When Richard awakened, he didn't open his eyes. He was almost… Tired. It was an unusual feeling for him… He never needed to sleep. And when he did try, he could only really close his eyes. His senses remained on overdrive like they always were, making him actively look for threats even when there were none.

But now?

Now even his senses seemed to be taking some time off for the moment, his usual hyperawareness missing. He could hear the blowing wind, feel the cold ground beneath him, and feel the even colder air on his face.

But he couldn't 'see' any of what was around him. With his eyes closed, it was almost as if he was lying in a cold, black void… And it almost bothered him. Is this what someone normal would feel? Richard was too used to being able to see everything around him all the time.

Although he guessed that 'seeing' wasn't the correct term. It was more of an extremely accurate sixth sense, telling him what exactly was behind him, above him, and so on as accurately as if he could see it himself. It was a bit of a sensory overload for the first few days of his time in Terraria, but Richard adapted to it. It helped him stay alive… Most of the time.

Regardless, Richard knew he had to get up. He knew what staying still meant in Terraria. What relaxing meant. It meant death. And he wasn't trying to add another death to his total.

Slowly, he began to sit up and open his eyes, frowning a bit and squeezing his eyes shut again for a moment as a splitting headache made itself known. The pain didn't really matter to him. He'd long ago adopted the practice of noting the pain, categorizing it, and discarding all thoughts of it. As long as he wasn't near death, the pain didn't matter. Focusing on the matter at hand was the only thing that did. And currently, that was getting up. With a small grumble, he opened his eyes, revealing a cloudy grey sky and snow. Lots of snow, making the entire land white, with the large mountains around him looming menacingly.

Standing up, Richard let out a sigh of relief as his senses finally began to kick back in, revealing more snow all around him. Immediately, he did a quick mental check of his 'inventory', relieved to see everything that was in there was, in fact, still there. Especially his sword, guns, tools… And the Cell Phone. Quickly pulling out the said phone, he raised an eyebrow at the display and sighed. Questions were already forming…

11:47 AM

Overcast (15 MPH N)

Third Quarter

0 Fishing Power

Fire Dust detected nearby!

Juvenile Megaliath

17 Enemies Nearby!

N/A: N/A

-Damage Per Second UNAVAILABLE-

0 MPH

-Coordinates UNAVAILABLE-

-Depth UNAVAILABLE-

There were several things that worried Richard. He didn't recognize the rare creature name, didn't have a clue about whatever the mineral detector was going on about, and the most disturbing thing of all was the fact that his entire location system wasn't working. The DPS function was always unavailable, though… He wasn't sure what it was actually supposed to do anyways. Regardless, he began to walk as he thought about the events that brought him here.

Richard felt a brief flash of guilt at leaving the townspeople alone, without their protector. But they didn't need him anymore… He'd served his purpose. As much as they respected him, he knew what Terraria itself thought of him. Richard was simply a tool to be used and disposed of… He supposed this was the disposal. The world didn't change after his 'great victory'. It didn't get any better, at least, not that he could tell. He only wanted to go home and be normal… But it didn't happen.

So when a mysterious portal in the midst of the frozen forest opened in front of him, he made a choice… And it put him here. Perhaps this world was different from Terraria…? He hoped so. With that thought, he began walking. Richard could already tell it wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows, especially with the fact that his enemy detector was picking up hostiles.

Oh well… At least they were something different.

Sergeant Vherdant's heart was racing as she fired her rifle down the cave, several of her squad members racing past her to the exit. This wasn't the way the mission was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be simple… Figure out what was going on in some of the caves near Mantle and report. They didn't expect to find a massive cavern swirling with Grimm. And then, when the massive Megaliath busted through the ice wall… Everything went to shit.

They didn't have any Specialists sent out with them, because the mission was determined to be 'low risk'.

'So much for that brief.' She thought dryly. The only saving grace was that the cave exit was small, forcing the Grimm that could fit into extremely tight packs and the ones that were too big to stay behind. She just hoped there wasn't another way out for the big Grimm, but judging by the appearance of the Megaliath… Well, she hoped that the large Grimm were at least somewhat delayed.

The three other squad members in the cave shouted at her to retreat back up their position, their own rifles sounding off as the flurry of rounds cut down the Grimm swarming through the narrow tunnel.

Sprinting up the mineshaft, she saw the light from the overcast sky beaming down, the flashlight on her weapon becoming less necessary. She could see the retreating back of Corporal Miomomo, the whip aerial of his communications pack springing back and forth. As the team's only line to the Manta that was going to be their exfil, he was ordered to go out with an escort. Just in front of him, Private First Class Bruin led the way. She watched as they sprinted out of the cave exit.

"Cave entrance, MOVE!" The Sergeant barked the order at her squad, seeing that the Grimm surge was momentarily quelling. PFC Hiacinth was the first to heed the order, her rifle barrel steaming from constant use. Next was Corporal Noire, her heavy footfalls almost causing her to trip on her way past. Finally, Petty Officer Second Class Rhedd, the corpsman working with her squad for the mission, followed. The older man muttered under his breath as he sprinted by. The other three members of the squad, a lance corporal and two PFCs, had stayed behind to guard the entrance of the cave while the more experienced squad members went in to do the investigation.

The headset built into her helmet crackled. "Sergeant, the birds are on their way! Pilots said maybe six minutes…"

"Six minutes!?" She shouted, likely causing the radio operator to wince. "Brief said they'd be loitering no more than two away!" She sprinted up the cave, almost at the exit.

"Apparently it had to go back home because of a fault in a fuel line they couldn't fix… A nearby airship doing combat trials scrambled a couple of their Mantas to swing by… Apparently there's a Specialist onboard."

"Tell those damn Navy pilots to grow some balls and fly flat out!" She finally reached the exit, her squad already forming a wide semicircle around the cave from positions of cover.

"...You got it."

Vehrdant slid into position behind a snow-covered boulder alongside the radio operator, her rifle already up and aimed at the cave entrance. There was none of the usual chatter, the whole squad focused on the task at hand. Everyone had heard the radio exchange and knew that six minutes against the numbers they'd seen was going to be tough, especially with their number and no Specialist support. Noire, the only Faunus of the squad, suddenly came across the radio.

"They're almost at the entrance. I can hear their claws scrabbling at the rocks…"

"Roger. Hiacinth, you still have those partystarters, right?"

"The incendiaries? Yep…"

"Get them in that cave."

The Sergeant watched as the young woman stood and hucked several grenades into the cave at a rapid pace, flame bursting out of the cave. The whole squad was lucky their Auras kept them safe from the cold, but if they took too many hits from the Grimm… Exposure would get them if the beasts didn't.

As the flames within the cave died, she could see the rapidly moving shadows of the Grimm approaching on the ceiling of the shaft.

"All right, give 'em hell!" With that, she raised her rifle as a guttural war cry arose from the squad. The Grimm appeared in the entryway, and the squad opened fire…

Richard's eyes narrowed at the faint sound of distant gunfire, his body tensing as he prepared for combat. He took a few running steps and leapt into the air, a FWOOMPH! sounding off as massive glowing silver wings popped into existence on his back, propelling him over the snow covered hills. He was only a short distance away from the gunfire. He hoped that whoever was doing the shooting wasn't hostile to him.

The Champion also hoped that he wasn't going to be too late.

The minutes passed as the squad did their best to hold the line against the Grimm coming out of the tunnel. Their bullets and explosives were cutting through the mass, seeming to be able to contain the beasts for now.

But soon, an earthshaking bellow would rumble across the tundra as the Sergeant's fears came true. Charging across the open tundra from the right side of the formation was an absolutely massive Megaliath, hatred in its evil red eyes. Vherdant would command her squad to keep holding back the tide of Grimm, before turning to face the Megaliath and sprinting away from her comrades. She knew that it would catch her, eventually… But escape wasn't her intent.

If she could make the massive Grimm give chase and annoy it enough, she might be able to draw its attention long enough for her squad to escape. The marine took a deep breath as she fired a burst at the Megaliath, causing it to jerk towards her. Another burst seem to have caught it in the eye, as it seemed to be focused on her now. It was terrifying, the massive Grimm galloping straight at her.

The slippery ice and snow didn't do her footing and favors as she ran, losing her footing and faceplanting into the snow. Rolling over, she let out a shouted challenge to the Grimm along with firing the contents of her magazine towards it before drawing her heavy sidearm.

"COME AND GET IT, YOU BIG MOTHERFUCKER!"

Her sidearm was a gift from her father, an old airship captain. Five heavy, ridiculously high-caliber shots. They wouldn't make much of a difference against the massively thick armor, but if she could hit the eyes or some kind of joint…

BOOM!

Her first shot hit a tusk, shattering it and causing another enraged bellow.

BOOM!

The second shot hit an eye, causing it to charge faster.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Two of the final three shots glanced or went wide, but the last one struck true and hit a joint just as it was bearing down on her. It stumbled, but momentum and determination kept the beast moving. The Sergeant closed her eyes, praying to whoever would listen that her squad was pulling through, and that her end was quick.

It would only be a few moments, now…

Suddenly, the footsteps of the charging beast seemed to change course, but not voluntarily judging by the annoyed bellow. Vherdant opened her eyes just in time to see some sort of silver chain retracting away from the head of the Megaliath, seeming to be what pulled it off course.

Then, with a 'SHINK!', a massive blade cleaved the head of the elephant-like Grimm clean off, causing two heavy thuds as the carcass and head hit the ground. The woman was stunned, staring at the corpse dissolving into wisps of black smoke as a figure approached her and offered her a hand up.

The man was wearing a white, woolen peacoat with a popped collar, a blue shirt, black pants, and most weirdly… a top hat. And she didn't even want to start with the absolutely massive sword on his shoulder.

Definitely a Specialist… Actually, no. There was no way that Atlas would let a Specialist wear such a silly thing… But what was the chances of some random huntsman showing up and killing a Megaliath with a single strike…?

"...You want a hand up or not?" She was jarred out of her thoughts by the man's words, accepting the offer and gripping his black-gloved hand. He pulled her up to her feet effortlessly, retrieving her rifle and offering it to her.

"Who…?" He'd quickly shake his head and wave the question away, his eyes lost in the shadow of his hat as he glanced over to her squad still blasting away.

The huntsman wouldn't waste any more time, sprinting towards the fight and unshouldering his massive blade. Vherdant wouldn't hesitate for a moment, quickly doing her best to keep up with the man's pace over the icy landscape yet falling behind. She'd click on her radio.

"Squad, be advised… We've got a huntsman rolling into the combat zone. Probably gonna pull some crazy stuff and launch himself into your lines of fire like an idiot, so watch it. He's wearing a top hat." A moment of silence would follow, before a confused response from Miomomo would follow.

"...Say again? Did you say top hat?" Vherdant would sigh, reloading her weapons as the firing line came into view and the top-hatted huntsman launched himself into the air.

"You surprised? He's a huntsman…" Miomomo didn't respond, probably too busy laying down fire.

Richard had a small frown on his face as he jumped up and over one of the soldiers, using his hook to pull himself straight to the biggest beast he could see. He cut it in half with a single swing, before decapitating another. This was almost too easy, almost as if he was fighting just zombies again.

From using his hook to pull in the beasts or pull himself to them, flipping and dodging around claws, to even catching spiked slashes… He felt near-unbeatable against these monsters. Sure, some of them were big… But he was used to fighting much larger. But regardless, the ease that his blade sliced through the Grimm, even some of the armored ones, made him question how tough they truly were. They weren't like the monsters from Terraria, where they could keep moving to kill even after a ton of abuse (Much like him in that regard). One slash, stab, or impact to somewhere vulnerable was all it took…

For example, he delivered a hefty backhand to a wolflike monster, shattering the bonelike mask and even shattering some of the ice with the force of the impact. It was… unnervingly simple.

He was also morbidly disappointed that these creatures didn't really seem to explode into gibs like they did in Terraria… But that was a small thing. A call from behind him would catch his attention as he hooked a shadow wolf with the large bladetip of Star Wrath, tossing it into another with enough force to cause both of them to explode into black mist.

"Yo, Huntsman! Toss this in there, I'll seal the tunnel!" The words (coming from a woman with pale blue hair) were accompanied by some kind of explosive bundle. A red light on the bundle told him it was probably armed, and her words supported it. He'd toss the package into the cave, and a moment later…

BOOM!

A rush of snow and ice carried by the wave covered the immediate area with a white fog, with the soldiers keeping their rifles up. A worried Hiacinth looked over to her recently-arrived sergeant.

"You, uh… You think he died from the blast…?" The soldier asked her sergeant this, with Vherdant raised an eyebrow at the explosion site as the echoes of the explosion faded away.

"There's no way that's how that huntsmen just went out… Right?" Vherdant would focus back on where she last saw him before the detonation, before calling out. "Hey, Huntsman! You good?" She'd jump a bit as an arm jutted out of the snow giving a thumbs-up, followed by a quiet chuckle as the squad's savior burst out of the white powder with a small grin.

"You could say I'm good… that's the most fun I've had in a fight for a long time…" He'd say, shaking the snow off his body and taking off his top hat (which somehow managed to not get dislodged), brushing the snow off of it with care before returning it to its perch. "What's with the 'huntsman' thing, by the way?"

"Well, you fight Grimm right? That's what huntsmen do. Are you, uh… not one?" The top-hatted man looked about for a moment, seeming to consider his answer as a couple Mantas appeared overhead, only a few moments away from committing to a landing. He'd simply shake his head and answer, his grin fading to a small frown.

The Mantas made a short pass before coming in to land, a Specialist hopping out of the side door before the aircraft landed. Meanwhile, a small groan came from Miomomo as he recognized who the specialist was, and a couple of snickers emanated from his squad around him. The specialist's cold, icy blue eyes surveyed the troopers and the situation, before motioning for them to get onboard the now-landed aircraft. "Move. Quickly."

Winter Schnee was internally disappointed that the combat was over before she got there, but evacuating the soldiers on the ground was more important than killing Grimm. Her curiosity was indeed piqued by the top-hatted huntsman standing among them. There wasn't any huntsman operating in the area… At least, nobody who was doing any contracts from Atlas or Mantle. Plus, there was nothing of value out here anyways… So why would a random huntsman be out on the wastes? She'd probably have to check and see if he matched any fugitives… That was probably one of the only reasons why he'd be so far out.

The soldiers would give her a wide berth as they quickly moved to evacuate, and Winter approached the possible fugitive. He was standing back rather awkwardly as the soldiers passed him (A few of them gave him a pat on the shoulder as they went by). The man in the top hat seemed conflicted on whether or not to join them. Winter would stop in front of him, her cold gaze meeting the man's shadowed eyes.

"Coming with?" The man would hesitate for a second more, before nodding. Winter would move to his side as they approached the Manta.

"Odd for a huntsman such as yourself to be so far out here, isn't it?" Her question would cause the man to shrug rather casually as he hesitantly stepped onto the aircraft, one of the soldiers shuffling out of his way with clear respect.

"I wouldn't know. I'm not one of those." Winter would narrow her eyes slightly as she clambered aboard, taking a position opposite to the man in the top hat.

Wait, where had that massive hunk of metal that the man was carrying go? He didn't drop it…

Wherever it went, the man took a seat next to the sergeant of the squad which was conveniently right next to the open side door. He'd look down at his lap, taking off his hat and running a gloved hand through his rather large amount of styled black hair.

"So you're not a Huntsman, then?" The specialist's question would give him pause, before the man looked up and met his eyes with hers. He may have had a small and polite smile on his face, but the smile never reached his eyes. The gaze was many things at once. It spoke of exhaustion, melancholy, and detachment, as if the man had been through many battles without any reprieve. His freezing, calculating gaze was almost inhuman as his cobalt eyes bored into hers, the gaze uncomfortable. His response was equally disturbing.

"You could call me a survivalist, maybe… Actually, probably just a survivor. Nothing more interesting than that."

A few of the soldiers would fidget as he looked to them, before his gaze looked out to the ground below.

"It was good that you arrived when you did. That's a lot of those bigger… What did you call them…?" He'd turn to Vherdant, who'd hesitate for a moment under his gaze.

"...Grimm. They're… Grimm." He'd nod slightly and look back out, before the door would begin to slide closed. The self-titled 'survivor' would look around for a little bit, the nervous or worried looks of the soldiers within the compartment causing him to sigh and shake his head, putting his hat on his head once more. His eyes returned to the shadows.

"...Sorry. I don't mean to make any of you nervous."

Vherdant would meet Winter's eyes, an unspoken 'we'll talk about this later' passing between them as the other soldiers in the compartment would assure the man that he wasn't making them nervous at all, and a couple of questions ended up being thrown his way.

Miomomo asked his first, eyebrow raised. "Uh… You got a name? I don't think calling you 'Top Hat Guy' is going to cut it." The man would tilt his head for a second.

"...Name's Richard." Miomomo raised an eyebrow slightly.
"...Aaaand?" Richard would offer a sly smirk, before shrugging.

"Last name's Tophat." There would be a moment of silence in the compartment as they tried to gauge whether he was serious or not, before he started to snicker. "...Nah, just messing with ya. Don't remember it." Miomomo's eyebrow would raise higher.

"...Mmmkay. I guess that answers that."

Winter would note his lack of a last name. This man was becoming more mysterious as he answered questions meant to clear things up. Vherdant had a question, though, the sergeant shifting in her seat next to Richard.

"Where'd ya get your skill? Most people who are survivalists and survivors can't exactly go toe-to-toe with Grimm, especially of that size… Much less have the strength to swing around a sword like the one you had." Richard would have a small expression of thought on his face, before smiling once more.

"In order to survive, you've got to be able to fight the stuff keeping you from surviving! Really, that's all there is to it…" Richard's answer was short and vague, with Vherdant nodding but not adding anything more. Winter tried to put everything together in her mind to put together a story. A 'survivor' with haunted eyes, apparently great skill, and no last name.

It seemed similar to some of the stories the professors at the academy had told, along with some of the older specialists that she had spoken with. Supposedly, the most skilled huntsmen and huntresses came from just… going out and doing it. Heading out one day to fight Grimm, learning as they go along and never looking back. Many of the mythical huntsmen or huntresses in storybooks usually had that sort of backstory, but everyone who spoke about it always brought up how enormously dangerous it was to do that sort of thing. Most who tried it, or were forced into it by circumstance, died terribly.

A lone man with a plain name, a massive blade, and an eccentric choice in headwear seemed exactly like the sort of figure who'd be in a story like that… Roaming around some fantastical land of magic and monsters, and eventually slaying massive beasts to bring balance and order to the world.

If only stories like that were real… Remnant could really use some sort of great hero.

With that thought in her mind, she leaned back into the seat as the Manta picked up speed. She'd most certainly have to speak to the General about this…