Please read the AN. I got some shit I want to tell you. If you don't want to read the whole thing, scroll down about halfway.
So we need to discuss Jaune's new hairstyle.
If you haven't seen it yet, go look on the RWBY wiki and take a gander at his pictures. You'll see.
Now, my opinion on the style.
"Very nice, I Like," he says in his best Borat voice.
I think it's a good look for Jaune. It's a new look that I think would have a funny backstory to it. Maybe Nora and Yang holding him down and cutting his hair?
And before I continue any further. I will display my bias to blond hair styling. Because any professional must display their bias while writing!
Exit this fic and go to my profile. Once you're there, take a good hard look at that Discount Chris Hemsworth. (The avatar next to the stories.)
It's ya boi Bangs!
*Girls run and scream in terror.*
Yeah, that's me... The only blond dude who styled his hair in my senior class. (Fauxhawk for the win!)
So, I immediately liked Jaune's new hairstyle. For that reason. Mainly because it looks good. I can also cosplay as a shorter and buffer version of him now. (Hurray!) (That picture is only going to be up there for a few days so look while you can ladies.)
I think it's a good change because while every character has had some change to their clothing. Not all of the characters have changed their hair. Yang and Nora are the only ones who have gone without a change in their hair. Besides, it looks better on Jaune compared to his long hair if we look at it from a fashion standpoint.
Maybe it doesn't seem like the good ol' Jaune we know and love. But, frankly, this change is a nice one. I like it.
But for RWBY Vol. 7.
I'm going into that shit cold as ice! I'm just going to watch it for RWBY! Because I want to see where the story is going. I gives no fucks about whether or not it is as good as Vol. 3. There is no way to match that again, so of course the show will go downhill! (I loved the last three volumes BTW! Vol. 6 was too short in my opinion but whatevs)
Remember the teachings of Kratos. "Keep your expectations low and you will never be disappointed!"
In other news, I'm planning on doing a major retcon of this story. Before I continue any further, I am going back through out the entire fic and will be polishing it up! Adding stuff in and taking stuff out.
Most notably, replacing the OC with Sun Wukong. We're bringing our boy off the bench because I looked back and realised I couldn't work this story with an OC among the group, so we're dropping him off. He'll remain a background character or most likely be taken off entirely.
Why Sun you may ask? Because I was going to bring him in later in this fic, but decided he would be better spent not with Neptune and his team. It just seemed like a waste not using him when the OC is basically a personality clone of Sun. Also because I can have him talk shit with Weiss.
I'm going to spend more time developing Jaune's feelings for Weiss too. I don't think I did a great job on that and will add to the chapters, showing Jaune falling for Weiss even harder than he was before!
But for this chapter. We is hunting spiders!
This chapter serves to send us off into the real story. Because what causes our protagonists to take on their quest is never something as simple as being assigned it or searching for an enemy. It's having the problem come running up to you in the middle of the night, trying to tear your throat out!
Or protags will get thrown into the main campaign against their will! That's how it is in most video games! Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, The Witcher series, and most other RPGs.
I'm also planning on developing Jaune and Ruby's relationship a bit more as the pace will slow down. She and Yang are going to become Jaune's adopted sisters more or less and I want them to get to know each other better.
Also, Guild Girl from the Grimmjack Goblin Slayer abridged series is my fucking spirit animal!
Edit Notes (2/6/20): Minour edits made to this chapter. Removed the last pieces of the OC in this story. Now Sun has fully taken hold of his position.
A gust of wind swept through the forest, bringing with it a fresh breeze of air. The draft ruffled Jaune's hair, blowing it into his eyes. A swipe with his hand put it back into place. However, the rest of the forest shook and stirred without pause as the gust pushed the branches in the canopy back and forth, making them sway in the wind.
Jaune looked up, admiring the forest around him. It was simply pretty. The green canvas hanging above his head cast shadows down onto the floor with only the occasional rays of light poking through the thick layer of leaves. Flowers grew in small clearings or near any bodies of water in every imaginable colour: red, blue, white, yellow, and even black. Small animals scurried about, minding their own business as they foraged for food.
The boy who had been sightseeing for some time was carrying only his satchel and weapons on him. Same for Weiss, and Ruby, yet they didn't bring any bags. Today was not anything like their previous quests. It was more of an errand, really. A ten-mile hike through rough terrain to the spider nest and teleporting back to town.
The group also had to find it, since they were only given a general area for where it could be, however, it shouldn't be that much of an issue. Especially for a low-level creature.
Nobody needed to bring along anything more than a day-pack and whatever tools they needed. Jaune had the food on him, but not much else outside his normal kit. It wasn't a quest that required too much involvement on their part. Just search and destroy.
As for the plan on how to deal with the spiders, however...
They didn't get anywhere in the three hours they had been walking so far. Weiss eventually suggested they stop debating over it and come up with a plan when they could see the nest. Jaune liked that one better, but it didn't seem very Ice Queen-like.
Jaune snorted internally at the name.
Naturally, Yang had been the first one to come up with it as a joke due to her 'icy' nature. Eventually, it caught on and was now Weiss' nickname. It didn't help that everyone called her that now. However, it was funny watching Weiss get irritated at the name.
Jaune even called her that out of good-natured teasing every once in a while.
Of course, she was embarrassed by him calling her that. Weiss would get all flustered and then start calling him names in return. It made her look so cute sometimes, which left Jaune wishing he never stopped pursuing her occasionally.
Suddenly, butterflies formed inside Jaune's stomach. The feeling was similar to being punched in the gut or even worse than that. How his intestines stirred from the onset of adrenaline.
Huh... Why did I have to think about that again?
The image of Weiss with reddened cheeks appeared at the forefront of his mind. Her pearl white skin made her blush even more apparent. She had a slight pout on her lips juxtaposed by her narrowed eyes, showing off her irritation.
Stop it-Stop it-Stop it! Why does this keep happening to me?!
First Weiss woke up next to me! Now I can't stop thinking about her! Is this going to become a regular thing now?! Then, Lara!
UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, she was so cute!
Weiss is right too! It's not like I'm going to see her again.
That beautiful fox-faunus had been on his mind for quite some time recently; still kind of was. Specifically, the hug because that's the kind of thing Jaune was looking forward to with any girl. At least any girl that would give him the time of day.
I should write a memoir...
"The Depressed Life That is Jaune Arc." Detailing his many attempts at getting a girlfriend and failing at even the basics. Then all of my other plans went down the drain when I became a Paladin.
Somebody might buy it and get a laugh out of it. Hell, they might even pity me or just call me an idiot! Not like I don't deserve it because all of this is my fault!
Jaune threw his head backwards and let out a loud sigh.
I really need to try getting over Weiss...
"Hey, Jaune," a voice drew him back to reality.
He let his head fall forwards and trained his eyes on the origin of said voice. Ruby had turned around, walking backwards behind Weiss now facing Jaune. The girl had a neutral yet cheerful look on her face. And Ruby was always sparkling, or at least, most of the time she was.
"Yeah..."
"Oh, you looked like you were spacing out," she said, almost hesitantly. "I called you a few times, and you didn't answer."
"Sorry," Jaune apologised, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I was thinking. Didn't hear you..."
"Was it about the fight," Ruby immediately followed up.
No, I was just angsting over Weiss and the really pretty girl I rescued yesterday...
"Yeah, I was going over it in my head," he lied without pause. "There's some stuff I want to try improving."
To Jaune, he sounded like a huge liar. Probably due to him actually knowing what was going on, but not much else to really base it off of. Maybe it was due to how his mood had shifted since Jaune was purely playing the part.
"Oo-oo-oo-oo," Ruby uttered as she came up with something, bouncing up and down on her toes.
Her reaction to what Jaune said gave him some credit to his acting skills. That said, it was difficult to know how Ruby was going to react to anything. At least Weiss was more predictable.
"You and Yang should spar," Ruby her idea known, pointing at him. "I've never seen you two fight! You could handle her!" She paused for a few moments. "It would be great practice! She's like... the best at boxing!"
Thanks, Ruby... Just throw me to the wolves while you're at it.
I should write this down. 'Never let Yang hear about me getting into a bar fight.'
Jaune chuckled. "I'm gonna take a hard pass on that," he said in a joking yet friendly tone. "I don't want to get sent back to my parents in a shoebox." He cupped his chin, looking upwards for a second before turning back to Ruby. "Also, it doesn't count as practice when one of us is going to be stomped into the ground without a fight."
Vampires, goblins, and giant spiders. Jaune could contest with. A very pissed off and very strong woman was an entirely different animal. Especially since Yang was probably two or three times stronger than him.
"Nah," she said. "You could take her. But..." Ruby took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Speaking of parents. You never told us what Bar was like! I just remembered we asked you about that!"
And back to this conversation!
That question had come up last night before Jaune had started trading haymakers with some bandits. He hadn't planned to lie about anything since he had already informed Yang of some of the story. However, it was not something he wanted to go around telling everyone.
Huh... She's got you backed in Jaune. Dodge the question and raise suspicion, or go ahead and water down the truth and risk her thinking you lied. Best to tell the truth about my parents and sisters at least.
I don't think I would pass the speech check otherwise... Damn Charisma.
"Hmmm," Jaune hummed to himself while gathering his thoughts. "Well, do you remember when we were back in Westburg?"
"It's not hard to forget," Weiss spoke up from the front, making Jaune realise she had been listening in. Likely, the painful experience of being embarrassed in front of a noble branded the memory in her mind.
"Yes..." Ruby answered, agreeing with Weiss, although seemingly unsure of her answer. It was possible that she may have forgotten about that quest or let it slip from her mind.
"It's a lot like that," Jaune explained curtly. "I think I mentioned it when we were walking up to the castle. Sir Samson also told you guys pretty much everything when he recognised me. But my Dad used to be a mercenary but focused on hunting monsters most of the time."
He hadn't ever explained that part to the girls yet. They didn't ask, so it never really came up in any of their previous conversations until yesterday. Jaune knew he wouldn't have been able to escape the question as he was starting to get close to his friends.
"Well... that does explain your fighting style," Weiss commented, immediately following Jaune. She still faced forward, away from the other two adventurers. "Mercenaries don't typically follow any of the formal schools of swordsmanship. Being a monster hunter would have also influenced the lack of formal sword stances, favouring your brawler-esque techniques."
Good, she thinks my Dad taught me how to fight...
"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "I got some basic sword stances, but my Dad taught me how to fight monsters most of the time. Since then, I just made up my own style."
Still, unknown to them, Jaune was literally self-taught. The only real formal training he had was with Weiss. Since then, he had pretty-much improved leagues beyond where he was initially. When it came to fighting people at least. With monsters, Jaune still knew what he was doing. They didn't fight with regards to any schools in mind.
"Same for me," Ruby chirped, slinging Crescent Rose over her shoulder. "My Uncle kinda taught me how to use the scythe, but I had to teach myself how to fight with it. So, everything I do is on the spot." She twirled the scythe around in her fingers. "When I was younger, Yang would watch my back until I figured it out."
Yang would be proud of you...
With Ruby's abilities, her fighting style was all about mobility and hitting her opponent before they could react. Jaune had watched her fight a few times and was impressed by how she moved around the battlefield. Most students couldn't keep up with her, and the few who did were, unfortunately, able to win easily.
"Yeah, the way you fight kind of reminds me of a greatsword," Jaune suggested to Ruby. "Wide sweeping motions, usually keeping the weapon going in a circle." He demonstrated this, doing the same thing with an invisible weapon in hand. Ruby walked on, watching his movements.
She would be a monster using the greatsword. Better than a scythe. Except, Crescent Rose is double-bladed and not like any vanilla scythe. It's probably because of the force being focused on a single spot...
"Yes, actually, I was thinking of the same thing," Weiss agreed, glancing back at the two. "You would be better suited in the Atlesian School if you could use swords."
"Eh, maybe," Ruby shrugged her shoulders. "But I can't imagine life without my Crescent Rose." She cradled the scythe in her arms, speaking to it like a baby. "What about you, Weiss? Where did you learn how to use Myrtenaster?"
From what Jaune had seen from Weiss. Her style was more formal and rigid. The rapier was actually a better fit for her than a typical double-edged arming sword. She needed to kill opponents in a single thrust. There was no way she could keep up with a more athletically capable opponent who made it past her magic. However, the blade more or less played second fiddle to her own magic.
"I had tutors," she explained. "My father would hire masters of the Atlesian School to instruct me on the art of fencing. Along with my schooling in magic, I had a thorough education in the art of war." She paused for a few moments. "Most of what I had learned, however, is rather difficult to apply in this sort of chaotic environment."
Heh... Probably why she teamed up with me.
"Learning from experience seems like the best way then," Ruby concluded, letting the conversation grow silent for a moment. "But back to Bar!"
Jaune snorted at the sudden return to their normal conversation.
"You know, Ruby if you hadn't run off to chase those goblins down I could have explained this to you and Yang at once," he said, showing mock irritation. That seemed to get the wheels inside Ruby's head-turning as she came up with something in response.
"But," Ruby countered, holding an index finger up. "Yang wouldn't have yelled at me, which wouldn't have led to me finding those tracks, which wouldn't have led to us teaming up with Weiss!"
Her theory on how things might have played out appeared to be stable in her head. It sounded like some sort of logic one of his younger sisters would have concocted.
"Ruby," Weiss spoke up in her usual haughty tone. "I doubt you had the foresight to know this would have happened. Jaune could have easily recruited you to our party regardless of whatever antics you may have performed during your first quest."
And there's Weiss' scepticism coming into play.
Ruby groaned loudly, turning back to their leader. "Weiss," she whispered to the Mage. "You were supposed to play along! I totally had him fooled!" The way Ruby sounded was as if she had been planning to bust out that line during a conversation for a while now.
Jaune snorted. "Not really," he explained, further shattering Ruby's riposte. "You and Yang are not alone here. I have sisters too. So, I know all the tricks in the book."
That meant most of the bullshit siblings would try to pull on each other didn't work with him. Saphron had really been the one to show Jaune the ropes when it came to this. Their parents were often too busy with work to deal with all of the hooliganism going on under their noses.
"Is that, 'sisters,' plural I hear," Ruby said.
She was about to continue before backing into a motionless Weiss who was nearly toppled over by the other girl. Ruby managed to catch herself as did the Mage who stumbled forward.
"Watch it, you dunce," Weiss chided the girl, rubbing the back of her head where they clearly connected.
"Sorry..."
Jaune stepped up next to where Weiss and Ruby were standing, beholding the sight before him.
Well, we found it...
In front of them was the remains of a deer carcass.
The body itself was dried out and mangled almost to the point of being unrecognisable. It was kind of like a raisin... just bigger and in the shape of a deer. Unfortunately, the desiccated flesh had pulled back tightly due to the moisture loss over time, concealing any visible wounds.
However, on the ground, was a white fibrous organic material. Jaune immediately knew they were a spider's webs. It was all over the place. In the trees, covering the grass, dusting any and all surfaces. The phenomenon of this sight was usually labelled, 'Spider Frost,' after what spiders typically do during large storms or floods. Stringing their webbing all over an object, sometimes covering entire fields in webbing.
"Yeah, this is totally a giant spider," Ruby stated, poking the deer corpse with the butt of Crescent Rose's haft. "This kind of thing happened all the time on Patch."
Jaune expected that, quite frankly. Patch was deserted enough as it, making it an excellent place for monsters to live. A self-contained environment such as that would have led to some interesting divergence among a progenitor species.
Weiss made a noise, revealing her disgust. She didn't move any closer to the corpse, preferring to stay a few feet away while Jaune and Ruby got their hands dirty.
"I don't know how you two are capable of living where these creatures do," Weiss commented, drawing Jaune's attention. "Normal spiders are of no concern, yet, when they are capable of killing a deer like this..."
She stopped right there with a grossed out look on her face. Her lips pulled back slightly, and she brought her hand up to shield her nose.
"Oh, Weiss, they do a lot more than kill deer," Jaune explained, kneeling down and kneading some webs between his fingers. "Cows too, and whatever else they get their claws on." He stood up from the scene and turned to her. "You don't have a lot of spiders on Atlas, do you?"
Weiss was either repulsed by the sight of a dead animal or just the thought about what the spider did to it was enough to gross her out. Frankly, Jaune could agree with her. Small spiders were bad enough. These ones were about the size of a cow if he had to guess.
Weiss shook her head. "No, I cannot say... for certain that is," she replied, taking a step forward. "The climate is often too cold for large arthropods that have not adapted to any marine lifestyle. Megafauna such as mammoths and large cats, yes of course. However, few arthropods beyond bees kept by farmers and those that rarely come out from the ground for the year except during the summer."
"Figures," Jaune agreed. "They have to be smaller to live further up north. More food in the south too. Probably why they get so big."
There were many species of spiders on Remnant. They are an integral part of the ecosystem, of course, so there should be many, ranging in all manner of shapes and sizes. The species the party was hunting may have resembled a larger form of a tarantula or trap-door spider. Nearly being a mirror image of their smaller brethren.
"I've seen one that was almost the size of a horse," Ruby added on, poking at the webs with a stick. "Yang and I heard Zwei barking one morning, and we went out to see what was happening..."
Zwei?
Must have been Ruby's dog. If it were capable of barking, then that would have been the logical conclusion. Unless it was a barking spider.
"Yang thought a wolf or something was near our cabin, so we grabbed our weapons and went out to go look. We followed him up to the barn and saw the wall was smashed in," she continued explaining. "Inside was this giant spider trying to attack my Dad's horse." Ruby held her arms out to give a representation of the size of the creature. "It was huge, just barely under our horse's shoulder." She leapt upwards as high as she could, hitting the height mark. "Of course, it saw us and tried, but failed to eat us."
That's terrifying...
"Ruby..." Jaune tried to come up with something. "Patch doesn't seem like a fun place in my head anymore." He turned around to face her. "You have leshens, giant spiders, and next you're going to tell me there's a population of demons living there too."
"It's not that bad," Ruby replied with extra emphasis to make her point. "We have a barrier around the house, so the real nasty stuff can't wander in."
A barrier?
The way she said that so casually was as if Ruby had lived with it her entire life. Must have been why she was so innocent on most regards? Her home was protected by a magical ward, so tragedies couldn't befall their family.
More villages could have used magic to protect their homes. If people trusted it more, that is.
"I see..."
Jaune kneeled down once again to inspect the ground surrounding the deer. There wasn't much of a trail to go off of here. No prints from their claws or tarsus that could be noted. Just the webs.
"We should look around for a trail to follow," Jaune changed the subject, getting back on track. He stood up to get a look at the surrounding area.
Before Jaune could get a good look, Weiss had already come up with something.
"Well, the webs seem to head off in that direction," Weiss she noted, having most likely been searching the area during their conversation. Or at least looking around. "See..." She pointed off in another direction, deeper into the forest.
There, at the edge of woods, lay an opening through the trees. Not the sort of entrance a monster makes by knocking them down, but an actual path. An old road used by some settlers to this area?
This path was adorned with an arachnophobes nightmare. Extensive networks of webs clung to the trees making the sight more dark and dreary than it would have been without. Most of the webbing was in the canopy, hanging above any traveller's head who dared to pass through this neck of the forest.
The road kept going farther into the forest until the point everything melded together in a sea of black and green. These spider webs ran along the entire length of road. Jaune could even make out an old corpse propped up against a tree.
"These are all old webs," Jaune remarked, taking a knee to inspect the path. "Their main nest should be deeper in the forest. Maybe a cave?"
Giant spiders like these ones wouldn't leave an open-air nest laying around. Like any other animal, they would prefer a burrow where their eggs could be protected from other predators. Not to mention the environmental conditions being more suited to spawning their young.
"Yes," Weiss agreed, standing next to Jaune. "This may have been an older nesting site before the population migrated further into the forest. I would expect to see old moults along their path."
"So, follow the spiders it is then," Ruby concluded, taking the first few steps down the path before stopping. "Wait, Jaune you go first."
"Why me," he whined, knowing what faced him as they were about to head into the forest. "You have Crescent Rose to knock down the spider webs."
"Yeah," she agreed reluctantly. "But, I'm not the tracker. I might miss something and lead us in the wrong direction."
"She has a point, Jaune," Weiss condemned the boy to his fate. "I would not trust the dunce with leading us through this forest."
Ruby blew a raspberry at the Mage. In return, Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Fine," Jaune sighed, standing up and beginning to follow the path.
Follow the spiders, she says...
[A Half Hour Later]
This day seems to be growing worse by the minute.
During their trek deeper into the forest, Jaune ran into. Every. Single. Goddammed. Web.
It was like the gods had placed every one of them there for him to walk into. And Jaune did, having to stop every twenty or so feet just to pull the sticky webs off him. It became worse when he tried to take down the larger ones blocking their path. Those merely fell on Jaune even if he grabbed a stick to knock it down. Yet, they were even stickier than a normal spider web.
Weiss and Ruby were happily walking an entire ten or so feet behind him the whole time. Jaune never heard a peep about walking into a spider's web.
However, everything the group had predicted about this path was correct. The signs of a massive spider infestation were all over the place. The most obvious being the forest spanning networks of webs, but that was not the only thing.
Large moults ranging from a few months old to a few weeks old dotted the road. Most were smaller and decayed mainly by this point as they were about the size of an apple or small dog. The more massive exoskeletons were larger than Ruby.
"Wait, do you guys hear that," Ruby spoke up, silencing her companions and getting them to stop moving.
Jaune focused his ears to hear what she was talking about. He panned his field of vision from side to side, watching the edges of the forest for any signs of movement. Yet, everything was remarkably still.
Actually, Jaune couldn't hear anything. Only the sound of wind and the white noise in the background. Not even the birds chirping or sounds of insects in the underbrush.
It was dead.
This whole forest was a dead zone, completely deserted of life beside the adventurers standing in the middle of this path.
"I don't hear anything, Ruby," Weiss unknowingly agreed with Jaune. "What are you talking about?"
Ruby turned to Jaune - their eyes meeting briefly. "It's just like the forest where we took on that goblin quest," she explained, gesturing with her hands. "There were no animals except for some monsters."
"Because the goblins hunted everything in the forest," Jaune finished the thought. "The other animals that could escape left before the goblins ate them too. It's why they started attacking the villages in the area."
"So, the spiders moved their nesting site to where the food was, but now there's nothing left for them to eat," Weiss added on. "That must be the reason why they have begun hunting near Whiteshale. Their numbers have grown too large to support the population."
That was going to be another issue they were going to have to deal with. The spider's bloating population meant they were going to be desperate for food and possibly hunting in the general area as they were speaking. Even if they were weak, it was still another danger that the group couldn't ignore.
Giant spiders were, in essence, a lot like goblins. They might not have the same level of intelligence, but they acted like a swarm when taking down prey. A not very spider-like activity since smaller spiders are not known for this, but this variety of spiders is different in that regard. A larger brain was to thank for this change.
However, like goblins, giant spiders used numbers to defend their nest. While one could crack open the exoskeleton of these arachnids with a boot or even use a sling to dispatch them without issue. It didn't prevent them from ganging up on you and taking their prey down.
"Their nest might be somewhere close by," Ruby suggested, scanning the nearby forests for any signs. "Monsters like to hunt near their dens to save energy. If they have been eating everything in this area, they would have to expand their hunting range outwards."
It made sense in all honesty. The same concept applied to hunter-gatherers. They may try to track prey in the nearby woods or gather plants in the vicinity of their camp where plentiful. Once the area has been depleted of resources, they would move on to greener pastures or go out longer when feasible.
Jaune's memory may have been a bit fuzzy from the walk, but he had heard animals along the old road. It wasn't until now he realised this. The area they had found the deer carcass in was where the spiders were probably going to move or their new hunting ground.
"Yeah, we should look around here then," Jaune suggested. "We shouldn't have to worry about spiders. They're mostly nocturnal and won't come out unless we run into their nest. So, spread out and scout out the area while we don't have a definite trail." Each of his party members split off to search their surroundings as they did earlier.
Jaune spun around, swivelling from right to left, squinting his eyes to gaze further into the treeline.
The area they were in right now was sitting next to a small ravine leading down the hill. Even with the webbing covering most of everything, the vegetation was still very thick in the Valish underbrush. Especially around the small stream flowing through the gully.
A prime example of what half of Sanus looked like. Minus the webs.
Yet, there didn't seem to be any sign of where spiders would be nesting. If they constructed their own burrow instead of using a cave, it would be difficult to see from down here. However, the higher ground didn't offer any benefits as the forest canopy was too thick. So, Jaune was stuck having to walk around until he found another trail.
...
"Have you found anything," Weiss spoke up from behind Jaune. It nearly startled him as she hadn't made any noise when walking up behind him. She probably hadn't thought about that.
It had been a few minutes into this search, and Jaune lost track of time. Not finding anything drove to him to scrutinise the area even harder and tune everything else out around him. A careless mistake.
"Uhhh... No," he answered curtly, adjusting his posture. "I wish we had some higher ground out here." Jaune started heading down the creak to see if it opened up into a clearing. Weiss followed, trying her best to balance herself on the sharp incline. "It's kind of hard to see anything."
"Unfortunately, that is the case for Ruby and me," Weiss agreed in her formal tone of voice. "We could not see anything in the bushes near the old road." The Mage stepped up to Jaune's side. "Thus, Ruby decided to continue looking around while I went to aid your search."
It didn't seem wholly necessary to Jaune. He was used to tracking these creatures in the forests of Vale. Weiss and Ruby, however, were not nearly as experienced in the art of hunting monsters. The extra set of eyes in the direction Jaune was heading to may be of some use regardless.
"Yeah," Jaune said, acknowledging Weiss. "Spiders are usually easy to hunt. Just head into the forest, and follow their paths. But this... This is something else."
"What about it," Weiss asked in response.
"I've never seen an infestation this large," Jaune claimed, gesturing with his right hand. "It must have been out here for a while."
Most of the spiders around Bar were mainly in groups of two or three. They might form a nest and start breeding, but most never reached a population the size of the one in this forest. The guards and adventurers in the city took care of any breeding populations before they grew too large.
It's due to the Lord of Whiteshale neglecting to hire someone to take care of it. Even though giant spiders are weak, they are still a danger to merchant caravans.
The reason why a lord wholly invested in making money wanted to leave his trade routes vulnerable was lost to Jaune. Any sane person would want to keep their supply lines open for goods pass through.
"I see," Weiss mumbled, cupping her lower jaw in her right hand. "The spiders had time to cast this webbing everywhere, making it even more challenging to track them. These could merely be from another, older, nesting sight."
"Probably," Jaune agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "The gold for this job's going to be worth it with the three of us anyway. So, I'm not mad at it."
"Of course," Weiss said mindlessly, pausing for a brief moment. She started fidgeting with her hands. "However, after we are done here, I wonder... maybe if we could-"
"GUYS, I FOUND SOMETHING," a voice from up the hill called down to them. The sudden distraction caused both students to turn towards the sound, allowing the conversation to fall off.
"That's Ruby," Jaune muttered, turning to Weiss. "We should go see what's going on with her..."
...
The heroes wasted no time climbing back up the slope and onto the small clearing they formerly inhabited. Jaune quickly managed to scale the steep incline only slipping once on the wet floor. Weiss, however, could not do such, having to half crawl lest she tumbled down the entirety of the hill.
Back at the end of the road, Jaune was met with Ruby standing in the middle of the path. She sported an excited look on her face like she just found her favourite treat, or when Jaune had given her a new Crescent Rose. Even her body language showcased the feeling, barely even able to stand in one place.
"Guys, you have to see what I found," she opened excitedly nearly bouncing up and down. "I used my ability to scout out the forest because I was tired of looking around, and I think I found the nest." The girl started heading off to where she had seen it.
Finally, some good news...
If she and Weiss had no dice when searching the general area, it made sense to use her ability to cover a lot of ground. Ruby couldn't use it to scout out the entire forest on her own as she would likely miss a trail. However, with their supposed proximity to the nest, her 'Crimson Flash' came in handy to cover more ground.
And her decision ended up paying off.
Maybe we should make Ruby the team Scout? If she can use her ability all the time like she does, then all I have to do is help with her tracking skills some more.
Just set her loose and follow her back to whatever we were looking for. Rinse and then repeat.
"Did you get a good look inside," Jaune asked, following behind Ruby at a quick pace with Weiss tailing the two.
"Yeah, and I heard them," Ruby chirped excitedly. "They were making that weird chittering noise. Super creepy..."
Jaune got the chills just thinking about that. It was the one thing he hated about hunting spiders. Not the way they looked, but the sounds they made.
"We know," Weiss cut her off before she could go any further. "We had a run-in with them on our Initiation quest. Actually, the other dunce had led us right into their nest when he fell into it."
I thought she forgot about that! I did say I was sorry about it.
"Okay..." Ruby realised they were on the same wavelength. "But it should be just over this hill near a thicket."
...
"This is it," Ruby whispered as the whole group crouched down near a fallen tree.
Jaune peaked over the log to get a look at their quarry. The den rested about ten or so metres from where he was sitting.
It was your average, run of the mill hole in the ground. Maybe it had been an old mineshaft that was abandoned long before their arrival. Jaune knew that it wasn't a natural hole a spider would create for its burrow. They had appropriated it for their purposes.
The outside of the shaft was covered in webs just like everything else was here. However, these were spun in a funnel shape clinging to nearby saplings or other plants. Much thicker than the light frosting coating the ground and adjacent trees.
A classical funnel-web spider nest. Whether or not these spiders were precisely like the smaller species was up to discussion. Maybe they were another type after all?
Now their task was pretty much cut and dry. Jaune knew this was probably going to be one of their most straightforward quests this year, so he wanted to get this done quickly. The longer they remained, the more time expensive this quest was going to be.
"So, what it'll be," Jaune asked his teammates. "How do you guys want to take this?"
He dropped his satchel in the middle of the three. Weiss quickly pulled out several small potion vials and every other item they had brought along. The Heiress laid them out neatly in rows, muttering her thoughts to herself.
"What did you bring," Weiss asked Jaune in return.
None of them coordinated what items to bring with them this morning. They just haphazardly threw stuff into a bag and called it good. Maybe that was a poor decision in hindsight?
"A few vials of venom antidotes," Jaune said, grabbing two bottles. "I made these using some herbs that grow near my hometown."
"You know alchemy," Ruby spoke up in a surprised tone.
"A little bit," he explained, giving a so-so handshake. "The healers at the local temple showed me how, but I learned a lot more in Dr Oobleck's class. They're not great... they work. They just don't taste good."
"Oh..."
"I also brought the Dust," Jaune continued, laying out the half dozen crystals he kept on his person. "But, I'm not sure how useful it will be?"
Ruby let out a gasp. "Wait a minute," she said, grabbing some of the crystals. "I have an idea?" Ruby turned to Weiss. "Weiss, do you remember what you said about Dust being used for mining?"
"Of course I do," she replied with a snarky tone. "How could I forget?"
"How many of these will get rid of the nest," she asked with a grin on her lips.
"Ruby... what are you suggesting," Weiss asked with a concerned look, shooting Jaune a glance.
"We blow it up," she stated confidently, making an explosion gesture with her hands. Ruby looked to Jaune and Weiss still holding that grin before going to a more neutral expression. "When we got back from the Noonwraith Quest, I got curious about Dust and read about it. Also Jaune's firebomb he used against some goblins, but that's a different story. However, I thought we could use explosives against monster nests, so we don't have to clear all of them out by hand!" She clapped her hands together. "I also brought the stuff to make it!"
Ruby sported a scary look on her face as she went into detail about her idea. Not a dark look, but the way she appeared so confident about it would make her look terrifying to another onlooker.
"Well, your idea has merit," Weiss agreed, cupping her chin with a finger over her mouth. "Using an explosive to destroy the entire nest would make it easier. Doing it by hand presents several dangers if we have to go inside the cave. For that reason, I would say for us to use three Fire Dust Crystals. That should have enough power to burn everything. If not, we would have to personally destroy every spider egg." Weiss turned to Jaune. "How much did these crystals cost to purchase?"
"About a hundred lien for the Fire Dust," Jaune answered lazily. "Not really an issue anyway, since I don't use any enchantments."
They really weren't that expensive now. However, Jaune was not nearly as wealthy back then as he was a few weeks ago. After one or two more quests, when he built his coffers back up, Jaune could purchase a few more.
"Then you should go ahead and use them," Weiss consented, handing the last one to Ruby. "We'll compensate the shares for the reward so we may pay for them."
The Reaper reached for a small vial filled with a pale orange extract. She uncapped the bottle and spread the liquid over a strip of torn cloth. Weiss held the three crystals together as Ruby took the coated fabric and wrapped them around the crystals before tying the ends tightly.
"Okay, before we go any farther," Jaune stopped the group, reaching into a case on his belt. "Weiss..." He handed her a few potions. "Magicka potions. We need you to focus on crowd control and wiping out as many enemies as you can." He turned to Ruby. "Ruby..." He handed her a vial of resin. "Oil containing silver dust. Made it myself. Do your thing." Jaune then grabbed his antidote vials.
"And you two need to drink these," he ordered, handing both vials to the girls. "I can shrug off a spider bite and have done it at lower levels. But you two can't... so drink! It will give you immunity to venom for another hour or two."
Weiss and Ruby uncapped the vials at the same time. Each of the girls hesitantly brought it to their lips before downing the entire flask of liquid in one go. Weiss coughed and hacked as she finished her antidote. She immediately grabbed a waterskin, drinking nearly half of it to wash out the remnants of the potion. In turn, Ruby had a much milder reaction to it, holding her tongue out while grunting loudly.
"That... was... vile," Weiss croaked, taking another sip from the waterskin.
"Told you..."
"It wasn't that bad," Ruby countered, taking in a deep breath as the aftertaste left her buds. "I just plugged my nose and didn't taste it."
Good ol' childhood tricks!
"Anyway," Ruby moved on, grabbing the makeshift bomb. "Jaune, how far can you throw this?"
He took hold of the explosive, scrutinising it as the crystals shimmered from the energy contained within. While intimidating as it was, the Dust crystals were not as heavy as they may seem. About three or four pounds and nearly as large a flagon.
"Why can't you run and toss it in," he asked, questioning her motives.
"Weiss said Dust is fragile," Ruby explained. "If I trip and drop it... Boom! So, I think you should throw it in there!"
"Okay..." Jaune stood up with the bomb in hand, preparing to throw it.
"We should take cover," Weiss suggested. "The flames are going to spread throughout the cave, but they may come back towards us." She conjured a shield in front of the group and another above them. "Plug your ears and keep your mouth open."
"You two ready," Jaune asked one more time, looking back at this partners. Both girls nodded and placed their hands over their ears.
Okay, here goes nothing!
Jaune cocked his arm back, pointing his other towards the entrance of the cave. He took two steps forward, launching the Dust as he would have with a spear. The package sailed across the distance to his target in an awkward spiral due to its aerodynamics.
The last thing Jaune saw from the bomb before he turned to dive behind the shield was it flying into the mouth of the cave. A faint glow emanated from within as it sailed further into the gaping maw.
Oh, shit-shit-shit-shit-shit!
He dove headfirst into the makeshift shelter, clamping his hands down around his ears. Every fibre of Jaune tensed up in preparation for what was to come. He had no way of knowing how the explosion would turn out. It felt like everything was slowing down.
The first thing Jaune saw was a bright flash from within the cave. It grew more and more magnificent over the next second, coming ever closer to the mouth. Flames erupting from just behind the nearly blinding light.
Jaune felt a shockwave crash into him. It hit him like a solid punch to the chest. The invisible wave passed right through the boy, forcing its way through his chest cavity. The sudden change in air pressure shook his internal organs back and forth in less than the blink of an eye.
Those flames spewing out from the cave mouth were like those from a dragon. They approached faster than the eye could see, slamming into the shield and wrapping around the edges. Not a single flame touched those taking shelter beneath the ward, passing around them like water around a rock in the river.
Yet, with the barrier before them. Jaune could feel the heat from the flames cooking him alive. Every piece of exposed skin screamed out in pain as the nerve endings were becoming damaged as the moisture on his body begun to boil away.
And before he even knew it, the air around the boy had cooled in an instant. His body returning to its normal state as the oppressive heat wore off. Jaune opened his eyes to see what was going on around him.
The ground between the group and the trees was burnt to a blackened crisp. Any grass or vegetation that once lived was now fine carbon dust. Remnant fires stood on the ground where there was still fuel to burn. Behind them, trees were also burning as were the webs that clung so heavily to them.
Jaune stood up, pushing himself off the ground, observing his handy work. He waited for something to come crawling out from inside the cave. Anything that survived would be a good fight for the group and a lot of Exp to gain.
"That was a lot bigger than I thought it would be," Ruby said in awe of what she had just created. "Total overkill..."
The entrance to the cave collapsed inwards. A dust cloud shot up from the rubble pile as the hole sealed itself from the outside. Nothing seemed to be coming out from there now.
Yet, the Exp from this fight was paltry in comparison to Jaune's previous battles. Maybe it was due to him levelling up so much in the past couple of weeks. He was now reaching the point where he and his team needed to move onto bigger and badder prey.
"Yes... so it seems," Weiss agreed, grabbing her things from off the ground. "We could have used one Dust crystal or even less than that." The gears inside Weiss' head started turning as she grew silent.
"I mean," Ruby continued without pause. "I thought there would be something else. It was cool but... anticlimactic."
Jaune snorted. "Don't worry Ruby," he placated the girl. "We'll find something more challenging next week!"
[Beacon Academy Front Gate: Night]
Finally arriving in Vale, the group was walking back up to the academy. Around them, the streets were totally deserted and devoid of any other signs of life. They had gone home for the night, leaving a quiet background for the trio of adventurers.
"Uuhhh," Ruby groaned, slumping her entire upper body forward. "That quest was so boring!"
Unfortunately, things had not been looking up in the eventfulness of this quest. Teleporting back to the city, Jaune had left to see Colonel Balderich while Weiss and Ruby packed their bags. Whiteshale, which still looked like a gilded cesspool, did not offer any obstacles on his way to grab their Letter of Recognition. From there, the group immediately departed for Vale, taking most of the day to make the trip. Weiss had insisted such.
"Sorry, Ruby," Jaune apologised, offering up a nervous smile. "I'll pick something better next time. I thought it would be more exciting..."
Frankly, Jaune was a bit disappointed in his choice of quests. The last time they had gone out, Ruby was the one to decide where they would be going. And they had a blast throughout the entirety of the adventure.
"Whether or not it was exciting, does not matter," Weiss made her thoughts known. "We did an easy job for a well-paying reward. One that did not require us having to fight for hours on end."
"Do you just hate fun," Ruby asked Weiss in an honest tone. "The boss fight is always the best part! If there's no final battle, then the whole quest is just a boring hike through the woods!"
"No, I do not hate fun," Weiss countered her friend's claim. "We are attempting to fulfil the requirements set by Professor Ozpin and to earn money. If we have to do menial tasks to achieve that, then we should take the opportunities when we can."
As the argument drew to a close, they came to the outer gate of the academy. No students seemed to be walking about or heading back inside the gates. It was eerily silent compared to the previous times they had returned from a quest.
"Well, I'm tired," Jaune announced to his companions turning to them. "I'll keep the letter on me, and tomorrow after class we'll go get our reward. Then we can find something fun to do!"
"Sounds awesome," Ruby chirped, clenching her fists in excitement. "We should bring everyone along!"
"Sure... Why not?"
Finally cresting the top of the road, the group was now standing inside the front gate. They were just about to split off and head in their separate direction when Weiss noticed something. Actually, stubbing her toe on it.
Weiss hissed loudly. "Gods dammit," she cursed out in pain. Limping over to a bench underneath the gatehouse.
"Huh," Jaune uttered, going to see what she had found. Ruby had already run over to help her.
It was a halberd laying just off the front gate with most of it resting in a nearby garden. Maybe a student had dropped it here and forgot it? Or one of the guards set it down and had to help carry something?
Hmmm?
Jaune grabbed the polearm and stood the weapon straight up. It seemed perfectly fine, only wet with dew and what looked like muddy water.
"Hey Ruby, I found it," Jaune said, showing his friends the weapon. "We got our boss battle!"
As Jaune held up the halberd, the moonlight exposed the liquid coating a majority of the poleaxe. The sticky metallic smelling liquid inside every man, woman, and child. He realised it only too late.
Suddenly, a whistle filled Jaune's ears, and before he could react, a sharpened point tore through his left shoulder. It felt like he'd been kicked by a mule, enough that it nearly toppled the boy over, forcing him to drop the halberd.
What...
He didn't hear Ruby and Weiss' screams. The two girls were immediately on him to survey his wounds. Everything around him grew quiet. Only the sound of Jaune's heart beating in his ears remained.
He looked to see an arrow sticking out from beneath his shirt. Jaune spared a single glance at the wound in favour of finding its origin. The Paladin turned out to face the road, seeing his attackers.
A group of people standing on a faraway roof. One crouched down on his knees with a bow in hand. Jaune immediately threw up a shield spell as another arrow found its mark in the ward.
"WEISS, RUBY, behind me," he shouted thoughtlessly.
Everything came back to Jaune instantly. Turning to examine his wound once again, he grabbed the haft of the arrow and snapped it clean off. The point was sticking through his back and out of his reach.
"I got it," Weiss said, coming behind him and pulling the remaining arrow piece through his shoulder. He winced as the haft went through the soft tissue. Adrenaline soon dulling the pain more and more.
More arrows stuck inside his shield. They were firing off their shots in random order, seemingly only to cause chaos among the students. No guards or any other adventurers were there to assist Jaune and his friends.
A horn blew loudly down in the city below. Jaune looked to see dozens of men rushing forth up the street. Soon, too many to count as the rest of their group rounded the bend. All running at full speed directly towards him.
What is happening?!
The soldiers were all dressed in black. Their armour varied from man to man. From plate armour to pure leather and mail. Not a single uniform or identifying mark. No flags displaying their heraldry or unit.
Was this the Church or another group entirely? Why were they attacking the academy? Jaune didn't know, he only froze, watching the soldiers approach.
Do something Jaune! Can't freeze up now!
Jaune turned to Ruby and Weiss, keeping the shield up as he did so. The Paladin had nothing more than a half-baked plan to hold them off. He wasn't sure if it was going to work or even if it would buy enough time.
"Ruby," he began urgently. "Go wake everybody up! We need numbers now!"
Jaune wasn't going to be able to fight all of these guys. He couldn't retreat either and leave them to do whatever they wanted. But buying some time was feasible.
"W-wait, I can fight too," she tried to counter.
"JUST DO IT!"
Ruby immediately vanished into a cloud of roses. Jaune turned to Weiss, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a bunch of potions. The Mage had already drawn Myrtenaster and was preparing a spell.
"Weiss," Jaune started, pulling out Crocea Mors. His left shoulder having difficulty moving around. "I need you to create ice walls! Something to funnel these guys in one at a time! Keep them off me! Use these potions to keep your magicka up! Drink them before you need to!" She grabbed everything out of his hand and slipped them into her bag.
He didn't even to wait for a moment as Weiss brought up two walls of ice. The side facing the attackers was jagged and spiked. Enough to keep those soldiers from barrelling through their defences. The cherry on top was how small the gap was. Only wide enough for a full-grown man to have to squeeze through.
Jaune entered the Ox Guard, bracing himself for the arrival of the first soldiers. Weiss stood right behind him with sword and spell in hand.
Please hurry Ruby...
Ok, that was chapter twenty one! We're literally tossing Jaune to the wolves here, so this should be interesting.
Why this happens will be explained in the upcoming chapters, so do not fret!
So, I'll see you in a few weeks when I get The Lengths We Must Go To done and have everything edited.
Class: Paladin
"Gather 'round, Paladins!"
"There is a difference between the other classes and us! When those Knights and Chevaliers fled at first sight of monsters! You were the ones to take their place! You walked right up to those monsters and wrapped your hands around those fucker's necks! And you did not stop there! Killing everything in your way until there was nothing left!"
"That is the difference between them and us. Those bastards who were too busy keeping themselves in food and wool can keep all the glory and fame for themselves! Boasting about their deeds as if they sacrificed something!"
"We fight to keep the people safe! To keep the Drowners out of the latrines and Goblins from ploughing our milkmaids! Knowing that no other class has our virtue! Our dedication to our craft!"
Level Nineteen
Strength 36 (+2)
Agility 19 (+1)
Defence 25 (+1)
Perception 29 (+1)
Constitution 35 (+1)
Intelligence 43 (+1)
Charisma 23 (+1)
Willpower 16 (+1)
...
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.
Active Debuff:
Turn and Face The Sun!
...
Passive: Magister's Lament
Your Passive is a double-edged sword. While you may proficiently cast magic beyond the limits of your Willpower. It is limited in other instances. Not being able to cast harmful offensive magic or any magic on yourself.
...
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.
...
Gear:
Jaune's Breastplate
Level Seventeen
Materials: 2% Silicon, 0.60% Carbon, Remainder is Steel and Leather
Minimum Stat Requirements:
Strength: 32
Agility: 16
Defence: 22
Constitution: 30
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.
Crocea Mors
Level Seventeen
Materials: 0.50% Carbon, 0.60% Manganese, The Remainder of the Materials are Steel, and Leather
Strength: 34
Agility: 15
Perception: 26