Good Night, folks! I mean, not 'Good Night' but, you know, Good Night! Like Good Morning! Or is it morning in your zone? Why do I even try? Never mind all that, it's NeoShadows once again with your weekly dose of Multiplayer!
And on today's chapter, we introduce OC's!
(Dodges random items thrown his way along with booing in the background.)
HEY! What ya throwing at me!? Are those nachos? Because me likey nachos. Fuck the popcorn though, that shit gets stuck in your teeth. Annoying as hell.
Ahem, anyways, I know a lot of you may be turned off to that word. OC. Sends shivers down my own spine sometimes. But they are needed at times to make the story much more fresh and to add some meat to the bone. If there done right, they can actually be enjoyable. And it makes the story more unique. As long as they aren't overdone or overpowered. Egh, I still remember my time surfing through Naruto and Fairy Tail fanfiction and finding some of the worst examples out there. Including the RWBY sect too. I honestly think it's just an excuse to Self Insert yourself into the story without admitting it. Reminds me of my days as a weeboo. Yup, I was as close to those things as could be when I was fifteen. I shiver in memory.
As I was saying, it's needed. Especially for the next part of the story. I won't be overdoing it though, the OC's will be used sparingly if possible, but they are part of the story too. Life's a Game after all. I just hope you all can learn to enjoy them as the story grows. I won't be making five OC teams if that's what you're thinking, hell, it's only one team that won't be introduced for some time. I count only two OC's in this chapter.
I would have had this posted a little earlier today, but I didn't want to start editing this chapter until I finished Chapter Five first. I plan on uploading every Thursday, if possible. So look out every week for a chapter. I'm still going strong here, that's a first. I'll be working on Chapter Six tomorrow and have Five up Thursday like I said.
On to Reviews!
Otherguy14: Ya bring up a lot of interesting points. Of course, I can't shed any light on them for obvious reasons. That would be no fun. But keep on the guessing. I love reviews like this. Seeing into the minds of what my readers think is always great to read. This next arc is actually going to be a mix of what I said earlier on training and such. And boy, will it lead off into something.
TalonbnLaAhad: Hey! . . .Actually I got nothing to respond with that. I can't do shit when a girl gives me that look. Even if it usually leads to me being hurt in some way. Maybe I am a Masochist. Won't admit though. It can be slow, but ya gotta move the story along. As for the grammar and junk, yeah, should of paid attention more in class. And yet I love to write. I 'll have think over the beta thing, who know? I may just take you up on that.
Wandai: Huh, you may be one of the few people that caught that little nugget. Well done, damn. And there is a reason for that. After all, he's had all the time in the world to try, there must be some reason why noting ever worked. And he discovered it. In the future chapters it'll be explained a bit more. So hold on, and make your own guesses. You were able to catch this one.
Dragoon109: Yup, he knows. At some point in his many lives, it did mean something. But Ren's become really jaded now. Being an NPC once really doesn't matter to him anymore.
TheBurningWorld: Bah! Just knowing you enjoyed it is more then enough. Glad to know you gave this story a second chance. I'll make a great fan out of you! I say while singing Mulan.
SonicFanFlame: Again, can't answer! I won't deny, nor will I confirm your guesses. But keep going, I love hearing the reasons behind them. Huh, I actually like Ciel's design. I wonder what's up with her. Details, dammit! And yeah, but ya got to remember he doesn't know many key events. He did during the Breach, and he only knows what little team RWBY told him. He'll have to figure out everything as he goes. Because Ren's being a dick.
Avalanch-dragoon: Uhhhhhhhhh, my made up lawyers tell me to not answer that right now. I plead the fifith?
Matrience: You're welcome!
LOL: Try guessing. I like to give out little hints here and there.
Lokibaki: Glad to hear!
SandyLS: . . .Kay. Interesting points, can't spoil anything as usual. Hard to read, but I understood most of what you were saying. And I'm glad to know my story is different from all the other Gamer fics. Makes me smile
Goddy80119: It's vague, but it's in there. Hints will be dropped ever once in a while. Though others will be able to connect the dots. Look through the looking glass, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Black Silverclaw: No. I may not see that girl anymore, but she'd be more then happy to do it again. Love that girl, but damn.
ShotgunWilly: Will do!
I think that's all the reveiws for now. Don't be afraid to send them in! I'll answer what I can. Even the weird ones. Maybe.
As always, enjoy the chapter! Next one will be up next week. Now let's get on with the show!
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to RWBY. They belong to RoosterTeeth. I'm on edge! I want Fall to be here already so I can watch Volume 4! Am I the only one wishing for a Time Skip? I want to see some change, but not actually go through the slow progress. That, and I want to see an older Ruby. It just feels wrong looking at her that way. What, you don't?
. . .Why are there cops outside? No, wait, it's the FBI. And is that Chris Hansen? Da fuck did I do this time?
Chapter 4: Beacon Remix.
Classes in Beacon were pretty simple, from what Jaune remembered of them. There were several classes that dealt in teaching the students the ways of the hunters and huntresses, each subject taught by a teacher he knew. There was Combat Class with Professor Goodwitch, History with Professor Oobleck, Grimm Studies with Professor Port, and other studies taught by the teachers taking turns. They didn't have many teachers to teach the classes seeing as the Juniors and Seniors were taught out on the field after two years, so they did what they could do. Jaune liked the system, he didn't have to worry about getting use to new teachers every year. It made having a relationship with his teachers something to look forward to.
So why was he sitting in a large auditorium with science beakers and equipment in front of him, next to the guy who had made his first semester in Beacon a living hell, Cardin Winchester, while some stranger he never met before stood in front of the teachers desk writing his name on the white board.
"Hello, class." The stranger greeted with his back turned to his students. His voice was dull, almost as if he was bored with his speech. The symbol of a black ornate box creaked open with shadows leaking out was painted on his back. "My name is Hope Pithos, but you will call me Professor Pithos. And I'll be your Dust Studies teacher." he introduced himself before turning to met the class.
The new teacher stood six feet tall wearing an open lab coat, brown slacks, and black military boots. His skin was dark tan, and his eyes were hidden behind the dark sunglasses on his face. He wore a black truckers cap on his head, covering his combed back dark hair from view along with a goatee. An odd dark blue satchel with dust compartments was looped around his shoulders, along with several small white thin thermos hooked to his belt. He looked bored with his class, lazily moving the lollipop in his mouth around as he leaned back against the board.
Jaune wasn't surprised to find his eye twitching again. Nora liked to call it his Spazzy Eye. It only happened when things that didn't make sense to him appeared. Like now. Who was this guy? What was he doing teaching a class Professor Goodwitch or Professor Oobleck normally took turns teaching? And most importantly, why wasn't he wearing a shirt under his open lab coat, he could see the guy's six pack for crying out loud! He knew for a fact Professor Goodwitch would have buttoned it up with her wand. Well, he was sure it was a wand in her hand, it made magic, even though it looked like a riding crop. Couldn't even recall how many times he found that thing smacking his head for making a mistake in class.
Where was he again? Oh, yeah, the new teacher he's never seen before till today. The guy didn't even look like he wanted to be here. He was just standing there, looking like he rather be doing anything else then teaching them. It was times like this Jaune wished that Ren could be helping him. The mysterious pink eyed hunter had said he would follow him on whatever path he took, but said he was done playing the Game. He didn't want to talk about it, no matter what he said to him. In a way, the knight couldn't blame him. Ren had lived through the same scenarios over and over again without end, caught in reset after reset even if he beat the Game. He now understood why he seemed so tired all the time, he was tired of doing everything in his power to change things, only to have all his progress drop back down to zero at the end. Poor guy, made him regret wanting him to follow him in his journey. Which he still didn't understand.
'Welcome to Dust Studies Class! In this class, the Player will be learning the wonders of Dust, Nature's Wrath! By learning how dust works, the Player will be capable of creating their own types of dust! With nature's little miracle, attacks can be augmented with elemental damage, boost certain stats, and even create new Abilities! In here, it's okay to be playing with fire! Burn! Burn the nonbelievers!'
There it was again, his eye was spazzing out. Jaune's scroll went off into its Gamer setting, notifying him of his new class.
The Gamers Heart Guide. He had taken the time yesterday to read over the thing, and boy, did he have a lot to learn. He fell asleep in his uniform, not bothering to take it off as he read over the what help was available. Looked like some things were still locked out to him. An option did help him with learning about certain things, like what he could gain from his classes.
It looked like he had the power to gain abilities and buffs from his bonds with the people he was friends with. To unlock their Friendships, he had to complete certain events that ended in them seeing him as someone they could be friends with. Affection was a different matter though. Where Friendship was the level someone trusted you closely, unlocking their Affection level allowed their friendship to evolve into feelings of fondness. Only it was apparently a special level. Affection, if it reached a high enough level, could evolve into a new title, Endearment. It basically meant that he could unlock a girl's feeling of love for him along with new bonuses and Special Abilities.
Perks were buffs that also gave out special abilities. They increased his Strength, Speed, Defense, Evasion, Mana,HP/Aura, etc. He could only equip up to three at a time for now, so he'd have to think carefully on which ones he used. They could also evolve the more he used them while fighting, transforming into new Perks he couldn't unlock normally. Inventory and Special Gifts were where his items could be found and used whenever he wanted to use them. He could only carry up to ten items at a time for the moment, but as he leveled up he could upgrade his space to carry more at a time. Special Gifts were items that could be used to raise the Friendship level or Admiration level of those he gave them to, some of which could unlock Special Events that opened up chances to increase his bond with people quicker with bonuses, along with certain gifts given to him permanently increasing his stats. Event Finder was the odder of the bunch. By raising his scroll in certain areas around Remnant, he could unlock Events, situations that normally didn't appear to him that gave him the chance to met people he wouldn't met, unlock their Friendships, or learn abilities that he couldn't gain through his Bonds or leveling up. If his scroll buzzed lightly with an antenna icon on his screen, then he'd be close to finding the hidden Event. Jaune wasn't really sure he'd be using that option much, seemed kinda troublesome to drop everything he was doing to find the signal. He already knew what Abilities, Skills, and Slots were. They allowed him to perform amazing moves he couldn't do normally, like transforming Crocea Mors into a new sword. Slots were the available space for his weapons to use Dust, which he wasn't exactly familiar with. Never used them back home, even in his first life he had very little experience with the magical rocks.
PVP was what it sounded, Player Vs. Player. Players would fight till one surrendered, could no longer fight, or died. It was only activated when people with the Gamer abilities fought another. And with the new Perk he unlocked when he was killed by Ren, Star Stillness, they could not die permanently, they'd resurrect a second later in defeat. He didn't understand the whole point of it till he read more. Apparently PVP wins could unlock certain Perks, Abilities and Skills, and even Rare Items along with EXP. It all depended on the performance of the fight and other hidden factors in The Game.
Besides the information, and finding out how to call on his own Status, Jaune did learn about what the Game was. Though it wasn't much to begin with.
'The Game is simple, find The End! It doesn't matter what path you take as long as you beat the Final Boss! The World is your playground, so enjoy it! To an extent of course. The Game will only truly end by finding the True End, a path hidden away from the Players. Doesn't matter what you do to reach it, reaching the True End stops the Game for all Players and allows one risk free wish that affects the World in their image. Forever. Good Luck! You're going to need it.'
That was confusing to say the least. The description on his screen said nothing more on what he had to do to reach the End, all it said was that he had to beat the Final Boss to beat the game. But what he learned from talking to Ren and the Missing Page of Monty, beating the game only reset the world, or time line to the beginning where he would start again at his Save Point. He'd have to find the True End if he wanted the game to finish and continue with their lives. All in all, it gave him a headache. 'Simple my ass.' he scoffed as he read over his scroll.
"Lemon Head."
What was he suppose to do? Graduate Beacon and take on missions till he found the Final Boss? Or was there some story he was going to be playing through to get there? What kind of game was he playing anyways? It was an RPG from what he could guess.
"Hey, Lemon Head."
Didn't look like he was going to be given clues to finding the True End either. From what he could tell, it was connected by the pages he unlocked by completing Unknown Events. The one with Ozpin had happened by chance, how lucky was he going to have be to find the others? He sighed, failing to notice the odd blue marble flying towards him. If only Ren was up to helping him with this crap.
"Heads up, Lemon Head."
A small ball smacked into Jaune's forehead as he finally looked up in attention, detonating in a small puff of cold air. His teeth chattered, his entire face coated in a light dust of ice, frosting his hair back from the mini bomb. Holy hell, was that cold!
The entire class laughed at him, Cardin nearly falling off his desk as he pounded table in front of him. Prof. Pithos didn't seem amused. He stood in front of his seat from in front the first row of the auditorium, eyes narrowed slightly as he chewed on his treat. A small marble was in his hand as he tossed it up and down in his right hand.
"Lemon Head, glad you're finally paying attention. I do hope you have enough time on you to peel your eyes away from whatever game your playing on your scroll and pay attention when in my class." Prof. Elpis sighed.
"W-What was t-that?" Jaune stuttered. His teeth wouldn't stop chattering! "And my name's Jaune, Jaune Arc!"
"Eh, too boring. You look like a Lemon Head anyways. And that was Dust."
Weiss, who had been sitting in the third aisle's second row, raised her hand. "Wait, Dust? That doesn't look like any type of Dust I've ever seen." She frowned. And she knew her Dust. She wasn't heiress to one the largest distributor's of the mineral for nothing. The ball looked like a normal old gel capsule.
Dust usually came in powder form or burned crystals. There were other methods to using them, such as weaving it into clothing, and an odd style that involved tattooing it to the skin, but she had never seen anything more then ammo for weapons. That thing he threw looked like a squishy ball.
Prof. Pithos nodded his head, turning his attention away from the shivering blonde to the white pony tailed girl, "Correct, Buttermint. What I have in my hand is a reconstructed mini bomb of Ice Dust."
"Reconstructed? And my name's Weiss Schnee."
The teacher nodded his head at the girl, "I'm not surprised, this is a special method that's disapproved by many dust scientists. My weapon, Pandora over here, breaks down Dust and mixes it with other components to create new results. The SDC doesn't really deal with Dust reconstruction, it's pretty volatile and they just ship the stuff. Not to mention they don't care for fairy tales such as Alchemy." he explained as he patted the satchel over his shoulders. Weiss huffed, noticing he didn't correct himself on her name.`
"Wait a minute!" Jaune interrupted loudly. "You're saying you hit me with a bomb? Why!?"
"You weren't paying attention. What else was I suppose to do?" he shrugged, getting Jaune to look back at him with his jaw dropped.
"How about snapping your fingers in my face!? Or tapping the desk in front of me!? You can't just throw bombs of ice in students faces!"
"I'm a teacher, I can do what I want, as long as Glynda's not around." he whispered the last part to himself, peeking over his shoulder for any sign of the blonde witch. The woman was terrifying with that S&M crop of hers. Fighting back the chills, Professor Pithos moved to the front of his desk. Several jars of candies decorated his workspace along with vials and beakers of Dust. "Now that I have everyone's attention, I can get back to explaining what to expect out of this class. Originally, this class was to be taught by other teachers working here in turns, but Headmaster Ozpin has decided that the school needs a real teacher and hunter that can explain Dust in more depth. Which is why he has hired me to teach said class."
"As many of you may know, or may not know for some odd reason, Dust is an energy like mineral from within the earth. It's uses range from everyday things, to the weapons we use to fight the Grimm. It's also a limited resource, despite how much a certain companies produce." he chuckled. "In this class, I will be teaching you all how to harness that energy, from creating Dust rounds for your guns, to powder Dust to fuel your weapons, and discovering new ways of saving said Dust while on the field. I'll even teach you all some new methods of creating new Dust recipes, some of which the SDC don't even approve of." he grinned slightly, spitting out the worn out stick from his treat.
"What do you mean 'don't approve of'?" Weiss asked slowly, frowning in confusion. "If the SDC don't find the methods to be safe, then we shouldn't be using them. Dust isn't something to play around with, it's known as 'Natures Wrath' for a reason."
"But that's the whole point of science. Messing with stuff you shouldn't." Professor Pithos answered, popping a gumdrop from one of his jars into his mouth. He savored the sweet citrus flavored treat with hum before looking back at the girl, "The war with the Grimm is pretty much never ending as long as negativity exists. Which means we as hunters and huntresses have to use every method in our little play books to combat them. What's not safe to us, can be deadly to them. Besides, as your teacher, I'll make sure to teach you all how to properly use such 'volatile methods' safely." he grinned lazily.
"Like throwing bombs at innocent students?" Jaune grumbled.
"Quite in the front row." Professor Pithos sighed, throwing another of his ice Dust capsule at the nosy student.
Jaune opened his mouth for another comment, only for the Dust to pop into his mouth. His eyes widened in alarm, gulping the gel like substance in habit. 'Oh no. This is not going to end well for me.'
A plume of cold air erupted suddenly from Jaune's seat, engulfing him from view. As the curtain of ice settled, the entire class was treated to the sight of the blonde knight encased in ice. While everyone else was stunned at the sculpture, Carding was on the verge of dying of laughter.
The idiot looked hilarious with that dumb look of confusion on his face!
"And that class, is what happens when ice Dust, broken down into gel like substance, comes into contact with liquid, even liquid such as stomach acids apparently." The candy loving Professor mused. Interesting, he thought only water worked with activating that dust's more powerful affects. Looks like Lemon Head gave him some new notes to work on later. Who knew he would make such a perfect test subject?
"Look at his face! He looks like he's spazzing out!" Cardin roared with laughter.
What do you know? Even when the kid was frozen in ice, his right eye still found some way to move. And it was twitching. Looked like his ice's affect wasn't as strong as he thought.
"Well, this is a class, not some art gallery. So after someone has taken Lemon Head to the nurses office, we will continue with some readings from 'Dust, Nature's Wrath and You'. There will be a quiz on this next week, so pay attention. We don't want another sculpture sent to the nurse, do we?"
"Where did you even find these people?" Glynda asked with a confused scowl. Two separate profiles were displayed in her scroll, each one containing a resume of sorts from the new teachers employed to their academy.
Standing in front of Ozpin in his office were Professors Goodwitch, Port, and Oobleck. Normally she wouldn't be questioning the man's decisions. Oh, who the hell was she kidding? She was always questioning his methods. If it was up to him, the academy's drinking fountains would have coffee in their plumbing. That's one of the reasons why she was his assistant, to keep him on track and not make dumb decisions like that. But this was one he hadn't involved her in.
"Oh? Is there a problem with our new teachers you would like to talk to me about?" Ozpin hummed into his coffee.
"Not me!" Professor Port smiled, "I'm simply here as an excuse to get away from teaching class. As much as my students are dying the hear the end of my tale of fighting a Goliath with no clothes on and a candlestick in my hand, they will have to wait. Even a man as magnificent as I need to take a breather from my own tales."
Glynda repressed a shiver at the imagery. Peter was a great man, but his tales were too much for even her. How did he even lose his clothes in most of his stories? "Well, for starters, one is an ex-mad scientist."
"He was one of Merlot Industries top scientist before they went under. Calling him mad is insulting to his work. I'd like to think of him as eccentric."
The blonde witch refused to believe that. Crazy did recognize crazy though. She had tried to button that lab coat of his, but Hope undid the buttons every time she turned away. Said he needed to cool off. Even though the school's air conditioning was always running. She didn't even want to get started with his sweet addiction. How did he keep such pearly white teeth when he was always sucking on a candy pop?
"And you, Doctor Oobleck? Do you have problem with one of our new teachers?"
Professor Oobleck could only sigh, shaking his head. "I do not even know where to begin. It's been years since I've seen her."
"I take it you're acquainted with Professor Antheia then?"
The history teacher nodded, "Quite so, Ivy was my partner long ago when I was but a hunter in training. Not only is she a magnificent hunter, but she also has a PhD in Botany. She is no doubt a great hunter for teaching Field Studies. Even Professor Peach would agree to that."
"Then what would be the problem?" Ozpin asked with a raised brow. He already knew about her interesting little 'quirk' but perhaps his friend would have more information on her.
"She's a romantic." the usually fast talking Professor replied dully. "Since the first day I met her, Ivy Antheia has had a rather unhealthy obsession with the idea of first love. When we met on the first day, she was head over heels for me."
"And why wouldn't she, Bart, my boy!" Prof. Port laughed, patting his longtime friend on the back, nearly knocking him down. "Such a fine specimen like yourself is practically bait for women!"
"Yes, yes, I know." Oobleck chuckled, coughing into his fist before getting back to business, "Anyway, I thought she had fallen in love with me, but it turns out it had only been a quick fling. Ivy's been known to fall in love with men quite easily, playing with them like a lovestruck girl. She has this idea that love at first sight is a real thing, but once she finds out that they lack the requirements for a perfect husband, she loses interest. Not to mention she cares deeply for her plants, if you can't even tell the difference between a Yellow Flag vs. a Northern Blue Flag, then you'll find yourself on the receiving end of her gardening tools."
"She was two year younger then the others when she entered the academy, clearly she had some growing up to do." Ozpin mused, "And it looks like she's dedicated to her work, a little reprimanding for lack of knowledge in plants isn't a bad thing. The worst she could do is maim a student." he shrugged.
"The 'worst she could do' shouldn't even be a thought when dealing with our students." Glynda sighed. The man in front of her was a genius, an excellent hunter, but she often times wondered if his skills were simply there to make up for his odd line of thinking. "Headmaster, why did you hire these two? The classes would have been handled just fine with the four of us rotating as teachers, I don't see the need for extra help."
"While true, don't you think our students deserve the best education we can offer them in our school? And while you three are more then superb hunters, can either of you go in depth to Dust or Field Studies as a professional?" They were all excellent teachers in their own classes, but even they couldn't teach as well in other fields. Bart, while a great historian, lacked knowledge in fighting despite handling well in the field. Glynda was amazing on the battlefield, but didn't understand the anatomy of Grimm too well, they all died the same when fighting her anyway. And Peter understood nearly everything about the Grimm, from their weak spots, to their habitats, but lacked much knowledge when dealing with history. They weren't jack of all trades, that's why they had their own classes. It was better to find others to help with the work load that could teach his students in ways they never could. "We all have our weaknesses. Asking for help isn't a bad thing, our students deserve the best. Besides, this should help relive some of the stress of constantly moving back and forth between classes. Can't be overworking my own staff, now can I?" he smiled.
Looking between themselves, the three teachers nodded. Having more help would take away some stress off their work. Even if said help was odd in their own ways.
Glynda wasn't too sure about the new teachers, but she would just have to have some faith in the Headmaster. "Very well. Professor Pithos, while 'eccentric', is still a respectable scientist despite once working for Merlot Industries. I just wish he would wear a shirt and stop eating so much sweets in front of the children." she rubbed her head in frustration. She could already tell he was going to be a problem.
"And Professor Antheia is well known for her work in the field of Botany, she just may teach our students a thing or two that can save their lives one day. Plus ,it would be nice to catch up with my old partner again." Bart smiled. "Let's just hope she doesn't take a fancy to one of our students, let alone find one that fits her description of a perfect husband." he chuckled.
"And what would that be, Professor Oobleck?" Glynda asked curiously. She would have to keep an eye on her as well.
"Oh, well it's a pretty specific description if I were to be honest, so we shouldn't worry too much about it."
"How specific we talking, Bart?" Peter grinned. Had to watch out just in case he fell into her line of sight. Ha! Who was he kidding? He was always in woman's thoughts.
"Let's see," The green haired teacher thought back to her list she had once shown him. Even after years of seeing his old teammate, he could still remember her requirements.
"He would have to have in eye for plant life, naive, sweet, a romantic as well, have the heart of a hero and be 'adorkable' as she would say, have to be a natural blonde, blue eyes, lived out of the city and born in the country, an excellent dancer, younger then her, and have a winning smile. Oh! And he would have to know how to play guitar as well. Pretty adamant about that one."
Peter whistled at the requirements, "Well, I'll be, that's quite a list." Looked like he was out.
"We don't have to worry about her falling head over heels for one our students, do we, Headmaster?" Glynda frowned.
Ozpin blinked as the image of a blonde haired knight came to mind. Surely he wouldn't posses all those traits, would he?
Jaune sniffed as he walked to his next class. After being slowly thawed out of the ice by a new nurse, he was still feeling cold. That damn sweet toothed professor, who threw ice bombs into their students mouths? He was lucky that it wasn't some kind of fire dust! Pretty sure that even with aura there was nothing to protect him from internal damage like that. 'I'm lucky to walk out without a cold. I wonder if it;s possible to sue?' Probably not when they were allowed to fling students into a Grimm infested forest by launch pads without parachutes. Must of had huntsmen trained lawyers on their side.
Now that he was out of the nurses office he had to make his way to his next class. It took a long time to free him from the ice and he ended up missing the rest of the class. Weiss even came by to hand him the work he missed when had begun to leave the office. And chewed him out for swallowing something as dangerous as Dust in the first place. Hopefully that didn't do anything for his chances of choosing her as a lab partner.
He reached for his scroll. Looked like his next class was Field Studies. Didn't Professor Peach teach that class? Hopefully it was her, she had a knack for never being around much. He could hardly remember what she looked like. If she wasn't there, then Professor Goodwitch would probably be teaching the class instead.
He was almost to class before stopping in confusion as he caught sight of Ren and Pyrrha walking out. Did they take this class too? He thought he only had them for Combat Class today.
"Ren, Pyrrha? What are you guy's doing here?" he asked them, catching their attention.
Pyrrha smiled in embarrassment, holding out a book in her hand, "Hello, Jaune. I'm simply retrieving this book the Professor handed out earlier. I couldn't just leave it behind."
"And I'm here to accompany her, and check on Nora." Ren sighed. Leaving that girl by herself without anyone to control always spelled trouble. With a capital T. "Luckily Professor Antheia knows how to keep her in check. It's not much, but it'll do."
"Right, Nora can be hard to handle." Jaune nodded. He frowned a second later as his words hit him. "Wait, Professor Antheia? I thought Professor Peach taught this class?"
"Professor Peach? No, the new teacher was just explaining how the old professor had left for a trip around Remnant to discover new materials for her own personal studies. Did your schedule say otherwise?" Pyrrha asked her leader with worry. Her own schedule had said that Professor Antheia would be teaching the class. Hopefully all the games on his scroll weren't messing with eyes. Jaune did stay up last night on his scroll, he didn't even bother changing out of yesterday's uniform! She would have to fix that.
"Uhhhh, maybe?" Jaune said sheepishly. Truthfully, all he did was read what class he had next. He didn't think to check who was teaching it. What were the chances of two of his teachers being replaced by new ones he's never seen before?
Ren closed his eyes, sighing in annoyance as he felt the Pause in effect. This better not become a regular thing.
"Ren, what's going on? I thought things didn't change when the world reset?" Jaune asked once he paused everything around him. While Ren wouldn't talk about his powers or what to do with them, he could at least answer him to things that weren't making any sense.
"It's called a Remix." As much as he didn't want to talk about what was going on, Ren knew their was nothing to else to do to get Jaune to leave him alone again. Talking about it wouldn't change anything anyway. "Every once in a while The Game mixes things up. It usually happens when a new Player is added. New Enemies will appear, new characters will be introduced, new items will be dropped, and new paths can be taken. It's basically a new game plus with changes to it."
"That would actually be pretty cool, if I wasn't just recently turned into a Jaune-cle."
"You poor thing." Ren replied dryly.
"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, Ren."
"And I don't appreciate you being a Player either. So now we're both unhappy."
Jaune's shoulders slacked, sighing. "You're not going to get over this anytime soon, are you?"
"No." Shaking his head, Ren crossed his arm as he aimed a glare at his leader. "You still don't seem to understand what this all means to you. Life may be a game now, but is has consequences. You're progress, as little as it is at the moment, will mean nothing in the long run of this Game, so don't bother yourself with NPC's and their problems. Better men then you have tried winning, and you'll either break under the constant repeats, or turn into a monster."
"And what about you? You don't seem like The Game has gotten to you."
Ren grinned tiredly. It did, long ago. "I'm simply sick of playing against the infinite number of odds against me. I've won and lost more times then you can think of, more then I can recall. At this point, I'm taking a very long, much deserved, vacation. One that I don't ever plan on ending as long as this game continues."
Jaune frowned sadly. Guess his lazy and tired attitude did came from his never ending resets. He had always thought that it was due to Nora's hyperactive attitude. Just how much about Ren did he know really? Not much when he stopped to think about it. But this time would be different. He had been given a new chance to change things for the better.
"Then you don't have to worry about it. I'll finish this game once and for all. I promise you that!" he grinned widely, pointing his thumb at himself.
A bitter chuckle left Ren's lips. He really did have an idiot as a leader. Made him question why, in every reset that he had gone through, did Ozpin choose him as leader of team JNPR.
"Don't waste your breath making promises you have no chance in keeping." he said with a scoff.
Knowing that Ren was done talking to him any further about the Game, Jaune hit the Home button on his scroll. It didn't matter what the ninja like hunter would tell him, nothing would stop him from fixing things.
"Well, do make sure to read over it carefully, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled, "We don't want you walking into the wrong class, now would we? You're our leader after all, you have to lead by example."
"Don't worry, Pyrrha. I'll make sure to be the best leader you've ever seen." he grinned. While it may of just come off as a simple grin to others, to Pyrrha's eyes it was like looking at the bright sun. She blushed, looking away shyly.
"We'll see about that." Ren smiled stiffly.
Was it just him, or did Ren looked even more ticked off then usually? Jaune had hardly seen that side of Ren before becoming a Gamer. All he did was grin! What about that pissed him off?
"Well, me and Ren better be heading off to class. We have Dust Studies next." Pyrrha smiled before following after the raven haired boy.
"Watch out for the professor's dust bombs! He doesn't care for comedians!" he shouted back to their retreating backs.
He rubbed the back of his head, turning back to making his way to his own class. Hopefully he wouldn't have any trouble with his new Field Studies teacher.
A bored sigh escaped Ivy Antheia's lips as she left her new students to talk over the class. She sat down in front of her class, leaning her head against her propped hand. The students were busy with reading over the synopsis of what they would be expecting in her class. She would of gone over it herself, but she wasn't really in the mood right now.
It's not that she wasn't happy with being a teacher in Beacon Academy. When Headmaster Ozpin had come to her with the proposal of teaching the next generation of hunters and huntresses at his school, she had jumped at the chance. It wasn't everyday that you were offered such a chance. Not to mention their facilities were top notch, her babies would grow nicely in Beacon's beautiful gardens. She would have to be an idiot to turn down such an offer.
But she was also doing it to take some time off her searching. She wasn't getting any younger even if she still looked great. She was wearing dark blue overalls with hunter green armor platted knee braces, a green blouse,a left chain mail sleeve decorated with autumn leafs, waterproof black boots , and nice looking straw sunhat decorated with roses. A hand with a garden sprout blooming from the palm was stitched to back of her blouse. All in all, she was pretty fine looking if she did say so herself. And men noticed. A slight smirk made its way to her lips noticing some of the male students sneak peeks at her, marveling at her orange hair tied in a nice french braid over her shoulder and the one button left undone to leave her the skin of her breast out for the world to see. They weren't well endowed like other woman but they were just right in her opinion. Even with her eyes always closed she could see them checking her out.
That was the problem though. They weren't the kind of men she was looking for. Sure, some of them were blonde, but no blue eyes. They were younger, but they acted like hormonal boys. And she could already tell that none of them could even dance. They could slay creatures of darkness with ease but would probably trip over themselves in a waltz.
While others spent their time fighting monsters or furthering their studies, Professor Antheia was busy searching the world for her perfect man. She could still remember the bedtime stories her parents read to her every night before bed about the heroes with blonde hair and blue eyes, how they fought for justice and peace, and were always noble and kind. Many woman would of given up on searching for such a man as they grew older, but not Ivy. No, she still held onto such visions and grew into a romantic of sorts, looking out for her missing half in her line as a huntresses. Even in her studies in Botany she looked out for him in the massive jungles of Remnant, hoping and praying to stumble upon him.
Another sigh left her as she straightened herself. But no, she had yet to meet him. There truly was no one out their that matched her vision. All her years had left her with false hopes. Maybe she was being a perfectionist again. She couldn't help it. Was it so wrong to chase off any man who failed to have even one of her requirements with Nadar Fearg, her personal weapon? Guess it was too much to be asking for her own knight in shining armor to just stroll into her life. Maybe she should just settle instead.
The door to her class suddenly opened, breaking her out of her thoughts as voice followed through.
"Dammit, how late am I? Hope the teacher doesn't get mad." Jaune silently cursed to himself, groaning a second later as another buzz escaped his pocket. Looked like silent mode didn't work on the scroll's Gamer functions.
'Welcome to Field Studies Class! In this special class, the Player will be learning about the plant life and benefits of Remnant's earthly delights! By gaining knowledge in this study, the Player will have access to learning how to create Potions and Special Items that restore Health/Aura and Mana. Certain recipes may even temporarily boost stats for a limited time along with other to be discovered bonuses. Pay attention in class now! Being teacher's pet could never be so fun.'
That was weird. Jaune shivered. Why did it send him chills?
"Jaune-Jaune!" At least he had Nora with him in class. He looked towards his energetic teammate, waving back to her. That was a good thing, right? It was an honest to god question. Or Oum. Maybe Ren was on to something.
Professor raised a brow as what she guessed was a late student walked into her class. She was ready to ask him what his reasons were for being late were before freezing still. Her body stiffened and her breath stopped. Blue eyes and blonde hair greeted her, her own blue eyes opening to meet his own. He smiled sheepishly at her, rubbing the back of his head in shame.
"Uh, hi there, Professor Antheia, right? Sorry I'm late, just got out of being turned into an ice sculpture from my last class." he apologized with an embarrassed chuckle. Wasn't exactly a lie despite how crazy it sounded.
"Sup, Vomit Boy!" Yang grinned from her seat next to her partner. She looked towards him and noticed him shivering slightly. "Don't tell me you got cold feet coming to class. Eh, eh?" she wiggled her brows.
"Boo! Go back to Signal!"
"Nora's right." Black chuckled as the busty blonde huffed. "That was pretty lame."
"Pfft! You all just have no taste is all." she grumbled.
Jaune smiled at his friends. At least he had them to help him out in this new class. Though partnering with Nora was going to be a hassle. The girl wasn't dumb, but she was too full of energy for her own good. The grin she was giving him was a little worrying. He turned back to meet his new teacher, hoping to make a good impression. Didn't want her burying him under mulch or something unpleasant.
He blinked, noticing that his view was now blocked by the curious blue eyes of the orange haired teacher staring at him. She was bent slightly over to meet his eyes, giving him a peek into her hidden valley. A blush rose at the sight and attention.
"P-Professor Antheia? Is something wrong? I don't have ice on my face, do I?" he asked nervously, gulping as he tried to keep his eyes on her face.
"You have. . .blue eyes?" she asked softly, tilting her head curiously.
"Yeah? Why?" Was their something wrong with that?
"And your hair, it's blonde?"
"Well, yeah. I'm a natural blonde."
"Really? How interesting." she purred, smiling in a way that sent shivers down his spine.
Yang looked towards the scene in utter confusion. What the hell was she looking at? Was it her or was the teacher purposely leaning in a way that gave Jaune an ample view of her chest? She couldn't be the only one in class seeing that.
"You're seeing what I'm seeing, right Blake?" she whispered to her partner.
"I don't know what I'm seeing. It can't possibly be what your thinking of though." Blake answered back. If she was honest with herself, it looked like some scene from one her books.
Professor Antheia fixed herself up, smiling back at Jaune as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I never caught your name, my dear."
"Oh, sorry about that." Jaune apologized. "Name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." he smiled charmingly.
His hand slapped over his mouth in embarrassment as the class laughed at him. God dammit! He didn't mean to say that! The hell was going on with his mouth? He wasn't going to be living this down anytime soon. The teacher was going to hate him for sure. Hopefully she wouldn't do anything worse then Professor Pithos.
'Congratulations! Ivy Antheia's Admiration for you has been Unlocked!'
The fuck?
A chill ran down Jaune's head to his toes. Whatever he just said seemed to of done the opposite of what he expected.
Ivy's heart stopped in the face of the blonde boy's smile. It was dazzling, innocent, and so naive. His pick up line was so cheesy she could melt it on top of corn chips. She bit her lip, stopping herself from doing anything too drastic. Not when she still had a class to teach.
But he had her attention. Oh, yes. Jaune Arc looked promising indeed.
Calming down the students laughter, Professor Antheia patted the blonde boy's cheek with giggle, "Well, this lady likes the sound of it. How about you take a seat, Mr. Arc? Class is still in session."
Jaune nodded his head, fighting another blush as he felt her soft hands caress his face. The hell did he do? He was imagining things, right? Maybe he found a glitch or something.
"Oh, oh, oh! You can sit next to me, Jaune!" Nora grinned widely, gesturing to the seat next to her. "This seats empty!"
"No, its not." Jaune frowned. A student was already sitting there. And he looked just as confused as him.
"My leg!"
A loud snap echoed in the class followed by a body flying across the left row of the room. Jaune felt a twitch develop in his eye again. Well, the seat had been occupied. Looked like Nora had solved the little issue for him. Did she have to bring her hammer with her?
"Oh my. Looks we have a problem with our seats. I thought the Headmaster had decided against the rocket propelled models." Professor Antheia smiled pleasantly. The class looked at her with skepticism. Did she not care or was she blind?
"Well nothing to do now. Someone take our poor student to the nurse. You, Mr. Arc, can head to your seat now. I believe Ms. Valkyrie is in need of a seating buddy." Her fingers lingered for a moment more before dropping to her side. She gave Jaune one last smile before walking back to her desk to start teaching.
Her fire was lite again. Now she was excited to be teaching again. And what a lesson she would be teaching.
"Oh, and Mr. Arc? Do you happen to know the high classification name for a rose by chance?" she asked without turning back. Didn't want to get her hopes up now.
Jaune frowned in thought as he took his seat next to his teammate. He knew this one. One of his sisters had a green thumb for this kinda stuff. And it even rubbed off on him.
"Rosoideae. It's also ranked as a Genus plant and has a hundred known species and thousands of cultivars." he answered.
Professor Antheia held in a pleased gasp. She was definitely keeping a close eye on him. Looked like her knight might of just walked right into her life after all.
"I'm definitely not crazy, Blake. I'm a hundred percent sure that teach over her was shaking her hips. I should know, I know it when I sees it!"
"She did what?" Weiss asked in disbelief, not believing her ears.
"She's lying, Weiss." Jaune shook his head as teams RWBY and JNPR met up for the last class of the day, Combat Class. "Yang's just seeing things. Professor Antheia probably had something in her teeth." he waved the matter away, instead focusing his attention on the screen of his scroll.
'Welcome to Combat Class! In this class you will be learning how to fight against not Grimm, but your fellow Hunters and Huntresses! Here the Player will be able to practice their new skills and abilities while also building up their stats in Spars, battles against your fellow students. Don't be afraid of trying out new techniques and styles, new abilities can be Unlocked in Combat Class and some Bonds can even grow stronger with certain characters. So break a leg! Fifty Lien it'll be your own if not anyone else.'
The hell was up with The Game? Did it have an assholes conscious?
"So she bit her lips to get rid of some lettuce? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" Yang scoffed. "Face it, Vomit Boy, the teacher's got the hots for you. Which is pretty kinky when you think about it. Who knew that cheesy pick up line would work?"
Ruby stamped her fist into her palm with a look of awe, "So it does work? Guess ladies do love it." she shrugged.
Weiss scoffed, "Yeah, right. Tall, blonde, and scraggly over her doesn't exactly come off as a ladies man to me."
Why couldn't his Snow Angel remember being friends with him? They kissed for crying out loud! If this is what Ren was talking about when he mentioned the problems of resets then he could understand why he got sick of it. He was going to have to start his progress with Weiss all over again. Hopefully he could charm her in this new life.
Field Studies was finally over with and he was relieved to be heading to Goodwitch's class. The new teacher kept shooting him looks when she was going over their lesson plan for the semester. He didn't want to believe it but it looked he did unlock her Affection. Every time he answered one of her questions correctly he gained experience towards her Affection Lvl. He had already reached Lvl 2 in the last two hours. Who knew having a green thumb would win him points in Affection?
'She does act weird. I swear I've only seen looks like that from Yang when she's flirting. What are the chances of that though? I got better odds winning Pyrrha's heart without even trying.'
He was kind of excited for Combat class though. With his new abilities and powers he just might win a match for once. Not against the likes of Ruby, or god forbid, Pyrrha, but against one of the regular students he could drag out a win. Now was the time to see what he could really do.
Pyrrha was not happy with what she was hearing. Her partner couldn't of attracted attention from someone like a teacher. She was hoping that the rest would miss out on how great a guy he was, but it looked like someone else was seeing what she was seeing. And Professor Antheia was a looker.
"I'm sure it was nothing. After all, teachers can't date students, can they?" she asked with a frown.
"Beacon isn't exactly a regular school." Blake chipped in. "It's an academy that trains future hunters and huntresses how to kill monsters. We may be kids, but we're being treated as adults too. Why else do you think things like bullying aren't reported? We have to deal with these kind of things ourselves. As far as their concerned, we're old enough to be treated as young adults."
"And that means teachers can date students?"
"Who knows? I didn't read the rule book on what was acceptable when it comes to student and teacher relationships."
"Oooh, I sense tension~!" Nora sang.
Alright, now Jaune needed a distraction. His life was game, not a soap opera! Fighting Yang with her semblance activated would be much better than this.
"Settle down now, class." Ms. Goodwitch smiled as she walked in. Their attention immediately fell onto her. Today was the day that they would finally begin sparring against another. The first day was simply introduction to combat and some history on the subject of fighting Grimm in general. And while all that was important and junk, they had all been eager to start fighting on the first day. Beacon was a combat school after all. The students were more then excited to be practicing their skills on another.
"Seeing as I have your attentions, we'll begin our first sparring match in just a few minutes. So I suggest you all have your weapons prepared when you're called. If not, the locker rooms are open if you need a moment to prepare yourselves. It is important to think over what you bring in to battle after all, it may even save your life on the field."
Ruby was giddy. This was her favorite class of all time. Sure, it was only her second day in said class and they had yet to do any real fighting till now, but she stood by her decision. After all, a class where she was graded on her abilities with Crescent Rose basically guaranteed her an A+! If only they had Combat class for every period instead. She'd graduate with flying colors.
"Looks like its time for the Queen of the Castle to break some legs!" Nora said excitedly.
Ren held back a sigh. It was times like this he had actually worried for the NPC's health. No one deserved what the orange haired valkyrie was packing.
"Up first, we have Jaune Arc,"
Pyrrha smiled encouragingly at her partner. "Looks like you're up, Jaune."
"If I can't break a leg, then break some for me, boss man!"
"Right." Jaune tried to smile, only to come out with a nervous laugh. He really wasn't sure just how strong he had become till he read over his status. And it wasn't exactly flattering.
'Jaune Arc, Heart of the Gamer, Lvl: 5.
3,500/3,500HP. 60/60MP.
Strength: 7(7.7)
Defense: 10(11)
Agility: 7(8.5)
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 5
Luck: 10(10.5)'
He shut his scroll with a sigh. Looked like he really did have his progress brought down to zero. By holding the Bonds option for ten seconds he was able to bring up his own status. And now he could look over his own stats. They weren't much. His own level must of started off as three before leveling up after defeating the Deathstalker with his team. Everyone must of have been levels higher then him. They were probably in their thirties. His perks gave him the slightest edge, but they weren't enough in the long run when compared to the others. Made him wonder how he was able to deal so much damage to the Grimm.
Hopefully his opponent wasn't too strong. Anyone other then his own team and RWBY and he might just last long enough to not be considered a loser again.
"Vs. Carding Winchester!"
Fuck it! He was screwed!
'God, if you're there, I know your laughing at me now. You sadistic bastard.'
A heavy hand slapped his right shoulder. Jaune winced, the sound of a familiar laugh entering his ears. Didn't need eyes to know who that was.
"Looks like you and me are up, Jauney-boy." Cardin grinned smugly. "Try not to trip over yourself. Wouldn't want you sent to the nurses twice in one day, now would we?"
Cardin smacked his back, nearly sending him falling forward. Almost forgot how strong the guy was. Was not looking forward to that. He watched his once bully walk away to the locker rooms to get his armor and weapon ready. He was going to have to luck out a win. Maybe Teres Mors came with a buff of its own. Going have to check his stats out when he had the chance later.
"Yeah, good luck with that." Ren commented. Cardin, despite how much of a jerk he acted as, was still a well trained hunter and leader of his own team. Not to mention that mace of his packed an explosive punch. He wouldn't be an easy match for a low leveled Player like Jaune.
Sounded like a good show to him.
"Just whisper 'lilac', I'm sure it's his safe word." he chuckled evilly.
Jaune gulped. May the five percent in his luck stat guide him to victory.
A quick trip to the lockers later and both hunters in training were ready for their first spar. The rest of the class stood by in the upper level of the auditorium, gated off by hologram walls as the two stood apart from another in the stadium arena floor. Cheers filled the air, anticipating the fight before them.
Jaune calmed his heart beat. He took on and defeated Grimm larger then him, fought against a White Fang member that used a chainsaw of all things as his weapon, and trained with Pyrrha Nikos of all people. Fighting Cardin should be a piece of cake. Maybe. He was pretty sure that even in his past life he couldn't beat Cardin, fight him to draw if he was lucky, but not come out a winner.
His hand gripped the sheathed handle of Crocea Mors tightly. He shook his head. No, he was done looking down at himself. It didn't really solve anything. All he could do was try. Even against impossible odds he still tried.
"You know, as much of a spazz as you look, we're not so different, Arc." Cardin rolled his neck, cracking it as he looked back at his opponent with a grin. "We both come from forgotten families of the Great War. The only difference being that I plan to make sure my family is remembered for my glory, and not an embarrassment like you." he laughed.
Jaune scowled. He wasn't going to let the cards fall the same way as they did before. He was done being bullied by Cardin. This time, he would show him he wasn't to be messed with.
"Are we going to fight, or do you want to gossip like a lunchroom full of school girls?" he challenged, sliding his sword out from its sheath.
"As a schoolgirl, I find that offensive!"
"It's a figure of speech, Yang!" he shouted back at he blonde. And where the hell did they little flags with his name on them. And were those fireworks? Who thought it was a good idea to give them to Nora?
"Begin!"
"Shit!" The shadow of Cardin's mace fell upon him as he looked up to find his opponent already on the move. He stepped to the right, swinging his blade at Cardin's left side. Cardin countered the swing, knocking the sword away with powerful swipe. The leader of CRDL then spun on his foot, swinging his heavy mace in a roundhouse swing. The titanium made weapon hit its target, slamming into Jaune's chest before he could raise his shield to defend himself. Jaune grit his teeth in pain. Looked like Carding channeled his aura through the tips of his mace. He was pretty sure his aura had taken a good hit from that swing.
The blow sent him skidding back on his sneakers, allowing him some space to gather his thoughts for a second. His right eye glowed, a target cross hair replacing his pupil.
"Scan." he panted to himself.
'Cardin Winchester, 4,500/4,500HP.'
Looked like he had over a thousand HP over him. It still wasn't as much as he expected. Jaune really wished his 'Scan' ability could do more then show HP.
A shout broke him out of his thoughts, warning him to the charging form of Cardin. Jaune quickly rose his shield to block the powerful blow descending towards him. An echoing ring blew up in the air as the weapon dropped onto his defense.
Pain ran through his arm before he pushed his shield back, sending Cardin stumbling. He ran with Crocea Mors swinging in falling arc. Cardin blocked the blade with the shaft of his mace. He kicked his leg into Jaune's abdomen, sending him back before pressing the button above the hilt. "Guard against this!" he shouted loudly, raising his mace up high before slamming it in Jaune's line of sight.
Explosive flames blew up in a line after Jaune. His shield faced towards the blast, taking the blunt of it. The flames still passed by him, dropping his aura lower as he stood his ground.
'Dammit, I gotta get a hit in at least!' The explosions died down, allowing him to fan away the flames with his shield. He was sweating, grimacing from the licking flames eating away at his health slowly.
Cardin wasn't giving im another second to breath as he jumped high up. He moved his mace to his side, firing off another blast to send him rocketing towards his opponent. Jaune jumped away from the spot, missing the eruption of flames breaking apart the floor to shrapnel from the dropping hammer strike. An idea struck him. Facing the blade to its flat surface the blonde knight batted the airborne broken tiles with heavy swing. The shrapnel pelted Cardin's body, causing some damage. The gray armored hunter growled in annoyance. A swing of his weapon rid him of the firing tiles. He smirked only to curse as he found Jaune inside his guard. His sword was pulled back, glowing with white aura.
Now was a perfect opportunity to use his new Skill. It did deal a fifty percent bonus to his attack.
"Power Strike!"
The air in Cardin's lungs disappeared, leaving him gasping as the sword struck his gut, cracking his chest armor. His face grimaced angrily. The little punk could hit?! That was some swing. But like hell he was dropping after one hit! He drove his fist into the side of Jaune's face, the blow knocking him away.
Cardin grit his teeth. He underestimated Jaune. Despite how scrawny he looked, he could pack a punch behind his sword.
The two hunters dashed to the middle of the ring, locking their weapons against another. Sparks flew in between the two as they swung at another. Jaune blocked a heavy swing, batting it away before following it up with stab to Cardin's chest. Cardin weaved to the right, countering with a falling blow. The dust crystal at its top glowed, firing off an explosion into Jaune's guard. The knight found himself blown back from the close detonation, nearly falling back as smoke lingered on his body.
"Teres Mors!" Jaune shouted, feeling the familiar sensation of power run through his sword arm. If he wanted to have any chance at winning, he was going to have to rely on his abilities. White energy morphed the old gray blade to its red rose themed form.
"His sword can transform!?" Ruby gasped from the spectators seats. She was pretty sure he had told her that it was just a regular old sword. Why would he lie? "Jaune, you liar! You told me your sword didn't do anything! How could you play with a maidens heart like that!?" she cried.
"Now's not the time, Ruby!" Jaune shouted back, dodging a series of swift swings from Cardin. How much did that thing weigh? It felt like a ton had hit him. How strong was Cardin to wave it around with just one hand?
Seeing a wide swing coming for his head, Jaune quickly ducked under the mace, slashing at Cardin's exposed lower body. The brown haired teen growled, turning on his feet to slam his mace under Jaune's chin. The blow sent him flying up, leaving him wide open for another attack. The maces tips parted, revealing the red dust crystal glowing an angry red in response to his aura. A large fireball fired off from the center, engulfing Jaune in a ball of flames larger then his body.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted in alarm. From the screen above the battle she could see that his aura was already close to dropping into the red. A few more hits and he'd have nothing to protect him. It was already looking like a win for CRDL's leader.
Through the flames a barbed vine shot out, snapping to the hand wielding the mace. It coiled tightly around Cardin's wrist, stabbing his skin. And with a mighty pull form its wielder, the hunter was pulled up. The flames died down, revealing Jaune lightly burnt, openly gritting his teeth as he used all his strength to yank his opponent to him. He spun around, performing an aerial spin slash just as Cardin fell within arms reach.
The blow sent Cardin falling back with a shout. Seeing a chance, Jaune stabbed Teres Mors into the ground as he landed, "Teres Blade: Uproot!"
Cardin grimaced slightly as he tried rising up, only to frown as he felt the ground under him tremble. Trusting his instincts he rolled to the side. The floor tiles erupted in a cloud of dust as a vine like lance stabbed the spot his fell on. Jaune wasn't done though. He continued pumping his MP into the blade, continuously firing off his skill. Cardin was left to dodge several more vines uprooting underneath his feet, sweating as one spine had come close, grazing his nose. Fine, if that's how blonde wanted to play, then he would have to turn things up a notch. He twirled his mace, raising it high up with both hands gripping its handle. He roared as he dropped it to the ground in front of him, unloading everything his Dust crystal was capable of in his line of sight. A slight rumble below his feet was ignored in favor of standing his ground.
The mace let loose a series of rushing explosives booms aimed at Jaune, towering his body in a wall of racing flames. The blonde cursed, even his shield couldn't block such a move. Looked like he was done for.
A white bladed vine shot up from below Cardin's feet, kicking him up in the air as it rammed underneath his chin with the force of a firing piston. The line of explosions soon engulfed Jaune, his shield doing little to protect his whole body from the fire damage eating away at his aura. As the flames died down, Jaune was left on his knee's, his armor singed and body wafting with smoke from his scorched clothing. He panted, sweating from the heat as he took a look at his scroll attached to the back of his shield. '675HP/3,500HP.'Damn, he was in the red. Didn't look like he was going to be winning.
Cardin fell back down with a grunt, rubbing his aching jaw with a scowl. Son of a bitch did that hurt! It was like getting hit with a cheap uppercut by an Atlesian Knight. He quickly got back on his feet, spitting out bloody wad to the floor as he wiped his lips. That actually took him by surprise. Who knew Jaune had something like that in his sleeves? Didn't matter though, he thought, bending his knees for a charging blow. Looked like he was just about done.
"Match set!" The booming shout of Professor Goodwitch stopped Cardin mid-charge, catching himself before he stumbled into Jaune. He frowned, the match was over already? He was just getting warmed up though!
Looking up at the hologram board over his head, he was surprised to see a fourth of his aura had been knocked down. He was sure that he hadn't taken that much damage! Cardin grumbled, had to give the scrawny blonde credit. He thought he would of gone done with two or three hits.
"Oh, thank god." Jaune gasped in relief, letting himself drop to his back. He couldn't remember his first fight with Cardin being this heated. It was mostly him being smacked around by his heavy mace like a ball. He was more then proud to say he lasted more then a minute against a trained hunter, even if said hunter was in training. More experience then him.
The class cheered for the two students, pumped for the first spar of the school year. Professor Goodwitch smiled as she made her way down to the two hunters.
"That was an excellent first match, boys. You both came at another without holding back, showing the same ferocity one must show when facing the Grimm. Though one of you is the winner, you both displayed great skill." she praised. Her face then frowned, fixing her glasses to get a better look at the two, "But you both still have much to improve upon as well." her riding crop slapped against Cardin's forehead, causing to wince with a small glare at his teacher, "Mr. Winchester, you display great strength but lack a sense of your surroundings. You could have easily side stepped out of Mr. Arc's last attack. Not to mention you charge heedlessly into the fray without planning a head. Do work on that."
She turned her eyes to Jaune next, watching him rise up with a wince from his injuries, "And you, Mr. Arc, display great skill in blocking against attacks. Not to mention your large pool of aura allows you to take heavy hits better than most. However, you lack in every other category. Your strength is sub par, your agility leaves much room for improvement, and your timing needs much work as well. And while you seem to posses a unique semblance that alters your swords appearance, you still seem to fight as if it were a regular sword when it's a short sword. You also wasted a lot of energy on that last attack when you could have saved it for later when your opponent has been worn down. You have a lot to improve upon, do take the time to think of what you could of done differently during the match."
The blonde haired knight could only sigh in defeat. "I could dodge more, that's for sure." Almost forgot about the fact Cardin's mace had a fire dust crystal. The guy never used it when they sparred against another. Guess he should feel flattered for having the honor of being roasted by his flames.
"Better luck next time, Jauney-boy!" Cardin laughed over his shoulder as he made his way to his team. "You ain't going to be killing any Grimm with that little sword of yours anytime soon!"
"I'll have you know it's not the size of the blade that matters, but how you use it!" Jaune yelled back, waving Teres Mors at his retreating back.
"Oh, really? Then how about showing me some time, Lover boy?" The blonde locks of hair cascading over his shoulders warned Jaune of the busty body pressed against his back. He gulped as he felt Yang's hot breath wash over his neck. "We can spar anytime your swords got an itch you can't scratch." she teased with a saucy grin.
Stupid jeans! Can't they hide a tent when he needed them?
Ruby quirked her brow as the two teams walked down to met the blonde knight, "Swords don't itch. You're not making a lot of sense, Yang. And why can't he do it himself, I'm sure he doesn't need you to take care of his itch."
"Yeah! That's what the bathrooms are for, and Ren's bed." Nora grinned.
"No! You take that anywhere else but my precious bed!" Ren felt his own eye twitch in annoyance. If their was one definitive thing he cherished in his never ending hell, it was his bed.
"Ignoring all that, you did rather well for your first spar, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled, pushing away the blonde girl from his back. She frowned, noticing the burns over the exposed skin of his body. "Perhaps we should take you to the nurses office. You did suffer quite a beating."
Jaune pushed away the thought, "I'm fine, really. I just need some time for my aura to heal my burns. Too bad they can't do anything about my hoodie though." he murmured sadly. It looked like it was ready to come apart at the seams. How the hell did everyone else keep their clothes from being torn or scorched? He was going to run out of clothes by the end of the semester at this rate.
"It does look to be in poor shape now." the red headed spartan nodded, noticing the large patches of smoking holes in his clothing. Taking a closer look, she gasped suddenly into her hand, catching the others attention.
"Hmm? What is it, Pyrrha?" Weiss asked in confusion.
"Jaune? What happened to your shoulder?" Pyrrha looked at her partner with worry and slight horror.
"What are you talking about?" Jaune was sure he hadn't been too hurt by Cardin's mace. It left him aching with some bruises and burns, but nothing to panic about. All that was really damaged was his pride. Again.
Now every one of his friends was staring at his shoulder with aghast expressions. Ren was still calm, but he was frowning at him, just as lost as he was. Might as well see what they were worrying about.
Moving his head down to his left shoulder, Jaune could see the gaping hole burnt into his hoodie stretching from the shoulder to underneath his breast plate where his bicep was. He was confused for a second at what the fuss was about when he saw it.
An ugly faded scar, seeming to run across his shoulder blade and bellow his hoodie. The visible flesh looked torn into, as if someone had run a sawing blade against it. The memory of his body being torn through reared itself into his head, causing the faded scar burn viciously. The intensity of it was too much, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his partner caught him with a startled cry.
"Jaune, Jaune! Oh, my god, we have to get him to the nurses office quick!" Pyrrha shouted loudly. She nodded her head thankfully towards Yang as she found the boxer pull Jaune's free shoulder over her own to carry.
Watching on as the girls got the hurried 'alright' from Professor Goodwitch, Ren was left with his own questions as they ran off to carry their leader for medical attention.
With every Reset, they Game brought you back to a save point, reversing everything from experience, to wounds, back to what they were at the start. Even scars vanished. So why did Jaune have a scar that should have faded away when he became a Player?
'Even when I'm done trying, this damn Game finds a way to drag me back in. Only you, Jaune.'
Ohhh, mystery!
An old, or new, scar has reared its head and even Ren is baffled. What does this mean for Jaune? What exactly happens to the original body, the soul, when a Player resets? The future is glitchy, and we're only just getting started.
I really do hope I didn't misspell anything this time. Other grammar errors aside, I like to pride myself on spelling at least. Even if I never one a spelling bee. Hmph, I'm smart too! I simply suffer from a common disease, laziness. Sadly there is no cure nor hope for stopping it. Accept, I know I did.
Next chapter leads us into the FoF Arc, Friends of Faunas. And I'm already going over the plans for this one. It will lead off into Forever Falls, where paths will cross! I'm so excited!
And, on a side note, our first ever DLC will hopefully appear with next week's chapter. Remember the Side Quest, Fairy Tales? They're going to act as bonus chapters, or Omakes if you're more familiar with that term, with every occasional chapter released. They'll fit into the stories sometimes, and others will be just for shits and giggles.
Now I need sleep! Got a bad habit with writing close to twelve at night. And I work five day straight, 7am-3pm. Thank god for my coffee.
Read and Review! It's common courtesy, Yup, Yup!
NeoShadows fading in and out.