A/N (2022/06/27): 'expand Aura' - 'expend Aura'
A/N (2022/06/26): Let's see the rest of chapter 10! Thanks for the reviews, be it good to bad, or even just the ones looking forward to the next chapter!
Beta: Path of a Writer, for the save!
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune did not end up thinking about his fourth group member, Carina, too hard. At first, he thought it weird that he didn't know her at all, but he also didn't know Weiss before this strange situation with the gods. Actually, he's pretty sure he had met 'game' Weiss first before 'real' Weiss. Therefore, chances were that this Carina would appear later. So why think about it? He shrugged, and went on his way.
For the rest of the day, he went through the motions for both uni and his work shifts, squeezing in some Hearthstone whenever he had free time. Then, once he got home, he finished off any pressing homework due that day - in between bouts of youtube - and was free again at around 11 pm.
He grinned. Weekend tomorrow, so fuck sleep! Great, free time!
Thinking more about the RWBY:Online game barely came across his mind. It wasn't exactly about the excitement of playing his games - the actual ones, that is. Rather, it was more just him following his usual pattern. Uni was where he half-heartedly squeezed in useless info, home was where he could slack off pretty much almost as much as he liked. Adding on the fact he was sleep deprived from his League marathon, the moment he sat down he was back in God of War.
He swiped over his desk, clearing paper away. Why do I have paper here again, in the digital age? Whatever, probably something I forgot. Because he was trying to do it too quickly, one sheet drifted off. He picked it up from the ground with a sigh.
What is a Grimm?
I had forgotten to think about the enemy type thing!
Jaune remembered now. He wasn't exactly free, he technically had this whole issue to consider!
Right, right, shit. To be honest… I don't even want to think about it. Don't these questions seem like really hard questions? Sheesh, Ruby said something about the Grimm being still mostly unknown to them, even though they have an entire world of people who have investigated them for what, centuries at least, right? Then, there's these philosophical questions about our existence… Far smarter people have thought about it than I! How the fuck am I supposed to do anything?! Plus… I should probably vacuum today, and meal prep for next week.
Jaune… was suffering from a critical lack of motivation to investigate the questions!
Hey, it's you gods' fault that it's so boring and uninteresting. He shook his hand at the sky.
Ruby's face flashed in his mind.
His hand paused.
"Well, figuring out unknown things is always fun!" her words came back to him. To him, that phrase was certainly not true. Discovering answers to inane, useless things like math problems or science questions gave him the barest of minor satisfaction, closer to being a feeling of relief at finishing work that he was forced to do.
But…
Ruby, on the other hand, looked like she was having so much fun during their conversation about the gods' game system. Hopping from one foot to the other, cheering, smiling and shouting…
Jaune wondered what it was like on that side - a side of the world he only saw glimpses of. It's not like I would ever truly know. I'm not that kind of person, after all.
"They are not like us."
He let go of the sheet of paper in his hand, letting it drift onto the wooden surface of his desk.
I mean, like, Grimm enemy types, do they even matter? Assume we meet some ice Grimm or something, as a good game, their design should telegraph what kind of strengths and weaknesses they have. If it doesn't do that well, then it's not my fault. It's Light's fault for making a shitty game. I'll just deal with them as they come. What Grimm problem can't be solved with a sword after all?
And the stuff Light brought up, I talked to Ruby and it seemed to not even matter. Why waste my time with this? I have so much more important stuff to do…
Jaune decided. He stood up, grabbing the sheet, and headed to the waste bin.
"Conviction, in reality, is something far more normal and everyday."
He stopped again.
Ren did say… that in truth it was about the little decisions you make. He stared at the inoffensive sheet in his hands. In the greater scheme of things, it didn't even matter anyways. It would be so easy just to throw it away. So easy to not even try, to not spend a second longer on something that was way above his head. Cause Light… He's not entirely wrong. I try convincing myself that I'm average, but that's just because Ren's such a good friend and helps me with notes. In truth… could I actually be stupid? So throw away that paper, Jaune. If Light causes you more issues, then what the hell can you do? You are literally just a cashier at McDough's, are you expecting anything else out of life?
Jaune crumpled the paper in his hands… Before sighing.
Ahh… Fuck.
He sat down onto his chair.
Fuck.
And he uncrumpled it and stared at it.
Before crumpling it again.
Fuck!
He threw it at the waste bin. It missed, bouncing off the rim and landing on the floor.
Shit!
He roughly passed his hand through his hair, pulling a little to express his anger.
So, the Grimm. I have not enough clues to figure anything out. However, aren't there professors and libraries at Beacon? Rather than sit here and uselessly think, it's a far better idea to use existing knowledge from people smarter and more experienced than I am. I'm not saying I could make a new discovery from just going through information that other people have already gone over… But I don't have to. Because what I have is a literal communication line to God himself. Using that arbitrary 'rock paper scissors' game, I have an incredible resource to determine the answers.
Jaune tapped his foot erratically. For the library, the origin of Grimm should be priority. Is there only one 'Salem', or are there other queens? Can there be a king? How did she become the queen? These are big questions that I need answers to.
Second, the types of Grimm. A library should have most of the Grimm types already listed, from elemental Grimms to the hidden 'Faunus' Grimm that Cardin mentioned. Actually, looking into the second of the two sounds like it'll be more important. Grimm are really fucking strong, add on subterfudge and they might be able to strike civilians or unsuspecting huntsmen at their most vulnerable.
…Wait, wouldn't… Jaune blinked. …Don't all Grimm have that black and white color scheme? How could the Faunus…?
He shook his head.
I guess that's their "power", the ability to shape shift. I also can't be sure that all Grimm are black and white.
Jaune, for the next few minutes, wrote some ideas for dealing with different possible types of Grimm. Then, seeing it had gotten late, he went to bed.
He rolled around ever so often, until he fell asleep two hours later.
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
When Jaune woke up back in the game world, he had a plan. He hadn't been rolling around for nothing, after all.
Flipping between worlds was very disorientating. Because he spent a long time away from the other world, by the time he returned into either he would lose track a little bit on what he had been doing. On the real world side, while this hadn't caused any late homeworks yet, it did cause him to completely forget a midterm... Which was far worse. On the game side, he would lose track of conversations. Therefore, he had to think of a solution.
Heh, be prepared…
Cardin stared at him. "…Why are you staring blankly at me?"
…For my ultimate technique! Learned over twenty plus years of hard work…
Daydreaming!
Jaune snapped back into it, expertly pulling off his classic 'not listening in class, was on phone or staring off into space' technique. "Oh, sorry! I was thinking about something. You were saying?"
Jaune was still Jaune.
Cardin snorted. "Like I was saying, Jaune, there's lots of types of Grimm to be aware of." The teenager looked towards the shore. "Hey, let's go dry off." He led the way, and Jaune and Russel followed.
Jaune felt like he'd be fine not being near water for a while. "No, no, I got that part. You were starting to say something about bringing up the Faunus?"
"Oh yeah." Cardin growled. "Back where I'm from, there's a district infected with them."
"A whole district?!"
"They move in, and within a few years, there's not a single true human left there." Russel spat. The three of them sat down on the rocks by the shore.
"You are saying they can infect humans with their Grimm-ness?!"
"Yes." Cardin nodded seriously. "They become sympathizers." He spat out the word. "Traitors."
Jaune blinked… Something there didn't sit well with him. "I guess that's pretty scary, isn't it?"
"They take your friends and families away from you, turning you against them. Worse, you can't do a thing. They become just shadows, echoes of who they once were."
Ah, the classic trope where your ally is brainwashed, followed by the 'I know you are still somewhere in there' fight, huh? That is pretty common. Jaune considered.
He paused.
Echoes?! Wait, I totally forgot about those! Didn't those appear when I first met each type of Grimm?! No, no. Don't get excited. Echoes are just a text composed of random scrambled letters. They are useless.
But what if the Grimm echoes aren't? I don't see why they wouldn't be, but it's worth a try.
As Cardin continued ranting, Jaune looked for a moment to see if he could sneak in a 'menu'. However, the teenager looked really passionate about this topic and didn't give Jaune a chance.
Aw fuck this. Jaune coughed 'menu'.
The familiar menu came up, and he navigated into the Echoes Menu.
[Echoes Menu]
[Echoes of People]
[Echoes of Places]
[Echoes of Items]
[Echoes of Grimm]
Then, he selected the Grimm echoes. As expected, there were three listings: Beowolf, Ursa, and Ursa Major. He clicked on the Beowolf one.
[Echoes of Beowolf]
Age: Delta
Class: Anti-Civilian
Ruthless and effective at their purpose
No threat to us, but don't underestimate
Heavy magic resistance.
Heavy magic divination resistance.
"Magic?! That - That's Aura, right?" Jaune tilted his head, before moving on to the next one.
[Echoes of Ursa]
Age: Delta
Class: Anti-Huntsman
Strong, heavy knockback attacks.
Average TTK.
Be wary of collateral.
Nora likes plushies of them.
"Eh?" He stared for a moment. "Um." He looked at the frozen Cardin. "You seeing this shit?"
He flicked to the next one.
[Echoes of Ursa Major]
Age: Alpha
Class: Anti-Huntsman
Keep her away, don't let her come.
"…Game Nora, is your forbidden love so strong that fucking god himself has to write this in their game wikipedia page?!" Jaune sighed. "Well that's a bunch of baloney, I basically already knew the general gist. Beowolves sneaky but weak, Ursa stronk."
He closed it.
Cardin stopped. "You fine?"
"Yeah! Yeah, why?"
Russel cut in. "You haven't heard the worst of it yet." He looked around cautiously.
Cardin seemed to know what he was going to say. "Oh, shit, you're talking about - "
"Yeah. Bossman, you want to explain it?"
"Fuck. It's some disturbing shit, Jaune. You sure you want to hear it?"
"Er…" Jaune didn't like the sound of that. "...Might as well…"
Cardin hesitated, looking away. "Shit." He frowned, trying to put the right words together. It didn't look so easy to Jaune, making him a bit nervous at what the teenager was about to say. Finally, Cardin sat closer to Jaune and spoke in a hushed voice.
"It's said they dabble in black magic."
Eh.
Jaune blinked very slowly. When he realized they were looking for a reaction, he hurriedly gave them one.
"That's bad!"
"Yes." Cardin growled. "I'm talking about the kind of evil witchcraft sort of thing, cursing lands to become barren and giving people bad luck."
"Bad luck?! Grimm can give bad luck?!"
Russel was the one who answered. "There's a pretty famous huntsman who's fucking skilled, but unfortunately has a semblance that gives him shitty luck. Adding on the fact that there's Grimm that can literally give you stuff like depression, it's not a fargone thought, Jaune."
"...But bad luck? These 'Faunus' can give that?" I guess it's a game, and luck based abilities aren't uncommon. I got that legendary luck booster, after all.
"That's not all," Cardin continued. "I'm pretty sure they also eat babies. They also have weird, uh, rituals…"
"…" Light, what happened to my PG-13 game world?! "W - What kind of rituals?"
"Bathing in the blood of innocents, digging up graves, and eating odd meals…"
Is he serious? He's overexaggerating, right? I mean… But it isn't uncommon in games though, I guess? From MMOs to single players, there are a lot that have cults and other crazy stuff, but more stylized and rarely focused on in depth, so it doesn't look as intimidating, I guess? Jaune considered. It's one thing to see it in a game, and another to hear about it in reality - er, in a very realistic game, clearly.
"I can see that it's difficult to process." Cardin growled, "But it's the truth."
Cardin and Russel were both obviously serious about this.
Jaune coughed. "I - " I'm honestly just more shocked that it's in this RWBY:Online game. If it was in reality, I mean, look at the messed up stuff humans have done. On the other hand …I suppose this doesn't seem that far fetched, especially with monsters.
Cardin sighed through his nose. "It's fine, Jaune. Take your time. We did just do a pretty dangerous, but effective, training technique. How are you? Any side effects?"
Jaune narrowed his eyes upon recalling the incident. He didn't like how Cardin brought it up so casually. Training or not, that wasn't cool. "Bitch, you tried to drown me."
"But it had results, didn't it? That's what matters. Man up." Cardin crossed his arms. "A huntsman's gotta be tough." He flexed his arm, posing. "The populace is supposed to look up to us. Nobody will if you act like a pussy. We're fighting a war on two fronts, after all."
Jaune almost rolled his eyes at the teenager's bravado, not happy. "Two fronts?" I guess they are fighting against the Grimm for their lives… maybe in this world, rough training techniques are not as big of a deal?
"You know, both on the actual war against the Grimm and the reputation side of things. A huntsman's good name is just as important as his skill."
That… Sounds like quite the exaggeration.
"A strong huntsmen reputation means less people that are afraid of the Grimm. The overall unrest in Vale decides the frequency of Grimm attacks after all, since our enemy can smell your negative emotions."
What? They - How?! What, do they smell your sweat or something?! Jaune paused. Does this mean lots of people get laser pore surgery? However, before he could ask, Cardin continued on.
"...That's why it grinds my gears to see huntsmen like your friends over there."
"Huh?" Jaune perked up. "What's wrong with how they do things?"
"Have you looked at them?!" Cardin stated incredulously, before calming himself. "No, no, my bad. You don't know. You were just one of the sheep."
"Hey!"
"...That came out wrong."
"Yeah, take that back! I'll have you know, I shave!"
The two game characters stared at him.
"The fuck?" Russel helpfully voiced his and Cardin's feelings. "You do mean… your stubble, right?"
"Well, duh, and - "
Russel interrupted. "He wasn't talking about - !"
"Guys," Cardin stopped them both.
Hey, I knew! Just making a joke, sheesh…
"Like I said, we were talking about the little fashionistas over there." He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb at the top of the cliff. "Ignore Jauney-boy's tendencies for the fucking weirdest tangents, look at Schnee, Rose, and Pyrrha Nikos. What do you notice about their appearance?"
Jaune thought for a second. "...Weiss is really short?"
Cardin planted a palm onto his face.
Russel put a hand on his chin. "Great legs, though."
Cardin pointed at him. "Yes, that."
"Er, you want to talk about Weiss' great legs…?"
"No, no, what I mean is that I'm talking about the impracticality of her attire." Cardin sighed impatiently. "We're fighting in a forest filled with shrubbery, bugs, and other nature shit. Who the hell goes with a mini-skirt, not to mention not even wearing leggings?! Exposed legs? You are going to get scratched the fuck up, or your skirt caught on a branch!"
Huh, that… Jaune thought. But there's Aura… Though I remember Pyrrha saying something like it is not always automatic, not to mention what Cardin said about the water… The skirt getting caught is another worry. Jaune tilted his head. I wonder what Aura does with poisonous substances?
"People always say 'Aura, Aura, Aura'," Cardin mocked, saying the last part in a whiney voice. "Bullshit! Wear armor and clothing, dumbass! It reduces blows, meaning less damage to your Aura and keeps you warm if it's winter. Just because you can go without, doesn't mean you should!" He threw up his hands, clearly passionate about the topic. "People like them are looking down on huntsmen as a profession!"
Jaune wasn't sure what to say back. He noticed Russel deep in thought, back hunched and chin resting on his fists. "I guess that makes sense." Cardin's complaints reminded him of the impractical female video game outfit debate. They do seem to be dressed more for aesthetics rather than practicality. You should dress for your job, right? So I don't see why he'd be wrong here… "You have something to say, Russel?"
"Aah? No, just… Isn't it ironic?"
"What's ironic?"
Russel narrowed his eyes in thought. Then he opened his mouth, and said, "The fact that the Schnee's got great legs even though she's so damn short."
"You were still stuck on that?!" Jaune barked a laugh.
"Isn't that weird? I'm not crazy, right? That's like… a paradox or some shit!"
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Why's that weird? You can have great legs no matter your height!"
"Yeah, but if we're talking 'bout a great pair of legs, it has to be long and skinny, right? Cardin, you're on my side, aren't you?"
Cardin snorted. "Russel's right. But legs aren't as important as cake, man. Have you seen Xiao Long's? Hot damn!"
"Yo, Jaune, you were around them the longest. You've got to be aiming for one of the chicks, right? Who is it? Tell us!"
Jaune shifted a bit. It wasn't exactly because he was physically uncomfortable. "Pffff no." Because they're game character versions of real life people. That's just… Fucked up. I couldn't tell you why exactly, but something is just got to be wrong with that. "Actually, just the reverse." Trying to lower Pyrrha's reputation with me all I can! …I haven't done anything yet, but I probably should - though whatever I do it seems to go up, up and away.
"Don't tell me you play for the other team."
"Nah, perfectly straight." Jaune easily answered Cardin's question. "I just don't want Pyrrha - " 's reputation to keep rising… He finished in his thoughts. Oh fuck, I can't actually talk about what I meant! "Er - "
"How could you not be interested in The Pyrrha Nikos?! You have a girlfriend already or something? Or is she taken?" Cardin gasped incredulously.
"No idea about her, and nah, no girlfriend." Oh shit, does game Jaune have a girlfriend? I haven't gotten any calls or messages that indicate so… But that would be really awkward… Hey, uh, your man is just temporarily mind controlled by a stranger in a separate dimension or something. Haha… "...It's just Pyrrha's personality is… Well, she's fine, really, just not my type."
"It's been a day." Cardin shook his head. "What would you know of, anyone? You've got to have barely scratched the surface!"
"I'm not really here for romance, Cardin." I'm trying to survive Light's game with my wallet intact. "Aren't you the one being a bit weird here?"
"Hey," Cardin laughed. "What's wrong with hoping to meet… You know, the one here? Walking to class together, exchanging notes… Romantic dates by the candlelight… A confession at the brink of death…"
Russel raised an eyebrow. "...Those sound like the dreams of a fucking teenage girl who's read far too many dumb pink novels."
Cardin coughed. "The point is, romance ain't gonna happen if you ain't thinking about it and acting on it! Come on, I bet Nikos' a real nice girl."
Yeah, Pyrrha seems real nice, and also secretly a total pervert. Jaune shivered internally. "First impressions are pretty important. Not like we have the time to understand the ins and outs of every single person we meet."
"Yeah, well you ain't wrong." Russel comments.
"Heh. You do you." Cardin leaned to a side, adjusting his sitting posture on the rocks. "Benefit of the doubt and all that… I think it's a good thing we can't just know everything at a glance."
"Hm? And why?" Jaune asked, curious.
Cardin let himself roll onto his back on the cool rocks. By now, the sun had set even further down, letting the stream be covered in shadows.
"It's… It's not exactly just a person thing." Cardin finally said. "I just mean in general."
Jaune leaned back casually, letting himself be propped up by his arms. "That doesn't explain anything. In fact, that makes it worse."
"Oh, shut up!" He laughed. "Give me time, I need to put my thoughts into words."
"Hurry up, it's almost supper." Grumbled Russel. "We'll be fucking old by the time your brain starts working."
"Fuck you!"
As the laughter died, Cardin seemed to have also composed his thoughts. "I suppose what I meant was that in a world where everything is known, there wouldn't be room for people like us, huh?"
"Like us?" Jaune questioned.
Cardin looked at him, then at Russel, and then didn't expand on it. "If we knew everything there was to know in the world, then everyone would know how much of a shit some people are. Then they would be rejected and ridiculed by everyone else. However, this way, with this uncertainty, then they have time to work on themselves, you know?"
"Wouldn't a world where everyone knew everyone intimately also be more accepting of everyone's flaws?" Jaune pointed out.
"Heh. Maybe." Cardin stared up at the last rays of sunshine. "Maybe so."
For a while, Jaune just watched Cardin lie there, staring up at the sky, letting the comfortable silence elongate itself. The running water in the background gave it a sort of cool, refreshing, and calming backdrop, like twinkling chimes.
[System]: Due to special action, Training XP Booster is activated. 1 year remaining.
[Relationships]: Gained opinion trait with Cardin Winchester: Just Like Me. Passive 10% bonus to reputation gains from mistakes.
[Relationships]: Cardin Winchester rank up! Now, status is: Best Friend I've Never Had
Jaune nodded himself. As expected, there was the reward from almost drowning, and he had also reached a new reputation level with Cardin. The constant pings of the reputation increases have become so commonplace that it was like background music, so he hadn't been keeping track of where exactly he was.
[Relationships]: Rank requirement and trigger requirement met. Gift rewarded.
…What?
Before Jaune, the icon of a gift box appeared. He recognized it, remembering that he'd seen it before in the menus, but not exactly where. The red ribbons on the white box untied themselves, and the lid popped off.
[Quest]: The Faunus Question
[Accept][Reject]
The world around him was frozen, allowing him time to think.
I still haven't seen how much the quests actually relate to their names, but… This quest name… Where had I seen this before? No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember this one either. Probably because it's so general.
[Common Objective Revealed]
[Objective]: Upgrade 1 character to Neon.
[Accept] [Reroll for 100$, 5/5 remaining]
…
Jaune stared. The new window… was exactly on top of the previous one. Light?! That's kind of dumb, have you ever heard of UI design? Or event queues? How about literally just pausing the game completely, so that another window doesn't open up while the previous is still there? Well, since he doesn't take feedback anyways, there's no point in spending all my time complaining.
For the objective itself… Hm… Because every window is translucent, the words from the quest window are making the common objective one hard to read… So, there's an upgrade system… For characters?!
I mean, I remember that I technically rolled for the characters on my team, but what… What happens when you upgrade characters? Do they just get higher stats? So I can make Ruby even more OP?!
Jaune calmed himself down. Or maybe upgrading Ruby would just increase her desire for cookies. That would be bad… For her diet. Stronger is not always better!
Well, either way, I'm not paying 100$ to reroll an objective like that.
He clicked on accept.
Both accept buttons were clicked, as they were overlapping.
Jaune planted a hand on his face. For once in your life… Can't you make something that's not shit?!
[Admin]: I made you, too.
Every clock is wrong twice in a day, yadda yadda.
[Admin]: That's not -
He stopped reading Light's words and refocused on the current moment, as Cardin spoke up.
"Yah know, Jauney-boy, there's a question that's been bothering me."
"Hm? What is it?"
Cardin slowly sat up. "...How the hell did you get into Beacon?"
Jaune stilled. "Er - What do you mean? I totally fit at Beacon!" He replied very non-suspiciously, the mostest in fact.
Cardin eyed him with a curious eye. "I thought you had at least some fighting experience. A martial artist, a vagabond, or maybe a reformed bandit… The fight earlier basically showed that you had absolutely nothing in terms of skills."
Ooof, wording it like that's a bit mean, isn't it? "Well, I'm part of the other stream, like you said!"
The curious gleam gained an edge. "The other stream also requires experience. Beacon isn't a run-of-the-mill academy. It's the best, and main, huntsmen academy in Vale. For rehabilitation for freak accidents that unlock Aura, usually you'd be sent to those other short course institutions merely to stop you from harming others."
"Yeah, Jaune, how the fuck did you get in Beacon?"
Not again. Can't you guys be more stupid! What do I say to Cardin?! I barely got out of that one time with Ruby! "Well, what would you say if I said…" No, wait, if I say I'm not here by choice they might actually get me out of Beacon! That would most likely fail the 'finish Initiation' objective and be a big burden on my wallet! I could finish the objective, then try to leave, but chances are that there are other main objectives that follow that with failure penalties…
"No, no," Cardin put up a hand to stop him. "You don't need to say anything, Jaune."
…I don't?
"I can piece together the facts by myself."
"...Really?" Jaune blinked. Cardin took that as a challenge.
"At your skill level, there is no way you passed the physical exam. As a newspark, the written one would also be incredibly difficult as the amount of huntsman knowledge required is not something you can just cram in a few hours. Grim routes, historical battles, Aura theory. There's just too much." Cardin listed out.
Jaune nodded, careful not to give too much away.
"Therefore, no way into Beacon, through any of the streams, be it the Newspark one or the regular one. Unless… Someone pulled some strings."
Wait… Cardin has been talking about a species of Grimm who can do subterfuge. Could game Jaune have come here because the Grimm was trying to kill him?! Could it be -
"My guess…" Cardin smirked. "...is that it's the mafia."
Both hands came up to cover his face. The mafia again?!
"It can't be the Faunus. Why risk important connections to just kill a random civilian? There would be no unrest. Unless you come from a prominent huntsman family with an extraordinary semblance, I don't see why they'd do that. Therefore, the only remaining option: the mafia. You're in debt with them, aren't you?"
Jaune lowered his hands. "...Yup! That's right!"
"I've met those types. They hide in the shadows, kind of like Faunus. Criminal organizations who do whatever they like, poisoning our society. It's abhorrent that they can blatantly just stroll around on the public streets with what they do."
"What?" Jaune frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said." Cardin's expression was twisted in anger. "They do what they like. Be it stealing, killing,"
"What?! Can't, like, a huntsman just dropkick them or something?"
"Of course not, obviously. We're huntsmen, not police. When you sign up to become a huntsman, you sign a lot of waivers and are protected by the law against incidents, as long as you only focus on the Grimm."
I guess I can kind of see that.
"The civilians of Vale are protected under the law. You must have proof to convict them. But the Vale underground stems from a number of noble houses from the old kingdom. They have money and great power. They cover for each other. Much of the time, you can tell that someone from the mafia did the deed, but you can't prove who. In the cases in which proof is found… The police mysteriously drops them."
"In other words, you've found yourself in deep shit," Russel explained.
Oh, you have no idea.
"You broke your sword, right? Then you'll have to use the crappy mass-produced ones from the government. Or maybe it was one of the crappy ones, that's why it broke. That's not good. It'll be very difficult to get enough missions under your belt and pay them back." Cardin considered. "You need something good."
Er… Thanks for worrying about me, but… Dammit, what can I even say?
"Lucky for you… I can get you one."
"You know a good sword salesman?"
"Nah. I'm offering you a custom gun."
Jaune's eyes widened. A gun?! I want to use a gun! It was getting so stupid that everyone else has mecha-shifts and all that, when all I had was the lamest sword in existence! "How much?!" What's the currency again?
"For you? First one's free."
His eyes widened again from shock. "Free?! You can't, Cardin. It can't be inexpensive!"
"You are talking to a Winchester. I can get this past one of my family's shops just like that." He snapped, smirking. "Come on, you want a custom gun or not?"
"You sure?"
"Shit, Jaune, take it." Russel sat up too. "A huntsman's life isn't easy. Better do it with some friends and iron at your belt."
"Er… Then don't mind if I do!"
"I knew you'd take it. After Initiation, let's set up a time to meet at one of my family's shops. I assure you, you won't be disappointed."
Holy fuck I'm getting a gun!
[The Faunus Question: Quest Objective]: Get a Winchester gun.
Success: 10$, 1000 XP
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
There wasn't much else that happened yesterday after his discussion with Cardin. After drying off and switching back to their regular clothes, Cardin had called Sky to help them up the cliff. Some sort of wind based semblance, and combined with Cardin's explosive mace, they had been able to rocket jump back up to the top.
Jaune had also learned that small, controlled explosions, if you didn't get blown to pieces by them, were actually quite comfy and more like a surprise pillow slap when you had Aura.
Afterwards, having arrived back at camp, the three men had split up. Jaune had wanted to work on his Aura exercises, Cardin had said something about Dust quality checks, while Russel had said he'd wish to tend to his huntsman trading cards. A few hours later still, with a meal eaten, and a little bit of progress made on his Aura techniques, he had gone to sleep in his huge family-sized tent. Rest hadn't come immediately that night, as he had started fantasizing about the gun that he was going to get. And now it was morning as he awoke in his tent.
"Ruby?" Jaune heard Weiss say from outside the tent.
"I'm just… trying to understand this."
"Hm? Determine what? It's just chocolate-flavored." Weiss yawned.
"Trying to figure out if this is made out of cardboard… or styrofoam."
There was a moment as the crumpling of plastic sounded. "No, it's most likely just expired."
"Expired?!"
"You'll be fine, Atlesians soldiers eat expired rations all the time."
Jaune stretched a bit, letting his body wake up from the night's sleep. Unlike in the real world, however, he felt quite rested. Wiggling out from his sleeping bag, too lazy to unzip it, he made a few more morning stretches before exiting his large, mostly empty tent.
"Morning guys!"
"Good morning, Jaune - What is that?!" Weiss flinched.
"Hm?" Jaune asked Weiss absentmindedly, mind still on the prospect of his new gun.
"I - Wha - " He'd never seen Weiss so tongue tied. He didn't really care too much, either, as he had more interesting things to consider.
What is Dust?
I remember a number of references to it, but I haven't actually been explained what Dust is yet. Light's 'The First Huntress' story described it as 'Nature's Gift'. Then it talked about how people fought over it… Yet what is it? From the context of it being used with weapons and rockets, it must be some kind of propellant.
If I'm getting a gun… I should probably know about that, right?
"Do - Do I even ask?" Weiss sighed.
"What about?" He stepped out. Weiss and Ruby were sitting at one of the repaired outdoor tables, the both of them eating bars of some kind. Ruby was wearing a plain shirt and sweatpants, while Weiss had switched to her usual outfit.
Ruby just stared at him as he sat down on the opposite side of the girls.
"Can I have one?"
She threw him one of the bars with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Hey guys - " But he couldn't ask what Dust was. The way they had dropped it in conversation, it sounded like it was incredibly obvious what it was, even to someone who wasn't a huntsman. "I'm curious, How are you using Dust in your weapon, Weiss? Are you using it?" I'm so smart. I'm not asking what Dust is… I'm asking for specifics. He patted himself mentally very hard on the back.
"Hmph. Curious about Myrtenaster, are you?" Weiss placed her rapier onto the table. With one hand, she pointed out the cylinder located in the hilt, where from small glass slits one could see the colorful contents within. Each color was separated into its own compartment. "Unlike most huntsmen, I use Dust with my semblance to manipulate the environment to my liking. Elemental Dust, in my hands, is more than just a payload for bullets."
Jaune frowned. Is she averting her gaze from me? Why? He looked down at himself. He was dressed, so that wasn't an issue. Well, back to Dust. From what she had said, it sounds like Dust is like… materia from Final Fantasy 14? She said 'elemental Dust', after all, and they put it into bullets… Does this mean I have the choice of elemental damage I'd like to do? Like, a pistol that shoots lightning?! That'd be so cool!
"Good morning everyone." Came Pyrrha's voice. She was also fully geared out, though she hadn't tied up her bright red hair yet, it flowing down her shoulders and back. The brown-gold circlet wasn't on her head. "How was your - Oh."
"Hi Pyrrha!" He gave her a wave.
"Oh. Uh." She put a hand over her mouth. "Oh my."
A sudden idea came to Jaune. Technically, Cardin said 'a gun'. What if I'm able to cheat the system… and get a machine gun? He grinned to himself. A full machine gun, belt feed and all that. He imagined himself on a hill of Grimm bodies, firing an infinite amount of lightning bullets that chained between the attacking Grimm. A bit like the heavy in TF2!
He stopped fantasizing the moment Cardin fell onto his face.
"Cardin?! Alright, what's up with you all?" Jaune questioned.
"The hell is that!" The redhead pointed an accusing finger at him.
"This?" Jaune looked down at himself. "It's a fabulous custom bunny onesie." He poked at one of his bunny ears, hanging at the side of his head. "It's super comfy." Game Jaune, you have the most exquisite of tastes. "Have you seen the slippers?" He poked his feet out from beneath the table. "It's quite…"
"Stop, Jaune, no more." Russel kneeled by Cardin in his usual attire. "He's dead."
"...So this is the afterlife… It's so dark… and tastes like dirt."
"That's because it is dirt, Cardin."
"Russel, you're here, too? I see Jaune murdered you, too…"
Ren stepped into view, having been woken up by the commotion. "Murder?" he spoke with none of the emotion such a word would usually invoke.
Cardin snapped up from the ground. "Yes! With his dead lack of a fashion sense!"
"Dead lack?!" Jaune was taken back.
"Even an earthworm, squirming in the - " He spat out some dirt. " - in horse manure has more fashion sense!"
"An earthworm?!" Jaune looked back at the girls. "Come on, it can't be that bad…"
Weiss stared straight up at the sky, taking bites from her rations. "How's the styrofoam, Ruby?"
"Very tasty, Weiss." Ruby did the same. "It's like chocolate from the easter bunny mascots."
"Aren't those impostors inside the mascots?"
Erm, those two have clearly gone insane. Jaune's gaze turned to Pyrrha, his last hope.
Her shoulders shook, half her expression hidden by her hand. "...That's… Snrk… Very cute, Jaune."
Aw, thanks. See, I knew everyone else was overreacting - wait a second, I forgot her fucked up tastes. Jaune closed his eyes. Whatever! "You all clearly know nothing about the charm of this onesie."
"You… Uh… Like bunnies or something? Or is it just animal pajamas?"
"I love bunnies! Well, it kind of started with… you know that… Uh…" Jaune tried to think of the name. "That cereal mascot…"
"Oh, Pumpkin Pete's?" Ruby tilted her head down, having gained some resistance to the sight before her. "Wasn't Pyrrha Nikos on that?"
Oh, thanks Light! Putting it in both worlds!
Pyrrha looked askance. "Yeah, but… They're not very good for you."
Jaune gasped. "You were on there?! You're talking about the promo where you collect all seven lucky charms and get to appear on the back of the box and get a lifetime of cereal, right?! Lucky!"
"Yes… That."
Ruby opened her mouth. "That's not…" She paused. "Could that happen?..."
"The one where in first place you get a lifetime supply of cookies?"
"What?!" Ruby slammed both hands onto the table. "Where?!"
"In the past."
"...So you are saying… I just need to go faster than light."
"You're not Flash, Ruby." Jaune paused. "...Your petals can't go fast enough to go back in time …right?"
She didn't give an immediate answer. "Weiss did boost me faster than I thought I could go…"
"Don't cause a Flashpoint just for cookies."
"No, you're right. I'll end up having to learn by page 26 of the 30 page comic that time travel, just like living only with regrets, doesn't help anyways." She pouted.
…Wait, can she time travel? Or is she just joking? He sweated. "Well, whatever! The point is, I like bunnies, I would die for them - " His eyes locked with Ruby's, " - So what's on the agenda today?" Smooth, Jaune.
Weiss lowered her chin, but still averted her eyes. "We should be going back to Beacon by ten o'clock and hand in our relics. Before then, go put away your tents and ready the lockers for their return journey." She ordered. "Fine with you all?"
Cardin got up from the ground. "Yeah, yeah. We know, Schnee."
The rest nodded and went to work. Cardin and his friends went to a separate part of the clearing, having set up in a different area than the rest.
Jaune sighed in front of his tent. It looked like a lot of work, but he wasn't feeling discouraged. Rather, he was just uncertain… about what he should do with all the trash. The others cleaned up after the impromptu party they had, but didn't move the trash bags to wherever they should go.
I'll do that after I put away the tent, I guess.
A few minutes later, he had pulled the pegs and neatly folded everything back to how it was supposed to be. The rods were disconnected and placed back into their small pack. Now, time to put them back into the tent bag!
Jaune stared.
They didn't fit.
Oookay. Maybe I folded them wrong.
He redid the folding.
They didn't fit.
How is the tent bigger now than when it started?!
"Hey, Ruby!"
The girl had just finished putting her own tent back into her locker, so she looked free enough. "Jaune? You need something?"
"Hey, my tent's not fitting, can you help by sitting on it?"
"Eh… You probably just folded it wrong."
"No, I'm pretty sure I'm correct. Be my guest if you wish to try for yourself…"
Ruby came over and refolded it.
"Look, you did this fold wrong. It's supposed to go the other way, rather than this way."
The main tent was clearly a bit more compact now. He was quite a bit surprised, where had all that material gone? Into some kind of pocket dimension? Or hammer space? Well, I don't care as long as it works.
"Oh, wow, I didn't notice that mistake! Thanks Ruby. Maybe all the tent parts will fit now?"
They didn't fit.
Jaune and Ruby stared at it.
"I'm pretty sure it's witchcraft." Jaune told her.
"It could be because of all the wrinkles after using it?"
"Right… That's the boring answer." He looked back at the tent bag. "I'm pretty sure it was the Faunus." He rubbed his chin in thought. "But yeah, I'm fresh out of ideas. Unless you think you can magically shrink it even further, I think we need to go with the 'sitting on it' idea."
"...What?"
"I was saying that if you could magically shrink it… Wait, can you? You've got that magic semblance thing, right? What if you 'wear' the tent, then turn it into petals? If it works with your clothing then it's got to work with other things, right?"
"No, no - Though that could work… Can that work? Now that I- Wait, no, I was talking about what you said before that?"
"...The thing about how the Faunus' dark magic probably cursed it?"
The expected reply from Ruby didn't come. Perplexed, he turned to see what was keeping her from answering.
Her expression was blank.
"Ruby?"
There was no reaction. It looked like she was trying very hard to process something.
Wait, why that response? Have I said something wrong?
"...That was a joke… right?" She suddenly awkwardly laughed. "A very bad joke?"
"Well, yeah, of course. I don't think there would be Grimm so petty as to mess with a tent."
"...Grimm?"
"You know, Faunus, like, probably some of the scariest Grimm when you think about it. How they hide as people and destroy us from the inside, rather than fight straight on like the Beowolves and the Ursas. Heck, I heard they can even mind control people too, right?" Jaune wasn't so stupid to not notice that something was going on. "That's got to be an interesting story arc to experience… Oh, you know what would be interesting? If one of us were one of them all along! That'd be pretty spicy. Or maybe a Secret Invasion plot line - That'd be sick." Could it be that the Faunus were so dangerous that speaking of them so casually was frowned upon? "Do… people not like talking about them… guess we should only focus on dealing with them, huh?" He said with a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.
Ruby breathed in sharply.
There was tension in the air. He wasn't sure from what, or where, but his mouth just kept going on like a faucet that couldn't stop leaking. "...Is it the onesie still? I should probably change, shouldn't I?"
By this point, Ruby had closed her eyes. Her hands at each side were balled up into fists once more, shoulders tight with stress. As the silence stretched, her hands opened up, only to then play with the material of her sweat pants. The moment was stiff, tense.
She mumbled something.
"Ruby?" He repeated. He had to clear the air, but he wasn't even sure what was wrong. It somehow was worse than when he set off her feelings around that family member of hers that died.
Talk to me, Ruby.
She spun on her heels and started walking away without a word.
"Wait!" He reached out, grabbing her arm. She threw him off, hard enough that he registered some pain. He held his forearm, baffled, but followed behind her. "Come on Ruby, whatever I said, I'm sorry."
From his peripherals, he could see Weiss' approach.
"Jaune, what did you do?" She asked with a hmph. "Did you use the wrong oil on Crimson Rose? She's very picky about abrasives."
He barely registered her words. "I don't know… Ruby, you've got to tell me. Let's work it out."
Ruby stopped.
"Ruby?"
Slowly, she turned around, letting him see her watery eyes filled to the brim with anger, disappointment, and frustration.
…I can't believe I made a person cry twice within two days.
She wiped her eyes, before taking a breath.
"Ruby - "
"Stop calling my name, you - You racist stupidhead!"
He was expecting her to call him an idiot. He was expecting something about insensitiveness. But racism? That was the last thing he was expecting. What the hell did I say? He thought back to what he had said just now, how the conversation with Ruby went.
His eyes widened.
"…Are you telling me 'the Faunus' are black people?" He felt numb. The terms he used were inaccurate to what he meant.
"Black - " Ruby stomped her feet. " - They are just people! Just because they have extra ears and tails doesn't mean they aren't people!"
Oh.. The situation dawned on Jaune like being drenched with icy water. "Cardin had said…" Oh.
The pieces came together steadily. Cardin's description - his talk of 'traitors' and 'turning friends and family against you'. The incongruity of this new species of Grimm compared to the ones he had already met. The classic 'racism against beast people' thing, common in fantasy stories.
He wasn't the brightest bulb of the bunch, but even he wasn't that stupid.
Weiss stepped into view beside them, eyes sharp. "What did Cardin say?"
"H - He…" Jaune put a hand over his mouth. And I said all that? "Oh my god."
"What did he say, Jaune?!" Ruby almost shouted.
"He said they ate babies and… Bathed in… virgin blood, or something…"
"And you believed him?!" Ruby yelled incredulously. With her naturally high-pitched voice, it sounded almost like a shriek.
His mind was almost blank, barely working. I… I can't believe… In hindsight… "He said they were Grimm, monsters - "
"There are no Grimm people!"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Salem, sitting menacingly on her throne, sneezed into her bowl of ice cream.
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune continued, listing out the things Cardin had said. "He also said they used black magic…"
Ruby "This is no fairytale! Magic doesn't exist!"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Many, many people across Remnant sneezed..
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
"And something about the Faunus being a curse -"
"Right… and gods exist - That's completely wrong, Jaune!"
[Admin]: Hello.
This. Isn't. The. Time. He growled mentally at Light. He hadn't been knocked this off balance for a long time.
"You… How did you believe any of this… This… Crap!" Ruby shouted. "It's so crazy that nobody with even a bit of sense would believe it!"
Pyrrha, Yang, and Ren, attracted by the shouts, had also come to watch over the argument. They looked on, unsure.
"It wasn't that simple, alright - "
"No! No… You'd have to be.. To be.. You'd have to be the stupidest person in the world to believe them! Why didn't you ask them for proof, or even use your head at all before repeating or even believing any of it?!"
"It didn't come to me!" Jaune's voice had been slowly growing louder with each reply. At this point, he was shouting back. She was condescending, saying it as if it was obvious, and it reminded him of someone else far more annoying. And worse, in hindsight, it was obvious. "Fuck! Nobody goes and asks people for proof like that - "
"Well maybe you should start!"
"Sis - "
He took a step forward. "Nobody does that!" Jaune shouted back. Anger boiled inside him, founded on fear and embarrassment. He didn't even know why he was arguing, but he was.
She took a step forward. "Smart people do!"
Ice sprung up to freeze their movements.
"Calm down, the both of you!" Weiss sighed, sheathing her rapier. "This - This argument is inane. You need to cool down, neither of you are making any sense!" She paused, frowning at the unintended pun.
The two of them were still able to talk, as the ice only went up to their chests. Additionally it was outside their Aura, so didn't stick to their clothing.
"He - "
"She - "
She shushed them. "Ruby, all he did was make a mistake. I wasn't there for what he said, but he clearly was misinformed."
"But he should have - "
"Silence!"
"Eep!"
Weiss turned to Jaune. "After this, I'm sure Jaune will be far more careful about who and what he trusts. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I'm no 'ma'am'," Weiss narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Then there's no problem, right, Ruby?"
Ruby wiped her eyes with her forearms. "... Yes Ma'am."
"I said I'm no ma'am!" She huffed.
Ruby broke herself free from the ice, before helping Jaune with it.
"Weiss is right… Jaune, I'm sorry…"
Jaune flicked a piece of ice away. "No, no, I'm sorry too. I can't believe I just believed all that."
"You better believe you won't believe the beliefs of someone who believes such unbelievable beliefs so easily anymore." Ruby said.
The two gave each other a small, awkward smile.
"Then," Jaune asked. "What about armor? Does wearing armor or clothing over bare skin help with reducing damage on Aura?" If he's wrong about one thing, he's probably wrong about the other.
"On that… He is not entirely wrong." Weiss turned the cylinder that was located in the guard of her rapier, locking it into a new position.
"He's not? Then…" He glanced at Weiss' dress that bared almost her entire legs and her bare arms. Good thing she irked him so, even if in a more friendly way now, else he might've actually fallen for her in a different life.
"The truth, as always, is far more complicated. The formulas and principles involved, in their entirety, would be at least two to three entire classes at Beacon."
"Two to three?!"
Grabbing a vial of light blue substance, she refilled one of the chambers of the spinnable cylinder on her rapier. She only added a little bit, before capping it off again and putting the vial… away.
…Where did it go…?
"When first unlocked, a barrier of Aura is usually instinctively covering your body and clothing. Physical force that triggers its dampening abilities will then expend Aura until the blow is at a level that is manageable by your body. This means that before your armor can do anything, Aura has already done its job. In order for armor and clothing to be useful, you must retract that Aura barrier until it occupies the exact same place in spacetime. If you retract it too far, your armor and clothing will be damaged. If you keep it too far out, then the armor you wore did nothing but slow you down." Weiss explained. "To shift the Aura barrier to a different distance than what you instinctively place it is extremely difficult, so almost every single huntsmen, including ones with decades of experience, would rather focus on combat itself and the other Aura techniques."
"Oh, but you didn't talk about how Lorentz's Law can also apply here, or - "
"Ruby, I'm not giving a full lesson here. Look, Jaune's brains are already overheating."
"...No, no, I think I got it. The gist is 'armor can reduce damage, but it's too much of a pain'."
Weiss sighed. "That's… acceptable."
He placed a hand on his forehead, letting his head keel a bit forward. The sigh that came from his mouth released enough tension that he suddenly felt really exhausted.
"Jaune?" Weiss asked.
"I think I need a moment. To process all this."
"The Aura and armor interaction? Feel free to ask me any questions."
"Yes… That, and the other thing. I'll, go, uh… Over there." He waved at the direction where the clearing was. The one where he talked to Pyrrha and Ruby before. The one where he also talked to… Cardin.
"I'll come with you." Ruby offered.
"No, I… I think I need a moment by myself." He wanted to be alone. To process what had just happened. "If you hear a girly scream, come get me, will you?"
"...Er… Okay?"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Yang's gaze was firm and serious, uncharacteristic of the blond. "I didn't think that they would be like… That."
"Consciously, you understand that these kinds of people exist." Ren said calmly. "But it is a shock to actually meet them."
Weiss sighed. "Clearly you haven't visited Atlas, or the rural areas of Vale. They have different sensibilities and different opinions there, even on truths we take for granted."
"Actually, when Nora and I were traveling, we saw many. They were generally very hospitable."
"Are either of you two Faunus?" Ren shook his head at Weiss' question. "Then I don't see why they would reveal their biases."
"…We never did stay in one place for too long." He admitted.
Weiss clapped her hands together. "Anyways, show's over. We still need to pack up the camp. Come on, Ruby, come on, Yang, back to work. Pyrrha, help me with these tables, will you?"
Yang and Ruby left together, the elder of the two chattering about something, only for Ruby to plant a hand on her sister's face, pushing her away. Ren went off to deal with his cooking equipment.
Ten minutes later, Weiss and Pyrrha had finished folding the tables and putting them into lockers. These ones were not their personal ones, but school-owned.
Not a drop of sweat on her, Weiss turned to give a good look over the entire camp. A surveying look over the barricades Cardin and his team had helped build, and empty places where the tents they had all 'hung out' together were. "Peace… Such a fragile thing."
The time was far after sunrise. Above the trees, a blue sky unfolded, promising a future of endless possibilities. "And I suppose that's also what is so scary about the future. What you have might disappear, be it items worn by time, or friends separated by circumstance."
"Today, you are… Hm…" Pyrrha looked for a good word.
"Dramatic? Please, after what happened, I think I deserve a little bit of theatrics." Weiss flicked out her Scroll, marking something down. "The mortars are already gone, and I don't see their tents… You think Winchester and the others have already left?"
"There is a chance." Pyrrha answered non-commitantly.
Weiss gave her a side glance. She gave a sigh and brought up something new. "Well, I hope Jaune finishes his 'thinking' at some point."
Pyrrha blinked, before looking at the forest in the direction of the clearing.
"Before we get back, I'd like to enjoy the scenery a bit more. I'll see you in a bit, Pyrrha." Weiss strolled right up to the edge of the cliff and sat down. The ravine, when not being chased by Grimm, was quite the sight to behold. Then, she glanced behind her, where Pyrrha had been.
She was gone.
Weiss smiled, and stood up.
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune blankly stared at the ceiling of his real life room.
The shock of the previous situation had not left him yet, as his mind replayed his conversation with Cardin again and again. Every sentence was contextualized, making what was just classic video game concepts into the ramblings of an absolutely bonkers racist on acid. And I believed him!
Jaune rolled on his bed in mental agony, twisting the sheets.
How did Cardin look so reasonable at first?! I should have noticed something when he did that 'training technique' of his! Or - didn't he talk about how Russel got punched or something for 'speaking the truth'? Shit, was he talking about being a racist? Then he got punched for a good reason! And that other team that they said they knew, who attacked us - or rather them, since they seemed to be more focused on Cardin's team!
In hindsight, everything became clear.
Fuck!
Someone knocked at the door.
He looked at his alarm clock. It was 6:23 AM. Door-to-door salesmen? No. It's too early… They at least don't wish to inconvenience themselves… Just others. Who could this be…? He thought, though he had suspicions. "Just a sec!" He yelled.
He quickly checked to make sure he wasn't wearing something strange and went to the door in his pajamas. Looking through the keyhole, he was treated with the sight of Light.
"Well? You know it's us, so open the door, Mortal."
"...Us?"
The lights of the hallway blinked out, and when they came back on, Dark was beside Light.
"...Light, Dark." Jaune acknowledged tiredly, opening the door. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"We'll be busy early today, so I thought to visit early."
"What's so important that you had to…" Jaune's eyes drifted down to the pot Light was holding. The two gods were dressed in their usual retiree attire, but this time, Light had an apron on with the words 'Let Go & Let God' written on it.
The god grinned. "Fresh, homemade chili." It smelled good.
Jaune tried to process that.
"Also, here to return your game." Dark held up a box. "Since our deal fell apart."
Jaune pinched his nose, before splaying out his hands and expressing his utter confusion on his face at why they had to do that at 6:30 AM in the morning.
Light strolled right in. "Did your sleep deprivation get worse? Kids these days, you do know that the only time you can make a deal with temporary death and come away clean is before you actually die. Or that time Persephone…" He placed the chili down on a heat pad at the dinner table. "Look at the mess. Are you not aware that your aversion to organization does affect your mental state?" Light started putting stuff away, like the dirty plates Jaune still hadn't moved to the sink.
Persephone? "You are an aversion to my mental state." Jaune mumbled.
"...I will let that go, Mortal, for taking pity on your brain having turned to mush."
"I - Fuck." Jaune rubbed his temples. "After all that shit in your RWBY game, do I really need you to mess with my day more?"
"Still haven't gotten over that? That's over three hours ago."
"What?"
"This Cycle, they can't meditate as a replacement for sleep." Dark told Light.
"Ah, right." Light accepted in his rough voice. "No trance. No pointy ears."
Jaune felt like he might have just heard something with enormous implications, but he had still not gotten over his mistake with Cardin or the gods' surprise visit. "Look, is that all? Otherwise, thanks, but I'd really like to go back to sleep."
Light placed a number of kitchen items back into the cupboards. "How about an 'I told you so'?"
Dark sighed, still at the doorway. "Brother, please. Let's leave, clearly the Mortal is not having a great day."
Light laughed to himself. He finished up with what he was doing, and did as his brother requested. Before Jaune closed the door on them, though, he shot one last 'I told you so!'
Ping!
Jaune glanced at the top right of his vision, before realizing it came from his phone in his bedroom. Strolling over, it was a message from a number he didn't know.
[Unknown Messenger]: Careful about the chili, Mortal, it has a bit of a kick.
How much spice did you throw in?!
[Unknown Messenger]: I'm not talking about the spiciness.
Oi, stay out of my head!
[Unknown Messenger]: Before you ask about mind reading, I didn't need to do so. You are too predictable and simple minded.
Jaune collapsed down at his table, placing his phone beside him and resting his head in his hands. The tiredness of the body and the fatigue of the mind combined into something resembling absolute exhaustion. He didn't even want to know what Light meant with that 'I told you so'.
What did Light even warn me about recently? Nothing! He just started playing around with my life, linking my bank account to that game thing, then we sometimes play rock-paper-scissors variant gambling games…
…Where we discussed the limitations of human perception.
Jaune froze.
That fucker!
This is what he meant. Enclosed in our mortal shell, we see nothing but the slightest of glimpses of truth. And from those scraps, we are forced to somehow constitute an entire world view. How the hell was I supposed to know that Cardin was a crazy, conspiracy racist? All I had seen of him were general positives, hiding his true self underneath what seemed like goodwill.
Jaune's hands gripped at his thigh, as nervousness crept at him.
I see now… It's like how his game is constructed.
His systems are confusing, with undefined terms and abstract numbers, because that is his style. Be it right or wrong, is that not how reality is constructed too? Science iterates over itself repeatedly, as theories are proven right or better theories are shifted into the limelight. A Copernican revolution might not happen every year, but with the sheer complexity of the world, the number of scientific fields out there must number… uh, lots. Who's to say there aren't enough scientific fields that researchers aren't getting their years and years of work invalidated every decade or so, losing it because they were misled?
How do we even know… That we haven't been completely wrong all along?
It took all that time, and with Ruby's help, that I was able to slowly make sense of RWBY:Online. We figured out what AP, SP, and the Aura Skill Menu, and even the underlying systems under HP, but if I was to be honest… Would Light really make it so… well, not intuitive, but even to that little amount that it was?
Why the hell is he making it so complicated? Just to screw with me?
Why… Why is he screwing with me? Jaune was starting to question if this was all really because of just a hamburger missing onions and pickles. Isn't this a little much? And these visits… I guess he could be personally checking on others, too, or even have more than one body - he is a god, after all - but…
Ping!
[Unknown Messenger2]: Hey, by the way, you're wrong about Light's HP
[Unknown Messenger]: Dark. I said you can't intervene.
[Unknown Messenger2]: You said I can't use our powers.
[Unknown Messenger]: Since your body is mortal, your current power set includes the manipulation of air with your mouth.
[Unknown Messenger2]: …If you say so, Light.
Or maybe Light really is trying to drive me to depression.
Jaune's wide eyes stared firmly at the wood of his table.
Now Dark's saying we're wrong about HP, too.
Then, if we go by this flow… Should I not ask Ruby about her past? Real Ruby, the one that matters to me far more. There's a fear inside, the same fear that appeared when I saw her with that syringe. I don't want to ask. I don't want to know. What if reality lets me down again?
Should I forget all about our past, and let Ruby just be a stranger once more?
He gritted his teeth.
Isn't she already a stranger? We haven't seen each other for who knows how many years - He tried to do the math, but his mental state was not conducive in figuring the two general dates. - maybe ten - Which is enough for anyone to have, I don't know, become part of an extremist militia or something. She's already lost to you.
I don't know.
I don't fucking know… Anything!
The realization struck him like a brick. He'd joked about it before, but it was a bit different to begin accepting it as truth. It was a loathsome feeling, draining his mood like a solemn defeat. Like he'd lost.
He balled up one of his hands and banged it on the table as hard as he could. He immediately regretted it as it throbbed in pain.
That's exactly where the fucking plot is going, isn't it? Cardin, HP, and now real Ruby. There's no way I can ask her now.
Tension seeped out of Jaune's muscles. "Well there would be no way." He stood up suddenly, letting his chair fall over and clang on the floor. He twisted himself dramatically, putting one hand on his waist and the other, he pointed at himself with his thumb, striking a pose dripping of heroism, and confidence.
"There would be no way… If I wasn't fucking stupid!"
He stood there, alone, in his cramped kitchen, grinning and talking to absolutely nothing, but somehow, much happier.
"I'm gonna talk to her. I'm not going to let something dumb like 'logic' or 'reason' stop me from a path that is clearly correct." He declared. Hand hovering over the pot with Light's chili, he noticed it was still warm and ladled himself some into a one-time use plastic bowl - the others weren't washed yet. "I'll ask her, and if she doesn't want to tell me, then she doesn't. But if she tells me, then great. Whatever the contents are, I will deal with as they come - Who's the man? You're the man, Jaune!"
He spooned some of the chili in his mouth.
He smacked the table with both hands, jolting.
"Holy fuck."
He covered his mouth with his hand as a tingle shot up his spine. Flavor like he'd never tasted before exploded in his mouth, making him start tearing up. In fact, it seemed so good that his tiredness was melting away - even his hand's pain was receding.
"...I guess this chili was really made by a god." He paused. "Wait, did he drug it?" He closed his eyes with a smirk. "Whatever. Well, let's go! We've got a long day ahead of us, moi!"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
"When you start to face your reality, you will start seeing things you hadn't seen before. Splendors that you had missed, or inconveniences you had ignored. But most important of all, you will find new terrors of the dark."
A few people passing Light on the sidewalk gave him an odd look, as he proudly spoke at no one as if he was giving a presidential speech. Dark, beside him, was on his phone, playing some mobile game that Light had no interest in, occasionally glancing.
"They will come from the most unexpected of places, and they will scare you into recoiling. 'Was the familiar not enough for you? Why even step further, when it is so comfortable at home?' you might say." He took a moment to stop, as he looked upon the empty city streets, just starting to become busy. A melancholic smile eased onto his face.
"You're lucky he's stubborn, then." Dark suddenly spoke up. "Reminds me of you."
Light gave his brother a grin. "The game has just gotten started. There is so much more laughter and pain to witness." He took a deep breath, letting the warm rays of the morning sun chase away the chill of the prior night.
He put his hands behind his head casually, resting his head. "So, let's watch on as our creations reach out through the darkness and stumble, blindly, toward the ever distant light."
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
A/N (2022/06/25): Oh woops, with how long this chapter is, I think I screwed up again. This 'Arc' technically ends next chapter, but… I'll be honest, I don't think it feels like an end to an Arc. Plus, that 4-6 chapters estimation is now wrong, because so much was covered in this chapter. Because I screwed up. As I said, I really need to go train in the mountains.
Since this chapter was so long, I'll be taking a month break. Next chapter's in August, wrapping up Initiation, and will probs be the last one before hiatus!
Next chapter: August 28th, 2022