Cross this mountain, and you will see my eyes.
—Hermes.
Rovi arrived at the mountain Athena had spoken of. Tilting his head, he listened carefully to the whispers carried by the wind, receiving Hermes's message, left as a hint for any who would come.
He stood at the foot of the mountain, staring intently ahead. The mountain before him was immense, its slopes rolling upward. Gazing upward, countless towering trees concealed its gigantic form beneath lush greenery, and shadows of black snakes slithered amidst leaves, rustling ominously—enough to make ordinary people recoil and even demi-god heroes hesitate to advance.
But Rovi only narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the scene before him.
Hermes was an especially unique god; though not officially among the Twelve Olympians, the difference was only slight—or rather, if not for the twelve starships descending from beyond the heavens, Hermes would have rightfully taken a place among the Twelve long ago.
His abilities were unquestionably powerful, but Hermes wasn't known for raw strength; rather, he was famed for agility and cunning intelligence.
This mountain…
"There's a hidden trick," he murmured quietly. More accurately, this mountain and its forest were actually one enormous playground.
Those trees might be special contraptions; the grass beneath could disguise serpents. Beneath seemingly solid ground might lurk pits, and paths descending gently could suddenly shoot upward, transforming into flying chariots soaring into the sky.
Not dangerous, but full of unexpected thrills.
A prank—but also a game.
Come now, let's play— a youthful, melodious voice, indistinguishable as male or female, rang clearly by Rovi's ear. He seemed to glimpse a slender youth drifting leisurely through the air, wearing a felt hat, winged sandals, carrying a wand, dark-green hair cascading gently, his features delicately handsome, extending an invitation.
For Hermes, this was merely a game, a playful trial for mortals.
After all, Hermes held dominion over games and contests alike.
"A game, huh… You gods truly look down on humanity from above, much like those of Mesopotamia!"
Rovi stepped forward.
He knew clearly that what he'd just seen wasn't merely an illusion. With his sharp senses, he felt Hermes's presence watching him nearby.
Hermes had deliberately leaked his location to Chiron.
Aside from drawing him away from Heracles, Hermes's true intention at this moment—was testing this 'Sage' who had come from another land.
As the gods' messenger, this was exactly what Hermes needed to do. Although the Greek gods differed from their Mesopotamian counterparts—possessing perfect mortal forms, capable of existing as humans and deities without succumbing to the constraints of Ea—they couldn't simply ignore Rovi's presence.
Carefully probing his attitude.
Watching closely his abilities.
Using pranks and games was perfectly suitable.
"But really, Lady Athena…" Floating in the sky, Hermes—appearing as a slender youth—patted his felt hat, shaking his head helplessly. "Since you already met him yourself, why didn't you test him directly?"
Instead, she purposefully informed Rovi of Hermes's location.
In the end, she forced Hermes himself to be the "villain."
Truly worthy of being the goddess of wisdom—extending goodwill while dumping the troublesome task onto another.
Hermes sighed mournfully, turning his gaze back toward Rovi.
Yet, though Rovi didn't clearly understand Athena's calculations nor Hermes's inner complaints, he could vaguely guess their intentions.
After all, it was painfully obvious.
Having already come this far, however, he certainly couldn't retreat.
Turning back would only make the gods underestimate him, thus ignoring him entirely.
Only arrogance, wild and unrestrained, could grant him the attention he desired.
Then—
"Let's give it a try!" Rovi gazed ahead.
Only by entering the gods' field of vision could he become the so-called Greek "hero," truly stepping into the Age of Heroes beneath their gaze.
In this instant, the forest swayed with the wind, and Rovi lifted his arm, his long, slender hand emerging from the sleeve of his robe.
He neither stepped forward nor moved further.
He simply manifested his strength—the power of an Ea-level being, capable of creating worlds and manifesting primal starry skies.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
The ground trembled gently beneath him. Hermes, still grumbling yet expectantly awaiting how this 'sage' would handle his playful traps, was startled, then immediately widened his eyes in shock.
From curiosity to astonishment, and finally to terror.
He watched as Rovi extended his hand.
He watched as a storm surged forth from the ground like streams of crimson fire.
He watched as that storm, at the beckoning motion of Rovi's hand, transformed into a giant palm, slowly gripping the entire towering mountain from beneath.
Crack—crack—crack—
The edges of the mountain fractured, earth and rock breaking apart, tumbling downward and stirring clouds of dust as the whole mountain slowly rose, lifted clear from the earth.
The mountain—rose.
Rovi had gripped an entire mountain in the palm of his hand. He had no interest in playing Hermes's little games; if he were to be arrogant, he would push things to the absolute extreme.
Lifting mountains and shaking peaks—such feats were already within his reach.
After all, during his previous encounter in the Imaginary Sea, Zeus had already classified him as an "island-level lifeform."
At this very moment, as he acted, Rovi felt it clearly:
He could do it.
He could truly—with mortal flesh, lift mountains, move peaks, and stride forward!
Dust billowed upward, covering the skies.
Overshadowing heaven itself!
Hermes froze in horror.
"Father Zeus above… between us, who's the god here?!"
How about you come test me instead?
This was completely beyond Hermes's imagination.
The sage from a foreign land, legendary possessor of wisdom surpassing worlds—in the mind of this messenger god, Rovi had been someone akin to those elderly scholars of Athens, quiet and scholarly.
When Hermes first saw Rovi's refined, scholarly appearance, he felt even more certain of this impression.
But now… what was happening?
This development was completely off!
Were you a sage or a god of war, a Heracles reborn?
You…
Wait a moment—
Was this mountain… moving closer toward him?
No—
"Bwahahaha! God, tell me—how heavy is the mountain you made yourself?!"
Amidst billowing dust, arrogant laughter mixed with Hermes's panicked screams.
Don't come any closer—!
Lady Athena, save me…
Oh…shit…
In his final moments, the gods' messenger barely managed to squeeze out those two words.
...
"What's going on?" Back in Athens, Athena—having returned to her temple—turned to gaze outside the city walls. Seeing the enormous cloud of dust rising to engulf the horizon, the silver-haired goddess paused slightly, delicately raising an eyebrow.
Had Hermes… really gone so far?
She felt somewhat surprised.
"Lady Athena… is something wrong?" Medusa asked cautiously from beside her.
"No, it's nothing." Athena withdrew her gaze indifferently, pointedly ignoring the desperate cry of "Lady Athena, help!" floating through the sky.
What does Athena have to do with me, Pallas?
Athena knew clearly that Hermes had deliberately set the trial near Athens to try to redirect trouble toward her.
She wasn't going to fall for that.
---
T/N: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Rovi is just so compatible with Gil... he admonishes his behavior but... HES THE SAMEEE
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