Chapter 26: Evening Offer
A loud clang of metal striking metal sounded through the training room as I blocked Pyrrha's blow. With a shove, I pushed her spear back, only for her to rapidly spin around, her weapon morphing back into its sword form as she attempted to land a strike on the other side of my body.
Stepping back, I casually avoided Pyrrha's sword.
Using the Transparent world, I could observe how her lungs expanded, the flow of blood throughout her body and even the tiniest of muscle twitches which allowed me to accurately predict what she was going to do next. Countering Pyrrha had become easy… a bit too easy actually.
The only difficulty in our spar was ensuring that I didn't use too much force or move too fast and end up overwhelming her. Pyrrha wouldn't get anything worthwhile out of this training if the fight ended too soon.
Pyrrha tightened her grip while taking a wider stance.
Narrowing my eyes, I noticed how Pyrrha's muscles began to tighten, restricting the flow of her blood. She was reaching her limit with Total Concentration Breathing. This would likely be her final move.
Launching herself forward, Pyrrha attempted one final high speed slash, her body moving stiffly, as if she was a puppet with invisible strings. Sheathing my blade, I ducked under Pyrrha's swipe and caught her shoulders, halting her momentum as she finally slumped forward.
"Good work, you were able to keep it up a little longer this time," I hummed in approval. "You almost caught me off guard with that last trick. You used your Semblance to control your movement, didn't you?"
Pyrrha leaned against me heavily as she took a moment to recollect herself. Her breathing returned to its normal pattern and her tense muscles that had locked up started to relax.
"…Yes," Pyrrha began, taking slow breaths. "My body… feels numb. I couldn't move naturally, so I adapted to the situation… Like you said, the one who adapts faster will be the winner."
She had certainly taken my words to heart. I was honestly impressed with the level of dedication and creativity she showed when pushed to her limits.
Although, Pyrrha certainly had a tendency to push herself beyond what her body was capable of withstanding. The first time that I had shown her how to use Total Concentration Breathing, she almost passed out.
"It won't be long before feeling returns to your body. Let's take a short break, we can start again in a few minutes," I suggested.
"That sounds good," Pyrrha sighed. Stepping back, she shakily placed her shield and sword onto her back. "This… technique of yours is rather intense… I mean, it must be for something that gives such benefits," she chuckled softly. "Is this what it's like for you all of the time?"
"Nope, the only reason why you're struggling so much is because your body is still adapting to it. It's not used to working like this," I explained. "You'll grow used to it in time. You should probably try moving around a little, it'll help you get feeling back in your limbs."
"If you think it'll help…" Pyrrha trailed off.
"It will," I nodded.
At the very least, it should prevent her muscles from going into a cramp. Running through a few basic stretches, several minutes soon passed by and her body had all fully recovered from our earlier spar, her Aura on the other hand would still need some time before it fully recuperated, being roughly half depleted.
…Breathe…
"You wanted to see me, General?" I asked, slowly making my way towards Ironwood's desk.
"Yes, thank you for taking the time to meet with me," Ironwood said. "I hope that I'm not interrupting your training by having you here now."
"Not really. Pyrrha's just running through some cool down exercises before we leave for the day. I would normally want to be here a little longer, but there's that whole Gala thing tonight, so I don't really have the time," I explained, sitting down in the chair in front of his desk. "Are we waiting on Ozpin?"
"I'm afraid that Ozpin's attention is needed elsewhere right now."
Then it would only be Ironwood and myself. I'd never really had the chance to talk to him alone, so this should at the very least be interesting.
"Have you made any progress in teaching your techniques?" Ironwood asked.
Ah, so that's what this was about.
"Pyrrha is progressing nicely, her body just needs a little time to adjust," I replied. "Somehow I don't think that's why I'm here. What do you really want to talk about?"
"Straight to the point I see," Ironwood chuckled. "While Pyrrha's progress is important, that's not the reason that I asked to meet with you. I called you here in order to request that you teach others your technique."
Well, I can't exactly say that I didn't see this coming.
"I understand that you wish to keep this technique to yourself in order to prevent others from abusing it," Ironwood continued. "But a lot of good can come from it too. Entire swaths of land could be secured, powerful Grimm exterminated… Winning this war with Salem would be well within our grasp."
"Are you asking me to teach your army?" I asked suddenly.
"No, of course not," Ironwood said hastily. "I apologize if it came off that way. I'm simply asking that you be open to the idea of teaching others as well."
Well that wasn't that bad. I could see where Ironwood was coming from. If I ended up dying to Salem, I would be taking most of my knowledge and experience of the breathing techniques and how to master them to the grave with me.
Sure there was Oscar who was aware of how to master Total Concentration Breathing, but Ironwood didn't know that. The more people I taught, the less chance there was of the breathing techniques dying out.
Having groups like the White Fang and Salem's group learn how to use Total Concentration Breathing would be bad, but it was somewhat manageable. They would still lack knowledge on how to use one of the breathing styles and the demon slayer mark.
"I'll consider it," I replied. "But if I do decide to teach another, it'll only be one other person. I wouldn't be able to manage more than that while making sure that everyone learns the technique properly."
Although it was a basic technique, learning Total Concentration Breathing was still difficult. There was a small chance that if it wasn't learnt properly, it could end up damaging the body instead of improving it.
"That would be more than enough," Ironwood said. "In the meantime, is there anything that you need that could assist you or Pyrrha with your training?"
"Someone strong enough for me to spar against," I chuckled.
"Done."
"Wait, what?!" I didn't mean for Ironwood to take me seriously. I was just joking.
"While I doubt that any of my top operatives will be able to beat you in a spar, I believe that they will at the very least pose a challenge," Ironwood said confidently. "It will be a good learning experience for everyone involved."
"…Okay?" I hummed, more than a little thrown off by Ironwood's response. "Thanks."
"Granting a request of this scale is no issue at all," Ironwood replied. "Is there anything else? Anything at all that you can think of that would assist in your and Miss Nikos' training?"
"Not really," I replied.
Total Concentration Breathing focused on the lungs and the body's ability to tolerate oxygen. There wasn't exactly any training that could really speed it up… but there might be something else that could help make her stronger… a method that forced the body to produce stronger red blood cells.
"Actually, there might be something that could help after all. Have you ever heard of altitude training?"
…Breathe…
Day soon turned to night and I found myself dressed in a black suit, standing outside of a massive mansion surrounded by a large, well lit garden.
As it stood, Jacque Schnee saw fit to only invite Maria and myself. Pyrrha and Thetis' arrival had been kept pretty quiet, my best guess was that Jacque didn't invite them because he wasn't aware that they were here.
"This place puts that apartment of ours to shame," Maria whistled, stepping out of the car. "Do you think the owner is overcompensating for something?"
I let out a snort of laughter at that.
"Maybe," I said softly. "Let's go meet our hosts."
Heading up the stairs, towards the entrance of the mansion, I began to look around, noticing the various workers that did their best to remain unseen.
We weren't here by accident, Jacques wanted something, I just wasn't sure what it was. It could be that he wanted to use my newfound fame to his advantage, but that seemed a little too small. The Schnee Dust Company was already world renown. It was the major supplier of Dust in the world after all.
No. There had to be something else to this. Something that I just wasn't seeing.
"Mister Coal Calavera," Klein announced as we entered the mansion. "Along with Miss Maria Calavera. If you could…"
"I can take it from here, Klein," Whitley said, stepping forward. "Thank you for attending this event. If I could please ask the two of you to follow me, my father has expressed a great interest in meeting you both."
Glancing at Maria, I shrugged. "Alright." We may as well find out why Jacques was interested in having us here.
Following after Whitley, I observed how well he held himself. The only other person I knew that was around his age was Oscar, it was a little odd comparing the two and how polar opposite they were. The only way they could have been any more different was if Oscar had been a Faunus.
Stopping in front of a pair of double doors, Whitley pushed them open, revealing a large hall filled with tables, a stage that had a small orchestra and dozens of other guests conversing amongst each other.
Pausing for a moment, Whitley briefly scanned the room, before he continued to lead us "This way please."
"Sure thing, kiddo," Maria hummed, smirking when Whitley twitched at the nickname.
Weaving our way through the room, I winced when I stepped through a cloud of cigar smoke that hung in the air. Having sharp senses was nice and all, but this was one of those situations where it was more of a hindrance.
"Father," Whitley began. "May I introduce you to Coal Calavera and Maria Calavera, our guests of honor for tonight."
Turning around, Jacques didn't miss a beat. "Thank you Whitley. I am Jacques Schnee, the head of the Schnee Dust Company," He said, shaking our hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."
"Likewise," I replied.
"So, why are we here?" Maria asked, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
"I believe the details of why I invited the both of you can be discussed a little later this evening," Jacques answered. "For now, just know that I believe there is something we can all benefit from if we work together."
Before either of us could ask what he meant by that, the lights began to dim with a several spotlights shining on the stage. The room quickly quieted down as a girl with white hair... Weiss stepped out onto the stage.
Jacques was stalling… at least it seemed that way. My best guess was that he wanted us to be in a good mood before he explained why exactly he invited us and how we could 'work together.'
The gentle sound of a piano began to sound through the hall as Weiss looked up.
"Mirror."
…Breathe…
Stepping out onto a balcony, I let out a relieved sigh. I finally had a chance to take a break from the party. It wasn't exactly bad, but it did feel like a massive waste of time. Jacques could have gotten to the point of why he invited us hours ago if he wanted, but instead chose to focus on mingling with his guests.
Leaning on the railing, I heard the door to the balcony click open.
"Who are… Mister Calavera" A feminine voice called out softly.
"Call me Coal," I replied.
I liked my surname, especially since Maria had given it to me, but I was a little tired of being addressed by by everyone.
"What're you doing out here?"
"Same thing as you, I imagine," I hummed lazily, turning around to find Weiss standing in the doorway. "Taking a break from everyone inside… Unless you were sent to find me?"
"Yes… I mean no," Weiss replied. "I did want to talk to you tonight, but that's not the reason why I came outside."
"Be my guest," I gestured towards the rest of the railing.
"Thank you."
Grabbing onto the railing next to me, Weiss silently peered out over the massive courtyard.
"You said that you wanted to talk to me?" I asked.
"I… yes. It's only natural that someone like me who aspires to be a great Huntress would be interested in talking to you," Weiss replied. "Remnant's strongest Huntsman."
That was a term I was still growing used to. I honestly wondered how true it was… I mean, Ozpin had centuries if not millennia of combat experience and was currently in his prime. I would definitely be interested in having a spar with him in the future.
"Well what would you like to talk about then?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Anything that could make me a better Huntress," Weiss said. "I'm going to be attending Beacon in a few short months, any advice that you could offer would be invaluable."
I didn't exactly have any experience there, having only attended a week at Sanctum, but I did have knowledge on the future that might be able to help point her in the right direction.
"The four main Huntsman Academies generally sort their students on teams of four. From my understanding, you don't get to pick who goes on your team," I explained. "Fighting with others at your side is different from fighting on your own, that's something you're going to have to learn to be able to do if you want to pass initiation."
"I can't pick who would go on my team," Weiss murmured to herself softly. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"
"Not really," I shook my head. "That's pretty much the extent of my knowledge when it comes to the Academies. You're just going to have to find the rest out on your own."
"Oh, well, thank you anyway," Weiss hummed lightly. "If I could ask… what was it like… facing that Grimm?"
"It was different from anything I'd ever faced before," I answered a little eagerly. "It was able to recover from anything I did to it. It was a pretty close call, if I hadn't managed to land that final blow, I would have ended up dying."
…Breathe…
Jacques office had a passing resemblance to Ironwood's with the exception of its view and its size. Bookshelves lined the walls, there was a desk at the end of the room and a table at the center along with a few comfortable chairs set around it where the three of us currently sat.
"Now, I believe you want to know why I wished to speak with the two of you," Jacques began. Placing his scroll on the table in front of us, a projection suddenly appeared above it. "Can either of you tell me what this is?"
"A map of Remnant," Maria deadpanned.
Maria wasn't wrong, it was a map of Remnant, but portions of it were shaded red and there were more than a dozen points that had a small X with some of them circled.
"It's a map of where your mines are placed," I added.
"You're both right, but there's more to it than that," Jacques said. "This map doesn't only contain the location of my mines, but also lets me know where it's illegal to build."
"What's that have to do with us?" Maria asked.
Looking more closely at the map, I found two markers that appeared to be on the red sections, Mountain Glenn which had been destroyed decades ago and was well within the red, then there was Wind Path which was sitting just on the boarder of the red section.
"These red sections show where Ancient Grimm might be, that's why you're not allowed to build within them," I realized. "I killed the Ancient Grimm near Wind Path meaning new land has opened up. That entire section of the map has suddenly become viable, you'll be able to build new mines."
From the surprised look on Jacques face, it seemed that I had gotten it right.
"That's correct," Jacques replied. "Unfortunately, there is a lot of red tape that would prevent me from being able to use that land. It'll be years before Mistral opens it to the public, especially with the terrorist attack and the death of Headmaster Lionheart."
"Earlier you said this would benefit all of us, but I'm struggling to see how," Maria hummed. "It seems that you just want to use Coal's newfound fame to convince Mistral to give you access to that land."
"It's nothing quite so crass," Jacques said. "You see, there is a way around all the red tape… There is a law that states if a person is capable of claiming a portion of unused land and defending it for several years, that land becomes their property."
I nodded along. June had explained that to us when Maria and I stayed on her farm, back when we were heading to Argus.
"There is, however, an older, lesser known law concerning Ancient Grimm," Jacques continued. "It states that if a person or a group manages to slay an Ancient Grimm, the land that they occupied immediately becomes their property with no wait time whatsoever."
Maria's breathing hitched.
I blinked, going over what Jacques had just said to ensure I had heard right. Glancing at the map, more specifically, the large red zone above Wind Path I turned to Jacques.
"Wait, does that mean that I own an eighth of Mistral?" I asked numbly.
"It's closer to a sixth and no, you don't own it yet," Jacques replied. "Mistral will undoubtedly challenge your claim to the land, but I am willing to use my lawyers in order to argue your case."
So long as I allowed him to build his Dust mines on that land went unsaid. Everything he said sounded good on paper, but it was still a difficult decision. Dust was an absolute necessity. Everything needed it. It was used to power cities, transportation and fight off Grimm
Jacques wasn't exactly a good guy, but he was necessary right now… at least until someone else could take over the company. In the future, he would unintentionally aid Salem in order to win a seat on the council… when his competition was Robyn Hill.
Robyn Hill who wasn't liked right now due to starting a fight with me in Mantle, one which she turned public only for it to backfire on her.
Without Robyn Hill running against Jacques in the future, he shouldn't need to cheat? Maybe? Keeping track of the changes I made to the timeline was starting to become a little difficult.
"I'm going to need a little time to consider this," I said slowly.
I was going to have to talk to Ozpin about this law. He had to have some insight on it, after all, he was probably the one that put it in place to begin with.
"Of course," Jacques replied. "Take some time and think it over. You can contact me when you make a decision, Klein will give you my number when you leave."
…Breathe…
"I'm convinced that crazy crap seems to just attract to you," Maria muttered as we entered the elevator in our building. "If it's not being struck by magical lightning, it's that 'other' thing or that Grimm that seems to have it out for you. Now it's you owning an entire fifth of Anima. What ne…"
"Nope, we're not doing that," I interrupted her. "I agree that things can get a little crazy around me, but we're not jinxing it by asking anything like that."
Things were chaotic enough already.
"That's probably for the best," Maria sighed. "Do you know what you're going to do yet?"
"Talk to Ozpin about it," I answered simply. "After that… I think I'm going to go for it, but only if it can be handled quietly. I really don't want to have to start fighting off Ancient Grimm that others pissed off because they wanted to instantly own a large portion of land."
"Good point."
Entering our apartment, we were met with the sight of Pyrrha and Thetis sleeping on the couch with the holographic display playing some kind of Spruce Willis action movie. I would never not be amused by that name.
"I told them that they didn't need to wait up for us," Maria sighed. "We may as well get these two to bed. You take Pyrrha and I'll take Thetis."
"Are you sure that you'll be able to handle that?" I asked. "I don't think Thetis is that heavy, but she seems a little… floppy?"
"Coal," Maria began slowly. "When I first found you, I managed to carry you all the way back to my cabin through a forest covered in snow with a blizzard on the way while making sure that your insides didn't become outsides. I think I can handle carrying one woman."
"If you're sure," I said.
Stepping back, I watched as Maria carefully positioned Thetis on her back, before carrying her down the hallway, out of view. I winced as there was a loud thud of flesh hitting something.
"Everything's alright," Maria called out. "It was only her arm hitting the door. She's still asleep."
"With such delicate care like that, it's a wonder that I'm still alive," I muttered to myself before glancing at Pyrrha. "At least I know where you get your deep sleep from."
Gently picking Pyrrha up, I brought her to her bed, covering her with her blankets, before quietly leaving, gently closing the door.
Saying good night to Maria, I made my way to my room and collapsed on the bed with a groan. It had been a long day. Opening my Scroll, I glanced at the two new contacts that had been logged onto it tonight.
"Owning a sixth of Anima, huh," I mused aloud and slid my scroll shut. "Things just keep getting crazier."
Things were changing. It seemed that it was all for the better, but I couldn't be sure of that. Salem was still out there plotting to collect the relics and end this world along with herself. It was only a question of when she would make her next move.
I may as well make a move of my own while I wait for her. Teaching a few people how to use Total Concentration Breathing sounded like a start… so did owning a piece of land large enough to be its own Kingdom.
Rolling onto my back, I let out a short chuckle while staring at the ceiling. Salem had grown used to playing chess in the shadows, but I brought a whole new game to play and she didn't know the rules yet. Better yet, I already knew what cards she held.
Closing my eyes, I slowly began to drift off to sleep. There was a lot to be done, but, so long as I took things one step at a time, it was all manageable.
And another chapter down.
Ironwood accepts Coal's joke request and Jacques makes his offer.
Anyways, I'm up to chapter 31 on the P word website.
P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.
Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.
The next chapter will be posted on the 28th of October.
See you all then everyone.