Son of Hades (2)

As I strolled past the site of the campfire, where the earthquake should have inflicted serious damage, I noticed that the ground and structures bore no trace of the damage wrought by the tremors.

'That must be the job of the divine energy inside the camp.'

Even if the camp was destroyed completely, the divine energy in this area was so dense that it would restore and rebuild the entire camp, eventually turning it back into its original form.

Arriving at the training grounds, no one was there, so I settled onto a bench to wait. It wasn't long before Adriel, Eleanor, and Amelia appeared in the distance

'As expected, I will be grouped with the main cast.'

I wasn't troubled by this fact. Instead, it presented the perfect opportunity to take advantage of my knowledge of the storyline. With this group embarking on numerous quests beyond the camp's confines, being in this group meant I would be able to seize opportunities for growth without encountering major setbacks.

"Yo"

The first one to speak was Adriel. He had a forced smile on his face. It was clear he hadn't anticipated my presence, and the events of the previous night had undoubtedly worsened the already precarious perception of me within the camp, especially after the revelation of my parentage as Hades' son.

"Hi, have Chiron called you here too?"

Eleanor asked.

"Yeah, he did."

"I see..."

As we waited for Chiron to arrive, an awkward silence enfolded us. I figured it was probably because of me since they were talking all well before they saw me.

Fortunately, the sound of a horse running was heard, and Chiron came into sight.

"Good to see you all here!"

"The reason you are here is because, from now on, you will be a group."

"A group?"

"Yes. Consider this group like a classroom, and I'll be your mentor. As long as you are staying in this camp, you will go to the quests and battles together. Any question?"

Seeing we had no question, he continued.

"Today we will keep it short since it is the first day. We will go through the status window. You will also choose your weapon and execute a mock duel with each other."

"I will give you some time to examine the status window by yourself since only you can see your window. You only need to think about it, and it will pop up before you."

Hearing him, everyone called the status window in their head.

'Status Window'

---

Name: Blake Norman

Bloodline: Son of Hades

Strength: F-

Agility: F

Stamina: F-

Intelligence: F

Divine Energy: F

Charm: S

Ability ==> N/A

---

A blue holographic window sparked into existence out of thin air. I skimmed through it and examined my stats.

'Blake Norman...'

I felt relieved as I finally learned my name. The stats ranged from G to SSS. G being just above average human, and SSS being at the level of gods.

Intelligence was the efficiency of the user utilizing divine energy. While divine energy was the amount of divine energy in your body.

'Having the genetics of Hades himself is actually crazy...'

My charm stat was S since I carried the blood of one of the Big Three. I didn't have any ability right now. In this world, you could awaken abilities via the bloodline or from outer sources such as ability scrolls or books.

Once an ability was awakened, it became imprinted onto your brain. This allowed you to utilize the ability simply by visualizing it, as the divine energy within you responded autonomously to manifest the desired outcome.

As I finished looking at my status window, Chiron approached me.

"Hey, kid. What was your name? Excuse me, I couldn't ask because of all the chaos yesterday."

Seeing he was feeling guilty not knowing my name, I faked a smile.

"Blake Norman."

"I thought you were undergoing a memory loss."

Eleanor intervened, questioning my response to the same question she asked yesterday.

"I guess all I needed was a good night's sleep."

Seeing how persistent she was, I could only ignore her gazing at me from the side.

I glanced at Adriel as I thought about their stats. When the novel first started, Adriel's overall stats were around (E). Eleanor's were around (E) too. On the other hand, Amelia's were around (F+). But she was scared to fight, and the idea of killing a being was what held her back. However, she will eventually overcome her fears and fight alongside Adriel and Eleanor.

"Would you like to share your overall stats with me so that I can create a proper training plan for you guys?"

"E"

Both Adriel and Eleanor said simultaneously.

"F+"

Amelia said with a shy voice.

Hearing this, Chiron frowned with surprise on his face. Although it was normal for the children of the Big Three to display exceptional talent, a stat average of (F+) when she was just the daughter of Athena was unusual.

"F-"

"Pfft..."

Hearing my answer, Eleanor chuckled.

"Okay. Now that everyone is familiar with the status window, we will move on to the weapon selection and mock duels."

I could see many types of weapons lined up throughout the open weaponry.

"Choose one of them as you like. You don't have to stick with the initial weapon you chose. So if you don't like it, you can just change until you find your best fit."

I listened to Chiron as I scanned the weaponry. The common choices among demigods were swords, spears, axes, bows, and daggers. I knew how to use all of them just a little, but decided to go with the dagger. The reason for my choice was quite simple. Hades' bloodline was compatible with daggers. My bloodline abilities as well as my personal taste would best suit the style of a daggerman. 

Like in the novel, Adriel chose a spear, which was compatible with his bloodline.

Amelia opted for a bow mainly because of her fear of close-range combat. However, in the future, once she overcomes this fear, she will transition to using a sword.

Eleanor had already chosen a sword. Her bloodline especially excelled in swordsmanship.

"Great choices, everyone! Now pair up with each other for mock duels. Think of this as an icebreaker activity."

I blankly stared at Chiron, as I was having a hard time understanding how he was so optimistic and full of energy when three calamity-level troubles were standing before his eyes.

***

Right now, I was facing Eleanor. She seemed enthusiastic about fighting me for some reason. Her eyes were telling me she wanted to beat me badly.

'Sigh... This girl...'

Eleanor was a battle maniac. Her blood would boil whenever she found herself in a fight.

It was standard for a demigod to be a natural fighter. The innate desire for combat was ingrained within them from birth, a trait that persisted throughout their lives. This was the reason why Adriel and Eleanor, despite having only recently awakened, were able to triumph over the minotaur. Their bodies were inherently programmed for combat.

However, in the case of Eleanor, her fighter nature was extreme.

"You displayed quite the power yesterday when you punched that minotaur. I'm hoping for a similar performance for this match too."

"Sigh... I will try..."

Contrary to her enthusiasm to fight, I sounded very lethargic.

'At least she doesn't seem to be bothered by me being the son of Hades.'

"Go!"

As soon as Chiron signaled the beginning of the duel, Eleanor surged forth towards me with her sword raised high above her head. She bore down upon me, her intention quite clear - a vertical cleave aiming at my head.

'Such an amateur move...'