CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 60: TAVERN FUNCTIONS

Although he was a bit reluctant in his heart, Gu Xi also understood that building the tavern first was Luna’s way of considering him.

He couldn’t let Luna down, so after standing in front of the tavern for a moment, Gu Xi, carrying the Shattering Staff, entered the tavern.

At this time, the stairs from the first to the second floor of the tavern were piled high with various debris, indicating that the tavern’s level had not yet been upgraded, and the upper floors were not yet completed.

In the hall on the first floor of the tavern, there were a total of seven round tables, each occupied by corpses.

These corpses were covered in cobwebs and dust, and no one knew how long they had been sitting there.

It seems that, while other aspects of the tavern hadn’t been taken care of, its creepy atmosphere was indeed spot on.

As Gu Xi entered, a skeleton dressed in a red dress emerged from the back.

"What would you like to eat, guest?"

"Any recommendations?"

Gu Xi sat across from one of the corpses and cleaned the dust off a plate in front of himself.

"We currently only offer roasted owl."

Gu Xi froze for a moment, realizing that the Owl House’s weekly provision of 50 units of meat referred to owls.

This thing should be edible... maybe.

Gu Xi thought uncertainly.

At the same time, he gestured for the skeleton in the red dress to serve the dish first.

As the skeleton walked away, two more skeletons in red dresses came from nearby, their ribcages exposed, and surrounded Gu Xi, whispering softly.

"Do you need any other services, guest?"

Gu Xi rolled his eyes at the two skeletons, "I want a big bone soup; whose leg bone can you spare?"

The two skeletons left, disappointed, not wanting to linger any longer.

After they left, Gu Xi pressed his head a bit, feeling somewhat helpless. Were these skeletons brainless?

Shouldn’t they take a look at themselves? Who would be interested in a bunch of bones?

"Sorry about earlier, those two weren’t trained much before coming out. I beg your pardon, oh, it’s Lord City Lord, why didn’t you mention it when you arrived?"

As Gu Xi was rolling his eyes, a skeleton dressed in red came out from the back. Her outfit was snugly fitted, and her steps were dainty, giving Gu Xi an odd impression that skeletons can be pretty too.

Before the skeleton could approach Gu Xi, Luna appeared in front of him, blocking the skeleton.

"Luna, what’s going on?"

"It’s a presence that appeared along with the core building; she’s a barmaid. Originally, I thought there would be a tavern keeper who doubled as a thief, but ended up with this instead."

Gu Xi understood immediately, realizing the difference between core and large buildings was right here.

Aside from the building’s functions, core buildings had corresponding personnel assigned for management and operation.

If Luna had built a warehouse, a warehouse manager would have appeared randomly.

Knowing that she was under his command, Gu Xi casually flipped through and saw her attributes.

Compared to Luna and other contracted spirits, her attributes were less, but compared to skeleton soldiers, she had more attributes, which seemed to confirm Luna’s assertion that she represented the core building’s traits.

[Tavern Owner: Barmaid (Level 1)]

Trait Influence:

Owner: The main person in charge of the tavern, responsible for the tavern’s operations. As the tavern’s level increases, new positions can be added, along with new dishes and services.

Brewer: Responsible for making drinks for all residents and soldiers in the city. Currently available drinks: One (1/5).

Thief Boss: Trains thieves and spies. Currently has three thieves under command (3/5). With each new follower, intelligence gathering can increase by one item.]

[Note: The barmaid’s level is equivalent to the tavern’s level. While the barmaid has no combat power, she cannot be attacked inside the tavern.]

"Continue with the roasted owl, and get me a drink from your side, plus a piece of nearby intelligence."

After reading the barmaid’s information, Gu Xi knew what kind of attitude to adopt towards her.

The barmaid didn’t say much, just cast a charming glance at Gu Xi before swaying gracefully away.

Soon, what Gu Xi had ordered was brought to him.

The roasted owl was the first to arrive, resembling a small roast chicken. There were no side dishes, just the crispy yellow roasted owl meat.

[Roasted Owl (White, Food): A roasted owl; whether it’s due to the chef’s skill or the ingredients, the taste can only be described as edible. Consuming it increases intelligence by 1 point, lasting for 2 hours.]

The drink was a beer-like substance. Gu Xi could see the drink had a slightly greenish hue, with pale white foam within.

[Green Ghost (White, Beer): A beer made from unknown green wheat. It’s somewhat bitter but drinkable; consuming it increases morale by 1 point and restores 50% mana.]

As he held each item, the attributes of food and drink flashed before Gu Xi’s eyes.

While Gu Xi could accept that the drink restored mana, the owl increasing intelligence, albeit temporarily, was quite surprising to him.

After all, for a mage, the most important attribute is intelligence.

It seems that the owls in Yalidu City will not be spared.

As Gu Xi began to eat and drink, the barmaid who had just left returned, holding a piece of parchment. Seeing Gu Xi’s hands were occupied, she laid it out in front of him.

Gu Xi leaned over to take a look and discovered that drawn on the parchment was Yalidu City and its surrounding areas.

Gu Xi was sure because he had seen a similar map at the assembly hall earlier.

However, the map in front of him was more detailed.

The next target that Gu Xi and Luna had discussed was clearly marked with details.

[Pier District, covering 0.4 square kilometers, population 1722 (Deceitful Shadow). After occupation, three docks (medium-sized building, need activation), one large plot, two medium plots, two small plots, and two quasi-core plots (limited to construction of dock warehouse and wharf market) can be acquired.]

[Boundary Tower (garrison life +20), Pier District defense, stationed Deceitful Shadow (Level 2) 210, Deceitful Shadow (Level 3) 70, Deceitful Shadow Boss (Level 4) 1 (Defense Type, Life 670), Deceitful Shadow Boss (Level 5) 1 (Mage Type, mastery of Fireball Skill)]

[Once the Boundary Tower is taken, one large plot can be obtained (construction of barracks provides attribute bonuses).]

"These are very detailed."

Looking at this information, Gu Xi couldn’t help but sigh.

"That’s right. The girls I train are all more than capable."

"Can you draw those Deceitful Shadows out?"

Gu Xi suddenly asked.

The barmaid shook her head, "Lord City Lord, I’m a thief and a spy, not a diplomat. That’s not something we can do."

"Okay, then investigate their situation further. At the very least, I need to know their defense map or something."

"That can be arranged, but it’ll take a few days. I have a little sister in training, and once she’s ready, I’ll deploy her to gather information."