The Innkeeper

Chapter 1816: Task

When the members of the security team started to disappear from the Inn, Lex immediately thought that the Inn itself was being targeted somehow, and the mercenaries were being sent back through some security loophole in his system.

All the weird stuff that happened with the system users afterwards also reinforced that idea. However, considering that not much actually happened at the Inn, it was plausible that the targets had been the Reaving Dread. But even so, it did not make sense for them to be attacked through the Inn - unless someone was trying to send the Inn a message.

"Since you know about systems, I can share that I’m a part of a Universal groupchat of system users, as well as those who want to become system users. I dare say, this group is one of the largest secret organizations in the universe, with devastating power at its disposal.

"A very senior member of the group has initiated a war against the Reaving Dread mercenaries. Battles have already occurred in several realms, including the Origin realm where the base of the mercenaries is being attacked.

"Yet, this is not an easy war to win, so this is only the first stage. My role was to observe the reaction of the Inn, since it is a notable client of the mercenaries, to the invasion and judge whether the Inn and the mercenaries have any kind of alliance. The other system users, even the chameleon, were just being used by me to study whether the Inn offers the mercenaries any help, whether it be in terms of arms, ammunition, fighters, sanctuary or anything else."

KD paused again, and looked at Lex oddly for a moment before slightly changing the topic.

"Since you yourself are a notable person of power and influence, I suspect you might be a good fit for our groupchat so I want to extend an invite to you for the chat. Naturally, since I am inviting you, I will also explain some details about the chat which I am allowed to share with nonmembers."

In front of Lex, a notification panel appeared - one similar to what he was used to seeing. The difference was that the notification sound was slightly different, and the panel’s color scheme seemed off.

New Notification: You have been invited by a level 4 member to join the Universe-wide chatroom. Do you accept? Y/N!

Lex looked from the notification to KD, and raised his eyebrow out of curiosity. He could tell that KD wasn’t allowed to speak freely, so sending Lex an invite may be a way to discuss the details of the chat.

"You just said that the group is one of the most powerful in the universe, and yet you also claimed that you couldn’t take on the mercenaries. Isn’t that a contradiction? Besides, let’s say you discovered the Inn offered the mercenaries some help. No, not even that. Say some of the mercenaries stay at the Inn as guests. What will you do? Attack the Inn as well?"

It was a loaded question, and though Lex was smiling as he spoke, and was of a lower cultivation level, KD still felt his body tense under Lex’s gaze.

"The groupchat is one of the strongest secret organizations in the universe, of that there is no doubt," KD said. "But it is not necessarily a cohesive one. A senior member declared war, but that does not mean that the senior member can control the rest of us. Members cannot control other members, they can only put up tasks that other members can participate in if they want some rewards. Or, if the task is put up by a moderator for the groupchat, then doing the tasks allows members to level up within the group.

"Higher levels means better perks and benefits, access to secret hidden channels, as well as the ability to put up a wider variety of tasks of your own. The groupchat is the largest organized force of system users in the universe, so being able to leverage them makes the chat incredibly powerful.

"At the same time, the loose organizational structure of the chat also means that no one can be forced to do anything. In fact, not even the creator of the chatroom can force anyone to do anything.

"It is for that reason why the chat is so powerful, and also for that reason that it is not so simple to destroy the Reaving Dread mercenaries. It is also for that reason that the chat does not go around blatantly revealing its reach and influence. So if it were discovered that the Midnight Inn was helping the mercenaries, the only thing we would do is alter our strategy.

"Picking a fight with another powerful enemy would only make the fight harder. After all, the members are not obligated to fight. If they think that the task is not worth the rewards, or it is too risky, then they can quit. At most they would face a penalty from the chatroom.

"If you join the chat, you will start out as a low level member, with your objective being getting your hands on a system. Once you get a system, though, you can begin climbing the ranks of the chatroom and truly take advantage of the most widespread network in the universe."

Lex could tell that KD was being as forthcoming as he possibly could. It likely wasn’t his conscience forcing him to speak so freely - rather, it was probably the threat of that Karmic contract that was making him be so forthcoming.

"In truth, the war on the Reaving Dread is a part of a much larger movement going on in the universe, where everyone seems to be slowly heading in the direction of war. Amidst the growing chaos, I have my own reason for taking the task related to the Inn. I chose to take on this assignment with the Midnight Inn... because I have attracted the wrong kind of attention lately. I need to take on some tasks that I will fail to reduce my presence. First, the brand identity I’ve built of being undefeatable must perish, and then so too must the empire I’ve built with my own hands."