Excitement bubbled inside me, but I didn't rush and took my time, savoring the fresh air of the world. I kept looking around, enjoying the scenery even though it wasn't anything special, just green grass and trees.
My Mother's garden was a much more impressive sight, especially because she grew it in the Underworld. Speaking of home, I could still sense my connection with it, but… I stopped and looked down at the ground. "It's not here?"
The Underworld was a separate realm that was located right beneath the mortal world. It was both underground and not at the same time. However, it didn't exist here.
When I focused on my bond with the Underworld, I got the impression that it was extremely far away. That was confusing, to say the least. Because even if I was in one of the realms adjacent to the mortal world, the distance wouldn't have been this much.
To put it simply, it would've felt like I had gone to visit a nearby neighbor's house. All I would have to do was to peek out from the window, and I would've been able to see my own home. However, right now I felt like I had gone on a trip to an entirely different country.
This was slightly worrying, but when I focused on my connection to the Underworld, I realized that it wasn't that big of a problem.
"Huh, never knew I could do that." Despite the massive distance that probably spammed multiple realms, I felt like I could return back home with just a thought.
That was reassuring, though I couldn't help but wonder if this was something new or not. It could've been just another facet of Chaos' gift, but it was also very likely that this was something I was always capable of doing.
After all, out of everyone from the House of Hades, I had the deepest connection with the Underworld. I was the first and only being that was born there. The blood waters of the River Styx coursed through my veins. And… I looked at the sword in my hand with a proud smile. I was also the current wielder of the Blade of the Underworld.
Father might have been the Ruler of the Underworld, but my connection with the realm surpassed even his. So this could've very well been an ability I always had, but one I never really got the chance to use.
That was all well and good as I didn't need to worry about never returning home, but why did Chaos send me somewhere so far away? No matter how much I pondered on that question, I'd never be able to figure it out. How Chaos' mind worked was not something even the Gods couldn't comprehend.
So, instead of wracking my brain with an unsolvable equation, I decided to continue with what I was doing earlier. Namely, exploring this place and trying to find intelligent life.
I was getting all giddy just thinking about that. I couldn't even imagine what awaited me, but I hoped it would be interesting enough to keep me here for a week. No, a month!
No, no, no. That was too little as well. This might be the only time I got to enjoy the outside world without dying just because I left the Underworld. I had to savor and enjoy this as much as possible, so I would stay here for at least a year!
Mother and Nyx would probably be worried, but they would hopefully understand. Plus, it's not like I would be gone for that long. After all, a year's worth of time was nothing to the Gods. It was what a week was to a mortal. Something that passed in the blink of an eye.
I chucked, finding this funny. I was a God, yet here I was being worried that my mothers would be concerned because I wouldn't return home on time. If others learned about my inner thoughts, they might call me a mama's boy, but I'd just point them at Nyx and Persephone and that would shut them up for good.
Resuming what I was doing earlier, I continued following the trail before I heard something in the distance. I picked up my pace since it sounded like someone was fighting a bunch of the mutated wolves.
It didn't take me long to reach a clearing with a large number of the beasts surrounding a portly man that was on the older side. There were even a bunch of mutated bears among them, and they resembled the wolves as they also had bone masks and protrusions.
Despite being surrounded by a large number of enemies, the portly man looked as if he was having fun. He was wielding a weird weapon that was a combination of an axe and a gun and was laughing joyfully as he fought the mutated monsters.
For a moment I just observed from a distance. He seemed to know what he was doing as he effortlessly killed the monsters, but I couldn't help but notice how he was taking easily avoidable hits. Though none of the attacks injured him as some sort of translucent barrier protected him from taking damage.
This was so exciting! Weird weapons, a new type of Magic, and a bunch of mutated monsters! I had to stop myself from jumping in joy since all of this just looked so fun!
"Hey there, mate!" I called out to him, deciding that a slight distraction wouldn't put him in danger. "Need a hand?"
"Hoo?" He turned towards me while he stopped an attack from one of the mutated bears with a single hand. He was pretty strong for an elderly gentleman, I had to give him that. His eyes bore at me, looking me up and down before he barked a laugh. "Well, come on over! Nothing brings me more joy than fighting the creatures of Grimm with a partner!"
I took a step forward and was about to dash right into the fray, but I reminded myself that I shouldn't overdo it. I didn't want to raise too many eyebrows, so I dialed my strength and speed to about his level.
Best pretend and act like a mortal until I figure out where I was and how Gods were viewed here. And even then, it would probably be still better to keep my nature a secret since I didn't need nor desired worshipers. Plus, I wanted to explore the world and not be hounded to create miracles or the like, and it wasn't like I could offer much in that regard.
Some of the mutated monsters, or Grimm as he called them, split off and moved in my direction. I met them head-on, regulating my strength to about the portly man's level, and… I slaughtered them all with absolute ease.
Dodging their strikes was quite simple for me since I was used to avoiding much faster attacks. And even though I was limiting my strength, I was still wielding Stygius. This wasn't just any sword. No, this was a weapon that had killed Titans and fed on their ichor. Those Grimm creatures stood no chance, and they might as well have been made out of air as Stygius chopped them into pieces.
"Nicely done!" The portly man complimented me while fighting his own group of monsters. Apparently, he really didn't feel threatened by them if he could also pay attention to me.
"You're not doing bad yourself, mate," I said as I sliced a Grimm and neared him.
"Ho ho ho! You should've seen me in my youth!" He laughed with one hand hitting his belly while his other wildly swung his weird weapon.
"I'd bet you were mighty impressive," I said good-naturedly as I reached him. I took a spot behind him and kept the Grimm off his back while he handled the others.
"Only a fool would take that bet!" He laughed, not pausing even for a moment as he continued fighting the monsters.
I liked him. He was a joyful elderly gentleman that knew his way with a weapon. I wouldn't put him on the level of Achilles or some of the other Heroes, but he'd definitely get a spot in Elysium. Not sure if he had the willpower to keep his physical appearance and memories, though.
With the two of us working together, it didn't take us long to slaughter all the Grimm. Not that it was anything impressive since either one of us could've done it on our own. Though I had to admit, the portly man was right. Fighting with someone else was pretty fun.
"Impressive work, young man!" He praised me as he came over to clasp my hand.
"You too, mate," I said as I shook his hand. "You sure have a spring in your step for someone whose hair is gray."
"Ho ho ho!" He puffed his chest proudly. "In my heyday, I used to go up against entire tides of Grimm on my own!"
"That sounds like something I'd want to hear," I said excitedly. Yep, I definitely liked this guy. I really couldn't have asked to meet a better person than him.
Plus, listening to stories would help me learn about this place. For example, I already figured out that those Grimm were common and an actual threat to the people here. This gave me a general idea of the state of the world.
Now, the Grimm didn't seem that dangerous to me, but I could see how they might pose a threat to the mortals here. What worried me more was they were energy constructs, so something or someone was creating them in hordes. Now that… sounded exciting!
Fighting against hordes of Grimm until I eventually reached their creator and battled them? Yeah, I liked the sound of that.
"Oh!" Something flashed in his eyes and a large grin formed on his face. "I'll be delighted to share some of my stories with you! But where are my manners? I'm Peter Port, at your service."
"Zagreus, nice to meet you." We shook hands once more. His name surprised me a bit since I was expecting something grander from a man like him. There was nothing wrong with Peter, but it sounded mundane, especially since it was a common one from my past life.
"What a unique name," Peter said with an impressed expression, and I straightened my back.
I took pride in my name. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I didn't remember the one from my past life, but that wasn't all. Mother was the one that picked my name and well…
"Though I do wonder what you are doing here?" Peter asked.
"Ah, well, err." I scratched the back of my head nervously. "I'm kinda lost, you see."
"Lost in the Emerald Forest?" Peter didn't seem to fully believe me.
"To be honest, I have no idea where I am," I told him truthfully. "I live out in the wilderness with my family, and we don't have much contact with anyone really."
That was fairly close to the actual truth. We didn't really live in the wilderness, but we barely had contact with anyone.
"Ah, decided to go on an adventure and explore the world, didn't you?" Peter smirked.
"Exactly!" I said excitedly. "We had a fairly comfortable life back home, but there is so much to see out there, and I couldn't resist."
"Then let me be the one to welcome you to Vale, one of the four Kingdoms of Remnant!" Peter said grandly.
"I couldn't ask for a better welcome." I already made up my mind of dragging Peter over to Elysium once his time came. I'd even fight Father over this if I had to.
Still, this was some useful information. I now knew that there are four Kingdoms around here, and I assumed that Remnant was the name of the continent. Otherwise, this realm must be very small if it had so few Kingdoms.
Though maybe the Grimm were a larger threat than I gave them credit for. Perhaps there were even stronger monsters among them, and that somewhat excited me. I'd have so many stories to share when I eventually returned home if that was the case!
"I don't suppose you can show me out of this forest?" I asked before quickly adding. "Though I wouldn't mind helping you exterminate the Grimm in the forest if you are on a job or anything like that. I'm sure the two of us can hunt them all down before sunset."
Not only did I have Artemis' blessing, but I liked to think I was a good hunter even without it. Now, I didn't have any experience hunting –there really wasn't any game to hunt in the Underworld– though I learned a lot from the Heroes in Elysium. Plus, my name literally means 'great hunter' and I had to live up to it.
That's probably one of the reasons why Artemis considered blessing me. I didn't think she was a complete man-hater, but she definitely didn't favor males from what I've gathered.
Uncle Zeus was delighted to hear that we were getting along even though we had never met in person. He was even not so subtly pushing me toward her, but he constantly kept contradicting himself.
For one, Uncle never ever forgot to leave me with some ladies' advice whenever he offered me his blessing. He'd give me tips on anything, from how to seduce women to how to convince your lovers that having multiple of them was perfectly fine.
However, he'd also hint at what he'd do to me should I ever hurt Artemis. That was something that always confused me. I had been someone who could never leave the Underworld, which was a place where Artemis would never agree to settle down at.
Maybe that was it? I would've been the perfect husband since I would've only been able to spend a limited amount of time with her.
Peter's laughter interrupted my thoughts. "Ho ho ho! I'm sure we can exterminate them if we so decided, but I came here to just cull their numbers a bit."
Just to cull their numbers a bit? That didn't make a lot of sense to me… though perhaps this place was used as a training ground?
"Okay then." I nodded.
"Now, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, Zagreus?" Peter said as he began leading me out of the forest. "With the way you fought, I'm sure you've had your fair share of encounters. Tell me, what was the strongest creature you've put down?"
"Ah, I guess a bone-headed snake with nine heads has to be it," I answered easily.
"A mutated King Taijitu?" Peter stopped and asked in surprise. "That sounds like a fascinating tale!"
"Yeah…" Lenny was a bone Hydra and not a King Taijitu, but I supposed that's close enough. "I fought it in a lake and had to jump between small land masses as I took down its many heads."
Even without going into full details, like how the lake was made out of lava or how Lenny had some magical attacks, my achievement still sounded pretty grand in my opinion.
"Remarkable!" And Peter agreed with me.
"This reminds me of the time I was returning from a mission. It was years ago, and Bullheads weren't a thing back then, so I had to return on foot. I passed this lovely river on my way back, and I decided to take a quick bath," Peter animatedly began saying.
I winced since my storytelling was lacking compared to his. I'd have to work on it, though I also couldn't share as many details without exposing my nature.
Still, I listened attentively since I was learning about this realm. I assumed Bullheads were a type of vehicle, but I wasn't sure what kind. Probably a car or something similar.
"Oh, just a moment." Peter paused and took out a small device from his pocket before he proceeded to pull it apart.
I gaped in astonishment, staring at the smartphone that appeared to be even more advanced than the ones I remembered from my past life. I mean, this thing had a hologram instead of a touchscreen! How awesome was that!
"What's this?" I still asked while trying to hide my excitement. If smartphones existed, then… then…
This place was really getting better and better by the moment. Magic, monsters, Heroes, weird weapons, and the Internet as well? I didn't know how Chaos had picked this place, but he couldn't have chosen a better realm to send me to.
"This is a Scroll," Peter said as he typed on it. "A very handy device if I do say so myself."
"It looks fascinating," I said while admiring its look.
"It does, doesn't it?" He said and showed it off to me before pocketing it. "Sorry about that. Just had to send a message that I'm done and that I'll be returning with a companion."
"No worries." I waved him off.
I wasn't worried that Peter was leading me into a trap, though I'd be disappointed if he was. He wasn't weak per se, but I was confident in my abilities, and I believed I could escape unscathed if I had to. Plus, he didn't know I was sandbagging, and even if he did, he'd be surprised how much I was holding back.
"Now where was I?" Peter said with a joyful smile.
Plus, I believed I was a good judge of character, and he didn't seem like a bad guy.
"Oh, yes, I had just stripped myself and entered the river, when a large group of Grimm jumped out from the trees. Faced against the horde of monsters, I had nothing but a towel and my wits to defend myself with. Ho ho ho, faced against such odds, many would fail, but you see, that's all I needed to win!"
"And how did you do that?"
"I acted quickly and without fear and I targeted the lone Deathstalker hiding amid the horde of Grimm. You see…"
Peter had a knack for telling stories. He kept me engaged and seamlessly flowed from one to another as if they were all somehow connected with one another. They also all carried a lesson, and I got to learn quite a bit about the Grimm from him.
On our way out of the forest, we encountered a few small groups of monsters, but it took no effort on our part to take them out. Eventually, we reached a cliff, which had stairs carved into it. We climbed them and…
"Peter, mate, you didn't lead me to the King's Castle, did you now?" I asked as I stared at the magnificent building. My eyes snapped open, and I sharply turned to Peter. There was no way, right?
"Ho ho ho, no, no, nothing like that," Peter replied with a laugh.
Thank the Gods. I would've been slightly embarrassed if I had been in the presence of a King without me noticing.
"Vale has no Kings or Queens," he said afterward.
Then why was it called the Kingdom of Vale?! I held my tongue and didn't question him on that. I figured I would learn about the history of this place sooner or later, so I decided to just listen to his explanation.
"This is Beacon Academy," Peter said proudly. "A place where I have the pleasure of teaching the next generation of Huntsmen."
That… sounded vaguely familiar. I felt like I'd heard of this before, but I wasn't completely sure where I knew it from.
"I bet there is no finer place for teaching than this," I said and offered him a smirk.
"And you'd be correct!" Peter proudly stuck his chest out and was about to say something else, but his Scroll vibrated. He glimpsed at it for a moment before looking at me. "Now, Zagreus, I don't wish to pressure you, but the Headmaster is interested in meeting with you."
"I wouldn't mind, I suppose," I said, figuring that it wasn't that surprising. "Though do you know why he's interested in meeting with me?"
"If I had to make an educated guess," Peter said as he led me inside the building. "I'd wager he'd like to offer you a spot in the school."
"Really?" I asked in surprise. "I'm not sure I have the qualifications since I haven't gone to any school before."
I've been home schooled by Nyx, and we hadn't really covered subjects like Physics, Biology, or the like. She taught me a bit of mathematics and everything else was about the Mystical Arts. I could improvise if I was forced to since I did have some form of education from my past life. I barely remembered anything from it, but I was sure it would come back to me with time. However, I really had no desire to go through all of that again.
"Although we do make sure that all of our students' education is of the highest standard, Beacon Academy still focuses primarily on teaching the next generation Huntsman how to fight the Grimm," Peter paused and turned to me with a serious expression. "And you most certainly meet the qualifications for that. I have never seen someone your age move with such grace and ease. So don't ever doubt yourself."
"Ah, thanks," I replied, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. I've worked my ass to reach my level, but praise was still something I wasn't very used to.
Peter smiled and pointed to some fancy-looking doors. "Over here"
He pressed a button next to them, and they opened up to a futuristic elevator. We entered inside, and I couldn't help but notice there were only two buttons there. He pressed one of them, and the elevator began to smoothly move upwards. Shortly, it stopped and the doors opened up to a circular room that had an impressive view.
Two people were already waiting for us there. One of them was a beautiful blonde woman with glasses, who was dressed in a sexy teacher's outfit. Not gonna lie, that alone already swayed my decision.
However, despite the woman's appearance, my eyes were drawn to the gray-haired man. He was also wearing glasses and sipped on some hot drink while he sat behind a desk. Despite the color of his hair, he didn't appear to be that old. I'd say he was at most middle-aged.
Overall, the man didn't look that impressive, but… I looked at Peter and the blonde woman before my eyes settled on the headmaster again.
"Is something wrong?" The man asked, noticing my confusion.
"You smell." The man's aura reeked of death. Just by looking at it, I was sure that he had died multiple times already, yet he was still alive. I never really thought I'd see someone that was like me…
"Ozpin!" The blonde woman leaned in closer to him before yelling. "I've told you multiple times to take better care of yourself!
I froze for a second since I hadn't really meant to say that. I just got caught off guard by meeting someone that had a fate similar to mine. Though the man, Ozpin, was definitely not a God as he didn't have the presence of one. Unless he was somehow hiding it.
I couldn't help but wonder if he could sense my own aura of death and if he realized what I was. It didn't seem like it, but again, he could be very good at hiding it.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that," I told him apologetically. Damn it, this was embarrassing. I really didn't mean to make an ass out of myself so quickly.
"No, no, nothing to be sorry about," Ozpin said after giving himself a sniff. "Since I seem to be in need of a bath."
"Well. That was an icebreaker if I've ever seen one," Ozpin then chuckled and stood up. "A pleasure to meet you, young man, I'm Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon," he offered me his hand to shake before pointing at the woman. "And this lovely woman is Glynda Goodwitch, the Combat Instructor of the Academy."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Zagreus," I introduced myself.
"What a unique name." This was the second time someone told me that today. "Mistralian in origin, I believe."
"Thanks," was all I said since I had no idea what he was talking about.
"So I heard you had a bit of an adventure with Professor Port here," Ozpin then said when he noticed I wasn't about to comment on the previous topic.
"Ho ho ho, and an adventure it was!" Peter said joyfully. "I do believe I haven't seen someone so young wielding a blade as skillful as Zagreus!"
"You're pretty good yourself, and I have to say, fighting alongside someone else for a change was a lot of fun," I said.
"Oh?" Ozpin leaned on his desk. "I won't beat around the bush then. Would you like to attend Beacon Academy? The next year starts in just a couple of days, and it just so happens that there is one available spot."
Glynda's head swiftly snapped towards Ozpin, and she stared at him with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not too sure," I said. Going to school didn't sound that enticing, but this seemed to be something far more than that. "Could you tell me a bit more about it before I make a decision?"
Going to school hadn't been a plan of mine, but I found myself considering it. I could get to learn more about this place and figure out why I had the impression that I somehow knew about this realm. The two cool Professors were also a big plus, and I also wanted to figure out what was up with Ozpin.
(Ozpin)
He watched as Zagreus left with Peter, the two animatedly talking with each other. This was a rare sight since most students didn't seem to have a good impression of Port. However, those two seemingly got along like a house on fire.
"Ozpin." Glynda glared him down. "Care to explain what you meant by us having an available spot?"
"Ah, send a message to the one with the forged transcripts that we wouldn't be accepting him," Ozpin said nonchalantly, staring at the now closed doors of the elevator.
Every year he expected Salem to send a spy to Beacon, and he thought he found one recently. Though Qrow seemed to think otherwise as the young man was nothing more than a bumbling farm boy in his opinion. Ozpin still wanted to be sure, so he planned on keeping a close eye on him, but a new player appeared.
"What?!" Glynda yelled loudly. "We had someone with forged transcripts, and you knew about it? Who is it?"
"I thought you were already aware," Ozpin said, and Glynda's eyes dangerously narrowed. "It's Jaune Arc. All of his presented records are false."
"What do you think of Zagreus?" He then asked, changing the topic.
"He is… a nice young man," Glynda eventually replied, though she still angrily glared at him.
"Indeed." Ozpin stood up and walked over to the glass doors behind him. "He does appear as such."
He wasn't that surprised by Glynda's opinion. Zagreus was kind and had roguish looks that put Qrow to shame. Exotic mismatched eyes, one green and one red with a rare yet very familiar black sclera, that drew the people's attention. A perfectly sculpted body that looked as if it was built for fighting. And if that wasn't enough, he had a supernatural charm that amplified all of that even further.
The last part, he would've assumed to be a sort of Semblance, possibly a passive one like Qrow's. However, something that Zagreus did during their conversation completely changed his mind. It was when the topic of money came up, and he asked them if gold was accepted around here before he pulled out a handful of golden coins from within his clothes.
Clothes that were most certainly too thin to have pockets. And even if they did, there was no way he could move around without making a ton of noise while carrying a handful of golden coins with him.
It was far more likely that he had a sort of pocket dimension as a Semblance. Ozpin wasn't sure how it worked, but it could be potentially very dangerous depending on what he carried with him.
Zagreus was definitely a mystery, and he was terrified of the young man. However, that mostly due to his weapon.
A simple long sword was a rare sight after the development of mechashift weapons. However, this particular blade gave him the chills just by being in its presence.
The runes etched on it reminded Ozpin of an Era long forgotten by humanity. He was very old, so much so that he didn't even know exactly how old he was. He had vast knowledge of Magic, though he wasn't that learned when it came to Enchanting.
However, Ozpin knew that without a shadow of a doubt that he would die for good should he be killed with that sword. He couldn't even explain it, but that was the impression he got from the weapon.
The worst part was that particular thought sounded so damn enticing! There had been so many times in the past where Ozpin had nearly given up. But there was always something or someone that gave him hope. That made him believe that victory was possible. That he could one day end this nightmare and peacefully pass away. However, hope could push him only so far, and he barely had any of it nowadays.
'Is this another scheme of yours?' Ozpin clenched his fists as he stared out the window. 'Because I fear this one might just work.'