Naruto was digging again.
He'd been digging for some hours, in fact. Mind almost blank, face expressionless, hand against stone.
He'd finished the rough carve of the entire first floor, now, and had just moved onto the basement, which was actually easier. He didn't really have to worry about anything but structural integrity to avoid a cave in.
The solution to that had just been support pillars, so it wasn't even that difficult a problem to overcome.
He'd roughly carved out the center part to the basement workshop too, now, and was working away.
He didn't quite know what time it was, though. Not without checking a clock. Granted, he had a clock in his peripheral vision at all times, but that required moving his eyes.
The thing about being underground was that you lose all sense of time. It could be a minute, it could be ten, it could be five hours. Who really knew?
A Candlelight hovered behind Naruto, silently judging his choice of thoughts.
It was the only source of illumination down here, and Naruto was thankful for it, no matter how judgmental it was.
It wasn't at all judgmental, it was a floating ball of light, but sometimes, Naruto could swear it was doing just that, judging him.
Silently, softly, reviewing every choice he made.
Naruto needed to either finish the Arcave and stick lights in it, or get outside for some fresher air, because despite how surprisingly decent his ventilation system had been thus far, there was only so much he could stand to have the flickering, occasionally wandering light source hovering behind him.
Sunlight, or moonlight, depending on the time, would be a welcome respite.
Even artificial light from a lamp or a fluorescent bulb would be greatly appreciated.
Maybe, dare he say, a Mana Flash?
He shot that thought down with rapid, extreme prejudice. 'No, Naruto, don't flashbang yourself again. Can you go stir-crazy from excavating earth?'
He had to imagine that you could, in fact, go stir-crazy from constant carving through rock.
He resolved himself to finish the project, though. He was so damn close now, stopping would only make it harder on himself to find the time to pick it back up.
Which wasn't true, of course, he was just arguing any point he could in order to convince his somewhat deluded mind that he had to finish it tonight, no matter the time it would take.
So, Naruto continued to dig.
He'd done it. The Arcave, it was complete.
Well, completely carved out and neatened.
Turned out the neatening part was surprisingly simple work, easier than clearing what amounted to at least fifty tons of stone.
Definitely more than fifty, now that he thought about it.
The basement was all ventilated, and he'd added two extra rooms, one as a little reactor-esq room for the Energy Dust Crystals, and one that was more of an extension of one wall rather than a new room. The arms convention in Vale had given him the seed of the idea, and the free time to think had given it the time to bloom.
A firing range. Not a large one, of course, but it was still enough that you could get some somewhat decent range. Nothing like what Ruby would find challenging with Crescent Rose, but something that might be found in a small store. Or the convention, but that was more of a temporary situation, so it was fair to say that had a little less to live up to.
Another thing had happened during his excavation, a gift pretending to be a minor snag.
Whilst excavating the firing range, he'd discovered a chunk of rock that, no matter how hard he tried, he could not manipulate with Terrakinesis. A few minutes of testing had led to no real conclusion, so he figured he'd wait until someone more knowledgeable took a look at it.
Now, Naruto had a number of things he could tick off of his mental to-do list. The next step was wiring everything, and figuring out plumbing. Something a few hours of browsing the CCTnet couldn't teach him.
You could find anything on there nowadays.
That would be tomorrow, though. Not tonight. It was late, despite the fact that he was refusing to look at his HUD clock. Maybe if he didn't look he'd be wrong, and it would actually be earlier.
Couldn't hurt to try, at least. Weirder things had happened.
Technically, weirder things were happening.
Naruto emerged from the Arcave, emitting a slight snigger at the name, before replacing his expression with a straight face.
It was night, he could tell from the fact that the sun wasn't in the sky and the shattered moon was instead taking its place as a temporary means of providing minor illumination to the surrounding clearing.
Naruto was very tired.
He was rambling because of this fact, a fact that he was becoming more and more unable to deny.
So, in order to prevent himself from A; being tired and B; rambling, Naruto decided that he would go up to his dorm, and go to bed.
The Arcave would be there tomorrow, it wasn't like it was suddenly going to sprout legs and wander off.
Weirder things had happened, though.
"The Vytal Tournament begins in one week, students! I understand that for some of you there have been a number of interruptions, but make sure that your team's application is submitted if you wish to participate! That will be all!"
Finally, class was over.
It had been some time since Naruto had actually sat in class, and he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. Watching other people fight with mediocre skill had very limited entertainment value.
Now that he understood a lot of the intricacies of combat, at least. Back before he'd had his semblance, he would've been entranced, but now, well…
Now watching someone miss with a hatchet as another person missed with their halberd at the same time didn't quite have the same lustre.
He was currently walking out of class with the rest of AWBN, RRYN tagging along as usual, something that had become such a common sight that it would have been a seriously strange situation if they were seen doing anything else.
Once again planning on heading to their typical spot, the clearing out the front of the Arcave, they stepped outside into the fresh air, reveling in the mid-afternoon breeze, only to suddenly come face to face with a crowd of people.
"Uhh…" Naruto began, using his height to peer over the top of the other students.
People quickly parted, a thing Naruto made the mistake of not doing, as he suddenly found himself hit with a body, sixth sense triggering at the time of the impact, doing absolutely nothing to provide any kind of forewarning necessary to avoid said impact.
The tangle of limbs that hit him drove him into the paving, the smell of alcohol following suit as the man who'd hit him clambered to his feet, paying Naruto no attention as his gleaming sword blocked the blade of a woman who looked a whole lot like an older Weiss.
"Winter?!" Weiss exclaimed, lending credence to Naruto's preliminary theory.
"Uncle Qrow?!" Ruby and Yang cried out in surprise at the same time, giving Naruto a pretty clear idea of who it was that had been rammed into him at surprisingly rapid velocity.
"Ow…" Naruto let out, Ren offering him a hand, quickly pulling him to his feet.
The two, Winter and Qrow, stared each other down, one wearing an expression Naruto recognized from Weiss, the other a look so smug it was almost like looking at a male version of Yang.
Familial resemblance was certainly apparent, to say the least.
"Branwen, Schnee! What do you think you're doing?!"
Finally, a voice of reason Naruto could recognize.
General James Ironwood, with Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin in tow.
"General, sir! He started the altercation!" Winter quickly let out, her salute following the sheathing of her blades.
Qrow stepped past the elder Schnee. "Nah, that's not true."
"Regardless of who started it, I believe you both owe an apology to Mr Uzumaki. Considering you practically gave him reason to taste pavement," Ozpin remarked with a wry smile, mug in hand.
Light blue and red eyes met Naruto's own, and all who were a part of the crowd watched in mild amusement as Naruto's hand came up to the back of his head, scratching away an imagined itch.
"Eh, he'll live," Qrow said, looking back to Ozpin. "He's supposed to be a Hunter, right?"
Winter didn't even deign him with a response, instead turning to the General. "My sincerest apologies, sir. It won't happen again."
Ironwood let out a slight sigh, walking past the gathered group. "Come, Specialist. We have a briefing."
Weiss watched on, stunned, as her sister paid her no attention, instead walking past, following the General.
Ozpin followed the General. "You too, Qrow. You can speak with your nieces afterwards."
Qrow rolled his eyes. "I'll catch up with kiddos later. I think I might be in trouble."
Red eyes met blue once more on the way past, and Naruto was hit with a burst of nostalgia. An old memory, from the beginning of Beacon, burst forth from the depths of his mind into the forefront, and Naruto shivered involuntarily.
And, as they walked away, Naruto observed them both.
[Winter Schnee]
[Glass Soldier]
[Level 62]
[Qrow Branwen]
[Bad Luck Charm]
[Level 71]
"So…" Blake began, somewhat confused. "What just happened?"
Yang spoke up. "Knowing Uncle Qrow, he probably started it."
Ruby nodded in agreement. "Probably would've won, too."
Weiss scoffed. "A draw at best. Winter did appear to be winning."
The blond teen wasn't paying any attention, still watching the assembled group walk away.
That look Qrow had given him… it was just like the look Ozpin had given him when they'd first met.
That look always meant bad news.
"So, that's the kid?"
Qrow leaned against a column in Ozpin's office, a flask in his hand, waiting for a response.
"Indeed, Qrow. Mr Uzumaki is 'the kid', as you so inadequately put it," Ozpin replied, a touch of humor in his voice.
"And we know he's on our side?" Qrow asked, the next question on what was starting to look like a long list.
"I can confirm that, somewhat. Uzumaki and his team were invaluable members of Operation Kingslayer, as was your niece's team," Ironwood interjected.
"Not to mention your niece's judgement of character. Both of them, actually. Mr Uzumaki can be trusted to do what is right," Ozpin said, before sipping from his mug. "It may come as a shock to you, Qrow, but not every wielder of the System is selfish and dangerous."
Qrow shrugged. "Give it time. I'll be right again."
"Mr Uzumaki is not what we called you in for, though. Amber's condition is worsening, and our enemy is at the gates, their moves more and more brash as the days pass by. We need you in the city, on guard. The penultimate move comes sooner than later, no doubt, and I, no, we need to be ready," Ozpin continued, waving aside Qrow's concerns. "James and I want you and Specialist Schnee to work together on patrolling."
Qrow looked at his flask, inspecting its contents for any potential meddling. "I dunno if you saw what she did when she saw me. I can't be held responsible for all the property damage all the time, you know."
"Qrow, you're almost always responsible for property damage," Goodwitch remarked dryly, staring at the alcoholic Hunter, who was mid-gulp.
"Almost."
Ozpin ignored Qrow, turning to the General. "If you'd like to bring Specialist Schnee in now, James?"
Ironwood nodded, opening the door to a somewhat huffy Winter Schnee, who quickly concealed her attitude, snapping a salute. "Sir."
"Come inside, Specialist. We're about to begin your briefing."
Winter quickly stepped into the office, sending a glare at Qrow as he stared at her, one eyebrow quirked.
"It is a pleasure to properly meet you in person, Specialist Schnee," Ozpin began, holding out his hand. "James has said many a good thing about you and your performance, and I hope that will not change in the face of potential adversity."
Winter took the extended hand and shook it in a firm grip, before releasing and folding her arms behind her back. "Thank you Headmaster. It will be a pleasure to work with you."
Qrow snorted.
Another glare sent his way, Winter turned back to the men she actually respected. "What will you have me do?"
Ironwood took over. "Recently, incursions from criminal elements have ramped up in frequency and capability, and Ozpin and I believe that an attack is imminent. However, with the recent attacks having been reasonably successful, the Valean Council has seen fit to relegate us to a more defensive position, and considering the Daedalus is still undergoing repairs from Operation Kingslayer, we wouldn't be able to commit to a full attack even if we could. The repairs will be finished soon enough, of course, before the beginning of the Vytal Tournament, but regardless, we do not know enough about our enemy to make any concise strikes, were we even allowed."
Ozpin spoke up. "That is why both you, Specialist Schnee, and you, Qrow Branwen, are being tasked with investigating and tracking down any potential threats, off the books. The Council mustn't know about this, as they have effectively barricaded us from making any retaliatory moves. Do you both understand?"
"Yes sir!" Winter uttered, standing up straight.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Qrow muttered, taking another gulp of the flask's contents.
Ironwood hid a smile. "Good, because you'll be working together."
Suddenly, Winter's enthusiasm dropped a level, and the temperature in the office dropped by a good few degrees as the icy cold glare that Winter leveled at Qrow was made all the more clear by the resounding silence that followed Ironwood's statement.
"Is that a problem, Specialist?" Ironwood asked, looking to the elder Schnee sibling.
"No, sir. I just dislike the idea."
Ironwood accepted the answer as far more civil than he was expecting, though considering the young woman's position and his own, it made sense. "Glad to hear that your personal feelings will not get in the way of the mission. I expect the same of you, Qrow."
Qrow shrugged. "I'm not the one that starts a fight every time we see each other."
Winter looked like she was physically restraining herself from strangling the man.
"Behave yourself, Qrow," Ozpin ordered, though the seriousness was somewhat defeated by the small smirk the older man wore. "It would be best if the two of you settle your differences once and for all. James is right when he says that this is a serious situation. Many, many lives are at stake, and Qrow, you know the consequences better than anyone."
The grizzled alcoholic's eyes met the ground with an intense stare.
"That will be all, Specialist," Ironwood said.
"Thank you, Qrow," Ozpin said immediately after.
Both stood with a momentary lack of movement, before Glynda spoke. "I believe that's professional code for 'go away now'."
Qrow let out another snort of laughter. "After you, Ice Queen."
Ironwood watched as Winter's hand twitched at her blade, hovering less than an inch away from it, but the woman thought through her options, and resolved herself to instead step out of the office, heading towards the elevator, Qrow following suit.
The door closed once more, leaving them alone.
"What're the chances that Qrow picks a fight with Uzumaki before he picks another fight with Schnee?" Ironwood said aloud.
"No bet," Glynda replied.
Ozpin smiled a rare smile. "Fifty Lien that Qrow ends up liking Uzumaki."
The two men placed their fifty Lien cards on the table.
Glynda sighed.
Winter was silent.
Qrow was not.
"Relax, Ice Queen, we're going to go see your sister and my nieces now. No business yet, so we don't have to worry about pretending to be civil."
Winter let out a deep sigh. "At least you admit to it being a pretense."
Qrow shrugged. "What can I say, I've got more important things on my mind. Like finding out exactly what the firecracker meant when she said that Ruby was dating."
Winter, for once, lost her composure, raising an eyebrow at the older man. "You, the grumpy strict uncle? I never would have guessed."
"Grumpy and strict? Nah. Protective? Hell yeah."
That made more sense. Winter couldn't really figure out why she hadn't assumed that in the first place.
Despite herself, she couldn't help but ask. "Who do you think it is?"
Qrow shrugged. "Either your sister or the Uzumaki kid. Then again, who really knows these days? Could be that Nikos kid for all I know."
Winter was suddenly hit by a flash, a mental image proving nearly too much for her, as the idea of a really young Qrow dating her sister pushed its way past any and all of her mental barriers.
"You alright, Ice Queen? Lookin' a little pale there, more so than usual."
The elevator dinged, fresh air flooding the metal box as Winter quickly stepped out, taking a deep breath to clear her mind.
"Eh, you'll live. Dorms are this way."
Winter allowed herself to follow the man that smelt like he'd tripped and fallen into the entire stock of a bar at the same time as he led her towards the only person outside of the military that she could actually stand to be around.
The dorms were devoid of any of the five students that might lead them to the other three they were seeking, which meant that, through deductive reasoning, that they were all together somewhere.
Qrow was a little confused by that. Sure, he knew what it was like to have a sister team, but as far as he remembered, STRQ had rarely gone anywhere but their dorms.
He doubted they were in Vale, too, otherwise Yang or Ruby would've at least felt the need to tell him. And, if and/or when they forgot to do that, at least the mini Ice Queen could be relied upon to update her sister on her whereabouts.
A quick scroll message to the firecracker had him somewhat confused. "They're all in the Emerald Forest?"
Winter heard his utterance, another raised eyebrow breaking through her stoic expression.
Qrow shrugged in response, a little too confused to be able to fire back with his usual wit.
It took next to no time to reach Beacon's cliffs, a massive blast of nostalgia hitting Qrow as he reached them.
A swig quickly had his attention directed elsewhere, and it soon found itself directed at Winter as she noticed something.
"A staircase? It's… carved into the cliff itself…"
Qrow frowned. "That wasn't there the last time I was."
Winter frowned at him. "So it appeared within the past thirty years."
Qrow rolled his eyes. "I'm not that old, Ice Queen."
Winter ignored his response, peering over the side. "It would appear that they are down in the clearing at the base of the cliff."
Qrow joined the woman in looking off the edge. "Huh. Not a bad spot, actually. Wish we'd thought of that."
Winter was already on her way down the steps, so naturally Qrow decided instead he'd just jump, plummeting towards the clearing with absolute disregard for Winter, landing hard, Aura pooling in his feet.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, already rocketing towards him.
He felt absolutely no impact, or so it would appear, as Ruby latched onto his arm, hanging there. "Did'ja miss me?"
He ruffled her hair. "Nope."
Yang walked up to him next, wrapping an arm around him briefly. "Hey there firecracker. Keeping out of trouble?"
Yang was ever-quick with her reply. "Nope."
"Good to hear."
Ruby quickly detached herself, gesturing to the rest of the assembled group. "Uncle Qrow! This is Ren, Nora, Blake, Weiss, and Pyrrha!"
A chorus of introductions followed, and Qrow paid them absolutely no attention, instead turning his attention to his youngest niece. "Which one did Yang say you were dating?"
Yang, realizing she'd been thrown under the bus, quickly glanced at Qrow, noticed his smirk, and paled.
"It's not what you think Rubes…" Yang began, only to have her sister tackle her to the ground with surprising power.
"Traitor!" Ruby began with a shout. "You betrayed the sisterhood!"
A blond head poked out of a doorway in the cliff that Qrow hadn't noticed before, and he suddenly found himself the center of attention.
"You, Uzumaki, right?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. The guy you crushed earlier."
The kid was surprisingly snarkier than Qrow had expected, or been told.
"Eh, you'll live, I'm sure. You dating my niece?"
Qrow watched with satisfaction as the color drained from his face. "I- uh… we, um… yes?"
Yang, still on the ground, shook her head in defeat. He'd brought this upon himself.
"And you didn't think to ask anyone's permission?" Qrow asked, taking a step closer.
Suddenly, Naruto found himself a backbone. "No, because I didn't need to. Ruby's her own person, capable of making her own decisions."
Qrow shook his head. "I didn't say Ruby couldn't date you, kid. I said you couldn't date Ruby. There's a difference."
"There is?!" Ruby exclaimed, looking at her uncle. "Since when?"
Qrow rolled his eyes. "Since I decided there was, kiddo."
"I can't help but feel like that isn't quite fair," Naruto offered, slowly backing away.
"Nuh-uh. It ain't, but life ain't fair either, is it?"
It was almost worse for Naruto that he agreed with the man on that point.
"Better get your weapon, kid."
With that, Qrow leapt forwards, Harbinger angled towards Naruto, blade glistening in the afternoon sun.
Naruto brought his shield up, metal clanging against metal as Qrow's sword impacted hard, and Naruto felt his knees buckle as his feet were driven an inch into the dirt.
Naruto expected another blow, he did, but the sudden delivery of a right cross from Ruby seemed to dissuade Qrow from dishing it out, the older man staring in surprise at the red-cloaked girl that had just socked him in the jaw.
"Huh."
"Stop being so mean, Uncle Qrow! Naruto doesn't deserve it!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Gotta agree with Rubes on this one, Uncle Qrow," Yang said, lifting herself from the ground, brushing herself off. "Naruto's been nothing but a good friend, and not just to Ruby."
"So it isn't just me you act so unpleasant towards. What a wonderful first impression, Qrow."
"Winter! It's good to see you!" Weiss was quick to step over to her sister.
"Hello, dear sister. How are you?"
Naruto had to practically condition himself to ignore that conversation, because Qrow still hadn't put away the sword.
And Naruto then watched as the older man's demeanor changed completely, a smirk growing on his face. "Relax, kids. I'm just testing his reflexes and attitude. Nothin' to worry about."
Ruby seemed to accept the excuse for what it was, but Naruto met the man's eyes.
There was a look there, one he could barely recognize. Loathing, pain, suffering… familiarity?
Naruto didn't know how to react to that.
"Look, I can make it up to you Rubes, for attacking your boyfriend. I brought all your stuff from your Dad's?"
Qrow made it sound like a suggestion, and it took Ruby almost half a second to realize what he meant.
"Wait, you were the one Dad sent with my workshop!?" Surprisingly, Ruby seemed almost distraught. "What have you done!?"
Qrow seemed to revel in her misfortune. "It's fine, kiddo, what's the worst that could happen?"
Ruby didn't appear to be listening. "My poor, delicate instruments!"
"Your poor delicate instruments that were sitting and gathering dust in the back of an old shed."
Ruby opened her mouth to object, and instead decided to throw her sister under the bus in revenge. "Yang's got a girlfriend too, Uncle Qrow. Can you go attack her and leave me and Naruto to unpack the workshop?"
Qrow just laughed. "You think I care who Firecracker's dating? Couldn't give two craps about her teenage drama."
A faint "suck it Rubes!" was heard over the pout that Qrow was suddenly under attack by, his niece's expression weakening his rather limited emotional defenses.
"Alright, fine! Enough with the puppy dog look. I'll leave you and scrawny to plug in crap. Though… where are you putting it?"
Naruto, finally getting an opportunity to speak, answered. "Inside the Arcave."
The disappointed stare he received made him wince.
Naruto heaved, arms tensed as he put all his strength into lifting the massive metal and brick structure that he'd had to make an entirely new entrance to the workshop for.
"Last one, Naruto!" Ruby cheered him on from in front, acting as his guide, as he couldn't actually see past what he was carrying.
Aura burned at the tips of his arms, glowing bright white at his fingertips and slowly fading as it went up his arms.
Then, his guide stepped back, into his periphery, and gave him a thumbs-up, so he placed the structure onto the ground, letting out an exhalation of relief as he did so, already panting.
Others gathered around, taking in the somewhat-completed workshop for the first time.
Machinery and worktables littered the place, a tool rack Naruto had effectively had to carve a special mechanism to hang it onto the wall acting more like decoration than an actual tool rack, because the box of tools were sat next to it, still waiting to be unpacked.
Naruto had just placed down the forge, which, according to Ruby, was used to melt down metals.
The ramp to the outside let in a pleasant amount of sunlight, not enough to completely illuminate the basement floor, but enough that they were at least able to see, and Naruto had a Candlelight doing whatever he needed it to do, thankfully without the judgmental attitude this time.
The wiring was done, though, all Naruto had to do was hook up the Energy Dust Crystals, install lights, have it all plumbed, get furniture, and figure out how to get a door big enough to cover what was effectively the new entrance to the workshop.
He'd received a message from Master Engineer Sam Wright earlier, halfway through shifting a grinder into its position, and he'd read it thoroughly, somewhat surprised at its contents.
The deposit he'd given had effectively paid for a bunch of equipment that Naruto hadn't even heard of before, and some that he had. An ammunition bench, a chemistry station, a circuit fabricator, all sorts of things that were going to be delivered to Beacon by the end of the next day.
Ruby, well, Naruto didn't think he'd ever seen her so excited. It was infectious, and from the looks of things, even Blake couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's apparent enthusiasm.
Most everyone were still around, though Weiss had left with Winter, glad to be able to spend some time with her sister. Qrow had, as promised, wandered off, and Ruby quickly confirmed that it was probably likely that the man had gone to a bar in Vale.
Yang had agreed with her sister's theory, so Naruto had taken it as true, though considering he hadn't doubted it to begin with, he didn't really know why he needed, or wanted, a second opinion.
At the moment, it appeared the older man tolerated his existence, which was at least better than he had when the first met.
That glance the first time, though. He hadn't been glared at like that since a long time ago now, and at the same time, after an apparent talk with Ozpin, Qrow hadn't given him that look again.
He'd given him a different look. One that made Naruto feel like the two needed to talk again. Not that Naruto wanted to. Something else was giving him that idea.
"Naruto?"
Naruto whipped around, noticing Pyrrha and Ruby looking at him, concern on their faces. "Sorry, zoned out for a sec. What's up?"
"Ruby was just mentioning the firing range you made, and I asked why there was a massive clump of ore in the way," Pyrrha repeated.
Naruto's eyes widened ever-so-slightly. "Ore? That's what that stuff is?"
Pyrrha nodded, walking over to it. "As far as I can tell. My semblance is picking it up, faintly, but I can feel it."
Naruto made a noise of sudden realization. "I couldn't touch it with Terrakinesis, and I didn't know why."
Pyrrha placed her hand against it, a black glow spreading over it. Her face grew strained, and she released her control a moment later. "It's too much for me, too little actual refined metal for me to feasibly do anything to."
Naruto stepped up next to his partner, placing his own hand against it. "I mean, there's really only one thing left for me to try at the moment. Let me try push Mana into it."
Naruto really only knew one method of creating skills, and that was usually just manipulating Mana in one way or another to reach a goal. He wasn't really expecting it to work with this though, but he figured he'd give it a shot.
Sudden control filtered through his mind, and a notification appeared.
[Skill Created!]
[Ferrokinesis (Active): Thanks to the System, you are now capable of manipulating metal around you, at the cost of 8 MP/s. Level 1; XP 0/12.]
"Oh, that actually worked," Naruto remarked in surprise. "I really wasn't expecting that to work, and I don't really know why."
"Naruto, harvest it! If you mould it into small enough chunks and stick it in your inventory, we can make metal out of it!" Ruby quickly exclaimed, and Naruto nodded, drawing it out and realizing that he couldn't make it bigger or smaller like he could with stone using Terrakinesis.
"Man, this feels weird. It's nothing like Terrakinesis."
Instead he used his control to pull a node and then have it cut itself off, dropping into his awaiting hand, where he stored it in his inventory.
The actual ball of ore seemed to be reducing in total size as he thinned it out, so it was less like he was pulling from a single point and more like he was drawing the mass from the entire thing itself, and Naruto found that quite strange. It almost felt like it wasn't quite solid, and yet at the same time that it was.
"Woah…" Ruby breathed out, watching in stunned silence. Pyrrha was doing the same, staring intently.
"I can feel what you're doing, Naruto…" Pyrrha uttered. "It feels so… strange."
Her senses were fluctuating as the metal obeyed physics in a way Pyrrha had never felt. Her magnetic sense helped her with all sorts of things as a kind of passive ability, such as her capability to always know where magnetic north was in relation to her own position, but now it was going haywire. It was dizzying.
"It's Iron Ore," Naruto mentioned, placing another chunk in his inventory. "I think because I went around it with Terrakinesis I drew out all the impurities, so it's pure ore."
Ruby nodded. "Saves a lot of time and effort trying to purify it for the forge, at least."
Naruto kept going, slowly picking up speed as he became more and more used to the feeling.
Then, as suddenly as he'd started, he finished, the final chunk of ore thudding into his hand, and quickly vanishing into his inventory.
"Uhh, Naruto?"
Another strange thing, the consistency was starting to become almost annoying. "Oh."
Glistening and shining with a silvery light was a small outcropping of Dust inside the hole the ore had been in.
A quick Observe answered the unasked question.
[Metal Dust Deposit]
[Grade III]
[Metal Dust is a dark grey color, and very sharp. With fusion being difficult at best, it is most commonly found inside rich ore deposits.]
There were a few things that stood out to Naruto from that. 'Fusion?'
He tabled that for future consideration. A question to ask Weiss.
"It's a Metal Dust deposit," Naruto said, sliding into the crater to get a closer look.
He wrapped one hand around one of the few jutting out crystals, and wrenched it free, startled when it came out much easier than he'd been expecting.
It also sliced open his hand, which almost instantly regenerated without Naruto even really noticing the pain.
He did notice the blood, though, so he placed it in his inventory and then coated his hand in Aura as he grabbed the next crystal.
This time it didn't slice through his hand, and he quickly dismantled the outcropping, seven more Grade III Metal Dust Crystals adding to the first in his inventory.
And, finally, he placed his hand against the ground and used Terrakinesis to pull it upwards, reshaping the ground to be flat, effectively filling in the small crater and finally leaving the firing range how he'd wanted it to be in the first place.
"Well, that was something. Dinner?"
With all the heavy lifting Naruto had done over the past few days, he'd actually earned a point in Strength.
Whether that meant he hadn't done all that much work or he'd done far too much work he didn't really know, but he wasn't one to turn down free stuff.
Speaking of work he'd done, the Arcave was now all wired and plumbed, hooked into Beacon's plumbing system which was, in turn, connected to Vale. It was strangely convenient how close the pipes were to the Arcave, now that Naruto thought about it, but it wasn't something important enough to dedicate too much thought to.
Vale Joint Weapons Manufacturing had delivered the equipment he'd ordered to Beacon, and Naruto had been quick to install all of it, and he'd just finished sticking the final light-bulb in the first floor.
He'd decided on a more typical kind of lighting for the first floor, and a style of fluorescent tubing for the workshop.
All in all, long story short, Naruto considered the Arcave at least ninety-percent complete.
He could work on furniture and doors later, because he'd mentioned one of his newest acquisitions to Ruby, and apparently mentioning the word 'pack' around her was a dangerous thing to mention.
"C'mon c'mon c'mon! Show me!"
Her excitement was palpable, so much so that Naruto swore he had to push aside some if it to actually see the red-cloaked girl.
He did as he was ordered, though, reaching into his inventory and taking out the object he was yet to inspect, or even see in its physical form.
It was a box, made of some kind of plastic-metal hybrid, securely sealed with a thin wrap of transparent plastic, a border of deep blue and pale grey along the edges.
Atop the lid it bore a single symbol, an eight-pointed star of blue crystal.
"Woah, that's a Frostbite Arms PACK!" Ruby exclaimed, staring at the box in his hands.
Naruto set it down on a workbench. "You keep saying pack. That doesn't mean what I think it does, does it?"
"Premade Armament Construction Kit," Ruby explained. "They're basically a box of parts for a weapon, and instructions. They're usually for civilians or collectors."
Naruto nodded in understanding, before turning to the box, quickly Observing it.
[Tranquility]
[A pump-action shotgun with an integrated silencer, Tranquility holds seven shells in the tube, with an eighth in the chamber.]
Naruto read the description out aloud, Ruby hanging onto every word. "An integrated silencer? That's so cool! Those are like super-rare!"
"So, you said you'd help teach me. Wanna get started?"
Ruby was already halfway through opening the box when he reached the end of his sentence.
It had taken a few hours, and Naruto had noticed that his Crafting level had increased a few times, up to 4, all thanks to the 1000 XP he'd received for finishing it, but it was, as he'd said, finally finished.
Silver-grey metal that seemed to turn dark-blue at certain angles and dark grey rubber on the stock, grip and foregrip, Tranquility was beautiful and yet seemingly rugged at the same time, two visuals directly competing and yet, at the same time, working together flawlessly.
Only problem was, Naruto didn't have any ammo for it.
Ruby had left when they'd finished, her sister and her uncle sending her a message for the family to meet.
Naruto folded Tranquility up, folding the stock under the receiver and watching as the rest of the circuit took action, barrel retracting.
He decided against placing it on his belt, as he didn't actually have anything on his belt to hook it onto, instead dropping it into his inventory.
He took the stairs two at a time up to the first floor, switching the lights off as he did so. Power conservation would save him thousands of Lien in the long run, or so his mother had drilled into his head. To be fair, there were eight of them at home when she'd said that, and considering that there were eight of them now, seven friends instead of seven sisters, he had to imagine that his mother was right.
Though, come to think of it, he was supplying his own power and not paying Vale for it, so it was somewhat cheaper.
It didn't matter all that much, to be fair, but every little bit helped.
Naruto switched off the lights for the first floor, shutting the 'door', which was actually him just sealing the doorway with a quick burst of Terrakinesis.
He, once again, began taking the steps two at a time, quickly climbing the cliff.
It was late afternoon again, class was finished, and Naruto had something planned.
He reached the top of the cliff with ease, stepping off the steps and continuing his path towards the dorms.
Weiss was probably busy, Blake was probably in the library, and Pyrrha was probably training.
Naruto knew these things.
So, Naruto pulled out his scroll as he walked.
He quickly sent a message out on the team chat, knowing the three would see it.
'Vytal Tournament is in four days. Four days of training. One hour, meet in clearing. Come armed, and ready for combat.'
And while he waited for them to gather their gear, he would have time to pick up some ammo from Vale.
And prepare an ambush.