Dalam tiga gelombang, masing-masing 100 juta pekerja, Lex mendatangkan pekerja baru ke Inn, dengan setiap gelombang diperkenalkan di awal bulan.
Ada beberapa keuntungan mendapatkan pekerja dari Sistem: Lex bisa memberikan mereka pengetahuaran dan keterampilan persis yang ia butuhkan jika ingin mereka menangani tugas spesifik, atau biarkan acak jika ia tidak punya rencana khusus.
Menentukan keterampilan untuk 300 juta pekerja adalah tugas raksasa – untungnya Lex hanya berbaring di Pod Pemulihannya, dan punya sekitar sebulan untuk 100 juta, jadi ia meluangkan waktu untuk usaha ekstra.
Dengan kedatangan mendadak jutaan pekerja fana baru yang dibeli dari Sistem, Lex memperhatikan sesuatu yang sebelumnya tidak terlalu ia perhatikan. Sebagai makhluk fana, ekspresi sifat mereka sebagai individu minimal. Bukan tidak ada sama sekali, tapi mereka lebih peduli pada Inn, dan tugas mereka di Inn.
Itu mengingatkan Lex pada saat ia baru memulai. Awalnya, ia bahkan tidak sadar bahwa Gerard dan Velma adalah orang nyata dengan minat dan kepribadian asli, mengira mereka robot atau sejenis. Tak bisa dibantah mengingat Sistem menandai mereka sebagai pekerja A.I.
Untuk adil, karena Sistem yang memasukkan keterampilan dan basis pengetahuan mereka, bisa dikatakan bahwa semua kecerdasan yang mereka miliki awalnya ditempatkan secara buatan. Yang lebih aneh, seiring bertahun-tahun, Sistem mengubah itu, tidak lagi memanggil mereka pekerja A.I., tapi hanya pekerja.
Lex menganggap itu tanda bahwa saat Sistem memperbaiki dirinya, ia memperbaiki banyak cacat operasionalnya.
Tapi yang lebih menarik, seiring mereka berkultivasi, kepribadian mereka mulai jadi lebih menonjol. Bahkan, baru setelah Z menjadi Immortal ia mengakui asal-usulnya, sadar jelas bahwa ia diciptakan dari nol oleh Pengelola Inn. Sebelum itu, tidak ada pekerja yang langsung menyebut asal-usul mereka.
Sepertinya kultivasi melonggarkan belenggu tak terlihat yang dipasang Sistem agar mereka tetap menjadi pekerja baik. Tentu, terdaftar sebagai karyawan lewat Sistem membuat sulit bagi mereka untuk melukai Inn secara aktif lewat cara yang Lex belum sepenuhnya pahami, tapi itu indikator jelas bahwa seiring naiknya tingkat kultivasi, mereka butuh lebih dari sekadar "pencucian otak" Sistem untuk tetap setia pada Inn.
Untungnya, Lex selalu fokus menciptakan lingkungan kerja yang hangat dan bahagia bagi semua pekerja, membayar gaji, memberi mereka seluruh alam Minor untuk dikembangkan sendiri, dan semua kebebasan yang mereka inginkan.
Juga agak enak tahu bahwa, setidaknya setelah jadi immortal, hubungan apa pun yang ia miliki dengan pekerja itu tulus, bukan karena mereka diprogram untuk kooperatif atau ramah.
Sisanya, penambahan ratusan juta pekerja baru tidak luput dari perhatian di Inn. Kedatangan mereka mempermudah banyak hal, tapi juga menciptakan banyak pekerjaan tambahan yang tidak berkaitan langsung dengan mengurus Inn.
Pekerja ini dianggap generasi ketiga, dengan Gerard, Velma, Z, dan beberapa lainnya sebagai generasi pertama. Luthor dan yang mengikutinya generasi kedua, dan ledakan besar ini generasi ketiga.
Menyiapkan mereka semua, memperkenalkan sistem dan gaya hidup yang diadopsi pekerja, apakah tinggal di dalam Inn atau alam mandiri mereka, serta konsep House.
Bergabung ke salah satu dari empat House utama membawa rasa identitas yang dalam bagi pekerja, membantu mereka terhubung tidak hanya ke Inn, tapi juga ke pekerja lain di House mereka.
"Hei Mary, bukan waktunya aku dapet lebih banyak opsi pekerja? Aku punya garis keturunan dan tipe pekerja yang sama sudah lama. Beberapa opsi bakal bagus. Aku nggak bakal tolak kalau bisa merekrut naga langsung dari Sistem."
Meski baris terakhirnya lelucon, pertanyaannya tulus. Tapi sebelum Mary sempat jawab, Lex dapet jawabannya lewat notifikasi.
Notifikasi Baru: Semua peningkatan Sistem hanya bisa lewat hadiah Quest. Penerbitan Quest saat ini ditangguhkan sementara karena ketidaksesuaian antara kekuatan Tuan Rumah dan tingkat operasional Inn. Tingkatkan kekuatan untuk melanjutkan Quest, atau aktifkan penerbitan Quest manual lewat proses konfirmasi.
Lex mengangkat alis. Sistem sekarang ngobrol sama dia? Lagi pula, dengan Sistem diperbaiki 51%, masuk akal kalau ia bisa melakukan ini dengan mudah.
"Baik, lupakan itu. Gimana caranya dapet Butter Knife kekuatan maksimal? Kalau lewat Quest, aku terima Quest sekarang!"
Notifikasi Baru: Butter Knife kekuatan maksimal bisa didapat dengan mengupgrade Butter Knife yang diterbitkan Sistem. Penilaian penyelesaian Quest SS+ juga punya kemungkinan memberikan upgrade sementara ke Butter Knife. Besaran upgrade bergantung pada peringkat penyelesaian Quest spesifik.
Lex lihat notifikasi, lalu perhatikan Quest terbaru yang ia selesaikan.
Quest Baru: Midnight Inn ditantang secara publik, panggung sudah disiapkan, dan pertunjukan siap tayang. Kerjasama dengan Kekaisaran Cold Brood untuk menggelar Dance Off demi menangkan hati dan pikiran semua orang. Juga, menangkan kompetisi. (Selesai)
Peringkat Quest: S+ (Mengesankan Immortal Surgawi tak terhitung dan menarik perhatian beberapa Dao Lord)
Hadiah Quest: Velaris Dominion
Catatan: Lumayan buat orang dengan dua kaki kiri. Setidaknya kau jaga martabat dan nggak andalkan tongkat.
Velaris Dominion (Konsumabel)
Kolonya kuat yang menimbulkan rasa setia dan kagum pada yang menciumnya. Aroma beresonansi dengan hukum-hukum sekitar, membuat pengguna disukai oleh alam dan roh-roh di sekitarnya.
Deskripsi kolonya simpel, dan Lex belum sempat coba. Meski begitu, sebagai hadiah peringkat S+ untuk Quest, ia duga akan sangat potent. Sayangnya tidak ada cara dapet lebih. Setelah botolnya habis, hilang selamanya – atau paling tidak sampai ia nemu cara merekreasikannya, atau dapet lagi.
Tapi lebih dari itu, Lex fokus pada standarnya. Sepertinya hanya menarik perhatian Dao Lord sudah tidak cukup untuk peringkat sangat tinggi. Ia harus berusaha keras untuk dapatkan peringkat Quest yang sangat bagus. Itu urusan nanti.
Dia tidak melakukan apa-apa saat ini karena tidak mau ambil tugas tambahan.
Beberapa bulan kemudian, dilatasi waktu di sekitar gunung akhirnya memudar. Total 1272 tahun telah berlalu di dalam, menandakan dilatasi waktu di dalamnya tidak tetap, dan aliran waktu bervariasi di berbagai waktu.
Lex mungkin mempelajari fenomena itu kapan saja, tapi dia tidak. Seluruh perhatiannya tertuju pada Karmic Bead. Ia terkejut tidak diganggu papan Go sejak ia mencoba berbuat sesuatu saat Lex menari sebagai Pengelola Inn, tapi itu tak mengubah apa-apa sekarang. Maniknya sudah jadi.
Lex dan Orin mendaki gunung berapi kristal, retak-retak di dalamnya seolah akan hancur, dan turun ke kedalaman, menemukan manik transparan mengambang di udara.
"Hampir selesai," bisik Orin, termesra oleh pemandangan itu. "Yang dibutuhkan sekarang cuma terikat ke Pengelola Inn. Ini… ini akan jadi ciptaan terhebatku!"
"Ciptaan terhebatmu sejauh ini," suara hangat datang dari belakang, saat Pengelola Inn keluar dari bayangan di belakang Lex dan Orin. "Aku tidak ragu kau akan terus menciptakan hal yang lebih besar dan lebih baik dari sekarang."
Orin hanya membungkuk rendah, tidak membantah Pengelola Inn. Tentu, dia masih ragu akan membuat sesuatu yang lebih besar.
Bukan soal pengalaman lebih, atau belajar lebih. Karmic Bead sendiri tidak punya kekuatan sama sekali. Itu cuma amunisi Slingshot yang diglamorisasi. Nilai sebenarnya tidak ada di kekuatan inherennya, tapi pada kemampuannya bertindak sebagai konduktor Karma. Intinya, iaersekuat orang yang memegangnya. Di tangan Pengelola Inn… Tak perlu dijelaskan.
"Kalau tidak keberatan, aku ambil alih dari sini. Kalian berdua istirahat. Orin, buatmu, sebagai hadiah, aku tinggalkan sejumlah bijih berharga di rumahmu, serta beberapa manual penempaan dikumpulkan dari seantero alam semesta. Anggap itu hadiah untuk kerja kerasmu. Lex, buatmu… kenapa tidak ikut aku saja."
Dengan itu, mereka bertiga, Lex, Pengelola Inn, dan Karmic Bead, menghilang dari gunung berapi.
Chapter 1823: Velaris Dominion
In three batches of 100 million workers each, Lex brought in new workers to the Inn, with each being introduced at the start of a month.
There were a few benefits of getting workers from the system: Lex could give them the exact knowledge and skillsets he required from them if he wanted them to undertake specific tasks, or leave it at random if he didn’t have anything in mind.
Specifically deciding what skills to allocate to 300 million workers was a tall task – fortunately, Lex was only lying down in his Recovery pod, and had about a month to do 100 million, so he took the time to make the extra effort.
With the sudden influx of new, mortal workers bought from the system, Lex noticed something he hadn’t paid too much attention to before. As mere mortals, their expression of their traits as individuals was at a minimum. It wasn’t completely lacking, but they were more concerned about the Inn, and their tasks at the Inn.
It reminded Lex of back when he first started. Originally, he hadn’t even noticed that Gerard and Velma were real people with real interests and personalities, assuming they were robots or something. It couldn’t be helped considering that the system labeled them as A.I.
To be fair, since the system was inputting their skillset and knowledge bases, it could be said that all the intelligence that they had starting out had been artificially put there. What was even more curious, though, was that over the years, the system changed that, no longer calling them A.I. workers, but simply workers.
Lex took that as a sign that as the system repaired itself, it was fixing its many operational flaws.
But more curious was that as they cultivated, their personalities started to become more prominent. In fact, it was only after Z became an Immortal that he acknowledged his origin, clearly aware that he had been made from scratch by the Innkeeper. Before that, none of the workers had directly referenced their origins before.
It seemed that cultivation loosened some invisible shackle that the system placed on them to keep them good workers. Of course, being a registered employee through the system made it so that it was very difficult for them to actively harm the Inn through means Lex did not fully understand yet, but it was a clear indicator that as their cultivation levels increased, they would need more than system brainwashing to keep them loyal to the Inn.
Fortunately, Lex had always focused on nurturing a very homely and happy working environment for all his workers, paying them salaries, giving them an entire Minor realm to develop on their own, and all the freedoms that they wanted.
It was also kind of nice to know that, at least after becoming an immortal, any relationship he had with the workers was genuine, and not because they had been programmed to be cooperative or amiable.
All of that aside, the addition of hundreds of millions of new workers did not go unnoticed in the Inn. Their arrival made things a lot easier, but also created a lot of additional work unrelated to actually hosting the Inn.
These workers were considered the third generation of workers, with Gerard, Velma, Z and a few others being considered the first generation. Luthor and those that followed him were considered the second generation, and this sudden huge influx was considered the third.
Getting them all settled, introducing them to the systems and lifestyles adopted by workers, whether it was living inside the Inn or their own independent realm, as well as the concept of Houses.
Joining one of the four main houses brought a deep sense of identity to the workers, helping them connect not only to the Inn, but the other workers in their houses as well.
“Hey Mary, isn’t it about time I get more options for workers? I’ve had the same bloodline and even the same types of workers for so long. Some options would be nice. I wouldn’t say no to hiring dragons directly from the system.”
Although his last line was a joke, the question itself was genuine. Yet before Mary could answer, Lex got his answer in the form of a notification.
New Notification: All system enhancements can only occur through quest rewards. Current quest issuance has been temporarily suspended due to mismatch between host strength and Inn operational level. Please increase strength to resume quests, or manually enable quest issuance through confirmation process.
Lex raised an eyebrow. Was the system on talking terms with him now? Then again, with the system repaired by 51%, it did make sense that it should be easily able to do this.
“Alright, forget that. How can I get a maximum strength Butter Knife? If it’s through quests, I’ll take on a quest right now!”
New Notification: A maximum strength butter knife can be acquired by upgrading existing system issued butter knife. A quest completion rating of SS+ also has a possibility of issuing of providing a temporary upgrade to butter knife. The extent of the upgrade will depend on the specific quest completion ranking.
Lex looked at the notification, then turned his attention to his most recently completed quest.
New Quest: The Midnight Inn has been publicly challenged, the stage has been set, and the performance is ready to air. Cooperate with the Cold Brood Empire to host the Dance Off to win the hearts and minds of all people. Also, win the competition. (Completed)
Quest ranking: S+ (Impressed countless Celestial Immortals and attracted the attention of some Dao Lords)
Quest Reward: Velaris Dominion
Remarks: Not bad for someone with two left feet. At least you maintained some dignity and didn’t rely on a pole.
Velaris Dominion (Consumable)
A powerful cologne which attracts feelings of loyalty and awe by those exposed to it. The scent resonates with surrounding laws, causing the user to be favored by the realm and any surrounding spirits.
The description for the cologne was simple enough, and Lex hadn’t had an opportunity to try it out yet. Even so, as a reward for an S+ ranking for a quest, he expected that it would be highly potent. It was unfortunate that there was no way of obtaining more. Once he used up the entire bottle, it would be gone forever – or at least until he found some way to recreate it, or get more.
But more than that, Lex focused on the standard. It seemed merely attracting the attention of a Dao Lord was no longer enough for a very high ranking. He would need to put in some work to get a very good quest ranking. That was for later, though.
He did not do anything at the moment because he didn’t want to take on any additional tasks at the moment.
A few months later, the time dilation around the mountain finally faded. A total of 1272 years had passed within, indicating that the time dilation within hadn’t been at a fixed rate, and the flow of time varied at various times.
Lex might have studied the phenomenon at any other time, but he didn’t. All his attention was focused on the Karmic bead. He was surprised that he hadn’t been disturbed by the Go board ever since it tried to do something while he was dancing as the Innkeeper, but that couldn’t change anything now. The bead was complete.
Lex and Orin climbed the crystal volcano, covered in cracks internally as if it was on the verge of shatter, and descended into its depths, only to find the transparent bead, floating in the air.
“It’s almost done,” Orin whispered, mesmerized by the sight. “All it needs now is to bind to the Innkeeper. This… this will be my greatest creation ever!”
“Your greatest creation so far,” said a warm voice from behind him, as the Innkeeper emerged from the shadows behind Lex and Orin. “I have no doubt that you will continue on to make even bigger and better creations from now on.”
Orin only humbly bowed, not negating the Innkeeper. Of course, he still doubted he’d make anything greater.
It was not a matter of having more experience, or learning more. The Karmic Bead, on its own, had no power at all. It was nothing but a glorified piece of slingshot ammo. Yet the true worth of it lay not in its inherent power, but in its ability to act as a conduit for Karma. In essence, it was as strong as the person wielding it. In the Innkeepers hands… Well, it need not be elaborated.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll take things from here. You two should rest up. Orin, for you, as a reward, I’ve left a number of valuable ores in your home, as well as some forging manuals gathered from around the universe. Consider it a reward for your hard work. Lex, for you… well, why don’t you just follow me.”
With that, all three, Lex, the Innkeeper, and the Karmic Bead, disappeared from the volcano.
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