The Innkeeper



From the time Lex chose to hire the 300 new workers to the time they arrived at the Inn, quite a few days had passed. It had long since become Lex's habit to deeply analyze everything the system did, and compare it to its previous actions to determine patterns.

He never had problems ordering a large number of workers before, and the delivery was usually almost instant. So then what exactly had caused the delay?

He could come up with a few different answers. The first and most obvious answer was, naturally, the bloodline. Death Counter was one of the new bloodlines he unlocked for his employees, and it essentially made the user immortal - more or less.

While it was not nearly as versatile as Regalia Bloom or Anachronistic Ignition, it had one simple use case. The owner of the bloodline could hide a single drop of blood anywhere, and if they were to die, they could use that single drop to come back to life at full health and maximum power.

Of course the actual application of the bloodline ability was slightly more complex than how it was stated, but that was essentially the gist of the bloodline ability. The bloodline could do nothing else, but honestly, wasn't that already enough? When compared to the fact that normal employees did not come with the bloodline unlocked, but only the ability to potentially unlock the Regalia Bloom, the difference could be easily identified.

But while the bloodline was the most obvious reason for why there was a delay, it was not the only one. When hiring new staff, the system allowed Lex to input what kind of role he expected to put them in, after which the system would make them more skilled in related fields. That was not to say that the system could directly control their talents, but that it would give each worker a higher starting point in related fields, making it easier for them to start and master their expected roles.

Normally, Lex would put in a general direction, but would not be too specific so as to allow each worker to develop naturally. Only when he was entering the details for Luthor did Lex end up being extremely specific. Well, this time he had also been very particular in the skills and talents of the new workers. As a result, he may have overdone it a little.

He made each worker extremely gifted physically. He made them all quick learners, with an incredibly quick training time when learning combat. Moreover, he made them all incredibly focused, driven, disciplined and hardworking. This was not to mention that he gave them a solid foundation in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics and probability, data analysis, pattern recognition, critical thinking and, well, much, much more.

From the very moment they were hired, they knew how to fight, and they knew how to heal. They could construct fortifications, and had the foundation to quickly learn formations to help in offense and defense as well. They could perfectly strategize on how best to assault enemies and enemy strongholds.

In summary, they were pretty cool. But the price of all that 'coolness' might have been their delayed arrival.

Whether the reason for the delay was one of those, neither, or even both, did not really matter. It was enough that Lex took note of the delay for now. In the short while he did not intend on hiring more, for even though he knew it was an important expense, it was also important to take stock of everything as he went along. He could not go around randomly spending 90 billion MP regardless of how much he was earning, or he would quickly end up broke.

So it was best to instead focus on training these new workers. Once, long ago, when Lex had started hiring workers from the system, and had no access to the portal or other organizations, he was forced to rely on the system to get cultivation techniques and spiritual techniques for them from the system.

As convenient as it seemed, it was actually not the best solution. That was because this was only a perfunctory service offered by the system. Once his Midnight Battalion panel started working he assumed he would be able to get more optimal techniques from there, but for now, the Midnight Library would have to do.

Of course, even so, he would not allow them to randomly select techniques from there. As his future frontline force, they had to have the best of the best, while being as lethal as possible. As such, he had Chad, the deputy head of security, work in close coordination with the planning division and come up with a training plan for them. That naturally included what techniques they would train in. Of course, their own personal preferences would have to be taken into account, but since they were meant to be a battalion, their joint strength mattered a lot more than their individual strength.

"Welcome to the Midnight Inn," he said, solemnly. "Normally, for new initiates of the Inn, the onboarding process is different. But for you all, it is completely different, as the expectations from you are completely different. You have all been chosen as warriors and soldiers, to be the front line of the Midnight Inn against the dangers and threats of the universe. But at the same time, I do not believe in forcing anyone.

"Ahead of you lies extreme danger, and a difficult and uneasy path. As such, if any of you wish to opt out, now is your chance. Think clearly, for you will not get such a chance again. I will not hold it against any of you if you do not wish to follow this path, and will give you another role at the Inn. But, this is your only opportunity so choose wisely. I will give you all some time to think it over before you have to give me your answer. In the meantime, go explore the Inn. Get a deeper understanding of what it is you will be fighting for, if you choose to fight that is."