There's a reason we tell ourselves stories.
The details we focus on, the ones we leave out—the order we put things in.
It all matters.
Sometimes, it matters a lot.
It's because we need these stories to get through the day—through hard times. This is my story.
The one I play over and over in my head while everything goes wrong.
Let's go back to the beginning.
I've been told that's the best place to start. My life effectively ended the moment I woke up at Camp Half-Blood.
The second I smelled those strawberries, sweet and warm in the summer breeze, my destiny was sealed.
Well, kind of. I'd been in a delirious state since my fight with the Minotaur—a swirling fever dream of strange noises, a glowing black sword, and a pair of glowing silver eyes—that, as I was later told, lasted about a week.
So technically, I'd woken up at camp a dozen times during that period, but it's the last time that really mattered—it's the one that stuck.
When I finally came around for good, there was nothing outwardly abnormal about my surroundings, except that they were, well, nicer than I was used to. Much nicer.
I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance, like little gumdrops stacking on top of each other. The breeze smelled like berries. There was a blanket over my legs and a pillow behind my neck.
Rays of light from the sun beat down on me, and I could make out some bees buzzing in the summer haze, floating from flower to flower and resting atop the evergreen ferns. The scene was impossibly picturesque—like something pulled straight from a Ralph Lauren magazine.
Elegant, sun-dappled, and idyllic in a way that made me feel like I'd see a movie crew rolling through if I waited long enough. So, what the hell was I doing here?
— - —
~ You have slept in a comfortable bed. [HP] and [MP] have been restored to their maximum capacity. All ailments and negative status effects have been cured.
— - —
Wait, what? Was I seeing things? I could've sworn there were just words in front of me just now, but the moment I blinked, they were gone. I sat up slightly, ignoring the sharp pangs that flared up my spine with the movement.
A shaky, tingling sensation spread to my fingertips, like a faint ripple of water running over a rocky stream bed. Just as I braced myself to stand, black words began to take shape in front of my eyes.
They started as tiny inky splotches, blossoming outward like droplets spreading on paper. The edges curled and swirled, twisting into crisp, sharp lines as the letters formed one by one, each character snapping into place with a faint ripple.
[Ping!]
I couldn't tell where the noise was coming from. I glanced around, but as far as I could tell, I was the only one on the porch.
[Ping!]
The noise rattled around my head like a box of rocks. It felt like someone was standing over me, holding a Gameboy to my ear.
Eventually, I settled on just reading the words. Maybe that would make the noise go away.
— - —
Welcome to your [Guide].
{Perseus Jackson}
[LVL]: 10 [500/3000]
[HP]: 2000/2000
[SP]: 5000/5000
[MP]: 1000/1000
[FEALTY]: N/A
[STR]: 10
[VIT]: 9
[DEX]: 17
[INT]: 11
[CHA]: 8
[WIS]: 10
[LUC]: 5
[AP]: 0
[PP]: 0
[$]: 46USD
[Info]: Son of the legendary lord of all seas, Poseidon, and Sally Jackson, Percy is the current [Child of Prophecy] and bearer of Olympus' flame. Despite his murky past, Percy is determined to take on his future.
— - —
I stared at the screen in awe, and a bit of confusion. My dad being Poseidon was weird, yeah, but not that weird. Well, no. It was super weird.
For anyone else, it would've likely been the weirdest thing they'd ever heard. Mentioning this to anyone would probably get me shipped off to the nearest psych ward.
I just had a bit more to consider at the moment—you know, considering the fact that there were floating letters in front of me, dancing around like a baby's crib mobile.
After fighting Dodds and the Minotaur, any random person off the street would be able to work out a piece or two about what's going on to me, but even with that level of craziness involved, floating letters didn't really seem to fit this whole Greek-gods-are-real thing. If anything, it was almost like one of those RPG games I used to play as a kid.
And as far as I can remember, there were no ancient Greek gods that gave people video game powers. Then again, I barely scraped by with a C in Mr. Brunner's Latin class, so that may not be the strongest argument. There were probably dozens of random gods I didn't know off the top of my head.
Upon further experimentation, I found out that the words were incredibly persistent. No matter which direction I tried to look and turn, they kept bobbing and weaving so that they stayed directly in the center of my field of view.
I sighed to myself, halting the weird movements. If anyone saw me doing this, they'd think I was crazier than they probably already think I am. Imagine some random person walking up right now, and seeing some twelve-year-old kid spazzing out on a lawn chair. Yeah, they'd go running for the hills.
Definitely. Speaking of running for the hills—why in the world was I not freaking out? Not only did my mom disappear, but I also realized the Greek gods were real and now my life was acting like a video game. Weird pinging noises and all. Great, just great.
Taking a shot in the dark, I mumbled, "Uh, game, what's going on with me right now?"
Nothing.
"If you're a god and you gave me these powers, do something."
Nada.
"Okay, well, if you're a wizard and you did something..."
Yeah, I'll skip the rest of that. You don't really need to know how many different variations of that one line of dialogue I went through, and between you and me, I can freely admit that there were a lot. All you need to know is that eventually, bored of calling out to every mythical being that crossed my mind, I settled on:
"Can somebody please help?"
The second the word help left my mouth, something rippled through the world—a silent shockwave, bending reality.
— - —
[Skill]: Gamer's Mind
[System Denomination]: Passive
[Attribute Group]: WIS
[Level]: N/A
[Description]: Enables the user to maintain composure and focus. Provides a semi-calm base state of mind, reducing panic and enhancing logical thinking under pressure. Grants immunity to certain psychological effects and debuffs, allowing for clear-headed decision-making in the most chaotic situations.
— - — — - —
~ As a [Player], this is one of your cardinal skills. It goes hand in hand with [Gamer's Body] and a few others.
— - — — - —
[Skill]: Gamer's Body
[System Denomination]: Active
[Attribute Group]: WIS
[Level]: N/A
[Description]: Grants the user a body that operates according to their stats, with damage dealt and received displayed as visible numbers. Sleeping in a bed fully restores all physical stats to max, but does not heal severe injuries, such as dismemberment or extensive internal/external bleeding.
— - —
Uh...okay. That would explain why I didn't feel any sort of inclination to break down and cry. Well, I still did to some degree, but I'm trying to sound like a tough guy in retrospect, so we'll say I didn't. If we're being honest, I still felt sad at the possibility that my mom was dead, but I guess the main distinction would be that I felt...in control, almost.
— - —
Quest Complete!
[STORY QUEST] {A Rude Welcome!}
[Quest Prompt]: This life isn't meant for the faint of heart. Survive your first day as a demigod, and you'll earn the right to bear the weight of Olympus' legacy and the flame of the gods— or, in other words, you'll get to play The Game—where every choice could be your last, and the stakes are as high as Mount Olympus itself. [Hidden Objectives]:
Kill the Minotaur with its own horn! [X]
Kill the Minotaur in under 5 minutes! [X]
Kill the Minotaur with both your mother and Grover still conscious! [ ] [Total Rewards Earned]: Access to [The Game] and its interface!
[+10][AP]!
{Lunar Veil} starter pack!
[Legendary Item]: The Horn Of the Minotaur!
[+10] [REP] at Half-Blood Hill!
— - — — - —
~ Given your completion of the [Tutorial], you have [10] attribute points available for use! Please allocate them now.
— - —
I blinked a few times. A quest? I'd never seen anything like this quest'—or any of these words—beforehand, which meant I was either really, really unobservant or I got this weird power overnight. Or maybe, I'd always had it, and the fight and my subsequent knockout triggered some sort of event in my body that woke it up?
~ For thinking through your situation in a somewhat logical manner, you have gained [+1] to your [INT] stat!
Okay, so my new power seemed to work just like I'd expected. It followed that basic video game logic of hey, do something, get something. I can get behind that.
The notification slowly faded away, and a gigantic list came up.
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Hey guys!Here's the first chapter of my new Percy Jackson fanfic.
For now, updates shouldn't be a problem since I already have several chapters prepared. That said, with the new school year starting soon, there might be a few inconsistencies during the first weeks of September—so thank you for your patience.
Don't forget to add this story to your library so you won't miss any updates. I'll be posting three to four chapters per week, each around 1,500–2,000 words.
If you're enjoying the story, dropping a power stone helps me a lot. For every 300 power stones, I'll release an extra chapter as a thank-you.
And if you'd like to support me even further, I also have a Patreon, which I'll put in the description and here too, you will just have to erase the space between Aurelius and D.
https://patreon.com/Aurelius DBlack
Your support keeps me going, and I hope you enjoy the adventure ahead.