(TPOR) Chapter 87: I Think We've Got A Problem (Patreon)

Zed stared at his glass with a touch of consideration as its color garnered a hue of pink then red then green from the club’s flashing lights. Around him his friends watched and waited.

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

· Drink the blue liquor 3/4.

“Last shot,” Anthony shouted beside him.

He nodded absently, not really paying attention to the boy. He knew it was his last shot, but he was more concerned with why everything was so wobbly. He placed a finger against the side of the cup, measured its height from the counter top. It was as tall as his pinky finger, a small glass in his opinion. So how was he already feeling the effects of drunkenness.

Had he been wrong? Was this stronger than Old man Tendil’s moonshine. He shook his head stubbornly, unwilling to be outdone by just four cups of the liquid.

“Last cup,” he muttered to himself. “Then I’m done.”

He moved to take it and a familiar hand snapped it up before him. He turned with a scowl as Peter downed its content in one gulp. The boy sucked in a sharp breath as it went down then shuddered.

“That was smoother than a polished desk,” he said in that jovial tone of his, then dropped a hand on Nurifa’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Zed’s taking shots,” Anthony answered.

Peter paused, frowned, then gave the glass a suspicious look. “Zed,” he said, doubtful, “is taking shots.”

Anthony’s nod was slow and disapproving.

Peter’s brows rose to the top of his head in mock fear. “Hey! Ted. What the hell did I just take.”

The bartender who’d moved over to another group of customers poured them one more glass of colorless liquid before sliding back to them.

He shot Peter what was beginning to look like a trade mark grin and held out his fist.

Peter bumped it with his own then dropped the glass on the counter. “Good to see you, too, man,” he greeted with a raised voice. “Now what did I just drink?”

“Your friend’s a wild one,” Ted told him, which, Zed noticed, didn’t answer the question.

“And what have you been giving my wild friend?”

“Well, he ordered a shot of Blue night slumber.”

Peter turned to Zed and when his brows shot up this time, it looked genuine. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again only to shut it once more without saying anything.

Zed shrugged but it came out as a sloppy twitch. “I was curious about the color,” he explained.

“If you’re curious about the color,” he gestured towards Ted, “ask the bartender.”

On the other side of the counter Ted was laughing.

“How many shots has he taken?” Peter asked. He didn’t direct it and it seemed to be anyone’s to answer.

Takeshi leaned in. “Three.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Three!” he leaned towards Zed, worried, and raised an eyelid so he could look at his pupils.

It was a waste of time in Zed’s opinion. How was he going to see anything with all this noise? Though the song currently playing did have a good beat. In fact, it made him want to get up and dance. He raised a giddy hand and Peter brought it down without looking at it then sighed.

“You know there’s mana in that, right?” he asked.

“That’s what Teddy said.” Zed raised a hand again and Peter brought it down halfway up. “But he doesn’t believe it.”

“Yeah. The only thing he believes in lives in the bedroom with the lights off.” Peter dropped the cup and pushed it over to Ted. “He’s done for the night, Ted.”

Zed frowned weakly, wondering when Ted got a white cloth and why he was cleaning a glass. He also wondered why he wanted to split in two. Ted smiled back at him and only then did he realize he’d stopped frowning. It left him discomfited, he frowned again and Ted laughed.

“Your friend’s a funny drunk,” the man told Peter.

“Not drunk,” Zed disagreed even though his speech slurred. He ignored it and showed Ted a hidden raised finger. One more, he mouthed, and the bartender’s smile widened in mischief.

Beside Zed Takeshi asked Peter, “Did you give the man downstairs a lesser core?”

“Yup,” Peter answered, then raised a hand to Ted. “Gimme a bourbon.”

“You’re too young to be drinking,” Ted answered with a smile, reaching under the counter.

“And so is my friend over here. Now hurry up with my drink before you have to explain to Archie why his supply stopped coming in regularly.”

Ted produced a bottle and poured a brown liquid into a glass. He pushed the glass to Peter with a flourish and smiled.

“Good man.” Peter picked the cup and took a sip.

Zed frowned. “Why’s his glass bigger than mine?”

“Cause I’m older than you.”

“It’s just one year.”

“And three months. Don’t forget the three months, my friend.” Peter patted his shoulder and took another sip.

“Why are you giving out lesser cores?” Takeshi cut in with a sharp whisper. “And how do you even have access to lesser cores?”

With Peter’s attention away from the bar, Ted poured Zed a discreet glass of the blue liquid and quietly placed it in front of him with a small wink. Knock yourself out, he mouthed, and Zed smiled.

He took the glass and knocked it back. “Good man.”

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

· Drink the blue liquor 4/4.

Quest [A Cup of Blue]

· Bonus objective complete: Don’t get drunk.

· You have received [Memory pocket(Small)].

· Objective complete: Drink the blue liquor 4/4.

· Quest complete.

· You have received [Memory pocket(Medium)].

Zed raised his left hand and offered Ted a high five.

Ted slapped it happily. “What are we celebrating?”

“Me,” he pointed at himself, “not getting drunk.”

“Hey! Pete!”

“What’s up, Ted?” Peter turned from a frowning Takeshi and Nurifa.

“I think your boy’s drunk.”

Peter turned to him and leaned close. “Z?”

“Yes?”

“What’s the square root of negative one?”

Zed frowned. What kind of stupid question is that? “I,” he answered.

Peter looked up at Ted and shook his head. “He’s tipsy. Not drunk, yet.” Then he looked down at the glass in front of Zed and cocked a brow at the bartender. He picked it up. “On that note,” he tossed the cup and Ted caught it smoothly, “no more drinks. He’s a headache when he gets drunk. So if he does, I’m leaving him with you and telling Archie.”

For the first time since meeting Ted, Zed saw him without a smile.

Ted nodded once, face serious. “No more shots.”

Peter nodded. “Good man.”

He shot Zed an apologetic look and moved on to another customer.

Zed mood grew somber for only a moment before he turned to Anthony and smirked. “Guess what?”

“What?” the boy asked, suspicious.

“I just got a memory pocket.”

“What’s that?”

Zed raised a finger and flicked the air. “A storage item. It’s mental so I haven’t tried it out yet.”

Anthony tugged on Nurifa’s sleeve, scared. “I think something’s wrong with Zed.”

“…You can’t go around giving just anyone lesser mana cores, Pete,” Nurifa was saying, angrily. “You could get in trouble for—”

A small tremor shook the club and he paused. Zed placed a steady hand on the bar and another tremor went through it.

“Did you guys feel that?”

“Yes,” Peter answered, unconcerned. “They get tremors everyday around here.”

“That’s not right,” Anthony noted, skeptical. He lifted a finger to his eyes, noticed he wasn’t wearing his glasses and dropped it. “They shouldn’t be experiencing awakening tremors every day. That should only happen like once a month.”

“It’s been happening a lot more recently, though,” Takeshi pointed out. “We’ve been getting it like once a week at the institute.”

Zed felt another tremor go through the counter. He was beginning to worry now, and his giddiness left him faster than it had come.

“But every day’s worth worrying about,” Takeshi finished thoughtfully.

“Well this place is just under one of the focal points. They’re the reason they built the institute nearby,” Peter dismissed his worry. “Besides, the owner’s invested in some defensive runes, and it cost him a small fortune. The building’s fine.”

“Defensive runes against a small scale earthquake,” Anthony scoffed. “And what are they going to do, defend the building from falling on itself? It’s not like the sky’s falling down.”

“And it’s talk like that that’ll get you left behind next time,” Peter smirked.

“Guys,” Zed panicked. A third tremor went through the counter. Somewhere on the club’s ceiling something rattled.

“Guys,” he tried again. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

“Peter,” Nurifa was saying, “stop sneaking lesser mana cores out of the institute.”

A part of Zed knew in chaotic situations people panicked horribly. Enough to cause fatal damage to others. He didn’t know which part of him knew it and didn’t really care. A small sense of safety washed over him as he slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the military knife he’d picked up as a reward outside the institute.

Maybe he was just panicking for no reason. Maybe it was the drink. But in case it wasn’t—his hand wrapped tightly around the sheathed knife.

A fourth tremor went through the counter. This one was strong enough to topple cups and spill drinks, and it drew more than just his attention. A couple that were entangled in a make out session startled and something fell with a loud crash at the DJ’s side of the club.

Zed’s attention snapped in its direction, along with everyone else’s and a new panic washed away the smallest sense of safety the knife had given him.

His next experience made it worse.

New Quest: [Leave the Building]

You have found yourself in an unsafe environment. The building is shaking and an earthquake seems imminent. Exit the building before it collapses.

· Objective: Escape the building 0/1.

· Reward: [Memory pocket (Large)].

One hand still in his pocket, he reached out with his other hand and grabbed Anthony’s wrist. “Guys!” he shouted, dragging the boy off his stool and drawing the others’ attention. “We’ve got to go. NOW!”

Peter, Nurifa, and Takeshi looked at him with worried faces but didn’t disobey. Anthony stumbled off his stool and Peter caught him before he hit the floor and they pushed through the crowd. Something else fell from the ceiling, and this time it was followed by panicked shouts and cries as the music stopped abruptly.

“She’s dead!” someone screamed, while someone else shouted, “Something’s going on outside.”

“Move! Move! Move!” Zed panicked, pushing through the crowd in the direction they’d come through, his friends following behind him.

The building shook again and they stumbled. A loud crack thundered through the walls. A script of runes appeared on the walls and shattered simultaneously.

Zed and his friends made one last mad push through the crowd, everyone else panicked, and chaos reigned.