How blind was I to this rotten city?
This sucks.
Very.
Much.
Now, my face is even in the slum streets of Vale. Great.
This actually means that I don't have much of a choice here.
As much as I hate it, I will need to keep my face hidden for now, so...
I grab my shirt and rip off the left sleeve. It's just a plain white long-sleeved shirt. Well, used to be white anyway.
Since I had to take off my equipment to manage to run, it means I don't have much to begin with.
This is a restart from the zero, no. It's a restart from the negatives.
If I show my face I will be hunted down by those damn knights.
So, I take this sleev and wrap it around my face. It's... something.
Of course it won't work.
I'm just a dude with a face covered now. It's just slightly better than a criminal and that isn't good to begin with.
I sigh and sit on the ground.
I'm going to need to think for a while.
I need to get away from Vale, but it's impossible to cross the territory beyond its protection without a weapon at least. Not to mention a map and food to survive.
As much as I hate it, I will have to stay here for a while.
Now, to the next problem: I don't have anything take off a few coins.
Even if I go and become a hobo for a while, I'm still a hobo that hides his face, so that won't work too much. Besides, someone can recognize me.
I need an armor.
I need something to hide me, but make me look still serious. If I get something like that, I can become a bounty hunter, but until then...
I need to concentrate on the present.
Ignoring shelter and clothes, the most basic need is food. But to get food, I will need either money on to kill some animals or monsters.
To kill monsters I need equipment. To get equipment I need money. To get money I need to do something. And since I have to hide my face, I could only get it in some sort of black market selling loot from monsters that I can't kill.
"Damn..." this is bad. "It's a fucking loop..."
Okay, looking around.
There is trash over there.
"Ugh..."
I can't and won't eat junk, but... I need to make use of everything I can find.
For now, food is needed and to get money and food I need to kill either animals and monsters. Which means I need a weapon.
Before fighting with glass, if I can find something.
"Yuck..." This smell sucks.
I can feel this dirt in my hands.
Something... something... something...
There is a... trash... trash... trash...
Ugh, this is a slum street and I arrived today. Of course someone already came here and took care of the trash.
I'm already hungry...
Well, walking around then.
These streets have a characteristic bad smell.
I can see both humans and faunus in the streets covered with whatever they have, but most are sleeping.
Come to think of it, the day barely started.
Then what do I do?
The trash won't give me what I need, the people here are sleeping and wouldn't help me even if they were awake.
So, I walk through the streets.
About ten minutes have passed and I arrive in a dead alley.
I look around and there are some guys on the other side. Seem like they will come to mug me, but...
They stop.
And they go away.
Of course. My clothes already speak for me. I don't have anything. Someone who steals from another in an alley at least has decency enough to recognize they can get something.
It's clear that I have nothing and with my face hidden...
Well, the bottom still sucks.
"Hmm..."
There is trash there too.
In a dark alley...
I probably won't find anything, but there is still a better probability than the others that have more people.
This area must be more dangerous than the others since there are thieves like those guys, but...
"Ugh..."
I can't get used to this.
C'mon... something... something...
Nothing on this one too.
"Aw, c'mon!"
.
There has been more thirty minutes since this begun.
But...
"Finally..."
This hunger is killing me, but I found something.
There was a broken plate, a twisted fork and rusty knife.
If the fork wasn't twisted... well, the knife will be enough.
I can at least defend myself with it and can do something.
But I can't hunt monsters with a kitchen knife. A rusty one at that.
... c'mon, Jaune! Think!
There must be a place where I can get equipment.
C'mon... c'mon...
Argh... this hunger is killing me...
To deal with it I need equipment. Just thinking about it, I remember those knights that fooled me.
How I wish they were dead...
If I could kill them, I could take their equipment.
But I can't...
Even if I found them, it would be me with a knife against armored knights with swords.
If they could just... drop...
"Dead..."
Wait... that's it!
There are a few places with grimm around. A forest for example, a cave, volcanos, deserts, labyriths.
Those areas are specially dangerous and there is one near Vale.
The Cave of the Forgotten.
They told me it was one of the places knights should never go alone, but...
There is always one idiot that does. If someone goes and dies, what happens to their equipment?
Still, it was already dangerous going alone to begin, but there is not much I can do.
So... hungry...
No! I need to concentrate!
This hunger is in my way.
If I go to that cave, I can die.
Okay... a cloak.
That's it... I don't need to go to a store, I just need to find one of those guys that buy and sell stuff here and there.
If I have a cloak, no matter how dirty it is, I can do something about my appearance. I'm shady, but I can have what they want and do business.
But... to get a cloak...
.
Took me about one hour.
I found another knife and am dirty to the bones now.
It's a tattered brown cloak. I also found a broken dagger, but it can still be useful.
However, now I have this putrid smell on me...
This trash looks more and more edible, but I will deal with it later. For now, I need to go hunt.
Bones, skin, horns, claws, plants...
There is always someone that can buy something like that and do something with it.
Also, the meat can be eaten.
If I remember well, there is a forest near the plains outside of Vale and a river passes through it.
The Emerald Forest.
It's as dangerous as, if not more, than the Cave of the Forgotten.
However, as long as I stay on the border, the danger will be lower.
The river will be further away if I want to go by the plains, but I wi need to wash myself in it later.
.
Quite a few time has passed.
Right now, I exitted Vale. The guard didn't care much, as there are way more suspicious people than me and the gate was big to start with.
Right now, I'm out in the plains.
The hunger is killing me, I'm covered by a dirty cloak and a scarf made from my sleeve, I'm armed with a kitchen knife and a broken dagger.
And most of what I have I got in the garbage of the slums.
But now I have sight of what I need.
And now I'm ready to get it.
So, I set foot outside of the city and make my way to the Emerald Forest. It will be quite dangerous.
But either I triuph here, or die from the hunger or disease back there. There is no choice for someone starting from the negative like me.
.
.
.
A/N:
Second chapter, yay!
Tried to make it bigger than the last one too like you recommended, Drow79.
Trivia: one idea I had for this chapter was Jaune fighting the thugs, but then I realized they wouldn't attack someone like that.
So I changed the idea fron acquiring a knife from a thief to from the trash.
Like and subscribe, people!
... wait.