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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 53
“So you must be the owner.”
Eyes like a beast, amber-colored and gleaming looked straight at me.
The man had short, curly brown hair and deep amber eyes.
He wore no clothes, revealing a strikingly muscular, bronze-toned body.
“I’m sure I walked into Molorkos’ home, but then this place spread out before me.”
Despite Vanessa's guarded stare, the man remained completely composed.
“Everything here is unfamiliar to me, so I’ve just been looking around.”
Casually, he picked up a pair of goggles from a shelf, inspecting them with curious eyes.
“Doesn’t seem like the work of Hephaestus…”
He looked at me and asked,
“What is this place for?”
“……”
From his words, I was able to piece together his identity.
— I’m sure I walked into Molorkos’ home, but then this place spread out before me.
Molorkos was a poor farmer whose child had been devoured by the Nemean Lion.
And now, this man had claimed to have entered Molorkos’ house, but somehow arrived at our general store.
That explained why he showed no fear in the face of Vanessa’s threat.
It was because Vanessa couldn’t possibly harm him.
If my guess was correct, then no being I knew not even Vanessa could pose a threat to this man.
He was a demigod.
The son of Zeus, King of the Gods, and the great hero of the Divine Age, born to stop the Gigantomachy during the Great War of Olympus.
—Encountered Hercules of a failed timeline.
==
—Hercules [Assist Hercules in completing the Twelve Labors.]
[Reward: Pelt of the Nemean Lion]
==
The man was none other than Hercules the demigod of Greek mythology.
Which meant the place I had arrived in was a world where gods still held sway over the land.
A time when myths were alive and breathing.
The ‘Divine’ Age.
***
According to legend, Hercules was driven mad by Hera, Zeus’s wife, and in his madness, he slaughtered his own family.
The ‘Twelve Labors’ were penance for that crime twelve trials that he had to complete to atone.
Only after completing all twelve was he forgiven, granted immortality, and welcomed into Olympus after death.
But as it stood now, Hercules hadn’t even completed his first labor.
His first trial was to slay the Nemean Lion.
Had he already defeated it, he would’ve had no reason to be staying at Molorkos’ house and certainly wouldn’t be walking around bare-chested like that.
‘The pelt of the Nemean Lion is Hercules’ symbol.’
Even after becoming an immortal god, Hercules was always depicted wearing the lion’s indestructible hide.
And yet, my status screen was now offering that very symbol as a reward.
It was likely referring to a portion of the lion’s pelt.
The Nemean Lion was said to be a colossal monster.
Even gaining just a piece of its pelt would still be an incredible reward.
After all, the lion’s hide was so tough that no spear or blade could pierce it.
And if it truly bore the power of Hercules a demigod then it couldn’t just be tough. It had to be a proper relic, infused with divine might.
Of course, to obtain it, I’d have to assist Hercules in completing the Twelve Labors first.
But the crucial detail not to overlook was this: this was a failed timeline.
“I can take down the Nemean Lion on my own.”
Without even considering it, Hercules rejected my help.
“The labors bestowed upon me by Hera... they must be completed by me and me alone.”
He clearly had no intention of accepting assistance.
“Sir Seojun, I don’t think he’s willing to listen.”
“Benefactor, maybe we should just drop this. It’s just one quest and maybe we can afford to fail it, can’t we?”
“……”
Even Vanessa, normally stubborn and pragmatic, was ready to give up on him.
He wouldn’t listen to advice and wouldn't even entertain the idea.
To put it bluntly, he was arrogant. More charitably? Proud to a fault.
Even I had to pause and consider Vanessa’s suggestion for a moment.
We’d wasted three whole days already without making any progress.
But.
“We can’t abandon this. There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to return to the real world otherwise.”
The real issue was still the same: we didn’t know if returning home was even possible.
In Vanessa and Jeanne’s cases, the timeline had been altered after their quests succeeded.
Strictly speaking, their cases weren’t ‘failures’.
So giving up wasn’t an option I could consider.
The problem wasn’t the quest, it was Hercules’ pride.
‘Is this what made this timeline a failure?’
In the true myth, Hercules was indeed proud—but not obstinate.
When it came time for his second labor, he accepted help from Iolaus, his nephew and half-brother.
‘Maybe he still hasn’t broken free of Hera’s curse of madness.’
Driven by Hera’s jealousy, Hercules had murdered his family under the curse of insanity.
And now, from time to time, I could see unfiltered madness flicker in his eyes.
That madness twined with his pride was anchoring him in place.
Pride, when twisted into arrogance, made it impossible to think flexibly.
Pride, huh…
“Hmm.”
A plan came to me.
***
That afternoon.
When Hercules visited the general store again, I approached him while he was inspecting relics.
“You won’t be able to defeat the Nemean Lion.”
“Oh? Are you saying I cannot?”
A fierce light gleamed in his beast-like amber eyes.
The raw energy of a demigod surged enough to raise the hairs on my arms and send shivers across my skin but…
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
I didn’t back down.
“I will defeat the Nemean Lion.”
“You won’t. Not in your current state. You could die and come back and still fail.”
I had deliberately struck at his pride.
“Shall we wager on it?”
“…A wager?”
A flicker of confusion passed through those amber eyes.
“Yes, a wager. If you manage to defeat the Nemean Lion your way, I’ll admit I was wrong and offer a formal apology.”
I spoke clearly, meeting Hercules’ gaze, ensuring every word landed.
“But if you fail, you’ll have to admit that you were wrong.”
They were just words that were meant to sting.
But I was certain Hercules would take the bait.
He was a hero whose competitive spirit blazed brighter than anyone’s.
And sure enough.
“Very well. If I fail, I’ll admit I was mistaken. But if I succeed, you will apologize to me.”
“Agreed.”
He raised his club.
“Thirty days. I’ll bring down the Nemean Lion within that time.”
And thus, the thirty-day wager with Hercules began.
***
A demigod.
A being whose power far exceeded anything I could even imagine.
KWA-A-A-AANG!
It was as if the world itself cracked, the earth trembled, the landscape split and fell apart.
KWAANG! KWAANG!
Valleys, mountains, fields.
The terrain itself was torn asunder and reshaped.
Every time Hercules swung his club, Mount Trethos cried out in agony.
KRRRRRHHHHHHH────!
Whenever the Nemean Lion’s massive forepaws clashed with Hercules’ club, the very air quaked.
The shockwaves alone were enough to alter the scenery around them.
A scene of raw destruction.
Even the most elite of S-rank Awakened would be crushed if they dared to enter this battlefield.
Hercules truly lived up to his name as the great hero favored by the gods.
And yet—
“He’s not going to win.”
“No… he won’t.”
I agreed with Vanessa’s quiet observation.
We sat on a ridge overlooking the valley below, watching the battle rage on.
Every time that crude club was swung, the Nemean Lion was knocked back, sent flying or slammed into rock.
It was hurled into cliffs, hid in caves, and fled across ravines.
Hercules never stopped pressing the attack, keeping it on the defensive.
But the lion, while clearly overwhelmed, remained untouched.
Not a single blow had pierced its hide.
Because the Nemean Lion wasn’t a beast that could be felled with brute strength alone.
Day after day. Three, four… time passed relentlessly.
Ten days. Twenty.
Still, Hercules hadn’t overcome the trial.
Still, he swung that club, again and again and still, the lion roared back at him.
And then, on the thirtieth day, the final day of our wager.
Hercules climbed up from the valley to our ridge.
His face was more hardened than I’d ever seen it.
“Tell me. What should I do?”
“……”
Hercules was asking me for a solution.
The proud hero only at the end of the wager finally laid down his pride.
“Do you admit you were wrong?”
“…I do. This method won’t work.”
In that fleeting moment, a shadow fell behind Hercules.
─KRRRAAAAAUUUUGH!
The massive lion burst forth in a fury, its roar shaking the air.
My body tensed instinctively at the beast’s presence.
The lion’s colossal forepaw rose, poised to crush Hercules in a single, decisive strike.
And in that split second of danger, those amber eyes beneath the lion’s shadow turned not toward the threat, but toward me.
Only me.
And I spoke to him.
“Drop the club, Hercules.”
I met his gaze head-on, unwavering.
“You were never meant to fight with a weapon. You shine brightest when you fight barehanded.”
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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