Drinks, bar fights and weird Hunters

Roughly 2 hours ago, a bar in Safe Zone

Ivo sat down at his seat, a glass of beer in his hand as he put on a small smile. Scanning over his 4 companions, he rose his glass and said:

“It a was a good day.” He struck his glass with Nikola’s calyx full of vodka.

“Sure was.” She agreed. "We’ll get to 400 gold this week no problem.” She commented, looking at something in her phone.

“Agreed.” Said Zola, lifting his own glass with a drink (Ivo was pretty sure it was called margarita, but wasn’t 100% sure). “Then let us take a day off tomorrow.” He said, striking his glass with the third man sitting with them, and then with Liga.

“I agree.” Said the woman, immediately taking a sip of her beer. “We’ve worked efficiently today, and we should be able to secure the norm on Sunday.”

“I’m fine with that.” Shrugged Ivo. “Just remember to drink in a civilized manner.” He looked at the woman to his right.

“What?” Nikola raised an eyebrow. “I’m a civilized human.” She said, and gulped the entire drop without even reacting to the ****.

“Who wastes herself on any occasion.” Commented Liga in an absentminded manner.

“Fight me, bitch-witch.” Nikola put her elbow on the table and made a daring gaze towards the taller woman, who simply shrugged at her bark.

Ivo chuckled at the redhead woman’s words, but hearing that nobody answered her words, decided to keep quiet. He knew well that even though she seemed and sounded aggressive, it was mostly play. Only when drunk was Nikola ever dangerous, because she lost her restraints and sense of humor.

He looked over his companions, starting with Liga. She was higher than average women, roughly 1,81 meters tall, and there was a glint of fat on her body and face. She was turning 32 this year. Liga had light skin, wide chin and strong jaw, indicating Nordic roots, but what was the funny thing was that she was actually Latvian. One time (from what Ivo could recollect) she said that it was because both her parents were from northern parts of Latvia, and apparently hidden genes got to work with her. She had a large nose, slightly crooked downwards and standing on guard of her small lips, making her look a little like a stereotype witch (which was the reason for Nikola to be calling her ‘bitch-witch’). Her hair of shoulder length were straight and of dark, almost black color. Her eyes were of crystal blue color, scanning her bottle leisurely as she was contemplating taking another sip now or later. The large blouse she wore was already pretty old, at least 10 or so years, and had many signs of wear and tear, but she still was adamant about wearing it when going out. The loose, creamy, bell pants on her legs were a popular choice for older people back before the Tower came around, but she liked them mostly for unhindered movement. She didn’t like the fabric being tight. The way she wore her clothes did hide her assets a lot, but Ivo was well aware of the handful that was on her chest, about small C-cup, and her toned bottom. She was a very soft person, as Ivo had known her for many years now, and more often than not she was the only person capable of speaking to Nikola when the redhead was out of control.

Turning his gaze a little right, he saw Zola. He was a powerful, tall man of nearly 2 metres in height and imposing muscle mass. His dark skin glistened a little, emphasizing the baldness of his head as he turned around a little, looking at something in the bar. His large nose and lips were no indication of his roots, but combined with his height and skin color, Ivo’s first thought when he saw him was: African. Not that he was far, considering that Congo Republic was in Africa, but it was still a long shot on his part. Zola was the youngest in the group, at only 24 of age, right now dressed in a large t-shirt to cover his chest and long pants to hide his legs. Despite being tall and powerful, the man was actually pretty shy and not very outgoing around people, and in fact, only in their little group did he ever speak openly about his interests or anything else one could consider ‘normal’ for a conversation. In summary, he looked like a grizzly bear but in reality was much more of a teddy bear.

Third was a 182 cm tall man, Gregory, Nikola’s twin brother. He was of rather slick body type, having little fat and muscle despite being nearly 30 this year and having spent almost 2 years in the Tower. He had short, red hair on his head and a short goat beard on his slick chin, also red. His eyes were a mix of green and blue. His nose, much like his sister’s, was small and curled upwards ever so much, and on his cheeks there were a little bit of freckles, mostly under his eyes. Small ears stood proudly alongside his head, he eyed everyone silently while sipping his beer every now and again. He wasn’t much a talker, quite unlike his sister, opting to simply sit around and listen to whatever was happening. Ivo, however, knew well that this man was more than capable of defeating basically anyone whom he came across. Currently he was wearing a long cloak on his shoulders, hiding his blue shirt and covering his long pants a bit.

And lastly, there was Nikola, coming from Poland, age 29 this year. She was Gregory’s sister, and as Ivo got to know her during their times together, he came to a conclusion that the two of them were like sun and moon, or fire and water. She was roughly 165, maybe 166 cm tall, red ponytail hanging between her shoulder blades. She looked similar to her brother, with slick body, freckles and small ears. Her lips were toned and graceful, but that was only the way they looked. Ivo had already known her for years, and he knew that profanities and her lips met a lot, especially when she was mad. Energetic and full of bravura, she often most jumped straight into fights and had to be pulled away by the rest of them. She wasn’t afraid to fight foes twice her size, and when drunk she was even capable of taking them down, earning herself an in-group title of ‘Drunkard Barbarian’. Unlike the rest of the group, she rarely ever cared for niceties, and was straightforward like none of them. She was wearing a crop top of gray color, giving her B-cups and illusion of being bigger than Liga’s. On her bottom, very short pants were placed, exposing a lot of her stomach and legs. She wasn’t afraid to be showing herself off. Truth be told, this was probably because she was confident she could kick ass of anyone who ogled her too much.

Everyone except Zola he had known for years before they came to Tower. Him and Liga went to same schools in Latvia, and then the two of them met Nikola and Gregory when going for studies in Poland. After the Tower appeared in their world, they had mixed reactions. Gregory wanted to never have heard about this place while Nikola was overexcited to come in here, but her brother curbed her enthusiasm. Liga was **** to come around, but she mostly listened to Ivo as her closest friend. Meanwhile, he… didn’t know if he wanted to come around. When the Tower first appeared, he was just 20, freshly after having finished his finals on first year of studies. The news… hit him, but it he wasn’t sure whether it was in a good or bad way. At first, he was kind of glad, having heard that basically all ongoing conflicts in the world just stopped as the world’s attention was brought to the Tower’s existence, but… after seeing that it only could halt them for a few weeks, he decided to take more of Gregory’s attitude.

But things changed, both for him and everyone around. Was it in 2034? Or early 2035? The bewildering news came around, saying that the woman capable of seeing the future thanks to the Tower disappeared? How many theories were made? How the dominant one was, that she saw the end of the world? In all honesty, he didn’t believe that version. He couldn’t place his finger on it back then, but… it just felt wrong. The same woman who’s made a fortune and gained influence, suddenly gone? Why would she commit suicide? It didn’t make sense. That was why he changed his attitude and decided to come around, and as it turned out, the rest of the group didn’t want to leave him on his own, so they all moved here. In the Tower, they met Zola, who they took under their wing and soon befriended. His skill of purification was, indeed, extremely useful for them.

But there was time for pondering, and there was time to be indulging in talk with his friends. He focused, hearing Nikola speak:

“400 gold is basically guaranteed since we already made 362 with today’s load.” She looked at her phone and read through something.

“Then Sunday’s hunt will be light.” Stated Zola, relaxing in his chair and taking a large sip of his margarita. “Maybe I’ll get some sleep.”

“Good thinking.” Agreed Liga. “Some rest would be nice after dying on Saturday.” She looked over everyone and sipped a bit of her beer, then getting a fry into her mouth. “What do you say for 14 to begin? By 20 we should be good to go, right?”

“Sounds good.” Nodded Nikola. “Hey, check it out. Apparently a new big shot is appearing.” She said, scrolling through a few articles on her phone.

“What do you mean?” Asked Ivo, rising an eyebrow.

“Hold, 61% done…” She waved her hand, and kept on reading for about a minute more. “Okay, so we all know that the 12th floor was finished prematurely because of a hidden quest, right?”

“Well, who hasn’t heard of that? That was a big news just on Tuesday. I mean, that was record time of clearing a floor.” Replied Zola.

“Okay, now listen to this. From a confirmed source we know that Youngwoo Lee, who cleared those floors with flying colors, was seen in Magician Guild today together with Dragon Witch.”

“Dragon Witch?” Ivo tilted his head a little. “The one with red hair?”

“Maybe, I dunno.” Nikola shrugged. “The nature of cooperation between him and Dragon Witch is unknown, but from a source in the guild it is suspected that their relationship is not professional, and that he was in Magician Guild today to discuss the terms of his acceptance in the ranks of the guild.”

“You’re saying that he has joined Magician Guild?” Asked Liga.

“Yup. Got eaten by a bigger fish instantly. A shame.” Nikola drunk a shot poured by Ivo. “Wish I could’ve fought him before that happened.” She made dreamy eyes for a moment.

“Is there anything more known about him?”

“Uh… not much. Just some rough estimates on how he looks, but it’s said that it’s not fully known because Magician Guild is standing behind him.”

“Say, what do the articles say about him?” Gregory leaned on his elbow a little, assuming a listening position.

“Wait, I’ll find something…” Nikola suddenly dug into the articles for a few minutes. “Hmm… from what I can tell from articles, there’s a only a few constants that could be true. Apparently, he’s Korean, uses a sword, and is rather tall.” She said, putting her phone down. “He doesn’t frequent any places as far as the public knows, and nobody knows his rank in Tower. Still, it doesn’t stop everyone from calling him a genius for finishing floor 12th hidden quest. He’s an enigma who’s older than signing system. His skills are also unknown, but some speculate that he may have some kind of a guidance skill, for having solved the floor 12 so easily.”

“…I see.” ‘Korean, tall, with a sword… could he be that guy?’ Thought Ivo, reminding himself of whom he saw. It seemed to check out nicely. He saw him both on 11th floor when rewards were handed, and on 12th floor shortly before the secret quest was cleared, meaning… it was 100% him that he saw in the forest. Ivo was confident in his eyes.

“Well, anyway. Bottom’s up guys!” Nikola said with cheer, pouring herself a shot and clanging her calyx with Liga, Zola and Gregory.

Currently, 01:25, Liga’s perspective

Liga was lying on the table, not wanting to drink anymore and just reducing her activities to munching on her food she’s ordered some time ago, consisting of a bunch of French fries and some salad. She gave up after roughly 3 beers, feeling her head beginning to spin a little. She didn’t need to drink until knockout.

She looked over the rest of her group. Zola was holding himself up with an elbow, but just a few margaritas were enough for him to call it quits. In the first place, he wasn’t the type to really go into drinking. He drunk because he liked to savor different drinks, not to get drunk.

Gregory and Ivo were in similar positions, just somewhat tipsy, but not much more. And then, there was Nikola.

She was half sitting, half lying on her chair as she was holding her calyx with a little shaky hand, her entire body swaying left and right slightly every time she made a sudden movement. In front of her, two emptied boxes of food from Restaurant Gallery were standing, as well as 2 bottles of vodka, both 0.5 liters, one empty and one about 2/3 full still.

“Aaaa toaasst!” She said, prolonging some parts of the words, clearly drunk as she downed another shot.

‘How the hell can she withstand so much of that stuff?’ Liga pondered for a long moment before she decided to simply turned her head downwards, not wanting to witness her friend getting even more drunk.

Minutes passed by quickly as she heard Nikola drink another shot, after which she excused herself to the bathroom and made a (very wobbly) beeline for her new destination. Deciding to take a quick look around, Liga noticed how the bar was starting to become empty. There were a few people sitting by the main counter, slowly sipping their drinks and talking (if they had someone to talk to). In the local, there were 7 other tables aside from theirs, and honestly, only 2 of them were occupied by anyone. All in all, there seemed to be a grand total of 17 or 18 people inside, despite it being middle of night between Friday and Saturday.

‘I think it’s time to be moving.’ She poked at Ivo’s shoulder a little. The man looked at her, and she simply gestured with her head towards the door. Instantly understanding what she meant, he nodded slowly in approval, and said:

“Gregory, Zola. How about we pack ourselves and go?”

“…good idea, boss.” Replied the huge man. “I could use some sleep.”

“Same here.” Agreed Gregory. “So long Nikola doesn’t get into another bar fight, it’s best to not give her any chances. She’s had enough drinking.” He tilted the bottle with some vodka still in it.

But… suddenly, they heard her voice:

“Whooooo doo yuaaaaouu thiinkhh youura areee?!” She was standing by some lone guy sipping a beer, quickly getting his attention. The man put down his drink and looked at her.

“…I’m sorry?” His voice seemed a little surprised, but also, a little annoyed, if Liga was anyhow good in interpreting the tones of voices.

“Iiiiii’mmm talhhing to youuu…” Nikola tilted on her legs as she pushed the man lightly. “Yyyyaaa thiiinkhhh youuu’reeee ghhheeat caaaussse youuuu’reee aaaaassssiiiiaannn?”

Hearing her words, Liga put a hand on her face.

“Fuck, she’s getting political.” She murmured to herself, shaking Zola’s shoulder a little. “Hey, can you go grab her, Z?”

“…gimmie a moment…” He sounded with a little tired voice. “…coming.”

However, it seemed that whatever the issue was by the bar, it escalated, as suddenly Nikola lunged at the still sitting man, bringing him to the ground and pinning his arms to the ground with precision that even Liga had to admit, was pretty decent given her state.

“Ffffiiiiiiihhhhhtttt meeeee.” She said, and suddenly hit the ground just by the man’s head. “FFFFIIIGHHHT ME!” She roared, aiming another hit, but she missed again.

“C-Calm down!” Sounded the man’s voice as he struggled momentarily, and managed to get Nikola on her side.

However, it seemed to only turn the girl into full aggression mode, as she suddenly aimed a kick and a punch directly at the man. He barely managed to block the attacks, and, seemingly in self-defense, struck at her sternum, causing Nikola to heave out the air she had in her lungs. Infuriated anew, she struck again and again, attempting to harm the man.

However, it seemed that he was versed in hand-to-hand combat, as he quickly got on his knees and turned the woman onto her stomach, into a hold that mostly incapacitated her, one of her arms up high as he **** her head to the ground.

“Calm down, please!” He said, feeling Nikola struggle in vain.

“Nikola!” Sounded Liga as she suddenly bolted. “Stop it!” She ran over in a few seconds and pushed the man away.

As the man fighting with Nikola released his hold, Nikola immediately made a turn and tried to kick at his ankles, but he was able to backpedal enough to get out of her attack range.

“Ffffiiitte! Mmmeee!” She shouted towards the man, struggling against Liga’s hold.

“Zola, hold her! We’re leaving!” Liga commanded the man who just came around, and as she felt him hold her in her place, she rushed over to the table, and then back.

Zola quickly got Nikola over his shoulder, ignoring her striking at his back.

“WhhhaT! I’m nnot leeeaav-“ Suddenly, Nikola felt something **** its way into her mouth. Feeling a familiar scent, she suddenly started sucking, and tilted the bottle upwards. That seemed to finally calm her down, and she kept on drinking her vodka as Zola carried her away from the scene place. Without a word spoken, he simply left with the woman over his shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry for that, sir.” Liga turned to the man who was staring at her. In his eyes, surprisingly enough, she noticed basically no anger, and much more… understanding? Or was she seeing bad after her few beers?

“Will she be alright?” He asked, seemingly asking about the way Liga pacified the woman.

“She’ll be fine. Did she do anything to you?” She looked at him with a bit of worry, prepared to take out a few coins to pay him for the trouble.

“No, I’m alright. I think I need to get home.” He said, looking towards the bar for a moment, and then at Liga again.

“I’m very sorry about her. She sometimes becomes a handful.” She pulled out a pair of golden coins, and handed them over to the man. “For the trouble we caused you, sir.”

“Don’t worry, keep it.” He replied, a small smirk on his face. “It’s alright.”

“…” She seemed ****.

“Please, go. You probably need to attend to her.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

“…Thank you, sir.” She said, and took a step back. Turning around, she noticed how the table where she sat just a minute ago was now empty, Gregory and Ivo making their way out while she was speaking with the man.

Taking her steps outside, she quickly started walking in her way. Turning around after a dozen or so seconds, she saw that man walking away in a different direction, tilting himself a little on left leg while walking, indicating that he was hurt in there.

‘I’m very sorry, sir.’ She thought to herself, turning back to where she was heading. Noticing her group in the distance, she started jogging forth.

Meanwhile

The man that spoke with Liga was walking leisurely to his destination. Passing by a few empty alleys and streets, he felt his chin a little.

‘Refreshing.’ He thought. The one and only hit the woman managed to cleanly land on him left a lasting impression. He was, in fact, quite surprised at that small woman’s strength. Suddenly whilst walking, he heard a familiar voice:

“I never understood what’s so great in drinking.” White-haired woman was floating above him, watching over his movements lazily with her violet eyes. “Mostly drunkards like that one come out of it.”

“You know, it’s not really about the drinking itself, I think.” Replied the man. “I think it’s more about what it does to you. Makes everything… fuzzy. Lets you let go of your worries, if only for a moment. And if some can’t take the drink properly, they start becoming aggressive.” He added, making his way into the night.

Nikola, in her drunkard state, couldn’t remember the man’s face clearly, and in their hurry, neither could the rest of her group. She had no idea that she managed to meet exactly the man she wanted to. And neither she nor him knew that by complete accident, she used exactly the one skill she wanted to use on him. But... they will get to know it, eventually.