The Road to Corinth (1)

"What was that just now?" Perseus stepped forward, looking completely dazed. A series of unbelievable events had just unfolded. The disaster-class monster, the giant serpent Gorgon, had been felled in a single blow, and then Medusa—as if she had been purified—had lost all her fighting spirit and retreated. In the end, she had even bowed politely.

The one who had achieved this miraculous feat right before their eyes was none other than a man with a rock-solid, muscular physique. Sisyphus.

"Oh, great hero!" Perseus rushed over to Sisyphus and bowed deeply.

"I witnessed your magnificent achievement from the very beginning. If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask a question? Are you, by any chance, a hero of Sigma?"

Sisyphus frowned at Perseus. His expression clearly asked, What on earth is this guy talking about? However, Perseus interpreted the reaction as Sisyphus being annoyed that he had hit the nail on the head.

"I apologize if I’ve caused you any concern. I had no other intentions. As someone who also aspires to be a great hero, I was deeply moved! Might I call you 'Big Brother'?"

"Hey, do you know what this is?" Sisyphus completely ignored Perseus and picked something up.

There was a stone that Medusa had dropped after she had finished venting her mana. "It’s a crystal of power. Handle it with care. It’s undoubtedly the power of petrification."

The mage walked over with her arms crossed. As her robe fluttered, it revealed the alluring outfit hidden beneath. Her brown skin looked healthily tanned by the sun. Sisyphus noticed immediately that she wasn't from Greece.

"A crystal of power?" When he examined the stone closely, he found a part that looked like a recessed switch. He pressed it with a click, and—shhhk!—a flash of light ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠erupted. The trees scattering beside Sisyphus turned to stone.

"I told you to be careful! I almost got hit."

"With this, we can consider the Medusa subjugation complete. A monster that has lost its mana is no longer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a threat. It has lost the power of petrification, too. I’ve never seen a case like this, though." Perseus stood up.

Sisyphus looked at the crystal and asked, "Can power be transferred like this?"

"Yes. Among monsters, those with special divinity like Medusa sometimes possess powers. It’s just like how each of us heroes has techniques based on our unique mana properties."

"Usually, when you defeat a monster, if you're lucky, you can absorb its mana traits or obtain them as equipment like this. That’s why heroes challenge dangerous monsters. If you're lucky, you might even obtain a power, not just a trait."

"And this time, the power even manifested as a weapon. You are very lucky."

"What do you mean by 'absorbing traits'?"

"It’s also called 'Inheritance.' Since everyone’s mana properties are different, to inherit a trait, you must either defeat the possessor or have them produce offspring to pass it down."

"Hmm."

The ecosystem of heroes was quite unfamiliar to Sisyphus. Come to think of it, he wondered if the principle of how the powers of the heavens were inherited—from Uranus to Cronus, and now to Zeus—was the same. He began to understand, at least a little, how powers had been passed down.

"Inheritance isn't always a good thing. Sometimes you might end up receiving a power or trait from a monster that you don't want."

"For example?"

"The Medusa we just defeated, for instance. You might end up with the trait where your hair turns into snakes."

"That’s garbage."

He’d rather live as a bald man than have that happen. If his hair turned into snakes, would he have to feed them separately every day? That sounded incredibly annoying.

"One of my former party members inherited a trait that made them fall in love with horses. It was a struggle to keep them away because they almost tried to jump a Centaur."

"Damn. Was monster subjugation always such a dangerous job?"

"Haha, isn't that what we heroes are? Chasing honor and gold despite such risks."

Hero, my foot. Aren't they just adventurers whose brains are fried on dopamine? Sisyphus began to understand the words Penthesilea had said in passing.

"You said your name was Perseus?"

"Yes, Big Brother! Did you call for me?"

Sisyphus racked his brain. Perseus, Perseus. It seemed this guy was the hero who had defeated Medusa in the original myth.

"Whoops, almost tripped."

But his clumsy movements made Sisyphus doubt it. He couldn't imagine this guy defeating Medusa. Why do all these Greek guys have such similar names? It was a memory from 10,000 years ago. Perseus, Theseus, Achilles, Odysseus, Cadmus. Are they all brothers? Not only was he starting to get confused about who was who, but it was also becoming unclear where certain events had taken place.

He decided to ask the most important question first.

"When was the last Olympic Games held?"

He needed to confirm what time period he was in. There was exactly one thing Sisyphus remembered accurately without confusion: 'The Olympics.' It was a sports festival held every four years. To be precise, the Olympics of this era were called the Olympic Games, held in a polis called Olympia. It was an era that didn't record years. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠However, since the festival was a festival for the entire continent, with participants from not only Greece but also Troy and Crete, there was no one who didn't know about it.

"The Games? The 52nd Games were held two years ago."

Sisyphus nodded. I was dragged from Corinth to Olympus one year after the 52nd Games were held. He traced his faint memories from 10,000 years ago. Before he was imprisoned in Tartarus, there was a time he spent being tortured by Olympus as the price for the incident of the ten days of immortality. Is there a slight discrepancy? I’m not entirely sure, but...

Chronos had kept her promise. She had used all the power she could to return Sisyphus to the time he originally belonged to. I have to get back to Corinth first. In just one year, nothing much should have changed.

"Where is this?"

"It’s the end of the world."

"What a garbage place. What are you guys doing here?"

"At first, I thought I had come here to dig my own grave, but it must have been fate that I met you, Big Brother. Goddess Athena must have guided me."

Hearing that, Sisyphus smacked Perseus on the back of the head.

"Whoops, Big Brother?"

"If Athena sent you here, she sent you here to die, you idiot."

"...Huh? Is that so?" Perseus tilted his head. The mage beside them chimed in.

"Medusa is a monster created by Goddess Athena. She just told you to clean up her own mess."

"Is that so? No, but she even bestowed this shield upon me."

"Didn't you buy it with money? And it didn't even help much."

"That’s true. Aha."

A shift in perspective. Perseus’s jaw dropped at a direction he had never thought of before. He had always thought the gods' oracles were helping him become a hero, but that wasn't the case. All this time, he had just been doing the gods' dirty work.

"The gods didn't make me a hero; I became a hero because I was strong!"

No one agreed with the latter part, but Perseus clenched his fist to express his confidence.

"As expected of a great hero like you, your perspective on the world is different. I’ve gained enlightenment. From now on, I will accept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠requests based on my own judgment, not oracles."

"Enough of that. Do you have a ship?"

"I do. Where are you going?"

"Corinth."

"It would be close if we went from Athens. However, since we don't have the supplies to make it to Athens, we’ll have to settle on the Peloponnese Peninsula once. I need to report the subjugation to the guild as well."

"How about Sparta?"

"Are you perhaps a dark mage, Miss? If you’re a decent woman, you would never think of entering Sparta alone. Let’s go to Olympia."

"Let’s set off. Where is the ship?"

"It’s on the rear coast. I docked it at high tide, so we won't be able to leave now that it’s low tide. The sun will set soon, so let’s depart tomorrow..."

"I brought it."

Splash!

Before they knew it, Sisyphus had brought the ship and thrown it toward the sea. It wasn't a small rowboat. Since twenty people had come on it, it was closer to a sailing ship. Naturally, it weighed close to several thousand tons. How on earth did he bring it? Did he drag it? Did he carry it on his back?

"...I will prepare for immediate departure." Perseus scratched the back of his head and began a silent prayer for his comrades who had fought alongside him.

***

"It’s a fair wind. Please leave the sailing to me." Perseus raised the sails and took the helm. The ship cut through the water without hesitation, heading east.

"Any meat?"

"Meat, you say? We have plenty of beef jerky."

Thud!

Sisyphus took out all the meat that was in the cabin storage and began to devour it in one go.

"Protein supply complete."

Then, he immediately started strength training.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo."

The deck became a river of Sisyphus’s sweat.

"To think he wouldn't stop training even while moving, as expected of you, Big Brother."

Along with Perseus, the mage also kept staring at Sisyphus.

"Whew."

When there was a gap where he seemed to be resting, the mage brought him some water.

"That’s a unique training method. Where are you from?"

"Don't talk to me. I’m losing muscle mass."

"What, that’s ridiculous."

"Hoo, hoo, hoo."

Sisyphus only stood up after finishing five more sets. The mage, annoyed by the wait, crossed her arms and spoke.

"If you were trying to take the lead in the conversation by making me wait, you succeeded to some extent. I suppose a great hero doesn't even mix words with someone lacking in stature?"

What is this woman saying? I told her I’m losing muscle mass. Sisyphus frowned, feeling bothered.

"If you hear my story, your thoughts will change a bit. My magic isn't ordinary magic."

Swish.

The mage took off her hood and sat down close to Sisyphus. Brilliant blonde hair contrasted with her brown skin. Her rare green eyes, hard to find in Greece, were enchanting.

"Usually, a great hero who doesn't make themselves known to the public has a reason for it. Either they are an anti-hero committing evil deeds, or they are hated by the gods."

"Are you saying I’m a criminal?"

"Maybe so. But my intuition told me we were of the same kind. Someone in a position where they have to hide because they are hated by the gods."

"Keep blabbering."

"Hehe, it seems I’ve exposed your secret. Then, to be fair, I’ll tell you one of my secrets."

The mage raised her hand and let her mana flow out. The sparkling flow traced a graceful magic circle along her fingers.

"I can perform prophecies. I can predict the movements of Olympus."

"Prophecy, huh."

Sisyphus was starting to guess who the mage in front of him was. A young female prophet who was not from Greece, possessed beauty greater than that of a princess of a nation or a goddess, and was hated by the gods. There was only one person who fit the description.

"Shall I tell you some good news? The 12 gods of Olympus are not in the heavenly palace right now. They’ve been very busy fighting a war for about a year. Thanks to that, the monsters they haven't managed have been running wild, causing chaos all over the continent."

"So that’s how it was."

"The number of subjugation requests has increased tremendously since a year ago. There are many rookie heroes, too. That’s the influence. You couldn't have missed it no matter which polis you were in, so were you holed up on some mountain?"

"Something like that."

"The war of Olympus will last for several years. During that time, we’ll be safe because we won't be chased. Of course, there’s no guarantee. It could end tomorrow."

Swish. The mage crossed her long legs and leaned her face toward Sisyphus.

"How about it? You seem to need my prophecy quite a bit, so how about we cooperate?"

"Why do you need me?"

"I need party members. It would be absurd to die to a monster while hiding from the eyes of the gods. I may not look like it, but my magic skills are quite good."

The mage opened her palm.

"Five years. If you form a party with me for five years, I promise you a mountain of gold."

Sisyphus met the mage’s eyes. Eyes full of confidence. Sisyphus curled the corners of his mouth into a smirk. The woman smiled back. It was a smile that accepted that the deal had been struck.

"Your prophecy will certainly be useful."

"Right?"

"Because I’ll know where the gods appear."

"Of course. You can avoid any god."

"Because I can chase down any god and beat them up."

"Ahaha, you’re a man who makes jokes as big as your chest. Of course. Someone like you could beat up a god as much as you want."

The mage laughed out loud and slowly looked up at the man. A blank face. The atmosphere was ominous.

"...That’s a joke, right?"

Sisyphus replied.

"It’s not a joke, Second Princess Cassandra."

Cassandra, whose real name had been discovered, finally straightened her face. Silence flowed slowly.