And here's the next chapter of Remnants of Dimensions. I'm feeling much better now, but it's because I'm taking a fairly heavy medicine. My mother is worried I could get an extreme allergic reaction (also, asthma runs in my family), so to avoid me to risk an asthmatic attack, she's having me take some medicine. Feeling a lot better now, but as soon as I don't need them, I'll stop taking them. I hate medicines, and not because they don't taste good. They're usually artificial, and I don't like the idea of having them in my body. I usually drink infusions of herbs and things like that, but right now we can't, so... medicine.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
After everyone managed to eat something, they all came back to watch another reality. They hadn't noticed, or maybe there wasn't earlier, but on the left side of the room there was a door that lead to a kitchen. A very well-stocked kitchen, too, for the joy of both Adam, who hadn't been that fazed by the reality, and Khor, who just seemed unable to lose his appetite.
In the end, Weiss gulped down some coffee, Ruby successfully ingested a couple of cookies, and Pyrrha forced down a slice of chocolate cake. Ren took a small tea of herbal extracts, Blake accepted a tea and left it to freeze in the fridge without drinking it, Yang refused to even look at the food, and Nora actually renounced to pancakes and went with waffles.
Khor didn't mind them at all and ate the amount of food the seven of them usually ate in a whole day with their Huntsman -or Huntress- training. He ate mostly meat, even though he also cleared the fridge of all the cheese. With said cheese he prepared tons of snacks to bring back in the `living room` of that strange place.
"So... what now?", asked Weiss, sitting down beside her partner, Pyrrha. "I guess we'll watch another universe, right?".
"You're completely right", nodded Khor, and stretched wide. "Just let me decide this before we start".
Adam scoffed. "To be a god, you're quite pathetic", he spat.
"I'm a Writer, not a god", specified the young Writer. "My powers are great, but the main difference between gods and Writers is that Writers more often than not never do something big".
"What do you mean?", deadpanned the bull Faunus.
"For example, most gods have the habit of creating a new race to their image or to fit their wishes. They create an entire freaking race", replied Khor. "We Writers, instead, usually act in a... subtler way. We change minor things, here and there, and let the rest of the story tell itself. This is about the most we usually do... and keep in mind that I might brainwash you before sending you back".
"Then why let us watch it?", asked Blake, frowning.
"For two reasons". Khor held up two fingers. "First, I said I might, and not even the brainwash of a Writer can totally erase the memories of someone. You might remember something here and there, and change the storyline. Second... I like seeing your reactions".
"WHAT?!", exclaimed almost everyone. Goodwitch, Winter, Ironwood and Torchwick huffed in annoyance. Qrow belched loudly. Adam scowled at him. Ozpin took a sip from his new mug.
"I was already going to watch those realities to see which ones to pick and document", said Khor. "I took you here so for me to have company. Also, since I'm documenting this world, other Writers will be able to read my records and see those realities. And someone might be interested in documenting them, if I discard them. Everyone gains, nobody loses".
"Except that we lose our time", glared Weiss. "And the last one wasn't exactly... light-hearted".
Khor sighed. "If I told you that reality can be a real bitch, would you believe me?", he asked, annoyed. "Yes, the last one was horrifying. But the fact is we can do nothing about it".
"Why don't you intervene and make everything better in all the universes you can reach?", asked Ruby, her naivety unlimited.
"There are rules", said Khor, shaking his head. "Also, with time, that would make things even worse. Some universes are just meant to go like they go, and end like they end".
"But why do you want to record those?", continued the silver-eyed girl.
"Someone has to", shrugged the winged boy, sitting down on his couch. "While many prefer the lighter kind of universes, the fact is that not everything is happy and kind. There's darkness everywhere".
Blake sighed, shooting Adam a sideways glance.
"Now, everyone please sit down, because I've chosen which universe to watch now!", exclaimed Khor and everyone, no exception, groaned. "And before you ask, Nora, the title is Playing Life!".
"...playing life?", asked Weiss, flatly.
"What kind of stupid name is that?", continued Qrow.
"What kind of stupid name is Qrow?", Khor shot back. "Now shut up and watch. It will start as soon as I wish it to start, but I'd like your attention to be on it, not on me, please. Also, Qrow, you should really stop drinking. And you, Roman, should stop smoking. I can feel the stench from here, and I'm not liking it".
Roman wisely put his cigar away.
"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces", said the Headmaster Ozpin, looking at the four students in front of him. "From this day forwards, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper), led by Jaune Arc".
"L-Led by...", stammered Jaune, clearly not expecting it. Just like he didn't expect the friendly jab Pyrrha gave him, and ended up losing his balance and falling on the floor, eliciting some laughs among the students.
"Congratulations, young man", smirked Ozpin as they left the platform, their leader still in shock.
"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces", said the Headmaster Ozpin as the four girls reached the stage. "From this day forwards, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby), led by Ruby Rose".
"Great", sighed Weiss. "In this reality, I am led by the blond idiot. In that one, by the child. God, there is one where I am the leader of my team?".
"Yep, there is. More than one, actually", replied Khor, nonchalantly. "One of those is actually among my favourite universes".
"Thank you".
"Not because you are the leader. I'd never put you to be the leader".
"..."
The two teams walked away in relative silence, meaning that Nora was speaking, but everyone had learned to tune her out by then. Ren, who had gotten hit really bad by the Deathstalker, was almost staggering along and Jaune, feeling guilty because it had been his plan that had put Ren in danger, helped him walking. The two teams bade each other goodbye and went to sleep. Coincidentally, their dorms were exactly one in front of the others.
"I wonder how they managed to kill the Deathstalker in that reality", commented Ruby.
"With SMASH", chuckled Khor, and Nora shot him a wicked grin.
"You mean my SMASH?", she asked for confirmation, and whooped when she received it.
Good morning. Slept well? If so, good. If not, let's make your day better. You have a new notification:
You've unlocked your Semblance. Congratulations!
Jaune looked at the message box floating mid-air in front of him and considered screaming and asking Nora to SMASH it, but then frowned. It was just a box. Even he, with his training of nil and his incapacity, could not be defeated by a mere message box. Just as he reached the conclusion he must've been hallucinating, another message popped up.
We need your confirmation to finish installing your Semblance.
Yes / No
(The buttons are large so you can't get them wrong. Later on, they will just be Y/N)
"That's just rude", mused Pyrrha, and Ruby nodded vigorously.
"That's just Jaune-proof", replied Weiss, flatly, earning a glare from her redheaded teammates.
"What the hell did I eat yesterday?", he wondered aloud. Then, seeing no other choice but to press one of the buttons, he pressed `Yes`. After all, he wouldn't give up his Semblance, or whatever that thing was, just because he was wary. He could be wary after this mess had been cleaned.
"While his logic is not completely wrong, he should've investigated on the nature of the message further", scolded Ironwood. Winter and Goodwitch nodded in agreement while Qrow scoffed. "The message gave no sign of being timed, so he could've just taken his scroll and made a quick search of those symptoms".
Adam fake gagged at the military tone, and Roman laughed, for once being in agreement with the Faunus extremist.
Installing
Please wait...
Installation complete.
Semblance installation has ended. Do you wish to open it now?
Y/N
(If you choose No, you will be able to launch the .exe by thinking `MySemblance: Semblance. exe`)
Feeling more and more freaked out, Jaune pressed Y with a shaking finger. The others were still sleeping, and given how little light there was in the room, so should he be. But he wasn't sleeping. Even with his pathetic combat skills, he could always tell hallucination from dream from reality. And that was reality.
Nice move!
Basic tutorial launching.
Hello! This is your tutorial to learn how to use your very own Semblance. For starters, you can call your Semblance whatever you want, but its official name is `The Game of Life`. Moving on, this Semblance is a very powerful Semblance... if used in the right way. As opposite as other Semblances, this Semblance won't enhance your body or give you supernatural abilities... yet. Instead, right now, what you can do is to check your general status.
There are a few keywords to use your Semblance. To see your status, think `MyStatus: Status. txt`. You can also just think `Show status`. To see your statistics, think `MyStatistics: Statistics. txt` or `Show statistics`. To see your skills, think `MySkills: Skills. txt` or `Show skills`. To see your gear, think `MyGear: Gear. txt` or `Show gear`. To check all the keywords and extra informations, you can think `MySemblance: Help. txt` or `Open Help window`. You won't need it for the time being.
To uninstall your Semblance, think `MySemblance: Uninstall. exe` and follow the instructions.
"Wow, that's a lot of keywords", wheezed Yang.
"Does anyone know what's going on?", asked Ren, the voice of reason as always.
"I might have an idea", admitted Ozpin, getting looks from everyone. "But I think you will guess it by yourself".
"Okay...", Jaune trailed off, not really seeing any danger in doing that. 'Let's try... MyStatus: Status. txt'.
Immediately, another message popped up.
Jaune Arc
Status: Freaked Out, Alert, Rightfully Wary
Full name: Jaune Soleil Sunlight Arc
Rest status: Fully Rested
Titles: Sunshine
Level: 4
Jaune's expression was a perfect deadpan. "Mum's nickname is a title", he said, incredulous.
"Aaaaand he totally ruined an otherwise okay title", said Yang, sighing. "Sunshine's not that bad, but if it's Mommy's nickname...".
Jaune sighed and he rubbed his temples. His day hadn't been getting better: it had been getting stranger and stranger. And then stranger. Still, he had done it now. "Might as well see what this can do", he told himself as he waved his hand to dispel the message box, and then gaped at it when it really did disappear. He hadn't expected it. "Er... MyStatistics: Statistics. txt?".
Jaune Arc
EXP: 2734 / 4000 (experience points)
HP: 600 / 600 (hit points)
AP: 1000 / 1000 (aura points)
EP: 300 / 300 (energy points)
STR: 10 (strength)
AGI: 7 (agility)
STA: 24 (stamina)
SPD: 6 (speed)
VIT: 23 (vitality)
FLX: 9 (flexibility)
INT: 21 (intelligence)
WIS: 15 (wisdom)
CMS: 18 (common sense)
CHA: 19 (charisma)
LCK: 3 (luck)
"Jeez, that's a lot of luck", drawled Jaune, and then sighed. "So... let me get this straight: I don't know how high my `statistics` are supposed to be, but my physical ones really suck apart from stamina and vitality... wow, I'm good at getting beaten for longer... while my psychical stats are better... wow... this is messed up", he finally said, passing his hands on his face. "Er... MySemblance: Help. txt".
Welcome to the Help section of your Semblance.
The first rule is: don't panic. Absolutely, don't panic.
Your Semblance can't hurt you (apart from headaches), but your panic can. Imagine trying to tell someone you're seeing message boxes floating in the air while no one else can see them. (By the way, no one else can see your Semblance). That would end with you locked up for mental insanity. Don't panic. You're perfectly sane. Your INT is 21, after all.
You might be asking yourself what exactly you should do with those. The answer is: nothing. Just keep an eye on them. They're not gonna come to life and devour you alive.
They're not.
Since that's sorted, the only thing you need to now is that you have to try a bit of everything to get the hang of it. You won't be favoured. The others have to learn their Semblances by themselves. You will have, too.
BUT!
You can know a few keywords.
Status: MyStatus: Status. txt – Show status
Stats: MyStatistics: Statistics. txt – Show statistics – Show stats
Skills: MySkills: Skills. txt – Show skills
Gear: MyGear: Gear. txt – Show gear – Inventory – Show inventory – Show equipment
Social Status: MyStatus: SocialStatus. txt – Show social status
Equipped Gear: MyGear: EquippedGear. txt – Show equipped
And that's it! Good luck with your Semblance!
The section `MySemblance: Help. txt` has been uninstalled.
You can't access the section Help any more.
"Dick move", commented Jaune, and then sighed. Four in the morning, and he had already sighed enough for the entire day. And, if his fears were right, he would sigh even more soon. "Let's try... my social status. Should be empty enough. MyStatus: SocialStatus. txt".
"Does anyone else feel that Jaune saying all those file locations is weird?", asked Ruby, looking around.
Jaune Arc
PPL: 0 (popularity. Can be negative)
CHR: 5 (charm)
LKS: 13 (looks)
FLS: 4 (flirting skills)
(NAME ~ AFFECTION [AFF, can be negative] ~ STATUS)
Ruby Rose ~ 45 ~ Loyal Friend
Weiss Schnee ~ -20 ~ Dislikes You (normal initial status for Weiss Schnee)
Blake Belladonna ~ 0 ~ Knows You Exist
Yang Xiao Long ~ 1 ~ Knows You Exist
Nora Valkyrie ~ 30 ~ Good Friend, But That's Normal
Pyrrha Nikos ~ 40 ~ Good Friend
Lie Ren ~ 20 ~ Respects You
Glynda Goodwitch ~ -2 ~ Knows You Exist
Medeis Ozpin ~ 0 ~ Knows You Exist
For simplicity, all the people you have met but won't interact with soon haven't been documented and shown. If you desire to show those people... your Semblance will crash and you'll have to think `MySemblance: Reboot. exe`.
"Figures...", scoffed Jaune. "Well, at least now I know Weiss doesn't hate me for me, but because she hates everyone... that does not really make me feel better. Ruby's a good friend, though. I guess that those numbers can go really high if I got already two above forty... well Pyrrha's forty, but yet... in one day. Probably they can go up 'till the thousands. Now... MySkills: Skills. txt".
Your skills are still empty.
"Crap". Jaune rubbed his eyes. He didn't feel sleepy... right now... but he really wished it to be just a dream. It had to be. "Let's try... MyGear: EquippedGear. txt".
Equipped Gear
Blue onesie given to you by your sister Jade. The only reason you're wearing this thing is because she removed your usual pyjama. You might sleep in underwear, but you don't want to since it could make your roommates uncomfortable. Your kindness is remarkable, but you really need to buy another pyjama.
Jaune looked down at his onesie and shrugged. "Guess I asked for that", he admitted with a yawn. "Finally some tiredness. Goodnight, Semblance or whatever dream you are".
Goodnight, sleep tight.
Do you want me to sing you a song?
Y/N
Jaune looked at the message box with annoyance before looking around and pressing Y. 'It's not like they will ever know', he told himself as his mother's favourite song began to play.
"We know, Vomit Boy", cackled Yang. "And you're so getting teased as soon as I get back".
"Yang, it's an alternative reality", deadpanned Blake. "It's not our Jaune".
"Doesn't matter!".
You slept for a night. Since your HP, AP and EP were already full, nothing changed.
Jaune facepalmed.
"Fearless Leader, why are you slapping yourself? Do you want me to help you? I can slap really hard if it's to wake you up! I can prove it too!".
Jaune sat upright with a scream, headbutting Nora square in the forehead, and thus starting the day with a brand new headache. As he will soon realize, that will be the way he'll be waking up for the rest of his stay at Beacon, unless one of the two died later on. His money was on himself.
-10 AP of damage!
Apparently, Nora's head was really hard to be able to deal ten damages. Then he remembered how much Aura he had and sighed. No, it was just him being weak enough to get damage from a headbutt.
"While I usually tell my soldiers not to overestimate themselves, I must say that Mr Arc is seriously underestimating himself", stated Ironwood, frowning. "And that can get yourself killed just as well".
"We're trying to make him raise his self-esteem", sighed Pyrrha. "But it's really hard. He always says things like `I've been enough for them`, but then he fears to be weak and useless. No idea who `they` are, though".
"I'm up, Nora", he groaned. Nora grinned and basically teleported by Pyrrha's bedside, ready to wake her up. Jaune decided to spare the poor Mistralian. "Don't worry, Nora. I'll wake her up".
"Thanks Jaune", smiled Pyrrha. Nora pouted.
As Nora shot to Ren, having woken up the leader first, Jaune crawled out of bed and towards Pyrrha. Yawning, he put a hand on her shoulder and shook her awake. Her emerald eyes immediately shot open, and also something else shot.
A fist shot out and connected to his jaw, sending him flying back.
Pyrrha cringed. "Combat reflexes", she explained.
-150 AP of damage!
"I'm so sorry!", exclaimed the redhead, immediately getting out of bed and helping him up. "I just felt a hand on my shoulder and lashed out... combat reflexes".
"It's fine", sighed Jaune. "Besides, getting punched for having woken a girl up isn't new to me. My sister Jane does it every morning. I usually dodge hers, but I honestly wasn't expecting yours".
"I'm sorry", repeated Pyrrha, looking at the ground.
"Nah, don't worry", Jaune waved off her apologies. "I should've known better than to shake awake a trained Huntress".
"But...".
"No buts", replied the boy. "Just get dressed and let's go eat something. Then we'll come back and decorate a bit".
A whistle was heard from across the corridor, and then a thump.
"Also, I think Team RWBY didn't react any better to their leader's wake up call", he finished in a chuckle. "She did warn them, though".
"You really apologize a lot, uh, P-money?", asked Yang, glancing at Pyrrha.
She cringed. "During my training, I occasionally lost control of my weapons and hurt someone or damaged something, so apologizing has become second nature to me", she replied truthfully. "Though some times other kids would do something and fault me for it because they knew I would still apologize even if I didn't do it".
"Tired, Jauney Boy?", laughed Cardin, his mace resting on his shoulder. "I bet. A simple spar, and already you're losing like the weakling you are. I don't even know what Ozpin saw in you to make you the leader. You're weak, slow, unskilled, stupid and you can't even stand up for yourself".
"Maybe because he has never trained before, and so he simply is not at our level?", huffed Weiss in annoyance. "We're training him, but it's not like he'll be the best in a day...". She trailed off as she realized what she had just said in front of the professors.
"Don't worry, Ms Schnee, we're well aware of Mr Arc's transcripts", replied Ozpin, sipping his coffee.
"B-But...", she argued. "Then why haven't you expelled him?".
"Ms Sch... Weiss, the transcripts just say how strong you are. One way or another, Mr Arc survived and passed initiation. He revealed himself to be capable of becoming a Huntsman. We train Huntsmen, we don't just house the ones who already are skilled. Mr Arc earned his spot in Beacon by passing initiation", said the Headmaster. "And while you might question his crime of forgery... do I have to remind you of Ms Belladonna's past? Or the fact that Ms Xiao Long trashed a pub in Vale? We've all seen how kind-hearted Mr Arc is. His forgery didn't indicate him as a criminal. It just highlighted how far he would go to become a Huntsman. Some might call him a criminal. I call him resourceful. Qrow isn't my best Huntsman for nothing... although some of his sources aren't really legal".
Understanding his reasoning, and having nothing to confute it with, Weiss nodded and shut up.
"You're not even a real man. You're just a crybaby. Maybe, if I show your dear little friend Ruby just how really pathetic you are, she will finally leave you for a real man". He laughed again. "Me. Don't worry, I would make for a perfect boyfriend. I would surely make her scream loudly".
Blake and Ren were sent flying as Yang literally exploded in flames, but a second later those flames subsided, forcefully repressed by Khor. "Calm down, Yang. You can do nothing".
"I'm not gonna sit by while that motherfucker rapes Ruby!", she screamed.
"Yang, there are universes in which Ruby is raped. There are universe in which every one of you is raped", explained Khor, but that didn't really reassure Yang. "Wait for the end of this before killing anyone, please. I still need Cardin to watch".
"That version of me is a thousand times worse", growled Cardin, his hands on his mace. "He surely isn't worthy of wielding my weapon. Also, I'm not into kids. This is really a different reality".
"YOU SHUT UP!", shrieked Yang.
Jaune froze. His Aura was almost in the red, and he was really tired. But the comment on Ruby was something he couldn't ignore. He would be dead before letting such a comment go unpunished. He didn't even consider just telling Yang after the match. He had to do it by himself.
"And now Blondie gets his ass handed to him", sighed Roman. "Why you kids never realize when you're outmatched?".
"Shut up", said Blake, Yang and Khor at the same time, although for different reasons. The first two wanted to deny his statement. The third just wanted to watch the TV in peace.
You unlocked a new skill!
Righteous Wrath unlocked!
Righteous Wrath has automatically activated!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
Righteous Wrath has levelled up!
You maximized in Righteous Wrath!
By maximizing in Righteous Wrath, you unlocked the Righteous Wrath Outfit!
Equip the Armour of Righteous Wrath?
Y / N
"What?", said Blake, dumbfounded.
Jaune didn't even smirk at the notification. There were asses that needed to be kicked. He chose yes without a second thought.
"Well said", agreed Qrow. "But if what Yang told me about the Arc boy, it still won't be enough".
Jaune was enveloped in white light for a second, and when it disappeared, his usual armour had changed. Now it was white with golden runes glowing on it. A runic expert would've been able to recognize runes for Strength, Life and Protection. Cardin wasn't a runic expert.
"What the hell...", he began, but Jaune charged forwards and swung Crocea Mors. The attack still lacked skill and finesse, but now it had strength behind it. Cardin was actually forced back by the force of the hit, not expecting him to get stronger just like that.
Jaune glared at him. If only he could know just how much stronger Cardin was... then he would be able to outwit him. Clearly having heard him, his Semblance responded.
Cardin Winchester
Status: Alert, Cocky, Entertained, Arrogant
Full name: Cardin Henry Winchester
Titles: the Bully, the Heir of Winchester, the Faunus Tormentor
Rest Status: perfectly rested, unlike you
Level: 17
(And no, you can't see his statistics. Use your brain for that)
"Oh... shit", said Jaune. 'Ehm... MyStatistics: Statistics. txt?'.
"Why does he say the long version every time?", asked Taurus, raising an eyebrow at the title `Faunus Tormentor`.
Jaune Arc
EXP: 2734 / 4000
HP: 1600 / 1600
AP: 1956 / 2600
EP: 300 / 300
STR: 50
AGI: 47
STA: 64
SPD: 46
VIT: 63
FLX: 49
INT: 21
WIS: 15
CMS: 18
CHA: 19
LCK: 3
"Well, it seems that this righteous wrath thingy makes him stronger but not dumber", commented Qrow.
"That's lucky. Jaune maybe can't get any dumber", snorted Weiss. "He would need the negatives for that".
"Weiss!", Pyrrha scolded her. "He's our leader and even you accepted to help him with his training. Remember?".
"Unfortunately, I do", huffed the heiress, but without any real anger.
Jaune waved it aside. He could still do it. All his physical stats had been increased by forty. He had no idea how strong Cardin was, but one thing was obvious: he could still do it. Also, thanks to his increase in stats, his Aura had gone up as well, leaving him almost in the green. Thanks to his Semblance, he also just knew why there hadn't been drawbacks: usually, Righteous Wrath took points away from his psychical stats, but since he had maximized it, it just gave 10 points per level in each physical stats. It was a truly powerful ability. Unfortunately, he couldn't activate it at will. He would need to get really mad.
"Hmph", scoffed Cardin, readying himself. "Your little parlour trick won't help you against a true man".
Jaune charged without even listening to him. Cardin met him head on with a horizontal swing, and was utterly surprised when Jaune let the mace glance off his shield before going for a very vulnerable spot. With all the force of his dash, he plunged his sword straight into Cardin's crotch, sending him flying. While his Aura was still slightly above seventeen percent, Goodwitch called the match to send him to the infirmary.
After all, all is fair in love and war.
Usually a hit with that strength would've dropped his Aura by just ten or so percent, but Jaune's aim had been good enough to reach a vulnerable spot. After all, Goodwitch never said some hits were illegal in the match.
Good reasoning!
You have defeated an opponent who's 10 levels higher than you!
You gained 10000 quest reward!
Quest finished: Insurmountable Odds – Defeat an opponent at least 10 levels higher than you.
You earned the title `Neveryielding Fighter`!
You gained 1700 EXP!
Level difference modifier: (17 – 4) / 2 = 6.5
Your EXP reward is being adapted to the encounter difficulty!
1700 * 6.5 = 11050 EXP
You gained 11050 EXP!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
(To see your current status, open the status panel)
'As if I don't know that', huffed Jaune as he exited the arena to change back into his uniform. As the message box popped up, he noticed that the effects of Righteous Wrath had already worn off.
Jaune Arc
EXP: 1734 / 8000
HP: 600 / 600
AP: 360 / 1000
EP: 300 / 300
STR: 10
AGI: 7
STA: 24
SPD: 6
VIT: 23
FLX: 9
INT: 21
WIS: 15
CMS: 18
CHA: 19
LCK: 3
(no, you don't get stats add-ons for levelling up. You'll have to work out. Get to the gym)
"Great", sighed Jaune. "MyStatus: SocialStatus. txt".
Ruby Rose's Affection increased by 15!
Weiss Schnee's Affection increased by 10!
Blake Belladonna's Affection increased by 10!
Yang Xiao Long's Affection increased by 10!
Nora Valkyrie's Affection increased by 5!
Pyrrha Nikos's Affection increased by 5!
Lie Ren's Affection increased by 10!
Glynda Goodwitch's Affection increased by 10!
Cardin Winchester's Affection decreased by 100!
Jaune Arc
PPL: 10
CHR: 5
LKS: 13
FLS: 4
Ruby Rose ~ 60 ~ Best Friend, Fellow Leader
Weiss Schnee ~ -10 ~ Dislikes You
Blake Belladonna ~ 10 ~ Respects You
Yang Xiao Long ~ 11 ~ Respects You, Wants to Spar With You
Nora Valkyrie ~ 35 ~ Good Friend
Pyrrha Nikos ~ 45 ~ Good Friend
Lie Ren ~ 30 ~ Quiet Friend
Glynda Goodwitch ~ 8 ~ You're A Student. Duh
Medeis Ozpin ~ 0 ~ Knows You Exist
Cardin Winchester ~ -130 ~ Wants to Beat You Down
Jaune cringed at Cardin's status. He hadn't really beaten him. He had just gotten lucky and caught him off-guard. After all, Cardin had been playing with him all along, so it was sure he earned his superior levels. He sighed. "MyStatus: Status. txt".
Jaune Arc
Status: Resigned. Victorious
Full name: Jaune Soleil Sunlight Arc
Rest status: Tired
Titles: Sunshine, Neveryielding Fighter.
Level: 8
"Jeez, he levelled up four times with a single spar", wheezed Yang. "That's overdoing it. Just how strong will he become?".
"His Semblance, apparently, turns him into some sort of videogame character", explained Ozpin. "I'm sure everyone of you has played at least one RPG in their lives, right? Well, when you're in the lower levels, it's easier to level up, even if it's also easier to die. Mr Arc here has just defeated an opponent who had four times his levels, and some. It's only normal for him to get such a boost. Also, his stats haven't increased, so technically nothing has changed".
"Then why give him levels if his stats are the same?", asked Nora, pouting. "I wanted to see our noodley Jauney pump up his strength a little!".
"Levels are useful when paired with special abilities", replied Khor, yawning. "I haven't played a lot of videogames, but my brother is the GOD of videogames... not literally. Seriously, he was better than me, and I used the cheat sheets. He always says that a good videogame does not just give you buff-ups, but makes you sweat for them. The more Skills this Jaune will gain, the more his level will be important".
"But why his HP, AP, and EP haven't increased with the levels?", asked Yang, perplexed. "I mean, all videogames work like that".
"Look at it this way: if you fight someone and `level up` in normal life, do you feel stronger?", asked the young Writer, and got shaking heads in response. "Exactly. Your level has increased, but your actual stats haven't. Your HP are based on your stamina or vitality, AP on something else and EP on yet something else. It's simple".
"Not fair", mumbled Neptune, and everyone jumped, having forgotten that he and Sun were in the room too. "With a Semblance like that, you'd think of being able to level up and get stronger, but instead you still need to work out. It's useless".
"Like your brain", snarked Sun with a snicker. "Abs like mine can't be made by a mere level up. You gotta work for those".
Adam shot him an envious glare.
"Very well", said Khor, stretching and standing up. The screen blacked out. "I guess we can take a small break. Scatter. Play around. In the kitchen there's a door that leads to a huge living room. There are shelves of books, videogames, beds if you want to rest, a small arena, and a few arcade machines. Scatter and have fun for half an hour. I gotta go take a medicine".
"Are you sick?", asked Ruby, slightly concerned.
"Sick of you? Not yet. Sick of something else? Yes", replied Khor, sighing. "A very general `allergy to Spring`. And since it's Spring in my home universe, I'm sick. Gotta take a fairly heavy medicine. Now go and have fun. I'll be back shortly".
Okay!
EDIT: I discovered that FanFiction removes all the words that have a full mark in the middle. Like a file location. I just noticed and changed this chapter, knowing just how ridiculous it must've looked without the file locations. Sorry.
As I said, now I'm gonna take my medicine. I'll be back writing the next chapter shortly. Also, I can tell you the title of the next chapter! It will be `Alone in the Crowd`, based on an idea of JacksonDragneel16 [in case you can't see this name, it's because this damn site is erasing it every time I try to write it. No idea why, though].
Until next time,
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
