Huntsmen were warriors, legends, and heroes, they upheld peace, defended all that was good and defeated all that was evil. Why wouldn't Jaune Arc want to be one? He had nothing else he could do, there wasn't a single thing he was capable of doing that one of his sisters couldn't do a hundred times better than him.

And his grandfather had spent his final years telling Jaune story after story of the lineage of their family, about how Arc patriarch had carved out their place among legends, be it from wars or quests, they were warriors that didn't know defeat. So being a Huntsmen was his only chance to live up to his name, and if he didn't take it then he might as well have never been born.

Sure he had never even been in a fight before, but there were schools that could teach him. Unfortunately his parents didn't allow him to go, claiming it was unnecessary and that instead he should focus on learning how to take over the family farm for when the time came.

If he couldn't learn from a school, then he would just find some other way. One of his ancestors had apparently used some kinda soul magic thingamajig to give himself a sorta super instinct, and a few others would say they felt stronger from each battle. So it was clear to Jaune about what he needed to be do, he simply had to engage in a Grimm in a fight and wait for his bloodline ability to activate, just like a hero from one of those comics from Mistral.

During the annual camping trip to Mistral, one where he had smuggled Corcea Mors (a sword and shield gifted to him by his grandfather before he passed away a few months ago) with him, he told his family he was going to stargaze for a bit. His lie was received without much fanfare, which definitely felt unfair since he thought his heart was about to thump out of his chest as he lied.

He snuck out and barely managed to scale the stone barrier that enclosed the camp site, then he set off into the woods in search of Grimm.

"Hello? Young male human searching for slightly strong but nonlethal Grimm." Jaune Arc, age fifteen, called out to the shadows that the moonlight couldn't erase and all he got in response was the whistling of wind. He fought back a yawn, he definitely should've planned this better, at this rate he'll just be wasting away the whole night.

A cold chill did tickle his skin, making him wish he was back inside a tent and wrapped in a warm blanket.

"C'mon already. Aren't you guys supposed to be a countless horde of monsters that almost sent humans to extinction." He said under his breath. And now he wanted some Dust, he heard tales of people weaving Dust into clothing, and he would definitely be warmed up if he had Fire Dust in his shirt.

'Maybe I'll wear a hoodie for my official combat uniform, and some gloves oh and arm warmers too.' He thought as gripped cold metal. His sword wasn't too bad, it did have a grip on its handle, but his shield was just pure metal on his skin and to make it worse the size of it dwarfed his forearm.

He had been tempted to clip his weapon onto his belt and then take it out when he finally saw a Grimm, but he had enough sense to not be defenseless in the middle of a dark forest. Of course, whether it was foolish or not to enter a dark forest infested with Grimm has yet to be seen, if he even got one step closer to his goal then he didn't care what others would say about his decisions.

Two small glowing orbs, of swirling reds and oranges, peered through shadows of the trees and met his eyes.

'Finally.' Jaune thought as he prepared his arms to defend and attack. 'C'mon let's see what you got.'

The orbs swayed and bobbed as a small Beowolf stalked forth, and when it entered a beam of moonlight, he noticed that it was roughly the size of a small wolf or a big dog. Not that there was any confusion, the beast did have glowing eyes, ink black fur, and thin bone white protrusions and plates on its body, so it was obviously a Creature of Grimm. It was just that he expected something a little grander.

'It's not that big of a deal, I'll just exaggerate what it looked like when I tell the tale of its defeat.' Jaune thought since he wanted his story to live up to the ones he heard.

After slowly stalking towards him, and when it was just a few feet from him, the Grimm suddenly lunged at him. Jaune, taking a note from an ancestor, braced himself against his shield and kicked himself forward. He felt his bones rattled, it had felt like he had just bashed a steel wall, the nerves in his hand were pinched by metal handle, it felt like a sharp bite into his flesh.

Before Jaune could curse or even truly acknowledge what had happened, he noticed that his charge had been mildly successful. The small Beowolf was nearly on its feet and already almost recovered, so he knew he had to act fast.

The silver blade of his sword shone in the moonlight as he raised his weapon high above his head, then he swung down with all his might. The blade didn't hit a bone plate, he had more awareness than that so he aimed for flesh. His metal sword was stopped by fur and the shock of his momentum being unexpectedly halted made his grip falter and then his sword tumbled out of his hand.

A low growl was his only warning before the small Grimm, the one he considered weak looking, lunged forth and bit into his leg. Fangs ripped through his pants, skin, muscles, and sank into his bones.

Pain and fear unlike any other ruined his mind, no longer could he form conscious thoughts.

Fight. Fight. Fight.

Everything was a blur as something grander than his brain commanded his body to move.

He barely registered what he was doing as he raised his shield above his head with both hands and then swung down violently, decapitating the beast who bit him. Howling echoed through the night, it sounded close.

Flee. Flee. Flee.

He dropped his heavy shield and ran, ignoring the burning pain that shot up his almost broken leg with every step. More howling, this one from a different direction.

Hide. Hide. Hide.

He couldn't be cornered now. A cave, he saw the entrance to a cave. Shallow, it was too shallow. A growl from behind him trapped him in this shallow cave.

Fight. Fight. Fight.

His eyes scanned the large Beowolf and the rest of the cave. A skeleton was resting near a wall. A small open satchel with Dust containers was resting near the wall, next to a flare gun. He dove for it. He tossed the bag towards the Grimm and then fired the flare gun at it. And then an explosion of light shook the entire cave and darkness engulfed everything.

Survive. Survive…

Destroy. Destroy…

Jaune Arc felt unbearably sick, about a million times worse than when he had a severe cold. His mind felt like it had been turned to stone, and his thoughts could even chip it. And the something that had sought to survive was now joined by something else seeking to destroy, and these two thoughts couldn't co-exist.

But why not? He couldn't destroy if he didn't survive, and he couldn't survive if he didn't destroy.

When Jaune was even young, more than he currently was, his grandfather had tried to depart a way of thinking on to the ignorant boy. Warriors were heroes who protected what was theirs and destroyed what wasn't. Heroes who fought in wars killed droves of people and ruined acres of land. Someday, he would have to form that line that separated his allies from his enemies. It was the only way a true hero could save their people.

He hadn't yet done that, but what he did understand was that warriors could only be true heroes to their allies. To everyone else they were a villain no worse than a Grimm. And yet he still wanted to be a hero even though he understood that eventually some would consider him a villain. Jaune would save and destroy someday, but first he needed to survive. The two things that were commanding his body calmed down, and then he felt the unbearable sickness in his body lessen.

Last night had been a blur for Jaune, not that his morning was any better. After waking up in shallow cave flooded with something like warm tar coating his body, he had a massive headache that made everything difficult. He shambled out on shaky legs, sore but otherwise fine, and tried finding his way back to the campsite. All he knew was that it was east of the tall mountain, so he expected to find it soon. And then he could eat some food, take some medicine and then rest for a while.

And while he fantasized about what to eat, he suddenly felt nervous, afraid, and wary with a small hint of annoyance. These emotions didn't originate in his mind, but rather he sensed these emotions. And he was compelled to check it out, so he changed his path.

A woman, one of his older sisters, and a man, one of the camp guards, were walking through the forest together. His sister carried a worn axe and the guard had a crossbow.

"Are you even listening?" The man, wary of his surroundings and annoyed with the woman, asked. "With the amount of blood we've seen so far, it's unlikely he survived. He had even left behind his weapons and you said he didn't even have his Aura unlocked yet."

"Then… we need to at least get his body." His sister said with wildly fluctuating emotions that didn't show on her face.

'Great. Now I don't have to wander anymore, my sister could help me back.' He thought and he shambled to her.

The man who had opened his mouth to say something froze in place and pulled his sister back a step. His eyes scanned the treeline around them, and then Jaune saw green eyes stare into his own. "Turn back." The man said with a solemn voice.

"What? What is it? I can defend myself pretty well, and I ne-"

"It's too late. You shouldn't have to see this." The man said as he grasped his sister's by the shoulders and held prevented her from turning.

"M-Marr…on…" Jaune called out to his sister with a sore throat and he shambled closer.

Marron went as stiff as a steel rod. "No, no, no, no." She whispered almost inaudibly.

"Go back, I'll bring his body when I'm done." The guard no longer gave off the feeling of annoyance, instead he felt remorseful as if he had failed at something. "No one should see a family member like this."

Jaune's sister huffed in short breaths, despair was slowly filling her head.

"Mar...ron." He called out more urgently, he didn't like that she was ignoring him and that she wasn't feeling great.

She sniffed loudly as her hands wiped away tears from her eyes and then she desperately ran away. Her figure was lost in a sea of trees.

As he took another shaky step, he felt anger building up in the man and then he felt something odd. A sharp emotion more intense than anything he himself had ever felt came from the man as he raised his crossbow and aimed it at him. Jaune felt the center of his neck itch, and something made him twitch violently, right before a large steel arrow shot barely missed him.

'He… shot at me? I dodged it?' He didn't know which one was more odd.

"Fucking Chill." The man spat as he clicked something on his large crossbow that reloaded it.

'He's going to shoot again? So the first time wasn't an accident.'

If Jaune was shot through the neck, or anywhere really, he would die, but he couldn't destroy if he didn't survive, and he couldn't survive if he didn't destroy. He felt something burn through his body, his desire to survive and his need to destroy. He couldn't destroy this man in direct combat; his own form was weak and he was untrained. So he needed to find another way.

His headache increased exponentially, and then Jaune felt his skull crack open and a 'crown' of five tiny bone spikes emerged from around his head. The pain went away and the world felt more clear, and in his peripheral he felt things that could be his with a single thought. saw a few thin hazy red lines shoot out of his body and deep into the trees, before he lost sight of them.

And as the man aimed his crossbow once more, a flock of baby Nevermores flew through the leaves behind him and dove at him. He dropped his firing stance and rolled away, as he came to a stop he pulled out a small dagger from a holster on his boot.

Jaune blinked his many eyes as he stared at swirling energy in the shape of the guard from the perspectives of the flying Grimm. The creatures of darkness, soulless abominations, they were like another part of his body he could move. He needed time to think about this now that his headache was gone, he was now very much confused about what had happened. The Nevermores kept the guard busy as he left.

And on his way through the forest, he felt more hazy lines linking up with more Grimm but that stopped after he was in control of five in total.

'Okay, so what's happening? I tried fighting a Grimm, got bit, things went a bit blurry and then I exploded a cave, okay so all that makes sense. Then I woke up with a headache, tried finding camp, and then I encountered my sister and a guard looking for me, which also makes sense. Then… the guard doesn't want my sister to see me, she hears my voice. cries and runs away, then I'm shot at and somehow dodge… and then I control Grimm to fight the man while I escape.'

Yeah, no, he didn't understand it at all.

'Oh wait, duh, it's my bloodline ability. Which means it wasn't a foolish venture. I guess it is pretty cool.' He found his own explanation as he looked over the three Beowolves following him and the two adult Nevermores flying above him.

Although he didn't need them right now, when he was connected the spikes on his skull didn't ache. And somehow he knew he would feel better if he had more Grimm under his control, and he was pretty sure his 'crown' was growing slowly, so someday he would be able to control more than just five. If he had to put it into words he could understand then he would say that his crown was at level one right now.

Also, he had looked down at his hand and saw that his skin was a stark white. So when that was combined with the bone poking out from his head, he guessed he could see where the confusion had arised from. And now that he had been mistaken for a Grimm possessed corpse, he doubted he could convince anyone of the truth. 'Ah well, too bad.'

Save. Survive. Destroy. Those were all that truly mattered to him.

And well, it's not like he was entirely convinced with his own explanation or that he was actually still human. He could sense emotions now, his injury healed overnight, and he could feel something slowly warm beneath his skin.

Jaune looked at a white hand, and he tried doing something with the heat inside his body. His palm turned a glossy pitch black as ink black fur covered the rest of his skin, and bone white spike replaced his nails. The longer he stared at the transformed paw, the more heat was spent and since he didn't have a lot he quickly dismissed it.

"Oh. That's…" He said but didn't finish that thought, he just lightly scratched at his head. "Okay Jaune, everything's fine, let's just accept this and move on."

AN: Chapter is over. I know, it's rushed, but I wanted to hurry up and have Jaune explore the world and his powers.

If you want, you could read the segment below and form your own version of events.

Jaune Arc, Grimm Gamer was originally two different story ideas that I thought could work well together. Now that I've abandoned that story, I wanted to try and tell the Grimm Jaune part of it.

This story is written as fun, pure fun.

Harem? Likely, but it'll take a while before anything happens since his emotional state is currently complicated.

This was my old outline for this chapter.

Jaune, age 15, is on a camping trip with his family, he smuggled Corcea Mors to slay a Grimm. After sneaking out into the woods, he encounters a Beowolf Cub, thin plates and small spikes. He blocks a hit and gets a lucky strike, in his joy, he misses the lunge for his leg.

The Cub sinks its teeth deep into Jaune's leg, he screams and barely manages to stab the Cub in the nape. Jaune staggers and tries to flee, he falls against a tree and whimpers, but he pushes through the pain when he hears howling.

He knows camp is too far, so he goes for a cave he saw earlier. The cave is cold and damp. And he nearly screams when he discovers a skeleton in rags, pushing through his fear he uses the rags to tie off his bleeding leg. Jaune also finds a broken gun, some Dust Rounds, other junk and a flare gun. He is happy and takes the flare gun, but then he spots a Beowolf at the entrance of the cave, it starts to stalk towards him.

Jaune panics at the thought of fighting a grown Grimm, so he just throws things at it, to no effect. It snarls, and he also hears the sounds of the Dust Rounds scattering across the ground, under the Grimm. He fires the flare at the rounds. It hits the ground, but nothing happens, the Grimm hesitantly continues forth. As the flare spins it sets off the Dust.

An explosion of fire, ice, wind and stone fill the cave. The Grimm is killed and Jaune is knocked against a wall, for a second he can't see or hear but then he feels a secondary explosion and the ground falls away. He blacks out.

Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. The words echo endlessly in a whisper, and all Jaune can feel is a permeating sense of pain throughout his entire being. He snaps awake with a scream.

Darkness. Pitch black. Dripping water and whispering winds. A sticky and slimy sludge, probably moss or the like.

Jaune tries to find a way out, he searches high and low, but can't find a single exit. He can't even find a good spot to climb up. He gives up and decides to wait to be found. He gets bored quickly, and hungry even quicker. He licks a rock to pass the time, but it only makes him hungrier.

He gets pissed at his family, at the Grimm, then at himself. He screams for rescue. He starts to cry as his situation sinks in, fear of death turns him into a wreck. He wants to sleep, but the floor is cold, so he sleeps on the warm cave goo. He wakes up, fully rested and no longer hungry. He tries to attack the walls with his sword for some reason, but can't even make a dent. On one heavy swing, his sword gets caught and slips from his grip, it bites down on his shoulder, cutting deep.

He screams and clutches his wound, panic seizes him, and he fears bleeding out, but the pain subsides and a warm glow emanates from his wound. In his relief he suddenly remembers his leg wound, feeling it down, he finds his pants torn, however the wound is gone. He gets excited to have a super power and tries to focus on calling upon the glow. A light haze formed around his hands. He experiments with his new abilities and looks around the cave.

The cave goo is black. Gross. No exits. His power has a small force field, healing effect, makes him stronger, so his sword isn't heavy anymore, but it also makes him tired and hungry. He still sleeps in the goo, or tries to, his hunger grows till it hurts. He starts cursing his stupid power, and himself for using it and for being hungry.

He explores down passages, killing small Grimm, until he can see sunlight streaming through a crack in the wall. He manages to break out of the cave.