I had been walking through these dimly lit alley ways for what had felt like an eternity. My house (or at least the place that I liked to call a house) couldn't have been that far away by now. I had definitely made the walk from Signal Academy to my house many times before, but this time just seemed to be taking much longer for whatever reason. With that said, I had a feeling that I knew why. It had been two long months since I had sent my admission letter to Beacon Academy, and I was supposed to be receiving the letter stating whether or not I were to be accepted any day now. It didn't exactly help that mail didn't run that often in the slums of Vale, so knowing that my letter might have been waiting for me was something of a nerve shock. In fact, I think the butterfly's in my stomach were finally beginning to get the best of me. My stomach was in knots to say in the least. I had been training for four excruciating years at Signal Academy in hopes that I could one day become the huntsmen that I had always wanted to be. Hell, to this very day I would still make trips down to the old sparring arenas so I could at least keep my skills sharp. You see, I grew up an orphan in the slums of vale, never knowing my parents and never knowing the sweet freedom that was adoption. When I was younger I would always ask the caretakers if they knew anything of my parents, but all I would ever receive were blank stares or averting eyes. At first, I thought that they were simply trying to spare my feelings, but it was later when I had learned that they simply were as unaware as I was. I was apparently dropped off in the night with nothing more than a blanket and a small crib. The old lady who ran the place, Mrs. Taylor, just found me quietly sitting there. Usually this would mess with someone's mindset, and I had to admit that it definitely didn't help me in certain aspects, but I had learned to at least respect the place for what it was. Because, in the end, it was a nicer orphanage. They treated the kids right and everyone was properly taken care of. As I grew older I began to help out around the place, the caretakers even giving me a regular monthly paycheck for all the hours I would put in. I even found myself growing attached to some of the kids there. However, eventually they would always leave, so I had learned to not get overly attached. It was four years ago when I discovered Signal Academy, and two years into that when I learned of Beacon: One of the greatest huntsmen academies this side of Remnant. Ever since then I have always wanted to work towards that goal of both leaving this place and bettering myself. I knew all too well that becoming a huntsman would be more than hard for me, but I also knew that it would probably be the best decision that I could ever make. I mean, I was beyond the age of adoption at this point, and the caretakers had been supporting my choice since the very beginning, some even pitching in to help me study or train. So, with all of this said, with all of the hard work and determination that I had put in during these past four years, I would be damned if that letter didn't say that I was accepted!

Yep, that was my life. Thoughts like this seemed to bounce around in my mind as I continued to make my walk home. However, as I turned the next corner I could at least say that I saw the dimly lit candle lights from my room emitting from the distant orphanage. I had noticed that it was beginning to rain, so I took it amongst myself to jog the rest of the distance. I made it to the roofed steps of the orphanage barely able to escape the oddly instantaneous thunderstorm that had somehow managed to sneak up on me. As I wiped off my boots I slowly began to open the old creaky door that was the entrance to the orphanage. My eyes almost instantly lit up as I saw Mrs. Taylor standing at the entrance, a single letter with Beacon's iconic dual-axe crest stamped on the front. "Oh!" I excitedly blurt out. "Is that my letter!?" "Oh, Mr. Longbow." She slightly jumped as I must have scared her with my sudden outburst. "Indeed, it is! I obviously didn't open it, as I wanted it to be a surprise for both of us!" Without any sort of words, I politely snatched the letter from her hands, prying it open as if I was a starving dog and this letter was the first meal that I had had in days. I unfolded the thin sheet of rather official looking paper and began to read.

"Dear Odin Longbow,

It has come to our attention that you would like to join Beacon Academy. However, you do not meet some of our requirements to join our school. We are sorry to say that you request has been denied. However, if you feel that this choice is incorrect, you can re-submit your form in seven business days."

I didn't even bother to read the few sentences that followed... my dreams had just been crushed. I slowly slid the letter back into the torn envelope and slid it into my pocket as I slowly began to walk away, a tear beginning to form in my eyes. I wasn't even able to make eye contact with my caretaker, but I could still feel her disappointed stare.

"Mr. Longb-" She paused. "Odin, sweetie, all is not lost. There is always next time, right?" She said with a cheerful tone.

"Umm... Yeah. Always next time." The words came out of my mouth, but even I could tell that they were lacking in any form of sincerity.

"Well... Please come get me if you need anything. I imagine that you want some alone time." She continued, a look of shared sadness on her face.

"Yeah. Thanks Mrs. Taylor." I then slowly trudged up the stairs until I triumphantly reached my room, opening the door to be greeted by my usual surroundings.

It was a small room, but I couldn't exactly complain. I had a decent bed, a small closet, an old television, a few small tables, and even a desk that often doubled as my usual workbench for any wacky contraptions that I could manage to build from scraps. With that said, for the past four years I had been regularly building up a little project of my own. Something that I could really be proud of! Something that admittedly ate away at my monthly paycheck more than any other project ever did. My huntsmen weapon.

Every Huntsmen and Huntress was required to have a weapon that they either built, bought, or had given to them by family. Mine was obviously custom built by myself, and was something of a fully functioning work in progress. You see, I was always on the larger side when it came to my natural body build. I wasn't fat, but I wasn't scrawny either. I was just tall and bulky, often getting called a giant by the newer kids that came and went. So naturally, I wanted a weapon that fit this look. Something that to others was unwieldy, but to me was nothing more than an extension of myself. The whole process started as a sort of coil gun that was built into the handle of a large broadsword that I managed to get for cheap online. However, that model barely made it through my first year of Signal Academy, as I would often find myself repairing it on a weekly basis. So, as the years went by I slowly began to upgrade the weapon. It went from a coil gun to a proper earth dust powered railgun, and the broadsword eventually switched to a proper mechanical two-handed claymore. It wasn't long until I had managed to find a way to properly combine the two in both an effective and reliable way, and eventually coming up with the fitting name of EarthShaker.

Of course, what was a weapon without a signature look to go with it? My armor, while rather crude, was definitely effective. I had managed to get a full suit of decommissioned Vale Police riot gear from a police auction a while back. With that said, I managed to only find a use for the torso, legs, and left arm of the suit (as my right arm was instead covered by thick sheets of steel that was shaped to form a proper gauntlet, shoulder pauldron, and elbow guard that was designed to absorb the massive recoil that EarthShaker wads fairly known for putting out). Underneath all of this I simply wore my usual casual outfit of a dark green hoodie, black t-shirt, cargo pants, and combat boots. Again, it was a rather rag-tag looking appearance, but it was definitely effective when it came to combat. Yep, everything I did sort of reflected the whole giant complex I had going on. Even my recently acquired semblance ironically reflected back on this.

My semblance, while rather plain, was definitely useful. You see, I had the ability to basically send my muscles into maximum overdrive, allowing me to accomplish practically superhuman feats of strength at the expense of my bodies aura. This usually caused my semblance to be a sort of double-edged sword, but it still had its uses.

I slowly lifted EarthShaker from my desk, a small sigh escaping my lips in the process. I felt defeated, like everything I had worked towards never mattered. I wanted to cry, but in all honesty, I knew that I was better than that. I simply needed to blow off steam for a little bit, and I knew exactly how I could accomplish this task: The Vale Scrapyard. The Vale Scrapyard was a usual hangout spot for me, as I had often gone there for spare parts or sometimes even strength training when I was feeling brave. The owners had even come to pay me here and there as I would often use my semblance to help them move some of the heavier objects throughout the area. And since it was a scrapyard, they definitely didn't mind if things were to get broken as they had to eventually break it all down at one point or another.

So, with that said, I gathered my things and began to head downstairs. The gear was definitely heavy when it was all together, but I had learned to get used to it.

"Odin, are you heading out? You know it's still raining, right?" The voice of Mrs. Taylor echoed from what I could assume was the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Just going to the scrapyard for a little bit. Want to blow off a bit of steam." I saw her head rapidly peak around the corner as I said this.

"You better not do anything stupid!" She yelled, a small hint of joking sarcasm hidden within her voice.

"I won't Mrs. Taylor." I responded as I reached for the doorknob, throwing my hoodie over my head. "I'll be back in an hour or two, promise."

"Well, alright then." She sighed with a smile as she returned to the kitchen.

I then stepped outside and took an extremely deep breath as the door closed behind me. The rain, while heavy, was fairly peaceful. I had always been a bit of an outdoorsy person, so walks like this were fairly commonplace for me.

"Alright." I sighed. "Let's make it a good one."

The walk home was tiring to say in the least. I had definitely gone a little overboard with my 'training', but I really didn't care. I felt better, not only about my results but also about myself. Admittedly, I had a small smile resting on my face. The rain had begun to let up around 45 minutes into my session, so I was actually able to get in some good weapon practice.

That refrigerator never stood a chance.

However, with how good I was now feeling, I had to admit that something definitely felt odd. I couldn't quite place it, but I just knew that something around me wasn't right. I felt… on edge for some reason. It wasn't like someone was watching me, but rather something was going on. It was just a sort of offsetting gut feeling that I had, and I definitely didn't like it.

It wasn't until I made the turn into my usual alley way shortcut when I had realized why.

There was a group of shady looking men standing around something, each one laughing and giving the occasional kick to an unknown object on the ground. At first, I had just thought that it was a few drunkards rolling in from a close to midnight bar crawl, but upon closer inspection I had realized that it was something far worse.

They were surrounding a small girl, perhaps no older than myself. She looked extremely roughed up, and it was enough to cause me to be sickened to my stomach.

"Hey!" I instinctually yelled out without thinking, almost instantly catching the attention of the three goons. "What the hell do you three think you're doing?"

One of the men began to laugh as he stepped away from the girl, the other two staying at her side.

"Look here boys, we got ourselves a hero!" The man laughed as he pulled a red-hued blade from his coat, the other men laughing in response. "Now kid, how about you step away before this gets ugly."

I had to laugh at this display, as these guys were obviously unaware of the heat that I was packing. I wasn't planning on getting into a fight today… but what kind of man would I be if I didn't at least interfere.

I slowly pulled EarthShaker from my back, allowing it to extend to its full length as I took an offensive stance.

"Sir, I really suggest that the three of you simply step away." I cracked a small grin as the apparent leader slightly recoiled in shock.

"Hah! Or what!" One of the side goons spoke up, causing the leader to once again become violent.

"Yeah! What the hell do you think you're gonna do?" The leader took a step forward, brandishing his red blade with a rather sloppy stance.

"All I'm going to tell you is that after the day I've had, I have no qualms against flattening each and every one of you out!" I then allowed EarthShaker to crash on the ground with its full weight, the metallic sound echoing throughout the rather crowded alleyway.

At first there was a bit of a standoff, and something inside of me had hoped that they were debating backing down. However, I wasn't exactly that lucky.

One of the goons then began to charge up the alleyway, a small axe within his grasp. I bead of sweet began to drip down my forehead as my nerves ran wild. This was the first time that I had ever had to fight somebody who actually had intentions of hurting me. However, I knew that I couldn't back down. It was my duty as a hopefully soon-to-be huntsman in training to protect others!

The man's axe lightly clashed against EarthShaker, the small weapon not having nearly enough force to even remotely break my guard. I gave a quick counter attack as I rotated the massive blade downwards, sweeping the legs out from under the goon right before giving him a swift armored punch straight to the nose, knocking him unconscious almost instantaneously as my fist met his face.

The next goon was no wiser, and his weapon of choice was no less impressive than the last. Hell, even his choice of attack was practically identical to the now unconscious man that went before him. This time I took an offensive stance, sidestepping the goon as he wildly swung his blade. I delivered a swift pommel strike directly to the back of his head as he flew past me, leaving the man every bit as helpless as the once before.
Now all that was left was the supposed leader.

"Alright, it's obvious that none of you guys can actually fight, so how about you just walk away while you still have the chance!" I was trying my absolute hardest to sound tough.

"Ha!" The man chuckled, an odd sense of confidence within his voice. "That's not exactly likely."

He then pulled a small energy pistol from his jacket, pulling back the hammer right before he began to let rounds fly.

"Shit!" I subconsciously yelled out as I pulled EarthShaker's massive blade up to protect myself.

I slowly began to back pedal out of the alleyway, the gun's rounds making constant contact against my weapon. As I took cover on the corner of the alleyway I then realized that I had to make a choice, and a fairly easy one at that.

I switched EarthShaker into Railgun form as I heard the man slowly beginning to make his way towards me.

"You young huntsmen are all the same!" The man yelled out as his footsteps grew closer. "Each and every last one of you are cowards! Unable to face your opponents the second you realize that you've lost the upper hand!"

I began to charge EarthShaker's railgun as he came closer. Usually it took a solid five seconds to get a standard shot off, but I figured that I could at least stun him with only a three second charge.

"What! No response?" The man continued. "You didn't run off did you!?" He sounded borderline maniacal at this point, but I could tell that he was practically right around the corner at this point.

Now was my chance.

I quickly took a kneeled firing stance as I removed myself from my cover. The man was definitely a lot closer than I thought, as the tip of EarthShaker was practically touching the man's stomach at this point. The look on his face was enough to let me know that he was surprised to say in the least.

"What the hell?" He yelled out as he went to point the pistol downwards in an attempt to counter me, but it was too late.

I released the trigger and allowed EarthShaker's almost charged shot to expel into the man's gut. Despite not having the usual five second charge, the shit was still just enough to not only push the man back, but also knock him off his feet. His pistol fell to the ground his he hit the concrete floor with a solid thud. As I stood up I quickly kicked the firearm away from his reach, then I placed my foot on his chest as stood over him.

"Please… Just get your men and leave." I sighed as I chose to spare the man, as I really didn't feel like leaving three unconscious bodies just lying in the open.

However, I didn't receive a response. Literally, all I was given was a blank stare. The man wasn't even blinking. At first, I thought that I must have knocked him into shock, but as the silence grew more awkward I began to realize that something was up.

"Umm, Earth to goon?" I lightly cocked my head in confusion, only to still receive a blank, emotionless stare. "Ugh, whatever. Just get your guys and get out of here."

I then took my foot off of the man and began to head over to where I last saw the girl lying, but it didn't take long to realize that she was no longer there.

"Wait, where did she-" I was cut off as I heard the abrupt sound of tires screeching from the alley's entrance, causing me to jump as I pulled EarthShaker up into a firing stance.

It was then when everything began to get weird… really weird.

I watched as the three goons simply faded away with a static-y pop, the sounds of the cars doors opening and closing immediately following.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled out as I was now officially frightened. "I am not afraid to open fire!"

I watched as two figures then slowly stepped into the light. One was obviously male, and the other was clearly female, but that was all I could tell as the car's headlights were causing them to be nothing more than silhouettes.

"Now Now young man, there's no need for such violence." An extremely masculine and proud voice lightly boomed throughout the alleyway, slowly stepping into my vision.

"P- Professor Port?" I recoiled back as the extremely well known mustached man stepped into my vision.

At first, I thought that I was dreaming, that I maybe had been knocked unconscious by the goons and that this was all fake, but it felt far too real.

"W-What are you doing here?" I then lowered my weapon.

He simply giggled as he put his hands behind his back. "Young man, it has come to my attention that you received a letter saying that you were denied into our prestigious Academy because you were missing some of needed requirements, is this correct?" He politely asked.

"Umm... yes sir. Why are you here? What is going on?" I stuttered as I tried to get a grasp of what exactly was happening.

"May I see that letter young man?" He oddly responded.

"Umm... sure." I said as I removed the crumbled-up letter from my pocket, shakenly handing it over to him. "But what does that failed letter have to do with you being here? I thought I didn't make it in?"

Port giggled once again. "Young man, exactly how much of this letter did you read?" He asked.

"Uh... up to the word denied." I responded. "I was pretty discouraged after that."

"So, you didn't bother to read the rest then? Well, allow me to do the honors. Ahem." He said as he cleared his throat and began reading the remainder of the letter.

"Your only missing requirement is a live combat experience. With the help of your caretaker Mrs. Taylor, we have set up a scenario close to you. If you succeed, we will accept you into Beacon Academy with flying colors!" Port then smirked as he gazed at me through his squinted eyes.

It was then when the second figure stepped out from the shadows, revealing itself to be none other than Mrs. Taylor herself.

"I was busy with the bills, so it slipped my mind to tell you that we had this set up." She spoke with a deep sense of apology as Port glared down at her.

"So... all of this was just a test?" I responded in complete and total disbelief.

"Indeed it was young man! And the alone fact that you were unaware of this and yet you still charged in to help out that young lady was nothing short of remarkable! You have shown promise young man, so with my word I present to you this letter!" He then pulled out a very familiar looking sealed letter from his coat. "I suggest reading the entire thing this time around."

I lightly grabbed the letter as I attempted to get my hands to stop shaking, but to no prevail. As I tore open the letter and began to read a small tear of joy began to run down my cheek.

Dear Odin Longbow,

After careful consideration, we are pleased to say that you have passed our test with flying colors. Attached to the back of this letter is your new starting schedule as well as your airship ticket to Beacon. We are excited to have someone with your skillset at our school, and we hope to see you there.

Signed, Professor Ozpin.

"So, Young man, I believe that you have some things you need to gather for your journey?" Port smiled.

"Yes sir!" I quickly responded as I shook his hand and gave a quick yet tight hug to Mrs. Taylor. It wasn't long until I was sprinting back to the orphanage. I didn't have long to gather my things, but I was too excited to slow down at this point.

This was it. This was the start of my new life.