"Hey, Nancy! I think I found something that might be useful to you." Percy announced, catching Nancy's attention. "Hmm? What is it?" Nancy questioned back. "Skill stone, [Thief]. Since you primarily use a bow, I thought this could be good for you."

Pulling a small, jagged rock from the Gnoll's corpse, Percy tossed it to Nancy, who caught it with grace. "Huh." Nancy started, "Thanks!" Crushing the stone in her hand, a small blue light washed over her. "These might be good for you." Nancy parroted Percy's initial statement. "Honestly, I'm not interested in anything other than a sword."

"Just take a look at this." Nancy sighed as she leaned over beside Percy, producing a small ring. "Here." Nancy dropped the ring into Percy's hand. Catching the ring, Percy began examining it.

[Ring of the Gnoll Lord: When equipped, the wearer gains a +1 to Constitution.]

"Alright, alright, I'll take it." Percy fake sighed, laughing a little at his antics, "Thanks, Nancy." Nancy couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend. "It's no big deal." Nancy waved. As the two continued lootings, they wondered, "Do you think Mr. Brunner and the group is waiting for us?" Nancy asked, "Probably." Percy shrugged, "We should probably head back, though."

Percy was abruptly pulled from his thoughts as the two began returning to the dungeon's entrance. "Wait!" Seraphine piped up, "To your east, you missed an item." Seraphine informed her companion. Percy couldn't help but let another sigh escape his lips, "Hold on, Nancy; Seraphine said that we missed something."

With the help of Seraphine, Percy made his way toward where the item that was important enough to garner Seraphine's attention. Percy looked around and spotted a small purple orb. Reaching to grab it, Percy immediately reeled back in pain as a tiny spark of electricity exploded to life, shocking him.

[Class: Shadow Necromancer]

A bright flash of purple and grey light coalesced around Percy, enveloping him. The air around Percy felt thick and heavy—suffocating—causing him to dry-heave.

[New Quest: Survive]

"Seraphine?" Percy choked out, "What… what does it mean by 'survive'?" Percy questioned nervously. Percy's question prompted a dark chuckle from Seraphine. "You're going to hate the next few hours," Seraphine informed.

Before Percy could question Seraphine further, he felt an agonizing pain erupt throughout his entire body. It felt like someone had poured molten lead into his veins as he struggled to push past the pain. Unable to cope, Percy immediately fell to his knees as he clutched both sides of his abdomen. "Percy!" Nancy screamed, concerned for her friend. "What happened?" She frantically questioned, "Are you okay?" Her concern grew as Percy collapsed onto the ground, convulsing frantically.

::

::

A few hours had passed since Percy had fallen unconscious. Nancy, to her credit, had attempted to keep him comfortable, wiping away beads of sweat from Percy's forehead. All was peaceful; peaceful for Nancy. For Percy, it was a completely different story; it felt like he was in hell. The painful burning had only worsened with every second as his will to live began to deteriorate.

About to give up, the horrible pain immediately and abruptly subsided.

[Quest Completed: Survive]

Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted by Nancy's concerned expression. "Percy! What happened? Are you okay?" Nancy unleashed a barrage of questions toward Percy as she vigorously shook him.

Percy didn't get a chance to answer Nancy's question as a large blue box filled with text materialized before him.

[New Class Obtained: Shadow Necromancer]

[Quest Reward: Sword of the Oathbreaker]

"I…" Percy groaned out, "I don't know. One moment I picked up some orb; the next thing I knew, it felt like I was hit by a truck filled with molten lava." Percy stated, turning towards the new sword next to him. Grabbing onto the sword's hilt, Percy twirled the sword in his hand before jamming it into the ground. Using it as leverage, Percy pushed himself off the ground using Nancy and the new sword as support.

[Dead nearby, do you wish to consume their shadows and bring them under your control?]

"Seraphine?" Percy started but was interrupted by Seraphine, "Just hit the 'Yes' button." His trust in his companion had begun to ebb following the recent events. Sighing, Percy yanked the sword from the ground before tapping on the floating 'Yes.'

The moment he did, the surrounding area darkened. Shadows began to coalesce around Percy before shooting out in all directions, headed towards the nearby Gnoll corpses. Percy and Nancy watched in amazement and fear as the shadows started eating away at the corpse, consuming them. Not before long, shadowy-like creatures, vaguely reminiscent of the Gnolls Percy had recently fought, began to emerge from the darkened earth.

"We are at your service, my lord." An enormous shadow creature spoke. "Uh… Percy?" Nancy started, "What… what are those things?" Terrified, Nancy took a few steps away from Percy and the shadow creatures. She gripped her spiritual bow until her knuckles turned white, ready for the worst.

"I… I don't know." Percy stammered out but still answered truthfully. "They… they might be my summons? Seraphine never really stated." Looking at the shadow creatures, still, in a deep bow, an idea came to Percy, "Cancel summon?" Percy was unsure if his command would work, but to his surprise, the shadow creature began to dissolve away.

"Uh… huh…" Percy stammered, "Come forth?" Again, Percy was unsure if his command had worked. Still, like before, the shadows around Percy and Nancy began to coalesce once more before forming solid creatures.

"That's kinda cool…." Percy mumbled. "Ignoring that for now, we should get back." Percy turned towards Nancy. "Oh, I forgot to ask; how long was I out for?"

"A fair bit," Nancy answered.

::

::

Nancy and Percy went back to the dungeon's entrance in silence, unpacking everything that had happened to them in the past hour. Still recovering from the painful experience, Percy relied on Nancy for support.

As the duo made their way back to the museum and back to their school group, they learned that barely any time had passed. Students and chaperones were still eating lunch in the museum's courtyard. "Percy!" A voice screamed, "I thought we agreed to eat together." As Grover scrambled toward Percy and Nancy, he noticed the pair looked scuffed and ragged. "What happened to you two?" Grover's tone immediately changed, growing more serious. "Oh, it's nothing." Percy laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "We had just gotten into a fight with Alecto."

"Did you have to say that?" Seraphine facepalmed, sighing at her companion's questionable life choices. Grover nearly had a heart attack. "What?"

"Yeah, did you know that Mrs. Dodds was Alecto? She nearly decapitated me." Percy laughed as Nancy elbowed him on his side. Attempting to downplay his stress, Grover stammered out, "Who or what is Alecto?"

[Insight: 14]

Percy was not the greatest at reading a person, but he knew when his best friend was lying. "Don't play dumb, Grover. I know about the Greek Gods."

"We've been learning about the Greek Gods all year, Percy. I would hope that you know of them." Grover laughed nervously. "Quit playing dumb," Percy sighed, "I know that you're a Satyr, and I know that Mr. Brunner is Chiron, the trainer of heroes."

"Who… who told you?" Grover was extremely shocked. He was confident that he had not revealed the mythological world to Percy, but then how did Percy learn of his heritage?

"I'll tell you later." Percy promised, "But for now, can you keep it quiet?"

"Percy," Grover's tone shifted, growing quieter as he leaned towards Percy. "You know I can't do that. I have to report what you said to Mr. Brunner… Chiron. And secondly, you know about the mythological world." Grover stated the obvious, "We have to get you to Camp Halfblood."

"Camp, what blood?" Both Nancy and Percy questioned simultaneously. "Wait!" Grover shifted his attention towards Nancy, "What, who invited you into this conversation?" Uncharacteristic of his personality, Grover had spewed hostility to Nancy, the person who bullied him for years.

"I actually invited myself." Nancy scowled at Grover. "Stop fighting, you two," Percy commanded; Nancy immediately stuck her tongue out at Grover. "Grover, what's Camp Halfblood?"

"It's a camp for people like you, Percy. A safe haven for children of the Gods. A place we should be headed towards right now." Grover had grown frantic. "Why?" Nancy interjected, "Why should Percy listen to you?"

"Because Percy knowing about the mythological world puts him in danger. His scent will be unmasked, and every monster in a hundred-mile radius will converge on him. And as for you, mortal—" Grover was cut off by Percy's glare. "Grover, chill. She bullied me too, but we're good now."

"Fine." Grover relented, stopping his glare at Nancy.

"I'll go to this camp," Percy agreed, "but on one condition, I want to see my mom first."

"We really don't have the time." Grover pleaded. But seeing that Percy was not going to relent on this, Grover just sighed in defeat, "Okay. We can go see Sally first. Let me tell Chiron first."

Both Nancy and Percy watched as Grover hobbled away. When Grover was out of earshot, Nancy turned towards Percy, still leaning on her for support, "I'm coming with you." Nancy was not asking for permission but rather was stating something obvious. "Wouldn't have it any other way." Percy laughed, "We should leave before Grover gets back. I don't know why but I have a feeling that they're not going to let me see my mom."

[Stealth: 15]

[Stealth: 17]

The two snickered as they stealthily made their way toward the museum's exit. Making sure they weren't followed, Percy and Nancy flagged down a nearby cabby.

Percy's Stats

[Strength—16 (+3)]

[Dexterity—16 (+3)]

[Constitution—16 (+3)]

[Intelligence—12 (+1)]

[Wisdom—12 (+1)]

[Charisma—12 (+1)]

[Points Available: 0]

Percy's Skills

Transcended Ability: Fortunate Queen of Knowledge, Seraphine

Transcended Ability: Gluttonous Lordess, Adephagia

Uncommon Ability: World-Shaper, Sythaeryn

Uncommon Subskill: Wrath of Sythaeryn

Common Subskill: Aqua Blade

Common Subskill: Ice Armor

Common Subskill: Water Shield

Common Subskill: Earthen Grasp

Common Subskill: Earthen Javelin

Common Subskill: Eternal Chasm

Common Subskill: Mist Ward

Percy's Equipment:

Larsa's Dagger:

A dark red dagger with a blackened hilt. This beautifully crafted blade is also coated in a strange and caustic solution. The dagger does 1d4 piercing damage and an additional 3d8 poison damage on a hit.

Ring of the Gnoll Lord:

A rustic green band with a silver lining. The ring grants the wearer a +1 to their Constitution score when worn.

Sword of the Oathbreaker:

A bastard sword tapered to thrust as well as slash. Three fullers were incised into the blade to reduce its weight. The sword radiates an aura of dread and fury.

The sword does 2d8 slashing damage and an additional 1d6 cold damage on a hit.

Nancy's Stats

[Strength—8 (-1)]

[Dexterity—18 (+4)]

[Constitution—12 (+1)]

[Intelligence—13 (+1)]

[Wisdom—10 (+0)]

[Charisma—10 (+0)]

[Points Available: 0]

Nancy's Skills

Common Ability: Soul Bound Bow

Common Ability: Thief