10 Chapter 10: Spirits Blush Too & Moving Foward
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson
Discord channels You can find me at
Emerald Library: Is so big you can Google it
Writer's Block: wttJDs62Dy
LAST TIME:
"I can't believe I forgot to tell you, after you… passed away. Annabeth and I discovered that we were pregnant, together we ended up having 3 loving children. All of whom grew up knowing about their amazing and brilliant father." Piper said with a small smile as Percy's mind seemed to short circuit, yet before he could speak the two of them began to dissolve into particles of mana as their time in this realm was coming to a close.
"W-What are their names?" Percy managed to ask her as the two squeezed hands even tighter as they dissolved faster.
"They are Jinx, Grace, and Kian. They were outstanding people in every way, I wouldn't be surprised if they reincarnated as well if what you say is right. Percy… I love you, take care of yourself. I hope I can see you soon." Piper said with happy tears in her eyes as she leaned in and gave him another kiss on the lips.
With that, everything faded to black as Percy was forced out of the soul realm and back to their own.
NOW:
THIRD PERSON POV:
Percy sat quietly on a stump as his eyes looked into the evening sky as the sun dyed the horizon orange after a long day. The trees around him provided a simple yet elegant frame for this beautiful scene of nature. His gaze unfocused on the beautiful scene before him as his emotions slowly stabilized themselves. The deep ache in both his arms aided in this as he was reminded of his injuries, the last 48 hours were terrifyingly long to him.
Not too far from him was Gaia as she quietly stared at the thinking boy, his thoughts were filled with longing, a longing so intense that she found herself being infected with it. Yet with each second, he was pushing away the desire until it silently receded deep inside him and was replaced with a deep-seated happiness and desire for more strength. Sensing his emotions fluctuate to such a state Gaia couldn't help but feel a bit… overshadowed.
"Percy… How are you feeling? Are you injured?" Gaia finally questioned him as Percy slowly blinked himself out of his stupor and faced the questioning world spirit.
"Are injuries to the heart counted?" Percy asked with a small chuckle as Gaia pursed her lips together in frustration.
"I'm going to leave if you are going to act like a love-struck idiot. I get that you just met with your lady but shape up, she would be disappointed to see you like this." She said with an angry huff as Percy stared up at her with questioning eyes for a moment as she met his gaze and stared at him back. After a little, Percy chuckled as he turned his gaze back to the sun.
"You're probably right… but don't the ladies like it when men miss them after they leave?" He questioned as Gaia opened her mouth to rant at him only to shut it a moment later. A light blush covered her cheeks as she couldn't help but agree with him a little… even if it was only a little.
"If you point it out then it doesn't count anymore." She finally argued back as Percy put on a face that seemed confused by her answer.
"That doesn't make any sense." He argued as Gaia nodded in agreement causing him more confusion, seeing him in such a stupid-looking stupor Gaia couldn't help but smile a bit, he was finally returning to the Percy she knew. However, she didn't expect this to be the topic to make him do so.
"Take it from a woman, we don't make sense sometimes. Anyway, enough about that, are you okay?" She asked him in a serious tone, Percy couldn't help but laugh at her change of pace and nod as he beamed her a smile.
"I feel fantastic! Nothing like a good battle to help blow off some steam as well as find your long-lost loved one! Though it may be over for now it was all worth it. I feel incredible, I swear even the darkness in me has lifted a bit, shit seems brighter and you know what… I feel a bit generous. When I get back to camp everyone is getting extra meat tonight." He radiated a positive attitude as Gaia quietly listened to him rant for a bit more until he sat there smiling.
"I'm happy you're feeling better and that you are safe," She said with a small smile of her own as Percy's smile widened to show his pearly whites. Just then his smile changed into more of a crazy grin as he pulled up a system window. Gaia raised an eyebrow at him before he quickly shared the system window with the World Spirit.
"Plus… the rewards for this quest do make for an amazing cherry on the top."
Quest: Retribution of the Asura Race
Overview: The Asura race has broken the rules of the Akashic system by cutting off their connection with the system and escaping record absorption when they die. They then return to their soul realm to recover and continue to spread like a plague through their Skill Asura's Rage. The system wishes for you to travel to the Asura Race's Soul realm and kill as many of them as you can eliminating part of the infestation. The System will open a portal only once for you to reach the soul realm, use this chance wisely.
Quest Status: Completed
Total eliminated Asura:
Tier 0: 1,587,124,455
Tier 1: 36,387,981
Tier 2: 1,680,997
Tier 3: 85,465
Tier 4: 523
Tier 5: 35
[The Akashic System is grateful for your work on eliminating part of the Asura infestation.]
[Rewards are being generated…]
[Results are far above expected results…]
[Additional rewards are being generated…]
[Akashic has determined rewards most useful to the user…]
[Reward: Pill of Enlightenment x2 has been given!]
[Reward will spawn when the user decides to accept it]
After reading through the quest results Gaia was completely floored by the sheer amount Percy had managed to kill. She simply didn't have words as her eyes looked up at the Tier 0 boy in front of her as he gave her a satisfied grin. Biting the inside of her cheek a bit she couldn't help but try and think of ways he accomplished such a thing until an idea struck her. His soul Tier… just what Tier was it?
Multiple questions filled her mind as she was forced to push them away and calm herself down. All she knew was that Percy's soul Tier did not match his current Tier of 0, all she could do was account his reincarnation to such a thing. Still, she couldn't help but wonder how and why his body didn't explode containing such a powerful soul. Was the energy directed somewhere else? Was it possibly sealed away?
"Gaia?" Percy finally questioned as Gaia snapped out of her trance and realized she was unknowingly pulled into a spiral of thought. Even though she thought she pushed all the questions away for a later date.
"Sorry, I was just thinking a few things over. So this Pill of enlightenment… where have I heard this name before," Gaia questioned as she closed her eyes and started to think. After a minute she quickly discovered that even though she knew the name she didn't know the effects of the pill at all. Seeing her blink in surprise Percy seemed to gather that even she was stumped by this pill.
"It sounds like a skill-boosting pill to me… or something similar. I won't know till I summon it though." Percy added in quickly as the surprised Gaia nodded before tearing her vision away from that quest screen to a few others.
[You have succeeded in creating an Active skill, records for the technique Apocalypse (Tier 0) Level 1 have been created]
[Active Skill: Apocalypse (Tier 0) Level 1 has been added to your skill list]
[Multiple Evolution and Leveling Conditions have been met, Apocalypse has leveled and evolved into (Tier 2) Level 4]
Apocalypse: (Tier 2) Level 4
Description: A spear that brings forth destruction and annihilation, a spear to bring forth the end of all, a spear to bring forth a new era of desolation. Burn the world before you to ash and let all those who stand before you cower in fear as you wield their end. Let the apocalypse descend yet again by your hand.
Primary Active Effect (Apocalypse of Fire): Infuse a spear with Tier 1 greater Fire and Wind mana, the power of Apocalypse is based on the amount of mana used as Tier of Wind and Fire used.
Secondary Active effect (Charged Strike): Charge Apocolypse up to 150% of the maximum capacity of mana spear can handle without it breaking, while charging, the user will experience a 50% decrease in speed.
Primary Passive effect (Burning world): Debuff all beings 0 to 30% of all physical stats that traverse the field of destruction the strike creates, % depends on the mental state of the enemy, and Tier and Level compared to yours, resistance to Fire, Tier of flame used.
Secondary Passive Effect (????): ????
Caution: The blast radius of the skill might overtake the user when the skill is used, please use the skill with caution until the user can verify if they can properly escape the radius or further the distance of how far you can throw the spear.
Skill Level up requirements:
Absorb 6 Tier 1 cores (0/6)
Absorb 20 Tier 0 cores (0/20)
"Did you… never mind I don't wanna know how you even managed to create this." Gaia said while rubbing her temples together, yet another stupidly powerful skill had been added to Percy's collection of skills.
"I managed to create it myself, thank you very much. All I did was use the blessings that my soul retained to use wind and fire mana along with a mana spear I formed and boom! I got myself a bomb ass skill… quite literally." He said as Gaia just stared at him in complete disbelief as if he had just said something so crazy it wasn't even understandable.
"You can't just casually…" Gaia started to say something but caught her tongue as she pursed her lips together and violently inhaled through her nose. Seeing the world spirit perform such actions slightly concerned Percy, but he decided not to say anything at the moment. After a bit, Gaia finally opened her mouth and raised her hands to the sky before crying out in anger.
"Why Akashic! Why must you give me so much knowledge on the way things are supposed to be only for this idiot to be everything outside of that? It is so frustrating! I simply don't know what to do with him! Please help me. I beg of you! Guide this spirit you blessed with your knowledge!" She begged the sky as Percy was stumped by her actions and sure he wasn't normal but was it that bad?
"YOU!" Gaia pointed at Percy as he leaned back a bit, her finger only inches from his face as her frustrated face was clearly in view. Her jade green eyes swam with turmoil as she huffed and puffed. "Don't you dare go thinking it isn't that bad! You don't have hundreds of thousands of years of knowledge stuffed inside you in a few days. All of which was meant to be helpful to you and now not even half of it is useful! I just…!"
Not knowing what to do Percy simply continued to stare at the finger in front of him and cleared his mind as Gaia's face scrunched up angrily. She wanted to say something but kept her mouth shut for a bit longer before letting out a long sigh of defeat. Gaia simply stood there in silence as her head hung low as her ears did the same. Her expression turned blank as if she had just experienced a huge blow to her mental health and gave up.
Carefully pulling up her legs to her chest she began to float in the air, her body only silently spinning in place as her position remained the same. Each time she rotated her eyes locked onto Percy before looking away as she began pouting. Seeing Gaia act in such a way made Percy frown a bit but then he thought back to her words just now. Reviewing them in his mind he couldn't help but feel her reaction… was well within reason.
While staring at her he began to think of a way to cheer her up, taking a glance to his left he saw the kill logs for the Asuras he had just dispatched as well as other information he was about to show her. Not wanting to make her feel even worse he approached her, dispersed the screens from his vision and slowly walked towards her until they were only a few feet from one another.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Percy asked the depressed woman as her emotionless eyes blinked at him.
"What is there to even talk about? My plans are simply in shambles again because of your monstrous talent." She mumbled while continuing to spin as Percy stared at her with pursed lips. It seems that his monstrous talent had injured the beauty's spirit this time.
"You know… if Becca kept her promise then there should be some ice cream at camp. Would a bowl of that make you feel better?" Percy asked her as her spinning stopped before turning to him with slightly more life-filled eyes "What kind is it?"
"Raspberry… you interested?" Hearing her question he quickly responded, Gaia's ears slowly waved up and down hearing that as she seemed to be thinking, after a bit she lightly nodded. This brought a smile to Percy's face as he motioned his head to the camp not too far away and began walking towards it with the floating World Spirit in tow.
"I'm sorry I keep wrecking your plans," Percy whispered as Gaia's ears seemed to fall a bit as her inner turmoil grew again, her eyes couldn't help but stare at his back as she followed behind the boy. As she did her fingers began to gently play with one another as she continued to keep her legs against her chest.
"Don't be… it just gets frustrating when your plans fall apart so rapidly. I spent so much time on them and now they are useless." Gaia mumbled in a frustrated tone causing Percy to chuckle a little, hearing that anger build in her chest only for it to stop as Percy shot her an apologetic look.
"You sound just like Annabeth, she used to always get pissed with me when I improvised or worked outside of a plan. You can almost say plans and I don't get along very well unless I'm the one making them. Even then half the time it seems like I can't keep up with it." He said with an awkward smile on his face as Gaia scoffed a little at him.
"You're right about that, plans are always seemingly against you. Still… I just wish I could help you more, yet each time I do I'm always faced with a hurdle after the next. I can't have you dying on me but that Apocalypse skill is just another huge thing I must worry about now. Even though it is incredibly useful, which makes things even more frustrating." Gaia started to let her worries be known as they continued on their way, eventually, they made it into the camp where people were getting ready for bed.
'Maybe just go with the flow? Sometimes plans are impossible to make or go to shit. All you can do is work with what you have and I just happened to have an amazingly beautiful world spirit to help guide me and inform me about things. While you have a monstrously strong boy genius who can meet even the craziest of expectations.' Percy mentally suggested as Gaia pursed her lips together, his comment causing a light blush to cross her cheeks. It seems the boy had gotten smoother with his words again, not that she would admit that.
'Enough of your flattery, I don't quite get what you're suggesting,' Gaia admitted as she watched Percy walk and talk to people as he made his way through camp. His natural leader aura took over as people showed their concern after he had disappeared for a bit. Even the once-worried guards were put to ease as Percy confronted their fears with his handsome grin.
'I mean we should rely on each other more, don't just… go making plans on your own. Let me help you as much as I can since the flow of the plan is based on me. I know you can't tell me everything you know or you will get struck down but isn't it better this way since I know my strengths best?' Percy said as Gaia's eyes slowly widened at his words.
'W-Wait does that mean… you're willing to help Chaos?' She asked as Percy nearly tripped over something the boy couldn't help but glance up at the sky.
'You're imagining things, I haven't forgotten about her fruit basket though. Besides that isn't the point of what I just said, let us work together more on this. I promise I won't disappoint.' His words caused her to frown at him a bit until she unknowingly found herself smiling ever so gently. Working together with that headache-inducing boy on a more personal level? It sounded like a perfect opportunity to start digging an early grave due to stress, yet at the same time, it wasn't… completely undesirable.
'Very well it is a deal, tomorrow we will work together to start rebuilding your growth plan.' She happily replied as Percy gave a small grin of his own. Yet at that moment, he was finally at his tent only to find the triplets and his parents standing before him. His grin quickly fell to an awkward smile before Trista's death grip pinch captured his ear as she quickly began nagging him while dragging him into the tent.
Gaia on the other hand was left helplessly giggling her head off as she revealed a stunning smile. Thanks to her talk with Percy and the funny scene her mood had turned around, her worries had lessened and her heart felt lighter. That didn't mean raspberry ice cream was off the table though!
LINEBREAK:
PERCY POV:
"MMMMMHHHH!" I watched in slight fascination as Gaia moaned in pure delight with a mouth full of ice cream. Both her arms swung up and down rapidly as her whole face turned into one of pure food ecstasy. I couldn't help but stare at the beauty as she was completely enthralled with the sweet treat in front of her. With her jade eyes sparkling and her long ears wagging up and down it was hard not to stare.
After one bite was done she went in for another. I watched helplessly as her soft lips parted and the next scoop was put inside her mouth. Her lips instantly turned into an even larger smile as she did a small happy dance. I couldn't help but feel envious watching her eat the delicious treat. In truth, there was only one portion of it left when I got back. To say the least, Becca had sampled it and then brought it back to the family who also enjoyed it. My portion was barely even one large scoop in the end, which I had to give to Gaia to complete our deal.
"This is so good," Gaia said with a content sigh as she waved about her spoon with a knowing look in her eyes. I couldn't help but feel my lip twitch at her brat-like attitude but decided to smile at her simply.
"I would hope so, the show you're putting on is truly lavish. I need to start feeding you better food, I can't get enough of seeing you… squirm in delight." I could manage in the most suggestive and husky tone as I winked at her. Gaia froze as she was just about to put another spoonful into her mouth after hearing my words, a blush even made it to her cheeks making her beauty truly blossom. My gaze locked onto her as the moment lasted for several more seconds before she carefully put the spoon into her mouth.
"This is too good to care about your pervertedness. Watch and listen all you want, I don't care. This is the first sweet treat I have had in a millennium and I'm not letting it go." She said with a shrug while continuing to eat, in turn I was left speechless as I watched her gobble up the rest. Along the way she laid into her moans and squirms causing me to narrow my eyes at her, these fake reactions weren't what I was looking to get out of her and defeated any meaning in watching. Eventually, only one spoonful was left.
"Want a bite?" She asked with a mischievous tone and look on her face that made me squint my eyes a little. Yet my stomach betrayed me as it let out a large growl causing her smile to widen and a blush to cross my face.
"Yeah…" I admitted as the smiling Gaia moved the spoon in front of my face as it stared at the delicious morsel on top.
"Say Awwww." Her words were like a succubus' and caused me to instinctively open my mouth and put the spoon in my mouth. One moment I was yelling internally at myself and the next I was enjoying the bitter sweetness of raspberries in ice cream for the first time in forever.
"Hehehe." As I was enjoying the spoonful chuckle snapped me out of the sweetness of the food as I looked up at a wickedly grinning Gaia. Realizing what I had just done I froze for a second before slowly pulling off the spoon and swallowing the treat as Gaia sat there grinning at me while twirling the spoon. Seeing her expression lit a fire of challenge in me, I was going to wipe that smirk off her face one way or another.
"Thank you for the bite, I appreciate it. Though… I didn't know you were so desperate to give me a secondhand kiss." Those simple words wiped the smirk right off Gaia's lips as her eyes turned to the spoon in her hand.
"Y- You-!" Gaia started to say something but I simply stood up and took both the bowl and spoon as I shot her a wink while licking my lips. This instantly shut her up and a blush crossed her cheeks in an instant. I left the awestruck and stuttering world spirit alone for a moment as I returned the dishes to the dirty bin before returning to my tent.
Finding it now empty of any world spirits I grinned before laying down on the makeshift bed and relaxing. I couldn't help but think of what happened to me over the last few days. All that time spent in the soul plane with Piper, even though it was mostly spent convincing her I was me, I didn't mind in the least. I was just happy in the end I was able to convince her and get the information I needed to find her.
I knew it was going to take a long time but I didn't care, immortality started at Tier 4 according to Gaia. As long as she and Annabeth were out there I would find them no matter the cost. Even so, I knew the journey up to that point was going to be a long one, I needed power to accomplish my goals. To gain the power I needed all the help I could get and Gaia was an irreplaceable cog in that machine that would get me there.
"Which brings me to the first major step of my journey, advancing to Tier 1," I spoke to myself before sitting up and summoning my rewards from the system. In an instant two small boxes the size of a wedding ring box appeared in my lap. Each box looked very plain but had a special magical type of seal on the front of each, I'm not sure what this pill of enlightenment was but it must have been impressive.
Pill of Enlightenment (unique/????)
A pill that allows the user to enter a state of true enlightenment for 2 uninterruptible hours, this state allows the user to both level or evolve multiple or singular skills at once. During this time you do not need to fulfill the listed requirements for either leveling or evolving to grow skills.
Uses: (1/1)
Caution: Please use it wisely and don't eat more than one pill a week or else the effects of enlightenment will greatly diminish.
Special remarks: A pill only several dozen people in the universe can create.
"Dang… that's impressive," I mumbled to myself as I read the words true enlightenment, even in my past life I had only been able to reach such a state maybe 2 times. Such a state of mind was a phenomenon of nature itself more than a feeling or something, it was like all of your being came together to flow as one and understand everything. Annabeth explained her enlightenment phenomenon as if she was piecing together a thousand-piece puzzle and it only took her a matter of minutes.
"Gaia you there?" I asked while looking around the room to find nothing, yet a moment later a soft presence made itself known in the tent. Knowing this was Gaia telling me she was here I simply smiled as I moved into a crossed-legged position on my bed before grabbing one box. Taking a long and deep breath I cracked the seal on the box before opening it up, in a single moment a thick medicinal herb smell entered my nose.
"Holy fuck." I cursed as I felt all the pores on my body open up and my nose tingle, my mind even began to calm down greatly as I blinked a few times and relished in the moment. It was just like that time Apollo showed me his herb garden all over again but this time it was better. Looking inside the box, I found the pill to be as round as a large grape and the color of dirt.
"Hmm… you would think they would color it gold or something if it was this fancy. Alright, Gaia, wish me luck, I will see you in the morning." I said as I picked up the pill and threw it into my mouth, in an instant it felt like it turned to liquid in my mouth and flowed down my throat. In the next moment, I felt my body grow numb as my mind cleared itself of thoughts and emotions until I was left in a white plane in my mind.
"It's exactly as I remember." I thought to myself as I continued to feel the wonderful feeling enshroud me every second as my mind began to stir and focus as a flood of information came my way. Thoughts, images, smells, and everything I had ever done turned into a trillion motes of different colored lights as they formed a dome around me and spun rapidly as they waited to be used.
"Very well, let us begin, since I have two of these pills… let's get fancy," I said to myself before I found two skills in my arsenal that I wanted to focus on. In an instant, a flood of dots shot my way causing me to grin like a maniac as they poured into me as I began my enlightenment.
LINEBREAK: 1 Week later
"I'm telling you I am fine." I once again told the triplets who were staring at me with faces full of skepticism before turning to my arms as they scanned them over. Each one seemed to try and find something wrong with them as they pinched, pulled, and even squeezed every part of them to try and get a reaction out of me. Yet I just continued to give them a weird look until they finally gave up as they stared at me bewildered.
"You just aren't supposed to be… this healed already, sure the cracks in your bones should be sealed but you still need to recondition all your skin and muscles. But from what we can tell even that is done! Did you eat something strange off the ground again?" Fall questioned me with a stern expression as I raised an eyebrow at her.
"The only strange things I have eaten are your tonics and homemade potions. Also from now on you three need to test those things on yourselves first, don't even get me started on the side effects I had to go through." I said in an equally stern tone as Fall couldn't help but turn her head away and blush as the other two shared an equally embarrassed face.
"We are still working out some kinks, we didn't know it would reverse your tasting palette for so long. We're sorry." Winter apologized for them as I eyed her as she handed a small snack to each of their now nearly 4-foot-tall golden-plated treasure-seeking pangolins. Seeing the adorable creatures eat through a handful of cookies with ease I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I glanced at the embarrassed triplets.
"Fine… so am I good to go?" I asked as all three shared a glance before nodding reluctantly as I smiled. A moment later I was finally outside the medical tent with a relieved expression on my face as I rolled my shoulders and flexed my arms as I finally felt free.
"So how did your appointment go?" A certain father of mine questions from the side as I turned to see Jake leaning up against a wagon while snacking on some nuts he had managed to scavenge.
"I am officially 100% cleared for action," I said as a happy grin spread across his face before he walked towards me and threw an arm across my shoulder. Before I knew it we were walking in tandem as he offered me a few walnut-like nuts as I graciously accepted them.
"That means a lot more is about to drop onto your plate again, especially for what is to come." He said while casting his gaze into the distance as I turned my eyes to see the massive Dragon Spine Mountains in the distance. Each one was so tall it pierced through the clouds with its snow-capped peak easily, while the mountain range extended as far as the eye could see. It was truly an impressive spectacle and when I first got a good look at it I couldn't help but be amazed.
"Is this your way of saying that you and Mom won't be taking back command of the group?" I asked him and in return, he gave me a simple smile before shrugging as I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever, just make sure you complete the sword training early. Mom is getting impatient and wants to depart early tomorrow morning." I said as he let out a sigh and nodded before releasing me from his arm that had been over my shoulder still. For a moment the two of us stared at the mountains while enjoying our snack before Dad spoke again.
"She is just nervous and wants to get to Bross as fast as possible, said she was getting a bad feeling as we approached the mountains." He said as I froze my motions and then turned to him as he continued to eat lazily.
"Why don't you seem worried?" I couldn't help but ask as he glanced at me before putting on a thinking face for a moment.
"To be honest… I'm not too fond of the city. Sure I grew up there with your mother and everything but that place is just not for me. It is a place of old blood, with the Jackson clan and the Alinta clan being the oldest ones there. Our two families have a very long history together, in fact, it would be weird to see them without each other. Even so, our two clans remain separate from one another with my clan being subordinate to the Alinta clan." Jake said in a quiet but thoughtful tone as I blinked in surprise, I honestly didn't expect that in the least.
"Does that mean we are serfs or something?" I asked him as he shook his head at my answer before his expression changed to one of deep thought.
"We weren't slaves or anything like that, it is more of a… how do I explain this? In a sense, we rely on one another but the Alinta clan comes out more on top. The Jackson clan has a strong history of being very proficient gardeners while the Alinta clan is all about fighting. They protect us while we provide a very large reusable and sustainable food source. In the end that is the way it is unfortunately and both clans are happy with the arrangement." Jake continued as I started to get an idea of the situation before an Idea suddenly came to mind.
"Does that mean… you were a simple farm boy who fell in love with a princess at first sight?" I couldn't help but blurt out as a curious grin spread across my face, Jake nearly choked on his snack hearing my words, and started to cough before putting on a fierce look.
"No such thing happened! Your mother was the one who fell in love with me! She was impressed with my dedication to work!" He proudly boasted as I felt what he was saying was a bit off.
"Sure you go ahead and tell people that, I wonder how many bones mom will break when she finds out," I said as Dad snorted at my words and continued to proudly stand up straight. "You will find your mother quite in agreement with me."
"Hmmm… fine I will believe you. I still think your dedication has something to do with growing something." I said as Dad met my eyes before turning towards the mountain range as his gaze grew distant.
"You are correct about that, it was a tree…" He said with a long reminiscent sigh before turning back to me. "Alright enough chit-chat, off with you now. Your mother wanted to talk with you about something and I need to get back to sword training."
"Throwing me to the wolves huh? Fine, I'll see what she is up to. Good luck with training Dad." I said before the two of us exchanged a small nod and then parted ways before suddenly realizing Dad didn't tell me where Mom even was.
'She is helping Becca in her tent.' Just then a voice entered my mind. Gaia appeared not too far behind me in her partially invisible mode.
'Thank you Miss Gaia the wonderful world spirit, how was your scouting trip?' I thought right back to her as Gaia rolled her eyes at the name I gave her. 'Nothing noteworthy is within a 15-mile radius, but beyond that, there might be something.'
'Another solid info riddle, you know, I kinda enjoy this a bit more than if you were just directly to tell me, it's a bit of a surprise. Still, it sounds like something in 15 miles is a bit interesting, I wonder what it could be.' I said as Gaia gave a soft laugh at my response.
'Something noteworthy perhaps.' She reported as I chuckled to myself, taking a glance upward I once again allowed my eyes to feast on the beauty floating above me. Gaia quickly noticed my gaze before raising an eyebrow at me before frowning. 'Don't you still have Piper and Annabeth? Why are you looking at other women so greedily?'
'Haha, it seems you don't quite understand how our relationship works. I may be married to both and we all love each other immensely but Annabeth and Piper are very… free-spirited in the bedroom. Both have invited other women multiple times and I am not one to say no to such invitations. I am sure they wouldn't mind inviting someone as stunning as you, but just be prepared they are the type to tease you relentlessly and make you beg for many things.' I finished with a wink as Gaia's face changed into a priceless expression of embarrassment, anger, and befuddlement.
'After that little sneaky kiss you gave me I was sure you wouldn't mind a bit more staring though.' I continued before Gaia could speak and her face instantly flushed red as she quickly darted in front of me with an embarrassed look on her face.
'That was an accident! Also, d- don't go telling me about your sex life!' She raged as I smirked a little and rolled my eyes.
'Sure it was an 'accident', you know there are better ways to kiss the person you like. Also, you taste of mint and raspberries, did you know that?'
'No- Shut up! I swear to Chaos I will obliterate you! Also, the raspberries were from the ice cream!'
'Hmm… I'm not too sure about that, how about another kiss just to make sure?' I asked her with another subtle wink at the end as Gaia's face turned even more red. Her embarrassment easily went up two notches as her whole body trembled in anger all while she continued to point at me as I effectively riled up the World Spirit before me.
'S- S- S- Shut up Percy!' Her mental scream shook my mind as I winced a bit from the extreme internal volume, Gaia huffed and puffed in anger as she floated before me as if debating whether to blow me up.
'A later date then.' With those simple and smooth words, I passed the now stunned women as I found Becca's tent right before me. Gaia couldn't even speak before I was inside as I found Trista and Becca talking about something while enjoying a small snack of berries.
"Wassup!" I said as both women turned to me with a curious expression on their faces as I suddenly realized what I just said.
"Was up? What's that supposed to mean?" Becca asked me as Mother seemed to ask the same question but with her stare as my lips twitched a bit.
"Umm… I heard you needed me?" I dodged the question as Becca continued to curiously stare at me while Mom nodded before glancing at my arms.
"How was your checkup?" She asked me in a slightly concerned tone as I met her gaze.
"I am fully cleared and feel fantastic, even the triplets gave me the go-ahead," I said with a grin before flexing my arms showing them my fully healed arms, not even scars remain on my skin as my muscles bulged. I could see her relax a little seeing my expression as she nodded.
"If you say so then I will trust you. That does make me wonder, how did you recover so quickly? You should have needed at least 2 to 3 weeks to fully heal and regain your motor control, yet you were able to do it in one week." Mom pointed out as I gave a soft smile before thinking of the skill that helped me out the most.
Leviathan: (Tier 3) Level 1
Description: Leviathan, the star and space-consuming race, their bodies are at the zenith of perfection. May your health be enough to survive the strongest blows, stamina so vast you never fall tired, strength enough to destroy stars, agility to make you faster than light, mana so vast you may use spells without worry, and luck so vast you the heavens smile down on you.
Primary Passive Effect (Full stat boost): Increase all stats +60
Secondary Passive Effect (True evolution): Once a stat reaches a certain amount it will create a support skill for that stat.
Health (N/A): ????
Mana '200' (Second Wind): Recover half of your mana instantly once a month, your mana stat will temporarily decrease by 25% for one day after.
Strength (N/A): ????
Stamina (N/A): ????
Agility (N/A): ????
Luck (N/A): ????
Third Passive Effect (Endless Metabolism): Increase natural regeneration permanently by 3x, natural regeneration can be increased up to 10x by using mana.
Fourth Passive Effect (Star Digesting Stomach): The user can consume any amount of food or items without becoming full. All things consumed will help increase mana, stamina, and health regeneration. The higher the Tier of the items consumed the higher the regeneration % is increased. The effect is stackable with consumables.
Primary Active Effect (Transformation 'man' ): Perform a partial transformation into a demi-leviathan, all stats are increased from 50% to 100% for the duration of the transformation. Mana is consumed to maintain transformation, mana cost fluctuates depending on physical activity during usage.
Skill Level-up requirements:
Absorb 15 tier 3 cores (0/15)
The Pill of Enlightenment was truly amazing, in one night a Tier 1 skill had increased to Tier 3 and become something amazing from a simple full stat boost. My regeneration has increased so much that my arms fully healed in only 2 days and full movement returned on the 3rd. This skill truly lived up to the name Leviathan in all its might, it made me wonder… just how powerful a true Levithan was.
"I leveled up a skill that did wonders for my natural regeneration. If I were to get injured like that again it would take me half the time to heal. I bet I wouldn't even need healing spells again." I said with a proud smile as Mom stared at me for a bit more with a thoughtful gaze.
"That is good to know, it does relieve me a bit to know you will recover faster. But… if you use this as an opportunity to put yourself in more dangerous positions…" She didn't even need to finish her sentence as her eyes flickered in a deadly glint and her hair glowed with a deadly red. I couldn't help but awkwardly grin at her as I felt a cold sweat run down my back.
"Of course not… totally," I murmured as she raised an eyebrow that caused me to cough a bit as she scoffed a bit at my response. Becca on the other hand was shaking a bit as she tried to hold back her laughter.
"Hmm…. regardless I am happy you are healthy again. You had me so worried I couldn't sleep at night." She said with an exhausted sigh that I had heard several dozen times throughout the last few weeks. I couldn't help but glance at the dark bags underneath her eyes and feel the tiredness and worry she radiated.
"You must finally want to talk to me about Bross," I said while taking a seat, in a moment her eyes met mine before she let out a large sigh yet again and nodded as Becca did the same. Their once fiery attitudes that stood strong against the world that never seemed to go out were now smoldering. I couldn't help but feel my worries grow at the sight, it seemed that Bross was truly a terrible topic for them.
"I wanted to wait until you were fully healed before I put another issue on your plate." She began in a worried voice before rubbing her temples a little while Becca rubbed her back a bit as I furrowed my eyebrows a little. After another breath to steady herself she began speaking again "Our family in Bross will more than likely try to kill us all."
"... What do you mean?" I asked in a calm tone before glancing at Becca who had a forlorn look on her face. I could already tell she knew what Mom was going to talk about.
"When me and your father left Bross… we did not leave on good terms, we were exiled. I was the first heir to the throne and your father was the third son of the Jackson clan's head 5th concubine. To put it simply our love was not something either of our families approved of, yet we did not care. In the end, I wound up pregnant and both our clans exiled us. We were lucky to keep our lives even, the clans are very against the mixing of our bloodlines."
"We were lucky we weren't killed on the spot when they found out, my status as the main heir is the only thing that kept us alive. In the end, we were imprisoned and forced to make a choice. One choice was to keep the child but be exiled into the mountains with Jake, both of us losing all connections and statuses within our clans. While the other was to get rid of it and then go our separate ways, keeping our statuses in our clans and acting like nothing ever happened." Mom said before revealing a small smile as she reached out and grabbed Becca's hand the two smiled at each other.
"An easy and smart choice if you ask me," I said with a smile, yet on the inside… I felt dark emotions growing inside me, whispers of the souls from Festival of Madness grew restless inside me along with my emotions. Yet I was able to keep it at bay as I continued to listen to Mom speak.
"Indeed it was, in the end, we were exiled and told to never come back. If we did they would not hesitate to kill us both and everyone we bring with us. The only reason we lived was because of my status and how much my mother loved me. Your grandmother was heartbroken when she found out what I did, I wasn't even able to see her again before we were kicked out." She finished in an extremely sad tone as my hands clenched together while I pushed away the demonic whispers in my mind further down until they were silenced.
"You must think you are leading us all to a death trap," I finally said as Mom flinched at my words while Becca shot me a glance before I continued, "But you don't have to worry about such things. Like I said before Mom, I will take care of any situation that comes our way. Even if you were exiled that means nothing now, this world has changed, and the rules that used to exist no longer apply. If they don't understand that… then I will make them understand. Besides, I have an inkling that Grandma will enjoy seeing the family you built together with Dad."
"Percy…" Mom's voice cracked with emotions as tears began to well up in her eyes, even Becca was starting to get tears in her eyes at my words. Seeing such a sight I couldn't help but give them a soft smile.
"You and Dad both said Bross is the safest place for us and has everything we need to survive. Also, the decision to go was not Dad's and yours alone, it was all of ours. So don't go getting your head twisted with worries, just leave everything with me, Mom. I promise I will handle it when we get to Bross." I said before standing up and hugging Mom and Becca as the two women hugged me and sniffled several times while in my arms.
"You sound like an old man, you've barely even turned seventeen haha. I am such a horrible mother for putting such a heavy burden on your shoulders." She tried to joke a little before her tone took a sour turn as I blinked in surprise, with a single thought my Stat Page popped up only for me to find that I was indeed 17 years old now.
"Don't worry Mom, just leave it to me. I promised you I would protect us all until my dying breath and that promise has not changed. Also don't worry about the burden on my shoulders, that is the last thing you should be worried about. Just make sure to keep your head held high when wherever you go, you are the mother of Percival Jacob Jackson." I said with a grin on my face before hugging her and Becca even harder.
"Too tight." Becca gasped in slight pain as Mom nodded in agreement, I couldn't help but give them one last squeeze before letting them go as they gasped for air. In return, I got two frustrated gazes from them yet all I could do was grin at them. A few moments later the two of them revealed small smiles on their lips.
"Mother of Percival Jacob Jackson… what gives you such confidence to make such a title into something that sways people?" Trista asked me with a new fire in her eyes, which caused my grin to grow a bit more in turn before my grin grew into my signature crazy grin.
"The same confidence that will turn this entire world into my playground, starting with turning Bross into our headquarters for our conquest." The words rolled off my tongue with such ease that Trista and Becca both stared at me for a moment before realizing what I just said. The two of them slowly widened their eyes in realization as they continued to stare at me.
"Of course… that depends on what happens after we take over Bross," I added at the end as both women were stumped at my words for a bit until Mom seemed to finally snap out of it.
"Percy…" Trista tried to say something but stopped as she pursed her lips together before slowly exhaling through her nose and continuing with a firm expression, "This topic can wait until we are done with handling Bross."
"Thanks for being understanding, regardless I'm happy you're feeling better Mom. I don't think I can stand seeing you so down in the dumps like that. That's Becca's job when an animal she has been trying to train runs away again," I said with a sly smile and a wink, her eyes narrowed a bit before she smiled again and laughed a bit as her feeble attitude finally seemed to disappear.
"Y- You are such a jerk. It only happened like… 10 ish times," Becca said with an embarrassed face causing both Mom and I to break out laughing as Becca frowned at us with teary eyes. I finally felt myself relaxing a bit as I saw Mom comfort Becca this time around as mother and daughter spoke to each other.
"Commander there is something that you need to see." Suddenly a voice spoke outside the tent causing my peaceful smile to turn into a stern look. I simply gave the two ladies a nod as they gave me the same, in a moment I was exiting the tent with the two of them in tow as I followed one of our scouts.
"What is the commotion, a new monster?" I asked him as he shook his head.
"It appears to be a merchant group of some sort, about 100 strong and heading our way. Other than them using cloaks to hide their features the only distinguishable part is they are using some mutated monsters to haul some of their goods." He told me as I raised an eyebrow in interest, even our group hadn't had any luck with the mutants. Maybe it was because none were strong enough yet but it was still very surprising.
"How far away are they?" I questioned again as we finally reached the edge of camp. Several guards had already gathered as they formed a wall of shields and swords that protected the camp. In the end, I moved through a gap in the defense wall as I laid eyes on the merchant group. Their distance was about a 3 or 4-minute walk away in the old days. I knew if I were to run I could get there in half a minute easily.
I could see multiple people gathering at a stopping point as they moved their people in a defensive line as they prepared for the worst. Yet they didn't show any aggressive signs other than simple defensive measures as several people ran about their group. Some were calming down two very large black 4-eyed hounds, others moved around small carts and some did the same with huge backpacks.
"Do you know who these people might be?" I questioned while turning to my aid as he shook his head. I couldn't help but let my fingers dance on the pommel of my war sword as I thought about the situation at hand. Yet as I continued to watch I soon discovered a small group of 3 people began to walk this way with a flagpole in their hands. I couldn't help but look up at the flags on the pole as my eyes narrowed.
On the top of a pole was a white flag showing they had peaceful intentions, yet below that was the flag that caught my attention. The flag was black and had a golden crest on it yet the crest itself made my brain freeze for a moment before a crazy grin slowly spread across my face. A moment later I couldn't help but start laughing as the people around me glanced at me a bit worried.
"Stay here, I will go talk with them. Have Trista and Jake take command of the defense line. I will return as fast as I can with good news." I said in a cheerful tone causing everyone to raise their eyebrows. Yet I was already several steps ahead of them as I quicked my stride to a fast-paced jog. In a single minute, I was already several dozen feet away from the group of three people as I put my hands on my hips and continued to grin.
Upon finally coming to a stop the three people put down their flagpole as I took a good look at the three of them. All of them had a deep caramel skin tone unseen on the Plain of Grass, yet it didn't phase me in the least as I continued to stare at them as they stared back. Eventually, I noticed all three shared an interesting sapphire blue eye color, yet none of them lifted their hoods to fully reveal their features.
"My name is Percival, Son of Trista and Jake. I am the commander of these people. Our destination is North at the base of the Dragon Spine mountains. Please state your purpose, we wish you no harm as long as you do the same." I spoke with them in a firm and steady tone before the three of them exchanged looks before turning back to me.
"We are the Elki Merchant group and are traveling across the land to establish trade routes across this new world. If you are willing to take an oath with the great Akashic as our witness for peaceful trade then we will have no problems trading with you." A taller male spoke to me as I locked eyes with him before grinning at him.
'She even managed to create a merchant group in so little time, one that can even traverse such a cruel world. Goes to show she always did have a knack for business.' I thought to myself as I glanced at the black flag's crest one more time.
It was a very familiar crest at that, one I had only ever seen one person use before. It was a circle with an upside-down cross below it but the cross turned into a semicircle that covered half of the bottom of the circle. Almost like the female symbol with extra steps, but in actuality, it was the symbol of Pluto god of the underworld. Yet in the very middle of that main circle… was a golden diamond, effectively completing the same design a certain demigoddess had used in her last life for the string of businesses she ran.
"That sounds good to me, we would indeed like to engage in trade with you. But I do have a question, who made that flag?" I questioned pointing at the flag as the man couldn't help but turn his head toward one of the two people. In a moment my eyes found the figure still buried in a cloak as my eyes pierced through the darkness of the veil and landed on her piercing blue eyes.
"What is your question?" She asked me before pulling down her hood revealing the face of a youthful woman with an appearance no older than I. Her deep caramel skin and sapphire eyes were indeed stunning but the dark brown hair with green highlights and long ears took the show. Though they were not as long as Gaia's they did have a small point to them making me wonder what kind of elf species she was.
Yet none of that mattered as soon as I looked into her eyes, in that single moment I instantly recognized that sparkling gaze. The very same greedy gaze that was constantly seeking out the highest profits for the most minimal cost. One might say every merchant has a gaze like that, but hers was special. One that seemed to promise whatever she touched would turn a profit.
"I was wondering if you might be able to make a flag for our group, all of our artists are… poorly skilled at best. Of course, I would be willing to pay you." I asked her with an awkward laugh as she raised an eyebrow in surprise, clearly not expecting that request from me.
"I… suppose that can be arranged, go back and tell your group first and make arrangements. Once you do, we will all take the oath and then trade can begin." She said as I happily nodded and with that, we turned our backs to one another and went to our groups. The instant I was facing away my lips twitched and slowly formed my insane grin that gave me my signature nickname. A moment later I hid it behind my hand as I chuckled in delight.
'It's good to see you again Hazel. There is so much to talk about.'
A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter! From the bit of romance with our World Spirit and our devilish boy to our worried momma Trista. Also, I hope you enjoyed the little surprise I had at the end ;). Also, let me know how you enjoyed the skills I dropped, I feel they are pretty level on the skills but let me know if they are to OP. Also, leave a review, please. Here is a cookie for those who do (::)
Name: (Percy) Percival Jacob Jackson
Title: Cultivation Genius, Obsessed Soul,
Age: 17
Race: Human/????
Constitution: Primordial Emperor body (Tier 7) Level 1
Tier: 0
Level: 25
Health: 90(+90) / Mana: 200 (+60) / Strength: 125 (+80) / Stamina: 90(+60) / Agility: 75(+75) / Luck: 68(+60)
Stat points: 0
[Conditions to unlock the True Path Seeker job]
Raise any 3 skills to Tier 2 (1/3)
Raise any 2 skills to Tier 3 (1/2)
Raise any 1 skill to Tier 4 (0/1)
Have a total of 3 Titles (⅔)
