A Mythical Journey To Remember - Chapter 36

Chapter 36 - Bye Bye

When one thinks of Herakles from mythology, many would assume he was the greatest hero in Greek mythology, possessing both brawn and skill. He was skilled in using various weapons, such as the bow, sword, and club.

However, the current Herakles I was dealing with only had a rudimentary knowledge of wrestling. Until he went to train with Chiron, he would possess only raw strength and lack refined skills. He was far from the monstrously strong champion he would become in the future.

That's why, for the time being, I was teaching him what little I knew of archery. It wouldn't hurt to have someone like Herakles owe me a debt or two, though currently, the situation was quite the opposite, as I owed him my life.

"See the shoulders? Keep them straight," I explained while positioning myself with a bow in hand, using a scarecrow as a target. We were within the green fields, and the wind was a bit strong. My archery skills were amateurish, but still better than most, as I rarely ever missed. "Don't try to aim too hard; your eye will guide the arrow."

As I spoke, I released the arrow... which missed the target by a foot. I had missed a stationary target, by quite a long shot.

"You're kind of a shit archer," Herakles commented nonchalantly, lying on the ground with a straw in his mouth. "Are you sure I should be taking advice from you?"

I knew he didn't mean it as an insult, but the way he said it was rather harsh!

"Just bad luck," I reasoned.

"Uhuh," Herakles nodded, clearly not buying my excuse for a moment.

This experience had been eye-opening, revealing how I was merely an amateurish archer at best without my luck.

"How about I teach you wrestling as payment for helping me with archery?" Herakles proposed.

For a moment, I almost considered his offer. But having spent enough time with Herakles, I knew just how monstrously strong he was. There was a risk he might inadvertently go too far and end up killing me. Besides, I didn't want to test my luck because it would undoubtedly fail me.

Moreover, my encounters with Herakles had taught me one important lesson: martial arts were somewhat futile when facing an opponent with an absolute power advantage. Even if someone were skilled in martial arts, if they fought against Herakles, it would be like trying to box or wrestle against an excavator. Completely useless.

"No thanks, but I have something better in mind," I smiled. "How about we put your strength to the test?"

Herakles raised a questioning brow. "You want to test my strength? You will die."

"Not by fighting you; I mean testing your strength by having you lift heavy objects," I hurriedly clarified, not wanting the situation to escalate.

"Oh, that makes more sense," he stood up and stretched, his back cracking like two boulders colliding.

Everything about this guy was downright terrifying. If he didn't have such a laid-back personality, he could easily do something that no mortal could handle.

We walked through the nearby forest until we reached a boulder, its size akin to that of a house, enveloped in moss, a testament to its long-standing presence.

"Try and lift that," I suggested to him.

Herakles didn't require a second invitation; he crouched down, positioning one hand under the colossal rock and hoisted it effortlessly above his head.

Just how many tons did that thing weigh? Even with the aid of modern machinery, moving such an enormous mass would prove exceedingly challenging.

After playfully tossing the boulder about a foot into the air and catching it with ease, the ground beneath him gave way, causing him to sink all the way to his knees. "Oops, sorry about that," he apologized, pulling his legs free from the earth.

Despite the mishap, Herakles appeared unfazed, exuding boundless energy. To quantify his strength in stats, I could only randomly guess, but it seemed to be in the hundreds at the very least.

...

We continued testing Herakles' strength for days, and he effortlessly accomplished every task. What had started as a simple pastime to entertain both myself and Herakles had now led to a daunting realization.

Was Herakles' strength truly boundless? It seemed as though nothing could pose a challenge to him. He effortlessly lifted, punched, and tore apart objects, and even metal crumbled like soft butter in his hands. He could break metal as if it were a mere cracker with his teeth.

At the end of our testing, I found myself holding a coin, lost in contemplation. If Herakles possessed such immense strength, how powerful were the Gods in comparison?

"Whatever, I just need to test my luck again," I muttered, flipping a coin repeatedly, doing so ten times in total.

I managed to win three out of ten times, and I sighed with relief. My luck seemed to be improving, bringing me closer to the average person's fortune.

It was a good sign, as it meant I might soon be able to leave this place.

Suddenly, the sound of sheep drew my attention away from my thoughts. Herakles was carrying one sheep while herding the rest.

Over the days, I had gotten to know Herakles better, and one thing was clear: he was a simple man who didn't concern himself with unnecessary matters or give in to greed.

From what I had learned, despite being banished, there was no one who could stop him from doing what he wanted. He stayed here as a shepherd to fulfill his adoptive father's request. If I were in his position, I would find it difficult to comply, especially knowing I was innocent of my teacher's death.

Yet, even with false accusations and unjust treatment, he never complained.

Perhaps there was something more to this situation that I hadn't yet grasped. Maybe Herakles hid here to avoid incurring Hera's wrath, something even perilous for someone with seemingly endless strength like him.

Even with Camella's ashes, enough to create a vampire potion once my Potion Brewing Skill improved, I knew it wouldn't make me one of the most powerful beings in this world.

I didn't aspire to be the strongest; my only wish was to reach a level of strength that would discourage those sadistic Gods from meddling with me.

…

It had been three weeks since I started staying with Herakles, and despite him being the son of the God King of Mythological Greece, his day-to-day life was relatively boring and consisted mostly of taking care of sheep.

Sitting on the soft grass outside the new wooden cabin Herakles and I had built, I relaxed in a rocking chair and took a deep breath of fresh air before flipping a coin. It was something I had started doing every day to test my luck.

After ten flips, I won five times, achieving a 50% chance of victory, and I smiled.

Finally, my luck seemed to be on par with that of an average person. Unlike Kar, it appeared that luck took longer to regenerate.

Thankfully, no one had come looking for me since the incident in Tiryns. Just to be safe, I had no intention of going anywhere near the damn place anytime soon. However, from what I had seen from afar, the city had opened up.

My current status:

Class: Alchemist

Traits: [Transmigrator] [Talented Alchemist]

Level: 8

Strength: 1.3

Agility: 1.2

Constitution: 1.1

Spirit: 6

Luck: 6

Skills Page ≫

During my time here, I had trained in archery, resulting in some increase in my strength and agility. However, it had become quite challenging to further raise my stats now. It was understandable since I didn't have any special genetic advantages; my parents were farmers, just like their parents before them.

-Active Skills:

Transmutation - Lvl 2/10

Brewing - Lvl 2/10

-Passive Skills:

Spear Mastery - Lvl 1/10

Bow Mastery - Lvl 2/10

≪ Status Page

Due to my low luck, archery training hadn't been going well at all, and I could rarely hit the target. Nevertheless, there was a silver lining. I had to put in effort and try to improve rather than relying solely on luck. In fact, attempting trick shots had led to the leveling up of my bow mastery skill.

As it was the first skill to level up that wasn't directly related to my class, I somewhat understood how to improve a regular skill.

I still wish I had luck by my side, supporting my shots. With luck, it felt like I had an auto-aim cheat. While that wasn't ideal for honing my archery skills, it proved crucial in real battles.

“Herakles, I'm heading out," I waved at the demi-god while grabbing a disgruntled sheep and guiding it back to the newly-built barn. He wasn't exactly skilled at sheepherding, but his strength allowed him to simply lift the animals and put them in the enclosure.

Herakles waved back. "Sure. And if we cross paths again someday, you owe me a good drink."

His reaction to my departure was somewhat underwhelming, but I could sense that he wanted to leave too. It was only a matter of time before he broke his adopted father's orders.

"Yeah, you'll set off soon too," I remarked.

He adamantly refused my words. "I have my duties here."

Yet the glint in his eyes and his clenched fists spoke volumes, far more than his words did. Nobody had checked on him while I was here, so the only thing holding him back, as far as I knew, was a mere promise.

With that, I slung on a leather backpack I had crafted using my transmutation skill and set off. It was time to join my team in Athens—I missed those bastards. Even Billy smashing his head around and concussing himself, it was kind of boring without him around.