A/N (11/30/2021): Fixed some typos.
A/N (11/28/2021): I see some people like the story, but I also see some people being a little confused. I'm looking this up, it's a little hard for me to pin down where it is confusing since I know exactly what I'm saying. Additionally, I try to start every scene that's ambiguous after a change of perspective with exactly what perspective it is.
However, one thing that I will be implementing from this chapter on is that I'm gonna try to stop using italics for flashbacks. I was hoping reducing italics will make the text itself more readable.
Beta: Many thanks to Path of a Writer! Please check out his works too!
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune sat on a log. His face was downcast and his shoulders sullen, depressed.
/-/
A few minutes ago, as the Grimm dissipated underneath him, he could only watch as Ruby charged up her move. Just as the formation of huntsmen hopefuls around them broke apart, overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies, Ruby had finished.
Then his vision became colourful.
Not with a swirl of petals, or with blinding light, but with a red background filled with vector images of roses, and suddenly, Ruby was just a few feet away, posing, having entered from the left side. No matter where he turned his head, this was all he could see from the exact same camera angle.
The heck?!
Ruby stabbed a finger towards the sky, determined. "No place for evil to hide!" She called out, before pumping up her other fist. "Ruby Rose, on the case, to show that this rose has thorns!" She cheered cutely. Around her, an aura of red flames accented her powered up status.
Gaaah! He physically cringed, only to realize he was frozen again. Ruby wouldn't say that!
The vectorized roses flashed with light, as dramatic text on a silver background appeared in front of her.
"Limit Break! Severing Wind of a Thousand Petals!"
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"Was… Was that a special move animation?!" Jaune cried into his hands, the memories in question causing him pain.
[Admin]: Yes! Wasn't it cool?
Jaune's eyes twitched.
[Admin]: That pose was very nicely done, don't you think? I think I did the motion capture on that pretty well.
He closed his eyes, a little distraught. Even though that wasn't exactly how that technology worked, the image of Dark dressed up as Ruby popped into his head and he almost puked.
[Admin]: ...The animation was awesome, right?
Jaune raised a shaky thumbs up.
[Admin]: ...If you don't like it, you can find others in the equipment boxes.
His face slammed back into his hands. Three dollars for a random chance at a cosmetic? God no!
After the animation had finished and his vision had become normal again, he had watched Ruby's form sweep through the swarm of Beowolves. The lighter Grimm had been blown into the air, helpless as she spun around and guided them into the ravine. It had looked like a disgusting mass of ants, being swept into the garbage can, if the garbage can was a thousand foot fall, and the ants, monsters twice the size of a human being. This left the Ursa, who were easily cleaned up by the experienced huntsmen-to-be.
[Admin]: I'm surprised at the way you resolved the issue… I asked Light how you were able to use that technique to use Aura on the first try.
Jaune perked up, curious.
[Admin]: He said it was through your experience winging things and a whole lot of baseless confidence as to not looking like an idiot while doing it.
Jaune suddenly felt regret creeping in on him. It had been a long time, so his form was most likely off. Now that he thought about it, doing such low quality ballet in front of people was pretty embarrassing. Many of his moves were certainly not up to his old teacher's standards.
[Admin]: That's not the problem!.
No, that is the problem. Wasn't it also a bit of a miracle that it worked? What were the chances of Weiss noticing, this body's Jaune having similar music tastes, and then me actually pulling it off? I really do not need to train, so I won't need to half-ass the dance next time.
[Admin]: You are still talking about dance?! What about Aura?
No, no, that's important too. I was getting to that. Don't interrupt!
[Admin]: I feel like your priorities are skewed.
Jaune snorted. He was a newbie, so he didn't have time to learn to use Aura without some kind of work around. He'd been fortunate to find the dance exploit, so might as well go full in on it if he wanted to be useful to the plot.
Something fluttered past his face. Sticking out his hands, he caught it. It was a rose petal. Confused, he looked to Ruby. She had recollected herself back into her human form in the treeline. Her sister had run up to her and it looked like she was fretting over her younger sister's state. The younger looked a bit indignant at the attention, her hands balled up in fists. Ren was also with Yang, most likely just following his partner.
Then, was this just a random rose petal? But he hadn't seen any roses in the entire forest so far. It was probably from Ruby.
Wait, if you think about it, couldn't this be literally any part of her? Jaune blinked. Like, a part of her lungs... Isn't it kind of vulnerable like this? He let the wind blow on it, watching it flutter. Now that I think about it, if she fully transforms everything on her including her weapons, can't she transform, let's say, a bomb, then blow it everywhere and carpet bomb an area?
Jaune shook his head. She can transform into petal tornadoes. Should he really try to apply logic to this? He rubbed the petal, feeling how it brushed against his finger tips. However, as much as he'd like to just ignore the semantics, it was difficult with how real it felt.
Over the past few days, he had been at first motivated by the safety of his wallet. Then, Ruby appeared and they had their small adventure in the forest. He remembered the softness of the falling leaves, the harshness of the bark scraping against his shin… Then, his talk with Light about the Cycles. Dark had even confirmed to him that this world wasn't real. Yet, as he lived in this vivid, breathing world he couldn't help but start to be a little doubtful.
If this wasn't real… Then how could reality be real?
Weiss and Pyrrha walked up to him, having come back from the ruins, taking his attention away from the flower petal and the implications it had. Weiss carried in her hands a chess board with chess pieces on it while Pyrrha had her spear back.
"As promised, we're splitting them three ways. You and Ruby may take half of the remaining pieces."
He stared at her, studying her. How would you tell the difference between a character with recorded lines and a real person anyways? He glanced at the edge of his HUD, where a reputation change had popped up. Maybe the presence of that?
"Is there something on my face?"
Realizing he might be a bit rude, he acknowledged her, and then reached out to grab a pawn. He inspected it. It felt hard and cool, the plastic, familiar. I don't understand why these would be called relics. His investigation told him that there was little interesting about it. They were just regular chess pieces.
"...why come near me with the relic?" He remembered Salem saying. The crown thing that his character was chasing down in that battle cinematic, wasn't that a relic? It must have had some special significance for him to have tried so hard to recover it from the Grimm, to the point of even waging a battle on that tower in that wasteland they'd apparently had. Then, where do these chess pieces factor in? Well, they are referred to by the same name, so they've got to be important. It would make a lot of sense to introduce them now, at the start of the story. But… We already got the macguffin? If they are given this early on, then I must need to protect them from getting stolen! I better defend this with my life.
/-/
Dark placed a hand over his eyes and groaned.
/-/
Picking up another piece, he then moved to put them into his backpack. He had no backpack. So he just stuffed them into the pockets of his shorts.
"That's one way to do it." Weiss commented.
"And what will you do?" Jaune supposed that, as a combat outfit, those skirts and dresses must have built in pockets at the very least.
Weiss folded the board, the pieces nicely protected inside, and revealed a handle.
"...It can do that?"
"Do you mind if I take the board? Pyrrha did do substantially more than you, after all, and this case wasn't part of the original deal. And it's not like we have pockets."
...What kind of combat dress was that?! My sisters had dresses with pockets before, even if they were a rare find! "Okay." He mumbled, his pockets full of uncomfortable chess pieces.
"For a newspark, you fought well." Weiss complimented. Maybe. "Odd they didn't tell you about the music approach, but we can assume that they didn't want you to learn incorrectly. It's a crutch, a habit you'll have to unlearn later, since it is only most effective against the mindless Grimm. Your status as a newly awakened Aura-user does explain your lacking performance compared to your partner, however. What it doesn't explain… was your display. Was that… interpretative dance? Or maybe… a barely passable ballet imitation?"
"No." Ruby was sprinting over to his side, having enough of whatever Yang was doing. "I think it was cool!"
At least someone appreciated it. "Thanks Ru - "
"It was clearly the drunken fist!"
Come on, Ruby!
Pyrrha giggled, her sound like a comfortable chime.
"Nevermind that! Weiss figured out you came to Beacon without Aura?!" Ruby harshly whispered near him.
He whispered back. "Yes, but she doesn't look worried at all…?" He glanced between Weiss' absolutely unimpressed expression and Ruby.
"You don't know what Weiss is like! She's crabby and mean! She could be plotting to rat you out to the teachers!" She said, still whispering.
"Is… Is she like that?!" He motioned with his hands.
"Yes, like this!" Ruby made similarly mysterious hand motions, one hand still balled up.
"Oh, by the way, is this yours?" He showed her the petal.
Her eyes widened and she took it. Then, she unballed her left fist, and for a second, he swore he saw that the tip of one of her fingers was missing. Where it should have been, instead there were partially transformed petals slightly jutting out. "Thanks!" She whispered back.
He raised an eyebrow. Can… Can she lose a petal? How does that work?
"You two do know that Pyrrha and I are standing right here, correct?" Weiss still did not look impressed.
"You… You ain't…" Ruby looked for the word. "...Outraged?"
"Outraged? Why would I be? He's not my partner. Newsparks aren't an unheard of thing in Beacon Academy. The school offers a course track dedicated to them and a scholarship in order to prevent them from becoming a danger to society."
He glanced towards Ruby, only to see her confused gaze meet his.
I'm a danger to society?
Luckily for them, Weiss was in lecture mode. "People who've unlocked their Aura outside of the huntsmen training program have to partake in secondary courses in order to prevent accidents. The enhanced durability isn't an issue, but it's when the other advantages of Aura come into play that there is a problem."
Lore! Jaune thought. Isn't that another way to determine reality? Should anything contradict, then it's not real, right?
"Offensive Aura… and Semblances." Ruby realized.
She nodded. "Yes. The super strength that comes with Aura is difficult to control without training. This means that normal household objects, or even regular people, become like glass around the untrained wielder."
That… That does sound like a problem.
"Semblances… Now that's an even bigger issue."
Ruby frowned. "Even bigger?"
Weiss sighed. "Did you even listen in class? Or maybe this is the quality of Vale's education."
"I - I did! I just forgot! Why are you being so mean again? You said you accepted me!"
"I do admit that you have some skill." Weiss crossed her arms. "But someone who needs reminding in the middle of combat in order to refocus is clearly still just a child." She raised a finger, silencing Ruby's indignant reply. "I said I recognize you for your abilities. Just because you have flaws does not invalidate killing hundreds of Grimm, even if they were one of the weakest out there."
"Yes, Ruby, that was a job very well done." Pyrrha congratulated.
"Yeah, good job Ruby!" Jaune chimed in. He was a bit distracted, trying to ignore the constant stream of increasing and decreasing reputation notifications.
"As you can see, everyone agrees with my assessment." Weiss nodded to herself.
"Aw… thanks guys."
"I am especially impressed at your quick thinking and creative use of your teleportation semblance. Your willingness to put yourself into harm's way in order to get us a better grade is admirable and will translate to lives saved on the field."
"Thanks?"
"It was also a beautiful display, Ruby. Reminds me of autumn back in Mistral."
"T-Thanks, Pyrrha?"
Huh? Is it my turn again? "You were real awesome out there. Cool move." …Why are we complementing her in a circle?
After every praise, Ruby started fidgeting awkwardly more and more. Around the halfway point, her hood came up, and after Jaune's second turn, she was trying and failing to disappear into the hood.
"Hey Rubes, great job!" Yang walked nearer with a big smile. Behind her, Ren followed along too, sheathing his guns into his... sleeves? Is - Is that safe? Is that how those are supposed to be handled?
"Your sister has quite the semblance, and the expertise to use it well." Weiss stated, before noticing Ruby's state. "Are you seriously embarrassed?!"
"N - No. I'm just cold! You also didn't need to gang up on me!"
Weiss just rolled her eyes. "Let's get back on topic about dangerous semblances. I'm explaining it to Jaune. He's a newspark."
"Ah!" Yang laughed. "Ruby, remember when we first discovered my Semblance, when I almost burned our house down?"
At that, Ruby's expression drooped. "The time where I lost my limited collector's edition Batman comic?" She let go of the edges of her hood.
Batman?!
"Haha… Fun times."
"I wouldn't say that's more dangerous than the extra strength from Aura…" Pyrrha said.
"That's because we haven't mentioned the more dangerous ones. Semblances come with extremely large variations in power level, utility, and subtlety. From the oddest like that Mistralian huntsman with the ability to yell louder after eating pickles to fearsome ones like mind control.
"That's exactly why everyone needs to figure out their Semblance as early as possible and report it to the Huntsmen Oversight Establishment." Weiss continued, "There have been even historically very dangerous passive semblances, like that one where a whole town was given micro-doses of poison over a twenty year period due to an undiscovered Semblance, which caused a spike in kidney failure."
"I don't think the Vale curriculum covers this as much as the Atlesian one." Yang thought about it for a second. "I think it has to do with the higher rate of newsparks in Atlas, due to certain... living conditions there."
Jaune saw the muscles on Weiss' face tighten for a second. He took a moment to glance at Ruby again, seeing if she also saw that, but she was staring at him with a very different message in mind.
Blink. "She seems to think that you had your Aura unlocked before Beacon, just very late!" She seemed to say. ...That's a lot of words that I'm putting into her mouth. Well, can you hear this Ruby? Can you read minds? I'm replying with "that's good". Blink twice if you hear it.
Seeing the conversation coming to a close, Ren spoke up. "Then, if you have any further questions, then feel free to ask us." It broke his non-verbal line of communication with Ruby. "Otherwise, I believe I haven't introduced myself. I'm Lie Ren."
"Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."
Everyone else who didn't know each other made their introductions to each other.
"Since we're all here, I believe the best course of action is to camp together till the next day, when Initiation ends. Safety in numbers and all that." Weiss suggested.
Yang put her arms up behind her head. "Yeah, my Aura's low, I don't know if I'll be up for more relic hunting."
Jaune took out his phone to check on everyone's status. Opening the Anima app, it opened on the homepage where a pic of cute kittens were waiting for him. Something peaked out below, so he scrolled down, revealing a headline of some politician that was convicted of fraud. Swiping upwards again, the fabled loading icon appeared. It seems like phone reception wasn't good in the middle of the forest.
Not what I'm here for, anyways.
He swiped to the side to go on the team summary page. There, everyone's Aura bars were listed. At a glance, everyone was in the 30% range. That was except for outliers, with Jaune who was still at a comfortable 69% - Nice - and Ruby, who was at 3%?!
Holy shit her Aura is low!
A series of heavy thumps that shook the ground suddenly made him look up from his phone.
"You're not calling your locker, Jaune?"
In the clearing were now several of the familiar pods from the gods' rock paper scissors game. Now that he looked at them, he finally saw the similarities between them and the lockers back at Beacon. It was pretty obvious in hindsight.
Rocket lockers, though? Crazy school.
"Why are we calling our lockers?"
"You didn't bring a tent?" Ren asked. He was setting up a tiny one man tent. It looked worn and well used, with small patches in places where it ripped. The huntsmen-to-be were setting up their tents in the middle of the clearing for clear sight lines, with their lockers surrounding the camp in a half-circle as makeshift cover.
Ah! Jaune smacked his forehead. Looking down to his phone, he tried to look for the right app. The search function made it pretty easy. A short wait later, his locker joined the rest, planted into the ground.
"Who's gonna clean this up?" He wondered out loud as he pulled out a heavy bag from his luggage. "The huntsmen on the field are calling these wherever they need them, right? Are there just random rocket lockers everywhere?"
"Cleaning crews. Rocket fuel is terrible for the environment." Ruby helpfully answered. Her little black backpacking tent was placed beside Yang's. "They also collect unactivated Dust. Can get a little dangerous if it passes down the food chain and ends up in people's food. I had strawberries randomly just freeze in my mouth due to Dust contamination."
"...That's a degree of realism I didn't need."
"You were asking for it."
Jaune stopped. "Isn't there exploding Dust? Do you just always have a chance of exploding whenever you eat?"
"Only a problem if you have Aura to activate the Dust, but then you would have Aura to protect you, anyways…" Ruby stopped hammering in a tent peg. "Jaune, what is that?"
"Hm?" He questioned, as he pulled out four times more fabric than even Weiss' oversized self-erecting tent had. He recognized it. "Oh, I think I grabbed the family tent. Oops."
Ten minutes later, the six huntsmen-to-be all stared at the huge construction that took up just as much space as the rest combined.
"Jaune… Why..."
"At least it'll give us some extra shade in the hot Valean sun."
"Hot? Vale's not hot at all, compared to Vacuo and Mistral, Weiss."
"Ruby and I never had a tent this big! You must have a big family. Hey, Jaune, let me inspect the inside to see if it's up to the Yang standard?"
"Sure, go on, Yang. Knock yourself out."
It became a bit like a house tour. Yang went in first, noting the spaciousness and said it reminded her of when she and her sister would create blanket fortresses. Then, Ren and Pyrrha had also followed in out of curiosity.
As he watched from beside the flaps of one of the entrances though, he felt Ruby nudge his side. She waved him aside, most likely wishing to continue their earlier conversation. Shit, I haven't thought about a way to explain it to her yet! He moved to follow her, his shorts with bulging pockets making his walk quite awkward.
Now that they were a good distance away, Ruby opened her mouth. "You don't need to explain the rest. I think I've figured it out."
You did?! How?!
"You came to Beacon without Aura, which is suicidal."
He carefully nodded.
"Somehow, you were accepted into Beacon without a single good reason." She said innocently.
He winced, before nodding again.
"That takes someone with a lot of power… a lot of influence. Someone who can compel you to do so against your will."
Where was she going? He nodded slowly this time.
She placed both hands on his shoulders, looking up at him seriously. "It's the mafia, isn't it?"
"...The mafia?!"
"The Vale underground is renowned around the world. They romanticize themselves in the comic books, but I know what they're really like, Jaune! I saw the Godfather!"
"That's not a documentary!"
"Is it not the mafia?"
"I - It's… I... " Jaune twitched. "...No. It's the mafia."
"It's okay, Jaune. You have a friend now. I'll help you out of your debt. I swear."
"What? A debt? And why would they send me here to pay it off?!" Jaune slapped his hand onto his face.
"...The scholarship? The insurance?"
Wait, could it- "Why does this suddenly make so much sense." Lowering his arm, he saw Ruby's worried expression and couldn't say anything else. I can think this over later. He sighed. "I'm sorry. You know my big secret now."
She fidgeted. "I - I guess that's not fair, is it? Then, want to hear one of mine?"
Sharingan eyes? He was suddenly very interested.
"When the headmaster first saw me, he pointed out my eyes."
Sharingan eyes?!
"He specifically said that they were silver. Have you seen many people with silver eyes, Jaune?"
Silver Sharingan?! Isn't the Rinnegan silver?! Or was it blue? He placed his hands on Ruby's shoulders. "It's okay, Ruby. You have an ally now. I'll help you figure out your eyes. You can depend on me too."
She stared at him, before smiling. "Then we'll be helping each other, then! Hey! Wait." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't steal my line and make it sound cooler!"
Jaune raised his hands placatingly with a small laugh.
"Stealing's bad, do that again and I won't repair your weapon for you."
He raised his brow in surprise. "You can repair… That?"
They both gazed upon the mostly shattered blade of his sword, then at its many pieces that littered the ground. Pieces were strewn haphazardly everywhere, bits poking out between rocks and embedded in dirt. The useless handle was also just as forsaken, him having dropped it in order to use both hands on the lootbox.
Ruby puffed out her chest. "Who do you think you are talking to?"
"...A teenager who can fight very well? Didn't you spend your whole life learning how to defeat Grimm?" She had been talking about all those years of effort after all, so it'd be a bit strange if now it's revealed that she had enough time to pick up a whole other profession.
"Well, yes, but I'm also good at weapons - at making weapons! I made Crimson Rose without any of the teacher's help back at Signal!" She patted the weapon on her back lovingly.
[Echoes]: Signal Academy UNLOCKED
Hm, Signal's some kind of… school? This reminds me to check the Echoes menu again, something I wasn't able to do previously. "That's why you are so proud of it." Jaune rubbed his chin in thought. "Was that always part of your character?"
"Part... of my character?"
"Aren't they adding a little too much? I think it messes with the concept."
"I'm not a character!"
He took a step back, giving enough distance so that he could make a picture frame shape with his fingers and look at her through it. "So good at fighting that she was accepted into Beacon early and a good blacksmith? A bit much, isn't it? Borders Mary Sue-ing."
Even though power level isn't what technically makes a Mary Sue a Mary Sue.
"I'm not a Mary Sue!"
He blinked. Jaune wasn't sure why that remark caught him off guard. Wait, I think this has happened multiple times. The Smash Bros clone… The reference to My Hero Academia… This. The name 'Mary Sue' came from a fanfic, right? Then isn't it an extraordinary coincidence that we ended up with the same word, with a similar meaning in both this game and the real world? Unless we're not talking about the same thing? Or maybe Light slacked off hard on the world building. Well, I want to say slacked off, but it's common for real world concepts to be included with little explanation for familiarity and simplicity's sake. "Then, is it common to also be able to pick up an entire other profession as a huntsmen, then?"
"I - Well - Sure, I think it's just a Signal thing, but everyone made their weapons back at Signal! Even... if I'm the only one who did it herself... and helped others make theirs when the teachers were busy… But that doesn't mean anything!"
No, it looks like we are talking about the same word. "Ah, I suppose as a hobby, right?"
"...I've won several awards…B-But it's not that hard! You just need to spend more time on it!"
"I'm sorry for not working hard enough."
She pulled at her hair, looking apologetic and distraught. "No, no! That's not what I meant~!"
He suddenly felt like channeling a bit of pompousness. "Look at us, mortal peasants, having to spend years on getting good at one thing. Oh, that's right, why didn't we spend the same amount of time to git gud at two things? If only we made more of our time instead of wasting it on leisure."
"Nooo~! I - I also play video games! I'm also a Mortol Combat champion…"
He stared.
She realized.
"Look at us, mortal peasants, taking all that time to learn one thing when we could have learned three…"
"Noooooo stop!"
"Ruby Sue."
"Stop!"
"Ruby Rue?"
She punched his arm, cheeks a little flushed.
"I'd love for the universe to bend itself around my wants too. Why are you so against it? It's an honor, really."
A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Ruby and Jaune's shoulders, pulling them both in as they turned to see Yang. "Now, what are you two talking about?" She grinned. "If it's teasing the Ru-baby, then count me in!"
The moment her arm was around Ruby's shoulders, the younger sister dexterously dodged. Escaping Yang's clutches, she looked back at the pair of blonds who were wearing matching grins. "I - I'll get started on picking up the sword pieces!" She escaped without using her semblance, spinning on her heels and sprinting off.
Seeing her sister run off, Yang turned her attention to him. "So, John, is it?"
"No, Jaune." He corrected.
"Jaune."
"Yes, like that, rolls off the tongue pretty well, no?" He shot her one of his winning smiles, but she didn't look phased. No, instead of the grin from a moment ago, her eyes… To Jaune, they looked inquisitive.
"I'm surprised you're so close with my sis already. You knew each other at Signal?"
He rubbed the back of his head. "No, we just met a - " How many days had passed? It's really confusing when he switches between worlds so much. "A day ago."
"Ah? Love at first sight?"
He laughed it off. "Nah, I fell over and she was nice enough to offer a hand. Your sister seems nice."
She blinked. "She… She approached you first?"
"Is that odd?" He glanced to where Ruby was, thinking that maybe he should go help since it was his own sword afterall. She was the one doing him a favor.
"Yes."
The instant answer made him look back at Yang.
"She's normally a real wallflower. I was worried she wouldn't make friends at Beacon, with everyone being of a different age. She's so shy."
What are you, her mom? "She didn't seem that awkward to me. And doesn't she argue with Weiss pretty easily? That doesn't scream 'shy' to me."
"Being angry at someone is completely different than making friends."
He hummed. "Maybe we can ask her."
"I can hear you, you know!" Ruby looked back at them, her cheeks now tinged even redder.
"Awwww, the cute Ru-baby is being embarrassed!"
He chuckled a bit. Real world or not, they seemed to act real enough.
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Ruby pouted to herself, making sure to turn so that her face wasn't facing the two annoying blonds. Clearly, there must be something wrong with that hair color. What's wrong with just randomly making a friend?
I'm not that socially awkward!
Because she didn't have a bag, she had to hold the pieces against her chest. While she did have pockets in her skirt, they were already filled with other accessories, like spare ammo clips. She glanced backwards towards Jaune, checking to see if he had pockets in his shorts, only to see them bulging like a squirrel's cheeks filled with nuts due to the chess pieces.
I didn't have many friends at Signal, but at least I had some. You don't need more than a few good ones anyways…
Friends that she hadn't contacted since she'd gone to Beacon. She did write them a letter yesterday, but that was still in her locker.
...Cause it'll be just wasting their time if I call them for nothing, right? There needs to be a reason for me to send them a message. I don't want to bug them. Won't I be annoying? They won't want me spamming them with messages.
...I'm just making up reasons to not contact them, aren't I?
She sighed.
I'm not awkward. She repeated. Jaune - Well, he was easy to talk to, even if he is a boy. I had friends who were boys before -
"Ah? Boys who were friends? Boyfriends?" Her sister's voice invaded her thoughts.
Shut up, mental Yang! I had friends who were male before, so there's nothing surprising about this! Like Brawn! He was fun to be around, and was pretty nice, but Sarah liked him so I tried to keep my distance, but then I think he liked me, so then it was a bit tense around me and Sarah even if I didn't like him that way, which resulted in us growing apart, and I didn't know what to do, because we were all in the same class and…
As her train of thought continued, Ruby dropped the shards she was holding and started rolling on the ground, cringing in mental pain.
Why didn't I try harder to clear things up? Aaaah, no, Sarah, it wasn't like that!
She forcefully relaxed herself and flopped onto her back, staring at the sky. "Stupid drama."
The point is, there's nothing weird about me just stepping up to Jaune and helping him up! After all, I basically met a lot of my friends that way, right? I was alone, we were doing group work, so someone had to group up with me, so we chatted then became friends! Wait, no! That's a bad example! What about that one girl, who I met because I was throwing snowballs at the school wall, which turned out to be against the rules for some stupid reason… No, bad example again! Plus, I don't talk to them anymore either, after going to Signal…
Ruby idly grabbed a piece of Jaune's sword, this one a bit larger than the rest. She lifted it up, letting the light from the sun glint off its surface. "Maybe just a little socially awkward." She finally admitted.
Then, why did she step right up to Jaune, a total stranger, and help him up, and even talk to him as if he had already been a friend?
It… It was as if…
She watched the clouds go by, letting her sentence trail off.
As she laid there, her thoughts started to drift. Jaune had Aura now so she didn't have to worry about that anymore, and they also had a bunch of relics. All they had to do was survive till the next day without the teacher's help, and Initiation was set. She could relax now.
Tilting the metal shard she was holding up, the sun's rays were diffused across its surface, revealing ripples in its composition. Her eyes widened. Nevermind that odd feeling, what was this?
She sat up.
When she had first seen Jaune's sword, she had been a little confused. It didn't look like a mecha-shift weapon like hers that could transform into multiple forms. Instead, it was just a regular sword. That was a rarity these days, where everyone crafted their own weapons and, being inexperienced, added as many features as they could squeeze in at the cost of weapon effectiveness. She wouldn't be surprised if there was someone out there, obsessed with ice cream, who had crafted a weaponized ice cream machine.
She frowned momentarily at that thought. It's not wrong to make it something they like, but… Gah, they just do that! They don't put enough love into making their babies!
Now, as she inspected this material, things just didn't add up. These ripples in the metal were usually the sign of poor manufacturing techniques, imperfections where the blade will shatter easier. Yet, her careful eye could instantly see that the metal did not break along the lines. She quickly inspected a few other pieces. Same thing.
Now intrigued, she scanned the ground for a small, longer and thinner strip of metal. She took a piece that matched her requirements close enough and then tried to bend it, taking note of the thickness of the piece and the existing damage. She used just enough force that would bend regular thin strips of steel of this size. An estimate, of course, by her decade of experience.
It bent a little bit, but didn't break. The toughness of this metal is very good, compared to the standard sword alloys. Malleability is also good…
To her surprise, it held up remarkably well to all her tests. It didn't feel like low-quality metal, for sure. Then, what were these ripples? Why was it just a sword and not mecha-shift?
Ruby shook her head. This wasn't the time to geek out, she should be picking up the pieces. She could think about this later, in the comfort of the dorms. For now, she should help Jaune.
/-/
[Quest]: A Eulogy for a Hypocrite
[Accept][Reject]
Jaune stared.
All he had been doing was approaching Ruby, a little worried seeing her randomly just stop, drop, and roll, and then this happened. The world was frozen like it always was during these important system popups, giving him time to think.
And… the feeling it gave him. He didn't know why he didn't like this.
There was clearly something there. The title sounded ominous to him, but nothing came to mind immediately. Sighing, he was about to click the accept and go on when the god's words came to mind.
"Why don't you play my game, Mortal?"
The muscles on his face tightened. He relaxed them slowly, letting the tension fade into seriousness.
Fine.
Eulogy. He knew this. It was a speech or writing that honors someone who had died. A hypocrite - someone who claimed to have moral standards to which their own behavior does not conform to.
A speech… a writing… to celebrate a dead person's life? A dead person who's a hypocrite?
That was an odd thing to pop out. It wasn't like he had done anything interesting to set it off.
Then, was it about Ruby...?
Was it telling him she would die by the end?
[Admin]: That's -
[Admin]: Do not tell him, Dark. No one likes spoilers.
...He's so nonchalant. Jaune's thoughts from before about reality came back to him. Now, staring at her, he remembered Ruby's smile… her tears… the wind that blew through the forest, the earthy taste of the dirt as he was smacked into it by the Grimm... It all felt too real, and no matter how he tried, he couldn't convince himself that this wasn't reality.
Actually I'd love spoilers at the moment, thank you very much. Pretty please?
[Admin]: Did you think that would work?
Cherries? Do you like cherries on top of that 'please'?
He stared at the popup. He hadn't thought of this the first time this window popped up with the machine in the dark villainous lair, but what happens if he rejects a quest? Does it just not happen? Lasting consequences are not uncommon in RPG quests… but if it never gets triggered, does it get put on indefinite hold? His first instinct was to click on accept - why would you ever reject a quest when loot is at stake - but he had now realized the possible ramifications of this simple decision. This made him worry a little - again - about what else he could have missed.
It's not really my fault. It's not like I was taught anything at all.
[Admin]: You'll have to pay for that. Want my prices? There's also an option where you pay in installments.
I don't fucking need more student loans!
Light clearly knew about his conflicted mental state. The answer to so many of his questions right there, yet completely unwilling to answer him. If only there was a way he could force him. His eyes lowered to a rock on the ground. Maybe a rock to the face of an all powerful god. What could go wrong?
...That's it.
[Admin]: Yes, I'm sure that will end well.
Jaune didn't seem fazed. Hey, asshole god.
[Admin]: Are you asking for a lightning bolt?
Fuck you, fuck face.
Lightning came down to strike the spot beside him, startling him a bit.
[Admin]: Jaune, what are you doing?! You do not want his ire -
[Admin]: He knows what he is doing. Mortal, are you willing to insult me again?
Still, he pressed on. Light, you suck.
[Admin]: I didn't think you would remember, Mortal.
"Heh. I might be a little dumb." Jaune would have crossed his arms if he could. "But I'm also not that stupid!"
As he finished his words, the world around him disappeared in a swirl of colors and compressed itself into a single point, before exploding in a burst of blinding light. Whatever force that was keeping him locked in place also disappeared, and as his vision returned, he found himself back in the gods' multipurpose room.
[System]: Special event!
"...That's a terrible catchphrase." Light shook his head in disappointment.
"Did I say that phrase before?"
The god of light made a hand motion like he was summoning a creature from the ground. "I knew that we were going to have our differences, Mortal." As the god of light stood before Jaune, the same pedestals from the last game rose between them. "As you have finally figured out, I have created this system to give you a chance to change my mind."
"Not to punish me for insulting you?"
"Why can't it do both? It has a twenty-four hour cooldown, so should you insult me while this is on its timer, that lightning bolt will not miss. I remember it's not a fun way to go."
"...I don't see a timer anywhere."
"How unfortunate. Just like your poor and very generic insults. Is 'you suck' the best you can come up with?"
I - I was thinking of them on the spot! "Yet it seems to have still ticked you off a little."
The god closed his eyes, silent.
"...Er…?" There is no way that he was actually a little mad, right?
They snapped open. "Let's get this started. It is your turn to choose first. What do you wish to sacrifice?"
What do I have that I don't really care too much about? Jaune thought. I guess I can go for my GTA set again if I want a lot of information… He paused. Maybe chili? Wait, why did I think of chili? Back to the main topic. I have some hardcover books I guess, about chili… damn it! Why does - Huh. It smells like chili.
The god had sat down while he waited, a bowl of chili in his hands.
"Seriously?" Jaune stared.
"You're the one getting distracted by my authentic Texas chili."
"Can… Can you put that away?"
"You don't like my authentic Texas chili with fresh tomatoes from my garden?"
"No! Why now?!"
"I have no idea what you mean. My authentic Texas homestyle chili with fresh tomatoes and right out of the oven cornbread is - "
Jaune narrowed his eyes and interrupted the god. "Is there a timer in this phase of the event too?"
The god grinned. "Do you want to bet that as your question?"
"You are the worst." Trying his best to ignore the absolutely amazing smell in the air, he tried to get back to his original thoughts.
Which he had totally forgotten.
Stupid short attention span! I think I was thinking about my GTA set again, right? No, I was thinking of alternatives ways to make chi -
His stomach grumbled.
- To make do with what I had. Am I looking for something costlier? Something cheaper than it? His eyes widened. ...Wait, I have no idea what information I am even trying to get! I need to figure that out first, or else I might put an item of lower value than needed. Plus, isn't value itself in question? Money only has value because we believe it has value - isn't that a bit like those gods in fiction powered by faith? - which makes it such that what could be valuable to me might be worthless to him.
The pedestals in front of him suddenly looked very intimidating and his messy thoughts didn't help.
And I still don't know if I'm on a time limit while deciding all this. Shit!
"Light." He called out.
"Hm?" The god answered, his mouth full of chili. "Hm hmmmm hmm." His hand with a utensil was spooning the chili, but his other hand's finger was tapping on the side of the bowl.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
It did not help Jaune's rising anxiety.
"I - " Fuck this. "Is this game world really fake?" He blurted out. The moment he said it, he felt like he had made a mistake, but pressed on. "Please explain your reasoning - " He threw in anyways. No, Light might just give me a one sentence answer. " - And also have a meaningful discussion with me about it." He had no idea if that covered everything.
Jaune watched Light wave his hand, and the chili and tableware vanished. Standing up, the elderly god unfurled his full height.
He was a little shorter than Jaune.
"Five minutes. The discussion will have a maximum of five minutes, Mortal. That will be your bet. Then, my counterbet will be thirty dollars."
Jaune frowned. That was at least worth six meals. "Why not just give me the information freely like yesterday?"
The god shrugged. "This is something I would rather watch you figure out yourself. This challenge is cheating out of the effort you should have made." He narrowed his eyes, stretching his arms. "Do not think I will go easy on you. This will be a test of your physical and mental agility."
"I accept. I will be ruining your fun watching me stumble about."
"You will eat those words, Mortal. It is time to settle our differences."
Jaune blinked. Light looked really serious, his posture tensed like a predator about to pounce. "...We are playing rock paper scissors, right?"
"Yes."
Even with your changes to the game, isn't that a test of mostly our luck?!
"But first, I must do this." A clipboard appeared in Light's hands. Then, after reading a line off it, the god returned it to nothingness and waved at himself. Before Jaune, the god's physical appearance changed to that of a towering, muscular man with brown hair. The arms were exposed, showing strange scars running up them.
"Why do you two do this every time?"
"Don't worry about it."
Then, the game started.
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
A/N: Not as many "gamer" elements in this chapter in order to set up the meta stuff. I hope it isn't a bore to read through.
Next chapter: Dec. 26, 2021. Last chapter of the year!