The Arcane Craftsman

by The White Wulf

The class system was rigid. Everyone has a role. A hero fights, a noble leads, and the laborers work. But there existed a class above all others. Since the dawn of history the prestige class was filled with heroes, warriors of unparalleled might and exceptional growth. Until a laborer got stuck in a dungeon. Behold the Arcane Craftsman, the first prestige labor class.

11. Chapter 11

Updated February 2021.

The Arcane Craftsman Chapter 11

It was dark. Yet it wasn't. Jaune had left the punishment zone refreshed and healed from his latest battle. When he had arrived back into his own world, he was in a room that was completely pitch dark. At first, he couldn't see a thing but suddenly his vision cleared up and he could see where everything was. Which led to a rather unexpected surprise.

"Where am I?" asked Jaune.

He was in a room he didn't recognize surrounded by furniture and other such pieces.

"BWAK".

Jaune chuckled a bit as his Wyvern friend waddled around the room.

"You're gonna have to stay in my shadow for a bit buddy. Also, you need a name."

"Bwak?"

Nothing came to mind now but Jaune would eventually give the little Wyvern a name. Jaune felt his eyes starting to hurt as he was in the room so he closed them to rest.

"OH so that's what the dark vision was all about" muttered Jaune.

It was an ability bestowed upon Jaune in his titles. One that he didn't even realize he was using. It must have been what allowed him to see in the dark when he was chained up…and that black space he couldn't have seen through must have been magic.

"Wondered it left me alone" grumbled Jaune.

"Jaune is that you?"

Jaune nearly jumped out of his skin as the door opened revealing a befuddled Weiss.

"Uh…hi" muttered Jaune.

The Wyvern had already dispersed at this point, having greater sensory abilities than Jaune did.

"Hi" muttered Weiss "I just sensed your mana now. I didn't realize you were home."

"Sorry about that…and what?"

"Your mana?" asked Weiss "I thought you were practicing reigning it in since you disappeared from my senses."

"Oh you mean that! I didn't realize you could sense that."

Weiss stared at the horrible liar that was Jaune.

"…..hehe" he muttered.

Weiss sighed.

"At least your home safe but you could have told us that you were exploring the house. We were beginning to wonder where you went."

"Sorry" chuckled Jaune "didn't see anybody on my way in."

"So, you didn't come across that thief on the path."

Jaune rose an eyebrow. Weiss sighed in relief.

"Good. We had someone visit today…wanted to extend an offer to you for some business. You weren't here at the time so he said he'd come by later. Not too sure about that man. Was hoping we could wait until after the all the nobles left."

Jaune nodded. He thought that four hours being gone wasn't going to be that bad. But he had missed quite a bit it would seem. Jaune left the room which was located in the basement. Suddenly Jaune saw a tear that was purple crackling at the spot the gate once stood. He almost screamed out but noticed that Weiss didn't even look in the burgeoning gate's direction. He could feel a pulse of magic coming from his inventory. With a quick look Jaune noticed that the dungeon key was now a searing purple.

"Really Salem!?" thought Jaune

The chuckle that revibrated through his skull did nothing to reassure Jaune. Of course, the Trickster would have the gate this key opens in his damn basement…WITH EVERYONE ELSE HE LIVES WITH.

"But if Weiss can't see the crack…does that mean they can't see the gate?"

That would be convenient. NOT.

Jaune sighed in aggravation. He was hoping that he could open it wherever he wanted but that wasn't the case. Apparently, Weiss could sense his mana and if he wasn't careful and simply disappeared from her senses, she might get worried. Not to mention everyone else he lives with!

"You alright Jaune?"

Jaune sighed at Weiss and nodded.

"Just…worried about the gathering."

Weiss seemed confused until she realized he was talking about the nobles.

"Ah…I don't know what I can say to reassure you aside from that fact you succeeded twice before."

Jaune sighed. Both times he had good materials…no…that was just an excuse. Now that he was B rank, he could technically just allow the Umbra Stone to eat his mana and alter itself accordingly. It was for this reason that Umbra Stone was such a rare material for building. It was strong and durable but the inclusion of so much mana made the color and makeup unusual along with the fact that there was a limit to how much the stone could handle. As such it could turn out rather…crappy in terms of looks. Painting it over was a waste since the paint was obvious. There was also the Damascus Steel to consider. While the metal itself isn't worth much in terms of magic, the crafting process was. Jaune firmly believed that the process that created Damascus Steel was more important than the original product itself. With the addition of biomass, which could come from a variety of sources, Jaune could in theory adjust the steel to suit any kind project. Granted there was a limit but the overall versatility was a boon in this instance.

The issue wasn't ability…the issue was the chance this whole situation provided.

"I'm worried I might not be impressive enough."

Weiss blinked.

"Jaune your weapons are stable and strong. The first successful B rank. What are you trying to accomplish that makes you think you have to do any better than you are now?"

It went unsaid that there was technically a successful A rank…but that wasn't forged by human hands.

"….The nobles are coming from all across the country but also beyond. There's people coming from a few of the clans of Vacuo, the nobles of Minstril, and…"

"…and Atlas" muttered Weiss "you're trying to get an invitation."

Atlas was the world's center of learning and Magic…but the process to enter the country was extensive. Years of foreign invaders and attacks by the sea and left the magic heavy country with laws that forbade any boat from arriving uninvited and centuries of magic circles that made attacks from the sea simply catastrophic. The mages of Atlas used these "laws" and magic circles as an excuse to prevent outsiders from their lands in the not-so-distant past.

Now a days that wasn't as much of an issue. Many nobles, heroes, and labourers made their way into and out of Atlas on a daily basis but were scanned thoroughly through a border control division. As such Jaune was certain that Uther would twist those laws and use the magic circles against him if he ever tried to come in "uninvited" and through the normal process. But an invitation was different. With it was an escort to Atlas and without the usual procedures. Much like Beacon let in prodigies and incredibly unique individuals to learn in their school, the other Kingdoms offered similar situations. With it he could avoid the scans and hopefully avoid Uther's detection. He had a different name and a different class. Without those scans he was confident that Uther wouldn't recognize him from a distance. He was making this up as he went along but better to attempt a plan and act than to spend all his time wallowing for a perfect plan that didn't exist. He was done sitting on his ass.

"I am" stated Jaune "I'm confident I have something that could counter-act the Giess but until I can test it, I'm not sure. Giess's are strictly kept in Atlas at the moment…and I don't want to test how long it will take for them to spread."

Dismantle was a good skill, something that allowed Jaune to break items. Thanks to Bluebeard Jaune knew that he could technically break items of a higher rank than himself. Question was…would it work on something that bonded people purely by magic in the first place? Jaune was placing his bets on the fact that the physical paper of the Giess would somehow allow Jaune to interface with the mana between the two people…he hoped.

He needed to get to Atlas…and thus far…this was his best chance.

"You are dead set on this?" asked Weiss.

Jaune nodded.

"I see" she murmured.

"in that case…what can we do to help?"

Jaune blinked, noticing that Ren and Nora were on their way down. Jaune would later learn that the two of them have used the basement to battle out Nora's lust for combat the last couple of days including now. The sheer height of the ceiling made it perfect for their purposes.

"You seem to be trying to procure materials at the moment. Do you have an idea of what you want to make?"

Jaune sighed as he shook his head.

"No, I don't. Which is why I wanted to ask you guys if you needed something. Making something for the sake of it is a little difficult. I find I work best when I have a project to focus on. I like my pieces to be unique and used rather than created and tossed aside…guess that's why I'm having a stump."

Ren nodded and rubbed his chin. Jaune noticed the blade he kept at his side and couldn't help but be intrigued at the unique shape of the sword. The Katana, the staple weapon of Vacuo to the point that it was rumoured that the "Samurai" class couldn't equip any other sword. Considering Jaune had never seen a Samurai use something else, aside from Axes and other non-sword weapons, he was inclined to believe it. Nora giggled, her eyes a searing blue at the moment.

"What about Renny!"

Jaune blinked.

"What?"

Nora giggled as Ren looked apprehensive.

"Come on Ren time for an upgrade!"

"Nora…no."

Nora blinked.

"….But Ren?"

Ren smiled sadly as he rubbed the hilt of his sword.
"I said no Nora. I can't…I just can't let this go. I can take a bow if you want Jaune, you've yet to make something like that."

Jaune noticed the way that Ren handled the sword…it was the same way he handled Caliburn and his shroud.

"I understand" smiled Jaune.

Ren smirked, thankful.

"I see that you've decided to wear something from Vacuo today. I was unaware that you had such a taste for that style."

Ren seemed mirthful and nostalgic as he looked at Jaune's clothing. Jaune proceeded to realize that yes…yes he was wearing something that he bought from the system.

"I can feel the mana coming from this" smiled Weiss "it's an excellent piece. Did you get it from the auction house?"

"…..Yes" smiled Jaune.

"Must have cost a lot" murmured Nora "I know armor is expensive! Looks sick though…wanna fight?"

Nora's eyes seem to spark as the hunger of a berserker thrummed at full strength. Jaune's eyes widened as he realized the perfect lie just presented itself.

"It was cheap actually" said Jaune "it just has high resistance to fire and was pretty weak in combat and I'm good Nora."

It was cheap since it was free and it offered zero combat benefits aside from keeping Jaune's naked body covered in clothes when he burst into flames…thank the gods. Normally Jaune would obliged Nora but considering he just had a fight to the death he was good.

"Trying to solve the whole clothing issue" smirked Weiss.

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"Your little escape from that forge you destroyed was not unnoticed" smiled Weiss "a few students have reported you sleeping naked in the forge when they went to investigate."

Jaune always wondered why nobody was around when he woke up and decimated that poor thing.

"…Oh."

Weiss snorted and shook her head. Jaune couldn't help but keep staring at the Katana.

"Ren" asked Jaune "is it alright if I inspect this? I learned a way to copy designs with my skills."

Ren blinked and gripped the sword. He seemed to consider something and nodded.

"Here."

Jaune took the Katana and drew it. The gleaming metal was worked by a master but Jaune could sense something was wrong the second he tried to interface with it. With a spark of Structural Analysis and Reinforcement prolonged beyond its initial use Jaune saw the sword for what it was.

The hollow corpse of a blade.

Images rushed into Jaune's head. This sword was old and was the remade fragments of something that was once greater bounded to a lineage formed from demon slayers. Something had happened to this sword…no he could see it. Someone had broken the sword in a fight…a fight between brothers. The elder cracked the sword with something…an item of incredible power. There was hatred in him as he gripped what this blade once was, attempting to exert his will. The blade's power retreated within itself, escaping the man's grasp. But a blade was still a blade and the man looked at the boy crying over the corpse of his brother and brought the blade down on him.

Only for the sword to shatter rather than extract the poor boy's life.

"JAUNE!"

Jaune jittered back as he was brought back to reality.

"What happened?" asked Weiss "Are you alright?"

Jaune took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yea I'm alright. Just…just realized this is hollow."

Jaune didn't want to say anything…especially when he realized that the little boy in that vision was none other than Ren. There was no mistaking the boy's hair, that pink stripe within it.

Ren took it a bit harder than he thought. He seemed forlorn and distraught for a moment before schooling his features.

"The sword requires constant maintenance for a C rank" said Jaune

With Jaune's magic he could feel what little remained of the sword's power. Reduced from once great heights to a drop of what it once was…but there was more…something else.

"Sorry Ren….give me a second."

Ren seemed uncomfortable but allowed Jaune to do what he wanted. Jaune burst his magic through and gave the C rank sword a full repair. The constant friction from combat and the remnant of energy within the sword slowly grated on the blade and reduced its durability over time. That burst of energy had shown Jaune something though…an image of a dark-haired man surrounded by mages, grinning as he took the broken pieces into his forge. Broken as the sword was it should have had a strong vestige of Ren's father. Jaune's own fragment of Caliburn was merely the hilt yet Arturia's mana could felt quiet clearly.…yet Jaune barely felt anything.

Now he knew why.

Jaune gritted his teeth as he focused beyond the limit.

"Jaune?" asked Weiss worriedly.

Structural Analysis.

Ren blinked as his sword glowed blue. Lines interfacing through the metal. A bubble of something came up…making Ren freeze.

Reinforcement.

Jaune sealed the cracks, both physical and magical, as best as he could. But the blade ruptured here and there. Yet…he could feel it, underneath the damage. It was like a scab hiding healing skin, magic that was kept away. The blacksmith had attempted to recreate an A rank weapon from the fragments of one, completely ignoring the vestiges within. Quickly something bubbled to the surface only to get sucked back in. Ren felt his eyes water.

Grind.

Jaune gritted his teeth as he could feel the energy away from his reach. What if he? Jaune lost his focus as he came to an epiphany. The sword stopped glowing, only a tad stronger than before. While the ranking of the magic was merely C the blade itself was still formed from something that was once greater. It laid there, dormant and untouched.

"….Thank you…Jaune" smiled Ren.

Jaune sighed.

"I could only bring it out for a moment."

"What…was that a vestige?" asked Weiss.

"It was my father…what part of him remained."

Ren smiled as he took the blade from Jaune. The durability had increased a bit but that was it. The magic was gone…only having been sparked from Jaune's interference.

"Thank you" smiled Ren "for trying."

Jaune scowled as Ren walked past him. The smile…that defeated smile. It pissed him off what happened. What he saw…

It was like looking in a mirror.

It was the smile Jaune had when he finally accepted that there was nothing he could do about his situation. When his father had succumbed to the sleep and that he had to in as a porter to make ends meet and save up for his father. Jaune tightened his grip as he remembered the visions that he saw. Of that blacksmith whose smile was filled with manic greed. It went against everything Jaune stood for as a craftsman. For what Jaune had seen as he attempted to repair the blade was that the broken fragments were never returned to Ren. They were taken. Used and destroyed to the point that there was nothing left of what once was. A blade had been formed yes. Weak and nothing like it once was. When Ren was given this as a child, he was told one thing.

This was a blade fit for a Hanyou.

His father's sole remaining item…the only thing that could have possibly housed a vestige…destroyed for a chance to achieve something. Then thrown in the boy's face the reason for his father's murder and the destruction of what remained of him.

"Jaune" whispered Weiss.

Jaune took a breath.

"I'm sorry…I just…saw some things….things I doubt Ren wanted me to see."

"Will you be ok?" asked Weiss.

"Yea" muttered Jaune "I just want to sleep…I've had a long day."

Weiss nodded and made her way up the stairs. Ren had begun sparring with Nora. Jaune just wanted to sleep. It seemed a natural progression of the day. Except…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Jaune sighed as he and Weiss went to the door.

"Who?" she muttered.

"Is it the others?" asked Jaune.

"Yang went to the city with Ruby for something while Blake was talking about calling her parents."

Ah, right. The communication towers. At the town Jaune lived in they didn't really have much of one but even he knew of what they were. A means of long-distance communication that had become the norm for their modern society. When Jaune was a child in Atlas those towers were common place. Apparently, Atlas had somehow made a hand-held device that connected to said tower but Jaune called bullshit.

Well…than again these were the same super mages that somehow made a chubby electrocuting mouse once. Long story, don't ask. It was cute though. While Jaune had issues with some of the members he would not ignore how many wonders the mages of the Clocktower made.

"Interesting" muttered Jaune "what about Pyrrha."

"Apparently she needed to make a call to her family…she mentioned today was her brother's birthday. She should be back soon though."

The sound of knocking was apparent but the sound of construction was also joining the music.

"They're still working?" muttered Jaune.

"They haven't stopped. Apparently, Coco refuses to stop until we have a functioning bathroom. She succeeded at two for the women but Fox and Yatsuhashi had to remind her they also needed working baths and showers. Apparently, they've decided to make some kind of bathhouse as well."

"….Uh….ok but where?" asked Jaune.

Weiss shrugged.

"She said they're building it outside with a pathway from the building. I didn't ask for the details. You'll find two functioning bathrooms upstairs in the Northern wing. "

"What about their actual business?" chuckled Jaune.

"They finished it the second they got here" stated Weiss seriously.

"What?" whispered Jaune.

"Velvet's class allows her to alter entire buildings at once. It used up all her mana but they managed to recreate the entire east wing in under five minutes. She's been asleep upstairs since then. It was…humbling to say the least. I'm starting to understand why Ozpin brought her here."

Jaune did as well. That was something that could be abused by the nobility heavily. Since nobility gained EXP from commissioning buildings, ruling an area, and quite honestly business deals, the fact that Velvet could alter a normal size building would be horribly abused. At least through Beacon Velvet was ok and had protection before setting out. Jaune could tell to. As they approached the door Jaune could see that the walls were fixed and pristine on the east wing. Jaune opened the door and jumped back at the snappily dressed man holding his hand out.

"The name is Roman Torchwick" he smirked "and I've been looking for you."

Jaune slowly shook the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you" he muttered.

Weiss sighed.

"We told you he'd be here tomorrow."

"Yet, he is here now" smiled Roman "besides I've come baring some news."

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"What kind of news."

"Oh, the kind I think you'll find interesting. Rest assured I will tell you regardless but I'd like to get my sales pitch out of the way."

Jaune blinked. Straight forward but subtle. He could agree with that.

"Alright" said Jaune crossing his arms.

"Good" smiled Roman "now I'm not sure if you're friends have introduced me fully but I am Roman Torchwich, I run the black market."

Jaune blinked.

"The whole thing?" asked Jaune.

"The whole thing" smirked Roman "I used to be the leader of the Thieves guild too but that got old pretty quick."

"What happened?" asked Jaune.

"Too many rules. Imagine that."

Roman rolled his shoulders as a small woman smiled from behind him.

"I've heard the nobles have been causing you a hassle. The Merchant guild basically blacklisting you to the point you had to fight for this dump…although its already looking pretty good on the east side. Good."

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"Means you're resourceful and I like to keep resourceful people as close to me as I can. Makes business smoother."

"I thought a thief would be suited to taking things rather than negotiating for them?" asked Jaune.

"You'd think" smiled Roman "normally there would be a bit of a bite to that statement but you seem pretty chill."

"I've worked with thieves before. They had more honor than most. So what did you want?"

"I want a direct line to your very…unique products."

"I'm not gonna be forging often" warned Jaune.
"Oh, I'm well aware no worry about that. It is precisely why I think this venture will be so successful."

Jaune nodded but if he was honest, he was a little concerned how Roman knew that. There was a couple of reasons Jaune wasn't going to stuff himself into a forge. If he started forging random weapons, he could in theory level up. The issue was that there was no garuntee that he would find strong materials for cheap. Making weapons from cheap materials gave weak EXP. Much like how fighting weak monsters for strong heroes gave next to nothing. There was of course bonus exp for doing new things but that only went so far.

There was also a money issue. If he stayed in the forge and focused entirely on crafting, he needed a large sum of money to keep it going. It was far more efficient to go to dungeons, gather materials, get money off drops, and level up through combat than come home and craft weapons that pushed his mana to the brink. There was of course working for the kingdom…but honestly?

Jaune liked his freedom.

Most weapons heroes acquire was through either trading or selling items through an auction house. If Jaune built a store that circumvented that he would make bank no doubt. The issue was that he couldn't keep up with the demand. Hundreds of thousands of heroes in Vale alone would come flooding for his weapons, especially if he could make them custom.

Jaune loved crafting but he wasn't going to stick himself inside a forge and call it a day.

"Yes. But what do you want?"

"Well" smiled Roman "imagine this. The Arcane Craftsman…there's nothing to say but that he is an artist! But…his muse is a fickle mistress. He only crafts when it strikes but I know him personally. He owes me one. If you wanted, I can request a weapon and get you hooked up…but it will cost you."

Roman turned and offered his hand.

"Fifty-Fifty split of the profits. Seventy-Thirty if you're the one supplying the materials and 70-30 me if I supply it. We can negotiate if necessary, in a formal proceeding obviously, but that's the gist of what I want to offer. Not only does that give you the freedom to do what you want but it could give you a side job. I'll let you know in advance when I have a job lined up."

"Why do this?" asked Jaune.

"Simple" smiled Roman "I smell money. I find infringing on someone's basic rights are not a good way to do business. Not only that but all I have to do is gather materials and talk and I make money! It's a win win."

"The materials I need would be B rank minimum" stated Jaune.

The grin that Roman shot his way was pure and utter confidence.

"You'd be quite surprised what heroes throw away as useless."

Jaune smirked and thought about it.

"It's your choice Jaune."

Weiss had remained silent for the most part and would do so for the rest. While they were a guild that only went so far. She wouldn't try to infringe on everyone's freedoms to pursue what they want, within reason obviously.

"…So just custom jobs" stated Jaune.

Roman nodded.

"If I were to sign anything you would probably want this to be a partnership with just you?"

Roman grinned even further.

"You want to attack the Merchants Guild."

Roman chuckled.

"Oh, you're good. You can say that me and the nobles have a bit of a…history. Keeping you away from them lets me hurt their business while building my own."

Jaune smirked as he shook Roman's hand.

"If they go through you, I'll take the jobs but I wont' stop anyone from approaching me."

Roman shrugged.

"Works for me. I'm graduating this year so this is more to increase my reputation anyways. The fact that I was the only one to do business with the Arcane Craftsman will do wonders for my future endeavours. Besides if you somehow do the impossible and make A ranks…well my friend me and you will have a lot of business in the future."

With that Roman turned to leave.

"Oh…I almost forgot."

He turned to Jaune.

"That noble gathering you're forging in front of."

"How do you?" asked Weiss.

"I'm a thief I know things. Anyways they're already here and are going to make you forge tomorrow."

Jaune stilled.

"What? But I thought?"

"Yes but no" muttered Roman "apparently they want to disrupt any possible faking from the Vale and Beacon governments. Don't know why all things considered but whatever. So yes, expect them tomorrow."

Jaune kind of understood. If he could do it before obviously, he could do it on command…and he could. The issue was that he now didn't have that safety net. What the hell could he make? All he had was Umbral Stone and some basic materials!? Damascus Steel was fine but the one he had on hand was already forged. Any addition to its make-up would simply shatter the blade. The armor of Igris took A rank materials to make and Jaune wasn't making that damn mistake again.

Jaune felt the key still thrumming in his inventory. It was his only chance.

"Thank you" sputtered Jaune "for the help."

"Thank you for the business!"

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

"Seems you're out of time."

"I know" said Jaune.

"Will you be alright."

Jaune sighed.

"Yea…just need to think."

Weiss nodded and began to put her shoes on for leaving the house.

…..there was not a chance.

"Where to?" asked Jaune innocently.

"I'm heading to Professor Oobleck. There are some things I wish to look over regarding our guild house. I'm paranoid about the Merchant's guild somehow interfering again. So, I want to make sure everything was ironclad in our paper work."

Jaune hid his smile.

"You work hard, you should relax when you get home."

Weiss snorted as she left.

"How sad is it that this is the least stressed I've been in years. I'll see everyone later tonight."

Jaune waved her goodbye. From what little he knew of Weiss he was sure she was also going to be checking in on basic contracts in Beacon. He heard Nora and Ren coming up the stairs. Nora looked as if she had just received a rejuvenating bath. Ren looked like he fought a bear blindfolded and without a weapon.

"Jaune" he nodded.

"Weiss left already huh?" stated Nora "gotta get going myself. Got some things I need to talk to professor Port about."

Nora ran out the door waving good-bye. Jaune was trying to hide a shit eating grin.

"What is she doing?" asked Jaune.

"She's going to finally sit down and talk with some teachers about getting some of the class aids. Some classes have negative feedbacks for their users so some of the Beacon classes teach us how to deal with them."

"Like Samurai's being stuck with Katana's?" asked Jaune.

Ren rolled his eyes.

"For the love of…you too? What is with everyone and believing that?"

Jaune blinked. But the system had said?

ALERT!

Gotcha Kiddo.

Jaune stared at the system notification and narrowed his eyes. Again and again this whole thing kept being so…odd…and if Jaune's eyes weren't playing tricks on him he could swear there was a tinge of purple in the screens sometimes.

"No" thought Jaune "that's just me. Gods I need sleep."

Physically Jaune was as awake and rested as a person could possibly be. Mentally…the stress had yet to be relieved.

"I'm heading to bed" stated Ren "my fight with Nora exhausted me and you seem distracted."

Jaune opened his mouth and grabbed Ren as he walked by. Ren looked confused as Jaune pulled him close. Stressed or not, excited or not, there was some things that needed to be said.

"Hey Ren I…when…when I repaired your sword I…I saw things. Things I don't think you would have ever shared with anyone…except maybe Nora."

Ren looked spooked at first but Jaune shook his head.

"We don't have to talk about it, ever. But it didn't sit right with me not to let you know. I just wanted to saw that…what you are isn't important to me. I'm friends with you regardless."

Ren opened his mouth as Jaune let go and swallowed.

"We're more alike than I thought. You're….like me. Different but…"

Jaune nodded.

"….Thank you. For now I'd like to sleep though. Where are you going?" asked Ren.

"The basement. I think I'll check a few of the rooms, see if they have anything salvageable anyway before getting some sleep myself. Apparently, the nobles want me to forge for them tomorrow now."

As Ren nodded and walked away Jaune smiled as he rushed to the basement. He quickly went back up the stairs and checked around.

"Just in and out" muttered Jaune "system can I leave the tower dungeon whenever I want?"

The tower dungeon is an exclusive access dungeon. As such so long as the player holds the access key, they are able to use it to come and go as they wish.

"Excellent."

Jaune was hoping that he would get something good to use. The goal was the same as last time but nothing major. He couldn't afford to be gone for long. From what he could infer he would be gone the same amount of time that he was in the dungeon. Jaune wanted options, hence why he would just pop in and than get out. If he didn't see any new materials than he would call it a day and simply prepare for tomorrow the best he could do. He knew he could make B ranks…but he needed to be as amazing as possible. Jaune stilled as he neared the basement on that final step. He took a breath…he was letting all of this get away from him.

He closed his eyes and focused as best he could. He was rushing…and if he was honest, he had been rushing since Ozpin had announced that nobles from across the kingdoms were coming. His death had shown him just how fleeting life could be…but even he needed to slow down.

"Alright" breathed Jaune, taking out the key "let's check this place out."

As he walked to the crack that only he could see the key began to glow even brighter.

The Player is near the gate. Would you like to open the "Tower Dungeon".

Jaune clenched the key and nodded. He felt the urge to twist the key. Suddenly the gate opened up as a swirling purple, different from the standard blue or red. The gate was more stable than any Jaune had ever seen. The twisting energy swirling about as if a calm lake. Without a second thought Jaune entered, unaware of the echoing footsteps of someone coming down.

Weiss sighed as she rubbed her head.

"Always forgetting" she grumbled, having forgotten the guild paper work from downstairs. In lack of an office Weiss had been storing their documents in the safe the original deed was in. A swirling mass of purple should have been a lightshow in the poorly lit basement but Weiss saw no such color as she went down the corridor.

"Jaune's practicing controlling his mana again it seems" smiled Weiss.

The girl was blissfully unaware of the impossibility that had just transpired as she walked down the stairs.

-With Jaune within the gate-

Jaune knew it. It was staring at him right in the face. He had been in awe at first. But as he walked and travelled in this realm he just couldn't contain it anymore.

"…"

The look of absolute disappointment as he peered into the expanse of this new world. He felt the cold wind kiss his face as Jaune looked into this winter wasteland.

"….Of course" muttered Jaune "luck had to run out sometime."

Jaune started collecting ice to put into his inventory, realizing that it could have hidden properties. But aside from that there was next to nothing else that he could gather in a reasonable time frame. It was a sprawling mountain range as if the fangs of the earth were trying to pierce the sky. The ice shone with a near blue sheen as it was clothed by winter's snow. Jaune himself was in the middle of a massive lake, surrounded by smooth and jagged ice. Jaune had attempted to jump up and down on the ice to see how hard it was and nearly slipped. He even tried to ignite it and was shocked to find even his fire, with its ignition ability, couldn't even make the ice sweat.

Made him warm though.

It was due to this that Jaune was breaking off ice chunks and taking them into his inventory. His inspect just said it was something called "Jotunn Ice" but there was no ranking for it really. He noticed that sometimes items could have incredibly properties but lacked a lot of mana itself. Weak enough for Jaune to break but able to withstand his flames?

That just screamed magic to the boy. But that was it. Jaune kept slugging every bit of ice he could grab as he was surrounded by nothing but ice, snow, and freezing winds. He checked the key, just to make sure that he could leave and thankfully it kept asking if he wanted to exit the dungeon. Jaune's breath ignited the air with every respiration. His flames surging in his body and keeping him nice and warm. But even so.

"….Hello?"

His voice echoed through-out the tundra.

"….HELLO!"

It echoed again.

He looked around and noticed nothing. He decided to have some silly fun as he spat into each of his hands, rubbed them together and proceeded to smack them as hard as he could. The resounded bang echoed fiercely and caused some of the mist around him to disperse violently. Jaune watched as an Avalanche tore down one mountain in the distance.

"….It really is beautiful" muttered Jaune.

"Aww that's sweet. But seriously cupcake we got stuff to discuss."

Jaune jumped back and turned around.

"Who!?"

Jaune sputtered as he turned and faced a man in his late twenties. He was dressed in a brown jacket vest combo and a pair of jeans. Jaune couldn't tell what he looked like much…his face didn't seem settle so to speak.

"Jaune baby! How's it goin huh. See you're enjoying yourself and I respect that, really I do but we gotta keep things interesting ya know and standing around in the middle of nowhere is the opposite of interesting."

Jaune turned around.

"…What?"

The man simply existed beside Jaune and gave him a card. It was pure black with gold writing spelling Kaos: Entertainment Extraordinaire!

"Name's Kaos, father of Rebellion and a bunch of other stuff. Anyways! Nice to meet you. Gotta say I love the story you're aiming for! You know saving the mother, breaking the system, being the knight in shining armor, man I love it….but we could tweak a few things. Not as connected to you as Salem I admit so we haven't had a chance to meet yet but here! Here we can make the magic happen kiddo!"

Kiddo….KIDDO!?

"Wait you're!? YOU'RE THE SYSTEM!?"

"PSSSSH NO!" laughed Kaos "Who the fuck wants that shit job? Nah kid I added a little spice to that bland ass robot Salem calls an interface. It's annoying that it keeps kicking it out but I can keep reinstalling it as much as I please…oh the things I do for you kiddo. Fuck that thing would kill you with boredom if you weren't careful."

Jaune started racking his head for Kaos….while the name eluded him there was really only one thing this being could be.

Oh fuck.

"….You're a god."

Kaos blinked.

"Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! Knew you were a smart kid. I always back the underdog you see. How I got the rebellions going. Simply put, you can count on me when it counts kid. So listen…I've noticed that you haven't been getting as much attention lately so I've been trying to ya know…amp you up. Some help on the divine side you know…not that we can do much without the whole every century alignment thing. Man if I interfere too much your realm of existence would just pop!"

"But…I thought Salem was the one that gave me the system?"

"She did!" laughed Kaos "oh man she went as far as she could for you. Got a super smart inspect system, got the quest system for ya. But uh…the rest…well those come from us."

Kaos gestured to himself.

"Other…gods" muttered Jaune.

Kaos gave him a bit smile and nodded.

"….."

"….a lot to take in?" he asked.

Jaune nodded. With a snap the two suddenly had chairs.

"Take a seat kid cause let me tell you we gotta…liven ya up a bit. I already amped up the whole interface thing, basically gave you an annoying sidekick cause every hero needs that annoying sidekick."

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"….King Arthur and Merlin..."

Jaune shrugged.

"Well didn't expect you to know that one all things considered" muttered Kaos "uhhh Heracules and his twirp nephew? Come on you gotta at least know him?"

Jaune shrugged.

"Oh, come on at least know Shrek and Donkey!?"

Jaune blinked. Kaos gripped his heart and whimpered a bit.

"That's it we're watching the movie."

"What's a movie" muttered Jaune.

Before anything could spiral further out of control someone appeared behind Jaune and gripped his shoulder.

"Hold steady boy. Do not get caught in Oberon's flow. You'll never leave otherwise."

Jaune shivered as he turned. This man was tall…easily 6'9. He was built like a brickhouse and was decked out in the sleekest suit Jaune had ever seen. His skin was dark much like the denizens of the desert. His eyes were bright red with black sclera. He was stoic and calm. His voice deep and alluring.

"Wait? OBERON!?"

Oberon was a god well known for being the youngest of his kind. A trickster that would help you just as much as he would kill you. He was the lord of the Fae and of the natural chaotic world. Nature was his domain and he was wild as they came. Oddly enough the God had a soft spot for children and was deeply loyal to his wife, Titania. It wasn't unusual for him to whisk away children from broken and dangerous homes. Just as it wasn't as unusual for him to leave men and women dying from trees growing in their stomachs as a "Joke". The lord of the wild indeed.

"Oh come on you party pooper it was just one movie!"

"We…are not meant to interfere. Oberon"

"But we can in this place…and don't call me that" smiled Oberon/Kaos.

"I will call you as you were originally named you brat. You've already stirred enough trouble being the King of the Fae. Do not cause more here."

Jaune stilled back as he stared at the god before him.

"You're Markus".

Markus, the lord of law, the father of commerce, King of conquerors, and the first-born son of Sariya the Goddess of War. He inherited his mother's dominion of battle but pursued the creation of stable societies unlike his mother who pursued combat simply for the battle. As such he was a key figure worshipped across all the kingdoms.

"Aye Child. Oberon".

"KAOS! You know we have like a thousand names the mortals refer to us as! Hell, this world called you TYR! Fuck I'm pretty sure your mom was called Athena or some shit and Vatu by others. So, call me by my preferred name."

"No. You've yet to earn that respect. You are not meant to be here. None of us are. We are prohibited to interfere with any of the mortals. You remember exactly what happened the last time."

"Yea so?"

"You were chiefly responsible for it" grumbled Markus.

Markus hair was a searing crimson and was shaved close to his skull. He lacked any jewelry to accent his ensemble but he looked as if he was a man that had just left the military. It all come together to make for a rather impressive aura.

"Come on! This is Salem's first champion!"

"She cares not for what he does and he her. Stop attempting to liven up a "show" that doesn't exist. Leave this poor boy to his goals. You decided to sponsor him but that does not grant you the right to interfere in his progress ill or otherwise."

Oberon rolled his eyes. His hair turned green as he took on a form closer to a Satyr. He lost the clothing but if Jaune was honest this was a more divine appearance for the chaotic individual.

"You're no fun" he spat "all you gave him was the store!? And "gold coins" for quest rewards!? How boring is that?"

"You…sponsored me?" asked Jaune.

The two deities looked at Jaune. Markus sighed.

"The system is something that is separate but influenced by the gods. We ourselves cannot access it as you do. But we can empower it beyond its standard methods for certain people. Due to this the mortals we choose can be called our champion, even if we merely chose them on a whim. When a god grants access to a mortal of their choosing it…sends a notification to the others. A process you are no doubt well aware of. Worry not, the only deities you have a true connection with are the Abyss and the Sun. The rest of merely…enhanced your system, an investment to see how far you could progress."

Jaune nodded.

"We saw your struggle. Your drive. In those moments we were free to grant our own variation of the system improvements that we made. For myself I created a method to allow players to trade and sell their items along with my own."

"The store" muttered Jaune.

The part that granted him the armor and possible future materials he may get from it.

"Hey! I'm the one that gave him the punishment zones!"

Jaune stared blankly at Oberon.

"What!? I can't give you shit for free! You want it you work for it!"

"Your so-called punishment quests are as random as your rewards" muttered Markus.

"Suck my left nut you stool! He enjoys what I've given him!"

Jaune swallowed. He could feel it, the same presence as Salem worming through his head. Markus had nothing to say but Oberon looked pissed.

"What the fuck!? My interface is not annoying and redundant!"

"It truly is" sighed Markus.

Oberon began to rant horribly, the chaotic energy he was made from more than apparent from his antics. Flowers and twigs began to grow from his hair and horns grew from his head. Jaune felt a firmer presence take hold.

"Worry not child. My mother sent me here. Oberon had blinded Salem and Enya but he could not account for everyone."

"Sariya?" asked Jaune

"Indeed. She enjoys your battles quite thoroughly. She would hate to see them end simply due to the pettiness of our kind. Oberon is…chaotic as you can see. Equally likely to help you as he is to kill you. Emotions for him is more a consequence of the moment rather than true feelings. I cannot interfere, the laws I've created simply don't allow me…but I can protect you from Oberon directly. You wish to be free of his interface correct?"

Jaune nodded.

"Very well. Salem's original system had been infected by Oberon's. Simply request a system restart. It is a useless feature all things consider. It will simply notify Salem of your request but through it her attention will be drawn here and she will learn of what's happened. Expect your interface to change slightly without Oberon's influence."

"Why help me?"

"I refuse to allow my kind to simply do as they wish with the mortal species…this world is the result of what happens when we do. Even Salem's punishing that fool you fought resulted in a world on the brink of death."

Jaune turned around. As beautiful as this world was it was also desolate and dead.

"Send it now boy, while Oberon is distracted."

Jaune brought up the system and requested a restart. But things went for the worse the second it sent. Oberon stilled and turned to Jaune.

"….You dare? Do you know how many mortals would beg for my power!? My assistance!"

Jaune swallowed and than stepped forward to speak.

"I appreciate the punishment zone."

Oberon blinked.

"It has pushed me further than I thought possible. My first weapon wouldn't be possible without you!"

It was true. Without the punishment Zone's additional rewards Jaune would have never had made Ruby's scythe the way it was. Normally Jaune wouldn't appreciate the help but considering he had to wrestle and out beat a gorilla Jaune felt her earned that damn material.

"But that interface…it has also tricked me before…given me false and even incomplete information."

The Samurai's only using Katana's, the incomplete information of a few monsters from time to time. Oberon's ideas of jokes and humor was chaotic.

"I don't mind being your entertainment" stated Jaune "but I won't be your toy."

Markus smirked at Jaune. Oberon scowled and tried to stalk forward. The sound of his hooves thundered around them.

"BRAT!" growled Oberon.

Markus stood vigilant.

"You will not harm the boy" he stated.

Jaune wanted to say he was almost twenty but thought better of it.

"I was going to kill you" admitted Oberon "but I'll give you a chance, considering your…devotion to the punishment zone."

Jaune wanted to say he simply appreciated it but…let the deity that wanted to kill him think what he wanted.

"So here. If you survive this boy consider us even and clear."

Oberon snapped his fingers and Markus stilled. His face took on a furious expression.

"Nice try TYR" muttered Oberon "but I know how you and your little laws work. This creature was merely brought here, it was not created by me."

Oberon turned to leave as he flipped Markus off but smirked as he thought of something.

"You wanna know what's great about being a God" smirked Oberon "Time's your bitch!"

He snapped his fingers again. In a place where light barely shone…a purple luminescence filled the room. Markus scowled. He turned to Jaune as Oberon disappeared back into the Ether the gods called home. Markus's eyes glowed as he did adjustments of his own.

"What…what just happened?" asked Jaune.

Markus looked into the distance and made to move but Jaune watched stupefied as a crimson energy surrounded Markus and brought him to his knees, his own power preventing him from breaking the laws that bound gods. Markus looked at Jaune.

"RUN BOY! TO THE NORTH. THERE WILL BE A PASSAGE THAT WILL GUIDE YOU BACK TO THE GATE!"

Jaune looked around and noticed that a trail of pale blue energy was leading him somewhere, the face of a woman hidden in the ice. Her own crimson eyes locked onto Jaune's and winked. Jaune scowled, not really liking the fact that he was running away.

Until he felt it.

He froze, the sheer mana this thing was leaking was a level that Jaune was intimately familiar with. It was A rank. This was not the small difference of D-C or the large difference of C-B. The difference between a B to A rank individual was of such a massive degree that Jaune knew without a doubt, as reckless as he was, that victory was impossible.

"…."

"RUN!"

Jaune started booking it, following the blue energy trail. He turned his neck and noticed that Markus was still kneeling. The laws of gods were different than the paltry laws that mortals lived by. Markus or Tyr was the embodiment of law. While he was indeed weaker in combat in comparison to a few the laws he made were absolute.

They could even bind the likes of Enya and Salem.

Laws that were meant to protect creation from the divine might of gods unchained could also hinder them in protecting said creation. But even so sometimes these laws could be bent. Markus narrowed his eyes as a lumbering beast thundered across the ice. It was a creature of rippling mass and easily the rough size of a horse. Its equine face was matched with no eyes and a row of serrated teeth. The skin of this beast was a rusted orange with a ring of white fur around its shoulders. It had hands similar to a human with opposable thumbs but accompanied by long and sharp claws. Its feet were scaly and only had three toes.

But even so the beast lumbered forward at a frightening speed. Markus turned around and slammed his hand on the ice. The ice in front of Jaune became gritty and dry, capable of friction for Jaune to run faster. Markus grunted, his will detected by the laws. Markus slammed his other hand into the ice and a wave of energy made spikes emerge from the ground, tripping and caging the beast for a brief moment. Markus dispersed in a mist of red, forcibly drawn back to the ether. In this dead world this was the most a God could do. The very laws that prevented them from harming the mortal planes also prevented them from helping them in the first place, even in a world this broken.

Jaune however was merely thinking of running. He could tell immediately this…thing dwarfed whatever Merlot was capable of. Jaune could barely see it in the mists that had formed but that didn't matter. He needed to escape as soon as possible and thankfully this blue light seemed to be guiding him for the most part. The light swerved to the right and Jaune followed, looking behind him briefly. The creature was go-

SLAM!

Jaune was blown back by the creature landing in front of him, shattering the solid ice with its insane strength and speed. The ice beneath Jaune splintered and cracked. The mist obscured Jaune's vision but he knew that he had travelled a fair distance as he could see the rocky formations of the mountains. It would seem that Jaune had underestimated his speed once again.

The blue energy was now beneath Jaune, going behind him. The creature shook its head from the landing, some ice having slammed into its head from the fall. Jaune tried to inspect it, only getting what he used to receive before the system. A very vague and brief description that this was a creature native to frozen tundra and hunted by heat signatures. Jaune didn't know what a heat signature was exactly but he was also pretty sure that he was a flaming beacon for this thing. Jaune coughed as he felt as if his lungs had gotten punched by Yang.

Directly.

Jaune stumbled back, not expecting the weakness in his legs. The pelting of ice that had hit him had bruised him heavily on the legs and some of his ribs. Jaune saw the small opening in the mountain and took it. He squeezed in, ignoring the pain as the jagged rocks dug into his stomach. It didn't hurt at all on his undamaged skin but every few steps he would brush past a rocky surface that dug into his bruise. The walls shook as the creature suddenly slammed into the opening clawing through the rocks to get at Jaune. Jaune began to squeeze through faster, ignoring the few times the things claws scratched his arms.

"Inspect" stated Jaune, keeping his cool.

System Updating to model 5, please wait an additional 2 minutes. Removing corrupted programing. Updating concurrent programing. Installing. An additional 1 minute required.

"…..Fuck me" muttered Jaune.

Jaune squeezed through and exited the opening, finding himself surrounded by an icy cavern. He couldn't appreciate the immaculate beauty of it like the first time he passed through here preferring to run instead. But at least he was in familiar territory. The snow beneath his feet slowed him a little but the sound of the creatures odd roaring and the cavern walls shaking was enough to get Jaune moving faster than he ever had.

He could see it, an opening in this cavern….

And the purple light of the gate cascading down the icy walls. He was close.

CRUNCH.

Jaune felt a rock hit the back of his left leg. He almost fell but quickly recovered enough to see the beast lower its hand…

"It threw a rock at me!?" thought Jaune.

Intelligent monsters were normally well entrenched in the A rankings. Even the weaker A ranks were insanely dangerous due to that primal intelligence. The fact it picked up a rock meant it was more than willing to use tools. There was also the issue that he could feel his left leg going numb. The creature gauged Jaune, his leg too weak to run at the moment until it recovered enough feeling. The creature lunged forward, but it was a feint. Jaune jerked forward, ready to punch the creature.

"I need to keep some distance!"

The thought stilled Jaune suddenly, stopping him from lunging forward. The world slowed down as a single thought echoed in his skull.

"What was I doing?"

Here he was ready to punch the creature, the flames licking at his feet ready to ignite forward. Yet…did he not have better weapons? Attack skills that he could use? It was in this moment that Jaune realized something important. He had been fighting like a labor caste…when he now had the attack skills and powers of a hero class.

This single thought. That single stopped motion.

It was what saved his life. The creature's intelligence was used against it as it had lunged forward judging Jaune's body language. The creature had swiped at Jaune's head, intent on taking it out. The stilled movements had allowed Jaune to only get scrapped by the claws. Yet, the difference in power was noticeable here.

As the claws destroyed Jaune's left eye, tore through the face muscles, his chest, and part of his leg. The creature instinctively swung at Jaune, missing as Jaune was thrown back, blasting the boy from the raw wind pressure through the hole of the cavern. Jaune was sent flying, landing in the snow a bloody mess. His unusual body, being that of a dragon, kept his wounds from bleeding as much as they should but he was still immobile.

"Is this already it?" thought Jaune.

The creature landed in front of Jaune, slamming its human-like paw onto Jaune's ribs. It seemed intent on keeping him mostly whole as the pressure only fractured his ribs rather than destroy his upper body entirely.

The creatures maw opened, revealing that its entire mouth opened wide enough to fit Jaune's entire body. As it's paw moved Jaune glared at the open maw and ignited the air in front of him.

"I won't give in to fear!" thought Jaune.

"NEVER AGAIN!"

Jaune almost began to leak frustrated tears, hating the fact that he had failed. That he was leaving his father and his mother. Leaving the first friends that he had truly made…in a long time. With a defiant roar Jaune let loose a torrent of flame into the creature's maw, the sound escaping his mouth anything but human. But unlike the last few creatures these flames did nothing, only making it jerked back in surprise before lunging for the kill.

THUNK!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Jaune felt someone grab his armor and drag him into their arms.

"JAUNE!"

A torrent of crimson hair fluttered through his right eye as the sight of the creature ripping out a spear from its throat played through. The creature shook its head, closing its massive maw, only to look below it. The creature was launched as a pillar of ice pushed it far away, launching it into the distance. Jaune felt his eye flutter as Pyrrha, Weiss, and Ren all crowed around him. He even heard Yang and Ruby speaking in the background but the thumping of blood in his ears masked their conversation. Pyrrha's spear dispersed into a golden burst, presumably back into her inventory.

"How did they?" wondered Jaune.

-Mere moments ago, in the guild house basement-

Weiss had reached the basement and it was normal. Quiet and peaceful. She was wondering where Jaune was, having sensed the boy not moments before.

"Probably in one of the rooms" thought Weiss.

She was going an hour early to her appointment but there was a few things she needed to look into so it wasn't that big a concern. She opened the broken safe door turned around and saw a purple gate spontaneously come into existence making her scream like a high-pitched child and dropped everything.

Not one of her proudest moments.

But gates didn't just spontaneously exist either.

"JAUNE!"

He was the closest and the only one here…at least that's what she thought. The sound of rushed footsteps echoed through the room as the others came rushing down.

"Damnit Weiss I just got home!" complained Yang "Is it another rat I thought we got OH SHIT!"

Pyrrha rushed forward, spear in hand as she stood beside Weiss.

"What happened?" she asked.

Weiss took a breath and shook.

"I…I don't know it just existed!"

Like a veil had been ripped off.

"Why did you scream about Jaune?" asked Ruby, looking around in worry.

The scythe she wielded was puffing embers like no tomorrow as well. Ren looked around through the rooms, the speed of a B rank sufficient for the quick completion of the task.

"He's not in the rooms."
Weiss scowled.

"I sensed him here! I thought…"

Everyone stilled as they faced the gate.

"…you don't think" muttered Ren.

Yang sighed and looked around. Blake and Nora had yet to return but what caught Yang's attention was how the weapon's embers floated to the gate and entered through it.

"….Ah crap" muttered Yang.

"Why would he?" whispered Pyrrha.

"There's more going on here than we can assume" muttered Ren.

Whatever irritation he had from being woken up was gone as he noticed Jaune's absence fully.
"Has anyone know what a purple gate means?" asked Ren.

"Uh…Red is another world" said Yang.

And sealed upon entering forcing the individuals to clear it.

"Blue is the normal dungeons while yellow is like a boss fight?"

The standard blue was the norm of Remnant with a yellow gate housing a beast of a monster that was the power of the gate. As gates were measured by the magic they produced, a creature from a yellow gate was the sole responsible being that produced that energy. An example of such a creature would be the black dragon Vortigern, the S rank monster that Arturia Pendragon defeated the moment it left the gate. Unlike normal gates people couldn't enter it, it was the monster that left. Thankfully they were rarest but most dangerous of the gates.

There was no purple.

"…."

Pyrrha gritted her spear and made for the gate. She reached her hand towards it, noticing that the energy let her sink in without a problem. The other side was freezing. She retreated her hand and looked at the others.

"…"

The embers of Ruby's scythe flowed into the gate.

"….He's in there" stated Pyrrha.

"We need to prepare!" said Weiss.

"There's no time" said Ren "if he entered on his own there's no telling what he's facing in there. We need to go now."

Pyrrha looked at everyone and nodded.

"I'm going in. I…if anything happens we'll deal with it."

She just hoped nothing happened. With that Pyrrha and the others entered. Someone should have told them not to jinx it but alas.

-Currently with Jaune-

Fate always seemed to bite you in the ass.

"How far did you launch that thing!" yelled Yang as she helped Pyrrha lift Jaune.

"What was that thing is the better question!?" cried Ruby.

"FOCUS!" stated Pyrrha.

It was passage straight through a mountain. When Jaune had arrived through the gate the first time he wasn't worried about losing his way through the maze. Thanks to the key he effectively had a transport right out of the dungeon whenever he wanted. Yet, it seemed that the key didn't really work as intended. It could transport him out of the dungeon no problem.

So long as there were no enemies locked on him.

It was this unfortunate oversight that Jaune was left in his current situation.

"Come on! Come on!" grunted Yang.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune…she had only known him a few days. Yet, the sight of him injured as he was made Pyrrha scowl. This shouldn't have happened. This is why she hated dungeons.

"Put him down."

"Wait what!? NO! We're running from whatever the hell that nightmare was!"

"Put him down quick….please" asked Pyrrha.

Yang relented, staring at the cavern wall. Weiss decided to try something as she focused on creating as thick a wall as she could feeding the ice as far as she could to the point that she was here. Her poor staff was not used to this skill of raw magic. Weiss's eyes glowed blue as she invoked a spell designed for quick freezing and another to launch icicle projectiles. The two merged to rapidly encase the cavern even quicker. This had the unintended side-effect of masking Jaune's rather massive heat signature with frost magic, something that had withered with him losing blood and energy.

Pyrrha reached into her limited inventory, a measly three item capacity, and drew forth a bottle of golden liquid.

"…Is that?" asked Weiss.

Pyrrha opened it and placed the liquid on Jaune's wounds. A searing sound could be heard as Jaune's flesh was rejuvenated, if scarred.

"Ambrosia" muttered Ren "I thought those were rare."

Ambrosia. The only known A rank healing item. So efficient in its power that people had mistakenly referred to it as the drink of the gods…well that had it tasted pretty damn great. It was also the only potion type that didn't need to be entirely consumed for its effects to work. It wasn't that unusual to acquire it in a dungeon. In fact, they were dropped quite frequently with almost every A rank dungeon having on average 3-4…yet…when your party numbered in the twenties to clear said gate in the first place?

Yea it was rare not to mention near unheard of for a B rank like Pyrrha to even have it, much less at her age. The bottle was half consumed as Jaune's wounds healed enough to be able. No sense in wasting the rest of it. Jaune grunted as he stood up. Pyrrha helped him up as he tried to turn.

"The gate" muttered Jaune.

"We're almost there" growled Yang "and you owe us an explanation of why you went into that gate alone, now lets move!"

If Yang was honest…she was a little uncomfortable how easily Jaune had shaken off such deep wounds. He got back up as if he had experienced worse…he probably did. After all he had reawakened. He was more mature than Ruby but the two had the same problem. They were idiots who thought they could rush forward, at least as it looked to Yang. She would wait to hear the full story. The group ran as fast as they could, not letting anything stop them. The creature began breaking through the ice, Jaune's resurging health having brought heat back into his body. The flames seared off Jaune's shoulders as he let it ignite behind his back, letting the others go forward a bit.

"What?"

"It locks on heat or something!" said Jaune "I'm trying to alter its vision!"

Jaune knew that it wasn't necessarily true. He was the hottest point of his fire. The closer one got to the source the hotter the flames as it was in his case. But it should be enough. The gate was in site, taking up the entirety of the wall in front of them. It was still the rough size of Jaune himself in a perfect six-foot circle. Weiss was trying to focus on tripping the beast with some ice chucks to no avail, the creature simply bulldozed through them. Jaune smirked as he noticed something as he turned around.

A black shadow having gripped the creatures legs and dragged it down.

"Simply just your entertainment huh" thought Jaune.

He said nothing more. He didn't need to. He lost his grin as the creature seemed to rush even faster now, the joy of the hunt having give way to aggression.

"Its pissed!" yelled Ruby.

She was further ahead than all of them it wasn't even funny. Ruby was the first to pass through the gate with Yang, Pyrrha, Ren, then Jaune and Weiss. The poor mage was barely keeping up, her legs about to give out. Jaune heaved her relatively light frame through the gate and jumped through.

The creature slammed into the gate, shattering its own neck in the process. It fell limp for a moment…before shuddering back up. It repaired its neck within moments shaking its head clear. It gave a bellowing moan as it climbed upwards into the mountain. Its first prey had escaped…but there were others in this world.

-With Jaune and the others-

Jaune had entered the gate with a jump and slid back into the basement of the house. His poor body shuddered as some of the unhealed wounds ached at the impact. He groaned as he opened his eyes and looked at Weiss and Pyrrha giving him the stick eye.

"…..Hi" muttered Jaune.

"Explain" stated Weiss "now. First off what possessed you to go into a gate completely on your own!"

Jaune sighed. Pyrrha put away the Ambrosia making Jaune grimace.

"I'm sorry" he said "and thank you."

Weiss rolled her eyes at his evasion of the topic.

"Jaune please…" muttered Pyrrha "we just had to drag you out of that place almost half dead…we deserve an explanation."

Ren crossed his arms while Ruby awkwardly gripped her weapon. Jaune sighed as he stood up. He withdrew the key from his inventory and showed it to them. Yang looked confused but had her jaw drop as Jaune twisted the key and the gate shut down, leaving nothing but a slight shimmer that disappeared from their view.

"I'm…."

"Take your time" whispered Wiess "I have a feeling this will be a long story".

-Twenty Minutes Later-

Turns out it wasn't that long. In truth Jaune only had access to the system for little over two weeks. Not that long really. So most of Jaune's explanation was over the existence of the system itself.

"I never told you guys because…well."

"It's batshit insane?" muttered Yang.

"Utterly impossible?" added Blake.

Yang near shrieked out of her clothes at Blake being beside her.

"STOP DOING THAT!" demanded Yang.

"Sorry" mumbled Blake "but seriously that's…pretty nuts. I can see why you never told us."

To Jaune's surprise everyone nodded.

"I mean it is pretty insane" sighed Wiess "Atlas has theorized that a system of some kind existed that…ran everything but to think that the Gods could actually interact with it."

"Well, they're Gods for a reason, right?" said Ruby.

Every nodded to that. Gods were not the type of creatures you wanted an enemy of. As limited as their power was by their own laws what little they could do in the mortal planes was still considerable. And that was ignoring the fact that there existed times in which a God could exert their entire power without issue.

"So…this thing basically gives you automated quests" said Yang.

"Yes"

"gives you rewards and bonus experience?"

"That's correct" sighed Jaune.

"But it also tries to kill you and pits you against shit like that horse freak?"

"Basically."

"….Ok what the fuck?" muttered Yang.

"I'd want proof but you just shut a gate with a key" muttered Pyrrha "I doubt there could be greater proof than that…can you open it again?"

Jaune withdrew the key and twisted, making the gate reappear. To Jaune's utter amazement everyone saw it.

"…Oh dang" muttered Yang "yea…definitely not a dream."

"If…if we get strong enough we could use this" muttered Jaune "farm it for resources and experience."

"We are not ready to face that thing. Can you open it anywhere?" asked Weiss.

Jaune shook his head. Jaune couldn't help but feel a little odd how well they were taking it.

"No, I…why are you just going along with this?" asked Jaune "I mean…this must completely…"

Jaune struggled with the words.

"Oh don't get me wrong" smiled Yang "I'm pretty sure I've had a psychotic break of some kind but at the moment I've yet to see otherwise. So…just go with the flow."

"I mean technically speaking its not that unreasonable" stated Ren "we have skills that just grant us the knowledge of the subject itself in the beginning and evolves depending on how we use it. We still can't even explain how ascending to the higher ranks even works after all these years."

"I've heard some pretty crazy ascensions stories" admitted Yang "some just unbelievable."

"They were that amazing?" muttered Jaune.

"No just that stupid. There's a guy in our village whose a retired A rank and he swears up and down that he awakened when he stubbed his toe in the morning."

"…..you're kidding".

Yang shrugged.

"I just woke up B rank myself after a hard day in the dungeons with my mother" stated Yang "same for Ruby. My dad became B rank after a tough battle with his best friend and A rank after killing a dungeon boss solo."

Jaune blinked. It did seem pretty unpredictable all things considered.

"Either way it doesn't matter. It's weird and I'll have questions but it doesn't change the fact that you're our comrade, right?" asked Yang "so relax…seems like you need it. I'm just happy you didn't try to lie about it."

It had crossed Jaune's mind but any story he made would have likely come off as…terrible.

"It just…didn't seem right" admitted Jaune "not to mention any story just came off half-baked. You guys have been my first friends since…ever. I felt like if I tried to lie to you, I would just hurt that friendship and whatever trust we have now."

Yang nodded. She understood to a degree. She didn't really have that many friends either due to the things people would say behind Ruby's back.

"Still" smiled Pyrrha "I'm happy you're alright but…I'm not comfortable just disappearing off to these dangerous places on your own."

"I doubt you can come with me" chuckled Jaune "I'll be fine".

Pyrrha seemed uncomfortable at Jaune's admission. Having noticed it Jaune looked at her and rose an eyebrow.
"You know you can say whatever is on your mind" chuckled Jaune "after all…the time for sharing right?"

He shirked a little bit at the dead stare Weiss shot at him.

"How the hell are we going to explain this to Nora?"

"Explain what?"

Everyone turned to see Nora rubbing her ear as she came down, carrying a pharmicutical pouch.

"Hey" she said.
Jaune tilted back a bit at the oddly chilled expression of Nora.

"You uh…you good?"

Nora nodded and yawned.

"Yea just got some drugs in me. Keeps me calm but makes me really drowsy. So what happened?"

Jaune blinked and decided to go for broke.

"Basically I am the instrument of Salem's and various other Gods entertainment and have been blessed or cursed with a System that helps me grow stronger but also tries to kill me."

"Oh cool, can I get in on that?"

Jaune blinked.

"Uh…far as I'm aware, no?"

"Bummer."

"….that's it?" asked Jaune.

"Basically. Want me to scream at the sky of the unfairness of it all or something? I mean nothing really changes aside from the fact that you're gonna get stronger or something. My family's got a pretty embarrassing semblance that defies explanation to."

"Really like what?" smirked Jaune.

Nora shrugged, blushing a bit.

"That's for me to know."

Jaune pouted.

"Hey not my fault you decided to…whatever you did to result in you spilling the beans of divine intervention."

Now everyone stared at Nora.

"Dude you ok?"

Nora grinned as she gave two thumbs up to Yang and sat down on one of the few chairs around.

"….Nora how many?"

Ren took the bag from her and noticed that they were pills. Three of them had been popped and yet the instructions that he found stated to take one very 4 hours at a maximum of three a day.

"….Oh Gods damn it Nora" muttered Ren.

"What's wrong?" Blake.

Ren sighed as Nora sat down at the chair chill as can be.

"She's…."

"Just say it" smiled Nora "I am ROASTED."

Ren sighed.

"This better not be a thing."

"It's not" smiled Nora "I really REALLY don't like this feeling yet at the moment can't seem to care less…btw did you know that purple smells like grass."

Ren sighed as everyone laughed, even Jaune.

"So Jaune…"

He turned to see Pyrrha gripping her arm awkwardly.

"I've…I've noticed that you rarely fight with your weapons. Why is that?"

Jaune's expression took a far off look. After lying in the snow, bleeding out as your friends look over you, you get some perspective. Some insights if you will. You wonder why the fuck you didn't use the spear or that silly named but super awesome sunlight spear attack thing. You wonder why…and you get your answer.

"GET IT OFF OF ME!"

"OH GOD NOT AGAIN!"

"ITS MEAT IS IN MY THROAT!"

You remember a time in your porter days when you carried the loot for others. You suffered the indignity of spiders constantly wrapping their huge bodies around your face for no other reason than just to fuck with you. Left in the moment you could only rely on your fists.

And habits die hard.

"…Jaune?" asked Pyrrha.

Jaune's traumatic expression dissipated as he blink.

"Uh….Reasons."

Pyrrha sighed as she nodded.

"Well…I was wondering if you would like to….train?" she asked.
Jaune blinked.

"Oh sure."

"….Really?"

Jaune nodded.

"Of course! I noticed it myself when I was…you know…"

Pyrrha grimaced.

"Yeaaa" muttered Jaune "so basically I suck and I need help."

Ren nodded along with the others.

"We'll be happy to assist you" said Ren "me and Pyrrha can teach you all you need to know about swordsmanship."

Jaune smiled and nodded.

"I'll need it. The punishment zones have been the best place for materials so far."

"The punishment what now?" asked Ruby.

"The punishment zone. If I don't do my daily activities it shunts me off into another dimension to punish me. I get random quests in there that grant me some pretty cool stuff. No EXP though."

Yang rose an eyebrow.

"…than what's the point?"

Jaune blinked.

"Well…I killed bluebeard."

"Like a monster called bluebeard?"

"You killed BLUEBEARD" stated Weiss "Like…the actual raping pedophile?"

Jaune got a stupid grin on his face, like a modern day hunter saying they killed Hitler.

"But! BUT!? He's like a millennia old!? Didn't he die?"

"Got cursed by Salem and was my mini-boss in the punishment zone."

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes.

"You almost died didn't you."

Jaune clammed up.

"….No".

Pyrrha seemed to become someone else entirely as an alien confidence filled her.

"You and me are training tomorrow morning, no excuses."

"Uh he can't" muttered Weiss.

Pyrrha turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"The nobles want him to forge something tomorrow."

Pyrrha blinked.

"But I thought?"

"Yes but no" sighed Weiss.

"Is that why you rushed in that place?" asked Pyrrha.

Jaune nodded.

"The plan was just to walk in and get some materials. I could leave whenever I wanted but the key only works when I'm not in combat…as I learned to late."

Damnit Oberon.

"Think you can-"

Ren never got to finish his sentence. The sword of something shattering and Velvet screaming echoed through the basement. Jaune looked around, wondering how the hell that noise pierced through the sounds of construction. As they all ran Jaune noticed the numerous holes in the ceiling of the basement. A piece of metal fell from the ceiling and Jaune quickly grabbed it. It was the shard of something sharp and made of some kind of enhanced steel. Ruby was ahead of all of them as she rushed forward.

"Today is just dramatic!" chuckled Nora.

"I'm surprise you can even move!" said Yang.

"I'm roasted not toasted."

Ren sighed to the heavens and pushed ahead. Velvet was more than likely ok. They were in Beacon for Gods sake. Yet, the fact that the Merchant Guild was apparently filled with pricks left some paranoia. The truth was simply that they were high strung and haven't had a break since they got the damn house. Not a true one anyways.

As Jaune ran up the stairs he could STILL hear the construction going on. That was some admirable spirit. Ruby came back to them through the large double doors at the top of the twisting stair way.

"Velvet's ok!" she smiled "but she saw somebody in here!"

Everyone stilled.

"Wait what?" demanded Weiss.

"She saw someone in Ren's room when she woke up?"

"Why was she in Ren's room?" asked Nora dangerously.

"I don't have a door" stated Ren.

"Oh…carry on."

"Well…" Ruby gestured to the room and Ren walked to it. He stood at the door frame, unmoving. His face the epitome of stone.
"Ren?" asked Nora.

Nora stilled as well as they stared into the room. When Jaune finally got to see he saw nothing but the broken remains of Ren's sword, shattered into many pieces and cluttered along the floor…empty of any possible vestige that Ren may have felt within. On his wall was a word. A simple, single, word.

Traitor

END

Welcome to the end of the chapter guys! Hope you enjoyed it! Expect the updated version as soon as I am able. Leave your thoughts in the reviews/PM's f you believe I should leave the terms explained in the authors note? Also, another surprise for the next chapter. In the next chapter I will be leaving Ren's own stat page filled with his current skills, stats, and even titles he has obtained! While they are not viewable by himself without the system titles and whatnot are still obtainable so expect it soon!