"Shit."

Looking over the information he'd acquired the previous night, Jaune was well aware that he'd just made the understatement of the century. Jaune was sitting against a tree in an out of the way corner of a park working through the information contained in a nondescript scroll. After last night's fight Jaune had spent the last 14 or so hours murdering any possible trail he may have left behind, running all over Mistral, breaking, melting, and then burying the now unneeded stolen scrolls after transferring all the information he needed into one he was using currently, which had been modified to be physically incapable of wirelessly connecting to anything but still had the best firewall he could make on it just in case (paranoia ho!). It hadn't been until midafternoon that he'd actually decided to look over what he'd found, leading to his current situation.

While there was no clear information as to the exact location of a laboratory researching black dust, there was plenty in regards to its functions and known properties, and with what he was seeing Jaune could say for certain that unlike other types of dust -which could be used in numerous productive ways- Black Dust was good for only 2 things: Destruction and outright Annihilation… okay basically only one thing, really.

Like other dust types Black Dust was heavily connected with a naturally occurring force, with the specific force in particular making Black Dust both cumbersome to use and horrendously potent in regards to Mass destruction. Gravity. Black Dust's 'element' was gravity, and it expressed this in quite possibly the most heinous way physically possible, at least in regards to its simplest method of use. When provided with a sufficient initial input of Energy, aura or otherwise, Black Dust created what amounted to a self-contained black hole. Its initial effect upon activation was, rather than an explosion, an overwhelmingly powerful implosion prevented from being at the level of planetary destruction solely by the fact that the Gravitational field somehow possessed a limited range, dependent on the amount of Black Dust used.

While the duration of the gravitational field was only a few seconds in effect, the interior gravitational strength towards the center of the field could range upwards to an excess of several thousands of times that of Remnant's normal gravity: buildings, the ground, even S-ranked hunters would stand no chance of surviving if they were caught within the effect radius. When the duration of the effect wore off everything that had been gathered by it would be released at once, the vast amount of air draw in by the sustained vacuum at the effect's outskirts exploding outwards creating an extremely powerful shockwave.

There were only a handful of downside that prevented Black Dust from being a matchless weapon of destruction: its rarity, its horrible usability, and its horrendous cost efficiency being prominent among those. Even to detonate a piece of black dust the size of a grain of sand roughly 3 points of aura (or other energy equivalent) was required, although when detonated it would apparently cause an effect radius roughly 3000 times that of the piece of black Dust used. That meant it would require a piece of black dust around 1 foot in diameter for an effect range like the one that had leveled Vale, as well as an insanely vast amount of power to initially detonate, around 3 billion points of aura all in all. Of course, other energy sources were capable of powering this detonation, as the city of Vale likely used an equivalent amount of energy every few days or less simply operating.

Another weakness -which was arguably the reason why Jaune wasn't completely screwed- was that after passing roughly 70% on its charge threshold black dust appeared to disturb solar based light within an immense range around it, which was likely the cause of the sky above Vale literally going pitch black prior to the explosion. This meant detonating it from a stationary location would be painting a massive target on the bombers' heads with the immense energy signature doing the rest in regards to tracking it down, something that left a mobile bomb the most viable option for use, despite the incredible energy and equipment constraints required.

In all likelihood, the bomb would enter Vale on a train or airship when it was nearing 100% charge for detonation, and even then, it would be limited to A-class airships and the very largest of trains, due to space -for the extremely bulky equipment likely required- and energy constraints regarding detonation. Knowing his luck, Jaune was all but certain it would be on an airship, in which case the easy option of wrecking the tracks and derailing the train carrying the bomb a few miles out of Vale and letting the black dust bomb's shitty range vs potency ratio do the rest would be firmly impossible.

Other information included the fact that no one had managed functional dust engraving or weaving with it yet and that only a few ounces of it was acquired yearly by Mistral overall. It goes without saying that stealthily grabbing enough fragments to fuse into a larger crystal was likely an extreme chore from start to finish, and likely meant that the terrorist organization known as Rook (guilty until proven innocent) had been stealing shards of black dust for what might have been decades in preparation, seeing as the prospective crystal would likely weigh several dozen pounds.

This should mean that looking over the records of Mistral's Black Dust acquisition over the last few decades (which he now possessed) Jaune would be able to find points were Black Dust shipments went missing, were lower in quantity than expected, or were otherwise allocated to certain projects in unnaturally high quantities. Should, of course, does not mean that it did as there appeared to be little to no discrepancies in the shipping pattern which mean one of two things:

First, that Rook possessed a method of acquiring Black dust independent of the kingdoms (or, at the very least, Mistral), which would mean very little of the information he'd just gotten had any use in tracking them down. This was the worst-case scenario, but fortunately also the less likely of the two, due to the fact that even a kingdom could only acquire a handful of ounces annually, making it unlikely or outright impossible for an organization not nearly as big to do the same, even over the course of centuries.

Second, that Rook's acquisitions happened directly at the source, and the bits of black dust they were shaving off the top had already been taken by the time the discovery was reported to Mistral. This would be troubling although ultimately not as much as the first possibility, as it would mean Rook had ties to the very top of Mistral's source (as well as the likely only source) of Black Dust: The Schnee dust company. This is significantly more likely than the first option, it honestly wouldn't surprise Jaune if Rook had a standing deal to purchase quantities of Black Dust under the table from the Schnee dust company.

The fact that the SDC was selling to Mistral despite being an Atlas-based company likely meant they were selling to the other 3 kingdoms as well, something further supported by basic supply and demand economics. Selling a smaller amount to each kingdom rather than the whole thing to one would drive the per unit cost up even higher than it already was, and he hardly saw the SDC refusing to sell it to a fifth party so long as they could match the ante.

Disregarding the first possibility -which he could do little about if it was that- Jaune had decided to treat the second possibility as his focus. Even if he wasn't wholly correct the number of leads he could eliminate by looking through the Schnee's records was immense, making it a good direction even if they somehow weren't Rooks suppliers. The head of the SDC (who was all but assuredly the one mediating the deal) wouldn't have records of it on any of the SDC's servers, but at the same time would keep evidence somewhere for potential leverage against Rook, something he could trade to authorities in exchange for amnesty if something went south and he had to reveal his not-technically-illegal-but-still-totally-illegal transactions.

This meant there was likely a method of tracking Rook's base (or at least a few outposts or safe houses he could use as a starting point) hidden somewhere with the SDC head's private office, residence, or another high security location. As far as finding said location, Jaune assumed the SDC head likely performed the transactions himself or delegated it to an extremely trusted subordinate that was kept extremely close at hand. Mistral purchased small quantities of black dust whenever they were 'found' and without exception purchased all they could, a process likely mirrored by the other 3 kingdoms and Rook meaning said transactions should occur a couple of times annually in regards to Rook specifically, meaning observing said transactions would let him get both a glance at Rook's negotiators and a way to pinpoint the location of whatever the SDC had on Rook.

While he'd also like to follow Rook's negotiators he couldn't follow both them by himself and whoever the SDC sent at once, and he guess the collective dirt the SDC had gathered over decades would likely eclipse whatever he could find alone by following Rook's operatives.

… And now he felt really lonely and slightly depressed…


Elite tier skill «Brooding» has been acquired! Skill «Brooding» is now level 34!


Title «Loner (initiate)» has been acquired.


Jaune froze staring at the popup for a moment emotionlessly before opening his menu and looking at the skill description.


Brooding (Active) lv 34 (elite tier skill): Oh, woe is me~ for I am alone! So! So! Alone! By channeling the overwhelming power of your inner emo, you can attract Grimm from great distances with the feeling of your delicious sorrow and burgeoning Loner status. This skill isn't anything like a rip-off of a final fantasy 'summon enemy' skill or item, not at all~.


Loner (initiate): This title is great! While at this rank all it does is passively enhance the «Brooding» skill's effect potency and growth rate by 50%, at higher ranks there won't be anything that can stop you! Probably…


"…"


"... in other news, authorities are still investigating the source of the shriek that witnesses have described as being 'like the unholy death wail of Cthulhu himself' that originated from central park in the late afternoon hours yesterday. While hunters' have confirmed there are no Grimm present near or around the park it is still being cordoned off for further investigation. Additionally, we have a few unconfirmed reports of an individual whose description matches that of the man who fended off the ancient nevermore attack on a civilian Cruise ship and rescued the remaining citizens of Kuroyuri leaving the scene. Considering experts agree no human vocal cords could have ever produced such an eldritch sound there are numerous theories that this individual, famous as the Legendary Nevermore Knight, fought and slew a beast of possibly demonic origin that had somehow snuck into Mistral.

While authorities have neither confirmed nor denied this theory, early released reports indicate the damage found at the predicted epicenter of the shriek show signs of damage to numerous trees matching the description and appearance of claw marks, considering the depth of theses marks and the fact that no residue remains from whatever created them it has been agree they were not created by a human being, as it would be impossible unless a person could somehow negate damage an aura shield would not be capable of blocking and simultaneously not wear down their nails while carving out the trees.

Authorities have also expressed their surprise at the unexpected -but not unwelcomed- lack of panic in regards to this incident which several individuals interviewed earlier this morning have commented on confidently.

'It's not a problem anymore' 17-year-old Ashe Grayson explained confidently to reporters 'The legendary Nevermore Knight must have eliminated it already, whatever it was, there's no way he would have let something capable of making such an ungodly and soulless sound survive any longer that the moment he found it. Whatever it was, it's gone.' she had stated to murmurs of agreement from her nearby friends.

Additionally, it has been suggested that…"


Congratulations! Title «Legendary Nevermore Knight» has exceeded 100 total fame level, title effects have been enhanced!


Brooding is now level 41!


Jaune just barely managed to repress the strangled growl (he wasn't whimpering) that attempted to escape his throat as he moved towards a more out of the way part of Mistral away from anything resembling a radio or television with almost clinical efficiency.

Of course, since there was absolutely nothing wrong or otherwise related to him going on in the city of mistral at the moment there was no problem in him ignoring everything and everyone in favor of returning to his line of though regarding the SDC that he'd been… distracted, from yesterday for no real reason at all.

It wasn't like his horribly embarrassing secret had somehow increase in renown by at least another 3rd of its previous level over night or that he'd discovered his dancing skill included singing, which in turned also allowed him to exceed the limitations of typical human vocal cords to make whatever sounds he felt like making or anything. He wasn't at all depressed by the fact that he apparently had the ability to make a sound inhuman enough to be compared to Cthulhu, not at all…


Brooding is now level 42!


NOT. AT. ALL.

Anyway! Regarding the situation with the SDC: while it could be said that he had a rather clear direction to go in now, he was simply not strong enough to do so. The head of the SDC Jacques, I-have-more-money-than-god, Schnee was one of the few people on remnant who had the ability to, and indeed already has, employ multiple B-rank hunters and even a pair of A-rank hunters. While Jaune's father had described Jacques as being greedy and egotistical, he was also apparently highly intelligent and completely ruthless. Considering the Schnee dust company controlled roughly 65% of remnant's global dust market even the governments of the four kingdoms couldn't take him lightly.

While most of the Schnee corporation's security forces were mechanized or otherwise cheap low D or even E rank fodder mix in with the occasional C-rank, Jaune didn't imagine the SDC head slacking on a deal relating to black dust (I mean seriously, 6.5 million lien per ounce?), and depending on how much Jacques trusted in them (or at least their attachment to their paychecks) Jaune would probably be up against either a couple of B-ranks or one of the A-ranks (both would be overkill, at least from his prospective).

Fortunately, Jaune didn't necessarily have to fight them in this case, stealth was an equally viable option, especially considering his greatly heightened ability to conceal his aura. While Jaune didn't particularly feel like risking it against people he stood no chance of escaping from at this point, he felt like he at least stood a decent chance of being able to remain undetected. Of course, a decent chance wasn't enough that he'd risk an instant game over -so to speak- when it could be avoided with a bit of extra effort.

His immediate agenda included upgrading his equipment as he could (thanks for the material drops stealth ops team), digging a bit deeper into Mistrals underworld against stronger groups (higher level mobs) and gathering some Dust to try his hand at dust engraving.

The stealth ops team he'd trashed had actually had equipment made of surprisingly high quality material, although the workmanship could've been better, and he'd already managed to break down a couple and had apparently used them for upgrades on his own gear last night after falling into a fugue state of sorts, his intense concentration having nothing to do with him trying to distract himself from anything, of course.

He'd focused primarily on his body armor last night (which had been undamaged after his fight, despite him taking hits, suggesting his equipment would remain undamaged in the same way his body did until his health dropped) and had apparently gone a little bit overboard. Apparently because, honestly, he didn't really remember most of it.

…but all's well that ends well!

…probably…


«The Shadow of Death's Embrace» composite body armor (Exceptional)

Appearance: Despite its impressively high defensive capabilities this dark colored apparel is easily concealed as civilian clothes with even so much as an open jacket worn over it. Closer inspection reveals masterfully woven armor that allows this piece of light armor protective capabilities comparable to slightly above average sets of heavy armor all while being incredibly (almost unnaturally so) light and unobstructive, even by the standards of its armor class. Covers torso and legs.

Description: Body armor created and now enhanced by the one that flourishes in the shadows of death's pallid hold. Despite its creator giving no thought to comfort or aesthetic appeal in order to maximize its protective value and minimize its obstruction of movements, this body armor's streamlined design and masterful craftsmanship has naturally granted it a level of comfort and almost artistic appeal.

Armor type: Full body armor (light armor)

Physical defense rating: C++ (B++) (?)

Dust magic defense rating: C++ (B++) (?)

? defense rating: B- (A-) (?)

Mobility enhancement: E++ (C++)

Special traits

«Death's embrace» (B-): Enhances defensive properties the closer the wearer is to death. Passively nullifies Mobility obstruction and raises Mobility enhancement to E++ rating. If the wearer is at least severely injured Mobility enhancement is increased to C++ rating.

«Shadow» (C+): Increases all defense ratings by one full letter rating against attacks performed without a clear awareness of the wearer's location, reducing the effects of random or area of effect attacks intended to smoke out the wearer from concealment.

Utility: (C+): Adds 12 inventory quick slots


In all honesty Jaune wasn't really sure how exactly he'd managed to upgrade his armor so radically, even if the materials the black ops team's gear was made out of had been good, and he'd accidentally closed the popup he'd gotten when he came back to himself after finishing the armor, so he'd never know what it said.

It wasn't like he'd read some bullshit about him having channeled the power of a loner and then infused his armor with it along with the shadowed darkness of his undiluted emo emotions and then closed the popup in near animalistic rage whilst growling, no sir, not at all…

Not at all…

Guns! Let's talk about guns!

All 20 of the black ops shmucks he'd rob- *cough* gotten item drops from had had at least a sidearm with them, with a couple even possessing mechashift weapons. His final loot total had been 5 mechashift weapons, 20 standard issue side arms, 7 assault rifles of various types, 3 sniper rifles, around 32 knives of varying types (concealed and otherwise), a few kits filled with medical supplies and an absolute shitload of silencers and other attachments.

Thanks to both mechashift technology and the four kingdoms' typical penny pinching, most of the attachments were effectively universal, meaning he now had a night vision scope (which clearly hadn't helped the other side all that much) and as many spare silencers as he'd need for his own firearm in the near future.

To be honest he didn't really need most of what he'd taken, the mechashift weapon's melee aspect were useless compared to Crocea and the guns weren't much different in quality level from what he already had, he'd mostly just taken everything from his gamer implicit grab all~ the items mindset. To be honest he'd probably just start deconstructing, rebuilding, and just generally messing around with most of it in order to grind his crafting skill, although he'd probably need at least some specialized equipment for that. Yet another reason to pay some Mistralean gangs a visit, to acquire (hold x to loot all) tools they undoubtedly had after fierce negotiation (Finish Him!).

On a different note his 11th birthday was coming up in 2 months or so… it had been nearly 10 months since he'd ran away, 11 since he'd gotten that damn oracle. For as long as that time period felt to him, it somehow also felt incredibly short for what he'd been through, for how much he'd progressed. A year ago, he'd have gotten his ass kicked by anyone with a brain and an unlocked aura, but now? He'd -not even 2 days ago- all but manhandled 20 D-rank special forces agents like they we're scrubs, even if he'd gotten cocky against the last 3. He'd passed level 100, more than 13 times what he'd been 11 months ago, and yet he still wondered if he was progressing fast enough.

"5 years and a few odd months left…" Jaune murmured to himself quietly, clenching his fist and straightening up "Better get back to work."


2 months later (5 days after Jaune's 11 birthday)

As it turned out there were a couple of problems targeting various criminal organizations and stealing their stuff in quantities impossible for normal individuals via inventory bullshit. These problems included said criminal organizations concluding that he had backing of some sort, helping him move whatever he acquisitioned. Seeing as the local law enforcement were (as usual) running around like headless chickens they had quickly come to assume it was another gang/family/what-ever-the-fuck-Mistralean-criminal-groups-were-called backing him.

Jaune's internal monologue when he came to this realization could be accurately summed up as such: "Did I just accidentally a gang war?"

Jaune was fairly certain the answer to that question was yes.

On the plus side, he'd avoided the possibility of creating another weird alias via freely donning and removing his mask whenever the fuck he felt like it in a (clearly not desperate) attempt to connect his identity as Jaune Arc to his actions while wearing his mask, even if he didn't do so by name. The plus side of doing almost everything at night was that descriptions of his appearance were vague at best, even if they would likely be connected to him by name if anyone who'd met him and knew him by name ever saw him. While he didn't get an alias, he had gotten a few titles, and while some of them were somewhat skeevy he had decided that since they weren't the same kind as a certain title-that-shall-not-be-acknowledged that they were A-Okay. While he was unfortunately still stuck at a maximum of 2 equipped titles at the moment, «Shadow of Shadows» had already become fully functional even while unequipped, freeing up a slot for one of his new titles.

In order of acquisition his new titles were «Master of Life and Death», «Demon child», «Hunter of the Moonless night», and «Ace of all trades». While the titles themselves were rather exaggerated and somewhat shadily named, Jaune couldn't deny their potential usefulness.


Master of Life and Death: If you wish for death, so be it, if you wish for life, it shalt not be snuffed out. While this title is equipped and you are not aiming to kill an opponent, greatly increases the ease of nonlethally disabling a target even if you are going all out and using what would normally be lethal attacks. While going for the kill all injuries you inflict will heal at a degraded rate, and bleed more profusely than they normally would.


Demon child: Baleful blue eyes pierce the darkness, shooting spikes of ice down the spines of the guilty. While equipped slightly reduces aura consumption of Preternatural eyesight and increases damage dealt proportionate to an opponent's personal fear towards you.


Hunter of the Moonless night: He hunts, darkness proving no shield to those whose tracks he follows. While equipped, increases damage dealt during the night time based on the phase of the moon, ranging from 5% on the brightest night of the lunar cycle to 40% on its darkest. Increases to 100% bonus during lunar eclipses.


Ace of all trades: An expert is a master of one, a generalist is a master of none, and you? You shall claim all trades as your profession, somehow, someday. While equipped, Increases growth rate of all applicable skills by 1% per cumulative 10 levels of all skills above the level of effected skill. (possessing 10 level 40 skills would provide a 10% bonus to a level 30 skill).


With a larger sample size to examine Jaune had managed to put together a clearer understanding of title and how they typically manifested. The rule of thumb was that the more restrictions and limitations a title had, the more potent it was while its effect was applicable. Additionally, having more detailed 'records' relating to a title would enhance its potency (for those with few restrictions) or loosen its requirements for activation (for those that were already potent). The most potent titles were those that were based on a current reputation, as they borrowed the acknowledgement and metaphysical weight of other people's existences.

Returning to his own titles;

«Master of Life and Death» was probably the closest equivalent to a holding back skill he was going to get, although it evidently wasn't a surefire thing. Having received it after his first kill (something that had left him maintaining gamer's mind at its highest setting nigh constantly for roughly a week) Jaune had equipped it the moment he'd 'mastered' his «Shadow of Shadows» title, in part because it would help him keep down the number of people he would have to kill in the future, and also because it would allow him to fight more freely against any members of his family if (or more likely, when) they tracked him down.

«Demon child» and «Hunter of the Moonless night» were both potent but limited titles that were suited towards individual premeditated usage (the next eclipse was going to be a doozy) although they were also both rather unreliable, seeing as the effect could range from near useless to overwhelming.

Lastly «Ace of all trades» looked like a late game Deus-ex-Machina being thrown at him early on in a poorly hidden attempt to conceal what it was, at first glance at least. The catch was that it was actually quite hellish to properly take advantage of, in all honesty. While the potential cumulative growth rate boost might be mouthwatering, the little detail that it only counted skill levels greater than whatever was being boosted meant he'd literally get a 5% growth rate bonus towards a level 50 skill for every level 100 skill (which would be hell to acquire in the first place) he possessed, dropping to a 4% growth rate bonus towards a level 60 skill and so forth and so on. It would have been quite nice as something acquired after he'd already grinded a bunch of skills later on but right now Jaune felt like a kindergartener being told the benefits of graduating college. The only skill that would be able to benefit from it now and for the foreseeable future was Flash step (now at level 3) and even then, that was because the skill leveled up at an inhumanly slow rate despite near constant usage.

Edgy titles and his increasingly question reputation aside, actively targeting the more prominent and powerful members of the Mistralean underworld had netted him much more experience that picking of the minor groups had, although at this point he'd gotten most of what he could out of Mistral's underworld bigshots. Sitting easy at level 131 Jaune had begun readying himself to leave Mistral, gathering any supplies he needed and plotting his next destination in what was likely his last few weeks in the Mistralean capital.

With this in mind, he took another glance at his status screen.


Name: Jaune Arc

Title: Underdog, Master of Life and Death

Age: 11 years

Aging rate: 55% standard human rate

Lv: 131

Health: 23019 [100%]

Health regen: 10.43% per minute (reduced by 90% during combat)

Aura: 47303 [100%]

Aura regen: 10.55% per minute (reduced by 90% during combat)

Vitality: 345 (992)

Endurance: 328 (943)

Strength: 342 (983)

Dexterity: 413 (1187)

Intelligence: 367 (1055)

Wisdom: 332 (955)

Stat points: 0

Luck: ?

Charisma: ?


Contrary towards his usage of a sword and shield (which were often signs of a more tankish fighter) as primary weapons he'd actually taken towards focusing on his speed in the last few months, largely because it had the best compatibility with stealth skills and would also allow him to escape more successfully when necessary. Higher speed also meant shorter travel times, meaning he was less likely to spend nearly as much time traveling to another kingdom than the 4 or so months it had taken him to travel to Mistral once he'd set it as his destination. It was almost funny how weak and unprepared he felt despite having acquired prowess on par with the average beacon graduate at age 11. Less amusing was the fact that he'd hit the harshest soft cap ever in regards to experience and leveling up, even the toughest of underworld enforcers and local Grimm having that ever so cruel .5 modifier to experience gain more often than not nowadays.

Fortunately, it wasn't as if there was nowhere tougher still within the range of the kingdoms, something supporting Jaune's next destination as the best possible choice. Atlas, as freezing cold and dull as it was, looked like a great grinding spot preempting him visiting one of the truly wild places in Remnant. Not only were the Grimm inhabiting Atlas's mountain regions supposed to be brutal, the environment itself was adverse enough that it would make fighting even more dangerous and potentially lethal! (yay!) Adding to how it was probably a great spot to grind his Vitality stat (via swimming half naked in a partially frozen river and letting his health bar tell frost bite to go fuck itself), the fact that his new stats would let him make any and all mountains his bitch (open world means open world you stupid inanimate chunk of rock), and Atlas's advanced technological prowess (shinies ahoy!) and Atlas was the best location for Jaune at the moment.

Of course, being the location of the SDC's main branch and even the Schnee family's primary residence was another notable aspect, although if he'd be ready to try and tackle that giant yet or even by the time he had to shift to somewhere more dangerous was still up in the air. Atlas was also the most likely source of an airship (or the technology/design for said airship) capable of providing the necessary energy output to detonate a black dust bomb, not to mention their intense focus on science and technological advancements meant they'd likely know more about said dust than Mistral did.

Jaune was also hoping to acquire a vehicle or two, seeing as he saw no reason why his inventory -being capable of containing what must have been a dozen tons of stol- legally acquired goods (self-defense laws allow response with equal intent and hence robing a robber was perfectly legal… probably) Jaune was confident he'd be able to fit a bullhead into it. While it was unlikely that he'd be able to acquire anything cutting edge, there was undoubtedly numerous decommissioned vehicles sitting around various junkyards just waiting to be purchased and then upgraded over time through his increasingly impressive technological skills.

Jaune was also expecting to meet a bit more trouble in regards to hacking and other mental focused activities in Atlas. Unlike physical stats, a person's Intelligence and wisdom stats could be wholly accessed even without aura, meaning high level hunters were only at most a couple of times smarter than normal people, if that, considering civilians typically spent a lot more time pursuing intellectual pursuits than hunters did. It had been somewhat odd the first time he seen a level 80 auraless civilian with 10s and 20s in physical stats but an almost incomprehensible 600 and 550 base stats in Intelligence and wisdom respectively. With Atlas' vast number of extremely intelligent scientists and computer engineers Jaune imagined he might meet a few with Int stats that made his own look like a joke, especially considering Atlas's tendency to have skilled scientist's aura's unlocked to enhance their longevity and mental processing abilities, despite their near zero combat ability.

While his combat prowess was monstrous for his age he was still incapable of doing anything if he couldn't manage to outsmart his opposition to at least some extent, at least in regards to the four kingdoms. If Atlas managed to corner or otherwise track him somehow, they'd be fully capable of burying him in more numbers than he could face more than long enough for a big shot to come around and disable him, which would quickly see him dropped into general Ironwood's palm and sent back to his parents in short order along with Vale's newly reinstituted death sentence. Atlas's approach towards hunters was a major part of this danger, seeing as they systematically trained and recruited hunter's as high ranking military officers leaving said hunters vastly more connected to the Atlesian chain of command than any other kingdom.

While that same system might make it so truly exceptional hunters appeared less frequently, it assured constant production and availability of competent ones and allowed Atlas's government much more control over the use and deployment of said hunter's.

Long story short, Jaune was expecting to find an absolute horde of high D and low to mid C rank combatants in Atlas, even if B and A ranks would be considerably less frequent than they'd be in other kingdoms. There was also the fact that Atlas's mechanized units had supposedly reach the level were the best could be considered low C rank in combat prowess, with rumors of a prototype that would push even further beyond that resounding in what underworld circles Jaune had queried (interrogated/stolen information from).

That was all in the future though and Jaune was intending to spend his last week or so in Mistral (after finishing his preparations) doing something he hadn't really done since this whole thing started: Relax. Sure he joked and messed around momentarily, but his objectives and goals were always present in the edge of his mind and while he didn't intend to slow down for long, he figured he'd managed more than enough in the time he had to warrant a short break.

Once he was finished gathering what he needed he would spend the last 7 days messing around, going to festivals, eating junk food, wasting money at arcades and just generally acting how someone his age should be acting. While gamer's mind kept it at bay for the most part, the stress of everything was starting to get to him, bearing down on him and fraying the corners of his mind. He wouldn't do anyone good if he fell to pieces before he saved Vale and over rely on gamer's mind would just enhance the risk in the event that it wound of not being enough or simply failing. It was evident that it could be overwhelmed and making it deal with a slew of constant woes and mental maladies seemed like a recipe for it to fail if his emotions ever became truly chaotic.

With that in mind Jaune redoubled his efforts to finish his preparations, all while making a list of what he wanted to do for his late birthday vacation week, a small smile rising to his face as he did so.


On the first day he ate candy and junk food until his stomach hurt and then kept eating, eventually realizing gamer's body was somehow negating his stomach aches in exchange for health damage. Jaune ended up losing more than 30,000 points of health over the course of the day without ever once getting into a fight.

On the second day he went to an arcade and showed those filthy casuals what was what (let's face it, everyone is a filthy casual to someone who's technically gaming 24/7). He'd also experimented to try and find the most insulting 10-word phrase without profanities he could put up in the top 10 high score list of every machine in the arcade. "I bask in your hatred and drink in your despair!" was one of his favorites.

On the third day he'd bought every comic book he'd missed in the last year and binge read every single one of them from dawn until dusk.

On the fourth day, he fucked up, because of course his biggest screw up would come not from hacking a government agency but instead in trying to take a god damn break.


He was relaxing in the park when it happened, sitting on a tree branch that would be difficult, but still doable, for a normal child of his age to reach. His image of normalcy was slightly ruined by the fact that the sheathed form of Crocea Mors was clearly visible on his lap but that was still in the range of normal-hunter-in-training child for his age. Having put together a playlist of a few songs on his scroll put a pair of headphones on and pressed play, blocking out his sense of hearing.

Mistake number one.

For a few minutes he simply sat there, leaning back on the tree trunk with his legs stretched out along the branch, gazing out across the park idly in absolute comfort. He was so comfortable, in fact, that he went ahead and closed his eyes, focusing solely on the music and wind flowing across his skin.

Mistake number two.

At first, he merely listened to the music but as the final song on the playlist began he, mindlessly, began to do something he'd done near constantly by himself when he was younger: sing along, softly at first, then louder.

Mistake number three.

And as everyone knows: three strikes, you're out.


Walking alone through the park Pyrrha Nikos found herself lost in thought far deeper than one would expect from a girl her age. Brooding over who she was and what she was becoming.

She was aware she was not what you'd call a normal girl.

In the first place few people would ever accuse a hunter or hunter trainee of being normal, but even amongst that crowd Pyrrha herself was most aware of the fact that she still didn't quite fit. A normal huntress-in-training was not capable of physically matching and often exceeding those 4 years her senior at age 11, a mere year after having her aura awakened. Someone normal did not acquire combat skills twice as sharp as her supposed peers in half as much time nor did they seem to recover aura at a rate that was actually visible during combat, despite it somehow slowing down outside of a fight. A normal trainee didn't find it all but impossible to feel fear. A normal hunter did not have a semblance that, while near useless against Grimm, seemed tailor made to overwhelm and overpower other people.

But above all, a normal person possessing so much would not have a subtle but ever-present desire for More.

Despite learning several times faster she still trained and practiced at least twice as much as her peers. Despite being strong and fast enough to completely overwhelm her age group she still strained to be stronger and faster, even as the subtle gap between her and those who had once been her friends grew more and more present she still encouraged the cause of that gap all while mentally pleading for it to disappear.

She felt no joy or accomplishment in surpassing and dwarfing her peers, no real sense of fulfillment in her matchless talent and yet for all her desire to be normal she could not bring herself to stop honing herself beyond all others any more than she could make her heart stop beating. The sole time she'd tried to stop progressing to stop isolating herself she'd lasted barely a day before returning to her regime.

It was not pride or aspiration, a desire to reach and surpass legends, nor was it an aspect of her personality. It was a primal instinctual drive, a hunger, a thirst, something that seemed more fitting in a wild beast or mindless berserker than a human being and it would never subside, it would never abate. For normal people, gaining strength was a challenge, a harsh climb up an increasingly steep cliff face yet for her it was a slippery slope than only her fear of being ostracized entirely kept her from bolting down full tilt.

Yet for all her abnormality should have worried and scared her it was only able to touch her heart in the most indirect of ways. Because of it she would grow faster than her peers, something that would make her far stronger than them in short order, this gap in strength would cause them feelings of inferiority and eventually they would grow distant, leaving her alone. If she had friends who wouldn't leave her regardless of her strength she knew fully well she'd have no issue with her irregularity, and for much of her life she hadn't.

Yet because she had no such loyal friends the whole charade came crashing down as she found herself realizing just how intrinsically wrong she was as a huntress-in-training, as a person, and as a human being. Yet even with her irregularity the realization that she was born to be different, born unable to relate to those who struggled to grow no matter how much effort she put into it, born destined to be idolized and ostracized regardless of her will was jarring.

Like a dam being burst she found herself overwhelmed with conflicting emotions, fear and conviction warring as rage and uncertainty coiled around her heart, a discordant horde of other feelings overwhelming her pushing her to the point of breaking, of lashing out, of something horrible before…


"If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses…"


Softly at first, barely audible in the background yet somehow demanding her total attention.


"…Sink me in a river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song…"


Growing louder, bit by bit even as she found herself ambling towards the voice, barely aware that she was just one of many.


"…Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother

She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh,

And life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no

Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby…"


The voice grew louder still as she drew near, washing over her senses like something divine, somehow untangling the knot of chaotic emotions that had seemed overwhelming but mere moments ago.


"The sharp knife of a short life

I've had just enough time~!"


She entered a clearing with a sole tree standing tall in the center, finding herself among countless dozens all standing in complete silence, several with scrolls out and recording the voice all while gazing as if in a daze at the young boy reclined on one of the middle branches of the tree, his eyes closed and with headphones on as he sung.


"…If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song…"


She'd heard the song before, most people probably had heard at least one version of it and yet now, as it was sung…


"…The sharp knife of a short life

I've had just enough time…"


It was like a choir of angels, sung by a lone boy with an impossible and almost transcendent quality that she knew no amount of practice would ever let her reach.


"…And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom

I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger…"


Yet for all its undeniable mastery the thing that struck her the most was the emotion each word was wreathed in, doubt, determination, uncertainty.


"…I've never known the lovin' of a woman

But it sure felt nice when she was holdin' my hand…"


Tied together and imparted with empathy and sympathy two-fold, a child singing his heart out.


"…There's a girl here in town, says she'll love me forever,

Who would have thought forever could be severed by..."


A child struck with a burden beyond his years and left alone.


"The sharp knife of a short life,

Well I've had just enough time"


A child who had come to accept giving everything of himself for the sake of others.


"…A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar

They're worth so much more after I'm a goner

And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'

Funny when you're dead how people start listenin' …"


The boy's voice washed over her, tearing away the doubts and shadows in her heart, the resolution in his words seeming to lend itself to her for a moment as her fears vanished and she simply listened imparting every word to her memory with almost desperate intent.


"…If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song…

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well

I've had just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down..."


In a handful of moments that seemed both too short and an eternity the song reach its end and the boy stopped singing, his voice fading off into silence. The whole clearing was completely silent, even the birds and animal's seeming to hold their breath as the boy pocketed his scroll, his eyes still closed, and lifted his arms up stretching even as his face left the tree's shadow fully revealing the boy's face as he slipped his headphones off, opening his eyes.

Vibrant green met boundless blue as, against all odds, her eyes met his for an eternal moment before the boy's eyes widened slightly in shock as he glanced around, noticing his audience for the first time.

Her aura enhanced senses caught him mouthing a word she knew would lead to her mother washing her mouth out with soap if she ever spoke it before the boy rose, the surrounding crowd beginning to slip out of their trace babble as the boy quickly grabbed his possessions (which included a sword she'd failed to notice resting in his lap) then and, before anyone could do anything, he moved.

He was down from the tree in an instant and half way out of the clearing in a heartbeat, his bearing taking him on a path just a few feet to the side of her. A hunter-in-training, likely one of her peers, Pyrrha had noted clinically even as she moved almost mindlessly. Seeking to prevent him from leaving, not wishing to lose track of the boy with such vibrant emotions and such a wonderful voice. He was as different as her, perhaps in another way but still, he was someone whose ability eclipsed all others, even more than her talent in combat did other trainee hunters. He was someone who could understand and would not ostracize her.

Yet for all of his vocal skill she was the fastest and strongest of her age group, with the strongest aura and best reflexes, his movements were well above average for their age group but nothing she couldn't track with ease. Moving quickly her hand darted out as he attempted to pass her, catching on to… nothing?

His form seemed to skip momentarily and he was behind her, having moved beyond her ability to perceive.

"Wait!" she found herself blurting almost desperately even as she turned and tried to pursue him, struggling to keep up for a few seconds before he glanced back at her momentarily, their eyes meeting once more "slow down!" she asked a hint of pleading in her voice.

The boy smiled almost sadly "Sorry, but even I'm not fast enough to think of slowing down quite yet." He replied ambiguously before suddenly his speed doubled or tripled even as he darted up into a tree, flitting through another dozen before she could blink and disappearing entirely soon after in an unbelievable display of speed that left her stunned as she stumbled to a stop and stood alone in the park, the uproar of the boy's remaining audience members reduced to a dull distant rumble by the ground they'd covered in a scant few seconds.

"Wait…" she mumbled aimlessly to the empty forest, her mind racing "who are you?" she asked quietly, knowing she'd have no answer.


After leaving the redheaded girl behind, Jaune was out of the park in 5 seconds, in 30 seconds he was already at the city limits, slipping past the security with practiced ease, and by the time a minute had passed he was 3 dozen yards outside of Mistral's walls and counting, tearing northwards as quickly as he could.

The second he'd opened his eyes and seen scrolls trained on him he knew he was compromised, there'd be a dust tube video with his singing in it before an hour had passed and his family would know his location within the day. He had to make as much distance between him and Mistral as physically possible as quickly as possible.

He had been planning to hitch a ride on an airship to Atlas, but waiting for such a thing was impossible now so he'd just have to hoof it and hope he could find a boat to slip onto when he reached the northern coast.

Even as he ran he found himself working through the handful of popups he'd received in the last few moments, one of which was the status of the redheaded girl after he'd reflexively checked it.


Dance! Dance! Legend is now level 61!


Charisma has increased by 13!


You have had a significant impact on «Pyrrha Nikos», an individual with a heroic fate! The weight of your existence has increased based on how you have effect this individual's future growth and development. You are now «The Blue-eyed boy with an Angel's voice» to individual «Pyrrha Nikos». +5 Luck.


"Heroic fate?" Jaune mumbled softly "wonder what that is… well whatever I'm just glad that title like thing seems to solely apply to her view of me and isn't an actual title, I don't need another super embarrassing title which will for some reason have uselessly high specs." He grumbled before checking the girl in question's status sheet and promptly almost tripping.


Name: Pyrrha Nikos

Title: Once in a century Genius, Isolated in excellence

Age: 11 years

Aging rate: 70% standard human rate

Lv: 45

Health: N/A [100%]

Health regen: N/A

Aura: 5568 [100%]

Aura regen: 14.4 points per minute (boosted by 900% during combat)

Vitality: 53 (93)

Endurance: 81 (142)

Strength: 209 (366)

Dexterity: 215 (376)

Intelligence: 61 (107)

Wisdom: 82 (144)

Luck: 1

Charisma: 213


"The hell!" Jaune blurted out "Aren't her base stats actually higher overall than mine were at that level? Also a 900% boost to aura regeneration rate during combat? No fair, I want that." He grumbled "although 1 luck eesh, poor girl." Skipping passed her skills, Jaune focused on the girl's traits


Traits

Greater Soul: you possess a soul more powerful than most, something that is reflect in your reserves: Doubles Aura gain per level and doubles aura gain per point of INT (100 aura per level plus 10 additional Aura per point of INT.)

? Hero's ?: +3 Strength and Dexterity per level, Increases the growth rate of all combat skills by 300%, all combat skills start at a minimum tier rank of advanced. Luck stat locked at 1. Reduces aging rate by 15%. Greatly increases the growth rate of all stats, ?, ?.

?: Exponentially increases all damage dealt and received. Greatly increases the severity of fatal wounds received.

Tireless: Increases healing rate, stamina recovery, and aura regenerate rate by 900% during combat, disregarding stand in combat debuff. Overuse will steadily lower all stats until sufficient recovery time has passed.


"I say again, eesh, poor girl, she's got protagonist syndrome just about as badly as I do, and between that third trait and her luck stat of 1 she's basically a cut scene death waiting to happen." Jaune frowned "It also doesn't take a genius to figure out what her titles mean so the order of events this time would be… lonely girl isolated by her overwhelming talent witnesses a boy with apparently transient singing plus movement above her own and tries to follow him and befriend him only get left behind because, for once, she isn't able to keep up… and now I feel like even more of a dick for ditching her, also, fucking dramatic irony, go away, no one likes you." Jaune fell silent momentarily as the miles slipped by before another though stuck him.

"Wait did I just become the type of character that appears in the prologue of a story or something that serves as an inspiration for the protagonist and then indirectly becomes a recurring major plot point as the protagonist learns of my feats and witnesses the effects of my actions in a manner that encourages a specific type of character growth all while I am totally unaware of the massive influence I've had on said protagonist until we meet face to face again years later and team up against some threat that ends up highlighting how said protagonist has grown from the lonely little girl who I left behind in the forest and how I'm no longer someone the protagonist is pursuing but instead an equal she stands alongside against the forces of darkness?" Jaune pondered seriously.

"But wait! Me realizing that would have a butterfly effect on my future actions and I might become more aware of the potential legacy I'm leaving behind and in doing so inadvertently change the way that protagonist looks at me shifting me from a goal to reach to that protagonist's love interest but due to the life I've lived I've become all gruff and isolated losing most of what social skills I have and not possessing a good ability to connect with others due to this causing the protagonist to spend a bunch of time helping me overcome my traumas eventually leading to us falling in love and living happily ever after!" he paused "also I blame hormones for that oddly specific delusion."


Because of… What the- no seriously what the fu- how did you? Stop being so goddamn genre savvy! Skill Oracle is now level 20!


"ah ha! So I was right!" Jaune paused a slightly uncomfortable warm feeling blooming in his core "but about which one? And wait no, me learning of that would trigger the butterfly effect again shifting the most probable future to being-"


Because of SHUT THE FUCK UP! Seriously fucking quit it! You have gained 15 points of luck!


Warning, due to overtaxing your semblance through continuous usage and leveling of high strain skills and stats without sufficient external compensation you have received the status effect Spiritual exhaustion (moderate) temporarily dropping all aura related skills and stat bonuses by 20% of their normal performance rates, continued overexertion has a chance of causing permanent damage.


"… wait did I just almost cause myself spiritual damage by being too genre savvy?" Jaune mumbled "that's both hilarious and worrying and to think it all resulted from my attempts to distract myself from thinking about my family again… damn it." he grumbled he as he felt exhaustion creep into him somewhat as his aura weakened.


Brooding is now level 45!


"….asshole…"


A/N

Jaune is not allowed to relax for more than 3 days a year! The Genre Savvy council has declared that protagonists don't get benefits from child labor laws! In all seriousness I just though it would be hilarious if Jaune pulled off a bunch of covert stuff and started a gang war largely undetected for months but then got noticed on his 4th day of relaxation. I chose the male version of the song 'If I die young' because i noticed it had a surprisingly ironic connection with both this story and canon in a sense, if you think about some of the phrases, and secondly because its something i can imagine someone pouring a lot of emotion into during a relaxed setting. Throw in Jaune's Singing/Dancing skill having an effective level of 152 at this point and you get something that goes so hilariously viral his family is going to be like "Why the hell is Jaune's voice everywhere" -looks at video- "I need an airship ride to Mistral right F*cking now!"

The last segment was an attempt at a humorous reveal as to how his semblance's quest system is able to confirm if something is true or not, it's using Jaune's Oracle skill to confirm quick yes or no facts about the current future, trying to get specifics is impossible but he is often able to get quick yes or no conclusions just so long as he has enough information to narrow down what he'd be looking for. It means that if he comes to the correct conclusion with enough supporting details and facts behind it he is able to be told 'yes this is correct' or 'no this is wrong' basically in the same manner a quest master would respond to player questions, without enough background on the other hand it'd basically be a 'you don't know' QM response. Additionally this isn't ironclad, Jaune's actions can shift something from 'this is going to happen' to 'this could have happened' meaning that quest parameters that are supposedly confirmed can actually change. Repeated uses of this (as in more than once in a blue moon) is incredibly taxing to Jaune, and he doesn't really know how to use it on command in the first place.

Shifting topics slightly, Quests in this story are grand things, Jaune is never going to get a quest like go to this location and beat X number of mob A, Quests are fully fledged slay the dragon and rescue the princess affairs, if it doesn't pose a risk of A: killing Jaune. B: taking months or years. And/or C: having another type of horrendous fallout if failed, then it is not going to be a quest.

Think of the 3 quests Jaune has seen so far: One is saving a kingdom from destruction, another is getting multiple skills to extreme levels of mastery in around 6 years and the 3rd (currently inactive) quest was joining a several hundred-year-old shadow war centered around deciding the fate of mankind.

No milk fetching quests for you silly readers (unless you want me to throw in a quest for a fresh gallon of milk from a 5000-year-old Dragon Grimm that lives on the dark continent that is, I'm sure I could work that in here somewhere… not really, don't make me write that… although "Bitch I milked a dragon!" is a pretty universally valid comeback… and yes I did read that in abridged Alucard's voice)