Percy closed his eyes and pulled on his mana again, he repeated his chant, [My Anger rises from Fear, my Greed is born from my duty, my Will commands my actions while my Hope helps others. My Compassion is my Love and Death is Life. I am Percy Jackson, pilgrim of Greece]
The mana was vibrating like crazy as he slowly brought it out imagining it forming a big dome around them both as he spoke the spell as loud as he could, [SPRING'S RUSH!]
As Percy pushed the mana out he made sure to maintain control as he repeated his chant over and over again. Slowly his mana began to move on it's own spreading around him stretching itself as wide as it could.
Percy could feel his mana wined and turn into the form of several wards sending a feeling of warning and danger to all monsters nearby.
"Okay, this I did not expect," Meera's voice caused Percy to open his eyes.
You have used 5,000 MP!
Ping!
You have learnt a new spell!
Spring's Rush— Creates a medium level monster repelling barrier around a particular area. Cost— X, Area covered— 1 feet in diameter per 100 MP spent
Lasts— 20 days
Percy got up and looked around seeing nothing of note, "I don't get it, didn't it work this time?"
Mera nodded, "it did work my prince, use your mana sensing abilities to see what I mean."
Percy nodded as he closed his eyes and did just that. Suddenly he felt his mana all around them in the form of a perfect circle. It spread about 50 feet in diameter and the very ground around him felt safe.
"How long will it last?" Percy asked, "20 days?" he remembered the spell's description.
Mera nodded, "your mana sensing abilities are very impressive Percy, yes 20 days is the limit to the spell."
Percy frowned, "then dad must be reapplying the ward around mom's place every month or so."
"Not really," Mera spoke up, "Lord Poseidon is much too busy for that, I am sure he probably etched the spell into the building so that the spell was self casting."
Percy raised an eyebrow, "self casting?"
Mera nodded, "yes. I understand you are familiar with Greek runes?"
Percy foraged, "yeah, I managed to get Alecto to teach me a thing or two."
Mera sat down, "then you must know that every spell also has a written form yes?" Percy nodded as he sat down next to her. "Unlike other spells, spells performed in ancient Greek is special as they can be directly translated from word to language. If a spell is in...let's say Latin, the latin written words of said spells will not provide a direct relation of the spell and the magic performed."
Percy nodded, "so you're saying whether I write the spell or speak it out, it's all the same."
Mera nodded, "exactly."
"But why is ancient Greek diffrent from Latin?"
"Well in the case of Latin, all the spells they know have been translated from ancient Greek into latin, well most of them anyway. That is why the Romans have never produced any good spell users, they lack the power that the words of ancient Greek provide."
Percy nodded, "so you're saying that we have a stronger connection to magic due to our greek leiange."
Mera nodded, "yes. Your ability to speak ancient Greek, a dead language, is a gift most spell casters would kill for. Like actually kill for. It is a natural focus for magic, something others have tried to replicated to various degrees of success. The Romans invented wands to try and serve as their focus while the Chinese use various weapons or household items. The closest thing we have to an equal, and in some cases a superior, is the Hindu mythology, but let's not get into that right now.
Percy nodded, "so....would I be able to create any spell? Like if I said, 'fireball' in Greek would i be able to create a fireball?"
Mera thought about it and slowly nodded, "yes....you can. But you probably won't be able to do certain complicated spells," Mera wanrned him, "Spring's rush, those words themselves have been blessed by Poseidon himself so that is they are uttered in ancient Greek, and you have enough mana, you can create a complex spell."
Percy groaned, "so only Gods can create new spells?"
Mera shook her head, "well...yes and no. If you want to create a spell, and a complex spell at that, you need to focus on what you want, intent is the water armour spell I should you?" Percy nodded, "I created that myself."
Percy was amazed, "damn, you really are a genius."
Mera blushed, "well...thanks. But-ah, anyway, back to spell creation. Let's say you create a spell that turns....ah, let's say it turns sand into water. Now you would have to calculate how the molecular mass of silicon can be converted into water, and don't' worry about the molecules being different, magic has the tendency to emulate elements on a whim."
Percy blinked, "but isn't one of the laws of the universe that matter can neither be created nor destroyed?"
Mera nodded, "yes, I see someone has been readin their chemistry books. Anyway magic is the exception to it all. Think of magic as a cheat code to a video game," 'hitting the nail on the head there Mera,' Percy told himself, "magic can change what we understand about the world, twisting it into something else. But enough about advanced molecular transmutation, let's get back to your spell.
"Okay, so you can transform sand into water, you have to go through thousands of mental calculations in your head, feel the way your magic moves and command it. Remember Percy Magic is 50% theory and 50% hands on adaptability. So after all that you have a spell which you will have to sum up in a few words. Now every time you say those words the magic reacts and follows your subconscious commands, you guide your magic even when you don't realise you are doing it.
"Now, if you teach someone else the spell they will have to go through all the trials you did until the spell becomes second nature to them. But if a God invented a spell anyone can use it without needing to understand the complexities of said spell."
Percy nodded in understanding, "so you mean it tell me that spells made by a human have to be taught and learnt, but spells made by a God is something you know automatically? But how is that even possible?"
"I told you, words have power," Mera repeated, "your words are a promise to whatever God that created the spell, in this case Poseidon, that you would offer up a tiny amount of mana to that God. And without you realising it you have give said mana to the God, it's part of the mana cost for the spell. You are the son of poseidon, that is why the spell worked for you, even if you didn't invoke your father's name for the spell. You have a natural affinity for all spells created by Poseidon."
Percy nodded, "I see. So it's like a public transport vehicle."
Mera blinked, "I'm sorry?"
"It's like a public transport vehicle," Percy repeated himself, "the Gods are the government and the spells used are buses or trains. If we use a public bus provided by the government we have to pay them a small amount of money for a ticket, and further more we don't' have to do anything as the bus will take us and drop us wherever we want. But if we have a vehicle of our own, like a car, we have to learn how to drive, and spend time perfecting our technique. Right?"
Mera blinked as her mouth hanged open. "Two years. They take a two year course on spell theory in Atlantis. You just summarised two years worth of theory with an example relating Gods to the Government......you are amazing my prince."
Percy grinned, "I know it."
Mera shook her head, "anyway where were we? Oh yeah, how Lord Poseidon probably self charges your mom's barrier. Well as I said words have power. You simply carve the spell's ancient Greek words into the side of the building or into the location you want it on, and you have a ready made spell. Now all you need to do is add this rune," Mera then drew a rune on the sand, "which supplies magic to the carved spell, and presto! Self charging spell."
Ping!
You have learnt a new rune!
Spell charger— draw the rune next to any spell rune that needs to be charged. Cost— 0
Percy blinked, "wait... I want to try something." Percy then walked over to one tree and took out Riptide. He then used it's edge to carve the rune for 'fire' in ancient Greek as he poured a tiny amount of mana into it.
Suddenly the tree exploded into flames which Percy quickly put out with water he gathered form the moisture.
"This is certainly going to help in the future," Percy said with a smile as he healed the damaged part of the tree, don't want little Percy Decker, the son of Pan, pissed off at him for damaging a tree. The kid kind of got protective when it came to wildlife, understandably considering who his dad is.
"So," Percy turned to Mera, "have anything else to show me?"
Mera smiled, "lots."
Some time later;
Percy had learned a lot of theory form Mera, transfigurations, application of rune and spell based bonding (charms). He even learned a new curse;
Slice— Cuts whatever it is pointed at. Cost— 50 Mp Attack — 50
It wasn't much, but a well placed Slice could kill a person. Percy walked back to his cabin mentally exhausted. As amazing as magic was, it was a pain in tha ass to learn!
Percy opened his cabin and promptly took off his shoes throwing them aside along with his socks. He laid down on his bed as he looked around, this place really was feeling a lot more empty without John in it.
Percy sighed, 'damn it, I don't want to sleep but I don't want to train.' Just then Percy realised something, he still had something to do, set up his TV and entertainment system!
Percy quickly got up with excitement flowing through his body, a change of pace was just what he needed. Percy looked around, 'now....where do I set it up?'
The obvious place would be on his table, it was rarely ever used these days, much to the anger of Annabeth, and it was the closest to a power socket. But Percy didn't want it there, he wanted to hang it on the wall, but he didn't know the first thing about carpentry. If only....wait.
Percy opened his inventory and took out one of the DVD's he bought, 'Learn the tricks and trade of the Handyman.'
Percy grinned, 'Photographic reflexes here I come.'
Percy quickly unpacked the TV and carefully put it on the table. He then took out the DVD player he bought and attached it to the TV putting in the video.
The video itself was boring, and Percy didn't have all the time in the world, well he did, but who wants to watched a documentary about a man who liked to play around with things that are basically giant man sized toys?
Percy quickly pressed the fast forward button activating his super speed to keep up with the increased frame rate. He didn't understand anything the man was saying, but he didn't need to.
80 minutes later;
Ping!
You have learnt a new skill through watching someone via your photographic reflexes!
Handyman skills, Lv— 17 (90%)
The skills to repair/instal/create items inside a household.
Efficiency — 75%
Appraising of property
Auto maintenance
Barbecue pit maintenance
Cabinet refacing
Carpentry
Ceiling repair
Ceramic tile repair
Cleaning
Concrete work
Countertops
Crown moulding
Curtain hanging
Decks
Door installation
Door repair
Dryer repair
Dryer vent cleaning
Dryer vent installation
Drywall Installation
Drywall repair
Electrical wiring
Energy Updates
Fan installation
Fence fixing
Fireplace cleaning
Flooring Installation and Repair
Foundations
Framing
Garage door openers
Garage doors
General Maintenance
Gutter Cleaning
Gutter Repair
Heating system tune-up
Home inspections
Home security systems
Hot tubs and spas
Insulation insulation (batts)
Insulation insulation (blown-in)
Lamp repairs
Landscaping
Lawncare
Lockset adjustment
Molding installation
Moving
Paint removal
Painting
Patio stone installation
Pest control
Plumbing repairs
Porches
Remodeling basements
Remodeling bathrooms
Remodeling kitchens
Roofing
Safety modifications
Sealing driveways
Senior Living Modifications
Septic system repair
Shelf installation
Shelving
Skylight installation
Solar panels
Soundproofing
Sprinkler repair
Sprinkler system installation
Stain removal
Staining furniture
Stone work
Storage area construction
Storage area repair
Swapping a toilet
Swimming pool maintenance
Tiling
Wall building
Waste and junk removal
Water purification
Water softening
Window cleaning
Window installation
Window repair
Percy's mouth hung open as he looked at the huge list of skills he acquired from watching the video. Sure the video was long, it was around 240 minutes long, and Percy took 80 minutes to watch it all, even at fast forward mode. But this was....this was just too much!
Percy now knew exactly how to fix something, that leaky fourth stall toilet in the boy's locker room? Done. That broken fence in Katie Gardener's' garden? Easy peasy. Fixing Apollo's tendency to flirt with committed women? Well, if Artemis couldn't do it then Percy certainly couldn't ether.
But right now, Percy knew what he had to do to instal his little set up. And luckily he had just the thing to help him, Alcyoneus's ring. With this he could control any metal to do what he wanted them to do. Meaning he could make nails out of anything.
Percy walked out to his porch and activated his precious stone manipulation perk summoning a clump of iron;
Ping!
You have spent 50 MP to summon: Iron!
The club of iron was bigger than Percy's first but Percy was able to carry it easily. Percy then used Alcyoneus's ring to purify that clump of iron into a manageable bar of pure iron before transforming said bar of iron into a hanging fixture.
Percy then walked back in and fixed the fixture onto the TV before he made four holes in the wooden wall with his fingers. Super strength had it's uses.
Percy then carefully placed the TV in place as he slowly let go. It seemed the holes were deep enough that the TV didn't just slip out. It wasn't the most effective method but it got the job down.
Percy left the DVD player on the desk, he could figure out a place for it tomorrow, right now he wanted to just lay back and watch some movies.
Percy rummaged through his new collection and quickly took out the one skill he wanted to learn above everything else, martial arts.
The DVD he got was titled, 'Get My Black Belt Wado Ryu Karate' and it honestly looked awesome. It's cover feature black and red flames with people performing flying kicks and other such amazing feats.
