Ever since I was a kid, all I wanted to be was a hero. I had grown up hearing tales of my dad's heroism when he went off to go save another town from a Grimm incursion. Growing up in an environment like that, was it really such a shock I wanted to become a huntsman?
"For the last time, absolutely not!" shouted Nicholas Arc. My dad and I were seated in the Arc family dining room, a big room with a big table well suited for feeding 8 children and 2 parents. My dad's proclamation came after yet another request for him to train me so I could become a huntsman.
I had been pestering him about it rather persistently recently, the signal entrance exams were coming up once again. I had been eligible to join the last 2 years as a 13 and 14-year-old but I hadn't had the necessary skill nor drive. Now I was 15, nearly 16 and Signals exams were approaching once again except this time, I would be ready.
"Why not! It's what you did, and I want to become a hero strong enough to protect the family." I shouted right back. The discussion had started peacefully enough but at this point it was basically a shouting match. It was a small miracle of foresight I chose to have this conversation with my sisters out of the house.
"It's too dangerous. I will not have you going out there risking your life unnecessarily!"
"How is fighting to save people's lives unnecessary!"
"It's unnecessary when you are doing it out of some misguided attempt to become a hero based on some stupid childhood dream!" Dad sighed after saying this, rubbing his temples and speaking in a hushed tone. "Look, it's not that I'm here looking to crush your dreams or anything. It's simply unrealistic that you can become a hunter with a year of training, even if by some miracle you did get into Signal. Just… go to your room, we can discuss this tomorrow."
At this, I stormed off back to my bedroom on the second floor, opening and slamming my door closed before immediately collapsing on the bed. It didn't make sense! Why did Dad refuse to train me, he's a hunter, so why isn't he happy that I want to be a hunter?
In the end it didn't matter, if Dad wasn't going to train me, I guess I would just have to train myself. I refused to give up on my dream! I swore I would become a hunter, and an Arc never goes back on his word!
With my spirit renewed, I slid under the covers and fell into a deep sleep.
/:/
Waking up, I quickly stretched my arms before looking around my room. My mom and sisters should be back today, I would have to ask her if she could help me convince dad to train me, she was always good at getting dad to do what she wanted.
Rising from my bed, I noticed the lack of sunlight streaming in through the windows. It must still be early in the morning, which was odd because I went to sleep rather late last night and probably should've slept like a rock into the afternoon at least.
Shrugging it off, I stepped outside into the hallway that contained mine and my siblings' rooms and walked down the hallway to head to the dining room, only to be greeted with a shock as I turned the corner.
The inside of our house was missing
More specifically, it looked like the front of the house had been torn away, with only the edges of the side walls remaining. The hole in the front of our house revealed a pale blue void. It looked endless and I was starting to panic just by looking at it.
Was I dead? Is this the afterlife? If not, how exactly did I get here anyway? It was at this point that I noticed my panic felt…. muted, almost. I could still feel it but instead of dominating my thoughts it was more like background noise, I could still think clearly about my situation.
And what an odd situation it was.
"Hello Jaune Arc '' A masculine voice echoed throughout the void. I quickly spun to find the source, coming face to face with a plain looking man. He was wearing what looked like a brown coat, combined with simple black pants and some boots that went up to just below his knees. His short black hair was resting down on his forehead. All in all, he looked like a perfectly normal man in his 20s.
At least until you looked into his pure black eyes. Looking into them was reminiscent of the feeling of staring into the actual void. What was the saying? Stare into the abyss and the abyss will stare back? That statement had never felt so literal.
"Your life is at a crossroads, one where you must face the choice between pursuing your dreams, and giving up to live a simple village life. The forces of darkness threaten mankind, and you will play a pivotal role in the years to come."
Me? A pivotal role? I wanted to be a hero and save everyone but that was a bit too much responsibility to be placed in the hands of a 15-year-old, wasn't it? Plus, what did he mean by forces of darkness, sure the Grimm were an ever-present threat outside the walls but it wasn't like they were in danger of falling any time soon.
Right?
"For this, I have chosen you, and drawn you into the void. I am the Outsider, and this is my mark."
At this proclamation, I became aware of a burning sensation on my left hand. Only to widen my eyes in shock as I witnessed a complicated tattoo burning itself onto my hand.
Mom was gonna kill me…
"There are forces in and beyond this world, forces that men call magic, and now these forces will serve your will. Use this power, my gift to you."
Following his words, I felt a new sensation at the back of my mind. Seizing on this sensation and closing my eyes to concentrate, I saw a window appear within my vision.
Jaune Arc
Level 1
Class: Knight
Aura: 21000
Stats
STR:B
DEX:D
END:A
AGI:C
INT:B
CHA:C
Were these… video game stats? And why was my CHA only a C! I've been told I'm very charming.
.
.
.
Alright I've only been told that by my mom but still! Assuming these stats were on a scale of A to D that meant my strengths were Endurance Strength and, surprisingly enough, Intelligence. But then again, what if these stats weren't on a scale of D to A? What if they were on a scale like F to A or maybe even beyond? I suppose it would make sense for there to be lower than a D. Maybe babies had a score like E or F, either that or this system was entirely unique to me.
"This system shall grow with you, and with it, you have the potential for great power. Find my runes and charms in the dens of these Grimm and use their power to grow your skills. To help you on this quest, I shall give you 4 skills to start with."
Skill Gained: Blink
Instantly teleport a short distance within line of sight with a short cooldown.
Skill Gained: Sword Mastery Novice
Gives you the knowledge to properly wield a One-Handed Sword
Skill Gained: Shield Mastery Novice
Gives you the knowledge to properly wield a Shield both on its own and in tandem with a sword
Skill Gained: Void Soul
Modifies your body and soul to synergize with the Outsiders' gift and allow you to grow. Protects your mind from manipulation and suppresses emotions that may inhibit logical thinking.
In an instant, my head is filled with proper forms and techniques for several beginner sword forms, as well as of how to use a shield in combination with those forms. It's enough to make my head spin and I nearly pass out.
"How you use how I have given you falls to you, as it has to all others before you. For now, I shall return you to your world, but know that I will be watching with great interest."
I recover from my headache enough to prepare as the Outsider disappears and my vision fades to black.
/:/
Waking up in my bed once again, I immediately sat up breathing heavily. Was that real? If it was a dream, it was an extremely realistic one at the very least. Bringing my left hand up to my forehead to check for a fever, any thoughts of that being a dream fly out of my head.
Clearly visible on the back of my left hand is a complicated black tattoo. The mark of The Outsider, given to me in the void.
I notice something else while sitting on my bed. The small aches and pains in my muscles, a result of yesterday's training, have all disappeared. Looking down at my arms and chest, I can see a faint glowing white light.
My Aura had been unlocked.
This was awesome! First I get a cool magic tattoo, next I get my aura unlocked. With all of this I might actually stand a chance of getting into Signal! I wouldn't even need my Dad to train me or unlock my Aura if I could just increase my skills.
Wait, would he be able to sense my Aura being unlocked? Surely there was a way for hunters to sense Aura, right? If there was, I hope my dad didn't think to use it on me, it was going to be bad enough explaining my new tattoo seeing as I couldn't exactly tell them about the Outsider. Even if they did believe me, I had no doubt they wouldn't want me using what he gave me. Sure, it was kinda freaky but that doesn't mean I couldn't use it!
Wait a second, what am I even saying, I can just cover up the tattoo. Seriously, how did I not think of gloves, I thought intelligence was supposed to be one of my strengths!
On the other hand, I know I am being way too casual about this whole "blessed by a void god" thing. Thank god for void soul or I would probably be having a full-blown panic attack. As it was, I was still in a little shock, but I knew what I needed to do next.
Get Crocea Mors, train, and pass the Signal entrance exams next month. Signal taught students from ages 13-17, which meant I would be coming in late. It shouldn't matter too much, however, as long as I had the combat skill to back me up I could easily get placed into a hunter prep course for kids my age.
With my goals set, I got up off my bed to get dressed. Pulling on some jeans and sneakers as well as a hoodie before going over to my closet and grabbing the heavy metal armor that lay within. It was extra armor from the town militia that was lying around in the barracks. But now, it belonged to me, and I would put it to great use.
/:/
Getting into the forest outside Ansel was pretty simple, especially this early in the morning. While the walls were tall and strong, they were meant for keeping things out, not in.
Hopping the front wall and bracing for the 5 foot or so fall to the ground. I immediately ran off into the forest, where I noticed the first effect of the Outsider's gift. It seemed that having an endurance value of A did wonders for my stamina, as I was able to keep up a steady run going deeper into the forest.
After about 5 or so minutes I reached a clearing, perfect for testing one of my new powers. Standing on one edge of the clearing, I concentrated mentally and brought up my blink skill. "Teleport a short distance within line of sight." So I have to have a destination in mind that I'm looking at? I picked a spot about 5 feet in front of me and concentrated the same way I brought up my stats sheet.
.
.
.
Nothing? Ok, maybe I need to activate the skill somehow. Focusing on the spot in front of me once again, I mentally think Blink. For a second nothing happens, then, with a lurching sensation in my stomach, I'm 5 feet in front of me feeling the full effects of my motion sickness. I manage to stave off throwing up long enough to realize what I just did.
I teleported! An actual semblance I can use to fight Grimm! It was really annoying that my motion sickness applied to even teleporting but I can probably work past that.
Hopefully.
It would really hurt my future career as a huntsman if I vomited every time I teleported and would probably be more than a little dangerous. In the meantime I would have to figure out the limits of my semblance, it said a "short distance" but how much was a short distance to my semblance?
Standing up walking straight to the far end of the clearing, I turned around and looked at a spot directly opposite me, about 50 or so feet away if I had to guess. Activating my blink ability once again, I found myself about 10 feet closer to the spot I was aiming for with noticeably less motion sickness than the first time. At least if nothing else, I wouldn't end up vomiting by using my semblance, even if my max distance was rather disappointing to start with.
As for the cooldown, I tried calling on my blink skill a second time immediately after standing up only for it to fail, trying again the next second it failed again and continued failing for a couple more seconds until finally I was 10 feet closer to the treeline. A cooldown of about 10 seconds then. I could work with that, but if this is based on video games then shouldn't I be able to upgrade my skills?
Bringing up my mental stat sheet again, I saw a new option labelled Upgrade Quests. Mentally commanding it to open was tricky to figure out but once I managed it, I nearly opened my eyes in shock from what I was seeing.
Sword Mastery (Novice-→Apprentice)
Grimm Slain (0/500)
Sword Swings (0/1000)
Spars Won (0/1)
Cost: 1 Rune
Shield Mastery (Novice→Apprentice)
Attacks Blocked (0/100)
Attacks Countered (0/20)
Shield Bashes (0/20)
Cost: 1 Rune
I noticed that blink wasn't on the list which meant there was either another way to upgrade it or it couldn't improve. I really hoped it was the former because waiting 10 seconds between teleports is exactly the kind of exploitable weakness I don't want.
In the meantime, however, what were those requirements! 500 Grimm? 1000 sword swings? How am I supposed to do all of that before the Signal exams? My new semblance and aura was awesome and all but my regular combat skills were still severely lacking. Still, those requirements were not entirely unreasonable to beat in 3 months, I would just have to train very, very hard.
I would become a proper huntsman, or my name wasn't Jaune Arc!
AN: My First Fic! A Gamer Jaune Arc blessed by the Outsider. For those who have never played Dishonored, don't worry, the main thing I'm borrowing for this fic is the power system and nothing else. Other than that, please leave any criticism in the reviews, I feel like I'm struggling to get Jaune's character right and I'd like some second opinions. Till Next Time: