4 Chapter 4: Up & About
A/N
Edit: I have created a discord server for this fic. It's basically for providing updates, providing feedbacks, chilling etc.
h t t p s : / / d i s c o r d . g g / P Z P b B 5 S f 7 2
(remove the spaces ofc)
Chapter 4
Percy was stumped. He was a demigod. A son of a God. Poseidon. This intake was all too much to bear for a teenager. While a part of him was happy that he was finally able to find out about his father, another part of him was freaking out over the fact that the supernatural actually existed. Him being able to breathe underwater was pretty much the first real experience he had relating to it. He was distracted for a few minutes, thankfully no one noticed the absence of the demigod except for Grover who was sitting on the bleachers overlooking the pool.
Grover looked on with worry for his friend and feared for him as he was unable to see him for a few minutes. However, they were put to rest as Percy suddenly resurfaced and started the swimming drills with his peers who knew how to swim. Grover, ever mindful of his surroundings, found it odd that Percy was somehow able to spend time underwater more so than the average human or demigod. He had an itch about it, one that he did not want to scratch. He was afraid if Percy too turned out to be a child of one of the Big Three. The sea-green eyes and the recently demonstrated affinity with water weren't helping things. Not in the slightest. So there he sat terrified of what was to come. He needed to speak with Chiron. He could already smell that Ms. Dodds was not human but what she was was beyond him for the moment. He knew that something was odd about her so he needed to act fast. He resolved to speak to Chiron as soon as classes ended. Thankfully, this was the final class for the day.
Unaware of the inner turmoil of his friend, Percy had already begun swimming. A notification had popped up after a few laps which Percy dismissed.
...
Ping!
New skill created!
Swimming (Level 1)
Your swim speed is of an average human : 3 km/hr.
Bonus : Due to you being a son of Poseidon, you gain boosted progress.
...
By the end of training, Percy should have been pretty tired like the rest of his class but oddly enough, he felt refreshed. It was as though he had a full night's sleep and just woke up brimming with energy. While it was certainly new, it wasn't unwelcome. He chalked it up as a son of Poseidon thing wherein the water refreshed him as soon as he submerged himself in it. He would need to test this again later on.
So, the classes came to a close. Percy was brimming with excitement for what was to come next. He quickly changed and walked out. He really wanted to try a few things but he had his bags on him.
'Only if I had a place to store them', Percy mused. As if reading his thoughts, another notification popped up.
...
Ping!
Inventory storage now available!
What sort of a game doesn't have a limitless inventory box? Presenting you with your very own inventory box. Along with the aforementioned benefit, items stored in the box will stay in pristine condition. This includes food.
...
Percy gaped. This was certainly helpful. He touched the inventory box and sure enough, another blank screen appeared with quite a few boxes cut out in it. Hesitantly, Percy reached down and got his backpack near the screen and pushed it in. True to its word, the backpack disappeared into thin air and appeared as an item in the storage. He smiled. Percy then quickly made his way to a waterfall in an area which was not frequented at this time of the day.
Slowly Percy dipped his fingers in the water and felt the rush of power and calming effects of the sea envelope him. It felt like the sea was embracing its long lost prince and was eager for its return as the water rippled with barely contained excitement. A notification box popped up but Percy dismissed it with a wave of his hand. He needed to focus. He felt the water around his arms making contact with it. He felt a thread in his gut that was longing to be connected with the water. He let it reach out and connect. He opened his eyes and slowly willed the water to start rising from its position and sure enough a few tendrils started rising. He watched with happiness as he willed more of it to join the tendrils and more kept rising. Just as it was at its apex, Percy lost concentration and the water fell back into the fountain. A few notifications had popped up which Percy had ignored and sure enough it was there.
...
Ping!
Ability Discovered!
Water Control
(Level 1 - Cost 50 MP / Min)
The ability to control water in its most basic form.
Ping!
Due to continuous practice, Water Control has levelled up!
Water Control
(Level 2 - Cost 49 MP / Min)
...
This motivated Percy to practice even more and the next few hours were spent trying to control more and more water, making it rise, swirl in the air and then disperse. Only for the process to be repeated. As late evening approached, Percy was finally able to get a few basics down. He could now control water when he was in contact with it and had a little easier time connecting with it, he didn't have to focus as much as he had to initially. Moreover, without contact with water, he could raise a few tendrils with his connection alone but it was far more difficult and straining for him to maintain for long.
What surprised him was that he again did not feel tired in the slightest despite using up MP to a huge degree throughout the time. The more he thought about it, the more confused he got until a metaphorical bulb went off in his head. The water regenerated his HP and MP as soon as he came in contact with it or entered it. For example, if he used up all his MP and then entered the water again, instantly, his MP would be regenerated. Percy grinned like a maniac. He was going to squeeze the system off of everything it was worth. This exploit was nothing short of a highway to increased powers though he would certainly have to work for it. It was huge for him, he would not have to wait for his MP to regenerate now. Just as he got up and walked off to the library, a string of notifications he had been ignoring popped up.
...
Ping!
Due to continuous practice, Water Control has levelled up!
Water Control
(Level 3 - Cost 48 MP / Min)
Due to continuous practice, Water Control has levelled up!
Water Control
(Level 4 - Cost 47 MP / Min)
Due to continuous practice, Water Control has levelled up!
Water Control
(Level 5 - Cost 46 MP / Min)
Due to finding a loophole in the system by thinking in a rational manner and connecting the dots, your WIS has increased!
WIS : 3 + 1 = 4
...
Percy was pleasantly surprised with the level ups as well as the bonus increase in intelligence. It seemed as though the game itself wanted Percy to progress quickly and become stronger than before. Dismissing the notifications, Percy walked to the library and grabbed a huge stack of books ranging from Grade 2 to Grade 12 in an effort to increase his reading skills. His dyslexia held him back quite a bit but now that he had a means to combat it and become smarter, in order to make his mom proud, he was going to use the situation to its full extent.
It was almost 7pm by the time he reached his room and was surprised not to see Grover lounging around as per usual. He chalked it up as Grover being busy with something and proceeded to start reading a book. By the time it was 9pm, Grover still hadn't returned and Percy was starting to get worried about his best friend. True, even though Grover was a satyr and could protect himself better than Percy could, he could still not stop and worry.
Curfew started at 9 so Percy had to be extremely careful not to get caught. He was certainly not afraid of sneaking around or anything. He just did not want to get caught with the school informing his mom about his behaviour, the last thing he wanted was for her to be even more worried about him. She as it is had a lot on her plate with Smelly Gabe in his life. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of Gabe but dismissed it quickly. Making up his mind, just as he was about to step out of the room, a screen popped up.
...
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Find Grover without getting caught
Rewards -
+1 DEX
70 XP
Failure -
Detention with Ms. Dodds
Accept / Decline?
...
Percy gulped and immediately accepted the quest as he made his way out of the room. His room was located on the first floor of the dorm so it was relatively easy for him to sneak out at the moment. He quietly made his way towards the staircase. Luckily, he did not come across any teacher. He quickly made his way down and ran in the cover of shadows so as to not be detected by any passing teacher by chance even though the corridor was empty. Finally he reached the door and slipped out.
Just as he stepped outside, another notification popped up.
...
Ping!
New skill created
Sneaking (Level 1)
Allows you to sneak up on someone or get around with the cover of darkness / shadows
10% chance of not getting caught
10% chance of critical strike
...
Percy contemplated which place to check first. Grover was a satyr - a being related to the Greek Mythology and was tasked to protect him. The most obvious choice was for him to be spending time with Chiron since both seemed to be related. He could not be spending time with Alecto since she was a fury and for the life of him, he could not bring himself to trust Hades. The accounts he read certainly did not help. Deciding on checking Chiron's room in the teacher's wing, he quickly made his way.
Chiron's room was conveniently put on the ground floor due to him being 'specially abled'. Hence, he did not need to worry about climbing a damned building to find Grover. Just as he reached, he saw Grover in the middle of a conversation with Chiron if the frantic waving of hands or the look of desperation on Grover's face was anything to go by. Chiron to his credit, was calmly sitting on his wheelchair while trying to placate the satyr.
'What can be so important for Grover to behave like this?' Percy thought. 'Might as well try to listen to the conversation but I need a means to do that.'
Whether it was luck or bad luck, Percy found another window slightly ajar which could help him in his endeavours. He could not stand right next to the window due to the light, he had to crouch down a bit and stay in the shadows in order to avoid being detected. He would not be able to hear the whole conversation but it was better than nothing. Just as he finished his line of thought, another screen popped up.
...
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Eavesdrop on Chiron and Grover
Rewards -
100 XP
?
Failure -
Chiron and Grover finding out about you
Loss of respect
Accept / Decline?
...
Percy raised an eye at the question mark. It seemed as though he would get a random prize on completion. He shrugged as he reached out and tapped accept. As the screen disappeared, Percy settled himself into position and sure enough parts of the conversation were audible.
". . . . Percy acting strange," a voice he identified as Grover's said.
"Difficult . . . . camp . . . . time," another voice replied. This was definitely Chiron.
'Camp?' Percy thought. 'What about it?' Before he could dwell on it more, the conversation continued.
'"Kindly One in school . . . . . safety . . . . ," Grover continued now on the verge of panicking if his tone was anything to go by.
". . . . Sally . . . . quickly . . . . too late," Chiron replied.
Wait. Back up. What had his mother got to do with any of this? For the life of him, he could not seem to make head or tail of the conversation.
"Summer solstice . . . . thief . . . . . lightning bolt," Grover said. He seemed like he was almost at his wits end now. Whatever they were talking about was certainly unpleasant.
"Peace Grover, all we can do is wait and hope Percy is ready when the time is right," Chiron replied as suddenly Percy could hear things clearly. It seemed as though it was meant for him to hear as the conversation was in a hushed tone earlier but it was quite clear now.
Percy backed up slowly taking extra precaution so as to not get caught. He turned away and just as he was about to make a break for it, he froze when he heard a voice that chilled him to his very bones. Thankfully, Gamer's Mind got activated and he was able to straighten himself up immediately.
"The smell seems to be coming from here", he heard Alecto muse to herself as she suddenly materialised in his line of sight. Thankfully since he was still hidden, she did not sight him but it was only a matter of time before he was caught. It was now or never. Just as he got ready, another screen popped up.
...
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Return to room undetected.
Rewards -
100 XP
+2 LUC
Failure -
Death
Accept / Decline?
...
This was certainly a no brainer as he immediately accepted the quest. He looked up to see Alecto slowly making her way towards him as she searched around. Percy turned sideways and clung to the sides of the building, hoping to stay hidden in the shadows whilst being on the lookout for Alecto. Slowly he made his way around the building and backtracked to his dorm as something else suddenly caught Alecto's attention it seemed. Fate seemed to be on his side tonight if he was able to get out of there unharmed. He made his way to his room and settled in his bed, breathing a sigh of relief. Today was close and it brought more questions than answers.
Sighing Percy summoned his screen, taking in the plethora of notifications displayed.
...
Ping!
Notification 1 : Quest Complete!
Find Grover without getting caught
Rewards added.
DEX : 2 + 1 = 3 (+ 2)
XP : 210 + 70 = 10 / 428
Notification 2 : Level Up!
Level 6
HP : 250 + 50 = 300 / 300
MP : 250 + 50 = 300 / 300
2 ability points added.
Notification 3 : Quest Complete!
Eavesdrop on Grover and Chiron
Rewards added.
XP : 10 + 100 = 110 / 428
VIT : 2 + 1 = 3
Notification 4 : Quest Complete!
Return to room undetected.
Rewards added.
XP : 110 + 100 = 210 / 428
LUC : 3 + 2 = 5
Notification 5
Due to continuous use, sneaking has levelled up!
Sneaking (Level 2)
11% chance of not getting caught
11% chance of critical strike
Notification 6
New ability unlocked!
Running (Level 1)
Your sprint speed is at 24 km/hr. It is that of an average human.
...
Percy's eyes bugged at the amount of rewards and skills that he got from his adventure. This was certainly interesting. His abilities and skills were still quite low, he needed to work on those if he needed to become better. He was still scrawny and short for his age. There were lots of things he needed to start doing.
'No time like the present eh?', Percy asked himself. With that thought, he grabbed his pile of books with renewed vigor as he settled for another night of intense reading since sleep was no longer an issue. Somehow, he didn't need to sleep and never felt lethargic ever since he got this gaming system with him. This changed the way he functioned and he was loath to waste it even a little bit.
By the time Artemis had made way for Apollo to set out on his journey across the skies, Percy was finished with a night of focused reading. Sometime during the night Grover had arrived and seemingly dropped dead on his bed which Percy just ignored. As Percy got up to stretch and felt the various pops in his back, the notifications that he had been ignoring throughout the night popped up. He had read close to 8 books and had currently reached Grade 5 level of reading.
...
Ping!
Due to continuous reading, your Modern English has levelled up.
Modern English
Level 11 + 1 = 12 (-40% to all forms of English, +5% for every level gained)
Due to continuous reading, your Modern English has levelled up.
Modern English
Level 12 + 1 = 13 (-35% to all forms of English, +5% for every level gained)
Your intelligence has increased.
INT : 7 + 1 = 8
...
Percy swiped those boxes away and brought up his main stats.
...
Perseus Jackson
Species : Demigod
(gives +2 STR and +2 DEX)
Title : Son of Poseidon
Perseus is the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. He has ADHD and Dyslexia which helps in combat and reading Ancient Greek respectively. He has a natural affinity with water due to his heritage which grants him control over water, horses, storms and earthquakes.
Level - 6
Exp - 110 / 428
HP : 300 / 300 (+ 2000)
MP : 300 / 300 (+ 2000)
STR : 5 (+ 2 + 20)
VIT : 3 (+ 20)
DEX : 3 (+2 + 20)
INT : 8
WIS : 4
LUC : 5
Points : 2
Money : $50 / D0
...
Percy realised that he still needed to improve his stats since he was still at a low level and his HP and MP were nowhere near that of Grover. He needed to get strong. Fast. So he decided to spend the next week grinding his stats and at least reach level 7 in all his stats save for LUC. He had no idea how to increase that. Whilst he was at it, he could also improve his other abilities like water control and running. He assumed he would need more and more of those if he were to encounter any monsters. He could always increase his water control whilst swimming since that would replenish his MP and he would not have to worry about exhausting himself over and over again whilst he waited for his MP to regenerate. Happy with the plan, Percy finally noticed the screen floating in front him.
...
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Reach minimum Level 7 in all stats except LUC.
Rewards -
250 XP
$100
?
Failure -
Staying weak thereby dying early.
Accept / Decline?
...
The last part was quite ominous in Percy's opinion and he shuddered and the implications. With that in mind, he accepted the quest as he got ready for the coming week.
X.X
Timeskip - 1 week later, Friday
Percy panted as he finally finished his running for the day. It had been a week since he had started working harder than before. Not wanting to die was certainly a big motivator for him and he wanted to avoid that as much as he could. Thank you very much.
Nothing noteworthy happened during the week when it came to the people around him. He and Grover kept hanging out like usual while Chiron somehow started pushing him harder than ever to learn about Greek history. He was fairly certain now that his teacher was aware of his presence during the night he eavesdropped on his conversation with Grover but decided to not call out Percy on it. Alecto well, she was just being Alecto if that made any sense. She creeped him out more than anyone ever could and that was something coming from a boy who grew up in New York. He really did not want to recall his experience with her nor did he want to spend more time than necessary in her presence so he avoided detention as much as he could.
Whilst that was taken care of, his stats had been progressing steadily throughout the week. Overall he was quite happy. Just as he sat down to finally rest and wrap up the day, a notification popped up.
...
Ping!
Due to constant running, your DEX has increased.
DEX : 6 + 1 = 7 (+ 2 + 20)
Running levelled up!
Running (Level 3)
Your sprint speed is at 26 km/hr. It is that of an average human.
Percy breathed out a sigh of relief as the quest was finally over.
Ping!
Quest Complete!
Rewards added.
XP : 110 + 250 = 360 / 428
$ : 50 + 100 = $150
LUC : 5 + 3 = 8
...
That was certainly a sweet reward. He needed luck quite a bit given his track record of getting kicked out of schools for situations out of his control. His stats sheet now read :
...
Perseus Jackson
Species : Demigod
(gives +2 STR and +2 DEX)
Title : Son of Poseidon
Perseus is the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. He has ADHD and Dyslexia which helps in combat and reading Ancient Greek respectively. He has a natural affinity with water due to his heritage which grants him control over water, horses, storms and earthquakes.
Level - 6
Exp - 360 / 428
HP : 300 / 300 (+ 2000)
MP : 350 / 350 (+ 2000)
STR : 10 (+ 2 + 20)
(Bonus : Weapon damage - Damage + STR | Unarmed damage - STR * 2)
VIT : 7 (+ 20)
DEX : 7 (+2 + 20)
INT : 11
(Bonus : 50 MP per 10 levels)
WIS : 7
LUC : 8
Points : 2
Money : $50 / D0
Status : Demigod
Skills
Inherited :
Modern English (Level 16)
Ancient Greek (Max)
Swimming (Level 1 - 3 km/hr)
Breathe Underwater (Max)
Running (Level 3 - 26 km / hr)
General :
Observe (Level 3)
Sneaking (Level 2)
Passive :
Gamer's Mind (Max level)
Son of the Sea God
(Gives +20 STR, VIT & DEX as well as +2000 HP and +2000 MP when in water)
Abilities :
Water Control (Level 9 - 42 MP / Min)
...
He had made great strides and overall he was proud of himself. The bonuses provided on reaching base level 10 for his stats were a welcome addition. The number of books needed for levelling up his INT stat also greatly increased as he was gaining a higher level in it. While this was a bit troublesome, it had the added bonus that now he had started scoring well in class due to his rise in intelligence. From barely passing, he was now able to achieve a grade of C. Though it could still be improved, it was a start. His water control too had improved by leaps and bounds, he could now control water in a better manner without having to be in it and could now control and move large amounts of it by will though it still strained him a bit.
As Percy was walking back, he decided to take the long route to his dorm. This one led through some woods in the school premises which were against a backdrop of rocks. As he walked through the woods, he came across a barren patch of land near the rocks. While this wouldn't have been unusual, something told Percy that it was a good idea to go and probably inspect it. Ever since his intelligence increased, Percy was now able to think things in a better manner which was beneficial for him given his prior history in mindlessly charging into things sometimes hurting himself more than the other.
'Observe', Percy whispered to himself.
Just as he did, suddenly something protruded from the rock and a small section covering the 'thing' was destroyed. Percy walked closer cautiously and saw that the 'thing' was in fact a glowing blue Delta waiting to be pressed. Percy used 'Observe' again and his jaw dropped.
...
Ping!
You have spotted an entrance to the Labyrinth!
Available -
Dungeon (Level 5)
Do you wish to enter?
Yes / No?
...
Here, sitting right in front of him was the entrance to the damned labyrinth itself. To top it off, there seemed to be a dungeon as well, like the ones available in video games where you killed monsters to gain additional rewards and loot. This seemed interesting. He could come back tomorrow once he was refreshed and check it out. He pressed 'No' for now and returned to his room. On his way, a screen popped up.
...
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Clear your first dungeon.
Rewards -
200 XP
2 Ability Points
$1000
Failure -
Death
Accept / Decline?
...
Percy accepted the quest as he walked back to his room to finally have a good night's sleep after a long time.
You have slept in your own bed! All HP and MP restored.
Percy dismissed the screen as he woke up and yawned. Today he was going to head into the dungeon and he was brimming with excitement. After getting changed, he headed for breakfast. Today was an off thankfully which meant that he did not have to worry about the time. In case he got late, he could always sneak in.
As Percy entered the cafeteria, he noticed one important aspect rather, one lack thereof. It was completely devoid of life save for a handful students who were eating alone or chatting quietly. Percy made his way to the buffet table and Observed the food available. His logic was that since everything had the aspect of a game, consuming food would help restore HP and MP for him. On the table there were an array of meals but he took note of the ones that granted him the most HP and MP upon consumption. He looked around him and surely, all the students present were engaged in their own conversations or busy with something or the other. He quickly scooped up handfuls of food and dumped them into his inventory until he was satisfied. His inventory now read as :
...
Apple x 10 : Restores 20 HP
Banana x 10 : Restores 10 MP
Pancakes x 15 : Restores 20 HP and 20 MP
Hot Wings x 30 : Restore 10 HP
...
He put some food on a plate so as to not arouse suspicion and looked around to see who all were there. He saw Nancy sitting alone on one of the corner tables and he remembered the information he read about her when he used Observe on her. She was alone; needed someone in her life to be there for her and most importantly, she needed her parents. Percy walked up to her and slid onto the chair opposite to her.
"Hey Nancy", Percy greeted cheerfully.
"What are you doing here dork?" Was the immediate reply from the red head.
"Can't I get to know more about my bully?", Percy asked cheekily. He knew she was trying to push him away by showing a rough exterior but he wasn't going to let her. He wanted to have a little talk and slowly build up some trust.
"What is it in for you?", she asked with narrowed eyes.
Percy shrugged. "Should people have an ultimatum when speaking to others?", he asked.
"Not really but when it comes to freaks like you, who knows what's going on?".
"Come on Nancy, all this time and you can't even get my name right? It is Percy, P-E-R-C-Y, Percy. See it is easy to pronounce!"
"Honestly, how can you be so annoying and upbeat first thing in the morning Percy?"
"I don't know I guess it is how it is."
Nancy just shook her head at that having given up on trying to understand the sea-green eyed boy in front of her. He would be doing something and seemingly go off a tangent for no apparent reason leaving others scratching their heads.
"Seems like someone's warming up to me", Percy's voice rang out as she cleared her head of the thoughts.
"Fat chance. You're still an idiot Percy."
Percy mock clutched his heart in shock as he said, "that hurts".
Nancy smiled at that. She gave a true smile to Percy as she was amused with his antics. She had had a crush on him for a while now and could not never figure out how to talk to him so she resorted to bullying him or trying to avoid him just as 7-8 year old kids did.
By the time Nancy was done with her thoughts, Percy had already scarfed down the food and was up. "Well, I better get going, need to finish off some work today", Percy said. Technically, he wasn't lying since he did have to finish off the dungeon which would be classified as 'work' in his world.
Nancy looked a bit put out but schooled her expression before Percy could notice it. "See you around, Jackson".
With that over, Percy walked out and before heading towards the woods, he grabbed 5 bottles of water and chucked them into his inventory. He had an idea that if he was in a dire situation, he could always use the water to heal himself. Finally he walked out and reached the clearing to begin his first adventure as a demigod. As he pressed the delta, a screen popped up,
Labyrinth :
Dungeon (Level 5)
Percy pressed Dungeon. Immediately, the rock crumbled and a set of stairs heading into the Earth was revealed.
"Well, here goes", Percy said to no-one in particular as he descended the stairs. A few seconds later, the boulders magically sealed themselves, not leaving any evidence that it was in fact the entrance to one of the most dangerous places in the Greek Mythology.
Just as he finally reached level ground, small torches blazed to life in the corridor illuminating the area and the path forward in an eerie glow. To the side of what Percy assumed to be the starting area stood a medium sized chest. 'Must be the kind you get before missions,' Percy mused. He opened the chest and used Observe. Sure enough, there were :
...
Iron Sword x 1
Basic sword - 50 damage
Iron Shield x 1
Basic shield - 20/20 durability
Small Potion x 5
Restores 20HP
...
Percy was glad that he had gotten a weapon since he had initially just planned on fighting unarmed if it came to it. He quickly put the potions in his inventory and equipped the sword and shield.
He then made his way down the corridor as it expanded to accommodate more people. Torches lit automatically along its length casting just enough light to be able to see properly but not enough to call it bright. Just as he was walking forward with his shield raised in one hand and sword in the other, something fell from the ceiling in front of him.
It was a skeleton though several bones were missing from what Percy could see. It just carried a sword and a shield, nothing too special about it. Percy used Observe.
...
Skeleton - Level 5
Generic skeleton reanimated by necromancy.
HP 350
MP 150
Kill to gain - 25 XP
...
Percy eyed the skeleton, matching its stance with his own. Slowly, he approached it and just as they were a few feet apart, the skeleton suddenly dashed forward with its sword raised, aiming to impale Percy in one fell swoop. Percy to his credit instinctively raised his shield to block the oncoming attack and swung his sword trying to cut the skeleton from its other side. The skeleton, like Percy, raised its shield and blocked the strike. Following his instincts, Percy dropped back and let the skeleton charge him once again. This time, instead of raising his shield, Percy merely stepped to the left and dodged, letting the sword fly over his head while he slashed at the skeleton.
...
Weapon Damage - 50
Bonus Damage due to STR - 12
Total Damage - 50 + 12 = 62
...
Percy quickly dismissed the screen and did a quick math in his head. He needed to get in approximately 7 strikes before he could kill the skeleton or he could try to go for one of its vital points. In this case, the only vital point he could make sense of was its head.
Percy turned around and blocked another incoming strike with his shield as he again retreated. This time, he took a different approach. As the skeleton came at him again this time with an overhead strike, Percy used his strength to knock the blow off tangent and make the skeleton stumble. Capitalising on the opportunity, Percy then attacked it, cutting its head clean off like a hot knife passing through butter. The skeleton then crumpled to a heap of bones leaving behind one bone and a paper whilst the rest of its body and items seemingly got sucked by the ground.
Percy inspected the bone and for the life of him couldn't figure out anything special about it. He stored it in his inventory though since this was his first monster killed ever so it had a bit of sentimental value to it. Next, he inspected the piece of paper which suspiciously looked like a dollar note. He picked it up and sure enough, it was a $10 bill. He squinted and raised it at different angles to make sure that what he was seeing was actually true. Finding no issues with it, he put it in his inventory and sure enough, a notification popped up.
$ : 150 + 10 = 160
XP : 360 + 25 = 385
Percy grinned as his sea-green eyes sparkled with $ signs. If this was the level of enemies he was going to face, he would have no issues racking up money.
Percy raised his sword above his head and charged in with a war cry, "AHHH!"
5 minutes later,
"AHHHHH", Percy's screams of dread filled the corridor as a horde of skeletons chased him. This was so not how he imagined things going down.
As he had been running inside, several skeletons suddenly materialised on both his sides and at his back, blocking any retreat. There were approximately 20 of them. He would have liked to say that he stood his ground and faced them off like a brave person but he would be lying as he did the only thing that came to his mind, he bolted.
As he was running further inside the dungeon, he looked over his shoulder to see that 3 of the skeletons were easily able to keep up with him. He had an idea. He suddenly stopped, turned around and immediately swung his sword sideways at his head level. This sudden gesture didn't give the skeletons any time to react as they all fell into a mass of crumpled bones. Happy that the immediate danger had been dealt with, Percy quickly pocketed the drops.
...
$ : 160 + 30 = 190
XP : 385 + 75 = 32 / 640
Level Up!
Level 7
HP : 300 + 50 = 350 / 350
MP : 350 + 50 = 400 / 400
2 ability points added.
Ability Points : 2 + 2 = 4
...
Percy didn't have time as he swiped the screens away. The horde of skeletons were quickly approaching and he needed to do something about it quickly. There were still 17 left. He grabbed a bottle of water from his inventory and uncapped it. He willed the water out and formed a line covering the entire breadth of the passage they were in. With that, he sent the water at the horde at high speeds. The first three rows were immediately taken out of commission as the water pressure alone was enough to knock their heads out. The others were either stunned, rather as stunned as a skeleton can be, whilst some fell down.
MP : 400 - 42 = 358 / 400
Percy then lurched forward stabbing and killing the stunned skeletons since the downed one would take a while to get back up. A few of them had lost their weapons as well so it was just easy pickings.
Soon, Percy was done with the horde. And had collected all the drops. He now had :
...
$ : 10 x 17 = 170 + 190 = 360
XP : 75 x 17 = 1275 + 32 = 1307 = 635 / 911
Level Up!
Level 8
HP : 350 + 50 = 400 / 400
MP : 400 + 50 = 450 / 450
2 ability points added.
Ability Points : 4 + 2 = 6
Iron Sword x 8
Iron Shield x 7
...
Looking at the stats, Percy was ecstatic to see that he had levelled up twice so quickly. In the past week, he had received hardly any XP but now it was raining points and money. Truly this was a good day. As he swiped away the screens, he almost missed the last notification. This was truly an important one, this skill would be the beginning of the legend whose skill in this weapon was almost unmatched, one who would give Gods, Titans and Giants a run for their money.
...
Due to constant use, new skill created.
Sword Fighting (Level 1)
Your skills with a blade
2% more damage with swords.
...
Percy needed this. Out of everything, this seemed to be the best skill he had unlocked till date. Quickly dismissing the screen, he walked to what seemed like the final chamber. As he entered it, a sight greeted his eyes that he had a hard time believing.
At the center of the chamber was a dias with a coffin of sorts with an eerie glow to it. Just by looking at it, Percy shivered. But, this wasn't what made him tongue tied. What really got to him was the figure standing over it with its arms raised.
It was about 2 metres tall with a crooked body. It wore a black armour with red lines engraved across it with sharp thorns everywhere. Two horns protruded from the helmet. The face was something that couldn't possibly be described. It had a disgusting, rotted face with empty eye sockets glowing with a flashing red light. To its side lay a huge rippled sword which was nearly 130 cm long coated in red and black fog. There was also a huge shield of the similar colour like its armour which appeared to be ¾ the size of its body. Percy also noticed a black stone glowing in one of its fingers as though it was being used for something on the coffin.
...
'Observe'.
Death Knight (Level 35)
Mid-tier undead servant of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.
HP : 20,000 / 20,000
MP : 5,000 / 5,000
...
As Percy read on, he slowly started looking at the figure with wide eyes, his mind going into a state of panic. Just before he could do anything rash, Gamer's Mind activated and he was once again grounded to reality.
In that time, the knight had discovered Percy's appearance and looked mad for some reason if the glowing eyes were anything to go by. It quickly picked up its sword and shield and walked towards Percy, ready to kill the transgressor who dared to interrupt its ritual to resurrect its master, the Sorcerer King - Ainz Ooal Gown.
...
Percy's Stats
Perseus Jackson
Species : Demigod
(gives +2 STR and +2 DEX)
Title : Son of Poseidon
Perseus is the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. He has ADHD and Dyslexia which helps in combat and reading Ancient Greek respectively. He has a natural affinity with water due to his heritage which grants him control over water, horses, storms and earthquakes.
Level - 8
Exp - 635 / 911
HP : 400 / 400 (+ 2000)
MP : 450 / 450 (+ 2000)
STR : 10 (+ 2 + 20)
(Bonus : Weapon damage - Damage + STR | Unarmed damage - STR * 2)
VIT : 7 (+ 20)
DEX : 7 (+2 + 20)
INT : 11
(Bonus : 50 MP per 10 levels)
WIS : 7
LUC : 8
Points : 6
Money : $360 / D0
Status : Demigod
Skills
Combat :
Sword Fighting (Level 1)
Inherited :
Ancient Greek (Max)
Modern English (Level 16)
Swimming (Level 1 - 3 km/hr)
Breathe Underwater (Max)
Running (Level 3 - 26 km/hr)
General :
Observe (Level 3)
Sneaking (Level 2)
Passive :
Gamer's Mind (Max level)
Son of the Sea God
(Gives +20 STR, VIT & DEX as well as +2000 HP and +2000 MP when in water)
Abilities :
Water Control (Level 9 - 42 MP / Min)
