Arthur:
My limbs were on goddamn fire.
"Oh, and have you seen her butt?! It's just so big and round that it's disgusting! And she's also just so-"
I tuned out the brain dead conversation and just concentrated on holding to my position in the branches of the trees above.
'Fucking christ do these people not have a single brain cell in their heads?' I thought with a scowl as I swore a ligament ripped apart in my elbow.
Another ten minutes and the gaggle of Aphrodite kids finally dispersed. Going their separate ways to do god knows what.
And I was finally able to let go.
With a thud, I once again discovered what face planting into the ground felt like.
Snap
"Mother fucker!"
I also discovered what it was like to break a rib if the sudden sharp pain in my chest was anything to go by. Well, that or I was having a heart attack.
Having the body of a 12 year old sucked when you were actually…
Hmm, don't actually know how old I am.
!
+ 2 to STR and Dex for working out those muscles and tissue!
Skill has leveled up and skill created!
Stealth, Lvl (5): The art of hiding in the shadows.
- 5% chance of not being noticed by those of a higher level than you.
Pain Tolerance, Lvl (1): You can be stabbed, shot, bludgeoned, or even gutted. But too bad for your enemies that you don't feel a damn thing.
- 1% of the pain you experience is blocked out from your nervous system.
"Think I'll make that last skill a priority to level." I groaned, "And how the hell do you even quantify an amount of pain anyway?"
Crack
A gasp of pain flew out of my lips when the bones I just broke suddenly shifted under my skin and snapped back into place.
!
Skill leveled up!
"Very fucking funny game." I said as I sat myself up before blinking, "Wait, did that shit just heal in seconds?"
Now that was an interesting discovery. Perhaps I would have to put my other training on hold for a second.
Originally I had come out here to work on my stealth abilities for my upcoming quest.
I had overheard about this little spot near the edge of the forest where many of the campers came to hang out, gossip, and even gamble in secret between activities and during the free time.
So I figured it was the perfect place to come and try to hide without getting caught. Plenty of cover and no one would be looking too closely up in the trees. As a bonus, I could use the tree climbing and holding myself in place to level up some of my physical stats.
But discovering that I apparently had a healing factor now took precedence. Because I was about to go Deadpool on some bastards if I could heal fast and eventually eliminate most pain with Pain Tolerance.
"But when did I get a skill like that?" I muttered in confusion and willed my menu into life.
Because I'm pretty sure healing that fast wasn't a stock demigod ability.
"Let's see here. Photokinesis, archery, Limited Chlorokinesis…" I muttered as I went to the sub menu for skills.
"Hmm, nothing. Maybe it was a perk that got skipped over?"
So I switched the submenu and brought up the perks to scan through them.
And I think I found the culprit.
Gamer's Body: Allows you to continue fighting at peak condition no matter what. Toxins, poisons, crippling blows, curses, (etc) can not affect you.
Apparently, it took keeping me in peak condition pretty seriously. Which I guess made sense. When your character got shot or stabbed with a sword, sure they lost points from their health bar, but they actually didn't take any real damage that would hamper their performance.
A quick peek at my health bar on my hud confirmed it. My health had gone down a little, but I had no immediate injuries anymore.
"I wonder if I could regenerate a limb?" I said as the thought of taking out Abyss Watcher and testing that crossed my mind, "Probably shouldn't chance it though. No need to get a handicap I can't heal from only a week or so into my playthrough."
Yet I was still fucked.
Because no amount of bullshit healing or stealth skills were going to let me pull a fast one on Ares.
When I went to Poseidon, I had hoped that he would deal with the problem himself. Sure I had hoped he would give me a quest, but I had been thinking maybe he'd send me with Percy to help keep him safe or perhaps hide the bolt once he retrieved it as a neutral third party and to eventually present it during the winter solstice and testify for him.
Not send me to get the goddamn bolt from Ares myself.
Because I'm going to just make the assumption that I don't have the plot armor of 12 year old Percy, who had no goddamn business beating a four thousand year old god of war in battle.
Even with a water boost.
"Let's look over this quest again."
Quest type: Crossroad
The west is on the brink of destruction as the Gods of Olympus arm themselves for war and draw lines. With your friends sent on a false quest, you have been charged by Poseidon to retrieve the Master Bolt and to help bring peace back to Olympus. Failure is not an option.
Rewards:
20,000 XP
2,500 $
20 Golden Drachmas
?
A single request from the Olympic council
Failure:
Rapid decline of Western power
Possibility that the 2nd American civil war starts
Olympian Civil War
Titan's gain a major advantage in the upcoming war
Possible intervention by other Pantheons
The failure penalty's alone made my head dizzy.
With a sigh, I dismissed the screen. It unfortunately didn't reveal to me anything I hadn't already known.
"I essentially just have to bank of the fact that maybe Ares is just as stupid as he is in the books and won't notice me sneaking into his own place to steal the bolt back from him…" I trailed off as a thought came to me.
Poseidon expected me to go to Olympus and steal the weapons back from Ares directly. He even gave me a pass so I could take the elevator up there as I pleased without needing to check with the guard. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do given the circumstances as all of his resources and attention were caught up preparing for war.
But who said I had to steal directly from Ares, that would be absolute suicide.
"I'm going to have to ask Chiron for some money."
"Oh Luke, my dear boy." The trainer of heroes muttered.
The old centaur started to look far older than he had when I first met him.
"This was Luke's choice alone Chiron, there was nothing you could have possibly done fix his stupid decisions and daddy issues." I said.
So for those that hadn't figured it out yet, I snitched on Luke again. As well on Poseidon and myself. Even made an oath on the Styx again that everything I said was true.
Que another freak storm and a massive earthquake and Chiron had no choice but to believe me. Which was great considering he had the information I needed and the supplies to help me.
I really shouldn't try and abuse the Styx oath, but it was so goddamn convenient. Even if I was continuously pissing the Fates off.
"I know my child, I just can't feel as if I wasn't partially responsible for this." Chiron said, "But enough on that particular matter. You have been issued an important quest by Lord Poseidon himself, and I will do my best to give you any aid I can. Least we want the world to descend into chaos. So tell me what can I do for you, Arthur?"
Perfect.
"I need you to contact Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to find out exactly where they are and keep in touch so you can update me, 10 golden Drachmas, money for a to and return flight to Vegas, a bow and some arrows, and a blue backpack with…"
Shit. I didn't remember what Ares stuffed into the backpack to make it look like a normal backpack.
"Junk food." I waved off.
It was a minor detail, but those could be important in the future. I might have to start writing summaries of what I remembered per book and go over them every once in a while.
Chiron stared at me in confusion, "May I ask how any of that will help you sneak into Ares palace on Olympus Arthur?"
"Trust me Chiron." I said.
"I suppose I will have to. But I must ask why you are choosing to fly out west?" He asked.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What do you mean why? It's way faster and cheaper than taking a train or car there. Why wouldn't I fly?"
"Because Lord Zeus is rather angry at the moment and -"
"Correction, he's angry at Poseidon and Percy. You think he would strike down the son of one of his favorite daughters?"
Chiron looked pensive for a moment as he pondered what I had said, "Hmm, I suppose you're right. Your mother rarely if ever has actually gotten on her father's bad side. Alright than Arthur, I will have the items you have requested ready in the hour as time is of the essence. I shall be back shortly."
With those last words, he galloped off and left me all alone in the big house.
"Interesting that he didn't say to visit the oracle." I mused to myself.
Maybe he had just forgotten or perhaps he believed I didn't need to because of the irregularity of my quest?
But either way, I kinda wanted to see Apollo's infamous oracle.
So with my mind made up I made my way upstairs in search of the attic door.
Forttanly the big house wasn't that big and the door wasn't hidden. So it was rather easy to jump up and pull the ladder down and climb my way up into the dusty attic.
The first thing I noticed that it was indeed filled with junk and old spoils of war like Percy described in the books. The second thing that caught my attention was an unwrapped mummy that seemed to be staring right at me.
So I hit it with an observer.
Oracle of Delphi
I was taken aback at the almost blank screen that greeted me. So far observing generally showed me more stuff than just a name. Hell, it even showed me more shit about Poseidon, and he was definitely more impressive than some stupid mummy.
Hmm, maybe my ripped off eagle vision might give me some more insight.
I focused my new magic seeing eyes on the thing and a black mist started emitting from the oracles being.
It was probably just the curse Hades put on the thing.
Still didn't explain why I could only see this thing's name, but I didn't have time for this.
"Yo oracle, I know you're taking a nap right now. But do you mind giving me a hint as to what exactly I need to do?"
The black cloud weakened slightly as a sickly green mist began to pour out of the body.
"Fateless." It hissed at me, "The strings do not hold you. Begone."
"What the hell?" I muttered as I caught the green mist dissipated back into the body and left it back to its former state.
What did it mean by fateless? Was that just the fates telling me that I didn't get any help from the Oracle because I pissed them off?
"Arthur! Are you still here?" A voice called out from below.
I gave the Oracle one last look before heading back down the ladder. I think I'd be keeping this little interaction to myself.
"Thanks for the ride Argus!" I called out as my new many eyed friend waved back before driving off.
"Now let's see. Yeah, this should be more than enough for two flights." I muttered as I counted the cash in my hand before stuffing what I didn't need for my first ticket back into my new Camp Half-Blood souvenir wallet. Complete with a fake I.D and everything.
Apparently, Chiron planned ahead and had the Stolls forge me some fake credentials real quick since I didn't have any on me and he didn't have time to teach me how to manipulate the mist. So for now I'd be buying tickets the mortal way.
Satisfied that everything was in order, I made my way into the JFK Airport and towards the ticket counter.
'Let's just hope I don't get attacked by demons again.' I mused to myself as I passed through the doors.
Speaking of demon attacks, I wondered how the mortal world reacted to the massacre in Virginia? From what I had seen the demons under the devil's command hadn't spared any mortals they had come across if the piles of bodies had been any indication.
Which honestly seemed pretty sloppy for a supernatural being to do. I thought there were rules for that kind of shit for the supernatural factions anyway. Hell, even Kronos had all the mortals in Manhattan put asleep instead of just slaughtering them in The Last Olympian. Did Magdaran just not care or was he not just paying attention? Maybe the biblical pantheon just had different rules on the matter of mortal intervention?
Either way, the mortals had probably just passed it off as a terrorist attack or something in that manner.
Wonder what country the US would invade because of this one.
"Aww aren't you just a cutey." A young woman smiled at me as I approached a kiosk where I assumed the boarding passes were sold, "Did you lose your parents' little guy?"
I gave her the innocent expression I could possibly give, "No ma'am. I actually just want to buy a ticket to Las Vegas ."
The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked around, "Oh. Well, are your parents with you?"
"No, they're already there. I'm flying out to meet them."
The woman rolled her eyes and I vaguely heard her mutter something along the lines of shitty parenting.
"I.D please." She asked.
I pulled it out and handed it to her.
"One way or round trip?" She asked.
"One way." I answered.
I figure I'd just buy the ticket back once I was done that way I wouldn't be constrained to a schedule in case anything came up.
Twenty minutes later I made my way out of security and was heading towards terminal 8. Looking down at my ticket and then towards the clock, I noticed that there was at least another half an hour until my flight boarded. I could either take a little nap or go and get something to eat.
"Sleep or tacos?" I pondered.
Well, I did until someone tapped me on my shoulder.
I turned around to find two middle aged women smiling down at me.
"Excuse me young man, but do you know where the bathrooms are?"
I found it a bit weird that they were asking a twelve year old instead of an employee, but maybe they were just in a rush.
"Yeah, I think I saw one over the- gaahhh." I gasped out as something sharp pierced me from behind.
And no, not like that.
'What the fuck.' I thought in a panic as I saw my health bar on my hud drop by a third and tried to twist my head around.
Only to find a vampire looking bitch with her claws piercing into my back.
Empousa, Lvl:20
'Oh shit.'
This was an ambush, wasn't it? I should've known that two old ladies would know better than asking a 12 year old such a simple question.
But also what was with airports and I leading to deadly situations?
Looking back forward I noticed the two women form shimmer slightly.
I really hated the mist. Really needed to find a way to see through it 24/7 until I can learn to manipulate it.
"How about we take this somewhere more private sweety?" The Empousa behind me hisses and grabbed my shoulder with her free hand.
Without being able to respond my stomach lurched forward as flames swirled around me. An instant later I found myself inside some baggage room instead of a crowded airport.
And of course, those damn claws were still inside of me.
"Be prepared to die Demigod. Your death will please the master."
"Do I have a say in this?" I wheezed despite what I believed was a collapsed lung.
"No."
Something very hot came from behind me and I found myself flying through the air and smashing into a very hard concrete wall.
"Urrg." I let out a quiet groan.
Even though I felt my back already beginning to heal itself, it still felt like something had skewered my insides than hit my back with a flamethrower. Though considering that my health bar was now showing itself at only a quarter full it had done a crapload of damage.
I felt two more flashes of heat and more voices joined the monster that stabbed me.
"Aww did you have to kill him already sis? I wanted to play with him a bit." One of the Empousa whined.
"Of course I did you fool. His mother is the huntress herself, did you really want to find out how capable he was in combat?"
"But I wanted him to be tenderized a bit instead of burnt. Now he's gonna taste terrible!"
I gave an internal sigh as the monsters argued with each other like idiots and decided to do something constructive.
'Stats.'
Arthur Winchester, Lvl: 11
Title: None
[HP] - 490/2000
[MP] -1000/1000
[STR] - 35
[VIT] -20
[PER] - 25 (40%) = 30
[DEX] - 36
[INT] - 20
[WIS] - 7
[LUK] - 7
Points - 25
Money - 450$
I gave the mental command to allocate 5 points to my HP and a small amount of relief spread through me as my back continued to heal.
With a little bit of a struggle, I pushed myself back onto my feet and faced the three monsters.
"That wasn't very nice you know." I said dryly while pulling up my inventory with a quick command.
The monster's heads whipped towards me and the one who I assumed was in charge hissed at me.
"So you're alive boy? My oh my aren't you a tough little trooper."
"Sure am." I said with a shrug and pulled out Abyss Watcher from my inventory, "But what about you guys?"
Just like with celestial bronze the monsters had visible panic in their eyes and took a step back at the appearance of the sword.
Perhaps all monsters just had that reaction to any divine metal. Or maybe it was just the fact I had made a sword appear out of nowhere. Either way, it was a great opening.
Without giving them time to respond I summoned as many light arrows as I could in the air around me which seemed to cause the reaction I had been hoping for from the sword.
Blessing of the Lightbringer activated!
The arrows I summoned began to glow with a brighter light than they had previously and my mana bar skyrocket back up as ¾ of the mana I had used was refunded to me. Which consequently allowed me to summon even more arrows.
In the few seconds that it took to complete all of this, the storage room we were in was now crammed with light arrows. I honestly couldn't tell whether the mad hum of energy under my skin was because of using my powers to such a large degree or it was just the intensity the arrows were giving off because of the Lightbringer perk amping them up.
God, I already loved this sword. The Archangel who this belonged to would have to pry it from my cold dead hands if it ever wanted it back.
The Empousa faces paled.
"So about that whole go ahead and die thing?" I said pleasantly.
The three monsters looked at each other before looking back at me.
"That's what I thought."
With a mental flick, I sent all my arrows flying towards them.
Suffice to say that they turned into piles of golden dust faster than you could blink.
!
You've leveled up 2x!
Skills have leveled up!
Light Arrow, Lvl (3): A bolt of pure light shaped like an arrow.
-55 dmg per arrow / 50 mp per arrow
Pain Tolerance, Lvl (3): You can be stabbed, shot, bludgeoned, or even gutted. But too bad for your enemies, you don't feel a damn thing.
- 3% of the pain you experience is blocked out from your nervous system.
A satisfied smile made its way to my face. Not only had I survived my first monster encounter and leveled up twice from it, but it seemed that my passive perks had kicked in as well. Because on top of the golden biles of dust I spotted some money and some monster items that dropped.
But two little thoughts that entered my mind killed that train of happiness.
The first thought was now I had to get a new shirt and jacket considering the backs of mine were now stained with blood and were mostly charged.
The second reason though…
"Why the fuck didn't danger sense go off you stupid piece of shit system!?"
'Duck'
I dropped to my knees just in time as a fanged claw ripped through where my head had been.
Not even bothering to look and see I made an estimate of where the claw had come from and spun around while bringing Abyss Watcher in a sloppy slash that had no business actually hitting.
Apparently, luck was on my side and the angel blade cut through vampire bitch #4 like butter. The inhuman screech of pain from the Empousa only lasted for a second before it exploded into golden dust.
"Well, at least it's working now." I muttered.
Was there some special prerequisite I needed for danger sense to always work?
Suddenly a burning sensation started crawling up my arm. It wasn't so much like the fireball that had been blasted into my back by the Empousa. No this was a different kind of burn. It felt almost… cold?
"The fuck?" I questioned and looked down to see the runes of Abyss Watcher flaring more brightly than they normally did, "Don't tell me I broke this thing already."
"I highly doubt that child." A dry voice chided from behind me.
My body pivoted on its own to bring the sword in another slash, but faster than I could even process a hand caught my wrist in an iron grip while another grabbed my shoulder to stop me from moving.
"Calm down child, I mean you no harm."
I lifted my head up to see who the hell had snuck up behind me and the sight made my heart sink in terror.
My new eyes showed a roaring golden aura with the occasional spark of white surrounded a man with a head of blonde hair and baby blue eyes who was looking down at me with amusement.
Uriel, Lvl:(?)
Title: The Watchmen (Target is allowing you to see this)
Wait, what?
"Very interesting." He mused, "For one so young to have magical sight, and for it to be so strong that it is almost able to read my very being without my permission is a very rare thing. So rare that many senior mages and magicals centuries old have yet to attain anything similar."
My terror increased two folded as Uriel moved his hand from my shoulder and poked my forehead.
"But then again you're cheating a bit aren't you? It's just a side effect of your mother blessing you with her eyes."
My only response was a slow nod at the angel who currently had me in his grasp.
Good god, the amount of energy I could feel pouring off of him. What was even scarier was that I assumed this was just him in a relaxed state. What was he like when he was actually trying? And more importantly why the hell was he here?
I had a sinking feeling that he found me because I used the sword.
"But nevertheless…" He trailed off looking at the sword in my hand, "That Richard's sword right?"
"Uhh, yeah?"
"Good." He said and let me go, "Sign here please."
I didn't see him do it, but suddenly Uriel was holding a clipboard with a paper and pen attached to it.
I blinked, "What's this?"
"An agreement that states in exchange for the continued use of Abyss Watcher that you will solely take any blame for the trouble you cause with it."
I stared dumbfounded at the thing, "You're kidding me right?"
The angel snorted, "I have better things to do than getting involved in wars and feuds of other pantheons. Can you imagine the headache I would have if you, oh I don't know, cut your great grandfather's arm off with that sword and he decided to drag the biblical faction into his second Titan War because he thought we picked a side by giving you an Archangel blade?"
"How do you even-"
"Kid every pantheon in the world knows that Kronos is waking up to start a war against Olympus."
"Yeah, but how do you guys already know that? Zeus doesn't even know that!"
Uriel let out a snort, "That's where you're wrong. You really don't think that your grandfather, who is the king of one of the most powerful pantheons in the world, wouldn't feel Kronos awakening? Zeus is prideful, not an idiot."
I went to say something but immediately shut my mouth. He kinda did have a point. That might explain why Zeus in the books literally refused to even have a conversation about it.
Because he already knew.
"Now your signature please."
Nodding my head I did what the big scary winged man wanted me to do and signed the paper.
Who knew even Heaven would have bureaucracy?
"Thank you for your cooperation and condolences for your father's passing." Uriel said as he tucked the paperwork away, "Heaven was in quite the uproar about it, especially my younger sister when they learned of the attack."
"What?"
"Nevermind that." The Uriel waved off, "But do me a favor and don't get yourself killed on this little quest. I have a favor to ask of you afterward."
The world flashed with golden light and suddenly I found myself alone again in the storage room. Even Abyss watcher had gone silent and no longer pulsed with energy.
"Well, that was something." I muttered while shoving the sword back into my inventory.
Now I just had to figure out where the hell I was.
And I still needed a new shirt.
One theft, an ass hauling through some corridors, and a Burrito Bandito later, I was finally boarding my flight.
"God that feels heavenly." I muttered as I slumped down into my economy seat. Which was thankfully seated next to no one who could annoy me.
Apparently keeping me in tip top shape constantly didn't extend to killing the soreness of having one's body thrown into a concrete wall or the sting of your back getting cooked by magical fire. Though that could just be the new skin being sensitive since it was only a light sting.
I needed a good nap if only to bring my health all the way back up from the quarter it was sitting at. It was regenerating of course, but way too slow for my tastes.
"When I get back to camp I should invest in learning a healing spell or two if they have any." I muttered as I looked down at the new black t-shirt I had stolen from luggage in the baggage storage area. It wasn't nowhere as cool as the orange half blood shirt and didn't fit quite as well, but I supposed it would work all the same.
That line of thought reminded me of the fact that I really didn't have any clothes to my name. Just the stuff I had on me when I was teleported to the camp and the few pairs of shirts and jeans gifted to me by Chiron.
Maybe I'd have to see if I could swing by my old house after I returned the bolt to Olympus and see what clothes I could take.
Wait.
Why should I care about some clothes that whoever had this body before me had picked out? Between the hellhound, the Empousa, and those demon things from the airport in Virginia I had a couple hundred to buy whatever clothes I wanted.
No, the real prize should be whatever Richard had if the Archangel blade in my inventory was anything to go buy. He might not have anything else on the level of Abyss Watcher, but he probably had some kind of cool items stashed away in there.
And considering the number of people who died and went missing during that attack on the airport, the government and banks should be pretty slow about either selling off the property or trying to contact any of Richard's family, like my sisters or others I didn't know about on what to do with it.
So with any luck, it still should be there.
"Though hopefully whatever I find there doesn't attract the attention of a freakin Archangel this time." I muttered and began to strap my seatbelt on as the overhead speaker announced we were about to begin taking off, "I swear this system is trying its best to push me towards the Biblical pantheon."
I'm sure that request for me to do him a favor would be the first in a chain that would lead me to learning how Richard's side was connected to the supernatural, what his feud with that stupid hell knight was all about, and probably some kind of apocalypse for good measure.
Sounded like a good ole fantasy storyline.
But all that could be taken on another day and perhaps hopefully never. For now, it was time to nap and then steal back a stolen thunderbolt.
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