Gaming Alone

Summary: 14-Year-Old Percy Jackson just wanted a quiet school year. But when he finds himself kidnapped by monsters and himself being sacrificed to Gaia to aid in her rise, he comes to realise something. A quiet life was never for him. And if that was the case, he would tear his way through the world and live. All on his own. [Secret Quest: A Weakling's Will Has Been Cleared!] Gamer! Percy AU!

Pairing: ? ? ?

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Multi-Crossovers, First Person POV, Strong Percy, later quite OP.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Solo Levelling (Where I got game system). PJO is property of Rick Riordan, and Solo Levelling is made by Jang Sung-lak (Author) and Gee So-lyung (Artist). Please support the official release.

X: A Prophecy

How long had it been since I'd last spoken to Aiz, I wondered? If my memory wasn't wrong, I hadn't spoken to her since her warning to me about Grover coming to Westover Hall. After that I hadn't spoken so much as a single word to her… Hell, I don't think I'd even really seen her around that much, if I was honest.

So why was she calling me now?

"You're not in the school," Aiz said. "You vanished… You're at Camp Half-Blood, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," I confirmed. "Dr Thorn made his move. I erased him, and then stuff happened and now I'm in Camp Half-Blood."

"I see…" She said, silence reigning between us for a minute or so before she spoke up again. "So, you've made your choice then," she said to him.

"I'm sorry, can you blame me?" I snorted at her. "'I'm part of a shady organization. I can't tell you who our leader is, or what the goal of our organization overall is because I swore an oath to not say his name, and I don't know our goal, but I fully expect that you'll join us.' Yeah, there was no way in Hades I was joining."

She was frowning on the other side of the phone, I could feel it. "You mentioned that the last time we spoke, and I was thinking about it… When I contacted the higher ups and asked the questions you asked, they only told me not to worry about it… And yet I am concerned about my organization. Little things I didn't notice before in my memory are now standing out…"

I closed my eyes. Blind loyalty, that was what Aiz had been blinded with. I could see that now. And now that I'd asked the right questions, she was asking questions that were beginning to get rid of her loyalty.

"Why did you really call me?" I asked. "I know you didn't call me to just discuss this."

"You're right, I didn't call you to discuss this," she said to me. "I have information I thought you'd want to know, since you're at Camp Half Blood now…"

"And that is?"

"The Titans are starting to more thoroughly make their moves, coming out into the open. Before they'd been somewhat stealthy and quiet, trying to fly under the radar of the gods. But they're starting to no longer care, making bolder moves than before. Be careful."

I frowned lightly at her words… So, the Titans were starting to make this an open war, not a shadow war like it had been until now from what I'd heard. But one question stood out in my mind, "How do you know all this?"

"We have someone on the inside," she told me, and my eyes widened. Tribus had a double agent. But wait… She knew I was at Camp, but I could have just left. How did she-? "And before you ask, yes. We also have a double agent at Camp Half-Blood too. Though you'll never find them, so I wouldn't bother looking."

"… Alright then," I said. "I'm going to go now, Aiz. But I'll give you some advice. Your organization is shady, too shady to be trusted in my opinion. I think that it's time you asked yourself just what their goals are, and if they can really be trusted. I'm going to destroy this card, can't risk it having a tracking function."

"… Be careful," was all Aiz said.

There was silence.

True to my word, I ripped up the black card into several pieces, before tossing them outside and letting them scatter to the winds.

I took a seat on my bed, thinking over just what I'd heard. A shadow war, starting to move into the open. The titans on one side, the gods on the other… And behind the scenes, a shady organization claiming to mostly be comprised of Zeus and Hades' kids, with kids of others…

"There's something going on," I murmured to myself. "This Tribus group… I somehow feel they're the key to all this. But the real question is should I open that door?"

I shook my head. "I won't get anywhere right now, for now I should get some sleep…" Ever since I obtained the System, I no longer needed to eat or sleep… And after my talk with Aiz, I didn't particularly want to sleep.

I stood up, pacing back and forth quietly to not wake up Nico or Bianca. "… Store," I said aloud, letting it open in front of me.

I scrolled through various options, until I eventually came to a clothing store. It was dirt cheap too, only around ten gold for most items. Though that was because they had no enchantments on them, meaning they were purely cosmetic.

I probably spent an hour or so looking through different clothing options for outfits and buying clothing.

What? Just because I was a guy, didn't mean I didn't want to look good!

While I was here, I had some questions for the System… Questions I should have asked a long time ago, but better late than never.

"Query. Can other people interact with the system?"

[No being besides the creator of the System and the Player can comprehend or interact with the System.]

"So, I don't need to be afraid of using the system in public… No wait, it said it can't comprehend the system… Query. What happens if I take something out of my inventory in front of others?"

[Humans will act as if you always had the item in question stored somewhere. Non/Demi-Humans shall believe the player used Dimensional Magic to store the items.]

"I see…" I put a hand on my chin. "So just because people can't interact with the System, doesn't mean they don't notice it. Instead, they rationalize it in a way that makes sense for them. Because non and demi-humans are aware of the existence of magic, they explain it as magic. And because humans don't know magic, the only explanation their minds have is that I had the item the whole time… That will be useful. Query. Is there a party system?"

[The System does not have a party option. Only the chosen player and the creator may access and use the System.]

"Chosen player… Me… But creator…" I frowned. "Query. Who created the system?"

[The Player is not allowed access to that information at this time.]

"Damn it…" I grit my teeth. I had this amazing power, yes, but how did I know the creator would not take the system from me for whatever reason… "Query. Can the System be taken from me by the creator?"

[Once the Player has obtained access to the System, they can never lose access, even after their death.]

My eyes widened at that. The System would be with me forever, even after I died? That was interesting… That was very interesting…

"Query. Are Gods able to sense the System?"

[Divine entities can sense something from the Player due to the System. For the sake of protecting the Player, divine entities shall feel a sense they can trust the player to prevent their death.]

"So that's why Artemis thought I could be trusted…" I murmured. "And its why Mr. D was able to talk to me so easily, I heard that he's usually kind of a prick. The System made them trust me more easily, to prevent me from dying at their hands… It explains why Artemis didn't vaporize me when I brought up Kallisto…"

Yes, aggravating Artemis was not the smartest move on my part. But mentioning her had convinced Bianca to not join the Hunters, so it was a gamble that was worth it in my eyes.

I closed the Help Menu and looked out the window towards the forest. That must be where Capture the Flag would take place, otherwise the cabins would end up completely ruined, and would take forever to clean up afterwards. The forest was probably the smartest place to have capture the flag.

Suddenly, a thought occurred… We'd be fighting in the forest, so why didn't I scout out the area? I didn't know what the layout of the forest was, shortcuts through areas, nothing. If I could defeat the Hunters, that would get me some positive reputation in Camp seeing as people seemed to hate the Hunters.

I couldn't help the grin that came to my lips.

Call me a little manipulative, but Tribus was a looming threat in my mind. If I could get the Camp on my side, then I'd be easily able to convince them that Tribus was an organization not to be trusted when they revealed themselves.

I thought it was acceptable, since I wasn't going to manipulate them into doing something evil. Tribus was too shady to be trusted, and I thought it was best that they were dealt with as soon as they decided to come out of hiding. Because they would. Shady organizations that kept themselves hidden always came out of the shadows eventually.

And during a war was the best time to make themselves known and try to push forward whatever the hell their agenda was.

For now, though…

[Skill: Stealth has activated.]

[All traces of the Player shall be hidden.]

[10 MP will be consumed every second.]

I had harpies to avoid and a forest to scout out.

~~Gaming Alone~~

When I was told the forest was stocked, I was hoping there would be monsters in there. You know, some free experience I could gain while I scouted out the place.

Of course, there wouldn't be monsters in there, what was I thinking? The camp was protected by a magical barrier, it would be completely stupid if the monsters could come in through the forest to attack the campers! Of course, there were no monsters in the damn forest!

Still, scouting out the forest was complete child's play. Throughout my time at Westover Hall, I'd gone into the dungeon there regularly. Just for fun, I spent a long time figuring out different ways to travel through the forest; be it from tree to tree, swinging from vine to vine… I could go on, but long story short is I know my way around forests like I know the back of my hand.

… Was that spot always on my hand?

Regardless, scouting out the forest was all too easy. The map in my vision also helped a great deal. Oh, those Hunters wouldn't know what hit them in this game of capture the flag! I was certain of that!

I made my way out of the forest at about five in the morning and proceeded to do my Daily Quest without issue. It was only after, that I used my Stealth skill again and snuck back into the cabin. I rustled the bed a little to make it look like I'd slept in it- no need to make Nico or Bianca worry- and then sat on the bed and disabled my stealth skill.

When that was done, I began to contemplate about the in-game currency. It was all good and helpful, but I was curious as to if I could use it in the real world.

Well… There was one way to find out.

"Query. Can I convert in-game currency into real world currency?"

[Answer: Yes. To convert currency, please open the store, then say 'Convert Gold.']

"Nice and easy," I murmured, closing the helpful box and opening the Store menu. I looked at my gold, sitting at just over one-hundred thousand. Time to hope the conversion rates were good. "Convert Gold."

[What would you like to convert your gold into?]

"US Dollars."

[1 Gold = 50 USD. How much gold would you like to convert?]

"WHAT-!?" I had to quickly bring my hands up, staring at the floating blue text box in shock. One gold was equal to fifty dollars!? If I had over one-hundred thousand, then that meant…

Holy shit, I was rich!

No, focus Percy! Focus on the fact you're rich later, focus on other things now!

"Cancel," I said, slowly uncovering my mouth. "Convert Gold to Gold Drachmas."

[1 Gold = 13 Gold Drachmas. How much would you like to convert?]

Well, safe to say that I'd never have money troubles for as long as I lived, that much was certain!

Now, how to use this money…

"Cancel. Inventory," I said, closing the conversion menu and opening up my inventory to have a quick look through it. Perhaps something in there could give me a hint of just what it was I wanted to do with my money…

My eyes landed upon my bronze xiphos I'd broken. I stared at it, considering… Hephaestus was the God of the Forge. His kids were here at Camp and had likely inherited some measure of his skill.

I'd have to speak with them, see if I could get my xiphos re-forged, or melted down to make something else. As lovely as the xiphos was to hold, it still felt… Off. Like it just wasn't quite what I wanted in a weapon, like it could have been better if it was just something else.

I closed my inventory, laying back in my bed and simply stared at the ceiling for a while. Honestly, there wasn't much for me to do right now. I'd scouted out the forest, done my daily quest, asked the system some questions… And make a short-term plan. I had literally nothing to do but stare at the ceiling and wait for breakfast.

… Fuck, I should really get a hobby.

Several hours later, after having gotten some breakfast in my stomach, I made my way over to the Hephaestus Cabin. I converted my gold into a thousand drachmas, just in case, and I was confident I could convert them back if that was way too much.

I gave a firm knock on the door, my broken xiphos in hand.

I didn't have to wait long for the door to open, revealing a tall African-American man with what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face. Guy was pretty jacked too, had muscles like you'd see on a basketball player. I could see the callouses on his hands too.

"You're the new kid that came yesterday, the son of Poseidon," he said, it wasn't a question. "I never got your name."

"Percy," I introduced myself, offering my hand.

He met me half-way, shaking my hand firmly. He had a strong grip. "Charles Beckendorf, everyone calls me Beckendorf," he said to me, pulling his hand back. "So, what did you want?"

"My xiphos broke a while ago in a monster attack," I said as I held up the broken weapon, seeing him visibly cringe. "I've gotten better weapons since, but I wanted to see if I could get it repaired or improved in some way."

"That thing is horrendous," Beckendorf grimaced. "Not even worth using as scrap metal… Though I guess I can melt it down and see if we can make something salvageable…"

"I don't want something salvageable," my voice was firm "I want a weapon that will last me a long time, possibly forever, that I can use. I'm willing to pay however much I need to do so."

"Mortal money doesn't fly in camp," Beckendorf said. "You need Gold Drachmas. Considering your new, I don't see how-."

He quickly feel silent as I reached into my inventory, pulling out a pouch and tossing it to him.

He caught it, eyes wide. "What… That was magic, right?" He asked. "But I've never seen anything like it… Your hand just rippled and vanished, and came out with the pouch… How did you…?"

"There's one-hundred gold drachmas in there," I told Beckendorf, and watched as he quickly opened it up. The sight of his wide eyes was great. "And I have more. I'm willing to give you three-hundred gold drachmas for making me a weapon to the absolute best of your abilities. It must be a one-handed sword, other than that… Surprise me."

"… Give me another fifty drachmas," Beckendorf said with a grin. "That way half on commission, half on payment."

"I'll add another hundred drachmas to the total if you can have it ready by tomorrow," I bargained. "And I get the rights to name the weapon."

"Deal."

I tossed him another pouch from my inventory, containing another hundred drachmas, and my broken xiphos.

"Your weapon is gonna be a masterpiece," Beckendorf promised me with a grin. "Not everyone can afford a Beckendorf original! I'll make you a sword so great, it'll become famous!"

"I'll hold you to that," I flashed him a grin, before I turned away and headed off to start my camp activities.

I very rapidly learned things about myself as I performed camp activities.

For starters, I wasn't great at archery. Oh, I wasn't completely terrible like I thought I would be. But I was barely hitting the targets with my shots. I had a good feeling that my agility stat was kind of like the dexterity stat in other games, in that it was helping with my aim.

Considering how high my agility was, I shuddered to thin how terrible I'd be at archery without all those points.

Climbing was easy, wrestling was a bit tough since I had to hold back my strength, so I didn't accidentally hurt anybody. That would have been quite the dilemma. Still, the Ares camper I repeatedly knocked on his ass took it quite well. Even told me I was free to spar with members of the Ares cabin whenever I wanted.

I was a decent hand at sword-fighting too, managing to beat everyone I went up against. I heard whispers I might even be a better swordsman that 'Luke.' Whoever the hell Luke was.

I didn't get to discover much else about myself regarding camp activities before the game of capture the flag. After all, there were only so many camp activities to do in a day. And besides, I was looking forward to the game of capture the flag.

It was set up after dinner, only a small game. Thirteen hunters, against a group of campers roughly the same size. Thalia was the leader, and personally chose every camper. A sense of doubt filled me as she began to choose everyone who would be on the camper's side. I wanted in, if only to test myself, but what if she didn't pick me?

She had no reason to, after all.

"We've got fourteen including me," Thalia said. "We need one more…" That was when her eyes wandered, looking over everyone… And then landed on me. "You," she said. "Percy."

I blinked and stepped forwards. "Not that I'm gonna say no, but why me?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity.

"You killed a manticore," Thalia said. "Seems a good indicator you'd be a fair hand. Besides, you're an unknown. An unknown will be good to use against them."

"Fair enough," I agreed. "What do you need from me, boss?"

Thalia looked at me weirdly as I called her that. "What are your skills?" She asked me.

I paused. "I'm fast," I told her. "Fastest guy you'll ever see that isn't a god. I can also turn invisible, kind of like your friend Annabeth can do with her cap. Except I can do it at will, though mine is only temporary."

"Wait, really?" Annabeth spoke up, having been one of the fifteen participating.

I just nodded. "I won't demonstrate it right now though," I told them. "Like I said, it's temporary, and that's only if I don't use any other abilities when using it. At peak, I get just over a minute of invisibility."

"So, you're only good at running," an Ares kid chuckled.

His chuckling stopped when he suddenly had a dagger to his neck. "I've killed the minotaur," I told him. "And the manticore. And a handful of other monsters I don't care to name. Never once did I run, facing them all head on. How many monsters have you fought?"

He didn't respond.

"This dagger is made from the fang of Cerberus," I told him. "In case you don't get it, that means I faced Cerberus, killed it, and then made a dagger out of its tooth… Still think I'm only good at running?"

"… N- No."

"No… What?"

"No, sir."

I lowered my hand, the dagger vanishing in the same smooth movement. "I'm glad we understand each other," I turned to look at Thalia and Annabeth. They, along with everyone around us, were visibly surprised. "So, what's the plan, boss?"

Thalia quickly snapped out of it. "Only two people can guard the flag at a time," she said. "Annabeth, and Ryan will guard the flag," she said, nodding at the two. Ryan turned out to be the Ares kid he'd held his knife up to. "Brain and brawn, if you want me to blunt about my thought process. Everyone except Percy is going to go for a full-frontal assault. Percy… You said a minute on your invisibility. And you said you're fast? How fast?"

"You couldn't see me pull out my dagger and hold it to Ryan's neck," I responded. "I think that gives you a hint."

She nodded. "While we charge an assault, you are going to use your skills to get behind their lines," she said. "If you're as fast as you say, you should have no problems going around and avoiding them and grabbing their flag."

"I'll do my best," I promised. "Though are you sure you want to trust me with such an important task?"

"None of us really have the skillset, besides Annabeth," Thalia explained. "And I want her on defence. With her quick thinking, I'm sure she'd come up with something of the Hunters got near the flag."

"That I can do," I agreed readily. "Would you prefer I escape with the flag as undetected as possible?" I asked.

"If you can. If not, try and knock them out. If you're as fast as you say, then there shouldn't be an issue."

I nodded, hiding my unease expertly. I've never needed to knock someone out. Take someone down, yes. Kill monsters, yes. But knock someone out? I'd have to be careful with my strength if it came to that, lest I really hurt the hunters. I may dislike them for their attitude, but I didn't want to hurt them since I didn't think they really deserved it. They were all basically raised by Artemis, after all. It was just in their nature.

"So basically," I spoke up. "I succeed, I make good on my word and we're cool. I fail, and I'm humiliated…" I grinned. "How very Slytherin of you, Thalia."

"Harry Potter? Really?"

"I've been told he and I have quite the uncanny resemblance," I grinned. "Shaggy black hair, green eyes… And a small penchant of trouble finding us."

"Shaggy black hair and green eyes I can see," Thalia smirked. "Penchant for trouble… I don't know you that well. Just do your job, and we'll be golden, Jackson. I want to teach those girl scouts a lesson by running their 'precious' winning streak."

"Call me Percy," I told her. "That's what everyone calls me, besides bullies and the like."

"Percy it is," she agreed. "Now, let's all get prepared for this!"

Everyone began their preparations for the game. While others wore armor, I chose not to. When I was asked why, I just explained that my job was stealth. Heavy armor would not only hinder me, but also make noise that could get me detected.

Of course, my stealth skill would probably hide the noise. But I wasn't going to tell them that!

"The boundary is past the creek," Thalia said to me as we all got into position. "Don't screw up."

"That's my line," I smirked at her in turn, before I waited for the signal for the game to start.

I was travelling across the tree tops the instant the conch horn sounded. I took a slight route around, to avoid any hunters doing a frontal assault. It was child's play, now that I knew my way around the forest thanks to my scouting. And the dark of night helped mask my movements further.

Still, I couldn't underestimate them. They were trained personally by Artemis, after all. Who knows what tricks they'd picked up along the way?

For that reason, I stuck to the trees as I travelled. My superior speed practically made the forest a blur as I searched for where they could possibly be guarding the flag…

Then I came to a halt as I found them with the flag… I didn't see it at first, and almost made my way past it, but I stopped as I spotted the flash of silver.

The sneaky shits had hidden it in a tree. And they knew someone would come based on if the trees rustled… But something was very strange. The leaves were rustling from my movement, but they didn't seem to hear or notice. They seemed… Concerned about something.

"I wish this stupid game would end," I heard one of them say, leaning a bit closer to listen. "Lady Artemis is in danger!"

I blinked at that, now fully focused on the conversation.

"Calm down," the other spoke. "We know milady is in danger, but we can save her. As soon as this stupid game ends, we'll pack up camp and leave in the morning to save milady."

"I know," the first said again. "I'm just worried. If someone could capture milady…"

"Then we'll make them pay," the second girl growled. "They'll die for daring to kidnap milady. Damn those titans!"

Artemis was kidnapped by the titans, from what I was hearing… How interesting. It was probably overall bad, but it was interesting. Did the monster she was hunting lead her into a trap? Or did she kill the monster, but get ambushed after the fight?

Whatever the case, I didn't have time to think about it.

I had a job to do.

[Skill: Stealth has activated.]

Without reservation, I jumped into the tree where they'd hidden their flag, snatched it, and then began to quickly tree hop towards the boundary. I felt a rush of air right after I jumped, meaning they fired arrows at me immediately.

Good reflexes, but I was a bit too fast for them.

I quickly began to jump from tree to tree, hearing one of them yell that the flag was missing as I jumped.

I disabled my Stealth after only ten seconds of hopping through the trees. If I got into the creek- or was it past the creek? - then we would win.

I honestly couldn't help but feel disappointed as I saw the creek coming into sight in the distance, Hunters and campers fighting. I suppose I was just a bit too experienced in stuff like this, and the guards had been distracted because of the disappearance of their goddess.

Well, I would abuse the shit out of it. More rep would be helpful to me in the future.

I gave a mighty leap off the tree, soaring over the fighting Hunters and campers- spotting Zoe Nightshade pausing in her run with our flag in hand- and landing on the other side. Instantly, the flag turned from silver into an orange with a Pegasus on it.

Everyone turned to me, and I heard the conch horn blow loudly.

"Campers win!" Chiron declared, rushing out of the woods as two Hermes campers- twins- behind him. "For the first time in fifty-six games!"

"Sweet," I grinned, as the campers cheered and rushed towards me. I yelped as I found myself mobbed, people clapping me on the back as they celebrated. I found myself face to face with Thalia.

"Looks like you weren't all talk then," she said, sounding smug… Because we'd won? She must really have a grudge against the hunters, just like I'd thought.

"Oh, I'm a little talk," I disagreed with a smirk. "Just happen to have the skills to back it up."

She laughed and pat me on the back. "Good job, seaweed brain."

"Seaweed brain?"

"You're Poseidon's kid," she said, as if that explained everything.

"Heh… Seaweed brain it is," I snorted. I'd find a nickname for her later… But then I spotted movement in the woods and was completely distracted.

Thalia followed my gaze, no doubt curious.

Whatever was approaching us, it was shrouded in green mist… But as it got closer, I saw it.

It was a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind either. A human female shriveled up to a husk, wearing a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over her long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.

"This is impossible…" I heard Chiron say, sounding incredibly nervous. "It… She has never left the attic before."

They kept a mummy in the attic; why?

She continued to walk forward, unperturbed, until she stood in the center of the group.

Nobody dared move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently, everyone else could hear it, because several clutched their hands over their ears.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

It unmistakably looked at Zoe. She took that as a hint and stepped forwards. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The spirit of Delphi, as it called itself, didn't respond. Instead, it looked directly at me. Everyone quickly moved away from me, as if I might spontaneously combust. I felt a shudder as those cold, dead eyes regarded me. Approach, speaker, and ask.

I saw the shock and… Was that hurt in Zoe's eyes? It seemed she was quite hurt by the fact the spirit of Delphi rejected her question, and instead turned to me.

I hesitated and took a deep breath, before stepping forwards. "What is my destiny?"

The Spirit's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I paled as I saw my own face staring back at me, but the eyes were glowing bright green, holding my dagger and a bronze sword. The spirit spoke:

With the arrival of the sun, the sea spawn is claimed.

Five travel west to a goddess in chains,

Another to join as a gift from magic,

Warriors of bone to chase and cause havoc.

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and hunters combined prevail,

The Titan's curse one must withstand,

A child to fall at their parent's hand,

Stars are moved, the dead arise,

Endurance to perish along with the Skies.

Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The spirit of Delphi sat down on a rock and became as still as a statue, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

[Unique Quest: The Goddess in Chains.]

[Clear Condition]

[(Incomplete) Save Artemis]

[(Incomplete) ?]

[(Incomplete) ?]

[Unique Quest Rules]

[You do not regain HP by sleeping, only MP and fatigue.]

[You do not receive Daily Quests while doing a Unique Quest.]

[WARNING! – The Player cannot reject this quest. Failure to comply with quest direction will result in the Player's heart stopping.]

My mouth dried further as I stared at the screen in front of my eyes, ignoring the way everyone else was looking at me in shock.

What the hell had the System gotten me into this time?

Word Count: 5,303

Publish Date: January 31st 2020