Chapter 17: Lazy Ant

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The main gate of Plato Academy towered over Su Ye. It was made up of three marble arches, with the larger one in the middle and a slightly smaller one to each side.

Aside from the marble arches, the rest of the gate’s structure was made of wood. There were no fences, nor were there any guards.

A line of words was etched on the column of the main gate.

“Those who do not know geometry are forbidden to enter.”

“Wow,” Su Ye thought. “That’s really what they put over the main gate…”

Su Ye thought for a moment. He quickly ran through the basics of geometry that he could remember, such as the Pythagorean Theorem, then kept moving forward. He happily ran a few steps before he suddenly thought, “Could I perform a proof for the Pythagorean Theorem, though?”

Su Ye continued to run forward, but he wasn’t feeling as happy as before.

Past the gate was level marble flooring, and there was a lush lawn on either side.

Countless marble sculptures had been placed along the way.

Su Ye barely kept himself from exclaiming in appreciation, and there was a glimmer in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected to find so many ancient Greek statues here.

The statues closest to the main gate were incredibly simplistic. They were shaped roughly like a human, but their forms were blocky and indistinct, as if they’d been assembled from a series of geometric shapes. However, all of the sculptures had distinctly gendered features. Su Ye recalled that when he first learned about sculpture, these had been identified as the earliest Greek statues. In his previous world, they had appeared around 3000 B.C. in the Cyclades.

Even though these sculptures were extremely simple, they possessed an indescribable beauty.

The next statues in line brought him an even greater sense of familiarity. These sculptures had a rich Egyptian flair. However, unlike the Egyptian style which favored harsher angles and planes, these sculptures had a little more dimensionality, more texture in the muscles, more vitality. In terms of details, though, they were crassly constructed.

Su Ye continued running forward, becoming more and more surprised with each new rank of statues he passed. All these sculptures lined up according to era was a sight he could never have seen in a museum from his previous world.

As he ran farther, the sculptures became more delicate, and their proportions and detailing became more exquisite. The last of the sculptures reached new heights entirely. Almost every sculpture seemed to possess a truly staggering depth of emotion. It was as if they were living people frozen in time.

Suddenly, Su Ye looked back and quickly scanned the sculptures on either side. He had a thought: A local tycoon.

All the sculptures here, other than those from the earlier eras, were made using Paros Marble. That was the most valuable sculpting material in all of Greece, and it went without saying that every one of these marble sculptures was a product made by a master.

Unfortunately, Su Ye didn’t have enough time to appraise them closely. In seconds, he had left the sculpture area.

A fountain with a diameter of thirty meters sat directly in front of Su Ye. There were several white sculptures that had been placed in the water. Some were humans, some were fabled heroes, and others were Magical Beasts. They had been arranged in relation to one another, and when viewed as a whole, they seemed to make up a heart-rending historical scene.

At the very center of the cluster of sculptures was a statue of a Nine-headed Serpent, the Hydra. It occupied the entire center of the fountain like a dark cloud.

However, Su Ye paid no attention to it. He sprinted straight to the side of the fountain and scooped up water to splash over his face.

He hadn’t washed himself since yesterday.

After he washed his face, Su Ye noticed that the water was remarkably clean. He ran over to a serpentine head of the Hydra that was spewing water and collected the stream with his hands. He rinsed his mouth with the water before turning and sprinting away.

“This marble path takes a very circuitous route, and I don’t have that kind of time. My only option is to run straight through the lawn and the forest. Luckily, my feet seem to be tougher than they were before. Could it be that the talent I received is already taking effect?” Su Ye glanced down over his body as he ran toward his class. He grinned at the sight.

Su Ye had been extremely scrawny, but over the previous night, he had grown taller and his muscles had become more prominent and defined. At this point, he could hold his own against an average Warrior Apprentice.

All of the statues in the pond slowly turned their heads to look at Su Ye’s back as he ran over the lawn away from them. The gaze of the Hydra seemed particularly intense. All of its nine heads were glowering at Su Ye’s back.

One of the teachers from Plato Academy had watched the scene from far away. He rolled his eyes, wondering who would be that daring. The fountain was the famous Sea Demon Fountain. It was a piece of Legendary Magic Equipment that Plato had created personally. There were three Legendary Oceanic Magical Beasts sealed within.

The people who had dared to cause trouble in Plato Academy over the years had all ended up in the bellies of the three Oceanic Magical Beasts.

“The pond seems to have an important reputation,” Su Ye thought. “Too bad my memories of it have vanished. Oh well. If I can’t remember, then that’s that.”

Plato Academy was located in the northern part of the city, and faced back toward the city center. Directly to the north of the fountain was the famous Great Plato Temple. Even though it was far from being as opulent as a divine temple, it was still impressive based on the sheer scale.

Su Ye took a turn and raced toward the northeast side of the academy. That was the place where his lessons were held.

Even though he wasn’t running on the main path that led to the university, Su Ye could still see the giant columns that fronted the majestic Great Plato Temple. Unlike ordinary structural columns, all of these columns were carved with muscular men in various poses. They were representations of Atlas.

When he saw the male figures, Su Ye immediately remembered that Greece didn’t allow the use of female figures, known as Caryatids, as they were reserved for the use of divine temples. Also, every Atlas from the Great Plato Temple was a Sage Puppet.

There were a total of thirty-six Atlases on both sides of the Great Plato Temple.

Directly in front of the Great Plato Temple was a magic clock. It didn’t have a second hand, but otherwise, it was extremely similar to an analog clock on the Blue Star.

“I shouldn’t underestimate the wisdom of these mages,” Su Ye thought to himself.

Su Ye reviewed the near-perfect sculptures in his mind while he ran. Unlike the sculptures he had seen in his previous world, which were mostly broken and worn down, the sculptures he had just seen were flawless due to the magic that protected them. Each one was filled with a beauty that shook the soul.

The Magic Cow’s Physicality was bolstering Su Ye’s strength dramatically, but he was still beginning to pant from the exertion.

Plato Academy was too large. In fact, it was so huge that it was hailed as Greece’s largest manmade garden.

After he passed through the lawns and forests, the building that housed his class came into sight. As he sprinted toward it, Su Ye suddenly saw a man who was squatting under a large tree.

The previous day, Su Ye wouldn’t have been able to see the man clearly. However, now that his body had been strengthened by the Magic Cow’s Physicality, his vision had been enhanced. He could clearly see that the man was using a branch to torment an ant. It seemed as though the man was forcing the ant back into its nest.

“Don’t obstruct the lazy ant; it will create miracles!”

Su Ye didn’t think that he could do anything about the situation. After shouting at the man, he turned away and continued to run forward.

The young man squatting on the ground had slightly curly black hair. He slowly raised his head and looked toward Su Ye. His eyes looked cloudy and unfocused.

“Lazy ant?” the man mumbled softly as he tossed the branch away. Then he turned back to the ant.

Su Ye was now running between buildings made of stone. Some of the buildings were connected, while others were scattered about almost haphazardly.

Su Ye quickly found his class. He walked to the door of his classroom, his feet smelling like earth and grass.

Second year, class three.

The sun was shining. Students who wore different colors and styles of robes looked over.

Soft laughter spread from within the classroom.

Teacher Niedern, who was giving an overview of the coming semester, turned to look at Su Ye.

The moment he saw Teacher Niedern, a large number of memories surfaced in Su Ye’s brain.

Niedern was a tall and burly old man with red hair. He was dressed in a long gray robe that lacked any form of embellishment. He was clean and neat. Most Greeks had angular features, but Niedern’s features were even sharper than average. His large, beak-like nose was exceptionally eye-catching.

If one were to observe Niedern closely, they would realize that there was a slight difference between his eyes.

His left eye was a false eye.

Every student knew this. Within the academy, it was said that Teacher Niedern was so friendly that even his false eye was filled with warmth.

However, Teacher Niedern rarely smiled. His reputation of friendliness came from his patience with the questions of his students.

He often said one of Socrates’s famous lines: There are no foolish questions, nor are there foolish answers.*

Niedern looked silently at Su Ye.

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*Author’s note: The quote was spoken by Socrates in the World of Deities.