A/N
Poll on my profile for the third pairing in this story is still up and running, so if you are interested drop by and vote. I will close the poll when the quest arrives in LA, so get your votes in before the end of the lightning thief arc.
I own nothing, Percy Jackson is owned by Rick Riordan!
Chapter 6
Ping!
For sleeping in a bed, HP and MP have both been restored to 100%! All negative status effects and physical ailments have been cured.
Percy awoke to the sounds of seagulls and softly breaking waves, a beam of light just barely glinting into to cabin to rest just where his eyes would be. He really needed to remember to switch the bed around. Blearily opening his eyes, he looked around to find himself in a small, quaint room. There was a small wooden desk in the corner of the room with his backpack and a few personal items on it, and the chair was left slightly ajar after he had finished his summer homework the night before so he could fully focus on the vacation ahead of him. The walls looked to be made out of wooden boards, a few pictures of lighthouses and beach scenes hanging on them that gave the cabin and even homelier feel.
Percy laid back and smiled to himself, there was a reason he loved visiting the cabin. Every time he came he just felt right, that he was at home in a way he couldn't feel anywhere else. He never really understood why, but now that he knows that he is a direct son of the god of the Sea he had a pretty good guess. He could not here any activity further into the cabin, so he assumed his mother must still be asleep. Looking to the clock on his nightstand to confirm his suspicions, it read that he had awoken at 6 AM.
Shrugging off the covers and getting out of bed, Percy stood and stretched his arms and legs, giving a few satisfying pops and relieving all the stress of the past week. He was still reeling from just how close to death he came against Alecto, and knew he needed to up his game if he was going to be meeting beings like that in the future. He couldn't count on being lucky in his fights or having chances to capitalize on mistakes, he realized during the car ride to Montauk that he was lucky Alecto had initially discounted him and underestimated his ability. She had only upped her game once she lost her ability to fly and had her health reduced by half due to the Greek fire.
Next time, he would not be so lucky, and he was absolutely sure there would be a next time due to her ominous warning before she crumbled into dust. Percy did not delude himself into thinking he killed her for good; this was an immortal after all. She promised she would be back to kill him, and he fully believed her. Hell if it was not for Brthanz he would already be dead. Percy resolved to get in some training while he was in Montauk, he couldn't take the risk that something else would come to find him, especially with his mother around. If something were to happen to her, he would never be able to forgive himself.
Sighing, he left his room and walked out of the cabin onto the beach. The salty sweet air of the ocean invading his nostrils, and he took in the aroma of the sea mixing with the sandy beach and the reed grass. Looking over across the water, he could see the sun rising over the ocean, painting a beautiful portrait of colors one could only see at the beach. Percy loved New York City, but the sunrises and the feel of it just wasn't the same as Montauk.
Sitting in the sand to take in the beautiful sight, he relaxed as he listened and watched the waves come crashing onto the shore. The tide had risen slightly over the course of the night, but it would be a few more hours until high tide came in. Knowing that his mother usually woke up around 8 AM on the weekends, he had a few hours to do some practicing on his water control. After all if he was serious about protecting his mother, his biggest weapon lay right in front of him while he was here, so he needed to be ready to use it.
Making sure to walk a good ways away from the cabin to stay out of view, he didn't want to risk his mother finding out after all, he came upon a nice secluded area of the beach where he could practice. Throughout all of his time practicing his water manipulation, he had always attempted to control a small portion of water and bend it to his will, working more and more until he could control it quite easily. However he had not tried doing so with a large portion of water, and if he truly wanted to use his water manipulation to it's greatest extent he couldn't keep practicing with small portions of water, it just wasn't giving enough experience to level his manipulation to a good degree.
Reaching out, he felt the familiar tug in his gut as he attempted to move some of the water from the ocean towards his. Succeeding only in drawing lines of water towards him, he let go and tried again, concentrating on expanding the area of effect for his powers. Feeling a stronger tug in his gut, he drew more lines towards him, however he had only succeeded in growing quantity, not quality. Sighing, he dropped his concentration and let the water recede into the ocean. What was he doing wrong, why could he not draw the full brunt of the water towards him and only draw it out in points?
Thinking on how he was applying his powers to the ocean, he had been willing his mana to grab the ocean and pull it towards him as if he was using his own hands. Perhaps that was what was wrong, not that he wasn't powerful enough to draw more water closer but that he was applying his power in an incorrect way for his desired result? Thinking on how he could apply his power differently, he imagined the water as if it was a very large bed sheet. Grabbing the bed sheet with a hand would pull a certain portion of the bed sheet to him, but would leave the rest of the bed sheet idle. If he wanted to pull more of it up, he had to exert a force on not just one point, but the entire area!
With a new idea in mind, he again reached out with his mana, but instead of applying it at a point he used it as if he was casting out a net, with each point of the net latching on to a portion of the water. Willing the water to draw towards him, he felt an almost painful tug in his stomach and shook slightly from effort, but noticed that he was indeed pulling a large portion of the surf towards him. The water swirled around him, exuding a happy feeling as if in the care of its master. Smiling, he continued to practice pulling in the water and forming it to his will until the painful pull in his gut had subsided into an uncomfortable pull.
Looking up at the position of the sun, he estimated that it was getting closer to 8, and he should probably start returning to the cabin soon. He had not leveled up his water manipulation, but that was to be expected, after all he had only done an hour or so of work and he was starting to get on the higher end of the levels. Percy suspected that combat increased leveling much more than simple training as he had to continuously adapt with his powers to what his opponent did instead of performing a sort of repetition like in his training.
A glint from his hand brought his eyes down to see the Eye of Hecate reflecting some of the sunlight. His mother had asked him where he had gotten the ring on the drive over after he had forgotten to take it off, and he had told her he had won it in a prize contest at Yancy. Thinking back to how he had used the ring to summon his fallen foe, Brthanz, he wondered if the same could be applied to Alecto. Brthanz was a powerful foe/ally, but Alecto was on a whole other level as she was a true immortal, and supposed right hand of Hades. Could he even summon her?
Deciding no time to find out like the present, he waded into the surf to prepare to summon her.
You have come into contact with water, and due to your heritage receive a boost in your attributes! You are now able to breathe underwater!
HP and MP have been restored completely, all status effects are negated, and your body has been healed completely!
+3000 HP
+3000 MP
+20 STR
+20 DEX
+20 VIT
Focusing on the ring, he pulled up his summon screen and noticed two figures that he could choose. One he had already summoned before, the hulking form of Brthanz staring emotionlessly at him, ready for his command. The other, however, was newer, and he saw the image of Alecto glaring at him through the screen. Gulping, he steeled himself as he had to know if he was able to summon her and if she would listen to his commands. She would be an immensely powerful ally, but only if she wasn't trying to kill him at every turn. Plus, she had information that he really wanted to know, as it would give him a lot more clues about the circumstances of his existence.
Percy MP: 3,500 – 1,000 = 2,500/3,000
A small vortex of fire and shadow opened up in front of Percy on the sand, before a shadowy figure zoomed up through the fire and landed on the sand in front of him with an otherworldly screech. Once again, he was seeing the frightening visage of Alecto, the snakes in her hair hissing at him in challenge as she snarled.
"You would DARE summon me, mortal? Do you truly wish to enter the Underworld so soon? Will you attempt to taunt me or gloat of your victory, hmm?" She sneered.
"I would summon you, and you would heed my command. You will not threaten me, Alecto. I very well realize that you are immortal but I have summoned you using the Eye of Hecate, and I very much doubt that she made it so that summoned beings can, uh, rebel against the summoner."
"Ah yes, still gloating about your theft of the Eye, I'm surprised you also aren't crowing about your daring theft of my masters helm and the lightning bolt of the king of the gods. I will make this clear to you, boy. I serve NO mortal, I even castrated my master after the Trojan War and he is a god, what makes you think I would serve you?"
"Because I have no desire to be anyone's master, I want only to have you as an ally, Alecto. And I told you before; I have not stolen ANYTHING from ANYONE! I received the Eye after defeating a son of Hecate by the name of Dominic, I did not steal it from her. I only learned about this world last week!"
"And why should I believe you? You have offered no evidence to the contrary other than a story about the Eye that you could have fabricated. You are a direct violation of the pact and have appeared at the time when two of the big three's symbols have disappeared, leaving your father the only one with his symbol."
"What could I possibly give you other than my account! I have no physical evidence that could tell you otherwise, I only have my word and honor!"
"Swear upon the River Styx." She responded.
That gave Percy pause. Swear on a river, how would that help prove his innocence? "Why, why would that tell you if I was lying?"
"Let us just say that lying and swearing on the river don't, uh, mix. So boy, will you swear it, or will you finally admit to your theft." Alecto grinned wickedly, either way the boy would be punished. If he swore on the river he would immediately be struck down and cast into the river for an eternity of agony. If he refused to swear he was virtually admitting his guilt and her lord would most assuredly personally come to kill the boy.
"Fine. I swear on the River Styx that everything I told you was true; that I have not stolen any 'symbol of power', I have not stolen the Eye of Hecate but received it for defeating the actual thief, and that I was just introduced to this world last week and had no prior contact to my father." Suddenly, thunder boomed across the sky, scaring the pants off of Percy. It was an absolutely clear day, where did that thunder come from?
Alecto waited with a wicked smile on her face, but as the seconds ticked by it slowly slid off until a frown was left in its place.
"Why have you not been struck down yet, you should have died the minute you swore on the Styx!" She yelled. She then paused, and regarded Percy curiously. "Unless…unless you were telling the truth. But that makes no sense, if you are not the thief then who is!"
"I told you, I have no clue!" Percy yelled, exasperated. Seriously, why was she being so difficult?
She regarded him for a few minutes, studying him for any possible indication that he was lying and somehow circumvented the Styx. After a minute, she sighed.
"Very well, it seems you are indeed telling the truth. I apologize, but the circumstances were indeed very strange and very suspicious." She paused, "Have you ever used a blade before this week?"
What did that have to do with anything? "Uh, no, never even picked one up before, why?"
"Where did you get those two then? You attempted to strike me with iron, so that would actually lend a little bit of credence to your argument that you were innocent, as no idiot demigod would use such a weapon against me. However when you pulled out the bronze sword and summoned the beast, that dashed your supposed innocence in my eyes. Where did you get the swords?"
"Uh the first sword I received in a dungeon, and is what I used to kill Dominic, the thief of the Eye of Hecate. The bronze sword, Anaklusmos, I received from Mr. Brunner."
"Of course, I should have realized that that damnable centaur would give you a weapon. Very well, I will assist you in your fights, young hero."
That threw Percy for a loop. Didn't she say something about killing him a couple of minutes ago?
"Wait, what? I thought you said you were never going to do so, why the sudden change of heart?" He inquired.
"Simple, I believed you were the thief of my masters helm and thought you were attempting to subjugate me to you in your arrogance of a win that you barely won. Of course I realized just how close the battle was I am not an idiot. You got a lucky shot in at the last second. Your admission of not wanting to be my master but only wanting me as an ally, however, certainly helped dash that line of thought. Secondly, I was impressed by your fighting ability. You have never used a sword before but you managed to hold your own in a fight against me, the leader of the furies, and you can trust me when I say that I am NO base monster. Truly impressive."
Percy blushed at the praise he received, He was certainly not expecting for their conversation to have gone down this route with the sheer animosity she had shown him before. "Uh, thanks, I guess. You were a really tough fighter, too."
"Of course. Now, I assume you had more than one reason for calling me here."
"Oh, right. In our fight you referenced that your master was the only one that kept to 'the pact'. I also heard something in a similar vain from Dominic when I killed him, he claimed that 'the pact' should have made my existence impossible. What is this pact, why am I seen as someone that should not exist?" This question had been killing him ever since he first heard Dominic say it. It seemed that this pact played a huge role in people wanting to kill him, and he didn't like being left in the dark about it since it seemed so crucial to him.
"Yes, I bet you are curious about that. The pact was an agreement made by the big three: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. It was created due to an intense war that was started by their demigod children; one so destructive that the three gods decided it could not be allowed to happen again. I believe you mortals call it World War II. The three gods decided that to prevent another war of that scale from happening again, they needed to swear to never sire mortal offspring again. Of course, Hades was the only one to keep to the pact. Zeus broke it first, and now it seems that Poseidon has also broken it."
Alecto studied him for a moment, seemingly debating on her next words. "There is another reason they created the pact, Perseus. The first reason was more of a front for this one, one that they could feed to the minor gods and the demigods to prevent panic. The true reason was that after the conclusion of WWII, a prophecy was foretold by the God Apollo during the solstice meeting."
"A prophecy, like as in prediction of the future? I thought that those were myths, how can someone tell you what is going to happen in the future?"
"Boy, your living in the world of myths now, you better get used to encountering the fantastical and unexplained. Apollo is a god, but not just any god, he is the God of Prophecy. He divines visions of the future from the Fates to create an accurate encountering of events to occur in the future. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to predict what will happen when a prophecy I given, but will of course become painfully obvious once it has come to pass."
Percy thought hard on what he was hearing from Alecto. According to her, a pact was created between his father, Zeus, and Hades to never have kids again due to a prophecy that was issued just after the Second World War. Both Dominic and Alecto had referenced the pact of the gods, and seemed outraged at his existence. He could only think of one conclusion this line of thinking was referring to.
"This prophecy that Apollo issued, it has something to do with me doesn't it? Something that frightened the most powerful gods in the pantheon so much that they swore off involving themselves with mortals, something they seemed to do a lot of before then."
Alecto pursed her lips. "Do not say their names boy! Names have power, you need to remember that if you are to live in this world. But…you are indeed correct, it does involve you. Quite directly I might add.
He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to this question, but he knew he had to ask it. If there was a prophecy so crucial that it created such paranoia in the strongest gods, it had to be big and would most definitely spell hardships for him in his future.
"What is the prophecy?" he asked.
Alecto was silent for a long moment. She moved her gaze out over the ocean, watching the rising sun in the distance before she shifted her gaze back to Percy, looking into his eyes almost as if she was staring into his soul.
"A half blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach 16 against all odds
And see the world in endless sleep
The heroes soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice will end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze."
A chill ran down Percy's spine as he realized the magnitude of the prophecy. The destruction of Olympus and the fall of the gods. That was what the prophecy was predicting, that a child of Hades, Poseidon, or Zeus would destroy Olympus.
A half blood of the eldest gods shall reach 16 against all odds. He was the son of Poseidon, one of the six godly children of Kronos and Rhea, and an elder god. He was already 12 years old, the prophecy claims that if he reaches 16 something real bad will happen.
And see the world in endless sleep. He had absolutely no clue what that would mean, but whatever it was didn't sound good at all. Endless sleep could mean a dream state or it could mean, y'know, death.
Heroes soul cursed blade shall reap. This line frightened him. The prophecy basically says that he will die, that his soul will be 'reaped' by some blade. Wonderful. He had no clue what a cursed blade was but it would definitely be killing him.
A single choice will end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze. Again, he is going to die. Apparently he will make a choice that is so substantial in magnitude that he will either preserve Olympus or destroy it and with it the gods.
No wonder the gods became paranoid after that. If any of the Big 3 were to have children they would run the risk of destroying themselves! This paints a massive target on his back; these damn gods may well just kill him rather than run the risk of him being the prophecy child! Wait, Zeus already broke the pact right, where was his child then!
"You said that Ze-, err, the king of the gods broke the pact first, correct? Who is the child and how old are they now?"
Alecto faltered, "Uhh, yes, he did in fact break the pact first. The child he sired was a girl by the name of Thalia. She would be 13 now."
Percy caught that, "What do you mean by would, Alecto?
"Lord Hades ordered her to be killed, and sent a monster army to pursue her and her companions. He ordered me directly to oversee her death. We chased her to the camp, where she stood her ground on a hill to let her friends escape, but she was injured in the battle and was about to be killed. Her father took pity on her and sent a lightning bolt to turn her into a tree before she died."
Percy was shocked, and a little bit horrified. This definitely told him that he would be targeted by both Zeus and Hades, after all if Hades wanted to send his right hand to kill her he was serious. Percy could virtually feel the target shifting right onto his back, perfect position for Zeus to send down a thunderbolt at any moment to kill him.
Wait, Hades sent his right hand out to kill one of the children of the other Big 3. "Alecto, you were watching me to see if I had been the one who had stolen the symbols of power, correct? When were they stolen?"
"Indeed, I was watching you to see if you had them. The symbols were both stolen during the winter solstice meeting of the gods, so December 21st. Each year the gods have two annual meetings, a Summer solstice and Winter solstice meeting."
The winter solstice was when the symbols were stolen, and Alecto said that was the reason she was watching him? A chill set over Percy as he realized something. Alecto had been a teacher at Yancy since August, and had hated him the first day she met him.
"Alecto, answer me truthfully. Were you sent by Hades to confirm my existence as to my godly parent and were ordered to kill me if I was?" Percy already knew the answer.
"….Yes." She responded.
That confirmed it. "Have you reported back to him that I am indeed a son of the sea?"
"No, I had decided that I could take care of you on my own. Apparently I couldn't."
"Good, good. Make sure that information does not get back to him; I do not need a target painted on my back like Thalia had. It would be best if we didn't arouse suspicion, so you need to go back to Hades as if you had finished your assignment and determined I was just another demigod and not worth the time. In the meantime I am going to be training myself up, can I assume that if I need to call upon your help using the Eye you will answer it?"
"Of course, you may call me to be of assistance to you when you need to, but do not do it too often. If I keep slipping out of the Underworld too much, my lord will become suspicious. I agree with your plan of action, I will see you the next time you call me Perseus."
Alecto disappeared in a swirl of flames and darkness, and Percy was left alone on the beach to digest the absolute bombshell dropped on him. He needed to be exceedingly careful with his heritage now.
Ping!
For coming to some excellent conclusions and managing to ally yourself with Alecto, you have received +3 WIS and +5 CHA.
Ping!
You have reached an attribute rating of 20 in WIS! You receive +1 Skill LVL scroll and a boost!
He receives special rewards for leveling his attributes to level 20? What boost does this entail? Looking through his character screen, he spotted the new addition.
WIS: 20 (Boost: +10% MP Regen.) (Current Regen.: 22 MP/min)
Neat, he would have to experiment with the other attributes later. Shaking his head, he made his way back to the cabin. Walking up to the cabin, he realized he forgot to grab a few things out of Gabe's Camaro, so he diverted his path over to the car. Opening the trunk, he grabbed the bag he was looking for and pulled it out, however it seemed to have hooked on something in the car and Percy heard 'clunk' before a compartment opened up on the side. When did Gabe have this installed? He was pretty sure this wasn't standard.
Opening the compartment fully, Percy saw a whole bunch of green slips of paper. Where did Gabe get all of this money, there had to be 50k in here! Remembering that the walrus never lifted a finger to pay for anything yet always seemed to have money to gamble with, Percy suspected that a lot of this money was probably ill gotten. That did not matter to Percy, however, as he decided that he wanted to take back all the money that Gabe stole from him over the years with, say, 10000% interest.
$: 18,328 + 57,542 = 75,870
Now that put a smile on his face, take that you bastard! Walking into the cabin, Percy smelled the wonderful aroma of pancakes and bacon freshly prepared. Walking into the kitchen, he saw that his mother was finishing setting the table.
"Hey there, sweetie! I didn't know you were an early riser now! I just finished making breakfast just the way you like; Blue pancakes and bacon with some orange juice." His mom smiled at him.
Percy grinned and hugged her, "Thanks mom, you always know what I like!"
Sitting down to dig in, Percy's mom piped up "I think we will just spend the day on the beach, what do you think? It'll be nice to actually relax for once, and there isn't a cloud in the sky!"
"That would be perfect mom, I'll pack some stuff to take with us!" Scarfing down the rest of his breakfast, Percy walked over to the pile of stuff they brought with them and prepared to go out on the beach for a day of fun.
He and his mother had a fun and relaxing day on the beach up until a freak storm showed up out of nowhere late in the afternoon. Rushing back to the cabin to get out of the torrential rain, they quickly rushed through and closed the door.
"I don't understand, there shouldn't have been any clouds today, much less a storm like this! Those dang weathermen are always wrong just when you go out for a vacation!" His mom huffed. They were sitting down around the old TV and relaxing with a cup of cocoa to fight off the chills. Curiously for Percy, he found that he was completely dry even though he was soaked to the bone a minute ago. He wrapped himself in a towel anyways to keep his mother from becoming suspicious about his powers.
"Well sweetie, I'm sorry our day got rained out but hopefully it will clear up tomorrow. Why don't you get off to bed, ok?"
"Ok mom, goodnight." Percy told her as he kissed her on the cheek. Going through his nightly routine and hopping into bed, Percy decided to check out his stats to see if it would be worth it to give himself a boost in any other stat using his attribute points.
STR: 14
VIT: 15
WIS: 20
INT: 16
DEX: 17
CHA: 18
LUC: 10
Hmm, his stats were pretty well balanced, but he could really start working on his physical stats as they seemed to be lagging behind his mental stats. From what he is seeing, he could invest 3 points into DEX and 2 points into CHA to go ahead and acquire the boosts there. He only had 27 points, and since he figured the higher his level in a stat the harder it would be to train it, he didn't want to use too much. 5 points couldn't hurt though, right?
Deciding to take the chance, he went ahead and pushed 3 points into DEX and 2 points into CHA.
Ping!
You have reached an attribute rating of 20 in DEX! You receive +1 Skill LVL scroll and a boost!
DEX: 20 (Boost: +5% effectiveness to all physical skills)
Ping!
You have reached an attribute rating of 20 in CHA! You receive +1 Skill LVL scroll and a boost!
CHA: 20 (Boost: +5% to all prices. +5% effectiveness to all speaking skills)
Attribute Points: 27 – 5 = 22
Woah! The boosts seemed like they were small on first glance, but they apparently applied to ALL of his skills. CHA's boost puts up all of his speaking skills by 5% in effectiveness, so that means his charm, taunt, and any other skills like them will be boosted as well as his chance to persuade people! That DEX boost is crucial, though, as it boosts his physical skills, most important of them being his sword skills!
Satisfied, Percy decided to wait on increasing his other stats as he wanted to make sure to keep as many attribute points as possible when it just gets too hard to train the attributes. Closing the screen, he snuggled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.
Percy found himself standing on the beach of Montauk, it's beauty marred by a vicious storm ripping through the area. What was going on, the storm was bad earlier, yes, but nothing like this.
Fighting through the winds and battering rain, he stumbled forward through the wet sands of the beach, illuminated only by the near constant lightning strikes all around him and in the sky above. This was crazy, he was sure there wasn't a storm like this that the weatherman would miss!
Percy suddenly hears a whinny of a horse off in the distance. Curious, he changed course and kept fighting forward to see if he could find it. What was a horse doing down here? He knew they were wild in Assateague but not up in Long Island, and he was pretty sure that there wouldn't be any horseback riders out in this cataclysm.
Peering through the storm, the lightning illuminated what seemed to be two figures fighting. The haze of rain became clearer as he got closer, and he saw that they were a horse and an eagle. The horse was raised on its hind legs, kicking with its front legs at the eagle as the eagle attempted to strike the horse. The eagle was trying to claw the eyes out of the horse, before it suddenly switched course and aimed for the exposed neck of the horse in what surely would be a kill shot.
"No!" Percy screamed, and he attempted to lunge forward before he blacked out.
Percy gasped as he shot up in his bed, the storm outside raging as it had gotten substantially worse through the night. What was that about, a horse and an eagle fighting? His confusion only grew as he heard a frantic banging coming from the front door of the cabin. Who would be out at Montauk beach during this monsoon?
Stumbling out of his room and meeting his mother in the hallway, they both went to the door to open it and were surprised to see Grover standing out in the rain looking frantic. What was Grover doing here, how did he even know he was out here?
"Mrs. J, we need to get going, like now! They know about Percy, I-I don't know how but they know! We need to get him to camp immediately!" Grover frantically stammered out.
"What, how!? I should've known with this weather, of course it was him! Grover, get in here and grab some stuff, I'll get the keys to the car." She turned to Percy. "Baby, listen to me. Run to your room and grab your bags. Don't bother packing; we need to get going now! Hurry and grab your things and run to the car!"
What the hell is going on! Deciding to follow his mom's orders, he ran to his room and grabbed his bags, tossing in loose items as he went. Tossing his bags in his inventory, he rushed out of the cabin and got into the Camaro with his mom and Grover.
"Step on it Mrs. J, you know the way, right?" Grover asked from the backseat.
"Of course Grover, do you know how they found out?"
"No ma'am, Chiron alerted me via IM that Mr. D had come back to camp after a meeting grumbling about Zeus and a 'Peter Johnson' wasting his time. Didn't take long for him to put it together."
Percy had had enough of being left in the dark, but by hearing Grover say Zeus tipped him off on what it could mean. "Mom, what the hell is going on!"
His mother looked at him sternly. "Language, young man! Percy, your father is a very special man, a very powerful man, and that is the reason he couldn't stay with us. He has a lot of enemies and I wanted to protect you as long as possible, but it looks like my time has run out."
Special man all right, he already knew his father was a bum sea god. He was about to ask her another question before he heard a what sounded like a bellow in the distance cutting through the torrent of rain.
"What was that? Grover, what is going on, man? How did you even find us out here? I know I didn't tell you when I left Yancy because I didn't even know." Percy asked.
"Look Perce, you just need to know I am your friend and your protector, I always have been. I'll explain more when we get you to camp but we need to focus on getting there first before something bad happens!"
The bellow sounded off in the distance again, only substantially closer this time. It sounded like a combination of a roar and…something else he couldn't quite pinpoint.
"What is that! And what do you mean before something bad happens, is that in reference to whatever that noise is. And again with this camp, what are you guys not telling me!"
Before either Grover or mom could respond, a massive tree trunk landed in front of the car. Mom shouted and tried to swerve out of the way, but due to the slick road conditions overcompensated as the car slid across the road before it started tumbling, and finally coming to a rest on its roof in a ditch 200 feet away.
Percy shook his head as he tried to clear the cobwebs and haze of pain. Looking around the cabin of the car he saw his mother groaning in pain, a trail of blood coming down her face as she pulled herself off of the wheel. Grover was completely passed out, a nasty gash across his forehead and completely unresponsive.
Percy scrambled for his seatbelt and unbuckled it, falling forward and catching himself before he snapped his neck. Reaching over to Grover he felt for a pulse on his friends body. Luckily he found one, meaning his friend was only knocked out at the moment, but given his condition he needed to get medical attention soon. He heard his mom unbuckle her seatbelt as she climbed out of the car.
"Come on, honey, we need to go now! Grab Grover and let's get moving!"
Doing as she said, he climbed out of his window and ran to the other side of the car. Knocking some broke glass out of the way, he pulled Grover out of the car and slunk him across his shoulders to get moving. Rushing through the woods with his mother, he kept hearing the roar get louder, this time accompanied by heavy footsteps and what seemed to be snorting.
"Up there Percy, you see the big pine on the hill, you need to get up there!" His mom called out as she slowed down. "There is a barrier there that will protect you, but I cannot go! Remember that I love you, sweetie!" she cried.
"Mom what are you talking about, let's go! Come on, if there is something up there that'll protect us from whatever is coming we need to go now! What are you doing?" Why was she slowing down, they were so close!
"I can't Percy, it isn't possible, it would repel me. It'll protect you though, so you need to go-gah!" She couldn't complete her sentence as a hand reached out of the wilderness and through the storm to grab her by the waist, lifting her up. Whatever had been chasing them had caught up.
Percy could barely make out the figure through the night and rain until a peal of lightning jumped across the sky, illuminating the figure holding his mother hostage. It looked to be a cross between a man and bull, but definitely more beast than man. It struck an imposing figure, at least 8 feet tall with thick muscles all over its body and a solid nose ring of steel you would see in a bull on a farm. It's red eyes bore into his own as it looked down in contempt at the boy standing in front of it, not even noticing the struggles of the woman in its grasp.
"Mom!" Percy grit his teeth and summoned Anaklusmos, quickly settling into a ready position as he glared at the creature. "Put her down, now!" This is exactly what he wanted to prevent, he needed to train in order to protect his mother from the mythological world, but it appeared that he was too little too late and now his mom was a hostage of this, this thing!
The creature glared at him, before slowly shifting its gaze to the struggling woman in its hand, as if just now noticing a fly struggling in its grasp. His mom was struggling to get out of his grasp, before stopping and looking at him.
"Percy, baby, remember that I will always love you! Please be safe, get to the pine tree, please, leave me! I lo-" She gasped as the beast squeezed down on her spine, tears forming in her eyes from the pain. It quickly brought its other hand to bear and smashed into her, exploding her body in a golden dust as her necklace fell to the ground.
Percy stared at the spot his mother occupied, he couldn't form a single word or bring his body to move. He remembered how when Dominic was slain, his body turned into dust before his very eyes, just like what happened to his mother. His mother, his beautiful, caring mother, the one who was always by his side and made life worth living in their hardships, was gone.
He grit his teeth, holding his sword in a white knuckled grip as he shook. She was gone! AND THIS DAMN BEAST TOOK HER FROM HIM! Turning his gaze to the beast, he watched as it shook its hand form the dust.
Ping!
New quest added!
Slay the Minotaur and avenge your mother!
Rewards:
+4000 EXP
+$10,000
+D200
+?
+?
+?
Failure:
Death
Accept/Decline
Clicking accept, he glared at it with ferocity, and spoke with a voice filled with so much venom it could kill, "I'm going to kill you, you fucking animal!" The beast looked at him, as if amused by his promise. It turned to him and started to advance, speeding up and lowering its head as it dashed towards him, intending to run him through with its sharp horns.
Diving to the side, he avoided the beast as it crashed into a tree. Bringing his sword to bear, he shouted in anger as he stabbed it forwards and into the beasts shoulder.
Critical Strike!
DMG: (150 + 1000 critical area DMG) x 430% = 4,945 DMG!
It roared in agony as it was skewered through the shoulder and into its chest, before swinging its arm around and smashing into Percy, sending him flying into another tree.
DMG: 550 – 100 = 450/550
He coughed, that had hurt! The thing was pure muscle! He shook his head and glared at the creature, using observe.
The Minotaur, Beast of the Labyrinth
LVL: 30
HP: 20,055/25,000
MP: N/A
STR: 154
VIT: 96
WIS: 1
INT: 0
DEX: 8
CHA: 1
LUC: 0
A massive cross between a bull and a human, the Minotaur is the offspring of a bull and Pasiphae, Queen of Crete, it was housed in the Labyrinth under Knossos at the behest of King Minos. The Minotaur dislikes Percy and had been ordered to kill him by Hades. The Minotaur prefers to use a heavy double-sided axe and charge with its horns.
Wow was this thing strong, but it was a stupid son of a bitch, wasn't it? It didn't matter how strong it was, he could work with a slow idiot. From what he saw when it first chased him, he dove to the side way too early but it hadn't even attempted to change course. That gives him an avenue of attack, but he needed to mix up his attacks on the beast, as he didn't want to risk being hit by it if it can adapt like Alecto could. However given it's INT, he doubted it could form a plan.
Pulling a water bottle out of his inventory, he knew he needed to power up if he wanted to get out of here in one piece. He had not been able to sufficiently train yet, and although he got some good experience from fighting Alecto he knew that he had gotten by by the skin of his teeth. Pouring the bottle over his head, he was ready to kill this thing by any means necessary.
You have come into contact with water, and due to your heritage receive a boost in your attributes! You are now able to breathe underwater!
HP and MP have been restored completely, all status effects are negated, and your body has been healed completely!
+3000 HP
+3000 MP
+20 STR
+20 DEX
+20 VIT
The Minotaur had pulled its horn out of the tree by then, angrily striking at the tree and smashing it into little splinters. It then picked up the tree in an amazing display of strength, and before he could blink had thrown it like a javelin towards him. His eyes had widened as he dove to the side, barely dodging the impromptu spear as it flew past him and embedded into the ground. What the hell was this guys routine, did he only eat protein powder or something!
He absolutely had to use his speed to his advantage here, and he knew he had to be careful. There was no way he would be able to compete in a game of strength with this thing, so he needed to stay at a distance and rush in for attacks, or wait to counterattack when it charged him.
The Minotaur chose that moment to lower its horns again, rushing in in an attempt to skewer Percy. He jumped to the side as it came along, striking out as quick as a cobra with his sword when the beast came rushing past and scoring a hit along its arm. The beast halted its momentum before attempting another run, and much like last time Percy had jumped out of the way before striking at one of its legs.
DMG: (150 x 2) x 30% = 390
Minotaur HP: 20,055 – 390 = 19,665/25,000
Percy prepared as the Minotaur came in for another charge, but it seemed the Minotaur had been learning it may not be the best to just run at him and hope for the best, and instead of allowing Percy to dive away it held out an arm to clothesline him. Percy gasped out as the air was forced from his lungs, flying back and smashing into a tree in the clearing.
Percy HP: 3,550 – 750 = 2,800/3,550
Percy was gasping for air as he tried to refill his lungs, but his diaphragm just was not cooperating as it was still attempting to recover from the hit he had received. Finally drawing in some air, Percy held his stomach as he staggered onto his feet, having to dive away at the last moment to avoid being skewered by the dumb beast. Wincing in pain as his stomach screamed at him in protest, he lifted his shirt as he could already see a nasty bruise forming along his midsection. Shit, he had gotten cocky in his anger at the death of his mother and had allowed a hit to be snuck in.
Shaking his head, he backed away from the beast and readied himself for another attack. The rain was still pelting away at the two of them in the clearing, and he reached out with his powers in an attempt to manipulate it. It was tough, trying to corral all of the droplets falling was just impossible, and he didn't have time to waste and could not afford to concentrate on it during the battle. Even though he couldn't control the rain yet, he could control the puddles forming on the ground.
He waited for the beast to charge at him again, and as it was charging willed the puddles to form spikes of water to impale the monster as it did so. Bellowing in pain as it was skewered on three sides from spikes, it tumbled forward and crashed into a large tree, lodging one of its horns into the wood.
DMG: 240 x 5 = 1,200
Minotaur HP: 19,665 – 1,200 = 18,465/25,000
Percy MP: 3,500 – (80 x 5) = 3,100/3,500
Wasting no time, Percy rushed in and delivered a blow to strike its head, as it was immobile. Before he could complete his action, however, the Minotaur wrenched its head free and attempted to scramble back. Unfortunately for it, Percy was quicker as he managed to strike one of the horns atop its head, cracking it off as it fell to the ground.
Minotaur HP: 18,465 – 2,000 = 16,465/25,000
Bleeding DMG: 5 HP/sec
The Minotaur screamed in a mix of anger and agony, quickly bringing a hand to staunch the flow of blood before glaring at Percy. It blew air out of its nose before reaching onto its back, pulling out a wicked double bladed axe that was half the size of Percy. Gulping, he jumped back as the axe struck the ground where he stood seconds before, an angry Minotaur quickly wrenching it out before attempting another swing at Percy, only succeeding in felling a pine tree.
This thing was angry, and he could already see it making some mistakes in it's haste to kill him. If he could get it off kilter even more, he may be able to make the beast perform a lot more wild strikes that had no chance of hitting him, and before long should get even slower as it tired in its frenzy.
"Hey dumbass, you missed me! Only thing you'll be hitting me with is your god-awful stench, seriously dude you need a bath! Though then again, with looks like those I doubt you have any luck with the lady's." He taunted. The bull glared at him as it charged again, taking a wild strike into another tree. He was almost there, he just needed one more push.
"I mean I know the phrase 'having looks only a mother could love', but I doubt even your mother could love those looks." He yelled, dodging another furious swipe. "After all, your parents thought you were such an ugly creature that they couldn't bear to look at you and hid you in the labyrinth, didn't they?"
The Minotaur paused its attack, before shaking slightly as it breathed harder. Percy backed up and got into a ready position as The Minotaur seemed to shake harder and harder, gripping its axe so hard he heard it creak in protest. Finally it shot its head up at Percy, its red eyes furious as it quickly dashed forward in an absolutely wild charge.
Taunt Successful!
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has leveled up!
Taunt
Level 2 (18%): Hey Ugly! Taunt your opponents to unhinge them and make them make mistakes in their fighting! (10% chance of success, if successful + 48% STR and -52% Accuracy)
Percy leapt to the side as the Minotaur swung down, creating a crater in the Earth as it attempted to bisect him and crush him into the ground. Percy's eyes bugged out, remembering that now The Minotaur had a STR stat over 200. The beast absolutely could not hit him now, as he knew it would mean immediate death for him.
Sending another wave of spikes into the creature, he dove to the side again to avoid another swing as the axe embedded itself into a thicker tree. In a flash, Percy summoned more spikes around the creature and focused them into impaling the arm holding the axe, intent on separating the beast from its weapon.
As the spikes traveled and struck home, the beast's roar of agony cut through the din of rain like thunder, as its mangled arm flew away from his body.
Minotaur HP: 18,465 – 4000 – (240 x 5) = 13,265/25,000
Percy MP: 3,100 – (80 x 10) = 2,300/3,500
As the beast cradled its stump of an arm, Percy knew that this would be the best chance that he had to end the fight and avenge his mother. Reaching out with his powers, he exerted control over the blood flowing down from the severed horn and arm of The Minotaur. Grabbing it and feeling a painful tug in his gut, he forced it to flow into the mouth of The Minotaur and attempting to choke it to death on its own blood.
Panicking, The Minotaur grabbed its throat as it attempted to cough up the blood lodged in it to no avail. Percy watched as the creature suffered, sweating as he felt more and more of his MP drain away, but he didn't care. All he wanted was for the damn thing to suffer, it had killed his mother, and it didn't deserve mercy. Pouring his anger and emotions into his effort, he felt a sharp and painful tug in his navel that sent him to his knees.
He watched in sick fascination as the water droplets falling and matting the beast's fur started to freeze, encasing it in a sheen of ice as the energy and strength was sapped out of it. He then watched as the blood trails on the outside of the body also started to freeze, climbing up it's body until it disappeared into the stump of an arm and the severed horn. He saw as The Minotaur's eyes widened in agony, the blood literally freezing solid in it's veins as it's own life fluid rebelled against and killed it.
The Minotaur's hand slipped off of it's throat, slumping forward against a tree before falling over. It's head hit the grass, staring at Percy's outstretched hand as it's eyes slowly gained a glossy look, before the body suddenly shuddered and died, dissolving slowly into golden dust and being washed away by the rain.
Minotaur HP: 13,265 – 13,265 = 0/25,000
Ping!
A new skill has been discovered!
Ice Control
LVL 1 (5%): Take a chill pill! Take control of individual water molecules and the Van der Waals forces between them, forcing the molecules to stop all movement and drastically reduce its temperature to create and control ice! (Cost: 200 MP/min, -5 MP per level)
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has been leveled up!
Ice Control
LVL 2 (45%): Take a chill pill! Take control of individual water molecules and the Van der Waals forces between them, forcing the molecules to stop all movement and drastically reduce its temperature to create and control ice! (Cost: 195 MP/min, -5 MP per level)
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has been leveled up!
Blood Control
LVL 2 (80%): Bloodbender! Take control of the blood of your enemies and use it against them as per your will! (Cost: 195 MP/min, -5 MP per level)
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has been leveled up!
Water Manipulation
LVL 10 (62%): Aquaman! Due to your heritage, you can control water and make it obey your will! (Cost: 31 MP/min)
Ping!
Quest Completed!
Slay the Minotaur and avenge your mother!
Rewards:
EXP: 500 + 4,000 = 4,500/12,000
$: 75,870 + 10,000 = 85,870
D: 575 + 200 = 775
+1 Random Skill Book
+ Minotaur Horn
+ Axe of the Minotaur
Ping!
For figuring out an effective way to influence your water powers and using them to great effect in a gruesome display, you have gained +2 INT and +2 WIS.
Percy ignored all of the notifications buzzing in his ear as he stared blankly at the spot of the dissolving Minotaur. His breathing came out ragged, staring in horror at what he had done. He had tortured it, given it one of the most gruesome deaths it could have suffered. He had avenged his mother, but at what cost?
His mind wandered back to English class as a quote from a man called Nietzsche floated through his mind, 'Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster…for when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.' He had not given much thought to that quote at the time other than thinking it was a pretty cool thing to say, but he realized now what it really meant. In his anger to avenge his mother that this monster had so cruelly killed, he in turn did not hesitate to torture and kill it in turn. Had he truly become a monster?
His body was wracked with coughs, and he doubled over in pain as he spit out a glob of blood.
Danger! MP reduced to 0! Status: Mana Exertion, added!
Mana Exertion: -50 HP/sec
Shit, he needed to get to the safe place his mother was talking about fast! Staggering along the clearing to the location of Grover, he picked up his friend and dragged him up to the large pine tree at the top of the hill. Feeling his body being wracked with another set of coughs, he stumbled and fell at the base of the tree, spitting up blood on its roots as his HP was drained away.
His vision started to blur, and he struggled to pull himself forward, grabbing a fistful of dirt and slowly pulling himself forward. Was this how he was going to die? At the base of a tree in a random forest his departed mother brought him to?
As the edges of his vision started to blur and darken due to the pain, he heard a voice shout from far away. Through the haze of pain, he cracked open his eye as he saw a blurry figure rush to him, the sound of trotting and running blearily reaching his ears as he heard muffled voices shouting around him. He felt his body be jostled, as he coughed up another glob of blood. He feared they would be too late.
Warning! HP critically low!
The last thing he heard before he passed out was the clipping of shears.
Perseus "Percy" Jackson
Son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson
Perseus is the son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon. His ADHD and Dyslexia provide him battle reflexes and natural affinity to Greek due to his existence as a demigod. Due to his heritage, he has an ingrained affinity to the sea and is able to control water and ?. Due to being a demigod you permanently receive +5 to STR, VIT, and DEX.
Title: Son of Poseidon
Race: Demigod
Level 11
EXP: 4,500/12,000
HP: 550/550
MP: 500/500
STR: 14 (+5)
VIT: 15 (+5)
WIS: 22
INT: 18
DEX: 20 (+5)
CHA: 20
LUC: 10
Attribute Points: 22
Money: $85,870/D775
Status: Mana Exhaustion
Skills
Physical:
Swimming (LVL - MAX)
Running (LVL 9 – 67%)
Sneaking (LVL 2 - 25%)
Acrobatics (LVL 4 – 22%)
Archery (LVL 1 – 67%)
Sword Mastery (LVL 5 - 92%)
Critical Strike (LVL 3 - 52%)
Powers:
Observe (LVL 5 - 56%)
Charm (LVL 1 - 85%)
Taunt (LVL 2 – 18%)
Water Manipulation (LVL 10 - 62%)
Sub Skills:
Water Spikes (LVL 5 - 95%)
Blood Control (LVL 2 – 80%)
Ice Control (LVL 2 – 45%)
Shadow Manipulation (LVL 3 – 64%)
Language:
Modern English (LVL 13 – 32%)
Ancient Greek (Level – MAX)
Passive:
Gamer's Mind (LVL - MAX)