The Innkeeper

Chapter 1805: All that you know

Lex narrowed his eyes, studying not the chameleon, but the soul signature that seemed to be overriding the chameleon’s consciousness.

To be honest, the challenge seemed entirely inconsequential, and in fact even seemed detrimental to him. If he won, he could understand the motives of the chameleon, but if he lost, the Inn would owe a favor. The limitations or restrictions of the favor were not mentioned, which made it very open ended. Furthermore, Lex strongly suspected that KD, the person behind the scenes, had a system that would enforce the conditions of the bet. If the conditions weren’t met, the system would likely ensure heavy consequences making it so that no one ever reneged on a bet, regardless of how steep the conditions were.

“To be entirely honest, my inclination to accept this unnecessary bet of yours is not very high. I don’t seem to have any actual reason to accept your challenge, and the benefits you’re offering aren’t remotely equal to the demands you’re making.”

Lex paused after saying as much, making the chameleon think he was about to be rejected.

“To ignore… my challenge would be… a mistake,” said the chameleon.

The chameleon was about to continue, but Lex’s sudden smirk caused it to pause.

“No, I think you’re misunderstanding. Why would I give up an opportunity to entertain the guests of the Inn for free? A dance off is fine. But since there is an imbalance between the win and loss conditions, you must answer two questions of mine first. If you answer those questions, then I can agree to the bet on the behalf of the Inn. Of course, you need to be aware that even if you win a favor from the Inn, the favor will have restrictions, for the Inn will never break its own rules, or unilaterally do something unfavorable for itself because you wish to call in a favor.”

The chameleon paused, before agreeing.

“What are the… two questions?”

Lex’s faint smirk faded as his focus on the soul signature increased.

“Why did you exclusively use system-users to execute your actions within the Inn? And how did you locate four Heaven Immortal system users?”

This time, the chameleon stayed frozen for much longer, as if the lag between the soul influencing the spirit, and the actual body had increased drastically. The soul signature did not fluctuate too much, unexpectedly.

Almost every time a system user had been confronted with the fact that others knew about systems, they had been extremely shocked. This was the only notable exception, though considering the number of system users recruited for this task, it made sense.

“The Midnight Inn… knows about systems… how rare,” the chameleon said, slowly. “I used system users… because their Karma is messy… to attract the Innkeepers attention. This way, based on his reputation… the Innkeeper was likely to… agree to my challenge. I cannot reveal… the details of how I… found them, but I can say… that I can find… many more.”

Lex raised an eyebrow out of curiosity, but did not comment on his ability to find more. Instead, he focused on the fact that KD found the Inn knowing about systems interesting.

“The Midnight Inn is set to become the best inn in the universe, accepting all who want to be a guest. That includes not just system users, but systems themselves as well. Do not be surprised by what you know about the Inn, because all that you know is infinitely less than what you don’t know. Having said that…”

Lex grinned, interest and curiosity flashing through his eyes.

“I can confirm for you,” Lex said loudly, this time his voice echoing through not only the roof, but across the entire Inn! “That the Inn accepts your dance challenge! State the rules!”

It was not just his voice that spread through the Inn. Just as the auction had been visible from across the Inn, a view of the roof became accessible, allowing everyone to see Lex standing across the possessed chameleon!

ILikeButt-erflys: Oh my lord! It’s happening! The sequel to Dungeons & Dances that none of us saw coming!

AdamAndTheSnake: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Isn’t that the chameleon who disrupted the auction earlier? What’s happening? Where did the dance off come from?

FangYuan: This is what being merciful gets you – public dancing. Should have just killed him on stage!

DiscoDiscoBoomBoom: You don’t mess with the Inn man. R.I.Pieces

PowerPuffPretzels: Oooh I can feel the mojo radiating off Lex! This is going to be good! Do you want a partner? We can tango!

To be entirely honest, although the stakes were entirely unknown to Lex, he had the confidence to deal with the situation. Although he was not a dancer, per se, fighting and dancing were actually quite similar.

He had seen first hand how Giselle’s fights too looked like a ballet performance, and could figure out a way to do the reserve. Although he understood that if KD were a system user, this dance off would give him a great advantage, since when had Lex been afraid of being disadvantaged? Or rather, when had he ever held an advantage against his foes?

The chameleon did not respond immediately, instead seemingly taking a moment to absorb what Lex had said. The Midnight Inn hosted not only system users, but systems as well?

KD, a member of the System-hunter group chat, had thought that his understanding about systems and the universe was exceptional, but it seemed he was like a frog in a well, only gazing upon a fraction of the night sky.

“The dance off will be… in three rounds,” the chameleon said slowly. “The first… round will be… a group dance. The second round… will be… a couples dance. The final round will be… a solo. Whoever wins two… out of three dances… will be the winner. The competition will be streamed… live across… the Origin realm. All viewers… can vote… in each round. The results… will be announced… at the end of each round.”

Lex nodded.

“That’s acceptable. When will the competition take place?”

The chameleon turned his head sideways.

“Right… now.”

*****

Cold Brood Empire, Capital Planet

KD turned towards everyone who stood alongside him in the emergency reaction room, ignoring the massive display on the screen that showed an unstoppable invading army.

“Gents, this is a matter for the very survival of the Cold Brood Empire. We have to dance like our lives depend on it, because they very well might.”