Y'know, finally taking a break from work, walking around Vale, and generally not worrying about the time limit feels really nice. Now look, fighting and getting stronger… that's fun too. I like beating the shit out of Grimm and getting stronger fairly quickly, but there got to be a limit. It's like, eating your favorite meal every day. It's bound to get boring, right?
So, Vale. Well for starters the City itself is massive, roughly a thousand square kilometers, and it's divided into eight main sections along the river which flows into the sea in the west and forks in two; north and south.
Hugging the southern end of the City is Foreigners' View. A place populated by a healthy amount of Inns and Hotels alongside plenty of attractions for those using them, that's the place you'll find the Museums and such. A Museum I'm planning to visit one day.
Next up is the Market, well that's a bit of a misnomer - the place is arguably the largest Central Business District in all of Remnant. Absolutely littered with shopping centers, offices, banks, and stores of all sorts, this is the place to get what you want. Hard place to miss as well, considering it's literally in the heart of Vale, stretching all the way from the west coast all the way to touching the edge of Beacon and occupying the area facing the split in the river.
Speaking of, clamped over the river on both its north and south shores you'll find the Docks. Again, a bit of a misleading name there as it's where you'll find all the warehouses and factories too, not just ports and trading companies.
Just North of Foreigners' View is the South Shore, the, well, southern half of the residential district. It's got a bit of a bad reputation since, due to being so close to the Docks, most of the "less fortunate" tend to live there. On a completely unrelated note, it's home to a big Faunus community.
Just over the southern fork of the river is the rest of the residential district, home to most of Vale. Nothing particularly remarkable about it - unless you think proximity to Beacon is interesting.
Then, up in the very Northwest, on a peninsula, is the Golden Corner. Home to the finest of the city, this is where you'll find many of the great art galleries and fine restaurants in Vale as well as many of the main offices of the music industry.
Basically, it's where all the rich pricks live.
Then, over at the very end of the northern fork of the River, you've got Beacon. Well everyone knows all about that anyway, the place is world-famous. Oh, but by Beacon and close to the, eh, related part of the CBD is The Hunter's Quarter. This is where you'll find the Board, basically Hunter HQ in Vale, where most non-school graduated Hunters operate out of. It's also where my store is.
All in all, Vale is a very beautiful European-like city.
Now, I know I said that I dislike not getting shit done as fast as I can so I don't have to worry about it and that I like feeling free without something weighing down my mind, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe taking a break every now and then is fine, especially with the distraction that's been keeping me company.
"-Not only that, but she was the first and only person to ever use Gravity Dust in a way that was supposed to be impossible!" Ruby exclaims excitedly, her previous nervous behavior completely gone. "Gravity Dust is too brittle to be used as a sword edge, but she somehow did it! She somehow made a sword that with a slash, could knock people over five hundred meters away!"
"Sounds powerful," I comment, genuinely curious about this legendary weaponsmith and dustsmith. "But wouldn't that be counter-productive? Knocking Grimm away I mean. Shouldn't we just kill them?"
"Ah, well, you see, the sword shouldn't be used as much in clear areas." She explains. "Since the gravitational push is too powerful, it'll knock them away very fast. But! Imagine if there was a mountain behind them?"
"Ah, I get it. They'll be sent flying fast and-"
"Splat!" Ruby clenches her fist with a grin. "Not only that, but the gravitational push is directed with the slash. So if you slash upwards, they'd be sent flying high then fall to their doom!"
I hum. "But a weapon like that is still really dangerous, yeah? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have it, but I won't use it unless it's necessary."
And because it's blatant "I win" against most Grimm and Hunters. I do want a challenge, after all.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that." She assures me with a wave of her hand. "It's not for sale anyway, and no one knows where it is."
"Right…" So this Mythara isn't all about money… "From how excited you seem while talking about her, I'm guessing she's your role model?"
She freezes, her nervousness returning as she looks at me worriedly.
"A-and what about it?" She stutters, Zwei barking at her slowed pace.
"Nothing." I shrug. "Admire whoever you want, I don't care... As long as they're not irredeemable bastards with no good qualities."
10 Reputation with Ruby Rose [25/100]
"O-oh." She utters, then shakes her head. "U-um, do you have anyone you look up to? It's not fair if I tell you and you don't."
Someone I look up to… well, if there is, then they're definitely not in this universe. There are a lot of characters from anime and games I like and admire, but the first one that comes to mind is…
I smile.
"There is, though, I doubt you've ever heard of him," I say.
She hums. "What's his name?"
Before I was about to answer, her scroll suddenly buzzes, making her stop as she takes out her device.
"Oh, it's my sister." She says, then looks at me with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I need to take this."
"Sure, go ahead." I nod. "Actually, how about we end this here? We've been walking for three…" I take out my scroll to make sure. "Two and a half hours. We can do this again if you want. I had a lot of fun today."
5 Reputation with Ruby Rose [30/100]
She blushes slightly and chuckles nervously. "Yeah, you're right. I had fun too."
"I'm glad," I say, turning around and wave at her one last time. "You know where I live. You're welcome whenever. Later…"
"Later, Reid!"
With one last glance, I see her talking to Yang on the scroll, her looking progressively more exasperated with every second. I smile in amusement then go about my way, heading towards my store and home.
That was a fun few hours, even if I only wanted to get my chalk and fuck off back home. Ruby is cute, but she's cuter when she's excited. Besides, I learned a lot from her, mostly about weapons, but knowledge is power, so eh.
Kinda made me jealous I don't have my own Mecha-Shift weapon, but I'll take an enchanted sword that burns or freezes shit over one that turns into a gun any day of the week. Magic is superior to technology, and you can't change my mind.
But what if it's a sword that freezes shit and also turns into a gun?
Even better.
Also, meeting Ruby here and alone means that she isn't in Beacon, and that means I already fucked canon in the ass. I kinda already did by giving Cinder and Salem the middle-finger when they attacked Amber, but this is extra fucked canon. The protagonist isn't where she's supposed to be, and with the school year already starting, it means bringing her to Beacon is almost impossible.
I wonder who took her place though.
Eh, whatever. Probably no one important.
I'll just go and start Golemcrafting. Gotta start my factory by risking the kingdom with total destruction. Fucking magic…
Didn't you just say magic is-
That doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Doing rituals or magical experiments is like deliberately driving off Mountain Everest expecting to survive, except, it's ten times worse.
That… is strangely accurate.
...Confirming it doesn't make me feel better.
Just… please help me if I summon something that can annihilate the planet, yeah?
…
I'm guessing that's a "no"
Oh well, no risk no reward.
(A day later…)
I grimace in pain, holding my scorched arm as my head bleeds, my Aura completely shattered. The entire room was up in flames, with the magic circle half wiped. With a grunt, I slowly get up, taking out a 5 Tier potion before opening the cork and drinking it.
My wounds instantly heal, causing me to let out a sigh.
I have good news and bad news.
Good news, I managed to make a few golems, 40 to be exact, and leveled up the ritual circle drawing skill and Golemcrafting to 4 and 12 respectively. Some clay, some wood, but all of them are worker golems. Their fighting abilities are pathetic and their HP and MP are less than 100. But this is why they're called workers. They don't fight, they work.
Golemcrafting requires imagination since you need to imagine what they look like when you do the ritual. The bigger the golem, the more materials it needs. Pretty simple.
The golems I made are simple humanoids that are 5'8 in height. There isn't anything special about them.
Bad news? Well… I might've fucked up the ritual and blew up the circle in my face. The entire room, another one I bought through the store under my alchemy room, was completely ruined. Everything was burning, including the magic journal I bought. And I almost died too, seeing that the explosion broke my Aura and reduced me to 20% HP. Thankfully nothing world ending, but it still hurt like fuck.
Now I hear you asking "Why did it explode?"… because I'm stupid and thought it was a good idea to put dust in there.
High-Quality Fire Dust Crystal I, uh, borrowed from some no-name store. I was curious about them, thinking I might be able to use them in potions or rituals. Plot twist everyone saw coming: Dust is magical. I only noticed now because the energy they give off is concentrated in a single point, so it's hard to sense from afar, especially with my admittedly novice sensing skill.
So I threw the Dust crystal in there and thought "What's the worse that could happen?".
Maybe I should tone down the scientist in me a bit…
...Though, I still think I can use Dust in Golemcrafting. I'm just not high-leveled enough, and my ritual circle is still level one. And Dust being magical in nature helps.
Dust Golems sound really cool…
I scratch my head as I look at the chaos. At least the explosion wasn't too serious… just really painful.
You could've died.
But I didn't, and that means no pulling this shit again.
...I wonder what would've happened if I threw an Ice Dust Crystal instead- No, stop. Don't go there.
I… I think I'm gonna take a small break. Doing the ritual is tedious as hell, and I'm not in the mood to draw the fucking circle again. Maybe I can… cook something. Yeah, I still have golden carrots from those fuckers, so a small meal should be good.
And Velvet is about to arrive soon too, so I need to change because my entire outfit is burnt to crisp.
My favorite shirt too…
...It was literally just a black shirt.
You have something against simple colors? It worked well with my blue hoodie, and that's enough for me.
No, I mean, you have three of the same- nevermind…
...Anywayyy I'm making me something right now… after I fix this mess in front of me.
Maybe I should make a butler golem…
(Velvet)
"So, you got everything down?" Her new boss asked her, holding a small vial filled with a red liquid. "It's a little confusing, but I did write a letter on every vial under the counter."
"I-it should be fine, sir." She replied. "I have a photographic memory, so remembering isn't a problem."
"Ah…" He smiled. "That oughta be useful. Alright, I'll leave you to it. I'll be in the back room if you need anything."
"Of course, sir." She nodded politely. "Thank you, sir."
He waved before closing the door behind him, leaving her alone behind the counter.
Velvet sighed deeply before sitting on the chair near her. Finally, after months, she landed a job, and it was all thanks to her headmaster. He knew about her money problems, so she was a little thankful when he made the announcement about a job near the academy to her class. Most of Beacon's students usually don't need jobs like this, seeing that the academy is more than generous with their allowances… but the allowance can only do so much when your family is drowning in debt.
Dealing with the devil was never a good idea, especially if that devil was one of the strongest people in the world, individually and politically. But they were desperate and had to, otherwise, they would've been sold away. It was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. She didn't blame her father, of course, seeing that he tried his hardest to persuade that demon to spare her and her mother from prostitution and slavery… and they were given an admittedly generous time limit to pay.
Ten years to pay back 1.2 billion Lien to him and his damned group of thugs, and she spent as many years as she could to practice her Aura and study Grimm, as her only hope was becoming a huntress, even if it means working for a few months or a year. If she managed to graduate as an A or S rank, then she might be able to pay it back. S rank missions pay a lot, in the tens of millions, so less than a hundred missions might be enough...
And if she couldn't… then she'll at least be strong enough to protect her parents and little brother if the demon doesn't show up himself. She knows he's lazy, so he'll probably send his thugs to do his dirty work. Maybe Headmaster Ozpin could help them if she begs enough… but she isn't sure if even Beacon can keep them safe.
Right now though, all she can do is get more money and save up. They currently paid up to 234 million, and every job is important for her.
Speaking of jobs; this is the strangest one yet. Liquids that can restore Aura, heal, enhance strength and speed – it was quite surreal for her. A part of her thought that it was a scam of some sort, but the Headmaster himself vouched for this place, so surely it's legit?
The owner seemed nice enough. He looked like he's in his early twenties, and while unnaturally handsome, eerily similar to a Schnee. She noticed the difference immediately after looking at his face and hearing his speech pattern. First, his eyes are several shades darker than a Schnee's, his sharp features almost made her mistake him for a Mistrali, and his accent was not Atlesian either. But still, people will most likely mistake him for one more often than not.
And he isn't racist… She thought, before shaking her head with a sigh. No, that's not fair. The Schnee girl in Beacon wasn't racist either… just a little dense when it comes to Faunus and the White Fang.
Just then, the bell near the door rang, and Velvet sprang up to see a boy around her age with bright orange hair and red eyes. She didn't need to look at his uniform to recognize him as a first-year Beacon student since she did see his name once, Saul if she remembers correctly. He was one of the lowest-ranked in combat class, only above the leader of JNPR and a few others, but he always paid attention and got an A+ in every quiz.
"Hi!" Velvet smiled professionally, internally hoping he doesn't remember her. "How can I help you?"
"U-uh, yeah." He stuttered weakly, gazing at the colorful vials. "I heard about this place when the headmaster talked about it once, so I thought that-"
He froze as he looked at her.
"S-sir?"
"You're that girl that got bullied." He blurted out, before covering his mouth shut as his eyes widened in fear. "O-oh my goodness, I didn't mean to say that! I'm so, so sorry!"
"N-no, it's fine." She sighed. Of course, he knew…
"Oh, I'm such an idiot!" He facepalmed. "Please forget this ever happened- that was the wrong thing to say, damn it!"
He then delved into apologizing whilst simultaneously insulting himself, calling himself insensitive and stupid. Velvet waited for him to calm down, seeing that any word she said only made it worse.
Three minutes have passed before he noticed her strained smile. "-And I should probably shut up now…" He sighed. "I-I just… wanted to take a few Aura potions. You probably know how pathetic my reserves are from that match…"
"Of course." She nodded, resisting a wince as she remembered him getting sprawled all over the arena. "How many vials? And what tier?"
"T-tier?"
"Yes sir." She confirmed. "We sell three different tiers of potions. First-tier restore 10%, second-tier restore 15%, and third-tier restore 20%. They cost 10K, 15K, and 20K respectively."
"O-oh… well…" He brought a hand to his chin, thinking for a few seconds before answering. "I think… I'll be taking three first-tier and one third-tier."
"Of course, that'll be 50K."
He pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed her the amount. He quickly took his items in a bag and left the store without saying another word.
If there's one thing she can say that is not unique about this place at all… It's the slowness of the business, even if she knew it'll be booming very soon.
Hopefully, her boss hires someone else before the time comes…
(Reid)
I spent around two hours in the basement, the magic room specifically, to level up my Golemcrafting and circle drawing. Golemcrafting leveled up only five times, and it was a little easier and safer making golems when I unlocked the next magic circle.
Golems made from the second tier are also a little stronger than the other golems. I still can't make potion golems, but I did make one fighter golem made of iron, and it's… okay, it's pretty weak. As strong as an Adult Beowulf. Something in the back of my head told me to throw another dust crystal, but I seriously don't trust myself with this shit anymore.
A wise decision.
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.
All the info about dust is nowhere to be seen seeing that I look at it from a magical perspective instead of a scientific one. How much can a dust crystal resist before exploding from pure mana flowing into it? Can Dust in powder form be used for potions? For enchanting? Can crystals be turned into magical weapons with pure magic manipulation?
The good thing about this is that I get to experiment.
The bad thing about this is that I need to experiment.
I still learned a lot about it, don't get me wrong, but the information wasn't exactly what I needed. I can ask Ozpin about it… but I'd rather remain independent for now. I shouldn't ask for too much, or I might show vulnerability. Ozpin thinks I'm experienced in magic when I barely know anything, so I should keep that advantage as long as I need to.
After I was done with my Golemcrafting crap, I spent a few hours around Velvet, helping her when I could, but mostly monitoring her. She was a great employee, earnest and honest, so she shouldn't get in too much trouble. She was professional and confident, which showed her experience when dealing with customers.
All in all, I think I can leave her alone with the store for a few hours. After all, I still need to test out my Light magic. I haven't visited the forest southeast of Vale yet, Roxline Woods, or something. I might be able to find a dungeon, and time stops whenever I'm in one, so I can train and create new light spells there.
I… kinda need to make new sword skills. I only have Power Strike and Parry, and my level is in the sixties damn it. Maybe a quickdraw, or dash-strike, or even a multi-slash skill. All of them sound cool as hell.
Looking over my inventory, I nod to myself. A few all-stat potions, food, tens of HP, AP MP, and stat increase potions, regen increase potions, and many other things that are essential for training or a leveling spree. I take out my cloak as I walk out of the place, smiling at Velvet as she looks at me with surprise on her face.
"Something came up," I tell her. "Gotta go do a couple of things. I won't be out for long hopefully, so work as if I'm still here, yeah?"
"O-oh, of course, sir!" She nods. "Have a safe trip sir!"
I wave half-heartedly then leave the store, keeping a fast pace as I jog to the east exit of the city.
(Three hours later...)
I love Light magic.
An Ursa tries to pounce at me, but I casually fire a beam of light, incinerating its head completely. A Beringel roars and throws a punch my way, but I duck under its attack and stick a light arrow in its chest, then side-step at Beowulf's lunge, grab its head, and blow its head off with another light beam.
It annihilates Grimm so fucking easily. They're so damned squishy when I use it, and if they somehow survive an attack? They get stunned for like, five seconds. Plenty of time to shoot another light spell, cleave it in half with my sword, or turn it to ash with fire. The Grimm seem extremely sensitive to light too, seeing that even just showing a spell freezes them up.
I somehow made Grimm run away from me. The supposed fearless demons, running away from a small orb of light in my hand. Of course, I didn't let them get away, seeing that a fire spear pinned them to a tree before I stabbed their heads.
What? Why would I let free EXP run away?
So, if I didn't make this clear enough, I LOVE Light magic.
Unfortunately, leveling it up is so. Fucking. Slowwwwww.
Two hours and I only leveled it up to 10. "But two hours aren't so bad, right?" True, but I killed a lot of Grimm. I leveled up to 62 from killing them all damn it. Four levels, against over a hundred Grimm.
Name: Reid Astera
Age: 16
Race: Human/? Hybrid
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Level: 62 (13%)
Professions: Gardener, Chef
HP: 7200 [Regens 720 per minute]
MP: 5600 (8400) [Regens 560(840) per minute]
AP: 15,500 [Regens 1550 per minute]
STR: 158
VIT: 144
DEX: 162
INT: 112
WIS: 112
CHA: 212
LUK: 96
Points: 145
Still though, looking at my stats right now… I feel pretty damn good about myself. Stat wise, I'm as strong as a top tier hunter while 30-40 levels under them. My physiology and The Gamer are the ones I should be thanking. Double increase in STR and VIT makes me a physical powerhouse, my focus in DEX makes me fast enough to keep up with the faster hunters, especially with Observation, and my fire blessing makes my magic a force to be reckoned with.
I also made a couple of new spells and sword techniques.
[Light Beam] (LV 2/10)
Release a beam of pure light that deals 1200 Light Damage
Costs 1600 MP
[Light Spear] (LV 1/10)
Hurl a spear of light that deals 1000 Light Damage
Costs 1300
[Triple-Strike] (LV 3/5)
Slash three times in the blink of an eye, dealing 1.6x weapon damage
Costs 150 AP
[Flash Blow] (LV 5/5)
Dash forward and swing quickly, dealing 2.5x weapon damage
Costs 100 AP
[Swift Step] (LV 1/1)
Maneuver around the opponent after parrying
No cost
All in all, a balanced build might not be so hard after all. It's easier to become more powerful if I focus on one thing, like mage, warrior, or rogue, but an all-round build is better because it basically gets rid of the other classes' weaknesses.
It's hard to kill something with no weaknesses.
Cutting the unnaturally big leaves in front of me, my eyes widen when I see a purple wormhole-like phenomenon near the gigantic tree. That's… an epic dungeon, right? Did I seriously find an epic dungeon this early?!
"Holy shit…" I whisper.
I walk towards it, then immediately freezing as the sheer pressure it let out made me gulp in nervousness. I take a step back as my very instincts tell me to get away from it. The longer I'm in its presence, the worse I feel, so I shake my head and back away from it until its presence leaves me.
"T-that's… dangerous," I state, catching my breath. "Really fucking dangerous…"
No shit Sherlock.
I ignore Mysterious God, casting Observe on the purple wormhole.
Epic dungeon
Recommended level: 100-120
Hah… so I can use Observe on dungeons, but it doesn't tell me all that much… Why didn't I do this sooner?
So I'm under-leveled, huh… Oh well, I can mark this on my map. I can go to it once I'm strong enough I think…
Just then, my Haki screams at me to move, and I obey, barely dodging a slash aiming at my neck. I roll on the ground, crouching low as my eyes narrow at Tyrian's crazy grin. My ears catch something, and behind Tyrian, Hazel walked through the bushes, his gaze empty as he studied me.
"Oh? You dodged that…" The madman giggled. "You're not so bad, masked man…"
My hand trails over Nahkriin, then I crack my neck, pulling my blade as fire bursts to life in my free hand.
From what I remember, Hazel's Semblance is pain nullification, and he uses that to his advantage by powering himself with Dust. Tyrian's is something to do with Aura disruptions, but it's touch-based, so all I gotta do is dodge him, and dodging is my specialty.
"Nothing to say?" Tyrian tilts his head. "No begging? No fighting words?"
I remain silent, studying the surroundings and his weapons. Away from civilizations, which is good, but disarming him is gonna be a fucking pain…
"You're boring…" He scowls.
Name: Tyrian Callows
Title: Fanatic Worshipper
Age: 39
Race: Faunus (Scorpion)
Level: 92
HP: 1250
MP: 0
AP: 22,250
STR: 172
VIT: 125
DEX: 181
INT: 98
WIS: 54
CHA: 23
LUK: 50
Name: Hazel Rainart
Title: Empty Husk
Age: 46
Race: Human
Level: 105
HP: 2100
MP: 0
AP: 31,500
STR: 221
VIT: 210
DEX: 144
INT: 86
WIS: 63
CHA: 53
LUK: 50
I can use a potion and kick their asses easily… but I want to see what I can do in a fight without one. Stat wise, I'm much weaker than them, but I have magic and Haki. Conqueror's should freeze them, or maybe even knock them out… but I kinda want a challenge.
With my decision made, I charge forward, making Tyrian cackle madly as he deflects my blow. He swings his arm-blade, but I duck under it, then use a Fire Burst to knock him back. Hazel doesn't react, simply walking towards me as I rush Tyrian, meeting his blows with my own.
Parrying his strike, Tyrian aims his other hand at me, and I twist my body, narrowly evading a fire bullet, then create a fire whip wrapping around his leg and pull. Before he could retaliate, I slam his face into the ground and cast a Fire Burst.
Still keeping my attention focused on Hazel as I'm fighting his partner, the big guy charges, throwing his fist my way. I couldn't dodge, but I managed to block it with Wolfsbane and was sent flying back. I flip and land on my feet, but the dungeon's presence hit me once again, and I fall on one knee, my breathing getting heavier.
Tyrian gets up quickly and dashes with a mad cackle, Hazel by his side. Shaking my head, I force my legs to stand, then as they prepare an attack, I activate my Sharingan to look for any weaknesses. Studying their stances and attack patterns, I manage to dodge their strikes, then propel myself over them with fire magic, getting a good distance between us.
Stance copied
Mastery Skills gained
[Martial Arts Mastery] (LV 5/100)
Your skill in martial arts is that of a novice
Increase Hand-to-Hand damage by 5%
[Wrist-Blade Mastery] (LV 5/100)
Your skill in wrist-blades is that of a novice
Increase wrist-blade damage by 5%
What? How did- Oh yeah, the Sharingan…
Have I mentioned how much I love the Sharingan by the way?
"Stop resisting…" Hazel says as he turns around. "I… I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I must kill you. Please, you can't defeat us both. I promise I'll make it quick."
So they can't feel or see the dungeon? Figures, but I just wanted to make sure. But this would mean that fighting here is disadvantageous for me…
Turning around, I sprint further away from them, a glance behind me confirming that they're behind me. I made sure I was faster than Tyrian by dumping 40 points in DEX, improving my speed and Haki further. I made sure to not lose them, confident that I can take out both of them today. It's better in the long run…
Slowing down, I wait for them to catch up, and once they're in a good range, I stop myself, turn around, crouch, then slam both of my fists in the ground. Just as Tyrian swings his wrist-blade at me, the earth beneath him explodes, sending him flying upwards. I bring him down and slam him on the ground with a fire whip, and narrowly evade a hook from Hazel. I let go of the whip to block a jab, but Tyrian was already on his feet, giggling and swinging his arms in a trained fashion.
I have Haki to warn me of the attacks, but I'm not fast enough to block all of them, as Tyrian managed to land three clean slashes on my chest, and Hazel landing a powerful punch on my face. Fortunately, my mask protected me from the full force of the strike, but I was still sent flying, making me break a tree on the way. Thankfully, I was able to land on my feet.
They were relentless and had good chemistry, with Hazel's slow but powerful strikes and Tyrian's fast and deadly ones.
I click my tongue in annoyance, feeling my blood cooling down slowly, then release the conqueror's presence and freeze them both. I begin my counter-attack, grabbing Tyrian's face and releasing a half-charged Fire Cannon, the explosion sending him flying away. Turning to Hazel, who finally managed to move again, I use Triple-Strike, landing all hits on his chest, then extend my arm towards him and cast a Fire Burst.
Taking a moment to breathe, I dash towards Hazel seeing that he's the bigger threat with his larger Aura, and grab his flying form with a fire whip, then drag him and slam him into a nearby tree, breaking it in half. Hazel flips and lands on his feet, grabbing the broken tree and throwing it at me with a roar. I jump over it with an eye roll, and as I see what's he doing, my eyes widen.
The moment he threw the tree, he stabbed himself with a huge, high-quality lightning Dust crystal.
I sprint forward, trying to stop him before stabs himself with the fire Dust, but I knew I'd be too late, so I crouch forward and pull out an INT and max magic increase potions to maximize my magic reserves. Propelling myself behind, I take out my mask and drink both potions as fast I can, my magic exploding in a light blue aura as Hazel charges with renowned vigor.
He was significantly faster than before, but I already have a plan to deal with him.
With a smirk, I land on my feet and activate my Sharingan, charging forward so I force him to stare into my eyes. He does so, and I cast a genjutsu, but I was still hit in my stomach, sending my flying as I was both burned and electrocuted. That strike managed to take out 20% of my Aura, leaving me with only 30%
I cough turning to Hazel as my genjutsu was somehow ineffective against him. Why? I mean, yes, I know weak genjutsus require Chakra in the opponent to work, but I don't even have Chakra! I have magic, so it should… oh… oh shit.
It uses magic… so can I assume that it manipulates mana within others instead?
2 Reputation with The Game [5/100]
Astute observation.
Well, fuck. I should've tested it more before doing something so stupid.
Hell, they didn't even have Chakra. Why did I think it would work?
"Give up, young man," Hazel says tiredly. "You can't win."
I click my tongue in annoyance, my cool blood getting colder. Taking out an Aura potion, I gulp it up as I scour the place for any sign of Tyrian. Thankfully, Hazel has no idea what potions are at the moment, so he doesn't do anything to stop me. As I was done, I put on my mask again and charge, making him sigh slightly.
He gets into position and deflects my Flash Blow, but I manage to parry his fist, causing me to immediately get behind him. As I was about to strike, Hazel turns around inhumanely fast, grabbing my sword and forcibly knocking it off. Shocked, I wasn't able to dodge the powerful fist grabbing my head and slamming me on the ground repeatedly. With a growl, I twist my body and kick his face with a Haki-infused leg, stunning him enough for me to release a Fire Burst from my feet. He lets go of me, and I flip behind and take back my sword that was on the ground.
Hazel relentlessly charges at me, throwing hooks and jabs, the force of his strikes breaking everything he touches. I duck, weave, parry, but was still on the defensive… and it's starting to piss me off.
My back hit a big rock behind me, trapping me as Hazel was directly in front of me. He roars, throwing his big fist at my face, and I barely dodge the attack, and without wasting a single second, strike him three times as fast as I can. His attack shattered the rock, and a check with Observe tells me that he only he's around 70% Aura down, which makes me smirk in confidence.
He took a step back as the strength of Triple-Strike was no joke, but he obviously did not show pain. Hazel growls, clenching his fists as the dust plunged into his arms shines. I was warned with an attack from behind, and turning around, I see Tyrian with his mad grin extending his arm towards me as his hand flashes purple.
I side-step, barely dodging his Aura disruptions, but that was the chance for Hazel to deliver a clean jab to my stomach, causing me to sprawl all over the ground. I quickly get up, gritting my teeth in anger as I see my Aura lower than 30%
"Y-you…" I growl. "You'll regret this…"
They don't respond, Tyrian opting to cackle madly as he rushes. My grip tightens as I feel rage bubbling, my blood finally reached the point where it activates my Adrenaline perk. Tyrian reaches me, but I easily parry his incoming fist with my arm, then grab his face.
Before I cast Fire Cannon and shatter his Aura, Hazel arrives as well, flinging his fist at my face. I let go of Tyrian to protect myself, but I knew I couldn't dodge or block this, so something within listened to me. The need to wipe them off the face of this planet. It wasn't magic because it didn't feel like one… but I can still feel the power from it.
As Hazel's fist was inches away from my face, my body exploded, hot steam engulfing the three of us, but it pushed my enemies away from me. I felt strange, as my blood was cold as ice yet my skin felt like it was on fire. It was a confusing feeling, but not all that bad.
I look down at myself, seeing white-hot steam flowing off me. I didn't realize what this was until the notification from the system appeared in front of me, and I smirk widely.
Skill gained
[Semblance: Steam Engine] (LV 1/25)
After suffering a certain amount of damage, the user will build up enough steam to enter the 'Engine' state, increasing physical stats by 15%. The steam can be released as an attack in a burst called 'Steam Detonation' dealing significant damage to the target.
The user must release the steam before a minute passes while in the 'Engine' state, otherwise, will start losing 250 HP per second.
MP and HP can be used to boost 'Steam Detonation'.
Using MP will increase the power slightly, and will give it different damage types depending on the used element. The elements that can be used are the ones you have.
Using HP will increase the power tremendously, and will also increase the destructive powers of it.
Using both MP and HP will increase the power to insane levels while also giving it elemental damage, but will disable your Aura for one day.
Steam Stored: 3875/3875
Reading that I had a time-limit, I dash towards Tyrian, blurring through the forest as my DEX was more than 300 with the Adrenaline and Semblance boosts, then grab his face and ready another Fire Burst.
"Ever wondered what DEATH tastes like?!"
Tyrian screams as I send him flying with the spell, then turn to Hazel, who's looking completely shocked at this turn of events.
Hazel is still a threat with the dust in him, even with my boost, so getting rid of him first is better.
I rush forward, but he manages to block a strike aimed at his heart by crossing his arms. My increased strength was able to push him back further than before, causing me to circle around him quickly to target his back. Crouching low, I use another Triple-Strike, then as Hazel tries to defend himself, I turn around him again, hitting him in any blind spot I can see.
Hazel roars in rage and finally manages to catch me in a bear hug, but seeing that I don't have much time with Engine, I release the steam inside me, sending him flying back. Haki once again warns me to move away from an attack behind me, but I already felt another presence nearby, and a loud clang of blades meeting made me smirk.
"I really don't need your help," I tell him. "But I don't think you're leaving if I asked nicely."
"You're one suicidal kid, you know that?" Qrow replies, his eyes on Tyrian. "I don't know what the hell is going through your head. Those two are top hunter level and you thought you could take them on?"
"Oh please." I roll my eyes. "I'm still alive, aren't I? Hell, I even softened him up for you. He should be easy to deal with."
"Tyrian…" The approaching Hazel looks at his fellow servant and nodded.
Tyrian grits his teeth and nods back, then turns tail and starts running away. Qrow clicks his tongue and follows after him.
"You're not running away anywhere," I growl, pulling out an Aura potion. "You're dying here and today."
Hazel's jaw clenches as he looks around the forest, knowing that he's stuck in a fight to the death. I tone out the screaming instincts that want me to kill him all for the sake of spite. This is my body, and my body lives by my own rules.
So if I'm killing him, then I'm doing it myself with my sanity still intact.
And now that Tyrian is occupied… this shouldn't be too hard.
After all, he's currently living on 15% Aura.
(?)
It felt it.
Something powerful, something pure, something… wrong.
A power that shouldn't exist in this world anymore.
Magic.
Something was using magic.
How? None of its siblings are nearby. The witch is not nearby. Those four are not nearby.
The magic… it was pure. No Darkness, no Light. Just pure, raw magic.
This was not possible.
It let go of the bloody arm as it focused on its senses, hearing explosions of what is undoubtedly magic in the distance.
The hunt can wait.
It needs to investigate.
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