The next day, at dawn.
Under the golden apple tree.
Just as Athena had said, when the first ray of sunlight at sunrise shone on Jason's body.
The war god with red hair, clad in crimson armor, Ares, appeared before Jason's eyes.
Looking at the extraordinary-looking god before him, symbolizing war, slaughter, and riot, the son of Queen Hera and the king of the gods Zeus.
Jason had not yet had time to speak.
"Jason, follow me."
Ares's first words directly stunned Jason.
"Do not follow Athena anymore; follow me!"
Only to hear Ares say bluntly to Jason, "With me around, I guarantee you will become the strongest hero. And if you follow me, Mother Hera will no longer be angry with you. This is much more worthwhile than following that bitch Athena!"
Bitch...
Jason looked at Ares, who had said this to him, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.
Ares, the Greek god of war.
He acts without thinking, just as typical as his brutality.
Arrogant and untamed, barbaric and cruel.
But even someone like him still has numerous followers in the mortal world, and the reason is that Ares is extremely loyal to those close to him, such as his children and subordinates. When they are humiliated, the war god Ares always stands up for them regardless of everything.
Ares also has a sense of mutual appreciation for heroic leaders, a hero cherishing another hero, which is also very similar to the characteristics of the Aries constellation he guards: loyal, impulsive, passionate, and so on.
This was also why Athena had directly left with peace of mind last night, leaving Jason to meet Ares alone.
With that battle yesterday, that tribute, even without the bet with Athena, Ares would most likely protect Jason.
"Great war god Ares, thank you very much for your favor, but I am Hecate's child. I revere her immensely, so..."
"Oh, I forgot you are not Athena's person."
Hearing Jason's cautious words, the stunned Ares then suddenly realized, "Yesterday, seeing that bitch Athena so concerned about you, I thought you were hers... Never mind, as long as you are not hers, it is fine."
With that said, under Jason's slightly strange gaze, Ares took out the golden war god's belt and handed it to Jason.
"Kid, if you have any troubles in the future, come find me. I will sort them out for you!" After giving the belt to Jason and patting his shoulder, Ares turned and sat on that four-horse chariot and left.
Looking at the departing Ares, and then at the belt in his hand, Jason contemplated for a while and then tied it around his own body.
After tying it around his body, Jason instantly felt his entire body filled with strength, and even the fatigue from last night's battle vanished without a trace in an instant!
And with this war god's belt, Jason's current strength would be in no way inferior to the future Hercules, Heracles!
But even so, Jason did not feel complacent because of the favor Ares had shown him.
After all, he was very clear about how capricious the Greek gods could be.
Dealing with the Greek gods was like walking a tightrope; a slight misstep would lead to death in the bottomless abyss!
Jason, you must remember that there are not so many good things in this world for you to encounter. The blessings and indulgences of the gods are things that only 'protagonists' are fated to enjoy.
Life is long, and in this Greek mythological world full of dangers, with worthless gods everywhere and monsters rampant, one might inexplicably die any day. To survive in this world, one must be careful, careful, and careful again!
Even now, when Jason appeared to have received graces from gods from all sides, deep in his heart, Jason still constantly reminded himself.
To ensure he would absolutely not be dazzled by everything before his eyes!
Because stories of receiving the favor of gods are actually not rare in Greek mythological legends, but how many people have had good endings?
In Greek mythology, a large half of the heroes' ultimate outcomes end in tragedy. Jason did not want to follow in their footsteps!
Take the simplest example: do not think that Zeus and Ares have a good impression of Jason now.
But if there is an opportunity to cuckold Jason, they would absolutely not be polite to him. They might even trip him up to please some women or goddesses.
Actually, if it were not for Jason being favored by various goddesses now, and Zeus being interested in Jason, perhaps...
And besides the male gods, the goddesses are actually even harder to deal with.
Because sometimes a careless word can provoke a goddess's revenge. Even though Jason is favored by goddesses now, this fondness might not turn into hatred in the future.
Most of the goddess curses 'harvested' by many heroes were obtained in this way.
"It is time to go..."
Clenching his fist and feeling the power brought by the war god's belt, Jason slowly exhaled and said.
"Next, it will be the tribute for Lord Apollo.
And after offering the tribute to Lord Apollo, it will be the tribute for Hermes... After the tribute for Hermes ends, Goddess Athena should come to find me."
Jason softly organized his thoughts.
Then, he looked up at the sky, bid farewell to Ladon, who was still guarding the golden apples nearby, under Ladon's gaze of relief that 'you are finally leaving'.
Jason then turned and left the Garden of the Hesperides.
His goal was quite clear.
It was precisely because Jason had always seen himself clearly that he kept moving forward.
Twelve tributes from the gods, twelve gifts from the gods.
Plus his identity as a student of Goddess Hecate, the centaur sage Chiron, and the goddess of craftsmen Hephaestus.
In the future, when he becomes immortal, in terms of controlling his own fate, Jason would not be so passive.
In this myth-filled Greece full of dangers, one's own strength is ultimately the first standard of discourse!
"But Goddess Athena, what kind of tribute will she have me offer?"
Walking along, Jason suddenly thought of this question. Based on the personality Athena had shown, Jason could not help but stop his steps, swallow his saliva, and mutter, "It will not... have something to do with the Golden Fleece, right?"
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed to Jason, and he only felt his head starting to ache again.
But Jason thought again: he would have to face the Golden Fleece eventually.
With Athena around, for him, it was not entirely a bad thing.
"Right, speaking of the Golden Fleece brings to mind that ship named the Argo... After the tribute for Hermes, after the matter with Io ends, I will return to Teacher Hephaestus to learn forging skills with her.
The matter of the ship... seems like I can ask Teacher for help!"
"As for Medea her... Never mind, I can only take it one step at a time."
After being tangled for a while, Jason shook his head.
He continued forward, and not long after, Jason saw the Hesperides three sisters, who were still circled in the ring of flames by him.
Although the sacred garment on Jason's body was damaged, he still easily withdrew the flames encircling the Hesperides three sisters, turning them into a lotus petal that fell into his hand.
Then, after expressing his apology to the Hesperides three sisters, without giving them a chance to retain him, under their gazes of 'what a pity', he slipped away quickly.
Leaving the Garden of the Hesperides, Jason immediately saw outside the loyal golden-horned deer squatting there, waiting for him.
The moment the golden-horned deer saw Jason, it stood up and neighed lightly at Jason, quickly running to him.
It tugged at Jason's clothes, looking here and licking there.
"Hehe, that tickles, Sister Deer, it really tickles. And stop biting; this clothes is different from before. If it breaks, it is gone.
I am fine... Really, I am not hurt at all!
And not only am I fine, I also received the grace of the war god Ares and got a golden apple."
After Jason assured the golden-horned deer like this, the golden-horned deer finally relaxed.
And this trip, Jason had indeed gained a lot.
The demon spear given by Typhon, Ares's war god's belt, and a golden apple... Athena's intention with this golden apple was very clear: it was given to Jason, and the gods did not come out to stop it, obviously acquiescing.
Although Jason did not know what this golden apple was for, since the hundred-headed dragon Ladon liked it so much, it was clearly no ordinary item.
And seeing this golden apple, for some reason, Jason thought of Atalanta... After all, she seemed to really like apples.
"Speaking of which, I do not think I have returned her bow yet... Never mind, since I have been running around with it for so long, I will talk about it next time we meet.
But it is best if there is no chance to meet..."
Muttering to himself, Jason climbed onto the back of the golden-horned deer.
Sitting on the golden-horned deer, after putting away the things on his body, Jason took out that deep blue lyre... The golden-horned deer was different from the pegasus; she was not a glutton, but she quite liked the music Jason played.
The reason she doted on Jason so much was also because during the trip three years ago, she had personally witnessed Jason's growth.
Jason, discovering that she liked the lyre music, naturally would not be stingy; after all, this was Sister Deer.
Thus, sitting on the moon goddess Artemis's golden-horned deer, Jason played beautiful music and once again set off on his journey.
And his next stop was precisely the god of light Apollo.
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New Story posted:
Mushoku Tensei: The Imbibitor Lunae Template