The Innkeeper

Sitting cross-legged on the floor in the very center of the zombie horde, Pramod looked at the vile organ in his hand. It looked like a beating heart, but instead of muscle and tissue, it seemed to be made of rotting leaves and bark. His one and only mission was to kill as many humans and beasts, all if at all possible.

Originally, his plan was to use this Cursed Quibly Heart on his enemies after they had been worn out after fighting the zombies endlessly, but the two treasure chests presented another opportunity. If he could manage to get to the endless spirit energy, during this round he could kill as many as possible with his own two hands, and save the heart for the next game. Or maybe, if he got an advantage for the next game, he could use it to set up traps.

Either way, there was not too much pressure on him. The devil that had commanded him had given him the mission, but also told him to treat these games as a training opportunity since the nodes would be lost regardless of the situation. With no pressure for success or failure, he could do as he pleased.

So for now, he waited. As soon as his birds informed him of the location of the chests, he would make a drastic move. The loss of a little over 10,000 zombies in the past hour did not phase him in the slightest, and he continued to sit on the ground as if he were meditating in a park. A few dozen feet below him, the node was hidden in an underground base. A part of him also wondered, if he destroyed the node himself and gained all the points, would it be worth it? Would the prize still go to the planet Vegus Minima, or would it go to the devils?

*****

Lex was slightly confused when he heard the panicked man's whisper. What did he mean war had broken down on Earth? War, even in this modern day and age, was not necessarily rare on Earth. Without taking any sides on the matter, there were many conflicts not only between what was described as the West and the East, many countries had high tensions with their neighbors.

An embarrassingly long list of countries' names flashed through Lex's mind when he thought of countries it would be troublesome to be neighbors with. This was also only considering the affairs of the so-called 'mortals'. Large-scale war between cultivators had also been curtailed by the ICPAs.

Yet before the man could explain more to Fateh, or Lex could come up with a plausible explanation, the familiar ring of a new quest rang in Lex's mind.

New Quest: You have encountered a special event called 'World War'. All guests coming from the planet experiencing the World War will have a period of 70% discount on all expenses. All guests below the age of 15 will have a 99% discount on all expenses. As the most prestigious establishment in the universe, the Midnight Inn must be a safe haven during troubled times. Host as many refugees as possible!

Quest time limit: Duration of World War

Quest Reward: Subject to number of refugees hosted

Remarks: Some things are worth more than MP, such as a good reputation! Scam everyone till you get it!

Lex froze when he read the quest, and his shock was so huge that even the Host Attire wasn't able to stop his body from tensing up. Though no one dared to scan the Innkeeper with their spiritual sense, many had their focus on him at all times.

Let alone Remy and Akihiko, who were sitting beside him, the mystery devil along with a number of other prominent guests noticed the anomaly in the Innkeepers' behavior immediately.

"LEX SNAP OUT OF IT" Mary roared in his mind, quickly snapping him back to his natural state. Yet the damage was already done. Many people started wondering what had happened to elicit a reaction from the Innkeeper. They started replaying scenes from the games, wondering if something had happened there. A few people wondered if his reaction had to do with something that happened at the Inn.

The mysterious devil, whose senses were by far the strongest here, naturally overheard the words the bloody man had whispered. For a moment he considered if that was the reason, but then dismissed it. There was a delay of several seconds between the words and his reaction. At their level, even a single second could be stretched to fit a billion thoughts, let alone a few of them, so it was unlikely.

What he did not know was that the delay in reaction was because Lex was listening to his new quest. Such a simple misunderstanding had saved Lex from revealing a huge secret, yet no one realized it.

But even as Lex had recovered his composure slightly, his mind was in chaos. What did the system mean by a world war? What was happening? There was no indication of this whatsoever beforehand. He was not worried about anyone else at this moment except his family.

He had been waiting to bring them to the Inn because he wanted to become stronger first, but how could have anticipated such a situation? A million thoughts ran through his head before he calmed down. At this moment, he could not give a rat's ass about maintaining his facade.

His focus was entirely on the bloody man's words as he explained the situation and thought of what he could do.

"At first, they cut the connection to the internet, then the power. Communications were severely compromised, so we had to wait for the backup generators and private communication channels to understand what was happening.

"All governments are already under their control! Many countries' militaries tried to put up a fight, but they were either quickly defeated or their leaders were captured. Dozens of sects are taking part in this, and from what it seems like, so are the ICPAs. Anyone who could put up a strong resistance has either been detained or killed. Nuclear facilities have fallen and many holy lands have lost control of their formations.

"And this is just the bits and pieces of information we were able to gather before we lost communication. All key points worldwide have been taken over. Civilians haven't been hurt so far, or at least, the ones who didn't try to fight back haven't…"

"Lex, you need to be clear headed," Mary said loudly in his mind, attracting his attention. "Your greatest asset is the system and the Inn. You need to maintain their power and prestige. On Earth, you have no contacts, no power and no say. If you're worried about your family… well, to be completely honest, unless you use the Inn, there's nothing you can do for them. So don't break character and don't let anyone know the Innkeeper is interested in Earth. It will only spell trouble for you."

Lex grimaced, but eventually acknowledged what Mary said.

"Thank you," is all he said to her. He needed to clear his head and understand the situation clearly, only then could he react appropriately.

While chaos was beginning to spread across Earth, and among their representatives at the Inn, Alexander had already reached the first chest. After leaving sight of the other armies, he had headed in a straight line at maximum speed, not caring to preserve his spirit energy or stamina, and he was rewarded accordingly. Without any suspense, and with none the wiser, Alexander opened the first chest and felt a token latch onto his arm.

Spirit energy coursed through his body, completely refreshing him. He felt a special artificial film coat his meridians, preventing them from suffering any wear or tear due to the excessive amount of spiritual energy.

The feeling was more intoxicating than any drug - and yes, Alexander had tried various drugs, under supervision of course - that he had ever experienced. For a while, he even forgot what he was supposed to be doing.

But the feeling passed, and the boy recovered. He opened his map to check the location of the second chest, and to see if any of the armies were near it. Preferably, he wanted the second one as well. To his horror, he saw that nearly 80% of the zombie horde was moving towards the second chest, and had nearly reached it.

There was no way Alexander would be able to get the other chest. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he had an idea.

"All units assume bulldozer formation and await my return. The node is vulnerable, we have to destroy it before the others return."

As the 99 soldiers who were with him also recovered from the euphoria of the endless spirit energy, he gave the order for them to return. Activating his body technique to the absolute maximum, Alexander rocketed towards his destination - his gold aura shining brighter than ever before!