AN: I don't like putting these at the start, but this is a warning: Given the outline of the story and my plan to keep things to a reasonable amount of words, I will be adjusting my writing style to make things more concise. Editing out things that don't matter, saying more with less words, removing superfluous phrases, reducin- Wait, I'm doing it again.

Either way, next 3 chapters or so are done and whole story is planned so any delays are due to procrastination more than any sort of sob story. Thanks for sticking around, and enjoy the chapter!

Emerald was not a front line fighter. She had nothing to block with, wasn't particularly good at dodging, and from what I could tell was mostly an expert at using her illusions to create distance and strike while unseen.

That made her an excellent pair for Mercury, who was almost the definition of a front-line fighter. He wouldn't hesitate to get in your face, and his skilled kicks and staggering power were enough to forgo his need for a weapon. I had a feeling that my Fist of the Ancients would likely be more powerful, but it would cost me resources whereas that was just how hard he kicked. Mercury could keep this up for a while, and he was even holding his own against Pyrrha.

I just had to finish Emerald then go to help Pyrrha. Luckily the illusionist had nowhere to hide, and the one tree in the Savannah was devoid of leaves, burning bright from my Fire Breath.

With Runaway Train active and my Aura running off the remnants of the Earth Dust bar, I stormed my way towards her. She rose from her crouch, eyes scanning for an escape, a hiding spot, anything. She would find nothing.

"Wuld Nah!"

With the force of a whirlwind, I sprinted forth at speed. Emerald had just enough time to leap back before my shield crashed into her, and I made another reluctant admittance that even without her semblance, this girl was fast and capable. I was starting to see how they had demolished the first round so easily.

I switched Ruby's Gift to its longsword form in the opening and set my feet, content to let her recollect. I kept my knees bent, ready to intercept if she went for any of the other arenas.

This one was mine. My armour licked up the flames hungrily, absorbing and banishing the heat. Emerald had no such protection, and was stuck hopping from ashen patch to ashen patch where the fire would not hurt her. She was still magnitudes faster than I was, which meant she likely wasn't too durable. If I could land one solid hit on her, everything would be over.

Emerald, on the other hand, made to rush for the urban zone where Mercury fought Pyrrha. I moved to stop her, not having enough of a grasp on her particular fighting style to make a prediction. I ran to place myself between her and her destination. With a smirk, her step faltered.

Gamer's Mind Activated!

Ten Emerald's split off from where she had faltered and shot off in every direction. It took me a second of concentration to see which were and weren't illusions, and I made my move, leaping forwards to grab the airborne Emerald around the ankle.

My hand went right through, and the apparitions vanished, the real Emerald already halfway to the forest. She even gave a moment to look back over her shoulder with a smirk, something I tactically ignored. It was likely no more than an attempt to throw me off so instead I took a second to think.

Pyrrha couldn't fight Emerald easily, as she would be vulnerable to the illusions. The battle would be tough but I feel like the illusionist could prevail with enough time. I could fight Emerald, though that leaves me feeling a little hypocritical considering how often I espouse the virtues of proper team-work rather than paired duels. Either of us could hold off Mercury, if not defeat him without trouble.

I waited until Emerald had breached the treeline, then took off for the Urban Zone to reinforce Pyrrha. A quick glance to the scoreboard showed both her and Mercury's Aura's were sitting at roughly 75% and 70% respectively. Emerald's was lower at around 60, whereas mine…

Mine was full. All of my damage I had either let through to hit my HP - which was gaining at a rate of about 15 a second, I noted happily - or had impacted my Aura while it was fuelled by the Dust Bar. My Earth sat at roughly a third remaining, maybe 200 points of Skills or so. My inventory was utterly full of Basic Dust, though I tended to create what I needed when I needed it for the Lesser types.

My second Dust Bar was full of Acceleration Dust. I'd experimented with it slightly in the dungeon during the night, but didn't use too much. It burned quick. That was the real reason I went and dumped all my points into strength - I have plenty of ways to make myself faster, but none to make myself stronger outside of single strikes layered with skills, and small passives from weapons. With a higher Strength I could still do that, making my skills more effective as they had a better base attack to improve.

"Ha!" I heard Pyrrha exclaim, and almost lost my gait. I rounded the corner to an alley and was frankly floored by the combat I was seeing. With a heavy heart I made the correct guess that Mercury had been holding back against me. Here, now, in this alley with no camera visibility - something repeated multiple times by the announcers with a sense of annoyance- he cut loose.

Pyrrha was keeping up as best she could, but he was simply stronger. Where he could block her strikes, each of his saw the tiniest sliver of her aura fall, even through her shield. That she was still standing and scoring hits in return hammered home the skill gap between us.

It was a baffling display of acrobatics and prowess, watching the boy kick off the wall to feint a kick mid-air then adjust his trajectory to bounce off the other and land into a hand-planted double-kick that managed to catch underneath Pyrrha's shield. Eyes wild and forehead dripping with sweat, Pyrrha swept her sword across her body to deflect the incoming kick, but was left open when the weapons on his feet fired, slamming her back into the alley wall with a faint sprinkling of dust. She gasped, as by that time I had finished my approach and blocked his follow-up axe kick with my sword.

When I was met with a metallic clang, Mercury made sense once more. He must have some form of armour underneath his pants. There was a split moment where it seemed like I wouldn't be able to hold him off, then he transferred the force of his kick into a jump and landed in the broken second story of what appeared to be an apartment building. With a glance at us, then a smirk, he took off deeper into the building.

I rubbed my shoulder as I came up out of my stance, holding out an arm to stop Pyrrha from giving chase.

"He's good isn't he?" I asked, more to try and snap her out of whatever she was doing right now than making any conversation. "She's quick, tricky too."

Pyrrha looked at me with a side eye. "You're feeling it then."

I grinned. "Oh yes. In the very core of my being, and for once my blasted Mind isn't suppressing it. The fire, the fight, the dance… combat is what I do. Which is why I'm kind of sad this one is over."

Pyrrha stood fast. "What makes you say that?"

A cacophony of tinkling metal sounded as I began rapidly removing Fun Balls from my inventory, throwing them through the lower windows of the building. "I'm gonna blow him up, then we'll go get the girl and call it a victory."

"She wasn't incapable. How'd you get here?" I caught her unasked question.

"Turns out when you're used to winning by misdirection, an enemy with focus is your worst fear. She took off for a better ground to fight from."

Pyrrha giggled. "I suppose she expected you to chase her. She must not know how Skyrim does romance."

I looked at her incredulously. "Really, Pyrrha?"

She fought back a chuckle. "I'm sorry."

She didn't sound like it… I rolled my eyes and threw 5 more of my little grenades in there, for a grand total of 50 - about half of what I had, and more than enough to make a giant bomb. Fire, Air, Earth all got thrown in there. I'd yet to figure out how to make Super Crystals out of Water or Electricity, but it turns out you can just bury an Earth crystal underground for a few months and dig it up a Super. That made them very cheap to just buy, especially since there were very little recorded uses for them outside of creating 'tectonic events', as Mr. Barnes had called them.

Fire to create the explosion, Air to expand it, Earth to quake the building down. Part of me wanted to throw a few more crystals just to see what would happen, but Pyrrha's posture screamed that she wanted to get going, and I wasn't lying earlier: my blood was boiling, ready to erupt in a fit of violence atop which only one will remain. I tempered the heat, reminding myself that this was not to the death, and it was over anyways, assuming Mercury didn't have a 'survive an explosion' Semblance.

I pondered for a moment, trying to determine the best way to set them off.

"Don't worry, I can do it with my Semblance." I turned to look aside at Pyrrha, impressed that she'd read my thoughts so easily.

"Then shall we?" I did not wait for an answer, charging forwards at full speed towards a wall and breaking through with a negligible hit to my Earth Dust. This Skill was much more useful than I had first viewed it as.

Runaway Train (Passive) LVL: MAX

Once you get moving there's no stopping you. Using the ancient art of aura-shaping, you are a true force to be feared.

Reduce impact damage received by 50% while moving above half speed.

Increase impact damage delivered by 50% while moving at maximum speed.

It had taken me a bit of experimentation to discover impact quite literally meant me running into things. Not dropping a shoulder to tackle through, but running into it as if it weren't there. The end result was the wall bursting inwards, though I had no time to examine the interior of an intentionally ruined arena building, as the next wall approached fast.

By the third wall, Pyrrha was running behind me, using her semblance to roll the balls back into our path, settling them lightly where piles of brick and debris formed from our passage. By the fourth, she had gathered them all in a straight line. By the time we burst through the last into the light of the arena and the gaze of the camera's, she was ready.

With a heavy yell and a thrown out hand, she pushed the first towards the second. It seemed slow but as soon as they hit, they connected and started moving faster still towards the third. The line was a blur of clanging metal before I heard the final tink, then our world exploded into chaos.

The first sensation to hit was the light. Pulses of Red, Green, and a burnt Orange flashed with frantic speed from within, casting ominous shadows and sending rays piercing out into the arena.

The next sensation was the sound. A deep rumble, a piercing shriek, and a roaring blaze all overlapped. The cacophony was wild and untamed, and hurt to listen to. I would have clamped my arms over my ears, but for two things: Firstly, I was wearing a helmet and the effect would be negligible.

Secondly, I needed said arms right now, as the actual blast had sent us flying for its final, sensational effect. Pyrrha bled off her momentum with skillful usage of her shield and the surrounding buildings, whereas I activated Featherweight and awaited the pain. Just for the audience, I chose to take the impending brick wall to the Aura, so I didn't seem completely invincible.

Fat lot of good it did me when I burst through that wall and the next two, finding myself buried under stone in the remnants of a mock kitchen. Unfortunately, as Runaway Train was a Passive, it didn't turn off.

I groaned, even as a buzzer went off. "Heh…. got him…"

I took a moment to breathe and began pulling myself out of the wreckage when I heard another buzzer.

"And in an astonishing display, Emerald Sustrai has conceded the match leaving the victory to Beacon's very own: Team Juniper!"

I narrowed my eyes as brick and stone crumbled off my armour. That seemed too easy. I hadn't actually expected the explosion to work, not given Mercury's level.

The dark, dusty interior of the building was lit up with light as a figure pushed aside a slab of stone, allowing the mid day sun to pierce through rivulets of falling dust. Head wreathed in a welcoming warm corona, she stepped down into the room and Pyrrha became visible, holding a hand out to help me out.

She looked just as troubled as I felt as she pulled me out of my self-inflicted rubble pile.

"I'm so sorry ma'am, they split us up an-"

A lilting, seductive voice rang out over the clandestine corner of a forgotten alley. This alley had seen many discrete conversations, both legal and illegal. This was normal, and the locals knew better than to enter this area when anyone was talking there. "No. Perhaps I should apologize for expecting so much of you. I had a higher estimation of your worth. That's all."

Emerald wilted back. "No. No! It's not that! He could see through my Semblance!"

Cinder Fall gave a smirk. She had known that might be the case. Jakkins had proved formidable enough on his own, and from what she had managed to…. 'Gather', he was largely similar in terms of his Semblance. Which meant he needed to die. Salem and Jakkins had developed something of an understanding, a non-interference contract.

Given that it had been Jakkins to storm her mistress' tower and demand such an arrangement, Cinder knew she could not let him get too strong, or grow too much. There were two people she needed out of her way to take what was hers, and Ozpin was part of the plan. Jakkins was already out of the way, sent on some goose chase for a Sword of Salem Slaying or some such nonsense - She hadn't cared for the details of Watts' plan then and still did not. She did, however, appreciate sending him to Vacuo, that wasteland of a place. Not that she would have ever made that known to the insufferable pomp of a man.

Now she would have to adjust her plans to accommodate this… Torga. Troublesome. Perhaps it was time to check in with the Queen.

I tried to find them after the match, but there was no trace of either Mercury or Emerald. I mean it made sense, if you were the civilian team and you just lost, it would probably sting a little to be around Amity right now.

Pyrrha, bless her soul, did the smart thing and went to Goodwitch with her concerns over our missing team mates. She was led off, which left me with some small form of relief as it meant that something was being done. It left me alone with Deanna and Alan, which also left me with an opportunity. I'd brought them aside to a small picnic table out of the way, getting something called a 'funnel' cake along the way. It did not resemble a funnel, even slightly.

It was delicious though, with a heavy sweet cream and strawberry syrup topping. Almost too rich for my tastes, but I finished and cleaned up before sighing and placing my hands on the table, ready to talk.

Deanna folded her paper plate around the remnants of hers and signalled to Alan, who began setting up the camera drone until I waved it off. "Not yet. I want to talk to you guys first."

Deanna raised an eyebrow, then nodded to her partner. "Well. Can't say I expected this. Out of your whole team, you seem to be largely ambivalent about all of this." She gestured to the drone and I knew she was talking about Hunter's Gate.

I nodded. "I am. There are pro's and con's, but my goal hasn't changed because of it."

Deanna sighed. "Suppose I can't ask you all to do my job for me. What did you want us for then?"

"Well, I want help getting a message out."

Deanna chuckled. "Of course you do. Though, if you recall, you tried that and not a single tip on Roman Torchwick came through."

"He was in Mountain Glenn, was he not? How would anyone have seen him? We can't take that as proof that questions wouldn't work. Besides, this one isn't a question, it's an offer, and if it helps smooth things over with your producers, they can go first." I'd already thought this out. While I didn't want to start with powerful people, at least a couple hands need to be greased in order to do this without too large of an obstruction.

"And what is it you're planning to offer? Because again, you offered Lien last time…"

I leaned back, watching closely for their reactions. "I plan to offer a chance to unlock your aura, should you wish it. Similar to the Huntsman Academy's, but more… civilian based?"

Alan scoffed. "So what, you're going to set up a corner office? Take appointments from businessmen in between their dry cleaning and the 3 o clock meeting? I'm assuming you know that-"

"I'm responsible for every action taken by those whose Aura I unlock for a period of 1 year as per Vale law, yes."

Alan paused for a moment of thought. "Alright. You also know that this will include actions taken outside of the Kingdom? You could unlock someone and a half year later they're caught not saluting in Atlas: That's on you." He clearly expected that I didn't know that.

"I know. Stupid, but I know. We won't be operating under Vale law, though."

"You're moving?" Deanna asked with a hint of wariness. "You aren't allowed to willingly drop out of Beacon, it's in your contract."

I rolled my eyes. "A contract legal by Vale law which ceases to apply the moment I step foot outside those gates."

Alan slammed his hand on the table - very uncharacteristically, I might add. "Then what? Go build a nice little cabin in the woods, put on a cup of tea for each comer? You'd get over-run on the first day."

I focused my gaze on him and leaned forward. "I'm not asking for your permission. I'm not asking for your advice. Other parts are already moving, and this will be happening. The only thing I was hoping to get from you guys is advice on how to release it all to the public. I want absolutely everyone to have the chance to come and make something more of themselves."

Deanna deflated a little. "Not on camera, that's for sure. You'd be better off with a coordinated social media campaign, assuming you did want to break the contract. I'd have to go over it, but I'm fairly certain you'd get hit with a hefty fine."

I blinked. I understood contracts, having written them myself for a few of the more long-term jobs the Dovahdein had taken. "Okay, so I still don't know everything about this place. Social media?"

Deanna huffed. "You know how on your scroll you can tap the little S and it will open like a list of your friends updates?"

I winced. My scroll hadn't left my Inventory since I got the call and mini-map abilities. "Sure."

Deanna stared for a moment before dropping her head into her hands with a sigh. "He's dumb. He has to be joking."

Alan took over. "Well, modern movements start there: with a post. Then people share that post and their friends see it and soon enough, the entire thing is known without a single news corporation having touched it."

I pondered his reasoning. While news and media corporations were absent from Tamriel, I was well aware of the importance of controlling the narrative, which was essentially what these corporations had made into a profession. "Why is that important?"

"Alright, say you're working in an exploitative Dust mine. Jacques Schnee comes up and tells you to your face he's doing the best he can. Would you believe him? No, because he has reason to lie to you. People tend to trust people they know, not news stations who could have reason to lie. You'd be more likely to believe and think about something if your own friend Pyrrha had shared it, because you know that she in some way found that post important."

I blinked. "They'd think I'm lying?"

Alan nodded. "Personally, if some kid told me I could trek out into the woods to get my Aura unlocked, I'd assume it was a particularly clever bandit or insurance racket and go on my day without a second thought. You need proof."

"So… Say I made the journey on Hunter's Gate, with a civilian… whose aura I unlocked at the end. No mention whatsoever of my plan until after."

"That's better, but it still wouldn't ring true. You're on the right track. You want someone who doesn't believe you one bit, someone who will be doing their best to pick it all apart. Once you have her story released, you'll be just fine, assuming she doesn't decide to just write a hit piece anyways."

I fought to keep the grin from beginning to spread. It seemed like they were in on this - good, the more support the better. "She?"

Alan nodded furiously with a wild grin while Deanna sunk her head further into her hands. "If you want investigation, you want Lisa Lavender."

"I assume she's good?"

Deanna groaned loudly, and Alan filled me in. She was essentially a celebrity of a reporter within Vale, having covered a few of our more controversial moments like the raid on the docks. Known for deep investigation and thorough evidence gathering, she apparently had helped the police catch a serial killer a few years back. She also wasn't a fan of us by the tone of her reporting.

I left them to set that up for me. Deanna had promised to call in a favour so long as I - and I'm quoting her here - "cleaned up his act and acted like an actual human being". I'd agreed, if only because I'd already resolved to be more conscious of the way that the Gamer's Mind changed me.

That being said, it's become abundantly clear that there was a 'dislike' zone when it came to me. The masses loved what the show told them, so my general reputation was healthy and that of a fierce warrior who would have no issues bending the rules to keep people safe.

Then there were my colleagues and fellow students, who in general could be said to hold a dislike of me. It wasn't just students, either. Most people I met started off liking me, moved on to disliking me, and eventually formed an actual opinion later.

Then there were those I was close with. Pyrrha. Nora. Lie Ren. Richard. Barnes. Ruby, to a smaller extent. These people were comfortable around me, and so could share in the good and disparage the bad. All of them, except for Ruby now that I thought about it, had needed to warm up to me. Even Nora had given me criticism back in Initiation. It felt like so long ago I was worrying about how to stop drawing in the Grimm.

I shook myself back on track, then realised I had no clue whatsoever where Pyrrha had gone off to, so I pulled up my scroll menu and tapped on her name to initiate the call.

"Pyrrha? Did you find them?"

"Yes. We needn't have worried, they were just out training." Relief flooded my body before it was cruelly stolen away. "Ren does want to speak with you, though."

"Put him on, then?"

"In person. Equipped."

My face split into a grin. "I'm on my way. Where is everyone?"

"Barne's office." I heard the faint sound of Ren say in the background.

I dropped the call, then dropped into the Training Dungeon to get to Beacon faster than any Airship could get me. After the first time where I'd caught a lot of glances, this time I strolled into a nearby copse of trees before exiting the dungeon, so nobody would see me pop out of midair.

Barne's office was on the third floor, so I aimed for an open window, activated featherfall, and used my flamethrower skill to push myself up, leaving a small patch of charred grass to add to the mosaic of damaged ground on our field. Enough time with the Wild Grove active would repair it, and I resolved myself to spend at least an hour each night attempting to do just that as training for the Skill.

Tucking in my legs, I rolled on my landing in a loud cacophony of metal clanging against stone floors, then took off in a sprint towards the office. It took me 15 seconds to find the door, skid to a halt, then knock politely. Maybe a minute since the end of the call.

I'd taken to doing things like this. More often than not, speed was my detractor. I was unused to the large leaps and momentum based combat here, and so I was practising in my own way by making it from place to place as fast as I reasonably could.

The door opened and I was slightly taken aback at what I saw. Ren and Nora looked.. Different. Anxious, uneasy… they were looking at me worried. I cut off my quip at the sight of their faces, and unable to stop myself as the worry drained away, I stomped over and drew the both of them into an embrace. "If you were trying to make a point, it worked. I won't take off alone, not again. I-" Two sets of arms wrapped around me, followed by a third a second later.

"Shut up Torga." Nora said, her voice heavy with affection. I was surprised, but accepted it for whatever it was. She was squeezing tightly.

"We are here. We are home. We are going to clear this dungeon so I can finally spend all these points, then we're going to cheer you on while you kick ass all the way through the tournament."

"Ren?"

The group hug broke apart. I looked to Ren and saw a tired look in his eyes. He met my gaze and gave a small shake of his head. 'Later', it seemed to say.

Pyrrha's smile could have split the room in half. Looking at my resources, I was fairly full. A little low on Earth Dust but that would be fine. I looked to each of my team-mates. "You know, I recently got an upgrade. We could bring a team in with us, without losing track of them."

"And have to share? Nahh." Nora quipped with a grin.

"We could rest. Make sure we're at the top of our game. This one has a much higher recommended level than Forever Fall."

"We have also grown since then." Ren added.

"We could wait for after the tournament. Wait until this quest is over and I gain my levels."

Pyrrha shook her head with a patient smile. "And what if you need these levels to win?"

I looked towards the ominous trap door, almost superimposed upon the floor underneath the desk of a civilian mathematician who was likely at the tournament. "Well, no time like the present."

I added my companions to my party and we entered the dungeon beneath Beacon.

"Well, this is a little nicer." Nora observed as we emerged from the staircase. I silently agreed with her, even as the not-quite-familiar energy of the Dungeon became apparent once more. A part of me missed it, me and my team pushing through for gold and glory. Now we did it simply to become stronger.

The dungeon itself was much better lit than the Forever Fall Temple had been. The floors were smooth and polished, a white marble flecked with green. The walls rose high, but unlike before a visible roof was above us, maybe 20 feet up. The room we were in was circular, with hallways branching out at the 3, 9, and 12 positions of a clock. The stairs rose behind us, though I knew they would not lead us out in a physical sense.

Decorative pillars protruded from the sides of the hallways, sconces with gas lamps embedded into them. The hallway before us extended straight, until an unnatural darkness prevented us from seeing any further.

"Alright, we're in. Until we know the quality of our enemies, we stick together and proceed with caution. Ren, I want you in the back this time. Since you've upped your Agility, it will let you react fastest to any situation. Pyrrha and Nora, I want you two in the lead. We know that we couldn't damage the Forever Fall, so I'm going to assume that extends here until we see otherwise. Feel free to cut loose."

"What will you do?"

"I'm taking center. I'll play backup tank if either of you need a break, or I can kill those you tie up. I'll be the wild card, this time. Any objections?"

"Did you bring pizza?"

I kept my face blank. "Good. Let's move."

The first floor was child's play. 3 Ursa and a Beowolf spawn later, we were before the next set of stairs. Not one of us had used anything other than our own ability, so our resources were still going strong and our morale was high as we descended to the second floor.

The second was largely the same, though the numbers were higher. Still nothing we couldn't handle. The third and fourth continued along that pattern, though after a particularly crowded fight with a pack of Ursa, Ren had taken a heavy hit and we took a break to let him recover his Aura before pushing on.

The fifth floor is where things stepped up.

We arrived in another circular room, with one singular exit, and a ceiling that stretched high up into darkness. It was fine - at least until a metal portcullis slammed down over the one hallway, locking us in.

"Shit, trap. Stick to the walls, shields up, eyes up!" I called out, taking my own advice and switching to my tower shield. Ren ducked behind it while Nora did the same with Pyrrha, and not a moment too soon.

Crossbow bolts flew in a heavy cloud, the sounds of splintering shafts and metal striking stone creating a cacophony of noise it was impossible to hear over. I felt multiple impacts strike my shield, then heard a cry as Nora was struck by a bolt. "Hold!" I called out, noticing her Aura fall by about a quarter. The storm weathered for what felt like forever but was in reality closer to maybe 15 seconds.

The quiet clicks of triggering mechanisms continued as the last bolts clattered to the ground, then stopped as the trap ran its course. I stood from my stance, checking on Ren, but he had already rushed over to Nora and was fussing over her. She seemed fine to me.

Pyrrha and I had an aside. "How did you know?"

The trap. "Nobody locks people in a room for no reason." I noted, noticing the portcullis still hadn't risen. "It was always a trap, though I didn't know the type. I just know most traps will have blank spots, and those are typically closer to the mechanisms."

"Well, Nora got a bolt to the back. We didn't notice the hole when we set up."

I scoffed. "Back home, Nora would be dead from that. We've no need to wo-"

"Above us!" Ren called, and I had just turned to look when something bodily tackled both Pyrrha and I aside. I saw a flash of orange, felt a terrible rumble, then watched in almost slow motion as a massive boulder dropped down into the center of the room, right where Pyrrha and I had been. I glanced up to see a set of smaller boulders, falling from the darkness above.

Working my way out from under Nora - who it would appear had saved both Pyrrha and I from being crushed, I grabbed each of the girls by the belt and tossed them aside with a quick grunt, then switched my shield into its mace form. I didn't tend to use it as I preferred to use a bladed weapon, but the situation called otherwise.

With a shout, I swung upwards at the boulder that was falling for me. I layered Power Strike, Double Strike, Aura Enhancement, though I forewent the Enchantment, as it was too hungry in terms of consuming AP. I was boosted by my passive weapon skills, my Strength was unrealistically high, and I knew quite well how to strike as hard as I could.

The boulder shattered, coming apart in fist sized chunks of stone. Some fell through and skittered off my aura, but the majority fell to the ground around me. I took a deep breath and straightened, observing Nora leaping around from boulder to boulder, smashing each into the walls with her hammer. Some burst, like mine did, though others simply impacted with a grating crunch and fell to the floor. Both Pyrrha and Ren were nimble enough to dodge, whereas I kept my eyes straight up, ready to smash any more that might dare to fall near me.

Luckily, the avalanche of stone stopped soon after.

"Well, this trap seems like it may be a little bit too much." Ren noted. "How would someone get through here? Who resets the boulders? Who cleans up the bolts? The same could be accomplished much more efficiently with spears in the walls and a metal plate the si-"

I clamped a hand over his mouth. "I'm not superstitious, but you're pushing it. Might as well ask what could go wrong. Stop i-"

My eyes widened as I realised what I just said and wondered if there was any way to take it back, to drag my words out of the air and have them go unspoken. Alas, that was not to be possible, and our brief silence was interrupted by the sound of grinding stone. I stepped aside so a boulder could move, and move it did, along with all the others to a pile in the centre.

"I swear to Talos if this trap just resets itself-"

A red glow came from within the rocks.

I shifted my weapon back into a shield. "So… Is there a Grimm made out of rocks?"

"Not that I know of." Pyrrha said, though she shifted her own weapon into its rifle form and trained the sights on the pile of rocks.

"There is the Geist, who have been known to take possession of material components to create for themselves a body capable of blending into its surroundings. Though typically they are found in forests or other places where materials would be readily available." Ren helpfully informed us.

"Ren, I do not think it particularly cares for where it's supposed to be." Pyrrha quipped.

The Geist - for that was what the pile of boulders was turning out to be - began to lift itself from the ground. Two thick, stocky legs of stacked boulders, a giant torso of the first boulder that had almost crush Pyrrha and I, and a thick arm, dangling low to the floor.

Minor Geist
The Pained Poltergeist

Lvl. 55

I took stock. It had about 10 levels on our group average, and the other arm was made up of three whips of small, fist-sized rocks. I groaned, realising that it was likely my fault for smashing the boulders.

I had no time to apologise, for as soon as the creature was upright, stone began to fly around the room like a deadly carousel.

"Don't let it hit you!" I called out uselessly, even as my team leap into action, firing shots and dodging strikes. I stood back for a moment, swinging my mace whenever a stone drew near. It was going well, and I was beginning to see that this thing - stat-wise, at least - was the same as me. All Strength and Vitality, though its whip arms moved with blinding speed. We could wear the stone down to sand, though I didn't know if we would then have to face off against a sand monster.

I frowned, taking in the scene. Ren's attacks largely were ineffective when they landed, though the Geist was still attempting to block - if only to keep Ren still while the whip arm came around. Fortunately, the gains from his Agility kept him well ahead. I watched as he used a missed slam attack to run up its thick arm, then nimbly dodged a whip with a hop and grabbed onto the follow up, allowing it to swing him at the wall.

He let go, flipped, caught himself against the wall, and pushed back like it was a springboard and not solid stone. Catching the Grimm off guard with a short burst of gunfire that the monster deflected with its blocky arm, it was enough for Nora to somehow curve a grenade underneath the block and let it detonate against the equivalent of its chest, blowing its arm apart, though it quickly began shuddering and floating back towards the main mass. A small black tendril whipped out in shaking, jerking motions, penetrating the fallen rocks and drawing them back into itself. On the other end, it connected-

"Pyrrha! Shoot for the mask!"

She gave a brief nod, then adjusted her aim, waited for an opening, and fired.

Almost instantly, one of the stone-whips came around to block the shot, another snaking out and wrapping itself around Pyrrha's ankle. She looked down at it, back up to me with her mouth in a little 'o', then was yanked away and thrown against the opposite wall. My gut sank until I noticed her Aura had fallen, but only down about 15%. Still lower than it had ever gotten during our spars, but much less than expected. She was quick to roll to her feet, though, and shouted out my hint.

The fact that the Grimm had defended that part of itself was telling. It was the only part of it that actually looked Grimm to me, so I figured if we kill the Grimm part, it will just go back to being a bunch of rocks.

"Nora! To me!" I called out, and she glanced, nodded, then smashed her hammer into its leg, using the recoil of a shot to soar her way over to me. I palmed a Dust Crystal and handed it to her. She took a glance at the colour and grinned.

"Smash its face?"

I nodded. "Nora smash."

Her eyes lit up as she shoved the crystal into its slot on her hammer. "Nora SMASH!"

I'd originally just fed Nora enough Electricity Dust to keep her powered up all the time. However, she had other ideas, and had told me her preferred Dust. I tended to agree, when it came to her at least.

That was why I gave her Acceleration. The results were apparent. Nora charged at the creature as Pyrrha and Ren darted around it, taking shots and dodging its counters but doing no real damage. When she was about ten feet away, she thumbed the switch and her hammer pulsed with a green light, before it faded, though Nora's smirk said it was successful. Her speed almost tripled, her charge meeting the base of the creatures legs before with a flash, the boulder impacted the wall and the Geist staggered, suddenly missing its balanced height and a good chunk of its right leg.

It had no time to recover, because Nora began swatting its body away at the pace of a jackhammer, the hammer but a blur of power and might, striking stone after stone to pile up against the walls. The Geist attempted to attack her but she simply adjusted her rhythm to thwack the limb away and kept chopping away until the legs were gone. The stones rumbled their way across the ground back towards the Geist, but it wouldn't be quick enough to matter.

Nora leapt up, raised her hammer high, and struck three times within a second as her Aura flared a dark green and then faded, depositing her back into real time with us. The torso boulder crumbled. The Geist began to peel itself away from the rubble, before Ren stabbed one of his blades deep into the mask, pinning it to the stone. It spasmed for a brief moment, then began to dissipate into the particles of Grimm we'd come to expect. The level up notification confirmed the kill, and I gave a small smile at the little ding that sounded.

With a grating sound, the portcullis slammed open with the same urgency it had closed. I stopped anyone from moving on.

"The trap is finished and we had a heavy fight. Let's take a moment. I'm still good, so I'll keep an eye out." I could still see their aura levels. "Ren, Pyrrha, make sure you're resting. We need as much aura back as we can. If this was the fifth floor, I imagine things will only get harder. Nora, here." I tossed her a small bottle.

She looked at the label with a raised eyebrow. "Cranberry juice?"

I nodded. "Someone much better with dust than me says it helps purge the remnants. You're still twitching."

She looked at it with barely veiled disgust, eyelid twitching. "You did bring pizza right?"

I sighed. "Yes, I brought pizza."

Nora grimaced and chugged the drink, while I sat and placed my Wild Grove around us. As it so happened, the presence of moss on stone was enough for me to qualify for using that skill. I let my team relax for a moment then decided now was as good a time as any.

"So. I've already used most of my Stat points but when we get to the Respite, you all should be able to use your own." I began, leaning against a nearby wall. "Let's get it all out in the open now to avoid stepping on toes, shall we?"

My team looked at me expectantly. Pyrrha ran a whetstone over the edges of her blades, while Ren looked Nora over for any damage from the battle. I took the initiative. "My skills lean heavily towards my survivability, though I did dump a lot of points into Strength recently. Beyond that, I still have a few of my Shout points remaining, as what I have now is largely sufficient and I want to be able to unlock any of my more niche abilities if I need them. I'm approaching the point where my Dust Battery will be able to handle the next grade of dust as well. Finally, Outside of my primary weapon, I have 7 swords, 3 Fun-Hammers, 4 guns of varying types, 2 tower shields made from the Forever Fall wood, and this thing."

I pulled out the tool Arthur had given me in my apartment, though I'd still yet to use it. He said he would give me training after the Festival and if I broke it before then I would be pretty upset.

"I have decided." Pyrrha nodded, and waited for the go-ahead. I waved her on. "I have all of my points remaining. During our tournament fight, I found my greatest lacking to be in taking Aura damage in spite of blocks, and being able to take advantage of openings I saw but was not fast enough to utilise. I plan to spread my points between Agility, Vitality, and Wisdom."

"Wisdom? What for?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Well, if I could use my semblance more it would be much easier to take those openings. A larger Aura pool should help."

"Wisdom deals with regen, not the size of the pool." I informed her. "You'd want intelligence for that."

She shrugged. "My Intelligence is pretty high already. For some reason it's Wisdom that's my lowest. I find myself not regenerating much Aura at all."

"Sounds like a solid plan then. Let me know if you guys get any skills for pushing the stats over 50, because I do. Ren, Nora?"

"Wisdom and Int, with a secondary of Agility." Ren rattled off. "Aura boosting and speed to augment my style."

Straightforward and as expected. I turned to Nora.

"It's hard to pick!" Huh. Less expected, but alright.

"Why's that? If I were you, I would go with your Strength and Vitality. Boost your hits and let you tank more damage."

She frowned. "That's what you do, Torga. I don't want to be you, but slightly worse."

I opened my mouth to respond, then stopped myself. For all that there were differences, she wasn't exactly wrong, and I tried to come up with a way to portray that. Pyrrha beat me to it.

"Nora, there is no-one that could ever be like you. Do not worry about what Torga does, think about what you want. We are strong. If you decided you don't want to hit things with a hammer anymore, we woul-"

"Shh." Nora smiled, her hand clapped of Pyrrha's mouth. The champion was staring back with surprised but amused eyes. "Let's not get dramatic. I hit things with a hammer, that's pretty much my entire thing. I'm just thinking, that's all. C'mon, this place won't clear itself!"

Looking around, they all seemed ready. "Alright then, oh great Hammer Goddess. Show your doubters how it's done."

I waited for her to take off down the hallway, Ren at her heels, before swapping some things in my inventory.

The heavy block form was accented by a narrow scope on top and a surprisingly comfortable pistol grip below. A bipod hung from the front, but only because I had yet to remove it. I wouldn't be needing it. A large box was hooked to the side, out of which a chain of bullets was fed into the receiver of my brand new gun.

As the dealer had called it, before Richard had shut him up, this here was considered a Squad Automatic Weapon System. I liked that it spelled SAWS, but I liked more the size of the projectiles and the sheer rate at which it could shoot them.

Pyrrha lifted an eyebrow as she passed by, and I shrugged, walking along with her. I may be from a place of different culture but damn did it feel nice to walk around with thirty pounds of death-dealing manliness.