The Hunt Begins

I left Hecate's cabin and put Odysseia behind me. Poseidon's blessing guided my steps, drawing me naturally toward my destination.

So there's a Cyclops somewhere around here, huh?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

In myth, Cyclopes come in two traditions.

The first holds that the original Cyclopes were born of Gaia and Uranus. Beings of a rank comparable to Zeus and the other Olympians, they are often depicted as wise and formidable demigods.

The second claims them as sons of Poseidon, the father of monsters. That lineage includes the most famous of them all—Polyphemus, the Cyclops Odysseus outwitted. A stupid, dull-witted creature closer to a brute than a god.

And that was exactly the kind I was hunting now.

I'm a little nervous.

This was the first time I'd set out to take down a named monster actually recorded in the myths. The tension was something I'd never felt before. I'd lived through blood and death as a slave after falling into this world, but this was worse—because I was excited.

Am I really about to meet a Cyclops?

Honestly, that should have been my reaction the first time I met any of the gods. If those male god bastards hadn't been after my ass, that is.

"Hey, you there!"

I called out to a hero walking the same road. He turned and raised one eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"I received a blessing saying there's a Cyclops around here, so I came this way. Do you know the exact spot?"

He stared at me, then tilted his head as if he couldn't make sense of what I'd said.

What was his problem? Didn't a blessing mark the nearby location in your head? Then again, people always acted like this when they were mid-quest in games…

"The location isn't showing up clearly?"

"Huh?"

"The Cyclops you're supposed to hunt. Normally you'd be led right to its doorstep."

He straightened his posture and looked at me strangely.

"I'm asking whether you truly received a proper blessing from the great Poseidon."

…That bastard Poseidon.

Don't tell me—!

It wasn't a proper blessing?!

When he'd told me to become his hero, I'd thought he was showing respect by stepping back. But no—he'd hesitated and given me some half-assed blessing instead?!

These insane bastards, every last one of them!

Given the average personality of the ancient Greek gods, I should have been suspicious from the start. The real idiot was me for not doubting it.

"Ah—aah!"

I clutched my head and groaned. The hero gave me a weird look, then turned as if to go on his way.

"If you're a half-baked hero who didn't even receive a proper blessing, I recommend turning back now."

He fixed me with a sharp glare.

"A wretch like you will only die screaming."

And then he left.

I was so flabbergasted I wanted to throw a parting shot after him, but that felt too pathetic, so I let it go. Instead I got back on my feet. The blessing had at least told me a Cyclops was nearby. All I had to do was search the area.

"Fine. Keep searching."

But after hours of combing the terrain, nothing turned up.

"Aaaargh! I'm exhausted!"

I collapsed face-first onto the ground, gasping, letting my worn-out body rest.

"With a body that huge, it can't be that easy to hide, right?"

So where the hell had it gone?

I flopped onto my back. Somehow, ever since around noon, clouds had covered the sun and it felt cool—

Cool?

"Huh?"

I stared up at the sky with a blank expression.

Beyond the shadow that had settled over me, a one-eyed giant was looking down.

I swallowed hard.

I'd known it would be big, but I hadn't expected this big. So this was a monster of Greek myth?

But… why is my body this worked up?

I wasn't trembling with fear. I wanted to charge in and cut it down right now.

A low hum answered that feeling. The divine relic at my waist resonated as if reading my state of mind. I drew Hestia's relic.

"Human."

The Cyclops glared down at me. I drew a deep breath.

"Are you the master of this mountain?"

"Another human has come to this place. One more of your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind."

One more?

My eyes went to the Cyclops's fist. It was the hero I'd met on the road earlier. He'd probably come hunting the same quarry. But he had been crushed mercilessly in the Cyclops's grip, reduced to a gaping lump of meat.

"I'll make you the same."

The Cyclops raised its palm.

"Tch!"

I scrambled clear.

A thunderous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crash. The ground where I'd been standing caved in, sending a violent shock through the earth. I twisted hard and dove between the Cyclops's legs—

"Where do you think you're going!"

It hurled the meat-lump it was holding at me. I ducked low and drove forward. The corpse hit the ground and burst, blood and flesh spraying in every direction until nothing was left but pulp.

"Damn it!"

The thought that I could end up the same way raised every hair on my body. But there was no fear. Hestia's relic in my hand poured warmth into me—the faith that she was with me. That will. That protection.

A flash of light. The tip of my blade bit into the Cyclops's leg. From there I spun through the air.

"GRAAAAH!"

While the Cyclops thrashed and looked around wildly, my body shot straight for its crotch.

A wet, tearing slash. Hestia's relic in my hand severed the Cyclops's filthy cock. Blood and seed sprayed in every direction as the giant dropped to its knees and howled.

"Filthy bastard."

Monsters all deserved to die. That killing intent welled up from deep inside me—not for any complicated reason. This was the age of ancient Greece, a place where myth and legend still breathed. In a world where the gods toyed with humanity, humans were instinctually bound to hate monsters. Here, humans were the gods' puppets. That was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why heroes were born.

But—

A vicious cut. I took that instinct and turned it into motive and power for rebellion against the gods themselves. By becoming a hero who received their blessings, I would insult them and defile them—by bringing the goddesses to their knees, one by one.

"You're a sacrifice for that too!!"

From the leg to the flank, the belly, the chest, the collarbone—and finally the face. I drove Hestia's relic and Ares's sword into the Cyclops and climbed it. Its single eye tracked me as I spun through the air, watching two blade-tips carve diagonal lines.

A fountain of blood erupted in every direction. My whole body was soaked red. The Cyclops's scream rang out as if it would tear the mountain apart, carrying its death to every living thing on the slopes.

A heavy crash. The Cyclops's body hit the ground. I landed on its belly.

"Guh—!"

The thick layer of fat was the only reason I hadn't fallen to my death.

Lying on the Cyclops's corpse, warm blood soaking through me, I looked up at the sky.

"Ha… hahaha…"

Laughter slipped from my lips. I downed a potion I'd bought from Dionysus and roared with laughter that could have shaken the mountain. It was ridiculous. I'd once been the kind of man who struggled against three little kitten-monsters—and now I'd grown strong enough to bring down a giant like this. Without the Status Window and the passive skills, I never would have made it this far. That fact hit me in the bones.

I pushed myself up. The dizzying sense that I might have been nothing without the Status Window seized my mind.

Don't get arrogant.

I made myself that promise and staggered to my feet, then stepped down from the Cyclops's body.

A wet pop. I gouged out the Cyclops's eye, drove my blade in, and pried free the blue jewel at its core.

"This should be proof enough, right?"

I'd secured it because Hecate had asked for it as a magical material, but presenting it at Poseidon's temple would serve as verification too.

"Ha… fuck."

The curse slipped out on its own. Just thinking about it made me dizzy.

So now I become Poseidon's sex slave?

The thought had barely formed when—

A rush of light. The clouds parted, and something came flying through the sunlight beyond. A chariot drawn by winged horses. A goddess in tightly bound armor, black hair streaming behind her as she flew.

But I could see it—the voluptuous figure packed inside that thick armor, the breasts ready to burst free, the full, alluring curve of her hips and ass.

I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and opened them again. I forced the desire down.

"Well done, Homeron."

Even her voice was beautiful beyond measure. My head bowed of its own accord.

"Thank you. But if it isn't too forward of me…"

Her red lips parted.

"I am Athena. Goddess of Wisdom."

She smiled gently.

"I have come to bless you."

At last.

A chance to escape Poseidon had arrived.