'ELVY EXPLAIN EVERYTHING!' I say as I put my hands on her shoulders.
"Well where do I begin? Hmm... Well for starters you weren't actually poisoned"
'What the heck do you mean I haven't been poisoned?'
"Calm down, just hear me out. During the second trial, once particapants of the race got close enough to the first floor, we placed them under an illusion spell. Those black lines are just for show. Well kind of, the spells effect can be quite physical so you could say you're suffering from negative status."
I have no clue what this short squeaky voiced woman is talking about. What the heck is negative status?
An illusion, don't tell me that dream was part of it?
'I had an awful nightmare, was-' before I can finish she says yes.
"We could see it too, along with your whole thinking process. That part where you were going on and on about all the things you hadn't done was really emotional, you got yourself a few fans because of that."
'What?' I say with a sad yet angry mind-boggled look on my face.
"Yup we watched the whole thing, your internal struggle and everything."
'I-I don't think I get it. But what about the people that were with me before I had that dream? I'm talking about the blonde lady and the bald guy.'
"Oh they were real alright. You see kid, the thing about illusion magic is that it's kind of like taking mind altering substances; you can't necessarily tell what's real or fake. In your case you experienced a little bit of both."
I just stare at her with my mouth agape.
"Come on kid, let's leave this room you're done with this test so let's not waste any more time."
She guiding me into a new area, I don't even pay attention to the path or the building I'm much more concerned about the info I received from her.
I don't think I can describe my emotions as anything but shocked.
'So that arrow that hit me in the back was that you guys?'
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. As I already told you before, you weren't actually poisoned. It's not something physical that caused you to feel that way. It was just a spell."
What the heck? I feel like my head is spinning!
I'll try to find out about that later. So it really was just a coincidence that I started feeling woosy the moment I got hit by that arrow.
What impeccable timing the illusion magic has.
'So what about the others in the infirmary?'
"Oh those guys? Yeah they'll be alright probably..."
Gulp.
She continues by saying "They're still going through the illusion. Since you've finished before them you get to rest a little."
We walk into a well lit room where a few dozen, maybe like fifty people are.
This place looks like a bar, there are stools, chairs, and tables every. There's even a canteen where you can get food and drinks!
The silver haired woman begins to speak.
"Well done, I have to congratulate you fledgling adventurers! What you have done is no small feat."
Which part is she referring to; ascending a gazillion stairs so quickly, or being poisoned and subjected to nightmare, or both.
Either way, a single congratulations won't cut it.
I THOUGHT I ALMOST DIED! I don't need an insincere-
She cuts of my internal rants saying:
"We have subjected you to quite extreme situations, but you were fearless! Facing challenge and adversity head on, and for that I'm truly proud of you all."
Dang it, why does she have to say it that tone, with the look on her face. It's as if she's saying this from the bottom of her heart.
Maybe it wasn't all that bad, I am okay after all- NO I WON'T BE CHARMED BY SOME SPEECH! It's probably rehearsed anyways.
"If this was too much for you, you're welcome to leave."
The room fills with murmurs as the other applicants start muttering to themselves and to others.
"No takers huh?... You truly are adventurers, In flesh and in spirit. Now go enjoy yourselves!"
"Well boy, Elvy will see you later. Have fun!"
Elvy walks out of the room after she says that. In fact I'm pretty sure all the guild workers have left the room, except for the people behind the food counter.
I look for a comfortable chair to collapse on. Once I've found it I hit it like a dragon hits a giant waterfall. I'm not sure if dragons crash into waterfalls, but needless to say, I came down hard.
Even though I just woke up, I'm exhausted.
I can't exactly fall asleep though, not because I want to socialize, or because I want to find out more about the competition, it's because... I WANT TO EAT! (also I'm not sleepy)
I go to the food counter, it's wide, quite wide, in fact it almost wraps around the entire length of the room, the two different ends of it stop maybe a couple of feet away from the entrance.
I sit on one of the many chairs directly Infront of it; making sure to find a secluded area with no people. Behind the counter is a man shaking a cocktail in a metal glass cup.
Ah that's what you call a barista!
"Uhm, no it's not."
Says the man behind the counter.
DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD!?
"Uhh... Yes you did."
What's going with me right now?
Sigh.
Another woman appears behind the counter and says "Don't worry he's just messing with you."
...
I'm sitting down with a confused expression. Presently trying to suppress my thoughts.
"Oho, this kid!" Says the male bartender.
The female bartender says "Nice one kid, that rascal over there has the ability of mind reading. Though you did say that barista thing out loud."
Instantly after she says that, I look at him with eyes of astonishment.
"No way! That's amazing, let's try it."
For about ten minutes I played all sorts of guessing games with him and as expected he won all of them.
I'm about to come up with another game we can play. But as if to remind me of the reason why I came here the female bartender said:
"Are you going to mess around all day or are you gonna get something."
THAT'S TRUE, HOW COULD I FORGET! I CAME HERE TO EAT!!
The telepathic man chuckles. He then says "Even this kids thoughts are funny, it's ridiculous."
Almost as if she took offense to him calling me funny she bashed him on his head.
"Yeah I get that you're catching fun with your ability, having a real good time. BUT ACTUALLY REMEMBER TO DO YOUR DAMN JOB!"
Oh shoot- He's been doing nothing but talking to me for the past ten minutes..
Well if you're listening to my thoughts right now, sorry bro.
He gives me a thumbs up as he walks away.
Yep he's a pretty fun guy.
"So, want anything. Maybe food, snacks, or drinks?"
"That sounds wonderful! But unfortunately... I'm terribly broke, my bad!"
Her expression doesn't change, she's still curiously waiting for me to announce what I want to take.
"I uh.." before I can finish she says
"Right here, today, it's all you an eat and it's totally for free."
NO WAY!
I order one of every dish and drink, except for the alcoholic beverages of course.
Now this is how you gain the rooms attention.
Seriously, I feel tingly with how many people are staring at me.
If I'm counting right there ere are fourteen different plates in front of me, they're spread out across the front counter so they're obviously taking a considerable amount of space. While this isn't one of everything, it's still way more than anything I've seen anybody take.
I chow down on every delicacy in front of me, grilled meat of exotic birds, strange drawy soups, little spicy jello blobs, a bowl of what looks like yellow sand but is actually an extremely savory mouth watering dish, giant ribs of some unknown creature swimming on delicious gravy.
Along side many other eye catching delights.
Not to mention the variety of drinks, one darkish red one with a sharp refreshing taste, just taking a sip of that would make you feel like burping, a thick orange drink similar to orange juice but much more refreshing and less harsh on the mouth.
There were twelve cups in total, each containig a different drink.
Four drinks in, not even done with one plate of anything- I was interrupted.
Approached by an extremely scary but handsome looking man with brown chocolate skin, long dark way hair going downwards and a luxurious long bteard.
"Senior! A lone figure like yourself couldn't possibly finish this all!"
I look at him blankly while licking off the sauce from lips.
"So let me be of assistance, and take the burden off you eh... What do you say?" He says in a voice sounding very friendly and charismatic.
Seems it's always the ones with an accent.
Sigh.
Just like before before with the bard and bub the unintelligible. It seems I'm about to have another fateful encounter with a strange sounding fellow.
He sounds like a villain in a play; his voice is deep and soothing with a subtle rhythm to it.
I smile widely and say "That's if you can handle it!"
It only takes a few moments of casual conversation to instigate a food eating competition between the both us.
Damn, how did this happen? One thing lead to another and now both of us are stuffing our faces trying to see who can finish the mod food first.
Without any words spoken we reached a tacit understanding that we'd split fifty fifty. With him taking on seven plates and me doing the same thing as well.
But alas, even that wasn't enough to make it fair, for I have an unfair advantage. One I'll definitely exploit.
It seems the cool looking stranger looking stranger is quite popular, because not long after he sat down, several other people came to sit next to him.
To my right there was now a long row of bodies.
So he has fans eh? THAT WILL MAKE IT EVEN BETTER WHEN I CRUSH HIM!
That's how I would feel if I wasn't quickly approaching my limit. With the gaze of all the peoplle sitting to my right fixed on me, my eating speed reduced.
I never knew I got nervous in front of crowds, seems I'm learning more about myself every day.
Just when I'm feeling discouraged I begin hearing people chant, they're split into two groups.
One of them saying "GO CAPTAIN VON!" And the other " YOU CAN DO IT RED HAIR"
I glance behind me and notice that the stranger and I have become the main event.
T-they.. THEY LOVE ME!
They're so loud, their voices are filling me up with energy!
Is this how athletes feel when they're in huge stadiums surrounded by people?
Fueled by a sudden rush, I chug down my remaining two drinks, eating three dishes in the process. Captain Von, or whatever it is they're calling him, has only finished two dishes and drinks.
COME ON I GOT THIS!
Burp.
A few minutes pass and the crowd is chanting louder and louder. Most people in the room have placed their seats in a circle around the of us.
I'm on my fifth plate and I have no drink to help me wash it down, meanwhile he's on his fourth plate and he stil has three drinks.
Damnit, even though I had the advantage of an almost one bowl headstart.
I'm about to burst, I feel like throwing up. BUT MY PRIDE AS A HUNGRY MAN IS ON THE LINE!
The people around us have gotten so invested that they've even started betting on us.
"The boy is definitely winning, just look at how little he has left!"
"That can't be true, Von is a voracious being, he won't lose to just anyone."
"Fools and amateurs, that's what the lot of your are... IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS A TIE!"
"Hmmph woman, do you have kurs to back up that statement?"
"Uhh... I'm sure none of us actually took money with us to guilds so we have nothing to bet with."
"Tch, what a lame excuse."
"Hey I brought money!'
That last statement is followed by a cacophony of "me too's".
All these people are such wild carefree spirits. THIS MUST BE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN ADVENTURER!
Seems I was right to describe them eccentric. Although these bunh aren't adventurers yet.
The chanting of the crowd has been replaced by cheering.
As I'm stuffing my face with spicy wings of an unknown bird my vision gets dark then I hear a THUD sound.
Ouch I hit my head on the table. I say to myself with a strange liquid coming out my mouth.
I wipe my mouth and...
It's saliva.
Looking right I see: The cool stranger hunched back against his chair, with his head dangling backwards on the the top part it.
His gut is popping out, seems he too had reached his limit.
A tall blonde woman behind us announced with the voice a radio presenter:
"RED HAIR WITH 6 MEALS AND 6 DISHES! BLACK HAIR WITH 5 MEALS AND FOUR DRINKS! IT SEEMS NEITHER OF THEM ARE FIT TO CONTINUE!!"
In my head I wanted to dismiss her comments, and berate her for underestimatimg my ability to devour food, but realistically I'm at my limit.
The thud sound from hitting my head, the drool crawling down my face and the wretched exhaustion that creeps through my whole body makes one thing certain.
I somehow passed out from eating too much food.
I looked over to my food eating rival and he just blankly staring into space, looking straight up at the ceiling.
Is he even alive?
I lean over to him, tapping him on the shoulder to no response. I shake him and then still nothing.
Nah he's gone, the abyss has swallowed him, now he is stuck in the forever dark corners of the universe his soul will never return to the surface.
Almost as though to prove my dramatic narration of the situation incorrect he springs back to life and turn to look at me.
"Huh what?" He says while clearly being dazed.
'I said.. I'm calling it quits...'
In a cheerful yet melancholic voice he says "So this is how I lose, at least I was close."
I'm far to tired to respond, I think I'm about to pass ou-
Zzz
Zzz
Zzz
What the? I feel so good, nice and warm and stuffed with food. Everything is dark, I'm not scared of the dark or anything, but I should be at least worried by this, well I guess not... I've passed out several times in the span of a few days.
I open my eyes to see the lady with the presenter voice, standing over me with her hands stretched out and pushed against my chest with a mystical green glow.
'Wow!' I say while clearly amazed by what I'm seeing.
She chuckles saying "ah so you're finally awake, Food slaye!"
Food slayer? What kind of name is that!? If this sticks people might think I have some sort of eating problem.
I'M NOT THAT FAT!
WAIT WHAT DO I MEAN I'M NOT THAT FAT!? I think to myself as if offended by my own internal monologue.
I'M NOT FAT ALL!
She removes her hands and suddenly my body feels so incredibly nice.
'Wow, I don't feel encumbered in the slightest' I say while grinning ear to ear.
"I used my patented healing magic to help you digest all that food. Hell, you might even have been better off than before you ate all that. All that energy has been directly assimilated into you, it's even better than eating food normally. You're welcome." Says the blonde woman.
Woah, I think I feel it. She's right, I feel so unreasonably energetic.
I say "Thank you!!" with a beaming smile on my face.
And just like that my forced, fast, food, feeding, fiasco had come to an end.
I was aiming for alliteration there, but I'm not sure if that made sense. But oh well... What can you do?
"My name is Cardose Von-straydum! What is yours, fellow appreciator of culinary masterpieces."
I almost thought that an angel had come down to speak with me with how zones out I was. Placing my gaze towards my right I see it's the cool looking stranger that just spoke.
His hand is stretched out in hopes to meet another one of it's kind.
Accepting the hand shake I say "I am Zachary haze, the future world's most awesome adventurer!"
"Is that so? He says with a smile on his face.
"Nice to meet you."
'Nice to meet you to Mr Cardose.'