The Innkeeper

Chapter 2205: Don’t disappoint me

Mary resisted the urge to say anything that would even remotely reveal how nervous she felt as she watched the compressed space be lowered into the tavern, ready to be transported to another realm. The sheer complexity of sending a piece of unstable, unanchored and unconnected piece of space to another realm far, far away could not be understated.

She did not even add the consideration of the fact that the space was only kept in a state of temporary stability due to the hundreds of workers who were actively keeping it like that, and still needed the help of Divine energy to create a miracle.

Of course, none of them were responsible for sending the piece of space to another realm - the system would do that. The part she was worried about was the tremendous potential for something going wrong that this exercise held. If the transportation caused even the slightest bit of an issue, everyone working to keep the space stable could suffer quite a lot... and merely suffering was the best possible scenario in such a case.

"Weren’t you the one telling me everything would be fine?" asked Lex who was standing by her, though he did not turn to look at her. "Relax. I calculated everything about this myself. The space will remain stable, and everything will work out fine."

If Lex had said this at any other time, it would have been a whole lot more reassuring. Considering his exhausted mental state, however, it did nothing to reassure Mary. It was actually quite rare for her to be this stressed.

"You know, if we expedite making my body, you can gain a reliable ally who can handle these kinds of problems when you’re busy or otherwise occupied," she said, not at all addressing his assurances.

Lex nodded.

"You’re right. It’s time we start working on it more seriously," said Lex. "Compile a list of everything you need. We can afford to buy the things that are easily available on the market. As for the slightly rarer things... I’ll think of something. Don’t worry about it."

In truth, they were already rapidly collecting materials for Mary’s body. The issue was that the more common items she required were already exceptionally rare, and the rarer items were practically impossible to attain. But Lex had a lot more wealth now, and even Dao materials. At the same time, he was connected to much stronger forces, so the level of what he could request or seek to purchase had also risen.

It would truly be useful to have a strong, reliable ally. But that was for another time.

Lex focused on the space being moved into the tavern, showing not a hint of doubt or hesitation in himself or the others. It was as if he was entirely sure this would work.

In truth, Lex had a deep enough understanding of systems now to make use of their flaws, or habits. His implementation need not be perfect - it just needed to work, even if only for a moment. The system would take over after that.

Once the space was lowered into the tavern, it was led to the massive archway that connected this tavern to all the others. It was the moment of truth, but Z, as the one truly transporting everything, felt no fear. After all, his very tenet was derived from self belief.

He led the compressed space through the door himself, and one moment he was inside the Midnight Realm, and the next he was inside the Dream realm.

The compressed space that was connected to him, that was supposed to travel with him, and bring all the others alongside it, was no longer in his control.

To be more specific, Z was stunned to find that he was standing inside the space, for it had enveloped the entire area around the tavern, pushing back the Dream realm even as its borders fused with the Dream realm! The other workers stood alongside him, all stunned and confused with what had happened.

Lex, however, was not confused. He merely read the notification he got, as if he had never doubted the outcome.

New Notification: Quest is partially completed!

Quest Reward: Upgrade in Inn Teleportation control(Incomplete)!

Remarks: You brought space to the realm that had no space, and forsook common sense as unnecessary. Perhaps you never had it to begin with.

Alongside the notification came his increased authority, and information about the space he had sent to the Dream realm, as well as information about his upgraded teleportation control. The reason the quest was considered partially completed instead of fully completed was because the space had been stabilised solely keeping the Dream realm in mind. That meant it could only be deployed within the Dream realm.

Maybe, if in the future, he could improve the space some more the quest rating would update. However, that was now much harder to do since the space had gone from an unstable state to a stable one.

Lex didn’t care. These were problems for later, when he wasn’t too occupied with his immediate concerns. As long as the space worked inside the Dream realm, and could keep the laws of the realm at bay, he was content.

As for the upgrade in teleportation control, he did not get as much of it as he wanted. However, he was more than content with what he’d gotten! He could now increase the link and reach of the system by using his workers!

That meant that he didn’t need to personally spend time in one location anymore to link it to the system. Instead, sending officially recognised workers of the Midnight Inn could still link the location to the system.

The process was slower, but it had drastically increased Lex’s options.

Yet, even that was not what Lex was currently focused on. With this space now in place, and the tavern now much more secure, he could properly begin the rescue efforts.

Although the Midnight Battalion had not perfected their mastery over the technique, they could use it, and that was good enough. Full mastery could come from practice.

Z was trying to understand what had happened, but his thoughts were interrupted when he sensed the arrival of more people. While technically speaking, the Midnight tavern was considered an extension of the Midnight Inn, that did not save it from the laws of the realm it inhabited.

That could only be done via the space that now surrounded the tavern - a space literally ripped out of the Midnight realm itself. Since the space had fused seamlessly with the Dream realm - most likely due to interference from the system perfecting or strengthening the space’s existing function - it could now prevent the Dream realm from kidnapping his workers and guests.

This became a literal safe haven within an entire realm that was centered around unpredictability and mayhem. The very fact that this space could even enter the realm was amazing, but Lex treated the space as no different than the people being absorbed into the realm.

If the realm was strong enough to support Dao Lords, why couldn’t it support a bit of extra space?

The Midnight Battalion, three thousand, three hundred and thirty three members strong, entered the tavern, and then spread out. All of them knew the technique - they’d just never used it before.

The technique could allow them to take control of nightmares and absorb them for the purpose of distilling and refining the spiritual energy within them. This was a copy of the method Cthulhu used to strengthen themselves, and it was a way in which they could combat the dreams which might try to steal their life force.

"Does everyone have their compass?" Leonidus asked, standing at the edge of the Midnight Inns space.

In response, all the battalion members revealed a compass similar to the one Lex had given to Liz. It could track the karma of anyone linked to the Inn. Alongside the compass, they had brought along spare keys to the Inn, though by now they knew they may not be able to keep them.

As soon as they exited the space of the Inn, if the Dream realm teleported them anywhere at all, the keys would disappear. That’s why, besides finding others connected to the Inn, these compasses also pointed back to the tavern.

"Everyone of you knows your mission. Rescue the targets, show no mercy to the enemies, and devour all dreams. The Dream realm targeted the Midnight Inn, so there is no need to hold back. It is time to prove ourselves, and our training. Don’t let me down!"

Leonidus led the way by stepping into the Dream realm first. Normally, the battalion worked together. That’s how they had trained. But the unpredictability of the Dream realm meant that they could be split at any time, which is why they were ready to work alone.

Z and the others who watched them leave also felt an urge to follow them, but they couldn’t. They had neither the techniques, nor the compasses that would allow them to return. Thus, all they could do was to the Inn, and wait for the battalion to make some progress.