Arthur:
'Allocate 5 points to strength.'
Crack
"You little mother fucker!" The guard screamed as he clutched his now bloody nose.
I snorted, "Next time don't waste my damn time then. Especially when WW3 happens if I don't meet this deadline."
Walking into the elevator I pressed the button for the correct floor and flipped the guard off.
The bastard wasted about a half-hour arguing with me about whether Olympus existed and then once I got it through his thick skull that my eyes could tell he was supernatural, proceed to tell me I couldn't go because of the meeting they were having.
I was half tempted to just pull the master bolt out and fry his ass.
Though I didn't think Zeus would appreciate it.
The elevator trip up was pretty uneventful, though I noted that the elevator music seemed to be a rap song that shouldn't even come out for another 13 years. Either it was keyed personally to what each person wanted to hear or Apollo was aware of ole Shady's next decade of music already.
'Though considering where I'm going to right now. Higher definitely is an appropriate theme.'
My little trip finally ended and the elevator doors opened.
The majesty and beauty of Olympus bared itself to me in all of its glory.
Gold, pure white marble, bronze, and other precious gems were beautifully incorporated into every single piece of architecture on the mountain and its base. From the council chambers on the very top, to what I assumed was each of the god's temples and houses, and the city that wrapped itself around the base and expanded outward.
A low whistle expected my mouth, "Whoever designed this place was a genius."
Percy was right. It truly looked like an ancient Greek city that wasn't in ruins. Well, if the said city was obscenely wealthy and probably larger than anything the mortals made at their height.
But that was neither here nor now. I had a quest to complete.
I hurriedly made my way through the lower city. Which was harder than you would think it would be considering I had to pass through multiple marketplaces. Didn't sound especially difficult, but the smells from the food, the shops, and the various weapons stalls kept tempting me to slow down and see what they had to offer.
That and the fact that as I passed by, people would stop and stare at me.
"It's him."
"Zeus almighty I thought it was a silly rumor."
"She did break her oath! Just look at those eyes! They're the same as hers."
I grimaced as I heard that last one. So far I hadn't found a way to turn off my eyes and return them to their original blue color. While the Magic Sight and boost to precision were incredible, the glowing silver kinda outed who I was to monsters almost immediately.
Even if I found a way to hind my scent, certain beings could still tell who I was just by seeing my eye color.
I was going to have to invest in sunglasses once I was done here. Preferably magical ones so I'd still be able to wear and see with them even indoors and dark places. Even if I now did naturally have night vision.
Perhaps I would be stopping by one of these shops on my way out. That I wouldn't mind. The city was in fact quite lively. Thousands of minor gods, goddesses, Dryads, Naiads, Satyrs, and other beings I couldn't recognize milled around the shops and parks as I made my way through.
I was making pretty good time as I exited the city and came to the massive stairway that led up to the council chambers at the very top of the mountain.
That was until the guards stopped me.
"Halt godling." A man wearing greek battle armor said as he and his fellow guards appeared in front of me.
A sigh escaped me. Why of all times this did have to happen now?
"The Olympians are not currently accepting visitors as they are having the annual Solstice meeting. Any business you have will have to wait unti-"
I rolled my eyes and activatedInvisibility.
Immediately I disappeared from sight and continued on. I didn't have time for this crap.
I remembered the warning about monsters or immortals possibly having the ability to see or smell me considering my ability simply focused on bending the light around me. But evidently, these guys didn't have said ability considering they began scrambling around to look for me and yelling something about warning the commander.
Could I have just told them about the master bolt? Probably yeah, but I really didn't want to pull it out and have to show them, or worse yet have them being on Ares payroll.
I wasn't particularly in the mood for a fight after having to deal with a Black Ops Arcangel who seemed to have a vested interest in me being some kind of Assassin for him, or my payment for the quest being a summoning contract for a Devil Lords family.
Especially with what that summoning contract insinuated. Fucking random role option. All because I wanted to be a son of the Big Three.
I cut the invisibility as I neared the top of the mountain. Hoping the end of this quest and my reward would improve my mood considerably. Though another factor threatened to make it even worse.
Artemis.
My mother would be in that council chamber and as far as I knew, would probably be the first time we interacted since my birth.
The best-case scenario I was hoping for was that she would just ignore me and we would go our separate ways.
While I couldn't quite remember how old I was from half my memories being fried, I knew that I was at least a little older than a child considering my somewhat broad knowledge of the world.
That combined with my abilities and the fact that I wasn't even sure if this reality was real, whether I was currently inside a game or I really was in a living and breathing world where I simply happened to be given the powers of the System upon reincarnation still eluded me. The game teasing me in the beginning certainly didn't help my confusion on the matter either.
All in all, I really didn't know how I felt about having a family when I didn't partially need one. Much less a mother who happened to be a literal goddess. So best case I would just be able to ignore it for now.
The worse case is that she hates me and views me as a mistake. While I wouldn't partially care considering the reasons I had just given, it would be troublesome if she tried to start a vote to have me killed or actively tried to hamper my life in some way.
I banished the thoughts from my head as I made it to the central courtyard and proceeded towards the throne room.
And holy crap was it big. Percy didn't quite do it justice by saying Grand Central Station was a broom closet when comparing size. More like it made Madison Square Garden look like the inside of a certain green-eyed boys cupboard.
Time to face the music.
Walking in I noticed something odd.
Only Zeus and Poseidon were there.
I resisted the strong urge to facepalm.
All the gods being there and arguing were only in the movies. In the book, only Zeus and Poseidon were there to greet Percy.
Relief flooded my body. It seemed I would have one last problem today.
I made my way up to their adjacent thrones.
Zeus sitting there in his signature pinstriped suit atop his platinum throne. His handsome face and grey marbled beard acknowledging my presence as his head turned.
Poseidon looked about the exact same as when I had met him a couple weeks ago. Still looking like a tanned and older version of Percy with the Hawian shirt and swim trunks. His throne still the black leather fisherman one it was in the books instead of the basic ones from the movie.
Honestly, I was incredibly glad that the random option didn't put me in the movie canon instead of the book canon. Everything was just so much richer and detailed through Rick's imagination.
"Lord Zues and Lord Poseidon." I spoke and gave a slight bow. As much as I hated the act of submission, I wasn't at the level where I could mess with gods.
Yet.
"Great Nephew," Poseidon said with a smile and a wink.
There was a beat of silence that seemed to last for an eternity.
"Rise my grandson." Zeus finally said.
Rising I looked my godly grandpa in the eye.
"Your bolt sir," I said as I pulled the backpack out of my inventory and withdrew the metal cylinder of bronze.
Both gods raised an eyebrow and shared a look.
"You possess a form of spatial magic boy?" Zeus questioned.
Shit. Withdrawing from my inventory had become such a habit and easy that I was begging to forget about hiding it. Oh well, time to bullshit.
"My father taught me a few tricks when I was younger sir," I replied.
That seemed to satisfy the King of Gods as the inquisitive look on his face receded. Without warning, he stretched out his hand and the bolt flew from mine to his. After a careful inspection, his eyes met mine again.
"Now tell me what happened, boy."
And I did. From overhearing Luke and Ares's scheme to how I collected the bolt.
Zeus's eyes blazed with power and a slight bit of anger, "I sense the oath on the Styx you've made. I will have Hermes apprehend his son immediately once we have concluded here. And we shall discuss our father in a more private matter later."
Poseidon nodded, "A wise course of action brother. But before that..."
The King of the Gods sighed, "I apologize for my accusations brother and you have my thanks for planning the rescue of my bolt, even if it was behind my back."
The Sea God raised an eyebrow, "And?"
"And your son may live both for your actions and his attempt at trying to get my bolt back despite being manipulated."
This seemed to satisfy Poseidon, "Thank you, brother."
Zeus nodded before his gaze shifted back towards me, "As for you my grandson. You have done both Olympus and I a great service. Through cunning and great skill, you secured my bolt with your enemies none the wiser until it was too late. For that, I shall grant you a single request, as long as it is not too grandiose or out of my power."
I had figured this was coming. Both because of what the quest alert had told me and because what I had done truly did have enormous implications. By returning Zeus's bolt I had returned one of the most powerful weapons in existence to its owner and prevented a goldy civil war.
Percy was never given this reward as his reward was simply counting to exist. It was actually incredible that a 12-year-old with no foreknowledge of events had both completed this quest and fought a god.
Thankfully I already had a request in mind.
"I would like to be claimed as your legacy, sir."
Zeus's electric blue eyes widened a fraction before hardening, "My legacy? And why boy would you want that."
I met his gaze, "Monsters and various other beings will hunt me relentlessly because of who my mother is, both as payback towards her and for how rare of a trophy I am. I can't rely on simply having access to one subset of power if I am to survive. I need to be truly versatile with my abilities."
My grandfather snorted, "And what about the other Demigods? How is it fair to them that you will access my powers as well? I can not show favoritism child."
Damn. I was afraid he was going to pull that card out.
Any arguments I was about to make died in my mind though as Poseidon intervened on my behalf.
"The other Demigods did not rescue your bolt brother. Besides, having a powerful Demigod will be useful to Olympus in the coming years. Especially one not connected to the prophecy and if we're being honest after hearing who his father was… danger to him will not come solely from our realm."
Zeus shot his brother a glare, "As I said before we will discuss those matters later in private, but you do have a point."
Then he turned back to me.
"If this is what you wish." He sighed before snapping his fingers.
For the briefest of seconds, I felt as if I had been struck by lighting as every single one of my nerves became electrified and all the hair on my body stood up on end.
!
Legacy of Zeus: The blood of the King of Gods surges through your veins. Your soul now has a natural affinity for Lighting and Wind and you can now access Elcectrickinesis and Aerokinesis.
Once fully claimed: Immunity to electrocution, affinity for all animals of the sky, permanent bonus to strength stat.
Lightning Affinity gained!
Wind Affinity gained!
Hell yeah.
Zeus rose from his throne, "If this concludes our business I shall be going. My bolt must be cleansed of the taint set upon it."
"Um, sir." I questioned.
Zeus looked down upon me, "Yes boy?"
"You said threats would come not solely from this realm from me. What does my father have to do with it?"
Technically I already knew that considering my sword and my encounters with Biblical beings so far, but I had no idea who Richardactually was or where he stood in the scheme of things.
He was obviously highly respected and had what I assumed was Lucifer's Arcangel blade. Perhaps my rash decision to not try and discover more about that side of the family was going to bite me in my ass more than I liked to admit.
My grandfather grunted.
"That is not my place to say. Should you encounter your mother, ask her about it."
With that my grandfather flashed out of the throne room in a boom of thunder.
I looked over at Poseidon who gave me another wink.
"Good job boy and do me a favor and look after Percy. He's going to need all the help he can get in the next couple of years."
With a sound of a wave crashing my Great Uncle disappeared from sight as well. Leaving me alone in the throne room.
A sigh of relief escaped me. That had gone way better than I ever imagined.
!
Crossroad Quest Completed.
Rewards:
20,000 XP
2,500 $
20 Golden Drachmas
Skill Book: One Thousand Birds (Chidori)
A single request from the Olympic council (Granted)
!
Leveled up x4.
!
+10 to physical stats because of Demigod perk!
Arthur Winchester, Lvl: 20
Title: None
[HP] - 2000/2000
[MP] -1150/1150
[STR] - 50 (15%) = 58
[VIT] - 30
[PER] - 35 (40%) = 49
[DEX] - 46
[INT] - 23
[WIS] - 10
[LUK] - 12
Points - 50
Money - 3,000$
I about fainted when I saw everything I had just received.
A new permanent modifier to one of my stats, a plus 10 boost to all my physical because I hit level 20, and a high-level damage-dealing move for my new powers almost right off the bat. It was about time I got a skill book that I could actually use.
Today was an absolutely great day indeed. Without hesitation I took the damn book out and greedily opened it up.
!
Would you like to learn the skill: One Thousand Birds (Chidori)?
[Yes/No]
Yes!
New skill learned: One Thousand Birds (Chidori)
One Thousand Birds Chidori, Lvl (1): By focusing a large amount of Lighting energy into your hand you can create a piercing blade that is incredibly powerful and fatal to most beings.
- Costs 1500 MP to cast / 5000 DMG per strike
- Can be powered up by inputting more MP
Warning: This skill increases the user's speed by a tremendous amount when moving. Can cause tunnel vision to an extreme degree. Normally requires 80 PER and 60 DEX to use properly. But Silver Eyes perk reduces it to 50 PER and 60 DEX
"It costs a fuckton to cast, but the damage is incredible."
The stat requirements to use it were also interesting but made sense. Thankfully my eyes seemed to mimic the Sharingan's ability to make it usable in combat.
I'd still have to train my stats up so I could not have tunnel vision and be able to use it in combat. Thankfully my Demigod perk pushed me quite close to the requirements that I needed.
But it said nothing about not being able to cast it and I also had enough state points to do it right now…
'7 points to intelligence.'
My MP rounded itself to a nice 1500 as excitement bubbled to the surface of my mind.
Extending my right hand I softly spoke, "Chidori."
Percy's Water was a tug in his gut. While my Light was like a powerful humming beneath my skin. Lightning meanwhile seemed to be a tingling sensation down my spine.
ChirpChirpChirp
It sounded as if a flock of a thousand birds had descended into the throne room as the Lightning magic sparked to life in my hand.
!
New skill unlocked: Electrokinesis
Electrokinesis, Lvl (1): An ability that allows you to manipulate lightning.
- 60 MP per minute
- "They say Lightning never strikes twice. Well, they've obviously never met you."
I shoved all the notifications aside and just stared at my new power in awe.
Say what you will about the other elements, but there was just something so cool and powerful about manipulating and using Lightning. History agreed with me as well, considering the most powerful gods in most Panthones tended to have it in their domains.
So caught up in admiring my new power, I nearly shit a brick when a soft hand cupped my face from behind.
The few combat instincts that had been trained into me took over and I immediately spun around and thrusted my Chidori forward.
Just like the description warned my vision blurred to the point where I could barely see anything as I attempted to move forward.
That was until another hand gripped my wrist firmly and the energy from my strike was promptly absorbed. The Chidori sputtered out and my vision returned to me, letting me see an amused pair of silver eyes looking back at me.
"You know I did the same thing to your grandfather when I first met him. Plunged a celestial bronze knife right into his sternum when he teleported behind me." The owner of the eyes commented as she bent down, "But that attack of yours seemed a little bit more deadly than a knife. My my, you haven't even had your Lightning Affinity for 5 minutes, and your already creating such deadly assassination techniques."
My eyes widened at the woman who had appeared before me.
Glowing silver eyes, tan skin, a lithe frame of someone who did more cardio and gymnastics than weight lifting, and red hair that was currently held in a ponytail.
Artemis.
The grip on my wrists vanished and I was pulled into a hug.
Words couldn't describe the amount of safety and warmth I'd suddenly felt.
"My little hunter is also a little prodigy hm?" She said cheekily as she released me from her grip, "We'll just chalk that up to my half of your genes though. Though speaking of genes, I don't understand why the other change did not take effect when I claimed you. Do you mind sweetie?"
Well, that solved the mystery of whether Artemis was going to hate me or not. Out of everything I expected to happen, her hugging me and calling me "sweetie" wasn't really it.
Weren't gods usually distant from their children? While the movies stated it was some sort of "Ancient Laws" that caused it, I think the book cannon had it that the gods just chose to be distant. Hence the hatred some Demigods felt towards their parents.
Maybe it was because I was her first child? Had the other gods been like this millennia ago when they first started having children?
!
Allow minor body modification from an external source?
[Yes/No]
Eh, why the hell not. It said minor, not like she was going to give me a sex change like she did in myths...
Right?
"Sure, go ahead… mom."
The goddess's smile seemed to strengthen tenfold.
!
Body modification complete.
I blinked in confusion.
"Uhh mom, what did you do exactly?"
My chest felt no heavier and my voice was the same, so thankfully it seemed I would remain a male.
Artemis chuckled and ruffled my hair, "Just changed your hair a bit, when I claimed you it should've changed along with your eyes. But for some reason, it didn't."
Probably because the gamer's body blocked non-beneficial changes. I was going to assume the eye change was allowed because it came packaged along with a perk. The hair on the other hand didn't.
+1 to INT.
With a lazy wave of her hand, she conjured a reflective piece of light midair so I could look. Where my hair was once an auburn color that drew towards born, it was now a reddish blonde mix similar to hers.
I really did look like a mini her now.
Speaking of that.
"Is there a reason why you wanted my hair color changed?"
My mother shrugged, "You always had my hair and eyes when you were born. But I agreed to change them to look more like your father's to hide the fact you looked like me until you were old enough. Silver eyes would have been a bit of a giveaway or maybe not considering your father's reputation …"
I noticed she said that last part with a bit of distaste.
Interesting.
"What about dad's reputation?" I asked.
"Well, you see…" Artemis trailed off a bit. Seeming to try and find the right words to say.
She seemed to mull over some things in her head before she gave up and looked me in the eye.
"Arthur, what's your level of sexual education and knowledge of profanity."
Oh, this was going to be interesting.
"Pretty good and really fucking advanced."
Thwap
"Ow! Oh, come on you asked me!" I muttered as I rubbed my head after it received a light smack.
Rolling her eyes, Artemis withdrew her hand, "Well to put it simply, your father's a man whore with more children than brain cells."
Ouch.
Well, I could see there was no love lost there.
"Than why-"
"Because despite his flaws, RichardWinchesteris the greatest hunter amongst all the realms. He has hunted countless beasts, demons, abominations, and even gods. And after a millennium of not having any… I wanted a child of my own."
So Richard was powerful and important. Noted.
My mother sighed, "And he can in fact be quite charming when he wants to be. It's why I choose him in the end to give me a child. I never really fell in love with your father, but he was my best option for having children."
That made sense I supposed.
"So you don't think I'm a mistake or want to turn me into a girl?" I asked.
I figured we were past that, but hey I just wanted to be clear.
Artemis let out a huff of annoyance before she stood up at her full height. She wasn't in her godly nor child form, instead of seeming to only be in her 20's, but her long legs and lean frame still towered over my adolescent body. She was easily at least 6 feet.
"To this day I don't even know where the rumors that I hate boys started. Or why my own family even believes them." My mother said as she crossed her arms," Are the myths about me turning some boys into girls true? Yes, but at the time they were where a fitting punishment. Meanwhile, I've had boys and young men work in my temples and serve me. I've killed countless women and girls as well. You know of the story where I ended the entire female line of a family because their mother insulted mine?"
I nodded. It did sound rather familiar and it did make sense. Artemis did always seem rather 1 dimensional in Riordan's universe and the whole temple thing was in fact true.
"I'm sure the whole Hunters of Artemis thing didn't help being exclusively girls though. Plus the whole asking gramps to never marry you to anyone." I added.
Artemis rolled her eyes even though there was clear amusement at my calling the King of Olympus gramps.
"I wanted to make a group where I could help young women who had been abused or abandoned. Mortal society was different back then my son. A woman today can support herself and get justice for those who harmed her. Back then they had no chance. Also, are you telling me you wouldn't be mad if I set up an arranged marriage between you and that LaRue girl?"
I shot her a glare, "Fair enough."
My mother let out a laugh, "So to make a long story short, I will not be harming you, sweetie."
Well, that was good to hear.
"But now I have a proposition to make." Artemis said as she clasped her hands, "I want you to come with me and train for the rest of the year."
My brain froze.
"Seriously!?" I asked.
Were gods even allowed to do that?
"Seriously." My mother answered back with a smile, "While I do like the idea behind Camp Halfblood, none of its activities are suited to train you to your full potential. No one there can guide you on manipulating light or the finer arts of tracking and assanitions. Your newfound power of lightning makes matters even worse."
Now that was an offer. To be trained by a literal goddess who also happened to be my mother and knew my skill set. It was a golden opportunity that the rest of the campers would probably die for.
"So for the whole year?" I asked.
My mother nodded, "Indeed. Of course, I'll have to tell your father about it, but considering you just seemed to have started using your powers he has no room to disagree with me finally taking you. Honestly, what was he thinking sending you to camp without training."
I blinked in confusion. Did Artemis not know?
"Uh, mom. Dad's dead."
The goddess of the hunt froze.
Oh, she really didn't know about that then. That was weird considering the Angels knew about it, but now that I thought about it the pantheons probably didn't talk all that much.
And I had been the one to break the news.
Awkward.
"How did your father die". She asked warily.
I recounted the tale of the airport ambush.
Artemis did not look happy at all.
"We need to start your training NOW." Her voice was suddenly somewhat panicked and stern "Did Richardleave you anything before he died?"
I nodded somewhat hesitantly, not liking at all where this was going, and summoned Abyss Watcher.
My mother's eyes grew wide and a series of ancient greek curses left her mouth.
"Besides all your father's enemies that are going to want a piece of his youngest son? The fact that your jackass of a brother is also going to come after you for that sword." Artemis sighed, "There are so many problems that could have been prevented had your father learned to keep it in his pants."
Wait a damn minute. I had a brother too? Who was also probably from a different mother? Goddamn Richard, save some for the rest of us you goddamn chad.
Also, either Vassago was a lying bastard or Richardhas more secret kids than Zeus had affairs.
"Is there a reason my brother wants this sword particularly?
"I'll tell you about it later, I promise. But for now, we are leaving. Your training starts now."
She put her hand on my shoulder and in a flash of light we were gone.
Somewhere In Hell:
"You know what this means Cadius. All his enemies will come for you and your siblings now that he's gone." An older man with green hair sighed as he leaned back in his chair.
This was a conversation he had been hoping to have in the distant future with the eldest Winchesterscion. He had never dreamed it would've happened so soon.
It was almost rather convenient. Too convenient.
"That's the thing though, is he gone?" The young man across from him mirrored his thoughts, "You know as well as I do that my father is as slippery as he was powerful. There's no way in hell Vassago actually fucking killed him. C'mon it's way too convenient Adrian."
Adrian sighed as he ran his hand through his long green hair. He already knew that the young man in front of him was going to be the death of him.
At first glance, he'd never guess Cadius was Richard's son. His slicked-back silver hair and amber eyes were all his mother. But if one studied his facial features and body? That's where Richard''s genes shined through the brightest.
"While I happen to agree, officially that is not the case. The story is that your father is dead and now almost everyone knows that. They'll come for you Cadius. You must gather your wits and be strong. Your sisters are still young and in school. They are not ready to face the world on their own yet."
The young man's mouth became a frown.
"They have protection from each of their mother's families. No one would dare touch ladies from such powerful families. I don't need to protect them, but what I do need is information. Namely where my father's sword is. Does that cocksucker Magdaran have it? Because that will kill two birds with one stone if he does."
It was Adrian's turn to frown, "You can't just attack and kill another Noble. There would be outrage among all the houses."
A glare paired itself with the frown, "Watch me. Not like anyone other than the King or Queen could stop me at this point anyway."
"You've grown arrogant." The older man snorted.
"And you underestimate my power. Now stop avoiding the question. Where is my father's sword?"
Adrian sighed, "According to what I've heard, your brother was present when Richard was killed. Vassago apparently gave it to him after Richard's apparent death."
Cadius blinked in surprise, "My little brother? My mortal little brother? He gave a relic of ancient power to a mortal child? Good god, the little shithead's probably accidentally killed himself with the damn thing if he can even use it. At least it won't be that hard to grab."
"Actually." Adrian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Mentally cursing Richard with every ounce of his being as he summoned a paper to his hand and handed it to the Winchesterheir, "Among your father's many secrets, your brother's origins were something he kept guarded closely and if it makes you feel any better for not figuring it out, the half-blood of the Greek Pantheon don't usually develop their powers until their adolescent years anyway."
"What?" Cadius looked at him quizzically before accepting the paper and taking a moment to read it.
Adrian leaned back in his chair and waited for the storm.
The few seconds of silence that followed while he waited was rather blissful in his opinion.
"A FUCKING DEMIGOD?" He hissed, "IS THERE NOTHING THAT MAN DIDNT STICK HIS FUCKING COCK IN!?"
Ah, there it was.
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