The Innkeeper

Chapter 1422  Is that supposed to happen?

Gerard and Velma merely nodded, as if it was just to be expected that others could not see through the Innkeeper. How could the Innkeeper dare to say that his Inn is the best in the universe if he did not have the confidence to take on the universe?

Lex, on the other hand, thought of the deeper implications of Ripley's words. A hierarchy of power began to develop in Lex's mind of the universe, though for now everything about it was very vague.

Any true organization or even race that wished to establish a foundation in the universe must have, at the very least, a Dao Lord. So to be worth anything at all, even barely worth notice, in the universe the lowest level of power was to have a Dao Lord.

Then came organisations and races that had a number of Dao Lords, after which came those who controlled a major realm.

Just like having a Dao Lord was a benchmark, controlling a major realm was also some kind of benchmark, and differentiated those strong enough to have one, and those who weren't.

Then, finally, came those like the Versalis Bank who had shares in or controlled part of multiple realms.

Also, the top most powerful organizations had some method to know the secrets of the universe, which may or may not include the location of other realms.

This hierarchy was still vague, and lacked a lot of information, such as how many Dao Lords would someone need to control a major realm. It also didn't take into account any alliances, or beings above the Dao Lord realm. Lex also noticed a distinct lack of mention of Deities.

They had not even left the Origin realm yet and Lex was already learning an immense amount about the universe.

The three of them teleported from Dunya to Pansolis while Ripley continued to share information about how they would travel to the Artica realm, and the moment they arrived on the new planet Lex felt a suffocating presence.

It lasted only for the briefest of moments, but it was enough to cause him to be covered in sweat and pale.

He wasn't the only one. Gerard and Velma were also startled by the presence, though Ripley seemed to be expecting it.

"Sorry I didn't mention it before, I'm actually not allowed to divulge such information. The first time you come to Pansolis, or any planet close to the Henali base of operations, a Henali Dao Lord will scan you and memorize your aura. This is so that no one unwanted can sneak into this region. It's the most protected place within the Origin realm. Try not to divulge any information about what you see here. You never know who you might offend."

Lex wiped the sweat off his brow as he understood that over here, on Pansolis the vibe they were going for was the exact opposite that the Inn tried to create. He wanted all his guests who entered the Inn to be overwhelmed by how calming and peaceful it felt. In comparison, no matter how rich the energy was or how beautiful the sights were, Lex would not forget the horror of the aura he felt any time soon. That was likely the whole point of the aura to begin with. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

They followed Ripley out of the building they arrived in, suddenly all very somber and silent. Even Ripley did not try to lighten the mood, for he knew that this wasn't a sensation that would go away easily.

Lex, for some reason, did not feel like observing Pansolis too much after that shock, but the one thing that did make an impression on him was that there were a lot of Celestial immortals in this place.

But he seemed not to notice their identities or their affiliations, and just kept to himself. The group got in a flying ship right with Ripley, and took a silent ride to some place that the group did not really focus on.

Before anyone realized it, they were all sitting in a circular glass container with 9 seats around the edges. Lex, Velma and Gerard all sat in their seats while Ripley followed a few minutes later. A moment later, the formation underneath them activated, and they were no longer within the Origin realm.

The teleportation, however, was not instantaneous. Fortunately, within the glass container, they were all saved from any pressure that interrealm teleportation might have caused. More importantly, their subdued state suddenly faded, as if they had been under the effect of a charm of some kind.

"Take your time to recover. Traveling to Pansolis is not easy for anyone, especially the first time around."

Lex wanted to ask questions about that place, and why they made such a big deal about keeping things secret. Instead, he focused on the part of their journey to come.

"So the place we're going to now is the main headquarters for the Versalis Bank?" he asked.

"Oh heavens no," Ripley said, barking a laugh at the question, as if it was the most absurd thing ever. "No, the main headquarters can only be visited by Dao Lords. We are heading to the nearest large branch, which is the Berklay branch which is within the Uzuz Major realm, which is the nearest Major realm to the Origin realm.

"In the Berklay branch, you will be joining a number of other distinguished guests of the bank who have been sponsored to go to the Expo. You will learn about the peculiarities and laws of the Artica major realm, as well as the standard operating procedure for cross-cultural interactions in such large-scale events. "You will be given your identification badges, and go through the standard immunizations that you will need for the Artica major realm. Once everyone is ready, you will go to that realm with the entire group. I'm afraid I won't be accompanying you during this process.

"In case you're wondering why you haven't been given such a briefing and immunizations before entering the Uzuz Major realm, it's because within the realm you will strictly be kept within the boundaries of the bank branch.

"So long as you're there, you won't need your immunizations and the peculiarities of the realm will not affect you, so it is unnecessary. By the way, there will also be a short seminar on political correctness and general universal history that I strongly recommend you all attend.

"Unfortunately, even as guests of the Inn, as humans, you are predisposed to attracting the ire of certain groups. I won't tell you how to handle a situation in which someone else is provoking you, but at least you should be aware of who might provoke you before the matter happens."

"Seminars and meetings before my vacations are my favorite part," Lex said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but he didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, he recalled what he had once been told by the Governor of the Henali.

Due to his family history, he might be targeted. The Sephore family, from whom he was technically descended, was one some people had specifically tried to wipe out.

"This is a silly question because I can probably guess the answer but… do you think there will be dragons there?" Lex asked with a hint of excitement.

"Naturally, there will be dragons both in your group in Uzuz, as well as numerous dragons with Artica. No one dares to show disrespect to dragons. They are very particular about such things."

Lex merely nodded as he observed their surroundings, his thoughts wandering. Since they were mid-teleportation, their surroundings were in a state of flux, ever changing and completely indistinguishable. His thoughts, however, were strictly focused on the topic of dragons.

For reasons Lex was not entirely sure of, the dragons back in the Origin realm had promptly shifted from wanting him hunted down to defending him and having his back. He had tried to find out the reason for that, but everything pointed towards the fact that it was a decision taken by the dragon king of the Origin realm, who Lex could not meet even if he wanted to.

A part of him suspected that the reason for the sudden change might be related to Charles from the Inn, since the dragon king did leave a letter for him, but he wasn't sure.

As such, he really wanted to see how the dragons would react to him having a dragon's heart. From what he'd heard, dragons were supposed to be pretty discriminatory.

"I have a question," Gerard said, his appearance stoic and his tone the very personification of calmness.

"What is it?" Ripley asked.

"It seems to me that this glass container is supposed to protect us from something. In that case, is it normal if the energy inside of it starts to leak?"

"What?" Ripley asked, not exactly understanding the question. Lex, instead, suddenly became serious as began observing the glass container. No one was better at sensing the flow of energy than someone with the Regalia Bloom bloodline.

"I mean, the energy within this container that is keeping it stable and secure seems to be dissipating quite rapidly. You can see what I mean if you look there."

The whole group looked in the direction Gerard pointed, and saw a single crack on the glass.