Makhluk berkulit abu-abu itu gemetar saat memikirkan jawabannya. Lex, tentu saja, tidak mengerti mengapa makhluk itu memperlakukan hal ini seolah-olah urusan besar. Ia akan segera mati, tapi bisa terus hidup dalam bentuk roh, setidaknya untuk sementara, jika menerima tawarannya.
Sayangnya, bagi makhluk itu, masalah ini lebih dalam dari sekadar itu. Menerima kehilangan bentuk fisiknya berarti harus menerima berakhirnya garis keturunannya, dan jika gagal dalam misinya, seluruh rasnya. Yang membuatnya lebih menyakitkan, meski bukan pelaku utama di balik kemalangan yang menimpanya, ras Spirit memainkan peran signifikan. Betapa ironisnya, kini ia harus menjadi salah satu dari mereka jika ingin bertahan hidup.
Saat ia mengalami perjuangan mental, Lex menggunakan Targeted scan-nya untuk memahaminya lebih baik.
Nama: Abroar Kashinga Lailai...(klik untuk memperluas)... Jameel
Usia: 875.955
Kelamin: ???
Detail Kultivasi: ???
Spesies: ???
Kondisi: Sangat buruk - ???
Keterangan: Setiap inci tubuhnya bernilai miliaran!
Lex hampir bersiul membaca usia Abroar, mendekati satu juta. Ini makhluk tertua yang pernah dia temui, membuatnya penasaran tingkat kultivasinya. Dia punya keyakinan kuat, apapun itu, pasti jauh lebih kuat dari Earth Immortal yang biasa dia temui.
Faktanya, berdasarkan ucapan makhluk itu, Lex menyimpulkan bukan usianya yang mendekatkan kematian, tapi alasan lain. Mungkin ia terluka parah dan menggunakan mesin-mesin ini sebagai penunjang hidup. Yang tidak diketahui Lex, karena pandangannya dari dalam, bukan cuma beberapa mesin yang terhubung ke tubuhnya, tapi sekapal penuh.
"Mary, ada cara lain biar tetap hidup kalau aku jadikan karyawan?" tanya Lex.
"Tidak. Kalau otoritasmu lebih tinggi, bahkan lebih tinggi dari di alam Kristal, kau bisa dapat formasi statis waktu dan membekukannya sampai kau temukan cara memulihkan tubuhnya, tapi sekarang kau tak punya metode itu. Kalau terus memperbarui Recovery pod dan ruangnya, nanti kau sampai di sana."
Lex mengangguk dalam hati, tapi wajahnya datar sekali. Dia menunggu makhluk itu, tapi tak lama menunggu.
Saat akhirnya membuka matanya lagi, matanya tenang. Abroar telah memutuskan.
"Yang Mulia, demi misi dan kewajiban suci ku, aku akan hidup terus meski sebagai roh jika itu yang diperlukan. Aku akan selalu berterima kasih atas bantuan dan bimbinganmu, dan akan melakukan apapun untuk memenuhi syaratmu."
"Santai," kata Lex mengangkat tangan eterealnya. "Aku tak butuh apa-apa, kan aku tak lakukan apa-apa."
Kunci emas muncul melayang di atas tangannya, mata makhluk abu-abu itu langsung tertuju padanya.
"Aku punya Inn, tempat sederhana bernama Midnight Inn. Kau bisa pakai kunci ini masuk ke Inn saat menjelang mati dan, tukar dengan menyerahkan semua milikmu, terus hidup sebagai roh di dalam. Berapa lama kau hidup tergantung seberapa banyak yang kau serahkan.
Ini fitur normal Inn-ku, sama untuk semua, jadi kau tak perlu merasa berutang budi kalau memutuskan pakainya."
Setelah memberi kunci ke Abroar, klon Lex hilang. Kembali di Inn, Lex mengumpulkan pikiran soal klon itu dan mulai merencanakan. Dia sudah kumpulkan banyak info soal cara kerja klon, tapi untuk berjaga-jaga, dia memutuskan habiskan satu hari lagi mengujinya sebelum keputusan.
Dia beri tahu Mary dia sibuk beberapa hari ke depan, dan tolak permintaan bertemu kecuali darurat. Dia teleport ke berbagai planet, karena sudah hubungkan Inn ke seluruh sistem bintang tiap planet yang terhubung, dan mulai menyebarkan kartu nama. Dia pastikan tidak tinggalkan sembarangan, tapi diam-diam antar ke kultivator level tinggi sebisa mungkin, biar benar-benar dipakai.
Dia mulai bertemu mereka, tapi tidak selalu memenuhi permintaan atau bahas soal Inn. Kan dia bukan tur pemasaran, tapi memahami batas kartu nama itu. Kalau semua puas, pemahaman soal klon jadi terbatas. Lewat ini, dia mulai paham batas dan keterbatasan kartu itu.
Sambil sibuk itu, Luthor ajukan pertemuan ke Pengelola Inn, bersama Gerard. Sayangnya, Mary bilang Pengelola terlalu sibuk bertemu siapapun, sedang kerjakan rencana masa depan Inn.
Luthor mengepalkan tangan, wajahnya muram. Fakta bahwa meski banyak karyawan, Pengelola harus urus sendiri semuanya, bicara soal ketidakmampuan tenaga kerjanya. Dia harus perbaiki. Tak bisa lanjut begini.
Tanpa bicara lagi, Luthor pergi, kemerahan mulai memenuhi matanya. Hal yang bisa dibantuin ke Pengelola terbatas karena dia lemah. Kalau begitu, dia hapus kelemahannya.
Luthor menuju karyawan terkaya dan paling berpengaruh di Inn, Z. Kekuatannya, di antara karyawan, kalah cuma Gerard. Tapi pengaruhnya akhir-akhir ini mekar, jadi paling populer di seluruh Inn. Iklan popularitas itu, tentu, bawa kekayaan luar biasa.
Karena, usaha bikin musik latar ultimal, dan dengan itu naikkan kekuatan, Z bertarung di arena tiap hari, tiap kali sedikit mengubah musiknya.
Pelan-pelan, dia ubah reputasinya dari pemalu di Inn, jadi kakak besar staf Inn.
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.
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