Fanfic #142 The Flip of a Coin by Maroon Smoke(PercyJackson)

This fanfic follows a gamer Percy in an au of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, and related series, that also goes into the marvel comics later on. I really like this fic because it really explores the gamer ability through Percy and develops the world exploration bit by but with it.

Synopsis: Imagine if you had all the power in the world...if you could become anything you wanted? What would you do? Gamer!Percy, AU, and X-overs...

Rated: M

words: 224k

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13565645/1/The-Flip-of-a-Coin

Here's the first chapter:

I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to.

You have slept in a bed, HP and MP have been restored 100% each. All ailments and negative status effects have been cured.

Wait, what? Was I seeing things? I could've sworn there were just words in front of me, but I blinked, and they were gone.

I sat up a little bit.

I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. The noon sun beat down on me, and I could make out some bees flying in the summer haze.

Before I could think about my status any longer, black words appeared in front of my eyes, twisting and turning out of thin air with a loud pinging noise.

Yeah, no, honest to god pinging.

I didn't even know where it was coming from. It felt like someone was standing over my head, holding a Gameboy to my ear. Eventually, I settled on just reading the words.

Welcome to your guide!

PERSEUS JACKSON

Level- 10 (500/3000)

HP- 2000/2000

SP- 5000/5000

MP- 1000/1000

Allegiance- N/A

STR- 10

VIT- 9

DEX- 17

INT- 11

CHA- 8

WIS- 10

LUC- 5

Points- 10

Money- $46

Son of the legendary God of the Seas and Sally Jackson, Percy is the current child of prophecy. Despite his murky past, Percy is ready to take on his future with determination.

REP at Half-Blood Hill: N/A

I stared at the screen in awe, and a bit of confusion. I had somewhat of a sinking feeling that my dad was Poseidon after last night, but I was having a harder time accepting the fact that there were floating letters in front of me.

I mean, come on. After fighting Dodds and the Minotaur, I can definitely work out a piece or two about what's going on to me, but floating letters don't really seem to fit this whole Greek godsthing. It doesn't seem natural, even in this growingly unnatural world that I was thrust into.

If anything, it's almost like one of those RPG games I played as a kid. And as far as I know, there's no ancient Greek god that gives people videogame powers.

The words were incredibly persistent. No matter which direction I tried to look and turn, they kept bobbing and weaving so that they stayed directly in the center of my field of view.

I sighed to myself, ceasing the weird movements. If anyone saw me doing this, they'd think I was crazier than they probably already think I am. Imagine some random person walking up right now, and seeing a twelve-year-old kid spazzing out on a lawn chair.

Yeah, they'd go running for the hills. Definitely.

Speaking of running for the hills- why in the world was I not freaking out?

Not only did my mom disappear, but I also realized the Greek gods were real and now my life was acting like a video game. Weird ping noises and all.

Great, just great. My fingers curled around the lawn chair, and I absently noted that the white paint was chipping. How pleasant.

Taking a shot in the dark, I whispered, "Uh, game, what's going on with me right now?"

Nothing.

"If you're a god and you gave me these powers, do something."

Nada.

"Okay, well, if you're a wizard and you did something..."

Nuh-uh.

"Hm...if you're a fairy and you sprinkled me with some fairy dust..."

Yeah, I'll skip the rest of that. You don't really need to know how many different variations of that one line of dialogue I went through, and between you and me, I can freely admit that there were a lot.

All you need to know is that eventually, bored of calling out to every mythical being that crossed my mind, I settled on:

"Help."

Ping!

Gamer's Mind (ACTIVE)

Allows the user to calm down with greater ease and logically think things through in the heat of battle. Grants a semi-peaceful base state of mind regardless of the situation and a certain degree of immunity to psychological status and effects.

Gamer's Body (ACTIVE)

Grants the user a body that allows the user to live the real world according to his/her stats and view damage taken and given as visible numbers. Sleeping in a bed restores all physical stats to the max, but does not heal serious conditions, like dismemberment or copious amounts of internal or external bleeding.

Uh...okay…

That would explain why I didn't feel any sort of inclination to break down and cry.

I still felt sad at the possibility that my mom was dead, but I felt...in control, almost. I still decided not to dwell on the topic too much, seeing as the game explicitly stated that it only gave me slight help against that sort of stuff when I wasn't in a fight. I really didn't want to ruin my day by sobbing into this rather comfortable woolen blanket.

[BASE] Quest Complete!

A Rude Welcome!

This life ain't meant for everyone! Survive your first day as a demigod!

Rewards:

500 EXP!

The Horn Of the Minotaur!

+10 REP at Half-Blood Hill!

Ping!

You have 10 stat points and 3 perk points available for use! Please allocate them now:

I blinked a few times. A quest? I'd never seen the quest beforehand, which meant I was either really, really unobservant or I got this weird power overnight. Maybe the fight and my subsequent knockout triggered some sort of event in my body?

For thinking in a logical manner, you have gained +1 INT!

Okay, so my new power seemed to work just like I'd expected. It followed that basic video game logic of hey, do something, get something. I can get behind that. The notification slowly faded away, and a gigantic list came up.

STR—Strength:

This stat represents physical power. Higher levels in STR can directly provide damage benefits in battle.

VIT—Vitality:

This stat represents a character's physical toughness. It determines how much damage someone can take and how well they resist poisons, illnesses, etc.

DEX—Dexterity:

Dexterity represents a person's physical nimbleness. It determines fine motor skills, reaction time, and aiming.

INT—Intelligence:

The stat representing how smart a character is. It can be used to show how skilled a person is, how quickly they learn, their recognition of battle tactics, etc.

CHA—Charisma:

Charisma represents a person's force of personality. Used to determine how well someone can influence others by speeches, diplomacy, fear, and lying. The driving force between romantic attraction.

WIS—Wisdom:

The stat representing a person's prudence and street-smarts. Used to determine a character's perception, willpower, and decision-making skills. Wisdom directly helps in MP usage.

LUC—Luck:

Luck can boost a variety of events that have very low probabilities of occurring; critical strikes, random encounters, good loot, etc.

I read each stat and its following description, nodding to myself slightly. Again, it was what I'd expected, more or less. The Game seemed to follow a rather basic RPG format- not that I was complaining, of course. It seemed like a good thing to have so far.

I winced slightly when I got to my CHA, though. It did explain why every girl at my school seemed to avoid me like the plague, however. Jeez, this whole time I thought it was cause I hung out with Grover so much.

Yeah, that probably didn't help my case too much, either.

And, what was REP?

REP—Reputation:

Reputation indicates how well-liked or disliked you are! A REP of 0 is neutral, and a negative REP often indicates hatred or dislike! The higher your REP, the easier it is to convince someone to do something for you, or in some cases, can lead to romantic relationships or deep bonds with the person in question.

I was drawn out of my thoughts as a 10 at the top right of my screen bounced a few times.

That's right- I had points to spend. Ten stat points and three perk points. If I had to guess, I automatically got these points to make sure I wasn't at a disadvantage at the start of the game, but I also still felt like I was dreaming, so I tried to not put too much stock into it yet. Honestly, at this point, I'm not too sure if I could ever dream in this level of detail, but I digress.

Eh. I feel like I'm too self-aware at the moment to legitimately be dreaming. Bah.

Anyway, where was I? Right. Stats.

I thought about it for a moment. I was tempted to put most of my points into CHA but I also didn't want that to come back and bite me in the ass. As much fun as it would be to go around charming cute girls, I think I'd be better off banking these things into something that can actually help me save my mom.

Hm. If I remember correctly, back in the games I used to play, perks often gave some sort of boost in your attributes, so if I choose my perks first, I'll have a better idea of what to spend my attribute points on.

The game shifted on my command. The list of attributes became smaller and halved in size, rolling to the background of my screen.

It was replaced by a gigantic tree with hundreds of branches that zoomed in at the top. Seven hexagons stared back at me; their names were written in bold with a tiny screen that showed the flat boost my stats would get.

I scoffed to myself. These perks were kind of lame, but they were also the first perks, so I couldn't be too mad. Plus, I mean, lame isn't always bad. It's just, well, lame.

I narrowed my choices down pretty easily. I knew I had three perk points, and, as I said, the perks themselves weren't too hard to pick from.

All in all, I was given seven options, all hinging on the seven base stats of the game. From left to right, they were Troll, Last Breath, Moon's Dance, Bookworm, Flirt, Grassroots, and Lady Luck's Draw.

Curiously, I clicked on each of the small hexagons, one by one. The names tell a lot, but I'd be pretty mad if I made the wrong decision because I was in a rush.

They hopped up and down in place for a few moments before expanding outwards, growing exponentially in size.

Troll (Level 1): Your body takes on troll-like characteristics in the strength department!

Take a +5 STR and actively boost your STR by 20% while in a fight!

Meh. Not my thing. I'd never been the strongest kid around, and while I was sure I could remedy that very easily in the future, for now, I needed to focus on my strengths so that I could get my mom back.

Well, unless the other perks are straight trash- in which case, I'll gladly pick this one. Positive vibes, though, Percy. Positive vibes.

Last Breath (Level 1): Don't ever fear death with this perk around!

What's the point of fighting if you can't stay alive? When you drop under 10% health, you regenerate health 50% faster and gain damage mitigation!

Mmm...not bad, I guess, but I kind of feel like if there's someone out there who pushes me that much I'll have much bigger problems than my health.

Moon's Dance: May your feet ever walk in the light of two suns…and may the moon shadow never fail you...

The moon smiles upon you. Receive a +5 boost to your DEX and learn the Moon's Dance, a lovely sword form that involves graceful movements and well-timed slashes.

Yep. I knew for a fact I was going to have to pick this one up. Off rip, I knew that DEX was one of my highest stats, so a boost there would be huge.

Plus, I took out one of Hades' furies without any training with Riptide, so learning a sword form would probably make me a force to be reckoned with.

Or so I hoped, anyway.

Bookworm (Level 1): Are you sure you aren't a child of Athena? You love books and books love you right back!

Jeez, get this dude a library card. Learn new skills (1 x your current INT)% faster! Retain more when you read!

Damn, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a good perk. I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, I knew that, but learning new skills could be invaluable to get to Mom!

Flirt (Level 1): You sly dog! Aphrodite looks down on you fondly, boosting your attractiveness!

You're going to have a hard time keeping the ladies off of you later on! Gain a +5 CHA and gain a boost of (1 x your current CHA)% while talking to a member of the opposite sex.

Huh. I was surprised. I'm not going to lie, I was expecting something else. That sort of boost could make me seem irresistible to women, which could help me out in a bind down the stretch. Plus, I couldn't deny the fact that the boost to my CHA could help me save my attribute points for later.

Grassroots and Lady Luck's Draw didn't seem to have any description. Both just came with a flat boost of +5 in the respective categories, CHA and LUK, which made me frown.

That ruled them out. Based on what I could tell, perk points seemed to come by less frequently than skill points, so it would be sort of a waste to use them on perks that gave me fewer benefits overall.

For thinking in a logical manner, you have gained +1 INT!

Hey! That was 2 points for INT I got just by thinking! Maybe I didn't need that perk right away if I could get INT just by thinking! Well, that really narrows it down, then. I'll go for the fighting ones right away!

Biting my lip, I clicked on Troll, Moon's Dance, and Flirt, spending my three allotted perk points. The three hexagons turned white, and I felt knowledge seep into my brain. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, but it wasn't the worst, either. It just felt like my brain was being tickled.

Skill Learned!

Moon's Dance, Lv-1 (0%)

An ancient Japanese form of swordsmanship dependent on the grace of its user. Created by ? to escape the wrath of the 9th Feudal Lord!

3% chance to critically strike.

Alright...onto my attributes.

STR- 10 (+5)

VIT- 9

DEX- 17 (+5)

INT- 11

CHA- 8 (+5)

WIS- 10

LUC- 5

Hm...maybe I should go for more balance in my attributes, at least for now. Maybe when I get more quests with tons of EXP I'll specialize in something.

STR- 11 (+5)

VIT- 12

DEX- 17 (+5)

INT- 15

CHA- 10 (+5)

WIS- 13

LUC- 7

Not bad. With my perks and everything factored in, I'm still pretty balanced so far, with a bit of focus on the speed and motor skills department.

I kicked the blanket off my lap and stood on the porch, enjoying the small creak it made as I stretched out the various kinks in my body. Ugh, those pops and cracks sounded like music to my ears.

It felt like I'd been asleep for ages.

Quietly, I made my way over to the other side of the porch. Two men sat across from each other at a card table. There was also a blond-haired girl- the one who I think spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding- leaning on the porch rail next to them.

I checked each of them out discreetly before I fully stepped over.

The girl was looking out at the groups of kids who were walking around, all wearing the same orange shirt as she was.

Ping!

What now?

By observing the girl, you have created a skill!

Observe LV-1 (10%)

By Observing a target, one will get information about the said object and a small amount of data, as well.

LV 1 shows you their level and some basic information. As you grow the skill, it will eventually show more and more about the person that you're looking at.

I rolled my eyes and looked at her again.

Annabeth Chase [DAUGHTER OF ATHENA]

LV- 20

HP- 8000/8000

MP- 5000/5000

Jesus! This girl could whoop my ass without breaking a sweat! Man, I need to hit the gym the second I can.

Would a place like this even have a gym? I guess training arena or gladiator pit seems more fitting- you get the point. I need to get strong. Fast.

I turned my attention to the two men.

First, the chubbier man. He was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.

Dionysus [GOD OF WINE]

LV-?

I blinked to myself. So the chunkster's a god, huh?

Next, the other man. From my point of view, it looked like Mr. Brunner, but I was guessing that wasn't the case.

Chiron [LEGENDARY TRAINER OF HEROES]

LV-?

Sure, why not. At this point, you could probably tell me I had a cyclops for a brother, and I'd take it in stride. I did want to talk to Chiron about that pen-sword thing he'd let me keep at some point, though.

Ping!

[SIDE] Quest Alert!

The First Impression Is Everything!

Dionysus is well-known for his dislike of demigods. Make a good impression on him and become one of the few demigods he likes!

Rewards:

+10 REP with Mr. D!

+300 EXP!

[YES/NO]

Really? Well, I mean, I'm not about to turn down some free EXP…

I clicked yes.

"Ah, Percy," Chiron called out to me with a smile. He gestured for me to walk closer. "Welcome. How are you feeling?"

"Better than ever," I replied truthfully.

"Better than ever, sir," Dionysus butted in, turning to get a better look at me. His tired eyes swept over my face, almost half-heartedly. "Try it again."

"Sir," I repeated, mentally making a note of the fact that there was no way in hell this quest was going to work out.

Dionysus hummed. "Better. What's your name, boy?"

"Percy Jackson, sir," I replied, in a biting tone.

"It's good to see you, Percy. Do you feel alright?" Chiron smiled at me as he shuffled a deck of cards. I know that smile all too well- it's the same one he used to give me in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student.

I flexed my fingers for a moment, "Yeah, honestly, I'm feeling better than ever."

Chiron laughed, fanning the cards out on the table with a brilliant flourish, "Well, you have to thank our dear Annabeth for that."

"Yes, Mary-Beth nursed you back to health," Dionysus said in a slightly annoyed tone. He waved his hand at Annabeth as if he was telling her to go away. "Whoopty. Terrific. The hands, if you would, Chiron? Perhaps we can make Peter here sit down and play a few rounds, see if we can work out his permanence in camp over the cards, eh?"

Yep. Screw the quest- I hate this dude.

"As much fun as that would be, it's imperative that Percy gets acquainted with camp," Chiron interrupted, saving me from that growingly uncomfortable situation. I thought Dionysus was going to vaporize Chiron right there, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being contradicted by a Latin teacher.

"I suppose. Mary-Beth, take Peter on a tour, will you? I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight," The air grew serious for a moment, and he reached out to clasp my shoulder. "Mind your manners, Mr. Jackson. If I find out you're causing trouble, you'll be but a memory. Have a good day."

"Yeah, like the trouble you must cause on the plumbing at this camp," I shot back, my annoyance building up to an unbearable point. "Lay off the donuts, man."

[SIDE] Quest Failed!

The First Impression Is Everything! [X]

Dionysus is well-known for his dislike of demigods. Make a good impression on him and become one of the few he likes!

Failure Message:

Come on, man, really? The first quest? Ugh...

"You little brat," Dionysus went to stand but decided against it halfway, his eyes peering at Chiron, who had moved his hands to the front of his wheelchair, gripping the handles tightly.

Deciding against his course of action, instead, for a moment, he turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grapevines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts.

I stared back at him defiantly. It's going to take a bit more than some funky pictures to get me to back down from a bully, god or not. In a tight voice, he pointed a finger at Annabeth and continued, "Take him. Get him out of my sight. Now."

"Gladly," I scoffed, turning back to the girl, Annabeth.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and started to walk away without me. I ran a bit to catch up with her.

I took a closer look at her. She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image.

They were a startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.

Which she probably could with ease. She was double my level, and I knew I'd have to get right to training if I wanted to stand a chance against anyone here.

We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. They stared at me intensely, and I bit the inside of my cheek.

Their levels, like Annabeth's, were at least double mine. The highest one I saw was thirty, so it was becoming pretty clear that everyone at this damn camp was still a great deal stronger than me.

"So, you took out the Minotaur," Annabeth said, trying to break the awkward silence that had been between us since we left the house. "That's cool."

"Oh, thanks," I smiled at her. I felt my Flirt perk activate. It filled me with a giddy feeling of warmth like I'd just drank a cup of hot cocoa. Annabeth didn't seem so scary anymore. "Wish I didn't pass out like a baby, though."

Annabeth's face cracked into a grin. "Well, we'll just have to work on that, won't we?"

"Yeah. Any tips for a beginner like me?"

She pretended to spend some time thinking about her answer. "Yeah, don't die?"

"Good point," I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "I'll try my best."

I'd played enough video games to know that the absolute first thing I would be doing would be grinding out all my skills, so her words didn't really mean much to me. I wasn't planning on dying any time soon.

Annabeth and I fell into semi-comfortable conversation as she showed me around camp. I'd never really been one for architecture or anything, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by the fact that the camp could have so many Greek-themed buildings that still looked squeaky clean.

It was like a slice of Ancient Greece existed between the strawberry fields.

Again, not that I was complaining. My Observe skill leveled up multiple times due to the fact that I was spamming it on every single thing I saw.

We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Annabeth said they held sword and spear fights.

"Sword and spear fights?" I asked curiously. That was probably going to be one of the best ways I'd be able to grind EXP.

"Cabin challenges and all that," She explained patiently. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."

Annabeth pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.

Annabeth looked at me with a smirk. "Percy, look around. Have there been any clouds, even, over the camp since you've been here?"

She was right. I looked around curiously and noticed that around the camp, there wasn't a single cloud in sight.

Outside of the camp's borders, though, it was pouring rain. "Ah…"

"You're such an idiot," Annabeth rolled her eyes at me, smiling lightly. I shook my head, glad that my intelligence, or supposed lack thereof, seemed to bring her joy. "Next up, the cabins."

There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were, without doubt, the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.

Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked nothing alike.

Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.

Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.

Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.

They all faced a common area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

After using Observe again, I could tell exactly which cabin belonged to who. Not that it would've been hard, anyway. The gods had...unique taste. Annabeth and I came to the last cabin, Cabin 3.

I stopped curiously in front of the doorway. It was built kind of far away from the rest of the cabins. While most of them were land-locked, this one was built facing out toward the sea, with a small dock that overlooked the glittering water.

It was long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.

I nodded to myself as I looked at it. This felt more like home to me than all of the other ones I'd seen before. Poseidon had really nice taste.

"Well, that just about concludes the tour. I'll leave you to walk around for a bit. If you need anything, don't be a stranger," Annabeth told me, patting my shoulder in a friendly manner. "Cabin 6. I'll come to find you for dinner if you aren't there in an hour or two."

"Thanks, Annabeth," I told her sincerely, and she smiled at me and began to walk across the field.

I carefully trod down the path next to my cabin. I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. Even from outside the cabin, I could peer inside to see that there were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. Not bad.

I stepped out all the way to the dock and noticed, curiously enough, that there was a man sitting at the edge, one that definitely hadn't been there before. I caught the sight of a fishing rod in his hand and a beatdown fishing box to his left side.

I carefully made my way over to him, having used Observe on him the moment I noticed his presence.

Lord Poseidon, it had read. [RULER OF THE SEAS]

LV-?

HP-?

MP-?

?

"So," I settled down next to him, my ratty converse dangling over the glass-like surface of the Long Island water. "Anything biting?"

A low chuckle escaped from the man's lips. "No, not yet. Hello, son."