Turns out, cleaning a completely trashed inn by yourself is way harder than it sounds.
"This is absolutely ridiculous," I muttered, hauling out the seventh bag of garbage in the past hour. My back ached, my arms felt like noodles, and I was covered in dust from head to toe.
The beginner quest had sounded simple enough. Clean the main lobby. How hard could it be?
Very hard, as it turned out. The place wasn't just dirty it was a disaster zone. Every corner hid some new horror. Broken dishes, rotted food that I didn't even want to identify, suspicious stains on the walls, and enough cobwebs to supply a spider army.
I'd found a broom in what used to be a storage closet, along with some rags that were slightly less disgusting than everything else. Armed with these pathetic tools, I'd begun the impossible task of making this place look even remotely presentable.
[Time Remaining: 19 Hours, 23 Minutes]
The golden text helpfully reminded me of my ticking deadline. Because that wasn't stressful at all.
"Yeah, yeah, I see you," I grumbled at the floating words. "How about instead of just watching, you help out? Maybe spawn some cleaning supplies? A magic mop? Anything?"
[The Supreme Innkeeper System provides quests and rewards, not shortcuts. True mastery comes from effort, Host.]
"Oh, so now you can respond?" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "And you sound like a fortune cookie. Great. I'm being lectured by a fortune cookie system."
[Your commentary has been noted and ignored.]
I couldn't help but laugh despite my exhaustion. At least the system had personality. That was something, right?
Shaking my head, I got back to work. I'd already cleared out most of the garbage, which was progress. Now came the actual cleaning part. I filled a bucket with water from the well I'd found behind the inn thankfully, it still worked and started scrubbing.
And scrubbing. And scrubbing some more.
The sun had shifted considerably in the sky by the time I finally stepped back to assess my work. The main lobby was... well, it was still pretty bad, but it was noticeably better. You could actually see the wooden floor now instead of just layers of grime. The tables and chairs I'd managed to salvage were arranged neatly, even if half of them wobbled. The counter was clean and polished as best as I could manage.
I'd even swept out the cobwebs from the ceiling, nearly breaking my neck climbing on a rickety ladder to do it.
"Not exactly five-star quality," I admitted, wiping sweat from my forehead. "But considering what I started with, this is practically a miracle."
[Time Remaining: 8 Hours, 47 Minutes]
I still had time, but my body was screaming for rest. My stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since... well, since before I died, technically.
"System, quick question," I said, collapsing into one of the chairs. "Do I still need to eat in this world, or is that something I can ignore?"
[Host possesses a mortal body with mortal needs. Sustenance is required. Prolonged negligence will result in death.]
"Of course it will," I sighed. "Can't make things easy, can you?"
I needed food, but I had no money, no ingredients, and honestly, I wasn't even sure where the kitchen was in this place.
As if reading my thoughts which it probably could the system chimed again.
[Tutorial Tip: Explore your inn thoroughly. Understanding your establishment is the first step to successful management.]
"A tutorial tip? Now?" I stood up despite my protesting muscles. "Fine. Let's see what other disasters are waiting for me."
I found the kitchen through a doorway behind the main counter. It was smaller than I expected but had potential. There was a large stone hearth for cooking, several work surfaces, and cabinets that probably once held dishes and ingredients. Now they were mostly empty except for some cracked pottery and a few sacks of something that might have been grain once but was now definitely home to some kind of pest.
"Fantastic," I muttered, making a mental note to clean this next.
Continuing my exploration, I discovered several guest rooms on the second floor. They were all in various states of disrepair, but at least the floors seemed solid. The room I'd woken up in was apparently the innkeeper's quarters the best room in the place, which said a lot about the other options.
There was also a small courtyard in the back with the well, some dead plants, and what looked like it used to be a garden. Now it was just weeds and broken pots.
"The previous owner really let this place go to hell," I said, completing my circle back to the main lobby. "What was he doing? Just sitting around waiting to fall through the ceiling?"
[Previous Innkeeper Status: Deceased (fell through ceiling)]
[Cause: Negligence, poor maintenance, and extremely bad luck]
"You don't say." I plopped back down in the chair. "Well, I'm not planning to die the same way. This place needs serious work, but it's... it's actually not hopeless."
Maybe it was my hospitality training kicking in, or maybe I was just adapting to my new reality, but as I looked around the cleaned lobby, I could almost see the potential. The bones of the building were good solid wood construction, decent layout, plenty of space. It just needed care and attention.
And probably a lot of money I didn't have.
My stomach growled again, more insistently this time.
"Okay, food first, then I'll finish the quest," I decided. "System, is there anything edible in this place? Anything at all?"
[Scanning... Three items detected: Half jar of preserved vegetables (expired), dried rice (infested with insects), mysterious jerky (consumption not recommended)]
"Why did I even ask?" I groaned. "I'm going to starve to death before the inn collapses."
But then I remembered something from my exploration. In one of the kitchen cabinets, I'd seen what looked like sealed clay jars. I'd been too focused on the general disaster to check them properly.
Dragging myself back to the kitchen, I found the jars and carefully opened one. Inside was pickled vegetables and surprisingly, they smelled okay. Not great, but edible. The seal had held.
Another jar contained what looked like dried beans. A third had some kind of preserved fish.
"It's not much," I said, pulling out the vegetables and beans. "But it's something."
I managed to get a fire going in the hearth after several failed attempts. Apparently, starting fires without matches or lighters was harder than anime made it look. Eventually, I had a small pot of water boiling with the beans and vegetables thrown in.
The resulting soup was bland and barely qualified as food, but when I took my first sip, it was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted. Or maybe I was just that hungry.
[Congratulations! You have created your first dish: Survival Soup]
[Quality: Terrible]
[Effect: Restores minimal stamina]
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said between gulps. "At least I won't starve today."
The simple meal gave me enough energy to finish the cleaning. I spent the remaining hours scrubbing, organizing, and making the lobby look as presentable as possible. By the time I was done, my hands were raw, my body ached everywhere, and I was pretty sure I'd inhaled enough dust to classify as a health hazard.
But the main lobby of The Lazy Dragon Inn was clean.
[Beginner Quest Complete: A New Beginning]
[Calculating Rewards...]
[Performance Grade: B+]
[Reward: 100 System Points]
[Reward: Basic Innkeeper Skills (Granted)]
[Bonus Reward: Mystery Box (Granted)]
[New Quest Available!]
Golden light suddenly surrounded me, warm and soothing. I felt the exhaustion draining from my body as energy flooded through me. My aching muscles relaxed, my raw hands healed, and knowledge began flooding into my mind.
I gasped as information downloaded directly into my brain proper cleaning techniques, basic cooking skills, customer service protocols, even some kind of organizational system for managing an inn.
When the light faded, I felt... different. Stronger. More capable.
"Okay," I breathed, looking at my hands in wonder. "Now this is what I'm talking about."
A small wooden box materialized in front of me, floating in the air.
[Open Mystery Box?]
I reached out and grabbed it, feeling the smooth wood under my fingers.
"Here goes nothing."
I opened the box.
[End of Chapter 2]