"Alright," Miss Mourie said with palpable glee as she rubbed her hands together in front of her face, "Now that we've covered Strategy, important battles of the Great War, and the basics of Ruin Integration Theory as well as Spontaneous Collapse Theory, let's move on!" I looked around the room, slightly relieved to see that everyone else looked just as harried as I felt, and reached over to rap my knuckles on Shebul's desk.
He snorted and sat up straight, the bags under his eyes now more pronounced than I had ever seen them and the way that he looked through the board gave me the impression that he hadn't been sleeping well, but he made no move to ask for help. "I was awake," he said unconvincingly as he began to slump back into himself, the only support for his head was his posted up right arm.
"Ya can't lie to me, Boyo," I spoke quietly as I stared at the flowing words and shapes on the board, my eyes narrowing as they solidified into a large diamond on the board. He snorted but didn't put his head back down just yet.
Miss Mourie looked about the room at the furiously scribbling students trying to put memory to paper as quickly as they could and smiled beatifically from behind her glasses, "Can anyone tell me where the first civilizations appeared on Remnant?" her eyes roved up and down the class, but as it was only sixteen kids in the room it was an inevitability that she would land on me.
Unfortunately, we made eye contact and I fumbled for a response, "Uh, Vacuo?" Hoping that she wouldn't comment on my tone. I didn't really think much on History, which was why the class was such a pain. Math could be solved eventually, Physics you simply followed the formulas, and Biology you learned what made things tick and, more importantly for me, what made them stop ticking. I wouldn't ever really need History for anything I was ever going to get up to, and as long as I had my friends along for the ride I was guaranteed to have someone much more knowledgeable on the subject than I.
"Half-correct, Mr. Staín," she nodded in my direction, "The correct answer is the supercontinent of Sanus. It isn't quite known where the first Humans appeared on Remnant, but it is widely agreed that the first city-states appeared on Sanus. It is not coincidence that the first mentions of Dust appear in the same areas, and that the original civilizations were in running competition to better utilize the resource. Dust has been, and will most likely continue, to be one of the largest factors in survivability of a Population. It's an even better predictor than food stores in that regard," The image shifted as the diamond was split up and turned into different things, in ways that ranged from automation to fabrication and to spooling the material into thread for weaving or ancient forms of Armorsmithing.
"Dust is a mysterious substance, and if I'm honest I feel rather ashamed to admit that very little has been learned over the millennia that humans have been in contact with it. Too much focus on the Hows instead of the Whys, I'm afraid. If I were in charge of this operation I would've labelled them entirely different names based on their reactions to stimuli, because they have extremely different effects on the environment depending on colour," She waved a hand behind her and the board shimmered as five distinct images of Dust appeared as she narrated what was happening to them.
"You have the Red strands, which covers the most used and most numerous kinds of Dust. These Strands have extreme exothermic reactions to stimuli, in other words they output energy in the form of Heat and light," the top dust crystal caught on fire before exploding into shrapnel, "This is the most common kind and the most utilized, everywhere from toasters to Warheads.
"You have the Blue and White strands, and a common misconception is that Blue Dust stores the power of ice or some such nonsense. This is incorrect, the Dust is simply empty and without stored energy meaning that when the energy potential is crossed is sucks the heat out of the air. In extreme cases this can result in mounds of ice appearing "from nothing" as water vapor is rapidly cooled in the surrounding air," the second portion of the board had arrows flowing into the Crystal until ice began to build up around it, "White Strands are Crystals that are well below the action potential of Dust, meaning that immense energy is needed to start the process of absorption. Both strands are immensely similar to the Red Strands in composition and structure, and some have hypothesized that they're all the same Dust at varying stages of entropy.
"Next, you have Yellow Strands, which act as Massive Electrolytes and easily conduct ambient heat and light into electricity and plasma when exposed to Aura. They also are great for electrical work, as they conduct signals and electricity at higher speeds than most metals," Once more the Dust sprung to live as it shimmered and jolted with sparks and little crackles of ink electricity, "And lastly, you have the Green Strands that are hollow and contract into what can only described as minor singularities that aren't self sustaining, causing drops and rises in pressure that create pushes and pulls often described as being caught in a Gale."
I blinked as the woman finally stopped in her rant, with a dusting of blush on her cheeks, before coughing into her fist. "Basically," she began much slower and controlled as the Ink on the board flowed back into a nondescript mess, "Dust is complicated and useful."
"You forgot one," I pointed out objectively, and the woman sighed before returning to her more studious and serious tone that she had been using for her rant on Dust, a rant that sounded more like it should've been in the Physics lecture over the History Class. Not that I was complaining, it was only for this reason that I could follow what she was saying on a basic level.
"Black Dust Strands are a law unto themselves. They are the most potent versions of the other Strands, are extremely volatile, and are impossible to predict as all versions of Black Dust look the same and form in the same spots deep underground. At a distance inert Black dust seems like obsidian, but when activated it will glow a bright purple. If spotted, break off immediately, no exceptions. " She looked around the room, and the few people that had their heads up all nodded. The rest continued writing frantically.
An explanation that had come a little late for me and Taylor, unfortunately.
The bell rung to signal the end of the period, and the sweeping sighs of relief erupted as the lecture came to an end, "Alright, We'll pick up where we left off Thursday! Read Chapter 13..." She continued to chatter and nag the students as they began to pack up.
Cosma was unceremoniously flopped from her seat by an irritated Roman, Taylor stood up and removed her earphones from her ears while her partner frantically wrote down the last of the lecture. Shebul stood with a yawn and a massive stretch above his head while Emily made a show of calmly putting her notes away without hurry. Ashley of course looked unaffected, but I could see the glimmer of relief in her eyes as she stood.
"You ready for combat class?" she asked as she swept her things into her bag, eyeing me expectantly.
I blinked at her for a moment before shrugging after not recalling whatever she was referencing, "I guess."
Cosma brushed imperceptible dirt off of the brim of her bowler hat before placing it back on her head with a snort, "He doesn't know what you're talkin' about, Ash," she turned towards me with a cheery grin as the rest of the class filed out of the room to begin heading towards the Combat Arena, "We're doing team fights today, and we're up against Team NOVA."
I stared at her uncomprehendingly, trying to recognize the Team that she was referencing, but I could barely remember our Sister Team's Name half the time. I looked at Roman, "Should I know who that is…?"
He snorted as he zipped up his bag, not even deigning to look at me as he answered the question, "Nilah's Team, ya know, the group of people who have been most responsible for your running streak of detentions?" I made a sound of understanding and moved to Follow Ashley as she exited the classroom.
"So," I began as we walked, but she seemed to have sensed my thoughts before I had even had them.
"Non-Lethal," She stated sternly, and I groaned in response. After witnessing exactly how much damage I could cause to people with very little effort, she had convinced me to agree to her demands as Team Leader. Basically, unless my life or a teammate's life was in danger I wasn't exactly allowed to use active combat skills. When I had pressed her on why her stipulation was only related to teammates and not civilians, she had informed me that I was more likely to do more harm than good.
A fact that I was forced to agree with.
That doesn't mean I was going to give up without a fight.
"They're big boys, they can take a few hits," I reasoned petulantly as the four of us slipped outside into the bright daylight.
"The team has two girls on it," Cosma informed me helpfully as Roman tried not to lose his composure at the comment.
I responded by giving her a big thumbs up and a goofy grin before amending my statement, "Big Kids, I mean. Big kids that can take a few hits. Come on, Ash, Let me loose on 'em," I pleaded with the best innocent expression.
The sounds of my knuckles cracking and the clinking of my weapon may have ruined the image slightly.
"No," She shot the idea down with only a flick to my nose, "Distaste aside, they'll be our allies eventually, there is no reason to risk them coming to harm during a practice bout," I stared at her like she had grown another head, and I could see Cosma's face scrunch up in confusion behind us, before Ashley coughed into her hand and a more imperious expression overcame her normally calm or bland one, "Besides, why should you have all the fun? You've only been here for a few months, we've been here for years," She gave me a positively devilish look, "Let us have a turn."
I smiled in response as Cosma let out a whoop and Roman tried his best to hide his own growing smirk.
That was more like it.
Quest Received; [Teamwork makes the Dream Work!]
A team fight against their tormentors is bound to get out of hand.
Objectives:
-Defeat Team NOVA non-lethally!
Rewards; 1000-(200 per minute) exp, + 5 Free Points, Increased Reputation with Team ACR(A)
I brushed away the notification and looked about the arena in earnest curiosity.
Maybe it was my exposure to banter before schoolyard brawls or violence in general, but I felt as though that I was the only person of the eight on the Arena Floor that wasn't making the fight personal.
There were a few factors pointing that out to me, the biggest being the fact that Ashley had spent a solid five minutes discussing and laying out a strategy with Roman for the fight. This was odd, as we hadn't spent more than a minute on planning the entire Month we spent hunting Grimm. Another Factor was the amount of stare-downs that were occurring between my team and Team whatever-it's-called, which I had no interest in participating in.
I was much too busy watching and critiquing Team TESL during their Fight, who were still in the beginning process of implementing Teamwork. I could only wince as the Team was made of Three Duelers who focused too much on their own things to easily flow into Teamwork, and Shebul, who couldn't use his trump card without endangering his Teammates. They lost their Fight after Emily and Taylor got in each other's way and hesitated just long enough for their opponents to bring them down, and from there it was two versus four.
But it was enough of a distraction that I simply ignored Mr. G as he went about the rules of the Team fight and looked about my Team and the Enemy. The grim anticipation was mirrored on seven different faces as they readied their weapons and took their ready stances. I idly rolled my eyes as I let a few feet of my Chain uncoil and wrapped it around my knuckles to act like a heavy striking gauntlet.
The tension that they were obviously feeling wasn't something I shared, and instead of anxiety or trepidation as Foes or Rivals met on the field of battle, or however their hyperbolic thoughts were painting the Spar, I felt the Steady Steel-like presence of my Aura as it did the little bit for me that it could. Maybe it couldn't empower my strikes, maybe it couldn't protect me from damage, but the solid presence seemed to soak up even the smallest of nerves that I had about losing control and pasting a classmate or deviating from the plan.
And truth be told, I was just glad that I had a simple job to do. I could do simple.
I heard Mr. G's voice dip in what was obviously a question from where he stood on the side of the Stage, and All eight of us gave our assent to his question, and then we were off.
No time for words or taunts as a polearm appeared in front of me with the force of an armored body behind it, but it was met with my Unyielding [Block] and my mailed Left fist. I stepped closer to my opponent, already feeling the Battlelust overcoming my common sense as I smiled a jagged smile. I was forced to disengage when a dust round hit me in the side and I sent skidding off course long enough for the Spearman to dance back towards where a smirking Davis was fitting another large cartridge into the underbarrel attachment on his Weapon.
I ducked and brought an elbow back as I heard the rustle of cloth, managing to land a glancing blow on the Spearman as they tried to use my momentary distraction against me by delivering a vertical swing to the back of my head. I stepped into their guard once more and grabbed the front of their Cuirass just in time to take them with me as Nilah unloaded another shot into my side. I used the extra weight to stop my movement much earlier, and spun the struggling teen into a toss that sent them careening into Nilah.
The two went down in a pile of metal and limbs before a blast of fire exploded next to where they landed to send them sprawling away from each other, the blast sending shrapnel and dust into the air that I ignored in favor or surveying the battlefield. I heard more than saw Ashley easily handling the fighter that had come her way while Roman gave a swordswoman a lesson in the Rope-a-dope as leaned in and out of her blows, making even the hits that connected do little to no damage as his Aura easily took the glancing blows each time.
His Staff twirled up to slam away the Swordswoman's feint sending the blade flying away from him with such little strength put into it, before he placed the butt of the Staff against her chestplate and pressed the nearly invisible button halfway up the shaft. The Dust round impacted on her armor at point blank range and sent her rolling towards the center of the arena where the other two were picking themselves off the ground. An explosion sounded behind me and the smoking body of the Dagger wielding combatant bounced off the Arena floor as she was flung past me.
I entered my defensive position in front of where Ashley was charging some large ball of flame over her head as Roman jauntily landed next to me leaning on his staff in a deceptively casual way. As our enemies stood from their positions I watched as they took turns noticing the giant ball of fire being constructed with looks of terror on their faces. I snorted and unholstered my pistol and popped two shots into Nilah, just to keep his attention on me and Roman.
He bared his teeth in a very undignified manner that was magnified by the unruly way that his hair looked after being bounced around, and there was soot and dirt covering his normally immaculate set of armor. He Mechashifted his weapon to the Spear form and rushed me at an above average pace while the Cloaked Figure with a dagger tried to jump over me and reengage with Ashley. The other two combatants looked a little worse off and moved towards Roman in a similar fashion.
My Chain shot out and wrapped around the ankle of the cloaked fighter as she passed over me and I pulled down and around to spin her towards Nilah as he charged. The chain disengaged with a flare of her Aura enough for her to slip free and fly towards her leader, who responded by sliding under her while shifting his weapon to unload a clip on me that went ignored as he stumbled to his feet. My weapon came around once more, singing as the wind whistled through the links and alerting Roman to its position, and I slammed it down into where my opponent was in an explosion of dust and tile.
The armored figure rolled out of the smoke and had I not possessed enhanced Senses I would have been blindsided by the much faster Opponent as they burst from the smoke with their Knife drawn back, ready to stab. But as it stood, my Pistol came down in an untrained and unrefined way to deliver a hefty Pistol-whip to the back of her neck while my Chain swung in an uncontrolled manner vertically to catch Nilah in the chest and send him back a few feet. I ducked under the blow of the Swordswoman that was deflected by Roman and planted a savage Punch into her Kidney as I turned into her, the blow putting her off balance enough for a deft spin of the Staff landed the Butt of it across her jaw to send her sliding to meet the other members of her team as they stumbled to their feet.
There was also some sparkling yellow wire at their feet.
"Cosma!" I yelled as the thought finally hit me, delighted to see an extremely dirty but bright-eyed girl appear to the side of our opponents, cackling gleefully with a detonator in hand. It still put me off that she could mask herself from most of my senses with a simple activation of her semblance, [Mesmerize], and she could convince my brain that she wasn't there. I could still smell her in a stable environment, but in the middle of battle was another thing entirely. The best part of the semblance was that it wasn't Invisibility in the traditional sense, it was simply a trick of the mind that relied on Saccadic Masking and a minor illusion to make people focus on something else.
Which means that people don't even realize that she's missing.
"Keep 'em Still!" I bellowed, to which she responded by pressing the button on the detonator. The Yellow and Green dust lit up and before our opponents could react a field of electricity had encircled them, and as three out of four were wearing armor, the Team soon found itself unable to control their muscles and fell to the ground spasming. The contraption was jury-rigged, as most of what Cosma built were, and only lasted a few seconds at most.
But Ashley only needed a few seconds to begin with.
With a Yell of exertion she heaved the globe of fire the size of a Van towards the downed team as we scattered and threw ourselves to the ground. I heard the cloaked one scrambling to stand up, but the projectile still caught all of them in it, and from the direction my head was turned I watched as the Aura bars of our enemies fell from Lower Greens to Deep into the reds in that single attack.
"Team ACRA are the winners!" Mr. Gibraltar called from the sidelines, and the screen powered down shortly after.
Quest Completed; [Teamwork makes the Dream Work!]
A team fight against their tormentors is bound to get out of hand.
Objectives:
-Defeat Team NOVA non-lethally!
Rewards; 400 exp, + 5 Free Points, Increased Reputation with Team ACR(A)
Bonus Objectives:
-Crushing Defeat- Win with 3 or more Teammates still active.
Bonus Rewards; 250 exp and [Team Player] Trait.
Trait received; [Team Player]; No 'I' in Teamwork!
Allows use of the Skill [Teamwork] despite Stat Requirements.
[Teamwork]: Level 1 (Passive); Requirements 15 Cha and 15 Int/[Team Player];
Those that play together win together, those that play alone lose alone.
+ (Lvl/2 + Cha/10)% to all stats when in when working with one or more person/people.
Current Bonus: .6%
(Temporary buffs to Pool Stats (Int, Res, Con) do not affect the Overall Pool, only the Regeneration and their effect on Active Skills.)
I stared at the insanely useful skill for all of five seconds before I hopped up to my feet and dismissed it to look around at the carnage that we had managed to bring upon the Arena. A building sized crater that had managed to melt down three of the ten layers of steel in the Arena Floor, Cracked Marble tiles laying askew where they used to rest without issue, shattered pieces of concrete that I believe came from the ceiling. All of this wasn't even taking into account the Amount of ash and soot that coloured the once off White platform a dark grey.
I looked upon the destruction that My team had brought upon the area and it brought a tear to my eye.
[You are more Grimm than I, if this makes you feel Pride, Boss.]
With a snort I closed the Message from the increasingly content Fenrir, who had taken to sleeping through most of the Day unless I had some spike in emotions. The constant ribbing hadn't left our interactions, nor did I hope for it to.
What was life without a little Humor?
I turned towards the Crowd and I could see the pale faces of the members of Team… Uh...
[ORCD.]
Whatever, the team that Taylor's team had fought looking down on the Arena while Team TESL looked more or less unfazed, though Emily did seem to be holding her head in her hands like a disappointed mother who had watched her son burp the alphabet at a school talent show.
I'm not great with analogies.
The important part was that we won.
The quick rhythm of sharp clicks were the only sounds in the Office as Janette's Nails drummed on her Desk. Her green eyes looked out from behind her glasses dispassionately, the look telling me that she was in no nonsense Headmistress mode and that her stare was having the desired effect on her students. Cosma flinched as the eyes roamed across her, and she did her best not to make eye contact with her. Ashley looked the most affected I had ever seen her as a teenager, an embarrassed and harassed blush on her cheeks from being caught showing up on her pale face extremely visible. It probably didn't help that she had been the cause of most of the damage in the first place.
Roman sat the most comfortable besides myself, as neither of us had caused or done anything even close to the destruction or possible rule breaking of our Partners, and while he may have been trying to hide his smug smile during our Leader's Dressing Down, I was not. In fact I was still having trouble controlling my laughter, which was bubbling up in little fits of chuckles. I clamped down on that with all of the control of my mind that I could muster, instantly recognizing the Steel-like quality to the action almost immediately, and made eye-contact with Janette with a wide and easy smile on face.
"On a technical level none of you broke any rules," she began once I had subsided and I could see some of the tension bleed from my Team's Shoulders, "But I expect better control from you," she looked in my direction and my smile only grew before she continued on, "Some of you at least. I hope that you'll strive to do better in the future?" she half-questioned as she began rifling through a stack of papers on her desk. The others responded silently by nodding their heads at varying speeds and fervors, but I resolutely shook my head.
She couldn't guilt trip me today, because I wasn't to blame.
She reached over and pressed the button on the smaller intercom piece I had "helped" Keith fix less than a week ago, leaning down slightly over her stack of Papers, "Colton, please send up the rest."
"So, are we free to go Officer?" I huffed out around the laughs of joy trying to escape me and I stood from the purposefully-not-comfy disciplinary chair that I know Mr. Gibraltar had to drag from a closet in the hall for troublemaker's like us.
"Not just yet, Criminal Scum," she returned easily as she slid a stack of papers across the desk to each of us individually. I picked mine up and found myself looking at the overview of a Town under construction, and when I flipped to the next I saw a reconnaissance mission report detailing the origins of the Town. I was pulled from my inspection when the Door opened and Taylor and Luca walked in with similar looking packets in their hands. Janette cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair as she gained our attention, "Roman and Cosma can leave, but you two stay for the briefing," They stood and saluted casually before moving quickly towards the door, but Janette started talking before they had even left the Office, "We got a request for Hunters-in-Training by Atlas for a protection detail for a developing Town named Sahili."
I got confirmation from Fenrir that the Place was listed in my Maps, a small place under the shadow of a mountain, which meant that it wasn't a new project, and I narrowed my eyes as I began flipping through the Pages of the Report to look for any reports of Grimm activity in the area, "Why the new interest? The place has been around for years."
Janette shot a curious glance my way, but Ashley answered the unasked question, "He likes Maps. He read an Atlas and it has stuck with him for months. I don't understand it," she explained glibly while Luca and Taylor simply nodded their heads in agreement while they continued reading their Dockets.
"The Recon Report from one of Shade's Huntsman detailed a discovery of Dust deep in a Cave that he was Hunting a Deathstalker in, with possible Black Dust Spires found inside. Needless to say, the SDC began pouring money and people into the Town to begin processing and harvesting the Dust," She placed her copy on the Desk and steepled her fingers as she began to explain what she actually wanted from us, "Due to the increased numbers of people, the noise, and increase in accidents surrounding Construction and Mining, Teams ACRA and TESL are being deployed to Sahili to assist in the defense against Grimm if and when it becomes necessary to defend the Town or any of its assets."
"Why do they need two Teams?" Luca inquired politely, "No offense, but the SDC has a lot of Firepower behind them at the worst of times."
Janette smiled deviously as she answered, "It's against the Law of Vacuo, all defensive fortifications must be overseen by a registered Vacuoan Huntsman, and I thought that the Experience might be good for some up-and-coming young Hunters-in-Training. Not to mention that one of the Hunters that you'll be shadowing is virtually new to the Job, and I wanted her near another more experienced Huntsman in case of an emergency," She reached over and grabbed another paper and slid across the desk, where Ashley caught it with her finger, "And that is the most recent overhead we have of the Town."
Taylor, Luca, and I leaned over and stared at it for a second before I turned to the front of the Docket and looked at the picture on there, "They sure work fast," I muttered as I looked down on what looked to be a settlement almost a fourth of the size of The Mount, with most of the buildings obviously cookie-cutter residential areas.
Janette snorted, "They sure found a lot of Dust, you mean," she corrected with a overly pleasant smile.
"Of course," I agreed, "But that still begs the question; We have to guard this entire thing?" I asked with a hint of incredulity in my voice.
"Oh no, just the parts that get attacked," She gave nothing away as I stared at her, feeling for once the exasperation that my Teammates probably felt dealing with me, "They have their own forces, but you're going to be there as defensive specialists to man the gaps in the wall until they finish the expansion. Now, for the next week you should probably read up on your Grimm siege defense tactics, but for now get out of my office." She emphasized the statement by shooing us away with her hand before turning to her computer.
I rolled my eyes at her dismissal but saluted with the rest before following them out of the Building, waving a goodbye to Mr. Gibraltar as we passed his desk, before making our way to our Dorms. While the others chatted about the Dockets we were carrying and the specifics I let the information slip to the back of my head in favor of the small thing that was wiggling about in the back of my head. I went over the entire scene in my head, allowing Fenrir to walk me through everything I witnessed, but it was only when I was nearly in the Common Room of our Dorm.
"Roman doesn't move anywhere quickly," I spoke aloud as I turned the corner, bringing me face to face the subject of my thoughts, who looked up from the Bow he was trying and failing to tie while Cosma kicked another box behind a couch before erupting into what I assume was her rendition of nonchalant whistling. Roman coughed into his fist and Cosma shrugged in response.
"We had thought you'd be a little longer," He admitted as he haphazardly finished his wrapping and placed the box on the Table in front of him while Cosma casually, all the while still whistling, stepped towards the Box she had kicked and slid it back out into the open.
"Force of Habit," She explained, before hopping over to me and Ashley and shoving us into a couch, "Now, Me and Roman got to thinkin' about the weaknesses in our team, and we Realized that you," she flicked me in the forehead while I watched her with curiosity, "Were lacking in the Battle Gear Department. So we set about fixing that before the next Trip."
"We took the measurements on your school Jackets and the size of that one Boot you had left to get you better ones for Combat," Roman explained a little more in depth as he dropped the two Packages in my lap, the fifty pounds of stuff landing in my startled arms.
Boron Reinforced Steel-Toed Boots;
-[Boots]; Prevents Limb damage from Physical Damage to [Feet] as long as the Equipment has [Durability].
[Durability] 3500/3500
Blue Dust Reinforced Jacket;
-[Jacket]; Prevents Limb Damage from Physical Damage to [Chest] as long as the Equipment has [Durability].
-[Blue Dust Infused]; Applies [Jacket] to Magic Damage.
[Durability] 2350/2350
I looked myself up and down in the Mirror as Cosma bounced in place behind me, and I was glad to see that the Steel-Grey Leather Jacket barely went down past my Waist and the whole ensemble barely affected my ability to move as it was well within my ability to carry. I turned around to find my Team and Taylor watching me with obvious anticipation. "Uh, Thank you?" The uncertainty that I was feeling, floundering in the foreign situation becoming more and more obvious the longer it went on, "But why'd you guys do this for me?"
Roman made eye contact with Cosma and they shrugged, "Thought it would be nice to switch things up and do something for you."
Cosma nodded in agreement, "You probably have a motto or something that you think a lot, everyone does. Mine is pretty simple; "Anything for a friend."" She explained with a smile on her face, looking absolutely pleased with herself and proud of her gift, with Roman standing behind her watching her with an indulgent smile on his face. Ashley and Taylor watched form further off as they chatted quietly, observing but not commenting on the show.
I turned away from them and made eye contact with myself in the mirror, trying and failing to let the simple words affect me, but unable to stop the tide of memories that they sparked.
I was sat with my back to the wall in the corner of the Room, watching the groups of other children that had all formed over the first day of Kindergarten as they played with each other and their toys. I watched as they stacked blocks until they came crashing down, or they drew unrecognizable pictures together while I sat there in the corner alone. My lips tugged downwards, and the pencil in my hand crunched under my fingers. I looked down to find that I had managed to crush in my little hands. Hands that didn't look so little with the many ghosts of old cuts that lingered on the flesh.
I looked up and the scene had changed, no longer was I in a classroom, nor were the children playing. They were staring at me in fascination and some bit of fear as I stood among the sprawled out bodies of classmates that had tried to mess with me. The more I tried to explain the worse the looks got, until I eventually just sat down in the middle of them, all eleven of us bleeding and dirty, while my eye was already beginning to swell in its socket. I sat there in the pile of crying kids until the Teachers finally found us, and I was immediately taken to the principal's office.
The look the Teacher gave was the worst; a Grim look of acceptance, like she had expected me to do it.
The memory shifted once more, and I was standing nearly two feet taller than a second ago, walking into the preparatory high school with a frown on my face. People moved out of my way and made sure not to make eye contact with me as I passed. I shoved my hands into my Pockets and looked at the ground as my frown deepened, trying not to dwell on things and failing when my attention was stolen by a loud laugh from a girl down the hall. I saw her standing at her lockers with two other girls that I didn't recognize, and when they saw me they scrambled to get to class.
I cursed and shook my head as I began to orient myself around getting to class as opposed to whatever had gotten ahold of me.
Rain pelted at me as I stood in a stuffy suit that was a size too small and tugged at the Tie around my neck as the Twenty or so people that had showed filtered past the Headstone, some stopping to say their goodbyes, but most were content to walk by without a word. Everybody gave me some pleasantry as they passed or clapped me on the shoulder in support, but they had come to say goodbye to Nan, not support me.
As I stood there and even the Honor Guard had left, leaving only a Valean flag on her Grave, I said goodbye to my only Family, the one who had taught me so much and yet so little, my first and only friend, and then I found myself alone. The anger that had boiled under the surface of every Smile or word spoken for most of my life boiled over, and I was left crying angry grief filled tears in the rain, a lonely lost child once more.
I blinked myself out of my revery and found everyone in the room looking at me with odd looks on their face, but I ignored them and smiled a much softer and more genuine smile than usual, "Thanks, Guys," I said as I turned and swept the two up in a giant bearhug, eliciting grunts as I pulled them off their feet and tried not to crush the life from their bones. Cosma quickly returned the hug while Roman just looked done with life, as I dropped the two of them to the ground in a heap my smile growing wider and wider with each second.
I just couldn't get over the fact that I had friends.
I turned to the pair leaning against the wall and coughed before asking what to them was probably a stupid question, "Are you guys my friends too?" the manic smile that was still on my face seemed to be causing Ashley some distress, but Taylor answered without hesitation.
"If you're willing to put up with a rascal like me, I'm willing to deal with an idiot like you," she at the very least seemed to know what was going through my head, and grinned as she stuck out her fist for a fist bump, one which I dutifully gave her.
Ashley however brought herself under control and huffed as she brushed her ponytail over her shoulder before lifting her nose imperiously, "I usually don't do friendship, but I can make an exception for you."
"So gracious of you," I played along with her before she snorted and moved from the wall, patting me on the shoulder as she passed.
"Everything's relative," she said in a lofty tone as her demeanor shifted back to her act, "Compared to you anything has grace. Now, let's go get some food," she declared to agreement of all involved. I took a step to follow, before a notification popped up.
Achievement Unlocked; [Connected]!
I got friends in high places!
-Raise five or more individual Reputation scores over 50!
Rewards; [Reputation:Individuals] now accurate to the Tens place without [?].
Even the Game was acknowledging the steps forward I was taking-
"Oi," Taylor called from down the Hall, "You coming or not, 'cause I'm hungrier than hell and you're holdin' us up," she explained with her hands at her hips and tapping a foot against the floor.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'," I soothed my friend, "It's not like I'm having a personal breakthrough or anything, Jeez."
I slid the Notification to the side to Squeal about later and followed the group to get some food, with a noticeable skip to my step.
Interlude A
A single passage was carved into the Rock face in place of a name, uncovered to the Air even after Ten long years of the City being overrun and taken back by nature it was still proudly visible on that Grassy hill, standing like a sentinel at the top of a large hill in overlooking the Wall and the Residential district from behind the remnants of the old Hunter's Corps Building.
"Unyielding, Unfettered, Unbent, and Unbroken. This is the Promise of the Staín, Forged in Steel and cast into the Shape of Men, this promise will be kept until Death takes it from us."
End of Interlude.
Austin Staín
Class: [Protector]:
Title: [Main Tank]:
Lvl 21: 1775/2100 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 41277/41277 HP Regen: 891 Hp/Sec
Stm: 1719/1719, Stm Regen: 70 Stm/Sec
Ap: 7140/7140, Ap Regen: 179 Ap/Sec
(+4 per even Lvl, +5 per odd Lvl)Str: (121) 129
(+1 per odd Lvl, +2 per even Lvl)Dex: 41
(+6 per Lvl)Con: (156) 165
(+0 per Lvl)Agi: 8
(-2 per Lvl)Int: 1
(+0 per Lvl)Wis: 5
(-2 per Lvl)Cha: 1
(+3 per Lvl)Res: 85
Free Points; 0.
Attribute Points; 0.
Atk: 870
Max Thundering Blows Damage: 24819
Pistol Atk: 288
Def: Phys; 80%.
Mag; 0%.
Debuff; 80%.
Shell: Phys; 235 Damage.
Mag; 17 Damage.
Attributes:
[Iron Will]; 50% decrease of Debuff effects applied to Austin. Ex. [Cripple]; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.
[Big Bad Wolf]; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the [Osteogenesis] Skill. Race set to [Half-Grimm]. Inherited from Fenrir.
[?]; ?.
[Relentless]; Immune to [Fatigue]. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through Staying Below 20% Hp for 24 hours or more in one period.
[Self-Respect]; How can the World respect you if even you don't respect You? Gained Through The Little Things.
[Guardian Angel]; + 10 Cha to those that you have saved.
[Regenerator]; When most people lose limbs it's permanent...
Regenerate a eighth of your Con score worth of Hp per Second, Quarter of your Con's worth Stamina per second.
[Deadened]; I Will still fight...
Become 2% more resistant to Debuffs and Status Effects per point of Res.
Receive -1 points of Damage per attack for every 5 points of Res.
Once per Thirty seconds, upon hitting 0 Hp or Lower return to 10% Hp.
[Juggernaut]; Wade through Blows…
For Every 1 Str take .25% less physical Damage.
+5% Atk
[Team Player]; No 'I' in Teamwork!
Allows use of the Skill [Teamwork] despite Stat Requirements.
Alrighty then, Time to respond to some anonymous reviews.
To N; Everything except for Bosco Verd was correct, and I'm glad that someone is dumping the words into Google Translate or happens to recognize Chinese or horribly anglicized Arabic. The Weapon and Fighting style around the Piandao is one that I'm familiar with, as well as it being in A:TLA by Zuko, though it is possible that he was using a Quang Dao, a more localized form of the Pian dao. Either way it was fun to throw that in there, though I forgot that they named a character after the weapon, I just remembered Zuko using it.
To Gl; I'd actually say that for a Gamer Austin has a much smaller but much more specialized skill pool. And as someone who has a side goal of becoming one of the hardest things in the World to kill, the risk factor is limited, as is the Exp flow.
Review or send me and direct message if you got something to say, and thanks for reading this far, hope you are enjoying the ride.
That's all I really had to explain or say this time, Jericho Out.