A/N: Hello guys. I got a bit into writing this last week so I might upload another chapter before the weekend as I'm quite ahead in terms of word count. I'll also reply to the reviews from the last few days when I upload the next chapter instead of just answering a few now.

I do still really appreciate all the love for the story and am almost mind blown that nearly 250 of you guys follow the story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review. Seeya.


I woke up quite peacefully, all things considered. My first dream in this life was not a pleasant one. Its bad enough being a divine plaything but now there's someone else I have to worry about who is using me for their own personal gains and somehow making money off me. Not something I really wanted to think about.

You have slept in a comfortable bed. 100% of HP and MP restored. All negative status effects and ailments removed.

I sat up and took stock of my surroundings. I recognised that I was in a private room in the infirmary tent of the Archers camp immediately. I wasn't in the ICU room, which was a good sign as it meant nothing serious happened, just a simple room with a bed and basic first aid equipment. The Archers resident healer, Max was sat reading some medical journal in the corner with Marcus in the chair next to him, sleeping. It warmed my cold, son of the Dead heart to see that they cared so much about me to wait by my bed for however long I had been out. I was about to get their attention when I got a notification from the Gamer System.

Ping

Gamer System Updated. New features added!

For every 10 levels you reach, a gift will be given by the System.

Congratulations on reaching Level 10!

+2000 HP
+1000 MP
New Skill Available!

Mana Sensing- Lvl MAX

You see all, know all. Just joking, your still stupid but now you can literally see the supernatural energy that is Mana all around you. This is an incredibly useful ability, you just have to be smart enough to use it to its maximum potential. Which I highly doubt you are.

You know, I'm real close to just giving up because I'm just about done with the System's attitude. I even have an Int rating of 24, far greater than every mortal human I've met my age from what I've seen, maybe even adults. However, challenging the system or insulting it wouldn't do me any good so I just accepted my fate.

Ping

Due to being a smart little demigod and accepting your rightful place as my bitch, you have gained +5 Int and +10 Wis

Ping

Due to Int reaching Lvl 25, you have received a Reward!

+150 MP per Level up

Due to Wis reaching Lvl 25, you have received a new Skill!

Thought Acceleration- Lvl 1 (0%)

Become one with the slow-motion scene that every superhero franchise eventually makes and rips off. Well, you can't actually move really fast with this skill so its more like you move really slow along with everyone else. But you can think really fast which is just as cool… maybe… probably… ok no it isn't but stop complaining. It's a free gift.

Slow down time for 10 seconds. For your perspective, not 10 seconds real time.

Cost- 25% of maximum MP ( -0.5% per level)

Deciding to take a deep breath and clamp down on Gamer's Mind in order to ignore the systems comments, I decided to focus on the rewards I received, my jaw dropping slightly closer to the ground the more I read. The increased MP gain per level was massive as it more than doubled my current gain. However, despite the systems poor ability to sell the skill, I was far more excited about Thought Acceleration. The ability to slow down time, even if that includes my physical body, is a skill that could save my ass multiple times over the next few years. Think about it, when being ambushed or at the beginning of a fight, being able to take have enough time to truly analyse you're surroundings and get your bearings before the enemy do the same or surprise you is priceless. To be able to take the time to come up with a plan in any situation, even if its only 10 seconds, will severely increase my chances of success before a battle has even begun.

I don't think I would be able to use it during a fight to gain the upper edge at close range combat though. To be moving super slowly would disrupt my natural fighting rhythm, making me possibly in a worse situation then I would be otherwise despite the increase in reaction times. I could try getting used to it but I am pretty sure that slow-motion combat would infuriate me to no end with my lack of patience. The cost surprised me as I hadn't gained a skill that took a percentage of my maximum MP up until this point but I guess it made sense. As I get stronger and gain more Mana, to keep it at a fixed rate seems a bit OP if it were to be usable right now. I could just end up spamming the thing. Only if that was an option would I consider fighting in slow motion as I could be done with a fight within literal seconds, to everyone else's POV anyway. As it is, inhibiting use of other powers in order to do so just doesn't seem worth it. But the skill was still useful.

I was broken away from my thoughts by the slamming shut of a book, specifically a medical journal, that caused me to flinch a little. That was nothing compared to the son of Mercury's reaction to Max's action though.

"I DIDN'T STEAL ANYTHING!" Marcus shouted in reaction to being awoken mid dream. Once he realised he wasn't being caught red handed in a dream, the child of the God of Thieves looked around to see Max and I snickering at his idiocy. Mumbling something about stupid and strict foster parents under his breath, he waited in his chair as Max checked I was completely fine. I had got used to this over the last few months since he joined us, after all I couldn't just say I know I am fine because I slept in a comfortable bed, which can cure any health problems I have as far as I'm aware.

When Max first witnessed my healing factor when asleep as well as awake, he was in awe. He even convinced me to let him take blood samples and do certain medical tests once a day so he could figure out how it worked as being a son of Pluto and Champion of Apollo didn't explain the ridiculousness of my recovery rate. I had to stop it though after a few weeks when he asked if he could cut off the tip of my finger to see if it grows back. I stopped all the tests at that point. Partly because his tests returned nothing as expected, partly because I hated being treated like a guinea pig, but mostly because I actually had no idea whether my finger would grow back or not. Of course, I didn't tell Max the last part. I liked having the guy look at me as some miracle of medicine that he thinks his dad blessed him with being near.

"Your completely fine. Just hit with a wave of exhaustion due to overuse of your powers. Been passed out cold for the last 20 or so hours. Apollo said you shadow travelled and this was a possible symptom of doing so, especially when doing so with a passenger?" Max half told me, half asked after completing his examination of me.

"Yeah, that's right. It's something children of Pluto have access to. Convenient but draining apparently. Especially considering it was the first time I ever tried it." I replied, now curious about whether I got a new skill and just didn't notice because of the exhaustion and passing out. Sure enough, it was there with my other skills.

Shadow Travel- Lvl 1 (21%)

As a master of the shadows, you have the ability to harness the shadows to access the shadow plane and traverse it, allowing you to quickly travel great distances. The system rated this skill 10/10 would use again on TripAdvisor.

Cost- 200 MP per Km travelled. (-5 MP per Level)

500 MP per Km for every extra person brought (- 5 MP per Level)

No wonder I passed out almost immediately after making it back. The camp was over 2km away and it took more MP than I had available at the time to get us back which made it an extremely dangerous idea on my part. I must have dipped into my godly core.

The way Apollo explained it to me, when you overuse your magical reserves, or mana, there are two things that can happen based on the spell or powers used. If your mortal, or a demi-divine using powers or magic you don't naturally have an affinity with, your physical health will always be affected, or HP. It will make you weaker and weaker based on the gap between mana needed and mana you had until it literally drains the life from your physical body, which sounds rough to say the least. If you're a demi-divine using your god given abilities, it will begin to take from your godly core, part of you that you inherit from your godly parent or patron that allows you to naturally control their domains to a point without magic. If you drain this, which is more fragile and weaker than draining your physical health, there are three things that could happen.

The first, which happened to me, is that you simply experience a drain of energy and exhaustion until your core naturally replenishes or is helped replenish using ambrosia. If its too great a strain on your godly core, you might burn up your entire core, leaving nothing to replenish and leaving you without access to your powers. This can't be fixed or healed by anyone, not even Apollo himself knows how.

If the amount of mana you need is way too great, you will end up literally burning up your entire being, spontaneously combusting. Which sounds painful. This doesn't happen often though as most the time your body will cut off the spell or draining of your core not long into accessing it, instinctually choosing to save itself rather than burn up. It takes a lot of willpower or a particularly dangerous feat trying to be accomplished in order for you to actually begin to kill yourself. Normally, you just end up not executing whatever you wanted to do to the level you wanted to do it.

That's why I wasn't too worried about finding out I tapped into my godly core. I'm pretty sure I would have just been spit out further away from the campsite if there was any risk of me burning up my godly core or spontaneously combusting trying to get there.

But the experience did get me thinking. I had been out of the Lotus hotel for 7 months now and this was the first time I had tried to access one of my most useful powers. I hadn't even tried raising the Dead yet. The chance of an on call miniature army at my fingertips and I had completely neglected it. Not to mention the lack of improvements in the stats department. My growth rate was far from what I expected of myself. In around a year and a bit I'm going to go help Percy on his quest and go up against the literal God of War. I would be hilariously outmatched even at this rate.

It wasn't that I was lazy or didn't care about my training either. It's just that I was the leader of the Archers when Apollo wasn't around, which was quite often. It meant I had others to look out for and didn't have time for my own training too often as I had to make sure everyone else was competent at ranged and close combat, overseeing their training myself. Not to mention the constant movement of being sent out to save different Roman demigods because the Romans didn't see fauns for the usefulness that the Greeks did. It gave me hardly anytime to actually worry about myself. It wasn't that I didn't care either, I was happy with the life I was currently living, its just I knew I was meant for bigger things, that I needed to be stronger if I was to help Percy with the coming threat. Heck, if I wanted to survive at all. I was going to be a prime target for Kronos if he doesn't find out about me not being eligible for the Great Prophecy so I had to be strong enough to deal with whatever was thrown at me. Not even mentioning the Demi-Titans that have started to appear. I'm pretty sure they didn't exist in Rick's books as there is no doubt in my mind they would have been mentioned in some way, shape or form.

Which means, as well as potential allies, I can pretty much bet on there being more potential threats that come our way. Ones that Camp Half-Blood and Jupiter probably won't be able to handle alone.

This hit me as hard as it did at this current moment because of Mateo, the Son of Bellona. I was pretty sure I would have lost in a fight to the guy without use of powers. Relatively easily as well. To be honest, with powers I wasn't sure it would have gone any better for me. The guy had way higher stats than myself and most likely a lot more skill than me at all forms of close range combat. I was in no way a natural with a sword, even if I was fairly competent with one due to training from a god, and have no doubts that the child of War would have been a lot better than me at it. Heck, close to half the Archers were better than me with a sword at this point even though I had been training with one for longer. And yet I expected myself to be able to take 2 divine weapons off a god of War next year when I couldn't even take down a child of a minor god. A very experienced and skilled one and a child of a War goddess, but he still held nothing compared to what a child of an Olympians potential would be.

I needed to get stronger. Level up faster. I wasn't getting enough Exp from quests for finding demigods, if I got a quest from the system at all, which I didn't half the time. Regrettably, after starting this group, I was going to have to leave them. Abandon them after not even a year.

"Heeeellllooooo. Anybody home?" I was currently being waved at by Apollo, his hand right in front of my face.

"Wha- Oh hi Apollo. When did you get here?"

"Like 2 minutes ago but I couldn't get your attention. Max left once he realised you weren't responding to him but it wasn't a medical issue. What's got you all distracted cuz? I heard you went to save a son of Bellona recently, not anything to do with that or the new recruit is it?" He asked, Marcus sitting silently in the background still.

I hesitated for a moment. I had made my decision on leaving even if I was afraid of how Apollo and the others might take it. But did I tell them about Agothane's divine heritage? Or Ben's? On one hand, it might cause problems with the Olympian CounciI, who could see them as a threat. Plus, I was sure Ben had no idea who his godly (is it technically Titanly?) parent was as he had tried to figure it out himself before, asking if any one else had any ideas.

On the other hand, Ben did have a right to know he was the son of a Titan and it could potentially put the whole of the Archers in danger if the Titans and their allies came after Agothane again as well as Ben and they didn't know who they were or why they were being targeted. It was partly justifiable, keeping this secret, if I continued to lead this group and helped take care of the situation should the need arise but that is most likely not going to be the case.

"Yeah, its about what happened in the cave. I found out some stuff. Agothane is… is-" I started, hesitating halfway through. Apollo cut me off though.

"a son of Iapetus?" He finished for me.

"Who was about to be sacrificed by your creepy sister in order to raise said Titan before you saved him? Who is now spending some quality time with another goddess, probably under the sea, who she was also trying to sacrifice? Yeah, we know. And we aren't fans of Bellona now for what she sent you into either, most likely knowingly." Marcus continued with a smirk. I almost forgot he was here. Might have been the longest he had ever gone without opening his mouth to talk or eat.

"Wha- How do you guys know?" I asked.

"You saved the boys life. He didn't want you to have to keep secrets from the rest of us for him. An honourable kid, as worthy of my blessing as any of you." Apollo said.

"Yeah, he's a good kid." I replied, which for some reason got a laugh out of Marcus and Apollo.

"Do you know how weird it is seeing a 12-year-old calling someone 4 years older than him a 'good kid' no matter how old you look." Marcus pointed out whilst still chuckling, causing me to frown and look down on myself.

He wasn't wrong. As my stats had increased since I started training, I had also gone through some physical changes along with that. I had gained quite a bit of muscle, although I would describe myself as lean and hadn't gained any real bulk. Something I was happy with as I would just look really weird as a kid with a lot of muscle mass. I had also had a growth spurt and was now 5'7 compared to being under 5 feet tall when I found Apollo. Apparently, my face had also changed, becoming more mature and defined. All in all, the Archers all agreed I looked around 14 years old. Apollo guessed that the cause of these changes were myself beginning training, which had accelerated my growth naturally.

It was a half truth but it didn't account for why none of the other demigods and titans went through the same thing. They still had an accelerated growth, just not at the rate I was.

My educated guess was that Gamer's Body was increasing my growth rate based on my increase in stats, due to training, in order for my body to be able to handle and match my increased physical abilities. It did make sense. The only down side was that girls were starting to stare at me when we went into cities. Something about the black flames in my pupils being really attractive now I was starting to get a body and face to go along with it. Most might have been happy with this development but not me. I wasn't uncomfortable around women or anything but I was a son of Pluto. I think I'm better suited to the shadows, being one in a crowd and going unseen rather than having a load of mortal females throwing themselves at you constantly. I don't know how I would handle a nightclub when everyone is drunk and their inhibitions fly out the window. I'm no Apollo who would just bask in the attention.

At least I didn't have to worry about that for quite a few years. Or until Apollo realised he could just manipulate the mist in order to create fake IDs and make us all look over 21 quite easily. But I wasn't too worried about that. The mans quite oblivious when he wants to be despite being the god of Knowledge.

"Agothane was keeping something from us though, I could tell that much with my truth domain. He said it wasn't his place to say anything and that he in fact couldn't say anything?" The god himself asked, bringing me out of my daydreaming. I do tend to get side tracked a lot.

"Yeah, we can't discuss it. We wouldn't be breaking an oath on the styx but rather freeing another from their own oath if we did. Which is not something either of us are eager to do."

"Fine, I will respect your wishes. I trust your judgement Nick. But I don't like being kept in the dark regarding important matters to do with my Champion or my Archers." Apollo replied cooly.

"Wait, what do you mean 'or'? He is an Archer as well." Marcus said. I guess I never mentioned that I never took an oath and everyone must have just assumed I did. I still followed the same rules everyone else did but I guess it was still a bit unfair that I was recruiting all these demi-divines and not telling them that I am not sworn to the same oath as them. Not that anyone asked.

"Technically I'm not." I said rather sheepishly, my hand scratching the back of my head as I did so in slight embarrassment.

"No he's not. He is technically my Champion and has a stronger blessing in some aspects than the rest of you. For certain reasons that we do not know, it is not Nicks fate to be an Archer. He was just here to start it up until you all were strong enough to handle yourselves or he needed to leave. Which I'm guessing is now by the conflicted look you've had since we began talking." Apollo explained, looking towards me. I wasn't even going to bother asking Apollo how he knew so much.

"Your right. I ju-… I just feel like I started this, promised protection and safety to every one of the group personally, and now I'm just up and leaving them high and dry." I muttered sadly.

Apollo had a sympathetic look on his face, taking a seat next to me on the bed and resting a hand on my back in comfort.

"Hey Marcus, can you give us a moment alone please. Gather everyone up in the rec room as well. We'll be there in a minute as I have something I need to announce." Apollo told the son of Mercury. He simply nodded, gave me his own sympathetic look, then walked out of the room.

Apollo watched him leave and sighed once he closed the door on the way out. "Look Nick, in no way are you leaving any of them high and dry."

"So what do you call me deciding to ditch them?" I muttered sarcastically.

"You aren't ditching anyone! Nick, you gifted me a group of followers I have always dreamed of having. You gave all these kids a home with brothers they never thought they would have as well as saving quite a few more and leading them towards New Rome. A few months ago you told me that you wanted to protect boys who were abused by their mortal parents or who were alone and forced to fend for themselves in the mortal world, which you have done. You've looked after them and trained them so that every single Archer here can take care of themselves in almost any given situation. They aren't helpless and can take care of themselves without your help now, even if its still very much welcomed. I know there are things you know that you can't and won't tell me and if you do need to leave, its because its for the best and you just need to remember that." Apollo said softly.

"You know I hide things from you? And your ok with it?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly. I could truly say I loved Apollo like a big brother. He took me in when I had nowhere to go after saving me because I was in over my head. He trained me and even blessed me with some of his powers. He was the one person who was there for me since my mother died so to hear that he thought so highly of me… well, what he said nearly brought tears to my eyes. Nearly. I'm still a son of Pluto and have a reputation to maintain.

Apollo laughed at what I asked, but it was devoid of humour. His bright blue eyes even seemed to dim for a moment as he thought about something but he quickly hid his own dark feelings. "I am the god of Prophecy Nick. I sometimes see glimpses of the future or know certain things that are to take place, and they normally aren't pretty. But I can't tell anyone or actively try to stop what I see from taking place. Partly because The Fates have a hold of me and could and have easily stopped me from doing so, but also because, most of the time, its better if I don't. The future might change for the worse if I do so." He explained.

I assume he thought I would ask how that's so. But I also knew of a possible future and had thought through how my actions might affect it as I'm not that impulsive as to not consider the massive repercussions.

"Because if you stopped something bad from happening or someone dying, and then something worse happened as a result, that would then be on you." I finished off sadly.

"Exactly, which tells me you've thought this through before and probably know of possible futures. I wont ask how but I will give you some advice." Apollo said. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't save people who you know are supposed to die or stop any evil from happening in the world out of fear that worse could happen. Watching people die who you knew you might have been able to save, that just isn't you and would break you. You are free from fate so can do what I can't. But if you do save someone and the repercussions of said action cause other evils, you must not blame yourself."

"How do I not though?"

"Because then you are weighing one person's life against another's. You are debating whether someone deserved to suffer more than another. You have to be able to accept that you can't save everyone and you did the best you could when the time comes. I, for one, know that you will always do your best to save others. You have the heart of a hero."

I took a moment to myself as I digested his words. I couldn't find fault in them. Well, all of them bar one. I wasn't a hero and certainly didn't have the heart of one. If I said that though, it would just bring more questions and put Apollo in a poor mood so I didn't voice my disagreement about that particular subject. The other things he said did help me relax and accept my choice as the right one though.

"Thanks Apollo." I said after a moment.

"No problem cuz." He replied with a grin.

"You know, we may be cousins but I consider you my brother. You've done more for me than I could ever repay you for." I said sincerely. He looked shocked by my proclamation for a moment. But then his grin returned even wider than before.

"I see you as my little brother as well Nicky." He replied before standing up. "Now we are done with the emotional and gooey stuff, lets meet up with everyone else. I have an announcement and a new Haiku I want your opinions on."

We exited the infirmary and entered the communal tent, which now had everyone gathered in, spread out on different sofas. Agothane seemed already fairly comfortable around everyone and he looked relieved when he saw me alive, whilst Marcus seemed to understandably look at me with worry etched on his face as I came in and sat down next to him. But I chose to ignore his looks for now.

Apollo stood at the front and flared his warm, bright aura a little to get everyone's attention, causing all chatter to stop as every pair of eyes turned to him.

"As you know, our main aim since the Archers were created nearly 6 months ago has been saving and recruiting demig-… demi-divines in order to boost our numbers." Apollo said, to which he got nods off everyone. "Well, Jupiter believes us strong enough now to take on missions on behalf of the council, our first one having being assigned to us just before I came back just recently." This caused everyone to lean forward a bit, the Archers clearly excited by idea of an actual mission. I was also interested in knowing about it, even if I wouldn't be a part of it most likely.

"What's the mission then?" Jacob asked. Apollo hesitated for a moment which intrigued me.

"We are being sent to find something." He replied.

"What are we looking for?" Marcus asked, obviously a lot more interested now there was an object that possibly needed to be stolen.

"I can't say."

"Wait. You want us to find an object whilst having no idea what that object is?" Jacob enquired, his eyebrows and nose scrunched up in obvious annoyance.

"Believe me, you will know its what we are looking for if we find it." Apollo replied dryly.

As soon as he said that I zoned out. It was something famously recognizable. Something that was probably stolen and missing but the gods, or more accurately Zeus, didn't want it to be public knowledge.

The fucking Masterbolt had already been stolen!

It all made sense now. Apollo had started spending less time with us just after the Winter Solstice. It explained why, even when he was here, the god seemed more distracted than usual. Added to that the fact the weather had been messed up ever since the solstice, I can't believe I had not noticed the signs.

I had my timeline completely wrong. I just assumed that the publishing dates of the books corresponded to when the stories would be set but there was no actual evidence of that being the case.

Now it was mid April and in just over a month's time Percy would be heading for camp and receiving his first quest not long after. I was at nowhere near the strength I wanted to be at and had never even met Percy to take on some of the challenges that would appear. Yet I needed to gain his trust in order to be a part of the quest. It was essential for my plans to ruin Kronos's rise before people started to die.

If I wasn't ready to leave before, I was now. My plan to be strong enough to take on any situation thrown at myself and Percy was out of the window now. I thought I would have a year to become a complete badass but I'm basically a master of Archery and that's it.

I could take on normal monsters. But Echidna? The Chimera? No chance if it was a one on one battle. I was going to have to solely rely on knowing what would take place, if I even knew that much at this point. Who knows how much my presence had already affected the timeline.

I was so lost in my own world that I failed to even notice that the topic in the room had changed to Apollo announcing that I was leaving. Everyone's eyes were now on me, a mixture of shock and sadness filling the tent. The staring did manage to bring me back to focusing on the here and now though.

"- so we can't tell you why he has to leave but unfortunately he does. Even if he is very reluctant to do so. Nick?" Apollo finished off, giving myself the opportunity to speak. It was a lot easier to tell everyone now that I knew I had no choice.

"Like Apollo said, I will be leaving. Tomorrow."

Absolute pandemonium broke out at this. Some were utterly confused by what was happening, some were asking why I waited until just now to tell them, and some were just yelling at me to tell them everything. I just sat there waiting for everyone to stop shouting. When that didn't seem like it was happening anytime soon however, everyone was silenced by the loudest taxi cab whistle I had ever heard. So loud that everyone clutched their heads in pain for a moment. I nodded my appreciation to the god of Music for the help before continuing.

"Right. If you want me to tell you what's going on I actually need to be able to speak. First things first, I'm sorry but I can't tell you what I exactly will be up to at the moment or where I'm going so don't bother asking. Secondly, I only recently realised I needed to go so soon and I promise have not been hiding it. I thought I had more time with you guys and if I could have stayed, you know I would have. You all know I consider everyone here family." I said as everyone digested and accepted my words as truth.

I felt a little like Vin Diesel off the Fast franchise after my speech. Although, I don't think I could pull off a white tank top. Nor would I ever wear one if I could.

"I know its a lot to take in but just remember I can pretty much take care of myself and wouldn't leave you guys if I didn't believe you could do the same." I continued.

"But what am I supposed to do without my best friend around?" Marcus almost cried out. I smirked at that. Time for a badass movie scene moment. I took the Ring of the Archers off my index finger and flicked it off my thumb, straight into Marcus's hands.

"Lead the Archers." I replied, my lips involuntarily twitching upwards. Marcus just stared at the ring and than me, constantly switching between the two as silence took over the tent. After a minute, Marcus finally reacted, looking up, his eyes slightly glazed over with a determined face.

"This. This is my superhero moment." He said whilst nodding his head. There was another moments silence. Then everyone broke out laughing at the proclamation whilst Apollo just shook his head in amusement.

"That's all you have to say after Nick basically gave you control of what is essentially supposed to be an Olympian task force?" Max asked in bewilderment.

"Well, yeah. Its like I've gone through all the trials and hardships whilst being in the Archers and have finally reached the point in the movie where the mentor gives me that one object or thing that helps unlock my true power and potential. And the best part is it wasn't some bullshit like 'The power was within you the whole time'. I get an actual ring." Marcus replied in all seriousness.

"Yes, the hardships of free accommodation, weaponry, training and food. Oh, the horror." Apollo said playfully, causing Marcus to pout as everyone laughed again. His pout didn't last long though as the son of Mercury was far too interested in the golden ring I had handed him, looking over every inch of it.

"This whole time trying to steal it just for you to give it me in the end." He pointed out, eyes never leaving the piece of jewellery. The boy was far too enamoured with money and items of wealth.

"The student didn't even become the master." I said, rolling my eyes at his complete focus being on the ring. Apollo gained a glint in his eyes, telling me he had found a way to mess with Marcus a little.

"You know what Nick, your right. Maybe I should take it back and gi-" Apollo started to say.

"NO! Its finally mine and I'm never giving it up." Marcus interrupted, slipping the ring on his left index finger and clutching it close to is chest whilst eyeing Apollo and me.

"You know, I might get Hecate and Aphrodite down here." Apollo said with a smile, confusing everyone. "A bit of make up and transmutation magic and you would make a great Golem." He finished off teasingly, getting a round of laughter from everyone but Marcus.

After that conversation, I knew Marcus was a good choice to lead the Archers. He might not take himself too seriously but I considered that a good thing. He always knew how to keep things light and fun no matter the situation and make everyone laugh. But at the same time he also cared a lot about his brothers in arms and could flick a switch if needed and become serious. Despite his jokester personality, Marcus was one of the most skilled combatants and took his training seriously. He was also very smart and had the sharp mind.

A lot of people say Mercury is a jack of all trades, master of none. I prefer to think of Marcus as a master of all. Maybe not the best at any single skill, other than stealing of course, but he was certainly talented and great at most. He would make a great leader of the Archers. I was sure of it.

After hanging out for a bit longer in the communal tent with everyone, Apollo was readyto leave who knows where and everyone retired to their own tents for the night after saying their farewells to me. I decided to leave in the early morning, before everyone got up, so I was seeing everyone for the last time tonight. I had to lie to Ben saying I could sense auras and that he had a similar one to Agothane so I assumed he was a Demi-Titan. As I said that, a spinning hologram began to spin over his head. Four white lines curled at the edge, like a drawn depiction of wind blowing with a bronze hunting bow spinning above it. Lelantos had claimed him. He took it quite well. Apollo explained that Lelantos was a peaceful Titan and his uncle, making Ben less questioning of his divine side. The whole group having instantly accepted Agothane also helped matters quite a bit I believe.

I also reluctantly handed over my Lotus card to Marcus who had a dangerous glint in his eye once he took it. I wasn't too worried about money for myself tough. Pluto is the god of Riches and I can summon precious metals out of the ground whenever I want so I probably wont ever be strapped for cash.

I was walking back to my own tent when I saw Agothane waiting by it patiently.

"Hey man, whats up?" I asked as I walked up to him. He seemed a lot calmer and relaxed than he had in the cave. That was understandable.

"I just wanted to thank you again for saving me." Agothane replied.

"Oh come on. I wasn't just going to leave you to die, was I?" I replied earnestly.

"I was about to be sacrificed to raise a Titan. Don't underplay what you did for me." Agothane hesitated for a moment before bringing something out of his pocket and handing it to me. "Here. I want you to have this."

In his hand was his necklace from Hestia.

I just stared wide eyed at the guy for a moment. The one thing that had given him hope, helped him survive whilst he tried to hide from the gods and Titans eyes and he was willingly giving it to myself.

"No, I can't take that from you. Its too important to you." I said, closing his open palm with my hand and pushing it back towards him.

"You don't understand," he said, shaking his head, "do you know what Agothane loosely translates to? To bring death." He took a moment to gather himself before continuing.

"I was only born to be a sacrifice to help bring about the end of the world. I ran away, yes, but I was still hunted non stop and was alone. I couldn't get away from my destiny, to die by the gods or the titans. My name constantly reminded me of this my entire life. You are right that Hestia's necklace was important to me. It brought me hope and led me to a safe place whenever I was in a bad situation. But what you did was far more than it ever could. Not because you freed me from Melinoe. But because you freed me from my fate. You've given me a permanent home and saved me from being hunted like a wild animal. For that… I can never repay you." He explained, choking up towards the end.

I just stood there, unable to speak. I didn't realise just how awful a life Agothane was living. How stressed he constantly was, how he never felt safe for even a moment. And I couldn't help but let my mind wonder to the other demi-titans out there and think about how much they must be struggling.

"Please just take it. The Archers are my home now. I don't need this anymore. But you might now your leaving. I can't begin to repay you for what you've done for me but if it can help you find shelter or food even once when you need it…" He let that hang in the air as he tried once again to gift me the necklace. After the what Agothane just said to me, I couldn't not accept it. So I took the necklace and put it on myself, getting a beaming smile from the demi-titan in response to seeing it.

"Thank you. And don't you ever feel indebted to me. I only did what anyone else would do in that situation." I said, getting an eyebrow raise in response.

"You pissed off the King of Olympus and threatened a War goddess for me." He said incredulously. I laughed at that, maybe not everyone would have been stupid enough to do that after all. But it was worth it.

"Yeah, maybe your right. Now if you don't mind, I have an early morning tomorrow so I'm gonna head off to bed. I'm sure I will see you guys again soon enough, I don't want to stay away too long. Marcus will kill me." I joked.

"Of course. I'll see you around. Maybe next time I will have a new name to commemorate my new life." Agothane replied with a smile, offering a shake of the hand, which I took.

"I look forward to it."

Once we separated and I finally made it back to my own tent, I sat down on the bed. I had a few things I needed to have a look at before I went to bed. First thing I decided to do was pull up my status.

Phoenix 'Nick' Dhana, Son of Pluto

Race- Demigod
Gender- Male
Age- 12
Titles- Son of Pluto, Universe Trekker, Apollo's Champion (Full), Protector of the Demi-Titans

Level- 14
Exp- 4,650/5,000
Health- 4,250/4,250 HP (+200HP per level, 11% HP/min regen)
Mana- 2,600/2,600 MP (+300MP per level, 9% MP/min regen)

Str- 18 (+5+5) = 28
End- 18 (+5+5) = 28
Vit- 20 (+5+5) = 30
Dex- 25(+5+10) = 40
Int- 29
Wis- 30
Luc- 12

Money- $4,170 / 28 D / 260 d

Sta- 44
PP- 17

My stats were pretty well balanced other than Luc. As far as I was aware there was no natural way for me to improve my luck either so I decided it was time to spend some stat points. I wouldn't have normally been bothered by my Luc being so low but seeing that I get a reward when a stat reached 25, I decided it was worth it and threw 13 points at the skill.

Ping

Due to Luc reaching 25, you have been given a reward!

WELCOME TO EVERYONES FAVOURITE GAME SHOW! SPIN THAT WHEEEEEEEEELLLL!

Whst the fuck? What on Gaia's green Earth was going on?

Suddenly, I started to hear a non existent audience chanting 'Spin the wheel! Spin the wheel!' as a massive game show wheel attached to a wooden base appeared in front of me out of nowhere. It was around 7 feet tall and was split into about a dozen parts like a pizza, each slice a different colour and had unique things written on it. Each slice also had a nail at the end and at the top of the wheel was a flapper that would hit the nails in order to slow the wheel down once spun and pick a prize. It became fairly obvious that my reward would be whatever slice the wheel landed on once I span it so I decided to take a look at what I could potentially win.

Almost everything seemed useful on the wheel. One slice was offering +5,000 HP whilst another was offering +5,000 MP which would both be very helpful. There was also a slice that offered a new weapon, one that offered 25 Stat Points and one that even offered a companion, whatever that meant.

By far the most interesting of the options available though was the one black slice with a white ? on it. I had no idea what it was offering but I was far more interested in it than any other reward. Knowing the system, it was probably a trick that either gave me nothing or sent me straight to Tartarus on a vacation. But I still felt a need to actually find out.

Stepping up to the massive wheel in front of me, I was slightly shocked that I could actually grab onto the sides. It was a physical object. I kind of half assumed it was going to be something I could only see through my eyes like my status and skills. Shrugging it off as just another mystery in my weird life, I pushed downwards and spun the wheel.

The audience started cheering in my head as generic game show music started to play. The only other sound was the rat-tat-tat of the flapper hitting the nails attached to the wheel. All the sounds started to quieten down as the wheel slowed, eventually going silent as it finally stopped on my reward.

Ping

Congratulations! You have won a new skill!

Ping

Please pick one of the following.

Shrouded by Darkness

Sick of all those nosy immortals constantly listening in? Never again as this skill creates a bubble of Darkness around yourself and others, blocking out anyone, even Nyx herself, from seeing or listening to what occurs. Not even a god can beat you at hide and seek now.

Cost- 4,000 MP per minute

Truth's aim

Use your powers as Apollo's Champion to imbue an arrow with the power of Truth. Can only be called upon once a week but any who the arrow hits will be forced to never lie for a limited amount of time.

Cost- 1,000 MP per use.

Krav Maga

An form of hand to hand combat created for the Israelian military, it is widely considered one of the best forms of self defense available, similar to MMA without Illegal strikes holding you back. Using your body as a weapon, unleash hell on any who are stupid enough to think you are any less dangerous when unarmed.

Huh, all three are very useful for different reasons. The first skill, Shrouded by Darkness, is out the window straight away though. It could be very helpful and being able to go unseen by the gods is a massive skill to obtain but I didn't even have near enough MP to use it at the moment so wouldn't be useful for quite awhile.

So I had to decide between the other two. Truths Aim could be a powerful weapon to have in the future but considering this world seems to generally follow canon for now, I think my ability to detect lies and my knowledge of what is to take place takes away from its ability to help me in the near future.

Which leaves me with Krav Maga. I honestly was quite excited about learning a martial art. There were questions of course. Would I instantly be a master in the art or would I have to train? But then why would it be offered as a skill to choose if I could just take a lesson from someone and be at close to the same point. The system wasn't stupid so I think it was ok to assume I instantly became at least good at Krav Maga. Also, I had already mentioned how annoying my lack of progress at close combat had been to this point so this skill could be seen as a god send, helping possibly save my life if I came up against a greater weapons wielder than myself. Yeah, it was kind of a no brainer. I chose Krav Maga.

Ping

2 New Skills Learned!

Krav Maga- Lvl MAX

An form of hand to hand combat created for the Israelian military, it is widely considered one of the best forms of self defense available, similar to MMA without Illegal strikes holding you back. Using your body as a weapon, unleash hell on any who are stupid enough to think you are any less dangerous when unarmed.

Hand-to-hand Combat- Lvl 15 (0%)

Your ability to fight unarmed. As you learn different styles of hand-to-hand combat and gain experience, your level will increase and therefore so will your damage output when unarmed.

Damage- Str

+ 75% damage (+5% per level)

I clutched my head for a moment as information on how to fight using Krav Maga filled my head. It was like a sharp pain that stayed there for a good 15 seconds as I absorbed the information before leaving. I instantly knew I was a master at the art now, knowing how and when to perfectly execute different techniques whether it be punching, kicking, grappling, takedowns or submissions. It's like the skill didn't just ingraine itself into my brain but my muscle memory as well. I didn't just know the different teachings; I knew I could execute them as well.

It was a bit trippy how that worked so I decided to move on, picking my recent rewards from my quest out of my inventory and setting them down on my bed. The first thing I looked at was the Lvl 10 Skill Book I acquired and used Observe on it.

Lvl 10 Skill Book

A book of mysterious origins that allows the reader to choose a skill in which to level up 10 times. On Phoenix Dhana's Gamer System scale anyway.

A very nice reward to have. I wasn't going to use it yet though. I had no skills that were of a high enough level for it to be worthwhile doing so. Moving on, there was a golden smooth metal that could fit in the palm of my hand fairly easily with ornate carvings all around the outer metal. It had a natural glow to it coming from the centre but it seemed like it was restraining its true power. Like it was dormant.

I activated Observe.

Copycat Ball

A divine object of unknown origins, copycat balls can be used once by the wielder to essentially gain the abilities of another. It can give the wielder access to the divine or magical powers of the being or object it is used on. And no, smartass, you can't use a copycat ball on a copycat ball

Can be used on all beings up to 20 levels above your own.
Can be used on all weapons and divine objects.

Warning- the ball does not give you an affinity to use the given powers.

Oh yeah, I loved this reward instantly.

The possibilities were quite ridiculous. But there were also a lot of limitations and unanswered questions that came with it. I assume I could gain the powers of a monster or demigod like the charmspeak of an Empousai or the hydrokinesis of a child of Poseidon. The problem was that I had no idea if I could use said abilities. Perhaps that's why I couldn't access my photokinesis. Because I didn't have a natural affinity for it. But, then again, that doesn't explain my ability to heal. My dad controls the dead, that's as far away from a healing affinity as you can get. Perhaps being Apollo's Champion gave me an affinity for healing and I had a different problem regarding photokinesis. I would have to look into it at some point.

This affinity thing caused some problems though. A plan to use it on the Masterbolt wouldn't work when I eventually go to help retrieve it. Neither will trying to use it on most godly weapons other than the Helm of Darkness.

But at the same time, my ability to naturally hide in the shadows and my apparent affinity for my fathers slight control over fear, which I hadn't figured out yet, would then become a bit reduntant, making using it on the Helm seem a bit of a waste.

Then there was the fact that I had no idea how powerful a skill it would give me. For example, I noticed Apollo's bow will conjure arrows for him when he pulls back on the string. But it draws on his divine power to make the shots as powerful as they are, much like how my shadow binds are created by exerting my own mana. That would mean that if I were to say use the ball on Apollo's bow, if it literally copies the bows abilities theres a high chance that the arrows I conjure would have to be infused with my own mana. No doubt this would make them a lot less powerful than the ones Apollo could conjure because the obvious disparity in divine power levels between said demigod and god.

So I had to be careful. Maybe I could just copy the skills a demigod or god has. But once again, would those skills be of the same level when I first got them, and if not, could I level them up? Plus, I very much doubt I could use the divine object on a god considering the level restrictions imposed, how long gods have been around and the fact that their levels are so high I can't even see them.

Putting those unanswered questions to the back of my mind, I had a look at my, now growing, list of titles

Son of Pluto

As the Son of Pluto, You automatically receive a boost of +5 boost in Str, End, Vit and Dex. You also have a natural affinity for the shadows, raising and controlling the Dead, precious metals, fear itself and Hellfire. This also gives you a light connection to the Earth, giving you control over underground tunnels and limited Geokinesis. Unfortunately, you also have a stronger scent than most half-bloods and will attract more monsters.

Universe Trekker

As an entity from another universe, you see more than even the gods and are not controlled by The Moirai or any other Fate controlling deity. As such, prophecies and the future are malleable and can be changed due to your interference. Don't worry though, I told all the deities of Fate to mind their own Gods damned business lest they feel my wrath.

Apollo's Champion (Full)

You have gained the complete trust and friendship of both the Greco-Roman Apollos. As such, you have been given the strongest blessing they could give, transferring a tiny bit of their power into you, making you their Champion. As such, you have gained the ability to control light, heal others using your own mana, a boost in all natural ranged combat capabilities and the ability to detect lies. This title also gives you the same physical boosts that all members of the Archers of Apollo receive (+5 Str, +5 End, +10 Vit, +15 Dex). Not to mention you're now a great singer and naturally gifted with an instrument.

Protector of the Demi-Titans

Due to you stopping Bellona from hunting innocent Demi-Titans, you have gained this Title, making Demi-Titans more likely to trust you and follow your lead.

Well that would certainly be useful in the future. I had planned to talk to Vesta once I reached Camp Half-Blood about how I might be able to help. Well, technically Hestia I guess. I had an early morning and although I didn't need sleep, the feeling of waking up well rested was a luxury I still enjoyed so I got changed into my gold pyjamas and went to sleep.

For the second time in 2 days I dreamed. The weird guy behind the desk did mention something about making me dream so I guess this is what he meant. He must have gotten someone to change how Gamer's Mind works. It was weird though because I could still feel its presence, ready to calm me down or quell any extreme emotions. Weird.

I looked around and realised I was in a dark cavern. I could see perfectly though due to Eyes of the Owl but there wasn't much to see. Other than the huge yearning pit in front of me that had a slight red glow coming from it. A pit straight to Tartarus. I could feel a cold presence coming from it as well.

"So this is the famous son of Pluto trying to play hunter. Not much for the one in line for the Great Prophecy. The son of Jupiter is far more of a threat, if you can even call the weak boy that, and he isn't even next in line after you." An evil, deep voice spoke from the pit. I have no doubts that it would have sent shivers down my spine and scared me half to death into silence if I was just another demigod. But, one, I had Gamer's Mind to suppress my emotions. And, two, I was a master of pissing off deities.

"Yeah yeah. Keep your evil conquering speeches and job offers to yourself Kronos. Or should I technically call you Saturn. Meh, it doesn't really matter. Just keep you and your chopped up ass in Tartarus like a good little Titan." I scolded with a smirk. There was a moment of silence and I could feel the shock coming off the Titan that I could talk, knew who he was, and insulted him. That quickly turned to anger though as an intense pressure built.

"YOU DARE SPEAK TO M-" He started to shout, the cavern shaking as I felt the pit try to pull me in.

I knew I was in a dream though and nothing would actually happen if I did fall in right now. Instead of cowering and panicking, I decided to piss him off more by interrupting him.

"'-ME LIKE THAT. I am the King of the Titans. Master of Time. You are nothing but an ant for me to step on with my boot.'" I finished off in a mocking tone. "You can say whatever you want but we both know that you didn't even have the power to bring me here, I did that myself. Your also stuck all the way down there." I said with a smile and a wave down at the pit. "What in my father's name are you going to do anytime soon. You've been in there for the last millennia and you will be there for the next millennia as well."

It was kind of a gamble to say I brought myself here but I doubt he could purposefully enter my dreams due to Gamer's Mind and Percy himself made his own way in his dream to spy on Kronos and Luke. So it wasn't that far a stretch. From the few seconds of silence after my statement, I assumed I was correct in thinking so.

"You arrogant, insolent demigod! I will enjoy personally ripping you apart. I wi-"

"Right I'm not just gonna stick around whilst you threaten myself, me family and friends. Cya never Kimbo Sliced." I said, willing myself away from the pit.

I was quite happy that it actually worked as I was proud of my nickname and didn't really want to stick around for his reaction to it. As the picture of the cavern disappeared, I heard the Titan King yelling in anger, which was music to my ears. I might be even better than Percy at pissing off immortals, which is saying something.

This wasn't the end of my dreamcation as I'm calling it though. I was now in some type of history museum, with white marble Greek statues and depictions of Ancient Greek mythology on display all around me. I heard a screech behind me, causing me to turn around.

On top of a frieze of the greek gods was an old hag with leathery bat wings, talons and yellow fangs. Her eyes were like burning coals and were looking murderously at someone below her on the ground.

A scrawny kid, no older than 12, with tussled black hair had his back to me. I could sense the fear he felt and see his body literally shaking. He was about to be attacked by this monster, and from the looks of it, he had no idea about the Greco-Roman world and had no means of defending himself. I wanted to help him but something told me to not interfere, to watch. Not that I think I could have anyway. I was just dreaming.

Just as the monster tensed her body to lunge at the child, a shout came from the doorway into the gallery. A man in a motorized wheelchair was at the doorway. He had thinning hair, a scruffy beard, was wearing a tweed jacket and he didn't seem entirely surprised by seeing the monster.

"What ho', Percy." He shouted as he tossed a ballpoint pen at the kid. I turned back to the kid in shock, finally understanding what was going on, to see Percy narrowly dodge the lunge of the Fury that was attacking him with a roll.

Getting back to his feet, he went to grab the ballpoint pen out of mid air. Only to be surprised to find he was now holding a celestial bronze Greek Xiphos. He had no time to admire the weapon though as the Fury had come back round for a second chance at killing him. He haphazardly swung his new blade at her, hitting her shoulder and passing clean through her as he did so.

The Fury exploded into dust with a wail as Percy froze in shock at what happened.

And then suddenly Chiron and his wheelchair were in front of him as the concealed centaur snapped his fingers in front of the demigod. Percy's shoulders sagged as his eyes glazed over, staring straight ahead of him. Chiron face was scrunched up in concentration, the air shimmering and blurring around him like a mirage before it expanded outwards, a massive wave of mana being emitted from the centaur. It was enough mana for me to question just how strong Chiron was. The amount of mana emitted was close to that I would only expect a god, maybe not even some minor ones, to be able to wield.

I realised that this must be what large scale mist manipulation looks like, the air shimmering was similar to when I manipulated the mist, just on a much larger scale. Chiron was making everyone forget Alecto was at their school and was replacing her with someone else in everyones memories.

It was a bit freaky to watch and think about the fact he could do that. However, he looked toward Percy and furrowed his eyebrows. He sent a wave of what I guessed was mist at him causing the boys eyes to twitch. But after a moment Chiron's look changed to one of slight shock.

He couldn't make Percy forget about Ms Dodds. He then sighed and left through the doorway slightly exhausted, snapping his finger again as he turned the corner.

Percy was brought back to his senses and was understandably confused at no one being around and his sword being back in ballpoint pen form. I sighed, realising he was going to spend the next month or so going completely out of his mind thinking he was going crazy. When I did though, Percy froze and looked in my direction, his body tense.

Wait, could he see and hear me all of a sudden? All I did was sigh and he seemed to be looking right through me.

Then Realisation hit me. If Kronos can hear in a dream me then so could Percy plausibly. But my dream was slowly beginning to fade.

"DON'T GIVE THE SWORD BACK TO MR BRUNNER!" I shouted as Percy looked around in shock, searching for a voice.

"W-what? That was real? Where are you? Who are you?" He quickly rattled off. But I knew I didn't have time to answer.

"THEY WILL PRETEND MRS DODDS WASN'T REAL. JUST GO ALONG WITH IT BUT KEEP THE PEN." I yelled as my view of Percy faded away and I woke up.