Chapter 187: Heracles (12)
Alcides, who had been unable to offer any resistance to Aresia—either fainting or just getting beaten—grew rapidly as time passed.
By the time he turned thirteen, he was able to create quite intense battles even without Poseidon casting magic to assist him.
Boom, boom, boom.
At some point, the duration of his sparring sessions with Aresia had grown considerably longer. The same went for his sessions with Penthesilea.
Clang, clang, clang.
In sparring with Penthesilea, whose temperament was the complete opposite of Aresia’s, the sound of steel clashing against steel rang out.
“Wow, that’s some growth speed beyond expectations, huh?”
“…But I still just got pummeled again.”
Alcides, his face swollen and puffy, was now whining to the mentor he respected more than anyone.
It was an emotional shift he never showed in front of others.
He hadn’t grown only physically—he had matured mentally as well.
“Of course, since those two are already at the Heros (hero) level. Right? Honestly, it’s absurd that a thirteen-year-old Polites (citizen) like you can even hold your own against Heros. Don’t say stuff like that in front of other people.”
“But Master, you said it yourself. That in the nearby Chiron Academy, there are plenty of other heroes who are at the Heros level.”
“Hmm… Well, yeah. We’re about to enter the golden age of heroes. Still, there’s no human at thirteen who can do what you’re doing. Take it slow.”
Of course, Alcides himself thought even this pace was too slow.
And that impatience of his was starting to worry Njord.
His disciple’s growth was inhumanly fast, but the people around the child weren’t ordinary either—so it was inevitable that he would occasionally feel this kind of urgency.
Lately, that side of him had been showing up more often.
‘Right now, Aresia is a fully mature Heros, and Penthesilea has also reached the Heros stage. Since they’ve been training and educating Alcides together, they’re far from average themselves. No wonder he feels rushed.’
“Kekeke, well, a little brat like you should go drink more of your mama’s milk. How dare you try to surpass this big sis?”
Flutter.
“Don’t say that, you Auntie! If I were just a few years older, I’d beat the crap out of you.”
Moreover, Aresia’s habit of teasing him seemed to be fueling Alcides even more.
Right now, he was growling like a Chihuahua at her provocation.
“Oh my, does that mean Alcides will one day protect us big sisters from those wicked nobles?”
“…Penthesilea, don’t say scary things like that. That noble family with the bounty on your head—I could deal with them anytime if I wanted, but I’m not doing it. And I don’t want to get involved in this Auntie’s business. I don’t want to be labeled a barbarian for no reason.”
Of course, it wasn’t that Alcides disliked Aresia. You could tell just from the fact that he no longer used honorifics with them.
‘Hmm, looking at this, it seems fine… but maybe it’s about time to show Alcides the wider world. A broader world.’
Watching even Penthesilea start teasing Alcides, Njord began thinking about the next steps after these four years of education and life together.
“Ei! You cocky little brat. Is this how you treat your fellow disciple?”
“Get lost! Auntie!”
Boom! Boom!
Of course, seeing him start swinging his fists again made Njord wonder if he’d been too heavily influenced by Aresia.
Well, what could he do? Birds of a feather flock together—Alcides might not realize it, but the person he resembled most was Aresia.
‘Well, being overly polite isn’t necessarily good either.’
***
“So, I was thinking—now might be the right time to let Alcides gain some real-world experience. The people around him are so strong that he’s starting to feel impatient.”
“Is that so? If Njord says so, then it must be true. More than that, may I ask how Iphicles is doing? As a parent, he’s the one I worry about more.”
“Iphicles? He’s doing fine. Steady and solid. Even though he could easily feel jealous of his older brother, he’s the type who puts in the effort.”
“Phew… That’s a relief. As a mother, I can’t help but always worry about the relationship between the two brothers.”
Alcmene let out a sigh of relief at Njord’s answer.
If the man in front of her judged Iphicles as “not bad,” then there was no doubt the boy would grow into someone remarkable.
After all, she already knew what kind of being this mage was, thanks to her grandfather’s diary.
In short, Alcmene believed that thanks to this mage’s education, the child had grown into a bright, positive, hard-working boy. Handing over full authority to the mage four years ago still ranked among the best decisions she had ever made.
“I’m always so grateful to you, Lord Njord.”
“Oh come on, we’ve only known each other a few years—don’t make it sound so heavy.”
Alcmene smiled at Njord’s grumbling.
She trusted her grandfather, and she fully trusted the person her grandfather had trusted.
Moreover, over the past four years, she had seen that the mage was genuinely sincere toward Alcides and Iphicles.
***
Meanwhile.
Deep within the Minoas family of Orchomenos—the family that would later become the spark for a massive war.
Women with their mouths sewn shut, unable even to scream, hung from the ceiling like slabs of meat in a butcher shop. And in that deep space, someone stood naked, gazing at them.
The person had what people might call the golden ratio: pale and slender yet beautiful, with long, thin hands that stirred desire, and a small, delicate face.
At first glance, one might think it was a woman. But anyone who saw him head-on would immediately realize he was not.
Where genitalia should have been, there remained a scar as if torn away by a beast.
It was a horrifically cruel mark that would make anyone avert their eyes in disgust.
In that cruel yet eerily silent space, women writhed in agony without making a sound, hanging like chunks of meat, alongside this scarred human.
“Young master, we’ve finally found a trace.”
“Lysandros, I told you not to call me that.”
“My apologies.”
Another man entered and bowed his head before the beautiful yet brutally scarred figure.
“That’s enough. If it were anyone else, I’d have turned them into a delightful toy. But I can’t do that to you. So, you found that bitch?”
“Yes. Lord Teleos was right—once we stir up trouble in the black market, she has no choice but to come out.”
“Heh heh, of course. She has to. Do you know how much money I’ve poured into those black-market worms? Because of that damned Vitanasa, I couldn’t even buy her as a slave. It’d be great if she died in the process this time.”
“That will be difficult.”
“I know. You really are too serious, you know that?”
Then the one called Teleos turned his gaze toward the most ornate spot among the women hanging from the ceiling.
His eyes gleamed as if beholding some ecstatic vision far in the future.
“Good. Let’s capture her. Just as we planned to hunt the beast.”
“Yes, as you wish.”
And as the door to the room closed, the horrifying writhing of human bodies began once more.
***
Under Alcmene’s permission, Njord’s group had been hunting down countless bandits and Teras (τέρα, monsters).
Kwang!
Just now, a Teras—a wolf with three tentacles attached to it—met its end at Alcides’ hand.
“But Master, where do these Teras come from? If I were a god, I don’t think I’d bother creating such grotesque things.”
While wiping the blood from the great iron sword that Njord had gifted him, Alcides asked.
Having left his family and traveled to all sorts of places for the first time in his life, Alcides had grown even more mature.
The boyish air had mostly faded from him; now he carried the aura of a young man.
Though they were still near Thebes, this much experience was more than enough to fill in his lack of worldly knowledge.
After all, Njord had been subtly guiding stronger Teras toward them, gradually bringing increasingly powerful ones.
Of course, Alcides—who had no idea about any of this—was slaughtering these grotesque Teras and beginning to wonder.
‘Why do things like Teras even exist?’
No human had yet clearly explained this fact, but Alcides was certain of one thing.
His master knew the answer.
And sure enough,
His master did know the answer.
“It’s a simple story. The creatures commonly called Teras are one of the natural laws of this world. Remember when I explained it to you, Alcides? That there are places in this world even the gods can’t control?”
“Yes. You said places like the body of the primordial goddess Gaia, or equivalent realms.”
“Right. Places like Tartarus, Nyx’s hell, or the underworld where Hades resides. And do you remember why I said those places are so overwhelmingly powerful?”
“Uh… You said divine power from the primordials swirls there, and the mana existing in the world pools and accumulates, mixing with divine power to create anomalous phenomena.”
“Exactly. Whether it’s called mana, divine power, aether, or whatever humans and other races call it—the essence is ultimately the same. The difference comes from how tightly it’s bound together. That’s why such powerful spaces can form naturally in the world.”
“Yes, you said that when I told you I wanted to handle the gods’ divine power to become stronger.”
“Right. The arrogant gods may not realize it, but the essence is the same. And the world naturally generates mana. It’s like how the sea endlessly produces the air we breathe.”
“Yes. You said that back then. The Auntie fell asleep halfway through listening, though.”
“Leave that idiot aside. Back to the main point: Do all these naturally generated mana flows get distributed evenly across the world?”
“Hmm… No. If they did, places where mana pools wouldn’t exist. So…”
Alcides, briefly retracing Njord’s questions in his mind, clapped his hands together and said,
“Teras aren’t things the gods created—they’re similar to spaces born from accumulated mana! And since this land is one with Lady Gaia, it naturally gives birth to lifeforms.”
Njord smiled warmly as he watched Alcides now finding the answers on his own.
This child didn’t instantly grasp ten things from one explanation, but he had an exceptional ability to thoroughly digest what he was taught.
And his digestion was extraordinary. He might not comprehend ten things at once, but he always mastered one completely. Moreover, with his unique digestive power, he could chew and swallow each one meticulously.
‘No wonder his previous so-called masters ran away. They got everything stripped from them.’
Of course, that was only in terms of knowledge. Physically, he was already near-omnipotent.
‘But at this rate… he might even surpass the original. This isn’t just growth—it’s evolution. By the time he becomes an adult, he might even surpass a human like me.’
While the master was marveling at his disciple’s progress and rethinking the future curriculum—
“Uwaaaah! Master, big trouble!!”
Crash!
The biggest troublemaker in Njord’s group burst in, causing a huge commotion.
Boom.
Aresia couldn’t control her own charging speed and slammed into a nearby rock.
And following calmly behind her was her younger sister Penthesilea, who stopped neatly in front of Njord and bowed her head.
“We have returned safely, Master Njord.”
Njord shook his head at the sight of the two sisters.
They had ended up as slaves-turned-disciples while teaching Alcides, but as always, the two were complete opposites.
“Ugh. What kind of mess did you cause this time? I asked you to keep your sister under control so she wouldn’t cause trouble, Penthesilea.”
“Yes. But she dared to insult the Master, so I broke her leg.”
Of course, the one thing they had perfectly in common was that they increasingly ignored Njord’s words.
“Don’t tell me… another noble this time?”
“No. This time it wasn’t a noble—it was a smuggler. From the way he seemed to recognize my sister, he was probably someone active in the black market.”
“Really?”
Normally he would have scolded the sisters, but this was far too interesting to ignore.
“Good. Explain.”
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