Looking over her options, Shiro couldn’t help but glance at Nike and wonder if that goddess was the proper choice.
After all, she represented speed, strength and victory. With her identity known as the Winged Goddess, there was the possibility of her receiving flight as well which was very helpful.
Thinking back to a certain sports brand back on Earth, Shiro couldn’t help but wonder if she would receive the divinity called Just do it.
“Can you tell me more about Nike’s Divinity?” Shiro asked as she was probably one of her best choices.
After all, the fact that she’ll gain access to flight will make things along easier.
“Well her Divinity is similar to that of Athena’s. You get more of her power the more trials you complete in her tower. I completed the trial of wisdom but nothing else for Athena so I was only granted the Divinity of Wisdom. If one completes more of her trials, they will receive the Divinity of Athena instead of just a branch. It’s similar with Nike. You’ll need to complete the trials of Speed, Strength, Battle and Flight.”
Hearing this, Shiro found herself more and more interested with Goddess Nike’s Divinity as the amount of utility that it provides is more impressive than the other Divinities. Perseus granted her an armour and increased strength but the armour had to be replenished by her manually. While Theseus and Kratos only granted her physical strength.
“What about Hermes’ Divinity?” Shiro asked as Hermes could also fly but he was faster than any other god/goddess.
“For Hermes, I’m thinking that you can only complete a portion of his trials without divinity since the strain of his agility far exceeds what a mortal body can handle. For Hermes, most would choose him as their second divinity after their body has been upgraded by the first. If you were to choose him as your first divinity, you would probably only get some improvements to your body, some increased reflexes and better vitality.” The teacher replied with a shake of his head.
“In terms of difficulty, Hermes and Kratos’ trials are harder than Nike’s while Nike’s trials are harder than Perseus and Theseus. Out of these five, you should probably choose Nike if you’re confident. Her Divinity is better than what people normally choose for their first while worse than what people choose for their second.”
“So it’s an exceptional first Divinity but less a than average second Divinity?” Shiro raised her eyebrows.
“Exactly.”
“Hm.. where is it located?” Shiro asked.
“It’s located in the Section of Sky, towards the north. You can find where the trial is as there are maps around each city but the problem for you is getting there. If you want to walk there, I’m afraid it may take three months or more without taking into consideration the dangers you may face while getting there. And that’s considering if you take a straight path. The main difficulty for you is getting to the trial along with whether or not you have the strength to actually attempt it. After all, Nike’s trial does put a burden on your body. Looking at your current state, the chances are not high.” He shook his head after seeing how malnourished Shiro was.
“More than three months huh?” Shiro muttered.
Since she had a year to complete the first trial, it was ok if it took three months. The problem was the dangers she’d face during this time. It’ll take around three months for her current wounds to heal at an average pace and that’s considering if she doesn’t do anything too drastic. If she had to fight, it’ll take longer than three months. Hell, she might even get more injuries on the way there.
Seeing Shiro frown, the teacher shook his head.
“The most I can do for you is give you a map towards the trial of Nike. Though if you spend some time to do some work, you can probably pay for a few carriage rides from city to city. That’ll take you to the Tower twice as fast but it costs quite a bit of money.”
“Will you be going to the Section of Sky this year?” Shiro asked as she had an idea.
“Yes I am. I travel across the world every year so that I can spread the knowledge. However, I had already visited the Section of Sky a few months ago so it’ll take at least 9 months before I visit there again.”
‘Hmm… 9 months… that’s around 274 days in this place and around 11 days or so outside.’
“Can I work as your assistant and join you on your journey? It’ll be easier than going to the Section of Sky alone since who knows what kind of danger I may run into.” Shiro suggested as this was probably one of the safer options. The only downside to this was time but thanks to the time dilation in this place, she was fine with it.
“You? Work as my assistant?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, I can show you my capabilities. Tell me everything you want to teach in tomorrow’s lesson and I can deliver that lesson for you. You can watch by the side to make sure that everything is correct if you don’t believe me.”
Looking at the dedication in her eyes, the man was rather surprised however, he still shook his head.
“Just reciting the information isn’t enough. If you really want to be my assistant, you’ll need to memorise everything and thoroughly understand the contents.”
“I am confident with my memory and knowledge can be gained over time.”
“. . .” Staying silent, the teacher sighed.
“I’ll be staying in this town for a while anyways so I’ll give you a chance. In this time, you will act as my assistant. You will get no pay, you will get no help from me. If you are able to overcome all of it and still want to be my assistant by the end of my time in this town then I shall take you along with me. I will promise to the gods that I will take you to the Section of Sky should you pass.” He offered as Shiro nodded her head.
“May I know your name? My name is Dimos but you will address me as Sir if you are to be my assistant.” Dimos asked.
“Shiro is my name.” Shiro replied.
“In that case, arrive here early in the morning and prepare for lessons. I’ll allocate more tasks to you over the course of this time such as preparing the charcoal and cleaning the slab so that you may show me your reliability.” Dimos smiled.
Nodding her head, Shiro left the building. With her current state, having a guarantor like Dimos was helpful and travelling with him will allow her to learn more about this world. During this, she may find a trial that was more suitable for her other than Nike.
So long as he doesn’t make her do outrageous things as an assistant, she will help him until they reach the Section of Sky. If he does, well… let’s just say that he’s not going to be waking up the next morning.
Making her way to the forest, she figured that she should probably go hunt something for dinner. She had already troubled Nam and Ras for a night of shelter and food so she’ll need to procure her own tonight.
Looking down at her wounded thigh, she figured that sneak attacks and small movements were her best bet right now if she didn’t want to make her wounds worse.
‘So annoying. I’m used to my monstrous regeneration and I forgot how annoying it was to plan for a fight while still being wounded.’ Shiro thought with a sigh and walked into the forest.
Pressing her fingers against her throat, she did a few tests to make sure the tone of her voice was correct.
“Ah~ ah~ ah~” Once she got the tone and pitch that she wanted, she narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. Copying a roar of the Terca, she waited a few moments for any replies and sure enough, she heard a few deep in the forests, giving her a general idea on where they were. Since it was not a good choice to fight the older ones, she picked out on one that sounded relatively young and had a higher pitch.
Pulling out her bone dagger and bone short sword, Shiro smiled at the thought of dinner.
