Chapter Text
Deep in the void, there was a place beyond the ravages of time. A cocoon of overlapping threads - billions of them - the life threads of every being in the universe. And in this cocoon sat the Fates - Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. The Spinner, The Alloter, and The Inflexible.
The Fates don't usually interfere. They spin, they measure, and they snip life threads. But as the three old sisters sat in their celestial knitting circle, looking down at the thread that belonged to Perseus Jackson, they saw too many frayed edges. They saw a world-ending storm brewing, as the Great Prophecy's wheels were set in motion, and a boy, who sat at the centre of it.
"He will face enemies more powerful than any other, enemies that not even the Gods could handle with all their might and children." Lachesis stated.
"The boy will have to fight these deities regardless. No matter the odds. He must not fall or falter. If the enemies have powers beyond the Gods, the boy should have the strength to match them" Clotho responded.
"He is but a mortal. A powerful one yes, Poseidon's children always were, but even he will not be able to handle such power in such a limited form. Any significant boon will tear his mortal form apart." Atropos scathingly said.
"Then we shall give the ability to grow in a structure only he can understand - in the form of a video game, as mortals these days call it." said Lachesis.
"If this is what is necessary, so be it." said Clotho.
Then the sea-green life thread of Perseus Jackson flashed with the colour white, as his life was forever changed.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
"What the hell is that noise?" Percy muttered as he rubbed his eyes open.
He groaned, squinting against the harsh morning light filtering through the grime-streaked window of his room. He expected to see his messy floor or the back of his bedroom door. Instead, a semi-transparent box of neon blue light was hovering exactly six inches from his nose.
[You have slept in a comfortable bed. Your [HP] and [MP] have been restored to 100% each. All ailments and negative effects have been cured.]
Percy blinked. The box didn't go away. He closed his eyes tight, counted to ten, and opened them again. The floating illusion remained.
"Okay," Percy whispered, sitting up. "I'm hallucinating. Great. Maybe those blue candies I ate earlier were past their expiration date."
He reached out a hand to swat the box away. His fingers passed straight through it like mist, but a soft chiming sound echoed in his skull.
[CHARACTER SHEET]
[Name: Percy Jackson]
[Titles: None]
[LVL] - 5 (0/100 XP)
[HP] - 2000/2000
[MP] - 1000/1000
[DEX] - 10
[STR] - 6
[VIT] - 5
[INT] - 3
[LUC] - 2
[WIS] - 2
[CHA] - 3
[AP] - 0
[PP] - 0
[$] - 24USD
"Level five? And why is my intelligence a three?" Percy complained, a spark of his usual indignation flaring up. "I'm not that dumb."
[Skills]
ADHD - Makes DEX 2x easier to increase.
Dyslexia - Makes INT 2x harder to increase.
"Oh, okay, that makes sense, I guess."
The letters on the screen weren't dancing like they usually did on his homework. They were perfectly still, glowing with a sharp, digital clarity. For the first time in his life, reading didn't feel like a physical struggle.
[New Skills Unlocked!]
Gamer's Mind (Passive - MAX): Protects the mind from outside influences and keeps the user calm and rational.
Gamer's Body (Passive - MAX): Allows the user's body to function like a game character. HP and MP restore after sleep. Physical damage is shown by HP loss.
Suddenly, that spike of panic he had felt didn't vanish, but it felt… muffled. It was as if his brain had been wrapped in a cool, damp cloth. He felt calm - unnervingly so.
"If this is a game, then there must be some way to level up. Maybe if I start working out, my stats will get better?" Percy wondered out loud.
[By arriving at a smart and reasonable conclusion, your INT stats have increased by 1!]
"Oh, that's good… I guess." Yeah, sure, why not?
"Umm… Percy?" Grover spoke up.
Percy whipped his head around in shock, as he had forgotten there were others in the dorm room.
"Are you okay? You were staring into space for a while. Like 'more than 5 minutes' a while." Grover commented in concern.
"Yes, Yes I'm fine," Percy replied, waving his concerns off. Hopefully. "I was just… lost in my thoughts, sorry."
"Good, I was getting scared for a second, and we have class in a couple of minutes. I was waiting for you to come back to reality. We probably shouldn't be late," Grover said and then muttered the last part under his breath. "Again."
[Quest issued!]
[Objective: Reach class on time]
[Rewards: 120 XP!]
[Yes or No?]
Before Percy could do anything, the quest accepted itself.
'Okay, rude.' He thought to himself. Wondering why it bothered to give him a 'yes or no' prompt when the answer was a foregone conclusion.
"C'mon, I'll be right behind you!" Percy yelped, scrambling out of bed and quickly packing his bag.
Percy and Grover pushed and clambered through the hallways of Yancy Academy, weaving through crowds of students who, strangely, all had floating white bars above their heads that Percy tried his best to ignore. They reached the Pre-Algebra classroom just as the bell let out its final, shrill ring.
[Quest Completed!]
[120 XP gained!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 5 Level 6!]
[You have gained 5 Attribute Points (AP)!]
Percy slumped into his seat, his heart hammering against his ribs. He felt a strange rush - a literal rush of power settling into his bones unlike the exhaustion that he would normally feel from barely beating the bell.
"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Jackson." A raspy voice drawled.
Percy looked up. Mrs. Dodds was leaning against the blackboard. She was Yancy's new and premier math teacher, constantly outfitted in her signature leather jacket who always looked like she wanted to feed Percy to a woodchipper. Usually, it was just annoying, but today, something about her was different.
As she smiled at him, her eyes didn't just look mean—they glinted with a sharp, murderous red light. A sudden, overwhelming wave of cold washed over Percy. It felt like a physical weight pressing on his chest, a thick cloud of malice that made his skin crawl.
Ping.
[Skill Learned: Sense Bloodlust (Passive) - Level 1]
Sense Bloodlust (Passive) - Level 1: You can feel the killing intent of those around you. Note: With enough training, this can be weaponized into an Active Skill to instill fear in others.
Percy's breath hitched. He could sense bloodlust? He stared at her, fixated on the way she looked less like a teacher and more like a predator. He focused every ounce of his focus on her, squinting through the hazy air until the world seemed to ripple like a glitchy video.
Ping.
[Through intense focus, you have pierced the veil!]
[New Skill Unlocked!]
Observe (Active - Level 1): Allows the player to see a being's stats, level, and feelings towards the player. Only works if the targeted being's level is less than 20 levels more than the player. As this skill gets levelled up through constant use, more information will be displayed.
[Name] Alecto (Disguise: Mrs. Dodds)
[Race] Fury
[Level] ?
[HP] - 15000/15000
[MP] - 9000/9000
[DEX] - ?
[STR] - ?
[VIT] - ?
[INT] - ?
[LUC] - ?
[WIS] - ?
[CHA] - ?
[Status] Bloodthirsty
Percy's blood turned to ice. Fury? Alecto? He turned his gaze toward Grover, his mind reeling. If his teacher was a monster, then what was his best friend, who has been showing unusual behaviour in all the time he had known him?
He squinted at Grover, who was currently chewing nervously on his thumb.
[Name] Grover Underwood
[Race] Satyr
[Level] 13
[HP] 7000/7000
[MP] 5000/5000
[DEX] 16
[STR] 10
[VIT] 14
[INT] 12
[LUC] 8
[WIS] 10
[CHA] 9
[Status] Protector. Fond towards player - views player as a good and valuable friend.
As Percy watched, Grover reached into his bag, pulled out a crumpled Diet Coke can, and took a massive, crunchy bite out of the metal.
Crunch.
What the fuck?
Grover let out a muffled bleat and quickly hid the can, looking at Percy with wide, terrified eyes. Percy didn't even have the energy to act surprised. He was Level 6. His friend was a Level 13 goat-man. His teacher was a demon. Percy's life was suddenly a game and he's living in it.
Percy just couldn't believe it, his best friend, who he had always thought was weak, could beat him easily with one hand. And don't even get him started on how strong his demon teacher was.
He looked at his 5 unspent Attribute Points. He needed to decide - right now - how to survive.
Ping.
[To help with this important decision, the System has graciously decided to give information about Stats]
[STAT MECHANICS]
STR (Strength): Dictates raw physical power and the damage you can inflict in combat.
DEX (Dexterity): Influences your speed, reflexes, and evasion. (Boosted by ADHD)
VIT (Vitality): Increases HP and physical endurance. Decide how much damage you can tank.
INT (Intelligence): Influences rationality, basic brainpower, and the ability to analyze complex information. (Nerfed by Dyslexia)
WIS (Wisdom): Influences your MP. 1 extra point in WIS = 500 extra MP. Note: Extremely hard to gain through training.
LUC (Luck): Influences the encounter rate and rarities of loot and staged events. Decreases number and severity of monster encounters.
CHA (Charisma): Influences how easily you can persuade, influence, intimidate, or lead others.
Percy gripped the edge of his desk, the wood grain feeling unusually sharp against his palms. He didn't have time to second-guess himself. If he was going to survive a Bloodthirsty Fury and actually understand the words on the blackboard, he needed a balanced build - and he needed it now.
He mentally tapped the plus icons on his screen, watching the numbers tick upward as his 5 [AP] vanished into his profile.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
[Stat Update!]
[INT] 4 - 5 (Making it easier to concentrate and read the moving words. Due to dyslexia nerf, it only got increased by 1 [ of 2])
[WIS] 2 -3 (Boosting MP to 1500)
[DEX] 10 -12 (Sharpening reflexes. Due to ADHD buff, it got increased by 2 [2x of 1])
[LUC] 2 -3 (Because he was going to need a miracle)
As the points locked in, a hum of clarity settled over his mind. The letters on the board started vibrating a bit less, and the cold weight of the Fury's bloodlust felt slightly less paralyzing. He looked at Mrs. Dodds, then at Grover, who was still trying to swallow a piece of aluminum.
Percy didn't know what the win conditions for this game were, but at least he knew how to survive. And for now, that was enough.
God help him.