Light broke through the window, landing on Jaune's resting face. He blinked groggily and sat up, disgruntled. He got up anyway, moving toward his room's provided bathroom. After brushing his teeth, he went back into the main room, which was a bedroom and living room combined into one.

He grabbed a medium-sized duffle bag from the corner and put some folded clothes into it. He yawned once more as he started backing some necessities as well.

It had been a month since Jaune started his training with Aldric, and while he still didn't know the man very well, he could tell that he cared for him in his own way. Jaune also grimaced as he remembered how many times he'd already been beaten to the ground by Aldric.

Thankfully, his month of training was mainly focused on survival skills, something that Jaune was going to need more of in the Grimmlands.

Regardless of the harsh training, Jaune was starting to trust Aldric and become more familiar with him. This fast trust could be a result of Aldric saving him from certain death and not a genuine relationship, but Jaune didn't worry about it too much. He was already in constant emotional turmoil these days, even though it's gotten better.

Jaune finished packing and zipped up the bag, throwing it over his shoulder. As he opened the door that led outside, he took one last glance at his home for the past month before shutting the door behind him.

He made his way down to the restaurant portion of the inn to find Aldric already seated. Jaune walked over and plopped down into a chair, setting his bag beside him.

Aldric glanced at him, "Took you long enough. You pack everything?"

Jaune nodded. A waitress walked out of the kitchen with an assortment of breakfast foods, leaving them on their table.

Jaune and Aldric started to eat in silence. They finished their meal in a couple of minutes, Aldric leaving a few Lien on the table as they stood up. Jaune hoisted his duffle bag back over his shoulder, Aldric doing the same with a similar bag. Plus a giant hammer, of course.

Now that Jaune thought about it, it must've been inconvenient to own such a large weapon, especially since it didn't seem to be compactable.

They stepped out of the inn and Aldric looked out at the settlement.

"This is your last chance to back out. If you think your training was hard this past month, know that it's just a warm-up for what's to come."

Jaune smirked and shook his head, "I didn't get tortured for a couple of weeks just to give up now."

Aldric turned and looked at him meaningfully, "If you follow me now, you'll never live a normal life. There's no kindness when living in the Grimmlands; only survival of the fittest. And it's not just Grimm that you have to watch out for…"

Jaune winced at that, "I won't say I know, because I don't, but I'm not giving up yet. I have to be stronger, and if this is what it takes? It's what I'll do."

Aldric could feel that Jaune's resolve was genuine, so he sighed and looked away from his determined blue eyes.

"Alright then. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Aldric started walking towards the gates, so Jaune followed him. They made it out without much of a hassle since they were familiar with the guards after staying for a month. As they started down the path, Aldric spoke again.

"We'll be heading northeast and around Vale. We'll be checking out a few of the newly established settlements on the way to the coast and provide aid against the Grimm. We'll do most of our training when we reach these settlements."

Jaune nodded and asked, "Why travel by foot then?"

"Because most of these settlements are pretty isolated from airships since the risk of getting attacked by Grimm are too high. They get most of their supplies by hiring huntsmen and making annual trips to bigger cities. Most of the time, they just live off the land."

"Besides," he added, "It's good survival training. Nothing gives a better learning experience than life-or-death situations."

Jaune rolled his eyes, "Ha ha. Very funny."

He looked over to Aldric and gulped upon seeing his serious expression.

'He wasn't joking, was he?' Jaune thought to himself.

"Oh, God."

"Hm?" Aldric looked over his shoulder at Jaune.

"Oh, it's nothing…"

And such was the start of Jaune's survival training.

Rain poured down in sheets, soaking any person unlucky enough to be out to the bone. Unfortunately, two such unlucky people happened to be getting soaked and fighting Grimm.

Jaune's sword cut through the rain, ending the Beowolf who was about to pounce on him. Currently, he and Aldric were surrounded by about 10 of them, which wasn't a big issue. Doing it in the rain just sucked.

Aldric's hammer smashed another Beowolf into mush while Jaune sliced one in half vertically. They fought back to back easily, covering each other's blind spots. With their strength, it wasn't strictly necessary to do this for just a pack of Beowolves, but it was also a good habit to reinforce.

They worked around each other efficiently, cutting the horde down until only a few were left. Jaune was about to slash yet another wolf into pieces but suddenly lost his footing in the muddy terrain, causing him to stab the lunging Grimm at an awkward angle.

The wolf howled in pain but pushed forward anyway, impaling itself further on Crocea Mors.

Jaune cursed and tried to push his blade deeper, but the terrible angle prevented him from leveraging his full strength.

As snapping jaws closed in, Jaune felt a surge of strength flow through him, allowing his blade to penetrate the beast's heart, ending its struggles.

Aldric had taken out the rest of the pack while this happened and was just watching him.

"Could've used some help there…" Jaune grumbled, still confused as to why his strength rose for just a moment.

"You had it covered. Now, let's get out of this rain; we're only a couple hundred meters from the next settlement." Aldric said uncaringly.

Jaune rolled his eyes but started moving down the muddy path anyway. Having traveled with Aldric for six months had gotten Jaune used to his tendencies. They waded through the rain for about 30 minutes before they arrived at the settlement's gates.

"Y'all huntsmen?" One of the men guarding the gates asked.

Aldric nodded and pulled out his scroll, which had an ID already pulled up.

The guard, looking as upset to be in the rain as they were, ushered them in after reading the ID.

"The inn's just a ways down the road on the left. Can get a good meal there as well."

Aldric thanked the man and they moved down the road. In a couple of minutes, Jaune could barely see some lights through the rain. They opened the door and stepped inside the inn's dining area, which was mostly empty thanks to the storm outside.

Aldric and Jaune plopped down at a table and took off their coats. The coats weren't anything special, just waterproof and loose to allow for combat while wearing them.

A waiter came by their table to take their order before heading back to the kitchen. They didn't have to wait long before each had a hot meal in front of them.

"So," Jaune started as he took a bite of his food, "When I slipped against that Grimm earlier, I got a sudden burst of strength, more than should be possible with just adrenaline. You think it might be a semblance?"

"So you finally noticed, huh?" Aldric said.

"What do mean, 'Finally'?"

Aldric stared at him, "It's definitely your semblance, considering you've been using it unconsciously since we met."

Jaune was stunned for a minute before the anger set in.

"And you just now decided to tell me?! I could've been training it for months now!"

Aldric scowled at him, "A semblance that you don't even know how to activate? One that you didn't even notice you were using? It would've been a waste of time to train it when you can't even activate it reliably."

Jaune deflates a bit at that, but pushed on, "Still, you could've at least said something…"

Aldric shook his head, "A firm foundation is more important than spending hours trying to figure out your semblance."

Jaune tried saying something but was cut off.

"And don't even try to say you wouldn't have."

Jaune closed his mouth and glared at his food and started eating again. Silence stretched on for a couple of minutes before Aldric sighed.

"Stop pouting, kid. Now that you can actually notice your semblance, we can start trying to train it."

Jaune perked up, "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Before Jaune could celebrate, Aldric continued speaking.

"But don't get your hopes up. It takes a while to find the trigger for your semblance."

Jaune was able to control his excitement with that in mind. He finished his meal and pushed his plate aside.

"Well, I'll still try. How hard can it be?"

Jaune walked down a path behind Aldric, a look of intense focus on his face. A golden glow flickered into existence around him but it was weak and unstable like a candle caught in a strong wind. The flickering got worse as the seconds ticked by, and Jaune was getting frustrated.

Finally, the glow gave way and Jaune threw his hands up in the air, groaning. Aldric glanced over his shoulder.

"If you have time to whine, you have time to try again."

Jaune rolled his eyes but began to focus again regardless. This had been a frequent occurrence over the past four months of travel. They were currently in Mistral, having left the continent of Sanus a month ago.

During this time, Jaune had been constantly trying to activate his semblance. And it wasn't working. Usually, it took a person a couple of weeks to find the trigger for their semblance after activating it for the first time. Semblances were a part of a person's soul, so it was more a journey of self-discovery than of training. But that hadn't worked for Jaune for whatever reason.

Aldric had no clue as he was fully expecting Jaune to have found the trigger by now. It also could be a result of Jaune's mental state being unresolved. Almost a year had passed since Jaune's hometown had been overrun, but it still wasn't easy to let go.

Aldric watched as Jaune tried and failed to maintain his semblance yet again. Jaune kicked a rock down the path in frustration.

"Why isn't it working?! I've tried everything and nothing works!"

Aldric sighed, "I dunno, kid. There's no point in complaining though. It's not gonna fix your problems."

Jaune deflated, "I know that… It's just, I don't get it. Why me?"

Aldric stayed silent for a few seconds before beginning to say something, when he stopped abruptly.

"Jaune, prepare yourself," He said, pulling his hammer off his back.

Jaune narrowed his eyes as he unsheathed his sword, scanning their surroundings. They were on a dirt path in a dense forest, leaving many opportunities for ambush by the Grimm. And that's what Jaune was expecting until a group of people stepped out on the path in front of them.

"Huh?"

"Stay on guard, Jaune; they aren't friendly."

One of the now-identified bandits stepped forward, "Drop your valuables, and we might just let you live."

He was a bear of a man, easily a head taller than Aldric, with rippling muscles and tattoos covering his bare arms. In his left hand, he was carrying a double-headed great axe, with what looked like a firearm mechanism in the shaft.

He obviously had his aura unlocked as he wielded the monster of a weapon in one hand with ease. The ten men behind him were less threatening but still dangerous, some with bladed weapons and some with guns.

Jaune's hands were sweating. Fighting Grimm was one thing… But other people? The most he'd done was sparring with his Aldric and his late father.

"Calm down, Jaune," Aldric said, noticing his nervousness.

Jaune gulped and raised his sword, gripping the hilt tightly between his hands. The larger bandit, most likely the leader, scoffed at them.

"You hunters, thinking your hot shit." He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his troupe, "You guys take the kid; the animal's out of your league."

Hoots and hollers followed his declaration and the bandits started to advance.

"Only the big guy's got an aura," Aldric whispered, "Hold out until I deal with him."

Jaune's hands were shaking minutely.

"You can do this, Jaune; this is what I've trained you for." Aldric shot forward and met the leader with a ferocious clash of metal, shockwaves emanating from the contact. The rest of the lowlives went right past them and toward Jaune.

Jaune stood up straighter and hardened his resolve, 'I can do this. They don't have any aura, so I have the advantage. I can do this.'

'I can do this!'

Three of the aggressors stayed at a distance, circling around him, while the rest moved in.

'As long as they don't surround me, only two or three can attack at once. I gotta keep my distance.'

The first one, an ugly, bald man, swung his axe sloppily towards Jaune. The blonde sidestepped easily and kicked him in the side, sending the rogue reeling. Two more moved in on either side of him, stabbing at him with crudely crafted knives.

Jaune parried the one knife to his left before spinning around the other guy. He whacked the man on the back of the head with the flat of his blade, taking him out of the fight. Two more moved in including the baldy he kicked earlier.

Jaune noticed that the three that stayed behind had circled around him and were waiting for a clear shot, so Jaune did the only thing he could think of.

He rushed into the crowd.

The huntsman in training buried his fist into the gut of the closest man, causing him to lose his lunch. He blocked a slash of an axe with Crocea Mors and punched his attacker in the nose, a satisfying crunch filling the air. He swung his ancestral weapon across another's chest, injuring him but not killing him.

Jaune started to lose himself in the fight as the bandits regained their senses and started to attack him together.

It was just, compared to Jaune, they were so… slow. This gave the blonde more and more confidence as he began to thin their numbers. He moved on from the close combatants and dashed toward the three rangers of the group. They tried shooting at him, but their aim wasn't good and Jaune was too fast.

He dismantled them gracefully, slicing their guns and bashing their heads with the flat of his blade. Jaune started to smirk.

It was so easy!

He turned his attention back to the close-range fighters, who were looking pretty out of their depth at the moment. The blue-eyed warrior spared them no words as he disarmed them and knocked them out quickly.

"Is that it?" He asked, looking at the downed men, either unconscious or groaning in pain.

Jaune looked over to see that Aldric was still fighting the leader. They both looked a little scuffed up, but the bandit looked like he was barely hanging on under the crushing assault from Aldric's hammer.

Jaune, deciding to help out, turned his back on the lesser bandits.

That was his first mistake.

The bald one from earlier leaped up from where he was feigning unconsciousness and swung his axe down violently at Jaune's back.

"Take this you little shit!" He yelled out.

Which was a stupid idea, because it notified Jaune of his position. Still caught off-guard, Jaune's body reacted faster than his mind as Crocea Mors cut through the air.

Schliick!

A body hit the ground, now headless, spraying blood out from the neck and onto Jaune's face.

Jaune paled as the head thumped onto the ground and bounced.

"No… I-I didn't mean to, "Jaune stuttered, blood flowing down his blade and onto his hands.

The sword clattered to the ground as Jaune wiped at the warmth dripping across his cheeks. He looked at his bloodied hands.

"I'm supposed to be saving people…"

"Jaune."

"What have I done?"

"Jaune!"

He dropped to his knees, "It was an accident… It wasn't on purpose…"

His head jerked to the side as a sharp pain flared across his cheek. He looked up to see the concerned face of Aldric, who also had blood dripping from his weapon.

"Snap out of it, kid."

Jaune protested, "But I killed someone! I'm a murderer now…"

Aldric sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, "It was you or him, kid. There's nothing you can do about it now."

Jaune recoiled from his touch, glaring at his teacher.

"And you! You killed that man as well!" Aldric scowled but Jaune wasn't done.

"We could've captured him! And sent him to the proper authorities. Killing him was unnecessary!"

"Shut up, brat!" Jaune was shocked into silence, for this was the first time Aldric's gotten this mad.

"Life isn't sunshine and rainbows! This is reality, and not everyone's a good person, including me."

"But you didn't have to-"

"You're right! I didn't have to kill him. I could've risked myself needlessly against someone who was aiming to kill. I'm not that stupid. He knew what he was getting into when he made killing people his living. I could've risked myself just to take this lowlife scum to the authorities."

"Then why didn't you?!"

"Because the authorities would just kill them later anyway."

Jaune shut his mouth, confused.

"It's not like the big cities. No one can afford to waste resources on prisoners. It takes food away from the families and guards away from the walls. But I would've killed that man regardless of being in the Grimmlands or not."

"But why?..." Jaune asked weakly, his beliefs shaken.

"Because I can't trust authorities and I can't afford to hold back. Hell, most authorities would sooner arrest me because of my heritage than that guy…" Aldric trailed off bitterly.

"You'll have to get used to this, kid. Life is harsh and being too kind will get you killed. You either adapt, or I drop you off at the next big town."

It was harsh, but needed. Jaune hadn't realized the extent of evil outside of the Grimm. As he was thinking, Aldric moved towards the downed bandits that Jaune left behind and finished them. Jaune watched every second of the gruesome scene.

Aldric turned back, his hammer now thoroughly coated with blood.

Jaune cursed, "Fine."

Aldric raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

Jaune hardened his heart as some of his child-like innocence slipped away, "If this is what it takes to protect the people, then I'll do it."

He looked up, his blue eyes blazing with determination, "I won't stop here, not like this. I will become a huntsman, and I will make my father proud!"

As he finished his speech, he glowed a brilliant gold and power surged through him. Jaune looked down at himself, bewildered. Then everything clicked into place.

"Willpower… It was that simple all along," he said to himself.

Aldric looked at him appraisingly as Jaune started turning the glow on and off.

"It's about time. What does it do?" Aldric asked.

It was common knowledge that once the trigger to a semblance is found, the person would instinctively know its basic functions. Jaune was no different in that regard.

"It's Reinforcement. I can use aura to fill in the gaps that exist in every structure, whether it's an object or a living thing. I can make things stronger and more durable, basically."

"Heh, sounds good."

With that said, Aldric walked past Jaune, who was still absorbed in finally unlocking his semblance.

"C'mon, kid. This place is starting to stink."

"Ah, wait for me!" Jaune scrambled after him.

/ A/N /

Hello all. I finally finished this chapter. My brain got to cookin some ideas so there will be a small arc before he arrives at Beacon. I can't resist the temptation of fleshing out the world a little more in my own way.

On that note, I'll cover aura stuff. Most of it, like semblances having triggers and how aura works, is from my own brain. I plan to keep it mostly cannon though as far as mechanics go. I just wanted to add some of my own logic to it. I'm gonna try to avoid adding bullshit plot convenience mechanics because imo that can ruin a good story.

Also, I'm new to drama and good character development, so leave a review and let me know how I did.