Jason walked alone through the ancient forest.
The ancient woods of the Greek divine era were naturally a very dangerous place.
Because in this world where the gods had not yet departed, the ancient forest was home to ferocious wild beasts or even monsters.
Moreover, there were nymphs born within the woods, the forest nymphs.
In ancient Greece, the dangers were not limited to beautiful women; there were also handsome men!
This ancient forest was actually a natural barrier protecting the Golden Fleece, not to mention the sleepless ancient dragon guarding the Golden Fleece.
The son of Typhon, the ancestor of all monsters!
But this was the general case.
Although the ancient divine-era forest was indeed an extremely dangerous place, for the current Jason, it naturally posed no threat.
In fact, it was even a battlefield where he held a considerable advantage!
Because Jason was a demigod.
Moreover, the divine blood he inherited came from Demeter, the goddess of agriculture among the twelve Olympian gods!
Therefore, the ancient forest and its various dangerous plants not only did not hinder Jason in the slightest; they even proactively cleared a straight path for him.
Even without playing beautiful music on a lyre, the power emanating from his own bloodline alone would instinctively make the forest animals feel fondness toward Jason.
They would not think of harming him.
Furthermore, with his handsome features that rivaled those of the god of light, Apollo.
The nymphs born in the forest could not help but appear before Jason.
"Cute child, may I ask where you are going?"
The nymph fixed her beautiful eyes on the white-clothed Jason before her, swallowing her saliva as she said softly to him, "Do not go any further, cute child. It is very dangerous ahead.
There is a giant dragon that never closes its eyes. This is not a place you should come to. You are so cute and beautiful..."
And at such times, Jason would always stop and politely say to the nymph, even though she was merely a nymph and not a goddess.
"Beautiful nymph, it is an honor to meet you, and I thank you for your kind reminder. But I must go.
Because defeating that giant dragon and taking away the Golden Fleece it guards is the trial bestowed upon me by the great Olympian gods."
Upon hearing that Jason bore the mission of the gods, the nymph was not surprised. She merely looked at him with some sadness and said, "But child, you are absolutely no match for it.
It has a body as hard as steel, can spew scorching poisonous flames, and never sleeps, never letting its guard down.
To this day, I do not know how many heroes I have seen perish miserably in its flames.
Even if you are lucky enough to dodge the poisonous flames it spews, your weapons cannot harm it in the slightest.
How could you possibly defeat it alone!
Cute child, hurry back. Surely, even if you fail, the great gods will not blame you."
In the face of this forest nymph who kindly warned him, Jason naturally responded with gratitude.
But naturally, he would not choose to leave.
In truth, this was slightly out of character for Jason.
Because under normal circumstances, these nymphs would not even have the chance to see Jason.
He would most likely don Hades' helm of invisibility the moment he entered the ancient woods and keep it on until he took the Golden Fleece from the sleepless dragon.
After all, he was Heracles, the hero in white.
However, this time was ultimately different from usual.
Because Jason had promised Athena that during this journey for the Golden Fleece, he would be a hero.
Though the definition of a hero itself had no fixed meaning.
There was even the saying that heroes are judged by success or failure.
But in any case, this time, Jason did not plan to steal the Golden Fleece from the sleepless dragon.
As for the reasons, there were many aspects.
Among them was...
This was, after all, the most glorious moment in the life of "Jason."
Even if I am not him, I am Jason now, after all.
Such thoughts were among them.
However, he actually did not know how the original "Jason" defeated the sleepless dragon and took the Golden Fleece.
If he knew, Jason probably would not think this way.
Because in the original myth, the hero named Jason did not fight the sleepless dragon at all.
Faced with such a terrifying existence, the son of Typhon, the ancestor of all monsters, even a demigod like Jason in the myth would most likely be unable to defeat it.
It was only with the help of Medea and the hero Orpheus, one of the children of the god of light Apollo who was originally meant to receive Apollo's seven-stringed lyre, that he passed smoothly.
And after stealing the Golden Fleece, they fled overnight, during which Medea even killed her own family for Jason.
But this time, that tragedy would naturally not occur.
And after yesterday's events, King Aeëtes of Colchis had already tacitly accepted that the Golden Fleece would be taken by Jason.
At the same time, he gladly accepted this outcome.
The original fate had also been severed by Jason and Medea together under Medea's three years of planning.
Even under the deception of Athena and Hecate, the threads of the Fates could no longer connect to Jason and Medea.
By breaking their own fates, they had also become beings without fate.
This actually meant that from that moment on, they possessed endless possibilities!
Then, after "coincidentally" encountering the fifth kind-hearted nymph.
And politely declining the invitation from this nymph to leave with her to her home.
Almost the instant Jason left, as the nymph's face was filled with regret.
Only to see Jason step out of the shade of the trees into the sunlight with his front foot.
The next second, he vanished directly into the sunlight and teleported before the sleepless dragon.
In that instant, Jason was somewhat stunned.
The sleepless dragon, seeing Jason suddenly emerge from the sunlight, was naturally also stunned and froze in place.
At the same time, the fifth nymph who watched Jason disappear, along with the nymphs behind her, were also stunned.
You see, there were still several more nymphs behind who were prepared to persuade Jason.
They had even drawn lots to decide the order...
Ah, this...
Jason blinked at the sleepless dragon, which was staring at him with wide-open eyes.
Because he had experienced too many such things, Jason quickly recovered and could not help but feel a mix of laughter and tears.
"Thank you, great god of light, Lord Apollo."
Well, for now, he would express his thanks first.
Then, facing the sleepless dragon before him, Jason bowed respectfully and said, "Hello."
"Um, hello..."
After the sleepless dragon nodded in reply, it tilted its head.
"No, who are you!"
The sleepless dragon then reacted, propping itself up in an instant and fixing its eyes dead on Jason.
"My name is Jason." Jason showed no fear whatsoever and even smiled as he said to the sleepless dragon, "I am an ordinary person from a distant land, here for the Golden Fleece that you guard."
At this point, Jason paused slightly and continued, "May I ask, respected Dragon Lord, could you give me the Golden Fleece?
I can offer something in exchange."
"Of course not!" Upon hearing that Jason was here for the Golden Fleece, the sleepless dragon widened its eyes.
It looked at the tiny figure before it.
Then...
"What do you plan to offer in exchange first?"
"Eh?" This time, it was Jason's turn to be stunned.
He blinked at the sleepless dragon.
So it was not completely hopeless after all?
He had just said it on impulse...
Jason thought seriously for a moment, then said to the sleepless dragon, "Dragon Lord, is there anything you desire that I might have?"
"You really intend to trade something for it." Now it was the sleepless dragon's turn to be surprised. It widened its eyes at Jason and said, "You are quite strange."
In response to the sleepless dragon's words, Jason found himself... unable to refute for a moment!
"Whenever others see me, they come charging with their weapons to hack at me, only to be sprayed to death or trampled by me.
You are the first one to talk to me and want to trade for it."
The sleepless dragon looked at Jason before it with interest.
Then it lay down and said, "Fine, for the sake of how amusing you are, I will not spray you or trample you. You can go."
"Um... that will not do, Dragon Lord." Jason shook his head. "I must take the Golden Fleece with me."
"But I cannot give it to you. I made an agreement with someone else to guard the Golden Fleece and not let anyone take it away."
Upon hearing this, Jason could not help but laugh.
He truly had not expected to end up in a conversation with the sleepless dragon.
And it was not just Jason; at this moment, the gods watching from the heavens were also stunned.
They had instinctively thought a great battle would erupt immediately...
On the other hand, Hecate, who had followed along and hidden in the shadows, was momentarily taken aback but felt no surprise at all.
In fact, all along, Hecate believed that the most remarkable thing about her disciple, the point that even made her have to admire him.
Was that no matter where he went, he could always win people over!
From the gods of the sacred Mount Olympus to the ancient gods suppressed in the endless abyss of the underworld.
Had not the siblings of the sleepless dragon all been tamed obediently by Jason?
The two-headed dog worked at the gates of the underworld.
The three-headed dog played chess in the endless abyss.
Even Typhon, their blood-related ancestor of all monsters, yearned to have him.
If there were a system, Jason's skills in speech, social interaction, and persuasion would absolutely be maxed out!
However, all of this was not without precedent.
As the sleepless dragon said, to this day, aside from Jason, everyone who came to it had been the type to raise their weapons without a word and charge in.
Moreover, looking at those nymphs queued up to persuade Jason.
In Greek mythology, appearance really mattered a great deal...
Not to mention, one does not strike a smiling face.
"But I must take the Golden Fleece... Dragon Lord, is there anything you want? Let me see if I can provide it."
"I do not want anything... Come to think of it, why did I agree to guard this thing again?"
The sleepless dragon pondered and actually tilted its head.
It looked up at the Golden Fleece shining with golden light atop the massive oak tree beside it, its eyes full of bewilderment.
"Dragon Lord, do you truly have nothing you want?"
At this moment, Jason felt like laughing.
And on its body, Jason seemed to see the shadows of the two-headed dog and three-headed dog, so his tone became even gentler.
"Nothing... If I had to say, I am actually very curious about what it feels like to sleep."
The sleepless dragon thought for a moment and replied to Jason.
Indeed, it answered so earnestly.
"Sleep?" Jason was stunned for a moment.
"Yes." The sleepless dragon nodded. "Because I have never slept since I was born."
Jason thought for a while and said, "If it is about letting you sleep... Dragon Lord, it seems I can really do that."
"Eh!" The sleepless dragon's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"Yes."
As Jason spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an item.
It was an ancient-style shepherd's flute.
Jason had only one shepherd's flute on him, which was the gift bestowed upon him by Hermes.
That was right; this flute was the divine artifact that could even make the hundred-eyed giant Argus fall asleep!
The sleepless dragon looked at Jason, who had taken out the flute, with puzzlement.
But Jason wasted no words on it. He placed the flute to his lips and gently played a beautiful melody.
Under the power of this magic flute, the sleepless dragon soon felt a sensation it had never experienced before.
And it was not just it; the surrounding animals and creatures also gradually fell asleep under the sound of the magic flute.
The sleepless dragon was very curious about this feeling and made no attempt to resist it at all.
Soon, overwhelmed by sleepiness, it closed its eyes, let out a yawn, and lay down before Jason.
The gods watched this scene from the heavens.
The gods looked at one another, momentarily at a loss for words.
"This child... always manages to surprise people."
The goddess of the hearth, Hestia, could not help but say with a smile.
"He really knows how to play things creatively." Hermes looked somewhat exasperated at Jason, who was playing the shepherd's flute he had given him.
"This is called cleverness. My brother is just that outstanding!"
Persephone refuted Hermes' words and said happily for Jason.
"It looks like it is over." The god of war, Ares, felt somewhat bored and said, "If I had known it would be like this, I would not have come."
As Ares prepared to leave.
"Hm?"
Queen of the Sea Amphitrite suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
At the same time, Athena, who had been watching below, curved her lips upward and smiled.
Because the subsequent development was not as they had imagined.
Jason did not go to take the Golden Fleece after seeing the sleepless dragon fall asleep.
Instead, after stopping the flute and confirming the dragon was asleep, Jason sat down right in front of the dragon and quietly waited for it to wake up.