Percy paused, surprised. "Inventory?" he said aloud, and a large brown box instantly appeared in front of him, causing him to jump back with a startled, "Eep!"
He quickly composed himself and looked around, relieved to see that no one had noticed. The new box was labeled, simply, 'Inventory'. It was a grid of empty squares, and something told Percy he was going to need all of them.
Walking slowly back to his desk, he sat down with the inventory box still hovering before him. He picked up a pen and cautiously pressed it against the surface of the box. The box shimmered with a golden light as the pen pushed through. It vanished from his hand and reappeared in the first empty slot, neatly labeled '[Pen]'.
Percy couldn't help but smile. Oh yeah, this was going to be good.
….
That night, Percy sat on his bed, looking over his stats, inventory, and skills. He would need to improve them all. So far, he'd stored a few key items inside his inventory for safekeeping. His money was the first thing to go in.
[Money: $50 / 0 Drachma]
He'd discovered he could also withdraw any amount he wished. The single $50 bill he'd put inside came out as two twenties and a ten, and none of it looked fake. He also stored a cherished picture of his mom, his favorite one, with her carrying him on her shoulder as he drooled in his sleep.
Just then, Grover walked in, looking completely exhausted. "Hey, Percy."
"Hey, G-man," Percy said, waving as he mentally dismissed all the system boxes. "Why so late?"
"Mr. Brunner called me into his office," Grover explained, slumping into a chair and setting his crutches aside. "Wanted to talk about my grades."
Grover must have a worse Lying level than I do, Percy thought, smiling at his friend. Grover seemed to relax under his gaze. Percy kept observing him, trying to subtly get a glimpse of his legs, anything that would prove he was a Satyr. After a minute of focused staring, a new box appeared.
'Ding!'
[Through focused observation, a new skill has been created!]
[Observe - LVL 1 (10%): By observing a target, you can gain information about them.]
[- LVL 1: Displays Name, Title, Level, Max HP/MP, and basic info.]
Percy closed the box and looked at Grover again, whispering the command, "Observe."
A new box popped up immediately.
[Grover Underwood - Satyr Protector]
[LVL 20]
[HP: 1500/1500]
[MP: 2000/2000]
[Info: The Satyr assigned to protect Perseus Jackson, son of ?. His primary duty is to ensure Percy's safety. If he succeeds in his quest, he will earn the right to search for the lost god of the wild, Pan. Grover genuinely likes Percy and considers him a good friend, even if he did embarrass him in class.]
Percy swiped the box away. Grover was strong. Very strong. And even though he had lied to him, Percy still considered him his best friend. After all, what else could you call the guy who was secretly trying to protect you?
Percy knew he needed more knowledge, more power. He needed to know who his dad was; that seemed to be the key to everything. As if on cue:
'Ding!'
[Quest Alert!]
[The Ultimate Mystery: Find out who your father is!]
[Rewards:]
[Unlock all latent racial abilities.]
[+1000 EXP]
[Failure:]
[Death.]
[Accept?]
[YES / NO]
Percy gulped, a cold dread washing over him. He was afraid, but he knew he had to do this. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and pressed 'YES'.
….
The first thing Percy did when he woke up Saturday morning was march to the library with a huge stack of books. If he was going to survive a quest where failure meant death, he needed to get a good head on his shoulders, and fast. He was taking Han's advice to heart.
Why, oh why did I ever accept that stupid quest?
He picked up the first book: Greek Myths and Legends. With a Satyr for a best friend and a Centaur for a teacher, he figured he needed to know everything about this stuff, especially since it was suddenly coming alive all around him.
Percy opened the first page and immediately groaned. The words jumbled and danced, flying right off the page. Stupid dyslexia. Looks like the reading option was out. He sighed and flipped through the pages, just looking at the pictures.
But then he came across a photo of an ancient Greek tablet, covered in angular, archaic script. It looked impossibly old. Just as he was about to turn the page, the letters on the tablet started to shift and rearrange themselves, suddenly becoming perfectly clear.
The tablet told the story of Apollo—god of the sun, music, medicine, and a whole bunch of other things. But wait, Percy thought, how can I read Ancient Greek?
A crazy idea sparked in his mind. What if he could read Greek for the same reason he had a Satyr protector? Maybe he had a deep connection to the Greek myths. Maybe… maybe it had something to do with his dad.
'Ding!'
[For thinking things through and arriving at a logical conclusion, you have gained +1 WIS!]
Percy wiped the notification away, his mind racing. He was on a roll. So, he had a natural ability to read Ancient Greek. His new plan was simple: find books with Ancient Greek in them. After an hour of searching, he came up with a single, thick volume: a direct translation guide from Ancient Greek to English.
He spent the next hour completely immersed. It turned out most of the English translations he'd seen before were wrong, or at least slightly off. He found it hilarious that one scholar had apparently translated the word for 'donkey' as 'holy'.
'Ding!'
[By reading a book about another language, you have gained +1 INT!]
Huh, so it does count. Fancy that.
'Ding!'
[By reading and fully understanding a translation book, you have gained two new skills!]
[Language: Ancient Greek (Passive) - LVL MAX: You have a perfect, instinctual understanding of Ancient Greek due to your parentage.]
[Language: Modern English (Passive) - LVL 2 (34%): Due to your Dyslexia, your English reading skills are poor. You can speak it, but you can't read it well.]
[- Reading Level: 1]
[- 60% comprehension penalty when reading.]