Bab 95: Give meaning to things that are meaningless

[T/N: 4 x Chapter]

'So Jason, how are you going to handle this... test?'

Although Rhea is feeling curious about this, she wasn't puzzled for long.

Because from the next day, Jason began working on the solution he has thought of.

So, the next morning, along with sunrise, when Sisyphus stood up to start pushing the boulder, Jason also got up and walked to him.

While hiding in the dark, when Rhea saw Jason walking toward Sisyphus, naturally, she subconsciously thought that Jason had decided to help Sisyphus by pushing the boulder to the top of the mountain.

Regarding this, although Rhea does not think this approach is wrong for completing the test she had given to Jason because Rhea doesn't think that Zeus will kill Jason due to his help being necessary against Typhon, she still felt that her expectations have been slightly let down.

"Young man, are you here to help me in pushing this boulder?"

Sisyphus, who currently has a dirty face full of beards and is dressed in ragged clothes, naturally thought that Jason had come here because of this, so he said to Jason in such an indifferently tone that made it look like Sisyphus isn't even talking about himself: "Give up young man, so far I have asked uncountable numbers of heroes passing through here to help me, quite a few of them were very strong ones, but no one has and no one can help me in pushing this boulder to the top of the mountain."

"No, I'm not going to help you in pushing this boulder to the top of the mountain."

Rhea, who is hiding in the dark, was obviously stunned upon hearing Jason's reply, but even Sisyphus was stunned upon hearing this, although, there wasn't even a little change in his expression.

"If you're not going to help me...then what are you here for?" Sisyphus asked reflexively.

"I am indeed here to help you because a great Goddess has sent such an oracle to me, but I will not help you in pushing the boulder to the top of the mountain, and I will also not destroy this boulder."

After Jason finished speaking with a smile, under Sisyphus's puzzled gaze, Jason urged Sisyphus to start today's work.

Due to seeing this, Sisyphus, who, upon hearing Jason's words, had subconsciously thought that Jason may have decided to kill him to relieve him from the punishment, upon seeing Jason's urging, Sisyphus understood that it isn't the case and didn't explain his immortality, which he has planned to.

Then, Sisyphus began pushing the boulder and as Jason had said, Jason really didn't help Sisyphus in pushing the boulder and just watched, he continuously watched Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the mountain from the moment the sun began rising.

Actually, if it was anyone else, or even Sisyphus from the time when he had initially received punishment, they most likely would have gotten annoyed at Jason's action of just watching from the side.

But, for current Sisyphus, whose every hope has died, it really doesn't matter much to him whether anyone is willing to help him in pushing the boulder or is just washing from the side without doing anything.

Then, exactly at sunset, the boulder suddenly slipped from the hands of Sisyphus, who didn't even try stopping the boulder due to already failing to do so too many times.

But, it is at this time, that Jason, who had not acted for the whole day, finally made an action.

Obviously, Jason didn't stop the boulder from falling, rather, he took out his Magic Staff, and under Sisyphus's puzzled gaze, Jason drew a horizontal line on the ground at the point to which Sisyphus has pushed the boulder before it rolled down by using a simple spell which will not the line easily fade away.

Then, after just drawing this line using a simple spell, Jason left, and not understanding why Jason had done this, Sisyphus also left to take a rest for repeating this task tomorrow.

But, after Sisyphus and Jason left this place, Rhea quietly arrived here, then she checked the horizontal line as well as the whole area around here, but after not understanding what Jason is trying to do, she can only suppress the doubts in her heart and leave.

Then, on the next day, that is the third day since Jason had arrived here, Jason once again repeated this action.

And at sunset, with a horizontal line, Jason once again marked the place from where the boulder had started to fall down.

Then, Jason continued repeating this action on the fourth day, the fifth day... till a whole week passed.

*****

A week later, just after Jason once again drew the line as he had for the last six days, Rhea, in the form of an old woman, finally once again appeared beside Jason at sunset.

And after appearing beside Jason, Rhea first looked at Sisyphus and noted that his eyes are no longer as dead-looking as when she had first seen him, then she looked at the separated horizontal lines on the ground.

But this time, Rhea is no longer feeling as puzzled as she initially had been because Rhea had already understood what Jason has been doing.

"Child...is this your answer?"

Rhea, who is still in the form of an old woman, even after already having guessed what Jason had done, asked him to know the reason behind choosing this method: "But, as far as I know, you are more than capable of destroying this boulder and even helping him push the boulder to the top of the mountain...So, child, can you tell me why did you choose this method?"

"Actually, the reason is very simple." Jason looked at Rhea, then replied honestly: "Because this is the punishment given to Sisyphus by the great gods, so without their consent, I do not have the right of directly interfering with the punishment given by them."

"But old lady, you have asked me to help him, so... I can only choose one of the indirect ways of helping him."

Then, Jason pointed to the horizontal lines on the ground and explained to Rhea in an indirect way, because although Jason believes that Rhea should have already noticed this, he also knows that the direct goal behind his actions isn't something he is can directly state with his own mouth: "As you can see, this is the first line I had drawn, and these two below it are from the next day and the day after it."

"But the fourth, fifth, sixth, and even today's line, are all above the line drawn on the day previous to that day..."

However, Jason was interrupted before he got to finish his words because as Jason had expected, Rhea had indeed guessed the real goal behind Jason doing this and she obviously won't take care of not directly mentioning it.

"The real intent behind gods giving this punishment to Sisyphus is to slowly consume his hope by making him perform ineffective and meaningless labor... but the simple lines drawn by you have completely changed the meaning behind this punishment."

Rhea looked up at the steep mountain, then sighed and said: "When you had arrived here, Sisyphus had fallen into hopeless despair because he knows that this mountain is too high and he had concluded that he will never be able to push the stone to the top of the mountain, hence he had understood what he is doing is meaningless which had subsequently killed his hope."

"However, even if you haven't directly mentioned anything to him, by drawing these lines, you have shown him the progress he can make every day, which has rekindled the fire of hope within him."

"Therefore, due to knowing that his efforts are no longer meaningless, he can continue working towards the goal."

"So, although you indeed haven't directly interfered with the punishment, you have actually solved the punishment given to him by the gods by turning the originally futile labor into something worth working for so that he can improve himself every day."

"And, in this way, you have already completed the task I have given you, right?"

However, in response, Jason maintained his silence and just smiled softly, without nodding or shaking his head in denial.

Because Jason believes that, even if it is just a facade, he should not admit that he had specifically targetted the punishment designed by the Gods, rather he should continue pretending that he had only helped Sisyphus because this goddess asked him to.

However, looking at the Goddess pretending to be an old woman accepting his method, Jason secretly released a sigh of relief in his heart, because Jason knows that, since none of the Gods have appeared to stop him while he was reigniting hope in Sisyphus, the second part of the task will become much easier and it won't be as dangerous as the first part.

What second part of the task? After all, Jason had interacted with quite a few gods till now and is somewhat familiar with their thinking process, so Jason is pretty sure that this Goddess won't be satisfied with this much.

Moreover, as the one who planned this method, Jason obviously knows that the method he had used is an open deception, because, at the end of the day, Jason knows that Sisyphus is a human.

So, Jason believes that unless Sisyphus is a direct descendent of a strong god, like Heracles or Theseus, or had bathed in Styx, taken many strengthening potions, and learned magic, like Jason, no matter how much Sisyphus trains, it is almost impossible for him to be able to push the rock to the top of the mountain.

Therefore, Jason is also aware of the fact that this method had worked only because Sisyphus still hasn't completely turned into a living corpse, so Jason feels that Sisyphus might actually be aware that this is possibly a false hope, but he is still willing to believe and work on it because his mind still hasn't died.

And, actually, as Jason had expected, Rhea is indeed not satisfied with Jason doing just this much and had obviously seen through the deception that Jason had used in this method, which isn't even much of a deception.

"But with just this much, it is still impossible for him to push this boulder to the top of the mountain."

Then, after a slight pause, Rhea continued: "Although you have indeed rekindled the hope in Sisyphus's heart and helped him, after working for a long time, in the end, his heart will again be swallowed by despair."

"So, you still have not fundamentally solved this matter. "

"Yes, you are right." Jason directly nodded with a smile because he obviously doesn't want to argue with a goddess due to the small possibility of Sisyphus insisting and overcoming this punishment or due to this goddess initially telling him to only help Sisyphus and not solve this punishment given by the gods.

Moreover, Jason had already made plans due to expecting this situation

So, just when Rhea was stunned due to Jason directly admitting that he hadn't completed the task, and was curiously watching him, Jason said without changing his smile: "With just this much, I still can't say for sure that I have really solved this matter, after all, once his progress is unable to keep up with the passing time, he will again break down and fall into despair."

"So, my current actions were just to let him walk out of despair by turning this meaningless labor into something meaningful, because unless he himself wants to overcome the punishment given to him, even if I really free him from the punishment, he will remain in the same state of despair."

"As for the real solution of this matter...I hope that you, old lady, can give me some time. "

"...Alright then, I'll wait for your answer." Rhea, who has turned into an old woman, smiled at Jason with her gaze full of curiosity.

Because, at first, she had indeed felt a little disappointed due to thinking that Jason had chosen the most straightforward method, but now, Rhea is full of expectations about what Jason is going to do next.

And due to this intense curiosity, Rhea doesn't want to let Jason leave after showing just this much.

Therefore, just to know what kind of surprise Jason will give her, Rhea had even dropped her dissatisfaction with Jason and after learning more about Jason through Athena, who had come here quite a few times during these days, she had even decided to mend Jason and Hera's relationship.

*****

And just like this, another two days passed.

And on the tenth day, before the sun rose, this matter finally reached an important turning point.

Because on this day, a strong-looking experienced hunter hunting with a hound decided to arrive here as he was passing through nearby, because he has heard rumors about this place in his village due to Jason working as a traveling bard for the last two days to purposefully spread this rumor.

And this hunter had remembered rumors about this place, even after Jason is completely inexperienced as a bard, mainly because Jason had used a different approach by becoming a very eye-catching bard, who is dressed in fine white clothes and rides a Golden Horned Deer.

So, after this hunter arrived here, he immediately recognized Jason as the bard Heracles, who had informed his village about this place where one can leave their name for eons to come by showing their strength and possibly even earn rewards.

Then, Jason invited this hunter to help Sisyphus in pushing the boulder to the top of the mountain at sunrise.

And obviously, immediately after learning about this, the hunter felt that this is impossible, and was about to refuse.

But after Jason informed him that no matter how far he can push this boulder, he will definitely get a reward along with leaving his name for years to come, as he is the first challenger here, the hunter immediately agreed to it.

So, at the sunrise, under the doubtful eyes of Rhea and Sisyphus, this hunter joined Sisyphus to push the boulder up the mountain with all his effort and even showed regret when it rolled down at sunset.

Then, Jason, who had been following behind this hunter and Sisyphus, drew a horizontal line at the position to which the hunter had pushed the boulder along with Sisyphus and asked the hunter to leave his name on this horizontal line.

"Thank you for participating in this glorious trial, as the one who had made a new record, this is your bag of coins as the reward... Still, you are really amazing, you can push this boulder to such a height..."

After handing over a small bag filled with a decent amount of coins to the hunter, Jason began using all his speaking skills to wildly praise the hunter.

So much so, that after initially feeling a little embarrassed, even the hunter almost believed that he had accomplished the most glorious feat.

Therefore, upon seeing this opportunity, Jason told the hunter that after going back he should tell other hunters about how strong he is due to which he had permanently left behind his name on the tall mountain and had even earned a bag full of coins.

Then, just to make sure that the hunter does this, Jason even gave a few more coins to the hunter and promised that as long as he brings back a person next time, Jason will give him a few more coins as a reward

So, on the very next day, before sunset, the hunter directly brought as many as eleven experienced hunters, and Jason also generously gave eleven times the initially promised reward.

Then, Jason informed the newly arrived hunters that whoever can break the highest record at that time by helping Sisyphus in pushing the boulder to the top of the mountain, Jason will give them a bag of coins.

Therefore, naturally, the hunters decided to push the stone together, so, Jason was forced to inform them about an 'old' rule that says that only one person could help Sisyphus.

Then, this second hunter actually pushed the stone to a position a little higher than the previous hunter and after getting the bag of coins, much to Jason's surprise and even delight, he mercilessly ridiculed the first.

Because of this both almost began fighting, but due to being skilled in talking and also much stronger than both hunters, Jason stopped them from fighting and informed them that there is no rule which says that one can challenge this trial only one time.

So, the group of hunters immediately began deciding who will be the one pushing the boulder the next day.

Then, on the next day, the hunters brought a quite few more hunters to get rewards and Jason brought a few audiences by using the money tactics.

So with the passing days, the number of challengers waiting for their turn and the number of audiences only continued growing bigger, even if Jason had stopped rewarding people for bringing more people from the fifth day.

Then, on the seventh day, Jason helped a few small merchants from the nearby villages in setting up food stalls at this place, so that audiences won't be forced to leave because of hunger and thirst.

And on the twelfth day, finally, a person appeared that Jason was waiting for, who, even after breaking the record, refused the reward and was happy with just permanently leaving his name on the mountain.

So, taking this chance, from this day onward, Jason finally stopped giving rewards to the one making a new record.

Because Jason knows that from this moment on, although not all, quite a few people will be pushing this boulder not for earning reward but for earning the glory of having their name written highest on the mountain.

So, on the fifteenth day, after celebrating with the one who had broken the record today, Jason finally left this place, knowing that, from now on, he won't need to direct the events happening here.

And as Jason had expected, soon after he left and began waiting in the forest, the Goddess pretending to be an old woman appeared in front of Jason.

So, after greeting her with a smile, Jason said: "I have finally completed the task you have given me, old lady... Although no one had been able to push this boulder to the top of the mountain till now, sooner or later, one day, that person will show up."

After saying this, Jason thought in his heart: 'If she is unwilling to accept this even now, then I can only invite Heracles or Theseus to arrive here...'

However, this time, Rhea looked at Jason smiling in front of her, then looked at the fire of celebration burning in the distance, and fell silent for a few moments, but she didn't deny Jason's claim.

"Can you tell me, child, how did this turn into something like this?"

Although Rhea had been watching everything that had happened here, maybe because she hadn't interacted much with humans even when she was the Queen of Gods, she is feeling a little confused regarding why things have turned out like this.

However, Rhea can still understand that Jason has indeed completed his task because she believes that according to the way things are developing here, a hero favored by the gods and capable of pushing that boulder to the top of the mountain will eventually appear.

Therefore, Rhea couldn't bear but ask Jason in puzzlement: "What did you do...which led to this?"

"What did I do?... Actually, I didn't do anything except for gathering the people, and also slightly direct their thoughts, because once people began gathering around that place, this result had been inevitable from the start."

Jason honestly explained to Rhea: "After all, when too many people gather, there will inevitably be comparisons and competitions among them, and I just gave a platform to compete on."

"Because once there is a competition, it is inevitable for gaps among people's abilities to start appearing in the front."

"And this gap between abilities is exactly the capital of showing off, which is also known as... glory."

"Because there are many people out there who want to be a hero and let their name be passed down through the ages."

"So, old lady, do you also not think that the name engraved on this mountain, especially the one at the top...will be passed down through the ages?"

Hearing Jason's explanation, Rhea slightly widened her eyes because, with such an easy explanation, she has obviously understood what has happened.

'To put it simply, just like last time, Jason had given meaning to this meaningless thing... no, because of this being on a much larger scale, he had even started the process of slowly turning this punishment into a glorious deed that heroes can show off as a great achievement!'

Actually, although the method used by Jason is very surprising and unique for Rhea, for Jason, who had lived in the society of the 21st century, using such a level of marketing and advertisement trick, in an era where advertising doesn't even exist, is nothing much.

Then, after Jason finished explaining, Jason didn't give Rhea any chance of speaking and decided to stop playing her stript.

"So, honorable Goddess, can you now tell me the oracle of Goddess Athena, Goddess of Wisdom?"

Because initially, Jason knew that whether he follows the script or not he won't be able to avoid what this Goddess wants from him, so Jason had decided to keep the opportunity of breaking this script for a time at which he wants to this Goddess to stop.

And now, Jason is really afraid that this Goddess will directly ask him to push up the boulder by himself.

So while Rhea is looking at Jason in shock, Jason is also expectantly looking at her, hoping that things won't develop in the worst direction.