Chapter 7: The Wizard of Beacon
Crossing the Ocean headed towards Vale had very distantly been something that Jaune knew he would have to do at some point.
Of course he had never thought he would do so with a strange man that had somehow located him not long after he had escaped certain death at the teeth, claws, and other assorted parts of the Grimm.
A strange man he still couldn't quite get the measure of.
They had passed the majority of the day on a bullhead that Qrow had chartered passage on from Argus.
During that time he had resolved not to mess with his Gamer ability in front of Qrow. He had wanted to use his scroll to contact Weiss. He had almost done so. Qrow may have proved to know something but that something didn't mean that Jaune could trust him. That wasn't even counting the thought of leaving Weiss to believe that he was dead.
Not for the first time he cursed himself for going forward with the option that had unlocked his mana then. He should have waited. Which also would mean that if Qrow was telling the truth he would have put those around him in danger.
The least he could do was at least try and get a measure of the man he decided.
Qrow who was sitting across with him was fiddling with a flask seeming quite distracted.
Jaune cleared his throat and Qrow's dark red eyes focused on him.
"Were you looking for me?" he asked Qrow and Qrow turned from his flask to look at him.
After a moment Qrow shook his head.
"Until the moment where I saw that energy around you I had no idea. I was actually asked by an," the man hesitated before he grimaced, "'friend' to help with the Grimm surge because I was in the area on business."
"A Friend?" Jaune asked noticing the air quotes around the word friend.
Qrow shook himself, "Someone who I work with. It was a complete coincidence."
"Coincidence," Jaune murmured to himself. It could have been. He had no proof it wasn't and Jaune hadn't had access to this 'magic' thing for more than a number of hours now.
Still he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't getting the whole story.
"You mentioned other users…" He said leadingly and Qrow's brow furrowed before he sighed.
"Don't get me wrong kid I want to tell you, but honestly I'm not the best one to give you the whole story. You're not who I was looking for. The person who knows best is who we're going to meet."
Jaune frowned but nodded his head in acceptance. If worse came to worse he would find a way to contact the academy.
The long distance flight eventually came to an end unimpeded by any Grimm in the skies something that Jaune might even have taken just to do something with the nervous energy filling him.
They had come down in Vale something that had given him a burst of familiarity having been here many times visiting with his family.
They hadn't spent much time in the actual city only crossing the port to go to an intercity bullhead which took them into the air toward Beacon.
Gazing out the window at the city on the cliff he was struck by the beauty of the academy. It lacked the high tech look of Atlas Academy or the city itself but instead it had a certain sense of solidity. As if this school was set there so that Vale could look up and see the future Hunters that would protect them against the Grimm.
Perhaps that was the intent Jaune mused.
They came down at the front of the school and were released along with the rest of the people in the bullhead who Jaune noted looked for the most part to be students.
They walked over the picturesque stone surrounded by the greenery of the campus giving Jaune another thing to note as different from Atlas. Qrow led him easily through the school coming to a stop at a pair of elevator doors which opened to admit them.
The elevator began to rise and Jaune felt a pang of nerves.
"So this person we're meeting works at Beacon." Jaune asked.
"You could say that," Qrow said and the doors slid open.
Jaune was struck by the fact that it almost seemed he had walked into the spacious inner workings of a clock.
In the office for that was what Jaune could only assume it was he saw a man with white hair and an olive green suit studiously typing away at something at his desk.
Qrow walked forward and Jaune followed behind him until they came to a stop in front of the desk.
It was only then that the man behind it looked up at them his eyes flashed between them before he looked fully at Qrow.
"So this was who your message said I needed to meet?" he asked in a surprisingly soothing voice.
"Yeah Oz," Qrow said hand drifting towards his canteen at his side before he stopped himself, "What he has to show you I think you're going to find interesting."
"Well young man," 'Oz' said turning to look at him, "What is it exactly you have to show me?"
Jaune hesitated for a moment. Before he readied himself preparing to run at the first sign of danger.
He mentally turned inward and concentrated flexing that new muscle that had appeared in his conscious similar yet different to the sense of Aura he had.
He glowed a light blue the magic running like a cool stream through him ready for, well ready for something he wasn't sure of.
'Oz's' eyes widened and he folded his hands in front of him.
"That is- something. As a gesture of good faith-" the man raised his hand a green shimmering light appeared around his hand.
Looking at the energy Jaune almost compared it to an ethereal green fire and a sense he had been unaware of could feel the energy and the similarity it had to his own new discovered power thought it was strange.
If Jaune had to compare them his magic felt like fire that had just sprung to life carefully being fueled to burn even brighter while 'Oz's' power felt as if it was dwindling as if his fire was slowly dying.
The light faded and the man steeled his fingers before himself, "My name Professor Ozpin, I am the Headmaster of Beacon academy. That power you have, well it is Magic. How you have it is a question I don't even know where to begin answering. To make sure you aren't a girl are you?"
"No, I'm not, my name is Jaune Arc," Jaune said with some heat. That question reminded Jaune of what Qrow had said previously and he decided to push on it.
"Why are the both of you even asking that question?"
Ozpin glanced at Crow for a moment before he looked back at Jaune, "Well the thing is young man that Magic as far as we know is to a one only in select number of women. The exception being myself and Qrow here exceptions which I understand. For you on the other hand I don't even know how you would have gained such an ability. Unless…"
The man frowned before his eyes gained a hard look as he stared intently at Jaune, "Do you perhaps know the name Salem."
Jaune blinked noticing that both Qrow and Ozpin were staring at him intently.
"No. I don't even think I've ever met someone with that name."
The tension seemed to fade slightly though did not disappear completely.
"Well I suppose that is fortunate," Ozpin said, "Still I'm sorry to say that the fact you can use magic paints a target on your back."
Jaune took a deep breath touching on Gamers Mind slightly, "So then what should I do?"
"The best thing to do for now I believe is for you to disappear. I've read the reports from your primary combat school and while you're capable the forces that would come down on you given the opportunity are significant. There is an island off the coat of Vale called Patch which has a primary combat school Signal. It's a good school and most importantly is somewhere where there isn't a lot of attention."
"So that's it?" Jaune asked trying to keep the frustration from his voice, "I'm just supposed to hide from this threat you won't even tell me about. I have friends you know, am I just supposed to let them think I'm dead! Why should I even trust you?"
Ozpin sighed and for a moment he looked far older than he had previously appeared to be.
"I understand your frustration young man. Given your situation I will tell you what I can in the hope that I can engender some trust between us."
Jaune looked at Ozpin suspiciously the way he said that gave Jaune the impression that what he was willing to tell Jaune still had certain limitations. What those limitations were…
"Who is Salem?" Jaune asked picking the largest question that had formed in his mind. She seemed to have something to do with this so perhaps that was the best place to start.
"That-" Ozpin hesitated, "That is a complicated question. What I can tell you is that she is what controls the Grimm. It is through magic that she does so which is why I wondered if you were somehow an agent of hers."
Gamer's mind was in full control as Jaune received this information. There was someone who controlled the Grimm. That was… He would have deemed it impossible until the point he started seeing strange screens, a man turned into a bird, and the man in front of him demonstrated the same power he had and that he had not seen in anyone else.
The fact that someone ruled the Grimm though meant that the Grimm's antagonism toward humanity had an element of thought towards it. It was not just that the Grimm despised humanity inherently. There was someone with enough power to fight a war against humanity that by all intents and purposes they held the upper hand in. The land controlled by humanity was far smaller than the land where the Grimm still held superiority.
"And this Salem is who would target me?"
"Yes," Ozpin said solemnly, "Without a doubt she would target you and if she didn't get you, she would be more than willing to target anyone around you."
"So, my best option is to hide," Jaune said trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.
"I'm sorry," Ozpin said softly.
"Could I send a message?" Jaune asked, "Just to my friend, I can't leave her thinking that I'm dead."
Ozpin's mouth creased, "Even that could be dangerous. If any hint of your survival escaped and reached Salem's ears it is possible she use that information to attempt to track you down possibly using your friend as bait."
Jaune wanted to protest but a part of him understood Ozpin's point, "I understand," he said bitterly.
Ozpin nodded with a solemn expression on his face, "I'll arrange for a place for you to stay on Patch. In the meantime, Qrow can he stay with your family? I think it would be for the best that Jaune does not remain in Vale for a long period of time.
Qrow nodded, "I'll contact Taiyang and we'll head on over."
"Good," Ozpin turned back to Jaune, "The best thing you can do for yourself is get stronger. The stronger you are the less likely it is that Salem's agents will be able to overpower you. I don't know how exactly your magic will function but it should in theory be something that you can learn as long as you keep practicing. Be careful Mr. Arc. We will speak again."
And that was it. They left Beacon going back the way they came and despite the answers Jaune had been given he wished more than anything that he hadn't gained this new aspect of his ability.
On the boat ride to Patch Jaune found himself fiddling with his menu having found a new skill.
Shadow Extraction: Level 1
This Skill allows for the extraction of a defeated targets residual mana turning them into a solider to be called upon at will and at the cost of mana.
The instant he had read it he had been reminded of what Weiss had told him about her hereditary semblance. Ignoring the pang in his heart he concentrated on the other change he had noticed.
His Stealth skill had changed. It now cost 100 mana to activate and 5 mana to maintain. He hadn't used it yet having learned his lesson by now but the first time he was alone he was going to do so.
"You all right Jaune?" Qrow's voice broke him from his thoughts.
Blankly Jaune turned to Qrow despite himself raising an eyebrow, "After everything I've just learned you're wondering if I'm alright?"
Qrow sighed, "Fair enough, I'm sorry about this. No one especially someone as young as you should have this on their shoulders."
Jaune didn't know how to respond to that so he chose to say nothing.
They continued sitting in front of each other for the duration of the boat ride which ended up taking about two hours. During that time Jaune almost wished he could sleep but his mind even with the influence of Gamers Mind found it hard to rest.
The boat ride came to an end and they exited the ship onto the docks. The sun was slowly setting as the day became evening. Jaune followed behind Qrow as they walked through the streets of Patch. Every so often as they walked through Patch Qrow would take a drink from his hip flask. His tolerance must have been incredibly high Jaune mused as Qrow's gate remained uninfluenced by the drink he was imbibing.
They exited out from the main streets and ended up on a road passing by a couple of more isolated houses before Qrow took a left heading towards through the somewhat sparse trees to a large wooden cabin inset with five windows on the front. The glow of light from the house's windows seemed warm and inviting enough but Jaune couldn't think of another place he wouldn't rather be than here.
The closer he got to the cabin the slower he walked till he stopped. Qrow carried on a couple of steps before he stopped looking at Jaune.
"You all right Jaune?" Qrow asked in a repeat of what he had said hours earlier.
Jaune didn't want to answer that question so he diverted the path of the conversation, "What's your family like? How are you going to explain me?"
Qrow gave a helpless shrug, "Well my brother-in-law Taiyang knows the score at least. I got two nieces who we'll have to explain you to. I was going to tell them you were the kid of a Hunter I knew and that you would be staying with us for a while. We have a spare room so you can stay there."
"Right," Jaune gave a single nod working on imprinting the somewhat lackluster cover story into his brain.
Qrow knocked on the door once before he opened the door calling out, "I'm home, got someone with me."
Qrow continued through the doorway with Jaune following behind him. They made perhaps a couple feet of progress before in a red and black blur something slammed into Qrow's stomach.
"Uncle Qrow!"
The blur resolved into a girl perhaps a year or two younger than Jaune. She was wearing a dark black shirt and a similarly colored skirt with a highlight of crimson red. She looked beside herself to see Qrow beaming up at him with eyes that almost seemed to literally sparkle.
"You're back! Did you bring me anything? Ammo! A New Weapon to look at!"
The girls questioned continued rapid fire not slowing down in the slightest as Qrow pried her off and set her back on the ground.
She continued, "Dad said you were bringing someone home who would be staying with us, where-"
Her mouth halted as her eyes landed on Jaune who was staring at the girl somewhat taken aback.
The girl shrank behind Qrow's back peeking out from behind his cloak at him.
Jaune's senses told him two more people were making their way down the hallway toward them. One of them judging by the size was an adult and another was a child.
So Taiyang and the other niece Jaune deduced in his head.
They appeared in the living room and Jaune was struck by the similarities between the girl and the man who had to be Taiyang. They both had bright blonde hair and while the girl had lilac eyes and the man had blue eyes that were maybe a shade lighter than his what made them seem related were the matching grins across their faces.
"Uncle Qrow," the blonde girl called out and broke into a run slamming into Qrows legs in a hug that Jaune was sure if Qrow wasn't a Hunter would have bowled him into the ground.
Taiyang continued forward until he stopped in front of them giving a nod to Qrow before he looked down at Jaune.
"So, you must be the kid Qrow was telling me about, the names Taiyang, what's yours," Taiyang held out a hand in what looked like a practiced handshake.
Jaune reached out his own hand and shook, "Jaune Arc." It was strange. It was that name and the weapon he carried with him were the only real markers that he was an Arc. A family he had left behind to pursue his dream. Now he had left behind his best friend. It was to protect her but something told him that would be a cold comfort to someone who thought he was dead.
He realized that he had zoned out and gave a somewhat strained smile to Taiyang who was looking at him with a small frown on his face.
"Well we got Dinner set up so why don't you two come inside," Taiyang said cheerfully looking at Qrow who nodded in agreement dragging his nieces with him as he moved further into the house toward a dining table which seemed to already be laden with food.
Jaune followed in their wake feeling somewhat lost but to ignore the feelings building inside him he drew on Gamers Mind heavily.
They sat down around the table with Jaune taking a seat by Taiyang as both girls sat on either side of Qrow. As the food was passed out the conversation began or more exactly the girls began pelting Qrow with questions about where he had been and what he had been doing.
Either because of his now heavily boosted Intelligence stat or because of the conversation he had seen Qrow engage Ozpin with earlier Jaune couldn't help but feel that Qrow's answers were heavily shaded. The only thing that was clear were his battles with the Grimm but the reasons why and the locations he had been were never quite clear.
He didn't know why but somehow the whole thing somewhat reminded him of his own family dinners that he used to attend. His had been far more rambunctious though that was to be expected with as many sisters as he had even if some of them had moved out already.
Perhaps it was the sense he got as the family chatted and ate that all of them truly and deeply cared for one another. That this was a family that truly deserved the name.
He found himself fiddling with his food. Not because it wasn't good. It was actually quite excellent but he couldn't throw out the thoughts he had of the people he had left behind.
Every bite tasted like ash. Distantly he contemplated if he had found the limit to Gamers Mind. That while it kept his mind clear in the moment it could not shake these horrible thoughts. Perhaps he should be grateful if he didn't feel this way would it mean he had lost an important part of the Jaune Arc that had existed before he got this power?
That Jaune Arc never would have left his family behind in the pursuit of his dream. Or perhaps he would have still done that if only at a much later date.
As horrible as it seemed leaving Weiss felt far worse. She was his Best Friend and he had left her to think he was dead. That didn't even qualify as abandonment like his family. He had left a person he truly cared for to think he had been killed by the Grimm. At least with his family it had been by accident at least at first, this was… something else.
What if he sent a small message? Would that hurt? Could this Salem he had been told about discover even that?
He didn't know. All he knew was that he couldn't endanger Weiss. Even if she hated him for the rest of her life. That would be fine as long as she was safe.
"Jaune?"
Jaune looked up from his food realizing he had been addressed by Taiyang who was looking at him with a level of concern that Jaune hadn't seen from an adult since… well his parents.
"I'm fine Mr.- " Jaune hestitated realizing that he didn't even know Taiyang's last name.
"It's Xiaolong," Taiyang said a smile on his face, "But you should just call me Taiyang."
"Right, uh Taiyang," Jaune finished weakly.
"So I'm guessing by that sword at your side that you're planning on being a Hunter," Taiyang said.
Jaune nodded slowly taking a quick glance at the other members of the table who seemed to be wrapped up in an intense discussion about how many Grimm could Qrow take down on his own.
"Yeah, I'm going to- I went to a combat school in Atlas," Jaune replied assuming that by Qrows earlier words about Taiyang knowing the 'score' that he could speak somewhat freely with Taiyang.
Taiyang nodded with a grin on his face, "I guessed as much. Both my daughters attend the local combat school Signal that I'm guessing you'll also be attending.
More out of wanting to continue the conversation to ignore his own thoughts than anything Jaune tried to forward the conversation, "What's Signal like?"
Taiyang frowned the frown oddly creasing a face that seemed far more suited to smiling, "Well to be clear I'm not sure if I can give an unbiased opinion to be honest. I'm a teacher there you see."
Jaune nodded at this new information but given that it was the only topic they had he pushed forward, "Still you must know something."
Taiyang nodded thoughtfully, "Well it's actually a pretty small school all things considered as it mostly just serves the students from Patch. Still also of our graduates head on to Beacon and become excellent Hunters in their own right."
Jaune mindlessly nodded along with Taiyang's words.
"I suppose one of the things that makes us different is every one of our students before they graduate make their own weapon," continued Taiyang.
That caught Jaune's attention, "Make their own weapon?" he asked.
"Yeah," Taiyang nodded, "At our school each Hunter makes their own unique weapon before they graduate, Yang's already made hers and I know that Ruby has something special planned up her sleeve."
He said those statements with a look of pride on his face and Jaune couldn't help but feel the sheer warmth emanating from Taiyang.
It was... pleasant to see a parent so obviously proud of their children. His own parents had been entirely against his dream and Weiss's Father was someone who seemed at least to Jaune someone who only valued his children as tools for his own ambition.
The dinner continued and Jaune managed to eat enough food so that he didn't get any strange looks from the other members of the table. As the they began to clean up Jaune aggressively threw himself into the task so that he had something to do.
It ended up being mostly him and Taiyang as the two girls remained entranced by another story that Qrow was telling. Taiyang had tried to tell Jaune he didn't need to but Jaune had refused to budge.
Afterwards Taiyang had shown him to his room at Jaune's request claiming that he was tired.
"Are you sure you have everything you need Jaune?" Taiyang asked somewhat awkwardly standing outside his room.
"Yes, thank you," Jaune nodded wishing more than anything to be left alone.
"Well… All right," Taiyang nodded slowly and then left closing the door behind him. The instant he was gone Jaune threw himself onto the bed staring at the ceiling blankly.
He felt tired in a way that left his body completely unaffected but his mind sluggish.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his scroll tapping through a couple of screens before he found Weiss's contact. His finger hovered over the button to call her. It would be so easy. He could at least let her know he was okay, but Ozpin has said it would be dangerous. If it was just dangerous for himself he wouldn't give it a second thought.
The terrified voice of Weiss once again echoed in his ears.
There was a basic element to it Jaune realized. Something that had never really occurred to him before. She was scared of losing him. They were each other's possibly best friend in the entire world.
His mind resolved itself as he realized he was weighing to things.
Weiss's Safety and Weiss's Happiness. Which was he going to protect?
He remembered the girl shut off from everyone around her that he had first met. How she had slowly opened up to him. The numerous parties he had attended and then spent the rest of the night in her room talking to her.
Weiss,
I'm okay. A lot's happened that I can't tell you about. I promise one day I'm going to explain everything. Until then I want you to know that you're my Best Friend. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it to the party. I'll make it up to you I swear it.
Jaune hesitated it wasn't a lot but it was something and it had the detail about the party that only they should know. Still it felt incomplete but how much more was he willing to risk. For some reason a random discussion they had about what Hunter Academy they wanted to attend floated through his mind. He had been unsure but Weiss had been certain.
I'll see you where you said would be the true start to your Journey as a Huntress.
Beacon.
With a couple more commands utilizing his Intelligence stat to the maximum of it's capabilities he set the message to send through a series of proxies. Then he wiped the scroll's address completely and reregistered its number.
Jaune took a deep shuddering breath before listening to the sounds of the house. His sense told him no one was moving so carefully he walked to his window opening it as silently as possible. He eased himself out and dropped to the ground below finding himself in the dark backyard of the house.
He walked away from the house passing into the forest stretching out his senses searching for his prey.
He walked for some time until he was truly deep in the forests before he sensed one creeping through the trees towards him. He stopped waiting for its approach hand casually resting on his sword.
A pitch black body leaped through the night air and he sliced cutting through its paw causing it's landing to turn into a crashing thud against the ground. With no hesitance he performed a coup de grac slicing its head free of its body watching as the Grimm dissolved.
A cold blue light emerged above the Grimm's decaying corpse and Jaune reached out into the light following instinct.
RISE
Blue eyes glowing the same color as his own opened to meet him.
Authors Note:
Another Chapter out so I think I should answer some questions posed in the reviews.
I got a couple of questions about why Necromancer. This is for a couple of reasons. Number One of which that this is a Solo Leveling inspired fanfiction and in Solo Leveling the class the main character receives from his Class Quest is Necromancer (Which eventually evolves into another Class but that's for later.) The actual reasoning in Solo Leveling why he receives the class Necromancer is a little bit murky until you get later into the story but in essence it's because of who he is inheriting his powers from. In this story Jaune is not inheriting his powers from the Shadow Monarch but instead [Spoiler]. They are still somewhat similar which is why Necromancer was an option. Jaune deciding to sacrifice his physical health to channel the dust crystal was the major reason that his class was specifically chosen as Necromancer. Physical sacrifice to destroy the Grimm as it were. Something that is close to Necromancer and even closer to the eventual class Jaune will gain.
Which leads into how these powers are going to develop. The power scaling in Solo Leveling get's out of control in part because of who the character is able to reincarnate as their pawns. Jaune does not have quite the access to powerful beings to reincarnate so this growth will be slower. Not to mention Jaune as is would only really be able to reincarnate Grimm as they are the only beings with Magic bar a few.
As with Solo Leveling Jaune's major reason for being a legitimate power will be because he is incredibly strong because of the way the power levels him and eventually because his Summons will let him be a one-man army. Something which will be an interesting match against Salem.
On the subject of Ozpin and Qrow finding Jaune and basically forcing him to disappear.
When it comes down to it Ozpin's character to me especially noted in the later seasons is someone who plays the game with Salem as one would play a game that they believe is unwinnable. He plays defensive as shown by tracking down maidens and trying to keep them away from Salem. Finding another person with Magic is not something he would ignore and by the transitory property Qrow would not ignore it. Jaune had no idea accepting a notification would alert anyone and if Qrow was not in the know he would have dismissed the occurrence.
Stats:
Name: Jaune Arc
Class: Necromancer
Level: 10
HP: 300
AP: 3000
Mana: 5000
Strength: 36
Agility: 30
Health: 30
Sense: 20
Intelligence: 50
Luck: ?
Available Ability Points: 60
Skills:
Gamers Mind: Level Max
Dancing: Level 50
General Studies: Level 35
Hunter Martial Arts: Level 15
Hunter Sword Arts: Level 31
Hunter Shield Arts: Level 25
Aura Control: Level 27
Dust Channeling: Level 3
Survival: Level 3
Stealth: Level 2
Shadow Extraction: Level 1
Inventory:
Crocea Mors
Assorted Food Supplies
Camping Equipment