Hero of Tempest


An: So, this chapter took longer than I anticipated, because I wanted to introduce Rimuru this chapter, but the first half took longer than I thought to write out. This was needed because it's sets up parts of Ruby's overarching arc for the story. I hope everyone enjoys it, though! I've enjoyed writing this one, and I hope everyone likes how I fixed (or at least, cleared up) Ruby's Semblance, since V8's explanation seemed to contradict itself, according to some people I've seen talk about it. Please Enjoy and let me know what you think in the reviews!

Chapter 2- A Fated Encounter and Meeting Rimuru Tempest


Ruby continued through the majestic forest, amazed at everything she was seeing. All the colorful birds, the exotic animals that didn't exist on Remnant, and just the unspoiled sense of nature that was prominent in the air, Ruby was amazed by it all. And best of all, she didn't have to worry about Grimm! That alone made her trek through the forest of Jura rather pleasant.

That didn't mean, however, that she was slacking on her special awareness. She was very aware she was being watched, thanks to one of the Skills that was created from her Aura upon entering this world, Aura Sense. What was once a highly advanced technique only seasoned Huntsmen could do, Ruby could now perform with extreme ease and precision. It allowed Ruby to sense the world around her, from sensing another's Aura to perceiving danger before it reached her.

She likened it to the Super-Sense of the comic book hero Arachnid-Man.

However, despite all the amazing scenery around her, Ruby couldn't get over the sense of emptiness she felt since leaving the Ogre village. It was a feeling she was accustomed to since arriving in this world. That sense of lost purpose from the realization that she may never be able to return to Remnant. It was partly why she had to leave the Ogres; to find some new purpose.

She heard a rustling behind her, making her frown as Aura Sense revealed what was behind her. 'Three Knight Spiders, huh? Dang-it. I can't carry that much meat,' she mentally complained.

Suggestion: Use Telepathy and inform the Ogres of what you cannot carry.

'Gah! Why didn't I think of that?! Thanks a bunch Compendium!' Ruby mentally berated/shouted at herself and prepared to deal with the Knight Spiders. However, before she could turn to confront the monster, her Aura Sense alerted her to a fight just a few yards from her location. "Huh?" she breathed out loud and focused. Her Aura Sense's range increased, and Ruby noticed to two monsters clashing.

'There!' she thought as she found the fight. It was a female Orc wielding a massive axe fighting a group of Monster Birds, looking akin to eagles to the Huntress. Ruby frowned and activated another of her Aura related Skills, Keen Hearing. Slowing her stride to reduce her own noise, she listened intently to the monsters.

"Agh!" the Orc roared and swung her axe, only to miss as the Monster Bird flew out of the way. "Damn!"

~Geez! You crazy Orc! ~ the bird cried out via Telepathy. ~Get lost!~

"No!" the Orc growled. "My people are starving! I apologize, but you are the first monsters I've found since I went on this quest! I will not let my people die!"

~You're people are starving?! Well, mine are endangered!~ another bird, a female by the sound of it, snarled. ~Those vile, otherworldly creatures drove us from our home in the mountains! Now, we're forced to scour these accursed woods for shelter!~

"I apologize! But I cannot stop this hunt!" the Orc shouted and went back on the offensive. From her position, Ruby frowned at what she overheard. What was this about the Orcs starving? From what the Ogres had explained to her, their kingdom had a multitude of game and resources. And the otherworldly creatures the monster birds mentioned? Ruby's mind instantly went to her old foe: The Creatures of Grimm, but she dismissed that thought quickly.

It couldn't be the Grimm. They would have dispersed around the continent like a plague. Everyone would have known about them, even the Ogres and the other monsters in the Forest of Jura.

But that wasn't her concern at the moment. Both the monster bird group and the Orc were in trouble, and Ruby had an idea. 'Compendium, how close are those Knight Spiders to me?' she asked her Skill.

Meanwhile, the Orc was panting in exertion. She hadn't eaten anything for nearly five days, and now her body was feeling the effects. "Not yet," she breathed out. "I can't die yet! Not until I finish my mission!"

~Well, I admire your dedication, if nothing else!~ the female bird called out. ~But I have a mission, too! I must defend my people!~

"Then let us see whose conviction is stronger!" the Orc cried as she released a loud battle cry and rushed the monster birds. However, just as the groups were advancing on each other, a loud crash startled them. They turned and stared wide eyed at a dead Knight Spider that had fallen over some trees.

"This should be enough food for one of your clans, right?" the birds and Orc turned to see a human girl clad in red walking up from behind the Spider.

~A human? In the Forest of Jura?~ the female bird questioned warily.

The Orc was in shock. This human was a teenager, like her, yet she took down a fully grown Knight Spider seemingly single handedly! How was that possible?! It would have taken a full squad of Orcs to accomplish that!

~Human!~ another of the birds cried as it flew up and landed in a combat stance. ~Go no further! We are not here to fight!~

"Neither am I," Ruby told it. "I overheard your troubles. And I just so happened to have been stalked by this Knight Spider, so I killed this one as a peace offering for you all."

"A…peace offering?" the Orc questioned.

~Why should we trust you, human?~ another bird sneered.

"If you want, I can just use Telepathy to inform the Ogres about it; I'm sure they'd enjoy having enough food to last at least a month," Ruby told them.

~The Ogres?! You're on good terms with the Ogres?!~ the female leader of the monster birds asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I'm actually friends with the Ogre princess," Ruby said nonchalantly with a shrug. The group before her stared at her, shocked to silence.

The Orc recovered quickly and shook her head. "T-That's very generous of you, human," she said. "However, one Knight Spider, even split in half, will not be enough for my people."

"Then it's a good thing this one wasn't alone!" Ruby commented as she patted the dead monster. "There's two more just about fifty yards from us now. I'd say this one could be for the birds, and you and I can take down the other two for your people. Sound good?"

The Orc was in shock. She stared at Ruby with wide eyes, unbelieving that a mere human would be so generous. She had heard many a horror story about the greedy and vile natures of humans, but despite that, this human was displaying none of that. At least, none she could see. She turned to the birds and noticed they were shocked as well, though still on edge about the human.

~Let me get this straight, human~ the bird leader called out. ~You're willing to part with a whole Knight Spider for us as a peace offering, and willing to aid an Orc in taking down two more to help complete her mission? Am I correct?~

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. Sounds right!" The bird looked flabbergasted.

~…You're a strange one, human~ she mumbled. ~Nevertheless, I suppose we can grant you a benefit of a doubt, since you appear to be on good terms with the Ogres. However, I cannot in good conscious allow you and the Orc to fight two Knight Spiders alone; not after you have gifted my people with such a prize as a Knight Spider corpse. I shall accompany you to repay the debt~

~Captain!~ the birds shouted collectively.

~We cannot allow you to do that!~ a male bird cried.

~The lot of you take the Spider corpse back to the nest!~ the female bird commanded, but her team wasn't having it.

~Absolutely not!~ the first male bird growled out. ~We are not leaving you with a human and an Orc alone!~

~This isn't open for discussion!~ the leader snapped back. However, before she could continue berating her team, the ground shook as the trees trembled. Ruby sighed.

"Too late for them to run. Looks like the other two decided to go on the offensive," Ruby grumbled as the tree line exploded, and two giant Knight Spiders emerged from the forest. They roared at the group. She sighed and grabbed Crescent Rose.

"Welp…time to go to work," she grumbled as she jumped up and active her Semblance, Petal Burst. Instantly, her vison divided, and suddenly she was seeing multiple directions at once. This was, of course, what she came to expect from her Semblance after landing in this world. Compendium explained her Semblance deconstructed her at a molecular level, represented as her rose petals, and allowed her to move unrestricted by gravity. It also worked to make her intangible so long as she kept her 'body' dispersed enough, and she could, at some level, 'see' a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Add that to her newfound skill and usage of Aura Sense, Ruby had full knowledge of the events around her.

Ruby flew towards one of the Spiders in a flurry of rose petals, easily weaving through the arachnid's stampeding legs. She rematerialized and cut off two of its back legs, making the monster roar in pain as it fell to the ground with a crash. However, before it could recover, Ruby disappeared via her Semblance again and reappeared in front of the Spider. It roared and tried to spear her with its front legs, but Ruby responded by twirling her scythe and sending concentrated air blades at the limbs.

"Crescent Thorns!" she shouted as the attack severed the limbs easily, further immobilizing the monster. The other roared and turned to assist, however the others recovered from their shock at seeing the human fight by this point and so took the field.

The Orc roared in fury as she rushed the second Knight Spider with her axe high. The spider noticed and roared as it turned to deal with the new threat. However, the birds let out a fierce screech.

~Attack!~ the Captain cried as the monster birds flew up to dive bomb the giant spider. It roared and engaged the group while Ruby jumped out of the way of her opponent's attempt to bite her head off, allowing Ruby to swing Crescent Rose upward to stab her scythe's blade into the monster's head. It jerked violently for a moment before it finally fell to the ground dead. Ruby sighed and pulled Crescent Rose out of the Spider's head easily, thanks to her Aura imbued strength.

She turned to see the birds and the Orc were struggling with the Spider and was about to assist when she noticed the monster bird captain was about to be stabbed whilst it tried to save one of its webbed companions. Activating Petal Burst, Ruby surged forward and severed the offending spider limbs in three pieces.

The Captain, at the time, was about to use one her Skills to free her friend and only noticed the limb when Ruby cut it. She turned, shocked, to see the human save her. Her mind flashed back to a similar event, of a human saving her. However, when the spider roared in pain, it brought the Captain back to reality, and she got angry. "Sonic Screech!" the bird screamed and unleashed a devastating wailful sound that caused the spider to bleed from the impact. This disoriented the monster long enough for the Orc to release a loud battle cry and bury her axe into the Spider's head, killing it.

The roars from the birds bellowed through the forest as they celebrated their victory. The Captain, meanwhile, was in shock as she stared at the human walking up to her. "You ok?" Ruby asked, startling the monster bird out of her trance.

~Y-Yeah…Thanks…~ the Captain stuttered out. Ruby nodded and smiled.

"I'm glad!" Ruby turned to the others and raised Crescent Rose high. "Great job, guys! You make a great team!"

~Dawww! It was nothing!~ one of the birds said bashfully.

"I'm grateful for their assistance! I would not have gotten any clean hits if it wasn't for them!" the Orc commented.

The Captain was silent, replaying the old memory, remembering a giant weapon and a cape. 'Could she be the same person?' she thought to herself.

"Welp! Now that that's done, our Orc friend has a good haul, as do our bird friends!" Ruby commented.

"Now I just have to figure out how to carry all this!" the Orc mused as she examined the Knight Spiders.

"Hm…Yeah, that's a problem…" Ruby frowned and cupped her chin in thought. Suddenly, she brightened up. "Oh!" she exclaimed and slapped a fist into an open palm. She walked over to the Orc and said, "Hold still. And concentrate." The Orc was confused by this, but she did as she was instructed. Ruby then took the Orc's hands into her own.

"Now please bear with me; I've never done this before, but…" Ruby closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She exhaled slowly before suddenly her eyes shot open, and she was surrounded by a bright red glow. Everyone in the area gasped loudly, but before they could do anything, Ruby began speaking.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," she intoned slowly as the glow engulfed the confused and nervous Orc and slowly turned a dark shade of plum. "By my pledge, we become vanguards of justice and virtue to shield the lone and the helpless. Protectors till the end and not fearful in death, I release your soul, and by your shoulder, I stand by thee." Ruby sighed in exhaustion as she fell to her knees.

Notice: the Aura awakening ritual was successful. The unnamed Orc before you has acquired Aura.

In addition, all Aura related skills have been successfully obtained by the Orc.

"Hu-Miss!" the Orc cried and knelt to her. "A-Are you ok?!"

"Yeah," Ruby groaned. "I just used my Aura to unlock yours."

"A-Aura…?" the Orc asked.

"It's a technique from my home world, Remnant," Ruby explained. "We can use our souls to enhance our bodies and abilities for everyday life and combat."

~Home world? You're an Otherworlder?!~ the bird Captain inquired. Ruby nodded.

"Yeah. Been here a while now," Ruby told her. She turned back to the Orc and said, "With Aura, you can enhance your physical strength, which should make carrying these guys back home easier!"

"Y-You'd grant me your people's Skill set so readily?" the Orc questioned. "W-Why?!" Ruby smiled and shrugged.

"I dunno. Seemed right to me!" The Orc stared at the human, wide eyed, but before she could talk again, Ruby spoke up. "Now then, let me give you a quick rundown of Aura, so you know what you're working with, then you can get these guys back to your people. Ok?"

The Orc stared at her for a moment as tears gathered in her eyes. "Human. What is your name?" she asked. Ruby smiled.

"It's Ruby. Ruby Rose," she introduced herself. "Nice to meet you!" The Orc nodded.

"Lady Ruby," the Orc mumbled before falling to her knees and bowing to Ruby. "I am in your debt! Words cannot express my gratitude to you!" the Orc shouted, and tears stained her cheeks. "By my honor, once my quest is done, I will seek you out again and repay this kindness in any way I possibly can!"

"H-Hey now! T-There's no need for that!" Ruby protested, eyes wide in shock and embarrassment as she waved her hands in front of her frantically. "It was a gift! N-No need to-!"

"But I must!" the Orc replied passionately as she looked up to stare Ruby in the eyes. "You have done a great service for my people! I cannot let it go unanswered!"

"Gah! L-Listen! Don't talk like that! B-Besides! I still need to tell you about Aura!" Ruby stuttered out. She was unused to the feeling of people treating her with such reverence.

She quickly gave the Orc a rundown of Aura and how to use it, as well as the intrinsic Skills Aura had because of this world. The Orc and birds listened to Ruby intently and nodded every so often as Ruby explained. After she was done, the Orc nodded.

"I understand, my Lady!" she said respectfully, making Ruby groan.

"Please stoooop…" Ruby mumbled.

~Again, you're a strange one, human~ the monster bird captain commented.

"Gee, thanks for the comment," Ruby remarked. "Anyways, that should cover the basics. I'd like to supervise your training with Aura before letting you go off, but if your people are as bad off as you say, I suppose we can hold off on that until you get them the food they need."

"Right!" the Orc said as she picked up the Knight Spider corpses with a grunt. "I shall return posthaste, my Lady! Farewell, for now!" The Orc turned and started dragging the massive spider corpses behind her. The bird monster captain sighed.

~I guess that's our que to head home, as well~ she said. ~I must thank you for the gift, Ruby Rose. At least now, food won't be an issue for us for a while~

"Daaaw! No worries!" Ruby told her with a wave of her hand. "I did it because it was the right thing to do! That's all!" The Captain shook her head.

~If only more humans were like you~ she mused. She was about to say more when her subordinates called to her.

~Captain! The Knight Spider is ready for transport!~ another female bird shouted. The Captain nodded.

~Very good! Get it to the nest! I'll take the rear guard!~ the Captain ordered.

~Yes, ma'am!~ the monster birds shouted and proceeded to fly off with the spider corpse in tow. The Captain watched them fly off before turning to Ruby again.

~This is farewell for now, Ruby Rose~ she said as she flapped her wings and took to the sky. ~I have a feeling our paths will cross again!~

Ruby watched as the monster bird flew off, sighing as she looked to where the Orc was dragging the Knight Spider corpses away. "Now then," she mumbled as she turned to look up at the sky. "What do I do now?" The clouds drifted by, not giving her an answer. She stared at them vacantly for a moment before she sighed again. She bowed her head and grumbled, "Even after all that excitement, I'm still just walking around lost…"

She looked back up at the sky and stared at the clouds lethargically. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring up at the sky, only that by the time she decided to move, it was a little after noon. Sighing a third time, she started walking in a random direction when suddenly, a jolt ran through her, halting her movement and eliciting a gasp from her lips. Her Aura Sense went wild at the presence that just appeared.

'W-What the hell?!' she thought. 'What is this Aura?! It's practically on par with mine!' She looked around the immediate area before settling on the mountains. Her eyes narrowed. "That's where the Storm Dragon Veldora was said to be sealed," she muttered. She doubted the dragon was free, but the Aura bared investigating just to be safe.

With that in mind, she activated Petal Burst and surged through the forest, flying through the forest like a fired bullet towards the Aura's location. She dodged the trees with ease and easily slipped through the thick underbrush. After several minutes, she deactivated her Semblance and skidded to a stop in a small clearing, quickly grabbing and unfurling her scythe. "Alright. Right…there!" she mumbled and settled into a stance, hands tightening on Crescent Rose as she stared at into the forest.

She tensed as a noise resonated in her ears. She frowned when she noticed the sound registered as…slouching. Like water in a bucket being carried too fast. She watched the tree line cautiously as the sound grew closer, and suddenly, the source of the noise jumped out from the underbrush. Ruby literally jolted out of her combat ready stance.

"A…slime monster…?" Ruby stared dumbfounded at the little blue slime that looked just as startled as she was. It was roughly the size of a kickball with two slanted lines seemingly etched into one side, like eyes. Why slimes had those, Ruby had yet to figure out, but she was currently focused on something more pressing about the monster.

"Is that…Does that monster possess a human soul…?" she whispered, ignoring how the slime seemed to jump at her question. She holstered Crescent Rose and walked up to the slime. It slid backwards a step, but as Ruby stopped in front of it, it stalled in curiosity. She knelt to it and casually poked it.

"Hm. This one's different from other slimes I've seen here," she mused. "This one's body is more consistent with gelatin." She picked up the slime and bounced it in her hands. "Haha! Quite bouncy! Light too!" She hugged the slime to her chest. "And it's warmer than a typical slime!" Pulling the slime away from her, she held it up to her face. "Well, you're an interesting one, ain't ya?! And you haven't attacked me yet, so I'm guessing you're somewhat sentient. So, are you?"

The slime, Rimuru Tempest, was in shock. After exiting Veldora's cave, he didn't think he would have met another human deep in the woods after seeing the three adventurers entering the cave. Obviously, he was a bit concerned when he saw the human, but he was shocked she could tell he had a human soul. Was that a Skill? And if so, he so needed it!

She put her weapon away (which was super cool, by the way! Rimuru wondered if this world's weapons were super advanced like in video games) and walked towards him. He thought about retreating, but she stopped just shy of him, so he decided to see what she'd do. She started examining him, comparing him to others slimes. Rimuru found himself curious. He was that much different from other slimes? Good to know.

She asked him if he was sentient, and he realized she wasn't going kill him for being a monster. This was perfect! Maybe she could help him find some more Otherworlders! But how should he respond? Telepathy? No. Might spook her. Best to try speaking aloud. How did Great Sage say speaking would work for him again? Oh yeah!

He took a deep breath, a mouth oddly appearing as he did so. "HIIIIIIIIIIII!" he shouted, making the girl scream in pian. "MY NAME IS RIMURU; IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU!"

"STOP! Stop! You're busting my eardrums!" she cried, causing Rimuru to flinch and stop screaming as he nearly fell out of her hands.

'O-Oops,' Rimuru stammered mentally. He spoke aloud again, thankfully much quieter now, and said, "Sorry about that…"

"Geez, warn a girl next time you do that!" she whined. "I could've gone deaf!"

"Again, I'm really, really sorry," Rimuru whispered. 'Great! Now I made a bad impression! I've got to fix this somehow! But ho-Wait! That's it!' "Let me start over," he said and made an impression of clearing his throat. "Hi there! I'm Rimuru Tempest! I'm not a bad slime! Slurp!" he said enthusiastically as he bounced around exaggeratedly to complete the image. Ruby gasped, nearly dropping him again.

"Hold up! Did you really just say that line?! How would you-Could you be an-?!" Ruby rambled, allowing Rimuru to speak up again.

"An Otherworlder?" he suggested, getting another gasp out of the girl.

"Yes! You're an Otherworlder?!" she asked excitedly, and Rimuru bounced in place.

"YES!" Ruby shouted out in happiness, jumping in place.

"Holy cow! What are the odds of meeting another one like me like this!" she laughed.

"I know!" Rimuru agreed. "I didn't think I'd meet another Otherworlder this quickly, either! Thank goodness for Dragon Quest coming in clutch!" Ruby stopped jumping and looked at him curiously.

"Dragon Quest? What is that, a knock-off of Advent of Heroes?" she asked. Rimuru formed a question mark out of his slime body, which Ruby thought was neat and cute.

"Advent of Heroes? What are you talking about?" he asked. Now Ruby was confused.

"What do you mean, 'what am I talking about?' Advent of Heroes!" Ruby exclaimed. "That's where that line you said comes from!"

"No! It's from Dragon Quest! How do you not know this?!" Rimuru asked.

"I could ask you the same question! Advent of Heroes is the most popular RPG on Remnant!" Ruby replied.

"Wait. Remnant? You mean you're not from Earth?" Rimuru asked, making Ruby's eyes widen.

"Ooh! I heard about that world!" she commented. "Yeah, I'm not from Earth. My world is called Remnant, and people from there have only been appearing here in about the last fifteen to twenty years, or so I'm told."

"Remnant, huh?" Rimuru mused. "That's cool. I didn't expect there to be other worlds, let alone people coming here from them." He bounced a bit and said, "Anyways! I'm Rimuru Tempest. Nice to meet you, and sorry about yelling. I just gained the Skill to let me talk to people!"

"Eh, no worries!" Ruby shrugged it off. "I'm Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you!" She looked at the slime in her hands and questioned, "Well, you're an Otherworlder, but how come you're a slime? And have a human soul?"

"Oh, well, that's because I'm human. Or I was," Rimuru answered. "I was stabbed to death, and I woke in this world as a slime!"

Ruby gasped. "O-Oh. I see. You were reincarnated here. I'm sorry," she told him.

"Eh, no sweat!" Rimuru said, waving a part of his slime body like an arm. "I'm kinda enjoying my new slife!" Ruby giggled at that.

"Hehe…'Slife'!"

"Yeah!" Rimuru looked to Ruby and continued, "Hey, now that the intros are out of the way, can I ask how you knew I had a human soul? Was it a Skill?"

"Oh yeah! Sorta-kinda!" Ruby answered with a nod. "It's actually-" She suddenly stopped and turned to the side, making Rimuru do the same. A small group of green skinned humanoids stared at the group trepidatiously, mix-matched swords, clubs, spears, and shields in their hands. The two stared at them in confusion.

"Goblins?" Ruby questioned curiously. Rimuru, meanwhile, was thinking.

'Dear Veldora, it seems that I'll have a cool story to tell you sooner than I thought.'


An: Chapter 2 is done, and next chapter is the Goblin village, and possibly the fight with the direwolves and a secret new threat! Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and are waiting for the next one!

Onto something else I'd like y'all's opinion on: Ruby's pairing. Who do you think would be either the most interesting and/or most compatible pairing for her. PLEASE NO Rimuru (as I have a different dynamic for the two in mind) and NO yuri pairings (as I do not believe I'll be able to write such a pairing), but beyond that anyone from the slime universe or RWBY verse. I have a few ideas in mind personally, but I was wondering what y'all might have on the subject. Heck, maybe I'll like the pairing and try and it out!