Ah, another week another story. I so enjoy writing this one actually, perhaps because it is removed from canon, which gives me a lot more freedom in terms of what I write and how. The best example was initiation, because that is the bane of my life in most stories (just written it so many times), but which in here was downright fun to write!
Beta: College Fool
Chapter 7
The Emerald Forest was a beautiful place, perhaps because it was so untouched by the people of Vale. The reason why was obvious, with Grimm spawning amongst the trees with alarming regularity. Of course, that was also the reason I was there. Or we, thankfully. Nora and Pyrrha had only been too happy to accompany us, and I'd been only too happy to let them lead us to the place they'd been using the other day.
Nora's enthusiasm made sense. I had the odd suspicion she was both relieved and afraid of the fact I'd made such good friends with Ren, but once she had figured out I had no intention of trying to break the two of them up, she'd gone straight to classing me as a best friend too. I couldn't say I fully understood it, since Nora had been his friend first and I felt confident in saying he would have picked her over me any day of the week, but either way – it wasn't a problem anymore.
Pyrrha had just been flat-out happy to be invited, which again seemed odd. Why wouldn't I invite her when she was not only a friend but stronger than me?
Whatever. It didn't matter now since we were all out in the forest together. Naturally being the weakest in the group, I was the most nervous – or at least it seemed that way. Pyrrha pushed through the bushes with the quiet confidence of a woman who knew she had nothing to fear, while Nora chatted incessantly into Ren's ear as she held onto one of his arms. If he was worried about the day, then he wouldn't have even been able to show it since Nora was occupying all his attention. I kind of wished I had someone to distract me too, but I'd made the choice not to invite Ruby, Yang or Weiss along for the journey. Part of it was because I didn't want to run the risk of breaking one of Ruby's new scythes, but the other thing was just that we all needed lien. Splitting the loot four ways would already be a bit of a hit, and I didn't think seven would make it any better.
Ren and I had told the two redheads about our plan to share a room, and how much that would save us a month. Nora had instantly suggested the same to Pyrrha, who had agreed with a little smile of her own, so now we were all looking to earn at least eight hundred lien a month. That would make working things out easy, at least.
"How much did you and Nora earn the previous day?" I called out to Pyrrha. Her ponytail swayed as she turned to look at me. There wasn't much point being quiet and stealthy, since we were actually trying to find Grimm anyway.
"Only ninety lien between the two of us. That made forty-five each, but we focused more on finding where the Grimm were than actual fighting." I nodded as I calculated that in my mind. Forty-five lien each was pretty poor compared to what we'd earned from the Beowolf, but that was to be expected. A Beowolf was an Elder Grimm, which we'd only just survived due to collapsing a house on it. Frankly, I'd be quite happy if we didn't find anything like that so close to Vale.
"If we could earn that much each time then we'd need to hunt twenty days a month," Ren's face was set in a small frown as he worked things out. "It would be possible for sure, five hunts a week on average, but it wouldn't leave us much else to use our free periods for."
It would be good for Exp though; I couldn't help but realise. My Level was still low compared to most other people in Beacon, so anything I could get would be for the best.
"Our hunting was inefficient," Pyrrha said. "I'm sure we could earn more, even split between the four of us. Like I said, we were focused more on finding a good spot so we avoided quite a few Grimm."
"So that's where you're taking us now?" I asked, since Pyrrha had been pausing every now and then as though to catch her bearings. She smiled at me, apparently pleased that I'd realised.
"That's right. Nora actually asked an older student for some tips on where the best places to hunt are. They've been here for longer after all, so they likely know some good spots. This one was mentioned as a good place for lower levels to farm."
Somehow I figured what she meant by farming was not what first came to my mind, but maybe that was what happened when you were part of the Labour Caste. Still, it was amusing to imagine a field full of Grimm, buried up to their necks in the soil. Ruby would be the farmer, of course, reaping the crop with her scythe.
"Here it is," Pyrrha pointed towards a copse of trees separated by some vines. "Behind here, you can see the markings left by older students." True to form I could just make out some scratches on a tree she nodded towards, an angular looking square with a number inside it, carved into the bark by some kind of knife and obviously man-made. I supposed it made sense… the Emerald Forest was wild and overgrown, not to mention infested with Grimm, but it was also right next to Beacon itself. There were probably students in the woods every single day, so as wild as it was there would still be paths worn into the ground by students, markings and maybe even camp sites. "Nora and I made all our lien here. You'll see, there's loads of small Grimm that spawn."
"Sounds good," I walked up beside her, holding one hand out to push the vines aside. I was scared for sure, but with my three friends by my side I was fairly confident we could manage some easy foes. With an anxious sigh I pulled the vines back, revealing the meadow for the first time.
"Oh…"
"It wasn't like this the last time, I take it?" Ren asked.
"N-No," Pyrrha winced. "I suppose we weren't the only ones to think of asking around."
"Yeah…" I sighed, shoulders slumping. Nora and Ren stepped up to have a look, joining me as we looked out over an open meadow crammed with Heroes. There must have been at least sixty, milling alone or in small groups, weapons drawn as they scanned the grassland with wary eyes. A dark bubbling occurred in one corner, shadows forming together into a small pig like shape. It didn't get any further, since at least ten students fell upon it, scrabbling for the Grimm as swords, axes and magic slaughtered it in seconds.
"This isn't going to work," Ren said, somewhat needlessly since we all had eyes. I could see the ten arguing over the loot, which was probably less than ten lien anyway. The area was saturated, picked clean of whatever Grimm naturally had occupied it and leaving only new spawns to be depleted. "I wonder if the older students give this area out on purpose. Naturally they would want to keep the best locations to themselves."
"Which means we'll need to do our own scouting," I sighed. That would slow us down but it could hardly be helped, staying here wasn't going to be of any use. "Sorry guys… looks like we'll be wasting time looking around today too."
"It's fine," Pyrrha clapped a hand to my shoulder, "And if anything, it's our fault. Not yours."
"And by our, she means the meanie who told us this spot," Nora added. "We'll just have to find out own super, secret training and hunting location. It shall be called Nora's Cove."
"There isn't a coast line for miles," Ren said.
"Nora's Cove requires no coast. That's what makes it super awesome."
"Of course… how could I have forgotten."
"If you two have finished flirting…" I said with an eye roll towards Pyrrha, who giggled. "We might as well push on and find a new spot. Any idea what we're looking for?" Maybe I was supposed to know that, but I had the age-old excuse of being raised by a Labour Caste family to fall back on, so none of them brought up my ignorance.
"We need to find an area where Grimm spawn with regularity," Pyrrha explained for my benefit. "Grimm wander and travel where they will, attracted to the negativity of people. They can spawn wherever there is an abundance of negative emotions, but certain areas in Grimm infested land may also spawn Grimm continuously."
"Any idea why?" I asked as we left the meadow and pushed deeper into the forest. Now with no clear direction, Pyrrha stayed at the head of the group, with Nora at the back. Ren had a small notepad out and was marking a small map as we travelled. It had been his idea, and quite the good one as far as I could tell. Knowing our way around, not to mention where good spots were, would mean we could avoid being trapped in the same situation the others back there had been, desperately struggling for a single Grimm.
"There are theories but nothing concrete," Pyrrha answered. "Some say they are areas where catastrophic events have happened long ago, places that are so steeped in negative emotions that no amount of hunting can rid the land of its taint. Even in the First Quest, the entire village was massacred and yet we were able to close the spawn points by slaying enough Grimm. In these areas, however, Grimm can continue to spawn for hundreds, if not thousands of years."
"Hmm…" That explained the meadow we'd just left, which had been not only picked clean of Grimm but with any new ones being cut down almost instantly. How common could such places be, however? I guessed we would have to find out. Either that or just hunt loose Grimm that were wandering about. Even then, there wouldn't be any coming from the direction of the meadow, which meant the more distance we put between it and ourselves, the more likely we would find some enemies.
We still had lessons in the afternoon too, it being around nine in the morning right now, and lessons recommencing at two in the afternoon. It had felt like a long time before, but now with the reality of us trudging aimlessly through a forest, five hours didn't seem nearly enough. We would have to set at least an hour and a half aside just to get back, change our clothes and eat.
"Jaune, behind you!" Ren's warning gave me the time I needed to spin and hold my shield out, blocking the attack from the strange, lizard-like Grimm. Its claws skittered across the metal but it wasn't strong enough to push me back or break through. Crocea Mors swung down but it dodged back, making a strange hissing, clicking sound with its tongue. I had no idea what they were, but we'd been fighting them on and off for the last two hour or so.
"I've got it," I shouted back, twirling my blade for no other reason than to loosen my wrist. They weren't too tough, I'd even killed a few myself – though nowhere near as many as Pyrrha had. But they attacked quickly and savagely, and were agile enough to dodge my attacks for the most part. The ones I had hit were either distracted, incapacitated or had just been unlucky. "Just… hitting the damn things."
"Tell me about it," Nora growled. That was the only thing which salvaged my wounded self-esteem, that Nora was also having a little trouble crushing the speedy things. Her two-handed Warhammer made short work of whatever it connected with but connecting in the first place was a chore. She was a Barbarian, so in my head I did assume to a degree that her stats were a little like my own, my true stats, that was. High in Strength and Constitution, low in Dexterity and Agility. "Rennnyyy – these Grimm suck!"
"They're easy to kill when you hit them, though," the taciturn man ducked beneath a set of claws, easily swinging up with his small blades to slice open its throat. I didn't know much about Monks, but his martial arts – combined with the curved blades – seemed suited to these kinds of enemies. "Their attacks don't do much damage either."
"Easy but annoying," I sighed, blocking another attack with ease. My return clipped the side of it, a glancing blow at best but enough to stagger it. That gave Nora the opening she needed to hit it from the side, reducing the Grimm to a fine red mist, while also reminding me not to ever fight her in the ring.
"Got it!" she cheered, turning to me and holding one hand up. Shaking my head, I slapped my palm against hers. For some reason she looked both surprised and pleased, before giggling and slamming her hammer down into the ground, leaning on the haft. "Jaune, I'm tired," she whined. "Can't we take a break?"
"Eh?" I glanced towards the others, who were just finishing off the lizards before them. "Ren had a light sheen of sweat across his skin, which was a little redder than usual. Pyrrha looked fine, but her breathing was also a little heavier. My Constitution left me feeling mostly okay, but even my arms and legs were aching from all the walking and swinging of my weapon. "I guess we could," I shrugged. "Pyrrha, Ren, take a break?"
Ren sighed, "I would not say no to a short rest." Pyrrha didn't answer but she sheathed her short sword and after bending down to pick up some lien strolled towards us. Ah, the loot! I'd almost forgotten all about it, which would have been unforgiveable given that it was the main reason for us being out here. That and Exp, which made me close my eyes and concentrate for a second. Still Level fourteen, I hadn't gained a full level – but it was ever so close. A few more fights and I would be there, which meant I had gained almost eighty per cent of a level just from two hours.
That wasn't half bad at all. The growth would get smaller as I gained Levels, of course, but then again we could also go after bigger Grimm too.
"I saw a river nearby," Pyrrha sighed as she slumped down onto a fallen log, the three of us taking positions on rocks and logs nearby. "I suppose I could go get some water. Do any of you know enough about berries to tell what's poisonous or not?"
"Ren reads a lot of books," Nora piped up.
"I should be able to identify some without too much trouble. We should boil them, however, just to be safe."
Berries, water and survival craft… I felt embarrassed just by how little I know of any of those things. About the best I could do was start a fire, and even that was cheating since I could use Stoke the Forge to ignite tinder with a touch. Just another difference between Heroes and Labourers, I guessed. It made me feel useless, which was already bad enough since each of them had slain more of the Grimm than I.
"Actually, I did bring some stuff along." Everyone turned to look at me as I said that, making me feel more than a little awkward. "It's not much but I brought some snacks and drinks." I flushed at saying that, mostly because here they were talking about living off the land, of being independent and strong – while I was treating a dangerous hunt like a family picnic. It was even worse when I drew out some wrapped up sandwiches, fruit and cakes – all taken from the cafeteria before I'd met up with them. I even had some leather water skins with some fruit juice in.
I must have looked like an idiot… they'd probably thought I'd brought first aid equipment, survival gear or more weapons in my back pack.
"Jaune!" Nora tackled me, making me flinch slightly, only to relax when her arms wrapped around me in a hug. "My hero!"
"A-Ah," I stammered a little. "Well I mean it's probably a bit silly…"
"Sillier of us not to bring anything," Pyrrha's smile was radiant, her eyes bright – and hungry. "I don't know about you, but the idea of boiled berries didn't stir my soul."
"Cakes are unhealthy," Ren said, instantly picking one up and taking a big bite, "but I'll happily make an exception here. Good work Jaune."
I sighed, relaxing a little as Nora let go, though she didn't move from beside me, bumping her elbow against mine as she took a ham sandwich and bit into it. My embarrassment gone we tucked into the food, not really talking but each enjoying the camaraderie nonetheless. It seemed crazy, even at the time, to imagine four aspiring Heroes sat in a forest filled with monsters, with only a basket and blanket missing to complete the picnic image. But in a way none of us cared. Covered in sweat, our clothing sticky in the humid forest air, we traded muffins for apples, tossing aside cores and biting into oranges rich with sweet juice. Nora flicked a seed at Ren's face, the Monk dodging it with a little frown, only for Nora to yelp when Pyrrha bounced a piece of bread crust off her nose.
It felt good…
"So good," Nora echoed once we'd finished, the Barbarian leaning back against the trunk of a tree with a contented expression. "Beacon makes the best food ever."
"They probably have specialist Classes in the kitchens," Ren said. "If we want to keep eating it, then we'll need to earn the lien to cover their costs. How much did we earn from the Geckans?"
"Is that what they're called?" Pyrrha asked between mouthfuls of fruit juice. "I've never seen anything like them in Mistral, and it was hard to read the names in this light." Pyrrha had come from another country? I couldn't remember if she'd said that before. I wonder why she chose Beacon over a school closer to home.
"I've read about them before," Ren nodded. "They're indigenous to Vale and spawn mostly in forests with a warmer climate. They rely on speed and numbers to overwhelm their prey, which is likely why we did so well against them as a group."
I shrugged at that, willing to accept it as fact if it came from Ren. "I've got this," I piled what lien had dropped on the floor between us, the others doing the same. Since no one else seemed to want to do so, I gathered it up and started counting. "Two hundred and forty. That's… sixty each?"
"Not bad," Pyrrha said, though from the way she had said it, it was clear she didn't consider it good either. "It's better than what Nora and I earned the other day, but I don't think this is a true Grimm spawn area."
"I'd agree on that," Ren marked something down on the map he was drawing. "Geckans travel and attack in groups, so we likely just came across a pack. I'll make a mark of this spot though, if just for us to check it in future. It might be a regular path that Grimm make use of."
"Worth a shot," I shrugged, looking between each of them. I touched the lien from my share, letting out a short sigh. "I should take less," I said at last.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha looked towards me in confusion, but I waved one arm with a sigh.
"I'm the weakest of the group, you all killed a lot more than me. Giving me equal share is just silly. I should be paying you for helping me level up faster." There, I'd said it. The guilt I'd been feeling started to ease from my shoulders, even if it meant I'd be worse off in the long run. "How about I take thirty and you each get seventy?"
"Don't be silly." Pyrrha leaned back as I held ten out to her. "I'm not taking it."
"Be realistic Pyrrha. I was a burden here; you've helped me enough by even taking me with you." I'd gained almost an entire Level after all, which in my mind was worth far more than the lien. Sure I'd be behind on rent and payments, but there was still a whole month in which to earn more.
"I was pretty useless too," Nora giggled. "So you can have mine too, I guess."
"You weren't," Pyrrha refused to even look at the lien we both offered. "Stop it! I won't take it. I wouldn't have even found this place if it wasn't for Nora noticing those tracks."
"And we'd have starved if it wasn't for Jaune bringing food," Nora smiled.
"It's not the same thing," I argued. Bringing food along wasn't a worthy task of a Hero. I'd only done it on instinct, too used to my sisters forgetting such things whenever the family went to swim at the lake or travel to a neighbouring village. My father and I had always made sure to bring as much food as we could. But it wasn't the same here. This was life or death, in which they could have handled their hunger easily enough.
"If we go by pure combat ability then we will all be inferior to Pyrrha," Ren stood up and cracked his neck. "I think it's clear to all of us that she is the strongest here." The redhead glanced down to the floor, playing with her fingers. "But that is not all that is added to a team," the Monk went on. "I am not as strong as Pyrrha, but by working on a map for us all I save not only time, but let us hunt more efficiently in the future. Nora struggled to fight these Grimm but will add much needed Strength if we face slower ones, plus she noticed the tracks. You, Jaune, may be weaker than us for now – but you thought of our wellbeing when we did not. You also arranged this hunt, not to mention you brought us together in the first place."
"Ren is right," Pyrrha smiled, finally looking up towards us, towards me. "It's not just about who is the strongest, and maybe I could have done this on my own and earned more lien, but it would have been lonely. I would rather take only sixty but have three friends with me, than take even a thousand lien on my own."
"There you have it Jaune." Ren pocketed his lien. "We share equally."
A sigh escaped me, yet I accepted the lien while not meeting their eyes. "I'm sorry." They didn't speak, letting me continue. "I didn't mean anything by it, just that I'm not contributing as much to the group as you all are."
"You will get better," Pyrrha stood up and patted her armour down, the bronzed metal glinting slightly in the sun. Mixed with the crimson cloth that matched her hair colour, she made for a truly inspiring sight. "Every time you come out with us you will grow stronger, level up and contribute more. Don't worry about how you are now. It's more than enough for us anyway."
"Yep!" Nora punched my arm lightly, and holy hell did it hurt. She was stronger than me for sure. "So no more moping."
"Okay, okay…" I rolled my eyes but felt a little calmer. I was a burden, that truth hadn't changed, but my Experience had, which meant that I would grow stronger soon enough. Maybe it wouldn't be enough to get to their level. In fact, it wouldn't, since they would gain Exp at the same time. But it would be enough for me to offer more, to catch up and to be a better part of the party. "It's getting on to noon though, should we make our way back?"
Sixty lien each was not the haul I'd been hoping for, but it was a start. Enough that if we kept to it most days, we could afford our shared rooms at the end of the month. Plus, there was always the chance we would do better next time. We could do worse too, but I was prepared to be optimistic about things.
"We probably should." Ren checked his map. "We took a roundabout route to get here since we stopped by that first glade. If we head directly west, we could reach the walls and also map out a little more of the forest." A quick glance towards Pyrrha and Nora showed no complaints, so I nodded to that. Ren's map would pay itself back in time, I was fairly sure. If only to avoid us accidentally visiting the same areas over and over.
The westward journey was done with only light conversation between the group, mostly between Nora, Pyrrha and I as to what amenities we'd decided to aim for with our new rooms. Nora seemed determined to add a bath tub to theirs, and I could tell that her argument was winning Pyrrha over too. Maybe in time Ren and I would do the same, but we could wait and see what we earned first before we thought about that. At the moment I just wanted a private shower which I wouldn't need to wake up early to use.
Ren stayed quiet for most of the journey, only occasionally asking for them to pause so that he could map out a point of interest, often an unusually shaped cliff, copse of trees or body of water. I didn't understand much of his cartography, but he insisted it wasn't a skill, but rather a hobby he had picked up while Nora and he travelled. Apparently it was also a Skill of sorts, albeit not one that connected to his Level in any way. It was grindable, with the more he used it determining how accurate he could be. It was with a small grin that he explained his skill was high enough that we didn't need to panic about getting lost.
It was about halfway back, however, when a musty scent had Nora stopping in the middle of the path, me walking into her back with a loud `oomph`.
"Do you smell that?" the Barbarian asked, tilting her head back and sniffing loudly. Pyrrha and I shared a confused look and a shrug. I could smell the forest, which was mostly clean air and the occasional pungent flower… maybe it felt a little warmer here, a little dustier – but nothing that stood out. That said, Nora's Tracking Skill was much better than mine or Pyrrha's, so we both stopped and waited for Nora to finish.
"The air smells a little stale," Ren had his eyes closed. I took another breath, doing the same as I tried to figure out what he meant. Now that it had been pointed out I could agree that there was an odd tint to the air, a breeze that reached our noses that carried a slight hint of damp moss and stale air. Pyrrha seemed to have noticed it too, turning left and right as she tried to figure out where it was coming from. Ren turned to his friend, "Nora?"
"This way." She didn't even wait for them to follow, her orange hair disappearing into the bushes as she rushed off. Should we really have been leaving the path like that, I wasn't sure, but we could hardly have left her alone so we all followed after her. Luckily, while she seemed to be good at tracking, the same couldn't be said for Nora's stealth and it was clear from broken bushes and branches which route she had taken. Ren mumbled something as he quickly jotted details down, the map taking a hasty and poorly drawn route as he struggled to keep up. "Found it!" Nora said from ahead, and was it my imagination or was there a sense of wonderment in her voice?
We found out a second later, as I breached the treeline and nearly collided with her once more. Pyrrha and Ren came a second after, whistling quietly as they looked at what I too was staring at. An archway, and a tunnel, leading down some stairs into the ground. The stone was old and grey, covered in moss and vines. The architecture looked unusual too, columns spiralling up on either side, with an overhanging stone block with strange pictures etched onto it, most worn and hidden under plant life.
"A ruin?" I wondered out loud. Ren shook his head.
"A Dungeon," he whispered.
"And so close to Vale," Pyrrha sounded as surprised. I flushed a little, coughing awkwardly.
"A Dungeon is a naturally occurring phenomena," Ren explained for me. "Much like the Grimm they occur in locations of historical importance, or where events have happened in the past. Unlike Grimm, however, they are not permanently fixed." I glanced towards him sharply.
"You mean to say this wasn't here a week ago?"
"And it might not be here in another week," he nodded. "From what I've read Dungeons will remain until the anchoring Grimm is killed, at which point it will fade as soon as it is vacated." He noticed my wide-eyed look. "No one knows why. I've never even seen one in person."
"They're that rare?"
"Not rare," Pyrrha interrupted. "Just uncommon. Most Heroes our age won't have entered one yet, but you're bound to when you start attending an Academy. I was taken to see one when I was younger, though naturally I didn't step foot inside."
"Are they bad?" I asked. Ren shook his head.
"Quite the contrary. Grimm inside might be a little stronger, and there will almost always be a more powerful one towards the end, but I've heard that the rewards are much better. The location of a Dungeon entrance is a valuable commodity. We could probably sell the information to a group of older students. We could make a thousand lien off of this easily."
"Or we could clear it ourselves," Pyrrha whispered.
"Or that." Ren nodded.
I wasn't so sure. More dangerous Grimm, not to mention a strong one of some type. My mind instantly recalled the Beowolf and I had a sinking suspicion that this would be an Elder Grimm of some type as well. My body shook, my throat felt dry.
But my hands tingled too… and as I looked to the others I couldn't help but think none of them looked enthused at the prospect of selling away this opportunity. If we could sell it for one thousand, then how valuable would the contents inside be? And despite my fear, despite the doubt and the danger…
I couldn't help but feel excited.
A Dungeon, a real life Dungeon – and here I was, now a Hero in everything but name. Wasn't this what I'd dreamed of as a child, a party of adventurers delving into deep, dark castles to rescue a princess and win some great treasure? There was no princess, but the prospect of treasure was still there, not to mention the Exp from the Grimm themselves.
"Should we?" I asked.
"I don't know," Ren whispered. "Perhaps you should be the one to decide." My eyes widened as I looked at him. Why me – I was the weakest here, and yet to my horror Nora and Pyrrha nodded.
"You arranged this hunt, plus you brought us together," Pyrrha said. "I agree with Ren's choice."
"Hm!" Nora nodded.
If they'd meant that as a way to cheer me up, then they failed spectacularly. My choice, they were willing to place their fate in the hands of a Blacksmith? That didn't seem wise. Okay, I had to think about it. The Dungeon would be dangerous but we were pretty strong, or rather Pyrrha was. We had four warrior type Heroes, however, which wouldn't be the best combination to take down. If the tunnels were as thin as the entrance, then it would mean we could only fight two abreast. The two in the back would be all but useless since we didn't have any ranged weapons.
It wasn't just that, however, that stopped me. These were my friends… and this decision could mean their deaths. I wasn't ready for that.
"Mark it on the map," I ordered after a few long minutes. "We're not going in."
"We're selling it?" Pyrrha sounded disappointed, though she tried to hide it.
"We're not selling it," I breathed out, making them look at me. I grinned past my fear, letting out a long breath. "We're going to get reinforcements and clear it as a group."
"Ruby, Yang and Weiss?" Pyrrha guessed, smile growing wider. "Weiss' spells could be useful," she added, "while Ruby's scythe could reach over our shoulders to help in the tunnels."
"The entrance might vanish if we're not quick about it," Ren warned. "It's still here, which means it's not yet cleared. But there could be people inside even now. I agree with your plan, but the longer we wait, the more chance we have of someone else finding it. It is close to the walls."
"We've got no idea how big it is though," I pointed out, and Ren nodded to that. "If we get them to agree then we came come down this weekend. That would give us a whole two days if we needed it."
"A fair point," Ren sat down and started to jot details onto his map, no doubt how they could find this again. "Just let me take this down and we can get back to Beacon. I suppose you'll ask the others if they want to come along?"
"I'll ask Ruby. I don't think Weiss will want to talk to me, but Ruby might be able to convince her." The Mage whined and complained about not being Ruby's friend, but for all her bluster she hadn't actually walked off and left Ruby. Yang would no doubt come as part and parcel of Ruby.
The journey back had been a little more delayed than expected, mostly because we had to stop to fill in Ren's map, but we'd also come across some Canis blocking the path. A short fight and five lien each later, we made it back to the walls, but not as fast as we'd thought. By the time we made it back to Beacon it was actually less than twenty minutes until the next lessons, so telling Ruby and the others about the Dungeon had to be put off until a later time. I didn't want to rush that, since Ren's warning about others wanting the information was still in the back of my mind. Best to get the three of them somewhere quiet where we could take our time explaining the Dungeon could wait, as it would have to, until the weekend. Miss Goodwitch's class would not!
Pyrrha promised to have a word with Weiss, enough to make sure that she'd hear me out, and together we made a quick plan to confront them the next day after breakfast. As we split up to go get changed as quickly as we could, something caught my eye over by the women's dorms. Pyrrha and Nora didn't even notice her, likely because of who it was as she left the women's form. But my eyes spotted the dark, blue hood – the golden eyes, but also the bags she carried over one shoulder.
"Blake?" She spun upon hearing her name, body going stiff as she faced me.
"Jaune." Maybe it was wishful thinking but she seemed to relax just the tiniest fraction, even if she still had her guard up. She had remembered my name, though, and now that I'd walked over without any plan I realised I had to stay and say something.
"Hey Blake," I grinned awkwardly, feeling a fool when she didn't smile back. She had her mask down, but hood up, which meant I could see her cherry lips, set in a small frown. "What are you up to?" I nodded to her bags.
"I'm leaving."
What…? The reason for her bags suddenly made sense, but that truth was a hard one to swallow. Breath caught in my throat, my heart stopped.
"Why?"
She shrugged, one bare shoulder rising. "This place is not for me." She said, eyes flat. "I do not wish to spend another day surrounded by such people."
She didn't even look upset, not even the slightest bit of disappointment, like she had expected it or somehow gotten used to it all. Words wouldn't work their way past my lips, despite how many were inside. A myriad of emotions, anger, disappointment, resentment. I had known, in some small way, that she was being bullied. How could I not, with how the people had reacted when she defeated Cardin? But for it to be this bad.
"Don't go."
"Pardon?" She looked at me, one brow raised high. It wasn't my place to stop her, not if she didn't wish to stay. She owed nothing to me, quite the reverse. I didn't even know how she saw me, a friend, a fool – someone who was too nosey for their own good?
I didn't care. She had helped me. She had saved my life.
I wouldn't let that go to waste.
"Stay," I pleaded, fighting past her sharp glare. "They're wrong, whatever it is they've said, whatever it is they've done. Don't let them get to you, don't let them affect how you live your life. If you do that, then they've won." Fight, like I had – like I was doing right now when people had looked at me and only seen a Blacksmith, someone weak and useless… an NPC. "I know I have no right to ask bu-"
"I think you misunderstand." Her words made me pause, and was it my imagination or was there the slightest curve to her lips. No, I wasn't wrong – there was a smile there, small and subtle, but an undeniable proof of the amusement I could hear in her voice. "I am not leaving Beacon," she explained, "I'm leaving the shared dorms. I've secured myself a private room."
"Oh…" Breath exploded out of me, along with the realisation of what I'd just said and done. "So… I… must have sounded like an idiot." Her smile grew a tiny bit wider, "Any chance you could forget most of what I just said?"
Can I level up my Charisma already, holy hell?
"I won't tell anyone, Jaune." If she didn't find it funny then she certainly did now, judging from the look in her eyes. "I am simply moving my belongings to my new room."
"Yeah… I see. So that means you've already earned enough lien?" She nodded once. "Wow, you must be pretty damn strong then, we've only just started though we hope to be able to move out by the end of the month."
"We?"
"Ren and I," a quick back to the men's dorm. "We're going to share a room and split costs."
"I see." She shrugged, drawing one of her bags back up onto her shoulder. "I hunted alone, so there was no sharing lien." She was definitely strong then, though I suppose that should have been obvious from how she took down Cardin in a single blow. Was she stronger than Pyrrha? "If you'll excuse me, I have to deliver these before our next lesson."
"Wait," I reached out to catch her arm, again noticing how she flinched at the contact. I let go quickly, holding my hands out in apology, but she didn't seem mad. "I… we found a Dungeon today." Maybe it was madness, we barely knew her, but she was strong. "Out in the Emerald Forest. We're going to try and clear it this Saturday."
"Should you be telling me this? I won't tell anyone, if you can trust me on that, but others won't be so conscientious."
"I'm telling you because I want to invite you along," I said – and her eyes widened for a second. "Would you like to come with us? There will be eight with you, we'll split everything equally."
"You… are inviting me, to come with you all?"
I nodded. Her mouth opened for a second, before she shook her head and closed it.
"Have you discussed this with your friends?"
"No, but I said we would be trying to form a big party to deal with it. I don't want to run the risk of them getting hurt because we were arrogant about this. I know you don't have any reason to help us, but if you'd be willing then I would be more than happy to have you."
"And if they are not?" Her ears flicked forwards but she hadn't shot down my idea. Her throwing knives, not to mention her speed, would be great for the Dungeon. We already had too many frontline fighters, so someone with a ranged weapon would be invaluable. "What if they are not happy?"
"They won't be," I argued but she didn't seem impressed. "I'll take responsibility. If they have any issues then I'll deal with them, I swear. Just… just give us a chance, Blake. That's all I ask."
"Give me a chance," Blake whispered, so silently that I barely heard it, "says the Knight unto the Assassin. Do you have any idea how strange you are?"
She didn't have the slightest idea.
"Is that a no?" The Assassin sighed, stepping back to run a hand through the hair that fell down before her face, pushing it aside. Her eyes remained locked onto my own the entire time, almost as though she was digging through my thoughts for the true reason. Whatever she found, however, she kept to herself.
"This will be on your head," she said at last.
"Blake?"
No way…
"Where shall I meet you?"
Developments, new lore for people keeping an eye out and some world mechanics for Remnant too. There's even some idea of how the interaction between older and younger years comes out, along with a few other things. The chapter was fairly packed in terms of `mechanics and lore` at least more so than usual. I'm also getting more used to writing in first person, which has made things easier. I really struggled with that at first, in that I had to go back and remove hundreds of third person pronouns. I know some people still are a bit meh on first vs third, so I'm not drawing sides. This was always just an experiment.
But it is kind of fun for me too ;)
Next Chapter: 17th October
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
