The process of learning magic felt to Ares exactly like learning a brand new science subject.
Although magic in the Age of Gods focused more on memorizing incantations, it also required calculating and utilizing various data related to magic trajectories, magic amounts, ritual pattern angles, celestial phenomena, and other aspects.
Ares was a liberal arts student in his previous world, but fortunately, he chose liberal arts not because he was bad at science and couldn't understand it, but because his close friends all went to liberal arts classes.
Although he studied finance in university and struggled with subjects like advanced mathematics because he had left science behind for too long in high school, starting from scratch and learning a science subject from elementary school level all the way to university and even postgraduate level didn't feel difficult for Ares at all.
In this era, there was no internet, no mobile phones, no novels, no games; there were no entertainment activities to distract him from his studies. Moreover, as he progressed in learning magic, Ares could clearly feel himself growing stronger step by step, and this feeling filled him with motivation.
What's more, he knew in his heart that his only chance of survival lay on this path of magic. Only by understanding more of the secrets of this unreasonable world could he find an opportunity to exploit loopholes and survive.
Under the dual motivations of growing stronger and surviving, Ares's learning progress even astonished Moon Goddess Hecate, who at one point thought Zeus was underutilizing Ares by making him God of War.
Currently, Ares, though not yet at Hecate's level, which could be called a "doctoral supervisor" in magic, is not far from challenging for a "doctorate" degree.
Unfortunately, even though Ares actively asked Hecate to teach him more magic related to time-space and parallel worlds during his studies, such magic was as perplexing as calculus in advanced mathematics.
Although Hecate taught some, and Ares tried his best to understand, according to Hecate, Chronos (the primordial God of Time, not the second-generation God King) and Chaos already involved the most fundamental mysteries of this world. It was normal for Ares, at his current level, not to understand. The few "calculus equations" he solved were simply not enough to enable him to decipher the specific use of that black crystal, which clearly involved advanced applications of time-space laws.
There was nothing Ares could do about this situation but work hard and strive to reach Hecate's level as soon as possible, then carefully analyze this crystal.
However, just as Ares regrouped and prepared to continue studying diligently, Hecate stopped him:
"Someone outside has come looking for you," she said to Ares, holding a stone tablet and floating in the air. "I don't want to see her; you go deal with it."
"Who's interrupting my study?" Ares's face was full of displeasure, but he couldn't ignore his teacher Hecate's words, so he put down the magic book in his hand, rubbed the back of his neck, and walked out of the Tree Palace.
Outside the Tree Palace gate, Hecate's pet, the three-headed dog Cerberus, was lying on the ground, its three heads staring menacingly at the forest outside the Tree Palace, letting out the characteristic "woofing" sounds of canines. From the corners of its three mouths, lightning, flames, and poisonous gas flowed respectively. Ares looked in the direction it was staring and found a Goddess with pure white wings and a rainbow glow around her, hiding behind a bush, trembling in fear at the fierce three-headed dog.
Her name is Iris, daughter of Thaumas and Electra, Goddess of the Rainbow, and messenger of the Gods on Olympus. Before Hermes was born, she almost entirely bore the mission of delivering Zeus's commands. Therefore, Iris's arrival meant she brought Zeus's will.
"Go away, get lost."
So Ares kicked Cerberus in the butt, driving him to a corner of the palace's outer garden.
Facing the God of War, this fierce beast could only let out pitiful, wronged whines, then tucked his tail between his legs and retreated into his doghouse. When Ares first arrived, this jealous evil dog thought Ares was coming to steal his master, so he often barked at Ares. However, on a dark and stormy night, when Ares, who had gotten up to observe the celestial phenomena and study astronomical magic, had his thoughts interrupted by this annoying dog, he furiously showed him the God of War's iron fist. Since then, Cerberus became well-behaved whenever he saw Ares.
After chasing away the three-headed dog, Ares approached Iris, looked down at the young Goddess, and asked, "Iris, do you have a command from Father for me?"
"Yes, yes, great Ares." Seeing Cerberus driven away, Iris breathed a slight sigh of relief. She saluted Ares by placing her hand on her chest, then peered at the distant Tree Palace and asked, "Is Moon Goddess there?"
"Are you looking for her too?" Ares asked.
"Yes," Iris replied, lowering her head. "A new Great God has been born on Olympus, and Godking, to celebrate her birth, is inviting all qualified deities in the world, except for criminals, to a banquet on Olympus. Besides you, he has also invited Moon Goddess."
"So that's it." Ares turned to look at the Tree Palace, then said, "Hecate doesn't like to see outsiders. I'll help you inform her. When is the banquet?"
"That's wonderful." Iris also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; it was clear that this Goddess also didn't particularly want to face the Goddess of Witchcraft, whom even Zeus was wary of. She replied, "The banquet is five days from now, and the location is Zeus's temple."
"I understand."
Ares waved his hand and said:
"You may go."
"Then I'll be leaving." Iris spread her wings and flew into the air. "I still need to deliver God King's invitations to other Gods."
"Mm." Ares looked at Iris, and suddenly, an idea struck him. He then called out, "Wait a moment, Iris, which Great God has been newly born this time?"
"Ah?" Iris, who was about to fly away, forcibly stopped upon hearing Ares's words, scattering a few feathers in the sky. Then she replied, "The newly born Great God is the daughter of the sky and the sea. She is tall and graceful, slender and full-figured, with a graceful and dignified posture. She is the embodiment of beauty, the epitome of love, and her name is..."
"Aphrodite?" Ares murmured.
"Oh? You already know?" Iris said in surprise.
"Hmm, ah, I had a feeling." Ares clutched his forehead, saying with some headache, "I suddenly don't feel like going anymore."