Chapter 36:

Markus was following Susanoo inside a Shinto palace, located in a remote place outside of Tokyo. The god had directed him to this place because he had said that it was vital for his being.

Since coming back and recovering from his quest to slay Yamata-no-Orochi, Susanoo had kept his word. Once he was strong enough, Susanoo had blessed him and made him his champion. The process wasn't really long or spectacular. Susanoo just clapped his hands and spoke in Japanese so quick that Markus had no idea what he'd said. And then a powerful orb of light came from the god's clapped hands and shot forward to Markus' chest.

As soon as the orb shot into his chest, Markus almost passed out due to the tremendous power that he had received. It was so powerful that he almost fell onto his back from exhaustion of having to assimilate the new power into his body. In the end, he did pass out and awoke a few hours later, Susanoo there to tend to him.

When Markus checked on his divine reserves, he was stumped. The last time Markus had checked on his core, he estimated that he was... roughly at the level of minor god, arrogance and pride aside of course. He didn't know if that was a good estimate or not, since the only minor god that he had encountered was Khione and Hecate (who didn't really count as a minor god, since she was technically a Titan). Now, though, his power output was above that of a minor god, and touching that of an Olympian! (A.N. - In terms of power output, with magic included. This does not include fighting skill or divine control... at least not yet).

Markus was so happy at the increase in power that he almost vibrated in glee... before slapping himself for acting so weird. But he was still really happy at what he had managed to achieve thanks to the storm god. Another thing he had noticed was his increase in elemental control. His lightning control was now on the level that his water control was previously, which was a shock. His wind control had also increased largely and he was able to use it on the same level as a child of Zeus, and even beyond. And his water control... was absolutely ridiculous. Seriously, it wasn't even funny anymore. His water control was his greatest asset and the one that he had spent the most time on, magic powers aside. He didn't really practice with them much because he had already explored the boundaries that he could with water. At least, to his knowledge. Now, he could use water in ways that he didn't even know.

His blood control had improved, so he could now control beings with almost no difficulty, mist and vapour control had also increased - so he could vapour-travel almost anywhere and not suffer huge drawbacks - and he could control liquids even better now. Meaning sweat, saliva, gastric fluids, poisons, etc. He still wasn't sure about ichor, but he hadn't tested it yet.

Along with that, his powers, magic and physical body felt much, much stronger and more powerful. His strength had increased so much that his punches now were similar to what he could do with Beowulf before. And that was with him holding back! His speed, without use of kinetic energy, had also taken a much larger increase to where he could outstrip Olympic athletes and make them look like snails. With kinetic energy, he was much, much faster. He was seriously so giddy right now.

Not only had he received a power increase, but he also received the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which was the real one and not the fake Orochi had. When Markus had recovered the fake Kusanagi, Susanoo held the blade in his hands, before crushing it with his strength. Then, he summoned another sword in his hands, one vastly different in appearance from the fake Kusanagi. This one was in the shape of a nodachi with a slight blue hue on one half of the blade. It even came with a sheath as well. Despite its simple appearance, it radiated power that Markus had only felt in Zeus' bolt and Hades' helm. It had godly energy within, of that he was sure of.

Susanoo had warned him that he shouldn't use the blade carelessly and that this should only be used against god-tier opponents or emergencies. He also said that it was an excellent conductor for lightning, and could be used to charge bolts and lightning on Zeus' level, with enough power. Markus understood the responsibilities given to him as he held the Kusanagi. To hide it, Susanoo taught Markus a spell where he could place it in a pocket dimension of sorts, and pull it out whenever he required.

Now both god and demigod walked inside the temple, candles, prayer mats and kanji set all around the place. As they reached the center, Susanoo stopped. turning to face the son of Poseidon. Markus stared back.

"As my champion," Susanoo said, "you represent me, in a way. And while I'm not as stingy or as arrogant as your gods, I do have a sense of pride. Simply put, you will receive training directed under me, so that you can wear the title of 'Champion of Susanoo' proudly."

Markus nodded, not complaining or angry in the slightest.

"As such, I have gathered several teachers who are masters in their fields and who will help you gain enough standing in the field necessary for you. Magic and physical prowess, divine powers, meditation, along with being taught how to fight like a god." At Markus' confused face, he elaborated. "What I mean is that, while you are a demigod, you are essentially half-god. So I plan to train you how to fight like one. This entails using divine energy for simple things like strengthening your limbs or body, and other achievements that magic itself can't accomplish. You will also be taught the art of fighting and combat."

Markus tried his damnedest to stop grinning in absolute fucking glee. He failed miserably.

Susanoo nodded. "I can see that your are ecstatic. By the time I'm done training you, you will be on a level of one of your own gods. Perhaps a low-tier Olympian or so. Who knows?"

"That reminds me," Markus said, getting his mind straight. "How long will the training take. I'd be happy to take as long as needed, but I do need to get back to my pantheon. And my friends will be worried."

"I understand," Susanoo nodded. "The training will take roughly eight months to a year." At Markus' panicked face, he chuckled. "Have no fear. One of your teachers, who is very adept in the mystical arts, knows of creating a time-dilation field using dimension and spacial magic. I can tell you that roughly two months could pass in the real world, and only up to eight or nine months in the world you'll be in will pass."

"Can I at least send messages or meet some of my friends while I'm training?" Markus asked hopefully. At Susanoo's disgruntled look, he gave a pleading look.

The god sighed. "Fine. I'll even be generous and give you several breaks. You'll need it." At the evil grin on the god's face, Markus almost regretted accepting the training. "Now," he said ominously, sending shivers down Markus' spine. "Let us begin."

XXX

(Phase 1)

Markus' first part of training was in the arcane arts. He'd guessed that he would excel quickly in this field, since he already knew a lot about magic. He was proven wrong.

His teacher was a man who essentially looked like Gandalf form Lord of the Rings, with the long beard, robes and everything. Just from looking in his eyes, Markus could tell that he'd been alive for centuries, maybe millennia. He gave off a similar aura that Chiron usually had: one who'd trained hundreds of students in his art.

He didn't give Markus his name, as he said that there was no need. All he needed to call him was teacher, teach, or even sensei. Markus decided to just call him Dalf, short for Gandalf. That was who he reminded him of anyway. The old man just shook his head in amusement, but didn't say anything.

For their first lesson, Dalf had dropped a giant tome in front of him, which was on the understandings and basics of manipulating magic. Markus had argued that he already knew all of the basics and how to use magic, but Dalf just used his staff - which he had on him - to whack Markus on the head. When he yelled and complained as to why the hell he hit him, Dalf just whacked him again. After getting whacked a few times, and getting large bruises, Markus got the message that he should keep quiet.

He was allowed to use his 'Speed Thought' spell, though. Knowing that fact, he quickly took to reading the book. Normally, the tome would've taken at least days, if not weeks, to read. Markus managed to achieve it in only three days. Time ran differently in the time-dilation field, however, so it was three days inside the field.

When Markus finished the book, Dalf asked him to tell him what he had learned. Markus responded with facts that he'd never known before. From what he read, magic was the energy that was used to manipulate reality to a certain level, which was the basic understanding. There were different ways to draw on magic. One was through dimensions. Another was through objects and, sometimes, other beings. Other ways were using words or having a magical core, as Markus did and had. Another main way was drawing on one's surroundings and even nature itself.

Once he got that out of the way, he also told Dalf about other things he'd read: that being how famous witches, wizards and sorcerers used magic. That being Merlin, Morgan le Fay, King Arthur, and priests. This was done so he could take examples from them as to how to use magic better. Or, as Dalf said, properly. He felt insulted by that, but he let it slide.

Then Markus told Dalf about the types of magic used, which were Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Shinto, Buddhist, demonic, angelic, nature, etc. and their applications and uses. Greek magic, as Markus knew, was vast and powerful but was sort of limited in a way, due to it being a little rigid. Egyptian magic was more vast and slightly more powerful than Greek magic, due to its roots, and had different applications and reaches that Greek magic didn't have or could achieve. Norse magic was powerful, but had drawbacks mainly towards the user. Shinto and Buddhist were vast and had almost limitless potential, with imagination being their only cap. The rest were self-explanatory, demonic magic was too destructive, angelic magic was peaceful and nourishing, the same with nature magic, etc. There were exceptions to each rule but that was the general gist.

Then he finished off with how magic, while used in different ways and forms, was essentially linked, in a way. Markus couldn't wrap his head properly around this, but that was what he'd read in the book. Magic was receptive to different methods and beings. Gods, elves, demons, nature creatures had a much better understanding than humans at magic due to them having ties with nature and being supernatural. However, magic was the same in any form, just used differently and having a different flavour from the other. As Markus was a demigod, as well as having an affinity for magic, he could learn magic and use it better than others. Or, get a better understanding of magic, at least. He also learnt that magic was a tool. It was neither good or evil. The only factors that mattered was the user and the branches.

With that done, Dalf moved on to teaching about several branches of magic. He said that, since their time was limited, he could only teach a few magic. The options that Markus could choose from was space/time magic, elemental magic, necromancy, celestial/astronomy magic, energy-based magic and charm magic. He could only pick four options. So Markus decided to go with space/time, energy-based, elemental and celestial magic.

Markus practically abused the shit out his 'Speed Thought' spell. This ended up with him having his mind almost turned to mush and ending up as a vegetable if Dalf didn't heal him at times.

Some spells taught to him were so destructive and vast that Dalf had to take him to another dimension, which was called the Mirror Dimension, so that the area they were in wasn't destroyed. (A.N. - The same Mirror Dimension used in the Dr. Strange movie). The Mirror Dimension was a copy of the real world, except with no inhabitants. It was one of many dimensions that Dalf had discovered. With it, he could destroy as much space as he wanted with no restraint.

Along with all this, Markus was allowed into Dalf's personal library where he could make his own discoveries while Dalf trained him. So he read up on runes, several charms and spells. They weren't much, but they were something. On the plus side, Markus finished a project that he'd wanted to finish for sometime: recreating Yamato from Devil May Cry. How this was done was essentially getting summoning a katana and writing up to three space/time runes on them, with the runes translating literally to 'Space', 'Time', 'Cut'. It not only was a complete success, but worked the exact same way like the weapon did in the games.

Speaking of Devil May Cry, Dalf managed to help Markus with his little 'demonic problem'. Using his superior magic skills, Dalf healed Markus of the burn that Zerith had given him and, on Markus' behalf, managed to merge the demonic parasite in Markus' arm with the limb. The parasite was eventually destroyed with its properties absorbed by Markus' arm. Now, he essentially had the Devil Bringer from DMC4, with his own modifications. Namely, the colour in the line of the arm being green instead of blue, and several tattoos plastered onto it. The awesome thing about it was that not only could he turn the Devil Bringer on and off, he could also channel magic into it to use hellfire, due to Zerith's power being in the parasite. Markus was very grateful to all the Dalf had done for him, and the teacher said that it was nothing.

(Phase 2)

The next part of training insisted of Markus training with a Shinto priest (A.N. - His appearance is similar to Madara when he became the Juubi Jinchuriki in Naruto, only clothes and accessory-wise. His hair is shorter). Markus nicknamed him Tim. Why? Because it felt nice.

Tim taught him Fūinjutsu, which was a type of art that involved seals, which were similar to runes (A.N. - Exactly like Fūinjutsu from Naruto. I won't cover all of it here, since you can look it up for yourself). Along with that, he was taught a little bit of Shinto magic and meditation. For the Shinto magic, it was absolutely mind-blowing and involved a number of things, including healing, which he didn't know much about, using dimensions to attack other people, mental blocks to stop people from telepathically attacking him, as well as how to use his inner spirit, so to say. This, along with meditation, helped Markus have a deep connection with his spirit and allowed him to develop a mindscape, a plane that existed in his mind. This further developed his mental skills and even allowed him to control his ADHD. He still had it, he just was able to control it now.

Along with the magic, he was also able to apply resistance and gravity seals upon his body, increasing the resistance and the gravity that he alone was under. So the gravity seals applied was set at four times his centre of gravity. His body was already sturdy enough with all of the power buffs he'd received, so he could slightly handle the increased gravity. So he was stuck doing push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks and other exercises while having increased resistance and weight.

His study of Fūinjutsu went quickly. The art was similar to runes, only seals were more fluid for him. So he took to it like a fish to water.

With that, his study with Tim finished earlier than expected.

(Phase 3)

The third part of Markus' training was with him and what looked to be a fox-man with nine tails. This, Markus was later told, was a kitsune youkai, a kyuubi to be exact. Markus only knew a little about the creature, but he did know that kitsunes were mostly tricksters.

Simply put, Markus hated Fuzzy. That was the name he'd given the kyuubi. Largely put to piss him off.

Fuzzy was stern, sarcastic and a pain in the ass. He liked to insult and mock Markus, sometimes whenever he messed up in training and other times for no reason, and he never let him take that much breaks. Markus cursed at him and always found ways to piss him off in return.

However, despite being a hardass, Fuzzy had some interesting stuff to teach. First, Markus was taught how to use illusions. This part was added to his training due to his use of the Mist to manipulate mortals and the use of his Mist clones, which he didn't use for a while. Kitsunes were masters at using illusions, so Fuzzy knew his stuff. However, because Markus wasn't a youkai, instead of being naturally gifted with illusions, Markus only had magic and the Mist to rely on. So they went with that.

He already knew beforehand how to use the Mist to the point of using illusions, but Fuzzy's training was still no joke. For the first lesson, the kitsune trapped him in an illusion and instructed him to break out of it. Nothing too big, just Markus being transported to a sunny forest rather than the area they were training in. He broke out of it using his magic to force his body to overcome the illusion.

Then they moved onto bigger stuff. Markus being transported to a desert and experiencing the full sensations that came with it, thirst, sweat, heat, etc. Then they went to a cave with three doorways, and Markus had to choose the right door and ignore the illusions. He'd failed a couple of times, hence his receiving ridicule from Fuzzy. Then he experience high-level illusions that warped reality itself, transporting him, mentally, to areas beyond Earth, and he had to break out of them. The illusions were a pain in the ass to dispel, but he managed.

The main way to detect illusions was focusing on his five senses, as well as his secret sixth sense that he had. This training was done by Fuzzy throwing dodgeballs at him, sharp objects at him, sneak attacks upon him, etc. Markus could tell that Fuzzy took pleasure in trying to kill him. Sadistic furball. The good thing that came out of it was that his reflexes were now top-notch.

Next, he was taught how to cast illusions, which was him bringing his magic outwards from his body and coating his surroundings in his magic. This method was usually successful, if not draining. There were more subtle ways of casting illusions that Markus was taught, although if his opponent was strong in enough mentally, they could easily break the illusions.

Another thing Markus was taught was to use the energy that Fuzzy knew: that being senjutsu (A.N. - Instead of it being fictional, in this fic, I'll make it an actual art that youkai, and by extension creatures of nature, are able to use in different ways). Senjutsu is a specialised field of techniques that allows the user to sense and then gather natural energy. Senjutsu practitioners learn to draw the energy of nature inside of them, blending it with their own energy. The advantages of it were boosting his strength, speed, stamina and durability. Along with that, he would be able to sense anything nearby and possibly far away. However, senjutsu was only accessed by youkai or nature creatures. Markus guessed that satyrs like Grover, dryads, nymphs and other woodland creatures were able to use something similar to senjutsu, but in a different way in their nature magic.

While he couldn't use it on the level that the listed creatures could, he could actually manipulate it and even use it. The only reason that he could, specifically, was because he was a son of Poseidon, the sea god. The sea had quite a large connection to nature. And while his abilities weren't nature-based, the connection was still there, if only faint. Because of this, he was only able to utilise senjutsu to its base use, with the added physical buffs and sensory capabilities. Still, the uses was still powerful.

The training to use senjutsu was very challenging. The process was basically him meditating and absorbing nature energy from his surroundings. This itself wasn't actually hard. Markus knew how to meditate and knew enough to gather and absorb different kinds of energy. The problem was maintaining the natural energy inside his body and keeping it there. This was largely unsuccessful due to his poor connection with nature. Surprisingly, Fuzzy was helpful in this case, stating that senjutsu was hard even for youkai to use. However, instead of deterring him, this only made him train even harder.

It took a long time, along with heavy amounts of frustration, but he managed to achieve proper use of senjutsu. His control had improved over his numerous failures, so he now could control it properly. When in use of senjutsu, he gained several markings on his face (A.N. - Similar to Hashirama when he used it, because it looks badass).

Despite being a dick, Fuzzy actually congratulated him on his success with senjutsu, stating that he did in essentially months what others had tried to do in years. He ruined the praise by calling him a dumbass with good potential. Just this once, Markus decided to let it go. He'd get the bastard back later.

(Phase 4)

Markus was now in his final stage of training. One that he immediately hated as soon as he started. Why? Because his teacher was Susanoo. And Markus learned that the god was a sadistic motherfucker.

His first part of training with the storm god was fighting him unarmed, no powers. Markus wasn't actually looking forward to that part. Despite having made leaps and bounds in fighting and having gotten stronger and faster, he was facing a god. Scratch that, an OP god. So he didn't have high hopes on winning.

This was made clear by, at the start of the fight, Susanoo instantly appeared in front of him and tried to crush him with his fist. Markus' trained reflexes allowed him to dodge the attack and counter with his own. This was blocked as the god grabbed his wrist and promptly snapped it.

Markus withheld a grimace as he ignored the pain, following up with a sweep kick, forcing the god to let go and move, trying to go for an axe kick. Markus rolled out of the way and got into Susanoo's guard. He went for quick and sufficient punches, his wrist being snapped back into place from before. The god ducked and weaved, trying to grapple him, but Markus always retracted his limbs back, mixing his strikes with straight punches, to elbows, and to shoulder tackles.

Wanting to distract his opponent, Markus withdrew his fists and moved in random directions, trying to disorientate Susanoo with his movements, moving similar to a boxer's stance. Scoffing, Susanoo dismissed his movements and simply moved quickly, going for a fast strike to one of his weak points. Smirking, Markus disengaged from his movements and, like a viper, caught both of the god's arms in a tight lock.

Going for a daring move, Markus used Susanoo's front as a kick board, using his arms as support. His legs ran up his chest before flipping, kicking the god in the chin and landing on the ground gracefully. With the god stunned from his maneuver, Markus moved in and delivered crippling blows to vital spots. If his opponent wasn't a god, the strikes would've crippled him.

Having enough of being a punching bag, Susanoo surprised Markus as he kept on punching and got in a lucky roundhouse kick, knocking him on the ground and leaving him winded. Reacting quickly, Markus pushed upward, his feet on the ground a second before Susanoo came barrelling towards him, pushing him and trying to cripple him. Markus responded in the same manner.

The spars were important because Susanoo was trying to teach him to fight more like a god rather than a measly demigod. While most gods concentrated on smiting people and using their domains to their advantage, many gods liked to duke it out physically with their godly attributes. Like Dragon Ball Z, essentially. This was one of many exercises that Susanoo was advising him on.

Susanoo gave a nasty cross to his jaw, and Markus responded by giving a high kick to his ribs. The fight went on, neither side allowed to use their methods of healing in this fight. It continued to go on until one factor started to take effect: Markus' stamina. Despite having trained intensively and done numerous exercises to increase his stamina, it was still finite. And his opponent was a god, who had infinite stamina.

Eventually, Markus' body started to tire, and this took effect on his fighting speed. Susanoo took advantage of this, and quickly countered his strikes and uppercutted his chin, knocking the demigod down. Due to his fatigue, he didn't get up.

"Ugh," Markus groaned, feeling dizzy.

"And it is my win," the god gloated smugly.

Markus couldn't even muster enough energy to glare at him. "Smug bastard. Didn't know you could be so petty."

"I'm a god, Markus Henderson. Pettiness is a factor that I must have."

"Least I know that now." He tried sitting up, but was too exhausted. Growling, he summoned water from the air and doused himself, healing himself of any fatigue.

"Now that you have recovered," Susanoo said when Markus finished healing himself, "we can move unto the next part of your training."

Markus groaned.

And so they moved onto something else. That being control over divine energy. Divine energy was basically the godly energy Markus had as a demigod. He used it all the time whenever he used his powers, but this time he was trying to bring it out in raw form and strengthen his limbs and coat his body. The former Markus already knew how to do while the latter was what he was currently working on.

They also worked on other things. The first thing was weapon training, specifically with the sword and spear. While Markus wondered why he didn't use other weapons, Susanoo said that it was better to increase his skills in weapons that he could already wield.

Training with swords was considered a nightmare. While Markus was an excellent swordsman, Susanoo made him look like a joke. The god always kept him on his toes, moving so quickly that for many of the spars he had to rely on his reflexes to help him dodge and parry. And he always ended up with cuts that ranged in size. Susanoo didn't actually teach him that much skills. The reason was that he wanted to build up his handling with a sword to a degree that he was happy with. The skills that were taught to him, though, ranged from several disarming techniques to kill strikes. He was tested on every type of sword, from a katana, nodachi, Muramasa sword, etc. On the plus side, this type of training gave Markus almost lightning fast reflexes. As for his reaction time, Markus came up with a solution for that.

What he did was use his lightning control to speed up the electrical impulses that go towards his brain. The normal reaction time for humans is roughly 0.15 seconds, for touch stimulus at least. Demigods had their battle reflexes in the form of ADHD, which made their reaction time much quicker. Due to his idea, his reaction time was even quicker. His electrical impulses to his brain were sped up, making time seemingly slow down for Markus. This idea came from Kongō Agon from Eyeshield 21. The technique was called 'God Speed Impulse'. However, since he planned to use it for battle, Markus dubbed it 'War God Speed Impulse'. This allowed him to react to things far quicker and to think of ideas on the fly much quicker and easier.

Susanoo claimed that it was cheating, but Markus replied that, in battle, you had to have every advantage if you wanted to win. The god conceded to his point, before basically beating him down afterwards. Spear training was just as worse, and involved him getting skewered and almost dying at multiple times. He only recovered thanks to his healing factor with water.

The next stage of training was one Markus hated even more than sword or spear training. That was using the bow.

How it started was Markus following Susanoo to a training field in the time-dilation field. As soon as he saw what was laid out before him, he spoke out immediately. "Oh hell no. No way."

"I do not see what the problem is, Markus," Susanoo said with confusion.

"Me and the bow do not agree with each other. I can't make a shot with that thing to save my life. Nope. No way. I'm out." As soon as he tried to move away, Susanoo grabbed the scruff of his neck, halting his process. The demigod still tried kicking and moving away that looked comical.

"You are my champion," Susanoo warned sternly. "I cannot have you show such a sign of weakness in the art of weaponry. Any disadvantage you have, remove it. Now, shoot." Markus still tried to run away, but Susanoo basically trapped him. In the end, he reluctantly stepped forward and picked up the bow cautiously. "Fine," Markus grumbled in irritation. "But don't bitch to me if you lose an eye or something."

He then held the weapon in his hand as he stood in position in front of a target. He notched an arrow on the string, held it back, drew in a steady breath, and released it.

Susanoo had to hold up his hand to catch the arrow that Markus previously had not even a second ago. And the god was standing behind him. "I can't even fathom how such a thing occurred," the god said as he lowered his hand that held the arrow.

"You see?!" Markus threw down the weapon in frustration. "I'm shit at archery! My bet is on the fact that a god cursed me!"

"I'm inclined to believe that," Susanoo nodded in agreement. He didn't think that his champion had it this bad. "Try again. Practice makes perfect, after all."

Markus looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. One failure doesn't mean that you failed completely. So try again."

Almost growling in irritation, Markus picked up the thing and tried again.

~ 50 arrows used later ~

Susanoo was usually a calm god, some would even call him relaxed. He had a temper, sure, as shown in the past, but he'd mellowed down. He didn't think that his temper needed to rear its ugly head again, as he took methods to control his anger.

Those methods were quickly waning as his eyes twitched. The reason? The archery range was littered with arrows. Some pierced behind the target. Others pierced the trees beside the two occupants. One even managed to hit his hair. That was mainly the reason why he was so irritated.

Markus, however, wasn't looking at the surrounding arrows. He was looking at the one that managed to hit the target that he wanted. It didn't even hit the center, or even near it. In fact, it was so far out the it got stuck in the rim of the target. But he didn't care. He actually managed to hit the target.

"YES!" Markus threw the bow into the air as he knelt on the ground, fists pumped in the air. His thumbs and fingers were bloodied from pulling the bow string too many times, but he didn't care. He nearly wept in happiness as he was proud of his accomplishment. "I managed to hit the damn thing! Thank the gods!" he cried out, tears prickling at his eyes.

Susanoo just looked at the kneeling demigod incredulously. "How the hell can you be proud of that?!" he asked. "Look at what you did to the field! It's a mess!"

"You're a god! You can clean it up!" Markus shouted to him, still weeping in joy.

"That's not the point! You didn't even hit the center! In fact you barely hit the target at all!"

"I don't care! This is a celebration for me! Don't ruin it!"

"You can't even be proud of the fact! It was mainly luck that you even hit the target at all!"

"I have shitty luck! That was all skill!"

"I don't even know which is more frightening: the fact that your archery is absolutely abysmal, or the fact that you think that this," he pointed to the arrow at the rim of the target, "is due to skill."

Markus sunk in depression as he was insulted. Did he not know how much he struggled to even reach the target? That was fully skill right there!

"Alright," the god said, walking forward. He picked up the bow and held it away from Markus, as if it was a dangerous bomb if it went in his hands. "Now this," he stressed, "is how you wield a bow..."

XXX

After the archery training, Markus could proudly say that his archery skills were... adequate. He could hit the target now, almost near the center, and could use it without screwing up. That, by far, was his proudest accomplishment. So much so that he almost broke down into tears of happiness. All of the ridicule! All of the failures! And now he could use the bow properly now! He kept a grin on his face the entire time, even after the archery training.

Markus moved unto other parts of his training. Strength training involved him lifting up stone statues, rocks, golems and metal objects that weighed up to 200 tonnes, even more sometimes. And he was still wearing the resistance and gravity seals upon him, so Susanoo had him carry and lug around even more objects of double the weight each time. His strength training also involved the usual physical exercises, with weights of the most heaviest materials on top of him or weighing him down. Along with the seals.

Speed training involved him trying to outrun lightning bolts. Basically, Markus would have a foot race with a lightning bolt, courtesy of Susanoo. He managed to exceed the bolt after... multiple times. Markus was very fast, but lightning bolts? That was going to take time. He also had to dodge and react quickly to avoid getting hit by lightning bolts from the sky without his War God Speed Impulse. He managed to succeed for the most part... while getting shocked along the way. This was perhaps the most painless training, as - thanks to his patron's blessing - he was immune to electricity and lightning. Ha! Suck it, Zeus! He could now fly without worrying about getting zapped by lightning! Hell, he could even fly now! He was so going to enjoy rubbing it in the god's face when he saw him.

Battle training involved mostly sparring, but also fighting smartly. As it was, Markus was no tactician. He wasn't dumb, and he came up with some pretty good plans during and outside of battle. But he mostly went into battle fists swinging, magic blasting, and guns blazing at least most of the time. So now, Susanoo had him fight smarter. Going for weak spots, pressure points, reading expressions before battle. The last part was done by Markus essentially reading a book on human behaviour and reading facial and body expressions. Afterwards, he was given a test that had him try to read Susanoo's casual expression in under thirty seconds. He managed to pass, if only barely. Still, the god was satisfied, and so was Markus.

Power training... now that was where Markus had fun. Here, he refined his control over water, liquids, lightning, wind, storms and earthquakes and took them to new heights. His water, liquid, lightning, wind and storm control had increased dramatically. He could now do things with water that he couldn't before, e.g. create water constructs like from Pacific Rim, create water versions of hydras, giant dragons, water golems, etc. His ice control was so great that he could make if fluid like water or even freeze people solid, like Khione. With his lightning control, he really only refined his control over it, and came across different discoveries. He finally was able to create Third Gear for himself, but his own was vastly different from the one used in One Piece. While Luffy's one was centered around his rubber body, he was able to use his control over lightning to basically manipulate lightning throughout his body, his muscles as well as brain. With heavy help from Susanoo, he managed to finish his personal Third Gear, focusing heavily on increased speed almost similar to that of lightning. The idea was inspired by Killua Zoldyck's Godspeed from Hunter x Hunter. His hair was even shaped the same way Killua's was when he used it. (A.N. - While the technique of his Third Gear is the same as Killua's Godspeed, the appearance and physical boosts are similar to the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode in Naruto).

Other areas in lightning control was changing his lightning intensity. What that was was basically increasing the potency of his lightning, changing the colour. This couldn't be done by his natural skill with lightning, so he had to rely on lightning magic. Something that he generally wasn't happy about because it was something he couldn't do naturally. Sure, using magic wasn't bad and could be considered a better method, it still left a sour taste in his mouth.

Anyway, his usage in lightning intensity resulted in the formation of some interesting results: namely the formation of golden lightning. It was nothing special in appearance, just lightning but with a golden hue. However, in power, it was much more intense. It had a divine attribute to it, making it much more damaging to his normal lightning. It wasn't anything noteworthy, but it was definitely an improvement.

Wind control wasn't anything huge. He just learnt how to fly and use wind attacks in a similar method to lightning, although his wind control was slightly weaker than his electrokinesis and hydrokinesis.

Storm control had a very interesting discover. He could now create large storms that outstripped that of children of Zeus, as well make them smaller and more concentrated. Also, an interesting thing Susanoo taught him was how to make storm lasers by concentrating on using lightning, but adding water in the mix. It took Markus a while to wrap his head around it, but he could make lasers out of concentrated lightning by adding the fluidity of water. It took Markus using his 'Speed Thought' spell to actually wrap the practice around it, because it was so time-consuming and difficult. The result was him using storms as mini-lasers for himself to use. Something that he thought was the most coolest thing ever, even outstripping magic slightly. He could shoot lasers! Fucking lasers! This was so broken and awesome that he squealed like a girl whenever he used it.

Everything else wasn't noteworthy. He just increased the skills necessary for them as well as lowered the energy requirement.

XXX

Now, Markus had finished his training in eight months during the time-dilation field. The results showed clearly. While Markus was chronologically fifteen, he looked like he was eighteen. This was also due to his runes that he used for his accelerated growth on his body. His muscles became slighter bigger and denser from all the physical training he did. His figure before made him look like a fighter with a lean, yet powerful build. However, now he looked like he had power in spades. He was much more muscular, but no overly so. His hair was longer and he even had a slight stubble, which kind of shocked him.

He now wore a black leather trench coat that went down slightly to his calves. Along with that was a grey T-shirt underneath, blue jeans and brown leather boots. On his ears were earrings with gold rectangles on them. His Camp Half-Blood bead necklace was on his neck, as well as a silver trident pendant.

Markus wasn't vain, but he knew that he was much, much more sexy than he was before he went training. Plus, he felt more... confident? Maybe arrogant? He didn't know, but he felt way more sure of himself than before. He didn't have that much fear of several things, like fighting gods or powerful monsters. Whatever this new fearless him was, he liked it a lot.

He now stood in the center of the Shinto temple that he'd seen when he first came here, which felt like a lifetime ago. Standing before him were his teachers and Susanoo, who looked at him proudly. Except Fuzzy, but he was always like that.

"Markus Henderson," Susanoo announced loudly. "You have completed the training that was set out before you and have come out infinitely stronger from it. We, as your teachers, have nothing else to teach you. Now go forth, Markus Henderson, and show them your worth as the son of the Greek god Poseidon and the champion of the Shinto storm god Susanoo!"

Dalf and Tim said nothing, but gave him encouraging nods and smiles. Walking forward, he gave both of them a hug. It might seem weird, but for him, they were mentors and senseis that made him into who he was today. And for that, they had his respect. His feelings towards them were similar to how he sometimes felt with Chiron, before he got angry at him. Letting go of them and stepping back, Markus scoffed as he looked towards Fuzzy, who huffed.

"Don't expect any praise from me, brat. You're still stupid in my opinion," Fuzzy sneered.

Smirking at him, Markus doused him with water from the air instantly. It took only a moment before the kyuubi realised it. "You little shi-"

"Love you too, Fuzzy," Markus said with a smirk, ignoring the smouldering glare from the kitsune.

Susanoo chuckled seeing the byplay between the two. "Yes, yes. Very amusing. Now, you may return to your pantheon. Go, Markus Henderson, and may the gods bless you."

"Arigatōgozaimashita, Susanoo-sama," Markus thanked, bowing his head slightly in thanks. To him, the god had his respect. He played a massive part in training. Plus - Markus wouldn't say it aloud - but the god felt like an uncle to him, having spent roughly three months training with him in the time-dilation field.

Susanoo nodded in return, smiling largely.

With that, Markus decided to leave in style. Using kinetic energy to form clothes of energy over his own clothes, his suit was made. It was a mirror image to Godspeed from the comics. Nodding to his teachers, he dashed out of the temple, moving slowly so that he wouldn't cause a sonic boom inside. Once he exited it, however, he created a massive sonic boom, surpassing his previous speeds instantly and moving just under Mach 5, mainly for entertainment.

He laughed as he ran at speeds that made his previous speeds look like he was moving at a snail's pace. He didn't check how long he took to his destination, as he was having too much fun running.

In almost no time, at least in his mind, he passed through the border of Camp Half-Blood. Instantly moving around the camp, he picked up Silena who was training alone in the arena, carrying her bridal-style, and moving out of camp. All in less than two seconds.

He moved at lower speeds for his girlfriend's sake. Using his War God Speed Impulse, he was able to take in every feature that Silena had, her slowly (in his mind, at least) moving hair that blew in the wind, her panicked expression, the fact that she was in her training clothes which consisted of a pink tank-top and grey sweat pants, and the fact that she tried attack the person who was carrying her. He laughed loudly, vibrating his voice so she wouldn't recognise him. This made her struggle even more.

Markus stopped running once they gained enough distance. Both of them were now in a forest that was several miles from camp. As soon as he dropped her, Silena immediately reacted, trying to strike his face. Grabbing her fist, he noted the she had gotten muscle on her. She was more toned than before.

"Silena, it's me," he said in his normal voice, stopping the daughter of Aphrodite from attacking again.

"Markus?" she asked, shocked.

His face mask parted, revealing his grinning face to his girlfriend.

"Markus!" she shouted in joy. She threw her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him, Markus responding the same way. He'd missed her so much. He missed the others just as much, but as his girlfriend, she had a special place in his heart. In fact, he missed all of his friends, Percy, Annabeth, Katie, Thalia, Beck, all of them. Then again, he'd been gone for eight months while for them it was roughly two.

Wrapping his arms around Silena's body, Markus enjoyed her familiar scent and taste. Ironically, she smelt like the perfume of her cabin that he hated, but... better. Running his hands down her body, Markus noted that she'd gained some serious muscle. They felt slim, yet strong, which fitted her figure perfectly. His hands got a little adventurous, wandering to her perfect ass that seemed to get even rounder than before.

Silena was also running her hand over her boyfriend's form. She noticed with lust and observation that he'd gotten bulkier and gained more muscle, which she enjoyed to her content. He still had his oceanic scent and tasted the same, but felt older, more powerful and... primal. Whatever it was, she enjoyed it immensely.

Both of them continued kissing, enjoying the contact between in each other. Both of their tongues danced the intimate dance that they were familiar with, and it looked like they weren't going to stop anytime soon. Sadly, Silena had to disengage from the kiss due to her losing oxygen. She made to speak, but was interrupted by Markus kissing her again.

"Mhmm!" she tried to speak out, but Markus kept on kissing her. He removed himself from the kiss, and then kissed her cheeks, and then her nose.

"W-what's gotten into you?" she asked, blushing at the attention he was giving her. Silena looked into his eyes, and she blushed even more at the intense gaze in his eyes.

"I missed you so, so much," he answered bluntly, making Silena look at him with surprise and warmth. "And... I-I just wanted to say that... I love you, Silena Beauregard. I love you so much." What Markus was saying was true. While he still held feelings for the other girls in his life, he realised that he loved her. He didn't know it, but when he was training, whenever he thought about her, there was a well of happiness that sparked in his chest. The saying 'you truly miss something or someone only when it's gone' rang through his head. Though it was only for up to him, he missed Silena. Her touch, her smile, her attitude that met well with his snarky one. At that moment, during his training, Markus realised that he loved Silena. Though his feelings for the other girls were still there, and grew only slightly, Silena was the one that his focus was on now.

Silena's eyes went wide as she heard, embarrassment forgotten. She knew that Markus was serious, having sensed the large amount of love that was directed to her, as well as small amounts of it reserved for the others, but she could feel it. The raw emotion hit her more than the declaration actually did, and tears prickled at her eyes.

Markus wanted to ask what was wrong, but Silena threw her arms around him again, sobbing slightly. Though he could tell that they were tears of happiness, he still rubbed her back, consoling her.

She removed herself from the hug, smiling with tears streaming down her cheeks. Though she was crying, her joyful expression, as well as her smile, made her more beautiful than normal. "I love you, too."

Grinning, Markus leaned forward to kiss her again, Silena doing the same. Both of them kissed with more passion than the last time, high with emotion due to their declaration. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other tenderly. They didn't know how long they stood there and kissed, but they didn't care. They were just content with each other.

Eventually, both of them slowly disengaged from the kiss, looking at each other with love. It seemed cheesy, but at that moment, Markus felt that he wanted to be nowhere else but with her at this very moment.

Before Silena could say anything, Markus spoke. "I know that I just got back, but - to celebrate - I want to take you out on a date."

Silena smiled coyly, wiping her eyes free from tears. "Why, Markus. I didn't take you as a budding romantic. But really, there's no need to go so far-"

"But I want to," Markus interrupted her. "Since we started dating, we've never gone on a date. Just this once, let me treat you to a date that you deserve and will hopefully like."

Silena just sighed, snuggling close to the son of Poseidon. "Fine, since you're so stubborn. But I can't go out like this. Let me change-"

"No need," Markus said with a smile on his face. "You're fine the way you are. Besides, the method of transport won't require you to change into anything."

At Silena's confusion, he stepped away from her, grinning. He mentally removed his speedster clothing and used his newly taught space/time magic to summon an artefact that he'd acquired during his training. Through a white summoned portal, a golden vimana slowly came out. It looked exactly like it did in the ancient texts that Markus discovered (A.N. - Similar to Gilgamesh's vinama in the anime). It was one of the tricks that Markus had learnt under studying with Dalf.

Silena's eyes went wide-eyed as she stared at the ancient contraption. "M-Markus. Wh-What is this?"

"Our chariot," Markus answered cheekily. He walked up to her, taking her hand in his, he smiled gently. "Come on, babe. Just come with me, relax, and enjoy the long ride ahead."

Pulling the shocked daughter of Aphrodite with him, he carried her to the vinama, stepping unto it and sitting down in the chair, feeling like a king as soon as he sat on it. At Silena questioning on where she was going to sit, Markus just patted his lap while grinning. Rolling her eyes, Silena decided to just go with it. And so she sat on his lap, wiggling her rear on his crotch and getting Markus to grin even wider at the action. He was already loving this trip, and it hadn't even started.

And so, with Markus' mental command, the vimana rose off the ground and levitated. As soon as they were high enough, he commanded it to zoom off, moving at speeds similar to his own. Silena held onto him through the whole process, making Markus enjoy the contact immensely.

And so both demigods spent the evening touring around different parts of the world. From looking at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to enjoying the beautiful sites in Tokyo, to enjoying all of the beautiful architecture in Rome. They even went to Greece, enjoying the trip and looking at all the statues and scaring all of the residing nymphs on the original Mount Olympus.

There was no grumpy Zeus to interrupt them, courtesy of the protection of the vimana. No training for them to continue. Just two demigods, enjoying the trip around most of the world, both of them in love with each other. It was perfect.

Complete. Even managed to end on a happy note. Markus and Silena ~ sittin' in a tree ~ K-I-S-S-I-N- Okay I think you get the idea.

So... here, Markus has finished his training as a champion of Susanoo and has learned and gained numerous abilities. Some awesome. Some powerful. And others OP. Like, seriously OP.

To DrackNath and your suggestion on Megi's lightning ability from Mahou Sensei Negima Magic World and the Tournament Arc for Third Gear. Sorry, bud. I decided to go with Killua's Godspeed from Hunter x Hunter. Not that I didn't like your suggestion, or Megi's lightning ability. It's just that Godspeed stood out to me. But thanks for the suggestion.

Now for an explanation on some things: for the part where he trained with the Shinto priest, I based most of the stuff he learned from the Rinnegan techniques from Naruto. I talked a lot about Naruto in this chapter, but that's because the anime/manga has Shinto/Buddhist roots. Anyways, the two techniques that he knows are Limbo and the Human Path, minus the soul sucking. Why? They're two of my favourite techniques. He doesn't have the full abilities, since they are ridiculously OP. And I know he already knows OP stuff, but still. So the requirement for Limbo is that it the clones can only be sensed by those who have very good senses (some gods) or those who have a connection with the astral plane of existence.

Responding to the Guest reviewers: first the one who asked about the multiple crossovers... dunno yet. I might do other crossovers later on.

Next, the one who came up with the idea with the chains. I love your idea and I plan to add it, thanks. And as for the Wonder Woman bracelets, it's a good idea. Dunno if I'll add it, but I could now that you gave me the idea, thanks.

Markus' actual level of strength of power is a bit hard to scale, since power-scaling in Percy Jackson isn't exactly... accurate is some cases. So if I get something wrong, hopefully I'll be forgiven. Anyway, currently Markus could fight most of the second generation Olympians if he were to go all out. That being Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, etc. In terms of fighting. In other areas, he's beat, e.g. Athena in knowledge and wisdom, Hermes in speed (only slightly I guess, unless he were to go into his divine form), etc. Big Three class is out of his reach. At least for now.

Next chapter is the start of the Titan's Curse. Hooray! Finally! This is one of my favourite books and I'm brimming with excitement! One reason is because it has the intro of some of my favourite characters, that being Artemis, Zoe, Nico and Bianca. Along with others, but meh.

Thanks to all those who f, f, r and r the story. I luv y'all! Kisses and hugs all around.

Thanks! Read and Review!