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

The weather was great today; the vast expanse of the sky seemed like a large blue crystal, with barely a cloud in sight. The only issue one might find was that the clarity of the air made the sunlight quite dazzling to the eyes.

New York City was as bustling as ever; the streets were infested with vehicles, and the sidewalks were crowded with people walking back and forth. Some were taking advantage of the red traffic light to cross the street safely.

If someone were observant enough, they would notice a few people carrying umbrellas in their hands or bags. This was strange, considering the excellent weather today.

Well, these people had their reasons; lately, the weather had been very chaotic. Even the weather forecast wasn't very reliable. So, many preferred to be cautious and carry an umbrella despite the pleasant weather.

At a boarding school, Yancy Academy—a private school for troubled kids located in upstate New York—there was a yellow bus parked in front of the building that served as the student dormitory.

At that moment, some teenagers were boarding the bus leisurely while chatting. Inside the bus, in one of the middle seats, sat a young boy who looked about 12 or 13 years old.

His appearance could hardly be described as flawed. He was indescribably beautiful, almost otherworldly. His hair seemed to have been crafted from the darkness of the night sky, with even the faint shimmer of stars, cascading down his shoulders and spreading across his back like a waterfall. His skin was white and immaculate like the purest snow. His facial features were so striking that they seemed to have been created by existence itself to be flawless.

Despite his youth, his face carried a sense of maturity and calmness unusual for someone his age. The most striking aspect, however, were his sapphire-blue eyes, resembling agate bathed in electricity, with an immeasurable depth.

They were profound and tranquil, as if their owner had experienced a million years of changes, exuding nothing but calmness, making others' hearts tremble when they looked into them. Upon closer inspection, his eyes seemed like an endless starry sky, with different worlds being born and extinguished every moment. Just by looking into them, one could feel their soul being engulfed by him.

These same eyes stared out the bus window, watching a few teenagers approaching the bus. In his mind, the boy couldn't help but think, "Seven years, huh? Wow, time flew by so fast, like an arrow shot toward eternity. It feels like just yesterday when I started getting stronger, but it's already been seven years..."

This boy was none other than Ikki Phoenix. Seven years had passed in the blink of an eye, and a lot had happened during that time.

First, his normal life had turned into that of a typical troubled boy, always jumping from school to school. While he bore some of the blame, this was mostly due to his best friend, Percy Jackson.

Somehow, Percy always managed to get into trouble or chaos, which often led to expulsion. And since Ikki didn't want to leave his only friend alone, and Percy didn't want to attend another school without him, he followed. Though being a troublemaker gave his mother headaches, he enjoyed his life as it was.

Otherwise, it would be boring.

Over those six years, strange events always occurred around him and Percy. This erased any doubt he had that it was all coincidence and that he wasn't living in a world that served as the basis for a famous book series.

He wondered how this worked in his past life. Did the author dream about the book and write it as a kind of prophet? Well, those were questions he wouldn't have answers to anytime soon.

The most significant thing that happened in his simple yet chaotic life was all the trouble caused by his striking appearance! Even though normal people couldn't fully comprehend his beauty, it was still strong enough for him to surpass most of the world's famous models.

To go unnoticed, he used his "source" to emulate "vital energy," gaining the ability to manipulate his own presence, which he called [Presence Manipulation]. He developed this ability into a personal superpower where he could make his presence disappear, divide it into different sources, or insert his "presence" into other people, making them appear as him. He could even manipulate others' presence, making them vanish or altering it to seem different. He could expand, contract, shape, dismantle, combine, or modify his presence and that of others, whether physical, spiritual, mental, or otherwise.

This saved him from countless tricky situations.

Putting aside his normal life, over seven years, he had been training his body through Qi refinement and understanding the [Nameless Mantra]. Due to his efforts, even though he hadn't evolved again by comprehending more of that obscure record, he was infinitely close to it. This brought him immense benefits. He was undoubtedly the greatest mind in his world, capable of contemplating over ten topics simultaneously thanks to the parallel thought processes in his mind. As for body refinement, he had become strong enough to move skyscrapers or even destroy mountains with a casual punch, fast enough to move at hypersonic speeds (and beyond), durable enough to withstand powerful explosions, and invulnerable to almost all physical damage.

Besides Qi and Vital Energy, he trained his 'source' to become mana, enabling him to use some spells he had created over the years. His understanding of the [Nameless Mantra] helped him handle their complexity. Though he didn't practice magic much, he wasn't ignorant about it.

Over the years, he realized his 'source' was far more absurd than anyone might initially think. He could transform it into Chakra or Reiatsu—energies he had always believed to be fictional. Thanks to his genius mind and understanding of the [Nameless Mantra], he could recreate techniques from those worlds. The only limitation he'd found was racial techniques or abilities, which were challenging to recreate but not impossible.

Regarding his innate abilities, the [Akashic Eyes] became much stronger; he could see a person's internal body if he focused a bit, even observing the flow of internal energy, which helped pinpoint people's weaknesses. His [Emperor's Will] was always active, though not affecting those within its range unless he wanted it to. It merely protected his mind and made him nearly omniscient within a 300-meter radius with him at the center. As for the [Nirvana Hands], he mastered and combined them with various massage techniques he learned online. Although they were in their early stages, they still possessed an immense amount of information, making them terrifying capabilities...

He used them a few times on his mother, and she hadn't aged at all in recent years, never falling ill or anything of the sort, which was a relief considering that, in his past life, she would have developed cancer by now.

Ikki was pulled from his thoughts when a boy with sea-green eyes and short black hair boarded the bus and approached him. This boy was none other than his best friend, Percy Jackson.

Seeing the scowl on his face, Ikki couldn't help but comment:

"You don't seem very excited about our trip, Percy..."

Percy shrugged at his question and replied, "Bad things always happen on our trips. So, I'm not too eager about this one..."

"And whose fault is it that these bad things happen?..." Ikki asked, giving his friend a meaningful look.

Under his gaze, Percy shrank slightly before replying, "Blame my luck..."

Indeed, his luck was even worse than Ikki's. And that had proven true over the years, as the two always found themselves in trouble.

Ikki let out a sigh and said:

"Just try not to cause problems or mess something up this time."

Here is the full translation into English:

Percy seemed offended. He muttered, "You talk as if I do this all the time…"

With his enhanced senses, it was easy to hear the muttering. Ikki raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, not all the time. But a few times... like at our school in fifth grade, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield; you fired a Revolutionary War cannon at our school bus, didn't you? And we got expelled because of it..."

Percy had the decency to look embarrassed but defended himself by retorting, "I didn't mean to hit the school bus…"

Ikki rolled his eyes at Percy's response before continuing his questioning, "Well, there's also our school in fourth grade, when we toured the backstage area of the shark pool at Marine World. You hit the wrong lever on the walkway, and our class had an unplanned dive…"

"I wanted to free the poor sharks! I didn't know our class would dive in too..." Percy defended himself, though it came out as if he was proud of a heroic act.

"Oh, is that so? And why did you want to free the sharks?"

"They asked me!!" Percy replied with no awareness of how talking to sharks wasn't normal. Then, in an attempt to change the subject, he asked, "By the way, have you seen Grover?"

He no longer wanted to talk about the field trips that had always gone wrong in his short and unfortunate life.

"Just earlier today…"

At that moment, a tall, gangly boy entered the bus. He had curly brown hair and brown eyes, looking as though he'd repeated the same grade several times, as he was the only sixth-grader with acne and the beginnings of a thin beard on his chin. Beyond that, he walked awkwardly, as if every step hurt him.

This boy's name was Grover Underwood, the only other friend of Percy and Ikki.

Grover approached them and said, "H-h-hey, guys…"

"Look who's here," Ikki said, greeting Grover casually, "Hey there, Grover."

Percy also greeted Grover with his trademark crooked smile, then moved closer to Ikki, making room for Grover to sit.

With their other friend included, the three of them had a normal conversation. It didn't take long for all 28 sixth-grade students to arrive, followed by the two teachers responsible for the trip. Soon, the bus set off for the field trip.

Their destination was the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see ancient Greek and Roman artifacts.

While the three talked, ignoring the rest of the students doing the same during the ride, they were interrupted by a small piece of peanut butter jelly being thrown and hitting Grover's head.

The culprit was a girl with curly red hair and orange freckles. Her name was Nancy Bobofit, one of the biggest bullies at Yancy Academy. She kept throwing a few more, which made Percy extremely annoyed.

He muttered to himself.

"I'm going to kill her…"

"It's okay. I like peanut butter," Grover said in an attempt to calm him down.

Ikki stayed silent, wearing a calm expression. This always happened since he arrived at the academy—bullies coming after his friends or him to stir trouble. Obviously, if it ever bothered him too much, he'd handle it. But Nancy hadn't reached that level; she was just an idiot clearly trying to get his attention—or so the subtle signals she gave suggested.

Thinking about what to do with the girl sitting behind them, he sensed an object coming his way. His body automatically dodged to the side casually, and the object—actually, a piece of sandwich—flew past and stuck to the front seat of the bus where he and his friends were sitting.

Ikki turned to Nancy with indifferent eyes and spoke with a cold smile on his lips, "Stop that."

Nancy grinned, showing her crooked teeth, before saying, "Ikki, why don't you stay away from those losers? Maybe we could be friends—or something more."

At the end of her words, when she mentioned the possibility of them being more than friends, a blush appeared on her face.

This only confirmed further that she was messing with them to get his attention. There was no reason to deal with her, in the end—just a girl with misplaced desire. He didn't understand how she could feel attracted to him, considering he manipulated his presence so that everyone would see him as an ordinary person not worth a second glance.

And yet, she was drawn to him?

Weird girl…

"No, thanks…" He rejected her offer before turning back and completely ignoring her existence.

He heard her growl.

"You'll regret this, Phoenix…"

Her attempt at revenge came moments later when she threw another piece of sandwich his way. His body reacted, and he dodged it effortlessly again. But this time, the piece didn't stick to the front seat; it rebounded and stuck to Grover's right thigh.

At that moment, Percy couldn't control his temper and practically jumped from his seat, growling with rage:

"That's it…"

Ikki raised his arm, stopping Percy from getting into trouble. "She's not worth your effort, and you're already on probation… If anything happens, you know who'll be blamed…"

Percy hesitated as he recalled the principal's warning. In the end, he sat back down, glaring venomously at Nancy as if ready to punch her at any moment.

After that incident, nothing major happened during the rest of the trip. In less than an hour, they finally reached their destination.

As the bus parked near the museum, the whole class began to disembark.

Stepping out, Ikki took a curious look at the massive building that was the museum in front of him.

In his memories of his past life, there were some where he had read a series of books detailing the events of this universe. Because of that, he even knew parts of this world's future, albeit somewhat limited, as he didn't remember much about those books.

But he knew this was where it all would begin. From now on, he'd become involved in the supernatural world. Despite knowing this, he wasn't afraid—not one bit. A part of him even looked forward to the adventure to come.

"Attention!"A man's voice caught everyone's attention.

The owner of the voice was standing in front of the bus door. He was a middle-aged man in a motorized wheelchair, with chestnut-colored hair, a pair of thick eyebrows, intense brown eyes, and an unkempt beard. This man was Mr. Brunner, the sixth-grade Latin teacher and the one in charge of the trip.

Seeing that everyone was paying attention, he said:

"Before we start the field trip, I'd like to remind you all to stay together and not wander off. We don't want any trouble, now do we?"

As he finished speaking, he glanced toward Ikki and Percy, who stood at the back of the group. Then, he turned and headed into the museum, with the class following behind, including Grover.

"Why did he look at us when he said that?" Percy asked cluelessly.

"I don't know if you remember, but we have a certain reputation at school; that must be the reason," Ikki replied casually.

Percy rolled his eyes at his friend's remark before they both followed Mr. Brunner.

The class made their way into the museum, passing the giant columns at its entrance. Once inside, Mr. Brunner led the group in his wheelchair through the echoing grand galleries, passing marble statues and glass cases filled with ancient black-and-orange pottery.

He stopped in front of a bronze chariot adorned with ivory and began explaining how the chariot was supposedly created by the Greek gods Athena and Poseidon.

Apparently, Athena had designed the chariot, while Poseidon provided the horses. Mr. Brunner also mentioned that this was one of the few times the two had worked together, as they were rivals.

Looking at the chariot, Ikki, who was at the back of the group, joked to his friend: "Wanna take a spin? Let's race—the loser has to stay at Yancy forever."

Percy made a face of disgust before smirking and whispering back, "You said that because you know you'd lose, right? But using chariots to race around Central Park? Sounds fun—and dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't see myself losing, kid..." Ikki replied casually, attempting to mimic an old sage.

"We'll see."

Grover, who was standing next to them, looked at the duo with concern and muttered to himself, "Gods, these two are going to be the death of me."

"Move along, Jackson, Phoenix," said a woman sweetly behind the three.

This woman was the other teacher accompanying the trip besides Mr. Brunner—Mrs. Dodds. She was a petite math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was in her fifties. She had joined after Christmas break, following the previous math teacher's nervous breakdown.

She seemed to dislike Percy for some strange reason and frequently called on him to answer questions she knew he couldn't.

Hearing Mrs. Dodds' words, the three realized that Mr. Brunner and the rest of the group had already moved on to the next exhibit. They didn't spare another glance at the teacher and quickly followed.

For the next hour, Mr. Brunner lectured about various museum exhibits. He explained the different armors used by the Greeks and Romans and the strategies employed in battles like the Trojan War.

As the trip progressed and the group walked through the museum halls, Ikki and Percy admired the mosaics and plates displayed on the walls or secured in special cases to prevent them from being touched or destroyed.

Percy recognized some from the stories Mr. Brunner had told in class. Ikki recognized almost all of them, having read many books on mythology and heard tales from his mother as a child.

One depicted Jason sailing the Argos with the Argonauts. Another showed the Trojan War, featuring the giant wooden horse the Greeks used to deceive the Trojans, leading to their downfall.

The centerpiece was the largest of all: a depiction of Hercules' Twelve Labors.

The first showed Hercules, the demigod son of Zeus, fighting the Nemean Lion. It highlighted his strength, as he held the lion aloft with one hand around its throat, a giant club in his other hand.

Ikki had heard stories about Hercules from his mother and admired him. But he strongly disliked the "version" of the hero in a certain book series he once read, where Hercules' actions had offended him.

Because of that, Ikki glanced at the display only briefly before losing interest.

Unfortunately for him, the group passed by the rest of Hercules' labors, from slaying the Lernaean Hydra to obtaining Hippolyta's girdle and the rest.

Finally, Mr. Brunner gathered the group around a four-meter-tall stone pillar topped by a large sphinx. He explained that it was a grave marker—a stele—made for a young girl about their age.

For once, Percy, Ikki, and Grover found themselves at the front of the group. Because of this, Percy and even Grover felt they had to at least appear interested.

Ikki simply listened quietly, enjoying the stories.

Mr. Brunner began explaining the significance of the sculptures on the sides of the stele, managing to capture Percy's attention because the stories were genuinely fascinating. However, most of the other students were talking and having their own conversations.

Percy tried his best to ignore everyone around him, but when Nancy laughed at some of the nude statues, he lost his temper and shouted at her to shut up. Of course, this drew everyone's attention, including Mr. Brunner's.

"Mr. Jackson, do you have something to share with the class?" Mr. Brunner asked, clasping his hands together.

"No, sir..." Percy mumbled as the others began laughing at him—except for Ikki and Grover.

"Well, then perhaps you can tell us what's happening in this image," Mr. Brunner said, pointing to a picture on the stele that showed a man seated on a throne, holding a child with his mouth wide open.

Everyone turned their attention to Percy, who looked at the image Mr. Brunner was indicating.

"Um..." Percy began, then gained some confidence as he recognized the scene.

"This is Cronos eating his children, right?"

"Yes..." Mr. Brunner confirmed, not entirely satisfied with Percy's response.

"And he did this because..." Mr. Brunner prompted, waiting for Percy to continue.

Percy seemed deep in thought before finally answering: "Well... Cronos was the king of the gods, and..."

"God?" Mr. Brunner corrected gently.

"Titan..." Percy corrected himself and continued, "And... he didn't trust his children, who were the gods. So, um, Cronos ate them, right? But his wife hid the baby Zeus and gave Cronos a rock to eat instead. Then, when Zeus grew up, he tricked Cronos into vomiting up his brothers and sisters..."

"Ew!" Most of the girls recoiled in disgust.

"And then there was that big fight between the gods and the Titans, and the gods won," Percy concluded, relieved that his teacher didn't press him for more details.

"Correct," Mr. Brunner said, a satisfied look on his face. He turned to the class and asked, "Can anyone add more details to Mr. Jackson's explanation?"

No one responded, nor did they seem interested in doing so. Seeing this, Mr. Brunner looked at Ikki and asked, "Mr. Phoenix, do you have any details to add to Mr. Jackson's explanation?"

Unfazed by the sudden question, Ikki replied casually, "I once read that Zeus actually gave Cronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him vomit up the other five children. Of course, being immortal gods, they had been living and growing undigested in the Titan's stomach."

"The gods then defeated their father, cut him into pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld..."

"Exactly. Excellent details, Mr. Phoenix!" Mr. Brunner nodded in satisfaction. He continued, "After the Titans' defeat, the world was ruled by the Twelve Olympian Gods, with the most powerful being the three brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades."

As he spoke, he pointed to three small figures on the stele.

"Since overthrowing their father, the three have been rivals..."

"On many occasions, the gods came down to Earth and, how shall I put this..." Mr. Brunner paused thoughtfully.

"They got involved with mortals and had children?" Ikki suggested calmly. Everyone turned their attention to him.

Mr. Brunner nodded and said, "That's correct, Mr. Phoenix. Can you tell me the proper term for these children?"

"They were called demigods—part mortal, part god."

"Can you name some demigod heroes?" Mr. Brunner asked Ikki again.

"Perseus, son of Zeus. And Theseus, son of Poseidon," Ikki replied calmly.

"Correct. Excellent examples, Mr. Phoenix. It's good to see you've been paying attention in class," Mr. Brunner said, clearly pleased.

At that moment, giggles erupted from behind the group. Nancy Bobofit murmured to a friend, "As if we'd ever use this in real life. Like anyone's gonna ask in a job interview, 'Please explain why Cronos ate his children.'"

Hearing Nancy's comment, Mr. Brunner gave her a peculiar look before asking, "And why, Mr. Phoenix, taking Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"You're in trouble," Grover murmured to the annoying girl from across Percy, who grinned at her plight.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face redder than her hair.

Ikki ignored her and focused on Mr. Brunner's question. He couldn't very well say it was because mythology was real, could he? Feeling too lazy to come up with a better answer, he simply said:

"I don't know, sir."

"And you, Mr. Jackson?" Mr. Brunner asked, but Percy gave the same response.

"I see," Mr. Brunner said, slightly disappointed. "Well, half the credit to Mr. Jackson and the other half to Mr. Phoenix. Speaking of which, it's time for lunch... Mrs. Dodds, would you kindly lead us back outside?"

The aforementioned teacher nodded and began walking back down the corridor, leading the group of students outside.

The girls held their stomachs while the boys shoved each other and acted silly.