Chapter 57

I did give them an earful for their less than satisfactory performance, but the delicious dinner softened the sting of my words.

We spent the night in the warehouse, with the kids sleeping on the two beds that I created. The warehouse had everything needed for a human to survive, including a luxurious bathroom to freshen up.

Medusa certainly took care of her needs.

I kept guard in the night, absently lamenting how much faster this quest would've went had I been alone.

'Does it need to, though?' A stray thought wandered in. Why exactly did I need to complete this quest so quickly? Not like a few days would matter overly much.

Maybe this was just as well. A slow quest to relax and practice my new skills. Thalia was not going to disappear anywhere. Better to enjoy the peace and stop bitching about things outside my control.

Throughout the night, there were a few monsters that attacked, though only tier 3 that could be torn apart by a single Holy Spear. Bored though I was, I let a few of them test their power against my Aegis, leveling it up by the time sun started to peak.

In the morning, before the duo woke up, I started creating us a small hovercraft to speed up our journey through the forest.

It had a lean and dexterous body of a paddle boat, with a small hole in the front for Stormbreaker to rest in its spear form. Almost like a steering wheel really.

Actually, it worked exactly like a steering wheel.

I heard footsteps behind me just as I fixed our ride. Glancing back, my eyes took in Annabeth's figure standing quietly. She was clearly curious about the flying boat but seemed too hesitant to ask about it.

'Aww, the poor girl's still embarrassed about yesterday.'

I sent her a small smile and answered her unasked question. "This is our ride out of the forest. It would've been better if I just picked you up and ran, but I doubt you will survive that."

"...Alright." The girl mumbled, her cheeks flaming pink.

Sighing, I approached the girl. "Relax, Anna lite. You made a mistake like any being. Make sure not to repeat it and all's fine."

Unfortunately, it seems like I completely misunderstood the reason for her hesitance, as her cheeks went from pink to glaring red super fast when my hand came to rest upon her shoulder.

Ah yes, she still had a little crush on me, didn't she?

'...Let's just ignore it.'

I dropped my hand and proceeded inside. "Wake Percy up, would you Anna? We'll be taking a train to Los Angeles. I'll fix us some breakfast."

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After Percy woke up from his nightmare—which must've been pretty scary considering how panicked he looked—we ate a quick breakfast before leaving the lair of Medusa on our new hovercraft.

"Oh this is gonna be so cool!" Percy bubbled with excitement as we took our seats, with me in front, Anna in middle, and Percy the last.

"Hold tight." I advised the excited duo. "I don't want you to break your necks by tumbling down the ride."

This time, they obediently followed my words.

And then we were off, zigzagging through the woods at a slow speed—around 80 miles/ hour. Though perhaps my perceptions were truly skewed considering how scared the kids were about me crashing us through a tree.

Which was just ridiculous. And insulting.

Me crashing into trees at such a slow pace? That's like saying you hit a rock every time you walk. I'd have to be blind and drunk for that to happen. And not just physically.

We soon found the Amtrak train railway, and followed the tracks to the station. Quite a few people pointed at us. Apparently a 'three seated scooter' was a rare thing to see around here.

Maybe I should've actively hid us, instead of letting the ever-present mist do the work.

We boarded the train without any problems—creating money was easier than food—and soon found ourselves off to Los Angeles.

The next two days of our quest passed in the train, travelling through hills and over rivers, bounding down to our destination in the west.

Both the kids were irritably restless the entire time, though we didn't see a single monster.

Not for the first time did I thank Gabriel for not giving me ADHD. I could only imagine the horror of sitting quietly in a small train compartment with an ever-constant need to do something, especially knowing you could walk faster than your current transport can travel.

Which is why I created a few board games for us to pass the time, Chess being my first choice.

If there was one game you would never get bored of, even when thrashing noobs, it was Chess. There was just no single fixed way for a game of chess to proceed afterall, so even when playing with opponents whose every move was predictable, I could keep things interesting by playing different openings or going completely out of theory.

Though one thing was certain after a while, both of my companions were definitely noobs in front of me. Even Annabeth was only around master level 1 or 2. And in no time, both the kids became too annoyed to keep playing with me anymore so we moved on to other, more luck-based, games.

Percy's restlessness reached a new level when we found his picture in multiple newspapers. The boy was looking like a right menace, swinging a metallic baseball bat at an old elderly lady. I almost laughed at the Fury's granny looks. Though even more funnier were the captions.

'Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing into the forest after accosting several elderly female bystanders. Their car was founded exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.'

I snickered. "Poor Percy. Your luck is really horrible."

"How can you laugh at this?" The boy moaned in despair "I'm probably going to some juvenile prison for this."

"Don't worry," Annabeth said. "Mortal police could never find us."

"Indeed, don't worry." I stretched my limbs with a yawn. "Even if the police finds you, you should be able to run away easily. You are dozens of times faster than the fastest car."

He looked conflicted for a second, for obvious reasons. Running from Police might be right nightmare for a teenage.

"..Yeah" He said at last with a sigh. "Yeah, you are right."

And yet, the boy's mood wasn't in our games anymore, and he spent the rest of that day pacing the length of the train back and forth or looking out of the window.

We passed a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field with arrows knocked in their bows. The young fowl waved at us and I cheerily waved back.

"Relax, Perce." I told the fretting boy as he looked around us in alarm. "Mortals will just see a group of grazing horses."

Annabeth and I went back to our chess game for the rest of the afternoon. Honestly, She was good. Very good. She could easily calculate 4-5 of the next best moves, had a solid positional evaluation skills, and had a very good long-term memory to hold onto her calculations. But she just didn't have the patience to be more than a chess master, probably around 2200 or 2300 rated. A very skilled chess master, but not quite at the level she could be with just a touch of patience. Her ADHD did her dirty in here.

I, on the other hand, was atleast at the GM level. I didn't have anything to accurately compare my system level with the real world's, but I felt confident in beating anyone below a super grandmaster. I would actually love to participate in a chess tournament and play against the likes of Magnus Carlsen, especially considering he wasn't a world champion yet, but sadly my circumstances were too fucked up right now.

'...Could Carlsen be a demigod here?' I wondered absently. 'A son of Athena, maybe?'

Actually, that seemed like an interesting idea. Would the famous people of my previous world be reborn as Demigods in this one? Usain Bolt could be a son of Hermes...or some other god, perhaps. Greeks weren't the only horny lot over here afterall.

A whistle of awe came from beside me, breaking my thoughts.

"...That is one huge lion." Percy muttered, pointing outside the window. "Or is it really a lion? We don't have wild lions in America, do we?"

I was in the middle of trapping Annabeth's Bishop, but the incredulity in his voice made me turn around to take a look.

There was indeed a lion, alright. And it was huge—at least the size of a rhino. It ran through the woods faster than any earthly animal could hope to, with its pure golden mane shining under the sun's glare, almost glittering like Stormbreaker. The claws on that thing was at least half a foot in length, looking like they were made out of pure polished steel.

Anticipation beat in my heart as I recognized the beast.

"The Nemean lion." I announced, and both the kids pressed their noses against the window hurriedly.

"The Nemean lion!?" Percy exclaimed in surprise. "The one Hercules killed by squeezing its throat?"

"The very same." I replied, quickly thinking of giving a chase.

The monsters listed in Hephaestus' list were mythical beings no one had any hopes of tracking down. My plan had just been to scout the entirety of America and hope I came across them. And yet, in just two days I already had Medusa's head in the bag—well, in my inventory but same gist—and now had the opportunity to get the Nemean lion's pelt as well.

I shot a subtle glance at Percy. 'The protagonist power in full effect. I have a feeling I'm about to reap some truly sweet rewards by the end of this quest.'

"We're lucky we don't have to fight that thing." Annabeth stated. "According to camp's history, most of the demigods do not survive their encounter with the monster, and those who do only manage to escape through the sacrifice of their teammates. It's fur is said to be immune to even Celestial Bronze weapons, while its claws could cleave through any godly metal. It is also faster and stronger than any demigod alive right now, almost at the level of some minor gods."

"Yeah, very lucky." Percy replied with a shudder.

I hummed, observing the creature.

Nemean Lion

Race: Monster

Tier: 5

Level: 450

Mana: 100,000/100,000

Stamina: 448,800/460,000

Health: 470,000/470,000

Stats

Strength: 430

Speed: 435

Dexterity: 455

Endurance: 460

Constitution: 470

Mental: 18

Spirit: 100

Yeah, it would be a breeze. Only complication would be it's invulnerability to Celestial Bronze, if what Annabeth said was correct. And she always was, in these kind of things.

Still, worse comes to worst, I'll simply squeeze it to death like Hercules did. Plus it's eyes and mouth were said to be vulnerable weren't they?

Couldn't hurt a try.

Decision made, I quickly grasped the metallic frames of the window and tore it away with a light tug.

"What are you doing!?" Annabeth shrieked behind me.

"Going after the lion." I replied. "I need it's pelt."

"Can I come too?" Percy begged. "Please?"

"Sorry, Perce. I'll be flying for this task."

"Are you two crazy!?" Annabeth yelled at us, before slamming her hand on her mouth and looking around in consternation.

No one was looking. Of course not, I was actively manipulating the mist to warp their minds.

"Don't worry, Anna lite." I said soothingly. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

"Yeah," Percy nodded, surprising me. "He beat Hercules, who killed the Lion. So he can kill the Lion too."

I snorted.

"Thanks, Perce. Impeccable logic as always."

The boy gave me a cheeky thumb's up.

I climbed out of the window, before glancing back at them one last time. "Stay in this compartment till I come back."

And then I was off in the winds, jumping out of a train travelling around 100 miles/hour with no problems.

I glided through the sky, scanning the wild woods for the lion. I found it sprinting along the edge of the forest with urgency, almost like a spooked animal escaping poachers.

Was the monster intelligent enough to know I was hunting it? Did it read the news about our quest on Hephaestus TV as well? That seemed a little far-fetched but the golden beast was definitely running from something.

The sound of a hunting gong blared throughout the forest, and I realized with a start the lion wasn't running from me at all.

'The hunters are here.' I frowned, certain in my conclusion.

The hunters of Artemis. Only they would have big enough balls to hunt down the Nemean lion.

The question was, should I confront the group and snatch their prey? Or should I just leave them be?

I really wanted a heated confrontation with the hunters—see how stupidly arrogant they truly were, and if possible, make them pay for it—but a fight with them will tie me down. Especially as the lion ran further away from the train.

It wasn't worth it for now. I had a quest of my own.

With a sigh, I flapped back to the train. I couldn't leave Percy and Annabeth alone for a long period of time. That was a recipe for disaster.

The Hunters can wait.

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AN: And finished! So the quest has started, excitement is on the way, and some twists and turns that'll introduce my main plot in this very arc.

Also, is anyone annoyed by me not making a completely new plot for this? I felt it was unnecessary for now. While there would be some obvious differences ahead, which you'll see soon, completely rewriting the PJO plot will just make things less exciting. So I'm keeping the foundation of original while building my own plot upon it. That seems like the best kind of setup for this arc.

Don't get me wrong, completely unique plots are great as well, especially considering PJO Fanfiction is choked full of betrayed-Percy fics, but the main focus of MGO is Mikael's journey to the top as a Gamer God. You'll see some completely new stuff after this arc of course, and the crossover effects as well, but the main general formula is just like canon for now...at least, until the climax.

Another thing I wanted to talk about: I got a review saying they don't like PJO and when Dxd will start. If you meant to ask when will Dxd characters (like Khaos Brigade, etc) be introduced in the plot? Soon. Very soon. If you meant to ask when will Mikael meet Gabriel (and other Satans) again? Soon. Very soon.

But if you meant to ask when will we leave PJO behind completely? Not for a long time. The Titan war hasn't even started yet, and it'll take more than 20 chapters for PJO to conclude (tho many Dxd characters will be showing up; friends and foe). If you don't like PJO/think it's too boring, then this fic is most likely not for you. At least, for now.

Anyway, that's all for today. Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you lot in the next one.

Till then, take care and good day/night!

My discord: discord .gg/9wpfysDGsz to discuss fics and chill.

My Pat reon: www. Pat reon com/ Robs511 (No spaces and a dot before com) for anyone who wants to read upto the next three chaps of all my fics.

P.S: Sorry for the chapter delay! Those who read my other works probably know why it got delayed. From the next time, if you're unaware of the next update, just go to my profile and see when Mystique Soldier was updated. MGO's next chapter will always come 3 days after that (usually). For now, the next MGO chapter will drop on 20th (as long as all my other two fics get updated on time)