The Greece Antagonist

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"Just an advancement in rank, what's so surprising about that?"

Faced with Circe's astonishment, Luo En rolled his eyes habitually and replied somewhat indifferently.

"The key is you're only sixteen years old!"

Circe involuntarily raised her voice a few notches, complaining to her wayward disciple and foster son as she counted on her fingers.

"You reached the Gold rank at just twelve, and then in a mere four years, you entered the peak of Gold. I've never heard of any human advancing so fast!"

The Great Witch inadvertently did some calculations and the more she spoke, the more shocked she felt. Even the way she looked at her student and foster son began to seem a bit strange.

"No, it's even more than that!

Not even the supernatural creatures of the Sea of Okeanos, nor the half-Titans on nearby islands have ever been so outrageous!

I'm beginning to wonder, are you really human?"

Under Circe's sharp scrutiny, Luo En cleared his throat lightly and his gaze drifted somewhat.

"Maybe I'm just luckier than most."

According to the rules of mythology and magic, mystical powers often follow this characteristic:

—The older it is, the more mysterious; the more mysterious, the more powerful.

When the world was still in chaos, beings called "the gods" were born from the purest essence.

Absorbing magic power factors and mastering natural laws was as simple as breathing for them, an authority inherent in their being.

Therefore, the first of these existences had the highest starting point and virtually endless room for growth.

But as heaven and earth parted, the sun, moon, and stars rose and set; as time and space were divided, and the concepts of life and death, flourishing and withering took shape, the framework of the world also gradually stabilized.

In this process, the species on earth exchanged and evolved batch after batch.

They once could absorb magic power and be linked to the essence in their blood, but it became degraded and diluted over time. The ceiling of their growth was consequently being lowered progressively with the stabilization of the world's structure.

Even across different mythologies, there's a similar consensus in the descriptions of the primordial world.

Initially, the air was filled with high concentrations of ether factors, food was everywhere, the earth flowed with milk and honey, and all things grew freely.

And moreover, the high purity energy gave rise to deities, making everything as dreamily beautiful as multicolored soap bubbles.

However, as the world took shape and the laws stabilized, this "soap bubble" would gradually squeeze out the fanciful and unsustainable elements, descending towards the real surface of the earth.

As the mystical began to fade, the infinitely malleable age of gods also shriveled and downgraded to the fixed and real world of humanity.

Similarly, in Ancient Greek mythology, gods appeared first, and afterward, under the leadership of the gods, humans were created.

Thus, the ancient Greeks classified the evolution of civilization into five eras based on the level of collective ability and starting point, namely the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age, and the Iron Age.

The order among them represents the different distances from the gods.

Later on, this concept was also incorporated into the field of fundamental mysticism, and the four ranks of Black Iron—Bronze—Silver—Gold became the early indicators of an individual's strength.

Currently, Luo En has rocketed into the peak of Gold in just sixteen short years, a feat that shocks the world.

Such a cheat-like level would be considered extraordinary even among half-Titans and demigod heroes, let alone within an ordinary Greek city-state.

You should know, in the armies of the Greek city-states, those of Silver standard are the absolute core forces, and those of the Gold rank can directly assume the position of legion commander.

And above those ranks are the "Demigods," who are often the City Builders and kings used by a city-state to shore up its prestige.

But their ages are usually in their middle to older years, and some have even reached triple digits before achieving such success.

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Therefore, judging solely by the speed of growth, Luo En was simply not like a person at all.

Of course, he didn't seem to fall under the category of a normal human being in the first place.

Luo En looked down at the lines in his palm, his deep gaze seemed as if it would pierce through the translucent skin, to see the pale gold blood flowing through his veins.

—The blood of the Divine King, the heritage of Zeus.

His extraordinary lineage granted him unparalleled talent for cultivating.

However, it also brought calamity upon him at his birth, narrowly escaping death, forced to hide on this isolated island overseas, living each day on edge, crouching in fear.

Fortunately, sixteen years of hardening had finally given him some ability to protect himself.

But this meager strength was barely enough to ensure some safety within human city-states; to stand firm in the Sea of Okeanos, where gods, mixed-blood Titans, and monsters were prevalent, he would at the very least need to become a Demigod.

Of course, even becoming a Demigod was just the beginning of a long journey for Luo En.

After all, the person he had provoked was none other than Zeus, the current ruler of all of Greece.

With his current slight abilities, let alone being caught up in world-class missions like "Olympus Elegy," "The Wrath of Zeus," or "War of the Gods," even if he encountered epic instances such as the "Argonaut Expedition," "The War of Troy," or "The Twelve Labors," if by chance he carelessly collided with any of the gods in disguise who descended to Earth or a whole bunch of legendary Demigods lurking in the corners, these would pose tremendous risks for him.

A slight misstep, and he would still have to kneel.

As for reaching Gold or the peak of Gold, it is probably just a matter of kneeling sooner rather than later.

Just the thought of that night sixteen years ago, with the suffocating, rampaging thunderbolts filling the sky, Luo En would reflexively feel a heart-pounding fear.

This feeling of not being in control of his own fate was terrible.

Not enough, far from enough!

The sense of crisis gnawing at his bones left Luo En without any joy of promotion, instead turning to earnestly look at his teacher.

"I have now reached the peak of Gold, what should I do next to become a Demigod?"

"To have reached such a state, and still, you are not satisfied?"

Circe looked at her student in surprise, somewhat unable to understand.

"Is studying and cultivating, these dry and bothersome affairs, that fascinating to you?"

"Fascinating is not the word I would use..."

Luo En shook his head, his eyes deep and distant.

"It's just because learning might be the simplest thing in this world. Effort is rewarded, hard work leads to results..."

—And besides, it's the only thing I can do right now.

He silently added in his heart, then gathered his thoughts, and once again turned to his somewhat stunned teacher to bring the conversation back on track.

"Tell me, what should I do?"

Hearing the call, Circe shook her head, snapping out of her daze, but instead of answering directly, she threw out a question with profound implications.

"Do you know why in the mystical system the first four tiers of power—Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold—exclude Demigod?"

Luo En frowned and thought for a moment, answering uncertainly.

"Because being a Demigod is fundamentally different from the previous four stages?"

A flash of surprise passed through Circe's eyes, yet her face didn't show much of a ripple of shock.

After all, having been accustomed to spending time with her student, his overly mature mentality and insight beyond normal humans had already become something she took for granted.