Chapter 618: Meeting with Athena

Cicero Flavius. One of the six Division Commanders of the Athen’s Legion. A very powerful man that holds the highest authority here.

‘So Athena used Cicero to summon me…’

Souta looked at Cicero before he slightly bowed down and introduced himself once again. He already forgot how many times he introduced himself today.

Cicero nodded and said, “I’m Cicero Flavius…”

It was a simple introduction but every people in the entire legion knows the name Cicero Flavius. People at this level didn’t need a grand introduction. They will just say their name and people would already recognize their ranks and achievements.

“What are your orders, Commander Cicero?” Souta asked politely since Cicero didn’t say anything.

Also, he had to make sure that he didn’t know that Athena was the one that called him here.

“Souta Ieshi… A monster that joined our legion a month ago. He was assigned to Tenth Grain War and contributed a lot to the mission in the Dukedom of Halbun. In just a short amount of time, he easily promoted his circle to Second Class Yellow Squadron…”

It was as if Cicero was reading his reports. Everything that Souta did ever since he joined the legion was recorded.

Souta didn’t care about all of it but he didn’t show it on his face. He was just wondering when will this old man finished talking.

After a while, Cicero turned his attention back on Souta once again.

“I’m not the one that called you here.”

He pointed at the door behind him and said, “Go inside the room. No matter what you see, don’t let any other people know about it.”

‘Finally…’ Souta sighed inwardly. ‘I’m going to meet Athena. I want to finish this as soon as possible.’

He bowed at Cicero before he walked forward.

Cicero kept observing him without saying any words. It only stopped when Souta entered the door.

…

“Sigh…”

Souta sighed after closing the door. He knew that this door had high-concealment runes that could prevent eavesdropping and could block perception.

Giggle*

He turned around as he heard a soft laugh behind him. He saw Athena laughing with her hand on her mouth.

He stood straight before he went on his knees and said, “It’s my pleasure seeing you again, My Lady.”

“Yep, don’t worry about it.” Athena waved her hand. “Cicero is a busy person. He canceled some of his plans just to listen to my request.”

Souta knew very well that managing a legion as big as Athen’s Champion was hard.

Athena forcefully coughed as she fixed her posture elegantly and her expression turned serious.

“Cosmic Body is very important. The strength that it provides isn’t that huge but its utilities could even make a god envy it. The most important thing about it is that it could hold the power of a Zodiac.”

She spoke clearly and Souta listened to her with a serious expression. He knows that this was a very important meeting that could change his life. So he had to pay attention to the words that were coming out of her mouth.

“I’ll give you two choices. Stay in the Olympus and accumulate your strength. If you choose this, I will help you to the best of my ability to train you. Even gods and monster lords in Olympus will give you their guidance. But the moment you choose this, you can’t leave Olympus until you have enough strength to protect yourself. You should know that the Zodiacs will likely target you the moment they realized that you have a Cosmic Body.”

Athena narrowed her eyes and asked, “Do you want to know why?”

Souta nodded, “Yes, My Lady.”

“Cosmic Body can only hold a power of Zodiac. Since you didn’t have a Zodiac Authority inside you, they will think that you’re a threat. You will be able to take their Zodiac Authority and fill up the emptiness in your Cosmic Body.”

‘It means that my Cosmic Body isn’t complete even though I already integrated the body parts. To complete it, I just need a Zodiac Authority to upgrade it to the highest level.’ Souta understood Athena’s words.

If Souta grows stronger, the Zodiacs will be wary of him so they will eliminate him. Of course, they didn’t know that Souta had Zodiac Authority. It’s just that it wasn’t in his body. It was in his system waiting for him to unseal it.

“At your current level, even if there are millions, no, billions of you… You will not stand a chance.”

“Then, what’s the second choice, My Lady?” Souta carefully asked.

“The second choice is nothing… You will live the same as you have always been. Completing the missions in my legion and grow stronger on your own.” Athena paused for a moment before she continued, “But I’ll give you a manual to conceal your Cosmic Body… You don’t need to be careful about other gods as they didn’t have an ability to detect Cosmic Body. I couldn’t even detect it but I have a relic related to it so I sensed your presence.”

“Well, the manual that I’ll give will be able to conceal your Cosmic Body from Zodiacs. Of course, it’s not perfect but it’s still doable. I’m not going to force you. Just live whatever life you wanted, my child.”

Souta looked down. From the beginning, he already had one answer. He lifted up his head and smiled, “I’ll take the manual and live the same as before, My Lady.”

If he chose the first option then Souta would lose the opportunity to trigger quests from the system. His growth would be stagnant and it would take a long time before he could reach monster lord. He didn’t even know if he could reach monster lord level with just training alone. Even if he could reach monster lord on normal route, he didn’t know how long it would take. Twenty years? Thirty years? No, probably more than fifty years.

The best way for him to get stronger was to complete a quest.

“If you want to take the second choice then you’ll have to master it first. You can’t leave Champion’s Den without mastering it as it’s still too risky to leave without any protection.” Athena said.

Souta nodded. He had no choice but to follow her command. At least, she didn’t force him to stay at Olympus. If it was another god, he could imagine being locked in that place without his consent.

‘It seems that Olympus wanted Zodiac Authority for themselves…’

He said inwardly. If they had a creature with a Cosmic Body in their ranks then they have a chance of acquiring the Zodiac Authority. They wouldn’t let this opportunity pass by.

Glancing at Athena, he knew that she had her own plan. It seems that she hasn’t told anybody in the Olympus about his Cosmic Body.

He really owed her this time. Who knows what will those power hungry gods would do if they knew this information.

Souta was about to bid farewell when Athena opened her mouth.

“I have one more thing to say.”

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a confused look. He thought that it was finished but it seems that he was wrong.

“I will arrange a territory for you outside the Champion’s Den. You have a demon beside you, right? It would be better if she’s not staying here. She had an artifact for disguising but it wouldn’t work on gods so other gods would discover her if they come here. You know that a god’s senses can cover this entire city easily. They would easily know that there’s a demon here in just a blink of an eye.”

“I couldn’t ask for more. Thank you for your kindness, My Lady.” Souta bowed his head to his goddess.

“It’s nothing. Both of you joined my legion, so you are one of my people too.” Athena smiled and a small book appeared on the table near them. “Take this and you can take your leave.”

“Please excuse me, My Lady,” Souta said before he stood up and carefully took the small book. He placed it inside his clothes and silently walked toward the door.

“I know you have a story but please be careful. Don’t forget my words. If you reach fifth stage, you can come and meet me at my temple in the Land of Eternal Spring.”

Souta heard Athena’s voice before he close the door. He turned around but it was in vain. Athena’s aura had disappeared. She’s not in this place anymore.

‘What a busy goddess…’

He laughed inwardly. Suddenly, goosebumps spread on his body as he turned his head to the side, only to see Cicero looking at him.

“Don’t tell anybody that you meet our goddess today,” Cicero said.

“I understand.”

“Since the goddess didn’t tell me anything. Although I’m curious, I wouldn’t ask anything about your conversation. Just remember, the warriors of our legion didn’t know about it. They just knew that I’m the one who called you here.”

“I will not forget it.”

“Good, you can go now.”

“Then, please excuse me, Commander Cicero.”

With that, Souta left the Maiden Judge. It will become one hell of a week for him. He will try to learn the manual that he received as fast as possible so that he could continue taking quests.

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