Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

As he leafed through the books, the new world map, vastly different from the original geography of Greece, gradually became clearer in Laine's mind.

Athens... was actually a city near the East Sea and it was the last city established during the great human migration. It could be said that the kingdoms established earlier were closer to Olympus, and the distances between them were often greater, as the wilderness was vast, and there was no need for the migrating humans to build cities too close to one another.

Latterly closer to the sea, the remaining migrating groups had not only less time to settle down than their peers, their competitive relationships were also more intense, often making the distances between two cities narrower. This was naturally not a problem initially, but as everyone settled down, the population grew, and the land expanded.

It became embarrassingly apparent that without resorting to force, there were almost no directions available for expansion.

This was also the origin of Turingen.

Athens was located on the eastern coast, with cities already built long ago to the west. If they wanted to expand, they could only trigger a war. The same was true to the south, and compared to the neighbors to the west, the south might even bring them face to face with White Tower and the heretics of legend...

Thus, the desolate Northern Lands were the only direction for development. Turingen and further north, Helgoland Port City became the northern border of Athens and the result of the current king's development strategy.

"Friction between the many countries had long existed, whether due to beliefs or geopolitics. But this is a world with deities, and the gods have not yet torn each other apart over this. So how could a large-scale war erupt among mortals?"

"Thus, peace was the main theme among the All Countries of the Mortal Realm, and trade became increasingly frequent, bringing about a life of decadence among the upper class...

until one day, the gods' thirst for more Faith would eventually outweigh their fragile kinship, tensions among the Mortal Realm's All Countries would accumulate to a breaking point, and some powerful beings craving Strength and the Undying need only a spark for a great war to erupt."

"And this time, perhaps the deities will be shocked to find that they can no longer control the outcome of the war."

Click—

Closing the book, Laine closed his eyes slightly. The memories of the future collided with the current world situation in his mind, the final straw that seemed so evident.

"Everything has been predetermined."

"Golden Apple, the most beautiful Goddess; the ten-year War, heroes etched in History..."

"Ah, such are the wars and peace of the Mortal Realm."

...

As the sun dipped to the west, Laine stepped out of the Museum of Knowledge, nodded to the novice priestess's sweet smile, intending to find a place to eat something.

Although he had only skimmed the books for a day, there was no rush in reading. Being reborn as a mortal, he had a long time ahead of him.

The current king was the twelfth since the founding of Athens, and his name was very famous in later times—not just for his achievements and legends, but more so because his name, as a famous philosophical concept, was widely known both in the East and the West.

Considering there was no talk of anything like the Golden Fleece or Argo Ship in the current world, Laine did not need to worry about a giant man named Heracles suddenly jumping out from a corner, declaring where the deities were, wanting to fight ten—instead, he was now considering what to eat in a bit.

After all, as a mortal now, Laine would still feel hungry without food and thirsty without water; he couldn't generate energy through photosynthesis.

But now the problem came, the dining prices in the Eastern Region weren't cheap, and after these two days of unrestrained spending, the money sponsored by the friendly locals seemed almost spent...

"Hmm, looks like I need another kind benefactor to sponsor me."

Nodding to himself, Laine turned and walked toward the west of the city.

After two days of generous spending, Laine moved directly into the Southern District, a place with good public order, where no 'kind-hearted person' would dare come close.

Fortunately, Laine gave them an opportunity... So, in a secluded corner, he changed into the outfit he had bought in a small shop before.

Walking through several streets, he headed toward the place he had 'accidentally' encountered last time—unsurprisingly, Laine noticed he was being followed again.

And this time, it seemed there were not just one but at least five or six people.

"Tsk, it's like leveling up in a game... But as long as they drop Gold Coins, it's fine."

Mentally scoffing, but keeping a calm demeanor, Laine turned into an empty alley like the last time.

After walking a bit further, he turned a corner, ready to repeat his previous trick.

"Eh?"

Surprisingly, Laine suddenly found that there were already three people waiting around the corner.

"Hey, kid, did you really think we'd fall for the same trick twice?"

With a sneer, the young leader raised a wooden stick, flanked by two burly men.

And in the time it took to speak, several people who had been following Laine also rounded the corner, hemming him in this narrow space.

"Kid, you really can hide. I couldn't even find where you ran off to these past two days..."

Last time, a colleague inexplicably got hit by a blunt instrument without even seeing who did it, a fact that had seriously frustrated Wes. They had been searching for Laine's whereabouts for days but to no avail.

It was no wonder since Wes could never have guessed Laine would go off to read books, let alone think he had moved into the Southern District—even disregarding the issue of literacy, just the fact that Laine had spent one unlucky fellow's savings dry in three days was enough to understand that the level of expenditure there was way beyond what these lower-class people could afford.

Even though they were in the same city, the Eastern and Southern Districts were like two different worlds for them—ordinary people from future generations felt the same. It was not a matter of not having enough money, but even if they had savings of over a hundred thousand, they would never consider spending ten or twenty thousand for a single meal.

"You're mistaken, I didn't hide anywhere—honestly, at first I was a bit worried you didn't recognize me."

Shaking his head, Laine answered the "good Samaritan's" query innocently.

"But speaking of which, just a stick?" Laine asked with a mix of disappointment, "Is this what you call a 'vigorous Turingen underclass society group'? Don't you have any weapons ready?"

"At least bring a knife or something?"

"... I see you've been living the good life too long and still haven't grasped the situation. Get him, let's give him a proper welcome!"

With a twitch of his lips, Wes felt the man in front of him had some psychological issues; who else being surrounded would still care about such things?

He had also considered whether the other party was a formal professional, but they all knew what level a non-spellcaster of Black Iron (First Tier) was.

Capable of fighting, but that was about it. Without superior equipment, they couldn't utilize their extraordinary physique and martial prowess.

As the words fell, the two men beside Wes immediately moved forward with their sticks, while several people who had chased Laine from behind also enclosed him.

Whether a runaway aristocrat or a merchant's offspring, they probably weren't natives of Turingen. Seeing his tender skin, as long as...

"Ψ!"

A short syllable followed by an inexplicable repulsive force. The first layer of the Magic Net was gently stirred, and its intricate structure instantly formed.

An invisible force acted on the lower body, and the unprepared men immediately lost balance in their forward charge, tumbling over like rolling gourds. Wes, who was at the back and had not made a move, suddenly changed his expression, looking incredulously at Laine as a glowing orb flickered in his hand.

"Spellcaster?!"

"Correct, but no prize."

Smiling and nodding at the reaction, Laine once again realized what status the possession of spellcasting abilities meant in this era.

Previously, he had only heard people occasionally mention it... Reincarnated for three days, he now could hardly call himself a spellcaster since the first layer of the Magic Net was too basic; any ordinary person with decent talent could potentially access it, just not as effortlessly as Laine.

And the level of witchcraft supported by the first layer of the Magic Net wasn't very high, probably just like the non-lethal shock force field he had just released, or maybe casting a Light Spell.

In a real fight, a sword might actually be more useful than such a feeble Light Spell—but even such a harmless Light Spell had frightened several 'vigorous social members' including Wes half to death on the spot.

"Now, hand over anything valuable you have, and explain why you only have sticks and who you work for."

"Don't tell me you don't," Laine said with a smile, gesturing with his hand as the light orb drifted forward, scaring Wes into retreating again and again, "Unless the ruler of this city is a fool, there's no way he would allow the existence of any unauthorized forces."