This was by far one of my quickest chapters. I got nearly three-thousand words done on Monday morning! The rest of it came out during Tuesday and Wednesday. Today I just edited and added the author notes.
This chapter deals with Jaune having to lick his wounds and setting up some scenes for the next chapter. This is also the real beginning of Weiss and Jaune's romance that will play out over the course of the story.
Also, there is still a poll on my profile page. Please go vote for which character should be partnered up with Jaune in, To Those Who Survived The Fall. This does not determine the ship, but the partners at Beacon Academy.
"Jaune," a voice called out to him, stirring the knight from his sleep. He looked over to see Ren standing next to his bed, wearing his usual green and white combat gear. Several other students were meandering about the communal dorms in the background. Everyone wore a tired looking face.
"Are you alright," Ren monotonously asked clearly concerned about Jaune. He wasn't sure what was the cause of said concern. Jaune wasn't sure what time it was either. He was still in his combat gear and covered in blood. Great...
What Jaune remembered was coming back to the academy and immediately going to the dorms. After that... Jaune wasn't sure; everything went black. He didn't even bother to pick up the reward for the contract. Jaune was just so tired from the fight yesterday. He took a nap on the carriage ride back to Vale, and that didn't seem to work for him.
Jaune tried to sit up, but the rush of an aching pain ripped through him. It felt like he had been run through a meat grinder. His ribs were screaming at him from three or four locations, and his head throbbed something awful. Jaune's aura was still down; it hadn't regenerated to its full capacity, resting at twenty per cent.
God damn... This is what an actual injury feels like! That hobgoblin must have been a level twenty-eight or twenty-nine. No wonder I gained three levels yesterday. But I don't think the cost was worth it. Jaune had the sudden urged to vomit but managed to keep it down.
"Yeah," Jaune groaned as he tried to stand up. His legs were feeling the burn too. "What time is it?" Hopefully, it wasn't too late, and Jaune wasn't missing any lessons. Goodwitch would be pissed but considering Jaune felt like hammered shit; he might be able to get out of them.
"Six in the morning," Ren answered him in the same monotonous tone. "I figured you might have wanted to get up early. You came back to the dorms at around seven last night covered in blood and, frankly, smelling like sewage. Then you passed out on your bunk." Ok, so that's what happened.
Jaune needed to get a shower. All the grime from the goblin blood and the dirt was caked to his body. He actually smelled like a drowner which was not an appealing concept for him. His armour smelled even worse. Several of the nearby bunkbeds had been moved away from the one he and Ren shared.
"But, are sure you're alright," Ren asked again. Some of the other students were looking at Jaune like he was a monster or the town drunk singing at the top of his lungs. "You look like you lost a fight with a bear." Jaune felt like it too.
"I fought a hobgoblin yesterday," Jaune corrected with some excitement hidden beneath the wince he put on. "Must have been around Pyrrha's level, but I managed to kill it. He threw me around a little and knocked Yang out cold." That reminds me, I need to check on Yang when I get the chance. She was pretty exhausted yesterday after the fight. And she took that hit from the hob's ability.
Jaune stood up, taking a moment to get his balance. Everything was spinning, and Jaune was feeling pretty nauseous. He probably received a concussion when the hob punched him in the face. His nose wasn't broken, which was great. But Jaune was sure he broke several ribs when he was stomped on by the hob.
"You might want to head to the infirmary," Ren suggested, putting on his boots. "Some of those wounds may get infected if you don't see a healer or get them cleaned out." I'll do that later, probably after class. I can drink a healing potion in the time being so I can recover my aura.
Jaune grabbed his remaining gear that remained on his bed. When he glanced down at the mattress, it was all bloody with fresh and dried blood staining the sheets. I hope there is somebody that gets paid to clean this up.
He left the main dorms to head to the showers. Whatever students that were up all stared at Jaune as he passed by, they must not have been used to seeing a man covered in goblin blood. Hopefully, he could get the blood out of his armour at least. It smelled pretty bad.
Jaune was lucky enough to get his armour cleaned when he got shot with an arrow. He just washed it in a basin and got the majority of the stains out. Luckily he had an extra set of clothes so he could clean his trousers and shirt too now they were covered in grime.
...
Jaune limped into the locker rooms which were adjacent to the showers. Nobody else was in here, so that was great. It would make it less awkward for Jaune since nobody would be staring at the blood-soaked human walking around.
His breastplate hit the floor with a loud thud followed by his vambraces and spaulders. Jaune gave out a loud groan as he took his jerkin off. The jacket required him to do some creative flexibility exercises with his body so he could remove it — the leather armour sild down his arms and onto the tile floor.
Jaune pulled his shirt over his head. He gave out a deep groan/half-wheeze as it came off. Once removed, the shirt was tossed into his locker. The mirror inside the container allowed him to get a look at himself. Frankly, it wasn't a good one.
Half of Jaune's face was bruised on its right side. The right eye was inflamed. The inflammation didn't obstruct his vision, so that was good. There were large cuts on the bridge of his nose and one just above his right eyebrow. They were beginning to scab over but still looked pretty nasty.
Damn... Why doesn't it hurt? He ran his fingers along the cut on his eyebrow. Yang was right about me looking like I went twelve rounds with her. Hopefully, these won't scar.
His eyes trailed down to his torso. Most of his sternum was bruised and almost black in some places. His abs were bruised, along with most of his back leading down to his lumbar region. It hurt to breathe deeply as well. That meant Jaune cracked or completely broke several ribs. Every time he took a breath, a sharp pain tore through his chest. Just my luck... I'll have to take it easy for a few days and let my constitution do its work.
Constitution, while it determines your health, it also determines how quickly you can regenerate your aura and heal from your wounds. It's why low constitution classes are more susceptible to injuries and why they won't heal as quickly. Jaune's constitution was pretty high compared to his family, but he had yet to compare it to other heroes. He assumed his constitution was average for his level.
But as to the reason why his aura had yet to regenerate. Jaune had no clue. Every time he got injured during a fight, Jaune's aura would regen shortly after the combat ended. He had never had his aura reduced to zero before, so he was lost as to the reason behind it.
"U-Um sir," a female voice called out from behind Jaune. It startled him, and he let out a yelp before turning around. A woman was standing a few feet from Jaune. The moment she got a good look at his body she turned away and a heavy blush set in place.
"W-Who are you," Jaune nearly shouted as his heart almost jumped out of his chest. His ribs screamed at him to stop doing whatever he was doing.
The woman, who nearly gave Jaune a heart attack, was quite attractive. Her blonde hair was tied back and into a side braid. She wore a uniform similar to Velvet but was blue mixed with white. A black three strap belt held a small case on her side.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she frantically tried to apologise, but her blue eyes looked Jaune up and down. Her blush became even worse. "I thought you heard me come into the locker room." Yeah, that still didn't answer my question.
The woman took a second to compose herself. "My name is Melissa. I'm a staff member with the academy. I am responsible for maintaining the student's gear and making sure it gets repaired or cleaned when needed." Ok, that's something I can use. Why didn't I know about this earlier? "I was going to ask if you were done with your armour and clothes so I could take them to get cleaned. I can smell the blood from here, so I decided to handle your gear first." She put her hands behind her back and stood at ease.
"Ok," Jaune half-muttered, unsure of allowing someone else to handle his gear. "But," his voice went back to normal, "I'll handle my blades, one of them is silver, so it requires special maintenance." She nodded, and Jaune handed her his amour scraps.
"Don't worry," she cheerfully reassured Jaune. "Heroes have the hard job protecting all of us. But they still need their armour and gear taken care of, so we try to do our part!" Melissa took his gear out of the room and down the hallway. Jaune watched her until she rounded a corner and vanished.
This was the first time Jaune had seen a staff member at the academy who wasn't a teacher. Well, there were the cooks, but whatever. Most of the employees must have been working in the background and out of the picture. Or Jaune didn't notice any of them. The heroes tend to take all of the spotlights away from everyone else. So, that was the most likely cause of Jaune not noticing the little guy.
Jaune looked back into his locker. His stockpile of healing potions was still high, so he didn't need to restock anytime soon. He popped one and quickly chugged it hoping to rid himself of the foul taste. The combination of spirits, wheat, mushrooms, and ground bark was awful. As soon as he finished the potion, any pain he had disappeared. Jaune could feel his aura begin regenerating. But it stopped after only a few moments.
"What the hell," he muttered to himself.
...
Jaune finally managed to get out of the shower and into his uniform. It was a welcome change after marching in medium armour for nearly two days in a row. His breathing was no longer laboured as well. That was the only good thing that came out of drinking that potion.
Why it didn't regenerate his health any farther was a mystery. Something must have stopped the potion from healing him beyond a certain point. Jaune was going to ask about that when he visited the infirmary later.
Jaune looked in the mirror again. His hair was clean and no longer saturated in blood. The area around the wounds was slightly less inflamed than it had been before. Jaune was going to have to keep those wounds clean to prevent infection.
His stomach growled like a mountain lion. Damn, I'm starving. It hit Jaune all at once. A pit formed in his stomach and it felt like it was going to devour itself. Hopefully, the others were already awake, and they could regale each other in their tales of bravery. Even if they weren't up yet, Jaune was going to reward himself with a massive breakfast.
...
Jaune found the dining hall after about twenty minutes. Several students shot him glances as he passed by them. It must have been the cuts on his face that warranted the attention. Or it was his reputation as the, "Vampire Slayer."
"Jaune," Ruby shouted and waved at him from across the room. Some of the others waved at him and signalled him to join their table. Jaune obliged them since the food was on their side.
By the time he got over there, Nora had jumped up and was about to hug him. Jaune held his hands out and stopped her from crushing him. "Please, don't," he begged hoping not to have a punctured lung today. His ribs were already broken, and he didn't want it to go any further.
"AWWWWW," Nora whined, sitting down next to Ren. "You're no fun!" She put on a pout. Jaune was just glad she listened.
Jaune looked around the table. Everyone was here except Weiss. He should have guessed that would have happened. She was most likely in the library still, researching whatever she needed to work on deciphering the scroll.
"Well, we grabbed you some food," Yang said with a glowing smile. "Ren said you were looking pretty rough this morning." Jaune sat down across from Yang who was sitting next to Pyrrha.
Jaune looked down at his plate. It was a cut of meat, bread, potato soup with an assortment of vegetables, and some sausage links. Nothing ever looked so good before in Jaune's life. He immediate dove into the buffet and stuffed his face.
Yang snorted, "Someone's hungry..."
"It tastes so good," Jaune said with a half-full mouth. He swallowed shortly after.
His eyes glanced over to Ashton who's head was on the table and looked like he was trying to sleep. The occasional murmur could be heard as Blake spoke to him. "What happened to him," Jaune asked as split a piece of bread.
"Concussion," Pyrrha answered before anyone else could. "We were hunting a varanasaur in the south near the Pantan Swamps. When we found it, the lizard tried to swipe me with its tail, but Ashton blocked it and was thrown through some trees. We killed it and made our way back to a nearby town so he could rest for a while."
Huh, a varanasaur, I heard about them somewhere. That must have been a good contract for a monitor that size. Hopefully, it was somewhere in the thousands. For the amount of effort it takes to kill them at least.
"So that big sword didn't help you out there, didn't it Pretty-Boy," Yang quipped from a reasonably safe distance. Blake shot her a murderous glare before going back to Ashton. Jaune snorted and looked over at Yang. Her face was a little bruised up, but not to the extent Jaune's was. The bruising was centred around her left eye.
"You can fuck right off," Ashton replied with an annoyed tone. The table and his arms muffled it only making the retort funnier.
"Anyway," Pyrrha interjected before anything else could be said. "What happened on your quest, Jaune. Your cuts and bruises seem to be part of an interesting story." Somehow she always made whatever she said polite.
"Ooo," Ruby cut off Jaune before he could answer. "It was so cool! We were hunting goblins, and there was a hobgoblin with them!" That seemed to get everyone's attention. "We tracked the goblins to their nest and began the hunt. As we went further and further into the cave, goblins came out of nowhere, so Jaune used goblin blood to mask our scent!"
"You used goblin blood," Blake asked with a puzzled look on her face. Ashton finally came up and listened in as well.
"Yeah, it was really gross," Ruby continued her story. "And when we found the nest, Jaune threw a grain alcohol bomb at the goblins and set them on fire. Then I cut them to pieces. The hob moved in and tried to hit me, but I distracted it so Jaune and Yang could attack. Yang got knocked out by the hob, but Jaune managed to get on its back and broke its neck! You guys should have seen it, steam was coming off of Jaune and everything!"
"From what I remember, hobgoblins are supposed to be around level fifteen," Pyrrha stated. "How did you get knocked out by it, Yang? And aren't goblins supposed to be low-level creatures."
"That hob was a lot higher than fifteen," Jaune stepped in to bring the real facts of the story. "It was around level twenty-nine. That's judging from the size of the nest and how many goblins were there. The hob is a sort of alpha that grows in power alongside the size of its horde. So, that's why it gave us so much trouble."
"It was bullshit because it used an ability to knock me out," Yang voiced her outrage. "Muscles here got the final blow in, and I only got half the Exp from helping!"
"I'm guessing the hobgoblin did that to your face, Jaune," Pyrrha wondered after she swallowed a piece of bacon.
"Yeah," Jaune answered with a chuckle. He pointed at the cut on his eyebrow. "If Yang didn't come and save me, I would have been done. That goblin did a number on my ribs too. I'm going to the infirmary after classes to get checked out anyway."
"You better take it easy," Yang ordered him. "I want to head out on some quests after a short break, and I need you to be in shape when we head out." Jaune wanted to do the same. Going out on that first quest was the most fun he had in years.
"What about you, Ren," Jaune asked the only other functioning male at their table. "What did you guys do?
Ren was about to say something, but Nora cut in. "Don't worry Ren, I'll take it from here," she loudly and proudly declared. "We took on a contract to escort a princess."
"It was a merchant," Ren corrected her.
"Then we set out on our journey," Nora began her retelling of the events. "Along the way, we ran into werewolves."
"It was a pack of wolves," Ren corrected her again. Jaune could see what was going on here.
Jaune decided to let Nora keep going with her story, but ignored it at the same time. He was more focused on trying to get whatever food he could into his body. He had never been so hungry before in his life.
"So, Jaune, when do you want to go pick up our pay from the questing house," Yang asked, leaning in closer to him.
"Probably after class," Jaune answered. "We'll need to fill out paperwork before we collect the payment."
"Ughh," she groaned and let her head hit the table. "We can't just give them the letter saying we finished the quest?"
"Nope," Jaune said, popping the, 'P.' He put the letter Gaston gave them on the table. "Every member of the party has to fill out a form certifying they participated in the quest, and then we split the pay three ways."
"Alright then, Muscles," Yang spoke up. "Ruby and I will see you after class so we can cash this check."
...
Jaune managed to make it through his first classes without any incidents. It was time for Professor Goodwitch's class again. He had only fought during one match but considering his broken ribs, Jaune was not going to be able to enter into combat. His aura had, however, was not fully regenerated either.
Usually, by now, Jaune would have regenerated his aura fully and would be able to dive right into a fight. But his health was still sitting at around thirty per cent. Six hours ago, Jaune had only twenty per cent. Something was going on with his aura, and Jaune couldn't figure out what it was.
The men's locker room was bustling with activity as they prepared for the lecture. Jaune opened his locker and found his gear was all there. Melissa must have brought it back and returned it when he was in class. Everything was clean and in perfect order. She must have organised it too.
Jaune slowly pulled the upper half of his uniform off. He didn't want to move too fast so as not to hurt himself. Someone whistled from behind him, and Jaune turned around to see who it was. Cardin and some of the other guys were staring at him. Don't start this, please.
"So what happened to the brave and magnificent, 'Vampire Slayer,'" Cardin asked with an insulting tone. "You didn't get stomped out by that hot blonde, or any of those weaklings you call friends."
"I fought a hobgoblin," Jaune answered in a neutral tone. The other students burst into a fit of laughter. For some reason, they found it funny. Jaune should have expected it with how people underestimate goblins.
"You call yourself a knight and get the shit beat out of you by a goblin of all things," Cardin shouted with anger behind his voice. He stepped forward away from his group he walked right up to Jaune. The man stood nearly a full head above him. "That must be why you hang out with rogues and mages. And those impure warrior classes as well. You're a disgrace to our class!" Jaune wanted to clock this guy in the face. But he couldn't risk getting injured with his aura so low.
Jaune reached into his locker and grabbed his shield and breastplate. He lifted both of them, high enough so everyone could see. Several students immediately shut their mouths as soon as they saw the damage. The shield was concave, and the breastplate had the indentation of a large foot in it.
"I fought a hobgoblin that was in the level twenties," Jaune announced. "In two swings, it destroyed my shield and then stomped on my breastplate. How many of you know how to fight monsters?" Nobody raised their hands. "Goblins travel in packs - build nests with dozens or even hundreds of members! If any of you think goblins are weak, then try to hunt them like I did! See if any of you come back alive!" He dropped both plates and gave the students a glare.
Even Cardin was rendered silent. Nobody dared to speak and some dispersed leaving Cardin with only a few people still on his side. Jaune's upgraded charisma had to have swayed the crowd and gotten them to abandon Cardin.
Cardin looked around to see his posse up and vanish on him. He grunted and quickly turned around and delivered a jab to Jaune's ribs. "You're still a sad excuse for a knight," Cardin repeated himself. He left the room with three other students in tow.
Jaune fell to the floor coughing. He clutched his chest where Cardin had punched him and tried to control his breathing. The blow landed right on one of Jaune's ribs. Jaune had never experienced this level of agony before. It felt like somebody stabbed him and then used the knife to tear out one of the bones. I'm going to kill that motherfucker!
Once his breathing was under control, and the pain subsided. Jaune attempted to put his armour and clothes on. He couldn't get any further than his shirt and trousers and just barely managed to get his swords on his back.
...
Jaune arrived at the arena shortly after the class started. Nobody noticed him come in except Ruby who waved at him from where the rest of their friends were sitting. Jaune made his way over to them still holding his ribs hoping not to cause himself further injury.
"We saved you a seat," Ruby chirped and patted her hand on the bench between Ruby and Weiss.
"Thanks," Jaune said as he plopped down in between them. He decided to clear his head and focused on the lecture. Not thinking about the pain helped a little bit.
Professor Port and Professor Goodwitch were standing in the centre of the arena. The Chevalier was holding a large shield in his left hand and an axe in his right.
"Now class, today we will be discussing formations," Goodwitch began. "Several different types of formations can be used in the event you are combatting an army. While it is unlikely any of you will be gathered to form a large enough unit to fight an actual battle. It is still good to know these things in the event you are assigned to the Valaen Army during a time of war."
Professor Port entered a shield stance. "There are several popular formations used by modern armies," Goodwitch continued, walking up to the front of Port. "One of which is the testudo. The testudo was popularised by the Mistralian Empire as a means to defend from missiles, both magical and physical. It consists of a shield wall in the front with the following lines of soldiers holding their shields above the heads of their comrades. Essentially, you are forming a shell to protect against most attacks. And the occasion you would be using such formations would be during sieges and skirmishes between infantry when under missile fire. However, you cannot just use any shield to form a testudo. It is preferable that you use something along the lines of a Mistralian Scutum or a large kite shield. They are generally large enough that you can cover most of your body and when paired with the testudo, they are capable of concealing most weaknesses when interlocked."
Professor Goodwitch handed Port a heater shield. "Now while the testudo may be useful for certain armies, we Valaens rarely use it anymore. Preferably, you should be applying them for defensive positions only. What they lack is mobility and are easily harassed by cavalry." Jaune was finding this particular lecture to be quite interesting. "Army formations that are more commonly used are merely known as, 'the wall,' or, 'the circle.' These formations, when paired with pikemen, swordsmen, and archers, are something to be reckoned with. However, you must have a competent commander to lead the formation are you will find yourself being forced to retreat. Typically, these formations will have shield-bearers up front or knights in full plate leading the attack, mainly due to steel plate having what is essentially invulnerability to most arrows that do not use magic. The wall and circle formations are best when dealing with cavalry because your pikemen will keep the horsemen at bay while you archers rain down upon them."
"For this session, we will have several students who use shields come down and enter a formation. Then we will give critiques and help each of you with your shortcomings or build upon your strengths. This will serve as an example to everyone else in the event you find yourself wielding a shield." Dozens of students got up and headed downstairs to join the formation. Jaune contemplated going with for a moment. Deciding to at least be of some use, he followed the rest.
He painfully stood up and headed for the end of his row. Passing by Cardin and his friends on the way. The group was snickering about something, but Jaune didn't care to listen. As he moved to pass the knights something caught Jaune's foot and he fell.
He landed directly on his right side and let out a howl of pain. This yelp caught the attention of most of the classroom. Professor Goodwitch even used her magic to leap over the side of the arena to go check on Jaune. He was lying on the ground clutching his ribs.
"Jau- Arc, what happened?!" Weiss was the first to reach his side. Several other students crowded around him to check him out. Yang and Ruby were freaking out, and the Brawler sounded like she was going to kill Cardin.
Jaune didn't choose to respond. It hurt so much to even try breathing. He spat some blood out of his mouth as Weiss helped him to his feet. The other students saw this and tried to turn away. Jaune touched the side of his face and felt the wound on his eyebrow had opened up again. I'm going to kill him!
"Mr Winchester," Goodwitch spat, glaring down upon the group of knights he was sitting with. "What happened?!"
"He tripped over something," Cardin obviously lied with a smug grin on his face. Jaune wanted to beat the shit out of him right then and there.
Goodwitch looked over at Jaune. "Miss Schnee, please make sure Mr Arc gets to the infirmary," she politely asked before turning her glare back onto Cardin. "And Mr Winchester, I will be seeing you and each of your friends after class." That smug grin Cardin had on his face instantly vanished.
...
Weiss helped Jaune into the locker room. It was empty, so neither of them cared about being called out for a woman being in the men's locker room. Jaune half-expected to be left alone with Weiss staying at the door. He appreciated it since she was practically carrying him the entire distance.
"Do you want to sit down," Weiss asked. Jaune shook his head. He didn't want to move too much and risk something inside popping out of place.
"No-no," he grimaced in pain. "I just need help getting my swords off my back." Weiss unbuckled one of the straps and lifted them off his back. The extra weight taken off of him felt great. It allowed him to breathe a little deeper.
"So why didn't you head to the infirmary earlier today," Weiss asked with angry tone behind it. Jaune was expecting to be getting this lecture from the doctors or healers at the clinic, but this was much worse.
"I was going to head there after class," Jaune explained, trying his best to sound like he was telling the truth. "But Cardin and his friends sort of accelerated the process." Frankly out of all of the things that could be done to Jaune in his condition, Cardin chose the least damaging. The issue was the pain mainly.
"You should have gone there after you returned to the academy," Weiss forcefully suggested. Jaune was glad to see she was so concerned. "Not after that warrior and his goons wounded you even further." She was right about that part. I still need to make sure I get payback for that.
"I didn't want to be a bother," Jaune replied. "I was also too tired to do anything else." Her expression turned back into one resembling severe annoyance. Jaune kind of knew what was coming next.
"Typical-stupid man," she growled and flicked Jaune on the nose. "You shouldn't ignore injuries because you, 'don't want to be a bother!"
"Ok-ok," Jaune tried to deflect the lecture he was going to get. "Please don't make me laugh. You're adorable when you're angry. And it hurts my ribs." She blushed, and quickly forced it down and turned her expression back into an angry one. Weiss looked like she was about to punch him, but she quickly turned around and began walking off her in regal stride.
"Just hurry up," she huffed with the blush still slightly visible on her face. "Professor Goodwitch expects me to deliver you to the infirmary, and I cannot do that unless you pick up your feet. And we'll need to get there before your wound can bleed all over the carpets."
"Yes, ma'am," Jaune followed, clutching his ribs trying not to move them too much. The blood coming off of his eye obscured his vision enough that he was forced to close it. Today is already going great.
...
The infirmary at Beacon was massive. It was one of the most advanced medical centres in all of Vale. Similar in construction to the rest of the academy but you would find it more homologous to a hospital due to its white walls and grey tile floors. It also smelled of chemicals; the pungent odour filled Jaune's nostrils.
"We just need to check you in over here," Weiss directed Jaune to the front desk. "I'm guessing with your luck you will be seeing this place more than the rest of us." I'm not that bad of a fighter!
This place is deserted. Jaune looked around and found nobody else in the lobby. There were no staff either. They must have been helping somebody else out and left the front unmanned.
"It's not like I try to get injured," Jaune countered with a cough at the end. "The first time was taking an arrow for you, and the second time was because I lost my sword and Yang was knocked out." Hopefully getting injured on every adventure was not going to become a usual thing. Jaune was O for two now.
One of the medical staff rounded a corner and saw Weiss and Jaune standing out in the lobby. The woman's eyes glanced over at the wound on Jaune's head. "If you come with me sir, we can get that laceration looked at," the woman politely directed him to a nearby door, and he followed.
"I guess I'll see you later Weiss," Jaune said before taking his first few steps.
"I'm coming with you," Weiss stated in a way that gave him no options at all. "I need to ask you something, and sitting in an arena watching people play with shields is one of the duller activities I could think of."
As the two heroes followed the woman, Jaune took in his surroundings. Most of the building was just hallways with doors leading up and down the floors. There was a waiting room next to some stained glass windows and even a small area where people could sleep. Men and women wearing white outfits passed by the students. Some looked to be priests or priestesses, and a few were actually wearing armour under their cloaks.
The woman directed the two into a room. It looked to be a simple office style room. A large examination table was in the centre, and some drawers were off to the side. It looked and felt like a professional doctor's office.
Bar didn't really have a dedicated examination room like this one. The citizens mainly used a table with a white sheet placed over it by the local priest and healers. The temple where most of the healing was done couldn't even compare to the level of sophistication Beacon had here.
The nurse, (that was what Jaune was calling her right now) grabbed a white cloth and handed it too Jaune. "One of the healers should be returning in a few minutes. Hold this against your head, and apply pressure. The bleeding is already slowing, but this should staunch any remaining blood flow. I'll need to prepare an ointment to accelerate the healing process, and we'll apply that when I return as well." Jaune pressed the cloth against his forehead. Blood quickly began soaking into the rag. He looked down to see some on his shirt too. Dammit, I just got this one cleaned!
Jaune set the cloth to the side and pulled at the hem of his shirt. He let out a groan as the clothing came up and over his head. More blood was transferred to the shirt as it passed by his face.
Weiss turned around and nearly let out a shriek. "You dolt, what are you doing," she asked with a severe blush taking up most of her face. Weiss got a better look at his chest and calmed down. "What happened to you?" Her blush lessened in severity.
Jaune sat down and pushed the cloth against his face. "Hobgoblin, about twice my level," he plainly explained. "I was only level fourteen during that fight. Destroyed my armour... again." A trickle of blood came down the side of Jaune's face. He pulled the cloth off his face and discarded it.
Weiss grabbed another bandage and pulled his hand away from his wound. "Let me do it," she practically growled at him. "I swear, you knights wouldn't know what to do with yourselves if you didn't have a mage in your party!" She pressed the cloth against his forehead. One of her hands held Jaune's head to stabilise it so he couldn't move around. Weiss' face was a few inches away from his. Jaune could feel her slow breathing touch his skin.
"We're not all that bad," Jaune countered, trying to distract himself from Weiss' proximity. "Some of us are, like Cardin. I can't believe I let him get two cheap shots in like that!" Jaune clutched his ribs in pain again. That outburst was too much for him to handle.
"I thought he only tripped you," Weiss pointed out.
"He punched me right in the ribcage before class too," Jaune explained. "My aura hasn't fully recovered yet, so that hit managed to do some damage." Jaune could still feel where Cardin hit him. It was right on one of the ribs that was causing him so much pain.
"But that's enough about me," Jaune ended that tangent. "You said you wanted to ask me something?"
"Yes," she half-mumbled. Jaune could feel the seething anger hidden in her expression. "I wanted to ask if you would allow me to accompany you on your next quest." Jaune internally screamed with joy.
He snorted, "You miss me already?" Her expression didn't seem to indicate she was pleased with his jest.
"No, I do not," she firmly stated. "It's not even related to you. It's... Nora."
"Nora?" What's so bad about Nora? Other than her killer bear hugs that would kill a bear.
"Yes," she confirmed, sounding slightly guilty about admitting it. "I-I can't stand working with her. Whenever she's not running around or causing any sort of ruckus, she won't focus, and Ren has to constantly worry about her." Sounds like Ruby and Yang. "It would be preferable to work with you since I am already familiar with your fighting style. Not to mention whatever skill you have with magic will come to use and your exhibition of professionalism."
"I don't know what skill with magic you're talking about," Jaune said. "But I'll have to talk to Yang and Ruby about it. I can't just leave them or let Ren and Nora work as a duo."
"Ok," Weiss began. "If they agree to allow us to switch groups then we can consider ourselves, 'partners.' Ozpin said the mages should look for someone to work with on a long-term basis. So I am choosing you to be that person."
Jaune was about to say something, but Weiss cut him off. "But do not consider this an opportunity to attempt to court me," she flat out demanded that from him. Jaune didn't necessarily have an issue with it. Building a relationship first was more important than throwing whatever pitiful flattery he could come up with at her. "If you can handle that, then we may get along!"
Someone knocked on the door and opened it right after. Another woman who was wearing the robes of a priestess entered the room. "Mr Arc," she began with chastising tone, looking down at a sheet of paper. "When you are injured, you are supposed to head to the infirmary, not attempt to participate in combat class." Her words trailed away as she looked up and saw Weiss.
"See she agrees with me as well," Weiss joined in on chastising the boy. "You wouldn't be in this position if you had taken care of your injuries yesterday."
"Listen to your girlfriend, Mr Arc, she knows what she talking about," the priestess quipped as she set the paper aside. Weiss' face burned a bright shade of crimson. Jaune was even worse. The bruising on the side of his face was eclipsed by the blush that set in.
"I am not his girlfriend," Weiss denied the label she was given with a massive amount of indignation behind it.
"Don't worry, I know you aren't," the priestess chuckled. "I enjoy teasing the students. You guys are so easy sometimes." She whispered something, and a thin miasma covered her hands. The Priestess poked and prodded at the wound on Jaune's forehead for a moment.
"The wounds on your face are superficial so we won't need to stitch them," the priestess explained. "One of the healers will apply some ointment, and it should be closed by tomorrow. But these ribs, however, are a different story." She waved her hands over Jaune's torso and closed her eyes.
"You have around six broken ribs, but you're lucky because you are not haemorrhaging internally," she continued. "May I ask how you received these injuries?"
"Hobgoblin," Jaune answered. "High level one too.
"And you tanked most of the damage," she asked. "Actually I shouldn't need to ask you. You most likely did just that. I can see your aura hasn't fully regenerated either."
"Yeah," Jaune wheezed. "Why hasn't that happened yet? My aura always comes back maybe an hour after a fight, but this time it hasn't."
"You don't even know about that," Weiss spoke up from the side. "How have you survived this long?" I'm asking that myself.
"Most likely it's his stubborn nature," the priestess added on to Jaune's continued chagrin. "But, Mr Arc, when your aura is reduced to zero. You can receive permanent injuries, and you are affected by a debuff."
"Debuff?" Jaune knew about debuffs, but not this specific one. Arclight casts its own debuff over a large radius and doesn't affect him. Silver swords have their own debuff as well when it cuts monsters.
"Your aura won't fully regenerate for several days," Weiss explained. "Healing potions won't be able to function correctly, and you should just stay in bed for the time being. You end up becoming rather fragile as well and can be afflicted with hypersensitivity in or around your wounds."
The priestess grabbed a tome off of a nearby shelf. She thumbed through it before settling about halfway through it. "Ok, Mr Arc, I am going to cast a spell," she began. "This will reset all of your broken ribs and fuse the bones back together. Then your body will be able to take care of the rest. You will only feel some minor discomfort, but it shouldn't last very long."
...
Jaune took a deep breath. It was finally without some sort of lingering pain. The wounds on his face were cleaned and dressed with some kind of paste-like salve. Whatever was in the ointment immediately reduced the swelling to nothing. Jaune was now regretting his choice to neglect going to the infirmary now.
The spell cast upon him was an interesting one. Jaune could feel his ribcage rearrange itself and then fuse the bones together. It may have stung for a moment when a sharp piece of a rib poked him in the wrong spot, but it didn't actually hurt that much. Jaune cringed for the entire duration of the spell; however, something inside your body wiggling around is one of the most discomforting things he could have imagined, and he felt it.
"That was it," Jaune asked with a dumbfounded expression. That hurt less than I thought it would.
"Yes, Mr Arc," the priestess replied. "A healer's first job is to make sure our patients don't feel any pain. I cast a spell to temporarily suppress your nerve endings before I set your ribs." Jaune eyed the tome containing the healing spells.
"Those spells might be useful," Jaune asserted curiously. "Could I - could I maybe learn something like that?" The priestess; face brightened up the moment he asked.
Any healing spells could be useful in the long run. Especially with Yang and Jaune's brawler-type fighting style. Injuries would be common when they went after higher-level monsters. And since Jaune could use some spells at least, it would be good to try learning something else. At least having some healing rituals to use would keep Jaune from having to repeat this scenario again.
"I'm glad you are interested," she replied with a cheerful tone. "There are not enough healers nowadays, and we especially need some with skill in combat. I could recommend some tomes that would help with your understanding of the restoration school including a few spell tomes for basic healing practices."
She jotted something down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. Jaune tucked the sheet into his back pocket. It wasn't difficult to notice the look Weiss gave him as the two exchanged the letter.
...
Jaune left the hospital shortly after Weiss. She mentioned something about needing to study and didn't bother to say anything else. Now he needed to find Ruby and Yang or they would find him. They had the unnerving ability to know exactly where he was. It was kind of scary actually.
"JAUNE" Ruby and Yang both yelled from the side and nearly dog-piled him.
"Hey!" Jaune held out his hands keeping them at bay. He was trying to make sure nobody injured him again.
"You're looking a lot better," Yang stated with a smile. "Oh, I beat the shit out of Cardin too! Ms Goodwitch stuck us in the arena and let me go at it!" She lifted her hands and entered a boxing stance. Now I feel sorry for Cardin.
"I won my first fight too," Ruby chirped with poorly hidden excitement behind it. "Crescent Rose broke..." Her words trailed away, and she put on a pout.
"Yeah, it was a good weapon," Yang consoled Ruby. "But, Jaune, after we get done collecting our pay, we're going to head into Vale to go buy a new one! Want to join us?" Seemed like something fun to do. Jaune didn't really have anything else going for him right now.
"Sure," Jaune agreed flashing a smile. "Can we go tomorrow since I have to go see Alexandre about my armour?"
"Yep," Ruby chirped again. "We can get Crescent Rose 7.0, and I really want to see your armour!"
That's chapter ten. We'll pick it up next week with Jaune going to get his armour and there will be a lot of explanation for how weapons and armour work within this world. (Stats Shit)
Level Seventeen
Strength 33 (+5)
Agility 17 (+3)
Defence 23 (+3)
Perception 27 (+3)
Constitution 33 (+3)
Intelligence 40 (+5)
Charisma 21 (+3)
Willpower 14 (+2)
...
Abilities
Arclight
A high-intensity explosion of light, equivalent to that of the sun. Burns the flesh of undead and magical entities. Momentarily blinds living and non-magical entities. Sudden magical intensity can cause affected to flee regardless of status.
The Saviour's Lance
A lance made from the holy light of the sun. Whoever wields this spear will be granted the knowledge of its use. Especially effective on the undead and any and all monsters or ethereal beings. Renders all armour and wards useless when cast.
...
Miscellaneous Knowledge/Buffs/etc.
Monster Slayer
Spent years studying the various monsters of Remnant. Knows the different species and taxonomy of each known creature. Understands the weaknesses of most known monsters.
Armour and Weapons Smith
Worked a forge for his entire life. Jaune is able to judge the composition of metals, and know the condition of his weapons and armour.
Active Debuff
Aura Exhaustion
Aura will not fully generate for several days. Due to differences in constitution values, the duration for the debuff to be active can differ from person to person. With the debuff active, you are more susceptible to injuries and you may experience hypersensitivity in certain regions of your body.
Next Update: When I get it done!