Moroes
Surprisingly, even after two days when Fiona left to join Robyn, Robyn and her group still haven't come back for me. It's likely due to the extreme… National emergencies that are currently happening.
Firstly, there are many reports around the world that new grimm forms are appearing out of thin air, and judging from the videos online, they seem to be quite intimidating as well. He'd hate to be on the receiving end of one of those giant centipede grimm's stinger.
He hates worms. Quite ironic considering he's a bird now, but nobody can win it all.
Putting my phobia aside, all 4 kingdoms seemed to have issued a broad statement calling for all available hunters and huntresses to start cataloguing these grimm.
Now, normally, I assume, when this is all finished, things will go back to normal…
However, it seems as if my enemy has pulled a modifier that has made extra villages where there shouldn't be. There are also a considerable amount of reports saying that there are many villages composed of people who think they've been on remnant all their lives, to people thinking some sort of God transported their village to this world. Most known villages were human, however, there were some faunus villages as well, no villagers recorded to have extremely… Bizarre features like mine.
The sudden appearance of both these villages and grimm are likely going to be linked with my appearance, as we've all come in on the same day. Anything to distract from that link would've been quite welcome, but I suppose I'll have to find a way myself.
Well, regardless, these past 2 days have been a great boon to my knowledge on this world thanks to both this world's internet and my system's help menu, so it is unlikely that I'll be caught off guard from most things now. Such as my transformations mostly leaning into the bird part of my body. Most creatures I can transform into take on some sort of red bird hybrid with a green glow… Although, admittedly, it did look quite good.
Speaking of knowledge, an 'infinite number of grimm,' hmm?
I will gladly enjoy making their numbers finite for the sake of this world's liberation. Whether it be from my own boredom from research, or the urge to fight modifier, I've been itching to start a fight.
I suppose a simple expedition out into the cold wastelands of Solitas can't be too bad. If I want to survive the first week of my campaigning, I need to grow stronger to defend myself.
Before leaving, I ended up borrowing (Will I give it back? Who knows.) a potted plant that I've confirmed the validity of using detect life, and put it into my inventory, in the case I obtain the opportunity to use my unique ability. The sensible option would be to experiment on it in safe locations, such as this hotel, however, I find that it's much easier to go through live combat to learn something.
The consequences of losing is a powerful motivator, after all.
"...You want to go out?" The guard in charge of guarding the gate asked confusedly.
"Yes, will that be a problem?" I said, raising my eyes a bit.
"...You do realize there's like, a billion extra things that could possibly kill you now, right? Like, the only reason I'm entertaining you right now is because you're a weird looking faunus and the general hasn't given any orders on what can leave and enter."
"So, may I exit? I intend to be back soon. I would like to fight some grimm for… Personal reasons."
"...Ah, screw it. If you die, it's not my problem, go ahead."
"Thank you. I hope you are on the correct side when the time comes."
"...Yeah, sure… No snow clothing either? You're insane."
After a light haggle with the guards on duty, I've been allowed to leave Mantle in the pursuit of glory…
Fortunately, it seems as if Player's Body protects me from the cold, so I will have no problem fighting… The main problem I'll be facing is actually finding any grimm, considering the hunters most likely have picked off all of the stronger targets.
That is fine, however. This is mainly to relieve stress…
Quest obtained.
Title: Nature's Wrath.
Description: You're on the path of war. Destroy.
Effect: Spawns 20 grimm nearby.
Objective: Kill 20 grimm.
Reward: 2,000 Exp, Victory Dagger.
…And to obtain power.
But yes, what a convenient appearance. To obtain a quest that just so happened to align with my goals of today. And to give experience in such plentiful bounties as well, I believe fate smiles upon me today.
Moving forwards to a more subtle location that isn't quite in front of Mantle, that being past the small hills that surrounded Mantle, I accepted the quest.
Quest accepted.
My first fight, a simple test on the basics. This? A fight for my life.
The first wave of grimm appeared around me and I observed my 9 targets.
Zergling
Grimm
Level 21
Hp: 300
Stats:
Str: 27
Dex: 42
End: 5
.
Spindle
Grimm
Level 27
Hp: 500
Stats:
Str: 43
Dex: 34
End: 20
.
Megant
Level 30
Hp: 1,700
Stats:
Str: 50
Dex: 20
End: 40
6 zerglings, some sort of tiny crawler animal, 2 spindles, some sort of grimm that turned itself into a ball, and 1 megant, a very big ant, all far above my level. Wonderful.
As they were rushing from all directions, I used my feral transformation to transform into some sort of panther-bird hybrid and rushed past the 2 spindles in order to avoid being surrounded.
Transformation: Feral, used. 10% of mana used. [900/1,000]
Int has converted into Str. [Str: 63]
Wis has converted to End. [End: 55] [Sp: 550]
Fortunately, the spindles were unable to disengage from whatever they call their rolling forms, and I escaped the encirclement unharmed.
Disengaging myself from the transformation, I used nature's force with 100 mana, charging for 2 seconds, straight into the head of the charging megant.
326 damage dealt. Megant: [Hp: 1,404/1,700]
[Mp: 800/1,000]
I see… I believe it would be more efficient to simply charge for a longer time than to use my mana frivolously, considering I only have 1,000…
I started to use 50 mana on my nature's force and started running away from the group coming towards me, as all spells are able to be casted while moving.
The spindles and zerglings, unfortunately, were much faster than I, so I was forced to fire off nature's force towards the megant with a cast time of 7 seconds in order to transform again to escape.
749 damage dealt. Megant: [Hp: 655/1,700]
[Mp: 750/1,000]
Transformation: Feral used. [Mp, 550/1,000]
Speeding up my running towards the vast empty snow ahead, I briefly think about how I would handle the rest of the grimm, as this singular megant is devouring my mana currently…
Perhaps I should've focused on the little speedy ones first, so I wouldn't have to expend mana to run. If only I had some sort of area of effect spell instead of nature's force's single target blast…
I was knocked out of my thoughts when I saw the forest coming up ahead. I believe I'm on the path to a rather unimportant port city, I believe.
Looking behind myself, I see that the spindles and zerglings are still quite a distance away from me, and the megant is nowhere to be found, likely left behind.
Quickly running estimates in my head, I believe I could kill a zergling in with 50 mana… with 5 seconds of cast time… I believe I could kill a zergling, however, I would be quickly out of mana if I had to do that for each enemy…
Will I have to fight in my feral form, perhaps? It could be possible…
Making a decision, I turn towards my enemy in order to engage in melee combat. If I fall below half health, I'm immediately retreating, however.
Charging towards a spindle, I jumped towards the still rolling spindle and slash it with my right claw.
94 damage dealt. Spindle: [Hp: 406/500]
…The warriors must have it good.
Unfortunately, as that was essentially a charge with nothing backing me up, I was bitten in the back by an eager zergling.
20 damage dealt. Moroes: [Hp: 940/960]
Immediately reacting by jumping back and rolling myself backwards in order to throw off the zergling, I feel a lot more confident knowing that the only way they can is with swarm tactics.
Eventually, after much dodging, weaving, and slashing, I was able to kill all 8 enemies while only losing a quarter of my health, with the megant slowly making its way towards me.
Deciding I wasn't having any of it, I reformed back into my usual self and charged up a nature's force for a few seconds before killing it instantly.
Moroes: [Hp: 625/960] [Mp: 500/1,000]
Looking at the decaying grimm's body, I felt a bit of satisfaction at killing the first wave of enemies… Yet a little disappointed at the time it took.
Looking back on the fight, it's quite clear I need more wisdom to fuel my fights. I don't have the mana to be able to comfortably use my strengths to its full advantage…
I hear the sounds of a stampede coming from behind me from the forest.
That must be the second wave.
Looking behind me, I see 11… disgusting abominations.
Amalgamation
Grimm
Level 25
Hp: 750
Stats:
All 30
Amalgamation was the correct word for it. All 11 grimm were some sort of… Fusion of many different creatures, all being swallowed by the grimm, it looks like.
Humans, plants, animals, all 'equal' in death. It would be poetic if I didn't have 16 of them all stampeding towards me with their excuse called legs, barely even half a meter tall, I'd say.
Well, it's a fight, then. The weakness is probably the head… But its stats are relatively low, their only good part being their considerable health from… The dead bodies?
They were near the forest… I believe this is the moment where I can test out my plant control?
Dashing towards the forest, I easily moved behind the amalgamations due to their relatively low speed, and lure them into the forest.
Once they've moved to a open spot, I commanded my plant control ability to impale them with something hard.
And the trees obeyed.
In an instant, all the trees surrounding the amalgamation had their branches shoot into the grimm and stopping them in their tracks, but not quite killing them.
However…
450 mana used. [Mp: 50/1,000]
…It is quite an expensive ability. Yes, wisdom would likely be a good option to focus on.
Soon enough, I killed the immobile grimm, and completed my quest.
Quest: Nature's Wrath completed.
Rewards: 2,000 Exp, Victory Dagger.
[Victory Dagger - A small stone ceremonial dagger - When used on dead bodies, the obtained body part will not disappear or decompose.]
You have leveled up 5x [Level: 18 to 23] [Exp: 4/638]
Dex: 28 to 33
Int: 48 to 53
Wis: 40 to 50
You have gained 20 stat points.
Wis: 50 to 70 [Mp: 1,750]
You have gained 3 new abilities.
[Transform: Guardian - Transforms into a creature of your choosing that mainly focuses on defense. Costs 10% of your mana. Int and Wis are all converted to End]
[Overgrowth - Creates an area where when enemies are inside, vines will appear out of the ground and start attacking them. Overgrowth lasts for mana used divided by 2, and damage is Int*1-2]
[Unlock Aura (RWBY) - Unlocks someone's Aura, but can only be used on RWBY worlds. Costs no mana.]
Ah… Perfect.
I should start heading back.
As expected, all of the hunters are still on recording duty, so it's likely that I have much more free time to use…
Hm, on one hand, I could use this time to hunt more grimm, however… I believe there is some merit in completing contracts.
Currently, I've chosen to take Crowned's contract of getting someone on my side, however… I believe it's too early to throw my ideology into the waters. Perhaps when I get my second class and much more assured of my safety, I will, but for now, my liberation will have to wait.
So I abandoned Crowned's contract and started looking for contracts that I would be able to complete…
Ah, this one seems feasible.
Contract: Deep Dark Underground [Zavvox]
Description: The criminal underworld teems with all sorts of life, easily manipulable if you are aware of your actions. For example, an information broker on your side is a powerful card to have…
Objective: Obtain a connection to an information broker.
Reward: Old God's Blood, 1,800 Exp, Broken Crystal.
If I wanted to eventually gain some level of control over this liberated city such as Re-Destro did as its Grand Commander, it would likely be prudent of me to gain control of its underworld as well.
This will be a nice bonus to what I would be doing later on.
I suppose I should get ready to leave again… Perhaps I should try to find a sufficient disguise, but with my head shape, it would be hard to hide myself…
Wait a second.
Can I speak in my transformations?
Ozpin
Looking at the reports coming from all of his hunters and huntresses over the last couple of days, Ozpin groaned.
This… Isn't normal at all.
After all, apart from the brother gods reappearing, which they haven't ever since they've cursed Salem to immortality, there is no solid explanation for all of these actual, human and faunus villages appearing all over the world.
That's not even mentioning the hundred or so new grimm variants they've found so far…
All in the same week as the villages as well. Did Salem anticipate this and create as many grimm as possible to cause confusion and fear?
Or… was Salem completely uninvolved in this and this has happened through some more fictional sounding action?
So many questions, so little answers. At the very least, Amber is safe and sound in Beacon instead of travelling like she usually does. What a stroke of luck that she was on a break day when this all happened, and that he managed to convince her to not charge carelessly…
Ozpin suddenly feels a feeling he hasn't felt in a long time, and his heart sinks.
He senses magic for the first time in decades inside of Vale.
He immediately grabs for his phone, but hesitates before ultimately not picking it up.
Sometimes, he has to take risks himself to get things done.
Actor Wineyard
You know how it is, hanging out in alleyways hoping interesting things happen.
Why? All the interesting things happen in alleyways, of course! If you discount the rest of the year Actor was in here, plenty of interesting things have happened, like… Uh…
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?" Someone said from behind him suddenly.
Turning around he saw…
…Is that some kind of red bird dog hybrid…? Why the heck is it glowing green?
Well, at least it was interesting, "Uh, yeah… Sure I do Mister… Talking… Bird dog… Guy."
Huh, he was pretty sure he wasn't drinking too much before this…
"Do you happen to know any reliable and reputable information brokers around this city? I've been meaning to make my entry, however, I am… New to Mantle, and could use a pointer or two." The bird dog explained, which, much to his own dismay, he could actually somewhat understand.
"Uh…" Actor drawled, thinking of names, "I dunno, I think Giran is one of the only info brokers still left after Ironwood came into power and knocked a lot of the organized crime out of Atlas and Mantle. All the crime left in this city are pretty petty and not organized… Uh, he usually hangs out in this one bar… World's End, I think?"
The bird dog simply looked at him and nodded, "That will be fine. A bit disappointing, but fine. Thank you for your time. When the time comes, I hope you will be among the liberated."
And then the glowing bird dog… Left.
…
Huh, that was pretty interesting.
Moroes
Well, knocked the crime out of Mantle, hm? I did read about this, something about the increased amount of security robots and cameras in the poorer areas of Mantle, but I had gone with the assumption that crime is a tough cockroach to kill. Unfortunately, it seems as if Ironwood had gotten the pest spray and scalpel out.
Well, either way, all I require is for the remaining organizations to come under my control for… An army, I suppose.
Although, I will have to find the said remaining organizations, as they're all likely laying low. But as I said, if they acknowledge me as leader, it will be fine. They will be my supporters in my quest.
Eventually, I reached World's End Bar, and clawed open the door and let myself in.
…Surprisingly empty, aside from the bartender and…
Ah, Giran. Likely a fake name knowing the naming traditions of this world, of course, but I didn't mind, as I use fake names as well.
Both members of the bar looked over to me for a moment, froze, and then looked at each other before staring back to me.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but may I speak to Giran?" I asked, closing the door behind me, standing on two legs (Talons… Would they be more effective than paws for the purpose of traveling, like this form is meant to?)
The bartender looked at Giran, who nodded, and pointed up to the stairs, "Upstairs are yours."
I nodded my head in thanks, and both of us immediately headed for the room upstairs.
Soon enough, we were both seated (Well, as best as an animal could sit) and staring down at each other, and Giran took the liberty to introduce himself, "Well, I'm sure you already know, I'm Giran, nice to meet you, and you are…?"
"My name is a current work in progress, as I haven't fully decided on a name I am satisfied with," I said truthfully, names such as Hideyoshi and Neo-Destro has popped up in his mind, but ultimately, it would feel as if he would be disrespecting great men if he were to take their names, "For now, however, you may call me Druid."
Giran accepted this and nodded, "I assume your form you're taking right now is because of your semblance? Don't think I've ever seen a semblance so… Different."
"Ah, yes, it is. More importantly, I would like to ask you, how large do you think the crime in Mantle is?"
Giran leaned back and thought about it for a moment before giving a reply, "Not large at all. All the biggest crime syndicates were driven off when Ironwood placed down all the cameras and robots at every corner, and even though the robots aren't here anymore, the cameras still are, making crime annoyingly difficult for the average person. If you're here to try and make a living off of crime, forget it. Move to another kingdom like Vacuo. You'll have much higher chances there."
I scoffed, "I have no intention of living off of crime. I intend to use the last dregs of a broken underworld to make myself the leader of Mantle, and perhaps in the future, all of Atlas. All I require from you are names and locations of previous organizations, big and small, and tell me the best way to get them on my side."
Giran blankly stared at me for a moment…
Before bursting into laughter, "Hahahaha! What a pipe dream you have! It reminds me of the golden days of crime in Mantle! Yeah, sure, you have no chance, but you know what? I'll give you all the information you want that I have. Your payment is to make this, at the very least, interesting! Hell, I haven't been doing anything with all of this information I have in years. It's not like anyone really needs it anymore anyways!"
I smirked as best as I could with my unmoving beak, "This will be the start of a wonderful relationship. I'm sure many will count this day down in history as the start of something revolutionary."
Knowing that Giran is now on my side, I feel comfortable enough to transform myself back into my humanoid form, "My name is Moroes. Now, that information?"
"Hah! You have some guts showing yourself in front of me! Sure, then, Moroes, here are some easy pickings for you, although I'm not sure if they want to go back into that life again, even if some of them are dirt poor now…"
Contract: Deep Dark Underground [Zavvox] Completed.
Rewards: Old God's Blood, 1,800 Exp, Broken Crystal.
[Old God's Blood - Unique - A vial of blood that comes from an old god. When used in crafting, the other item in the crafting process will become fleshy, similar to the style of WoW's old gods. This effect is mainly for vanity.
Gaze into the abyss, and cower in fear.]
[Broken Crystal - A broken crystal that once held great power. Perhaps one day, it will finally absorb enough mana to regain its former self.
My final act of sacrifice…]
You have leveled up 2x Level 23 to 25 [Exp: 433/638]
Dex: 33 to 35
Int: 53 to 55
Wis: 70 to 74 [Mp: 1,850]
You have gained 8 stat points.
Wis: 74 to 82 [Mp: 2,050]
You have obtained 1 new ability:
[Transformation: Predator - Transforms you into an aquatic creature mainly focused on water combat. Costs 10% of your mana. Converts your Int into Str and Dex equally.]
A truly worthwhile endeavor. I am now in possession of a list of names, and should I be able to convince them all onto my side, Giran will give me another list, free of charge.
Speaking of Giran, that name sounds eerily familiar, but I cannot put a finger on it…
Hm, I suppose I'll forget about it until it comes up later.
For now though, until Robyn comes back to give me the interrogation of a lifetime, I must gather more power in order to survive on my own if things go awry.
Quest obtained.
Quest: Backup plan.
Description: All plans have a backup plan. Your backup plan involves controlling the old corpse of the underworld.
Objectives: Complete Giran's 1st list before Robyn Hill comes back.
Objectives 2: Complete Giran's 2nd list before Robyn Hill comes back.
Objectives 3: Complete Giran's 3rd list before Robyn Hill comes back.
Rewards 1: 2,000 Exp, 1 gacha token.
Rewards 2: 3,000 Exp, 1 gacha token.
Rewards 3: 4,000 Exp, 1 gacha token.
When finishing an objective, the associated reward will automatically be given without ending the quest.
…How conveniently useful.
Stats
Moroes
Villain Player
Birdmen
Class: Druid
Level 23 to 25 [Exp: 433/638] [Max Level: 150]
Hp: 960 [20 every vit]
Sp: 150 [10 every end]
Mp: 2,100 [25 every mp]
Regen: 1*stat every second out of combat.
Stats:
Vit: 48
Str: 15
Dex: 35 [+1 every level]
Int: 53 [+1 every level]
Wis: 84 [+2 every level]
End: 15
Luk: 10
Stat points: 0 [+4 every level]
Difficulty: Hard
Starting Advantage: Earlier Transformations.
Modifiers: Remember Me?, Goosebumps, Urge To Fight, Increased Exp, Non-Stop, Fast Regrowth, Strong Stomach, Distinct Transformations, I Control Life. All Life., Healing Mastery, Atlas Start, Tecnoclati's More Grimm Mod, Caught Unaware.
Abilities: Click to Expand.
AN:
Changed a bit of Moroe's stat sheet to make a bit more sense, because regenerating only once a minute seemed way too slow when I looked back on it. Also changed the name of the transformations this chapter, and I'll get around to editing previous chapter's transformations names… Some other day.
This chapter was a bitch to write because I'm shit at writing fight scenes, so I'll likely just start to skip writing them unless if they're actually important, like players vs player, or some other character of significance.
The first draft of this chapter had Moroes' ass getting kicked before getting saved by Atlesian bullheads which he runs away from to preserve his 'secret' identity, but it kind of makes no sense why a semi-trained MLA soldier would lose to some grimm, even on the hard difficulty, so I scrapped that.
As for the state of the crime scene over in Mantle… Well, Atlas is literally in some sort of futuristic/modern age with actual real life robots. Why not just stamp out crime out of the city below your capital? So all that's left in Mantle are petty criminals that quickly get arrested, and a bunch of old folks reminiscing about the golden days a few years back.
Should I have put this information in the chapter? Probably. But I think you could've gotten the picture without me telling you here, but I thought it was cool enough for me to write here.
Anyways, it's like 1:30 AM, I need to go to bed. And historically, I have produced my worst chapters at 1 AM. So I may not have high hopes for this chapter.
Anyways, leave a review if you want to give your input on anything.
[Oh yeah, Giran. I didn't see any good names I could've used for info brokers, so I just borrowed Giran from MHA and chalked it up to the other player's modifier.]
[Some may ask why do crime when he could just do public speeches. However, I raise the fact that nobody is going to like him in the most human-centric city on that side of the world. Having a small army close by could become very useful if things go south.]
[And I don't really mind what you think the grimm look like in your head while reading, but personally, I saw the zerglings as zerglings from starcraft, spindles like some sort of fleshy droidekas from star wars, megants as giant ants, and the amalgamations somewhat like a combination of guzzlord from pokemon sun and moon and the abominations from world of warcraft, like they were eating people and they became part of the grimm. I wanted to make the amalgamation stronger, but I think making them young or something, and thus pretty weak, is an okay explanation.]
[Updated 1/16/22. just had Moroes let Giran know his actual identity, since it seemed useless to not do so.]