"Ho ho!" Shouted a man that looked to be more bouncing ball than famous and famously powerful huntsman. "Look at all the fresh meat! All the bright young students destined to reach greatness! But not as great as I! Ha haw!"
His bellyful laugh shook his flabby form, especially his unkempt and much too long moustache. Blake Belladonna rolled her eyes at his overbearing persona. He was likely a legend in the huntsmen community to be sure, but it had to have been ages ago. Blake watched him bound across the front of the classroom, pointing out different trophies he had accumulated from his many years of teaching, ending each sentence with a massive, moustache twitching laugh.
Rolling her eyes, Blake returned to something of much greater importance.
She had just reached the chapter in her book where the heroine had to make the choice between saving her little brother whom she had cared for all her life, or the girl she had just proposed to the chapter before. Her feline ears twitched underneath her bow in anticipation. What was Violet going to do? Familial or romantic love?
She was confident that the author wouldn't fake out killing a character in this moment. It was much too important. Seriously? She thought to herself, what respectable author fakes out a story-changing death and gets away with it? Not this author for sure…
She hoped.
She desperately hoped.
Shrugging, she buried her nose once more into her book while Professor Port started his lesson. Only half listening, she was happy to note that he was just going over the basics of aura. Any beginner who had spent a day in a combat school would know this information. She would know. She had spent literally a single day in combat school.
"Which brave soul could tell me the two fundamental aspects of aura?" He said, no doubt reading from a textbook. The professor did not look like someone who would use the word 'fundamental' very often…. Or 'aspects'.
Of course, it was Blake's own partner, Weiss who was picked. Seeing as they sat beside each other, Blake had to calmly put down her book and pretend to pay attention to the heiress's description of the basic concepts.
"Understanding of Aura can be divided into Regeneration Speed and Auric Allowance."
"Very good, Miss Schnee! Truly we have a great huntress-in-training in our midst! Now, Ruby, care to explain that further? Go ahead, child, do you best."
Blake smirked as Weiss's grin of triumph quickly fell into a frown as the professor's attention and kind words were turned to the ten year old who seemed to be joining in on all their classes.
"Umm…" Ruby began, "Re-regenation-"
"Regeneration"
"Regeneration Speed," Ruby corrected, "is how fast I get my aura back?"
"Go on," The circumferentially challenged professor prodded.
"Better speed means aura comes back faster… and… bad speed means it comes back slower?"
"Precisely. Good work Ruby. What about Auric Allowance?"
Blake smiled. Even though they were in a class of eighty students, not including Ruby, the entire lesson so far revolved around the professor helping the girl understand the concept.
Blake was surprised, however. Ruby had access to her aura and a fair bit of control over it. She had even unlocked her semblance, with enough control and training with it to use to navigate the forest during Initiation. Was her knowledge so spotty that she knew to use it, but not the basics behind its understanding?
Blake shrugged to herself. Not that she could blame the young girl. Her own knowledge was incredibly spotty for a long time as well. She hadn't attended combat schools, nor had huntsmen parents to explain all the intricacies to her. Most of her knowledge came from her own independent research or second-hand information gleamed from the only huntsman she knew. Huntsman in training, but still huntsman…
She shuddered. Now was not the correct time to think of that bull. He was far away from her.
Unless of course, Ilia was a spy for him, keeping a close eye on her. That was always a possibility. But so far she seemed to not be so much of a threat. Not until she gained a few more pounds and had at least a week of healthy meals. As much as she wanted to dislike that chameleon faunus, it was also incredibly worrisome to see someone so starved, yet still able to hold their own in a fight.
That combination was never a sign of a happy life.
"Auric Allowance is… is… how much aura you get every week from your mommy? No, that doesn't sound right."
There was some laughter around the room at Ruby's expense, which made the girl curl up into herself. She looked down at her knees. Blake felt pity for the girl; she was clearly trying hard to remember a concept that would technically be two years too advanced for her.
"Try again," Professor Port said kindly.
"It's…. it's…. I don't know Uncle Porty," Ruby sounded like she was about to cry, finishing her sentence with a swallow, holding back her tears. The professor went up to her and gave her hair a gentle tussle, lifting her chin up and giving her a few quiet words which Blake struggled to hear.
"Anyone else? How about you Miss Schnee. What is Auric Allowance?"
Weiss Schnee stood up, gently coughing into her wrist to clear her throat. "As any good huntress knows,"
Low blow Weiss, Blake thought, seeing Ruby wince. Low blow.
"Auric Allowance is the amount of aura a person can stockpile. The higher an aura allowance, the greater pool of aura a person has available to them in a fight. It is with careful consideration to both Regeneration Speed and Auric Allowance that a huntress can determine how long is wise to remain in battle, as well as what a good cut-off percentage would be."
"Very good Miss Schnee, very good! Back in my day, I was known to have quite a large Allowance, if you catch my drift. Ha haw!"
His less than stellar remark had half the girls in the class wincing and the other half shuddering.
"Now! Why don't we have someone else tell me about Near Inverse Exchange!" Professor Port put his hands behind his back, but Blake was confident that they weren't touching one another. There was no way he could reach.
Pyrrha Nikos was the one the professor called upon.
"It is the concept that those with higher Auric Allowance will have a smaller Regeneration Speed. As well, those with higher Regeneration Speed with have a lower Auric Allowance, professor."
"Very good, very good. And why is it called 'Near Inverse' instead of 'Inverse'? Miss Nikos, continue, if you could."
Pyrrha did. "It is not a one-to-one comparison, or so my trainers have told me. Some have large reserves of both, while others don't. There is always a stronger one of the two, but they are not always inversely proportional."
"Exactly. Please take a seat. Take a seat. Yes, this is a concept everyone should know! Very important. Know your limits! And know when to break them! Ha haw!"
Blake hadn't realized she stopped reading her book in favour of listening in. While it seemed to be the basics, this concept at least was incredibly foreign to her. It made sense now that she thought about it. She did have a fairly adequate Auric Allowance herself, while her Regeneration Speed was definitely something to be proud of. Most people based their fighting style on these two fundamentals after all.
Adam Taurus had an incredibly small Auric Allowance, but his Regeneration Speed was off the charts. It was why his fighting style revolved around collecting energy in his weapon instead of his own body, like Yang would.
Blake had to physically hold onto her bow to hide the fact her ears were drooping at the thought of that man. Her mind was so enraptured by thoughts of the past she almost missed a piece of information that shocked her even more than a ten-year-old with a semblance did.
"Every scroll links a person to their Auric Allowance as well as Regeneration Speed. Most people like to leave it at Auric Allowance, but it is always good to switch over to check your speed as well! A person's average Regeneration Speed is fairly constant after the age of twenty, but it will fluctuate when hungry or tired. So take care students! It will also see how you compare to the rest of your classmates. It will not help you determine who is stronger, but it may give you insight into their fighting styles!"
Blake checked her scroll, moving quickly to the class comparison. As did many others. She heard Nora cheering, seeing that she had the largest Auric Allowance in the class, followed closely by Yang. Jaune was surprisingly ranked third. Blake herself was fairly high up in the standings, but closer to the top twenty than top five.
Then she scrolled up a little higher. Sitting atop Nora on the charts was a small picture of a smiling little girl in red. Ruby Goodwitch. Blake's eyes went wide. Ruby, at age ten had a higher Auric Allowance than Nora? A seventeen year old?
Flipping over to check Regeneration Speed, Blake once again saw her name high up in the charts. In the top ten of the class. First place went unsurprisingly to Pyrrha Nikos herself. Not that it mattered. She was apparently impossible to hit to begin with. Then she scrolled up further past Pyrrha's name. Once again, ranking higher than the Invincible Girl herself was a one Ruby Goodwitch.
She had larger reserves and Regeneration Speeds than anyone else in the class. It was…. It was absurd. And while her Auric Allowance was massive, her Regeneration Speeds were beyond insane. It.. it had to be a mistake. A fib to make her happy, right?
Right?
I had a hard time posting this... not for any actual reason, just because I didn't want to ruin such a perfect number. :P Anyways, is Ruby really the strongest person in the room (in terms of aura and aura potential)? Well, that's up for you to decide.
Kivuntappaja - Victorious! If you can't kill 'em, tickle 'em, and if you can't tickle 'em, shove 'em so full of pancakes that they surrender from inability to move. That's Nora's motto at least
tacomaster0928 - What she really wants is cookies!
Darknight2124 - As fast as possible is the only way to do it right
Psiah - A disaster gay through and through.
YeTinshi - It's an opportunity that doesn't come up very often indeed. Sometimes it's harder to limit word count than add to it.
Now for responses to chapter 31!
Astral chronicles - He totally would. Gotta catch everyone who calls him professor!
Shiun Shigure - Ya, Ruby really needs some friends. people she can really relate to. It's hard to be so young. And good lord, Ilia is destined to be the butt of all jokes isn't she? And yes, self-whipping most likely was. :P
therecklessone - Ruby needs a corgi indeed! Someday.
merendinoemeliano - Thank you
JohnBarry - It's even worse cuz she knows she's being used but allows it anyways. I can definitely see Jaune being a big brother to Ruby. She needs to siblings and needs them now!
rwbybomb21 - There will definitely be more moments like that. How can one truly know happiness and joy, without also knowing sorrow?
Darknight2124 - Maybe a future one-shot. or a mini non-canon (maybe canon?) interlude when I get the chance. ;)
Dragonqueen1993 - Hopefully things improve for the Rubester
FloridaMan722 - eh, it's only her first day. Maybe she'll improve! Maybe...
timrocks99 - Thanks. A sad Ruby means a mad Glynda. Maybe Weiss will indeed pay for her transgressions
YeTinshi - It's not a fun time to write sad little kids. No kids deserve sadness, especially not adorable cinnamon rolls like her
Woah boy. Lot's of reviews! Thank you all for the support and love. May Goodrose continue for another 50k! Or at least reach the end of the first week at Beacon!