The next day started early for Jaune. Having exactly eight hours of sleep ended up with him waking up at exactly 5:37, at least this time it was a comfortable bed. Being normal human beings, Jaune wasn't surprised to see the rest of his team still unconscious. Weiss was muttering something about 'Disappointment,' Ren displayed his emotions about as much as a rock would, and Jaune would have bet all his money that Ruby was dreaming about shopping for weapon parts. It was a nice scene, peaceful, heartwarming even. A stark contrast from last night.

Stepping into the bathroom, Jaune came to the realization that this would be the third time he would check his stats in the bathroom. Was this just gonna be the norm now? It made sense, if not a little weird. Shaking off his thought, he pulled up his stats for the first time since he leveled up.

Name: Jaune Arc
LV: 2 EXP: 282/400
Title: [EQUIP]
Race: [Basic Human]

HP: 200/200 (+10 HP Every Ten Seconds for -1 AP)
AP: 1200/1200 (+10 AP Every Ten Seconds)
MP: 120/120 (+5 MP Every Ten Seconds)

STR: 16
DEX: 11
INT: 6 (5+1)
WIS: 5
END: 10 (11-1)
CHA: 7
LCK: 10
Current Modifiers: Race
SP: 18

Equipment:
Right Hand Weapon: [Unarmed ]
Left Hand Weapon: [Unarmed]
Armour: [Pajamas]
Accessories: [None]

Lien: 293
Other Currency: 0

Bonds:
[Yang Xiao-Long] Bond LV: 3/200- Thinks you're interesting
[Ruby Rose] Bond LV: 7/200- Considers you a friend
[Nora Valkyrie] Bond LV: 4/200- Considers you a friend
[Weiss Schnee] Bond LV: -10/200- Despises you
[Pyrrha Nikos] Bond LV: 2/200- Unsure of you but hopeful
[Lie Ren] Bond LV: 1/200- Happy you understand the way things work
[UNKNOWN] Bond LV: 200/200- Completely obsessed with you

[Go back to Main Menu]

Okay, so some things had certainly changed since he had last checked. Not surprising in the slightest. He'd start from the bottom and work his way down. Some good news, he was over halfway to level three already. Some bad news, it seemed that the criteria for leveling up had doubled as was advertised. Things would only get worse from here.

Next was his title.

Available Titles:
[The New Student (LV2)]: Title rewarded for becoming a Beacon Student. Grants +1 INT, +3 Charisma, and +4 Luck as you stumble around like an idiot trying to learn things. Warning: Title may be lost or upgraded

[Newbie Deceptionist]: Title rewarded for conning your way into Beacon. Grants +10% success rate on all deceptions for being so good at lying. Warning: Title may be lost or upgraded

[The True Reaper] Title rewarded for [UNKNOWN]. Grants +50% MP, +50% MP damage, +100% on intimidations, and -50 Bond with all surrounding humans while equipped.

Level two? That must have meant his title had been upgraded. Well, no duh. It didn't take a genius to realize that. This did make Jaune wonder how titles were lost though. If he didn't lie for a long time would he lose 'Newbie Deceptionist?' Maybe, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon since he was living a lie by going to Beacon.

And then there was the big one, 'Race.' He hadn't gotten a chance to look at it yet, but it looked like it would function similarly to titles.

Race: Next Upgrade LV: 10

Current Race:
Basic Human (Tier 1 Human)- Provides +1 INT and -1 END.

Next in Upgrade Tree:
Moderate Human (Tier 2 Human)- Provides +2 INT, +1 WIS, and +2 CHA.

Or

Aura Adept (Tier 1 Aura User)- Provides +3 INT, +2 WIS, and +10% Damage with Aura Attacks.

Or

Magic Adept (Tier 1 Magic User)- Provides +2 INT, +3 WIS, and +10% Damage with Magic Attacks.

Or

Tempted (Tier 1 [UNKNOWN])- Provides +1 to all stats, +5% Power Over Others, and -2 Bond with all Humans.

And Jaune was wrong. What it most closely resembled was a skill tree… Even though the actual skills didn't have a skill tree. From what he had seen of people, everyone else was a human, moderate or higher. Which meant that either everyone besides him automatically went down the human tree, or because this was New Game Plus, nobody had specked out of that tree yet. Regardless, he couldn't do much with Race right now, so he wasn't even going to think about what a 'Tempted' was.

On the other hand, Magic? Really? MP stood for Magic Points? That was simultaneously helpful and annoying. Helpful, because when Jaune will try and investigate it along with aura, he'll know what to look for. But annoying, because 'Magic' was such a commonly used word that it wouldn't actually help him in the slightest. Had it been something like… 'Lore' or whatever, it would have been much more helpful.

Anyway. With that all sorted out, Jaune took a final look at his stats for the morning.

Name: Jaune Arc
LV: 2 EXP: 282/400
Title: [The New Student]
Race: [Basic Human]

HP: 200/200 (+10 HP Every Ten Seconds for -1 AP)
AP: 1400/1400 (+10 AP Every Ten Seconds)
MP: 140/140 (+5 MP Every Ten Seconds)

STR: 16
DEX: 11
INT: 7 (5+1+1)
WIS: 5
END: 10 (11-1)
CHA: 10 (7+3)
LCK: 14 (10+4)
Current Modifiers: Title, Race
SP: 18

Equipment:
Right Hand Weapon: [Unarmed ]
Left Hand Weapon: [Unarmed]
Armour: [Pajamas]
Accessories: [None]

Lien: 293
Other Currency: 0

Bonds:
[Yang Xiao-Long] Bond LV: 3/200- Thinks you're interesting
[Ruby Rose] Bond LV: 7/200- Considers you a friend and leader
[Nora Valkyrie] Bond LV: 4/200- Considers you a friend
[Weiss Schnee] Bond LV: -10/200- Despises you with passion
[Pyrrha Nikos] Bond LV: 2/200- Unsure of you but hopeful
[Lie Ren] Bond LV: 1/200- Doesn't care about you in the slightest
[UNKNOWN] Bond LV: 200/200- Completely obsessed with you

[Go back to Main Menu]

Jaune's aura grew with the equipping of his title, meaning that Intelligence was responsible for the size of his aura, considering Charisma and Luck didn't effect his max when the previous title disappeared. In other news, he had three more SP than before, which meant he got as much when he leveled up. It was good to know, but Jaune wouldn't use them now. You never know when you may be put in an emergency, like… Getting thrown off a cliff, for example.

Finally, Jaune's bonds had changed slightly over night. Ruby's bond had gone up, Weiss' down, and Ren's stayed the same. No surprises there. Jaune was happy, though, that at least one team member considered him the leader. He didn't deserve or earn the position in the slightest, but he still gained a small guilty pleasure from it.

Now that all the stat stuff was out of the way, Jaune could hit the shower and get ready for the day. It was only 5:56, but whatever.

In said shower, Jaune decided that it was time to formulate a plan. Right now, pretty much everything within a mile radius was stronger than him, so if he couldn't be strong, he'd have to be smart. Except… Intelligence was a stat so… New plan! Get stronger! But how?

The first thing that came to his mind was grinding, just going out into the woods and killing low leveled Grimm until he was super over powered. While the thought of going back into the Emerald Forest absolutely terrified Jaune, that was pretty much his only bet. He only got experience for doing quests and killing things, so hunting beowolves was his only option.

That couldn't possibly be it though. What was it that made videogames so fun? If the only way to progress and get stronger was to grind, no one would want to play them. There was something else, a lot of things else, Jaune just needed to think of them.

Customization! That was one. And yes, he was already playing as himself. Jaune was thinking in terms of skill customization. The ability to go down whatever path you wanted to have whatever powers you wanted. If he could find more skills and grind them up as well, he'd be in business. Speaking of skills though, he should take a look at his.

Gamer's Mind LV: MAX- Allows the gamer to have a clear head in all situations, no matter how stressful or intense.

Gamer's Body LV: MAX- Allows the gamer to ignore all pain, as well as restoring their stats to some degree depending on where they slept. Also allows the gamer to never need to eat or go to the bathroom.

Observe LV: 2- Allows the gamer to see information about other people and creatures.
At LV: 2- Name can be seen for people and creatures within 102 levels. Health can be seen for people and creatures within 77 levels. LV can be seen for people and creatures within 52 levels. Title can be seen for people and creatures within 42 levels. Race can be seen for people and creatures within 32 levels.

Sense Danger LV: MAX- Allows the gamer to be warned of impending physical danger. Said danger can be avoided if the gamer acts fast enough.

Jump LV: MAX- Allows the gamer to channel aura in their legs, giving them an increased jumping height.
At LV: MAX- Height of max jump is 150x gamer's height at -200 AP for initial jump and -50 AP for every meter over fifty feet. Fall damage permanently negated for free.

Scythe Proficiency LV: 2- Increases the skill the gamer has with scythe-like weapons.
At LV: 2- +2 Physical Damage when wielding a scythe-like weapon.

Longsword Proficiency LV: 2- Increases the skill the gamer has with longsword-like weapons.
At LV: 2- +2 Physical Damage when wielding a longsword-like weapon.

Light Shield Proficiency LV:1- Increases the skill the gamer has with shield-like weapons.
At LV: 1- +1 Defense when using shield-like weapons.

[Learn New Skills]
[Go back to Main Menu]

So far, pretty 'meh' in terms of skills. There were the weapon ones, which he could level up by just fighting, and then there was Observe, and that was it. What Jaune needed was something like 'Jump,' another aura move to pad out his move set. Now he just needed to figure out how. His other skills had been given to him by just going through the world, but Jaune doubted he'd be able to shoot fire by 'going through the world' anytime soon.

However, before he could further think on his predicament, Jaune's shower was over. Sure, he could have stayed in longer, since no one was pressuring him to get out. Buy when you grew up with seven sister, you never stayed in for longer than you needed. Besides, if he wanted to change in the room without any possible embarrassment, Jaune would need to do so before everyone else woke up.

When everything was all said and done, Jaune had freshened up as best he could and put on his uniform for the day, it was only 6:34. His team didn't need to wake up until seven for breakfast, and from the looks of it, they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. So… What now?


Jaune was unsure as to his exact reasoning for running around the campus. He thought it had something to do with building up his dexterity and figuring out the layout of Beacon so he knew his way around, but as of right now, he increased his endurance by one and was hopelessly lost. The thing was, Beacon wasn't that big. Jaune was only on the first floor, yet he was clueless as to how he even got indoors.

When all hope seemed lost, and Jaune had resigned himself to the fact that he would be a forever lost soul in the halls of the school, he caught sound of a slight banging noise. Then it disappeared for a moment, and came back louder. Jaune started walking towards it.

Six crisp beats, repeated over and over with varying levels of intensity. Jaune almost found himself walking to the rhythm as it grew louder and louder. The halls of Beacon were still empty and dark, but Jaune wasn't the only one awake right now.

Finally, he got to a set of doors. Nothing special, just two more doors in the same style as the rest. Jaune hadn't been expecting anything behind the doors, but that didn't mean he wasn't slightly surprised at what he found.

Pyrrha stood fully armoured in the middle of what looked like an arena. In front of her was a metal training dummy. Sticking to the beat, she paused, readied herself, and lashed out.

BANG BANG BANG!

BANG BANG BANG!

With one hand, she effortlessly struck the head, stomach, and legs on one side of the dummy. Not wasting a moment, she transferred her blade to the other hand and repeated the process on the other side. There was another pause, and she readied herself in a different stance. This time, she struck both shoulders and the head, then transitioning downwards, the knees and the… Ouch.

On a whim, he observed her.

Name: Pyrrha Nikos

HP: 5600/5600
AP: 14750/14750

Five thousand six hundred health! Damn, that was larger than anything he had seen so far, way larger. All of a sudden, her practice became sort of entrancing, awing to watch. He wasn't in shock for too long though, Gamer's Mind and all. Not wanting to looked like a creep, Jaune started clapping to make himself known. Pyrrha didn't seem startled in the slightest by the intrusion, as if she was used to being interrupted while training.

"That was awesome! You're really good!" Jaune said, and immediately berated himself for. Of course she was good, she was at Beacon! What a stupid thing to say. Still, Pyrrha didn't look like she minded.

"Thank you, Jaune. I take it you're an early riser as well?" She asked, sheathing her sword and coming over to him. Jaune scratched his head.

"Well, it depends on when I fall asleep, really." He answered as truthfully as he could. Saying, 'I sleep for exactly eight hours every day because I'm living a video game' probably wouldn't go over well.

"Did you come here to train?" Pyrrha again questioned him. And again, Jaune decided truth was the best way to go. He was already living a lie, so enough was enough.

"Eh… I got lost, admittedly. But speaking of which, how are you training? Isn't it only the first technical day of school? Where did you even find that stuff." Jaune gestured to the metal dummies strewn around the arena.

"I talked with Ms. Goodwitch yesterday. You never want to miss a day of training, you know?"

"Yeah, of course! Ha ha…" So… That was a lie, but only a little one. "Anyway, are you excited that you are your team's leader? From what Weiss said, I image you were hoping for it." Pyrrha visibly faltered, and Jaune knew he hit a sore subject.

"I… Of course! I couldn't be happier. This is what I've always wanted… Heh heh…" The lie was so blatant that even Jaune could tell, and beyond that, it spawned him two new skills.

New Skill acquired:
Detect Lie

[OK]

New Skill acquired:
Lie

[OK]

Weird how he got 'Detect Lie' and 'Lie' at the same time, but he wasn't complaining. The more skills the better. Jaune decided not to push the subject, and Pyrrha quickly changed it.

"Anyhow… We still have about twenty minutes until breakfast. Would you like to spar?" That was…. Not a good idea. However, and yes Jaune was crazy for considering this, he did want to start training eventually. Why not start now?

"Sure. I don't have my equipment though." Pyrrha waved off his concern, moving over to the closet from which she had gotten the training dummies and coming out with a set of training armour, sword, and shield.

"I'll wear a set as well, and then we'll be even." She offered. Once again ignoring his survival instincts, Jaune took the armour.

Once everything had been put on, and all training dummies were where they belonged, Jaune and Pyrrha stood opposite to each other. They gave each their smiles, one reassuring and one panicked, then began the battle.

Jaune attacked first, charging in with his shield down. Pyrrha easily dodged out of the way, but didn't retaliate.

"Shield up." She said instead.

"Huh?" He questioned.

"Keep your shield up, so people don't take advantage of your wide swing. And also, keep your swings short and precise."

"Uhh… Okay." Taking her advice, he attacked again. This time, she let the strike hit her. Not moving an inch, she took a swipe at his legs, knocking him to the ground.

"You must pay attention to what the opponent is planning." Pyrrha's basically scolded.

"I thought this was a spar, not a private lesson…" Jaune muttered to himself while getting off the ground. If anything, it was better that Pyrrha was training him more than fighting him, or else he'd be smeared onto a wall right now. Still though, it didn't stop him from feeling like he was being treated like a child the entire time. Thankfully no one else was watching, or else he'd certainly be made fun of.


His pride didn't get any better once their session was over either. Almost immediately afterwards, he got a pop up that really hammered things home.

Training Session Complete!
You're one step closer to becoming a big strong boy!

Reward: +1 Bond with Pyrrha, +2 END, +1 WIS, +1 LV to Longsword Proficiency

[OK]

For a brief minute, he did wonder as to why Pyrrha had, in fact, trained him instead of fighting. She had seemingly switched into that mode the moment he went to attack her, and it only gott worse from there. He was probably reading too much into things, and Pyrrha was just trying to help, but still… Something felt off about the whole ordeal. Especially so when her bond level now read,

[Pyrrha Nikos] Bond LV: 3/200- Yet another piece of work

Jaune's train of thought was stopped before it could go any further, however, when he made it back to his room. Hearing commotion inside, Jaune knocked on the door. Two seconds later, Weiss opened it… Then slammed it back on his face. Some brief discussion and another second later, Ruby opened the door, actually letting him in this time.

"Hi Jaune. Sorry about Weiss, I guess getting her beauty sleep didn't help her personality!" Ruby greeted him. The second part was more aimed at the heiress than him, though. And of course, Weiss took the bait, causing them to start fighting again

As the leader, Jaune felt he should do something, but he truly had no clue as to what. Instead, he decided to throw in his hat with his partner, who was in the process of slowly and sadly putting his uniform on.

"How are you doing today Ren?" Jaune gave a neutral greeting.

"Horrible." The black and pink haired student replied.

"Oh, well… I just wanted to let you know that me and Pyrrha, the leader of Team PBNY if you remember, planned to have our teams sit together for breakfast, so-" Ren was faster than Jaune could process, putting on his clothes and getting out the door in a blur. Jaune was confused, until he remember how Ren reacted around Blake. "Ah, love at first sight. A little creepy, to be honest."

+1 Bond with:
Lie Ren
Bond LV: 2/200

[OK]

Now that Ren was dealt with, it was time Jaune dealt with the elephant in the room. The, angry, loud, and arguing elephant. Frankly, Jaune was impressed by how much they could argue over. Before they had somehow gotten to 'the viability of scythes on the battlefield,' but had since progressed to 'the most effective kind of dust.' Really, if they weren't constantly insulting each other, Jaune could actually imagine this being a friendly conversation they might have.

"Wind is clearly the best dust type! The ability to dodge any incoming attacks, as well as knock people over with a huge area of effect is invaluable." Ruby argued for her dust of choice. For someone so awkward when it came to meeting new people, Jaune had to wonder how Ruby managed to get so hostile towards Weiss. She had talked to Weiss more than him, and he was supposed to be her friend!

"Until you encounter someone sturdy enough to take a gust of wind, or simply someone faster." Ruby muttered something along the lines of 'not possibly,' but Weiss ignored it and continued. "Ice allows you to completely stop your target, and if not that, you've still hit them with something more damaging than wind." Even just listening to that knowing tone made Jaune twitch a bit, and he was sure Ruby was even worse off. Before Ruby could respond, and subsequently make things worse, Jaune cut in.

"While I'm sure you both have very… Passionate opinions on what dust is better, we should all head to breakfast now." He directed his attention to Weiss. "If not, we might end up late for classes." Weiss glared at him and then at Ruby

"Fine. We can have a truce for now, but only for the sake of learning, and not because he said so." With that, she was out the door.

"Good job, Jaune." Ruby patted him on the shoulder, following after her partner.

"Huh." Jaune said, still a little perplexed. He was surprised that worked so well. "She must take her education seriously."

Oh, he had no idea.


It was around the time Jaune sat down that he realized he wasn't hungry in the slightest. The chocolate chip pancakes had looked so delicious just minutes prior, but now they just seemed like a waste. Well, whatever. He'd look like a pretty big weirdo if he didn't eat anything ever. Luckily, Gamer's Body also prevented stomach aches, as he found out, meaning that he could eat as much or as little as he wanted.

It seemed he was not the only one to eat as many pancakes as he wanted, as looking over to the other half of the table revealed Nora eating a stack of pancakes to large to count while chatting with Blake and Ren. Well, chatting wasn't really the best word. She was more like… Talking at them. For a moment she looked over to him with an unreadable expression on her face, but quickly smiled wide and turned back to her somewhat unwilling audience.

On his side of the table, Jaune had chosen to sit across from Yang who was next to Pyrrha. Moments later, Ruby sat down next to him.

"Where's Weiss?" Jaune asked as a concerned team leader, looking around for the heiress. Ruby just shook her head in frustration.

"She went to eat somewhere else. Apparently we weren't 'worthy' enough to be in her presence." There was a silence at the table before Yang spoke.

"Anyway, Ruby, this is Pyrrha Nikos." Yang introduced carefully. As if realizing for the first time that she was sitting at the table with someone she didn't know, Ruby 'eeped.'

"Eep! Uhh… Hi, I'm Ruby Rose! I make weapons!" The young reaper shouted in panic. Pyrrha gave her a warm smile.

"Good to meet you Ruby, Yang told me about you. I would love to be your friend." Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"Really?" Jaune found it kind of adorable how innocent Ruby was when it came to making friends. Pyrrha chuckled.

"Of course." At this, Yang clapped her hands.

"Awesome. Now that that's over with, let's get down to business. Jaune shares a room with you now. Did he… Try and peep on you?" She sounded like she was messing around, but Jaune already knew what was coming next.

You Sense Danger

[OK]

Just like last time, Ruby was there to save him.

"No Yang. In fact, Jaune was already gone by the time I woke up." Ruby vouched for her team leader.

"Plus, I would never do something like that." Jaune added to bump his credibility.

"Why's that? Don't think my little sister looks good?" And it backfired immediately.

"Wha- I- Umm… Uhh…" Yang started cracking up and Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Your face! Ha! Calm down, lover boy. I know you only have eyes for me." The blonde said with a wink, making him blush for the few moments Gamer's Mind didn't kick in. Composed, he managed a response.

"Oh yes. How could I not have eyes for someone as stunning as you? I'd have to be crazy or simply blind." Yang contemplated this, then nodded in approval.

+1 Bond with:
Yang Xiao-Long
Bond LV: 4/200

[OK]

"Needs a little bit of work, but I like it." She criticized. Jaune mentally sighed in relief. That had been a risky move, but his new charisma modifier had paid off for the better. Without it, he would have been dead right now. Finally, Ruby couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Where are you guys from? What school did you go to? Do you like making weapons Pyrrha? I know Jaune does. Do-" The barrage of questions for Ruby's new found friends was put to a merciful stop by Yang, who had gotten up as soon as her sister started talking and clamped her mouth shut.

"One at a time Ruby, or you might just lose what you just gained." This got the reapers attention and she quieted with a nervous chuckle.

"Heh… So, where do you two come from?" Pyrrha answered first.

"I'm from a small town in Minstral. You wouldn't know of it." Team PBNY's leader replied simply.

"Long way from home." Yang commented, making Pyrrha flush a bit.

"Yes, well, hopefully Beacon is everything it promises to be." Now the attention was turned on him.

"I'm from… Uhh…" All of a sudden, Jaune had a brain fart. Where had he come from? Vale, definitely somewhere in Vale. Nothing else was coming to him at the moment. "Sorry, but I'm not sure."

"You're 'not sure' where you come from? That's horrible!" Ruby exclaimed.

"It just means he doesn't want to tell us. Maybe something happened, but it's not our business." Pyrrha explained knowingly. Ruby nodded in understanding.

"Oh! Sorry Jaune." Ruby apologized.

"Uhh… That's okay?" He responded, confused on what exactly just went down. Why was he unable to remember his home, or for that matter, where he was before the airship? A pressing question, but not one he could simply answer right now. Like many other things, he put it on the back burner for now.

Many of the other questions Ruby asked dealt with personal preference, favorite ice cream, type of drink, so Jaune had no problem with that. Pyrrha answered in the same soft tone she had for the first question, and Yang occasionally stuck her head in to add her opinion. Things proceeded rather smoothly, and he had gotten another bond level with all of them before the conversation went sour.

"This has been fun and all, but we should get going soon." Yang commented, reaching- Ahem, 'somewhere' to get her flask.

"You shouldn't be drinking that." Pyrrha pointed out. In response, Yang raised an eyebrow, downing the whole bottle.

"What? You gonna tell on me?" The future drunk interrogated, leaning into her partner's personal space. If the champion was intimidated, she didn't show it in the slightest.

"No. I'm just saying it's bad for you." She clarified, standing her ground. Hearing that, Yang backed off.

"Well then we don't have a problem. Come on. We wouldn't want to late on the first day, would we?" When everyone had got up from the table, Jaune released the breath he didn't know he was holding. Why did he have the distinct idea in his head that if anyone started fighting, he would die in the process? That didn't seem like a healthy way to live life.


The first class of the year started with a bang.

BANG!

Literally. The professor made his entrance by slamming down the door, giving off quite the impression.

"Welcome class!" The man exclaimed as he brushed the broken wood off himself. He was a heavy-set man, accompanied by a large mustache and eyebrows. "I am Professor Port, but you can call me Professor Port. Now, let's get right to it! Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night! All these have been used to name the Grimm, but I merely called them prey! Ha ha!" Nobody laughed. Somebody coughed in the silence. Port moved on without a care. "These creatures are known all over the world, reported on every single continent and ever between. The only places not invented with the horrid beasts of nightmares are Vale and the other Kingdoms, but do you know why?" Nobody answered. Somebody coughed again. "Because of people like me! And soon, people like you! I refer to, of course, the hunters!"

The professor was so boring, Jaune could already see Ruby nodding off, but Jaune wasn't tired or bored in the slightest. Well, he was, but Gamer's Mind took care of it. Instead of slacking, his only choice was to sit and pay attention.

"To protect every human being on all sides of the kingdom and beyond, that is the task of a hunter. You will need training though, knowledge, power, if you ever hope to make a change in people's lives. But first, a story." Port cleared his throat, and Jaune knew he was in for the long hall. "The story begins on a young and handsome boy, right on the brink of manhood. Me, of course! Back when I still lived in the village…"

Jaune listened, and he listened and he listened and he listened. Every word, Jaune absorbed. Every inappropriate and frankly weird detail, Jaune cringed at. It was hell, and he could only wish that it would be over soon. Only after the end of class bell rang, was his wish granted. Thankfully, it all paid off.

+1 WIS

[OK]

"And then- Oh. It seems I've gone over the designated time." The professor noticed, frowning. "That's too bad, I had something really special planned as well. Actually… Tell me children, is your next class with Ms. Goodwitch or Doctor Oobleck?" Someone shouted out Oobleck and Port's smile returned. "Oobleck? Good! His class is shit anyway. Stay in seat children, we have one more thing to do." Ignoring the groanings, Port continued with his lecture. This time, however, Jaune didn't pay attention as he was distracted by a popping noise.

Quest Available:
Kill the Boarbatusk

Objective One: Say you have the traits of a Hunter
Objective Two: Defeat a Boarbatusk

Optional Quest One: [UNKNOWN]

Reward: +25 Lien, +20 EXP, +2 Bond with Ruby Rose, +1 Bond with Yang Xiao-Long and Pyrrha Nikos
Optional Reward One: [UNKNOWN]

Failure: Death
Failure to accept Quest: -10 Bond with Weiss

[Accept Quest]
[Decline Quest]

So all he had to do to boost up his bonds a whole bunch was kill a single Boarbatusk? That didn't seem hard at all! From his basic understanding, Boarbatusks weren't that tough, ranging between a small Beowolf and medium Ursa in power. All things considered, he'd be able to pull that off no problem with a little bit of experience. And since there was no time limit, he'd be fine.

New Feature: Quest Time Limit
This was actually a feature before, but luckily you thought of this before you were screwed over.

Adds: Time limits on active quests. These time limits can either represent how long is left to complete the quest, or how long until the event of the quest happens. The time limit can be checked by going to the [QUEST] tab in the main menu.

[OK]

Jaune silently groaned, but once he saw there was no time limit added to the Boarbatusk quest, he accepted the quest. Almost as soon as he went back to listening to Port, the opportunity to complete his first objective came up.

"Now then. Does anyone here think they possess the traits of a true huntsman?"

"I do." Jaune spoke out instantly, raising his hand.

Objective Complete:
Say you have the traits of a Hunter

[OK]

It took him a second to realize that the exact same words had been spoken by someone one row above him, Weiss. They looked to each other and the white haired girl sneered. sneered.

"Well, I wasn't expecting two people, but… Since you are both on the same team, you might as well use this as a team building exercise. Yeah, that sounds good… Anyway, go change into your battle gear, now!" As Jaune and Weiss hurried off to their lockers, Jaune wondered what exactly he got himself into.


They hadn't spoken to each other at all when in the locker room. Not that Jaune exactly tried, with Weiss being Weiss and all. As they walked back to the classroom though, Jaune felt the need to say at least something.

"So-" She cut him off instantly.

"Whatever this is, stay out of my way." And with that, the high strung heiress made it a point to walk faster than him. Jaune sighed and followed after her.

When they made it back to the classroom, a new object stood out to Jaune. A metal box, one that was shaking and making noise. As the two of them lined up opposite the box, Jaune pulling out his sword and shield, Weiss her rapier, the rest of team JWLR cheered them on. Or, well, Ruby cheered them on while Ren seemed completely uninterested sitting near Nora and Blake.

"You can do it guys!" The youngest member on the team tried to show her support.

"Thank's Ruby." Jaune responded right as Weiss did.

"Shut up!" The two girls scowled at each other. Then Weiss turned to him and he got a scowl of his own. Professor Port, ignoring the team banter, got the match started.

"Let the battle begin!" The elder hunter yelled in glee while swinging down his axe to open the cage. Immediately, the promised boarbatusk came charging out, causing the two fighters to jump to each side. In the brief respite, Jaune observed his foe.

Name: Urkle
LV: 16 EXP: NULL
Title: The Boarbatusk
Race: Moderate Grimm

HP: 1750/1750

[OK]

"Have any ideas?" Jaune asked hesitantly, trying to remember the stance Pyrrha had shown him just that morning. Was it left foot forward or right?

"Yeah, let me deal with it!" Weiss spit back harshly, charging to meet the furious Grimm head on. Jaune flinched as they came together, the ice queen's rapier sliding off the armoured skull and getting caught between the tusks.

"A new tactic, I like it!" The burly professor stated as Weiss struggled to get her weapon back. Jaune couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Seeing an opportunity though, Jaune, is all his heroic glory, slashed the non-plated side of Urkle, causing some decent damage.

HP: 1583/1750

There was no popup, but Jaune knew he had hit a weak point when he did over a hundred damage in one blow. Instantly after the slash, the Boarbatusk jerked towards Jaune, causing Weiss' rapier to go flying and Jaune to now be taking the attention of the Grimm.

"You made me lose my weapon!" Weiss shouted indignantly. Not bothering to correct her that she lost her weapon, Jaune continued to focus on the beast in front of him. He had been managing to block most of Urkle's stabs, but just the sheer force of each blow was whittling down his aura. Jaune needed a plan, and fast.

"Go for it's belly!" Ruby shouted. "There's no plating there!" Weiss didn't find the advice helpful, obvious enough from her response, but something clicked in Jaune's mind right then.

"Weiss, get ready to stab it! I'm gonna flip it!" He yelled out an order to the heiress as she got to her rapier. Before she could protest, Jaune shoved away Urkle and dropped his weapons. In the next second, Jaune grabbed both tusks as tight as he could. And finishing his plan, he channeled aura into his legs, jumping over the Grimm and dragging it for a ride.

For a singular moment, Jaune felt the pain as his muscles strained themselves to deal with the weight of the creature. Aura was useful and all, but it apparently didn't help with internal problems like torn muscles. Both Jaune and the Boarbatusk landed on their backs with a slam. Jaune, too stunned to move, almost had a panic attack for the few seconds he didn't hear Urkle dying, but when he felt the tusks turn to dust, he knew Weiss had come through.

Objective Complete:
Defeat a Boarbatusk

[OK]

Quest Complete:
Kill the Boarbatusk

Objective One Complete: Say you have the traits of a Hunter
Objective Two Complete: Defeat a Boarbatusk

Optional Quest One Failed: Get the final blow

Failure Avoided: Death
Optional Reward Avoided: +5 STR, +5 END, -1 Bond with Weiss Schnee

Reward: +25 Lien, +20 EXP, +2 Bond with Ruby Rose, +1 Bond with Yang Xiao-Long and Pyrrha Nikos

[OK]

He had promised he would find a way to abuse the 'Jump' skill, and damn it, an Arc was a man of his word.

"Bravo! At first I thought your teamwork would be abysmal, but it seems I was clearly wrong. Already, the two of you have shown a true leader-subordinate bond. Congratulations!" When Port first started speaking, Weiss seemed to preen at the praise, but hearing his other comments made her fists curl. Jaune sighed. He had to work something out with her before things got even worse.

-2 Bond with:
Weiss Schnee
Bond LV: -12/200

[OK]

Like that.


When class let out soon after, Jaune was happy to hear all the words of praise from teams PBNY and JWLR. Or, he wanted to be, but he couldn't help watch as Weiss stormed off, not giving them the time of day.

"You did very well. The way you got Weiss to do as you said is a sign that you are a natural leader." Pyrrha pointed out. He heard the compliment, but that was the straw that broke the Grimm's back.

"Thank's everybody, but I've gotta go. You know, get changed for class and all." They all accepted his excuse, and he went to track down Weiss.

Eventually, he managed to caught up to her looking out on a balcony. The way the early morning light hit her form was stunning, and for a second, Jaune lost his breath. When it came back Jaune took notice of a scroll in her hand. Before he could come any closer, the elegant heiress took the device and chucked it right off the ledge to shatter on the ground below. Then she turned around.

"Wha- You!" Weiss closed the distance between them in an instant. "What did you see, what did you hear?!" He was taken aback by her intensity.

"Nothing! I just saw you throw your scroll away, that's it!" She glared for a few more seconds, trying to determine the truth of his statement. Eventually, she stepped back.

"Fine. What do you want then?"

"We need to talk." He demanded.

"No, we don't." She moved to step around him, but he shifted in front of her.

"Yes, we do." Internally, he was shocked at his own audacity. Before confronting her, he had thrown four skill points into Charisma, deciding that this was an emergency on it's own. Now that, combined with his luck, meant the two of them could have a conversation. "What's your problem with me? Why are you so mad that I am team leader? I didn't choose this position."

"My problem?! You want to know my problem? My problem is that undeserving scum like you can possible get a position like team leader! No, you didn't choose the position. It's even worse! You were given it at random! Clearly, Ozpin forgot who else was on Team JWLR, because I assure you, the position of team leader belongs to me." After processing that fierce response, Jaune had to think of something else.

"Well, we can't change things now. Why don't you just try to make the best of a bad situation instead of fighting me for a position you can't have." At this, Weiss' eyes lit up, and Jaune knew he somehow fucked up.

"Fight you… Yes, that's how we can settle this. We'll have a duel and the winner gets to be team leader." Jaune's eyes widened. This was not where he was expecting things to go.

"I'm… Not sure that's how this whole 'team leader' thing works. Plus, don't you think that if the teachers found out I was forced to give the team leader status to you, they wouldn't allow it to happen?" Remembering her devotion to education, he added another point. "Not to mention, we just started classes. When would we be able to schedule a fight that wouldn't conflict with our studies?" Weiss seemed to consider these things, and Jaune had thought he talked her down, but to no avail.

"We can fight at night, in the Emerald forest. And… In three weeks from now, we have a friday off, so we can fight then without conflicting with potentially study time."

Quest Available:
Fight for Leadership

Objective One: Beat Weiss Schnee in the fight

Time: Three Weeks

Reward: Ability to remain the leader of team JWLR

Failure: Death/Loss of Leader status/[UNKNOWN]
Failure to accept Quest: Death

[Accept Quest]
[Decline Quest]

This was getting ridiculous. At this point, he might as well give her the team leader status right now.

WARNING!
Freely giving away team leader status will result in instant death

[OK]

Of course. His back was against the wall here, and as per usual, he had no other choice.

"Huff… Fine then. Let's do this."


Special Thanks to Macheddy and all the other reviews for helping we with lots of ideas to improve the story. As always, I'd love to hear any ideas that anyone has, so that I can make the best story possible.

I considered writing the entirety of Port's story, but it would have taken up too much of the chapter and wouldn't be worth the laughs.

I know it seems like the conflict between him and Weiss is going fast, but trust me, things won't get resolved that quickly.

Now onto reviews.

A lot of people were talking about the 'new game plus difficulty' so I wanted to just flesh some things out. The new game plus title refers to the fact that Jaune is going through the game over again, not that it's harder. The difficulty itself is much more like a 'custom difficulty' setting, like in some games where you can enable or disable options to make things harder or easier for yourself. I know right now, things seem super against Jaune, but that won't necessarily be the case every time.

Another thing I saw a lot of was that I was being too harsh on Jaune. For anyone who thought that, I am sorry. I don't want this to be a 'bashing Jaune' story where he can't ever get things done and always looses no matter what. The thing is, it's hard to walk the line between too strong and too weak. Like in this chapter, example. Using his maxed out jump skill, Jaune flips over a Boarbatusk, which is within his defined skill set. Still though, when things like that occur, I worry that I'm making Jaune more powerful than he should be. There's no excuse for me not writing a character consistently or well, but I hope that you'll be able to forgive any mistakes I make.

Anyway, that was about it for reviews. I'm sorry it's been so long, but I had a rough month. There's no point in getting into it, personal things, but I'm back now, and hopefully I can stay on top of these chapters.

All reviews immensely appreciated, questions, comments, or other. Until next time,

-RMV