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

It was daytime, and the sun was shining, illuminating the entire city of New York. The blue sky, with only a few clouds, combined with the slightly cool weather, made for a very pleasant day.

People of different ages and sizes were walking back and forth on the sidewalks, each tending to their own business.

Some were heading to work, while others—teenagers and a few children accompanied by their parents—were on their way to school. Some young adults were also heading to college.

Although most sidewalks were crowded with people moving in all directions, they could not compare to the traffic. The streets were filled with vehicles of all kinds.

In Manhattan, in a preschool like any other, a classroom full of children, around five years old, were playing games designed to prepare them for the school curriculum. A woman in her early thirties supervised and taught these little children.

In a corner away from the other children was a little boy who was slightly taller than others his age. Because of his height, he seemed to be six or seven years old instead of five.

What was striking about this boy were his otherworldly facial features. His jet-black hair, like a starless night sky, was of medium length, reaching just below his ears. His skin was snow-white, appearing softer than silk. All of this made him seem inhumanly beautiful, but the focal point was his eyes. His sapphire-blue pupils were more dazzling than any jewel, like flawless agates surrounded by electricity, emanating a noble and ancient aura.

Those same pupils looked at his peers with annoyance and boredom—a gaze a child his age should not possess.

This little boy was Ikki Phoenix, a young man who had mysteriously reincarnated into this world and had lived a peaceful life for the past five years until a week ago when his mother decided to enroll him in preschool. His opinion on this? A waste of time...

On August 14, 1971, a research team led by Dr. Philip Zimbardo began an experiment funded by a grant from the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. The planned duration was just two weeks. The goal was to collect rudimentary data on existing problems in Navy prisons.

The participants recruited for the experiment were ordinary university students, both physically and mentally healthy. However, on the second day, the team faced a serious ethical issue.

Those assigned as guards not only abused and degraded the prisoners, despite being explicitly prohibited from doing so, but also engaged in acts of physical violence, which became increasingly frequent. As a result, the team was forced to halt the test after just six days.

This later became known as the Stanford Prison Experiment. Ironically, despite the morally questionable origins of the project, the results were filled with implications for the field of psychology. Along with its predecessor, the Milgram Experiment, the Stanford study revealed something fundamental about human nature.

In isolated spaces, individuals tend to submit to power and authority, while those in dominant positions act without restraint. Analysis of this phenomenon, known as "obedience to authority," produced shocking results. Surprisingly, this deference had nothing to do with rationality, sensitivity, or personality but was, instead, the remarkable product of the deindividualization triggered by the roles assigned to each person.

In other words, the two experiments demonstrated that human behavior is directly dependent on the environment. In more extreme terms, the results suggested that anyone could have worked as a guard in Auschwitz, regardless of their individual disposition or moral character.

In the end, the environment played a fundamental role in shaping both the individual and their personal traits. When he learned in university that humans were such creatures, it felt right rather than wrong.

Of course, everyone learns as part of compulsory elementary education that all people are created equal. Children are taught that they are all unique and irreplaceable. But it's not hard to find some kind of disparity that can contradict these familiar maxims.

Why is the boy sitting in front taller than me?

Why are some of my classmates good at dodgeball while others aren't?

Why won't the back-row group stop talking when the teacher is speaking?

But in elementary school environments, all children are expected to be "good." They are told that they are all different from one another but still special. This makes them afraid that if they don't follow established etiquette, they will be "bad." Thus, "good children" strive not to become "bad."

By the time they start attending schools to prepare for entrance exams, good children secretly begin to despise the bad ones and avoid them at all costs. They aim to get into a good junior high, then a respectable high school, and finally a prestigious university. These individuals tread an easier path, doing their best within the rules and regulations presented.

To succeed in this environment, students must do exactly what they are told and always meet everyone's expectations. As instructed, they spend day after day poring over textbooks and reference materials, competing with their peers for the best grades. Living such lives, those involved in fierce entrance exam battles come to view the more idle students as failures. In a results-driven environment, it's natural for high achievers to disdain mediocre students. On the other hand, most of these successful students don't consider themselves truly brilliant. After all, whenever an average student shows a hint of pride, the truly talented put them in their place.

One student may struggle while the child next to them joins the International Physics Program or the International Mathematics Olympiad. It takes more than effort to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with others in a room full of geniuses for whom grasping all the material is a daily activity. Despite the distorted perspective, they have an adequately realistic understanding of reality, enough to dedicate themselves to their studies diligently.

Like it or not, all students associated with university know the truth. If they want an income comparable to their parents, they have to attend a good university and land a decent job—this is the minimum. This group is driven by a strong desire for success. But along with that comes a fatal fear of failure. Thus, they have no choice but to chain themselves to their desks.

After fighting in a cruel world, the best students pass entrance exams for universities prestigious enough to be considered "elite." Then, the game changes. Many are forced to realize they have entered a world where people are no longer evaluated solely by grades but by one question: What have you achieved?

Not everyone can adapt to the sudden paradigm shift and the new environment. Follow the rules. Find loopholes. Scorn the guidelines, even while bound by them. In the end, everyone learns that rules are necessary for the system to function properly.

Freedom without laws results in anarchy; laws without freedom result in tyranny. As much as they hate restrictions, limitless freedom is feared.

In his opinion, this experiment only served to show how the environment and the roles assigned to people could shape their personality and behavior. So he understood why his mother had placed him in preschool, even knowing he was far more intelligent than the children around him. She wanted him to become more "normal," to play and make friends like any other five-year-old.

But, unfortunately, that was unlikely to happen.

He put aside his displeasure at being in preschool and thought about his current body. Despite his young age, his senses, strength, speed, defense, and flexibility—all aspects of his body—had long surpassed the limits of normal humans. At this point, bullets would undoubtedly fail to scratch his body; he could lift cars and toss them as if they were balls and even destroy concrete walls with a casual punch. His speed was enough to move at 100 km/h with ease.

As for his Source Energy, he had more than three times the amount he did four years ago. Unfortunately, it increased very slowly...

But perhaps that would soon change. He had scratched the surface of the [Nameless Mantra] the previous night and felt a qualitative change approaching. He was on the verge of understanding a bit of this obscure record.

He was hopeful. Maybe it held answers to the mystery of his reincarnation and his Source—something he deeply desired at the moment. While he didn't complain about his second chance at life after ending his previous one, he still longed to understand why he had been granted this gift, to find peace of mind...

Observing the children around him, memories from a short while ago came to mind. Because of his "unusual" appearance, many of these children had gathered around him like bees, and even the teacher seemed enchanted by him, obsessively trying to pinch his cheeks and mess up his hair—something he didn't allow her to do.

This lasted several minutes until the teacher regained her composure and returned to caring for and teaching the children through games she had invented.

It had been this way for the past two hours. He was sincerely dying of boredom and felt restless. Luckily, recess didn't take long to arrive. As soon as the bell rang, he slowly left the classroom and headed toward the preschool playground.

The playground was filled with toys for children, and many of these children had their own little groups to play with. Ikki sat in the shade of a tree in the distance, watching. He saw no point in playing with these children.

His mind wandered to thoughts about his life and future plans until a boy his age approached him and stopped in front of him.

The boy in question had sea-green eyes and short black hair. He approached him with eyes full of innocence, looking at him nervously and expectantly.

Nervously, he spoke in a trembling voice.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

Despite his poor social skills for a child his age, who normally wouldn't hesitate to converse and say what they think, he still had the courage to try. A pure and amusing trait that caught Ikki's attention, prompting him to respond with a question...

"What do you think I'm doing?"

The little boy blinked at his sudden question and seemed unsure of how to respond, but he tried in his own way: "Are you resting after playing?"

His innocence was cute, though expected for someone five years old.

"Not exactly. I'm just standing here waiting for my time at school to end," Ikki replied, smiling slightly. Boredom worked wonders for people; he wanted to kill some time by chatting...

"Really? You didn't like it?" the little boy asked as he sat beside him. He seemed much more at ease now.

"No, and you? Why aren't you playing around?"

"No one wanted to play with me."

Looking at the sad little boy beside him, Ikki smiled even more. He was quite amusing, at least much better than the other children, who seemed fascinated by him...

"Really? And why's that?"

"I have no idea..."

The little boy seemed even sadder before looking at him with bright eyes and asking, "Will you be my friend and play with me?"

Looking into the hopeful and expectant eyes of the little boy, Ikki couldn't exactly say no, could he? It would also be a good way to kill time.

"Sure, what's your name?"

The little boy smiled immensely, his eyes sparkling with joy, before answering, "My name is Percy Jackson, and yours?"

From Ikki's perspective, the world seemed to freeze at that moment. Upon hearing the boy's name, his mind began recalling a world from a book series. At first, he didn't fully believe that he might be in this world... But as he reflected on his discoveries over the years, his power—his Source—and various other occurrences he remembered, like letters scrambling one day when he read a magazine his mother had left near his crib, he started to reconsider. He had attributed it to his nighttime cultivation hours causing this side effect. The abandonment by his father and other signs...

A single coincidence might be dismissed, but a series of coincidences could only mean that he was in a world he had once thought to be fiction in his previous life.

A world where gods and all sorts of beings from mythology walked among humans.

Reaching this conclusion, he refocused on the little boy before him. The world seemed to return to normal, but his heart raced at the thought of the dangers in this world.

He quickly calmed himself—it wasn't the time for such thoughts...

"My name is Ikki Phoenix. Nice to meet you, Percy."

"Let's play, Ikki..." Without giving Ikki a chance to do anything, Percy pulled him along to play with other children. Ikki hesitated but eventually decided to go with the flow.

Soon, recess was over, and all the children returned to their classrooms, including Percy, who looked very sad to part with him.

Ikki returned to his classroom, feeling a little perplexed by how much he enjoyed playing like a normal child with other kids.

When he got home, after saying goodbye to Percy, he told his mother that he had made a friend. She was so happy that she almost cried. It was then that he realized she must have been worried about him since he had never bothered to play or hang out with other children. He felt guilty for making his mother worry like that, even feeling like a bad son.

When it was time to sleep, he sat cross-legged on his bed as usual. But before starting his training, he thought about the day's events—the discovery of the world he was in. It was concerning and instilled a sense of urgency to grow stronger in his heart...

He was a demigod; he was almost certain. His backstory matched one of those books, and he had confirmed that he had dyslexia and ADHD through tests conducted earlier by a friend of his mother's who was a doctor. When he got home from school, he had mentioned the problem to his mother—the floating and scrambled letters—and she immediately took him to a professional.

The doctor explained that dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder, causing difficulty in decoding words and grouping word sounds to make sense, among other challenges. Symptoms include shimmering words, merging or separating lines of text, or words flying or falling off the page, complicating reading and comprehension. ADHD, often associated with dyslexia, is characterized by symptoms of impulsivity, restlessness, and inattention, though his ADHD seemed relatively mild.

Knowing he might be the son of a god worried him. A monster attracted by his scent could easily kill him and his mother. Understanding this reality brought a suffocating sense of helplessness.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to take control of his fate by growing stronger. Previously, he had been curious to explore his powers, but now it was a necessity. He needed strength to have peace of mind—not worrying about coming home one day to find his mother killed by monsters or gods. He didn't want to lose her again...

Closing his eyes, he began comprehending the [Nameless Mantra]. It was like navigating a dark, shadowy ocean, but he was determined to reach its depths. Incomprehensible, untranslated, and meaningless words flooded his mind, and he delved into their profound truths...

Without him realizing, his Source became active within his body.

However, his mind was elsewhere, in a conceptual realm so profound that it felt tangible. Words like "past" and "future" no longer made sense in that moment.

These concepts didn't fit—not in that place.

What day was it?

What month?

What time?

What minute?

Ikki couldn't help but feel that these ideas were erased. It was a time that was never "now" and never would be. A place that was never "there" and never would be. That was the realm he found himself navigating.

What was this domain?

He quickly understood: it was where entities existed as pure concepts. There, he had the impression that he wasn't a singular being but merely the concept of a small creature. Infinite versions of himself seemed to exist alongside him—and yet not—forming a paradox that defied comprehension.

It was a world the human mind was never meant to grasp.

The first sight of it made Ikki feel nauseous. He had taken a single step, but it wasn't enough to truly understand anything more than insignificant grains of knowledge in an infinite stream. It was like trying to read an advanced physics book without knowing basic math. He realized he had a long way to go—a distance so vast it was intimidating.

In that moment, his alienation from his human nature shone brighter.

Humans were... blessed. They had no idea how fortunate they were not to know everything.

Suddenly, he realized that ignorance truly was bliss.

With this realization came a sensation that his existence was being pushed upward. Love and kindness began to feel like fragments of a larger truth, part of a greater design. The removal of his human nature continued, marking the beginning of his [Evolution] into a higher-order being.

His consciousness ascended, leaving reality behind. He saw time as an illogical, crisscrossing flow. He climbed higher and higher, beyond mountains, beyond the sky, beyond the universe, and beyond time itself. From this vantage point, he saw everything.

Then, a wave of comprehension hit him. Ikki began grappling with a ladder of concepts that transcended the universe—not just the physical world but also the abstract world from which his journey had started.

He now knew things he couldn't have imagined before. The laws of nature were as rich and vibrant as they were absurd, yet they all made sense. Just seven... no, only six more "rewrites," and he would understand everything. He would see the truth of existence.

But these were not merely physical concepts; they were transcendental truths existing beyond the universe and outside all coordinates.

He felt confident that he could grasp it all eventually—the nature of forces, the interplay of fundamental laws, and countless other abstract realities. However, he still struggled with faded memories of his past life. Even after ascending so high, he couldn't see the summit.

Then, Ikki glimpsed a combination of these laws and forces. There was no reason to hesitate. He had no attachment to his humanity anymore. It simply didn't matter. Thus, more aspects of his humanity continued dissolving into the void.

...Cold.

Ikki was losing all the warmth that once filled his "heart." Could the human heart remain noble when its workings were fully understood? Could secrets retain their divinity after being unveiled?

Humans now seemed incredibly insignificant to him.

It was an existential chill, a conceptual void tied to the mind, soul, and heart. While understanding these things, Ikki's materialistic view of the universe began to crumble, leaving him with despair.

And then, he encountered a word...

"Wait... Is this love?"

"This..."

"Where did it all begin?"

Ah, there it was—the first chapter. Where was the second?

Likely kept in a place terrifyingly high.

...So high.

It was here that Ikki found salvation: a word spoken at the beginning of time, originating from an even loftier place. He was surprised to discover the concept of love there. He had always thought it was merely an emotion, an illusion. But... apparently, love came from a place far beyond and had merely fallen to this level. This meant love was crucial to the grand design of the cosmos.

That single word gave him a deeper understanding of the universe, though it was only the beginning.

There were hidden truths about the world's history, about the symbiosis of material and spiritual realms. Words filled with truths buzzed around him: about a time when mind and matter were one, about cultures that existed for less than a second, about the pressure to choose diffusion... all were fascinating but ultimately ignored.

His head began to ache, and his ascent abruptly halted.

His mind slowly cleared, and Ikki regained awareness of his physical body. At that moment, four messages imprinted themselves into his consciousness:

"Celestial Prohibition Body..."

"Akashic Eyes..."

"Will of the Emperor..."

"Nirvana Hands..."

As he absorbed the information about these new abilities, he felt his entire existence elevate.

His mind split in two, capable of contemplating two subjects simultaneously. His intellectual faculties reached a level that would make the world's greatest geniuses feel inferior. His body was strengthened tenfold, capable of destroying buildings with a single punch or running at supersonic speeds. A distinct awareness spread through his being, allowing him to sense everything within a hundred-meter radius—a result of his soul ascending to a higher plane.

Ikki slowly opened his eyes, piercing through the darkness of his room and seeing everything in minute detail.

He pondered what he had gained from understanding just a fraction of the [Nameless Mantra].

The [Celestial Prohibition Body] was a unique physique that had awakened. It contained thirteen seals that he would need to break to unlock its full potential. It passively matured to grant him unmatched beauty, transcending logic, culture, and personal preference. At its peak, it could make others fall in love with his mere presence. Fortunately, he could control this effect to avoid unintentionally affecting ordinary people.

The [Akashic Eyes] enhanced his perception and granted him absolute immunity to illusions. The [Will of the Emperor] created a domain that suppressed those weaker than him, and the [Nirvana Hands] allowed him to stimulate and heal damaged tissues, revitalizing the human body.

Each of these abilities was an innate part of his unique body, offering endless potential for development over time.

Ikki noticed his Source had tripled in capacity. With his enhanced intellect, he conceived dozens of better ways to utilize it.

Though he felt far more capable of protecting himself now, he knew it still wasn't enough.

And so, for the years to come, he vowed to train with relentless determination and grow stronger at any cost.

With preschool and a new friend in his life, his routine changed slightly—except for his training, which remained constant.

A week later, his mother transferred him to Percy's class, and the two spent even more time together, quickly becoming inseparable best friends.

During this time, Ikki met Percy's mother, Sally, a kind and remarkable woman. She and Ikki's mother became fast friends, sharing much in common. Meeting Sally further confirmed Ikki's belief that he was in a literary world since she matched the description of Percy's mother from the books.

And thus, time passed...