Delanie was down. She had a rough day and all she wanted was to go back to her room which she rented in a cheap inn. No party wanted her to let in. Aside from Rank E mage, her magic was weak, too weak to even kill a single low level goblin in the dungeon.
If she couldn't earn this week, she wouldn't be able to pay her rent which was due tomorrow. She has been paying late and the Inner keeper warned her. One more late payment and she'll be kicked out of the inn.
She heaved a sigh as she walked back to the city. Just when she was about to turn left, a magic spell started to unfold her eyes.
She watched how the stairs made of platforms started to appear one by one, spiraling their way up. Magicap scrubs with blue flowers and a lamp-like glowing grass appeared, illuminating each step. Besides the first flight, it says:
Stairway to Floating Bar.
Curious of what this Floating bar means, Delanie decided to climb up the wide stairs. As she reached the top, she was mesmerized by what she unraveled.
In her eyes, she saw an enchanted place that she had never once seen in her life. The place was magical. There were types of trees and shrubs she had never seen, even before the magic spoke about them..
"This place was surreal," she whispered as she continued walking. As she crossed the river, a more breathtaking view made her jaw drop. There in the middle was a large mushroom. It was an angel mushroom. She knew the name because she had already seen one in the deepest part of the dungeon she was in with her parents.
Under the mushroom's umbrella was a woman wearing an odd outfit, wiping a crystal clear glass. Sitting on the stool before her was an old man, a glass in his hand, speaking something to the woman.
Delanie fixed her mage hat and walked towards them. Asher noticed the woman.
"Welcome," she greeted her as Delanie took a seat next to the old man.
"H-Hi," she greeted hesitantly. Delanie was unsure what actually drove her to sit before the woman with an angelic smile.
"What drink should I serve for you, Ma'am?" Asher asked her.
Delanie paled.
"I-I don't have any money to pay," she said. "I h-haven't found a party that someone like me would be in."
Asher sensed a little bit down to her second customer. And therefore she needed a drink that would lift her mood.
"That sounds harsh," the old man replied. "Usually, in a party, nobody likes a low rank. What rank are you?"
"R-Rank E," Delanie shyly replied.
The old man clicked his tongue but looked at Asher with a brilliant idea.
"No party was willing to take me. It's always like that. My rent is due tomorrow and I haven't earned a penny yet." Delanie's voice was trembling slightly, suppressing her shyness.
Asher nodded at the old man.
"Alright, I'll mix a drink for you. It's on me, old man," Asher said and started to prepare everything.
Delanie's eyes widened.
"Oh, please don't, I don't have-"
"Lady, I said the drink is on me," Asher said and winked at her.
Asher studied not only mixing or creating drinks. She also had studied how drinks could affect one's mood. Blue drinks tend to calm someone feeling down. Blue represents the calm ocean. She even experimented one time with one of her patrons who was fired from his job. After sipping the drink, he bounced back on his feet and went job-hunting. When he came back to her bar, he already had a new job, better than the previous one.
For the drinks she was thinking of, Asher took her blender out of a 14-oz cocktail glass. She prepared her jigger, a bottle of creme de banana, a bottle of citronge orange liqueur, and a bottle of agave tequila, which has a sweet and smooth taste and a clear color. A blue food coloring, lemons, carbonated drink (Sprite), and ice.
First, Asher poured at least 50 drops of the blue food coloring into the glass, 2 ounces of citronge orange liqueur, and stirred it until she got the blue shade she wanted. She then set it aside and worked her magic, making Delanie amazed.
She chopped enough lemons, enough to produce ½ ounce of fresh juice, and set it aside.
She grabbed her blender, poured 3 ounces of clear tequila, 2 ounces of Blue citrange she made before, 1 ounce of creme de banana, ½ ounce of fresh lemon juice, 2 cups of ice, and the 4 ounces of clear carbonated drink, and blend them all until she got the slushy texture she wanted.
She sliced the remaining lemon into thin slices. She placed one slice inside the cocktail glass before pouring the mixture. She slit the other and placed it on the rim of the glass, pushing the cut part until the glass' rim reached the lemon's center.
She then served the woman.
Delanie hesitated, but when she looked at the old man, he nodded to taste her drink.
Delanie gulped, not wanting to ruin the perfect blue drink before her, but then her hands moved on their own and brought the glass into her mouth.
At the first taste, Delanie was hit by a smell of saltiness. She stared at the vast blue ocean before her.
"Hey Dela, why are you standing there? Help your poor mother carry this fish, will you? Your father was blessed. The ocean gave him a lot of fish today," her mother called her name as she was waving to her.
"Mom?" Delanie's voice became a whisper. Tears started to form in her eyes. She ran to her, crying.
Her mom hugged her.
"Why are you crying? Did your dream of becoming an adventurer fail?" Her mother asked her.
Delanie nodded.
"Oh, you poor little thing. Come, help me bring these to the house. I'll cook something delicious for you."
Delanie nodded and followed her mom to their old home. She cooked her favorite food.
"You know, Dela, if you fail in the field you chose, maybe something better will come. You don't let failure discourage you. You will always have a place in our village. The ocean will offer you its fish, its weeds."
Delanie hugged her mother after that.
"Don't let failure discourage you…"
When Delanie woke up from her deep trance. She looked at the glass she was holding and found the blue liquid the same color as the ocean she left to pursue her dream. And then looked at the woman who smiled at her.
"Are you okay?" Asher asked her.
Delanie smiled. And took another sip from her glass.
"I think I need to stop becoming an adventurer and start looking for a job," she said, almost whispering.
"Why don't you join my team? Asher needs a workmate. Your pay will be above the minimum. You'll have a free meal. The work hours will start at 7:00 p.m. and end at dawn. I'll give you a free room so you don't have to rent. What do you say? You want to accept it?" the old man named Herrick proposed.
Delanie's eyes lit up. This opportunity was above all her dreams. This was it! The chance that her mother was telling her.
"Yes, Yes! I'll accept!"
Asher smiled as she finished washing the glasses.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow night. Your name?"
"Delanie. My name is Delanie Vangross."
"I'm Asher, and this old man is Herrick, the bar owner and our boss."
"N-nice meeting you, Boss. Thank you for giving me a job."