The Innkeeper

"How exactly would I help you out?" Lex asked, leaning forward. To be honest, he did not mind improving his relationship with Alexander. It was one of the few things that his intuition hinted at, which he was already planning on doing.

Although, as the Innkeeper, he came across numerous powerhouses, he did not have a close connection to any of them. Sure, Ragnar had helped him out when he needed it, and the emporium treated him well enough, but there was still a difference between personal and business relationships.

These things were not really certain, but he felt like he should maintain a strong relationship with his few contacts from earth. Whether it was the charismatic Larry, the overwhelming Marlo, the bold Alexander, all had potential for growth in the long run. Moreover, he had to take the long view of things from now on.

He was a cultivator now, and it was normal for cultivators to have a very long life. As a golden core cultivator, his natural life span was a minimum of 250 years. This was the minimum, because there was nothing ordinary about his cultivation at all. He would not be surprised if his lifespan was even double of that.

But his lifespan did not really matter to him, for now at least. He had barely begun to cultivate, and he expected that he would soon overcome the obstacles in his path and continue to raise his cultivation realm long before he neared the end of his lifespan.

So, as someone who would likely live for thousands of years or more, he had to start thinking about his future. Sure, the Innkeeper identity would stay as a powerful and enigmatic being, but such a lofty identity would also keep him from forming close connections.

It was instead his normal identity as Lex that would serve as extremely useful in this regard.

"I am not really worried about my safety. Being able to retreat to the Inn at any time I want ensures that I can avoid fatal danger. Instead, I am concerned about being unable to catch up to my target in time because I'm held back by his fellow operatives.

"Although I am part of a team, each member has been given a specific task that they have to complete on their own within a certain time frame. Fortunately, I am allowed to recruit help to complete my mission."

"If that's the case, why try to recruit me instead of someone from the army?"

"I can't explain it," Alexander said, shaking his head. "Call it instinct, but I have a feeling I'll work better with you than anyone else. The kind of synergy we had back at the pagoda is not something that can be achieved so easily with just anyone. Besides, and I don't say this lightly, you can really take a hit. When fighting against crazy, suicidal terrorist maniacs, that is a very important quality."

Lex found it interesting that Alexander too was beginning to rely on his instincts. Although Lex didn't believe his peers' instincts would be as powerful as his own, it was a good reminder that he wasn't the only one in the universe with such potent senses. One day, his enemies with a stronger instinct could use it against him. He would have to be mentally prepared to counter such abilities.

"Alright, I'll help. But there's one thing that's important for me to know before I do anything. When do you need my help, and how long do you think it will take? I have quite a few important things to keep an eye on, and I can't leave them for a long time."

Alexander looked hesitant.

"Will it be possible for you to use the Inn's Prestige level 3 ability? If you haven't reached that level I can provide you with the funds for it, but the thing is that you'll be stuck unable to use it again for 10 years. That means you might not be able to return to your original location so easily."

"Where do you want me to go?" Lex asked, instead of answering directly.

"Vegus Minima. I can take care of the details so that as soon as you appear on the planet a transportation formation will be ready for you to take you to another planet so it won't take long. The operation is likely there, and I won't need your help anytime soon. But chances are I'll need your help at a moment's notice, so it would be for the best if you are already on that planet."

Lex nodded and said, "I'll head on over soon. That won't be an issue, but I can't stay on the planet infinitely. Once I reach whatever planet you need, I'll be teleporting back to the Inn to focus on some other tasks I have going on. Whenever you need me, you can reach me through the Inn and I'll teleport back there."

The two soon reached an agreement and shook hands.

*****

Back in his office, with not much else to talk about, Lex concluded his meeting with Jotun, much to the emperor's relief. It seemed that his role in delivering messages to the Inn was concluded, for now.

The emperor narrowed his eyes as he thought of the tasks that lay before him. Upon their return, his brothers informed him that, as Jotun had been suspecting, the seeds of rebellion had been planted across his empire, and were beginning to bloom. It seemed he had appeared far too benevolent in protecting the humans against the foreign races. It was time to correct that, and remind them all why it was that they needed him so.

In his office, Lex was focused on other things entirely. He was glad that in this latest correspondence, there was no mention of his debt. But while that in itself was a relief, the battle requirements for the Inn were extremely harsh - at least in his eyes.

In truth, the Henali were asking the bare minimum from him, so that he could symbolically perform his duties. But how would they know that Lex was not really a Daolord, and the Inn's forces were in fact quite pathetic.

Depending on how it was looked at, 1000 Foundation realm cultivators were requested to be sent on the battlefield. Moreover, they only needed to participate for 5 years. That would complete the Innkeepers requirements for the next century.

To the overlords of this realm, such requirements were basically letting the Innkeeper off scot free. Even this was only done after Jotun reported that he suspected that the Innkeepers origins had something to do with the Devils, or at least that they had a deep history.

To Lex, though, this was an extremely difficult requirement to fulfill. It would take away all of his oldest and most trusted employees and send them to a battlefield from which they might not return. Realistically speaking, since they were being sent to war, it was likely most of them would not return.

As if that was not enough, he had only a week to send them.

For the first time in a long time, helplessness and bitterness filled Lex's heart. He knew that he was already doing his best, but sometimes in the face of reality, one's best was not enough.

But the feeling… did not last. Not only had Lex toughened up, a part of evolving into a being of a higher level of existence meant that his mindset also evolved. For example, if a normal human had to live for 10,000 years, it was most likely he would kill himself out of depression long before the time even arrived, such were the vicissitudes of a long life. But cultivators obviously had no problem, because their mindsets and emotions also evolved.

Moreover, Lex had the system to depend on. As much as he did not like relying on it all the time, it was also true that it was his biggest ace card.

The first thing that he did… was look at his MP. Recently, he had gained 500 billion MP as a result of Ragnar's quests in the Guild room. Besides that, he had been earning a whole lot due to the festivities, but he was still a distance away from reaching 1 trillion.

He had an idea, and began planning things out in his mind.

"Mary, spread the word. The auction for the Cosmic Erosion Elixir will take place in 3 days. Before then, other guests who wish to auction items can also submit them to the Inn, but only accept them if their minimum value crosses 1 billion MP. Have the planning division plan out the auction then let me know the details, I don't have the time to focus on it.

"Also, I've been planning a special Inn employee banquet for quite a while. Let everyone know it will happen in 6 days."

Without waiting for a response from her, Lex teleported away back to his room. It was time for him to take another sip of the elixir. At the same time, he teleported the rhinocentaur with a system over as well.

It was best to use time as efficiently as possible. If he wanted to clear this hurdle, the system would need an upgrade as well.