Ma'iq Rakhan

Race – Feline Faunus

Age 17

Class: The pugilist

Level – 2 (4%)

Mentor – Blake Belladonna

Apprentice – None

HP – 390 [45 regen per minute]

MP – 1610 [350 regen per minute]

SP – 1750 [200 regen per minute]

STR – 24

END – 31

DEX – 30

INT – 25

WIS – 23

CHA – 25

LCK – 10

I had barely any sleep that night as my mind was far more preoccupied between the notification of leveling up and the sore muscles. But after a short sleep, the latter problem surprisingly solved itself, so that left me only to worry about what had transpired yesterday. My mind, trapped in a circle of constantly opening and closing the status window. The numbers shown were different from the last time as they increased in value, along with a few additions.

Why is my class a pugilist?

Could that be the reason why other weapons felt so wrong in my hands? And can I change it?

If yes, how?

So many questions, so little answers.

And another doubt to add to the list was the erratic increase of my stats, some way more than others, reasons I had yet to understand. Especially intelligence, since I don't feel any more intelligent than I was yesterday, so what is it based on?

Or is a gradual change barely noticeable as the numbers grow bigger, so much to think about and nothing or someone to guide me through everything.

It is a good thing that Blake gave me the day off or I would have an angry kitten scratching at my door.

Even then, I spent most of my morning resting on my bed thinking about my newly gained level rather than resume my normal routine before the White Fang, as it is all the confirmation I need that the only way for me to get stronger was to kill Grimm.

Yet the idea itself is daunting, even with my aura unlocked.

Last night's fight could have had a bad ending if it wasn't for Blake stepping in. They just kept coming. And those grimm are supposed to be weak, a fact explicitly shown by how she wiped out the entire wave in a single hit without breaking a sweat.

Those monsters are scary to face no matter what, but is just like everything in life. I need more practice and I have a teacher who will help me through it.

I already took the first step, so I shouldn't be overcomplicating things for myself.

It's still an uphill struggle to finish, as I don't see any shortcuts…

Rather than keep wasting my time and let a day pass, I should make breakfast instead of mopping and being stressed out since it makes you lose appetite, along with preparing myself for the day. I don't want to spend my free day trapped in my house, but I could use the time to keep increasing my weaver job as it is still very low level compared to the other two.

I could look for Levi to show off my new weapons or work to finally buy the scroll that had been eluding me for so long.

A productive day is time well spent.

One of the many advantages of living in a tropical and jungle city is the abundance of fruits and with my current level at Cooking preparing a fresh bowl of fruit salad is an effortless endeavor.

But that particular job hasn't increased in level for a while, so it would be safe to assume the complexity of the dish affects the growth rate, but a complex directly correlates with costs.

However, the knocking on my door stops me from following my plan.

And Levi is the one who would visit me but she would have been calling out my name while knocking the door. Whoever was behind the door clearly wasn't the extrovert lynx wanting to hang out.

I quickly go to the mirror in my bathroom for a quick fix on my hair and check if my clothes were presentable enough before answering the door.

First impressions are always important.

Unlocking the latch and twist the knob, I slowly open and see through the crack a pair of surprised amber eyes staring right at mine, "Blake? You said today is my day off..." I throw open the door in mild annoyance the moment I recognized the faunus standing behind the door.

I never thought she would come to my home but can't say I'm surprised since she is now paying for it in my stead, of course she must know the address.

"That is not why I am here." She huffs with crossed arms.

"Oh, you came to cash in your dinner." I recall the offer I made yesterday, "Is a bit too early but there isn't much problem with making lunch instead of dinner."

"Ma'iq, be serious." She hisses, revealing the disapproval of my innocent banter. But she doesn't sound or look angry, so it is an improvement.

"I know I know." I step aside to let her come inside, "Want some tea or water?"

"Is fine. Thank you." She shakes her head as she heads inside and takes one look around my room, which was slightly better organized than the time Levi visited.

The bed is still a mess though, but that doesn't seem to bother her in the slightest since she picks it as her cushioned seat.

"So what brings you to my humble abode?" I ask, still wondering the reason for her unexpected visit as I pull the chair from my desk and sit on it.

"I… I read a book about how to properly teach someone." She blurts out.

"Oh… so I guess you want to use what you just learned, right?"

"Yes."

I lean closer to take a better look at her face and quickly notice bags forming under her eyes, revealing that she had pulled an all nighter just to be a better teacher.

That's pretty moving. I can't just reject her attempts now.

"I mean, sure? Is still weird but not the bad weird if you catch what I mean."

"I do."

"Okay… so what are we supposed to do?"

Blake takes a deep breath and then exhales, "You told me you came from Vacuo, trying to escape their style of life."

I immediately raise one finger in response, "Correction. I come from the kingdom of Vacuo, not the city itself. Just a ramshackle village built in the dry desert." I raise a second finger, "And for the other part, I was tired of fighting every day to protect the little I had or worrying of bandits coming to attack any day."

"That sounds harsh."

"Well yeah, because it is. Sorry you if your village caught the eye of Branwen splinter groups." I cross my arms while leaning on my chair, my brain recalling short moments in that forsaken desert.

"Aren't they supposed to only operate in Mistral?" She asks, slightly tilting her head to the left in confusion.

"Splinter groups. Maybe they left to form their own little murder clubs or just idiots stealing the name. But they do act like the real Branwen tribe." I explain.

The faunus girl grimaces, "I… read stories about them."

"Believe me…" I look at the floor, thinking of the past. "They all are true."

"Ma'iq… " She says sounding very apologetic.

"Oh nononono," I frantically deny with my hands her assumptions, "They didn't attack my village or someone I knew and cared about. When I finally left, I came across many of their victims and raided villages."

Burnt houses and corpses littered all over the place. That sight engraves into your brain pretty fast. Or the typical scene of refugees caravans pleading for any help to reach another settlement before the grimm catches them.

Is not a pretty sight.

"But why come to Menagerie? Usually everyone's choice is Vale." She states.

"Vale is a beautiful city but… I guess it is complicated to explain. I'm a faunus." I point at myself, then at her, "You can probably blend in if you wear a hat. But from my part? I stand out like a sore spot."

My ears flap a few times to reinforce my point.

"Wait… can you move your hair to the side?" Blake's request is a bit surprising but her eyes and tone showed genuine curiosity.

"Sure." My hand slowly moves the strand of hair from the side of my head.

Her eyes widen as she stands up from the bed and walks closer for a better look, "You don't have ears?"

"Hey, for me having four pairs of ears is more weird than two. Like, how do they even work?" I snap at her and cover the spot, making her flinch in realization of her slip of words.

"Sorry I didn't mean…" She quickly tries to backtrack, but I only laugh in response.

"I'm messing with you."

She only gives me a dry look.

Is not really an issue or a sore spot? Maybe the first day was strange, but so was the rest of my body.

"Besides, how I'm supposed to hide this." My tail moves to my right side and playfully waves a few times.

I tend to ignore that it exists since it is calm most of the time. If I was a monkey faunus, then my tail would be far more involved with my daily life.

"Or this?" I open my mouth to show her my sharp canine teeth.

"So Menagerie was your only option." She says, taking a seat on the bed again.

I nod before leaving my chair to go to the kitchen counter to make a quick drink, much to Blake's confusion. "I will grab something to drink, if you don't mind."

I walk up to the counter and open the drawers where a few glass cups are stored, and grab one, then pick up a pair of lemons from the straw basket below.

"I do not regret my decisions, except for the first day. Getting robbed and living in a shelter for a couple weeks was a pretty… bad experience, if you ask me." I continue speaking as I pour water in an empty cup and proceed with slicing the lemons.

"I am sorry for that. My father and the guards try their best to keep the crime at a minimum."

I squeeze the lemons and add a few spoonfuls of the sweet white sugar.

"I know. Don't sweat over it. However, I'm really glad you all have so many systems to help others to pull through difficult times. Like if this would have happened anywhere else, I would be probably rotting on the streets or under a bridge."

"Don't be so dramatic." She sighs.

Shrugging, I finally take a sip from my finished beverage. Only to spit it out and gag as the revolting taste of two incompatible flavors burn the insides of my mouth. "...what the fuck."

Recovering from the sudden outburst, I immediately check the small jar that supposedly should have sweetened my drink, not salt it. "Why the fuck do sugar look so similar to salt?"

What a stupid mistake, so distracted to notice something so simple.

My mentor uses her hand to muffle her laughter and fails.

The drink is utterly ruined beyond repair. The best course of action is to pour it down the sink and serve myself some water to wash my mouth, as the gross taste still lingers on my tongue.

"So that's my uninteresting story so far, ignoring the aura unlocking and grimm fight since that just happened yesterday." I quickly return to my seat, playing off my embarrassment as if it didn't occur.

The faunus girl's smile slowly vanishes and adopts a more serious expression, "I want to know why you joined the White Fang."

I can feel my ears perk up at her direct question, "Oh, do you want the patriotic and idealistic white lie or the brutal honesty?"

Blake is taken aback by my question but quickly regains her composure and takes one deep breath, "Honesty."

Thinking it better, it set it as a pretty obvious choice. Not like I would try to back out or avoid the consequences now.

"I wanted to learn how to fight. Street fighting can only take me so far. However, I must say that I don't like the whole propaganda you all spout and rant about, given the chance." I say, making her face turn into a deep frown.

"Is not propaganda. We do care about the lives and rights of all the faunus of Remnant."

"And I believe you Blake. But the political side is not really my thing, you just have to accept things as they are. After all, we are faunus, not humans." I lean back in my chair. The idea is ridiculous and depressing the more I think about it. If I had a drink with me, I would have gulped it down in a single go.

However, my answer must have struck a nerve within her since her hands clenched into fists, "I won't accept that. We must fight to change this wrong perception, not enable it."

I put both hands up in the air, "Whoa whoa, that's why I don't like political stuff. It quickly derails personal and emotional opinions. I'm just the action person, just point me where to go and I will."

Politics really sucks.

"Even if that means hurting others?" She growls.

"Of course not! Where does that even come from?" I snap at her, making her flinch.

"I… sorry." Blake's ears drop as she looks down.

Both outbursts created an awkward silence between as we recover and organize our thoughts. I bit my lower lip as I think of a way to salvage the situation and one possible terrible idea pops up.

I stand up and clasp my hands together, "We shouldn't get depressed with such thoughts! I promised you a dinner, so you are getting one right now, though I should call it lunch instead."

"You are really not going to stop until I cave in, right?" She follows my lead and a faint smile returns to her face.

"Yup."

[Affection with Blake Belladonna increased by 1, 01/100]

"Fine, just not anything greasy." She rolls her eyes and places one leg over the other.

With her approval given, I move to the kitchen and grab all the necessary tools before I open the small fridge.

"You will absolutely love this one." I start taking fresh ingredients from my fridge along with some pre-made rice and placing them on the cutting board, "The recipe came from a dream."

I still do not know the name of said dish, but it is interesting and it doesn't look that complex, just some small slices wrapped around rice and vegetables.

The faunus girl immediately perks up when I place the reddish slab of tuna on the cutting board and start sharpening the knife.

I do have cravings to eat it raw, but after fishing and dealing with the marine animals for so long, those cravings are merely passing thoughts. But by the looks of it, she doesn't have that much control, causing my lips to break into a smirk when I raise a brow at her.

She clears her throat and looks away, but still casts glances at the meat from time to time.

Blake must really like fish.

I wonder if she enjoys knitting as well.

AN: Taking the leveling system from TES IV: Oblivion. Only the primary job/class can increase your level while the rest only adds up to your stats when you level up. Is an interesting and rewarding system if you ask me, motivating you to do more things so you become stronger and better.

The weapon of choice is supposed to be the claw of Vega from SF.