"Mate."
"Again?"
"Again."
It's been a week since I've gotten back to camp, and I've spent almost every single day doing things to organically boost my attributes.
It took some time, but I finally cracked the code.
The Game wasn't just handing out free attribute points like party favors—it was rewarding effort. Specifically, it seemed to grant points whenever I pushed an attribute past some hidden threshold, like when I forced myself to go faster, hit harder, or think quicker than I thought possible.
At first, I didn't notice the pattern. I assumed the points were random, or maybe tied to specific actions. But the more I paid attention, the more I realized that wasn't the case. The Game wasn't rewarding routine effort; it was rewarding moments where I genuinely pushed myself. When I stepped beyond what I thought my limits were.
For example, the first time I dodged an attack I had no business dodging—a trick swipe from Annabeth that should've nicked my ear—I felt a subtle shift in my stats. It wasn't just the relief of surviving; it was like the Game recognized that I'd done something new, something I didn't even know I was capable of.
The same thing happened when I fought Ares, even though I'd been too busy at the moment to realize it. I'd gone into that fight with zero confidence, ready to lose, but the moment I stopped holding back and gave it everything I had, I felt it again—that slight nudge from the system.
And it wasn't just combat. The Game seemed to reward creativity, too. The first time I used water to create a shield, or when I figured out how to harden it into armor, I got the same response.
It was like the Game was saying, Yes, that's it. Keep going.
So, I made a theory: The Game wasn't just tracking my progress—it was pushing me. Challenging me to break through my limits, to discover strength I didn't know I had. It wasn't content with letting me stay the same. It wanted me to grow.
It wanted me to be strong.
And yeah, that was kind of terrifying. I wasn't sure how far the Game would push, or if there even was a limit to how much it expected me to endure. But at the same time, I couldn't deny the thrill of it. Every time I broke through a barrier I didn't think I could, I felt…unstoppable.
The Game wasn't here to baby me or hand out easy wins. It was here to mold me into something better.
And if I wanted to survive—no, if I wanted to thrive—I had to meet it head-on.
So, with a little bit of experimentation, I was able to construct a daily routine that squeezed out as many points for as many of my stat groups as possible while still keeping me sane. Somewhat.
I start every morning with a couple of laps around the camp. Not just the cabins and volleyball pit, mind you, but the entirety of camp. I usually went around the fighting arena, by the dining pavilion, and cut through some of the strawberry fields.
Then, I'd do it all over again, faster, if possible.
My [DEX] and [VIT] stats were loving it, if their sharp increase was any indication. And, if I'm inclined to believe the whoops and whistles I get from the Aphrodite cabin are all for me, the progress is probably showing in a really visible way, too.
I think, all in all, the route's around five miles. I do it at nighttime, too, for a whopping total of twenty miles a day. Normally, running that much isn't exactly advisable, but a good night's sleep heals any physically detrimental effects I could've gotten—man do I love my powers.
After my run, I do some sort of workout with the Ares cabin. The little punks were originally a little mad at me for going toe to toe with their dad, but then they realized the implications of what that meant.
What a bunch of bricks.
Needless to say, they found it very hard to deny me from joining their strength workouts after that. Clarisse, begrudgingly, taught me how to use a spear, and that's the weapon I'm currently working on mastering.
I'd say it's going pretty well. Learning how to fight with something longer than my sword felt weird at first, but then the perk kicked in, and now it's as natural as breathing. In a few days, I'll try to see if I can sneak my way into one of those Apollo archery classes.
Anyway, I tended to follow that up with some mental stimulation—usually by coming to Annabeth's cabin.
She'd either make me read some really complex book or lecture me on something while I tried to not let my eyes glaze over. She claimed that she wants to be a professor someday, so we're kind of scratching each other's backs with the sessions.
Not to mention, I just like spending time with her, too. It's been fun getting to unwind after my quest, and I've spent a lot of that time becoming a lot closer with people closer to my age—friends like Annabeth, Connor, and Will—they're all super nice. All of Annabeth's brothers and sisters are super nice, too, and they're more than willing to help anyone trying to learn a thing or two.
A few days into my routine, I was visiting Annabeth, as usual, when one of her little brothers, Malcolm, kept bugging us to play chess with him.
Annabeth kept respectfully declining, but I felt bad for the little cutie, so I said I'd play a game with him.
I'm not a grandmaster by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd like to think I wasn't a slouch at chess either. I thought, at the least, I'd be able to keep him entertained.
You see, Annabeth forgot to mention one crucial aspect about Malcolm. He has this thing called the Blessing of Athena which, according to Annabeth, basically made him a bonafide genius in one random thing.
His thing was chess.
The first time we played, he beat me in four moves. Not one to get beat down like that without trying again, of course, I ran it back.
Eight moves this time.
Every single day since then, for my mental stimulation, I've tried to beat Malcolm in chess, and every single day, I've lost.
I got close a few times, but man—losing to a little kid in just about anything stings. Especially when I'd like to think I have a decent bit on my resume already.
Anyway. Back to the present.
I sighed tiredly, offering the sandy-haired boy in front of me a smile. He returned it, slowly moving some pieces back to his side of the board. "You know, I'm getting really tired of losing to you, Malcolm."
"Want to play again?" Malcolm asked, twirling two pawns between his fingers. He cast a wayward glance at the window in the cabin. "Still a few minutes left to go before lunchtime."
Do you see what I mean? Malcolm's brain just worked in ways normal people couldn't follow. Hell, my life is a video game, and the kid can still outthink circles around me.
It was humbling, to say the least.
"Sure, kiddo," I said kindly, moving my pieces back into their respective positions. I leaned into my chair. "What's your day looking like?"
"Anna said she's gonna take me finger painting," Malcolm said happily, waiting for me to make the first move. "I made her a picture last time and she really liked it!"
"That's fun," I commented, moving my pawn forward two spaces, settling into a King's Pawn opening. I read about this one in a book, and I wanted to see if I could trip up Malcolm with it. Doubtful, of course, but a man can hope, can't he? "What did you make for her?"
Malcolm's pawn moved forward as well. "I made her a rhino."
"A rhino?" I really hoped none of my amusement seeped through my tone. "Why a rhino?"
"Well, they're my favorite animals!" Malcolm said excitedly, his steely-gray eyes darting back and forth on the chessboard. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hummed. "They can actually communicate by taking a poop! Did you know that?"
"I didn't know that!" Tsk. Malcolm and I traded pawns. I thought about it for a moment before moving my knight out. "I don't really know that much about animals."
"Can't you talk to some of them?" Malcolm asked. He had a good point. "Since your dad is Poseidon?"
I thought about giving him the good old names-have-power song and dance routine but figured it was okay for now. My dad's chill enough that he wouldn't get mad at a little kid for saying his name.
Well, it was a child of Athena. Maybe he wouldn't feel too merciful—I didn't want to have to be the one to explain to Annabeth why her little half-brother was a puddle of seawater.
"Yep. I'm pretty sure I can talk to horses," I said, grinning at the look on Malcolm's face as I elected to stop thinking about my dad smiting down my little friend. "And just about everything under the sea."
"That's so cool," Malcolm whined. "You get to do all of the cool stuff! You get to do things with fire and water, and you get to talk to animals! I just get to play chess and read books."
"I wouldn't think about it that way, bud," I comforted him. I leaned in, sort of like I was about to tell him a secret. "You and your siblings get to do some pretty cool stuff, too. Between you and me, Annabeth is much scarier than I am."
"Anna?" Malcolm said incredulously, almost dropping the piece in his hand. "Anna isn't scary at all! She's super nice and funny and she always helps me with stuff!"
"That's right I do!"
Oh, shit.
I laughed nervously as Annabeth took a seat next to our table, her stormy eyes boring a hole into the side of my head.
"What was that you were saying, Percy?" Annabeth asked sweetly. I wasn't scared of her! I was at a much higher level than her and my stats were better, too.
As if some random camper was going to get to me! I fought Ares, for Zeus' sake!
She rested a hand on the table, drawing my attention to the bronze dagger that was lying in her lap. Eep. "Care to repeat that?"
Okay, maybe I was still slightly afraid.
"Nope," I replied cheekily. "I don't think I do."
"Percy, you're getting sloppy," Malcolm complained, capturing one of my rooks. "You started so well, too!"
"I wouldn't expect anything less from him, Colm," Annabeth said in a caring voice, shooting me a grin. "Seaweed Brain here wouldn't know strategy and tact if it hit him upside the head."
"Well, I don't know about that, Anna," Malcolm came to my defense. He stared at the board for a while before making his move. He played right into me, for once.
I moved my bishop into position. Bam. His queen fell to my bishop, who was then taken out by his king.
"Percy!" Malcolm squealed excitedly. "You got me in check! Anna, look! Percy's better than you now!"
"Huh. Look at that, then. I guess Seaweed Brain is capable of things even the daughter of Athena can't do," I sent a smug look in Annabeth's direction. Just to add insult to injury, I added, "Featherhead."
Annabeth's face reddened. She took insults to her intelligence very seriously. "No way, Percy! You just play every single day! There's no way I can keep up with that! I've played like, maybe twice since you started coming around. Three times tops. If you gave me two days, I could catch up to you."
Malcolm and I shared a look. He went to open his mouth, but I just shook my head. Pissing off Annabeth was never a good idea, and you were never too young to learn certain lessons.
"You find what you were looking for?" I turned the conversation to Annabeth, who grinned and held up a small box.
"Yep!" She placed the box in front of me and looked at me expectantly. "Take a look."
And I did. I slowly opened the box, letting out a low whistle as I looked inside. It was a laurel wreath made of pure gold.
"Whoa, what's that?" Malcolm asked, in awe of the way the gold glittered in the sunlight. I stifled a laugh as he leaned forward and fell into Annabeth's lap.
"That, Malcolm, is what we're going to be playing for today," I explained, trying not to jump up and down in my seat. "The winner of the rock-climbing tournament gets that bad boy."
"It's the Laurel of Tyche," Annabeth said, her voice changing slightly. She sat up a bit straighter and cleared her throat. Any second now, her voice was going to become super clear and she was going to use some sort of anecdote.
"Tyche?" Malcolm asked, interested. Yikes, maybe that gleam of knowledge in his eyes is just an Athena thing—Annabeth gets the same look on her face all the time.
Annabeth hummed. "She's the goddess of luck. There aren't a lot of myths about her, to be honest, but one of the most common ones is her laurel. The story goes that one day, a man was praying by the banks of Acheron. He'd just lost his wife and children in a horrible fire, and all of his possessions and money were destroyed, too. He had nothing left, so he wept and prayed to every god he could think of. For hours and hours, he sat there, on his knees in the shallow water. No god answered the call. None of the Olympians, none of the minor gods or goddesses—even the naiads paid him no mind. After a full day had passed, Tyche decided to take pity on the man and bestow upon him her special laurel, promising that it would change his life."
"And did it?" Malcolm asked curiously.
"It did. It changed the man's entire life. He got back on his feet, and turned his whole fate around," Annabeth recalled, and Malcolm started looking at the box as if it had a loaded gun inside of it. "Rather than lose himself at the river, he went on to become a well-respected doctor. He spent the rest of his days helping people, and when his time came, he passed the laurel down to the next person who needed it."
"So the laurel makes its owner really lucky?" Malcolm finished, putting two and two together. "How did it end up at camp?"
"No clue," Annabeth said honestly, closing the box and putting it in her pocket. "Percy's the one who found out about it. He was just going to find it and take it for himself, but I beat him to the punch."
"In the name of fairness, she said," I grumbled under my breath. Yeah, right. There was nothing fair about that situation at all.
Come on, though—you didn't really think I'd boost all of my stats without getting [LUC] up, did you?
I'm always scheming.
As Annabeth continued talking to Malcolm about Tyche, I ignored the bubbling feeling of annoyance sprouting through my stomach.
In all honesty, that laurel should be mine. I did all of the work! I found the myth, I researched the goddess, hell, I even tracked it down to one of the camp storage units. Zeus only knows how a camper encountered it on their quest to the Gorgon sisters, but I'm not complaining.
At least one thing came back from that quest. Ha!
I basically didn't even need Annabeth.
The only reason I needed her was to talk to Chiron. She was his favorite camper! I knew she'd be able to get me it with minimal fuss.
I could have gotten it myself, but that would've led to a lot of questions, waiting, and maybe even a game of pinochle with Mr. D—I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Instead, my favorite blonde went to him and came up with this whole idea. The cabins, all coming together and fighting for eternal promised luck.
Chiron ate it up like a fat kid at a Pizza Hut buffet.
My eyes glanced at the box again.
Observe!
Tiny little words sprung up all over my vision. I focused on the laurel.
— - —
{The Laurel of Tyche}
[Description]: A golden laurel blessed by the goddess of luck herself! Obtaining this laurel will grant the holder heavily boosted luck, though it will make situations involving bad luck exponentially worse.
[Effects]: Initial gain of [+][10][LUC] and then [+1][LUC] on every level up!
— - —
Ugh. I'd never have to upgrade my [LUC] again if I could get my hands on that thing. I wasn't too worried about winning, to be honest.
Worst case, I could [Nike's Leap] to the top and call it a feat of strength, or something. I was just annoyed that Annabeth had to do me like that, though. If she ever comes to me for help, I'm doing the same thing!
Well, probably not, but just let me dream, will you?
We finished up our chess game in amicable silence, and the three of us exited the cabin to go to lunch.
I had Malcolm sitting on my shoulders, and he was commanding me around like I was some sort of minion to him.
"Forward, lackey!" He screamed, pulling my hair in different directions. "The mess hall awaits us! I must nourish my weary body after my victory!"
"You have got to stop letting him read all those weird myths," I complained to Annabeth, rubbing my forehead.
Damn brat was going to rip some of my roots out.
"Ha! No way, Seaweed Brain. Unlike you, children of Athena need to keep our minds sharp," Annabeth teased, smiling at Malcolm. "We can't just rush in without a plan and blast water at anyone in our way."
We all laughed as we walked toward the dining pavilion, the sound of chatter and clinking plates growing louder. Just as we rounded the corner, a familiar face appeared.
"Percy," Piper greeted, her tone a little too casual, her voice laced with an awkward hesitation. Her eyes flicked to Annabeth, and for a split second, I caught something unspoken pass between them. Annabeth's expression shifted into a sour glare, her annoyance radiating off her like a storm cloud.
"Can we talk?" Piper asked, turning her attention back to me, though she still seemed hyperaware of Annabeth's presence.
"You know her, Percy?" Annabeth said, her tone clipped and sharp, her gray eyes narrowing at me in a way that made me feel like I'd just stepped on a landmine. Her reaction was way too intense for Piper to be just some random demigod.
"Uh, yeah, I do," I said, keeping my voice even as I glanced between them. Annabeth's gaze burned into me with a level of suspicion I hadn't seen since the night I came back from…well, you know. It was like she was waiting for me to say the wrong thing, but I had no idea what that was.
"Yeah, we can talk," I added, trying to break the tension. "What's up?"
Piper's lips pressed into a thin line, and her fingers fidgeted with the braided leather band around her wrist. Annabeth crossed her arms, her posture rigid, and didn't take her eyes off Piper for even a second.
Whoa. Okay. There's definitely something going on here, I thought, feeling like I'd walked into the middle of a play without knowing my lines. The air between them practically crackled, but neither of them seemed ready to address it.
"Alone," Piper added, slightly nervously.
"Yeah, is everything okay?" I said, worry seeping into my tone. I gently removed Malcolm from my head and placed him on the ground.
"Let's go, Colm," Annabeth said forcibly, grabbing his hand and dragging him away.
"Bye Percy!" He waved, smiling at me as he disappeared into the distance.
"You okay, Pipes?" I asked, sizing her up. A stab of guilt pricked my insides. I just realized I haven't checked up on her since the quest.
Oh, man. She saw things that would scar most adults in a span of a week! We both almost died a few times! I had the benefit of [Gamer's Mind], but she was just a little kid who left home to a world she didn't know.
Damn it. I'm starting to realize I royally fucked this one. Well…that being said, she wasn't there for too much of the action. Plus, the camp is the safest place around, so I don't think she'd be too scared—but still!
"No…" Piper said quietly. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she gave me a shaky smile that didn't even come close to reaching her eyes. Her hands were wringing so tightly I thought she might break her own fingers. "I'm miserable here. This camp sucks. I was wondering if…if you could help me get out."
I blinked, completely caught off guard. Sure, I hadn't been at camp for very long, but I loved the place. Even with all the monsters, the weird training drills, and the occasional prophecy hanging over my head, it felt like home. Then again, I didn't know much about Piper's life outside of camp. For all I knew, she could be the daughter of some celebrity or billionaire who lived in a mansion with twelve pools.
"I'm sorry," I said automatically, a frown tugging at my lips. "I can't. Even if I wanted to, you'd need permission from Chiron or Mr. D, and, honestly, it wouldn't be a great idea. Leaving camp isn't…safe."
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath, pacing back and forth. Her movements were restless, her shoulders tight with frustration. She brushed her choppy brown hair out of her face, biting her lip as she stared at the ground. "Are you sure? Can't you just…I don't know, talk to them for me? Put in a good word or something?"
I shook my head. "I wish I could, but no. It doesn't work like that."
Piper stopped pacing, nodding slowly as if trying to accept the answer. But I could see the tension in her jaw, the way her hands clenched at her sides. "I get it," she said finally, her voice quieter now, almost resigned. "It's just…I haven't been having a good time here. Or since I became a demigod, really. It feels like the whole world's out to get me, you know?"
I wanted to say something—anything—to make her feel better. An apology for not checking in sooner, or some reassurance that things would get better. But the words stuck in my throat, heavy and awkward.
Because, really, how do you even start a conversation like that? What could I possibly say that wouldn't sound hollow?
I looked at Piper, at the sadness behind her eyes that she was trying so hard to hide, and felt completely useless.
'Oh, hey, sorry we almost died and then I acted like you don't exist.'
I don't think they make Hallmark cards for this sort of situation, either.
"Hey, uh, listen," I started, ignoring the slight chill that passed through my body as her multicolored eyes looked up at mine. "Sorry I didn't, you know…"
"It's okay, Percy," Piper said, her lip curling. She put her hands in her back pockets. "I get it. Go on a trip with someone, almost die a few times, and then act like they don't exist. Understandable."
I blinked. Yeah, I didn't handle the aftermath of that situation how I should've, but I had a lot more on my mind than just her. What was with the attitude?
"I had a lot of stuff to do," I replied, my guilt replaced by annoyance.
"Like what?" Piper challenged. "Except for spending all your time running around camp and making googly eyes at my sisters? You have time to make out with Drew at the campfire but you don't have time to come say hi?"
Not that it mattered, but Drew kissed me first. I was just reciprocating. Sue me! She's hot! I called this out when I first got to camp!
"Like getting rid of my abusive stepfather," I said bluntly, ignoring her wince. "Maybe, making sure my mom was safe and sound after being involved in a borderline war between Olympians. How about training to fight other deities?"
"Percy, I—"
"It's alright," I said calmly, internally squashing the little feeling of sadness in my chest. [Gamer's Mind] really saved that situation from escalating quickly. "Sorry to disappoint, but I can't get you out of camp. See you around."
I marched away to the dining pavilion, not even bothering to look back. Annabeth saved me a seat at the Athena table.
She raised an eyebrow as I sat down, pushing my plate towards me. I gratefully accepted, biting into a slice of New York-style pizza.
"What did she want?" Annabeth asked, her tone just a touch too casual to be convincing. There was a slight predatory gleam in her gray eyes, and for a second, I felt like I was staring down the Minotaur again—except this time it had blonde hair and a Harvard-level IQ.
"Nothing much," I said, trying to shove the mental image of the Annabeth-Minotaur hybrid out of my brain. "What's the story with you two?"
"Huh?" Annabeth blinked, clearly caught off guard, and promptly dropped her chicken nugget. The gleam in her eyes dimmed as her expression turned to something almost defensive. "Story? What story?"
We stared at each other for a beat too long, the kind of awkward silence that practically screamed guilty.
"You're joking, right?" I deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. "With the way you two act around each other, I'm pretty sure even Malcolm noticed something."
To her credit, Annabeth's cheeks flushed just enough to make me feel like I'd hit a nerve. "I didn't think it was that obvious," she muttered, avoiding my gaze as she fiddled with her plate.
Psh, and she calls me Kelp Head. You'd think a child of Athena would be better at covering her tracks, but nope. For someone so insanely smart, Annabeth could be hilariously oblivious about how she came across sometimes. Honestly, it was kind of refreshing—she wasn't perfect, even if she acted like it 99% of the time.
"Well," she said after a pause, clearly scrambling for an excuse. "I guess there was this one…uh…instance. A while ago."
"Oh?" I prompted, leaning forward with all the curiosity of someone who knew a terrible lie was incoming. "Do tell."
Annabeth huffed, shooting me a glare that would've been intimidating if I wasn't so used to it by now. "Fine. It was when she first came to camp. She, uh, fell from the sky and landed right on top of me. And then she got mad at me! She was like, 'Oh, why didn't you catch me?' And I was like, 'What? How is that my fault?' And then we got into this big fight."
I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Really?" I drawled, dragging the word out for maximum effect. "That's your story?"
Annabeth's lips pressed into a thin line, but the faintest flicker of panic crossed her face. Her tells were painfully obvious—whenever she lied, her usually varied and precise vocabulary took a nosedive. It was like catching a little kid red-handed with chocolate all over their face.
"Yeah!" she insisted, nodding way too eagerly as she grabbed a loaf of bread slathered in orange jam and bit into it as if it could somehow make her look more casual. "The nerve of some people."
"The nerve," I echoed, giving her my best suspicious glance.
This wasn't over. Annabeth might've thought she'd dodged the question, but I wasn't convinced. There was more to this story—way more—and I had plenty of time to figure it out. For now, though, I decided to let it slide. A peaceful week or two at camp sounded way better than poking the Athena-shaped bear.
A few hours passed, and I met some of the other campers at the bottom of the rock-climbing wall. I'm not the biggest rock climber, but even I had to admit, this thing was crazy.
If the small plastic walls with the little colored holes drilled into them were the fish in the ocean, the Camp Half-Blood rock-climbing wall was the Kraken.
It was a literal slab of Earth, stretching out towards Olympus. The holds? Half of the rock had weird indents, almost like it had been rammed into by two drunk giants. Swords and daggers were poking out of random spots. At one point farther up the 'wall', there was the skeleton flailing against the wind.
This wall had horrors sprinkled throughout, too. About a quarter of the way up, there was a nest of harpies, squawking loudly and looking down at us. A wicked-looking scorpion crawled into one of the crevices towards the top.
The monolith was constantly changing. It looked like a gigantic Rubik's cube at times, with parts of the wall just shifting and grinding against each other. Lava poured out of the cracks near the top, cascading down the sides of the rock.
In case my description isn't doing it justice—this thing is amazing.
I took a glance around at my competitors. Each of the cabins was required to put forward one camper to try to reach the top first.
Obviously, I represented the Poseidon cabin, seeing as I'm the only child of Poseidon.
Clarisse Big Bitch LaRue—not my nickname for her, she actually gave it to herself—was representing the Ares cabin. She gave me a crazed grin and dragged her thumb across her neck when she saw me look at her.
The Apollo cabin was headed by Lee Fletcher. Sort of a scrawny kid, if I'm being honest, but I've heard he's one of the best healers around. Maybe they're going for utility rather than pure strength. At the moment, he was humming to himself as he checked his pockets.
Athena had a big stocky kid named Gordon representing them. A quick peek at him showed that he had the highest [STR] out of any of the Athena kids I'd met, and his [INT] was up there, too. Interesting.
The Dionysus cabin was being represented by Castor—or was it Pollux? Leave it to Mr. D to have kids that look exactly the same. Either way, he looked like he was going to drop out the moment the race started.
The cabin of Demeter had opted out of the competition, taking the penalty, instead. Unsurprisingly though, seeing as the penalty was having to tend to the strawberry fields for the duration of the race, so good move on their part. They're definitely lovers, not fighters.
Hermes put forward Connor Stoll, a thin kid who sort of bore a resemblance to Luke—I think he lost a bet or something. He waved happily to me.
The Hephaestus cabin got a free pass on this one since they were the ones who made the whole competition possible. According to my guy Charles Beckendorf, they developed some sort of cushy crash pad that could help someone survive a fall from all the way up there.
I sure hope I don't have to test that out.
Last, but certainly not least, the Aphrodite cabin put out…Piper? I had to do a double-take—what the heck was Piper doing down here? I knew for a fact she wasn't going to win. I don't think she was forced to do it…I mean, I know a lot of the Aphrodite campers, and they're just skipping this.
Was she just trying to get back at me for our conversation earlier, or something?
I was drawn out of my thoughts as a loud gong sounded. Chiron's voice boomed over all of us. "The first one to reach the laurel keeps it! Let the race begin!"
And we were off. I ignored Clarisse's inhuman grunt as I clung to the wall, my fingers closing around one of the crude holds. This wasn't too bad at all. I continued my way up the rock fairly easily.
SHINK!
I held on for dear life as the part of the wall I was holding onto rotated incredibly fast. I felt like I was on one of those rides at the carnival. My stomach jumped into my throat, but thankfully, the rock settled back down.
"You okay, Prissy?" Clarisse snarled from somewhere next to me, just a bit underneath where I was. "Don't fall!"
She held on with one hand, her other hand reaching into her pocket. Clarisse screamed loudly, sending a dagger hurtling toward my face.
I yelped, letting go of my hold and rolling to the next one. The dagger embedded itself where I'd just been with a loud clunk noise.
I didn't know we were fighting on this thing!
Then again, the laurel was priceless.
"You psycho bitch!" I yelled back, pointing my palm at her. I felt the familiar drain of mana as my fingertips glowed red. A bright red torrent of fire blasted at her, churning and twisting in the wind.
"That's more like it!" Clarisse hollered back, weaving the fire. At this point, we were so high up that the other campers were starting to look smaller and smaller. "Fight me!"
How about no, I thought to myself, activating [Nike's Leap] with a yell. I made a big deal of going through the motions for a jump, only to surprise everyone as I ended up twenty feet higher.
I ignored Clarisse's scream of confusion—or was it frustration? My eyes roved the area around me, trying to find a distraction so I could advance. A smirk formed on my face as I saw the harpy nest from before nearby.
"Yeagh!" I kicked the harpy nest down at Clarisse, the eggs splattering on her ugly mug.
"Prissy!" She roared in response, but I just grinned. Here comes the best part:
The Mama Harpy came shooting out of the crevice, her eyes zeroing in on Clarisse. With a squawk, the harpy dived towards her.
"Wait!" Clarisse tried to explain, wiping some of the yolks off of her face. The Mama Harpy screeched angrily, pecking at her hands. "Wait, it's all a misunderstanding!"
"Have fun in your fight!" I said cheekily, continuing to climb higher. Based on what I could tell, my predictions were right. Gordon was in second place, a little higher than Clarisse.
The only problem for him was that he just happened to come into contact with a particularly annoying little mole that was tossing small rocks at him.
Somewhere down below, Lee Fletcher was being tossed around like a ragdoll by the spinning wall. Castor or Pollux—I still don't know—was long gone. Piper, too, was nowhere to be seen.
I shrugged to myself and continued climbing, the laurel glinting in the distance. It was so close now. I needed that thing.
HISSSSSSS!
I flipped forward, hours of honing my reflexes allowing me to narrowly avoid the stinger of the scorpion that crawled into the wall earlier.
Let's dance, then, you little prick, I thought, staring it right in its beady little eyes.
The all too familiar bold words twisted into life on top of it.
— - —
{Deathstalker (Mana Infused)}
[Description]: The Deathstalker is one of the most dangerous species of scorpions. Its venom is a powerful mixture of neurotoxins, with a low lethal dose. A sting from this scorpion is extraordinarily painful and drains the mana out of its opponent until they meet their demise.
[HP]: 12,000/12,000
[MP]: 450/450
[$]: $125 or 40D.
Monetary reward payout set as [$].
— - —
A hundred bucks for you, huh? I can work with that.
I swung from the hold I was on, clasping onto one of the many daggers pointed out of the rock. My legs kicked out, but the scorpion hissed and jumped higher, sticking onto the wall.
I couldn't help but think about the situation like another game of chess. The scorpion and I both stared at each other defiantly.
Would he feint? What move would the little gremlin make to try to catch me off guard? Should I engage first and take advantage of the element of surprise?
I could see the subtle glint of intelligence in the eyes of the scorpion. Unfortunately, out of the corner of my eyes, I also saw Gordon struggle past the lava floor on the east side—he was almost up to my height!
I had to end this quickly. I would've loved to stay here and test the Deathstalker, but I had priorities, man!
Deep breath. In, out. In, out. I started building mana in my pointer finger. Time to resort to my favorite finisher!
I narrowly avoided the stinger again, my finger glowing an ethereal shade of blue. I kept the mana building as I switched holds left and right, dancing around the scorpion's attempts to hit me. A few moments later, the scorpion, deciding enough was enough, leaped at me.
Well, I would've loved to charge it more, but…
— - —
[Hecatoncheire's Onslaught]
— - —
I jammed my finger into the small underbelly of the scorpion, completely focused. I watched in fascination as the mana drained out of my finger, exploding outwards at the scorpion with a loud bang!
The now lifeless husk of the scorpion went rocketing off of the wall, flinging at the crowd below as if Kratos himself hurled it.
I grinned to myself. That was one of the best investments of perk points ever.
The rest of the climb was pretty light. I peered back down as I was about to grab the laurel, curious about where Gordon was. My eyes widened slightly as I saw Clarisse right behind him, her eyes ablaze with righteous fury. Props to her for fending off that harpy.
Man, there were a lot of scratch marks on her face, though. And here I thought she couldn't get any uglier…
"Percy," A voice called from my left. I turned, and my eyes widened in surprise as I saw Piper, right on my level, about to grasp the laurel.
"How did you get up here?" I questioned desperately, my eyes moving back and forth between her and the laurel, trying to work out a plan. "I didn't even see you!"
"I convinced the Hephaestus cabin to give me a little boost before I began to climb," She replied, gesturing to her belt, which had a glowing blue delta symbol. "Chiron never said we couldn't use outside help."
"You're smart, Pipes," I grinned. "But that isn't everything."
— - —
[Nike's Leap]
— - —
I flashed right above her, easily grasping the laurel right before she did. Her eyes widened, emotions flashing through her face like the colors of a kaleidoscope.
I shot a dazzling smile at her as I gracefully twisted through the air again, swan diving towards the bottom as cheers rang out and confetti popped.
[Original Author's Note]
AN: Hey, guys :)
I missed you all. This past month has been…well, let's just say it's been something. You know how that one scene with Itachi and Kakashi- the one where he's crucified and stabbed repeatedly? Well, that's just about been my life recently. In every way.
It's been a rough go- but things have finally settled down, and I'm so excited to get back into it with this story! Give me a chapter or two to really get back into the swing of things, but we're cooking with gas now.
This story has been increasing even in my absence- this is easily my most successful story ever! Thank you so much.
Atlantis starts in the next chapter! Whoop, whoop! Now, onto my favorite part as always:
Era-romance: Yep, that's just how it goes. A fun part of writing this story is that he's a kid, you know? Yeah, he's got these insane powers and he's smarter and stronger than your average kid, but he's still a kid. As opposed to someone like idk, Barry Allen, who's an adult and a genius and all that, Percy is just a kid. A kid who realized Aphrodite all but tricked him into a relationship, so he's distrusting of the gods. My reasoning is that he just doesn't want to use the eye after being bound to Hestia, so he put all of those restrictions on it.
EzKing99: SMITE is so much fun. Fat Loki is terrifying, man. Every god damn Cabra I play against just builds all power, and man, there's no fear like seeing a Cabra with polynomicon running at you.
Mangahero18: I sort of see that, and agree. Not everyone needs love, and a lot of Pertemis stories jump right into it, too, which just serves to make the whole thing seem disingenuous. Good take.
HunduSilver: Thank you! I agree- I knew I wanted to do something different with this story, and that's one of the main things I wanted to do. Aphrodite has the potential to be such a fleshed out and marvelous character, so I can only hope to do her justice.
Posaitan: My main man! Do not fret, Aphrodite will come into her own combative power in due time…and I have some great ideas for that. I will admit, there is a weapon named Heartbreak, but not as you've described it, so keep your eyes peeled! Prob won't be for a while, though, cause she's on her trip!
Nihatclodra: That's true…if he wants to use it and keep his eye after. He could use it under the pressure of losing his eye. I'll leave it at that…
Another sort of PSA…you're seeing the story from his eyes. For all we know, he could be an unreliable narrator or something…just food for thought, of course!
See you guys soon! Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy to be back!
[Patch Notes]
[4/20/21]: Grammar! And the last sentence...
[11/16/22]: Grammar, dialogue, changing visuals.
[01/20/25]: I changed up a lot of the descriptions and some of the dialogue. I also tried to change up the dynamics between Piper and Annabeth a bit. I wasn't sure if certain things were clear or not the first time around, so…