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

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye.

Ikki sat watching his new roommates and thinking about several other things he deemed important. For a demigod, it was practically impossible to stay in the same position for a long time, but for him, who was used to it, it was a piece of cake.

While observing the campers from the Hermes cabin, he noticed that many campers had similar features: pointed noses, arched eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the type of kids that teachers would classify as troublemakers.

At one moment of the day, after Luke dealt with his duties as a counselor, he swallowed hard and approached with a sleeping bag and a bag full of various basic cleaning supplies.

"I got you a sleeping bag." As he got closer, he handed over what he had in his hands and said, "And here, I stole a few toiletries from the camp store for you."

It was hard to tell if he was joking about that stealing part.

Despite that, Ikki accepted them gratefully: "Thank you."

"No problem." Luke sat down next to him, resting his back against the wall: "Tough first day?"

"To be honest," Ikki looked at the ceiling of the cabin and said, "I didn't believe in the gods until I was introduced to this world."

He was obviously referring to his past life. At that time, his tragic life situation had left him unable to keep faith in some cruel creator that many said was just. Well, he had never been a believer.

That changed when he discovered which world he was in. Perhaps, somewhere out there, the creator of everything was sitting and managing his creation?

"Yeah..." Luke paused and sighed as he said somewhat melancholically, "That's how we all started. And after you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."

The bitterness in his voice surprised Ikki a bit. Especially since Luke seemed like the very chill and carefree type of guy. He seemed capable of handling anything; it was then that memories of the books from this world came to his mind, and his eyes lit up slightly in a sort of understanding.

But this wasn't a topic to be taken lightly, so he asked something he already knew: "So, your dad is Hermes?"

He pulled a switchblade from his back pocket, and for a second, Ikki thought he was going to attack him, but the boy just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal.

"Yeah, Hermes... The messenger with wings on his feet..."

"Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anyone who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying the hospitality of cabin number eleven. Hermes isn't picky at all about who he sponsors."

Luke explained in an indifferent tone, but it was the kind of indifference one has when they have a lot on their mind.

"Have you met your dad?"

"Once."

Ikki looked at the boy and saw that he didn't have much enthusiasm to tell that story. His eyes landed on the scar, and he imagined the story had to do with it; he knew Luke from the books, but he couldn't remember the details behind his story and motivation for what he had done.

Luke raised his eyes and managed to smile as he said: "Don't worry about that, Ikki. Most campers here are good people. After all, we're a big family, right? We take care of each other."

He seemed to be the type of person who understood people very well, and the guy everyone liked. Why would an older guy like him - even being a counselor - be avoiding a high schooler, but he came to welcome him to the cabin? He even stole a few toiletries.

"Silena mentioned the Oracle and that the demigods could no longer go on quests. Do you know why?"

Ikki asked out of curiosity; he was somewhat surprised and curious when the daughter of the Goddess of Love mentioned this earlier, since it was something he didn't remember from the books.

At the time he said he felt someone watching him from the attic window, something she verbally denied, saying that there was merely the old Oracle in that place, along with various trophies and things thrown there gathering dust.

"I hate prophecies." His face twitched around the scar, but Luke answered his question in as much detail as possible: "Let's just say I complicated things for everyone else."

"In the last two years, since I messed up on my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides, Chiron hasn't authorized any missions."

At the moment he answered his question, a trumpet sounded in the distance; it seemed to have been made with a conch shell.

"Well, it's dinner time; we'll continue our conversation later." Luke said, getting up from where he was sitting.

He shouted.

"Eleven, gather!"

The entire cabin, about twenty-five, formed a line in the courtyard. They all lined up in order of seniority, so of course, Ikki was last. A few moments later, campers from other cabins also appeared, except for the three empty ones at the end and cabin eight, which seemed normal during the day but now began to shine silver as the sun went down.

The campers then marched uphill to the pavilion for dinner. A group of satyrs came from the meadow and joined them; naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. Some other girls came out of the woods - and when I say woods, I mean woods, a girl about nine or ten emerged from the side of a maple tree and hopped up the hill. In total, there were perhaps a hundred campers, some dozens of satyrs, and a dozen varied nymphs and naiads.

Ikki, who was at the back of the village, watched this spectacle that he once thought was just a fantasy of the human mind. He felt a bit lucky to have been given a second chance to live and to see everything he thought was fiction with his own eyes.

In the pavilion, torches burned around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered with a white tablecloth with purple details. Four tables were empty, but cabin number eleven was overcrowded.

His appearance proved quite useful in this situation, as everyone from the cabins seized the opportunity to start a conversation with the excuse that since he was a newbie, he had the right to the best seat possible or something like that.

He could only resign himself to this; in the end, he sat next to Luke and did his best to ignore all the attention the campers were giving to his appearance, they were mesmerized for a good few minutes by his beauty; some soldiers were wounded in this battle and had to surrender to the path of evil.

His eyes scanned the whole place until they landed on the director and the second deity he had seen in his entire life. The "god" in front of him was small but chubby. He had a red nose, large watery eyes, and frizzy hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like one of those paintings of baby angels; cherubs. He seemed like a cherub that had reached middle age in a trailer park.

He wore a Hawaiian shirt with a tiger pattern and would have fit perfectly in one of the main chairs of the pavilion.

This man was Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, parties, and one of the most important gods of Greek mythology, an opinion he did not share at all. Besides having the knowledge of wine preparation, he possessed the power to create powerful drugs.

Dionysus is also considered the Greek god of nature, fertility, joy, and theater. An inspirer of fertility, he is also called the god of libido, so it was no surprise to feel a massive and animalistic lust that sent shivers down his spine when he looked in his direction.

Ikki let out a mental sigh and felt the need to become stronger to become more important; his appearance was so problematic that he had no doubt that he could wake up being assaulted by one of those Greek gods. Having power became a necessity for self-protection. It was not just for his desire to reach the peak of what he could in this life, and now, he had realized this even more clearly.

But back to the question of the deity in front of him. He remembered his beautiful story.

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele, who died during childbirth. Victim of a trap by Hera, Semele was so frightened that she exploded when Zeus appeared before her in human form. He was saved by his father and, because of this event, it is said that he was born twice.

Before the splendor of Zeus, Semele was torn to pieces, and the boy was as well. The King of the Gods then saved his heart and sewed it onto his thigh, where it remained until he was born.

Continuously hunted by Hera, Dionysus is raised by a protector at the behest of Zeus. This is how he learns the art of making wine. His figure is always associated with a vine and he is depicted in the company of many people. Eventually, he who was until then a demigod became a God and became part of the Olympic council. Shortly after, he married Ariadne, the daughter of the king of Minos, who however was in love with Theseus.

Silena told him earlier that Dionysus had been punished by his father. For the next hundred years, he had to manage the half-blood camp and could not drink a single drop of wine.

Ignoring the lovesick God, Ikki looked at the two chubby blonde boys who looked a lot like him, before his eyes fell on Chiron. He had stood next to them, as the picnic table was too small for a centaur.

His eyes moved to other cabins, and he saw Annabeth sitting at table number six with a group of serious-looking athletic kids, all with gray eyes and honey-colored blonde hair.

And Silena was sitting in the middle of a table full of delicate, well-dressed, perfumed, and pretty kids. It was the table that looked at him like a lamb in the midst of a pack of hungry wolves; even his friend had a somewhat similar look, but much softer.

Finally, Chiron knocked his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everyone who had been looking at him somehow redirected their attention to the centaur hero trainer.

He raised a cup.

"To the gods!"

Everyone raised their cups.

"To the gods!"

After this toast, nymphs from the woods advanced with trays of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and, most importantly, barbecue!

Luke handed an empty cup to Ikki, who was thoughtfully looking around, and said: "Talk to him. Anything you want. Non-alcoholic, of course."

"Coca-Cola?" Following his suggestion, Ikki asked and in an instant, he felt traces of magical energy flowing into the cup, before a sparkling liquid the color of caramel-black emerged from the bottom and filled the cup.

He was somewhat surprised, not by the event, but by the way the magic was used. It was like a gentle wish concession... His eyes sparkled with some ideas, but as it wasn't the time for that, he tucked it away at the back of his mind and took a sip.

"Here, Ikki," said Luke, passing a platter of smoked brisket to the new camper.

Ikki filled his plate and was about to eat when he noticed that the campers around him were getting up. They were taking their plates to the fire in the center of the pavilion. It was then that the offering ritual that Silena explained came to his mind.

There was something like this in the book too, right?

"Come on…" Luke spoke suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He followed his counselor, and when he got closer, he saw that all the campers were taking something from their plate and tossing it into the fire—the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of meat, the hottest, butteriest bread.

Even though Silena had explained everything, Luke didn't know about it and murmured in his ear: "Burnt offerings to the gods. They like the smell."

Ikki nodded and sarcastically wondered why an immortal, all-powerful being would enjoy the scent of burnt food.

Luke approached the fire, tilted his head, and threw in a bunch of plump, red grapes.

"Hermes."

He was next.

In his mind, he thought of some God to make an offering to, and the only worthy one came to mind. With that in mind, he took a large slice of brisket and threw it into the flames.

"Hestia…"

The smell that followed didn't smell like burnt food at all. It smelled like hot chocolate and freshly baked brownies, grilled hamburgers and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't combine but did. It was believable that the gods could live off that smoke.

Ikki also noticed that the central fire in front of him seemed to burn more intensely.

After everyone returned to their places and finished eating, Chiron knocked his hoof again to call our attention.

Mr. D stood up with a huge sigh.

"Yes, I suppose I should say hello to all of you, kids. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says that the next capture the flag will be next Friday as always. Currently, cabin 5 holds the laurels."

A bunch of disjointed applause rose from Ares's table.

"Personally…" Mr. D continued in the same disinterested tone, "I don't care one bit about that, but congratulations."

"I also must tell you that we have a new camper today. Nikki Lincoln…"

Chiron murmured something.

"Uh, Ikki Phoenix," corrected Mr. D, saying it as if he could barely wait for his punishment in this place to end, as he was exhausted from dealing with these kids: "Right. Hooray, and everything else. Now run off to your silly campfire. Go on."

Everyone applauded.

Ikki sighed to himself, seeing how useless a deity could be. He also noticed that despite his general disinterest shown to the campers, his eyes hardly left his direction at any point; it was problematic.

After the director's unmotivated speech, everyone headed to the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led the singing. They sang camp songs about the gods, ate snacks, and had fun.

Later that night, as the sparks from the campfire curled into a starry sky, the conch shell blew again, and everyone formed lines to return to our cabins.

He lay back with his arms behind his head in his sleeping bag.

His first day at camp was interesting; he wondered what the next ones would be like.