Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

There is always nothing new in Acropolis under the sun, except this time.

People in a city are stumped by a game, and it may even evolve into an entire world of smart people being stumped by a game. This kind of thing has never happened.

Not surprisingly, this will definitely become another legendary story that will be spread throughout the world and be talked about by people. Although it did not kill the demon and quell the disaster, the prestige it brought may not be lower than the former.

This is even a plus among some groups.

"So what changes will this bring?"

"Compared to the previous ones, she doesn't have that much interference..."

In the temporary residence, looking at the sun outside the window, Ryan pondered silently.

Different from thousands of years ago, if the original sun being pulled by the golden chariot was just a metaphor, and the two parties were actually pulling the sun in a special way, then this now is a real sun chariot.

A light body is suspended behind the frame. It may not be as big as the original sun, but it is also closer to the ground.

What hangs now is the 'Evening Sun', and its light has an aura of decay and dilapidation. This is a power that the ancient sun god himself never had control of during his lifetime. In other words, it was precisely because he was crushed that the sun also had some symbols of this aspect.

"There is actually a precedent for non-gods to become god-like."

"Perseus is like this. Under the guidance of the gods, he killed Gorgon, and with the divine blood in his body, he finally ascended to heaven - but he did not have his own authority, just like the big and small constellations that later ascended to heaven. . And their actions seem to be restricted. There are often only records of their ascension, but no subsequent actual circulation."

"Pandora...she is like that too."

"The disasters in the world originate from the gods, and she only played a role as a tool in the process. So until I left a thousand years ago, she did not show any signs of gaining authority."

"So, the so-called 'great achievements' and 'great fame' cannot actually directly bring real authority, at least simply having it cannot. There is definitely something missing in this, which I have ignored..."

"And Hercules, I don't know if he was born now."

Hercules was not the only immortal mortal, but he was indeed the only mortal suspected of possessing power. Moreover, the authority of power has its owner. In theory, apart from the world, there is no situation in which one can be deprived of his priesthood later in life.

So where this ‘Hercules’ came from is highly debatable. Or is this really just a title, and he has never had real authority?

Hope that's not the case, if it is, that's very disappointing...

Squeak——

"Um?"

While Ryan was thinking, the door was pushed open and there was a slight sound.

I have to say that the bearing design of this era is indeed average. From the palaces of gods to the portals of the mortal world, there seems to be no door that does not make a sound.

"Evan, I'm back~"

Pushing the door open, Andrea's figure jumped into the door.

She looked around, and then as expected she saw a familiar figure in front of the table.

"Come back as soon as you come back. It seems you have got what you need?"

Without raising his head, Ryan didn't think there would be any surprises about such a trivial matter.

The age gap between the two parties is too big, Andrea will definitely win big, as long as she doesn't get nervous and cause problems. However, his indifferent attitude actually calmed down the little princess's excited mood.

"...Well, I defeated Odysseus, the prince of Qatar whom I told you about yesterday. He is very famous."

"After he loses, I will follow what you said and say that the level of these challengers is too low. I will not accept competitions from ordinary people in the future, and I will not wait there anymore."

Pursing her lips, Andrea sat across the table. After calming down, she was also a little worried.

"The head of the church in Acropolis, who is also a friend of His Excellency the Patriarch, plans to meet me and invite me to directly participate in the final round of the subsequent competition... I won't be recognized, right?"

"If it's a normal situation, of course you will. Even if your appearance is different, some habitual movements will still be recognized by acquaintances. After all, you have not experienced professional training. But after you have built such a big reputation, no one will recognize you. You were put together with the missing princess."

"After all...what abilities you have, the more familiar you are, the clearer they will be."

"..."

The implication of Ryan's words is obvious. You were so good before, and the gap between you and now is clear at a glance. Others will naturally not equate you with the original Andrea.

Although this was the truth, Andrea still felt like she had been hit by an arrow when she heard it.

"I see, you know everything."

With a soft hum, the little princess lay down on the small bed on the side and made a big font.

After being out for a few months, she felt that she had forgotten half of the etiquette she had learned... But to be honest, her father didn't really care about these things.

"But then again, Alvin, what are you going to do here and let me participate in the competition? What good will it do to you if I win the championship?"

"It's secret."

Ryan said calmly, with no intention of answering.

Anyway, he also had a black robe that represented secrecy, so there's nothing wrong with saying that.

"But that's what you said before. Can you say it another way?"

"Then... this is fate."

"...Aren't you a bard?"

"It makes sense that a bard can predict. Just think of me as coming to save Athens and... bring peace to the world?"

Lian shook his head slightly, smiling.

World peace... There is probably no wish in the world that is more difficult to achieve than this.

But specifically for the Chaos world, I don't know if it will be a little more peaceful than before without Olympus?

Maybe it will be in the short term, but after a long time, there should be no difference, but Ryan doesn't care much.

Although it is not very beautiful and full of sins, compared to the golden age... maybe this world is the world.

······

Time passes like water, and from the perspective of the stars, the trajectory of the sun is constantly changing.

Because of the pomegranate seeds she once ate, Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, will only stay in the sacred mountain in the first half of the year, and will go to the netherworld in the second half of the year, and then the whole world will enter late autumn.

The game competition, which lasted just two days, is now known to everyone in the city and has even begun to spread to further places.

People call this "Lia's Game" and speculate about Andrea's origins.

After all, she has been invited to various dinners more than once in recent days, and her performance is impeccable. This proves that she has definitely received a good education, and the strong blood aura proves her extraordinaryness.

However, no one can really find out Andrea's background, even Odysseus, who has often visited her since his failure. Andrea's origins are like a mystery, hidden in the fog.

However, these are just episodes before the competition. Days pass by, and preparations are in full swing.

Thousands of contestants, with very different cultures and identities, obviously cannot rush into the completed venue and take turns to decide the winner.

In order to save time and space, the Athenian government temporarily drew up cases and puzzles piled up in various cities under its jurisdiction, and prepared hundreds of topics.

In the streets, in the city, in the park, in the square, in the theater, and even in front of the court and the church, large and small competitions began day and night.

There was no referee, and no one announced the winner, only soldiers responsible for maintaining order. When a competition was over, the audience on the scene voted anonymously, which was also a manifestation of the classical republic of Athens.

The winner of each game continued to duel with the winner, and the loser continued to duel with the loser. In the end, the total number of wins of each player was counted and ranked to determine who was eligible to participate in the final victory.

This was a scene that was difficult to see in other kingdoms of this era, and even in other places in Athens, because in order to understand the debate, understand the process of decryption, or judge whether the judgment was reasonable and legal, it required a certain level of cultural level and literacy support.

Except for the largest sanctuary of the Church of Knowledge on earth, the Parthenon, no other city could achieve such a wide literacy rate.

Standing on the towering city wall, the middle-aged man with a trace of boredom in his eyes looked at the city, feeling somewhat relieved.

He came here alone. In fact, as the monarch of this kingdom, he had not paid much attention to the progress of this competition until today.

There are many things that bother him, and the disappearance of his little daughter is actually just a trivial part of it. Because Theseus knew very well that the hijacking encountered by Andrea was just a superficial phenomenon, and behind it was the dissatisfaction of traditional countries with their belief in gods.

Athens was born too late, its geographical location was too good, and many of the things it chose were too unorthodox.

This is not surprising. This is a challenge that latecomers must face. For example, the former Kingdom of Eleusis, a kingdom that believed in the goddess of agriculture, has now become a servant of Athens.

It monopolized the channels for communication between the maritime countries and the continental countries, and its influence continued to extend inland, and suppression followed. In fact, Athens was almost surrounded by enemies before Theseus ascended the throne, and even just faced the failure of a foreign war.

So Theseus, who grew up in a region with a strong witchcraft atmosphere, decisively reformed many systems of the kingdom, from politics to diplomacy. He abolished the noble councils in various places, traded with Silvermoon City, developed marine trade, and introduced the alchemy industry... He also invited the great wizard Hermes, whom he met during his adventure, to Athens. This was also the first precedent among the countries to openly invite a spellcaster to the kingdom.

Athens' national strength grew day by day, but what followed was naturally more direct open and secret struggles.

"Compared to it, it was more interesting at the beginning... holding a sword, chopping whoever I was unhappy with, and running away if I couldn't beat them. There was no need to give the gods face, so there was no need to worry about so many things."

Somewhat nostalgic for the past, Theseus glanced at the sky.

The sun was shining brightly, and there were no clouds in the sky.

Since the preparations for the conference began, the weather has been so good. Many people said that this was a sign of the gods' favor, but Theseus knew very well that at least the gods worshipped by Athens had never descended their power to affect the celestial phenomena.

So if this is really a gift from the gods...it's probably from some other gods.

"Whatever you want to do, I'm ready."

The newly built conference hall in the distance was bustling with people. It was a huge building half located on the hillside.

It was carved out of the mountain, and the seats continued to rise along the mountain. The statues, columns, and reliefs on the arches were engraved with the deeds and history of the gods.

And this rare event in the world was about to begin here.