The Innkeeper

Chapter 989 With great power

Compared to the turtle and Little Blue, Lex was more concerned about the evolution of the Magikarpets. He had not spread the boundary wall to the massive lakes in his territory, for he didnʼt want to create dams, but right now he was considering it. He knew for a fact that many predator fish lived in those waters, and he did not want them to get attracted by the disturbance among the Magikarpet.

Just as he was about to raise the dam, he noticed that one Magikarpet which had previously evolved into a massive, mean looking thing, was protective swimming around the rest. After a momentʼs hesitation, he decided to avoid building the dam like he initially planned.

It was a bold decision, because while he would immediately find out if anything went amiss inside the Inn, such as the Magikarpet being attacked by anything, he would most likely have to wait for something to occur before he could react.

His attention span was severely divided between interacting with John, the system still providing him information on the realm, the kids on Main street who were by now spreading out just a little. That was not a good sign.

A part of him was still also paying attention to the gate he opened because a number of animals were walking in now, exploring the surroundings for anything different.

Just as he was considering options, with very few of his workers awake, he noticed a small child who he recognized. Compared to the rest, he was a lot more reserved, though he was surrounded by the largest group of kids.

It was Jimmy, the vice-leader of the peacock warriors. He was also the son of one of his workers, Hera.

Lex had an idea, but he didnʼt act on it immediately. He watched the child who was exploring his newfound strength without ripping trees out of the ground. Instead, he was doing acrobatics with a group of friends.

They began by seeing who could jump the highest. But that soon became boring, since all of them could jump nearly to the top of a small building. So then they started to see who could do the most flips in the air.

It was then that the kids realized that not only were they much stronger, they also had a massive boost in agility. Their control over their own body was immense, which meant that after a few minutes of trying, each of them could do all kinds of tricks in the air.

The lack of difficulty left the kids with a deficiency of stimulation. But kids with nothing to do had great imagination, so then they began to jump off of each other, while in the air, and doing tricks together.

While they were great in controlling their own bodies, coordinating with someone else was something they had not mastered yet. Finally, with a challenge, the kids began investing all their time and energy in figuring this out.

Compared to the rest, this group of kids really was a lot more reserved.

For a moment, Lex considered if he really wanted to ask them to reign in the other kids. He recalled that among the kids there were a few different groups, and they didnʼt all get along. He didnʼt want the kids to fight amongst one another.

Just as he had that thought, he observed as one kid launched another through the air using a makeshift slingshot.

He shook his head, and decided to teleport over. He stood there, for a few moments, and only approached when one of them finally noticed him.

”I see you kids are really enjoying yourselves.”

”Who are you, mister?” said a girl, suddenly very protective. ”We are not allowed to talk to strangers. You better be careful, weʼre super strong now.”

The little girl tried to look intimidating, but ended up appearing adorable instead. He could not help but laugh.

”My apologies, I should have introduced myself first. I am the Innkeeper. I run this place. Itʼs a pleasure to meet you.”

The kids were suddenly startled, and filled with excitement at the same time. They gathered around Jimmy and began whispering - though their whispers were quite loud and were easy to hear, even if Lexʼs hearing hadnʼt improved drastically.

”Heʼs the one, my mom told me about him…”

”I heard he likes the piano, which is why thereʼs one in the Manor. My dad made me take lessons for it…”

”I heard heʼs actually Santa…”

”Good afternoon,” said Jimmy loudly, as he bowed to him slightly while he waved at the other kids to be quiet.

”Thereʼs no need to be nervous. I was just observing how well mannered you are, compared to some… more excitable kids. Since you are all so well behaved, would you like a secret mission?”

”Yes, yes, I want to be a spy!” the super protective girl could not help but scream out.

”Haha, no, itʼs nothing like that. You see, you, and a lot of other kids, have suddenly received a lot of power. But because of how quickly you all gained this power, not everyone understands that you have to use it safely. With great power, comes a great increase in your parents babysitting bills. So I want you all to go and talk to your other friends and remind them to be careful so that they donʼt accidentally hurt someone. Remember, I just want you to talk to them, not pick a fight.”

”What do we get in return?” asked another kid who was trying to seem nonchalant but it was clear that he was extremely nervous.

Lex could not help but smile.

”Well, Iʼve seen you guys like riding peacocks a lot. If you do well, Iʼll introduce you to some fish you can ride in the water just like the peacocks.”

”FOR THE SEA PEACOCKS!” one of the kids yelled in excitement and suddenly started running. Influenced by him, the other kids began running as well.

Lex could not help but laugh again. They were running in the wrong direction, but theyʼll probably figure that out eventually…