Interlude A
A tall and slender young woman stood by the door with a polite smile on her face. She kept the expression on her face as her Father slowly but surely ushered the group of lawyers and businessmen from the dining room into the waiting hands of a patient Butler. She internally winced as the rather bloated man at the front of the group stumbled forward and grabbed him by the labels, as she could smell the booze on his breath from where she stood ten feet away.
No doubt it was even worse for Jonas, but he bore the burden like the stoic he was paid to be. "Follow Jonas, he'll take you to the coat room to gather your things," Her Father said benignly as he smiled at the group of people. She would have been fooled as well, if she hadn't been the one to help him practice the smile in the first place. "I have some things to take care of, especially after such a fruitful meeting, so you'll have to forgive me but I cannot escort you out myself." She watched him out of the corner of her eye and could see how he was bent forward just enough to signal weariness and subservience, the pale blue eyes that she shared closed as his head was dipped forward.
The Drunkard holding onto the Butler like he was a crutch guffawed at his words, and she could not stop the wince that the loud noise elicited from her, "Of course, old chum! I was surprised you made time for an old friend like me in the first place!" He laughed a full belly laugh as he dragged the worn upon man under his arm with him down the hall, "I'll see you again once this deal is worked out between us!" The much more subdued guests gave their polite goodbyes to her Father, though they too looked red in the cheeks from the wine that her Father had provided.
She kept her smile up until the large double doors had closed, the sharp blue and white panels of the metal and wood slipping together seamlessly until the portal looked like just another wall. Then she kept it up until all of the staff had removed the remnants of dinner, though she knew that Klein would be preparing something much more filling for them now that the guests were gone. Only when she could no longer hear the footsteps on marble floors did she let her smile drop, and like a physical weight had been removed she felt the urge to relax her posture, but she fought it as she had been taught.
Instead, she watched as whatever warmth that had been on her Father's face drop and she was once again faced with the robotic and inhuman man that fathered her and her two siblings. His narrowed his eyes at her and she felt her blood freeze under the intensity of the look, "You lost your composure when Winston was leaving."
She didn't react to the words outwardly, knowing that to do so would only be seen as further failure, and instead only nodded in acquiescence before responding, "He was louder than I was expecting. It will not happen again." She cursed herself for folding, but she couldn't stand up to him.
He stared her down, and she could see him running numbers in his head like the living computer that he was before he nodded shortly, "This was your first time interacting with him, or anyone else for that matter, while in that state of inebriation. An acceptable reason. What steps could you take to prepare for it?" She could feel that underlying feeling of being tested, and she quickly put together some plan that would satisfy him.
"I'll train in the yard while loud noises go off in the background at random intervals," She said firmly, despite the anxiety in the back of her head that she ignored, "If I am distracted in the middle of an exercise and make a mistake, I'll start over." She stayed still and held his gaze, even as she crossed her fingers behind her back for some luck.
His white moustache twitched even as his face stayed impassive, "Or you could simply deal with rowdy drunkards. No need to go so far." She held her mask, but behind it she reeled. Her father had just given ground? Made a joke? Was he sick? Before she could take the thought to its regular conclusion, he was talking once more. He pulled out one of the chairs nearby and turned it towards her and sat elegantly in it. "I was not lying to Winston when I said that I had things to do because of that inane dinner. Sit, we have much to discuss."
"I thought you had important things to do," She threw out nervously. She sat down nonetheless, for she was still hard-pressed to go against him.
"The training of my successor is the most important thing I can think of," He stated clearly and concisely, and she felt a little warmth in her heart at the statement. She would have preferred to be called something more familial, but she'd take what she could get. But how he addressed her also brought up another issue.
"You know that I want very little to do with the SDC," She watched his face as she said it and a look of disappointment cross his face before it smoothed back out. Jacques Schnee was many things, but an emotional man was not one of them.
"If you truly wish to be rid of the Company then you must be trained before you leave, because you obviously haven't learned enough yet," She refused to flinch in the face of the insult to her intelligence, but he didn't even seem to register the effect his words had on her and steamrolled right on through, "I had you sit in on the dinner for a reason, and it was not because I needed reinforcements to deal with that lush. What did you learn?"
"They appear to have the high ground on this deal, and they seem to be assuming that you will accept at the price that they name," She answered without much thought as training took over. And they had appeared that way; Coming in with their terms already printed and signed as though they expected them to simply sign the merger without so much as a contest. That the technology they claimed to have produced would make controlling Mining equipment and the prototypes for the military technology that the Atlesian military had commissioned.
But at the same time… she felt something was off.
"Yes, that is how it seems," Her father agreed easily, and immediately her instincts blared into full force. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, and she knew she had missed something. She began to sort through the memories of the evening feverishly, looking for what she had looked past before he decided that she wasn't going to find it herself.
"Were they bluffing?" She questioned aloud as small things she had dismissed all came together. The way that despite being such a large man, he had drank just as much as the rest of his people and had ended up roaringly drunk. The way that people ceded conversations to the drunk man, almost because of his state. And the way that they had pointedly not provided a demonstration.
"Knowing Winston?" he considered carefully, folding his hands in his lap as he stared through her, "There is a viable possibility that he funded with his stipend as a Councilman, but it proved to be too much for him to foot the bill by himself. Time or funds, he was unable to finish the project himself and instead tried to turn a profit or come up even by selling intellectual property that hadn't been tested yet. I will contact a few sources of mine in the Engineering Division of the Atlesian Military to see how viable the idea is before I go through with this, but I enjoy the thought of remote piloting. Could save us millions of lien in healthcare if some buffoon can aim a drill without being in the mines. But, yes. They were Bluffing. Well done." She huffed internally at his empty praise as he showed his experience in the department of negotiation simply by speaking.
She knew that he was better than her at it, but she wished he'd stop proving it.
"But that brings me to another issue," He continued blithely, "I was considering your application-"
"Liar," She hissed and immediately regretted it. He stared at her openly in shock, and she cursed in her mind as she tried to figure out how to recover this, "There is no need to lie to me. You do not consider, you make decisions and do not go back on them. You may have to keep up pretenses with those you work with, but I'd like to ask that you do not do the same to me." She could feel the teenage girl she was supposed to be panicking in the back of her mind while the Schnee that she was being trained to be tried to smack some sense into her. She'd messed up, which meant in the true Schnee way she'd act like she'd meant to do it.
If Jacques could hear her thoughts he'd probably be proud of her, and that made the Schnee inside of her sick. Schnee's did not need recognition from others, after all.
Her father stared at her, and she wished for the thousandth time that he'd blow up and get angry with her. She'd done wrong, called him a liar. Surely that would make him act more human? "Fair enough. I disagree with your decision, and I will not hide it," Internally she sighed at his response, even as he did almost exactly what she thought he would. His eyes hardened as he looked at her in a new light, one that she knew would make dealing with him all the more difficult after she had basically demanded he treat her as an equal, "Do you wish to follow your childish dream of becoming a Huntress?"
She pulled in a deep breath to steel herself for the oncoming argument and nodded resolutely, "I do."
Her Father nodded back before pulling a folder from his Briefcase and slapping it in front of her, "Then I have a task for you. A group of Hunters-in-Training are landing on the shores of Solitas in a day's time, and you are to meet with them and escort them to their numerous assignments."
Her eyes widened at the stack of papers before looking up at him, "You'd let me go? Just like that?"
"You will be escorting the man that protected SDC assets in Sahili against the White Fang Deserters," her adrenaline spiked as the images of the aftermath of that battle flashed through her mind. The wood of the armrests creaked under her hands as she reflexively gripped them. Throwing her to the Wolves? After all the time spent training her as his replacement, the moment she showed the hint of resistance she was disposable. She should have known better. "I am assured that a month spent with Team ACRA will expose you to the worst that the Huntress's life could throw at you by reliable sources. If you make it through a month with them and still want to become a Huntress, then you shall do so with my blessing."
"Father, Thank you. I won't disappoint you."
"Either you come to your senses and agree to become my successor or you go on to do what you want to do knowing what could go wrong. Either one would be acceptable."
"I could die."
"Oh, Winter. Schnee's don't die. We pass away."
Interlude B.
Green eyes looked out over the bustling campus of Beacon and towards the Horizon towards the north. Even after eons spent apart, he could still feel her Magic, and for the longest time, it had been just the two of them, followed by the Maidens.
His eyes shot towards the west as the Spike of Magic disrupted his contemplation once more. He had felt a few of his hammerspaces fold in the past few months, and he had thought very little of it. They winked out when they had dispersed all of the Grimm in them, and that was their nature. But He had not expected the new signature that came along with them.
To his eyes he could see a pillar of electric blue light that stretched into the sky, though the students underneath were blissfully unaware. His hands tightened around his cane and mug, before he downed half of the drink.
It was no longer just the Wizard and The Witch. The Old World was returning.
There was work to be done.
End of Interludes.
The earthy tones of the large room mixed with the soft burgundy of the carpet to form a regal and imperious feel, and the way that the books floated over our heads as we poured over page after page of old paper and ink just added to the mystical feel to the place. The wood that made up the bookshelves was Mistralian Yew, and weak to scratching, easy to enchant. They were littered up and down with the Old Tongue and pulsed under my hands as I looked for books.
Ever since I had begun learning form Marsha I had begun to feel the way that places pushed and pulled at my aura, something that Marsha said was entirely normal for Speakers. Something to let them monitor the ambient Magic of the World around them and adjust accordingly.
I was only an exception in so far as I had so little Aura that I needed to push mine out of my skin to activate it. I was doing so now for Fenrir's Benefit, as he was curious as to what was happening, while I catalogued information for my next expedition. I narrowed my eyes as my Aura stilled against my mental pressure and then a Notification appeared in front of my face. Ashley looked up from the table we were sharing and quirked an eye at me.
"What?" I grunted as I put down a stack of books on the floor next to my chair. I ignored the impact of a wayward textbook that smacked into the side of my head thanks to Marsha's Semblance and pulled up the first book in the stack.
"Is your power acting up?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes at me, "Your Aura is behaving oddly," She shook her head back and forth as she considered the statement before correcting it, "More than usual at least. I usually can't sense it at all, but now I can. Which is enough of a change to warrant my involvement." I didn't quite catch some secondary meaning in her words, but I could tell that she wasn't too thrilled about it. Her eyebrows were drawn together and she was watching me intently behind her glasses, molten amber now wary and waiting for the other boot to drop. The expectant way that she assumed something bad was coming reminded me of Nan.
Maybe existing near me for too long had this effect on people.
I shrugged at her before letting go of my tenuous grip and let my Aura settle back down in it's home at the base of my spine. Immediately the tension left her posture, but I saw her blink in confusion at the action, "I was just tryin' to get a sense for Aura, and it doesn't work if I don't bring my aura out past my skin."
"What do you mean "Past your skin"? Where is it normally?" She questioned as she folded a page as a bookmark, and I winced as I thought about Marsha seeing that. My ears perked up as I realized that I was once more an aberration.
I idly wondered how out of the realm of normal I would be this time.
"In my body?" I hesitantly explained as I thumped the spot lightly, enjoying the resistance that my skin gave me. I knew exactly where it was too, because [Osteogenesis] had been feeding me information more and more information as the skill leveled, granting me a certain level of awareness for the inner workings of my body. I could feel every bone where they sat cushioned in my flesh. Much like [Instinct] and [Detect Bloodlust] let me follow the locations of others nearby, I could feel where my bones were, as well as the bones of other people. I had yet to try to influence them quite like I did with my own, but that was mostly because it was a tedious and time consuming process if I didn't have a blueprint already conceived and it wasn't an effective combat strategy.
But at the same time, this let me monitor my Body on a level of detail that I knew to be abnormal. It took Huntsmen years of training to be able to pulse their aura like some crude echolocation to assess their own general state of health, but I had bypassed that entirely and simply watched how my body interacted with the bones in my body and the Stamina that I pumped through it.
A source of energy that I was beginning to suspect was much deeper than simply a metric for my general fitness.
Doing so I had removed multiple lumps of metal that had broken off of weapons inside of my body, but hadn't been listed as a debuff. Which just proved that I needed to be observing myself as carefully as I could afford instead of relying on the Game to do it for me. Wouldn't do to be out of commission because I got complacent.
Ashley, oblivious to my internal ramblings, raised an eyebrow at my answer before a look of comprehension overcame her face, and she tapped the heel of her palm against her forehead and forcing irritated words out through gritted teeth, "Stupid, stupid, stupid. I should have known," I waited for her to calm down, and after a moment of incoherent muttering that even [Instinct] couldn't help with she explained, "I thought you were dampening your Aura on purpose. For normal huntsmen, that's a skill that takes months to even attempt, but can be a matter of life or death in certain situations. It makes it harder for those with Aura to sense you, as well as makes it harder for Grimm to track you down as they follow your Aura more than your scent. Dampening your Aura is taught as almost the first Aura control technique specifically because of its utility," She stopped her explanation and gave me a look from behind her glasses that made it obvious she was in Leader mode and I needed to be paying attention.
I surreptitiously moved the Notification out of my vision and gave her all of my attention. What she was talking about, a formal education, was something that I was alone in lacking. Even Taylor had three years of training school before the Mount fell.
I was learning programming at the time.
"For most people, they have to consciously pull their Aura back into their body to dampen it," She explained as she briefly flared her Aura into the visible spectrum and I watched as it wound slowly into her skin, "It's not an issue for you, because you have so little of the stuff that you aren't overflowing. And if you aren't doing it consciously it explains your extremely shitty grasp of Aura Control," She finished with a sigh before she held her right hand and forced her Aura into her hands, "Let's start with the basics; What do you know about Aura?"
Immediately my eyes blurred as I began to recall the lessons that had been drilled into me so long ago. I had been beaten until I could repeat the bit of trivia and many others like it even if I were at death's door. Without thought, I repeated the line to her, "Aura is Mistralian for Breath, and is named as such because the Older Brother breathed life into us," She quirked an eyebrow at me and I felt my cheeks darken in a blush as I coughed into my hand, "Outside of that, I know very little." Damn Nan and her outdated training methods!
She ran a hand through her charcoal grey hair and sighed, "Well, you aren't wrong, But it's so much more than that," She gripped the bridge of her nose and exhaled deeply, "So much more that I have no idea where to start."
"I mean it's fascinatin'," I hedged, wondering how she'd take my words. She looked up and pinned me with a fierce glare. Her eyes flickered like flames as though she were daring me to continue, but I was never one to back down form a challenge, "But I don't need to know the History. I don't use my Aura," I shrugged as she shook her head at me.
"Then I'll focus on the things that matter to someone intent on handicapping themselves," She retorted with dry humor, "There are benefits to becoming in tune with your Aura, even if you don't use it that often. They move faster, hit harder, and think more clearly. Raul said it was because you were more in tune with your soul, but I have no idea if that's correct. You'll have to grant me a little patience and try it anyway," She glared at me but all I did was smile ferally at her and nod. I was not above trying new things, and the books would be there when we were done.
She let out a relieved breath, as though she expected me to ignore her or stomp off, but I liked having new toys to play around with. Experiment with, and make mine. And if she was willing to show it to me in a Library, then it must have been simple, if not exactly easy.
I loved simple things, more specifically taking normally underused things into extremely deadly territory. Such as chains, not exactly known as the weapon of a hero, and the ability to hit a little harder than usual, which did not usually mean that someone could level mountains with a punch. But here I was.
"Alright, the first thing you need to do is work on moving your Aura properly," She confidently reached over the table and pulled my hands onto the surface, "I'm going to tap a place on your arms and I want you to move your Aura there, and only there," She looked me in the eyes as she lightly tapped the palm of my left hand, and made eye contact expectantly.
I blinked at her actions before I did as she asked and pulled my Aura from my spine to my hand, which began to shimmer with my Steel-grey aura. I kept my hand above the table so that it wouldn't explode, "Like this?"
"Just so," she congratulated me, before tapping my right elbow, "Once you have the gist of it down, I'll see if I can get you do this without flaring it so obviously." It continued like this, with her tapping a spot and me taking about thirty seconds to get it to move where I wanted it to, for about ten minutes before another pair of notifications popped in front of my face, reminding me of the screen I had pushed aside to talk to my partner.
Skill Learned; [Aura Sense]; Level 1! Stat requirements, Wis 15 and Int 25/ [Res 80] met!
Baby Huntsman's first toy!
-Ability to sense Aura/Magic techniques in a shortened range. Can be focused for more information.
Range = (Wis/5)*Lvl = 2 feet.
Costs 100 Ap/sec.
Skill Learned; [Aura Control], Level 1! Stat requirements Wis 30/[Gained through Training under [Ashley Charbon]]!
It really was this easy, Boss.
-Raises the Minimum and Maximum value of Aura Technique Failure Chance by 1% per level. Current values = 81% Max, 6% Min.
-Boosts Ap Regeneration by Lvl%.
Skill Learned; [Reinforce], Level 1! Stat requirements, Str 25 and Wis 25/ [Str 30 and Res 50] met!
The first true technique most Huntsmen learn, and carry through their career.
-Increase physical stats by flooding your muscles with Aura.
Passively increase Str, Dex, Con, and Agi by (Lvl/2)% = .5%.
Actively increase Str, Dex, Con, and Agi by (Lvl*5)% = 5%
I blinked at the notifications before narrowing my eyes at them. [Aura Sense] I could understand, as I hadn't really been trying to use that Skill before, but I know for fucking certain that I had moved my Aura like this before. [Reinforce] was new, but I had certainly moved my Aura around my body. With the addition of the skills it was certainly getting easier, and I felt the stagnant and unyielding energy that was my Aura moving sluggishly where I wanted it.
But I could feel it. The strength coursing in my fingers as I smacked Aura into my hands, and my body barely contained it. I could feel every muscle fiber and tendon rejecting the influx of Energy, save for a tiny minority.
About six percent of them, if I had to guess.
I turned off the Skill and pulled up my Stat page and checked my stats, confirming that half of a percent wasn't much of a change. But [Reinforce] was only at the first level, and I had every intention of changing that. I couldn't keep a smile from stretching its way across my face.
I was brought out of my thoughts as superheated fingers grabbed my left ear and twisted, "And you were doing so well, too," I gave her an unimpressed look as I rubbed the organ of cartilage and skin, before she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms with a disappointed look on her face, "And I know its a nice feeling, but wipe that smile off your face. You'll scare Marsha." We both pointedly ignored the squawk that came from the damaged teacher behind the counter, "Outside of your… delightful expressions, it looks like you've got the hang of it enough to do it on your own, somehow. Practice enough and you may actually be able to do something with your Aura without endangering the entire team."
"Oi, stop dissin' the mug," I barked as I waved towards my face, "Bein' this ugly has stopped many a fight before I ever had to square up!" I grumbled abusive leaders under my breath as I opened up the Big Book of Atlesian Grimm to keep an eye on what monsters we might encounter. Wasn't my fuckin' fault I looked like someone took a chainsaw to a piece of leather. Bring it up with whoever birthed my ass and the Grimm who fucked me up, not me.
After a minute of leafing through the pages for Fenrir to add to the [Bestiary] on the off chance I needed to know anything about them, I noticed that Ashley hadn't responded or returned to her book. My hearing let me hear her heartbeat slowly speeding up, so emotion was involved, and I internally winced in response. I chanced a look up at her, not at all surprised to find a contemplative look on her face, and I felt the connection maintained by [Dominion] to get a read on her face, and was happy to find that she was not angry. Simply a little confused as she glanced down at her hands.
Because that's so much better.
"If you're expectin' me to keep a conversation goin', you got another thing comin'," I grunted at her, watching as she blinked awake from whatever thoughts she was having. She met my eyes and a bit of color rose in her cheeks, but she covered it by coughing into her fist. 'How much odd behavior before concern is warranted?' I wondered as she pulled herself together. "Something wrong over there?" immediately I began going through all other signifiers of discomfort and distress, my eyes zipping around what I could see of her before meeting her eyes when nothing stood out to me.
"Nothing for you to worry about," She said distractedly, as she stared at the table for a moment, "A personal matter. I'll deal with it."
"Despite how much you may dislike it, I'm your partner. And your friend, for all that's worth. It's my job to worry. Anything I can do, all you have to do is ask," I explained clinically. Instincts rumbled in the back of my throat, whatever animalism leftover from being [Half-Grimm] making itself clear even as I slammed down on the noise. When a member of the Pack had an issue, it was the Pack's problem. No exceptions.
It was also a lesson I was in the process of implementing in my own decision-making process.
"Always so generous," She huffed at me, and suddenly I was back in familiar territory; exasperation. She gave me an amused look, and I watched as her heartbeat calmed down and her blush dissipated, "So giving. Keep it up and you might give a girl the wrong idea."
"Comes with the territory," I returned easily, my smile once more in place, "Ain't gonna make me stop helpin' people."
She sighed and I could feel the amusement through [Dominion] even as she looked down her nose at me condescendingly, "Couldn't even pretend that I was special? For shame, Austin."
I didn't even look up from my book as I continued to soak in page after page of information for Fenrir, snorting openly at her words. "You're still around," I responded, my voice breaking and becoming rougher than I meant it to come out as, "That's pretty damn special to me." I glared at the Notification that popped directly after that.
[Charisma Check; Critical Failure!]
Internally I winced, as I had labelled this conversation as safe. Looked like I could still fuck up something this simple. Blearily, I exited the notification and noticed the surprised look on my partner's face as she processed my words, and I bit back a sigh as her blush threatened to creep back. Thankfully, it wasn't like I had said anything I didn't believe.
It just came out a little too truthful.
Desperate.
She sobered quickly, though I could see her preening under my unintentional praise, "As always, your honesty is… refreshing. I guess I should respond in kind," She explained carefully, and my eyes shot up and gave her my undivided attention. An opportunity to help was an opportunity to repay my debts. "I'm… a little lost, in all honesty. I've been rather focused on something ever since I was a little girl, when Janette read me to sleep. Tales that sounded far-fetched and outside of the realm of possibility, though I never quite cared about what others said. I had seen enough to prove to me the world was much larger than the minds of men and women," She shook her head derisively before continuing, as though she couldn't help the bitter tone that overtook her, and I was reminded of the deaths in her family. "The events of Last Month have proven to me that not only is Magic real, but so are the Brothers. But at the same time…" She showed no signs of discomfort or stress, as usual, but [Dominion] told me the truth.
She was worried.
"Scared?" I had a smile on my face as I said it, but it wasn't my normal smile. Much smaller, and pulled at the skin of my face less. Showed less teeth, and was just a softer sight on the eyes. I had seen others taunted with similar questions, but she did not take it that way and instead understood what I was getting at.
"Yes. Nothing makes sense. Stories that had been too outrageous for even me are true, the Dead walk again, and my teacher is a master of the elements," She gushed at me, only now finally losing her mask of an indifferent and unimpressed young woman. In her place was the anxious girl, dealing with monstrous powers beyond her abilities, "I expected the Old Wizard and the Witch to have been real, but to hear that the Brothers themselves exist? And used to interact in the daily lives of humans, that's terrifying! At any moment, I could simply be snuffed out, erased from existence and no one would even know. And that's not even taking into account all that could be learned about Magic…"
She gripped the bridge of her nose in annoyance, and I barked a laugh at her as [Dominion] made me aware of a smaller emotion, hiding beneath the fear. "You're excited, aren't you?" I may not like that I had essentially bound two of my friends souls to my own, but that didn't mean that it wasn't useful. I couldn't figure out how to turn off the Emotional feedback either, but that was no excuse.
The only thing that made up for it was the edge it gave them in combat.
She shot me a reproachful glare but I weathered it with a shit-eating grin. I waggled my eyebrows until she relented with a smile of her own, "Of course I'm excited. It's all Emily, Taylor and I have been able to talk about for the past few days, and I imagine that will not change for a while yet. Magic is real," She breathed out the words like saying them could warp reality. But they couldn't, so they didn't and instead I enjoyed her awe as she thought at incredible speeds about something that I had already sworn off.
I was compromising by working with my Aura.
I'm so gracious.
"Then what's the issue?" I asked once she was less giddy, and immediately the smile on her face became brittle. Most of her more mature attitude returned and she coughed into her fist once more. I wasn't complaining about seeing her so excited, but she seemed to be bothered by the transparency. She'd get used to it, I had a thing about breaking down walls.
Literally and metaphorically.
"I've been striving for personal power by any means necessary. And when I was growing up that was learning when to smile, when to listen, and when to act. How to get what I wanted from other people. Once I had gotten a hold of that form of power, I learned how to fight," her eyes flashed as she lightly frowned in my direction, "I've always kept my eyes peeled for opportunities to get a leg up on those that might end up being against me, and a memory of my Mother telling me the Story of the Seasons came up. I've looked into it and found traces of evidence that there is a powerful Magic that is transferred between women. An older Woman in Atlas, suddenly switching Semblances on a whim to stop a massive avalanche, with powers that makes what Marsha does look like child's play. The traces were scrubbed before I could do anything more than print out a copy of the Article, and I've been trying to keep an eye on things when I can. Never told anyone outside of my Mother, mostly just to avoid ridicule, not to mention that accessing private CCT communications without clearance is highly illegal."
"Ah yes," I rumbled at her as I watched her grumble to herself, "Because who would believe in Magic?"
"Who indeed," she agreed with a sardonic smile before sobering, "But that's no longer an issue. Magic has been proven, and I find no need to hide it any longer. And since there are reports on a Maiden on Mantle…"
"You want to take a detour and look into it," I finished as I thought it over, "I don't think Cosma would say dick, seein' as we're helpin' her out while we're there as well. Roman could say no, but I don't think he would. Just a bit of talkin' to people, maybe we book it if the old hag gets a little feisty, I'm sure he'd be up for it. He likes a good shot of adrenaline, the same as I do."
She narrowed her eyes at me, "You'd agree to go chase down a mythical power so easily?"
"Yes," I stated simply and definitively before going back to my book in, barely taking any time to read the Notification that appeared in front of my eyes. And then I felt them try to tear themselves from their sockets in protest to what I was seeing.
Companion Quest Received; [Ash and Burn]!
Pull this off and it'll be her Claim to Flame!
-Help Ashley investigate the Rumors of a Maiden on Mantle!
Rewards; + 10000 Exp, + 20 Free Points, + 10000 Reputation with [Ashley Charbon], [?] Trait, and -1000 Luck.
My Mini-Map spun up and highlighted the entirety of Atlas, but I knew that if Ashley had that article, and knowing her she had five copies of anything she had managed to find. The bigger issue was the rewards.
The only thing comparable is the [Monsters of Old] Quest, which is about taking out civilization ending Monsters. My eyes shot over to the young woman on the other side of the Table, finding her looking much more confident, and back to the girl I knew as my partner. I had agreed, and always would have, but that didn't stop the thoughts from going through my head as I stared back at the [Quest] Screen.
The hell had I just gotten myself into?
I jolted from my thoughts as Ashley rose from her seat and placed her book on the shelf next to our table. She paused when she passed me, before hesitantly gripping my shoulder. "We may give you grief, but you're a good friend to us. And the best partner I could have hoped for," She spoke shakily, and I felt how tight her grip was on my shoulder. I wondered what her face would look like if I turned around. I decided I wouldn't chance it and stayed still to let her speak, as she seemed to be having a rough enough time as it was. "I didn't expect that, if I'm honest. I thought you'd be a menace when you first showed back up. Refusing to listen to orders, getting detentions all over the place, and getting into fights. You acted like a goofball, and treated my Mother like she was just another student. But you care enough to listen. That's not what I wanted out of a Partner… But I think it's what I needed. So, thank you." She let go just as hesitantly as she had spoken before slipping off in between the aisles without another word.
I blinked at the jarring mental image I had of her as a very self-assured and confident person and the words she had just spoken, before settling back in and flipping through my book.
Wonder if Roman has a Quest to do while we're in Atlas, too?
End of Chapter.
Austin Staín
Class: [Outsider]:
Title: [Main Tank] ([Fist Whisperer])
Lvl 29: 1525/2900 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 86071/86071 HP Regen: 1978 Hp/Sec
Stm: 2597/2597, Stm Regen: 383 Stm/Sec
Ap: 15229/15229, Ap Regen: 384 Ap/Sec
Current Stress Level; [259/1103]; Natural Stress Relief; 1.05 per Minute.
(+5 per even Lvl, +6 per odd Lvl)Str: (178) 191
(+2 per odd Lvl, +3 per even Lvl)Dex: 64
(+7 per Lvl)Con: (230) 247
(+0 per Lvl)Agi: 9
(+0 per Lvl)Int: 1
(+1 per Lvl)Wis: 9
(-10 per Lvl)Cha: 1
(+5 per Lvl)Res: (129) 130
Free Points; 0.
Attribute Points; 0.
Atk: 1557
Max Thundering Blows Damage: 73979
Pistol Atk: 325
Def: Phys; 80%.
Mag; 0%.
Debuff; 80%.
Shell: Phys; 651 Damage.
Mag; 26 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] (Shattered Soul). Inherited from Fenrir.
[Shattered Soul]; -5 Luck per Level. Allows Access to [Half-Grimm] Race. -60% Ap and regen. Hereditary Curse.
[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.
[Fast Regenerator]; When most people lose limbs it's permanent...
Regenerate a fourth of your Con score worth of Hp per Second, half 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]; Allows use of the Skill [Teamwork] despite Stat Requirements.
[Direct Approach]; Hard heads Prevail!
When Attempting a Cha-based Skill check against someone with Res higher than Cha, Use Res as the Base instead.
[Strong Back]; Changes the Carry Weight equation from (Str*2.5+50) to (Str*3.75+50).
[Destiny Breaker]
The Chains that Bind will be severed, and I shall be the shearing force.
-20 Luck.
(100 - Luck)% chance to Break [Curses] and [Blessings] applied to you.
[Marked; [Subjects of Prophecy]]; All of those within the affected Group shall recognize you as [Chainbreaker], with the potential to be hostile.
?
-[Pack Animal]
Familiarity is your comfort.
(-50)% Relationship increases with those with Relationship Statuses below [Trusted (Level 3)].
(+100)% Relationship increases with those with Relationship Statuses above [Trusted (Level 3)].
- [Rampant Mutation]
Constant regeneration has left you more fit to Fight.
Add 25% of your Con to your Base Attack.
For every 5 points of Con ignore 1 Physical Damage for purposes of Damage.
Whoof. What a chapter.
Not much to say here this time, review if you have something to say.
Jericho Out.
