"Wake up my child."

"Urgh... my head...."

"Forgive Us.. but it was better this way. Mortal minds are too... primitive to understand the concepts that We deal in. It was a choice between the migraine you are now experiencing, or popping your head like a overinflated balloon."

"Could you not have... ow... gave me painkillers... hrngh... or something?"

"Unfortunately, no. That would prevent the complete transfer of information to your mind."

"Could have... fooled me."

"We are powerful beings, yes. But we are still limited on what we can accomplish. That is why We chose to anchor this place as a dimensional nexus. We cannot fix the problem directly. Not without causing a dimensional collapse."

"Great... powerful being yet they can't treat a fucking migraine."

"The pain will pass. Just be patient and wait for it."

"Okay... that's much better."

"Good. Unfortunately, I must take my leave. God luck, my child in this new endeavor."

"Wait... can you tell me your name?"

"I have been known by many names and many guises. But you are the only person that ever existed that asked for my name."

"I am... PATREUS, First of the Preservers, Guardian of the Void Gate."

"And your great-great... well a few dozen times, great-grandfather."

"We will meet again soon. Farewell... for now."

"Wait! What do you mean...!" I tried to stop from leaving

And he's fucking gone. Poof! Just like that.

You don't just drop bombshells like that to other people. You don't just tell other people that you are a long lost relative and then vanish again in the air!

"AAAAAAAARGH!!! YOU... you... I...."

If he said was true... then I... I still....

I still have... a family.

Do I hope? Do I even want to contemplate. Or even accept that I still have family.

Does that mean he knows who my father is? I have SO many questions to ask.

==================================================

Well... he's not coming back. Not yet.

He may come back someday. I hope so.

Fuck it... I have work to do. The place won't run itself.

Let's see what the old man's 'gift' is.

Oh wow....

"OH WOW!!!"

It's amazing! This... this is perfect!

With this I can train myself to become a really powerful magic user. And run the whole rest stop at the same time.

I can now control the classic elements. Water, Wind, Earth and Fire. Plus Lightning, Light, and Darkness too. I can also train myself to learn other elements like Gravity and Space, but that will take time. For now, these will do.

I have also quite an assortment of household and utility spells. Like 'Clean' for washing anything from dirty dishes, soiled sheets, and dusty floor. 'Mend' for minor repairs to any item, as long as it has no moving parts, complex machinery or electronic circuits. 'Purify', to turn contaminated water sources and food items of any harmful toxins and microorganisms. And 'Magic Hands', ghostly hands that serves as an extension of the body. I can use the to manipulate anything like real hands. And they have a long and wide reach too, grasping anything within 5 meters of my. And they are as strong as my arms, without burdening my body of the weight that it can carry. I now can control up to 2 'Magic Hands' for now.

And that's not the best part. This is the best spell I got from them. 'Magical Me'. A ghostly copy of my own body, with the same physical capabilities that my own body has. It can even operate remotely, but still within my own metal control. For now, I can only summon one 'Magical Me'. But in the future, I can summon more. Just need to increase my magical power and control.

When I was a young boy, I can conjure small gouts of flame from my hands. Or small fountains of water. Or small gusts of wind.

But now, I can cast a perfectly formed 'Fireball'. Or 'Waterspout'. Or 'Wind Blades'. And I'm not limited to these spells only. Telekinesis. Elemental control. Wards. Transmutation. Enchantment...

ENCHANTMENT....

Oh dear Lord... it's so glorious!

What did he call the one who created Existed. Oh yeah... dull name, that. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

"Praise be to the Creator! I thank thee for the gift I have received."

"Praise be."

==================================================

While I was marveling at endless magical knowledge and potential beneath my fingertips, I forgot about something. The reason why I have now access this it.

The rest stop.

And when I looked at it, it was a doozy.

 

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

 

And Creator be praised, it is perfect.

The PROPERTY STATUS contains all the details about the rest stop. From how many people are there in the premises and where they are. To how much money I'm earning. Customer occupancy of my motel rooms, diner seats, gas station pumps and store aisles. Satisfaction rating of each individual guest. Security of the entire premises. Even keep track of various technical issues and unwanted intruders.

UPGRADES... oh UPGRADES.... If my past self saw this, he would hit himself in the face. Hard. Each and every kind of upgrade and alteration you can think up for the entire property, UPGRADES has it. No questions asked. More motel rooms and room amenities. Additional floors for my buildings. New buildings. Like a workshop. Or a blacksmith. Or a futuristic tech shop.

Or even a fucking Dungeon.

Not the one for BDSM fetishists, a real fantasy Dungeon. Monsters, traps, more monsters, puzzles, boss rooms.

And loot. Don't forget the loot.

But the cost... let's just say I can't handle it quite yet.

In the future... oh yeah! It's definitely in my 'Future Goals' list.

RESOURCE MANAGER. This one is very straightforward. it allows me to check the amount of supplies I still have in the premises. From tea to toilet paper. Everything. Even the amount of candy in my own secret stash.

And I can also use the RESOURCE MANAGER to order new supplies to restock my own. My own supplies will be replenished immediately. No more need for delivery vehicles, unloading procedures, or even moving the items to and fro. Genius! It's just a bit too costly, but the time and effort saved is priceless.

The LAWS OF THE OWNER allow me to set specific rules that is imposed to the entire property. Or specific sections if I wanted to. And everyone, well except me and the Preservers, must follow them to the spirit and letter of the Law. Even how powerful you are

But first, I shall set this Law first. The most important

<VIOLENCE IS PROHIBITED WITHIN THE PREMISES.> There we go! Law now in effect. Great.

For now, I can impose only one Law. I'll have to buy Upgrades for it to have more Laws imposed in the property.

CONTRACTS. It's also pretty straightforward. With it, I can draw up binding agreements between me and other entities. These agreement will be enforced by powerful geas powered by the Preservers themselves. And it can be anything. Employment, trade, long-term rentals... as long as there is a mutual exchange between two parties, I can draw up a CONTRACT for it.

"Oi! You there! You be the owner of this place?"

"Welcome! I am Mike, proprietor of Mike's Resting Place. How may I serve you ladies and gentlemen?"

Wow, first customers and I'm already bombarded with fantasy tropes.

Burly short man with thick and long braided beard. Wearing full plate armor, and carrying a hybrid of and axe and a hammer? Dwarf.

A tall but thin young girl with fair skin, pointed ears and massive breasts. Wearing tight-fitting leather armor and wielding a longbow? Elf.

Another girl, a petite one this time. Wearing a long, flowing silk robe with the hood up. Holding a stick her height that is topped with a crystal that glows faintly. A magician of some sort.

A guy with an average build. Wearing leather and cloth that covers everything expect his brown eyes. Strapped on his body are a lot of knifes and pouched. Some kind of thief or rogue, maybe even an assassin.

And a REALLY tall man, seven feet tall or more. Rippling with muscles throughout his entire body. And yes... he's wearing nothing more than a loincloth and fur boots. Plus a cape made from a bear, his head sticking out of the bear's mouth. He's also wield a HUGE battleaxe, it's head bigger than my torso. It's a stereotypical barbarian, no doubt about it.

I checked my PROPERTY STATUS to verify.

'Thorgum Shatterfist. Dwarf. Level 62 Breaker.' He's a melee expert of breaking defenses and fortifications.

'Alyana Elu'shim(Moonstride). Moon Elf. Level 48 Sniper.' Long range single-target fighter.

'Ceryse Creighton. Human. Level 45 Flame Sorceress.' Okay, a magician who specializes in spontaneous casting. And her specialty is Fire element magic.

'Wallace. ???. Level 71 Shadow Assassin.' The hell? Nothing should be hidden from my PROPERTY STATUS, but this guy can. How?

'Hrothgar. Divine-blooded. Level 127 Divine Berserker. Avatar of Kallax, God of Battles.' Oh boy... this can get ugly really fast. Or weird. I don't know. Only my LAWS OF THE OWNER can prevent him from wrecking up the place.

"Are you open right now?" Alyana, the Elf, spoke.

"Not really. But if you'll wait for a minute, I'll have everything ready."

"Very well, we can wait."

"Do not worry. You will not be disappointed from the wait."

==================================================

"Steak is good! Roast meat is good."

"Yes Hrothgar, we know."

"More steak!"

"Coming right up!" Hooray for 'Magical Me'! I can converse with the customers while doing something else.

"Hrothgar, can't you at least eat the vegetables? You haven't even touched them."

"Veggies taste bad. Don't like veggies."

"But veggies help make the body stronger."

"No! Meat makes body stronger."

"Really? Your mother or grandma never fed your vegetables?"

"They do."

"It's because you need both meat AND vegetables. And fruit too. Meat makes the muscles, but veggies and fruit make the body healthier. So you can put on more muscle. If you're not healthy, then the muscles can shrink."

"No! Hrothgar not want muscle shrink! I'll eat veggies!"

"Here, try this. I think you will like how I cooked the veggies."

(Nom.) "Veggie taste like meat? How?"

"Stir fry. This one is a family recipes that combines beef and seasonal vegetables. See? You can make veggies taste good that you can eat them."

"Mike is good cook! Hrothgar wants Mike to cook all Hrothgar's food."

[Intent to form contract established. Continue?]

What the hell? That is possible?

And then a pop-up appeared before our eyes. Even the other were able to see it. Witnesses maybe, a standard contract on our world requires one.

"AGREE!" Hrothgar shouted.

"How it that... that how it's works? Okay... I'll agree."

This means that Hrothgar and his retinue can access the property anytime and anywhere. Even if he's trapped in a deep, dark dungeon with the most powerful anti-teleport and protection wards, he can get here anytime he desires.

With this contract, he now has a fucking 'Instant Escape' ability. I don't know if he's some kind of idiot savant or just very, very lucky. Maybe both.

"Hrothgar! You do not agree to contracts without knowing the full extent of it." Ceryse shouted out in frustration.

"But contract is good. Hrothgar can come here when Hrothgar hungry. Or tired."

"And he can slip out on any type of trap, prison or containment with the contract. He can come here anytime he wants. This also extends to his retinue... his companions." I added.

"That's impossible. How can Hrothgar come to this place when he is locked up somewhere." Alyana interjected.

"This place... is not really a fixed location in time and space. This location can be accessed anytime and anywhere... if you are lucky, that is. That means this place can connect to anywhere it wants to. And your world is not the only place this property can link to. So... if Hrothgar here wants to come here, he just wills it. And 'Poof!', he's here."

"That means...."  Ceryse spoke, then her eyes widen in realization.

"Nothing can hold Hrothgar against his will. He can escape any situation he finds himself in. And he'll always have access to food and a place to stay." Wallace answers.

"And that extends to all of you as well. As long as you guys remain as his traveling companions, that is."

"HAH! See? I told you bringing Hrothgar with us is a GREAT idea. You don't believe old Thorgum. Now Hrothgar makes a GREAT deal and you guys benefit. Heh!"

"This is not the only service this place offers. We have lodging where you can stay as long as you like, as long as you can play. And a store where I sell some items like foodstuffs that can be eaten anywhere without cooking."

"Really? Like dried meat or hardtack?"

"Better. I'll show you guys around... after you finished your meals."

"YES! Hrothgar eat all! Hrothgar not waste food!"

"Good boy!"

Oh dear God... I'm treating a fully-grown, muscular giant of a man like a puppy.

But he's so adorable! Like a really big puppy!

Shut up, brain!