Camp Half-Blood.
Camp Half-Blood had gone through many changes, especially in the forest, though not permanently. Chiron had made sure of that. The dryads would have murdered him with their eyes if he allowed the entire forest to become a real battlefield. Even so, under Damon's orders and with Olympus's permission, a large part of the forest had been transformed into a controlled combat zone.
Wooden barriers reinforced with the power of nature had been placed between the trees with the help of Demeter and several dryads, making the forest form natural walls without truly harming Mother Nature. That was something everyone wanted to make sure of after everything Damon had done to help her. Even gods unrelated to nature could feel how their pantheon felt better, more stable, and more vitalized. That said, celestial bronze dummies had also been added throughout the clearing, crafted by Hephaestus and his children to withstand blows, block attacks, and force the demigods not to get too confident.
Along with that, several circles had been marked on the ground with chalk, celestial bronze dust, and small sacred flames blessed by Hestia, indicating safe zones, retreat points, and areas where the monsters were allowed to attack. All of it had been meticulously reviewed by Athena, who had ultimately approved the design. On paper, everything was safe for the demigods and their training.
Of course, one thing was for something to be safe. Something very different was for it to not cause a ridiculous number of headaches.
Percy really had not expected things to get this complicated. Right now, he was standing near the front line with his sword raised, breathing heavily while a hellhound the size of a large horse walked slowly several meters away from him.
The monster was real, but it wore a thick bronze collar covered in glowing Greek symbols. Leto stood on a nearby raised platform, completely in watchful mode, never taking her eyes off the field. Artemis and her Hunters were the same, constantly moving between the trees with their bows lowered but ready. Chiron, for his part, remained near the center of the clearing, serious as he observed every movement.
This was not a game. That was what Percy kept repeating in his mind. The objective was clear: survival, learning to fight without freezing, and retreating without turning their backs like idiots. Naturally, half the campers had already failed in more than one of those areas. At first, they had thought it would be easy. How wrong they had been.
"Percy!" Annabeth shouted from the side. "Stop getting lost in your thoughts and focus!"
"I'm trying, damn it!" Percy shouted, tightening his grip around the hilt of his sword. "You don't have to yell at me!"
The hellhound lunged toward him. Percy let out a shout, rolled to the side, and barely avoided the massive paw that slammed into the ground where he had been standing. The impact shook the earth enough to make two younger campers stumble. One of them, a boy from the Hermes Cabin, dropped his shield and immediately pretended he had done it on purpose.
"I was creating a distraction!" the boy shouted.
Clarisse snorted from a few meters behind him. "What a damn embarrassment. Do I seriously have to fight alongside these weaklings?"
"S-Sorry!" the Hermes boy shouted, trembling slightly under the murderous glare of the daughter of Ares.
The hellhound turned toward Percy again, but before it could launch itself a second time, a whistle cut through the air. Kayla Knowles, a daughter of Apollo known for her great aim with a bow, stood on a fallen log with her bowstring drawn back to her cheek. Her expression was nervous, but her hands remained steady.
The arrow flew out wrapped in golden light and struck the ground in front of the monster, bursting into a bright flash that forced the hellhound back with a growl. It was not an attack meant to kill it, but to stop its advance, just as they had been told before the training began.
"Very good shot, Kayla," Artemis said from the trees. Her voice was calm but firm, and it was clear she was a little impressed with the girl. Perhaps she should suggest that Kayla join her Hunters in the future. "Next time, make sure you do not overthink before releasing the arrow."
Kayla nodded quickly, half proud and half terrified. No one blamed her. Artemis could be terrifying when she wanted to be.
Percy tried to move in quickly to slash at the hellhound, but unfortunately ended up tripping in a rather comedic way. A few campers laughed, and even one of the Hunters allowed a small smile before Artemis looked in her direction, making that smile vanish instantly. The hellhound recovered and began circling them again, but now the campers were moving with a little more structure. Annabeth raised her shield and gave two quick orders.
"Hermes Cabin, left side. Apollo, keep your distance. Ares Cabin, try not to charge forward without thinking."
Clarisse looked offended immediately. "Did you just call us brainless? Screw you, owl-head."
Annabeth's eyebrow twitched at the daughter of Ares's anger, but she quickly calmed herself, choosing to focus on the moment rather than argue over something that was not worth it. Chiron, seeing that development, nodded slightly in approval. The Ares Cabin liked to insult people. Sometimes it was better to learn to live with them than to waste time responding to every provocation.
On the other side of the clearing, another group was dealing with a pair of Empousai courtesy of Hecate, who had allowed the creatures to help with the demigods' training under several restrictions. The Empousai hissed and moved quickly between the trees, forcing the campers to maintain a closed formation. One of Hephaestus's children struck the ground with a hammer, causing a metal barrier to rise from the earth. The first Empousa staggered when it crashed into it.
Seeing that, Leo Valdez quickly took advantage of the opening and used his fire manipulation to try to neutralize the Empousa, but the creature dodged the flames with agility. Leo clicked his tongue. "Damn it, those things are fast and they don't stop moving."
"Keep a cool head, brother. Don't get worked up," Nyssa Barrera, his sister, replied. Leo quickly nodded while dodging another attack from the Empousa. Before they could reorganize, another Empousa jumped over the barrier, quickly joining the fight.
"Leave this one to me, guys!" shouted Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter, extending both hands forward.
Roots burst out of the ground and wrapped around the monster's ankles. The Empousa fell face-first into the dirt, hissing insults at the ground. Katie smiled, happy and amazed by the gift given to her by her mother. "Whoa, I actually did it!" she shouted excitedly.
And just as quickly as she got excited, she lost control. The roots tightened too much, dragged the Empousa backward, and accidentally swept away two unsuspecting campers who had been staring in surprise at Katie's ability.
"Sorry, guys!" the demigod shouted, embarrassed.
Chiron sighed deeply. "Katie, remember to stay calm. Power without control is like a double-edged sword. It can end up turning against you. Try to stay focused on the fight."
Katie nodded quickly in his direction, still red with embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Thalia held her spear, watching several campers struggle to maintain a shield formation. Artemis had allowed her to directly help the camp group, mainly because the daughter of Zeus had good battle instincts and knew how to react before stupidity could turn into disaster.
A hellhound broke away from Percy's group and charged toward a few younger campers. Thalia moved. Lightning crackled around her spear as she drove the weapon into the ground, and a controlled discharge of electricity spread in a thin line across the earth, quickly striking the hellhound. The monster stopped abruptly and let out a howl of pain.
The younger campers looked at Thalia with relief. It was not that they had expected to die. They had simply frozen in place. One of them swallowed. "Thanks?"
Thalia only nodded as she moved on to hit more monsters. It had to be admitted that the girl had quite a bit of skill.
On the other side, Percy finally managed to predict the movements of the infernal monster. When it lunged again, he stepped to the side instead of backing away, pushing off clumsily. His footwork was terrible. He almost slipped in the mud, but he did not panic. The hellhound rushed past him and slammed shoulder-first into a tree.
Before Percy could say anything, the hellhound shook itself off and turned back toward him with a low growl. The smile on the black-haired boy's face disappeared instantly.
"Oh, come on…"
Clarisse grinned and charged with her spear. "Move, you damn weakling!"
Percy ducked just in time. Clarisse's spear passed over him and struck the monster in the chest. The impact pierced through it, causing the hellhound to vanish into golden dust. Just as Percy was about to celebrate, another hellhound appeared out of nowhere, trying to catch him off guard.
"Watch out there, weakling!" Clarisse shouted.
Percy panicked and kicked dirt toward the advancing monster. A cloud of dust rose instantly, going straight into the hellhound's nose and making it start sneezing.
Several campers and observers blinked at once. Percy slowly lowered his sword. "Did I just make a hellhound sneeze...?"
The sheer improbability of the situation left several people completely thrown off. Clarisse, trying to take advantage of the moment, rushed straight toward the monster, but what she did not expect was for it to sneeze again, much harder this time, sending a cloud of smoke and dirt directly into her face.
"What the hell?!" the demigod shouted, furious.
The entire clearing went silent, everyone processing what had just happened. Clarisse stood in the middle of the field with her face covered in dust, smoke, and small black marks left behind by the hellhound's sneeze. Her spear remained firmly in her hand, but the way her fingers tightened around the weapon made it very clear that she was about to explode.
Percy, for his part, slowly lowered the leg he had used to kick the dirt and looked first at the hellhound, then at Clarisse, and finally at Annabeth, searching for outside help with his eyes.
"Uh... I..." Percy carefully raised one hand. "I was just trying to distract it." Clarisse slowly turned her head toward him.
Percy swallowed.
"Does this look funny to you, Percy?" the demigod snapped angrily.
Katie Gardner covered her mouth with her hand, but her laughter was clear enough to draw Clarisse's irritated gaze. "Hahaha, Clarisse, your new look actually goes really well with what your cabin represents," the daughter of Demeter teased with a low blow. It was common knowledge that the two cabins really did not get along.
Clarisse looked like smoke was about to come out of her head. She did not know how to respond to that except by letting out a string of insults.
Annabeth pressed a hand to her face, clearly wondering how Percy had survived this long with that mouth. One of the boys from Hermes whispered, "I think Katie just unlocked a new way to die."
"Shh," another replied. "Don't make eye contact with her."
Clarisse clenched her jaw. "Gardner and Jackson, I won't forget this," the demigod muttered in a low voice.
Percy raised both hands. "In my defense, I was just defending myself."
"Yeah, and I'm going to shove that sword up your—"
"Clarisse!" Chiron called from the center of the clearing, his firm voice cutting off the threat before she could finish. "No shoving anything anywhere it should not go."
Clarisse clicked her tongue, but she did not look away from Percy and Katie. "After training, you'll see."
The daughter of Ares let out a frustrated growl, wiping her face with her forearm and leaving an even worse smear across her cheek. That ended up being the final straw for many of them. Several campers started making strangled noises, especially the Hermes Cabin, followed by a few others who turned away and pretended to cough, though it was obvious they were trying not to laugh.
Leto lightly covered her mouth, hiding a small laugh. There was something strangely refreshing about watching a group of demigods try to improvise and survive through instinct, luck, and shared stupidity.
Artemis noticed the amusement on her mother's face, but decided to act uninterested and simply looked away with seriousness. The Hunters, however, were not so disciplined. Some exchanged amused glances, especially when Percy began moving away from Clarisse with more fear than he had shown in front of the monsters.
But even so, at least they were learning how to fight..... And that was a good start....
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Thank You for Reading
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P@treon: Brotato up to chapter 155