“Swords can’t solve every problem.”

“So for Magic Problem-Solving 101, we headed to the training room and blew stuff up.”

“the answer to every problem involved penguins”

“I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for the trainees, so I led my usual morning class. I called it Magic Problem-Solving 101. The trainees called it Whatever Works.”

“Part of their problem was Percy. He fought like a demon, whirling through the defender's ranks in a completely unorthodox style, rolling under their feet, slashing with his sword instead of stabbing like a Roman would, whacking campers with the flat of his blade, and generally causing mass panic.”

“THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD!!!!”

“I concentrated hard and snapped my fingers. "You don't see the sword," I told the girl. "It's just a ballpoint pen." She blinked. "Um . . . no. It's a sword, weirdo.”