Chapter 680
EXP Potion: Free Limited-Time All-You-Can-Drink
When all the cardinals were seated, the sky outside was already beginning to brighten.
Initially, Eivass felt quite excited, but after a few hours, he started to feel a slight boredom. Fortunately, he had brought Isabel with him. With nothing better to do, he took her hand, fiddled with it, and chatted softly about the recent developments in Avalon, while also poking fun at Sherlock, who was absent. That’s how it is among friends – whoever isn’t present becomes the topic of conversation for others.
The other cardinals seemed unfazed. After all, with the long lifespans of the immortal race, they had to learn how to waste time to avoid their lives becoming hollow and fatigued. A mandatory skill for this was patient waiting.
The only issue was perhaps the lack of plain water. If one felt thirsty, they could only drink wine. This was because being too sober was not a good thing when communicating with gods. Sobriety meant rationality, which led to logic, analysis, and dispelling of enchantment – that was also a form of disrespect.
For this reason, in the most ancient ritualistic classics, there was always wine or similar ritualistic aids present at feasts, allowing the ritualists to quickly enter a disassociated, hypnotic state. This was also because the existence of “wine” itself was sacred—it required the consumption of large amounts of precious grain for brewing. In eras where food was scarce and not everyone could eat their fill, wine was a luxurious, wasteful, non-essential item.
…Precisely because of this, it was also considered a “readily available yet quite precious” resource in ritual studies, symbolizing “the essence that allows one to live.” Just as larger bait can catch larger fish, and more expensive lottery tickets give the feeling of a higher probability of winning—ritualists using more valuable offerings would feel that the ritual would become more sacred, and the Pillar Gods would be more likely to respond to their prayers.
—Of course, this was just the explanation from the perspective of “ritual studies.” In “theology,” there were often contrary interpretations. This was because the Pillar Gods actually did not need offerings, nor did they necessarily enjoy drinking. They were often merely observing the ritualist’s attitude and determination.
Even Eiwass, who liked to drink the most, still had the divine wine brewed by the Banquet Master. This was akin to saying, “I heard he likes computers, why don’t you give him two thousand yuan to buy a graphics card?” Just as someone who truly likes computers likely owns more than just that amount in accessories… things that gods themselves liked were certainly not something mortals would offer as sacrifices.
The Church clearly understood this. Therefore, the wine they presented was for the bishops to drink, not a single drop for the Pillar Gods. However, this year was somewhat of an exception. Apart from Eivass, almost no cardinal touched the wine before them. Instead, they maintained stern expressions, gazing straight ahead, or whispering with their attendants.
This situation was certainly abnormal. It was like a major leader hosting a high-spec cocktail party, but inside, there was complete silence. It was quieter than during office hours, with almost no one drinking, and everyone eating with solemn faces. Anyone looking from the outside would be utterly bewildered: What’s going on? Is this the Last Supper? Or is the annual meeting also a memorial service?
Thus, the reporters in the back meticulously recorded this scene and each speculated in their hearts about the reasons behind the cardinals’ abnormal behavior—Was it because they were dissatisfied with the decision to make Eivass, a human, a cardinal? Or was it because they disagreed with the Pure White Saintess’s succession to the papacy? Or perhaps, something had happened to the Pope? It couldn’t possibly be that the Church was about to disintegrate, could it?
However, these could only remain internal speculations. There was absolutely no daring to discuss them with others—who knew how good the hearing of these cardinals was, whether they had recording devices or ritualistic surveillance? If someone accidentally overheard, they’d be in trouble; if it was accidentally broadcast live, they might not see the next day’s sun.
Ultimately, by the time the sun rose, Isabel had finished recounting the recent events in Avalon. Eivass, having drunk four bottles of wine, had already entered a state of intoxication. His cheeks were flushed, and even the depths of his pupils gleamed with a golden-red light… While appearing tipsy, he exuded an unrestrained divine aura.
This was not because Eivass was a heavy drinker. It was because the “Sacred Tree No. 1” here was completely different in taste from Queen Sophia’s “inheritance”—that bottle of Sacred Tree No. 1, which had been poisoned with an immortality curse, that Isabel had brought back then. At that time, Eivass had thought it was just a good bottle of wine. Although “Sacred Tree No. 1” was a divine wine brewed from the blood of “Giant Tree,” a Disciple of the Candlemaster, making even Eivass and Isabel, who didn’t like drinking, find it palatable… it was still just that, not comparable to the exorbitant price it fetched on the black market.
Back then, Eivass had thought it was purely due to unscrupulous merchants monopolizing the supply and engaging in price gouging. He thought those goblin swindlers were quite clever, having mastered the “attraction of limited luxury goods to the nouveau riche” by that era… Now, Eivass realized that it was because the curse added by Minister Dross back then had thoroughly disrupted the balance of Path Power within “Sacred Tree No. 1,” turning it into a rather ordinary bottle of wine.
This wine contained a very strong power of devotion. The Path Power within it, judged by its purity alone, was even purer than the blood Eivass used when he first tamed a Shadow Demon with the Shepherd’s Method at the First Tier. It was even comparable to the Shepherd’s Method after Eivass obtained [Flesh and Blood Dedicatio]… Considering this, Giant Tree probably also possessed the Path Trait of [Flesh and Blood Dedicatio].
This was an offering from Giant Tree, its original purpose likely being to enhance the strength of other devotees who received this wine. Illusory Demons from the Path of Devotion would probably be driven mad by it. If a First Tier devotee obtained such a bottle of wine and drank it completely, they would likely be boosted directly to the Third Tier. Even though Eivass had already reached the Fourth Tier, he could feel his level slowly rising.
As expected of a divine wine that only the Eternal Pope could drink one bottle of each time he awoke. Undoubtedly, this was a genuine treasure! It was just a pity that this wine was only effective for devotees. Otherwise, he would definitely have given a few bottles to Lily and Isabel as well.
When Eivass took his first sip, he immediately understood—he completely comprehended the Monkey King during the Peach Banquet. A limited-time, free all-you-can-drink EXP Potion banquet happening only once every three hundred years, whoever didn’t drink their fill was a fool!
(End of Chapter)
