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Chapter Title: Tier 4 Spell

"Khonshu?"

Forseti knew nothing about the name and decided to leave it behind after a moment's thought.

Turning around, he departed from Akademi Academy, bidding farewell to the city of Athens, and embarked on the journey towards Sparta.

Sparta was situated southwest of Athens on the Peloponnese peninsula, approximately 200 kilometers away.

Forseti intended to ride a horse, which would naturally be faster. Unfortunately, Earth's horses could barely bear his and Shilut's weight together, totaling nearly half a ton.

Carriages were an option, but after the Peloponnesian War, relations between Athens and Sparta had soured, and no coachman was willing to transport him.

Thus, Forseti had to trot all the way and managed to cover about half the distance in a single day.

Traveling alone in the wild during this era was undeniably risky.

Approaching nightfall in the wilderness, Forseti planned to find a nearby village to settle in, but a dozen armed individuals approached from ahead, looking fierce and menacing.

"Hand over all the money you carry, or you won't leave here alive!" The leader, a one-eyed man wielding a machete, pointed menacingly at Forseti.

Robbers.

Forseti paused for a moment, then glanced downwards.

Sure enough, the Holy Light Pointer emerged from his sacred scroll at his waist and swayed among the robbers, which brought a smile to his face.

Earth was indeed interesting!

Forseti retrieved several large pieces of gold from his Sacred Space. These were gold bars he had smelted from Asgardian coins, yet to be divided.

Several bystanders were stunned by the sight of so much gold, their eyes fixed on the treasure.

"Help yourselves." Forseti smiled faintly, tossing the gold casually not far from him.

The robbers lost their composure instantly, swarming forward and arguing violently.

"This is mine!"

"No, it's mine, my gold!"

The group of robbers crowded together, reaching for the gold.

Forseti raised his hands, and in the dead of night, flames suddenly burst forth, spreading like a sea of fire that engulfed the robbers in an instant.

The intense heat of the divine fire left them no chance to even scream, collapsing to the ground and charred beyond recognition.

More than a dozen robbers were wiped out in one swift move.

With the sinners dispatched, the Holy Light Pointer dissipated, and Forseti realized he couldn't wait any longer to open his Sacred Scroll.

With the death of these robbers, he finally fulfilled his mission of a hundred retributions.

Thus, the conditions for unlocking the fourth-tier spell fragments were complete, and Forseti could finally exchange them for the fourth-tier spell books in his Sacred Scroll.

Naturally, the Sacred Scroll continued to revere gold, holding eight spells on the third tier. Despite having accumulated numerous fragments earlier, Forseti exhausted almost all his hundreds of thousands of piety points to acquire all eight spell books.

Eight spell books would suffice for some time.

Next, he inspected the spells on the fourth tier.

The fourth tier comprised seven spells: Holy Light Infusion, Holy Light Consecration, Holy Light Beacon, Holy Shock, Love Aura, Light of Dawn, and Rage of Vengeance.

Their names thrilled Forseti momentarily, but upon closer examination of the acquisition requirements, he couldn't help but furrow his brow.

Obtaining spells from the fourth tier differed significantly from the previous tiers.

Firstly, the fourth-tier spells lacked fragments.

This troubled Forseti somewhat. Despite their costly nature, spell fragments offered a significant advantage: the ability to prematurely use spells by consuming fragments.

Moreover, the conditions for learning fourth-tier spells diverged markedly. The first tier was acquired unconditionally, the second required ten acts of retribution, and the third demanded a hundred retributions, along with offerings and experience.

Forseti had presumed acquiring fourth-tier spells would necessitate perhaps a thousand retributions or more. Unexpectedly, there was no mention of retribution at all; instead, two new concepts were introduced.

Firstly, Salvation allowed spell acquisition upon fulfilling a Salvation, defined simply as slaying a villain—someone capable of world subversion or already guilty of it.

Secondly, Dedication permitted spell acquisition upon fulfilling a Dedication, essentially involving the donation of high-value items.

Additionally, fourth-tier spells could also be acquired by defeating bosses within the experiential realm, provided they were at least level five.

Forseti pondered the instructions on his Sacred Scroll, delving deep into thought.

After a while, he shook his head, deciding to set aside these musings for now.

First, he would learn the spells of the third tier.

Stowing away his Sacred Scroll, Forseti felt elated. On a whim, he chose not to reclaim the few gold pieces on the ground, leaving them for whoever might chance upon them—a gesture of grandeur.

While inconsequential to him, those few pieces of gold constituted a fortune to most of Earth's inhabitants.

He wondered who might pick them up—could it alter the course of history?

After another day's journey, Forseti reached Sparta by nightfall.

Sparta surpassed Athens in grandeur and stature, yet bore an unmistakable ruggedness and martial significance.

Unlike the peace and liberty of Athens, Sparta exuded solemnity and hostility. Its city gates were heavily guarded, subjecting all entrants to rigorous scrutiny.

"Remove your trousers!" A Spartan guard barked at a passing pedestrian.

The pedestrian appeared apprehensive.

Without further ado, the Spartan guards approached and demanded the pedestrian strip. Moments later, a dark shadow fell from between the pedestrian's legs, indiscernible in the night.

"Take it away!" The guard dragged the pedestrian off.

Observing this stringent interrogation, Forseti frowned, opting against entering through the main gate.

Instead, he waited outside the city until nightfall, when silence descended. Seizing the opportunity, Forseti guided Shilut to a secluded, unoccupied section of the city wall.

Hoisting Shilut onto his back, he leaped several meters into the air before embedding his hands into the wall with a resounding crack.

In moments, he secured footholds and vaulted over the city wall.

Standing atop the wall, Forseti surveyed his surroundings before descending, successfully entering Sparta.

With the night still and deserted, he sought out a concealed corner to rest until daybreak, when pedestrians began to mill about.

Forseti wandered the city streets and eventually discovered a bustling tavern.

"Let's eat." He tossed a silver coin haphazardly; having exchanged numerous silver coins at Akademi College, where culture and the Brotherhood of Aegis flourished, money was essential.

"Please, have a seat." The tavern keeper greeted him politely upon noting the silver coin.

Forseti selected a table already occupied and settled in.

"An outsider?" Opposite him sat a middle-aged man with a somewhat stout build, curious about Forseti.

"I hail from the Far East and have long yearned to visit Sparta," Forseti replied.

"The Far East? Persia, perhaps?"

"Heh, close enough." Forseti kept his response ambiguous, steering the conversation. "Could you enlighten me about Sparta?"

The middle-aged man, apparently quite talkative, engaged Forseti in lively discussion, covering various topics.

"Have you heard of 'Zhou'?" the man suddenly asked.

"What's that?"

"The Zhou Kingdom, a distant land farther east than Persia."

Forseti found this revelation astonishing; in an era where information was restricted, Greeks knowledgeable about China—especially the Zhou Dynasty—were exceptionally rare.

Pretending ignorance, Forseti inquired, "No, I haven't."

The man became more animated, condescendingly imparting knowledge as though he had visited China himself.

"...The Zhou Kingdom is deeply divided, its rulers mere figureheads. Beneath them, lords vie for supremacy, warring amongst themselves. Qin stands foremost among them, led by a man named Shang Yang..."

Forseti listened intently, engaging the man in conversation for some time before asking, "How do you know all this?"

"A traveler I met years ago claimed to hail from Zhou." The man explained.

Later, the man added, "Honestly, with your build, you should consider the arena. Apart from the arena, I've seldom seen anyone as formidable as you."

"The arena?"

"The Spartan arena. Surprised you've never heard of it," the man chuckled. "It's home to many who fight like beasts, some even possessing supernatural abilities."

"They compete for honor, prizes, and the few who win repeatedly earn an audience with both kings—or even a god."

Sparta operated under a dual kingship; during war, one king led while the other remained behind.

"How often do people, uh... see a god?" Forseti nearly used the term 'deity,' recalling he was no longer at Akademi Academy where people respectfully referred to them as gods.