The Innkeeper

Geeves was stuck looking at the Innkeeper, too shocked to even drop his jaw. The budget for this project was phenomenal. Each order, with a budget of 100 million meant that he could freely use whatever material or technique he felt suited the task. Moreover, the Innkeeper gave the task by submitting the number of orders and the budget for each order, but gave no other specification. This meant that he could do as his heart desires, and it was as he saw best.

Such a situation should have been a tailor's dream. It had to be known that even after the upgrade to the Midnight tailor, its prestige requirement was level 3 and each order would at minimum cost 50,000 MP. That was not a small amount, so whoever placed the order would no doubt have endless requests, that Geeves could only obey.

Yet a massive budget of 100 million, amounting to a total of 100 billion MP, was given for him to do with as he pleased. Naturally, he had to take his clients measurements and design according to that, but that was the most basic prerequisite. It did not block Geeves' creativity in any way. But the way things were at the moment, the matter was no longer just about creativity. How was he supposed to produce one thousand orders in just four days?

Naturally Lex understood Geeves' dilemma. But there wasn't anything that could be done about it.

"I'll send Luthor over with a list of all one thousand workers who will be receiving this first order. You can start work immediately. Moreover, you can request as many helpers as you want to help you out to complete the orders."

The Innkeeper raised his hand and patted Geeves on the back.

"Their lives are in your hands. Do a good job."

Geeves got goosebumps all over his body as he heard the sincerity and sobriety in the Innkeeper's words. A determined look filled his eyes as he suddenly began running through the halls, searching for the most optimal fabrics. A single moment wasted was a hundred times more than he could afford to lose.

The Innkeeper, meanwhile, teleported to his office and summoned Luthor. It was time to let everyone know about what was happening, but it had to be done appropriately. Lex found it hard to suppress his guilt, since he was literally asking others to go and risk their lives for him. But it was a necessity. It had to be done.

Luthor himself was quite busy, supervising a plan for holding the rhinocentaurs and how they were to be treated. But a summons from the Innkeeper took precedence over all, and he quickly made his way over to the office.

Initially, he was full of energy as he usually is whenever the Innkeeper summoned him. Yet the moment he entered, he could sense that the mood was not right. The Innkeeper was uncharacteristically serious. Normally, he is always nonchalant, so this behavior clearly meant something very serious happened.

"How can I help, Innkeeper?" Luthor asked as soon as he entered the office. It was his duty to ease the burdens of the Innkeeper, so if the Innkeeper was upset, he was not doing his duty properly.

"There is a very serious matter that I need to inform you about. The Midnight Inn… as of right now, is established inside the Origin realm. As such, our… hosts have made some perfunctory requests of us. Although I can dismiss those requests, it is ultimately true that we are guests in their realm and they are our hosts.

"To fulfill our hosts requests, I need to send 1000 foundation level cultivators to a battlefield for sometime. While we will not stay in the Origin realm for long, we have to accept the request for the duration we are still here."

Luthor was stunned at first, but then quickly gathered his wits. According to his impression, the Innkeeper was unimaginably powerful, and could control the universe itself with a single hand. Who exactly was qualified to host him, and even ask for demands in return?

"Since this is a request outside of the Inn, I do not want to make any demands. Everyone who joined the Inn did so to work normally, and not to fight in wars. Therefore, I want you to ask for volunteers. Only those who choose to go themselves, and meet the requirements, can go. If the numbers aren't sufficient and not enough volunteer, let me know. I will figure something out."

Luthor understood his assignment, but hesitation filled him. There was a question that haunted him, but he did not know if he could ask it. Lex, who was a master at reading people, naturally saw through his assistant with a single glance.

"Speak your mind," Lex said, the calm demeanor of the Innkeeper returning.

"Who… who exactly can force you to participate in matters unrelated to the Inn?" he asked, hiding his bitterness deep inside himself. He knew clearly this matter wasn't simple. The Midnight Inn boasted neutrality, but the moment they made their presence known on a battlefield, it would forever become incredibly difficult for them to claim to be neutral ever again. Although he did not know a lot about the forces in the universe, he could at least understand something this basic.

"This is not me being forced," the Innkeeper replied with a chuckle. "Compared to what they can demand from me, this is but a symbolic gesture. The truth of the matter is, I am cooperating in this matter because, in this vast universe, even I, outstanding though I may be, am not without equal. Sometimes, it is better to make friends before you ever need friends."

Of course, that was not the truth of his current situation, but he had to assure Luthor. After all, Luthor would be his mouthpiece in this instance.

"I… I understand."

Instead of being demoralized, Luthor was filled with conviction. In this universe, even the Innkeeper needed help sometimes. To Luthor, that only meant that if he ever became strong enough, he could be of help to the Innkeeper. Until that day came, he would be of service in other ways.

"If you are able to gather 1000 volunteers, take them to the Midnight tailor. They need to submit their measurements. Moreover, find out how many spare hands the tailor, Geeves, needs and send him as much help as he requests. This is an urgent matter."

"I'll take care of it immediately!" he said, his vigor returned, and quickly exited the office. He had no time to waste, and neither did the Innkeeper.

With this… arduous task done, he had to immediately return to the emporium. Once he completed the trade, he had to return to the Crystal realm. There was absolutely no time to waste.

Before he did any of that, though, he took his feature upgrade token and used it on the Inn's teleporting ability.

The Inn's teleporting capability was amazing even as it was. It could access any place in the universe. Moreover, if someone brought him an item from a specific place in a realm he already had access to, he would be able to form a link to that location as well - though he would have to go through the whole process of traveling to that planet first and connecting to it.

But Lex wanted his method to be even more versatile. Originally he planned on using the transportation formation he had been given to the battlefield inside the Minor realm he gave to the workers, and have them all teleport from there. But with the upgrade, he could directly establish the formation inside the Inn. The Inn could now selectively allow teleportation from within its grounds to anywhere.

This way, once Lex had the opportunity, he himself could also go to the battlefield and link it to the Inn. Since the teleportation capabilities had been upgraded, if Lex went to a new place, he would be able to link it to the Inn without the need to use the golden ticket, or any other ticket for that matter.

With that small task done, Lex teleported to his apartment, and began pouring some more elixir into the vials he had received. Once he had enough, he teleported to X-142 and approached the emporium. It was best to conduct this trade as quickly as possible.

Once he entered the building he once again saw Powell, and he could tell that this Powell was not the owner of the emporium, but the salesman he had been meeting originally.

"Lex, my friend, I have been waiting for you!" he said excitedly. "I've already been briefed on the trades you want to conduct. The item you requested, the diamond containing laws, is ready to be traded. For the other trade, however, you will have to go to another planet. But no worries, I've already prepared the appropriate teleportation apparatus for you to use whenever you want.

"But before you do anything, look at this! I know this has nothing to do with your current trades, but as long as you're a man, you'll definitely enjoy this!"

Before Lex could say anything, Powell opened up a magazine and placed it right in front of Lex. The double spread image genuinely stunned Lex, and he could not remove his eyes from the beauty that he saw on the page.