Sorry for the late update. A combination of school and working two jobs to help pay for said school hasn't left me with much free time. And when I did, I was playing Elden Ring.

Jaune internally panicked at the sight of the message. From the message, he was talking about the forgery ability. What else could it be? Checking the clock, he saw that there were still fifty minutes left in class. Fifty minutes of the teacher talking too fast for Jaune to understand what he was talking about. Time passed slowly as Jaune thought about every possible question Ren could ask him. Finally, the bell signaled the end of class and the beginning of lunch.

"Nora," He heard Ren, "Why don't you take Pyrrha and save us a spot in the cafeteria? I need to talk to our leader about something."

"Okay, Ren. Let's go, Pyrrha". Nora grabbed Pyrrha's arm and ran off to do as he asked. Jaune saw Ren motion with his head to follow him. Taking a deep calming breath, Jaune followed him to an empty classroom. Closing the door, Jaune saw Ren lean against one of the desks.

"As I said, I saw your abilities," Ren said after several moments of silence. "And would you like to tell me why it said you forged your transcripts?"

"That's because I did." Jaune didn't see any reason to lie to him. He did, after all, do that. "But please understand that I have an extremely good reason for doing so."

Ren said nothing and made the go-ahead gesture.

"All of my ancestors were great warriors. My grandfather himself fought in the great war." Jaune took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "My dad didn't want me to be a huntsman, but I knew I had a family legacy to uphold."

"So you did it because you wanted to honor your ancestors? Is that correct?" Ren asked, and Jaune nodded his head. "Well, while I can understand your reasons. I can't condone the road you used to get here." Jaune started to open his mouth but was cut off by Ren.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to say anything about what you did." He started. "I will postpone my judgment for the future."

"Thank you so much." Jaune sighed. "You have no idea how much that means to me. I'm sure Pyrrha and Nora are wondering what's taking us so long." Now let's eat.

"Took you guys long enough." Came Nora's voice as they sat down. "What did you two get lost on the way over here."

"Nora! I'm sure that whatever took them so long was important." Pyrrha gently admonished Nora.

"It's fine, Pyrrha." Ren gave the two of them a comforting smile as he and Jaune sat down with their food. "And Nora, don't worry about what took so long alright." Ren booped her nose. As the four of them were eating, something caught Nora's attention.

"Hey, Jaune. Some girl wearing a bow is looking at you with a weird look," Nora piped up. "She looks… hungry for some reason."

Looking up, Jaune saw that it was Blake looking at him.

"Oh, that's Blake. And she's…." Jaune saw Nora start to open her mouth and used observe to see if she gained a level.

Blake Belladonna, LV-35

AGE: 17

Species: Faunus (cat)

"...level 35 and a cat Faunus apparently. However, I don't remember seeing a tail, so if I were to make a guess. I'd say her bow is hiding cat ears." Blake's eyes widened ever so slightly, and she quickly looked away. JNPR didn't see the eye widen and thought that she looked away cause she was caught.

"Why'd she hide something like that?" Pyrrha lowered her voice. Now that she knew Blake was a Faunus, she didn't want her to listen in on the private conversation. "Being a Faunus is nothing to be ashamed of. Some of my most memorable fights were against Faunus."

"Oh, oh oh!" Nora exclaimed while she raised her hand. "What was your favorite one."

Pyrrha was quiet for a few seconds as she thought back through the hundreds of fights.

"I'd have to say when I fought a Ram faunus." Pyrrha's eyes were looking up and to her left. "He had horns and a speed semblance. Combined, he was able deal a great amount of force that almost knocked me off my feet several times."

She smiled as she remembered the fight. It was around the middle of her career. Back when she was getting a little tired of all the fame and attention she was getting, but kept going because her father wanted her to. She enjoyed the fighting; she didn't enjoy the other aspects. They saw a bunch of students start to leave. Checking their scrolls, JNPR saw that lunch was almost over. Their next class would be combat, and they'd need all the energy they could get.

"Welcome, boys and girls, to combat class." Everyone could hear Glynda loud and clear despite where they all sat. "Here, you will hone the combat skills you developed during your previous years. Here I will pick two students to spar in the provided arena. Afterward, I will provide criticism of your performance and how you could do better. Now our first match of the year will be…." She pressed something on her tablet. "Shane Green vs. Russel Thrush."

The two of them entered the arena and got into fighting stances. Russel took out Shortwings and got into his stance. Shane pulled out a bastard sword and slipped in a Plow Stance. The blade itself had yellow markings along its handle.

"Begin!" Exclaimed Glynda. Once Glynda gave the go-ahead, Russel took the opportunity and rushed forward. Bringing both blades up, he stuck down with the intent to end the dual as quickly as possible. Shane lifted his sword and blocked the strike, kicking Russel in the stomach afterward. With the wind knocked out of him, Russel barely had enough time to roll out of the way of Shane's overhead strike. Shane had put too much force with the strike, and his sword was stuck a little bit in the floor. This gave Russel the opening to strike white his opponent was trying to pull his weapon out of the floor. Thrusting one of his daggers forward, Russel hit Shane in the chest, lowering his aura by a decent amount.

Shane realized he wouldn't be able to win a close-up duel. Using a bit more force, he pulled his sword out of the ground and backed up quickly, turning the pommel of his weapon as he did so. Several lines appeared along the horizontal portion of his blade. The blade came apart as the bastard sword transformed into a chain whip. Looking at the thong and fall, you could see electricity dancing along them.

Shane pulled his hand back without wasting time before quickly snapping it forward. A loud crack was heard as the head of the whip broke the sound barrier. Out of instinct, Russel brought both his daggers up to block it. He soon learned his mistake as he felt electricity flowing through his body, locking his muscles. The feeling lasted only a few seconds, but that was enough time for Shane to turn his whip back into a sword and rush at him. With a single slash, Russel was knocked across the arena by several feet.

"Hey, Shane seemed faster, and that attack seemed to have more force behind it." Mused Jaune to his teammates. Shane's semblance was called Rev Up. When activated, he would slowly increase his strength and speed, but there was a downside. The longer it was used, the more stamina it used. As well as after a certain amount, he had trouble controlling his speed.

Russel barely got to his feet when Shane was on him again. Thinking fast, Russel used his semblance to teleport right behind Shane and slash at him again, taking more aura off. Shane spun around more quickly but was a little too fast and lost balance. Seizing the opportunity, Russel placed his daggers at Shane's throat, ending the dual.

"Winner, Russel Thrush," Glynda said as the two of them faced the teacher, each having their weapons holstered.

"Russel, in the future, if you see an opponent's weapon crackling with electricity. Do remember to dodge out of the way of it, as metal does conduct electricity. As well as work on your footwork" She turned towards Shane. "And Shane, while you had a strong start, you should remember the limits to your semblance. The human brain can only process information so fast."

Glynda waited for the two of them to get back to their seats. "We have enough time for one more match today. Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester, please make your way to the arena.

While Jaune might've looked calm on the outside, he was freaking out on the inside. He'd be hoping that he could be allowed some practice and Pyrrha would incorporate some sparring into their workouts. Taking a deep breath, Jaune calmed himself, grabbed his sword and shield, and made his way to the arena.

Cardin Winchester, LV-32

AGE: 17

SPECIES: Human

The Executioner, LV N/A

Jaune saw a red crystal in the middle of the head and knew that the weapon had a fire dust crystal in it and would have to watch out for that. Taking a stance that he adopted in secret while watching countless videos. Jaune shifted his right foot back while raising his left arm. He had his shield on his left arm while his right hand was holding his sword. This allowed him to have a steady defense while leaving room to attack. He noticed that Cardin didn't take a stance; instead rested his mace on his shoulder while grinning at him.

"Well, bird boy, hope you put up a good fight. My lady here hasn't had a decent fight in a while." Cardin's voice was full of cockiness and jeering.

"Cardin Winchester, there will be none of that kind of talk in my classroom." Glynda reprimanded him. "Now, that two of you may begin." Cardin didn't need to be told twice and charged in with a yell, swinging his mace and aiming for Jaune's head. Thankfully Jaune was able to bring his shield up but was knocked back by force.

'Ugh, that hit harder than it should have." Went through Jaune's mind as he picked himself up from the floor. "I don't know if it's semblance related or he's that strong. But I can't afford to get hit again." Slipping back into his stance, Jaune looked at his HUD and saw that a decent portion of his aura had been drained.

"What's wrong Jauney boy, you chicken or something." Came Cardin's mocking voice as she slowly walked towards Jaune, dragging his mace on the ground.

"Cardin Winchester, I will not repeat myself. One more remark like that, and it'll be Saturday detention for you, mister."

Jaune saw Cardin roll his eyes and brought his mace up. This time, Jaune was ready and dodged the attack, swinging his sword as he did so. By the sound of Cardin's voice, he deduced that he wasn't supposed to do that, so he'd do that even more. What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Cardin to kick back. The kick hit him in the stomach, knocking the air out. It also had the effect of knocking him across the arena.

"Wow, you hit hard," Jaune was able to groan. His HUD showed that he was at half-aura. "Of course, you don't hit as hard as a Nevermore, but that's besides the point." Cardin didn't seem to like that. Raising his mace, Cardin yelled and slammed it into the ground, sending a wave of fire from the point of impact and towards Jaune. He didn't have time to dodge out of the way or block it and was sent backward out of the arena.

"Winner Cardin Winchester by knockout," Glynda said as she stared in disdain at the damage done to her arena. Glynda waited for Jaune to get back in before continuing. "Students as you just saw there is more than one way to win a duel. Apart from having your opponent in a situation where they have no opportunity to continue, you can also knock your opponent out of the ring. In a tournament setting, that would mean that said contestant would be unable to continue. Meaning that any of their teammates still in, if any, would be at a disadvantage." She turned towards Cardin.

"Cardin please do keep in mind in the future that brute strength won't always win a match. Should you opponent be more nimble, they will more times than not be able to dodge your attacks." She turned towards Jaune. "And Jaune, if I may ask. Are your wings functional or are they for show? Akin to some other bird faunes with plumage."

"Uh, yeah they're functional," Jaune said as he flew up a few feet and hovered for a few seconds before coming back down.

"Excellent. Now seeing as how you can use your wings. Try in the future to use them. For you will have superior mobility that way." Jaune mentally cursed himself. He should have remembered that flying increased his dex. He made a mental note to use his wings for training/fighting in the future.

"On that note. Class is over." As the class gathered their things, Glynda called out, "Also please stay in the cafeteria after dinner as an important announcement will be made. With that have a good rest of your day."

Jaune put his weapons in his inventory and joined the rest of his team. That was their final class of the day, so they had a few hours to kill before dinner. As the four of them headed back to their dorm to change into casual clothing, they were ambushed by Blake, who grabbed Jaune and ran down the hallway.

"Need to talk to your leader, I'll bring him back," Was all _NPR heard before losing sight of their team leader.

"Wow, it sounds like someone like's Jaune-Jaune." Nora laughed and looked a little longingly at Ren, who was staring in the direction Blake had taken Jaune.

Blake took Jaune to an empty classroom and shut the door. Before Jaune could even get a word out, Blake had Gambol Shroud to his throat. Looking into her eyes, Jaune saw that her pupils were dilated. She looked… scared for some reason.

"How'd you know about my secret." Blake's voice had some steel in it. As well as a slight tremble. "How'd you know I was a Faunus? I thought I hid it quite well." Looking at where her bow was, Jaune saw a good amount of twitching.

"I simply observed." Jaune's voice was calm. Gamer's Mind was helping a lot. Otherwise, he was sure he'd be a stuttering mess. "Plus your bow is twitching." While technically the truth, it wasn't how he knew what she was. Blake used the hand that didn't hold her weapons and grabbed her bow/ears, stopping the twitching.

"Please don't tell anyone about this," Black said, slowly moving Gambol Shroud away from Jaune's throat. "Not even my team know that I'm a Faunus."

"Why'd you keep something so important from your team?" It didn't make sense. His parents had talked about how they didn't keep secrets from their respective teams. The thought of that suddenly made him feel like a hypocrite. Here he was talking about keeping something important from her team, and here he was keeping something from his team… aside from Ren. So maybe it made a little sense.

"Look it's just that… it's just that." Jaune saw that Blake was shifting a bit uncomfortably.

"Listen if it makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to tell me." Jaune gave Blake a comforting smile.

Congratulations! you have gained +1 Relationship points with Blake.

Congratulations! Your relationship status with Blake has been upgraded from stranger to acquaintance.

Jaune was a little surprised at that. He wasn't trying to build any type of relationship with Blake, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Now his family always taught him that if someone told you one of their secrets, you were to share with the other person one of yours. He wasn't sure if it applied in this situation, but he was going to anyway.

"Well seeing as how I know your secret. It's only fair I tell you one of mine." Jaune gave her a comforting smile. "My team knows this of course, but I'm not really a Faunus."

"What do you mean." Blake's voice was a combination of surprise and anger. "I saw you fly in combat class when Ms. Goodwitch asked." Jaune saw her step back a bit with a scowl on her face. Seizing the opportunity, he reached behind him and opened the door, saying as he turned around and booked it away from her.

"That's something you'll have to find out yourself Blake." Jaune would have used his wing, but with the tight corridors, there wasn't enough room. Finally making it to his door, Jaune opened it and saw his teammates doing various things. Ren was drinking something, Nora was taking a nap with her head hanging off the bed, and Pyrrha appeared to be writing something. Perhaps it was homework. Taking a deep breath, Jaune closed the door to their room and stretched a little.