AN1: Since people have started asking about love interests in reviews, I will say that it is planned, however, I won't disclose details as that would be spoilers. Though, I will say that it won't be a focus of this fic. It will also be a single pairing, not a harem.

AN2: To address the concern of LostSoul000, William will not be doing evil or assholish acts for the sake of petty evil. He has grand ambitions and a nearly non-existent moral compass to attain them, however, being assholish to everyone is generally not conducive to cultivating loyalty, recruiting followers or even simple public relations.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any related material.


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Remnant's Megalomania
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Arc I Chapter 3
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William Schnee POV, age 12

The combat instructor that father promised has arrived today, and he is quite the character. From what father told me, he is a man from Mantle who graduated from Atlas academy as a huntsman and after a few years became one of the most reputable private security contractors in Atlas known for his effectiveness and professionalism.

I am currently walking through the mansion towards the east wing, which contains the training room. Originally built back in the time of Nicholas Schnee, it is large and remains very well equipped despite not having been used for over a decade.

Entering the room, I see the man inspecting a rack of wooden training swords near the doorway, who quickly turns around at my entrance.

"Ah, if it isn't the young Schnee. I am Joringel Dunkelrot, and I will be your combat instructor from now on."

Looking him over, he appears to be clean-shaven and sporting short jet black hair in a tapered style. He has a chiselled face with rough pale skin, an aristocratic nose, distinctive red eyes, and a narrow chin. At 6" tall, he has a toned yet not at all bulky body, best comparable to a swimmer's build.

He seems to be wearing rather conventional clothing compared to most huntsmen, a black dress shirt with a black tie with dark red stripes covered by a dark red waistcoat. His right arm is protected by a dark red metal vambrace with a couter attached, and he wears a matching red watch on his left wrist. His long legs are covered by a pair of long yet narrow black dress pants, tucked into a pair of black leather derby shoes and secured to his waist by a dark leather belt, with his weapon, a long dark red Estoc, attached to its left side alongside two dark red leather pouches. If it wasn't for his armour and armament, he could easily pass for a regular person. One with a heavy preference for the colour dark red.

Realising that I still haven't responded, I quickly reply, moving in for a handshake.

"Pleased to meet you mister Dunkelrot, I'd be happy to get started."

"The pleasure is all mine, however, I heard that this is the first time that you're getting any kind of combat training. Tell me, how much do you know about Aura?" He asked, in a somewhat questioning tone of voice.

"Based on what I read, it is a manifestation of the soul which can be projected to coat its user in a protective force field or reinforce held objects." I reply, a practised answer based on readily available knowledge. In truth, I knew a lot more thanks to my metaknowledge of the show, however, that would be suspicious.

"Well, I'll be honest, that is more than I expected you to know. All of that is true, however, Aura is a lot more versatile than that. Not only does it protect your body, but it also allows you to move at incredible speeds or display impossible strength for a regular person, amongst many other feats, if you know how to use it. It also passively heals you."

"Wow, that's a lot more useful than I imagined." In truth, I already suspected as much, however, the public details on this were surprisingly sparse and the RWBY show never touched upon the physical enhancements. It's good to have this confirmed.

"Regardless, before we begin we will need to unlock your aura. Without it, training would be quite difficult, not to mention useless if in the end, even a two-bit street thug who unlocked his Aura will be able to overpower you." That's pleasantly surprising, I thought that I wouldn't get my aura unlocked until I completed at least some kind of basic training. I guess that's not the case.

"I see, but how do we do that? Last time I checked, the only way to unlock your Aura was through extreme emotional distress." I knew this wasn't the case, however, that was the public story. It seems that the Ozpin doesn't want everyone running around with unlocked Auras, as the topic is largely censored.

"Kid, if that was the case, then there wouldn't be anywhere near enough huntsmen. There is another way, a much simpler one. Someone, like myself, who already has an aura can push their aura into someone else, to unlock theirs. That's what we are going to do here."

"Oh. Will that have any side effects on my aura? If it's that simple, why aren't more people doing it?"

"Last time I checked, there were no side effects. There are some superstitious huntsmen who believe it binds them to the person who unlocks their aura or that an aura unlocked artificially is weaker than one unlocked naturally, but none of their theories had any proof behind them last time I checked."

"Well, that's good. So, can you unlock my aura?" I asked.

"Sure, but first I am legally obligated to inform you that you'll need to register at the Atlas Ministry of the Interior as being Aura-enabled after this. Not that it will be difficult for a Schnee. So, do you consent to have your Aura unlocked regardless?"

"Yes, of course." That is somewhat surprising, given that there wasn't anything like that in the show. Maybe it's something exclusive to Atlas? I'll have to research it later.

"Very well." Joringel then came up to me and put his hands on my shoulders and closed his eyes, furrowing his brows in concentration, his dark red Aura becoming visible.

I thought that this would be the time that he would recite some kind of incantation or something like Phyrra did? Slowly, an unsettling and cold feeling seeped into me, but just before I was about to speak, it was quickly replaced by a sense of power and warmth that burst out of my chest, quickly cleansing my body.

"Woah" I exclaimed in awe, as I could see a bright blueish-white Aura shine out of my skin, feeling as if the most comfortable glove imaginable was suddenly stretched over my body before all of it slowly disappeared into the background, leaving me feeling much the same as before.

"You have an above-average level of Aura, as expected of a Schnee." The man said, snapping me out of my introspection.

"That's good, right?"

"Yes, it will allow you to take more damage before your aura breaks and improve your passive regeneration, amongst other things. But first, you need to learn how to actually use your newly unlocked Aura."

And so, the remaining two hours of the lesson focused on Dunkelrot trying to teach me how to create an Aura barrier to protect myself. Even without moving or distractions, I could barely manage it by the end, though that's not unexpected. He said that takes months for most people to get instinctive control of their Aura barrier, but that once you do get it, you'll be able to keep it on constantly as easily as breathing. I would say it's more comparable to learning how to ride a bicycle, but those don't seem very popular in this world.

Regardless, I have a long way to go before I'll be able to actually fight properly. Thankfully, I have plenty of time to practice.


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William Schnee POV, age 12

While combat training has become a part of my life, it hasn't superseded my regular education. I have spent the last few weeks learning how the Atlesian government works, and I have to say that it's rather simplistic. The shortened version of it is that the Atlas council comprised of only 5 people has unilateral executive and legislative authority based on a simple majority vote, able to take actions or implement laws on a whim.

The Atlas council is comprised of 3 elected and 2 appointed positions, those being the minister of the interior, the minister of finance, the minister of foreign affairs, the general of the Atlesian military, and the headmaster of Atlas academy. The general of the Atlesian military also acts as the de-facto head of state, a position appointed by the military itself, despite all 5 councillors being equal on paper. There is no separation between civil and military authority in Atlas, with the military taking the role of the police and government enforcement in the floating city, albeit Mantle has its own non-militarised police force.

Elections for the 3 ministries are held every 5 years with a simple first-past-the-post voting system, and there are no emergency elections even if a councillor dies or is otherwise unable to govern. The duties of the absent councillor are simply given to another, though they do not get their vote.

This is a far more oligarchic system compared to what I was expecting, but I really shouldn't be all that shocked. This system allows Ozma to maintain nominal control of the atlas simply by having its general and headmaster in his inner circle, disregarding the democratic process. But it also makes me realise that Ironwood is going to become a problem.


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AN3: Thanks for reading, please leave a review if you enjoyed it. I did a bit of worldbuilding in this chapter extrapolating from what we see in the show. Also, tried to make my own OC here because I couldn't find anyone from lore who could reasonably fit this role. So I am curious what you guys think about this.