Chapter 102

[Third Person's PoV] 

Thalia and Lucian were seated in a diner, each with a burger in hand, wolfing it down.

"Man, I forgot I was hungry," Thalia said with food in her mouth.

Lucian nodded his head. "I even forgot that the whole reason we agreed to stop at Baba Yaga's shack was to eat something."

"Who would have thought our first date would be in a diner?" Lucian casually said as he went for the fries.

Thalia ended up choking a bit on her food as she heard that and banged her chest before reaching over and taking a long sip of her drink.

After catching her breath, she glared at Lucian. "Why would you say that? I almost died!"

Lucian snorted. "Just imagine, the daughter of the Ruler of Olympus, cause of death: choking on food."

After they finished, Lucian looked towards Thalia and asked if she was ready. Once she nodded, Lucian pulled her close and they both sank into his shadow, reappearing in front of the camp property line.

Seeing the camp, Thalia let out a sigh. "At least the journey was fun…"

Lucian nodded before he started to walk away. "Well, I have something to do. I'll talk to you later…"

...

"Oh Grover~" Lucian called out as he walked through the forest with a plate of veggie enchilada in one hand and a cheese grater in the other.

When Lucian found Grover, he was sitting in between a group of forest nymphs, his head resting on one of their laps while they giggled around him as he talked.

His nose then wiggled as his head snapped towards where the delicious smell was coming from.

He raised a hand as he saw Lucian. "Yo! Lucian!"

Lucian handed him the plate and high-fived him. "Yo man, I didn't mean to interrupt what… this… is," he motioned towards everything around Grover.

"Nah, it's all cool… so why the visit?"

"I came to bribe you."

Grover sat up and looked at Lucian with confusion before looking at the cheese grater. "And what's that for?"

"To get some of your hoof dust."

"Huh?"

"Mmhm," Lucian responded, tilting his head.

...

Grover was seen eating his enchiladas with an ashamed look while Lucian closed up a little bag he had in his hands.

"And to think I sold my body for some food… what have I become?" Grover lamented while stuffing his mouth with food.

Lucian rolled his eyes. "It's not that serious, dude."

"Maybe for you it's not. You're not the one that had to sell his body."

"I understand more than I would like to. Thanks for your hoof dust, though," Lucian said with a sigh as he started walking away.

"What? Wait, what do you mean by that?" Grover asked, but Lucian didn't answer and waved while walking ahead.

"Lucian?"

...

Lucian was in his secret chamber in front of his cauldron with his brand new assistant by his side.

"The 1,000 Golden Drachmas, please, Beatrice," Lucian said, ready to begin stirring.

Beatrice grabbed a bag that was filled to the brim with coins and emptied it all out in the cauldron.

Lucian stirred and stirred until all the coins melted into liquid gold. "Did you extract the essence yet?" Lucian asked Beatrice.

"Yes, Master," she sweetly said as she showed Lucian a small bottle with a white sparkling liquid in one hand and the body of a dead mouse that appeared to have had its soul sucked out in the other.

"Pour it in," Lucian said. As Beatrice did, Lucian turned towards the dead mouse and stuck out his hand.

"Wakey wakey."

A small shadow soldier appeared of the mouse with a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a small pouch to the side.

"Your name now shall be Jefferson," Lucian said with a serious tone.

Jefferson made a military salute before sinking into Lucian's shadow. While Lucian turned back and continued stirring with the now-added liquid.

Seeing that the liquid was bubbling, Lucian then demanded, "Five pounds of Griffin feathers."

Beatrice grabbed a pillowcase from her side and emptied all the feathers inside.

After it was done, Lucian called for the next two ingredients. "Now for the Manticore Venom essence…"

Beatrice brought out a green vial and poured it in.

"And finally, the hoof powder," Lucian said. Beatrice took out the small bag, opened it, and emptied the brown powder into the cauldron, giving the liquid a beautiful golden shine.

After they poured the potion into a glass flask, Lucian studied it for a bit. The liquid inside was golden with silver marks around it.

Lucian downed it in one gulp and stuck his tongue out. "Woah, it tastes like I just bit into a coin. Not a pleasant taste."

Lucian then started grunting in pain, holding his body, which unfortunately lasted for about 30 minutes. He was on the floor gasping for air when the pain vanished. When it was over, he sat cross-legged on the floor and began to study himself.

"Hmm, let's see what has improved first…" He muttered as he closed his eyes.

"My spatial awareness, my danger sense, and my endurance have all become stronger, and what's this… so has my intuition… Neat."

"Now for what I'm able to do as a Treasure Seeker… oh… oh wow… this is amazing," Lucian muttered.

'My first ability as a Treasure Seeker is Clairvoyance.

The ability to gain information about an object, person, or location from a distance. This allows the seeker to scout ahead and identify potential threats or treasures without physically being there.

Next is Psychometry…

The power to read the residual energies and memories associated with an object. By touching a treasure or artifact, the seeker can learn about its history, previous owners, and any hidden dangers it might carry.

Next is something called Pathfinding…

An innate sense that guides the treasure seeker along the safest and most efficient routes to their goal. This ability helps them avoid traps, pitfalls, and dangerous creatures that guard the treasure.

I think I just began magneto…

Magnetic Manipulation: The capability to manipulate magnetic fields, aiding in the detection of metallic treasures buried underground or hidden within metallic structures.

And last but not least, although it's a simple ability, it has many uses.

Navigation: Proficient in reading maps, understanding landmarks, and using compasses or other navigational tools to find their way through unknown territories.'

After Lucian finished studying his powers, he nodded in satisfaction. Honestly, he was more than satisfied.

As he was getting up, Lucian began to ponder something. "Wait, now that I have bigger control over metal, does that mean I'm able to manipulate blood a bit better than before… hehehe, I'm slowly becoming unstoppable."