LINKED | Brothers Online Series | BK #1

Chapter 11: Bar Fights and A European

December 24, 2022 Floor 3 - A bar
Karim (Raidz) Min'

"Alright. Question. Why are we going to a bar? Shouldn't we just eat at the inn?"
"Because this place has good food," came my brother's reply. "And it's not just a bar, it's a restaurant too."
"Fine. So why are we going to this restaurant?"
"I hear their steak's amazing."
"So it's for the steak then?"
"Yes. Always for the meat."
After we finished up in the Misty Forest, Thom led the group back to town. His face had taken that uncaring look that I've seen from floor 1. Eyes dulled, feet striding quickly and hands shoved into pockets. Those were the usual signs. Of course, it wouldn't have been so hard to figure that part out. Zara and Yumi already knew this for their heads were bowed and their mouths shut in thin lines.
I felt bad for them. It's not a holiday when you get shut down by a pissed off Min' brother.
Well, it's not a holiday when you get shut down by anyone, but that's for another time.
So where did my angst filled brother decide to take us for dinner? Why, a bar of course. Not just any bar, mind you. It was by far the most fancy and prestigious bar that I had ever seen in a video game. The two story building had lanterns placed at very strategic points, giving off a soft ambience that contrasted the dimmed light of the surrounding area. Red window panes were embedded into the wooden structure, and I spotted curtains behind the glass. A balcony jutted from the right side and held several tables along with seats occupied by merry customers. There was even a doorman with a fancy outfit most befitting of SAO. He wore a nice black and white suit with a swirly red rose in his breast pocket. When we stepped up, the doorman NPC guy bowed and said, "Good evening gentlemen. Good evening madams. Welcome to Lenny's Bar and Restaurant. Step right in and wait to be seated."
Thom nodded and patted the dude on the head, seriously scrambling up whatever code was placed in him. He then turned to me and said, "Told ya it was a restaurant."
"He also said it was bar."
"But it's also a restaurant."
"Whatever bro."
The interior of the restaurant was just as impressive as the outside. The waiting area had fancy red cushioned chairs that were nicely placed on the wooden frame. There was even a fancy fish aquarium along with a few paintings. 'How'd they get the paintings in here?' I thought, 'Seriously, that'll take a ton of coding.' Thom must've have seen my gazing for he just rolled his eyes. The line moved a bit and he muttered sarcastically, "Dude. This ain't an art museum."
I just shrugged. "What? Can't enjoy art?"
Thom rolled his eyes and quickly glanced at the paintings. "I know you love old stuff, but we're in a restaurant. I'm here for food, not art."
I smirked at my brother. He was absolutely correct about my love for "old stuff." See, I'm what you could call a history geek. I really love ancient artifacts and anything that came from the past. My favorite era is the Renaissance. There was so much good stuff and the people were so cool. Da Vinci, Holbein the Younger, Masaccio, Dürer, Petrarch and many others outline that amazing era of discovery and wonder. Seriously, if you didn't love the Renaissance, you pretty much hate the universe. That was when the entire concept of the world came into being. Not only that, the past gave so many lessons about... everything. You can't walk around without seeing da Vinci's work, the ideas of the Wright brothers or even the economic thoughts of Adam Smith. History is a guidebook and it helps to learn from those who came before.
As I thought about the past and examined the waiting room, I heard a voice say, "Next!" Thom straightened up and motioned for us to do the same. He walked up to the host and eyed the guy's player icon.
"How many sir?"
"Four."
"Right this way." The host led us to an ornate rectangular table with four of those fancy chairs. A waiter quickly walked forwards, asking us about our orders. I picked up a menu and scanned the list of items. 'Let's see. Grilled Forest Pheasant? Nah. Fried Summer Fowl with Lettuce and Spinach? Nope. Barbecued Boar with Tomatoes and Cucumbers? Bingo!'
"Yeah, could I get the Barbecued Boar with Tomatoes and Cucumbers?" The waiter nodded and wrote down my order. Thom looked at me curiously and I shrugged. 'What? I like cucumbers,' I thought. 'Nothing wrong with that right?' Seeing no answer from me, Thom went back to perusing the menu.
Zara then spoke up, "Could I please get the Fresh Salad with Italian Dressing?" The waiter, a teenage male of around Thom's age, smiled charmingly. He wrote down her request and turned to Yumi. "And you miss?"
"Um... same thing as h-her," replied the little thief quietly.
Finally, the waiter turned to Thom. "And you sir?"
"Gimme the Barbecued Boar with Tomatoes and Cucumbers."
"Of course. I'll be back with your food momentarily." The waiter gathered up our menus and gave Zara a wink. She blushed lightly and smiled up at him. When he had left, Thom spoke up, his voice layered with a strange undertone. "What was that?"
"What was what?" asked Zara. She looked confused and her fingers drummed nervously on the table.
Thom just shook his head and glanced away. "Never mind. Shouldn't you have gotten something more than salad? You won't gain weight you know."
I grimaced and rolled my eyes. 'Annnddddd... you're screwed.'
Zara glared at my brother and clenched her fists. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that I'm fat?"
Thom raised his right eyebrow and glanced at me. I held my hands up defensively. 'Nope. You're on your own bro.'
"I'm not saying that you're fat, nor am I saying that you're skinny. I'm just saying that since you can't acquire pounds in this game, you might as well eat what you want."
"Maybe I want to eat salad," Zara replied heatedly, "Ever think of that?"
"Oy, don't get so worked up about it. Jesus. I was just pointing something out." Thom rolled his eyes and pointed at Yumi. "Same goes for you too."
Yumi nodded silently, picking at the red covering of the table. Zara glared at Thom for a few seconds before glancing up.
"Hey Zara! What's up? How ya doing?"
"Yo Zara! How's it hanging?"
"Hey Zara!"
Thom and I both looked at the group of people that had appeared. There were two girls and four guys. Instantly, I felt Thom's foot on top of mind. He ground his heel down slightly. Now, normally, that would be weird, but in this instance, I understood what my brother was saying. See, Thom had noted that one of the guys was leaning heavily on one of the girls. His face was red and his head rolled around. From the looks of things, the guy was drunk, or at least semi-drunk. I wasn't so sure how the game recreated the intoxication of real life, but it didn't really matter right now. Drunken people brought problems. If I knew my brother at all, then he was already labeling the guy as an enemy.
Zara smiled brightly and stood up. "Hey guys! I didn't expect to see you here. Say, what's wrong with Hiroshi?"
The girl holding up Hiroshi smirked and poked the guy in the cheek. He grumbled and used her shoulder to stand upright. "Hhhheeeyyy... Z-Zara... you look... purdy..."
Zara frowned and glanced at the other people. "Psy? Javri? Cobalt? Brigit? What's wrong with Hiroshi?"
At the English word, my brother and I both looked up. My eyes scanned the group again, trying to pick out the foreigner. After a few seconds, I found him. The guy was about five feet tall with medium length brown hair. He had blue eyes and a rather tall nose, clearly signifying a European. He was of average build and not too bulky. His brown shirt lay underneath a brown leather vest that looked pretty worn and scratched up. Tan pants, leather belt and brown combat boots decked his lower body. A sheath hung from his left hip at a slight angle with a sword hilt sticking out from it. A single strap went from his left shoulder to his right hip. I spotted a circular shield with what looked like a single small spike coming out from its center. All in all, he looked like your average swordsman. The only problem was how familiar he seemed. I prodded my brother and mumbled in Vietnamese, "Do we know that guy?"
He shook his head, giving the guy a good scan. "I... don't think so."
For some strange reason, I had this weird... feeling wash over me. The guy was very very very familiar. He looked almost like...
"Nothing's really wrong with Hiroshi. He's just drunk," replied the dude known as Psy.
"He's drunk? Is that even possible?"
"Yeah it is," responded the same guy. He helped the girl straighten up Hiroshi. "The game puts a debuff on a player called «Stupor». It's pretty much an Unbalance, Dizziness and Dazed debuff all shoved into one."