14 Omuge

The more seconds passed, and the more Sasaki felt bad beside Dylan. The man had kept his arm around her, and a strange force prevented her from getting up, as if her muscles had become masses of concrete that no longer obeyed her will. It was probably a spell that the knight had to throw her... Decidedly, without magic she was very weak.

It was another waitress who had finally come to take the order of the scary man. She gave Sasaki a pitying look, which soon realized that none of the girls would have exchanged places with her at that time. And none could come to help her, under the risk of being punished by the boss. Because the customer had priority over everything.

"Uh... How do you expect to eat ? With your helmet, it's going to be complicated..." Sasaki asked softly, her voice as calm as possible, though she was shaking in fear. She still felt an cold aura around the man that made her feel almost sick.

"I'm going to get by, don't worry. My armor is made up of rare and expensive pieces of equipment, but in return they have been cursed by an old god, so I can't take them off unless I receive a purification. But I haven't found a priest of a high enough level to bear the curse." He answered in his voice that seemed to come out of a dead man's throat, and Sasaki wondered if he was not in fact also a dead man. Maybe that was why he was hiding his face and appearance, but she preferred to avoid asking him to not make him angry.

"I... I see... Indeed you're for the moment the... The strongest person I have met." Even if the girl did not see the face of her interlocutor, she could feel his evil look on the various parts of her body that held her outfit. And she hated that feeling, but unfortunately she could not fight it.

"I'm currently one of Alveola's most advanced players. I don't know what the maximum level of this game is, I only know that the most powerful player is at level 54. That's the master from a rather influential guild in the west of the continent, and they're so rich that they are getting their hands on an important city by bribing the rulers." Sasaki listened to the words of the man, who began to talk and explain things to her almost normally. She did not know much about Alveola Online yet, since she had to come to work in a bar just after the tutorial. And basically, being able to talk to an experienced player could be a good experience.

"And you... Don't you have a guild ?"

"Yes, I created one just recently, but for the moment there are only a few members, and we're far from the top... But I'm struggling to go hunting and to perform higher and higher level quests, to bring back funds to the guild. And between two missions I come here to have a good time with the pretty waitresses and enjoy what VR has to offer." He ends up settling a little more comfortably on the bench, and inviting Sasaki to get closer to him even more.

"About this... Is that... I'm just a waitress... I heard that some could offer more services, but that's not my case... So I would ask you to-" While Sasaki was trying to explain herself to avoid having to sell her body to her first client, she took a violent blow from Dylan, who sent her to the floor. The latter had slapped her without holding back his strength, and she felt like her cheek was burning all over because of the metal glove he was wearing.

The pain she experienced was so real that she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, and she did not even dare to get up. She heard the client's armor click, a sign that he had risen to get closer to her.

"It seems to me that I did'nt ask you your opinion. Knowing who you are doesn't interest me. If you're reduced to working here to make money, you're unable to play this game correctly. It's a MMORPG, not a bar simulation game." The black knight declared coldly, squatting to catch Sasaki by the hair.

However another client interposed between them two, a man she knew well. Omuge was standing next to her and grabbing Dylan's wrist to keep his arm away from the defenseless girl, and he gave him a charming smile.

"Well, my good knight, attacking a defenseless woman is contrary to your principles, and not very gallant. How about settling that with a man ?" Dylan straightened up and his new opponent did the same, still smiling at him. Who was this man standing in his way ?

"Who are you ? Since when does this bar have guards ?"

"Oh, but this bar doesn't have guards. I'm a customer, just like you. I'm introducing myself, Omuge, level 54 bard. It would be a pleasure to confront you, my dear knight." Pronounced Sasaki's friend, bowing to Dylan with respect.

Had she heard correctly ? Level 54 ? How could he have the same level as the most advanced player in the game, when he was only supposed to play for a few hours ?

Dylan had been surprised too, backing up with his hand on the hilt of his sword hung on his waist. How could this level 54 player be in an area for low level players ? The knight was decidedly unlucky today.