(I do not own Percy Jackson or the gamer system idea.)
(Alright, so this was beta read by Qwityboy and DW-Chronos. Then by SamuelHalligan who is the editor/critic.)
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At fifteen, Percy Jackson was still a young boy with jet black hair, sea-green eyes, and typical Mediterranean complexion. He was walking down the sidewalk, wearing a grey shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of relatively new white sneakers.
'How could this happen?' Percy thought incredulously, as he walked down the road. It wasn't his fault! How was he supposed to know the cannon was loaded? The administration had actually expelled him! Over an honest mistake!
A feeling of dread erupted in Percy's stomach when he remembered that he still had to tell his mom about the expulsion. It was one thing to break a wall or two, and maybe injure a couple of people but there was no way he was prepared to face his mother!
He wasn't really afraid of angering her; his mother had the patience of a goddess. However, he had no doubt that she'd give him one her disappointed looks and say nothing about it for getting expelled from yet another school, which was a record even for him, considering he was only in that school for a week.
After giving it some thought Percy decided he'd rather not go home and face the music immediately. He would have to go back eventually but it didn't have to be at that very moment.
With that decided he quickly changed his course and headed towards the Lincoln Park that was close by to his apartment, or rather Gabe's apartment, in upstate New York.
He would never understand why his sweet, kind mom had married Gabe Ugliano, a smelly, horrible man who hardly ever took a bath, at least, not within Percy's memory. It was due to his gross odour that Gabe had been 'affectionately' nicknamed 'Smelly Gabe' by Percy at a very early age.
He always seemed to have a chip in his shoulder when it came to Percy, and Percy had never really hidden how he thought his mom could do better, or at least he didn't hide the disgust in eyes nearly well enough since Gabe seemed to notice.
Percy walked into the park, heading over to his usual spot away from the main road and closed his eyes, sighing, finally at peace as he began thinking about what he would do next. As he did, Percy heard an angry voice behind some trees and bushes, "Why in Hades is this thing not working!?" cried the man, anger lining his deep voice.
The sheer anger in his voice froze Percy as he clung to his seat and tried to make himself smaller, hoping that whoever was there wouldn't notice him.
"Well..." A woman started hesitantly, "It was just sitting on a shelf, dear. I thought it looked pretty! So I took it from the workshop, I didn't expect it to actually DO anything!" she huffed.
"You thought this thing looked pretty? I could buy you much prettier things than whatever that Hephaestus could make!" The guy boasted in a patronising tone.
"Yes, dear, but my first thought after seeing it was just to take it and watch Hephaestus run around like a headless chicken trying to find his lost relic. I think it'll be amusing to watch," the snide voice replied. Percy frowned at how the voice talked about someone who wasn't even there.
"Ha! I agree! That would be hilarious!" the guy replied excitedly. "But the energy in the relic has his signature; I thought it would actually work or something. It's just a failed tool turned into a dorky bracelet."
A loud click sounded and a bright light flashed causing the woman to scream, "What!?!" Percy finally got over his weariness of the two people and turned to look at just who was speaking.
He saw a large, muscled man with dark black hair and red eyes wearing an extremely black outfit, with the only colour on the leather biker stereotype being his metallic belt buckle. The female looked like she had stepped straight out of a modeling magazine with blonde hair, dark grey mascara, yellow eyeliner, bright purple lipstick, and sprinkled pink blush on her face. Her dramatic curves and long legs were accentuated by a velvet sundress and dark red high heels.
Looking at them, he could practically feel the rage exploding from the two people who were behind light cover provided by trees.
"What is this!?" The red-eyed man bellowed, "There's a camera! How did you not notice when you took this thing!?"
"How was I supposed to know he could make a camera that small!?" said the wide-eyed girl looking at the camera with an accusing gaze.
"We're probably being shown all over Olympus again... I bet Hephaestus planned for you to take it," the walking biker stereotype said as his eye twitched in anger. He roared, snatching the bracelet from the woman, ripped the camera off and threw it far into the distance. Percy's eyes followed the fall of the bracelet and noticed it land in a bush only a few feet away from his bench.
Percy, still looking towards the bush, heard the man growl again. "We are going to Olympus. We have to deal with his prank, again." Following his words he clutched the woman and then there was a flash so bright, that even though Percy wasn't looking in their direction, he still felt blinded by it.
Turning to see where it came from, he saw no one there. The man and the woman had just disappeared in thin air. Shocked, Percy turned, trying to find where the couple could have possibly disappeared to, frantically looking around and finally deciding to wait and see if the two would return.
After waiting with baited breath to see if the couple would come back, he dashed towards the bush, finding the bracelet without a mark on its surface.
Oddly, there was an indent on the trunk in the exact shape of the bracelet. Though Percy was confused as to what the hell the bracelet was made of, he was glad it didn't get stuck; otherwise, he'd have had a lot of trouble getting it out of the tree.
Percy let out a small gasp as he finally got a good look at the bracelet. He was honestly surprised the man threw it away; it definitely had some work put into it. With its silver outline and black diamonds embedded into the pattern on the rim of the bracelet, it was crafted by someone of immense skill.
'It's beautiful,' Percy thought, reflexively slipping the bracelet onto his left arm. Suddenly he felt a pressure building up on his wrist.
As he looked at it he noticed the bracelet began shrinking until it fit snugly upon his arm. Lifting his hand and letting sunlight shine on the bracelet he saw it shimmering in an unusual way before his head became lighter. The last thing he remembered was the ground rising to meet his face as everything turned black.
Percy woke up with a splitting headache. He shifted around so that he was sat with his back to the tree and slowly opened his eyes. He sighed in relief as he saw that the sun was still out, so he couldn't have been unconscious for all that long.
Checking his pockets, Percy made sure he had his money secure. After making sure all of his stuff was where it should have been, he raised his hand to look at the bracelet on his arm. He blinked before looking at it again; he had trouble believing that the thing on his arm was the same band. The silver band had turned so black that it seemed to suck in the light. It also came with small purple-coloured jewels embedded into the band rather than the black diamonds he noticed previously. Once he touched it, a strange feeling overtook Percy and something popped up in front of him.
(I will try a mix of first-person sorry for the abrupt change)
'What is this?' I thought in bewilderment as I watched a blue, translucent screen appear in front of me with a very game-like description of me.
[Name: Percy Jackson] [Exp: Locked]
[Age: 15]
[Race: Human-???]
[Titles: Locked]
[HP: Locked]
[Stamina: Locked]
[Mana: Locked)
[Affinity: Locked]
[Stats: Locked]
[Skills: Locked]
[Special Abilities: locked]
[Items: Locked]
[Item shop: Locked]
[Stat Points: Locked]
[Skill Points: Locked]
[Special Ability Points: locked]
[Relationships: Locked]
[Reputation: Locked]
[Money: $0]
[Further features shall be locked until... information restricted, your current level is not high enough.]
"What is this?" I asked aloud, staring at the screen that floated innocuously in front of me. 'Is this real?' I wondered, staring at the screen in confusion. The floating screen felt just like the glass screen of a tablet or a smartphone device. Not that I had one but I had borrowed one from my teacher to call my mom once. After tapping the icons on the screen for some time, and nothing changing or occurring, I turned and looked around.
With a startling realization I came to realize everything was frozen in its place. Children in the nearby playground were paused mid-step, chasing after a ball that had paused in the air. Shocked, I stared at the screen, mouthing, 'No way.'
'How is this even possible?!' I tried closing the screen by verbal command but nothing happened. I face palmed, realizing I had no idea how to close it. I couldn't see a 'close' button or anything similar. I checked my bracelet to see a glowing, red X. I hesitated, not sure if it was a good idea to mess with the device further when it had so much power. Sucking in a deep breath, I pressed it and was relieved to see the world start to move again as birds began chirping and the noise that had stopped resumed.
I rose to my feet and began pacing. Thinking about the status screen, I deduced fairly quickly that the screen showed me some information about me even though most it was locked.
As I contemplated methods to unlock the rest of the data about me, my mind wondered to just what the categories actually were. Health and Stamina were rather obviously named but Stats and Skills were less informative. Eventually sighing in defeat I chose to put the matter to rest until I got to a library and could look the definitions up on the internet.
As I left the park, I looked around to see if the man and the woman had come back but they didn't show up. 'I wonder what happened to them. How did they leave so quickly?' I decided to ignore that and chose to focus on the more important issue of floating screens in front of my face.
As I continued walking to the library I sneaked a glance at the watch displayed in a store and my eyes widened in alarm, it was already past twelve! I began jogging slightly so that more time wouldn't be wasted by loitering around.
Running hard I stopped as I heard a sharp [ding!] I turned my head looking at the direction the sound came from but not finding anything I started running again. After a couple more minutes and me sweating enough to dampen my shirt thoroughly, I arrived at the library.
The local library was a two-story building made from old styled red-brown bricks, with beautiful flower gardens and trees along the sidewalk on the side and in the library's front. I didn't know much about the building, having dyslexia and ADHD made the thought of sitting in one spot reading a book repulsive so I'd only been to the library a handful of times in my entire life.
Opening the door, I saw the librarian staring at me with a raised eyebrow, most likely thinking I would steal something, or it could have been all the sweat soaking through my shirt. Wow, I need to get in shape if such a small run drained me dry.
I weaved my way between child-sized tables and chairs as I made my way through the children's section to the staircase on my right. Walking upstairs I immediately headed to the computer section, turning on the computer I pondered on what exactly to search. Distracted, my hand brushed by the right side of the bracelet and a screen suddenly appeared. I was surprised to see a flashing notification.
[For spending all stamina once you have activated Character Status]
[You have unlocked HP]
[You have unlocked Stamina]
[You have unlocked Stats]
[You have unlocked Skills]
[You have unlocked Stat Points]
[You have unlocked Skill Points]
[Character Status]
[Name: Percy Jackson]
[Level 1 Experience 0/100]
[Age: 15]
[Race: Locked]
[Titles: None]
[HP: 100/100] Health Regen: (0.5/min)
[Stamina: 100/100] Stamina Regen: (1/min)
[Mana: Locked]
[Affinity: Locked]
[Stats]
Strength - 6
Vitality - 4
Endurance - 4
Dexterity - 4
Intelligence - 2
Wisdom: - 1
Charisma: - 2
Luck: - 0
[Skills: Locked]
[Special Abilities: locked]
[Items: Locked]
[Item shop: Locked]
Stat Points - 0
[Skill Points: Locked]
[Special Ability Points: locked]
[Relationships: Locked]
[Reputation: Locked]
[Money: $0]
I scrunched my eyes looking at these stats. The low stats made sense considering how little I worked out but the fact that the race was still locked was weird. With too many questions and no way to answer them, I pushed the other concern to the back of my head and chose to continue exploring.
[Strength: Improves the physical prowess of your body]
[Vitality: Improves your health, stamina, and health regeneration]
[Dexterity: Improves the speed and reflexes of your body]
[Intelligence: Improves the processing speed of the brain and how much mana you have]
[Wisdom: Improves your decision making and how fast mana regenerates]
[Charisma: Increases how well you can interact with people, rally people and your look]
[Luck: Increases how lucky you are and your critical strike chance]
So, looking at my stats, I guessed it was the bracelet's way of telling me I was an idiot. I sighed, again. I needed to find out a way to improve my stats, at the moment they were just straight up awful. After reading the text once more, it seemed like I unlocked my character status because I exerted myself to the fullest extent for the first time since I got the bracelet.
I touched the bracelet, closing the screen. Glancing around, I started thinking, 'I wonder if I can increase my intelligence by reading?' Turning around I walked into the aisle and grabbed a random book. It was an English dictionary. I snorted softly. I might as well try, with ADHD and dyslexia who knows? I might raise my intelligence! 'Yeah right,' I thought sarcastically.
Opening the dictionary to a random page, I tried for half an hour to read the words that keep swimming across the paper.
[Ding!]
"No way did that actually work," I mumbled in disbelief. I was about to touch the bracelet to check the ding sound when I thought do I really need to open the character status every time I want to check a notification. After that though, I heard three more noises. I looked at the bracelet and touched the left purple colored diamond jewel instead of the right jewel like I had been doing.
Language Gained English level-1 [You can talk proficiently, but you can barely read English]
+ 1 to Intelligence
[Skills unlocked]
[Unlocked the Languages section]
English skill level up
English Lv-2 (0%)
[You can read and understand elementary books instead of just reading words on a page]
I looked at it, not believing at what I saw before I started grinning and let out a short triumphant laugh at my success. I continued reading, actually enjoying the practice since I could truly succeed in reading for once in my life! Before I continued reading I pressed the right side of the bracelet again and the character status popped up.
[Character Status]
[Name: Percy Jackson]
[Level 1 Experience 0/100]
[Age: 15]
[Race: Locked]
[Titles: None]
[HP: 100/100] Health Regen: (0.5 per min)
[Stamina: 100/100] Stamina Regen: (1 per min)
[Mana: Locked)
[Affinity: Locked]
[Stats]
Strength - 6
Vitality - 4
Dexterity - 4
Intelligence - 3
Wisdom: - 1
Charisma: - 2
Luck: - 0
[Skills]
Languages: English Level: 2 (0%)
[Special Abilities: locked]
[Items: Locked]
[Item shop: Locked]
Stat Points - 0
Skill Points: - 0
[Special Ability Points: locked]
[Relationships: Locked]
[Reputation: Locked]
[Money: $0]
Looking at the newest language section that appeared on my interface I nodded to myself and looked at the time.
[12:40]
I smiled and began reading in earnest; like a kid let loose in a candy store I started reading for the next four hours, all the way till the library's closing time of five p.m.
[For making a wise decision + 1 to wisdom]
I laugh quietly to myself at the discovery that I could raise my stats this way as well, I'm curious to see if I can discover another skill. Oh well, that comes later, time for more reading! Picking up the book I start the training of my intelligence skill.
[Ding!], [Ding!], [Ding!], I hear throughout the four hours of reading. 'I have to find a way to mute that," I murmured with a roll of my eyes as I closed the book and I checked my notification to see what I have got.
[For making a wise decision + 1 to wisdom]
[For making a wise decision + 1 to wisdom]
[For making a wise decision + 1 to wisdom]
[For making a wise decision + 1 to wisdom]
English language skill leveled up!
English level 4 (0%)
[You can now read and understand high school level English instead of just reading jumbled letters on a page]
Walking out the door of the library, I wondered at what the max level for English would look like. As I wandered home I thought about how after reading a book my English skill was created.
What if I did the same for other things like cooking or maybe running? The thought was just so ridiculous. I had run before but I didn't have this bracelet at the time. I promised to myself that I would run all the way home. Since I had full stamina, I presumed I would have no problem. "Here goes nothing," I said with a determined smile, running on the sidewalk until I saw the apartment stairs. I sighed in disappointment as I slowed down just as I was thinking how I could not get skills the same way I got English as a skill I heard a [Ding!]. Quickly opening the notifications, I saw what I got.
[You have gained a new skill]
Running Lv-1 (50%)
[You can now run one mile an hour most children are faster than you]
'So it works!' I thought while ignoring the insult. After checking the notifications and seeing the new skill I planned to see if I could gain any more skills like cooking. Walking up the steps, I opened the door and I saw my mom as she looked busy on the phone with whom I could only guess as for the school. They called later than expected; I had thought for sure it would be as soon as they expelled me. Going towards her I saw her disappointed face, it was the last thing I wanted. I couldn't bear to look her in the eye so I glanced down, ashamed.
"Percy," Mom began softly, "You got expelled again?" she questioned.
"Mom I swear I didn't realize the cannon was loaded! Besides you know how my ADHD lowers-" I began quickly but I was stopped as mom hugged me.
"I know honey, you wouldn't harm a fly," She smiled softly before pointing towards the phone. "Well, I've been calling other schools, Percy, and I've found one that has agreed to take you in."
She bit her lip nervously, "Yancy Academy said they'd probably take you, though they won't respond for certain until tomorrow. It's a boarding school honey."
Ah, I see. So they did call immediately after they expelled me. Mom has just been on the phone trying to find another school for me. [Ding!]
I heard the ding but ignored it for now as mom smiled confidently at me. "I have a late shift tonight at the store, so you are going to have to either cook something or just warm some food I made, okay?"
"That's fine mom, I swear I won't disappoint you again. It will be different this time!" I said, holding her hand, saying the same thing I always said.
"Oh Percy," She shook her head before flicking my head gently, "You'll never disappoint me, dear," As she did this I wiped something from eye.
"Percy, are you crying?"
"Just sand, mom."
She giggled, "Of course, dear, lots of sand around." She grabbed her jacket from the peg next to the door. "Gabe is out to New Jersey, so you have the house to yourself till late night, be responsible and if your bring any girls home then remember to use protectio-"
"MOM!" I yelled, my cheeks flaring up as I sputtered in outrage as mom left, chuckling at me.
I turned around after closing the door as she left; this was good, I could finally see my notification now that I'm alone. I could also test if I could get another skill like cooking through the bracelet.
I opened the fridge and grabbed some eggs. Leaving them on the counter, I turned to the stove and lit the front hob so the pan could heat up.
A few minutes later, as I used a fork to scrape my steaming scrambled eggs onto a plate, I heard a loud [Ding!], "Yes!" I yelled triumphantly. It seemed to work on almost any skill.
[Relationships unlocked]
[Money unlocked]
[You have gained a new skill]
Cooking Lv-1 (20%)
[Your cooking may not be good, but it is edible]
Wow, I know what money is but I wonder what relationships could be. 'I better check it out later after the eggs,' I thought. Reading on, I saw what the bracelet said about my cooking. It did not inspire any confidence, I thought looking at my eggs.
I could not help but agree they did not look good, but they looked like I could stomach them if there were no surprises. Taking a bite, I waited for a few moments. Nothing happened so I finished them then drank two cups of milk to get rid of the taste. The bracelet was absolutely right, they were terrible eggs and I should have probably not eaten them.
Thinking about the events that happened today I could feel a sense of disbelief hover over my head at what happened today. Stats, skills, glowing vanishing people all made me question the reality of the events but I thought off the pain I'd felt after over exerting myself and mom's light flick. Combined with my increased knowledge of English, it couldn't all be dream.
Entering my room, I jumped onto the bed and touched the right side of the bracelet ready to see what's new in the character status.
[Character Status]
[Name: Percy Jackson]
[Level 1 Experience 0/100]
[Age: 15]
[Race: Locked]
[Titles: None]
[HP: 100/100] Health Regen: (0.5 per min)
[Stamina: 100/100] Stamina Regen: (1 per min)
[Mana: Locked)
[Affinity: Locked]
[Stats]
Strength - 6
Vitality - 4
Endurance - 4
Dexterity - 4
Intelligence - 7
Wisdom: - 2
Charisma: - 2
Luck: - 0
[Skills]
Running Lv-1(50%)
Cooking Lv-1(20%)
Languages: English Lv-4 (0%)
[Special Abilities: locked]
[Items: Locked]
[Item shop: Locked]
Stat Points - 0
Skill Points: - 0
[Special Ability Points: locked]
Relationships: Mom - 100/100
[Reputation: Locked]
Money: $0
[Ding!]
[You can now choose to only open the stats in the character status to have less clutter in the menu. Just touch the bracelet and think of what you want to open]
'Nice,' I think as I checked my pockets and take out all my cash, "How does this money thing work," I wondered out loud
[Ding!]
I froze, "It better not tell me how it works, now," I snarled. Otherwise, I could have saved so much time earlier.
[Once you collect money, it shall appear in a black credit card with purple lettering. All you have to do is grab the money with the arm the bracelet is on. It shall then store your money virtually and gift you a credit card.]
'Wow,' I thought to myself, 'this sure would have been helpful earlier.' Grabbing the money with the arm the bracelet on it, I watched it disappear. Remembering what the bracelet said, I touched it while thinking of my money and there it was.
Money: $55
But where was the credit card? Seeing nothing I waited, closed the window then I heard the telltale [Ding!]. Hearing the noise I grinned. This was it; this was my ticket out of here!
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(I do not own Percy Jackson or the gamer system idea.)
(This is my first fanfic and first chapter I have ever made so if any read this, please comment on
how to make the story better or how to improve my writing. Thanks for reading.)
(If any up above want there name removed just message me!)