As I watched fifty years of effort walk in to my bar ,I couldn't help a selfmocking expression from appearing on my face.
In walked a familiar figure, the same black hair unlike the normal white of the spirit race,the same black eyes and yet something had changed in those eyes, where there was life, adventure and hope now there only existed rage ,despair and a determination bordering on obsession . the boy who'd come out for his first adventure had died,in came a man who had experienced hell and as to weather he'd come out of it , only God knows.
........
Fifty years ago, a Young man sauntered into my bar becoming my the first customer since the opening of bar.
He sat down boldly and took out a pouch filled with spirit stones , " a bottle of the strongest wine bar keep ".
Looking at the young man I responded succinctly " spirit stones don't work here only a story can earn you a drink, please begin with your origins and if I like it,I'll offer you a drink or if you have something of historical significance "
At these words, the young man started talking about himself but didn't state his clan's name yet I didn't need to hear his family name to know whom I was talking to.
Only one man had such a complicated history in my memory. A human father and a spirit mother, sent out of his clan living like a vagabond, father ambushed and killed by his enemies on his wedding ,who other than Carl the mad spirit king.
Knowing his future, how could I not try pulling him to my side and after some consideration, I started to realize the fat pie that just fell from the sky ,the Landsteiner family was known for their loyalty to their lord and their powerful souls even among the spirit race .from that day on, we built a great relationship yet even though I thought of him as my friend, I never told him about the tragic fate of his family as I was confident enough to make sure not to affect the original timeline such that I don't accidentally wipe myself from existence yet I knew that was only part of the reason and that the real reason was that I needed to let him pass through such an experience in order to forge a better helper.
In my experience, talent and luck play a small role compared to the will of the cultivators and wills are forged using the cultivators experiences throughout their lives and truly understanding themselves.
Yet even with all my calculation, who could have thought that the bar would become so popular, some kind of place for warriors of both the daemonic and righteous factions to brag about their exploits and form connections or simply seeking refuge as the number of masters in the towns increased due to the businesses and the lack of restrictions placed on other races compared to other places. It also didn't help that Carl set up competitions with other customers on who would come back with the most thrilling adventure. As people were running out of places to adventure, some fool got the great idea of posting requests on my notice board and hence the first ever adventure guild was born with branches spreading as far as remote places such as the Abyss's entrance.even with all this, people never stopped coming in with all sorts of crazy stories such as being chased by immortal kings for having sex with the wives or daughters to entering ancient ruins or extermination of fiends some went as far as plotting for years at a time just to bring in the greatest stories yet none would dare lie not that they could as all swore on their dao .
As. People started bringing back things that some thought useless, I kept and researched them leading to to a large collection of knowledge on many subjects as people started trading in information as well. This bar had actually given such fruit that one could hardly tell the fact that it was set up on a whim.
Yet today a somber air filled the air as Carl talked about what just happened to him .
...
" I accept the deal you gave me that time, I'll be a guardian to the tower in exchange for my clans lives. "