"Uhh…" No sudden movements, Jaune told himself. Perhaps his new partner's vision was based on movement. He could visibly see Renny's hands clench a bit harder on the triggers of his guns. They weren't aiming at Jaune, but they probably would be in a second.

You Sense Danger

[OK]

"You called me 'Renny.' Where did you hear that?" Jaune flinched at the sheer coldness of Renny's words. Was he really about to be murdered by his own partner? They had only just met a few minutes ago, and already there was infighting. If Jaune had boots, he would be shaking in them right now.

Gamer's Mind has nullified the status effect:
Terror

[OK]

With that out of the way, Jaune decided that the best excuse would simply be the truth.

"I heard Nora call you that and assumed it was your name." Saying it out loud actually gave Jaune a bit of confidence. Why would he be killed for something as ridiculous as a name? He was going to be fine, Renny didn't seem like the type of person to snap at something like that, ignoring the fact that he already had. "Should I not call you that?" At that Renny got uncomfortably close to Jaune's face in a near instant.

"Nora calls me that. No one else. If you have to, you can call me Ren." Jaune nodded, and Renny- No. Just Ren got to a more comfortable distant away. At this, two screens popped up.

Secret Quest Complete:
Survive an encounter with Lie Ren

Optional Quest Failed:
Make a positive bond with Lie Ren

Failure Avoided: Death
Optional Reward Avoided: +50 EXP, +2 INT

Reward: +20 Lien, +30 EXP

[OK]

Objective Complete: Find a Partner

[OK]

Well that was a great thing to see! As long as he came out of the initiation alive, he would definitely be level two.

"Okay then, Ren. I'm Jaune Arc. Pleasure to meet you." He put his sword and shield in one hand for a moment to go for a shake. Ren looked down at the hand and frowned. "What's wrong?" Jaune asked.

"You're bleeding." Jaune looked to see that what Ren had said was indeed true. The cut Gary the Grimm had given him ended up being deep enough to draw blood. It didn't hurt, because of Gamer's Mind, and wasn't enough to cause him to die from blood loss, so Jaune shrugged it off.

"It's fine. Any bandages you have would be nice, but I'm not in a serious condition." Jaune tried to reassure his partner, but to no avail.

"How come your aura hasn't kicked in?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. Why was his partner talking nonsense?

"My what now?"

"Aura."

"Bless you."

"Jaune. Do you really not know what aura is?" Jaune wanted to think Ren was joking, but his tone of voice a demeanor said the exact opposite.

"I… Uhh… Yes…?" Ren gave him a deadpanned stare, and Jaune knew he hadn't been convinced. Perhaps he should have equipped the other title first.

"How could you possibly get around Vale without knowing aura? Every Hunter has it." The dead look in Ren's eyes was beginning to make Jaune uncomfortable, and Gamer's Mind didn't seem to be able to prevent that. It made sense in a way, if gamers were anything, they were self conscious, which was like being uncomfortable with yourself. And not to mention, what would be the point of 'CHA' giving him confidence if he'd never need it?

"I come from a small town on the outskirts of Vale. The Hunters that come there never stay around long enough to give anything more than a few fighting tips and motivational one-liners. You know what I mean?"

+1 Bond with:
Lie Ren
Bond LV: 0/200

[OK]

"I know what you mean. It's always the strong that never give the weak the time of day." Ren practically preached. Jaune nodded to that. It was basically the motto of any civilization far outside of the central city.

"Which is why need to become stronger for ourselves." Jaune completed the proverb. "Your a town boy too then. Anything you can tell me about this 'aura.'" For a moment, Jaune considered asked Ren about his town, but thought against it. Living outside the city was a fragile thing. Jaune was lucky to live in such an established area, but not every had that luxury. It was simply edicate to allow one to tell you about their town, as opposed to asking. And if the notification was anything to go by, Ren was thinking the same thing.

+1 Bond with:
Lie Ren
Bond LV: 1/200

[OK]

"It'd be better to just show you. Not having aura may have gotten you this far, but it won't take you much further." He put a hand in Jaune's head, and started chanting. Instinctively, Jaune closed his eyes. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." Even with closed eyes, he was blinded by the light.

All of a sudden, he was faster, stronger, smarter, possibly even on the same level as all of his peers. For the first time in his life, Jaune felt truly powerful… For about three seconds, until a screen popped up and he went back to normal.

Stat Bonuses from AP and MP nullified because of New Game Plus status.

[OK]

This game hated him, and he hated this game. Even still, he could feel the presence of something new within him.

"So what do I use it for?" Jaune asked, looking to his cut that had quickly healed in a blinding like. Ren thought about this.

"That's… Entirely up to you, I suppose. Really, you can do almost anything with it. Mainly though, it acts as a damage absorber and heals your wounds." While Ren tried to put the entire history of Aura in a few simple words, Jaune stuck a glance at his stats.

Name: Jaune Arc
LV: 1 EXP: 160/200
Title: [The New Kid]
Race: [Basic Human]

HP: 100/100 (+10 HP Every Second for -1 AP)
AP: 1200/1200 (+10 AP Every Second)
MP: 120/120 (+5 AP Every Second)

STR: 15
DEX: 10
INT: 6 (5+1)
WIS: 5
END: 9 (10-1)
CHA: 9 (7+2)
LCK: 13 (10+3)
Current Modifiers: Title, Race
SP: 15

[Go to Second Page]
[Go back to Main Menu]

So it seemed that his race had made his intelligence go up by one, but his endurance went down by the same amount. Jaune would have to check on the race option when he had some more time. In other news, if Ren was correct in his statement, Jaune now had twelve times more health at his disposal. That was awesome, to say the least. Now he just needed to know what 'MP' was and he'd be dead set. Scratch that, he'd be set. Jaune was now trying to make a conscious effort to avoid words relating to death as to not jinx himself.

"So, do you understand?" Ren asked, snapping Jaune out of his thoughts. He'd ask about MP some other time. Right now, he still had to find a relic, whatever that meant.

"Yeah, thanks. Umm… Where are we heading now?"

"North. That's where the relics are located." Jaune's eyes widened. Ren was like a godsend. Not only did he volunteer to be Jaune's partner, but he also knew about this 'relic' stuff.

"Yeah! Let's go!" With renewed vigor, Jaune started towards whatever direction he thought was north.

"That's not- Oh, wait, that is north. Huh."


"Oof!" Jaune grunted as Ren's arm stopped him in his tracks.

"Quiet!" He whisper-yelled. "Grimm ahead." Ren gestured just beyond the trees, where Jaune could faintly make out the unmistakable black fur of a Grimm.

They crouched down a slowly approached the scene. From his position, Jaune could make out three beowolves, each not more powerful than Gary was to start.

Name: Johnson
LV: 6 EXP: NULL
Title: The Beowolf
Race: Basic Grimm

[OK]

Name: Bobert
LV: 8 EXP: NULL
Title: The Democratically Elected Leader
Race: Basic Grimm

[OK]

Name: Henry
LV: 7 EXP: NULL
Title: The Beowolf
Race: Basic Grimm

[OK]

Democratically elected leader? Uh… Sure. Ignoring that oddity, Jaune told Ren what he knew.

"I think that one in the middle is the leader, he seems like the biggest." Ren nodded to his assessment.

"I agree. You take the one left, I'll take the one on the right. Ten we'll team up on the middle one. Ready?"

"Wait what?" Before Jaune could protest, Ren had already engaged Henry, hitting him with a barrage of bullets from his bright green weapons and tackling him into a bush, quickly followed by Bobert. Not wanting to leave his partner alone in the fight, Jaune, too, charged in with his inspiring battlecry. "Dammit Ren!"

Jaune managed to get a slice off on Johnson before he jumped away, getting into a fighting stance. This time, thankfully, Johnson stayed the same level and there was no purple glow. Jaune sighed in relief, now confirming for sure that it was his weird scythe that had the effect and that it wasn't just him. At the same time, a menu appeared. Unlike his last fight with a beowolf, though, Jaune was expecting it.

New Skill acquired: Longsword Proficiency

[OK]

The fact that he didn't have that skill beforehand was a little annoying, but Jaune shook the thought away. He and Johnson circled each other for a few moments before he lashed out, letting his nerves get the better of him. He didn't want this to end up like last time, regardless of the weapons in play. Unfortunately, his haste was his downfall, as Johnson easily dodged and countered with a slash on his non-shield side. Unlike the last time he was hit, he didn't even flinch at the pain. While still eying up the Grimm, he took a look at his health.

HP: 100/100 (+10 HP Every Ten Seconds for -1 AP)
AP: 1150/1200 (+10 AP Every Ten Seconds)
MP: 120/120 (+5 AP Every Ten Seconds)

Fifty damage?! While it didn't seem like much compared to the sheer amount of aura he had, it was only ten damage away from Gary's attack at level twenty five! Perhaps it had to do with his aura not getting the same natural defenses that his base health did, but he couldn't ponder on it for too long. Maybe if the attack only did five damage, Jaune could rush in a brute force kill the Grimm, but fifty damage per attack from something much more nimble than he was shouldn't be messed around with. He'd have to play the waiting game.

The waiting game took place for all of ten seconds until Jaune had a thought. How come he couldn't see the enemies health and aura, or whatever it was that Grimm had? Health bars were a videogame staple. Just like that, he got the screen in his face.

New Feature: Health and Health Bars
You do realize that this will only end badly for you right? How? Ah, well, I won't spoil the surprise if you don't already know.
Adds: Observe can now see the health of people within 75 levels. When in combat mode, a Health Bar is automatically shown on the top of the enemy's head, or on the bottom of the screen for bosses.

[OK]

So that was officially a thing. Not to mention, his observe skill was quickly turning into the most versatile thing in existence. As promised, a health bar was floating above Johnson's head. It was mostly red, with a part of it greyed out.

HP: 540/600

Ugh. This was gonna take a while. Why did everything have to be so hard? At the least, he was getting some form of experience. He had gained a proficiency skill in light shields when he finally got Johnson to hit the damn thing instead of just going around it. As it turned out, using a shield was hard, and ignoring it to just attack with your sword was way easier. After a bit, Jaune hooked it back onto his belt. It sounded stupid, but if you thought about it, it kinda made sense. With how powerful all of Jaune's enemies were and would be, it would do him better to dodge more than block. At least for now while his dexterity was higher than his endurance.

After a good five minutes, the grand battle was coming to an end. Both sides had suffered heavy casualties, but only one was walking away with their lives. If Jaune had the capability to pant, he would have been. His aura had been knocked into the low seven hundreds during the fight, while the Grimm's health was all the way down to twenty. Just one more hit would end it all.

Jaune stared down at Johnson, who was about to become his first kill. The wolf was twitching and bleeding everywhere. Never before, had Jaune seen a beowolf's death look so gruesome. A good hunter was usually able to kill a beowolf in one or two hits, never allowing for what could most definitely be classified as animal abuse.

"It's been fun, Johnson, but now I must say goodbye. You were a-"

BANG!

A bullet went through the Grimm's heart and it turned to dust instantaneously. Jaune blinked in shock, and then turned to the source of the bullet. Ren stood tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for Jaune.

"Come on, Jaune. I already took out the other two. I don't know what took you so long, but it's fine." Ren turned away and started moving north once more while Jaune stared into space, waiting for a menu to pop up. It never did. Then he checked his stats. One hundred sixty experience points, just as before. Jaune took a deep breath to try and calm his rage.

"Did he just steal my kill?" Jaune got no answer…

This game hated him.


When they came in contact with another pack, Jaune was tempted to now steal Ren's kill, but thought better of it. One, it was a dick thing to do. And two, Jaune really didn't want to find out how Ren would react. His partner had been getting increasingly annoyed that they were moving so slow, to which Jaune replied that they were moving way too fast.

When he was finally able to kill his very own Beowolf, it's name was Joe, this menu popped up,

Beowolf Slain!

Rewards:
(10 Lien x 80%)= +8 Lien
(5 EXP x 80%)= +4 EXP

[OK]

Twenty percent reduction on all loot drops, as promised. Jaune wondered how they would round the number if it was something not easily converted to percent. Probably down, no matter what the decimal.

He didn't get any real 'loot' items, like a claw or Fang or something, but that was for the best. As of now, he didn't have a place to carry all of that. Before the initiation, he dropped all his money in his locker so that his pockets wouldn't be full. Jaune was glad he did, or else he'd be limping with the amount of single Lien notes he'd have to carry. And no, he wasn't complaining about getting money from the game, but… It could be a little much.

New Feature: Reduced Money
At your request, the game has decided to give you less money. Probably for the better. We wouldn't want to add to inflation, now would we?
Adds: All Lien drops from enemies are now halved. Quest Lien will remain the same.

[OK]

"Dammit!" He couldn't have just shut his mouth, or well, mind, could he?

"What?" Ren turned toward Jaune for an explanation, only for the perfect excuse to come out right behind him. Jaune pointed to said excuse.

"Ursa!" Without a second thought, his partner jumped out of the way as a huge bearpaw came crashing down on his previous location. As per usual, Jaune observed the creature.

Name: Sasha
LV: 10 EXP: NULL
Title: The Ursa
Race: Moderate Grimm

HP: 1500/1500

[OK]

Gamer's Mind has nullified the status effect:
Terror

[OK]

"This one's bulky. We're gonna have to take it slow, as a team." Jaune reported his findings to his partner. In the face of a beast as great as this, it would be best to have a plan. Specifically, one that didn't involve him taking on the Grimm by himself. "You draw its attention with your range, and I'll get strikes off on its side. That good with you?"

"Yes. Let's-" Ren was unable to finish his thought, as a voice sounded from the forest, making even the auras pause.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" It sounded to Jaune like that Nora girl he met earlier. She must have found her way to the relics, and was pretty close if the noise was anything to go off of. Unfortunately, Ren seemed to have the same realizations Jaune did.

"Nora." His partner mutter to himself, determination evident in his voice.

"Let's focus on the Ursa first then-" Jaune's words had no effect on the pink eyed man, and Ren took off running, disappearing into the trees. "Ren?" Jaune asked, futilely hoping that his partner was just joking around with him and simply hiding in the bushes. "Buddy…?" He tried one more time to no success.

You Sense Danger

[OK]

Facing the music Jaune turned his attention to the Ursa standing in wait behind him.

"Maybe we can talk this out- Okay! Never mind!" He barely dodged out of the way of a vicious strike, one that would have likely taken his head off if he didn't have aura. No time for games, this was gonna take all his concentration.

Having said that, Jaune was dedicating a little too much of his brain to being mad at Ren. Gamer's Mind didn't kick in because Jaune could still think and focus freely. He just chose what to focus on, and aren't happened to be the wrong choice. Distracted by Ren's betrayal and not even arming himself with a shield, Jaune inevitably caught a full force blow to the chest causing him to fly backwards into a tree.

After letting Gamer's Body remove the intense pain he was feeling from his rib cage, Jaune checked on his health.

HP: 100/100 (+10 HP Every Ten Seconds for -1 AP)
AP: 1045/1200 (+10 AP Every Ten Seconds)
MP: 120/120 (+5 AP Every Ten Seconds)

Okay, that was a lot. But maybe Sasha also took a lot of damage while giving it, like a glass cannon. Yeah. And then the reason she had high health was only because of her level. Yeah! He could do this!

Getting into what he hoped to be a proper ready stance, Jaune pushed himself off the tree with a yell. First he dodged under the Grimm's strike and slashed the stomach. Then he went around back while slashing the side. Finally, while the Ursa was reorienting itself, Jaune got out of there feeling like an absolute badass. Then Sasha growled.

HP: 1480/1500

Well then. It was probably best to take a page from Ren's book, and run like a bat out of hell. As any sane person would, Jaune bolted with the Grimm right on his heels. Jaune didn't even need to look back to know that Sasha was chasing him. The noise it made told him all he needed. Gamer's Mind had to nullify terror multiple times, as he was being chased by a GODDAMNED BEAR.

It took a little while for Jaune to realize that he hadn't been getting tired while running. Like a smart runner, he was conserving his stamina, but because of Gamer's Mind, he'd be able to run full force without breaking a sweat. So he did. Obviously. The roaring of the Grimm faded and the light of the outside world brightened. It seemed that he was exiting the forest.

After a final lunge to safety, Jaune bursted out into a large clearing. The middle of the clearing caught his attention, containing a large stone structure with three people on it. Jaune could make out Ren and Nora, but he was unfamiliar with the person next to Nora. Being a normal human being, didn't try and use Observe on them before they even introduced themselves. Or, more accurately, he did try, but it failed because he was too far away. It didn't matter though, because he was going in the direction anyway. He was definitely going to grill Ren for leaving him when he got the chance. And then there was the pop up.

You Sense Danger

[OK]

"Oooo! Ursa!" Jaune could heat Nora's delight as he went flying forwards into the stone altar from the Grimm's devastating blow. He had been completely unable to react.

HP: 100/100 (+10 HP Every Ten Seconds for -1 AP)
AP: 945/1200 (+10 AP Every Ten Seconds)
MP: 120/120 (+5 AP Every Ten Seconds)

Either Jaune didn't get back up to full health, the surprise attacks did more damage than regular ones, or hitting this stone did a lot more damage than Jaune anticipated, as now his entire body hurt in the split second that it was able to. Spitting out some debris he collected during his flight and subsequent landing, Jaune turned into his back, deciding to rest for a short bit. Above him, Nora's face came in close.

"Hi Jauney! I heard that you're Ren's partner. How do you like him?"

You Sense Danger

[OK]

Huh. That was the first time the Skill came in any handy at all. He didn't actually realize Nora was threatening him until he saw that. Jaune guessed that meant he'd have to tell the truth.

"I think he's cool. A little all over the place though. Like when he left me to fight that Ursa over there because he heard your voice in the distance." Nora smirked and looked over to Ren without lifting up her head.

+2 Bond with:
Nora Valkyrie
Bond LV: 3/200

[OK]

"You know, you're a good guy, Jauney. Is there anything I could help you with?" Nora whispered. Jaune found it a little odd, but rolled with it.

"You could help me kill that Ursa, but let me get the last hit." He whispered back. Nora's eyes lit up and she picked him up to his feet in an instant.

+1 Bond with:
Nora Valkyrie
Bond LV: 4/200

[OK]

"Let's do this!" The ginger haired girl yelled while she ran towards the Ursa at full speed, dragging Jaune through the wind behind her. When they were mere feet away from the Grimm, which had been waiting patiently for them to stop talking, Nora dropped Jaune back to the ground, pulled the giant hammer off her back in quick succession, then smashed it into Sasha's face, causing a noticeable crunching noise. "Sorry, Sasha!" Nora shouted her apology as she wound up to hit the stomach.

Wait. Did she just call the Grimm by its name? No. That couldn't be right. Jaune was just imagining things. Ignoring that, Jaune was very happy to see that the Ursa's health bar was now extremely low.

HP: 100/1500

Then Jaune frowned, as the person who managed to do this amount of damage in two hits also just threaten him a little while ago. Did he almost just die? No time to think on it now, as he had a Grimm to kill off.

Picking himself up to his feet, Jaune took his sword and hacked at the downed Grimm. He got through to the bone, but it wasn't enough to kill the beast. He hacked again, but the result remained the same. Before he could hack a third time, Nora stopped his arms in midair.

"You're not very good at this, huh?" She asked rhetorically. Ignoring his indignant shout, she took his sword and aimed it at Sasha's neck. "You need to hit the weak points if you want to do enough damage to kill it." Following her lead and taking back Crocea Mors, he stabbed the Grimm through the neck, making it disappear instantly. Suddenly, his vision was clouded with menus.

Ursa Slain!

Rewards:
(20 Lien x 50%)= +10 Lien
(10 EXP x 80%)= +8 EXP

[OK]

Optional Quest Complete:
Kill a Beowolf and Ursa

[OK]

New Feature: Weak Points
Every enemy you'll ever face has some point that you can hit with a specific type of damage to do a lot more damage than any other point. If you were better at fighting, you would have already unlocked this feature hours ago.
Adds: Specific Weak Points to all potential enemies. Higher level Observe will allow you to see these weak points with ease.

[OK]

That last one was rather helpful. Jaune grinned ear to ear. He really wasn't expecting that. Not to mention, there was even an inverse to this, so Jaune could always do a base amount of damage.

New Feature: Strong Points
Some enemies have places where doing a specific type of damage just doesn't work. You knew this would happen when you thought that. Are you some kind of masochist?
Adds: Specific Strong Points to all potential enemies. Higher level Observe will allow you to see these weak points with ease.

[OK]

Jaune smile faded. It seemed this would be a reoccurring trend in his life now. Always, things would have a downside, no matter what. Sighing in temporary despair, Jaune turned to the powerhouse that helped him out.

"Thanks." He mumbled.

"No problem! Next time, though, stick to the tutorial." His eyes widened and she skipped off towards Ren and the mystery girl.

"Did she just- No… But- No…" Jaune just wasn't thinking straight right now. He needed to focus, concentrate. He had a goal, and he needed to achieve it.

Bringing himself over to his newfound companions, he turned his attention to Ren.

"That's for the assist back there, Partner." Jaune's voice was deadpanned, but Ren seemed to shrug it off.

"No problem, Jaune." Something was definitely off here. Ren's entire demeanor changed. Before he looked tense and constantly on guard, but now he looked as if he was a monk in meditation. For the life of him, though, Jaune couldn't figure out why. Then he turned to the left.

Nora's partner was… Simply beautiful. There was no elegance to her like Weiss or sheer sex appeal like Yang, but no one could deny her plain beauty. She wore a bow in her straight black hair that went down to the center of her back as well as her- No. he wouldn't go there. Pale skin contrasted well with her dark outfit, and piercing yellow eyes told him that he had been staring too long. Damn it, Gamer's Body. Where were you in that one?

Gamer's Mind has nullified the status effect:Lust

[OK]

Oh yeah, thanks for the save. Back to what he realized with Ren, his partner had a crush! No doubt about it. Unlike him, Ren couldn't control his lust, in turn he had fallen hard for this new face after catching up to Nora and was now trying to play it cool. Jaune wouldn't have taken Ren for that sort of guy, but then again, he had only known his partner's name for a few hours. Coughing to clear the air, Jaune held out his hand to Nora's partner.

"Hi, I'm Jaune." She glanced down at his hand for a few seconds with an undefinable look. After just long enough to make the situation awkward, she shook it. That, along with her tense posture, showed that she was obviously nervous. Hopefully, he didn't cause too much of that.

"Blake." One word, apparently all the information he needed. Well. Time to Observe.

Name: Blake Belladonna
LV: 40 EXP: NULL
Title: The Silent Shadow

HP: 4000/4000
AP: 11250/11250

[OK]

That… Was a lot of health. Or did it only seem like it because she was the only person he had observed with his new features? Might as well check Ren and Nora, since he surprisingly hasn't already done so.

Name: Lie Ren
LV: 38 EXP: NULL
Title: Withered Rose

HP: 3800/3800
AP: 10900/10900

[OK]

Name: Nora Valkyrie
LV: 42 EXP: NULL

HP: 4200/4200
AP: 11600/11600

[OK]

Nope. She was just average, not strange at all. Speaking of strange though, 'Withered Rose?' What kind of title was that? Probably something private, no doubt. Anyway, it was time to check another objective off his list.

"Ren, did you grab a relic?" Jaune asked his 'Withered' partner, gesturing to the three pedestals within the stone structure that still had figured on them.

"Not yet." He replied in a weirdly chill voice. "Which one did you choose, Nora?" The orange haired girl seemed to smirk for a split second before her face went completely innocent.

"I got the cool horsey! You should to!" Jaune noticed Blake, who had been absorbed in her own little world for the moment, looked up in confusion, but after consideration, put her head back down. Ren nodded.

"Alright. I guess we can choose that one." Jaune raised an eyebrow to this. Ren said 'we' but he clearly meant 'I.' Jaune didn't care that much, but it was an observation. Another observation was that there were still two knights left. The 'Withered Rose' went over to the pedestal, collected one of the knights, not noticing the second, and stashed it… Somewhere.

Objective Complete:
Find a Relic

[OK]

Before another conversation could be started, a scream was heard from above.

"Heads up!" Jaune looked up to see Ruby falling from a Nevermore, approaching the ground fast.

"Uhh… Should we do something?" He asked his companions. Blake ignored him, Ren was busy staring at Nora, and Nora was staring at him with a crazed grin on her face. "What is it?" Jaune questioned the ginger, getting a little nervous.

"It's time to save the damsel in distress, hero!"

"Wait wha-" All of a sudden, Nora had grabbed him and hoisted him over her head. "What are you doing?!" Jaune struggled to get down, but he was no match for her sheer strength.

"Go get her!" With that, Jaune died.

Okay, so that was a lie. But Jaune did feel like his life was passing before his eyes, as he was flung towards the falling Ruby. Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was skill- It was luck- but miraculously, Ruby and Jaune's trajectories combined to form a gentle slope. This allowed the two of them to roll to safety and landed them directly on their feet. Checking that he was still alive, Jaune was stunned.

Gamer's Mind has nullified the status effect:
Stun

[OK]

+1 Bond with:
Ruby Rose
Bond LV: 6/200

[OK]

"Thanks for catching me, Jaune." Ruby said to him. Unlike him, she didn't look any worse for wear. In fact, she didn't look like she had been in a single fight at all! Was he really that bad, or did everyone else just have strong clothes? Jaune already knew the answer to that.

"Did you just leave me up here?!" Jaune couldn't even respond to Ruby since Weiss made her presence known. Jaune again looked up to see the girl in question hanging on the side of a Nevermore. Her partner's face contorted in annoyance.

"Maybe if you listened to me for just two seconds, you would know that was the plan!" Ruby shouted back. There was no audible response, but Jaune was almost convinced that he heard an indignant huff from up in the sky.

"I think she's gonna fall." Jaune commented to the small huntress next to him. Weiss was obviously struggling to maintain a grip on the giant bird's feathers.

"I'm sure 'Miss Perfect' will be fine." Ruby replied, not even looking up.

"She's falling."

"Maybe she'll land on her head and stop being such a bitch." Well then. Jaune would say that was uncalled for, but it really wasn't.

"I'm gonna catch her."

"Fine. But when she gets all pissy, don't say I didn't warn you." Jaune shook his head and got into position.

As he stood about to catch a beautiful woman, of many of which he was already surrounded by, Jaune took a moment to think back on how crazy his life had gotten in only a day and a half. He went from being a complete loser to… Well, still a complete loser, but a loser with super powers. Doubly so, since he now had aura. Would every day from now on be as insane as this, or would these days be few and far between? Being completely honest, Jaune wasn't sure which he prefered. Anyhow. Was he doing something? Oh yeah, he was gonna catch the Ice Queen. He should probably focus on-

"Oof!" He grunted. Lost in his thoughts, Jaune failed to catch Weiss, instead having her land right on top of the dust cleared, it was seen that they were in a super dirty position. Or at least, that's what you would have thought considering Weiss' reaction.

-1 Bond with:
Weiss Schnee
Bond LV: -5/200

[OK]

"Ugh! How dare you touch me?" She shot up from her position sitting on his back.

"Hey!" Ruby came to his rescue. "He just saved you from your fall, you should be thanking him!" Jaune wanted to add his own two cents about the whole situation being fine, when they broke out into an argument that clearly had nothing to do with him. It was hard to listen to, but at least Jaune could be assured in the thought that he and Ren weren't the only partners with issues.

"So." Jaune remarked, walking back over to where the civilized people, and Nora, were. "We have to listen to a fighting pair, and there's still the Nevermore that will undoubtedly be heading back this way. Is there anything else that wants to ruin the day?" He asked rhetorically. Nora snickered, and he both mentally and physically berated himself for tempting fate like that. Then… He stopped. Nothing had happened.

"Weird. I was really expecting something else to go wrong because you said that." Nora commented.

"Yeah. Me-"

"Whooohooo!" Jaune heard Yang before he saw her, and he saw Pyrrha even before all that. The scarlet haired warrior bursted into the clearing like a woman possessed, and shortly after, Jaune could tell why. Right on her tail was a huge Deathstalker, and on its tail was-

"Is she riding that thing?" Blake added her few words to the conversation for the first time in ages. Her eyes were darting around like crazy, but she seemed the tiniest bit more at ease with Nora standing beside her.

"Awesome…" Nora muttered, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Oh no…" Ren muttered in tandem, knowing what was to come of this. Jaune also heard Ruby and Weiss arguing in the background.

"She's insane!" Weiss cried as Yang was flung off the Grimm with a smile on her face. It was gaining, fast.

"Don't call my sister crazy!" Ruby growled at her partner.

"I didn't. I called her insane. Though I suppose you wouldn't know the difference. Ugh, weak minded fool…"

"Weak!?" It was fairly safe to say that by this point, Ruby was outraged. "I'll show you whose weak!" With speeds so fast Jaune could scarcely track Ruby with his eyes, she flung herself towards the oncoming Deathstalker. Rose petals followed her as her sheer force bent the air into a cone in front of her. When she was only ten feet away from the Grimm, she jumped up in the air and winding back Crescent Rose, which was in scythe form, for a devastating hit…

Only to be bitchslapped right out of the air. It sounded harsh, but there was simply no other way to describe it. With a thud, she bounced off the ground and came to a halt directly in front of the giant scorpion.

"Oh shit, Qrow's gonna kill me." Jaune heard Yang curse as she ran off to try and help her little sister. Right after, Weiss ran off saying a similar thing, but she used the name 'Winter' instead of 'Qrow.' Well, Jaune assumed that these were names, but that could very well likely not be the case.

Ruby managed to get up on her feet before she was smashed by one of the Deathstalker's claws, and starting running out of there. She had most likely come to the conclusion that trying to win an argument wasn't worth her life. Jaune wasn't confident that anyone else he had met so far was able to make the same choice. It was just then when the Nevermore came back around. Was it just a coincidence, or did bad stuff happen to sane people? Heh. That sounded like something a child would ask their mother.

'Mommy, why does bad stuff happen to sane people?'

'Because, sweetie, the universe loves messing with people who think they have their shit together.'

Anyway. Because of said logic, Ruby got her cloak stuck on a feather that the Nevermore shot out. This allowed the Deathstalker to catch up to her in what could only be described as the world's deadliest tagteam. Yang was thrown off by the feathers as well, being unable to come to the rescue, All seemed lost for Ruby, when suddenly Weiss froze the Deathstalker in its tracks, saving the young huntress in training. As Weiss went on to explain that she would not be the first team to lose a member, Jaune wondered two things. Why had he done nothing, and why had he known everything was going to be okay?

The first question had two parts and the first was pretty easy to answer. He couldn't do anything because he had nothing to do. He had barely any special powers, his stats were trash, and he barely even knew how to use a sword. What was he supposed to do?

The second reason Jaune had done nothing related to the second question. He had known everything would be fine, so there was no need for him to do anything. He had gotten an overwhelming sense of deja vu, like he had known exactly what was going to happen. That made sense, considering he had already done this all before, but it felt like something… More than that.

Once Ruby, Weiss, and Yang started jogging back towards the stone temple, Jaune snapped out of his stupor. He couldn't shake the feeling, however, that something had changed. Probably for the worst.


"So what now?" Ren asked the lot of them, as Ruby and Yang grabbed their relics. Ruby got the knight while Yang took the final rook.

"We all have our relics, we can just go back to the cliffs without fighting either of them." Blake suggested, then immediately seemed to regret speaking, as all eyes were on her. In an effort to help, Jaune added his thoughts.

"I'm gonna be completely honest when I say that I have no idea what we're doing right now, but running and living does sound like the best course of action." Hanging onto Ren, who was still trying to make himself look chill for Blake, Nora disagreed with her partner's idea.

"Aww… But that's boring!" She complained. "I wanted to fight them." Yang looked as though she was going to agree, but Ren spoke first.

"When we get done with the initiation, I'll take you back here to finish them off, okay?"

"Just us?" Nora prodded.

"Just us." Ren confirmed.

"Yay! Alright then. I'm with Blake. Let's get out of here as soon as possible." Yang deflated a bit as her only support disappeared before she could take it. On the other side of things, both Ruby and Weiss seemed to agree with this plan, while Pyrrha looked lost in thought while staring at her partner.

Everyone stood around for a minute more, awkwardly waiting for someone to move, when Jaune heard the ice holding the Deathstalker start to crack, and the Nevermore began its third turnaround. Seeing as no one stepped up to the plate. Jaune took action himself.

"What are we waiting for? Come on!" He took off running, and luckily, everyone followed without complaint. It would have looked a little awkward had he been running alone.


The plan of 'running and living' went rather well, all things considered. With the amount of Grimm lurking in the forest, it was a miracle that the group had run into none on the way to the cliffs. Getting past that, was a different story. The Nevermore was relentless in its chase, occasionally firing potshots at anyone that it caught sight of between the trees. When the group had gotten out of the forest, the Nevermore decided to be a big pain and perched itself on top of a pillar, between them and safety.

"What now?" Ren asked Jaune as they crouched behind a pillar. "How do we get past that?" Racking his brain, Jaune tried to think of something.

"Do you know of anyone with an explosive weapon?" Jaune questioned his partner. "They may be able to distract the Grimm long enough for us to get closer." It was a shot in the dark, but the best thing he could think of. Jaune wished that the Nevermore would get closer, as he had been unable to use observe to try and notice any weak points.

"Nora! Distract it!" Ren called to Nora, who stood alongside Blake. She nodded, rushing out to draw attention to herself. Her hammer morphed into a grenade launcher, prompting everyone to move forwards while the Nevermore got hit in the face. It was a tough situation, but at least they put the Deathstalker behind them.

And then it was literally behind them, crushing any tree in its path with a roar. Hey, it wasn't Jaune's fault that his brain wandered, it just happened. Regardless, this only prompted everyone to move faster across the bridge they were on. Lucky for them, the Deathstalker knew that its weight wouldn't be supported on the bridge, so it didn't try and cross. Unlucky for them, the Nevermore, being a good teammate who knew its partner's weaknesses, slammed itself right into the bridge, splitting the merry band of hunters and huntresses in half.

On one side was Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, and Blake, who had all made it across the bridge and set their sights on the Nevermore. And on the other side was Jaune, Ren, Ruby, and Weiss, who had the easy task of taking down the Deathstalker. At least now, Jaune could observe it.

Name: Sebastian
LV: 32 EXP: NULL
Title: The First Boss

HP: 3114/3200

[OK]

'Sebastian the killer scorpion.' It had a nice ring to it, and it would probably look good on a gravestone. Unlike 'Jaune Arc the failure of a hunter.' That wouldn't look good at all, which was why it should stay off a gravestone for as long as possible. Plainly speaking, Jaune was just trying to resolve himself to not die today.

Getting his head back in the game, Jaune saw his companions getting trashed. They all acted like support fighters, trying to open up as many weak points as they could to other people, but there was no one to take those openings, no one to take the bulk of the blows.

"Oh no…" Jaune said, coming to a horrid realization. "Am I the tank?" It made sense, considering he was the only one with a shield. "Fine." Jaune commented to nobody while pulling out his shield. "I'll be the tank. But only this once. I don't have the stats to keep up a role like that."

Finally all together, Jaune entered the , he noted the health at the bottom of his vision, indicating Sebastian's boss status, as his title said, but he wisely chose to ignore it. With all the strength he could muster, Jaune gave his first hit on the Deathstalker.

HP: 3097/3200

He did no damage. What might have looked like damage coming from him was actually his allies shooting the Grimm over and over as it swatted at them, but even that was barely doing anything. Had Jaune not had Gamer's Mind, he would have been screwed, but he did have it, so he wasn't.

"Guys!" He shouted while trying his hardest not to get hit. While it helped slightly, the Deathstalker was still able to take over a hundred points off his aura. With the little amount that he had, dodging was the best strategy. "Aim for the eyes, or open it up so I can get to them!" Weak points were the only way he'd be able to defeat Sebastian.

No one responded, but almost immediately there was a shift in tactics. Weiss, listening to his order without even a single complaint, started trying to freeze the Grimm's claws to the ground away from its face. Ruby, from afar, started sniping the joints on the body, so that it wouldn't feel the need to cover its face. And Ren went behind Sebastian, occupying the tail. All of this culminated in Jaune's opening.

Holding his sword like he would an icepick, Jaune jabbed Crocea Mors in four of the Deathstalker's biggest eyes before it could react.

HP: 1563/3200

It wasn't enough, and now it was Sebastian's turn to attack. Disregarding any prior knowledge of how much weight the bridge could hold, the wounded Grimm charged forward in a 'blind' rage. Sorry, now wasn't the time for puns. Sebastian crashed into Jaune, sending him flying, as well as causing the entire bridge to collapse on itself. While Sebastian fell into the abyss below, Jaune was going higher than he ever had before. And then he started coming back down.

Unfortunately for Jaune, his trajectory put him on a crash course for absolutely nothing, allowing him to fall into the abyss right after Sebastian did. With nothing else to do, Jaune closed his eyes and screamed.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh- Oof!" Then he bounced to the side. He opened his eyes just in time to see a snowflake glyph right before it disappeared. Soon after, Jaune hit the ground with a thud. His aura was pretty badly damaged, but Jaune payed no mind. Around him, Weiss, Ruby, and Ren were all panting like animals.

"Next time," Weiss said between breaths. "You save yourself." Passing out on the ground, Jaune's other two companions followed suit not long after.

Had Jaune been able to feel exhaustion, he would have definitely been in their position. But instead, he reclined on his back, watching as the other half of the group dealt with the Nevermore that still remained. Today was tough, but now it was finally over.

BAM!

POP POP POP POP POP!

Deathstalker Slain!

Rewards:
(50 Lien x 50%)= +25 Lien
(300 EXP x 80%)= +240 EXP

[OK]

Optional Quest Complete:
Kill a Deathstalker

[OK]

Quest Complete:
Complete the initiation

Objective One Complete:
Find a partner
Objective Two Complete:
Find a relic

Optional Quest One Complete:
Kill a Beowolf and Ursa
Optional Quest Two Complete:
Kill a Deathstalker

Optional Quest Three Failed:Kill a Nevermore

Failure Avoided: Death/No entry to Beacon
Optional Reward Avoided: +10 Lien, +10 EXP, +1 INT, +1 WIS

Reward: +100 Lien, +50 EXP, A place in Beacon Academy
Optional Reward One: +10 Lien, +10 EXP, +1 DEX, +1 STR
Optional Reward Two: +10 Lien, +10 EXP, +1 END

[OK]

You Leveled Up!
All relevant modifiers have been applied.

[OK]

You Leveled Up Some Skills!
Observe LV: 2
Longsword Proficiency LV:2

[OK]

There was just... Too much to process. Jaune couldn't care less right now. Maybe later, after a nice rest, would he dare to look at his stats and skills again.


"Pyrrha Nikos, Blake Belladonna, Nora Valkyrie, Yang Xaio-Long. The four of you collected the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Penny." On the screen above them, the initials 'PBNY' were shown. Next to him, Jaune saw Ren's jaw drop. He must have been disappointed that he wasn't on Blake's team.

"Sorry, Renny! I got the pieces mixed up!" Nora yelled to him from the stage, not looking remotely sorry. Ignoring the outburst, Ozpin continued.

"Led by… Pyrrha Nikos." There was something to the Professor's voice that made him sound just a little too pleased with the arrangement. Pyrrha, however, wasn't betraying any emotion, nodding her head and sitting back down without a word.

"Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren, Ruby Rose. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Jeweler." Just as before, everyone's initials were put on the screen to create 'JWLR.' Ren looked absolutely miserable, while Weiss looked as if she was going to get an award. "Led by…" This time, Jaune could definitely see the wicked smile on Ozpin's face, making him shiver. "Jaune Arc."

"What?!" Weiss cried, but Ozpin had already walked off the stage, whistling a happy tune along the way.

Jaune wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about this new development, but he did know one thing right off the bat.

This game fucking hated him.


Big thank you to CasuallyPosting for being the Beta for this chapter. Go check out his stuff.

I realized when making team names, that if you had a team of Pyrrha, Blake, Nora, and Jaune. You'd have team PBNJ, or team Peanut Butter and Jelly. Just a thought, feel free to use that. Also, if roosterteeth can ignore a W in RWBY than I can ignore a B in PBNY.

Once again, the support for this story has been outstanding. Thank you guys so much. I know these chapters take a while, but with all my boring 'real life' responsibilities, I just try to make it the best and fastest I can.

Moving onto Questions and other Reviews

There is no weight glitch. Jaune cannot use the inventory whatsoever.

Jaune's definitely gonna have people that get far down in the minuses like Cardin, but does anyone really want to have an enemy?

I said I wasn't going to do a Harem, and I won't, but if enough people want it, Jaune can be paired with two people, possibly to fight over. That's not final, just an option that I am fine with.

All things will be revealed in due time, do not worry.

Jaune defintely does have a lot of aura, but now it's all gone because of New Game Plus. Oh, what horrible god would do such a thing? (Laughs maniacally)

That's a good question. Why does everyone split Ren and Nora up? I notice that a lot, but never found it weird until now.

And that's all. If you have any comments or questions, please review. Thank you once again for the support.

And until next time,

-RMV

Edit Note: Officially the longest chapter I've ever written, so the next chapter might not take as long to come around. No promises though.

Edit Note 2: I changed the exp Jaune gained from the Deathstalker because it was way too low. Some people complained that this story was being too harsh on Jaune and I agree. In the future, I'll try to avoid making the story seem like a 'Jaune-Bash' because that's not what I want it to be.

Edit Note 3: I fixed it. I didn't realize it was broken, but now it's better. New Chapter coming soon.