The Innkeeper

The gray skinned creature shuddered as it thought about its answer. Lex, of course, did not understand why the creature was treating it like such a big deal. It was about to die, but it could continue to live in spirit form, for a time at least, should it accept his deal.

Unfortunately, the matter, for the creature at least, went deeper than that. Accepting the loss of its physical form meant that it would have to accept the end of its bloodline, and if it failed its mission, its entire race. What made it even more painful was that, while not the main instigator behind the doom that had befallen it, the Spirit race played a significant role. How ironic, now, that it would have to become one of them should he wish to survive.

While it underwent its mental struggle, Lex used his Targeted scan on it to get a better understanding of it.

Name: Abroar Kashinga Lailai...(click to expand)... Jameel

Age: 875,955

Sex: ???

Cultivation Details: ???

Species: ???

Condition: Very bad - ???

Remarks: Every inch of its body is worth billions!

Lex almost whistled as he read Abroar's age, as it was nearing a million. This was the oldest confirmed creature he had ever met, and it made him wonder what its cultivation was. He had a very strong feeling that, whatever it had been, it was definitely much stronger than the Earth Immortals he was used to meeting.

In fact, based on what it said, Lex could surmise that it wasn't the creature's age that was causing it to near its demise, but for some other reason. Perhaps he had been gravely injured and had been using these machines as life support. What he did not know, because obviously his view was from the inside, was that there weren't just a few machines linked to its body to keep it alive, but rather an entire spaceship's worth.

"Mary, is there some other way to keep it alive if I turn it into an employee?" Lex asked.

"Not really. If your authority was higher, even higher than it was in the Crystal realm, you could get a time stasis formation and freeze it in time till you figured out a way to restore its body, but currently, you have no such method available. If you keep updating your Recovery pod and room, eventually you'll get there."

Lex gave a mental nod, but outwardly his appearance was extremely impassive. He was waiting for the creature, but he did not have to wait for long.

When it finally opened its eyes once again, they were steady. Abroad had made its decision.

"Your excellency, for the sake of my mission, and my sacred duty, I will live on even as a spirit if that is what it takes. I will forever be grateful for your aid and guidance, and do whatever it takes to fulfill whatever requirements you have for me."

"At ease," said Lex as he raised his ethereal hand. "I do not require anything, for I have done nothing."

A golden key appeared, floating above his hand, the gray creature's eyes fixating on them immediately.

"I have an Inn, a humble little place by the name of Midnight Inn. You can use this key to enter the Inn moments before your death and, in exchange for giving up everything you own, can continue to live on as a spirit within the Inn. How long you can live depends entirely on how much you have to give up.

"This is a normal feature of my Inn, and is the same for everyone, so you do not need to feel any special obligation if you decide to use it."

After giving Abroar the key, Lex's clone vanished. Back at the Inn, Lex gathered his thoughts about the clone and began to plan. He had collected a lot of information on how the clone worked, but just to be safe, he decided to spend one more day testing it out before he made a decision.

He let Mary know that he will be busy for the next few days, and to deny any requests to see him unless it was an emergency. He teleported to various planets, as he had already connected the Inn to the entire star system for each of the planets he was connected to, and began spreading out business cards.

He made sure not to leave them lying around, but secretly delivered to as many high leveled cultivators as he could, to ensure they would actually use it.

He began meeting them, but did not always fulfill their requests or even inform them about the Inn. After all, he was not on a marketing tour, but understanding the extents of the business card.If everyone was a satisfied customer, it would limit his understanding of the clones. Through this, he began to better grasp the extent and limitations of the cards.

While he was busy with that, Luthor applied to meet with the Innkeeper, alongside Gerard. Unfortunately, Mary informed him that the Innkeeper was too busy to meet anyone currently, as he was working on future plans for the Inn.

Luthor clenched his fists as his face grew grim. The fact that despite so many workers the Innkeeper had to do everything himself spoke of the incompetence of his workforce. He had to fix things. They could not continue this way.

Without speaking another word, Luthor left, a tinge of scarlet beginning to fill his eyes. The things he could help the Innkeeper with were limited because he was weak. In that case, he would erase his weakness.

Luthor made his way to the wealthiest, and most influential worker at the Inn, Z. His strength, amongst the workers, was weaker than only Gerard. His influence, however, had lately bloomed making him the most popular in the entire Inn. Along with that popularity, of course, came incredible wealth.

This was because, in an attempt to make the ultimate background music, and hence increase his strength, Z fought in the arena every day, each time tweaking the music just a bit.

Slowly, he changed his reputation from the recluse of the Inn, to the Inn staff's big brother.