Minggu demi minggu berlalu lebih cepat dari yang Lex duga. Seluruh tahun ini, jujur saja, terasa lebih pendek dari dulu saat dia masih fana dan harus berlari plank beberapa menit. Itu tidak berarti tahun ini tidak produktif.
"Aku mau mandi di Ruang Kolam Air Panas," kata Orin sambil meletakkan palunya, puas dengan kemajuan mereka saat memandangi gunung berapi kristal.
"Kau tidak akan menghadiri lelang?" tanya Lex. "Mungkin kau menemukan sesuatu yang berharga. Bijih dan sumber daya mahal, atau manual pengempaan dari realm lain."
"Benar, itu barang bagus, makanya kubilang ke kerdil lain untuk pergi. Tapi aku butuh istirahat dan memasuki keadaan pikiran yang tepat sebelum memulai pengempaan. Ini hal terpenting, jadi aku akan memasuki kondisi puncak," jawab Orin. Mengiring rencana mereka memulai pengempaan tepat setelah lelang, di mana Orin berencana berada di dalam gunung berapi selama prosesnya, persiapan memadai memang perlu.
"Baiklah, kita ketemu lagi nanti," kata Lex.
"Anak muda, kukasarankan kau buat persiapan matang. Bukan cuma soal apakah kau bisa survive proses tubuhmu dikumpulkan, tapi juga memastikan pengempaan Manik Karma tidak terganggu. Semuanya bisa dikorbankan, tapi manik itu tidak boleh rusak sedikit pun."
Daripada memberi jaminan apapun, Lex hanya mengangguk, lalu teleport pergi. Manik itu. Dia nantikan pembuatan manik itu, setelahnya dia bisa akhirnya buang papan Go di kepalanya.
Lex benar-benar nantikan pembebasan dari benda kutukan ini. Meski diam selama setahun penuh, dia tidak merasa aman. Justru dia ambil lebih banyak pencegahan, menarik diri sepenuhnya dari proses lelang, agar papan Go tidak punya kesempatan mengacaukan segalanya.
Tapi alih-alih muncul di lokasi lelang, Lex teleport ke tengah bukit acak, tanpa tamu sama sekali.
"Hei Lex," sapu kupu-kupu raksasa terbang di atas kepala. "Lagi apa di sini? Jarang ada pengunjung di area ini."
Kupu-kupu itu salah satu anggota Inn yang memperoleh kesadaran dan kekuatan begitu Inn memasuki realm baru. Kebanyakan kupu-kupu raksasa seperti itu pindah dari area ramai, karena mereka tidak terlalu suka tamu.
"Sini mau ngobrol sama pohon itu," kata Lex menunjuk ke pohon pinus tertentu, dan melambaikan tangan saat kupu-kupu itu pergi.
"Jadi, apakah kau sudah mempertimbangkan tawaranku?" tanya Lex saat mendekati pohon.
Sepetik tidak terjadi apa-apa. Tapi lalu pohon itu mulai berubah, dari pohon pinus menara menjadi Zuri Adissa yang selalu menawan dan mempesona — Celestial Immortal yang dulunya semanggi empat daun, tapi berubah jadi pohon Bodhi dengan bantuan Kura-kura Galactic Sovereign. Tentu, yang Lex lihat sekarang hanyalah salah satu klonnya, bukan tubuh aslinya.
Penampilannya seperti wanita cukup matang, tapi itu justru menambah keindahan yang hanya usia bisa berikan. Berbeda dari dulu, penampilannya tidak sepenuhnya manusia lagi.
Rambutnya hijau, dan saat angin bertiup terlihat seperti rumput panjang yang mengalir. Ada bunga daisy di telinga kanannya, tapi Lex yakin itu juga bagian dari dia, bukan sekadar bunga aksesoris. Bahkan aromanya berubah jadi udara gunung segar — bersih, tajam, dan menyegarkan.
"Sudah," jawab Zuri dengan santainya orang yang telah melihat keabadian terungkap. Temperamennya jadi lebih halus begitu jadi pohon Bodhi. "Aku sudah lama mempelajari aliran keberuntungan di Inn, tapi aku teliti lebih cermat sejak kau tawarkan. Harus kuakui, ini tempat kultivasi sempurna bagiku, tapi aku masih ragu.
"Seperti yang kau tahu, aku lama diawasi. Banyak kekuatan yang mengincarku sejak tahu aku mungkin semanggi empat daun. Kalau mereka tahu aku jadi pohon Bodhi, mereka akan lebih tamak ingin bentukku. Apakah kau tidak takut Inn akan menarik kemarahan semua kekuatan itu kalau aku gabung? Aku tidak yakin, tapi kupikir bahkan Henali juga mengawasiku."
Lex mengangkat alis.
"Bukankah kau orang bebas? Atau kau punya ikatan atau komitmen yang tidak kutahu? Selama kau bebas, dan ingin gabung Inn, siapa punya hak campur? Inn tidak takut siapapun mengganggu urusan kami."
Meski apa yang Lex bilang tidak sepenuhnya benar, hari ini itu jauh lebih benar dari sebelumnya. Dengan kehadiran tamu Dao Lord tertentu di Inn, Dao Lord lain ragu masuk atau mengganggu Inn, yang memberikan tingkat perlindungan tertentu dari lawan sekelas itu.
Sementara keamanan dari Reaving Dread mengurus musuh tingkat lebih rendah — kononnya. Seluruh alasan Lex mendekati Zuri adalah karena dia yakin seseorang akan mencoba mengacaukan lelang.
Dia bisa salah, dan dia senang kalau salah, tapi dia harus bersiap kalau benar. Bukan berarti dia punya bukti ada yang merencanakan sesuatu. Kalau ada, peluang hal buruk terjadi justru lebih kecil dari sebelumnya. Dengan upgrade Ruang Keamanan, pengawasan seluruh Inn lebih baik dari sebelumnya, dan sekarang lebih mudah mengidentifikasi siapa yang akan bertindak melanggar aturan Inn.
Tapi dia punya alasan percaya Inn akan ditarget saat lelang — alasan selain 'energi protagonis' yang datang. Berita soal lelang disebarkan setahun, bersama info terbatas soal barang level tinggi yang dijual.
Sejumlah individu dan organisasi level tinggi akan datang, banyak kekayaan berganti tangan, dan waktu lebih dari cukup buat siapa pun dengan motif tersembunyi merencanakan sesuatu.
Lebih penting lagi, fakta Lex ditarget pengguna sistem, artinya pengguna papan Go, mengingatkan bahwa kelemahan terbesar sistem adalah sistem lain. Hanya karena Lex belum bertemu pengguna sistem benar-benar kuat, tidak berarti mereka tidak ada.
Pengguna sistem, dengan sistem yang tepat, tetap bisa hindari deteksi sistem Lex dan merencanakan sesuatu.
Secara teknis, tidak perlu pengguna sistem. Siapa pun dengan backing kuat teoritis bisa menemukan cara hindari deteksi sistem. Lagipula, sampai hari ini sistem Lex belum pernah mendeteksi Wu Kong sekali pun.
Meski itu contoh ekstrem, poinnya tetap berlaku. Hari dia mulai pikir Ink tidak bisa ditembus adalah hari dia jadi paling rentan.
Jadi, sambil menenangkan Zuri bahwa dia bisa melindunginya dari lawan lebih kuat, Lex sendiri justru butuh bantuan Zuri untuk perlindungan terhadap Celestial Immortal.
"Aku mengerti pandanganmu. Tapi aku tidak terbiasa keputusan terburu-buru. Memindahkan tubuh asli bukan sekadar menyerupai, tapi benar-benar berarti membawa seluruh planet ke Inn. Meski tidak ragu Inn bisa menampungnya mudah, itu akan langsung menarik banyak perhatian. Itu bukan hal yang bisa kulakukan tanpa persiapan matang. Aku butuh waktu."
Ah, mengecewakan. Lex benar-benar berharap Zuri mau gabung Inn. Tapi kalau tidak jadi, tidak jadi. Ini bukan hal yang bisa dipaksakan.
"Tidak apa. Kalau berubah pikiran, hubungi aku. Maukah kau ikut lelang?"
"Oh ya, itu pasti aku ikut. Aku sudah lama menantikannya."
Zuri, insidenalnya, termasuk orang yang mampu bayar deposit 1 MT untuk segmen kedua lelang, jadi peluang ketemu dia di sana cukup besar.
Lex mengangguk padanya, dan menghilang.
Yang tidak diketahui Lex, dia benar mencurigai pengguna sistem mungkin menarget lelang. Yang tidak diketahui dia, pengguna sistem yang menarget lelang... adalah yang sudah lama mengincar Innkeeper.
The weeks slipped by faster than Lex could have anticipated. The whole year, honestly, felt shorter than back when he was a mortal and had to do a plank for a couple of minutes. That was not to say that it had not been a productive year.
"I’m going to go have a dip in the Hot tub room," said Orin as he laid down his hammer, content with their progress as he looked at the crystal volcano.
"Are you not planning on attending the auction?" Lex asked. "You might find something worthwhile. Maybe some valuable ores and resources, or a manual on forging from other realms."
"Aye, those are good things, which is why I have told the other dwarves to attend. But I need to relax and enter the right state of mind before we begin the forging. This is the most important thing, so I’ll be entering my peak state," responded Orin. Considering their plans to begin the forging right after the auction, during which Orin planned to be inside the volcano during the forging process, it was pretty necessary to adequately prepare.
"Alright, well, I’ll see you once it’s over," said Lex.
"Young man, I recommend you make sufficient preparations. It is not just a question of whether you will be able to survive the process of having your body undergo the forging process, but also of ensuring that the Karmic Beads forging is not disrupted. Everything else can be sacrificed, but the bead must not be compromised in any way."
Instead of giving any kind of reassurance, Lex merely nodded, and teleported away. The bead. He was looking forward to the creation of the bead, after which he could finally get rid of the Go board in his mind.
Lex was looking forward to getting rid of this accursed thing. Even though it had been quiet for this entire year, he was not assured. Instead, he had taken even more precautions, removing himself from the process of the auction completely, so that the board doesn’t have the opportunity to mess things up.
Yet instead of reappearing at the auction site, Lex teleported to the middle of a random hill, devoid of all guests.
"Hey Lex," said a massive butterfly, flying overhead. "What’re you doing here? We don’t get many visitors around these parts."
The butterfly was one of the many members of the Inn who had gained sentience, as well as power, once the Inn entered the new realm. Most such massive butterflies had migrated away from busy areas, since they weren’t really fond of guests.
"Here to have a chat with that tree," said Lex, pointing towards a specific pine, and waved at the butterfly as it left.
"So, have you given my offer any consideration?" Lex asked as he walked up to the tree.
For a moment, nothing happened. But then, the tree began to morph, turning from a towering pine tree into the always charming and alluring Zuri Adissa - the Celestial Immortal who was previously a four leaf clover, but had transformed into a Bodhi tree with the help of the Galactic Sovereign turtle. Of course, what Lex was looking at now was merely one of her clones, not her real body.
Her appearance was that of a rather mature woman, though that did not subtract from her beauty at all. If anything, it added a loveliness that only age could bring. Unlike before, however, her appearance was not entirely human anymore.
Her hair was green, and when the wind blew it almost looked like flowing long grass. There was a daisy tucked right above her right ear, though Lex was sure it was also a part of her rather than a simple flower she wore in her hair. Even her scent had changed to that of fresh, mountain air - clean, crisp and reinvigorating.
"I have," Zuri answered, speaking with the casual grace of someone who had seen eternity unfold. Her temperament seemed to have become even more refined once she became a Bodhi tree. "I have been studying the flow of good fortune within the Inn for a long time now, but I have studied it with greater scrutiny ever since you made the offer. I must say, this really the perfect place for me to cultivate, but I am still hesitant.
"As you know, I have been under watch for a long time. Many, many powers have had their eyes on me since they discovered I might be a four leaf clover. If they discover that I have become a Bodhi tree, they will be even more greedy for my form. Are you not afraid that the Inn will attract the ire of all those forces if I join the Inn? I am not sure, but I think even the Henali have been keeping their eye on me."
Lex raised an eyebrow.
"Are you not a free person? Or do you have some ties or commitments that I am unaware of? As long as you are a free person, and you wish to join the Inn, who else has the right to interfere? The Inn is not afraid of anyone interfering in our matters."
While what Lex said was not entirely true, it was far more true today than it had ever been before. With the presence of a certain Dao Lord guest at the Inn, other Dao Lords were hesitant to enter, or mess with the Inn which provided it a certain level of protection from such a level of opponents.
Meanwhile, security from the Reaving Dread took care of other enemies in the lower levels - supposedly. The whole reason Lex had approached Zuri to begin with was because he was certain someone was going to try and mess with the auction.
He could be wrong, and he was entirely happy to be wrong even, but he had to prepare in case he was right. It wasn’t as if he had any evidence that someone was trying to plot something. If anything, the chances of something going wrong were less now than ever before. With the upgrade to the Security room, Inn-wide surveillance was better than ever, and now it was even easier to identify anyone who was about to act out or break any Inn rules than before.
Yet he also had reasons to believe that the Inn would be targeted during the auction - reasons other than someone with ’protagonist energy’ was coming to the auction. News about it had been spread for a year, alongside limited information about some of the high level items that would be for sale.
A number of high level individuals and organizations would be coming, and a lot of wealth would be exchanging hands, and there was more than enough time for anyone with ulterior motives to plan something out.
Much, much more importantly, the fact that Lex had been targeted by a system user, meaning the Go board user, was a reminder that the greatest weakness of a system was another system. Just because Lex hadn’t encountered any really strong system users didn’t mean that there weren’t any out there.
A system user, with the right kind of system, could still find a way to avoid detection by his own system and plot something.
Technically, it didn’t even need to be a system user. Anyone with powerful backing could theoretically come up with a way to avoid being detected by the system. After all, to this day, his system had never detected Wu Kong even once.
Although that was a bit of an extreme example, the point was still valid. The day he started to think the Inn was infallible would be the day he’d become the most vulnerable.
So, while assuring Zuri that he could protect her from more powerful opponents, Lex himself was actually in need of her help for protection against Celestial Immortals.
"I understand your point of view. But I am not accustomed to making any hasty decisions. Moving my real body would not be akin to, but would actually consist of me bringing an entire planet to the Inn. While I have no doubt that the Inn could accommodate such a thing easily, it would also immediately arouse a lot of attention. That is not the kind of thing I can do without sufficient preparation. I will need time."
Ah, disappointing. Lex was really hoping to get her to join the Inn. But, if it didn’t work, it didn’t work. This wasn’t something he could push.
"No problem. If you change your mind, you can reach out to me. Will you at least attend the auction?"
"Oh yes, that I will most certainly do. I have been looking forward to it."
Zuri was, incidentally, one of the people who could afford to place a 1 MT deposit for the second segment of the auction, so the chances of seeing her there were quite high.
Lex nodded to her, and disappeared.
What Lex didn’t know was that he was very right to suspect a system user might target the auction. What he didn’t know was that the system user who was targeting the auction... was one who had been eyeing the Innkeeper for a long, long time.
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