Soma and Divine Wine

As several hours passed, Falan found a spot in the Adventurer Guild and waited there.

The adventurers within the guild came and went in wave after wave.

Yet even after the elven receptionist passed along the message, none of the five gods had arrived.

"Perhaps they knew their Familias had already declined, so they did not pay much attention to messages from the Adventurer Guild."

Having waited for so long without seeing his target, Falan could not help making that guess.

It was entirely possible. Gods perceived time differently from humans; to a god, several days probably still fell within the scope of "I'll be right there." Falan therefore settled down and decided to stay at the Adventurer Guild for a few days.

Just as he had made up his mind, the elven lady, Eina, came looking for him.

"Miss Eina."

"One god has arrived. I'll take you there."

"Where?"

"The Adventurer Guild's meeting room."

"Alright."

Feeling nervous, Falan followed her.

Unfortunately, the first god did not take a liking to him.

According to the god, as a human, his potential was simply too low.

(In a Western fantasy world, humans were usually the most ordinary race and had the lowest potential. It was normal for gods to look down on them.)

Then, the second god arrived shortly afterward. Falan was too young, and his appearance was too slender. As an exploration-type, or combat-type, Familia, even though it had declined for many years, the god still did not choose Falan.

After the second god left, Eina hurriedly comforted him. "It's alright. That was only the second one, wasn't it?"

"..." Falan did not respond. If he had to put it into words, he was feeling extremely dejected.

He had long known that Orario was a world with enormous gaps in strength and status.

But he had never expected there to be racial discrimination as well. Was he really that bad just because he was human?

Besides, he had transmigrated into the body of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child, and one who had once been a beggar unable to afford regular meals.

Even though he had worked hard to nourish himself and grow over the past three years, he could not be called sturdy.

If all five gods from those fallen Familias cared so much about appearances, then this attempt of his had gotten off to a terrible start.

He stayed at the Adventurer Guild for several days and waited there for several days as well.

Watching batch after batch of adventurers rotate through outside, Falan began to doubt himself.

Had it been wrong to seek out the Adventurer Guild? Or should he have simply joined any Familia he could find from the very beginning?

Otherwise, now that he had clearly stated his intentions and all five gods had rejected him, was this not terribly awkward?

"Miss Eina." At last, in the Adventurer Guild's main hall, his assigned receptionist appeared once more.

Hope rose in Falan again. He only hoped one of the remaining three gods would take a liking to him.

"Another god has arrived. Come with me."

Inside the reception room stood a man in casual clothes, with a somewhat gloomy air about him.

"I am Soma. Are you willing to join my Familia?"

"Of course I am." Falan immediately answered in the affirmative. Continuing to remain in the Adventurer Guild would only make things more awkward for him.

But the god's words suddenly changed. "In that case, are you willing to accept my test?"

"Your test?" Just as Falan was about to agree, Eina refused on his behalf.

"Wait, Lord Soma. Are you planning to use an adventurer to test your wine again?"

"Yes. After all, anyone who cannot even endure the inferior product I brewed has no chance of being recruited by me. Falan, was that your name? Make your choice. From what I know, you are someone with your own ideas. You will not give up just like that, will you?"

"..." Hearing Soma's words, Falan realized what he had overlooked. It seemed that apart from the two gods who had come immediately after receiving the message, the other three had spent several days gathering information about him.

And gods like Soma, who were still willing to come, clearly had the intention of recruiting him. Otherwise, they would not have come at all.

"Of course I will not refuse. However, Lord Soma, could you explain the contents of this test?"

"You do not know? Very well. I am Soma, the wine god and moon god of India. The test is the Divine Wine I brew, or rather, the inferior products produced while I research new Divine Wine."

"Though I consider it inferior wine, to the children of the mortal world, it is an invaluable treasure. It is also the reason the Soma Familia fell apart and declined completely. Do you still wish to accept my test?"

"That elven lady intended to refuse for you, and she had good reason. Even the inferior wine I brew in the mortal world is highly addictive to adventurers. Once you choose to accept the test, you may very well become a slave to Divine Wine."

"Choose. Drink the Divine Wine in order to join my Familia, or abandon the risk of becoming its slave and wait for the other two Familias to recruit you." Soma spoke calmly, but Falan understood that he had no choice.

If Eina had refused on his behalf before Soma explained things, he might still have been able to wait for the other two. But if he shrank back after hearing Soma's explanation, not only Soma, but likely the other two gods still investigating and observing him would look down on him as well.

"In that case, I will accept the test. I wonder..."

Soma reached one hand into his sleeve, then pulled out a leather flask.

"This is it. Come, begin."

"Mm." As the stopper of the leather flask was pulled open, the spreading fragrance of wine made Falan feel dazed.

At that moment, he understood why this was a test. This bottle of Divine Wine was a test of willpower.

Slowly, while suppressing himself with his conscious mind, Falan tremblingly reached out a hand. His body was deeply conflicted. His instincts seemed to be warning him not to drink, yet his body clearly told him otherwise: no, you wanted it.

In the struggle between the two, his body ultimately gained a slight advantage. By the time Falan reacted, his body had already taken the leather flask and brought it to his lips. It smells so good. That was his first thought as the Divine Wine flowed into him.

Then Falan seemed to enter a beautiful dream. It was the experience of his previous life: he had been reborn, his cute and innocent childhood friend, aloof young lady, and clever, wise goddess all became his. Yet the dream quickly shattered.

Having lived an ordinary, mediocre life in his previous existence, Falan knew all too well the difference between dreams and reality.

Not to mention that he had somehow transmigrated into a city called Orario.

After three years, he had long understood that he would likely never be able to return in this life.

"Burp... good wine..." To the astonishment of the god and elf, Falan woke up.

"Thank you, Lord Soma. I think I understand why this is called Divine Wine."

"It can improve a person's physique and strength, but that is merely its simplest effect. Most importantly, it can give the drinker beautiful dreams."

From that perspective, Divine Wine was very much like a drug. It continuously stimulated the brain to produce dopamine, giving people beautiful dreams and causing addiction.

"It directly targets each person's deepest desires. No wonder it is called Divine Wine."

"Anyone without a sufficiently firm will could really easily become a slave to Divine Wine."

At the same time, Falan could not help sighing inwardly. If he could, perhaps he would have chosen to immerse himself in such a beautiful dream.

After all, compared to accomplishing nothing in his previous life and silently living as a working otaku, that dream offered him a protagonist's life, complete with every girl he had once liked. Faced with such a dream, he would rather never wake up.

"You are awake now?"

"Mm." Falan's expression was complicated. "But if you ask me, I would want to remain in that beautiful dream, because everything I had in it had long ceased to exist."

Then the god and elf both nodded, as though they approved of him.

Yet Falan did not know that the god and elf were both speculating about how tortuous his past must have been.

He had awakened from the ** of Divine Wine because he knew that everything no longer existed.