Been a hot minute since I updated this. Like, the middle of February hot, which is oxymoronic because February, at least for me, was piss cold—we're talking temperatures in the double digits and measured in the negative (Celsius for all you American readers). That aside, it was mainly because, after looking over what I want to do for this first arc, I realized that it might seem a little rushed, so I'm going to be slowing things down a little bit. K? Cool? Wicked!

Also, I want you all to keep in mind that these are largely my interpretations of these characters. I feel like copy-pasting their personalities and keeping them strictly the same would just drag down the overall enjoyment of the plot.

I say this now to, hopefully, soften the blow when certain characters do some things that might seem OOC for them in terms of their character in comparison to canon. Also, keep in mind what genre of fanfic this is. Aside from that, there isn't much else I have to add here, other than: let's hop into my response to reviews/comments!

[My Response to Reviews/Comments]

(Qoutev) TACO SENSEI: Think of it this way: Their disorientated, they just showed up in a new world, and the first thing that you're greeted with are weapons pointed at you. The overload of information in that moment would render anyone speechless. Besides, Chinatsu knew that, which was why she didn't expect anything out of them.

(Ao3) TheSevenStars: Now, that's a name for sore eyes. Honestly, I was kind of worried that you might've dropped this fic, but, I guess my point was proven wrong! Hazzah! Believe you me, Jamol is someone who I want dead too, and I'm writing the guy. But unfortunately, the time for him to be ripped to shreds and turned into confetti won't be for a long, long time. And, fun fact: The groups were formed via WheelOfNames because I don't trust myself to form groups that could interact meaningfully. Oh, and the First Arc still has like… 2 more chapters before we get into the next one. Anyway, thank you for the kind words! Have a great day!

Bearticguy7: I mean, nothing that eccentric this early on. But… definitely, something is going to happen when Jolyne finds out even a fraction of what Jamol is doing (it's a lot worse than you think it is). But I can tell you this: it will most definitely be interesting.

Kolt999: I honestly have no idea what would've caused that. I guess that FF just decided to derp for a second. It happens from time to time, and it's happened to me before when I review other stuff. But, yeah, glad you decided to repost it because I wouldn't have a mountain to respond to, and that would be bad :(

I am here to assure you that NOTHING (everything) will go wrong. Everything (nothing) is under control, and NOTHING (something) bad will happen!

As I stated in another response I did, the groups were chosen by WheelOFNames because I cannot trust myself to make groups interesting. And… I mean, you wouldn't be wrong in assuming that Masaru is going to turn out to be a voice of reason in the end. Another thing, I was kinda worried I didn't get her in character, and that I had hamfisted the whole authoritarian stuff with Winter. I guess I gotta stop doubting myself. And, oh boy… I don't think letting Kokichi near Penny is a good idea… she'll learn things that she shouldn't. The sweet robo-cinnamon-roll does not need to be corrupted with pranks and all that shenanigans.

And, yes Daimen chose the Faunus traits. And, yes, you can imagine him rolling on the floor laughing his ass off while Lady Mary is face-palming in disappointment for his shitty attempts at humour. And believe me when I say that Ghira has suffered and then some. There is a reason why he has more pictures of his family in his room. Look into that as much as you want.

As for Jamol's fate by the end of the RWBY saga… well, that's a surprise. Have yourself a great day, Kolt!

Now, with all that out of the way, let's jump into the new chapter!

[Jasper Quartz and Makaria Plutos belong to Shine375]

xxXXxxXXxx

[?]

Patience. Patience was what made a person reasonable. And because of that, it was an emotion that was hard to maintain control over. And just like any other emotion, it had limits. For example, contrast patience with fear.

Fear had its limits before that fear transformed into terror, and terror transformed into panic. The final emotion within that chain is despair. Upon reaching that stage, any hope that humans or faunus had to return to a once despair-less state was far from possible, but, not impossible. Much like impatience, despair was able to be curbed by a great amount of hope to be poured into that person, to hopefully overcome that despair, to overcome that panic, terror, and fear.

That was the constant balance that the world of Remnant occupied. A balance between those two emotions. A balance between light and dark. A silent war that had been in a stalemate for over 500 years.

And while patience wasn't nearly as powerful as hope and fear, it was something that allowed hope to manifest—for someone without patience would not be able to stir up the needed hope to drive away that fear, and thus, the Grimm.

If someone were to be patient, then the chances of them being impatient were slimmer, but not zero. Much like hope and fear, if one who was patient was constantly chipped at by various amounts of people who would seek to drive that person to the brink, then they would slowly, over time, become impatient. And that impatience would slowly, over time, turn to desperation, and that desperation would cause widespread despair.

And unlike someone who is in despair… someone who has resorted to desperation is uncurable, and thus, must be severed. It was something that Ozpin learned a long time ago, before Ozma was Ozpin, and had been someone else entirely—though funnily enough the names always started with the letter O.

In fact, his last reincarnation was Oswald… ah, but that wasn't the point.

The point was that, for someone in a high position of power, patience wasn't just a handy trait, it was something considered mandatory. And, considering just who Ozpin was, he was glad that he had learned patience over the long amount of time that he had been alive, and while he had slipped into various states of impatience, he had never resorted to becoming desperate. So, naturally, he would be inclined to believe that he had more than enough control over his own emotions.

At least, that was what Ozpin would like to believe, but even he had his moments of losing his cool—especially when it came from the aftermath of meeting with the other council members. However, there was one thing that he did have masterful control over.

Above all else, patience was something he had in abundance. After all, he had to. He was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. If one did not have patience, then how could a headmaster lead their students to success? After all, for as much as the world needed the new up-and-coming generation of Hunters and Huntresses to grow up and be adults, Ozpin was probably the only one who truly understood that life had meaning in all stages.

By the Brother Gods, did he know that. It was something that, in his hundreds of years alive, albeit in different forms, that he knew more than most. In his time alive, Ozpin had seen lives come and go, both with a bang, and a whimper. He had seen those who he cared about die old, and those he cared about die young.

Sometimes he died old. Sometimes he died young.

To some, that might sound absurd. But, it was the truth. One that Ozpin, or, as he was called in the past, Ozma, knew full well. And loathed. Cursed by The God of Light to never die until his "crimes" were paid for, there were times that Ozpin wished he could just crawl up into a ball and die.

That wasn't to say that Ozpin was a coward—despite what some people may think. He wasn't, but there were just some days that he wished that he could just… disappear. That he could finally die. Unfortunatly, he had a job to attend to. And while the last 45 years had been nothing but contrivance after contrivance, there were just some things that, despite his abundance of patience, he could not put up with.

And one of those things was the Council of Vale.

He hated having to put up with those stupid, idiotic, and quite frankly unfit bureaucrats who knew nothing about the situation they were in. There were times when he wanted to just shout at them that if they continued down the path they were going, all to appease him more than trying to kill her that things would take a cataclysmic drop for human and faunus kind.

Unfortunatly, that would cost him his job as Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and, it would cause the panic that was already arising because of him and his advancements and what he was doing to Vacuo to spike, and allow the Grimm to get stronger. And it would give her an advantage.

What was worse was that Ozpin knew that there was nothing he could do to stop his takeover of Vacuo. He had witnessed firsthand the level of power he had. It was the power of a God, and nothing, sans maybe a younger, fitter body than the one he currently had, and her working together could probably defeat such a monster.

But then that would imply that there was a chance that he and his ex-wife would ever work together. Not unless he threatened her. And with her being immortal, the chances of that happening were slim to none.

That, and Salem had already made her move. Her agents had attacked and mortally wounded Amber. Somehow, some of her power was gone—around a quarter of it, to be exact—and now he had to plan to counter that move in some way, shape, or form. And with Amber being kept safe in a cryogenic chamber with The Relic of Choice under the halls of Beacon, they were down choices, and all that they could do was hide and gain power slowly.

But, that wasn't a valid option, and Ozpin knew that.

Ozpin clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table as he bowed his head onto the clasped hands, his silver hair that was now unkempt from stress covering his maroon brown eyes, the centuries-year-old man groaned with pent-up stress.

If that had been everything that Qrow had to report, then he could handle that. But no, there was more. And it only made things more complicated. According to Qrow, when he was searching for Amber, four people just… appeared out of thin air in his line of sight. Three of them were faunus, two of which were children. The older one was unidentifiable as to what animal they took after, but the two children were easy to identify. The green-haired child was a bear, whereas the brown-haired boy was a wolf. The final person that appeared was a green-haired human male.

And it was the tidbit about the human male that complicated things.

The green-haired male had magic. Granted, there was no visual evidence to back it up, but the boy had been insistent that it was, indeed, magic. Specifically, transportation magic. And while that wasn't dangerous, it was suspicious. Magic had been sealed away by The Brother Gods, so it should've been impossible.

Then again, he existed, and that had opened his eyes to the idea that they were not alone in this universe because he had powers beyond his wildest imagination. So if this had been another case of that, then truly, unless he could get these new people on his side of things, and hopefully equate them to a counterbalance for him, then he could go back to fully focusing on Salem.

Sometimes, for the betterment of mankind, one had to pull on a few strings. And as bad as it was to manipulate others, he had to manipulate this new person who had magic, and their friends, into joining the fight against Salem and now, him, before this continued to spiral out of hand.

Picking his head up from his clasped hands, Ozpin reached over to his cup of hot chocolate, took a sip, then let out a sigh that he had been holding in for the better part of an hour. For as much as he wanted to continue this train of thought, he had other things to do. After all, he was the Headmaster of one of the most prominent Huntsmen Academies.

And that meant paperwork.

"Now… time to look over those transcripts…."

[Jamol]

"Done," Jamol muttered, as he stepped back from his forge, drawing out yet another steel sword that he had infused with Fire Dust. Swinging it around, a few flecks of flames licked off of the freshly formed blade, and not because of it being just recently forged. Rather, it was because of the Fire Dust, as well as flame magic that he had imbued into the blade, but mostly the Fire Dust.

But, it wasn't exactly what he had been looking for. The idea was to create a sword similar to his Cursed Fire Great Sword, one that he could give to his daughter, but it wasn't exactly working out. Oh, sure, he was able to create a pair of twin short swords for his son, one imbued with Aura Poisoning, and one imbued with Demonic magic, but he wasn't able to do the same with Fire Dust and flame magic.

It was beyond annoying. He had been at it for years now, and yet he still couldn't perfect it! It was downright aggravating.

Luckily, he had something next to him that would allow him to destress, thanks to his forge also being in his dungeon—convenient as it was.

"You know, you're more useful than just being my sex doll, Makaria. Your magic-embedded blood lets me make these otherwise pathetic weapons into something great!" Jamol commented as he looked over his shoulder at the borderline dead, pale white, dead-looking red-eyed elf named Makaria Plutos. She was wearing nothing and was covered in wounds that did not bleed.

The reason why she had all of those wounds was that: A. whenever he needed to test out a new blade to make sure it was sharp enough to cut through flesh, he'd use it on her. And, B. well that was it actually, just that first reason.

Unfortunatly, he couldn't have her stay like that.

After all, he couldn't have her die. You know kinda like what she was doing now. Dying. And that wasn't the point of her being down here. Not yet, anyway.

Jamol sighed, snapping his fingers, as a green rejuvenating aura washed over the elf, all wounds healing over, as the colour returned to her skin, and the life back to her eyes, as the elf writhed in her chains, screaming and shouting and letting out her demands to be freed "this instant."

But they both knew that was never going to happen. Besides… he loved breaking her too much. Over and over again, repeating the process just so that he could relive watching the moment her eyes reflected the despair that she was feeling.

Ah… it was perfect!

"We've been through this song and dance around about 500 times, Makaria. You know damn well what's going to happen, so why not just give up?" Jamol said, looking over at her as she glared at him, hatred filling his eyes. "How many times have I made you spit out a child or two for my sick amusement? Actually… no, I've only ever managed to impregnate you once, and I got twins… hmm, whatever. It's been a decade and then some, I'd say 17 years since then. You still cling to the hope that Jasper will come to save you when we both know that won't happen. He's too weak, too submissive. When will you realize that?"

As he approached, he ditched the sword, throwing it over his shoulder as it fell into the other piles of elemental swords he had been dabbling in. As he approached, horror-filled Makaria's eyes, as she writhed once more, only this time, it was out of panic rather than anger. "And don't worry about those kids… they're doing just fine, and I've raised them so well… so that one day they may become my soldiers. They think their mother is dead… which they wouldn't be too far off. But, they have been asking for another sibling, either from one of the many slaves I have or from an adoption clinic…"

He grasped her chin with a force so hard, that he drew blood from the corners of her lips. "And I think two… is a far lesser number than three. So I think… I want… another." As he said that, he dropped his pants, as the horror and dread in Makaria's eyes tripled.

"N-No! N-NO! S-STAY AWAY! Nnnnn!"

And oh, did Jamol love the screams of that elf bitch, as he inserted himself into her for what felt like the millionth time. As he did his thing, he got to thinking, what exactly was he going to do once she eventually died? Elves were the most resistant to this kind of thing—it's what made it fun for him. But, when she did eventually die, what was he going to do?

Maybe he'd resurrect her with that resurrection stone he had. It had a singular use, so he'd have to use it carefully. It couldn't be used on Multiversal Gamers though—he tried when Titania died, and it failed. So when Makaria inevitably died from the constant rape and beatings he'd dish onto her, he'd revive her and continue the cycle over and over again.

Oh, don't get him wrong, he had a whole harem of girls he cared about back on the top floor of the castle, but that was just it, a harem, and he didn't get violent with them. When he needed to fuel his frustrations, he came to Makaria.

And Makaria was good. Way better than those Faunus freaks and the lowly humans—he was a Demi-God, after all, he was above everyone.

But elves… he had seen enough of Kuroinu to know just how durable elves were. So imagine his shock when he got the chance to slip his cock into one! Good God it was the best sex he had ever had!

Somedays he wondered if he had Lust and not Pride, just because of how horny he was all the time.

Bah, whatever. Besides, Makaria was too good to throw away.

However, once he got Lust back… she would get old. And he'd have to kill her. A shame, but it was the truth. He wanted his partner back. He was going to get Titania back. And he was going to do anything he could to get her back. Even if it meant he had to break the current user of Lust and brainwash them into thinking that they were Titania, he was going to get his wife back, Goddamnit!

Well, that was if the user was a female…. Bah, he could change that easily! Just a few tossing around some transmutation magic, and BOOM! A new version of his old wife!

Just that thought alone made him release, Makaria's screams of pain mixed with a twisted form of pleasure filling his ears, which only made him release more, a smile appearing on his face as he bore his eyes into Makaria's crimson eyes.

God, he was horrible, and he knew it, but he didn't care, and while he had finished rather quickly this time, making sure to let it all out, it wasn't as if this wasn't the first time, now was it? Pulling out of the elf, he turned his back, cleaning himself off with a rag, and pulled up his pants, before walking away, leaving the quivering, whimpering, depressed elf all to herself.

"Y-You… you piece of shit…" Makaria's voice travelled to his ears, as he looked over his shoulder. "I-I'm g-going to kill you… one of these days… i-I'll be free… and I'll kill you…!"

Jamol scoffed, smirking, his golden yellow eyes gleaming. "That's what Summer Rose said to me… and you know what happened to her. Don't push it, elf."

Brushing the non-threat aside, he had more things to attend to. Sure, he could fuck the elf all day long, but he had other, more important things to do.

Such as making sure his kids were ready to attend Beacon's initiation.

He wanted eyes and ears on that place so that he could find the Maiden there. He had already killed the Summer Maiden in Vacuo about a year ago, and he knew she'd reappear once again somewhere in the world, which he planned to give to his daughter, but he digressed.

Walking past the corpse of that teenage bear faunus he had raped to death—she couldn't handle his dick, he supposed, two rounds and she had died, which was kind of sad. Whatever, it was just another body to add to The Dog once it came back with Jasper.

Kicking the corpse out of his way, he walked up the stairs and switched to his "benevolent slave owner" personality rather than his "I'll fucking kill you on a dime" personality like he typically had been. Exiting his dungeon, he passed by his master bedroom and entered the main hall. Crossing the hallway, he pushed open the double doors, as he entered his throne room, he saw his two children standing in front of the throne, facing the doorway.

The first one on the right, his daughter, was Jupiter Plutos. She looked like a spitting image of her mother—whom she was under the belief that she was dead—with the only difference being that she had his eyes and skin colour, that being golden yellow eyes, and dark skin. Her white hair, rather than going down to the center of her back, was only cheek length, and she had a scar just going across her right eye. This happened when she was younger when she got jumped by a few Beowolfves and had been caught off guard. She was wearing a white dress, with black stockings, and white lace-up combat boots. She wore a flower crown overtop her head, and on her back was a scabbard, where she kept a giant great sword.

Then, there was the one on the left, his son, Titan Plutos. He, unlike his sister, had the same pale skin and red eyes as his mother. However, unlike his mother, he had short-length brown hair just like his dear-old pops. He was wearing a typical white tunic, with brown leather pants, and black combat boots. Strapped to his lower waist, and at the back, were two scabbards, which were where he stored his twin Aura-Poisoning and Demonic Magic-using swords.

Both Jupiter and Titan were Half-elves. They had the same magical resistances as their mother, but half of their mother's lifespan. Also due to them being elves, they had proficiency with magic, though they were limited to one type—Jupiter having been gifted with Reality Warping Magic, and Titan being gifted with Demonic Magic.

And he wouldn't have had it any other way.

This was on top of their ridiculous Aura pools. Like, seriously, he was pretty sure that the only other person he knew who had a similar-sized Aura pool was Ozpin himself, and even then, he might have it a little better.

"Are you two ready for the bullhead? Do you have everything that you need? I expect you to pass this upcoming exam. If you don't. I don't want to see the two of you ever again. I've kept you alive for this long, and I've trained you as much as I could. And with the skills you have, if you don't pass this exam, it would be clear to me that I wasted my time. Are we clear?"

Both bowed. Good.

He was a bad person. He knew that about himself. But when it came to his kids, he would like to believe that he was a slightly better person around them. Sure, he was harsh on them, and sure this was probably extremely cruel on his end, but with what he had planned for the world, he didn't want them to accidentally find out, nor did he want them to accidentally stumble upon their mother.

The only reason why Jasper probably hadn't told them about Makaria was most likely because of what he had threatened him with.

"Now, the both of you, leave for Vacuo city and take the bullhead to Vale. Do not mention who your father is should the headmaster ask you. Ozpin and I are on… less than amicable terms. Just tell them that your parents are dead. Am I understood?"

"Yes, father." The two twins said in unison.

"Good. Now leave. And good luck."

And with that, the two twins left. It was getting late out, but he knew that they could fend for themselves.

After all, they were his children.

[Jolyne Brooks]

A groan escaped her lips as Jolyne slowly sat up in the unfamiliar bed. Her eyes were heavy, and her bones were sore. She wasn't used to the low-quality beds of the past—she blamed her old Hope's Peak Academy dorm room for spoiling her as it did—and as a result, she woke up feeling uncomfortable and groggy.

[You didn't sleep well last night. Temp. Debuff added: Poor Sleep]

[Poor Sleep: Your stamina and mana have been cut in half for the next 30 minutes. Usage of mana and stamina is doubled, and health regen is halved as well. – Time left until done: 30 minutes]

Rubbing at the corners of her eyes, Jolyne dismissed the notification and frowned. What a lovely way to wake up—being smacked in the face and being told you've been hampered for sleeping in a shit-quality bed. What joy. Then again, this was somewhat of a medieval-style world, so this kind of mattress and bed was probably the best they had. At least, out in the wilderness, anyhow.

Placing two fingers to the side of her forehead, just like she had planned, she was going to get into contact with the others so that they could organize a rendezvous point in this new world. However, as she went to contact Sayaka, instead of being greeted by her alluring, and soothing voice, she was met with blaring static that made her physically jump, and another notification.

[WARNING: Unable to pinpoint person of interest [Sayaka Maizono] in the immediate world. One of two things could be possible. A. You are not in the same world as [Sayaka Maizono]. Or B. The signal is being blocked using a [World Rarity] Spell. A type of Spell that affects the entire world!]

Jolyne glared at the notification, as a pit formed in her stomach. The fact that the first option was even a possibility mortified Jolyne, on the premise that she might not be able to see Sayaka ever again—especially since she was with Chinatsu, the other Gamer. That doubled her fear because, as far as she was aware, Chinatsu still held some form of hatred for Jolyne, and being alone with the person that Jolyne loved the most… well, that would allow her to take advantage of that notion and give her the chance to hurt the person whomst she hated.

And that just wasn't going to do.

She had to try something.

Placing her fingers to the side of her head again, she tried to reach Chinatsu this time, figuring that because she was another Gamer she should be able to reach out to her, but….

[Warning: Unable to pinpoint person of interest [Chinatsu Ouma] in the immediate world. One of two things could be possible. A. You are not in the same world as [Chinatsu Ouma]. Or B. The signal is being blocked using a [World Rarity] Spell. A type of Spell that affects the entire world!]

Yet again, she was met with the static and the notification. She cursed under her breath, as she felt her new dragon's tail flop beside her. She bit the inside of her lip and slowly made her way to the door of her hotel room. This wasn't good. She hoped that this was someone using whatever a [World Rarity] spell was instead of them being fragmented across the multiverse. If that was the case, then Jolyne was going to get really mad.

[QUEST – WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF REMNANT – PART 1 – COMPLETE]

[REWARDS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED]

.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE LEVELLED UP FROM LEVEL 290 TO 291!

Dismissing yet another notification, Jolyne opened the door, and stepped out of her room, taking in a deep breath to calm herself. She needed to think rationally, and she wasn't exactly a morning person. Not typically, anyway. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten, before reopening them. When she opened her eyes, she was met with Jataro standing in front of her.

"J-Jolyne-san? Are you okay? Y-you, look mad…." Jataro stammered, as Jolyne blinked. Did she truly look angry? Well, considering what information she just received, that would explain why Jataro seemed to think that way. She just hoped that he didn't assume her to be mad at him.

Peacefully raising her hands, she flashed him a smile. "Ah, no, I'm fine. It's just… well, I didn't sleep all that well, so I'm a little bit grumpy," Jolyne said, before patting the boy on the head. "Go do me a favour and wake up Monica. I've got to speak to the owner of this place," Jolyne said as Jataro nodded, heading over to the other side of the second floor, as Jolyne walked down the stairs.

As Jolyne walked down the stairs, she noticed that the hotel seemed a little busier than she had assumed. Four other people were already awake, seemingly from the four other rooms the hotel had, all of which appeared to be travellers in their own right, and, also Faunus. One was a goat faunus, another was what appeared to be an octopus faunus, and there were what appeared to be two twin otter faunus', all of which she could tell by their abstract features—the goat's horns, the otters' whiskers, and the octopus's tentacle hair.

"Oh? And whose this I see? A stranger?" The goat faunus spoke up, as the owner of the hotel, Ronin smiled.

"Ah, Ms. Brooks! You're awake. Good, I was beginning to wonder… it's already almost noon!" Ronin said as Jolyne blinked. That must've been another side effect of Poor Sleep, although she wasn't going to get into that.

"Forgive me, Ronin. I haven't slept properly in days," Jolyne replied, not necessarily lying, but also not being truthful. Ronin laughed, before clearing his throat.

"Aye, I can feel ya there, Ms. Brooks. But, time is of the essence, and if you remember correctly, there's something that I wanted to speak to you about," Ronin continued as Jolyne nodded, stepping down from the stairs and taking a seat at one of the tables. Ronin sauntered up to the table, before taking a seat across from her, the group of four following him. Perhaps they were employees?

"First things first, allow me to make some introductions," Ronin began, as he gestured to the goat. "This is Jebidah Maroon."

"S'up," Jebidah said, lazily waving at Jolyne.

"This one 'ere's Rudy J. Amythest," Ronin continued as he jabbed a thumb at the octopus. They silently bowed to Jolyne in greeting, as Ronin smirked. "And these two are the Stonewall Twins, Jackie and Jasmine," Ronin finished as the two otter twins smiled, both waving at her in sync as Jolyne nodded.

"A pleasure to meet you four. My name is Jolyne Brooks," the dual-haired mage said, standing up, and bowing to them out of habit, before sitting down.

"Damn, do you come from mistral or something?" Jebidah asked as Jolyne smiled.

"You could say that," the Dragon Mage replied, before glancing at Ronin. "So, tell me, what exactly is that you want me to do?" Jolyne asked as the pig faunus frowned, staring at the tabletop. He seemed… anxious like he was worried about something.

"Aye, lass. Umu… well, as I'm sure you know, Bandits are common out here in the wilderness. And while the small-time stuff our town can deal with, it's The Branwen Tribe that we're having issues with…" Ronin said as he looked at her with a gleam of hope in his eyes. "Our town's mayor… he's a bit of a sodding idiot. He's been trying his damnedest to appease those two-timing scum fucks for three years now, but all it's done is allow this town to grow complacent."

As Ronin said this, he gestured to the group behind him. "These guys are the town's resident Scout Group, and… just four days ago, a small militia of 3,000 Bandits were spotted making their way here. Uh, how was it that you said they'd be here, Jasmine?"

"A week, Ronin sir, and that was four days ago… they should be here in two days," Jasmine said as Jolyne frowned. That… wasn't good. And, Branwen… like Qrow Branwen? As in the person he met before coming here? Or, perhaps he wasn't with this bandit tribe? He didn't look like a bandit to her, so perhaps there was something else going on.

If he saw Qrow again, which she hoped she didn't, then she probably was going to ask him a few questions.

"I see… and, let me guess, you want me to go and attack them, correct? To push them back?" Jolyne asked as Ronin nodded.

"I'll pay you handsomely, Ms. Brooks, I—"

"There's no need for that," Jolyne interrupted, raising a hand. "You've shown me kindness by letting me and my travel companion and my kids sleep here for free. It's only right that I do good by you and this settlement. The only thing I ask is that I do this alone. I don't want my companion to come with me. I need someone to look after my children should something happen." "Not like it would."

[Welcome To The World Of Remnant – Part 2]

[Quest: Stop The Branwen Tribe from raiding Styx]

[There is a force of 3,000 bandits on their way to attack the settlement of Styx, and do bandit things—take slaves, kill the husbands and steal the women and children, rob the place—you know, bandit things! And that just won't do! So, prevent that from happening by launching a preemptive attack!]

[Rewards: 50,000 EXP, 200 lien, 25 reputation with The Mayor of Styx, minus 25 reputation with ?, plus 25 Karma (Good)]

"Well, if I didn't have incentive before—which I did—then I have more than enough now. I mean, not because of the quest, but… ah fuck it, whatever, doesn't matter!" "So long as you agree to that, I'll solve this little bandit issue of yours."

Ronin nodded. "Very well. They were coming from the south, according to Jackie, anyway. And, I assume that is where you presumably came into the town from, so you should know where to go," Ronin said as Jolyne nodded.

Well, it wasn't like she needed more information. If she was able to take out an entire Yakuza by herself, a couple of bandits with primitive weapons like spears and swords shouldn't be too difficult. Fishing the Grimmoire out of her inventory, she inspected the book once again and checked the latch to see if it could open. It could, so that was a relief. She didn't have to perform some sort of ritual to get it to open, which was a lifesaver.

Unbeknownst to her, the group of five looked at the book, noticing the Grimm mask on it, as they all stared at it with confusion. They didn't get to look at it for long, as Jolyne stood up, book in hand as she stared them down.

"I will return," Jolyne said, glancing over her shoulder at Rantaro up on the second floor, who was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She gestured to Ronin, which got the message across. When he nodded, Jolyne gave one more smile to Ronin, before exiting the hotel, and heading for the entrance of the village.

As Jolyne walked, she looked down at the book and frowned. Just how did this thing work? How was she supposed to use it? Did she just… open the book and read a passage, then boom instant Grimm—whatever those were? Well, regardless, she would be able to find out what was used for, and how to use it.

Once she got to the entrance, she stood just in front of the singular guard, which had changed to a Rhino Faunus with a massive horn poking out of his forehead, like that of an oni. He didn't say anything to her, other than nod at her in greeting. She did the same, before looking out in front of her.

Taking a deep breath in anticipation, she opened the book and was greeted with emptiness. Frowning, she turned a few blank pages, until she finally got a page with something on it. Unfortunatly for her, it was filled with a bunch of question marks, and a few requirements, none of which she was willing to get into. However, if there was any silver outline, there was one option available to her, and it seemed… interesting to say the least.

[Beowulf – Lv. 100]

HP: 7,000

Atk: 2,000

Def: 2,000

Cost: 500 HP, and 1,000 Mana per summon.

It wasn't exactly overpowered, but it was better than an Abomination. At least, in her opinion, anyway. Abominations were durable, but the Tank, the strongest variant, only had around 3,500 HP. So, even though the cost was, quite frankly, outrageous, what with it asking for HP and Mana, she wasn't opposed to it.

Besides, it wasn't as if she had any other options.

Jolyne selected the only option available to her, and as soon as she did, and as soon as she read the name of the creature in her mind, offering up 500 HP and 1,000 Mana, on reflex, she raised the book up high. The clouds grew overhead, but only overtop of her, as a dark thunderbolt struck down upon the book with a loud BOOM. Once it hit, a massive dark rune appeared beneath her feet. the center of the rune had a large inverted pentagram, and at each point of the star was a skull, with several other pentagrams moving in a counter-clockwise circle. Around that, there was some sort of ancient language inscribed into the next ring, one that she couldn't read.

Then, the rune glowed a malicious black and red. Out of the rune came a massive black, shadowy figure. It was tall, perhaps 8 feet tall standing. Its arms were lanky, with paws and sharp claws. Its legs were muscular, and it could probably tear through wooden buildings with ease, let alone people. It had the body of a mutated animal, specifically a wolf, with several spikes jutting out of its matted fur, and searing hateful red eyes. It wore a white mask overtop its face, with intricate markings within the mask.

When the beast fully formed, and when the summoning rune disappeared, the creature looked over its shoulder and fell to all fours. It walked up to Jolyne, and bowed its head, ready to serve. The faunus behind her went wide-eyed, as she flashed him a smirk. "Don't worry about him, he's friendly, aren't you… hmm… we'll call you… Tyrone," Jolyne said, as the oversized demon mutt barked, licking the side of her face with a sense of affection. Giggling, she patted the creature on the head, before humming to herself.

"I wonder… if I can ride this thing…" "Sit, Tyrone," Jolyne said, as the large Beowulf did just that. Jolyne went around to behind the large animal, before getting atop its back. The large creature howled with delight, before turning around to face the path. Jolyne smirked, before summoning her Grim Reapers Scythe in her hand, as she pointed down the path, with a large, almost goofy grin on her face. "Alright, let's head south, big guy! We've got bandits to kill!"

With another howl, Tyrone The Beowulf stormed down the path at speeds similar to that of a car, somewhere around 60 to 70 miles per hour. It probably wouldn't take too long to get there, which was good. It meant that she could get this done faster. She was going to deal with these bandits before they ever became a problem for this village. It was the least she could do. Besides, it also gave her the excuse to try out her new "bellowing thunder" spell.

And that… that was exciting.

[?]

Something felt… off. And if she hadn't known any better, it was something that disturbed her. Not in a "what the hell was that?" kind of way, but more of a "what?" kind of way. It was more shock than anything else. And… a part of her was intrigued.

Someone, somewhere, away from The Grimmlands, had summoned a Beowulf. And not those pesky Schnee's with their false summoning techniques. No… she felt it. She felt someone tap into the Grimmpools, and summon a Beowulf to their specific location. Something that should not have been possible, but nonetheless, happened anyway. What was even stranger, was that she did not have control over this Beowulf, but rather, the person who summoned it did.

And rather than make her angry, it made her… curious. She knew that it wasn't Cinder, because Cinder did not have that kind of capability. The Grimm simply didn't attack her. That was it. It wasn't like Cinder could summon the Grimm, so it had to be someone else.

But that begged the question…. Who? Who could have this power?

"Interesting…. Very, very interesting…." Salem thought as she rubbed her chin. She wasn't angry, more than she was interested in just who could've done this. It wasn't him, and it wasn't Ozma, so it had to be someone else entirely.

A new player, perhaps?

If so, just whose side were they on, if any side at all? She remembered when she tried to recruit him, it backfired tremendously, almost ending up with her getting killed. Which begged yet another question, as to if this was another case of him. And if that was the case, then perhaps it should be left alone.

She narrowly perished at his hands and had it not been for her giving up a good portion of her Grimmlands to him to satiate him, she was sure that she would've succumbed to a fate worse than death, and it be something worse than her current predicament—not that she was opposed to dying, but that wasn't the point.

The last thing Salem wanted was to deal with another one of him.

So, for as long as she could, she'd stay away from them. Unless they joined forces with Ozma, of course. In which case, what other choice did she have? She'd have to do something.

For now, she was going to look into just how this new player was able to summon The Grimm to their beck and call.

Standing up from her throne, Salem snapped her fingers, as an Apathy brought her a book. The book was an encyclopedia of magical items. Taking the book, she dismissed the Apathy with a silent wave of the hand, as it went back to cleaning the bookshelves. For as weak as the Apathy were, they made great cleaners when ordered to.

Heading to her library deep within Evernight Castle, she sat down in her reading chair and cracked open the book. After a while, she reached the page that the item she was looking for was on. It was a page about the Grimmoire. That could be a possibility… if it wasn't for the fact that she had destroyed all of them before Ozma's first reincarnation so that he didn't have the Grimm on his end of the spectrum—not that he'd ever use them, mind you, but she digressed.

However, there might've been a chance that she missed one. Salem wasn't going to not admit that she had flaws, so missing a singular Grimmoire wasn't exactly impossible, but it was highly improbable. She had combed the planet looking for all of the Grimmoires, and destroyed them without a single moment of hesitation.

So for this person to have one… it was more likely to believe that this person was simply born with Grimm Summoning Magic, which meant that The Dark Brother God either got sick of her or, The Light Brother God finally convinced him to send a champion to defeat her.

Either way, it didn't matter.

"Hmph," Salem thought, closing the book, and tossing it over her shoulder without a care in the world. "If this new player wishes to use the Grimm, then so be it. One Grimm out of a billion isn't that much of a threat, and a lowly Beowulf, at that. I have more important matters to deal with, and with the plan going along smoothly, no thanks to Cinder and her cronies, things should be getting a lot more interesting around here…. Your time is almost up, Ozma… I have you in checkmate, and you don't even realize it."

-To Be Continued-