Sigh... I'm tired. I came here to be bait but when Barry said it would be a party, I thought I'd at least have some good food and drink. But all I got is an inferiority complex and being threatened by someone I know. Also, what's with this "amuse bouche" bullshit. Can't they give us a big steak or something? Ahhh, this is not good. I'll just hang near the bar and drink my sadness away.
"Straight whiskey please," I tell the bartender who gives a nod in response.
I look at the ever growing crowd. Wow, they're as shiny as ever huh. Thankfully, I have enough conversation pieces to get by if one of them ever comes towards me. I wait, and wait, and wait, but no one ever approaches me. Damn it, I'm even more depressed now. With one swift motion, I down the whiskey.
"Oya oya? Didn't expect anyone to down their drinks in this bar," a cutesy female voice calls out to me.
I turn and see the same pink Lolita outfit and the katana that I was so curious about. She's flanked by two suited guards who're eyeing me intensely.
"Can I sit here?" she asks.
"Huh? Y-yeah sure," I nod in response. Now that I got a closer look, she's quite pretty. Her blonde twin tails accentuate her already childish features. Plump cheeks, large blue eyes and height that I'm assuming barely passes 5 feet.
"Hey boss, can I have 5 shots of tequila please!" she cheerfully requests. The bartender blushes and gulps.
The two guards look at her with concern. "H-hey Mistress, isn't that too much?" the one with the moustache says.
"Huh?! Say that to me after you beat me in a drinking contest Marcus." she replies.
The bartender returns with a tray of 5 glasses of tequila. She squeals as she takes a shot and downs it like a pro.
"Ooooh! Nothing beats a good drink after singing," she says with satisfaction.
I just stare at her. I thought idols need to be prim and proper so what's with her deal? Then, my eyes navigate to the katana. Ah... yeah this is not a normal idol.
"Oya oya? You curious about this bad boy?" she says mischievously.
I immediately retract my gaze and sip my drink. Then without warning, she pulls it out of the sheath and carelessly points the cold, white blade at me. Naturally, I recoil and the guards immediately put themselves between us.
"Hahaha, relax relax," she says and puts it away. "By the way, I've been so rude. Name's Delight. But if you're not deaf, you should've heard it earlier."
She's annoyingly cheerful. And careless. Who the fuck pulls a sword out of nowhere?
"Devon Miller," I reply. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Hahaha what's with that?" she bellows. "Who talks like that anymore? pLeAsure tO mEeT yOu. You sound like one of those old fogies."
My cheeks flush and I prevent myself from digging myself in a hole by downing another glass. Damn it! This is what I get for trying to act high class.
"Woooh! You're a riot Devon Miller," she says while wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh, I can call you Devon right? Of course, I can. I'm the cutest idol after all."
The veins on my temples bulge and before I could stop it, I blurt, "I know someone who's cuter than you." When I realize what I just said, I instinctively cover my mouth. I glance at her direction and as expected, she's pissed.
"Oh? Who might that be?" she growls while giving me the nastiest glare.
Where'd your cutesy act go? I don't notice it but my eyes unconsciously point to the girl in the red dress who pinned me on the wall a couple of minutes earlier. She follows my gaze and like a predator locking onto its prey, she takes another shot of tequila and slowly makes her way to Eleanor. Consider it payback for earlier Eleanor.
As I continue drinking in peace, Barry takes a seat next to me.
"Sorry, Barry. I couldn't blend in as well as I thought I would," I sigh.
"Nah, believe it or not, your suspicious behavior actually baited a lot of people," he whispers. "Oh, a martini please."
"Really? It felt like people have been ignoring me."
"Precisely. They're casing you out. But one did make contact with you."
I raise an eyebrow. "Oh don't tell me."
He nods and points to the commotion that's starting on the floor.
"Oi remove your mask!" Delight demands while her guards are holding her back. What's this? A high school parking lot beef?
The crowd is stirring. Some are taken aback by the sudden display of aggression while some are very much enjoying the change of pace. Hell, some are even making bets. However, before the situation could escalate even further, the heavy curtains of the balcony slowly part and the entire venue is covered in darkness. At once, the fight dissipates and curious whispers echo in the venue.
"Oh yeah! There's another reason why we were sent here," Barry adds nonchalantly.
Before long, the two spotlights light up the balcony and reveals a woman wearing a golden saree over her violet dress. She's familiar. In fact, it's the appearance of the woman who's living inside my head.
"Welcome, players. I am glad to see so many of you in this party," Sheriv Nazar addresses the crowd with an almost regal fashion from the balcony.
The dodecahedron appears beside me and shifts as if it's anxious.
[Why is it here?] Sher says with a hint of anger and confusion in her voice.
I turn to Barry and ask, "What's going on? I thought this was just a normal party where the rich rubs shoulders with each other."
Barry shrugs in response and says, "Hey, all I heard were baseless rumors. We were sent here to confirm it and find out why."
Fuck, what's going on? I thought she's not after us anymore. My eyes dart on all directions to see if there are any Medacorp agents closing in on us. So far, there's nothing.
"It has been many years since Medacorp has developed our greatest creation, the Kaleidoscope," she continues. "At first, we were filled with trepidation, but seeing lives change and society improve, all that fear was replaced by unending joy."
"Wow she's better at speeches than you," I whisper to the dodecahedron.
[Silence,] she hisses.
"While the Kaleidoscope itself was revolutionary, we wanted to impart a more fun and exciting experience to our users. Thus, we developed the 'Roleplayers' DLC'. To be honest, we do not know if this will be well-received by the masses. But yet again, our anxieties were dashed when we saw many of you enjoy the world that we made to the fullest."
[Where is it going with this?] she mutters impatiently.
"I don't know but everyone seems to be real excited," I glance around and see the audience buzz in the room.
"Now, to ride the momentum of our two successes, we at Medacorp decided to expand beyond the borders of Antoria Metropolis," she says and gestures from the darkness behind her. Then one by one, well-dressed males and females, young and old, take their place on either side of her. "With tremendous help from our long term friend and partner, Neo Constructions, I am happy to present to you, [The Wizard's Tower]," she finishes and with one wave of her finger, a massive spiral tower appears in the middle of the floor.
At the sight of this revelation, my throat goes dry and my heart pounds in anticipation.
"Holy shit..." I gasp.