59 Chapter 59

[Third Person's PoV]

Lucian walked up to Annabeth the next day and asked, "So what do we do now?"

"We go rock climbing," Annabeth explained.

"That's it?" Lucian asked, looking at her in confusion.

"No, obviously. Most of us spend our time training and doing miscellaneous tasks. For example, Demeter's cabin would spend the day taking care of the strawberry farm, and the Hephaestus cabin would be locked inside their forge building whatever," Annabeth added.

Lucian nodded in understanding as Annabeth led him towards the rock climbing section.

"Funnily enough, we get graded for this," Annabeth mentioned. "Which is why we have to do this in the first place. But it's not only climbing we have to worry about—the Climbing Wall has some features to it, like lava pouring down from the top and an earthquake mode where it constantly shakes."

They soon arrived in an area surrounded by campers, with Chiron in front of them taking notes on a clipboard.

"Good work, Clarisse! You can come down now," he shouted after writing down a few checks.

Lucian raised a brow upon hearing the name and looked over as a short, sand-blond haired girl slowly climbed down from the wall.

'Ah, the daughter of Ares,' Lucian thought while observing her with her hands on her knees, sweating and gasping for air slightly.

Chiron then noticed Lucian and Annabeth appear within the crowd, "Ah, Lucian. You have decided to join us here today, it seems."

Lucian just shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't have anything better to do."

Chiron nodded before looking at his clipboard, "Ah, I haven't been able to test you before since you had to go on your quest. How about it? Want to give it a try?" He said, motioning towards the large wall.

Lucian once again just shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, why not," he said, taking a step forward.

The others looked curiously, wondering how Lucian would fare against the wall.

"You're not allowed to use abilities; this is only a physical test. Any use of your powers would be an automatic F," Chiron warned him.

"So no harness?" Lucian asked curiously.

"Why? Afraid you're going to fall?" one of them said before some started to snicker.

Lucian didn't even entertain them and simply gave them the middle finger while still facing the climbing wall, which just caused them to laugh louder.

"Do you want one?" Chiron curiously asked.

To which Lucian just shook his head, "Nah, I was simply curious."

Lucian turned towards Chiron as he asked, "So when can I start?"

"You can start at any time you please," Chiron informed him.

Lucian nodded and started to take a few steps back, making the others curious at what he was doing.

After he was a good distance away he got into a running position and started mapping out his way in his head.

When he got it, he took off running before jumping and taking a hold of one of the rocks. As his hand touched the wall the entire thing started shaking as if trying to throw him off but he held on.

He then used the momentum he acquired while running and flung himself higher. Lucian had a look of concentration and started to climb with quick maneuvers.

Lucian suddenly felt a warmth close to him, causing him to look up, he saw lava getting closer and closer as it started to flow down.

Upon closer inspection Lucian saw a couple of boulders from the top falling down along with the lava. Without hesitation, he swiftly changed his climbing path, skillfully avoiding the falling rocks and the cascading lava.

The onlookers, who initially underestimated him, were now watching with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

As he climbed he began to realize that the lava wasn't as hot as he was expecting. Sure he can feel great warmth from it, but it wasn't blistering hot. Though his clothes said otherwise as they started to catch on fire slightly.

As Lucian neared the top, the climbing wall activated its earthquake mode. The entire structure shook vigorously, adding an extra layer of difficulty to the ascent. Despite the intensified challenge, Lucian displayed remarkable agility, adapting seamlessly to the unpredictable movements.

He finally reached the summit, unfazed by the chaos that ensued during the climb. Lucian landed on the top in a one handed handstand, he turned towards the crowd and Chiron and gave them a peace sign with a nonchalant expression, as if he had just completed a routine task.

Chiron, impressed by Lucian's performance, nodded approvingly, "Well done, Lucian. You can come down now, that was an amazing performance.

Lucian nodded, sinking into his shadow before reappearing next to everyone.

"Your shirt is on fire," Annabeth pointed out, patting it carefully to extinguish the flames.

"That it is," Lucian acknowledged, joining in to pat it out.

"Here, take your shirt off and put this one on," Annabeth instructed, handing him an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt.

Lucian, bewildered, asked, "Where did you even get this?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Just don't worry about it and take it off," she sighed.

Following her instructions, Lucian threw his burnt shirt into his shadow. Nearby Aphrodite's kids, about his age, stole sneaking glances, admiring his toned body. Lucian then looked at the orange shirt, expressing disgust before using the power of the mist to change it to a black shirt with the white Camp Half-Blood logo.

"Much better," Lucian sighed before he and Annabeth walked away.

"You aren't going to do it?" he asked her when he noticed she simply left.

"Nah, I already did it the day before yesterday, before you returned."

"And how did you do?"

Annabeth pouted, turning her head away, causing Lucian to give her a teasing smirk.

"You fell off, didn't you?"

"Shut up, it's not as easy as you made it out to be," she muttered, blushing.

"Anyways, I'm going to check the strawberry field. Want to come?" Lucian asked, changing the topic.

Annabeth looked at him in confusion, "Why would you want to go there? And are you sure that's a good idea? After all, I'm not sure the children of Demeter's will be very welcoming towards the son of Hades, due to your parents' animosity."

"That's the very reason I suggest we should go. I think it's very idiotic to hate each other just solely based on the problems our parents have with one another."

"You might think that way, but I'm not sure the others will," Annabeth said skeptically.

"Just watch and learn. All I have to do is be really charming, something I'm really good at."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and decided to follow Lucian to see how it would turn out. Lucian didn't even have a chance to open his mouth when he arrived.

"Leave," the head counselor of the Demeter's cabin coldly said as soon as she saw Lucian approaching.

"Wha–"

"I said leave, your presence might affect the growth of the plants here, and I will have none of that. So, I'm telling you once again to leave."

Lucian just stood with his mouth open in shock, while Annabeth turned away and covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh out loud.