Chapter 290
Chapter 290
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 290
Chapter Title: Hera's Challenge
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Kim Ye-ryeong and Kim Si-woo were watching Lee Soo-hyuk's stream together.
Soo-hyuk had returned to being the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk. On the broadcast screen, Soo-hyuk was walking behind Hera.
"It's so surreal seeing it like this."
"Yeah. Who would've thought that guy was really Soo-hyuk."
The two of them were completely absorbed in Soo-hyuk's stream for quite a while.
A streamer who looked exactly like their long-lost friend. And that streamer turned out to be their actual friend.
"The 8th floor..."
Ye-ryeong recalled how she and Si-woo had cleared the 8th floor trial together.
"I guess this is where the real challenge begins, huh?"
Both Soo-hyuk and Hyo-min had gone through the 8th floor trial.
As difficult as taking down a Guardian was, passing the trial was no easy feat either. Of course, neither of them thought Soo-hyuk or Hyo-min would get stuck here.
But.
"This trial doesn't look ordinary at all."
No matter how she looked at it, the content of this trial was anything but normal.
It wasn't just about the difficulty. The vividness seeping through the screen, the story, everything felt different.
Soo-hyuk already possessed skills beyond most high-rankers. That meant he had far surpassed the 8th floor's level.
Yet the trial given to him didn't look easy in the slightest.
"Lightning is the symbol of Olympus, right? Is it even possible to obtain it?"
"It might not be the only way to pass the trial."
"What do you think? Will Soo-hyuk give up?"
"...He won't."
The two were in agreement. Plus, as viewers, they both wanted to see Soo-hyuk claim the lightning.
Ye-ryeong turned back to the broadcast screen.
Soo-hyuk was following Hera while examining the murals.
"Hey."
As the history of Olympus appeared on the screen, Ye-ryeong spoke up.
"Do you think all this is really fake?"
"What do you mean?"
"Sometimes I get this feeling."
Ye-ryeong had been thinking about it for a long time.
"That these trials we're given feel like we're living someone else's life instead."
Soo-hyuk and Thor followed behind Hera.
The depths of the temple stretched on endlessly. Following the murals etched with Olympus's history, they walked for over ten minutes, yet the path continued unbroken.
Thud, thud. Amid the echoing footsteps alone.
'That's...'
One particular mural caught Soo-hyuk's eye.
A massive serpent with nine heads and a man wielding a club.
It was Olympus's hero, Heracles, facing the Hydra.
Whether this mythological Hydra was the same as the one Soo-hyuk knew was unclear.
The Hydra in the painting was drawn in a stylized, cartoonish way that obscured its true form.
"What are you staring at?"
Thor asked in a hushed voice.
Soo-hyuk, who had been gazing up at the ceiling mural, turned his head.
"There are some interesting pictures."
"These are all records of Olympus's past history. Well, a few of them involved us from Asgard too."
At those words, Soo-hyuk wondered if the past Tyr had mentioned was recorded here and scrutinized the murals closely.
A battle between a human wielding lightning and the gods.
A fight of that scale should definitely be documented.
'It's not here.'
No matter how closely he looked, there was no record of a war against humans.
It might simply not be in this place. Perhaps it was depicted in murals from another god's temple, not Zeus's.
But for some reason.
Soo-hyuk had a feeling that the history might have been deliberately erased.
"Ah, that's when we caught Pegasus. He used to race against our Heavenly Horse back then. We got along pretty well at the time."
In the heavy atmosphere, Thor chattered away cheerfully.
It wasn't a lack of awareness. He seemed to be trying to keep Soo-hyuk from getting too tense.
He hid his thoughtfulness behind a guise of blunt stupidity.
"No need to worry."
Soo-hyuk noticed Thor's concern and spoke up.
"I'm not shaking one bit."
Even though voices could be heard, Hera walked on silently.
With Zeus dead, what must she be thinking now?
Soon, they arrived at a massive chamber emanating a blinding light.
"There it is."
Hera gazed at the dazzlingly shining spear.
"The Lightning."
"......"
Soo-hyuk squinted for a moment before his vision adjusted to the brilliant light revealing a single spear.
It was a pure white spear. Unbefitting the symbol of a king's weapon, it bore no patterns or special shapes.
It simply radiated light.
The Lightning.
Zeus's signature weapon, the final piece of the Thunderclap.
And that Lightning was embedded in the center of the room.
"Does the God of Thunder desire it as well?"
At Hera's words, Thor nodded.
This was something that shouldn't be possible. The Lightning was an item symbolizing Olympus, like Odin's Gungnir.
But he believed Soo-hyuk was its true master.
"I think it's time for it to become one."
"Become one... I see. If the God of Thunder has regained his sanity, that must mean he's received its acknowledgment."
Hera seemed to know that Thor had once been driven mad by the Thunderclap.
Of course, she didn't know how he'd recovered. She simply assumed he'd overcome the Thunderclap's trial.
"Perhaps it really is fate. The God of Thunder receiving the Thunderclap's approval. My husband's death leaving the Lightning behind. Even his final words."
"Final words?"
"Yes."
Hera turned to the two of them and said,
"Anyone can become the master of the Lightning. Whoever can pull it free."
The moment they heard that, Soo-hyuk and Thor realized it was Zeus's dying words.
"'Anyone' doesn't just mean the gods of Olympus. Even if it's Asgard's prince, prove yourself, and you can succeed Zeus."
"Your Majesty, this is..."
"Yes. Exactly."
Hera nodded.
"The gods of Olympus are currently vying for the throne."
"......"
The battle for the throne.
It was the trial to select the king who would lead Olympus's next era.
Anyone could become king. Words that made the heart race.
There were no set conditions. Claiming the Lightning meant inheriting Zeus's power and everything that came with it.
"It seems no one has pulled it yet."
"Yes. Poseidon, Hades, and all the gods carrying his bloodline have tried, but none have succeeded."
That was when.
Soo-hyuk, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke for the first time.
"If what you say is true, Lady Hera, does that mean I can try as well?"
Soo-hyuk stepped forward toward Hera as he said it.
"Even though I'm human?"
In that instant, the look in Hera's eyes as she regarded Soo-hyuk changed.
She hadn't thought he was an ordinary human since he'd come with Thor. But being the prince's friend and challenging for the throne were entirely different matters.
And that was the moment Soo-hyuk first entered Hera's world.
Hera pondered briefly, her eyes gleaming.
"A human... Well, that's a different story."
"Didn't you just say anyone has the right to challenge?"
"Does 'anyone' for humans include dogs and pigs?"
Soo-hyuk met Hera's gaze head-on.
Her eyes held no flicker of doubt. They were pupils devoid of any emotion.
It was different from Tyr's gaze, laden with anger and hatred.
Asgard's gods harbored hatred toward humans. In contrast, Hera treated humans as one would beasts—without distinction.
No one harbors hatred toward beasts, after all.
But even if her words were justified, Soo-hyuk had no intention of backing down.
That would mean abandoning further progress and abandoning the trial.
"Isn't there one? Among Zeus's sons, a human."
So Soo-hyuk brought up Heracles.
Among Zeus's children, the one human who had entered Olympus.
His existence was the strongest counterexample to Hera treating humans like dogs and pigs.
"Do the gods consider even him a dog or pig?"
As expected, Hera didn't deny Heracles's existence.
"He proved himself."
"I'll do the same."
"Proof isn't something just anyone can achieve. He qualified because he was human yet carried Zeus's bloodline. What qualification do you have?"
Soo-hyuk was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Doesn't being his friend qualify?"
Then Thor stepped forward.
"If this friend lacks qualification, then trust me."
"......Why do you defend him so fiercely?"
"There was a reason once, but now it doesn't matter."
"......?"
"Before becoming friends, maybe. But once you're friends, no reason is needed afterward."
With that, Thor bowed his head to Hera.
"Hera, I beg you. For my sake, give this friend a chance to prove himself."
He was a prince who had likely never bowed his head in his life.
Yet here he was, bowing to Olympus's queen, with whom Asgard had poor relations.
It wasn't an easy act. Perhaps that's why Hera visibly faltered at the request.
Gods and humans.
The emotional chasm between them tripped things up once again.
The silver lining was that Olympus had the legacy of Heracles.
Regardless of what anyone said, he was Olympus's hero.
Hera pondered for a moment. In the end, she spoke.
"There is one way to prove it. A method even all the gods would acknowledge."
"What is it?"
"The same method as the human you mentioned."
A smile tugged at Hera's lips. It was close to a sneer.
"Yes, you're right. He was human, yet he proved his worth. Though it was to atone for his sins, no god would deny his feats."
"You want me to undertake the same labors?"
"Of course not. That's impossible. We can't revive the Nemean Lion or the Stymphalian Birds that died, nor the mares of Diomedes he tamed."
Those were events long past, impossible to recreate.
"But there's one labor he completed that can be redone. And it's the most difficult one."
Crackle, crackle—.
Suddenly, every nerve in his body tensed, a chill running down his spine.
Ever since seeing Heracles's mural, and hearing his name, one entity had lingered in his mind.
"Bring me the Hydra."
"......!"
As expected, that name was finally uttered.