A/N: If you're enjoying this story, feel free to check out my discord server. discord dot gg slash RD3Y5pM7u2
Heads up, we're earning that Mature rating (for something other than fuckwords and violence, I mean).
Aftermath
"Jaune, are you all right!?" Amber and Bianca demanded, still in sync, and despite the pain I laughed through gritted teeth.
"Just peachy," I grunted, feeling my circulatory system burning and my muscles aching as they tried to lock up from the rapidly spreading neurotoxin. [Gamer's Body] wouldn't let me asphyxiate that easily, but I was definitely feeling it.
I cast an eye over my [Status] screen.
[Debuff – Poisoned]
[You have been poisoned by something you ate or touched, or envenomed by something that bit you. Your HP decreases by an amount dictated by the severity of your poisoning each second.]
[Severity: High]
[Current duration: 3:23]
Yep, poison duration is pretty high. HP is now well under a third and ticking down toward a quarter. "Just need to get this fang out of my leg, so my skin can knit and I can meditate to counteract the poison." I wonder if Krios' return damage applies to poison? Probably not, since it's a status effect rather than outright combat damage.
I glanced over Amber as well. Her HP was almost full, but her MP was down near ten percent. "You need to stop using your 'Semblance' before you pass out," I advised her, even as Bianca, Aisha, and Xuan worked out how best to wrench Amphivena's fang out of the canyon floor under me. "Can you keep an eye out for Grimm while we're cleaning up?"
Amber pouted at me, but the shadows under her eyes stifled any inclination I might have had to change my mind.
"Oh, and someone grab my sword?" I added as I laid back down.
The other three managed to extract the fang from my thigh, thanks to most of the head dissolving and leaving only about half the skull and the one fang. Xuan was frowning at it, so I shot Bianca a meaningful look. Thankfully she interpreted it correctly and sent him and Aisha to sweep the canyon and make sure there weren't any lingering Taijitu. Amber was slowly making her way over to where the white head had died, and I'd lost sight of Rumpole, so I guessed she'd gone back to get the plane.
I laid a hand on the bloodstained fang and vanished the black-scaled half-skull into my [Inventory], where it appeared next to the crest I'd taken from the white head… which I only now noticed was actually a half-mask itself. So both heads dropped half the Aspect, huh?
"Your Semblance can quantify how bad the poison is, right?" Bianca asked me, tone soft but demanding.
"Yeah," I grunted. "This isn't your average everyday poison. Or even your above-average every-other-day poison. This is advanced–"
"Quit fucking around and fix it," Bianca interrupted sharply.
"Can't quite yet," I admitted. "I need to be able to circulate my Aura to meditate and boost my healing rate, and I can't do that while under the effect of Aura Shock. Gimme ten more seconds." My HP was draining, but not so fast I was worried about it, even if I was now under twenty percent and draining toward fifteen. "Keep watch, meditating outside the city tends to draw Grimm," I added. "Three, two, one; there we go."
I activated [Gaia's Pulse] laying there on the ground, and breathed a sigh of relief as my HP regen hit nearly 700 HP/min, outstripping even the [High] Poison tick and rapidly bumping my current HP back over twenty percent.
Now to sort through all the damn notifications…
[Story Event Complete!]
[You have defeated the boss monster Amphivena!]
[You have gained 411,000 EXP and 300,000L! You obtained universal antivenin! [Taking Names] quest continuation and reward, increased reputation with Shade Academy, greatly increased reputation with Vacuan Legion, increased reputation with Vacuo, increased closeness with Amber Ud̵͈̫́͋́̏͊́̽̑̂̕͠ ̸̡̨̛͔̘͕̱̦̭̤̲̯̈́͊́͛̒͂̇̓́̑͒̎ ̷̧̗̫̰͇͉̰̒́̓̈́̑̌̇̕̕ , increased closeness with Bianca Arc.]
[Level up! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1! Your level has increased by 1!]
Holy fuck, that's… thirteen levels? I knew [Enlightened] was busted but… Am I getting solo EXP no matter how many people help me, as long as I have the quest and contribute enough to the fight? That's insane!
I tried for a moment to calculate how much EXP I would total if each of the twelve Named kept increasing, but I didn't couldn't get a feel for the scale. Samiri was worth twice as much as Krios, now Amphivena was three times Samiri, but I had a hard time believing it would continue like that. Whatever, my build order is the same regardless.
[A skill has been created through a special action! Identifying the unique feeling of sorcery has created the skill [Detect Magic]!]
[Detect Magic (Passive/Active) LV 1 EXP: 4.76%]
[An ability to detect the presence of the near-lost art of magic around the user, whether passive enchantments, magical items, or active use of sorcery. Allows gauging of relative magical capacity.]
[Range: 10 meters.]
[ACTIVE: MP: 25/min]
[Increases range by 10x.]
[Aura has increased by 1! Melee Combat Mastery has increased by 1! Sword Mastery has increased by 1! Shield Mastery has increased by 1! Sword Mastery has increased by 1! Shield Mastery has increased by 1! Shield Mastery has increased by 1! Sword Mastery has increased by 1! Steadfast has increased by 1! Melee Combat Mastery has increased by 1! Aura has increased by 1! Steadfast has increased by 1! Shield Mastery has increased by 1! Shield Mastery has increased by 1! Crusader's Smite has increased by 1! Crusader's Smite has increased by 1! Giant Killer has increased by 1! Giant Killer has increased by 1! Giant Killer has increased by 1! Aura has increased by 1! Bludgeoning Resistance has increased by 1! Bludgeoning Resistance has increased by 1! Bludgeoning Resistance has increased by 1! Bludgeoning Resistance has increased by 1! Bludgeoning Resistance has increased by 1!]
Blinking rapidly at the flood of alerts I decided to pull a Pro Gamer Move and cleared them all without reading them. Shit got better, I'm not reading every individual rank up.
[By enduring tremendous physical pain, you have increased your physical capabilities. Your CON has increased by 1!]
[With seemingly-fearless determination, you have inspired your allies to stand fast in the face of terrifying odds! Your CHA has increased by 1!]
[Elemental Weapon has increased by 1! Powerful has increased by 1!]
[A skill has been boosted by a special action! Elemental Weapon has increased by 1! Elemental Weapon has increased by 1! Elemental Weapon has increased by 1! Elemental Weapon has increased by 1! Elemental Weapon has increased by 1!]
[Importing Outsider save data… Save data loaded successfully!]
[You have remembered the skill [Shotgun Mastery]!]
[Shotgun Mastery (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%]
[A skill that allows the user to freely handle shotguns, whether firing shot or slugs.]
[1% increase in shot accuracy with shotguns.]
[10% increase in shot damage with shotguns.]
[10% increase in reload speed with shotguns.]
Huh, didn't realize my practice never got me the skill. I got the skills for knife, sword, and blunt by hitting trees, but I got the pistol skill when I shot Indigo… maybe the threshold is higher for guns?
[Shotgun Mastery has increased by 1! Giant Killer has increased by 1! Giant Killer has increased by 1! Piercing Resistance has increased by 1! Endurance's rank has increased by 1! Piercing Resistance has increased by 1! Piercing Resistance has increased by 1!]
[By Enduring a new damage type, you have unlocked the skill [Poison Resistance]!]
[Poison Resistance (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%]
[A skill that enables the body to fight off poisons, venoms, and toxins, reducing damage taken from such effects.]
[1% decrease in damage taken from poison attacks.]
[Shortens duration and severity of Poisoned status effect by 1%.]
[Endurance's rank has increased by 1!]
[By Enduring a new damage type, you have unlocked the skill [Acid Resistance]!]
[Acid Resistance (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%]
[A skill that enables the body to resist and slough off potently acidic or alkaline substances, reducing damage taken from chemical burns and solvents.]
[1% decrease in damage taken from acid attacks.]
[1% less corrosion of equipped gear.]
[Endurance's rank has increased by 1!]
Fucking hell this is getting verbose. If these pings didn't auto-minimize during combat they would have killed me by now.
[Shotgun Mastery has increased by 1! Giant Killer has increased by 1! Poison Resistance has increased by 1! Poison Resistance has increased by 1! Gaia's Pulse has increased by 1! Aura Mastery has increased by 1! Aura Affinity has increased by 1! Aura Affinity has increased by 1! Robust has increased by 1! Robust has increased by 1! Robust has increased by 1! Poison Resistance has increased by 1!]
…Y'know what, I'm going digging in my settings again tonight. Getting pinged for every individual rank made sense when I only had a handful of skills and they weren't increasing this rapidly, but this is just unsustainable. There's gotta be a way to condense these messages.
[Quest Updated!]
[Taking Names]
[You have learned that there are some Grimm so ancient and powerful, that they have individual names. Find and slay all the Name-ranked Grimm.]
[Time limit: Until Completed.]
[Reward: EXP, Lien, and items from each kill; glory and notoriety, new title reward from Rewards Table with each kill.]
[Failure Penalty: Probable death; uncounted thousands die as Grimm continue to rampage unchecked.]
[Targets:]
[Krios the Amalthean]
[Samiri the Marathonian]
[Amphivena the Emperor Taijitu]
[Tegmine the Karcinos]
[Maahes the Nemean]
[Echidna the Lamia]
[Ladon the Wyvern]
[Chelamma the Antarean]
[Crom Cruach the Nuckelavee]
[Suhurma the Oniare]
[Morvarc the Isantim]
[Monstra the Leviathan]
[Rewards Table:]
[Yellow Death curse status reduction, [Grimm Slayer] title]
[Aura skill unlocked]
[Family Sword Awakening]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
The Family Sword is what, now?
[Gaia's Pulse], as always, had automatically activated [Detect Aura], so I felt Amber's soul drawing nearer until I spotted her in my peripheral vision, gingerly carrying my Family Sword with both hands. Not as if it was too heavy — she had enough STR to handle the 2 kilogram weapon easily — but she was still frowning at it. Oddly, it seemed to be glimmering faintly, despite not being in direct sunlight thanks to the high walls of Unkatimpe Canyon. I instinctively fired off an [Observe], and my eyebrows shot up.
[Sabre de la famille Arc, Awakening (Artifact) — Rank: Legendary (Debuffed)]
[A glinting, eversharp silver blade, within which stirs the Arc family heirloom, hidden but still feared. It reacts to the presence of Grimm.]
[Its owner has taken the first steps to awaken its legacy, but there is always another hard lesson to be learned.]
What the absolute fuck does that mean?
Amber laid the sword down beside me, then knelt beside my shoulder and gently lifted my head into her lap. She delicately took off my sunglasses, then reached for my hand and laced her fingers with mine. I triggered [Lay On Hands] without a second thought, and she let out a relieved sigh, starting to card her other hand through my hair.
The minute or so I'd been meditating solo had brought my HP back up to just under half, so another seven or so at the reduced rate would top me up, according to some quick math. [Observe] told me that Amber had dropped under ten percent MP, so we were looking at about seventeen minutes to get her back to full. I just need to get her out of the danger zone. She'll hit a quarter in 3 minutes; that's good enough.
She didn't speak for a moment, just meeting my eyes, and I tried to give a reassuring smile without moving so much my meditation would break.
"I hate feeling this weak," Amber whispered, soft enough that even Bianca, who was lingering a few meters away, wouldn't hear. "It's been weeks since I woke up, and months since I was attacked, and I still feel like I'm not making any progress."
"You're not being fair to yourself," I argued instinctively, pushing past my shock that [Gaia's Pulse] didn't stop when I spoke. I guess I haven't tried to talk while meditating in a dozen ranks or so. Bianca glanced over, then went back to overseeing her Legionnaires to give the two us a semblance of privacy. I lowered my voice to match Amber's. "Your soul was torn in half, Amber. That's not something you can just walk off."
Her lips twisted, but I didn't give her a chance to argue.
"Honey." It was the first real petname either of us had used, and her eyes widened. "I can feel the void where half your magic used to be. You're not up to full strength because that bitch stole it, and you're not going to feel normal until we get it back. That doesn't mean you're weak, so don't say that. You're still stronger than me, you know."
I wasn't just saying that, either; I could literally see it.
‹The Beautiful Changes In Such Kind Ways›
LV 92
Amber Ud̷͈̤͈̈́̾̃͠á̶̛̖ ̷̝̱̮̗̪͎̳̹͖͂́͒̿̎́̎͑̽̾̍̾̕̕͝͝ ̴̡̗͇͇̤̺͍̲̞̜̀̿́́̀̓͆̚͠ͅͅ ̷̧̗̫̰͇͉̰̒́̓̈́̑̌̇̕̕ ̴̫̥̜͖̪̲̀͛́̚
Amber snorted inelegantly, prodding my cheek. "Not for long if you keep fighting legendary monsters. Even if they come back, this isn't something normal students do."
"Come back?" I asked, heart sinking.
Amber raised an eyebrow. "Did you think you were the first person to ever kill a Named? Especially one like Krios? More than half of them have been reported killed at one time or another. Eventually, theyalways show up again; that's a big part of why they're so feared."
"So either the Hunters were lying or mistaken, or the Named are either being replaced or out-and-out respawning," I finished, biting my lip, then added in my head, Or is it Salem specifically bringing them back when they're killed? How long does that process take? Will they come back faster than I can finish [Taking Names]? I doubt the Game will prevent them from respawning, but if I finish this quest, I'm betting the next one will send me after their source…
[Lay On Hands has increased by 1!]
The alert shook me out of my worry spiral. Huh, guess I was close to a level up on that. I squeezed Amber's hand, and reluctantly raised my head from her lap pillow. Grabbing both Dawn Cracker and the Family Sword, I idly noted that the latter had stopped glinting, though its description hadn't reverted.
Activating my [Aura] for a minute, I watched the blade start glimmering slightly and the bronze-colored crossguard seem to subtly lengthen. Then I cut off the channel, and it promptly returned to its original appearance. Guess I'll have to get used to that.
Sheathing the Family Sword at my belt, I took a moment to reload Dawn Cracker, then returned it to my back. Extending a hand to help Amber to her feet, I kept hold of it as I moved over to Bianca, re-lacing our fingers. Scanning the canyon, I saw Xuan and Aisha were finishing off the last couple Taijitu.
Bianca looked me up and down. "You still look pale."
"I can finish up on the flight back," I decided. "Let's get the hell out of here."
She smirked. "I guess you do have to fly back to Vale tomorrow. We'll have to celebrate tonight."
Celebrating turned out to mean a night on the town, much like in Atlas. A quick trip to a laundromat let Amber and I wear the clothes we'd arrived in, and she looked just as stunning as she had on our date. I still felt underdressed in comparison, but with [Eagle's Splendor] running I could recognize the appreciative looks both of us were receiving.
Unlike Sienna, Bianca didn't care if I drank, though she abstained herself. Despite the fact it was her idea to go out, she seemed content to camp at the table with her Scroll, sipping a cola. Xuan, Starr, and Aisha all danced with both Amber and I once, though most of their time was spent prowling the dance floor separate from us and each other, so I only saw them occasionally.
The club was every bit as packed as one would expect on a Saturday night, and aside from making sure no one groped my date, I didn't pay the crowd around us much attention until one such brush against my arm resulted in a popup from my Semblance.
[[Gamer's Mind] blocks Charm effect [Crooked Crown].]
What the fuck!?
I spun around, but I hadn't noticed the culprit ahead of time, so I had no idea which of the dozens of people around me was responsible. I didn't spot anyone acting suspicious, nor any names I could recognize in the sea of words visible only to me.
Amber wrapped her arms around me from behind, running her fingertips along the buttons of my shirt. "Someone catch your eye?" she purred in my ear. "Maybe we can make an excuse to stay in Vacuo a little longer. Your sister seems like she could use the help."
The music shifted to a slow song at that moment, so I turned back around and slid a hand around Amber's waist. "Something happened," I said, frowning. My sleeves are cuffed, but Amber's dress has a lot more bare skin in comparison, so if that effect was based on physical contact…
I hit her with [Observe], and sure enough, she had the status [Charmed: Moderate (Crooked Crown)].
I glared at the notification.
[Charm effects are varied, but typically cause one to perceive enemies as allies, and allies as enemies. This condition is usually temporary, but can be reinforced by repeated application. Depending on the method, the victim may be completely unaware their loyalties have changed, or they may be unconscious and controlled like a puppet.]
"Something's up," I told Amber, leaning down to speak directly into her ear. "I don't think it's a serious problem, but give me a minute to heal you."
"Okay," she replied. The trust in her voice was humbling, but my work in the hospital had provided exactly the skill I needed.
[Cleansing Touch (Active) LV 14 EXP: 96.81%]
[Increased medical knowledge and experience with [Lay On Hands] grants you the ability to heal more than just injuries.]
[Channel for 30 seconds to remove 1 Status Effect from a target you touch.]
Surprisingly, I hadn't run into many relevant status effects outside the hospital, but the skill was good for [Bleeding], [Stunned], [Hypothermia], [Confused], [Dazzled], [Sickened],and some types of [Paralysis]. There were probably more, but I hadn't run across them yet.
Unfortunately, like [Lay On Hands], it didn't work on myself, hence why I'd had to simply wait out Amphivena's [Poison] earlier. The effect also hadn't improved since I got it, though the fact it was leveling instead of starting at max gave me hope that it eventually would. Whether that would be a shorter channel, or removing multiple effects at a time… I would be happy with either. Or both. Both is good.
Thirty seconds later, Amber shivered in my arms, blinking at me. "I… why did I think staying in Vacuo was a good idea?" she asked. Her hand, laced in mine as it had been for most of the night, tightened nervously. I squeezed back, rubbing my other hand along her spine reassuringly.
Add [Charmed] to the list of effects I can fix. Good.
I pulled Amber out of the crowd and over to Bianca's table. "My Semblance gives me a feel for when things are wrong," I quickly explained to both of them. "And when someone brushed by us earlier, I suddenly felt something wrong with you. I couldn't tell what, but it was focused around your brain. That made me nervous, but it's gone now, so my Semblance is able to fix whatever it is."
Bianca gave me a sharp look. "Something in the brain?"
I shrugged and replied, "I don't know what every possible medical condition or Semblance feels like. I just knew something was wrong. They tried to get me, too, but my Semblance brushed it off."
At the same time though, I used the Game interface to text Bianca. She glanced down at her Scroll as it buzzed, but like Watts she kept her screen's transparency off.
DM: Lux Aeterna -› Paladin | Saturday 20:34
‹Paladin› it was a Charm type status effect called Crooked Crown
‹Paladin› no clue what the fuck that means but I can get rid of it
‹Lux Aeterna› Good work, Jaune. At least we won't have to worry about it.
My eyes narrowed, and I hit her with [Observe].
[Name: Bianca Arc]
[LV 93]
[Title: The Light Fantastic]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 32]
[Job: Master Huntress]
[Class: Battlemage]
[Semblance: Lux Æterna]
[Background: Eldest of the eight scions of the Arc family of Vale. Active Huntress. High Commander of the Vacuan Foreign Legion.]
[Emotions: Pride, affection, familial love.]
[Relationship: Family.]
[Status: Charmed: High (Crooked Crown)]
Motherfucker…
I squeezed Amber's hand once more, then pushed a glass of water toward her. Getting up, I moved around the table to sit next to Bianca and tossed an arm around her shoulders. She tried to push me off, but even if she was likely stronger than me at her peak, my 212 passive STR wasn't so easy to dislodge. I started channeling [Cleansing Touch] immediately, but kept up the chatter to distract her.
"I wanted to thank you." I grabbed my dark n' stormy and clinked it against her virgin cola. "I seriously needed this after today, and did I tell you Sienna wouldn't let me drink in Atlas? Complete horseshit."
Bianca rolled her eyes, but obligingly picked up her soda and toasted me. "You're in Hunting Academy, that's good enough for me. Don't make a big deal out of it, and don't get blackout drunk, I'm not carrying you to your hotel."
"I'm familiar with the concept of moderation," I promised. "Unlike some Siennas I could name, who did in fact have to be carried home that night."
Bianca snorted, and Amber giggled across the table. More importantly, [Cleansing Touch] popped, and Bianca immediately sat up straight. She looked from her Scroll, still displaying my text, to my hand on her bare shoulder, then turned to look me in the eye.
[Cleansing Touch has increased by 1!]
"Crown!" she hissed, teeth bared, too quiet for Amber to hear.
"You're welcome, too," I snarked, standing up and moving back to my seat.
DM: Lux Aeterna -› Paladin | Saturday 20:36
‹Paladin› you had the status
‹Paladin› now you don't
‹Paladin› what the fuck is Crown?
Still scowling, Bianca looked back down at her buzzing Scroll, and decided to answer me there instead of out loud.
‹Lux Aeterna› The Crown is a terrorist organization dedicated to overthrowing the government and restoring the Vacuan monarchy. Their leader, whoever it is, claims to be descended from the original King.
‹Paladin› is he?
‹Lux Aeterna› Malik the Sunderer died over a thousand years ago. Pretty much everyone born in Vacuo is related to him. But the last Queen abdicated 82 years ago and died childless. Crown is just a bunch of dissidents trying to delude themselves into believing they're revolutionaries.
Ah, so this is more of a Ghengis Khan or Charlemagne type of 'related'. As in, not related at all.
‹Paladin› standard 'trust me bro it's cool' justification, got it
‹Lux Aeterna› I've suspected for a while they had some kind of mental influence Semblance on their side, but I never would have suspected I was affected. I've been having the Legion quarantine after contact with them, but without knowing how long I've been compromised…
‹Paladin› call an all-hands before my flight tomorrow and I can clear everyone?
‹Lux Aeterna› That won't stop us from being reinfected, but it's better than nothing.
‹Paladin› if it's touch-based, assigning gloves etc might help
‹Lux Aeterna› There's no proof of that, but you have a point. I'll call everyone in for a debrief tomorrow. Come by Shade in the morning and we'll clear it from the Legion, then I'll make an announcement about covering up based on some other excuse. Only my Colonels will get the real reason, for infosec purposes.
‹Paladin› sounds good
‹Lux Aeterna› Thank you again. Now get back to your date.
‹Paladin› o7
Dismissing the interface, I drained my drink, then stood up and offered Amber my hand. "Ready to get back out there?"
She grinned, pulling me behind her onto the dance floor once more.
By the time the taxi dropped us off back at the hotel, Amber and I were both a little tipsy — to my delight, [Poison Resistance] didn't stop me from intoxicating myself, just gave me the status [Drunk: Weak] — and no sooner was the door closed behind us than I had her pressed up against it as we made out heavily.
Amber clutched at my shoulders, lifting one leg to wrap around me as I held her around the waist, pressing her whole body against me and grinding. She let out a moan as I started kissing down her neck.
"Jaune-!"
"I could listen to you say my name like that all night," I growled in her ear.
In response, Amber lifted her other leg, forcing me to shift my grip to her backside and support her. She nipped my earlobe, and panted, "Underwear stays on– Mmm!" she moaned and gasped as my teeth scraped the base of her neck, but I nodded against her shoulder.
Since I was carrying her weight anyway, I stood up, pulling her tighter against me, and sank my fingers into her firm derrière, drawing another pleasured noise from her. Crossing to the bed, I unequipped my boots and planted a knee on the mattress, letting Amber fall back onto the pillow and look up at me in the darkness, biting her slightly swollen lips.
Planting my hands either side of her, I took a deep breath. "Are you sure? I don't know how much you had to drink–"
She giggled, snorted, and said, "Not that much, honey." Wrapping a hand around the back of my head, she pulled me down for another kiss. Her other hand reached up between us, unbuttoning my shirt and then roaming across my pecs and abs. "As long as our underwear stays on… I'm all yours."
Well. Never let it be said I needed to be told more than twice. Leaning down for another kiss of my own, I unequipped my dress shirt, slacks, and socks. Nibbling Amber's lip, I whispered, "You're the one overdressed now."
Her eyes glittered. "Then why don't you do something about that?"
"As you wish."
The next morning, I was awoken a bit before my Semblance would have by the new ringtone I'd assigned Bianca.
"Anticipation, indomination, a sea of hearts beat as one, unified–"
I answered over the interface. "What."
"Just checking on that hangover," Bianca sounded tired but smug. "How was your night, baby Jay?"
"None of your business," I hissed, since Amber was stirring but not yet awake. She pressed closer to me, arm and leg over mine much like the previous morning but wearing considerably less.
"I'll leave the shovel talk to Indigo," she decided. "When can you get here to start clearing that brainwashing out of my Legion?"
"Not all of us are fucking insomniacs, Bianca. I'll be in when Amber wakes up."
"'M'awake," Amber mumbled. She leaned up and kissed me. "Tell your sister the next time she wakes me up at the crack of dawn without an emergency, she's getting Summer's End shoved up her ass sideways."
I stifled a snort, but since I wasn't actually holding my Scroll, Amber's words didn't pass through the call, and Bianca was already talking. "I've got everyone here for reveille at 0630. They'll sit around because I tell them to, but they'll start getting suspicious if it takes too long."
I groaned as Amber rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Sitting up, I clicked on the lamp and rubbed my eyes.
[You have slept in a bed. Your HP and MP have been fully restored. All ailments have been cured.]
I yawned, swiping the notification away. Screw it, I'll meditate a few minutes and sleep on the flight home. "Get breakfast catered, I'll pay you back for it," I decided. "We should get there around the same time, so set up a room for me, and figure out what you're gonna tell people as you filter them past me. How many people are we talking, anyway?"
"Sixty or so. And that should work; as long as they see something going on I can stall them all day, if need be."
I sighed. "Bee… With the way you've been going on, I was expecting hundreds. It'll take me less than an hour to clear that few. We'd have been up by 0700 anyway."
"But then I couldn't needle you about your hangover," Bianca laughed.
I hung up on her.
We were both showered and walking into Shade twenty minutes later, following my [Detect Aura] toward where I could sense Bianca standing near Aisha, Xuan, Starr, Rumpole, and several dozen others. My active range was almost half a kilometer now, and although it didn't tell me exactly which route to take, it was easy enough to get on the correct floor and then just follow the hallways.
I paused outside the double doors, thinking fast. I put away the Family Sword, then pulled a lab coat and surgical mask — both swiped with permission from Vale General Hospital — out of my [Inventory] and equipped them. Offering another set to Amber, I pressed a finger to my covered lips, winked, then shoved the door open and strolled in, activating [Eagle's Splendor] as I went.
Sixty-odd Hunters turned to regard me with varying degrees of curiosity and suspicion, but before anyone could challenge us, Bianca called "Ten-hut!" from the front of the room. All of the Legionnaires promptly snapped to attention, facing their commander and paying us no more heed as we approached her.
"Is my station through here, Commander Arc?" I asked into the sudden quiet, gesturing at the standing curtains beside her, blocking off a dozen square meters of the room.
"Affirmative, Jay," she nodded sharply, and I continued past her.
"Send them in one at a time, then," I said, holding the curtain aside for Amber.
Outside, Bianca started giving orders. "I've called in a favor this morning with Jay. He's someone with medical training who I know personally. In addition to his Semblance scan, I want you to let him know if you have any conditions you'd like him to address, or even just to be aware of."
"Ma'am, is your associate licensed as a doctor?"
"No, so if he tells you something is beyond his abilities, I expect you to take it to the hospital if he advises you to do so. Having said that, he and his companion are deputized Legionnaires, and I brought him along as the party medic for our raid yesterday, and I trust him implicitly. Other questions?"
There was a moment's silence.
"By the numbers, then. One at a time; each of you enter when the previous one leaves. At ease, and when Jay is done with you, grab breakfast from the back table. Colonels will remain afterward for a quick briefing. Everyone else, once you eat you're dismissed!"
The Legionnaires filed in one by one, sitting on the stool when directed and calmly letting me place a hand on their foreheads. I hit each one with [Observe], and if they had [Charm], or any other status effects I removed them with [Cleansing Touch]. Amber took down their name, along with a + or - depending on whether I indicated they had the [Crooked Crown] effect. In all, thanks to [Enlightened] and [Academy Student], I racked up six more levels in [Cleansing Touch], letting me make the last few channels three seconds faster.
Only a few of them had any other effects, and since it was morning most of them were at or near full HP and MP. I quickly stopped counting, and only came out of my rhythm when treating Xuan, Aisha, and Starr. Each of them bantered with me softly, and all of them had [Crooked Crown] at a [Moderate] level, probably picked up last night like Amber.
When Starr stepped out, nobody entered immediately, and after a moment I heard Bianca arguing with Rumpole.
"I told you, I'm fine," the old woman growled. "I don't need a checkup from some rude little zygote pretending to know what medicine is."
I poked my head out and used [Observe], hoping I could clear her at a glance and cut off the argument.
[Name: Xanthe Rumpole]
[LV 88]
[Title: Little Rattle-Stilt]
[Race: Human]
[Age: ?]
[Job: Professor of History]
[Class: ?]
[Semblance: ?]
[Background: A trusted teacher of Shade Academy.]
[Emotions: Frustrated, conflicted, annoyed.]
[Relationship: Nominal ally.]
[Status: Charmed: Highest (Crooked Crown)]
No such fucking luck; of course she's completely enslaved by it, I groused internally. Then, Wait, what the fuck? Why is her level back to what it was before!? Is… shit, if levels can change in combat… I've been assuming 100 must be the level cap, but maybe it's not. That would explain why the Beacon professors appear so low. In which case… how high does the scale go? How strong is Ozpin, really? How strong is Salem!?
Sighing, I called out, "A quick check-over is the least I can offer after my unkind words yesterday, Professor. If nothing else, please let me help out with your knees and back, so you can go right back to teaching whippersnappers like me a lesson."
[Charm has increased by 1!]
"Tch, fine, if it'll shut you all up," Rumpole grumbled, brushing past me and hopping up on the stool.
"Any particular aches or pains?" I asked, offering her a hand instead of touching her forehead like the others.
"Just old age," she sighed grumpily. "Keep fighting like you did yesterday and you won't have to worry about experiencing it yourself."
I activated [Lay On Hands] for a minute or two before using [Cleansing Touch]. Rumpole didn't react strongly, but her posture eased a little… at least until [Cleansing Touch] removed her [Charm] effect, at which point she stood up so fast she knocked the stool to the ground.
"I–" Her eyes were wide, and Amber caught her elbow while I kept hold of her hand. "Oh gods, what have I been doing?"
"You've been compromised by Crown," I told her softly. "I just removed the brainwashing Semblance you've been under. I don't know how long you've been affected."
"Months," she breathed, gaze fixed on nothing. "Months and months of covering for those bastards." Rumpole visibly took hold of her fury and focused on me. "Boy… No. Jaune. I won't say I'll never doubt you again, but you've done me, Shade, and Vacuo a service we can't repay. Expect a commendation to reach Ozpin."
Seeing her composure returning, I let go of her hand and smirked behind the surgical mask. "That'll confuse the hell out of him." Rumpole raised an eyebrow, and I explained, "I didn't exactly ask permission before coming here."
She barked a laugh. "I'm gonna do it anyway. Hopefully you can get a picture of his expression, the old coot."
Shoving the curtain aside, she was replaced by Bianca, who also took my hand, though she didn't sit down. She was still clear of [Crooked Crown], so I just gave her a few minutes of [Lay On Hands] as Rumpole berated some of the remaining Legionnaires.
"She had it, then?" Bianca asked me.
Amber forwarded the list to Bianca's Scroll, and my sister flicked through it one-handed.
"Fuck me sideways, what a mess," she groaned, though she looked a lot more awake as she tugged her hand free. seventyish percent of whatever my stamina regen/min equaled was enough to make her look like she'd gotten six hours of sleep instead of four. Rolling her shoulders, she strode back out as confidently as before. Rumpole had obviously chased out most of the crowd, leaving only half a dozen people besides me and Amber.
Carrying the stool, I followed her, dropping onto it as Bianca huddled up with Rumpole and what must be her four Colonels. Amber made her way to the back of the room, grabbed some food for both of us, then came back and perched herself on my lap, carelessly pulling off both our masks so we could eat.
A couple of the Colonels shot me looks now that they could see how young I was, but Bianca quickly drew their attention back. "You will reassure your captains and squads that this was a routine checkup while I had Jay here for a favor," she ordered. "If they try to press further, have them detained and bring it to my attention."
"Ma'am?" asked one of the Colonels, a tall, swarthy man with a neat beard.
Bianca fiddled with her Scroll, and all of them received a text. All of their eyes widened as they read it.
"More than three-quarters of my Legion was afflicted by a brainwashing or mind controlling Semblance that Jay just removed," Bianca said. Her voice was quieter, but still carried the tone of command. "Crown just went from an annoyance to a threat. All leave is cancelled, and I'm instituting a strict buddy system. Every Legionnaire is to ensure neither they nor their partner makes skin contact with anyone until further notice. If these orders are disobeyed, or if they don't accept a brush-off about this morning, they are to be grounded and benched until further notice — regardless of whether they had it today or not."
Bianca took a deep breath, and her eyes cut toward me.
"Jay is returning to Vale today. Anyone suspected of being reinfected, he or someone else with an appropriate Semblance will have to clear before they can be released. I will not have Crown realizing we're onto them until it's too late for those traitors to save themselves."
The four Colonels snapped to attention and saluted. "Yes, Ma'am!"
"Dismissed," Bianca sighed. "Get some food if you didn't before." Once the four were gone, she glanced at the Professor. "Xanthe…"
Rumpole pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know. Don't rub it in. If I'm not in class, or with Theodore, I'll stay near you."
"Thank you."
Now that we were alone, I spoke up. "What do I owe you for breakfast?"
"Don't worry about it," Bianca tried to wave me off.
"I got the bounty for Amphivena," I told her. "I can afford it."
"'Bout sixteen thou," she grunted.
"And how many ways are we splitting the bounty?"
"How much was the bounty?" Amber asked curiously.
"Three hundred grand."
"Split it five ways, skipping me," said Bianca. "That's sixty-k to you, Amber, Xanthe, Starr, and I'll split the last share between Jin and Denium as a hazard bonus."
"Split mine between Bianca and myself, and take breakfast out of mine," Rumpole disagreed.
Bianca sighed, but didn't argue further. I reached into my labcoat to pull out four stacks of 60,000 Lien, passing one to Amber before handing one to Rumpole and the other two to Bianca for Starr and the Legionnaires.
Rumpole riffled off 14,000, sticking it in her pocket, and shoved the rest of her stack into a pocket of Bianca's vest. Bianca stowed the other two stacks in different pockets, and I used my Scroll to buy two first-class tickets back to Vale at a little before 11:00.
After the tickets here and back, plus the hotel and clothes, my profit for the venture was a bit under 20,000 Lien, but since I still had over a million in my [Inventory] — and since there was one less Named left alive — I was still calling the trip worthwhile.
"I can pay for my ticket back," Amber offered, but I declined.
"Consider it an apology for the interrupted date," I murmured.
"You already more than made that up to me," she whispered back, smirking.
"Save it for when you get home, lovebirds," Rumpole clapped her hands sharply. "No PDA on campus!"
"I want to spend at least a little more time with you outside combat before you have to go," Bianca said. "I haven't seen you in years, after all, and we barely got a chance to catch up. Xanthe and I can show you around, then take you back to the airport."
The flight back to Vale was another five hours, plus three for time zones, and the sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we got back to the Vale airport parking lot. Indigo's car was still there, so I dropped her off at our apartment with another kiss, and then drove back out of town to the Arc house.
Pulling into the garage, I hit the remote to close the rolling door behind me and got out of the car, idly tossing Indigo's keys up and catching them as I frowned toward the door to the house. Not unlike when I came back from Mistral, there were more souls inside than expected. Only Indigo lived here full-time now, but there were two more souls present, and both of their Auras felt extremely… dense.
I opened the door, calling, "Hello, the house!" as I stepped into the foyer.
"In here, Jaune," Indigo called back from the sitting room.
Unequipping my boots, I walked in and tossed her the car keys. "Thanks for letting me borrow it," I said, not sparing a glance at her guests. "Sorry to interrupt, I'm gonna hit the shower and head back to school."
I had already turned to go upstairs when a voice I didn't recognize said, "Jaune?"
Curious who recognized me, I looked back to see a rather short woman — for Remnant, she'd have been average height on Earth — standing up from beside a broad-shouldered man. Her hair was a darker blonde than Indigo's, and she wore it in a side plait that laid over her right shoulder, while her eyes were a clear, crystal blue identical to Bianca's.
I'd never met this woman… but I would have recognized her likeness from the portrait on the wall of the foyer that I'd passed dozens of times since I woke up on Remnant.
‹?›
LV ?
Isabella Arc
Name: Jaune Arc
Level: 57 (Next: 84.59%)
Title: Academy Student
Race: Human
Age: 18
Job: Beacon Student
Class: Paladin
Semblance: The Gamer
HP: 6978/6978
MP: 3930/3930
STR: 212(100)
CON: 251(101)
DEX: 150(53)
INT: 113(50)
WIS: 105(52)
CHA: 139(52)
Points: 92
Money: 1,231,438L
Status: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]
A/N: Happy birthday Monty, and happy birthday to this fic. I definitely didn't lose track of time, rush out 85% of this chapter the day of, and barely post in time. Definitely not what happened. (/s)
It still counts!
I've also had this idea in mind for the Family Sword since almost the inception of this story, inspired by the way the Master Sword changes in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
If you estimate 1000 years to be 30 generations, and every person alive has two parents (duh), that suggests you have 1,073,741,824 (that's 2^30) ancestors 30 generations ago. Considering the population of Earth is estimated between 250 million to 400 million in the year 1000, a ton of those 1.07 billion ancestors have to be the same people.
Consequently, the smaller population of Remnant are probably [almost] all interrelated in far fewer generations than that — 1000 years is far enough back to be firmly in the age of myth, like Salem and Ozma's joint kingdom, the creation of the Relics and Maidens, the first Silver-Eyed Warriors, etc. (Those things could have been hundreds of years apart, but they were all many hundreds of years ago.)
Similarly, if any of your relatives are from Europe in the last thousand years, odds are you're related to Charlemagne, King of Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor, who had at least 18 documented children and probably more than that. Ditto Ghengis Khan if your relatives are from Asia, or John of Gaunt if they're from England specifically.
And to be clear, that 'relation' is basically nonsense. You inherit roughly half your genome from each of your parents. Basic math tells us that's 25% from each grandparent, 12.5% from each great-grandparent, etc. By 10 generations ago (1024 ancestors) you're under 0.1% fro each, and genetic variation means that there are hundreds of those 1024 ancestors with whom you share no genes at all — and that's assuming you're perfectly outbred (which statistically, you're not). That means that while you are probably directly descended from those people, you likely carry none of their DNA.
I've seen a bunch of comments to the effect that Jaune's relationship with Amber 'came out of nowhere' and is 'moving too fast'. To the first I say: yeah you're probably right. It was a bit impulsive and I could have built it up more, but romance isn't a major focus of this story (and I'm not great at writing it anyway) so I'm taking the practice and moving on.
To the second… when I was younger I might have agreed, but as an adult (which Jaune remembers being), three weeks of developing friendship to a first date to [almost-]nakey-times isn't unreasonable, particularly given they've saved each other's lives and the adrenaline of shared combat. There is no 'right' length of time, the correct metric is simply 'what both partners are ready for, comfortable with, and won't regret'.
Estimated $20 USD a head, catering for 80 people to account for ~65 Hunter appetites would be $1600; at 10 Lien to the dollar that's 16,000.
