An Aura Farmer's Guide to Another World
Chapter 68: Chilling at the Bar

Chapter 68: Chilling at the Bar

After the funeral, we returned to the Queen’s castle and settled into the female dormitory in the northwest tower. In the lobby, we gathered at the curved bar, taking our seats on the dark stools.

"Do you want the whisky smoke over applewood or oak?" Angelina asked. She was dressed in a dark waistcoat and a long-sleeved linen shirt, her brown hair styled in short curls with bangs.

"Applewood is fine," I replied.

Angelina set a glass on the table and dropped in two metallic cubes. She poured Johnnie Walker whisky into the cup, then covered it with a wooden lid.

She then placed apple wood on the lid and pointed her finger at it. A vibrant blue flame burst from her fingertip, igniting the wood. Apple-scented smoke instantly swirled into the glass, infusing the whisky.

With an infectious smile, Angelina handed me the whisky. "A taste of something different, for our one and only King," she said.

"Thanks." I took the whisky and smiled back at her.

"I received a bottle of vintage sherry wine yesterday, aged 120 years. Would you like to try it?" Angelina asked Lucy.

Lucy huffed, the sound slicing through the humid air as she turned away. "Why not give it to your favorite? She can sip it through her nose and savor the flavor. A goddess doesn’t need your scraps."

Angelina leaned in, placing her hands on the counter. "Hey, it’s not my fault. Evelyn was totally right about that sherry, and you did tell me to be truthful."

"Oh, fuck off!" Lucy snapped, folding her arms in defiance and her eyes blazing at Angelina.

Angelina clutched her hand to her breast, her eyes widening with an exaggerated, mock sorrow. "Aw, come on, that’s gonna break my heart."

"Yohoo, if she’s not into that wine, toss it over here, I’m always up for a good old drink." Evelyn cut in.

Angelina turned and picked a wine bottle from the shelf, placing it in front of Lucy and pushing it closer. "Seriously, you don’t want it? I mean, is it a perfect fit for a goddess like you."

Lucy picked up the bottle, its dark glass opaque, save for the stark white label wrapped around its middle.

"You know what? I’m done with wine, Vodka it is, Gimme something spicy," Lucy declared, tossing the vintage bottle toward Evelyn. "Here, Cork-Sniffer, you can have this."

Evelyn caught the bottle, her elf-ears twitching. "Be careful when you throw glass around, what if it hits my head and pierces through my brain?" She paused, her cheeks flushing.

"Oh, the thought of it... It’s just thrilling." Evelyn pressed a palm to her cheek, clutching the wine bottle with the other hand. The idea alone seemed to send shivers of delight through her.

"Weirdo," Lucy scoffed, tossing her hat onto the counter. She glanced toward Angelina, listening as Evelyn uncorked the wine and took a long gulp.

Angelina set a glass in front of Lucy, tossing in an ice cube and swirling it with a long spoon. Next, she grabbed a steel cup, pouring in simple syrup, fresh lime juice, and ice. She shook the cup until the ice melted, then set it down.

She removed the ice cube, then poured vodka into the glass, followed by the mixture from the steel cup. Finally, she garnished it with a twist of fresh lemon peel.

"A lemon vodka cocktail for a goddess," Angelina said, sliding the glass cup toward Lucy. "Hope this makes up for it."

Lucy took a sip of the Vodka, and her face instantly twisted into a grimace, her eyes watering as if she’d swallowed a live electric wire.

"This tastes A..."

"Go on," Angelina prompted, leaning in, chin in hands.

"This tastes like shit." Lucy blurted out, cringing, then immediately turned away, taking another sip of the Vodka.

"Glad you like it." Angelina smiled before moving toward Cupcake.

’Are you sure you don’t want any alcohol?’ Angelina asked. Cupcake, taking a calm sip of her rose tea, replied, ’The usual is fine. I don’t drink poison.’

Angelina sighed. ’You know, this is a bar. Making me serve rose tea every time is just... ugh, it’s like I’m running a tea shop, not a bar.’

Cupcake glanced up, closing the newspaper, then placed it on the counter and stretched her hands in the air. "Bring us the pearls; this is the perfect time for us to level up."

"You’ve landed quite the prize, an incredible C-rank mana heart on your first mission. That’s impressive." Angelina said, bending to pull a thirty-centimeter box from a drawer and carefully placing it in front of Lucy.

With a quick and deliberate motion, she unveiled a dazzling red spherical mana heart from the box, its surface gleaming like polished obsidian. As she placed it on the small, intricately carved wooden pedestal, a surge of energy crackled in the air, like a faint heartbeat.

Cupcake pressed her finger on the mana heart, glancing at us over her shoulder. ’This C-rank mana heart, with a heart rate of 400ps, is from the Toad boss we eliminated in the bell cathedral.’

Glancing at Angelina, Cupcake asked, ’Could you share the power ranking sheets with us?’

Angelina pulled four sheets from the counter drawer and handed them to us.

✾❉❉❉Power Rankings❉❉❉✾

∎Core Level ✠Monster rank ✜ [Military Rank]

∎[Lota Core (Seed-100ps)] ✠[F

∎[Kappa core (Sprout-200ps) ✠[E-rank ] ✜[First Lieutenant]

∎[Theta core (Growth-300ps)] ✠[D-rank ] ✜[Captain]

∎[Eta core (Bloom-400ps)] ✠[C-rank ] ✜Major

∎[Zeta core (Peak-500ps)] ✠[B-rank ] ✜Lieutenant Colonel

∎[ Epsilon core (Harvest-600ps)] ✠[A-rank ] ✜Colonel

∎[Delta core (Dormancy-700ps)] ✠[S-rank ] ✜Brigadier General

∎[Gamma core (Renewal-800ps)] ✠[SS-rank ] ✜Major General

∎[Beta core (Rejuvenation-900ps)] ✠[SSS-rank ] ✜Lieutenant General

∎[Alpha core (Eternal Bloom-1000ps)] ✠[Calamity-rank ] ✜General

Cupcake stood up and placed her hand on the mana heart. "To ascend to the next core rank, you must consume pearls from the mana hearts of slain monsters."

She took a knife from Angelina and sliced a vertical line along the mana heart. "Joseph’s Mana reversion transformed him into a C-rank monster with a 400ps heartbeat. His power matched that of an Eta core user, equivalent to a Major in the Demon army."

Cupcake widened the cut she made on the heart with her bare hands. From within, she carefully extracted nine gleaming red pearls, the largest of them the size of a table tennis ball.

These pearls are super valuable to all of us because they belong to a core higher rank than our cores. I’m at Theta (300ps), and you guys are Lota users.

If one of us eats all nine, they’ll likely jump right to the next core level. But if we split them up, we’ll need more pearls to get to the next level.

Cupcake distributed the pearls: Lucy got three red ones, Evelyn received two (one of hers noticeably larger than Lucy’s), Cupcake kept three smaller ones, and I got two slightly larger ones. She then settled back onto her stool. "Just swallow ’em. They’ll dissolve and mix right into your blood."

The pearls slid down, cold as ice, with a sharp, icy saltiness. For a beat, nothing. Then, BAM! It hit me like a sledgehammer.

My veins throbbed, constricting and expanding as if struggling for breath, and my head spun, blurring everything.

My heart hammered, then hitched, threatening to quit. My fingers clenched, then splayed, over and over, until they froze mid-curl.

"Are you okay?" Angelina asked, standing before me with an empty glass and a napkin in her hands.

I mumbled, "I’m fine," my eyes fixed on the girls as they swallowed their pearls.

Why were they so calm? Was I the only one being ripped apart by this?

Emily stepped into the lobby and walked toward us, dressed in a high-collared, long-sleeved military uniform with a kimono twist.

Her skirt was short, revealing her upper thighs. Dark stockings hugged her legs, and her hair was pinned into elaborate buns.

"Lana’s waiting in the carriage," Emily announced, her voice crisp. "She’s taking you to a special, secret training course."

Lucy remained on the stool and turned. "Tell her we’re busy, we’ve got a trip planned to that new pastry café."

Emily marched right up to Cupcake. "This is urgent," she whispered.

"You should take care of her," she instructed Cupcake, indicating Lucy with a gesture. Emily then spun on her heel, clipboard in hand, and quickly left.

"So, is this normal?" I asked Cupcake, standing up.

Cupcake crossed her arms, watching Emily leave. "Not really. Lana just does what she wants."

Evelyn placed an empty bottle on the counter and turned toward Cupcake, "She could at least let us change! What sort of training can we perform in a dress?"

"She’s in the carriage. We’re leaving now." Cupcake stated.

Angelina, still facing away as she returned Evelyn’s bottle to the drawer, interjected, ’I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’

I ran a hand through my hair, then used a handkerchief to wipe my face and hands.

I sighed, extending a hand to Lucy. "Looks like we’re meeting Lana. The training probably won’t last long."

Lucy slapped my hand away and rose to her feet. "I can get up on my own," she said, then picked up the straw hat and placed it on her head.

Cupcake led the way, and we followed her out of the lobby, headed for Lana.