The Innkeeper

Chapter 1821: No traces

Since the manufacturing of the bead was a long process, the staff couldn’t be there constantly. Instead, whenever they had free time or time off from work, they started to gather at a safe distance from the volcano.

As the days passed, the site actually became somewhat of a gathering spot for the workers despite how out of the way it was. Of course, the main purpose was there to give Lex moral support, but doing that didn’t conflict with having a picnic on the side either. Lawnchairs, tables, tents and sleepingbags filled the surroundings.

Every so often, the volcano would leak a domineering or intimidating aura. If this weren’t inside the Midnight Inn, just that aura alone would be enough to injure or cripple many of the workers despite them being immortals. Such a thing made Lex’s efforts even more admirable. Of course, Orin, too, deserved a lot of credit for his efforts. The dwarf had clearly put his everything into this project.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the gathering of the workers around the volcano and admiring the efforts of the two somehow fell into the cycle of veneration as well, generating divine energy for Orin to use in his forging process. The dwarf felt the energy fuse into his body from an unfamiliar source, but he couldn’t divert his attention to look into the matter.

Like that, with unexpected help to their efforts, Lex and Orin somehow made it to the final phase of crafting the bead.

The dwarf’s body had shriveled, losing every shred of fat that he had in his body, leaving him with nothing but muscle in his entire body. Fatigue had taken hold ages ago, and every fiber of his back ached with a desire to finally rest.

Lex, too, was in such a state that only pure will kept him holding on. As tough as his body was, when it became entirely vulnerable to every attack, there was only so much it could take.

While externally, it looked like he was entirely unharmed, he was genuinely on the verge of total collapse. Maybe he might not die from such a thing - death for him was not something that could be achieved so easily - but he was definitely close to the point where he couldn’t take it anymore.

But there was a bright side. He left his body exposed entirely, using his defensive techniques to reinforce the volcano so it didn’t suffer immense damage during the forging process, allowing Orin to lay a foundation for an even better forge. As a result, the foundation for the next forge was almost set. More importantly, Lex used this opportunity to practice his cultivation technique, causing it to slowly but surely eradicate the flaw in his defenses that left him vulnerable to karmic attacks - or the guiding influence of karma as well, for that matter.

In the future, if someone tried to attack him through Karma, Lex would not only be much better prepared to counter it, his resistance to it would be immense.

"Now we need the binding agent," Orin said, his voice hoarse, as if his throat were completely dry. "Something that will keep the bead entirely intact while it undergoes the baptism of time."

"I have just the thing," answered Lex, and summoned a glass vial. Surprisingly, even under the weight of all that lava, in the presence of the Karmic bead which was exuding a chaotic and destructive aura, the vial did not break, keeping the single drop of blood inside safe.

"What is that?" Orin could not help but ask, trembling at the faint aura of time within.

"Anachronistic Ignition," whispered Lex, looking at the drop of blood. That was one of the three bloodlines that the Inn workers had. What was inside the vial was a drop refined from the blood essence of hundreds of Earth Immortal workers who had that bloodline - leaving it in a highly concentrated form.

Everyone who donated the blood had volunteered when Lex asked, and had been healed sufficiently, not to mention well compensated for the blood. Giving up blood essence was not a light act, even among immortals, so he made sure they didn’t leave out.

Yet it was worth all his expenses for this drop of blood could grant the bead the ability to tap into its stability from the future, paying back the debt slowly over time. For the humans, it allowed them to take energy from the future, among other things, making it one of the most ridiculously powerful bloodlines Lex had ever encountered.

He opened the vial and allowed the blood to fuse in with the bead, finally lifting it from his chest for he could not be in contact with it during this time, lest his body accidentally absorb the blood.

Orin, too, began to use alternate methods to complete the forging, instead of hammering it. They were almost at the end.

Yet while the dwarf was focused on his task, no one was observing Lex, allowing him to do something entirely undetected.

This was not something Lex had planned, and it was not something he had even thought about. In fact, even as he pulled the necklace from around his neck - the very necklace made from the divine metal sent to him through their soul by Jack - his thoughts did not stir at all, as if he wasn’t doing anything.

Lex took his finger and stabbed his chest, reaching all the way to his heart, cutting out a piece of flesh as well as pulling out a single drop of blood directly from the chambers in his heart.

Lex’s expression paled, as if that single drop of blood somehow contained a vast amount of his very essence, yet not even a scar was left on his chest, leaving no proof that he had done anything. If someone were to look at him, they would only assume his condition was so bad because of the refinement.

He then fused the blood as well as heart tissue into the necklace, using the faint bit of treasure manufacturing abilities he had himself, as well as the lava rich in resources to refine the necklace. He even used up some of the divine energy he himself accumulated in his Tyrants Mask and Butter Knife for this.

When he was done, the necklace looked no different nor did it feel any different, as if nothing had happened at all.

He put the necklace back on, with no one the wiser about the actions he had taken in those few minutes. Moreover, because of the fluctuating aura of the bead, and the Fortunate formation around them, Lex had managed to use his acquired expertise over Karma to perform the entire action without leaving a hint of karmic ties between himself and the necklace, leaving no evidence or connection whatsoever. There were no traces of his actions, whether they were physical or metaphysical.

For all intents and purposes, nothing happened.

Lex closed his eyes, no longer observing the bead, for he now needed to use every ounce of his strength to keep the darkness at bay, or else he would lose consciousness, and might miss the critical moment of the beads completion.