After my embarrassing performance during the duel, I was left to sulk during the free roam period. Percy got dragged by the Hermes cabin, making them hang with them. He hesitated because that would leave me alone, but I faked a smile and told him to go. I met up with Grover, and we chatted for a little bit, but unfortunately, it was only briefly, as he had errands he needed to do. I sat leaning against a tree, looking at everybody having fun. Sometimes, some campers would look at me and point at the token mortal at camp.
I sighed as I pressed my back against a tree. My muscles ache, and I got a few minor cuts and bruises from the obstacle course and duelling session. I knew when it came to brawn, I would be outclassed, Chiron said it. But vastly underestimated how strong demigods are compared to humans. And I vastly underestimated how much the campers didn't like me.
It wasn't Yancy Academy level when they tried to beat up, but they weren't exactly pleasant. I caught wind of Percy smiling as he played volleyball, laughing. He finally found a place where he belonged.
"What's up, Clay?" I jumped slightly as Luke appeared and sat beside me.
"I'm fine." I then looked at him, confused. "Don't you have things to do, being the councillor for Hermes cabin, I mean?"
He smirked and relaxed as he leaned on the tree. "It's all cool, I totally did all my chores.'
"You ditched them, didn't you?" I deadpanned.
"Guilty." His face then transformed slightly serious. "So, what's wrong, campers giving you trouble?"
"Yeah, but I get it, they weren't exactly treated well by society."
"True. But that makes me confused. Why stay here? This place isn't exactly meant for mortals, you know."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know. But even so, the other side looks down on me, too. So either way, I'm nothing but a pest. I stayed here because I want to see what the other side is." Clay shakes his head.
"Sure, I don't like being treated like this, but it's not like I'm used to it."
"...I see."
Luke was quiet, and we just stared at the campers having fun.
"You wanna get stronger?"
"...Yeah, it'll make my life easier."
"Just keep on training."
I snort. "Yeah, I figured that's what I need to do."
"Clay." Luke's blue eyes stared at my green ones. "If you really want to belong here, you've got to work for it, get stronger, so no one can deny your strength."
"Luke?"
He grunts as he gets up and stretches. "My advice? Since you're not as strong as everyone else, you've got to be smarter, even smart enough to fool even Athena's kids."
I was going to ask him what he meant by that, but Luke was already jogging away. Leaving me alone with my thoughts. Be smarter, huh?
***
Next, I finished riding a Pegasus; it wasn't too bad since it was just horse riding, just that the horse could fly. It wasn't too bad and honestly kind of thrilling, though Percy quickly got used to it and seemed able to talk to his horse. Then we had dinner, eating some good pork and drinking some lemonade, which made me feel refreshed, and my aching muscles dulled somewhat. But after dinner, the Hermes, Athena, and Ares cabins are sitting down in the amphitheatre, a large area full of white marble seats that are somehow extremely comfortable.
Like the cabins, the amphitheatre is in a U shape. In front was a large structure that looked like a massive stage. I've heard one of the campers telling Percy who sat beside me that it was usually used for announcements or stage plays, or Apollo demigods playing some music. There was another structure in the middle of the amphitheatre, one a flat rectangular structure about the size of half of a basketball court. Chiron trotted up to the stage and announced it was time for Open Arena Combat.
Basically a sparring match, but unlike earlier this like a genuine battle where the person has to give up or suffer enough damage to call the match. The campers were hyped, while Percy and I looked at each other, unsure. How it works is that Chiron uses a bag filled with names written on paper. The first one to call out was Annabeth and some random Hermes camper.
The Hermes camper smirked. He was taller and older than Annabeth and was using a longer weapon. He was brimming with confidence, while Annabeth remained collected and calm, twirling with her dagger. Her grey eyes narrowed, analyzing her opponent.
"A reminder of the rules!" Chiron announced. "Anything is allowed, even slashing and stabbing, but nothing lethal. You can make someone go out of bounds, make the person surrender, or cause damage enough that I would call it. Ready warriors?"
Annabeth crouched in a low stance, holding her dagger tight.
"Begin!"
Annabeth quickly started dashing forward. The camper tries to swing his sword at her, but Annabeth uses her smaller size and acrobatics to evade and dodge. Occasionally, she would nick the arms or legs of her opponent. My eyes widen at what she's doing; she's wearing her bigger and stronger opponent down.
"Man, she's quick..." Percy mutters.
"Well, yeah, she's been here at camp since forever! That's Annabeth Chase for you, being the head counsellor of the Athena cabin despite her young age."
I glanced to see who was sitting just a couple of seats to my other side. He was crossing his arms with a proud smile on his face. I turned back to the fight to see Annabeth flipped backwards, gaining some distance. The camper was breathing hard, and his knees were quivering from all the cuts he received. Annabeth took a deep breath with a single bead of sweat dripping down.
She raised her arms and said something inaudible, with a smug smirk, gesturing to come at her. The guy bared his teeth and charged at her. Annabeth also ran at him, but at the last moment, she rolled out of the way. Before the camper could turn back, Annabeth already got back up and dropkicked his back, which pushed him out of bounds, crashing out of bounds to the floor, groaning. The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping, getting hyped, even I was too.
Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and sheathed her dagger.
"The winner of the match is Annabeth Chase!"
She's incredible; she was the smaller fighter, but uses that to her advantage and wears him down before baiting him to charge in recklessly. Then, with a dropkick, along with the rest of his injuries, pushed him out of the arena! Annabeth walks up to the dazed camper and holds them up. Chiron smiles, and he claps.
"Well done, both of you-"
Chiron goes on to talk about their skills and what they need to improve in the future. The camper is taken by several Apollo demigods, who are basically the nurses at camp. Which makes sense since one of their dad's domains is medicine. Chiron ruffles the name, which was Luke vs an Ares camper. Honestly, I don't need to go into much detail, since Luke pretty much took control of the fight.
His moves were sharp and nearly godlike. I could barely see his sword swings as the Ares camper desperately tried to hit him with it. Luke evaded with not much effort and was seemingly toying with the camper.
"Holy...I didn't know Luke was this good." Percy gaped.
"Good? He's a god when it comes to swordsmanship!" The same Hermes Camper Percy was talking to me earlier, said. "He's the best swordsman the camp has had in over three hundred years! He might just be the strongest demigod at Camp Half-Blood!"
I blinked as I looked in awe at his performance. He was indeed on a completely different level. And when he won, the crowd chanted his name as he flashed a grin and a wink. I just sat there, feeling the creep of envy in my heart. Luke was so beloved and recognized, the camp cheering his name, it was something...I wanted it to happen to me. When Luke returned to his seat, he got patted on the back and people were hyping him up.
Chiron grabbed the bag and pulled out two names. Instantly, he frowned, and his face scrunched up like he wanted to redo the raffle. But a sigh, he said the two names.
"Can Clarisse La Rue and Clay Brandon step up to the arena."
The Ares cabin cheered for whoever this 'Clarisse' is, a tall girl with wild brown hair and who is built like a rugby player, stood up. Pumped her chest and had an excited grin on her face as she walked to the stage. As for the campers, they were looking around while whispering who the heck is Clay Brandon.
"Be careful, Clay," Percy whispered in my ear. "That lunatic was the one who nearly dunked my head in the toilet!"
Oh, so that's the one who messed with Percy and caused the whole bathroom incident. I gulped as I stood up and walked slowly. I could feel their eyes on me.
"Him? The mortal?"
"Seriously, did he make Zeus mad or something?"
"He's about to get wrecked."
Clarrise grabbed a spear and turned to grin at her opponent, only to frown to see it was me. She clicked her tongue and jumped to the battle grounds, where she stood glaring at me impatiently. I gulped and held my sheathed gladius tight as I went to my side, where there was a table filled with weapons and armour. I quickly put on my steel helmet and a shield, and leather chest armour and got up to the battleground to face Clarisse.
"I got to say, he's either brave or stupid to fight her."
"Do you think the mortal has any chance of winning?"
"Yeah, when Tartarus becomes a good vacation spot! Clarisse is one of the best at camp, no way she'll lose to that chump."
I could feel my confidence falter as the jeers continued to hit me. There is no one out here to support me other than Percy and maybe Luke. I turned my head to Chiron, who gave me an apologetic look.
"Remember the rules, no maiming!" He turned to Clarisse and stared hard, but she was too focused on glaring at me to notice. "Anything is fair play, as long as nothing lethal and the entire grounds are yours except the edge, which is out of bounds."
Chiron took a deep breath. "Are all fighters ready?"
Clarisse twirled her spear and aimed at me. "Don't get squashed too fast." She says, giving me a bloodthirsty expression.
Give me a break, I didn't know I was going to fight Shrek's daughter tonight! I didn't say anything, my heart pounding, but I steadied with a calm breath as I unsheathed my sword and raised my shield in the air.
"Begin!"
Clarisse didn't immediately charge like I expected, just making a smug expression as she circles around me.
"Since you're Prissy's friend, I'll enjoy making you eat the dirt."
My heart hammered, but I remained focused. Just relax, Clay, you have a shield and armour, and all she has is a spear. You have the advantage in defence-
Clarisse lunged, thrusting her spear at my shield, and I gasped at how much power that single strike was. My legs took a couple of steps back from the force. Clarisse thrusted again, and my shield blocked it, but I was getting pushed back. Each time the spear struck my shield, my arm carrying it felt numb. My eyes widened as I realized she was trying to push me out of bounds. I knew I had to get away with just a couple more strikes, and I'm out.
But she isn't giving me time to dodge. I felt my feet feel the air, and I was about to fall out of bounds, but she grabbed my arm.
"Oh no, I'm not satisfied with a ringout!"
I didn't know what happened. At first, I was near the edge, and suddenly, my back crashed to the pavement, knocking the wind out of me. I coughed as I tried to get back up, only to see a foot aimed at my stomach, which I barely blocked with my shield; it still sent me skidding to the ground. I felt lightheaded, dizzy, and the strain from earlier activities flared up. I coughed as I used my sword as support, taking deep breaths.
"Ha, I knew he couldn't last long against Clarisse!"
"Wake me up when the match ends."
"What do you expect from someone who doesn't belong here?"
"Give up already, mortal!"
I hate this. This was no different from being beaten or thrown around like in Yancy. I remembered one time a particular bully had a fist fight with me, well, calling it a fight was generous. My lip was cut and bleeding as I was kicked to the gut by the jeers from my peers. It's the same thing here; I look at the audience to see Percy look about to step in.
I looked down at the ground, my vision darkening. I'm so pathetic. I really am just an unwanted item...
I closed my eyes as my strength leaves me and darkness takes me...
**
NO
NO
NO!
I grit my teeth, forcing my wobbly legs to stand up to face Clarisse, who still had that smug expression on her face. I glared at her.
"Ooh, you got some scary looks, you've got guts, I'll give you that. But there is no way you could beat, much less scratch me."
I just narrowed my eyes at her. I could still hear the campers insulting me or screaming I give up. But no way, if I called it quits, I'll just be back at that orphanage and be the same coward who couldn't do anything. With everything I've seen right now, there is no way I'm going back to that!
I yelled as I swung my sword wildly. Clarisse, though, easily blocked my attacks and even tried to counterattack, but was stopped by my shield. I jumped and swung an overhand swing, but Clarisse moved out of the way and was about to kick me again, but I rolled away again. I growled in frustration while Clairsse maintained that cocky expression.
What should I do!? She's way better than me, I can't beat her head on! Her spear is good at keeping me away, but if I get close, I could hit her where it counts. But she is way too quick despite her muscular body, or I was too slow.
"My advice? Since you're not as strong as everyone else, you've got to be smarter, even smart enough to fool even Athena's kids."
Be smarter, huh? I took a deep breath as I crouched lower and pointed my blade at Clarisse, who raised a brow but shrugged.
"Your funeral." She readies her spear, eyeing my sword.
Of course, I'm not the main threat after all; it's natural for humans to look at the weapon rather than the person wielding it. I twirled my sword before charging in. Clarisse still had that cocky smile; she's underestimating me; that's fine. I'll use that. I then, with all my strength and with a roar, tossed my sword high into the air. Clarisse's eyes followed the weapon flung to the air and snorted.
"What was that supposed to-?" Clarisse's eyes looked at me, but it was too late.
I moved past her spear and got close before jumping, our eyes meeting. I pulled back my hand before I released it, landing square on her jaw. She took a step back. The whole amphitheatre was silent; no one said anything. Clarisse's eyes weren't even on me, her eyes wide, computing the fact that I managed to hit her.
I took advantage of the fact that she was stunned and punched her chin. She was taller than me, so I couldn't punch her face without jumping, but this would too. I yelled loudly as I punched her with my free arm and hit her jaw with my shield. Even though I was hitting her as hard as I could, it barely did anything. It didn't make her get knocked out or bleed, only pushing her back.
But even I didn't stop punching her. By my seventh punch, Clarisse's brain rebooted.
"You worm!"
I braced with my shield just when her fist collided with it. I could hear her grunt, but punching a steel shield didn't feel so good even as a demigod. I used that brief amount of time to move a couple of steps back before running and body-checking her with my shield, making her yelp. I grit my teeth as I push my shield at her, making her legs skid back. Clarisse growled and pushed me back, and easily stopped my momentum.
But I backed off and once again body checked her with my shield, making her stumble and push her back more. I could see it, just a bit more, and she'll be out of bounds. Clarisse realized my intention and pushed back even harder. I stepped back, ready to body check her again, but this time, she was ready for it, using a hard kick aimed at my shield. The force was hard enough for me to send flying backwards.
I groaned as I got back up; thankfully, my sword, which I had thrown earlier, was near me. I went to grab it with shaking hands, and the crowd continued to remain silent. I felt an immense amount of satisfaction hearing them shut up. But it's more than just that; I felt satisfied that I landed a clean hit on a superhuman. I looked at Clarisse, who touched her lip. I could see that there were faint red marks on finger fingertips as a small trail of blood oozed out of her mouth.
I couldn't help it, I grinned.
"Hey!" I shout, gaining Clarisse's attention.
"How does it feel that a weak, puny mortal like me was able to make you bleed?" Clarisse's look darkens as she bares her teeth. "Maybe you're not so tough after all..."
I grinned, not caring about the consequences.
"Come at me, Ares' little princess!"
I heard an 'Ooooh' from the crowd, and there were even some chuckles and laughs at my taunt. Clarisse's eyes shone with fury.
"You're dead!"
She's riled up, good. She ran at me, and I ran at her. She thrust her spear, I moved it out of the way with my shield and thrust my own sword. Her eyes widened, and she couldn't get away in time as I scratched her face with a sword. I could hear her grunt back away as her face dripped with blood.
My eyes widened, guilt and panic overwhelmed me.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry! Are you-"
Clarisse responds by driving a knee to my gut, which made me lose all the air in my lungs and not a second later, she hammered at my back, sending my face to collide with the floor. I coughed, but then I was kicked in the gut. Sending me looking at the sky with blurry vision. I see Clarisse's foot looming over my face.
"That's enough, Clarisse-!" Chiron tried to say, but it was too late as the boot came down, and I immediately lost consciousness.