The Innkeeper

As the aura of the Dao Lords waned, and Jack once again regained the ability to move, a solemn expression filled his face. It was not because he had advertised to the universe that they should rob him because he had immense treasure. No, his expression changed as a result of the magenta light.

He felt from it a power he was all too familiar with – it was divine energy. But unlike any other divine energy he had ever felt, it did not belong to anyone, nor was it associated with any being, as it had been self generated from certain ores.

As someone who had been learning about treasure manufacturing lately, and had some experience in handling divine energy, Jack could instantly tell that this ore would be extremely useful in crafting and creating divine items.

He could imagine how a powerful treasure, specifically designed to enhance some aspect of a Deity, could take the power of that Deity to another level. Bob, for example, could cause untold havoc by merely speaking. Now imagine if he had a Divine megaphone!

A normal treasure, and a treasure which could generate, and use divine energy were not in the same realm. Even others, who were not deities, could make use of treasures that harnessed divine energy.

He guessed that the appearance of such an ore was not a part of the Artica races plan. Or, if it was, then they were making a grand statement to the universe, and were using this as an opportunity to demonstrate their power and resources.

Either way, he needed to take advantage of the situation, and his newfound reputation, to get his hands on some of that treasure. He had a feeling that it would be quite difficult to get his hands on this ore pretty soon.

“You all stay here while I have a word with our hosts,” Jack said, his voice audible in the surroundings, keeping up the facade of a powerful and influential figure. “There’s been a small change of plans.”

“Captain… Goldilocks ran off while we weren’t looking again,” Tiny-Sparkles said, feeling a little guilty for not keeping an eye on that troublesome duck.

“In that case, quickly go and find Goldilocks and bring him back. Make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”

Jack looked around, and noticed that they were still being observed by everyone. Without caring, he released the Jolly Ranchers anchor, parking it in its spot. The anchor, too, had been upgraded, and served as a defensive device of sorts. Not only would it park the ship in its location, but it would also keep out unapproved people from the ship.

Of course, the power of the anchor was limited to the Nascent soul realm, but within this level, that was more than sufficient.

Jack flew off the ship and approached the administrative office where the local guides for the level would be. This close to the entrance of the level, this office was likely filled with those responsible for ensuring safe and stable entrance into the realm for the foreigners – and to keep an eye on them.

Even so, it would have to suffice for Jack’s purposes.

Despite the attitude he had displayed outside, as soon as he entered the office, Jack became perfectly friendly and approachable. He walked up to the receptionist and asked to see whoever was incharge of the area.

His request was vague, since there were many staff members in the building, each with very specific roles, but soon enough he found himself in a cramped office shared by three workers, each of them sat at their desk overwhelmed by paperwork.

“How can I help you?” asked the director of Land and Mineral Oversight.

“I just arrived in your realm, straight out of the Folklore realm with the big guys. Anyway, I’m looking forward to learning all about you guys, seeing as how we’re likely to become allies in the future. I couldn’t help but notice the magenta light, and quickly figured that it’s related to some ore.

“Now, as far as I understand, this entire segment of this realm has been segregated for us foreign visitors, right? If that’s the case, I was wondering if I could get a permit to mine some of this new ore? It’s caught my fancy a little.”

The rule of law was a very big thing in Artica, and he wanted to cover all his bases before he began his operation. His gut told him that there was going to be a big hullabaloo caused by this ore, and he wanted to make sure that he acquired it legally, so that the Artica race wouldn’t take it back from him.

As he expected, there was no problem with him mining and exploring the resources within the permitted zones. After all, the whole point of the New Age Expo was to show off everything that the Artica race had.

After filling out a whole lot of paperwork, and understanding the legalities of mining, he got the permit.

When he exitted, he fully expected that his crew had not found Goldilocks. To his immense surprise, they were all there, duck included. They wore incredibly guilty expressions, as if they were hiding a secret, but they were all there.

“What happened?” Jack asked.

“Nothing. Not a single thing!” Longbeard answered forcefully. “Shall we head out, captain? Got things to do, right?”

Jack narrowed his eyes for a moment, but then shrugged.

“Get on board. We’re going mining!” he exclaimed, flying to his ship and lifting the anchor.

Within the highest level of the Artica realm, Pride watched Jack with interest. His existence at this level afforded him the privilege to control lower levels – although the Artica race had strictly forbidden them from doing as much. Any attempt would be immediately detected, and they would be deported from the realm.

Even so, it allowed Pride to at least watch everything from afar. He turned to look from Jack towards a mortal farm where an entire field of crops had been turned into gold. A number of hens sat atop eggs of gold, and a laundry line filled with undergarments had become a statue of gold, a permanent addition to the farm. After all, no mortal should be able to harvest Nether Lily Gold.

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