A Drinking Game

Jack was once again sitting in a bar. This one was a different bar than last time. He was kicked out after participating in a bar fight. The b*stards knocked his mug off of the bar.

Actually, this was his 4th bar. The other two kicked him out after drinking more than half of their supply.

"It's not my fault that they can't keep up. I still have 2 silver and 36 copper left…" Jack mumbled. It didn't want the current bartender to hear.

Jack had fallen into depression once again. He has been stuck at level 1 for a week and a half already. He often watches the level leaderboards with envy.

These people just don't log out. The average person would only play during the night during their sleep but professionals, who make their living from playing games, play nonstop.

To be fair, he hasn't logged out either. The beer, ale, and wine in the game all taste far better than their real-world counterparts. Not only that but he doesn't have to worry about negatively affecting his health with all his drinking.

– Leader Board –

1. Scarlet - Holy Archer - Level 9

2. Iceburgh - Ice Mage - Level 9

3. Herald - Guardian - Level 9

4. Venus - Earth Mage - Level 8

5. Lary the Hairy - Lancer - Level 8

6. Boyd - Fire Mage - Level 8

7. Kril - Swordsman - Level 7

8. Reinhart - Guardian - Level 7

9. Grain - Fire Mage - Level 7

10. Asterisk - Assassin - Level 7

11. Feud - Archer - Level 7

12. Haze - Shadow Lord - Level 7

13. Miz - Water Mage - Level 7

..

..

15. Zen - Shield Lord - level 5

–

It apparently is difficult to level up in the game. The average level was between levels three and four. The devs said that they will include a patch to increase experience rates once 10 people reach level 10. They also announce that there will be 4 hours every Saturday where experience rates are increased by 1.5x.

He wasn't surprised that two of his friends would be in the top 10. Iceburgh was Hary while Kril was Karl. Thomas apparently got a super rare class that made his level reset back to level one. There were a few others who got special classes but their levels didn't have to be reset for some reason.

He looked over his pitiful status screen and sighed. The only thing he had going for him was his E rank skill: Boxing. It was more of a passive than an active skill. It was toggled on and off. It allowed him to enter a boxing stance which gave him a power boost to his attacks when it was toggled on.

'The direct message system won't be turned on until the first person hits level 10. How annoying; I can't even complain to those boneheads until then.' Jack was complaining to himself since he had no one to do so right now.

He took a deep breath. He had to be careful; this was the last bar in the village. If he got kicked out he'd have no place to drink!

He decided to be extra polite to the bartender. "Excuse me!"

Seeing that he was being called a tall and muscular man walked over. "Yes, can I get you anything?"

"Please, here is two silver. Please open a tab for me. I would also like to order two drinks of your recommendation."

The bartender gave him a quick sideways glance but nodded at the end. He wasn't going to question a big spender. Besides, he is already aware that this man had nearly drunk two of his competitors dry.

He returned with three drinks.

"Sir? I only ordered two." Jack asked in confusion.

The bartender chuckled. "The third one is a special one for the customer beside you."

'Beside me?' Jack looked to his left. Sure enough, there was a burly-looking man… Ah no, a dwarf? 'Wow, so that is what a real dwarf looks like!'

Jack himself had picked to be a half-dwarf race when creating his character. The dwarfs had higher fortitude than the other classes.

While most people picked either human or half-elf a very few amount picked half-dwarf. Humans were all-rounders with small bonuses to everything. Half-elves catered more to mages and the rouge classes.

Half-dwarfs didn't have anything that would directly affect their combat stats. They had extra fortitude points which let them have larger resistances against various hot and cold climates. (Armor is not an end-all-be-all genre type. Fortitude is needed to spend time in more extreme climates such as volcanic or arctic. Players need to switch their armor depending on the environment.)

Apart from roleplayers who picked the half-dwarf race, there are aspiring blacksmiths looking for the racial boost of the dwarfs. It is well known that dwarfs are the kings of blacksmithing, it only makes sense to be a dwarf if you plan on smithing.

Jack didn't plan on being a blacksmith though. He choose to be a Brewmaster, what that strange old man said about medical brews was interesting.

That… And… Well, aren't dwarfs good at drinking? That was all the information Jack needed for his decision.

The bartender set down his drinks which broke him out of his thoughts. "The one on the left is a Dragon's Breath Ale and the one on the right is a Honey Wine."

After listening to the bartender describe his drinks he grabbed the Dragon's Breath Ale and said cheers to the bartender. He quickly brought the mug to his mouth and took a drink.

Spicy!

With a large exhale Jack released all the heat he felt in his mouth and down his throat. It felt like he was breathing fire. There was even a little bit of smoke that had escaped when he exhaled.

It was delicious! He wanted more but also wanted to see what the Honey Wine would taste like. He grabbed the wine and took a sip.

It was sweet and smooth. A complete opposite from the previous drink. It's taste mixed with the Dragon's Breath's after taste and Jack slipped into bliss for a few seconds.

"Great drinks! Thanks! Keep them coming I want to try everything on the menu!" praised Jack.

The dwarf next to Jack saw his actions and found them cute. 'What a greenhorn' he thought. He started to drink his stout and zoned everything else out.

Jack was enjoying beer after beer. His nose would be tickled every time the old dwarf next to him would take a sip of his drink. He did his best to ignore it though.

An hour later and Jack was completely drunk.

* Hic *

"Oooii! Mr. Barkeep! Ge'mee moreee beer!" cried out a drunk Jack.

The bartender looked at Jack and shook his head, he now understands why this fellow was kicked to the curb from the other two bars. Out of his two silvers, he already used a full silver. It takes most people a few weeks to drink that much.

The dwarf next to Jack chuckled.

"H-huuh? You gata problem ol'man?" Jack turned and poked the dwarf in the shoulder.

The bartender looked at Jack and worried. 'Should I kick him out? That dwarf could destroy my bar again…'

The dwarf laughed with gusto. His belly was jiggling greatly. "No. No problem young man. I just see some of my old self looking at you. I remember a time when I couldn't hold my booze."

"Watcha talk'n bout ol'man. I… I'm puurfectly fine. I *hic* can keep go'n! I can drink beta'than you!" Jack retorted.

The dwarf's laugh got even louder this time. "Is that so?"

"Yessh I can!"

"Good! Jim! Brink out two kegs of my special stout!" shouted the old dwarf.

Jim, the bartender, disappeared into a room behind the bar and rolled two keys out of the storage room.

Once the keys were over to the dwarf and the dunk Jack the bartender lifted them up and placed them facing the duo.

He also took out frosty mugs and gave them to the dwarf, "I'd image you'd want these too."

"Thanks!" the dwarf said as he took the mugs.

"Don't destroy my bar this time, please." Jim requested.

A small blush crept on the old dwarf's face. "Hey, that was different! That old beast forced my hand. This little boy shouldn't provoke me as he did."

The bartender only shrugged his shoulders and no longer paid attention to the duo. Whatever happens now isn't in his control.

"What go'n on ol'man?" Jack drunkenly asked.

"A drinking game!"

"A ga *hic* game"?

"Yes! We both drink from our own keg, the first one to pass out loses. What do you think?" the dwarf said with a cocky smile.

"You'r on!" Jack said while grabbing a mug out of the dwarf's hands.

The great drinking game began.

Mug after mug the two drank. Jack and the dwarf kept pace with one another. It stayed that way until the hour mark. Two kegs were nearly gone.

The two seemed to have slowed down.

Not that they couldn't drink anymore but instead they were too busy joking, telling stories, or singing!

The two were thoroughly drunk. They were also being extremely rowdy.

An annoyed city guard got up from this table and walked over to the two.

"Hey! Shut up would you? There are other people here trying to drink and enjoy their time off!" The guard shouted in the face of the old dwarf.

"H- huhh?!" both the dwarf and Jack cursed back.

"I told you to shut up! Do I need to spell it out for you! Keep it up and I'll arrest you for being rowdy!" The guard yelled while smacking the dwarf's beer mug out of his hands.

'There goes my bar…' Jim sighed.

The dwarf clumsily searched for the handle of his giant hammer that was leaning against the edge of the bar.

"Ah, there she'be." He said with a smile.

Then without hesitation, he lifted his massive hammer to his side and drunkenly swung. The blunt of the hammer crashed directly into the chest plate of the guard. It caved in and the guard was shot outside of the bar. He flew across the street, through an ally way, and landed in the city's pigpen two streets down.

Jack whistled. "Home run!" he joked.

"Jim a new mug!" the dwarf requested.

A fresh mug slid down the bartop directly into the dwarf's hand. "Let's continue!"

The drinking continued.

The duo just finished their kegs and looked at each other.

"Ha! I toldcha that I 'ould out'ink yaaa!" Jack's words were almost completely slurred.

"I don't kno' whatcha tak'en bout! We 'oth finished te'kegs!" the old dwarf was annoyed. This greenhorn tied him.

"Naahh!" Jack then pointed at the ground. "You forgot 'tat one!

The dwarf looked down. There was shattered glass and stout all over the floor below him.

He frowned. The greenhorn he was right. He drank less…

He looked back up at Jack with an angry face. It made Jack worry. He was drunk but still smart. The last time he saw that look was when the guard was smashed to next week.

A fat jiggling laugh roared out, "So it be'tru! I lost!" He then grabbed wrapped his arm around Jack.

"Jim! A drink for ervy one!" he yelled.

Cheers erupted from the whole bar. The small scuffle that happened early had not bothered anyone since bar fights were common.

Everyone was cheering and having fun, including the dwarf. Jack sat there with a sober face. Something has caused him to sober up immediately.

His notifications had been going haywire for a long time now but something snapped him out of his drunken stupor. He started reading through his list of notifications.

* Ding, Quest Offered: Drinking Games

* Ding, Quest was auto accepted due to no player input.

* Ding, Player has consumed 100 types of alcohol in less than 14 days, unlocking new skill.

* Ding, Player as unlocked the skill God Touge. See skill description for details.

* Ding, Quest 'Drinking Games' has changed to Become the Dwarf King's Son!

* Ding, Quest Completed: Become the Dwarf King's Son.

* Ding, making the player sober.

* Ding, Processing Quest rewards.

* Ding, rewards given.

– Quest Rewards –

Class changed to Drunkard!

Gained title of Dwarf King's Illegitimate Son!

Please look over your status bar to find out further information.

Please talk to King Gerald to claim further rewards.

–

* Ding, Boxing skill updated, please advise.

Before Jack could continue to process everything he looked at his character screen.

– Character Screen –

Name: Intoxicated

Race: Half-Dwarf

Class: Drunkard

Class Rank: *Mystical* [System ERR: Unable to determine ranking]

Titles: Dwarf King's Illegitimate Son

Profession: Brewmaster

Profession: Drunk Blacksmith [Class Generated]

Attributes:

Health: 200

Strength: 20

Agility: 5

Mana: 50

Fortitude: 10 - [MAX when drunk… A drunk feels nohting]

Stamina: 20 - [MAX when drunk… Only blacking out can stop a drunk]

–

– Skills –

[P] Drunk Blacksmithing - while drunk you gain the profession: Drunk Blacksmithing (which counts as the skill Blacksmithing).

[P] Under the Influence - Stats are boosted based on your level of intoxication. 'Tipsy' grants a 1.5x boost and 'Drunk' grants a 2x boost.

[P] Drunken Anger - You become enraged and your stats are boosted greatly until the target of anger is no longer. The effect lasts 30 minutes after the target is no longer. If angered again before the time limit ends it resets. The buff doubles your stats during its duration.

[P] Stumbling Drunk - As a drunkard, your walk is unstable and unpredictable. Invasion rating is increased by 30%.

[A] Drunk Boxing - You are a master of the Drunken Fist. As long as the skill is active your Boxing Skill is changed to Drunken Fist. While the dodging invasion rate is increased by 30%.

[A] Throw - Throw whatever you have in your hand at high speeds. If the object thrown is a drink or drinking vessel a special effect is caused. The effect of the skill depends on the type of drink or the material of the empty drinking vessel.

–

* Announcement * The first Mystical Grade Class has appeared.

* Announcement * The player is awarded 100 Fame Points

* Announcement * The player is awarded 10 honor points.

* Announcement * The player is awarded 5 silver coins.

* Announcement * The player shall receive double experience points for the next 24 hours.

* Announcement * All other players shall receive 1.5x experience points for the next 24 hours.

Jack was spacing out. 'What just happened?'