Chapter 115
[Third Person's PoV]
"So this is the reason why you go out and hunt down monsters," Thalia said as Lucian returned her card.
"Yup, and because it's fun."
"Wait, Lucian, we will need to add her to the story."
"Ughhhhh," Lucian groaned loudly, throwing his head back.
"Story? What story?" Thalia asked
Annabeth sighed.
"Hey, it's not my fault, alright—" Thalia started before Lucian interrupted.
"It's not towards you, it's towards the future me for being an annoyance."
"Anyways…" Lucian and Annabeth began sharing their idea for the story and their plans. After they finished, all Thalia could do was stare at them as if they'd lost their minds.
"So you're telling me the two of you want to start a cult?"
"If you don't want to turn into your dad… Yes," Lucian replied.
Annabeth nudged Lucian's side. "Lucian," she reprimanded.
"What, it's true," Lucian shrugged.
Thalia rolled her eyes, not offended by Lucian's bluntness. "So I would need to make a part 3 of whatever the two of you are creating?"
"We could, or you could be a continuous character that appears throughout both books so you'll be well-known," Lucian suggested.
"And you're lucky we haven't finished writing or designing 'Ruins,' which means we would most likely add you," Annabeth added.
Thalia sighed. "This is so much to process…" She rubbed her forehead.
"Let's focus on one thing at a time. What are the materials you'll need for the Boxer potion?" Lucian asked, noticing Thalia's growing overwhelm.
Thalia looked at her card and took a deep breath before reading it aloud. "Hellhound Claw and Tooth of Nemean Lion for the main ingredients."
"Woah, you are lucky," Lucian commented.
Thalia looked at him, puzzled.
"I have both of those things in stock." Lucian said motioning to the room around him.
"As for the supplementary: A drop of Nectar, a liter of blood from a Cyclops, Ambrosia fragment, and Bronze horn."
"What's a Bronze horn?" Thalia asked after finishing the list.
"You are so incredibly lucky," Lucian sighed. "A Bronze horn is a horn from an Automaton bull. Luckily for you, I have all of these with me."
"I can't just take them from you," Thalia said, feeling uncomfortable.
"Think of these as payment for the dragon blood you gave me. That blood is worth more than all the things I'm going to give you."
"Huh? I forgot about that," Thalia admitted, finally remembering.
"So you can go get the Ambrosia fragment and the drop of Nectar while I set everything up."
"Wait, I haven't even decided if I want to do this," Thalia interrupted Lucian.
Annabeth and Lucian stared at Thalia as if she were the crazy one. Thalia started to feel self-conscious under their gaze and blushed.
"What? Why are you guys staring at me like that?"
"This is an opportunity to gain unimaginable power, and you don't know if you want to take it?" Annabeth asked incredulously.
Thalia sighed. "I'm just thinking it through. If I go through with this, that means I would be an enemy of the gods."
"Stop being such a pussy," Lucian said matter-of-factly.
Annabeth didn't reprimand Lucian this time; she just facepalmed and sighed.
Thalia grew irritated. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean what I just said. You can't keep living your whole life in fear. Sure, being scared of gods is natural and something you've been taught. But don't let fear guide your every decision. Sometimes you have to take risks, even if it could result in your death."
Annabeth stared at Lucian, surprised, then smiled and nodded.
Thalia and Lucian exchanged looks before turning around and walking away.
"Where are you going?" Annabeth asked.
"To get the Ambrosia and Nectar," Thalia replied as she left the room.
Lucian and Annabeth smiled at each other and high-fived. Lucian then started grabbing jars from the shelf in his room.
After a while, Thalia returned. "Chiron asked some questions, but I just said it was for something experimental. Was that alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine. He won't really bother with us, especially when it comes to one of the Big Three. We have more liberty than the others. Here, make it yourself. I'll guide you, so if you have the items and I'm not around, you can do it on your own."
Thalia nodded as Lucian took out the cauldron, and one by one, ingredient by ingredient, he started instructing her.
Thalia mixed everything with a concentrated expression, not once taking her eyes off the cauldron. She watched as it changed colors and finally stopped when it turned into a red and orange mix.
Once it was in a vial, Thalia prepared to drink it.
"Wait," Lucian and Annabeth said simultaneously.
"What? Am I missing something?" Thalia asked, looking at them in confusion.
"You're supposed to cheer towards us before drinking it," Lucian explained.
Thalia looked at them with an expression that asked if they were serious.
"It's a sort of tradition Annabeth and I developed."
Thalia rolled her eyes at their childishness and cheered towards them before drinking it all.
Almost immediately, Thalia started to feel the effects. She felt her muscles spasming inside her like she was having a full-body cramp.
"Ahhh! Why does this hurt so much?" she cried out through gritted teeth.
"As they say, strength doesn't come easily," Lucian retorted.
Despite the pain, Thalia glared at Lucian and chose to ignore him, focusing on what was happening to her body.
When it was finally over, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, wiggling her fingers and rotating her shoulders while doing small stretches to regain control of her body.
"So, what abilities did you get?" Annabeth asked curiously.
"How do I check?" Thalia asked, confused.
"Look inside yourself, the information should be there. Just think about what you are able to do and the information should appear," Annabeth explained.
Thalia nodded and closed her eyes, focusing inward.
"Once you find it, just read them out," Lucian encouraged.
"I have 6 in total," Thalia said.
"6!" Both Lucian and Annabeth exclaimed in surprise. "That's more than what Lucian and I received, we only got 5 each."
Thalia then began to read out her abilities:
1. Enhanced Strength and Speed: Increased physical power and agility to deliver powerful punches and quick movements.
2. Preternatural Reflexes: Superhuman reaction times to anticipate and dodge attacks.
3. Endurance and Durability: Increased resistance to physical damage and greater stamina to withstand prolonged battles.
4. Combat Intuition: The ability to instinctively understand an opponent's weaknesses and predict their next moves.
5. Adrenaline Rush: Temporarily boosts all physical attributes in critical moments during a fight.
6. Aura of Intimidation: Projects a fearsome presence that can demoralize or intimidate opponents, making them less effective in combat.
"That's 8, not 6," Lucian said with a straight face.
"Oh come on, for my first one I gained Librarian, definitely not as cool as any of yours," Annabeth replied.
"Okay, Empress of Decay," Lucian said sarcastically.
"Oh come on, that's all the way to Sequence 1," Annabeth added with an eye roll.
Meanwhile, Thalia looked at her hand and then around the room. "Wait, you mentioned that no one could hear us down here, right?"
"Yeah?" Lucian replied, looking confused.
"You mentioned something about Luke that you weren't able to say before. What is it?" Thalia asked, growing more serious.
"Oh right, I forgot about that," Lucian said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I think we all did. He seemed better after the party we had, so we didn't really question it. But after the two of you went on a mission, he seemed almost secretive and withdrawn. It was hard to notice unless you've known him for a long time. So, can you talk about it here? You said you knew what has been bothering him." Thalia said with a sigh.
Lucian sighed heavily, holding the bridge of his nose. "He's talking to our grandfather."
"Our grandfather?" Thalia asked in confusion, her eyes widening in shock.
Lucian saw their gears turning and their horrified expression. "WHAT!?" They both shouted simultaneously.
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