The Black Whale Dance, a tavern where even the most renowned drinkers of Metia gathered.
This place was famous as a spot where night and revelry never ended, but now, for some reason, a heavy silence had settled over it.
All that could be heard were—
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
The sound of someone swallowing.
And—
Swallow!
The sound of many others gulping down their own saliva.
*Bam!*
Jinhyuk set down the oak barrel and wiped his mouth.
He didn't know much about alcohol.
But even so, he was certain.
This was incredibly delicious liquor!
'It's so sweet.'
On top of that, it was refreshing, so it went down endlessly.
He lifted the next barrel and chugged it the same way he had before.
*Gush gush gush gush!*
And right next to him.
The owner, Baudan, who had been watching, broke out in a cold sweat.
'Is he drunk?'
He slapped his own cheek.
The pain was clear, so he wasn't drunk.
Then did that mean the scene before him was real?
He slowly moved his eyes and counted the scattered barrels.
Twenty.
They were three or four times bigger than the ones he had brought out first.
And these weren't the trivial drinks served at other taverns.
This was a 70-proof liquor brewed using a special distillation method.
Even the drinkers here couldn't finish a single barrel, let alone half of one, but twenty?
This situation should only be possible in a dream.
*Thud!*
Whether he knew about Baudan's confusion or not, another barrel was cleanly emptied.
The brat—no, the monster whose identity was unknown—licked his lips with his tongue and reached for the next one.
The monster's hand cut through the air.
The barrel he had just emptied was the last one left in the tavern.
"Is there no more? It's so sweet that I never get tired of it no matter how much I drink."
*Thump!*
The drinkers who had barely managed to stay on their feet collapsed onto their backsides.
Some of them, covering their faces, even let out quiet sobs.
They were too ashamed of themselves for having boasted about being drinkers when they could only drink like this.
"I... I lose. You win. Even if all of us combined, we couldn't drink more than you. I can't call myself a drinker anymore."
Baudan muttered with his head bowed low.
It seemed he would have to change the tavern's name too.
From Black Whale Dance to Sunfish.
"What does it matter if you drink a lot or a little? If you know how to enjoy good liquor happily, that's what makes you a drinker."
Jinhyuk slowly looked around.
"I'm surprised. A tavern with such a joyful atmosphere. If there were a god of drinkers, they would surely have fallen in love with this place."
"!!!"
Everyone in the tavern, including Baudan, who was built like a bear, covered their mouths.
Their hearts swelled, and they nearly burst into tears.
'A... a god.'
It was clear.
The god of drinkers had manifested.
With a *ding* sound, Baudan, who had realized something, raised his voice.
"Start the music! Hey! You lot, go to the next shop and bring more liquor! Let's drink joyfully again!"
As if they had never been gloomy, the tavern became lively again.
A smile spread across Jinhyuk's face.
This was how a tavern in a fantasy world should be.
"I'm sorry for being so rough with my greeting! Come over here!"
Baudan approached stealthily and lowered his voice.
"I'll serve you the ultimate liquor brewed by my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather! It's a small amount, but it's incredibly delicious!"
"Oh! Thank you!"
Jinhyuk sat down in the seat Baudan guided him to.
All the other seats were wooden chairs, but this one was an extremely plush leather chair.
It even had armrests on both sides.
After a short wait, Baudan brought a mysterious-looking glass.
A fragrant scent was already tickling his nose.
"Now that I look at you, you're a foreigner, aren't you?"
"Yes, that's right. I came yesterday."
Baudan, handing over the glass, furrowed his brow.
"Don't tell me you're the foreign alchemist brought by Scangus!?"
"That seems to be the case."
When did I get that name?!
"Well, well. I didn't know I was acting cocky in front of a celebrity. But what brings the noble alchemist to this tavern? I'm sure every ordinary citizen of Metia would have told you not to come. They say it's a place where only people who know nothing but liquor gather."
"I heard that this is where information about Metia gathers first. Also, that your family, Master Baudan, has participated in the royal palace construction projects for generations."
"That was true up to my father's generation. Of course, my father couldn't participate in the final expansion project either, since the royal power changed hands."
"What was the purpose of that project?"
"Hmm."
Baudan shook his head.
"No one would know the purpose or the overall design. Even the big guys sitting over there participated in the construction, but they don't know what they were building."
The areas were divided into very small sections, and they only worked on that specific part before leaving.
"Wouldn't at least one person need to know the full picture?"
"You're right. That was handled by Master Hurson, my father's rival. He was the only outsider who knew the overall plan of the expansion project."
"Where can I meet him?"
"You can't. He's dead."
So that's why they said no one would know.
Just as he was thinking he might have to resort to a brute-force approach.
"Hey, Jack! Go tear off a royal commission from the wall! No, the one below! The very bottom! Yeah! That one!"
A piece of parchment that showed its age was pushed onto the table.
It was inscribed with the words: "Recovery of Royal Palace Blueprints."
"How it was lost hasn't been officially disclosed. But according to rumors, Hurson secretly kept the blueprints until his death. A foolish royal mage was on his way to retrieve them when they were intercepted."
"He must have been brave. I heard that royal mages have immense authority in Metia."
"It's not a person. What was it? A divine being that human power can never reach? Anyway, all the top talents from the royal palace went after it, but they failed to retrieve it. Some of them had their bodies shattered. That's why the royal palace even distributed this commission to the outside."
"It's right next to the city."
"And yet they couldn't catch it. It's not called a divine being for nothing. I hear the royal palace has almost given up on it after all this time. But the reward for this commission is still valid, so go try it if you can. Even though the royal palace failed, you're a foreign alchemist, aren't you? You might succeed. Oh, and even though they've given up, the place is still guarded by the Royal Knights. To enter, you need to be a member of a guild registered with the kingdom. Talk to Scangus about it."
A smile spread across his face at the flood of valuable information.
The Black Whale Dance tavern.
He had gotten plenty of delicious liquor and some golden information. It was a good decision to come.
"Thank you. That was very helpful. Shall we toast then?"
"Cheers!"
He clinked glasses with Baudan.
He planned to have just one glass of this precious liquor and then head out immediately.
---
A few hours later.
At the location he had arrived at after looking at the commission.
"Huh?"
Rina, who had voluntarily followed him, squinted.
"Alchemist. Don't tell me the reason you needed a guarantor was...?"
She pointed a finger at the hill, and Jinhyuk nodded.
Vice Guild Master Bram had offered to guarantee him without even asking why.
Thanks to that, Rina had come all the way here without hearing anything.
"No matter how skilled you are, Alchemist, don't you think you should give this up?"
Rina opened a thick book and recited a few names.
"These are people who rank within the top ten in the kingdom in terms of strength. Even those strong individuals went in there and came out broken. That's how terrifying that being is. If you go and get hurt..."
"It's fine. I'm tough. And I have this."
He pulled out Momo's psychic ball, used for her Zumba dance.
Within the Purification Guild, Scangus, it was called the Great Alchemist's Crystal Orb.
"Oh...! Then just try this one thing and come right out, okay? Don't overdo it."
"I will."
He walked toward the hill where a massive old tree stood.
The Metia Royal Knights were guarding the entrance.
One of them blocked his path.
"I am Mallok of the Golden Lion Knights. How did you come here?"
"Hello! I'm Rina, a member of the Scangus Guild. I'm here to guarantee this person's identity."
Rina handed over the document stamped with the Vice Guild Master's seal.
After quickly checking it, the knight Mallok looked Jinhyuk up and down.
"A foreigner, huh."
After staring for a moment, Mallok chuckled and stepped aside.
"Go in."
He decided not to bother stopping him.
A newcomer who had only been in the kingdom for a day, putting on an act of bravado.
These greenhorns needed a taste of the real deal to come to their senses.
"Don't come crying to me later."
He wasn't just saying that to scare him.
Years ago, Mallok himself had challenged the place with confidence and ended up with broken bones.
"Of course. I'll be off then."
After greeting Rina, he headed toward the old tree.
Perhaps because it was known as a divine being, offerings like fruits and rice cakes were piled up everywhere.
Many people were gathered around the tree, offering prayers.
Some who spotted him clasped their hands together.
"Oh, divine one. This is a foolish lamb who doubts your power. Please do not be angered, and look upon them with mercy."
"It's been a while since we've had an offering. Please, enjoy it."
*Gulp!*
Offerings for a living, breathing person? Was this a cult?!
He stepped inside the old tree.
A luxurious scent filled the air, as if expensive incense had been burned.
As he went further in, behind a massive throne made of wood—its material aside, its appearance was grand enough to rival a king's throne—an old man was kneeling respectfully beside it.
The old man tilted his head toward the throne.
"Yes. Yes. I understand. I will convey that."
After nodding a couple of times, the old man stood up.
He staggered heavily, as if his leg had fallen asleep, but soon regained his balance.
"The divine one has spoken! Foolish one! If you do not withdraw at once, you will taste a bitter punishment!"
"Oh, yes. Could you ask if the blueprints are here?"
The old man knelt again with difficulty and listened.
It was absurdly inefficient.
Jinhyuk moved forward so the old man wouldn't have to get up again.
"Yes. Yes... Hey! How dare you approach without the divine one's permission! Will you not withdraw at once!"
The old man couldn't stand up due to his aching knees and only shouted.
Ignoring him, Jinhyuk quickly positioned himself in front of the throne.
He turned his gaze to the throne and came face to face with it.
The fearsome being revered as a god... Huh?
A heavy silence flowed through the old tree.
After a moment.
The being whose eyes met Jinhyuk's opened its mouth.
"Kii... kiik?!"
It was a familiar voice.
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T/N:
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