I wasn't sure how to respond to the young boy declaring himself a Greek god.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm not in the mood for jokes. Tell me, how did you get here, and what do you want?"
I did my best to keep quiet, not wanting to attract my mom's attention.
The self-proclaimed Hermes scratched his head as if confused with how to proceed.
"I'm not joking…. I really am Hermes…..Oh, and just so you know, you don't have to keep whispering. I've made this room soundproof, so you don't have to worry about alerting your mother. Here, let me prove it to you: I, Hermes, am the most handsome god there—!!!!"
"Shhhh!!! What the heck are yo doing?!"
I threw a pillow at him to shut him up. My heart began beating fast, expecting to hear my mother running to see who had just yelled. To my surprise, nothing happened.
'No way, is he telling the truth? Does he have some noise-canceling quirk?'
The kid shook his head and was then engulfed in golden light. When the light dissipated, a young teen took the young kid's place.
"No, the noise canceling barrier isn't part of a...… quirk. It's thanks to this handy item."
He pointed at one of my walls, and when I looked at it, I found small white pieces of paper stuck to it. They had ink writing on them that I couldn't read.
"Are those talismans?"
Hermes smiled and nodded, "Yeah, they are the handy creations of one of the gods I met during my travels. He sells these and many different ones in the Divine Market; wanna see?"
Before I could even answer, a translucent gold screen, floating in midair, appeared in front of me. It displayed a list of many different talismans.
"What is this?!"
I looked around to see if there was a projector, but I found nothing. I tapped on the screen and found it was a solid projection.
Hermes smiled as he saw that I was amazed. He stood tall, with his head held high; clearly, he was proud of something.
I totally gave up understanding how everything was working, so I began looking through the list.
"Once you agree to join the Godly Market, you will receive your own shopping system. When you do, you simply have to think of what you want to do, and the screen will do it without you having to press anything."
I was surprised by what he said, but I tried to hide my expression as I scrolled down.
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Item: Binding Talisman V1
Cost: 15 DP (Divine Points)
Description: Temporarily binds the movement of a weak mortal organism it comes in contact with. The effect lasts for 3 seconds. Confirmed by Hermes
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Item: Binding Talisman V2
Cost: 150 DP (Divine Points)
Description: Temporarily binds the movement of a weak mortal organism it comes in contact with. The effect lasts for 30 seconds. Confirmed by Hermes
- - -
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Item: Binding Talisman V3
Cost: 1500 DP (Divine Points)
Description: Temporarily binds the movement of a weak mortal organism it comes in contact with. The effect lasts for 5 minutes. Confirmed by Hermes
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.
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Item: Explosion Talisman V1
Cost: 30 DP
Description: Generates a minuscule mortal explosion that encompasses a 1-foot radius. Confirmed by Hermes
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Item: Explosion Talisman V2
Cost: 300 DP
Description: Generates a miniature mortal explosion that encompasses a 10-foot radius. Confirmed by Hermes
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Item: Explosion Talisman V3
Cost: 3000 DP
Description: Generates a small mortal explosion that encompasses a 100-foot radius. Confirmed by Hermes
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"A 100-foot radius is considered small!!!"
Hermes smiled and nodded, "Sure is, haha. Don't forget that we, as gods, have a different perspective on scale than you mortals. Soon you'll know what I mean….. That said, do watch out for the items you buy. You could easily end up destroying this world of yours. Never forget that these items are being traded by us, gods. The items I showed on this list are nothing more than toys we sometimes share with our followers."
I couldn't help but get lost in all the possibilities for power. I, who lacked a special ability, was suddenly handed a buffet of life-changing items. But something still bothered me, and that was how I was supposed to pay for all this.
"Umm, Herm….Sir Hermes first….I apologize for shushing you and for throwing that pillow at you. I would love to join your Godly Market, but I don't have any way of getting Div...…. The golden liquid...Earlier, you said that you cleaned up the sludge and divine nectar…. The golden liquid….. My quirk, can I use it to get Divine Points to buy items?!!"
Hermes smiled and nodded, "That's right, the Divine Nectar you make is why I've come here. So what do you say? Are you a new member of our Goldy Market?"
I was dying to say yes, but first, I wanted to get an important question answered.
"If I sold the divine nectar, how many DP can I earn?"
"As long as it's the same quality as what you produced earlier, you should at most charge 60 DP for every Skyphos of nectar that you sell. Remember that this price is far less than the quantity of divine energy consumers will receive, but it can't be helped. You are a mortal, and most of us are very prideful. But it's not all bad; setting it up this way means that whenever you sell, they will be no different than piranhas."
I appreciated that Hermes was being honest. I knew that he was the god of trickery and thieves, but as long as I got my hands on the items, I didn't really care.
'I should be thankful that he didn't simply blackmail me into producing nectar for him.'
Hermes smiled and nodded, "I would be lying if I said that it never crossed my mind, haha. But if I did that, the quality of the divine nectar might be affected. I don't want to risk that. Besides, since we are friends, I'll be getting two free Skyphos a day, so what more can I ask for?"
My blood ran cold when I heard him. I don't know what scared me the most: that he could read my mind or that I was so close to becoming a nectar dispenser for the gods. Two skyphos a day, no problem at all.
"Wait, what is a skypho?"
Hermes made a clay cup appear out of thin air. It was a decently sized cup, not too big and not too small.
I let out a relieved sigh, and then I looked at Hermes.
"I would be honored to join your Godly Market."
Hermes had a wide smile on his face. He walked up to me and placed a thumb over each of my eyes. I looked at them, but I was surprised by a bright white light that suddenly flashed in front of me.
My eyes stung for a few seconds until the pain slowly dissipated, and I regained my eyesight.
When I could see again, the first thing I saw was Hermes holding two empty Skyphos in front of me.
I sighed and tried to create the divine nectar again. It took a few seconds, but after I imagined the gold-glowing nectar coming out of my palms, I was able to produce it.
While I filled the cups, I asked Hermes an important question.
"Will the nectar melt anyone who comes in contact with it?"
Hermes quickly nodded, "The divine nectar has a concentrated amount of divine energy, which is lethal for mortals. That's why your case is so special. While you are a mortal, you are able to not only withstand divine energy but also create it. In a sense, you are pretty much some kind of pseudo-god."
I was amazed by what I heard, but I quickly returned from my daydreaming.
'Hermes already said that the gods were prideful. I can't imagine what they would do to me if I ever considered myself any form of god.'
Hermes chuckled and picked up the filled cups. "They would feed you to Cerber…..Oh, that's right!"
The two cups in his hands disappeared, and he began looking through a sack tied to his waste.
"What are you looking for…."
Before I could finish my question, Hermes pulled out two large pups.
"These two little ones were given to you by Hades. They are the pups of Cerberus and a golden lioness."