In his mischievous younger days, Asura often stole sips of wine from his grandfather and father, gradually building up a decent alcohol tolerance.
However, he had never expected dwarven liquor to be so potent. The moment it slid down his throat, his face flushed crimson, and his entire body turned red.
As the alcohol surged through his system, his blood and energy roared uncontrollably within him, shattering the bottleneck of Warrior Level Three in an instant.
Asura was both shocked and overjoyed!
He hadn't expected that just one sip of liquor would push him to Warrior Level Three, meeting the entry requirement for Saint Goban Academy!
Previously, he had been worried that his rigorous journey would hinder his training, preventing him from reaching the academy's entrance threshold. Yet, just like that, the problem was effortlessly solved!
The boy's heart brimmed with excitement!
Without hesitation, he lifted the barrel and took another deep swig. The moment the liquor hit him, he staggered, nearly toppling over.
This time, while his blood surged with vitality, he didn't experience the same breakthrough as before...
The surrounding dwarves burst into hearty laughter at the sight of Asura's drunken state!
Dwarven warrior chief Kasa, seeing the boy's expression, easily guessed what was on his mind and said,
"My friend, this is War God's Brew, the finest liquor in the world!"
"Drinking it enhances blood circulation, heals injuries, relieves pain, restores stamina, removes negative status effects, boosts fighting spirit, and even... strengthens one's vitality, if you know what I mean."
"Of course, the first sip has the strongest effect. Did you just break through a minor level?"
"Every sip afterward won't be as potent, but the benefits remain!"
Kasa then grinned mischievously and added, "Once you marry, a sip of this every night will ensure you're always full of battle spirit..."
Asura hurriedly waved his hands to stop Kasa from saying anything more absurd. It seemed that even the normally taciturn dwarves became chatterboxes when discussing fine liquor.
At just fourteen years old, Asura was still an innocent youth, full of curiosity about interactions with the opposite sex, yet far too embarrassed to openly discuss such topics.
He quickly returned the barrel, bowed slightly, and expressed his gratitude:
"Thank you for sharing this incredible brew with me. I truly love it, and it even helped me advance a level. I've never tasted such an amazing drink before!"
Hearing Asura's praise, the dwarven warriors beamed with pride. Complimenting their War God's Brew seemed to make them even happier than praising their battle prowess.
Kasa, in particular, was overjoyed. He grabbed Asura's arm and exclaimed,
"Come, come, come! Come back to our tribe with me! You are our friend now. I want to introduce you to everyone, and there'll be plenty of roasted meat and fine ale!"
As he spoke, he started dragging Asura toward their caravan.
Panicked, Asura grabbed Kasa's iron-like hand and quickly protested,
"Not this time, Kasa! As much as I'd love to visit your tribe, I have more urgent matters to attend to!"
"I need to reach Saint Goban Academy for my studies. The journey is long, and with less than three months left, I'm not even sure if I can make it in time. I can't afford to delay!"
Kasa stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the anxious young man. Seeing his determination, he sighed and said,
"Alright then... Saint Goban City is still far from here. Worse yet, Biren Kingdom and Yedi Kingdom are at war, blocking the roads. You'll have to take a detour, which will cost you even more time."
Asura was stunned. Good thing I met the dwarves and learned about this!
Otherwise, if he had blindly walked into a warzone, escaping would have been a nightmare. Perhaps this was fate's way of rewarding his good deeds.
Composing himself, Asura asked,
"Kasa, do you know who these black-robed men are? Why did they attack you?"
Kasa fell silent. He walked over to the dismembered leader of the black-robed assailants and pulled back the man's hood, revealing a bald man with a ghastly pale complexion.
Searching the body, Kasa found a spatial belt. When its owner died, the imprint locking its contents vanished.
Upon opening it, he found gold and silver coins, some medicinal pills, and spare clothing.
However, the only item of investigative value was a beast-hide map.
Unfolding the map, Kasa's expression darkened with fury.
In a grave tone, he said,
"I don't know who these black-robed men are, but our tribe has been under attack from them for some time now."
"They failed to defeat us in battle, so they resorted to sieging our tribe. Our supply caravans are often ambushed, and many of our kin have gone missing because of them."
"This time, I led an expedition to procure supplies. If not for your intervention, our squad would've been wiped out."
"This map marks several dwarven settlements. It seems our other tribes have also been attacked."
"The goblin tribe closest to us has suffered the same fate. I must return at once to report this to the chieftain!"
Asura was shocked. Who would dare provoke the fury of the dwarves?
Their legendary tempers were infamous!
Just then, Asura noticed a black sun and moon emblem tattooed on the fallen leader's body.
Looking at it made his skin crawl.
Asura frowned and said,
"During the fight, I heard them mention something about taking you to a place called 'Blood Eclipse' to forge weapons. Have you ever heard of this group?"
Kasa shook his head, his thick beard rustling as he said,
"Never. Apart from buying necessities, we dwarves have little contact with other races."
"We've never provoked any organization, yet someone dares target us? Have they prepared themselves to face our battle axes?"
Kasa angrily brandished his colossal battle-axe, which seemed even taller than himself.
Asura gulped. He didn't want to get anywhere near that weapon.
The last unfortunate soul to make contact with it now lay cleaved in two on the ground.
Just then, the other dwarves finished gathering the loot from the fallen black-robed warriors, stacking it in front of them.
Asura scanned the pile, but there was nothing particularly valuable. He asked Kasa,
"What should we do with these spoils?"
Kasa waved his hand dismissively.
"Take whatever you want. I just need the map to warn my people."
Asura didn't hesitate. He took some medicinal pills for healing but left the gold and silver untouched.
He knew the dwarves frequently traded for essential goods, so these coins were likely more valuable to them.
Kasa noticed this and regarded the young warrior with newfound respect.
This boy is truly a good-hearted friend!
After some thought, Kasa reluctantly pulled two barrels of War God's Brew from his spatial belt and said,
"My friend, since you must hurry, I won't keep you. Take these two barrels of War God's Brew for your journey!"
"Next time you pass by, be sure to visit our tribe. We'll have a good drink together! Our tribe is located in the caves of Falang Mountain, just ahead!"
Asura's eyes lit up when he saw the two barrels of War God's Brew, and he happily stored them in his spatial belt!
Such a magical liquor was a rare treasure. While storing the drink, he said to Kasa, "Definitely! When I have a break from the academy, I'll come visit you guys and have some fun!"
"Also, be careful of that group called Blood Eclipse. If it gets too dangerous, you should unite the nearby tribes to fight them together!"
Kasa's eyes brightened upon hearing this suggestion. He thought it was a brilliant idea—humans sure had clever minds!
Asura also hugged each of the dwarves one by one to say goodbye. The dwarves' friendship was simple and sincere!
He waved at them and ran back to his camp...
On the way back to the camp, Asura suddenly pulled out a small flag from his chest. This was the focus flag used by the black-robed leader to set up the magic array.
For some reason, Asura felt uneasy just looking at the flag. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into the river ahead.
The black flag floated and sank with the current, drifting away into the distance...
When Asura reached the camp, he saw his black horse leisurely grazing on the grass, looking content.
Fuming with anger, Asura sneered and walked toward the horse.
Black Charcoal, as the horse was named, was in a good mood. Its little devil of a master hadn't returned for nearly a day and night. Had he forgotten about it?
If he didn't come back in a few more days, maybe it could finally enjoy freedom and run wild...
The horse's daydreams were interrupted when it saw the boy approaching with a sinister grin.
The horse shuddered at the sight of that smile. It immediately trotted over and affectionately nuzzled Asura's arm with its head.
Asura was about to punish the rebellious horse but quickly remembered how much time he had already wasted and decided to hurry up.
With a cold snort, he mounted the horse and galloped off toward Saint Goban.
What Asura didn't know was that three days after his departure, two black-robed figures stood on a rocky outcrop beside a nearby river.
One of them held a damp flag in his hand and spoke in a hoarse voice,
"This is the array flag I lent to the envoy Niro. Since it's here, it means he's failed!"
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Who exactly ruined our plans? If he had kept the flag, I would have been able to trace his location with the soul imprint on it... But he threw it away. This person must either be a powerful expert or a master of arrays!"
The second figure spoke, "If a powerful expert has appeared, it means someone is targeting us!"
"Inform the personnel in this area to halt their actions, hide, and wait for the organization's orders!"
With that, the two figures vanished from the rocks...
The two black-robed figures speculated about the "strong expert" who had discarded the flag, unaware that Asura was already galloping far away, riding toward his destiny!
One simple decision had spared Asura from a massive crisis, but it seemed that he had unknowingly become entangled in a grand conspiracy...