The Innkeeper

Chapter 1363  She thought he was growing up

At the same time, Lex not only proved himself a sufficiently competent tavern owner, but a skilled storyteller as well. By only subtly and indirectly influencing events happening in and around the tavern, he became merely a side character - albeit an important one.

That meant the potential for the taverns to produce interesting stories was great. It could generate more than enough entertainment on its own. In fact, it could even set up the Inn to become an even more entertaining place.

He could imagine it now. A cultivator from some remote, 1 star planet overcomes a lifetime of obstacles, escaping and evading death to succeed by a hair\'s breadth. Throughout his journey, a single, unassuming tavern had been of critical importance.

Sometimes it provided him with safety and security. Other times, it was a place where he gained inspiration. On a few occasions, it even served as a refuge to hide from his enemies.

But at last, he succeeded in his life\'s goals, became the strongest on the planet, and had nothing more to pursue. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Such a scenario might seem far-fetched, but the truth was that the number of unconnected, secluded 1 star planets in the Origin realm was greater than those connected to the Henali network, and the realm as a whole. This meant that the story of a single cultivator becoming the strongest on his planet, and then reaching the end of his journey since he had no access to greater resources or cultivation techniques, was far more common than anyone would believe.

How entertaining would it be if such a person suddenly visited the tavern once more, and through it gained access to a mysterious, mystical Inn, filled with the purest form of energy available, entities far stronger than anything that they ever imagined, and a whole new horizon to discover.

It was the perfect setup for countless novels, and though Lex did not actually expect any of such guests to become universe dominating geniuses, the possibility of it was still exciting.

So with that in mind, Lex waited. It had been a while since Lex said his piece, and the system had not responded, nor had Mary said anything. Yet he was confident in his decision.

He was unsure about why there was a wait to begin with, but eventually he got the response he expected in the form of a new quest.

New Quest: As the Inn grows, and its reputation spreads, so too must your capabilities as the Innkeeper. Build a new tavern with your own hands, without any help, fitting to be used as a subsidiary of the Midnight Inn.

Quest Reward: Increase in the number of taverns by 1.

Remarks: If you can\'t find a hammer while building, you can still use your forehead!

Lex smirked. It seemed like the system was losing its edge. What kind of a remark was that? Where was the scathing system that liked to make fun of him at every turn? In fact, this remark did not even have to be an insult.

It could just be taken as the system telling him to use his brain and come up with a solution. In fact, even if he took it literally, his forehead was much too tough to be harmed by a nail. He could literally use it as a real hammer.

Lex shook his head with a smile. Maybe he should stop scaring the system so much. Regardless, this was a quest he wanted to complete as soon as possible. Although it was not directly leading towards using the tavern to expand the reach of the Inn, it was a start.

The question now was, what kind of tavern should he build?

To help him plan out what he wanted to build, Lex went back to his apartment and pulled out the most complex, highly accurate and dynamic architectural design software that existed on earth prior to the world war that now consumed it. He pulled out Mindcraft, and started a new world.

Even though Lex could split his attention into hundreds of different tasks by now, he focused a majority of his mind into this elaborate designing software, and began to consider the complicated terrains his tavern would be placed in, the kind of materials he would need to build it, the layout it would have, and how many layers of secret underground bases and hidden rooms behind moving bookshelves he should make.

The first idea he had was to build a tavern in a giant treehouse. This tavern would fit in well on worlds with cultures and societies based around trees, and would work well with certain races such as elves and druids.

But an old, ancient castle with an unknown history and deep lore also appealed to Lex on an underlying level.

It was difficult to decide, so he built both the massive tree house as well as the castle, and connected them. But, somehow, Lex felt like it just lacked a certain something. So he built a moat around the castle and filled it with lava.

There was nothing like a good, welcoming tavern surrounded by a lava moat.

But as he stared at the moat, Lex got another idea. Why did the tavern have to be a traditional building? Why couldn\'t he make a ship, or a cruise and turn that into a tavern? Or maybe it could be a train, or a blimp!

The longer Lex spent interacting with the highly sophisticated designing software, which was in no way just a game, the more new and interesting ideas started to come to Lex.

He just needed to decide which one of these-

Oh wait, an underwater tavern made entirely of glass! Lex started designing that one as well, allowing his creativity to flow through him freely.

Mary\'s projection appeared in the air beside Lex, and just shook her head as she saw the massive grin on his face. Just when she thought he was growing up…