I swung my feet over the side of the bed, grabbing Riptide off of my nightstand. I was going to meet Annabeth for breakfast, and after that, she was going to take me to the arena.
I'd told her last night that I wanted to get training as soon as I could, and she told me that she was something of a training freak herself. Specifically speaking, I wanted to get started on mastering some of my newfound skills as soon as possible.
If I knew anything about video games with RPG-like elements, it was that grinding these newfound skills out would be my best course of action. A couple of minutes later, I was sitting next to Annabeth at the breakfast table.
Technically speaking, I wasn't supposed to be doing this, but she permitted me and I was my very own cabin leader, so it wasn't like anyone could really say much.
"Maybe I'll have you train with Luke," She told me in between bites. There was that name again. Luke.
"He's probably the best swordsman in the camp."
"Whatever works," I replied, sipping my orange juice. It was blue, of course, but still tasted fine. You know, I may be in a world where the Greek myths actually happened and all of that, but the coolest and most unbelievable thing to me so far has to be the fact that my drinks can be whatever color I want them to be.
Back to the training, though—at this point, I didn't care. All I wanted to do was get my mom back. I'd even learn swordsmanship from Smelly Gabe if it meant that. Oh! Another thing—last night, after my heart-to-heart with my dad, I got a new title.
— - —
{Perseus Jackson}
[Son of Poseidon]
[LVL]: 10 (500/3000)
[HP]: 3500/3500
[SP]: 6500/6500
[MP]: 2000/2000
[FEALTY]: N/A
[STR]: 11 [+5]
[VIT]: 12
[DEX]: 17 [+5]
[INT]: 16
[CHA]: 10 [+5]
[WIS]: 10
[LUC]: 5
[AP]: 0
[PP]: 0
[$]: 46USD
[Info]: Son of the legendary lord of all seas, Poseidon, and Sally Jackson, Percy is the current [Child of Prophecy] and bearer of Olympus' flame. Despite his murky past, Percy is ready to take on his future with determination.
{Titles}
[Son of Poseidon]
Permanently grants [+][1000][MP] and increases [Mana Regeneration] rate by [1%] per five seconds.
— - —
Ah, there it was. I'd have to be blind to miss that sort of a boost. I wasn't sure what I could use mana for just yet, but I still knew a thousand of anything was a pretty big deal—hell, it doubled the original amount of mana I had before. Another neat thing I noticed was the direct impact my stats had on my physical attributes.
My [VIT], for example, went up by three, and to mirror that, my [HP] and [SP] had gone up by 1500—that's 500 for each point I put into my [VIT]!
"Alright," Annabeth said as our plates were instantly whisked away, courtesy of some of the wind spirits that worked for the camp.
"Let's get going, Seaweed Brain." The arena wasn't too far away. Like the rest of the camp, it looked like it had been carved straight out of Ancient Greece. Giant marble walls rose to the top, where there was a curved glass dome. At the entrance of the arena, there was a small inscription etched into the pillar.
"Είθε οι εχθροί σας να πέσουν μπροστά σας," I read aloud to Annabeth.
"May your enemies fall before you?"
"A tribute to Ares," Annabeth explained. She raised her eyebrows at my ability to decipher the Greek.
"You're a quick learner, huh?"
"Something like that," I checked the Game, and my skill revolving around comprehending Ancient Greek was already up to the max, somehow. It must've been from all that observing I did yesterday, but the game hadn't told me anything.
Maybe I'd had it all along? Annabeth recovered admirably, "Well, anyway, it's a tribute to the God of War. It's believed that praying to Ares before a fight grants you victory."
"I bet that gives the Ares kids a big head when it comes to this stuff, huh?" A smile danced on Annabeth's lips.
"You'd be right about that. Let's go inside." The inside was sort of like what I'd expected.
There were rows of seats in an oval-like shape around the center of the arena, where there were currently some straw dummies dressed in Greek armor. Some crates were pushed off to the side, with a tarp over them.
"Well, this is it," she said, waving her arms around.
"I'm impressed," I admitted uncapping Riptide. The bronze blade sprang to life in my hand. I curled my fingers around the worn leather grip.
"This is going to be a ton of fun."
"Want to spar?" Annabeth asked curiously, unsheathing her dagger.
"I'm itching to see what you're made out of."
— - —
Quest Alert!
[SIDE QUEST] {Student of the Game [I]}
[Quest Prompt]: Annabeth has called you out for a sparring match—she's curious whether your victory over the Minotaur was pure luck or genuine talent.
Step into the arena and prove that your combat prowess is more than a one-time stunt.
[Total Possible Rewards]:
[+][500][EXP]!
[?]
Please select: [YES/NO]
— - —
Easy. I clicked yes.
"Let's see what I'm made of, then," I agreed as the both of us walked over to the arena. In my heart of hearts, I knew it was a little unfair, given the fact that she'd been training longer than me and was double my level, but hey! My life's a video game.
I figured that made it a little more even. I looked in the mirror last night before bed and I could already see hints of muscle starting to form as a result of my [DEX] and [STR] attributes.
If it kept going like this, I'd be one of the strongest demigods at camp in no time. We took our places, across from each other.
"Ready, set, go!" Annabeth said, rushing at me with her dagger held reversed. The metal glinted in the light of the area, sending a streak of light across her stormy eyes. My body moved on its own. Clang! Our blades met in a shower of sparks. She pushed her dagger down on Riptide, but it didn't even budge.
"Not bad, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth complimented, backing up while twirling her dagger. Her eyes roved up and down. She ducked low and slashed toward my midsection.
"Shouldn't I be wearing armor or something?" I realized as I gracefully twirled—yes, my body twirled—away from the slash. A strand of blonde hair hung in front of Annabeth's forehead. She blew it away.
"Eh, I'm sure that nothing that some water and ambrosia won't fix will happen." I sidestepped her next lunge. My hand extended forward with frightening speed, and I nearly grazed her cheek.
I marveled at the feeling that was coursing through my body right now. I'm pretty sure I knew my body pretty well, but this game was changing it so much. I felt my muscles coiling and uncoiling like razor whips in my arm.
My legs tensed on their own as Annabeth launched a whirlwind of jabs at me. There was no doubt about it to me; with my point system, I crammed years of training into just a few moments. Give me a few more levels, and I'll be a force to be reckoned with. A few more minutes passed. Annabeth was throwing feints left and right, trying to catch me off guard, but it wasn't working. I felt so in control of my motor skills—every time she started to press forward, I could gracefully evade.
"You're doing well," Annabeth complimented, a slight sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. I could see her heaving with each breath.
"Really well. I think you could even give Luke a run for his money."
"I aim to please," I replied again, holding Riptide in a straight line. And what happened next? Well…I don't know how to describe it. Annabeth and I both charged at each other at the same time. As she started bringing her dagger up, I pivoted to my other foot. A burst of strength surged through it, and I went spinning in the air like one of those helicopter leaves that fall off of trees.
Mid-spin, I grabbed Annabeth's arm. As I came down, I brought my leg back and rammed the back of her knee. She crumpled into a heap on the floor, and, heart hammering, I held Riptide to her chest. Our faces were pretty close to each other.
I saw her cheeks flush more, but I wasn't sure if it was because of me or because of the fight. I knew she'd taken it a bit easy on me, and that one of the only reasons I'd won had been the fact that she underestimated me, but winning something always feels good.
"That," She breathed. "That was…" "Amazing." There was clapping at the entrance of the arena. We both turned our heads to see an older camper walk in. The guy was about nineteen, and he looked vaguely familiar—he was one of the kids I'd met at dinner last night.
He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.
— - —
~ Due to his higher level and [?], only limited information about Luke will be displayed.
— - —
{Luke Castellan} [Herald of the Golden Age]
[LVL]: 88
[HP]: 98,000/98,000 [resting]
[SP]: 450,000/450,000
[MP]: ?/?
[FEALTY]: Kronos
[STR]: 88 [+10]
[VIT]: 45 [+30]
[DEX]: 127 [+70]
[INT]: 83 [+35]
[CHA]: 90 [+5]
[WIS]: 75
[LUC]: N/A
[Info]: Luke Castellan was born to Hermes and a mortal woman, May Castellan. Growing up, he was hunted by monsters and burdened by a mother whose encounter with the Oracle took a severe toll on her mind.
Luke carries deep resentment for the gods, believing they neglect their children and mortals alike. A skilled swordsman and master strategist, Luke honed his talents at Camp Half-Blood but gradually distanced himself, harboring a grudge against the Olympians for their perceived indifference.
{Titles}
[Herald of the Golden Age]: As Kronos's chosen champion, Luke Castellan stands at the threshold of a new era—one he's determined to usher in by any means necessary. Bearing this title grants Luke a host of enhancements tied to the Titan's power.
His resilience is elevated by Kronos's favor, yielding [+][20][VIT] and a [15% reduction in damage] while fighting Olympians.
The Titan's aura also amplifies Luke's charisma, granting [+][10][CHA] and [+15% to recruitment success] among disillusioned demigods or other Titan loyalists, ensuring he can rally followers to his cause.
As the Herald of this new age, Luke gains access to Titan-exclusive skills and equipment while experiencing reduced hostility from monsters that serve Kronos.
— - —
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. His stats were the highest I'd seen at camp! This guy was easily over five times my level, and his stats were insanely boosted. This dude could pulverize me in less than a minute! And what a badass title, too!
The breakdown of his physical attributes kind of helped my theory that different demigods evolved in different ways, though. It only makes sense.
Obviously, someone like him, a child of Hermes, is going to have more [DEX] and stamina, than say, a child of Athena or Demeter. That was why all of Annabeth's stats were more skewed towards her [INT] and [WIS]. I ignored the [+1] to my [INT] as I pondered the little tidbit about Kronos, though.
It wasn't like I could act on it at the moment, unfortunately. He had the whole camp behind him, and I was just some new kid. Not to mention, he'd gut me like a fish if I tried anything. I filed the information away for later.
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