Sicias
Mythandria eyed him suspiciously, "Sicias, are you really sure that we should be rushing ahead like this? Didn't we bring team RWBY along to not get clapped because they have plot armor? And you're suggesting that we go ahead without them?"
Sicias shrugged, she had good points. Going ahead alone has never worked out that well in most movies, even if RWBY was a bit damaged from that last fight. And the simple fact that they don't actually know if Moroes is the villain player or what level he would be at by now. Every sign points to this being a big mistake.
On the other hand…
"Do you get the opportunity to ride a huge ass dinosaur with rockets that can fly towards anywhere you want very often?"
Mythandria sighed, "No… But seriously, can't we just put team RWBY on the dinosaur somewhere? Don't we need the plot armor?"
He laughed at the thought, "Trust in the flavor text, Mythandria! This is a two-seater only ride! We absolutely cannot bring RWBY with us. They'd fall off!"
Mythandria didn't look convinced at all, "Yeah, sure, whatever, fine. But if we get clapped by Moroes, it's all on you."
He laughed harder, lightly punching Mythandria in the shoulder, "Haha! Look, it's only been a week. Even if our experience gain is a bit reduced, I'm sure that Moroes couldn't have gotten that far ahead of us in only a week, right?"
"You just jinxed it, dumbass!"
"I didn't jinx anything!"
"GREEDY CHILDREN MUST BE…!"
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!"
"I FUCKING JINXED IT! GET ON THE DINOSAUR! WE'LL APOLOGIZE LATER!"
Robyn Hill
Being a politician was a tough job, and being a huntress while also being a politician was also harder. That being said, it did have its benefits.
Such as being able to go back home earlier than other huntsmen along with her team. Of course, she did feel bad about all the other huntsmen that have to handle all of the grimm, but she had other things to do.
Eventually, her team made it to Mantle on foot because of course, the Atlas military is stretched very thin and Ironwood probably knew that her team could make it to Mantle alone. But that still doesn't make her a bit ticked off about it, even if it's understandable.
And so, they made it to the front gates which were, as always, closed and guarded-
Wait.
It wasn't guarded.
Usually, Mantle's gate would usually have a guard or two outside just to make up for any shortcomings the cameras outside would have, and before that, just to let anyone outside in, and this is how it's been ever since it's been built, even staying this way during some chaotic times in Mantle.
So why was this one day suddenly not guarded?
Immediately feeling worry, she told her team to be on guard as they moved forward towards the gate.
Once they reached it, she looked up to the camera, which she knew had audio, because all of the soldiers also talked up to the camera.
"Hey! It's me, Robyn Hill. Why don't you have people standing out here? Let us in!" She shouted, hoping that someone was still at the monitors and willing to let them in.
They waited for a few seconds before they got a reply, "Oh? Are the huntsmen back already? Uh… Yeah, before you go in, fair warning, there's a lot of protests going on right now."
Robyn blinked, "What?"
The guard on monitor duty chuckled a bit before elaborating, "Yeah. If you haven't heard, there's this faunus named Moroes who suddenly got a huge following. And right now, he's leading a bunch of strikes and protests to allow everyone in Atlas to unlock their auras."
…He's doing what?!
Fiona quietly muttered out, "He's what?"
Robyn nodded in agreement with Fiona, a large number of people with aura attracts grimm to where they are, that's why most huntsmen schools are capped at around 200 to 300 people, and why the schools are always in the middle of nowhere. This is something everyone should've learnt in first grade, regardless of where someone is taught. So why was Moroes trying to bring Atlas to its knees with his movement?
"Yeah, what she said. What the hell is Moroes thinking? Doesn't he know how aura works with grimm? He's going to send waves of grimm towards us if he does that!"
The guard made a vague noise of disagreement, "Well, there was a grimm attack earlier this week, and the population, including Moroes, kicked their asses. I'd rather go with Moroes on this. If we all unite, we could take the grimm head on."
Robyn was mentally shocked at this mindset. Thousands have had this mindset, and most of them didn't get far! What made Moroes think he was different? Just because his faunus features were a lot different than other faunus he could take on all grimm kind?!
The guard continued his thoughts without asking her about her opinion, however, "I think he quoted someone saying that it's better to live one day as a lion than a thousand years as a sheep… I think. And I think that's a great thing to live up to. I just got my aura a day ago and man, you guys have been holding out on us! I've never felt a day better in my… Ah, wait, I should let you guys in."
Eventually, the gate opened and Robyn and her team gave the guard a polite thank you before going in.
When they went in, the streets were eerily empty of life. Usually, there would be a few pedestrians still walking around, minding their own business, going to work, or talking with friends.
Instead, the noise of people were replaced by the noises of protests in the distance. Likely nearby the airport in Mantle, as that is the only way to reach the floating city of Atlas. However, it is somewhat impressive that the protests haven't been put down yet… Or worse, brutally suppressed.
Joanna tapped her on the shoulder, "Uh, Robyn?"
She turned back to her, eyebrows raised, "Yeah?"
"So, I was thinking," Joanna started, "Moroes is a faunus, right?"
"...Yeah?"
"And, uh, Atlas hasn't had a very good track record with faunus rights, right?"
Fiona's ears bristled, and she asked Joanna, "...Where are you going with this?"
Joanna looked a bit defensive before saying, "Look, too much aura attracts grimm and has historically been a great way to delete towns and kingdoms off a map. So isn't it a bit coincidental that a faunus who has all the right to hate Atlas goes in here to try and raise a lot of aura?"
Robyn's stomach sinked at the implications, it made much more sense then she wanted it to, "Oh. Oh. We need to stop this."
Still tired from their trip to Mantle, they started running towards the source of the noise.
Ironwood
Hands firmly in face, distraught from all of the stress this past week has given him, Ironwood asked the person giving the report in front of him with a heavy voice, "Have the soldiers stopped the protests yet?"
"Well no but-"
"Then I don't want to hear it!" Ironwood shouted, banging his fist onto the table in rage. His last thread of sanity snapping and manifesting itself into a held back force, still trying to give off the impressions of a leader.
"THE SOLDIERS JOINED THE PROTESTERS!" Shouted out the poor soul who had to explain the situation, "WE DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT NOW THEY'RE ON THEIR SIDE AND NOW THEY'RE BOARDING SHIPS TO COME UP HERE!"
Ironwood temporarily stopped his internal rage for just a moment to process what he said.
The man continued more calmly, "Because the soldiers came on the ships, they're now loading Moroes and protesters on those ships, and as we speak, they're flying up here as we speak. If you want my advice, you should probably get the hell out of here."
Ironwood defeatedly sat down, "Haven't our robots done anything?"
The man didn't look at Ironwood directly, "Sir… They… Our robots… One of the protesters got a semblance that let them shut down any technology… All of our robots that were tasked with putting the rebellion down are now shut down and can't be turned back on..."
Ironwood looked down at the floor as if he was contemplating life. How had it gone all wrong in just under a week? Was this the cunning genius of Salem that Oz had to fight almost his entire life? Was this just the calculated result of a madwoman's plans?
Trying to come up with anything to save Atlas, he asked about his last bit of hope that should've been here earlier today, "And what about Ozpin's reinforcements?"
The man in front of him shrugged, "Last I heard, they were caught off guard by a grimm attack and they were delayed by one day. I think they'll be here tomorrow, but…"
'They'll be too late' went unsaid. The writing on the wall was clear. Ironwood was about to be overthrown. And Atlas and Mantle will likely fall with him.
Ironwood just heavily sighed, somewhat resigned to his fate, "Go do whatever you want. If you want to live, I'd suggest trying to blend into the crowd somehow, or maybe try to curry some favor… Ah, they've all probably left at this point, huh?"
The man who hasn't even given his name to Ironwood looked distraught, "But you, sir?"
Ironwood simply turned his chair towards the window that looked over the parts of the city still unaffected by all of the riots. A shining jewel in the sky…
He won't let that jewel be crushed by some fool who doesn't understand the strength of humanity.
Ironwood stood up and started to walk towards the door out the room in order to gain supplies for his new plan, a fiery defiance in his eyes, "Atlas will survive this ordeal. Rally the people still loyal to my cause. Come, I'm entrusting you to tell everyone else about my plan."
Moroes
Quest: Downfall
Description: After your blitzkrieg of a political campaign, you've somehow got a large following in a week and completely blindsided Atlas. Now, the final nail in the coffin will be the removal of James Ironwood, their pseudo-dictator.
Objective: Dispose Ironwood.
Reward: 250,000 Exp, 3 gacha tokens, 1 Ticket To The Border.
Sometimes, I marvel at how I went from getting a few hundred experience points per quest, to getting hundreds of thousands in just a week. Although, there were a lot of parts in the help menu that involved the writer complaining about the system a lot. Perhaps it's an in-built thing that can't be so easily changed.
Ah, but regardless, I've finally made it to the crown jewel of Solitas. The city of Atlas.
Jumping off of the ship, many others who made it up followed me, I made a quick scan across the landing site to see that…
There are no enemies nearby. But it's so awfully obvious that there's some sort of trap in store somewhere. I doubt they'll allow me to take the capital so easily.
The capital is a beautiful place. If you ignore the huge street that leads directly to the main landmark of the city, this would've been a very hard fight to win, considering all of the house to house fighting any army would have to do to get to the main objective.
…A tactic which the enemy isn't pursuing. Could their numbers still be that stretched? The huntsmen should've come back a long time ago when my movement first came to light.
However, no matter the problem, there is no other choice but to move forward. Even if it's a trap.
After telling my Aura Liberation Army to stay guarded, we moved forwards towards the open streets, eyes on all of the various windows around us.
…However, I still felt dissatisfied.
The enemy was just in eyesight in that grand… Disgusting 'castle-school' they have at the end of this city. Is this really how it ends? Simply marching towards the objective and what, winning?
Ironwood must be waiting up there.
"I'm going ahead," I told my second in command, code name Gladiator, who had a semblance that allowed him to create weapons using his aura, and was one of the first people I've recruited into the Liberation Army.
Gladiator had a brief, shocked expression on his face, "Are you sure, Mo- Reincarnation? We can't support you if you're that far…"
Readying myself to go into my flight transformation, I scoffed at Gladiator's worry, "If I were to fall that easily, I wouldn't deserve to be here. Keep marching, and I shall welcome you to the headquarters."
Transforming into an eagle, I flew towards the main objective, hungry for battle.
Robyn Hill
She had to admit, she had no idea how putting on a small mask and putting her hoodie on somehow managed to conceal her team without drawing any attention.
That being said, they've managed to successfully get on a bulkhead that's transporting members of the… Aura Liberation Army to Atlas City.
Aura Liberation Army. What a name. It would definitely be one of the better names that people have come up with to name their movements… If the movement wasn't essentially trying to bring down Atlas.
Herself and her team weren't talking, likely because of nerves and that fear of the 1% chance that they might be caught.
It was a valid concern. Robyn was a politician who regularly gave speeches. If anyone heard her, they'll know it's her. And considering how she's been absent this past week, everyone here likely thinks that the huntsmen are all against them somehow.
But sometimes, stupidity wins out.
She asked the girl sitting next to her, "Hey, why are you here?"
Her team looked at her in shock when they heard Robyn's voice. And honestly, she couldn't blame them.
She's already regretting her spur of the moment action.
The girl, however, doesn't seem to recognize her, "Huh? Oh, me? I'm here because…"
The girl seemed a bit embarrassed, "Uh, Reincarnation saved my grandfather's life and… Well, when he asked everyone to support him, I couldn't leave him hanging, right?"
Saved his grandfather's life…?
Robyn wasn't sure if she should try to get more information that she probably could get online, but well… In for a penny, in for a pound.
She questioned, "Saved your grandfather's life? How?"
The girl looked at Robyn as if she had two heads, "You don't know? I thought the entire city would know about Reincarnation's semblance by now!"
Robyn tried her best to look sheepish, as if she didn't really know anything that was going on, "Uh, I've been off the internet for a while, and uhm… I have aura, and I couldn't let my buddies go off without me, right?"
She looked a bit more understanding after that, and then she started to fangirl, "Oh! In case you don't know, Reincarnation controls life with his semblance! I saw him make an apple out of a small potted plant once! And he can turn into animals, and he can heal people as well! When my semblance comes, I hope it's at least a fraction of the power of Reincarnation's semblance!"
He… controls life? He's exaggerating. Maybe not on the healing part, but he's definitely bluffing somewhere in that sentence, "Controls all life? Doesn't that seem a bit arrogant though?"
The girl didn't seem too bothered at the question, and confidently states, "Only Reincarnation, our Grand Commander of the Aura Liberation Army could claim such a thing. I fully believe in him and our cause!"
Moroes… What the hell did you do in the last week!?
Moroes
Destroying the last robotic knight in the room using Crescent Rose, I immediately threw the weapon back into my inventory.
The scythe-gun is a clunky thing to use without the proper training and skill one would expect to use it with… Which I don't have.
It is a useful tool in helping me conserve mana for more useful engagements, as being able to do over 700 damage in a single hit is, quite frankly, ridiculous. So it stays, even if I personally don't like the weapon.
And additionally, I do not have the ammo to reload every shot. So it becomes a bulky scythe without its gun, making it much less novel.
One by one, I've been clearing out this building of all of the robotic beings inside. Most human personnel seems to have left, and I've been tasked to clean out the trash.
Entering the next room, I finally find an office room, with a window that was strangely boarded up and locked. Looking further inside, it seems to be…
Ah, is that Ironwood's name on the desk? This must be his personal office, then.
Taking a look inside the room, I see nothing out of the ordinary. The general must've left in a hurry…
There's a note on the desk. With 'for Moroes' written in sharpie on it.
How nice of Ironwood. It's just a shame that he won't be able to kill him now if he's already decided to leave Atlas.
Picking up the note, it reads, You're on camera. Smile, you heartless bird.
…How nice of Ironwoo-
I hear beeping.
Without a second thought, I immediately transformed into my guardian transformation and used my iron skin ability, trying to absorb as much of the incoming explosion as possible.
Within moments, the entire room exploded.
Losing half my health, I dropped down towards whatever area gravity was dropping me to. Which was to say, I was falling down almost the entire building.
Hitting the ground, once again losing a chunk of my health, I immediately looked up to make sure no debris was going to fall on me, and I immediately started to devour my health restoring food in order to survive whatever fight was undoubtedly coming.
While eating, I looked around the area and… This is a completely normal looking city. Did he explode his office anticipating I would die there? Or is he trying to force me to fight out in the open city?
"Hah, it must pain you a great deal to look like this, Moroes. I'm sure you won't mind if I took the life out of your body to help alleviate the humiliation?" A male voice rang out from behind me, leaving little doubt on who the voice belonged to.
Turning around, I confirmed my suspicions.
James Ironwood
Level: 63
Hp: 7,300
…
Truly astonishing that a human could outmatch the grimm by that much, although it may just be the 'system' doing its duty in its little game…
Regardless, once I regained enough of my health to not die in a single hit, I fully turned towards him and turned back to my original form, one hand behind my back and replied, "It does not bother me too much, looking in such a sorry state if it helps me. Nothing is too far for my goals. That being said, it seems as if you don't want to surrender to me."
Ironwood scoffed, "Of course not. Atlas is my home, and I won't allow you and Salem to destroy it so easily. As we speak, your main army is being attacked by my loyalists, and while their aura will be tough to break, I doubt they'll last long against a professional army. So, if you surrender now and give information on Salem, I might be lenient against you in court."
There were several things I could ask about that sentence. For example, he has no guards to protect himself, or the fact that my army would likely beat his. But there was one question that stood out the most.
…Salem? Who was Salem?
I tilted my head curiously, "Forgive me, General. But I believe we may not be on the same page here, namely, you talk of this Salem person, but I do not know a Salem."
Ironwood glared harder, watching as I kept eating food to restore my low health, seeing it as a clear sign of mockery, "Don't act dumb. This is your final chance. Surrender or be defeated."
…What a sad sign, it seems as if Ironwood hates explaining things, believing we're equal in terms of knowledge, "Well, then do you know of Fair and Balanced Incorporated, or perhaps even just the PvP matches in general?"
Ironwood still had his gun aimed straight at me, not trusting me the slightest bit, and didn't reply.
…But there was still no recognition in his eyes.
"Well, if you do not answer. Then in terms of information, it seems as if I have something over you."
At the very least, he doesn't know about the hero player. Or the hero player is simply off on another continent.
Ironwood didn't find this amusing, "Surrender now. If you don't, your entire 'liberation army' will be wiped out."
I sighed, such a shame that he seemed to use a gun as a main weapon. It would be much easier to get the scythe out and kill him in a few hits if my next move didn't land, "Well then, General… May the strongest survive."
I revealed my hand, which had been preparing a nature's force spell with about a tenth of my mana. And with the time spent strengthening it from the beginning of the conversation…
Ironwood would die in a single hit.
Without exchanging further talk, I threw the spell in Ironwood's direction and started preparing another spell in anticipation of it missing.
And of course, Ironwood dodges the spell by dodging to his right, as no matter how powerful the spell, it is clumsily slow, and immediately starts firing at me.
Tanking the bullets that were fired at me, due to bullets still being too fast for my eyes to catch up with, I immediately retreated towards the nearby buildings for cover, firing the spell I prepared to cover my retreat.
This is, quite honestly, the worst environment I could possibly fight in. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but there are no houseplants anywhere I could take advantage of, likely due to Atlas's climate. Completely negating my strongest spell.
What shoddy luck, to be in the one place where my ace in the hole couldn't operate to its fullest potential.
Not to mention I don't have half of my abilities due to the fact I'm caught without my army, meaning I am a spellcaster fighting against a man with a gun.
And despite all of the fantasies of how this fight could go, the simple fact that I could tell was… Spellcasters are vastly underpowered, and I stood no chance against a competent foe with a range advantage.
Hearing Ironwood run towards my location, I immediately started thinking of various plans I could possibly use to secure victory.
Transform into something else? Unlikely to work, I would be outranged and shot to death. Run towards the Aura Liberation Army? Perhaps, but by then, they could all be wiped out by now, not to mention I would have to fight another army.
What a shame, I'm vastly too weak to fight anyone competent. I'm a disgrace to Destro's name and cause… This must be why the Meta Liberation Army bided it's time in the shadows…
Regardless, I've made my gambit and it's failing horribly. But as the Grand Commander of my Aura Liberation Army, and carrier of Destro's dying wish of a liberated world, it would be a disgrace to stop fighting.
Resolving myself to fight, I focused on Ironwood's location using detect life, seeing he was just around the corner.
Using lunar beam to deal minor damage to stagger him, I come around the corner with a nature's force, firing it in his direction and landing a hit.
"Finally decided to fight?!" Ironwood yelled out, staggering back and firing bullets haphazardly in my general direction, causing me to fall back to cover once again.
"I would be a disgrace to Destro's cause if I didn't" I replied back, preparing another lunar beam and nature's force spell again, "It is all of humanity's wishes to use their Quirks freely. If you stand in the way of it, you will be crushed!"
With a roar, Ironwood charged forward by shooting his gun behind him, somehow creating enough force to push him forwards faster, barely registering my lunar beam attack and nature's force which had both hit.
Completely blindsiding me, Ironwood landed a heavy hit to my head and pinned me to the ground by the neck.
"All talk. Your semblance might be strong, but you use it without any nuance! You're completely unprepared for this!" Ironwood shouted, gun firmly to my head, "So start talking, and you might get to see the sun tomorrow!"
I sighed, not too angry, mostly due to villain player's mind's calming effects, but still the slightest bit ticked off at my 'defeat'. "Well, you are true about one thing. I was heavily underprepared for this fight. That is to say, I should've taken notes from my superiors and waited for myself to become strong enough to fight against any obstacles. As it stands, with my week's worth of experience with my abilities, I am like a child using his Quirk for the first time in Quirk counseling."
Ironwood sneered, "Quirks. You've usen that word twice now, what does it mean?!"
…Ah, I've misspoke, "My apologies. I'm not very accustomed to this world yet, as I've only arrived here a week ago."
Ironwood hesitated for just a brief moment, "What?"
A moment too long, I took Crescent Rose out of my inventory and Immediately used the sharp end of the scythe to get Ironwood off of me and deal a devastating amount of damage to him, throwing him to the side.
"As it stands right now, You are much stronger than me." I admit, if I didn't have Crescent Rose, I would likely not stand much of a chance when Ironwood had me pinned, "Would you like to switch sides, perhaps? Although you are stronger, you won't last for long against my bag of trickery. This way, you may save a bit of your dignity."
Getting up, Ironwood spit on the floor in front of me, "You mock me with your words."
Without elaborating, Ironwood shoots twice, forcing me to attempt to block the bullets with Crescent Rose still in my hands.
Only blocking one with the other shot missing, I dashed towards Ironwood in order to force an escape somewhere.
Ironwood shoots at the ground and somehow creates enough force to jump towards the nearby roof.
What.
Transforming myself to fly, I immediately flew up to the roof Ironwood propelled himself up to and saw him running towards, what I presume to be, his loyalists currently fighting my Aura Liberation Army.
What a coward. Is he assuming that my Aura Liberation Army and I combined would fall to his forces? Ironwood seems to have made a grim miscalculation. If I were to increase my army's power with my abilities, Ironwood won't stand a chance.
But I won't let Ironwood get that far to assist his troops.
Moving faster towards Ironwood, I landed in front of him and threw multiple weak nature's forces against him to stagger him a bit before attempting to hit him with Crescent Rose…
…Which somehow worked?
In an instant, Ironwood's aura broke and he was down on the floor, trying to regain breath.
Glaring at me, Ironwood asked, "That weapon… Where did you get it? I recognize it from a student from Beacon… But the amount of damage it did to my aura…"
I didn't reply and simply walked slowly towards Ironwood. He still has his gun in his hand, and I quite honestly did not want to find out I've been beaten again.
Trying to get up, Ironwood angrily shouted at me, "If you kill me, the rest of Atlas will fall to the grimm! You say you care about everyone having aura, but I see you for what you are! Just a pawn in a bigger player's game!"
Briefly stopping, I commented, "What an odd choice of words. If you had shown any recognition to my words earlier, perhaps I would have spared you instead."
Raising Crescent Rose over his body, I stated, "Fortunately, your loyalists will likely break at the sight of your corpse. So I no longer have any need of you."
"Goodbye, Ironwood."
Ironwood has been killed.
Quest completed: Downfall
Rewards: 250,000 Exp, 3 gacha tokens, 1 Ticket To The Border
[Ticket To The Border - Creates a portal to one of the 4 great borders of the universe.
How is it, that even when we're literal gods, we're still trapped inside of a cage?]
You have leveled up 6x. You have now been converted to % Exp measurements.
Level: 46 to 50 [Exp: 2%/100%]
Dex: 54 to 60
Int: 126 to 138
Wis: 187 to 205 [Mp: 5,125]
24 stat points.
Vit: 77 to 85 [Hp: 1,700]
Str: 20 to 30
Dex: 60 to 66
New Abilities obtained.
[Revival - Revives 1 dead. Costs 30% of your mana. Adds 1% additional cost for every minute the target is dead.]
[Transformation: Pterodactyl - Transforms you into a flying creature mainly focused on defense. Costs mana to fly. Int converted to Vit, Wis converted to End.]
[Transformation: Dragon - Transforms you into a flying creature that is both offensive and defensive. Costs mana to fly. Converts Int and Wis to Str, Dex, End, and Vit.]
AN:
Had a deadly fight with burnout over the past 3 weeks or something. However, thanks to my endless bravery, I've somehow scrambled enough motivation to finish this chapter over the past 2 weeks or so.
…Even though this chapter is, in my opinion, also shit, similar to the last chapter I think.
For example, there are many good questions for this chapter like "Why did the hero players and RWBY get attacked?" Or "Why did nobody else recognize Robyn and gang?" or "Where did Ironwood's loyalists come from?" Or "How did they rig the office to explode so fast?" Or "Why was Ironwood alone like wtf? And he got clapped in like 2 hits?"
And these are all wonderful questions, however, my only answer is "Idk. Blame the burnout."
Well, it is what it is. I don't feel a strong urge to quit fic writing permanently though. It's literally just me being lazy and not actually sure where this fic is gonna go.
Probably has to do with me never watching RWBY and therefore have no actual idea what Atlas looks like, so this is a total mess of a chapter.
Ah well. If all else fails…
Next chapter will make or break ALG!
[Finally decided to just use my brain and follow all of the other gamer fics and decide to conveniently ignore all of the Hp, Mp, Exp, and all the other jazz. My burnt out ass didn't wanna do math lol.]