The Innkeeper

Lex looked at the black and white figure and was quite curious about the effects that followed the man. Was the so-called 'Reality Filter' what he used to come here? Through his spatial affinity, Lex could clearly tell that the figure was not actually in the room with him. Instead, the black and white filter was projecting his presence from another location here.

It was a very safe way of meeting others, which made sense. After all, if assassins openly exposed themselves then they should only expect to be attacked in return.

"Before I begin, I must clarify that I don't actually need anyone assassinated. I just need you to locate someone and share the details of their location and circumstances with me in as much detail as you can."

Lex was not worried about not being able to communicate his entire message to the correspondent as conversing with spirit senses was extremely fast, so a minute was more than enough for them to talk at length.

"That is acceptable, however that will not reduce any charges. You will still be charged as if you are assigning an assassination mission."

"That is acceptable. The target is a dwarf named Barley Holdinson. His last known location is…"

Lex shared all the information given to him by Powell, without holding anything back. It had briefly occurred to Lex that he could also ask the assassins to kidnap Barley if they found him, but he would rather not complicate things further. Once the dwarf was located, Lex would handle the remaining things himself, regardless of what they may be.

Lex himself was not exactly ecstatic that Barley had shared Lex's video online for his own profit, and had not yet decided what the appropriate response should be. It was one of those things that could not be done until he was actually faced with the situation.

Once Lex had given all the information, the figure simply nodded, before responding, "I have recorded all the information given to me by you. Within three days, we will confirm whether or not we are taking this task. If we accept the task, you will need to provide full payment at the time we accept."

"How will you contact me?" Lex asked. He was worried about having his identity traced by Hix, not to mention he would probably need to stay on the planet for them to find him. If he returned to the Inn, then even if they really were tracking him, they would never be able to find him.

"As soon as I leave, the card you used to summon me will be reformed. Within three days, a change will form on the card indicating whether we accept or reject. Once you notice the change, you will have only one day to go to a discreet place and send the payment, once again through the card. In the future, once we complete the task, if it is accepted, we will also contact you through the card. 

"Such a method protects both Hix and its clients, as no other trace of our transaction is left. If we decide to reject the task, then the card will be burned and you will need to procure a new card if you want to contact Hix once again. This way, clients can use Hix repeatedly without leaving any transaction history, as there is nothing else connecting us to the client. Even Hix itself will not know who the client is. This, in turn, protects you from prosecution in the future should Hix be compromised."

"Your SOPs are quite professional. I look forward to hearing from you regarding my task."

Once the conversation was concluded the figure disappeared, and the world once again regained color. On the floor, the ashes that had originally disappeared seemed to return, and formed the very card from which they came.

Lex had not even reached down to pick the card up yet, let alone contemplate on the exchange he had just had, when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Lex Williams, you are a very hard man to find."

Surprised but not startled, Lex instantly leaped forward and turned around, ready to face a devastating enemy. After all, to be able to sneak up on him, the opponent must be extremely formidable.

Yet the figure he saw did not seem like it had any intention of attacking him. There was a neat, vertical rip in space, as if sliced open with a knife, hanging in the middle of the room. The rip was being stretched open by two bony hands, revealing a skull garbed in a dark yet ethereal shroud.Around the skull there seemed to be only darkness, and even its eye sockets only revealed the void. 

As the hooded figure emerged, its hand disappeared, leaving being a literal floating, cloaked skull.

"Please excuse me if I startled you, that was not my intention. Your various means of protection from divination made it incredibly tedious to locate you."

Even as the figure had entered his room, and was talking to him, Lex could not sense him at all. Neither his instincts nor his spirit seemed to be able to pick up his presence. It was almost as if he was simply hallucinating.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Bacterius. I am here to extend forth an invitation to you in honor of the recognition of your recent feats. I have to say, I'm a bit of a fan - not just of you, but your whole family. I don't think I've ever delivered so many invitations to people from the same nuclear family."

*****

Damian Arban William, Lex's grandfather, gulped and loosened his collar as he looked at his ancestor, as well as his siblings all of whom were akin to legends, especially the Emperor. Although they had all suppressed their auras, their majesty and prestige still weighed on Damian.

"Please, start from the beginning. We want to hear everything. We'll also require all records you have of your son and his family, regardless of how irrelevant or mundane they may seem," said William.

"My son…" Damian said as he tasted the words on his lips. Their relationship had been very tumultuous from the very start, though he was too embarrassed to admit that.

"From the day he was born, my son was different. He was born with the Sword Saint physique, making him especially suited to swordplay. He learned to wield sword intent at the age of 6, long before he started cultivation. He took four days to cross Body Tempering, around two weeks to cross Qi training and only six months to cross the Foundation realm - though admittedly there was an episode that delayed his advance, so technically he could have been even faster. He-"

"What was the episode?" asked Jotun, interrupting Damian. "Keep in mind we want to hear everything, regardless of how ordinary it may seem.

"Ye- yes, your majesty. At that time, I had not yet become the family head, though I was on the path for it already. As such, I wanted my children to be trained especially for the role as well. Every 20 years, all William family members below the age of 50 can participate in a special trial. The top 15 members who pass that trial all receive the title of Paragon, and become candidates for the family head.

"Although they have to go through many more tests, as well as training in the future to continue to be eligible for the post, that is the first step. My son… had a disagreement with a Paragon, who used his authority to subsequently punish him. Since I did not want to appear partial, I did not interfere. The punishment delayed his breakthrough."

"What was the punishment?" asked Nisar, the head of the Butt family.

"It was nothing too serious. For three months he had to hide his identity and work as an attendant in one of the family businesses."

"Do you have a detailed record of his experiences in those three months?"

"Eh, no I don't, but I can have them arranged."

"Please do that. You may continue with your story."

The brothers were being meticulous, and looking for even the smallest hint of something going awry, or something that would explain the abnormalities of the family so far in the future. But they did not know that they did not need to be so meticulous. The answer was coming.

"All in all, my son was a genius in cultivation and a master of swordsmanship. Everything was going relatively well until… until he went to a planet called Earth for a mission and met… her."

Damian could not help but grimace, despite being on his best behavior.

"What was the mission, who did he meet and… it seems to be you skipped a lot of stuff in between. Please, go step by step. We have all the time in the world."

Damian quickly gathered himself up and began the story from the beginning, detailing the life of the young prodigy that was his son.