VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn

Out of all the people that Arthur had thought about seeing here, the Man in front of him was not on the list.

But the man was not unfamiliar to him. In fact, he might be the person he was the most familiar with among everyone here. The doctor was one of the few people that had known about Arthur since he was a child.

"How long has it been?" Doctor Furial asked, his memory escaping him.

"About… six years," Arthur answered for him.

"Six years… Time sure passes fast." Doctor Furial muttered, a hint of sorrow appearing on his face. 

It lingered for a few seconds before he shook it off, looking at Arthur.

"Tell me, how have you been?" Doctor Furial questioned.

Arthur was stumped with this question, unable to figure out what to speak.

Was he to tell that he had been suffering and living a meager existence?

Or were he to tell that he had died?

None of them were words he wished to speak to the man, nor to anyone. They were but passing thoughts, that forced their way through when his mental walls were weakened. After all, for Arthur seeing an acquaintance was rare.

There weren\'t many people that he could call friends, nor those that could be considered close to him. His last life had been that of suffering and misery for the most part. The few specks of joy that existed within it were either old memories or a handful of individuals that had left a mark on him.

"I… I moved out of the Orphanage." Arthur decided to answer with a fact instead.

"Is that so?" The Doctor furrowed his brows trying to add up Arthur\'s age. "Ah yes… You should be over Eighteen now." He said after thinking for a few moments.

"Yes… They ask you to leave six months after you turn Seventeen." Arthur spoke, feeling strange.

This was something he had barely spoken to anyone about, thus doing it now in this setting felt very unusual to him.

Doctor Furial too sensed this and suggested something. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere." 

"Umm…" Arthur didn\'t know what to say.

"Have you had dinner yet? Of course, you haven\'t." Doctor Furial said before looking at the Gallery staff next to him. "Do we have a place available for dinner nearby?"

"We have eleven restaurants pre-booked doctor." The staff member answered.

"Excellent. Suggest us a quiet place then." The Doctor replied. "A place with good soup, perhaps." He added.

"Then Feuille\'s shall be perfect, doctor." The staff quickly suggested.

"Let\'s head there then." The Doctor said before gesturing to Arthur. "Come on now. It\'s not good to delay dinner."

"Ah, yeah." Arthur couldn\'t help but be pulled along with the eccentric man.

Feuille\'s was a fine dining restaurant that was located on the same street as the Hypnotek Gallery was just a hundred meters from it. It barely took them a couple of minutes to get there, with the staff member personally guiding them.

Arthur found it a bit strange, as the staff wouldn\'t usually leave the Gallery like this. 

\'He isn\'t a normal staff member either…\' Arthur thought, looking at the man\'s uniform that looked better than others.

At the very least, he knew that the man wasn\'t part of the service staff or a store associate, but higher. 

\'Higher than that would be managerial staff… But they would be too busy with the event.\' Arthur thought.

The fact that he was guiding them was even strange. This only led Arthur to believe that it was most likely due to the Doctor.

\'They were discussing some reports before this. What exactly is Doctor Furial doing here?\' Arthur wondered.

In his past life, he hadn\'t met the Doctor. While he had heard a few bits of news about the man, that was the extent of what he knew. He reckoned that he would get to ask more once they were seated.

"A table for two under Hypnotek Gallery." The Staff member said to the concierge.

"Right this way, sir." The concierge said before showing them to a table.

The restaurant was rather elegant, designed with plenty of floral patterns. Wherever Arthur looked, he could either see flowers, leaves, vines or more incorporated into the decor. The walls had beige floral wallpaper that looked cozy under the warm lightning while wooden screens separated different sections carved with climbing vines.

Even the table they were shown to had the motifs of a rose bush carved directly into it.

Arthur could tell that the table alone might have cost half the price of a Dream Pod just by looking at it. 

This was easily the most expensive Restaurant Arthur had ever been to. Now he only hoped he wouldn\'t have to pay for this. 

"What would you like to order, sirs?" A waiter was already prepared with menus.

"Hmm… some good soup." Doctor Furial repeated his original request.

"I would recommend our Ocean Breeze Course set." The waiter said. "The grilled lobster bisque topped with sea grapes is our chef\'s special." 

The Doctor took a look through the menu and simply nodded upon seeing soup on it.

"Sure. I\'ll take that." The doctor answered.

"And what about the Young sir?" The Waiter asked.

"Uh… I\'ll take the same." Arthur replied quickly.

"Sure. I\'ll bring it to you shortly." The Waiter said before gesturing to another waiter. "In the meantime, please enjoy some minty lemon-infused water." 

With the waiter gone, Arthur was finally free to talk to the doctor.

"Now then… where were we?" The Doctor inquired as he took a deeper look at Arthur.

His eyes scanned his face, neck and then his hands, noticing several things.

"We were talking about me leaving the orphanage." Arthur spoke.

"Ah yes! Leaving at seventeen must have been difficult." The Doctor replied. "Though it is surprising to see you at the Gallery." 

"Indeed. I was there through a stroke of luck." Arthur replied, not wanting to reveal the true reason.

"Luck is quite interesting, wouldn\'t you say?" The man said, not inquiring further.