I'm speechless. Seriously. 100 followers in a week, with a single chapter?! You guys are absolutely ridiculous, thank you so much. All of you who are tuning in, reading my work for the first time, thank you, I hope you enjoy, and for those of you who've seen my other stuff, you cheeky bastards. Cheers all of you!
I hope this chapter lives up to the reputation I seriously wasn't expecting to get!
The sounds of a peaceful forest in mid-afternoon were interrupted with a staccato rhythm, the solid thwacking sound of a sword thudding into the trunk of a tree.
Jaune wiped the sweat off his brow as he buried Crocea Mors into the dirt, leaning against the grip as he panted.
Two hours. He'd been at this for two whole hours, and he was already feeling more confident with the family sword. He'd even gotten plus 2 STR and plus 2 END from exercising!
"Skills," Jaune uttered aloud as he sheathed the blade.
The skill menu opened itself, and Jaune clicked the Proficiency tab, checking it.
[Weapon Proficiency: One-Handed Melee (Passive): Thanks to the System, you are now capable of wielding all one-handed melee weapons without difficulty! The higher the level of this skill, the more skilled you are with all one-handed melee weapons, and the more damage you are capable of dealing. Level 2; XP 48/200.]
[Longsword.]
He was pretty happy with his progress thus far, and already the sword felt...
He couldn't really put how the sword felt into words. It felt almost like it belonged, in a sense.
Jaune was drawn from his musing as he felt a buzzing in his pocket. Reaching in, he grabbed his scroll and checked the caller ID, before answering it.
"Jaune, you need to get back here and pack young man!" His mother cried out through the Scroll's speakers, almost deafening the teen as he held it to his ear.
"Oh yeah, right! I'm on my way," Jaune replied quickly, as he hurriedly checked the clearing to make sure he hadn't left anything behind.
"You'd better be Jaune. I'll see you soon," Juniper said before she hung up, leaving a mildly panicked Jaune in the middle of the clearing.
Jaune noticed something glittering on the ground where he'd killed the Beowolf.
Heading home could wait a moment, he needed to check out what it was.
Walking over, Jaune bent down and looked at the offending item.
On the ground sat 5 Lien.
"Huh."
Jaune picked up the Lien, and pocketed it, before preparing himself to head back home.
He had a short walk ahead of him, but…
Maybe this would be a good opportunity to get a new skill.
Jaune assumed a runner's start, before firing off, sprinting towards home.
[Skill Created!]
[Sprint (Active): Thanks to the System, you can now sprint better than ever before! Sprinting costs 5SP/s, and you can sprint up to half-AGI m/s. Level 1; XP 0/100.]
Jaune sprinted along at five meters per second, not the fastest sprinting time ever, but certainly enough to cover the ground between his little training clearing and home in a much shorter time than walking would have.
As Jaune ran, he tried to figure out how long he could sprint for. If it costed 5 SP per second, and he had 130 SP, he could sprint for 26 seconds. Of course, he also had a regeneration rate of 2.6 SP per second, but from what he could tell it didn't regenerate whilst being used, so regardless of that it didn't make it too complicated to figure out how it worked.
[Ding!]
[For figuring out more details on how stats work, you've gained 1 point of Intelligence!]
That was nice. Jaune slowed down to a pant, having covered almost a tenth of the way in half a minute. A twenty minute walk shortened to five minutes of sprinting was pretty neat.
[Ding!]
[Through constant exertion, you've gained 1 point of END and 1 point of AGI!]
And there was the stat gains, they were nice too. Jaune was starting to believe that this semblance was the best thing to have ever happened to him.
Honestly, Jaune was getting faster and faster the more he sprinted, and soon enough the teen was standing at the front door to his house, sweat pouring down his head as he quickly regained his breath, System Body kicking in to prevent exhaustion and to assist him in regaining any depleted energy as his stamina regenerated rapidly.
Jaune pushed his way through the front door.
"Ah, there you are. Get started packing, you've got a lot to do," Juniper said, gesturing to her only son to quickly head upstairs.
Jaune, not one to refuse either his mother or a good idea, quickly did as he was bid, climbing the stairs and heading to his room.
Once inside, he closed the door behind him and gazed around.
His stuff was mostly left where it was, which was to say it was scattered around the room like some kind of bomb had gone off.
It was at this moment that Jaune remembered he had Crocea Mors on his belt, and the teen freaked out, quickly tossing it onto his bed and shifting the covers over it.
Once that fiasco was sorted, Jaune began to collect whatever he thought he'd need for his extended stay in Vale. He reached down and picked up his spare hoodie, this one lacking his favourite logo, and went to place it in the suitcase his mother had plucked out of the attic and handed to him the day before.
[Hint! Say 'Inventory' to open your inventory!]
"Inventory?" Jaune questioned aloud, as a new window opened in front of him.
A grid of boxes opened, next to a floating three-dimensional model of himself, a few boxes with what he was wearing in them hovering next to where they sat on his body.
"Huh," Jaune uttered, staring once again at the power his semblance provided.
Jaune reached out and placed the hoodie he was holding in the first slot, marvelling as it seemed to slide in, suddenly ceasing to exist in the very dimension it once did.
Jaune noticed another slot, this one full. With a quick tap, Jaune checked it.
120 Lien sat comfortably in the slot, obviously a slot specifically for Lien. Jaune reached into his pocket and added the 5 Lien he'd picked up from the forest floor and placed it in the slot, the 5 Lien note stacking with the other notes.
Jaune wasn't from a family that had much money to spare for luxurious goods. The thing about having eight children was that it cost just so damn much for upkeep, and Chrys and Juniper Arc tried their hardest to provide for them. Sure, they couldn't afford to buy expensive goods and expensive services, but Jaune, and the rest of his siblings, had never gone wanting, really.
Now Jaune had 125 Lien to his name after less than a day's work, and that was already a not-so-insignificant amount of money.
Jaune shook his head to clear it of transient thoughts, setting about loading his inventory with the things he'd need for Vale.
Of course, he'd still need to bring the empty suitcase if he didn't want to look insane. There was still the matter of figuring out how to explain his new semblance to his family, although the easier method was just to not mention it whatsoever. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and it wasn't like it would be the first lie he'd told them lately.
Jaune finished packing, and by finished packing what he'd actually done was stuff a few pairs of his outfit, some snacks from his hidden cupboard, and Crocea Mors into his inventory before closing the empty suitcase and carrying it to the front door, where it sat waiting for him to retrieve it when he went to leave.
"Oh, you're done already Jaune?" His mother asked, and Jaune gave a nod.
"Yeah, I don't really need that much. You need me to help out with anything?" Jaune asked.
"Nothing that is too pressing, dear. You've got some time to spare, though, don't you?" Juniper replied.
"Yeah, what's up?" Jaune sat himself down behind the kitchen bench.
"I just wanted to check in with you and make sure that, despite your father's constant reassurances, this is really what you want to do," Juniper said, as she opened the oven and slid in an uncooked lamb roast.
Jaune didn't say anything as it was clear that his mother wasn't quite finished.
"I'm just not sure what it is that you are doing in Vale, dear. You said you were going to go to a school, but you haven't actually told me what you'll be doing at that school, and it has me a little concerned," Juniper said, closing the oven and facing her only son.
"Mostly just standard schooling stuff, but there'll be a few classes on self-defense. Nothing major," Jaune replied, lying through his teeth.
"And it isn't Beacon, the school both your father and I have forbidden you to go to due to your failing of the entrance exam to Signal?" Juniper asked, staring straight into Jaune's eyes.
Jaune blinked. "No, Mum, just a standard school. I haven't picked my units yet, that's all. I'm still a little indecisive, that's all."
[Skill Created!]
[Deceitful Speech (Active): Thanks to the System, you can now deceive people far easier than before. The higher your CHA, the higher chance of success. Level 1; XP 0/100.]
Jaune blinked again, waiting for his mother to turn her back so he could dismiss the notification he'd received.
She stared at him for a second longer, before turning back to the counter to continue with her cooking.
"Well, as long as you stay safe, Jaune," Juniper said as Jaune scrambled to dismiss the notification that told him he was now better at lying.
"Don't worry Mum. I won't do anything dangerous, I promise."
[A skill has leveled up!]
[Skill: Deceitful Speech has reached level 2!]
The shuttle bay was loud, the sounds of Bullhead engines warming themselves up almost deafening.
Jaune was worried. The last time he'd been on any kind of aircraft had been the family trip to Vale four years ago, and ten people getting incredibly motion sick had only made the trip all that much more awful.
He'd said goodbye to his family, the roast lamb his mother had cooked being as delicious as ever, before his father had driven him out to the shuttle bay and dropped him off.
The airship he had a ticket too was scheduled to leave in ten minutes, and Jaune quickly walked towards the luggage check-in, despite his actual luggage not being in the suitcase.
He finished the whole process of checking in for the flight, and proceeded to the departure lounge, which was a small wooden bench in a room overlooking the airfield. And by airfield Jaune really meant dirt field surrounded by a chain-link fence.
The departure lounge was mostly empty, aside from a few people in business suits lingering around, browsing incessantly on their scrolls.
"Now boarding; Flight 02, for Vale," The voice over the intercom spoke, as Jaune struggled to understand it. Why they couldn't use clearer microphones was beyond him, although whether or not it was the fault of the microphone or the speaker was something he'd never really considered.
He paced his way towards the boarding ramp, nervously scratching the back of his head as he mentally attempted to prepare himself for the few hours of stomach-based agony he was bound to endure on the flight. He found his way to his seat, promptly took said seat over with his rear, and waited.
And continued to wait.
And, surprisingly enough, waited some more.
The moment he thought there might be some kind of problem the airship lurched into the air, causing the sole son of the Arc family to freak out.
He wasn't feeling airsick.
This was either a miracle, a cruel trick, or something his semblance was causing.
Whilst he was willing to scratch out the first option, he opted not to do the same for the second despite the fact he was almost one-hundred percent sure it was the third. It was best not to tempt fate, he thought, and saying it wasn't a trick was one sure way to do so.
He was off, headed for Vale and anxiously awaiting what was in store for him. He laid back into his seat, enjoying it for the first time in his life, and considered his mental to-do list, so to speak.
Firstly, he had to find a place to stay. That wouldn't be too difficult, seeing as how Vale was a massive great big city that would most likely have a hotel of some description.
Secondly, he had to find out a way into Beacon Academy, despite his obvious lack of qualifications, or experience.
Although...
He considered the word experience, rolling it around on the inside of his mouth, balancing it on the tip of his tongue before swallowing it down.
It was entirely feasible that he could prove that he was combat-ready to whomever he had to prove it too, there was just the matter of being combat-ready he had to worry about.
He'd have to grind, to borrow some lexica from video game terminology, although now that he thought about it it was entirely fair that he did so, seeing as he was practically living the most realistic game out there.
Getting himself back onto topic, he considered his options. Grinding was possible, of course, but it was the method of grinding he really had to think about. Sure, he could whack a tree for a few days until he was somewhat capable of fighting with a sword, but it was less about how good he was with his sword and more about how desirable he was as a potential quote-unquote 'special case.'
If Beacon Academy were to take him in without any prior qualifications, he'd need to present something that no one else was capable of, or at the very least something that was beyond expectations.
He needed to impress them, to make them think he was a worthwhile investment, because if he wasn't they were gambling on an unknown quantity, and any good gambler knows those aren't good odds.
What he really needed was something he didn't already have, something a little more… unique.
[Ding!]
[Through careful consideration, you've gained 1 point of WIS!]
Well, that was nice. It boosted his mana regeneration…
Mana. That was it, it had to be. He'd never heard of it before, outside of games. The concept of magic was of fairytale, an idea that was far too ridiculous to actually be real, and yet, he had it.
Or at least, he thought he did.
He didn't actually have anything that used mana, so he couldn't exactly say for certain, but if it was there it had to have a reason, right?
Willing to run with that kind of logic, Jaune considered his gaming knowledge that, whilst limited, was certainly all dedicated to the beginning parts of games. He needed some kind of starter spell, but it was how he would go about making it that was the biggest hurdle.
Jaune relaxed into the chair, deciding to figure it all out when he touched down, opting to instead enjoy the first flight in his life he'd been able to enjoy.
There was just something about ten people needing to hurl into the sole bathroom onboard that really took away from the enjoyment of an airship ride.
The landing had been smooth, as had the trip over, and Jaune had enjoyed it immensely. He chose to retrieve the empty suitcase, although he quickly placed it inside his inventory when he was sure no one was looking.
Vale, even this late in the evening, was still a bubbling hive of activity, the nightlife apparently undeterred by both the influx of crime and ever-present threat of the Grimm, although Jaune had to suspect the reason why the nightlife was so prominent was both of these things being a constant.
He walked along the bustling thoroughfare, headed to one of the more well-off motel-esq establishments, hoping they had a spare room available.
He stepped across the threshold, asked the receptionist, and found that they did in fact have a room available, for only 70 Lien a night.
Sure, Jaune couldn't afford to stay longer than one night right now, but he hoped that would change soon.
Handing over 70 Lien and receiving a keycard marked '207', Jaune set off towards the staircase, headed to his room and deliberately avoiding the floating notification until he was out of sight.
[Key added!]
[Golden Winds 207 Keycard]
[Storing copy in Keys section of the inventory!]
A copy, huh. That was an interesting revelation, and something Jaune could use to get into all kinds of trouble. Right now it didn't really pose much use, however, so he simply dismissed the notification and continued down the hallway to his room.
It wasn't a big room, Jaune noted as he opened the door. It wasn't extravagant, either, although it was both cheap and clean, and that was all Jaune really needed.
The bathroom was a little cramped but it served its purpose, so Jaune locked the door behind him and turned the shower on, hot water beginning to steam up as it touched the cold tiles.
Stripping down, Jaune stepped inside, marvelling at the feeling of hot water, seeing as he almost never got the first shower at home, so this was something he was most definitely not used to.
He soaped himself up and proceeded to let the hot water wash it off, with the assistance of a washcloth. After a couple minutes of allowing himself to bathe, he turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel off the rack and drying himself off.
He looked at himself in the decreasingly foggy mirror, and noticed a few differences to how he had looked only the day prior.
His muscles were slightly more defined, his body slightly more toned. It was only slight, but that said he'd only received three points of Strength, so it wasn't as if he was expecting to turn into a massively buff monstrosity after a few days.
He decided against dressing manually, deciding to experiment with his inventory some more.
"Inventory," he said, bringing up the menu. He dragged an item of clothing to his 3D model that stood there, unashamed in its nakedness, and quickly placed it in the body slot.
A single millisecond passed and Jaune suddenly felt the comfortable fabric against his skin, the model covered in his baby-blue onesie.
"Haha!" Jaune laughed aloud, looking to anyone, were there to be anyone watching, like he was a madman.
Almost done with his inventory, Jaune dropped the clothes he had been wearing into it, noticing a small percentage on each item, noting the icon beside it, of which looked like a small splotch of dirt.
So, his inventory measured how dirty an item of clothing got, that was useful. His hoodie also had a second percentage next to it, this one indicated by what looked like a small bandage. Durability, or damage of some kind.
The hoodie was sitting at 22%, and Jaune realised he'd forgotten he'd been clawed by a Beowolf.
Such a rookie mistake, but it was mostly hidden from a cursory glance, so Jaune really hoped that no one had noticed. If they had, most would chalk it up to a fashion statement, but Jaune was worried someone in his family had paid actual attention to what he was wearing for a change.
There was nothing he could do about it now, however, so Jaune shook his head, dismissing the inventory.
He stepped out of the bathroom and practically slumped into the bed. He was tired, it was late, and all Jaune wanted to do now was sleep.
So sleep he did.
The sun streamed through the blinds, proceeding to glisten in Jaune's closed eyes, prompting him to roll over.
No such luck for the teen, as going to sleep would promptly be placed aside in favour of turning off the blaring alarm from his scroll.
Jaune opened his eyes, blinking as they cleared themselves from the blurry mess that was the first thing in the morning. His scroll bleeped incessantly from the nightstand where he'd left it, and he outstretched a hand to attempt to silence it.
It took three or four attempts, but he finally reached the offending device, pressing the button to stop the alarm.
He sat up in the bed, before noticing something in his peripheral.
A little icon of a shirt, with some writing beneath it. Jaune focused, and he could read it.
'-80% CHA', it read, and Jaune blanched.
Something was taking eighty percent of his Charisma, and there was really only one explanation.
The onesie.
Sure, it wasn't like a seventeen-year-old should be wearing a onesie to bed, or at least that was what society recommended, but what did society know?
They were too busy shunning Faunus to care about his onesie anyways.
Regardless, the debuff prompted Jaune to quickly shower and change, using his equipment slots to the best advantage he could as he quickly changed.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Jaune picked up his scroll and pocketed it, walking out the door and locking it behind him. He'd be back later on, or so he hoped, although missing the checkout time wouldn't be a problem seeing as there was nothing left in the room.
Out Jaune stepped into Vale, leaving the Golden Winds. The teen followed his first instinct, and headed to a cafe.
One sat only a few buildings down from the Golden Winds, and Jaune stepped inside, the refreshing smell of pancakes wafting over him. He took a seat and a waitress was quick to walk over.
"What can I get you?" She asked, and Jaune flashed her a smile.
"Just a double stack with some syrup, please," He replied, and the waitress quickly wrote it down and flicked him a smile in return.
"It'll be down real quick," She said, turning and heading towards the kitchen to place his order.
Jaune decided that this was as good a time as any to people watch, and he stared out the window, observing the comings and goings of mid-morning Vale.
[Skill Created!]
[Observe (Active): Thanks to the System, you can now observe people/things to discern information about them/it. The higher the level, the more information you are able to discern. Level 1; XP 0/100.]
Now that was a useful skill, although what information it entailed was entirely up in the air. Jaune watched as the waitress moved to a table not too far from him, and used Observe.
[Dahlia Rosemary]
[Waitress, Level 1]
So, not all that much information. He could discern names, job and level, which was useful, but it wasn't anything world-shattering.
His musing was broken as the waitress, Dahlia, placed a plate of pancakes in front of him.
"Thanks," Jaune said, smiling as she placed a jug of syrup next to the plate, along with some cutlery.
"No problem," Dahlia replied.
Jaune was about to get started when he paused, deciding to Observe the pancakes.
[Pancakes, Double Stack]
[Food, +50 HP, +25 SP]
That was far more useful information, something Jaune was happy to see. He was also happy to start eating the pancakes with gusto, despite the fact that he was yet to feel hungry.
Sometimes it was about taste, rather than satiation.
Jaune finished rather quickly, before paying the bill, handing a 5 Lien note to Dahlia with a smile as he set out about the rest of his day.
[Ding!]
[Through using your personal charm, you've gained 1 point of CHA!]
So, a cherry on top of his wonderful breakfast. A great way to start the day.
He was headed for the outskirts of Vale, beyond the city limits, hoping to find some Grimm to kill. He knew they'd be low level and weak, seeing as how close they would be to the city, but he wasn't exactly ready to face hordes of Ursa Major.
Not yet, but maybe someday.
The walk was peaceful, as Jaune used Observe on all the surrounding people, not finding anyone even remotely interesting as he walked.
[A skill has leveled up!]
[Skill: Observe has reached level 2!]
It didn't take him too long to reach the edge of Vale, and once he did, he noted the wooden pole standing at the edge of a well-worn path.
He observed it, noting as multiple notifications appeared.
[Signpost]
[Map updated!]
[Vale, Outskirts added to Map]
A map. Jaune should've figured he'd have a map.
"Map," Jaune said aloud, watching as a box appeared, a map showing. It was drawn as simple lines, with no colour or detail, and it was mostly blank except for where he had been in the past day or so.
It started back at his home village of Domremy, and showed the path the airship had taken over Sanus to Vale. Jaune tapped Vale, and watched as the map zoomed in, showing the map of the city of Vale. Much like the World Map that had opened originally, it was mostly empty aside from the path he'd taken, and the area he'd updated by observing.
A few symbols stood out on the map, and he noted that one of the symbols was a stylized skull, almost looking like a Beowolf's head. A quick consultation of the map's legend and Jaune determined that that was in fact the identifier for Grimm in the area, and so he headed that direction.
The teen walked towards the Forever Fall forest, ready to hunt some of humanity's worst enemies.
Or so he hoped, anyways.
[The System has updated!]
[A Skill has changed!]
[System Mind (Passive): Thanks to the System, you now possess a mind immune to all negative effects, and you can now nullify potentially extreme negative emotions. Level MAX.]
[STATS]
[Name: Jaune Arc]
[Title: Huntsman Initiate]
[Level: 2]
[XP: 550/2000]
[HP: 140/140 (0.7/s)]
[SP: 140/140 (2.8/s)]
[MP: 120/120 (1.1/s)]
[AP: 0/0]
[STR: 13]
[END: 14]
[AGI: 11]
[INT: 12]
[WIS: 11]
[CHA: 11]
[LCK: 10]
[Skill Points: 5]
[Lien: 50]
Well, that was a fun little chapter. Although little doesn't really cover it, its nearly four-and-a-half thousand words. And the next one is even bigger. Ah, at least I'm ahead of schedule.
Now, to talk about the reviews I've gotten, and to answer some questions slash put to rest some issues;
merendinoemiliano: One day, I'll find a reason to write a self-fulfilling harem fic. Until then, however, the pairing for this fic will be somewhat undecided. I think it's important to note that I'm not very good at writing romance, especially as a sub-plot, but I may or may not give it a try. If I do, it probably won't be Arkos, because in my opinion Arkos is very one-note, but to each their own and such.
Boudakip: Thanks. It was a little difficult trying to format all the notifications, but I think I've found a standard that flows well, and doesn't detract too much from the whole experience. At least there's no format guide at the beginning of each chapter! Thanks for the review!
The Wizardrous Magicman: Almost every fic along the Jaune/Gamer lines I've read has been wizard/mage specced, and whilst that can be fun to write and all, Jaune isn't a wizard. The plan for this is to have a swordmage, and slowly but surely spec him towards being powerful in both range and melee. That reccomendation though, my gods. Not only is it dark as all hell, which I will admit is enjoyable to read, it's also depressing as fuck. Cheers for that, it was a really good read, and I'll have to leave a review for ICNeoOblivion, he knows how to write creepy, dark moral choices, that's for sure. Thanks for the review, you always seem to have something great to say!
Guest: I get what you're saying, I really do, but the problem with removing INT and WIS is that not only are you removing key stats, you're kind of ruining the whole purpose of the fic. At that point, should I say that Ruby can't run that fast because we can't, or Blake can't shadow-clone because we can't? It isn't that Jaune is going to be super-smart, super-strong and impossible to beat, because there is a massive great big fuck-off spreadsheet with a shit-ton of math behind this fic, and I'm using all the damn experience I have to try and balance the whole System. I did, however, change up the way System Mind, or as most people know it Gamer's Mind, works, as evidenced above. Thanks for the review though, and I hope you stick with it despite, in your opinion, the shit start.
SomberFlight: As I said to Guest, there is a big spreadsheet full of notes and mathematical equations as to balance the System, and to hopefully not have Jaune become either useless or overpowered. Also the metaphor "Patrick Star with Saitama's body" is by far the best way of putting a high STR, low INT build I've ever seen. All in all, thanks for the review and I hope it doesn't follow where your worries lie.
overtoast: Cheers, mate. I figured the start needed to be a bit quirky to try and capture the sheer confusion, and despite the fact that the rest of the chapters I've written so far, including this one, don't have the same amount of quirkiness, I do feel like I'll sprinkle some in every now and then. Thanks for the review!
Alvelvnor: An interesting point you make, and something I hadn't put too much consideration into as of yet. It is important to note that the biggest effect Luck would have would be on item drop rates and critical hits, alongside gambling. Jaune isn't much of a gambler, at least, not yet, but maybe one day that'll change. Right now though, well... Maybe Luck might become a bigger focus sooner rather than later.
And, as always, see you next chapter
~AFatFlyingWhale