Scroll 22: Of Juice and Spirit
—Huh? I'm not some beast tamer making a monkey dance in the town square! —Garlan roared, his face twisting with rage as he stared at the copper coin at his feet.
Alaster's words from before had struck true, and now the guild hall erupted into laughter.
Some adventurers at the tables were doubled over; the elf's knack for delivering dry, biting commentary was genuinely comedic.
—It's just that... those tamers usually train their monkeys with cheap rum —Alaster continued, his eyes widening in mock surprise—. Oh, wait! I didn't mean to imply that!
The laughter grew louder.
At the table, Jinneth sat stunned. Her gray eyes stared in disbelief at the pure venom her usually polite, perfect elf was spitting.
Turning her head, she saw Arya twirling a copper coin between her fingers, aiming at the brutally humiliated man as if she were about to hurl it at him.
—No, Arya —the baker said, catching the elf's hand—. Don't pour fuel on the fire. Have you looked at him? He looks... kind of wicked.
—That foolish elf is genuinely pissed —the archer replied—. I don't know what that human said to him, but it clearly hit a nerve.
—But we have to stop him. That guy is Level 36, and Al... I think he's only Level 8 or something —Jinneth insisted, anxiety creeping into her voice.
—Bah, he'll be fine —Arya said, pointing toward the ceiling near where her previous arrow was still lodged.
Up there, a strange, white mass was beginning to condense.
—Is that... snow? —the baker asked.
—Yep. That elf is just baiting him to make him lose his mind, and then... boom —the elf explained, slamming her fist into her palm.
At the counter, Alaster maintained his smooth, mocking drawl.
—What's the matter, little monkey? Do you need a banana?
New waves of laughter rippled through the hall, though a few patrons were starting to feel a shred of pity for the man.
However, the majority was thoroughly fed up with Garlan's boorish behavior, his disrespect, and his constant harassment of the women, so he had no real backing.
Garlan looked around, his face flushed crimson, and bellowed:
—Shut up! What are you all laughing at? Do you think it's funny that this guy is mocking us?
—While we risk our necks out there, this long-eared opportunist gets rich and famous, and we die!
While the man ranted, Alaster thought to himself:
«Why am I acting like a bully? This makes no sense, I sound like some snobbish teenage harasser.»
«But I have to admit, it pissed me off how he spoke to Mila, so directly. Being drunk is no excuse.»
—He thinks he can do whatever he wants! No! He's a damn leech! —Garlan continued.
The laughter died down.
The drunkard's words were beginning to strike a chord, especially among the adventurers who harbored jealousy over the elf's instant popularity with the local girls.
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Alaster watched the atmosphere shift, and a smirk crept onto Garlan's face.
The guy was a fat bully, but he wasn't stupid; he knew how to work a crowd. A cocktail of jealousy and perceived injustice was always an easy sell to the masses.
Garlan didn't have a complex theory in mind; he just knew that nobody liked seeing someone else succeed while they themselves were drowning in the mud.
«Let's see you get out of this one, you smug elf, you and that receptionist», he thought maliciously.
«Just make a move on me and I'll cut you in two with my greatsword.»
His thoughts grew progressively darker.
The brute kicked the copper coin on the floor.
—The whole thing is a lie cooked up by this fraud!
Alaster felt white-hot fury ignite in his chest.
The memories of being hurled through the air by that infernal creature and the sight of Liena staring at her wound in horror flashed through his mind; the recollection still constricted his heart.
And this guy was standing here claiming it was all a lie, a conspiracy for money.
Alaster snapped right in the middle of Garlan's speech.
—I say we demand the guild expel this—
—Were you there?! —Alaster interrupted, his voice cutting through the air like a blade—. Were you there when that Wyvern ambushed us?!
—It nearly eviscerated me! I watched my companion almost die right beside me! Don't talk like you know a damn thing, you loudmouthed alcoholic!
Immediately, Alaster tried to rein in his impulses:
«I need to calm down, I can't attack a common drunk. He doesn't even realize what he's doing, but I do.»
The elf took a deep breath and continued aloud:
—You just want gold. If you stopped drinking the flower vase water and went on a diet, you'd probably have some.
—Don't blame me for your garbage life choices. Now, if anyone doubts what happened, there are three other people here who were there. Ask them.
Jinneth stood up from the table.
She was used to crowds from waiting tables at the inn, so she didn't flinch when the entire room turned to look at her.
—It's true —the baker declared—. The Wyvern descended upon the newbie zone while we were there. We couldn't flee. It pinned Detrix down.
The adventurers recognized the name of the famous witch instantly. They knew she was a B-rank adventurer, Level 80 or higher, not some novice.
To the listening crowd, the pieces quickly fell into place.
—Arya was there too —Jinneth added.
The crowd shifted their gaze to the elf.
Arya gave a lazy wave; she found the situation amusing, though her patience was wearing thin.
«Damn it», Garlan thought, furious. «Where does this elf keep pulling these beauties from? Are they his party members?»
Losing his grip, the brute reached for his hilt, unsheathed his massive greatsword, and pointed it directly at Jinneth.
—Shut up, you street rat! You're obviously in on it with him!
Seeing the heavy metal blade pointed at her, the baker turned entirely pale. The man was practically foaming at the mouth with rage.
—N-no... easy... just put that down —Jinneth managed to say, taking a step back.
Mila, from behind the counter, and several other receptionists watching the altercation intervened immediately.
—Put that away! —one yelled.
—You will be heavily fined! —another warned.
Mila just shook her head, holding her breath.
Seeing the universal backlash, the drunk finally snapped. With his plans ruined, having been made the laughingstock of the hall, and blinded by alcohol, his capacity for logic vanished.
Garlan charged like a madman toward Jinneth, his heavy blade raised to strike.
The baker froze as the mountain of metal and flesh hurtled toward her.
Arya, from her seat, simply smirked at the man's clumsy approach.
BOOM!
A compressed mass of snow struck the man dead-on mid-stride, stopping his momentum instantly and sending him crashing violently backward.
Garlan smashed through several tables, forcing their occupants to leap out of the way or tumble aside.
The snowy projectile dragged the warrior several yards across the guild floor until he came to a dead stop directly beneath the table where Liena and her companions were sitting.
Karinae quickly yanked her foot out from under the man's body. The table had jolted from the impact, sending the plates into disarray.
Liena looked down at the edge of the wood and saw her mug of juice wobbling right on the precipice, directly above the drunkard's head.
She glanced at Karinae. The scout's eyes filled with a mischievous glint, and Karinae caught the hint instantly.
With a tiny, subtle nudge of her fingers, the heavy-armored warrior finished tipping the mug into the void, turning Garlan's snow-covered head into a sticky, bright-pink mess of blackberry juice.
Alaster walked briskly over to Jinneth.
—Are you alright? —he asked, scanning her to make sure she didn't have a scratch.
—Yeah, Al. Are you okay?
Alaster looked at her, taken aback by the question.
—Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?
—You looked furious —she said, instinctively taking his hand—. You scared me a little.
As she spoke, the baker couldn't help but think to herself:
«But it was also kind of hot... Seeing him that angry, with all those muscles... No, no! What am I thinking?!»
She shook her head slightly to banish the intrusive thoughts, then continued aloud:
—It's normal to get angry, even if he's just a drunk. But he drew on you.
Jinneth cast her gaze aside. In reality, her fear had entirely evaporated. Alaster had stopped Garlan and saved her yet again.
Even though she had been on the verge of drawing her own sword to defend herself, she knew that fighting a Level 36 opponent while being only Level 18 would have been an incredibly difficult and dangerous gamble.
In the background, the commotion lingered.
Garlan began to slowly push himself off the floor, dripping pink blackberry juice onto the melting snow.
As he struggled to stand, a girl equipped in plate armor was chewing him out harshly, completely mortified by the scene.
—Why do you always have to look for trouble?! —the young armored woman screamed, shoving his shoulder—. You need to put down the damn bottle once and for all!
Everyone in the guild immediately recognized the young woman and another man in mage robes who stepped up to help Garlan to his feet; they were his party members.
Ignoring the murmurs returning to the hall, Alaster walked back to the table and sank heavily into the chair across from Arya.
Jinneth sat down beside him, unable to suppress a satisfied smile at how things had played out.
Alaster rubbed his temples, completely exhausted as he mentally reviewed the last few hours.
«What an exhausting day», he thought. «I nearly die in the woods, a mage practically proposes to me at the guild, and on top of that, a drunk attacks me... Plus, I'm still walking around half-naked.»
—Jin, let's just head back to the inn —Alaster said, looking at the baker.
The girl observed him with curiosity.
—I thought you wanted to go buy a basic grimoire or something today —Jinneth noted.
Alaster shook his head, propping his elbows on the table.
—I'm tired —he insisted.
Arya, who remained with her arms crossed, chimed in skeptically:
—That's impossible. After you level up, your body recovers completely. You should be bursting with energy.
—Physically, maybe, but not mentally —Alaster retorted, letting out a heavy sigh—. Besides, I don't know why, but I feel like I completely overreacted against that guy. It's obvious he's just wasted and couldn't control his words.
Arya let out a clear, ringing laugh.
—Well, what did you expect? If you lose control of your emotions like that, your mana, your Odo, and everything tied to your spirit becomes corrupted. That's exactly what happens.
Alaster fell silent, analyzing the elf's brief but revealing sentence, digesting the implications of her words.
—Does that mean... —he wondered—, I tainted my mana?