Arthur woke up early in the morning. He looked to his side—Lamia's hand was wrapped around his, as if she feared he might leave.
It was understandable, because Arthur had saved her from this torment. Who knows how many years she'd been in that state—100 or more—no one knew.
These terrifying gods are masters at ruining the lives of mortals; that's for sure.
Although Arthur himself is a god, unlike the others, he was only three days old now.
Since coming to this cursed world, he had faced deadly situations twice already.
The energy inside him seemed calm; the purifying flames were doing their work.
Now he needed to plan what to do next, because he was angry at Zeus, and he wouldn't let it go easily.
He wanted to bring back his mother, Semele, no matter what. But if he went to the Underworld, he would become food for the three-headed dog.
He wasn't strong enough to defeat it yet.
Any one of the twelve Olympian gods at their peak could kill him as easily as crushing an ant.
That's why now, I'm taking the reward from the system and learning the Divine Energy Training Guide. This is quite interesting.
Divine energy is one of the purest forms of energy. After divine energy, the ether is the purest and is used by humans.
Warriors use it to strengthen their bodies and charge their swords, making them sharper, but their use of ether differs.
Warriors use the ether outside themselves to transform their bodies and store ether in their blood.
Mages are different—they hold ether in their hearts through mana channels and activate it in specific ways to cast spells.
Gods, however, possess divine energy, which they can use as warriors or mages if they wish—provided they are at least demigods or gods.
There are ranks for those who use divine energy:
* Bronze
* Silver
* Gold
* Demigod
* Lesser God
* Supreme God
Each level is divided into three parts: beginning, middle, and peak.
These are the ranks of gods. Everyone starts from bronze without exception.
The difference is that gods advance without any obstacles; demigods progress more slowly but steadily.
{To reach at least the demigod level or higher, one of your parents must be a god. For some, this divine blood has been inherited through generations. For example, if someone's great-great-grandfather was a wind god, that person has the chance to awaken their divine blood.}
According to the system, I am currently ranked at silver (middle).
This is because I absorbed energy from Lamia.
Becoming a supreme god—if you are talented and born of a god—takes about 60 years. Among demigods, very few reach this level.
When I try to stand, Lamia wakes up, yawns, and looks at me:
"Good morning, Arthur."
I smile:
"Good morning, Lamia. Get ready, we have to go."
She lowers her head and looks at me:
"Okay, where to, captain?"
I sigh:
"To the kingdom of Minos."
Lamia's eyes widen:
"Are you sure, Arthur? That city is an island city—we have to cross the sea to get there."
I look at her and see fear in her eyes.
The sea is Poseidon's domain. Even though Lamia is his daughter, you know how the Greeks are: before leaving the family, a family member must be killed.
"Nothing will happen. Even if it does, I'll do my best," I say anxiously.
But inside, I have a bad feeling—and my feelings haven't deceived me in this world, at least in these three days since I was born.
We spend the whole day preparing. I take my bow and arrows, Lamia has her trident—no need for weapons.
Instead, we bought some food. Without Lamia noticing, I hid them in the system inventory, and we prepared to go to Athens.
To reach Minos, we must first go overland from Thebes to Athens, then by sea from Athens' port (Piraeus) to Crete Island.
The journey will be long. Thebes to Athens is 90 km, but for demigods like us, this is a short distance—we can reach it in an hour, even if we go slowly.
I want Lamia to show the way—after all, she is old and should know better than I.
Lamia looks at me with threatening eyes:
"Did you think something bad about me?"
I shake my head wildly:
"No, no, what could be bad about someone as beautiful as you?"
Lamia:
"Hmph."
[Host doesn't understand women—women's intuition is strong.]
(But it's true she is old.)
[According to demigod lifespan, she is young and has gained immortality due to the curse, but compared to humans, she is old.]
Arthur smirks to himself.
Seeing Arthur grin to himself, Lamia feels a chill—this kid is strange, but in a good way.
The sun slowly starts to set. Athens appears on the horizon, a magnificent city surrounded by walls. You can even see the harbor.
There are guards at the gates, all looking strong. How should I put it—this place is ready for war at any moment.
(System, scan, and provide information about the guards)
[42 silver (middle) level warriors, 15 gold (peak) warriors, 10 silver (peak) mages.]
Yes, one mistake and I'll earn a VIP ticket to the Underworld. And even though Uncle Hades wants to see me, it's not the time now.
I look at Lamia, and she seems worried:
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Trust me."
Lamia smiles faintly.
We queue to enter through the gate. The line is quite long—merchants, warriors, all kinds of people.
Finally, it's our turn. The guard looks at us:
"Name and reason for coming."
I meet the guard's eyes:
"I'm Arthur, and this is my big sister Lamia. We need to go somewhere with the port."
The guard studies our faces carefully:
"Alright, kid, the entrance fee is 2 Hera silver coins."
I hand over the money, and the gate opens for us.
When Arthur and Lamia finally stepped inside Athens' gate, the sight before them was unlike anything a mortal could imagine—for this city was built not just of stones, but of the will of the gods.
As soon as they stepped in, the scent of freshly baked bread, burning incense, and olive trees filled the air. There was a certain heaviness in the atmosphere; a grandeur that carried the weight of the past and power. Even the soil here smelled different—more ancient.
The streets were wide and paved with stone, flanked by galleries surrounded by columns. At every corner stood statues dedicated to the gods—Athena, Apollo, Hermes...
Their eyes seemed to fixate on Arthur. These marble faces appeared alive, as if breathing.
Arthur's attention rose to the ancient structure atop the hills: the Acropolis.
That sacred place overlooking all of Athens... and at its heart, the Parthenon temple.
This enormous structure, dedicated to Athena, seemed to reach toward the sky. Each column was as thick as a giant's leg in battle; its marble gleamed in the last rays of the sun. The sculptures on the roof depicted the goddess's victories—one in particular, showing Athena holding her shield in one hand and spear in the other, caught Arthur's eye.
He could sense the faint divine energy emanating from these statues, and it was terrifying, even though they were only statues.
Arthur and Lamia found a guesthouse and booked a room.
Around them, they learned, in three days, the arena competitions would begin.
The winner would be rewarded by the goddess Athena herself—and of course, Arthur would participate. After all, it was an opportunity to improve himself.
Even though he was currently silver (middle) level, his energy control improved with every battle. For example, to raise the divinity of war, one must fight; every fight is an opportunity for growth.
Using his lightning, he was simultaneously developing the divinity of wine, war, and lightning since all were interconnected.
The divinity of love—well, he had to attract women or sleep with them, but Arthur didn't intend to use that power.
The room was dim. The coolness seeping through the stone walls silently filled the air. The carpet on the floor was slightly curled. Arthur sat by the window, watching outside. Across the street, a few lanterns were about to go out.
Lamia sat at the foot of the bed, knees drawn to her chest. Her eyes were fixed on Arthur's back. She said nothing, but her gaze was still. The only sound was Arthur's slow, rhythmic breathing.
"You don't speak much," Lamia said, her voice echoing softly in the room.
Arthur didn't turn his head. "I don't need to."
Lamia was silent for a moment. "It's hard to understand you."
"I don't want to be hard," Arthur replied calmly but distantly.
Even in this world, he couldn't fully trust a woman—he saved her out of pity.
More silence followed. Lamia bowed her head, then raised it again.
"Why did you help me… why?"
Without turning, Arthur answered:
"Because someone had to."
His words were brief but clear—no promises, no expectations. Lamia continued watching him.
Her eyes fell on Arthur's hands; his fingers were still but seemed ready to act at any moment.
This time, Arthur turned to her. Their eyes met for the first time. Nothing was said, but a small flicker appeared in Lamia's eyes—neither fear nor curiosity… just a trust.
"I'll go to the arena tomorrow," Arthur said.
Lamia looked at him without blinking.
"Will you register?"
He nodded. "Yes."
Lamia sighed:
"Oh, you're a hard kid to deal with."
I smiled. It was funny to see her reactions, as if my math teacher gave me a four-page homework and told me to finish it by tomorrow:
"Thanks."
Lamia chuckled, then I waited for her to lie down. Once she was asleep, I lay down too, so I'd be ready for the arena tomorrow.
{Friends, I'd appreciate it if you leave comments. Since no one comments, I don't know if people like this or not. Anyway, don't forget to follow.}