So, I feel I should preface this by saying that I have never actually watched DanMachi before, but I've seen the system it uses and I thought it was fascinating and wanted to try writing something implementing it. As such, there may be inaccuracies in how the system typically works; this is due to both my own lack of knowledge of the Falna system, as well as the fact that all the wikis are extremely inconsistent.
For example, I tried looking up how leveling works in DanMachi and got three separate answers.
1. An adventurer defeats a powerful monster and automatically levels up, whether they want to or not.
2. An adventurer reaches a certain stat requirement and then may choose to level up with their patron's approval.
3. An adventurer needs to reach an Excelia (I'm assuming this is just Exp) requirement to level up, and then the patron does it for them.
So, I ask that you please forgive me for inconsistencies and chalk it up to this version of it just being different as its a Semblance. For this story I'm going to be basing it off of the stat requirement as it feels less clunky.
Beyond the System, I don't plan to have many connections to the Danmachi fandom and as such I haven't labelled this story as a crossover, as I feel it doesn't fit the true definition of such a thing. Though I have paid a small homage to the source material through the OC's father's name.
...
Jumping from the point, I've recently been taken aback by how wonderful and intriguing the fanmade designs for new Grimm are, and I've decided to implement a few of them here and there in this story. As such, at the end of every chapter you will see a little chart that labels the Grimm and its artist. If any of the actual artists somehow see this and don't want their work in this story, then please DM me, and I will happily remove it.
Elias Bjurström was having an amazing day.
Elias first found out his mother's business trip was going to run late; leaving him alone in the manor with no one but the servants for his birthday.
Then Elias had received a rejection letter from the Vale Institute of Business. The place he had planned to take online classes at for his Business Management degree.
Finally Elias found out that the local CCTS Tower for the city was undergoing maintenance, meaning he couldn't even relax playing Civilization IV: Rise of Dust. It also meant that the system that managed packages for the city, including all the gifts he had been sent, was down and none of them would be arriving until after it was put back up.
Yet, despite everything going against him, he was happy for the rewards of the day.
For Elias had unlocked his Semblance.
A Semblance beyond what he could have ever hoped for.
Scientists who studied Aura and Semblances had theorized of Semblances that instead of granting a direct boon, would rather allow someone to continually strengthen themselves over time, beyond the limits that even Hunters were beholden to. However, the closest that Dustkind had ever come to a Semblance of such magnitude were ones that accelerated learning speed.
At least, that was the case until now.
Happy Birthday!
Congratulations on turning seventeen and now being seen as an adult in the eyes of the Kingdoms!
For this reason, you have received the gift of your Semblance unlocking!
Skill Gained!
Semblance: Falna System
...
Status
Elias Bjurström
Level: 1 (Level-Up Available)
Strength: 323 F
Endurance: 212 G
Dexterity: 645 C
Agility: 102 H
Magic: 845 A
Points: 0 I
Developmental Abilities
...
Spells
...
Skills
Semblance: Falna System
Achievement Acension
Aura: Gift of the Light
Elias' eyes went wide as he realized his dreams had just come true.
"I have Fantasy RPG powers." Eli's said breathlessly as he sat in bed, staring at the screen in front of him. There was a lot to it that he didn't fully understand, so he tried looking over the screen for a help menu.
Eventually, he found the typical menu bar of the three lines stacked over top one another, and clicked it.
Status
Help
Settings
Momentarily putting his quest towards the help section aside, Elias decided to click on 'Settings'.
In it, Elias found a series of toggles and slider bars in order to customize a HUD for the information from his Semblance. Eventually he settled on a display set-up that had his health and Aura in the bottom right corner, and the status screen shrunk and displayed in the bottom left. At the same time, he had upped the slider for the transparency of the icons so that he could still see past them. Sadly, those were the only things he had at the moment, but he was hopeful due to the greyed out toggles for other options, like a mini-map.
Done with his side quest, Elias looked back towards the menu and opened the 'Help' section.
While he had been expecting a new menu to appear on the screen, it instead manifested as a physical object that appeared in his hands. Looking down at it, it took Elias only a moment to recognize what it was. It was one of the square help guide manuals that would always come in the DVD case for video games. Taking the next thirty minutes to read through it, Elias learned out his Semblance worked.
Apparently, like a video game he could increase his stats beyond mortal limits by performing actions related to them and defeating enemies for Excelia that would go towards those stat increases. His stats would be able progress from 0I all the way to 999S which the help guide said was the 'typical' max (The details of which, did intrigue him). Either way, once he had at least one stat that was D Ranked, he could level up, allowing his stats to go back down to 0I, but the stats from the previous level would be stored and added to a total.
The stats themselves were mostly self-explanatory: Strength was power and muscle-mass, Endurance was fortitude and constitution, Dexterity was precision and aptitude, Agility was speed and grace, and Magic was mana, intellect, and wisdom.
At the same time, he had the opportunity to unlock Developmental Abilities every time he leveled-up; these abilities would apparently be based off of the things he was skilled at and could end up improving his overall prowess. Further, he could level-up the abilities themselves for even greater boosts in strength.
Skills on the other hand were permanent unable to be leveled traits that gave special bonuses for each one. Apparently they were quite rare and were part of a person's Soul, which made sense to him as this was his Semblance.
As for Spells, he sadly was only able to learn that there was a 'typically' a max of three spells that a person could learn, and that Grimoires could help with it. Once more Elias was intrigued by the use of the word, 'typically'.
clicking out of the tab, the booklet disappeared from his hands.
Overall, Elias was neither under or over whelmed by his stats. As he had expected them to be set out in such a manner. While he had been top of his class academically at Signal Primary Academy School, his time had also been taken up by his regular schooling for highschool, and as such he had ended up falling behind his peers in actual combat ability. This of course wasn't helped by the fact that he lacked any natural aptitude for combat and that his Aura was not very vast in scope, being about half of the average Hunter's.
Though in turn, he had become quite skilled in using his Aura with great finesse due to its limited amount, and he hoped that the people in charge of screening applicants for Beacon and Haven Academy would recognize that.
Wanting to distract himself from his bemoaning of foul luck, Elias decided to investigate his Skills.
Clicking first on Aura a description was brought up.
Aura: Gift of the Light
The physical manifestation of the Soul that allows Dustlings to defend, heal, and strengthen themselves. It was gifted by The God of Light to all of Dustkind to combat against the Grimm, after his younger brother, The God of Darkness, took back Dustkind's ability to use Magic.
Elias stared gobsmacked at the screen in front of him. He had direct confirmation that The Covenant of The Brothers were correct in that their religion was real. Not only that though, as he also now knew that apparently the people of Remnant used to have actual magic!
Shaking his head to clear it, Elias then clicked on Achievement Hunter.
Achievement Hunter
Born from the overwhelming desire to grasp every achievement and 100% every game was the skill to be granted boons from these accomplishments. However, the User must discover the achievements on their own.
Elias was quite disappointment that he didn't receive a list of possible achievements, but was still ecstatic either way. This Skill truly did fit who he was and he couldn't wait to begin searching for hidden achievements.
However, it seems as though he didn't need to look far. Just below the description, he found a glowing notification.
Claim Achievements!
Curious, he clicked it as well, and a list was brought up before him.
Serious Skills
Objective: Gain a Skill other than Achievement Hunter [X]
Reward: 1x System Feature Token
...
Statistical Stockpile: I
Objective: Have a total of 1,000 stats overall [X]
Reward: 10x Stat Points
...
Statistical Stacking: I
Objective: Have over 1,000 stats in a singular level [X]
Reward: 10x Stat Points
Happily claiming the rewards, Elias decided to save his Stat Points for now, as the guide told him that it would become harder to gain more the higher his stats went. In the meantime, he used his System Feature Token and found himself facing a list of options.
System Features (More will become available overtime):
Mini-Map: 1 Token
Identify: 1 Token
Voice/Thought Commands: 1 Token
Unlock Mana: 3 Tokens
Unlock Inventory: 3 Tokens
Unlock Dungeons: 3 Tokens
"Well shit, I guess I can use magic; some day, at least." Elias realized with taken-aback wonder. He thought on his decision for a moment, before selecting Mini-Map.
Adjusting it in the setting menu, the circular map now appeared in the top right corner of his vision, and showed a map of all the places he had been before. He saw all of his city, Jägare-Slott (Hunters' Keep), parts of the wilderness around it, a few areas of Vale, and a good portion of Atlas.
Deciding to investigate it more later, Elias clicked on his last Skill his Semblance.
However, once more an oddity occurred. Instead of a description of it being displayed, like opening a new tab on a computer, a brand new screen was brought up alongside the original. Curious, Elias clicked it on the new screen, and a third one appeared, and he did it again, and again, and again, and again...
You get the idea.
Once he had done it around a hundred or so times, Elias decided to just stack all of them on top of one another instead of closing out all of his work.
Finished with his work for now, Elias stepped out of his room and into the rest of his family's manor.
The Lodge, as they preferred to refer to it as, alongside being the home of the Bjurström family, was also the manor of the mayor of the city of Jägare-Slott. It was built two centuries prior after the previous manor had fallen into irreparable disrepair. The building itself was barely large enough to be considered a mansion in the first place, being 5,400 square feet of locally cut logs and quarried stones. As the name suggested, the home was designed to look and feel like a homely hunting lodge, both for the enjoyable environment it gave and because it made sense for the family.
The Bjurström family had been in Vale for the past four-hundred-forty-three years, ever since they had been cast out of Atlas (At the time still Mantle) alongside the Alderssons and the Tessins for attempting a coup against the Gelé faction of the Aristocracy. The disgraced nobles had brought with them as much wealth and as many followers that they could when they landed on the peninsulas and archipelagoes of the continent of Sanus, South of the island of Vytal and North of the kingdom of Vale.
The three families had ended up being integrated into the Valean aristocracy as they brought with them valuable resources in the form of experienced craftsman and laborers. The Alderssons were glassblowers and metalworkers, creating both beautiful works of art, and some of the finest tools before the industrial revolution. The Tessins were experienced carpenters and ship-builders, which heavily increased their favor due to Vale's at the time, abysmal naval power compared to the other nations, and nice furniture for the noble's homes was also appreciated. Finally, the Bjurström, meaning Beaver River in old Mantlease, were expert hunters. Yes, 'hunters' not 'Hunters', they were fur-trappers mostly who provided most of the furs used by Tessins, hence why they were part of an alliance during their coup, and still were close to this day. The Alderssons were part of the alliance for providing the equipment that both the Tessins and the Bjurström used.
Passing by one of the windows facing the city, Elias looked down on Jägare-Slott from the hill that the manner sat upon. Jägare-Slott was the once small village founded by his family, and now the large city that his family had hereditary mayorship of. You see, back during the Great War, when the King of Vale declared victory over Mantle and Mistral, he had made the terms of surrender be the dissolution of the nobility of all factions, including Vale. The nobles of Vale had of course been up-in-arms about this, thinking that victory would surely mean an increase in their power, not its total loss.
Of course, they as well knew that if the king wished to, he could have defeated them as well if they revolted. So, the more powerful ones had banded together and demanded to at least retain some of their authority, or they would turn their people against the king.
In the end, the nobles were allowed to retain their title ceremonially, and have a permanent familial hold over the territory they once ruled with absolute authority. They could no longer be judge, jury, and executioner in their own lands, and had to resign themselves to following the laws of the kingdom and being officially mayors of their cities, while still holding the ceremonial title of Lord or Lady.
Elias had of course been raised on the knowledge of all of the remaining Valean noble families, alongside some of the ones from the other kingdoms. Beyond the nobles who had fled from Mantle, there were also the native nobles. There were the Arcs, Winchesters, and Mawrs, who were all former knights and barons in the service of the many kings who ruled over Vale, and were also distantly related to the kings themselves, being off-shoots of the royal family. The royal family itself, the Pendragons had died off after the king refused to have any children in order to prevent any future descendants from trying to reestablish the monarchy.
Though the Winchesters would every so often claim that they were technically the heirs to the throne being the closest related to the last King. Though the Mawrs and Arcs were actually related to more of the kings than them.
The only other remaining Valean noble family was the Adels, who had been providing most of the clothing for the other nobles and barons for centuries by this point, and had long since integrated into using many of the furs that the Bjurströms provided.
Finally, as Vacuo didn't have any nobles, that only left Mistral, which had one family leave their homeland and venture to Vale. The Qrutaph family, leaders of the second dynasty of Mistral, had been overthrown in a successful coup after several plagues had left the kingdom in a shadow of its former glory. With them came wealth, which led to their current banking empire, porcelain, and most of all silks that were used by the Adels.
Clearing his head of his thoughts on the other nobility, Elias made his way into the armory of the household. While most of the hunting rifles there were now mostly for display purposes, a few of the items in there were still in use, including the Dust ammunition cartridges. They were Quincy brand, as his mother refused to use and to have any of his employees use Schnee brand Dust, due to his hatred of the company. He had once asked his mother, Lady Astrid Bjurström where her detestment of the SDC originated, and had been told that they were "pompous, racist, sadistic bastards who could go choke on a beaver's rectum." Elias theorized that it probably didn't help that the current head of the SDC, Jacques Schnee, was formerly a Gelé, mortal enemies of their family.
Still, buying Dust from smaller companies was always more expensive, but Elias' mother claimed it was worth it, as to not taint the animal they hunted with the blood on the SDC's hands.
Strapping several extra rounds to his ammunition belt, and placing several in a pouch attached to his hip, Elias quickly returned to his room and grabbed his weapon and gear. Nodding at servants wishing him happy birthday as he passed by, Elias left through the back door of his home and started marching into the wilderness. The land of the thousands of acres of forest around the city, being property of his family.
Just before he reached the treeline, Elias reached in between the lapels of his fur jacket and grabbed his necklace. Raising the object tethered to the twine to his face, Elias laid a kiss upon the hardened tree sap, containing a lock of his father, Ottar Bjurström's, hair. Specifically, hair from his badger ears, which had been encased in tree sap soon after he passed.
Finished with his tradition and good luck ritual, Elias ventured into the forest, excited to test out his Semblance.
...
It had taken Elias a bit of time to finally find some Grimm, most likely due to the frequent Huntsman patrols that his father paid for, for the entire city.
His sealskin boots were quieter than a feather as he stalked through Black Ridge Forest, his loudest sound being his own breathing. All of his equipment was designed with the purpose of being as stealthy as the Mantle hunters who had made their way through this forest several centuries ago. Every part that was metal was either held in a container, or wrapped in animal hide, in order to muffle its sound. The only unhindered metal, was the blade of his weapon.
Fell-Swoop, a allusion to the phrase "In one fell swoop" was Elias' Mechashift weapon. The main form was that of a six foot Dust-Steel halberd with a curved handle and Dust Steel thread in order for it to double as an immensely powerful great-bow.
Peering from behind a tree, Elias saw a pack of fifteen Alpine Beowulves, which he quickly recounted for assurance on his mini-map. Alpine Beowulves were different than the standard ones as they far more closely resembled actual wolves. They were usually found in the more mountainous regions of Eastern Sanus and Western Anima, and were far more agile and sleek than their beefier cousins. Taking an arrow from the quiver, notching it, and slowly lining up a shot, he waited for the perfect moment.
Ones of the Grimm start sniffing the air, realizing that there was someone else there.
However the head movement gave Elias the perfect opportunity and he released the string
Fhwip
The arrow whizzed through the trees, sliding into the eye socket of one of the Grimm, out the other side, and right into the brow of the one behind it. His great-bow, while quieter than a gun, still made a considerable amount of noise compared to the relative silence of the forest, and the remaining thirteen Grimm turned to him standing a three-hundred-twenty feet away.
Already having taken another arrow from his quiver, Elias loosed a second arrow.
Fhwip
Another down.
Again.
Fhwip
Then twice more.
Fhwip Fhwip
By this point Elias quickly had to bring his weapon down and ready himself to directly engage the Grimm who were now only seconds from reaching him.
The once eighteen, now twelve, pack of Alpine Beowulves rapidly attempted to encircle him, but Elias knew better than to let that happen. He had made sure he was standing on a ledge before he fired, and he now used the opportunity to leap onto the branches of one of the trees below it. Once there, he turned around and quickly began firing onto the pack of Grimm once more.
Fhwip
The Grimm went down as the metal arrowhead glinted in the sunlight before plunging into the beast's neck.
Fhwip pschh
The arrow crashed into the snow as the Grimm sidestepped it, sending the powder up in a small cloud. Elias may have been smart and a damn good shot, but Alpine Beowulves were fast.
He rose his bow to take aim once more, but stopped himself when he felt the branch he was standing on, begin to shake. Peering down, Elias caught sight of a large Ursa shoving against the base of the tree, while angrily glaring up at him.
Elias flipped it the bird before attempting to hop over to a different tree in order to get a better angle to fire on it. However, luck didn't seem to be on his side, as during the period where he was distracted, one of the Alpine Beowulves had found a nearby fallen tree on the cliff-side with enough height that it could jump to Elias.
Elias felt the weight of the Grimm impact his back and unbalance him off of the branch he stood on. Realizing that no matter what, he was going down, Elias quickly slammed the blade of his halberd into the tree in order to act as a makeshift brake as he fell; the Alpoine Beowulf clawing at his back the whole way down.
It wasn't graceful, nor was it particularly badass as the two opposing figures slammed into the four inches of snow, followed by hardened earth. Elias felt his Aura crackle in response to the sixty foot drop; his halberd having barely slowly the impact due to the weight.
Standing up with the Grimm still on his back. Elias ran towards a nearby tree then spun around the moment before impact, slamming his assailant into it. The blow stunning the Grimm, gave Elias all the time he needed to step forward while swinging his halberd backwards and decapitating the Grimm.
Noticing the remaining Alpine Beowulves approaching after making their way down from the bluff, Elias quickly readied himself for their approach.
Now Elias' weapon hardly would've counted as mechashift if it only had one form, now would it?
Spinning a section in the middle of the shaft of his weapon, the bends of the weapon opened up at the seems and straightened out as a scope and trigger emerged from the weapon's internals. Changing his grip, Elias now held a Jägare-Slot m/1941 Mauser bolt-action hunting rifle. The name of the rifle of course came from the fact that it was made in the very city that Elias lived in. Hell, it specifically was made on commission of his family, in order to be the new standard rifle for their employees. Elias though, had ended up taking a liking to it as well, and replaced the old rifle in his weapon with it instead.
Bang!
The Alpine Beowulf leading the charge found itself flying backwards as the impact of the bullet sent its now decaying body flipping ass over kettle away from Elias.
Using the force of the recoil to swing his weapon over his shoulder, Elias brought it in a speeding loop around the side of his body before the blade of his halberd slammed upwards into the nearest Grimm.
Keeping his momentum, Elias continued and brought the swing into a horizontal spin that quickly sliced apart the two Beowulves that approached after.
Finishing the movement by slamming the weapon downwards as he lunged after another Beowulf, Elias felt with satisfaction as the bones and cartilage of the Grimm gave way beneath his blade.
However, doing so allowed the last two Beowulves to get past his zone of reach with his halberd, and the creatures of darkness quickly capitalized on the moment. One of the leaped at his arm and ended up sinking its fangs into the metal and hide vambrance on his arm. While it didn't actually hurt him, the weight of the beast hindered his movement with his weapon. Soon after, the second Grimm had found its fangs dug into Elias unarmored back right leg.
Letting go of Fell-Swoop with his unhindered right hand, Elias quickly snatched his Saxe knife off of his belt and jammed it into the right eye of the Grimm on his arm. The creature roared in pain, yet held on still, so Elias quickly twisted and pulled the knife outward, before bringing it back down again, again, until the demonic enemy went limp and started dissolving into Grimm dust.
Twisting his upper body around, Elias speared through the back of the last Beowulf's neck with the pike on the base of his weapon's handle, pinning the Grimm to the ground as it thrashed in its final moments.
"RAGGGH!"
Quickly hilting his knife, Elias turned to the source of the roar. There, he saw the Ursa from earlier lumbering with haste through the trees, angrily slobbering as it charged it him.
Now for the third form of Fell-Swoop. While his mother appreciated history and tradition, and liked to keep a rustic feel to most things, she still recognized the improvements of advancements in technology. They had electricity after all, and there certainly was great use to that. So, while the Bjurströms were pretty much done with Mantle/Atlas, they did still have a couple of connections with some of the families there to this day. Therefore, with a little bit of finagling and a bit of cash given to the right people by his mother, Elias' weapon had a bit of an odd secret to it.
Turning his weapon towards the Ursa roaring and charging at him, Elias clicked a button on the underside of the barrel. With a few whirs and clicks, his weapon soon opened up, the barrel heavily expanding as weathered wood and metal gave way to reveal refined Atlesian technology. A glow emerged along the sides of the barrel as a hum began to fill the air. Aiming the barrel as the space between the Grimm's eyes, Elias fired.
BANG!
Elias felt the heavy recoil of the railgun as he was nearly launched off his feet. As for the Grimm, its charge came to a slow stop as it collapsed onto the dirt and slowly slid across the ground, eventually coming to rest at Elias' boots. The body slowly began to dissolve away, starting from the inch diameter hole in its head.
Elias was expecting this though, Grimm dissolving upon death was common knowledge. What wasn't common knowledge, or frankly any form of knowledge that Elias knew of, was that a pile of Lien would appear on the ground afterwards.
Looking around, Elias caught sight of more piles of Lien where the bodies of the Alpine Beowulves once sat. Checking his mini-map, he saw that each money pile was highlighted with a green Lien symbol.
"By the Fuckin' Light! I get loot drops! Whoo!" Elias celebrated as he quickly scrounged around the forest, picking up all the piles of Lien.
When he had finished picking up all the piles of cash, Elias was happy to count out 650 Lien. Sure, he already had pretty much every reasonable thing he could ask for with the family's wealth, but the possibility to make even more cash on the side intrigued him. However he was worried about how he exactly could use the money, after all, how was he supposed to explain the random bursts of money he kept getting to the government of Vale?
As if to answer his query, the Lien in his hands vanished with a flash, right before his very eyes.
Jumping back in surprise, Elias quickly reached for his weapon, peering at his surroundings for the unseen assailant.
Yet, they would never emerge, for they were never there in the first place.
Elias was distracted from his vigilance by his Scroll buzzing in his pocket. Cautiously taking it out and peering at it, he saw that it was a notification for his bank account.
[Successful Deposit: 650 Lien. Thank you for banking with Qrutaph Horizons]
Investigating further, Elias found that the money was accounted for as coming from his wages for some company called, Falna Enterprises.
"Well I guess that takes care of that." Elias said matter-of-factly. He was about to start heading back home, when he realized that he had forgotten to check his stat gains. Enlarging and shifting the screen to the center of his vision, Elias looked over it.
Status
Elias Bjurström
Level: 1 (Level-Up Available)
Strength: 323 F - 325 F
Endurance: 212 G - 216 G
Dexterity: 645 C - 649 C
Agility: 102 H - 106 H
Magic: 845 A - 848 A
Points: 0 I - 20 I
Developmental Abilities
...
Spells
...
Skills
Semblance: Falna System
Achievement Ascension
Aura: Gift of the Light
Elias hummed as he looked over it, it wasn't as good as he hoped for, but it was far better than nothing. With his initial progress made, Elias decided to call it a day and head home. After all, he had two weeks before he found out which Huntsman academies had accepted him, and another six after that before the semester started.
Wanting to test the difference, Elias began to slowly jog back out of the forest, and he could clearly tell that he was moving significantly faster than usual. Checking his Aura, he saw that even from the short scuffle, he was already at less than half full.
"Fuck me, and my bullshit weak ass Aura." Elias sighed, though it lacked the usual detestment he utilized for his lack of Aura size. He had a whole new lease on life with his Semblance, and no amount of set-backs, Aura of otherwise, were going to slow him down.
"That Greedy Cunt!" A voice from downstairs swore. Elias had returned to his room once he got back, in order to start planning out a new schedule that would maximize the benefits of his Semblance.
"Ah, I guess that mom's home." Elias said to himself as he closed the notebook he was writing in and began making his way downstairs.
Stepping into the kitchen after being directed there by one of the servants who knew what he was looking for, Elias saw his mom rummaging around in the wine fridge. Rolling his eyes, he walked over to her and grabbed the wine she was taking out.
His mother jumped in surprise and quickly spun around to see who was there. Her eyes widened and the anger in them drained away as she recognized her son, and Astrid sighed as she realized she was caught. Relinquishing the bottle to her son, who quickly returned it to the wine fridge, Astrid made her way to the dining table, sat down, and rested her head in her hands.
"I'm sorry, Elias. I truly had every intention to be here, I had planned the whole itinerary out to make sure that I would be back here before you even woke up." Astrid apologized to her son as she fixed a few stray blonde hairs.
"But..?" Elias asked, already putting it together that something had interfered with that.
Astrid nodded, "But, that... that... that Fucking Bitch! Jeanne just had to test the limits! She just had to try and fuck us over, so that she could make a greater profit!"
"What did Lady Adel do this time?" Elias asked, already having expecting this to be the cause of his mother's wrath and delayed return.
"Ugh! Our exclusivity deal, she was trying to get around it by claiming that synthetic furs weren't specifically included in the agreement. No fucking shit, you dumb bitch! That contract was made two hundred years before synthetic furs were even invented, but either way, we made a deal for all furs." Astrid ranted as she massaged her brow to relieve the tension.
"I see..." Elias nodded in understanding as he leaned against the kitchen counter, looking over at his mother as she continued speaking.
"That's why I was late, it took all of yesterday and today to convince her not to try and seek furs and hides elsewhere, lest we challenge her in court."
His mother grunted in annoyance as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I wouldn't even be this mad usually, I know how she is. She'll get an idea like this, wait for someone to push back on it, and then act all gracious when she agrees not to go through with it. It's that fact that she did it now, knowing that I would have to stay in order deal with it that makes me so furious with her. She was hoping that I would just concede so that I could get home in time for your birthday."
"She's certainly always been a conniving one." Elias shrugged in answer.
Astrid shook her head, "Ugh, ignore what I'm saying. Today isn't about her, it's your birthday, my little viking. I know it's late, but what do you want to do? We could go somewhere, watch something, anything you want." Astrid offered, trying to salvage the day.
"Uh... That's alright mom, I'm good. Maybe we can do something another time, or for my next birthday." Elias waved off the offer, he didn't feel like having a celebration, considering it would really just be his mom and him.
"What if we head out to Lion Petals, your father loved that restaurant. I'm sure you would too if you tried it." Astrid suggested.
Elias' smile instantly became plastic, "Yeah... not tonight."
"Are you sure, Elias? Your father used to take us there all the time when you were a baby." Astrid asked, laying a hand on her son's shoulder.
"Definitely." Elias confirmed, and kissed his mother's cheek, "Night mom, I'm glad you're back."
A little off-center, Astrid scrambled as she responded, "O-of course, Elias. Good night, darling. We'll do something tomorrow, anything you'd like."
Elias smiled fakely and nodded as he walked up the stairs to his room.
Closing his door, Elias barely had a moment to himself before his Scroll began to ring. "Hmm, guess that the relay tower is back up." Elias mused as he picked up the phone, "Hey Coco."
"Happy Birthday!" Coco shouted into the Scroll, the sound of a machine whirring could be heard in the background.
"Thanks Coco…" Elias responded sincerely as he fell into his bed.
"I'm still surprised your mom stayed here for so long, I thought she'd want to get back there sooner. I know you don't like doing things for your birthday, but she certainly does." Coco said with a challenge on her lips.
"Yeah… About that… You wouldn't happen to know who you all were thinking of supplying fake fur from, right?" Elias asked tiredly, trying to get ahead of the issue.
"What? No, fake fur is nowhere near the point of the real deal right now, I even told my mother the other day that…" Coco's voice trailed off, before sighing angrily, "She didn't."
"She did." Elias admitted, "That's why my mom was held up in the meeting."
Coco was silent on her end before taking a deep breath, "Can you give me a second."
"Sure." Elias answered softly.
He wasn't the best when it came to people skills, but he knew Coco, and right now she was equal parts pissed and embarrassed. In the past he might've tried to assuage those concerns for her, but he knew from experience at this point that letting her get it out made sure she wouldn't be stuck on it for weeks.
Suddenly, faint shouting could be heard through the Scroll. Coco was far away from it, but still clearly screaming at the top of her lungs, "MOM! Are you FUCKING kidding me?!"
There was a beat of quiet that Elias assumed was Coco's mother Jeanne responding.
"I'm talking about the stunt you pulled with Elias! What is wrong with you?!"
Silence again, and on it went.
"I don't give a shit about whether or not you found a company that makes good fake furs! I'm pissed that you did this to Elias and even more angry that you embarrassed me like this!"
Elias shook his head ruefully as the quiet point came again, before quickly being dispersed.
"Ugh! Mom! No! That's not…. Eughhh! We are not blackmailing them for that!" Elias tilted his head oddly as Coco's embarrassment reached new heights as the void in noise appeared once more.
"Just stop! I'm done talking to you! I'm going back to Beacon early this year! I don't care if the Semester hasn't started, I'll stay in Vale with Velvet!" Coco said sharply as the sound of a door slamming was heard.
Footsteps gradually increased in volume as Coco returned. There was a bit of hesitation in her voice as she said, "I'm…. I'm sorry about her."
"Hey, it's alright, and not your fault." Elias assured her, "Please don't feel bad, I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, you should tell me these things, and I am glad you did." Coco said with certainty as the sound of mechanical whirring returned, which Elias realized was Coco's sewing machine.
"Though, that still doesn't explain why you are so depressed right now. You usually love it when you get out of these things, even if they're for you." Coco questioned him and Elias could tell that she had one of her hands on her hip.
"Who says I'm sad?" Elias asked, ignoring how obvious it was.
"I do." Coco declared, "Now, what's got your panties in a twist?"
"Well, the fact that I don't have any is the main issue." Elias began sarcastically.
Coco merely rolled her eyes and spoke once more, smirk still adorning her features, "Now, what's got your boxers in a twist?"
Elias sighed and leaned back onto his bed, "My mom brought up my dad again. Kept talking about all the things that he'd like to do on his birthday."
"Ahh." Coco made a noise of understanding.
"I know that most kids would be happy to hear about a parent that's not around anymore, but I hear about him all. The. Time." Elias complained, before continuing, "Plus, sometimes it feels like I'm... I don't know... An after thought, you know? Or just…. Just a reminder of who she really cared about…"
"Ugh, our moms suck. I mean, yours less so, or I mean, not if you don't think she sucks, but…" Coco faltered through the sentence, and Elias couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey! Quit that, it's fucking bullshit that you're a antisocial mess in public but can talk perfectly fine in private like this." Coco complained embarrassedly.
"The few times I've met your friends they always talk about how you're this suave and badass Huntress with everyone, but me." Elias pointed out.
There was a pregnant pause and Elias realized that they had accidentally stumbled into the forbidden topic.
They both knew.
Neither of them could say it aloud.
Elias finally spoke, "Thanks for remembering my birthday, Coco."
"I'm the only one that did, aren't I?" Coco said with a sigh.
"You're the only one that mattered." Elias said. Both of them knew it was a lie, knew that Elias' mother mattered too.
Elias then added, "Also Jaune. Jaune called me earlier."
Coco laughed and shouted, "Asshole."
"Well, I have a surprise to make it up to you, Coco." Elias with pride.
"It better be real good." Coco warned, "I'm expecting a fashionable stole or some nice fabrics."
"I unlocked my Semblance." Elias nearly whispered.
"I'm coming over." Coco declared and Elias soon heard the sound of closets being pulled open.
"Coco, that's sweet of you, but c'mon, you know that it's late. Plus, as much as I'm mad at your mom, you shouldn't suddenly disappear like that." Elias reasoned.
"Fine. But I'm just so excited for you! I told you that you could do it. Now we're going to design a whole new outfit to fit your style. Tell me everything, what's your Semblance." Coco was vibrating with excitement.
"My Semblance is… a secret." Elias bait-and-switched her.
"No." Coco said with horror.
"Yes." Elias said with confidence, "I made that promise to you and I intend to keep it."
"It was one scoop of ice-cream." Coco argued pitifully.
"It was cookies-n-cream, you and I both know that cookies-n-cream is sacred and now you are paying the price. One year where I won't tell you what it is unless you guess it." Elias reminded her.
"Telepathy, future-vision, ice-powers, gravity-" Coco began.
"Goodnight Coco." Elias said with smugness.
"No, wait, it's fli-" The call clicked off and Elias laughed to himself slightly.
Yes, there were many things that went wrong, but today had been a good day.
Meanwhile, Astrid waited till she was certain her son was out of earshot before slamming her hand on the countertop, "Dammit!" She massaged the corners of her eyes as tears threatened to spill.
Briskly walking over to a nearby table, Astrid peered down at the last family photo they had. She and Ottar were standing before the lodge, while a not yet two-year-old Elias was trying to chew on his father's badger ears.
"Why do I keep screwing up, my beloved?" Astrid asked the empty air as her hand tenderly rubbed the photograph.
She took a deep shuddering breath as she wiped a small tear from her eye, "Everytime I try to do something for him, something gets in the way. He rarely leaves his room to do anything other than go to class or train. He only has a single friend, and the school counselor says that she thinks he's being picked on by the other kids. I wish you were here... You always knew what to do... Honey, I-I need you, I need you to tell me what to do, to tell me how to help him... Please."
"My lady?" A voice politely interjected, startling Astrid.
"By the Light! Casper, don't scare me like that." Astrid scolded the elderly man. Casper had been her butler since she was a teenager, years before she had married into the Bjurström family.
"My apologies, but I had a feeling you'd want to hear this as soon as possible." The man spoke, his wrinkled skin crinkling as he did so.
"And what would that be?" Astrid asked, with a suspicious drawl.
"Your mother has passed." Casper stated simply, as though he was only announcing the weather.
Astrid stood stock still for a moment, then spoke, "Thank you; you were correct and assuming I would want to hear this, how long ago did she pass?"
"Six hours ago, my lady." Casper informed her succinctly.
Astrid clicked her tongue in annoyance, "I guess that means I'll be playing catch-up with my siblings then. Schedule a bullhead to take me to Vale, I need to talk with my brother."
"Of course, my lady. It will be done." Casper nodded in acceptance and departed.
Slowly, Astrid looked up to the ceiling, knowing that her son was barely fifty feet from her but felt so far away, "And here I am already leaving again… I'm going to make this up to you, I promise."
With her declaration made, Astrid pulled out her phone and placed a call, "Hey… Yeah, I just heard the news… I'll be there tomorrow."
AN: So, before anyone says anything, yes, Elias has several similarities with Weiss; both in personality and in their backgrounds. However, there are still notable differences that will become more exaggerated and noticeable as time goes on. I wrote this character with the idea of him and Weiss being each other's foils at points.
IE: Weiss is a loner because of her station and father, while Elias is a loner by choice because he doesn't like to hang out with people. Weiss resents her father because he's a terrible man who has left her a terrible legacy to inherit, while Elias resents his father because everyone liked him so much, that he feels he can't measure up.
Status
Elias Bjurström
Level: 1 (Level-Up Available)
Strength: 323 F - 325 F
Endurance: 212 G - 216 G
Dexterity: 645 C - 649 C
Agility: 102 H - 106 H
Magic: 845 A - 848 A
Points: 0 I - 20 I
Developmental Abilities
...
Spells
...
Skills
Semblance: Falna System
Achievement Ascension
Aura: Gift of the Light
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Fanmade Grimm Featured:
Beowulf Remastered By Risgord (Renamed to Alpine Beowulf)