Percy stared at the ceiling of the cave, his thoughts racing as he tried to ignore the psychological pain the night had brought him. He had faced a series of battles, one after another, without any chance to rest. His regeneration could heal his body, but his mind? That was a much more complicated matter.
Rest had not been an option. Every time he thought he would have a moment of peace, another monster found him.
First, the vampire with her guttural voice and ominous laughter. Their fight had been brutal, but Percy managed to defeat her, although not without being wounded. He recovered quickly, of course, but that only paved the way for something worse: the gorgon.
He was still feeling every second of that battle now.
The gorgon appeared as he tried to catch his breath, with her long serpent hair and malevolent eyes. She attacked with relentless ferocity. Every move was quick, precise, and her sharp claws were deadlier than Percy had anticipated.
At one point during the fight, Percy had to make a quick decision: dodge or counterattack. He chose to counterattack but underestimated the gorgon. She lunged forward, the serpents on her head hissing, and suddenly one of her claws pierced Percy's left eye.
The world seemed to freeze in that moment.
Pain exploded in his head, and he screamed, clutching his face as hot, sticky blood streamed down. All he could see from his left side was red—his vision completely useless. He staggered, trying to stay on his feet, but the gorgon didn't relent. She lunged at him again, with the clear intent to kill him.
Percy knew his regeneration would work quickly enough to save his eye, but he needed time. With his peripheral vision reduced and his balance compromised, he opted for a risky approach.
When the gorgon lunged, he spun on his axis, narrowly avoiding her claws, and in one fluid motion, he drove Anaklusmos straight into the creature's heart. The celestial bronze sword gleamed intensely, and the gorgon let out a horrible scream, echoing through the cave walls.
However, Percy didn't come out unscathed. During the struggle, he lost a finger on his left hand when one of the serpents on her head tried to bite him, severing the finger with terrifying precision.
The pain was unbearable, but Percy was more concerned with ending the fight. He pressed the sword with all his strength, and the gorgon finally stopped writhing, dissolving into golden dust before him.
Even though his body healed in seconds, the pain and trauma of the injuries were hard to forget. Losing an eye and a finger, even temporarily, wasn't something his brain could easily erase. He felt tired, far more than he should, even though he was physically in perfect shape.
The most curious part, however, was the loot the gorgon left behind.
Percy had heard of gorgon blood. It was said that the blood from the right side of a gorgon's body had nearly miraculous healing properties, while the blood from the left side was pure poison. It was one of the most dangerous treasures in mythology, but there it was, right in front of him: two small vials, one filled with bright red liquid and the other with a near-black hue.
He kept both. Even though he didn't know exactly how to use them yet, he knew they could be useful at some point. The vial from the right side could save him in a critical situation, and the one from the left… well, it could come in handy against a particularly tough enemy.
That victory, however, was only the beginning of a long night. Other monsters followed: a hellhound, its sharp fangs and glowing red eyes piercing through the darkness, and later a dracaenae, with its human torso and serpent body, attacking with sharp spears.
He defeated them both, but the lack of rest was taking its toll. It wasn't his regeneration that was betraying him, but his mind. Percy was exhausted, and it wasn't just physical. He desperately needed sleep, but how could he when the monsters kept finding him?
On top of that, there was something else that deeply troubled him: the system.
"Why am I not gaining experience?" he muttered to himself as he leaned against the cave wall, trying to find some kind of peace.
He had killed several monsters that night, but not a single experience point had been added to his status. The lack of rewards was frustrating, and Percy knew something was wrong. It didn't take long for him to start piecing it together.
He remembered how monsters worked in the world of Percy Jackson. They were magical entities, created by gods or primordial forces, and when they were defeated, they didn't truly die. Their bodies were destroyed, but their essences returned to Tartarus, where they eventually regenerated and resurfaced.
"They don't have souls… that's why." Percy realized, lightly bumping his head against the cave wall as he absorbed the fact. The monsters didn't have souls, so he wasn't actually killing them. He was just sending them back to Tartarus. That explained why the system wasn't rewarding him with experience.
"This is a problem…" he murmured. Not being able to level up from the fights was a devastating blow. Percy had been counting on the system to improve his skills and increase his chances of survival in this world. However, without gaining experience, he was falling behind.
Still, the system seemed to give him some rewards. He had earned a new skill: Beginner Swordsmanship. It was a relief, but far from what he had hoped for. Percy wanted more. He needed more to face the challenges he knew were coming.
But there was hope.
"I know how to really kill them…" Percy whispered to himself, his eyes fixating on the darkness of the cave. He remembered his dream. The blades he had seen. They were powerful, and Percy knew, somewhere deep inside, that those blades could be the key to truly killing monsters once and for all.
Still, he wasn't sure how to claim those blades or when the right time would be. But one thing was certain: if he could get them, he would have a weapon that could change the game.
Sighing, Percy looked at the ceiling again. He knew he needed rest, but the truth was that his mind wouldn't let him. He was exhausted in every possible way, and even the simple act of closing his eyes seemed impossible.
"Maybe tomorrow…" he muttered. "Maybe tomorrow I'll figure out a way to solve this."
With those thoughts, he forced himself to relax, even knowing that complete rest was far out of reach.