Owed Someone a Favor for No Reason

The Sorcerer Supreme had reminded Salomon more than once.

"You are a spellcaster who steals the Vishanti's magical power," the Venerable One said. "So do not casually invoke the Vishanti's name, especially before you have obtained all the Rings."

"Vishanti above..." Master Wong murmured. "We're in deep trouble."

As Imogen Tutter suppressed those spirits, she also wielded them as weapons. Using the magic in her Ring, she commanded the grotesque, enormous, densely packed spirits to rush at them.

Master Wong tried to drive them back with his fists, but it was completely useless. His punches always passed through the spirits, leaving him with nothing but an icy touch. If not for the spell attached to him, Master Wong would already have been possessed by the spirits or had his soul devoured. Even the Positive Energy beams Salomon fired from his fingertips could not stop the spirits from approaching.

"What do we do?" Master Wong shouted.

"I don't know either..." Salomon was sweating profusely with anxiety. He admitted that he had underestimated the guardian of the British Museum. This guardian could openly wield the Vishanti's Ring, while Salomon could only secretly draw upon its magical power. Their output of magic was simply incomparable.

Then, as though a venomous snake had coiled around his neck, a soft, cold sensation came from behind Salomon. He felt a pair of warm hands caress his cheeks. Like night descending with the beating of an owl's wings, Salomon lost his sight.

"Call my name, child of man," a gentle voice sounded beside Salomon's ear. "I am dew, I am clear skies, I am spring thunder. I am the goddess of cities, the goddess of birds and snakes. I shall be your shield and spear."

Salomon calmed down. His education had already told him who this was.

"I praise you, Tritogenaia, splendid as a serpent, dragon of countless forms. I shall offer you olive oil, figs, and woolen robes," Salomon said sincerely. "In the name of the goddess who bears the golden spear."

"In the name of Aetheria!"

As Salomon spoke, the divine power lingering within every artifact in the British Museum stirred like boiling water. Master Wong stared at the scene before him in utter disbelief.

A maiden formed of divine power appeared behind Salomon. She wore a Greek Arcadian helmet and carried a spear and an enormous round shield. She stood just slightly shorter than the ceiling. Yet Salomon saw none of it. He merely recited as the voice instructed him, each prayer ringing out like a bronze spear striking a round shield.

"In the name of Anemotis!"

"In the name of Gorgophone!"

"In the name of Parthenos!"

"I command you! Leave this realm!"

The maiden behind Salomon extended her palm. Surging divine power shattered the spirits and simultaneously removed the shackles that had bound them all this time.

Imogen Tutter could not believe what was happening before her eyes. In her view, she was a guardian who silently protected the world. Ever since her great-great-great-grandfather's time, they had guarded this place. That responsibility tormented them, but it also filled them with pride. Guarding these spirits was the mission of the Tutter family, all because of the endless power of this Ring...

"Now!" As the darkness receded, Salomon regained his vision. But before he could even open his eyes, he shouted at Master Wong, "Take off her Ring!"

Without the spirits, Imogen Tutter had no idea how to fight. She had never received any magical education and had not even practiced the most basic defensive spells. Once Master Wong reacted, he charged forward. The elderly Imogen Tutter was incapable of resisting him. Master Wong easily seized her hand and yanked off the Ring.

"Ahhh! My Ring!" Once the Ring was removed, Imogen Tutter was no longer invisible. Her clothes were tattered, and her messy short white hair made her look a little like a crazed old woman.

Salomon hurriedly grabbed Master Wong's hand and ran toward the exit of the museum. A small white snake silently crawled up Salomon's leg at incredible speed, slipped beneath his clothes, and finally coiled around his arm with an icy touch.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" A tourist approached her.

"What are you looking at? You can't see me!" With her magic gone and no longer supporting her mind, Imogen Tutter's nerves began to deteriorate. Her already wrinkled skin shriveled even further.

To everyone else, she was spouting nonsense.

"I am the guardian! I am the only one who can stop you from being destroyed!" Imogen Tutter began shouting. Madness gleamed in her eyes as she yelled endlessly at the people around her, trying to prove that she was a saint living on while bearing the sins of others.

But tourists had already taken out their phones to call the police.

Master Wong and Salomon stood on the street, gasping for breath. Master Wong patted his broad chest and said, "You really know your stuff, Salomon."

"I hope so, Senior Brother." Salomon rolled up his sleeve and looked at the little snake sleeping on his forearm. "Everything comes at a price."

Salomon knew perfectly well that he had not invoked Athena's name, yet Athena had appeared on her own... Hadn't the Greek Pantheon already left Earth? He had to ask the Sorcerer Supreme about this, or he would never be able to put his mind at ease.

"All right, where are we going next?" Though still shaken, Master Wong grinned. "More adventures?"

"I think we need a day of rest, Senior Brother." Salomon gestured for Master Wong to slip the Ring into his pocket. "Let's go back to Kamar-Taj."

Because Imogen Tutter had added many unnecessary things to the new Ring, such as long fake nails, Salomon handed it to the Sorcerer Supreme and asked her to alter it into a normal Ring. After all, many magical artifacts in Kamar-Taj had been made by the Venerable One, so this presumably would not be much of a problem.

But that was not Salomon's main purpose.

When the Sorcerer Supreme saw the snake coiled around Salomon's forearm, she gestured for him to calm down.

"The Celestials do not keep their attention on Earth at all times. I have already told you why the New Gods left." The Sorcerer Supreme poured two cups of tea. "But I never said they would not secretly return. Athena is not the only one on Earth now. Hecate and others are here as well."

"All of them?" Salomon's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course not. With so many New Gods staying on Earth, things would become rather crowded. Besides, this is no longer an age that worships gods. Humans now revere science. Even if a god appeared before them, they would only think of how to capture and dissect them.

"Of course, I do not dislike this phenomenon. Magic only blooms within the souls of a select few. Only technology is humanity's future." The Venerable One pushed a cup of tea toward Salomon. He drained it in one gulp, and the fatigue brought by spellcasting vanished as though early summer rain had washed grime from leaves.

"Some have returned, but I suggest that you wait until you have acquired all three Rings before meeting this one." The Sorcerer Supreme pointed at the small snake lazily slithering across the table. Surprisingly, both Salomon and the Sorcerer Supreme could see an expression on the little snake's face. That sounded strange, but it was true. Its expression was probably something like, "Whatever," or, "Do whatever you want, just don't bother me."

It barely lifted its eyelids, glanced at Salomon, then at the Sorcerer Supreme, before opening its mouth wide and attempting to swallow an orange from the table.

"It seems to be doing well." The Venerable One spoke with ease. "I do not know when the Goddess of Wisdom will summon you, but I doubt it will be too bad. After all, this is the first time I have seen a snake eat fruit—not in a game, but in reality."

"But... I have never been a god's guest before... What gift should I bring? Olive oil, figs, or a wool sweater?"

"It is the twenty-first century, Salomon." The Sorcerer Supreme looked thoroughly disgusted. "Don't be so old-fashioned. A bottle of wine or some skincare products would both make good gifts when visiting someone."

Salomon lifted the little snake, which had just stuffed an orange into its mouth, and left the Sorcerer Supreme's meditation chamber. From a distance, he looked like he was carrying a ball attached to a string.

P.S. Remember to invest! Investing means bonus chapters!