บท 2: Let's bet
****One hour later****
'Well, that's one thing off the list,' Tom thought while lazily lowering his eyelids. He then brought yet another piece of the delicious meat to his lips. 'At least, now I know it was worth the wait,' Tom thought while the juicy piece melted in his mouth.
Gran Appolino. A famous, high-class restaurant right by the entrance of the Online Hub. Its prices and grandeur made it so no one dined her on a regular basis. There were too many cheaper alternatives with an even better offer. In the society of the Dungeon's Online players, one would visit this place only upon achieving something big in their life.
'Still,' Tom thought, lowering his eyes on his phone to check his balance, 'it's quite pricey.'
Only a spare change was left on his primary account. That was the reality of the prices in the restaurant in which an exquisite meal would sink so much money. On his secondary account, Tom still had a few hundred bucks left from when he sold his properties.
'It's still hard to believe I nailed it so perfectly,' Tom thought while bringing a tissue to clean his mouth.
'It feels great.' Tom took a sip of the whiskey remaining in his crystal. With a slick of his hand, a cigarette appeared between his lips. He then lit the smoke while resting back on the comfortable chair at the outdoor's table. "Dang, I don't want to move yet," Tom whined, leaning his head back.
"Hello!" The bastard who Tom perturbed a few moments earlier was now smiling at him. And with a smile on his face, his fist went flying.
'FUCK!' Tom allowed his instincts to get the better of him. He pushed his upper body on top of the table in front. His hips swayed on the edge of the table, allowing his legs to kick the chair against the attacker.
"FUCK!" Tom's opponent didn't bother to hold his thoughts back. In one instant, the silent noise of the silverware was replaced with a brawl. If it was the insides of the restaurant, the security would never allow for such a thing to happen.
But Tom just had to insist on bringing the greatness of this moment to the maximum! If not for his desire to take a smoke, nothing would happen in the first place!
'No, that's not it.' Tom's thoughts took a turn. 'It's not my fault I went in for the smoke!' Tom snapped back to reality. And it was dire.
Tom's school bully wasn't the only enemy. 'He brought an entire damned group.' Tom's eyebrows skyrocketed. He fixed his posture and slapped himself on the forehead. "I didn't know this kind of idiot still exists!" Tom exclaimed.
The bully failed his initial attack. Not even because of his injuries. With the advent of nano-medicine, even his broken bones could heal in just a few minutes. Sadly for him, Tom's instinctive retaliation likely caused some of those freshly mended bones to break again.
The restaurant security was already rushing forward to deal with the commotion.
"What's going on here?!" Suddenly, a girl appeared on the scene. Even though she was relatively short, her step was full of self-confidence, nearing the limits of arrogance.
"Excuse me, my lady," a butler said as he appeared out of nowhere, 'it would be best to let our staff deal with this.' he then added while respectfully lowering his head.
"Boys," the butler said as he turned his head to the security, "handle the intruders." There was no malice in the man's words. It was as if this man in a suit ordered someone to swat away some bugs that dirtied the marble staircase in his enormous mansion.
"This man once again attacked me on the Online Hub ground. And that's today only." Tom announced without a shred of hesitation or doubt while pointing his hand to the back. "As a member of the acclaimed players I can demand their removal from the registry, am I right?"
Tom smiled. 'That was unexpected, but nothing's bad that ends well, isn't that right?' Satisfaction filled Tom's mind.
"That's indeed true." the butler said while nodding his head.
"Guys, wait a moment." the girl from before interfered. She brushed her long, golden hair aside as she stood between Tom and his idiotic opponents. "Isn't there a better way to solve disputes in this place?"
Those words worked wonders. In an instant, the entire place stalled. From Tom's enemies, through the security and all the onlookers watching the show, everyone froze in place.
"Let me guess." Tom lowered his head while hiding his face in his hand. "You are Claudia, am I right?" Tom's words were far weaker than they were when he was facing his former bully.
"Eh? How do you know my name?" Claudia jumped in surprise before lowering her eyes on her chest. "Oh, that's how!" she said while brushing a small, decorative pin with her thumb.
"I'm sorry, but I do not care about the challenges," Tom said while shrugging his arms. "This man attacked me twice, breaking the code of conduct. I don't have a single reason to accept his challenge. What then, miss boxer?"
For someone who frequented the online hall as Tom did over the past few years, miss Boxer, or rather Claudia, would be a pretty well-known figure. While not a global top-ranker, she still held a prideful spot somewhere in the eighth ranking list. But rather than being known for her achievements, she was popular because of how she acted outside the game.
'A head of the Goblin Club, vice leader of the Burning Fang guild…' Tom shook his head while recalling the various titles that referred to the girl. 'And a boxing enthusiast who often made use of her skills in the real world.'
"If you say that he cannot challenge you, then you are completely right," Claudia replied while putting a huge smirk on her face. "But I heard you claim to be an acclaimed player. And that means I can challenge you whenever I find it interesting enough to do so!" she exclaimed while putting a triumphant look on her face.
"Oh? And what kind of bet would miss Boxer's offer for the challenge?" Tom asked. 'I can't just ignore her, so the question is,' Tom squinted his eyes, 'how do I make the most out of the situation?'
"A bet?" Claudia asked, leaning her head to the side. "Ah, right!" In a flash, the look of confusion on her face changed to excitement. "From my side, it would be a pity to see a fresh newbie be barred from the game like that. If I win the challenge, I want you to forgive that man."
'So you are going to play like that, huh?' Tom thought. His lips curled upwards. "This man is dangerous. He attempted to destroy my health twice already. That means the punishment for losing the bet will be enormous. On the other hand," Layn smiled, looking the girl directly in the eye, "what can you offer if I were to win?"
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