11 Castletown

Shin was inside the courtyard, standing in front of a training dummy, swinging his sword repeatedly. Sweat covered his body as he had been at it for a few hours.

"Shin!" A voice rang out from behind, prompting him to stop and turn around, noticing a pink-haired cat anima walking toward him.

"Sienna..?" He asked, resting his Greatsword against his shoulder and wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist.

"Duh!" She exclaimed, grabbing the hem of her skirt and twirling around, her pink tail darting around radically.

"What's up?" Shin asked, sighing heavily as he caught his breath.

"They dismissed us for the day; you wanna head to that cafe by your house?" Sienna asked, her eyes sparkling as she stared up at him.

"Ah…" Shin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm still not done with the training they gave us; rain check?"

"It's alright; I can wait for you!" She said, smiling, "How much do you have left?"

"Uh…" Shin averted his eyes, glancing at the window in the corner of his vision.

[Greatsword Training (1/4) - 90/100]

"It's gonna take a while…" He answered, shaking his head, "You should probably just go on ahead and go."

"It's okay!" She said with a smile, clasping her hands together, "I can wait!"

Shin cursed under his breath, thinking of how to get rid of the love-struck girl before him.

"Ya know, I'm almost ready for a short break." Shin said, smiling softly, "How about we go explore the castle town and grab a drink together."

"Yes!" Sienna blurted out and quickly smoothed her hair and twisted the end around her finger, taking a deep breath, "I mean, sure, that sounds fun."

Shin smirked and rolled his eyes, returning to the training dummy and swinging his Greatsword ten more times, triggering the quest.

[Greatsword Training (2/4) - 0/1,000]

He returned his blade to the magnetic attachment on his back, turned back to Sienna, and smiled, "Ready to go?"

"Yup!" She grinned, skipping alongside him as they departed the training hall for the United Federation Grand Academy in Academia City.

They walked through the cobblestone streets as they checked out the various stores and restaurants established by the NPCs.

The pair entered a few stores, much to Shin's disappointment, as they didn't sell anything useful for him, and he promptly ignored them, looking for a suitable place to grab a drink.

Eventually, they found a small cafe and entered, noticing it was slammed by students who had been dismissed for the day.

"Do you wanna find another spot?" Sienna asked, turning to him as she grabbed a strand of her hair and twisted it around her finger.

"Shin!" A voice rang out before he could reply, turning and seeing Lucy sitting at a table with a group of students from 1-A, "Over here! We have room!"

Shin sighed in relief, placing his hand on the small of Sienna's back and leading her through the mess of bodies toward the table.

He grabbed a chair and pulled it out, beckoning Sienna to sit, sliding her in before he turned around and grabbed another chair and pulled it up, taking a seat.

"Oh!" A waitress exclaimed when she returned, carrying a tray of drinks and placing them in front of the 1-A students, "More friends showed up! What'll ya have?"

Sienna looked through the menu and ordered a Fruit Blast and the server turned to Shin, and he asked for a Dragon Bitter.

She vanished and returned a few moments later, setting the Fruit Blast in front of Sienna and the Dragon Bitter before Shin.

The Fruit Blast was a mixed drink with vodka, pineapple chunks, orange and lemon juice, and a lemon slice on the rim.

The Dragon Bitter was a red ale with white foam that was prominently bitter with mild earthy and bread notes.

Shin took a large gulp of the ale and exclaimed happily. He looked around at the weird stares from the girls at the table sipping on their mixed cocktails.

In the next moment, a notification appeared in the corner of his vision advising the effects of the Dragon Bitter were being applied.

Food and beverages in SGO applied a bonus to experience gain and various effects. The bonus for the Dragon Bitter was a minor increase in his attack.

Suddenly, a massive hair fist reached out and grabbed Shin by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground.

A massive gorilla anima with red hair held him when the bartender behind the counter shouted at him, "Hey! Take it outside!"

The gorilla followed the orders and threw Shin through a nearby window, eliciting a round of shrieks and screams by the women present.

"JOHN!!!" Lucy shouted, shooting to her feet and slamming her hands against the table.

The gorilla anima ignored her shrill voice as he pushed his way through the crowd, exiting the cafe. He looked around but couldn't find Shin amid the broken glass in the street.

Suddenly, Shin appeared below him, wearing a pair of spiked armored gauntlets and boots. He kicked off the ground as hard as he could, uppercutting John and backflipping off his chest.

He gripped John's head with both hands, using his momentum to force the massive gorilla to fall to the ground.

Shin panted heavily, spitting on the ground, wiping his cheek, "I gotta admit, John… You really never seem to learn… No matter how often we have this dance, you just… won't give up!"

"I'd sooner die!" John roared, slamming his fists against the cobblestone, destroying it, "I cannot return to the Katana until I reclaim my honor!"

"What archaic bullshit!" Shin countered, shaking his head and turning to leave, "That was hardly even a rule from three thousand years ago! Give up this petty revenge and do whatever makes you happy."

"You cannot just leave…" John growled, standing as he unsheathed his massive katana, snorting as he glared at Shin, "What if I told you beating you to a pulp brings me joy?"

"Since when have you ever beat me to a pulp?" Shin asked, turning his head as he looked over his shoulder.

"If you don't pull out your blade, I will kill you…"