59 Jason: My name is Heracles!

[T/N: Nearly triple-sized chapter, hence late update.]

'Athena, what are you actually trying to do?'

Looking at the goddess Hestia, who is still looking at him with clearly expectant eyes, Jason is only feeling a headache.

'Should I take out a random thing as a tribute? ...No, it is just a creative way of asking a God to kill me!'

After all, Jason believes that letting the expectations of the gods fail will cause the gods to feel dissatisfied with him, but if he deceives the gods in such a straightforward way, then the most lenient choice for him would be a straight death.

Therefore, knowing this, Jason understood that there is only one choice he can make.

"Sorry, Goddess Hestia."

So, Jason took a deep breath and said truthfully to Hestia in an apologetic tone: "I haven't prepared your tribute now, so Goddess Hestia, can you give me a little more time?"

"I won't take long and I'll make sure to offer you my carefully prepared tribute! "

"I see... then, just for the sake of your honesty, little Jason, I'll wait."

Hestia pouted while squeezing Jason's face and continued: "But in this case, little Jason, your tribute can't disappoint me!"

"...Yes, I understood, Goddess Hestia."

'Sure enough, it has now developed into a thorny matter?'

While feeling helpless, Jason thought like this.

'A tribute to make Goddess Hestia feel satisfied... No, maybe not only Hestia, but also Artemis, Apollo, Demeter, and possibly others too...'

After concluding this, Jason felt that his head is starting to ache again.

'Once again, I have deeply realized, just how troublesome the gods are!'

"Let's not talk about the tribute, little Jason, were you about to continue on your way tonight?"

Jason nodded to Hestia.

"It isn't good for you to do this." Hestia took Jason's hand, and after sitting down along with him, seriously said to Jason: "How can you not rest at night, and you are still young, it is the time when the body grows."

"I have also heard that you haven't slept once in whole three years!"

"Also, you have just helped me deal with the monster Chimera, so I will give you some rewards."

After saying this, Hestia lightly waved her hand, and a bonfire appeared on the side.

But upon seeing this, Jason barely managed to prevent his eyelids from twitching, because he felt that this situation is somewhat familiar...

"Come on, Jason."

Hestia sat down and gave Jason an extremely bright smile.

After being silent for a moment, Jason slightly turned his head to look at Pegasus.

But upon noticing Jason looking at him, Pegasus, who was gazing at all this with a look of watching a play, got so frightened that he hurriedly turned around and lowered his head to eat grass.

As if Pegasus is trying to say: 'Didn't look at me, I can't see anything.'

So Jason silently sighed in his heart and gave up the idea of struggling, then lay down on his side and stiffly put his head on Hestia's legs.

Naturally, Jason didn't dare to say anything more because he believes that after involuntary disappointing Hestia because of not having a tribute for her, if he really tried refusing Hestia tonight, then this goddess may really get angry at him.

'Forget it, it's just a lap pillow; moreover, it's also not like this is the first time for me.'

Jason calmed himself by thinking like this and convinced himself.

And immediately after Jason lay down, Hestia helped Jason comb his hair, then happily touched his head and began to softly sing a song.

So, this night, under soft breezes and the gentle swaying of the bonfire flames illuminating the blond hero who is laying on the lap of the Goddess Hestia, gradually closed his eyes under her beautiful singing.

Soon, Pegasus also walked over, then stretched his wings and squatted down before closing his eyes.

And Jason fell asleep again.

*****

The next day,

Again as expected by Jason, by the time he woke up, Hestia was long gone.

With bright but soft sunlight shining on Jason, who is wearing the sword of Apollo, the God of Light, he stood up, then looked around, and finally walked to the sleeping Pegasus.

While angrily patting Pegasus's head, Jason said: "Why are you still sleeping... wake up, it is time to go."

After waking up, with a soft neigh, Pegasus banged his head against Jason in dissatisfaction; obviously, used to Jason's bullying but also knowing about the one-week deadline given to Jason by Athena.

So immediately, Jason hurriedly ate a few ripe fruits, already been put beside him, after washing them in the stream nearby.

Then Jason rode the Pegasus and again embarked on his journey.

*****

Ancient Greece, especially Greece at the time of the Age of God, is a very dangerous place.

Therefore, sometimes, even if the Gods don't deliberately create trouble, it is not completely unexpected that Jason might encounter some unforeseen situations or dangers.

Jason, who has separated from the Goddess Hestia, is once again riding the Pegasus towards Calydon.

But not long after Jason began flying towards Calydon, he suddenly heard someone calling him from the ground.

Due to the short deadline of just one week, Jason didn't care at first.

However, suddenly, several stones began flying from the ground targeting them, and if Pegasus hasn't reacted quickly enough, these stones would have accurately hit them.

After dodging the stones, Pegasus neighed twice in dissatisfaction, and then looked at Jason.

Jason hesitated for a while because he naturally doesn't want to get involved in another trouble and wants to leave directly.

But noticing Pegasus's anger, Jason could only sigh helplessly while lightly nodding, after all, Jason is also aware the attacks just now were almost fatal.

So Pegasus turned around and flew towards the ground.

Finally, Pegasus stopped in front of a giant taller than three meters.

"Hero, we finally managed to catch up with you!"

But just as Jason was looking at the shirtless, savage, and shaggy giant man with an untrimmed long beard.

The two slightly distressed-looking Lycian warriors wearing silver armor excitedly greeted Jason.

They were obviously two of the many chasers sent by the Lycian king.

However, unlike the two excited warriors, looking at both of them, Jason naturally began feeling speechless and troubled.

"You are the hero in their mouth, the one who fell from the stars, and following the oracle of Goddess Hestia, killed Chimera?"

The savage half-giant lowered his head and carefully scrutinized Jason while thinking: 'He is so short and weak, and his arms are possibly not even as big as my thumbs.'

So the half-giant hummed with ridicule: "How is this a great hero who killed Chimera? It looks like you are is only this much, I think, you can't even take a punch from me!"

These mocking words of the half-giant made the two warriors feel extremely angry, but they are afraid of the strength of this giant man, so they can only suppress their anger and not dare to speak out.

"You are...?"

"Listen clearly, little man!" The vulgar-looking giant man proudly raised his head and said to Jason: "I am the son of the King of Sea Poseidon, Antaeus!"

"Since you are here, little man, you must obey the rules set by me, before you get to leave.

"Either beat me or..."

While saying this, Antaeus gestured to the side, the temple that is being built using the skulls of the dead.

On this road, Antaeus has forced all those who were passing through here to fight him, and with his unmatchable strength, he has killed all of them.

And Antaeus has done so to collect the skulls of the dead in order to build a temple for his father Poseidon.

After all, in the majority of the ancient civilizations, most warriors follow a simple formula:

Battle = Offering to the Gods = Destruction or killing

Let alone this is the Age of Gods.

So now, Antaeus has set Jason as his next target.

Because he has heard from the two Lycian warriors about Jason's exploits of killing Chimera.

So, Antaeus naturally decided to kill Jason in order to show how powerful he is.

But just after Antaeus revealed his identity, the originally angry Pegasus was surprised and doubtfully looked at Antaeus.

"You said...you are the son of King of Sea Poseidon?"

Jason is also surprised, but not because of the name Antaeus as he obviously doesn't remember the mythical story of Antaeus, rather, because of his identity being the son of King of Sea Poseidon.

"That's right!" Antaeus said proudly, obviously this identity makes him feel very prideful.

Hearing this, Jason naturally looked at Pegasus, so Pegasus began carefully observing Antaeus, he even walked around Antaeus and sniffed, then although reluctant, he nodded to Jason.

"What are you doing?"

But seeing this, Antaeus asked with a frown.

"Antaeus, do you know him?" Jason pointed at Pegasus, but without waiting for Antaeus to reply, Jason continued: "He is temporally lent to me as my mount by your father, the great King of Sea Poseidon."

"And now, I am following the oracle of Goddess Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, and I am traveling this way with the help of the King of Sea Poseidon... So, are you sure, you want to stop me?"

After Jason finished speaking, Antaeus, who is stunned, didn't react first...

"Goddess Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom... Isn't it the oracle of Goddess Hestia, the Goddess of Hearth?" One of the Lycian warriors on the side couldn't help but ask.

"The oracle given to me by Goddess Hestia was to kill Chimera, the monster that was making the land turn desolate." Jason explained: "And the oracle given to me by Goddess Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, is to let me use the fastest speed to reach Calydon, and assist Meleager, prince of Calydon, in fighting off another monster, the wild boar of Calydon."

"Originally, this is the case."

Hearing this, Lycian warriors looked at Jason with even more respect.

And one of them spoke with great admiration: "As expected of the great hero who has killed Chimera, you are so great that you have been favored by so many gods!"

Hearing this, Jason originally didn't feel much.

But when he turned his head to again look at Antaeus, Jason immediately felt helpless in his heart.

Because, although Jason has spoken so much obviously to make Antaeus back off and not obstruct him, who has the oracle given by Athena and is helped by his father...

However, at this moment, Antaeus's eyes were filled with emotions that Jason can only describe with the word 'jealousy'.

'How can you be so favored?!' ...Jason can even almost hear this question screamed through Antaeus's expression.

After all, although Jason resists interacting with Gods, it obviously doesn't mean he is oblivious to fact that there are really too many Gods helping him walk forward on his path.

'Well, it doesn't look like I can bypass this by relying on relationships.'

Just as Jason was thinking this, after listening to Jason's words, Antaeus, who has become extremely jealous, instantly made up his mind and threw his fist at Jason.

And while punching, he roared: "I don't care what kind of oracle you have, but if you want to leave here, you must defeat me!"

Also while swinging his fist at Jason, Antaeus glanced at Pegasus and made a decision in his heart.

'After killing this little man with one punch, I will tame this winged horse, then I will replace him and use it to rush to Calydon!'

However, what surprised Antaeus is that Pegasus didn't seem panicked about his attack on Jason, and didn't even show a sign of helping at all.

So in the eyes of the two terrified warriors, Jason, who is frowning at the huge fist, can only raise his own small fist with clear helplessness written on his face.

Like an insect trying to stop a human...

The two fists collided.

'Boom!'

Along with a loud sound, Antaeus is surprised, and even the two Lycian warriors are surprised.

Because Jason has actually head-on resisted the power of Antaeus.

Then Jason took two steps back, shook his slightly numb arm, and frowned again while looking at Antaeus.

'My goodness, his strength is not much weaker than that of Heracles, no wonder he is so confident!'

"Again!"

But when Antaeus saw that the little man in front of him is not smashed into flesh and bones by his punch, he became even angrier and only felt that he has been humiliated.

So, he attacked Jason again.

However, apart from the first punch that Jason has decided to face head-on, in every following punch, Antaeus only felt as if he is hitting air.

Because all the fists swung by Antaeus are being subtly redirected and dragged by Jason to remove most of his strength behind punches.

And the only things his fists are barely managing to hit are boulders and the ground.

After all, during the three years of sleepless learning, when Heracles hasn't left, in order to become stronger at the fastest speed, Jason has often asked Heracles to accompany him in hand-to-hand combat because of his invulnerability.

Therefore, Jason has naturally learned and experienced dealing with enemies possessing strong brute force.

"Damn, damn, damn!"

"I am not afraid of you bug, I'm going to kill you, I will kill you, kill you!"

Time passed, and even after dozens of minutes Antaeus, who is becoming increasingly crazier with his eyes already red, failed to hit Jason even once.

Jason again dodged lightly, while redirecting Antaeus's brute force at the ground.

Thus the earth again trembled under the power of Antaeus and boulders shattered under his brute force.

But facing such a frenzied attack by Antaeus for a while now, Jason's gaze towards Antaeus has become increasingly sharper...

Murderous thoughts are gradually appearing in Jason's heart.

Considering that Antaeus is the son of Poseidon, Jason has been constantly dodging, but it is also not like it is really difficult for Jason to kill Antaeus, after all, it is still daytime.

Therefore, Jason was originally planning to make Antaeus use up his strength, and then talk or deal appropriately with him when he is tired.

'I just didn't expect that with the passage of time, while my range of action is constantly getting smaller, there is no sign of Antaeus's strength being weakened.'

After all, Jason is unaware of the myth of Antaeus remaining invincible as long as he is in contact with the ground.

So another ten minutes passed.

After finally forcing Jason to a position where he has nowhere left to dodge, Antaeus wildly laughed and said to Jason: "Die, little man, let's see, how you will dodge now!"

'...What a hassle...'

'Forget it, kill him.'

Jason thought this in his heart, then put his hand on the golden sword on his waist.

"Lift him up, Jason."

Just then, a slightly familiar male voice suddenly reached Jason's ear.

"His father is the King of Sea, God Poseidon, and his mother is Goddess of Earth Gaia, so, as long as he stands on the earth, he will gain the infinite power from the earth, and no one can defeat him!"

"So after beating him up, lift him up and throw him into the sea. King of Sea Poseidon won't blame you for it."

Hearing this, Jason silently put down his hand on the saber.

Then, at the moment when Antaeus, who was laughing wildly, swung his fist down, Jason lightly jumped up, then his lips moved slightly and he took out the Magic Staff, then a magic circle under him in mid-air.

Using the comprehensive strengthening spell engraved on the Magic Staff, deep blue light shrouded the Mage Staff and Jason, and then Jason swung his Magic Staff high and smashed it on Antaeus's arm!

'Crack!'

A very clear and crisp sound of bones breaking was followed by Antaeus's painful scream.

But it's not over yet.

Jason, who has just landed on the ground with Magic Staff in his hand, immediately and strongly smashed one of Antaeus's legs with his Magic Staff.

In the screams of Antaeus that are only becoming more miserable due to pain, Jason abolished all of Antaeus's legs and hands at the fastest speed.

Then Jason lifted up Antaeus with all his strength and motioned for Pegasus to come over.

After loading Antaeus, who couldn't struggle due to pain, on Pegasus, he threw him into the sea not too far from here.

Everything happened so fast that when Antaeus was thrown into the sea, the two warriors of the Lycian kingdom haven't reacted yet.

Actually, Antaeus faced such a miserable defeat mainly because he did not expect that Jason, who has been only dodging for almost half an hour, is actually so strong.

Along with the fact that Jason acted so decisively, fast, accurately, and ruthlessly.

After throwing Antaeus into the sea, Jason returned to the two Lycian warriors, so that they can stop following him.

"You two go back and don't follow me again."

Jason helplessly said to the two Lycian warriors who have knelt down on one knee in front of him: "Moreover, you two have also heard that next, I have to go to Calydon to complete the task given to me by goddess Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom."

Hearing this, after the two warriors looked at each other, one of them couldn't help but say: "In this case, we really mustn't force you to stay, but hero, please give us your name, otherwise we will not be able to explain to our king!"

"Yes, hero, please allow us to know your name, or we will never leave!"

Looking at the two warriors, who are firmly insisting on following, Jason couldn't help covering his forehead.

'Give my name? ...Don't even think about it!'

'But if I don't speak my name, they will probably follow me all the way to Calydon, and possibly even beyond that. What should I do...'

Jason is distressed and is silently reciting the word name in his heart.

Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up and an idea popped up in his head.

He coughed lightly and said to the two warriors: "Okay, if this is the case... I'll tell my name to both of you!"

So under the attentive and joyful listening of the two warriors, Jason said in a very serious tone: "My name is...Heracles!"