The golden age, perfect and brilliant.

It is the beginning of mankind and the beginning of civilization.

As a prince who prided himself on being well-read and a hero known for his eloquence, Odysseus had read about those years more than once.

The records in the book have never been stingy with praise.

Of course, since it is perfect, there are naturally skeptics.

Among the various countries, people have questioned more than once how much of those ancient records are praise and how much are true.

As someone once said, most of the skills in the world today already had their prototypes in that era.

Even the golden humans invented the earliest literature and crafts, and possessed talents that later generations could not imagine.

Then why did the gods create the later Silver Generation, and even the Bronze Humans and today's humans?

Perfect things should be preserved, not left as a smudge of ash in history.

Odysseus had no answers to these questions.

Because after so many years, this was the first time he heard about the relics of that era.

"Relics from the Golden Age...So which god do they worship?"

"Don't worry, since that prince helped Itaka, I naturally have no objection."

"Besides, the Divine Court has never actually banned the belief in those ancient gods, as long as it is not the god imprisoned in the Eye of the Sea."

There was no hesitation. In fact, Odysseus thought he would be angry, but when he really heard the news, he did not react as he had imagined.

It didn't matter what the people of Ithaca believed in. What mattered was that they survived this long-lasting natural disaster... However, the next moment, Maud's response made him feel that he was still too naive.

"I hope he's not Prometheus who stole fire... I hope so too."

"But Odysseus, I'm afraid my answer is no better than the Illuminati's."

Taking a deep breath, Maude's voice was almost silent.

"You may not know that in that temple, we found traces of an ancient, noble, wise...but it seems that the god has never existed."

"According to the sacrificial words written by the golden humans in an ancient language, she once participated in the creation of all living things. She also led the first humans to the sea and taught them writing and knowledge."

"Except for the son of the Titan Iapetus, she is the only one among all the gods who cares the most about humans..."

"According to the inscriptions in the temple, she is the daughter of Oceanus, the god of the ocean, and Thesis, the goddess of water. She is one of the most powerful ocean goddesses in the world."

"Her name is Metis, the pearl of the sea, the embodiment of wisdom - but Odysseus, do you remember this name?"

"……I remember."

There was no word, but of course Odysseus had heard of her.

Not only him, Maude also knew it.

Although this name has long become a taboo in the divine court, the two men once rescued a long-lived nymph during their adventure and learned a seemingly true history from her.

She told them that the goddess of wisdom Athena was not a goddess born by the king of gods with supreme divine power, but was the daughter of Metis and Zeus.

But in the past years, Odysseus never took it to heart, nor did he ever think that it was true.

If Mod had not lied to him, he could have returned to Ithaca at any time to personally examine the remains of the golden civilization. He probably still couldn't believe that there was such a grudge between the God-King and two generations of Goddesses of Wisdom.

"So what did you find out? The goddess is still alive. Did she respond to you personally?"

Odysseus asked, "If so... then it must be a big problem."

"Do not."

Maude shook his head slightly, his face showing bitterness.

"That would be great if that's the case."

"In fact, after discovering the temple, they did pray to the goddess, even though they themselves did not recognize this ancient deity."

“And unexpectedly, miracles appeared on earth.”

"Although the goddess did not calm the storm, she taught the worshippers a lot of wonderful and new knowledge."

"Because of heavy rain and sea wind, we couldn't get salt from the sea water, so she taught us a way to get salt that was not affected by the weather."

"Since we could not get food from the sea due to the high tides, she taught us another way to get fish and a good harvest of grain."

"When bad weather blocked the sea and prevented our fleet from crossing the ocean, she taught us mysterious knowledge and blueprints, allowing us to make instruments to observe directions and large ships that are not afraid of waves."

"All of this seems to confirm what is recorded in the temple."

"This goddess is so wise and so kind, it's like there's nothing in the world that she doesn't know."

"But just when everything was on track, when we decided to rebuild a more glorious temple for the goddess and establish her church in Ithaca, the goddess finally revealed her true name..."

"..."

"Athena...Is that so?"

There was a silence, and then Odysseus asked.

Without waiting for the other party to respond, he nodded.

"Well, after fighting for so long, as one of the commanders of the coalition forces, my motherland believes in the enemy's main god...but it doesn't matter."

"But I don't think the goddess of wisdom would be so bored. She did so much just to bring an enemy country into her own faith."

"From what I know, for gods of Her Majesty Athena's level, faith can no longer allow them to go any further... because they have already stood at the pinnacle of the gods."

"So tell me, what oracle did this noble prince send down?"

He paced gently, as if to cover up his inner anxiety.

Odysseus forced a smile and began to make his own guesses.

"Hmm... let me guess first."

"The oracle wants me to betray other countries and become an insider for the Athenian army, or else a greater disaster will destroy my kingdom?"

"No, that shouldn't be necessary."

"After all, there is no need for me to be an insider. His Highness the God of the North Wind has done a good enough job. I think even if the God Court is defeated in the end, he claims that he is actually a traitor, and no one should doubt it."

"Thinking on this another way, could it be that the goddess wants me to help her target a certain god?"

"Maybe, but I don't think it's necessary either."

"After all, compared to their existence, perhaps their existence is more beneficial to Athens. What do you think, Maude?"

Two freezing jokes, facing Odysseus, Maud never responded.

Because he knew that the other party just wanted to vent through words.

After a long moment, Odysseus stood still and looked at his friend again.

"...Okay, tell me what it is. There is nothing I can't accept."

"……it is good."

Nodding slowly, Maud just reminded:

"Then be mentally prepared."

"Of course, I'm ready."

His heart tightened and Odysseus looked serious.

And the next moment, he got the answer he wanted.

"The goddess' oracle is... I hope that as the most talented human in Ithaca, you can become a god."

"……what?"

"Yes, although I want to be an evil god - of course, if I can be any other god, it's fine too. The goddess won't force me."

With a complicated look in his eyes, looking at Odysseus who was obviously stunned, Maud continued:

"The goddess said, you are not the first, and you will not be the last."

"She is willing to provide as much help as possible to any existence of any intelligent race, so that they can open the door to becoming a god."

"Whether it's the god of faith that is achieved through faith and divinity, or the path to deification that the former king of Athens almost took, or the path that wizards have taken."

"It doesn't matter what it is, she's happy to help you."

"And your success itself will be the greatest reward for her in the future."

"..."

Odysseus was a little confused, not knowing what to say.

What does it mean that our becoming gods will give you the greatest reward in the future? Is this implying that we will become your gods in the future?

It sounds like this at first glance, but it actually doesn't make sense at all.

Even his instincts told him that perhaps Athena really didn't need him at all.

What she pursues is not the present, but an extremely grand vision that does not yet exist.

However, despite this, Odysseus did not have too many thoughts at this moment.

Because he couldn't think of any reason to refuse, even though the way forward was not clear, he just made the decision at this moment.

If there is something in this world that you cannot change now, you might as well change your perspective and identity to take another look.

As for the price paid for this...

"Okay, Senior Theseus."

Odysseus sighed, his mood was hard to describe.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to continue on the path of a knight..."

"But I believe that there will be people who will succeed in this path."

Anyway, there is never a shortage of geniuses in this world, like the guy named Hercules.

Although he is not here, his fame has long reached Odysseus' ears.

As long as there are such people in the world, there will never be any need to worry about no one reaching the end of the extraordinary truth.

……

Clang——

"Phew - Goddess bless me, I won again."

He sheathed his sword and returned to his own tent.

Andrea prayed quietly and used holy power to soothe the numbness in her body.

Holding the indestructible sword, it was as if her father was infusing his power into her.

Even with only simple sword skills, Andrea is still able to dominate the battlefield and is almost unstoppable.

Especially as it drinks the blood of inhuman beings, the power of this sword becomes stronger.

From the beginning when they barely resisted the gods, to fighting each other back and forth, to almost no opponents worthy of a fight.

This sword seems to be breathing, absorbing, improving, and sublimating.

Andrea suspected that perhaps one day it could become a true artifact.

"No, it can't."

Next to Andrea, a mirror sneered at this.

"Real divine artifacts are actually the same as gods. They must have some kind of authority and origin."

"Unless this sword can drink the blood of all gods and complete some mysterious ritual, perhaps it can have its own source of power, just like the White Oak Goddess was born from the blood of the gods that dripped during the bloody battle of the Father."

"Otherwise, even if you win many times, you won't be able to make it transform."

"...You could say less, Mr. Mirror."

Pursing her lips, Andrea tried her best to maintain proper etiquette.

"It's very bad behavior to interrupt. In fact, I regret letting Mr. Irving create you."

"Everyone will regret, but regret is basically useless."

Shaking his head, the magic mirror remained unmoved.

"Besides, as a thinking magic mirror, I have the right to speak when I want to. This is my 'mirror right'. You are a guy who doesn't respect the mirror."

"..."

Not knowing where this mirror came from with so much nonsense, Andrea began to doubt what the mirror said again.

According to it, its personality is inherited from a part of its creator, which is why it can think.

But Andrea didn't quite believe it, because Alvin had never been so talkative before.

He is more like a wise man in a novel, guiding the lost princess...

"Oh - Sage! What an apt description."

"Yes, beautiful princess~ my creator is such a wise man!"

Chanting like singing, the magic mirror seems to be able to see through people's hearts.

But the next moment, it screamed in panic.

"Wait—what are you going to do?"

Tread-

"You can't do this to me, I am a unique, thinking magic mirror!"

Clang——

"Ah - I give in, I remain silent, I will never speak again!"

Snapped--!

……

Soon, the tent returned to its former quietness.

Her face flushed with anger, Andrea retracted her sword and threw the shattered magic mirror into the trash can.

She knew that although this thing looked fragile, it actually possessed a very powerful immortality.

I don’t know how Alvin did it. Even if it was turned into powder by divine power, it can still be restored to its original state.

……

After a long while, he took out a large book from behind the desk.

Andrea spread it out on the table and began to study hard.

This is a history book circulated within the Church of Knowledge, but it is different from the outside world in that the way it is recorded is very peculiar and very different from the conventional method.

According to the oracle of the goddess conveyed by the third pope, history is written in the form of civilization records, rather than chronological, national or biographical general history.

Chronicles use years as markers to record the major events that took place in the world each year and the impact they had.

The biographical and country-specific general histories take individuals or countries as the protagonists and record the events they were involved in.

The same event may have completely opposite evaluations in different records by the "protagonist", giving future generations the possibility to make objective judgments.

As for civilization, it is also very simple.

Each of its chapters starts with the beginning of a civilization and ends with its end, and its evaluation is based on its merits, demerits and traces.

Even the writing that describes it is in a very ancient language.

"Hydrology is one of the oldest written languages ​​of mankind."

"In the old days, the oldest golden human on the sea was taught this kind of writing by the gods, and from then on, the beginning of Chaos' most ancient era was opened."

"As for the time before that... that was the age of the gods, and had nothing to do with the living beings of this world."