[Final Stage of the "Rebellion Against the Glorious King" Mission: Everyone despises Bruce, but everyone wants to be like Bruce. Woo the heroic lady and drown her in mediocrity. This is the most glorious revenge. Mission reward: DC Core Charm!]
Atreus's heart skipped a beat as he read this.
There was no doubt that Batman is the true core of the Justice League. But in this life, with Bruce Wayne being financially backed by Atreus, was he still the true master of wealth?
The answer was no.
Batman's high moral standards might be one of the keys to holding the Justice League together, but it wasn't absolute. At the very least, Atreus was confident he could handle Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.
However, getting this so-called [Core Charm] bonus would be the best outcome.
The system's next two prompts were clear enough for Atreus to understand just by reading the titles:
[Bloodline Series Mission of the God Slayer: In the grand Greek pantheon, without divine blood, you won't get far. Before challenging the great god of war, Ares, first acquire the blood of a powerful demigod…]
This was somewhat like Batman's series of missions.
Atreus figured that this was almost the only way to break his physical limitations.
As for who to target, that was harder to say, as he'd never heard of any major generals under Ares.
Kratos in the "God of War" version went on a rampage, slaying so many big names it would take an entire A4 sheet just to list them.
But Ares, the so-called "god of war," should be more accurately described as the "god of getting beaten."
In mythological stories, during the Trojan War, Ares aided the Trojans but was injured by Diomedes. During the conflict among the gods, he attempted to ambush Athena, but she struck him down with a boulder. With Athena's help, Hercules killed Ares' son, Cycnus. The Aloadae captured Ares and held him in a bronze jar for 13 months, until Hermes rescued him.
Ares was captured three times by the hideous and terrifying Otus and Ephialtes, sons or grandsons of Poseidon and Iphimedia.
Ahem, these stories aren't the main point. The key takeaway is that Ares' defeats could also fill an A4 page.
With careful planning, it might not be impossible to take down Ares.
As for the [Amazon King] mission, well, everyone knows what that's about.
Accepting down payment from Wonder Woman, Atreus said, "Alright, my [God Slayer] power has also reached its limit. If I want to hunt a powerful demigod first, who do you think would be a good target?"
This question stumped Diana.
"Themyscira has been isolated for over a thousand years. I don't even know how many of the demigods from our world are still alive. But I've heard you have the power to open portals, so maybe you can travel to another dimension."
Atreus suddenly felt a spark of insight: "Wait! Who told you that? You don't hear news about Kratos opening portals on TV."
"Batman! He found me, and I mentioned Themyscira to him. He was silent for a long time before telling me to find you."
Atreus was a little embarrassed.
Wait, did Wonder Woman participate in World War I in this timeline?
What's going on with the timeline?
Is this the guidance of fate?
While Tony was secretly plotting the formation of the [Avengers], Batman had already begun preparations for the [Justice League]. These two are always in sync!
"Alright, Diana, I'm impressed by your incredible luck. I only recently gained the power of [Teleportation]. Honestly, I'm not that familiar with it yet." Atreus flipped his hand, revealing a crystal ball-sized energy vortex in his palm.
Wonder Woman stared at it, entranced: "So, this is the way home! My mother once said I would find a powerful sorcerer here. I never imagined that person would be you…"
Atreus assessed his strength. He vividly recalled that when opening a portal, his magic was drained rapidly.
"No, it's not that simple. I don't have enough power to travel between two worlds on my own. The portal on the other side must be open, and I need to find the spatial coordinates of that world."
"How do we find it?"
"You need to give me something from Themyscira, an object with strong magical or divine energy. I'll use it to sense across dimensions. But I can't guarantee success."
Diana thought for a moment and pulled out a golden crown from her pocket.
"The [Starlight Diadem] is a symbol of the Amazon royal family and contains divine power bestowed by Zeus."
Atreus took it without hesitation, immediately channeling his senses into it.
In an instant, everything around him faded into nothingness. He entered that mysterious space once again.
His physical body vanished, and only his soul wandered in the boundless void.
In his soul state, he carefully analyzed the faint divine energy from the [Starlight Diadem]. Since he wasn't its rightful owner, he could only make the system remember its energy signature, searching the multiverse for similar signals like finding a needle in a haystack.
But within seconds, a wave of dizziness hit Atreus, and when he came to, he found himself slumped against Wonder Woman's shoulder.
"Ugh, what happened to me?" Atreus weakly asked.
"You... I could feel your mental energy dropping sharply. For a moment, I thought you were going to die," Wonder Woman said apologetically.
"Sigh, spatial searching is extremely mentally exhausting."
Diana looked sincerely remorseful: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overburden you."
"I need to rest today. Come back tomorrow." Atreus handed back the crown.
"No need to trouble yourself." Wonder Woman smiled, pushing the crown back into Atreus's hands. "I trust you. Just search when you have time, and let me know when you're ready."
"Let you know?"
Wonder Woman smiled and gave him a phone number.
"Wait! Is this a cellphone number?"
"What else? Did you think I was really from the Stone Age?"
The joke felt cold, but coming from Wonder Woman, the time traveler, it fit perfectly. Atreus chuckled as well.
Seeing her poised to jump back into the water, ready to swim away, Atreus paused for a moment: "Do you know how to drive a jet ski?"
"Jet ski?"
"Have you ridden a motorcycle?"
"Yes."
"Then it's about the same." Atreus pointed to one of the jet skis hanging off the platform at the back of the boat. It was fully fueled and could go for a hundred kilometers without issue.
"Got it!"
Wonder Woman hopped on the jet ski, kicking up a long spray of water as she sped toward the distant silhouette of the Statue of Liberty.
"Who was that?" Gwen asked, approaching after Wonder Woman left.
"Diana Prince, an Amazon warrior from another world. I might have to leave this world soon and visit another Earth for a while."
"The zombie world?"
"No, the world of the Greek gods."
Gwen and the other three women gathered around, all feeling a bit conflicted.
"To break through my power ceiling, I have to go."
(End of Chapter)