That had gotten out of control a little. Well, a lot, but who was keeping track?
Naruto sighed. He was keeping track. He pushed aside the bed covers and stood up, taking a deep breath as the morning sun streamed in the window of the small hotel room he'd taken for the night.
It was strangely nostalgic, being back in the hotel he'd first stayed in when he'd originally entered Vale. The Golden Winds was the same as it ever was, aside from a few pockmarked dents on the exterior, but that was to be expected.
It'd been a tad bit more expensive than last time, but considering Naruto's financial situation that wasn't the slightest problem. He was more than happy forking over a hundred Lien for the night if it meant he got to sleep somewhere comfortable.
He was going to be sleeping out in the wilds more often than not in his future, he imagined, so he had to enjoy it while it lasted.
He was disappointed to find out that the cafe he'd first eaten at in Vale was closed, but he wasn't here to relive his early days. He had work to do, and a destination in mind.
Firstly, he was going to purchase something to attach to Shirdal's saddle, like a friend-or-foe identifier. He didn't exactly want to get shot out of the air again.
Thankfully, it didn't take all that long to find a place that had what he was looking for in stock. Vale was big, and despite the recent tragedy, people still got about their business as best they could.
Another expense, and now he'd spent a total of 250 Lien in Vale. Considering the amount of wealth he had at his disposal, that was perfectly fine with him.
He definitely got some stares in the public park where he summoned Shirdal and attached the equipment to the saddle, but many of the people recognized him from the Vytal Tournament, and those who didn't weren't going to approach the teenager fiddling with some electrical equipment on the back of a giant golden Griffon with a saddle on it.
He clambered atop Shirdal, running one hand through the head-feathers as he adjusted his positioning, feet settling into the stirrups on the saddle.
There was enough space for Shirdal to take off, thankfully, and that was exactly what the Griffon did, wings beating their steady rhythm as Naruto warily watched the anti-air defenses.
They swiveled, tracked him for a moment, and Naruto was about to dismiss Shirdal when they rotated back to their default positions. That was good, it meant the friend-or-foe identifier had worked.
He urged Shirdal to continue flying, and once they were far enough away Naruto brought Alcmena and Apollo out to join Shirdal, the two avian souls cawing and chirping as they found themselves soaring through the air alongside, large wings adding to the sounds of the sky.
He would be back in Vale by the evening, but first he was going to go train. And what better place to train than Mountain Glenn?
Mountain Glenn had barely changed since the last time he'd been here. There was still a massive crater where the Shai-Hulud had emerged from, near the center of the cityscape, and if he looked closely he could see the much, much smaller crater from the time he'd killed that Goliath.
His destination was the former, not the latter, and he urged Shirdal to dive, wind blowing blond hair back as the ground grew larger and larger in his view.
Shirdal touched down easily, and Naruto half-slung himself out of the saddle, one foot still in the stirrup as Shirdal slowed to a stop, where the teen dropped to the damaged ground just next to the giant crater.
He peered over the edge as Alcmena and Apollo scoured the skies, Shirdal taking off once more to join the two.
The crater was much like a basin, complete with what could feasibly be referred to as a drain in the center, the near-perfect circle in the ground bringing back all sorts of memories from AWBN's first assignment.
Naruto dropped into the crater, keeping his balance as he slid down the rubble, scattering chunks of concrete and rock in his wake as he reached the flatter part of the crater.
There had to be items left over from when they'd killed the Shai-Hulud. Good items, too. All he had to do was find them.
And, after a few minutes of searching, Naruto stumbled across exactly what he was looking for. A small stack of items sat neatly underneath a chunk of concrete. He shoved it aside, and quickly began collecting the items.
[You have acquired: 49 Inert Dust, 17 Shai-Hulud Teeth, 1 Shai-Hulud Skull, Predator PACK, Telum PACK, Sandstorm PACK.]
He couldn't find any Lien, which was disappointing, but he had to imagine, after all this time, it must've been either taken by scavengers, who'd strangely not bothered with the rest of the stuff, or it had simply been moved by something else. Perhaps the wind? There was also the chance that there hadn't ever been any Lien in the first place, too.
He wasn't disappointed, though, far from it. Three PACKs and a couple Shai-Hulud parts were more than appreciated. He didn't know what the weapons were, but he'd check once he was somewhere safer. Perhaps he'd head back to the Arcave and construct them. He had to imagine the cave was still there, and he jotted that down in his mental to-do list, making sure to remember.
He could hear snarling in the distance as Apollo lit up a cluster of Beowolves, and Alcmena sent him a mental warning of a cluster of Ursa to his south, so he unsheathed Crocea Mors and set about climbing back out of the crater, headed south. He had work to do.
Ever since Naruto, alongside the rest of AWBN, all of RRYN and the Atlesian Military had killed the Shai-Hulud, Mountain Glenn had ceased to be a Raid Zone. Which, whilst disappointing on a selfish level, was definitely a good thing for Remnant in the long run.
But, as previously stated, it did mean that killing Grimm here was a little less worthwhile compared to a Raid Zone.
Not that Naruto knew where another Raid Zone was. Perhaps Beacon counted now?
He didn't really want to go to Beacon again. That would be opening himself up to all sorts of memories. Ones he didn't really want to think about right now.
Naruto decapitated another Ursa with a Mana Slash before blocking a claw with his shield, one of Alcmena's feathers spearing the Ursa Major through the chest, where Naruto cleaved one of its legs off, already moving onto his next target.
Only to find he'd already decimated the group of Ursa. That was disappointing, he was just getting into the swing of things.
With both his Huntsman and his Banker titles equipped, Naruto was set to make a nice sum of experience and Lien from this, but that was only if the Grimm would pick a fight with him. He'd barely seen any, and the ones he had seen weren't exactly the biggest threats.
It had to be the Wyvern drawing them out of Mountain Glenn. That had to be why there were so few Grimm. Perhaps in the forests between here and Vale there were plenty more Grimm, but as far as Prof- no, Headmistress Goodwitch had explained, the Emerald Forest would probably be full of Hunters as well.
To think he'd basically been told not to help. Granted, he had enough on his plate, but it did feel a little harsh for Goodwitch to shut him down.
Cadejo barked a warning from the distance as Ishara and Freyja chased another cluster of Ursa towards Naruto, and he turned, the scorpion and the boar breaking off as the Ursa continued on their way towards him, lumbering paws pounding the ground, bony spikes glinting white in the sunlight as Naruto raised one hand, a Mana Pulse impacting at the feet of the ursine Grimm, practically disintegrating the front two of the group.
The third and fourth he put into the dust with two blasts from Tranquility, the fifth he killed with a spin, Crocea Mors cutting through the outstretched jaw.
It left only the sixth, the Ursa Major of the cluster, and it looked angry, incensed that Naruto had slaughtered its brethren. Or it was just an Ursa like any other and was just genetically disposed towards hating him. Probably the second one, now that he thought about it.
Naruto took the first swipe against his shield, allowing the weight of the Ursa Major to push him backwards before he fired out a Mana Tether, watching as it stuck on its side, the bear-Grimm trying in vain to brush it aside as the follow-up Mana Cannon shot that Naruto fired ruptured the beast, practically tearing it asunder.
"Man, that's a powerful combo," Naruto remarked aloud, watching chunks of Ursa Major hit the ground in inky black splotches.
And it was, too, according to the amount of damage he'd dealt. That Mana Tether modifier was nothing to joke about.
Naruto couldn't afford to stall and admire his handiwork, though. More hostiles were on the approach, according to his summons, and that meant he had to be on guard, not staring at previously-dispatched Ursa.
It was looking to be a long, fulfilling, prosperous day of training, and Naruto was more than ready for that.
[Encounter Complete!]
[You gained 1,992,921XP and 39,824L!]
[You've reached Level 46! You've gained 5 Stat Points! Skills have leveled!]
[Loot Acquired: 50 Inert Dust, 10 Beowolf Claws, 4 Beowolf Pelts, 1 Alpha Beowolf Claw, 4 Ursa Skulls, 6 Ursa Pelts, 11 Ursa Claws, 3 Creep Hides, 1 Creep Bone, 1 Anaxis Seed, 2 Grade III Lightning Dust Crystals.]
Naruto was more than happy with the day's work. Pushing his hair out of his face and wiping away the sweat that lingered on his brow, Naruto clambered back atop Shirdal, the griffon taking off once more, Vale the destination.
More accurately, Junior's Club.
The sun had nearly set already, the hazy orange horizon barely visible through the thick cloud cover when he was on the ground, but up in the air, on the back of Shirdal, it was far clearer as they breached the lower cloud layer, leaving Naruto very refreshed.
Clouds would do that, as it turned out, and suddenly all the sweat Naruto had been wearing was suddenly replaced with a film of cold water.
It'd be a difficult job to convince Naruto to complain about it, though. It was, as he'd stated, refreshing, and frankly there was something significantly more important going on as Shirdal began the descent towards Vale.
The IFF tag was still working as intended, thankfully, and Naruto was urge Shirdal to land nearby the club, giving him the time he would need to change into his somewhat-makeshift disguise without giving away his identity.
If he came flying in aback a golden Griffon it was more than likely to give him away.
A nearby rooftop would do nicely as a covert location to rapidly equip his suit and the Abominae Mask, and, considering Naruto's curiosity, he stalled the mask equip, instead withdrawing one of the Ursa Skulls he'd acquired during his trip.
The mask took to it much like it had taken to the Beowolf Skull, wrapping black tendrils around it and consuming it into its murky depths.
Now, it more resembled a broader Ursa rather than the more narrow Beowolf, and when Naruto equipped it he was rather pleased to find that it gave him plus 25% to his Strength instead of the plus 25% to Agility that the Beowolf Skull provided.
That was definitely appreciated, especially in a fight. Being able to deal more damage was always a benefit. That and his Fortified Body perk meant that half of his STR was added to his END when figuring out his total HP. So, more health and more damage.
Naruto didn't even bother with Surface Walk, instead dropping down the fire escape on the side of the building, occasionally grabbing onto one of the railings to stall his descent, Aura pooling on the bottom of his soles as his feet hit the pavement, the teen stepping out of the empty alley and into the somewhat-busy street, his mask drawing significant attention as he ignored the bouncers, stepping straight into the club.
The music, whilst different from the last time, was much the same in tempo and attitude, and despite himself Naruto could feel one hand tapping along to the rhythm against the grip of Tranquility.
He knew he must've made an intimidating sight to anyone who saw him, and he hoped that and his prior appearance the night before would be enough to dissuade anyone from approaching, unless they had what he wanted.
"Oh, great. It's you again. New mask?"
Junior's oh-so-warm reception made Naruto smile under the mask. "I hope you have what I asked for. Wouldn't want a repeat of last night."
Naruto could see that Junior was still moving gingerly, careful not to bump his midsection, where Tranquility had fired the night prior.
"I've got what you want. For free. As you asked. Wasn't easy, either."
Naruto nodded, taking the offered scroll and reading the document, eyes scanning the attached image with keen interest. "Thank you for getting this, Junior. Consider this repayment for my… hasty actions. I'd appreciate if we could stay on good terms. After all, I may just need information in the future, and I'd hate to have to break some more things."
Naruto placed down a two golden Lien cards, a total of 2000 Lien, on the counter next to the returned scroll, after he'd forwarded the information to his own and promptly deleted any trace he'd done so.
Junior nodded and accepted the recompense without a word, but before he withdrew the scroll he looked over to the other corner of the bar. "What'd you do to the twins? I've never seen that sort of thing before."
Naruto wasn't exactly going to come outright and tell the man what he'd done, but he did sort of owe him an explanation. Turning his two most trusted henchwomen into quivering wrecks did attract attention.
"I scared them. This mask isn't just for show."
It was the wrong thing to say, apparently. "I've seen masks like that before. It wasn't the mask, that much is for certain, otherwise we'd have all felt it."
Whether or not Junior believed his lie, Naruto didn't really care. "Trade secret. Sorry."
Naruto turned around, leaving the large man at the bar to call out to him. "You got a name? Didn't get it last time you were here, considering the whole 'professional disagreement'."
Naruto didn't bother turning back.
It looked a lot like Blake. It was blurry, hard to see, and the footage was grainy atop of that, but it still looked a lot like her. The outfit was different, but the bow was present atop the head, and her weapon was partially visible.
Naruto doubted that it was anyone else. Question was, what was she doing getting on a boat?
He didn't know its destination, unfortunately, which meant he had to find the place where the boat had departed, and ask around. Thankfully, that wouldn't be too difficult, but as dark as it had gotten, he'd have to wait until the next day before he was able to do any more investigating.
His quest had updated, still incomplete, and it would only complete when he found out tomorrow.
Which left some time for some… less required but equally important tidying up he'd been meaning to do. Like, for example, the Arcave.
In hindsight, it had been a childish notion. Staying at Beacon would have been definitely preferable, of course, but he couldn't have expected it to last forever. He'd been too ambitious, too forward, too excited by the prospects of his own little place to call home. It would have been fine, of course, if it had been a small place to relax, but trying to completely outfit an entire workshop alongside turning it into a permanent living space for eight people was just too much for him to handle on his own. Especially with classes, assignments, and training.
Not that any of that mattered, now.
He had a minimum of three things in his inventory that he needed to craft, too, which meant that stopping in and checking on the mix of his and Ruby's forging equipment wasn't a bad idea at all.
It was, thanks to that, that his destination was the Arcave.
It had started to snow, now, cold flecks against his skin, coating the ground in a fine layer of white as he closed in on the man-made cavern he'd constructed, having taken the long route through the Emerald Forest instead of the practically non-existent methods of travel up to Beacon. He didn't want to requisition a Bullhead just to ferry him up to the still-ruined school, only to climb back down. It wasn't all that far a walk if he stuck to the edge of the forest.
The cliffside loomed in front of him, but he refused to look up, instead focusing his eyes on the clearing he'd spent so much time in, the white of the snow that coated the ground outlining various divots and chunks that had been disturbed by his training.
The doorway to the Arcave was just as he'd left it, if a tad bit snowier, and Naruto stepped inside, one hand on Tranquility as he moved, the corridor somewhat less convenient to be swinging a longsword around in.
It was clear, though, devoid of life. He was glad he hadn't bought any furniture, too, otherwise he doubted it would still be in any kind of good condition.
He took the stairs two at a time, descending into the workshop, his free hand conjuring Candlelight.
Much like upstairs, it was empty, but the quiet hum of the active Energy Dust that powered the workshop added a familiar ambience to the cavernous construct.
He guided the Candlelight to illuminate the workshop as he began flicking on the machines as he released his grasp on the grip of Tranquility, instead opening his inventory.
He had a number of things he wanted to work on. First, he turned on a burner and grabbed a glassware beaker, setting it down on the chemistry station.
Second, he strode over to the industrial grinder that sat mounted to one of the workbenches and grabbed a number of things out of his inventory, setting them on the counter.
It took next to no time for Naruto to begin feeding the grinder an Abiare Herb, the leafy, orange and yellow herb quickly becoming a similarly colored powder.
Seventeen more of the herbs followed suit, adding to the pile, and he found himself suddenly nearly twelve-thousand XP richer from just the Abiare Herbs.
It wasn't enough for a level, but it got him close, and even closer still when he ground down the last remaining herb in his inventory, the Rinade Herb.
He strode back to the chemistry station and dropped a small amount of the Ground Abiare Herb into the beaker alongside an Alchemic Reagent, watching and waiting in interest.
The Alchemic Reagent crackled and burst, nearly filling the beaker with a glowing white liquid, which quickly began to blend and mix with the powdered orangish-yellow herb to form into an orange liquid. The smell of oranges permeated the workshop, a refreshing scent, and Naruto took the beaker off from the top of the burner and placed an Inert Dust on the countertop.
Instinct told him what to do, despite common sense objecting, and Naruto poured the contents of the beaker atop the Inert Dust.
He watched in awe as the crystal seemed to capture the liquid, forming a glassware bottle around the orange fluid, ending in a crystalline cap that seemed to shine as the Candlelight flickered off its sharp angled edges.
He repeated the process with the Ground Rinade Herb, this time creating a deep purple liquid in an identical bottle, sitting comfortably next to the previous bottle.
A quick Observe identified the both.
[Draught of the Bull]
[An orange potion that tastes, unsurprisingly, of oranges, the Draught of The Bull provides a temporary boost to Strength when consumed.]
[Draught of the Tortoise]
[A deep purple potion that tastes somewhat like grapes, the Draught of The Tortoise provides a temporary boost to Wisdom when consumed.]
He pocketed both bottles, stowing them in his inventory, instead withdrawing five Beowolf Claws and another reagent, making another Nigredo quickly, ticking him over into his twelfth Crafting level.
No new recipes unlocked with that twelfth level, but that was okay with Naruto. He had plenty more things to craft, and the top of that list was the three unassembled PACKs that had dropped from the Shai-Hulud all that time ago.
Question was, which was he to assemble first? He didn't really know what any of them were, but he had to make a choice at some point.
Telum, Sandstorm or Predator. If he was being honest, all the names sounded interesting. It was hard to make a decision.
Naruto shrugged. "Eenie meenie miney mo, catch an Ursa by the toe…"
He finished the rest of the rhyme in his head, before withdrawing the Sandstorm PACK and opening it, beginning to lay out the pieces one by one, the instruction manual sat next to them.
"Connect piece AB5 to AB4…"
It was beginning to take shape, and once it was finished, Naruto took a step backwards, marvelling at his latest creation, and the twelve-thousand XP that came with it.
It was a belt-fed heavy machine-gun, made of a tan-colored metal. A tan box with the empty ammo belt sat mounted behind the main grip, and a folded bipod sat on the front by the forestock.
It was pretty impressive, Naruto had to admit.
[Sandstorm]
[A belt-fed bullpup HMG designed for extended use in hostile environments, Sandstorm is chambered in 7.62mm, and comes with a box magazine that holds 150 rounds.]
Naruto didn't own any ammunition aside from his 12 gauge buckshot, unfortunately, so he couldn't load the weapon, but that was beside the point. It looked rugged, and the description seemed to enforce that point. This thing could take a beating and keep spitting out rounds.
Which, he imagined, was exactly what it was designed to do.
It was large enough that he couldn't stow it on his belt much like Tranquility, but it did feature a few hooks atop the top for a strap he could affix to the weapon.
Naruto hefted it, testing its feel before stowing it back in his inventory, withdrawing the next of the remaining two PACKs.
Another near-quarter hour passed before Naruto finished constructing the second of three weapons, a much smaller one this time.
Predator, unlike Sandstorm, was a handgun. This, in and of itself, was nothing special, but it was the distinct size and heft of the handgun that really separated itself from the more typical sidearms found in most stores.
[Predator]
[A bulky pistol chambered in .50 GK, hard to wield but possessing some of the highest damage capabilities of all small-size weapons.]
Naruto had never heard of .50 GK, but considering he'd heard of .50 BGK, he had to imagine that there wasn't all that significant a difference. Presumably .50 GK was the pistol round as opposed to .50 BGK, which Naruto knew was the caliber of round that Ruby loaded into Crescent Rose.
Unlike Sandstorm, Predator attached itself with ease to the magplate on his belt, but unless he was to make it somewhat awkward to carry, he'd have to put away either Crocea Mors or Tranquility, unless he wanted to get some new magplates to put on his clothing.
[A Title has ranked up!]
[Armsmaster Equipped has become Armsmaster Arsenal!]
Dropping it in his inventory, Naruto pulled out the final PACK, Telum, and began constructing it.
Unlike either Sandstorm or Predator, Telum was very, very complicated. It took him nearly an hour to build the thing, but when he was done, he was very, very happy with the final product.
[Telum]
[Telum is an advanced Compound Bow that fires arrows, designed to be easily compactible and yet still feature a high draw-power. Includes a custom-built quiver that can print arrows, as long as it is fed with the necessary materials.]
Slinging the quiver over his shoulder, Naruto placed Tranquility into his inventory, putting the compact form of Telum where Tranquility had been.
His inventory became one Iron Ore lighter as he withdrew it, placing it in the bottom tray of the quiver, closing it back up as the machine began to hum.
After a short time Naruto had a quiver with five arrows in it, and he withdrew one, admiring just how sharp the broadhead at the tip of the arrow was.
He quickly stepped outside and nocked an arrow with an amateurish attempt, and sighted down Telum, pulling back. He sort of knew how to aim a bow, and he released the arrow, watching the projectile soar off and thwack against a tree-trunk, just to the left of where he'd been aiming.
[Skill Created!]
[Weapon Proficiency: Specialized Ranged (Passive): Thanks to the System, you are now capable of utilizing ranged weapons that otherwise would not fit into any general category. Level 1; XP 1/12.]
Grabbing it by the shaft, Naruto tugged it free of the tree, placing it back in the quiver on his shoulder and once more collapsing the bow, placing it back on his belt.
Three new weapons, all with their own uses. Naruto was more than happy with the evening's progress, and that wasn't including the two draughts he'd made. And to think, in his inventory he had the potential to make even more.
The rest of the night held nearly as much potential as it had only a short while ago, and Naruto had nowhere to be.
At least, not until the next day.