Elian's adventure

the smile on Ignys' face widened as the man asked for the beverages that they served.

"We have only recently opened for business and we currently serve three beverages, wine, beer and whiskey."

"That is a pretty plain menu for a tavern if you would ask me." said the man.

Ignys shrugged.

"Well, I can ensure you that you will enjoy all three drinks, as they aren't your run-of-the-mill drinks."

The adventurer was used to high standard drinks, he and his group used to drink at exclusive taverns where mostly high-ranking adventurers came.

"In that case serve me a beer." said the man.

Ignys obliged and grabbed a glass before filling it with beer from the tap.

He waited for a second for the foam on top to settle before using the foam skimmer to remove the excess.

He made sure that there was still enough foam so that the carbon dioxide from the beer could not escape the glass, otherwise, the beer would go bland pretty quickly.

He put the beer in front of the man before asking his first question.

"To start with, what is your name and age?" asked Ignys.

"My name is Elian, I am twenty and the next heir of the Fysalia house."

"Ah, I've heard of them before, your family are prominent retailers, right?"

"Well, yeah. We buy stuff from adventurers from the outerlands at cheap prices and sell them to bigger businesses who need a lot for higher prices. Where did you even hear from us?" asked Elian.

Ignys shrugged and responded with another question.

"What is someone like you doing here in the outerlands? It isn't like you need the money, right?"

The man sighed and didn't respond, instead inspecting the glass he was given by Ignys.

"Wait, this isn't normal glass, is it?" asked the man.

"An observant eye you have, Elian. This is mana crystal as you might've realized, it is used to enhance the depth of the drinks here."

Elian looked at the drink that he was served as well and smelled it first, he found it all too suspicious.

A tavern in the outerlands that somehow exists without getting destroyed and that serves drinks for free, the only payment needed is the story of the person who is getting served.

The drink smelled normal to Elian and took his first sip.

The moment Elian took a sip he felt a sense of calm running over his body.

He also finally realized how dehydrated he was, his mouth felt like a desert before taking a sip.

Elian finally realized how tranquil everything around him was, it was only him, Ignys, and Aegion in the tavern and there barely was a sound. Usually, this would make someone paranoid but after everything Elian went through he felt relaxed.

"Elian, not to be rude but you never answered my question, what is a person with your standing doing in the outerlands? It isn't that money is a problem for you, right?" asked Ignys again.

"I'm looking for... Confirmation..." said Elian hesitantly.

Ignys knew that Elian's story was a heavy one and poured himself a glass of beer aswell, it was easier for people to talk if they had someone that drank alongside them.

"confirmation huh? In what way did you want to get confirmation by heading into the core of the outerlands?"

Elian sighed.

"Promise me that you won't laugh, alright?"

Ignys took a sip of his drink.

"I promise, don't worry."

"My parents want me to inherit the Fysalia trading company, but I personally don't want to, I never did."

"And why did you not want to inherit it? It would be your free ticket to life, you would never have to worry about money and fame."

'I don't want to inherit it since I've seen what it did to my parents. They... Changed when they got the company. They once cared for me and we behaved like a normal family, going out, having fun and making memories. But after they got the company I no longer saw them as my family, but more as my mentors, like they were training me. We rarely went out to the park or spend time like a normal family, and whenever we did they would still constantly be busy with work, taking calls for orders and such. It felt like they were just training me to take over the company, to become the next one in line but I don't want to, my mother and father constantly just look so drained and tired, I don't want to be like that."

Elian never really talked about his feelings, but now he did.

He didn't know why, but he felt safe at the tavern, like he could let his heart out without being judged and without having any consequences.

It might've been the beer since when he drank it he felt like a wave of tranquility washed over him, or it might've been Ignys. All he knew is that it all felt so surreal.

"I see, but why did you come to the outerlands then?"

"Well, I wanted to be a researcher who specializes in the outerlands, this place just seems so fascinating to me. My parents didn't endorse my choice but I still went, I used my own money to buy armor and weapons so that I could go into the outerlands. I found an adventurer group known as the red right hand which escorted people into the outerlands. They've returned from the core two times and I offered a hefty sum of money in order to get them to take me to the core. Initially, they didn't want to take me on because I was the heir of the Fysalia trading company but after a lot of nagging, I convinced them to bring me. But as you might've guessed everything has gone wrong..."

Ignys took a big swig of his beer, emptying it.

Ignys poured himself another glass of beer before looking toward Elian.

"You want another glass of beer or something else?"

"Hm, get me a glass of wine this time."

Ignys obliged and grabbed a flute glass for wine before picking up a wine bottle.

He displayed the bottle to Elian before popping the cork off.

"What vintage is this wine?" asked Elian.

"Honestly I don't know, it was aged for quite a while though so expect it to be quite good." responded Ignys.

Elian shot a confused shot toward Ignys, it was weird for a tavernkeeper not to know what age a wine was from.

But at the same time, everything in this place was weird.

Ignys twirled the wine glass in his hand before pouring Elian a glass and putting it in front of it.

"Enjoy your wine." said Ignys as he recorked the wine and put it back.

Ignys once again sat down and waited for Elian to take his first sip.

Elian noticed and took a sip of the wine.

An expression of shock appeared on Elian's face as he spat the wine back out on the bar.

Ignys jumped back a bit, not wanting to get splashed by the wine.

"The hell dude!" yelled out Ignys.

"You tried poisoning me!" yelled Elian

"The hell are you talking about!"

"I felt my mana going rampant! Don't deny it! I knew something here wasn't right!"

"That's normal! It is the effect of the wine! Here, I will proof it!" said Ignys as he picked up Elian's glass.

Ignys took a big swig before swallowing.

He felt the mana in his body become active and replenishing.

At this point, Elian also realized his mistake.

"But how..."

"I think you mean something else." said Ignys in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, my apologies. I should've inquired you about the drink first."

"It's whatever, just don't do it again."

The mood was ruined and Ignys started mopping up Elian's spill, pouring him a new flute of wine before sitting down.

Elian noticed that he ruined the mood and tried to recover.

"ignys, I feel that my mana is rejuvenating, what is this wine made of?"

"Ah, it is made with berries that are mostly from the core of the outerlands and the surrounding area, do you notice the mint-like taste once you swallow the wine?"

"Yeah, I do."

"You see, that is because of a berry known as frost million, it is called that because the sensation upon eating it is like a million ice shards stabbing your throat. By fermenting and aging it in wine that characteristic is reduced greatly up to the point where it just leaves freshness at the end, which is quite pleasant. It also helps balance out some other qualities since at first a sensation of fire will burn through your throat, only to be nullified at the end by the frost million, did you notice that?"

Elian took another sip and swirled it around his mouth for a while before swallowing.

"You're right! It's just weird that your mana goes rampant and replenishes, this is more comparable to a potion!"