I Don't Own Percy Jackson
Both unsurprisingly and unfortunately my declaration of my intent to murder some of the strongest being in existence didn't, in fact, have them appear in front of me, asking to die, in fact, if any of them did show up, I'd probably instantly die, so... that's probably a good thing all things considered. Still annoying all things considering, but I was dealing with it.
Honestly it wasn't that bad, having the wrong body than what I was promised, if I was anyone else, then I'd probably just accept it and move on, but I wasn't anyone else. I was me, and as such, I thrived off pissing people off and spiting my way through anything I want... Probably, I'm mostly making that up since I had no idea who I am, but the idea was certainly appealing, so I was going to go with it!
Now, what all did I have to focus on for the time being? A list is important after all when you are planning to murder godlike beings, so let's get some points written down.
1. Find out who I am.
2. Found out where I am.
3. Find my way to Camp Half-Blood.
4. Don't die.
5. Find a way to defend myself against monsters.
6. Don't die.
7. Figure out who my god parent is.
8. Don't die.
9. Find a way to become a real boy.
There wasn't really a ranking of importance to list, more of an order I can complete them some what quickly, but I put don't die on there a few extra times just in case I forgot, since it seemed to be pretty important. Now to get to work!
Who am I?
Nicholas King is the easy answer, but I have no idea what that means in terms of personality or history or anything really... Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought...
Eh, I'll figure that one out as I go, right now I should probably focus on the situation at hand. After all, I am in a weird run down building.
Looking around for a moment, just to look at the place again, it certainly wasn't for someone of a more upstanding position in life, honestly the place looked like a dump. Moving around, just to explore a bit, I counted exactly three rooms, the main tiny living room with an even smaller kitchen, a small bedroom, and a bathroom off to the side, and that was it. That was the entire apartment.
There was some furniture around and other things about, a fridge and microwave, some very simple foods in the cabinets, it was pretty boring in honestly.
The milk was bad in the fridge, meaning it's been a while, the date on the carton said best by April of 2006. It took a few minutes, but I found a calendar, it was flipped to March, there was some scribbles on it. They were in terrible hand and really small writing, so I gave up on bothering to try and figure out what they meant after a second of staring at it, but I didn't really need the information.
Obvious stuff first, this was an apartment but whoever lived here was kicked out, obvious by the fact that there was nothing personal around, no clothes, pictures, or items outside the very basics like forks and knives in the drawers and said calendar. No one's been in here to clean the place out in at least a month, so the chances of someone renting this place was pretty low...
it also appeared from the ratty clothes I had on, it was clear that the person this defective body belonged to was homeless, and had been squatting here because of that fact. And now I was in control and had to deal with that situation.
[Notice: +2 Perception, +2 Wisdom; You're actually really perceptive when you try]
"Thanks!" Oh! "Oh! I can speak! Right. Ha, that's cool, my voice is all weird though, it's all crackly and stuff. Anyways, thanks System"
Still, my stats are improving pretty quickly, probably a demigod thing, or maybe just a Game System thing, but I'll take it. I hope it's that fast forever, but things like this have a way of slowing down after a while, quick gains at the start, but continual stuff takes more effort and all that jazz.
Past that, I should probably do something about this situation since I might be in danger now, though... With what I remember and how I know it, all demigods have a scent, which attract monsters, but it isn't super active until they realize what they are... Fuck.
Whelp, that's bad news for me, still, demigods from lesser known gods aren't as attractive or whatever to monsters, it's the opposite on the other side as well, which is why Percy got attacked so much, on top of the fact the kid's the strongest demigod ever, plus to get it's full effects you have to be claimed by the god in question as well, I think, so I shouldn't be in a super big amount of danger for the time being.
Though I think it might also get stronger the stronger you get? eh, doesn't matter, I can deal with that issue later, when I'm actually stronger, until then, nothing I really have to worry about. Well, until a monster tries to rend me limb from limb at least... Hmm, maybe I should focus on getting to Camp-Half Blood, I don't like the idea of dying.
Right, got it, perfect plan time, find out where I am, then travel to Camp-Half Blood, get a weapon that can kill monsters, grind, bitch slap a titan, and get a dick, preferably all in that order, though I am open to suggestions.
No? Nothing system? Fair enough, guess you're limited in what you can help me with.
Anyways, let's see what I can find around here and then get moving, after all, it's pointless to stay in one place when a monster could appear at any moment, especially with my current luck score being in the negatives cause a certain dick head had it's feelings hurt.
The following hour blurred together, as I went around the small apartment, looking over every inch of the place, and in the end managed to find... not much at all to be honest, but I did manage to get a stake knife which was sharp enough to cut a roll of paper towels, so it would probably be useful against anything I needed to fight. Past that, I found a massive jacket which absolutely covered most of my upper body and a portion of my lower body as well, but that was fine, I just wanted an extra layer of clothing on me.
Plus it helped hide my knife!
Past that, there really wasn't much else, the water wasn't even turned on which sucked, but given my luck, literally, it wasn't at all unexpected.
Still, I turned the entire damn place upside down, if anyone came in now, they'd think it was a murder scene in all honesty, the couch had rips in it, I stabbed the wall once, cause I was annoyed at not finding anything and I wanted to, and there may or may not be a door that is missing now, but no one can prove that and as such no one has to worry about my sins.
So now I just need to head on out into the city I was in, in the body of a homeless twelve year old girl.
Yes, that's a good choice.
[Notice: I want to remove from Wisdom
Update! Requirements met! New System unlocked: Accomplishments!]
[Accomplishment: First Day Exploration: Completed!
You've woken up in a strange body in a strange world, with even stranger powers, and you've done your best to figure it all out by searching your surroundings for gear and thinking through your situation and devising a plan, that deserves a reward
+100 Exp
Skill [Search] Unlocked!]
[Notice: You have leveled up!]
Huh, I have a new system, one I didn't recognize from my blocked memories, I was expecting something like a quest system, but instead I get accomplishments? So I don't get to know what things I'm working for until I complete them and then I get a reward for them based on the game system? That means if I just do stuff, and it's clever or insane enough, then I'll get rewarded for it. Making a sandwich probably wouldn't count, unless it was a really good one, but, say, befriending the protagonist might count as one.
Killing a titan certainly would be one.
Still, this was pretty cool as well, because this meant that the system wouldn't be leading me around or anything by issuing quests to me, to try and shoehorn me into the plot or something I didn't want to do by offering a nice looking carrot attached to a shotgun instead of a stick. This way I got rewarded for going the extra mile without trying to railroad me into a direction I wouldn't want to do. It's about as much free will a Game System can give a person when you think about.
"Sweet! Mind showing me my new skill?" Ah, here we are.
[Search] Level: 1
When you use this skill, you can instantly gain a minor understanding on the object you are looking.
This can include any of the following depending on skill level: Value, Damage, Rarity, Small Description, etc.
[Notice: Your perception stat counts as a phantom modifier, for every ten points of Perception, Search acts as if it is one level higher than presented here]
Damn, that's really cool! It's my version of Observe, but, like, a knock off version! Still, it's awesome since this does tell me a lot about my skills and how they will work in the future, sure it might not be all of them, but this also means that there are skills that I will learn in the future that my stats can effect and make stronger passively. Perception here makes Search better over time as well without having to level it up.
Sure, it might not seem like a lot, but for the future, if I get a real badass skill, like... I don't know, sword fighting, and I'm level forty or something, even though the skill itself will start at level one, which would be a really small bonus, I can make up for that by having my Physical stats being high enough to mimic proficiency. Sure, it probably wouldn't be like that for all of them, but the few it is for will be really helpful!
Now then, time to do the only logical thing, and use my new skill on the most important item I own.
My knife!
[Notice: Search used, presenting information...
Basic Stake Knife
A simple but decently taken care of stake knife, it probably isn't the most effective weapon, but it will work in a pinch.
Damage with it is determined by Strength and Dexterity.
Rank: E]
Cool, hmm, doesn't really tell me a damage count, just says that it is using Dex and Strength to determine it... Is it a floating number or is there just not a number applied to it like how I don't have a health bar, so it's up to me to make it deadly? I can do that, probably, I wasn't that strong.
I think... I don't really know what a base line human's strength is really suppose to me or how to compare myself to one.
Oh well, now then, the level up thing... My Stamina went up by fifty, and Mana by twenty-five, so that's probably just how much I get per level, which is a bit... not a lot at all, but that's fine for right now. Besides that, I got a cool five points to put into my stats, but I'll just hold onto them for right now, I don't want to spend any at all until at least level ten, cause that's when I get the first big jump in all my stats, and after that point, it will start to slow down, so until I need them, I won't use them.
Simple enough, just got to hope I'll be lucky enough to get another eight levels without needing them.
Fuck, that Luck stat is going to fuck me isn't it?
Eh, it'll be fine, probably.
Anyways, I've been in this dump for way to long, so it's time to get moving.
Heading out of the apartment was easy, getting into the rickety elevator was easy as well, walking out of the building was much the same... Getting onto the street was decidedly the moment when I realized that perhaps the rest of this wasn't going to be nearly as easy.
Right, cool, first I have to find where I am.
Thankfully there was people around, and no one wanted to say no to the cuteness that was my baby face. Turns out I was in the mysterious land of... Nebraska, yeah, hadn't really expected that. It was also no where near Long Island where Camp Half-Blood was. In fact, it was half the entire country away from where I was currently, and that really sucked.
Hmm, this might be a problem, so what to do?
Well, the first issue was finding some cash to manage to buy a bus ticket or two to start my way over, plus money for food and stuff, since it was hardly like I could just walk the distance. So how to get cash? My thoughts were interrupted as a hand tapped my shoulder lightly.
"Hey girl little, uh, are you ok?" I totally pouted at that, cause I could already tell being called a girl was going to get real old real fast, as I turned to look up at a concerned looking man in a business suit... Hmm.
"Give me your wallet" He just blinked before giving a soft laugh, I just waited slipping my hand into my new jacket. He stopped laughing after that.
[Notice: +1 Luck; You're a scary kid]
[Accomplishment: First Fight?: Completed!
It wasn't really a fight, more a horrifying showing of a small child threatening a grown man with a knife, but you still won, so good job... I think.
+500 Exp
Skill [Intimidation] Unlocked!]
[Notice: You have leveled up two times!]
[Intimidation] Level 1
Sometimes all it takes is some motivational words... and a knife pointed at someone's balls, apparently, to make the world go round.
5% bonus chance to scare someone into doing your bidding, this has a lower chance against creatures and beings higher level than you
[Notice: Your Control stat counts as a phantom modifier, for every ten points of Control, Intimidation acts as if it is one level higher than presented here]
I just hummed happily to myself as I thumbed through the contents of my new wallet, as I sat on a bench I found nearby, it didn't have that much in it to be honest, a picture of him and some children that I didn't really care about, a card, which I couldn't use without the pin and hasn't thought about until the man had already started running away from me, and a few other things, you know, driver's license, some work ID, and a few membership cards.
Past that, the actual interesting things was there was a twenty dollar gift card to some chicken place, and about eighty dollars cash. Cheapskate, I mean, who doesn't have cash on hand in 2006?
Oh, I have a phone now, but I'll have to toss it at some point, me being a kid or not, that guy was a pussy, he'd totally going to the police to report it, and I know to much about tv tropes to know that keeping a stolen phone on hand isn't a good idea. It'd suck if some police officer tried to be a hero and either shot me in the name of public safety for the horrible act of petty crime, or did the thing worst than death and sent me into CPS, then I'd have to deal with people telling me what to do, and that sounded annoying.
Besides, it was a phone, and those things sent out signals and stuff to monsters as well, no idea how, but that's in the books so no reason to risk it.
All things considered, I think I'm going to grab some snacks, and then I'm going to start bus hopping.
...Ah crap, I have no idea what kind of snacks i like, do I like sour or sweet? God, I can't waste money on picking a bit of everything, but I kind of really, really want to...
Oh wait, I just remembered something, I'm half-god and therefore above the law! I can just steal what I want from some gas station or something.
God, I love being a genius.
Wait, I can totally also just sneak onto a bus, it can't be that hard right?
God, I am a super genius!
[Notice: +1 Intelligence; Please stop having these ideas]
[Notice: +2 Dexterity, +1 Luck; I can't believe you weren't caught, seriously, I can't]
[Accomplishment: The Grand Theft of... Doritos?: Completed!
You're life of crime has started early and started small, but with how you are, you'll probably keep it going.
+250 Exp
Skill [Sleight of Hand] Unlocked!]
[Sleight of Hand] Level: 1
Sometimes all it takes is having some nimble fingers
5% bonus in your ability to use your hands in crafty and sneaky ways, like theft.
[Notice: Your Dexterity stat counts as a phantom modifier, for every ten points of Dexterity, [Sleight of Hand] acts as if it is one level higher than presented here]
Life's pretty good, I mean, it wasn't a perfect job, I totally got caught, but unfortunately for the old woman running the gas station register, I happened to look like a starved twelve year old girl wearing basically nothing but an oversized dirty jacket so in the end she took pity on me. Which I didn't really like, it felt kind of annoying to be looked at all sad like, but... I also happened to actually be in the body of a starved twelve year old girl, so I just sucked it up and moved on with my day.
By that, I mean it's been a few hours and I am currently chilling by a bus station on another bench, because while I got somewhat lucky with the woman working today, I was not lucky enough to get here when any bus should be arriving... In fact, according to the annoying complicated schedule I had to spend almost a minute squinting at to make our what it meant through all the annoying moving letters, that there wouldn't be another bus heading out of the city until the next morning.
It was late in the afternoon now, and while I'd have to wait about twelve hours before the next one would be coming through, I didn't really mind, it was pretty exciting to be honest, just sitting around, watching everything, it was awesome. Everything might be somewhat known to me, but everything also was new as well, and it was cool to see things and have my mind just fill in the blanks, or when I didn't know something, which was a constant, and I learned something knew, it was pretty cool.
I got another point into Perception for it as well which was neat, and a level in Search, since I was kind of using it on literally everything that breathed and then continued on and used it on everything that didn't.
Oh! I also figured out I like skittles which is pretty cool, though I mostly liked them because of how colorful they are, to bad they might cause cancer... Why the hell is that something that's still in my head?
Anyways, I like sweet stuff, they taste funny, oh! I also found out I like tasting things, it's a pretty cool experience.
But beyond that, not to much has happened really, I've just been waiting on the bus for the last few hours, either sitting, fiddling with my knife or the phone, calling random numbers and seeing what happened for the most part. I got bored really easy, plus there was this energy in my body that I had no basis to know if it was normal or not, but it just felt a bit weird to not be moving, so I stayed active.
You know, sit ups and stuff, got a few weird looks for it, but I netted one point in Strength and two in Constitution for my fidgeting so I considered it a wind and it helped get some of the energy out.
I also tried to do magic, by, I don't know, focusing on the energy I felt in my body? Nothing really happened though, probably needed actual training, or, like, an instruction manual on mana or something before I can start doing stuff with it. Which was a bit boring, but also, fair enough? All in all, it's been a pretty productive first day of being alive, I've stolen, threatened to castrate a man, got three levels, and managed to get fifteen points added to my stats through hard work. It was pretty goof in my opinion.
I even had a plan and everything to keep this train moving! Well, bus, but that's besides the point really.
I also might try looking into just what sleep is like later, but maybe not, everything's currently awesome and stuff, and sleep sounds super boring. I got enough nothingness when I was floating in a void with words annoying me.
Besides, how important can sleep be anyways?
While I was contemplating this important question, a loud and frankly annoying voice spoke up behind me.
"Oi! Girl, whatch thing like you doing here?" Blinking out of my important thoughts about how long I could last without sleeping, my personal bet was at least a week, I glanced back and looked at... the most cliche looking group of thug you could imagine. A bunch of burly looking men with leather jackets, looking pissed at the air for existing, and giving me a look that spelled trouble.
Frankly I didn't have enough of a working sense of death or fear to be anything other than annoyed about being a girl.
It's been a day, and it's really lost it's appeal already. I'm getting a hair cut as soon as possible after this, hell, I have my knife, I'll give myself one. I wonder how well I could style it given I don't have a mirror on hand... Do I want it styled? Do I care?... Yeah, no, I'm literally wearing rags and a stolen jacket, I can care about my appearance when I'm not... this.
Oh right, thugs trying to be intimidating, oops. What had they said again? Oh right!
"I'm a boy" he just raised an eyebrow. I was personally just enjoying the faint confusion before acceptance as he went back to taunting, clearly unsatisfied with the lack of a reaction on my part. Not really, sure what he was looking for though, as the group behind him made a bunch of muttering sounds, mostly just trying to mess with me I think, still unsure why. Did they get off on bullying children? If so, that's kind of sad.
"What, thinking your a big man then? Being out here at night without your parents to protect you" It's probably be overkill for my one of my parents to get involved, and considering I'm homeless...
"Well, one's probably dead and the others a god, so not sure they count" The man blinked, before laughing, though it was kind of strained, clearly this was not the reaction he was expecting.
"Heh, hear that boys? We got a little psycho in front of us" I just shrugged while the men did the thing where they all laughed creepily on some silent que. It was creepy sure, but not really that scary, so... Five out of ten.
"So, are you like... Trying to mug me or something? If so, I'm kind of homeless, not sure what you're expecting to get out of it, but I have some skittles left if you really want something" The man looked like he was trying really hard to keep the scary exterior up, and I think in most situations like this, me, being the typical hero figure, was suppose to have an epic battle, showing off my demigod body in it's full strength against a few regular humans, humans that were the typical villain type, mooks to just get beaten around for being generically evil.
You know, classic story telling, instead, the man in front of me just sighed, looking back at his boys for a moment, they seemed to lose a lot of their steam but were clearly trying to not show it. I was just kind of confused. Eventually the man just looked back at me before saying.
"Uh, look kid, seriously? Are you ok out here?" He sounded uncomfortable, he got off on scaring kids, not sure why asking if they were ok was somehow out of bounds for him. Still, I just shrugged.
"I'm good, just waiting on the bus, I'm planning on hitching a ride out east, apparently I got some family out there, trying to see if I can find them" His face did this interesting thing where it tried to look stoic, but instead just looked sad. Seriously? He was doing a really good job at making me somehow feel even more bad for him, this was just sad, even the whole group behind him where now actively looking at each other, the wind out of their sails, now just looking uncomfortable.
"Yeah? Uh, that's pretty dangerous kid?"
"Probably, but it's not like I got anywhere to be, might as well right?" He slowly moved over, sitting down next to me, staring at me as I just looked back, I blamed the bad lighting of the night time, but now that he was closer, it was clear he wasn't that old, maybe mid twenties?
"Haven't you thought about, I don't know, child services or something?"
"Nah, I've been out here my entire life" Not a lie, though he looked even more depressed now, "I don't want to spend the rest of my childhood bouncing around either. Rather just move about"
"That's not safe"
"I know"
"You're going to get yourself hurt kid"
"Weren't you just trying to rob me or something?" He sighed, looking very tired, as he rubbed a hand over his face for a long moment, looking almost shameful, before saying.
"No, god no. I just... it's a thing we do, go around and scare kids after dark, it's good fun and it teaches the brats to not go wandering around at night in a city, it's dangerous" Huh, that almost made him sound like a respectable person, doesn't change the fact he actively enjoyed terrorizing children, that kind of ruined it for me.
"Sounds stupid" He managed a laugh at that before shaking his head.
"It is... Look, I'm not going to, like, grab you and drag you to some police station or anything, I'd probably get charged with kidnapping anyways, but listen, there's a homeless shelter off Board Street, Jimmy's sister, the big guy over there, works there on occasion, it's a good place, just, stay there if you need to, but don't go on some cross country trip"
"Sounds nice, but nah. I'm going to live my life, and if I die from something, it's going to be more awesome than something found in a city" He groaned and looked around, trying to get some idea before just seemingly giving up, standing up suddenly, he said with a pointed finger.
"Don't move, I'll be back in a minute" I just blinked before looking away, not really caring, they weren't... that bad I guess, a bit stupid, but they weren't going to try anything, though, being honest, I was totally ready to shank him when he first sat down, but that's not here nor there.
About five minutes later he moved back over and handed me something, as I looked at what was in his hand for a moment before saying in surprise.
"That's money" I felt a bit stupid for just stating the obvious, but that's what it was, in his hand was just a bunch of loose bills, he looked awkward as he handed it over, but I accepted it all the same.
"Just... don't think about it to much alright? It ain't a lot, none of us are really making bank over here alright? But, it's enough for a few meals and maybe a hotel room for a night or two. Don't get yourself killed alright? And here" He handed over a slip of paper, as I blinked in continued surprise at the number written on it. "I don't feel right about leaving a kid to just... go out there, so... I don't know, call or something if you can, use a payphone or something, I just don't want to have some kid on my conscience for the rest of my life"
I just nodded a bit, not really sure why he wanted that, but I guess it wouldn't hurt? Pulling the bills close while putting the slip fo paper into a pocket, I did some quick math and... there was about a hundred bucks here, huh.
The guy got up and moved away, before calling over his shoulder.
"Seriously, call, I really don't want to feel like shit for the rest of my life"
"Uh, sure, I'll try every once and while?" He just shrugged, trying to not act like that gave him some relief.
People are weird.
[Notice: +5 Luck; What the actual hell?! In every way possible that was suppose to be a fight? How?!]
[Accomplishment: Pacified: Completed!
You've somehow managed to talk down a gang from escalating a situation set for a fight. I don't know if it's more impressive or just stupid that you didn't even mean to.
+1000 Exp
[Notice: You have leveled up two times!]
Huh, cool...
Anyways, time to go back to waiting I guess...
I wonder if blue skittles are a thing?
I... I don't even know, I just started writing, cause I liked the last one, and not even a day later, five thousands words of just absolute stupidity just appeared in front of me, and I don't even know how it happened. It just sort of did. Still, guess I'll be continuing this story I guess? It's a lot of fun for just how dumb it is, and I actually do have something of a plot in my head at the moment, though right now it's just me writing whatever comes to mind, which will probably get me in a lot of trouble down the line from breaking the scaling way to early or not early enough, or something... I don't know, I'm not really putting a massive stock into the Game system, it's just there to be quirky and fun, without needing to deal with all the numbers and stuff, cause I've done that before, and it's a headache to keep track of.
Still, this chapter was just a build up to the actual trip to the camp, as well as Nick actually learning about himself, and me testing the waters with his personality to make sure I actually got it nailed down while making fun of every single situation I can think of by making fun of constant tropes found in this kind of story. Anyways, my rambles have ended, I'm posting this again, when I finished writing it, this time, some how later than when I finished the last one... I'm choosing to not worry about all the responsibilities I'm putting off and am just going to post this now. Then sleep, sleep sounds good. See ya.
