Capítulo 18: Chapter 14 Ares, I'm coming to bull you!
Luo En touched the head of hair that would make any programmer envious and muttered to himself.
According to the loopholes he had deliberately left earlier, it wasn't that he couldn't afford to give up concepts such as "misfortune," "melancholy," "pain," "curse," and so on, but the more intangible and unquantifiable the chip, the easier it was to be exploited, ultimately backfiring on oneself.
So for the sake of caution, he still preferred to make a small physical sacrifice.
Compared with losing a few hairs, getting a quick promotion to demigod was a downright steal.
After some contemplation, Luo En stretched lazily, comfortably moving his pieces around the board, engaging in a series of trials and battles.
Honestly, combining Hecate's gambit tactics and extreme pressure was quite challenging to deal with.
But as far as this game was concerned, she was still a novice, and her offensive routines and methods were limited to a few repetitive combinations.
Whereas Luo En had the chess strategies and set patterns accumulated by humanity over thousands of years in his head. Once he grasped Hecate's approach and stabilized his position, he could devise a strategy to counterattack.
Finally, after sacrificing about thirty strands of his hair, Luo En used a set play involving "pawn promotion" and "pawn checkmates king" to drive Hecate into a corner from which there was no escape.
"General!"
As Luo En advanced the magical beast piece representing the chariot on the board, combined with the promoted pawn, he closed off the enemy king's last retreat, leaving Hecate no choice but to topple her pieces, pinching her nose in defeat.
"So, according to our agreement, isn't it time for you to tell me how to achieve ascension to demigod as quickly as possible, Lady Goddess?"
"It's simple. Drip your blood onto that die and silently think of what you desire, then throw the corresponding number, and it will guide you."
Though a gambler, being a genuine goddess, Hecate still had the basic integrity of accepting a wager's outcome and straightforwardly revealed the method.
Use it?
Following Hecate's gaze, Luo En eyed the twelve-sided die with serpent designs in front of him, his pupils subtly flickering.
This object was his extra prize for winning that resurrection game and originally belonged to Hecate, one of a pair.
"The twelve sides of the die are not only inscribed with numbers but the symbols that constitute the numbers also correspond to the Twelve Olympians that rule over Greece, or the current order of 'The World.' Since you wish to elevate your bloodline to that of a demigod, you will need to find an opportunity in 'The World,' and it will give you an answer."
Hecate twirled the other twelve-sided serpent-patterned die in her hand, smiling as she explained.
"This is not an ordinary gift, but a 'Blessing of Fate.'
"Really? I always have the feeling that 'Fate' doesn't seem too fond of me."
Luo En looked skeptically at the twelve-sided die on the table.
Hecate neither confirmed nor denied, smiling faintly and extending her pale right hand.
"As agreed, I have told you everything. It's up to you to believe it or not. If you don't need it, then please return it to me."
After a moment's hesitation, Luo En made up his mind quickly.
After all, when you're already at the bottom, the only way left is up!
What's there to fear? Why not go all in on this hand?
With a single thought, the world suddenly seemed vast and open.
Luo En immediately bit his index finger, squeezed out a drop of gold-red blood under Hecate's smiling watch, and let it fall onto the twelve-sided die. Then, after closing his eyes and silently counting for a few seconds, he resolutely tossed the die onto the table.
The bloodstained die rolled a few times on the table before settling on the pattern formed by eight intersecting blood-red spears.
"Eight? The War God? Congratulations, you've received Ares' blessing,"
Hecate glanced at the die and snapped her fingers with a light laugh.
At the same moment, the twelve-sided die on the table buzzed and vibrated, turning into a crimson light that shot into Luo En's chest at the speed of lightning, merging into the pitch-black curse mark that Hecate had engraved on him, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
—This emblem was a circle with a spiral-shaped labyrinth in the center.
—The labyrinth symbolized rebirth, and the spiral at its heart represented thought and soul.
—Its name, the Wheel of Hecate.
At this moment, within Luo En's sea of consciousness, a sound akin to gear-and-cog friction arose as the Labyrinth, transformed from the Wheel of Hecate, revolved and restructured into an ancient, mottled bronze altar.
And as the bloodstained twelve-sided die landed at the center of the altar, a thick blood-red haze spread out, weaving into a crimson oracle.
——[Slay 100 gold-ranked Sea Beasts to complete the Sacrifice to the Gods.]
Luo En was somewhat puzzled, voicing the information in his mind and frowning as he questioned Hecate across from him.
"What does this mean?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you should carry the bloodline of the War God Ares."
Hecate asked in return with a smile while flicking another twelve-sided die in her hand.
Luo En pondered for a moment and nodded slightly.
The City Builder of Thebes, Cadmus, had been forced to serve the War God Ares for eight years as punishment for killing Ares's dragon.
Thereafter, with the intervention of the gods, the two reconciled, and Zeus gave Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite (representing the Goddess of harmony and conciliation), to Cadmus in marriage to compensate for his eight years of servitude.
According to the family tree, his own now-deceased mother Semele was one of the four children of Cadmus and Harmonia.
Which is to say, besides Zeus, Luo En also had the blood of the War God Ares and the Goddess of Beauty Aphrodite in his veins.
Now, receiving affirmation, Hecate smiled and provided further interpretation.
"The answer is simple. If an ordinary mixed-blood hero wishes to become a Demigod, they need to refine themselves over time, gradually awakening the Divinity within them to ignite the divine flame and complete the Ascension.
But now the Dice has presented you with the shortcut you desire.
——Simply fulfill the requirement of the sacrifice to Ares, and it will allow you to temporarily steal the blessing of the divine authority of war. At that time, the Divine Blood of the same origin within you will be able to gather enough Divinity both internally and externally through a frenzy of slaughter and combat, thus igniting the divine flame within."
Hiss~!
Upon hearing Hecate's description, Luo En took in a sharp breath.
This gamble seems to be quite significant.
In a certain sense, this action amounts to bypassing Ares, the legitimate War God, and riding on the divine authority of war like an audacious stunt for a while.
Although Ares is often the butt of jokes in various versions of mythology and epics, holding little clout amongst the Twelve Olympians,
it all depends on who is holding the leash!
Expecting me, a mere sixteen-year-old of the Gold rank, to cuckold a legitimate deity of Olympus for his divine authority isn't just playing with fire—it's downright suicide!
"You must be really eager to see me die quickly, aren't you?"
Luo En said with a dark expression, sarcastically exposing the malicious intent of the unscrupulous creditor before him.
"Don't worry, Olympus won't notice what you're doing."
Hecate smiled indifferently and spun the die on the table with her hand, speaking in a meaningful and profound tone.
"Because, 'inevitable fate' cannot predict the 'Dice of Chance'…"
Luo En's eyes flashed with contemplation, and the heart that had been suspended in his chest slowly settled somewhat.
As a competent gambler, she wouldn't make the foolish move of carelessly throwing away the chips.
At least, she would wait until I had created enough value or corresponding amusement before reaping them.
Given that…
Luo En closed his eyes, reflected seriously for a moment, then suddenly opened his purple eyes wide, clenched his fist, and his lips curled into a hint of a mad arc.
High risk, high reward, It's showtime!
——Ares, are you ready? I'm coming to ride you hard!
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