Rimelion: The Exploiter

9. Tin-can

"Go easy tonight, Charlie. You don't know your limits yet," he cautioned, taking a seat beside me. I just nodded, savoring my drink. Nothing beat Irish whiskey in an Irish bar.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, leaning against the bar—only to have his arm slip, nearly causing him to topple over. He steadied himself, and I managed a grin, ignoring his question as I let the whiskey work its magic. No serious talk now, please.

Lucas shifted uncomfortably, mouth opening and closing as if struggling with what to say. When I was halfway through my drink—ten seconds, tops—he finally spoke. "Have you heard about the hero thing? I read heroes are 'players destined to play a major role in the upcoming events!'"

"Yup," I said, finishing my drink. "I'm the hero, all right. The skills are insane; I can carry us now." As if on cue, Patrick handed me another drink, right as I raised my hand. A smile crept across my face—no robot could ever replace a good bartender, especially not Patrick.

Lucas chuckled. "You're kidding, right?" I didn't answer, just took note that he was barely halfway through his first beer. Lucas, you need to drink, I thought, but only grinned and glanced over at Patrick.

Patrick was working his magic, placing two sprigs of thyme and Chartreuse into an old glass before stirring with his usual finesse. He added egg whites, liquors, and syrup to a shaker in perfect rhythm—no machine could match that touch.

"Charlie? Answer me! Are you joking? If you—" Lucas's voice faded into the background as I watched Patrick light the glass on fire for a few seconds.

He caught my awe-struck gaze and grinned. "How else am I supposed to add the 'smoky' flavor?" he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I nodded solemnly, as though he'd just revealed a great mystery of the universe. Ignoring Lucas's rambling, I took a nervous sip of the finished drink. Perfect. In those priceless moments, I savored the sour taste that melted on my tongue.

Lucas was practically fuming from being ignored, but he deserved it. Failed hacker. Naturally, I had to take another sip. Oh, how much I missed this! "This is the best drink I've ever had!" I declared.

As if on cue, Ian entered the bar, dodging the crowd by the door. My usual panic surged, my heart racing as he made his way over and stopped right beside me.

"Charlie," I managed to say, offering at least a greeting. Why does this happen every time? Ian and I had been friends for ages. He ordered his usual dark beer, settled next to me, and started chatting with Lucas. Meanwhile, I lost the thread of their conversation, too focused on my pounding heart and the dizzying thoughts swirling in my head.

This wasn't something I could deal with without another drink. Forcing a smile, I downed my whiskey and ordered another.

Despite Ian's averageness, a strange nervousness bubbled up. Honestly, if I had to pick the most average person in the universe, Ian would be right up there. Still, that's not entirely fair—he was exceptionally good at smoking weed, which I rated as a flaw, since I couldn't stand it.

Maybe because of his job at the company, he always wore a gray shirt and blue jeans. Unremarkable face, average voice, and the only "distinctive" thing about him was his dreaded hair, which he styled after some rapper, just like a million other fans.

By the time I finished my third whiskey, warmth spread through me, quieting my nerves. Feeling bolder, I tuned in to their conversation.

"... ridiculous! I mean, the runes! Who designed that? I'd reset, but no, you won't let me," Lucas rambled, clearly still venting about his spells. I grinned, got up, and playfully smacked his shoulder before hugging him from behind.

Ian raised an eyebrow as I settled my chin on Lucas's shoulder, grinning. "I bet Ian can't talk specifics, right?"

"That's right," Ian nodded, then hesitated. "Though I only know bits outside my area. I'm a debugger, so I handle bugs the AI misses." He glanced around like someone might overhear. Poor Ian—why was he so paranoid about getting fired? I released Lucas and, on impulse, hugged Ian, practically leaning on him. Why? Why not!

"Did you like my bug report?" I whispered—or rather, nearly shouted—in his ear. "Oops, sorry!" I laughed, then lowered my voice. "About the Goolems? Lucas told me your number!"

Ian's eyes widened. "That was you? You're the Princess, the hero?!" He slapped a hand over his mouth, but the secret was already out. "Cha—Charlie, I didn't mean—only internal people should know that..."

Giggling, I waved it off. "Don't worry, my new buddy! Let's drink to that!" Clutching his shoulder, I raised my glass. "Here's to new beginnings and heroic adventures tomorrow! You'll join us, right?"

Both of them raised their glasses, though a bit hesitantly, while I gestured wildly, almost spilling my drink. Ian nodded, finally relenting. "Sure," he said, then added with a pause, "My name's Wian."

Wian. Struggling to keep a straight face, I buried my face in his shoulder. Big mistake. Now I smelled like weed. "Ugh, Wian, that's even more unoriginal than 'Princess'!" I teased.

Lucas finally finished his first beer—such a lightweight. He shifted in his seat and asked, hesitantly, "How are you allowed to play? John couldn't, because he was a tester."

"Our boss persuaded the higher-ups. Said the best debugging happens on a live server, or something. We think it's because she's sleeping with her boss, and it'd be awkward if she was the only one allowed in the game." Ian lowered his voice, chuckling. "Each department gets a pass to let people play, but they have to sign NDAs."

"Insane!" I laughed and drained my whiskey. The world spun pleasantly as I grabbed Ian's shoulder with one hand and gestured grandly with the other. "Sleeping with someone? My boss would love it if Lucy flipped that around!" I signaled for another round, laughing.

"Charlie, don't you think you've had enough?" Lucas asked, ever the responsible one, trying to rain on my fun. I was a girl now, but alcohol made me the same. Behave the same, grabbing people and celebrating! Made me free. I can talk!

"What? Nonsense." I winked and grinned, hugging his arm and resting my cheek on his shoulder. "Silly Lucas, I never have enough."