Chapter 2: Everyone will die
Outside the wooden cabin of Mount Pelion,
Facing the morning breeze, Promise, dressed in his scholar's attire, lay on a branch of an ancient tree, playing the lyre in his hand with a sorrowful expression on his face.
The beautiful melody attracted birds and a golden-haired, blue-eyed boy two years older than him.
"Hey, Promise, what are you doing!"
Hearing this, the boy glanced at him from under his brow, then continued to play the sad tune without caring, saying, "Oh, it's Jason..."
"You guy...Looking at your appearance, it seems Teacher Chiron didn't agree to let you leave the mountain today, huh?"
The latter didn't answer, but the tune he played became even more melancholic.
"You know, you might as well give up," Seeing this, Jason couldn't help but feel a little funny.
"How could I possibly give up!"
Hearing his words, Promise suddenly sat up, his emerald eyes angrily glaring at Jason as he said loudly, "Do you know what you are talking about? You are preparing to kill a great hero who will be famous across the world in the future!"
"I don't know if you can become a great hero, but I do know that if you keep acting like this, you definitely won't be able to leave the mountain," Jason couldn't help but say. "Everyone else just talks, but you, you guy, really want to experience a glorious death and regard it as the greatest wish in your life!"
Teacher Chiron won't let you leave the mountain because he's worried as soon as you leave, you'll just head straight into something beyond your capabilities and then die in vain, after all..."
At this point, Jason raised his head proudly and said mockingly to Promise, "Don't forget, Promise, you are the weakest among us!"
Hearing this, the latter looked at him irritably and retorted without any politeness, "Yes, yes, the second-to-last weakling, Mr. Jason."
"That's still better than being the last like you..."
Indeed, Promise was currently Chiron's weakest student, even weaker than Jason in front of him.
This was because his body was a projection of his modern self.
While the adaptation to the age of gods was solved by the rank card, it did not grant any other enhancements.
And it's worth noting that not just anyone could become a student of Chiron... Though Chiron does not turn away those who come to him, the prerequisite is that you actually have to make it to his presence!
If it weren't for clinging to Theseus, the future king of Athens, Promise would not have safely arrived before him.
And Chiron's students are truly of demi-god status, roaming about, and even true gods are among them!
Among them, Dionysus, the god
of wine is particularly notable, not only as the son of Zeus but also because he will replace Hestia in the future to become one of the twelve main gods of Mount Olympus!
As for the others, the might of heroes like Hercules, Odysseus, Achilles, etc... naturally goes without saying.
Seeing that Promise no longer paid attention to him and continued to lie on the tree trunk playing his sad tune, Jason thought for a moment and then continued to ask, "Hey, you're not really planning to go seek death as soon as you leave the mountain, are you?"
"It sounds like you think I'm always thinking about committing suicide," Promise looked at the man with a face full of disbelief and said,
"I do want to die, but it has to be a glorious death, one that everyone will remember and sing praises of my legend."
"Then what if you encounter such an opportunity just after you come down from the mountain?"
"Then there's nothing to hesitate about." Putting down his lyre, the latter answered excitedly, "Charge!"
Seeing Promise with a look that said he'd fight anyone who dared to stop him, Jason said, feeling quite speechless, "So in the end, don't you just want to commit suicide... You better just stay on the mountain honestly!"
"How can this be called suicide? Anyway, everyone is destined to die someday, sooner or later, and besides..."
It's not like I will really die.
"Besides, Jason, why are you looking for me?" Promise looked at Jason, somewhat annoyed, and said, "It's so late already; shouldn't you be out studying?"
"You know, I came to say goodbye to you."
"Goodbye?" Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment.
"Yes, that's right." The latter nodded, raising his head proudly and boasting, "Unlike you, the absolute last, Teacher Chiron has already said that I... am now allowed to leave the mountain!"
...
...
...
Jason,
One of the heroes from the mythological age of ancient Greece, whose most famous legendary tale was undoubtedly that of the Golden Fleece and the Argonauts.
On their journey to Colchis, the homeland of Medea, almost all the renowned heroes of ancient Greece would board the Argo, built with the assistance of the goddess of wisdom, Athena, from wood that could never be submerged by seawater.
Together, they sought to retrieve the rare treasure that was famous throughout ancient Greece - the Golden Fleece!
At the same time, Jason was also one of the students of the centaur sage Chiron.
And it was clear that his relationship with Promise was not bad.
To be precise, Promise actually had a good relationship with every student of Chiron he had met in the cave of Mount Pelion.
After all, in his eyes, every student of Chiron was a big moving experience package, the perfect stepping stone for him to ascend to the Throne of Heroes and improve his quality as a Heroic Spirit!
But at the moment, if anyone had the best relationship with Promise, it was quite surprisingly Jason.
After all, since his arrival, Jason had moved from being the weakest to the second-last.
Being second-last was still better than being last; at least, that's what he thought.
However, the main reason why he came to Promise now, besides saying goodbye to him, was primarily to ask him to paint a portrait for him.
The reason Chiron was known as the most famous tutor in all of ancient Greece, attracting a large number of heroes to study under him, was not just because he treated everyone equally and shared all his knowledge but also because he had a bit of knowledge about everything.
Beyond martial arts, whether it was the medical skills of Asclepius – the god of medicine, the winemaking of Dionysus – the god of wine, or music, chess, calligraphy, painting, horse riding, archery, and noble etiquette, he could teach it all.
And he was also a typical Bole, very good at discovering what his students were truly good at.
Therefore, over these three years, although Promise hadn't made any particular breakthroughs in strength, he had achieved a lot in literature and arts.
Even if he wasn't very dedicated to this aspect, art is an area where one percent talent is more important than ninety-nine percent effort.
So even if he only practised occasionally on weekdays, in terms of painting, Promise had already reached, and even somewhat surpassed, the level of Chiron, the centaur sage.
Thus, before going down the mountain, Jason thought of this and came to him, hoping to get a portrait from Promise, but...
Soon after,
Outside the cave of Mount Pelion.
"Jason, I mean Jason...Senior Brother Jason, Brother Jason, the great hero Jason..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" The latter, unable to help but shiver, looked at Promise, who had followed him all the way and was looking at him with a flattering face, speechlessly said, "Just spit it out, Promise, what do you want?"
"Actually, it's not a big deal; it's just a small request..." The smiling Promise hadn't finished yet.
"No need to talk!" Jason replied without hesitation.
Then, under Promise's wide-eyed, 'why' gaze, he said,
"You really think I don't know what you want to do? I don't want to get a spanking from Teacher Chiron.
You want me to take you down the mountain secretly. Don't even think about it."
"Why is this like this? Jason, you're like a brother to me, a fellow disciple!"
"I've heard this once." The latter looked at him angrily: "When Hercules, that big guy, left the mountain, you said the same thing... You actually managed to fool him then, and he was ready to really take you down the mountain.
If it weren't for him going to ask Teacher Chiron for advice later."
"Stop talking." Hearing this, thinking of the sad memory of when he was caught by Teacher Chiron at that time and could only watch Heracles leaving in pain, he couldn't help but say: "Obviously, at that time, I was going to succeed!"
"You know," Jason looked at Promise with a speechless face, "If you really want to go down the mountain, why don't you just find an opportunity to sneak away?"
"That won't work, Teacher Chiron will definitely catch me and bring me back. He's a responsible teacher, and besides..."
Speaking of this, the latter glanced at Jason again and did not continue talking.
He was not stupid; these students of Chiron, which one is not a big mobile experience package!
If only he could board the Argonauts and die on it or die in the Twelve Trials of Hercules.
Those were shortcuts to ascending the Throne of Heroes!
As for following them secretly, he had actually tried that before, but before Chiron could take action, they carried Promise back by the scruff of his neck.
There was no way, over these three years, everyone had come to understand that Promise wasn't joking; he was really looking for a glorious end to his life.
Going down the mountain was really asking for death!
"By the way, Jason, are you really not going to take me down the mountain?"
"So." Jason sighed, "Although our teacher Chiron usually has a gentle face as if he will never be angry, but this kind of person is the most terrifying when he is angry!"
"I don't want to get beaten."
Hearing this, Promis rolled his eyes, then cleared his throat, and said to him: "Then what if I said, if you agree to take me down the mountain, I have a way to help you reclaim the throne that was originally yours but was taken by your uncle Pelias, and even rescue your parents?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jason was stunned.
He looked at the promise with wide eyes and said with disbelief:
"How... how do you know about these things? I haven't mentioned them to anyone until now!"
Promise's lips curled up, not directly answering his question.
He was, after all, a transmigrator.
And Jason was actually a prince from a place called the Kingdom of Iolcus, originally not even named Jason.
When he was a child, his father's brother, Pelias, snatched the throne away and had his father and mother imprisoned.
The young Jason was taken away by the guards and was eventually adopted by Chiron, who gave him the name Jason and raised him until now.
Thus, his greatest wish in life was to take back everything he had lost.
In the final analysis, the story of the Argonauts, which would be famous in ancient Greece and even spread throughout the ages, was because if Jason wanted to regain his throne, he had to first get back the golden fleece and prove that he had the qualification.
Hearing this, Promise continued, "You don't need to know how; you just need to know that I can swear by the great gods that as long as you are willing to take me down the mountain, I will help you take back your lost throne and rescue your parents!"
This was ancient Greece, the age of the gods.
An era where gods, humans, and monsters coexisted.
Thus, the gods could hear oaths and would witness them, punishing those who broke their promises, making an oath here an absolute commitment!
Therefore, at this moment, hearing Promise speak so seriously and not seeming to lie, Jason... was moved.