Julius v.2.0

"My Lord, I wish to return to the time and place from whence I came."

The three divine beings inside the throne room found his request odd and they look visibly confused on what he meant by saying that. Their faces revealed not an ounce of understanding. So Julius decided to rephrase the cool thing he just said.

"I – I mean, I just got here in this place. And I'm not actually from this –"

"Do you know the place he speaks of, Apollo?" Zeus turned to his son who was still in the side.

"No, I do not." Apollo answered with a puzzled expression.

"I'm not actually from this –" Julius tried again.

"What do you mean by 'time and place from whence you came'?" This time, it was Hera who interrupted.

Two pairs of electric blue eyes and a pair of golden orbs looked at him closely, eagerly awaiting for his answer. That's when Julius understood that he was once again so reckless to say something so critical to these gods.

'Can I risk telling them that I'm from the far, far, future? What if they pester me with questions about what will happen to them in the next eras after this? Heck, what if they make me like a prophet or something?! If I tell them that, I can never return! They'll trap me here! Stupid, Julius!' He again cursed to himself.

"Can I – modify my request instead, my Lord?" He prayed that the God will allow him this favour.

Zeus stared at him for a few more moments before he just huffed and said, "Very well, then, what is it?"

Of course he can't just wish to go back without doing anything significant! What if he was sent here for a purpose? He's an isekai-in-disguise protagonist, after all, right? He also had this nagging feeling that he has to keep his identity here a secret and find answers on his own. And to do that…..'I gotta get stronger.'

Julius coughed lightly and said, "Can I ask you to make me a stronger and powerful mortal?" There, wew.

Zeus thought about it, and then, "Stronger yes, but powerful.… I'm afraid I cannot do that. You have to have the innate talent and capacity to hold such power. And that usually comes from your lineage. I can tell that you're no ordinary mortal, but alas, I cannot know whether you have the capacity to hold power or not. That will all depend on you. I can't grant you powers, I can only make you stronger by enhancing you physically. You will have to do the rest through a series of trials. That is also a feat in and of itself."

"Make me stronger, then. That would be enough."

The God's lips straightened in a tight line. "As you wish."

Suddenly, mist or rather….clouds gathered around the throne room, enveloping everyone present and Julius felt electricity surge through his body. Without warning, he felt hundreds of volts of static in every fiber of his being.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH" Zeus was electrocuting him! This is godly betrayal straight from Olympus!

The torture continued until Julius can't take any more of the charge and he fell face down onto the pavement, steam coming out from his body.

'Am I dead?' After a few moments of hesitation of his survival from that attack, Julius concluded that he's alive. 'But I'm already as good as dead.'

"Stand up, Julius of Boboston." Zeus commanded from his seat.

When the pain began to dissipate, a new kind of energy surged through his body. He was slowly regaining his strength, and several seconds later, his body felt like its full of energy after eating a full course meal.

Julius was able to pull himself up and meet the piercing gaze of Zeus. He realized that the god didn't try to kill him. 'But that method is still nasty.'

"How was the procedure?" The God slightly smirked as he asked that question like a doctor who performed surgery without anaesthesia to a poor patient.

'Like $h!+' He wanted to say, but he put on a brave face and tried to hide his sarcasm, which he failed to do so. "Now that's what you call fast-charging! I feel sooooo energized, woah!"

A fine line appeared in Zeus' forehead after Julius' sarcastic remark. 'Doesn't he know that I can fry him easily right this very instant?'

But he exercised prudence and made a calm comeback. "The charge I sent you enhanced the overall strength of your body. It makes your battle reflexes better and you now have thrice the amount of power than what you used to have. It's up to you to train that body and improve it some more. The rest is up to you."

Julius understood it in RPG language. So basically, the charge sent by Zeus throughout his body triggered the development of his cells and enhanced his overall strength. Like all his stats have dramatically increased in points and he can level up the more he trains and accomplishes missions. He also got an upgrade on his reflexes, and all of his senses have heightened. He even felt like his muscles are more powerful now. And that is sooo cool.

"I am indebted to you, my Lord." The coolness of everything that happened got inside Julius head and it even affected his way of speaking, or so he thought.

"Now, go forth, and inform the rest of mankind, that I allow these games to happen every Olympiad."

"As you wish, my Lord." He bowed and waited for Zeus to send him back to the city-state proper like how he sent back Epimetheus.

"Bego-"

"Ah, wait a second, father." Apollo suddenly interjected.

Julius was baffled by the god of archery's interruption. Then, the same god continued:

"Let me be the one to bring him to the surface below. I have something to attend to along the way."

Zeus eyes' squinted at his son's unexpected behaviour and wondered why Apollo got an interest in the strange young man bowing before him. Finding no fault, he just allowed it. "Fine, go."

Apollo and Julius left the throne room and when they reached the peak of the mountain once again, away from all the thick mist, Apollo's playful tone from earlier shifted into a more serious one.

"Allow me to divine your destiny, Julius of Boboston."

Julius understood, but only barely. This god – he can divine prophecies through his Oracle. He's the famous Apollo who was always a hot topic for Greek mythology enthusiasts, like his father. Julius knew a number of Oracles that are attributed to Apollo, but in this early Silver Age of Mankind, the Oracle could only be…..

'Delphi.' It hit him like a wrecking ball.

After hearing no reply from him, the god continued, "Ah, I don't know what your future holds. Yet I know, my Pythia can give you a good glimpse of what lies ahead of you. You're not a god, but not an ordinary mortal either. So how about it, want to pay my temple a visit?"

This is definitely to his advantage. A visit to Delphi might help him figure out the reason why he is sent to this time. It will set up a quest for him, and when he becomes successful in that quest…..back to Boston, baby.

"Please, Lord Apollo, take me to with you to your temple." He said it with resolve.

"Ah, that's nice. I'll get us our ride." A lyre appeared near Apollo's side and the god played a soft melody from it. After a few seconds, Julius can hear a flapping of huge wings. He turned around and clicked his tongue.

'Deym....whatta ride' He whistled a tune as he can't wait to hop on it, wew.