The Twelve Trials of Tribulation

The system window unfolded before my eyes, listing the twelve abilities of the trials.

The twelve abilities from the trials appeared one after another in my status window.

Wow, that's a lot.

I decided to examine them carefully later when I was alone and closed the status window for now. After all, I was still standing in front of Zeus.

“Mnemosyne, you have done well. You may return now.”

At Zeus’s command, Mnemosyne looked at me. Or at least, that was how it felt. Her face was hidden beneath her robe, so I couldn’t tell exactly where her gaze was directed.

Without a word, Mnemosyne vanished like a ghost. Then, for a brief moment, the corners of her mouth moved.

……Later again.

Later?

Did she have more business with me? I was puzzled, but the corners of her mouth simply curved into a quiet smile before she disappeared without another sound.

Zeus, too, seemed ready to depart. He no longer asked how I had known about Prometheus’s prophecy. Mnemosyne had shaken her head at him, after all. Instead, he left behind a single warning.

“Apostle of Artemis, do not abuse your knowledge and sow chaos.”

“Understood.”

Having finished his business with me, Zeus turned to Pythia one last time.

“Young lady, would you not like to receive my blessing?”

“T-that is……”

“Father, she is my oracle.”

When Apollo stepped forward to shield the flustered Pythia, Zeus did not press the matter further. There was no need to explain what Zeus’s “blessing” truly meant.

So that’s what he calls a blessing.

Once again, I was glad I had already dismissed Vanessa and Jeanne. The thought crossed my mind just as Zeus, who had been flirting with Pythia, transformed into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bolt of lightning and returned to Olympus.

“As promised, I shall purify your madness.”

Apollo proceeded to cleanse Heracles of his insanity. Now that he knew Heracles was the “mortal hero” mentioned in the prophecy, there was no longer any need to worry about Hera’s reaction.

A pure white healing light shone from Apollo’s hand, and Heracles’s eyes cleared. The madness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that had clouded them was gone.

“Outsider, I thank you for revealing the answer to the prophecy.”

After purifying Heracles, Apollo bowed to me. When it didn’t concern his own affairs, he turned out to be a surprisingly upright god.

“May your path to the underworld be safe.”

In a blinding flash, we were suddenly back inside the Temple of Delphi. Apollo was no longer with us.

“I shall take my leave as well.”

“Thank you, Lady Artemis.”

I bowed my head toward Artemis. After all, she had manifested in the mortal realm for my sake.

“If you intend to act as you did earlier, inform me in advance.”

Artemis gave me a light scolding.

“Though you are an outsider, you are now also my apostle.”

“……”

Now that I had become Artemis’s apostle, she would do everything in her power to help me, since I had stepped into her domain. That was simply the kind of goddess she was.

“I’m sorry. From now on, I will inform you beforehand.”

“Good. That is all I ask.”

Upon hearing my reply, Artemis gave a small smile before dissolving into moonlight and vanishing.

“Lord Heracles, how do you feel?”

“Clear now.”

“That’s a relief. Shall we go?”

“I will see you off.”

Only after the whole commotion had settled could we finally leave the Temple of Delphi, escorted by the oracle Pythia.

Time to take a proper look.

Once I returned to Seojun's General Store, I immediately opened the twelve abilities from the Trial of Tribulation that had appeared earlier that day.

They all seem related to the beasts of the trials.

Every ability was modeled after an animal or monster that symbolized one of the labors. Looking at them, it went ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something like this.

Each one was quite useful in its own way. Some were so ridiculously overpowered that they made my eyes widen.

That’s pretty generous for a skill based on cleaning a stable.

Just the fact that it removed all status ailments made Augeas’s Purification worthy of being called an S-rank skill. I couldn’t help but wonder just how filthy those stables must have been to grant a skill like this.

Soul of Swiftness and Frenzied Impact are out.

I read through the information on each ability and began narrowing them down. While all of them were useful, their effectiveness varied depending on the difficulty and nature of the trials.

After careful consideration, five abilities remained.

Augeas's Purification, Golden Healing, Abyss Prison, Nemean Lion's Steel Skin, and Hydra's Successor.

All five were powerful enough to be considered S-rank even among awakening skills.

When used, it summoned a golden apple. Consuming it would recover 80% of all injuries. It even seemed possible for others to eat it. An absurdly broken ability. Having a golden apple meant fighting with two lives.

But……

I don’t need it.

I had Jeanne. No matter how many golden apples I was offered, I wouldn’t trade her for them. So, regretfully, I decided to pass on this one.

The same went for Augeas’s Purification. Removing all status ailments was tempting, but Jeanne could already do that. Besides, the mana cost was high and the cooldown was six hours, so it held no value for me.

After eliminating Augeas’s Purification and the Golden Apple, three abilities remained: Nemean Lion’s Steel Skin, Abyss Prison, and Hydra’s Successor.

Here was what each one did.

All three were ridiculously overpowered skills. Turning my own skin into the Nemean Lion’s hide was great, but Abyss Prison was closer to a divine authority. It meant I could completely isolate any space I wanted. Having experienced something similar during the Yeomyeong-ui Seongjwa terror incident, I knew just how broken this ability was. When you factored in the debuff that plunged everything inside into confusion, it would be strange not to choose it.

But Hydra’s Successor was just as impressive. Simply reading the description told me it would make me immune to all poisons.

Complete poison immunity.

Thanks to Jeanne, I didn’t have to worry about ordinary poisons, but some Gates contained monstrous creatures with deadly toxins that could kill you before any purification could take place. With Hydra’s Successor, I would be completely free from such threats. It even said I could use Hydra poison myself. I wasn’t sure if its potency would match the original Hydra’s, but the following line made its toxicity irrelevant.

*Infection cannot be prevented by any ability other than Hydra's Successor.

Incurable infection.

This meant it could inflict an unavoidable, 100% guaranteed poisoning. On anyone except me.

This really is a Hydra.

After hesitating between the three, I ultimately chose Hydra’s Successor. Abyss Prison consumed too much mana and had too long a cooldown.

I can get the Nemean Lion’s hide as a reward anyway.

Since the reward for the labor was the Nemean Lion’s hide, there was no need to take its ability here. It might even overlap with the artifact.

“Shall we test it out?”

I stepped out of the general store and placed my hand on the nearby grassy ground.

My hand turned a deep shade of purple. And then……

The ground blackened as if ink were spreading across it, and the grass began to melt away.

When I stood up straight again, I was at a loss for words.

“……”

All the grass within a five-meter radius around me had completely vanished.