The Innkeeper

Lex spent a decent amount of time taking out his loot and setting it up in his new museum. He would then use his 'Room creation' feature to alter each room according to the needs of each specific item. For example, he needed a room which would not allow energy to leak for all the items emitting the heated spiritual energy.

For the energy sources of all the ships he needed a room that would block radiation as well as maintain a sterile environment.

More than the energy sources, Lex was particularly careful when setting down the various artillery shells he had picked up, as he no longer even had skin to lose! At the same time, he questioned Pel thoroughly over their use, and discovered that most of these were extremely useful against Earth immortals, and he had even picked up one that could be used against Heaven Immortals!

The power and rarity of these weapons were the reason that Pel had decided to collect them in his previous life. But while they were potent weapons, Lex could not use them easily for he did not even have the means to leave the blast radius once used.

He decided the best use for these would be if his spaceship was equipped with them, but these weapons were not compatible with the Silent Wanderer, and he didn't want to take the massive flying daycare outside of the Inn. The only alternative was to get more ships, or find engineers and start building his own ships.

No matter what, this was a project Lex was determined to work on because it would be a waste to have such powerful weapons but be unable to use them!

At the same time, Pel informed him of various other uses for many of the treasures he already had but did not know what to do with. The knowledge of someone who had lived for millions of years was invaluable, even if Pel could only access a very small percentage of it.

Since Lex had no other urgent tasks coming up in the foreseeable future, he decided to spend the next few months cultivating and refining his plans for the future while strengthening his workers with the knowledge that Pel gave him.

For now, though, Lex had to address a minor issue that he had been hoping to avoid. His soul pact that he had made with the Infinity Emporium began to weigh on him. He could feel a subtle compulsion to deliver the Peronian jade to them now that he had already collected it, and was not urgently in trouble.

There was no real reason to delay delivering it, but he had hoped to at least regrow his skin before he went out again. For a second, he considered rewearing his skin, like a costume, before he discarded the extremely creepy thought. Instead, he just put on his defensive suit, put on a pair of gloves as well as a mask that covered his entire face.

He teleported out to X-142, before promptly entering the emporium.

He had been expecting to see Powell waiting for him, and even considered that the real Powell might be there as well, slightly annoyed over the delay. What he had not been expecting was the nearly worshiping gaze the usual Powell he met gave him, and the amazed look the real Powell, who was also there, gave him.

"I must say, Mr. Lex, when you told me you were raiding a dragon's hoard, I did not expect you to be doing it with the dragon there. I thought you had come across the forgotten cave of a long deceased dragon, or something along those lines at least. But your courage and means… please allow me to applaud you."

Powell actually clapped, but Lex was taken aback by his words. Could he have been spying on Lex? Was there some surveillance mechanism in one of the treasures he had gotten from the emporium?

"How did you know what I did?" asked Lex, the accusation heavily evident in his voice. But his question caught them by surprise.

"Could it be that you do not know? Mr. Lex, a recording of you climbing the dragon has been spread all over the Henali portal. I dare say you are the most famous human in the entire Origin realm right now."

As if to support his words, Powell pulled up the recording that showed Lex struggling under the weight of Dragons Might as he approached Pelvailins corpse.

Without waiting for Lex to ask further questions, Powell elaborated further.

"Although for a short time the recorder managed to hide his identity, he did not have the level of protection you have applied against divination. His identity was eventually discovered, and has become an open secret amongst the upper level of the portal. It's a dwarf called Barley Holdinson. Here, let me share the details with you."

Powell handed Lex a small black device that he had clearly already prepared. Once connected to the portal, the device would reveal all the information stored onto it, similar to a USB. 

Lex grabbed the device, but he was struggling to determine how he felt about the situation. He could not accurately conceive what it meant to be the most popular human in the realm, though he guessed the reason his details were hidden was because of the protection of the Inn. Now that he was out, he might once again become susceptible to divination! That could potentially put him in danger.

"I was a little busy recovering from the events," Lex said, as he removed his glove to show Powell his hand. "I did not have time to check the portal, or talk to anyone, so I am not sure what happened. Would you mind telling me… how this video was received?"

Powell nodded understandingly. No matter what, it must not have been easy to escape from that situation. The most mysterious thing was that the dragon, who had been identified, had disappeared.

Only a very few people knew that Pelvailin had also been spotted inside the Midnight Inn, before promptly disappearing again. Although Powell happened to be one of those people, he did not plan on mentioning it. There were certain things even he did not want to get involved in. But he did not mind sharing the rest with Lex.