The Innkeeper

Chapter 1352  Story time III

Lex resisted the urge to rub his eyes. It was a good thing that Ereboth was talking to him, and not standing in a court, for every single sentence the planet spoke just made him seem more guilty. Maybe he was just socially inept. Did he even remember that he was supposed to be explaining his rude behavior towards the Innkeeper?

If his ultimate excuse was that this was just the way he had always been and the Innkeeper should excuse him for that… well, in that case, even if Lex could work with Ereboth, he probably wouldnʼt. A blacklist would probably be the best answer despite how enticing dungeons sounded. Who knows, maybe Lex could create his own dungeons in the Midnight Inn?

”With my latest upgrade, I got the ability to modify the kinds of systems I gave away, and so I began to create a more complex society. No longer were my systems limited to killing to gain experience. Instead, a few key positions became available. All lords could level up their systems by building a prosperous territory. Tradesmen could level up in expanding their trade routes. Knights could do chivalrous deeds.

”My farms became more complex, I became stronger, my dungeons grew larger, and eventually, I learned how to search for and hunt down other planets containing life. A few, I must admit, were so strong they nearly ended up destroying me. If it werenʼt for my system, and how my system users could grow stronger even if they hunted on other planets, I might not have survived.

”But the more I faced such situations, the more I began to believe that my mentality was right. It was an eat or be eaten world, with no other kind of relationship to actually exist. Billions of years went by, I became stronger until I could find no more foes, I thought I was the strongest being in existence, and then the Henali came.”

Ereboth took a deep breath, as if he was now discussing a very sensitive topic.

Wait a minute. Was Ereboth using the Innkeeper as a therapist, and using the opportunity to talk about his traumas?

”Yeah, the Governor was not a nice person,” Ereboth said weakly, looking at the Innkeeper for signs that he might be offended. ”Suffice to say he found my existence quite curious. He learned that I could give my residents systems, but did not realize it was as a result of me owning a system at all. No matter how he probed, he could not learn anything about my system. Instead, he thought it was my unique ability.

”Naturally, when he revealed himself to me, I tried to eat him. He was… not as amenable as you have been.”

Ereboth smiled weakly, as if to explain he had already gotten his comeuppance once.

”After that, he trapped me within the galaxy I was in, and began my rehabilitation education. To be entirely honest, I have even changed my ways tremendously. In fact, the Henali even send me all their death row convicts so that I can use their power and skills to contribute to my society so that they can be productive members of this realm.”

”Yes, Iʼm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that killing stronger enemies would provide your system users, and then you, more experience to grow stronger. It is totally not like a mill, crushing grains to produce food,” said Lex sarcastically. It was very out of character for the Innkeeper to say such a thing, which is why Ereboth did not detect the sarcasm at all.

”Yes, exactly. I have no more use for experience anyway since my level will not grow anymore, and I cannot grow my system through normal means anymore either. I have reached a plateau with the system, but the existence of the Governor… and yourself prove that it is not the end of my path.

”Honestly, the reason I have been accepting prisoners from across the realm is so that I can keep getting new and fresh ideas, and maybe glean a way to surpass the bottleneck Iʼve reached.

”Ever since the Governor rehabilitated me, and taught me that relationships can be more complex than simple prey and predator, and there are more nuances to life than the simple, blind pursuit of experience to grow stronger, I have more or less amended my ways.

”It was just that… after finally escaping my prison after billions of years, free for the first time in a while, I couldnʼt help but fall back into old habits. It was completely by accident, and no longer in line with the kind of planet I am aiming to become.

”After all, when I was in prison, reading comics was one of the ways I entertained myself. I am a huge fan of the Inn. Normally, I would never think of harming the Inn, and instead I would be excited to watch what new adventures the Innkeeper is facing. I just suffered a momentary lapse of character as a result of billions of years of conditioning before I began my rehabilitation journey.

”Dear Innkeeper, I sincerely and truly ask for your forgiveness for the poor behavior I have shown. I would like my utmost to atone for myself, so please, as much for my sake as for anything else, please administer some kind of punishment that I may atone myself.”

Erebothʼs human body stood up and bowed deeply to the Innkeeper, while in his mind Ereboth laughed connivingly. According to its knowledge of humans, such a display of remorse would totally win over the Innkeeper, who was a generous soul.

By asking the Innkeeper to punish him somehow, he was secretly building the relationship between himself and the Innkeeper, bringing them closer, and setting the stage for a long performance in which he would eventually win the Innkeepers trust.

This was the first step in a 890 million step plan he had concocted, which would only take a measly 90 million years to regain the Innkeepers trust after which he would be able to learn the secret to growing stronger.

Truly, there was no one more calculative than Ereboth.

Meanwhile, Lex sat on his chair and looked at the planet with an amused face. That was the easiest bag heʼd probably ever experience. Now he just had to decide to what extent Erebothʼs atonement would be cool ass dungeons, and how much of it would be other things.