The Innkeeper

Whether they be called minor realms, hidden realms, secret realms, pocket dimensions or anything else, the concept was the same. It was basically a separate pocket of space, disconnected from the main universe. Sometimes they formed naturally, and in some cases, a very high leveled cultivator could open them up on their own.

These separate dimensions had their own ecosystem and existed in their own sustained balance. Sometimes, this ecosystem was extremely hazardous and could not support life. But in cases like this, such realms often give birth to extremely precious and rare treasures, whether they be in the form of precious ores, liquids, gasses or anything else. Most of the time, however, these realms had a very stable environment, rich in spiritual energy.

If these realms were left untouched by outside interference, they often gave birth to extremely powerful Beasts or other species with incredibly high talents. Most such realms found on Earth were extremely small and were full of opportunities for anyone to take. They opened at fixed or random intervals, and so could only be treated as places for small, quick incursions. That was also why, after so many years, these realms still had not been stripped of all their treasures - they just didn't have the time to do so.

Having a realm remain open for one year continuously was unheard of on Earth, which is why they could not believe it. This was too good to be true. This was not mentioning that the realm the Innkeeper was talking about was most likely a new realm to the Earthlings, so far unexplored.

The reason why Sloth of the Beasts, and the remaining Devils were surprised was completely different. Space was complex beyond what most people could normally comprehend. Most people saw it as a linear existence. Some incredibly intelligent scientists on Earth theorized the nature of space to be curved. Yet high leveled cultivators who could directly feel the complexity of space knew just how much more complicated than that it was.

Based on the assumption that the realm the Innkeeper opened for Earth was one that was already anchored to Earth, his achievement was already amazing. Finding and artificially opening hidden realms without causing them to collapse and retain their stable ecosystem required a deep understanding of space beyond what was normally seen. This was completely ignoring the level of cultivation required.

But there was another possibility, one that was truly mind blowing. Hidden realms that were anchored to a planet moved in space alongside the planet as it not only orbited its sun, but as its solar system moved in the universe. This is why they could be opened repeatedly in the same place on the planet multiple times. But some hidden realms had no anchors and moved through space like a leaf flying through the wind.

These hidden realms were much more difficult to find, to the point where one might not be discovered in a hundred thousand years. Once they were found, they needed to be artificially anchored to a point before they could be opened, yet doing so would tamper with the internal ecosystem of the hidden realm. Being able to anchor it without tampering with the ecosystem was even rarer than finding such a realm, and then maintaining the opening for a long time was even harder.

Whether the Innkeeper had achieved the former or the latter, both were extremely impressive. And daunting. It also led to the possibility that the Inn existed in a hidden realm that the Innkeeper either discovered or created - whichever the case, the result was very telling about the Innkeepers' capabilities.

Lex, of course, had no idea about the various complexities involving him opening such a realm. All he knew was that he selected one of the cheapest prizes the system offered. The prize would be different depending on which planet won, as the same realm could not be accessed by all three planets. Whatever the truth of the matter was, Lex was pleased to see that his prize had thoroughly impressed the crowd. If only he knew the true ramifications of what he had done.

In one of the rooms in the coliseum sat two beings that appeared to be human. They 'appeared' to be human, because one of them was Loretta in a completely different disguise. This time when she came to the Inn she avoided all the Devils. In fact, she avoided meeting anyone. She appeared, rented the room, and hadn't left since. The 'man' who was sitting beside her had only appeared yesterday. He watched the Innkeeper with great interest and observed each and every action of his. He analyzed every word and focused on every expression he made.

"He is somewhat interesting," the man said softly to Loretta. He was not worried about being overheard because they had, naturally, set up their own isolation formation in the room. "I cannot get a read on his cultivation, but the Celestial I've basically seen through. When the Innkeeper is not around, he monitors the whole Inn. But as soon as the Innkeeper appears, he follows the Innkeeper closely. If I didn't know better, I would say the Celestial is acting like a bodyguard."

The man had managed to get all this information without using his spiritual sense, which may have alerted the Innkeeper. How exactly he obtained this information, though, was a mystery.

"If the Innkeeper needs a bodyguard, maybe he's not that strong," Loretta said. They themselves had not seen the Innkeeper make a move personally, so there was still some room for speculation. But realistically speaking, no one believed the Innkeeper was weak.

"It's unlikely. He is most probably just using the Celestial as a deterrent, and so that he himself does not need to make a move. This way, he can keep his spiritual signature hidden. This Innkeeper may be some old acquaintance we previously thought dead, and by not making a move personally, he can continue to hide his identity."

The man thought for a moment before he continued. "There is also the possibility he is from the unknown regions of space. That would make things more tricky."

"So, what do you think we should do?"

"For now, wait. I want to see exactly how he will conduct his 'games'. According to what you told me, the contestants are limited to Foundation and Golden Core realms, but I've had a few secret guards assigned to each node. How will he avoid them, I wonder?"

Loretta nodded, silently accepting what the man said. All they had to do now was wait.

In a different room, a lone human sat as he watched the Innkeeper. He had a mischievous grin on his face, and under his breath he also kept muttering 'interesting'. In front of him lay a report personally written by Ragnar.

Back on stage, Lex only waited for a couple of moments for his audience to absorb the details of his reward before he continued his speech.

"With that concluded, let's now turn our attention to the combat portion of the Midnight Games. There are ten nodes that need to be destroyed, and so there will be ten games. The first five of those games will be played by the Foundation realm contestants, and the latter five by the Golden Core contestants.

"Going along with the theme of five, each planet may bring five thousand contestants for the Foundation and Golden core stages each. But I advise you to take this matter very seriously, as even though they are titled 'games', each round will be fraught with real danger. Once you enter the round, until victory or defeat is determined, your life is very much in real danger.

"The games will take place one by one, and only the survivors of the first game can enter the second. The teams for each world will enter the round at the same time and it's entirely up to you if you want to work together, work independently or even sabotage one another.

"At the end of each round, all three worlds will gain points based on three things: total number of zombie kills by contestants of that world, total contribution to the destruction of the node and total number of survivors.

"The rounds will be played in a siege format, with the zombies defending and the three worlds attacking. However, during each round unexpected events may occur that make each round more interesting.

"The combat portion of the Midnight Games will begin in exactly 24 hours, and all contestants for the first five games must be registered and present in the Inn at that time or they won't get an opportunity to participate."

The Innkeeper paused for a moment, and looked at the serious faces of his various guests.

"We've already seen how the three worlds live when they have harmony. Now it's time to see how they perform during times of war. I encourage you all to do your best, as the prizes for this portion of the games will only be better than the previous ones, not worse."

Not giving them any time for questions, Lex disappeared from the stage. They had much to prepare and it was best if they utilized their time properly.

Even the sloth, who was so far uninterested in competing, turned to look at Greens Haven and said, "gather your armies. We must win this award."