(TPOR) Chapter 87: A Cup of Blue (Patreon)

In the darkness of Zed’s unconscious, a notification came alive.

· You have unraveled [Pocket memory(incomplete)] (who am I?) 1/3.

· [Pocket memory(incomplete)] (who am I?) remaining 2/2

· Duration to next unraveling: 00:00:05.

Not enough time, Zed groaned, remembering Shanine and the fact that she needed him right now. He wasn’t attached to the girl by any stretch of the word, at least he liked to think he wasn’t, but she had insinuated something similar to one of the oldest ideas he had since waking up in the world after the second awakening.

She’d insinuated that with power, mages were supposed to be good. Why?

Because it’s the right thing to do.

· Duration to next unraveling: 00:00:01.

· You have unlocked memory [Club Cabavi].

The world of darkness tilted around Zed and he was glad for the absence of pain as his consciousness shifted back into his memory.

He really hoped Shanine was alright.

…………………………………………………

Zed sat in the discomfort of blaring music he didn’t even know and a myriad of flashing lights. If Peter was wrong about a lot of things—which he rarely was—he was certainly right about club Cabavi. It was definitely home to the Arch-angel of debauchery, though he knew there was none.

The club was a large, volatile cesspool of drunk, high, and horny men and women. And apart from Anthony, he seemed to be the only one bothered by the music and the flashing lights. Nurifa simply stood, looking around and bobbing his head to the beat ever since Peter left them for wherever it was he needed to be, and Takeshi had spent most of the last five minutes looking at a slim Asian girl dancing quite mechanically in the corner.

There were waiting for Peter at the bar where he’d left them. The seats left unoccupied weren’t enough so the only two available were occupied by him and Anthony while Nurifa and Takeshi stood.

At some point, a man came to take their orders from behind the counter. He wore a neon red sparkling vest over a black shirt and carried an effervescent personality. Obviously new to the scene, the others kindly declined without hesitation. Zed, however, took the liberty to look through the assortment of drinks they had on display on the shelves behind the bartender.

The club had wines and drinks and spirits displayed in stylish glass bottles. Some bottles bore varying colors spread out from green to red to brown to orange and even pink. There was a blue bottle that caught his eye and he wasn’t sure if it was blue because the bottle was blue or if the bottle was actually transparent and the liquid inside was blue.

In his curiosity he pointed at it. “That one,” he told the man, having to shout to be heard over the club’s ruckus.

The bartender looked back, spotted it, and turned back to him with a surreptitious smile. “I see you have taste.”

Instead of reaching for the bottle, however, he snuck his hand under the counter and produced a half-empty bottle of the same brand.

“This is one of the brands that came after the awakening,” he explained as he opened it. “Our customers love it and the manufacturers claim it has a touch of mana in it.” He put an effeminate hand to his chest. “I, personally, think it’s just really good alcohol. We’ve only had mana for, what, a few years. Kinda hard to believe someone’s found a way to distill the thing when we can’t even see it.”

Zed opened his mouth to inform the man that he was, in fact, not correct. To let him know that anyone could see mana when a mage was casting a spell that was designed to have physical effects while mages of certain levels could see mana in the air. Thinking better of it, he said nothing. It was information he hadn’t had back home and had only learnt of in his classes at the institute. So, unsure of if it fell under the category of information that was deemed classified, he closed his mouth and let the man pour him a drink.

The bartender filled a small glass cup to the brim and gently pushed it to him. The liquid was blue and the glass transparent.

“Bottom’s up,” he said, with a smile that was all teeth.

Zed nodded his thanks and reached for the glass but Anthony got to it before him. The boy grabbed it by the top and moved it over to his side of the counter.

Zed turned to him with a questioning brow.

“I don’t think it’s safe,” Anthony explained, shouting to be heard, and he noticed the boy wasn’t wearing his glasses anymore.

“True, and so is not wearing your glasses,” he shouted back.

Anthony shrugged. “I see less with them now cause they’re broken.”

“Understandable. Now can I have my drink back?”

“But you don’t know if it’s drugged.” He spared the bartender an apologetic look and Zed thought he was going to apologize, only for Anthony to turn his attention back to him. “You didn’t see him open the bottle.”

“And what would happen if he drugged me?”

“In a club like this? Who knows?”

“And would all of you allow who knows what happen to me?”

Anthony opened his mouth and paused, then he looked away. “No.” His voice was so low Zed barely heard him over the sound of the music.

“Exactly.”

He reached across the counter and took the cup from Anthony and the boy let him. He moved it back to his side of the counter, braced himself, having never taken any alcohol apart from a few cups of moonshine he and his brother had once stolen from Old man Tendil’s garage back home, and raised it to his mouth.

Before it touched his lips, Nurifa gently picked it from his hand and dropped it back on the table.

“Drinking already?” he asked.

Zed pressed his lips in a thin line. “Just out of curiosity, is anyone going to allow me have my drink in peace? You were the ones who invited me, remember?” He paused at the scowl on the boy’s face and added: “Just asking for a friend.”

Nurifa cocked a brow. “Was this from a fresh bottle? Unopened?”

“I can’t say,” he answered, melodramatic. “There was so much flashing lights and I really couldn’t see anything over the sound of all this music. How about we ask the bart—”

Quest: [A Cup of Blue]

You have found yourself out and about. The bartender says this bottle of blue liquid contains a touch of mana in it. Hopefully, no harm could come from a few glasses.

· Objective: Drink the blue liquor 0/4.

· Reward: [Memory pocket (Medium)].

· Bonus Objective: Don’t get drunk.

· Reward: [Memory pocket (Small)].

Zed stared at the notification, confused. It made little to no sense. For one, it sounded like it was trying to get him drunk, then it goes and tells him not to get drunk while trying to get him drunk. But most importantly, what the hell is a small memory pocket?

Item: [Memory pocket] (category none, small)

A small piece of mind separated for the purpose of storing information. (Consumable, storage).

· Requirements: Sentient lifeform.

· Effects: Information storage.

· You are a Sentient lifeform.

· You meet the requirement to use this item.

Zed reeled back as if struck physically. Takeshi caught him before he fell from the stool and he thanked the boy with a nod.

He turned his attention back to the notification and read it again. Well, that’s new.

He hadn’t expected it to work. The last time he’d asked, he’d been downright ignored. He’d already guessed it was something mind based, but it was good to have a confirmation. But how was getting drunk—an action known to lead to poor memory—supposed to give him a mental storage?

At this point it’s beginning to seem like you’re just handing these out willy-nilly, he thought.

He turned his attention back to Nurifa and found the boy staring at him with a touch of worry.

“Are you alright?” his friend asked, and he nodded.

“It’s just,” his eyes glanced about, looking for the glass. A brief glance told him the boy had returned it to the table. “It’s just all the stress with the dreamscapes and the—”

He snatched the glass from the table and downed its content in one gulp. The liquid burned going down. It stung so much it hurt to breathe, and he found himself holding his breath a second after it had gone down.

· You have consumed [Blue night slumber (Alcohol)].

· Drink the blue liquor 1/4.

He took a deep breath and let it out with an open mouth, then shook his head roughly. “That was almost as harsh as Old man Tendil’s moonshine.”

“That was stupid,” Nurifa said.

Zed smiled at him sheepishly. “Sorry. I know you meant well.” He turned back to the bartender and asked. “How much for three more.”

Beside him Anthony’s eyes widened in shock and Takeshi laughed. “I thought he was the reasonable one between him and Peter.”

Nurifa frowned. “He usually is.”

The bartender gave Zed a skeptical look before looking at his friends, Nurifa specifically. “I don’t think your friends are in support of your decisions,” he said, but his smile seemed to imply he didn’t care.

Zed returned the smile with a small one. “It’s why they’re not drinking tonight.”

The bartender laughed.

“So how much for three more?” he repeated.

The bartender leaned over the counter so that he was closer, and while his voice remained loud, it was a few decibels lower when he asked, “You’re Peter’s friends, right?”

That caught more than just his attentions as the others leaned in.

“Yes,” Nurifa answered with an almost menacing voice. Of all of them he’d always had the least sense of trust for people. According to him, his time in the country had taught him that most of the people who lived in it were mean.

While Zed didn’t necessarily disagree, he liked to think the boy had only been meeting the wrong ones.

The bartender spared Nurifa another careful look, though the smile never left his face. After a moment, he stepped back and his smile widened as he poured another glass. “Any friends of Peter are friends of club Cabavi.” He pushed the full glass over to Zed. “Drinks are on the house.”

Zed picked up the glass and downed it in one go. His head twitched back from the sting as it went down and he felt lightheaded for a while. His eyes tingled and he blinked them rapidly. That one was harsher than the previous one but went down easier.

He turned to Anthony and Nurifa and said, “Two more and I’m done. I promise.”

Anthony looked to Nurifa for guidance and the boy’s scowl deepened.

“Two more.” he clarified. “And that’s it.”

Zed raised two fingers and grinned. “Two more.”

Nurifa nodded reluctantly. “Knock yourself out.”

Beside him Anthony stared at him like he’d just kicked someone’s grandmother.

The bartender poured another glass and Zed’s grin widened. He was beginning to like the guy.

· You have consumed [Blue night slumber (Alcohol)].

· Drink the blue liquor 2/4.