The First Protein
“My eyes, my eyes are closing….”
The joy of hydration and a proper bath was short-lived; I was immediately faced with the task of breaking through the snowy mountain layer. I hadn't felt it when I first entered the 3rd floor because I was too excited, but it was freezing here—naturally, since it was snowing. It was brutally, bone-chillingly cold.
Humans are such fickle creatures. After three months of trudging through snowfields, the snow that I had once welcomed now felt like nothing more than a white devil.
Clatter!
“It’s a dead end. Wilson, we have to turn left. Be careful, you’re too bulky.”
Covered in snow, Wilson’s expression looked different than usual. Was he angry because I teased him about being fat?
“Then go on a diet. You just play around while I’m working out.”
The thick snow made it impossible to see the obstacles. Thanks to that, I lost Wilson several times and had to retry the path repeatedly. Staying in the cold for too long only drains your motivation. Whenever I lost Wilson, I’d go back and work out for about a week. Fortunately, Wilson’s tracks remained in the snow, making it easier to memorize the locations of the obstacles.
“Almost there, just a little more…!”
Whirrr. The fierce snowfall began to subside.
[3rd Floor ‘Snowy Mountain’ has been cleared.]
“We made it, hahaha!”
I brushed the snow off Wilson. He seemed to be in a good mood, too, as he beamed at me.
Another barrier crossed. At this rate, I might reach the summit sooner than I thought.
“Now, let’s see what’s next.”
I checked the 4th floor, which stretched out over the slope. As soon as I crossed the boundary, a wave of intense heat washed over my entire body.
“A desert after a snowy mountain?”
This mountain range had a dynamic way of changing its environment. The snow was gone, and the sun beat down like needles, hot enough to sear my skin.
“Let’s just get a feel for it.”
I still had some energy left, and since my body had been chilled, the warmth felt perfect for moving around, so I decided to push forward a little.
Crunch, crunch. My feet sank into the sand. The slope was covered in fine sand, making it incredibly difficult for Wilson to be pushed. On the bright side, there were relatively few obstacles, so it looked like it would be a pure test of physical strength.
“Alright. I get the feel of it. Wilson, wait here for a second. I’m going to head down and take a rest…”
I couldn't finish my sentence. Thwack! I lost my balance and fell after being struck by an impact from out of nowhere.
—Grrrr!
“Wilson!!”
Rolling, rolling—before I knew it, Wilson was moving away from me, breaking through the snowfield of the mountain and tumbling far down below. I was momentarily devastated, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
“What the hell…!”
I stood up and locked eyes with the culprit.
“—!”
A massive brown body, a sleek nose, and two horns extending from its head. It was a water deer.
“Pffft.”
“What…?”
No, technically speaking, it was a deer. Deer were common animals on this continent. They were also the most common choice for those using transformation or camouflage magic. But looking at its bulk and the bulging muscles on its limbs, I couldn't possibly call it by the delicate name of "deer." This was definitely a water deer. It must have jumped out of nowhere and rammed into Wilson.
“Pffft.”
Most of all, the way it glared at me with such a smug look after doing that made my blood boil. I lost it. Never mind Wilson falling down—
“…You, I’m going to…”
This thing was a wild animal. It was protein. For someone like me who hadn't even smelled meat since I got here, this was an overwhelming stimulus.
“I’m going to eat you.”
Dash! Without another word, I lunged straight at the water deer. I’d been rolling Wilson around and keeping up with my training. I threw my body at it, intending to knock it out in one go, but—
“Pffft!”
—Whoosh, thwack!
With a light kick from its hind legs, it caught me square in the face, and I went down in a pathetic heap.
Wow, my nose is bleeding. The water deer hopped up to a higher spot and mocked me with a haughty look.
“You stay right there.”
Without Wilson, I couldn't chase it up. I would definitely win, and I would definitely taste that meat. With that vow, I went back to find Wilson.
Two weeks later, I pushed Wilson back to the desert. The water deer was waiting for me in the exact same spot. It flicked one ear, provoking me.
“Let’s fight like men.”
I challenged it to a duel the moment I arrived.
—Boom, thwack!
But the result was a crushing defeat for me. After half a day of desperate struggle, I realized that I couldn't even lay a finger on the water deer’s speed. I got beaten to a pulp. There wasn't a single spot on me without a bruise. In the end, the water deer gave Wilson a nudge, sending him rolling down again.
“My protein! Wilson!”
I felt miserable. To be so pathetically powerless when the meat, the food, was right in front of me.
“I was arrogant.”
Right now, the water deer was a stronger being than me. The food chain, where the weak cannot eat the strong, is the law of the world. I had to humbly accept the reality that I was the weaker one right now.
“Wilson, what should we do?”
“Yeah. There’s no choice but to get stronger.”
I returned to the starting altar with Wilson. It was time to resume the tedious strength training.
“It’s not enough to just build muscle.”
The water deer was fast. It was the first time I’d seen a creature that fast since Clea. No matter how much strength I built to subdue the deer, it would be meaningless if I couldn't catch it.
“Wilson, do you know what image training is?”
“It’s training where you close your eyes like this. You imagine the opponent is right in front of you and paint a picture. If you practice accordingly, you can perform better in real combat.”
“Let’s do it.”
Thud, thud, thud—whoosh! I repeated the practice of lunging and headbutting. I tried to follow the tackles I’d seen players use in American football once. I repeated it, and repeated it, and repeated it again. After a month of focusing solely on throwing my body, I started to get a feel for it, but—
“No, this isn't enough.”
I had a feeling. I could only succeed if I did it more desperately, with the mindset that my life truly depended on this headbutt.
“Motivation, motivation….”
I closed my eyes and imagined an opponent I could be more immersed in. The running water deer slowly changed into a different form.
“So you’re the human who lured the messenger of death.”
A figure draped in black armor, pointing a finger at me arrogantly.
“You shall pay the price for daring to touch the realm of the gods.”
It was Hades, the god of the Underworld. Good, my adrenaline was rising.
“I…”
I bent my ankles and prepared to launch.
“Didn't do it, you bastard!!”
I slammed my shoulder into Hades with all my might.
[You have realized the technique ‘Headbutt’.]
I have a somewhat rocky relationship with most of the Olympian gods. Zeus has been consistently tormenting our territory. Needless to say, that bastard Hermes is the same. Aphrodite and Hera would also pick fights out of the blue and demand tributes.
But the biggest reason I ended up trapped here was the incident involving Hades and the messenger of death. It was because of the ‘Ten Days of Immortality.’
Four years after Penthesilea left, Corinth, which I had been running as the lord, had revived and become an even larger city than before. People traveling between Athens, Mycenae, Olympia, and Sparta flocked to it incessantly. I also collected a decent toll from adventurers using the sea routes. With the gold coins earned, I built good relationships with the guilds, allowing us to deal with monster raids more smoothly than before.
As always, however, the whims of the gods happened without warning.
“Look at that lanky fellow over there. Are Anticlea and Alcyone truly residents of this polis?”
At first, I didn't know where the voice was coming from. It was only when I lowered my head that I realized a short, black entity was standing in front of me.
“Answer me when you are asked, you insolent fellow.”
A small girl kicked my shin. Judging by her strange appearance—purple hair dyed with the aura of death, braided in two, and dragging a massive scythe that didn't suit her size—she was clearly not human.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
The two names the girl had asked for first. Alcyone was my younger sister, two years my junior, and the eldest daughter of the house. She was even looking for Clea. I felt a bad vibe, so I decided I shouldn't let this thing go easily.
“Corinth welcomes strangers. Thank you for traveling such a long way to find us. What business brings you here?”
“Hmm, the names of Anticlea and Alcyone are written in the register. I have come to collect their souls, so inform me of their details.”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
“By any chance, are you the messenger of death, Thanatos?”
“You have a sharp eye, young man. How did you know?”
Judging by the fact that she was asking me back after blabbing everything herself, Thanatos didn't seem very bright. Hades managed the city of the Underworld, and Thanatos was the field agent who collected souls on the surface. I almost fainted from shock that someone like that had come to take Alcyone and Clea right away, but I feigned composure and spoke.
“Silky hair and a cloak like the night sky. I recognized you at once by your overflowing grace. Since you possess a mystery that the Olympian gods lack, who else could you be but Thanatos, who inherited the primordial chaos?”
“Hahaha, you saw it accurately! Since my great father Nyx put the night into my hair, it’s on a different level from those Olympian brats. Human, what is your name?”
Thanatos seemed pleased by the flattery and shrugged her small shoulders. Thanatos had a completely different lineage from the Olympian gods, whose grandmother was Gaia. Her father was Nyx, the god of night and brother of Gaia, so she was technically a relative of the Titans. She must have had plenty of complaints about being pushed out of power and serving as Hades' subordinate despite being a generation older than the Olympians.
“My name is Sisyphus.”
“Wise human Sisyphus, well met. I have something I’ve been curious about, so I must ask you. What are those twinkling lights and the procession of humans over there?”
It happened to be the festival season in Corinth, so lanterns were floating, and all sorts of shops were open.
“It’s the summer festival. Have you never seen one?”
“I am death. I mainly visit ruined cities plagued by disease and battlefields. This is my first time seeing such a sight.”
“Well, you’ve come at a good time. Why don't you forget about work for a moment and enjoy the festival?”
“A festival, that’s a good idea!”
That was how I decided to coax Thanatos and buy some time.
“A festival is a wonderful thing! Look at this, Sisyphus. How did they think to coat grapes in sugar water and harden them?”
Thanatos’s eyes sparkled as she darted around the festival grounds. She stuffed all sorts of snacks from the street vendors into her mouth, and her cheeks quickly puffed up.
“I’ve never seen a place where humans are this happy. The lord of this polis must be a genius. Sisyphus, do you know who the lord is? I’m thinking of bestowing a special ‘pat-pat’ upon them.”
“A ‘pat-pat’?”
“Do you not even know what a pat-pat is? Look, it’s done like this.”
Thanatos took my hand and placed it on the top of her head, rubbing it back and forth. It was quite soft.
“How is it? Doesn't it make you feel good?”
Thanatos smiled brightly with candy crumbs stuck to her mouth.
“You don't have to go through the trouble of patting me. I am the lord of Corinth.”
“Eeeeh?!”
I don't know what was so surprising, but Thanatos jumped up and flapped her cloak for a long time, refusing to come down. To think that the messenger of death, feared by everyone, was such a childish thing. A hollow laugh escaped me.
After finishing the festival tour with Thanatos, I made one request. I wanted to check the register where the names of the dead were written. If it was fated that tragedy would befall them, there would be nothing I could do, but at least I wanted to see it with my own eyes.
However.
[Anticlea]
[Alcyone]
The two names written there strangely looked as if they had been added over something else; the handwriting was different, and the ink hadn't even fully dried.
“Messenger of death, may I ask who writes the register of the dead?”
“Usually, the Fates suggest the list, and the nymphs write it down and deliver it to me.”
“Did the nymphs deliver this register as well?”
“Hmm…. Now that I think about it, the god of the Underworld gave me this one.”
“I see.”
In other words, someone else had added these names. The two of them hadn't fallen ill, nor had any accidents occurred. This was a malicious whim. It was the same as collecting ‘tribute.’
“Hades.”
And there was only one person who could deceive Thanatos with a register. ‘So that’s how you want to play.’
I couldn't just let him take my sisters, who weren't even on the register, as he pleased.
“Messenger of death, I will guide you to where those two are.”
“Oh, would you do that for me?”
“Yes. I know exactly where they are.”
I took Thanatos and climbed the hill. The very same hill where I had skillfully herded cattle since I was a child.