The bar was hundreds of conversations told in loud voices, all of them competing with the jazz music that dominates the atmosphere. Smoke twisted in its artistic way, forming curls in the gloom, illuminated only by the age-speckled bar lights. Along the wall was every hue of amber liquid in their inverted bottles. The tinkle of glass on glass as I mix a cocktail was lost under saxophone notes that jumped and danced in the smoky cavern.
Located on the rough cobbled streets that caused my feet to ache. My buddy Christmas Ross began it when he dropped out of college, much to the dismay of his overachieving parents his bar was a huge success. Just announce the event on social media and pop up minutes before the start time and the crowd, students from the university for the most part, would flood into this bar.
"Yo my man! Heard you''ve just hospitalized."
Light green, curly hair slightly covered a furrowed, warm face with his characteristic stupid smile. On the contrary, his smart brown eyes, set a-symmetrically within their sockets.
"Oh? news travels fast."
"Hah! well, how about some drink to celebrate it?"
"Whatever you say."
Celebration cocktail huh... Let''s see. I took a collins glass, put a block of clear ice,added half ounces of lemon juice, half ounces of sugar syrup, 1.5 ounces of gin, stir it for 45 seconds with a bar spoon, added 3 ounces of sparkling wine lastly pierced a cherry and lemon peel with a fruit fork and added it as a garnish.
"There you go, French 75."In the gloom of the bar,I served a murky drink on topof the bar table.
"Hold! you only make one?!"
"Dude... I''ve just got discharged from the hospital, what do you expect? and I have another plan for tonight, so I kinda want to have my mind clear."
"What a bummer~ well whatever to your health!." Said Christmas. He drank the cocktail likea person who hadn''t seen water for a week.What a wasteI thought in my mind. "So~ what about your plan? is it a woman? damn, you should''ve introduced her to me."
"Eh? No, it isn''t."
"C''mon, don''t lie to me! You checked your phone every time you got the chance. What is the other reason for a man to check his phone every 10 minutes? Obviously a woman right?!"
"That doesn''t make any sense... anyway it isn''t a woman, I just wanted to get some rest."
"Yeah, yeah whatever~ just don''t forget to introduce her to me, speaking of which it''s fine if you leave early."
"Seriously?!" I said. I turned my head, the professional smile I''d worn all night was gone. The timewas 11:40 PM, for most of the people they would say it was already late but for us,it was still early. Without hesitation, I left my post and changed my clothes. "Thanks boss!" I said while leaving the bar.
"Damn, he really leaves without hesitation."
*****
A clear night illuminated only by the radiance of city lights and the glint of a moon, I moved between the pools of streetlights,eyes focused on my phone screen.
>Guide
>Compendium
>Bandit
> lawless desperate marauder member from the organized gangs
"I see, basically a bandit is a gang member right? now, the problem is where do I find one?"If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
While aimlessly walking through a narrow gap under the dim light, yeah alleyway was the underworld of every town. To make sure I was ready, I checked the skills that I just bought.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Name: Razor Paper
Type: Crafting
Grade: Basic
Description: Momentarily transmute several pieces of parchment to have sharp edges.
Amount: Equal to DEX.
Duration: 30 seconds.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Name: Stag''s Leap
Type: Movement
Grade: Basic
Description: Warms up the muscles inuser arms and legs, enabling the user to vertically or horizontally jump and flip mid-air.
Distance: Vertical (STR x 0.5 meter), Horizontal (AGI x meter)
Cooldown: 5 seconds.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Name:Flying Projectiles
Type: Combat
Grade: Basic
Description: Adept with small thrown weapons like daggers and darts. (Passive) Send out 3 thrown weapons to slice a target in range, before safely returning to your hand. (Active)
Range: Equal to PER STR.
Cooldown: 12 seconds.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Name: Verstikking Cigarette
Category: Item.
Grade: Common.
Condition: 5/100.
Description: Inhaled type of poison that causes a person to haveasphyxia.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
>Razor Paper: 0.2PP
>Stag''s Leap: 0.35PP
>Flying Projectiles: 0.6PP
>Left: 0.1PP
Under the cool breeze of an alienated alley, litter was dumped on the street and birds nest amongst the sprawling rot. The street lights flickered off and I was left with nothing but the orchestra of the urban night playing its eerie song andSuddenly, a muffled, indistinct scream breaking the silence was heard from behind.
I bolted down the road like an Olympic champion at the start gun, a deck of card clutched tightly in my sweaty hand. I quickened my pace to an all-out sprint as the scream became louder.
Four muscular guys, each with a blue armband, surrounded a woman in office uniform with her dark hair and glasses, almost looked nerdy but she gave a strong person aura. The leader leaned back on thebrick wall and crunched an apple.
A sigh came out from my mouth, it was not signaling a relief but the resolve as my tension had reached its maximum limit. I took out eleven cards from the pack "Razor Paper." I whispered. I could feel the cards were becoming harder and sharper. "...Alright, here goes nothing." I said while raising my hoodie up.
I sandwiched three cards between the joint of my fingers and threw it out front. Funny, even though I never managed to flick a card before once I bought the Flying Projectiles I had a confidence in my throwing skills. The card spinning through the air, before the leader took another bite it had them bleeding out on the moon-bleached alley.
One card sliced his nose, one got stuck on his hand and the other dug deep onto his right shoulder. As the groaning flowed passed his lips he held his right shoulder and collapsed to the ground. My phone was vibrating but I didn''t have the leisure to see it.
My face was stoney but my heart was beating fit to burst, the other three heard the noise and faced backward. What followed one of them was three cards, flying and slicing both of his shoulders. "Flying Projectile." I said. Three cards floated at the air and flew toward another bandit, this time it was strong enough to pierce his thighs.
Ah... this is too dangerous.I thought when I saw Flying Projectile power.
"Clarke! Kent! Tch! What are you?!"
"Eh? A human?" I said while throwing the last two cards toward his feet, pinning him at the ground.
The lady on the other hand looking at me with widened eyes, a mix of astonishment, relief and fear clearly showed on her face.
"Erm... Miss.. these guys are a bad one right?" I asked.
She nodded, I could imagine the sparks in her brain, desperately trying to connect the dots and instead just causing a short circuit.
"Fuh~ okay then, feel free to do whatever you want with them." Rather than doing anything, she grabbed her back and ran away like her life was depended on it. Not even a single thanks coming out from her mouth.
*Sigh* I took one last look at the thug, somewhat each one of them still groaning and twitching around. After I was sure everyone still alive "Stag''s Leap." I turned my back and with a single movement I jumped, a lame jump that didn''t even reach 3 meters.
.....Damn, this is embarassing.
I walked like nothing was happening and reached my pocket. Stag''s Leap...vertically or horizontally jump and flip mid-air. Ah... mid-air so I must use it on mid-air?
Anyhow, the time was 2:19 AM and the quest progress.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Quest Completed
Beat a bandit.
2 PP gained.
New Quest
Defeat a wolf.
3 PP gained.
New Daily Quest
Defeat 15 bandit (3/15). Reward 0.3 PP
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>