Naruto didn't really know what to expect. A building with a giant death ray atop it, perhaps?

Or maybe a giant forge, spanning miles.

It was exactly what he didn't think it would be. Which was a regular convention, full of stalls, which in turn were full of people, all trying to vy for the attention of passers-by.

Ruby had started off as nervous, as had he, but she'd soon become distracted, almost the moment they breached the walls.

There were a surprising amount of people, if Naruto had to be honest. A lot of people, in fact, that he half-recognized, simply from passing them in Beacon.

Ruby grabbed him by the arm and began excitedly dragging him towards a stall, one that Naruto wasn't really able to differentiate from any of the others, but to Ruby it appeared to be something special.

"Hello, welcome to Vale Joint Weapon Manufacturing's display booth at the 40th Vytal Festival!" A voice greeted them as they entered, and Naruto nodded to the greeter, before being summarily pulled inside by Ruby, who did not appear to be planning on slowing down anytime soon.

Naruto had assumed it would be a typical convention booth, and Naruto had been wrong.

It took up what Naruto could only assume was a quarter of the total area of the entire gathering, with a good half of that taken up by a firing range, and a smaller area filled with training dummies for melee combat testing.

Yet he couldn't hear any gunfire. It was quite strange to watch weapons discharging, with no sound to go with the flashes.

Ruby seemed to be equally confused by that, which meant it was new. There was no way Ruby wouldn't know about it otherwise, considering Naruto had to assume this wasn't her first time here.

The other side of the area had a stage surrounded by seats, all filled with people as a woman took the stage.

Ruby was quick to drag him to a standing position close enough to the presentation, and even he found himself echoing her anticipation.

"I'm certain all of you have been waiting a long, long time to hear this," The presenter began, pacing a path atop the stage. "I could take my time, teasing it out with various details to other projects, making the tension rise further and further, but I won't, because this is Vale Joint Weapon Manufacturing's greatest design yet."

Ruby was on the edge of her feet, as she lacked somewhere to sit.

It wasn't just Ruby that was excited, though. Naruto could tell that whatever the announcement was, the audience had been waiting for it for some time.

"In conjunction with the Schnee Dust Company, we have developed Remnant's first Grade V Storage Tech!"

Applause filled the air as a podium on the stage lifted itself from a hidden door, revealing something that Naruto didn't recognize, not to his surprise. A circuit board of some description, veins of black liquid flowing through it, white specks giving it an eerie glow.

"Woah…" Ruby let out, staring intently.

"Grade V Storage Tech is the newest, greatest advent of Storage Tech, and has the capability to store up to six times the size of the circuit!"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up, partly because he thought he understood exactly what that meant.

He leaned over to Ruby, just to make sure. "Storage Tech's that stuff that your weapon uses to compact down, right?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Six times… that's a lot. It's probably super expensive though."

Naruto had to agree.

"Considering the extent and latent expense of the materials we've had to use, the Grade V Storage Tech is currently not available as a product outside of specialised orders, but if you would like to discuss orders, please talk to one of our attendants."

The presenter then began delving into the details of the newest product, and Ruby dragged him away once more. "C'mon, we don't need to hear the rest of it. Wanna go talk to an attendant about our plans?"

"Our plans as in the workshop?" Naruto asked, to make sure.

"Mmhmm," Ruby hummed in acknowledgement, stepping over to one of the attendants.

"Hey, you two look like Beacon students. Anything you need help with?" The attendant asked, peering close at Naruto and Ruby.

Ruby seemed to freeze up, words on the tip of her tongue, and so he figured he'd start it off, give her some time to think.

"Yeah, actually. We're planning on building a decently sized workshop for our teams to use, outside of Beacon, as a way of getting an advantage over the other teams in the Vytal Tournament, and we were wondering if you had any suggestions for equipment and things that we might need?" Naruto answered, Deceitful Speech lacing each word with false persuasion.

Ruby, having overcome what appeared to be a mild dosage of stage fright, quickly added on to his detailing. "We've already got a lot of equipment on the way, but we're wondering if you guys had any tips or tricks that we could use."

The attendant looked a little stuck, before they quickly gestured to someone else. "One sec, you guys should probably talk with my boss. Here she comes, she's far more qualified to help you two out."

With that, the attendant stepped back. Ruby's eyes opened wider than Naruto thought was physically possible.

"Y-you're Master Engineer Sam Wright!" Ruby squawked in surprise, shock evident on her face.

The woman nodded, giving Ruby a small smile. "Well, can't say you're the first person to recognize me, but you're definitely the youngest. You two got names?"

Ruby looked like she was about to turn into a stuttering mess, so Naruto once again stepped up. "I'm Naruto, that's Ruby. We're first-years at Beacon."

"Pleasure to meet both of you. Now, from what I've heard, the two of you are trying to outweigh Beacon's forge when it comes to specialised equipment. Talk to me, what've you got in mind?"

Ruby and Naruto shared a glance, before Naruto decided to bite the bullet. "Whatever you think we might need if we were planning on building everything to gear up an army."

The Master Engineer, as Ruby had called her, raised an eyebrow. "What would you possibly need an army for?"

Naruto quickly shook his head. "No, no, I don't need an army, we just want to get all the stuff for one, because…"

No excuse came to mind, and Ruby sighed.

"Because I love making weapons, and Naruto wants to spoil me."

Naruto latched onto the somewhat-true excuse with immediate support. "Yeah, exactly. Figured we could start helping with offloading a lot of the stress when it comes to maintenance for our teams, too."

The raised eyebrow stayed where it was. "Well, it's certainly one of the strangest reasons. Can't say I'd disagree, especially with a boyfriend like yours, though."

Naruto scratched at the back of his head as Ruby turned a similar shade as her name.

"So, Naruto, was it?" She asked, looking to the blond. Naruto nodded. "Right, well, considering the fact that you're holding a weapon that looks pretty simple in comparison to hers, I imagine that Ruby here will be teaching you how to make a weapon. Am I right?"

Once again, Naruto nodded. "Yeah. My sword is an old weapon, my great-grandfather used it in the Great War, but other than that it's just a sword."

Sam let out a sigh, a contemplative finger coming to rest on her chin in thought.

"You know what? I'll do you a deal. Ruby?" The Master Engineer turned to the smaller girl, as she placed both hands on the table that separated them. "Show me that weapon of yours, and then we can talk. That thing's got me all sorts of curious."

Ruby, more than happy to have any excuse to gush about Crescent Rose, quickly whipped it out, laying it on the table.

Despite the fact that Naruto knew next to nothing about what Ruby was talking about, and despite the fact that in the back of his mind he knew that, technically, he wouldn't need to know any of the details to be able to create something, thanks to the System, Naruto still found himself listening as Ruby turned from shy and adorkable to knowledgeable and capable as she found a kindred spirit in the form of Master Engineer Sam Wright, the woman apparently asking all the right questions.

When Ruby had finished, it had been at least fifteen minutes, and Naruto had to admit, even if he had enjoyed just listening to Ruby talk about what she loved, he had found himself zoning out a couple times.

Naruto, however, did manage to tune in in time to hear what Sam had to say next. "One more thing before I go all out to help you. What can you offer me?"

Naruto frowned at that. "We're just asking for help, that's all."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I get that, but considering what you're asking about, it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine that you two are planning on starting a little side-business. She's got the brains, you've got the Lien, a match made in business heaven."

Naruto shook his head as Ruby did the same, albeit somewhat more frantically. "That isn't the plan. We're far too busy to worry about making a business. Especially now, right before the Vytal Tournament."

Sam shrugged. "All the same, you don't get this far in life without a backup plan. So, tell me something, convince me. What do you have that I, or Vale Joint Weapon Manufacturing, might want?"

Ruby looked to Naruto, concern on her face. "Naruto, it's fine. We can just use the stuff I'm bringing from home, we shouldn't need anything else."

Naruto shook his head slowly, lost in thought. Something about the Master Engineer was bugging him. "I didn't think you handled the business side of the company, considering your role and all."

Another shrug, this time accompanied by a sharp glance. "If you don't have anything to offer me, I don't see us working together."

There it was. The thing that had been bugging him. "You want us to work for you?"

He phrased it as a question, careful with his words. Ruby stopped worrying and started to look at the Master Engineer in a new light, curiosity all over her features.

Wright shrugged. "I don't want you to not work for me, if that makes any more sense. She's got talent, you've got the will to learn, and the Lien to spend on doing so, and you're both Hunters, in-training or not. That's a magnitude more than we normally get, we usually design civilian weapons or specialised components. We don't touch the Hunter field, and we rarely get to see designs from that area up close."

"You want any weapons we design to be licensed by your company," Naruto said, as the realisation hit him. "None of your designers have the kind of field experience we do."

"Bingo," Sam said, a rueful smile on her face. "Glad you figured it out, I hate having to spell it out to people. It always sounds a lot worse out of my mouth than their own."

This was a business negotiation, now. Naruto found himself surprised.

"Damn, where's Weiss when you need her," He remarked under his breath, causing Ruby to laugh softly, but it appeared it hadn't gone unheard.

"You know a Schnee?" The woman asked, pushing her sandy hair out of her face and leaning forward, intense curiosity on her face.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, she's one of my teammates."

"Well damn. Impressive team you've got there. I don't know if you heard, but the VJWM is in collaboration with the SDC on a lot of projects."

Naruto decided he needed a moment. "Do you mind if Ruby and I discuss this for a moment before we give you an answer?"

Sam shrugged once more. "Sure, go right ahead. I'll be here."

The two quickly stepped away, taking some vacated seats and sitting, Naruto resting his elbows against his knees as he rested his head in his hands.

"So, what do you think?" Naruto asked Ruby. It was her designs that would be most likely to be licensed, there was no doubt about that. Sam didn't even know if he could make anything, and neither did he.

"If I'd been asked that a year ago, I'd have jumped at the chance, but now… I want to make sure that they don't steal it, you know? Especially Crescent Rose. I don't want anyone else to use her, even if that makes me sound selfish," Ruby said, thinking hard. One hand came to rest on the haft of the sniper-scythe, comforting its wielder. "But the opportunity is pretty good. We can always back out if they make us sign a complicated contract, and I'm pretty sure Weiss would relish at the chance to prove how much smarter she is when it comes to contracts, so we can at least rely on her to help us out in figuring it out, you know?"

Naruto nodded in agreement, it was where his thought process had led him as well. "So, we accept with a condition or two, and then figure out what we need?"

Ruby agreed. "Sounds like a plan. Then we go get lunch. Deal?"

"Deal. I'll be back in a sec, I'll just let her know."

Naruto quickly stood and paced back to the Master Engineer.

"So, you two figure out what you wanna do?" She asked, leaning against the table.

"Yeah, actually. It's a deal, on a few conditions."

Sam stood upright, one eyebrow raised. "And those conditions are?"

"Any and all weapons we design, the designs are our property. Which means we're still the owners of the original designs, and our names are listed as the designers, depending on who designed it."

Sam listened along, nodding. "That's pretty much the most typical demand when it comes to this sort of thing. Anything else?"

"One other thing. You do us a deal on the equipment we're after. Weapons, armor, ammunition, all the stuff we might need to make them, and anything else that we might need for more… experimental stuff."

This one gave Wright pause. "A deal? As in we give them to you for free? Cause I don't know if we can do that, regardless of whatever you may be offering us. You'd still have to pay at least some Lien, in like a deposit or something. I can't authorize a purchase of that kind of expense without something to go with, you know?"

Naruto nodded. "I get that. How much would you think you'd need, minimum?"

The Master Engineer brought out her scroll, quickly doing a series of calculations, biting down on her lower lip in thought.

"I could do… forty-five thousand Lien minimum? And that's pretty generous already."

Naruto smiled. "Perfect. So, do we have a deal?"

Sam nodded, taking his extended hand in her own, the two shaking. "Deal, Naruto. Or should I say, Designer Uzumaki. I'll give you my number, we can work out the details soon. You and Designer Rose should probably go have lunch, I have a meeting with my boss to get to."

Naruto nodded, stepping back.

[You've gained a new title!]

[Designer Initiate: Gain +10% XP when Crafting. (Crafting Level 1/20)]

Naruto almost laughed. That was what it took to get a new title? And it was a title he could feasibly swap to, because he definitely wasn't expecting to get into a fight whilst crafting, unless something went really poorly.

"So, everything's good?" Ruby asked, as he closed the distance between the two.

"All sorted. Sam said she'd contact me with the details, and I assume that'll also concern the deposit and where to deliver the equipment," Naruto replied, the two beginning to walk out of the building.

"Do you think they'll deliver to the Emerald Forest?" Ruby asked, concern on her face.

Naruto shrugged. "Don't know until you ask, I guess. If not, I'm sure I can figure something out. Or ask Ozpin for a favour. I'm sure there's some way of getting it done."

Ruby hummed in agreement. "So, deposit? How much?"

"Forty-five thousand. Not the biggest amount, in the grand scheme of things."

Ruby gaped. "Not the biggest amount? Are you kidding?"

Naruto laughed at her reaction. "We'll be getting paid for designs, so it isn't like we'll suddenly go broke. Besides, I've got a number of ways of earning Lien, I don't think I'll ever run out."

"Yeah, but you've got to take material cost into consideration, and power, and Dust, and all sorts of things!"

"Ruby, I don't even have the place built yet. That's going to be tonight and tomorrow, if we don't have class. I still have to figure out power, and I only just figured out ventilation. Then there's furniture, and I still have to tell the rest of AWBN and RRYN about it, so… I have a long list of things to do."

Ruby decided she didn't want to concede the point. "So, you still have a lot to figure out, and you just spent a lot of your money. Lunch, then we figure out power?"

Naruto nodded. "Sounds like a solid plan."

Lunch had been a brief affair, Vacuon-style kebabs on a decking overlooking the sea, which the two had then followed up on by wandering through Vale, asking around for information concerning all sorts of construction information.

Naruto and Ruby had learned a few things. Namely, that power was usually provided by accessing Vale's power grid, and that Vale's power grid ran off a series of immense Energy Dust crystals in formation.

The two had then figured that the smartest way to set up power was to not, in fact, attach to Vale's power grid, seeing as the entire point was to stay off the grid, and instead try and figure out how Energy Dust worked.

With Roman Torchwick locked up and the White Fang seemingly scattered, Naruto and Ruby had no real trouble finding a store stocked in Dust, though it appeared prices were still somewhat higher than usual, and finding a good quality source of high grade Energy Dust crystals was going to prove to be a challenge.

The highest grade they'd managed to find was Grade III, which wasn't all that great, apparently. Naruto had managed to get a quick conversation in with an electrician, who'd informed them that a single Grade I Energy Dust crystal would get about a week's worth of power, and a Grade III would get about three weeks.

Which, to be fair, wasn't all that great. Naruto didn't really want to have to constantly replace the thing, and considering that the electrician was basing that on a typical household, and not one that was running a fully-fledged workshop underneath it, Naruto had to assume it would have roughly half the expected lifespan.

The purpose of having multiple crystals, in this instance, would be as redundancies, as opposed to the multiple output rates that having them all linked up would do, like Vale had powering it.

Granted, he assumed that government and military facilities had the top choice when it came to Dust, and whatever was deemed 'civilian-grade' was allowed to be sold, so he doubted he'd see anything higher than Grade III unless he was really lucky, or went straight to the SDC. Which, whilst he could do, he didn't really want to bother them. Weiss on his team or not, that was just too much effort to go to when he could just stock up on a couple Grade III's and be done with it for at least the next month.

So, that was what Naruto did.

The salesman was more than happy to negotiate a somewhat fairer price, especially considering it was rather rare for anyone to actually purchase Energy Dust, and even rarer still for it to be the highest grade the store stocked.

So, Naruto found himself down a little over six thousand Lien, but three Grade III Energy Dust crystals richer. He'd bought out the entire store's stock, and with the way he'd learned to set it up, he'd have a total of four-and-a-half weeks of power for the Arcave.

Ruby had laughed at him for the name. She hadn't laughed at the name, she'd laughed at him for coming up with it.

He deserved the derision, to be fair, but he'd admit that it still felt a little hurtful.

Not enough that even the most sensitive of people would be offended, but still.

"So, anything else you'd like to do while we're out here?" Naruto asked, as the two walked down a reasonably busy thoroughfare.

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, not really. All our stuff isn't going to be ready for a few days, and there isn't anywhere to put it. I figure we head back to Beacon, and I get to watch you get all build-y."

Naruto found himself in agreement. With only three of his proposed twelve rooms actually carved out, plus the entire workshop floor still to be even begun, Naruto had a lot of carving to do.

It was a plus that Ruby found watching him excavate relaxing. Granted, he found it relaxing too. There was something about the deep, reverberating sound of stone grinding and shifting that calmed the soul.

It was far creepier when you knew it was a giant Grimm worm, but that was dead now, Naruto could put it behind him.

Memories from that day sprung to his mind unbidden.

He shook his head to clear them, Ruby's silver eyes meeting his blue ones, concern on her face. "Are you okay, Naruto?"

Just looking at Ruby made him feel better. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. Just got a little distracted. Did you say something?"

"Are you thinking about the Breach?"

The incident had become known to the public as the Breach, a typical name for an atypical event, one that had stuck quite steadfastly within Vale's community. Naruto was honestly quite impressed with the deductive reasoning Ruby was able to think with, because she'd guessed at his thoughts with surprising ease.

"Yeah. Just… bad memories, is all. Nothing to worry about, I'm fine."

Ruby accepted it, wrapping her arm around his own. "You know you can talk to me whenever, right?"

Naruto smiled a soft smile and nodded. "Thanks, Ruby. If I feel I need to, I'll take you up on that."

Ruby returned his smile, before returning to the matter at hand. "I was saying, you should do a rough carve before you get all serious about looks. If everything's roughly carved, we have an estimate of what size we need."

Naruto agreed. "Good idea. I knew what I was doing wasn't the most efficient use of my time, but it did look nice."

Ruby hummed. "Then, once it's all sorted, we can start wiring and everything. I'm sure between the two of us we can figure it out, but why don't we invite everyone down to hang out?"

"Thank the gods at least one of us is good at planning. I'll get enough wiring, there should be a shop near here somewhere."

Five minutes of browsing later, Naruto had an inventory of wire, fifteen-hundred Lien worth, which he knew would be more than enough.

"So, back to Beacon?" Naruto asked his girlfriend.

"Back to Beacon," Ruby agreed.

Naruto almost burst into laughter at the reactions everyone had when he told them he wanted to show them the Arcave.

The moment the name had left his mouth, Blake and Weiss had involuntarily retched, Pyrrha had quirked an eyebrow, Yang had burst into laughter, Ren had remained as deadpan as usual, and Nora looked like she wanted to test out her strength against Naruto's legs.

Ruby had simply sighed a long-suffering sigh that told Naruto that this was not the first time she'd contemplated her relationship with him.

Though, to be fair, despite the lackluster name, the Arcave was an impressive sight to a mere mortal. If anyone didn't know Naruto had something special to back him up, they'd think he was some kind of madman, able to excavate tons of solid rock with his bare hands.

Despite the fact that he was still needing to expand it, wire it up, add furniture… the list was longer than he liked to think about. Step one was, as Ruby had suggested, a rough pass through his entire plan, carving away only what was necessary in order to establish the size he'd need.

His plan had eight single rooms and four double rooms on the first floor, effectively making a grid pattern that was, technically, infinitely repeatable, given that he had enough space.

Already, though, AWBN and RRYN had plans for the rooms.

"If we really wanted to distance ourselves from the rest of the students, this would be an excellent place to do so. With eight rooms, we could each have one for ourselves, which is something I, for one, would appreciate to no end," Weiss spoke, her tone as authoritative as usual, giving Naruto absolutely no doubt that he would end up doing exactly that, if just to soothe the heiress.

"I wouldn't mind that all that much, to be honest. Besides, those dorms are pretty cramped. Getting some space to myself would be pretty nice," Yang said, leaning against the doorway that led to the Emerald Forest. "Just as long as it isn't dark and dingy, of course. I figure Scraggly's got a plan for that, though."

"Who're you calling Scraggly?" Naruto returned in reply, sticking his head around the corner of the new hallway he was carving.

"You, Blond Noodle. Who else?" Yang returned in kind.

"To be fair, Yang, you haven't seen him without his shirt," Ruby remarked, before promptly realising what she'd said and blushing bright red.

Yang, sensing weakness and seizing the opportunity that had presented itself, rounded on her sister. "Oh? When did this happen? Since when did you grow up so fast?"

Blake watched on in amusement as Ruby rocketed away from the blonde, cowering behind her. "I think Yang saw where you went, Ruby."

Pyrrha decided to come to the reaper's aid, wrapping one arm around Yang's waist and holding her back. "Easy, Yang. Let's not scare your sister off before she even gets to experience life."

Ruby blushed even harder, cowering even further behind Blake, who had resumed reading her book. "You too, Pyrrha!?"

"At least Ren took Nora to go get food. Can you imagine if she heard?" Pyrrha replied.

All the color drained from Ruby's face. "Oh."

"To be fair, I'm pretty sure that Nora's the only other straight one of us," Blake remarked offhandedly. "Makes sense that she'd be the one who'd go crazy for details. Well, crazier, anyway."

Naruto stepped out of the Arcave into the mid-afternoon sun with a stretch, covered in a thin layer of dust. "Well, halfway done with the first floor. Should be able to get the rest done by tonight."

Callisto thundered over to him, Nora atop her back. "We're back! And we brought food!"

Naruto didn't know why he'd expected anything else but pancakes, but his body was requesting calories, and who was he to dissuade his body?

It took him only a moment to create a table from the ground, with Terrakinesis now at level 22, and benches to sit on took only a moment more.

Ren, ever the balance that Nora desperately needed, handed out the food, considering Nora had simply taken her abundant serving and sat herself down, already digging in.

Naruto watched as Ruby snuck a piece of pancake to Cadejo and another to Zwei, the two canine companions proving to be a troubling pair that really didn't need Ruby spoiling them.

They hadn't retrieved Zwei. Zwei had already been at the Arcave when they'd arrived. Yang swore he'd been in their room when they left.

And Cadejo's recent habit of summoning himself had some troubling aspects to it, but the wolf was still the more responsible of the two, so it wasn't that big an issue that Naruto needed to worry about.

A lone Beowolf thought it would try its luck and attack the group, but it made it all of about a foot out of the forest before bronze feathers pinned it to the ground, Alcmena landing at the end of the table to peck a piece of pancake out of Pyrrha's hand before soaring off into the sky once more.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see the new Area Acquisition skill come into play for the first time as he suddenly found himself with an addition to his typical 'encounter complete' notification, in the form of a readout of the loot he'd acquired, this particular case being two Beowolf claws.

He'd finished eating by now, having devoured the food almost as fast as Nora had, and whilst everyone was still eating, besides Nora, of course, Naruto figured he would get back to work.

Though, he was warranted to some kind of break. Naruto let his hand run over the top of Cadejo's head, brushing against his ears.

Naruto was hit with a reminder, his own brain bringing his own words to the forefront of his mind within an instant. 'New summon?'

It was barely a coherent thought, but the message was understood nonetheless. Like the imaginary sticky-note it was, it accomplished its goal in the least amount of words possible, and Naruto quickly found himself searching through his inventory.

Another idea struck him, this time one that seemed almost completely different and yet, paradoxically, very much the same.

Naruto tossed the Grade IV Lightning Dust Crystal end over end in one hand, the unasked question on his lips.

His other hand placed itself against the ground and this time, instead of sketching out the entire ritual circle, Naruto simply willed the earth to move with Terrakinesis, quickly carving the pattern into the dirt.

It finished within a moment, and it was obvious he'd drawn the attention of his friends, all craning to look over at him as he placed the Dust Crystal in the center of the rings, pushing Mana through the ancient design.

It glowed, brightly, as it was want to do, and then Naruto found himself stumbling backwards, struck by a bolt of lightning.

Once the smoke and the dust had cleared, Naruto stared at the small crater in shock.

The Dust had turned into a pile of dull crystals.

So, not the greatest result…

Naruto was halfway through considering vocalizing that thought when the crystals shuddered.

Naruto stared.

The crystals shuddered again.

Naruto was joined in his impromptu staring competition with a pile of shuddering rocks by quite literally everyone in the clearing.

Third time appeared to be the charm when it came to the crystals, as they shuddered for the third consecutive time, before slowly rising off the ground.

They formed a humanoid figure, seven foot in stature, and began to glow bright yellow, the same color as the original Dust Crystal had been, crackling electricity shooting between the floating crystals.

A name floated into Naruto's consciousness, of its own accord.

"Electrus…" Naruto exhaled, still staring.

The Lightning Elemental, for that was what it was, turned what Naruto could only presume was a proxy for a head, as it lacked any kind of features, towards Naruto, before kneeling before him.

Naruto, a little lost for what to do, stood there, stunned.

An apt reaction, to be fair.

"You have to stop doing this. It's starting to become something I'm getting used to, and I don't like that," Weiss remarked, first to regain her words.

"Uh… rise?" Naruto offered, still a little lost for what to say.

The elemental did so, standing back up to its full height.

[You've gained a new summon!]

[Electrus]

[Lightning Elemental]

[Shard]

[Stormbolt (Active): Thanks to the System, your Lightning Elemental is capable of releasing a blast of condensed lightning, vaporizing anything nearby. Level 1; XP 0/12.]

[A title has ranked up!]

[Soul Tamer Novice is now Soul Tamer Adept!]

Naruto was about to discuss the goings-on of the past couple minutes with the rest of his team and RRYN, but Cadejo and Alcmena promptly interrupted him before he could even begin, communicating their urgent warnings.

Grimm. More than just the single Beowolf. A group of them, obviously attracted by the ritual. Somehow Cadejo and Alcmena hadn't picked them up until now.

"We've got incoming!" Naruto remarked, drawing Crocea Mors from the sheath on his belt, wielding it in one hand as the other prepared a Mana Grenade.

It was almost funny how lackadaisical the Grimm appeared to be as they stepped out of the undergrowth, growls and snarls filling the air as they realised that their ambush held no sway over their opponents.

Something was off about the lead Beowolf, though, and Naruto realised why after a quick Observe detailed a few things about it.

[Malignant Beowolf]

[Level 40, Tier 4]

[HP: 34,000/34,000]

Even when things were going well things were not going well. A common theme, it appeared.

Directly to the Malignant Beowolf's flanks were more of the same, though of a lower tier, the backing force almost entirely comprised of Alpha and regular Beowolves, all level thirty.

It wasn't a force to scoff at, but they were still a magnitude weaker than many of the things Naruto had had to fight over the past few days. He, along with RRYN and the rest of AWBN, plus his three Bound Souls and his new Elemental, would be more than enough to handle this encroaching opposition.

And what better way than to start off by testing Electrus and its Stormbolt skill.

The Lightning Elemental heard the mental order and lifted both its arms, crystals realigning to fit a different form, and suddenly the very air was filled with the scent of burnt ozone as Electrus fired the Stormbolt, the supercharged bolt of lightning hitting the Malignant Beowolf in the shoulder, vaporizing flesh and charring the wound as it did so, the Malignant Beowolf letting out a roar as it felt the pain a moment after.

The shot had done a decent amount of damage, nearly fifteen-hundred, but already Naruto could see it wasn't going to be enough, and Electrus wasn't glowing that bright yellow anymore, its crystalline structure having dimmed to the dull faded yellow it had been when it first appeared.

So, it either had a recharge time or it had one shot before it would have to be re-summoned. Naruto was fine with either option, it wasn't like it was his only choice.

The Mana Grenade arced through the air, followed closely by a veritable hail of gunfire, and the explosion was simply drowned out, despite the fact that it did a not so insignificant amount of damage, outright taking a leg from one of the regular Beowolves that backed up the Malignant Beowolf, but considering the size of the canine monster, it didn't appear to do all that much in the grand scheme of things.

It reared back, claws sharper than Naruto had ever seen, fangs glistening with spittle, standing at an imposing height that was three times the size of the biggest Beowolf Naruto had ever seen before, and howled, a keening sound that threatened to pierce his eardrums.

A signal for the Beowolves to push the attack, and that was exactly what they did, rushing forwards in a medley of claws, spikes, howls and death, closing in further and further to the group.

It was thanks to Weiss that they found themselves delayed, a wall of ice spikes holding back their attack as some found themselves impaled upon them in the fleshy mass that was the approaching horde.

All the while, the Malignant Beowolf stood on its hind legs, staring down at the eight Hunters-in-training with a look of indifference on its bestial face.

Naruto didn't like that it was sitting back and wearing them out with smaller, weaker enemies, but he had to admit, it was better than fighting it at the same time as the amorphous blob of Beowolves that had started scaling the slanted icicles, eyes red with fury as they left those Grimm-like traces through the air.

A horizontal Mana Slash dissuaded a few of the Beowolves from continuing their charge up and over the frozen spikes, but it was nowhere near enough to dissuade all of them. Every time one fell, another would take its place.

It was a little confusing, because Naruto swore there had not been this many Beowolves in the pack that had appeared originally.

Unless…

Naruto took another glance at the Malignant Beowolf just in time to see a splotch of black goo hit the ground, a pack of Beowolves clawing their way out of the rapidly decaying muck.

"It's spawning Beowolves!" Naruto shouted, hitting an Alpha with a Mana Lance as he did so, pinning it to a tree behind the Malignant Beowolf.

Another clump of charcoal-colored muck hit the ground to bring forth more Beowolves, but Naruto was ready, a Jump taking him up into the air, where he then used Surface Walk to stick to the side of the cliff, already aiming.

He needed something for crowd control, that was quite obvious now, and in hindsight, he honestly would have wondered why he hadn't thought about that before now, if he had the free time. A quick sheathing of Crocea Mors led to him having two free hands, and he outstretched one, channelling Mana into his hand, and felt its shape, manipulating it to a degree he'd never really been able to achieve before, not without the experience and time he'd spent with the System.

He shaped it, formed it, and fired it.

A bolt of Mana shot forth, hitting a Beowolf in the chest and sticking, and Naruto watched as tendrils sprung forth from the Mana, latching onto nearby Beowolves and slowing them down, drawing them inwards towards the original target of the spell.

[Skill Created!]

[Mana Tether (Active): Thanks to the System, you can throw a burst of Mana which will chain to other hostiles, dealing damage and slowing hostiles. Targets tethered by Mana Tether take additional damage. Costs 80 MP to cast. Level 1; 0/12 XP.]

Naruto cast another few Mana Tethers from his outlook on the cliffside, watching as clumps of the Beowolves began to get pulled together.

They made for good targets for another new spell. Naruto formed a Mana Pulse, charging it until he could feel the Mana ready to fire, and then, before firing it, he began to condense it.

He'd never tried to compact this much Mana before, and he could feel the pressure it was resisting with, pushing back against his hands.

Then he released it, and watched it hit the first cluster of tethered Beowolves.

And effectively obliterated the cluster of snarling, snapping Grimm.

[Skill Created!]

[Mana Cannon (Active): Thanks to the System, you can fire a projectile of Mana that deals incredible damage, but has a considerable charge-up time and requires you to not move whilst charging. Costs 250 MP to cast. Level 1; 0/12 XP.]

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, hand steaming from the superheated air. That had been a powerful spell.

It had also cost him an eighth of his total Mana, to be fair, and when you considered exactly how much Mana he had at his disposal that wasn't anything to joke about.

Naruto could move once more, though, no longer locked down by the charging of his Mana Cannon, and he was quick to do so, drawing Crocea Mors and his shield and Jumping forwards, leaping off the wall and drawing Mana into his feet, a Mana Impact sending shudders through the ground as he effectively liquefied another group of tethered Beowolves, Pyrrha leaping over his head and stabbing the remaining Alpha, a spin decapitating another that had gotten too close.

They needed to push their attack, Naruto knew, and he was glad his partner was as aware of that fact as much as he was, and it appeared that the rest of AWBN and all of RRYN knew it too, pushing forwards into the thinning horde.

All they had to do was kill more Beowolves than the Malignant Beowolf could spawn, and it would be problem solved.

Well, it wouldn't be the entire problem solved, they would still have to kill the damn thing, but it was better than having to deal with all of them at the same time.

Naruto watched as Cadejo latched onto an Alpha and bit down hard, another copy of Cadejo doing much the same, and soon the Cadejo Pack had taken three Alphas down, already moving to their fourth target.

On the opposite side of him Callisto, her massive paws simply knocking aside anything that got close to breaking through her line of defense, Ren and Blake next to the bear, their guns spitting out round after round at anything that Callisto missed.

Another barrage of feathers from Alcmena let Naruto know that she was as angry at herself as Naruto was at himself for getting complacent, the avian summon taking out her frustration on the lupine Grimm around the edges of the horde.

Electrus was a little harder to get a reading on, as it was technically a sentient pile of floating crystals, but Weiss seemed to be quite capable of fighting alongside it, and Naruto watched in surprise as she placed a hand on it's arm, a glowing yellow Glyph appearing above a cluster of Beowolves, and the scent of charcoal grilled Grimm filled the air quickly as the Glyph discharged.

Yang and Pyrrha were leading the charge, one on either of his flanks, the two front-liners dishing out punishment to anything that stepped too close, and as Naruto led what had quickly formed to be a wedge shape, he was glad to have the two to back him up.

An explosion went off on the face of the Malignant Beowolf, the beast roaring in pain as it shook its head, clearing its vision of the pink smoke, only to find itself in even more pain as a massive bullet took a tooth from the inside of its mouth, rupturing the side of its face on its way out.

That accounted for Ruby and Nora, at least.

Unfortunately for everyone, though, the Malignant Beowolf was no longer willing to stand by and take the punishment.

It moved.

Naruto felt something disappear from his senses.

There was something almost ethereal with the Malignant Beowolf as it reappeared in front of him, massive claws tearing through the air as they struck Naruto's shield, knocking him backwards and into the air, where he soared over the top of the heads of everyone, landing with a sickening crack against the cliff-face as his Aura dipped hard, air rushing out of his lungs from the impact.

He didn't fall from the cliff, either. The force had actually driven him into the rock with enough force that he was secure.

A quick glance at his meters as he regained his breath was enough to tell him that another hit like that would break his Aura, having lost a little over half of it in the single attack.

That wasn't what worried Naruto the most, though. What worried him was that he had the largest amount of Aura out of everyone. If they got hit, it'd go straight through.

They'd die.

Naruto was quick to move, Crocea Mors in hand.

The beast had made it personal, now. Naruto was mad.

Where this anger had come from he didn't really know, he'd never been an angry person before, but now…

Naruto Flash Stepped out of the hole in the wall and quickly cast Power and Enduring on himself as he landed on the ground, Shield Bashing a Beowolf who stepped forwards to interrupt him, knocking it back far enough that he had the room to Flash Step a second time, launching up into the air at the Malignant Beowolf, which had gotten closer since he'd been knocked aside.

It hadn't expected Naruto to be in its face so quickly, and it took a half-step back, only to get the entire blade of Crocea Mors across its face in a devastating slash, sending it reeling, as it brought its lanky arms up to block the follow-up strike.

The second slash struck bone plating, but still cut deep enough to wedge the blade in, and Naruto clutched it, using it to swivel himself so that he could place his feet on the underside of the Malignant Beowolf's arm, a quick Surface Walk keeping him affixed to the arm as he used the newly-gained leverage to yank Crocea Mors free, before driving it down once more on the same spot.

Weakened, damaged bone gave way to thick black flesh as the arm found itself missing a hand as Crocea Mors cut clean through, the Malignant Beowolf howling in agony and swinging its other arm at him.

Naruto released the Surface Walk, dropping beneath the swinging claw and landing with a roll, courtesy of Rolling Recovery.

The Malignant Beowolf was suitably crippled now, roaring and howling in shock and pain, swinging wildly without really looking at what it was aiming at. Naruto watched with morbid amusement as an Alpha Beowolf suddenly found itself pancaked against a tree.

Seven other people opened fire on the rampaging Grimm, and Naruto joined in the gunfire and Dust projectiles with his own unique brand of weapon.

Round after round after round of Lightning Infused Spinning Mana Bullet hit the Malignant Beowolf, and under the onslaught, it dropped to one knee, remaining hand hitting the ground to keep it upright enough to look Naruto in the eyes and snarl.

The onslaught stopped for a single moment, and Naruto released his just-charged Mana Cannon into the Malignant Beowolf's face, taking a moment to admire the charred crater that it left in its wake.

[Encounter Complete!]

[You gained 2,817,990 XP!]

[You gained 24,700 Lien, 39 Inert Dust, 9 Beowolf Pelts, 24 Beowolf Claws, 8 Beowolf Skulls, 2 Alpha Beowolf Pelts, 10 Alpha Beowolf Claws, 4 Alpha Beowolf Skulls, 9 Abiare Herbs, 1 Minor Potion of Mana, 3 Grade II Water Dust Crystals, Tranquility PACK.]

[You've reached Level 41! +20 Stat Points!]

[Skills have leveled!]

[For killing your first Tier 4 Enemy, you have been awarded a special item: Abominae Mask.]

[You've gained a new title!]

[Mage Initiate: Gain +10% XP for Magic Skills. (INT 50/60, WIS 50/60)]

Naruto let the surge of information wash over him as he slumped over, leaning against the handle of Crocea Mors, blade planted into the ground.

The others looked about as exhausted as he did, which, to be fair, was completely understandable.

"Where did that thing come from?" Yang asked, laid out flat on her back on the ground, panting heavily.

Naruto didn't really have an answer for her. "I don't know. Alcmena didn't see it, Cadejo barely picked it up until it was really close. And the way it moved…"

One moment Naruto had been fighting Beowolves, the next he'd made a human-shaped crater in the cliff-face.

The teen stretched his arms at the memory of the crushing impact, internally wincing as he remembered exactly what it felt like.

Not that he hadn't experienced worse injuries, of course.

"It kind of blended in with the smoke it gave off. Grimm, with semblances?" Weiss vocalized, one foot out of her heeled boot, rubbing at her ankle.

"I just wonder why it went after Naruto, out of all of us. He wasn't even the one that pissed it off," Blake commented, staring at the smoking carcass.

"Probably my semblance. Either they can sense it, or it went after the one with the biggest Aura, or because I was at the front of the formation. Who knows?" Naruto replied, sheathing his blade.

"Sorry about making it mad, Naruto! Nora and I figured it was a sitting duck, so…" Ruby said, rushing over to the blond teen. "Are you okay?"

With a nod, Naruto accepted her apology hug. "I'm fine. Dented my Aura a little, but no harm no foul."

A glance at her scroll told Pyrrha that Naruto was playing it down. "Fifty percent gone, Naruto? In one hit? That's a little more than a dent."

Naruto shrugged. "A really big dent, then. I'm fine, and it isn't like I can't take it. Worst comes to worst my Aura breaks, and I have to regenerate from an injury."

Ruby glared at him. "You need to avoid getting hurt! We all need to avoid getting hurt!"

Naruto couldn't find anything feasible to use to disagree with, not that he looked all that hard in the first place. "You do realise I'm not actively seeking out pain and injuries, right? They kind of just happen."

"Well, I'm heading back up to Beacon. As much as I appreciate the scenery, it has been somewhat ruined, and I think I need to clean up," Weiss said, sliding her boot back on. "Anyone else coming?"

A chorus of replies came, and Naruto was quick to politely refuse. "I've still got some work I want to do down here, and I might as well do it now. I doubt we'll see anything nearly as threatening as that Malignant Beowolf, so I'll be fine."

Everyone began making their way up the staircase, except Ruby, even though she'd said she would be heading back up.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her, curious. "Thought you were heading back up?"

Ruby didn't reply, instead grabbing him by the collar and dragging his head down to her eye level.

"Promise me you'll stay safe?" She asked, an intensity in her silver eyes that Naruto had never really seen before, especially not so close.

"I promise," He replied.

Her smile was back, the intensity gone, and she rested her forehead against his, eyes closing.

He closed his eyes as well, enjoying the moment for what it was, before he felt the contact break, and a new contact against his lips.

It was brief, a gentle kiss that barely touched, and then Ruby was gone, leaving a cloud of scattering rose petals in her wake.

Naruto was left standing in the clearing, wearing a look of surprise.

A dopey smile on his face.