Chapter 2539: New Chelsea

It needed to be noted that Lex had already on a prior occasion split the Inn into different levels of spiritual energy concentrations to host various levels of guests. There were, however, a couple of reasons he did not choose one such location for this quest.

First, he wanted a fresh start for this quest. If he was laying a foundation, he wanted to do everything perfectly and not be influenced by prior existing structures, areas or settings. The second reason was that, once upon a time, the system interface and ability granted Lex a whole lot of freedom in what he could do. Now, it was holding him back for there were many things he could do personally that there were no options for inside the interface.

Once Lex had chosen the spot he wanted to work with, he immediately spread out his spirit sense and marked the boundary of that space. Once the entire boundary was decided, Lex ripped that space out and enclosed it with his powers, linking it to the same location it was ripped out of.

A massive hole appeared within the Midnight realm, but since the realm was incredibly stable, and Lex had chosen this spot specifically after checking the region with Realm Flattery, the hole quickly began to close itself as the realm repaired itself.

Using his own understanding of Space laws, Lex expedited the closing of the hole and the healing of the realm. The fact that his Dao Intentions were loose also helped make the process easier, though Lex needed to keep his mind incredibly focused to avoid stray thoughts lest something go awry.

While the gap closed and the realm healed, Lex already began working on the internal area of the Minor realm he was creating. Stabilising the space now that it was cut off from the actual realm wasn’t as hard as one would imagine. After all, while the space wasn’t connected to the realm, the Minor real would be. The source of everything in the space would remain the same.

Meanwhile, he had to come up with a way to regulate the internal spiritual energy. Some of it would go into maintaining the Minor realm boundary and function, but not enough of it. That is why, across the entire region, Lex created 49 equidistant towers that absorbed the ambient spiritual energy and used it to connect all the towers with one another, forming an instant and persistently active teleportation network.

But that was not the primary reason for creating the towers. No, the reason for the towers was that each of the 49 towers contained a single and unique cultivation path – from regular cultivators, to paladins, to sorcerers, to body cultivators, bloodline cultivators, intent cultivation and more.

49 independent cultivation paths, but that’s not how they were packaged. Instead, the cultivation itself would only be unlocked for anyone who achieved a certain level of success in any of the fields. As far as the mortals were concerned, these towers contained legacies for painting, poetry, meditation, physiotherapy, body building, culinary arts and more.

The provided various means of stimulation, education, enlightenment and fulfillment, and unlocking the path to cultivating using a method that suits the users personal interests was the hidden reward – not the goal.

Then, in the center of the region, visible from all corners of the Minor realm, but not accessible from anywhere, Lex created one massive tower. In truth, Lex had not actually decided what to put in the central tower yet – he merely kept out of reach. The preliminary purpose of the tower was to stimulate and provoke the sense of mystery and wonder in all who looked upon it.

The purpose of the tower was to excite the imagination, fill guests with a sense of wonder, and motivate them to unlock its mystery. No other context would be given, but the guests would naturally assume that the central tower could only be unlocked using any of the 49 other towers, evoking a sense of fantasy and adventure.

Lex was born a mortal, and he lived some of his most formative years believing that there was no such thing as immortality. Thus, he understood well that in the life of a mortal, purpose and pursuit of that purpose were often the most significant driving factors. If that was the case, purpose could be found in any of the 49 towers. What the mysterious, mythical 50th tower promised was wanderlust, excitement, mystery and adventure.

At first Lex considered creating a dungeon in the tower, but he dismissed that idea for now. He didn’t want to encourage the thought that only through combat could the ultimate mystery be solved. He wanted the 50th tower to become a dream that could be shared between soldiers and scientists, between rich and poor, between the young and old, between all who gazed upon its magnificence.

Since the Midnight Inn was to be a place where the guests would come and always leave with more than they paid for, Lex decided that those gains need not always be tangible. Instead, he aimed to enrich their lives in a deeper and more spiritually fulfilling way.

Setting this all up was not quick, especially since he was barely taking any help from the system. All that he created came from his own powers and his own imagination. For 49 towers, he created 49 cities, each with original and unique architectures, as well as deep and hidden in-world lore that could only be uncovered by searching for answers.

Just as he was finishing up, Lex had another idea, and immediately decided to implement it. Within this Minor realm, Lex added various clues for a legend. That legend could be found in old books and ruins, or through various activities across multiple professions and fields. The legend was simple.

It was said that if someone made a wish upon a shooting star at midnight, their wish would come true! Of course, to ensure that this was a rare occurrence, Lex changed the very patterns of the Minor realm so that a midnight shooting star would only appear occasionally, and when it did, Lex would immediately sense it.

That way he could come here and listen to any and all wishes. Whether or not any of those wishes could come true, only time could tell.

Although there was a bonus for finishing quests quickly, Lex aimed for achieving a high ranking by outdoing himself, which is why it took him an entire eleven days to prepare the entire Minor realm. Once it was done, all that was left was to name it.

Feeling somewhat nostalgic, Lex thought back to the Chelsea Waterside park where he was sitting one night before everything changed. He actually never really went back there after that since he was so occupied. Since that was the case… he decided to name the realm New Chelsea. It wasn’t too original, but it contained the heartfelt, nostalgic feelings Lex had for a young mortal who had once wished upon a shooting star.

After taking a moment to admire his hard work, he allowed the system interface to add the final touches, which was to connect this place to the Midnight Inn so he could submit this place as the target for his quest.

Author’s Note: Don’t know why, but tonight I really miss that park. If there are any New Yorkers reading this, if possible, take a picture of yourself reading Innkeeper in that park and share it in the discord and tag me. One day in the future, I’ll go do it myself as well.