Finally, I'm done with this chapter. I was trying to decide whether or not it should be longer than what I already have, but I decided to keep it how it is. There was no point in over-doing it.

This chapter mainly deals with Weiss and Jaune's first lessons with magic. Some other world-building concepts along with historical institutions in this world as well. Next week, I'll get to the fun stuff, when I have Jaune forge Ruby's scythe and rebuild his armour.

Pulling his locker open, Jaune considered whether or not to wear any of his armour. The breastplate still needed to be repaired, meaning he needed to pound the metal back out or melt the entire thing down. It could be done in a single night or over the weekend, but he needed to also work on a scythe for Ruby.

He grabbed the breastplate with both hands and took a long look at it, visualising the condition and the stats of the piece.

Jaune's Breastplate

Level 10

Materials: 2% Silicon, 0.60% Carbon, Remainder is Steel and Leather

Minimum Stat Requirements:

Strength: 21

Agility: 15

Defence: 16

Constitution: 22

Debuff:

Damaged

The damaged plate is more susceptible to being pierced from a weapon. A well-placed war hammer or even a bodkin arrow will punch through the plate.

Arrgghhh... It's not even worth it! Just better to melt it down after I'm done with Weiss. I can't even wear it like this! The chest piece is all caved in!

Jaune tossed his breastplate back into his locker. Nobody else was in here to hear all of the commotion going on. Notably, the loud clang as the metal slammed into the locker. That would have drawn plenty of unwanted attention to him, and he didn't need any more of that. Any attention from Cardin was most undesirable.

Luckily Cardin had made himself scarce around the academy lately, so Jaune didn't have to deal with him. Apparently, Professor Goodwitch saw that allowing Yang to beat the shit of him was punishment enough. Jaune wanted to get his own licks in as well before the semester came to a close in a few months.

Jaune didn't want to hurt Cardin. Well, actually, he wanted to hurt him. But Jaune more or less wanted to humiliate Cardin in Combat Class. Because attacking an already injured person was the best way to prove you were tough. Once Jaune had fully recovered, the gloves were going to come off.

It would be an excellent way to test out his newest ability too. The Longinuslanze Testament was the name given to the power. Which was weird since Jaune barely knew what a lance looked like. He assumed it was like a halberd or some kind of spear. Or a mix of both.

But the ability seemed to be based around the same premise as Arclight. Another way to fight the undead or monsters. One being an AOE attack affecting everything in the surrounding area, and the other was a summonable weapon.

What intrigued Jaune the most about the Longinuslanze Testament was the additional effects it had on him. It would never miss, and it would sunder all armour upon contact. Which was awesome. Maybe it would give him an edge if he ever needed to go up against Pyrrha? That woman seems to be an absolute monster concerning combat.

I should talk to her more actually. Might help me get over my inability to talk to girls. And she's kind of a third wheel compared to everyone else. I can't imagine how boring it must have been during her quest with Sun and Blake. Pyrrha's like the more mature version of Ruby. If they combined both Weiss' personality and Ruby's, you would get Pyrrha.

Jaune looked back down into his locker. His brand new set of gear was tucked into the space with his other set of armour. There was no point in wearing that either because it slowed him down due to the weight and his stats being too low. He could wear the leather under armour, but for whatever Weiss had planned for him, it was best not to wear anything too expensive.

He looked at himself through the mirror. His chest was still bruised in most areas, and some of the blotches took on a brownish-green appearance. It was healing, at least. His Aura had recovered a little more since this morning, too. Breaking the halfway mark at fifty-four per cent.

The Aura regeneration debuff was still active. It wouldn't go away until his Aura had fully regenerated. Something that proved to be very irritating for the boy.

I wish it would just go away so I could go back to questing. I'm getting bored just having to sit around all day and do nothing. I feel useless. I can't be myself while this debuff is active.

"Ugghhh," Jaune let out a grunt of frustration.

I need to go find Weiss soon.

Jaune shut the locker after slipping on his shirt. Just some simple cloth would suffice for this training session. Weiss didn't wear armour either, but, instead, she had spells to protect her and Jaune didn't have that kind of fancy stuff. Except for his shield spell.

To Jaune, magical wards were too unpredictable for him. He heard of flesh spells before but never tried them out, and the premise was simple. It was merely meant to provide a barrier against weapons or magic. Much like regular amour, but flesh spells were composed of pure magicka.

The issue with making something that was supposed to be composed out of an ethereal substance is that it can fail. The ways it can fail are plentiful. Your magicka reserves could become depleted, the spell could wear off, or you could lose focus and let your lack of concentration on the incantation dispell it. And it becomes more of an issue when you do not have any protection other than cloth, and you are reliant on magical wards. You have no, 'plan b,' if you rely on them.

Good ole fashioned steel, however. That material is solid no matter what. So long as you take care of the metal and don't let it oxidise, you are good. The best part, you don't have to concentrate when wearing it. You just need to be able to fit the stat requirements and can run around all day with constant protection.

...

Weiss had determined she and Jaune were going to commandeer Professor Goodwitch's arena for their first lesson. He wasn't sure how Weiss had managed to do that, but Jaune was going to go along with it. There weren't any lessons being held there this afternoon either.

Hopefully, Professor Goodwitch gave her blessing and allowed them some time in the arena. It would have been really embarrassing to get caught in a place where they should not have been. Not to mention what people would think of the most unpopular knight in the school getting found with a mage sneaking into a deserted section of the academy.

Professor Goodwitch would have thrown a fit, and deal out the worst punishment imaginable. Given how Professor Goodwitch hands out her punishments and the fact she is a terrifying person. Jaune did not want to get on her bad side. Especially since she seemed to enjoy corporeally punishing people by either smacking them over the head with her wand or using some sort of spell to equal effect. Neither of those was preferable.

The arena was just outside the main hall, so it was a shorter walk to there compared to the women's dorms. While it was connected to the great hall, the stadium was more accessible from the courtyard. But given that it was a higher traffic area, he was more likely to run into someone he knew and end up wasting more time. Weiss was also very specific about what time Jaune was supposed to show up. And he didn't want to get an entire lecture about being on time for a lesson.

Walking through the halls, Jaune took note of some of the many students. Most had dressed down and out of their uniforms. Some still wore their robes and appeared to have just recently left classes. A few were wearing their combat gear, looking as though they might head out on a quest or begin training with their respective weapons.

Ever since questing started up for the first-year students. Most of the class was off doing training, but few decided to begin heading out on quests. The first day back at the academy, Jaune noticed there was still plenty of students wandering around doing nothing. Professor Peach's class and Dr Oobleck's lecture were practically empty, which were the only classes where second-years and third-years attended in majority alongside the first-years. Every one of them was missing. It left Jaune and some of his friends as the only students present.

He noticed Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora, all heading towards the doors leading to the central courtyard. Nora gave Jaune a wave while boisterously yelling, "Hi, Jaune!" Ren acknowledged him with a nod. And Pyrrha politely waved.

Jaune gave a two-finger salute and kept going. Luckily, they seemed to be busy and didn't care to start a conversation. He didn't want to either. Jaune figured he had maybe ten minutes before he absolutely needed to be there for the training session.

Leaving the main hall and crossing over an adjacent clearing. Jaune was met with more students. A few teachers as well were among the groups. Jaune spotted a group of second-year students telling a story to a group of first-years.

The second-years hadn't put the students to sleep yet like Professor Port, so that was a good sign.

I swear the man can put an entire army to sleep just by opening his mouth! Who goes on a forty-minute rant about how he managed to kill a beezle! And at least half of the story is embellished into the realm of fiction!

There was some inkling or semblance of strategy for monster hunting when it came to his stories. But to find that strategy, one must root through and decipher it. Usually, it was how he killed or rendered the monster incapacitated. But you still needed to sort through his exaggerations to cherry-pick the most appropriate ways for a plan.

At least Dr Oobleck just told you where you could read up on everything. Even if you couldn't understand him, one was able to swing by the library and grab some books. Professor Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin took the time to explain everything in painstaking detail. But they still wanted their students to reread the information surrounding the lessons.

...

Once he crossed the courtyard, Jaune found himself in front of the coliseum. The damn thing was massive. At least five stories high in some places. It was large enough to hold crowds into the thousands for tourneys and even gladiatorial matches between representatives of the academies.

Jaune pulled the massive doors open and slipped inside. As expected, this place was going to be mostly deserted. Students usually reserved the smaller training arenas for themselves and their friends. Those were easier to maintain due to their smaller size, and wouldn't be too expensive to repair if the students ended up damaging anything.

Pushing through another set of doors, Jaune was greeted with the main arena. The sandpit was cleaned recently and raked over, giving the space an excellent finish. None of the sand seemed to be disturbed and looked to be in superb condition.

Weiss stood in the centre of the circle. Tapping her right foot impatiently waiting for Jaune to arrive. "You're late," she spoke up, giving Jaune one of her stares.

How did she know I was here?! And I'm not even late!

Jaune lept over the railing into the pit. His landing wasn't perfect, stumbling once he made contact with the sand. "First of all, I'm not late," Jaune listed with his fingers. "And second, I'm ten minutes early!"

I was courteous enough to show up early for this! I take offence to that!

"Ugghh, fine," Weiss groaned. "I guess I cannot chastise you for being late! Typically, it is expected of someone to arrive at an engagement fifteen minutes prior. But, given we are not in Atlas, I cannot project onto you."

Are they that strict about punctuality? I'm glad Vale is a little more laid back! But Weiss probably had that hammered into her head since she was a kid.

"Why the arena, again," Jaune jumped to another tangent. "The library or one of the smaller training rooms would have been fine." He scratched the back of his head while doing a full three-sixty of the room. "It's private, but are we even allowed in here?"

"Ms Goodwitch allowed us to use the arena for today," Weiss answered. "I explained how someone with as little experience in magic as you could cause quite a bit of damage if they were to use one of the smaller training rooms." Towards the end, she even had a smirk on her lips.

"Heeyyyy," Jaune whined at the burn. "I'm not bad! I know how to cast spells, they just never work!" It was bullshit too! Hundreds of hours of effort to try the same incantations over and over resulted in nothing. Shields spells worked so far, but he still needed to practice with those too.

"If you say so," Weiss mumbled under her breath. "But I was not lying about the damage inexperienced magic users can cause."

Oh, so she wasn't making fun of me!

"Do you remember Professor Ozpin's first lecture," she asked. "When he said, 'magic can destroy you if you are not able to control it.'" She wasn't quoting him verbatim, but Jaune was getting the gist.

"Wait! So that can actually happen?!" Jaune was dreading her answer. Weiss would have been one of those people to give him the worst possibilities upfront before saying the good news.

Weiss nodded. "Yes, many novice mages are prone to accidents when they begin their studies," she explained as she began pacing back and forth. "Think of mages as venomous snakes. Younger vipers tend to inject all of their venom in one strike. While the older more experienced of them can control how much they release." It was an excellent analogy. But it didn't cast mages in a good light.

"So, what would happen if a mage released all of their magic at once," Jaune asked for clarification.

"Among the many painful ways to die," Weiss began listing what might be some of Jaune's greatest fears. "You run the risk of being: vaporised, eviscerated, blown to pieces, turned inside-out, amputation, decapitation, and sterilisation." She finished with her expression not even willing to flinch. "Then again, you might accidentally transport yourself into another dimension."

WHAT!

Jaune couldn't find the words. How could he hope to craft a response to that? She was totally serious about it too! "Uhhhh..." Jaune's brain fizzled and died. His face contorted into one of shock and mortification.

"Yes, shocking isn't it," she asked, rhetorically, with that same unflinching expression. "But don't worry, those are the worst-case scenarios. Most likely, you'll end up burning the palms of your hands. Usually, even those minor injuries are a rare occurrence. Major injuries tend to occur when you are using higher-level incantations or attempting to bend space-time. But frankly, that is far beyond your ability and even my own."

That's reassuring. Hopefully, I don't break the space-time continuum. Weiss wouldn't let me hear the end of it.

"Is there anything else I should know," Jaune pushed further. He didn't want to leave out any potential gaps that could form. Not to mention the potential risk of death if he screwed up badly enough. Getting blown to pieces would have been the epitome of Jaune's luck.

She nodded. "I figured using Ms Goodwitch's arena would allow us more privacy," Weiss explained, her mood turning sombre. "You clearly understand the public's opinion on mages, and I would prefer if we were left alone."

That seems like a solid reason. I know Weiss was hurt when Cardin made fun of her for being a mage.

"Yeah," Jaune nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "The last person we want showing up is Cardin." This would be the worst time for Jaune's words to come back and bite him in the ass. Isn't the bad guy supposed to show up as soon as you mention him?

"Especially since my Champion is unarmed, and I doubt Cardin would attempt fighting by himself," Weiss spat as her veil of a calm demeanour seemed to dissipate.

"Champion?"

What the hell is that supposed to mean? I thought I was her partner.

Weiss' face seemed to momentarily flush in the dim light. "Champions, or, Seconds, are a mage's chosen protector, or partner," she explained. "The practice of choosing a guardian began in Vale originally. Before the rise of this system, mages would duel each other for supremacy and as a way to show their prowess in magic. This led to the deaths of thousands of mages due to our class' stubborn pride. And when mages began dwindling in number, the loss of a single member of our class would continuously destabilise the local region. To preserve the population of magic users, kings drew upon the practice of the armies of their time. It was common practice for a commander to choose their best soldier and have them fight the opposing army's chosen one. This system lessened the amount of bloodshed between warring factions and led to the swift end of any disagreements."

"So, I would have to fight for you if someone challenged you," Jaune nervously asked.

Please don't tell me I have to fight to the death whenever someone decides they want to show off! With my luck, I would end up facing the strongest knight out there and get my ass handed to me.

"No," Weiss replied, her mood changing to an indifferent one. "The practice of battling for supremacy died out several centuries ago. Mages nowadays prefer compromising and cooperating with each other, but the need for Champions remained. Now, it is merely kept for nostalgic purposes and as a way to show companionship between members of the mages and the warriors."

"So, I'm a member of a dying institution," Jaune replied.

Hopefully, I don't get dragged to every party she gets invited too as her personal bodyguard. I'm not some manservant after all.

"Yes," she agreed with him. "But other than that. You are associating with a mage to further both parties interests."

I wonder what she's getting out of this.

"However, before we begin," Weiss continued. Her tone becoming solemn, providing Jaune with a cue to be quiet and listen to what she had to say. The young woman's expression shifted from her firey confidence to a more timid nervousness. "I would like to be honest with you about something..." She turned away, looking off to the side for a moment or two. "I have not told anybody else this, since my arrival in Vale. And I am saying this to you in confidence, so not another soul can know!"

"Okay," Jaune agreed. "What's it about?"

Jaune was growing nervous as well. There were a million things Weiss could say to him, and he had no idea what it could be. This was really the second deep-ish conversation the two had ever had too. Most, if not all, had been debates or objective discussions, trying to get to a point. Weiss' demeanour whenever she tried to talk to him about anything important, never let their conversations grow that deep anyway. The first time they had a heart to heart was because Weiss was pissed off at Cardin and it forced her to drop her barriers.

"I have only shared with you the fact my family is a prestigious member of Atlesian society," she began, summoning whatever confidence she had left. "However, that is not the entire truth... It's only an understatement."

"Go on..." Jaune was already aware she was wealthy, given the little information he had on the girl.

Weiss glared up at him, cheeks flushing a bright red colour. "I'M TRYING YOU DUNCE, DON'T RUSH ME," she shouted in embarrassment at the boy. Jaune had to hold back a smile, seeing his crush get all embarrassed like that was too cute. "It's the fact my family is not just another member of the nobility or a wealthy family with titles and their hands in everybody's pockets! The Schnee's are the head of Atlas. We are royalty!"

If Jaune had water in his mouth right now, he surely would have spat it all out. This revelation was literally a bomb that had just been dropped in his lap. It caused the boy to just take a second and think about this news. Because he never expected one of his friends to be royalty. What would prepare a person for something like this? And Jaune always thought she was just a noble's child who was allowed to attend school in Vale.

"W-When you said, 'head of Atlas,' you meant..." Jaune tried to ask a question, stuttering with the obvious presence of confusion in his tone.

"My father is the king, and I am in line for the throne," Weiss finished Jaune's thought.

"So, when Sun calls you, 'princess,' you're actually a capital 'P,' Princess," Jaune continued, trying to wrap his head around this whole thing.

"Yes," Weiss insisted loudly. "How hard is that to understand!"

"Well, I'm sorry," Jaune replied, mimicking Weiss' tone. He took a step towards her. "Maybe because I wasn't ready for one of my friends to straight up tell me, she's a Princess! How I am I supposed to believe that anyway?!" Jaune brought a hand to the back of his head, turning away from the girl slightly. "Anybody can say they're a member of a royal family. Not the first time it's happened too."

"I know that," Weiss said, calming down for a second. Her tone keeping its timidity. The Mage's hands looked to be shaking. She dug into a pocket, fishing something out. "I can't expect someone to take that at face value, so here." Weiss tossed him a small object.

Jaune caught the pendant in his right hand. It was a very hefty object. Examining the piece, Jaune noted its features. It was a round disk, nearly the size of his palm. Entirely made from pure silver. In the centre, there was what looked to be an elaborately done snowflake carved into the piece. The rest of the pendant had reliefs etched into the metal, ranging from animals to irregularly shaped lines.

Funny thing is, Jaune recognised the symbol. It was on the grimoire he picked up. The one by Archmage James Ironwood. The two sharing the same emblem could easily be a coincidence. The place where Weiss learned to use magic could have given these to their students. She might have been trying to pass off this piece of jewellery as the royal seal for Atlas.

But, Weiss wasn't the type of person who would even attempt to lie about this. So, that put Jaune in a tough place. He needed confirmation on this. Someone who would know.

Ozpin would be able to tell me...

Go figure... The girl of my dreams is either a liar or way out of my league.

"It's the royal seal used to identify members of my family," Weiss explained.

"I guessed it was..." Jaune tossed the pendant back to Weiss. "...but even if you are a Princess. What does that mean for us? Do I have to call you anything or-"

"No," Weiss cut him off. "We can continue to act cordially between our friends and us. I only wished to tell you, you could understand who exactly you are working with. J-Just don't allow it to change the way you act..." She paused for only a moment, balling her right fist up. "...I want to be treated normally!" She nearly shouted that last part. The moment the girl let those words leave her lips, she turned around with a blush that mimicked Ruby's cloak.

Jaune didn't know what to say. Her desperate attempt to keep someone she only knew for a few weeks to continue treating her normally really struck him. Right in the heart too. It made Jaune believe her a little bit more. He wasn't sure how much of it could really be an act. But he needed to reassure Weiss that he understood. Play the part for a while longer before going out to seek the truth.

Jaune let a breath out through his nose. "It's all right, Weiss," he said, trying to calm her nerves. "I get it... even if I wasn't expecting this to fall into my lap."

Weiss nodded to him, grabbing hold of her composure and standing up straight. The girl dug into her satchel, pulling out another object. It seemed to be a book. She turned back to Jaune and tossed it to him.

He caught it with both hands, not allowing it to be ruined by the sand. "What's this," Jaune asked as he skimmed over the cover. The textbook was bound in a reddish-brown leather with the corners of the covers beginning to wear. It read, Magicis Sanationis, or, Magical Healing if translated literally.

"Spell tome," Weiss answered, stepping back four paces. Her tone returning to its normal confidence. The gap was just large enough for there to be a proper duel without Jaune being able to close said gap. "With your ability to seemingly understand and then apply spells in one reading. I want you to learn that incantation, and we're going to practice using it." She crossed her arms. "Think of this session as conditioning. We're going to condition your body to better handle focusing magicka into a physical form much like how you would practice with swords or armour."

Okay...

Jaune opened the book and skimmed through the prelim.

So, the incantation is, 'Sano,' or, 'Heal.' Sounds pretty simple to me. I just need to do the same thing I did with the shield spell. Considering, I'm just casting a healing spell, I shouldn't need to worry about Weiss throwing ice shards at me.

"Now this healing spell can be cast upon yourself and others," Weiss explained. "We're going to try both and see how you handle it."

How the hell do I cast it on myself?

"Is there some sort of trick to this," Jaune reluctantly asked. "I've never used a spell on myself." Weiss' face grew into a contemplative one. Jaune wasn't sure what she was thinking.

Come on, Weiss. Use that brain of yours.

"I cannot say for certain," she answered, running her hand along her jawline. "I've never used healing magic before, so I'm unsure of any tricks that would work. The Restoration School is fundamentally different from the other two schools in theory and practice. But given it is still magic, I would attempt to cast it the same way."

So funnel magicka into your hands while saying the incantation. Got it!

Jaune prepared himself to cast the spell. He was going to use Weiss as his target and hopefully would not kill her by accident. Although she probably wouldn't die. If it ended up injuring her than Jaune would be dealing with a 'Snow Demon.' That and if she was a princess, then there would be a lot more consequences for the boy.

Here it goes.

"Sano," Jaune whispered, his voice taking on resonance as the incantation left his lips. His body subconsciously drew magicka into his hands. The green light pooled in his palms, coating them in a miasma. A stream of light jettisoned out from within his hands.

Weiss began glowing a greenish-white colour as the spell did its work. Her expression did not change, remaining indifferent as she watched Jaune. The Knight continued pouring his concentration into maintaining the spell. Hopefully, this would show both of them he wasn't completely incompetent with magic.

"Continue holding the spell," Weiss urged. "If your concentration breaks for even a second, then the incantation will shatter."

Trying...

As Jaune continued casting the spell, it was slowly tiring him out. The exhaustion was subtle at first, but as it dragged on, it felt as though Jaune was running miles while wearing full plate armour. Sweat began pooling on his brow, and his throat became dry. His legs felt like they were jelly.

Okay, can't do this anymore.

This glow in his hands flickered once. Twice. The spell broke, and Jaune fell to one knee. He coughed twice, nearly throwing up one of his lungs. Jaune kept sucking in air in large gasps, but it felt like it wasn't enough. He needed more.

How does Weiss do this every day? I feel like I ran a marathon - uphill, in the snow, while carrying someone on my back.

"That was an excellent first attempt," Weiss praised him, not moving from her spot. "You seem to be a natural when it comes to the Restoration School and the Manipulation School. However, you will need to practice with spells to more efficiently use them." She actually sounded pleased with Jaune's efforts.

I'm glad I'm a natural at this.

"So, keep casting spells," Jaune asked, still out of breath.

I've never felt this exhausted before. Kind of hungry too...

"Yes," she replied. "The more use a spell gets, the more efficient the user becomes. If you use a spell enough, then the magicka requirement is reduced by a small margin at first. And if you continuously practice with the same incantation, then that reduction will grow. Some mages are capable of casting spells with negligible costs to their magicka."

So, if I keep using spells, then I just get better with them. I can't even feel my magicka reserves, but that had to have taken a lot out of me. I think I got a full minute of use out of that spell. What if I pour more magicka into it? Maybe it will be more potent? It would be the same amount of magicka in a larger quantity.

Jaune pushed himself up. His right hand pressing against his knee to give him the needed leverage. "Okay, let's go again," he pleaded, sounding much more confident this time. Sweat still pouring off his body.

Okay, Jaune, keep practising spells. Impress Weiss. Profit.

Magic pooled in his arms. The green miasma glowed even brighter than before. The air surrounding Jaune's forearms shuddered and distorted. "Sano," he whispered, his voice echoing with the power of the incantation.

He pointed both of his hands towards Weiss. The miasma danced through the air as it flew towards the Mage. Once it made contact, her body began glowing. This time it seemed to have an effect on her. Was she becoming... flustered?

Weiss' cheeks were flushed a deep red. She seemed to have trouble standing up. The Mage did her best to stifle a gasp. That was not the intended effect.

Okay, this is weird. Not sure what to say.

"Uhhh, Weiss," he uttered, clearly concerned for the Mage. Jaune stopped casting the spell. This time he wasn't as exhausted as he was previously, but he hadn't cast the spell for any longer than ten seconds.

Hopefully, I didn't do anything wrong. I mean, I've never seen anybody act like that before. If she's pissed at me, then any hope of even being friends with her is out the window. Then I'm going to look like an idiot!

She held one of her fingers up, silencing him from speaking any further. Weiss took in several breaths as she composed herself. Soon the blush dissipated, and her normal ardent shade took over.

Yeah, this is pretty awkward...

"I-I'm fine, Arc," she stammered, still speaking in her same cold manner. "Healing magic has an unintended side effect creating the sensation of euphoria in the target. It was manageable when you cast Heal the first time, but the second time was much stronger."

Oh... So that's what happened. Then it must have felt good?

"Hehehe," Jaune nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I-I kind of funnelled more magicka into the spell. I-I'm sorry if it hurt or was uncomfortable!"

Please don't be angry with me! I-I didn't mean it!

"No, it's fine," Weiss insisted, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The feeling one gets when they are subjected to healing magic is analogous to taking a warm bath. Had it hurt, we wouldn't be having this conversation, and I would have tossed you to the other side of the room."

I wouldn't have liked that. I prefer the first one. It's less painful.

"Okay," Jaune said, chuckling again. "So, should we continue or call it a day? I'm feeling pretty tired after that second spell."

Weiss shook her head. "No, we have to practice using the spell on yourself," she urged. "That exhaustion your feeling is merely your magicka pool being used up. It is an arbitrary method to judge how much you have left. Someone with a lower Willpower stat might not be able to use their magicka as efficiently, and thus yours is being drained faster than normal."

"Alright," Jaune sighed. Resigning himself to furthering his exhaustion. He was feeling even more drained after the second spell. Now that he was thinking about it.

...

Jaune took up his stance. Okay, so how do I do this? He skimmed the book again. There was no mention of how he could focus the spell inward and on himself. Maybe it was the direction of his hands that mattered.

"Sano," he whispered the incantation for the third time. The magicka pooled in his palms, and instead of focusing it towards Weiss. He weaved it into a ball. The small grapefruit-sized sphere of condensed magicka floated in front of his chest.

Okay, try to focus it inward and see if that works.

He shifted his hands so they could face him. Jaune let the magicka sphere enter him and fuse with his body. He waited for something to happen.

Seconds passed, and still nothing.

Why is nothing happening?

"Eeeerrgghhh," Jaune let out what was between a scream and a howl as a sudden shock ripped through his body. It was as if he had been struck by a thousand lightning bolts. The force behind it and the pain pinned him to the ground, and he couldn't find the strength to attempt standing up again.

"Arc," Weiss shouted as she ran over to him. She kneeled down next to him as he writhed in pain. "I need you to talk to me! What's wrong?!" Jaune could feel her hands on his shoulders as she shook him.

Jaune took in a breath, holding his gut in the vain hope he could dull the pain. "I-I don't know," he cried out, the after-effects were keeping him from constructing a full sentence. Tears fell from his eyes.

Weiss lifted his head and cradled it in her lap. "Shhhh," she consoled him. "Try to focus on your breathing." Jaune did just that.

They stayed like that for several minutes. Jaune continued to writhe, letting out the occasional groan. The pain would rise and fall with every breath he took. It tingled and shocked him more and more.

Eventually, the pain slowly dissipated to the point where Jaune couldn't feel anything. His chest and abs were numb, but it was feeling better now.

What was that? It hurt like hell.

Jaune sat up, still clutching his stomach. He didn't want to move too quickly lest the risk of passing out. And he didn't want to throw up because he was really feeling like doing just that.

"Weiss," Jaune groaned, with pain still in the back of his mind. "I think we should call it a day. There's no way I can keep going." He didn't want to be the quitter, but after that, there was no point in continuing this training session. Maybe after taking a short rest, he could go to the library and figure out what the hell just happened. Or he could go to the forge where he would be more at home.

"I understand," Weiss agreed, standing up and dusting herself off. "I'm not sure of what that was, but I think we need to be careful from now on. A simple healing spell should not have caused that." Yeah, you're not the one who felt it. I'm never doing that again! "We can take a break today, but I want to continue training. We should meet here when class ends every day."

"Yeah," Jaune mumbled, pushing himself to his feet. "That's fine."

"I think we should supplement our training with fencing practice as well," Weiss continued, heading to arena's exit. "While your swordsmanship is okay, you lack technique. Preferring to brawl or finishing your opponents in one strike when they have been stunned."

"What's wrong with my style," Jaune whined, following behind Weiss. "It's worked so far."

I only got the crap beat out of me because I was too weak or I blocked an arrow with my stomach.

"Frankly," Weiss began, listing her gripes against him. "It's sloppy, unprecise, and unfitting of one in your position. So I am seeing to it, personally, that you are whipped into shape."

Lovely...

"And you are going to the infirmary," Weiss added on, making it sound like Jaune had no option but to accept. "I've already invested my time into training you, and I expect you to remain in top shape!"

"Really," Jaune complained, sounding like a child.

Why do we have to go back there?! That priestess is going to scold me for getting hurt again!

I decided to end it here because I saw no point in dragging you guys any further. It wouldn't have been a good scene regardless and would have turned out like the last time he and Weiss went to the infirmary. So cutting it here was the best option.

I also want to work on some of the other fics I'm writing. I haven't posted anything for a while for Beacon's Number One and The Lengths We Must Go To, so I want to get something up eventually. And making this a shorter chapter would have been the best plan.

I'm also going to begin posting those fics on a rotational basis. I want to keep posting this fic on a weekly basis, but I'm going to rotate the others.

Level Seventeen

Strength 33 (+5)

Agility 17 (+3)

Defence 23 (+3)

Perception 27 (+3)

Constitution 33 (+3)

Intelligence 40 (+5)

Charisma 21 (+3)

Willpower 14 (+2)

...

Abilities

Arclight

A high-intensity explosion of light, equivalent to that of the sun. Burns the flesh of undead and magical entities. Momentarily blinds living and non-magical entities. Sudden magical intensity can cause affected to flee regardless of status.

Active Debuff:

Turn and Face The Sun!

Longinuslanze Testament

A most unholy weapon. Forged by our lord to answer to only one master. He who has the will to dominate such a blade.

It shall sunder any armour. It shall never miss its mark. It shall grow with your own strength. Its holy light searing all who stand to oppose it.

In turn, you shall become vulnerable to attacks whilst wielding this unholy relic. It shall challenge your mastery by forcing you to fight at your full strength.

...

Miscellaneous Knowledge/Buffs/etc.

Monster Slayer

Spent years studying the various monsters of Remnant. Knows the different species and taxonomy of each known creature. Understands the weaknesses of most known monsters.

Armour and Weapons Smith

Worked a forge for his entire life. Jaune is able to judge the composition of metals, and know the condition of his weapons and armour.

Active Debuff

Aura Exhaustion

Aura will not fully generate for several days. Due to differences in constitution values, the duration for the debuff to be active can differ from person to person. With the debuff active, you are more susceptible to injuries and you may experience hypersensitivity in certain regions of your body.

Gear:

Jaune's Breastplate

Level 10

Materials: 2% Silicon, 0.60% Carbon, Remainder is Steel and Leather

Minimum Stat Requirements:

Strength: 21

Agility: 15

Defence: 16

Constitution: 22

Debuff:

Damaged

The damaged plate is more susceptible to being pierced from a weapon. A well-placed warhammer or even a bodkin arrow will punch through the plate.

Eagle's Armour

Level Twenty Eight

Materials: Unknown Alloy Ratio of Enchanted Steel and Corundom, Carbon Steel, and Leather

Minimum Stat Requirements:

Strength: 57

Agility: 25

Defence: 30

Constitution: 39

Buffs:

This specific alloy of steel and corundom is less dense than normal steel while just as hard. It has a strength to weight ratio similar to menachanite allowing the user to build a thicker armour without sacrificing for weight.

This armour was also specially built for you. The measurements fit your body exactly, allowing it to be worn as a second skin granting a tremendous degree of flexibility.

Next update: When I get it done!