1 Chapter 1- Bartending

It was the weekend before the Imperial Academy reopened near the town, and the crowded bar reminded Glenn why he preferred doing acclimation work in the day.

He stood behind the bar, and pushed down a lever filling up the last mug with a brown substance full of sub-par beer. Well… subpar by his standards. Back home this was the type of drink one would find in a cheap tin can sold to young folks who hadn't a lick of taste for maybe half a credit. Out here, in this world? People thought it was a delicacy.

As Glenn finished filling up the mug, half-filled with foam (Another thing the locals seemed to like for who-knew-what-reason), one of tables filled with their patrons exploded in an uproar. School guards from the looks of it. They were always their most rowdy regulars.

Glenn wished Galvin had let him keep his hearing implants on. He tried selling his request as a way to drown out unnecessary commotion to better perform his duties. The old man however, saw right through him and denied his request. "The noises are part of acclimating to the environment," said Galvin. "Remember, it can only help you in understanding how the locals work."

"Order up for Table 3!" Glenn dinged the bell hanging above the bar.

Gale swooped over from the other side of the room where he had been flirting with a couple of the local townswomen. Glenn thought he recognized some of the faces. The general store owner's daughter, and a few seamstresses finishing up their apprenticeship with the town tailor, Corander. Two other women who he recognized as the butcher's daughter and blacksmith's daughter. Gale tossed them a wink, before skipping over to the bar.

Gale stood at Glenn's height, but while Glenn was broad-shouldered and tanned, Gale had a pale complexion and was quite skinny. The latter of which Gale had tried to remedy without much luck in the past. No matter what his diet was or how he worked out, he couldn't gain bulk regardless of any strength gains. As it turned out, some people just didn't have the metabolism for it.

That being said, the same thing made Gale quite the looker for the ladies, at least on this side of the gate. Tall but not too tall. A face with enough round and jagged features to create the right balance of masculinity with welcomeness. Not to mention the extravagant efforts he put to keeping up with appearances. Especially his hair, which had been tied in red-locks waving just above his shoulder.

"Sorry!" Gale picked up the tray of five mugs. "Was uh… socializing. You know."

Codeword for gathering intel on the locals.

"Mm…hm," Glenn smirked. "Nothing wrong with enjoying yourself, but work aside… you sure your girl is going to appreciate it?"

"Eh." Gale shrugged. "We're just close that's all. Nothing serious. She knows."

Based on what Glenn saw in the past months, he got the feeling Elvara did not think the same way. Even discounting for all of their differences.

Then again, Glenn wasn't exactly an expert on relationships so what did he know?

"Just be careful," said Glenn. "Won't be good to have a local with a personal grievance against you."

"It's fine." Gale did his best boyish smile, which made Glenn smirk, while rolling his eyes. "Besides, given the culture here, she must know it can never be serious. And besides, there is nothing wrong with shopping around, even if you don't plan on buying right?"

"Careful with your choice of words." Gale glanced about, but all the patrons seemed to be too enamored with their own conversations to bother with two bar-workers. "That last part isn't exactly a local idiom."

"Relax Glenn." Gale picked up the tray. "I doubt anyone out here cares. Plus, there are plenty of things to pawn it away on. This is Amara after all."

Glenn shook his head as Gale trotted off to Table 3, consisting mainly of men and women from the town-watch. He kept a close on anything going on between that table, and Table 5 which consisted of the school guard who caused the ruckus earlier. Both groups shared a mutual animosity and dislike for the other, mainly due to conflicting spheres of influence.

It wasn't hard to keep track of them anyway. The school guards were dressed in full ceremony. Golden capes, shining armor, and all. The town watch on the other hand wore a simple, brown uniform. Practical, efficient, and a lot better suited to policing than the suits of armor the school guards wore.

Besides Tables 3 and 5, there didn't seem to be much trouble. Tables 1, 4, and 6 consisted mainly of male farmhands. Their steady and most reliable customers. Drank a lot but behaved themselves. Although tonight, he could see a few eyeing the ladies at Table 2, which Gale had just left. He wished them the best of luck. Glenn knew most of them to be good men who did their best out of a life of physical labor and toil.

In table 7, he made out the school's instructors. The Langdon Imperial Academy at Esthel as the school was called. A four-year finishing school for all the children born to the families of the Imperial peerage. The leaders of the next generation.

Not that the prestige of it mattered much too him. After all this wasn't his home. This wasn't his country, and it most certainly wasn't his world.

Something knocked onto the wood on the opposite side of the bar.

"I don't get it." Jericho's head rose from the beer-soaked wooden counter, a gauntleted hand moving to pick up the mug. Somehow, he managed to drown the contents without spilling it over himself. This time at least. "I don't get it."

"Relax Jeri," said the man standing opposite him. He wore a simple brown apron, much like himself and Gale. His hair clipped as short, with white specks giving it a salt-pepper look. Glenn knew he preferred it even shorter, but any further would have drawn too much attention.

Galvin, their expedition team lead, pat down on Jeri's armored shoulder while sliding him another mug of beer.

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Galvin slid him another mug of beer. "Pretty and powerful women like her always do. Besides, there is a saying where I grew up along the coasts. Plenty of fish in the sea."

"Plenty of f-fish in the sea," said Jeri. "Ha-Hah. Good one, haven't heard that before."

Glenn already knew what had happened. Jericho had been running his mouth off about the academy's latest instructor. Lucille Feranda, and as her last name suggested part of the lineage of the High House of Feranda, one of the four families which held immense sway over the country. Dubbed the steel-maiden, after single-handedly holding against an encroaching Craxxi nest. Young, at the age of 25, and with the potential to become one of the greatest female heroes of the generation since the era of the great invasion.

And if there was any truth to words about her looks, then it was no brainer she was perhaps one of the most desired and eligible women in the entire country. Which also made it a no brainer when Jericho, who was but an over glorified watchdog, had been rejected in kind.

Anyone could have seen the rejection coming from a mile away, but not Jericho, judging by the man's reactions. There was a saying from an old book that it is a universally acknowledged truth that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Glenn believed a slight adjustment to the phrase. That a single woman in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a man with an even greater fortune. At least insofar as a serious relationship.

Also known as the battle-maiden and He had gotten word of it from the academy's newest instructors. gave his boss a glance, asking if everything was alright. Galvin just winked back, indicating he had everything under control.

Glenn went back to minding the bar, cleaning another set of mugs with a wet rag. One quick glance around the tables told him there wouldn't be any new orders soon. The farmhands couldn't get too drunk, because they all had work early tomorrow. Even though it was the weekend. Seasonal requirements mandated 6-day workweeks. They didn't serve food today because they were all out.

He crept a glance over to table seven. Currently with the usual batch of instructors who drank here every Friday. History Teacher, wearing a ridiculous set of wide-brimmed glasses. Military Tactics Teacher, who had on clothes which basically was a military uniform barring the ranks and insignias. Math Teacher, who wore a simple blue sieve. And finally, the English teacher.

Who immediately caught Glenn's glance. She quirked a smile, with both eyes and mouth, and waved towards him with a free hand.

Glenn forced himself to smile back and looked away. She had probably been on her sixth drink of the day, not including the two she had for lunch before she went on to the afternoon classes. Irresponsible in his opinion. How an instructor for a military academy got away with day-drinking was beyond him. Not to include how she managed to maintain a figure like that while guzzling beer like a fountain. Not that there was anything unusual with ogling her. Past everything else, he was a simple man at heart. And besides, he caught quite a few of the farmhands from table 1 doing the same when she came in with her group.

He went right back to cleaning another set of mugs, when he saw one of the school guards step around and swerve his hand around the butt of female town watchman.

The response was immediate. A watchman got up, blocking the guard's path. The movement caught the attention of everyone else, and every guardsman clambered to their feet. A few reaching for their swords. Every watchman stood up, doing the same. Glenn, recognizing he was the closest to defuse the situation, stepped around the bar towards them.

"What did you do that for!"

"Nothing wrong." The guardsman smirked. "Lady seemed like she wanted a nice strong hand for a change."

"Why you!"

"Gentlemen," Glenn stepped between them. "Let's not get into a tussle here."

"Not until that bastard apologizes!" the watchman glared.

"As if," the guardsman winked at the woman. "Right honey?"

The woman snarled.

Years of practice enabled Glenn to see what was about to happen. If not, his combat implants flared as well, enabling him to see the lines and angles of attack. The watchman lunged, and the guardsman drew his arm back for a sucker punch. There, the situation would probably escalate, with both sides going into a full-out brawl.

With the simple use of leverage, he could have easily disabled the watchman and the guardsman in a few simple moves before they could realize what would have happened. Unfortunately, such a maneuver would draw an unnecessary amount of attention.

So, Glenn did the only thing feasible to prevent the situation from getting worse. He braced himself, stepping in to shove the watchman away. The guard's fist smacked into his shoulder. A small stab of pain, but nothing his terra-hardened body couldn't recover from. Glenn followed the force of the blow, falling to the floor.

"Now what is going on here?"

Glenn looked up to see Instructor Sera, standing beside them. Her arms crossed, the air around her body fizzling as she released her mana reserves.

[Warning: Class 4 Mana Entity Detected]

Glenn blinked away the notification from his combat interface. Unlike Galvin or Gale, he kept his on at all times. Never could be too sure of when he might need it. Especially out in this foreign land.

The guardsman and watchman backed away. Rightfully so. Every single instructor was a diamond-mage. Which meant she could take on all the watchmen and guardsmen in the room without even breaking a sweat.

Galvin and Jericho appeared soon after. Galvin with a concerned look. Glenn just nodded, quirking the side of his lip, letting him know that he was okay.

Jeri on the other hand, had rapidly dropped his moping act, and had become Jericho, head of the Imperial Academy Guard.

"Alright boy." Jericho grabbed the guardsman by his shoulder. "Now I know you are new, but I think you may need a reinforcement in manners."

He pulled and shoved him to the rest of the guardsman.

"All of you," said Jericho. "Back to quarters. Now."

Every single one of them shuffled out the double doors of the bar.

"Sorry about that Galvin." Jericho bowed his head. "And you too Glenn. New kid still needs to learn how things work here."

Jericho left, following his men out the bar.

"You okay there?"

Glenn looked up to see Instructor Sara offering her hand towards him. Her visage, and the mana pouring out around her body, reminded him of a time long past. Of another person standing above him. In far different circumstances.

"I'm fine." Glenn pushed himself off the ground without relying on her help.

"Just a bit of weekend fun folks," Galvin announced. "Nothing more to be worried about!"

The faces among the tables gradually turned away, back to their own conversations, and the merry mood in the bar returned once more.

Instructor Sera withdrew her hand, looking at Glenn with a mix of confusion and concern.

"Instructor Sera!" Galvin clapped his hand on Glenn's shoulder, preventing him from walking away. "Thank you for your assistance in this matter!"

Galvin squeezed his hand.

"Glad to be of assistance." She smiled. "It wouldn't do me any good to have our favorite baker be ruffled up like that. My students would be in an uproar."

"Thank you for the help." Glenn forced another smile as Galvin upped the pressure on his shoulder. He didn't enjoy being treated like a child, especially at the age of 32.

Even if he did act a tad bit childish.

"Anytime Glenn," she winked, then moved back to her table to the other instructors.

Glenn moved back behind the bar with his boss, not speaking until the noise of commotion within the bar would drown out their words.

"You okay there?" Galvin raised an eyebrow. "Seems like the lugger hit you pretty hard."

"I'm good." Glenn rubbed his shoulder. The one which Galvin squeezed. "I think your grip did a lot more harm though."

"Say it when you don't deserve it," said Galvin. "I know how you feel about these up-born folks, but remember this isn't home."

Glenn recognized the coded language.

"Glenn you okay?" Gale crept over, dropping a tray of empty mugs onto the bar.

"I'm fine," said Glenn. "Though I think Galvin's grip did a lot more harm."

"Say it when you don't deserve it." Galvin snorted. "Didn't even put even any extra energy into it."

Glenn knew if Galvin did, his shoulder would be a pile of mush. Galvin was one of the best terra-shapers in their world. And probably this world as well. He had seen the man bring down an entire skyscraper with nothing other than a conversion implant.

"Well, that's good to know," said Gale.

The doors to the bar swung open once more, and two people came in. Both of which drew the attention of all three men.

The first person was a woman, wearing a pale coat indicating reminiscent of what they called scientists in their world, but alchemists in this world. Her bored blank expression amid her blue eyes contrasted with her pretty face. Atop her shoulder-length blue hair, she wore a black and red tiara, with triangular nudges. Apparently, there was some long-drawn historically complex and aesthetic reason. To Glenn, they looked like cat-ears.

She stopped by table 7, greeting her fellow instructors. Really, to her friend Sera. Then she spun, her eyes zeroing to the three men behind the bar. Well to one specifically. Gale.

As she trudged towards them, Glenn looked over to Galvin, and the two sniggered. Galvin leaned over to Gale's ear.

"Don't keep your girl waiting kid," he said, then moved across the bar to set some more mugs aside.

Gale rolled his eyes.

"Hi Gale," she stopped right in front of him. It always unnerved Glenn how she said things with so little emotion, in that blank stare of his. Then again, Gale had a track record of going for the odd ones. Even when they asked him about his university days.

"Tali!" Gale leaned in for a hug, but Tali raised her hand to stop him.

"You smell like moldy grain," she twitched her nose. "And spoiled water."

"Well." Glenn started working on wiping down another mug. "Not surprising if you look around. This is a bar after all."

"Glenn." She turned towards him. "Stating the obvious as always."

"And you're as blunt as ever Tali," said Glenn. "What brings you to this house of moldy grain and spoiled water?"

"I wanted to see Gale," she said, turning back to the younger man.

"Come on Tali," said Gale. "Let's go grab a seat."

"I'll have to cleanse it first." She brought out a vial from her coat. "I ran some experiments with volplum and prenseed. I found it to be quite effective at eliminating odors."

"Sure!" Gale grabbed her free hand. "We should talk more over the table though. Come on!"

Tali jolted upon human contact, and her vacant cheeks turn a shade more red. However, she went along as Gale dragged her away.

Glenn shook his head, with a smile brimming with amusement.

Then the door opened again.

A man stepped in, wearing what could be loosely called a trench-coat. He stood about a shoulder shorter than him, snooting across the room through his spectacles.

Brennan. A real scientist this time, and another member of the expedition.

This was a surprise. Expedition members normally didn't drop by this time of the week. Which meant something needed to be done. Glenn nudged his head over, and Brennan took a seat the bar across from Glenn.

"So," said Glenn. "What can I get for you?"

"Something special," said Brennan.

Some special was code phrase meaning that there was something he need procured. Glenn raised his eyebrows. Tonight would be an interesting night.

"Well," said Glenn. "Here at Galvin, Glenn, and Gale's we pride ourselves in strong spirits. How strong would you like yours to be?"

"Pretty strong," said Brennan.

Which meant the request would be difficult.

"I see," said Glenn. "And… would you like something standard or something a bit special?"

"Standard," Brennan slipped a small coin pouch over. "I prefer to pay in advance."

"Of course," Glenn slipped the coin pouch.

Galvin stepped in at this point.

"Everything good?" said Galvin.

"Yes," said Glenn. "Our customer here wants something strong. Standard stock."

"Oh-ho," said Galvin. "Might be some time then."

"A bit urgent," said Brennan. "But nothing unmanageable."

"Ah." Galvin turned to Glenn. "I'll take it from here, you're good to go."

Glenn nodded, taking the coin pouch and disappearing behind the door behind the bar.

He walked with a sense of amusement and enthusiasm. It looked like he was going to get a chance to burn off some steam.

He stepped down to the cellar, digging through the pouch to pull out a copper coin. The one with the information chit carrying Brennan's request. Strong indicated the request was difficult. Standard meant everything he needed would be on the chit. No other explanation needed.

Glenn took one glance around, just to ensure he was alone. Not that he had to worry. There were enough sigilites and runautomatons running in the perimeter. Masking and detecting any trace of energy and noise. As far as the rest of this world knew, the cellar was just another cellar.

He stepped to the opposite wall in the cellar, and his implant interface started to synchronize with their base system.

[Analyzing… Analyzing… Crossworlder expedition authentication completed… Codename: Marauder accepted… Greetings]

The wall gave away, revealing a stairwell. Glenn kneeled, and stepped below.