[Third Person’s PoV]

One week Later…

Lucian, Annabeth, and Thalia were in an open field a few meters away from Camp.

Lucian looked at Annabeth, who was wearing metal bracelets on her wrists and arms, as well as a metal attachment on her back, and asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Annabeth had a confident smirk as she nodded. “I didn’t spend my time tinkering to just throw it in the corner and forget about it. So, do it.”

“If you say so,” Lucian muttered as he controlled his shadow to appear underneath Annabeth before flinging her into the sky.

Annabeth flew upwards with her arms tucked to her sides and her legs pressed together.

Once she reached the highest altitude she could, she spread her arms. From her back, two metal wings appeared, her metal bracelets connecting to her wings, allowing her to control them.

Annabeth flapped her arms and started doing somersaults in the air. “WOOOOAH! THIS IS AWESOME!” she yelled excitedly.

Thalia looked towards Lucian with a hint of worry. “The same thing isn’t going to happen to her like what happened with Icarus, right?”

“Nah, she isn’t a dumbass. She knows what she’s doing; she’s just enjoying herself.”

“I WONDER HOW HIGH I CAN GO!?” Annabeth asked with a large smile.

“You know what, I take it back. She might just be a dumbass,” Lucian sighed. “DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!” he yelled, cupping his mouth to amplify his voice.

Annabeth did a few more tricks in the air before tucking in her wings and diving towards the ground. Just before she hit the ground, she expanded her arms, making her glide. She then stuck out her foot to the ground, causing her speed to slow down.

Once she slowed down enough, her wings retracted back to their compartment, but she still retained a bit of her momentum, so she ended up crashing against Lucian, who caught her.

“Sorry, it looks like I have to work on the braking,” Annabeth said a bit shyly, but her large smile never left her face.

She then took a few steps back, spread her feet apart slightly, and put her hands on her hips while looking up proudly. “So, what do you think?”

“I think… that we need to go now and explore the places we need to study and get the materials for Thalia’s next potion,” Lucian said with an eye roll.

“You can never let me celebrate my victory, can you?” Annabeth asked with a pout.

“Whatever you say, Tinkerbell,” Lucian said as he began walking away with his hands in his pockets.

“You’re lucky that is a very cute nickname,” Annabeth said as she followed after him.

“You said that Luke didn’t want to come, right?” Thalia asked.

Lucian shook his head. “Yeah, he said he was busy with something. You know how he’s been recently.”

“And you’re sure we can’t stop him?”

“When a man chooses what path to walk, it’s near impossible to change his mind. Especially if that person is Luke. He’s as stubborn as a mule.”

—

Back at Camp…

Luke held two swords in his hands as he was surrounded by campers, mostly from the Ares Cabin.

“You sure you want to do this, Luke?” Clarisse asked with a spear in hand.

“Yes, I want to fight all of you one by one. When one is defeated, I want the next person to jump in immediately and attack me without hesitation.”

“It appears you’ve been hanging around Lucian for too long; you’ve started catching his narcissistic personality,” Clarisse scoffed as she got into a fighting position.

Her comment caused the others to chuckle while Luke just scoffed and went on the offensive.

Luke and Clarisse then engaged in combat. Luke was relentless with his swords, while Clarisse wasn’t someone to just take a beating.

Their wooden swords and spears clashed against each other. Their impacts resounded through the arena. Their footwork helped them move around each other.

Luke blocked her spear with one sword, spun around it, and slashed her neck with the other sword before kicking her away.

Immediately, the next person came rushing in, wielding both a spear and a shield.

Luke spent the majority of the day fighting everyone. He was covered in sweat and grime from rolling around on the floor as he dodged and got pushed around.

A few hours later, Luke was gasping for air, his Camp Half-Blood shirt sticking to him. He held his sword, which was his tenth pair already, and waited for his next opponent.

When he looked around, he saw everyone giving him amazed looks, fearful of stepping into the arena. He took a deep breath, looked up, and exhaled.

“That’s enough, everyone. Thank you for your help,” Luke said with a kind smile that caused some of the girls watching to blush. To them, his exhausted and dirty look just added more to his charm, making them go crazy for him.

After putting everything back in its place, Luke went and took a cold shower.

Luke had his hands against the walls as water hit every part of his body, his wet hair covering his face as he looked down, watching the dirt and grime wash off him and disappear into the drain.

His light wounds, which were small cuts and scrapes, slowly closed as he took deep breaths.

‘A Duelist doesn’t back away from any challenge, no matter the danger he may face.’

‘A Duelist, whether win or lose, uses every opportunity to learn and improve.’

‘A Duelist is decisive. He doesn’t hesitate on his next move, even if it is the wrong one. Commit to it, as there is no going back in a battle of life or death.’

Luke pushed his hair away from his face and looked up towards the shower. He closed his eyes and thought, ‘So that’s what digesting the potion feels like, huh? Not bad.’

As he opened his eyes, he muttered, “There’s no going back now.”

After his shower, Luke was too exhausted to do anything else. He went to bed and immediately fell asleep.

As he opened his eyes, what greeted him was the usual desert of sand everywhere. “Good, I wanted to meet you,” Luke said as he saw the familiar face appear in the sand.

“What is the matter?” Kronos asked with a frown.

“Nothing is the matter. I’m just going to need you to send the other materials. I have finished digesting the potion,” Luke said with a proud smirk.

“Good. Then be on the lookout for when it arrives. Now then, how is the recruitment coming along?”

“That is where I’m having a little bit of difficulty. Due to Lucian’s actions of construction, most demigods are content with how things are developing.”

“That is not what I wanted to hear,” Kronos said with an unpleasant expression.

“Don’t worry, I said most, not all. Although some are content, others believe that all Lucian accomplished was putting a bandaid on the problem. Those I managed to persuade to join me. Our numbers may be small, but they should be enough since they are the older kids who have more experience and are more realistic. They fit perfectly with our goals.”

“Very well, as long as our numbers increase it’s all that matters. I just wanted a status update, I will now take my leave” Kronos said as his face disappeared into the sand and Luke returned to the dream world where he rested peacefully.

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