"The bartender is Og, one of The 100 Pioneers?!" -Both Larvan and Nax exclaimed, jaw dropped, eyes wide open.
The Bartender/Master/Uncle Og(by Serree) is a tall, mature man who looks like he is in his 30s or so, has brown hair with a beard.
The group sees him holding a piece of ripped paper in both his hands that looks like it matches when put together.
The ripped paper is disappearing slowly, and Bartender/Master/Uncle Og(by Serree) is letting it go as it does so.
Serree came close and hugged Og, and he opened his arms, hunched a bit to accept it with a warm face, while both Larvan and Nax were still lost in thought, holding each other's wrists, the guide behind Larvan smiling while still watching.
Raaaaaw!!!!!
The creature was still wriggling in pain and agony, trying to reform itself instinctively, and Og, noticing this, looked furrowing his brows, his face turning serious.
"We should go now." -Og/Master said, straightening himself.
"Why not just kill it?!" -Larvan asked curiously, raising his brows.
The group looked at Larvan collectively in silence, only hearing the cries of the cleaner, and Og noticed the guide next to him and smiled warmly.
"I see, so you're a newbie.
I'll explain it to you in one word, it's pointless to do so.
I'll let the guide do the rest of the explaining.
But first, we need to get back to my Land - HSH. " -Bartender/Master/Uncle Og(by Serree) explains.
They nodded in agreement to what Og said, and continued on their way through the Ever halls.
.....
A while back.
At the time when the group just met, Serree.
Somewhere not far from the door where the group entered the Land - Field ofReeds.
"Noo! Please! I beg you! Spare me!!" -A man lying upright on the ground begged.
"Oh, come now, I clearly asked you nicely to give all your Source fragments and any limited use items you have, but what did you do?
You used them all in hopes that you could beat me." -The man standing before him said, while smiling mockingly, devoid of emotions.
"Haa.. This is the reason why robbing people is pointless, since there is always a chance of victory with what items they might have." -The man standing before him sighed, shaking his head and said, still smiling mockingly, devoid of emotions.
The man has dark eyes like the night, silver hair, and a sharp look with a white shirt, slacks, shoes, and a black jacket on his shoulders that reaches his knees.
"Please! Just let me live!!" -the man on the ground begged, clasping his hands together.
"Hehe..
Ironic, isn't it? You're begging when you just killed people freely yourself.
Look around you." -The man standing before him said, stretching his arms out and spinning with a smile on his face and eyes devoid of emotions.
The man on the ground was trembling as he looked around him, seeing the remains of the group of people he had killed.
"Killers like you that roam around the Ever Plains are all intoxicated with the thrill of it, you kill without reason, without cause, without purpose.
All the valuable Source fragments that they could have had are now consumed by their items to fight against you, and dying, all of it disappearing in the end.
I, on the other hand, was kindly robbing you, I didn't want needless killing nor fighting.
You just had to force me to it.
Now I have to kill you." -The man standing before him said, with a smile on his face and eyes devoid of emotions.
"No! Please! Please! Please don't!!" -the man on the ground begged, kneeling with both legs and clasping his hands together.
The man who was standing moved closer to the man who was kneeling and leaned forward with a menacing smile.
"I'm sorry, but begging won't matter, since you might come after me one day, when in all honesty, many people are already after me.
I'm just thinking up a way on how to kill you as gruesomely as possible."-The man leaning forward before him said, with a bright smile on his face and eyes devoid of emotions.
"Who even are you?! You sicko!" -The man on his knees exclaimed.
"Me? Let me tell you, as a farewell gift, I'm Nhoj, I'm sure you haven't heard of me, but they call me Calamity god, in the Ever Plain's." -Nhoj said, while slowly standing straight with a bright smile on his face and eyes devoid of emotions.
The man had no reaction as to who he was, he had never set foot in The Ever Plain's, nor did he have much information on the place.
"Figures, you wouldn't have known of me, some that only Serf's the Everhalls." -Nhoj said, with a bright smile on his face and eyes devoid of emotions.
As they were talking, a creature just came out of a door not far from them.
Nhoj noticed and slowly looked at it, brows raised, meanwhile, the man on his knees watched in shock, eyes and mouth wide open, trembling as the cleaner slowly exited the door and into the halls, its huge body indicated that it was born not long ago.
"Aaah..
A cleaner, perfect timing, and it's a young one too." -Nhoj said as he turned to look back at the man kneeling with a bright smile on his face and eyes devoid of emotions.
Nhoj takes something out of nowhere, two needles, each one in both his hands, and a red string attached to both needles.
/
ACLU: Item - Needle (Uncommon ranked) = 1 time use x2
Ability: Targeted Homing Needle, the needle homes in on the user's intended target, it enters the target's body without hurting or being noticed by the body, and becomes part of the body.
/
/
ACLU: Item - Pink String (Oddity ranked) = 1 time use
Ability: Attraction, anything connected to both ends of the string will attract each other, and the string can stretch indefinitely.
/
Nhoj held the needles, smiled at the man who was kneeling, threw the needle that was in his right hand to the cleaner without looking at it, and the other needle to the kneeling man.
The man didn't feel anything even though he saw the needle flew and hit him.
"Good luck. Hehe.." -Nhoj said, then chuckled.
As he said those words, he stepped aside as he watched the cleaner notice them, but the cleaner only focused on the man who was kneeling, attracted by the item.
The man noticed this as well, and quickly got up, ran away, and the cleaner followed after.
The man thought of a way out.
"Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t! I'm already exhausted, I have not much will to escape nor fight back, even if I did, I don't have any items useful in this situation.
Damn HIM!! He'll pay for this!!!
I doubt I'd be able to drive it away! F**k!!" -The man thought, while gritting his teeth.
The man thought of severing the thread, but dismissed the idea, knowing that only items of equal or higher rank are the ones that could interfere or counter each other, and he is mearly a Serfer, at best his items were hundreds of source level, and one to three ranked that are rare or below.
The man ran and tried to reach the nearest door he could escape to.
Boom!!!!!
"Damn.... It." -The man said before dying.
A giant limb that resembled a pillar of black mud slammed onto the man, crushing him, and slowly dragged the body to itself, absorbing the remains of the man.
Whee--
Nhoj whistled as he watched the man's corpse, who was kneeling before, being absorbed by the cleaner, he was trailing the two and making sure that the man died.
The cleaner then proceeded to enter the door that the dead man wanted to enter and escape.
"Oh..
Where is it going, I wonder? Does it sense a group of Serfers nearby?" -Nhoj thought, widening his eyes.
"Oh, well." -Nhoj said, while tilting his head and raising his shoulders a little, and turning around, walking away.
.....
Back to the present.
"So. Here we are." -Og/Master said as he opened the door that had a label on it that said Home Sweet Home.
As the group had entered Land - HSH, Larvan was in awe of the place.
He looked around as he took in the spectacle, thinking it would just be a hotel type Land, but no, it was an entire island resort that had a huge hotel in the center with beaches, theme parks, swimming pools, and all.
The freshness of the air was apparent as Larvan took a breath and already noticed the difference from the outside world.
"It's good to be back here, I've been sleeping from one Land to another just to find a guide." -Serree said while stretching her body and breathing the fresh air.
The group looked at Serree as she did so, with eyes slightly widened.
"Just as I thought, so you ran away from home because you can't trust your parents' words?!
Spending years on doing so, trying to find a guide since they tell only the truth.
At least you could have come here often to rest, where I could tell your parents that you were doing fine.
You know they are worried about you." -Uncle Og exclaimed and said while doing hand gestures with a worried look on his face.
Serree looked away as her face darkened, as she furrowed her brows.
"So, my parents asked you to look for me after all." -Serree said, looking away, fidgeting.
Both Larvan and Nax just watched and listened in on the conversation, with a worried look as to whether they really should be here for this, Og noticing.
Haa--
Og sighed, relaxing his face.
"Let us talk somewhere else." -Og said.
As he said those words, the scenery changed, and the group was teleported to a different location.
"There are no people here currently." -Og said nonchalantly.
It was so fast that the three couldn't react to it, as they looked around the place, which is a bar, and Og/Master/Bartender slowly walked behind the bar counter, the shelves full of drinks.
The group followed and sat on the chairs that were in front of the counter as Og/Master/Bartender started brewing drinks for the group.
Nax and Serree, even though she knows she would get an earful later, are excited for Og/Master/Bartender's brew, while Larvan, on the other hand, watches them being excited in confusion.
After brewing, he served four wine glasses of freshly brewed drinks, sliding them to each member of the group, including the guide.
"Here, my treat." -Og said with a smile.
Nax and Serree quickly drank the drink like there was no tomorrow, while a little hesitant Larvan still drank it anyway, since it was free and all.
After drinking it, Larvan felt a surge of warmth and vitality coursing through his entire body, his fatigue and will fully refreshed, like having rested for the longest of time.
"Hehe.. Seeing that face is always so refreshing, what you drank just now was made by my item, a special brew that I named, The Drink of Ages.
Anyone who drinks it will return to their prime age, it relieves physical and mental fatigue, restores a person's will, enhancing them in their entirety(example: body, mind, IQ, etc.), completely heals a person, and increases their lifespan by hundreds of years.
That was one of my famous brews." -Og explained with a warm smile.
Larvan was shocked by what he had just said, and he wondered about his items, knowing full well that he had at least one World Rank item.
"Now that that's done with, may I offer the two of you HSH memberships allowing you to find your way to my Land at any given time?" -Og asked.
"Umm.. Actually, I already have a place here to stay, and it looked like you guys have many things to talk about, so I should really go from here, and thank you so much for helping us back there." -Nax said, while showing a card, with an awkward smile and bowing slightly.
"Ah, of course, you are Nax, a tier 1 member of the HSH establishment, you are always welcome, it is only natural to help others after all." -Og realized and said.
Nax, preparing to part ways with the group, said his goodbyes and came close to Larvan.
"See you again sometime, newbie, and you too, Serree, if you want to find me and serf together, I'll be here in HSH." -Nax said while patting Larvan's shoulder and looking at Serree.
Larvan nodded.
Nax parted ways with the group, walking while waving goodbye.
Both Serree and Larvan also waved, even though Nax couldn't see, all three of them felt a connection of companionship and camaraderie after they went through, sensing the feeling of sorrow within them as they slowly parted ways, even though Serree joined the group for a time, she felt that she could trust both Nax and Larvan, after seeing how they thought of others before themselves.
As Og saw Serree's expression, a warm smirk formed on his lips as he realized that she had finally found people whom she could trust.
"How about the both of you?" -Og asked, slowly looking in their direction, Larvan and the guide, with a tired smile.
Larvan jolted straight and eyes wide open in surprise, as Og looked at them warmly.
"I would like to become a member, Sir Pioneer." -Larvan said nervously.
"We would like to use your door, please, if you would, to get back to our Land, sir?" -The guide asked.
"Of course, a guide is always welcome to use it as you guys are the ones to guide us through our journey." -Og said enthusiastically with a chuckle, as he showed both of them the way.
"Much appreciated." -The guide replied with a smile.
Og took out a card and handed it to Larvan.
"Here you go, with this you are officially a member, pleasure doing business with you." -Og said, while placing his left hand on his chest and nodding.
Larvan took the card, but it was blank, he was puzzled and was about to ask.
"Focus your will into it." -Og said, putting his elbow on the bar counter and resting his chin on his hands.
After Larvan did so, the blank card was slowly filled.
/
Home Sweet Home
Name: Larvan Lemroch Age: 22
Gender: Male
Membership: Tier - 1
/
"There are 5 tiers in total, from descending order
/
Tier - 5
Tier - 4
Tier - 3
Tier - 2
Tier - 1
/
as you go up a tier, so are your benefits." -Og explained, with a warm smile.
"Thank you very much for this and for saving us, Sir. Og." -Larvan said with sincerity, while bowing slightly.
Larvan wanted to ask Og more questions, but it seemed like they wanted to continue the conversation they had before, so Larvan is going as well as the guide, giving them space.
"It was my pleasure, and you can just call me Master, just like everyone else.
Besides, it feels like you might become a regular here, so this is just a long term investment." -Og said, waving at both of them.
"See you again, newbie, it was nice meeting you." -Serree said, with her head resting on her right hand that was on the bar counter, while her left hand waved the two goodbye.
As both Larvan and the guide reached the door of the bar that had a blank label on it, the guide snapped her fingers, and letters were slowly forming on the Label, Guide's Land.
She opened it and gestured for Larvan to enter, and once he did, the guide bowed at the two who were at the counter, then followed.
"Now then, where were we?" -Og said as he looked back at Serree with a serious face.
Serree's face darkened as Og said those words, and her head slumped.
"Uncle Og, I trust my parents, believe me, I do, it's just that they are too overprotective sometimes, to the point that I can't fully trust their answers to my questions.
There was a time when their white lie affected me greatly after knowing about it.
Mom was fine because she wouldn't say anything and just changed the topic, but Dad, he wouldn't even talk to me as himself, and continued his act." -Serree explained.
Og looked at Serree with a caring and gentle face, while cleaning and wiping the wine glasses as she explained her reasons, patiently listened to her, and tried to understand her the best he could, as she vented her bottled up feelings.
After a while of venting, Serree rested her head on the bar counter, looking at the wine glass in a daze and a look of depression next to her.
"So... When are you going to show yourself?" -Og exclaimed, looking at the curtains while still wiping the wine glasses.
Serree jolted up out of curiosity after hearing what Uncle Og said, wondering who he was talking to.
She followed his gaze with a look of surprise at who came out
"How long are you going to be acting, even in front of your daughter, Tas?" -Og inquired.
"Dad!? How long have you been here?" -Serree exclaimed, then asked, with her shocked face.
Tas, Serree's father, slowly came out of the curtains with a smile and went near the two at the bar counter.
They watched as a Tas, a tall, powerfully built man with a broad chest, a godly physique, and a nemean lion headress.
"You know how I am Og." -Tas replied, voice firm and lip curled to Og.
"You mean the timid boy back then who can't even hold a conversation?" -Og remarked playfully with a smirk on his face while continuing to wipe the wine glasses clean.
Tas stumbled a little by what Og just said, but quickly recovered.
"What's the matter? Your acting fell for a moment there, was my casual remark of the past affect you, old friend?" -Og said, teasing Tas with a playful smirk.
"Where both Pioneers, there was no need to bring that up." -Tas replied, composing himself.
Serree was annoyed that she was being ignored.
"Stop ignoring me! Dad!!" -Serree shouted.
"It's exactly because we're both Pioneers that you should talk to both of us without relying on your item, you could do it with us Pioneers, with your wife, yet not with your daughter? Are you afraid of what your own daughter would think of you?" -Og replied, and speculated.
Tas looks at Og with eyes wide, caught by what he said, and slowly looks at Serree as her eyes move downwards and her expression darkens, his brow furrowed with a look of worry and sorrow.
At the same time, Serree quickly turned to look at Og eyes widened for a moment and slowly turned back to Tas, eyes moving downwards expression darkened, as she remembered her past when she was little, seeing the different look of her father, trying to understand why her father looks different everytime, never truly seeing his true face, his true self.
Continue...