Antares looked around and saw where he would stay. He was going to stay here with his mother, as Thetis had requested it, and Antares had not opposed. After they both settled their belongings, Antares told Thetis that he would take a walk. As he wandered, he heard the sound of a fight and headed in that direction.
He saw a cat-woman beating up a man while a huge muscular man was silently watching nearby.
Atalanta knocked Jason to the ground and began kicking him: "Die, die, die, you filthy bastard!"
Antares was horrified by this scene and, without anyone noticing, stopped Atalanta's leg.
With a serious expression, Antares said, "Are you trying to kill the man?"
Atalanta, looking angry, replied, "None of your business, bastard!"
Hercules was watching carefully, and without speaking, Antares grabbed Atalanta by her tail and, with all his strength, hurled her into the tree. She crashed into five or six trees before finally stopping.
Antares put his hand over his mouth: "Oops, that might have been a bit too hard."
But what Antares didn't expect was that Hercules suddenly appeared in front of him and punched him in the face
. The problem was, that Antares didn't move at all; instead, he absorbed the energy of Hercules' punch and used it to strengthen his body.
What Antares didn't expect next was Hercules grabbing him by the leg and slamming him into the ground repeatedly, sending dust flying everywhere.
Finally, when Hercules stopped and the dust settled, Antares was still standing. Hercules hadn't expected anyone to withstand such a blow. From afar, an arrow flew straight at Antares' heart, but Antares caught it with his hand and broke it.
Realizing that her arrows wouldn't work, Atalanta switched to close combat, and Hercules attacked with her, but they stopped when Antares moved.
Antares, pointing at Hercules with his hand, spoke: "Big guy, you've got a strength worthy of your body."
Atalanta, looking wild and ready to attack, said: "You jerk, you threw me into the trees. In the name of the goddess Artemis, I'll destroy you!"
Hercules added: "You attacked my friend. What did you expect me to do?"
Antares pointed at Jason lying on the ground: "You were about to kill the man. I just saved him, you bad kitty. Maybe you need to be disciplined."
At this, Atalanta's tail rose: "That guy you're protecting was spying on other girls, so I beat him up. What's wrong with that?"
Antares, continuing in the same tone, replied, "So, that gives you the right to beat him up? For Zeus' sake, the kid can't even defend himself, and I admire him; he's a real man of culture."
Jason was pretending to be dead on the ground, wanting no part in the argument.
Hercules then looked at Atalanta: "Maybe we should stop. There seems to be some misunderstanding."
He whispered into Atalanta's ear: "It's hard to beat him, even for me. The best I can do is throw him into a mountain and bury the mountain on top of him. That would make a lot of noise though."
Just as things were about to escalate again, Chiron and the others arrived and looked around. Atalanta was in a miserable state, Jason was still lying on the ground pretending to be dead.
Chiron had foreseen the situation long ago; he just wanted to see Antares' strength. He wasn't a rival to the gods, but Chiron noticed something strange: the harder Hercules hit him, the stronger Antares became. That was a peculiar trait.
Chiron had a theory, but first, he had something to deal with.
Chiron sighed: "Jason, stand up and tell me what happened."
Jason reluctantly got up: "Hehehehe, sorry, teacher. This guy saved me while Atalanta was beating me up, and Hercules was just watching, saying I deserved the beating."
Chiron knew Jason, and he also knew that Atalanta often beat him up because Jason was a real scumbag.
Chiron: "From what I understand, Antares saved you. Good, but Antares, why are you so strong? I mean, Hercules is a demigod."
Antares smiled: "I'm built different."
Chiron: "Alright, if you won't explain, you'll have to face the consequences. After all, you're a student here, and you have to take responsibility for your actions."
Antares lowered his head: "Hai, hai."
Then Chiron stood in front of Antares, examining his body and the potential in his muscles.
He understood why Antares was strong.
Chiron punched Antares in the stomach with a fraction of his strength, and Antares' eyes widened as he felt the energy and the punch, sending him flying.
Antares shouted: "What kind of teacher are you, you jerk! I hope you spend a day with Didy!"
Antares landed 10 kilometers away, hitting a mountain. But when he stood up and came back 10 minutes later, he had absorbed the energy from Chiron's punch along the way.
Hercules, Jason, and Atalanta hadn't seen Chiron throw such a powerful punch before, and they were reminded again that their teacher was a god.
When Antares returned, unharmed, Chiron looked at him and said: "Stand still."
He examined his body again and realized his theory was correct.
Antares was absorbing energy. He had absorbed the kinetic energy from Chiron's punch, but the result was that he had flown away.
When he returned, though, his strength had increased by 1.5 times, his muscle density had grown, and he was more flexible.
Antares looked at Chiron with a mocking smile: "Teacher, could you stop touching my body?"
Chiron stepped back and now fully understood Antares' power. It was clear that Antares wasn't human, but Chiron didn't ask about his race—though he would in the future.
Chiron: "I see, your power is energy absorption. That's why you took hits from Hercules so easily. But my strength can still send you flying, something Hercules can't do anymore. After all, I'm the son of Kronos; most people couldn't withstand even that punch."
Everyone was shocked by Chiron's words. That's why nothing seemed to affect this guy. The attacks only made him stronger, and there was no way to destroy him. What was this? Was he the reincarnation of another god?
Chiron: "I've decided on your training. Every day, you will spar in pankration with Hercules. Hercules, you should be happy; you're going to have a lot of fun with this kid."
Hercules: "Thank you, Master Chiron."
Then Chiron pinched the cheeks of both Atalanta and Jason.
Chiron: "Apologize to each other."
Atalanta: "I'm sorry, you perverted bastard."
Jason: "Hey, that's rude... Ow, ow, ow, teacher, don't pinch my cheeks! Fine, I'm sorry too."
Chiron: "Good. For now, after pankration training, I will begin teaching you the duties of heroes, Antares. And after some time, you'll receive weapons training."
Antares: "Understood."
And so, the heroes became acquainted with Antares.
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