3 Chapter 3 - Hunting time

(Apollo POV)

2 months!

That's how long it has been since I was reincarnated into this world as Phoebus Apollo.

Honestly, I got used to this fact very quickly.

Perhaps the fact that I didn't have much attachment in my past life helped a lot in this aspect, in addition to the fact that when I was bathed in sunlight at my birth it helped me clear my mind.

I thought, lying on the soft green grass of Delos, as I looked up at the fiery orb in the sky.

The sun.

One of the most beautiful stars.

As a Sun God, I had a connection to this planet-warming orb.

However, I felt that other sun gods also had the same connection to the sun as I did, perhaps weaker or even stronger, but certainly, they had a connection to this incandescent orb.

It wouldn't be so bad to meet other sun gods, in fact, I'd say it would even be exciting.

I thought, raising my hand towards the sun as I released my divine power.

Divine power was the energy that the Gods used to manifest their authority over their divinities, in addition to using it in other ways.

My divine power flows through my body and, in the palm of my hand, an incandescent golden arrow is created.

This was an arrow created using my solar divinity.

I called this skill [Solar Construction].

A cheesy name, but it was to my liking.

The [Solar Construction] is a skill that transforms solar energy into different objects with varying detail and permanence, ranging from simple shapes and images to complex elements.

Obviously, I can only create simple things for now, but let's take it one step at a time.

I twirled the incandescent arrow between my fingers.

I twirled the incandescent arrow between my fingers as I thought that although I was also a god of light, medicine, knowledge, art, and other divinities, I had more control over my solar deity.

A peculiar fact was that some of my divinities worked almost as a passive ability, like my divinity of art, music, medicine, and knowledge.

For example, I could sing any song perfectly or even understand and use instruments just by playing them, as well as understanding art on a high, intimate level.

While, my medicine divinity made me understand any herbs that helped in recovery, understand specific details about any subject that comes into the field of medicine, and also together with my sun divinity I could use solar energy for healing.

As for my divinity of knowledge, it allowed me to perceive and understand things faster, in addition to being able to store everything I know in the smallest details in my mind.

Well, and that wasn't even all of my divinities, I guess I'll have to get nerfed.

I thought, with a goofy smile.

The moment I thought about this, I heard a beautiful voice sounding close to me.

"Why do you have that goofy smile on your face?" Her voice was soft and beautifully melodious.

Upon hearing the voice, I looked up, only to see strands of white hair falling over me.

The white locks of hair belong to my twin sister, Artemis, who was crouched down looking me straight in the eyes.

My golden eyes meet your blue eyes

"Nothing much, sister." I said, to Artemis.

"I bet you were thinking about something silly." Artemis smiled and poked my nose.

It seems like she will never lose this habit of poking me.

"I'm sorry to disappoint her, but your brother doesn't have foolish thoughts." I said, holding her hand, and sitting on the grass still looking into her eyes.

"Hehehe! You still have the habit of holding my hand." Artemis smiled cutely.

What a cute little creature.

Seriously, how could someone as pure as her have the reputation of being the biggest man-hater in history?

"It's just a form of self-defense." I said, swinging my other hand making the golden arrow disappear.

"Your self-defense is cute." Artemis said, intertwining her hand with mine in an innocent manner.

There was not the slightest awkwardness between the two of us, perhaps because we were twins this minimum level of intimacy was normal and natural for us.

"Were you playing with that thing you call [Solar Construction]?" She asked, tilting her face to the side, making her white hair fall across her cheek.

"In a way, yes." I said, standing up and pulling my sister up.

"Hmm! You're creative with names. Well, by the way, Mom asked us to hunt for dinner, looks like we'll have guests tonight."

Visits?

That's news.

The only person who comes to visit us is Amphitrite, the queen of the sea.

Amphitrite is a gentle goddess with the strong temper of a queen.

She is a great friend of my mother, and she was the one who helped with our birth.

But from the way Artemis said "guests", it couldn't be her.

"No problem, but do you know who these guests are, sister?" I asked, walking towards the forest of Delos.

"No, but Mom seemed a little bothered by the mention of guests." Artemis followed beside me, placing her arms behind her back.

Hmm! I'm almost certain that one of these guests is not our father.

After all, since our birth, we haven't even seen the shadow of that unfaithful man.

And from what little I know, Hera, the jealous bitch, would never let Zeus go where one of his ex-lovers and two of his bastard children are.

Maybe it's some of my aunts?

As I thought about this, the two of us had already entered the forest of Delos.

Artemis walked calmly as if it were her natural habitat, which was to be expected from the literal "Goddess of the Hunt."

I raised my hand towards the sun, using [Solar Construction], creating a golden bow and a quiver of arrows with... well, golden arrows.

"Yepp! Hunting time." Artemis did the same as me, but instead of using the moon, she just used her divine power to create a bow and some arrows.

"Shall we see who hunts the most, Apollo?" Artemis turned to me with a challenging look.

Surprisingly, this silly girl has a very competitive side.

"Okay, I don't see a problem." I said while shrugging.

"You can rest assured after I crush you, I will comfort you, my dear baby brother."

I rolled my eyes at her calling me "baby brother", but I couldn't help but smile, Seeing her excitement.

"Well, do your worst." When I said that, she snorted and walked deeper into the forest.

Most likely she will win.

So let's take it easy.

I walked calmly through the forest, listening for any noise.

Even though I wasn't a God of Hunting, I knew a thing or two thanks to my sister, who was the kind of person who couldn't stay silent for two seconds.

My first step was to enter a denser area.

Sounds of small animals rang through the forest, but I ignored them until I heard a grunt, along with dry branches being broken.

Pass through the large bushes, only to see a huge boar, with a brown coat with white pigment on the side.

When I say big, I mean he's easily eight feet tall, even on all fours, and with his head down drinking water from a small stream.

The animals of Greek mythology are really something else.

Slowly, I reached my hand to the quiver and pulled out one of the arrows, placing it on the bowstring.

Like the God of Bow and Arrow, all my movements were smooth and graceful.

Using a bow was as natural for me as it was for my sister.

Getting the best angle, I aimed for the boar's head.

I wasn't scared by the size of this creature. After all, I had a much scarier target to hunt in the future.

This target was something that had hurt my mother before I was even born.

As someone who lacked familial love in my past life, I held my mother and sister in this life in high affection.

Python, the serpent that hunted my mother when she was pregnant.

This serpent was my real target, which I would kill with my own hands.

My eyes narrow, and I release the bowstring, sending the arrow shooting at high speed.

Arrow howls against the wind heading towards the beast, and almost as if by instinct the boar's hair stands on end, alerting him to the danger.

However, it was a little late because the tip of my arrow had already pierced the boar's eye, penetrating its eyeball and burning its flesh from the inside.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaa!" The huge boar growls in pain and turns towards me, with the arrow still lodged in him and burning the inside of his eye.

Oh! He has good stamina and vitality.

I thought, standing up, and quickly grabbing another arrow and nocking it into my bow.

The boar lets out a roar with a mix of agony, pain, and mainly anger, and gallops towards me, breaking the ground with the strength of its hooves.

I release the bowstring and another arrow is released.

Only this time the creature twists its body to the side, causing the arrow to pass through its head and embed itself in its back, which begins to burn.

The creature's anger, hatred, agony, and pain increased even more.

The boar thrusts its two long tusks toward me.

I flex my feet and take my hand to the quiver, taking out two arrows and holding them between my fingers, while I wait for the boar to approach.

A few centimeters away from the collision, I simply threw my body to the side, moving out of the way of a huge tree that was behind me.

My body rolls across the ground, but I quickly place one knee on the ground, turning my bow sideways, placing the arrows on the string, and pulling back.

But I don't shoot both arrows, I just wait patiently.

The boar roars, breaking the large tree with its two huge tusks and turns towards me.

"Graaaaaaaaaaa!!!" He opens his mouth, releasing a thunderous roar.

Making me smile, and letting go of the bowstring.

The two arrows whistle against the air, and quickly enter his mouth, piercing his throat and the other exiting through the back of his head.

Blood drips from its mouth, and the creature takes a few steps towards me and the next moment falls to the side, falling to the ground.

He starts to choke on his blood.

I get up and approach the body of the large animal.

My bow has disappeared and in my hand, I create an incandescent dagger.

Without hesitation, I pass the dagger across its neck, ending the boar's life.

The boar's eyes darken, there no longer being a shred of life in them.

I let out a sigh and waved my hand making the arrows and daggers disappear.

Even though I was already somewhat used to killing creatures, it still felt a little strange to take the lives of other beings.

Furthermore, I needed 4 arrows to kill the boar.

I think I'm not yet at the level of being able to kill the Python, which was a creation of Gaia, the primordial goddess of the earth.

So that serpent is definitely not a small fish.

Well, although I obviously didn't use everything I had on the boar, just using my bow and arrow, I still don't think I have what it takes to kill her.

So even though I know where Python is and lives, I still won't do anything... for now.

I even knew Greek mythology relatively well in my past life, but it wasn't like I knew all the events, however, thanks to my mother, I knew where Python was, after all, she had let it slip that Python lived in Delphi.

Surely she must be there.

But for now, let's leave Python alone, and I'll focus on getting stronger.

With my determination burning, I hear the voice of my Artemis.

"So here's the loser." Her innocent voice didn't match the blood on her cheek and the 3 dead bodies she was pulling.

The three beasts hunted by Artemis were a boar smaller than mine, but still of an abnormal size, a deer with three horns, and another boar a little smaller than the other, but with completely brown fur.

"Loser? You're wrong my sister, my boar is equivalent to 4 large animals while your animals are so skinny that they can't even feed a Cyclops." I said, with a smile, as I approached her.

"My tusks are smaller, but I focused on the quality of the meat, while yours is bigger, but the fat has a higher percentage, so the fact that I won doesn't change one bit." Artemis said, shrugging.

In front of her, I run my hand across her cheek, wiping away the blood on it, as she smiles beautifully.

"You are the goddess of the hunt, so you have a moral obligation to win." I waved my hand creating a golden rope tied to the huge boar.

Artemis ran her slender fingers where I had run my hand with a smile.

"My baby brother and his excuses." Artemis walked beside me dragging the corpses.

I just ignored her.

"Let's just take the beasts to our mother." I said, dragging the boar.

"Eh!? Where's my prize?"

"We hadn't stipulated any of that."

"Yes, we certainly made a deal, where the winner would get something from the loser." She said, turning her face away, and whistling.

"Okay! Okay!" I stopped and walked towards her, and grabbed her arm.

Using my divine power, I used [Solar Construction], and created a golden bracelet on her wrist.

The bracelet on her right arm was not incandescent, as I used only solar energy to create a durable bracelet.

"Ohhh!" She said, looking at the bracelet with almost stars in her eyes.

"Are you satisfied now, sister?" I asked, going back to carrying my boar.

"Yes, thank you very much, my baby brother." She said, jumping for joy.

I just smiled and continued pulling the boar while Artemis walked beside me carrying the corpses, with an innocent smile on her lips.