Okay, its been a while.

Reading old reviews and PM's, Zoe and Lou are currently the leading contenders for the pairing here. Noted. However, I'm still open to more options and who knows how things change over time as the story progresses [and I take even more breaks]. Thank you to those that gave feedback, much appreciated.

-((Shout out to my Beta, Raccoon, who agreed to help out once again))-

All reviews will be appreciated and any criticism is welcome.

As always, Enjoy!

-LostHouse

The Purpose of Hope

Previously...

Standing in silence for a moment or two, he flashed a small, happy smile, and turned back to face the ever-stretching horizon.

"Maybe there is more to this life than I know..."

And just like that, he retraced Lou's footsteps towards the camp and made way to the Hermes cabin to catch whatever was left of his sleep.

But that was only after he took a small detour past Cabin number three.

Now...

Treading blindly through the darkness, his light footsteps where silently muffled by the sand ridden grass that was surrounding the outer walls of cabin number three. Leaning against the edge of the wall that faced towards the center of camp, he carefully peered out and made sure there where no more stragglers or sleep walkers present before crouching to the front door, tugging on the door knob and smiling at the dull click when the door creaked open.

Slipping into the entrance of the cabin he turned around and carefully shut the door with another silent click, focusing so hard on being quiet that he didn't even see the intricate trident drawing on the face of the oak door or the teal walls within. Not needing to adjust to the change in lighting due to the cabins open-plan design, the moonlight helped light the cabin silver and blue. Scanning the huge room, he unconsciously let his jaw drop to the floor.

It was simple...yet beautiful.

Walking up to a still fountain that was placed right at the center of the room, he discarded all thoughts of stealth and dumbly trudged up to it, running a smooth hand on its edge to remove a thick layer of dust that revealed colorful mosaics, painting vivid images of ancient beasts and warriors.

Looking up from the fountain once he felt a light breeze stroke through his hair, he looked up to see a small porch that led straight out to the waters awaiting outside, making him close his eyes and take a deep breath as past worries flooded out for just this moment.

Opening his eyes and moving on from the fountain, he saw two bunk beds, a bathroom and a massive kitchen island cleared of cutlery and life.

Distracted by glimmers of moonlight from the waters pulsating outside, he caught images depicting water mammals and fascinating creatures on the walls surrounding him, which all looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale.

And to him, it felt right. Like this was were he belonged.

When a glint of red and white caught by the corner of his eye, he turned towards the bunk beds to find an armor stand that held the most intricate and enticing set of armor he ever saw in his life. Quickly making way towards the edge of the room, he approached the armor and blew off the dust from the helmet and chest piece, only to be blinded by a beam of white once the smooth surface reflected straight into his eyes.

The armor itself was pearl white and seemingly pulsed with energy, random splashes of red and gold littering its surface. But what intrigued him the most was the helmet and chest piece.

The helmet had a red plume that shivered as if dripping with blood, the visor had a golden eagle or bird of sort, that had its wings stretched out over both eyes and curled around the helmet. Turning it over in his hands, he saw there was a trident that went up from the back of the neck to the crown. Tracing a loose finger over the trident, he placed it down on the top bunk and looked closer at the chest piece.

It was molded to the ideal muscular body of an athlete, like that of a roman chest piece he read in books at Yancy Academy. However, it had two intertwined serpents snaking around its lower abs that where hissing upwards towards the middle of the chest, and that's when he finally let a gasp sneak past his lips.

The armor wasn't reflecting the moonlight into his face, the armor itself was like the reflection of a lake, but it was as if the water was...milky. Reaching out a finger, he touched the surface and leapt back when he felt a burning sensation sizzle the tip of his finger, and the armor began twisting with flashing colors, and seconds after, he made out golden imprints of his full name written across the chest piece, from shoulder to shoulder, with two seemingly alive eyes on the pecs that stared with deathly intent that sent a shiver through his body.

"What on earth is this..." he mumbled to himself as he stepped back up to the armor stand, re-reading his own name now inscribed on the chest piece.

Obviously he understood that it was meant for him.

He just couldn't understand why, or how.

Burning with the desire to try it on, he went over to reach for the helmet and dismissed his idea when he saw it was the size of two of his heads put together. If anything, he would look like a kid wearing his fathers suit when he wasn't home.

And it felt like he would dirty the intricately designed armor at his current standing.

Placing the helmet back onto the armor stand where it belonged, he set his mind to the rest of the cabin, as his high from finding the armor gradually wore off. Now it just looked like...a dusty slump.

Walking past the the yet still fountain and the dirty kitchen counter, he made his way to the porch that lead out towards the waters outside, his lonely footprints showing the only signs of life on the dirty floors.

Pausing once he felt the familiar feeling of the sea breeze caress his features, a brief image of Lou flashed into his mind but he wished it away just as fast as it came. Checking carefully in case anyone was watching, he slowly made his way to the water and slipped off his shoes.

Plopping down on the edge of the porch, he dipped his feet into the lulling water and cleared his mind, trying to understand everything.

Compared to his initial guilt and depressive train of thought just hours ago, he simply felt ashamed that he let it spiral so out of control.

He wasn't alone anymore. As much as he didn't want to believe it, he had a new home, a new purpose...a new beginning.

Looking up from his open hands, he unconsciously clenched them into fists. Remembering how Luke talked about his father, Hermes, Percy began placing two and two together. He felt most comfortable by the beach, the constant mentioning of Poseidon by Chiron and the knocked over statue in the Big House didn't go unseen this whole time. He just hoped he wasn't going mad thinking that Poseidon was his father.

Standing up on the porch, he stared for the last time into the distance, hoping one voice will hear him.

It was time to make his own promise.

"Poseidon, God of Seas, be my witness. I, Perseus Jackson, vow on my name and blood, that I will become the strongest warrior to walk this earth, that I will protect my home and those I love. Nothing will stop me in the path of vengeance. Nothing. Even if the whole world turns its back on me..."

Forcing his resolve to harden, he whispered one more phrase.

"Dad...I just need one sign..."

Waiting just a moment to see if anything would happened, he closed his eyes and grabbed his shoes before turning about, not noticing the eerie calmness of the water behind him. Making way past the set of dusty footprints he previously left, he approached the door and went to reach for the handle when he noticed a note lying on the floor.

Clearly remembering not seeing it before, he bent over and picked it up whilst turning it over.

It only read a two lines, but that was enough to cast a sad smile over his face.

Pocketing the note, he opened the door and headed into the darkness of the night, the vision of Enigma cast to the back of his mind.

Without purpose, there is no hope.

I love you son.

The next morning,

For the first time, in what seemed like months, Percy had a good nights sleep.

Lying in a sleeping bag on the wooden floor of the Hermes cabin, he stretched out his limbs and yawned before opening his eyes. Seeing a few of his cabin mates lounging around, he paid them no thought and slipped out of his luxurious bed, grabbing the bag that Luke left him for the mission.

The contents where simple.

Two orange camp T-shirts, granola bars, water bottle, random contents from a first aid kid, pen, notepad and a basic sword.

Pausing at the thought about the mission, he wondered why the cabin was so empty. He expected everyone else to be sleeping so early in the morning.

Hmm, what time even is it?

Freezing up, he threw a quick look at the clock above the door before cursing and running out towards the pavilion.

He overslept. And that would not be a good first expression for his first mission.

Ignoring the weird glances thrown his way by the others within the cabin as he stormed out, he tightened the bag straps on his shoulders and simultaneously tried to flatten his bed hair before he nearly tripped over a lose root, forcing him to forget about his appearance and hope the others haven't already left.

Turning a sharp corner and nearly running over some blonde chick, he mumbled a quick apology and nearly cursed when he saw that breakfast had just ended.

Zig zagging past the still sleeping campers which were heading out for their first daily activities, he made his way to the only table filled with boisterous men which were laughing at the sight of him approaching the table.

Jumping into his seat, Percy had two options.

One, play it off cool, which would be difficulty because of his heavy breathing.

two, he could-

"You're late!" shrieked Crixus, slapping him on the back of the head, forcing him to headbutt the oak table with a dull thud.

Rubbing the steadily forming bruise on his forehead, he looked up to see a plate of hot oats pushed towards him, opening his mouth to speak up for himself, he felt another thundering slap from behind, thrusting his head forwards and narrowly missing the plate of oats before him.

"Quiet, sleeping beauty! Eat whilst we talk," instructed Luke from behind, causing a round of snickers to emerge around the table.

"If you are ever late again, I will tie and drop you off in the middle of the forest. And frankly, the monster's will not wait for their food," he whispered into the back of his head.

Nodding his head with a mouthful of oats, the goosebumps on his arms told him that it wasn't an empty threat, but a promise.

Feeling Luke's presence leave and instead take a seat by his side, he felt the men's energy rise.

"Okay everyone, listen up! Now that snow white has awoken, we are all present for todays brief," he began, clapping his hands to fully gather everyone's attention, "The mission for today is simple. We will split into two groups of four and two groups of three to conduct a recon mission to expand on the map we have been making for the past three weeks. The two larger groups will contain our more experienced members and scout past where we went last time, and the two smaller groups will branch out on the flanks and go over the Red Zones previously mapped."

Pausing for a small break to allow any pending questions, Kasper quickly spoke up.

"Is there something we should keep our eye out for, or is just plain simple recon?"

"For the two smaller groups it is simply recon, but for the other two I expect to find something big, but that's only if what the satyrs said was true. Apparently they get the feeling of death and dread from the direction we will be heading in."

Gulping down the last of his oats, Percy raised a finger.

"What is it now, little damsel?" crinkled out Luke.

Ignoring the jab, he asked, "what is a 'Red Zone'?"

"We map out three zones, Green, Amber and Red. The Red Zones are where we bump into the most monsters, or simply put, the most dangerous areas. Green and amber is self explanatory."

Humming in understanding, Percy waited for the brief to continue.

Watching Luke throw a quick glance at his empty bowl of oats, the leader stood up and the others followed suit.

"We head to the big house, notify Chiron of our departure, and split into our groups," he stated as Percy stood up and all assembled men shouted 'Aye Sir!'.

Following Luke's retreating figure, Percy trailed behind when the same blonde he bumped into earlier approached him from ahead. Well, now that he was paying more attention, it wasn't just some blonde, it was Annabeth.

But remembering how Luke reacted to her when she approached them at the Big House, he wasn't sure what to think.

He didn't mind Annabeth, but continuing the relationship they have would clearly disregard his leaders advice. And he didn't want that to be honest.

"Percy!" she called out whilst ignoring Luke's pointed stare.

"Hey, what's up?" he neutrally replied.

"What's up? Are you serious, what do you think you're doing!"

Stopping right in front of Percy, she angrily crossed her arms over her chest, but to Percy she looked more...sad than angry.

But he still didn't like the way she was talking to him. After all, he didn't do anything wrong.

"I'm giving myself a purpose, why, is that not allowed?" he tiredly replied as he caught Luke glancing back, the men paying attention to what's going on but not stopping.

"No! I mean, yes, but I will NOT let you follow his orders-"

"Listen here," Percy replied, opting to end this conversation quickly without losing his temper, "I barely know you as it is, so don't tell what I can and can't do. And I'm saying this as nicely as possible Annabeth. I don't know and don't care what happened between you and Luke, but in the end it was my choice to join the squad."

Stepping past the dumbstruck daughter of Athena, he said one more thing before catching up with the others.

"And if this is how you will speak with me from now on, you might as well keep it to yourself."

His own words made him feel some guilt, but it was necessary. Or maybe it wasn't. He didn't know.

Leaving Annabeth behind him, he ran after the men who paused at the front door of the Big House, finally waiting for him.

No one said a word, but Luke gave a small nod as to say it was the right choice.

"Crixus, you take Percy and Florian. Castor, you take Julian and Marc. Kasper, Ashur, you are leading the two groups of four, so take an even pick of the most experienced men. I will join which ever I see fit."

Shuffling into their designated groups, Kasper and Ashur took turns to silently split the remaining men.

"Good, you have five minutes to grab whatever else you require whilst I inform Chiron. We meet at Zeus' fist at the entrance of the forest, then each group will take up their own tasks."

And just like that, he slipped into the Big House.

Feeling a large hand land on his shoulder, he looked up to meet the knowing smile of Crixus.

"Hahaha, looks like were paired together Perseus," he laughed out, ruffling the top of his head, "Florian! Get over here!"

Hearing a tired voice from Crixus's left, Percy looked over to see a blonde haired man speak up, "You do realize I was here the whole time, you oaf."

Ignoring the light insult, Crixus wrapped his arms around both of them and started walking into the direction of Zeus's fist, singing a clearly made up song about hunting, dinner and even more dinner.

And for some reason, Percy blindly hummed along, finding it impossible to not match the good energy of the large man leading him.

Six hours later

"On your left!"

Ducking down as a pair of claws slashed the empty air, Percy rolled forwards to intercept the jaws of another leaper as Crixus swung his spear around and covered his back, turning the crude beast into a pool of black blood.

Fighting the jaws of the leaper that latched onto his blade, Percy managed to kick it off when an arrow from Florian's bow accurately penetrated its skull between the eyes.

Shaking off the dead creature, Percy got up and dusted off his trousers.

"Clear!" shouted Crixus for the final time today.

The three man group had dozens of encounters within the Red Zone, but with every hour that passed, the monsters grew less in both number and frequency.

Pausing for a short breather, they sat down in a lose circle, eyes never leaving their immediate surroundings whilst holding light conversation.

"Perseus, you need to stop exaggerating your movements," he began, "because your muscles are still underdeveloped its using up too much stamina. For now, stick to quick sharp pokes and slashes."

"Don't have to tell me twice. If it was wasn't for your call or Florian I would've been monster munch hours ago."

"Good. You have progressed a lot in the past few battles. Keep at it."

Nodding his thanks, Florian gestured for them to come in closer as he pulled out a copy of the map.

Rolling it out onto a cleaner patch of grass, he began to make quick calculations on their current location.

"Okay, we are currently located here," he pointed on the map, their position on the most northern border of the Red Zone, "the other groups should be located here, here and here, judging by the time, individual factors and things Crixus's brain cant comprehend," he carried on, pointing out the other three locations.

Trusting the son of Athena and his assumptions, Percy noted that all groups have made huge progress in the past six hours. The three men have successfully scouted the entire Red Zone and cleared all monsters in the area, meaning that it could be later adjusted to an Amber Zone for the next few weeks before going Green.

Popping out of his thoughts once Florian finished writing down his notes, they waited for him to speak up.

"Since we completed our groups task, I don't see the point in overstepping our boundaries and moving onwards. What do you think, Crixus?"

"You're right. Our jobs done here lads, lets head back to camp and wait to compare maps with the others."

Standing up, the trio readjusted their backpacks, and Percy sheathed the sword that was given to him by Luke. The sword was crude and basic, but had a better grip than what the armory at camp had to offer.

Letting Crixus take the lead, Percy walked side by side with Florian.

From what he could tell, he was a cool guy. He mostly kept to himself, but if asked the right question he wouldn't stop talking for hours. Plus, he was a good fighter, and in Percy's eyes that was good enough.

Briskly walking the loose path back to camp, Percy remembered his vision about Enigma, and now seemed like the best time to finally ask.

"Hey, Florian," he casually asked as Florian hummed a light reply.

"How much do you know about...games?"

"Games? I need specifics kid. You mean, RPG, MMO, FPS or card games?"

Not understanding all abbreviations, Percy went with his gut.

"RPG."

"I know a lot about those. Why the question?" he replied nonchalantly, but his eyes gleamed with pleasure at being asked about an obvious passion of his.

"There's a level system I cant really get my head around, things like stat caps, skill trees, and for some reason half of my abilities are locked."

"Hmmm...those are mostly self explanatory if taken broadly. How long you been playing for?"

"Only like, a day? I'm pretty new when it comes to games, so I was wondering who to ask for help."

And Percy wasn't lying. He never played games growing up because his mother couldn't afford them, but he did watch others play at school so he wasn't completely dumb.

"A noob, I see," giggled Florian uncharacteristically.

"From what I know, and I know a lot, there is usually a sort of tutorial or guide you need to complete to unlock abilities. Statistical caps are also pretty common, you basically need to level up you character first before you can add more points into different stats, and there is a limit to how many stat points you can have at each level. Skill trees can be worked on pretty early in the game, but you need to think about the end game first, such as what skills are more beneficial for your character type."

Taking in the information slowly, Percy was about to ask another question, but Florian kept on talking.

"Note that there are also passive skills, weapon/armor stat boosts, enchantments, potions and so, so much more."

"Wait, wait, hold up, passive skills? You're gonna need to explain everything in more detail."

Watching Florian smirk into his direction, Percy felt a sense of dread course throughout his body.

"My pleasure, Perseus," he swiftly replied, and the raven haired boy next to him gulped.

"Before getting more in-depth, I need to explain basic mechanics..."

One hour later

Finally seeing the border of camp come into view, Percy inwardly released a sigh of relief.

Florian simply did not shut up the entire journey back, he got so carried away to the point where he just kept talking about games just to talk about games.

"So, that basically sums it all up. If you ever need any more help, you know where to find me!" happily exclaimed Florian.

"Oh, wow! Thanks so much Florian, I am sure going to pop in from time to time!"

Throwing Percy a wink as he let out a long exasperated breath, the three of them entered the camp and headed to the empty pavilion. It was around mid-day so Percy assumed everyone else was still doing their activities or whatever it is people do over here.

"Seems we are the first to get back," said Crixus, stating the obvious. "Lets grab food and wait for the others, they shouldn't be too far behind."

Feeling his stomach agree with the proposal of food, the other three sat at the head table and ate with small talk.

The trio waited roughly sixteen minutes for the other group of three. They had no visible major injuries and carried a light mood, so Percy guessed they had a good mission as well.

After joining the table to eat as well, the six men shared information and caught up with events of the mission from their perspective.

It took roughly one and a half hours for one of the last two groups to show up at the pavilion.

Mostly all of them had wounds draping their bodies and a small look of fear mixed with defiance shattering their features as they shuffled towards the table.

"Ashur!" exclaimed Crixus at the sight of them, "What in the Gods names happened to you!"

Sitting down at the table, Ashur ignored Crixus's hysterics and pulled out a bloodied map in a calm manor, only shaking hands breaking his façade. The other three men preferring to nibble on Ambrosia as they re-bandaged their wounds and others silently helped.

"Relax Crixus, all that matters is that we made it back. Where is Luke and Kasper?"

"We are still waiting for them, what's taking so long?"

"Its hard to tell," spoke Ashur as he rolled out the map, "for the first couple hours everything went smoothly, a few monsters here and there, but then roughly around this point," circled out Ashur, a few miles north of the Red Zone Percy was in, "was were everything went to shit."

"We were ambushed near the cliffside, there was probably like, what, sixty to seventy of those fuckers out there. Its like they were breeding the whole time," cursed Ashur as the other three men from his group grunted in agreeance.

"Luckily we took care of them, but as you can see it wasn't done free of price. If the fight lasted any longer we would all be dead right now."

Letting all of Ashur's words sink in, he realized that the situation turned from a simple recon mission, to something much grander.

"Exploring the sight of the ambush we found a hidden passageway in the face of the cliff, and deciding it was best to find out as much as possible we took a quick peek inside, and..."

All men practically leaning with anticipation, silently begged him to continue with their eyes.

"And what Ashur, what was there?" roped on Crixus.

"Man, its like something out of a horror movie...I mean, the walls were covered in black blood, floor to ceiling, half-chewed bodies scattered everywhere. It was hard to tell in the dark lighting, but there were probably hundreds of those fuckers just sitting there in the depths, hundreds of those pale eyes just staring at you like a guest at some sick show..."

All the other men sharing quick looks, quickly returned their attention back on Ashur as he cleared his throat.

"Knowing the situation we ran back into the clearing, took formation and prepared for a fight, but the weird part was they didn't follow," he explained, taking a seat whilst rubbing his temples.

"That's... odd? What could be the reason?" thought Florian out loud.

"Maybe they were feasting, maybe they didn't see us. Whatever the fuck it might be, I didn't stick around long enough to ask them questions."

Taking out a bottle of water and gulping it down in seconds, Ashur fell into silence.

Sitting back into his chair, Crixus rubbed his chin in thought.

"That's not good. It could be anything from a base, spawner or another entrance to the dungeon," he voice out to everyone, "Did you see Luke's group by any chance?"

This time another man from Ashur's group spoke up.

"No. Judging by the map and direction they set in, they would've circled around the cliff into a completely different direction."

Slowly nodding his head, Crixus rose to the occasion.

"Ashur, get your men to the Infirmary and rest. The rest of us will train and pass the time 'til evening. If Luke and Kasper are not back by then, a small group of us will retrace their steps. Agreed?"

Now with the situation under control, Percy's hand itched to fight some more, but he couldn't ignore the feeling of unease that set in.

Watching in silence as Ashur and his three men excused themselves, the rest of the men seated at the table shared another quick glance.

"I don't like this, I don't like this one bit," spoke Crixus, lightly shivering at the thought of the cave with the beasts awaiting in the depths.

"But, Luke as good intuition, so I'm sure we don't have to worry too much. We will deal with the problem once we are all back in the board room."

"Yeah, if there is anyone I trust to make it back safely, its Luke," agreed a man from the other trio, Marc, standing up from the table and pulling out his weapon, visibly anxious to change the subject.

"Florian, how about a rematch in the arena? Or you gonna back out again like last time?" taunted Marc in attempt to drag everyone else's thoughts away from the late group.

"If you are too stupid to remember, then I have won twelve times out of twelve," smirked Florian.

Pausing to think, Marc cursed out load.

"Whatever, then..." looking around the table for easy pickings, Marc's eyes skipped Crixus and landed right on Percy, "You, kid, how you feeling for some light sparring?"

Not trusting the evil glint in his eyes, Percy knew that it would be nothing but light. Being a child of Ares, any physical competition is a fight to the death.

But he still wouldn't back down from the challenge.

"First of all, I told you my names Perseus, not kid-"

"Whatever, is that yes or no sleeping beauty?" Interrupted Marc.

Rising from his seat, Percy unsheathed his own weapon to Marc's pleasure.

With all the other men watching the unfolding situation, unbeknownst to the two currently drawing weapons, money began changing hands beneath the table.

"That's more like it kid. But you better show me that attitude in the Arena."

-Time skip-

It was unspoken amongst all campers but as soon as the Dungeon Clearing Squad had been formed, many had wanted to join and prove themselves to everyone else. After all, it consisted of the best of the best, and who didn't want the extra respect?

It was safe to say the men had the attention of everyone, wherever they went.

But when Percy was picked out, a fresh face and a kid no less, he instantly harbored intrigue and hatred, and many wanted to see what cloth he was cut from.

And now, standing twenty feet apart in the center of the camps arena, the whispers of a duel amongst the squad caught the ears of all campers and the stands where filled to the brim with curious gazes.

"What's the rules!" shouted Percy, trying his best to look calm under the stares of the entire camp.

Loosely toying with his blade, Marc smirked, "Do whatever you want! I will go easy on you, the same trick with that hunter and two girls wont work on me."

Not liking the way he was deemed a walk in the park, Percy flashed a smirk in reply, "Even a beginner gets lucky."

Marc was an interesting man.

He stood at 6'3, was ripped to the bone with muscles similar to a body builder. And compared to Percy's small frame and scrawny physique, even Marc's sword looked more interesting than him, which was said to be a personal gift from Ares.

Waiting for the hidden signal, both men charged forwards and locked swords, throwing sparks in all directions before Percy was kicked in the gut to create distance. Quickly catching his breath, both men circled each other for a few seconds before Marc lunged forwards and went for a stab which was narrowly dodged by Percy, who retaliated with a wild slash at his head.

Laughing at the weak attempt, Marc parried his sword and slashed him across the chest, drawing first blood before kicking him down to the floor with a swift kick.

He was visibly out classed.

Hearing light laughter echo around the arena from the watching campers and others decided to leave already, Percy got up from the floor and took deep breaths, ignoring the laughter and remembering everything he learnt whilst at camp.

"How did Luke even let you onto the squad? Seems after all you're just talk!"

Sensing his anger rise Percy roared and charged, blindly swinging his sword only to eat a roundhouse kick in the face, throwing him back multiple feet as his head spun and the laughter only got louder.

Looking up, he saw Crixus's emotionless face stare back at him as the other squad members refused to meet his eyes. Percy knew they were hiding their disappointment.

Hearing the laughter stop once more as he stumbled up to his feet and raised his sword, a familiar sound rang around his mind before a female voice spoke up.

Quest Alert!

Win the duel.

Rewards:

50 Xp

Gain the respect of everyone present

Failure:

Lose all respect and get kicked out the squad

YES/NO

Staring blindly at the holographic screen before him, he thought the last kick gave him a concussion and made him hallucinate before he slowly looked around to see if anyone else saw it.

"What you staring at? Did you give up already?"

Ignoring Marc's taunts, he clicked yes.

Enigma, if you're listening, some advice would be nice, thought Percy before slowly circling his opponent once again.

...

Nothing.

Mustering the strength to charge once again, he paused when he heard a reply.

Master, I did say to think about me and I will appear. I just cant believe it took this long.

Enigma there is no time for this, just tell me what to do!

Listening to Enigma hum in thought, he got dragged out his mind by a shout.

"Kid! You just gonna stand there frozen!?"

Getting no reply from Percy, Marc just laughed, "Its not like I cant come to you."

If I help you, Master, then you need to promise to talk to me everyday.

Somehow dodging Marc's slash by the skin on his teeth, Percy shouted an audible reply to Enigma.

"Fine, whatever!"

I wont forget, Master, she replied with a...wink?

Feeling fresh energy flow throughout his entire self, Percy began to sense just what exactly his body needed to do to win.

Whilst Marc got tired of waiting and taunting, his movements became more predictable and thoughtless.

Reading through a feint stab, Percy sidestepped and precisely blocked the overhead swing, and this time it was him that kicked Marc, straight into the solar plexus and successfully knocked him a few steps back, surprise visible on his face.

Looking down at his hands in surprise at what he just done, Percy twirled his sword around.

"I went easy at first to make you look good. But how about we get serious, hmm?" blatantly lied Percy through his teeth.

"Fine! But down blame me when you wake up at the infirmary!"

This time it was Marc that charged at Percy, and Percy simply took the challenge and charged back at him, ducking under his slash and kneeing him in the back of the thigh, before jumping backwards to dodge a hectic spinning elbow that would've cost him at least four teeth.

As the arena fell completely silent at the change of pace, Percy let Marc compose himself as he got back into his stance.

Cautiously approaching Percy who stood his ground, Marc attacked with a serious of strikes which were all dodged or parried, and the average eye would see the fight to be even, but the more experienced warriors saw that every parry caused Marc to over-extend just enough for a finishing blow to land when his sword was thrown from side to side, leaving him practically dead at every parry if this was real fight.

Hearing the Arena erupt with thundering shouts as they cheered on for the underdog, Percy shut them out whilst simply waiting for the right moment.

And it didn't take long.

Putting too much strength into his swing in hopes of cutting through when expecting a parry, Marc's sword met thin air when Percy dodged the powerful swing and felt the tip of his hair get cut off, before using him momentum to land a firm uppercut with the hilt of his sword to the bottom of his chin, breaking it with a snap and sprawling Marc out cold.

Breathing heavily whilst hunched over his unconscious body, Percy was about to celebrate when all the energy flooded out of his body, sending him to his knees. Looking down at the discomfort in his chest, he saw the wound from the start of the bout gushing with blood, soaking the sand beneath.

Then he passed out by Marcs side.

Looking down at the unconscious competitors, Crixus made his way over to the center of the arena and gestured for Julian to follow.

"Get both of them to the Infirmary. When they wake up, give them an earful for acting like egotistical idiots."

"Will do."

Dragging both men towards the infirmary by their legs, Crixus turned his attention back to the campers which were still trying to process the thought of a kid beating the visibly better warrior. And that made him proud.

"Damn, that fight really got me buzzing," he whistled out, "Anyone else care to continue the show?"

Watching the campers stumble out of the arena at the open challenge, Crixus chuckled and went to turn around when a girl, roughly fourteen tugged onto his shirt.

"Hey!" she scolded him.

He looked down at her. Literally.

"What do you want little lady?"

"You better look after Percy, or else. You heard?"

"Huh, are you his nanny?"

"No. I'm his friend, Lou. If he gets hurt again for something so senseless again, you will be talking with me."

Lost for words as he barely contained laughter of his own, Crixus watched her turn on her heel and leave the arena.

Scratching the back of his head as the other squad members approached him, he re-tucked his shirt.

"Who was that?"

"Honestly, no clue Castor. But it does seem like the kid got a good friend to watch his back," Crixus replied, mumbling the last part.

"What?" asked Castor, not catching the last couple words.

"Nothing," Crixus waved off.

"Lets train. Cant let those two take all the spotlight, eh?"

"Damn right," replied Castor, the remaining four squad members splitting into pairs and starting their training, silently praying for Luke to get back faster.

The sun was setting, and evening was approaching fast.

A.N

From now on, the last note will contain updated lists of monsters and Percy's gamer powers, and any other things I will want to mention/ask.