AN: So, in my own rush to get my last chapter out I failed to look over it for any problems in porting it over to FFN, this won't happen again. Also, if you do see any way I can improve my writing or see any problems with my work please leave a review to let me know. This chapter will cover quite a bit in a quick fashion as Marn gets used to living on Remnant. Finally, thank you to those who have followed and keep a lookout for the next upload sometime next week, besides that enjoy!
I do not own RWBY.
-o-o-o-o-o-
To my surprise the easiest part of my week so far has been getting into Vale. Maybe because the cities on Remnant are more open due to the threat of the Grimm or just that there's fewer people here than earth, but the extent of my challenges entering into Vale was a few questions when I went through a station at the wall surrounding the west side of the city, but they were simple things like my name, where I came from, and a few other minor questions and they let me right in. I have gotten a few odd looks so far, either from my clothes or me being a faunus or a combination of the two, but no one has tried anything yet so that's a plus.
Currently though I'm walking and thinking, my current long-term goal is to get into Beacon so I can try and prevent some major plot points like Pyrrha's death and while there are some options besides being a student that could lead to the same outcomes Beacon was currently the most prevalent that I could see. But that was long-term, the short term was what I was really debating. My current goals are simple, get some monetary income and train up my skills and experience, I should be able to do that if unofficial huntsman work was a thing, but I needed more information on all my potential options, and I was currently lost…
Well might as well ask for some directions.
-o-o-o-o-o-
A public library, the Vale City Library to be specific, should have free internet access, or as it was called here on Remnant the CCT and it did, but that led me to a small disappointment. "Under decision of the Vale Council unlicensed huntsman work is declared illegal." Id murmur under my breath reading the years old headline, "Well there goes that idea." I sigh and go back to my research which led me to find a few important things, for one being an unlicensed huntsman was illegal in all the Kingdoms, and having your Aura awakened and unregistered was also illegal meaning I was currently a walking criminal charge, great. Furthermore, through some idiotic work of bureaucracy I couldn't get registered for my Aura without doing prison time, as I never went through official channels for its activation.
Still, I needed money, or lien now, otherwise I wouldn't survive in a city like Vale, and while I didn't want to resort to being a pickpocket it is an option, just one I am not keen too. So that left very few options, one of which looked better than the others. Dock working, I didn't need any official papers for it and just needed to be able to move load and unload crates. This was the most appealing of my options because the actual job should work as stat training. If that doesn't work out there's always something like retail work, I would just have to train on my own time. Looking through some other job openings in Vale, nearly everything else had some sort of requirements I didn't hold or had too many hours to open me to any serious training. Writing down the address of the docks on a sticky note, I head out of the library.
On my walk over I admire my surroundings and find that Vale is a rater beautiful city compared to what I was used to in my last life, the streets were clean, plants were everywhere in the architecture, not to mention it was extremely colorful, flags whipping in the wind and every building seemingly painted a different color. Some would consider it an eyesore, but I rather liked it compared to drab greys you would normally see in a city.
But I could admire Vale another time, for now game plan. Hopefully I land a job at the docks, if I do, I am also going to need to find a place to stay, if need be, I can sleep on a roof or something, next with some money I need food and a scroll, food for obvious reasons, and a scroll because of convenience of just having one. If the series is to be believed they should work somewhat like a smart phone and if so, that is more easy access to the CCT if I can find free Wi-Fi somewhere.
But enough worrying about the future. I clean off my clothes to the best of my ability, still a bit ratty but more presentable. Now, time for an interview.
The docks unsurprisingly smelt of sea water and grime, finding the actual offices on sit wasn't hard, and a small talk with the secretary on duty has led to me now sitting in a reception room waiting for my name to be called. Looking around there aren't that many people here guess working the docks isn't popular.
I'm broken from my thoughts by my name being called, walking into the backroom I meet face to face to a rather large man, a name plague with 'Melburn Shane' emblazoned on it. "Marn Belmont, I presume?" The man's voice is coarse, about what you would expect for someone who oversees dockworkers.
Straightening myself in the small chair I sat in I open my mouth, "That is correct Mr. Shane, I was a walk in earlier."
He would hum to himself, "I see, now for my first question aren't you a bit young to be a dock worker?" He'd raise a brow.
"I may be sir but, and I'll be honest here, I really need the money, and this was one of the few places that were hiring for people with no background." I reply easily relaxing in my chair a bit.
"So, you a criminal, son?" he asks with an unreadable expression.
"No sir, I just got to Vale today. I came from one of the smaller villages on the outskirts of the continent, because of that I have no registration." Not a lie, according to Ars I did come from a village on the outskirts of Vale, and I technically never had a chance to get an form of citizenship after being plopped down in the middle of nowhere.
Melburn would hum again and lean back in his chair, "So you have any experience that would be worth it for me to hire you son?"
"Some, I do know how to operate a forklift and power tools, and clean if needed." Thank my last life for relevant skills for this world.
"Alright, and you really need the lien son?" His unreadable expression back on his face.
"Yes sir I do, I didn't have any money when I set off from my village." Again, not technically a lie.
The man would rub his beard in thought, "Alright son, tell you what I'll see what I can get you working on, but I don't want to see you take a step out of line, no papers mean anything that you cause lands on me, understand?"
I nod frantically, "Yes sir, thank you."
He waves me off, "Don't mention it, now get going and be ready to come here early, 6 o'clock sharp."
I give him one last thanks and make my way outside breathing in the fresh salty air, step on of my plan complete. Now I still have a few hours of the day, time for some training.
-o-o-o-o-o-
I think I could see why huntsmen use weapons and not their hands.
[Rank Up! Beginner Weapon Proficiency (1 to 2)]
[Knowledge of how to wield a wide variety of weapons. All weapon damage increased by 10%.]
[Skill Unlocked: Dagger Proficiency (Common)]
[Base damage with Daggers raised by 10%]
[Skill Unlocked: Shortsword Proficiency (Common)]
[Base damage with Shortswords raised by 10%]
So far, I have been unable to unlock any skill to do with specific unarmed styles, so I only had the Beginner Unarmed Proficiency skill to raise damage, and that damage itself scaled off only half of my DEX or STR depending on which was higher, according to Ars. But with weapons both the skills stacked the damage, and they scaled 'base damage' as one to one of a stat, daggers and shortswords both being dexterity.
As for how I got my hands on some weapons? I didn't, Aura Shaping apparently counts the weapons I make with it as actual weapons for their respective skills, which was a good find. Still can't make myself anything much longer than my forearms, so I was stuck to daggers, shortswords, and some variants of both. With that being the case I found that I prefer swords over daggers, as I can't throw them due to shaping's current restrictions so there's no point in sacrificing the extra range, I can get out of a shortsword in comparison.
Along the lines of training, I also put some thought into what to use my System Points and Stat points for. Because my current stats are still below twenty I wanted to try and save my points for the breakthroughs every ten levels, but I don't know if three months are enough time to actually get my stats to that above 20 range, of course Grimmafication in junction with Perfect Hybrid could do it, but I could only keep that form up for about 15 minutes with no other Aura ability use along with not getting hit so currently not viable due to that and my level of skill. I also just don't want to use my semblance as a crutch when I don't have to.
Currently I do know how to train up each skill, Strength is easy just lifting and basic strength training, Dexterity can be leveled by running and general acrobatic training, Endurance can be leveled by enduring things, so damage, sickness, or even extreme temperatures, Wisdom can be raised by Aura training and meditation, and finally Intelligence can be trained by solving puzzles and reading, or anything else that uses the brain in a critical manner. But I don't know how long each point will take.
So that begs the question, "Ars how long would I have to train between stat points to get another?"
[Depends on the stat Marn, as I said your stats are exponential in growth. So, if you worked for say three hours to raise Strength by 1 using the same methods for training could grow you, but if you don't increase the weight or difficulty proportionally it will take upwards of 5 to 8 hours or more. However do be warned, there is a natural soft cap to your stats where training will become years between points. But, if you wanted specifics, I'm afraid I couldn't say for sure, but I will root for you.]
"How do you not know specifics? Aren't you the system itself?" I asked my partner, after all that didn't make too much sense.
[Marn, do you know what every specific cell in your body is doing at every moment? That is why, your actual status screen and growth is a very small part of my own workings.]
"Huh, fair enough." I simply reply.
But that is just my stats, what about perks and System Points. I currently have 5 points so do I want to spend it? I looked through some options I could afford earlier and some stuck out to me, such as an opposable tail, don't know how that would work with a fox tail, a perk for each of the skills that increased them by 1 that was repeatable to buy, and a series of perks like Aura Prodigy except for health, stamina, and magic. I also asked Ars to show me some more expensive ones, those were crazy in both power and cost, there was one for 30 points that gave me kitsune powers, which would be interesting, one that costed 50 points to nullify forms immortality, so I could potentially kill Salem myself, and others of similar and varying power. Which is why I want to decide this early, I don't know how fast I'm going to level so do I want my early levels to be for more but less powerful perks or save for a strong one?
I honestly don't know…
Eh, I'll think some more about it. For now, time to find something to eat. With no money…
-o-o-o-o-o-
Even if Aura protects from illnesses, it doesn't get rid of taste and dumpster food really isn't the best. Besides that, I was able to get some sleep on the roof of a convenience store, they opened at five in the morning so when people started their shifts I got up and headed to the docks. No clue what I'll be doing as yesterday Melburn didn't seem to keen on my working with anything heavy, my Aura is currently illegal so for all intents and purposes I'm probably just a kid down on his luck to him. But I'll see what I'll be doing here in an hour or so.
Cleaning. Janitorial work to be specific, I got to the docks at what I assume to be a few minutes before six based on Melburn's look he gave me, he shoved a uniform into my hands and told me to get dressed, after that he set me up with a bucket, a mop, a few rags, and some soaps and told me what needed to be cleaned where and set me off. Honestly? Could be worse, I was always a bit of a neat freak due to my upbringing, so this was more calming than anything. A few bathrooms here and there, some offices, and some parts of the docks themselves let the hours pass by easily. At the end of the day, I got paid in physical lien cards, so Melburn must have noticed I didn't have a scroll for anything digital.
This also seemed to be the case as to why he paid me now and not at the end of the week, as when I asked him why he replied that, "I know your type son, you said you needed the cash, so take it and keep yourself on the straight and narrow."
So overall, not a bad first day of work. I even went to eat actual food for the first time in four days!
-o-o-o-o-o-
The two weeks passed by in a blur, and I must say even with no home things have been good, first of all:
[Stat Up! Dexterity: (14 to 15)]
[Stat Up! Dexterity: (15 to 16)]
[Stat Up! Wisdom: (13 to 14)]
[Stat Up! Intelligence: (8 to 9)]
[Rank Up! Beginner Weapon Proficiency: (2 to 3)]
[Knowledge of how to wield a wide variety of weapons. (All weapon damage increased by 15%.)]
[Rank Up! Shortsword Proficiency: (1 to 2)]
[Base damage with Shortswords raised by 20%]
[Rank Up! Aura Enhancement: (1 to 2)]
[Channel your aura into a physical stat and increase it by 2. (Cost 4 AP per Minute)]
[Rank Up! Aura Shaping: (2 to 3)]
[You can shape your aura into constructs, these cannot exist beyond your own grip. (Costs 3 AP per Minute)]
[Rank Up! Swift Strike: (1 to 2)]
[A single fast paced strike that can catch an opponent off guard. (Damage = Dex x 1.2) (Cost 9 SP)]
[Rank Up! Cooking: (2 to 3)]
[You know the basics of preparing a meal. (Your cooking is 30% better)]
[Rank Up! Light Magic: (1 to 2)]
[Allows for the manipulation of light, can be fired off in blasts, infused into your weapons for a short time, or used to create solid objects of light. (Damage = (INT Cost (10))]
Overall good growth, after every day of work I had a few hours to myself and the weekends free, combine that with an abandoned building I have made my current residence I can train without being interrupted and as it turns out like Wisdom, using Dexterity and Intelligence based skills and weapons also grew the stat which seems obvious in hindsight that it wouldn't only be growth based on running, or reading. And the rank up to Light Magic came as a surprise, I wasn't focusing on its growth, but my 25% growth to the skill must have played more of a factor than I thought.
Now it was extremely free form in what I could do with it. It worked nearly like Aura Shaping now, as well as Aura Infusion and a ranged attack all in one skill. Of course, I wasn't going to use it openly as not only would it be hard to explain away as my semblance, which was a form of ability amplification, but I had no clue if Ozpin could detect magic being used like in some fanon, and killing any more Grimm with it could bring the attention of Salem to me, which I definitely didn't want right now.
And while I did kill those four beowolfs on the way to Vale they were only juveniles, so I am betting on Salem not noticing my actions, hopefully. Or at least I think Salem can see what the Grimm see, it really has been too long since I've seen the series. So, for now light magic was being shelved.
Next, because my current weapons were made of Aura I wasn't able to train up Aura Infusion as much as I liked, while I could put it into my fists I found out my infusion skills grow quicker if I use something more complex or beyond my own body, as I am actually pushing the power out of my own body into a infused object instead of just condensing it.
Last bit to do with skills, because I now have a place to stay somewhat safe and a steady stream of income, I was able to get my cooking skill up by 2 ranks, both to keep costs down and to remember my past life, I always did enjoy cooking with my dad after all.
Outside of my training I was able to buy some personal items, pots and pans, a portable stove that ran on cheap fire dust, some bedding, new clothes, actual showers and some baths at a local bath house and some personal care items. That's really all I needed for now, my food spending was far less than what I made at the docks, so my savings were always going up all of which I kept safe under my mattress.
I also did some math and as it turns out my money will go far even for one week, I wasn't paying any sort of taxes right now and inflation was far, far lower here on Remnant compared to Earth. By my estimates by the end of the month I should be able to afford both a Scroll and a small apartment. And hopefully in time be able to make my own weapons, while I could play off Aura Shaping as part of my Semblance, I still wanted actual weapons, after all, 'A hunter was their weapon. It's what makes them unique.' Or something along those lines anyways.
But those were thoughts for the future, I had work tomorrow.
-o-o-o-o-o-
"Sit down Marn." Melburn would say and sigh from the other side of his desk. I do so, knowing already what was coming, "Now son, care to explain why you have an activated Aura?"
Honestly, what got me into this situation wasn't my fault, it was halfway through my fourth week here, making my rounds and cleaning. Some of the loaders on shift were moving some of the crates off a ship that had just come in and one of the supports of the shelving units they were loading crates onto must have been rusted out or the bolts loosens, because it began to collapse. One of the workers was going to be too slow to get out of the way and most likely would have been killed if I did nothing, so a few boxes landed on my legs, but I was able to save the man.
So that leads me to why I was currently sitting in the overseer's office once again. "Before I left my village to come here a huntsman activated it for me, because he owed me a favor, I didn't know it was illegal until I got to Vale."
The man in question would lean back in his chair and rub the bridge on his nose, "Look son, you're a good kid you haven't done me wrong, haven't had a single problem, and saved one of my guys. But those who saw you will talk eventually, and I can't have an illegal Aura user working under me, too many fines for that."
He then leans forward and writes down some things on a piece of printer paper, sliding it over to me. "So, here's what I'm going to do son. This address is of a friend of mine. Not the most law-abiding citizen in Vale, but you clearly still need money, right?"
I nod. "I need it to afford the cost to attend Beacon."
He would hum and raise a brow. "So, you want to be a huntsman huh? Alright then, I'm going to call in a favor in from him, he runs a night club a as front for some less that legal activities, but those clubs always need janitors to clean up at the end of the night. So you can keep out of trouble." He relaxes back in his chair and bores his eyes into me. "Got it?"
I take the paper, "Yes sir, thank you- "
He cuts off my response, "No need for platitudes, but keep safe, the streets don't need another kid wind up in crime or end up dead." He stands up and walks me to the door, "Now get going, your fired."
-o-o-o-o-o-
"You sure this is the place Ars?" I think looking up at the sign hanging off the building.
[My markers are always accurate, but I can understand your concerns.]
Looking back between the address given to me and the building I shrug and walk in, "Smaller world than I thought." passing under the 'Junior's' sign.
The club was bustling as I guessed it usually did lights flashing across every conceivable surface, and music blaring. The place was far bigger than any club I ever went to back on Earth, but ignoring that for now I wandered up to the bar and sat down, a man in a black suit and red tie moving over to me, "You look a bit young to be here kid, what do you want?" He would ask in a gruff tone.
I lift the letter Melburn gave to me, "I have a letter here for your boss, a friend is calling in a favor."
If the grunt was surprised, he didn't show it, taking the letter and walking away.
I turned and gazed over the crowd; the grunts were nothing impressive. They had all had an Aura of course but no one had anything over 100 and their HP was a bit higher but nothing special, that's when two people caught my eye.
[Melanie Malachite]
[HP: 225/225]
[AP: 300/300]
[Miltia Malachite]
[HP: 225/225]
[AP: 300/300]
Ah, Junior's enforcers. They were on the other side of the club and didn't seem interested at all in anything going on that night. They were stronger than me as well, I could probably take one of them on with my skill variety, but I wouldn't be able to match experience. And both at once would be a losing scenario. Turning my attention back to the bar, I simply decided to sit and wait.
Not even ten minutes later the same grunt would return, "Junior wants to see you kid."
I nod and stand to follow the man, he leads me to the second floor and to a fancy looking wooden door, opening it he steps in and waits for me to follow. I do so and my eyes are met by a rather traditional looking office, not something I would have expected a crime lord to use.
"So, you're the kid Shane's using his favor on?" He looks over me. "Eh, means I won't owe him anything, real shame he always was a bleeding heart. Now take a seat kid."
Sitting down the first thing I noticed was the chairs in Junior's office were remarkably more comfortable than the ones at the docks, steading myself as I met the Junior's gaze.
Without waiting for me to say anything he continues, "So Shane tells me you have some Aura and planning to go to Beacon. So, here's the deal as Shane gave it to me, I'll allow you to work here, you'll be on staff to fill in for anyone that can't be here for a night, but your main duties will be janitorial work." He would stop to take a sip from the glass on his desk. "But I have a bit more to add to that deal, you don't have to accept it of course just a small exchange, want to hear it?"
I was told to remain out of trouble, but I was curious about the offer. "Sure, tell me."
Junior would grin, "You see based on what I know of Beacons admissions they won't left some no name hick into their prestigious campus, so here's my offer. You can keep the job, and I'll get in contact with some people I'll know and put in a forged transcript for you; additionally, I'll even give you some training, but you'll owe me a few favors, just two total. I can ask you for them at any point and you can't say no to my requests, within reason of course."
His offer was enticing, I must admit. As of right now had no way into Beacon, I could afford it if I save yes, but no real experience with combat and nothing to put on a transcript would stop me dead. So, this would be huge. But two favors to a mob boss? I would sigh internally and mull it over, the biggest hinge in my current plan was entering into Beacon and there were no other ways I could think of to get in with the month and a half I had left, so. "I accept your offer."
Junior would nod, reaching out his hand, "Good, glad you could decide quickly."
His hand dwarfs mine as I grasp it, and we shake on our deal.
-o-o-o-o-o-
You know, I understand why Junior wanted favors from me, if I did get me into Beacon, he was securing three favors from a future Huntsman which would be far bigger a reward than any money he could save. Which is partly why I wasn't terribly surprised when after my first sparring match with the Malachite's, as had already shown to be a bit strong for his regular goons, he asked why I didn't have a weapon. That led to a whole explanation of my 'sudden departure' from my home village and now I was standing inside a local forge with my first quest.
[Quest: A Weapon Fit For A Hunter]
[Junior Xiong sees you as a valuable investment, so in exchange for another favor, he has offered you the money to make your own weapon.]
[On Completion: 500 EXP, Guaranteed Legendary Weapon]
[On Failure: N/A]
I scowled a bit at the fact I needed to do another favor to get my huntsman weapon, but there was nothing I could do about it; I simply wouldn't have made enough money to both afford Beacon and a good weapon.
So that begged the question, what type of weapon do I want to make? Clearly my current build was based around speed and shorter weapons, so do I want daggers or shortswords? If I made daggers, I would run into the same problem I had with Aura shaping them, I couldn't throw them because I would then lose them, I could maybe do something like chairs or wire attached to them, but why do something as inefficient as that.
So that left shortswords, but what kind of blade? I could do something traditional and just make straight edge blades, which is what I have been using with Aura Shaping, but I also wanted to make them have a mechashift form. I currently don't have a practical and cheap ranged option so if I could have my sword also be a side arm that could be a life saver. But would a straight edge blade be effective for taking out Grimm? I didn't think so, after all why stab the beast charging you when you can remove a limb with a cut.
So that will be my final decision, a curved shortsword and handgun hybrid. But, before I made them, "Ars how exactly am I supposed to make them? I have absolutely no clue of how to smith and have paltry understanding of engineering."
[Not to worry Marn, simply get in there and space out. The system will handle the rest.]
"Huh, alright then." I walked into the smithery to get started.
-o-o-o-o-o-
I shake my head as my train of thought was interrupted by a system notification, looking up I see the screen flash in front of me.
[Quest Complete: A Weapon Fit For A Hunter]
[500 EXP Rewarded, Dual Curved Mechashift Blades (Legendary) Gained.]
[Level Up! 2 to 3]
[3 Stat Points, 5 System Points]
[Level Up! 3 to 4]
[3 Stat Points, 5 System Points]
[214 EXP Until Level 5]
[Skill Unlocked: Blacksmithing (Common)]
[Creations you make through smithing have a 10% of being a higher rank.]
[Rank Up! Blacksmithing 3 to 4]
[Creations you make through smithing have a 40% of being a higher rank.]
Nice, but "Ars, why are there two blades?"
[The system was on auto pilot and took your current stats and skills to make the most effective weapon possible for you. Dual blades just happen to count as 'one weapon'.]
"I see." I think back to them, admiring my work. "And why is Blacksmithing already rank 4?"
[While it was guaranteed to happen, the system still counted the growth to the Blacksmithing skill for crafting a Legendary tier weapon.]
Looking over my new weapons they were beautiful things, in design they looked like a pair of Greek Kopis, just slightly longer and with a much wider guard. They followed an identical color scheme, of silver metal and maroon hilts with some golden accents.
Pressing a switch on the hilt of one of the blades it began to change, the blade splitting and collapsing into a barrel as the hilt hinged back, the guard flowered out and straightened back into place as a six-shell cylinder, with a small trigger flipping out of the grip behind my trigger finger. After taking a second to look over my work I press the switch again and the revolver unfolds back into its blade form.
[Your weapon isn't done just yet; it still needs a name.]
A name. . . Where to even begin with that? I take the chance to look at my new blades and think, these were to be my tools to protect others, to change the future, but also a representation of myself, adapting to this world. But I knew what I wanted these weapons to be an omen to my family and those I left behind. In that case, "I name them the Silver Guardians."
[Item Gained: Silver Guardians (Legendary)]
[A set of dual blades and revolvers, the first creation of Marn Belmont. Made to honor those he left behind and the future he wishes to change.]
[Base Damage = DEX x 2]
[Increases users DEX by 5 when both are wielded.]
[Soul Bound: This item will grow as the user does.]
I take a breath and sheathe both the blades, hooking them to my sides as I leave the forge deep in thought, currently I had 12 stat points I could use, while my training with the Malachite's hasn't begun so I couldn't see how much growth I get out of actual combat, I do decide to spend a few as I was still low enough level for it not to matter too much. Long term however the soft cap will eventually kick In so I do want to try and get as much growth out of this month or so I have left until Beacon before spending more.
[Dexterity: 16 to 21]
[Wisdom: 14 to 15]
I stumble a bit with the sudden growth to my dexterity, taking a moment to readjust to my new senses, ok then note to self don't do a huge upgrade all at once. I shake my head and stand back upright, so that leaves me with 6 stat points ill save those for now when I get close to a breakthrough with my stats. As for my system points? I was sitting at 15 but in all honesty the more expensive perks were far more appealing than the cheap ones, Ill save up to around 40 to 50 and then look at what was available.
Now with my new weapons done, I had some real combat training to get to.
-o-o-o-o-o-
I would plop down on the couch on the private balcony, making sure not to chug down my water. As expected, I got laid out by the twins somewhat consistently during our beginning sessions, but to their surprise I was able to eventually able to make the score a bit more even in a matter of days. I simply grew faster than they did with the system aiding me.
[Stat Up! Strength: (13 to 14)]
[Stat Up! Endurance: (14 to 15)]
[Stat Up! Wisdom: (15 to 16)]
[Rank Up! Beginner Weapon Proficiency: (3 to 4)]
[Knowledge of how to wield a wide variety of weapons. All weapon damage increased by 20%.]
[Rank Up! Beginner Acrobat: (2 to 3)]
[Knowledge of basic acrobatics and parkour. You are 30% better at acrobatics.]
[Rank Up! Aura Infusion: (1 to 2)]
[A crude but effective use of one's Aura, focusing it into a weapon to increase striking force. (Damage = WIS x 1.5) (Cost 9 AP)]
[Rank Up! Dodge: (1 to 2)]
A chance to automatically dodge a seen attack. (% = DEX/3)
[Rank Up! Shortsword Proficiency: (2 to 3)]
[Base damage with Shortswords raised by 30%]
And those were just the skills that leveled up, I also had a few unlocks from getting put into the ground a couple dozen times.
[Skill Unlocked: Handgun Proficiency (Common)]
[Base damage with Handguns raised by 10%]
[Skill Unlocked: Slashing Resistance (Common)]
[You and your Aura are 10% more resistant to slashing damage.]
[Skill Unlocked: Piercing Resistance (Common)]
[You and your Aura are 10% more resistant to piercing damage.]
[Skill Unlocked: Block (Rare)]
[Block an attack to reduce damage, Damage reduced by END. (Cost 10 SP)]
And by far the most interesting one taught to me by some of the training from my bloodline knowledge after I started to get better with my blades.
[Skill Unlocked: Blade Dance (Rare)]
[A rhythmic and dance-like style of combat can only be used by dual daggers or shortswords. Base damage with daggers and shortswords increased by 5 (Cost 20 SP per minute.)]
Stat wise I was still squishier in both health and Aura and physically weaker than a huntsman student and the Malachite's, but I was faster than them while suing my blades. And my skills made up the difference and I was closing the actual combat experience gap rather quickly. To put it into perspective against one of the twins I would say I had about a 70% to win, against both it's a 50%, and against an academy student I would say about 30% of victory. With my semblance active and 10 to all my stats the gap was closed, and my chances go way up, I assume so anyways based on how I do with it against the Malachites.
My testing and estimates also revealed any of the huntsman students had to have their physical stats in the low 20's and Aura in the mid 20's on average. There would be outliers of course, Pyrrha being a big one, but someone like Yang would be higher strength wise. I asked Ars why no one I looked over had stats and only health and Aura, he told me that I was the only being with true stat numbers, the HP and AP bars I saw were just rough estimates to my own system.
Both the twins and Junior were a bit freaked out by the Grimm mask though, but I explained it away as just how my semblance materialized simply for looks, as it was just a boost to my physicality that was super draining on my Aura. My actual mask was interesting however, it was a full-face bone white mask with silver tear-like streaks going down from the eyes, the mouth and teeth were sharpened and on top of the mask were two horn structures in the shape of fox ears and the bottom went past my chin ending in a sharp point.
Besides that I also showed off my flash-step, explaining that as a technique only usable due to the boost my semblance gives me, but I have kept my Cero hidden for now, both because I wanted to keep it as a wildcard in case of emergency, and I didn't want to destroy the club as apparently it got a huge damage boost while in any of my forms.
Also, speaking of my trainers. "Taking a break on the job Fox? How lazy."
I would roll my eyes at Melanie, "We both know the boss doesn't care, as long as I get my job done during the day."
She would humph and lean against the balcony railings, "I still think you should be doing more for Junior; he's still giving you too much in my opinion."
I would shrug, "We made a deal, I'm only sticking to what he has said so far and given me."
"Don't be too hard on him Melanie, he has been keeping up with his work despite our training." Milita would put in.
"Bah, your too soft on him." She would reply.
Ignoring the bickering now developing into an argument I would look out to the club's crowd tonight, during my time here I had taken up people watching to pass the time, and to see what names I could decipher the color joke from. But tonight, something caught my eye.
[Yang Xiao-Long]
[HP: 300/300]
[AP: 500/500]
Huh, looks like we're getting closer to the start of things, I don't remember if the Yellow trailer had an actual date on the timeline, but it was before the first episode of the series if I recalled correctly. I had already looked up and knew where Dust till Dawn was and have been casing it out just in case Torchwick showed up earlier than I thought, speaking of him that was the fiery haired man himself leaving.
I watch Yang for a few seconds, as she walks up to the bar, and I speak up to the twins. "That one looks like trouble." Nodding to Yang.
"Aw are you just saying that because you thought she was pretty?" Melanie would tease.
Objectively I could say that yes Yang was hot, but I was also mentally 5 or so years older than her which would be gross to even think about. "No." I would shake my head. "She stands out too much, and see those gauntlets? I will bet give my next week's paycheck those are weapons. I think she's a huntress-in-training."
"So?" Miltia would ask. "We get plenty coming here."
I shrug, "Just call it a hunch."
As I say so, we all watch as Junior makes his way to the yellow clothed girl and gets his family jewels squeezed.
"Called it." I say smugly.
"Shut it." Melanie responds and leaps over the balcony with Miltia, I follow them a moment sooner.
Well, time to meet my first main character.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Name: Marn Belmont
Race: Faunus (Fox Tail)
Level: 4 (214 EXP to Next Level)
Title: None
HP: (200/200) (100, 5 per END 1-10, 10 per END 11-20) (Regen END/4 per minute (3))
SP: (275/275) (100, 5 per STR & DEX 1-20) (Regen (STR & DEX)/2 per minute (14))
AP: (260/260) (150, 5 per WIS 1-10, 10 per WIS 11-20) (Regen WIS/2 per minute (7))
MP: (170/170) (125, 5 per INT 1-10) (Regen INT/2 per minute (4))
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 21
Endurance: 15
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 16
Unspent Stat Points: 6
Unspent System Points: 15
Semblance: Grimmafication
Perks: Belmont Bloodline, Aura Prodigy, Silver-Eyed Warrior
Fusion Perks: Bane of Darkness, Forbidden Hybrid
Talents:
Night Vision (Unique): You can see in low light conditions.
Enhanced Senses (Unique): You have better hearing and sight
Enhanced Balance (Unique): You can never lose your balance unless on purpose and are harder to knock over.
Beginner Weapon Proficiency (Common) (4/10): Knowledge of how to wield a wide variety of weapons. All weapon damage increased by 20%.
Beginner Martial Arts (Common) (3/10): Knowledge of basic hand-to-hand combat. All unarmed damage increased by 15%.
Beginner Acrobat (Common) (3/10): Knowledge of basic acrobatics and parkour. (You are 30% better at acrobatics)
Darkness Resistance (Rare) (1/5): 10% Resistance to Dark Damage.
Curse Resistance (Rare) (1/5): 15% greater chance to resist Curses.
Grimm Lore (Rare) (1/5): You have encyclopedic knowledge on Grimm and their types.
Aura Shaping (Rare) (3/5): You can shape your aura into constructs, these cannot exist beyond your own grip. (Costs 3 AP per Minute)
Aura Enhancement (Rare) (2/5): Channel your aura into a physical stat and increase it by 2. (Cost 4 AP per Minute)
Hollowfication (Unique): Your semblance. Increase all physical stats by 5/10/20 per form. (Cost 50 AP on Activation & to switch between forms. 10/20/30 AP per Minute based on form)
Cero (Legendary) (1/3): An extension of your semblances power, condenses aura into a destructive beam for massive damage. (Damage = (WIS x 10)) (Cost 50 AP)
Flash-Step (Legendary) (1/3): A short-range high speed movement ability due to your Grimm nature. (Move = DEX in Feet) (Cost 10 AP)
The Silver Eyes (Unique): When you feel a strong desire to protect life you will emit a large radius of silver light or a condensed beam, every Grimm in the area going from closest to farthest will have their HP put up to your (HP x 5), if it is lower, they turn to stone. That amount of HP will be taken off the effective use of The Silver Eyes and move on to the next Grimm. (Cost N/A)
Light Magic (Legendary) (2/3): Allows for the manipulation of light, can be fired off in blasts, infused into your weapons for a short time, or make solid objects made of light. (Damage = (INT Cost (10))
Perfect Hybrid Grimm (Unique): When in any Grimm form double your stat bonus and weaknesses to Light damage negated.
Basic Construction (Common) (2/10): Basic knowledge on how to build things. The quality of your constructions is raised by 10%
Swift Strike (Rare) (2/5): A single fast paced strike that can catch an opponent off guard. (Damage = Dex x 1.2) (Cost 10 SP)
Aura Infusion (Rare) (2/5): A crude but effective use of one's Aura, focusing it into a weapon to increase striking force. (Damage = WIS x 1.5) (Cost 9 AP)
Dodge (Rare) (2/5): A chance to automatically dodge a seen attack. (% = DEX/3)
Tracking (Common) (1/10): You know the basics of how to follow tracks. (10% more success to Tracking)
Cooking (Common) (3/10): You know the basics of preparing a meal. (Your cooking is 30% better)
Dagger Proficiency (Common) (1/10): Base damage with Daggers raised by 10%.
Shortsword Proficiency (Common) (3/10): Base damage with Shortswords raised by 30%.
Handgun Proficiency (Common) (1/10): Base damage with Handguns raised by 10%.
Slashing Resistance (Common) (1/10): You and your Aura are 10% more resistant to slashing damage.
Piercing Resistance (Common) (1/10): You and your Aura are 10% more resistant to piercing damage.
Block (Rare) (1/5): Block an attack to reduce damage, Damage reduced by END. (Cost 10 SP)
Blade Dance (Rare) (1/5): A rhythmic and dance-like style of combat can only be used by dual daggers or shortswords. Base damage with daggers and shortswords increased by 5 (Cost 20 SP per minute.)
Misc Bonuses:
[50% Bonus EXP when defeating Evil aligned Creatures]
[25% Bonus Growth in Combat Skills]
[50% Bonus Growth to Aura Skills]
[25% Bonus Growth in Light Magic]
[25% Damage to Grimm when dealing Light Damage]