Zeroes of Two Worlds

Chapter 11

They stayed in the city for most of the day and entered different shops to make purchases. Jaune had to carry the bags filled with his new clothes and other things that Louise bought, and did it with stoic resignation. He was silently glad that it wasn't as bad and heavy when his sisters go shopping, with him as their mule.

They stopped at a fancy restaurant where they have lunch and it was a strange experience for Jaune since he haven't been in one before. His family lived a more modest lifestyle in the borders of Vale, and they didn't really partake in such kind of luxuries. Fortunately, it wasn't quite as bad as he had seen in movies back home. They ate their meal in peace and collected their bags before heading out.

They left the city and returned to the academy a few hours later on horse with their purchases secured in saddle packs. Once in the academy, Jaune carried their new belongings up to Louise's dorm and then started unpacking them.

"Well I'll say, partner. You seem to be taking this whole familiar servant thing in stride. You must have been trained well." Derflinger commented jestingly.

"Eehh... Not really. I'm used to this kind of work anyway." Jaune replied as he placed some items on the table. Louise took her own purchases from the table to be stored elsewhere in the room.

"Were you a errand boy or something?" The curious sword asked.

"I definitely ran errands but that's more because I was born in a large family with seven sisters." Jaune simply told him, which caught the sentient sword by surprise.

"Damn that's alot. I've heard of families having big but that takes the cake." Derflinger remarked with a click of its flange that served as its mouth. "Your mother must have been sore from all the shafting your father had given her. Hehehe." The sword chuckled.

Before Jaune could react, something flew in the air and struck Derflinger, who yelped in surprise before it fell to the floor with a clang.

"Hey! What gives!"

"Jaune." The trembling voice of Louise called out to him.

"Yes?" Jaune turned his head to her, and saw Louise blushing. Either from anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell.

"Teach your sword some manners and not to make such comments in my presence especially in front of others." Jaune quickly nodded and Louise sighed heavily. "Why couldn't you have chosen a normal sword? One that does not have a vulgar tongue, or noise for that matter."

"Well Derflinger is the best we could get from that shop. Besides, the shopkeep tried to sell us a fake magic sword. I don't think we could trust the quality of the other swords he had." Jaune reminded her as he picked Derflinger off the floor and placed it back by the wall.

"That is true." Louise replied with a slow nod, recalling the attempt of slight against them. If it weren't for Jaune's aura, they wouldn't have known. "We could have just visited another shop for a proper sword."

"Maybe..." Jaune allowed. "But I doubt we would find anything remotely like Derflinger here." He gestured to his new sword.

"It's not like I have a choice since I already paid for it." Louise grumbled. "Just make sure to teach it some manners. I don't want to hear rumors about me buying you mean-spirited sword."

Jaune shrugged and continued unpacking their things until all that is left is the leather trunk that Louise bought for him. It currently held his new clothes and a few other things. He was happy to finally get a new place to keep his things. He placed Derflinger on the trunk before he carried the trunk by his bedside. He then set it down and the sentient sword on his bed.

He began transferring his things from his backpack as he started talking with Derflinger.

"Hey, Derf."

"Yeah?"

"How did you know about Aura?" Jaune asked it. "No one knew about Aura when I first came here, even the Headmaster. So I was surprised when you recognized it back at the shop."

"It's not the first time I've seen someone use Aura, but you're right that no one here really knew about it."

That piqued Jaune's interest and quickly asked a follow up question. "Oh? Do you still remember who that person is and how long ago?"

"Hmmm... It's been a long while but I definitely won't be able to forget him." Derflinger uttered loudly as it seemed to be deep in thought. "Hmmm... Couldn't quite remember his name... I think it's Rio or something. He's a funny guy and a bit of a klutz."

"So how does this Rio know about Aura?" Jaune pressed further.

"Let me see... He said that Aura is the essence of every living things, and also the combination of the lifeforce and willpower. He was born with this power along with others like him, but he said that others can be trained to use it." Derflinger explained to him.

"That sounds like what we were taught back in my world. Though the lifeforce and willpower is new to me." Jaune remarked as he thought back on his own lessons.

"Your world? So you're like him then."

This caught Jaune's attention. He already had a suspicion that this Rio guy is not from here but it is good to hear some confirmation.

"Did he tell you what his world looked like?" Jaune asked with growing excitement.

"Wait a minute." Louise suddenly interrupted as she briskly walked up to them with a frown on her face. "What do you mean that Aura is a combination of lifeforce and a willpower? Willpower is the solely for those with the blood of a mage."

"You're only partially correct about that, pinkie. But you're wrong in saying that willpower is only those with the bloodline like yours. Mages are already born with sparks that allows them to access their willpower much more readily." The sentient sword corrected her.

"Wh-what? But that's wrong. Heretical even." Louise argued back with her voice trembling.

"There's nothing heretical here, pinkie. You are just mistaking willpower with spark which all mages have. But that's an easy thing to mistake if you don't know what to look for." The sword told her.

Louise looked aghast and confused at the same time with what the sword had just told her. She could already feel the migraine building up as she tried to process it. They have been taught that only those with the gift of Brimir have willpower which gives them their magic. The sword's words implied that even commoners can have magic.

"This is going to be a mess if this gets out." Louise grumbled loudly as she massaged her temples

"It makes sense." Jaune said to her. "I did told you and the headmaster about semblances right?" He reminded her, and Louise nodded as she recalled their previous conversation. "Maybe that's the willpower being manifested..." He suggested to her.

"That still doesn't change that what that sword said is borderline blasphemy." Louise retorted back.

"Not really... Derf did say that mages like you have this spark which gives you magic." He reminded her, and continued on when Louise didn't respond. "So what the gift could be is the spark which no one else have."

"I can see that." Louise irritably hissed at him and then moaned worryingly. "Oooohhhh... I hope no else heard this. What would mother think of this."

"It's alright, Louise. I don't think anyone outside this room heard you." He assured her with as he gently patted her back. This seemed to work when Louise sighed and started to calm down. He looked back at Derflinger and asked. "So back to my question, Derf. Did this Rio guy shared anything about his world?"

"Why are you interested in knowing about his world?" Derflinger asked.

"Well I wanted to know if he came from my world as well. And there are unique things about my world that can't be found here." Jaune answered.

"Hmmmm... Let's see. It's been a long time since I last talked with him."

Before the sword could say anything further, the door suddenly swung open. Louise jumped in surprise and turned around while Jaune jumped for Derflinger and drew him out from the scabbard, exposing its rust covered blade. A cheerful voice then filled the room which stopped Jaune in his tracks in confusion.

"Hello~ I come bearing gifts for you!"

The familiar tall dark skin girl sauntered into the room as if she wasn't trespassing into someone else's room. A shorter petite girl stoically followed behind her while reading a book in her hand.

"What are you doing here, Kirche!?" Louise hounded on her with a look of rage on her face."How long have you been outside my room?"

"I told you, Louise. I came bearing gifts." Kirche answered as she placed her hands on her hips.

"We don't need any gifts especially from you." Louise angrily replied, not to mention the privacy of her room was breached by her..

"That's not for you to decide, Little Louise. Besides, the gift is not for you but for Jaune here." Kirche

Louise growled at her and was about to retort when Jaune walked in between them with his sword pointed to the ground, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"What are you really doing here, Kirche? And how did you open the door? I was sure that we locked it behind us." Jaune asked Kirche.

Kirche smiled at him and cooly answered. "As I've told Little Louise earlier, I came bearing gifts for you, my little prince."

"Will you please stop with that nickname, and you already knew my name." Jaune sighed. "And you didn't answer how you even got into Louise's room." He reiterated.

"If that's what you wish, Jaune. Oh what fun, we're much closer together now. Saying each other's names to one another." Kirche conceded as she teased. "As for how I opened the door... Well unlike your summoner here." She gestured to Louise's direction, and non-chalantly said. "I just used my magic to cast a simple cantrip to open the door."

Louise huffed as she crossed her arms and turned her head to one side.

"You do know that violates the rules in the academy right? You could be punished for that." Louise reminded her.

"Oh posh, Louise. You should know better that I care little about the rules." Kirche replied dismissively. "The motto of our House is Passion Above All. And that includes rules." She proudly said as she daintily placed a hand over her heart and chest.

"Clearly." Louise drawled with clear distaste.

Kirche ignored her and turned to face Jaune.

"Oh! Here's my gift to you. And my way to apologize to you for my familiar destroying your sword." Kirche took out her wand from her exposed cleavage, causing Jaune to blink as he wasn't expecting that. She uttered a short chant as she waved her wand towards the still open door.

Something long and wrapped in cloth floated into the room before it settled into her waiting hands. She presented the wrapped gift to Jaune with an eager smile, and presented it. "For you, Jaune. Consider it as an apology for Flame destroying your sword."

Jaune looked at Louise for confirmation but Louise ignored him and merely watched them with a disapproving frown. With no response, Jaune placed Derflinger on the table which Kirche took notice with a questioning look. He accepted the offered gift with a nod and quickly felt the weight in his arms.

"This is quite heavy." Jaune remarked as he adjusted his hold.

"Open it. I'm sure you'll love it." Kirche encouraged.

Jaune nodded and placed it on the table beside Derflinger and began unwrapping the cloth. The gift is soon revealed with a golden shine and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Do you like it?" Kirche sweetly asked.

"What's the meaning of this, Zerbst?" Louise demanded.

"I told you, I came to give Jaune a gift. And I just happened to find a proper gift for him." Kirche haughtily replied with a smirk.

Louise frowned with suspicion and said. "So you've followed us into the city then."

"It's quite a shame that you couldn't afford even a simple sword for him." Kirche continued on, ignoring Louise's accusation, as she gestured to the rusty blade on the table.

Jaune lifted the sword, being a little careful with its weight, as he examined the weapon in his hands. It was a well made claymore that seemed to be made of gold with a few jewels inserted into the crossguard. He really admired the weapon in his hands, and it showed on his face.

"Wow..."

"Sooo..." Jaune turned to look at Kirche as she asked. "How is the gift, Jaune? Is it to your liking?"

"This is great... If a bit heavy than what I'm used to. It reminds me of some swords I've seen in video games." Jaune replied with an appreciative smile as he held the golden claymore between his two hands. Though Kirche and Louise didn't quite understand what he meant with his latter comment. He showed gratitude towards her with a curt nod of his head. "Thank you."

"Of course. It's only fair that I replace your sword with one befitting you." Kirche remarked happily and was enthusiastic about the praise.

"You should have given him something else if you're just going to apologize to him." Louise commented sharply. "I've already given him a weapon."

"You can't possibly say that is a proper weapon." Kirche skeptically replied with a raised eyebrow as she pointed at the rusty sword left on the table. She then smirked at Louise as she crossed her arms under her bountiful bosom. "But it is not unexpected from a Tristanian. This sword is a masterpiece from Germania. The best weapons and women come from Germania after all. None from Tristanian can be a match." She proudly stated with a flick of her crimson lush hair.

"Hmph! I'm sure you have flirted with too many men in Germania, so no one bothered to deal with you." Louise scoffed dismissively as she placed her hands on her hips while she looked at the redhead straight in the eye. "That's why you came to study abroad in a neighboring country. And that country is Tristain!"

Jaune quickly dropped the gilded claymore on the table with a clank, and jumped in between the two mages with his arms extended as they were about to draw their wands..

"Enough!" Jaune cried out, surprising the two bickering mages. "Will you two stop fighting over everything? You two are worse than my sisters when they fight."

The two mages looked at him, then at him, back at each other, and nodded. They calmly stood back from one another with a silent agreement.

"He's right. I think we should let choose which one he would use." Louise calmly said.

"I agree." Kirche replied.

"What?" Jaune uttered when the two girls looked at him with a glare. He nervously backed away from them and hit the table behind him, rattling the two swords. "W-What's going on?"

"Which weapon would you keep, familiar?" Louise questioned him.

"I'm sure you would choose mine. Right, my little prince?" Kirche pressed him with a faux sweet tone as she used her nickname for him again.

"Calm down you two. I'm not going to choose either." Jaune raised his hand before him. They looked at him quizzically, and curiously.

"What do you mean by that, familiar?" Louise pressed him testily with an angry frown.

"I mean that I would be keeping both swords." Jaune told them and this earned him the ire of both. They raised their wands which made him waved his arms around in panic. "Whoa! Wait! Let me explain!"

"P-please explain. I w-would love to hear what y-you'll have to say." Louise's voice trembled when she questioned him as she gripped her wand tightly.

"This sword... " He nervously placed a hand on the golden claymore, and continued. "-is not a gift. It's compensation."

"Huh?" Louise looked confused, her anger cooling as she slowly lowered her wand. "What do you mean?"

Jaune grabbed the claymore off the table, while being careful with the weight, and presented it to Louise.

"Kirche had said that this is an apology gift for having my sword destroyed." Jaune reminded her and then looked towards the redhead. "That's what you said right?"

"That is true. This is my way to apologize for the trouble my familiar had caused you." Kirche said to him in agreement. "I chose this sword to show my sincerity to you, little prince."

"And I thank you for this great gift." Jaune replied back.

"Of course it is a great gift. It is an enchanted sword made a famous Germanian mage. So it is perfect for you." Kirche boated to him.

"I see. So what kind of enchantments does it have and what made it special?" Jaune asked.

"The enchantments on it allows it to slice through steel like butter. I'm sure you'd appreciate that if you come to blows with someone like Guiche once again." Kirche stated.

Jaune blinked at that, and recalled a magic sword, with the same description, that the shopkeeper tried to sell to the back in the city. He wondered if Kirche got this from the same shop.

"Is this sword made by Lord Shuppei as well?" Jaune curiously asked.

This caught Kirche by surprise but quickly recovered and was delighted by his question. "Ooohh..! You've heard of him! He was one of the most renowned alchemists in the Empire!"

"Well... We were offered a broadsword that was said to be also made by Lord Shuppei." Jaune carefully replied back. "We decided to buy another sword since it's a bit too..." He droned on and settled with. "Pricy for my taste."

Kirche seemed amused by that and chuckled at him before saying. "I think you meant that it's too expensive for your master to afford." She then smirked at him and boasted. "But I'm glad to have bought this for you out of my personal account. At full price as well!"

"How much did you pay for it? If you don't mind." Jaune inquired, curious about how much this must have cost her.

"Twenty-five hundred Ecus." Kirche answered with a proud smile.

The sword suddenly heavier in his hands but he couldn't stop looking surprised by the price o the sword. They bought Derflinger cheap since the shopkeeper wanted to get rid of it. He asked the price of other swords and learned that a similar sized claymore would cost at around two hundred Ecus.

"That was a mistake." Jaune thought to himself. He was certain that the sword in his hands is likely fake, and Kirche just got scammed out of her money.

Louise is amused by the fact that the Germanian had followed the same shop where they bought that annoying sentient blade. She is sure that Kirche overpaid for a fake magic sword since the merchant tried to sell them a fake one if it weren't for Jaune's aura. She couldn't stop herself from making a gleeful smile as she spoke up, catching everyone's attention.

"I believe this gift is a wonderful, familiar. You have my express permission to keep that enchanted sword." She emphasized her word as she sent a meaningful look at her familiar. Jaune caught on and reluctantly nodded at her. Satisfied, she looked at Kirche and gave her thanks. "We will graciously accept your generous gift."

Kirche narrowed her eyes as she became suspicious of Louise's response. She seemed to happy to accept the gift she had given to Jaune. She is not sure why but she didn't like it one bit.

"What are you playing here, Little Louise?"

"Nothing of sorts, Zerbst. What makes you think that?" Louise feigned ignorance and enjoyed messing with the Germanian redhead.

"Don't play games with me, Valliere. I know you're planning something." Kirche pressed her rival.

"I am doing nothing of sorts. I don't make schemes unlike you." Louise rebuffed with a smirk while she kept feigning ignorance, much to Kirche's growing irritation.

As the two continued to bicker, Tabitha sat on the side of Louise's bed while reading a book. She briefly looked up from her book to glance at Kirche when she boasted about paying for the sword. Contrary to her claim, she remembered things happened differently back then after Louise and her familiar left the shop.

Kirche sat on the counter and leaned down to the shopkeeper with a charming smile. The shopkeeper is caught off guard by the sudden seduction and his face turned deep red.

"Hmmm... Isn't forty-five hundred a little too pricey."

"W-well... Great swords n-needs to be paid for their worth." The shopkeeper stammered as he kept staring into particularly deep valley.

"Are you sure?" Kirche said with a sultry voice as she slowly raised her left leg over the counter. "Don't you think it's to pricy?"

The shopkeeper's eyes irresistibly stared at her luscious thighs presented to him, his mind racing with lustful thoughts.

"T-that's right... I-It's four thousand ecus."

She raised her other leg over the counter as she laid down her left leg, showing more of her well-toned body, and the shopkeeper could almost see between those thighs.

"Ah! Nononono. Three thousand would do..." He hurriedly changed his mind.

"Hmmmm... It must be getting hot in here." Kirche continued on as she tugged at her blouse while she seductively stared into the merchant's eyes. "I feel really... hot in here."

"I-I got it wrong! I was wrong... It's twenty five hundred!"

Kirche took off one button and exposed more of her bosom.

"Eighteen hundred!" He quickly said.

She undid another button.

"Fifteen hundred will do!"

Kirche stopped and decided to take another approach. She turned her attention to her skirt and slowly raised it a little. The man started to breath heavily as he stared into her hidden treasure. She could see that the man couldn't take it anymore.

"How does a thousand sound? She suggested as she slowly lifted her skirt a little more. The man looked like he was about to lose his breath.

And then stopped, much to the man's sorrow.

"A thousand then?" She repeated.

"A thousand will be fine!" The man shouted.

Kirche slid down from the counter, quickly wrote a check, and then placed the check on the counter.

"Bought!"

Kirche quickly grabbed the sword and left the shop along with Tabitha, leaving the shopkeeper behind. A moment later, they heard a frustrated shout from inside the shop and is quickly followed by a moan of despair.

"Well we also bought a magic sword at a bargain price. His name is Derflinger." Jaune said as he showed his new sword to Kirche.

Kirche looked displeased with the sword as she examined the rusted blade in his hands, and didn't bother to hide it.

"You call that a magic sword? Not to be disrespectful of your choice." She started evenly, and then plainly remarked. "But that's a piece of junk."

Before Jaune could respond, Derflinger made itself known with a shout which made Kirche jump in surprise.

"Who are you calling piece of junk? I'll have you know that I've been in more battles than your entire House's history."

"W-what?! It talks." Kirche uttered as she stared at the apparent sentient sword in Jaune's hand.

"Of course, I can talk. And I can do more than that. I'm a legendary sword after all." Derflinger replied back.

Kirche wasn't sure how to deal with this revelation but this Derflinger seemed to be a genuine artifact, making it quite valuable. Though she's unsure of how much that would amount.

"That's a... very interesting sword you have." Kirche slowly said. "I've heard of wisdom swords which are said to speak and carry wisdoms of past battles. It's one of the sought after artifacts that many nobles back in the Empire." She told them

"Well I've been around the entire continent and have been in many battles." The sword replied boastfully. "I've been passed around for generations before that merchant's granddad found me." It told her.

"Intriguing." Kirche uttered thoughtfully.

"Are you done with your business here, Kirche?" Louise asked sternly with her arms crossed. "If you don't have any further business in my room." She strongly emphasized. "I would like you to leave immediately."

"Oh don't be like that, Louise. Besides, the night is young and I believe we could spend our time together." Kirche replied cooly.

"Out!"

"Alright. Alright. I'll leave." Kirche moaned grumpily.

The room is quiet once again after Kirche and her friend had left. Though this didn't last as Louise started laughing just once Jaune made sure that the door is locked. Jaune knew what she is laughing about but he couldn't fault her.

"Hahahaha!"

"Are we going to tell her that she bought a fake sword?" Jaune asked.

"Hmph! Let her believe that she paid for something valuable." Louise stated with a scoff. "I'll be holding it over her once she found out."

Jaune sighed but nodded anyway. He looked at the golden claymore on the table and then turned to Derflinger as he raised his hand.

"Do you recognized this sword, Derf?" He asked.

"Hmmm... Yup! I know that one!" Derflinger quickly answered. "He sold a copy of that sword to some poor sap years ago, and paid it for five thousand. It does have some magical effects but it's all for show." The sword told them.

This made Louise laughed even harder.

"Serves her right! Passion must have prevailed over reason for her to not notice it." She harshly remarked.

"We did almost bought another sword that the shopkeeper had said to be also made by the same alchemist." He reminded her. "We only learned that it's fake when I used my aura on it."

"I know that." Louise huffed irritably as she turned away with an embarrassed blush on her face. "Stupid familiar." She grumbled loudly.

Jaune let it go and had his other new sword placed by the wall near his bed as he carried Derflinger by one hand. He then sat on his bed before looking down at the sentient sword in his hands.

"So how much do you know about aura, Derf? Your friend Rio must have told you alot about it." He asked.

"Meh... He never told me anything about aura aside from what it is."

"Oh." Jaune uttered sadly before making a deep sigh. "So you can't teach me how to use aura?"

"I never said that. I only said that Rio never told me much. But I know how he used his aura through our bond while he used me in his fights." Derflinger corrected him.

"Really?" Jaune perked up with relief and excitement. "So you can teach me?"

"I could. But you need to wield me while using your aura so we can maintain a bond. That way, I could guide you through the process and help you out."

"That's great! I've never had help with my aura before, and none of the things I've read online helped much." Jaune happily said, elated that he could finally get some progress with his aura training. "Can we try it now?"

"I don't see why not. Just keep hold of me while you bring up your aura."

"Alright." Jaune nodded and began going through the process he had managed to use so far.

Derflinger easily felt the familiar runes on his user's chest through the innate connection it has with familiars like him. It was surprised when it first learned of what kind of familiar Jaune is, and felt sad for his eventual fate.

Aura soon flowed out from the familiar runes, filling his entire body with ethereal vigor, as Jaune continued to draw it out. An equilibrium is reached and Jaune felt satisfied with it.

"How did I do?" He asked the sword.

"Hmmm... I can guess you haven't been able to use your Aura for long right?" Derflinger asked and Jaune nodded. "I see that you've using those runes as well."

"Yeah, I do." Jaune replied. "But it's quite hard to maintain the connection since my aura is quite resistant to it. The backlash hits hard once it's cut."

"I definitely feel your aura being strained, but I can say that you're using your runes wrong as well." Derflinger remarked.

"Really? I could only use my runes when I try drawing up on a memory to get it working." Jaune explained.

"Why do you need to draw up a memory?" Derf curiously asked. "You don't even need to do that to use our familiar runes. No wonder it's taking you too long to draw your power."

"I don't?" Jaune blinked in surprise, not quite expecting that.

"You don't." The sword confirmed before asking. "How did you come up with that?"

"Well... I got into a duel with one of the students here." He explained and felt a little embarrassed by it. "Making the story short, I fought an earth mage and his golems, and I unknowingly activated my aura and my runes in the middle of the fight."

"I see. How did the fight go?"

Jaune smiled and said. "I won the fight by taking his wand and beating him up."

"And then collapsing due to blood loss since you were stabbed." Louise strongly reminded him.

"I already told you that I'm sorry." Jaune cried out to her. Louise merely huffed back at him, and he sighed at her reaction. He looked back at Derflinger and asked. "So what should I be doing to use these runes?"

"Oh quite simple really. You just need to link yourself with it."

"But I already did that. I tried to get these runes to work but nothing worked." He patted his chest where the runes are. "I only learned to use it when I draw upon the emotions from my memory."

"Emotions do have an effect on the runes. The same can be said for aura and magic." The sword informed him. "But that is not a good way to access your power. It's wasteful and slow, not to mention unstable."

"Yeah... It's quite hard to keep it going." Jaune slowly admitted. It had been a touch and go to maintain the link, and he need to be mindful of it at all times. "So what should I do?"

"You should try attuning with the runes." Derf suggested, and Jaune frowned in confusion.

"But that's what I've been doing." He told it.

"No. What you are doing is not attunement, but resonance which is not what you should be doing. That's just forcing the link." Derf told him.

"Ah." Jaune nodded, understanding what he meant. "So how do I attune with my runes?" He asked.

"Well it's like a mage getting a new wand. Isn't that right, pinkie?" Derf asked the resident mage in the room.

"I have a name you know." Louise responded irritably. "But yes, we have to attune our willpower with the wand before we could use it. It usually takes a few months to complete the process."

"A few months!" Jaune is shocked that it took could that long, and dismayed that he may have to wait for months before he could properly use his aura.

"Well the good news is that you don't need to wait that long to attune with your runes since it's already a part of you." Derflinger assured him.

"Oh thank the Brothers..." Jaune gasped in relief. "So how do I exactly do an attunement?" He asked them both.

"Well you can't do what mages like your summoner here do since they are already born with a a spark." Derflinger started. "I can use our bond to guide you where to concentrate. It also helps that you already have your aura up which make things easier. Now concentrate your attention on those runes."

Jaune nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate. He soon got a hold over the runes as he waited for further instruction.

"Alright. Now I'll be using my own magic to help you out. So you'll be feeling some kind of intrusions but don't fret about it." Derflinger told him.

Jaune was about to reply when he felt something mingling with his aura, which he surmised to the living sword's magic. It was a strange feeling that is difficult for him to describe. It soon settled around his runes and Derflinger spoke up.

"Now. I'll be some pulses into your runes so I can show you how to properly tap into it. So try to follow it until you get the hang of it."

Jaune nodded but kept his eyes closed. He felt the pulses that Derflinger is sending and tried to follow the rhythm. He slowly started catching on through the motions.

"Good. You're catching on." Derflinger remarked approvingly. "Now just keep doing it while I slowly pull back." It said to him.

He felt its magic pulling back as he began to get more hold over his runes. He could still feel its magic lingering but he didn't paid too much attention to it now. As he go through the exercise, he could sense that his hold over the runes to be better, and wasn't as fragile as before. He could feel his aura flowing better as well, and not as resistant as before.

He kept the up exercise as he repeated the process while Derflinger observed through their bond. It noted of how fast Jaune was able to grasp the exercise, showing his innate talent for Aura.

As she watched the two of them, Louise could see a shimmer of light rippling over Jaune's body. It was the same one from the summoning ceremony but it looked more whole this time. This is completely different from his previous attempts, even from the time he used his aura against Guiche.

"Alright that's enough." Derflinger called out.

Jaune began to relax himself and his focus on the familiar runes. He could feel his aura receding back into himself through the runes. He prepared himself for the potential backlash, and then breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't happen.

He looked down at Derflinger in his hands and asked. "So what now?"

"Do you still remember how to attune with your runes?" It asked.

Jaune thought for a moment before answering. "I... think I got the hang of it."

"Well if you're sure. Try it now." Derflinger encouraged.

Jaune nodded and closed his eyes once again. He concentrated on his familiar runes and started working to get a grasp it. It seemed easier this time around, having learned from Derf's guidance, and began to attune with it.

It took him a while but he soon made a brief link and felt a pulse from the runes. He tried attuning again got the same reaction, but he could feel he made progress.

After a few more tries, he finally learned to attune with his runes, which started to glow beneath his shirt, and felt a growing reverberating pulse from them like an engine powering up. It felt stable and steady, so he tried drawing our his aura once again.

Unlike before, his aura flowed much more smoothly this time and more responsive to his will. He let his aura flow across his body as he tried to get a better feel of them, feeling happy to be able to do this.

He opened his eyes and saw that his body covered in a translucent coat of shimmering light. He concentrated his aura to his free hand and it is soon coated in a bluish white shimmer.

"You're doing good, partner. It looked like you're natural with this." Derflinger remarked.

"I've had aura training for years but I never managed to get my aura out until a few days ago. I guess all that training helped me get a better grasp of aura control." Jaune informed it.

"That does match what Rio had told me."

A thought came to Jaune as soon as Derf said that

"Since you got your own magic, did Rio used his aura on you before?"

"He did." Derf confirmed. "It was quite an exhilarating experience every time he did that. It felt like the first time I came out of the forge. Brimming with fire and power. Oh... That brings me back." It fondly remembered.

"Can I try using my aura on you?" He asked. "I wanted to see how my aura would react with you."

"Ehhh... I don't see why you can't. Go on ahead, partner. Besides, this way I could gauge your aura directly and see how it differs to Rio." Derf agreed.

"That's going to be a hard one for me to match." He replied.

"Don't sweat it too much, kiddo. Just do what you can."

Jaune nodded and started funneling his aura through Derflinger who immediately started glowing brightly, even through the cracks of the rust around its blade, and started illuminating the room.

"Wow..." Jaune is awed as he held Derflinger up before him. "I've never seen huntsmen weapons doing anything like this."

"Well I'll be! Your aura is huge! Maybe even matching Rio's." The sentient sword remarked as it felt the spiritual energy surging through its steel, feeling invigorated. "Ohhh...! This feels good. I feel like I'm back in the forge."

"This is so cool!" Jaune said excitedly as he waved Derflinger, laughing as he did so.

Louise smiled as she watched her familiar cheerfully playing with the sentient sword. It reminded her of the day when she got her first wand and how excited she was.

Seeing his familiar - Jaune - this happy with his aura filled her with hope that she could use her magic some day soon.

A/N: Derflinger taught Jaune some tips about Aura and his runes, and there's already a breakthrough. So as you can see, Derflinger knew about Aura from another, and I hope you guys can make some guesses who Rio is.

Share your thoughts in the reviews and my PM is open for questions.

Next up would be more training with Derflinger and then some.

I'll see you on the next chapter.