Babylon followed by his gang members, throwing out cultivation pills as if they were flower petals. His son, Elio Ricci, had opened a free dojo where martial combat lessons were being given to any and all who were interested, once again, free of charge.

Thousands of cultivation chambers had been opened up and made available to the public, with nary a mention of price or payment. The only condition on the chambers was that no one could hog the room for too long, as it was meant to be shared by everyone.

Standard cultivation techniques were being sent to every home in the town, alongside a book of notes of things to look out for while cultivating, some medicine to help getting started and one pure spirit stone. Compared to the techniques that normal citizens had access to generally, these techniques were more complete and had fewer drawbacks.

Hundreds of traditional as well as orthodox doctors and medical practitioners showed up and began giving out free treatments. Each public building and facility in the town got a free and extensive upgrade. Famous and renowned chefs from around the region were hired and they cooked feasts for the whole town in the public parks, for all to share.

The week of the wedding was like one continuous party, and where there was a party, there had to be drinks. For the week, Midnight tavern sent out drinks across the town for anyone and everyone. Each drink not only delivered an experience of euphoria down to the very soul, it never had any adverse consequences such as hangovers or sickness. In fact, many people had sudden breakthroughs while drinking!

Of course everyone had varying temperaments, and not everyone wanted to party. Some were more dedicated, and were pursuing some ambitions or goals and could not tolerate wasting time eating or drinking. Those people were offered jobs for before and after the wedding at extremely lucrative rates alongside unbelievable benefits. Each and every person who worked for the wedding did so with unmatched enthusiasm and vigor.

With so many workers, the entertainment would, of course, not be limited to just that. Across the city seemingly random people burst into spontaneous dance and song with extensive backdrops and backup performers. The suddenness and unexpectedness of the songs, as well as their catchy tunes hooked the hearts of everyone who heard them.

The extremely well choreographed dances started an all new trend of dancing, and Babylon was quickly developing a culture of dance and song that would last long after the wedding was actually over. Of course, Lex, for some reason, did not find the dances so extraordinary. But then again, he had seen the original Indian films they were inspired by so maybe that's why he could not share in the feeling of the citizens.

But while such entertainment was sufficient for the masses, the wedding guests from abroad could not exactly appreciate them the same way. For them, of course, there were other forms of entertainment arranged.

Fighting was, as usual, one of the most popular activities and strong warriors from far and wide had been summoned to hold their duels in an arena that was constructed right in front of the tavern. The best seats were on the tavern rooftop.

The fights were definitely not choreographed, and the fighters held nothing back so they were often brutal and bloody, much to the appreciation of the viewers.

Besides fighting there were multiple sophisticated performances arranged to match the taste of the powerful elite.

Attracted by all the hubbub, some of the most illustrious traders and merchants had come to the town and set up stalls and began holding auctions of unusual yet powerful artifacts. In fact, even Lex set up a stall and sold items he got from others at the Midnight Inn. He was investing heavily in this wedding, so recouping some of his costs was perfectly normal.

Amidst all this hustle and bustle, the actual two families involved in the wedding were actually the most nervous. This still could not believe Lex's claims, although they had seen the invitation for themselves.

That is, until Cornelius II arrived at Babylon three days before the wedding. His arrival was very discreet and none of his usual entourage followed him. Only a couple of his advisors followed him, and they too remained in disguise.

The King made contact with both the Phillip and Noel families, to let them know of his arrival, before disappearing himself without giving them any information on his plans. They were only informed to follow along and give blind support to any and all of his actions the next few days.

Somehow, learning of the King's presence as well as his arrival made the two families even more nervous. While everyone else in the town partied, whether to take advantage of all the free stuff or to forget their roles in the ongoing dreadful war, the Noels and Phillips found themselves unable to do so. While everyone felt time was going too fast, for them time seemed to drag on forever.

In this excited yet lethargic manner, another day passed. Like the King before him, this time the incumbent ruler of the Varns arrived, but disappeared soon after announcing his arrival to the two families.

No one had any idea where they were hiding, or if they had already met. Even Lex, who was kept up to date by the families, could only guess at their plans. Fortunately Lex was able to control his nerves, and so did not become nervous. Such a thing would easily be detected now that he did not have the protection of the Host Attire in the Crystal realm.

The same day, a seemingly ordinary butterfly arrived at Babylon. Although she looked very different from most Trelops, who had large bodies taking on the shapes of animals using some feature of their territory, the butterfly was the serving ruler of the Trelops. Amongst their race, such a title did not really hold too much value, except to say that she was the strongest of their race, 

The next day, one day before the wedding, the Poloids and Sentinels also arrived, all of them being discreet and hiding their identities.

Everything was almost ready. Tomorrow would be the day. He only hoped this would be enough to get a SSS+ quest ranking.

After tapping on his desk for a few minutes, Lex decided that it was not enough. He could take no chance. He had to get the highest ranking he could, so he would find a way to improve the score even more.

From the Midnight Inn, Lex teleported away and appeared in front of the Infinity Emporium. 

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