บท 23: Chapter 22 "Skye's Diner"

After following the party quite a distance, they finally arrived at a place.

Which was only a few meters from the fountain...

They traveled quite a distance because the crowds were actually looking for Ioki after knowing he was in Ruina.

They circled and went through alleyways just to shake off the other people...

They arrived at a medium-sized, two-story building. A building built out of stone and visible brown wood as its pillars.

On top of the building stands a wooden sign with a glass drawing and "Skye" in cursive written on it.

The woman opened the wooden door to the building, and the bald man held the door while raising his palm up signing for Ioki to go in first.

Ioki then entered Skye's Diner.

Few people were chattering inside and having a meal.

Some even could be seen with a glass of alcohol even though night is still far away...

A group of guards could be seen eating inside the diner as well.

"Welcome!" A soft voice shouted from behind the counter.

Ioki looked behind the counter to see a beautiful woman with brown hair tied to the back. She is wiping a glass on her hand with a piece of clothing.

"Table for four, please!" The man in the robe shouted.

"Ah, yes! Please make your way here; there is a table available!" She shouted again as she pointed at a wooden table with four seats available.

Ioki couldn't help but keep staring at the Barkeeper as he made his way to the appointed seats.

Suddenly, a pat with a rough force could be felt on his back.

"She is a beauty, huh?" The bald man asked him with a smile, "Of course, my wife's beauty doesn't lose to her."

Ioki could only blush after seeing the whole party look at him.

"What can I say? I even had my eyes on her when I first walked in here!" The man in the robe said.

A change of expression could be seen in the woman they were with.

"But of course, her beauty doesn't even come close to you, babe!" The man in the robe tried to hug the woman, but instead, he got a kiss from her right palm that left a love mark.

Ioki chuckled when he saw the man get slapped in the face.

Finally, as they took their seats on the table, the party then introduced themselves.

"Sorry for the late introduction, my name is Rikishi!" The bald man said as he slapped his breastplate.

"Mine is Nagao!" The man in the robe said as he extended his hand.

Ioki shook Nagao's hand and introduced himself, "Ah, I am Ioki!"

Finally, the last one is the woman with a bow. Ioki shifted his gaze toward her.

"I am Absusbsj," She introduced herself with a cold voice.

Ioki looked at her, then chuckled; slowly, he couldn't hold himself and started laughing.

"Why are you laughing? Is there something funny about me?" Absusbsj asked.

"The way you looked after you introduced yourself and your name itself is already wrong," Ioki replied.

Soon, Nagao and Rikishi laughed following Ioki's laughter.

Frustration could be seen on Absusbsj's face. She punched Nagao on the shoulder before finally they stopped laughing.

"Aww, why is it always me? I simply laughed at what he just said, babe!" Nagao explained while rubbing his shoulder.

"Ahem! So, as the deal we've already made. Let's talk about the hidden stats," Absusbsj cleared her throat and picked up the conversation.

Ioki then opened the Titles menu, "Let me show you this first so I could simply listen to your explanations later on."

The party gathered near Ioki and slowly went into awe upon seeing Ioki's titles.

"You defeated the infamous Warden in Tutorial?!" Nagao exclaimed.

"Is that even possible? How did you even make it past the bridge?" Rikishi followed.

"Making it past the bridge is easy if you looked hard enough, but defeating The Warden with his own weapon... How?" Absusbsj stared in confusion.

Ioki then closed his menu window and replied, "That's not part of the deal, you simply asked for what my titles are. I've shown you; now it's your turn."

They stared at each other, trying to complain, but they knew their limits and returned back to their seats.

Before Absusbsj opened her mouth, the Barkeeper approached their table with a note and a pencil in her hand.

"May I take your orders?" She asked with a smile.

"Do you have the Rotisserie Chicken available?" Rikishi asked.

"Yes, I have the whole set of stamina-boosting food and spicy foods as well. I heard the news of the Guided Souls trying to raid the Labyrinth of Glutton!" She replied.

"Oh, please just bring the whole set!" Rikishi ordered.

"Just the usual Cold Azure tea for me!" Nagao ordered.

"Usual? Did you go here often?" Absusbsj glared at Nagao.

Seeing how the lover quarrels, the Barkeeper laughs at them. After a while, she shifted her gaze to Ioki, finding the boy staring at him under his mask.

"How about you, little mister with a creepy mask?" She asked while snapping her finger.

"Ah, I'm sorry... I don't know the menu here... Just get me some porridge and bread if that's available..." Ioki ordered while looking away shyly.

"The new bread supplies are gonna arrive tomorrow, so the current bread we have is currently stale and hard... I suggest having a toasted Kerubi nuts instead! it will go well with the porridge." She replied while readying her note.

"Ah... Yes, let's just go with that..." Ioki replied with a low voice while looking at the table.

"I believe you should look at the other person when you are talking, young mister?" The Barkeeper teased Ioki while chuckling.

Ioki looked up, but seeing her expression simply made Ioki blush more...

"Then, the usual earl tea with honey and rosefruit for the miss?" She asked after noting Ioki's order down.

"Usual? So you frequent this place as well, babe?!" Nagao asked with a surprised expression.

"I came here to ask for information from Skye, not like you... Even if I gave you 100 Golds, you won't be returning with an ounce of information, you good-for-nothing idiot!" Absusbsj explained while hitting Nagao again.

"Why am I always getting hit, babe?!"

"That's because you shouldn't argue with your woman in the first place, big brother..." Ioki said with a little smile.

"Oh! You should learn more from this little mister here," The Barkeeper said with a smile.

Ioki blushed once again while looking down.

After taking their orders, she finally left and went into the kitchen behind the counter where she usually stands.

"Umm... Can I please now get an explanation on how the Hidden Stats works?" Ioki raised his hand.

"Ah, I'm sorry Ioki! Even though they always fight like this, they are good people that will never go back in their words! Seeing them reminds me of my younger days with my beloved Kayla by the way. " Rikishi explained with his thumbs up.

"I know you guys are great people, but the people around us have started seeing the two of you fighting..." Ioki explained.

Absusbsj then stopped hitting Nagao and looked around. She bowed her head and asked for apologies.

"Remind me of my young days!"

"If you have a wife like that, then you are set for life boy!"

"If I have a wife like that, I would search for a mistress right away!"

The diner then erupted into laughter.

Players and NPCs were laughing together inside the diner; if one woke up in the world of Ashen Fantasy, they wouldn't know if it was an online game instead of real life.

Absusbsj slowly covers her red face as their laughter gets loud.

Nagao tried to comfort her, but he instead laughed with them.

Absusbsj started kicking him under the table repeatedly as he laughed.

"Let me explain it," Rikishi volunteered.

Ioki listened closely as Rikishi started sharing their knowledge about the Hidden Stats with Ioki. He talked about how specific stats like Agility must be unlocked by doing certain tasks after your Dexterity has reached certain points.

Vitality could be unlocked by going on an arduous training while your health is low.

Charm could be unlocked after the players managed to ask some NPCs to do their bidding a few times.

Perception is a stat that ties together with certain Secret Jobs like Explorer, Tomb Raider, etc.

"There are a few stats that we got our lead on as well, for example, like stats called Virtue and Zen. These particular stats exist in this game, but it seems like tricky conditions must be fulfilled before they can be opened..." Absusbsj explained after she finally calmed herself.

"Woah... This game is really complex, huh?" Ioki replied.

"Yes! That's why we will be going to the Labyrinth of Gluttony right after this to try and get a lead on the 7 Deadly Sins!" Absusbsj explained with her fist raised.

"What do you mean by that?" Ioki asked.

"You see, people have speculated that this game doesn't only have Gods. The Devils and other Deities and Constellations actually exist as well! New divine beings are discovered as we speak now," Absusbsj explained once again.

"I'm sorry... She is always like this once she gets too passionate about something!" Nagao said with a smile.

"No! No! That's fine, I love knowing more about this game. Because I found it interesting as well that a game like this could turn out to be more than just defeating monsters and clearing quests," Ioki replied.

"Oh yeah, by the way!" Ioki looked at the three with a big smile, "The 7 Deadly Sins indeed exist!"

Absusbsj's eyes went wide upon hearing Ioki's remark.

Before she could ask for details, the Barkeeper served their orders.