CHAPTER 53: TEMPLE OF APHRODITE

"What a huge temple..." I muttered in awe as I witnessed a massive temple made in a Greek style in front of me

Upon looking into my map, I realised what this temple was called and where exactly I am

As expected, I heard the name of the island before

After all, this island is often mentioned in conjunction with a certain infamous goddess.

’Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty and love’

And this temple in front of me was her main temple.

"Should I go somewhere else?" I pondered the question seriously.

After all, nothing good comes of whoever gets involved with that goddess.

’No, no, this is just a game, there’s no way an actual goddess will come to a game because of me, right?’ I shrugged my paranoia away and prepared to enter the temple

However, before I could step in

My senses alarmed me to move aside immediately, and I barely dodged a bullet.

Literally

Silkpants154:Tch! That was an easy target. How could you miss Jade?

I turned around to see a team of two guys ready with their guns, but for some reason, they weren’t immediately shooting at me.

Maybe playing around because I was completely unarmed except for the pistol with me, whose ammo was already emptied from shooting at the random monsters who attacked me.

JadeYoungMaster65: Hmf, that must be a fluke, let me try again

The guy who shot at me before reloaded his Desert Eagle again and pointed it at me with a smirk.

JadeYoungMaster65: Stay still, Noob. Let me practice my aim on you with my new Dracula skin Desert Eagle.

’Are these son of bitches serious?’ I thought in desbelief as they treated this Battle Royal game like a casual game.

Well, this is a casual battle royal, but

This game shouldn’t be like this.

But this is my chance if I could take them out before he shoots that.

However, before either of us could move

"Roar!!!!!"

A terrifying roar echoed as a Huge lion appeared from inside the temple.

It was a majestic golden lion with the regal air of a king and the presence of a mighty beast.

"Filthy humans, how dare you try to undermine the authority of gods?" The lion growled at them in anger

JadeYoungMaster65: " What the—" Before he could finish his words

The lion immediately devoured the player who was about to shoot me

Silkpants154: No, no, no, why is there a Nemean lion in Corinth, an island of all places? It must be a bug.

The guy mumbled in desbelief and utter despair as he saw his teammate getting eaten alive.

Then the lion gazed at the other guy in a fierce glare, making him run away immediately.

However, the lion didn’t let him escape and chased after him.

"Huh?" I muttered in confusion as the lion totally ignored me and hunted the other guy like a hungry predator

"hey, merlin! Hey!" I asked Merlin beside me for an answer, but she didn’t seem to hear me

"Yeah, yeah, like that. Aw fuck, how did that bitch hit me ahhhh! Quick, fox bitch help me," She typed on her keyboard like crazy while completely immersed in the game.

"Sigh...." I muttered and got back to my screen, and as I looked inside, I was immersed again

’I wonder how this works,’ I pondered, but soon noticed the lion coming back.

but decided not to escape or move

Since even escaping seems impossible, as this lion looks like he’ll be able to hunt me down even if I run at the speed of sound.

But to my surprise, the lion still didn’t attack me.

Instead, he looked at me in curiosity.

"What is your name, unknown demigod? You smell similar to goddess Aphrodite."

Huh? Demigod? Smells similar to Aphrodite.

I was confused by his words because, as far as I know, I have no relation with that particular goddess.

But then I remembered.

’Divine Legacy’ Maybe it’s related to that.

"You did not answer, are you fine?" The lion muttered in confusion at my silence and was a bit worried as well

"Ahem, I am Valerian Aísē, though my supernatural name is Nosferatu, and no, I don’t think I know that goddess," I politely introduced myself to the Nemean lion.

"WHAT? Your family name, what did you say it was?" He roared at me and asked with a growl

The lion looked as if he might just eat me right away.

"I already told you it’s Aísē, and yes, I know it’s a weird surname, but that’s what I was told to be mine since my birth."

I tried to explain, but my body was already shaking in fright.

And the Lion looked at me in suspicion, but after a minute, he made a scowl and opened his mouth.

’This lion is definitely going to eat me, isn’t he?’ I thought with a helpless smile, accepting my fate.

’At least I’ll be out of this game for good’

But the thing I was expecting didn’t happen.

Instead, the lion sighed and walked towards the temple.

"Huh?" I was confused again.

Just why is this lion repeatedly doing what I least expected

"Hmm? Why are you standing there? Come in," he said, turning his head, making me jump up in surprise.

"Inside? But why?" I muttered in confusion, but he didn’t reply and entered the temple

I have no clue what is happening.

And isn’t this supposed to be a battle royal? Why does it feel like an RPG instead?

I looked into my map and saw a red zone closing in.

Yep, this is a survival game, alright, and seeing Merlin’s gameplay, I was sure this shouldn’t be like this.

But still, I followed the Lion as this could be a hidden quest.

Even though this isn’t an RPG game

The lion led me through the hall with massive semi-transparent curtains acting as the door to every room I passed.

’It suits the image of Aphrodite’s Image to be honest,’ I pondered and thought of the reason.

"We are here," the golden lion said to me with his deep voice, breaking me away from my thoughts.

I looked in front of me, and a huge statue of a beautiful goddess greeted me.

But for some reason, a part of me felt a strange feeling of familiarity with that statue.

"Goddess Aphrodite, I bought a guest," The lion spoke in mid-air with a voice of obedience, but still holding his regal pride.

"Yawn...Ahh! Reguleon, how many damn times have I told you not to bother me with this fake world? I need my sleep, you moron."

Suddenly, the whole temple echoed with an annoyed voice.

Then a light shone on the statue as a beautiful woman with long blonde hair with pink streaks, with beautiful, mesmerizing pink eyes and pink eyelashes appeared.

She looked so beautiful, I couldn’t help but compare her to all the women I met in my life, but all of them paled in comparison by a slight margin.

’Though there’s something wrong’

She was wearing only a Pajama and not the sexy kind, but a cute one with a panda design.

Huh?

Why Pajama?

I thought in disbelief.

"Dear goddess, your attire!!" The lion, sharing my look of shock, immediately said to the floating woman

But she ignored his words, "Yeah, yeah, it’s not like my Adonis is here from his grave to greet me anyway—" But she paused when her eyes landed on me.

"Ah? Huh?" She muttered in shock and surprise, rubbed her eyes, summoned a pair of glasses, and put them on

But even after she did that, she saw the same thing.

Her face immediately brightened in a deep blush as she looked at me again, and her clothes second.

"Ahem...Wait a moment," She cleared her throat and vanished without letting me process what the heck just happened.

"Don’t mind her," The lion said with an apologetic look.

Even if you say that I don’t know what I should even worry about

’First of all, why did she look like she had seen a ghost upon looking at me?’ I pondered with a serious look.

Don’t tell me I am actually the reincarnation of that infamous Adonis from Greek legend.

’That explains why I am so handsome, I guess.’

I smirked at the thought, but immediately shook my head away from the narcissism.

Then, with petals forming around me, the same woman appeared now with a garment often worn by goddesses in myths.

She looked at me with a gentle smile and began her speech, "Welcome, Dear player, to my humble temple. I am goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty—"

But before she could continue with a long and glorious introduction, the golden lion named Reguleon coughed and pointed her eyes at me.

The blonde goddess looked like she had realised something as she muttered.

"Haha, there’s no need for such a long introduction since you may already know of me," she said with a nervous laugh, gesturing towards a nearby couch. "Anyway, dear player, you must be tired from all the chaos outside. Please rest here, and don’t worry that toxic gas doesn’t enter sanctuaries like mine."