Larry Dershaw was sunbathing near the lake in the Midnight Inn, the one near the Recovery room. Nearby, his girlfriend, a Neko, meaning a cat-human, was napping comfortably. From time to time, Larry would softly run his fingers through her hair and lightly scratch her head, causing her to purr in her sleep.
His life right now could be said to be perfect, if one ignored the fact that he was still a fugitive on his home planet, being hunted by some unknown powerful person, while at the same time his family that had been exiled to the moon had mysteriously vanished, with no indication of whether they were alive or not.
On the bright side, he was able to absorb many strange new ores while at the Midnight Inn, pushing his cultivation to the Golden Core realm. Furthermore, he had just gotten another new shipment of ‘spaceship scrap’ which, after he absorbed, would boost his cultivation once again.
Affording such scrap was pretty easy for him once he gained a mastery of his powers, since he was able to use them to start a new business. People would sell him their metal scraps, and the only corresponding price he had to pay was to retrieve a purified form of certain metals within that scrap. For example, someone could sell him a tonne of electrical waste and only ask for the gold retrieved from it.
After a recent kidnapping attempt back on Earth that he was only able to escape since the kidnappers weren’t aware of his cultivation, Larry had more or less moved to the Inn. With the business running through the Guild room, not only was he progressing in cultivation, he was making a decent amount of money. Yes, if he could just let go of the fetters he had on Earth, Larry would have a great life.
Just as Larry was musing as such, he felt a shadow covering his body and blocking the sunlight. For a few moments he ignored it, but after a few seconds when the shadow did not move, Larry opened an eye to look at what was going on. Two asian men were standing in front of him, staring directly at Larry.
“Can I help you?” he asked without really getting up. Although he was running a business, everything was handled through the Guild room, so no one knew his identity. As such, there was really no reason for anyone to be looking for him, especially people he did not know.
“Mr. Dershaw, would it be possible to have a moment of your time? We have a proposition we believe you would be greatly interested in.”
Larry’s good mood swiftly vanished, and he took in the two men standing in front of him once again. He was trying to recall if he knew them, or had met them ever before, but was drawing a blank. His girlfriend, Irene, sensed the change in Larrys mood and instantly woke up as well. She looked at the two men standing above them with obvious hostility.
“What is it regarding?” he asked, standing up. His height had increased recently, and at six feet two inches (1.87 meters) he suddenly found himself looking down at the two men. The change in perspective seemed not to affect them as the one who spoke previously continued, “My associate and I were working for our client, searching for a mysterious Minor realm. On Earth, we finally found a lead, but the person in question who has the relevant information refused to cooperate with us. Through some private investigation, we were able to determine that the person in question had close ties with the Dershaw family. We are hoping that we would be able to work out a deal with you to help us out. Regardless of whether the person knows anything or not, you will be compensated for your time.”
Larry pursed his lips as he thought about what they had said, and the chances it was real.
“Oh, I should mention, the Minon realm we’re searching for is suspected to have an opening on the moon, as well as on Earth.”
Larry, who had only just begun to question whether these people were telling the truth, was suddenly shook. He had long assumed that after his family was banished to the moon, they were secretly imprisoned or killed, but the presence of a secret Minor realm revealed another possibility.
Just as he was about to ask more questions, a random man passing behind Larry mumbled “They’re lying.”
This time, both Larry and the asian man who was speaking were startled. They turned to look and saw a random teenager passing them by, not even looking at them as if he had said nothing.
“What do you mean?” Larry asked the kid, having suddenly regained his vigilance.
“Huh?” he asked, looking back at them. “What are you talking about?”
“You said they’re lying,” Larry clarified.
“Indeed, I would like to know your motives in interfering in our business,” the asian man asked, his voice polite yet cold.
“I said nothing of the sort. I don’t know you. How could I possibly tell that almost everything that man said is a lie?” the teenager asked, though the question sounded incredibly faked, as if it was a scene played out by a very bad actor. In the asian man’s eyes, though, it just seemed as if he was being mocked.
“Kid, I advise you to mind your own business and not interfere in other people’s matters. A careless remark or prank such as this could land you in big trouble.”
“See, you can tell the truth,” the kid replied with great enthusiasm. “I mean, yes, yes, you are right. I won’t interfere in other people’s matters.” With that the kid promptly turned around and quickly walked away.
An awkward silence was left between Larry and the two men, who were just exchanging looks.
“Please consider the matter,” the asian man said, as he passed a business card to Larry. “You can conduct your own investigation about this matter if you require, before reaching out. I go by the name Suzuki. I’ll visit the Inn again in a few days, and we can discuss the matter further then.”
“Sure,” was all Larry said, as he took the card.
The two men withdrew, leaving Larry and his girlfriend alone.
By the time they regained their privacy, Larry had lost the mood to sunbathe. He looked in the direction the teenager had gone off and, after a moment’s hesitation, followed the same path.
Elsewhere in the Inn, Ragnar appeared, with three others appearing behind him. They were also generals, and each had a command carrier of their own. In terms of strength and seniority, they were Ragnar’s equal. In terms of experience, they far surpassed him.
For the past few weeks, the generals had been discussing how to investigate the presence of a Jorlam within their galaxy. Despite Ragnar informing them about the Midnight Inn, and especially the mysterious Innkeeper, relying on the Inn was not the method they decided to go with.
This was because this was an extremely serious matter that required the highest level of discretion and secrecy. Relying on an Innkeeper with a mysterious background was just too dangerous.
In the end, however, the Inn still ended up being their last contingency plan. If all else failed, they would have to take certain risks. After all, if a Jorlam matured, let alone their galaxy, all the neighboring galaxies, and even the entire Jotun Empire was at risk.
But they would not just directly give out the details of the mission, however. They had to know the qualifications of whoever would be helping them, and so, they had to come up with a list of difficult tasks as tests.
“Would it be possible to meet the Innkeeper?” Ragnar asked his personal holographic assistant.
“Unfortunately, the Innkeeper is not available at the moment. The assistant Innkeeper, however, is available if you wish to meet her.”
“Then please, request the assistant Innkeepers presence. I have a series of tasks I would like to put up in the Guild room, but they have special requirements, and are not fit to be displayed for everyone. The reward for the first task would be in the price range of about 100 trillion MP.”
Before the hologram could even reply, a projection of Mary appeared in front of Ragnar and the rest.
“Please, guests, let us go somewhere more fit to discuss business,” she said gently. At the same time, she sent every single kind of notification she could think of to attract Lex’s attention. Their energy problem might just have been solved.
“Little lady, if you don’t mind me asking, will the Innkeeper be free any time soon?” asked one of the generals following Ragnar.
“Dear guest, I cannot speculate on the Innkeepers schedule. After all, he has left the Origin realm to run an errand. He could be back tomorrow, or he could take a while longer,” she replied very calmly.
Her answer, however, caused the generals to exchange a certain look amongst one another. Only Ragnar wasn’t too surprised. After all, for someone who could recruit a Celestial, this should not be a big issue.
It was then that he noticed a familiar type of aura. He looked towards the Midnight mountain and saw a massive dragon wrapped around the peak, sleeping. He froze.