The week had passed in what felt like record time to Taiyang, each day being somehow more exhausting than the one previous but also with less time to get through the course he had planned.
Though he did take that as a real sign of success as the less time he felt he had the more he noticed marked improvements from every student in the room. Everyone participating in the lessons had managed at least one victory over one of the eight instructors, and in doing so had at least in some fashion grasped the greater purpose behind the course, or at least his purpose, not Ozpin's.
Huntsmen were glorified by the civilian population, depicted as the best humanity had, pinnacles of honor and fortitude that could do no wrong, an impression that was sadly both accurate and inaccurate at the same time. Huntsmen had two faces, the ones that the world witnessed, how they fought against the Grimm and held respected and honored, if somewhat aloof positions in society. The other face that civilians didn't see or refused to see, the line was always hard to determine if it was voluntary or legitimate ignorance by the global populace was that Huntsmen were some of the dirtiest, most underhanded and unscrupulous fighters and individuals in the world.
The four great academies taught this lesson during the latter half of a students education, once they had achieved a certain level of historical, political, and global knowledge that the sudden shift in education was more easily understood by the students, who if the fact of the matter was presented to them on there first day within any Academy was that they would be taught to use less than noble methods, many of the idealistic youths might resist the knowledge that a few more years would allow them to become not only comfortable with the premise but also willing students.
This course had taught them that same lesson without actually telling them anything and he had to consider it as nothing more than a resounding success, except for one particular student who he felt was confident knew the lesson that was being taught but at the same time through a Semblance that was seemingly impossible to counter had made it through the entire week without a single setback, a fact that had left not simply a bitter taste in his mouth as part of this lesson was to understand that not every situation was winnable and you had to be prepared to deal with a situation that you could not possibly predict.
He was not alone with this feeling either, each instructor felt a similar feeling and with Ozpin's support, a portion of time was set aside on the final day of the week to make sure that Jaune Arc suffered the effects of a loss.
Looking at the clock on his Scroll Taiyang grimaced slightly at the thought of what was about to occur as the class began to file into Glynda's classroom after their lunch break. His eyes scanned the other instructors as well, each wearing a mixed expression that was hard to read, glad that he was not the only one who felt slightly uncomfortable about what was to come.
"Jaune Arc, please come forward."
Taiyang winced slightly as even Glynda's voice sounded slightly strained. The combat instructor was strongly against this lesson but couldn't call off the lesson as Ozpin had agreed to let the lesson take place, his defense in Taiyangs favor being that if Jaune was given two more full years to mature then finding anyone capable to deal this lesson might well be impossible, as right now it was clear no single instructor was his opponent and likely it would take three or four at once the have any chance at all, and ultimately it was decided that all eight would engage at once, to make certain that the desired outcome would come to pass.
The entire room sounded awkwardly quiet at Glynda's call and more so when Jaune made his way down to the combat stage to stand next to Glynda, his teacher leaning forward and saying something unheard by anyone present as it was a quickly whispered dialogue, the purpose behind it was clear as Glynda spoke his head swiveled to look across all eight instructors. Taiyang did note that while it was clear that Jaune was receiving some form of instruction his expression was neither one of shock or dismay, rather he seemed to be intrigued, almost eager as he looked away and continued listening to Glynda speak for a few moments longer before he was pointed toward the middle of the platform where he was stripped of his weapons as per the usual procedure.
"For today's final lesson it will be a clear example to everyone present in this room how the wilds of Remnant can present you with situations that even the most capable of Huntsmen will find impossible. Mr. Arc has been chosen for this lesson for one very important reason because throughout the previous four and a half days Jaune has remained undefeated and this course is intended to force each of you to experience overwhelming defeat and grow from it. Mr. Arc has so far escaped that lesson by being the better fighter in a singles combat situation. The rules of this fight are as follows, ring outs DO NOT count as eliminations, the only factor that matters it critical aura loss, this extends to both parties."
Taiyang set his jaw firmly in a grimace and watched as the timer counted down to the begin what he expected to be a brutally one-sided fight, the two instructors from Vacuo both stepping forward simultaneously as the alarm indicated it was time.
Jaune charged the two instructors from Vacuo, the pair being the first to move making them the obvious choice to get entangled with, also if he was engaged with two opponents the remaining six would find it harder to interact with him while he decided on what course of action he wanted to take in this fight.
Sliding under the lariat attempt from the Vacuan Faunus and then rolling to sidestep a thrust from his human counterparts' hidden wrist blade that then retracted into its concealed mechanism under his fist as the attack was dodged. Once between the two men he began to evade and parry attacks as they rained down, his heavy armguard causing more damage to his attacker's aura than anything else as every block with the sturdy piece of equipment cause small flairs of Aura.
Firmly entrenched and seeing the other instructors were unable to enter and attack he wondered how exactly he should handle the stipulation of this fight, the ring out being removed was an obvious attempt to force the contest to the end that had him bruised and beaten, humbled by the experience. It was a little heavy-handed but all in all, it was the lesson that was being taught and most of his classmates had learned the lesson thoroughly.
The Vacuan human, slid out of view, his Semblance seemingly wiping him out of existence, an effect that made his mind befuddled and want to forget he had even been present. The effect was brief and after experiencing it multiple times through the week he was expecting it sooner or later. Once he felt it he reached forward and grabbed the Vacuan Faunes who gave a surprised yelp as Jaune twisted and pulled him to where he expected the other Vacuan to attack from and his expectation was correct as he felt the resistance of another person as he let go of the Faunus go.
He didn't have a moment to relax as Harriet Bree flew in from his blind spot, the only forwarning he had was a series of quick taps of feet hitting the floor at a blistering pace.
He hated speed Semblances, they were simple and straightforward in terms of what they were capable of doing, yet at the same time were egregiously hard to counter if the person had any sort of situational awareness, something he knew from history Harriet had in spades, not to mention he couldn't focus one hundred percent of his attention on the Atlesian Speedster as he knew that the Vacuan pair wouldn't be down for long, not to mention the other five who stood further out waiting for their opportunities to rush in.
He hadn't even finished his turn before the strike caught him in the side of the face, Harriet used the perfect opportunity to strike in a way that was all but unavoidable, so quickly that his aura wasn't even there in time to cushion the blow, he both heard and felt his jaw shifting inside his skull as the blow rattled him and he staggered backward clumsily.
A part of his mind kept him standing and forced his legs to plant themselves as it instantly understood what had just occurred.
Harriets attack had been planned to perfection, but it wasn't something that on its own should have worked so perfectly, the angle of attack was simply too unlucky for him and the strike hitting before his aura was in place was just a tad bit too lucky to be anything other than the interference of two Semblances that would normally counteract each other but instead had rather harmoniously worked in tandem.
Anger wasn't exactly an emotion Jaune felt anymore, he had won his war and any real anger for his enemies had long since faded into annoyances to those he needed to deal with but right at this moment, he felt a flash of something very akin to anger as his mind settled on the course of action.
If these people wanted to teach him a lesson then they would need to earn it rather than have him hand it to them.
The decision made, Jaune adjusted his stance and reached behind his back with his empty arm and with a quick twist brought forth the empty sheath and slid his thumb over a small switch located where the hilt of either of his blades would normally rest.
Lighting up to a golden hue a scrapping of metal was heard as Crocea Mors was pulled through the air and directly into the waiting sheath all in the span of a split second.
Taiyang struggled to catch the breath that had been driven from him as he clasped his left leg just below the knee joint. even as he instinctively tended to his injuries his eyes never looked away from the fight he was unable to rejoin. His Aura had been dealt a critical blow and as per the rules, he could no longer compete or contribute.
Beside him were both Mistralan instructors, the human snoring peacefully for the time being but one she awoke would no doubt be feeling the ugly blue and black bruise that marred half her face, her Faunus companion fairing only slightly better as he was still conscious but looked to be in considerable pain as two of Beacons aids were busy tying a tourniquet around his arm fastening the limb to his torso so it wouldn't move around as he was being assisted to a standing position and led out of the room to Beacons medical facility to no doubt get the broken forearm set properly.
Taiyang knew from experience that the huntsman would be fine as a broken arm with the help of aura to heal would only need a handful of days, a week tops, to heal back to perfect condition.
He watched the fight continue to unfold, shift to a more comfortable position to sit against the wall as his breath began coming back to him.
The five remaining figures weaved in and out of combat with the singular opponent, no one aggressor engaging for longer than necessary before falling back lest they suffer the same fate as those who had been eliminated, coaxed into believing they had somehow gained the advantage that they sought to push only to realize too late that Jaune had been baiting them for that moment, crippling their ability to respond and then viciously eliminating them.
Taiyang though the attacks that Jaune used were vicious to an almost malicious degree, when he had been in the fight they had certainly seemed that way, now though as he watched from the sidelines and could calmly observe without the surging adrenaline to influence his thoughts he understood that Jaune's attacks were measured and frighteningly precise, his Semblance no doubt allowing him to apply the near-perfect amount of force so that he would deal with the fight in the most effective way possible.
The change in formula for the instructors had done wonders to shift the momentum of the fight, the rotation allowed for those still fighting to not burn away their stamina and simultaneously leave Jaune running ragged as while his eyes still looked clear and focused, a trait Taiyang had to assume was related to Jaune's Semblance his mouth hung open and his chest heaved with effort as he struggled to keep up with the intense exertion he was forced to endure.
The fight had turned against him, and in a fantastically horrible way.
He had become a Grimm to them, one that was too fearsome to be dealt with directly, either too cunning or too powerful in their minds to directly engage with anymore. The fight harkened back to a time when he would travel with Ruby, Nora, and Ren after the fall of Beacon as they traveled to Haven for answers and would eventually encounter the Nucklevee.
The Nucklevee was a fight that everyone had to work together to incapacitate and then eventually kill and now he was on the receiving end of the scenario, only he didn't have the luxury to kill his opponents if the opportunity arose as the Nucklevee would have in the same scenario.
Exhausted as he was though, his aura was still strong and he had more than his fair share of tricks left to work with and knew this fight while turning against him was not to the point of unwinnable and if he was being honest with himself he was having a uniquely fun time with the fight and didn't want the end to happen yet.
Crocea Mors, Blade, and Scabbard were held in opposite hands, the blade in his faster, unarmored arm while the sheath was held in his other, being wielded as a club, adding its considerable weight to his already heavy armguard, making for the clubbing blows from it all the more dangerous, knocking one instructor unconscious and regrettably breaking the forearm of another, Taiyang being the only eliminated opponent that hadn't been a result of the heavy attacks, rather a turn of bad luck as he had fumbled his own attack and ended up off balance and on one knee in an unfortunate position, one that he hadn't been able to react from as Jaune remembered driving his knee into Taiyangs chest, driving the air from his lungs, tanking his aura, and then as the man stumbled backward kicking his bracing leg just below the kneecap, knocking him face-first into the floor and sending his Aura into the red.
Throughout the week he had numerous times retrieved either of his blades but aside from the basics he never heavily employed either, let alone displayed any of there hidden abilities. The blade and sheath being magnetically attracted to each other had caught everyone off guard and no doubt gave a hint that there was something even more than that still hidden away.
Crocea Mors hidden abilities were impossible to show, they all fell under a category of deadly and were used to deal with the human and Faunus minions of Salem that would appear later in his life as well as the powerful Grimm she would create to sow chaos and fear.
With the weapon he had in hand not being the proper one for the situation he needed a way to retrieve Celica Mors, which after his display of ease in retrieving his first weapon had been appropriated by the Atlesian specialist Clover Ebi, another factor of good luck for the man as Jaune had tried to retrieve it immediately after Crocea Mors but the lucky man had stopped him and now held it alongside his 'Kingfisher' weapon, which had been in some way lucky for himself as it limited what exactly Clover could do as the man was not proficient enough to dual wield his own weapon and an unknown and untested second.
His decision made he slashed hard toward the face of the next person to move forward to attack, earning a surprised exclamation of panic from the Vacuan Faunus who narrowly prevented a huge chunk of his aura from vanishing in a single swing.
Clover didn't understand what had happened, or at least he couldn't seem to process the sequence of events that proceeded with his current position.
The target, Jaune, had been suppressed by a change in strategy, or that's how it appeared at the time.
Now the last three instructors were being fought to a stalemate against the young man who had become revitalized when he took hold of his second blade, the one with the lilac-colored crossguard.
The sword was sheathed in the metal scabbard that Jaune had left unused until today and then employed it more than adequately as a serviceable bludgeon, with several hidden capabilities, one being the ability to individually target each of his blades and pull them to himself, another being able to mechashift once a blade is placed within.
Clover understood that if one blade could do so then both probably had the same ability just with clearly different results and he was curious what the blade with the golden yellow hilt was capable of if the one with the lilac hilt was able to easily eliminate two of his fellow instructors.
The attack that had eliminated both had been a curious thing, it had appeared to be some form of fire dust discharge but the explosion behind it was seemingly insignificant, barely erupting little more than a tiny line in the air that the blade still housed in the metal scabbard had cleaved harmlessly through but it then shot forward catching both Vacuan's totally off guard and had hurled them bodily in the furthest wall, knocking both unconscious from the impact.
Aides had rushed to check on both and after a tense moment worrying over there condition, a lapse that had nearly cost him what remained of his Aura as Jaune moved to catch him flat-footed.
He stood back from the fight, watching as Qrow backpedaled away awkwardly, narrowly escaping a spinning back fist strike that Jaune had thrown in seeming desperation but now appeared calculated as Harriet was momentarily left alone against Jaune and that brief moment was telling just how frightening this student was in singles combat.
Even with all the speed and reaction time, Harriet could muster, pushing herself harder than Clover had ever seen her before as she no doubts refused to believe that this young man could still best her after such an extended fight, something he could tell from knowing her that she would refuse to believe.
Rushing forward, hearing Qrow's footsteps matching his own in speed and stride, attempting to will his Semblance to help Harriet, he knew it was too late to save her from elimination.
A powerful strike to the abdomen with Jaune's heavy left forearm, coupled with the increased momentum from Harriets attempt to evade made the blow land all the harder and even as he brought 'Kingfisher' down he knew Harriet was out of the fight for good as she had simply crumpled into an undignified heap where she stood after taking the blow, a glazed look covering her face as her body went into auto-pilot, forcing itself to remember to breath.
He expected his swing to either miss or be blocked as had been the case for every attack that he had tried before, the young man being too quick to let his admittedly slow and telegraphed attack land. Clover wasn't upset by that knowledge when Jaune could go toe-to-toe with a speed semblance what chance did someone without really stand.
His anticipation of his strike not connecting caught himself flat-footed when he completed his entire followthrough, only meeting a clumsy resistance that his mind belatedly registered as 'Kingfisher' striking soundly the exposed crook of Jaune's neck, sending him crumpling to the floor in a heap as his Aura finally failed him and he crumpled to the floor as an alarm sounded calling for an end of the fight.
Clover looked around, bewildered at what had just occurred, even with knowing what his Semblance was the result still seemed impossible to imagine simply because of how well Jaune had fought it made it feel like no matter how lucky he might have been, that this kid was unstoppable, at least until he wasn't.
He locked eyes with the only other upright and participating instructor and a sudden realization came to him. Of course, he knew that Qrow Branwen was his opposite in terms of Semblance and with that knowledge as a little time to review the fight, something that he intensely wanted to do, he was confident that the final blow would be a mixture of two opposites working together in perfect harmony to allow them the surprise win.
Clover was confident that that was the answer as Qrow had a similar expression of disbelief in his eyes.
"Are you sure this is wise Ozpin?"
"Wise, no it most certainly isn't James, though I do believe it is necessary, and not simply for the question I need answered but also because the current Spring Maiden has proven less than ideal in terms of the guardian that the Relic of Knowledge must be retrieved and relocated. At least temporarily while the Haven vault remains unreliable."
"I feel you're overlooking something Ozpin."
"Sadly I wish I was James but I understand fully the potential consequences of this task. Mistral is not my Kingdom, nor is it yours even if a portion of the Kingdom is shielded by Atlas. If things are not handled perfectly and loose ends are not silenced in some fashion then this could lead to a fracturing of the Kingdoms not seen since the Great War."
"I see, I'm sorry for assuming that you had forgotten in your decision that there are the global politics that have to be taken into consideration for what were are set to attempt. As you have anticipated my concern and likely understand the result if things proceed poorly I have to wish you the best of luck. I will feel more confident once I know for certain that Leo will no longer be tasked with guarding such a valuable item."
"Come now James, Leo has been a stalwart ally through two of my lives, facilitating my quick rise to the position I now hold, he might have what one would consider a timid personality but I have nothing but faith in the mans abilities and if it weren't for the current Spring Maidens reluctance to fulfill her role then I for one wouldn't even consider removing the Relic from Leo's care."
"Yes, you have spoken the praises of Headmaster Lionheart from even before I was brought into your circle of trust but I will continue to hold my own opinion of the man."
"As is your right."
"I hope Clover and Harriet have been performing adequately for your instructional lessons, I hope they haven't been too hard on your students."
Ozpin shifted in his seat subtly, enough to adjust his line of sight as he was currently watching the outcome of the final lesson through a video feed. "Both agents have performed remarkably, and I'm sure they will have a fair amount of information to pass along once they return to Atlas, I can say with certainty that if the remaining members of the Ace-OPs are of their standard then there should be little to be concerned about in Mistral."
"The five together are my top agents, along with the extra assistance being provided by the Atlesian base in Argus you should have no problem retrieving the spring Maiden if Raven is unwilling to cooperate, though I am curious, how confident are you on the identity of the missing Maiden right now."
"I wish I could say with certainty that I knew who held the power currently but I do not, Qrow did not see the last known Spring Maiden when he was allowed within the Branwen tribe on his recent excursion and Leo has had no luck identifying her either from witnesses left behind following raids made by the bandit tribe. Also in terms of Raven's past disagreement and refusal to cooperate with myself any further, I am inclined to believe that she would not hold a Maiden against her will, nor would she have the ability to do so for such a long period of time so I am forced to assume that the Spring Maiden's powers have been passed along which is unfortunate but luckily we have a strong indication of who the recipient was."
"An indication provided to you by Qrow?"
"Yes, a very trustworthy individual and whose judgment in matters of importance is without question, even if his proclivity to drink is frowned upon by the majority of my other associates."
"Yes, Qrow and Leo, you both trust them implicitly and to be fair you have been around far longer than anyone else so I will trust your judgment, that being said I have a plethora of meetings to take part in in the morning not to mention all the work required to have Amnity arena ready to move in time for the Vytal Festival."
"Then I will bid you goodnight James and I look forward to meeting with you again in person next week after my business in Haven in finished, hopefully, the conversations will be more trivial and relaxing."
With a smile, the screen went dark and with it, Ozpin was able to lean back in his chair and relax, at the very least the weary muscles in his back and face as he had to portray a calm appearance for James while inwardly fretting over every possible detail he might have overlooked or considered irrelevant.
He was prepared to take the Spring Maiden by force but hoped that it would not come to that, he had several lives worth of wealth acquired that Raven should be interested enough in to take a bribe to allow him a short term lease on use of the Spring Maiden. Raven taking the bribe would be ideal, as it would allow him to know for certain that he had the proper person need to access the vault's final lock. If the bribe was not taken then he would have to search for the young woman Qrow had described to him and hope that she was the correct choice.
Once the Maiden had served her purpose and the Relic was safely in his care she would be allowed to return to the Bandit camp if she so desired and then it was just a matter of asking his question.
A fact that he was essentially immortal and could have an infinite amount of questions answered did not mean he took the usage of any singular question lightly, he had inadvertently wasted a large number of the questions he had asked throughout the lifetimes he had lived. It was a simple as phrasing the question in the wrong manner could lead to a seemingly well thought out question being answered with an uninformative affirmative or negative response that provided little clarity.
Questions could not be too vague and could also not be to precise, they needed to exist in the unique middle ground that would allow the greatest amount of information to be delivered, thereby potentially answering several questions with the single use of one of Jinn's answers.
He had spent the week mulling over the question he would ask, considering all the ways that Jinn could interpret the question and even asking for Glynda's assistance on how she might interpret and answer the question if she hypothetically had the knowledge to do so. The question seemed to cover all the options necessary to result in the type of answer he desired so he attempted to relax as best he could with that knowledge as he turned his attention to other issues that required his attention that needed to be dealt with before he was to leave Beacon, his schedule needed clearing, meetings and appointments rescheduled, appearance postponed or canceled entirely.
A Roundabout showcase of Jaune as a fighter.
I have had a few comments asking questions on how powerful Jaune in currently and while I cannot answer that directly as it is important to the story, much like how his weapons upgrades are being teased repeatedly with little informative tidbits being given as time goes on.
Anyways in an 8 vs. 1 fight, Jaune eliminated 6 of his opponents prioritizing the elimination of the Vacuan and Mistralan's first as he was least familiar with them. Luckily with the introduction of Clover Ebi in Volume 7, I had a legitimate out to this fight coupled alongside Qrow who was set to be the original singular linchpin in Jaune losing but now that there are two similar but opposite Semblances it made more sense to have the two work in tandem to create a scenario that was believable for him toolose.
The next chapter will be coming Soon* hopefully before the end of February as my schedule and tidyfrogs have both been relatively light, all things considered, most the stories she had been reviewing having either finished or gone on hiatus.
As for myself I have finished the commissioned work on my Pat/re/on and barring no other immediate work I should have some updates forthcoming soon for my stories.