Luke panted as he stabbed downwards into the giant rat.

<[Master of Death] has Reached Level 3>

<[Master of Death] has Reached Level 4>

"Well done, little godling, you managed to kill a couple of oversized rodents," Theo said.

"Ok, Luke, what the hell is that thing?" Sam asked, looking at Theo as she yanked yet another arrow out of one of the dead rats.

"He's my guide, I guess." Luke panted. "Apparently, he's here because of my dad."

"Your Dad? I thought your dad left your mom before you were even born." Sam said, a note of concern entering her voice.

"Gods tend to do that." Theo scoffed. "Come down to the material plane, make some babies, and then fuck off without even paying child support. Bunch of dipshits if you ask me."

"Gods?" Sam asked.

"Yep. Godling here is the son of the god of the sea, father of horses, shaker of the earth blah blah blah." Theo yapped.

"Wait, hold on a second. Are you saying that Luke is the son of Poseidon?" Sam asked.

"You got it, toots," Theo said as he looked at another one of those system screens.

"Call me toots again, and I will shoot you," Sam warned.

"You are welcome to try. Just make sure to join the godling's party first." Theo said.

"What part .. oh ok," Sam muttered.

<[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 2>

"Can we talk about this later, please?" Luke begged.

"I'd rather talk about you being a discount Percy Jackson now," Sam chuckled.

"I think the monsters are more important," Luke said, trying to change the subject.

It only half worked.

"Fine, but we are talking about this later," Sam said.

"Let's see if we can find the rest of the guys," Luke said.

"Look at the little demigod playing the hero. Here, this should help keep you alive." Theo said.

DING!!!

Level up!

You are now a level 4 [Heir to Theseus]

+42 free stat points

Please select a [Heir to Theseus] skill.

DING!!!

Your Racial skill: [Storyteller] has been upgraded by a skill point into the Class skill: [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis]

[Heir to Theseus] - [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Legendary

Politicians, managers, hucksters—all kinds of people have all sorts of insights into the human condition. Theseus was perhaps more gifted than others in this field. When Theseus faced Sinis, he figured the man out and tricked the bandit into stepping into his own trap. Then, he had sex with the serial killer's daughter and fathered his first child. Now, you, too, can take part in Theseus' amazing charisma.

+5% chance per level to accurately determine a person's true intentions, actions, and even thoughts based on body language

+5% chance per level to detect when your opponent is lying

+0.25% chance to [Charm] a person per level

+10% CHA

Luke blinked as he felt his pants become significantly tighter despite the cold weather. His injuries hurt less, and the burning in his lungs lessened. It wasn't like he was well rested, but more like what he had just done became less draining.

"Why the hell did you give me that skill?" Luke said.

Theo rolled his eyes.

"Witch skill?" he asked.

"The [Second Labor]," Luke spat angrily. "Why did you just give me …"

"a bigger penis?" Theo asked loudly in full hearing range of Sam.

"What this about you getting a bigger penis?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kill me," Luke groaned.

"Maybe later," Sam said as he patted his back.

"Boys and their toys, am I right, girlfriend," Theo asked as he flew over to Sam.

Sam swiped at him as he tried to get closer.

"I can see you trying to look down my shirt perv. Maybe you should go back to fapping in the dark where no one can see your ugly mug."

"I like this one. At least she fights back." Theo chuckled.

"Come on, let's find the rest of the guys," Luke said, already done with this conversation.

"It shouldn't be too hard. I was texting them to meet up at the park nearby before the rats showed up. We can get there quickly enough."

Luke nodded and started to jog after Sam through the deep snow as they left the area. Theo flew after them as dark clouds started to gather overhead.

"Hey, toots. You have three levels in Ranger, yes?" Theo asked.

Sam frowned at him. "How do you know that?"

"I am a system guide. One of my skills is [Identify]. It lets me see your status page, among other things. Anyway, you're going to want to take a couple levels of rouge as well."

"Why?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Classes have a rarity. Increasing the rarity of your classes is one of the easiest ways to increase your personal power. Godling over here gets to cheat and starts off with a legendary class. You need to increase the rarity of your class in the old-fashioned way. The easiest and safest way to do this is to take complementary classes and combine them." Theo explained.

"Hmm, well, my dad always told me to listen to spirits. Not sure if he meant assholes like you, though." Sam said begrudgingly.

"Where did all your snark go?" Luke asked.

"I'm only rude to self-entitled little demigods," Theo said. "By the way, there's a group of humans getting attacked up ahead."

Luke's words cut off as they rounded the corner, coming across their friends. They were in their sports uniforms, helmets, gloves, arm and shin guards. Some of them had hockey sticks, some had baseball bats, and a small few had axes. And they were fighting a giant black hippo. The thing was easily six feet tall and almost twenty feet long.

Even as Luke ran towards the hippo on instinct, the monster slammed one of his friends into the ground as it trampled over him. Pure rage coursed through Luke Viens as he charged at raising his sword as he activated [First Labor] for the first time. His Legend of Zelda sword glowed orange, growing into a massive two-handed blade. The muscles in his arms bulged as he brought his now enlarged sword down on the hippo's back, the blade slicing into the monster's fatty flesh.

"You idiot, you're supposed to aim for the leg!!" Theo screamed. "Run you moron!!!"

"Wha?" Luke began, but faster than he could react, the hippo twitched and body-slammed him, sending him tumbling across the ground for a dozen feet. He got his head up just in time to see the hippo charging him faster than he thought it would be capable of moving. It was bearing down on him, and he quickly realized he couldn't escape before the hippo's massive jaw snapped down on him.

"[Power Strike]!!" Issac's voice cut through the noise as he slammed into the hippo.

Unlike the hippo's own attack, Isaac's didn't send the hippo flying, but it was enough to cause it to stumble.

"[Power strike]," Issac called out again, his pickaxe glowing red as he slammed it into the hippo's side, not nearly as deeply as Luke's own attack, but more than enough to piss it off.

The hippo turned and bit into Issac's leg with a sickening Crunch.

Issac screamed in utter agony as his leg shattered.

"Issac!" Gareth screamed as he charged towards his little brother.

Luke got to his feet and raced alongside his friend as they closed in on the hippo.

"Aim for its leg this time, Godling." Theo's voice cut through the sound of his own blood pounding in his ear.

This time, Luke brought his sword around and swung directly at the hippo's front left leg as he activated [First Labor]. His augmented sword cleaved into the hippo's leg with a sickening crack of its own.

This time, it was the hippo's turn to scream as it threw Issac from its mouth and moaned in pain. It writhed back and forth, its mouth open, as Luke backed off.

"There you go, godling. Now circle around and get the other leg." Theo cheered.

Luke didn't need to be told twice as he moved to hippo's back leg and hit it with another [First Labour]. This time the hippo's entire left side collapsed to the ground, both legs too crippled to support its weight.

It can't fight back, so kill it!" Chad screamed as he picked up Issac's pickaxe and lept at the hippo.

Luke noticed that Chad started to hack at the hippo's ass with the pickaxe, making sure to stay well away from the hippo's head as it tried to bite at them.

More people started to attack the hippo as well. Sam unleashed arrows at the head while other people started to attack the body. For a moment, Luke felt a little guilty; the hippo was helpless, and they were just beating it to death.

"Don't feel guilty." Theo's voice cut into his thoughts.

"What?" Luke asked stupidly as he looked up at his floating companion.

"It's dungeon born. Dungeon-born monsters have a built-in compulsion for high aggression. This hippo would have attacked and killed anything that wasn't a hippo on sight, and even then, you wouldn't want a dungeon born in your bloat." Theo said.

"Why would a dungeon do that?" Luke asked.

"Dungeons are alive, too. They're kind of like pitcher plants. They use the treasure to lure in victims and then unleash enraged monsters on them in the hopes of consuming them."

"But this isn't a dungeon." Luke protested. "Why is it here?"

Theo shrugged.

"A dungeon breakout, probably. It's pretty common. No one clears out the old monsters, and the dungeon just keeps producing them until the weakest of them are pushed out. That's our friend over there."

Luke looked back to the hippo; its body was bloody and beaten but alive even as people pounded away at its body. Gareth and Sam were trying to help Issac. But there were other people on the ground crying out in pain. People tried to help them with their injuries.

"This thing was one of the weaker ones?" Luke asked.

"Yep," Theo said. "Probably got pushed out by something a lot bigger."

"I need to get a lot stronger," Luke muttered. "Can you do anything for the injured?"

Theo shook his head, looking almost sad.

"Sorry, godling. I'm a spirit of wind and lighting; healing magic isn't my specialty. You'll have to help your friends on your own."

"Alright, can the system give me something to help them?" Luke asked desperately.

"Nope, you don't qualify for any healer-based classes," Theo said.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Do something. I don't care what, just help them!!" Luke ordered angrily.

"Fuck you too demigod. I'll go and check to see if any of your people can qualify for a healer class." Theo said with a sneer as he flew off to look around.

Luke turned back to the hippo's bruised body and started hacking into it as if he could cleave all of his issues with his prop sword. He used [First Labour] over and over again as he hacked away at the Hippo.

He didn't know how long he had been attacking the hippo, but by the time he finally stopped, the hippo's head had been cleaved from its shoulders.

Congratulations: you have killed Peranga, the deposed boss of the safari dungeon.

You have earned the following reward:

Amulet of Stabilization

You can stabilize the injuries of any person until they can get help later for the low price of two hundred mana.

"Theo!!" Luke called out, looking around wildly.

"What?!" Theo asked as he flew over.

"I just got loot for killing the hippo …" Luke began.

"I know I already gave it to your girlfriend while you were having a tantrum," Theo said.

"Oh," Luke said.

"I actually had to return the initial rewards to get the amulet," Theo said. "You were actually supposed to get a sword."

"Wait, you can do that?" Luke asked.

"It's not as good as you think," Theo said. "Doing so means we lost half the value of your reward for killing the hippo. System rules."

"I … you know what? It's fine; we needed the amulet more," Luke said as he sat down.

He was covered in blood now. One side of the blade of his prop sword was chipped from slamming it into the hippo's neck over and over again. He felt exhausted. How had he gotten here this morning? He was just a kid with a single parent and teenage issues, and now … he … he didn't know what he was now.

"He's gone," Gareth whispered, tears streaming down his face. The big guy looked like he was going to implode.

"I'm sorry, Gareth." Sam apologized.

To Luke, it felt like the crack of gunfire as he turned to look at Issac. Gareth's little brother had bled out at some point. Even as Sam had tried to bandage the injury, Issac's leg had nearly been bitten off, and the femur shattered under the hippo's jaw.

"It's getting late. We should find somewhere to spend the night," Sam said as she wandered over.

"Good idea," Luke said as he got up to follow her.

"So what did you put your experience into?" Sam asked.

"What?" Luke asked.

"We got exp," Sam said, confused. "What did you do with it?"

"Um," Luke looked towards Theo.

"Yeah, the demi cheater here has three levels of experience. So congratulations, you are now level 7 godling."

Theo waved his hand, and notifications popped up in his vision.

<[Master of Death] has Reached Level 5>

<[Master of Death] has Reached Level 6>

<...>

<[Master of Death] has Reached Level 8>

<[First Labor] has Reached Level 2>

<[First Labor] has Reached Level 3>

<...>

<[First Labor] has Reached Level 11>

<[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 3>

<[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 4>

<[Greek Tragedy] has Reached Level 5>

<[Poseidon's Sea] has Reached Level 3>

<[Poseidon's Sea] has Reached Level 4>

<[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level 3>

<[Divine Assistance (Guide)] has Reached Level 4>

<[Natural Born Leader] has Reached Level 3>

<[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 3>

<[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 4>

<...>

<[Endless Brawler] has Reached Level 8>

DING!!!

[Heir to Theseus] - [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Legendary

Theseus hunted the Crommyonian Sow, a massive pig that ate everything. Now, you, too, can hunt the great beast with triple damage against all beast types. You can also sense danger just before it strikes you. You know all of your surroundings in a sphere equal to 1 centimeter per point of Perception.

Your attacks now inflict Beast Slayer: Triple Damage against enemies of the Beast type.

+2% increase to the size of your sphere of perception per skill level

+1% chance to sense an attack approaching you per skill level

3% chance to sense an attack when it enters your sphere of perception per skill level

+10% to LCK

[Heir to Theseus] - [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Legendary

Theseus was known for many things: his great strength, his powerful intellect, and his ability to bag women left, right, and center. One of Theseus' most important abilities was to tell when someone was trying to kill him.

Pierce the veil of deception, unraveling lies, illusions, and obfuscation skills to reach the truth. Your eyes can spy hidden treasures, traps, and compartments. Reduce the effectiveness of illusions and obfuscation skills by 3% per level. Increase your chance of finding hidden treasures, traps, and other compartments by 1% per level. You can now see mana and read a person's full status unless they have [Privacy] skills

+10% to PER

Luke could immediately feel the difference as the world became sharper and clearer. It was like he had been half-blind before, and now he could see. Despite that, Luke felt a pit of annoyance in his stomach.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Luke asked angrily.

Theo rolled his eyes.

"Do what?" he asked.

"You're just assigning my skills without even giving me a chance to look them over," Luke spat out angrily.

"Oh that, Cool your fucking nickers godling, its part of a set of six. I needed to get [Third Labor] to get [Fourth Labor], and then you need to get [Fifth Labor] and [Sixth Labor]."

"Maybe next time you can let me choose instead of just … just," Luke asked angrily.

"Saving time?" Theo asked sarcastically. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because it's my status, my life." Luke pointed out.

"You know what? You're right. Let's spend three hours debating back and forth before you pick what I suggested in the first place," Theo pointed out.

"What makes you so sure I would make a bad choice? Do you even know me?" Luke shot back.

Theo looked like he was about to combust as his face turned red and his cloud darkened. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped and let out a long breath as he calmed down.

"You know what? I'm not going to say anything. When you hit level 9, you can pick the next skill," Theo said.

Luke frowned. "You gave up too easily."

"I believe in letting moronic godlings make their own mistakes even if it kills them, especially if it kills them," Theo said with an evil grin. "Now turn around. Your friends are coming back."

Luke turned just in time to see Sam, Gareth, and Chad walk up to him.

"How is everyone?" he asked worriedly.

"Theo gave us a necklace, saying it was the reward for killing the hippo. We saved six; Issac and a few others didn't make it." She spoke the last part very quietly so Gareth wouldn't hear her.

"What the hell is that thing anyway?" Chad asked, gesturing to Theo.

"Unfathomably handsome, all-knowing spirit of the storm," Theo said. "Or just better than you."

"You little shit," Chad snarled.

"Knock it off, Chad. We have bigger problems." Luke cut in. What are we going to do? Nights are coming, and people are injured. Has anyone called an ambulance?"

"I did. The phones are still jammed." Sam said.

"It's not just that," Gareth said, his voice horse as tears rolled down his face. A Lot of people are leaving. On our way here, Isaac and I saw a line of cars all heading south to the States."

"So what do we do?" Chad asked. "We can't carry them to the hospital."

"Let's grab the injured and find somewhere to hunker down. Keep calling 911." Luke said.

"How are we supposed to carry them?" Chad scoffed.

"There are some small trees here. Let's chop them down and make a stretcher," Luke said, placing his sword on his shoulder.

It took them nearly two hours to hack down the nearby trees and tie them together with loose clothing before they managed to get everyone moving again. They were attacked a few more times by low-level creatures. This time, Theo told Luke to stay back as he instructed his friends with lower levels on where the monsters were and how to kill them.

"Why are you being so helpful?" Luke asked him at one point as they approached a holiday inn that appeared to be mostly empty.

"I'm always super helpful, godling," Theo said. "You're just too stupid to realize my genius. Like the fact that if you ever want to have another peaceful night, you need other people to watch your back."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't I eventually reach a point when my level is high enough that I won't need to worry about anything?"

"Hahahahahahahahahaha," Theo laughed, full-on belly laughs that went on for far too long.

"I'm sorry, but that was the single dumbest thing you ever said." Theo chuckled. "And you have said some truly stupid shit. Godling, the level cap is 100. And even if you reach that point, you won't even be close to being the strongest. There are monsters out there that will eat your balls as ju ju beans no matter what level you are."

On that ominous note, Luke and his group walked into the Holiday Inn. There were a handful of other people there, but no one bothered them as they set up in what had once been the breakfast area. Luke sat down next to Gareth and Sam.

"What are we going to do next?" Sam asked.

Thanks to Theo, she reached level 6, the highest level in the group, second only to Luke.

"Wait to die," Gareth moaned.

"Don't say that," Sam said. "Well, get through this."

"Luke stared at Gareth. The big guy looked less without his brother.

"Theo, any ideas?" Luke asked.

"No idea," Theo said with a shrug. We should get a system notification of the local settlements within the first month. I was hoping sooner, but I shouldn't count on luck when godlings are concerned. I'm going to fly around and keep an eye out for any monsters. I'll call you if I find anything."

Theo flew off as an awkward silence descended on the group.

"Ok, let's talk about this godling thing," Sam said.

Luke felt like he wanted to shrivel up and hide.

"So, according to Theo, my dad is Poseidon," Luke admitted he felt stupid saying.

For a long minute, no one said anything, not even Issac.

"I'm trying to think of something that isn't just a giant question mark," Sam said. This feels like you're just ripping on the Perry Jackson books."

"I wouldn't believe it myself, but I have something called a bloodline that says I'm his kid, and I get tangible abilities from it, so I don't think it's fake. In fact, Theo is one of the bonuses I get from the bloodline."

"Can I see this bloodline?" Sam asked.

The next few minutes were occupied by Luke trying to figure out how to share his status, but once he did, everyone took a long moment to look it over.

"Damm, I think I can understand why Theo called you a cheater. This is bullshit," Sam said. "You have +5 to Strength and intelligence per level and a 10% bonus to strength, constitution, perception, and charisma. Where is my power fantasy?"

"Yeah, why don't we get bloodlines," Gareth grunted, clearly still focused on his brother.

"Shouldn't we be more worried about that [Greek Tragedy]? It says it attracts monsters. Shouldn't we try to turn it off or something?"

Luke shook his head. "I already asked Theo. He said it couldn't be turned off."

"How are you doing with the news?" Sam asked him.

"I don't know. What am I supposed to do? I mean, my dad is supposed to be a god. What the hell does that even mean?" Luke asked.

They talked for a while longer before they eventually fell asleep. When Luke woke up the next morning, it was to Theo yapping in his ear.

"What?" he moaned, annoyed.

"We found a fucking settlement," Theo said, shoving the notification in his face.

DING!!!

The Beacon has been lit!!!

[Awoken Myths] have lit a beacon welcoming newcomers to their settlement [Hopkins High School].

This settlement offers a safe zone, a +10% bonus to skill growth, +10% to XP gains, +10% to HP, and +10% to MP.

Making it the perfect refuge in these tumultuous times. But be careful: while settlement offers great security, none of these apply to your fellow man.

You may skip to the next chapter.

Name: Luke Graceson

Race: Demigod

Type: Humanoid

LVL: 7

SubRace: Human

Age 18

Health: 280

Stamina: 525

Mana: 700

Health Regen: 3.5 per min

Stamina Regen: 4.9 per min

Mana Regen: 1.4 per min

Titles: None

Immune

N/A

Resistances

Physical 2%, Elemental 2%, Mental 1.5%

Weakness

N/A

Bane

Manslayer, Godslayer

Classes: Heir to Theseus 7

Total

STR: 77

AGIL: 0

DEX: 21

CON: 21

END: 14

PER: 30

INT: 35

WILL: 0

SPIRIT: 14

EGO: 7

CHA: 30

LCK: 0

Base

STR: 70 +10%

AGIL: 0

DEX: 21

CON: 21

END: 14

PER: 28 +10%

INT: 35

WILL: 0

SPIRIT: 14

EGO: 7

CHA: 28 +10%

LCK: 0 +10%

Personal: +4 PER, +3 STR, +3 DEX, +2 CON, +2 CHA

Racial: +3 CON, +2 STR, +2 END, +2 SPIRIT, +2 CHA, +1 EGO

Bloodline: +5 STR, +5 INT

Bloodline:

[Bloodline of Poseidon] - Legendary: Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, the earthshaker, Stormbringer, the father of horses, the guy you named the eighth planet in your solar system after. As the son of the sea god, you gain the following Benefits.

- [Power of the Sea God] - Level 1

- [Poseidon's Sea] - Level 2 >> Level 4

- [Kin of Horses] - Level 1

- [Born Sailor] - Level 1

- [Natural Born Leader] - Level 1 >> Level 3

- [Master of Death] - Level 2 >> Level 8

- [Greek Tragedy] - Level 2 >> Level 5

- [Divine Assistance (Guide)] - Level 2 >> Level 4

- +5 STR per level

- +5 INT per level

Skill Slots: 5/60: Skill Points: 0

Personal Skills

- [Endless Brawler] - Level 2 >> Level 8

Heir to Theseus 04/11

- [First Labor: Periphetes' Crippling Strike] - Level 1 >> Level 11

- [Second Labor: The Charming of Sinis] - Level 1

- [Third Labor: Hunter of The Crommyonian Sow] - Level 1

- [Forth Labor: Vision of Sciron] - Level 1