Chapter 1399 — Chapter 1399 I'm the tavern keeper now

The days in Arra-kiss were much longer than Lex was used to. It took nearly 30 hours for the sun to finally set from the point where Lex first saw it, and during this period many interesting things happened.

As it turns out, giving out rare, valuable free things is a very good way to get people to do stuff. Of course, doing a demo of said item was even more convincing.

So when all the guests were hesitating about entering, as if doubtful about the validity of the actual prize, Lex had two random workers demonstrate the talisman for them. That was, in no way shape or form a threatening deterrent for the faroff Empire forces who were secretly observing the Treehouse. A decent tavern doesn't do things like this.

Ideally, the Treehouse should be in a forest, where it doesn't stand out. In a desert, it was destined to be unique to begin with, so Lex didn't mind if the tavern got a little more popular than ordinary. This was just a one time thing, and totally not something he would get addicted to.

Anyway, after a simple display equal to a man surviving a direct hit with a missile, everyone jumped into the Escape room. Lex was surprised, because he didn't think that Henry would actually believe it based on his history.

Of course, since the target of their assassination went into the escape room, so did all the assassins - though one could question how the assassins knew Henry went into the Escape room to begin with since they hadn't actually reached him yet. Either they knew him really well, or there must be some other reason. Oh well.

Of course, the team of black robed figures saw Henry suddenly disappear, teleported to the Escape room, so the fact that they all followed was no surprise. Henry hadn't finished his wax yet, so they had to see to that or else they'd be in trouble.

One by one, they all entered the Escape room, and the shenanigans began. Like all good Escape rooms, this one had a theme going on, and the theme was that the basement was going to be flooded by lava within 1 month if they don't find a way to stop it.

Now, one month may seem like a long time, but for cultivators, was it really a long time? Yes, yes it was, because most people who entered were at low levels. But that was only fair, since in exchange they would be getting a valuable treasure that couldn't really be bought with money.

Unfortunately, just as things were getting interesting because it turned out one of the assassins was actually the princess' long lost twin, who was confronting Henry about a broken promise from their childhood, and a confused Henry who did not remember any of this just tried to figure out what was going on, the planet finally connected to the Inn.

While Lex enjoyed the short entertainment, it was time for him to leave. If everything went according to plan, soon his first and original tavern would complete the quest about being a part of a planet's history, and he could evolve the system further.

Which meant that he could turn his attention towards the many, many other things about the system. He also got a taste of what he would be like if he were actually as powerful as the Innkeeper.

On this planet, he was the strongest and there was no one who could even remotely challenge him, much like the Innkeeper was supposed to be. As it turned out, he was not calm and peaceful, although he liked to think he was still hospitable. Instead, he was playing around, secretly manipulating things and giving his guests one shock after another.

With that insight, he would be able to improve his acting as the Innkeeper. At the same time, he gained a deeper understanding of how everyone looked at the Innkeeper. It was not at all easy to be such a gentle and comforting presence to everyone, even those many cultivation levels below himself.

It wasn't like Lex acted particularly badly, but he did enjoy messing around with everyone just a bit.

With that final thought, Lex teleported off the planet. He didn't even send down a holographic clone. During his absence, one of the Inn workers would manage the tavern for him. They'd worked out the details already.

After all, Lex couldn't be expected to do everything. People might start getting suspicious about him.

What Lex did not know, however, was that as soon as he left, the tree breathed a huge sigh of relief. But it didn't act out just yet. Now, with the greatest danger gone, the tree could take its time to begin understanding more about itself, and this universe.

Of course, it would have to use these guests coming to the tavern to gain a deeper understanding about the universe. For example, it had learned that it was customary for guests to roll in the grass before entering a building, that among twins one was always evil, and that all guests loved the opportunity to enter dark, underground tunnels that were slowly filled with lava, burning away the oxygen and threatening them with suffocation.

It also learned that it was apparently a tavern, and that people really liked it.

Knowing that made the Treehouse feel especially good, so it decided to do something else good for them in return. Secretly, the Treehouse modified the underground tunnels that Lex had carefully created, creating multiple levels to the labyrinth, reaching deep into the planet, even touching upon the mysterious evil energy deep within.

Now, the maze that would have taken a month to solve would take at least a year, and probably even more.

The Treehouse felt immensely proud of itself for its achievements, until it heard one of the guests complain that they regretted not getting the opportunity to join the Escape room because they came late. So, the Treehouse created a way for new guests to enter as well. The more the merrier!

This was easy! The tree felt like it had become the tavern keeper now, and was already doing a better job.