The Innkeeper

"What do you mean?" Aegis asked, feeling confused.

"You guys are in the same realm, yet you cannot even touch your fathers sleeve. Don't you think it's unusual?"

There was a gleam in Lex's eyes as he recalled several novels in his mind. Good fiction was rooted in the truth, and so nothing he said could deviate too far from the truth.

"Isn't it normal? He's old pops, founder of the Hum nation. How can he achieve so much if he was normal?"

"That's different," Lex said as he shook his head. "I'm sure that you have realized that not everyone is as talented as you. Not everyone can cultivate as easily as you, nor do they achieve things at the same rate as you."

"Of course I understand," replied Aegis. "If everyone was as talented as me, pops would not need to stop me from killing the Kraven. "It's because they're not as talented as me that we're in this situation."

"Well, now that you know everyone is not as talented as you, do you really believe that the only reason your old man is stronger than you is because he's more talented than you?"

Before Aegis even had the time to answer, Lex continued.

"Because I can firmly tell you he's not. In fact, I can firmly tell you that the relationship between talent and strength is not nearly as important as you think it is. Otherwise the human race would be doomed. After all, most humans can't even cultivate the true path. Everyone is stuck on a single path, yet that does not stop them from reaching the immortal realm."

In fact, Lex had no idea what it took to reach the immortal realm, but he knew that according to his professor there were only very few True path cultivators, perhaps in the single digits, and though immortal cultivators were rare, they were not nearly as rare as that.

"Moreover, you may think that even if they reach the immortal realm, they're not as strong as you, or your dad. But I can tell you clearly that there are many people, many humans, who are not even tenth as talented as you, who are much, much stronger than you."

Aegis looked at Lex skeptically, but before he could speak, Lex continued.

"Maybe you're having a hard time believing me, but that's because your knowledge is extremely limited. For example..."

Lex used the tavern's formation to create a 'room' right around Aegis' body and trapped him where he stood. Shock filled his eyes as he tried to resist, but he could do nothing as Lex slowly lifted his body in the air, twisted him around and sat him back down.

"Don't overreact, I'm about to let you go," said Lex a few seconds before letting the formation rest and having the room around Aegis disappear.

Aegis did not react once he found he was freed, but he was certainly alarmed. It had been a long time since he felt so helpless. True, he did not go all out with his strength in resisting the power that held him, but as an immortal, it was not so easy to trap him to begin with.

"The point of showing you that was not to intimidate you, but to make you realize that there are many things that exist in this universe of which you have no idea. Your father may not be as talented as you, but he's much stronger than you. Why is that? The answer is simple, he had tools or opportunities that helped him push his strength far past what you can dream.

"It's like you're trying to fight him with a butter knife while he wields a sword. No matter how talented you are, a butter knife is no match for a full sword. But compared to your father, you're not even holding a butter knife. You're holding a toothpick and he has a spear. There is no comparison at all."

Aegis was extremely skeptical, but he was also hooked. He wanted to deny everything, and just accept that his old man was akin to a deity, invincible and undefeatable. But, a small, resilient voice in his heart refused to give up. It wanted to hold on so badly to any hope at all, and kept him from completely accepting defeat.

"So, what are you saying? That you can help me defeat old pops?"

"Not at all," Lex clarified. "I just said that your old man no doubt had some kind of lucky encounter that helped him reach his current level of strength. As for whether you can reach his level of strength, or surpass it, is completely up to you. What I can offer you is an opportunity. What you make of it is up to you."

Aegis bit his lower lip and looked down to the ground, a million thoughts racing through his head. At this point, he had completely forgotten his original objective of getting Lex's cultivation technique. To be entirely honest, he did not care about it at all, nor did the title of the crown prince entice him. He had long since gone past his pursuit of wanting to find something difficult to challenge him.

Now all he wanted was to overcome the obsession in his heart of defeating his own father and then, maybe, look for something in life to live for. There were hundreds of billions of humans in the crystal realm, he didn't believe that he was unable to connect with any of them.

"Alright, I'll take it. I'll take whatever you have to offer," he said, his voice a mix of desperation and dedication.

"Not so easy there," Lex said, as he leaned back against his chair. "I have an opportunity for you, yes. But I never said I'll give it to you for free."

"What do you want?" Aegis asked with pain filling his heart. Just because he was desperate didn't mean he was stupid. He knew that people might want to take advantage of him and his situation. A part of him even accepted that Lex was about to scam him when he heard talk of price, but he asked the question nonetheless, he was just that desperate.

"Want? Nothing. But the opportunity I have can't be given so easily just to anyone. The person has to be worthy of it so, now, before I give it to you, or even tell you about it, you have a choice to make."

Slowly Lex lifted his hand and revealed the small jade bottle from which he had gotten his previous drink, before placing it on the table in front of Aegis.

"You have to choose. You can choose the drink in front of you, and get lost in the feeling it provides you. Or, you can take an oath, the most powerful, meaningful oath you can, to never touch any intoxicant again until you defeat your father."

Lex paused for a moment for Aegis to absorb his words, then said, "Now choose."

There was a slight moment of relief as Aegis was finally convinced Lex was not trying to scam him. After all, it made sense for Lex to only want to give the opportunity he wanted to the most worthy.

But that relief was followed by an intense struggle. He wanted that drink so bad. The sensation, the feeling, the pleasure it gave was all too great. But the small voice in his heart could not let go. Finally, when it could see hope again, it could not give up. At first it was only a small voice, but eventually it consumed him until Aegis could no longer see the bottle, but only the defeated figure of his father.

Suddenly, he stood up, pushing away the seat upon which he sat, and said in an ominous voice, "I swear upon the tenets of my immortality that I, Aegis Cornelius, will never touch another drink again until I have defeated my father."

As the echo of his voice dimmed, Aegis' aura exploded and his entire being seemed to undergo a huge change.

If Lex hadn't locked Aegis down in a small room, the aura from his sudden elevation would have squashed all the surviving residents of Babylon and destroyed the tavern building. His drunk eyes seemed to clear as drive and focus filled them, and his languid posture straightened to that of a soldier.

Lex cared for none of that, though. He instead, was focused on his system notification.

New Notification: Quest complete!

Reward: Midnight Signature Brew Coffee, 1 Minute Butter Knife token

Lex was perplexed since the reward for this quest had already been declared as only the signature coffee brew, so where did this new token come from? He read its description to further investigate.

1 Minute Butter Knife token

The butter knife is the God of all weapons and a measly spear is pudding in front of it. Use this token to strengthen the Butter knife to its final form for 1 minute.

Remarks: Even the Gods will kneel before toast that has been buttered well!

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