So that was what she did, hours and hours of training to get used to her strength, speed and perception. One of the first things she realised was that she barely felt tired, at least not for long. Whenever she got exhausted, all it took was a few seconds of rest and she was back to tip-top shape and ready to spar, not that the Hunter gave her a chance to fully rest.
The first thing she learnt was conserving her stamina, well it was more of a relearning experience since that was one of the first things thought at Signal Academy. But with her new abilities combined with the boost her own Aura gave her, it could let her go a long time, much longer than she previously could, even when her Aura was shattered.
Whenever a barrier of Aura gets shattered one would feel the immediate backlash and be drained of stamina, allowing an opponent to take advantage of them. That's why getting one's Aura broken in the field was considered a death sentence in the Huntsman line of work. You lose your enhanced physical abilities, reflexes, and Semblance and depending on your weapon weight, that as well.
She grunts as she feels both Blades of Mercy slash at her with a powerful strike, shattering what remains of it in a single blow as the Hunter went for a follow-up strike. However, Ruby fought through the backlash of losing her Aura and leapt backwards to avoid the slash, firing off a round from an archaic-looking pistol.
The second thing she learnt was the doctrine of Hunters. In Combat Academy and from her uncle's teachings, she learned how to take down Grimm by taking advantage of her agility and speed to outmanoeuvre enemies while letting her Aura absorb any attacks that would otherwise be lethal. The doctrine she learnt in Signal was mostly about conserving her Aura in combat, chipping away enemies with her ranged weapon and taking them down when they inevitably get close for melee weapons.
The Hunter doctrine was quite similar except for one thing. They never had Aura so Hunters like Hunter were taught to avoid taking damage at all cost using a simple tactic of firing special Quicksilver rounds that would stun an enemy to allow for a counterattack.
It requires wielding two weapons instead of both mixed into one. A melee on her right and a ranged on her left. Timing has to be precise, firing at the exact spot while they put their weight behind an attack to knock them off balance and allow for what he calls a riposte.
She tries to perform the tactic, but the Hunter dodges the bullet with ease before she could react, he closes in with a slash, nearly severing her arm clean off and forcing her to drop her Hunter Pistol.
She screams in agony, her nerves on fire as the Hunter moves in for the killing blow. She could only use her remaining arm to try slashing at him with the Burial Blade's scimitar, but it was easily parried with one blade as the other stabbed at her from under the jaw, going right into her brain.
And everything faded to black.
"Welcome back, Huntress Ruby." the Doll greets as her eyes open once more as she finds herself back near the entrance of the Hunter's Workshop and outside the field of flowers.
"Hi Miss Doll…" Ruby grumbles as she rubs her jaw where the blade had pierced her. The first time he killed her she went into near shock when she was brought back, and after a couple minutes of screaming at Hunter to never do something like that ever again without telling her first, and a few hours or maybe a whole day, she was ready to start sparring again.
Time worked differently here, and without a sun-moon cycle, she found it difficult to keep track of how long she's been here. But with no need to sleep, eat or drink she decides to dedicate that time to training.
She admits it has some effect on her. During their earlier fights when she came under a barrage of attacks she hesitated and it cost her life, just like it did against those two murderers that attacked her home. She can't have that happen again.
Ruby sighs as she lies there on the cobblestone path as the Hunter approaches and looks down over at her with his mask down,
"That was good, you nearly took my head off with that." he complimented with a thumbs up and a smile, "Just need to be quicker next time."
"You're lucky I don't have my baby with me or I'd have lasted longer." Ruby groans as she pulls out the Burial Blade, "Don't get me wrong, this is a good weapon, but it's just not Crescent Rose."
The Hunter rubs his chin in thought, "Maybe we can get it repaired, you have the tools of the Hunter's Workshop available to you."
"Isn't this all just in my head or something?" Ruby asks before the Hunter points at the Burial Blade.
"Then how did you bring that to the waking world?"
"...Point taken. So I just need to grab Crescent Rose and I can get her all fixed up?" Ruby asks and the Hunter nods.
"Yes, just call for the Messengers." the Hunter snaps his fingers and from a pool of mist, those final pale-white creatures emerge.
This time Ruby doesn't leap from the sight of them, instead swallowing a nervous gulp before approaching them.
"Er…hey there little guys?" she says nervously as they turn their attention to her, "I'm looking for Crescent Rose, she's my scythe and I left her in my room's desk. Do you mind grabbing her?"
The Messengers immediately shake their heads before disappearing into the pool of mist before reappearing a moment later and holding the broken form of Crescent Rose to her,
"Thanks." she awkwardly accepts Crescent Rose before they disappear, "I don't think I can ever get used to them."
"You will, eventually." the Hunter signs as he guides her into the Hunter's Workshop, "They're useful for handing you equipment in the middle of a Hunt, storing things you find and passing along messages."
In the Workshop she lets out a low whistle as she observes the wall of tools and weapons inside, she didn't have time to fully appreciate it the last time she was in the Dream and despite how ancient they look, it was still impressive in an archaic way.
"Alright, I can work with this," Ruby whispers to herself looking at the collection of saws, hammers and an assortment of tools that one would need for weapons. Only they were somewhat ancient and lacking in modern technology, but she can work with what she had,
"Nothing a little elbow grease can't fix." she says as she sets Crescent Rose on the table before glancing at what looks like a branding iron, "Hey, what's that thing for?"
"Oh? A Rune Workshop Tool." he says picking it up, "Hunters lacked your Aura, and so we would use this to inscribe runes into their bodies to improve their performance. Some effects they have are the ability to make regenerate your stamina at faster rates or put more power behind your blows. Would you like one?"
Ruby immediately pales at the implications of how she would get these runes, 'Er, no thanks, I'll just focus on fixing my baby over here."
Her first step was unscrewing and unbolting it, trying to find which specific parts inside were damaged as the Hunter looks over her shoulder at her work.
"Very complicated." he signs disapprovingly, "Maintenance must be a pain."
Ruby sighs, "Yeah it was. I used to think it was worth it but after tonight I think I'll try to make it simpler without sacrificing the overall design."
Besides that, it didn't complement well with the Hunter doctrine she was learning. The split second required for her to fire off a shot at the right angle would be difficult to pull off if her melee and ranged weapons were combined.
"Got any ideas?" she turns over to Hunter who glances at her with a gleam in his eyes.
The Hunter looks to her with an amused smirk, grabbing a strange tool from the workbench and what appears to be a star made of crystallised blood, "I may have some."
"I can stay for a while longer." Ruby protests but her father waves off her offer.
"Come on, we know the airship to Beacon leaves in hours, so you better get there as soon as possible. We don't want you to be late for the entrance exam, do we?" her father smiles from his wheelchair. Even with Aura his leg was still injured, having healed wrongly while it was fractured and needed to be broken again to be reset. Still, despite his injury, he smiles at her warmly, "Go on Ruby, become that Huntress you always wanted to be. And say hi to Yang for me, will you?"
Ruby leans in and hugs her father, "I will. You take care now Dad."
After their brief farewells Ruby left the house and Hunter, who had been waiting outside the house to give them some privacy, followed her. With their backs turned Tai Yang's smile fell as he stared at the back of the strange boy that rescued him. As soon as they were out of earshot, however, a crow that was perching on the branch of a nearby tree flew inside his house before materialising into a familiar figure.
"So, what're your thoughts on Ruby's new friend?" Qrow asks as he leans against the wall of his house.
"He's odd, possibly the weirdest kid I've ever met." Tai Yang mutters as he turns to Qrow, "And you say Ozpin hasn't been able to find even a single clue about him?"
"So far. And we know that if Oz doesn't know anything about someone, then no one does. It could mean trouble." Qrow nods, "Honestly, it's like he just showed up out of thin air."
"Well I don't trust him, and I don't like that somehow he showed up just at the right time to save us from her assassins." Tai Yang grumbles, "It's too much of a coincidence."
"I said the same thing, but Oz said something about keeping friends close and enemies closer." Qrow shrugs as Tai Yang sighs.
"I swear if Ruby gets hurt because of him…" he says under his breath, "At least he killed Tyrian, that's a point towards the possibility he isn't working with her. Finally, that bastard's dead."
"You're telling me. In any other circumstances, I'd be dancing and drinking more than usual." Qrow says as he takes a sip from a flask, "Psycho's killed plenty of good men and women over the years, glad he's finally put down. Just a shame I wasn't there when it happened."
"...Did he suffer?" Tai Yang asks after a pause. After what he almost did to his little girl, he wished that happened. Qrow smirks and pulls out his Scroll,
"Should've seen the face of his corpse. Hang on, I'll send you the selfies I took."
"Oh my gods, you're alright!" Yang says as she wraps her arms around Ruby before squeezing upon first sight of her in the airship, "You're alright! I got the call from Dad telling me to stay away from home, and then Uncle Qrow called me to tell me what happened!"
"Y-yang…I'm…fine…" Ruby chokes out through her sister's death grip, feeling her ribs crack despite her Aura.
Yang releases her sister a bit before looking into her eyes with worry, "Dad's alright right? He told me he was fine, but you know he's the type to say he's fine when he's not. But he is this time, right?"
Ruby nods, "He is. His leg's a bit hurt but it's nothing permanent. He's fine, Yang."
Her older sister sighs in relief, "Thank the gods. After Mom, I thought…But that doesn't matter, he's fine, you're fine, that's what matters right?"
"Yeah…" Ruby says, her hand subconsciously moving to her stomach where she remembers being gutted by Tyrian, "I'm fine now."
Yang wraps her arm around Ruby excitedly, "And you're going to Beacon now! My little sister's going to Beacon with me! Skipping two years, you little prodigy. Guess all you needed to do was send two Huntsmen killers running for the hills."
"I didn't do much." Ruby says feeling embarrassed looking back at Hunter who was watching their interaction from a distance, "Honestly, if it wasn't for Hunter I wouldn't have made it out there alive."
"Yeah, Uncle Qrow mentioned something about someone helping you." Yang mutters before approaching the boy with a smile and a hand, "Yang Xiao Long. A pleasure to meet you. Probably heard but I'm Ruby's older sister."
Hunter stares at her before back at Ruby, looking between the two with what appears to be confusion as Yang chuckles in recognition,
"Yeah, we get that a lot." she says, "Uncle Qrow only mentioned someone saved Ruby and my dad, but not much. I'd have thought it was some Huntsmen or something, not another kid from Signal. Were you new? I don't think I recognise you."
"I'm just a Hunter who happened to be in the area." Hunter signs to Yang who looks at it confused.
"Er, yeah…did you get that?" Yang whispers the last part to Ruby.
"He was just in the area." Ruby answers for Hunter, remembering the cover story she came up with for him, "He's from Mistral, one of the settlements on the outskirts of the kingdom walls."
"What was he doing on Patch then?" Yang asks confused.
"Oh, he's just enthusiastic about hunting Grimm."
Yang stares at her oddly, "But Patch has one of the lowest Grimm rates in the world."
"...He's very enthusiastic about hunting Grimm, thought maybe there'd be some rare ones on Patch." Ruby quickly came up with, "He hasn't seen or know much about the world outside of his settlement."
"Yeah, I guess growing up in the boonies would do that to you." Yang mutters softly, accepting her sister's answer, glancing back to Hunter, "So why did you-Huh?"
They both turn to find Hunter suddenly gone, with Ruby frantically looking around to find where he had wandered off before spotting him amongst a crowd of students looking at a holographic screen in the airship.
A newscaster was talking about recent Dust shop robberies Vale attributed to the White Fang, and Hunter was staring at the screen confused before looking at Ruby and Yang, pointing at the screen,
"Right, you probably haven't heard of the White Fang?" Yang asks and Hunter nods, "They're a bunch of Faunus terrorists essentially, fighting for Faunus rights and equality. Honestly from what I hear, those are good intentions, but lots of people disagree based on all their bombings and attacks."
This just leaves Hunter more confused as he signs to Ruby, "Faunus? What are they?"
Ruby looks at him in surprise before remembering just how little he knew about Remnant, and immediately worrying if Yang would question his lack of common knowledge, glad that her sister can't understand Hunter's signs.
Fortunately, during her time in the Dream, she spent learning a bit of replicating the signs the Hunter uses an original form of sign language the Doll and Hunter made together to make up for his lack of speech.
"Half animal, half human." Ruby briefly responds with quick hand signs, however, her answer seems to set off something within the Hunter, who suddenly appeared tense.
"Beastmen...Because of a plague?" he asks, looking around at the few Faunus that was on the ship with a dangerous look in his eyes.
Ruby was quick to correct him, "No! Born that way, normal, harmless!"
This seems to calm him down enough as the sharp look in his eye fades and he nods.
"Hey, everything alright?" Yang asks Hunter, looking at him oddly after she noticed him tense for a moment.
Before either of them could answer, the holographic screen was replaced by another hologram, this time of a woman with blonde hair in a bun and glasses.
"Who's that?" Yang asks no one in particular as the hologram spoke,
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." the hologram answers Yang's question without meaning to as it continues with the recorded message, "You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
With that brief speech done, the airship begins moving, and the Hunter's reaction to the sudden movement was amusing as he looks at the floor with fear.
"Never been on an airship before?" Yang teases the Hunter, "Try not to get airsick then."
"Hey Yang, Hunter, come look." Ruby waves over the two as they join the rest of the Beacon attendees to look out of the large glass window as the airship rose quickly, "You can see Signal from here, and Beacon over there!"
She points to the academy a fair distance away as Hunter presses his face against the glass in awe, his eyes widening at the sight before him as Ruby snickers,
"Guess you didn't have anything like this back where you came from?" Ruby asks and the Hunter barely registers her words, too awestruck by the sight before him as he signs with one hand.
"No, I heard there were people who flew on something called balloons but I never saw them and thought they were just joking." he signs without even looking at her, too enraptured by the sight. To him who had barely seen anything outside of Yharnam except for the Cainhurst castle, the sight of blue oceans and green pasture was surprising enough, but from heights like this? Without any aid from an Old One, done with the hands of mankind? It was awe-inspiring.
Nothing could ruin this moment for him, at least that was what he thinks before a blonde teen in white armour next to him started gagging.
The Hunter grumbles as he scrapes his foot on the grass hoping to get it off Yang bellows in laughter behind him and Ruby tries to comfort him.
"Come on, it's all cleaned up now hasn't it?" Ruby pats him on the back as he signs annoyedly.
"I wish that was the first and last time something vomited on me, but it wasn't." he says looking at his shoes in disgust, remembering the times in the sewers where he'd step on what he assumed were corpses only for them to suddenly reach up and release poisonous sludge from their mouth, "And I doubt it would be the last."
"Well, how about we focus on that instead?" Ruby points ahead at the castle-like structure ahead of them in excitement, "Beacon Academy, we're finally here!"
"It's pretty impressive don't you think?" Yang asks, "The view from Vale's got nothing on this."
The Hunter merely shrugs, he doesn't have that much high opinion on castles after the few he's visited. Visiting a castle with nothing trying to kill him would be a new experience though, and he wonders what kind of classes would be taught inside about the art of the Hunt?
"Oh, oh!" Ruby taps Hunter's shoulder before pointing at some other teenagers around the school grounds, "Look over there! That kid's got a collapsible staff! Oh I bet it has a sniper built into it, that would be the only thing that could fit! Or maybe they're nun-chucks? And over there! She's got a fire sword!"
The Hunter looks on with interest and signs, "Really? Looks like a standard longsword."
"Yeah but if you look at that sword's core that faint orange glow means it's been infused with some Fire Dust crystals, or maybe in a powdered form?" Ruby mutters in thought, "Using crystals gives the sword more power, but powder's cheaper and longer lasting, but it's gotta be a pain to maintain."
"Dust? You mean those crystals?" he recalls them being used by that Hazel character from yesterday.
"Yeah, there's a whole bunch of different Dust types, Wind, Air, Electricity and even Gravity. Lots of Huntsmen use them in their weapons or separately, but it's also used for every type of ammo." Ruby explains as the Hunter rubs his chin.
"...What if we mix Quicksilver with Dust?" the Hunter signs, "Quicksilver has a good kick, add some of this Wind or Gravity Dust, what would it do to a beast?"
"Ooh, we have to try that out!" Ruby says excitedly as she considers the potential, "We're gonna figure that out when we get into Beacon!"
"Alright, feeling a tad bit left out over here." Yang says without any malice as she looks between the two, only managing to guess where the conversation was going thanks to Ruby speaking, "Guess you finally found someone who obsesses weapons as much as you do, sis?"
"Hey, just because I like weapons doesn't mean I obsess over them." Ruby says flustered, "It just, they're so cool! Weapons are an extension of ourselves, there's a lot of things you can learn about a person just from their weapons. Their design, their colour, and so much! It's like meeting new people, but better!"
The Hunter nods in agreement, "True. Each chip and scratch in a weapon tells of the foes they fell, the tactics their wielder uses and their personality."
"...Right, didn't understand a lick of that." Yang admits before turning to Ruby, "But speaking of meeting new people, this is your chance to meet some Ruby. Think about, a new school, new people."
"But why do I have to meet new people?" Ruby complains, "I got you and Hunter."
She points a thumb at him who gives a small wave of his hand.
"Yeah, well…hey I think I see some of my old classmates from Signal! Better go say hi and catch up!" Yang exclaims before quickly dashing away, leaving Ruby stunned.
"Did she just…?" Ruby's jaw drop slightly before looking frustrated, "Where are we even supposed to go next? Do you know where to go next?"
She asks turning to face Hunter who shrugs as she sighs,
"Whatever, let's try following her, she can't have gotten-?" Ruby starts running to catch up as Hunter suddenly and urgently points behind in her direction, confusing her before she slams into something and trips over.
"Ouch…" Ruby groans as she rubs her head before she hears someone shout at her.
"You! What do you think you're doing?!
She looks up to find a pale girl, not as pale as either Hunter or her but still quite so, with a small scar over her eye and snow-white hair in a white dress.
"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going-?" Ruby tries to speak but the girl interrupts her, picking up a vial of Dust that came falling out of the luggage she ran into.
"You think an apology would suffice? This is refined Dust from the Schnee Dust Company! Do you have any idea what could've happened if it started leaking? You could've blown us all up!"
"I didn't mean to-!" Ruby again tries to explain herself but the girl wasn't having it.
"How did someone who lacks basic knowledge of Dust safety even make it to Beacon?" she scoffs at Ruby, "Actually aren't you too young to be in Beacon? Only the best can come to this fine institute in the hope of becoming proud Huntsmen, not a dull-witted child like you. Get that? Run back to Mommy now, why don't you?"
She should've just let it slide, the last thing she wanted to do was start a fight in front of Beacon and get kicked out without even stepping foot inside the main building yet. And she would, but the last part about her mother causes something to snap inside her,
"Well, what about you, huh?" she shouts back, "You're not exactly a grown-up yourself! I already tried apologising! And 'proud Huntsmen'? Someone with an attitude like yours can't possibly become a Huntsmen!"
This takes the girl by surprise before suddenly, the wind got a bit chilly as her glare sharpens at her and her hand goes to the hilt of a rapier at her side,
"...Go on, say that again," she says coldly.
Normally she'd try to avoid conflict with someone, especially when they start exhibiting their Aura like that but after her training in the Hunter's Dream, the moment the girl's hand went for her rapier Ruby's hand moves behind to reach for her weapon as well.
Taking this as a sign that she was expecting a fight, the girl began to unsheathe her rapier, but fortunately, before things could escalate, both of them feels an overwhelming pressure coming from behind the girl in white. She turns back slowly to find the Hunter behind her, glaring with his mask up so that only his eyes were visible, mist swirling around him as if he's ready to strike if something were to happen or he was given the order to.
The girl flinches at the sight of him, something like an instinct warning her not to push it with him. Clicking her tongue, she releases her grip on her rapier before picking up her fallen luggage,
"Whatever, I don't have time for this." she mutters as she walks off trying to appear unshaken while muttering under her breath, "Brutes…"
Ruby sighs as she sees the girl walk off, "So much for making new friends."
The Hunter huffs and signs to her, "What do you wish for me to do with her?"
"Nothing." Ruby shakes her head, "Look she's just a bit mean but nothing to get too mad about."
Hunter shrugs before reaching below, a pool of mist swirling as Messengers gave him a small jar of Dust.
"So does that mean we can't keep this?" he signs looking a bit disappointed as Ruby's eyes widened.
"Where did you get that? Is that from the girl?" Ruby asks as Hunter began inspecting the jar of Dust, including shaking it.
"Fell out of luggage Forgot about it." the Hunter signs with one hand as he continues inspecting the jar and reading the label, "No clue what it means, but there's a picture of a fire in a triangle in the corner. Fire Dust? So we throw and it burns beasts?"
"That'll be a waste." Ruby takes the jar from him before he could set it off by accident, "You use Dust powder to coat your melee weapons, and it's not ours anyways I'll give it back the next time I see her again."
"Er, hey? You two lost as well?"
The two of them look at a familiar blonde in white-plated armour approaching them looking nervous, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt but I'm kinda lost too."
"Well, we were just about to find our way to the main hall." Ruby says before turning to her friend, "Hunter, do you think you can-?"
The Hunter nods before she could finish and began sniffing the air before pointing in a direction, "Your sister went that way. Her scent is strong like it's full of…chemicals?"
"Yeah that's probably her hair products, you would not believe the amount she uses every day. Imagine having to wait for thirty minutes every day as she hogs the bathroom to do her hair." Ruby chuckles before gesturing to the blonde boy to follow them, "You can join us if you want."
"Sure, the more the merrier." the boy says excitedly, "Name's Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet and rolls off the ladies tongue."
He says trying to sound smooth before the Hunter signs, "Wait, aren't you the one who vomited on me?"
Jaune couldn't understand a word but he could understand the sudden glare he was receiving, "Oh yeah, you're probably still mad about that…incident. I'm really, really sorry about that. Air travel just doesn't agree with me."
The Hunter huffs looking miffed as Ruby spoke up, "He'll get over it. I'm Ruby, by the way, Ruby Rose. Over here's Hunter."
"Pleasure to meet you two." Jaune says as she shakes Ruby's hand but when extended to Hunter he just stared at his outstretched hand weirdly, making him pull back after an awkward pause, "So…should we get going?"
"Right, lead the way, Hunter," Ruby says as Hunter did so.
The trio walked for some moments before Ruby spoke up, "So…what kinda weapon do you have?"
"Huh? Oh, well I got this…" Jaune says as he draws a sword from its metallic sheath on his waist, "It's a sword, and the sheathe can turn into a shield as well."
He demonstrates this by using his other hand to reach for the sheath and expanding it into a shield with a push of a button.
"Hey, that's pretty cool. Don't you think so?" Ruby asks as she turns to Hunter who snorts before signing.
"If you are fighting with a shield, you're fighting wrong." he signs looking dismissively, "All you do is wait until your enemies get tired of hitting you. Unless you can overpower and endure against a Beast, you're better off dodging. More practical, better use of energy."
Ruby translates what Hunter says to Jaune who awkwardly chuckles as he puts away his weapons, "Yeah, but come on. It's better to have at least another layer of protection, am I right? Besides, it lets me carry around my sword easier."
"...Wouldn't they still weigh the same?" Ruby asks as Jaune looks downcast.
"...Yeah, it does." he sighs before turning to Hunter, "What about you? I don't see you carrying anything unless it's under that coat of yours."
The Hunter holds his hand out and before they could question, a sword's hilt rose from the ground from a pool of mist and he pulls it out, presenting it towards them revealing a familiar silver longsword wrapped in old bandages.
"Wow, you pulled that out of nowhere?" Jaune asks, amazed as he stares at the blade. While it was wrapped with bandages, he could still see the impressive silver gleam underneath it. The gleam almost felt like it was…beckoning him or something.
"Hey, now that's a familiar blade." Ruby says delightfully, recognising it from that night, "You know, you never told me about it."
"The Holy Moonlight Greatsword, formerly of Ludwig the Holy Blade." the Hunter signs before looking at the blade with some pity, "Alas he was overtaken by the Beast Plague, trapped in an endless Nightmare before I put him down. Good man, might even say noble. I took it from him when I executed him."
"Oh…" Ruby says looking a bit pale at the thought before turning to Jaune, "He…took it from someone who died."
"So it's kinda like mine?" Jaune asks as he gestures to his sword, "Crocea Mors belonged to my great-great-grandfather who fought in the Great War. Guess the two of us are fans of the classics. What about you Ruby?"
"Well, I got this." Ruby grabs Crescent Rose from behind her and with a twirl, it unfolds to become a large mechanical scythe. Unlike its predecessor, the new Crescent Rose was a bit slimmer, having been salvaged using the Burial Blade, and possessed few moving parts within now taking inspiration from how the Burial Blade folded. An unseen to the naked eye were the Tempering Blood Gems impressed into the new Crescent Rose.
"Wow!" Jaune exclaims as he backs away, narrowly getting sliced by the blade, "What is that?!"
"Right now, it's a customisable high-impact sniper rifle." Ruby explains as she racks its bolt, "But it can also be…"
She splits the weapon by grabbing a handle on the back of the scythe's blade and tearing it off, holding a curved blade in one hand and a sniper in the other.
"This is Crescent," she holds up the blade before holding out the sniper, "And this is Rose."
"So three weapons in one essentially?" Jaune mutters, "Isn't that…overkill?"
Both Hunter and Ruby immediately look at him offended,
"Did he just say-?" she asks befuddled and Hunter shakes his head in disappointment, "There's no such thing as overkill in this line of work! Every aspiring Huntsmen should know that! It's like you didn't graduate from Combat Academy or something!"
Jaune immediately began laughing nervously, "Right! Of course, ha, I was just joking…Get it?"
Both Ruby and Hunter stare at him oddly before looking at each other and shrugging. Odd reaction aside, it was probably nothing. They have to focus on finding their way to the hall after all, they didn't want to be late for the entrance ceremony.