The Innkeeper

Chapter 1349  A being at the pinnacle of existence

Silence. A heavy silence hung in the Innkeepers office as the Innkeeper looked disapprovingly at Ereboth, while Ereboth himself was sweating in a panic. For those wondering, yes planets could sweat. The people living on the planet itself referred to it as rain, but that was just a matter of semantics.

Neither of them spoke. Or, to be more specific, after the Innkeeper gave a verbal warning, Ereboth had yet to react. That was fortunate, because Lex was taking his time reading about the System system as much as he could from the interface.

For a moment, he felt like he could control the entire system. While that may or may not be true, he could not do it without making his intention obvious. Previously, he had mixed his intention with his aura, and the planetʼs system responded. If he wanted to continue using it, he would need to make his intention clear somehow.

He already tried giving Ereboths system a mental command, but it seemed not to respond to that - likely because he was not linked to the system itself. This was all new territory for him, but it was extremely informative and he needed to make the most of it. After all, he didnʼt want someone else doing the very same thing to him one day.

But that was unlikely, because when he saw the interface, one of the things he noticed was that the System System was an A grade system, while the Midnight Inn was a Divine grade system, even if it was broken.

This was just a guess of his, but Lex theorized that his superior authority, as stated by the quest he received previously, came from his system being of a higher grade than anything Lex himself did.

He read through the rest of the interface, unable to actually interact with it without showing his intention somehow.

From what he gathered, Erebothʼs system allowed him to… somehow grant others a simplified system, and through his subordinated system users somehow grow stronger. It was literally one of Lexʼs theories about why systems existed in the first place, brought to life right in front of him. Except it was a specific system doing that, instead of all of them.

That wasnʼt to say that the creator of the systems wasnʼt doing something similar, but as a weakling Lex couldnʼt do anything about that right now so it was just best to ignore it.

But in the case of Ereboth, at least, things seemed to be more nuanced than they appeared. He did not have any control over the systems granted to others - or at least thatʼs what it seemed like to Lex based on the quests he was reading. Most of the quests were about somehow nurturing amazing or unique system users, and have them grow to a certain degree within a certain time.

What was interesting was that Lex could see two quest tabs on Erebpths interface, one for quests that he had, and one for quests he could grant to others.

”How… how can you… you know?” Ereboth asked, his voice trembling. He did not even dare lean back into his chair, and instead remained frozen in his exact place.

”I… I have already seen it… others… others canʼt really learn about my system easily, especially if they are strong!”

With the Innkeeper blaring his aura, Ereboth finally became aware that he was completely outmatched in strength, but that confused him even more.

Lex instantly judged from his words that Ereboth was completely unaware that others besides it had systems. It truly thought that it was the only one that had a system.

”Your understanding, or lack thereof, seems to have nothing to do with me. Seeing as how you have come to the Inn in bad faith, maybe I should just banish you from the Inn, and return you to where you came from,” the Innkeeper said in an admonishing tone.

”No!” Ereboth pleaded, suddenly falling to his knees. ”No Innkeeper… Sir! Lord! Please! I… I want to… no, I need to understand! Are you… did you create the system? How could you know about it? No one knows about it.”

The Innkeeper only shook his head, disappointedly.

”A frog at the bottom of the well knows nothing of the great sea. You presume to know secrets, yet you know nothing. You presume that you may do as you please without consequence, but you are a misbehaving child who has tasted the love of disciplining. Tell me, Ereboth the Insatiable, why should I answer your questions when you came to me in bad faith? I am a good host, but no one ever said anything about being forgiving.”

The planet started panicking as it quickly thought of a solution. In truth, it had little to no experience talking to others - mostly because it was busy killing or using them - and did not know the concept of give and take. But it did understand quests.

Lex watched with intrigue as a new entry suddenly appeared in Ereboths quest tab, and read it with a feeling of mild amusement. Less than a few seconds ago, this Celestial immortal was about to kill him, and now it was stressed out because it did not know how to improve Lexʼs mood. The quest it received was also interesting.

New Quest: Before you stands a being at the pinnacle of existence, holding onto secrets you cannot even begin to imagine. One of those secrets is how you can improve your System, and move onto the next phase of your existence. Placate the being, get into its good books, and do whatever you need to do to upgrade your system.

Quest Reward: Dungeon upgrade panel!

Quest Failure Punishment: All progress towards upgrading the system will cease for 500 million years.

Remarks: Legend speaks of a myth stating that there was once a rumor that the mighty Innkeeper wields the Butter Knife of Destiny. Do not verify if that legend is true - you may not survive the encounter.