Chapter 149. Blessing (1)
The Temple of Delphi was considered one of the most special temples in Hellas.
That was true not only because it governed blessings, but also because it was said to foresee the future.
Not only practitioners, but even the many powerful figures appointed by the gods would visit the Temple of Delphi to seek advice whenever they were tormented by anxiety about the future.
And there were a few characteristics of the Temple of Delphi that they all spoke of in common.
One was that it would call out to match the nature of the questioner.
Another was that there was no blockage in the exchange of questions and answers.
As if it were a single melody, the conversation with the Oracle would continue smoothly without interruption.
Occasionally, the questioner would falter and break the flow, but the Oracle never did. At least, not as far as was known.
Because of these peculiar traits, those who came to the Temple of Delphi developed an inexplicable faith in the Oracle’s prophecy.
Mystery had a way of inspiring belief.
However.
Now.
For the first time, the Oracle had broken that melody.
“.......”
The Oracle fell silent, her expression slightly stiff as if caught off guard.
Well, it was understandable. She had probably never heard a question of this kind.
To ask whether she was doing this job because she wanted to.
Anagin had hesitated over whether to ask in the first place precisely because he had anticipated something like this.
But still, she had said questions were allowed, hadn’t she?
Though no answer came, Anagin’s curiosity was resolved regardless.
‘...Guess she’s not doing it because she likes it.’
Sometimes, silence gives more answers than any words.
And this was one of those times.
Anagin told the Oracle, who was staring at him stiffly, that she didn’t have to answer.
“Ah, it’s fine. I suddenly don’t feel curious anymore.”
It wasn’t a lie.
He already had his answer, so his curiosity had disappeared.
He had said it with consideration in his own way, but even so, the old priest tried to flare up in anger.
“What kind of—”
“—It is not easy. The work of an Oracle.”
“Oracle?!”
After a silence that was both short and long, the Oracle of the Temple of Delphi finally spoke.
Even though Anagin had declined.
Still, since she had started speaking anyway, Anagin decided to quietly listen.
“However, there is fulfillment within hardship. I am satisfied with this work.”
Compared to before, it was clearly a shorter and more straightforward answer.
Yet Anagin showed a somewhat surprised expression, in a good way.
How should he put it? It exceeded his expectations a little. As expected, an Oracle was still an Oracle.
Anyway, it was quite an impressive answer.
Anagin expressed his thanks with far more sincerity than before.
“Thank you for the answer.”
After finishing his greeting, Anagin stepped back and naturally looked at Sphinx.
As if saying it was now her turn.
With no one left to push it onto, she had to ask a question now, whether she liked it or not.
To be honest, Anagin found this even more interesting.
After all, he was curious about what kind of question Sphinx would ask.
As he had said before. Would she ask why monsters and humans continued to fight? Or would she ask since when monsters began eating humans, and humans began hunting monsters to offer them to the gods?
But then, what was this?
What came out of Sphinx’s mouth was something unexpected, even by Anagin’s standards.
“...Is it alright if I do not ask a question?”
The others seemed to feel the same as Anagin, raising an eyebrow slightly in puzzlement.
It was like letting go of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“...It is possible.”
The Oracle did not elaborate and only confirmed whether it was allowed.
Whether it was consideration for not asking unnecessary questions, or because it seemed Sphinx had none to ask, Sphinx calmly accepted the favor and stepped back.
‘So, can we go back now? It’s not like we gained much for the time we waited, but still, it was interest— ’
“— Now, I shall formally grant you your reward.”
Reward.
At that word, Anagin looked back at the Oracle.
When it came to a reward from the Temple of Delphi, there was only one thing that came to mind.
“The Great Twelve Gods shall bestow their blessing upon you.”
* * *
Blessing.
A special power bestowed upon practitioners chosen by the gods.
Its types varied greatly, and although there were differences in degree, most of them were powerful and useful.
If that weren’t the case, there would be no reason for practitioners to strive so desperately to catch the gods’ attention.
Anagin, too, came to learn this after becoming a practitioner.
Having seen blessings several times and experienced them firsthand a few times, it was hard to deny their usefulness.
However, there was one question.
Just what kind of process one had to go through to obtain a blessing.
In other words, did a bolt of lightning suddenly fall from the sky to implant a blessing, or did one drink some kind of potion? That process was what puzzled him.
He had neither seen nor heard anything about it.
"But to think it's obtained through conversation."
Anagin muttered while sitting in the waiting room inside the Temple of Delphi.
Around him were Sphinx, Thyreos, Lynceus, and Orpheus.
Only Tramachus was absent, as he had gone ahead to receive his blessing, meeting the Oracle alone.
Before receiving the blessing from the Oracle for bringing the Coins of Greed, he had been told to honestly speak about his journey so far, as well as the emotions and thoughts he had felt along the way.
‘It’s a bit unusual, but in a way, it makes sense.’
A blessing was not simply something granted; it was said to be determined based on the practitioner’s individuality, journey, and needs, so it was quite a plausible method.
To some extent, it made sense.
It was then.
“The Temple of Delphi is unique.”
As Anagin sat with his eyes closed in the chair, Orpheus spoke to him.
He didn't seem bored; rather, it looked like he had some business to discuss.
Although he didn't know what it was, Anagin played along for now.
“Is that so?”
“It is. Wouldn’t it be terribly inefficient to come all the way to the Temple of Delphi every time one obtains a blessing?”
It was such a valid point that Anagin nodded.
Moreover, he had heard that while the Temple of Delphi was almost essential for obtaining one’s first blessing, after that, blessings could be obtained at other temples as well.
At the temple of the god who had chosen you.
"Usually, a rite is performed. One confesses their achievements as a practitioner while offering votive offerings to the god at an altar through a priest or an Oracle".
Anagin recalled Bender, the first practitioner he had met, the owner of a caravan.
Come to think of it, that bastard had said he would cut off Anagin’s head and offer it to Hermes.
“Ah.”
He roughly understood the method.
Through the altar, one speaks of their accomplishments and offers the spoils obtained in the process, appealing for a blessing to be granted.
If deemed sufficient, one receives a blessing; if not, it accumulates.
“So the Delphi method of speaking to the Oracle is quite unique?”
“And special as well.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s only a rumor, but they say the blessings granted at the Temple of Delphi are far stronger than those received at other temples.”
Oh… that was quite interesting.
So blessings granted at the Temple of Delphi were more special.
It was understandable to some degree. The Temple of Delphi played a major role when it came to blessings.
However, whether that had much to do with Anagin was another matter.
Because…
“So, what I’m getting at is.”
“Now we’re getting to the point?”
“Are you truly not planning to receive a blessing?”
Despite Anagin’s sarcasm, Orpheus continued speaking firmly.
At a glance, Orpheus might seem good-natured for continuing despite the sarcasm, and Anagin might seem like the rude one—but in truth, that wasn’t the case.
At least this time, Anagin thought Orpheus was the one being insufferable.
After all, he had already made it clear that he had no intention of receiving a blessing.
Yet he asked the same question again after hearing the answer.
Whatever the reason, it was bothersome and showed a lack of respect.
Anagin looked at Orpheus without hiding his irritation, as if asking what his real intention was.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m only saying this because it’s truly a waste.”
“A waste of what?”
“You.”
Anagin thought it was nonsense, but he continued the conversation anyway. He was curious about the basis of that nonsense.
Orpheus began to explain.
“Even without receiving a blessing, you are at least a 7-star practitioner, Anagin. If you were to receive one, you could raise your rank much more easily.”
“I’m not interested in that.”
“To achieve a final goal, one must set intermediate goals. It’s like preparing the ground before building a house, laying the foundation, and then raising the pillars.”
“Is that from your own experience?”
Orpheus nodded.
Perhaps because of that, it sounded somewhat convincing.
One could not suddenly achieve the grand goal of becoming a god.
Naturally, intermediate steps were necessary. In fact, more people followed that path.
Whether it was completing tasks given by the gods, or raising numerous heroes and accumulating achievements that encompassed them all.
From a common-sense perspective, this was the more certain method.
However, Anagin was far from ordinary—and it wasn’t simply that he wanted to become a god.
Because of that, he couldn’t agree with Orpheus.
If he merely wanted to become a god, there would be no need to go through all this hardship.
“We share the same thoughts as Lord Orpheus.”
At that moment, Thyreos suddenly cut in.
The same guy who had been avoiding eye contact after deceiving Anagin earlier.
Then Lynceus joined in.
“It’s rare to receive a blessing immediately upon arriving at the Temple of Delphi. That means you’ll receive a particularly special blessing.”
“.......”
Anagin glared at the two in silence.
Perhaps recalling how they had tricked him, they showed awkward expressions. Even so, they didn’t back down.
“Haah…”
Anagin let out a short sigh.
If he were being honest, he wanted to beat them up, but strictly speaking, it was also his own fault for being fooled like an idiot, so it wasn’t quite right to take it out on them.
Kneeling before the Oracle was something he could have found out with just a little research.
He had relied on them a bit too much, like a fool.
‘We’ve been together for a while. I’ve gotten too lax.’
Anagin was a man who knew how to admit when he was wrong.
Taking his own fault into account, he decided not to press the matter any further. He also needed to hear about the process of receiving a blessing.
“Sorry, but I’m not interested.”
Anagin once again made it clear that he had no interest in either blessings or the gods’ selection.
To be honest, he did have some interest in the power itself, but not enough to beg the gods for it.
One had to clearly distinguish between goals and means.
If there were a way to obtain a blessing without begging a god, he might be tempted, but he had no intention of doing it this way.
‘Coins of Greed are out of the question… isn’t there some other way to obtain a blessing? A method that isn’t unpleasant, and doesn’t involve begging.’
While Anagin was lost in such thoughts about blessings, Thyreos, unable to understand at all, asked why he refused.
It didn’t seem like he had any ulterior motive—he genuinely couldn’t understand. As if looking at a stubborn fool deliberately choosing a difficult path.
“The reason I refuse… before I answer that, let’s clarify one thing. Orpheus, why do you seek a blessing?”
To avoid repeating the same conversation twice, Anagin proceeded step by step.
And at the same time, he resolved his own curiosity.
“To become a god.”
“Right. You said that was your goal. Then, if you receive blessings, do you become a god? For certain?”
That was his first question.
The answer came more easily than expected.
“You do.”
“Oh, really?”
Caught off guard, Anagin asked again.
“I confirmed it with the Oracle before I became a practitioner. If one reaches 12-star as a practitioner, through twelve blessings, one gains complete divinity and becomes a god.”
“Oh, really?”
Anagin repeated himself again.
To think he would learn about the 12-star like this.
“By common standards, 9-star is the limit a practitioner can reach. But beyond that, if one surpasses the human domain, one can become a god. Of course, one must accumulate merit beyond that as well.”
“10-star, 11-star, 12-star?”
Orpheus nodded.
This wasn’t something to just brush off.
Though their approaches differed, Orpheus, like Anagin, was also a practitioner aiming to become a god.
“Of course, it isn’t easy. Even I have stagnated at eight stars. However, I have heard something.”
“What is it?”
“From 10-star onward, one moves away from being human and draws closer to becoming a god, and it is said one must discard, one by one, the human qualities that make up one’s inner self.”
“Not really my taste.”
It sounded noble—having to discard something to reach one’s goal—but it didn’t suit Anagin, who was greedy.
He wanted to become a god while keeping everything he held.
As expected, the path of Tacheon did not fundamentally suit him.
“It is not an easy path… but it is the most certain one.”
After answering sincerely, Orpheus looked at Anagin intently.
As if saying it was now his turn to answer.
If one had any conscience, it would feel like Anagin should give a proper answer—but unfortunately, Anagin didn’t have much of that.
Still, since it wasn’t particularly a secret, he explained.
"That thing called a blessing... who gives it?"
Such a basic question.
The obvious answer came back.
“The gods bestow it.”
“Bestow… huh.”
Anagin rolled that word over in his mind.
It seemed like nothing special, but it was important. At least to him.
To “bestow” usually meant granting something from above to below.
“That doesn’t change, right? Even if you reach 9-star, 10-star, 11-star, and 12-star—the gods are still the ones who grant the blessings?”
“Naturally.”
“That’s why I said I won’t receive a blessing.”
“...I would like you to be more specific.”
“Even if I become a god that way, I’d still end up beneath the existing gods, wouldn’t I?”
That was correct.
The chief gods of Hellas were the Great Twelve Gods, but there were also many lesser gods.
Gods who ruled over rivers, or merfolk who managed the seas in place of their father.
They were worshipped in small communities, but could not compare to the Twelve.
And that was also why Anagin had no interest in Tacheon.
“I’m not aiming to become a god so I can stand under someone. If anything, I’m aiming for the opposite.”