Olep

Alex thereupon decided to visit Olep's main attractions. He first wanted to see the lake. Fortunately, it was only a short walk north of the river. He crossed the long bridge and and asked some of the locals for directions. The ground was paved and there were many guards and people making their way to the lake so Alex sighed of relief that he probably wouldn't have to face another monster, unbeknownst to him, was that he, would face a different kind of monster today.

He heard some interesting rumours about the lake from the small talk he's done with the locals. Apparently, when Zeus killed his titan and father Cronos and therefore became King of the Gods, Poseidon, his brother, challenged him for the position and moved the waters of this lake and created a huge wave that flattened a peak of the mountain range into the hill that could be seen today. But when Zeus came by, he threw a lightning bolt at the waters and electrocuted Poseidon, consolidating his position as King of the Gods and once again expressing his overwhelming strength. Even now, some of the locals have told him, if you swim in some parts of the lake, you might feel a tingling sensation reminiscent to an electric shock.

'Interesting....I'll be waiting for the day I meet Zeus....I'm supposed to be his grandchild, so I hope I can strike a favourable impression. I don't want to be smitten to death, even if I'm immortal' If Zeus in this world was as strong as the Zeus he's learned about, Alex knew he had to be very careful.

Putting aside his worries, he was observing the pristine lake as he walked and occasionally saw schools of fish and catfish, eels and other freshwater fish he could not name. There were also rather large boats that didn't look like boats made for the turbulent seas but more similar to boats made for a comfortable ride, kind of like an antiquity yachts.

The sight of flocks of birds coming by to rehydrate before flying back in organized formations to God knows where was very peaceful. Alex sat down on a patch of grass by the lake and looked up to the blue and clear sky. Everything felt too real, the blades of grass touching his body, the sensation of the cold breeze running against his face, the vibrant and complex people and the changes he's experienced in his own body. He was now convinced he was in another world.

'Mother....Alexander....I hope they're doing well....Does time pass the same in the other world....In a few days, will I be considered missing and then eventually.....deceased?' Alex didn't want to make his family worry anymore, he's been given the chance to live a better life, although he would have preferred being around his family, he knew he had to be strong and live well. Not just for him, but for them too, perhaps they can feel him through the dimensions.

Now full of determination, Alex stood up and made his way back downtown. On the road, he saw some kind of amphitheater that looked interesting so he's made his way and sat next to some locals to watch the show. It was a bit weird, it didn't look like the comedies and tragedies he's studied about but it was just people screaming at each other in an unintelligible tone.

He turned around to a man that was sitting next to him and asked him "What play is this? Why are they screaming at each other?"

The man turned around and looked at him with ridicule and stated "This is the Ecclesia, where the citizens of Olep discuss matters that will be brought to the consul's attention. How do you not know that? Are you a foreign slave?"

Alex felt a bit embarrassed and stood up but when he was about to leave a man who was previously debating came up to him and screamed "And you, free citizen, what is your opinion on the recent lax immigration policies of the city? Doesn't it dilute the ancient culture of Olep and strain our finances?"

Alex did not understand what the man was saying so he kept silent but it looked like the misunderstood his silence as shyness and grabbed him and took him down where the committee was held while preaching about some values and whatnot of the city. He realized he stepped into something troublesome on accident.

The men and women of the Ecclesia then started speaking on some recent conflict the city had.

"Due to recent war waged between our homeland and the port city of Aklypso, they're now discussing a ceasefire agreement but have you seen those terms!? Aklypso is asking us for two hundred thousand gold Hellenos, the equivalent of 6 months of tax revenue, in upfront payment. That's theft and an invitation to another war!" The woman speaking seemed to be popular in the Ecclesia as everyone agreed with her arguments and shared her fervent patriotic attitude.

They started debating more of an issue, and out of nowhere, Alex felt the urge to step in and stated.

"Why not establish trade networks between the landlocked Olep and Aklypso, which as you said, has access to the sea to not only profit from the streams of valuable resources that go through seaside ports, thus profiting more over long-term than the up-front payment AND improve relations and co-dependency between the two cities, immensely reducing the risk of another conflict in the future?" Immediately, everyone turned around to him and fell in thought after hearing his proposal. In all honestly, Alex found what he said quite fair and was surprised at his eloquence, was this from the (Attunement to diplomacy) bonus he received from the Essence of Hermes.

"That's an excellent idea." The woman from earlier said, everyone nodded. She then looked at him puzzlingly and asked him "Where is your citizenship pin?"

Alex was confused, but on second glance, he noticed everyone was wearing this pin on their clothes that featured the mountains of Olympus, probably a symbol of the city and he, obviously, did not have one because he wasn't a citizen.

The succeeding events were a bit humiliating for Alex, as he was chased out of the Ecclesia...

Anyways, he recovered quite fast(perhaps he developed thick skin) and continued on his mission of exploring Olep.

There was one interesting structure that intrigued Alex. It was a temple situated on the hilly part of the city and seemed to be the acropolis. He decided to visit it as the Athens acropolis was one of his favourite destinations, and although he was never able to go, this would be a good substitute and he could perceive the entire city from up there.

He walked for a while before he found a large staircase leading to the temple, and after the infinity staircase he's went down earlier today to leave Olympus, he would no longer be intimidated by any other staircase and his head hurt just thinking about the hike he'd have to do to go back home.

Alex ascended the stairs and found himself at a plaza surrounding a large greek temple and an elaborate statue of a large and muscular man. The notes underneath the statue that Alex could somehow read indicated that this was an idol of Zeus, as it seemed that Zeus was the patron god of Olep and inside the temple one could find another statue under which people gave offerings and burned incense, making the whole place smell rather sacred. After visiting the temple and the other facilities in the acropolis, it was quite late and the sun was coming down west of Olep on the far reaches of Olympus, casting an orange shadow on the city. He appreciated the scenery for a while then went downstairs back to the city as he felt a bit hungry when a sudden thought hit him.

'I....don't have any money' Alex packed everything but the most important thing, money, he forgot to ask for.....

Because he didn't have any money to eat with, he decided to head to the consul's mansion, hoping they could excuse his carelessness and cook him something.

The mansion wasn't very hard to find, as it was the largest building in the city and it had a distinct style from all of the buildings. The architecture had an arab style, including both angular and round elements, very ornamented and detailed decorations with writing sculpted into the walls that looked more like art than just letters, and the building was also colourful and clean. The architects who built it probably had very good taste, Alex gave them a thumbs-up in his mind.

He stood in front of the gigantic gates that were guarded by strong-looking soldiers. Seeing him pause in his steps, one of the soldiers advanced and asked him "What's the matter, lad, are you lost?"

Although he didn't think of himself as a 'lad', it wasn't really time to argue so he took out the letter given to him by Aphrodite and showed the soldier the seal on it, and the soldier suddenly kowtowed and started apologizing "Please forgive me for my tone earlier, Lord. I should have known better" The soldier kept mumbling to himself. Alex didn't like being called 'Lord' or someone kowtowing to him so he told the soldier to rise and ironically, the soldier immediately rose up. He said to Alex "Please wait here, Lord"

The soldier didn't stop with the honorifics but Alex just shrugged and waited. When the soldier came back, he was accompanied by other soldiers and they were holding a.....palanquin?

"Lord, please get in" The soldiers signaled to the palanquin as they put it down. It was unexpected, he felt a bit weirded out by the thought of riding a palanquin, after all, he wasn't some old emperor who can't walk on his own or some betrothed lady. He refused but the soldiers didn't back down so he eventually had to get in the spacious palanquin as he was stared at by the passing citizens who were curious. As he was led to the inside of the building that was equally as beautiful as the exterior, Alex had to admit that it was quite comfortable.

He was then taken to what seemed to be a guest room and put down, the soldiers tried to help him up but he refused and stood up on his own, which seemed to vex the soldiers, who kowtowed, thinking they had done something wrong. Alex frowned.

In front of him was a table, with an expensive looking tea set and a middle-aged vigorous man was sitting at the table, though he was shaking so much the tea almost spilled, it looked like he just saw Charon, the boatman of the Styx river.

'Suspicious.....Did Aphrodite do something to the humans too?' Alex wondered. He tried to shake the hand of the man, who seemed to be the consul of Olep, but the consul refused to take his hand and instead bowed deeply.