A few days later…
Morning. Not far from the entrance of the Pelion Cave, deep within a lush primeval forest.
Crystal-clear water gurgled through a flowing stream, where two agile wild deer drank happily, basking in the cool spring breeze with a look of pure contentment.
Suddenly, two figures flickered through the distant underbrush.
One of them was none other than the blond-haired, blue-eyed Jason!
The other was an older student of Chiron, a young man who had been studying under him for a few years already—Heracles!
Heracles, the mighty demigod, son of Zeus, King of the Gods. In the future, his name would spread far and wide, even more than Jason's.
He was destined to be one of the greatest heroes of all time!
In the entire Age of Gods, among all the Greek heroes, Heracles would undoubtedly rank in the top three!
At this moment, Heracles' sharp eyes were locked onto the distant deer.
With deliberate slowness, he raised his hunting bow and pulled the string into a full-moon shape—two arrows nocked at once.
Just as the deer finished drinking and turned to leap back into the woods—
Whoosh!
The sharp sound of arrows cutting through the air rang out. Both deer collapsed instantly.
"As expected of you, Senior Heracles!"
Jason stepped out from the shadows, grinning as he looked up at Heracles, who, despite not even being sixteen yet, already stood at an imposing two meters tall.
"Those deer weren't even standing in the same spot, yet you took them both down with one shot… Looks like we'll be eating venison tonight!"
Heracles scratched his head, clearly not used to receiving praise, then replied earnestly, "It's nothing. Besides, if you're willing to learn, I believe you could do the same."
"Even Teacher Chiron says you have great potential. If you put in the effort, you'll become a great hero one day!"
"No thanks, I'm not interested in being a great hero." Jason waved him off, still grinning. "I think things are just fine the way they are… Besides, we already made a deal, right? When you become a great hero in the future, you'll protect me!"
"...Don't worry," Heracles replied seriously, though his expression carried a hint of helplessness. "When I become a hero, I'll protect you."
But deep down, Heracles was already feeling the weight of the task that Teacher Chiron had given him—to guide Jason onto the right path.
After spending a few days together, though, Heracles had come to a realization…
This task was going to be difficult.
After slinging the deer carcasses over Heracles' shoulders, the two began making their way back to the cave.
It took some time, but eventually, they returned to the Pelion Cave.
"Jason, you're back."
A handsome young man approached them with a friendly smile. His name was Meleager, another student of Chiron.
In the future, he would be one of Greece's great heroes—the initiator of the Calydonian Boar Hunt and the very one who, despite opposition, would gift the boar's hide to Atalanta.
After greeting Jason, Meleager hesitated briefly before carefully taking one of the deer from Heracles' shoulders and hoisting it onto his own.
"Thanks," Heracles said.
"It's nothing," Meleager replied with a shake of his head.
Watching the stiff interaction between the two, Jason was about to say something when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure sitting under the shade of a tree, not far away.
His entire body tensed for a moment before he quickly tried to slink away, pretending he hadn't seen anything.
"Jason, come here… I have something to discuss with you."
But Chiron, as if seeing right through him, called out before he could escape.
Jason's face twisted into a bitter smile, but he had no choice but to approach with a cheerful greeting.
"Oh! Teacher Chiron, you're here too? Good morning!"
"Good morning." Chiron smiled at Jason, clearly amused by his little antics but choosing not to call them out.
"I just wanted to confirm—are you certain you only want to study music, poetry, and literature? Just the supporting disciplines?"
"Yes! I hope Teacher will allow it!"
Looking at Jason's serious nod, Chiron sighed inwardly but eventually relented with a nod of his own.
Jason was like an unpolished gem—he only needed a little refining, and he would shine brilliantly. That thought alone had given Chiron immense motivation.
But no matter how much he tried to persuade him, Jason refused to change his mind.
The only small consolation was that, unlike before, when he kept talking about leaving, Jason had suddenly decided to stay.
Even though he still refused to learn combat skills, he was at least willing to study other subjects.
…Wait, when exactly did he change his mind about leaving?
Chiron pondered this as he watched Jason walk away, clearly relieved. His gaze then fell upon Heracles and Meleager.
Then, it clicked.
It was right after Jason met Heracles and the others that he suddenly decided to stay.
That's right.
Initially, Jason had wanted to leave—to get as far away from trouble as possible.
But the moment he realized that Heracles, Meleager, Theseus, Peleus, and so many other future legends were all gathered here, Jason no longer wanted to leave.
Holy crap, these guys are all walking golden opportunities!
Jason had no intention of becoming a hero—no, he would never become a hero.
But he still had to survive in this world.
And in this dangerous age, where gods roamed freely and danger lurked everywhere, survival was no small task.
If he wasn't going to rely on strength, then he'd have to rely on connections!
Right now, all these future great heroes were just a bunch of naive kids, untouched by the realities of the world—easily influenced, easily befriended.
If he built strong bonds with them now, then in the future, whenever trouble came knocking, he could just wave his hand, shout, "Senior! Junior! Help me out!"
And then?
A whole army of legendary heroes would show up to bail him out.
Hell, even some gods might have to think twice before messing with him!
At this thought, Jason felt thrilled.
In short—Jason had decided to become a social butterfly.
He would become the most well-connected person in all of Greece's heroic age!
Chiron, of course, had no idea what Jason was really up to.
After all, Jason was only twelve. No matter how much Chiron thought about it, he could never imagine that the boy had such devious plans in mind.
But when he saw his usually independent students—who rarely interacted—starting to gather around Jason…
When he saw Heracles, who had always been somewhat of an outcast, finally engaging with his peers…
When he saw how the once-quiet Pelion Cave was now filled with lively chatter and laughter…
In the end, Chiron simply chose to let it be.