The Jaune Archive: To Survive and Prosper

by The Rade Blunner

This is the story of Jaune Arc, The Hero of Remnant. An esteemed legend among the people of Remnant whose exploits have been told for years. He's a symbol of hope and justice to the righteous, while his name strikes fear into the hearts of evil men. Remnant never deserved a hero so brave, strong and handsome. Unfortunately for him... he didn't ask for any of this.

4. Pathological Jaundice

Editorial Note:

Due to the lack of relevant events following the last entry, we will be skipping ahead to one month after the last archived chapter—which unfolds a much more notable story.

Skipping will be a regular occurrence between some chapters as I cannot include every single journal entry on the archive since many of them provide little-to-no contribution to the overall chronicle that drove Jaune to prominence. However, some of the more interesting rejected entries would still be included in an 'extras' section, which should be released soon.

---

Chapter 4

Pathological Jaundice

---

"Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo"

-A line from an old Imperial Poem

It's kinda hard to believe that I actually managed to survive Beacon for a month. I have to admit, I was too pessimistic to think that I wouldn't last a week. Sure, I still need to be wary, but it's nice to know that I could get used to this. My team has been very cooperative; our training sessions have been so far successful, with my teammates complying with the roles they been given with, and have followed my orders without a question, which made the preservation of my own life a lesser concern, making me focus my worries on my other problem—academics.

Despite being a passable leader and strategist, I was never big on theoretical education. I graduated with average scores when I was on elementary, which was good enough since I wasn't the type to brag about stupid letters on a card. I mostly passed since I convinced my sisters, particularly Bleu, to do my homework, and teachers would overlook the fact that an underachiever somehow has some perfect scores on his homework. When I started being homeschooled, I would usually pass by derailing classes, taking advantage of loopholes, and testing my sisters' patience by making them want to get the lecture over with, so I could go back and peacefully spend my time on whatever I please. Here, I can't simply bullcrap my way into passing without getting into trouble, so I have to take my schoolwork seriously.

I spent most of the last night writing a 2000 word essay on what I've learned about Dust Studies the past month which was due today, added with the fact that it has been my weakest subject compared to others, so I had to cram the textbook while writing it down. As a result, I didn't get a lot of sleep, I spent the entirety of Professor Port's class making up for the lack of sleep. Since it was typically his story time I doubt that I missed anything really noteworthy. I continued to sleep at Professor—or rather, Doctor Oobleck's class. Initially, I tried to stay awake but I guess two hours sleeping at Port's class wasn't enough so I ended up going back to dreamland for another while.

I was eventually awoken by a paper football crashing at the back of my head.

"Hey!" I cried out, shaking my head from the sensation.

Doctor Oobleck suddenly zooms in front my desk. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

Since I wasn't able to pay attention at that moment, I had to ask about the question if I were to answer. "Uh, what was the question again, sir?" I asked, followed by some students snickering, which I frankly couldn't care less, given how students here are always bored that they'd pretty much laugh at anything.

"Have you not been paying attention again, Mr. Arc? Very well, since you kindly asked: What advantage did the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Oh brother, I recall having this lesson sometime back in elementary and homeschool but tend to forget these as I wanted my mind to have room with things I want to remember. Well, here goes nothing. "Uhh… the answer… the advantage… that the faunus…" I looked at Pyrrha behind the doctor's back for some help. "…had over General... whatever's stuff."

"General Lagune!" he corrected.

"Right, right. General Lagune… is that…" I looked again at Pyrrha, who was cupping her hands around her eyes, making her look like she was making some binoculars with her own hands. I could not make up what she was gesturing to, so I answered with the best of what I could come up.

"Is that they have really big eyes!"

Laughter ensued accompanied with Pyrrha and Blake face-palming. Wonderful, I can see the headlines for the next issue of the school paper: 'Supposed slayer of a bandit lord loses to a history question!'

The doctor sipped his coffee and zooms back to his desk. "So close, yet so far, Mr. Arc. Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier," Cardin said, insufferably leaning back in his chair. Judging by that statement, Cardin probably never owned a pet.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha responded.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin snapped.

"No, I have the answer." she said before turning back to Doctor Oobleck. "It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured." Blake added. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." she snarled as she turned towards Cardin.

The class was awed at Blake's sass. Cardin loses his cool and stood up before Doctor Oobleck immediately called him out.

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat."

I chuckled, I really didn't give a flip about Cardin and his tough guy demeanor, but I enjoy seeing people like him getting what they deserved. Doctor Oobleck then suddenly zoomed at me again. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." he said before taking another sip.

I groaned. I think this is what I get for not taking Bleu's history lessons seriously.

"Now! Moving on!" he continued.

When the bell rang the class ended, everyone left the room for recess, except for me and Cardin of course. Cardin smirked then moved next to my seat and tackled me, hoping he'd get a reaction out of it. I responded by simply moving to the next column while doing my best not to giving he wants.

Before he begins to reprimand us, the doc took a sip of his coffee, as usual. "Mr. Arc, Mr. Winchester. You two have been struggling in my class since day one! Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is..." he took yet another sip of his coffee before putting it down on his desk. "It stops now! You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it." he then looked in front of me. "Especially you, Mr. Arc! You have a family name to live up to. If you intend to uphold its honor, then I suggest you start taking your lessons seriously."

"Heh." Cardin uttered smugly before Doctor Oobleck turned to him.

"Don't think I have forgotten about you, Cardin! Not only your grades have been falling back, you have an attitude problem that needs fixing as well! I do not want you causing any more trouble at my class!" Oobleck told him, causing his smirk to disappear while I boredly watch him.

"I expect both of you to take this as a consideration to start improving your performances for this subject. History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it. Pages 51 to 91! I want an essay on my desk by next class! Now! Run along." he took one last sip before blurring out of the classroom.

That was thankfully quicker than I expected, it would have been annoying if this took long enough for me not to take my lunch.

I walked out of the classroom and saw Pyrrha waiting for me. I suspiciously looked at my back to make sure Cardin doesn't try anything funny, which he did try as he looked like he was about to push me before he froze when I saw him, so instead, he pompously sniggered at me and gave me two pats at the back before walking away.

"Is he bothering you?" Pyrrha asked, folding her arms as she glared at Cardin.

"Eh, don't worry about him," I said. "Let's just go eat." We then walked to the cafeteria together. She kept eyeing on Cardin, as she does not trust him one bit. While I cannot really blame her for that, I think she's a worrying too much. Sure, Losechester has a track history of being an arrogant jerk, but he really isn't that much of a BMOC[1] he thinks of himself as. In fact, he only picks on weaker students, which is very pathetic even for someone like me. This attitude tends to backfire a lot, so I don't need to worry about him as much as he needs to worry about himself.

=o=

1. Big Man On Campus. A term used to describe a well-known and influential male student, which Winchester barely qualified as. However, it is often used derisively towards someone deemed conceited, which described him more appropriately.

---

During lunch, I ate much more excessively as I wasn't able to eat in the morning since I woke up late and didn't have time to take breakfast and just went to class after a quick shower.

Nora was telling a story about one her of adventures with Ren, although judging by Ren's commentary, she didn't seem to be the most reliable of narrators. [1]

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora told.

"It was day." Ren corrected, holding his mug with one of his palms.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..."

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!" she stood up, suddenly shouting.

"Two of 'em." Ren exhaled.

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" she proudly finished her story as she sat down.

I'm pretty sure those 'Ursa' skins stopped existing long before she claimed to have sold them.

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren sighed. I got to give it to him. He has been living with Nora for half of his life, while I was still doing my best to get used to her demeanor since day one. Thankfully, I was patient enough not to lose my temper on her and kept her on my good side since her strength and loyalty was essential to my survival.

"Jaune, do you need help with your grades?" Pyrrha asked.

No reason to lie about this, I have been planning to improve my grades, as they have become more of a problem recently. But as much as I want Pyrrha's help, I don't want her to overdo her assistance, otherwise, I'll be owing her a lot after what she'll about go through. "Uh, yeah. But don't worry! I'll take care of it myself. It's my responsibility at all."

She hummed. "Well, if you ever need help, you can always come to me."

"Thanks, Pyrrha," I said as I went back into eating.

"Hey Jaune, has Cardin been bothering you a lot lately?" Ruby asked.

"Who?" I asked as if he wasn't a big deal, which he really wasn't.

"Cardin Winchester? The guy who has been picking on you since the first week of school." she answered.

"Oh, him? He just likes to mess around. Nothing special about him at all."

"He's a bully."

Oh please, you're giving him way too much credit. Losechester is nothing more than a minor nuisance at worst; almost everything he did to me is so petty, they could be easily ignored or fixed within the span of four seconds. I refuse to let him have a major impact on one part of my life. The only attention he deserves is the wrath of the Beacon staff.

"He's just an idiot. He'll get either bored or better yet, punished, soon enough." I said before turning around after hearing Cardin laugh. I saw him and his lackeys picking on that rabbit girl, whose name I recalled to be Velvet or something. While to me he comes off your resident tough-guy wannabe, he is really a bully to some. Though, if you ask me, that doesn't make him much more threatening; a simple tattle to Miss Goodwitch would be enough to wipe that dumb look on his face.

"Well, I hope you're right," Ruby said.

"Atrocious, I cannot stand people like him," Pyrrha remarked.

"He's not the only one," Blake said.

"Must be hard being a faunus." Yang commented.

"Well, we can't just sit here and watch!" Nora stood up before looking at me. "We need to do something!"

"Psh. I dunno. Break his legs?" I jokingly suggested as I go back to finishing my meal. I was about to tell her I was being sarcastic and that we should report this behavior to the faculty in seriousness when unfortunately...

"You got it, Leader!" she said before she started skipping towards the table where Cardin and Velvet were at.

I almost choked on my nuggets when I realized she took my word seriously and was heading off to carry the deed. Knowing Nora, she's crazy enough to actually do it. "Nora! Wait—No! Stop!" I quickly headed to Cardin's table.

"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet grunted as Losechester pulled her ears. "Please stop."

"I told you it was real!" Cardin said.

"Man, what a freak!" said Russel, the one with the terrible mohawk.

Cardin was suddenly turned around by Nora before being pulled from his seat then being pushed to the ground.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Cardin angrily questioned.

"I'm here to bring you to your doom~!" Nora answered in a sinister voice.

She then started to grab one of his legs as she starts to pull it while pushing his pelvis with her right foot.

"Agh!" Cardin grunted in pain. Before it was about to get any worse, I pulled Nora while Cardin's teammates were about to intervene, allowing Velvet to take her chance to run away from there.

"No, Nora, No! We are not breaking anyone's legs! I was only kidding when I said that."

"He deserves it!" she said while trying to get out of my arms.

"Nora. Stop. That's an order." I dissuaded, which made her stop resisting before letting her go.

"We're warning you, Cardin. If you don't stop, Jaune is going to kick your butt!"

"Nora…" I sighed.

"Isn't that right, Ren?" she looked at a Ren, who was behind me with Pyrrha and Ruby. Weiss, Blake, and Yang stood at the other side behind Cardin and his goons in case they get the wrong idea.

"Uh, that's pretty plausible," Ren said.

"Ren!" I yelled. I was trying to get Cardin to ignore me, and he wasn't exactly helping. I then looked at to Cardin and apologized. "Look, I am so sorry, we'll leave now." I walked with my team as Cardin and his team glares at me.

I didn't want to make a scene, it will only give Cardin a legitimately good reason to hate me, not to mention it'll also get us in trouble for assaulting a fellow student outside of a friendly duel.

"Let's go guys," I said as I lead my team out of the cafeteria.

=o=

1. Reminds of you something, don't you think?

---

To prepare for Dust Studies, I went to my locker to grab my textbook and the essay I spent all night trying to finish. My team and most of the others were already waiting in class so I was the only person on the locker room.

At least that was I thought.

When I was about to close my locker. I felt my hoodie got pulled off before I got pinned to another locker, I opened my eyes and saw Cardin grabbing by the collar of my hoodie along with his little band of juvenile hooligans behind him, one of them, Sky looked really nervous about this.

"You thought you were so funny back there, didn't you, Arc?" Cardin fumed.

Oh dammit, I knew this would happen, just not this early. Losechester can waste his breathe yelling at me for all he wants, I've dealt with worse. "Come on, I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, right, like I would believe that easily." he replied, "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

As a matter of fact, he kinda was. Not everyone got to Beacon because they had good grades or were impressive enough, some were able to attend because of their influential connections and just happened to be skilled enough to be accepted. Which explains why there were some mediocre students around here despite claiming that they only accept 'the best of the best'.

Russel then swiped my essay. "Oh, what's this? Your essay for Professor Peach?" he chuckled. "Thanks, Cardin's been nagging me to make one of these for him. Nothing a simple name change and a reprint can't handle."

That is when I started to lose patience, I tolerated them for being petty morons and now they're really asking to get suspended. "Give that back, now!" I demanded as I struggled out from Cardin's grasp.

"Make me." Russel taunted.

"Guys, I think we're going a little too far." the one with the blue hair shuddered.

"Oh shut up, Sky! We need to show this little runt that Cardin Winchester is not to be messed with!" Cardin said.

"But he—"

"I don't care if you buy that stupid story from the news! He is going to pay for getting that crazy witch of his to almost breaking my leg!"

Well, good to know that my one month of fame has expired, at least, probably because Northern Sanus found something else to obsess with. However, I did not appreciate calling Nora a 'crazy witch'. Crazy? Yes. A witch? Wait till she hears about this.

"Let's see how you like it when someone screws you over!" he yelled before shoving me into my locker and closing it.

Dammit, Cardin, how much of a sore loser are you to do this over a dumb mistake. "You're making a mistake, Cardin! Let me out now!" I exclaimed.

"Not in a million years, bunny boy!" Cardin replied. "Now… uh, how do you make lockers launch again?"

"Oh, you need to put in a separate code." Another voice answered, which was from Dove, I think.

"Dammit! And I thought it'll be that simple!" Cardin slammed my locker, which made me shake for a bit. "Alright Jauney-Boy, just tell your locker's launch code and just get this over with."

Seriously, why would I tell you that? Unless I could trick him into not using it, which was a clever idea at the time. "Oh-five-one-four-three-one" I said in a sarcastic tone, little did he know, that was really my launch code. If I learned anything about hiding the truth, if you confessed in a way that makes people think you're not being serious, no one will believe it.

"Nice try, Jauney-boy but I'm not gonna open your locker for you."

His loss. If he is not putting that down, he is not going to see anything blasting off in his little space program.

"Now tell me you're launch codes so we could watch you fly! Or we'll…"

"Or what?" I asked.

"Shut up! We'll…" Cardin paused. "Uh, any idea guys?"

There was no answer. I thought I got him good, that was before I realized I missed an important part that immediately made me regret my decision and for not thinking this through.

He lost patience and smashed the keypad. "Screw this! I think you're better off staying there for a while, its good enough for me!"

I forgot that he can just leave me here trapped. If I knew that earlier, I would have tricked him into opening this locker somehow. The lockers here don't have a latch from the inside in case someone got locked in.

"See you later, loser! Have fun breathing in there and thanks for the essay!" Cardin mocked with laughter from his team followed while his face on the vents disappears.

I then saw Sky on the vents, he quickly looked at the side before whispering "I'm really sorry." he then quickly caught up to his teammates.

To make things worse, the bell rang, indicating that class was starting, making me late for Professor Peach's class without an essay to pass.

I tried slamming the walls of the locker door and calling for help but it was no use, there was nobody in the locker room except me as everyone was now taking their class.

I took out my scroll and attempted to contact someone at my team to come and help me, only to get a screen that says 'Calling and Messaging are disabled during class hours', which made me bang my head at the door. Couldn't they at least add an 'Emergency Call' feature in case of situations like this?! [1]

I sighed and put the scroll back into the pocket and tried to ram the locker doors open which also failed since I heard that these lockers were made to survive long falls. I gave up and just accepted the fact that I was missing Professor Peach's class—in a claustrophobic locker with little ventilation no less.

If I had known this would happen, I would have let Nora break Cardin's legs. I don't care if I get in trouble, it's a lot better than being trapped in here.

=o=

1. The feature actually once existed, but it was removed by Ozpin when he discovered that students were abusing it. He thought that nobody needed it anyway, as nobody calls for help, and that as Huntsmen, students are expected to be capable of handling oneself during an unexpected event.

---

I spent an entire hour and a half trapped inside a locker when it felt longer than that. To say it was an unpleasant experience was an understatement; there was barely enough room for me to breathe in and I was wearing my armor at the time, which made the whole thing much more uncomfortable. It was also hot in here, I have been sweating since the first ten minutes and now the back of my hoodie is drenched. I found myself almost passing out a couple of times out of suffocation because of how the little air I'm getting.

I ended up taking a nap to hopefully speed things up. I slowly woke up after hearing the bell, which sounded very wonderful at the time. I soon heard some familiar voices calling my name, the voices become much louder and audible, making it clear that they're in the locker room. I used my remaining strength to bang the door, signaling them here.

"Jaune!" I heard Pyrrha's voice as I heard footsteps become increasingly rapid and louder, they stopped after I saw the reassuring faces of my teammates through the vent, albeit barely since the opening allows for a limited view.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked with concern in her voice.

"Two…nine…" I cracked my voice, mouthing off the numbers of my locker's code with every breath I still had.

"Jaune, what are you—?"

"Quiet!" Ren interjected, gesturing for everyone to concentrate on my broken speech.

"…six…three…oh…one."

"Two-nine-six-three-zero-one! Type it in!" Ren directed. Pyrrha nodded and typed the code I gave them.

The locker doors opened, I inhaled deeply as I stepped out before collapsing. They turned me around to face the ceiling. I panted heavily as I gazed at my teammates squatting in front of me while I lie on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"You look a little red!" Nora said.

"Wa...ter…" I faltered.

"He needs water now!" Ren pointed.

"Okie-Doke'!" Nora zoomed away and almost immediately returned with a bottle of water. "Done!"

Pyrrha took the bottle from Nora and opened its cap before feeding it to me. "Here"

I grabbed hold of the bottle and chugged all of its contents within mere seconds. Spending ninety minutes caged in a tight locker can dehydrate you pretty quick. "Thanks," I said as I continued panting. "More please."

"Aye!" Nora saluted zooming out again.

Ren and Pyrrha helped me up, I leaned at the nearest locker as I was having trouble trying to balance myself as I was still suffering from the headache I just got.

"I'll get you a towel," Ren said before bolting out.

"What happened? You were missing last class, we were so worried" Pyrrha questioned. "Let me guess… Cardin."

I nodded as I scowled at the thought of his face.

Pyrrha's hands gripped and her eyes narrowed. "That Winchester… He went too far, you know I will really break his legs."

At that point, I would have allowed her and gladly watch that but digressed because I believe he deserves a more severe punishment.

Nora came back with three water bottles, one of them standing above her head. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks again," I said to Nora before taking the bottles and drank back my strength and lowered my body temperature. Ren also came back gave me a white towel.

"What were you doing there anyway?" Nora asked.

"Cardin." I simply answered while wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Oh, that does it!" Nora said furiously. "Just say the word and I'll break his legs!" she punched one of her palms.

"You'll get your chance, Nora, but right now I need to talk to Professor Goodwitch." I said, as much as I want to confront Cardin and have Nora go berserk on him and his team, I needed to make this whole mess clear to Miss Goodwitch first. I don't care if I get called and labeled a snitch, he just stole an essay I spent all night working on for crying out loud. "Right to combat class, I'll meet you all there."

Ren and Nora nodded before heading out. Pyrrha meanwhile held to my shoulders. "Take care this time."

I nodded at her advice before she followed Ren and Nora.

I went to the hallways and waited for Miss Goodwitch. She then appeared a few minutes later, holding her tablet as usual. I approached her before she managed to get to the combat hall. It took some guts approaching someone like her since she's basically that one dreaded teacher found in the school, but she's mostly doing her job trying to look over a school full of brats with wacky weapons, and if Cardin was afraid of anyone, it's her.

"Professor Goodwitch, can you excuse me for a second?"

"Mr. Arc! Professor Peach recently reported that you were absent from her class. You better explain yourself!" she told me.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I would have attended had not Cardin Winchester and his team trapped me in my own locker. I couldn't call for help because scrolls are disabled during class." I explained.

She sighed. "Mr. Arc, those are some bold claims to accuse your fellow students of such a heinous act, however, I'm willing to believe you because Mr. Winchester has been a nuisance recently."

That's reassuring. All I wanted was to see Cardin pay for making me stay at my locker and stealing my essay.

"But even if they're true. I cannot do anything at the moment, I am occupied into commencing today's class which is vital as it reintroduces the combat matches since last month. Mr. Winchester will be given a trial once this class is complete."

"I understand, professor."

"Which begs the question." she said, adjusting her glasses. "Haven't you been able to defend yourself against Winchester then? This school assumes that you are capable of standing your own ground."

"I was caught off-guard, ma'am. I was unarmed and they had me bound and surrounded. I was not able to fight back." I explained, the whole thing was so sudden that I wasn't able to plan it out properly.

"I guess that's understandable."

"He also stole my essay for Dust Studies and passed it off as his own," I added. I didn't care if it was too late to get those grades as long as Cardin wasn't getting any of them.

"Is that true?"

"He reprinted it with his name, I still have the original document on my computer, which was marked as written on an earlier date."

"I'll look into it then." she sighed. "Say, do you want to face Cardin today in a fair match?"

I raised my brow at the question. "Excuse me, professor?"

"You said you were not given a chance to defend yourself when he tormented you. I thought it'd be fitting when he finds out what he was up against before I give him some proper punishment. That way, he would learn humility while we discipline him."

I thought about it for a bit before deciding to settle with it. I was too infuriated at him that I didn't feel like pretending to be helpless then. I decided to stop holding back and humiliate Losechester just for once. "I'd be delighted to."

"Good. Your match will be the last one before the end of the class. Students like Winchester needs to be reminded that Beacon is no place for bullies. I'm glad Caiaphas's son would do the honors."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"And don't think I have forgotten about your grades, young man. Your theoretical performances are still mediocre at best." she bluntly prompted.

Since I expected her too eventually that bring up, I wasn't fazed by her reminder. "Of course, ma'am." I nodded.

"Now, proceed to class. I will follow shortly."

It went easier than anticipated. I thought that it would take more persuading for Miss Goodwitch to take action, but it turned out, seem that we have a mutual agitation towards Losechesters.

I ran to the combat hall and went inside and saw Nora and Losechester trying to strike at each other while Ren does his best to restrain them both with Pyrrha and Cardin's goons standing behind their respective teammates. Some people who were watching seemed eager for a fight while others looked concerned.

"You're freaking insane, do you know that?!" Cardin shouted.

"Better than being a no-good bully!" Nora retorted.

"Both of you, Get. A. Grip!" Ren said, doing his best pushing back both parties from each other.

"I agree. As much as I want to see this vermin get what he deserves. We mustn't get in trouble. We should save it for a match." Pyrrha stated before turning her gaze at me.

They all suddenly stopped after they saw me approaching them.

"Ah, look who it is," Cardin said as he slowly walks toward me. "So how's your stay at—", he was interrupted by Pyrrha who stood on his way as she scowls at him.

"What's a matter? Need your girlfriend to fight your own battles for you?" Cardin taunted.

I tried to respond but Pyrrha beat me to it. "You have gotten one step too far with him, Winchester."

"You didn't like how I repaid Jauney-boy for almost breaking my legs? Don't worry there is more where that came from." Cardin scoffed.

Can't wait. Hopefully, you won't get suspended or even expelled so I can see how you pull it off, I sardonically thought.

"If you know what's good for you, you better start leaving us alone!" Pyrrha responded.

The doors of the entrance opened as Miss Goodwitch enters the room and saw all of us standing. "All of you, please be seated." she ordered.

"But Prof—", Nora tried to explain before Miss Goodwitch raised her hand.

"No excuses. If you're holding a grudge you can save it for the matches."

Nora groaned but knew she couldn't do anything at the moment and obeyed her word. Ren sat down with her and patted her back.

"Hmph. I think you'll learn not to mess with me better in a match." he smirked.

To give an impression of someone nervous, I responded with a gulp. Not that I'm actually scared of Losechester, I wanted him to underestimate me, so he could act as smug as possible before wiping the floor with it.

"Watch yourself, Jauney-boy." he walks away with his peers, with Sky nervously looking back.

Pyrrha continues to scowl at him, but I told her to calm down and walked her to our seats beside Ren and Nora.

"How degenerate." Pyrrha crossed her arms, still angry over Cardin.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha! Justice will soon be brought to Cardin and our team's dignity will never falter!" Nora said. "Jaune, just say the word and I will break his legs!"

As much as I want to see Losechester in a wheelchair. I'm still going to my plan to get back to him through legal means. "Actually, you don't need to do anything. I have it all figured it out." I turned at my teammates and give them a smirk.

Nora was confused before her face shifted into an evil grin. "Ohh, I like where this is going. The suspense is killing me!" she said, rubbed both of her hands.

"You won't be disappointed." I nodded.

"So, what are you planning to do?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Just wait and see."

We all directed our attention to Miss Goodwitch, who was now in the arena. "Good afternoon, students. I'm sure you're all excited to know that today we are resuming combat matches for this class."

"Woo!" Nora cheered along some other students thirsting for some action.

"But first, since we have plenty of time. You still have to do some warm-up exercises first as usual and spend half of another hour reviewing on what you've learned for the past month."

The same people who cheered, including Nora, groaned. Nevertheless, they were still excited that combat matches are back.

"You already know the drill, so it is best for you to be on with it if you wanted the matches to start sooner."

We all lined up outside the classroom to start our daily warm-ups for combat class. Cardin looked back and sneered at me, I coldly looked back as I plan on how to beat him in the match. I had most of everyone's combat styles and moves noted, Cardin is no exception. People like Cardin tend to act smug to anyone who he thinks is below him, which would surely cause him not to fight seriously. If I take that to my advantage, then the fight is already been won.

---

Combat class is a favorite among Huntsmen-in-training, and for good reason; it is practical, entertaining and educational that it's no mystery why it's two times longer than other classes. Even I find myself attached to the subject since it gives me insight into my classmate's fighting ability as I take note of them as it may be proved beneficial for the future. Today, my knowledge of other students would be put to the test, particularly Cardin's. When I was observing him during this class for the past month, I learned that he uses a large mace that apparently could release explosions on impact, which tells me that I have to be careful when blocking it with my shield. Thankfully, Mom's shield is known to be almost indestructible, I saw her demonstrate it against missiles and lasers and it still remained intact. Plus, his mace is shown to be heavy, added with his armor that weighs him, which would make him durable, with the cost of his mobility. In short, I actually didn't need to worry about much. Since I was able to win against dad, my sisters and a bandit lord, then this would be child's play by comparison.

The last hour of combat training was spent on matches, which were exciting to the bloodthirsty students since that they were finally able to fight and be graded in the process. So far, the fights have been one versus one, probably because Miss Goodwitch wants to go easy with the fights for today and wants to see what the students learned when fighting alone. I noticed Team CRDL trying to get themselves volunteered which Miss Goodwitch did her best to ignore them since she's saving Cardin to face me for the last match before the class ends.

"Maus Itter's aura is in the red. Piper Rivers has been declared winner." Miss Goodwitch announced after the lights went back on.

The two participants return back to their sit before Miss Goodwitch steps back in the arena. "We still have time for one more match before we could conclude this class."

I took a deep breath as I prepared for my name and Cardin to be called.

"Jaune Arc of Team JNPR. Cardin Winchester of Team CRDL, please enter the arena."

As I was about to stand up, Pyrrha held my shoulder, turning my gaze at her emerald eyes. "Be careful, Jaune."

"Yeah, kick his butt, Fearless Leader!" Nora said.

"Will do." I nodded.

I walked toward the arena, unsheathing my sword and collapsing my shield. While feigning anxiety to give Cardin a false impression of an inadequate joke who don't even deserved to be fought with all his capabilities, looking at his stupid overconfident smile as I faced him on the arena.

I know that this going to get the professors attention, but they already know who I am and what my team was capable of, and I'm sure Ozpin has been making plans for me the moment he formed my team. So there wasn't anything to worry about that I already have; if they see me as an accomplished warrior and expected me to act like one, then so be it. I just wanted Cardin off my back.

"Hey, Jauney-boy. Do me a favor and don't forfeit early." Cardin scoffed, putting his mace at his shoulder.

"I don't plan to, Cardin. Just please take it easy." I said, still pretending to be nervous.

"Heh. Maybe. But only because you're so pitiful, I'll be only gentle for a bit, don't you worry."

Looks like I got him where I want. Next thing to do is make this moment something he won't forget.

I gave a nervous chuckle to delude Cardin for the last time. The lights outside the arena turn off, holographic screens showing both of our aura gauges emerged. I gave a faint smirk, knowing how this would go.

"Ready? Begin!" Miss Goodwitch commenced.

I held my sword tight and remained calm as Cardin horizontally swung his mace aiming toward my face which I dodged right in time then used my shield to uppercut his face, pushing him back. He shook his head, not knowing what just happened. The next thing he saw after clearing his vision was me stepping forward before giving him a series of rapid slashes which he was too stunned to counter, quickly draining his aura. He stumbled back before getting angry and charged, trying to slam me with his mace, which I dodged by simply sidestepping, barely affected the mini-explosion he caused. Once he turned to me, I bashed his face with my shield, knocking him to the ground.

He opened his eyes and looked at his screen, he was shocked to see that his aura levels were already at the red and mine still full, it was already over.

"WHAT THE FU—!"

The buzzer rang and the lights turned back on before anyone knew it. I heard the audience murmuring shock, amazement, and confusion. I guess the so-called Defender of Podunk was back with vengeance, though, I have pretty much gotten to the point where it barely bothers me. As shameful and undeserving it is, being on a pedestal does have some of its perks.

Honestly, I was pretty scared that it wouldn't work out as planned, but it turned out to be comically easy since Dad and my sisters offered more challenge when sparring with them. Hearing Cardin scream in agony was pretty satisfying too.

"Jaune Arc wins the match… by flawless victory within thirteen seconds… A new record among freshmen." Miss Goodwitch stated, who sounded just as surprised as everyone else.

There was an awkward silence in the audience until clapping was heard from Nora. "That's our Fearless Leader!" she cheered. The rest of my team joined in followed by Team RWBY then the rest of the class. Some shouts and whistles were heard during the applause.

Cardin gripped his hands and tried to get up, needless to say, he wasn't pleased getting beaten by someone who he taught was someone who was lower than dirt in thirteen seconds. "What?! No!"

"Class." Miss Goodwitch said, which silenced the audience. "Cardin, were you aware on who you just faced with?"

"Does it really matter?" he responded bitterly, whose body was faltering after recently getting beat up.

"He is the son of Caiaphas Arc! One of the most exceptionally skilled individuals I know. Being trained under him, you were outmatched the moment you faced him, added that you let your guard down hence why he was able to defeat you within seconds. Did the introductory match with Miss Hisakawa taught you nothing?"

Cardin stares at her, faintly grunting.

"Mr. Winchester, while you have proven yourself to have fighting skill sufficient enough for accepted within this academy. You need to humble yourself. Arrogance is one of the leading causes of death of in the field, along with incompetence."

Cardin just distraughtly looked at the ground. Miss Goodwitch then turned her gaze toward me. "Mr. Arc, due to your background, I anticipated that you'll be able to handle this skillfully, but even then you have still managed to catch my surprise."

"Oh, it was nothing. I only followed what I learned from my father." I said as modestly as I could.

"Is that so?" she mused. "I guess one opponent must have been too easy for you. Since we still have time, you could show the class how one extraordinarily skilled warrior could handle several opponents."

Wait, what?

She turned to the audience. "Since the match ended rather too quickly. We will have another match. Only this time, Jaune will face the rest of Cardin's team, since the last match was proven to be too trivial for him and his aura levels are still full.

"The class cheered with anticipation. Meanwhile, my jaw dropped as my mind went into a panic. I did not expect to face everyone else on Cardin's band of delinquency after humiliating him. Apparently, I was too good and beating Cardin that quickly proved that it was not enough for her. I really wasn't sure if I could handle Cardin's teammates ganging up on me. I did my best to remain calm, I didn't want Team CRDL to notice my insecurities and get them to exploit it.

"Would the rest of Team CRDL kindly enter the arena?"

Russel and Dove stood up and dragged Sky into following since he was too hesitant to go.

"Mr. Winchester. Please go back to your seat and rest. Your team will take care of this."

He angrily hobbled out of the arena. "You won this one, Arc." Cardin spat when he passed through me. He then approached his teammates who just came out of the entrance. "Crush him."

His team minus Sky nodded. They all pulled out their respective weapons; Russel with his dual daggers with dust chambers, à la Weiss' rapier. Dove with his sword-revolver, which is actually a decent weapon if you ask me. And finally Sky's weapon, which a halberd-rifle like Bleu's weapon, which meant I already know how to counter it, especially considering that Sky is less-skilled and far more anxious than Bleu, who was already a full-fledged Huntress when she challenged me. Russel and Dove both have faces with vengeance written all over them, Sky, of course, was meanwhile whimpering.

"You just wasted your luck on the last match, bunny jacket. Big mistake thinking you can get back on us." Russel said.

"Yeah, you should know your place, nerd!" Dove dissed.

Nerd? You can't be serious right now. I feel less pathetic after hearing that. Say what you want about me, but at least I don't use insults that sound like they came from crappy high school dramas that were written by out-of-touch 40-something adults.

"Hey, uh, just so you know, this isn't anything personal." Sky said to me.

"What was that, Sky?" Russel turned to him.

"Uh, nothing." he lied.

Just as I thought I was done with birds. I went back into my battle stance and told myself to remember my training. Being somewhat familiar with these idiots and without Cardin's leadership, they'll all be focused on trying to put me down without regards to tactics. [1]

"You can do it, Jaune!" Pyrrha motivated.

"Yeah, show them who's boss!" Nora stood raising her fist.

"We believe in you!" Ruby cheered.

All the lights on the room, barring the one on the arena, of course, all turned off while Cardin's aura screen changed to show all of his teammate's aura gauges as well another gauge that represents the team's overall aura. Miss Goodwitch then started giving out the instructions.

"This will be a three versus one battle. You will be given five minutes for this match. When the timer runs out, whichever team that has the most aura combined wins assuming an entire team hasn't been knocked out by then. Have I made myself clear?"

All of us nodded.

"Good. You may begin if ready."

We continued staring at each other for a few more seconds when all of a sudden, Russel fired a round of fire dust which I blocked just right in time. Lowering my shield, I saw him running towards me before leaping, ready to thrust both of his daggers in a reverse grip. I raised my shield again and blocked his strike before using it to push him back, I went on to parry all of his attacks with my sword before looking at my right and saw Dove approaching me as he was about to swing down his sword. I deflected him mid-swing with my own sword and went to clash blades with while fending off Russel with my shield.

Dove suddenly rushes back and switched his weapon to a gun mode, I quickly bashed Russel's face with my shield before turning my shield towards Dove and block his gunshots. I then sensed something coming towards my legs so I leaped up and looked down and saw a halberd horizontally sweep near the ground. I turned my head back and saw Sky giving a nervous chuckle. I chose to ignore him for the moment since he was already shaken and that his buddies were still actively trying to pin me down. A bullet ran near my face, making me look back at Dove who quickly starts reloading since his chamber ran out. I used this opportunity to focus on Russel who attempted to flank me from the other side. I blocked his flurry of slashes with my sword before clashing with him as I continue to block Dove's gunshots at the back until he switched back to his sword and tried to strike, I quickly turned around while swinging my shield at Russel's face as I parried Dove's attack. I suddenly heard a gunshot and quickly turned towards Sky with the shield covering me. I then bashed the shield on Dove, trembling him back and making him open to attack.

After giving him a few slashes, I quickly dodged back from a thrust from Sky's halberd before clashing blades with Russel at the back. He flipped back and started firing electric dust which made me dart around the room before I got close him, causing him to stop and jumped to the side before lunging at me while rolling in mid-air.

Show-off, I thought. I caught him with my shield and shoved him to my back, making him fall to the ground before I sliced his aura to the red while he was lying.

"Russel Thrush is out for the match!" Miss Goodwitch announced.

"Dammit!" Russel cursed as he slammed the floor.

One down, two to go. I looked at Dove and Sky, who was furious and frightened respectively. I bolted toward them while they tried to shoot me down with their guns. I engaged Sky who went to block my slash with his polearm, before turning my attention to Dove, using my shield to bash away his defense then turning back, shoving away the tip of Sky's weapon before it fired and pushed him back. I went back to Dove and swung my sword, causing him to block and parry before sweeping his legs under him, collapsing him to the ground. I gave him one last swing of my sword as his aura lowers to the red.

"Dove Bronzewing is out! Only Sky Lark remains on Team 2!" Miss Goodwitch announced. The screen showing Team _RDL's aura has Russel and Dove both crossed out with Sky being only one left. The team's overall aura is at the orange, with only 1/3 of it remaining.

I turned my gaze towards Sky, who was shuddering like there was no tomorrow. Since he was the least worse among the team in terms of personality and the only one there who thought this entire thing is a farce, I'll go easy on him. I stormed towards him and proceeded to overwhelm him with a flurry of slashes. He wasn't able to attack since he was too occupied trying to block everything I throw at him. Eventually, he had enough and threw the towel while his aura was still light-green.

"This is hopeless!" he yelled. "I forfeit!"

The buzzer rang and lights turned back on as Miss Goodwitch walked back to the arena "Jaune Arc has once again, won the match."

The room was bombarded with applause, I looked at my team and saw Pyrrha standing up and clapping as hard as she could while Nora jumped while raising her fist to the air then giving Ren a hug who was noticeably smiling. The only person who wasn't who wasn't cheering was obviously Cardin, who was sitting with his arms folded, glowering at his team's defeat.

"Good work. Mr. Arc. As expected from your family. You truly are an exceptional fighter." Miss Goodwitch commended.

Taking on Cardin's entire team wasn't the plan at all. I chose to follow my training instincts and win because I had to meet their expectations and Cardin would continue harassing me with more ammunition if I lost. Cardin's team mostly lost because they were over their heads. Had they been someone else and more serious, I'd probably be dead by now.

"Mr. Lark. While you chose to make a decision that is normally frowned upon, I cannot blame you for it. I am somewhat pleased to know that you're aware that you have little chance of winning and accepted defeat." she then looked at Russel and Dove, who both were standing in the sidelines, flustered and shaken by their defeat. "As for the rest of you. You need to plan your attacks if you are to face someone who is levels above you. Just because an opponent is outnumbered, it doesn't instantly mean you have the upper hand. A skilled individual can make a quantity of a group meaningless."

"Can we go back to our seats now?" Russel whined.

"Not yet. You still have something to answer for. That goes the same for you, Mr. Arc." Miss Goodwitch responded.

Oh boy, here it comes.

She turned back to the audience. "That is all for the day. Remember, everyone—the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" she announced, exciting the students; most notably, Team RWBY, who were all pumped up after the mention of the tournament. Blake meanwhile, looked just as disinterested as ever.

The bell rang, ending all of the classes for today. Everyone left the combat hall so they could spend the rest of the day for themselves. Of course, me and Team CRDL stayed after class because of some unfinished business. The juvenile delinquents were lined up facing Miss Goodwitch's unimpressed face as I stood beside her.

"Cardin Winchester. While you and your friends of yours have been causing ruckus since the first day. I cannot be more disgusted with your behaviors of what you did to Mr. Arc a few hours ago." Miss Goodwitch scolded.

"But, ma'am. Even if that's true, then shouldn't Jaune be able to fend for himself. After all, he is an exceptional fighter, was he?"

Miss Goodwitch's eyes further narrowed. "Mr. Winchester, answer me this honestly: Do you think I'm stupid?"

Cardin flinched as he lost his grin and started to whimper that he couldn't answer. Miss Goodwitch continue to berate him. "Mr. Arc has already proven to be superior against you and your team. I'm sure Mr. Arc would have taken care of you. But he has the excuse of not being able to fight as he was unarmed and ambushed. Now normally, I would stay out of student's personal affairs as they are expected to deal with them themselves, but after hearing that you stole a student's essay and passing it as your own has caught my ire. Is that true?"

The quartet continued to shudder and sweat profoundly at the stern witch. "Don't lie. I will eventually find out." she intimidated. They looked at each other before giving in, making Cardin and Russel give a dim nod. "As I have suspected. Are you all trying to get expelled?! I cannot be more disappointed in you four right now. You will all stay at detention for the day. As for Mr. Winchester, you would be staying in detention for a week, I will also make sure that the essay you submitted to Professor Peach would not be graded, as they rightfully belonged to Mr. Arc."

Cardin was furious, but knew he could do nothing, so all he did was look down with the rest of his team.

"Now, I want you all to apologize to Mr. Arc here." she slightly pushed me on the back.

Cardin rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sorry, Jauney-boy." he said, disingenuously, of course…

"Politely…" Miss Goodwitch urged.

He groaned before apologizing again. "Alright, Alright! I'm sorry for being such a jerk, Jaune!"

"Yeah, sorry." Russel followed.

"I regret this…" Dove said.

"No hard feelings, right?" Sky weakly grinned.

"Good." she turned to me. "Mr. Arc, you may go now. You four stay. I am still not done with you."

I nodded before walking to the exit. I looked at them out of pity and saw Cardin's gaze still distraught at me. I shrugged it off and left the room. He had a lot to think about, so I'll let him take the hint. I had enough of them for the day and I wanted to refresh my mind after everything that happened these past hours.

After walking out the exit of the combat hall, I was greeted by the sight of my team and Team RWBY. All, where still congratulating me on my recent win.

"Here he is, the bane of CRDL!" Nora bounced.

Pyrrha went at my side with a satisfied look. "You did great, Jaune. I'm so proud of you."

"Looks like Cardin won't bother you for a while," Ren commented.

"Yeah! You showed those mean ole' bullies who they were messing with!" Nora cheered.

"You were amazing! You beat all of them with barely a scratch! Oh, you have got to teach me some time!" Ruby squealed.

"Looks like Vomit-Boy has promoted himself to Vomit-Man!" Yang quipped.

I could only smile at the praise my friends were giving me. "Thanks, guys, really. But I only did what I should be doing. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, after all."

"Oh, don't put yourself down, lady-killer. You beheaded a giant bird and put some birds to their place. I'd say your just good at what you do." Yang tapped the back of my armor. "I guess Cardin was a little jaundiced, eh?"

There was not a single laugh or groan but instead silent stares of confusion.

"Oh for fu—fudge's sake!" she swore. "I know some of you eggheads got that! Is it that right, Weiss-cream?"

"Do you seriously study the dictionary to make your puns?" Weiss responded.

"Hey, at least I try!"

I chuckled for a bit before getting my team to accompany me out. I needed a break after beating a bunch of bullies and I still have another essay to write, which I want to finish soon so I don't end up sleeping tomorrow, and not because of some mustached professor's tall tales.

=o=

1. Knowing Winchester's tactical knowledge. I doubt it would make much of a difference.

---

After that eventful day, Cardin and his team were noticeably quiet, not starting any trouble like they would normally do. Velvet was even surprised that he and his team just walked past her without a word or anything since she was a usual victim of his tormenting. I guess they learned their lesson yesterday and was hit hard by Miss Goodwitch's disciplinary action. Which is a relief, because it means I don't have to keep my head up for any more incoming spitballs. That immature crap was one of the few things that actually nag me about Cardin.

During Dust Studies, Professor Peach pardoned me for being absent from her class yesterday after she was informed of what happened. She had my essay graded for myself instead of Cardin. Though, she reminded me that I still have a lot to make up for, since my performance in Dust Studies wasn't exactly the best.

Before her class ended, she announced that the class will have a field trip to Forever Falls on the following day starting after recess and ends at dismissal, which meant there won't be combat class for the day, but Miss Goodwitch agreed to chaperone us during the trip.

I spent my time after class catching up with my studies, which also meant that team training had to be postponed. Nevertheless, my team decided to help me, even though they don't have to since they owe me nothing. It's probably because I acted too much of a good leader to them that they're always here to help. While I'm grateful for that, I'm worried that we'll never be even, they'll spend these years saving my rear and I find myself guilty that I may never properly repay them, hence I never felt comfortable getting help from people who were supposed to be my glorified meatshields.

When the field trip began. We traveled to Forever Fall via airship, which was a sight that I did not miss after remembering my past travel with it. Although the trip was short, lasting around only ten minutes or so, I was doing my best not to repeat the incident that happened on the first day; Ruby and Yang noticeably even stayed a few feet away from me during the duration of the flight. When we arrived, I left the airship with some minor headache, but at least I didn't throw up for once.

"Here we are students, Forever Fall! Now I want all of you to follow me and stay with your team, I don't want any of you wandering off." Miss Goodwitch said.

Forever Fall. While it's somewhat of an odd forest, having red grass and leaves instead of green, there was barely anything out of the ordinary at all. Aside from a few Grimm since it's the wilderness.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Miss Goodwitch stated while we were following her on the forest before halting after she turned back.

Cardin bumps on me while carrying a case with empty jars on it. He gave me a scowl before moving along.

"Be careful, Cardin. Those are fragile." Miss Goodwitch warned before turning back to the whole class. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap." she pulled out a jar filled with red fluids. "However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm—so be sure to stay by your teammates."

Of course, it wouldn't be a forest without the Grimm lurking around and ruining nature. I checked my belt to make sure I still have my sword and scabbard. Can't afford to let your guard down these days.

"We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

While the class split into their teams, meanwhile, I had mine accompany Team RWBY just to be safe and told them that it was more the merrier. They didn't seem to mind since we were close since the first week, not to mention Ruby wanted her team to get to know us better.

For whatever reason, I don't feel comfortable collecting sap—I suspect that I might be allergic to this stuff. When I filled my first jar, I already wanted to give up. This stuff could potentially kill me. I cannot imagine anyone drinking this.

I looked at my surroundings and saw the other fill their first jar. Ren went to fill another jar after giving one to Nora, who chugged all of it even before Ren could add a drop with the other jar.

Of course, I thought with slight repulsion.

I looked back into my jar and found out that it was suddenly opened and empty. I shook my head to assure that my vision was not playing with my head and looked closer and saw that it really was empty. I looked at my side and saw Nora with her mouth covered in sap.

"Mmm."

"Nora!" I yelled.

"Oops, sorry!" she giggled before dashing away.

I was initially annoyed but chose to laugh it off. It was the same classic Nora I endured for the past month. At least I don't have to deal with six more of them, well, Ruby might count since she is basically 'Nora: Lite', but she's not in my team and her enthusiasm is more uplifting than annoying. [1]

"Need help?" Pyrrha asked as she approached me.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," I said as I tried to collect more sap and suddenly feeling dizzy again. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff though."

"Huh. Looks like you do need help." Pyrrha remarked. "Well, Nora drank all of my sap too. So how about you let me—."

"No no no, it's alright. We just need one sap. I'm sure it wouldn't kill me to fill another one up." I insisted.

"Oh. Okay. If you say so then." she looked down.

I think I made her believe that she was bothering me with her desire to help me out. So, I gave her an assurance that I'm still glad to have her my side. "Hey, Pyrrha."

"Yes, Jaune?"

"I want to thank you for supporting me for after all these days. I really appreciate it. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

Her face brightened after that. "It was my pleasure, Jaune. But you shouldn't push yourself too hard as well. It's just that—you have been having trouble these past couple days and you have been refusing help from us. I'm worried."

"Hey, I'm an Arc. I can solve my own problems. You don't need to worry much about me."

She chuckled. "Well, I hope your right, Mister Arc."

I smirked at her response. "No need for formalities, Miss Nikos. After all, I—." I was interrupted when I felt something sting at my back. I touched it to see what it was and saw red fluids on my fingers.

I turned around and saw shattered glass on the ground. I looked up and saw Team CRDL pointing and laughing at me.

Did detention teach these morons nothing? They have the audacity to throw a sap on me while their leader was recently humiliated and was serving detention. What made them think it was a good idea to exact revenge just now?

"Oh, that does it." Pyrrha started marching toward them.

"Pyrrha, wait!" I called. She turned back with a perplexed expression. "I'm coming with you."

She smirked and we headed out to get Cardin together. They suddenly started to look frightened and hurriedly tried throw a jar of sap on her, only for her to effortlessly dodge it. They begin to panic as they started opening a box and released a swarm of rapier-wasps right after me.

I was startled by the swarm. I heard that these things are attracted to sweets and the sap was no exception. I turned back to make a run for it. I went outside the class parameter, trying to shake off and chased by the rapier-wasps around the forest for a while until I suddenly ended up running to an Ursa Major.

Wonderful. It's going to be Podunk all over again!

I ran back to the group in hopes that they'll be able to get rid of it. The rapier-wasps on the other hand, I cannot reach my own back to wipe it off and I didn't want to take off my armor yet especially with the Ursa behind my rear.

"Ursa~!" I screamed after I saw Pyrrha grabbing Cardin by the collar. Pyrrha turned her head and dropped Cardin, then pulled out her shield and xiphos and charged towards the Ursa, beginning with a shield bash to its forehead followed by thrusting her blade at it.

Team CRDL ran off, Pyrrha was holding off the Ursa, and the rapier wasps were still after me. I kept running aimlessly trying to think of a way to shake them off. The only plan I had was the good old 'run and live'.

I ran as fast and hard as I could, not looking back nor caring about where was I going, shaking off the swarm was the only thing I had in mind. As a result, I wasn't aware that I went a little too deep into the forest that I found two armed men wearing white vests and black hoods entering a cave. Without thinking if they were friendly or not, I went ahead and ran past them

"Hey, what the hell?" One of them said before they saw the rapier-wasps coming after them.

I went inside the cave. I looked back and see the two men getting swarmed, both of them struggling to get the wasps off. I watched with horror while I slowly walked back then turned around and was greeted with more armed men with the same outfits, pointing their guns at me. I saw that they were all wearing visors similar to Grimm masks, a sign that says that these people aren't exactly affable.

Bandits. [2] Great. Just great.

Knowing, that these people are a bunch of criminals who could kill me in a heartbeat and aren't exactly big on fighting fair and honorably. The safest course of action was put to your hands up and hope for the best. I had my tracker on and I doubt that a bunch of bandits could handle some Huntsmen, well, one Huntress and a number of Huntsmen-in-training, really crazy Huntsmen-in-training.

I would have let myself get stung several times if I saw this coming, though.

Happy now, Losechester?

=o=

1. As her former partner, I can confirm that they're both true.

2. Jaune was not aware that he actually encountered The White Fang, which was much worse than bandits. Then again, he denied that he confronted something as bad as an outpost of a notorious international terrorist group.

---

Editorial Note:

While Jaune was busy wandering off being chased by the rapier wasps before being captured by a White Fang subdivision. Ruby recorded the situation back at the class assignment when we were alerted by the presence of the Ursa Major on her personal memoirs, unknowingly filling the gaps caused by Jaune's typically self-centered writing.

The Red Rose Diaries: Trouble at Forever Falls

Things got weird on the field trip real fast. One second we were gathering sap as instructed by Miss Goodwitch, and then the next second, we saw Jaune getting chased by a bunch of flies, which Cardin might have to do something with, seeing how Pyrrha was really mad at him. It wasn't really that bad until Jaune came back with an Ursa Major chasing him. Pyrrha was trying to stop it. I got Team RWBY to go help her out. Ren and Nora weren't able to help because Nora passed out after drinking too much sap and Ren had to look after her.

I ordered Blake and Yang to bait the Ursa into slamming trees, causing it to get stunned, giving me, Weiss and Pyrrha the opportunity to absorb its damage safely. We repeated it a few times until we finished it off with a team attack to finally kill it. Blake gave a few slashes, then Yang punched it a few times before throwing it off the air when it would be trapped by Weiss' glyphs and I used my semblance to get close to it and sliced it down with the Crescent Rose. The Ursa fell as it started to evaporate. Miss Goodwitch came in and demanded what was going on. Pyrrha told her that Cardin and his team threw a jar of sap at Jaune and had rapier-wasps chase him, which made us wonder—where was Jaune?

Pyrrha pulled out her scroll to find where he was, she found her location and got Ren and Nora (who just woke up and was recovering) to follow her. We were ordered to stay and guard the area in case more Grimm come.

---

The bandits violently tied and dragged me to their camp inside the cave. The camp was pretty impressive and organized for a bunch of bandits, they even had banners of their emblem hanging around. Everyone there kept giving me dirty looks, with one of them even spitting on me. Looks like this bandit camp doesn't really like me, I know they're a menace to society, but they don't have a real reason to spite me. One could guess that these were El Segadore's ex-goons if that's true, then I'm really screwed.

They took me to a cage and pushed me inside. Before they could leave two of them entered the cage, one of them untying me, and the other pointing his gun on me to make sure I wasn't trying anything they don't want me to do.

"Your belongings—weapons, money, scrolls, surrender them to me." the one with the gun said after his buddy was untying me.

I have no choice but to comply. I gave them my stuff, they let me keep my armor as they didn't need it anyway, they sent my belongings to another room. The scroll was password protected, so I don't have to worry about them opening it and disabling the team tracker, even if they did manage to open it, they wouldn't know how to navigate on applications exclusive to Beacon students.

"So…" the same guy who was pointing his weapon at me said after leaving the cage and locking it. "Are you alone or are you with someone else?"

Normally, I'll tell the truth out of fear, but being the seasoned liar I am, I knew it would be better for me not to tell them the truth. It's only a matter of time until my team finds me, who just happens to be crazy enough to handle a bunch of bandits especially since Ren and Nora have experience fighting them and Pyrrha has fought worse. I just need to make them keep their guard down so that this would be over with quick.

"No, you gotta believe me! I'm just a lone traveler. I happen to end up getting swarmed by a bunch of rapier-wasps and happen to stumble upon you guys!"

"So you had nothing to do with the Huntsmen brats we found wandering around?" he inquired.

"Wait, there are Huntsmen here?" I asked to uphold my facade.

He paused for a moment before looking at me closer. I was worried that he'd recognize me from something. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

"Well, you don't look like a Huntsman." the bandit mentioned after he examined my clothes, which were just ordinary clothes with armor you can buy at your nearest blacksmith, making me pass as a civilian who just happened to be armed for the worse. "Don't get your hopes up, human. As long as this place remains hidden—no one will come for you. Hell, this probably might the last place you'll be in." he said before living with a laugh.

I gulped at the statement, but I also raised my brow when he called me 'human'. Is this one of those human-hating faunus? If so, then wonderful.

I sat down waiting for help to come. I really need to start thinking straight while trying to flee from danger. I keep getting into these situations because of stupidity and I'll be damned if I let it repeat again.

I examined the camp, looking for possible escape routes, as well as making some sort of plan B in case no one comes. I saw the bandit who was guarding have a key on the back of his belt, while tempting, it was best for me if I waited for the right time; my hands aren't really soft enough to steal it without getting caught. I looked at all the other bandits and studied their equipment, most of them were using projectile-based firearms of some kind, and others were seen carrying energy weapons. I overheard something about a kidnapping, I think, I tried to continue eavesdropping and went closer to the cell to which the guard just angrily whipped his weapon at the bars.

"Don't get any bright ideas."

I flinched back and continued to sit at my cell for almost a half an hour, thinking of what to do and praying for the best.

Eventually, I heard sounds of bandits running to the exit followed by an explosion coming from the outside, then heard a familiar yell from a certain Valkyrie.

"Ravioli, Ravioli, where did you keep our beloved Jauney?!"

The bandit guarding the cage was startled and raised his gun and was about to walk away. Before I could let any of that happen. I quickly looked around to see if the coast was clear, I saw that everyone had left the area to deal with the intruders. I grabbed the bandit's mouth through the bars and head his head at the cage until he is knocked out cold.

I grabbed the key from his belt and used it to open the lock when I got out of the cage, I took his submachine gun and looted his body for lien, ammo, dust and any valuables for good measure. [1]

I went toward the room where my stuff was hidden. The room was an office with several lockers, file cabinets, and chests, as well as a flag with the bandit clan's emblem hanging in the wall and a single fan on the corner of the ceiling. I looked at every locker and chest to find my stuff until I eventually found them and continued to scavenge for supplies.

"Hey!" A voice called while I was looting one of the chests.

I quickly turned around and saw him reaching for his pistol. I threw the submachine gun at him, knocking him over as I grabbed my sword by its scabbard before storming towards him and then swung the pommel to his head, rendering him unconscious. I put my sword back at my belt and searched his body and took all of his money and ammunition.

The best thing that I took from him, however, was his pistol; it wasn't just a pistol—it was a laser pistol. While it doesn't look like much, laser weaponry is feared for a good reason. They're much more accurate and powerful than projectile weapons as they can deplete aura within a few shots while projectile weapons require an entire clip or two to accomplish that, depending on the ammo or gun type. They also lack recoil and hold much more ammo than projectile weapons, meaning I don't have to worry about reloading every now and then, I just needed to make sure it doesn't overheat after firing it too many times. I also have to be careful with its power cells—I've been hearing reports on how the overcharging of lasers cause them to explode, those are one of the few downsides of laser weapons. But despite its few flaws, overall, these types of weapons are effective enough that they are often degraded as 'coward guns' but only because they are afraid of people wise enough to use them, and besides, that only made the weapon more suiting for me. Makes me wonder why Huntsmen don't use more guns like this.

I left the room with my sword unsheathed on my right hand, and the laser pistol on the other. [2] Two bandits came in and spotted me. I hastily shot them both, almost instantly disabling them. After seeing their bodies collapse, I took a moment to look at my newly-owned laser pistol and be impressed by how powerful it is. I am so keeping this, I thought. I guess my stupidity to get myself into crap like this has its perks.

I continued to find my way out of the bandit cave, subduing and looting every bandit I come across. Eventually one of the bandits managed to ambush me off-guard, knocking me to the ground. He was about to thrust his bayonet into me when he was suddenly shot by a few bullets and was knocked out by a kick, the person responsible was then revealed to be Ren.

"Jaune! There you are!"

"Ren! Why, am I glad to see you!" I said, standing up.

"What were you doing here?" he asked.

"Not important." I said, emptying the last bandit's pockets "Let's just focus into getting out of this mess."

He nodded and followed my lead. I gave him all of the pistol ammo I picked up, some of them are much more powerful than one Ren uses, making his dual SMGs more powerful and look less like peashooters mainly used for distraction. He looked puzzled when I handed them to him but chose not to question it.

We soon found Nora and Pyrrha fighting off a horde of bandits that surrounded them. The fight was in our team's favor, with bandits dropping like flies. Made worse for them when one of them thought it would be a good idea to electrify Nora with a shock rod, which went as well as you'd expect.

Nora's screamed as her body started sparking with power. Pyrrha jumped out of the way, knowing what would happen. The bandits remained bewildered until they were all knocked out by a shockwave caused by a single smash of Nora's hammer.

Nora went out of her way to finish off every single one of them as neat as you please; they were never given a chance to retreat or retaliate. We both watched with a mixture of astonishment and horror. "Ren. Remind me to never make her angry." I told him.

"Agh! Who's next?!" she said after putting the last bandit to sleep. Her semblance then wore off and she was back to her normal state. "Jaune!"

She bolted to give me a hug, it was tight especially with the armor I'm wearing, but I have gotten used to it! "You're okay! I mean, of course, you are. You're the fearless Jaune Arc! Nothing could ever get to you!"

Yeah, tell that to these guys when they captured me because I was too busy not being stung by wasps to think clearly.

She suddenly groaned and held her stomach. "Ugh. Sorry, still hung over from the saps."

"Jaune!" Pyrrha approached me. "Thank goodness you're okay. What were you thinking?! Miss Goodwitch told us not to wander off. Now you're here surrounded by… bandits! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

I held both of her shoulders. "Pyrrha. Like I said before, I can solve my own problems."

She sighed. "I guess all that matters is that you're fine. But still don't ever do that again! You have a lot to answer to Professor Goodwitch!"

Right, I almost forgot about that.

"Hey, I don't think we'd be in here if Cardin didn't release those rapier-wasps to me!"

That, and if I thought all of this through.

"Winchester…" she hissed. "Will he ever learn?"

"After this, he probably will," I remarked.

"I think they went this way!" An incoming voice said.

Judging by how many bandits we dealt with. This was likely the last batch. I think I needed to fully repay these bandits for holding me hostage and as gratitude for fine pistol and loot I got, besides, I could use a little more lien.

"So, wanna make the world a better place?" I asked my team.

They all hesitated but agreed anyway. If we knocked out most of a bandit camp, we might as well take care of the rest. Take it as a service to the community.

Six armed bandits came out. "Alright, human scum! You better say your pr—" they then saw all of their unconscious buddies and four barely scathed Huntsmen glaring at them.

"Uhh. Beautiful weather, huh?" One of the bandits said, all of them shuddering.

They were a bunch of bandits only armed with regular weaponry and we were a team of prodigies in one of the finest academies in Remnant with significant amounts of combat experience. Do the math.

That's not even mentioning that Pyrrha used her semblance to pull all of their weapons away from them.

We soon casually walked out of the cave. All bandits were dispatched and looted. I left an anonymous tip for the Valian authorities of the location of the bandit camp. My only concern was explaining this entire mess to Miss Goodwitch.

"So, how are we going to tell Miss Goodwitch that we ended up in a bandit camp?" Nora inquired.

"We don't. We just tell them we got lost and killed a few Grimm along the way." I answered.

"But what if the bandits wake up?"

"They'll be greeted by the authorities when they do. Besides, we took most of their supplies, they are basically broke by now."

"I don't know… but why do I get the feeling that they're not bandits—but something worse." Ren mused.

"You're not the only one. Their emblem looked oddly familiar—I think I heard about them before." Pyrrha concurred.

"Guys. Don't be silly. If they were worse than bandits, I'm sure at least one of us would be too dead to have this conversation." I pointed out. It's rather hard to believe that just we ended up beating something more severe and sinister than a bunch of forest bandits.

"But still…" Pyrrha sighed and shook her head. "Let's just get back to the others."

Good idea, I thought. I didn't want to think about it. It was a fun yet unpleasant experience. I was mostly alive thanks to Pyrrha and Nora dealing with most of the bandits. At least the loot made it all worthwhile, especially the laser pistol, I'm going to be using it a lot.

Also, I'm going to have a hard time passing Dust Studies, since I wasn't able to pass a single jar of sap.

=o=

1. Aside from his feats, consummate leadership and fighting ability, Jaune was known by his friends and allies for looting every unconscious/deceased hostile body he comes across, as well as scavenging the area for any valuables and have them sold if they lack any use. Thankfully, he only commits this act to criminals and corrupt officials, otherwise, he would do his best to restrain himself. He admits that video games inspired him to do this.

2. Despite being right-handed, Jaune exclusively wields one-handed firearms with only his left hand, even if his dominant hand is vacant. This is because he was trained to used such weapons while wielding a sword, making him ambidextrous to an extent.

---

The field trip ended with Cardin and company getting an extended detention, he should be at least thankful for that, because if I told Miss Goodwitch that his stunt just caused me to accidentally run into a bandit camp, got me imprisoned and forcing my team to wipe it clean just to break me out, he would have gotten suspended or worse. Team CRDL is definitely not going to bother me anymore, that's for sure; he already got the satisfaction of me getting chased by rapier-wasps, now he doesn't have a reason to mess with me anymore. I'm pretty sure they're still afraid of me because I made them a laughing stock the other day, they just wouldn't admit it.

I went to Vale to sell some of the stuff I took from the bandit camp, the only ones I didn't sell was weapon add-ons and ammo that were compatible with the team's weapons, upgrade parts, medical supplies, dust in case we find ourselves in a situation where we might need it, everything else was fair play.

I ended up making a bank with the junk I sold. The people who bought them were rather suspicious of my possession of them, but were too afraid to ask and just bought them. I spent a quarter of the money I made on laser pistol ammo and a box of pizza for my team to celebrate our first month and surviving the latest incident.

After that, I decided to have some alone time on the rooftop where we train. The view from there is pretty beautiful during the night, especially when it illuminates with lights of the academy and the city lights of Vale in a distance, accompanied by the sound of peaceful silence.

Looking at the night sky and its shattered moon, I can't help but be reminded of the night where I wished to become a hero. Oh, how simple those times were. But that memory also reminded me of why I relinquished that wish. I quickly cleared my head as I did not want to relive that particular period in my life.

But I got to ask myself, was it beneficial for me to be here in Beacon? I found myself conflicted—I still don't want to be in here nor intend to be a Huntsman, but I also made genuine friends here and I cannot afford to let them and my family down. The problem is when this is all over and we're finally graduated, what was I suppose to do when I'm finally free from combat school? Leave the friends I made for the sake of my original plan? Or condemn myself into becoming a potential casualty in a world that cannot be saved? The most logical choice was to just live a regular life while keeping in touch with them, but they'll be disappointed that I will be no longer fighting with them and they'll eventually realize that the Jaune they knew, turned out to be some selfish liar. All I could do for now was lament on what I have gotten myself into.

I stayed there gazing at the scenery while I was updating this journal. I remained uninterrupted until I heard the roof open and saw Pyrrha came in.

"Oh hey, Pyrrha. What brings you here?"

"Hello again. I just want to check up on you."

"Just gazing, nothing much."

"So do you mind if I…"

"No. By all means." I said, tapping the side.

"Thanks." she sat down.

"Hey, Pyrrha. I'm sorry about what happened before. I really don't know what I was thinking at the time." I apologized. She really didn't deserve to be dragged into a mess like that and it was my fault that she got involved.

"It's okay. It wasn't something you couldn't handle. Just don't scare me like that!" she cried.

"I'll do my best. No promises, though." I replied.

It was quiet for a few seconds when Pyrrha spoke up. "Strange day, isn't it?"

"It won't be the last; we'll be here for four years and it's been a month," I said, especially that weirdness in my life has become increasingly common ever since I made a wish on that stupid star and it only has gotten worse since I decided to go to Podunk on that fateful day.

"I guess you could say that," she replied

We then both sat in silence, just staring at the scenery and the night sky, enjoying each other's company. But there was a burning sensation inside that I could not release, something that I have trouble comprehending.

"Jaune…"

"Yeah?" I asked, still eyeing the view.

"I just wanted to say that I…" she hesitated for a moment. "I…"

"What is it?" I turned to her in curiousity.

"I…" she then took a deep sigh before looking back at me. "Nothing. It's just that… since we're both here, I thought we could have a little spar."

I paused for a moment before agreeing with it. "Sure. Why not?" I nodded.

"Great!" she said.

We both started to stand and went to the middle of the rooftop. We both pulled our weapons as we stared at each other. I went with my sword and shield stance, for now, I did not use my pistol because it was too risky and would make too much noise. Gunfire is forbidden during nighttime for a reason.

"Okay, Pyrrha. You can start when—"

She abruptly charged and swung her xiphos. I was startled and blocked the swing just in time.

"Sorry! You told me not to give your opponent a chance to attack while abiding by the rules." she explained.

I was surprised but I was happy she was taking my advice. "Well, Miss Nikos. That's actually a good plan."

"I learned from the best." she chuckled.

I pushed back from her and caught my breath. We smiled at each other before continuing the duel.

I started to understand why they called her the Goddess of Victory. She was so fast and strong that I never felt such adrenaline in a duel since I sparred with Dad. I was only able to get the upper hand a few times while she was dominating me the entire match. It was no surprise that she ultimately won the match between partners.

I got knocked back for last time before Pyrrha sheathed her weapons and offered her hand.

"Good fight, Pyrrha." I said, returning the gesture.

"You're not bad yourself. You have actually been the most challenge I've ever fought in a long time."

"Wait, I have?" I raised my brow in disbelief.

"I don't expect anything less from you. You have proven yourself to be a great fighter after all. Keep it up." she complimented.

It was only necessary for survival though. It was the reason why I was still even breathing after everything I went through. Then again, my survival instincts is what got me here in the first place.

I became much more tired and drowsy after the fight. "Let's get back to the dorm. It's getting really late and I'm really tired after everything that happened." I yawned.

"I was thinking the same thing." she nodded.

We left the rooftop together and went to our dorm. After a sparring session in a long day, rest was the only thing I could think of.

---

Editorial Note:

After Team JNPR's encounter with the White Fang outpost on Forever Falls, an anonymous terrorist of the Valian division recorded the aftermath of the incident. These documents were eventually recovered after the Atlesian military seized the White Fang's assets following their downfall. Through some bartering, I managed to get a hold of some of these documents for the sake of the archive.

The White Fang Reports: Forever Fall Aftermath.

The philosophy of the legendary Adam Taurus states that the lives of many faunus are worth more than a single human. Hence why the recent attack on the Forever Fall outpost was a huge blow for us, despite being a relatively minor asset located in a crimson-colored wilderness that only a few go to. While the revolution calls for the necessary sacrifice of faunus blood, the attack was not called for whatsoever.

The attack was significant, not only because lives of our fellow revolutionaries were lost and the supplies cached there were stolen, but also because it was not carried out by a hostile military operation, but a single lone human with unknown motives. [1] There was only a vague description of his appearance that was provided before the outpost fell: blond, male, average build, around five to six feet tall, wore the colors of white and blue during the attack. Due to how common the perpetrator's physical appearance were, we are lead to believe he could be anyone fitting the description. The brave men and women of the Vale division of the White Fang were warned for any human who shows such attributes, as this mysterious perpetrator is a threat to our cause if he was to go as far as to cripple a part of our organization.

The event claimed the lives of fourteen of our members, most of whom lacked aura, thirty-two were injured and eventually arrested by the Vale Defense Force (VDF) during their arrival, twenty-three others have managed to escape apprehension but are now missing, hungry and defenseless at the Forever Fall forest, a forest lurking with Grimm. There was even a report that one of the survivors, a cat faunus, resorting to cannibalism to a comrade who happened to be a fish faunus, [2] prior to being found and arrested. Few of the other survivors have turned themselves to the authorities as a desperate attempt to be fed and sheltered despite their impoverished conditions.

When the Atlesian Military heard about the attack, they took over the operation from the VDF, specifically taking control of the assets seized and the prisoners captured. Since unlike the Atlesian Military, the VDF does not have an active campaign against the White Fang and agreed to hand over the operation.

Fortunately, the outpost was able to transmit a few valuable intel shortly before the attack. The scouts have spotted a group of Huntsman students in the premises; there were two notable individuals found within the group that the outpost planned to kidnap. The first being the SDC heiress—Weiss Schnee, a target for ransom. The second which caught the personal interest of Adam Taurus—Blake Belladonna, a deserter and former agent of our cause, who was still wearing that disgusting bow that hides her feline features. [3] A repugnant display indicating shame within your faunus heritage.

Sadly, because the attack occurred minutes later after this information was acquired, they were not able to carry the plan of kidnapping the persons of interest. Nevertheless, our operators manage to pinpoint the girls' location to Beacon Academy. However, Adam Taurus instructed us to postpone any plans to kidnap the Schnee heiress and Miss Belladonna until said otherwise. For now, he wants us to prioritize on the main operation. Despite our losses, the fight against the fascist humans will press forward.

Though, we are not to forget the person who was responsible for essentially destroying and robbing one of our outposts, killing and injuring some of our comrades, and ruining our attempts to kidnap some valuable assets. There was some debate on who the perpetrator was. Some say that he was one of the Huntsmen accompanying the persons of interest, some speculate that he could be the same person who killed a known bandit lord in a small settlement as the person's descriptions match, others even went as far to think that he was death incarnate. Regardless, this person is a threat to our goals and if we were to succeed, he needs to be dispatched as soon as possible.

Seriously, who the fuck is this guy?

=o=

1. The White Fang either forgot to include the contributions of Jaune's teammates or was not able to. It's likely because Jaune was the only hostile they were able to designate during the incident.

2. Predator faunus have rare tendencies to become cannibalistic towards prey faunus. As a result, many of infighting in the faunus community stems from tensions between predator and prey faunus.

3. Strangely, it is indeed confirmed that Blake was still wearing her bow before even attending to Beacon, despite having no reason to, and the practice being frowned upon by faunus society, especially without the intent of infiltrating humans.

---

Whelp that was my take on the infamous bully arc of Volume 1. So, what do you guys think? Please leave a review to share your thoughts, whether positive or negative.

Jaune's looting tendency was inspired by RPG protagonists, as well the Mass Effect fanfic 'Accidental Hero of the Galaxy', a fic that I mentioned on the first chapter as an example of Ciaphas Cain-inspired works. I just thought that typical video game kleptomania would fit this Jaune's pragmatic and somewhat roguish personality.

Chapter 5 will cover the last two episodes of Volume 1 and will be released soon.

EDIT: I realized I mixed 'theoretical' with 'theological', with the latter referring to religious studies. My bad.