288

Drinking

"No, thank you." Forseti waved his hand, "As a priest, I still adhere to certain precepts."

"Anduin, you were exiled to Sakaar, right? Where did you come from originally?" Grandmaster asked, casually refilling his glass and moving about energetically.

Forseti replied, "From the Cathedral of Light in Azeroth."

"Azeroth? Never heard of it." Grandmaster smiled, taking a sip of wine, "But since you were exiled from there, why follow their rules?"

"In truth, I founded the Cathedral of Light, but my follower Benedictus betrayed me, leading to my exile," Forseti sighed.

"Ah, I see," Grandmaster nodded understandingly, "But this is my birthday party. Wouldn't it dampen everyone's spirits if you just sat there?"

Forseti fell silent for a moment.

He suddenly became curious about Loki's experience in getting to know Grandmaster...

At that moment, Grandmaster brought over a bottle of wine, poured two glasses, and handed one to Forseti, saying, "This is the strongest wine on Sakaar, the 'Blood of the Red King'. Drink up, Anduin, or I'll be disappointed."

"Alright." Forseti agreed, taking the bottle and having a sip first.

The taste was decent. As an Aesir god, this wasn't strong at all for him, so he finished it in one go.

Watching him, Grandmaster paused, then grew quite interested, "Why are you drinking it like water? It's been years since I've seen someone handle it so easily. Carry on."

He poured more wine, and soon they had downed four bottles of the Blood of the Red King between them.

Forseti's Asgardian physiology gave him a high tolerance for alcohol. Compared to his past life where spirits tasted worse than beer, two bottles barely affected him.

Grandmaster, however, clearly couldn't hold his drink. After two bottles, his face was flushed and his ears reddened.

Normally moody and nervous, his drunken state made him erratic, laughing one moment and tearful the next.

"Hiccup." Grandmaster burped, then addressed the crowd, "Anduin here has polished off two bottles of the Red King's Blood. Anyone want to challenge him?"

"Just two bottles?"

"I'm in!" A burly man, previously plowing through the party, approached discontentedly, ready to compete with Forseti, and proceeded to drink three bottles himself.

"Hiccup." The burly man burped, a blush creeping up his neck after three bottles.

"It's your turn, Anduin." Grandmaster slumped onto the couch, calling for another crate of wine.

Forseti calmly took out two bottles from the crate and drank them down.

The burly man managed two more bottles but was clearly inebriated.

"Alright, you're no match for Anduin." Grandmaster patted him on the back, motioning him to step aside.

"Topaz." Grandmaster called to his bodyguard.

"What?" Topaz frowned, not particularly respectful to her boss.

Grandmaster waved dismissively, chuckling, "It's my birthday party, relax. Now I wonder, who's the better drinker, you or Anduin?"

"I'm your bodyguard. Drinking with you is not part of my job description, ensuring your safety," Topaz retorted.

"What could possibly go wrong?" Grandmaster waved his hand, "Come on, Topaz."

After hesitating briefly, Topaz walked over, picked up two bottles of wine, and drank them without flinching.

After finishing, she prepared to leave.

Forseti suddenly remembered something, his expression changing abruptly as he stopped her, "We haven't declared a winner yet."

Topaz frowned.

Encouraged by Grandmaster, "That's right, Topaz. Anduin has had four bottles, and you've only had two."

Reluctantly, Topaz drank two more bottles.

By now, Forseti was openly challenging her, finishing his bottles defiantly, not leaving a drop behind.

"Hahaha." Grandmaster laughed and clapped, amused by the spectacle, "A drinking contest! Come, let's bet on who will be the ultimate winner!"

Topaz, too, showed some spirit, snorting in response as she continued drinking, downing more than ten bottles in a row.

Not to be outdone, Forseti matched her effort. The two went through an entire crate of the Red King's Blood not long after, each drinking over a dozen bottles.

For most people, a dozen bottles of the Red King's Blood would be a staggering amount, making the wine contest the focal point of the party. Many placed bets and speculated on the outcome.

"Hiccup." Forseti burped.

After consuming over a dozen bottles of the Red King's Blood, he couldn't take any more, feeling dizzy and intoxicated.

Topaz was in a similar state, flushed and sweaty. She panted, "Bring it on!"

Grandmaster waved lazily, "Bring in two more crates of wine."

Forseti and Topaz continued their contest.

By now, everyone else had largely returned to their own revelries, their attention fixed on the wine challenge.

Forseti drank half a bottle and paused to catch his breath.

"Come on, Anduin, finish her off!" Carlo cheered from the sidelines.

Forseti looked at him, "Why don't you give it a try?"

"Haha, Carlos is here too," Grandmaster chuckled.

Carlo quickly shook his head, "No, I can't handle that much."

Forseti handed him half a bottle, "Can't you at least manage half a bottle? Come, Mr. Carlo, you haven't touched a drop of wine from start to finish."

"Drink, drink, drink!" The chant at the wine table seemed to be a vice shared by all sentient beings here, and soon everyone was egging Carlo on, pouring wine for him.

Carlo reluctantly took the lead, and everyone joined in. Before long, the entire room was filled with the scent of alcohol, leaving everyone a little tipsy.

"No, no more," Forseti waved his hands repeatedly, conceding defeat.

"Haha, I win." Topaz flashed a victorious smile, but soon she sank to the ground, too lazy to even lean on the sofa.

Grandmaster sprawled on the sofa, his gaze unfocused, much like most of the room, "Anduin, I thought you'd be a champion like Ares."

Forseti choked out casually, "Ares is indeed powerful, but aren't you worried about his betrayal? My follower Benedictus was less than a tenth as strong as Ares, and yet he managed to cause my exile."

"Of course Ares is formidable, but he can't escape the control of the obedience disc," Grandmaster adjusted his position, slumping deeper into the couch like a puddle.

Forseti asked, "The obedience disc? I've heard of it, but I've never seen one."