Percy Jackson - The Record of The Journey of a Mortal Who Become a God

"Is there any reason why the stables are your favorite place?"

Ikki looked at the girl who was petting one of the Pegasi and asked curiously.

"I just like spending time here. I've always felt an inexplicable tranquility in this place. Not to mention that I like animals, and I'm also responsible for teaching the new Demigods how to gallop, so you'll find me here most of the time," Silena explained with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Well, I can understand why you like it so much…" Ikki said with a slight smile on his lips, running his hand through the mane of one of the nearby Pegasi. He also loved animals, and this place truly was peaceful.

Fortunately, no one saw his smile, which was capable of making a person forget even to breathe, it was so beautiful.

"It seems you have good taste!" Silena said playfully, very happy to see that he also liked this place.

"Yes, yes…" Ikki rolled his eyes at her words. He stopped petting the Pegasus and asked, "I'm kind of confused here. Shouldn't there just be one Pegasus?"

The Pegasus was one of the most emblematic figures in Greek mythology. His legend involved a great number of mythical beings, such as Poseidon, Medusa, Perseus, Bellerophon, Chimera, Athena, and Zeus himself.

According to legend, Poseidon, the god of the sea, was hopelessly in love with Medusa, a monster with serpent hair who had the power to turn people to stone. He forcibly took her in some myths, and in others, he couldn't even touch her, but that's beside the point.

When the hero Perseus defeated Medusa by cutting off her head, a drop of her blood fell into the water and a great thunder was heard. Then a white foam appeared over the water, and a beautiful white winged horse emerged. That's how Pegasus was born, the child of Poseidon and Medusa's impossible love.

After his birth, Pegasus struck the ground with his hooves on Mount Helicon, causing the spring of Hippocrene to spring forth at that location, which became famous as a symbol of inspiration for artists. Anyone who drank from the spring's sacred waters would gain artistic gifts.

"And there's only one Pegasus," Silena decided to explain. "The ones here at Camp Half-Blood are all his descendants; the correct term for the species is Pegasi, but we also call them Pegasus to keep a bit of the myth's originality, and because the 'name' kind of stuck, you know?"

She let out a small laugh in the end.

Ikki was surprised by her words; he remembered the rest of the legend regarding this emblematic member of Greek mythology.

Some time after his birth, the Chimera — a creature with a lion's head and body, two heads: one of a goat and another of a dragon — was terrorizing Corinth, attacking herds and spreading fear with the fire it breathed from its nostrils.

A curious fact is that the Chimera was the first representation of a dragon, becoming a figure in the imagination, in films like The Lord of the Rings and series like Game of Thrones from his past life. From the latter, there's another interesting tidbit: the production company responsible for the locations and sets is called Pegasus Productions.

But curiosities aside, back to our story. The hero Bellerophon then decided to fight the Chimera, but he could never win alone. The goddess Athena decided to help him, giving him a golden bridle to tame Pegasus. With the help of the winged horse, Bellerophon was able to kill the monster and save Corinth.

After that feat, succumbed to pride and vanity, as many called him divine, Bellerophon thought he would be able to fly with Pegasus to Olympus, the abode of the gods, to join them.

Zeus, upon seeing the hero's behavior, became enraged and sent a bee to sting the horse while he flew to Olympus. When attacked, Pegasus ended up throwing Bellerophon off. Seeing the hero's fall, Athena made the ground soft to prevent his death.

According to legends, Zeus allowed Pegasus to continue rising higher and higher until he reached the stars and turned him into the constellation of Pegasus. As for Bellerophon, after surviving the fall, he spent the rest of his life as a beggar, searching for his beloved Winged Horse, unaware that it was watching him from the Heavens every night.

Unlike this legend, the winged horse had descendants! The guy must have mated with many mares in his time and likely still does if he's alive. He must have hundreds of his descendants here at camp.

"I wonder, where is the original winged horse now?" Ikki pondered thoughtfully; he would love to meet that horse with wings…

"You must know about the myth, right?" Silena, who heard his question, placed her delicate hand on his chin and said, "Actually, Pegasus didn't become a constellation right away; he made the journey to Mount Olympus on his own and took his place in Zeus's stables. I heard he was placed in the stars after serving the King of Olympus. But now he must be flying all over this world…"

After hearing her words, Ikki let out a sigh and said, "Well, it's going to be hard to find him in this big world."

"It will depend a lot on luck," Silena nodded her head before saying, "Shall we continue our tour?"

"Lead the way, miss…"

"With pleasure, my lord…"

With this little banter between the two, they left the stables and went to other places in the camp while chatting about various other things. They got along very quickly in a somewhat inexplicable way, as they had much in common in tastes and dislikes, which gave the impression that they had known each other for years.

During their journey, Silena told him one more very interesting fact.

The camp has a tradition that the most qualified member of the cabin or one who has been there the longest becomes a counselor. The only ones who can challenge the counselors to take their place are the older ones, or those who have completed more missions than the current counselor.

And she was the current counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin.

But returning to the heart of the matter, which was getting to know the camp, he visited the Amphitheater; where all the campers would normally go after dinner to sing songs led by the children of Apollo — the place itself was a marble platform at the center of a wooded area in front of which there were the stands.

Silena also said that meetings and certain events also took place in the amphitheater.

Next, the two went to the Camp Arena. Surrounded by black pillars, the environment consisted of a central arena and seats at its ends taken by the demigods who weren't battling. There was a designated area for the faculty and another, a small arsenal, to the east, where the demigods who would fight would grab their weapons.

This was the place that the Demigods usually used to practice their skills against each other. When the two arrived there, a few campers were fighting amongst themselves, but they stopped upon their arrival.

The poor demigods were unlucky to encounter this God of disaster. Well, or would he be considered an immortal in the mortal world to them?

Some male campers had an epiphany that the wrong path was far better! And the girls nearby were all enchanted by his otherworldly charm. His appearance was so unreal in beauty that if he asked to sleep with the loyal and loving wife of some lucky guy down there, her poor husband would have to wear a green hat to cover his horns; because they would agree without hesitation…

Ignoring the commotion at their arrival, the two quickly continued their journey. Next, they visited the Dining Pavilion; the cafeteria of the camp for demigods.

The pavilion was in an open area filled with dining tables and chairs, and that's where food is served. Each cabin had its table, and campers were not allowed to change tables unless some instructor permitted. The pyre in its center is only lit during dinner for demigods to throw some food as offerings to their parents.

He also got to know several other places like the "Fist of Zeus" located to the right of the Zephyr Stream, within the forest. Viewed from a specific angle, it takes the shape of a fist; from any other angle, it looks like just stones.

After getting to know all the camp locations, Silena led him back toward the cabins. Their next and final destination was the Hermes Cabin, where the children of the Messenger of Olympus lived, alongside those who had not been claimed by their parents and those whose parents had no cabin in the camp.

Among all the cabins, number eleven resembled an old, common summer camp cabin, with heavy emphasis on the "old". The threshold was very worn down, and the brown paint was peeling. Above the doorframe was one of those medical symbols, a winged staff with two serpents entwined; a caduceus.

Inside, it was packed with people, boys and girls, in much greater numbers than the bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up a refugee center.

Silena and Ikki stopped at the entrance of the Cabin, side by side.

Obviously, their arrival immediately drew the attention of the campers; as soon as they looked at Ikki, they fell into a trance and were captivated by his appearance. They looked at him for just a moment, and still… Their hearts raced, pounding furiously, and they felt intoxicated by his perfection.

There really was something so perfect in this world?

That was their collective thought, without exceptions.

Silena's voice pulled them out of their stupor.

"Well, Ikki. Welcome to Cabin number eleven. This is where you will stay, make yourself at home!"

She spoke to the boy next to her.

Ikki nodded and looked at his new roommates, who seemed like wolves looking at a sheep after a week without eating anything. It sent a chill down his spine...

He felt it would be a terrible idea to sleep among these untrustworthy individuals. Rape was a huge possibility in his future if he didn't take care and grow stronger to avoid such a fate. That was the curse of having a perfect appearance...

"Normal or undetermined?" One of the first campers to snap out of the stupor asked Silena, his eyes glued to the new camper, and a flush was present on his cheeks.

"Undetermined..." Silena replied to the camper.

Everyone groaned.

It was no wonder; the Cabin was completely full.

A guy who was a bit older than the rest stepped forward and pointed to an empty space inside the cabin.

"Come on, come on, campers. That's what we're here for. Ikki, right? Welcome. You can stay in that corner over there..."

The guy looked about nineteen and seemed really cool. He was tall and muscular, with short sandy-colored hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cut-off pants, sandals, and a leather necklace with five differently colored beads. The only disturbing thing about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just below his right eye down to his chin, like an old knife cut.

"That's Luke, your counselor for now." Silena said, introducing him.

Ikki shook Luke's hand in a masculine greeting and said, "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. If you need anything, just call me." Luke said, smiling pleasantly. If one looked closely, he seemed tense for a moment during the smile, and a slight sweat trickled down his forehead as if he had fought a mental war. And that's exactly what happened; in his mind, the idea of going down the wrong path because of the boy in front of him seemed better than the temptation of a naked woman in bed for a man.

"I'm counting on you, Mr. Counselor." Ikki said, scanning the faces of the campers.

Some were grumpy and suspicious, others had goofy smiles, and some looked at him as if waiting for a chance to clean out his pockets. What they all had in common was the inexplicable glint in their eyes that gave him chills.

"Well, this is where I say goodbye." Silena said, very unwillingly, but she still had her camp duties to attend to.

Ikki looked at the girl next to him and said softly, "Thank you for the amazing tour. If we see each other around..."

Silena nodded and exited the Hermes cabin.

He looked at her back; she seemed a little down; perhaps it was because they had become friends quickly. Maybe she was just sad that she couldn't enjoy his company more and get to know him? Well, or maybe it was for a completely unknown reason to him.

Turning his gaze back inside the cabin, he saw that Luke had returned to his duties as counselor; he was talking to two identical boys in a corner, giving them a sort of scolding for pulling a prank on another cabin.

As for the rest of the demigods, they also resumed their conversations, but their eyes wandered in his direction.

Ikki walked toward the spot Luke had pointed out earlier. He looked at the tiny patch of floor they had given him and remembered that he had nothing to put there to mark it as his—no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag.

His backpack had been left in the car that was destroyed by the minotaur.

He would have to spend the summer with only one piece of clothing, but with his magical powers, it was easy to keep them intact and clean. He could just use some alteration runes to change their design and color as well, so he wasn't too worried; this situation was better since Hermes was also the God of Thieves, and he wasn't in the mood to be robbed by his crafty children.

After sitting in the spot, he felt a little bored. All the campers wanted to approach and get to know him, but none had the courage. The boys were afraid of going down the "wrong" path, which is why most were sweating cold when looking in his direction inevitably.

And the girls, they were too shy compared to the daughters of the Goddess of Love.

Ikki only let out a mental sigh of exhaustion from the attention he was receiving. That was when he regretted not manipulating his presence to appear ordinary in the eyes of these demigods; now it was too late—rumors had already spread, and if it didn't align with them, someone would notice something strange, and he didn't want to reveal his most powerful ability in his arsenal. After all, it was a lifesaving ability that could deceive even the Gods; he just needed to project his presence onto a mortal and escape; no one would know him, and he could live a quiet life...

Although the chance of that happening was low, he didn't want to underestimate the Gods who had millennia of age; perhaps one of them might notice this ability that broke all the patterns of a Demigod, after all, he felt their gazes on him in the camp. As for the rest of his powers, the 'Source' and the mantra, he felt it was completely impossible for them to discover or notice that, only if he spoke, which was impossible.

With his [Will of the Emperor], it was completely and utterly impossible for them to control his mind or alter his memories, so he was confident about that...

He looked at a fixed point in the cabin while pondering; his idea was to manipulate his presence to diminish his perfect appearance as the days went by; the more someone looked, the more accustomed they would become in layman's terms. He should just be careful not to diminish in front of people who had seen him little or not at all; it would be a delicate process and couldn't afford any failures...

Since there wasn't much to do, he kept thinking about this and what the future held.