Soon after, the comedian went offstage, and the YouTuber went on. Similar to her last performance, she sat on stage alone on a stool. Her excitement was clearly visible on her face, though Lex did not think she cared for the award that would be granted to the entire planet. Clearly, whoever had brought her had promised her other prizes should she manage to get first place.
After taking a few moments to calm herself, she began her performance. This time she sang the song 'A thousand years'. Her voice was melodic and sweet and had great harmony. Still, it was surprising to Lex that this is what the Beasts appreciated. He could have sworn that the two fighters smashing each other's guts out was more appealing to them. Guess he learnt his lesson on stereotyping.
For a few minutes, the Inn went silent. The YouTubers' voice could be heard in every corner, and all the guests stopped whatever they were doing to enjoy the song. The birds and parrots native to the Inn arrived at the coliseum and started flying in circles around the stage.
Even Little Blue, who had been throwing a tantrum, stopped to listen, much to the relief of the Gardener as only he was watching the whale.
The Sovereign Galactic Turtle did not stop what he was doing, as he was busy using the Devil/fertilizer to nurture the three rare seeds Le had given it, yet gently bobbed its head along.
For the first time, Lex noticed that cultivators and Beasts alike were captivated by the young woman's voice, despite her being a complete mortal and having no bloodline to help her. Lex could not help but think of the ballerina at this moment. Had she not dropped out, would she have made it to the finals?.
The thought was fleeting, and Lex quickly forgot about it as he lost himself in the moment. Hers was the quickest performance, yet its impact was undeniable. Once the performance ended, it was officially the end of the first part of the show.
Lex suddenly realized that at this moment he should have gone on stage to announce the winners, and share some details about the next portion of the games. But he was standing next to Harry and John, and it would be extremely suspicious if he suddenly disappeared, right before the Innkeeper appeared. He could not tell if this was just a result of him being forgetful or his tumor was affecting his decision making again. Either way, he needed to handle it.
After considering what to do for a moment, he made his decision. An announcement was heard across the Inn.
"The winner for the first portion will be declared at 6 pm, along with the details for the combat portion of the Games."
With that, those who were waiting for the prize ceremony relaxed. It also gave them time to call everyone who was absent so that they could also attend the ceremony. Once again, it all seemed planned for the benefit of the guests, and not at all like a planning debacle, which it actually was.
"It seems like the ceremony is a few hours away," Leo said, turning to John. "How about you tell me about bloodlines in the meantime?"
"Oh, do you already have 1000 MP saved up? Your Gamers den must make more MP than I realized. Sure, follow me to my room. I would rather not have such conversations in public."
Leo almost flinched as he realized another mistake. His income from the Gamers' den wasn't that much considering the cost of renting a PC was only 1MP, yet he dismissed the 1000 MP because he was considering his massive supply of MP as Lex. Leo should have tried to negotiate down the cost. This huge sum would also limit how many questions he could ask at a time. But what was done was done, there was no use in crying over spilt milk.
"Sure, let's go. Harry, do you want to join us?"
"Uh, can I?" he asked hesitantly.
"Of course, since I'm paying anyway there's no reason you shouldn't take advantage."
With that, the three of them retreated to Battle Ax. Even now, there were a few people waiting to avail John's services, but he was taking a break for the rest of the day and told them as much.
Inside the trio made themselves comfortable as Leo sent John the 1000 MP. This was a hefty amount, no doubt, but the understanding was that anytime Lex had questions about bloodlines John would answer them now.
"Bloodlines are a vague concept," John began, his voice deeper than normal. "There is a general understanding of how they work based on many millennia of study, but there will occasionally be a new bloodline that contradicts previously understood convention, which is why they are not considered having strict rules.
"When talking of bloodlines, the first question that comes up is, what is the difference between a being with a bloodline and one without? This is because, even in the same species, there can be various bloodlines. The clearest example is the previous human who had a bloodline, but there are so many other humans present here who do not.
"The effect of bloodlines can be expressed in two main ways. The first is the effect on the person carrying the bloodline, and the second is the effect on those near the carrier. Usually, the effect on the person carrying the bloodline is some kind of enhancement to strength or ability, while to those near the carrier are some kind of suppression. I am being as general as possible, because bloodlines really are too varied and have too many effects.
"For example, the human performer. His bloodline did not seem to suppress those around him, but had some kind of charm effect. In Beasts, the role of bloodlines is more common and apparent. A Beast with a bloodline will have an easier time growing stronger, but its growth will be guided according to its bloodline. Here, they also suffer a drawback which is that if they encounter another Beast with the same bloodline, the one with a weaker or thinner bloodline will suffer an innate suppression.
"The second question that is asked often is how is a bloodline formed? Even this has a few different answers. The purest bloodlines are formed as a result of cultivation. When a being reaches a very high level of cultivation, his or her bloodline naturally gains certain abilities or attributes according to how that being cultivated.
"For example, if a human cultivator who is focused on cultivating with a technique with an affinity for fire reaches a high enough level, his bloodline will gain attributes that support fire based techniques. If that human has any children after that, a bloodline that aids in cultivating fire based techniques will be formed and passed on to his descendants.
"The second, and the most common way, that bloodlines are formed is through the descendants of two different species. For example, if a human and a devil were to have a child, while the child will be born in the same species as the mother, the child will also inherit a bloodline that mixes the strengths of both races.
"The third way, and perhaps the most unstable way, that produces special bloodlines is to absorb the blood essence of any being with a much higher cultivation than oneself. To succeed in this there are many precautions one must take, and one has to be very careful when selecting the blood essence. Any mistake or complication can easily end up in death. For those that survive the mistake may end up with a bloodline that is more detrimental than beneficial. This kind of bloodline also rarely passes down to descendants, and may pass many generations before showing up again.
"But this kind of bloodline is also the easiest to upgrade or grow, due to its unstable nature. All one has to do is continue to absorb the same or similar bloodlines at a higher realm or concentration. Usually, only those who are unable to continue cultivating choose such a path."
John kept giving the two a lecture, and they both listened avidly. They were both newcomers to the world of cultivation and their knowledge and experience was extremely lacking. They asked him various questions, and as if he were a living library John was able to give them all the answers they required. John's depth of knowledge was truly commendable, but then, considering his profession at the Inn, such a fact should already have been obvious.
John was incredibly patient in answering all their questions, as his actual profession, an assassin, also required an insurmountable level of patience.
Just as the conversation was coming to a close, and Leo started thinking of excuses to leave, Harry asked, "Hey John, is it okay if I ask questions unrelated to this as well? I can also pay, I've saved up enough."
"Sure, I see no harm," the man replied with a smile. It seemed poverty was no longer written in his destiny, as the MP came towards him without him even putting in any effort.
"I want to know how to raise the level of my soul."
John raised an interested eyebrow, and Leo froze where he stood. Maybe he should stick around a little longer.
Once the topic of the soul was touched upon, both Leo and John became interested. Leo because he himself was looking for ways to stabilize his soul, while John because it was such a rare topic for low level cultivators. Even at higher realms, while it was more important to take note of, rarely would anyone specifically focus on it.
Harry sent John the MP, which prompted him to wake from his stupor.
"If you're interested in the soul, you're very lucky to have met me. Few people are as knowledgeable about the soul as I. It's not a topic many focus on. Let's start with what the soul actually is.
"The soul is the very foundation for any living being. A being can live without a spirit, and it can live without a body, and occasionally even without both, but in order for a being to be alive it must have a soul!
"Souls are the only common feature shared by all living beings, yet at the same time, for something so common, it is the most elusive. As rare as they are, you will often come across natural treasures that aid in spirit or body cultivation, but hardly ever will you come across something that aids in the growth of the soul. In common cultivation convention, you only start actively strengthening the soul when you reach the Nascent realm..
"Cultivation techniques that focus on using or strengthening the soul are so rare that even I have never actually seen them." John paused for a moment and eyed Harry. He already knew that Harry was practicing some strange technique that used his soul strength to affect his clients. It was something he had never come across before. Had the situation been different, maybe he would have been tempted to 'ask' Harry the details about his cultivation. Now though, John was properly terrified of the Innkeeper and was on his best behavior. There were some enemies even assassins would not dare cross.
"If you want me to make techniques that aid in strengthening your soul, I cannot help you. But I am familiar with some of the most common treasures that can aid in soul cultivation, so I can provide you with some guidance there.
"Much like spirit stones, which contain pure spirit energy, there are soul stones that can be used. But the thing about soul stones is that they can be used by anyone at all to strengthen their soul, which is why they are absolutely rare. Like spirit stones, they also come in different levels of strength and purity, but again, they are so rare that you are unlikely to encounter one easily.
"The next best thing for someone at your level to use is Angel dust, Faerie grass or Purified Wraiths blood. Angel dust is incredibly powerful, yet at the same time very stable and nurturing so it can be used even at your low level. But to get some, you would have to buy it from the Angels. It's expensive and rare, but at least you know the source. The Purified Wraith's blood is a product sold by Devils. If you have the guts, you can go buy it from them.
"The Faerie grass is probably the best option for you, as it's a naturally occurring treasure. But it is extremely, extremely rare. The good news is that it only works for low level cultivators, so the chances of you finding it are much higher than any of the others.
"The next best way, but an incredibly slow way, for you to increase your soul strength is to completely exhaust it and then let it recover naturally. The way your body builds muscle after great exertion, the soul also grows. It might be somewhat beneficial to you at your current level, but in the long run it's so slow that the natural growth experienced by your soul when you cultivate, though limited, out paces it."
John paused again, because he knew this was what Harry was most interested in and wanted to give him time to absorb the information. But since he had been paid to give information on the soul, he would do his job properly. His pride demanded it.
"While nurturing a soul is incredibly difficult, harming it on the other hand is very easy, which is why soul protection treasures are very valuable. One of the ways…" Though he tried to hide it, his excitement when talking about all the ways to kill a person by harming their soul came out just a little.
The basic summary of everything he said that Leo took away was that if he found a way to hurt souls, under the Nascent realm he'd become extremely dangerous. It also gave him a better idea of how incredible Regal Embrace was as it allowed his soul to heal naturally alongside his body, something that was otherwise unthinkable. No souls healed on their own and would always require external aid.
Once John was done, Leo excused himself and teleported away. Shedding his persona, Lex donned his suit once more and readied himself for the award ceremony. He'd learnt a lot of important things that would help him a lot in the cultivation of his soul, but those were things he would focus on after the Midnight Games.
He spent the next few hours meditating. He'd noticed himself making more and more mistakes recently, something he could not allow himself to do as the Innkeeper. He had to calm his mind and, preferably, get in the state of 'flow' that he'd gotten in earlier somehow. Unfortunately, the state eluded him once again.
As a backup, he explained his plan to Marry in great detail to vet for any obvious mistakes. Fortunately there were none. He repeated his plan to himself a couple of times to prepare. He didn't understand why he still felt nervous. He'd already addressed these people a few times, you'd think he'd be used to it by now.
He put all such thoughts out of his mind, took a deep breath, and focused on the task at hand. He teleported out to the main stage wearing the warm, gentle smile that the Innkeeper often wore.
"How quickly the performances have already ended," he said looking at the full coliseum. Unlike during the performances when everyone was in their rooms, this time everyone sat out in the open. It was a sign of respect towards the Innkeeper.
"The performances, in my humble opinion, were stellar. It was great to see so many similarities in culture, not only across various worlds, but across many species as well. It just shows, whether it's a display of strength, beauty, art or music, everyone can appreciate it. I hope this event serves as a foundation for a friendship that will last the ages.
"I could continue to stand here and compliment each performance endlessly, but I think it would be best if we just got on with the show. So, without any more delays, I would like to announce the winner of the first portion of the Midnight Games.
"Alissa Harmony from Earth, congratulations on putting on a performance that moved the heart and soul of your audience. Please, stand so that you may be recognized."
In the crowd, the young youtuber stood up feeling a rush of exhilaration without comparison. She was dressed in a long red gown which complimented fair skin and blushing cheeks splendidly. Lex almost felt bad that the award was being shared by the whole planet without a special prize for her, but he also knew that as a mortal she would be in great danger if she received any prizes from him. No one would harm her at the Inn, of course, but back on Earth someone may not be able to control their greed.
"Naturally since there is a winner, there must be an award. But this time, the prize is not only for the winner, but the whole planet that they represent. The first prize is for all the performers of Earth. Whenever someone on your planet gives a performance that is able to resonate with enough people, they will automatically be invited to perform at the Midnight Inn. Of course, whether they accept or not is up to them, but should they accept they will be able to perform for audiences from across the universe!"
This was completely a prize for the performers and not a secret way for Lex to get free and frequent entertaining events at the Inn. No sir, it only benefited the performers.
"The second and final award, though simple, can be shared by the entire planet. After one month, a new hidden realm will be opened on Earth containing the heritage of an ancient cultivator, and will remain open for one entire year. What kind of treasures you can reap will be completely up to you, but whatever they may be, this will be a great opportunity."
The Innkeeper spoke in his usual casual tone, but whether it was the humans, the Devils or the Beasts, they all had a change in expression. This was no 'simple' prize
Whether they be called minor realms, hidden realms, secret realms, pocket dimensions or anything else, the concept was the same. It was basically a separate pocket of space, disconnected from the main universe. Sometimes they formed naturally, and in some cases, a very high leveled cultivator could open them up on their own.
These separate dimensions had their own ecosystem and existed in their own sustained balance. Sometimes, this ecosystem was extremely hazardous and could not support life. But in cases like this, such realms often give birth to extremely precious and rare treasures, whether they be in the form of precious ores, liquids, gasses or anything else. Most of the time, however, these realms had a very stable environment, rich in spiritual energy.
If these realms were left untouched by outside interference, they often gave birth to extremely powerful Beasts or other species with incredibly high talents. Most such realms found on Earth were extremely small and were full of opportunities for anyone to take. They opened at fixed or random intervals, and so could only be treated as places for small, quick incursions. That was also why, after so many years, these realms still had not been stripped of all their treasures – they just didn't have the time to do so.
Having a realm remain open for one year continuously was unheard of on Earth, which is why they could not believe it. This was too good to be true. This was not mentioning that the realm the Innkeeper was talking about was most likely a new realm to the Earthlings, so far unexplored.
The reason why Sloth of the Beasts, and the remaining Devils were surprised was completely different. Space was complex beyond what most people could normally comprehend. Most people saw it as a linear existence. Some incredibly intelligent scientists on Earth theorized the nature of space to be curved. Yet high leveled cultivators who could directly feel the complexity of space knew just how much more complicated than that it was.
Based on the assumption that the realm the Innkeeper opened for Earth was one that was already anchored to Earth, his achievement was already amazing. Finding and artificially opening hidden realms without causing them to collapse and retain their stable ecosystem required a deep understanding of space beyond what was normally seen. This was completely ignoring the level of cultivation required..
But there was another possibility, one that was truly mind blowing. Hidden realms that were anchored to a planet moved in space alongside the planet as it not only orbited its sun, but as its solar system moved in the universe. This is why they could be opened repeatedly in the same place on the planet multiple times. But some hidden realms had no anchors and moved through space like a leaf flying through the wind.
These hidden realms were much more difficult to find, to the point where one might not be discovered in a hundred thousand years. Once they were found, they needed to be artificially anchored to a point before they could be opened, yet doing so would tamper with the internal ecosystem of the hidden realm. Being able to anchor it without tampering with the ecosystem was even rarer than finding such a realm, and then maintaining the opening for a long time was even harder.
Whether the Innkeeper had achieved the former or the latter, both were extremely impressive. And daunting. It also led to the possibility that the Inn existed in a hidden realm that the Innkeeper either discovered or created – whichever the case, the result was very telling about the Innkeepers' capabilities.
Lex, of course, had no idea about the various complexities involving him opening such a realm. All he knew was that he selected one of the cheapest prizes the system offered. The prize would be different depending on which planet won, as the same realm could not be accessed by all three planets. Whatever the truth of the matter was, Lex was pleased to see that his prize had thoroughly impressed the crowd. If only he knew the true ramifications of what he had done.
In one of the rooms in the coliseum sat two beings that appeared to be human. They 'appeared' to be human, because one of them was Loretta in a completely different disguise. This time when she came to the Inn she avoided all the Devils. In fact, she avoided meeting anyone. She appeared, rented the room, and hadn't left since. The 'man' who was sitting beside her had only appeared yesterday. He watched the Innkeeper with great interest and observed each and every action of his. He analyzed every word and focused on every expression he made.
"He is somewhat interesting," the man said softly to Loretta. He was not worried about being overheard because they had, naturally, set up their own isolation formation in the room. "I cannot get a read on his cultivation, but the Celestial I've basically seen through. When the Innkeeper is not around, he monitors the whole Inn. But as soon as the Innkeeper appears, he follows the Innkeeper closely. If I didn't know better, I would say the Celestial is acting like a bodyguard."
The man had managed to get all this information without using his spiritual sense, which may have alerted the Innkeeper. How exactly he obtained this information, though, was a mystery.
"If the Innkeeper needs a bodyguard, maybe he's not that strong," Loretta said. They themselves had not seen the Innkeeper make a move personally, so there was still some room for speculation. But realistically speaking, no one believed the Innkeeper was weak.
"It's unlikely. He is most probably just using the Celestial as a deterrent, and so that he himself does not need to make a move. This way, he can keep his spiritual signature hidden. This Innkeeper may be some old acquaintance we previously thought dead, and by not making a move personally, he can continue to hide his identity."
The man thought for a moment before he continued. "There is also the possibility he is from the unknown regions of space. That would make things more tricky."
"So, what do you think we should do?"
"For now, wait. I want to see exactly how he will conduct his 'games'. According to what you told me, the contestants are limited to Foundation and Golden Core realms, but I've had a few secret guards assigned to each node. How will he avoid them, I wonder?"
Loretta nodded, silently accepting what the man said. All they had to do now was wait.
In a different room, a lone human sat as he watched the Innkeeper. He had a mischievous grin on his face, and under his breath he also kept muttering 'interesting'. In front of him lay a report personally written by Ragnar.
Back on stage, Lex only waited for a couple of moments for his audience to absorb the details of his reward before he continued his speech.
"With that concluded, let's now turn our attention to the combat portion of the Midnight Games. There are ten nodes that need to be destroyed, and so there will be ten games. The first five of those games will be played by the Foundation realm contestants, and the latter five by the Golden Core contestants.
"Going along with the theme of five, each planet may bring five thousand contestants for the Foundation and Golden core stages each. But I advise you to take this matter very seriously, as even though they are titled 'games', each round will be fraught with real danger. Once you enter the round, until victory or defeat is determined, your life is very much in real danger.
"The games will take place one by one, and only the survivors of the first game can enter the second. The teams for each world will enter the round at the same time and it's entirely up to you if you want to work together, work independently or even sabotage one another.
"At the end of each round, all three worlds will gain points based on three things: total number of zombie kills by contestants of that world, total contribution to the destruction of the node and total number of survivors.
"The rounds will be played in a siege format, with the zombies defending and the three worlds attacking. However, during each round unexpected events may occur that make each round more interesting.
"The combat portion of the Midnight Games will begin in exactly 24 hours, and all contestants for the first five games must be registered and present in the Inn at that time or they won't get an opportunity to participate."
The Innkeeper paused for a moment, and looked at the serious faces of his various guests.
"We've already seen how the three worlds live when they have harmony. Now it's time to see how they perform during times of war. I encourage you all to do your best, as the prizes for this portion of the games will only be better than the previous ones, not worse."
Not giving them any time for questions, Lex disappeared from the stage. They had much to prepare and it was best if they utilized their time properly.
Even the sloth, who was so far uninterested in competing, turned to look at Greens Haven and said, "gather your armies. We must win this award."
The reward of a new hidden realm was extremely enticing to every party present. The potential of a reward the Innkeeper said was even more valuable directly affected everyone's plans.
The lazy sloth that originally could not be bothered at all with the Midnight Games suddenly returned to Nibiru and, for the first time, made his presence known worldwide. There was no drowsiness in his eyes as he flew over the various continents of the planet, scanning all beings with his spiritual senses. Just getting the strongest Beasts at the Foundation and Golden Core would not work. He needed the proper cohesiveness of an army, or at least various smaller units, who could work together.
Originally, he had planned to use this time to evaluate the Beasts from Earth and Vegus Minima, very few of whom had actually arrived. Now he had just met them, flashed them with his cultivation level, and told them that he would meet with them once the next event finally began. If they waited for him, they might receive some benefits. If not, Golden Hair no longer cared as much.
Greens Haven was also mobilizing his subordinates while Blood Fang, who had already prepared to fight, was directly informed by the sloth that he would be taking command. At first the wolf was dissatisfied, as even though the sloth was stronger, it did not mean the wolf was a coward and would easily hand over command of its forces. Yet the sloth pacified the wolf easily by guiding it on how it could further transform its Inferior Lykaios bloodline, something that it had been trying to do its whole life.
Since the reward would be shared by the whole planet instead of an individual, Blood Fang decided to temporarily give the sloth control of its various forces..
The Earthlings' reaction was just as substantial. Immediately, the five Nascants called a meeting and started discussing their plans. There were multiple things they needed to take into account when deciding their actions. Their first priority was Earth.
Despite their best efforts to negotiate with the rebels, their efforts remained unrewarded. They needed to leave enough forces on Earth to protect their interests which, unfortunately, meant it was impossible for them to send an army of five thousand Golden Core cultivators to fight. This was especially so since, on Earth, Golden Core cultivators were no longer considered soldiers and were at the very top level of each force.
With such a glaring disadvantage, they directly decided to forgo trying to win the combat portion of the games. They would instead negotiate with the Jotun Empire and try to gain the greatest advantages they could in exchange for helping the Empire attain victory.
This in itself would not be an easy feat, as their relationship with the empire had undergone an undesirable change. They were not able to accept Ragnar's deal of recruiting 1.5 million people unless the Inn acted as a conduit for transporting them, nor were they willing to give up Earth's location. The fallout from that was not as bad as they expected. When they informed Anthony of their decision, he seemed to have expected as much. The real difficulty was then in deciding what further benefits they could gain from one another.
Anthony was in no way as flexible as Ragnar had been during their meeting and maintained a superior stance throughout every subsequent meeting they had. Though he did not explicitly say so, his actions strongly let them know that they had nothing to give to the Empire outside of their performance during the games.
Now with such a prize up for grabs, the Earthlings' support became more valuable. The families decided amongst themselves what exactly they wanted and how much they were willing to contribute. It went without saying that most of them wanted resources to promote their Nascent cultivation. Only Fateh and Brandon decided to put the needs of their families first. With the decision made, the five of them went to find Anthony and begin a new round of negotiations.
The soldiers from the Empire had the mildest reaction. This wasn't because they did not want the award – on the contrary, the award was extremely important to them. Access to a hidden realm could provide them with precious resources that would aid them in their conquest, even on the other two Vegus planets. Even though the Empire itself was immeasurably rich, distant waters could not put out nearby fires.
No, the soldiers had the mildest reaction because they had planned on doing their best from the very getgo. Tens of thousands of their soldiers were already on standby, awaiting their orders. The games wouldn't even be that different from their normal jobs, as they were tasked with killing zombies anyway.
Gathering up Foundation realm soldiers had been a slight – emphasis on 'slight' – problem for them. This was because Foundation realm was actually too low a level for them to be considered active service soldiers. Their proper designation was trainee soldiers. But even as trainees, they were strong enough to outclass most others at their level.
For the Empire, this was slightly akin to asking high school level kids to undertake a dangerous yet important task. The difference being these 'high school kids' were heavily trained for the task. There was no doubt that to an imaginative mind, such a situation would be akin to an integral story arc for one of those 'high school kids' that would actually be the main character of a novel. Maybe some of those trainees even thought of themselves as such. Only time would tell what their results were.
As soon as the details for the games were announced, in a calm and orderly fashion orders were passed out and before the Earthlings even arrived to ask for a meeting, ten thousand fully geared soldiers appeared at the Inn. The sight of five thousand peak Golden Core soldiers and five thousand peak Foundation realm soldiers was extraordinary. They exuded a battle hardened aura and their expressions were thirsty for combat.
The five earthlings, though not unexposed to massive armies, stopped where they stood and stared in awe at the sight. Their battle intent was reigned in, to not offend the Innkeeper, yet just their visage was enough to send shivers down the earthlings' spines. Their confidence in negotiating diminished a bit, as it truly did not seem like the Empire would need any help.
While all this was going on, the Devils did not remain idle either. The mysterious man and Loretta continued to sit in the room, as they had long since already given out their orders. The two remaining Devils did not know that Loretta was still here, but even if they did, it would not matter. They were quite looking forward to seeing the Empires' reactions once they were done.
Ahjour, the Devil with the sabertooth fangs summoned his personal assistant. Looking at a miniversion of himself, he said, "There is an important matter we need to discuss with the Innkeeper. Is it possible for us to meet with him?"
"I can pass along a message to the Innkeeper. What shall I say it is about?"
"Why, our participation in the Midnight Games, of course," he replied, giving a toothy grin. The Devil was trying to look sincere but his giant fangs and sharp teeth made him look menacing instead.
"I will pass along the message. Please wait," the hologram said, and disappeared.
Lex, who was observing the various reactions everyone was having, was fairly surprised to learn that someone was asking for an audience with him. When he learnt the request was from the two Devils, he frowned a bit. He supposed it was too much to hope that they wouldn't create any trouble when he was so openly targeting them.
"You wanted to see me?" he asked with a warm smile, appearing before the two.
"My most sincere apologies for disturbing you Innkeeper," said Creel, his dark eyes trained on Lex. "But I just had a small question. I thought it would be best to ask you, instead of making my own assumptions."
"There is no need for apologies. Ask away."
"Since only five thousand participants are allowed by each planet, when we bring forth our participants, how will it be decided whether our participants enter or the humans? This is not really an issue we can hash out with the humans on Vegus Minima. They don't really seem amenable to our cause."
It was a good thing that Lex was wearing the Host Attire suit because otherwise his eyes would have been stretched open when he realized the glaring flaw in his plan for the games. The planet Vegus Minima was shared by the Devils and the humans, and so both would technically be allowed to bring forth participants. The rules of the event set by him dictated it be so, and the system would not allow him to prevent them from participating, since they represented the planet as well.
Lex sighed internally as he quickly thought of solutions.