"Didja really think it'd work?" A raspy voice questioned from the scroll. "You oughtta deal with that Black Phantom fella, and quick. If this doesn't lure 'im out-"
"I know what I'm doing, Hound." A more, elegant voice replied. "Should he attempt to free the goods, then he'll fall to the trap, and if not, then the auction will go ahead as normal, same as all the others before it."
"...Ah, well, if ya really think so. Was just wonderin' anyway." Blood Hound responded. "Though, gotta admit somethin'. Two bases and ya already didn't catch 'em yet? Ya gettin' old?"
The Pig Emperor raised a brow, ignoring the jab. "You seem interested? Something on your mind?"
"Aye, sharp as ever I see." His fellow crimelord praised. "Just seein' that yer havin' trouble with that Nahkriin, and thought I might be able to… lend a hand."
"Not without a price I assume? Last time I checked, The Five Lords didn't conspire with one another unless it was a mutually beneficial exchange." Emperor said. "But I'm willing to hear you out."
"Hahaha! For someone so pissed off, ya sure sound calm!" Hound laughed. "How many has this fucker mucked up now? And not countin' the bases, but the deals as a whole? Five? Seven? Some of 'em were with the ripe Atlas snobs too!"
Pig Emperor frowned deeply as his thoughts trailed back to this thorn in his side. One destroyed base was enough to warrant a hunt for his head, but two? Two damned private auctions? How did he even find out about them?
Not only that but the first time he struck, he killed Portia. Not really a loss to Emperor, but that little shit knew too much, and was a distant relative. The humiliation he felt made him want to find the masked fucker and end him personally.
However, he knew how to control his temper. No one knew about his real identity, not even his name or face, and he wanted to keep it that way. Not even his most trusted… 'lieutenants' knew him. His identity was his strongest weapon against the other Lords, and even the law itself bent to his will.
If someone exposed him, his career, nay, his life as he knew it, would be over.
And this Nahkriin is trying to do just so from the looks of it. There were innumerable possibilities as to why the man was doing this. One: He's just a moron trying to play hero and is freeing these slaves because It was 'wrong' or 'immoral' or some other such tripe.
Two: He's a challenger. He wants to take his place as a Lord of the Underworld, and all this sabotage is simply a ruse to make him lose his cool and somehow mess up, giving Nahkriin a chance to hit him where it really hurts.
Three: He works for one of the other Lords. None of them, not even himself, could afford a war now. He might have the quantity in men, but someone like Roman? He has his legendary assassin and was both an ally and good friends with Gray Hawk, who himself had connections to the Malachite Family. Blood Hound would destroy his men with his own drugged warriors, especially with the Cleavers on call, and War Bull always had access to Atlesian prototype weapons that could decimate him.
The only way to win that war would reveal his identity. Pig Emperor was confident that he could take the other Lords on his own and emerge victorious due to his… well, irregular body, but this will mean he'd get rid of his strongest asset.
This Black Phantom was either a genius to trap him like this, or a dumbass who'll be dead soon anyway, and only managed this through sheer dumb luck, but the Emperor would bet on the former. It was always better to be overly prepared rather than grow arrogant and ruin decades of work.
Vale will eventually be his, and he'd do whatever it took to make it that way.
"Yes, and I am planning to put him down." Emperor shrugged calmly regardless of the cold fury he was feeling, looking at the starry night sky from his mansion's balcony. "I won't claim that I'll be ready to do so any time soon, however."
"Aye, that I understand." He replied. "But my deal is simple; I need help gettin' me hands on some of those… potions that the Astera fella is sellin'."
"Hm?" the Emperor couldn't help it, he raised a brow. "And you need my help for this why? I'm quite sure you're capable of acquiring them on your own, no?"
"Do you take me for an idiot, Pig?" Hound growled. "I ain't messin' with no goddamn Titan Slayer. Fucker can bring the entire kingdom down on my head if he wanted to, and I ain't about pissin' him off."
"Hound, just buy them." Emperor sighed deeply.
"Do ya know how fast these things sell out?" The Drug Lord questioned. "I can't buy them at this rate, and I need 'em before they become common ta everyone else."
"...And what I get out of this?"
"Protection o'course." he said. "I'll send over three of ma Cleavers to guard yer auction, aye? That Nahkriin fella might be strong, but he ain't got shit on my men."
"Three, hm?" Emperor smiled slightly. "Seems to be a fair trade. I'll accept."
"I knew ya would!" Hound laughed. "Aye, I assure ya, ye won't regret it. I'll send the word, have 'em over to help yer folk out."
"Of course." Pig Emperor nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you."
"Pleasure's all mine."
The scroll clicked as their conversation closed, and he doesn't think his smirk could grow any wider. The moron, handing over three of his Cleavers out so easily that even when Hound knows how Emperor wasn't the most stable of individuals. Perhaps his age finally got the better of him and he wound up senile, but he couldn't care less.
He already had a trap for the Black Phantom, who he could all but guarantee would arrive, but with three of the seven Cleavers? That was practically striking four birds with one stone. Getting rid of the pesky Nahkriin and three of the underworld's most powerful warriors in a single swift move.
He chuckled with a shake of his head, entering his room. Even in his constant state of cold, unbridled rage eating away at his mental health, he couldn't help but feel happy. This Nahkriin had been a blessing in disguise after all it seems.
Weaken Blood Hound, take over his gang, then move to get rid of the other three. The Emperor was never going to settle for being a Lord, no. He will be the Lord of the Underworld.
And once that's done...
He glanced at the large mirror, grinning back at his reflection as his blood-red eyes glowed brightly.
The Surface will be next.
(Reid)
You know, I haven't checked on my skills lately, even after the Sea Dungeon I went through. The whole… shock stopped me from doing that, but checking on them now? They're honestly making me feel really damn proud. Statwise, I'm more powerful than 90% of the population, but with skills like these?
[Sword Mastery] (LV 87/100)
Your skill in the sword is that of a master
Increase sword damage by 87%
[Martial Arts Mastery] (LV 38/100)
Your skill in Martial Arts is that of an apprentice
Increase unarmed damage by 38%
[Fire Magic Mastery] (LV 90/100)
Your skill in fire magic is that of a master
Increase fire damage by 90%
[Water Magic Mastery] (LV 55/175)
Your skill in water magic is that of an adept
Increases water damage by 55%
[Light Magic Mastery] (LV 42/100)
Your skill in light magic is that of an adept
Increase light damage by 42%
Yeah, I'm a master at using swords now and, after asking the Game, Qrow is only at Expert Level. So I'm literally more skilled than Qrow with swords after like, a month, and the damage increase is amazing.
Though the melee masteries are fairly easy to level up since I can just copy stances to get extra levels, so those aren't as impressive as my magic masteries. Fire is at 90, fucking 90. I'm already a master wizard with this!
You know, I tried making new skills and they came out naturally. I came up with three new spells for Fire Magic, one was a… well, it's a 'Finishing Move'. A really powerful spell with a high cost and most likely to cause a lot of collateral damage, but hey, any badass mage worth their salt needs a badass ultimate move, right?
[Fire Fist] (LV 1/10)
Engulf your fist in burning flames, adding 100 Fire Damage to your unarmed attacks
Costs 75 MP per second
[Fire Cloak] (LV 1/5)
Cloak yourself in flames, damaging nearby enemies in a 20cm radius for 50 Fire Damage per second
Costs 100 MP per second
[Infernal Storm] (LV 1/3)
Release a gigantic, spiraling wave of fire by thrusting your cupped your hands in front of you, dealing 12,500 Fire Damage
Costs 7,500 MP
I could've made more spells, a lot more spells, but I came to the realization that I might be showing my Fire Magic a little too much love. I do have two more Magic masteries after all, and both are important. I want to level up my Light Magic to have a better weapon against the Grimm, and Water Magic is obvious considering my heritage.
Only ten more levels to max out Fire Magic, so I'm gonna focus on using it against stuff for now, but I wanted to at least make a few more spells for the other elements for me to practice with. Once I finish with Fire Magic, I'm most likely taking Earth Magic. I need that Nature Element fast.
Honestly, practicing magic and coming up with new spells is fun, especially after learning more about how magic works from the beginner's book I looted. Some stuff I already knew, but other aspects were new to me; like how there's a way of using magic in its purest form, without any element.
That requires a lot of meditation though, which I don't have time for that. I'll master what I've got now before jumping to other stuff.
[Water Slicer] (LV 1/10)
Release a blade of water, dealing 175 Water Damage
Costs 20 MP
[Jet Stream] (LV 1/10)
Unleash powerful streams of water from the palms of your hands, dealing 250 Water Damage
Costs 50 MP
[Bubble Blades] (LV 1/5)
Create twenty bubbles around you that are as sharp as a steel sword, each dealing 50 Water Damage
Costs 350 MP
Water Magic was easy to learn or to make spells with to be more precise. I'm positive this comes from my heritage, but making spells for it is almost as easy as it is for my maxed-out Fire Magic. It's a bit baffling to be sure, but I'd never say no to more versatility. Now I can deal with any bullshit Grimm that's immune to fire for whatever reason.
There's probably a Titan out there with fire as its shtick, so I've got to be extra prepared. I might go for Ice magic too in all honesty, cuz let's be honest; Ice Magic is badass. Spikes, spears, freezing someone's blood, and maybe even stopping time.
Magic is definitely absurd enough to reach that level.
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I raise a brow somewhat at that but ignore it.
Light Magic is obviously the hardest to control. Aside from it being apparently above advanced elements like Lightning, Magma, etc, it also has no relation to my heritage, nor do I have any perks to help me actually learn it faster.
I only managed to make three spells, unfortunately, and one isn't even really that useful, but hey, it's progress. Any offensive spell I could make I already have, and whatever high-level spell I had in mind failed spectacularly and just succeeded in blinding me for a few minutes, I essentially flashbanged myself, but there's no progress without a little sacrifice.
Not like there are really any high stakes with this. I literally have miracle medicine on me at all times.
[Flash Burst] (LV 1/1)
Release a flash of light at the enemy's face, blinding them momentarily.
Costs 400
[Light Bulb] (LV 1/1)
Create a small ball of light that hovers above you, lighting up the area around yourself
Costs 100 MP
[Light Shield] (LV 1/15)
Form a shield of solid light magic, protecting you from attacks
A standard shield is able to withstand 600 Damage at the cost of 1000 MP. Larger shields withstand more, but also have a higher cost
What I found really annoying was how there's no healing magic in this. Apparently, Healing Magic is its own Mastery, and I need to discover it on my own. The Game refused to give me advice for that, saying that it helped me enough.
Which is… fair, I suppose. I can't rely on The Game for everything after all. I'm gonna need to make do for now.
Eh, it probably requires Light Magic to be maxed out, or at least at a high-level to find it. It's most likely a mixed magic mastery, like Nature Magic being a mix between Water and Earth, but we'll see,
But now that I have all that out of the way, it's time to talk about how amazing Enchanting is.
When I first got it, I compared it to Skyrim's Enchanting system. One enchantment per item, – unless you unlock the highest perk – can't remove the enchantment, and need some sort of a soul gem or some other material. Turns out, it's way more versatile and easier to use.
I can put one more enchantment for every twenty levels I attain, so at level 100, I can imbue five enchantments. Removing enchantments is possible and extremely easy as well, and, you guessed it, you don't need any soul gems or anything of that regard.
You just need comprehension. I need to comprehend the enchantment I'm putting, otherwise, it just fails and refuses to work. Comprehending comes in three ways, one is having an already enchanted item and researching it – getting a feel for the magic within it. The stronger it is, the harder it is to comprehend and understand it.
The second way is mostly related to the elemental magic you have. For example; I have a great comprehension of Fire and Water magic – and decent for Light –, so making Fire, Water, and Light enchantments is possible.
The third is probably the simplest, and it's just literally understanding how it works, like how I upgraded my HP or movement speed with my armor. They were easy enough to understand the system, so I didn't have any trouble.
Now if I tried to imbue an item with, say, something like HP absorption? That's really difficult to understand, so I'll have to perform a lot of research into how it might work. Looting or rolling a weapon with that enchantment from a dungeon or the gacha will help immensely.
Another really interesting and useful thing would be that I can strip away enchantments without damaging the item, so I can switch whatever enchantments on my weapons without any risk if I didn't like how a certain enchantment worked on a certain weapon.
Production Skills are honestly insane. I'm surprised that Enchanting is a beginner Production Skill instead of an advanced one like Golemcrafting.
In any case; I pushed my Enchanting skill to level 23, so I can leave two enchantments on all my stuff. I was wondering if I could maybe enhance Goldbrand's power, but the weapon is blessed by a divine entity, so it's far out of my league for now. I gave my Knightly Gauntlets a burning effect, so on top of regular fire damage, it has the chance of setting someone on fire.
I also enchanted my clothes because why the hell not. Gave all my attire hardening so they're able to withstand attacks and not get destroyed while also protecting me, three pieces – jacket, shirt, and pants have a 5% MP, HP, and AP regen increase respectively, and the shoes gives me a 15% buff to my movement speed.
I'm not going to be always wearing armor after all. I might get ambushed, or not even have armor with me at all. I still need to get in contact with a good blacksmith for armor. My Golemcrafting just is not cutting it. There was this one Ruby keeps fangirling about, she'll probably not turn down a commission from the Hero of Vale.
Speaking of Ruby; she's been making great progress, as well as helping me in leveling up my Teaching Skill. Her stats, confidence, and quick-decision-making abilities are increasing, and it's only been a bit less than a week. I asked The Game about her quick growth, and it said that it's a combination of my growing teaching skill, Reliable Advisor Perk, and her prodigious nature.
Name: Ruby Rose
Title: Red Riding Hood
Age: 15
Race: Human (Silver-Eyed Warrior)
Level: 42 → 51
HP: 600 → 800
MP: 0 → 0
AP: 13,400 → 15,800
STR: 91 → 100
VIT: 53 → 61
DEX: 132 → 142
INT: 64 → 79
WIS: 58 → 71
CHA: 40 → 75
LUK: 300 → 310
Her Charisma shot up a lot, but I guess this has to do with her newfound confidence. The overall increase might look low, true, but this is after less than a week. What would the increase be after a month? A year?
And I haven't even maxed out my teaching skill yet. It's still only at level 20, not even halfway there.
Man, I can't wait to teach her Haki. I don't doubt for a second that she's gonna pick it up quickly. She really is very smart and thinks outside of the box. Can't wait to teach her magic either, though that's going be after I'm done fucking her, purely out of necessity of course
But I'll take it slow. I'm in no hurry anyway.
...God, I feel so proud of her right now.
By the way, I haven't asked yet, but is there a party system?
It exists, but it does not give as many benefits as you think.
… I assume no experience share?
2 Reputation with The Game [9/100]
You assume correctly. The EXP share has been replaced by the Student/Mentor system instead.
Damn, no exploiting that then. So what does it do exactly?
It allows the party members to see dungeons, as well as enter them with you.
...That's it?
Indeed.
That's… sort of useless right now. I think it'll only really useful once I get actually strong allies. No offense to Qrow or Ruby, but I don't think they could handle something like Epic Dungeons, and anything under that I can deal with easily. Eero almost killed buffed me multiple times over.
By the way, you need to fix the recommendation levels for that shit. Level 100 to 120 is not accurate, but I doubt you really care, so do whatever you want as long as it doesn't kill me.
… Please don't kill me, by the way.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, my new Volcano Golem. I've already got everything prepared in the circle – Basalt, Blaze Powder, and High-Quality Fire Dust Crystals. This is the highest level Ritual Circle – adding towers made of gold in between the silver ones – and I'm at level 100 Golemcrafting. I made sure the circle is new and not fading, so there's zero chance of this blowing up on me.
Fuck you, Murphy. You have no power against the overprepared.
I kneel down and inject my mana into the circle, causing it to glow as the ingredients start floating up. I frown as the magic begins to grow more erratic and dangerous, but keep at it as I inject with more and more, aiming for an Enhanced Volcano Golem.
The ingredients slam together, making a flash as they fuse. I keep my eyes open as I see it slowly form, my face erupting into a giant smile. It's working. Everything is going smoothly so far.
Finally, the Golem forms. Instead of a regular humanoid Golem shorter than a normal man, this one is much bigger. Twelve feet tall, composed of charcoal-black rocks with gaps that give a glimpse of the pure magma flowing in its body. Gigantic hands, and instead of the regular blank face, this one holds a monstrous visage.
"Badass…" I whisper in awe, getting closer to it.
It gazes at me and bows its head in respect, making me giddy as I check the stats.
Name: N/A
Level: 125
Base: Combat Golem
Type: Fire, Magma, Rock
Proficiency: Tank, Berserker
HP: 50,000
MP: 10,000
STR: 300
VIT: 400
DEX: 80
INT: 10
"What an absolute unit." I chuckle. "Yeah, someone like you deserves a name."
Aaand I still have shit naming sense. Goddamn it, why do I do this to myself?
"Uh, well…" My lips thin. "How about… Volcano...Volcano…"
Chan.
...What?
Volcano-Chan.
…
…
…
What are you, a fucking weeb?
-1 Reputation with ? [10/100]
Oh no.
Oh god, brain why?!
What was that?
I feel a cold shiver go down my spine.
U-uh, I mean, haha! That's a wonderful name! Great going, friend! What would I do without you?
1 Reputation with ? [11/100]
That's what I fucking thought.
"W-well then, Volcano…" I grimace. "...-Chan. Do you like the name?"
It looks at me and nods. At least it's smart enough to understand…
Now give it a lil pink bow.
Fine...
"Right, right, that's good." I sigh. "Come on, let's put you with the others."
...At the very least, I made one hell of a tank. I can't wait to sic it at some Grimm and see it rip them apart on its own. Hell, I kinda want to test it out myself, maybe make it fight other Golems as well. See what a few Wind Dust Golems can do against this motherfucker.
It's going to freak the fuck out of people, but I can calm them down with my magic words and incredible Charisma, so no worries there.
Golemcrafting is fun as hell.
I really love magic~
(Ruby)
If there was one thing Ruby disliked about weapons, it'd be an aspect that was somewhat unrelated.
It wasn't planning that went into them, nor was it the many, many blueprints she had to make that turned out to actually be nonsense or impossible in the end, nor actually making the weapon and its parts. What she hates is needing the money to get what she needs.
She'd already drawn up the weapon's form, the parts, the mechanism – everything was done. All she needs to do now is actually build it, but was lacking the funds to get everything she needed. Building weapons was expensive work – Crescent Rose cost her a fortune, but Ruby promised herself to not settle on a mediocre weapon for Reid.
But when taking into account everything it would take, she'd need a long while just to get the money. Both the required quality and number of the parts, the materials they're made of, etcetera. How will she get the money though? She can't ask Reid for it – it's a gift for him! She shouldn't have to rely on him to make it.
… Maybe it was time for her to get a job? But then she wouldn't have as much time for training, and Reid would definitely be smart enough to notice that something off. Or he might even think she was chickening out on him. She really didn't want to disappoint him.
So getting a job was out, but how about borrowing money? She could ask Yang or her dad for a loan then pay them back later. Yang doesn't really use her money for much, bar hair conditioners, partying, and sometimes clothes, so she had a lot saved up, and her dad was admittedly a pushover when it came to stuff like this.
Ruby frowned worriedly, glancing at the scroll on her desk next to the blueprints. Her dad stopped texting her to see if she's okay or that he loves her – he hasn't even been replying to her messages. She ignored it at first, seeing as this wouldn't be the first time that had happened mixed with her faith in him and her time with Reid.
But it was getting a little scary now. She could hardly sleep at night, opting to text her boyfriend until she fell asleep. She admired how Reid could stay up so late to work, but she was also worried for him. She once stayed on a call with him until 4 AM, and he hadn't shown any sign of fatigue the next day.
That was probably a potion's doing now that she was thinking about it, but she'd digressed.
Ruby shook her head. Her dad had probably just dropped his scroll someplace, or the where he is doesn't have a signal, even if there was a voice in the back of her head insisting otherwise. What if something happened to him? He was supposed to have come back days ago, so why hadn't he-
She flinched as her scroll started ringing, making her smile in relief as she saw the name of the caller, however, she frowned. For a second, she had hoped it was her father who rang.
Ruby would do a lot to hear his voice right now…
She accepted the call and greeted her sister cheerfully. "Hey, Yang."
"Heya sis!" Her sister greeted back. "Hope I haven't called at a bad time?"
"No, no, it's fine." Ruby shrugged, working on the blueprint. "Wasn't planning on sleeping any time soon anyway."
"It's late, Rubes. You gotta go to bed soon." Yang said, making Ruby pout. "But I didn't call to scold you. How's everything back home?"
"Great!" She grinned. "It's a little lonely without you or dad around, but I'm managing fine. I got full marks on my last Grimm Study quiz!"
"That's my sis!" The blond laughed. "Didn't doubt you for a second. Is Zwei alright? Have you been feeding him?"
"Yup, he's asleep now." She nodded, drawing a circle in the core of the Gauntlet's mechanism. "He really misses you, you know?"
"Haha, I'm sure." The older sister got quiet for a second before speaking up again. "Say… is everything okay in school?"
"Yeah, they are. Why are you asking?"
"Ruby, you can tell me." Yang's voice was oddly quiet. "I know you don't like talking about it, but I'm your sister-"
"Yang, it's fine." She cut her off. "I know what you mean. I already took care of it. I'm not being bullied anymore."
"So you were?"
"… Yes." Ruby frowned. "But I didn't want to worry you. You're busy with Beacon; you already have a lot on your plate."
"Beacon can go fu- screw itself if it means leaving you out to dry like that," Yang growled.
"Yang-"
"Ruby, you're my little sister. My family." She continued. "I couldn't care less about my own education or looking for m- Raven if it meant abandoning you, and you know that."
Ruby blinked a few times before smiling warmly. "You're right. I'm sorry for… not telling you."
"You better be." She scoffed light-heartedly. "When I get back, you can kiss that cookie jar you're hiding goodbye."
"You wouldn't!" Ruby gasped, standing up from her chair. "Wait, how did you even know about that?!"
"Haha! So there was a jar you were hiding." She laughed. "I knew it!"
"Y-you…" Ruby growled. "That's it; I'm throwing away that hair conditioner in dad's cabinet!"
"Wha- how did you find that?!" Yang questioned in shock.
"So there is hair conditioner you're hiding." Ruby parroted mockingly. "I knew it!"
"… You dare use my own spells against me, Rose?"
"Movie references aren't gonna save you today, Yang." The petite girl smirked. "Besides, I don't like that movie."
"Ugh, fine, fine, I give up." Yang sighed. "Just please don't throw it out. You have no idea how expensive that bottle was."
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you hold my cookies hostage." Ruby giggled, sitting back on the chair. "How's Beacon been by the way?"
"Eh, a bit of this, a bit of that." Her sister answered. "Team activities are fun. Plenty of good-looking girls and guys here, but the quizzes are kinda hard."
"Well, it is Beacon." The younger sister nodded, ignoring the first part of the sentence. "How's your team?"
"Finally getting along, thankfully." Yang huffed. "Weiss was insufferable the first few days, but recently got a whole lot better. Blake is still obsessed with that Black Phantom dude, and Levi is… Well let's just not talk about her, yeah?"
Ruby giggled, but then Yang continued.
"We've only known each other for less than a month and I'm already exhausted. I need a break." She sighed. "Speaking of; I have a free day tomorrow. Only three classes. What about you?"
"Oh, you know…" Ruby shrugged. "Same old, same old."
"How about we go out then? You and me alone." Her older sister offered. "I've really missed you."
Ruby was about to decline but then paused, thinking about this for a second.
She still had training tomorrow, but she also needed to get the parts and materials for the weapon she's making, but she needed the money. Yang probably had plenty, given Beacon's generous allowance, so she could go shopping with her and keep working on it.
Besides, she wanted to catch up with Yang. They hadn't seen one another for a while now. She wants to learn more about Beacon and her sister's teammates, after all.
"That sounds fun!" She grinned. "1 PM near the Bullhead station?"
"Heck yeah!" Yang cheered. "And yeah, sounds good. See you soon sis! Love you!"
"Love you too, Yang."
The connection cut off, and Ruby smirked widely.
And maybe it was time for Yang to learn about her updated relationship status. Perhaps she'll so graciously introduce Yang to Reid, swiftly one-upping her sister's entire dating history.
Ruby giggled.
Oh, she couldn't wait to see the look on her face!
(Reid)
You know, I've really been wasting most of my Lien on stuff like Dust, herbs, and other ingredients and materials for my Alchemy and Enchanting. As an example; the large gold pillars - which took a lot of my money. Around 3 Billion Lien, garnering me some odd looks from Ozpin when I asked him to get them for me - but I know it's ultimately for a good cause. I'm not worried overmuch about Oz given my high REP with him either.
I also managed to get my hands on some more of that really great coffee he sent me. The new box will be planted instead of crushed for grounds. My Gardening skill is damn useful for this kind of thing. I also started growing my own Superb Apple tree, and I've been adding a tiny amount of magic to it every now and then.
One of the books I looted mentioned that regularly feeding trees mana will help them grow faster, produce better quality fruits, and give the wood and leaves magical properties. If Superb Apples tasted that good, I wonder what a Magical Superb Apple would taste like. Aside from the obvious buff I'll get from the fruits, I'll have plenty of uses for the magical components I can harvest from them as well.
There's a lot of stuff you can do with magical wood. You can use it for the obvious stuff like staves and weapon parts but you can also use it for other things like Golems and even some rituals. Specifically, Spirit Summoning. That's still far beyond my level, unfortunately, but even knowing that I might eventually get to summon spirits that can help me out with my magical research is enough for me to get pumped.
The book also carried a clear warning about giving too much mana to a plant of any kind. Too much energy makes them very erratic; unlike a plant's often calm nature, and whatever element you fuel the plant with can influence how it will act. Which explains why the plants attacked me a while ago, even more so when I read that fire magic is on the line between passion and rage.
I gave them too much and enraged the plants for the lack of a better word.
So this time, I used Light Magic and left only a very small amount for the tree, around 500 points worth. Since I had begun feeding it mana, however, the tree is now at risk of dying if I don't supply it with enough for an extended period of time. Doing this at least daily should keep the tree safe as well as happy as it now gained a sliver of sentience from my magic.
It could probably survive without for a week at least, but again, keeping the tree happy should produce better fruit and materials. Magic, Light magic especially, also acts as a substitute for sunlight, so I don't have to worry about the fact that I planted the tree underground.
Anyway, back to my Lien issues; I started buying a lot of food ingredients instead of Alchemy or Golemcrafting materials. I wanted to discover the true potential of cooking, so I spent hours and hours making different kinds of dishes before stuffing them in my inventory. I most likely won't have the time to eat a full-course meal mid-battle, but I think I can stuff a sandwich in my mouth quickly enough.
I'm also anticipating the shocked faces of seeing your enemy eating as they fight. Those are gonna be hilarious to see as well.
So right now I have enough dishes to last a normal human two months. I say a normal human because I discovered that hunters tend to need to eat roughly twice as much, and I eat eight times more before feeling full. I can't get hungry, but if I ate too much I get a debuff called "Overfeeding", which reduces my physical stats by 20% and deletes any of the buffs I got from the food I'd been eating.
That isn't a problem though since I can eat a lot as part of my Leviathan heritage, to the extent it was even considered a Racial Power. I only discovered that after managing to down nine full-course meals and twelve different sides in the span of an hour.
Steel Stomach: Immunity to food poisoning and the ability to stack three different food buffs at the same time. Able to eat sixteen times more than the average human.
I find myself loving my own race more and more each passing day.
This means that I can stack Full-Course Meal with two more buffs, and I decided it's high time I try my hand with some Dust cooking. Which, spoiler alert: is honestly one of the most technically challenging things I've done yet. You need to be incredibly precise regarding the amounts, clever when choosing the dish, and careful with the heat whilst cooking.
My first attempt was on grilled salmon. A failed attempt which used Fire Dust as I accidentally let it cook it for longer than needed and it exploded on me.
My second attempt was with adding Lightning Dust to noodles. Which also failed since I added too much Dust. The dish was practically inedible because it zapped the insides of your mouth and throat.
Thank god I used Observe before I tried eating that…
There were so many other failed attempts that I almost gave up, but after one success, I slowly began to understand how it worked, so I made eventually more and more edible Dust Dishes with barely any failures. I could've asked the dude who made those Dust Pancakes for the method, but if he could do it, then so could I with my maxed level cooking skill.
So now I can have my Pyro Mana buff alongside Full-Course Meal and one more buff. I'll try to explore and make more and more dishes to see if I can discover something new. I can look into something like a Hydro Mana buff using Water Dust, but that feels a little too boring. Maybe something else with magic-related food?
If that's the case, then I'll need to wait for my Superb Apple tree to grow.
The door to the front of the store opens and in walks a visibly tired Velvet. With a quiet sigh, she shuts the door behind her and walks up to the couch, plopping down on it as she closes her eyes in exhaustion.
"All the potions're sold?" I question.
"Yes sir…" She responds mutedly. "How do they keep buying this stuff so fast…"
"Well, good work, Vel. This place would've been a mess without you." I praise. "Take a good one-hour break, I'll have us restocked after some time."
"Thanks, si- Reid…"
"By the way, are you hungry?" I ask, pointing at the sandwiches on the counter in front of me. "Still have plenty of leftovers."
She opened her mouth to reply, but then her stomach growls, making me grin as she hides her embarrassment with a cough. "W-well, if you're offering…"
I chuckle at her meekness. "Any preferences?"
5 Affection with Velvet Scarlatina [5/100]
"Ah, I'm vegetarian." She says. "Other than that, I'm not picky."
I nod, holding a large bowl of steamed rice in one hand and a plate of grilled vegetables in the other. I put the food on the table in front of Velvet, from whom I felt a spike of hunger as she almost drooled, then went to sit down on the couch, fishing out my scroll in the process.
"Dig in," I say, taking out a spork from my inventory with a snap of my fingers. "Hope you enjoy,"
She was used to me pulling out stuff from nowhere, so she didn't even look surprised, taking the utensil from my hand as she began to eat. I blink then raise a confused brow at the small moans, still not understanding how some people think my food can be that good.
5 Affection with Velvet Scarlatina [10/100]
I honestly think it's only above average, but definitely not moan-worthy.
"It's sooo good…" Velvet moans. "I didn't know you could cook."
"I'm a man of many talents." I shrug, then smirk in amusement. "...And you don't have to eat so fast. The food won't disappear if you slow down."
She freezes, eyes wide in shock as she's already eaten half of the rice. Seconds later and her face turns red in embarrassment, bunny ears lowering as she slows down.
"You must've been starving." I chuckle at her adorable reaction. "Didn't you eat before coming in?"
"I-it was a busy day today." She says truthfully. "And my team and I woke up late, so we skipped breakfast and went straight to class."
"Isn't there some sort of a lunch break though?" I raise a brow. "Also, did no one take the job? Or did you forget about posting a notice?"
"I-I didn't!" She squeaks out, waving her arms in front of her. "I posted the notice everywhere, but no one is taking it and I don't know why!"
"You'd think plenty of them would pay to spend a few minutes with me," I note. "Ah well, I can just ask Ozpin to lend a hand and send me someone."
"Still, are you skipping your lunch break or something?" I ask. "You should at least have eaten before coming here."
"I… had a class I needed to attend to today." She grimaces. "Once I was done with that, I needed to come straight here or I'd be late."
"Damn, you really have your work cut out for you, eh?" I smile sympathetically. "If I was in your place, I would've just skipped class. Not the most heroic of deeds, but my stomach is more important than my education."
She giggles then smiles sadly. "As much as I want to, I can't just skip. I need to graduate as an S-class, and to do that, I must be at the top in every subject."
"S-class? Aren't you ambitious?" I grin. "Only very few get to graduate as an S-class you know? You think you can do it too?"
"I have to." She nods. "If I don't then…"
She stops herself from continuing, then I feel a spike of emotions from her. Shock, guilt, slight resentment, and sadness.
"Vel, you okay?" I ask in concern.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She replies quietly. "No need to worry..."
I frown, standing up from the couch to sit next to her, my hand squeezing her shoulder reassuringly as she turns to look at me in surprise. I need to choose my words carefully here; I can feel her vulnerability.
"If there's something you want to say, I'll listen," I tell her. "You can trust me, Velvet. I'll help you any way I can."
10 Affection with Velvet Scarlatina [20/100]
"It's- I'm just-" She looks away from me, not knowing how to respond. "I'm sorry-"
"If you don't want to tell me, I understand." I squeeze a bit more. "But remember; if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll lend you an ear whenever you want."
5 Affection with Velvet Scarlatina [25/100]
I can feel real appreciation coming from her, as well as slight adoration and trust – true trust. She looks down for a few moments then speaks up again.
"M-my family and I are deep in debt." She reveals, then looks at me with a fake grin. "B-but it's no trouble, really. We're really close to paying it off. I only took this job so I can pay it faster."
Hmm, she's lying about the no trouble part and the close to paying it off one. Truthful with the last statement. She's no way near paying off the debt, and from the resentment and fear I'm picking up from her, Velvet is in big trouble.
Well, fuck, I didn't expect this. Best to not push it for now.
Whoever's behind this will have to get through me if they're after my cute bunny employee.
"Are you sure?" I question her, keeping the knowledge to myself for now. "Maybe I could forward you some pay?"
She giggles nervously. "No sir, it's fine. I can take care of this."
My eyes narrow and I nod. "If you're sure." I get up, pointing at the trapdoor. "I'll fetch the potions so we can restock. You enjoy that." I say, gesturing to the rice and veg.
"Thank you, sir…"
I head down to the basement, going towards the many boxes of potions the Golems had stored. I send all the boxes – fifty of them; with one box holding twenty potions – to my inventory, then climb back up, seeing Velvet leaving the empty plate and bowl in the sink.
She spots me and heads towards me. "Let me help you, sir."
"Thanks."
We both head to the front, then I summon a few boxes near us. We begin unpacking them all, organizing the shelves with hundreds of healing and weaker stat potions. It took us a while, but we managed to fill all the shelves in the store with a thousand potions.
"That ought to be enough for the rest of today," I mutter, Velvet nodding in agreement beside me. "And I should be able to help you for the rest of the shift."
"Thanks, sir." She smiles.
I smile back, then snap my fingers as I remember something. "Oh right, today is the first of May, isn't it?"
Velvet blinks in confusion and was about to answer, but I summon an envelope from my inventory and hand it to her. "Here. Your pay for the month."
"Oh." She blinks a few times before grinning widely. "Thank you, sir!"
"It's what you're owed." I shrug as she opens the envelope. "Hardly any need to thank me."
As she counts the money, she pauses and looks at me in confusion. "This is more than what we agreed on. Much more, almost double. Did you mistake the amount?"
"Hm? Nah, I didn't." I wave it off. "It's a bonus for managing this place with the hordes of customers. Don't worry about it."
"This much?!"
"Is that a problem?" I grin at her flustered look. "The more you're paid, the better."
"N-no, but surely this is too much for a bonus." She replies meekly, refusing to meet my eyes.
I pat her head, smirking at her red face. "Not at all. What you did is definitely worth that much. Take it as a 'Thank You' for your hard work."
15 Affection with Velvet Scarlatina [40/100]
"Come on now, they'll be swarming us soon enough," I say, then sigh. "Be ready to fight the horde…"
Whatever positive feelings she had vanished only to be replaced with dread. Said dread shot up as the first few customers enter the place, their eyes widening as they see me with her.
I subtly glance at Velvet then turn back to the customers with a professional smile.
A debt, huh?
I bring up my inventory, almost smirking at the amount of Lien I have.
Shouldn't be hard to take care of that.
(Yang)
At the station, Yang looked around between strangers for her sister, spotting a familiar red cloak in the crowd. Ruby was looking for her, so with a mischievous grin, the blond made sure that she wasn't spotted, going around the younger girl.
Getting close, Yang hugged Ruby from behind, yelling "Surprise!" as she did. The younger sister yelped before scowling in annoyance, pushing Yang away before pouting at her.
"That wasn't funny!" Ruby whined.
"I'm sorry!" Yang laughed. "I couldn't help it!"
Ruby crossed her arms, still pouting as Yang wrapped her arm around the younger girl's neck. "Come on, let's go."
The two departed the station, walking down the streets of Vale as they began to catch up. Yang tightly held her little sister's hand, their fingers intertwining. She missed the feeling of spending time with Ruby like this, even before Beacon, she'd been busy with schoolwork and actually aiming for the academy. Ruby still had more time, so she can afford to be more laid back.
Yang didn't have that luxury though.
And in all honesty – with no offense to her teammates – she needed a break. From Weiss' nagging, Blake's obsessions, and whatever second-hand embarrassment she endured from Levi's constant fuck ups, as minor as they were.
Ruby understood her best, and hanging out with her on a free day was refreshing. It's been a while since Yang was able to just… rant about stuff. Even if she considered her teammates her friends, she wasn't that close to them yet, so letting loose right now felt freeing.
"I'm not kidding, she kept going on and on about getting 98 on that History exam," Yang said. "98! Ninety-friggin'-Eight! I told her it was a good mark and she gave me this sneer like I just insulted her and whatever she believed in."
"But 98 is good," Ruby said in confusion.
"That's what I keep telling her." Yang groaned. "But noooo it needs to be 100. I'm pretty sure she's at the top of our class, but she just doesn't stop whining."
"What about your other teammates?"
"Levi got 95 and Blake got 93." She sighed. "No one is dragging us down, fortunately, but I'm pretty sure Blake could've gotten better if she stopped sleeping in class."
"But you said you sleep in class too!"
"Yeah, but I only do it in Port's class, not every class!" Yang complained. "She already got on Professor Mulberry's nerves, and she keeps doing it!"
"Why though?" Ruby questioned. "There gotta be something that's been eating away at her, right?"
"It's that Black Phantom guy." The older sister sighed. "She's completely obsessed with him, chasing info about him on the web or theorizing where he's gonna strike again. Heck, I've seen her defend him when some other student started mocking him."
"Oh…" Ruby blinked. "...What do you think about him, Yang?"
"Hm…well..." Yang frowned in thought. "I think he's doing good, but I don't like how he goes about it."
"You mean the fact that he kills people?"
"Killing is… well, I don't think it's really that bad. After all, hunters kill bandits all the time, and we're gonna be doing that too once we graduate." She shrugged, grimacing a second later. "I hate how he kills. That makes me queasy, to be honest."
"I think… he shouldn't be killing them, even if they're slavers." There was a hint of disgust when Ruby uttered the word 'Slavers'. "He's strong enough to just arrest them, right? If maybe he called the police or other hunters on them, then they'd all go to prison."
"Slavery is a serious crime, Rubes." Yang reminded her. "Even if they weren't executed after their trial, they would've been thrown to the penal colony, and that's basically a death sentence."
"Yeah, but still…"
"You don't like senseless killing, and I don't either." She gently squeezed her sister's hand. "But they were gonna die either way, right? He just… did it before the law had the chance."
Ruby looked uncomfortable, fidgeting slightly as she refused to meet Yang's eyes. Switching to a different topic, the blond grinned.
"By the way, what were you doing up so late last night?" She questioned. "Were you reading your comics again?"
"What? No, I wasn't." She shook her head. "I was actually working on something."
Yang snorted.
"I was!" Ruby whined. "I was working on a new weapon! There, do you believe me now?"
"Really? A new weapon?" She raised a brow. "Not onCrescent Rose?"
"Yes…?" The younger sister narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"...And here I thought you were satisfied with your 'baby'."
"I'm not replacing Crescent Rose, Yang. Don't be silly." She took her weapon strapped on her hip and hugged it with one arm. "Nothing can beat this masterpiece."
"Oooh? Really?" Now this interested Yang. "Then what for? A sidearm?"
"Nope!" Ruby giggled, letting go of Yang's hand to get in front of her. "I'll tell you what's it for… IF!"
Yang blinked and crossed her arms. "If?"
"If you help me." She nodded to herself. "And what I need is very simple."
...oh no. Yang grimaced, knowing full well where this is going.
"A-and that is…?"
A few seconds later, Ruby looked away, chuckling sheepishly as she twiddled her thumbs. "I kinda sorta need money for the parts…"
Yang facepalmed and let out a deep, weary sigh. This wasn't the first time this happened, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last either. Ruby would blow all her money on comics, candy – Cookies in particular – and strawberries.
Ruby's financial management skills were zero. The only time she saved would be for very rare weapon parts or when she had to.
"How much do you need?" Yang relented as she withdrew her wallet, unable to say turn down the bundle of adorableness that is Ruby.
"Really?!" Her eyes sparkled.
"Yes, now how much-!?"
Even after growing up with her, Yang still couldn't react in time to her sister tackling her point-blank with her Semblance. She thankfully managed to stand her ground, returning the embrace once her balance was restored as she patted her sister's head.
"Yay! Thanks, Yang!" She said, her head in between the blond's breast. "You're the best sister ever!"
"Yeah, yeah…" She sighed, smiling warmly. "Just make sure you pay me back when you can, alright?"
"I promise!" Ruby nodded. "I'll pay back every Lien!"
That's what you said last year… Yang resisted a sigh. Still waiting on that…
Ruby pulled away from the hug, dragging Yang by the hand as she leads her to a weapon store. Yang couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's eagerness but was still unsure. What even was this new project all about?
"So, weren't you gonna tell me?" Yang questioned, matching her sister's pace. "What's it for?"
"Hehehe…" Ruby giggled, an unusually smug smirk on her face. "I'll tell you, but only after we get the parts."
She shrugged. "Alright."
Ruby's hand gripped her sister's, the former smiling at the latter. "I was gonna ask dad for a loan when he came back, but he never got back to me. I thought you'd say no if I asked you first."
"I would never…" Yang said, then frowned worriedly.
Dad…
"H-hey, Rubes, can we stop by someplace first?" Yang said, pointing behind her. "The guild; so we can, well, you know, check up on dad?"
Ruby stopped, matching Yang's worried look before nodding slowly. Yang shook off her worry, grinning confidently, not wanting to dampen her sister's mood with anxiety.
"I mean, he's probably fine." She shrugged. "We're just checking to see when he'll come back. So wipe that pout off your face, Rubes. You're cuter when you're smiling."
Ruby paused then brightened up. "Yeah, you're right! Let's go then! Onward: to the guild!"
"Aye, aye, captain!"
It didn't take long for them to hop on a train, and it took even less time to reach the Board, hundreds of different hunters could be seen going about their business, some on the board taking contracts as others simply caught up with one another.
The Hunter Community in Vale was the healthiest out of the four kingdoms as it treated Hunters with a lot of respect. Mistral's was also healthy, but Vacuo and Atlas… not so much. She's read her fair share of articles – learning about the other kingdoms was part of the job – and in Atlas, Hunters from other kingdoms especially tended to be seen as lowly mercenaries. In Atlas, hunter pay is considerably lower compared to the other kingdoms, and there have been strange rumors of Faunus hunters disappearing.
Yang shivered in disgust. She definitely has her own ideas on what probably happened to them. She wasn't stupid.
The sisters moved towards the largest building in the section: The Guild.
The entrance was huge, bigger than even their whole house, with many boards all over the place as well as a big waiting room to the right. To their left and front was the counter, with stairs leading to the second floor right in front of the waiting room.
They'd been here a couple of times before, but the view always took their breaths away. True, after Yang graduates, she'll work for Beacon and Headmaster Ozpin and not the guild, and that made her a little sad because she enjoyed the feeling this place gives off. She could still take jobs from here, but any job from Beacon - and those would be numerous - take top priority.
Even Ruby was awestruck at the many hunters – though she's probably more interested in their weapons.
"That guy has a lightning battleaxe!" She whispered-yelled. "That's so cooool!"
Yup, definitely their weapons.
Yang sighed internally in exasperation and pulled Ruby to the counter, a young woman in her twenties greeting them.
"Hello and welcome to Vale's Hunter Guild!" She said. "How can I help you?"
"Hey, we'd like to check up on a huntsman that's been in the field while," Yang replied. "He was supposed to be back a few days ago, but we haven't gotten any word back yet. Could you give us any news regarding his status?"
"Of course! I'd be happy to oblige!" The girl nodded cheerfully. "His name please?"
"Taiyang Xiao-Long."
"Of course. Give me just a few minutes and I'll get back to you." She said. "Could you give me your name?"
"Yang Xiao-Long," Yang answered.
"Thank you, please wait in the waiting room."
The sisters thanked the nice girl as they did what she said, entering the room. They sat next to each other, Ruby rocking back and forth on her seat with a very pleased smile. Yang grinned and poked her, asking a question.
"What's got you so excited?"
"Ooooh, I just got a great idea for the weapon I'm making." Ruby squealed. "He's gonna love it, I'm sure!"
Yang raised a brow. "He?"
Ruby froze. "U-uh- Ahahaha, who's he? What are you talking about, Yang? I never said 'He'."
"I never said you did."
"…"
Yang grinned in amusement as she looked at the frozen stature of her little sister. She didn't know who this "He" is, but from the way Ruby's acted as soon as he was mentioned…
Well, what kind of older sister would Yang be if she didn't tease?
"Heeeeeeeeeeh? Who might this mysterious man be, eh?" Yang smirked as she saw Ruby's face redden slightly. "Come on, tell me? Is he a friend of yours? Or maybe… something more?"
"H-he's just a friend!" She squeaked. "There's- there's nothing between us-"
"Do you like him?"
"Of course I do," Ruby said almost a little too quickly before her brain finally caught up with her, prompting her to blush bright crimson as Yang laughed. "I-I-I mean-"
"My lil sis has a crush!" She grinned, making sure to not be too loud. "And I genuinely thought you had no interest in dating."
Ruby brought her hood down, her lips trembling in embarrassment. "Y-Yang, please stop…" She said quietly. "People are watching…"
"Oops…" Yang got closer to her sister as she whispered. "Sorry."
"Hmph…" Ruby pouted.
"So?" The blond grinned eagerly. "What's he look like he like? Is he handsome? How did you meet? You gotta tell me~"
An unexpected and uncharacteristic smirk bloomed on Ruby's red face. "Oh, you'll see soon enough~"
"Eh?"
"Excuse me? Miss Xiao-Long?" The same woman at the counter called out, stopping them in place. "May I have a moment?"
Yang turned to look at her, her gut twisting as she saw the grim look on the woman's face. No… please no…
"I'm very, very sorry to say this but…"
Oh… oh gods…
"Mr. Taiyang and his team went missing"
Time felt like it stopped for Yang, her heart dropping in her stomach as her face paled. The horrifying realization hit her like a harsh slap to the face. She felt her arms shivering in fear, but the low and quiet strangled noise Ruby made sprang her into action, getting right in front of the woman.
Yang grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Wh-where?! Where is he?! Where did he go missing?!"
"M-miss Xia-"
"Answer me!" Yang yelled, her eyes blurring with tears. "Where did he go!?"
"D-dad…" Ruby whispered to herself.
"I-I'm so sorry, but I can't reveal classified information!" The girl looked terrified. "P-please let me go!"
"N-no, NO! You need to tell me where he went!" She demanded. "Please, you have to! M-my dad is-"
"Miss, please let go of the receptionist." A burly man in a suit said professionally, getting closer to the teen so close to hysterics. "I won't say this again-"
"Where is he?!" Yang's eyes flashed red as she stared at the terrified girl, promptly ignoring the security guard. "Where did he go?! TELL ME WHERE MY DAD IS RIGHT NOW!"
"Miss!" The man grabbed her tightly as she thrashed around. "Please calm down!"
"LET GO OF ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She roared, desperation, terror, and sadness evident in her voice. "DON'T TOUCH ME OR I'LL RIP YOU APART!"
"M-my dad…" Ruby's quiet voice whispered, but to Yang, it was loud. "Where's my dad…?"
Yang's heart broke as she saw the tears streaming down her sister's cheeks. She stopped struggling, biting her lower lip as she stopped herself from crying. Some would say that it was an overreaction, but news that any hunter had been missing for more than three days usually meant that they'd perished on mission.
She knew about the mission's pay, and it was high. And from how confident her father had been about it, it felt higher than you'd expect from an 'easy' mission, but that was all she knew. Not where he'd be sent location, not what kind it was, nothing.
Yang put two and two together…
"I-I'm very sorry, miss." The woman was mournful as she refused to meet Ruby's eyes. "But this is classified information."
"...Will you tell it to high-ranking Hunters then?" Ruby asked, her voice serious.
"W-well, yes, but-"
Ruby got up and wiped away her tears, and with a calming deep breath, she left the building. Yang quickly followed after her, trying to see what was wrong as she pushed whatever grief she felt deep down to see if her sister was okay, but Ruby never answered her questions, simply walking to…
To…
T-this is… Astera's place? Yang was confused. She's not going in there… is she?
Contrary to what she believed, Ruby indeed walked straight into Reid Astera's store. Yang jogged after her, still trying to get a word out of the girl but to no avail. She wanted to stop Ruby, because aside from Astera probably being busy and not having any time for them, it's pretty damn rude to barge into a hero's home like this demanding him to help.
However, Ruby didn't listen as she opened the door, the Hero of Vale pausing before smiling widely at her.
"Yo, Ruby!" He greeted as they entered. "How's it going-"
He froze, his eyes wide before narrowing. He looked back at Ruby, then to her, then to her senior, Velvet as she was standing next to him. Reid Astera nodded to the Faunus, silently communicating with her before opening the door behind them, gesturing for them to follow.
Yang was in shock but didn't have time to comprehend as Ruby followed after the Hero. Not knowing what to do, the blond also pursued the two. As soon as the door behind them close, Ruby immediately hugged the Hero, who patted her head gently.
"Please…" Ruby's voice trembled.
The older sister didn't know what to do. They… knew each other?
"Save our dad…"
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