Hephaestus.

"Wait, are we going to stay here for a few days?" Alex asked.

"Yes," the Captain replied. "If we get a recall order, we'll restock and return as sarissophoroi."

[A/N: Sarissophoroi, also called prodromoi, were a unit of light cavalry in the ancient Macedonian army.]

"Alright then, you guys go get the order. I'm going to the Pantheon," Alex said with a smile.

The Captain looked curious. "Why do you want to go to the Pantheon, Alex? I didn't know you were such a devout believer..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAA." Laughter erupted among the soldiers.

"I have not been praying a lot, I need to do that, may Zeus bless the skies so no thunder rages in our road," Alex said this and escaped, he didn't even know what the fuck he said right now, this was scary and he made sure nobody saw his emerged face.

"Come back to the Dolphins Feet Tavern, Alex. We'll be there," Gard called out as the soldiers headed towards the army center.

Alex nodded and followed his instincts.

"The Pantheon... I feel something calling to me, like an invisible force." He looked around as he walked, fascinated by this new world. He observed the buildings, shops, and people wearing simple, towel-like garments.

Most people wore brown leather clothes, but he saw some dressed in pure green or pure white with blue lines.

"Aristocrats or Senate members," Alex recalled from his studies. In pre-Roman Greece, the Senate was composed of powerful individuals who made decisions about the city or kingdom's rule.

"Why are people who look like council members in this random city..." Alex shrugged it off, deciding it wasn't his place to question it.

After a few minutes of walking, he reached the Pantheon.

It was magnificent, resembling the Pantheon he had seen in Greece. Eighteen pillars supported the entrance, adorned with lifelike statues colored in beautiful inks. The floor was made of pristine quartz, and the building stretched almost 25 meters in diameter.

As Alex entered, he faced a massive flight of stairs where important people were ascending and descending.

"This will take a while," Alex said, sighing.

Five minutes later, he reached the top and was stunned by what he saw. The huge entrance revealed statues of various gods on the side walls. In the center, seated on a throne, was Zeus. The statues depicted people praying on their knees with heads bowed in offerings.

But there was one thing that caught Alex's attention.

"I've never seen a young Zeus sculpted like this. He looks handsome." Alex observed Zeus with blue eyes and a muscular build, holding lightning bolts.

"I knew Roman statues were colored, but to this extent... it looks like they improved on Greek techniques." Alex marveled at the craftsmanship.

He then noticed a statue on the right side, next to Hera. It looked deformed, with strange growths coming from the shoulders, its teeth looking as if they were about to fall off. The statue was shorter compared to others, with black straight hair, red-blue glowing eyes, and an extremely muscular build, especially in the arms. the statues here were all very realistic, they were carved by humans that knew what they were doing, Alex has seen statues before but they were beyond what he ever experienced.

"This must be Hephaestus," Alex said, approaching the statue. He felt a strong pull towards it.

"So, what are you..." Alex placed his hand on the statue and—

~~

[Congratulations, you have made a spiritual connection with your Patron God.

You have been gifted one Free Life Simulation.]

~~

[Mythology Simulation System

Start the simulation?

Life Simulator - Y/N (1)

Prompt Simulator - Y/N

Summon Simulator - Y/N]

~~

"What... what does that mean?" Alex was interrupted.

"Pantheon is closing, my friends. You can bask in the light and glory of our gods tomorrow," an elderly man, dressed calmly, announced softly.

Everyone began to leave.

Alex exited with the crowd, still puzzled. 

~~

"What the fuck does Life Simulator mean, and how did I get a free try for it?" Alex wondered aloud. He had never prayed to a god; back on Earth, he was a devout Christian. He had simply felt a connection to Hephaestus and approached the statue. it was like the statue itself was really attractive to him and he just needed to touch it, he felt like that would give him some kind of boost in strength or something like that.

Alex was a gamer so he experienced cool quests, some of them were reallt cool and he thought he would get something like that since he had System and game systems always had some kind of quests in them. Alex hoped to get some kind of information about how to go back to earth, that was his main mission now.

"Does this come with instructions? I'm not trying anything that might endanger my life." Alex was frustrated. he wasn't going to risk his life not matter how much this thing gave him free stuff for, he would keep this free thing in the system as much as possible.

He walked back to the military base, trying to figure out what Life Simulator was.

~~

[Life Simulator—One of the advanced features of the Mythological Simulation System. This skill allows you to transport your soul to another universe, the same universe at a different time, or a different time in the same universe. Dying in the simulation world is not final. You will retain all three things you experienced in that world. After finishing, you will wake up here, with only a few seconds having passed in the real world.

Cost of this skill: 800 Gold Coins]

~~

"Oh my god..." Alex almost jumped for joy. ANOTHER GREAT OP SKILL HE COULD USE.

"And the best part is, I'm not in danger..." Alex smiled and headed back to the military base.

He reached the base and saw everyone gathered.

"So, did we get the order?" Alex asked.

"YEP... NOW LET'S GO DRINK!!!" The Captain yelled.

"YESSS!!!" The soldiers cheered.

Alex smiled as they prepared to head to the tavern.

"Oh Alex, here you go, your pay." The Captain tossed a pouch to Alex.

Alex smiled and put it in his back pocket.

--

"So, when the woman got near me, this idiot!!! was like, 'Go ahead and get the whore... I ACCIDENTALLY SPILLED THE WHOLE WINE ON THE DRESS SHE HAD!!!'" Barot recounted, laughing as he drank his beer.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! You idiot..." The group roared with laughter.

"What about you, Alex? Tell us about your weird experiences with women," Gard asked.

Alex was sitting with the group, enjoying the drinks.

"Well... there was a time when I was about 23... we went to a very expensive restaurant... I reserved everything, it cost a fortune, like 14,000 dollars— I mean 14 Gold Coins... and you know what??? WE GOT TO THE LAST PART, I INVITED HER TO MY APARTMENT ANDDDD..." Alex paused for dramatic effect.

"WHAT..." Everyone leaned in, eager to hear the rest.

"She... had a flappy mastoi," Alex said, using the Greek term for breasts.

[A/N, mastoi is boobies in old Greek]

Everyone was shocked.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!! COME ON MAN, HOW BEAUTIFUL DID SHE HAVE TO BE FOR YOU TO MISTAKE HER LIKE THAT? DIDN'T YOU CHECK???!!!" The group burst into laughter.

Alex looked around and smiled, he made that story up, he had incredible instincts that he would not be catfished like that. he also enjoyed some floppiness so nothing wrong with that. he just knew the pr of this people and made up a joke about that.

After the drinks, everyone retired to their rented rooms in the tavern.

Alex sat on his bed, looking at the screen.

~~

[Mythology Simulation System

Start the simulation?

Life Simulator - Y/N (1)

Prompt Simulator - Y/N

Summon Simulator - Y/N]

~~

"So I just don't get an explanation for the other simulations? Fine..." Alex took out his pouch and examined it.

"So, 3 Gold Coins, 15 Silver Coins, and 35 Bronze Coins. If I'm correct, one Silver is worth 5 Bronze, so 7 Silver Coins and 10 Silver Coins are worth one Gold Coin. That means I have 5 Gold Coins and 2 Silver Coins." Alex calculated, guessing the bar's prices.

"Do I just dump it all into the system?" he thought but then shook his head.

"No, who knows what I might need in the capital? Gold Coins can go, though." Alex decided to use the gold coins for the Prompt Simulator.

"So now I have 1 Prompt Simulator... damn, this is expensive... 3 Gold Coins for one." He sighed and looked at the Life Simulator. He decided to keep it for now, not knowing where he might end up or how exhausted he might be after his travels.

"I need to be cautious..." Alex nodded and went to sleep.

But as he was about to swipe left to clear the prompt...

~~

[You have activated the Life Simulator.

Simulation starting...]

~~

"Huh?" Alex blinked, noticing the change, but—

"Wha—" He felt a wave of exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

--

"Hmmm..." Alex stood up and looked around.

"Where... the heck... am I now..." His face twisted with annoyance.

End of Chapter.