[New Quest generated!]
A voice suddenly resounded in my mind. It was neither feminine nor masculine, and neither old nor young, but somewhere in the middle of it all.
...What?
I glanced to my right, my eyes wandering over to the smiling Talos who was still busy conversing with the old fruit seller.
"Hey," I nudged him with a hand. "Did you hear that?"
He paused before tilting his head at me. "...Huh? Hear what?"
"The voice just now..." I narrowed my eyes and spoke quietly.
He blinked, appearing utterly confused and unaware of what I was talking about. "What voice?"
Even the old man had started staring at me with a similar look of confusion.
They must have not heard it.
"...Nevermind." I shook my head with a creeping sense of unease, shrugging it away.
It must have been the wind or something.
Yet after a few seconds of silent contemplation, a flash of imaginary light knocked that conclusion completely out of the water.
The voice spoke again, louder and much longer this time.
My eyes widened.
|◇ Losing Sight ◇|
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
Details: Theonidas of Athens has started to suffer from farsightedness, specifically a case of Presbyopia that has deteriorated his ability to read.
As a young inventor, should you not try to make something that can alleviate this old man's troubles?
Objective: With your own efforts, invent something that can allow Theonidas to read again.
Rewards: [Rationalist] Perk, 20 Data Crystals, and the [Sequence 9 Reader] Potion Formula.
[Progress] | [Abandon]
— — —
I blinked at the floating display, almost tripping over my own foot as it suddenly flickered in front of me, causing my mouth to open in shock.
It was translucent enough for me to see through it like glass, yet it was evidently not glass as even the most translucent of glass cast a shadow...
This thing did not.
The background was blue in colour, with the words themselves being a few shades lighter, almost to the point of being white.
Whatever it was followed my gaze as I stared at Talos and the old man. It stayed at the edge of my eyes, yet never vanished from my sight.
Interestingly, the others didn't seem to notice it. They didn't even show the slightest hint of a reaction as I waved it around by moving my eyes left and right...
Which meant that it could either control their minds to some extent, or that it only existed in my mind.
The latter turned out to be true as I tried touching it, only for my hand to pass right through as though it wasn't real.
Creepy...!
What is this!? Am I going mad? Have I already lost it?
Talos stopped as he gazed at my weird actions. "Seriously, what are you doing?"
I paused and stared back with a complicated look.
Crap, he's not going to believe me!
"Ah, nothing... it was just a fly, yeah, I was swatting a fly!" I reasoned, which had luckily convinced him as he narrowed his eyes but didn't bother to comment.
I internally sighed in relief.
It was bad enough that I was seemingly going mad, but it would be worse if that fact became public knowledge.
There was an affliction that sometimes cursed the elderly, allowing them to hear imaginary voices of those that weren't really there, and see things that did not exist.
Could this perhaps be an early sign of that illness?
But I'm not even a grown-up, let alone an elder...
I was 11 for Zeus' sake!
It couldn't be that, right?
An idea quickly made itself known inside my mind, one that brought me back to the present.
Reluctantly, I interrupted Talos' chatter and directly asked another question to the old man.
"Hey, old man. Is your name... Theonidas?" I said as I gazed at him incredulously.
"Oh?" The old man hummed in acknowledgment as he gave a friendly smile.
"Yes, it is."
"...It's rather surprising that you know of me, boy. But you can just call me Theo if you want." The fruit seller said with a soft chuckle.
Luckily, Theo didn't ask how I knew his name, and had probably just chalked it up to me overhearing it from somewhere else. It wasn't that strange, after all.
That's the thing though, I didn't.
Even if this might not have actually been the first time we've met, I've never been the type to care about the names of random geezers I saw on the street, so I shouldn't have known about his.
The keyword being shouldn't.
Yet the bright floating words depicted otherwise.
If they were truly a product of my diseased mind, then that would be impossible.
I also didn't know what 'Presbyopia' was, but judging from how it was phrased...
It was probably what a physician would name after hearing about Theo's vision problems! [1]
Then again, I was neither a physician, nor an old man, so I couldn't exactly confirm that either.
Which left only one possibility...
This wasn't natural at all!
I coughed, trying to hide my nervousness as sweat gathered down my back.
Knowing my luck, this may just be the lingering voice of an evil spirit trying to devour my soul.
But there's also a small chance...
A miniscule, tiny chance of it being something else entirely...
A rational mind would've dismissed it as madness. But something in my chest told me this was different… purposeful. Divine, even?
...Could this voice be from a God?
Or maybe even multiple Gods speaking at once!?
That would explain the contradicting tones and sounds.
It sounded ridiculous even to me, but as the legends often portrayed, the unusual might just be a sign of the Divine.
And they actually gave me a Quest!
A real trial to prove my worth as someone more than just a flimsy mortal boy from across the street.
Why would a monster tell me to help an old and innocent uncle with his vision problems?
No, this really has to be the Voice of the Gods!
It's seriously quite unbelieveable.
Did my Father somehow get cucked by a deity when I was being conceived? Was I actually a Demigod destined for both greatness and tragedy?
...Probably not, but a boy can dream, right?
Just the thought of it sent both a shiver of excitement and a foreboding sense of dread shooting down my back.
The stories of mighty heroes like Cadmus and Bellerophon echoed in the back of my mind.
For the longest time in my life, they were just that, old stories occasionally retold over dinner when one was bored.
But now the possibilities were endless.
I stared at back at the floating display that had showed me the Quest.
The given task wasn't at all what I expected when I thought of a heroic mission, but I suppose the one that must have given this to me was Lady Athena herself or someone of a similiar disposition.
It's actually quite fortunate that this was case. I couldn't imagine myself being able to slay a monster or poison a tyrant, but inventing something to solve an old man's farsightedness was much more feasible given my background.
Still, I didn't really know where to begin...
Well, figuring out the full extent of these displays seemed like a good place to start.
First was the difficulty, which was self-explanatory. The symbols seemed to indicate the precise level of difficulty, how the Gods exactly measured something like that, I wasn't sure.
Two of them were lit, whilst the other three remained dimmed. So does that mean the difficulty was 2/5? Interesting...
If inventing something that can cure farsightedness was considered a 2/5, what in the stars would a 5/5 difficulty Quest be?
Curing death? Becoming a God myself? Mapping the entire world from the highest point in the sky to the lowest point in Tartarus?
Actually, that last one sounded plausible...
The rewards were quite mysterious. I didn't know what Data Crystal were and why would I need 20 of them, but the Perk was obvious enough.
It seemed to be some kind blessing that would make me into more of a 'Rationalist', whatever that meant.
But damn, was it an understatement to say that I was excited.
For any mortal to receive a God's blessing, no matter how insignificant it might actually be, was something to die for!
After all, the highest grace in this world was the recognition of a God.
As for the Potion Formula...
A concoction named the 'Reader' Potion would probably make me smarter in some way, or just make reading easier.
Fitting considering the Quest that preluded it.
I wasn't much of a pharmacist or medical enthusiast for that matter, but knowing some extra stuff about Potions probably wouldn't hurt.
How exactly this knowledge will be rewarded to me was unknown.
Would I suddenly gain expertise just like that? Or would a white dove fly down from the sky and hand me a written recipe?
Whatever it might be, the Gods must have their special ways.
Moving on from the rewards, I focused my sight upon the [Progress] button.
Since touching the display didn't do anything and I didn't want to look weird again, I instead squinted my eyes hard upon the button as another screen flickered into existence.
| • [PROGRESS]
You've made no progress in completing this Quest. Understandable since you've just started, but intolerable in the grand scheme of things.
Pick up the slack and find more motivation.
— — —
Motivation...?
Well, I guess that's a useful feature, it'd be marginally less frustrating for every inventor if they knew that they were actually going the wrong way and not making any progress.
The floating translucent words were still kind of unsettling though, I wasn't sure I would ever get use to them.
...Now what about this [Abandon]?
The screen displaying the current progress quickly flickered out and was replaced by another.
| • [ABANDON]
By abandoning this Quest, you are permanently giving up its fullrewards. However, you will still be compensated depending on how much progress you've made.
Are you sure you want to abandon this Quest?
[YES] / [NO]
— — —
I haven't even done anything yet, abandoning this God-given Quest without at least trying seemed like something only a fool would do...
I licked my lips and mentally muttered 'No' as the choice instantly vanished from view.
Making sure that wasn't a permanent thing, I thought of it again as it manifested before me only to dismiss it once more.
Good, I wasn't locked out of the option if I actually did want to give up.
I wiped the sweat from my eyebrow as I gazed back at Talos. He had finished reciting the letter as he handed it back to Theo with a smile.
"Your daughter really loves you, sir." He said gently.
"Hehe... why of course she does." Theonidas nodded with a satisfied look before addressing us. "Thank you, I will not forget this so as long as my mind still remains."
"Now," He paused. "What would you boys like to buy? You can have any of my fruits with a discount!"
I immediately perked up at that as I had already eyed the dates and raisins long prior the topic of a discount ever came up.
"How much is the discount?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
"About as much as you can get away with." Theo said with a smirk.
Oh...?
"Then what about we buy your entire stock of dates and raisins?" I said with glee as Talos gave me a shocked look.
"Icarus!" Talos admonished. "You're going to spend our entire budget with that! We still have more things to get..."
"So? Its not like its your silver, Talos." I scoffed back with a smirk.
"Yes, but your father will...!" Talos paused as he breathed in. "I'm supposed to look after you."
"You're supposed to protect me from any goons that think it's a good idea to attack the Son of Daedalus." I explained to him clearly with a glare. "Who cares what I spend my silver on—"
The old man flinched.
"...Wait, what?" Theo interrupted my speech as he widened his eyes and gave me an unreadable stare.
Theo's smile faded ever so slightly as he fully realized what I had just revealed.
"You... you are Daedalus' child? That Daedalus, the so-called Genius Inventor Daedalus? That one?"
I blinked, a bit taken aback by his sudden intensity as I glanced over at my cousin then reluctantly back at the old man.
"Uh," I paused. "Yes... I mean, are there even any other Daedalus in this city?"
His gaze darkened. "Then..."
"Does that make you the son of Lady Perdix?" Theonidas asked as he addressed Talos.
My cousin looked stunned as he heard my aunt's name.
"Huh? How do you know my mother?"
That sealed it as the old fruit seller gritted his teeth and gave the meanest frown on a geezer that I have ever seen, outshining even my Father.
"I see," He took a deep breath as the anger silently left his body. "Leave."
I widened my eyes and rebuked. "What!? Why—"
"I SAID LEAVE!" Theonidas shouted with finality as he brought over a broom from behind the counter and swung it around in a threatening manner.
The commotion drew the attention of the nearby men and women, but seeing as Theo was the stallholder and had the right to kick out anyone he pleased, no one interfered.
However, that didn't mean they couldn't gossip as the chatter and speculation filled the surroundings.
I narrowed my eyes.
What's this guy's problem? I'll remember it forever my ass...
Talos placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come on."
"...Let's just go back home." He said in resignation.
I wanted to argue back, but... well, it's not like it would be worth the trouble.
A sigh left my mouth as we vacated the scene, keeping the groceries close to our chest as an awkward silence filled the air.
Once we were out sight from that Gods' forsaken old man, I scoffed at my cousin.
"This is totally your fault."
"How!? You started it, you brat!" Talos shouted with a frown.
"And I would have done it smoothly if you didn't talk back!" I reasoned with a scowl.
"What...? Ah, whatever! Arguing with you is like talking to a bad-natured wall." Talos stated with a sigh. "Let's just not talk about this when we get to your Father."
"Agreed," I nodded to the suggestion.
"Hey, so..."
I quickly changed the subject as I looked back to make sure that no one would be listening.
"What do you think that guy's problem was?" I wondered to my cousin. "He changed his mood so quickly!"
"Yeah, and that's your fault." Talos said before pausing. "Well, actually, I think it might have something to do with our parents. He did only get angry after you mentioned who your Father was."
"Do you think he's someone dear old Father screwed over or something?" I theorized with a hand grasping my chin.
"Beats me," Talos shrugged. "But you know how your Father is, I wouldn't doubt it."
...Right.
"Maybe not, he also looked angry when he found about your mother." I argued back with a slight smirk. "Who knows what past Auntie had before having you, Talos."
That quickly weirded him out as Talos groaned. "Ehh... gross!"
He paused as a thought seemed to have emerged before him.
"Why did you want all those dates and raisins anyway?" Talos asked with a frown. "Don't tell me you were planning to make a stash!"
"It's nothing like that," I shrugged my head as an explanation quickly came to mind. "I was planning on making the surplus food as sacrifices to the Gods, you know, to appease them and all."
Talos blinked.
"...With dates and raisins?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, what's the issue with that?" I said with a shrug. "Gods don't need to eat, Talos. The food we sacrifice is clearly given for their sentimentality rather than actual nourishment."
"Huh," Talos seemed actually stupified. "I never really thought about that."
"Since dates are my favourite food, and raisins are their cousins, I'm sure it would make for good prayer offerings." I explained with a smile as we walked.
"Wow, I never took you for the devout type." Talos seemed to view me in much of a different light after that as he commented.
"What can I say...?" I smiled shamelessly as I saw the imaginary display at the edge of my sight. "I've been more motivated to pray lately."
That was the truth, really it was.
With the things that have been revealed to me, I would be a great idiot if I didn't pray more.
In reality however, my original intentions were to indeed to make a secret stash of snacks. But it wasn't like that was a conflict of interest to what I was saying, I didn't have to sacrifice them all, right?
How unfortunate it was that we got kicked out and banned.
I didn't know what had set him off, but one thing was clear. Being the son of the most famoust inventor in all of Athens might be more dangerous than I thought. Still...
What should I do with this Quest now since the recipient apparently hates my guts?
I could just throw it away and forgot about this whole ordeal, but the Gods must have chosen me for a reason...
Surely, they had already predicted this line of events, right?
The actions I choose to take after this will probably be judged, and if they no longer deem me worthy?
Well, I wouldn't even be able to kiss the dream of becoming a Hero goodbye.
Damn it! Why must this be so confusing!?
I sighed.
Well, it's not like Theonidas is the only old man with farsightedness in this city.
I'm sure I can find another one if I really tried, but would that really fulfill the Quest parameters?
It was to specifically solve his problems, after all.
Yet even if I did manage to make something that could somehow restore his eyesight, how would I approach him with it?
Whatever it was the future had in store for me, I had to plan, and I has to do it quick. There was no time to waste, not for a Hero in the making.
.
.
.
(A/N)
That's the second chapter over with! Any thoughts?
If you like my work, please comment, review, and vote with your almighty Power Stones! I remember every contribution.
See you tomorrow.
*[1] Presbyopia is the condition where one loses the ability to focus on nearby objects but retains it for distant ones. This is different from Hyperopia as Presbyopia is caused by old age.