The story wasn't actually very convoluted.
When Feng Qing'er and Qing Tan entered the ancient temple, they arrived in the same long corridor as Damien did, along with everyone else. And just like him, they had walked pretty far before they chose a door to enter.
The demons and the rest of the participants had also split up and entered the various doors in the corridor. As for their fate? Perhaps nobody knew besides the one controlling those maidservants.
When the two girls entered the room they chose, they were immediately stunned into a stupor. There were two paintings on the wall in front of them, and no matter how hard they tried to look away, they found it impossible.
It was as if their souls were being sucked into the painting.
Feng Qing'er was the first to escape her predicament. Her Reincarnation Flames worked similarly to Damien's Void Essence in its ability to cleanse outside influences. Since it was especially effective on evil presences, she was snapped out of her daze quickly before her soul was stolen.
After that, she was able to take Qing Tan out of her dazed state as well. When the two regained their senses, the floor dropped out from below them.
But unlike Damien, they didn't end up in the abyss. They were instead transported to a true treasure room filled with various pills and artifacts that they had taken for themselves.
After escaping the treasure room, their next destination was an arena. There, they had to fight for their lives and survive 10 battles before they were allowed to leave.
Their opponents weren't those who entered the ancient temple with them, though. They were soulless puppets like those maidservants with strength that was near that of the Apostles. Only, those puppets could fight much better than the Apostles, who spent most of their lives lazing around.
And when they escaped the arena, they ended up in the dining hall. That's all there was to it.
"Doesn't that seem a bit too…easy?" Damien asked while taking another sip of the liquor in front of him.
"Yeah, that's exactly what we were thinking. Even though the arena fights were genuinely difficult, it wasn't to the point of being able to take us to the final stage of the inheritance trials, which I assume is what this dinner party is." Feng Qing'er spoke in agreement.
"Not only that, but the timing is also off. We didn't spend more than two days at the most doing all of that, but for you to arrive here as well, how long were you within the ancient temple?" Qing Tan asked.
"Around two days. And when I entered, the people outside said that the temple had already been open for a few days already. Looks like there's something wrong with the time in this temple as well…" Damien muttered.
'But why couldn't I sense it?'
He could sense the time dilation in the Trial World, but not within the ancient temple. In fact, he had actually lamented about it while falling through the abyss before.
'Wait…I only spent 2 days here, and they said they spent 2 days as well. If so, I wasn't experiencing a time dilation but they were?'
It would make sense if it was like that. If time was sped up for them so that their activities only took two days for them while being four in the outside world, everything would add up.
Damien took another swig from his glass of liquor. This was already his fourth glass, and every time he finished the glass it would magically fill up again.
"What an odd realm…besides the time dilation, the trials are also too easy. I wonder what's going on?"
Feng Qing'er chugged down her fifth class of liquor as she responded.
"Not all Inheritance sites are created equal. Perhaps we just had bad luck and encountered something average."
But Damien shook his head in denial. "You said that hundreds of people entered, didn't you? For only 60 of us to remain, it naturally wasn't an easy trial."
"He's right. Either we got extremely lucky with our door picks, or we're being guided by someone more powerful than us."
Damien furrowed his brows. He didn't like the idea of being led on a string, but it seemed to be to their benefit this time.
'Could it be…?'
He questioned whether it was the doing of the Primordial Undying Tree, but he had nothing to prove his conjecture. And before he noticed it, he had downed his tenth glass of liquor.
Clang!
The clattering of platters rang out through the silent dining hall. Since Damien and the girls' conversation happened through sound transmission, even their voices were unheard.
When they turned to look over, a man at the end of the table had collapsed. There was no longer any life aura coming from his body.
Hey, what's—glug…" Feng Qing'er tried to talk, but her arm picked up her liquor glass and forced her to drink it.
Damien found himself in a similar situation. Without even realizing it, he had been continuously downing the liquor ever since the feast started.
"This isn't right. It seems the second trial has already started." He sent another transmission to the girls as he downed his 12th glass of liquor.
"We're being forced to drink? What kind of test is this?" Feng Qing'er huffed.
"It isn't that simple." Qing Tan replied. "We might not be feeling anything, but look over at the rest of the people here."
Following her words, Damien and Feng Qing'er glanced at the other participants of the dinner party. Just as Qing Tan said, they didn't look laid back at all.
A few of them were choking on the liquor in their mouths, but the invisible will that forced them to remain in their seats didn't allow them to spit it out. After they swallowed the liquor, another glass went straight to their mouths.
Clang!
25 glasses of liquor had been drunk. At this point, another 10 people had already collapsed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
50 more glasses of liquor later, 20 more people collapsed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Once 100 glasses were drunk, Damien and the girls started feeling the effects as well. They were drowsy and unable to properly rouse their mana. But their mana still moved instinctively to purge the toxic substance from their body.
Under the influence of their mana, they were able to return to normal condition.
But not everyone was the same. Once 200 glasses of liquor had been drunk, 40 people had fallen. Now, there were only 20 left.
"We're being forced to drink until we die. Truly avid for a dinner party." Damien commented.
"Ugh…don't talk. I feel like my head is going to explode." Qing Tan replied back.
Of the three of them, she was the one with the least resistance to toxins. But since she still had her insane darkness affinity, she had better resistance than most.
The drinking game continued. 300 glasses were drunk, then 400, then 500. It didn't seem like the game would stop until everyone died.
After 900 glasses, only seven people were left. Damien, Qing Tan, Feng Qing'er, the three Demon Kings, and one other beast who had yet to achieve his human form.
As expected, the 6 at the head of the table survived until the end. That beast was the most surprising one. He was seated close to the middle, suggesting that he shouldn't be anything more than average. Yet, he had managed to last until it was only him and the best among the best.
925 glasses were drunk.
The beast began to growl furiously. His eyes turned bloodshot.
950 glasses were drunk.
His aura billowed as he resisted the effects of the liquor. It didn't seem like he would be able to hold out much longer.
975 glasses were drunk.
Somehow, that beast managed to live. At this point, Demon Queen Eliza, Demon King Granheim, and Qing Tan all were reaching their limits. They knew they wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
But seeing how that beast was infinitely close to death, they held on with everything they had. At the very least, they wouldn't be the next to die.
999 glasses were drunk.
That beast could no longer hold on. His body collapsed to the ground and he was foaming at the mouth. His bloodshot eyes shone with unwillingness, but due to the restrictive force that prevented their bodies from doing anything besides drinking, he wasn't even Anel to voice his indignation.
And when the beast finally fell, the 1000th glass was filled with liquor.
Qing Tan, Granheim, and Eliza all watched their glasses with fear in their hearts. They were all aware. Based on the current condition of their bodies, this glass could make or break them. They might die if they couldn't resist it.
Their arms moved without their permission and grabbed the glasses. Damien and Feng Qing'er looked at Qing Tan worriedly, while Eden still sat with the same indifferent face.
And as everyone's emotions reached their peak, that 1000th glass of liquor was forced down their throats.
Gulp!
