~Two Months Later~
The young girl tightened her gloves as she walked towards the pub, her shoes faintly clicking on the cobblestone. Her little informant better show up or else she'd probably rip his throat out, no matter how hard the task would be in the virtual world.
She had finally decided to keep the name Ace. It was easier than telling everyone she met to call her Anna and she felt she was finally living up to her expectations on Ace. She may have only been average level for people going at her rate, but she was a solo at the moment. A fucking solo. Solos didn't do so well because they were loners. They ended up dying alone and since there's no body to find, no one can record their death and put in in the charts. Ace hoped Nick wasn't a loner like her. She didn't want to find his name on that list. If she could ever find his name.
The bell above the door rang as she walked into the little pub. It was full of players drinking, laughing, and eating. She sat down at an empty booth and waited for a wench to come along.
Ace didn't know shit on what the broker looked like. She had the general suspicion that they were female, for most were. Flirting to get information gave them high advantages.
A waitress came up to her table after a couple of minutes. "What can I get you today, ma'am?"
Ace placed a small order, all the while trying to figure out if the waitress was an NPC or real player. She'd seen both in almost every occupation thinkable, and they were always easy to pinpoint. NPCs were perfectly crafted for their chosen job, while players were always flawed in one way or another. This wench was in the middle of things.
"It'll be out in a sec!" She said cheerfully as she left to wade through the crowd of people. After a minute, Ace's order and a napkin was placed onto her table. She have the waitress a brief nod and thanked her.
Ace ate in the silence of her thoughts. The bread was bland and could have been considered stale in the real world, but it was Aincard. The food was either shitty or expensive. The solo glanced towards the bar and judged the lumbering men, both NPC and real. She didn't know for sure if one could get drunk in the game. She didn't plan to find out, no matter how much her curiousity pushed her.
Ace sighed and continued to eat. Crumbs collected into her cheeks and her lap. She quickly wiped the crumbs off her gear. She opened her napkin to brush off the crumbs on her mouth when she saw faint ink in the inside, she looked around for any watching eyes and then slowly opened the napkin, as not to tear it.
Hastily scrawled on the surface were the words "17th floor of Gilmer's Tower. Big boss. Watch out.".
Ace smiled. She needed this boss drop all to herself. It'd help pay for her new harp, not to mention the greedy clans wouldn't get a hold of them. Spending all the loot on bullshit accessories with no stats. Ridiculous waste.