[Third Person’s PoV]

Percy stood in Lucian’s underground basement, clutching a strange green potion with swirling brown splotches floating inside like muddy wisps trapped in slime. He turned it in his hands, watching the viscous liquid slosh slowly against the glass, and wrinkled his nose.

Bringing it closer to his face, he took a cautious sniff. “Smells like grass and an open meadow… Which is weird, considering I’ve never even been to an open meadow before.”

Lucian rolled his eyes, exhaling through his nose with a long, suffering sigh. “Stop sniffing it like a weirdo and just drink the damn potion already.”

Annabeth chuckled beside him, clearly amused by the scene. Percy, cheeks tinged red with embarrassment, scratched the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile. “It’s just… I know this is going to hurt. Like, a lot. Is there seriously no way to numb the pain first?”

“Believe it or not,” Annabeth said, folding her arms and shaking her head, “the pain is a crucial part of the ritual. It’s a reminder that we’re human, and that we shouldn’t grow arrogant with power”

“That’s a stupid reason,” Percy muttered under his breath, frowning.

“Percy,” Annabeth said, deadpan and unamused, “drink the damn potion.”

“Alright, alright, jeez…” Percy grumbled. He raised the potion in a mock toast, remembering Lucian previous words, as if saying goodbye to his internal organs, and shut his eyes tight. “Here goes nothing.”

He downed the potion in one go, the liquid sliding thick and cold down his throat. He smacked his lips afterward, surprised. “Huh… it kind of tastes like green apples. That’s not so bad. Hey, look at that—nothing’s happening! Maybe I’m safe afte—Itgh!!”

His sentence was cut off by a sharp, guttural cry as his body spasmed. He dropped to the ground, doubled over in agony. The glass vial rolled across the floor and shattered against the stone wall.

Lucian and Annabeth exchanged an unimpressed glance, both shaking their heads.

“Dumbass,” they said in perfect unison.

Both of them had seen this too many times. The potion always hurts. If it didn’t hit instantly, it just meant the effects were delayed—and often worse.

They stood over Percy, watching him writhe and groan on the cold basement floor.

“This is going to take a while,” Annabeth said, staring over at his twitching body as she walked toward Lucian. She plopped down into his lap, have done this a dozen times before and summoned a holographic projection from her palm. A semi-transparent blueprint of a building hovered between them.

“Should we start working on the Coven’s base?” she asked, adjusting the angle of the display.

Lucian glanced at Percy, who was now clawing at the floor like it owed him money, and shook his head. “Nah, let’s wait until he’s done. I won’t be able to concentrate with all that screaming.”

“Fair enough,” she replied, dispelling the hologram and leaning back against his chest, visibly relaxing as she intertwined her fingers with his.

Several agonizing minutes later, Percy was finally still. He was panting hard, on all fours, sweat dripping from his chin to the floor. His voice was raspy as he muttered, “Words cannot begin to describe how much I hate that. Please… please tell me it gets easier?”

Lucian scoffed, laughing in amusement. “Quite the opposite, actually. The deeper you go, the worse it gets.”

Percy let out a pitiful whimper and collapsed onto his side, curling up like a cat. “Why am I even doing this to myself?!”

Annabeth ignored his cries, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. “So? What abilities did you get?”

Percy groaned but slowly closed his eyes, focusing on the internal shift within him. After a few seconds, he spoke.

—

[Enhanced Attributes: Basic Agility & Acrobatics → Upgraded to Intermediate]

New Abilities:

Hoofbeat Pulse – A concussive shockwave can be generated from a strong stomp or landing, disrupting magical energy and knocking back enemies.

Beast Aspect – Temporarily borrow traits from nearby wild animals: eagle-sharp vision, the brute strength of an ox, or the acute smell of a wolf.

Animal Empathy – Sense, calm, and connect with animals emotionally and mentally, especially herd creatures like horses or deer.

Mount Mastery – Ride and bond with any mountable creature, including magical or wild beasts, with natural ease.

Spectral Reins – Conjure fitting gear for any mount, allowing for complete harmony between rider and creature.

—

“Well that sucks,” Percy muttered, pouting like a kid.

“Honestly? Could be a lot worse,” Lucian said with a casual shrug. “You just need to get creative with them. Every power has its moment—you just have to figure out when and how to use them.”

“I guess…” Percy mumbled, still visibly disappointed.

Lucian rolled his eyes at Percy’s whining. “Want to know what my second sequence, Artisan, gave me?”

Percy perked up slightly. “Yes” He said realizing he doesn’t know much about the kinds of abilities Lucian gained.

“One of the skills literally just gives me steady and precise hands,” Lucian said, lifting his hand and wiggling his fingers.

“Seriously?” Percy deadpanned.

“Yup…But with that my crafting abilities increased, so did my archery, and weapon wielding. So although they might not seem much at first, they all have their uses. Not to mention your abilities grow as you progress, so although they might not seem like much now, who knows what they would be like in the future” Lucian explained.

“Alright, I get it, I’ll stop complaining… But I swear, my next set of abilities better be so much better,” Percy muttered, pushing himself up from the floor and brushing dirt off his shorts with exaggerated frustration.

“I honestly don’t doubt it,” Lucian said with a half-smile, blowing his hair from his face. “So… ready to head home?”

“Oh my gods, yes please,” Percy groaned, tilting his head back dramatically. “I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. That potion felt like it tried to murder my soul.”

Lucian chuckled and gently tapped Annabeth’s waist to get her to move. “Come on, I’ll take him back—”

Before he could finish, Annabeth huffed and crossed her arms. “Nope. I’m comfy. Nox, take Percy home, please.”

From behind her, a soft chime echoed, and a tiny shadowy creature zipped forward in his adorable chibi form. “Yes, Mama!” Nox said dutifully, fluttering over and perching himself on Percy’s head like a living hat.

Percy gave them a tired but grateful grin. “Goodnight, guys. Thanks for everything—really” He gave a lazy two-finger salute. “Appreciate the help.”

“Anytime, Pers,” both Lucian and Annabeth echoed together in casual unison.

But the harmony quickly vanished as soon as he did.

“Don’t call him that,” Lucian deadpanned, turning his gaze toward Annabeth with narrowed eyes.

“What?” she asked innocently, leaning further into his chest.

Lucian’s tone turned flat. “No nicknames.”

Annabeth blinked, then snickered. “Wait… you’re serious right now?”

Lucian just stared at her blankly, eyes unreadable.

Her smile widened in amusement as she tilted her head. “Okay, okay. I won’t call him any friendly names, hehehe. What about something like Seaweed Br—mmph!”

Her eyes shot wide open as Lucian swiftly covered her mouth with his hand. His eyes darkened with a cold, possessive glint that sent a chill up her spine… and made her cheeks flush pink.

“That’s even worse,” he said quietly, but firmly. “His name is Percy. Stick to that. No need for pet names or playful banter between the two of you.”

Annabeth nodded slowly, her eyes glimmering with mischief despite the situation. As soon as he pulled his hand away, her lips curved into a wide grin. “Hehehe,” she giggled, swaying side to side like a lovesick teenager. “So you love me, love me, huh?”

Lucian groaned, turning his face away in annoyance. “Let’s just start working on this stupid coven building before you drive me insane.”

Annabeth smirked victoriously and lifted his chin, kissing his cheek in an overly dramatic gesture. “I love you too, my overprotective Lucy.”

A faint blush bloomed across Lucian’s otherwise pale face, though he tried to ignore it.

They both shifted to get more comfortable. Lucian crossed his legs and gently pulled Annabeth back onto his lap, his arms snug around her waist. With a flick of her fingers, Annabeth used her ability [Blueprint Projection], and a holographic structure burst to life in front of them, suspended in the air like a miniature fortress of glowing blue lines.

Lucian leaned over her shoulder, studying the model intently. “We’re going to need time to gather the materials for this. Nothing too complicated, but there’s a lot of it.”

Annabeth rotated the projection, tweaking parts of the floor plan with precision. “We also need to settle on a good location. Somewhere concealed but easily accessible. And then there’s the enchanting process… That alone could take weeks.”

“Eh, not really,” Lucian said confidently. “With my magic scaling up recently, I can cover most of the base enchantments myself. It’ll speed things up drastically.”

“True,” Annabeth admitted. “Plus, we’ve got Nebula. Her mist can fabricate a lot of the physical materials we need, assuming she doesn’t get lazy.”

Lucian nodded, the two of them started creating floors with different purposes like a potion lab, a personal library, and a full training space.

Annabeth hummed dutifully as she zoomed in on a section and added structural reinforcements. “If we coordinate with your shadows for labor we could actually have this done before the end of the month… just in time before school starts again.”

Lucian froze. His whole expression deadpanned as he slowly let his forehead drop into Annabeth’s hair. “Ughhhhh… don’t remind me.”

She smirked. “You act like school is a death sentence.”

“It is,” he grumbled, muffled against her hair. “I’m burning the place down the moment the school year begins.”

Annabeth just laughed, the sound echoing softly around the basement as their magical blueprint glowed brighter between them.

********************************************

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