A band played upbeat music in a tavern as everyone inside celebrated. People from all walks of life drank and enjoyed the joyous atmosphere that had spread throughout the entire city. This tavern, although similar to many others scattered throughout the city, stood out because they were the ones proudly hosting the winner of the tournament, Sol.
Sol sat at a round table along with Nataly, Aron, and others he had met during his short stay at the palace. He didn't intend to go out drinking after winning the tournament, but when he returned to his waiting room, Aron said that they "couldn't not celebrate."
Though it was meant to be a joyous occasion, Sol couldn't help but ruminate as he stared into his drink.
Aron leaned over and poked his drink, causing ripples to appear on its surface.
"You know you're supposed to drink it, right?"
Sol sighed, "I know. It's just that I can't get it out of my head."
"What? Getting whooped by Victor just when you thought you won?"
Nataly gasped, "Aron!"
"It's true, though," Aron casually said as he took a swig of his beer.
Though it was crudely put by Aron, Sol somewhat agreed. "Kinda. It was more the fact that my strongest attack melted in seconds. That spike was condensed from 10 cubic meters of stone, and it was nothing to him. No spell or anything complicated—just him being really angry made it melt into a pile of molten stone. How is that even possible?"
Sol thought his plan was perfect. When he was in his room wondering how he could win, he remembered that from the little information Victor's status page provided, his [Mana Perception] was only level 5. Knowing that Victor could only see mana within 25 meters and the fact that his strongest attack required time to form, he knew the best way to win was to create it outside of his vision. Thanks to [Relay Magic] and [Supreme Mana Control], Sol was able to extend his reach deep underground and, throughout the fight, he would slowly divert mana towards condensing the spike.
In the end, his plan did technically work. The spike was strong enough to even withstand an advanced level spell and still be usable afterward. If it wasn't for the absurdity that occurred afterward, he knew he would have won.
Aron shrugged, "He's an A-Ranker. Those guys don't make sense. I wouldn't think about it too hard. If anything, you should be proud of forcing him to actually go all out."
Sol tilted his head, "You don't want to at least know how they got that power?"
Nataly agreed with him, "I'm also curious, but I doubt an A-Ranker would take the time to teach me."
Placing his finished drink on the table, Aron shook his head, "It wouldn't matter if you knew how. A friend I know who knows this guy who worked for a merc—"
Nataly threw a light jab at his elbow, which hurt her more than it hurt him.
"Ow! Are you made of iron?! Anyways, get to the point!"
Trying to hold back his laughter from watching her hurt herself, he continued, "They told me that every A-Ranker achieved that type of power by attaining some sort of enlightenment. It's not something that can be written in a book, as apparently they touch upon something that defies common sense. They did say it was possible to maybe teach it if they shared talents, but I never heard of anyone becoming A-Rank after being taught like that."
Still hung up over the fight, Sol asked, "So you're telling me… Victor attained enlightenment on being angry?"
Aron smirked, "Why don't you ask the guy?"
"Nope, rather not. Don't think he will be too happy seeing me. It took Commander Zaman hitting him on the head for him to calm down, and I don't think I can do that."
"Then stop thinking about it and drink! I heard we have a long day tomorrow."
"Alright, fine…"
Knowing he wouldn't get any answers at this moment, Sol grabbed his drink and indulged with his friends. Though normal alcohol didn't do much to people with high vitality like him, fortunately, brewmasters and alchemists had already solved that problem by creating higher potency alcohol. And since people had varying degrees of vitality, they even created a tier system for the drinks.
Nataly was drinking a tier 3 brew, while Sol and Aron were drinking a tier 6 brew. The two men's drink was potent to the point that someone with less than 40 vitality would die within minutes of taking a small sip of it. But even with such a potent drink, it really only gave Sol a light buzz at most.
With alcohol, music, and lively company, the group enjoyed themselves through the night until it was time to return to the Royal Knights Headquarters. Sol returned to his room and flopped onto his bed with a loud, extended groan.
'I should have stopped after 15…'
Thinking that the first few drinks weren't doing much for him, he ordered more and was even challenged by Aron to see who could drink the most. Normally, he wouldn't drink a lot, but the previous drinks were getting to him, and he accepted the challenge. He didn't even know who won by the end of it, and while still trying to remember who came out on top, he fell asleep.