The Arcane Craftsman

by The White Wulf

The class system was rigid. Everyone has a role. A hero fights, a noble leads, and the laborers work. But there existed a class above all others. Since the dawn of history the prestige class was filled with heroes, warriors of unparalleled might and exceptional growth. Until a laborer got stuck in a dungeon. Behold the Arcane Craftsman, the first prestige labor class.

8. Chapter 8

Arcane Craftsman Chapter 8:

The sound of laughter.

The feeling of comradery.

The enjoyment of friends.

Could there be any better an atmosphere than this? Jaune doubted it. It's been at least an hour since Yang had led everyone to the bar she found. It stupefied Jaune just how much was in this place…almost like it was designed so that no one would have to leave, or leave as little as possible. But that was a thought for another time.

"Ok ok ok ok" chuckled Yang "Let me get this straight. You got asked out by a girl and just…said no?"

Jaune sighed for the second time.

"Is that so hard to believe?" he smiled, taking another sip of a cherry flavored drink.

"Come on" said Yang "there's not a chance you haven't had a girlfriend, even as busy as you were."

Jaune rolled his eyes good naturedly.

"I think you underestimate how busy I was".

Yang shrugged.

"Still, you rejected her?"

"Yes. I wasn't interested in her in the first place and honestly I wasn't looking to get married at the time."

Yang blinked.

"What?"

"What?" asked Jaune, looking at the confused expressions of everyone "what!?".

"Marriage is a little early don't you think?" asked Ren.

Everyone ignored the way Nora grinned at Ren.

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"Those of the labor caste work their trade to earn their money" said Jaune "but unlike heroes or nobles not all the labor caste can get a steady supply of money. So getting married early and having a joint income is something important for us."

Blake sputtered a bit.

"But at 16?"

Jaune shrugged.

"I thought it was normal, not to mention sweet" he smiled "if I was interested I might have said yes. She knew my dad was sick and my money situation."

"So why say no?" ask Pyrrha.

"Cause I wasn't attracted to her whatsoever and I wasn't going to drag her into debt by inserting her into my situation" said Jaune.

"Fair" muttered Yang "but still that sucks. Still a virgin."

Jaune rolled his eyes as Yang wiggled her own. Sure let her believe that.

"So, what about you guys?" asked Yang.

Blake shrugged further down the bar table while Weiss sighed.

"Dated a few. Some were good I admit" sighed Weiss "but…they were invested in Atlas the way it was so…the relationship just burned out."

Yang, who was seated beside Weiss and Jaune, patted the girl's shoulder.

"Had a boyfriend. Didn't work out" stated Blake.

"How bad was it?" asked Nora from Blake's side.

"Bad enough I lost interest in men."

Nora rose an eyebrow.

"Seriously?"

"Pffft, no" scoffed Blake "but I let him think that's the case."

Nora began laughing so hard she fell out of the rickety stool that was her seat. Ruby screamed as she too was dragged down due to being beside Nora. Unlike the Valkyrie however, her stool didn't break. While Weiss bemoaned the loss of yet another piece of furniture, Ren helped Nora up.

"Still can't believe a place like this is even here" muttered Weiss "what kind of guild needs an inbuilt bar?"

The alcohol that Yang had found was literally housed in a bar like room. The group sat at a large bar stand with a few of the stools still standing. The room was a mess of broken tables and shattered glass but the wall behind the table still held a large assortment of alcohol. It must have been an entertainment room of some kind but it was still unnecessary in some fashion to Jaune.

"I have to say I'm more shocked at how big this place is" muttered Ren as he sat down.

Nora grinned as she squeezed herself into his stool

"I mean…to have a full-sized bar of all things and still have room?"

"Not to mention that huge ass basement" muttered Nora as she sat her but down on Ren's lap.

"Makes you wonder what exactly these people were compensating for" wondered Weiss.

Everyone murmured in agreement over that. Pyrrha smiled as she took another sip of her small glass, having sat on the opposite side of Ren. Her pleased hum making Yang stare at her in shock once more.

"Honestly Pyrrha I think you're the only person who can drink Minstrilian Vodka and smile. That shit's rank!"

Pyrrha blushed a bit as she smiled.

"It's considered the staple drink of my hometown."

"Do all of them have iron livers or what? That shit strips off paint!"

Ruby pouted at her sister for cussing but smiled all the while. Today was the first day that was allowed to try some alcohol!

It sucked.

So instead she got milk! She smiled pleasantly as she dipped another cookie in there. Ruby smiled even more as she threw a cookie to Yang, the brawler not expecting the projectile failed to catch it. Jaune did not. Before Yang could get a word in the boy swallowed the cookie whole. Yang gave Jaune the stink eye while Ruby began to laugh.

"So" sighed Jaune "I've enjoyed this as much as all of you…but I think it's time we talk about what's happening."

Jaune flicked the business card he had with him onto the bar stand, letting it filter around his guild mates.

"I'm thinking of asking for their help in rebuilding the guild house. As much as I think we can tough it out…there's just no telling what kind of damage this place has."

Yang sighed as she nodded.

"Tell me about it. Almost lost my leg from when the floor gave out."

Weiss nodded.

"The longer we wait the worse it will get. The magic that has been keeping the building together has been unwoven. I would have preferred to keep it intact but it was unfortunately the main contributor to the overly saturated mana. I ended up gaining Mana resistance just from this experience alone. It's next to impossible to find a place saturated in mana enough to cause your body stress but not kill you."

Hence the rarity of the skill for lower ranked hunters. Not to mention magic resistance, much like basic combat arts, was one of the few skills that could be learned…so long as certain prerequisites existed. It was not all powerful, as many dead hunters could attest to. It was considered the one singular skill that all A rank hunters and above needed, making it highly sought after.

"I find it kind of odd they'd go through all that trouble just to keep a temporary guild house" sighed Nora "I mean, they were gonna graduate eventually."

"I think it had more to do with keeping their activities a secret" said Pyrrha.

"Either way, their stupidity is our gain!" yelled Yang as she chugged a large beer she was drinking. She sighed in happiness as she turned her attention to Weiss "how's the monthly payment?" she asked.

Weiss smiled in relief.

"Ozpin, due to the situation we have faced, has given us some leeway with the monthly payment. For now we only have to pay 4,500 lien a month."

Yang sucked in a breath.

"Still not cheap" she grumbled.

"Maybe not" agreed Blake "but considering the ridiculous size of this place? It's fair. Perhaps we should break it down?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Better to have too many rooms than too little."

"I think its best if we wait until the mason's give us a quote before we decide on anything" supplied Pyrrha.

The girl chugged the rest of her drink, making Yang shiver while Ren just rose an eyebrow as Pyrrha poured a second, no worse for wear.

"Jeez you can pack it in can't you?" asked Nora.

Jaune narrowed his eyes at Nora with a smile.

"Coming from the girl that just finished a barrel?"

Jaune wasn't kidding. The girl was on her second barrel of Vacuo Mead. The land of clans was housed to a vast display of rich and diverse cultures. Ranging from imperialistic clans, Viking tribes, nomadic warriors, and numerous other cultures, the lands of Vacou was housed to a climate that was as diverse as its people. It was the home of artisans and warriors alike. While it was called a Kingdom, Vacuo was in truth just a land filled with numerous states all warring for supremacy. A war that had lasted for so long that it had become a part of its very culture. While the clans may war amongst themselves in a land free of Grimm, they have banded together to fend off invaders before. So great was this combined might that the other kingdoms granted Vacuo the right to call itself a kingdom. While there was no King, there was a representative. In any major foreign affair such as trading or mass alliances, the Kingdom would create a tournament in which the strongest was named "Representative". However, considering that Vale only traded with certain states much like the other kingdoms, the selection of a representative was extremely rare. The last having occurred roughly 291 years ago. Vacuo truly was the land of heroes. What did all of this have to do with this current situation? With Vacuo being a massive mixing pot of cultures, the results of such a combination could be varied. One such result?

Vacuo made the most bitchin alcohol on the planet.

Period.

"This is like water back home" grinned Nora "wonder how pa and the rest are doing?"

"You on good terms with them?" asked Jaune.

"Course. It's you losers who have the family issues."

Nora grinned as everyone frowned, while Nora held a hand out to Blake.

"Come on give me five!"

Dead silence.

"Oh come on it was funny!"

Jaune just chuckled as he got up, rolling shoulders.

"That reminds me" he muttered "might as well check the crystal before I go."

Jaune took out the Dun Scaith crystal from his inventory. Ruby oohed at the pretty color. Jaune stared at the crystal as he twisted it around. It was about the size of a football and almost equal to it in girth. Yet, the weight was almost nonexistent and the shimmer of the crystal waved like water.

"I have an idea for what I want to do, but I can't senselessly experiment with this" muttered Jaune "I need good materials if I'm going to make another B rank."

"Think you can work with this?" asked Blake.

"I can but…I'm definitely going to lose out on a great deal of power. The last A rank material I used ended up losing a whole rank before I was finished. Not to mention that I was lucky to have runes and enchantments that synergized well with the materials."

"Aren't they the same thing?" asked Ruby "runes and enchantments I mean."

Jaune spoke without thinking.

"Not necessarily. Enchantments are made up of runes that's true, but it's like comparing a letter to an entire book. The complexity and difference between the two are not the same. I can add the rune for "Serration" to make something cut better but the "Serration" enchantment would have a lot more power and focus to it than just a single rune."

"So the more runes the better right?" smiled Ruby.

Jaune chuckled as he traced the rune for fire. The small sideways V symbol was engraved into the bar stand. The symbol puffed some small embers, trying to ignite but failed. The rune eventually fizzled out, mostly due to the lackluster attempt by Jaune. Then, Jaune focused a line of runes, the "Fire" enchantment that he had learned from the punishment zone. This one ignited a portion of the bar stand for an instant before Jaune crushed the flames with his mana, sputtering it out. It cost him a good few hundred units of mana but it was worth it. Nora chucked a mug at Jaune for scaring the crap out of her but missed.

"Notice the enchantment I drew?" asked Jaune "it looked like it only had a few words, right?"

Ruby pouted at Jaune for scaring her with the fire but nodded.

"The truth is it had a least a few dozen or so. Runes are not…they're not like letters as we understand them. They're more…symbols, meanings given shape and form. An enchantment made up of hundreds, even thousands of runes, could only be a small line long with the opposite true as well. The smallest indent, the tiniest margin out of place can change the enchantment entirely. I only know one enchantment because I haven't figured out how those runes mesh together to form enchantments just yet. Not to mention in what order or form either. The only way I'll know is by doing…and I need good materials to even start."

"Maybe that masonry group will have some stuff?" suggested Yang.

"We were surprised at the rank of that crystal" smiled Ren "perhaps you can swindle them from some high-end materials without them even realizing it. It's not like they'll be able to use it like you in the first place."

"True" muttered Jaune "best to learn all I can about this crystal then".

His eyes glowed crimson as Jaune began to activate his structural analysis skill.

"Hmm?" hummed Blake.

CRACK!

Jaune cringed as he grabbed his head, his stomach hurling up as the sudden influx of mana made his entire world spin. He fell from the stool, some vomit escaping his mouth as he tried to will the feeling away. The crystal snapped in two uneven pieces as gusts of black mana dissipated into the air. The burst of A rank mana dissipated too quickly to be of harm to Jaune's guild mates.

However,…Jaune was connected to the crystal through structural analysis. His own mana used to flow through the material in order to decode its secrets. As such…he was not so lucky.

WARNING!

The Player's mana has interwoven with the shard and agitated the mana within. The player is too weak to interface with this material! The player has lost 4875 health.

Jaune couldn't hear anything at the moment. The only thought was him wondering how this happened. Then he remembered the core difference between this crystal and the branch of Gae Derg. There was a will, a consciousness in the material that guided him and actively assisted him. This crystal had no such thing, it was just a collection of power and he had stupidly attempted to interface with it without thinking. The structural analysis ability wasn't some info dump, it was his mana interfacing with the material and reading it so to speak. If he was too weak or unskilled, then the mana would just resurge back violently as it did just now.

Jaune coughed as he struggled to get up. His body immediately began to heal and repair itself though, thanks to the Spell caster's blessing removing the Mana Sickness debuff.

"That…that was not pleasant" grumbled Jaune.

"Jaune are you alright!?" asked Pyrrha.

The champion helped him to his feet while Ren was looking through the bottles. He mixed something from a pouch that he kept at his side and a specific drink from Vacou that he found.

"Ren?" asked Nora "are you sure?"

Without saying anything the young man brought a cup to Jaune's face, the vapors wafting through his nose. Jaune suddenly felt invigorated. His health suddenly began to rise rapidly, his body somehow beginning to heal itself on its own accord.

"What is that?" asked Jaune.

"A pick me up of sorts" said Ren "nothing special. My mother taught me the recipe when I was younger and I find it helps with colds, headaches, and even mana sickness. I keep it on hand for Nora, as it helps calm her when she begins to become…troublesome".

Jaune didn't have the heart to tell the poor guy that his body was immune to debuffs of that nature. But still…a cure for the common cold?

Well dang. Jaune inspected it.

Y9k4i Cure all!

An alchemic solution that is not human in design. The vapors from this elixir have the ability to sooth the aches of the recipient but can have different effects depending on the species it is used on. Due to a unique mana signature required to create this elixir it is not an "Alchemy" skill as it is impossible for humans to replicate. Infinitely inferior to the "original" this elixir can still cure the following: Headaches, Colds, Mana Sickness, Muscle aches, exhaustion, mental strain, aggression, depression, anxeity, constipation, diarrhea, addiction, blue skin, and the irrational fear of small furry animals.

Don't ask.

WARNING: While the vapors are beneficial to humans, the mixture itself is NOT SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION. Due to the player's draconic heritage this elixir has the ability to invigorate the player's blood, allowing for more draconic features such as "regeneration" to be enhanced. Effects last for 10 minutes. WARNING: Constant use of this elixir can lead to overdose symptoms. Be careful with its use.

The drink stopped glowing as Ren smiled. He sipped at the mixture, sighing at the peace it brought. Jaune wondered what kind of word had numbers in it once again, but honestly, he cared little at this point.

"Wait didn't it just say it wasn't safe for?"

Jaune's thoughts were cut off as Ren spoke up, finishing his drink.

"The effects do not last long, but the tea is nice. How are you feeling?"

"Stupid" muttered Jaune as Pyrrha helped him to his feet "I shouldn't have just analyzed that thing without thinking. Structural analysis isn't like inspect; it interfaces directly with the material…damnit" growled Jaune.

He looked at the crystal on the ground as Yang picked them up. The flavor text remained the same, but the crystal was now two and the rank a solid B. An ocean's worth of mana gone…over one careless mistake.

Jaune didn't even want to think about what would have happened if he made a mistake forging with it.

"This might be for the best" murmured Jaune "I thought I was ready to work with that level of material….it's obvious now that I'm not. I'm ok Pyrrha."

The red head rolled her eyes at Jaune as she let go.

"I'm sorry if I don't necessarily believe you. Jaune you just…shut down."

Blake spoke up as she shook her head.

"Maybe you should wait a bit. Mana sickness isn't something you can just ignore."

"He doesn't have it".

Everyone turned to Weiss who was looking at Jaune with surprise.

"He doesn't have Mana sickness" she said again "it seems his body just…filtered it out. Seems the rumors were true about the Pendragons being more than human."

Out of every reaction that could have possibly come from that reaction, it was Ren's that surprised Jaune. His eyes shone with something. Jaune couldn't put his finger on it but the most he could tell was that it wasn't negative. At least so he thought anyways.

"Like I said I'm fine" smiled Jaune "so don't worry about me. Besides we can't afford to wait, not with the big guilds creeping down on us."

Yang scowled as she stepped forward and flicked Jaune on the head. Jaune blinked as he actually felt that. It friggen hurt.

"None of that" grunted Yang "at least take someone with you. You may feel fine but you can't think we're just going to ignore what just happened?"

"I said I'm go-"

FLICK.

"OW! Why does that hurt!?" asked Jaune.

"Sibling secret. Look, I get that you looked after yourself for a while but that's not how this guild is going to be run. We all got stuff, that much at least is obvious, but that doesn't mean we have to face it alone. Now I aint here for none of that sing along hug crap, but it doesn't change the fact that I've come to care for you all. Fuck, it's actually depressing how you all make me feel more at ease than my actual long time friends."

Ruby pouted a bit as she gripped her skirt, twisting the fabric in her hands.

"At least you had friends".

Blake looked at the younger girl like a person would a depressed puppy.

"Yea that might have been why" muttered Yang "look the point is, that you're not alone. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fuck up, hell we all are" she chuckled "but that doesn't change the fact that we are here now, together. So come on, let's get to that masonry or whatever its called and figure this out. Like you said, best to get it out of the way now before we get even more issues."

"I'll try to figure out more of the…politics of this school" grumbled Weiss tiredly "I'd rather not be surprised by the merchant's guild through some loop hole of some kind."

"You need a nap" muttered Yang.

"Seriously" grumbled Nora "Are you ok?"

"This whole debacle has been nothing but a roller coaster of stress" sighed Weiss.

"What's a roller coaster?" asked Jaune.

Everyone turned to him.

"outer village?" asked Ruby.

"Uh…yea?"

Ah yes, the outer villages. Within the recent forty or so years, technology has seen a massive leap in development across the kingdoms. When Ironwood had ascended as the head of the "Clock tower" as it was officially called, he had shared the inventions and innovations of Atlas. While this was a massive boon for everyone involved, many had underestimated how…advanced Atlas truly was. Vale was the second largest kingdom out of the four and as such the technological benefits have taken some time to properly spread across the citizens. Towns that had limited advancements were nicknamed "Outer Villages" by the populace. The term referring both to the location and size of the communities. Jaune's previous home within Arc had roads, sidewalks, and even a train! Its shipyard was state of the art as well with some households even having appliances and cars! It truly was a town slowly evolving to match the marvels of Atlas and Vale proper. So, while Jaune knew of cars, planes, and even some appliances, amusement parks were not a part of his knowledge.

"That explains it" snapped Yang "Welp amusement park is definitely a guild date than. Now, anyone else want to come with us?"

Ren stepped forward, but not for the reason some would think.

"Me and Nora will be inspecting the town today. I want to see what we can acquire outside of the merchant guild if necessary. The entire guild is limited to the school grounds so their hold in Vale proper shouldn't be too strong."

"Not to mention we need FOOD!" declared Nora "and uhh…something to store said food."

"That too" smiled Ren.

"Oooh! I'll come!" said Ruby.

Blake went beside Weiss.

"I'll stick with Weiss for now. I'll see if there is any rouge's I can get in contact with. There might be an underground market here that we can use."

"Nothing illegal please" sighed Weiss "not that I think assassins or thieves have those kind of connections I just meant….i'm shutting up now."

Blake just chuckled and shook her head, leading Weiss ahead.
"I'll tag along if that's alright" smiled Pyrrha.

Yang just smirked at the red head, causing her to blush. Jaune smiled as he nodded. His expression warmed up as he smiled brightly at Pyrrha, enjoying the fact his friend would be joining him. Pyrrha's face felt like the sun just rose on it. Her cheeks flushed as she scowled at herself. She shook her head a bit as she smiled back. Nobody mentioned her little habit of biting her lower lip when she was nervous.

"Shall we?" asked Pyrrha.

"Sure" said Jaune "it should only be a twenty minute walk there."

As such the group went their separate ways, but not for long. The issue of the guilds was quickly becoming more and more of a problem than Jaune first assumed. He wouldn't be able to go to Atlas as quick as he thought he would…not to mention that the whole crystal debacle made one thing abundantly clear.

He was not ready. At least, not yet. He needed to learn more and increase the skills that he had in his possession. The only way he could do that was by forging…and waiting a week wasn't going to cut it. He needed to start now if he wanted to make a B rank weapon reliably.

"What's on your mind?" asked Pyrrha.

Jaune blinked, he looked around realizing he was now outside and on the beaten path with yang and Pyrrha.

"Sorry" he chuckled "got lost in thought. I'm realizing that there is a lot I don't understand."

"Hey, we're here for ya" chuckled Yang "ask away if anything confuses you. We might know the answer…uh expect if its labor caste stuff, for obvious reasons."

Jaune just smiled and shook his head.

"Well…there was something" muttered Jaune "I learned recently that A rank weapons were banned right?"

Pyrrha answered quickly.

"In most cases, yes".

"So, there are exceptions?"

Yang nodded as she rolled her shoulders.

"Not so much exceptions as a difference between users" explained Yang "you know how the ranks become exponentially stronger as you go up the scale?"

Jaune nodded.

"That also exists for the rank itself. It's not really noticeable until you're at B rank."

Jaune narrowed his eyes at Yang and smirked.

"I take it that means you're B rank? Aren't you supposed to take a test for that?"

Yang blinked and smirked.

"For some the test is necessary. Rank isn't all about power you know; skills and tactics play a part. The test is mostly to help people who are physically weak but exceptional in some way to rise up. Like a person who specializes in buffing others. They may stay at C rank, but their buffs can be pretty amazing. The test is mostly for circumstances like that. IN my case I broke through to B rank a while ago."

Jaune mouthed the words broke through in confusion which Pyrrha caught on.

"What she means is that she ranked up. She broke past her limits at C and transitioned to B. It's different for everyone but it's entirely possible to be over level 100 and still be C rank in terms of magical potency. Ranks can play a large part in how our power is expressed. A high-level C rank can be a low-level B rank, but if the two were equal than the B rank always wins."

Jaune slowly started to get it. It would seem that the world of heroes had its own unique rules. You could have all the power in the world but if you were an idiot than you would never "rank up" in society. Power had to be tempered by intelligence and skill, thus making the guild tests necessary to weed out the incredibly stupid. But…that didn't remove the fact that Yang was already B rank!

"But aren't most graduates B rank? I mean…that's incredible if you're already that strong!" smiled Jaune.

Yang shrugged.

"Rank means little for graduating. Each "year" is separate by feats anyhow. Technically you could graduate in under a year if you do all the requirements. It's what my dad and his guild did anyways. Always thought it was just my dad boasting but what Ren said the other day from the manual seemed to fit."

Jaune blinked.

"That's…terrifying."

"Tell me about it" murmured Yang "I plan to take my time and learn all I can. Best to be prepared for the world outside than just rush through life."

"I think that's commendable" smiled Pyrrha.

The group took a left on one path, the sight of buildings becoming clear as the trees around them began to become sparser.

"Thanks" smiled Yang "but it's not just for that. I want to enjoy life as much as I can. Rushing to get a stressful job is just not my cup of tea…what were we talking about?"

"You were explaining the whole banned thing regarding A rank weapon. When Oobleck told me about that I got confused. Back home the Knights that worked with my mother all had high ranking equipment on at all times."

Man, he was getting good with the lying. It wasn't that the Knights back home never carried their weapons, but rather that Jaune just never took notice of it.

"Right right" muttered Yang.

"If I may" smiled Pyrrha, enjoying the atmosphere.

"Go for it".

"As Yang explained the difference between ranks grow as you climb higher but that also means the difference within the ranks increase as well. You'll notice that me and Yang are roughly the same in power?"

Jaune shrugged. He'll pretend he did.

"Kind of getting used to feeling Mana but I'm still not that great" he chuckled.

He may have been a magic class, but that didn't remove the fact he only had it for a short time.

"Than focus on me as much as you can" smiled Pyrrha.

So Jaune did, trusting Pyrrha's hand that was now guiding him as he closed his eyes. He…he felt nothing. Everything was as it should be. Suddenly Pyrrha, who he could feel through her hand, surged in power. It felt as if the mana within her increased substantially.

"What the?" muttered Jaune.

Yang whistled.

"Nice!" she chuckled.

Yang's own power increased, matching Pyrrha pace for pace unbeknownst to Jaune. The champion looked at the brawler, her eyes shining in respect. While she lacked the ability to properly inspect mana, that doesn't mean she couldn't feel such a shift so close.

"You have such great control!" praised Pyrrha.

"Thanks" sighed Yang "my mother made sure that was the case."

The mood dimmed a bit at the mention of Yang's mother. But before anyone could ask Yang smiled.

"You can't reign in your mana yet right?"

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"I uh…didn't even know that was a thing?"

"That is why some people can't have A rank weapons in public" explained Yang "you have to be able to control the mana within the weapon and prevent it from lashing out. Most heroes don't bother learning it because our own mana don't harm people."

"Why is that?" asked Jaune.

Yang shrugged.

"Pretty straight forward honestly. We're all used to growing up surrounded by other people's mana. As such it would take a stupid amount of power for someone to affect others with just their mana alone. Most A ranks have that problem. If they can't interact…no that's not a good word for it…"

"Interface?" offered Jaune.

"That's a good one. Basically if you can't control your weapon's mana, you aren't allowed to have it out. It's illegal without a pass."

Jaune blinked as a sudden thought occurred to him. Yang rose an eyebrow as the group began to move past other students, now only a short distance from what seemed like a market of some sort.

"Are…are you telling me that there are weak A ranks?"

Yang smiled.

"Seems surreal I know but its true. The whole "The average A rank can defeat dozens of B ranks" is just an example of an A rank lower on the scale. A more powerful A rank could handle a hell of a lot more, even a few A ranks if they were strong enough."

"Its why S ranks are so rare" said Pyrrha "to break through A rank requires a lot of hard work certainly, but the sheer scale of power available within it is immense. To become S rank is a long journey…its why S ranks are considered to be special. One of a kind existences"

Yang nodded in agreement.

"Man I can't even imagine how it must feel to be that strong. But it's why I keep moving and getting stronger with every chance I get. Did you know the average Beacon student is C rank? It's because they're lazy in my opinion. I mean I just hit my twenties and I'm already B rank."

"So, B rank isn't normal for our age?"

Yang snorted.

"No, which is pathetic in my opinion. Ruby's B rank too and she's younger than I am, with a class that didn't even work properly to boot…although that had more to do with my…my mom's help."

"Are the others B rank to?" asked Jaune

"That may very well be the case" murmured Pyrrha "I can't sense mana very well but from what I've seen with the others they are stronger than the norm."

"Probably why the Mercenary guild went nuts over us."

Pyrrha drew forth a red spear from her inventory.

"Huh, that's the spear you used in the initiation right?"

Pyrrha blinked as she blushed.

"Oh yes! Beacon wasn't very comfortable with my using my preferred spear so I used my back up instead. I'm running low on some blade oil to take care of it so I was hoping to bring it some place."

"Oh?" smiled Yang "got a powerful hand me down too? Beacon tried to convince me to hand in my gauntlets because they were too powerful, but I told them to fuck off."

Jaune and Pyrrha stared at Yang.

"What?" she asked "not a chance in hell I'm weakening myself just because of some arbitrary sense of fairness. The world aint fair and neither am I. I'm strong enough to wield the gauntlets that I have through my own strength. If people don't think that's fair then they should have gone through more training dungeons as a kid."

"…I can see where you're coming from" muttered Jaune "so…to wield A ranks you need a license right?"

"Basically" said Yang "you go to a committee and show them that you can reign in your weapon and equipment's mana properly. Once you give proof, they give you a badge and off you go."

"Cool" said Jaune "so what about sub classes?"

Pyrrha stared at Jaune about to answer, but something caught her attention. Yang grunted as she pushed past an onlooker as well.

"I'd answer you…but it seems were here. Mind shelving that for later?"

"I don't mind but….oh dear" muttered Jaune.

The path had long opened to Beacon's grounds. For the last six minutes or so the group had been navigating the shops and services of Beacon's south end. The entire school was designed with five central locations.

The eastern sector was home to a strictly maintained wilderness. It was easily the largest area that Beacon owned and housed various species of Grimm and monsters. Students went there as a "Training" ground to grind some EXP. Due to the various costs the drops were given to Beacon academy rather than kept, but after initiation any dungeon drops were free to keep.

The southern sector was where Jaune and the others had just arrived from. The second largest portion of Beacon, it was the area that was the most architecturally diverse as the buildings were the guild houses of the students.

The North sector was home to Beacon's central trade center, The Merchant guild's own auction house. It was there that students could outright buy weapons and armor and trade amongst fellow students. It was there that most of the retail stores available to the students was located.

Finally, the western sector, the area Jaune and crew were in. Here was a location dedicated to the services of Beacon and was home to the labor caste that maintained the grounds and buildings. All the trade businesses were located here and played a fundamental role in maintaining Beacon as it was. It was also where the nobles of Beacon resided, keeping Beacon running through paperwork and economical skills. It was for this reason that the western sector was closest to the center, where the main school's tower was located.

Jaune blinked and frowned at what he saw, moving along the sidewalk of the western sector. Jaune and his friends had come for one building in particular, "CFVY Incorperated", and it was trashed to hell. A small one story building, it stood a small distance away from some of the larger stores and trade fronts. A small yard, double doors. It was classy, small, and broken.

But it wasn't broken due to negligence. There were holes in the windows and the door was broken down true, but it was obvious due to the small circles and bricks surrounded the debris of glass that something had occurred. There was a brown-haired woman talking to a portly man right out the broken doors. The scowl that some of the labor caste shot their way said something as well.

"Don't think we're welcome here right now" muttered Yang.

"Leave it to me" said Jaune.

Pyrrha went to speak but Jaune shook his head. He went to the closest man he could find, a young man named Yatsuhashi, a Carpenter. The man was easily Jaune's superior in height and had a massive great sword strapped to his back. Jaune knew the design was not meant for combat, but rather for chopping down trees, the serrated edge working for that function. The bulging muscle spoke of years of discipline while the man's hands spoke of experience with his trade. Didn't remove the fact that the man himself looked more threatening than most A rank's Jaune had seen. The man probably used the great sword to cut trees in one strike and probably fought bears for the hell of it.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?" asked Jaune.

The man rose an eyebrow, looking at Jaune's class. He blinked and then shrugged.

"Someone trashed Coco's place, again."

"You seem to know a bit about it."

"I should, considering I work for her" said the man "but the real question is why you'd care?"

"I came to hire her. Velvet invited me to hire your services, but if you guys are busy, I understand."

"Definitely don't talk like your average hero…ah I shouldn't say that" muttered the giant "most of them heroes are alright. The names Yatsuhashi, come with me."

Jaune nodded and jerked his head for Yang and Pyrrha to follow. The two ignored the whispers and glares of a few of the labor classes around them.

"Don't mind the mess" sighed Yatsuhashi "it's just another dispute with some noble kids."

"Then why the hell are we getting glared at?" muttered Yang.

She was sadly ignored.

"Is it bad?" asked Pyrrha.

"Never went this far till today. Coco's got some…competition to put it lightly. They don't like what she represents."

"And that would be?" asked Yang.

The giant smiled as he led the group through the broken doors.

"Change."

Jaune noticed the woman talking to the portly man, Coco, and that her class was "Designer".

The class was colored like any labor caste. The difference was that the class shone a bright silver hue rather than a decrepit grey.

"Like Ruby's" he muttered, after he created the Scythe for her Ruby's class shone brightly as well. Ren's too now that Jaune thought about it. Thankfully the building inside was not as damaged. Some broken glass but nothing substantial. There were some house designed littered across the wall with various other pictures showcasing furniture and fabrics. In the center of the room was a desk, a young woman currently rummaging through some papers on it…a familiar young woman.

"Oh, its you!"

Jaune smiled at Velvet as she manned the counter. She didn't seem worse for wear, but as Jaune learned she was stronger than meets the eye. She wore a brown apron over a pair of jeans and a thick shirt. She carried some design books and was putting them back where they belonged under her desk.

"Seems you got hit hard" muttered Yang.

"Yes" sighed Velvet "the dangers of working with the Honest Monster's sister."

"Wait…you mean the chick outside? you mean she's!?" whispered Yang.

Velvet nodded.

"I hope that doesn't turn you away."

"I couldn't care less…not that I understand what you're actually talking about" grumbled Jaune "I came to get an appraisal and price for repairing our guild house."

"Fantastic!" smiled Velvet "where is your guild house located? We'll send a representative to appraise the house as soon as we can".

A darker skinned man walked behind Velvet, his class a green hue subjecting him as a "Noble". The most basic of the noble classes, as the name would suggest, but it also carried the most diverse skill set within the caste. A common theme that was present in both the Hero and Labor castes, with both being named after the first class of their respective castes.

"We have the old Phantom guild building."

Velvet blinked.

"Pardon?"

"We got the haunted guild, cleared it, and now we own it" snipped Yang.

"…..Huh" muttered Velvet "are you up for seeing that house again fox?"

The man grunted. He straightened his black suit as his eyes closed in concentration.

"No need. I have the schematics already memorized. Based on the specs we have on hand" said Fox, whose eyes were glowing green signifying some kind of skill. The creepy part was that the glow encompassed his entire eye, rather than just the iris "the estimated costs, assuming we must repair everything, with cheap materials…low cost furniture…and shipping expenses….plus labor…your total is 481,383 lien…maybe."

"Well we're screwed" muttered Yang.

"Is it possible to just reform a room or two?" asked Jaune.

Fox nodded.

"Of course, depending the foundation is sound."

"…define sound?" asked Pyrrha.

Before Fox could open his mouth Pyrrha interjected.

"I uh…I meant that quite literally, I'm sorry. I don't know much about this kind of thing."

"Oh, certainly" he smiled "I am referring to the structural integrity of the foundation. Buildings such as yours rely on key points within their designs to handle weight. If those points are broken than the building is not sound. As such it is not safe to live in. Thanks to certain regents and skills such repairs are possible without tearing down the building…but it can be expensive."

"We've had stuff falling on us and Weiss did mention that the mana keeping the whole place together was dissipating" admitted Jaune.

"I see" muttered Fox "well just to repair the foundation alone is worth 40,000 lien. Before you ask" interrupted the man "this cost is mostly for the catalysts required for the skill to function as intended."

"I didn't know skills needed catalysts?" muttered Yang.

"A lot of labor skills require them" said Jaune "but not in the way you think. Catalysts influence the skills in different ways, with some outright changing the effects in some cases. Don't ask me why, magic is just weird."

Everyone murmured in agreement to that. Jaune had a theory though that the regents were a method to make up for the lack of power or skill of the user of said skill. But alas that didn't account for some skills changing their effects outright.

Alas thoughts for another time.

"Forty grand isn't in our pay grade" sighed Yang "thanks for being straight with us though."

Fox nodded. He stood straighter as he bowed.

"Welcome back Coco."

"Fox I swear you got to stop doing that."

"I was hired by Isiah to be your personal assistant. As we both know, you need it."

The man smiled as he rolled his shoulders. For some reason Jaune knew there was more to Fox than what met the eye. He…the man seemed saturated in power and yet was much weaker than someone like Pyrrha.

Or was he?

"I don't need the sass" sighed Coco "give me the gist."

Fox cleared his throat as he gestured to Jaune and crew.

"They wish for us to repair their guild."

"Can they pay?"

"No, but to be fair they inherited the old Phantom guild building."

Coco blinked and narrowed her eyes at Jaune and the others.

"Just to be clear, you guys are referring to that massive guild house out in the woods. The creepy haunted one?"

They all nodded.

"Hmm…Yatsuhashi, do you remembered what Isiah told us was the best way to start up a business?"

"To be easily accessible and noticeable, but what does his advice on store management have….Coco no."

Coco grinned like the devil as her class shimmered just like her eyes. A shade of silver.

"Coco yes" she chuckled "you kids are in luck."

Jaune rose an eyebrow.

"A one time, take it or leave it, offer" said Coco "as you can tell our place got trashed. To be honest its not the first time."

Jaune rose a hand.

"Before you tell us about this offer…why are you getting trashed all the time? Does this have to do with…Velvet?"

Jaune blinked as the bunny girl kept swiping at her neck while cringing. What, he was curious.

"What about Velvet?" whispered Coco.

Velvet smiled wearily as she shrugged her shoulders.

"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle Coco."

Coco rose an eyebrow before she locked eyes with Fox.

"She will be escorted from now on" he smiled.

A dangerous glint echoed in Fox's white eyes. He straightened his suit again as a small burst of killing intent echoed in his actions. Completely unnoticeable…save for one. After what happened in the trick dungeon…after what he suffered, Jaune had become acutely aware of the urge to kill that came from others. He narrowed his eyes at Fox, who merely looked at the boy with surprise.

"Good" sighed Coco "and about the store, its nothing to be concerned about. It's just a bunch of noble whiners that have a bone to pick with my brother in law. They don't like how he married lower than them but they can't take it out on him. He'd crush them in an instant after all."

The respect was clear in Coco's voice that much Jaune could tell.

"So, they send their kids to take it out on you? Isn't that a little backwards?"

Coco grinned.

"Tell me about it. Most Nobles aren't that stupid. Honestly, most of them just do their jobs and go home. It's the really stupid ones that think nobility means ROYALTY that are the issue. The nobles I'm dealing with are that special kind of stupid. It wouldn't surprise me if Isiah already dealt with them."

"I see. So…what does this have to do with your offer?"
"Well" smiled Coco "I've been meaning to move out of this location for a while, get away from the refuse if you will. Our building is noticeable, but honestly most heroes go through recommendations and word of mouth, rather than actually come here and check the numerous businesses available. We work for Beacon so our living is secure. But, I want more" she explained "and what we have here is a golden opportunity to achieve just that."

Coco grinned as her silver eyes were practically beaming, before they slowly faded away to her usual brown.

"So, my offer is this. Let us move into that huge building you got. We'll take the eastern wing as our new reception hall. In return we'll repair the foundation for free and have reduced costs for any further improvements. You can consider that little deal as our form of rent. Not only will we have a direct access to all sorts of clients, but we get to use a bit of your fame once news gets out. Speaking of which, are they telling the truth Fox?"

The red-haired man was already beside Coco, a folder in his hands. Jaune and the others flinched back wondering how the hell the man moved that fast. It was nothing like how Ruby and Blake moved.

"How did he?"

"You get use to it" sighed Velvet "just roll with it."

Fox continued on as if they were not talking about him, handing the folder of files to Coco.

"Yes. The files indicate that they do indeed own the old guild house. It was updated merely moments ago."

"Excellent. So, what do you say?"

"I think we should-"

"DEAL!" interrupted Yang.

Pyrrha stared at the blonde as Jaune sighed.

"Hey don't look at me like that" grumbled Yang "not like we were going to use the entire guild anyways. Eight of us in that huge place is just nuts. Not to mention we don't have any functioning toilets. I may enjoy kicking it out in the woods every once in a while but I refuse to live in a house without a damn toilet! You guys can fix those first, right?"

Coco grimaced as she looked at Yatsuhashi.

"We got enough extra material on hand for a couple of bathrooms right?"

"We still have a few things" said the giant "but we'll have to get a second toilet set if you want more than one."

"Good enough for now" grumbled Coco "I'll include that with the foundation repairs."

Yang smiled and gave Coco the thumbs up.

"We'll probably be able to begin repairs and move in starting tomorrow. Still need all that paper work signed and what not" grumbled the designer "I'll send someone over for you guys to sign on your end later today. Anything else you want?"

"Yes actually."

Everyone turned to Jaune who was busy staring at the back room.

"Are any of those for sale?"

Coco blinked.

"You…you mean the raw material?"

The raw material that was haphazardly stacked together in the back.

"Yes."

"….which ones?"

"Any."

Coco blinked again and stared at his class.

"Are…aren't you some kind of mage class? Why on earth would you want basic materials for if all you do is create magical constru…..holy fucking shit" stated Coco.

Yatsuhashi sighed as he rubbed his forehead but even he looked suprised. Fox smiled as he tried to hold in a snort. Velvet was already use to her friends' mouth.

"Coco we've talked about the language."

"HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT" muttered Coco "A prestige labor caste. Never thought I'd see the day. Then again Isiah is an S rank Noble so it shouldn't be that big of a surprise."

Jaune ignored the whole S rank nobility thing and focused on Coco's spreading grin. Her eyes shone like she just hit the mother load. A dark chuckle spread from her chest as she cliked her tounge.

"Oh the Merchant guild would kill for this!" she chuckled "the back room is for sale sure. But not everything, so pick carefully. Kind of curious to see what your deal is though. If you don't make constructs with magic than what do you do? You an Alchemist of some sort? A blacksmith? Hell, a tailor?"

"Uh….technically all of those and an enchanter."

Coco blinked as Velvet stared at him.

"….Oh we're going to get along just fine" chuckled Coco "beautifully even. Gonna warn you ahead of time 'Craftsman', I might have a project or two for you in the future."

"Well I'm definitely interested in see what you propose" smiled Jaune.

Any chance of further honing his abilities wasn't something Jaune was going to throw away. Coco turned her attention to Yang and Pyrrha as she asked Fox to escort Jaune to the back rooms.

"So, anything in particular you two want? I know how living with guys can be."

"Well thanks for that" muttered Jaune.

"Forgive her brashness" smiled Fox "she does mean well. She takes after her sister and her husband."

"I don't mind, really" said Jaune "just wondering why she would just…move in with people she doesn't even know."

"Opportunity only knocks once as Isiah would say. Right now we cannot move into the area, considering all the land has been put on hold through the merchant guild. We have our own circumstances that make this situation ideal, so please be assured. Not to mention that living with heroes can…urge away the worst of the bunch shall we say."

Jaune shrugged. He wasn't against a symbiotic relationship. They weren't friends, merely two groups working together to make the most of their living situation.

"I must say I'm surprised that someone of your caste was able to sense what the others could not. I should have reigned it in I admit but the thought that Velvet may have been harassed, or worse."

Jaune shrugged.

"I get it, no worries. It's not my first time experiencing something like that."

The giant from the trick room came to mind and….

And Uther.

"I see" murmured Fox "you have experienced much."

Jaune simply nodded. Fox smiled as he gestured towards a few different species of wood and widely colored stone.

"These are some of our more…varied materials. We have some marble in another room as well if that's what you're interested in?"

Jaune pursed his lips as he went through. While wood was the commonly used handle for various weapons, that wasn't what he was looking for. While Jaune's structural analysis was a failure, it was not a complete failure. What little he learned about the shards of Dun Scaith was that it was very unique in its composition. Two key facts made Jaune both excited and weary for using this unique material. The bad news? it's mana eroded anything that stayed in constant contact for long periods of time.

The dark energy of Dun Scaith ensured that anything too weak would eventually encounter negitive side effects. In the case of individuals themselves, so long as they were strong enough, they were fine. Their own mana would protect them. Not that said issue would be a problem as Jaune planned to use the crystals for blades, thus protecting the user from even needing to protect themselves. As such came the issue of what the handle would be.

The good news? The crystals themselves were highly synergetic. There was a resonance between the two broken parts that would allow Jaune some leeway in their makeup. They had the capability of sharing whatever was engraved between the two parts. This basically meant that Jaune had more options when it came to what runes he could use in their creation. All Jaune needed was something that could synergize with the crystals and was not organic.

What he needed, was stone. What better place to find stone than the people who built houses with it?

…Jaune would admit he knew little about architecture and the businesses attached to them, but in this instance, he lucked out. The stone here were all unique in ways Jaune knew their current owners were unaware of.

Marble from the deserts of Vacuo, Obsidian located within the heart of Atlas's volcanos, the red granite-

"Oooh…this will work wonderfully" smiled Jaune.

"An…inspired choice" muttered Fox "no one has ever used this stone before, but Coco believes in having a diverse product line…I owe her money for this don't it" he muttered.

The stone in Jaune's hands was, to the unknowing eye, just black rock. Beautiful in the way that it was purely black with a brilliant luster. But it was no stronger than normal granite and perhaps a bit lighter as well. With his inspection, it told a very different story.

INSPECT:

Umbral Stone (Rank: C)

Umbral geodes are found deep within the chasms of the sea and far away from any form of light. They are commonly found from the aftereffects of earthquakes, as the pressure shoots them up from the sea. As such finding this stone is quite the hassle. While the stone lacks any magical presence, it has the ability to absorb all forms of light and magic, thus giving it a beautiful black luster. This ability is extremely limited. For years magic users and experimenters have tried in vain to use the stones absorbing capabilities in some creations. A few Alchemists attempted to create weapons from the material, but lacked the knowledge that mana could escape and degrade from a material if they were not careful, resulting in failures. Depending on the circumstances some Umbral stone carry more magic than others.

That was all Jaune needed. Unlike the alchemists who failed in the past, Jaune's whole class was centered around the idea of using mana to enhance, alter, and infuse the materials he worked with. Already Jaune had casted structural analysis, infusing his mana into the material. He could feel that this stone was unnaturally in tuned with his…

Jaune forcibly ripped his mana out of the stone as quickly as he could. Unlike the crystals of Dun Scaith, his mana was far easier to control and move around.

"What happened?" asked Fox.

"This stone kept absorbing my mana. If I let it, it will just transform from adapting to my mana. This is perfect, how much for one cubic meter?"

"Better to have too much than too little" thought Jaune.

Fox disappeared.

He literally disappeared.

Jaune didn't even blink the man was just gone. Than he reappeared a moment later. Jaune's nose twitched as he sensed the mana Fox just used. The man look no worse for wear yet he used such a large amount of mana just to disappear!?

"Coco said the price for one cubic meter will be 450 lien"

Jaune blinked, realizing that Fox that fox said something and activated his inventory. Jaune always had money on him in his inventory but ever since his reawakening his money had been far more organized. With a simple deduction he took out 450 lien from the 2157 that he currently had.

"Thank you for your business" smiled Fox.

The man's blind eyes stared unflinching at Jaune and the younger dragon just smiled politely. No need to piss off the overly powered Noble.

If he even was a noble in the first place.

Jaune found a perfectly cut square of Umbral stone to one cubic meter beside him.

"You guys work quick" smiled Jaune.

"It's what we do" smiled Fox "you'll find that no other is more effective in the business than we are."

Jaune couldn't help but smile. Fox never said the fastest nor the most skilled. Merely the most efficient. A great way to sell a business that just started out.

"Well we're going to work together from now on so the name's Jaune."

The noble blinked and then smiled warmly.

"I am Fox, I'm sorry if my presence can be a little…overwhelming from time to time."

Jaune shrugged.

"It won't be a problem with me, don't worry about that. We'll see you guys tomorrow."

"WE will be punctual. Expect us for 9 AM"

"MAKE IT 11!" yelled Coco.

"Expect us for 11AM" stated Fox.

Jaune blinked at the theatrics but nodded.

"Alrighty than."

With that Jaune lifted the cubic Umbral stone and began to make his way out. He couldn't afford to put it in inventory, no telling what would happen to the material.

"Ready to go?" asked Jaune.

Yang seemed to be looking over some design plans that Coco had pulled out.

"Yea, were ready. So you guys need the entire east wing?"

Coco nodded.

"Yea. But if it turns out to be as big as you describe we'll just change our plans."

"Ok" muttered Yang "we'll see how this partnership turns out."

Coco held out her hand and Yang shook it. Pyrrha was talking with Velvet about something, the bunny girl smiling away as she gestured towards a piece of fabric shown on the wall. Jaune made his way to the door and the others soon followed.

"Till we meet again!" said Pyrrha.

"So, you got the stone" smiled Yang "Now we just have to wait to get a forge and we're good to go!"

"I'm starting the second we get home."

"I'm sorry what?" asked Yang.

"I don't need a forge, not for these materials. The heat would just turn the stone to magma and would destroy the crystal. My magic may let materials go to forging temperatures, but that's dependent on the material itself. Heating up a crystal doesn't make it more malleable without changing the structure of the crystal in the first place. For all I know doing so could destroy the shard or just leak even more mana. In short, there's no point in using a forge. Normal tools will be ineffective as well. The chisel will let me roughly shape the crystal and stone, but the rest I'll have to use my skills for."

"You've really thought this through" muttered Pyrrha.

"Not really" said Jaune with a shrug "the best amongst the labor caste have to think this way. What we lack in power we have to make up for with innovation. At least, that was the case before recently" he smiled.

"I've always wondered" muttered Yang "why is it that you're the one to create the first man made B rank weapon? I mean we have Alchemists, don't we?"

Jaune thought about it for a minute.

"The issue isn't power but skills" said Jaune "Alchemists have the skills needed to transmute objects into other objects. Ingredients into potions, materials into bombs, and other stuff. My class requires materials too, but I combine them to varying digrees. Honestly I think if labor and mage classes worked together there would have been a break through to B rank long before I came into the picture."

"The class divides" muttered Pyrrha bitterly "too many heroes and nobles consider the labor caste a waste."

Jaune chuckled a bit.

"Perhaps. But the labor caste also consider the heroes and nobles useless".

Pyrrha and Yang blinked.

"Seriously?" asked Yang.

Jaune nodded.

"You'd be surprised how many labor caste will stand up and say we can defend ourselves and govern ourselves without help. Than get murdered along with their entire village when they try it. It's not that we can't defend ourselves it just that we're not suited for fighting."

"You seem to do it pretty good" chuckled Yang.

"Yea but my mom is considered the strongest S rank warrior to date, not to mention I'm more dragon than human."

Jaune kept walking but noticed that the others stopped following. He turned back to look at them, confusion written on his face.

"What's with you two?"

"Uhhh".

"….It's the whole dragon thing isn't it."

"A little" chuckled Pyrrha "I just wasn't expecting it."

"Guess the PenDRAGON part was quite literal" said Yang "so what you secretly turn into a dragon or something?"

"Nah" muttered Jaune "although that would be awesome. I'm just…a human shaped dragon. Got all the perks and weaknesses. That's why I can't really consider myself a standard Labor Caste."

"Fair" muttered Pyrrha "but you seem like you don't think the divide between the castes is a problem?"

"Do I?" asked Jaune "don't really mean to come across that way. It's just most of the people I know don't care about that. Hell we have a Hero Labor couple back in my village and an accountant whose husband is a farmer. It's really just the odd ones out that care about castes."

Yang blinked.

"Where I'm from class is everything. Literally everything. I was always told I'll be a great hero, even from the labor class people. When Ruby's class was useless, everyone treated her like she was…crippled or lesser."

Jaune looked at Yang with shock.

"Seriously!?" he whispered.

Pyrrha nodded as well.

"It is the same back home. The laborers are considered to be the providers of our society. While there is respect the labor caste is still expected to bend to the whims of the hero class. I know quite a few who have abused that authority."

Pyrrha sighed as she shook her head.

"The world truly is vast" said Pyrrha "I've come across places and communities that are so different from my own. It was scary at first…but I've come to enjoy just how different everything can be."

Jaune smiled as well.

"I'm happy as well. It let me get to meet people like Yang and you Pyrrha."

Pyrrha blushed a bit as she looked to the side. She rubbed her arm but scowled as Yang looked at her with cooing eyes.

"I'll be heading to the basement" said Jaune "I plan to use the Alchemist table there."

"Nice" said Yang "….you know I enjoyed this walk. Learned quite a bit today too. Just one day and I'm already…relaxed. Like the world and all its bullshit is just…far away."

"I know what you mean" said Pyrrha "…I think I can see why some people take years graduating from this place."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there" said Jaune "I don't really have any future plans, not until my mother is free."

Yang grimaced but nodded all the same.

"Still can't believe that kind of shit can happen" she muttered "but I get it. We'll help however we can. Within reason".

Jaune didn't blame her for that last part. Going against the mage classes of Atlas was like going against the Royalty of Vale. Not something to be done without a very, VERY good reason.

"Thanks" smiled Jaune "it does mean a lot to have allies in this. But don't worry, I won't be leaving for Atlas for a while yet. I'm not confident my dismantle skill is anywhere near strong enough for what I'm planning to do."

Pyrrha seemed to sigh in relief while Yang just looked at her with a knowing look. The girl blushed as she crossed her arms. Once again the run down guild house was out in the open.

"Doesn't seem like anyone is home" said Jaune.

"Oh because you can tell in this huge ass place" muttered Yang.

Jaune mouthed at Yang her words back with a patronizing face while Yang just flipped him the bird.

"When you see Blake, tell her I need her in the basement when she gets back. I'm solving her knife problem."

"Knife problem?" muttered Pyrrha.

As the trio entered the house Jaune made his way to the basement.

"I need some time alone to figure this stuff out" said Jaune "send Blake when she gets back."

Yang blinked as she looked at Pyrrha.

"Needs some time alone to figure it out but wants Blake when she gets back?"

Pyrrha shrugged as she lifted a piece of debris.

"Might as well clear any debris that we can find" said Pyrrha "it's not as if we have anything else to do."

Yang sighed as she followed suit.

"The second we have money we are shopping for clothes" sighed Yang "I'm getting tired of wearing all my different dungeon gear."

Pyrrha shrugged, not really caring. In Mistrallian culture it the norm for hero fashion to function both for fashion and combat. As such it wasn't unusual for Pyrrha to wear something like her combat gear as clothes. She carried three different outfits but they would need to be washed soon. Hopefully Coco could help with that.

"Who knows, maybe we can find some clothes that will get Jaune staring at your ass more."

Yang ducked under a rock as she laughed.

"YANG!" yelled Pyrrha, her face like a tomato.

"What? I've seen the way you look at him. Gotta say, surprised a girl from Mistral would even look at a Labor boy."

Pyrrha blushed even harder as she turned her head to the side.

"I learned early on that class means nothing when it comes to love."

"Oh so you love him now?"

"NO! Of course not" said Pyrrha "I'm just interested in getting…you are horrible".

Yang grinned as she picked up another broken beam.

"Come on, live a little" chuckled Yang.

As the blonde walked away Pyrrha couldn't help but smile. She had never been ribbed by friends before…although calling her past acquaintances friends was generous to say the least. This entire group…was a breath of fresh air in different ways. Pyrrha smiled as she lifted a large beam over her shoulder.

"Where do you think we should put this?"

Yang shrugged.

"Might as well burn it near the front tonight and have a fire. Jaune should be able to burn it all."

With that, the due began to work. The truth was that what was garbage was actually quite small. While the house had certainly degraded, the amount of debris was far and in between. It would still take hours, but it wasn't that big a deal.

-1 and a half hours later-

"Well at least we got the east wing and all the rooms cleared out" muttered Yang.

Pyrrha nodded as she took a sip of water from a bottle she carried in her inventory.

"I am actually a little hungry" smiled Pyrrha "do you know if Ruby and the others should be home soon?"

A thump echoed through the east wing.

"Hopefully that's them" muttered Yang "I'm starving."

The two B rank heroes moved quickly. By the time they reached the front it was just in time to see Weiss sitting on one of the stair cases and Blake laying some papers down.

"Explain to me why I just had to sign a paper allowing a masonry company to live on our premises?" asked Weiss.

"Well."

Weiss held a hand up and sighed.

"I was being sarcastic, it was in the paper…I'm sorry I'm just so out of it."

Pyrrha rose an eyebrow, about to ask when Blake answered for her.

"We were heckled by the Merchant guild. They made it clear that they don't…appreciate that we managed to squeeze past them."

"So doesn't look like we'll be buying things on campus. Crap. It's at least 45 minutes to get to the main city" muttered Yang.

"I might have an alternative. They'll be sending him tomorrow for some more details."

Weiss groaned as she slowly stood up, the bags under her eyes standing out.

"Alright" said Weiss "let's get the last of the papers signed and figured out."

Yang picked up the papers and shook her head.

"Nice try missy. You exhausted yourself this morning with all that magic stuff you did with Glynda and Oobleck. Get some rest, seriously."

Weiss blinked slowly and yawned. She stretched a bit as she nodded.

"Do we have anywhere we can lay her down?" asked Pyrrha.

"There was a few beds" said Blake "but the sheets are ruined. The portal and mana must have kept the bugs away cause the mattresses were fine."

Yang raised an eyebrow at Blake.

"Man you really explored this place."

Blake shrugged, her semblance once again on and making her meld with the shadows.

"Blake-".

"Sorry" muttered the feline "its just a habit of mine."

She reappeared but Pyrrha just chuckled.

"No, I meant that Jaune wanted to see when you got back."

Yang smiled as she nudged an exhausted Weiss.

"I'll take sleeping beauty here for a nap. I got some cloth in my inventory that she can use as a blanket and pillow. Where's the room?"

"Upstairs" said Blake.

"Cool."

Blake made her way to the basement door with Pyrrha as Yang went upstairs.

"I'm surprised how quickly you managed to explore the whole building" said Pyrrha.

Blake shrugged.

"Nothing special. When I create my clones they can move through shadows. I basically just switched with each of them to get through the house quickly."

"That's your passive?" asked Pyrrha.

"Yes. Shadow dancing, I know same name as my class, is me becoming one with the shadows around me. It barely takes any mana to blend in, but it takes a lot to switch with a clone."

"That…actually sounds increadible" muttered Pyrrha "that's basically teleportation isn't it?"

Blake nodded as the duo moved down the stairs.

"It can be powerful, but the mana cost makes sure I can't use it constantly."

Screeeeeeeeeeeeee.

"Is that Jaune?" asked Pyrrha.

"Probably."

As the two got to the basement, they noticed wisps of black escaping the door that led to the alchemist table. The door than blew of its hinges as a torrent of black energy escaped from the room.

"JAUNE!"

-Jaune's Perspective, five minutes ago-.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

"Almost there" muttered Jaune.

Jaune was using a combination of Alteration and Grind to form the shape of the Dun Scaith shards. Alteration was used to make the pieces condense and form the rough shape of two blades. The two dark purple crystals were now fourteen inches in length. Seven inches were used for the blades, with the remaining being used to integrate with the Umbral stone for the handle. The plan was to follow a similar merging that was used for Ruby's scythe. In his previous build the branch of Gae Derg used its consciousness to branch into the metal, spreading and merging with the steel far more effectively than normal methods.

The B rank crystal did not move as smoothly but it was certainly possible. Bits of black energy seeped from the crystal as Jaune struggled to contain the mana within it. It fought against him like a rapid animal. It was like a river contained within a bottle, it would escape if given the chance.

Jaune couldn't let it. He maintained his focus as his mana kept the power of the shards within it. But he began to take a step forward. The fact was that the mana within the shards were rampaging. It wwas trying to leak through the openings that Jaune's own mana was making. The goal was to make that mana remain and merge with all the materials and runes that Jaune was planning to implement. That was the only way the weapon would remain B rank. If he simply slapped it together and hoped for the best, he had no doubt the weapon would just be brittle and weak. So, rather than simply fight against it, Jaune decided to test an idea and see if he could truly allow the mana of the materials work in perfect unity, rather than simply smashing it together like he did with Crimson Rose.

The first goal had already been completed. The rough shape of the weapon. Free styling the Grind Skill in combination with the Alteration Skill gave Jaune more freedom to use the skill as he wished. But in return, that freedom came with an increase in difficulty. No longer was the skill doing all the work, as Jaune needed to focus and maintain his concentration if he wanted to keep the skill grinding away outside of its usual parameters. Jaune wasn't just grinding an edge but grinding away all the unnecessary mass as well. Until he stopped working on it, the mana within the crystals would just rampage. Thankfully Jaune didn't have to worry about heat. Thanks to the magical nature of the Grind Skill, the heat from the friction was nonexistent.

Sometimes you just had to love magical bullshit. Until said bullshit bit back.

Jaune kept the width of the crystals to three inches.

With a sigh Jaune withdrew his mana and rolled his shoulders. The rough shape of the crystals have been completed. Jaune went to the one-meter piece of Umbral stone and with his hammer and chisel broke a fist sized chuck off.

Thankfully Umbral stone was far easier to work with thanks to both to its makeup and rank. Jaune used inspect on the Dun Scaith crystals behind him and smiled at what he saw. The same Rank and description.

"So far so good" muttered Jaune "now the hard part."

Jaune could tell that what he had done to the crystals had only made a small opening in their magic structure. A small barely noticeable hole. He had yet to face the full weight of its power in this crafting endeavor. Yet there was no frown to be seen on his face. Only a savage grin fit for a beast as the excitement began to take hold.

"Alright" smiled Jaune "lets try something new."

Before, Jaune had completed the weapon, than engraved the runes in both the metal and wood. In a way he was just engraving runes into a completed form. Today he was going to try something different. What would happen if he engraved the runes into the Umbral stone before he fitted it with the Dun Scaith crystal? Would it become incompatible? More difficult to implement? Perhaps it would in fact become easier to put together?

There was so much that wasn't known that Jaune had become found himself on the frontier with. The only way to know, was to simply keep pushing. Jaune already had a rough idea what he wanted these pair of blades to do. He took inspiration from a pair of swords his dad once shown him. A particular ability that Jaune knew would be a big boon to Blake. There was no doubt in Jaune's mind who this weapon should have been for from the start. Blake had found the material in the first place, not to mention had lost a few of her knives in their initiation and in the raid of this very building.

Scathach had shown Jaune and entire library of runes, words that he couldn't have learned this quickly without help. It annoyed him that he was using such a thing, power that he had not earned on his own. But there was a time for pride to take hold…and this was not it. If he wanted to get stronger…than he would use any means available to him. Scathach was one…the other was the very system itself.

As such, Jaune engraved on word on both the pieces of Umbral stone that he was using as grips. With the chisel the word "Return" was engraved on both pieces. The pieces of Umbral stone were not altered yet, mainly because Jaune wanted to make sure that as much of the shards mana could be infused within the stone as possible.

And with that...Jaune started.

He placed the pieces of Umbral stone on the bottom of each of the blades. Jaune's eyes glowed red as he activated structural analysis and alteration at the same time. Before he just used skills together to gain the bonuses. But now, he knew the truth. Structural analysis allowed Jaune to understand what he was doing with Alteration, allowing for far greater control at the cost of unpredictable mana costs. He was using both skills constantly and in nuisance. Together they were more effective and far more costly. Jaune placed his hands on the crystal and Umbral stone.

Then the room exploded.

His vision turned black as the mana within the crystal and stone poured out at Jaune, ripping at his skin.

WARNING!
The Player's Rank is C!

The Player is too weak to interface with this material without assistance. The player has lost 150 Health!

The player has lost 150 health!

The player lost 150 health!

Jaune felt the cold black mana ripping at his hands. He was pretty sure that he heard someone scream his name too. The mana kept surging past him, a raging river screaming to be let loose. This was not mana sickness, but the raw mana escaping from the material because Jaune was too weak.

"Too weak?" thought Jaune.

Jaune gritted his teeth, glaring at the materials obscured by a sea of dark. He was too weak?

"WHO DECIDED THAT" grunted Jaune.

Jaune growled as his mana surged from within him. He was worried about breaking the materials with his fire. But now?

Who the hell cared?

Fire burned from Jaune's back and it reached out from behind him. A war of mana began to play out, as the darkness aggressively fought against the flames.

Alert!

Perquisites have been met! Unlocking OST:

Stand Up Be Strong by: Shiro Sagisu

It didn't have any sentience whatsoever, but that didn't stop Jaune from grinning at the materials beneath him.

"You think! A little pain! Will stop me!?"

Jaune's fire roared, screaming against the void. Jaune took another hit, losing more health.

"Too weak?" muttered Jaune "than…I'll just be stronger!"

The flames began to coil around the black mana, dragging it back to Jaune. Jaune grunted as the black mana forced its way through his body. His hands began to crack and bleed as raw unfiltered mana began to leak back into the materials. The Umbral stone slowly began to change its shape, wrapping around the portions of the crystal that weren't edged.

What was the difference between ranks?

"Not yet" grunted Jaune.

Was it simply the amount of mana?

"More…I need more!"

No. The ranks were separated not by amount, but by potency. The greater the potency, the more powerful the mana was.

"Failing here isn't an option" growled Jaune, fire leaking from his mouth.

So than, how do humans rank up? Levelling was an undisputed part of it yes, but to break through each rank required something special.

CRACK!

Jaune howled as a part of his finger splintered, black mana leaking from him.

"Just because I can stop here" he thought "doesn't mean I should. If all I do is take the easy way, then I'll never get anywhere! I don't have the time to play it safe anymore!"

Every person, no matter their pedigree, faced a wall at some point. A wall they must overcome if they wish to transcend and keep growing stronger. Much like the rankings, these walls progressively get more difficult as you climb through. Yang was right. Laziness played a huge role in why her age group barely had any B ranks, even if it was very much possible to achieve. One way was to take the guild tests, but that required connections. The other? The other was to simply become that powerful in the first place. The answer for such laziness, was in this moment.

Jaune took a breath and with his will called upon his mana. Yang had mentioned that part of being able to wield A rank weapons in public was in controlling the mana of said weapon. If some hero class with no damn labor skills could pull it off, so could Jaune. With difficulty Jaune began to force the mana still creeping in his body, back through his hands, concentrating every scrap of will into keeping the crystals strong and steady.

"Come on" grunted Jaune "COME ON!"

The laziness as Yang put it, was in the fact that kids didn't want to bother pushing past their limits. Why should they? After all, they could have a far easier time doing so in an academy dedicated to their progress. But there was a hunger that was needed, a drive to keep getting stronger, that was necessary to push past your limits and become greater than what you were. If they lacked the will and just gave up easily then even a level 100 would never break past C

If you wanted power so much than you better work your ass off for it.

"I haven't lost yet!" yelled Jaune, his wild grin echoing a deep-seated desire to WIN!

Jaune's zeal for battle had shown itself in this moment. Breaking through E to C was relatively simple. Most, like Jaune, never noticed that they did. But to begin breaking past B? That was an entirely different animal. Each rank was like a different league of power. A level 30 C rank was weaker than a level 30 B. Level played a crucial part, but it wasn't the deciding factor. Everyone could level up but if you wanted to become a greater rank, to push past your limits and achieve power greater than you currently held? That was not so easily attained. Most in part due to the process still being a mystery. But there was will, a drive that was needed. A drive that Jaune now had in spades.

It was this fact that made most of the greatest guilds in the world only looked for those that ranked up early. Power was necessary in this world, yes. But those who ranked early showed they had what it took to not only succeed in the dungeons but thrive. It was this people that would become the future of a raid team. Jaune, in the first time in his life, physically grabbed mana. His hand was wreathed in fired as he directed the mana back into the crystal, unknowingly struggling past a wall that some people never overcome. He wouldn't lose to anyone, not anymore. He lost the will to fight once.

He would never lose it again.

ALERT!

Congratulations! The Player has now achieved B rank!

The players mana and physical abilities now reflect their new rank.

For those wondering if that meant Jaune had an easier time with this?

It did not. Instead what it meant was that Jaune could no longer be harmed by the mana, his own power now buffering from from the foreign mana currently in his system. In short, it was like riding a bull without having to worry about death. Alleviating in some ways, but still extremely difficult.

And this one just bucked him off. Most of the dark mana receded before Jaune's very eyes. Jaune scowling at the loss of power. But there was one avenue left open to him, a way to regain the power that was just lost. Jaune pumped the Umbral stone full of his mana, spreading said mana through the stone and into the crystal. Through Alteration Jaune was able to change the shape of the Umbral stone into a nice smooth grip, not unlike Ivory. He altered the stone to be as smooth and as comfortable as he could make it. The crystal began to spread and twist within the stone, gripping into it far greater than simply gluing it together, like some no name crap artists did. The stone was merely a cover, a way to protect the user from the corroding effect of the crystal. To destroy these knives would require a force to break a B rank weapon.

Jaune went to his side and withdrew his chisel, the tip glowing an ethereal blue. The handle was done, it was time to finish the blade. Jaune's flames still flickered around his body, the fire protectively wrapping around him.

Pyrrha and Blake took a step back, not expecting something like forging to get so violent. When the darkness had cleared, they had rushed in, hoping that Jaune was alright. Instead they found him laughing and grinning to the world.

The crystal hummed in power as Jaune drew runes into the crystal. The blade's edge was not straight. Instead Jaune had opted for a serrated design, so that the crystal to cut through flesh and catch onto metal. Its design was specifically aimed towards tearing through armor and ripping through flesh so as to do as much damage as possible. As such Jaune added the rune for "Serration" on the left blade. The two crystal blades shimmered with power as the rune appeared on the other blade as well.

"….huh" muttered Jaune.

Unexpected, but useful. Jaune struggled to fill the second rune, but he managed. The B rank material was strong, that much was certain, but the power of runes was not to be trifled with. Each blade had a total of three runes etched into their design.

The rune of Serration increased the cutting power, allowing for greater attack power and a chance for bleed.

The rune of return would, Jaune hoped, mimic the effect of his father's treasured blades to some degree.

Finally, the rune desecration. In other words, the "Bleed" rune. It ensured that the bleed effect was enhanced with this weapon and was capable of inducing a wide variety of other effects, so long as the user was capable. Jaune staggered back. The constant use of his skills in combination together and his battle against the B rank power within his materials had left Jaune dried out. But there was enough power for one last spell.

"Grind" whispered Jaune.

Saying it didn't add anything to the power of the skill, but it did add an air of finality to his product. The rough shape was now perfected. A fourteen-inch-long combat knife with a seven inch by three-inch blade. The edge was a bright white, a combination of the runes and Jaune's own mana leaking within it. The spine of the blade was the crystals original dark purple, with the grips being a rich black. The rune for return was a bright white and visible on the both handles, with the other two runes obscured by the blades rich purple.

The hilt was simply wrapped around the blade and handle, a small wrap to catch the hand as it gripped the blade. The two daggers pulsated with magic, black mana seeping from the entire weapon, outlining it as it hungrily looked for something.

"Better get the, OH you're already here" said Jaune.

Blake chuckled weakly as she waved. Pyrrha barreled past Blake as took Jaune's hands.

"Are you ok?" asked Pyrrha "I…I couldn't get in there. You had black energy erupting out of you and there was nothing we could…I'm sorry" sighed Pyrrha "I'm really just overreacting, aren't I?"

Jaune smiled as he took his ruined hands back.

"Don't worry about it" smiled Jaune "I'm happy that someone cares if I get hurt or not. It's sweet."

Pyrrha swallowed as she saw the cuts and bruises on Jaune's hands and arms.

"Is this what happened la….are you…"

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she felt the mana surrounding Jaune, a crimson aura that raged against the world.

"You broke through!"

Pyrrha smiled as she clasped Jaune on the shoulder.

"Congratulations!" said Pyrrha "breaking through at our age is an incredible achievement."

Blake smiled as well, shaking her head in worry.

"My parents were super excited when I broke through as well. Congrats, you were the only one of us that hadn't broken through."

Jaune simply smiled.

"Good to see I still have some catching up to do. Now, for you."

Jaune took a step aside and gestured to the black weapons leaking with power.

"Grab them" said Jaune "they're yours. Don't mind the mana, they're just looking to bond."

"They're…mine?" asked Blake.

As the Assassin based class moved towards the daggers, her semblance reacting to the mana the daggers exuded. Blake carefully picked up both daggers, letting them comfortably fit into her hands. The darkness receded as the mana slithered into Blake. She shivered a bit but was otherwise ok.

She inspected the daggers, smiling at what she saw.

Inspect:

Twin Daggers: A Shadow's Duet (Rank: B)

A pair of daggers that share one existence. The crystal blades sing a song few can dance to, but are deadly with those that can dance with their symphony. They crave a partner that can dance with them and use their abilities to the fullest. Their aerodynamic design allows for them to be thrown just as well as they can be used in frontal combat.

Effect: 35% chance to inflict bleed with every strike. High bleed damage can be stacked twice. Due to the user being an Assassin based class, these daggers have the ability to return to their user when thrown.

Blake had to blink twice, staring at the daggers. B rank weapons were well known for being the cheapest high-quality weapon a hero could find. They did not degrade like normal C rank and below weapons and as such lacked a durability counter. As such, these daggers would not erode like her normal cheap ones would, thus allowing for far more frequent use of her skills. As an Assassin Blake needed a good pair of daggers for combat. But to have a pair that could apparently be thrown and returned to the user?

Without saying a word Blake threw one of the daggers. It struck the wall, digging deep within the wood. Blake held her hand out, but jittered back when the dagger turned into black mana and just situated itself back into her head, perfectly ready for battle again. Blake notice a small dip in her reserves, but that was a small price to pay for such a weapon.

"Jaune…thank you" said Blake.

"Not a worry" smiled Jaune "I knew you lost a few daggers over the course of our few battles, so I thought you'd appreciate something more stable. Not to mention easier to take care of. Just don't…hold the actual blade for long periods of time. The metal can eat away at anything it touches. Best to keep it in your inventory for now."

Blake simply nodded, storing her Shadow's Duet into her inventory. The inspect wasn't wrong, she could indeed hear a sweet song if she focused on it, a woman singing an eerie lullaby. If Blake were to hazard a guess, it was a small sign to see if the individual was worthy to dance with such blades. If you could not hear the song…than however could you dance to it.

"This is truly amazing but…shouldn't you have saved this for next week?"

Jaune shrugged.

"There was no guarantee that I would have been able to actually complete this B rank weapon. Don't get me wrong I'm stubborn, but even I'm aware that we can fail. I technically failed to keep all the mana in the first place, had to replace it with my own which ate up a huge portion of my own reserves. I needed to know if I could make a B rank weapon reliably, before I tried making it in front of other people."

Blake nodded.

"If you're sure…because I don't think you'll be getting those back" she smiled.

Jaune laughed a bit as he shook his head. A dull thump could be heard as something was dropped upstairs.

"Must be Ruby, I hope" murmered Pyrrha "I have to admit I'm getting kind of hungry."

"Same" said Jaune.

An inhuman rumble echoed through the basement with Pyrrha looking at Jaune. Jaune shrugged causing both of them to look at Blake, who now had her hood up.

"…..let's get something to eat" she muttered.

"Yea…before your stomach roars again" chuckled Jaune.

With that Blake disappeared.
"It was just a joke come on!" chuckled Jaune, racing up the stairs following Blake.

Pyrrha shook her head and followed, wondering what other surprises today may have. As Jaune ran up the stairs he could tell that he was stronger. It wasn't as if he was a new man, but the difference in strength was noticeable. The potency of his mana increased as well. The cost remained the same, but Jaune could tell that his skills were more effective and powerful. In the case of heroes this must have been how they circumvented the resistances of their enemies in spell casting. In Jaune's case it represented how much power he could handle and infuse into his creations. His smile grew as the system notified him of something.

Congratulations! You have levelled up!

Little by little. Jaune would get there. He didn't care what was in his way, nothing would stop him until he had completed his goal. First step was gaining power…the next? The next was getting to Atlas and the meeting of nobles that was occurring next week may very well be his shot for just that.

END CHAPTER

Thanks for reading guys and I hope it was fun! Next chapter will have a bit of a skip as I push the story along a bit. Will the meeting of nobles inspecting Jaune play out as he hopes or will he be shocked at the unexpected?

Next Update: The Ultimate Weapon

Jaune (Artorias) Level 26-27.

Class:

Arcane Craftsman

Subclass: (Requires A rank)

? ?

Stats:

STR: 268-278(A)

CON: 285-295 (A)

DEX: 130-135(C) (+6 from daily training)

AGI: 130-135(C) (+3 from daily training)

INT: 190-200 (A)

WIS: 190-200 (A)

CHA: 150-157 (B)

RES: 199-204 (EX)

Health: 6,243 (B)

Mana: 5,800 (B)

Aura: 2,904(C)

Current Rank: B

The use of Ranks: Ranks effectively change the weight of stats. Consider this. All of Jaune's current abilities just got an immense boost due to the quality of his mana increasing. A C rank with 135 strength is going to be a lot weaker than a B rank with 135 in strength. Equal stats but not equal in weight. This increases exponentially as rankings increase. It's why a high rank is preferred over a high level in some cases.

Skills:

No new skills or titles gained this chapter.