Alex slept very well the previous day, perhaps from the fatigue he had accumulated or the immense comfort of the bed, probably both.

He woke up due to the sharp rays of the sun signaling the beginning of a new day.

He stood up reluctantly and looked back at the bed, teary-eyed at the thought of leaving it behind and frustrated that he’d have to maintain a healthy biological clock even after transmigrating and becoming a god.

The whole deal about him becoming a deity still felt surreal to Alex and he was convinced that he’d wake up back in his room, only to go back to that mundane life anyways.

‘Whatever’ Alex thought to himself, full of conviction to go about his first day as a god of Olympus.

Alex remembered that before falling asleep, he discovered a function to the necklace Athena had given him and he’d made a note to check it out thoroughly once he woke up. He grabbed the necklace from the cabinet on his bedside, exactly where he had left it the previous day, and put it on.

He was suddenly exposed to a barrage of words on his retina;

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(God System)

Functions:

(Attributes)

(Item appraisal)

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‘It’s quite concise and straightforward.’ Thought Alex, as he pressed on the (Attributes) tab.

New words appeared on his retina accordingly, though there wasn’t much to look at.

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Name: Alex State of Existence: Immortal God Specialty: None

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There really wasn’t much to look at, although they at least spelled his name properly. Alex shrugged and questioned how he should proceed to acquire specialties.

‘I guess that will have to wait’ Alex mused to himself, the second tab (Item appraisal) wasn’t interactive but he figured out he should touch an object to appraise it.

Alex hence put his hand on the bed and as expected, new words popped up on his retina.

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3 Objects detected…Appraisal in process…

Appraisal success!

(Hermes’ Bed)

State: Great

Quality: Excellent

Notes: A high-quality bed that makes you feel rested upon sleeping in it. Cleans itself autonomously.

(Elven Mattress)

State: Great

Quality: Excellent

Notes: Woven through the delicate hands of the elves and made of cloud cotton, a rare variety of cotton is touted for its softness and low density.

(Sturdy Bed Frame)

State: Great

Quality: Excellent

Notes: A sturdy bed frame made of two-fold evaporated tungsten, a variety of the metal that is brought to gaseous state twice to achieve near-perfect purity and enhance the properties of the metal.

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The information provided was comprehensive and coherent. Alex thanked the system internally.

As far as systems go, this one was rather plain, offering qualitative data on him.

However, the item appraisal function will probably make itself very useful.

It then happened to Alex that he caught a peculiar object in his peripheral vision, a wooden case that wasn’t quite there when he went to sleep.

He went in quiet steps and took the case, trying to appraise it.

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(Sturdy Wooden Case)

State: Well-kept

Quality: Good

Notes: A wooden case made of a type of wood that gives it thermal isolation properties and shields the insides from the elements. It is good for storing medicine and other reactive compounds.

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The data provided was very complete so Alex gave a thumbs up to the system in his mind.

He then opened the case. Inside was a tinted glass flask, similar to the one he drank Ambrosia in and a note next to it. He opened the note.

‘Hello, Alexos~~It’s Hermes! I figured you’d need this and since I don’t have much of a use for it you can take it. I’m going to be a bit busy so I won’t be able to answer more of your questions but meanwhile, I’ve left some ingredients for you in the kitchen downstairs and the facilities found in the mansion will entertain you :)’

The letter’s contents were simple, and it seemed like Hermes was trying to include emoticons and other such forms of texting etiquette despite it being a handwritten letter, almost like an elderly person who just discovered the internet.

“Pfft” Alex chuckled at how similar Hermes sounded in letters and how he was almost able to hear his voice through the words.

He then took out the flask and examined it, waiting for the system’s appraisal.

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2 objects detected…..Appraisal in process

Appraisal success!

(Tinted Glass Flask)

State: Well-Kept

Quality: Good

Notes: A glass flask that protects the contents inside from the elements. Good for storing medicine and other such reactive compounds.

(Essence of Hermes)

State: Great

Quality: Divine

Notes: an invaluable liquid refined from the blood of the god Hermes. Contains the divine mark of the god of trade, swiftness, herdsmen, messaging, and wits.

Hint: Can be absorbed by host Alex.

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“Wow….” Alex almost dropped the flask from surprise.

He thought that Hermes would give him something relatively valuable to help him but upon seeing buzzwords such as ‘divine’ and ‘invaluable’ he knew Hermes had given him something really good.

Alex felt bittersweet and happy that he has gained an ally in this world, someone he could count on, and also guilty that Hermes gave him something so valuable, no strings attached.

He knew he had to give him something in exchange, although he had pretty much nothing at this point.

He opened the flask and inside were a few drops of a very thick shiny red liquid.

It lacked the metallic scent of blood and that wasn’t even important for Alex to begin with as the appraisal had shown that this liquid had value beyond its appearance and source.

Alex thus drank the liquid.

Suddenly a painful headache hit him, though it seemed becoming a god gave him higher pain tolerance, so even though it hurt like hell, it was more bearable than Ambrosia.

He frowned, clenched his fists and folded his knees to try to bear the pain, and stayed in that pose so similar to a certain power-up sequence in a famous anime back from Alex’s homeworld that started with Dragon and finished with Ball.

He remained in that pose for a few minutes before the pain started to subside and Alex started to examine himself for any changes.

He didn’t seem to experience any change in his physique so he took out a mirror to look out for any changes to his face. His face didn’t change at all except for his eyes. In fact, his irises, which were light-gray, now had a small hint of purple, similar to Hermes’ eyes.

Alex then remembered that the system he obtained could offer qualitative data on his being so he activated it and pressed on the (Attributes) tab to examine for any changes.

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Name: Alex

State of Existence: Immortal God

Specialties: -Attunement to diplomacy and information, swiftness, herding, and scheming(Essence of Hermes*1)

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There were some interesting additions to the specialties section which matched up to Hermes’ own specialties and the *1 hinted that further consumption of this Essence could offer cumulative effects.

‘Diplomacy, information and….scheming?’ These were some of the more unclear specialties so Alex decided to leave them for later.