The Innkeeper

Lex groaned once more when he heard the number of refugees at the Inn. Normally it would not have been a concern, and he would have handled the situation immediately, but currently he felt incredibly weak. Not only that, now that he was awake, he was developing a severe headache.

"Have someone find a few Minor realms suitable for large numbers and send me a list. At the same time, tell someone from earth and let them know that the refugees will be able to purchase the exclusive rights to a minor realm for a few decades. Tell them the small time frame is so that the price of the realm can be reduced to something they can afford."

In fact, the true reason he was doing things in such a convoluted way was to avoid continuing to build the impression that the Inn was based towards humans. His intuition had once warned him that continuing to do so would lead him into danger, and he took the matter seriously.

He wanted to do more to help make the situation better, but thinking too much made his headache worse.

"Other than that, a few things of note happened while you were asleep. Firstly, the emperor of the Jotun empire has been waiting in the lobby to meet the Innkeeper. Secondly, the Sovereign Galactic turtle has completed its breakthrough. It has grown stronger, which has somehow improved the yield of all the crops being planted at the Inn.

"Thirdly, Zagan and Alysha both passed the Midnight Inn employee test, and are currently both employees. Unfortunately, Zagan had to immediately apply for a holiday as soon as he started. The atmosphere at the Inn initiated a breakthrough he had been suppressing for a long time. He has already passed his lightning and fire tribulations. Right now, he is going through some other tribulation which cannot be seen.

"Fourthly… the fishing event came to a close, but the finale… I won't tell you. I think it's better you check the situation yourself when you feel better."

"Alright, alright, stop. Unless it's an emergency, just hold on till I feel better," Lex said as he held his aching head.

Unable to make sense of the situation, Lex teleported to the Midnight mountain to a remote and secluded cabin. He ordered a bunch of food, before stepping outside and lying down in the heap of snow. Perhaps food would make him feel better.

Soon, several meals worth of food was teleported to him, but he could not be bothered to get out of the snow, and continued to eat slowly. Immediately he realized that the quality of the food at the Inn had improved, as not only did it taste better, but it replenished his exhausted energy much better than anything else.

His state was so ridiculously weakened that he did not even notice when a young girl, huffing and panting, slowly approached the cabin where he was. She had trekked here the entire path by foot, which made her extremely exhausted.

It was only when the young girl was almost right besides Lex that he finally noticed her presence.

"Is your name Lex?" she asked between her heavy breaths, wiping off some sweat. As a Foundation realm expert, there was no way she should have been this exhausted from such a simple climb, but Lex did not pick up on that small detail at the moment.

Instead, he was more caught up in the fact that he knew the girl. Her name was Vera, and she was an oracle.

"Yes," he answered honestly. He knew a little about her, and knew that her random arrival was not so random at all.

"Excellent," she exclaimed and sat up right beside him. "Do you know anything about prophecy?"

Instead of waiting for him to reply, she ventured directly into a speech with a tone that sounded much too much as if it had been rehearsed.

"Prophecies come in many shapes and forms, and most people are ill informed about what prophecies really are. They are not a glimpse into the future, or a predestined path. Well actually, maybe kind of on a deeper level it might seem so, but all in all, prophecy is just glorified probability.

"Even the smartest minds, most incredible techniques and the most thorough calculations cannot accurately calculate the probability of any event happening when taking into account all of the variables in the entire universe. Or, usually, even in smaller regions of space such as a star system. Yet some people are born with unique bloodlines, abilities, or affinities that let them naturally access certain things that manage all the calculations on their behalf. I've been told it has something to do with laws, but I am not familiar with what they are.

"What I can tell you is that, most prophets or oracles or soothsayers or whatever you want to call them, can only calculate the probability within a small region, so when interference from outside that region comes in, it can completely mess up the probabilities. Moreover, almost any simple action at all can completely screw over the probabilities, making any prophecy unreliable.

"In summary, prophecies suck peanuts. But if someone can calculate the probability on a much larger scale, such as an entire galaxy, or larger, then their prophecies become much more reliable.

"Moreover, any divination, prophecy, or probability calculation, or whatever you want to call it, causes a serious burden on the person performing them. Most of the time, indulging too much in this can actually cause serious health issues, or even lead to death. Of course, the exertion also depends on the capabilities of the one doing the divination. If they're really talented, they could get away with foretelling an incredibly likely future and get away with something as light as a headache."

As soon as she finished her sentence, Vera jumped back up and began walking away. She did not bother to say goodbye, or explain herself at all. Instead, she just looked incredibly daunted by the task of climbing back down the mountain.