Don't Own Rwby or D&D, Only The Oc
'thought'
"Speech"
System Text
"Tvs, Radios, and Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."
Salutations!
I sit up with a gasp and stare blankly at a screen before me.
You have been reborn! You are welcome!
I am the Departed Immigration and Complementary Enlightenment System! But you can call me D.I.C.E.!
"Dice...s?" I frown.
I blink slowly and look down at my pale hands.
'Why the hell am I not freaking out?'
I look past the two small pale appendages to see that I am on some sort of blood stained stone alter, the blood has been long since dried as lines cascade across it, glowing a dim cyan blue.
Why 'Departed Immigration and Complementary Enlightenment', you might ask? Well, my creators really wanted to get an acronym that spelt Dice! Simple, right?
There is a reason to this madness, however, this system allows you to become a d&d character! Incredible, right?! However, it's not the average D&D system, you don't exactly get Exp... what you DO get however, is a little something called 'Electrum'.
We will get into that in a moment! First let's make you, shall we?
A screen appears before me, showing a simple character sheet.
Immediately I look down to see the words 'BAB' and smirk.
'good... my home system... 3.5'
If you haven't already noticed, the DICE system automatically aligns itself to whatever system you are most familiar with.
Name:
Level: 0
Class: None
Race: Human
Stats:
STR: 0
DEX: 0
CON: 0
INT: 0
WIS: 0
CHA: 0
Now, a couple things might be going through your head right now, primarily, 'Why aren't I dead. A living creature with 0 in stats literally cannot function'. And well, it's quite simple. This is the tutorial, friend! Rules don't apply here! First, shall we roll your stats?
The sound of dice clinking around from somewhere causes me to flinch
Statistic 1: 11!
Statistic 2: 15!
Statistic 3: 15!
Statistic 4: 12!
Statistic 5: 13!
Statistic 6: 14!
Why don't we select your class, next?
I am pulled to a class page.
Now, these classes function practically the same as they did in your original 3.5 system, however, there is a massive change you will find in this system, as previously stated, you won't get any exp. What you do get, is Electrum.
Electrum is the shop's currency, the shop allows you to purchase Levels, Skill Points, Feats, Items, Stat points, race changes, templates, class swaps, and even special rules like 'Gestalting'! The regular way you get 'Electrum' is by gaining 'achievements', completing quests appointed by the system, or through completing bounties by killing 'Elite' enemies... which is technically a quest now that I think about it.
Anyways, there is a second way to gain Electrum!
For standard classes, every seven days you survive you will gain 1 Electrum for every level you have, to save up for anything worthwhile you'll need to save up for quite a while~
However, there are a second set of classes that allow you to get much more out of surviving day to day! The NPC classes!
Every day your survive as an NPC class is a victory, thus, every day you live, you gain 1 Electrum per level of an NPC class you have.
However, if you are a true dare devil, and TRUELY believe in your skill, you may select the weakest of all NPC classes, the 'Commoner'! Every day you survive as one of those, you gain 2 Electrum per commoner class level! Potentially allowing you to get the good stuff in an extremely short time!
Now, please select your class!
I frown slightly and cross my arms.
Technically it would be better to select an NPC class for my first level.
I slowly gain a smirk.
A level one Wizard, Sorcerer, or Cleric, would be a decent choice, however, at this level they aren't all that much stronger than a certain NPC class.
I reach up and tap a search bar near the top of the screen and type in 'Adept'.
The class appears instantly, causing me to smile and double tap on it.
Are you sure you want to select this class? (Y/N)
I reach out and tap the 'Y' and slowly gain a savage grin.
Please allocate your Stats, Skillpoints, Feats, and more! You've played D&D before! You can do it!
Ohoho I am going to break myself.
Name: Nicodemus
Level: 1
Class: Adept
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Stats:
Hp: 8/8
Armor Class: 12
STR: 11
DEX: 15
CON: 14
INT: 12
WIS: 15
CHA: 13
Spells Chosen Today:
Cantrips: (Infinite Castings) 3/3
Cure Minor Wounds:
Heals slight wounds to a target or yourself.
Create Water:
Allows you to create 2 gallons of fresh drinking water per 'Caster Level' in a single casting
Purify Food and Drink
Turns spoiled, rotten, poisonous, or otherwise contaminated food and water pure and suitable for eating and drinking.
Level 1 Spells: 2/2
Cure Light Wounds: (1 Prepared)
A stronger variant of 'Cure Minor Wounds' that improves slightly as your caster level increases.
Burning Hands: (1 Prepared)
This spell allows you to shoot a cone of burning red-hot embers that deal slight damage and sets anything flammable alight. The damage increases as your 'Caster Level' increases.
Feats:
Level 1 Feat:
Eschew Materials:
You no longer are required to have a material on hand for casting a spell if the item's cost is less than 1 GP.
Human Feat:
Snowcasting:
You may use a fistful of snow as a material component for your spells, if you do so, your spell gains the 'Cold' Descriptor, this does not change the spell in any way, but it does allow you to use certain feats upon the spell. Additionally, if this feat is used on a spell that already has the 'Cold' Descriptor, that spell is instead cast at +1 caster level.
I admire my new self with a small smile. I am starting to go into one of my favored builds... now all I need is a small race change, a couple more feats, then my Spell Save Difficulty Class goes through the roof!
A new screen appears before me.
Would you like to give yourself a penalty for extra Electrum? You may choose a penalty from a list if you really want, hell, you could even pick all of them if you wanted!
"Show me the list." I sigh, my slightly scratchy voice echoing out in the silent room, causing me to bring up a hand to my throat and rub it quietly.
Character Start Penalties:
Note: with the system, these aren't permanent. If you choose to maim yourself, you will remain maimed until you manage to gain powerful enough spellcasting to fix it, or simply pay the system to fix it for you.
Limb Loss: 1000 Electrum
You may choose one of your current 'Crucial Limbs' to sacrifice in order to gain more Electrum.
Special: This can be chosen multiple times, the amount of Electrum increasing by 50% for every additional time past the first.
Mute: 500 Electrum
You sacrifice your voice for more of that sweet, sweet, Electrum
Deaf: 1000 Electrum
You sacrificed your ears for more Electrum-
I stop reading the descriptions as it mostly seems to be things along the line of 'blah blah blah, Penalty for Electrum.'
Blind: 1000 Electrum
Weak Fortitude: 500 Electrum
Child-
Wait, child?
Child: 50 Electrum
You start out with the 'Young' Template. Dear god. I wonder how you remove it!
"…"
I let out a sigh and select child, then close the window.
Immediately I shrink, my hands become less than half of what they were originally,
I glance to my stats.
STR: 11 (7)
DEX: 15 (19)
CON: 14 (10)
INT: 12
WIS: 15
CHA: 13
'Fuck.'
'Ah well. That dexterity increase is nice.'
You may open the shop by thinking or saying 'Shop'.
'Shop.'
A new screen appears in front of me, several buttons are places around the screen, you have the 'Character Advancement/Alteration' side to the top left, showing a picture of a man in a wizard hat casting burning hands, to the top right, there is 'Items' showing a set of armor that looks like it is made out of blue crystal and stee- wait, is that the Stalhrim Armor from fucking skyrim?! Before I can examine it closely, the image shifts to a pair of gloves. Then a moment later, a bag that is opened, showing an absolutely massive interior.
I look to the final section at the bottom.
"Purchasable Settings."
The image is of someone staring at an open 'Dice' screen.
I shake my head and look up to the 'Character Advancement part.'
'Character Alteration.'
Nothing happens for a moment, but eventually the section glows blue and expands, shoving the other two parts out of the way and opening a small search bar.
I mentally ask for my new race.
It appears on the screen with a flash, causing me to smirk at its extremely low price... I think? I don't exactly know how much everything costs...
I tap on it twice.
Silverbrow Human:
Long ago, communities of humans welcomed disguised silver dragons into their villages, not knowing the truth about their new neighbors. In these communities, which were often secluded and small, half-dragon children became common as the dragon visitors married their human friends. they managed to hide their half-breed offspring long enough to teach them to take humanoid form magically. These children in turn became members of the community, and thus followed generation after generation with the mixed blood of humans and silver dragons. Over time, the overtly draconic physical characteristics faded, leaving human-looking children with silver dragon bloodlines.
Benefits:
Gain 'Dragonblood' Subtype
Gain +2 on Disguise, and Disguise is always considered a 'Class Skill' no matter what class you have chosen.
Gain an Additional Feat and additional Skill Point per level as all humans do.
Can cast 'Featherfall' Once per day (Plus 1 for every 5 levels the character has) as a spell like ability with caster level equal to the Silverbrow Human's character level.
Price: 10 Electrum
Would you like to purchase this?
(Yes) (No)
'Yes.'
Said word flashes blue as a warm light passes over me, my hands gain color, I am no longer as pale as I was, and that's wonderful! I looked like a vampire before! And with none of the badass benefits!
Honestly the pale coloring was probably from this body being ritualistically sacrificed and bled out on this alter here.
'hm, so I can use both mental and physical manipulation with the System. Good to know.'
I briefly go back and look up the price of my next level... and ohoho yeah... I might be in a bit of a pickle...
I need one hundred Electrum to become a level two. I need to survive for sixty days... or complete a quest of some sort...
I get off the alter and smile slowly. 'Alright. Let's do this.'
The alter dims as I pat my body down, my new child form lacks any muscle, but I have a dirty long sleeve shirt and long torn pants.
I flinch as my knees buckle slightly.
Changing Race to (Remnant) Silverbrow Human
I blink slowly.
Health has been Permanently halved before Constitution.
Capacity for Aura added.
? Trait Added.
I glance to my 'Status page' with a shaky smile.
Hp: 3/3
'Are you fucking shitting me right now?'
My shoulders slump slightly but I shake my head and look to the only exit to the room I am in.
'so, I am in Rwby, huh? Well... that is... a thing.'
I slowly walk my way out of the room, entering some sort of cave.
After minutes of walking, I reach the surface... or, well, I would have had I not crouched down beside some rocks near the entrance of the cave.
A Quest has been received:
Civilization where are you?
Find Civilization: [ ]
Rewards: 100 Electrum
I let out a quiet sigh and slowly creep forwards. As I come out of the cave, I kick something.
I blink slowly, eyes still getting used to the bright light and look down.
A pale woman lays on the ground, bleeding profusely from the side, letting out haggard breaths as she seems to be slipping in and out of consciousness.
I look back into my cave, but there is... nothing there?
I reach over and my hand passes through the wall.
"WHERE DID THAT BITCH GO?!" I hear someone shout in the distance.
I make a split-second decision, grabbing onto the woman's white cloak and dragging her slowly into the hidden cave. After we pass the threshold, I reach out and cast a cure light wounds on her that seems to calm her breathing as she slips into unconsciousness.
I continue dragging her deeper in the cave, casting cure minor wounds as I do. Luckily my first spell seems to have stopped some of the bleeding. She isn't going to die of blood-loss at any moment.
'shit.'
'Shop!'
The screen appears as mentally swap over to 'items'. Purchasing a roll of bandages, a bucket, several days worth of rations, a water flask, and a lantern.
Mundane non-alchemical items under 50 Gp are on the house! You can take them all for free! Just keep in mind you have a slight cooldown. Try not to crash the economy!
Thanks, System.
I open her black corset, it is wet with blood and has a large cut in it,
I wince as I spy her wound, still leaking blood. 'that's bad. Whoever did this to her nearly nicked her kidney.
I hold out my hand to the bucket and conjure some water, I quickly tear the bandages and wad them up before dunking them in the water.
She lets out weak groans as I clean her wound, then I barely am able to lift her enough to wrap a dry set of bandages around her torso, she lets out another weak groan as my fingers stray slightly too close to the wound.
'thank you, past me, for putting maximum ranks into 'Heal.' And having a high Wisdom stat!'
I place my hand on her wound and begin channeling a 'Cure Minor Wounds' every six or so seconds.
I let out a long breath, the rocks beneath my body causing slight discomfort as I slowly crack my eyes open to see the rocky ceiling of the place I call home. I tried to sleep, but it just wouldn't come.
I slowly sit up, rolling my shoulders as I look to the prone form of the woman I saved, laying unmoving on the floor.
I have managed to stabilize her, now all she needs to do is wake up...
She shifts slightly causing me to flinch.
I reach over and turn on an oil lantern sitting just to my left then look over to her just in time to see her slowly sit up, hand clutched to her forehead.
She looks around slowly, then widens her eyes slightly as she sees my lamp.
She flinches back, but winces and clutches her side, noticing the bandages wraped around her stomach.
"Don't move. You're still hurt."
'I think.'
Her eyes snap over to me, her eyes widening once more as she gazes into my own.
"Who... are you?"
I tilt my head. "I... don't know."
'let's play this as a child... well, because I am one.'
"You don't know?" The woman whispers.
"Mh mm" I shake my head with a small frown.
White crackling light briefly surrounds her as she winces and brings a hand up to her side, she gazes down at the bandages with a confused expression on her face. "Did... you do this?"
I nod silently as I bring my knees up to my chest. "You were bleeding, you would have died if I didn't."
"What's your name?" The woman softly whispers as she touches her bandaged side.
"I don't remember..." I mutter with a small frown. "But... I have started calling myself Nicodemus."
She brings a hand to her mouth. "You poor thing... you have amnesia?"
"I guess." I respond with a small frown.
"A-And you have been living on your own? Here?"
"Mhm." I nod slowly.
"Come here, please." The woman states while patting her lap.
I narrow my eyes warily.
"Oh... you don't trust me..." The woman states, sounding slightly heart broken. "That's... understandable I guess."
"My name is Summer... Summer Rose." The woman states as she brings a hand to her chest. "I am a huntress... from Vale... tasked with slaying the creatures of grimm and protecting the lives of people across the world. And I promise, on my life, that I will get you out of here and to safety."
'oh... shit...'
I slowly blink at her then walk over. "Are your bandages dirty?"
She looks down to her side as I stop beside her. "No, I think they are-"
She looks up and freezes as she makes eye contact with me.
"Y-Your eyes."
"What?! What's wrong with my eyes?" I ask as I take a small step back.
"T-They're... like mine..."
"…"
'fuck.'
I step back slowly and narrow my- apparently silver- eyes at her.
She reaches out and pats my head. "Shhh... it's okay. It's actually really good you have eyes like mine!"
"Do you have your aura unlocked?" She asks with a warm smile.
"What's aura?" I frown at her.
"Aura is the power of your soul, manifested, in order to strengthen your body and protect you. Here, let me unlock it for you."
She lays a hand on my head and closes her eyes.
**Crackle**
I blink down at my hands to see a lime green light crackling briefly around it.
She smiles and ruffles my hair. "This way if we get attacked, you might not get hurt."
You have unlocked your aura.
Aura is a separate bar from your Hp, it is used as additional hp and is spent enhancing yourself and activating your semblance. Your maximum aura pool is always double your health.
Whenever you 'activate' your aura, you spend 5 Aura per minute to gain an untyped +1 in your Str and Dex stat per character level, (Thus a level 20 character would gain +20 in both Strength and Dexterity) plus, you also gain Fast Healing 1
Your semblance will be unlocked eventually.
Your aura regenerates at a rate of 1/10 every 10 minutes.
I slowly step back and look at my hands. "Hmm..."
An achievement has been unlocked:
Aura:
Have someone unlock your aura!
Reward: 100 Electrum
'hm? That's enough to level up!'
I walk away and sit back by my lantern and mentally enter the shop, purchasing another level with a small smile.
'no extra daily spells, only one point in base attack bonus, one extra base save for will, and- a familiar?!'
'let's see here... toad... or hawk... one gives me three extra hitpoints, nearly doubling my current healt of five, plus it'd give me six more aura- I think... but it is utterly useless in combat... a hawk on the other hand... more Ac than me, much more health than a toad, plus it can deal some legitimate damage with its claws...'
'plus, it's cooler.'
With a frown I make my selection. It's not like this'll be permanent... I'm totally going to get a dragon familiar in the future.
A small shriek echoes throughout the cave as a hawk swoops down and lands next to me.
"Get away from that!" Summer abruptly shouts as she forces herself to her feet.
I stare at Summer for a long moment as the bird rubs its head up against my hand.
I reach over and pet it without breaking eye contact. "This is my friend."
"Your... friend?" She mutters as she weakly falls back to a sitting position with a wince.
"Mhm." I nod. "He wouldn't hurt me!"
The hawk lets out quiet trill as it nests beside me and begins preening its feathers.
"You... befrended a wild hawk?"
"Mhm." I nod as I get up and walk over to her, noticing her still clutching her side.
"You... are still hurt?" I ask with a frown.
She smiles weakly. "Your bandages helped, probably saved my life, but I'm still just a bit hurt."
'do I want healing to be classified as my semblance? There are probably worse things I could choose. This makes me a non-combatant and allows me to rack up TONS of NPC Electrum!'
I reach out and gently touch her wound, she flinches slightly as I frown.
'thank you, several ranks in healing and a high wisdom score... you give me boons once more.'
"Your wound opened from your movement earlier."
A warm golden glow steadily flows from my hands as the woman's eyes widen.
The warm glow flows from my hands and surrounds her bandaged side.
She shakily inhales with wide eyes. "Your semblance?! It's healing me?!"
I cast another 'cure light wounds' spell and continue channeling cure minor wounds after about sixty seconds later I step back and let out a panting breath. "Are- are you okay?"
She looks down at her side and slowly runs her hand along it. "I... how..."
She shakes her head. "I still hurt a little but you shouldn't tire yourself out! You have done enough!"
"Okay..." I mutter as I walk over and sit down next to my unnamed bird... I really should think of a name for him.
Pedro? Gary? Pidgey? I could just be unoriginal and call him 'Hawk'.
I'm fairly certain he is male, so a male name would be good.
'Fern? Fern sounds pretty good!'
"Hey... lady..." I begin.
"Yes?"
"What are you even doing out here?" I frown as I bring my knees up to my chest.
"I was sent here on a mission to kill grimm. Their numbers were growing out of control and threatening the nearby villages." She gives me a sad smile. "There were too many for me... and an alpha beowolf got a lucky hit on me."
I tilt my head. "But those have claws... your wound was just a single slash."
"I guess I got lucky and avoided the other claws."
I frown but say nothing as she lets out a shaky sigh.
"I think this might be my last mission." She states as she looks at the ground. "I-I have two children at home, you know? And it causes me incredible pain to even think about them having to live their lives without a mother."
"Hm." I hum with a half-lidded expression and a frown. "Sounds tough."
I reach over and begin petting Fern with a frown.
"Hey... it's okay." The woman states with a small smile, she carefully gets up and walks across the small cave, then sits beside me and begins gently rubbing my head. "You'll be okay now that I'm here."
My eyes begin drifting closed.
"You did a good job; you can sleep if you want to. My aura can do the rest of the work."
'headpats... are nice...'
I lean into her hand as my eyes fully close.
'how long has it been since I had any sleep? Ten hours? Twelve? Hmm my new body needs this.'
"-y... -ey... hey... Nico... it's time to wake up."
I slowly blink up at the silver eyed woman looking down at me, then immediately sit up and look around, she was giving me a lap pillow! That's another dream off the bucket list!
I look over to her and tilt my head. "What?"
"We are going to leave... my aura is full again, my side isn't hurting anymore, and you are well rested."
I look around and gesture to my lantern. "What about my stuff?"
"We can take it with us, Nico, don't worry."
'why is she calling me Nico? Hn. I guess Nicodemus is a pretty long name... or maybe she thinks 'Demus' is a last name.'
Nico Demus it is!
"O-Okay..."
I slowly get up and move around the cave.
"Uhh- I don't actually have much... just the lamp and this knife."
I reach over behind a small rock and pull out a knife.
"By the way, Nico... did you see any weapons beside me when you found me?"
"No." I shake my head. "I didn't... I just dragged you into the cave... you had nothing on you."
I look down at the knife, then hand it over to her. "You can use this... you can probably do more with it than I ever could."
She nods slowly and takes the simple dagger in one hand. "I'll make good use of it. Don't you worry."
She crouches down in front of me. "Get on, please... I can cover more ground like this."
I blink slowly and climb onto her back, lantern held in one hand.
I look down at my hawk. "Come on, Fern."
It lets out a quiet shriek and flutters up, landing on my back
Summer rushes out of the cave, my hair ruffling as I widen my eyes. 's-so fast! What the hell?! I have a nineteen dex and I can barely keep up with this! Everything is just a blur!'
We blur out of the mouth of the cave, then stop, Summer crouches down at the large blood splatter just in front of the door and looks around. "Where is it..."
She shakes her head and lets out a quiet growl, then turns and rushes away.
After about a minute or two of Summer running, we come to a halt by a destroyed village.
"No..." She whispers with a shaky gasp.
She rushes forwards, quickly sorting through the rubble, blurring around to see if anyone is still alive, Fern takes off with a couple flaps of his wings and begins circling above.
"No... no no no no no no!"
She suddenly gasps and crouches down. "Nico! She's alive! Heal her! Quickly!"
I am practically hurled off the woman's back as I land roughly in front of a little girl, her eyes glazed over, her hair matted and dirty, her throat has a deep scratch that narrowly avoids her arteries, a pink and brown eye stare hazily upwards, as if they don't even acknowledge us.
I sharply inhale through my teeth.
Neo...
It's... Neo.
I place my hands on her and channel cure light wounds, the first seems to do nothing, but with the second her wounds begin to heal, her eyes gain clarity as I continue healing by using my cantrips.
Her eyes widen as she rapidly looks in between myself and summer, she thrashes around, scooting away from me as fast as she can. "L-LET GO!"
She clutches her throat and lets out a whimper, tears brimming her eyes.
"Stop moving! I'm trying to heal you!" I snap as I place my hands back on her neck, she stares at me in fear as I continue channeling cure minor wounds after a couple of seconds, she relaxes, her shoulders shaking as she looks around, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
She wraps her arms around me as I continue healing her, sobbing uncontrollably into my shirt.
An achievement has been completed:
Unmute the Muted:
Give Neo Politan her vocal cords back
Reward: 500 Electrum
I mentally purchase another level and cast one more cure light wounds on Neo as I gain a new level one spell slot. Plus, I got a feat that I'll pick out later.
Neo still has quite a few scrapes, cuts, and bruises, but her 'critical' wounds are healed.
I look to Summer as she lets out a long sigh of relief, she reaches out and pats my head while enveloping the two of us into a hug. "We... need to go."
Fern lands next to us and lets out a quiet shriek causing me to freeze as I comprehend what he is trying to convey. He can't exactly speak words yet, but he gets his general feeling across... two humanoids... predators... threatening. Scared.
Neo takes one look at him and buries her face into my shirt again, shivering slightly.
"Hey." I weakly call up to Summer. "Fern said he saw a tall guy and a skinny man with a tail about a mile that way, should we go and see if they can help us? They are coming here anyways, so they'll be here in like... two or three minutes."
Summer's eyes widen, pupils shrinking to pinpricks as she wordlessly picks up Neo and I and begins running as fast as she can in the opposite direction.
"W-What are you doing?!" I ask as she continues running. "Shouldn't we ask them for help?!"
"They are bad men." She whispers as she continues running. "Monsters."
After about an hour of running, with me reaching out a hand to Neo and channeling Cure Minor Wounds spells Summer lets out a couple of pants, Neo has mostly cried herself out and is absolutely exhausted... she seemingly could fall asleep at any moment.
The woman continues slowly walking along, carrying the two of us under her arms.
"Don't worry..." She whispers in between breaths. "I'll get the two of you to safety."
A beowolf lunges from the underbrush, but she hops above it and kills it with a single kick, she barely jostles Neo and I as she lands and continues on.
'she's strong.'
While she was carrying us, I decided to go ahead and pick out my level three feat.
Level 3 Feat:
Draconic Aura (Energy):
You can tap into the raw power of dragons to create a potent aura around yourself.
When you select this feat, choose a 'draconic aura'. You can begin to project this aura as a swift action. Its benefit applies to you and to all allies within 30 feet. The bonus of your draconic aura is currently +1, and due to your Dragonblood Subtype, it improves to +2 at 7th level, +3 at 14th, and finally +4 at 20th. The aura remains in effect until you dismiss it (a free action), or you are rendered unconscious or dead.
Current Aura:
Draconic Energy Aura: (Cold)
This aura grants you a bonus on the save DC of your Cold effects, the bonus applies to spells, powers, spell-like abilities, supernatural abilities, or any other ability that either has the appropriate 'Cold' descriptor or deals damage of the chosen type.
After a couple more minutes of walking, Fern eventually comes back into my 'one mile range'.
I glance back with a frown as he isn't conveying anything quite yet, so we might be good right now.
*CAW*
Summer sharply inhales then looks around hopefully.
A man walks out from behind a tree. "Summer! Damn it! Are you alright?!"
"Qrow!" She gasps as she lets out a small sigh of relief. "Thank gods!"
The man walks over slowly, sword sheathed at his back. "We lost contact with you two nights ago... what happened?!"
"Tyrian and Hazel." Summer growls.
Qrow sucks a breath sharply through his teeth.
He glances down to Neo and I, both still held under Summer's arm. "Who are these two?!"
He locks eyes with me. "Oh..."
Summer looks down to Neo. "She is the only remainder of the village... she was horribly injured, but he saved her... and saved me."
She jostles her arm holding me slightly.
Qrow snaps up to look into her eyes, a look of confusion on his face.
"I'll tell you later... we need to get out of here." Summer hisses.
"Shit... are they following you?" Qrow growls.
"They were pretty close an hour ago. I don't know if they are following my tracks." Summer replies.
"Damn it! Come on then!" Qrow gestures as they turn and begin moving back the way Qrow came, he pulls out a scroll and makes a call.
I close my eyes. 'eh. They'll be fine.'
I suddenly snap awake at the gentle rocking of my bed, I look around, I am in some sort of Airship, Neo is asleep just on the other side, wrapped up in a blanket.
I am also wrapped up in a blanket.
Qrow and Summer are talking near the front of the little cargo bay we find ourselves in.
'well, Egh. I don't care.'
I roll over and close my eyes again.
My eye cracks open as a particular thing caught my attention in the brief moment I had my eyes open.
An achievement has been unlocked:
Save Summer Rose:
Make sure Summer Rose returns home safely after her most recent mission.
Rewards: 5000 Electrum
"…"
I purchase another level up and close my eyes.
My level ups are starting to cost quite a bit... so maybe I could focus on other things...
Current Electrum: 5245
'hnn... yeah, sure, let's get to level five.'
Electrum Required to Level up: 2500
Current Electrum: 3645
'and might as well go for level six as well.'
Electrum Required to Level up: 3600
Current Electrum: 1145
Now maybe I should start focusing on other things... stats perhaps?
feats are quite cheap, I can get an extra for a mere fifty electrum, then I can increase any of my stats by a point for forty! Honestly, I should just put all of my stats up to sixteen, or at the very least, the important ones like Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.
Another good question is 'how much for Gestalting?'
Gestalt Tier 1: 20000 Electrum
Allows you to gain the benefits of an additional set of classes as if you took a level in them. However, certain effects do not stack. Hitdice, Base Attack Bonus, Saves, and duplicate class abilities simply take the highest of either class. Thus, a level 1 Rogue/Fighter would gain 1 BAB from the fighter, an additional Feat, sneak attack, Trapfinding, the Fighter's D10 hitdie, the Rogue's 8+Int skill points per level, etc~
Note: you may not gestalt from in two prestige classes at the same time.
Gestalt Tier 2: 50000 Electrum
Functions as Gestalt, but you gain a third class, additionally you may gestalt in two Prestiege classes at the same time.
'yeesh. That's a lot.'
I close my eyes again and shift once more to get comfortable.
I snap awake as the bullhead shifts slightly; I slowly sit up as I hear the engines slowly turn off.
I look around to see both Qrow and Summer looking at me.
A quest has been completed:
Civilization where are you?
Find Civilization: [x]
Rewards: 100 Electrum
I frown and bring the blanket they had draped over me up to my face, covering all but my eyes. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
They both quickly look back towards each other, seemingly having a silent conversation that only apparent Beacon teammates could have.
There is a small fluttering noise as a large bird lands on the bench next to me.
I reach out from under the blanket and pet it. "Hello Fern."
Neo seems to wake up, she looks around briefly, her eyes locking onto me as she seemingly comprehends what had happened prior.
She begins to hyperventilate, leaping out from under her blanket, then blurs across the short distance and clings to my arm like I am some sort of lifeline.
Oh great... she's crying again.
She sobs into my shoulder as I reach around and begin gently patting the back of her head.
I wince and look away. 'damn it. I can't deal with this!'
Summer walks over and begins uttering soothing words to the girl as she picks her up gently.
I slowly look around and grab Fern. "Where... are we?"
"Patch."
"Patch?" I question slowly as I look around.
"It's where I live... come on, Nico." Summer states as she turns and walks away, continuing to pat Neo's back as I steadily walk after her, Fern under my arm as I slowly and suspiciously glance around the airport.
I silently follow her as she makes her way out of the airport, Qrow following shortly behind... I wish he would follow a little further away, because I have nearly tripped over three slight changes in height in the past two minutes.
We come to a stop out front where there is a dinky little van waiting for us, a tall blonde man is standing there, waving at the four of us, I can see
"Alright. My bad. I should have told him to bring a bigger car." Qrow sighs as the blonde slowly blinks, looking towards the small girl in Summer's arms and myself.
I spy two figures peering out from the car.
*Click*
The door opens as a blond girl climbs out. "Mom!"
She staggers over to summer and looks up, only to pause to see that she is already holding someone.
"Who's dat?" She asks as she blinks up at Summer
She looks down and locks eyes with me and points. "Who's dat?!"
"They-" Summer begins, only to get cut off as Yang's child-like mind quickly understands what has happened.
"YOU ARE REPLACING US?!" Yang shrieks before she starts sobbing.
"No!"
Oh god. This is going to be uncomfortable.
It was almost comical, three children sat in the back of a miniature car, one openly glaring at another, a second who is just happy to see her mother again, and a third holding a hawk in his lap.
We managed to get to Summer's home, and now I am sat on the couch, trying to make myself look as small as possible in an attempt to avoid all attention.
It has been pretty simple, Yang started ignoring me after about ten minutes, seemingly angered at my very existence, Ruby isn't really... smart enough... to have opinions yet, and Neo has been clinging to either Summer or myself like a lifeline.
At the moment, it's Summer's turn to tend to her.
I flinch as something comes into my peripheral vision, a man with snow white hair and brown eyes, wearing a green suit and scarf combo, I notice he has a bandage around his hand.
He smiles good-naturedly and gives me a small wave. "Hello there, my name is Ozpin. I have heard quite a bit about you, Nico."
I narrow my eyes slightly as the man takes a seat across from me. "You saved the life of another without any thought or hesitation. You have saved not only one of my closest friends, but a father from becoming a widower."
I blink up at him and pull my legs up to my chest.
"Not much of a talker?" He asks with a small smile. "That's alright... I just wished to thank you from the bottom of my heart."
His eyes trail down to his hand. "Actually... I have accidentally sliced my hand on a piece of metal on my way over here... do you think you could heal it."
"Ok." I mutter quietly.
He unwraps his hand and holds it out to me, causing my eyes to narrow as I slowly look from the wound up into his eyes. "Do you want to die?"
He flinches back slightly from my blunt statement.
"Why did you cut yourself with a knife?" I ask.
His eyebrows raise at my second statement, the fact that I could tell what made the wound with a simple glance absolutely flooring him.
He doesn't respond so I let out a quiet growl and hold out a hand, a warm light surrounds his palm, the skin knits together rapidly as the glow eventually fades, I look up to him with narrowed eyes. "If you hurt yourself again, I won't heal you."
"I... will keep that in mind." He slowly states as he stands up, slowly strolling out of the room as my eyes track him.
I continue staring at the wall as I can hear the hushed whispers in the other room, they seem to be unaware of just how far my hearing can reach.
"His intuition is incredible." Ozpin mutters. "he called me out for stabbing my hand within seconds of seeing the wound... he is a bit shy, though."
"Yes, I don't know why he is like that... he said he lost his memories, he just seems suspicious of anyone new, but that's too be expected."
"What do you mean by that?" The white-haired man asks.
"The room he took me to and nursed me back to health was caked in dried blood... h-he might be blocking out horrible memories... he seemed to relax himself around me, though... maybe because of my eyes he sees me as a mother figure?"
I mean, she's sort of on the money with her guesses. My body was more than likely ritualistically sacrificed and-slash-or tortured.
"Dear god, Summer." I hear Qrow mutter. "I'm not sure if you have incredible luck, or luck about on par with my own."
"I'm lucky." The woman states. "I was able to find and save that poor boy from a life of isolation."
"His healing ability is incredible... my wound would have taken about a week to heal even with Aura. And he healed it with seemingly no effort."
"I know... you should have seen the wound Neo here had... it was horrendous, her throat slashed by the claws of a beowolf, barely clinging to life by the time we got there... if we had been any later... she probably would have-"
She cuts off, not sure if Neo is truly as asleep as she seems.
"What's the deal with the hawk?" Taiyang asks, causing my eyes to trail over to where Fern is sat on a nearby cupboard.
"…"
"I... don't know... he seems to have some sort of connection with it? Like, he can understand it and it is incredibly smart. Maybe it has Aura and its semblance allows it to communicate with people? Hazel and Tyrian would have caught us if the bird hadn't told us people were there... even if it probably meant for us to go towards them." Summer continues. "Other than that, you might have to just ask Nico, there... or maybe even the bird."
Ozpin left shortly after that, and life had more or less returned to normal, Taiyang and Summer had a couple spats over Neo and I... but it looks like Summer won out in the end, and it looks like we will be staying here... it was only going to be me, but out of everyone, Yang surprisingly seems to like Neo, and has enough intelligence to deduce that something bad happened to her, so she has left her alone in her irked escapades.
Taiyang apparently had some sort of emergency at school, and Summer is gone to the hospital to get a checkup... to see if any lasting damage from her fight with Hazel and Tyrian remain. Taiyang had told us 'Qrow will be here in like ten minutes to watch you. Stay here.'
I watch Yang slowly tugging Ruby behind her as she opens the door and steps outside.
'where is she-'
I stand up and begin to follow only to stop as Neo holds onto my arm.
"He said... Don't go." She mutters quietly as she looks down at the floor.
"But they went?"
"I-I don't want you to get in trouble." The girl mutters.
"Don't worry, I've got this." I smile as I pat her head.
"Can... I come too?" She slowly asks.
"No." I state as I reach up and pat her head. "You need to stay here to tell drunkle Qrow that Yang and Ruby went out, and I followed after them, alright?"
She doesn't let go of my arm.
"It's an important mission." I continue. "One only you can do! I'll try to be back soon, alright?"
"O-Okay..." She whispers as she dejectedly looks down, only to frown and look up, determination within her eyes. "I-I won't let you down, Nico."
I smile and nod, then turn and step over to the door. I open it, then calmly walk outside.
Nobody is here...
'Where the fuck did they go?!'
I spy some fresh wagon tracks in the dirt, causing me to let out a small growl.
Damn. They move quick when they are being a pain in the ass.
I run down the path as fast as I can, a frown on my face as I continue following the wagon tracks
A Quest has been Received:
Red like Roses:
Objective:
Save Ruby and Yang: [ ]
Buy time for Qrow to Arrive: [ ]
Rewards: 500 Electrum, +1 to your lowest stat
Through a desire to protect, your Silver Eyes have been unlocked.
Silver Eyes (Least):
You may act as if you had the 'Turn Undead' ability, however, it only affects Grimm, and in its current state, you may only use it on one foe at a time. instead of your turning attempt causing your foes to flee, it instead blinds stronger grimm (That are still under effect of your turn, Grimm with considerable hitdice compared to your own won't be affected at all) and for weaker grimm, which would normally be destroyed, they are instead turned to stone permanently. Due to your weak constitution, you take a number of Nonlethal damage equal to the hit die of the grimm you target every time you use your eyes.
Uses Per Day: 3+ your Charisma Modifier
I read the first line of 'Silver Eyes' again and quickly purchase two feats and a couple of points into my Charisma that should allow me to technically use my eyes with no problem.
I burst into the clearing just as Yang lets out a scream, a beowolf charges right for her.
A green light crackles around me as I blur forwards, my current speed doubling.
With a small spell, my speed doubles again, I leap over Yang's head and over the wagon carrying Ruby, my heel smashes into the snout of the grimm and knocks its head back, its forward momentum stalls as it stumbles backwards, eventually falling onto its back.
It lets out a snarl and rolls over, getting onto all fours, while it was getting up my eyes trail around the clearing.
Oh...
Oh fuck.
One. Two. Three. Four.
There are a considerable amount of beowolves here.
Eight. Nine. Ten.
It didn't look like there were this many in the flashback.
Sixteen. Seventeen- oh god an alpha.
All around the clearing are eighteen beowolves in total, the alpha of the pack crouches atop the building Yang was looking for and glares down at me.
The beowolf I kicked lunges for me, but I reach out and pray that my next move works like I planned.
My hand touches the beowolf's throat, next I channel a healing spell, relief filling my body as I see the grimm's body rapidly dissipate into black smoke, it's like a wave passes through its neck, destroying everything in its path, its head disconnects from its body and it flops to the ground.
I slowly look up as the grimm begins turning to smoke.
The beowolf pack lets out growls of rage as they slowly encircle Yang, Ruby, and I.
The alpha lets out a howl, signaling all of his minions to attack.
I narrow my eyes, silver flames begin flickering around the edge as a white wave launches outwards, creating an absolutely massive one-hundred-and-twenty-foot radius dome, once it reaches the edge, the light fades, every single grimm in the area recoil backwards, most having incredible damage, their bodies smoke and hiss as black smoke wafts off them.
I do it once more as the alpha leaps off the building and lunges right for me, killing most of the grimm, and leaving the rest crippled husks who can't even crawl.
I hop to the side as the alpha's paw smashes into the ground, an incredible amount of dirt is kicked up as a hole about three feet wide forms in the ground, the bipedal wolf whirls around and charges for me on all fours, it leaps as it grows closer, slashing out with both claws and gnashing its teeth as I slip in between its legs.
Another explosion of light blasts outwards, causing the beowolf to growl as black smoke begins flowing off its body.
The ground rumbles.
I punch it right in the spine while channeling a healing spell, my fist passes completely through the beowolf's chest and out the other side with a spray of black smoke and blood.
The ground a short distance away explodes as an absolutely massive claw frees itself from the dirt, a dark creature absolutely covered in bone armor frees itself from the ground, two massive pinces clicking together as dozens of beady red eyes look around blearily, a yellow stinger hangs from its tail as white smoke gently drifts off its sturdy looking exoskeleton.
It is absolutely massive, easily larger than the building behind it.
It looks to me and snaps its pincers, then begins rapidly closing in.
My eyes gleam as I let off another burst, but it doesn't even flinch as it continues skittering at me fairly quickly.
I turn and run to the side as a massive yellow stinger smashes into the ground at lightning speed.
A large leg stabs down at me as I unleash another blast, the deathstalker smokes some more, but it ignores it and stabs a claw down at me.
Its pincer pieces into the dirt as I slam a fist into the side of it.
The bone armor visibly cracks as the positive energy of my strongest healing spell courses through it, this time it seems to be phased as it lets out a small shriek of pain.
It is hit by another healing pulse from my eyes as I weave between two legs that smash down at me, attempting to skewer my body.
I reach out to touch it again, but a leg snaps upwards as I trip over a root, the limb catching me in the chest and shattering my aura, the air is knocked out of my lungs as my hand brushes the leg that launches me a good thirty feet away.
I roll to a stop, eventually hitting a tree as I wince.
I bring my hands to my chest, my pain lightening as the scorpion skitters forwards.
*BANG*
A figure blurs through the air, weapon whirling around him as he divebombs the grimm,
A scythe blade sinks up to the handle in the grimm's head, with a clicking sound, a gunshot goes off, propelling the blade forwards, cutting from the top of the head all the way through the face.
The grimm spasms slightly as my eyes glow brightly once more.
*FLASH*
My battered body heals, the grimm falls prone, body spewing thick smoke through the cracks in its armor.
I lean my head back in relief as Qrow looks over, my head thunks against the tree trunk behind me.
I stare up into the sky as I let out a long breath.
I bring up a hand and rub my face ugh. My head hurts. Everything is blurr- wait, why is everything so blurry?!
Hidden Effect Active:
Silver Eyes (Least)
Whenever you use all of your Silver Eye charges, you are rendered Unconscious.
"Oh." I whisper as the world darkens.
I sit up with a small gasp, bringing my hands to my head, I have a throbbing headache, just behind my eyes.
I channel a healing spell through my head, letting out a sigh of relief as the pain subsides nearly completely.
With another spell I am completely fine.
I look around slowly, I am sat in the bed I have been using for the past couple of days.
I let out a long shaky breath.
Safe.
I crawl deeper under the blankets and look towards the several screens floating around me.
A Quest has been Completed:
Red like Roses:
Objective:
Save Ruby and Yang: [x]
Buy time for Qrow to Arrive: [x]
Bonus Objectives:
Slay all of the grimm threatening Ruby and Yang: [x]
Discover the hidden Deathstalker Boss: [x]
Deal 50% or more damage to the Deathstalker Boss before Qrow Branwen Arrives: [-]
Slay the Deathstalker Boss: [x]
Defeat all of your foes unscathed: [-]
Rewards: 7500 Electrum, +2 to your lowest stat, 'Bigger They Are' Achievement, 3 Free Feats, +1 to all stats, 'Legendary Fame' Achievement.
"…"
I slowly turn to look at my stats.
Level: 6
Class: Adept
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Stats:
Hp: 13/13
Aura: 26/26
Armor Class: 16
STR: 9
DEX: 20
CON: 11
INT: 13
WIS: 16
CHA: 19
'huh...'
'What are these achievements?!'
Bigger They Are:
Every time you strike a foe larger than yourself, they take an additional 1d6 damage, for every size category they are larger than you by, they take an additional 1d6.
Holy... shit... if I had- wait a minute.
I look back up to the quest. 'I KILLED the deathstalker... yet didn't do fifty percent damage to it?! W- wait... did I kill steal Qrow?! AHAHA serves you right you bastard! Your semblance is the reason I got hurt in the first place! Damn it! I probably would have gotten even MORE electrum if it wasn't for that... ugh.
With this new title, I could have probably killed it with my wimpy baby punches... it was, what, three to four size categories larger than me? That's like a scorching ray with each punch. Now, what's with this other achievement-
Legendary Fame:
Not many children can say they saw a deathstalker up close, and even fewer can say that and are still alive, yet you not only met a deathstalker, you promptly kicked its ass, that takes incredible power and skill, magic eye powers be damned.
You may select one 'Epic' feat you meet the prerequisites for and take it in place of another feat.
"…"
Bhwah?!
This is... fucking incredible.
Epic feats are normally locked behind level twenty one... you literally cant take them even if some of them have laughably easy prerequisites, or perhaps no prerequisites at all!
I spend the next hour slowly scanning through the list, and so far, I have picked out three that really helps me out.
The first
Epic Toughness:
You are preternaturally tough.
Prerequisites: None
Benefit: You gain +30 hit points.
Special: A character can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack.
Normally, there would be no way I would ever take this as my 'one time' epic feat... but...
That plus thirty isn't modified by Remnant's hitdie halving...
I have no constitution modifier currently, and all of my frankly meager hitdie are being halved before I even get them... I'm only gaining two health every time I level up Adept!
If I take this, I literally more than triple my health... and not only that I more than triple my AURA! I would gain sixty more points of aura from one single feat...
Another option.
Infinite Deflection:
You can deflect an infinite number of projectiles.
Prerequisites: Combat Reflexes Feat, Deflect Arrows Feat, Improved Unarmed Strike Feat, DEX 25.
Benefit You may perform any number of deflections each round, allowing you to deflect numerous ranged projectiles without breaking a sweat.
Technically I don't qualify for this, yet I can VERY easily gain the dexterity and feats required. With this feat, guns merely become an afterthought, who cares how many times they can fire.
Hell, I could stare down Coco Adel and deflect EVERY SINGLE ONE of her minigun attacks.
There's also a second epic deflection feat that allows me to deflect certain spells and projectiles of any size... if I took infinite deflection, I could be taken down by a shot from like a cannon, but if I took 'Exceptional Deflection', single target spells and battleship shells could be tossed away.
If I had to choose between the two, I would select Infinite Deflection... because if battleships are aiming at me, something has gone horribly wrong.
And the final feat, a homebrew feat seemingly linked to myself and this world.
Ancient Bloodline:
Your silver eyes are ancient. Powerful. A dragon's blood courses through your veins, diluted from many generations, yet it is still very much present.
Prerequisites: Silver Eyes, Silverbrow Human, Cha 25, Your Silver Eyes must have been successful in affecting a creature with 35 Hitdie or More.
Benefit: Your Silver Eyes gain an additional effect from several possibilities, randomized upon selection.
Special: This can be taken several times, the effects stack, granting a new ability each time.
I meet all the prerequisites barring the charisma...
The scorpion had more than thirty-five hitdice... I think I'm going to be sick...
Normally, my eyes would have had no chance of working on the Deathstalker, yet because of my two feats, it was technically damaged by them.
I frown slightly and look between the three feats.
It's between Epic Toughness and Ancient Bloodline.
I look between the two slowly.
'fuck it. Ancient bloodline. I'll just take 'Improved Toughness' to grant myself a little more health.
I wordlessly purchase several points in charisma, setting me back two thousand four hundred essence.
I select the feat.
Randomizing new Silver Eyes ability.
'Please be good. Please be good!'
Randomization completed.
"…"
I slowly look around.
'where's the upgrade?'
I quietly check my special effects, and after skimming through the text, I spy a new line.
Due to your Ancient Bloodline, you may look one second into the future for 2 Turn attempts. this ability activates automatically when your life is in danger provided you still have the requisite number of Turn Attempts remaining.
"…"
'Well... that is... neat.'
I close my eyes for a moment before re opening them, the world is tinted grey, the door opens.
The room regains color, the door is now shut again- the door opens.
Summer herself steps into the room, eyes widening as she sees that I'm awake.
She blurs across the room and envelopes me in a hug. "You're awake!"
I slowly look to her and raise an eyebrow. 'time to play this off.'
"Why'd you open the door twice?"
My words give her brief pause as she pulls back.
"Are you feeling alright?" She places the back of her hand on my forehead. "I didn't... I just-
The world is tinted grey. She flinches back.
She flinches back.
"Your eyes..." She whispers.
"Huh?" I ask as I look around. "What's wrong?! Why do you keep on moving twice!"
She pats my head. "Nothing sweetie, don't worry, just stay here, I'll be right back."
I watch as she turns and leaves the room, grabbing the scroll at her hip.
Better not use my eyes any more unless I want to be rendered unconscious again.
I frown at the one second future sight.
I mean, it's pretty good, and may stop me from dying horribly, but... one second? Really?
Is there any sort of way for me to upgrade my eyes? I'm stuck with 'Least' silver eyes... and that means that there's probably 'Lesser Silver Eyes', then 'Regular Silver Eyes' then more than likely 'Greater or Greatest Silver Eyes'.
So how do I get those? I have an 'ancient bloodline' for gods sake! It literally says 'Your silver eyes are Ancient... POWERFUL!' I call bullshit on that!
A Quest has been Received:
Silver Eyed Evolution-
A Quest has been Completed!:
Silver Eyed Evolution:
The silver eyes are a powerful weapon against the grimm, capable of utterly destroying them with nothing more than a glare... you aren't quite at that level of power yet... but you are going to make a great attempt to get it.
Objectives:
Use your eyes on 10 Separate Grimm: 10/10 [x]
Successfully effect a Grimm that has 5 Hitdie or more with your Eyes: [x]
Be level 4 or higher: [x]
Rewards: 100 Electrum, your 'Silver Eyes (Least)' evolve into 'Silver Eyes (Lesser)'
"…"
I look over my status once more.
Silver Eyes (Lesser):
You may act as if you had the 'Turn Undead' ability, however, it only affects Grimm, and in its current state, you may only use it to target grimm in a 15 foot radius around you, or against a single target for further distances, grimm that have less than half of the hitdie of the max hitdie you are capable of turning are automatically destroyed or permanently turned to stone at the user's choice, and stronger grimm who are turned are instead transformed into stone for 30 seconds.
Due to your Ancient Bloodline, you may look two seconds into the future for 2 Turn attempts. this ability activates automatically when your life is in danger provided you still have the requisite number of Turn Attempts remaining.
Due to your weak constitution, you take a number of Nonlethal damage equal to the hit die of the grimm you target every time you use your eyes.
Uses Per Day: 6+1.5 times your Charisma Modifier (Rounding Up)
Current Uses Remaining: 11/17
I am silent for a moment.
'can I upgrade my silver eyes again?'
A Quest has been Received:
Silver Eyed Evolution 2:
You have succeeded, your eyes are now considerably stronger than they once were, what once was just an annoying bright light to the grimm is now something that can truly harm them. But this isn't enough. You are an ancient bloodline, damn it! And by gods you are going to give those words true meaning!
Objectives:
Use your eyes on 50 Separate Grimm: 19/50 [ ]
Successfully effect a Grimm that has 15 Hitdie or more with your Eyes: [x]
Be level 8 or higher: [ ]
Rewards: 500 Electrum, your 'Silver Eyes (Lesser)' evolve into 'Silver Eyes (Base).'
Shame. It looks like I'd actually need to try for this one.
But to nearly double my charges and double my future sight duration, well, maybe I should really try and evolve them again... maybe my future sight will go to three seconds, with this? Maybe four seconds? Who knows?
I quietly hop off the bed and make my way to the door, I open it silently then look left and right, I close my eyes and briefly look to my connection with Fern.
He is sat atop the cabinet still, and has made a nest out of sticks and other bits of things the rest of the Rose-Xaio Long family give him.
She seems to be calling Ozpin in the kitchen.
My stomach growls as I let out a small sigh. I wonder how long I have been unconscious.
I sit on the stairs with a frown.
I glance to the side as I hear Summer begin to speak, it seems that she got through to Ozpin.
"Yes... he's awake." She mutters into her scroll.
"…"
"No, that isn't why I called you..." She continues as I gaze into the body-length mirror beside the stairs.
"…"
"There is something... wrong with his eyes." I gaze into the mirror, staring back is a small black haired boy, what's most striking about him is his hair which has several strikes of legitimate silver running throughout, and his silver eyes... everything turns grey as two ticking clocks appear in my eyes, quite possibly the gaudiest and Gary Stu trait I could ever ask for... the seconds hands tick forwards slowly, after two tics, the world is rewound two seconds and I watch my eyes tick forwards two more seconds.
"Nonono! Nothing like that! 'Wrong' isn't the right word to describe it... there is something... strange... with his eyes? Something different maybe?"
She is silent for a moment.
Is it bad that I really don't hate the eye thing... I mean... becoming a Gary Stu would be pretty neat!
"No... like... uh- I don't really know how to explain it... his eyes... sort of looked like clocks for a moment?" The silver eyed woman mutters.
"…"
"No! Clocks! C-L-O-C-K-S" she indignantly growls. "Why would you ever think I would say that!"
Heh. I can read in between the lines. Cock eyes.
"It doesn't matter how tired you are, that is incredible vulgar, sir!" The woman states.
'I heard cock too, she was a little soft on that L.' I mentally shrug, giving Ozpin a point for technically being right.
Summer is silent for another couple of seconds.
"A mutation? Hn... he did say that he kept seeing me move twice. I hope that this doesn't cause too many problems for hi-"
"WHAT?!" Summer hisses into the scroll "You are s-saying that he can... s-see the future?!"
"…"
"Well, I'm not sure either." The woman frowns. "All he has said is that I am moving twice."
I walk down the stairs and through the living room. I reach the kitchen door and slowly push it open.
I peek inside as Summer glances over her shoulder.
"Oh! What are you doing out of bed, mister?" She asks as she crouches down. "You need rest."
I reach down and touch my stomach. "But... I'm hungry."
"Oh dear." She gasps as she places a hand over her mouth. "You're right! You haven't eaten anything all day! I'll fix you something to eat."
The world turns grey as she stands up turns away, her head quickly snaps back over to look at me.
She crouches down and looks into my eyes and tilts her head.
Color returns to the world.
I look down.
she stands up turns away, her head quickly snaps back over to look at me.
She crouches down and looks into my eyes and tilts her head. "Yeah Oz... it really does look like a clock... and it is ticking... one... two- and they're gone."
I look behind me then look back. "Huh?"
She reaches over and pats my head. "Don't worry about it, Sweety."
She walks over to the stove and puts her scroll in between her shoulder and her ear.
"…"
"You think it's a drawback?"
"…"
"It would sort of make sense if that's how far he could see. Earlier he said he saw me open the door twice, and that fits into a two-second time frame..."
"…"
"It might get better? Hn. Maybe. I just don't know what this sort of thing means."
"…"
"Absolutely Not." She growls. "He is going to have the opportunity to live his life as a child. I go with a lot of things, Oz, but that's too far."
I tilt my head and stare at the back of her head.
She turns back to me, hiding her annoyance behind a kind smile. "Does chicken noodle soup sound okay?"
"Mhm." I nod once.
"Okay." She smiles. "You can wait in the living room and watch Tv if you want, okay?"
I slowly nod once and turn away, then walk out of the kitchen.
"I-I'm sorry..." Yang stutters as she looks down at the floor, tears brimming her eyes.
I reach up and pat her head with my free arm, giving her a kind smile. "it's alright. I'm just glad you weren't hurt."
I look to Neo who has my other arm in her grasp, refusing to let it go, she has her face pressed against my shoulder. "Y-You said you'd be right back!"
"I was." I answer.
"You were hurt!" She gasps.
"Not really." I note as I shake my head.
I reach over and pat her head as well, causing her to look up at me with tearful eyes.
And just like that? Years pass. My life calms down, and the boring monotony returns. At least I'm living my childhood again. That has been pretty neat.
My eyes crack open as Neo shakes my bed.
I sit up slowly and let out a yawn. "Ugh... what is it, Neo?"
"Nico. Mom told me to get you up... it's time for school." The girl frowns.
I sit up slowly and look around, I scratch the back of my head and look over to see her bed has the blankets folded nicely over
Four years... it has been six long years since I woke up, saved Summer, saved Neo's voice, and started living with the Rose-Xaio-Long family.
I am now twelve years old, and today... is the first day of Signal for Neo and I... ugh... I don't even want to be a huntsman, but because I have my aura unlocked, I am 'legally obligated to take classes in Signal' in order to 'gain control of my aura and teach responsibility to prevent any potential aura-based accidents'.
Bitch. I have had Aura since I was SIX. If any 'aura disasters' were going to happen, they would have happened when I went to primary school!
I slowly stand up and let out a yawn. "Hn, alright."
The living situations at home are a little strenuous at times... Neo and I share a room, while Ruby and Yang share a room, and some mornings there is a line for the bathroom, but that was solved when we got a second bathroom two or three years ago.
Since then, it has been mostly smooth sailing.
I let out a small yawn as I stand to my full height...
It's not impressive.
At least I'm as tall as Neo...
Damn girls getting puberty first...
She's probably going to stop growing soon, so I'll definitely surpass her.
I blink as I realize something.
'Wait a minute...'
Neo turns and walks out of our room as I glance towards my shop screen.
Current Electrum: 26365
That's enough for gestating... I had forgotten about it a while back... but the chump change I get for living my life and acing my dozens of tests... it really started to add up.
'system, would gestating into Commoner give me three times the amount of Electrum per day than my current electrum?'
No. You cannot stack your Electrum gain. You simply take the best rate. Much like all things in Gestalting.
Ah. I see. So, it would be preferable to simple swap my base class out for like... Cleric. And get a commoner secondary class...
I begin slowly scrolling through perks.
'ah. Fuck it. Get me a class swap and a gestating.'
Complete Class Swapping: Current Cost: 900 Electrum.
Did you mess up in building your class and wish to change it? Did you pick the commoner class as your starting class and dear god was that a mistake? This perk allows you to change your class one time for every time you purchase it.
Note: this doesn't allow you to replace your Feats or change your Stats.
I purchase that ability then pick up something else that catches my eye.
Godly Game: 50 Electrum
Cleric no longer requires you to worship a god to gain your spells, the game simply grants them to you without problems.
'ooooh. I probably want that. I don't want the gods of this world to have anything to do with me.'
I purchase that ability as well.
I quickly allocate my points.
A SYNERGY HAS BEEN FOUND!
Silver Eyed Cleric:
You can use your class' turn attempts and your Silver Eyes turn attempts interchangeably.
'hn. That more or less doubled my turn attempts for my future sight... and soon, I'll be level eight, so my future sight will expand even more!'
Over the years I snuck out a couple of times to kill grimm with my eyes... it worked out sort of well. I got a few electrum here and there and completed the other goals of my silver eyed evolution quest. Now all that remains is the level requirement.
A quest has been Received:
First day at signal:
Today is going to be your first day at Signal, and boy, it's going to be a chaotic one!
Objective:
Survive: [ ]
Keep Ruby, Yang, and Neo Safe: [ ]
Rewards: 1000 Electrum, 1 free feat.
I freeze.
'What?'
"Hey... Summer?"
"Yes, Nico?" She asks as she flips a pancake with a smile.
"I... have a bad feeling about today." I mutter.
The pancake nearly flops out of the pan. "Hn? Why?"
"I don't know... I just..." My voice dies out as I scratch the back of my head. "Have a bad feeling."
Summer is silent for a second. "Hn, well, it's probably just Nerves... you're starting at a new school, right?"
"I guess..." I mutter with a frown as I scratch my chin. "But I can't help but think that... maybe that's not all."
She turns and pats me on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I believe in you... you'll do great today."
"Big Bro! Can you walk us to school today!" Ruby cheers as she comes around the corner, Neo looks up from her pancake and looks around.
"If I do that, Ruby, we'd all need to leave a bit early." I frown.
"Can we?!" She asks. "Yang wants too! A-and you won't be walking with us anymore since you'll be going to signal... can we... one more time?"
"Alright, Ruby." I sigh. "In that case we'll need to leave in like fifteen minutes.
"YES!" She cheers as she fist pumps, quickly rushing out of the room. "YAAAANG HE SAID YES!"
"I-I'm going to miss walking with you two..." Ruby mutters quietly as she looks down at the sidewalk.
"Don't worry, Rubes! You've still got me!" Yang grins as she puffs out her chest.
Ruby is silent for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I do!"
My eyes narrow and glow briefly.
Three evil auras have been spotted. All of them are trailing behind us... all of them are following us.
they are considerably powerful... stronger than me, even... which is concerning, but... I have confidence.
"Neo..." I begin. "I want you to take Ruby and Yang and run as fast as you can. Get in the school. And tell a teacher to call Summer..."
She looks over and raises an eyebrow.
"Do it. Neo. Do it now." I hiss.
She senses the seriousness in my tone and widens her eyes.
I sense the three move forwards abruptly as I kick a pipe up into my hands, I whirl around and lunge forwards, the metal pipe whirling through my hand as a trio of hooded figures draw weapons.
"He's got aura! Capture the rest!"
The metal pipe clashes with the first man's cleaver, I see his eyes widen deep within his hood, people around us see the commotion, all letting out shouts of surprise as I whirl the makeshift staff around and smash it right into this man's cheek.
The other two rush past, but I smash the pipe into one's shin and lash out with a kick that barely brushes the arm of the other.
His aura crackles madly as negative energy courses through his body.
I twist my body and stab the end of my staff up into the first man's wrist, stopping his downward chop entirely.
I backpedal and catch up with the man who clutches his arm. "What the hell was-"
My elbow strikes him in the back, causing him to freeze briefly, then bring a hand to his head as I lunge for the second man, the one I almost tripped.
His eyes widen as I approach, his aura crackles wildly as my hand grabs tightly onto his wrist.
A leg smashes into my face, causing me to grit my teeth and go with the blow, turning its momentum into several flips, I land with a crouch as I let out a low growl, slowly getting to my feet.
I turn my head towards the second figure and narrow my eyes, he begins shivering and lets out several misty breaths, his aura shatters as he falls to his knees, the first holds out a hand, creating a large plume of fire at me, I barely dodge around it as the edges singe my aura, causing green light to crackle around me.
"He's too dangerous! Take him down!" He calls out to his fighting comrade.
He lunges forwards with incredible speeds, nearly reaching my own buffed speed, his fist is drawn back, but he falters as his eyes cloud over.
I smash my weapon right into their groin, he lets out a grunt of pain as the staff whirls around and smashes into his chin, tilting his head backwards and causing his aura to crackle around him.
I sweep his leg and stab the staff into his throat, his aura shatters as the pointed pipe skips off it, my foot comes up and smashes into the man's cheek as a gout of fire envelopes my upper body.
My aura crackles as I lunge over the body, of the man I just took down.
I let out a long breath as I am struck by an orb of fire.
My aura crackles again as I reach the man, I bring my pipe up and smash him in the chin with it as his cleaver cuts into the shield around my shoulder.
My aura breaks as I toss myself out of the way of a large explosion, the back half of it barely clipping me.
The world is tinted grey, my top half is engulfed in flames.
I duck abruptly as color returns, a massive plume of fire shoots over my head.
My staff jabs into the man as a fist comes into contact with my face, I am thrown away from him, with my aura gone, a considerable portion of my strength and agility gone as well.
I roll to my feet and clutch a hand to my bleeding nose.
I look my opponent right in the eyes as I stab the end of my pipe against the pavement.
"Alright! Don't move brat! Or this fucker gets it!" The man I gave hyperthermia a moment ago shouts while pressing a blade to the throat of a random man.
"His aura is broken. I'll grab him then we can go after the other three." The man with a pyro semblance states
"I'm sorry. For what I must do." I state with a sad smile as the cleaver wielding man approaches. "The hardest of choices require the strongest of wills."
The assailant holding a man hostage freezes in place, visible skin paling, and the tips of his fingers turning blackened.
I lunge forwards as he releases his hostage and falls forwards, pipe arcing towards the cheek of my original foe.
I abruptly twist out of the way of a cleaver strike and land a jab right in the center of his chest, his aura is lowering, another few blows like that will take him down... the problem is, as he is now, he is faster, stronger, and far more durable than I am.
The world greys he seems to decide 'fuck it' and shoot me point blank with an orb of fire, but I tilt my body out of the way, a cleaver imbeds itself into my torso.
I twist myself out of the way of an orb of fire, then deflect his cleaver slash upwards, I smash my staff into his face, his head snaps back as he growls, rapidly swinging slash after slash.
The world dims... I can see his every attack, how they carve into my unprotected body...
I take a single step back, placing myself slightly out of range, my makeshift weapon raises and I stab it as if it were a spear, it slips through his flurry of attacks and strikes him right in the torso causing him to let out a small wheeze.
There is another flash of grey.
This wound... is acceptable.
I lunge forwards, swinging my staff up into his face.
his aura shatters, and his nose snaps, his shin smashes into my torso, right under my arm.
I grit my teeth and let out a low groan.
Without missing a beat, I sweep his leg and slam the side of the pipe into his torso, knocking him flat on his back, I grab the pipe in both hands and heft it above my head, then I slam it down onto his chest, cracking several of his ribs.
I let out a long panting breath and stumble backwards, eventually falling into a sitting position as I clutch my ribs.
This is just another thing I have been working on and off, it's sort of a revised version of chapter 1, now without any meaningful dice rolls!
Basically, the system only affects him, and not the world around him, so while he might be able to heal himself from 0 to max Hp with a single cure light wounds, that might not necessarily apply to everyone else. Plus his spells would be 'realistic' in a weird sort of way... as in, instead of giving someone a +4 in a stat with spells like Cat's Grace, or the other spells of similar ability, it would instead increase said stat by 80%. With certain feats that could even increase to +140%!
Eh, I might write more on this and update it later, but for now, this is it.
OH! And before I forget, Schnee SI-OC has been given like 3k more words for you to read.
See ya!