Hey guys.

So, results are in. The final tally had a total of 8 women in the harem.

Blake.

Ruby.

Pyrrha.

Weiss.

Yang.

Velvet.

Salem.

Glynda.

Yep, there it is. I was actually surprised so many of you wanted Salem in there, especially after the last count, and Glynda barely makes the mark with 10 votes. I was considering her for a more 'Beacon Mother' role for Jaune, but the people have spoken, so… here we are.

And please no complaining. Don't like it? Don't read it. Simple as that. There are plenty of people who are happy with this result, and just because you don't like it doesn't mean everyone should cater to your wants, no matter what you send me in a PM or review.

Sorry, but to who I'm addressing, you know how you are.

But enough of that bullshit, onto the story!


[Loading…]


"Okay… no sudden moves." whispered Jaune. "If we don't provoke it, we can come up with a plan to take it down."

But in all reality… what could they do? This is a Chimera, an A Rank monster at level 76. This was by no means easy, or even doable, but it was now the challenge that they faced. This thing was nine levels higher than the boss monster from the First Quest. This was way too dangerous.

And it was looking right at them.

Hungrily.

"How do we deal with this?" asked Jaune. "What do we do? This thing is way over our level!"
"Calm down." said Pyrrha. "Worrying won't get us anywhere. You two head back to the village and inform them about this predicament, leave this fight to me."
"No, fuck that." harshly whispered Jaune. "You aren't strong enough for this, that mark of yours isn't going to help you against this thing!"
"Jaune…" muttered Pyrrha, before she pushed past him to face the monster.

"Do you truly believe that mark is the only skill I have in my arsenal?"

The chimera roared at the challenger with all 3 of it's heads. Pyrrha simply stared at the beast and exhaled, her sword being coated in a thick, red aura. THe beast rushed at her, and she responded by dropping into a sword stance, unlike any Jaune had ever seen before. As the beast grew closer, Pyrrha began her move. "Sword Skill: Flowing…" she began, before she and the beast were mere centimeters apart.

"Rapids."

She dashed off like water flowing down a river at breakneck speed. She slices into the chimera, even managing to slice off the tail that was also a snake. The beast cried out in agony, and stumbled slightly, before regaining its footing and slamming the stump of its tail into Pyrrha's shield, which she had raised to defend herself from the beast. Pyrrha grunted under the overwhelming pressure of the chimera, but was able to jump back with relatively minor injuries. The beast didn't seem overly injured either, for a monster that just lost its tail.

It was amazing, seeing Pyrrha move like that, reminding Jaune of how far he had to go to catch up. Not only did Pyrrha have powerful skills in her arsenal, not only as a higher level hero, but also as an S Rank, but she had years of experience to perfect them and bring them up to higher levels.

He had some serious ground to make up in so little time.

But then again, anything truly worth doing is never easy.

"GO!" yelled Pyrrha, never taking her eyes off of her opponent. "GET THE VILLAGERS OUT OF HERE! I'LL HOLD THE CHIMERA OFF!"
"NO WAY! WE CAN'T LEAVE YOU!" screamed Jaune.
"YOU'LL ONLY SLOW ME DOWN! GO!" yelled Pyrrha, facing down the beast as it lunged at her.

Wow… she actually just said that. She actually said it.

"Nora… let's go." said Jaune, turning around and running off towards the village. Nora was hot on his heels.

Pyrrha continued her assault, bringing her weapon against the beast. It gave a mighty roar as it charged at her, but she had been prepared for the situation. This was her first time facing a Chimera, let alone by herself, yet she felt no fear.

She wasn't allowed to.

Not only was she an S Rank, but she was a Champion of the God of Light himself. She was the one that stood at the pinnacle of society, that people should be blessed simply being in her presence, or hailing from Mistral, where the God of Light had obviously chosen to be his domain, giving them his Champion.

At least, that was what all the high rank heroes and the members of the church always said to her. She was raised in the biggest of houses, with the best tutors, and the best equipment on the market for someone of her standing. She was given everything she wanted as a child, with friends in high places that got her anything she wanted.

She was the face of Mistral.

Signs, everywhere a person could look, for promoting businesses, the church, herself to the big guilds, everything. Hell, she had even been sent on raids with the church's own private guild, The Holy Sword Guild, which had a monopoly on the S Ranks, with a total of 15 S Rank heroes, and 2 of them on the level of an entire kingdom's military. They could send the Guildmaster of Vice Guildmaster to a place like Menagerie and take it over in a matter of hours.

Of course, Atlas, Vacuo and Vale would have something to say about that. Atlas had a grand total of about 32 S Rank heroes, 26 of them in their special military guild, which assists military operations, such as helping militias fending off monsters from villages in their kingdom. 6 of them were known to be Kingdom Rank, the Ace Ops. If they banded together, they could probably take out any veteran Champion of the gods. Vacuo had the least number of S Ranks, standing in at 3 in total, but they were known to be the best of the best in the world. Their best hero is said to be able to take on 3 Kingdom Rank heroes at once, and win. Vale, had 1 Kingdom Rank hero to speak of, but their other 6 were well known throughout the world as being candidates to become Kingdom Rank. Vale had 6 on the verge of becoming Kingdom Rank, and Ozpin was strong enough to go toe to toe with Vacuo's best.

None of them would be scared of this.

And none of them were Champions of the most powerful god in existence.

Pyrrha was confident in her ability to take down this monster.

The monster let loose a mighty roar as it swung it's claws at her, but Pyrrha ducked under the claw and went for her own strike, using her skill, Sword Slash, to deal extra damage to the enemy. However, as she was so close due to her attack, the beast counter attacked by swiping its lion head, slamming it straight into Pyrrha, sending her back slightly. The beast was right on her, sending another claw straight at her. Pyrrha was able to bring her shield up in time to block the claw, but the force sent her back. Pyrrha jumped straight back up and brought up her shield up in a defensive position in order to block any incoming attacks, and the Chimera jumped into a lunging position.

The two stayed like that for a while, staring the other down and planning their next move.

The Chimera roared at the slightly injured girl, before lunging to the side. This confused Pyrrha, before she saw the beast bite down on the ground, and throw something into the air. She quickly realised it was a snake, which the beast ate. As it swallowed the serpent, it's tail began to shake, before it expanded out, emerging good as new, a snake head on the end and everything. It turned to roar at her, it's health slightly higher than it was before, before it rushed into the forest.

Such a beast should not be allowed to live.

Pyrrha rushed after it.


[Loading…]


"EVERYONE!" yelled Nora, as the two appeared in the village. "EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"
"What's wrong?!" asked a villager in alarm.
"The situation has changed." responded Jaune. "We're dealing with a Chimera here, it's way too dangerous to be in the area. Please evacuate your homes immediately. Only take the essentials, food, water, blankets and clothes."
"A-A-A C-C-Chimera?! What of the other hero?" asked another villager.
"Holding it back to give you guys a chance to escape." said Jaune. "We need to get you out of here as quickly as possible. Please aim to be out of the village with your families in 5 minutes or le-"

Jaune stopped when he felt something cold go up his spine. 'This feeling. It's as if… it's the same as the goblin dungeon… Pyrrha!'

"Nora, help with the evacuation, then meet me and Pyrrha where the fight is taking place." said Jaune. "I'll go assist her."
"What? But I ha-" began Nora.
"You got taken out by that puppet, yet I defeated it and the dungeon boss. Go do what I say." said Jaune, rushing off into the forest.
'If that thing can… just hang on Pyrrha, back up's on the way.'


[Loading…]


This thing was a monster.

There was no other way of describing this abomination.

When Pyrrha caught up to it, the first thing that happened was she stepped in something. Looking down, she caught a clear view of what could only be described as unsettling.

It was the remnants of a Boarbatusk.

The creature had obviously been eaten, as stains of blood were everywhere, even on the Chimera, around the mouth and chest. The beast noticed her presence almost immediately, and turned to her, it's eyes now glowing red, with a bone mask and tusks covering it's lion face.

Oh, and it somehow gained power.

[Chimera - Level 78 (A Rank)]

It had somehow become 2 levels stronger by eating a Boarbatusk and a snake. At level 76, there was no way for it to jump 2 levels by eating two monsters. Not only that, but also gain their physical features.

Oh, and it was also completely healed.

What absolute bullshit.

Curse words never entered Pyrrha's mind before, but a monster that grew more and more powerful by simply eating another monster was grounds for a curse or two. Pyrrha was still injured from her previous fight, not by much, but enough to warrant some concern from the girl about her future status after the fight.

She might have a serious injury or two after this.

However, this beast might have just played right into her hands.

It ate a Grimm, a servant of Salem, which might allow her ability as a Champion take effect against the beast. Pyrrha started channeling her mana, and began to feel the familiar and warm power of her Champion status take effect. Pyrrha's body was engulfed in the black feathers that were used to show her connection with the strongest of the gods.

The Chimera didn't seem to care.

The beast snarled at her and rushed forward, opening its jaws in an attempt to add Pyrrha to the contents of it's stomach. It's jaw, surrounded by the new bone armour was incredibly intimidating. But Pyrrha had worse face her and her party in dungeons before.

Pyrrha jumped back just in time to allow the monstrosity to snap at where she had stood not a second before, but was now safely out of harm's way. Pyrrha then used her momentum to push herself forward and slash at the head of the beast, aiming specifically for the Grimm bone armour that connected the beast to Salem.

The blade bounced off the bone armour like it was nothing.

Pyrrha's eyes widened. Her mark did nothing. It should have caused 10 times the regular damage, but not a scratch. This was not good.

What made it worse was when the snake tail took a bite at her blade, and slammed her away.

Pyrrha's sword fell out of her hands as she was pushed back, slamming into a thick tree and causing it to fall. She fell down herself as the beast jumped on top of her. She slammed it with her shield, banging it into the side of the beast's head. However, the shield was incapable of penetrating the bone armour.

'No way… any regular Boarbatusks armour would be shattered right now… so why is this armour not so much as getting scratched?' asked Pyrrha, as she continued to struggle. Eventually, the snake tail slammed itself down onto Pyrrha's arm, trapping it from moving. Her shield was slammed into the ground as well.

'No… not… possible… I shouldn't… lose… like this…' thought Pyrrha, as the jaws of the beast opened once more to engulf her. 'I… I…'

'I don't want to die!'

The Chimera roared in victory and went to bite her head off.

It's armour caved.

An overwhelming pressure slammed straight into the bone armour at full force, smashing it like a finely diced onion and sending the Chimera staggering back in pain. The creature looked up to see black markings, akin to the previous human he had been fighting, but with black and red eyes, black cracks and white hair.

"160 strength really does a lot of damage, huh?" said the newcomer. "This is really powerful… I like it."

The newcomer grasped his fist at the monster, but turned to face the girl. "Let this be a lesson to you, Pyrrha, about how important it is to keep your weapons in top shape if you want to beat your enemy." he said, looking down at her. "I saw those weapon stats during The First Quest, you don't take proper care of your weapons at all, do you?"

"J-Jaune?" asked the girl, Pyrrha. "W-what's happeni-"

She gasped as her mind wandered back to the day of The First Quest, where Jaune had been in the same appearance and beat the elf. She didn't question it then due to her stress, but now?

Now was different.

He was a Champion, just like her. But the aura and general feel he gave off…

Salem…

He was the Champion of Salem! The devil herself!

"You figured it out, huh?" muttered Jaune, loud enough for her to hear. "I'll explain everything later, but right now, we have more pressing issues to attend to." Jaune turned his attention back to the recovering Chimera, who had since gotten over its initial shock and was ready to continue to fight.

"I shall slay you…" said Jaune, reaching down and pulling [Arc] and [Crocea Mors] out of their sheaths, "IN THE NAME OF SALEM!"

Jaune watched as the Chimera rushed at him, swinging its claws at him as if the beast had already won. Jaune simply grabbed a hold of the claw, watching as the beast tried helplessly to gather it's claw from the grasp of the human, having vastly underestimated the boy.

"You were holding back… thinking I wasn't worth the effort…" said the boy, looking down upon the Chimera. He began to chuckle, as he spun around in a circle, lifting the giant beast off the ground, and sending it flying into the trees. Rushing after him faster than anything Pyrrha had ever seen, he was on top of the beast, still flying through the air and crashing into trees, and he drove [Crocea Mors] into its chest, sending them both into the ground with a sharp stop. The beast howled in pain as the sharp object penetrated its hide and flesh.

Jaune wasn't finished, taking [Arc] and slicing off the tail of the beast, causing another roar of pain. "I have less than a minute left… better make it count." said Jaune, seeing his current health.

[HP - 5850/7350]

Jaune unsheathed [Crocea Mors] from the Chimera's chest, and turned the hurt beast around so it was on its back, before taking his sword and slicing off its goat head. The Chimera once again roared in agony, before shoving Jaune away and jumping off to the side. The Chimera's health was low, probably around only 2000 left out of what Jaune assumed was 15000 or more.

Then the Chimera roared.

[The enemy has used the skill Random Summon]

[Random monsters will appear in the area in a short time, dependent on how far away they are. Estimated time of arrival: 00:02]

2 seconds.

More than enough time.

Jaune rushed at the beast, which quickly jumped away from him, trying desperately to put some distance between them. Jaune smirked and shifted his course, rushing at the beast again, swinging [Crocea Mors] up to take off the final head.

'Gotcha'

Then the ground under him broke.

Startled as he was, Jaune was able to jump back in time to avoid the monster that came out. Grimm type, one he was unfamiliar with, that looked bug-like in nature, long and with several legs, and pincers on its jaws, connected to the bone armour of its body.

[Centinel - Level 48 (B Rank]

Jaune had to take out both a Centinel and a Chimera. Not his best fight, but certainly one he could win. That bone armour was going to be a problem, however, so he resheathed [Arc] and brought out [Dark Dagger]. Since Dark Dagger was going to do more damage due to it's [Armour Pierce] effect.

Then Jaune was pincered by a pair of Beowolves.

Jaune felt a pair of claws slam into him and send him flying away from the Chimera and Centinel, looking up as a pair of Beowolves just entered his field of vision.

[Beowolf - Level 39 (C Rank)]

Definitely not looking good. Jaune found himself surrounded on all sides by three Grimm and an A Rank monster. Granted, the Chimera was heavily injured, but if it was like he had assumed…

Both he and this Chimera were going to get a power boost.

True to his intuition, the Centinel let out a pained screech as the Chimera began feasting on it. Jaune watched as the Chimera swallowed the Centinel like a string of spaghetti, allowing its tail to reform in the shape of the Centinel, and Bone armour to appear around the spine. It then lunged for one of the two Beowolves, feasting on it as well, growing a second head next to the lion head, and Bone armour adorning it. Jaune finished off the other Beowolf as the second head finished forming.

[Beowolf (C Rank) Killed - +3500EXP]
[Collected - Magic Stone (C Rank)]

Jaune turned to the monster in front of him.

[Chimera - Level 82 (A Rank)]

His own health was low now, he only had around 20 seconds left before he died.

He had to be quick.

Jaune rushed forward, his speed even greater than before. The Chimera couldn't follow as Jaune appeared behind it, it's Centinel tail already bisected. The beast roared as it tried to kick Jaune, but the Champion simply jumped over it, bringing [Dark Dagger] down onto the beast's Beowolf head. It roared in agony from it's final head, and once again tried to flee.

Jaune didn't allow that.

He slammed [Crocea Mors] down onto the beast's neck, and ran down its body, slicing it open. Blood gushed out like rain, the Chimera in a whole new world of pain.

Jaune ended it by slicing off the final head.

The beast's body fell down onto the ground. It didn't move.

It was over.

[Chimera (A Rank) Killed - +10000 EXP]
[Level Up]
[Collected - Magic Stone (A Rank)]
[Collected - Centinel Tail (B Rank)]
[Collected - Grimm Bone Armour Plate (B Rank)]
[Inventory Full - Item Dropped]
[Collected - Chimera Claw (A Rank)]
[Inventory Full - Item Dropped]

[The quest (Slay The Chimera) has been completed]
[Say accept to accept all rewards]

Jaune panted as he released his [Curse Mark], feeling the power leaving his system. He took another look at his health.

[HP - 800/7900]

3 seconds.

He had missed death by 3 seconds.

Holy shit that was close.

"Jaune!" yelled Nora, rushing off to help him. Jaune's body, now lost of all power and adrenaline, fell straight into Nora's awaiting arms. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"S-so tired…" muttered Jaune, before looking at the quest rewards that had been dropped. "D-do me a favour and get those for me? I'll swap them out with the [Magic Stones] I have and we'll carry them back to Beacon…"
"On the verge of death and all he cares about is the drops…" muttered Nora, before complying, allowing Jaune to drop his C and A Rank [Magic Stones] as he placed in his [Grimm Plate Armour] and [Chimera Claw] into his inventory.

Jaune smiled to himself, before he fell into the darkness.

[You have been afflicted with the status - Unconscious]
[All Penalty Quests are nullified]


[Loading…]


Jaune was in the void once again… complete darkness and silence for as far as the eyes could see or the ears could hear.

Bar from a certain goddess clapping enthusiastically.

"My dear Champion…" said Salem, looking at Jaune with the same eyes as a proud mother. "I am so proud of you."


[Loading…]


Hey there guys. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for not updating in forever, but life has been hectic for me and my family lately. However, that has begun to cool down, so it should leave some time for me to focus on my work, making sure it's up to the standard I want for you guys.

Anyway, about that message at the start… there have been some reviews about not continuing to read the story over the fact that it is now a harem fanfic. I get it, you don't like it, yada yada yada, but a lot of other people do. I can't change my mind over the decisions of one or a select group of people over the majority. So if you don't want to read it, don't, but don't come after me personally in PMs about how unfair it is that you don't want it to be a harem fic and so it shouldn't be, and telling me to change it.

For the vast majority of my readers, I love and cherish you guys, much like someone who has come into contact with me recently, Kitobeater123. Their encouragement and love for the story to PM me for an update, and the kindness they showed afterwards, got them a special privilege to choose the Rune that Jaune will get for completing the quest. Let this be a little tip to you all, kindness does not go unrewarded, weather it would be immediately or at a later date.

Anyway, that's it for the update, so for now, this is Striker777, over and out.

[Stats]
[Jaune Arc (S Rank)]
[Level 29 - Arcane Craftsman]
[EXP - 4810/9300]
[HP - 800/7900]
[MP - 3100/3100]
[Strength - 68 (A)]
[Intelligence - 59 (A)]
[Agility - 50 (B)]
[Vitality - 53 (B]
[Speed - 42 (C)]
[Charisma - 55 (B)]
[Resilience - 72 (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 - 2932/3000]
[Attack - 257/275]

[Arc - Rank C]
[This dagger was forged by Jaune Arc, and it was reforged into a higher rank weapon.]
[Durability - 2201/2250]
[Attack - 180/200]

[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 - 1991/2000]
[Attack - 210/215]
[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 7 (89%) - 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 (9%) - 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 (9%) - 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.]
[Mend (20MP) - Level 1 (0%) Use new materials to increase the durability of fabric-based armour and accessories.]

[Passive]
[Scholar - Any skill from any skill stone can be learnt]
[? - Reach level 60 to unlock]