Night grew late, and Luke was utterly exhausted. His body felt so heavy that he didn't care about the room he opened after entering the chamber on the first floor. According to Arx, these were rooms for the owner and staff, while the second floor was for guests.
He opened the door, staggered inside, and collapsed onto the bed without checking if the sheets were clean. He was still wearing his boots, caked with forest dirt, and his clothes reeked of the travel pack and the piss from the monster earlier, but he truly didn't care.
The mimic seemed to settle down too, as Luke could feel Arx becoming calm. "Don't eat me while I sleep, okay?" Luke muttered half-conscious, then closed his eyes.
—
The next morning, Luke awoke to sunlight streaming through the curtainless window. His body ached all over from yesterday's long trek, not to mention the tension of encountering a monster and meeting Arx for the first time.
But at least the bed was comfortable, perhaps even more so than the one in Rafathar's royal castle, and certainly far better than the tiny apartment bed he had back on Earth.
Luke rubbed his eyes, sat up, and immediately noticed the system panel floating before him again.
[Innkeeper Quest: Clean the Inn]
[Reward after 50% Done: Storage Dimensions unlocked]
[Reward after 100% Done: Dimensional Rooms unlocked]
He scowled at the words. "Hhhh. Cleaning duty?" he groaned, dragging himself off the bed. "I swear, even in another world I can't escape chores."
The panel didn't vanish, as if waiting for Luke's acceptance. "Fine. Fine. I'll do it. But you better give me something good after this."
—
In the bright morning light, Luke could clearly see the inn was filthy, unfit to operate. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and the tables felt grimy to the touch.
The whole place looked abandoned for years. Grumbling, Luke grabbed a broom from the kitchen, its bristles stiff with age. "Alright, Arx. Let's see if sweeping floors in hell earns me a magic power."
He began sweeping the reception hall, sending dust flying until he coughed. "Goddamn it. This is worse than my old apartment when I first moved in."
Luke swept for hours through every room he could open, cursing constantly. Arx stayed silent, seemingly savoring his emotions as food.
He then wiped tables, scrubbed counters, set aside broken chairs to fix later, and mopped the floors.
By midday, Luke was finished. He leaned against the counter, panting, throat dry. Sweat drenched his face and body, his clothes sticky with sweat, cleaning water, and grime.
"I'm done, system. Where's my damn reward?"
The system panel appeared with its answer.
[Quest 50% Complete]
[Reward Granted: Storage Dimensions]
[Access Method: Mental command]
[To purchase: Focus on the item you want to buy or retrieve, and the storages will respond accordingly]
Luke frowned. "Storage dimensions? Isn't this place already a storage dimension?"
Another panel appeared beside the first, describing the reward.
[Food Storage Dimension: A pocket space linked to the inn. Stores all ingredients from this world and Earth. Preserves freshness indefinitely. Purchasable with local currency.]
[Inn Supply Storage Dimension: A pocket space linked to the inn. Stores clothing, furniture, and all equipment needed for the inn. Purchasable with local currency.]
Luke's tired, grimy face lit up. "Waa, wait. You're telling me I get a magic fridge and a magic closet? That's great."
He laughed. "This is totally insane. Let's see what's inside."
Luke summoned the Food Storage Dimension, and a separate panel appeared like an online store brochure. He read through the descriptions, grinning.
The first category showed bread loaves for one copper, fresh milk for two, and eggs cheaper by the dozen. Local herbs and spices ranged from one to five copper, while chicken, beef, river fish, and smoked pork cost five silver, eight, four, and ten silver respectively.
The second category featured luxury foods for nobles. Rafathar vintages of wine, cheese wheels, baskets of exotic fruits imported from the southern isles.
Then came the Earth items—instant ramen packs, chocolate bars, whiskey, and more.
Luke beamed. "I can stock Earth food here," he laughed. "Peter and Lisa would love this~"
Suddenly he fell silent, remembering his distant friends. His chest ached, anger mixing with sorrow. "…Nevermind. Maybe someday I'll visit them."
He shifted his focus to the Inn Supply Storage Dimension. Like before, the system displayed a catalog: wooden chairs, tables, cleaning kits, carts, even a magic electric van for 100 gold, a mana-powered delivery truck for 250, and a luxury bus designed for monster guests at 500 gold.
Luke's jaw nearly dropped. "No way. You're telling me I can buy a van, a truck, even a bus? What the hell kind of inn is this?" he exclaimed, half shocked, half excited.
The fireplace flared, as if Arx was laughing at his reaction.
Luke scrolled through the catalog, checking every item. "Damn… Dammmmn. This is… Basically I'm running a five-star hotel for monsters now?"
But his stomach growled loudly. "Hahaha, first things first. Breakfast. Let's see if Earth food tastes the same here."
He prepared ten gold crowns in his palm, then mentally tapped the Korean ramen listing. A box of instant noodles appeared on the counter, still sealed.
Excited, Luke opened the box, grabbed two packs, boiled water in the kitchen, and minutes later was slurping noodles like a starving man.
"Holy. This is heaven. I don't care if I'm trapped in another world, whatever. As long as I can eat ramen like this, I'll survive here."