Chapter 80 - Until You Fall

The game began with one cup.

"Drink! Drink 'till you die, then keep drinking!" [Oled]

Cheers arose as we downed cup after cup of alcohol. Needless to say, it tasted horrible.

"Urgh…!" [Solace]

Almost vomiting, I paused for a moment.

"Hah! Ya done?!" [Thungrid]

"Not yet!" [Solace]

Gritting my teeth, I downed another.

"Hurgh…!" [Solace]

I slammed my fist against my chest. There was a burning within the back of my throat, and I could feel some kind of heat moving down my chest.

("God this is terrible.") [Solace]

The alcohol I drank was nothing like the ones on earth, or so I believed. Not once have I drank alcohol before such an event, but at least the smell itself wouldn't make me nauseous.

"More! Drink more!" [Thungrid]

Four cups. Five cups. Then six. We continued on and on, which made me feel completely numb.

"Y… You… Ahm, nyut jun yee… (I'm not done yet)" [Solace]

"Hahaha! Ya got grit!" [Thungrid]

My vision blurred and my senses dulled. It took immense amounts of effort just to lift the cup to my mouth.

"You have acquired |Poison Resistance|." [Spirit Guide]

Upon hearing those words, my vision slowly came back.

"Oof…" [Solace]

Taking deep breaths, I chuckled a little.

"I… can keep going!" [Solace]

Fourteen. Fifteen. Then Sixteen. I kept up with the mighty dwarf before me.

"You have gained |Experience|. |Poison Resistance| has gained a level|." [Spirit Guide]

I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to puke. After a moment of rest, I could also see the dwarf beginning to feel affected.

"Yah… Yah wan… want… tah gyive… give ahp yeeee? (You want to give up yet?)" [Solace]

The dwarf grinned.

"Gahaha… Not even if Hel freezes over!" [Thungrid]

Twenty. Twenty Five. Thirty. At this point we had already emptied three barrels.

"Jyust… Just… gyive in…! (Just give in)" [Thungrid]

"Nooo… Youuuu…! (No You)" [Solace]

Our speech was clearly impaired. To be honest, this part of the story was bits and pieces put together after asking around after the event.

"You have gained |Experience|. |Poison Resistance| has gained a level." [Spirit Guide]

Fourty. Fifty. Then finally Sixty. We both struggled to lift the cup to our lips. It was at this point where I was worried about losing, but a miracle happened.

"...Ugh." [Thungrid]

Slamming his face into the table, the mighty dwarf passed out.

("Did… Did I win?") [Solace]

The room fell silent. The dwarves in the room looked at me with eyes of expectation, which probably meant I had to finish one more drink in order to win.

("...Damn it.") [Solace]

Lifting the cup with trembling hands, I slowly drank the alcohol.

"Mmm!" [Solace]

I lifted the empty cup high with a mouthful of alcohol. Those around me cheered in celebration, but I didn't have any chance to bathe in glory due to my vision suddenly turning black.

("Uh oh.") [Solace]

"You have gained |Experience|. |Poison Resistance| has gained a level." [Spirit Guide]

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next thing I knew, it was morning. The second thing I knew, was that my head hurt like a motherfu-

("Oh no.") [Solace]

I was about to puke.

("B-bathroom!") [Solace]

I jolted to my feet, glancing around in a hurry. I found myself still in the tavern, where many dwarves were passed out on the floor.

("I'm running out of time!") [Solace]

I burst out of the tavern, tripping off of some random pebble and vomiting the moment I hit the floor.

"Abdawkujfbf!" [Solace]

That was the best I could do to reproduce the sound.

"What the hell…?" [???]

I heard footsteps approach me as I finished vomiting. I spat out the remnants off to the side and stood up. It was also at this point that I realized people were staring.

("God that was embarrassing…") [Solace]

I felt a tap on my… not really shoulder per se… It was a tap on my arm, which was because the person who wanted to draw my attention was a dwarf.

"Huh? Aren't you… Oled?" [Solace]

Blinking with a slight confusion, I stared at the dwarf before me.

"Uh… Did I catch you at a bad time?" [Oled]