Chapter 2: Drowning Sorrows (2)

~~City of Asgard, Drunk Whale Inn, 30 minutes after duel~~

"Urgh..." Lucas has his face pressed against the cold marble of the inn's bar. Lucas's blue eyes stared longingly at the wall of alcohol behind the barkeeper.

The Barkeep in question was a 6'5" bright-skinned hybrid with yellow eyes, his mouth curled slightly at the ends, and hair covered the ends of his forearms.

The man was wearing a dark suit with a Peak Lapel and Blue tie that faded into the black tones, he wore a bright green towel on his shoulder and a nametag that said "Daher" under his Lapel.

The bar was dead empty beside the two, it was a somber atmosphere but the two didn't seem to mind. The deep shadows on the barkeep's face from the shallow light of the candles contrasted with his gentle yet handsome face.

The red hues across Lucas's flushed cheeks matched the red streak across his face, which was dried blood covering a fresh slash wound on his right eyelid.

"Daher... Can I get another shot of whiskey?" Lucas said without lifting his head, just embracing the cold feeling of the marble. "I need to forget what happened... permanently." Lucas began grumbling to himself.

"I didn't just get my ass kicked, but the damn bet we made forced me to even spend my own money to make them food... That's another expense I'll be forced to put on my damn taxes. Even more paperwork, great..." Lucas let out a long sigh.

"Not to interrupt your moping... But, are you perhaps an idiot? I can't just be told, 'OH CAN I GET A SHOT OF WHISKEY-' (mocking)" Lucas tried to intervene with a quiet, "Hey man-" but Daher just continued his rant about how uncouth customers are. "YOU NEED TO TELL ME WHICH WAY YOU WANT THE DAMN DRINK. God no matter HOW MANY TIMES I tell you this you constantly DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES."

"Alright, alright, I got it..." Lucas just quietly gave up and stopped trying to defend himself. "Can I get a double shot of whiskey, make it neat."

"Got it." Daher brushed his suit before laying a towel over his arm. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey with a weird pipe on top, reminiscent of a tequila spout. After setting down a long shot glass he put the bottle on the towel and turned it to smoothly pour it into the glass.

"That'll be 20 Sol." Daher stated while putting the shot glass in front of Lucas. "Yeah yeah... I got it" While Lucas reached into his wallet for small silver coins he noticed the lack of anyone in the area, "Hey you notice how dead it is in here, why is that?"

Daher picked up a rag from under the bar and started polishing some glasses before answering, "It's because of that new place in town, I believe it was called a 'Maid Cafe' or whatever. I don't see the appeal in it."

"Maid Cafe? Aren't maids the workers for nobles or something, ain't that just the common folk basking in what they can never have?" Lucas barely lifted his head to down the whiskey, slamming his wallet onto the bar top.

Coins scattered from the wallet both big and small, gold and silver. "Those damn young folk are always indulging in their *hic* desires! Spending all they got when they finally hit it big only to end up at square one!" Lucas began angrily ranting to Daher and slammed the bar top again, Daher just sighed and nodded his head.

The barkeep ended up walking around the bar to pick up the coins that fell off when Lucas slammed his hands onto the table. After picking up the coins he placed them next to the wallet and just looked at Lucas dead in the eyes, "I don't mind you ranting when it's just the two of us. But at least try not to scare off the customer."

Daher just motioned his arm toward a now open door, containing not but a man in a cloak. "So while I take care of this why don't you calm down and collect your coins so you can *actually* pay," Daher stated while performing a business smile.

"Ha! I'll calm down alright! After all, everyone will be back here for your liquor in no time." Lucas just gestured towards Daher and the man with his arm as if saying it's no big deal. "It's not like I'll be like this when everyone shows up."

~~1 Hour Later~~

Lucas is again embracing the cold marble of the bar, nothing has changed except for his wallet being lighter and the bar being rowdier. As Lucas predicted, there are now people here for the alcohol, however, what Lucas couldn't predict was the fact that the two people that mercilessly kicked his ass earlier would be here as well.

"Hey old man Lucas, get up!" the guy from before urged him. "Ah shut it ya brat. First, you take my food, my pride, my loot, and now ya want my personal space as well? Shove out already." Lucas sharply retorted, his words slurred from both his face being pressed against the bar, and the overwhelming amount of whiskey he has downed in the past hour.

Music started playing in the background, but for Lucas, all it did was serve as an additional annoyance in his head. For everyone else though the music meant the Inn began seeing its customers again.

Guys trying to hook up with girls, party members chatting in the warm light, and the sounds of drunken banter, there were even the sounds of children running around and playing. It all served to remind Lucas where he was, hell.

His hell, cause not only are the people who beat him here, but they're also galavanting around and telling everyone they beat "Lucas Evercrest the Giant" in just 1 swing.

Hell, they're even telling the story about their lives in this world and about their systems which rubs even more salt into Lucas's wound. Who is again, a man without a system. The kids were pretending to be heroes unlocking their systems for the first time, chanting "Status Open!" over and over and over. "Why the hell am I the villain, and they the heroes?"

Lucas just slams his head onto the bar, pressing his face against the bartop even harder, trying to do anything to block out the mockery.

"Status Open, Status Open, Status Open! Why couldn't I have been like them and be blessed from the start..." Lucas began mumbling to himself, silently cursing the adventurers who beat him for taking what he had from him.

"Hey Daher, can I get another- another..." Lucas raised his head while talking to the barkeep right before noticing a weird thing in his sight, making him stutter a bit from confusion. As he began to clear his eyes he suddenly jolted backward in surprise, making his stool fall backward and along with it, him. "OW! OW OW, GOD DAMN IT!" A Cerulean Blue window presented itself in front of Lucas.

[ Lucas "Giant" Evercrest

Level: 1 | Job: Starter.

Titles: {Touch to open.}

HP: 1217/1220 | MP: 123/123

Status: Intoxicated

Experience: 100/100 | Insight: 23

Stats:

Strength: 84 | Intelligence: 43

Defense: 43 | Wisdom: 53

Agility: 93 | Constitution: 122

Stamina: 45 | Dexterity: 32

Abilities: {Touch to open.}

Inventory: {Touch to open.} ]

[Missed Notifications: 99+ (Muted)]

"THE, THE HELL?!" These words subconsciously left Lucas's mouth as almost all of the sound in the bar suddenly stopped. Lucas was stunned, shocked, but also astonished. He was happy and confused but was also disappointed at how stupid he looked.

Almost everyone started staring at Lucas and many were murmuring about what could've happened, theories started coming out that maybe he just saw the Harvester, or all the whiskey he drank finally caught up to him. A crazy theory was that maybe he almost got assassinated just then.

But none of these were true, well the Whiskey one wasn't wrong but, the correct answer was that Lucas had just figured out he had a system. Lucas just sat there, staring into space like a madman, his pupils dilated to the extreme.

"You know, now that I see him. That assassination theory might not be all that far-fetched." a random person said out loud, breaking the newfound silence. A small boy started talking about the weird guy that just caught everyone's attention.

A few people walked up to him but then stepped back not wanting to disturb him, with only Daher not as the barkeep but rather as one of Lucas's friends walking up to him and just sitting down next to him, placing his hand on Lucas's shoulder. "Surprising, ain't it?"