บท 10: Monster? No, I'm a Cultivator! (Percy Jackson): Chapter 6
It was hard to describe the feeling that Ocean Song was experiencing right now.
He had to take a few hours to consolidate his Cultivation Base and digest his new state even though his first instinct was to immediately make a boat and sail away.
He felt powerful.
It was difficult to put into words just how much stronger he was compared to his Foundation Establishment self.
He also discovered a few interesting new things about himself as well.
When he split his Divine and Monster Nature, they solidified themselves in opposites as well, creating an equilibrium.
His Divine blood integrated with his Cultivation Base, becoming his Golden Core.
His Monstrous Bloodline became his third eye, his Monster Core, and integrated with his physical body.
When his Third Eye opened, he gained what he now called Monstrous Strength.
The power of his physical body soured several levels. However, that was not without drawbacks either. He felt his monstrous side become more predominant, that very faint whispering beforehand was more like shouting when he pulled on his Monster side. He feared that he may lose himself to his monstrous instincts if he used it for too long.
There were other benefits to his Monster Core as well, as it having solidified into his Third Eye. With it open, he could peer through falsehoods, illusions would be nothing to him, and he had a faint idea that he couldn't be charmed or mentally controlled very easily.
Regardless, it was not something he would use often.
Thus, he kept his Evil Eye sealed away from the world, less a calamity befalls it.
He now could now tell his enemies that they forced him to open his Evil Eye upon the world when fighting.
Truly, he was well versed in how to be a Cultivator.
It was important to practice these sorts of things beforehand as it would be rather embarrassing if he messed up his lines in the middle of a fight.
Ocean Song looked up at the sky, particularly at the Sun God pulling the Sun on his flaming chariot.
He could see it so clearly now, making out every detail.
Was this the legendary Divine Sense?
Yes, he could even see the Sun God wearing a pair of sunglasses, one foot up on the edge of his chariot, while he aggressively ripped on what Ocean Song presumed was a Godly Guitar if it could withstand such actions.
Oddly, it seemed as if the Sun God noticed his gaze, his actions pausing as his sunglasses tilting down and the fiery gaze seemingly point back in Ocean Song's direction.
Ocean Song, startled initially, regained his composure rather quickly, hands behind his back as he did his best to project elegance and refinement.
The Sun God blinked, seemingly smiled, and shot him a thumbs up before turning back to his own matters.
"Ah…." Ocean Song let out a soft hum. "I forgot I haven't been wearing clothes for years now."
His other sword swayed between his legs clearly in view.
Ocean Song felt fortunate that it wasn't the Moon in the sky at this particular moment, less an arrow flew between his legs.
He made a note to be careful for now on, he didn't realize his gaze was so predominant that a God such as him would notice it from that distance.
Truly, being a powerful and handsome cultivator was hard.
The light of the sun began to fade as a familiar darkness seemed to creep up around the island, something Ocean Song recognized but hadn't seen in over twenty years.
The Goddess Hecate appeared in all her glory, not a few feet away from the Cyclops.
She opened her mouth, looked at him, and stilled completely.
"What did you do to yourself!?" She paused. "Again!?!"
"Greetings, Goddess Hecate!" He clasped my hands and bowed, this time, remaining on his feet as he was different than he was in the past.
He was now a refined and competent Cultivator, a prestigious Golden Core Realm Elder. His status was elevated far beyond the normal –
"And why are you naked?" She scowled.
Oh right, he still had no clothes.
The Goddess's eyes did linger for a second longer than they probably should have, however.
"I forgot." The Cyclops admitted with a bit of embarrassment.
An awkward silence ensued as he stood there, still completely naked.
"….why are you not putting any on?" Her deadpanned.
"I have no clothes." He once more said with full honesty. "I've never left this island." He added.
The Goddess resisted the urge to face palm, she opted to snap her fingers, a basic toga wrapping around the strange creature before her.
"Now, Explain." She demanded.
"I broke through to the Core Formation Realm!" He said proudly as if that explained anything to the Goddess.
Oddly, she had that sensation appear again, the one where she really wanted to push his head under water and see what happened.
"And what does that mean?" She let out a breath, calming herself.
"This lowly Cyclops formed his Golden Core, took his fate into his own hands and ascended the Heavens in a single step!"
The Goddess brought her hand up to her face and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Explain it from the beginning, step by step."
"I don't understand." Ocean Song tilted his head.
"Explain the step by step process by how you became….this!" She pointed at him, the creature who very clearly was no longer a Cyclops.
In fact, he had three eyes!
And she knew for a fact he wasn't simply using the Mist to hide his form, she was the mist, she could tell!
He completely and utterly changed!
There were things about him that even she didn't understand at first glance and for one of the first times in a very long time, she was utterly confused.
How did this idiotic cyclops manage to pull this off!?
"After opening all 12 of my Meridians—"
The stupid thing where he nearly exploded himself by taking in Magic by mimicking the existence of a God.
"I then broke through the Foundation Establishment Realm. I rotated my cultivation base until the Qi flowed through my body like a typhoon, changing shape to form an Ocean in my Dantian."
She understood…..some of those words. The important bits, atleast. He….changed the nature of the Magic inside of him?
Magic through the world was…ethereal in a sense, something you couldn't quite grasp, like smoke. The mist was a more…solidified? A more visual indication that one could point to.
Did he change the Magic he subsumed into a more concentrated form? That would make sense and not something wholly impossible. In fact, there are examples of that coming about naturally.
The whole 'Fountain of Youth' that ran rampant in the circles of mortals centuries ago was actually just a concentrated pool of Magic that gathered over the millennia that a mortal could simply return to their prime through drinking as a side effect.
But to forcibly convert it inside himself.
"How are you not dead?" She felt like she asked him this question before.
Of course, Ocean Song gave a perfect and well thought out answer.
"Iunno." He shrugged.
What did she expect from this buffoon?
"Continue." She urged him on, less she do something she regret in her annoyance.
"Once I converted all of my Qi – "
Converted all of his internal Magic? That was even more ridiculous, no wonder his outer shape changed so drastically he…..Hecate was at a loss for words.
It was like a cat deciding they wanted to be a horse and somehow it happened.
This makes absolutely no sense and shouldn't be possible, yet the evidence is right before her.
"I realized the next stage was to solidify my Qi into a Core. Thus I formed my Golden core, but since I'm half-God Half-Monster, I split it and formed a Golden Core from my Divine Parts and a Monster Core from my monster parts." He pointed at the third eye on his forehead.
That makes even less sense than the nonsense he spouted right before.
A core?
That…..she realized something and uncontrollably, her eyes widened, because there was one thing that flashed in her mind when considering what a 'Core' formed from Magic was.
In the world of Gods, they called that a Domain.
He….Hecate was having trouble finding the words. This Cyclops somehow, forced himself to begin apotheosis and somehow created a Domain that….lacked any Domain qualities?
She was baffled.
He most certainly wasn't' a God, she could tell that much, but likewise, he wasn't a normal 'Mortal' any longer.
Despite Monsters resurrecting in Tartarus and essentially being undying, Gods still thought of them as 'Mortal Creatures'.
"….and how did you end up looking like…this?" She begrudgingly admitted that he looked….sort of decently handsome.
"I kind of….almost, probably killed myself and my body started to turn to dust, so I remade it during my breakthrough." He coughed awkwardly.
That…actually made some small smidgen of sense to the Goddess. If taking a step through Apotheosis while his Monstrous body was breaking down, his essence would reform it without needing to go to Tartarus.
Though for everything else, she resisted the urge to throw her hands up in annoyance at the impossibility of it.
"Did this lowly Cyclops answer your question to satisfaction, Goddess Hecate?"
She twitched slightly.
If she didn't know at this point that he was an idiot, and thus he wasn't being a sarcastic little shit, she would have taken his comment differently.
"Do you still call yourself a Cyclops?" She snorted, deciding to not think about his ridiculousness at the moment until she gets back to her home and can rage about it in private.
"Of course, no matter how many eyes I have, I will always be a Cyclops." He said proudly.
"The literal meaning of the name indicates one eye." She said dryly.
"….oh." He seemed to forget that, going deep in thoughts about the nature of being a Cyclops now that he had three eyes. "Is it racist if someone calls me out on being a Cyclops even though I have three eyes?" He asked the Goddess.
The Goddess twitched slightly again, and Ocean Song found himself hovering a few feet up in the air, and with a flick of the Goddess's hand, he went skipping across the water, a few hundred yards out into the ocean.
The Goddess wouldn't admit it out loud, but that was very therapeutic.
She left before he floated back to the Island. She feared what she would do if he spouted even more nonsense before she made heads or tails of what words he spoke randomly.
The Goddess would figure out what he was doing, one way or another.
Ocean Song swam back to the Island, a little bit disappointed that the Goddess disappeared.
She was certainly as beautiful as he remembered after his twenty years of isolation.
It seems he will need to up his proverbial game.
Just being handsome wasn't enough.
Since she was a 'Dark Goddess', then he would have to become the Jade Beauty.
The first step was proper clothing that accentuated his newfound handsomeness.
Thus, he did the only thing he knew. "Daaaaaaaaad!"
Strangely, there was no answer, he took that was a sign that his Father wasn't in the mood.
He would have to do things by his own hand then.
There was only one thing left to do.
He went inwards of the island and started cutting down trees, stacking them up neatly and tying them together with the rope he kept from his Father. The prodigious strength of his making his efforts bear fruit much easier than he anticipated when he thought about it all those years ago.
Within the hour, he had a raft that could easily float on the waves, and he hopped onto it without a second thought, grasping the conch his Senior Brother gave to him in their first meeting, and he blew it, summoning a current that swept his vessel up and took him away.
He looked back at his Island one last time as it slowly disappeared upon the horizon and bowed to it.
It was the start of the next page in his life.
Cultivator Ocean Song was going to America!
@***@
He could have flown, but He felt like it wouldn't be appropriate considering that his Senior Brother went through the effort of gifting him this treasure.
And the few Hours of riding the waves wouldn't kill him, if anything, it was relaxing.
He knew he was close when he passed a large Cargo ship.
Thankfully, he had a bit of magical know-how due to the efforts of Goddess Hecate, and he concealed himself with the Mist, so he didn't raise any concerns from any humans that saw him.
He saluted the Statue of Liberty as he floated into the bay of New York.
With a smidgen of control, he forced his raft to make landfall, officially arriving in the human world.
He took a deep breath, smelling the air of freedom!
He proceeded to nearly choke and throw up from the smog and other impurities in the air, having been much more accustomed to the pure Qi of his Island.
But it didn't matter, he was happy to finally be here, among civilization.
With Sword in hand, he had a mission.
One thing he promised himself he would do after leaving his Island, something that kept him going even during his years of solitude.
His feet carried him through somewhat familiar streets of New York, like a faint memory in the back of his mind, until he caught a waft that made his senses tingle.
There was a Demi-God nearby!
His Monster instincts tickled at him, but completely overshadowing that, he smelled something much better, smiling as he walked into a Pizza parlor.
There was a line!
A dreaded line, the anticipation killed him, he had the urge to use the mist to clear out the place so he could claim his prize faster, but he was a proper and elderly Cultivator now, he needed to have propriety and respect for the nature of the mortal world.
The agonizing eternity lasted for roughly two minutes before he got to the front of the line.
"Whad'ya want?" The thick New York Accent was one he vaguely recognized.
"Can I get…" Ocean Song pondered the question as he realized his folly, he didn't know what he wanted, because it sounded all good. This was, so far, the most difficult dilemma of his Cultivation career. "Eh, I'll get a whole pie with everything, please."
"$12.50." The Human at the counter replied.
Ocean Song then came to a sudden realization.
He had no money.
His years of Cultivation didn't prepare him for this situation!
Ocean Song blinked when someone nudged him, slapping money on the counter and he recognized the person, but never expected to see them in person like this.
"Why don't we grab a table, son." Poseidon, God of the Seas was there with him.
@***@
Ocean Song, despite being in a restraint, diligently set up a small alter, lighting a small fire and offered a slice of pizza to his revered father.
"Son….I'm right here." Poseidon Deadpanned as the sacrificed offering fell down onto his plate, by his own hand.
"I didn't want to be rude."
Poseidon let out a small sigh, accepting it for the value it was meant. "How do you like your sword?"
"It's very good." Ocean Song nodded.
Poseidon noticed it was tied up and despite wanting to know why, he forced himself to not ask, fearing the question would make him want to give his son another spanking. "Where's your Trident?"
"…..I forgot it back on the Island."
Poseidon's eye twitched slightly. He held out his hand, and the Trident in question appeared and he leaned it against the table silently.
"Are you allowed to be here with me, Father? I thought you weren't allowed to visit your children?" Ocean Song asked.
"I'm not, I'm simply visiting a random mortal restaurant and happened to see you here." he said casually, biting into his pizza. "Besides, my brother only really cares about that rule when it comes to Demi-Gods."
"Not that I'm unhappy to mee you in person, Father, but…may I ask what spurned your sudden visitation?"
Poseidon put down his food, looking at Ocean Song. "Son, are you really questioning me on why I'm here after you somehow turned into…this." He gestured to his son.
"Handsome?"
Poseidon let out a sigh. "What did you do to yourself, son?"
"I wanted to change, so I did."
Poseidon, however, didn't have the same depth of vision that Hecate did in this circumstance. He only saw the surface level changes, and the subtle power that Ocean Song emitted.
His thoughts on the matter were much less probing and deep in comparison. He simply believed his youngest son to inherit a smidgen more of his Divine Blood over his Monster Side and thus could change his shape accordingly. It wouldn't be the first time one of his monster Children inherited an aspect of his Godly might, even if that's usually in other aspects.
"I'm aware you contacted the Goddess of Magic."
"I asked for a boon, and she set up an area that was cut off from the world. I was there for twenty years while a day passed on the outside." Ocean Song explained.
His words answered quite a few questions that Poseidon had about his youngest son, and the abrupt changes that occurred.
Ocean Song realized this was a good opportunity to ask him Father as well. "Father….hypothetically speaking, if someone wanted to court the Goddess of Magic….would you have any advice?"
Poseidon found himself blinking in surprise.
"Son, the Goddess of Magic….you should tread carefully around her. She is a three faced goddess of the Underworld. She deals not only with the dead, but offers deals to those desperate enough to take them. And she never loses out on a deal she makes. She will wring out everything from you that she desires. Her nature is that of Dark and Mystery. As the Goddess of Magic, she represents her Domain fully, as Magic can harm you just as it can benefit you from a single mistake. If you ever find yourself in her debt, you will never escape her grasp. She can be just as cold and ruthless as the underworld she inhabits."
"Father –"
Poseidon sighed, knowing he had to squash his son's first crush so thoroughly, but it was for his own benefit. "I'm sorry son, I know it's not what you wanted to hear. But you're young, I'm sure you can find a nice woman that's right for you. I know a few Nymphs that would be happy to meet you."
"No, I was going to say that you're just making her more appealing." Ocean Song said rather pointedly.
Poseidon looked at his son, opening his mouth to respond, but found the right words nowhere to be found. "….Well, good luck son."
"Thank you, Father!" Ocean Song smiled brightly.
Poseidon reaffirmed that this was perhaps his strangest son. But oddly, he found himself smiling after seeing his son smile.
"Father, can you have some clothes made for me."
"No." Poseidon answered without even thinking, mostly out of habit whenever this son of his asks for something. He contemplated what his Son asked and provided a better response. "Son, I already provided a substantial amount of help, an amount of intervention that straddles the line of what is 'allowed'. If you ask for something in the future, you're going to have to offer something as a price."
"What do you mean?" Ocean Song asked.
"Perform deeds, give offerings in my name." Poseidon gave him a vague answer.
Truthfully, Poseidon would use any excuse to dote on his children. But he did need an excuse to do so.
Poseidon's expression shifted, his eyebrow twitching slightly as another slice of pizza was 'offered' to him and fell onto his plate through the sacrificial methods. He looked at his son, giving the driest expression he could muster, a feat considering he was the God of the Sea.
Though, he accepted it because he truly did like the food here. In actuality, this was one of his favorite pizza places in New York and comes here somewhat often when he's around.
Like Father like Son, it seemed.
"If you prove yourself, I'll give you some assignments for which you can ask for rewards." Poseidon finally relented.
That should alteast keep his most troublesome son out of trouble.
Hopefully.
"Thank you, Father."
Poseidon smiled towards his son again. "You should be careful though, son. Things have been stirring recently…my Brother…..we're in a conflict right now and he wouldn't hesitate to strike at you to get to me."
"A conflict? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Poseidon was about to immediately deny him, but rather, he had a strange thought. "You will probably run into the other Monsters living in the city. My brother's Lightning Bolt was stolen, his symbol of Power. He believes it to be my fault, but I had nothing to do with it. If you hear anything…well, I would reward you for the information."
"I'll keep my ears open, Father."
"Good son." Poseidon didn't expect anything, but his earnestness was enough for the Sea God as a Father.
Ocean Song on the other hand….well, he did know some things, but it was rather hard to provide an answer as to how and why he knew them.
He had his own plans on what to do.
"I will be heading out, son." Poseidon spoke, setting a large and neat stack of mortal currency on the table along with some ancient Greek looking coins. "I'm leaving these here, if something happens to them, well, I'm simply being forgetful of where I left them."
Ocean Song could read between the lines.
"Father….can I….ask for something nonmaterial?"
Poseidon frowned. "Son, I already told you." He said a bit more sternly this time. While he was gentle with his children, the Sea personified can also be rough and temperamental.
"No, um….can I have a hug?" He whispered.
Poseidon's smidge of a rising temper immediately dissipated. Ocean Song barely blinked before he was wrapped up in a hug by his father, the moment lasting a few breaths before the God vanished from the vicinity.
@***@
Ocean Song finished his meal, very satisfied.
He also got to meet his father – briefly, but still.
It was a little awkward in person, but he was still grateful that it happened.
However, he considered his Father's words, he needed to make offerings and perform feats. Well, he also had his own plans in mind, and he could do both!
It wasn't just Demi-Gods that Monsters could smell. Monsters could smell other monsters even if it was different…more mute. Actually, he believed it to be the stains of Tartarus left on them after they reformed.
His Divine Sense could pick up the similar 'taste' overlapped in one place. A gathering of many monsters all together, it would be perfect.
Though, he was a little cautious. His Father slipped through his Divine Sense – perhaps he was just untrained on it. Something he would have to figure out moving forward as it only appeared after he broke through into Core Formation.
The 'smell' led him to a bar of all places.
He didn't care so much as he pushed the door open.
Many eyes turned to him, evaluating him, but otherwise being uncaring.
Dozens of monsters sat in the bar. He could peer past the mist to see their true forms. And many of them, well, it was 'regular' drinks they were consuming, nor 'regular' food.
Contrary to what he believed beforehand; Monster didn't only consume Demi-Gods.
Mortals were apparently an important part of their diet.
Some Dog-headed monsters were loudly and messily chewing on the remains of a child. There was a snake-like woman – not the famous one, slurping a concoction that most assuredly contained real blood based on the color and smell. And there was another Cyclops here! Though, this one didn't seem to be of my own blood as they come in many different varieties. But he was munching on the bones of a person if the human-like skull on the table was any indication.
There were of course more monsters present, all about the same, they all reeked of blood that they've taken over the years along with the distinct smell of Tartarus.
Ocean Song moved towards the bar, sitting on one of the stools, putting his sword on the countertop.
"What do you want?" There was a silent hiss from the bartender, a woman, but through the mists, he could see that she was a Harpy.
"Give me your special." Ocean Song waived flippantly, setting one of his Greek Coins a Drachma, onto the counter that he received from his father.
She took it and turned to make his drink.
She unceremoniously set it on the counter infront of him, looking at him strangely.
Ocean Song looked at the glass, He could taste the essence of a Demi-God from it, diluted as it was.
"I don't recognize you; what monster are you?" The Harpy asked.
Ocean Song looked at his glass, a slight frown forming on his face. "I just arrived in town. This should be one of the popular gathering places for the local monsters, right? Well, I would like to make an announcement if that's alright with you."
The Harpy narrowed her eyes. "What're you talkin about?"
"There are going to be a few new rules for operating in this city." As he spoke the words rather casually, the room went silently, as all the monsters inside looked directly at him with varying expressions. "No more hunting Demi-Gods. No more preying on innocent Humans."
A moment of silence ensued before the room erupted in laughter.
Ocean Song smiled good-naturedly, giving a chuckle himself before grabbing his sword and swiping it horizontally across the room.
Silence once more returned, all except a few dozen 'thumps' as heads hit the ground and started rolling before turning to dust.
He set the sword back up on the counter, never once being unsheathed and looked back at the Harpy.
"Would you like me to repeat the rules?"
@***@
A/N
Since the Snippet passed 5 parts, I figured I'd give my P.a.t.r.e.o.n people one chapter ahead, so if you want to read 1 chapter ahead of this snippet, head on over.
P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
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