Chapter 6

‘Was he watching, no, was he observing me?’

Since when?

Eyes resembling a night devoid of even the presence of the moon.

Those eyes were so deep that even the old centaur, who had raised countless heroes, felt a chill down his spine for a moment.

As if it were clear that he was displeased with the unnecessary act, yet curious about how strong this guy might be. It was a gaze akin to that of a beast, brimming with curiosity.

‘…It is indeed an object to covet.’

In fact, the story of how Chiron discovered this child called Dianes happened quite a while ago.

Before properly entering Phaethon, he had planned to take a short rest in the forest after arriving from the opposite side of the island, but he felt an unusual qi running around the forest as if it were its own room.

What he found after jumping out of the cave where he had taken a rest, thinking maybe a spirit was playing pranks, was this bold human child with black hair.

Despite all the heroes he had trained, none could match the agility of this boy, and Chiron found himself straining to keep up, his eyes widening.

Seeing the child running freely through the forest, he realized the reason he had come all the way to this distant Passos for rest.

Judging by the wooden sword on his back, he seemed to be on his way to train.

Borrowing the strength of the spirits, he silenced his presence and footsteps to follow the child, intending to observe his soon-to-be disciple.

However, an unforeseen event occurred, as a crescent moon arrow forged from moonlight targeted the child.

Before he could intervene, the arrow aimed at the child’s head with unerring precision, and Chiron was horrified, thinking the child would surely die.

Something that not even the twelve Olympian gods, the three Fates, or his father Kronos could believe happened.

A human child.

Not with a god-forged weapon nor an ancient sword.

With a roughly hand-carved wooden sword, the child blocked the goddess’s arrow.

The unbelievable events continued to happen.

Even though the wooden sword broke and the child’s arm bones shattered, he did not falter and pulled out the divine arrow, absorbing the goddess’s divine power.

Then, he picked up the arrow and not only deflected the subsequent arrows but also blatantly raised his temper in front of Artemis, and he even managed to block the goddess’s attack and lodge an arrow into her shoulder.

Chiron had taught countless heroes and mastered numerous martial arts forms and magics throughout the vast land of Greece.

However, even for Chiron, he had never seen such a secretive and bizarre martial art as the throwing technique the child just displayed.

A throwing technique where arrows change direction freely in the air as if they had a will of their own.

Of course, Chiron, who borrows the power of magic and spirits, could achieve this as well.

But the issue was that the child accomplished this entirely with his own ability and without any external power.

An attack so precise and strange that even Chiron, who could keep up with gods, was taken aback.

As a result, a scar from his own arrow remained on Artemis’s pure skin, and in her fury, the child was truly on the brink of death at Artemis’s hand.

‘…So different!’

Humans who face an angry god usually fall into three categories.

They either tremble in fear and beg for mercy, curse the god until the end, or face the god’s judgment with composure.

However, the child was different.

Artemis was a goddess who was extremely cruel, especially towards humans, and even more so towards human men.

For instance, the forest ranger who accidentally stepped into her hunting grounds was turned into a boar and tormented by her hunters until he died.

Even in the face of such wrath from Artemis, the child remained calm.

No, could one truly call the passion in those eyes calm?

The exhilaration of encountering an overwhelmingly stronger opponent.

And the prudence in finding a gap to bring down such an opponent.

Above all, there was the joy that he could not contain, knowing that this situation was a rare gamble with his life at stake.

He was indeed a child who seemed to have been born with the blessing of the War God.

And the ensuing battle between the goddess and the young hero, although it wouldn’t be recorded in mythology, was a grand and thrilling confrontation that would never be forgotten as long as Chiron lived.

“…”

“…”

Chiron and the child’s eyes met.

Deep within the child’s eyes, there was a predatory desire to hunt that enormous beast he tackled, to nourish himself with its blood and flesh.

However, the old centaur’s wise eyes discouraged this.

It was the moment Chiron was about to be wary of the child’s hand that moved first.

“The fun got ruined. Let’s not meet again. It’s so annoying.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Hmph! I will keep an eye on you. You audacious child.”

Grinding her teeth at the child’s audacious words, Artemis disappeared into the moonlight, leaving only the old centaur and the boy in the forest clearing.

“…She has gone.”

“She has gone.”

When the boy looked up again, his eyes still burned with unquenched determination and irritation.

“Phew… Damn, it’s really not worth it.”

The child clicked his tongue while looking at his broken arm, an aftereffect of blocking the goddess’s arrow.

Though his tone was unbearably arrogant, it oddly suited him so well that Chiron didn’t feel the need to rebuke him.

“Hehehehe, it’s a miracle that you didn’t die after facing the enraged goddess, and that too, Artemis, head-on and leaving scars on her body, in return.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. Why do you pretend like you don’t know?”

Chiron immediately understood what this child was talking about.

To have sustained injuries while drawing out the goddess, but to have missed the chance to absorb more of her divine power or to measure strength with her was a regrettable thought.

Chiron smiled bitterly and shook his head at his tone.

“Haha, a bold child you are, but you can’t deny it was dangerous, can you?”

At those words, the child smirked and glared at the centaur.

“What a laughable statement you make. If there’s no risk, what can be gained in return?”

Ha! Ouranos, my goodness.

Chiron was at a loss as to whether the exclamation that came from his mouth was admiration or lament.

Such arrogant words.

To dismiss an enraged goddess as merely a danger and to see a potentially fatal moment as an opportunity?

‘Zeus, Zeus. My dear brother, it seems that fate has sent us a tremendous gift.’

Whether this was truly a gift or the beginning of another calamity remained to be seen.

“First, let’s introduce ourselves. My name is Chiron. I train disciples in the Forest of Heroes.”

“I’m Dianes. I have nothing special to mention, just an orphan sheltered at the Zeus Temple on the island of Passos.”

“An orphan?”

Chiron was again surprised by the child’s straightforward self-introduction as an orphan.

“Well, in this world, it’s not unusual to be without parents. I don’t want to falsely introduce myself as the child of some unknown god.”

“You are a child with a big heart, then.”

At the kind words of Chiron, the child who introduced himself as Dianes waved his hand and said.

“Not necessarily; even if one has parents, it doesn’t mean everyone grows up to be good. So I just live thinking that if I don’t have them, I don’t have them.”

The child shrugged and looked up at the old centaur.

“So, what brings the busy mentor of heroes here? Our temple was turned upside down and cleaned up because we heard you were coming.”

“Oh, I didn’t send a separate message, but it seems word got there ahead of me.”

“You didn’t send a message?”

“That’s right, anyway, let’s go quickly. I also have to return to my place as soon as possible.”

In fact, his forest was bustling with unusual individuals these days.

Princes from Lolcos, Thebes, and Athens, the son of Apollo, and the child of Thetis.

Even a prince from Mycenae personally entrusted by Zeus.

Each one was already showing the spirit of a hero, and none of them was ordinary.

Chiron, too, was anticipating that something extraordinary would happen in the future.

However, today he encountered a child who seemed even more extraordinary than any hero he had ever seen.

“In a dream that came into my sleep, someone said that the child I would guide, much like her, would appear suddenly. It seems that child is you, boy.”

Chiron knelt down gently, met the child’s eyes, and extended his hand.

“What do you say? Will you come with me?”

“What will happen if I go?”

“I think it will be quite fun for you.”

This was a child who had once been so eager to challenge even an enraged goddess.

For such a child, Chiron’s forest, bustling with children who each displayed the spirit of a hero, would surely be quite fascinating.

‘Moreover… who knows? Perhaps this child will find suitable companions there too.’

“That sounds like good news, Teacher.”

“Haha, that’s a relief.”

As Chiron thought of the small hero with immense strength vividly in his mind and smiled wryly, the child who was staring at him grasped Chiron’s hand firmly.