NOVEL WEB Chapter 9: Mistress of Magic
(This chapter is going to be pretty weird and I kinda don't like it, so if you think Percy is being weird in this chapter, yeah I already know)
[The One Who Watches the Crossroads is trying to observe you.]
[Cloak of the Wise One has negated most of the magical intrusion.]
[The One Who Watches the Crossroads is trying to observe you.]
[Cloak of the Wise One has negated most of the magical intrusion.]
[The One Who Watches the Crossroads is trying to observe you.]
[Cloak of the Wise One has negated most of the magical intrusion.]
Percy we're starting to get very annoyed at the deity.
The air shimmered with pressure, like an invisible eye was trying to peel back layers of his skin and soul. He scowled up at the sky, then turned and glared at the empty space behind him.
"Alright, piss off," he snapped. "I already have enough weird things in my head, thanks."
There was silence… then a faint ripple, like wind brushing through a thousand candlelit prayers. And a single message pulsed across his vision:
[The One who Watches the Crossroads is attempting to contact you]
[Message Received: "I'll 'piss off'… if we meet."]
Percy blinked. "What—wait, what kind of god says that?"
[New Quest Unlocked: "Summon the One Who Watches the Crossroads"]
Quest Type: Legendary
Description: A mysterious goddess has taken interest in your magical potential. She wants to meet you but the Fates are preventing her. If you offer her a sacrifice she will come and talk to you.
Objective:
– Offer one magically attuned item at a natural crossroads.
– Speak the words: "I, Perseus Jackson, willingly sacrifice this offering to the Goddess of Magic. The one who watches the Crossroads."
Rewards:
– ???
– Meeting with the Deity
Failure Consequence:
– She will continue observing and bothering you until you give in.
– Expect more messages. A lot more messages.
[This quest cannot be declined.]
Percy groaned into his palms. "Merlin, you absolute bastard… this is your fault somehow."
He opened his palm. If she wanted a tribute, fine. He wasn't about to sacrifice anything important—but maybe he could make something.
He glanced around his room. A broken candle sat on the windowsill, a loose thread hung from his worn tunic draped over a chair, and bits of charred wood from yesterday's lightning sparks were scattered near his desk.
He gathered his mana, focused, and muttered:
"Item Construction."
[Skill Activated: Item Construction]
[MP Cost: 15 → 11 (20% chanting + 5% territory reduction applied)]
[Materials: Wax from broken candle, thread from tunic, charred wood fragments from desk]
[Effect: Created 'Wax Effigy of Crossroads' (Common)]
[Description: A hand-sized three-faced wax statue, representing past, present, and future. Infused with the user's mana.]
Three solemn faces emerged from the wax—one gazing back, one facing forward, and one turned slightly aside. The aura of the effigy pulsed faintly in his hand, tinged with quiet power.
Percy stared at it, then knelt down and placed the figure gently on the floor before him. He let his mana flare through it one last time.
Then, with as much dramatic flourish as a pajama-clad six-year-old could manage, he said aloud:
"I, Percy Jackson, willingly sacrifice this offering to the Goddess of Magic. The one who watches the Crossroads. May it be worthy of your ever-meddling attention."
He stood, crossed his arms, and waited.
A subtle wind stirred—papers fluttered, and a distant warmth prickled the edge of his senses, like firelight seen through a keyhole.
In the silence that followed, Percy muttered with a sigh, "Hope this gets you to piss off, lady."
Ping.
[Quest Updated: A valid offering has been made.]
[Awaiting divine response…]
[Divine response received..]
The silence stretched.
Percy had just about started to hope that the whole thing had been some weird magical prank when the lights flickered. A second later, the shadows in the corners of his room deepened unnaturally—stretched long and sharp like a sundial at dusk.
Then came the scent—burnt myrrh and moonlit lavender. Ancient. Arcane.
A figure stepped out of the shadow behind the effigy.
She wasn't there one moment, and then she simply was.
A tall woman in a flowing gown woven from midnight and embers, her presence suffused with raw, untamed magic. Her hair rippled like smoke, eyes glowing with silver starlight. Her gaze flicked to the effigy, then to Percy.
A faint smile tugged at the edge of her lips.
"So," she said, voice like a whisper of fire over ice. "This is the child causing such a stir in the threads."
Percy instinctively activated his skill.
[Observe Activated.]
[Name: Hecate]
[Race: Projection]
[Title: The One Who Watches the Crossroads | Mistress of Magic | Lady of the Liminal Path]
[Stats: —]
[Warning: Target is far beyond your current level. Essence is too great for observation.]
Well, that was alarming.
"…Okay, that's new," Percy muttered.
The goddess's eyes twitched in amusement. "Trying to peer into the essence of a goddess with such a little party trick? Bold."
Before Percy could reply, her eyes narrowed briefly. She raised a hand and made a casual gesture in the air.
Her own version of 'Observe.'
Ping!
[A foreign ability is attempting to analyze your soul.]
[Cloak of the Wise One has blocked the attempt.]
[Warning: A divine-level gaze was partially deflected.]
Hekate's hand froze mid-air. Her head tilted.
"Oh… that cloak." Her tone soured just slightly. "Still wandering around the world, are you, Merlin?"
Percy blinked. "Wait you know, Merlin? Like, the actual Merlin?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she lowered her hand and examined him more closely, her expression unreadable.
"Your existence… shouldn't be possible," she said, voice quieter now. "And yet, you are very much real. And cloaked in trickery. How… delightful."
Percy crossed his arms, trying very hard not to look impressed or scared or both. "Look, I made you a creepy little statue. Can you stop trying to peel my soul open now?"
That earned him a short, sharp laugh.
"You amuse me," Hekate said. "So very few dare speak to me that way. Even fewer survive it."
"Great," Percy muttered. "New life goal: survive annoying gods. Should be easy."
She stepped closer—barefoot, silent—until she stood just across from him. The Wax Effigy flared with soft, silvery-blue light.
"I will grant you a choice," she said. "You may turn away from the path you are on… or you may walk it with my favor, and my help."
A pulse of magic swept over him.
Ping!
[Quest Received: The Path at the Crossroads]
[Quest Type: Legendary – Optional]
[Description: The Goddess of Magic has taken interest in your journey. She offers a test, should you choose to embrace her path.]
[Objective: Complete a sacred summoning using a offering.] — ✅
[New Objective: Create a spell using your already existing magical abilities ]
[Reward: Unknown – Divine Favor, Unique Skill?]
[Penalty for Refusal: None. But she will continue to pester you magically. Forever.]
Hekate raised an eyebrow. "Well? What say you, child of sea and storm?"
Percy looked up at her, deadpan. "Lady, I barely got through my first real fight without crying. And now you want me to take a test?"
A pause.
Then he exhaled and shrugged. "Screw it. Let's do this. One foot in front of the other, right?"
The goddess's smile widened.
"Oh… I think I like you."
Percy stiffened. It didn't sound like a compliment.
Her gaze flicked toward him, her eyes now visible the present, future—layered over her irises.
"You're an oddity, little Caster. A child chosen by the sea… and something else. Fate stumbles around you like it's blind."
Percy didn't say anything. He felt her power pressing against him, like a tide he couldn't push back.
She flicked his forehead with a glowing fingertip. A cold sensation pulsed in his skull, then vanished.
Percy blinked. "Ow."
He rubbed the spot, but the cold had already disappeared—along with her. The room was still and silent now, only the soft magical hum of the training area lingering in the air like the afterglow of lightning.
Hekate was gone. But the weight of her presence remained.
Or maybe it was something else. The nudge in his head. That weird pulse she'd left behind. Not a curse, not a mark—something else. Like a splinter of intention. A push.
He stood still for a moment, heart stilling. Then he sighed. What a terrible way to start a day. And he still has to go to school after all this crap.
————————————————————
[Time Skip: A few hours after school]
"Well. Guess it's just you and me, System."
He held up his hand. Magic stirred at his command, gentle and obedient.
"Let's see what I can do."
He started with the basics. Water Spear. Familiar and reliable. He conjured the shape, added Piercing and Bleeding through Chanting, and gave it a few experimental swings.
Balanced. Lethal. But he already knew its limits.
He dissolved it.
"Next."
[Item Construction] He formed a dagger. A chain. A small disc. Each responded quickly now, shaped by his growing control. Still slow for live combat, but progress was progress.
Then came [Territory Creation] The space around him shimmered subtly—his domain. Mana flowed smoother here, spells cast within it sharper and cleaner. Good support. But not personal.
Not what he was looking for.
What he really wanted… was something to enhance himself. Something lasting. Flexible. Something he could rely on.
Which brought him, inevitably, to Mana Burst.
He stood at the center of the room. Breathed in. Focused.
[Skill Activated: Mana Burst]
He surged forward—a blur. One second of enhanced speed and strength—and then, nothing. The effect snapped away like a rubber band.
He skidded to a stop.
"That's it? One second?"
He cast it again. Strength flared through his legs. He punched at the air—faster, heavier—and then it faded again.
Again.
Another burst. Another crash.
Every time, it lasted only a heartbeat.
He rubbed his wrist, annoyed. Not from pain—just frustration.
"I can't use this as a support unless I want to sprint or punch for only one second. It's all raw force."
He leaned against the wall, staring at his hand.
That was the real problem. Mana Burst only affected his physical stats—things like strength, speed, durability. But Percy didn't want just that.
He didn't want to be a battering ram. He wanted to enhance his sight. His grip. His weapons. He wanted to think faster in a fight. He needed control.
Not firepower.
He slid down the wall and sat cross-legged on the cold floor.
Mana Burst forced all his mana into his body at once, overloading his muscles for a moment of power. But that kind of channeling was unstable. Crude.
"I don't need a flashbang," he muttered. "I need a lightbulb."
He paused, then narrowed his eyes. "Wait…"
That was it, wasn't it?
He'd been thinking of magic as explosive. All at once. Immediate. But what if he didn't use all of it? What if he didn't try to force it through his entire body?
What if he used less mana—and focused it on just one part?
He stood again, slow and thoughtful.
Instead of flooding his whole body like Mana Burst, he channeled a trickle of magic—into just his right forearm.
It felt… different. Not flashy. Not overwhelming. But stable.
Like reinforcing a weak beam in a structure.
He clenched his fist. The limb felt tighter, more connected. He picked up a staff and gave it a swing.
Sharper. Cleaner.
He tried again—this time focusing mana into his leg. Balance. Weight control.
Then his eyes—vision sharpened. Crisper, like turning up a camera's focus. He could make out the faint lines of magic across the room.
It wasn't brute strength. It was precision.
He exhaled.
"I'm not bursting mana," he whispered. "I'm guiding it. Enhancing what's already there."
The idea clicked in his head like a key turning in a lock.
This wasn't Mana Burst. It was something else.
"System," he said softly, "I think I've made something new."
The air around him shimmered. A familiar ping echoed in his mind.
[System Notification]
New Skill Created: [Reinforcement]
Rank: E
Type: Active – Targeted Buff
Cost: 5 Mp/s
Effect: Temporarily strengthens the natural structure and purpose of a selected item or body part. Grants a +10% performance boost to a chosen function (e.g., grip strength, vision, striking power)
(Tl/dr: I know this currently seems like less effective mana burst but it's going to be overall, more useful in the future)
Percy didn't move for a long moment. He just… stared at the blue box.
Then he let out a low whistle.
"…That's so much than Mana Burst."
He stepped backward and sat down, arms resting on his knees, grinning now.
"Okay. Let's think about this."
He held up a hand and curled his fingers. The mana was still gently humming beneath his skin.
"Mana Burst works by blasting mana through your body. It supercharges your muscles for, like, one second. Great if I want to hit something hard or aecome the flash for like a second… but that's it. It doesn't last. It can't last."
He closed his eyes, testing the sensation of [Reinforcement] again. Slower. Calmer. Controlled.
"But this… This is different. [Reinforcement] doesn't force anything. It supports what's already there. I can use it on my grip, my legs, my eyes. I bet I could use it on my hearing, too. My reflexes."
The possibilities started piling up.
"Hell, maybe even my brain can be reinforced and that might increase a lot of things, thinking speed. Reaction time. Spell formation. Things Mana Burst can't touch."
He paused, then blinked again.
"…Wait. What about items?"
He stood and created a basic dagger with [Item Construction]. Holding it in one hand, he channeled [Reinforcement] into the blade.
A soft blue glow settled along the edge. It didn't grow longer. Didn't change shape. But when he brought the tip gently to the edge of his clothes and
Rriiip
"Yeah. Okay. This isn't just a body buff. I can reinforce tools, too."
It was subtle, but suddenly, he saw the full difference.
"[Mana Burst] is like a hammer—loud, fast."
"[Reinforcement] is like a toolkit. It can be used on anything. For everything."
(TL/DR: I know that was a shitty comparison, but just don't try thinking while reading this story)
He giggled again, this time in disbelief.
"I think I just made the most useful spell I've ever seen."
Even his six-year-old brain, distracted and chaotic as it was, understood the implications. No more relying on explosive strength that vanished in a blink. No more wasting mana on raw force when precision could do the job ten times better.
[Reinforcement] wasn't as offensive.
But it was more versatile.