A month had passed since I had arrived in Thalia's world, and a new routine had been established.
I woke up in the morning for breakfast, and then it was time for activities… In the first few weeks, I'd done a little of everything. This was common, having someone try out everything in order to find out what they were good at.
Of course, anything using a weapon was something I was good at thanks to my weapons talent; bows, swords, spears. No matter what weapon it was, I would learn how to use in an hour or so. Many thought I might be one of Ares' Children as a result, but they couldn't understand why I hadn't been claimed despite the skill I showed.
After activities- and lunch- I'd have free time. Generally, I spent that time honing my fire abilities in a more private area- away from view. With Pandora's help, I was able to set up barriers to prevent scrying. It would make the Gods think I was perhaps one of Hecate's, or at least a legacy. Still, it gave me the privacy to work on my fire and shadow abilities.
Once I was free from training those, I'd spend some time together with Uta and Thalia. We'd also talk regularly using the chatroom.
Speaking of the chatroom, Uta and I were encouraging Thalia to share the secret of the chatroom at least with Annabeth. It was clear that Annabeth was exceedingly hurt by the fact Thalia hadn't told her about Uta and I, and she was being very passive aggressive, and it was really annoying me.
Plus, her jealousy felt almost unnatural. It was really getting on my nerves and also was starting to really convince me on my theory that Annabeth had feelings for Thalia.
Out of curiosity, I'd asked Thalia in a private chat if she had any romantic feelings for Annabeth. She had made it very clear to me- with threats of electrocution- that she only saw Annabeth as a sister and nothing more.
I believed her. Thalia may be a bit tsundere in terms of personality, but I was very sure she wasn't hiding her feelings. After all, the one Thalia had loved was Luke. I wasn't sure if she loved him anymore, but I was confident that Annabeth wasn't on her radar.
Luckily, Penny had been there to keep things smoothed over. Penny had a strong bond with Annabeth after going through two quests together, and she knew how to calm Annabeth down whenever she started to get jealous.
She was even going to be staying year round this year- at least partially. She mentioned that she might plan some returns to her home a few times, just to check in on her mother and make sure she was doing well.
Penny was honestly- no pun intended- a godsent. I had been prepared for a calculating but still polite Annabeth, not a passive aggressive bitch… With Penny around, she at least was able to temper the storm that was Hurricane Chase.
Then again, this world already had a female Percy- who knew what else was different?
Part of my routine also included what I was in the middle of… Sparring with Thalia and Uta. Thalia found time to give Uta and I some experience in fighting against a vastly superior opponent.
Uta was better at it than I was, thanks to her Conqueror's Infusion. Thalia also used this chance to train her new skill that empowered her body using lightning. The first time she'd used it, she'd caught one of Uta's arrows in midair… It was insane how powerful her reflexes became.
I let out a tired sigh as I put down the spear I was using, giving a nod to Thalia who stood across from me. I was exhausted and covered in sweat, while Thalia barely looked winded. "Good spar."
She gave me a grin, her electric blue eyes lighting up. "You too," she responded, shaking her body a bit as the lightning crackling around her died down. "Damn, this ability is a rush… Even after practising with it for the last month, I'm still not really used to the rush."
I hummed... That made sense to me, a lot of sense. In a way, Thalia's Lightning Empowerment was essentially a lightning based Ultra Instinct. Ultra Instinct took a massive tole on its user... Even as a degraded version, it wasn't a surprise that Thalia had some downsides like struggling to use her other skills and it also taking a toll on her body.
But still... "It might just be that your body isn't strong enough to handle it yet," I told Thalia. "Like pouring a glass of water. At first, no problem. But if you keep pouring, eventually it overflows."
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, that makes sense..." She frowned as she looked at her hands. "Physically, I'm older than when I was put into that tree... But when I got out, my body was still only as strong as when I was twelve years old... Which means that I'm basically trying to use my skill with a twelve year old body..." She hummed and nodded. "Yeah, no wonder it's taking a toll."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Uta chimed in. "The more powerful an ability, the more toll it takes. Even my Conqueror's Haki is pretty taxing for me- especially if I'm using Conqueror's Infusion. It takes concentration, and my body also struggles with it."
I just hummed at Uta's words... Haki was all about willpower, but physical conditioning was also required. After all, there was a reason Rayleigh had Luffy train on the island over the two years- it was to help give him the stamina to help him maintain his Haki. A good example was Luffy's fight against Dolflamingo, where he could only maintain Gear Fourth for a short time before he needed to wind down and regain his ability to use Haki after a rest.
"Speaking of skills, you still haven't mentioned what ability you got, Yuno," Thalia's gaze focused on me. "You said it wasn't combat oriented, but what kind of skill is it?"
I just smiled. "It's a secret~ But I assure you... It's going to be a big help in the future..."
After all, there was no other skill more perfect for the 'me' that existed at the moment than the one the system had given.
"Fine, fine, keep your secrets," Thalia huffed lightly, before she opened up the chatroom.
Thalia: Any idea of what this mission we're supposed to do is? I mean, giving us a six month time limit is pretty crazy... And the solstice...
Uta: What's so special about the Solstice?
Thalia: The Gods have two annual meetings every year- the summer solstice and the winter solstice. At these meetings, the Gods discuss some pretty important things like territory management, weather cycles, and so on. They even discuss wars and if they should keep them going or end them.
Uta: Wait, what? They control all of that...? Even wars?
Yuno: The Gods are essentially shadow rulers of the world. They manage everything meticulously in order to continue to maintain their divinity and domains. The wars are for the sake of Ares. Without war, he- and Athena- would lose key parts of their divinity. Every major war in history has Gods involved- even ones not of this Pantheon.
Thalia stopped and cast a sharp look at me, opening her mouth before she closed it and focused her thoughts on the chatroom.
Thalia: What do you mean not of this Pantheon?
I paused... Right, I guess I'd never told them who my godly parent was, did I?
Yuno: Did I not mention? I'm not a Greek Demigod- I'm an Aztec Demigod. My Divine Father is Tezcatlipoca- God of the Night, the Sun, and Violence.
Uta just tilted her head, not seeing the big deal, while Thalia's eyes widened.
Thalia: Wait, wait, wait! Other Pantheons are real too? No, wait, that makes sense... But then...
A look of understanding came over her face.
Thalia: Is that why Demigods aren't allowed to go certain places, or heavily advised against doing so? Not just because of Monsters, but because they don't want us interacting with other Pantheons?
I just chuckled in amusement... Never let it be said Thalia wasn't one to quickly connect the dots.
Yuno: Yes, I have some memories showing my 'father' instructing me on where I should and shouldn't go... Of course, I completely ignored him.
That was a lie, but it wasn't like they would know that, would they?
Thalia: That's... Fucking hell...
Yuno: Not really relevant to our problem right now though, let's shelve those worries for another time.
Thalia nodded quickly, shaking her head to banish the thoughts from her mind before her stomach growled. "Right, let's go get something to eat," she told them. "A snack would do me a world of good right now."
"Are you going to tell Annabeth?" I asked her as Uta finally tossed me a towel and I began to wipe the sweat off of my body.
Thalia bit her lip. "... I think I'll hold off until after the situation," she finally said. "She's a bit too... Unstable, especially with the both of you around. I'm worried if I tell her, she's going to start accusing you both of some things that just aren't true and strain my relationship with her even more."
"Alright, fair enough," I nodded. No more words were needed, it was ultimately up to Thalia on whether she told Annabeth about the Chatroom or not- we had no part in it.
I finished wiping the sweat from my body and put my shirt back on. "Food?"
"Food!" Uta jumped up and agreed. "Wanna race?"
"Just because I can stand doesn't mean that I can actually feel my legs right now," I deadpanned. "I will walk, thank you."
"I'll race," Thalia smirked at Uta. "Think you can keep up?"
"Obviously," Uta smirked right back. "I'll have you know, I'm excellent at competitions!"
I just sighed and got slightly ahead of them. "Alright ladies, I want a nice clean race," I told them. "No special powers or physically interfering with the other runner. Your goal is the dining pavilion. Whoever gets there first is the winner- no do overs, no take backs. Understood?"
Both girls nodded, a competitive desire burning in both of their eyes.
"Ready!" I called out. "Set..." I saw them both tense up. "GO!"
Both of them shot off past me like bullets, kicking up a trail of dust behind them as they raced like the wind- eager to beat the other.
I just shook my head with a smile as I followed behind them... And I opened the System Store.
Point Balance: 50,800
I grinned slowly as I saw those numbers… The point rewards in the Percy Jackson world for daily quests were better than my own because they involved more physical activity than duelling. After a month in this world, I'd managed to finally claw up to 50,000 Points…
By the time the quest with Artemis finally came, I would definitely have all of the points I needed… And with those points…
'Purchase Duel Spirit Creation.'
Duel Spirit Creation – 50,000 Points
Are you sure you want to purchase?
Yes / No
'Yes.'
I shuddered as I instantly felt the new power filling my body, welling up from within me and knowledge pushing itself into my mind… The power to create Duel Spirits- a power reserved for only Protagonists and Antagonists- was finally within my hands.
All that was left was to obtain Card Creation. Once I had that, I would be confident against almost anybody that I had to face off against. Dark Signers, Signers, Iliaster… Hell, I would even be confident in facing off against Z-ONE himself and his bullshit anime Timelord Deck.
I grinned slowly, as Tez and Pandora both began to chuckle with dark delight…
Things were going according to plan…