"And… FIRE!" Chiron bellows, as I let go of the tensed bowstring. An arrow soars away from me to the target, and plunges into the… blue section of the target. Damn, maybe I should've put some of my free skill levels into archery.
"Come on, Gill." I feel a hand on my back, "It's not that bad. At least you're consistent and hitting the target." I turned around, and saw Jamie, my camp counsellor, standing behind me. He had a warm smile on his face, "And I've seen worse! One time, there was a camper who completely missed the target, and we found the arrow an hour later on the other side of camp."
I turned to him, confused, "How… Does that work, exactly?" I know that Mythology is crazy and stuff, but there's no way the laws of physics could ignore even that. I mean, even though this is technically my first day at camp, I've seen some pretty crazy stuff. I swear, I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of Demeter kids creating a giant vine out of nothing.
Jamie just shrugs, "I don't really know. Maybe you can ask one of the Athena kids, I guess. Don't you have Greek Mythology lessons with them?" I nodded, thinking back to my schedule. I had woken up in the morning with a paper containing my schedule resting at the foot of my bed. Even though my Gamer's Body skill made me fully energised even if I only get a single hour of sleep, it somehow did not stop me from being annoyed that I was forced to wake up at 8 am. What is this? A dictatorship.
I made my bed, and then followed the other Apollo kids to the pavilion, where breakfast was being served. I have to be honest, the food was pretty good. I was quite happy to see that I could have coffee served in a cup, but then thoroughly angered when one of my older half-siblings told the wind spirits (or whatever creature served our food) to not give me any coffee. Were I not a nice person, I would've chased him to the ends of the Earth. Jamie wasn't there for breakfast since he had to do the cabin inspections with some of the other councillors. Thank god I didn't have to clean anything yesterday. From what I hear, the Apollo cabin gets really fucking messy.
After breakfast, it was time for… chores. I was lucky to get Lunch Preparation for today's chores, however I had to clean the pegasi stables in a couple of days. I practically gagged at the thought. I think I romanticised Camp Halfblood a little too much.
With chores done, it was time for Archery lessons. Being a child of Apollo, I was already decent at archery, but I still needed more practice for it to be useful on the battlefield. Whilst I could consistently hit the blue ring, with the Sharpshot skill, I could hit the red ring. Still not good enough. Well, I should be able to be far better at it by the time canon rolls by.
As I fire another arrow, I see a notification pop up, however I put it aside for now. I've barely had enough time alone, and haven't been able to settle my notifications. I'll probably have some free time later, according to my schedule, but for now, I'll probably just focus on the activities.
"Ouch!" I hear a yelp to my left, and stifle a laugh as I see an arrow tangled in a girl's hair, "I spent an hour on this!" Ah, a daughter of Aphrodite. Jamie walks over to her, carefully removing the arrow. He placed a palm next to the hair that had been slightly damaged, and a small glow seemed to be wrapped around his hand. Though I wasn't as medically inclined, I could tell (mainly from the girl's increasing HP) that he was restoring the small amount of damage done to the roots of her hair.
Jamie comes back, and I ask him, "How did you do that?". If I'm correct, he must've used Vitakinesis, so hopefully asking him for advice might help me make some headway into my skill. Whilst I doubt that I would ever become a true genius when it comes to medicine, a quick heal in battle could be helpful. Maybe even save lives.
"Oh, you saw that?" Jamie chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "Well it's a power I have since Dad is also the God of Healing. If I touch someone, then their injuries can heal. Well only up to small fractures. Anything bigger, and I need to do it the old fashioned way." AKA Ambrosia. Seriously, it's basically a real life health potion.
"Yeah, but how exactly do you do it? Is it automatic? Or do you need to force it out?" I asked. Nothing he said gave a particular method as to how Jamie could heal.
"Huh… Never really thought about it." Jamie pondered, "I guess it's like a desire or wish? I want someone healed, so the power works by itself. It's never really been any deeper than that. Unfortunately, we can't ask anyone else in camp, since I'm the only one with this ability." Hmm… If it's based on desire or wanting something to be healed, perhaps it requires willpower? Regardless, I'd have to experiment on myself, and that meant cutting myself. Fuck. I'm pretty sure I'm a couple years too early for emo's to be cool.
I fire another arrow, and to my surprise, I get a bullseye! "Damn, good job! New ya' had it in you Gill." Jamie congratulates, patting my back. Thank the gods that I developed my patience in my previous life, otherwise I have half the mind to flip Jamie. Being treated like a child is annoying as hell.
I fire another arrow. Back to the red ring again. I sigh, "This is going to be a long few years"
5 Hours and 37 Minutes Later…
Fireworks Beach...
I rested upon the golden sand of the beach at the edge of Camp Halfblood boundaries, which had been dubbed 'Fireworks Beach' by the campers, since this was where the Hephaestus cabin set off their 4th of July fireworks. If I remember correctly, that should be in a few weeks.
Though there was plenty of sand all throughout my body, I was far too busy relaxing. I unfortunately had the task of chopping wood, which heavily involved one of my lowest stats, Strength. Man, did I have some regrets. At the moment half my body felt like it was in hell, and the other half was in heaven. Thank the gods that they didn't expect too much from an 8-year-old.
Now, it was finally time for me to clear out all these notifications. First things first, the rewards I had gotten from getting the flag in Capture the Flag.
Quest Completed!
Capture the Flag
Win your first game of Capture the Flag!
Objective: Steal the enemy flag and return it to your base.
Rewards: EXP, 30 Stat Points, Title: Halfblood Resident
You have Levelled up!
That was… underwhelming. Levels and stat points are always welcome, but seriously, just a title? Come fucking on. This better have some great boosts, or else I'm going on strike.
Title: Halfblood Resident
Description: Camp Halfblood has always been a place where demigods can hone their skill. This title allows the player to gain 2 stat points assigned by the system per day, depending if the player does anything that is considered as training that stat. However this effect is only active when the player is within the boundaries of Camp Halfblood.
Note From the System: Hello Gilgamesh, for further clarification on this title, one day counts as exactly 86399 seconds, regardless of the day-night cycle of the planet you are on. Furthermore, what counts as 'training your stat' would include not actively training it, such as the wood-chopping you did earlier which would add a stat point. Of course, the stat points won't be forced upon you. You will be shown a notification asking whether you accept the stat point. This will allow you to focus training on certain stats, whilst not having to worry about accidentally increasing the wrong stat.
Do you wish to equip this title?
Holy shit. I'm sorry System, I'lll never doubt you again! This is fucking amazing. Hell yeah I want to equip it. Whilst two stats a day may not be a lot, that's still around 730 stat points per year! Theoretically, in about 7 or 8 years, my stats could rival that of Sasaki's with very little effort. Of course, if I have my way, it'll be higher, considering I'll be fighting a shit ton of monsters, and hopefully be doing some quests.
This is brilliant. Now I won't be weak as shit. Maybe I'll catch up to Thalia's stats in a month (Heh, who am kidding, by then she'll have double what she currently has).
There were several other notifications, mainly miscellaneous and unimportant stuff, however I did receive a very fascinating pair of quests.
Quest added!
Humanity's New Strongest Swordsman
As a gift from Melinoe, you now have your own swords instructor! Can the student surpass his teacher?
Objective: Learn all of Sasaki Kojiro's techniques to an adequate level
Rewards: EXP, ? Stat Points, ?, ?, ?
Quest added!
Camp Spirits
An unfortunately common feature of all demigods is their tragic backstory, for the undetermined it is their absentee parent, for others it is years of isolation from mortals who thought they were weird, and for the rest it's just the life of a demigod.
It may be a long undertaking, but perhaps you can help these troubled children.
Objective: Raise the general happiness of the demigods in Camp Halfblood before Percy Jackson comes to camp.
Rewards: EXP, ?, ?, ?, ?
Yeah, I don't think I'll be able to finish these quests any time soon. The first one is going to be several years at the very least and the second one has a time limit. Sure, I was gonna do it anyway, but now I feel more pressure because it's an exam.
Well, since I have the points, I'll put them all into Strength. That should help me. Funnily enough, with the new points, Strength is now my highest stat, a clear contrast to a couple of seconds ago.
Wait a second… Shit, I missed a notification. And it's pretty long.
Congratulations! You have acquired your first S-Rank Item!
As a Reward, you have unlocked the Market Feature!
Huh? When did I get an S-Rank item? The only item I've recently gotten was… Holy shit! I reached into my pocket and took out an item which I hadn't put into my inventory. I used Observe on it, and my suspicions were confirmed.
Name: Hestia's Handkerchief
Type: Accessories
Rank: S
Item Description: Though an unsuspecting-looking item, this handkerchief was created by Hestia, using her very divine essence as the material. Whilst it has the ability to instantly dry the tears of people and inject hope into them, the real use of this item is by its existence. This is because Hestia uses this item as a signal to other gods that whoever holds it is under her protection. Whilst it may not make the holder invincible to godly wrath, it will definitely make a divine think several times before even laying a finger on you.
Oh wow. I don't care how long it takes, but I'm going to get a max levelled cooking skill and bake Hestia the best cookies in the universe, because god damn, this piece of cloth could save my life! I won't have to constantly worry about the possibility of gods coming after my ass. Sure, I'd still have to watch my step, but at the very least Zeus won't smite me.
Whilst it was a little disappointing that my first S-Rank item is a handkerchief, at least it unlocked the Market feature… which I'm not exactly sure is. I noticed that I had a new tab in the System I could open, labelled Market, so I opened it, and a new message from the System came up.
Welcome to the Market!
The Market is a place where Players can put up their items for sale, to which other Players can buy. There is no limit to what can be traded, and there is a guarantee that the System will make sure no scams will occur. Please also understand that living beings (not including eggs) cannot be up for sale.
And for the price of 20 Stat Points, you can place requests on the Market, where you may ask for a specific item, with a listed reward.
The Market operates on a trading system, in which a Player can offer their own items, or even Stat Points! It is up to the owner of the Market item as to whether they accept the offered trade.
Hmm… That seems like a fair system. I wonder how many Players currently exist. I know that I'm the 5541st person to receive the System, but surely a lot of Players have died, and there have been new Players since I started this new life.
There are approximately 2492 Players still alive. There have been 3 new Players since you arrived in this world.
So less than half the people who've received the System have died. That doesn't strike me with hope about my future. In a world of petulant gods, I needed to be careful until I got stronger. The fact that the System is arguably a multiversal power meant that I can become even stronger than Zeus.
I cast aside my fantasy of strength, and decide it's time for window shopping. I began looking through the items up for trade in the Market, and I was barely holding back the urge to salivate. There were items that could make any nerd salivate. The Elder Wand from Harry Potter, The One Ring from Lord of the Rings, Excalibur, a Sandevistan from Cyberpunk 2077, the Gum Gum Fruit from One Piece, and even a goddamn Dragon egg! And of course there were more… adult items for trade. From underwear and love potions, to certain fluids and even fucking lockes of hair. It was clear that their would be degenerates everywhere.
But there was one very unfortunate truth about the Market. I couldn't buy shit. Anything that interested me was obviously out of my league, and stuff that I could potentially get, seemed like I could easily get them from quests and whatnot. I suspect they were there to trick some new players like me into thinking they were secretly important items. Not exactly a scam, but still kind of scummy.
It seems it would be quite a while before I could really use the Market. Perhaps I could learn forging so I can make weapons I could put up for trade.
Regardless, those were concerns for future Gill, and I was far too busy taking in the vibe of the beach. And yes, the sand in my hair was also future Gill's problem. And so too was my rumbling stomach.
1 Hours and 30 Minutes Later…
The Dining Pavillion…
After my little rest at the beach I went to eat dinner with the rest of my cabin. In case you were wondering, I had BBQ Ribs along with melted cheese on bread. I sacrificed part of my food to Hermes and Apollo. Apollo because he was my father, and it seemed to be customary to sacrifice a portion to your godly parent. And I sacrificed another part to Hermes, praying for him to look out for Thalia and the rest. Annabeth should be with them by now.
After finishing dinner, and everyone began to leave the pavilion, I walked up to Chiron, who waved farewell to Mr D. Speaking of the wine god, he hasn't actually acknowledged my existence, though I guess he hasn't needed to. I do hope to make a friendly impression on him. Through his rough exterior, Diyonysus still had a humanity within him, and as such could make a good ally.
"Evening Chiron," I greeted the old teacher, "How are you?" Yeah, I might not have been here to see how he is, but there was nothing wrong with being polite, especially to an awesome guy like Chiron.
Chiron turns to me, and he gives me a look of curiosity. I suppose he must still be thinking about what I told him yesterday. "Ah, Gill! I'm doing fine, thank you. I hope you're doing well in camp."
"Oh yeah, everyone's been pretty cool so far" Though that might change when Clarisse comes to camp, and Marc leaves. I heard he was going to join the military, which honestly wasn't too surprising. "By the way Chiron, I just wanted to tell you that on my way to camp, I met some demigods on the way."
Chiron pondered for a moment, "Did they pass by Virginia by chance?" I nod in confirmation, which he met with a smile, "Then there's no need to worry, I already have someone going there to help them." Ah, he seems to be regarding this like a child worried about his friends. But this was far more serious.
I shook my head, with a serious look in my eyes, "You don't understand Chiron. Grover will be nowhere near enough. One of them is…" I pause for dramatic effect, "A Daughter of the Lightning God". Despite having not even said the name, I could smell ozone in the air.
The Trainer of Heroes pales, "Di Immortales! Thank you for telling me, Gill, but I need to go immediately." Chiron gallops off quickly, stopping for no one. He got a lot of weird looks from the campers.
I highly doubt that this would be all that was needed to save Thalia from being a tree, however I needed all the help I could get. If I had to guess, I had a week or so until Thalia came to camp. And that meant I needed to focus on increasing my skills and level. Especially my magic. I should have enough training time as long as I sleep an hour every night. Ah, the System was so OP.
I look at my schedule, and sigh as I see that the next slot was filled with… Volleyball. This was not a great time for someone who was a couch potato in his previous life.
2 Hours and 38 Minutes Later…
Amphitheatre…
I laughed, as I listened to one of the Aphrodite Campers talk about a camp story that happened a couple of years ago, which involved a flamethrower, whoopie cushions, and a bat. It was even funnier when I saw some of the victims flinch.
Despite the laughter around the Amphitheatre, if you listened closely, you could hear the whispers that were on the minds of everyone. A couple of ago, a while after I talked to Chiron, a few Camp Councillors and experienced campers, along with a squad of experienced Satyrs who were taking a break from their search for Pan, set out of camp, fully geared. Everyone noted that the campers who left were all very good fighters.
I knew the truth of course. The Campers would have to fight off hordes of hellhounds, possibly zombies, and even the Furies. The only reason Thalia and the others survived them was blind luck and because Fate wanted them to live. But right now, Fate was fucked.
From what I hear, the Aphrodite cabin members were gossiping about what designs they should use for the burial shrouds. Whilst a person's cabin members were the ones meant to make their burial shrouds, campers tended to consult the Aphrodite children for their advice. I wonder what burial shroud I may get one day.
"Alright everybody!" I look at the centre of the amphitheatre, where Jamie was calling to everyone, "Now, I know everybody has been talking about the campers and councillors who left earlier. There's nothing to worry about. They're just out there to retrieve a group of demigods. In the meantime, have fun making burial shrouds for them!" Perhaps it was Jamie's natural charisma, but a lot of people calmed down.
All but the Athena cabin. Actually, they tensed up further. It made sense though. If so many were sent out to retrieve a few demigods, despite a few satyrs easily being able to do the job, then surely something was horribly wrong. I'm sure a couple of them were close to making the right deduction.
"Now, as you know the Apollo Cabin will be playing some music, as usual, however tonight, our newest brother will be playing!" Oh, that should be interesting. I'd love to listen to music made by an Apollo kid…
WAIT A MINUTE! I'M THE NEWEST BROTHER!
"You asshole!" I shouted, as everyone's eyes came to me, "That's why you wanted my guitar!" Fuck, what am I going to do? I've never played an instrument before! I have a level 25 Musician skill, but I have no idea how good that's supposed to be!
"That's right!" Jamie unapologetically grinned, "Now get down here, Gill" I sigh, walking down the steps. The other demigods were giving me polite claps, though it felt kind condescending. I stand in front of Jamie, who hands me my guitar, "I had to take it so I can make sure it's properly tuned. I've never seen a model like it."
The flames at the centre of the Amphitheatre danced passionately, burning a brilliant orange. The fire was even taller than me. Because of the power of peer pressure, I took a seat, and positioned the guitar onto me, letting out a final sigh. My fingers wandered to the strings, as if they were always meant to be there.
What should I play? What on earth could I play?
My mind wanders through my memories, and walks even further, back to when I was an unruly teen. I had gotten out of a very bad breakup with my boyfriend and I was in the dumps. Didn't help that my family kept saying 'I told you so', and said that it was my fault for not focusing on school.
I was depressed for a while, but one day, when listening to some heavy metal, for some reason Youtube had autoplayed into a completely different song from a completely different genre. I made my way to stop the speaker, but it was I who stopped in my tracks when I heard the first note of that guitar, and it was I who took a seat when I heard the singer's voice.
I didn't turn me into some genius or well adjusted human, but that song… it made me happy.
My fingers begin to strum the chords, even though I had never learned what the chords were. The sounds from the strings were beautiful, and travelled throughout the quiet amphitheatre. And then the words came out of my mouth, and a voice that was way too good to be mine could be heard.
[Author's Note: This song shares the name of the title. It is called 'Soldier, Poet, King' by The Oh Hellos. Here is a link so you can listen: watch?v=1z8zZBBkIRw]
"There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword
He will tear your city down
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will tear your city down
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord"
The first verse was like a calm meadow, though jovial in nature. The thought of such a soldier brought a smile to me, for anyone who challenges the world, has will greater than anyone. The other demigods were entrapped by my admittedly brilliant voice, as they listened closely with smiles on their faces.
"There will come a poet
Whose weapon is His word
He will slay you with His tongue
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord"
And the first part of the second verse was just good, for the pen is mightier than any sword. As I kept singing, any and all doubts washed away. I was kinda good at this! However, what happened next surprised me.
"Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will slay you with His tongue
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord"
All the demigods around me sang the chorus in perfect tune and pacing, not even stumbling over a word. But that shouldn't be possible! This song was released in 2015, 14 years from now! Could this be some sort of mythology magic at work? The demigods seemed to be aware that they were singing along, as some were playfully pretending to sing their hearts out, with a hand over their heart, and others were swaying. Wow, these guys actually like it!
"There will come a ruler
Whose brow is laid in thorn
Smeared with oil like David's boy
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
Smeared with oil like David's boy
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord"
Everything was in full swing, as the flames behind me rose to what felt like 10 feet into the air. They were a beautiful golden colour, and danced along with the song. From the corner of my eye, I see Hestia smiling, with a smore in her hands. Funnily enough, I also see some kids, about 16 or so, discreetly (or what they thought was discrete) drinking cans of beer. Maybe I should ask where they got it.
"Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will tear your city down, oh lei, oh lai
Ohh"
I begin to hear the strumming of other instruments, and I look behind me and see some of my siblings with other string instruments in their hands, like guitars or ukuleles. Hell even Jamie was rocking one. Just in time for the ending. There are several seconds of instrumental, where everyone was jamming out their instruments in unison. Cutely enough, there were some couples dancing in front of us.
"Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh"
And with one final strum of my guitar, the song had finished. All in a span of a few minutes. Crazy how music just works like that. Everyone cheered and laughed alongside one another. Even the undetermined kids had a look of joy on their faces, and the pyre of the amphitheatre blazed more than ever.
"Wow, not bad Gill!" Jamie compliments me, patting my back, "You've got talent dude!" I guess 'dude' is better than 'kid'. "This is what music is all about!" He motions his hand towards all the demigods laughing and smiling.
"I mean, I'm technically cheating, since our dad is literally the God of Music" I shrug, though smiling. It did make me happy seeing everyone enjoying their time because of me. Was it ego or altruism? Either way, it didn't matter.
"So what if he is? Anything goes if it means you bring a smile to people's faces," He retorts, "Anyway, I think I need to check up on some very unruly boys who've been drinking something they're not meant to. See ya!" He walked away from me and towards the kids who had been drinking beer, and they immediately got up and ran. I laughed as Jamie followed suit.
Something odd I remembered from the little performance was that during it, my fingers didn't hurt at all. In my previous life, I tried to strum a guitar with my finger, but the strings hurt me instead, causing me to swear off guitars. Then how come that didn't happen to me this time?
I looked at the hand I had been strumming with, but there wasn't anything strange with it. Not even marks from the strums. But then I looked even closer, and then I noticed it. A light glow around my hand…
I opened my recent notifications, and a grin came to my face.
New Skill Created!
Skill: Hands of Light (Level 2)
Type: Spell
Cost: 50 MP/90 Seconds
Description: Creates light around the user's hands, which increases fist damage, and gives light damage to hands. Can also be used to protect the user's hands. The higher this skill's level, the brighter its light is.
How can I ever say no to a new spell? Fortunately, I also got another notification which was just as interesting.
For enchanting the campers with your amazing guitar skills, you have earned 1 Charisma point. Would you like to apply it?
…Hmm. Yeah sure. I can train Strength and Endurance over the next few months.
"Gilgamesh." The monotone voice, though familiar, caught me off guard, as I jumped from the ground in surprise. As I regain my footing, I look to the one who said my name, though I already knew who it was.
With jet black hair, and black eyes that contrasted his bright orange Camp Halfblood shirt, Yurei stood in front of me. It's been quite a while since we last spoke. "Hey, Yurei! How've you been?" Even with his emotionless face, the kid was adorable. He looked like someone trying their hardest to appear serious, yet failing horribly.
Yurei's eyes seemingly pierce into my very soul, "Gilgamesh. I would like to talk."
I suppose what they say is right. When it rains, it pours.
Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading. What did you think of the song at the end of the chapter? I don't plan to have many more of those, only when necessary, but I was wondering what you all thought. Oh and though it was a passing mention in this chapter, Gill is not gay, but he is bisexual. Although I still have not determined who I will have him end up with. Fun fact about me, I am pansexual!
I'd also like to inform you that the next chapter will be delayed as I have exams this week! Sorry! The chapters will come back the week after hopefully.
Also, thank you all so much for the support! You guys have been leaving great reviews, and we've over 700 Followers, and nearly 600 Favourites! Thanks so much everyone!
Anyway here are Gil's Player Profile:
Name: Gilgamesh Ashford
Age: 8
Level: 25
Title: Halfblood Resident
HP: 3260/3260
MP: 3690/3690
Stats
Strength: 74
Agility: 72
Endurance: 56
Charisma: 64
Intelligence: 66
Willpower: 33
Luck: 35
Stat Points: 0