### Chapter 17: The Lazy Ant

### Chapter 17: The Lazy Ant

The main gate of Plato's Academy stood tall and imposing, consisting of three marble arches, with the largest in the center and smaller ones on either side.

Besides the arches, the sides of the entrance were lined with trees, forming a natural wall. There was no fence or any guards present.

On the pillars of the main gate, a line of text was carved.

"No one ignorant of geometry shall enter here."

"Looks like this phrase is real..."

Suye thought for a moment, recalling some basic geometric knowledge, such as the Pythagorean theorem, then happily stepped forward. After a few steps, he suddenly wondered how to prove the Pythagorean theorem.

Suye continued walking, but not as cheerfully.

Rushing through the gate, he found himself on a flat marble road, flanked by lush lawns.

Along the roadside, countless marble statues were placed.

Suye’s eyes lit up, almost exclaiming aloud.

He never expected to see such a rich collection of Ancient Greek statues here.

The statues closest to the main gate were incredibly simple, resembling human forms more like geometric shapes, yet all had distinct male and female features. This was Suye’s earliest memory of Ancient Greek statues, dating back to around 3000 BC, known as Cycladic statues.

Though simple, these statues possessed an indescribable beauty.

Further ahead, the statues felt more familiar, filled with a strong Egyptian influence. Unlike Egypt’s predominantly flat style, these statues had more depth, detailed muscle textures, and brimming with vitality. However, the details were quite rough.

As Suye continued, his excitement grew. Seeing so many statues arranged chronologically was a sight he had never encountered even in museums from his past life.

The further he ran, the more intricate the statues became, with increasingly perfect proportions and finer details. Finally, the statues reached a new level of mastery, each capturing emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, as if frozen moments of living beings.

Suddenly, Suye glanced back at the statues on both sides, thinking to himself: "Rich."

Except for the early works, almost all the statues were made of Parian marble, the most precious sculptural material in all of Greece. Without a doubt, every marble statue here was crafted by a master.

Unfortunately, time was pressing, and Suye couldn’t appreciate them thoroughly. He soon left the statue area.

A fountain pool with a diameter of thirty meters lay directly ahead, filled with numerous white statues. There were human figures, legendary heroes, and mythical beasts, as if narrating an epic tale.

At the center of the statue group stood a nine-headed Hydra statue, dominating the entire pool like a dark cloud.

However, Suye paid no heed and rushed to the edge of the fountain, scooping water to wash his face.

Since yesterday, he hadn’t washed up.

After washing his face, noticing the water was clean, Suye ran to a Hydra head spout, cupped his hands to rinse his mouth, and continued running.

"The marble road would take too long; I have to run straight through the grass and trees. But today, my feet don’t seem to hurt as much. Could it be my talent taking effect?" Suye thought while running towards his class, observing himself and smiling.

Previously, Suye was very frail, but now he had grown taller and developed noticeable muscles, comparable to those of ordinary warrior apprentices.

As Suye stepped onto the lawn facing away from the fountain, all the statues slowly turned their heads, especially the nine-headed Hydra, which stared at his back.

A teacher from Plato's Academy who witnessed this rolled his eyes, thinking, "Who is so bold? That’s the famous Sea Demon Fountain, personally crafted by Plato as a legendary magical artifact, containing three legendary sea monsters.”

Over the years, anyone who dared cause trouble at Plato's Academy ended up in the stomachs of the three sea monsters.

Suye kept running, wondering about the significance of that fountain. Unfortunately, some memories had faded, and he couldn’t recall, so he let it go.

Plato's Academy faced south, with the famous Basilica of Plato directly north of the fountain. Though not as ornate as a temple, its grandeur was no less impressive.

Suye dashed diagonally northeast towards the classroom area.

Even without taking the main road, he could glimpse the towering columns of the Basilica of Plato, each intricately carved into different muscular male figures.

Seeing the male statues, Suye remembered that Greece prohibited female statues, reserved exclusively for temples. Moreover, each male statue in the Basilica of Plato was a Saint Domain puppet.

There were thirty-six male statues lining both sides of the Basilica.

Above the Basilica, there was a magical clock, similar to those on Blue Star, except it lacked a second hand.

Suye realized once again that the wisdom of mages should never be underestimated.

While running, his mind was filled with the nearly perfect statues he had seen, unlike the broken and worn ones from his past life. These statues were magically preserved, radiating soul-stirring beauty.

Despite gaining the talent of the Demon Ox, Suye began to breathe heavily after running for so long.

Plato's Academy was vast, renowned as the largest man-made garden in all of Greece.

Passing through one grassy field and forest after another, he saw the building where his class was held getting closer. Suddenly, he noticed someone squatting under a large tree.

In the past, Suye wouldn’t have been able to see clearly, but with his enhanced vision from the Demon Ox, he could make out the person using a stick to obstruct an ant, seemingly trying to force it back into its nest.

"Do not hinder the lazy ant; it will create miracles!"

Thinking he had nothing better to do, Suye shouted and continued running.

The young man squatting on the ground had jet-black, slightly curly hair. He slowly lifted his head, looking at Suye, with mist swirling in his eyes.

"A lazy ant?"

He murmured, threw away the stick, and focused on the ant.

Emerging from the forest, he saw stone buildings scattered and connected across the landscape.

Suye quickly found his classroom, stepping on the fragrant soil and grass, reaching the door.

Class 3, Grade 2.

Sunlight streamed in, and the students, dressed in variously colored and shaped "sheets," looked over.

Laughter rippled through the classroom.

Teacher Niedern, who was discussing new academic year matters, turned to look at Suye.

The moment he saw Teacher Niedern, a flood of memories surfaced in Suye's mind.

Niedern was a tall, red-haired elder wearing a gray Greek chiton, with no other adornments on his body, keeping him neat and clean. Greek faces were already quite defined, but his was even more angular, with a particularly prominent hawk nose.

However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that his two eyes were slightly different.

His left eye was a false one.

Every student knew that there was a saying circulating around the academy: Teacher Niedern is so kind-hearted that even his false eye exudes warmth.

Nevertheless, Teacher Niedern rarely smiled. His reputation for kindness came from his tireless patience in answering every student's questions.

He often quoted Socrates' famous saying: There are no foolish questions, nor foolish answers.

Niedern gazed quietly at Suye.

...

Note: That quote was said by Socrates in the world of the gods.