Hey guys. Striker777 is back baby with the next chapter of the story. Now, my HSC actually finished earlier today, which will hypothetically allow me more writing time, but that's completely hypothetical at this point, since other things may get in the way, but I'm excited to finally be back.
Also, in the reviews a lot of you started requesting the girls for the harem. I did say that this would start in chapter 15, but I decided 'fuck it' instead. Next chapter will be when the harem total is decided, current numbers are as follows.
No Harem: 14
Max 3: 13
Max 9: 29
So it would seem a max of 9 has over double the other two options. If you want to change this, you have until the next chapter to place your votes. Also, instead of it starting at 15, the relationships will be decided on 15. But here are the totals so far.
Pyrrha: 8
Weiss: 9
Ruby: 8
Yang: 7
Blake: 11
Velvet: 5
Coco: 3
Glynda: 2
Neo: 2
Winter: 1
Salem: 1
Yep, Blake is already in first place and qualified for the harem. Remember that you can only vote once, so if you haven't already, make it count. But for now, onto the story.
[Loading…]
Jaune sat down on his couch, staring at Coco, who was quite enjoying her mug of coffee opposite him on his other chair. "Okay… so you want me to go out with Velvet on valentines day, and am willing to pay me 30 silver?"
"Yep."
"Okay, okay. So… why?"
"Look, Velvet is my best friend, and she's absorbed in her work as the tailor of this place, so she doesn't really socialise all that much, and love is a difficult thing for a person to find in a place like this with what floats over your head. No offense." she said.
"Offense taken." said Jaune with hurt in his voice.
"Look… just show her a good time and you get 30 silver. It's an awesome deal. Just… don't screw it up and you're golden." said Coco. "Please… and I'll even get that guy off your back for a while."
Jaune looked back at her, giving him the infamous puppy dog eyes. He sighed.
"Let me think for a bit."
[Loading…]
"You're doing it."
"B-bu-"
"You're doing it."
Great. No choice in the matter.
Weiss crossed her arms and stared down at him, letting out a dangerous arua that promised pain if he dared to disobey her. Jaune himself was on his knees on the floor, petty under her harsh glare. The other guild members were around his house, going over schoolwork and just hanging out.
"30 silver Jaune. For a date? Seems a little too good to be true." she muttered.
"I can promise it isn't." said Jaune. "Velvet was complaining about doing something similar last year to get Coco off her back. I don't think that this is a coincidence."
"Be that as it may, we will have to assume it's a trap, so we'll get Ren and Blake to shadow you during the 'date' to make sure nothing bad happens." said Weiss. Ren himself gave an absent thumbs up, probably not even knowing what he agreed to due to the hyperactive berserker on his neck. Blake herself just shrugged her shoulders, saying she'd do it if she had to.
"That's assuming Velvet agrees, since for all we know, she'll say no, either because she isn't interested or she knows Coco is behind this." said Jaune. "So if we are going to do this, there will have to be some sort of work beforehand. We have just over a week to make sure this happens, so we're going to have to get to work."
They employed the help of Yang in order to figure out the best plan of attack. Hanging out a lot more in the coming days, discussion of mutual interests, and a romantic setup for the day itself. It felt strange to Jaune, preparing all this for the thought of money. It wasn't right in his opinion, but it was either this, or face the wrath of the guild… and gods forbid, Weiss. If she was mad…
He'd have his dick on ice in less than 10 seconds.
Sighing to himself, he prepared to place his input on the never ending stream of ideas coming out of Yang, some better than others.
[Loading…]
"Yatsu…"
"No."
"Please!"
"No."
The Merchants Guild. One of the 'Big Three' guilds in Beacon, focusing on the financial side of the work of a hero, having the best living conditions in Beacon in terms of guilds. Here, at the biggest desk of them all, an elegant bow and quiver of arrows hung above the fireplace, Coco Adel was drowning in a sea of paperwork, with Yatsuhashi, her right hand man, forbidding her from taking a quick hour break.
It was a mutiny.
"I'm gonna kill someone!" she screamed, having sat at that desk for what felt like an eternity.
"It's been 15 minutes of work, and 30 of quick breaks." said Yatsuhashi. "You need to get this done."
"Shut up Yatsu! I know, but it's so boring! Why did I agree to be guildmaster again?" asked Coco.
"You thought it would put you into a position of power where you could do absolutely nothing, have amazing pay, and spend your afternoons frolicking around the Emerald Forest hunting Grimm and going into dungeons. You have complained about this several times… this day alone. I'm starting to get sick of it." said the giant.
"And why can't I delegate again?"
"Are we really going to go over this again?" asked Yatsuhashi. "You have to do the work, since the guildmaster needs to sign off on the important paperwork. There is no delegating that duty."
"Ugh! Why can't something interesting happen?" asked Coco.
Yatsu sighed. "Finish it all by 1 and I'll treat you to lunch in Vale."
"Really? You better get your wallet ready, cause I'M ALL FIRED U-" said Coco, grabbing her quill and looking down at the paperwork with determination. She was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Hey, Coco? It's me, Jaune." said a voice from the other side of the door. Coco immediately dropped what she was about to do and slammed the door open, grabbing the poor boy and dragging him into the room with her.
"Jaune, good to see you, please tell me you'll do it." said Coco so fast that Yatsuhashi had no idea what the context of this situation was, or what the situation itself was.
"Yeah, I'll do it. But I just want to run the plan by you before we make any real plans and final strategies." said Jaune.
"OKAY! EVERYTHING ON HOLD! OPERATION: CUPID'S ARROW TAKES PRIORITY!"
Yatsuhashi wanted to kill this kid. He just got Coco onto her work, and now she was procrastinating.
Again.
He was so gonna kill this kid.
"Okay Loverboy, show me what you got!" exclaimed Coco.
"Loverboy? Really?" said the kid. "It's Jaune."
"Jaune, Loverboy, blacksmith of Beacon, who fucking cares?" asked Coco. "Now, are you going to give me the rundown or am I gonna have to do all the hard work?"
"No, I have a basic plan down. So, what we are planning to do is-"
The two continued discussing plans, Coco paying complete attention and putting her thoughts into the mix. Yatsuhashi was so done with this day, and it wasn't even 10am.
[Loading…]
Velvet was ready to go to work. She had her equipment, the fabrics were in her workplace, and she had the mindset of a child on christmas walking to the tree for presents. Velvet loved her job, which was handy, since she was a tailor. Her father had introduced her to the job when she was younger, and she had tried her hardest to be the best at it. Her mother was also a huge player in her love of sewing, since they would always make it fun, singing little songs or telling jokes and laughing. Now, they were back home in a corner of Vale and she was here making the money to keep them happy in their retirement.
Did she mind sending them 60% of her monthly salary? Course not. She had more than enough to comfortably support herself and her family. That, and most of what she needed to survive were supplied by Beacon, food, water, and a home. She did buy a book or some other form of entertainment every once in a while, and made it a habit to go out to Vale and eat with Coco at least twice a month, which she paid for herself. And she even had money left over going into a saving account at the bank, which she intended to use for her own retirement.
Back when her father was the Beacon Tailor, they had to buy their own homes, and several other things, since the school didn't receive funding from the kingdom by that point, but now, despite the schools being separate political entities, the school received funding from the kingdoms, as well as some of the major guilds. Beacon was backed by The Claw Guild and The Soarers Guild, the two biggest players in guilds in Vale, but back then, they had to rely on the student funds, which sometimes wouldn't work, or taking a cut of the quest rewards. Now, with the financial backing, there was no need for that, and Beacon could afford to give their staff a little more luxury.
"Hey, Velvet!" yelled out a familiar voice. Velvet turned her head and smiled at the man walking towards her.
"Hello Jaune, what can I do for you?" asked Velvet with a sweet smile.
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with my tailoring skills. It might be beneficial for me to learn them, you know?" said Jaune, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sure I can. Come by my workspace at 5 and we'll get to it." said Velvet. "See you then."
"Yeah, have a great day."
"You too."
Jaune sighed as Velvet walked away again. Coco, from around a corner, hidden from Velvet's view, gave him a thumbs up. Phase one was complete. Time for phase two.
[Loading…]
"So I just thread it through like this?" asked Jaune, holding up the cloth he was stitching to Velvet.
"No, you're close, but when you get to this part, you thread it through this way." said Velvet, correcting his mistakes. Jaune nodded and went back to sewing, doing it correctly for a few more minutes before stopping.
"Oh, my [Tailoring] skill levelled up." said Jaune.
"Really? It took me another 2 hours to get it from 2 to 3." said Velvet. "You S Ranks really do level up your skills quicker."
"I guess so." said Jaune. "I haven't made an E Rank weapon yet, so I don't have anything to compare it to."
"Yeah, well, it's still good of you to get your level up in such a short time. I wonder how much we can get it up by the end of the week." said Velvet in a thoughtful tone. "Probably 5, maybe 6."
"So, same time tomorrow?"
"Sure."
[Loading…]
"I'm proud of you." said Coco, sitting in his house, again, like she owned the place. Blake and Weiss were across from her, watching her closely to see if she tried anything like her subordinates did, with Ren brewing himself a herbal tea in Jaune's tiny kitchen. "Velvet seemed really happy when I talked to her. You sure as hell were the right pick for this."
"Yeah…" said Jaune, looking down at his hands.
"You okay? The festival is only 3 days away." said Coco
"I know, but I just feel weird. It's like, I'm breaking her trust, acting like I'm interested when I barely even know her. I just feel off." said Jaune.
"It's fine. Just say you want to test the water, and decide to be friends afterwards, or date her. I just want my Bunbun to feel loved." said Coco. "I'm not looking for you to give your whole life to her, that'd be ridiculous. I just want her to have that feeling, of appreciation of herself, that she is worth it to someone, so she can fall in love one day."
"Why do all this then?" asked Jaune.
"Well… Bunbun always had issues with self confidence. She was a labour class hanging around with up and coming heroes due to her dad's work, so she never really had any friends, even at home. People there thought she'd be a bratty little princess and didn't give her the time of day. And the heroes here looked down on her because she was a labour class. So, she had issues making friends and adjusting. It took basically the whole year for her and the other labour class staff at Beacon to become close, but that's mainly due to work." said Coco. "She opened up a little, but love really isn't an option for her, since she rarely gets out of school, and she only really talks with guys twice or 3 times her age. Then you come along and Bunbun has a new friend and possible romantic partner."
"I stress the word possible." said Weiss. "Like you said, this is not something permanent. Just until the festival, and then Jaune is free to spend his time however he wants."
"I know that, why, you jealous or something?" asked Coco with a smirk.
"Please, we've barely known each other for over a week, so I'm only just getting the whole 'friendship' feeling down before moving onto romance." said Weiss.
"Anyway, I should get going." said Coco, standing up. "Don't want that subordinate knowing about this. See ya."
"Goodnight Coco." said Jaune. Coco let herself out, discreetly, and Jaune slumped back into his chair. He felt bad for what he was doing to Velvet. He hadn't known her for long and he had no romantic feelings towards her, but he doubted she did either. Did that mean she wouldn't go with him to the festival, cause he still wanted to hang out as friends, and their work might overlap a bit, so it was a good idea for the two of them to get along well, so Jaune will have to be extra precautious when dealing with Velvet.
But for now, bedtime.
[Loading…]
"Okay, so if there are no metals that can conduct mana, how can I create a sword that can be utilised by a mage?" asked Jaune to himself. "Maybe if I figure out how a wand works, I can find a way to translate it over to a sword or another weapon. But then how do I go about figuring out how a wand works? There aren't any teachers here that are mages, only Glynda, and she's a sorcerer."
Jaune was in his workshop, going through the box of weapons students wanted maintenance on, using his two skills to increase their attack power and their durability with one hand, and looking over a blueprint for Weiss' new sword in the other, throwing out the previous one.
"Maybe there's a teacher for magical theory that can help me." said Jaune. "Or maybe I could go to Oobleck and ask. Yeah, but maybe later. I need to go meet Velvet."
"Hey, you the blacksmith?" asked a voice. Jaune turned around to see a man, and he meant man, looking at him from the doorway. Giant of a person, easily over 2 meters tall and built like an orc, a pair of axes on his back that were clearly from a high level dungeon, kept in place by a black harness forming an 'X' over his chest. He had scarlet hair that reached his shoulders, wild and all over the place, with a matching red muscle shirt tucked into black combat pants with a black belt. His eyes were scarlet as well.
"I am. Can I hel-" began Jaune, before he recognised the man. "Y-y-yo-your-"
"Ah, my reputation precedes me, even in Beacon it seems. I take it you know who I am. But just in case, and for formality, I am Alizarin Elmen, and I am the S Rank Warrior and Guildmaster of the Blade Guild of Vale."
Jaune passed out on the spot.
"H-hey kid, you alright? KID!"
[Loading…]
"Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean to freak you out." said Alizarin. He was seated on one of the stools Jaune had in the forge, somehow not breaking it under his impressive frame.
"I-it's fine. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble." replied Jaune. "I just didn't imagine that the guildmaster of Blade would visit me."
"Course I would. Who do you think escorted you out of that dungeon back there?" said the Blade guildmaster. "Every S Ranker in the damn country was called to deal with that mess, even me. Almost all of us showed up too."
"Almost?"
"Yeah. Almost all of us. Vermillion, guildmaster of the Soarers Guild took his new S Ranker Vista, out to Mistral to do some sort of deal and couldn't make it. But yeah, every other S Ranker came out to get you out."
"Wow. Thanks so much. I really can't thank you enough."
"It's fine kid. But actually, there's something I want to ask you." said the guildmaster, leaning forward. "Have you heard of the event known as the 'Work Study'?"
Jaune was informed of this event by Weiss when she was tutoring him in how to be a guildmaster. A collection of guilds would let students or guilds join their ranks for unpaid work in order to gain experience in the dungeons to help them survive when they graduate. It was a good way for guilds to scout new recruits as well for students to join major guilds.
"Yeah, but they aren't happening until mid April. Why are you asking about it now?" asked Jaune.
"Think of it as… getting the jump on the competition. I want you and your guild to do your work study under Blade."
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
"Damnit. Of all the people to show up, it had to be you." said Alizarin.
Jaune turned around and nearly dropped again, but held himself together with a pinch to the leg. Standing before him was a man, most distinctively known for his forest green cloak, with a brown tunic and leather armour adorning his body over a green undershirt, the sleeves reaching his wrists under a pair of leather forearm protectors. He had black gloves, brown pants, black boots, and a bow and quiver strapped over his back. His face was short brown hair, messy and curly, with blue eyes, fair skin and a few freckles.
It was another S Rank.
"Gods above Hunter, why are you here?" asked Alizarin.
"Same reason you are, as it would appear." said Hunter. "Nice try, but you aren't the only smart guildmaster."
"Shut up! I was here first, so I get dibs!" yelled Alizarin.
"You can't dibs a person Alizarin!" yelled Hunter. "He has to choose whether he wants to join Blade or the Rangers!"
"Don't forget about me."
Another figure dropped from the ceiling, clad in a black hood attached to a scarf-like fabric which fell down his back, and also covered his face, revealing only his striking, red eyes. He had light leather armour on his forearms and shoulders, each shoulder blade carrying a pair of throwing knives. He also had a leather chestplate and belt, which housed a pair of sheathed daggers as well as a pair of pouches, probably for throwing knives. He had dark blue pants which were slightly covered by leather leg armour. His tunic was also dark blue, but it was cut down the front and pulled back behind him for the effect of a cape without as much to grab in combat.
Just how many S Ranks were going to pop in uninvited today?
"Alizarin, Hunter, mind if I join in on this?" asked the third person.
"Really?! First Hunter here, and now you too, Onyx?!" yelled Alizarin.
"Yep. We were all there at the dungeon, and we all want to see what he's capable of, so it's only obvious that we'd all come early." said Onyx, with a voice that just oozed the attitude, 'I fucking caught you asshole!'.
Jaune had to be sure he wasn't dreaming. He looked above their heads.
[Alizarin Elmen (S Rank)]
[Level 93 - Warrior]
[Hunter Smith (S Rank)]
[Level 94 - Archer]
[Onyx Black (S Rank)]
[Level 94 - Assassin]
Yep, that's them alright. The guildmasters of 3 of the top 5 guilds in the kingdom, Blade, Rangers and now Silent. They're in a constant struggle for second place due to Soarers, with their guildmaster, Vermillion, and their vice guildmaster, Vista, both being S Ranks, making them the only guild in Vale to have more than one S Rank hero. They were the top guild in the kingdom, and had been for 3 years, since Vista joined them.
Now, Jaune was in the middle of a makeshift triangle between 3 of the most powerful men in Vale, and he was internally screaming in delight, shock, and fear at the amount of magical energy they were putting out.
"Mr Arc here and I were in the middle of a conversation. Would you mind stepping out and letting us continue it?" asked Alizarin with a growl.
"Not a chance. I was about to make Mr Arc an incredible offer to join my guild for the work experience." responded Hunter, ready to fight back from the tone of his voice.
"Children, please, we all know that Mr Arc would much rather come with one such as me with the offer I'm about to make him." said Onyx.
"Hey!" yelled a voice from the doorway, an unfortunately familiar one. Jaune looked over and, yep, Platina was there, a smug look on his face. "Ready to accept defeat and come work for us?"
"Huh? Who the hell is this asshole?" asked Alizarin.
"I think it's a member of the Merchants Guild. He was with one of my raiding parties last year, and the reports I got of him were not the greatest." replied Hunter. "Tried to run away like a little bitch from a Gravekeeper."
"Really? How pathetic. And he had a party full of A Ranks with him." said Onyx.
Platina realised who he was standing in front of, and gulped loudly.
"W-w-w-what are y-y-you gentlemen doing here?" he asked.
"Well, these two are here to interrup-" began Alizarin, before he was cut off.
"Oh don't even start with that, we're all here for him!" yelled Hunter.
"Well, only one of us is going to get him!" yelled back Alizarin. He and Hunter were standing their ground in front of each other, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
"Anyway, we're offering you and your guild a payment of 5 gold and any materials collected on the raids are yours to do with as you please." whispered Onyx to Jaune as the other two were fighting. "You also get first shot at buying any weapons that we come across in the dungeons."
"HEY! I SEE YOU THERE ONYX!" yelled Arizarin.
"Most people don't, so good for you." responded the assassin.
"DAMN IT! Listen kid, whatever he's paying you, I'll triple it!" yelled Alizarin.
"I'll double whatever he pays!" yells Hunter.
"Well, gentlemen, that is a most kind offer." said another voice. Seriously, how many people were trying to visit him today? Jaune turned around, but soon relaxed when he saw another pair of S Ranks and an E Rank. Velvet was standing behind Ozpin and Glynda like a scared child hiding behind a parent. Ozpin held an amused look on his face and Glynda wore an expression of 'I am so done with this bullshit'. "However, the work study doesn't begin for another 2 months, so I'm not too sure what you are trying to accomplish."
"Ozpin, we all know why we're here. If you get to the kid sooner, then you have a better shot." said Onyx. "We all just happened to appear today, at the same time, that's all."
Jaune looked between all the people in his forge, the 3 guildmasters, the headmaster and deputy headmistress of Beacon, the Beacon Tailor and an annoying member of the Merchant Guild.
'Why can't I have one normal day?'
[Loading…]
Hey there guys. Well, Jaune is about to uncover his protagonist status of 'cannot have one normal day'. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, great to be back, and this is Striker777, over and out.
[Stats]
[Jaune Arc (S Rank)]
[Level 27 - Arcane Craftsman]
[EXP - 2060/8400]
[HP - 6800/6800]
[MP - 2500/2500]
[Strength - 61 (A)]
[Intelligence - 53 (A)]
[Agility - 46 (B)]
[Vitality - 48 (B]
[Speed - 38 (C)]
[Charisma - 51 (B)]
[Resilience - 66 (A)]
[Equipment]
[Crocea Mors - Rank C]
[This sword is the family heirloom of the Arc Clan, wielded by an Arc who was a knight in the war. Reforged by Jaune Arc into a higher rank weapon.]
[Durability - 2956/3000]
[Attack - 263/275]
[Arc - Rank C]
[This dagger was forged by Jaune Arc, and it was reforged into a higher rank weapon.]
[Durability - 2212/2250]
[Attack - 186/200]
[Iron Chestplate - D Rank]
[This chestplate was forged by Jaune Arc.]
[Durability - 2356/2500]
[Defense - 112/130]
[Iron Gauntlets - D Rank]
[These gauntlets were forged by Jaune Arc.]
[Durability - 1656/1800]
[Defense - 62/80]
[Leather Boots - E Rank]
[These boots were tailored by Jaune Arc]
[Durability - 743/800]
[Defense - 21/30]
[Dark Dagger - C Rank]
[This dagger was used by a legendary bandit before it was cast aside for a better sword.]
[Durability - 2000/2000]
[Attack - 215/215]
[Special Effect - Armour Pierce (Pierces medium and heavy armour to decrease defense by 30%)]
[Skills]
[Blacksmithing (0MP) - Level 47 (0%) - Ability to produce C Rank weapons and metal armour with a 47% efficiency bonus]
[Sharpen (20 MP) - Level 1 (67%) - Sharpen a bladed weapon to repair it's attack power (+50 attack repair)]
[Repair (20 MP) - Level 1 (33%) - Repairs a weapon or armour to restore durability (+500 durability)]
[Inventory (0MP) - Level 1 (18%) - Store things in a dimensional space completely sealed off, only being opened by the person who has the skill (3 spaces)]
[Rune Smithing - Level 1 (0%) - Craft runes into items for added effects.
{Known runes: Teleportation (Teleport the wielder to the rune - 150MP), Storage (Able to store 1 item in this rune - 50MP)}]
[Tailoring (0MP) - Level 5 (42%) - Ability to tailor E Rank clothes and light armour with a 5% efficiency bonus]
[Stitch (20MP) - Level 1 (19%) - Stitch together two pieces of clothes automatically (basic quality)]
[Curse Mark (500MP) - Level 1 (5%) - The mark of Salem that allows the user to access power to help them at the cost of 100 HP per second.
{Underdog - Level 1 (5%) - Increases speed, strength and agility by twice the difference between the levels of the user and the opponent.}
{?}]
[Mana Threads (100MP/Thread) - Level 1 (0%) - Create threads from the tips of the caster's fingers, which can be used in a variety of ways.]
[Hand Smelting (50MP) - Level 1 (0%) - Heat your hand in order to extract the metal within an ore.]
[Passive]
[Scholar - Any skill from any skill stone can be learnt]
[? - Reach level 60 to unlock]