When the two entered the tavern, their first impression was: it was deafeningly loud.
The first person Durin saw was a boy, huddled by the door, happily savoring a glass of fruit wine.
Child labor was rampant in this world. Even countries like Demacia, which claimed to prioritize people's livelihoods, had child labor, and most of them did high-risk jobs. Let alone in an industrialized city like Zaun.
The server hadn't even had time to clean the wine stains and grease from the table. The tavern owner was a middle-aged man wearing a shell cap, baggy trousers, and large-toed shoes. The back of his head was covered with a brass plate, completely bald.
"Do you play Merchant's Prophecy Chess?"
Tuls asked while signaling a waiter to bring two large mugs of beer for himself and Durin.
Merchant's Prophecy Chess, also known as Admonition Chess, was a widely popular board game in Valoran, but the rules varied from place to place, much like Mahjong in his previous life. You might hear a new rule just by visiting a neighbor.
The tavern wasn't large, divided into two areas: one was the bar, where most people drank and chatted, and the other side had booths, with seating for two or four.
Around each booth, many people gathered, constantly interfering with those playing chess, completely unaware of the saying, "A true gentleman watches chess without speaking."
Just then, a game of chess ended, and amidst the jeers of the crowd, a disheveled, reeking drunkard stood up and left his seat.
"Yes."
Durin casually found a seat, then looked at the hand cards on the table and asked, "How much are we playing for?"
"One point, one copper circle coin."
Durin nodded. The rules weren't too odd then; it was a three-point system.
"Let's begin."
After finishing his observation, Durin quickly reset the small crystal blocks used for scoring and soon began playing with Tuls.
The gameplay of Admonition Chess was simple, merely involving memory, lying, and discernment. During the process, observers and your opponent would constantly use words to disrupt your thoughts and frequently use steps like "flipping cards" and "swapping pieces" to mess with memory.
Each round ended with one side inferring the position of the chess pieces, and the other side agreeing or disagreeing. The winner accumulated one point, and whoever accumulated three points first won.
Moreover, this tavern had an even more interesting rule: before each game started, one had to drink a barrel of beer. The purpose of doing so was primarily twofold: first, to increase the difficulty of the game, as playing Admonition Chess with two sober people would make the game too simple.
Therefore, drinking, constantly drinking, to make everyone a bit tipsy, was how they could experience the fun and feel the game was challenging.
Another reason was to prevent the two players from getting carried away. Adding a drinking rule meant that both sides of the match had to frequently leave the chessboard, so that the number of single matches wouldn't be too many, and they wouldn't have to worry about losing too many copper circle coins at once.
Fortunately, the beer sold in this tavern, for Durin, was like diluted malt liquor, containing almost no alcohol whatsoever.
The people around, upon seeing Durin's Ionian appearance, initially showed expressions of mockery. In their perception, Ionians preferred tea and were the type who would collapse after just a little drink.
But as Durin drank cup after cup, sitting steadily in his seat, their expressions gradually turned to shock, and finally, they fell silent.
It was late into the night when Durin's winnings in copper circle coins had piled up to almost a small mountain. At this point, the tavern owner also came over to say they were closing.
Durin waved his hand and said indifferently, "Tuls, take the money on the table back! We were just playing today, not serious."
"Oh! Durin, are you serious?"
Tuls's eyes lit up.
Seeing his sluggish demeanor, Durin raised his hand to take the money from the table.
Unexpectedly, as soon as his hand reached out, Tuls snatched the copper circle coins from the table like a whirlwind.
Of course, he still left Durin five copper circle coins, which was Durin's principal.
"Durin, you're always so generous! Let's have a good drink to celebrate you becoming a Mage Assistant! Come, to a beautiful new life, let's toast!"
Tuls raised his beer mug and clinked it hard against Durin's.
With a few muffled gulps, a pint of beer went down his bobbing Adam's apple.
Durin, however, forced himself to drink half, but couldn't swallow any more.
He had already drunk countless large mugs and truly couldn't take any more.