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Chapter Seven: A Daunting Hunt
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"That's a big Ursa!" - Speech
'I'm so tired.' - Thoughts
[Game Announcement]
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I don't own RWBY or The Gamer.
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Qrow Branwen walked around Beacon's empty halls alone. Darkened classrooms and a silent campus laid stark as Qrow stalked his way toward Ozpin's office. It was a bit odd to him, his old school was rarely ever so...off. Break was announced as the students had a few weeks of winter vacation before the next semester, but Qrow worked non stop.
His shadow lingered through the halls, his black tie swinging as Qrow walked silently.
He sipped from his flask calmly, continuing to admire the dark hallways of Beacon as he walked alone. No matter what, he was sure he was not gonna like whatever Ozpin had to say to him by the end of his walk.
Qrow sighed as the lights the elevator passed on the ascent to Ozpin's office flashed past him in beats. The last few weeks had not been easy, hitting his flask harder at the thought that it wouldn't get much easier.
He walked out into Ozpin's office to see Ozpin and a stone faced man by the name of General James Ironwood.
"So." Qrow announced himself. "Any good news or what?"
They turned to him calmly.
"I'm guessing...not." Qrow said.
Ironwood cleared his throat. "The White Fang has proven to change the tide of the war. They're proving harder to find."
"You have the best military in the world, and you can't find a group of terrorists hiding out in the woods?"
"They're not just a group of bandits Qrow." countered Ironwood. "I'm sure a veteran Huntsman like yourself should be able to find him. Adam Taurus isn't just an extraordinary fighter, he's also a cunning tactician. He's scared most witnesses into not co-operating, and has managed to stall most of our logistics, likely through deception or infiltration."
Qrow spoke. "Quick question. How exactly are we going to find them?"
"That's your task. Professors Oobleck and Port are going to assist you in finding and tracking the White Fang's base of operations and bring Taurus to justice." said Ozpin.
"Hasn't anyone else been able to find them first?" asked Qrow.
"Many tried. All have failed. Despite our best efforts, Taurus has been able to kill off, outmaneuver, or scare whoever we sent to find him." Ironwood crossed his arms.
"Sounds like we'd need higher caliber Huntsmen on this mission. Or some war tech, and unlike most folks you two have both." suggested Qrow.
"Glynda Goodwitch has a task of her own. We've already exhausted most of our available resources." said Ironwood.
Qrow squinted at them. "That's odd. There's something you're not telling me."
"We're going to station most of our troops and fleet around Beacon for the time being." Ironwood showed a hologram of his army. "We believe Vale might be a target in the next few months."
"So the Festival won't be cancelled." Qrow guessed correctly. "Call me paranoid but it sounds like gross negligence to just leave a school open knowing there's going to be an attack."
"We have no choice. Panic is not a better alternative." said Ozpin.
"According to Blake Belladonna and Jaune Arc, the White Fang are behind the trillions worth of military equipment, Lien, and Dust stolen from around the entire globe." Ironwood summarized. "We think whoever attacked Amber is planning to finish her off and soon."
"And that's what Glynda's working on? This might sound crazy, but people's lives are at stake here. You're sending kids off to fight a war we're not even ready for. You sent them all home to rest before something they have no idea that they're up against." Qrow said.
"The enemy is gearing up for a huge assault. We should be ready." Ozpin responded.
"You don't hear me complaining. But I know what we're facing, and I know for a fact we're not even close to stand up to it." Qrow drew his flask and turned around. "I'll be ready to head out by noon, I'll be waiting for them."
Before he could leave, Ironwood spoke out. "Qrow? Take Taurus alive, and don't let any hostages die."
A small nod was all the Pro Huntsman could do to accept such a difficult order.
After he left, Ironwood sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Things are not going to get any easier. He's right, we should cancel the Festival and keep everyone home." he turned to the horizon from the windows of Ozpin's office, knowing his fleet was on its way to Beacon. "This will look like we're getting ready for a siege, and it'll put everyone on edge."
"We're already on edge." responded Ozpin. "And we'll be ready when the time comes."
"Ozpin." Ironwood looked at him. "Be honest, can you guarantee Amber's safety?"
He shook his head. "We'll need to find a way to revive her. I've been putting together a strategy that might work."
"How?" asked Ironwood.
"Jaune Arc has a peculiar family history, and more Aura than anyone else I've known recently. If I'm right, he can grow it to a tremendous size and possibly be enough to heal Amber. And if not…"
Ironwood shook his head. "We're putting too much faith in him. I don't like any of this, but least of all someone with as little training as him. An Aura transfer would likely cause enough pain to scar him for the rest of his life, and if he lives somehow and he'll be linked to Amber forever."
"Transferring Amber's power to someone else isn't a much better option. I'll run the plan by Glynda next, if she agrees we'll have to start training Jaune personally. You'll have to help of course as well."
"What do you mean?" asked Ironwood. "You want to put your faith completely behind him?"
"His progress has been tremendous from the beginning of the semester. If my theory is correct, he has the most powerful Semblance of all time, and the inherent ability to excel at fighting."
"You mean…" Ironwood grew blank.
"Yes. It's possible he has Ignition, or some form of it."
Ironwood stayed silent for a moment. "How exactly does it work?"
"It transforms the user into an element of sorts and gives them all the traits of that element. Lionel for instance could control and shoot fire out of Aura, and was incorporeal, chaotic, and combustive. He used Fire, and moved like it, struck like it, and I believe became it. It's a Semblance like no other. Ignition hasn't been seen for over a hundred years, but it's possible Jaune inherited it. None of his sisters have it, and neither do his parents. My objective is to have Qrow train Jaune himself and take him on missions after the end of the Festival. To become the leading student in the war to come."
Ironwood barely knew what to say. "You want to train this... oblivious...clueless...foolish...weak boy into a super soldier?"
Ozpin sipped his tea. "Essentially yes. With the proper training he can grow even faster, and help us when the time comes. It may seem foolish, but we need to use all the tools available. Above all, we can't let Amber's power slip away."
"Jaune Arc is no fighter. No matter how much progress he's made and can make. I know soldiers, and from what Glynda's told me, he can't be one."
"Fate can sometimes be surprising." smiled Ozpin. "And legends are just that, surprising fates. Besides, something tells me Jaune Arc will be able to help us, who knows his Semblance could be multi faceted."
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Jaune's breath turned into mist around him as he panted, raising his sword and shield. He was standing on a frozen lake on the isle of Patch, taking on a field Dungeon to level up. Shrieking, a flaming green spirit monster burst up from the ice below. Jaune read the label above its head calmly.
[Ghost - LV 11]
Jaune dashed left and right, jumping to avoid the lime fireballs it flung at him. Unlocking Aura Sword, Crocea Mors glowed white as Jaune infused his aura into his attack, slashing the Ghost down in one decisive strike twisting his body into the attack. His sword left a white mark through the air as Jaune's strike flew through the air like a sparrow's wing.
[You have improved Swordfighting!]
[You have improved Aura Sword!]
[You have gained +1 STA!]
[You have gained +400 EXP!]
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Jaune took the opportunity to review his stats over his week's worth of improvement grinding at Dungeons and training.
Name: Jaune Arc
Class: The Gamer
Level: 10 (Next Level: 45.28%)
Title: Student/Huntsman in Training
Age: 17
HP: 707/750
AP: 731/800
SP: 712/750
STR: 16
STA: 14
DEX: 16 (-10)
INT: 16
WIS: 11
LUK: 7
Status: N/A
Perks: -Large Aura Pool (+50 AP and increased possible expansion of Aura)
Flaws: -Clumsy (-10 to DEX)
Skill Points: 15
Jaune took the chance as well to use Observe, which was now at LV 3 to note another Ghost's information when it appeared from the depths below the ice lake.
[Ghost - LV 11]
[HP: 300/SP: ?/?. Known Attacks: Fireball (A high energy fire attack that explodes on impact.), Slash (A raking claw attack that shears through aura.)]
Jaune dodged a Fireball and ran toward the spirit monster, using Power Strike to slash through it in one hit, throwing all of his energy to unleash a powerful slash.
[You have improved Swordfighting!]
[You have improved Power Strike!]
[You have gained +1 STA!]
[You have gained +400 EXP!]
Not getting a second of rest, another Ghost appeared from below and instantly used its claws to Slash at Jaune. His reflexes were sharp from the discipline gaming in the Abyss gave him, and he dodged the attack and raised his shield to block the Ghost's claw. Not a second later, Jaune [Thrust] his sword through the Ghost's chest, killing it right after [Tear]ing it in half.
As the Ghost shrieked in defeat before melting away into code, Jaune received the same notifications for defeating the Ghost again as well as a new one.
[You have gained +400 EXP!]
[You have gained +1000 EXP for completing the Haunted Lake Dungeon!]
[You have gained a new skill: Mana Bolt!]
[You have lost the Clumsy flaw!]
[You have gained the Sharp perk!]
[You have gained +1 LV!]
[You have gained +1 DEX!]
[You have gained +1 STR!]
Jaune measured his progress so far carefully. First, it became blatantly obvious that the Gamer boosted his power significantly, putting points into STR, DEX, and Power Strike made his attacks significantly faster, accurate, and stronger. It was absurd just how much Power Strike passively raised his attack damage range, besides the fact that Crocea Mors was just a really good sword.
Compared with the katana he had gotten from the Abyss Knight and how it performed in the Abyss, Jaune was significantly more impressed with Crocea Mors, it had great cutting range and dealt near absolutely the level of damage Jaune wanted.
Jaune began to walk off the frozen lake and back towards the camp ground before he got an idea. He decided to check [Skills] by thinking up the menu.
[Mana Bolt LV 1 (0/100). A skill that attacks by releasing AP into a fireable bolt of energy. Increases range and damage with INT.]
When Jaune reached the lake's shore he looked around to see if his friends could see him. As they couldn't, Jaune tested out the skill by flicking his wrist forward into a punch. Surprised, a white bolt of Aura flew forward and incinerated a bush upon impact. Shocked, Jaune instantly covered up and hid behind his shield after the blast.
Jaune lowered his shield slowly, surprised to see the shrub destroyed by the bolt.
Nodding to himself Jaune was liking this Gamer's skill even more, with time he could see himself getting even stronger.
After checking his [Status] Jaune read the reward defeating the Dungeon gave him.
Perks: -Large Aura Pool (+50 AP and increased possible expansion of Aura)
-Sharp (+5 to DEX)
Flaws:
Jaune smiled, the Gamer skill had helped make him and his reflexes even faster, deciding to use his new speed to run back to the campground faster. DEX seemed to be his overall speed and reflexes stat, and with proper training and leveling, his improvement had to be expected. As he approached the campground, sure enough, his DEX stat now sat at 32 with the loss of the Clumsy flaw making him very fast, meaning his speed was even much higher now, noted by how much quicker he reached the campground than when he left to beat the dungeon on the lake.
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Qrow flew through the trees as a Crow, the wind whistling through his black feathers as he went. Squawking, he tried to find the White Fang camp below using his sharp red eyes. He doubled back and spun back into a human before approaching the campfire.
Oobleck turned up to him sipping coffee from his thermos. "Well? Anything?"
Qrow shook his head. "No luck."
Port sighed, picking up a stick to stoke the fire as his axe-blunderbuss laid at his side. "I expect we'll be out here for a while. Might as well pass the time."
Qrow crossed his arms, sipping from his flask as he sat down. "Hmf. Don't see why not."
"I expect Adam Taurus to be tricky to deal with." Oobleck said.
"I do too," said Qrow.
Port chuckled. "He's what? Twenty two? Twenty three? The only hard part of this mission should be finding them."
"I don't think so." Qrow shook his head.
"So, how do you expect we'll do in the Festival this year?" wondered Oobleck.
"Quite well I think." Port said from his tree stump.
Not enjoying his company, Qrow groaned. "I'm gonna try again."
"Grimm are fiercer at night, you sure-"
"I'll be fine Port." Qrow rolled his eyes as he pushed off the tree behind him.
Qrow stalked off with his hands in his pockets. 'This is some assignment.' He drew his flask, before realizing it was empty, Qrow sighed and put it away again.
Qrow stopped walking, his instincts sharply tuned from years of Pro Huntsman work.
He knelt, passing his hand over the ground. Qrow picked up some dirt, rolling it between his fingers and observing it, he soon recognized it as difficult to spot but fresh motorcycle tracks on the imprint of the tough forest floor. Before he could leave to tell Port and Oobleck, Qrow gasped quietly hearing a voice.
"What is it? The transmission?"
"No, it has to be the engine or something."
Qrow slinked quietly over to his perch transforming quickly into a Crow, looking below on the scene from a tree branch.
"Adam wants us back at base before sunrise, we'd better go." the Faunus said as his friend poked around at his motorcycle with a wrench.
"Well we can't until I get this fixed! Just quit your whining." said the other White Fang grunt.
Qrow nonchalantly ruffled his feathers, brushing his beak into his weak to try and not draw attention. He was mentally noting how the motorcycles were both packed with large wooden crates on either side of them.
"What?"
The Faunus looked up at Qrow, who just stared ahead like nothing was wrong.
"It's just a bird."
"I could've sworn it was looking at me."
The Faunus knelt and turned the wrench quickly, nodding to himself, the White Fang member stood up. "A spring was loose. I could've broken my neck! My neck!"
"Yeah yeah." the other Faunus got back on his motorcycle and started it up, pulling away deeper into the forest with his buddy as Qrow flew back to the campsite.
"We got 'em." Qrow made Port jump when he appeared out of the shadows. "Let's go."
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"There are the missing crew." Oobleck looked through his binoculars at the hostages in their cages. He turned his vision over to the tents, seeing Adam leave his. "And that's Taurus. This is definitely it."
"What about the equipment?" Qrow snatched the binoculars from Oobleck without even asking for them. As he looked into the camp he spoke. "This has to be some sort of outpost. There aren't any Paladins around."
The three stopped talking and hid in the brush around them as a motorcycle rushed past, the White Fang making sure to set a proper perimeter to keep out uninvited guests.
"How do we proceed?" Port wondered when the guard was well out of earshot.
"They have a decent number of bikes. Taurus could get away before we've managed to capture him. That's even if we can subdue him." noted Oobleck. "We need to free the hostages first, if we can arm them in time they might be able to turn the tides in our favor."
"Agreed." Qrow said overlooking the sheer number of tents laid inside the base's tall wooden walls.
White Fang members were posted in guard towers to keep a lookout in case of an attack.
"What do we do? We should let Ironwood know." suggested Port.
"No." Qrow said. "Something tells me how mobile the camp looks is why no one's been able to locate it properly. They probably carry enough equipment around to move around their base so no one can find them. If we leave we'll lose our only shot. It's now or never." he said dropping his binoculars and running forward.
"Qrow!" Port hissed.
He turned into a crow and fluttered up to the open window of a guard tower.
Before the guards could react Qrow retaliated by turning back into a person by the time they'd realized he'd appeared.
In a flash, Qrow punched the White Fang guard in the face, knocking him out cold and smashing through his aura. Before his friend could sound the alarm, Qrow went for a leg sweep and kicked his head, knocking him out as well.
Qrow turned to the window and called out with a mastered bird call.
After pulling Oobleck up holding out his scythe's handle, Port's legs wiggled in the air as the tubby man faltered under his grip on Qrow's weapon.
Giving a gasp of relief, Port fell onto the guard tower floor as Qrow looked into the camp below calmly. "So, what's the plan?"
"I'm working on it." him and Oobleck turned away when a guard's flashlight went up to the guard tower.
"You mind telling us what it is?" asked Port.
Ignoring him, Qrow watched the same grunts he saw in the forest load rifles from the motorcycle packs. "Yeah…" Qrow nodded to himself before turning around and telling the Professors the plan.
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Jaune zoned out as Yang told a story around the campfire. He honestly wasn't particularly interested. He was too busy trying to figure out if there was a way to learn Fireball or other attacks from mobs in the Abyss.
Bored, Blake stood up and walked away from the campfire as Nora laughed at a certain part of the story, folding her book into the warmth of her coat.
Jaune followed her, making sure no one else could see him, Jaune walked after Blake when she went off to stand alone at the pier.
"It's kind of cold out here." Jaune spoke out to her.
Blake said nothing, staring over the frozen lake.
"You could." Jaune cleared his throat. "Warm up by the fire."
"Jaune, do you ever run over in your head why you came to Beacon? Do you ever think about why you decided to become a Huntsman?"
Nodding slowly, Jaune approached her, sitting down at the pier. "Yeah." Jaune put his hands into the black pockets of his hoodie. "Yeah I do. Why?"
"I'm starting to doubt my decision to become a Huntress."
Jaune looked up at her. "You look tired Blake."
"I can barely sleep these days. Every day I hear about how Adam is out there, killing people. Fighting a war without cause, creating senseless violence. And somehow, I feel like it's all my fault."
Jaune turned away from Blake to look over the frozen lake, listening to the quiet background of chirping crickets in the forest. "But...why would you ever feel guilty about that?"
"I'm constantly reminded about my failure to turn the White Fang into what I wanted it to be. On what it needed to be. Everyday Torchwick, and Adam, and whoever else is out there getting ready to fight us. And we're just." Blake looked back at the campfire. "Telling dumb stories. Out in the woods."
Jaune snickered. "I'm reminded of failure too. A lot really."
"H-how?" Blake sat down next to him on the pier.
"I wasn't meant to be a Huntsman. I spent my whole life goofing off, without a care in the world. Until one day I decided I had had enough. Enough of watching my entire family live up to their name, while I wallowed in self pity. And when I came here everything sucked. I sucked at fighting, I was bullied by Cardin, I was a terrible leader. And then all of a sudden when I felt like quitting, and that's when I got it." said Jaune.
"Got what?" Blake wondered.
"A sign." Jaune said. "I sign that I should stay."
"Well what was it?"
Jaune thought about how difficult the Gamer would be to explain. It provided a power from another dimension to him that was the reason for his sudden uptick in ability. "Nothing I guess. But I actually understand what it feels like. But that guilt, that shame. It's just not good."
"Jaune, tell me honestly. Why were you with us on the docks that night?" Blake asked.
"I just...wanted to be I guess."
"That doesn't make any sense. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were looking for me. And Penny happened to be following Ruby around."
Jaune looked aside. "I don't know I can be pretty careless sometimes."
"Tell me about it. Not to mention clumsy." Blake stood up and began to walk away. "And clueless. Just look at the way Pyrrha looks at you."
This caught Jaune off guard. "Sorry what?"
He looked off to the campfire to see look at his teammate. Pyrrha laughed along with Nora, Sun, and Ruby and the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR. It took Jaune a second to realize it, but he was pretty sure Blake might've been kidding.
'But what if she's not?'
Jaune shook his head out of his thoughts. He had to return to the campfire for now, and enjoy what remained of his winter break.
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So I'm back. I'm updating a Fire Emblem fanfic and likely an SAO rewrite of Assassin's Game since I hear SAO Progressive is coming back! Thank you all so much for reading the support's been absolutely amazing! I'll see you guys at the next chapter!