I'd like to be able to tell you that the next few days were tough. That monsters kept coming at us, one after the other, ready to tear our throats out.

That Piper and I had our backs against the wall- that we clawed our way to Santa Monica, unsure of whether or not we'd live to see another day.

Well, I've never been that good at lying, and I don't think I'm going to start now.

Our trip to Santa Monica wasn't really any of those things.

You see, ever since my uncle visited me, monster attacks were few and far between. I couldn't know for sure, but I was suspecting that they knew I was going to retrieve their lord's symbol of power or something.

Not that I was complaining. With the money he fronted us, Piper and I got another one of those Amtrak trains all the way to Santa Monica. Look, I'm not going to lie, I felt a little…disappointed.

You see, back at camp, Annabeth made quests sound like this insane rollercoaster where you might not come back alive.

And I mean, it was kind of like that, at first. After my uncle got involved though, it just felt like a field trip where I'd occasionally get to kill something. The prospect of fighting Ares was exciting, yeah, but not in an "oh my god, yes!" way- it felt more like I was just walking to my death.

Honestly, I kind of missed Annabeth. I'd never really had that many friends my age before this whole thing, and she was one of the few people I could actually say I liked to spend time with. The thought of never seeing her again was a little scary, but I couldn't think like that right now.

Anyway, where was I? The trip. Right.

The only downside of the whole thing was that it was nighttime when we arrived, and I wasn't really in the mood to maybe die at night.

We walked into one of those hotels- you know, the types at the hubs of cities that were right across from the airports and whatnot. The kinds where you usually saw all those stuffy businessmen going to conventions and conferences.

It was sort of funny, actually.

Piper and I walked into the hotel, and no one paid us any attention. We squeezed through the entrance, sandwiched in between two men in suits. The bellhop didn't even spare us a second glance he welcomed us in as if we were business people ourselves.

Not even the adults turned to look at the two dirty children who just walked in. Maybe they thought we were hobos. I mean, it is Santa Monica. We saw our fair share of hobos as we got off the train, but you'd think hotels would be a little stricter about who can enter.

My dirty sneakers squeaked against the floor as we walked around. It was rubbed so clean I could see my reflection, and for a second, I even felt a little bad about making it all messy.

Okay, second over. Avoiding contact with everyone, we walked up to the check-in desk. The bald man sitting behind it looked up at me, annoyed. I was just about to ask for a room with two beds, but he placed a key on the desk.

"Our benefactor Mr.H has requested that you and your companion be placed in the presidential suite for the night," He sniffed. I held the key in my hands- it was one of those rectangular ones, but there was a giant skull on it instead of a room number. "Top floor."

"Ah. Uh, thanks," I said awkwardly. At the mention of 'the presidential suite,' every single adult in line behind us looked at us with wide eyes. I think one lady even bowed a little.

I turned back to the man, whose expression remained unchanging. "Try not to track too much mud into our elevators."

That was that.

Piper and I shuffled into one of the elevators. I tried to ignore the surprised gasps of the adults behind us as I hit the topmost button. Was this place really that great?

A couple of minutes passed, and we walked onto the carpeted floors. Red lines and golden swirls crisscrossed from left to right, framing a beautiful lotus pattern that continued until one singular door.

We stopped outside of the elevator, taking a second to look out the side of the building. The window perfectly showcased Santa Monica- the buildings were lit up. The night lights were on, casting a warm and colorful glow over the city. People were walking on the sidewalks, laughing, smiling.

A feeling of dread settled in my stomach. No one knew what was about to happen tomorrow. All these people were just going to keep living their lives, unaware of the fact that a whole other world existed, right under their very noses.

"Fancy," Piper spoke up from behind me, drawing me out of my macabre thoughts. I think she could tell I was stressed out. She put a hand on my shoulder. "Good thing your uncle really likes you."

"Yeah, I guess," I said, my eyes still trained on the bustling city. I looked a little past it towards the pier. I shook myself a bit. "Let's check out the room."

Piper shot me a worried glance but nodded. We both walked towards the room. As we got closer, the card floated out of my pocket. It spun in place a few times and then disappeared. The door opened itself.

Sharing a shrug, we stepped into the doorway. I don't have much experience with hotels, but man, this one was insane.

It was a suite with two separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and there was a note pinned to the entrance.

'Sup, Perce? Hope you got to Santa Monica alright. Order whatever you want for dinner- it's on me. Might show up with your old man later, I'll keep you posted. Try to get some sleep tonight.

-H

I crumpled the note in my hand and smiled. Even if I was going to die, at least my last night would be nice.

"This place is nice," Piper commented from behind me as she peered over my shoulder. She brushed by me and walked further into the room. Not a moment passed, and she screamed. "Who are you and how did you get here?"

"Relax. I'm here to take Percy to his meeting," A light voice said as another girl walked over to Piper. I felt my mouth get dry. This was definitely Aphrodite.

She looked different, somehow, though. Rather than changing her appearance constantly, she was set on one.

Unlike last time, she looked younger, too. If I had to guess, she was either my age or a little older. Her hair was blonde, which I think is obviously the most attractive hair color ever.

She didn't look modern, though, if that makes any sense. Her hair was adorned with gold circlets and flowers.

Aphrodite's face was pretty and heart-shaped. Just like last time, her makeup was perfect. She smiled at me, and I felt my insides get a little warm. She was dressed in one of those Greek-style dresses that flowed down from her shoulders. Gold bands covered her wrists, too.

All in all, she looked exactly like what I would've imagined a Greek princess would've looked like.

A barely visible pink aura shined around her skin. Was that there the last time? If I'd been a little smarter and a little less out of it, I could've confirmed my thoughts with an active version of {MD}.

Oh man- let me tell you, this time around, it was even worse. I couldn't keep my eyes away from her bright blue ones.

I kept getting drawn to her perfect lips. The dress caught as she walked, and I was having an impossible time trying to keep my eyes from roaming.

Did the Game make puberty come sooner, too? I wasn't this devastated by her very presence last time. Maybe it was because I was in a dream, and there was some sort of little jelly layer protecting my mortal brain from her presence?

Her entire being glistened in the lights, almost like she'd pointed them at her to make her every movement shine.

You know, looking back, she might've. Only Zeus knows what she was doing in here while she waited. Honestly, that was a good question. I mentally willed away the image of Aphrodite just standing in the darkness, waiting for us to walk in.

It was kind of creepy to think about it like that.

Every step she took was absolutely mesmerizing, and a part of me began to wonder if she was actively trying to embarrass me.

"I take it you like what you see," Aphrodite said softly, walking over to me. The gold made a light chiming noise with every step she took. She softly placed a finger under my chin, forcing me to look into her eyes.

You know, I'm really not going to lie to you. I think I wanted to go for a witty comeback, but it ended up sounding something like, "Um uh gah."

"How sweet," She said tantalizingly, smiling at me warmly. Her eyes glinted. "I missed you too."

Hold on! I didn't say that! Did she know that? I feel like she did…

"Uh, Percy, who is this?" Piper asked, crossing her arms. What was that weird look on her face? She looked like she just ate a slug. "And why is she in our room?"

"I'm here to take him to his uncle," Aphrodite said, patting my cheek. A bit of her teasing tone from the dream was back, "If he can get his jaw off the floor, first, that is."

Was I really getting teased by Aphrodite? The absurdness of that realization jarred me back into control. The goddess of love was teasing me of all people.

"This is, uh, Ally," I said, guessing that Aphrodite didn't want Piper knowing her true identity. I completely skipped over the 'picking up his jaw' part- one problem at a time, folks. One problem at a time. "If she says my uncle sent her, I believe her."

They both exchanged a weird look. Piper looked completely surprised that I'd taken Aphrodite's side, and Aphrodite looked completely shocked I didn't take Piper's side. What can I say? I aim to surprise. The last thing I'd want to do is get predictable.

"I'll be back in a bit," I told Piper. "Uncle said you can order whatever you want, so knock yourself out."

Piper looked like she wanted to say something but bit her tongue. A fake smile found its way onto her face. "Okay. Be safe."

"Always," I held the door open for Aphrodite and walked out after her, gently closing the door. We both waited for the elevator in silence.

I snuck a glance at her. The Aphrodite from the room and the Aphrodite standing next to me seemed like two completely different people. Don't get me wrong, she still looked great. I'll stand by that 'til the day I die.

It was the look on her face. Back in there, she was invincible, untouchable. That's 100% the goddess I thought she'd be when I first met her. Now, though…

What changed?

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped on through. Aphrodite waved her hand, and the button panel changed. Well below the rest of them, the air bent and twisted. I blinked, and below the emergency button, a solid black one emerged. She clicked it.

"This will probably take a while," Aphrodite said quietly. I turned and looked at her, trying to figure out what happened.

Okay, I'm going to be real here. I have absolutely no experience with girls. Unless you count my mom, I've never even hugged another girl. Zeus knows Aphrodite isn't necessarily a normal girl or even a normal woman for that matter, but I wasn't just trying to stand in silence here.

I looked at her again. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine."

"Um, I don't think it is," I said jokingly, but she didn't like that. Nope, she didn't like that one bit.

"Well, of course, it isn't fine!" Aphrodite said indignantly. "My daughter is irrationally annoyed at me! I swear, that girl..."

"Um…" I said awkwardly. Aphrodite turned her gaze on me again, and I accidentally looked down at her lips. Man, my face felt a bit warm now. Come on, doors, open!

"Well, I'm glad you like what you see," Aphrodite teased me again, and I felt like hitting my head against the elevator wall. "You look rather dashing yourself."

"Thank you," I spoke up, not believing a word of what she'd just said. I hadn't showered in a real shower since last week, I was still wearing the same dirty clothes I'd worn in my battle against Medusa and the Chimera, and to top it all off, my eye was covered in a Subway napkin since I'd lost the linen wrap from Medusa. "That's quite the compliment, coming from you."

"Well, I suppose it is," Aphrodite said, humming softly. Her eyes met mine. "Before I forget to mention, your mother is now under my protection."

"I haven't even completed my part of the deal yet, though," I pointed out.

"Mm. You will," Aphrodite shrugged. She twirled a lock of hair around her finger nervously. "I, uh, you see, the reason I wanted to tell you is that there was a slight...complication...with our bond..."

"What kind of complication?" Those words were almost at the bottom of the list of things I wanted to hear from Aphrodite at the moment. Complication almost always meant a bad thing.

"Well you see, because I recognized your mother as my family, our bond immediately changed, as well," Aphrodite cleared her throat. "This wasn't entirely my doing, of course, but in the Olympian Council's marriage registry, you and I are listed as husband and wife."

"Huh?"

Before I could ask her to elaborate, the doors slid open. I stepped out, and my vision was instantly assaulted by a cacophony of light. The passive version of {MD} was telling me that there were three really powerful entities in the room.

Jeez, man, it was like looking straight into one of those football lights they used to have at Yancy that could light up the entire field at a moment's notice.

A soft, feminine voice spoke up. "Everyone, dim your auras. He can sense them."

Was that Hestia?

The light dimmed. Dark spots still danced in my vision, but I felt a comforting hand land on my shoulder, accompanied by the slight smell of sea breeze.

"Dad?" I said, confused about what was happening. Why would my dad and Hestia be here? I thought this was just a dinner…

"We have a lot to talk about, son," My dad replied, a little sternly. What sort of tone was that? My vision returned to me fully as I was led into a seat.

Aphrodite took the seat next to me, shooting me a weird look.

I took a second to try to gauge my surroundings. I knew I was probably somewhere in the Underworld, but where?

All right. First impressions.

I was in a pretty cozy room. Honestly, it looked like a library or study of some kind- but, like, a rich guy version.

Bookshelves stretched towards an impossibly high glass ceiling. A nice shag carpet covered the floors. A roaring fire crackled pleasantly somewhere in the room. I was sitting at a table somewhere towards the middle of all of this.

The ceiling was layered- if that makes any sense. Like, it spread outward from the center in waves, almost as if it was blowtorched by the world's biggest fire. Even though it was completely dark outside, it was pretty light inside.

The flames flickered, easily displaying everyone's shadows on the walls.

The table had my dad, Hestia, and Hades sitting around it. Well, and me and Aphrodite, but you already knew that.

There was a big bag of Chipotle in the middle along with some soda cans and napkins, and Hades was humming as he bit into a burrito.

"Nephew," Hades greeted with a wave between bites. He snapped his fingers, and my very own bag of Chipotle appeared in front of me.

"Uncle," I said, bowing my head a little. I checked inside the bag- how did he get my order completely correct? "It's nice to see you too, Lady Hestia."

"I'm happy to see that you are well, my champion," Hestia replied, a little uncertainly. I smiled at her, but she looked away.

Ouch. Wasn't she happy to see me, well, alive?

I looked around the room again and noticed everyone was sort of looking at me weirdly. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Well, you see, nephew," Hades said, munching on his burrito. "You're hiding something from us."

All of the air left my lungs. I felt like a rhino just rammed into me. "Um…"

"Look, son, we've all known there was something different about you from the moment we met you," Poseidon explained carefully. A little bit of queso was smudged on his beard. "I knew it from the moment you could detect mana. Normal demigods don't do that. And now, after every battle, you seem to walk away, completely different. What else could that possibly mean?"

Oh, god, this was horrifying. My brain chose this exact moment to become acutely aware of the fact that every single person at this table could look at me wrong and I'd spontaneously combust. "I…I really don't know what to say."

"The truth would be good," Hades suggested, and for a moment, my laid-back uncle disappeared. His eyes changed from a warm brown to a menacing black. Hades- no, The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.

Hopelessness began to pour into the air. His clothes started to flicker, shadowy faces appearing in the folds of his jacket and shirt- faces of torment as if the material was stitched with trapped souls trying to get out.

The fire in the room got smaller. Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap. Curl up here and sleep forever.

"Sheesh," I gasped out, chuckling weakly as I grabbed the edge of the table. "That serious, huh?"

Okay, now it was getting worse. He started radiating even more power. He lounged in his seat looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther. I felt like I was on the verge of passing out. "Percy. The truth."


|| You're in some deep shit now, huh? You've forcibly developed a skill by being blasted with your uncle's Killer Intent! ||

[ACTIVE/PASSIVE][WIS] {DETECTING BLOODLUST} [LV: 2] [PROG: 50%]

|| Bloodlust is simply the user exuding pure killing intention, and having it affect their opponent, themselves, and others around them, up to the point of paralyzing them with fear. When the bloodlust is particularly strong, it can even give the victim visions of their own gruesome death. ||

[LV: 1] You can slightly withstand an opponent's bloodlust- as long as your opponent is up to Level 10!


That skill was busted! It wouldn't even help me against Annabeth as it stood right now!

I swallowed. "You won't believe me."

"Try us."

I panicked- and believe it or not- I lied. Yep. Fucking lied. Straight to the face of four Olympians, and it somehow worked.

It wasn't my smartest move, I know, but there's no fucking way I was going to tell them about this Gamer power. I just wasn't.

"I don't know how to describe it, but something in me awakened after the Minotaur fight," I said, completely bullshitting but also sort of telling the truth. "It's like this set multiplier of power, where after every fight, I feel like I get way stronger."

"So," Hades said, sipping his drink. "You're telling me you're like a Saiyan? That you have zenkai?"

Putting the fact that the Lord of the Dead watched Dragon Ball, I agreed, "Well, yeah. That, and a heightened hold over my mental state. Like, I still feel pain, and anxiousness, and all of that, but I can power through it. I guess the main part of the power is that I just get stronger and faster at a much more exponential rate than most people."

"So, does that mean each and every fight you take part in makes you stronger?" My dad asked curiously. "If I were to attack you right now, would you get the same boost, or does it have to be enemies?"

It was sort of weird, seeing my tall, built dad eat a burrito. It looked tiny in his hands. The ADHD part of me wondered if he'd ever had one before- he was eating it sideways.

"Well, sometimes, enemies. Other times, just like, fights that I consider being official if that makes sense," I answered honestly. My hand clenched into a fist under the table. "It's not perfect, though. Sometimes, I just don't get that benefit. And, it's not a crazy boost unless I'm in insane danger. My fight with the Chimera proved that."

"Well! Mystery solved. All's well that ends well," Hades said jovially, unwrapping another burrito. "Ah, nephew, Chipotle really is the food of the gods. If I could get a store down in the Underworld, I don't think I'd need much else. Ah, there's that smile! See, brother, sister, I told you interrogating him was the best way to do things."

The absurdity of his comment and his mood change were too much for me to handle. I busted out laughing. Hestia hid a chuckle behind her hand and even Aphrodite cracked a smile.

"You're not exactly off the hook, either," Poseidon said, not laughing at the joke. He crossed his arms, looking at Hades and Aphrodite. "You two have been meddling with him the whole time!"

"Yeah, no, that's actually fair," Hades replied, actually agreeing with my dad. He sort of shrugged at me. "Sorry, kiddo. You can have your own quest where you're all alone after this. I'm not letting my helm fall into the wrong hands just to let you have some experience. Tell you what, I'll give you a real quest once this all blows over. I've been meaning to have someone clear out some places for me."

"It's okay, uncle," I assured him, biting into my burrito. "It's been a weird week for sure. Honestly, as long as I get my mother back, I don't care about any 'experience', or whatever. I can do dangerous stuff later."

Hestia smiled at me. "Your loyalty truly is your greatest strength. Most heroes would refute my brother's claims, citing their own power as the reason why the quest was easy, but"-

"Excuse me!" Aphrodite said, interrupting Hestia. She looked offended. "How have I meddled with him at all?"

My dad literally face-palmed. "Are you…okay, let's run it down, shall we? Is it the part where you led your daughter to him instead of sending her to camp, putting him in more danger? Or when you tried to make a deal with him? Maybe when your action indirectly lost him his eye? Weren't you just in his room thirty minutes ago? I looked at the marriage registry too- it notified me specifically that my son was married already! You planned that from the start!"

Aphrodite huffed. "Hey, you know as well as I do that I only intended for us to be bonded so that I could get out from Ares' thumb. This marriage business is someone else's doing. Whether that's Hera, Hebe, I don't know. I'm going to go through with it, though. I've been looking to remarry."

"With my son? With my twelve-year-old son?" Poseidon replied, exasperatedly. "The boy didn't even know what he was doing, making a bond, and you're taking advantage of that."

This was getting really awkward. It was uncomfortable enough to try to talk with Aphrodite alone now, but hearing my dad rip into her was just sort of cringe- even if he was making valid points.

"Well, it is what it is," Aphrodite shot back, a little dejected. "I don't care what he does. He doesn't have to be loyal or faithful, or whatever. You of all people should know marriage isn't as black and white as you'd want to think- or do we have to consult your other sons about that, too?"

Low blow. I suddenly got very interested in my food. Wow, this soda can was one of those limited-edition ones! Hey, if I scanned the code, I could get five dollars-

"I would never force myself on a child!" Poseidon returned, getting angry. From my passive {MD} I could see him start to flicker a little brighter.

"I mean, he is a little kid," Hades shrugged, agreeing with my dad. "Kelp Head has a point. You could've idled a bit, cooled your jets on the bond. On the other hand, brother, she couldn't have possibly known about the registry fiasco. You and I both know there's a limited pool of people who can alter that. It's pretty unlikely that she planned this. from the start."

"And let my own power drain to the point where Ares could waltz on over and take me whenever he wanted? Yeah, no thanks," Aphrodite scoffed. This was getting bad. My dad and Aphrodite were starting to shine, cracks of gold appearing on their skin.

I stood up abruptly. "I should go. Piper is probably worried about me."

Hestia stood up as well. "Allow me to escort you back to your room."

"Of course, my lady," I said gratefully. This was all becoming a little too much for me to handle at the moment. I wanted to go back to my room, take a nice bubble bath, and prepare to get smacked into the ground.

Hades tossed me another bag. "Some food for later. I know you might get hungry- there's some for her in there, too."

Poseidon calmed down a little bit. Honestly, I was surprised he calmed down at all. If his temper was anything like mine, that could've gotten really ugly.

He stood up and walked over to me. I was a little confused, but he bent down a little and hugged me. My eyes widened. He stirred my oldest memories, again: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of his hand on my forehead.

"Tomorrow will be difficult," My dad told me, pulling away. His face cracked into a grin. "But you can do this. I know you can."

My eyes felt a little warm. "I won't let you down."

"I know," He smiled at me. He waved to Hestia and Hades. "Sister, brother, I take my leave."

Poseidon gave Aphrodite another sour look. He then became a hologram, then a wind, and then he was gone, leaving only the smell of a pleasant see breeze lingering behind.

Hestia smiled pleasantly at me again and led me back into the elevator. The door closed as Aphrodite started to talk to my uncle about something.

We started moving up.

Hestia put a calming hand on my shoulder. "Percy, I doubt this is what you want to hear, but I think you should give Aphrodite a chance."

"I don't like being forced into things," I answered honestly. Hestia's presence was so comforting- if my Serenity Inducement ever got this high, I could probably just talk all of my enemies into submission. "I don't want to be forced into something like that. I don't want a relationship with someone right now anyway, to be honest. I'm twelve."

"I understand," Hestia replied. "Then don't make it a husband-wife relationship at all. Don't even think about it as a relationship."

That threw me for a loop. "What?"

"You heard correctly. Husband and wife, boyfriend, and girlfriend- these are mere titles, are they not? If I call you my husband, does that make you my husband?"

My cheeks burned. "Well, no."

"Okay, then this bond situation doesn't instantly make her your wife. Even if she tells you she is, just try to think of her as a friend," Hestia suggested.

"You want me to friendzone the goddess of love?" I asked incredulously. That was like beating my dad in a fishing competition or coming first in a race against Hermes- it just didn't make sense.

"I'm not familiar with that word, but yes," Hestia said as the doors dinged open. "Take it slow. She's been neglected for a long while, now. Just because she acts like it didn't hurt doesn't mean it actually didn't. Your interest in her situation made her feel wanted. I'm certain she'd been developing some sort of feelings for you, anyway. Some might say this even makes it easier on her. She isn't used to making moves on people, and now, she doesn't have to."

"I don't love her, though- it honestly seems farfetched that I will any time soon," I pointed out. "Won't that make things even worse?"

We walked out. Hestia led me to my door, bent down a bit, and gave me a hug. "You were correct in saying that love is a little farfetched at the moment. She may have overreacted in her conversation with your father, yes, but it was only because she wanted to be with you and was excited to get the chance. So, will you try, for me?"

"Yes," I replied instantly, even if I had no idea how to go about it. Hestia disappeared with a smile a moment later, and I opened the door.

Okay, be friends with Aphrodite. How hard could that be?


AN: Hello, everybody! It's been a little bit, sorry about that. I decided to take a little break from writing just because it was starting to feel a little too much like a chore, but I'm back! Little bit of a fluff chapter, but eh, you need those. Can't have action all the time.

Drouppi: I see your point, but I don't really see it that way. The overall pairing is decided, yes, but there's a lot that can happen between now and them actually getting together. It won't be as black and white as you'd expect.

Tiwa Vol: I got you.

kyuubi7: That would be really cool, actually. Thanks for the idea!

darkpegasuzz: I generally update every 3 or 4 days. I took a little break, but yeah, I'm going to get back to it.

Yesirsski: Thank you for your kind words! Your review was well-written, I really appreciate your feedback!

Posaitan: As always, good to hear from you. I'm not too sure what I'll do with the Styx, but you're right, it is an AU, so I'll work something out.

Alpha: Nope, I think the time power is cool. I get the explanation thing, but I'm trying to break the mold, here. I want my story to be different, and if that means giving him unusual powers, so be it. Let's have some fun.

NuclearPenStrokes: Is that true? I've never heard of that, jeez. Might have to go outside and try it myself.

PHD in oof: Oh, really? I thought all caps looked good…if you guys read this part, let me know if you think all caps look good on the status screen or not. Thanks for your review, though, you've been with me from the start.

And, as always, thanks to everyone who had nice stuff to say about my story

Even you guys who didn't love it, thanks for being respectful.

See you soon. Let me know what you thought.

-Maroon


EDIT (4/19/21): Again, not much to change here. The conversation between Aphrodite and Percy is different, although the outcome ends up being the same, with a bit more mystery involved.

The only major thing I changed was Percy revealing his abilities. Far and away, the biggest thing that turns people away and makes them drop the story based on what I've seen is the reveal of Percy's powers- so I had him lie a bit. You'd be right if you read this chapter wondering how Percy lied to four gods, but the thing is, he didn't lie. He just told a portion of the truth.

Now, if you hated that Percy revealed his powers because it painted a huge target on his back, you may not love the avenue I took to let him lie, but I still think it's not too bad. Gamer powers are way more broken than a version of zenkai, which, for my non-DBZ fans, is an ability that is genetically exclusive to Saiyans that allows a Saiyan's power to increase substantially after recovering from near fatal injuries. Percy basically writes off his mana usage and exponential growth as a part of that power, even citing his tactical mind as a result. That's the only lie there, and even then, it's a version of the truth.

EDIT (2/27/22): Updated visuals. Might go back and tighten up the chapter a bit, too, but we'll see.