1--sarcasticfish--1: I liked it, references are cool, the humor was pretty funny.
Me: huh that's strange, your comment wasn't sent to my email. Thanks anyway.
Addicted to Reading018: Interesting keep it up
Me:thanks
Enclave1: oh shit your actually making the pairing a vote? Cool imma go with ocxruby short people are short.
Me: well it's not really a vote, I actually pretty much know who they'll end up with. I'm keeping track because it entertains me. Oh and just out of interest Crane is currently shorter than the entire cast, Crane is 4ft4in, Ruby is 5ft1in, Nora is also 5ft1in, Weiss is 5ft3in, and Neo is in fact the closest at 4ft9in. Oh and while I was looking up heights I learned Yatsuhashi is 7ft and Hazel is 7ft3in.
Raphaim: you really chose the most basic options of being a swordsman and a human…
Me: yeah but that's mostly because the race he's eventually gonna be required for him to be human first and just starting with that race would be bullshit overpowered. The race I have planned is on par with Garou's monster form from 'one People's xxxd sees a SS d ii I toom 73unch man' And it wouldn't really drag in readers since it's kinda obscure but talking about this now is kinda useless anyway since XXXthat's for way down the line. Oh and about being a swordsman, is it that basic if every other gamer fic chooses mage?
triscythe59: No Jaune in this part? Still have plans in bringing him in?
Me: yeah he'll own a coffee shop or something, but he's not at Beacon. I Also don't really like him, not for the normal reasons. He was fine in the show but I'm just really fucking tired of browsing the rwby section of and only finding Jaune harem stories.
Bill75673302:chapter 5... needs to be redone? the text between wiess and DT are fuc n hard to read keep it simple becauses im guessing you used à or something like it instead of A.
Me: I didn't even notice that. I have a test file to show the symbol's I can use and the one I'm using for Flynt is the (at) symbol for A's. I'm honestly not sure what changed in the same document. You might have seen that I have changed it to regular A's though.
Lemonator020:Ruby x oc
Me: Hey, welcome back the best name ever. Sure I'll add that to the list.
Aviannn: I hearby double vote lesbians (if i can). Also very nice tsundere weiss.
Me: I mean you can, it will only count as one, but you can. Though I don't know how to count it since you didn't actually mention who you're voting for, I will add any pairing mentioned as long as it's not mentioned by the same person twice. For example you could mention Blake x Ruby and Weiss x Yang and I'll count both, but if you mention either again I won't.
HSPrinceOfSpace: pesterchum? homestuck? eeeeeeeeee
Me: yep, homestuck, I am a fan of it. Though adding in pesterchum was so I wouldn't have to have characters disappear for about 40 chapters. You know being in another school halfway around the world makes it difficult for them to be involved in the plot.
karmax992: Nice chap excited to see him literally cut space itself
Me: we all are, too bad it seems it's gonna take a while with how long it took me to write this chapter.
LionLordEscanor:Is that a pun on ichabod crane? Lol.
Me: that is where the crane part came from but Thaddeus is literally just a name off the top of my head since I knew it would never be used anyway, Though compared to ichabod Crane is where it gets complicated. I would say they're both romantics, but while Ichabod wants his own happy ending Thaddeus is pretty much a shipper and holds no interest in his own romantic prospects, though he's not opposed to them either. While Ichabod is a coward Thaddeus is not. While Ichabod is gullible, Thaddeus is not. In fact Thaddeus is very much a cynic, but unlike normal cynic's he finds the world entirely too entertaining to give up on. Then there is the matter of their appearance's. Both are lanky and have bad teeth, but Thaddeus is short while Ichabod I tall. Though I'm also using the animated version on Ichabod since I'm too lazy to look up the actual story about him so whatever.
Velvet x oc-1
Weiss x oc-1
blake X ruby-1
Ruby x oc-2
AN:I OWN NOTHING
Saga 1-Beat the Witch
Arc 1-Rwby part 1
Chapter 6-this isn't chess
--Unknown--
Imagine two groups of similar but very different animals. Let's make the first group lions and the second group tigers for the sake of simplicity. Now Imagine that the lions had an individual that visited them often.
The individual would come and go, taking Nothing from the lions and leaving without bothering them, so the lions started to believe that the individual meant no harm. It is also entirely possible that the individual actually meant no harm. however the individual found the monotony of everyday life too boring for his liking and in the dead of night while the lions were sleeping he would take just one cub.
The individual then would sneak into the tigers lodgings and leave the lion cub with the tiger cubs and watch what would happen. Now when the sun rose in the morning it would be entirely possible that the tigers would just eat the cub. It would also be entirely possible that they don't.
Whatever the outcome is, the individual will be briefly entertained, if only briefly. In the future it is also entirely possible that the cub would have integrated itself with the tigers and it is also entirely possible for the individual to one day return to end the monotony once again.
--Crane--
Telling star wars a new hope to a bunch of school kids as a bedtime story was a great idea. The future students listened with rapt attention the entire night.
Yang, Ruby, and Weiss were the obvious one's, Blake on the other hand tried her hardest to pretend she wasn't listening, but when she stopped turning pages in her book all together I knew I had her.
Future team CRDL was also there. Having all the random students surrounding me was strange, but they're just hopefuls, I don't believe I'll ever see them again.
Pleasantly, I eventually noticed that Ren was in the crowd...alone. Nora was nowhere to be seen, now if that isn't the most terrifying bit of nightmare fuel I don't know what is. When she eventually ends the world because I decided star wars in Remnant was a good idea, I'll know what's to blame.
That just leaves Pyrrha and Jaune. The Pyrrha not appearing is probably just coincidence, but Jaune Not being the center of attention with his onesie is….unlikely. Now that I think about it, he should have been with Ruby yesterday. Him not being here at all raises a lot of questions that I just don't have the answer for.
That being said, the reason I told the story, while partially being because I thought it would be entertaining, it wasn't the entire reason. I wanted to use it to farm some affection and well….
Ruby Rose affection increased by 4 for telling a story about heroes
Dove Bronzewing affection increased by 4 for telling a story about heroism
Yang Xiao Long affection increased by 4 for telling a fun story
Darek Gaiyn affection increased by 4 for distracting him
Murasaki Tanaka affection increased by 4 for giving her an excuse to laze about
Ruby Rose 12/100
Yang Xiao Long 4/100
Dove Bronzewing -2/100
Darek Gaiyn 4/100
Murasaki Tanaka 4/100
Five people. Four hours of storytelling for five people. I don't even know two of them and another is Dove. Speaking of Dove, maybe I just don't get his characterization that well, but he never seemed like the type to like heroes to me. Whatever, Dove and the rest of team CRDL's inner machinations are their business.
After that I just sorta spent my time small talking with Weiss, Yang, and Ruby. Blake continued reading, the crowd dispersed, and Ren seemed to notice that he left Nora on her own and rushed off. In other words, exactly how I expected the night to go.
--Pyrrha--
Sleeping in an area with a large number of people, all of them training to be huntsmen and huntresses, was an experience in and of itself. It seemed harmless at the start, but I ended up being mobbed by Fans and had to hide in the bathroom until after midnight.
Even then, just returning to the sleeping crowd would force me to hide tomorrow morning too. Knowing that I began to wander the campus for a new sleeping spot and that's when I saw him. Or rather heard him, Thaddeus Crane. He was in a fighting stance in front of a tree punching it, but it was strange. Only every other hit was making any sound.
I had seen that move before or rather felt it. After that match I had thought of his style multiple times. How he almost completely controlled the match from the on set. And while thinking about it I realized he's not a fighter. Sure he can fight and he's good at it, but his heart isn't in it. It's strange to think about him like that since he's the person who came closest to beating me, but it's true.
"Ohhh, what are you doing up?" I had unconsciously moved towards him and I wasn't exactly subtle, so it's no surprise he noticed.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you." I apologized.
"Nah sweetheart, it's fine. I'm just wasting time anyway." It was so straight forward I didn't know how to respond. "So is there some special reason you're up?"
"Oh right, sorry. I was avoiding the crowd."
"Avoiding the crowd?"
"Yes. I didn't want them to bother me in the morning so I was searching for somewhere else to sleep."
"Don't let me stand in your way, I won't tell." He then gestures with his entire area in a sweeping manner.
I might as well ask "why are you up?"
"Me?" He then turned to look at the tree he was punching earlier and I followed his gaze. All the bark from this side had been stripped away. Then after a while he spoke "I've had trouble sleeping since I was a kid, Insomnia."
That's a much better reason than mine "sorry."
He then had this look of shock on his face before he asked "what are you apologizing for? It's not like it's your fault." He then smirks "or is it? Are you the reason I can't sleep? Is it because my waking mind is haunted by your face? Every second your gorgeous face fills my thoughts and I lay awake staring at the ceiling, your voice echoing in my ears. Are you saying that I can't sleep because I'm stalking you?"
"W-what!?" I couldn't stop my face from turning red and my voice cracking.
"Hey hey, calm down. I'm just kidding." He says while rubbing the back of his head. "Damn, your self esteem is horrible for a champion."
"Sorry."
"Huuuuuuuuh" he sighed in a loud exaggerated way "so let me ask you why you apologized the first time, when we were talking about my insomnia."
"Sorry, I was complaining about my problems while you have a medical condition."
His response was instant "not really, I asked you a question then you asked me a question, that's not complaining. It's as simple as that."
"Sorry."
"Huuuuuuuuh, I'm gonna give you some advice. Listen to it if you want." He then takes a deep breath "just because your pain is less then someone else's doesn't mean it didn't hurt."
I didn't know how to respond to that or even what it meant so I just stood there in silence. It doesn't mean it didn't hurt. That line just kept spinning in my head and after a while Crane spoke again. "Don't overthink it, just keep it in mind."
"Alright." Was my only response.
"Hey I got an idea." He said all of a sudden, pounding one hand into another "Why don't you help me out."
"I...what?"
"This" and then he pats the tree where the bark was gone "I'm advancing but not at the rate I want to."
"Sorry, I'm not sure what you're asking." I was being honest too. I'm not sure how I can help with something he created. At least I assume he made it, I've never seen anything similar to it.
"In my head I call it 'soft and hard', unoriginal I know, it's what I used in our match." He then got into a stance, a sloppy one, and used his move on the tree. The first blow somehow made no impact and then the second produced a large noise like a bag of flour falling to the ground. "It just feels like I'm missing something."
"Maybe if I understood how it works I could help." I suggest.
"I'm just pulling the first punch." That was a lie, he doesn't want me to know how he does it. At the same time though he does want my help, so what he's doing is giving me a suitable substitute. "The point of the first punch is to throw off the clenching of your muscles. You see when you're hit your muscles unconsciously tighten up to take the blow, but then the second punch hits when your muscles are loosening."
That one seemed to be the truth at the very least "are you punching with a flat fist?"
He looked confused and then responded with that look still on his face "I don't really know what you mean."
Here, make a fist." I told him as I took his hand. His fist was in a terrible position "no, move your thumb like this and tighten your hand just a bit, pinky first."
He then looks at his now correct fist and says "Huh, I've been fighting for years without knowing how to make a fist."
For years? "Why did you start fighting?"
He then looks amused and spreads out his arms before answering "if you couldn't tell, I like violence."
"That's not what I mean." I tried to correct but before I could continue he interrupted.
"It's still correct either way." He then breathes deeply "hey, how about I return the favor."
"What are you talking about?"
"You taught me how to make a fist, so I should teach you something in return. It's only fair."
I didn't know how to answer that so I stayed silent. Crane must have taken that as a yes because after a few moments he drew his sword and set his other big box-like weapon against the tree. After that he spent a few moments just staring at me before mumbling "that should work."
"I'm sorry, but what should work?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about what I should teach you." He then held his sword in a loose position facing away from the tree "watch closely." Were his only words before he swung his sword close to the ground and yelled "demon Fang!"
The scene that took place before my eyes was incomprehensible. No, that's a lie. It's not that I didn't understand what was happening, I did, it's just what happened was impossible. Along the ground traveled what could only be pressurized air that then cut forward for about fifteen feet before dissipating.
"That's impossible!" I nearly yelled at him.
His response, however, was simple "obviously not."
"Why are you treating this like a normal thing!?"
Instead of answering he says "you're a bit stronger than the last time we fought."
"I...what?"
"You were in the same fight I was. Though we had different thoughts going into that fight, we both exited it and tried to get stronger."
He said it in the same way one would ask about the weather, but "you're avoiding the question."
"Am I? What you did after that fight was improve what you could already do, what I did was find new ways to fight."
"That doesn't change what you did and that it was impossible!" I was actually yelling at that point, which was strange since I never lost control like this.
"I'm sure people thought Aura and Semblances were impossible too until someone discovered them."
That's true I guess, I've read about people who originally thought it was magic. "So, you doing the impossible is just ok because you can do it."
"I told you it's not impossible if you can see it." He actually sounded a bit annoyed repeating himself, but before I could respond he continued "everyone else just isn't trying hard enough."
"That's a bit arrogant."
He then chuckles under his breath "perhaps, you're still interested right?" He says as he holds out the sword to me.
--Weiss--
When I awoke in the morning Crane was already gone. Many of the students were still asleep and the ones that were not were just milling around. I never knew I was an early riser before but it coincided with my goal to avoid the crowds.
Quickly gathering my things I made my way out of the sleep area and towards the lockers. When I arrived my ears were assaulted by the inane prattle of a red haired girl dressed in pink. Her words were loud and I could barely drown them out, but I did succeed.
So I made my way to my locker only to stop at the sight of who my neighbor is, Pyrrha Nikos. The Invincible Girl was right in front of me and as Crane's speeches of friendship flash through my mind I can not help but think that this is my chance.
I carefully approach the girl and "I am Weiss Schnee, i-it is a pleasure to me-et you." Oh gods, did my voice just crack? It did, gods this is so embarrassing, But still I persevered and with what I just knew was a red face, I raised my hand in a handshake offering.
At first she had a confused look on her face before settling on a look I just could not place and then she gradually took my hand "sorry, but Crane is your bodyguard correct?"
"Oh umm, yes that is technically true." My answer was as confident I could make it, but she is really intimidating.
"I see" she then got a look on her face, like she was thinking and then "I hate to ask this Miss Schnee, but what reason did you approach me?"
"Oh ummm, I-I just thought it was polite to-o introduce myself." I tried to keep my answer as straight as possible, but just as soon as I said it Pyrrha frowned.
"I see" she then shut her locker and turned towards me "I wish you luck Miss Schnee" she then turned and walked away, my heart pounding the entire time from nerves."
"That was painful to watch." A voice sounded off to my side. Turning to look I saw Crane, Ruby, and Ruby's sister standing off to the side, the last of the three being the one who commented.
--Crane--
Quest:PIECES AND PLAYERS
Objective:complete the entrance exam
Bonus objective:the giant Nevermore dies before the end of the exam
Bonus objective:the deathstalker dies before the end of the exam.
Hidden objective:???
Hidden objective:???
Rewards: become a Beacon student, one game related item, 600 class exp
Bonus rewards: 600 class exp, 5 air dust [large, one random book on language
Bonus rewards: 600 class exp, 5 earth dust [large, one random book on weapon fighting
Hidden rewards: ???
Hidden rewards: ???
Hmmm, well this is gonna be fun. After the conversation I witnessed between Weiss and Pyrrha, Weiss ended up pouting the entire time to the cliffs and Yang spent the time teasing Weiss. Ruby on the other hand spent the entire time panicking because of the whole 'team' thing.
I'll have to try to do something about that eventually, but right now I have more fun things to worry about. The trial by fire that Ozpin puts new students through really should cause more death than it does, but whatever his manipulative old man thing that he does is his own business. This does leave me here standing on my own until he arrives though.
So I did, wait that is. And so eventually Ozpin and Goodwitch both arrived and instructed all of us to line up on the launch platforms, of course only I actually knew what they were.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." I've of course already heard all of what Ozpin and Goodwitch had to say before, but I might as well pretend I'm listening.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Goodwitch repeated, I wonder who I'll be teamed with. Thinking about it though I'm in Jaune's spot, wonder where he is.
"What? Ohhh…" and this is also before Ruby gained her confidence, it's strange what you forget.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."
Ozpin's speech was quickly stopped by Ruby's groan before he continued "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." You know, I think he was just trolling them. Being an immortal must be pretty boring.
"Whaaaat?!" I can't say it's not entertaining.
"See? I told you-!" Oh right, Nora and Ren are here. God help us all.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" and then without waiting "Good! Now, take your positions."
It was at this moment I decided to speak up "hey, do you mind if I make my own entrance?"
"By all means." The answer was given in a nonchalant way like parents would answer and adults. I can't help but wonder if he was like this as God Ozma, in any case it must have been rather entertaining to look at.
But whatever, I have his approval so let's have some fun. So without waiting for further acknowledgement I took off running towards the cliff edge and tumbled over it.
"What are you doing!?!?" I heard Weiss scream from above me. Her growth as a person is truly heartwarming so I start to laugh.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha" and then I pushed my legs against the cliff side using Giants Strength and went soaring through the air.
Well not soaring, more like very stylish falling. I do have a fix for that though. First I decreased my mass to almost zero and to the other future students it must have looked like I just stopped mid air. Then using Mid-Air Trajectory I move my body so my feet are facing the far end of the ruins and then I make my feet gain back their original mass.
Of course if I didn't have both of these abilities I would die, but I do so I can now make my body rotate like a Ferris wheel. This is where it gets tricky, using Mass Deleted I make sure whichever limb that's facing towards the far cliff side has a higher mass than the rest of my body, effectively flinging myself.
So using this method I make it to the cliff in about 20 or so seconds and go into a roll landing on my feet. I then turn around, do a quick salute to the people I assume are up there, then turn and run into the forest.
--Ozpin--
He used no Aura in that maneuver, nor did he use any magic. However it was that he did that it was purely physical in nature. I had of course seen his match against Miss Nikos, but I just thought the things he did in the match were his Semblance. It would seem that I was wrong about that.
But is it even possible that it was pure physical prowess? My eyes tell me yes, but I can't help but feel I am Missing something. Such an oddity you are Thaddeus Crane. I'll be sure to keep an eye on you.
--Ruby--
After Crane showed off everyone just stood in silence until we were launched into the forest, well except for that pink girl. She just kept babbling the entire time. But other than that total silence.
After that I was launched into the forest and definitely didn't hit a birdie, no sirree. And so I just started running through the forest in search of my newest problem, partners.
"Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find...Yang! Yaaaang!" I called out in a totally non-panicked way.
Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? well there is Weiss, she's nice if a little overbearing. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... Ugh! Crane would be cool too. He is constantly moving around and knows how to tell a great story. Oh wait, he's Weiss' bodyguard! They've probably already found each other and teamed up.
And this is what I was thinking before I slipped on the grass and went tumbling through the bushes.
"Ruby?" I hear a familiar voice ask from above.
Looking up I meet her familiar blue eyes "Weiss?"
"What are you doing?" She asked incredulously.
"I just tripped ok!" I shouted embarrassingly before mumbling "It happens to everyone."
"You should still be more careful, there are Grimm in the forest." Lecturing now? I don't have to deal with this.
"Whatever, so I guess we're partners now. Do you know how to get to the ruins?"
She seemed a little taken off guard by the change in subject, so after a few seconds she answered "umm well I believe it is in that direction" she then raised her hand and pointed to who knows where.
--Crane--
DUNGEON:WOLF unlocked
Wolf pups have entered DUNGEON:WOLF
Well that's new, I received this update as soon as I killed a Beowolf in the forest. The question I have though is what caused this, I've killed Grimm before and a large amount of them, is it because I killed one not in the dungeon?
"Well, only one way to find out." I whisper to myself as I stab a boarbatusk that I was fighting through the skull.
DUNGEON:PIG unlocked
Prickleboar have entered DUNGEON:PIG
That answers that question...wait prickleboar, Aselia or magic:the gathering? Well whatever, I'll figure that out later. At the very least this will inevitably be incredibly helpful after I can figure out a way to hide the dungeon from a school full of curious children and a paranoid Ozpin.
That does remind me of something else though. Slaughtering Grimm in large numbers like I'm doing now is rather different then in the dungeon. For one, none of my kills seem to drop any Lein or collectables. I'm also having a bit more fun now since I'm not grinding.
"Heh heh heh." I couldn't help giggling as I decapitated an Ursa.
DUNGEON:BEAR unlocked
Teddiursa have entered DUNGEON:BEAR
Pokémon? Huh, wonders never cease. I do want a heracross now though. Well whatever, things for later.
I do wonder where everyone else is now? I will need a partner before I leave the forest.
CLASS-swordsman 57/100 (15%)
--Pyrrha--
Perhaps I'm a bit prideful, but trying to learn that technique Crane showed me proved more difficult than I thought. We spent the entire night trying to teach me that move while I gave him pointers on his own training and my own progress has been minimal. In other words I've made none.
"ahhhh-hhaaaaaa" I yawned out loud for what must be the hundredth time today. Honestly staying up all night the night before a big physical exam was a huge mistake and I ended up being a lot more testy to my fellow testing compatriots, I particularly feel awful about how I treated Miss Schnee. I should apologize later.
And then Crane came flying out of the forest riding a Beowolf and not looking any worse for wear then the last time I'd seen him despite him depriving himself of sleep last night just like myself. Then without even acknowledging my presence he drew his large square gun and started spraying the forest behind him.
Then as quickly as it had begun he stopped. "bravo bravo, and he takes a bow." The shorter boy murmurs under his breath before turning towards me "oh."
"Oh?"
"Ummm, Sorry sorry, one sec." He quickly says before turning back to the forest and yelling "and stay out!"
"What?"
"Sorry sorry, I didn't realize I had an audience." Crane tries to wave off like he just explained anything. "So we're partners now?"
"Sorry, but what was that?"
He then tried to wave me off again "I have no idea what you are referring to, I arrived and our eyes met making us partners."
"I'm not talking about that." I tried to correct but…
"I killed Grimm, that is what huntsmen are supposed to do right?" He then quickly turned to my other side "oooh, a mountain. how did I miss that?"
"Right, sorry."
"Hmmmmm, where even is the objective? I am rather horrid with directions." He says while knocking on the mountain wall.
"Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention." I apologize again and then let out another involuntary yawn "sorry."
"Ah yes, sleep. I guess you shouldn't have spent the night training with me." He said in a much more cheerful voice than you'd expect, how does he look so awake?
"Aren't you tired at all." I kinda accused him.
"Yes yes, you are correct." He says turning towards me and pointing in a dramatic manner "but complaining, my favorite pastime, is kinda useless when killing Grimm."
"That doesn't really make sense." I tell him matter of factly.
"Doesn't matter." He waves off again "our objective isn't making sense of the insane ravings of an asshole."
"What?!" I practically yell in annoyance.
"Doesn't matter." He waves off again before knocking twice on my breastplate "soooooo, wanna kill some Grimm?"
"But we have a migraine...I mean mission." Is my lack of sleep affecting me this much?
"Yes yes, we do." He says snapping his fingers in excitement completely ignoring my mess up "however, the objective has no time limit."
He's not wrong but he's missing the point "...I guess that's true, but the forest is a dangerous place."
"But why is it dangerous?" The short boy articulated "what's the point of sending a group of inexperienced students into a dangerous forest instead of a controlled environment? And one last question, why send us somewhere they can't keep track of our prowess and ingenuity as new students?"
I….those are good questions. "Well if I had to answer I'd say because it has to be." It sounded as if I was asking instead of answering and to be fair I kinda was.
"Because it has to be." He said as if he was tasting the words "the simplest answer is usually the correct one."
He then sat down by the mountainside and leaned up against it "keeping that in thought, my third question becomes easier to answer. They wouldn't, so they can keep track of us."
Walking over I take a seat next to him "so how are they keeping track of us?"
After I asked that he was silent for a few moments before finally answering "there is no easy answer to that, so it's useless to think of such things. I've got another question. If they sent us to such a dangerous place with no time limit and are watching us, why?"
"There is no time limit, so it's not to test efficiency." The answer flowed easily from my mouth as if I answered it before.
"Correct Correct, so if it's not a test for efficiency that only leaves one option..." He trails off waiting for me to finish his answer.
"Skill?"
"Yes yes, that is correct. So like I said, wanna kill some Grimm?" If I had to describe his smile at that moment I would use the word sinister.
--Glynda--
"That boy is very good at getting what he wants." I scoff while watching the live feed from my scroll.
"I couldn't say for sure." Comments from the cliff side.
"Ozpin…" I try to say but he interrupts me before I can say anything.
"We don't have much choice anyway, Jacques Schnee pulled a lot of strings to get the boy into the school. Honestly the entrance exam is a formality at this point." The entire thing he said without a hint of emotion on his face.
"As you've said before Ozpin."
"It is worth keeping in mind."
"... perhaps."
After pausing a few seconds Ozpin spoke again "...On a similar note, James contacted me about Mr Crane again."
"Oh, what did he say?"
"The boy's entire background is a forgery." He said as simply as asking about the weather.
"The entire thing? Parents, place and date of birth, previous occupation, all of it?!" I couldn't help shouting in shock.
"James' current theory is Vacuo." Ozpin then sighs and in that moment he looked more tired than I'd seen him in a long time "that then brings up the question of how he gained the information about Jacques Schnee." I didn't respond to that, how could I?
"...did Mr Crane personally request the forgery?" I ask to bring us back to the original subject.
"Jacques Schnee seems to have delegated the task to an employee of his. According to James, when the forger was questioned, Jacques Schnee's name was never mentioned nor did the forger ever meet Mr Crane in person."
"How should we proceed?"
"Please ask Thumbelina to write a psych profile on the boy."
I couldn't help but sigh at that request "she'll be sure to remind you that her field of study is dust, Ozpin."
"I'm sure she will complete the task to satisfaction, she always does."
--Crane--
"So, what do ya think?" I say standing in front of the large entrance to a cave which I can only assume is the Death Stalker's lair.
"I don't think the artifacts are in there." Pyrrha answered in a very uncharacteristic monotone voice. Damn, she must really be tired.
"Careful babe, you're getting awfully negative there." I make sure to warn her.
"Oh right, sorry."
"Next time we spend all night training, let's not do it before an exam."
"Next time?" She squeaks out in disbelief.
"Of course, as if you could resist."
"I believe you are a horrible influence on me." She comments with a hint of a smile on her face.
Pyrrha Nikos affection increased by 4 for treating her normally
Pyrrha Nikos 24/100
"Well of course I am, now this cave?"
The invincible girl then takes a miniature flashlight from her pocket before shining it inside the cave "the creatures of Grimm usually prefer the dark over the light."
"Ooh, Sounds fun."
"So are we going in?"
"Well I'm not opposed."
"Is that a yes?"
"Hmmmmm, yeah sure."
And so I followed closely behind Pyrrha into the dark cave. Really, how could I forget a flashlight when I was buying my gear? Fuck, why am I so fucking stupid! Huuuuuuuuh, I'll just buy one later.
"Are you ok?" Pyrrha asks from in front of me all of a sudden.
"What?" Did I say that stuff out loud?
"Your jaw, I kicked it pretty hard back in Mistral."
"Oh that. I mean sure it hurt, but that was almost a week ago." I try to reassure her.
"I mean as I'm kicking you I'm pretty sure I felt your jaw break, so there I am worrying you might be seriously hurt and then all of a sudden you're shouting 'ooh, pesterchum!' at the top of your lungs."
My jaw? I mean I have no reason to disbelieve her, she's much more experienced than I. I should've felt it though, right? Gamer's Body doesn't disabled pain either, Hmmmm. "Maybe it was adrenaline?" I tried to use that as an answer but it comes out as a question.
"You didn't notice!?" The disbelief in her voice was very audible.
"Can't say I did, at the very least my Aura seems to have healed it up nicely."
"..."
"..."
"Can I ask a question?"
"Yeah yeah, anything will beat the quiet."
"So," she started dragging out her words "why didn't you use your weapons in our fight?"
"To avoid your semblance of course." And as soon as I said that I ran into her back because she stopped walking.
"What!?" She squeaks in response and shines her light in my face.
Oh right, that's not public knowledge "your Semblance let's you control magnetic force right?"
"Well yes." She says completely incapable of lying, "but how did you know?"
"Hmm? I watched your matches." I lied, not about watching but that I saw her using it. I tried to spot her using it, I really did, but no matter how much I paid attention to her matches I could spot it. Guess that is her experience in having crowds watching.
"But I've worked very hard to keep it hidden." She says almost in a panic.
"Calm yourself sweetheart, in my experience the vast majority of people are stupid. I'm just smarter than the masses." I try to calm her while bragging a bit.
While she didn't seem to like my answer she still turned to continue our exploration of the cave "that's kinda heartless."
"Be unapologetic in your ways, my dear."
"I'm not sure I truly understand what that means."
"It means to be yourself."
"I can't say I dislike the phrase then." She murmurs bassly.
"So your questions, do you have more?"
She seems to think for a moment before finally answering "a few. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Oooh, going for the tough ones are we? "I think you're thinking too unilaterally about reality."
She then stops again and turns back towards me, flashlight in my face again. "I ask you if you think I'm stupid and your answer is reality is weird?"
She makes it seem like I said something weird "yes, that is an approximate assumption of what I said."
"If you didn't want to answer you could have just said so." Oh dear, she's getting huffy.
"Of course I don't want to answer, but I told you that you could ask." I then take the flashlight from her hand and start leading further into the cave "So here I am trying to answer your question to the best of my ability."
"It's a simple Yes or no question!" I hear her whine from behind me.
"No question is that simple, no matter what question you ask I can always follow it with a why." I explain quickly "For example, do you think I'm handsome?"
"No." She answers immediately.
Ouch "Hurtful but fair. Why?"
"Your teeth are horribly crooked, your nose is too large, and your forehead is much too big for your scrawny body." Hurtful, but I can account that up to her lack of sleep again, because immediately after she looked incredibly guilty and murmured "sorry."
"hurtful, but my point still stands."
"Ok...then what did you mean?"
"We all have different strengths." I then took a deep breath that I immediately used to blow my hair out of my face "for example, I'm sure you and Weiss will probably exceed all expectations in school work, but I'll never get above average. I just don't do well at a desk, I'm more philosophically smart."
"So you're only smart in your head?"
"Exactly!" I shout out while turning back to Pyrrha "Of course I could just be wrong about this, but I am right more often than wrong... usually."
"Doesn't inspire much confidence." She drones back at me.
"A little over a week ago I marched into Mantel in a set of pajamas. Then I somehow entered the employ of the Schnee's and convinced the ice queen Weiss Schnee that talking to her mother wasn't a complete waste of time. I then got into a grudge match with a national champion and hero who is actually rather impressive and now I'm in Vale taking an exam to get into a school for professional monster hunters and all it took was luck, knowing a bit more than I should, and ranting like a raving lunatic to anyone that would listen." I then smirked at the shocked girl and said "not bad for someone who's only philosophically smart, huh?"
"That's just luck."
"Fair enough, but I find it strange that someone would complain about being lucky."
"I prefer to rely on things I can control, like skill."
"Right right, but I got a question now."
"Alright."
"That's a giant scorpion isn't it?" I ask as I turn the flash light towards the deathstalker a few feet away.
Before Pyrrha or myself could speak again the monstrous scorpion screeched at us horribly before swiping one of it's pincers at us. I couldn't see what Pyrrha did to escape, but I didn't hear her get hit so she must have gotten out of the way. I on the other hand dove over the pincer and then propelled myself forward to slide over it's back and land behind it.
Looking back towards the monster I see it chasing Pyrrha, ignoring me completely despite being closer. So while standing completely still I call out to my partner "despite having so many eyes scorpions are close to blind and see using vibrations picked up by hairs on their underside. Perhaps the deathstalker is similar."
Pyrrha was probably confused by my calm speech while she was in danger, even so she still listened carefully while dodging the beast and shortly after I finished she responded to me "if that's true then we are at a disadvantage in such a dark space. I'll try to lead it outside."
"Understood, I'll follow behind for a pincer attack."
Pyrrha Nikos affection increased by 4 for making a sound plan and good observation
Pyrrha Nikos 28/100
As I smirk I switch the flashlight to my left hand before drawing my sword and muttering "observe."
LEVEL-43
RACE-Deathstalker
HP-N/A
MP-N/A
STR-268
END-267
DEX-172
INT-73
WIS-70
CHA-15
LUCK-22
Race Perk:Deathstalker (5 str per level, 5 end per level, 3 dex per level, 1 int per level, 1 wish per level)
Oooh, fun. I then began my chase and I have to say it truly is a pleasure to see Pyrrha work. If I didn't know about the original canon I'd even say she could take the monster on by herself. However that's not the case, she just can't hit it hard enough.
As the two reach the light that signified the cave entrance Pyrrha dove into a roll as the creature crashed through the cave walls. Now that they're outside my assault can begin. So as I'm running I jump as hard as I can right towards the Deathstalker's stinger.
[Phantom Blade]
And in an instant I'm on the other side. Ducking into a roll I land on my feet right next to my partner before turning back to the Grimm. It's stinger, having detached from its tail, was sticking out of its back just like in canon.
The Grimm screeches again before trying to plow over us. I obviously didn't want that to happen so I dove to the side with Pyrrha. I then heard the sound of it crashing into the trees from the forest behind us.
"Can you get me on its back?!" I question while turning back to the creature.
Instead of answering me she ran forward and then knelt down with her shield above her head. I of course immediately understood what she wanted me to do so I sheathed Autumn Twilight and began to run straight towards my partner. And so just before reaching her I launched myself up and landed on Her shield. Timing it just right I jump again just as she pushes me up and I get to go flying straight up.
Now me going flying was just a strange add-on to trying to get on the Grimm's back, but it did stop the creature from being able to counter me. So as I fell and the wind rushed past me I extended my leg and brought it down in an ax kick straight at the severed stinger. I'd imagine that the initial impact looked rather lame to the watching Pyrrha because it didn't kill the Grimm, in fact it didn't do anything.
[Soft and Hard]
Immediately I pushed myself back into the air and performed a front flip and before anyone could do anything else I brought my other leg down on the stinger sending it straight through the Deathstalker's body.
Setting down my other foot I swiftly turned back to the invincible girl and gave her a large sweeping bow.
"I hope you enjoyed the show." I said before bringing myself back up and stepping off the dead creature "looking behind the curtain ruins the illusion."
"So you're always in character?" Pyrrha asked softly.
"Exactly! Luck, skill, and the audience are all part of the illusion, do you see my point?"
"You definitely are good at... whatever it is that you do, though I'm not too sure how much luck is involved." Said Pyrrha before yawning. "...Sorry.
"That is quite possibly the greatest compliment I've received since our match. Though I do believe you could put in a little more flair, you know wave your arms around a bit." I said and then went into a pose like Hamlet holding Yorick's skull, but after not hearing Pyrrha comment I turned back to her only to find her looking past me with wide eyes. "There is something big and dangerous behind me isn't there?"
--Blake--
While I was in the forest I met my new partner Yang. She was fighting some Ursa and she looked to be in trouble so I helped her, though she claims she could have handled it. While I can't be sure of the truth of the matter, I can't say it really matters, I'm stuck as her partner either way. It's a shame though, our personalities don't mix that well. Yang, though it's not necessarily a negative factor, is loud and abrasive and likes puns way too much for my liking.
But anyway while walking we eventually made it to our goal with little resistance and from the sounds of gunfire I hear around us we seem to be lucky in that regard. The goal itself was a large circular stone platform with multiple Broken stone pillars surrounding it and on the platform in a half circle of pedestals were what could only be described as chess pieces, but not having anything better to do as we walked into the stone I asked "chess pieces?"
"Some of them are missing, I guess we're not the first ones here." Stated my blonde partner.
"Well I guess we should pick one." I responded in kind.
After examining the pieces the blonde girl eventually made it to a golden knight piece which she picked up "hmmm, how about a cute little pony?"
"Sure." I could help but give a small smile to the boisterous girl's silly comment as I walked towards her. However before I could reach her we both heard the rapid sounds of trees being shattered coming closer though the forest "do you hear th…?"
However before I could finish my question a vaguely human shaped object came flying out of the forest, it's entire body bouncing every few meters like skipping a stone over water and as it reached us it came to a sudden stop as it collided with the ruin's stairs. Looking down at the object I saw it to be the short, possibly psychotic, boy I had a conversation with yesterday. Shifting his eyes towards my partner and myself he let out a low groaning "oooowwww."
Strange, why did he respond like that? He specifically only let out that groan of pain after he noticed we were here. However I didn't have the opportunity to think of that now since immediately after that a loud thud happened somewhere in front of us.
Raising my head, my eyes swiftly found the girl with the red hood who was with Thaddeus Crane yesterday, I believe her name was Ruby. The girl was standing there in the middle of the grassy field looking upwards and before I could look up she seemed to decide something before taking a step to the left.
And at that moment a third familiar face appeared before me. The Schnee heiress, who had apparently been falling, landed in Ruby's outstretched arms. "Thank you." I heard the Schnee say genuinely and immediately after that surreal statement the rich girl exited the bridal carry and landed on her feet.
Schnee, taking a quick look around before her eyes landed on Crane, arrogantly said "oh there you are, where have you been."
Crane in response groans before pushing himself to his feet "having a bit of fun with a deathstalker."
"Charming." The Heiress droned.
Then, off to my side, I heard my partner say "fun with a stalker huh, sounds like a Friday."
Before anyone could respond however more trees from the forest could be heard breaking and at the moment an alpha Ursa came bursting through the forest before immediately falling over dead.
"aaawww, it's broken." A voice that was much more cheerful than any I had ever heard said. The one who said that was standing on top of a dead Ursa and if I had to describe her I would use the word pink. The girl's attire was very different than any I'd seen in the years I was with the white fang, who wore mostly dark colors for the majority of stealth missions we did, and not very practical to say the least, but that's the most interesting thing I could say about the rather bland looking girl.
Her personality on the other hand was anything but bland is all I could think of as the girl skipped across the field to join the rest of us, ignoring the rather feminine boy who came out from behind the dead Ursa breathing hard.
"Nora." The boy said not even knowing the girl had left "please, don't ever do that again."
However, as I said, the girl was already gone and now she was examining the chess piece artifacts. The girl then, par for the course from what I'd seen, took one of the rook pieces and placed it on top of her head and began chanting "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle~!"
"Nora!" Snapped the feminine boy.
The excitable girl stopped her chanting immediately and with a giggle called back "coming back!"
"Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" Asked my bewildered partner.
"I….that seems to be the case." I responded almost unable to comprehend the chain of events at all.
And at that moment Pyrrha Nikos the invincible girl came out of the woods absolutely booking it. Crane, noticing the girl, called out to her "retreat and regroup!"
The slight panic in his voice startled me a bit, but the redheaded girl seemed to agree with his command since she immediately turned to run towards us.
"I should mention that we rode here on a Nevermore." Ruby comments from besides Yang.
Crane's eyes briefly turned towards the sky before murmuring "must be circling around." It was at that moment Pyrrha Nikos came jogging past Crane as she tossed something at him, a sword? His arm then swiftly snaked out and snatched it out of the air before gently resting the sword on his shoulder.
Crane then, with startling quickness, raised that large box at his waist that he used as a sheath and pointed at the forest. Shifting my gaze towards where he was pointed I saw what had scared the two so much.
The Grimm was probably around six meters tall with its mask over a long crocodile like snout that only had inch long sharp teeth at the end of its face. It's body, despite being so large and Grimm not needing to eat, looked to be starving and malnourished. Descending from its mask, down it's back, and all the way to the tip of its lizard-like tail was thick grey fur. The rest of its body appeared to be covered in scales like a snakes and it's legs could only be described as that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. And finally were it's arms, only one of which could I see because it was grasping a tree, were long enough that they looked like they would almost be dragged across the ground if they were dropped but definitely will with the foot long white claws that were at the end of it's four fingered hands.
Grimm are most definitely dangerous, but they end up even more dangerous when you don't know which one you're fighting and I can say confidently that I've never seen this one before. Crane however seemed to know that that situation was dangerous so without lowering his arm he asked "my knowledge of most Grimm is somewhat lacking, do any of you know what this one is?"
It was the feminine boy, who's name was apparently Ren, who answered "I can't be sure because I've only read about it, but I'm pretty sure its designation is Starving Horror."
The creature's steps were slow but almost methodical, as if you could feel it grinning at us. To my right I heard Ruby cock her oversized gun at the same time I pointed Gambol Shroud forward towards the monster. And then a screech signaled the return of the Nevermore, that Ruby mentioned earlier, that then landed on a large tree.
The Starving Horror never took it's eyes off the group of gathered students as it continued its pace towards us, completely ignoring the Nevermore behind it. At least it did until it stopped in the middle of the grassy field between us and the forest. And then it just dropped down onto it's stomach. The beast, still alive, seemed to be content waiting for us to come to it.
It was Crane who was first to drop his weapon, completely unaffected by the tense air. Whatever his thoughts were he didn't voice them and only let out a long dramatic sigh.
I was the one who broke the silence as the question on everyone's mind came unbidden to my lips "why aren't they attacking us?"
--codex--
-An excerpt from the nature of Aura by Dr. Thaddeus Crane.
-Interdimensional chronology code [redacted].
It seems being born on Remnant is what causes the body to produce the energy source that fuels Aura and Semblances. This was first showcased when [redacted] was born, despite both of her parents being from Remnant. This also provided the information that despite every living being on Remnant possessing Aura it is not genetic.
When [redacted] was discovered to not possess Aura it was suggested to me that perhaps Aura was similar to Nen, this however was quickly discovered to be false. The citizens of Remnant that joined me on my travels displayed the ability to utilize Nen and all of its facets and when a scan was performed on a volunteer it revealed that indeed the energy that was produced by Nen and Aura had vastly different base structures.
Further testing was performed at a later date with willing volunteers, specifically individuals not born on Remnant produced a child while on the world and the children produced then showcased the ability to produce Aura naturally leading to the conclusion that it had something to do Remnant itself. However the study of Remnant has proved near impossible with the large population of that world's largest natural predators, the Grimm.