Prologue
I am a Korean who came to the world of myths.
This place looked exactly like Olympus from Greek mythology. I have no idea how an ordinary guy like me ended up here. Just like in most such stories, I came to my senses and found a new world unfolding before me.
I survived in this unfamiliar place for ten years. It was an achievement I could proudly boast about. The difference from the usual tales, though, was that I could never become the protagonist. This was a world where heroes far beyond human common sense rampaged freely. There was nothing an ordinary person like me could do. Hell, when I first arrived, the warriors here mocked me as "the one with the strength of a child."
It pissed me off, but they weren't wrong. The men here were built like bulls and agile as leopards. True to the myths, heroes overflowed everywhere. Some of them even claimed divine bloodlines. Given the reality, I couldn't join those heroes on their glorious adventures. I yearned for their shining lives, but even scraping by in this strange world was a struggle.
Luckily, no one forced me to die. Thanks to my modern knowledge, I landed a job as a scribe in a temple. That's how I'd lived for ten years, and it seemed like nothing would change going forward.
But life has a way of throwing in at least one mysterious twist. Especially in a world like this.
#Heracles' Jewel
Tweet! Chirp! Chirp!
"Those damn sparrow chicks are really…."
Whether it was here or back home, the sparrows were noisy as hell when I was still clinging to my bed. Somehow, it felt like just another identical day was starting. Even after coming to this other world, I hadn't changed much. A nobody stays a nobody, no matter where he goes.
I washed my face and stepped outside, where the farmer from next door greeted me.
"Hey, Peleus! What's up with the lazy scribe crawling out at the crack of dawn?"
Peleus was my name here, styled after the great hero. At first, people said it sounded awfully grandiose. It made me sound like I was about to charge off and fight monsters, but in reality, my life was spent wrestling with numbers in the temple….
"Got somewhere to be."
The farmer was about my age, so we got along like buddies.
"Where to?"
"Just… somewhere. Why do you keep asking?"
"Kekekeke. Thought maybe you finally found a decent widow or something."
Looking at his grinning face, what a sleazy bastard.
I was turning twenty-nine this year in this world—ten years in. By local standards, where folks married in their late teens, I was a super bachelor among bachelors. That's why he was going on about widows.
Damn punk.
"Shut up, you."
Thwack!
I kicked at a pile of straw in front of his house for no reason and hit the road. Truth was, I was rushing today because there was a special spot I wanted to visit before heading to the temple.
It was a small forest that hardly anyone went to. About two hours' walk from my rural village. No one passed through, but it held meaning for me.
Even in this world of myths, I—who'd always been far from the adventures I dreamed of—had one special encounter. Right in that forest.
"If I'd followed Heracles back then, would my life have been different?"
The thought slipped out as I murmured to myself. But I shook my head. No point regretting the past.
Still, some lingering attachment must've stirred, because as I headed to the forest, those memories suddenly flashed vividly in my mind.
…….
……
…
Crack!
Boom!
I thought thunder had struck. With a deafening roar, massive trees toppled, revealing a giant and Heracles.
I'd been standing there dazed in the forest alone—god knows how startled I was. Heracles was locked in brutal hand-to-hand combat with a giant over five meters tall. Blood sprayed, roars echoed. Watching, I froze in terror.
Heracles' strength was incredible; the hulking giant couldn't withstand it and fled. He clicked his tongue at the escaped giant, then spotted me and bellowed,
"Hey, young friend! I'm Heracles. It's tough catching that giant alone. Care to help? The bastard stole my jewel!"
Even after all these years, his booming voice rang clear in my ears. It was my first time seeing Heracles, but he was already a great hero, shrouded in rumors. Over two meters tall, with a perfect physique like a sculptor's masterpiece, draped in that famous Nemean Lion skin. He matched the descriptions perfectly—I couldn't miss him. Especially that lush black mane like a lion's, exuding raw masculinity.
"…I'm no warrior."
Scared as I was, I managed to reply without stammering—pretty gutsy in hindsight. But how could I help fight a giant that looked like it could devour elephants? It was absurd.
"I figured as much. What I'm asking isn't fighting."
Heracles wanted me to steal the jewel from the giant's belt while he kept it busy.
"That jewel on its waist gives it power. Snag it, and I can take it down easy."
I hesitated at his bold request. He made it sound simple, but for an ordinary guy, it was insanely dangerous. The giant's thigh was thick as an ancient cedar. One slip while sneaking up, and I'd be dead.
"The giant's waist is too high…."
"I'll give you my spear—use it like a pole to fish it out."
If I raised the spear with both hands and poked at the pouch on its waist, maybe…. But if the giant noticed? Terrifying just thinking about it.
I had to refuse.
"S-sorry… I can't do it."
I said it apologetically, fearing he'd rage. But he just gave a wry smile, like it couldn't be helped.
"Sorry, kid. Too much to ask, huh? I'll handle it alone, so don't worry. It's dangerous—better get out of this forest quick."
He clapped my shoulder and chased the giant. That was my first and last brush with myth in this world.
I wanted to watch the fight, but my legs were jelly, so I bolted. And I steered clear of the forest for a while.
But curiosity is unbeatable. A week later, I returned. I followed the scattered footprints, broken old stumps—the traces of battle.
Bzzz. Whirr-.
Deeper in, flies swarmed. The stench of rot stung my nose. Uneasy, but curiosity won; I pushed through.
"Ugh!"
Soon, the sight before me left me speechless. A massive giant's corpse—waist severed, limbs gone—lay rotting. The ground crawled with what seemed like millions of maggots; flies blackened the air like clouds.
Woof! Woof!
Wild dogs from nowhere gnawed inside the giant's ribs. Its guts were gone, belly empty and writhing with countless maggots. They clung to the dogs burrowing into the rotten flesh, but the beasts ignored them.
The feral dogs, satisfied with the giant's meat, glanced at me then ignored me, focused on feeding.
Crunch. Munch. Slurp.
I passed the gluttonous dogs and looked around. Then—a piercing glint caught my eye. Rummaging the underbrush, I saw something green sparkling.
"Hm?"
Up close, it was a fist-sized green jewel. Instinct told me it was Heracles' stolen gem. The pouch it'd half-spilled from was sack-sized—fitting for a giant.
"Why's this here?"
It must've been vital to Heracles; they'd fought over it. But why leave it?
Puzzled, I scanned slowly. Then I spotted traces I'd missed before.
"This!"
Looking more calmly, I found overlooked signs.
"Someone else ambushed them?"
Besides Heracles and the cannibal giant, a third party had intervened. Trees on one side were shattered high up—like something had plummeted from above like a hawk.
"And here…."
A sticky sludge pool swarmed with flies and maggots—not natural. Cratered like from an impact, now festering with giant's blood and flesh.
"Hm…."
Someone crashed the fight, causing a huge clash. Heracles must've dropped the jewel in the chaos, too frantic to retrieve it. Tracks showed a massive figure fleeing hastily.
"Weird…?"
Who could make that great hero flee in panic? No clue—it was beyond mortal senses.
Instead, guilt gnawed at me toward Heracles.
……
…….
……
"If I'd helped…."
The absentminded murmur snapped me from reverie. Ancient history now. Unbelievably, Heracles had died years ago. Even the gods probably never imagined the hero who'd completed the Twelve Labors would go so pointlessly.
"Tch."
Regret made me tsk and shake my head.
I'd arrived at the secluded little forest. Familiar path led me in. Hard to believe Heracles fought that monstrous cannibal giant here. So quiet and peaceful now.
"Around here…."
After wandering, I found a basketball-sized rock. Right here. I'd buried the green jewel beneath it that day, planning to return it if Heracles came back.
But he was gone, so after agonizing, I decided to dig it up.
"Nngh!"
With effort, I shoved the rock aside. I kicked away centipedes on the damp earth and dug.
Clunk!
Not buried deep; my stick hit something. Digging by hand revealed an old box. Intact—good.
Dusting it off, I opened it. A hefty green jewel gleamed.
"Whoa!"
Unchanged, radiating ethereal light—I couldn't help but gasp.
"What a strange thing."
Temple work exposed me to relics and oddities, but nothing this extraordinary.
Ownerless now. Felt wrong leaving it, so I'd dedicate it to the temple. I'd received much help from Harpocrates' temple of secrets and silence over ten years. Perfect chance to repay.
Alright, grab it and head back….
Rumble!
The ground quaked, a deafening roar. Earth heaved; I toppled in panic. Amid chaos, I knew it was an earthquake—I'd felt a few before.
But this was different.
Rumble rumble!
Shaking nonstop, I could only crouch screaming. Thought the world might end.
Clinging to a tree till it eased, I fled the forest. Legs jelly.
But the disaster was just beginning.
Kaboom!
Ears rang from the blast; tinnitus whined. What the hell?!
Gazing south at the roar, my jaw dropped.
"Oh! Gods!"
Volcanoes erupted along the long southern range. Sky blackened with ash instantly.
Not just the eruptions shocked me. The ominous legend tied to that range.
They said it was once a colossal serpent, great enough to devour gods. It died and became the mountains. And when it awoke, the world would end.
"No…."
One certainty in this world: myths breathed life, so legends weren't mere tales.
I truly felt the apocalypse beginning.
Rumble!
The massive range heaved like a body stirring to rise.