'Maybe the soul-intoxicating wine doesn't only strengthen the soul.'
'Maybe it can also help an ex-rank soul herder awaken a second or third time.'
Roy came to such a conclusion because the ingredients used to make it helped the protagonist awaken his third soul-herding ability.
'However, since no ex-rank soul herder has ever had the honor of trying it before, this information hasn't been verified.'
'I will be the first to do it!'
Roy cheered in his mind. The onlookers were unaware of his thoughts.
"It's precious." Damien's gaze swept past everyone in the dining room and stopped on Roy as he said, "So don't waste a drop of it."
There were several wine glasses on the table. After filling them to the brim with the wine that was brought out, he passed one to all except for one with telekinesis. The glasses lifted off the table and landed before them in the blink of an eye. Not a single drop was spilled during this process, displaying his immense control over his aura.
"Where's mine? Am I not getting one?" Julian asked with an aggrieved expression. He was the only one who didn't get it.
"Drinking is prohibited for minors," Damien said matter of factly, with no emotion whatsoever.
"I am not a kid!" Julian pointed out his baby face with his hands as he argued, "I may look like this, but I have already reached the legal drinking age!"
"Ha!" Damien coldly said, "Where is your proof?"
His sharp gaze was so intimidating that Julian subconsciously felt like a rat before a serpent.
He gulped down the words that had rolled up to the tip of his tongue, closing his mouth shut, silently sweeping in his mind. That's all he could do right now.
"Cousin, this time you're mistaken," When he thought he could only give up on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because of his extremely youthful face and figure, Roy spoke up for him. "He might look like a kid, but he is really as old as me."
"I know." Damien's expression changed so fast that it made one realize that he was only acting cold on purpose. His hardened expression eased, becoming light-hearted as he pressed his lips into a thin smile, "I was just teasing him.
The onlookers looked at him speechlessly, feeling baffled by his antics. 'You know how to tease others?'
And so, after much teasing, Julian was given one too.
"Aren't we supposed to wake up early in the morning? Is it alright for us to drink?" asked Delilah as she ran her finger playfully around the rim of the wine glass.
"The last thing you need to worry about is a hangover or waking up late, as it nourishes the soul and refreshes the mind," explained Damien calmly.
Roy looked at him with a gaze full of gratefulness and said, "Cousin, you spent too much to throw us a party."
The soul-intoxicating wine tasted the best right after it was served. After all, once it was exposed to air, its essence would be integrated with the world with every passing second, purifying and making the air sweeter. However, this will cause its intoxicating sweetness to diminish.
Damien, who knew this beforehand, immediately lifted the wine glass and emptied its content in his mouth. Only after gulping the flavorful red wine down his throat did he bother to reply to Roy, "I don't regret it."
Hearing his words, Roy's eyes lit up as a smile appeared on his face. "Thank you," he said to Damien.
The others also felt immensely indebted to Damien, and they also thanked him.
In the future, if they have a chance, they vowed to repay him.
"Let's see if it lives up to its name."
The Female Siren wife brought the glass full of wine close to her nose and sniffed it. Her narrowed eyes closed in satisfaction as a mind-blowing scent that was ten times sweeter than honey traveled up her nostrils, fogging her mind. It wasn't only sweet but also intoxicating. She fell into a daze and recovered after several seconds.
"So good."
The soul-intoxication wine was an expert at evoking the greed of people. She had only felt this way once before. It was when she kissed her Fated for the first time. When they stopped kissing, she felt an intense desire to kiss him again and again and not stop until her lips were swollen.
There was an irresistible charm to it, so she gulped it down like Damien, making a pleasant noise immediately after.
The maids wondered whether the Female Siren was making it seem more good than it really was.
They have heard about it in stories and legends, but they are more often than not exaggerated. So they didn't believe it was good enough to cause wars.
Although the kings have conferred it the title of the best wine, who knows if they were being playful?
When they sniffed it, they had the same reaction as the Female Siren. Their faces turned beet red, and their mouths watered. It's important to know that they have just finished a hearty meal.
It was supposed to be taken slowly, one sip at a time, like hot and bitter tea, but it was impossible for anyone with patience below the level of the buddha to do it. So the three maids chugged it down in one gulp. Delilah popped a pill in her mind before drinking it.
The other got drunk, but she didn't.
Amelia was like a dead fish as she fell asleep immediately. This was her first response to getting drunk.
Meanwhile, Sandra suddenly stood up and pulled out her sword.
"What's wrong?" Roy asked.
In reply, she nearly stabbed him in the eye.
But what was the difference in their level?
Forget about Roy's stats.
His lord-rank physique was such a cheat that even ten thousand Sandra wouldn't be able to harm him.
The tip of the sword stopped inches away from him.
It was as if it had met with an unbearable wall.
If one were to look carefully at that place, one would realize that there was a solid blue dot.
It was only as big as the tip of her sword, but it stopped it in place.
"Why did she attack me?"
Anyone would be freaked out if they were attacked for no reason. Although he had subdued her without even meaning to, he was offended by her rudeness.
"She didn't mean it. She enters battle mode when she is drunk."
Damien cleared Roy's confusion before he knocked her out by landing a hand chop on the back of her hand. He picked her up by the waist before she could fall to the ground.
"I will bring her with me."
"Okay."
Damien went away to lay her down on the bed.
Bang!
Right then, the sound of the table getting smashed was heard.
Julian and Tevenlor, who had remained silent when Roy was attacked, were beyond stoned. The wine worked wonders on them, knocking them out cold.
Their head smashed the table hard, almost shattering it. The impact caused it to crack through. Roy wondered how he would explain it to Damien.
The culprits were snoring. They were out cold.
"Why drink if you can't hold it well?" Roy rolled his eyes at them.
"More!"
Suddenly, he was harshly tucked by his women. Looking at her carefully, he realized she was also drunk. Her white face with shiny scales turned as pink as a peach, and her eyes went out of focus.
"There's no more."
Roy found her extremely seductive and gulped. He stopped her hand from flailing around in case it smashed a plate or his face and calmly told her to quiet down.
She looked at him and then at the wine that was meant for him and did this a few times before she cried to him, "You're lying."
As if he had wronged her, she glared at him with big eyes and pouted.
It looked like she was waiting for him to make up to her.
"It's an extremely potent wine." Whatever grievance she had, Roy simply didn't care. "It will do you no good to drink more than a glass of soul-intoxication wine, which is the recommended amount."
Justifying his action with such a silly reason, he enjoyed it throughly. She was given no time to argue. An empty glass was placed on the table before she realized what had happened. She grabbed his collar, jerking him, while he experienced firsthand why it was called as such.
He felt as if his soul was drowning in a lake of wine. What he tasted when he drank it remained on his tongue, although it had long gone down his throat. And it became richer and sweeter with time.
"So this is why it's called soul-intoxicating wine. It has hooked my soul!"
His senses were getting overloaded with sweetness, and he didn't feel disgusted!
The system's notification rang in his mind.
『Ding! You have drunk the soul intoxication wine』
『A mysterious energy is filling up your body』
『It is nourishing your soul』
A few seconds later, a semitransparent panel popped up in front of his eyes.
『The status of your soul has slightly improved』
『You have gained a few soul slots!』
『Your soul-herding ability has improved significantly』
『Congratulations on awakening a second time as a soul herder!』
