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The Live Map function was yet again another new function that Lex had recently gained. Its uses were many and Lex had planned to use it to its maximum capabilities, but he had been too swamped with one event after another to pay any attention to it. Even now, the only reason he paid attention to it was due to the fact that he was focused on Aegis and Roland to begin with.

Lex was curious why the map colored Roland, the young entrepreneur who sold newspapers with a gang of kids, yellow as a prospective employee rather than Aegis. But he did not have time to ponder. He felt that he would fall asleep at any moment, so he made his move.

*****

As an Immortal, Aegis was able to sense many more things than cultivators below his level. Even among immortals, he barely met anyone who was as talented as himself, not to mention skilled. Therefore, the moment he arrived at the Midnight Inn, he instantly knew that Lex had not lied to him. This place... it really was a different realm than his own.

He did not need to detect the subtle 'flavor' that spiritual energy had which was different from his own, nor the concentration, or any number of other things. Just the fact that the subtle pressure preventing him from reaching a higher realm had disappeared was enough.

Back in the Crystal realm, anyone who reached the realm of Earth immortal would be able to sense it. Growing one's cultivation realm after reaching the Earth Immortal realm was not only incredibly difficult because of the high realm level alone. The realm itself put some kind of pressure on all immortals, slowing their growth.

But sometimes, either through odd circumstances, or through ridiculous talent, there were a few who reached the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, and even managed to surpass it. When that happened, they would get ejected from the Earth realm forcibly. This was an incredibly rare occasion to begin with, which is why the knowledge that the Earth immortal realm was not the end of cultivation was already firmly in the realm of hearsay, in the crystal realm at least. As for what happened after they reached that realm, and were ejected was the subject of endless speculation amongst the few who were in the know.

Due to his position, Aegis knew one of the rumors suspected to be the truth, which was that once someone surpassed the Earth Immortal realm, they were sent to another realm called the Ascension realm.

But again, the concept of realms was too vague for him to understand completely. Yet now, here he was, at the Midnight Inn in another realm. Moreover, he had even brought along the small kid from the tavern along with him.

What was the name of this realm? Could it be owned by this Inn? Would that make it the... Midnight realm?

He was lost in his thoughts as he looked around to take in the sights, when someone suddenly teleported in front of him. The man was dressed exceptionally well, and the aura he projected was one of great power and authority. Aegis got the same feeling from his father, but for some reason, he had a feeling that even his father could not match up to him.

Moreover, the man was radiating an aura of the Deeper Laws that was so intense, it almost caused him to have to close his eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, this was the aura from the hallucinations that his body had begun to absorb. Since Aegis would not be harmed by the aura, the system did not filter it out, but since Roland would not be able to handle it, the system employed its usual protective feature to protect him from suffering due to the aura.

A few thoughts ran through Aegis' mind as he quickly surmised who this might be, and had only just thought of how to react when the Innkeeper would ask him about joining, when the man looked directly past him and at Roland.

"Dear guest, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Innkeeper, the owner of this humble establishment. I hope you enjoy your stay at my Inn, and make the most of our numerous services.

"If you find the Inn agreeable, and think that you may want to pursue a future alongside us, then please make use of this key. It will allow you to take a simple trial, and if you are able to pass, you will have the honor of joining the Midnight family. Your skills and excellent attitude will be greatly appreciated here at the Midnight Inn."

Roland, who grabbed the key from the Innkeepers' hand, was looking up at the man with his mouth hung open. He was not expecting to receive a job offer, especially for a place as incredible as this. While Aegis was still able to calmly take in everything the Inn had to offer, Roland, as a young man, was much more impressionable.

But, at this moment, more shocked than Roland was Aegis. He was the one who came to the Inn to check out if he wanted to work here, but he had been completely ignored in favor of a small kid.

"Innkeeper, it is an honor to meet you, my name is..." began Aegis when he noticed Roland was too shocked to reply, but was interrupted by the Innkeeper.

"Are you wondering why I am offering the kid a job while ignoring you?" The Innkeeper, who had been smiling warmly at Roland, looked at Aegis with an uninterested and bland look.

"It's very simple. The 'kid' is exceptionally talented and motivated, making the most of every situation. He also put on an excellent display of not losing himself to despair when all hope seemed to be lost, never forgetting to keep the calm for his followers. You, on the other hand, are an overgrown child with daddy issues and a penchant for throwing tantrums. You're so oblivious to everything that isn't about yourself, you do not even see what is truly happening in your own world. I will not retract the opportunity you have received, but consider for a moment if you can provide anything other than your strength. And if it's a matter of strength, I have no shortage of people to choose from."

Lex may have sounded harsh, but he understood Aegis well enough now that he knew if he paid him too much information, or gave him too much favor, he would fall into the same category of everyone who worshiped him for his talent all his life. Instead, by challenging him and belittling his existence to nothing more than hired muscle, he challenged Aegis to prove him wrong.

It may seem a little cold-hearted to manipulate someone so directly like that, and think so little of them, but with his hallucinations returning, Lex could not be his kind and warmhearted self. He was barely keeping his sanity, he could not distract himself with thoughts like empathy. In fact, before Aegis had a chance to respond, the Innkeeper disappeared.

In truth, he had returned to his Recovery pod, but to Aegis, it seemed like the Innkeeper truly thought too little of him. In truth, Aegis felt offended by how he had been so directly belittled, but at the same time, he was shocked by the man's aura, as well as how easily he had been able to read Aegis' thoughts. He also felt a strong inclination to prove the man wrong.

Despite becoming an immortal, he could do nothing about the fact that at the end of the day he was human, and human emotions were easily manipulated. Had this been anywhere else, Aegis would not have been so easily fooled. He was still an immortal after all. Unfortunately, how could he challenge Lex, right in the Midnight Inn? None of his senses worked properly on him.

The two of them spent a couple of days at the Inn, taking in everything the Inn had to offer. Amazed by the magical land, Roland was unable to stop himself from crushing the platinum key and starting his trial. Besides, he had nothing left for himself at the Crystal realm anyway.

Aegis, on the other hand, returned to the Crystal realm. Whether he accepted the job or not, he would prove that he was not worthless by having Zagan use the platinum key! But at the same time, the Innkeeper's remark about how he was oblivious to the truth of his own world struck him hard. He was not stupid, he knew his father was keeping secrets from him, he just never cared. But what if it was not just his father, but all the races?

He recalled that Lex had also asked him some questions relating to the Kraven. He never cared before, but he had to prove to himself that he wasn't worthless. If he was ignorant before it was because he didn't care, but now that he cared, he would definitely find out.

𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝙚𝙖𝙙.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Unbeknownst to him, even this action of his was playing right into Lex's hands.

Lex had once again fallen asleep, and this time the Lotus was having a little more trouble helping him lay the necessary foundation for his body. The Lotus itself was an infant, after all, and the more it raised Lex's foundation, the harder it became to further improve it.

Last time it had to ask the turtle for some extremely fertile soil, while this time the Lotus used up all the Divine Essence that had been collected by the Divine boulder core - the core being the small pebble that Lex had found back in the Crystal realm that greatly increased his strength.

Lex always assumed that the essence could no longer assist him, but the essence was literally something used by divine beings. How could it be so straightforward? The reason why Lex could no longer gain benefits from it was that he had tempered all his skin with it, strengthening it while also making it non-permeable to the essence.

The reason for that was… to prevent any essence inside his body from leaking out! Ergo, the next natural step was to have the inside of his body washed in the essence. Lex was naturally incapable of doing that, since at most he could drink it. The Lotus, however, could wash every inch of Lex's body, not only strengthening his Foundation, but also increasing the strength of his body.

The gist of it was… it was taking a lot longer to help Lex wake up this time compared to the last couple of times.

*****

The physical universe, or rather the physical Origin realm, was a vast and wonderful place. The possibilities were endless, and it was filled with strange and mesmerizing visages. Yet only the lucky or the worthy ever had a chance to bear witness to it. Fortunately, there was another place where even the mundane could experience the full glory of everything the physical plane had to offer.

This mystical place was known as the Henali portal. All one needed to do was scan their body and then use any of the VR immersion devices to enter the portal with their mind, and live in the alternate reality, which was the Henali portal.

The size of the portal was incalculable, for no one had ever discovered the borders of this place.

Unlike the physical place, which existed as planets, star systems and galaxies, the portal existed only as one continuous plane. Each galaxy that was connected to the Henali portal would receive a plot of land proportional to the size of their galaxy, where they would hold their sovereignty. If the galaxy had an owner, for example, the Jotun Empire, then anyone entering the virtual plot of land would require an online visa.

The visa thing sucked, but that was veering off into the political side of the portal. Basically, the portal was massive, and in fact, the definition of the 'known universe' that was commonly used in the Origin realm referred to the area of the realm which had been connected by the portal.

Other races could only explore how vast the Origin realm was by the number of connected galaxies. Besides them, only the Henali truly knew how expansive the origin realm was, but they could not be bothered to lay out the portal themselves, so they had members of the alliance doing it.

Predictably, one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the portal was fighting. Since the fighters would not really die in real life, many people used the ultra-realism of the portal to hone their skills and contest against strong opponents.

In one such place, in an unnamed galaxy, in a private room, a Marzu, also known as T-rex, a Bunair, a race of sentient beetles, and an Oolin, a humanoid race with bronze colored skin and majestic antlers, were sitting together.

All three females were spectating a battle royale and casually chatting amongst one another. This, for them, was a very common get together. Though it may seem like they were rich and carefree, in truth, they were all battle maniacs who happened to become friends from battling one another in the portal. Every so often they would take a break and rest like this, for maintaining peak mental state required some off time.

The Oolin, a young girl of only 91 years of age, was casually sifting through the pages of an online battle magazine when a particular article caught her interest.

To be more specific, it was the image above the article that caused her interest. It was the silhouette of a man dressed smartly, holding naught but a butter knife. The lands before him were filled with bodies of what she could only assume were his defeated opponents, though the outline of his face did not seem to be looking down at them. Instead, it was looking upwards, as if challenging the heavens.

Though it was only a picture, and the young girl could not even determine the warrior's expression, let alone his identity, something about the way he stood filled her heart with admiration, as well as worship.

The title of the article was 'To die at his hands is the ultimate mercy' and was written by a 'Rachel'.

The Oolin girl could not move her gaze away from the heroic figure in the picture, as if his silhouette contained everything she had ever dreamed of. Unbeknownst to herself, the bronze skinned girl began to blush.

At this point, her two friends noticed something was going on, but she herself did not notice. She finally pried her eyes from the picture, and began to read the words written below.

'How lonely is it at the top?' the author asked in her first sentence, and then continued. 'It is a question we will never be able to answer, for that is the place where he stands, alone, protecting everything he holds dear. But while he stands at the front to protect so many others, why must he stand alone, with no one to protect his heart?'

The Oolin girl did not even realize when the tears started flowing down her cheeks as she imagined a hero, going from one battlefield to another, his body a canvas for battle scars. But when he returns at night to rest by his campfire, he rests alone.

'I will protect your heart!' the girl wanted to scream, but she knew her voice would not reach the hero's ears, for he was surely far away, fighting to keep the universe safe.

At the end of the article, a part she had not yet reached, was a statement by the author, mentioning an upcoming comic series depicting the exploits of the noble hero known only as, 'The Innkeeper

Six days after Lex returned to his Recovery pod, he finally woke up again. This time his condition was much better, and he even felt like he could manage to ignore the hallucinations without any assistance. Moreover, his body was overflowing with strength, yet at the same time, he felt completely normal. It was an unusual feeling, but he did not have the time to delve into these matters. He had to make the most of his time before he fell asleep again.

It was also because of his rush that he missed the formation of the 'Innkeeper fan club' that was holding its first ever meeting, having been formed after the small news article and comic strip that Velma launched on the Midnight Newsletter as well as the Henali portal.

He teleported to his office, once again finding Luthor standing there, coffee in hand. Yet this time, he was also holding three folders. Lex raised an eyebrow out of curiosity, but chugged his coffee before asking what they were about.

"Do you have something that requires my attention?" Lex asked, turning towards Luthor. It was only natural that with time, Luthor would bring various matters to Lex's attention. After all, as Lex's assistant, his job did not end with sending in people to Lex's office for meetings.

Though Lex was feeling much better, and could almost ignore the hallucinations, the fact of the matter was that the effects they were having on him were much deeper than just putting him in a coma. They messed with his emotions, so that even now, Lex was more or less in his neutral and cold state.

Luthor, having only glimpsed at the usual warm and friendly Innkeeper, felt the Innkeepers current attitude was a reflection of everyone's poor performance.

"There are a couple of proposals I had which I wanted to bring to show you. After spending some time at the Inn, and talking to a lot of the workers, I believe that we, the workers, are not sufficiently motivated or driven to give our best performance. After a detailed investigation into how all the workers actually perform, I came up with a list of possible solutions to increase motivation and drive up work efficiency. I also mentioned a special training program which can focus on a few workers who have proven their worth to aid in increasing their cultivation, so that they can be of greater use to the Inn."

With his interest piqued, Lex reached out and grabbed the first folder and read through the list. Despite how minimal Luthor actually made it sound, he had been incredibly thorough in his report. Each proposed change was supported with an in depth explanation for where he saw the shortcoming, and how he suspected the change could increase efficiency. Even with Lex's increased cultivation, as well as heightened efficiency due to the Overdrive state, it took him nearly an entire minute to read through it.

What impressed him most was that Luthor hadn't taken it upon himself to make judgements, but had actually talked to a lot of the workers to determine whether these mentioned improvements would actually bring about positive change in their relevant departments.

A brief example of the kinds of proposed changes would be performance based raises and promotions, result based perks, such as access to some of the Inn's services or extra holidays, an annual review of the best workers in each department, specific events or holidays focused towards the workers etc.

Furthermore, it suggested sending the workers who performed the best to a neutral cultivation institution called Ventura to aid them in raising their cultivation.

Lex had to say, if Luthor ever got a corporate job back on Earth, he'd be possibly one of the most beloved employees ever. In his cold and calculating state, Lex almost immediately approved the changes. But no matter how cold or emotionless he became, it did not erase his memories. One of the strongest feelings Lex had back when he learned that his workers were actual living people instead of autonomous robots, was that he did not want to treat them like slaves or mindless workers. Moreover, no matter how much he could possibly improve efficiency by doing these things, he could never overlook the loyalty his workers had shown him.

So, while Luthor presented a lot of good ideas, Lex could not implement them as if. Before he made a comment, though, he summoned two other workers to his room - Gerard and Velma. He had noticed that those two had contributed the most in this proposal and so wanted to include them in this talk.

Naturally, due to the limited time that Lex had, he did not wait for them to come to him themselves, but informed them to finish whatever they were doing, and then teleported them over directly.

The moment that the others entered his office, a change took place and a conference table appeared with 4 chairs. It seemed like they were about to hold the first ever meeting to discuss improvements at the Inn.

"This is a good proposal," Lex began, "and I like the initiative of locating areas that need improvements and suggesting them on your own. But while these are good ideas, they need some alterations before we can implement them.

"While getting the workers to improve efficiency is good and all, I do not want the whole purpose of their existence to become working and serving. As such, while we will create avenues for those who wish it to improve, as well as take on more responsibility, there's not going to be discrimination for those who are satisfied with their place. All added perks and services will not be limited to certain people only. After all, all the workers at the Midnight Inn are a family, and as a family, we do not discriminate, but look out for one another."

There was an imperceptible pause when Lex reached this point as thoughts of his family keeping secrets from him flashed in his mind, but Lex moved past it. Luthor had presented some good ideas here, and Lex wanted to start on them immediately - after they went through some changes, of course.

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Although went through the dramatic claim of having the first ever meeting to improve the Inn between Lex and key members of the Inn, the actual meeting lasted no more than 3 minutes.

The whole premise of Luthor's proposal was to have the workers improve themself by creating a competitive environment, so that only those who had the will and dedication could rise through the ranks and get the respective rewards. While in theory this was a good thing, Lex knew for a fact that such an environment hardly ever only promoted healthy competition.

The only change Lex made to this, since he also didn't believe in just giving handouts, was that he did not set a limit to perks and services. Should any of the workers want higher pay, different positions, more holidays or anything along those lines, there was a way for them to pursue it. Luthor instead had limited quotas per annum for certain raises and services, which would have bolstered competition.

Regardless, after making a few changes, Lex directly implemented them and informed Mary of them as well, since technically she oversaw more of the Inns activities than his actual workers. He was looking forward to the day he could give her an actual physical body so she could also join the Inn and actually spend time with everyone. All Mary had told him, for now, was that once his authority was high enough he would gain that option eventually.

Once that was concluded, Lex turned to the matter of sending his workers outside the Inn to train. Once his authority was high enough to teleport people outside the Inn wherever he wished he could do this, since his workers weren't actually limited to only existing in the Inns space. Still, even if he could do this right now, he still wouldn't.

"There are some things you can't anticipate right now due to your level as well as your exposure," the Innkeeper said, looking at Luthor. He could tell that, by far, he was the most ambitious of his workers. But his experience was, ultimately, limited to the Inn and the information he was born with.

"While on the surface it seems like a good idea to send workers out to raise their cultivation, and this Ventura organization may have a reputation of being neutral, there are some things you do hoping to rely on the mercy of others. All the workers, even the seemingly ordinary ones, have unordinary talent and very powerful bloodlines they can unlock. Once or twice might be fine, but once workers start going to an external organization and they notice the trend of so many people with the exact same bloodline, it may eventually give birth to greed in their hearts.

"So, the workers can only train at the Inn. While this is slow for now, eventually the Inn will continue to improve, and the training you receive will be no less than any other establishment."

"Forgive me for being impatient," Luthor said, bowing. He suddenly felt ashamed for planning so many things on his own without gaining the Innkeepers approval first. The Innkeeper clearly had a keener insight into the machinations of the universe than himself, so relying on him would not lead him astray. Fortunately the Innkeeper had not punished him, but instead guided him on which direction to focus future suggestions.

"What are the other folders?" Lex asked.

Luthor promptly handed Lex the next one, which detailed his suggestions for things to add to the Inn, as well as a few proposed changes to the Security protocols. These Lex read a bit more thoroughly, for the idea of creating a prison, or dungeon, and then holding those who transgressed was extremely serious. It felt like a huge decision. And yet, it was not, for he had been doing it for a while already.

In his emotionless state, there was no room for false modesty. It was a simple truth that the Inn was his home, and that while he would be warm and friendly to most, to those who meant him harm Lex should not be lenient.

The inclination to not harm someone, or at least not be so harsh, was something nurtured by living in civilized society, where freedom and safety were the foundations of civilization. But while all countries touted the call of human rights and peace, one needs but to open a history book to remember the foundation for a nation where these ideals could be pedaled was built through war.

But at the same time, there was no need to be so ostentatious while doing these things. Lex approved them, but did not immediately implement them. This was simply because he did not have the MP to spare at the moment.

He asked for the last folder, but was surprised when he saw Luthor's awkward appearance. Hesitantly, the assistant handed Lex the final folder. This one was thin. In fact, it was only a single page.

It was a proposal for funeral proceedings for the workers that died. Lex's Host Attire made it so that Lex had absolute control over all his actions, small or big. So it was a conscious decision when Lex let out a sigh, and sat down on his chair.

Without making a single change to the existing plans, Lex made a single addition and approved it.

This proposal was not from Luthor, but a joint suggestion from all the workers. They did not wish to be buried at the Inn, for this was the place they cherished with all their heart. They did not want a cemetery in this place. Instead, those chose, for their fallen brothers and sisters, as well as for themselves should they die, to be cremated, and have their ashes spread across the Inn.

The only addition Lex made was a monument, simple and unassuming, found in a lost corner somewhere in the Inn, with the names of the workers who passed, and a little about them.

Suddenly, Lex felt a strange exhaustion grip his body. Then he made a decision.

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