Moroes
"Pfft, join your Aura Liberation Army? Nah, I'm not getting my ass kicked by Ironwood again," Raine said, waving his hand, "Look, you have good ideas and all, but this is Atlas, and in Mantle, no less. If you want to become a big shot politician, you should just go about this legally instead of whatever the hell you think you can do. Besides, your transformation semblance looks a bit like a bird-cat, so you're probably a faunus, and there's not a single place in Solitas that'd accept you if you were a faunus."
Raine picked up his bottle of alcohol from the floor, "Whelp, Druid, right? If I ever see you on the street preaching your message, I'll stop by for a bit, but other than that, count me out. I lost way too much back during Ironwood's purge, and I don't feel like losing what I have left."
Well, this was inconvenient, although I don't feel too much bitterness against Raine, it did leave me a tad disappointed, "Well, that is fine. If you are already in a stable situation, you might as well keep it. However, if you're ever in a situation where you require help, the Aura Liberation Army will grant you a home."
Raine quietly laughed, "Hah. Thanks, I guess. Good luck on whatever it is you're doing."
And so, Raine left the small alleyway we were in, far from the countless cameras that littered the city's walls.
…And I was left with only disappointment in my heart.
That was only the first person on Giran's list, out of 17. If they're all like Raine, this might as well be a useless endeavor.
Even with all of the heroes away, there hasn't been an increase in crime at all, almost anywhere… The spirits of the villains in this nation have been thoroughly crushed by Ironwood.
To be fair to Raine, he is in a rather good position with a stable job. Villains don't become villains when they have so much to lose. It just means I need to find people a bit more… desperate.
Unfortunately, all the desperate people seemed to get stuck in a jail cell for over a decade and ever since they've gotten out, they've been labeled as 'broken' from the media because they're often shadows of their former selves.
That's fine, that's fine… If every low-life in Mantle had their convictions broken, instead of speaking as if trying to persuade people onto my side, I'll speak as if I'm trying to raise their old, shattered souls from the dead to change the future. My future.
…Still though, if I'm going that route, perhaps the ALA isn't… Ah, aura is the soul as well. It fits even more than it did before.
Perhaps I'll keep a small force known as the Meta Liberation Army as a personal guard or something similar, for nostalgia's sake.
Sighing, I looked towards the second name on the list. Someone who reformed into a blacksmith, and was previously an illegal weapons dealer back in the day who escaped by creating a new identity. How nice it would be to get someone like that on my side…
There was a saying going around back on Earth a few years back, when there was a large debate going over if hero society could last a few centuries into the future that ultimately led to nothing, what was that phrase again…
Ah yes. 'Heroes need to win every battle. Villains only need to win one.'
While I believe that doesn't fully apply here, all I need is maybe one or two people on my side to get the ball rolling. And just like the ancient and powerful villains of the early quirk era, I'll carve my name into the bedrock of this world.
All he needed was a start.
In a nondescript restaurant in the middle of Mantle…
"Hey, have you heard about this one guy with a weird type of transforming semblance that's trying to make like… An army or something?"
"Huh? Jesse, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Uh, let me check my scroll… Yeah, someone named Druid is trying to make something called the Aura Liberation Army. Saying that in order for a more prosperous society, every citizen needs to have their aura unlocked to achieve inner peace and do their part to annihilate the grimm threat."
"...Don't grimm prioritize people with aura though?"
"That's what I was thinking too, right? But the more that I think of it, don't huntsmen get like, a crazy amount of kills? Like, even the D-listers have a few hundred kills to their name after a few months."
"Huh… But I really enjoy being alive, and I don't think I would like to fight grimm a lot."
"Yeah, but don't you want to be a part of the generation that gets rid of the grimm?"
"...Maybe. I'll keep an ear out for that… What did you say their name was? The Aura Liberation Army?"
Salem
Looking over at one of the few 'new' grimm species that one of her own grimms captured, Salem pondered on what on this god-forsaken planet could create grimm that wouldn't even obey her… In such vast quantities, no less.
She briefly entertained the thought of the God of Darkness briefly returning to Remnant, but she quickly dismissed that, as the God of Darkness was far more likely to end up destroying a continent outright instead of sending rather pitifully weak creatures to roam throughout the world.
That being said, if the God of Darkness was not the culprit, then who was?
There aren't that many candidates who could even create grimm in the first place. Perhaps the staff of creation in Atlas might be able to, but she's never had the artifact long enough to properly test out the true potential of the relic.
Other possible candidates may be that one boy who had the semblance that allowed him to use a grimm's corpse to create his own grimm… But that boy had been killed quite a few years ago, much to both Oz and her's disappointment.
Perhaps someone else blessed by the God of Darkness? But there are much more effective ways of telling the world that they exist…
Ah, questions, questions. And so little answers.
She does wonder how Oz is handling this situation right now. Perhaps he is panicking at the sudden increase of grimm? Does he believe she's making a move?
Ah, this might disrupt her plans for Vale's Vytal Festival that's coming in just a month or two…
Hm, perhaps it would be worthwhile to pick off some of the rogue grimm in order to ensure the Vytal Festival's schedule and to get the huntsmen to go back to their regular routines. It would be a shame if her army was spotted so soon.
Looking over to the odd snake-bird-fish grimm she had in her grasp while thinking…
Ah, she had accidentally snapped its head while she was lost in thought.
What a shame. She had really liked the design of that particular species…
Moroes
"You know what? I don't care. I lost everything back then, what's a bit more to lose? I'm on your side. I'll join your Aura Liberation Army." Kala decided, completely throwing away all his years of 'staying clean.'
I smiled, completely satisfied with the outcome, "Wonderful. If you see the name Moroes, do come by. Together, I'm sure we'll create a wonderful future for Remnant."
Kala chuckled, "Moroes, huh? You're that faunus that everyone's been talking about. I bet I'm stupid for not seeing the connection between you and this form. Well, whatever, if you're ever in trouble, just yell loudly and we'll come running. All I ask from you is to make everything count."
I nodded, "Of course. Ah, of course, allow me to unlock your aura, then."
Soon enough, Kala was now a proud user of aura. "What the hell? I feel like a decade younger… Damn, those huntsmen were holding out on us! Yeah, I'll follow you!"
Eventually, we both left the alleyway, and I had put a checkmark onto Kala's name. Out of the 17 people I've met, only 6 have decided to join me. Suffice to say, those 6 will have a high-ranking position among my circle.
Treat friends well, as they say.
Objective 1 of Backup Plan completed.
Rewards: 2,000 Exp, 1 gacha token.
You have leveled up 2x: Level 25 to 27 [Exp:827/1113]
Dex: 35 to 37
Int: 53 to 55
Wis: 84 to 88
Stat points: 8
Wis: 88 to 96 [Mp: 2,400]
You have gained 1 new ability: Restoration
[Restoration - Uses nature magic to heal your target. Healing is based on Int and Wis used. Self-healing is reduced. Cast time is always 3 seconds.]
You have gained 1 gacha token.
Ah, it seems as if I've finally gotten my healing ability. About time.
I suppose I could test the ability out on Giran, seeing as someone like him most likely has some health issue that could be resolved with my ability and modifier.
Not to mention the potential connections I could make if people were to find out I could heal chronic diseases and such with a simple spell.
Speaking of the future, I should keep my mind on a potential flaw that I have that could be negated by the second class I get at level 30.
Unfortunately, the help menu didn't have a conveniently placed list of all classes, so I'll have to decide when I get there.
…And I'll have to factor in all of the various 'dust' of this world that could additionally supplement any shortcomings I currently have as well. Not to mention potential weapons I could obtain in the future that may make some classes irrelevant.
Perhaps it would be good to choose a class that has no obvious replacements. Although what class that would be, I am unaware at this point. Perhaps something in the support category, depending on what is there.
…So many potential options, and nowhere enough time to think about it.
Ignoring that, I should find another contract that might be enough to push me to level 30…
Ah, before that though, gacha token.
[Voodoo Demon - Uncommon - A voodoo demon usually used in witchcraft. Can be used in crafting.]
A completely worthless item to myself… Perhaps I'll find someone I can pawn it off to while in a co-op dungeon.
Pulling up the contracts menu, I start scrolling for a while, mentally noting some interesting ones that I could do in the future…
And found something interesting.
(Not So) Sudden Invasion! [Huitzli]
Description: Your town gets a sudden, but inevitable visit from monsters! Help defend it! (And hey, if you just so happen to be a frontline fighter in front of everyone… Well, nobody can prove that you knew the attack would happen and could adequately prepare for it, right?)
Effect: Spawns 40 grimm close to the area you are in.
Objective: Eliminate the spawned grimm.
Reward: 4,000 Exp.
Really, the contract system may as well be the most useful thing in this system. A completely normal invasion that only the player can predict? Why, there are so many useful things someone can do with this.
Like, say, rallying people to your cause with a show of strength on how necessary aura is.
Unfortunately, doing this contract right now as it is would be inconvenient, so I'll simply put the name of the contract down for the future and find something else for now. I'll likely use this contract when I'm done with my main quest, or when all of the heroes- ahem, huntsmen are still away dealing with the influx of grimm and refugees.
Now, something else that's still doable…
…Hm?
Fleeting Memory: Celiakia [Denarius]
Description: Do you want some experience in fighting against a player? Then this contract may be for you. Upon the acceptance of this quest, you will fall asleep, and inside your dream, you fight a replica of a gamer named Celiakia. This quest can only be attempted once, and if you die, you wake up and fail the contract.
Effect: You fall asleep.
Objectives: Kill Celiakia
Reward: 5,000 Exp.
That's… Intriguing.
5,000 Exp? For essentially a no-consequence contract? There's obviously a trick here, but of what kind?
Perhaps Celiakia is extremely tough to kill, then. Although, with 5,000 experience… There's no reason not to try, is there?
Writing the name of the contract down in my notebook, I hurry over to my apartment and prepare for fighting Celiakia.
Well, no matter the outcome of the fight, I do find out how player versus player battles go. And considering I can't truly be 'killed' from the contract, it's a net postive for me overall.
Random Security Guard
"Uh, hey, David?"
"Yeah?"
"Should I put in a ticket about this weird… Bird, raccoon, pet thing that's glowing that's been running across Mantle recently?"
"...The what?"
"Uh, yeah, I think I need more sleep, I've been working too long…"
Moroes
Accepting the contract, I immediately blacked out and immediately regained consciousness…
Well, perhaps gaining consciousness on top of an extremely wide open grass field in the middle of the night isn't the best way to regain consciousness…
Especially considering the woman in front of me.
Replica of Celiakia
Species: Human.
Level: 50
Class: Mage (Illusionist)
Hp: 4,500
Mp: 9,000
Stats:
Int: 125
Wis: 200
Luk: 0
It doesn't show me every stat, and her luck is at 0?
And the intelligence and wisdom stats feel as if they should be higher than what they currently are right now… Although the health and man does feel intimidating.
Looking closer at Celiakia, it's clear from the look on her face that she's in major distress…
And then she looked right at me and shrieked, immediately creating some kind of glass spear construct that she threw directly at me.
It was only years of MLA training that allowed me to barely dodge the attack by a hair.
Without letting me even react further, Celiakia emitted some sort of mist around the area and out of the mist came duplicates of her and she herself started to flow into the mist and teleport to some other place, with herself and all of her duplicates in a crescent shape ahead of me.
Fortunately, I have the corrupted eye of horus, which allowed me to see past the illusions, making this ability nearly useless.
Using observe on the duplicates, it was a clear copy from the real version, so if I didn't have the eye, this could've easily been a much worse situation.
Testing the waters while she was focusing on the spell, I used a lunar beam with 100 Mp to see how the damage converted.
Lunar beam used. 100 Mp used. Moroes: [Mp: 2,300/2,400]
210 damage dealt. Celiakia: [Hp: 4,290/4,500]
Celiakia cried out in pain, and I quickly realized that, unless if she grew more resistant to lunar beam, I could use my entire mana bar and just barely be able to kill her.
Celiakia snarled, "DO YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?!"
And all 12 of her duplicates started to use spells.
All offensive-type spells, flying straight towards me.
Ah, I seemed to have made a miscalculation, believing that the duplicates couldn't use any abilities.
Attempting to roll away from the attacks to the best of my abilities, I was still hit by 5 attacks, and it stung.
430 damage dealt. Moroes: [Hp: 530/960]
Excuse me, not stung. That would imply it did almost nothing.
…That attack devastated my health pool, and the group was already in the construction of a new attack wave.
Thinking fast, I quickly take in my surroundings and think of abilities to use-
Wait.
Glancing at the floor… This is all grass.
I control plants.
As the next wave of attacks come at me, I commanded the grass to sprout into a wall in front of me to block the spells coming towards my way, and commanded the grass near all of the duplicates to create some type of powerful poisonous and paralyzing gas that affects only humans and some type of cloning abilities, but nobody else. A stretch, but by this point, conventional warfare would get me killed.
I Control Life. All Life. Used. 1,650 Mp used.
Moroes: [Mp: 650/2,400]
…Well, now I'm really hoping this works.
Fortunately, I had backed off from the grass wall far enough that the few spells that did pierce through the wall had slowed down enough to be easily dodgeable, and as for the gas I had the grass create…
Surprisingly, it worked like a charm, with all of the duplicates starting to choke and disappear.
Which was good, considering the amount of Mp I had used to create this situation in the first place. If this gambit didn't work, I would be awake.
Staring at the original, who was also being poisoned to death, looked up at me with pure hatred in her eyes.
Unfortunately for her, she seemed rather helpless currently, despite her advantages just a few moments ago. Although I'm not risking myself to taunt her. Cornered animals having nothing to lose, and all that.
Although… This does present a bit of a worrying situation. Am I able to be poisoned by gas? I do have a modifier that lets me eat or drink anything without issue… But gas would essentially bypass that.
How worrying.
As Celiakia reached her last stretch of life, I heard her mutter, "Why has… Heaven… Forsaken the holy…"
And then she tragically died without applause.
As she went limp, I briefly felt pity for the replica. No doubt the real version of her died in a fierce battle, considering how I was nearly defeated by just one attack. Meanwhile, this copy of her had to die to a cowardly move by myself.
The giver of this contract was Denarius, if I remember correctly. How did he kill her? Was it as cowardly as this? Or perhaps a bit more honorable?
Well, questions I may never have the answer to, I suppose. All rather irrelevant in the long run anyway.
…Looking at it, this contract likely set up the player to fail… Likely to teach people when is a good time to run, or something similar to that.
Eventually, I woke up.
Contract: Fleeting Memory: Celiakia [Denarius]
Reward: 5,000 Exp.
You have leveled up 4x. Level 27 to 31. [Exp: 201/2116]
Dex: 37 to 41
Int: 55 to 59
Wis: 96 to 104
You have gained 16x stat points.
Vit: 48 to 58 [Hp: 1,160]
Wis: 104 to 110 [Mp: 2,750]
You have gained new abilities: Transformation: Flight, Nature's Blessing.
[Transformation: Flight - Turns you into a flying creature. Costs 10% of your mana. All stats reduced by 50% while transformed.]
[Nature's Blessing - When casted on a target, the target will gain slightly more base health. Costs 1% of your mana. Can only be used on one target at a time.]
You have gained the ability to choose a second class. Think 'second class' to choose.
Ah…
I am truly satisfied.
I'm now able to fly, just as I've always dreamed, and now I can pick my second class to remedy any severe weaknesses of mine…
If only they could see me now.
Well, past memories aside, I should pick up another class…
2nd class.
[Warrior], [Mage], [Rouge], [Ranger], [Support].
Now, things I don't need… Mage, first of all, is out because I'm already a mage… Warrior most likely as well, as I have transformations that can turn me into beasts. Rogue… Maybe. Ranger, likely not. And support is…
…Depends on what support is. And to be quite honest, I do not find being subtle enjoyable for myself.
So, what's in support?
Support
[Commander], [Healer], [Production].
…Commander?
Support
Commander
[Character Commander - Increases the power of already existing characters to aid you. +1 Int and Wis per level.]
[Species Commander - Summons minions from your own species to do your bidding. +1 Int and Wis per level.]
Huh.
How interesting… It was as if the character commander was specifically designed for people like myself.
Depending on the power level of that class, the entirety of my Aura Liberation Army could shoot up in power whenever I'm around…
Now that I've said it out loud, it reminds me of Trumpet from the Meta Liberation Army, whose quirk strengthened those that heard him.
Coincidentally, that quirk was indispensable to the army, and he rose all the way to the party leader of… What was the name again? Hearts and Minds?
Well, regardless, I should go with the character commander. As the newly appointed Grand Commander of my Aura Liberation Army, choosing a class that doesn't aid my underlings would be foolish.
You have picked Character Commander as your second class.
You have the option to gain 1 new modifier for your second class, Accept?
A new modifier? Hm, why not... Although if it's a negative modifier... Ah, but if it's terrible... Then I suppose I'll just have to live with it.
Character Commander Modifier
[We did it boys, We ended Racism - Characters who are affected by your abilities are more likely to ignore any physical features that would normally bother them.]
...How convenient. Well, at least for those under my command, there won't be any issue surrounding race. That is a positive, no matter how anyone phrases it.
You have gained 4 new abilities.
[Inspire - Increases the physical attributes of allies around you and grants them courage. Physical stats are increased by your Int. Radius is 1*Int = 1 meter. Costs 5% mana. Every word used while using the ability adds 1 minute to the timer.]
[Overflow - Increases the magical attributes of allies around you and grants them courage. Int and Wis stats are increased by your Int. Radius is 1*Int = 1 meter. Costs 5% mana. Every word used while using the ability adds 1 minute to the timer.]
[Command - Forces an target to do an action. If your stats are at least 2 times higher than the target, or the target is willing, the action goes through. Costs mana depending on how complicated the action is.]
[Influence - Slightly influences target(s) with your words. Has a higher chance of working the more Int you have over the target. Costs 1% mana for every sentence.]
Stats have increased.
Int: 59 to 90 [+2 every level]
Wis: 104 to 135 [+3 every level] [Mp: 3,375]
Ah…
Feels good.
Looking over the abilities I've gained, I do wish I had influence earlier for my recruitment, but it's spoiled milk at this point.
As for the other abilities, inspire is essentially Trumpet's quirk, so I'll gladly use it to its full abilities. I'm not sure how overflow will work in this world, but I suppose it'll either be used in tandem with inspire, or not at all.
And command… I've met only civilians who would qualify for the requirements for the ability to work. But it may be useful someday in the future, perhaps.
Still though, those are not so insignificant chunks of my mana that would be used everytime I use these abilities… Perhaps I'll avoid using them if I have only a few allies with me.
Ah well, I should meet up with Giran now to get that second list…
Hm, I wonder, do huntsmen publicly put out their progress on things like this?
Going onto my scroll and typing a few searches in… (How fortunate that the translator comes in with reading skills as well.)
Huntsmen flabbergasted at the sudden appearance of mysterious villages!
Headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin, says that huntsmen on Sanus could take up to a month to deal with this issue!
Up to 103 new species of grimm have been discovered!
Grimm attacks have shot up 500%! But don't worry! Every huntsmen in the world is dealing with it!
General Ironwood says that huntsmen on Solitas could take up to 3 weeks to deal with the increased grimm threat!
Ancient temples and vaults found on every continent! Where have they been hiding?!
Crime has risen in every kingdom except Atlas! Ironwood's purge still lives in the hearts of criminals in Atlas!
Well, I wouldn't want to spend too much time going through every single article and finding out what's true or not…
So, I'll assume I'll have 3 weeks, most likely less, to gather people to my cause…
Hm, perhaps a few days before all of the huntsmen are due to come back, I'll use the contract that summons the grimm around the area to convince the people that only they can defeat the grimm threat…
Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself. It's only been… 3 days since I've landed onto this world. The first day entering Mantle, the second day establishing a connection with Giran, and the third day completing his first list…
Hm, if I have 3 weeks, I may as well roam around the city and start planting the seeds of revolution around to anyone willing to hear…
Ah, but before I get sidetracked, Giran.
Moroes
Entering World's End through a window, I immediately made my way to where Giran was usually seated.
Once he recognized me, I transformed out of my travel form and sat down on the opposite side of him and immediately went to business.
"I've completed your first list. 6 out of 17 is not what I wanted, but I suppose in this day and age, 6 is quite the threat." I conversed, tone casual.
Giran chuckled, "Hah, yep. To be honest, I expected only 1 or 2 to join you. So, I've got a second list for you. They're all made up of people that were a bit more… Well known back then. Obviously, they're nowhere near their peak, so good luck with that."
And so, he handed over the list to myself, and I casually mentioned, "Ah, thank you. By the way, if it's any use of you, my semblance, in the most vague sense as possible, allows me to grow stronger from all my experiences. Of course, this vagueness does broaden the definition of 'stronger'."
I was still unsure if Giran was trustworthy enough to know of the gods beyond Remnant… But I believe that this little white lie about my 'semblance' is fine.
And so, I tested out restoration on the unprepared Giran.
When he felt something, he immediately stood up, the bartender immediately whipping his head toward the loud noise and got on guard.
Giran simply stood there for a moment, not understanding.
I hummed, "Yes, in a very broad sense. Well, either way, that is my current payment for the two lists you've provided me. For your third list, I do intend on… Well, secrets are meant to be kept secrets."
Using observe to check any changes, there were no direct changes in his health… But I did see his physical attributes grow a slight bit, particularly his endurance.
So, considering the smell of cigarettes around here, I've likely helped his life span by a few years.
Eventually, I stood up to leave the bar, "Ah, goodbye for now. I'll likely spend a day doing other errands. So do not expect me to show up tomorrow."
Giran
Seeing Moroes leave after taking his next list and… Making him feel the best since before his smoking habits, it did make him think a little…
There are already rumours and conspiracies about some sort of new army rising up in Mantle, and, well, if it were any other time in history, he would've just ignored it…
But Moroes clearly had something that was different from every other person that he's met…
It's just that he can't really figure it out on his own. Was it that semblance Moroes was talking about? To grow 'stronger'? Whatever the hell that meant?
That being said though, seeing Moroes walk into his bar and asking to see him just gave him a little…
Deja vu may not be the right answer, as he's completely sure that's not what he's feeling, because he's felt it before.
But it feels like the feeling when you just know someone is in a particular gang that has a bone to pick with you.
…But obviously, Giran hasn't made any significant enemies in the past decade or so.
So, why does he feel phantom pain on his fingers, of all places, whenever Moroes shows up?
He continued to puff out his cigarette, but then stamped it out when he felt a sense of disgust he hasn't felt in decades. It looked like he somehow really did break his smoking addiction.
Another question for the ages, he supposed.
Ah well, if that guy can succeed… Or even survive the wave of huntsmen that are going to come after him soon when he reveals that semblance of his…
Well, he's made worse gambles before. As long as Moroes doesn't sell him out, he'll survive, just the way he's been doing for years.
Still though, he better not get caught. Even if this is temporary or not, this is the best he's felt in years.
Mythandra
"Sicias."
"...Yeah, Mythandra?"
"Please tell me why the fuck Todd Fucking Howard is standing right there?"
"Look I apologized for my-"
"I don't want your apologies. I Want Peace."
"Greedy children…"
"sHIT! BOOK IT!"
"SICIAS WHY DID YOU TAKE SO MANY MODIFIERS?!"
AN:
I was dealing with leg pain all week, so my motivation has been shot down recently. I tried to speedrun this chapter on Sunday… And then I fell asleep.
So now it's like 10:30 PM on Monday night and I'm rushing to write these 2k words down.
And as usual, late night me isn't the best me, so if there's something immensely stupid that's happening right now, now would be a good time to tell me.
In slightly more light hearted author's notes, the kudos bot on Ao3 has struck! Now all I need is a comment that tells me that my entire fic as a concept is garbage and I'll have REALLY made it as an author! When that comment comes, my writing skills will skyrocket!
Trust me.
Anyways, with the proper scapegoat in place, I can go batshit with the amount of terrible things I feel like doing to the world of Remnant. Isekai in random characters? Sure lmao. Isekai in random characters but make them born there? Sure lmao. Just add random places to the map? Sure lmao.
Anyways, idk if next chapter I'm just going to skip to the end of the week, or go through an intermission to check up on how all of the good guys are feeling dealing with the grimm threat.
Something I'll decide next week lmao.
[1 week after releasing this chapter, I realized I forgot to give Moroes a modifier for his 2nd class so I had to rush in here to add it in. Rip.]