I don't own RWBY.
[The Gamer]: You had intercourse for the first time.
[The Gamer]: Reward: +15 Vitality.
I stared at the window in front of me.
It had been there for a good while now, but I still found it hilarious that my Gamer skill had felt the need to reward me for... that. It wasn't as if I went through something particularly hard, like surviving a shit ton of poison or being near death, or killing a friend with my own hands.
Really, if some achievements were that simple to complete, I might have to start raising a list of other achievements that I could potentially complete as easily as this one.
"All right. It's morning." I muttered to the girl on my lap, "Let's get dressed, and wake up the others."
"OK." Ebony nodded quietly, and stood up.
I had been a little worried that I might have felt some kind of regret this morning.
But that little window giving me stats? That alone made it worth all the potential drama in the future. +15 vitality was nothing to scoff at.
As for Ebony, I hadn't talked much with her.
We went at it, enjoyed ourselves, and after that we just stayed there, with her sitting on my lap or on the chair next to mine, and cuddling onto me for the rest of my guard duty. I didn't fall asleep afterwards or anything; we couldn't afford to risk that. I simply kept watch and enjoyed her warmth at the same time.
I liked it, it had been relaxing. I wanted more of it.
After getting dressed, Ebony glanced at me. "Hey... Are we... gonna talk about this or …?"
"...What's there to talk about?" I replied stiffly, "We used each other's body to feel good, and that was it. It doesn't mean anything."
"…Is that how you feel...?" She asked sadly, "I… I don't feel that way…"
"Let's wake up the others." I repeated, turning away.
"Wait, don't…!" She grabbed my hand. "Don't… close up like that…"
"I'm not closing anything!" I snapped at her.
She stared at me with wide eyes and a complicated expression on her face, still holding my arm.
Was that fear or...?
"Do you... regret it?" She asked.
I took a deep breath. I was so used to people fearing me that I was starting to see it everywhere. No, Ebony wasn't scared of me. She was scared of my answer.
"No. It... It's not like I don't give a shit about you, okay?" I admitted reluctantly, "Let's just... stay friends, and... nothing else."
"Friends… with benefits?" She prompted as she tilted her head, unsure.
"Sure, I'm up for that. But that's your call." I shrugged, not looking at her. "I'm not the one in a couple. You decide. My conscience is clear."
I yanked my arm away, and stepped back into our base, leaving her behind.
Later.
While we ate a very light breakfast, Steele sniffed the air. "Ew. What's that smell?"
"Ohohoooh!" Daryl laughed creepily, "I know that smell! I know it!"
"What is it?" Steele asked him, confused.
"Aaah, listen, Steele, when a man and a woman feel some kind of way about each other… They have-"
He was slapped in the back of his head by Sylvia before he could finish, while Steele blushed bright red.
"Daryl. Crocus." Sylvia hissed, and I almost laughed at Daryl's dumb face looking at her. "If you're going to live with us, you WILL learn some tact."
"Learn some what now?"
"You poor, innocent child," I laughed, patting Sylvia's shoulder, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"I'm starting to realize that…" Sylvia sighed. "But I won't give up."
Meanwhile, Daryl shot me a wide grin and winked at me, sending me a thumbs up. I grinned, rolled my eyes and continued eating.
Ding!
You have unlocked a new stat: [Lightning Resistance]
The [Lightning Resistance] stat has increased by three!
Good. Between yesterday and today, it took me six slices of thunder tiger meat to get the stat.
My eyes met Ebony's. She smiled awkwardly at me, playing with her hair sheepishly and fidgeting on her seat.
She clearly looked uncomfortable. Was she still thinking about this morning?
Just move on, already...
I smiled and gave her a light slap on the shoulder to try to snap her back to 'survival' mode. "Why so awkward? Cheer up. We're saving your siblings today."
"R-right!" She perked up, smiling at me gratefully.
"Come on. I'm gonna need some nursing if you don't mind." I said, "I wanna do something before we leave."
"All right," She nodded, grinning at me. "You know I love to take care of you."
I snorted, opening the metallic shelf. I grabbed one of the Lightning Dust Crystals, walked to the sink, and filled it with water.
"Uh… Shean?" Ebony asked, while the others stared at me nervously. "What are you doing?"
"I said I want to try something." I repeated, "To consume the skill shard we found yesterday. I need more Lightning Resistance."
"Skill? Shard?" Ebony blinked, confused.
"Steele, show them."
The Faunus nodded, took out the skill shard and gave it to Sylvia, who examined it with wide eyes full of interest.
"Ebony?" I prompted the blonde girl. "Nursing."
"Ah, yes."
You are being Nursed by Ebony Arc.
Effects: +8 Vitality, +160% Heal Rate, as long as the [Nursing] skill is active.
[The Gamer]: +8 Vitality, +8 Willpower, +8 all Resistances(3), as long as the [Nursing] skill is active.
I switched my title to [The First Player], to add another +10 to Lightning Resistance.
"All right, Ebony. I'm gonna need you to put that dust crystal near the water. Just close enough so that it touches it, but is not fully immersed in it."
"OK…" Ebony nodded apprehensively, doing as I said.
"Then grab the hammer, and hit it." She stared at me like I had just told her to jump through the window. "Very, uh, delicately." I added.
"Uh..." Daryl spoke up, suddenly looking worried. "I'm just... I'm just gonna step back a little bit..."
"M-me too," Steele nodded.
"...You sure about this?" Ebony asked.
"Yeah."
I took a deep breath, and placed my arm in the water.
"Do it." I told Ebony.
Ebony swung her hammer with a delicate, yet sharp move, poking the Dust Crystal.
Tink! Dzzzt!
"Aaaah!" I screamed in pain, the electricity attacking my body.
Ding!
The [Lightning Resistance] stat has increased by one.
"A-all right… One more time now…"
"Y-you sure?" Ebony asked, worried, "You don't have to..."
"Yes, I do." I cut her, "It's working… Do it again! Now!"
Tink! Dzzzt!
"AaaaaAAAAHHH!" I screamed again, feeling my arm burn and the electrical current reach into my heart. "Son of a bitch!"
My heart hammered fast in my chest, stimulated by the unnatural electricity.
Ding!
The [Lightning Resistance] stat has increased by one.
Ding!
You have gained a new Status Effect: [Muscle Paralysis] (30 minutes)
"A-all right… That's... enough…" I panted, grabbing my paralyzed arm with my other hand. It was jolting. "Fuck, I can't move my arm anymore…"
"Are you gonna be okay?" Ebony asked worriedly.
"Yeah..." I breathed heavily. "I'll just need to rest for 30 minutes, and the status effect will go away."
"So? Did it work…?" Sylvia asked curiously.
"Yeah, I was able to raise my lightning resistance stat. Daryl?" I asked Daryl who had been examining the skill shard.
"Yeah, there you go," Daryl nodded, passing me the Skill Shard.
"Um, can I see it first?" Ebony asked, and I nodded, letting her read the item's information.
"So… You're going to gain the [Lightning Affinity] stat, too." Sylvia said, fidgeting awkwardly. "S-so… I guess you'll want my hat?"
"Huh?" I blinked at her. "Why would I want your goofy hat?"
She flushed, embarrassed. "Because, you know, it boosts all elemental affinities. So I assume you want it…"
"It's all good, Sylvie," I smiled at her. "+5 is nothing. If I need more Lightning Affinity, I can just grab a Lightning Dust Crystal. Besides, I can tell you want to do something with that hat. I'll trust you on that. You can keep it."
"Th-thanks…!" Sylvia grinned in relief.
"Besides, you rock it much better than I ever could." I teased.
"Yeah, it's like we're a party of adventurers, and you're the group's magician!" Steele added, grinning widely.
"Except, you know… She can't actually do any magic." Daryl chuckled. "A-ah! Aouch!" Sylvia hit him with her staff. "Abuse! I'm getting abused! Ass-man!"
Everyone ignored him.
"Cool item…" Ebony commented, giving the skill shard back to me. "I guess you're the only one with decent compatibility, huh?"
"Something like that," I nodded, and used the skill shard.
Warning: You only have a compatibility of 10% with this skill. Your body, mind and soul might be modified upon consuming this shard.
Do you want to proceed?
Yes – No
"Yes." I instantly selected, not thinking twice about it.
The skill shard lit up in my hand, and disintegrated itself.
Ding!
You have acquired a new skill: [Lightning Discharge]
You have gained a new stat: [Lightning Affinity]
You have gained a new stat: [Lightning Charge]
The [Lightning Affinity] stat has increased by ten!
The [Lightning Charge] stat has increased by fifty!
The [Lightning Resistance] stat has increased by ten!
The [Lightning Affinity] stat has increased by ten!
The [Lightning Affinity] stat has increased by one.
"Oh, boy…" I groaned, feeling a weird change in my body. It was like a new kind of sense had been awoken.
'Lightning Discharge skill'
[Skill: Lightning Discharge (Active)]
Rank: Rare
Level: Beginner Level 1
Description: The Thunder Tiger's ability to focus electricity into their horns and release it.
Effects: Discharge accumulated [Lightning Charge] from specific body parts. Potency per [Lightning Charge] discharged increases with the [Lightning Affinity] stat and each skill level.
Requires: 1 [Lightning Charge]
That… didn't sound like a lightning bolt. More like some kind of electric touch.
Damn. I wanted to shoot electric lasers like the Thunder Tigers.
"Status"
In my status window, three new stats had been added.
Lightning Charge: 0/50(+10)
Lightning Resistance: 15(+15)
Lightning Affinity: 21(+10)
Hmm? 0/50?
So this [Lightning Charge] was a stat that could be filled up and consumed later…?
I blinked, feeling a weird sensation in my body.
It was like… hunger. Except, it was not. It was more like a sense of emptiness.
My eyes fell on the Lightning Dust crystal in Ebony's hands.
"Can I…?" I asked, and she nodded, handing it to me.
I caressed the crystal in my hand.
There was something in the crystal.
Something I was currently missing… If only I could get it-
Dzzzt…!
"Hngh…" I winced in pain, feeling the power of the crystal strike me with a current of electricity.
It stayed like this for about half a minute, lighting up the room with sparkling energy.
"U-uh… Shean?" Ebony asked worriedly.
"I got it," I said through my gritted teeth, "Don't worry, it's under control."
Or at least I hoped it was.
I could feel the new hunger inside me slowly being satiated, until eventually it was full.
Ding!
You have acquired a new skill: [Lightning Recharge]
The [Lightning Affinity] stat has increased by one.
"Huh…?"
Lightning Charge: 60/50(+10)
Lightning Resistance: 15(+15)
Lightning Affinity: 22(+10)
[Skill: Lightning Recharge (Active)]
Rank: Rare
Level: Beginner level 1
Effects: Can recharge the body's [Lightning Charge] stat. Causes mild pain.
Current rate: 3,2 / second
Requires: Touching a source of electricity.
Wow. That was probably the easiest skill I had ever learned. It made sense, considering the Lightning Charge stat was completely useless without it.
With Identify and those two skills, I now had three rare skills. As expected of Rare skills; their usefulness was pretty high compared to the common skills like [Drawing] and [Biking].
So, what would happen if I unequipped [The First Player]?
Lightning Charge: 60/50
Lightning Resistance: 15
Lightning Affinity: 22
[Skill: Lightning Recharge(Active)]
Current rate: 2,2 / second
I hummed. It looked like the current rate of recharge was simply equal to the Lightning Affinity stat, divided by ten.
Also, 60/50? It almost seemed like an exploit.
"…So…?" Sylvia spoke up, "How is it?"
I raised my hand.
"[Lightning Discharge]."
Dzzzt!
A blue-white arc of electricity appeared between my index finger and index.
Lightning Charge: 49/50(+10)
"Whoa… That is so cool." Steele gaped at me. "You're gonna be, like, Infamous."
"I don't have the ref." I said absentmindedly, and examined the Lightning Dust Crystal again.
Lightning Dust (type B)
Effect: +15 Lightning Affinity
Physical Infusion: +50 Strength(1 hour), +50 Lightning Affinity(1 hour),+20 Lightning Resistance(1 hour), -50% Aura Control(1 hour)
[the Gamer]: +15 Lightning Resistance
[The Gamer]: upon physical infusion, 10% chance of getting +10 Lightning Affinity (new stat)(unique).
Just like I remembered, the item boosted Lightning Affinity.
So, if I grabbed one in each hand...
Lightning Charge: 60/50
Lightning Resistance: 15(+35)
Lightning Affinity: 22(+30)
Boom. 52 Lightning Affinity, just like that. Considering the [Lightning Discharge] skill's potency increased with Lightning Affinity, it was a great boost. Enough that it was absolutely worth it to risk carrying Dust around with me. Especially now that I had some Lightning Resistance in case they blew up.
As for the +5 extra Lighting Resistance, it was simply a temporary effect of eating the thunder tiger meat, lasting 6 hours.
And with the Thunder Tiger's Horn...
Thunder Tiger Horn
The horn of a thunder tiger.
Can be used as a short blade weapon. Can hold a [Lightning Charge]. If it is holding a [Lightning Charge], it may discharge it and deal lightning damage to the target.
Effects: +10 Lightning Affinity. +40 Accuracy(locked) when using a skill related to Lightning.
[The Gamer]: +20 Lightning Resistance
I could use the horn as a Short Blade weapon, and a Lightning Dust Crystal in the other hand. For a total of +25 Lightning affinity, +35 Lightning resistance. Losing 5 Lightning affinity was worth it since the Thunder Tiger Horn could also hold a charge.
Speaking of which...
"Lightning discharge."
I discharged some electricity into the horn.
"Identify."
Thunder Tiger Horn
Lightning Charge: 46/46
46... Amazing. It almost doubled my power output.
I equipped [The First Player] again and recharged my [Lightning Charge] back to 60, groaning in satisfaction as I felt the power being stored in my body. I swear, this feeling was better than weed or sex. Move over, Daryl, Ebony, you guys got nothing on this.
Once I finished, I examined my final stats while I held the horn and the dust crystal.
Lightning Charge: 60/50 (+10)
Lightning Resistance: 15(+50)
Lightning Affinity: 22(+35)
I could feel that the power of the Lightning Charge was greatly increased by my Lightning Affinity.
This much lightning power... It might actually be enough to hurt a troll.
Quite the power up. I examined my status window again, making sure I hadn't missed anything.
Vitality: 45(+10)
Man, my vitality really shot up, too. Such a big increase, and just by having sex with a hottie. To think it had been single digit just two weeks ago.
Now if only I wasn't Asthmatic, I would actually have great endurance without needing medicine. Alas.
Another stat, unexpectedly, attracted my attention.
Willpower: 66(+10)
I frowned, confused. Hadn't I been at 64 Willpower before? Or was it 63? I didn't remember…
But I was pretty sure my Willpower should have been below 65 at least. So when did I gain Willpower? And why didn't the System notify me of any stat gain in Willpower?
I hummed quietly, caressing my chin. This was not even the first time it happened. I didn't know why, but it seemed like sometimes, my Willpower increased without the System telling me. There had to be a reason… But I could not figure it out.
If it was just random stat gains through the day and the system told me, it would be one thing. But the System didn't even tell me.
So… Why?
I… had no idea. Another mystery of the System to add to the list.
"All right, ass-man, I don't want to steal your… thunder…" Everyone groaned at Daryl as he wriggled his eyebrows at us. "… but we had plans for today."
"...New rule." I decided, "No electric puns. No thunder puns. No lightning puns."
"What!" Daryl exclaimed, "Oh, please, no! I am shocked!"
"You… You stop that right now." I ordered, feeling one of my eye twitch.
"But why? I'm ex-static!"
I closed my eyes, wondering not for the first time why this guy was my best friend.
"Looks like you're getting a lot of resistance, Daryl." Steele added with a sly grin.
"Uh... what?" Daryl blinked at the Faunus, confused.
"R-resistance! You know, it's an electrical term!"
"Oh yeah!" Daryl grinned, nodding his head as if he understood.
"That was a good one, Steele," Sylvia said, patting his shoulder sympathetically. "Sadly, he's just too ignorant to understand it."
"Looks like there's no spark between you." Ebony added with a sly grin.
I rolled my eyes. This cancer was contagious.
Later.
Once my arm was no longer paralyzed, we went on the rooftop and climbed down the rope to the parking.
There were no zombies around this time. I walked up to one of the cars on the parking while the others were standing guard.
"Steele." I called, "Come here."
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna show you how to start this car model. Grab your screwdriver."
"O-OK!" Steele nodded, and jogged to me. "Why this specific car?"
"The windows are open. So we can easily open the door."
"Oh."
"Well, I also think it's the one with the quietest engine," I said, "We'll need that. And it's also not one of those modern ultra secure cars that make hotwiring pretty much impossible."
"I see…"
"You'll need experience to recognize the good cars."
I opened the door, and got into the driver seat.
"See this panel?" I pointed at a panel below the steering wheel. "Let's open it up."
"Okay…"
"In most cars, there are two specific dust crystals that we need to connect to each other to start the engine. Now, we are going to connect one of these two dust crystals with our own dust crystal." I explained, grabbing a Lightning Dust Crystal that I had brought with me out of my pocket. "Luckily, we got a crystal type B, otherwise it wouldn't work. Then, we need a wire… We can use this one. We won't need it, I don't think."
"Ok…"
"Then, we have to scotch the wire, to this other wire, like this… Make sure they're connected. And every time you want to start the vehicle, you just grab your own Dust crystal and make it touch the end of the wire. Like this."
I did exactly as I described, grabbing the dust crystal in my backpack and touching the wire that I had just set up with it.
And the vehicle started, just like that. Thank you dad for teaching me this.
"What happens if you make a mistake?" Steele asked.
"You go boom." I answered, "So yeah. Be careful."
"Right..."
Ding!
You have acquired a new skill: [Teaching]
[Skill: Teaching(Active & Passive)]
Rank: Common
Level: Beginner Level 1
Effects (Passive): Improved pedagogy.
Effects (Active): Gives +100% XP to the target in their skills, as long as they are a tier below the teacher's own skills.
Huh. But I didn't teach any skill…? I did pass on some knowledge though.
"I got it…" Steele nodded.
"All right." I got out of the car and closed the door. "Now, let's do what we came here for. We should scout ahead first."
"[Sneak]."
We walked past the LRC's building, taking a look at the building where the broadcasting station was.
Zombie (Human)
Zombie (Orc)
Zombie (Orc)
Zombie (Centaur)
Infected (Human)
Zombie (Faunus)
Zombie (Centaur)
Zombie (Centaur)
Infected (Faunus)
Zombie (Orc)
Zombie (Orc)
Zombie (Human)
Zombie (Centaur)
Zombie (Human)
Zombie (Faunus)
Zombie (Faunus)
Infected (Centaur)
Infected (Orc)
Zombie (Orc)
Zombie (Centaur)
"Fucking hell." I widened my eyes at the number of zombies. "That's a fucking lot. Holy shit."
"It sure is… And that's not all of them." Daryl said, "There's more inside."
"…I don't know if Steele can do this…" I mused. I was getting a very bad feeling about this. "What if there's more zombies further down the road?"
"I can do this," Steele assured, "You have to trust me."
"No. I'll come with you." I decided. "I don't want you to die for nothing."
"L-look!" Ebony gasped, pointing at the building's first floor.
Someone was there. A window was opened.
A blonde guy leaned his head outside, and waved at us.
"It's Jaune!" Ebony hissed, eyes wide. "It's him! It's really him!"
"Heeeeyyy!" Ebony's brother yelled.
"What the fuck is he doing?" I groaned.
The zombies growled angrily, gathering into a crowd below his window.
"He's distracting them," Sylvia guessed. "He's helping us!"
"Come on!" Jaune continued yelling, "You wanna eat me, don't you?"
"Grrraaahhh…!"
"All right. Let's go, I'll start the car." I decided, and inhaled a dose of m asthma medicine, "You three wait until they're all gone before going in the building. Steele! With me!"
"Yes!"
We climbed into the car, and I touched the wire with the dust crystal, starting the engine.
"Let's go…!"
I drove the car up the road, past the LRC.
The engine wasn't very loud, so the zombies didn't notice us. Ebony's brother continued to scream to distract them, too.
I drove slowly, behind them… We were a few meters away from them now.
"Grrroaaah!"
One of them saw us.
"Shit!" I cursed, and slammed my foot on the accelerating pedal as the zombie alerted the others and dashed towards us.
Bonk!
Something heavy impacted the roof.
"What the fuck?!" I yelled, rectifying my trajectory.
Crack!
One of the windows in the back shattered. I looked in the inner rear mirror.
A red-haired girl was now sitting in the back.
Had she jumped off the building to land on the car's roof?!
Sophia Celeste
[- Aspiring Huntress-]
"I'm from Jaune Arc's group. What's the plan?" She asked calmly while I continued accelerating.
"Lure the zombies away by honking the horn," Steele explained quickly, and he turned on a music track, increasing the volume to the maximum.
The girl nodded, and I honked right as we reached the end of the second building.
"OUT!" I yelled. "There should be a ladder!"
We dashed outside.
"Where the hell is it?!" I cursed, looking around.
"Here!" Steele called, "Right behind the corner!"
"You first!" I told him.
"R-right!" Steele nodded, already climbing up the ladder.
The zombie centaurs arrived first.
Slash!
The redheaded girl instantly drew two weapons with circular blades and killed the first two.
"[Short Blade Throw]!"
I threw my steel dagger, and it landed in the torso of another centaur, which barely slowed him down. It was enough for Sophia to kill him swiftly, however.
Not wasting any time, I jumped on the ladder after Steele and climbed up.
"Hurry!" I said to Sophia as she was fighting two other centaurs. "Get on the ladder NOW!"
The human and Faunus zombies arrived next.
She quickly dodged a few of them by diving to her left, and dashed towards the ladder, but a zombie managed to grab her ankle, making her fall to the ground.
She kicked it away, but it was too late. The horde arrived, tackling her to the ground.
"Aaaah!" She screamed in pain as the zombies bit her every limb. "AaaaAAAh!"
I widened my eyes, seeing a light red forcefield flare up around her skin to protect her body.
She had Aura. She had Aura, and she was going to die stupidly like this?!
"Fuck…!" I cursed as I grabbed the Thunder Tiger Horn and the Lightning Dust Crystal from my pockets.
I jumped down the ladder and stabbed one of the zombies that was biting her leg.
"[Lightning Discharge], Maximum output!"
I poured all the [Lightning Charge] I had within me and the horn into the attack.
DZzZZzzZZzzZZzTTT!
The electric current traveled through the zombie's body, into Sophia's body, into the bodies of every zombie that was on her. Electrocuting every single one of them, including Sophia.
Ding!
[Lightning discharge]'s level has increased to Beginner Level 2!
[Lightning discharge]'s level has increased to Beginner Level 3!
The smell of burned flesh tickled my nose. I grabbed the girl's leg, summoning all my strength, and yanked her away from the pile of zombies while their bodies were still paralyzed and jolting from the electricity.
"Get up!" I pulled her up and slammed her on the ladder. "Fucking HURRY!" I yelled, lifting her up to help her climb.
"Kah kah kah!"
I widened my eyes at the noise, glancing behind me.
The zombies I had stunned were slowly getting up and recovering from the lightning, and the slower zombie orcs arrived to crash into them, causing even more chaos.
But behind all of it, on the other side of the road, was a goblin. Laughing at me.
Krenko (Elite)
[- Shadow Thief -]
"The hell?!" I hissed under my breath, turned away and hurried up the ladder. An orc crashed on the wall below me and grabbed my leg.
"Hngh… Ah!" I gasped as he pulled on my leg.
"[Lightning Recharge]..."
As expected of an Orc, they were fucking strong. The ladder creaked under my grip.
Ding!
[Lightning Recharge]'s level has increased to Beginner Level 2!
My hand started to hurt, barely capable of holding my grip on the ladder. Pain shot up from my leg as the Zombie Orc continued to pull on it. Anymore and my leg would be popped out!
"[Lightning Discharge]!" I thought, directing the skill to my leg.
Dzzzzt!
Lightning traveled down my leg into the Zombie Orc's hand, causing its muscles to soften their grip and let go of me.
Quickly, I climbed the ladder all the way to the rooftop, above the building's third floor.
The red-haired girl offered me a hand as I finished climbing up.
I accepted her help, looking her up and down.
Crimson hair with eyes of matching color, she seemed shaken by her near death experience, but tried to not let it show, making her expression still somewhat collected. Her clothes had been torn apart by the zombies so much that they could only be called rags now; and we could see quite a bit of skin. As expected of an Aspiring Huntress, she had the body of a goddess, extremely fit.
"...You okay?" I asked her.
"Yes. You saved me." She nodded, bowing her head to me. "I owe you my life. Thank you."
"Be more careful!" I glared at her, "We can't afford to lose an Aura user like you nowadays!"
"That was my mistake." She admitted. "I underestimated their numbers and their… bestiality."
I scoffed, and looked back down. The zombies were still looking up at us, but the goblin had disappeared.
What the hell was a goblin doing all the way out here? Was there another goblin spawn point in the vicinity?
"Are you okay, Shean?" Steele asked.
"Just fine," I grinned, and slapped his shoulder. "Nice thinking, putting the music on max volume. That should occupy these idiots for a while."
"If I may... We should go." Sophia said, and I nodded.
"[Sneak]." "[Sneak]." Steele and I both activated our skill, and Sophia stared at us weirdly.
"What, you don't have that skill?" I asked her, "Come on, sneak with us."
"R-right." She nodded, and tried to mimic our movements.
'[Teaching].' I thought as we sneaked our way through the rooftop, eyeing Sophia.
"…Thanks." She nodded at me, having apparently just learned the skill. Good.
We quickly reached the gap between the two building.
"Fuck. What now?" I sighed, looking at the gap between our building and our destination. Thirty meters. And we were on a rooftop of a building with three floors, so we couldn't jump down.
Then, Sophia reminded us why Huntsmen were considered as demi-gods.
She jumped down.
She just… jumped down.
Three floors, just like that. She jumped down.
After taking a look around, she looked back at us. "It's clear."
"[Aerial Take down]." Steele muttered as he jumped down and… drop-kicked the girl.
The balls on this boy. I laughed at the stunned expression on her face as she glared at Steele and grabbed him by the collar angrily.
"S-sorry!" Steele went bright red, his eyes widening in fear. "I-it was my skill… the only way I could get down. But Shean is still stuck up there…"
She released him and turned to glare at me. "Jump."
"I'm gonna break a leg if I jump." I replied.
She frowned at me. "Do you not have a landing strategy?"
"Uh… I'm a fucking civilian, girl." I raised an eyebrow at her, "Don't put your insane expectations on me."
"R-really?!" She gasped, widening her eyes in surprise. "I'm sorry… I just assumed, with you throwing knives and the... electricity from before… Are you really not…?"
"Oh." I blinked. I hadn't thought about that. "That's fair, actually. But no, my Aura is still locked. The electricity was a skill."
"Is that so…" She mused, frowning. "Then… I will have to catch you. Jump."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh, have you seen me? I'm a fucking mountain. I'm as tall as an Orc. And you, you're gonna catch me?"
"No, I won't." She shook her head, "But I will tank the damage with my Aura. Like this, you shouldn't break a limb."
"…I see." I nodded.
With no further explanation, I jumped down into her arms.
And crushed her to the ground under my weight.
Her Aura sparkled, making a weird sound.
"Y-you… you're heavy…" The girl struggled below me. "You took out all my Aura in one blow…!"
I stood up from her. "You asked for this…"
"Identify."
Name: Sophia Celeste
Age: 16
Title: [- Aspiring Huntress-]
Status Effect: [Aura Deficiency], [Fracture](right calf)
…Oh, shit. This was bad.
I told her. I told her I would break a leg if I jumped!
"Can you stand?" I asked her.
"I-I…think… so…" She struggled to get on her feet.
She obviously couldn't.
Huntsman pride, huh.
"Screw this," I groaned.
I grabbed her and threw her body over my shoulder.
"…" To her credit, she didn't protest. We jogged back to the first building.
"W-wait!" Someone called.
Sebastian Mason
[- No title -]
"Wait for me! I got no one!" He cried out, "I was out here on my own since the beginning! Please, help me!"
"Sure. Come with us," I nodded, "Find the stairs. Up front."
"The first floor is safe," Sophia said from my shoulder.
"Yeah, we know." Steele nodded.
"Come on," I nodded to the new guy, "You first."
"Y-yes!" He smiled at me gratefully, and jogged in front of me.
"..."
As I followed him in the hallway inside, I fixed my eyes on his back.
'Identify.'
Name: Sebastian Mason
Age: 16
Title: [- No title -]
Status Effects: [Deep Wound(Badly Bandaged)(Dirty)(Infected)](left arm), [Necro-Virus Infection (First Stage)]
"…" I stayed silent as I read the status effect, looking him up and down.
He had blood on his left arm. The deep wound. Probably a bite.
"Over here!" Someone called.
Jaune Arc
[- Leader -]
Jaune Arc, standing in front of the stairs at the end of a corridor, was waving at us. We jogged to him.
"Shean Mauve and Steve Greenleaf?" He asked us.
"It's Steele Yellowleaf…" Steele sighed.
"Sorry," Jaune chuckled awkwardly, "Um. Ebony, Sylvia and Daryl are all safe up there."
I nodded at him, feeling a weight on my chest being lifted. "Good. Here," I gave him Sophia, "She's got a fracture."
"…I'm sorry." She said, clearly frustrated by her injury.
"Don't worry about it… We'll handle it." Jaune reassured her kindly. He adjusted her in his arms, carrying her bridal style. "Well, thanks, uh… Shean."
"Hey, Sebastian." I called the guy who was already climbing the stairs. "Wait a second."
"Y-you know me?!" The poor guy's eyes lit up.
"Come here." I just said.
"We need to hurry," Jaune hissed, "It's too risky down there."
"One second." I said, and grabbed Sebastian's arm and forcibly rolled up his sleeve.
"Look," I told Jaune, Steele and Sophia. They widened their eyes, staring at the bite wound. "This guy was bitten. He is infected."
"N-no!" Sebastian struggled in my grip. "I-I'm not!"
I released him, pushing him in front of Jaune, who carefully took a step back. "Explain this to him, then."
"Th-this… this was a bite from a dog!" Sebastian pleaded desperately, "I swear, it was from a dog! I'm not infected!"
I shook my head. "Yeah, you're a fucking bullshitter, aren't you." I groaned, and drew one of my goblin knives.
"Wait!" Jaune Arc called.
I gritted my teeth, raising my knife to the guy's throat as I held him against my chest.
"S-stop!" He gasped, tears rolling down his cheek. "P-please...! I'm not infected...!"
Fuck... Why should this liar live, when Caitlyn died?
"What is it?" I asked the blonde, "He's infected. I know it for sure."
"When did you get bitten?" He asked Sebastian.
"J-just now! Like, five minutes ago! It was a dog!"
"You shut the hell up with your lies…!" I groaned angrily.
"I said wait." Jaune stopped me, grabbing my hand. "We can restrain him. Put him in quarantine. So we can be sure he's infected."
"Why take the risk?! I know for a fact he's infected, I got a skill for it." I scoffed. "Killing an infected doesn't give +300% XP. Killing a player, does."
"I don't care about XP." Jaune replied, narrowing his eyes at me, "I'm not killing someone who has a slight chance of not being infected. And I can't just trust you on your word, when I know people are incentivized to kill."
"Go ask Ebony and Sylvia, then." I smirked, "They'll tell you I'm trustworthy."
"But I don't trust their opinion." He replied flatly. "They knew you for only two weeks. That's not enough."
I stared at him, raising my eyebrows.
"This… isn't how we do things anyway." Jaune continued, glancing at Sophia, before looking back at me. "I'm assuming he is infected, just like you. But we do things differently here. He deserves respect." He frowned at me, "And... If you want to live with us, there are a few rules you'll need to follow."
I narrowed my eyes at him, unimpressed.
How the hell did this wimp survive all this time?
And rules? I did not do well with rules that weren't mine.
"Shean…" Steele spoke up, "He was just bitten. If we restrain him… We'll be able to observe the different stages of infection. And the incubation period… The first and final symptoms… We would learn a lot."
"…" I glanced at him, before staring back at Jaune.
"He's got a good point," He nodded at me. "You should listen to him."
"...Fine." I sighed. "You win. Let's get this piece of shit up there."
"Th-thank you!" Sebastian gasped.
"Thank you. I'm sure you won't regret it." Jaune nodded at me, and we climbed upstairs.
We passed by a barricade, and two Faunus closed it behind us.
The corridor on the first floor was clearly devoid of monsters. We passed by more people, who looked at us with suspicion.
However, when Jaune nodded at them, they relaxed and stopped staring.
Just, how many people were in this building exactly?
We passed by a large classroom, and I took a peak inside.
I widened my eyes.
"…Wow…" Steele breathed besides me.
Ten… No, twenty-something people were in there, divided in small groups, each minding their own business. Some were cooking, others were organizing various items like weapons or armor pieces, others were building barricades or crafting weapons.
And most importantly, in a corner of the room, huge boxes were stockpiled. One of which was open. There were many food products inside.
This was... a community…?