Beta'd by Old Man of the Mountain and Priapus

Inspecting the newly created Golem up close, I smile in satisfaction at my handiwork. This one was much bigger than the others and looked more detailed because I'm burnt out on the simple-looking ones. Standing at 10 feet, this new Golem was in the shape of knight in armor, with a spear strapped on its back made primarily out of Cobalt to give it a blue color, plus a few critical materials like the last remaining bit of Manasteel, and the Lightning Dust responsible for the golden outline it has.

I've used around half my supply of Cobalt, and for a good reason. I'm gonna put this in the forest in my estate and have it guard it, and let me tell you, this guy is tough as fuck. How tough?

Well, remember Fenrir? This guy stomps it hard.

Name: N/A

Level: 340

Base: Combat Golem

Type: Metal, Lightning, Magic

Proficiency: Lancer

HP: 300,000

MP: 50,000

STR: 900

VIT: 1300

DEX: 2200

INT: 500

Just the sheer speed of this guy is enough to solo most of Vale's Hunters, because keep in mind, Golems don't get tired. How did it turn out to be this fast? Well, naturally, cobalt is pretty light - this version of it anyhow - so pairing it with Manasteel and Lightning Dust, the former boosting the latter's capabilities, was one of the best choices I've made.

I made one terrifying monster, and now I really want to test out its potential. Just imagine if I find a way to affect Golems with my potions. I'd have an unstoppable army in a month of work. Actually, maybe I should find a way to do that.

After Ruby and I left the dungeon, the next few days were relatively normal, albeit a bit busy on my end due to the business booming. Profits were insane, and they're only rapidly increasing instead of the expected decrease due to several choices I made in how the potions would get sold, the first being changing up the costs.

HP potions are significantly less expensive now so more people can afford them, and all stat increase pots alongside Aura restores require a hunter license, plus being more expensive. I didn't know what this decision could do to my company, but thankfully, it was the correct one.

Health potions are the biggest sellers anyway, and the decrease in price made them sell out incredibly fast. If I wasn't prepared, it would've gotten pretty tough to keep up with the demand.

As for the rest of the potions, well, they don't sell out as often, but hunters are definitely throwing a lot of money at them, especially Aura pots. I've explored the internet lately and saw a dozen videos all about hunters trying out the potions and being shocked at how effective they are.

Definitely put a smile on my face.

Of course, I'm not stupid enough to sell my strongest stuff, only about two tiers under my best. Meaning a 35% increase in stats for example. Not all people who buy potions do it for a good cause, so it's too risky to distribute them everywhere.

That doesn't mean I won't be working on my counter to potions eventually, but this should be a temporary solution for now. I have other projects to finish first.

"Now for a name, because frankly, you're too good to be left nameless," I say, putting a hand on my chin as the Golem stares down at me. "God, I'm not good at this at all."

How about-

"No, you be quiet." I frown. "You named the last Golem. It's my turn now."

Fair, fair.

I take a moment to think of a name, putting its traits at the forefront of my mind, and after some time, I come up with a suitable name.

"How 'bout Indra?" I say, patting its arm. "Eh? Cuz lightning? I was thinking Thor or Zeus, but those didn't fit much."

Stealing a god's name? Classy.

It works.

The now named Indra responds to his new name by kneeling, lowering his head in respect, which surprises me considerably. Yeah, Golems kneeling isn't really new, but doing it out of their own will? That's different. I mentally force Golems to kneel and bow to me, I made the conscious order to have them do that every time they see me.

Why? Because it strokes my ego, and I like having my ego stroked every once in a while.

So seeing a Golem do that without my order feels a lot different. It's far, far more intelligent than the other Golems. Hell, it's smarter than the average man, so perhaps that's why? Do Golems have that much loyalty to me when conscious, though?

That'd be pretty cool if it was the case.

"I'm gonna assume you like it," I mutter. "Stand up."

It obeys immediately, looking strangely keen as it awaits my order. Huh, this is new. I don't dislike it though.

Hearing a 'ding', I turn around and see my guests finally arrive. Yang and the rest of her team enter the training grounds, with the team – aside from the blond – looking in shock and awe. I can sense their emotions from a mile away.

I knew making an elevator was a good idea. The last thing I need is more people seeing the weird shit on the other floors.

Yang notices me in the middle of the training ground and leads the rest, hugging me tightly as soon as she gets close, which prompted a spike of suspicion from the Cat Faunus. Weiss blushes profusely and smiles as our eyes meet, making me almost snort. Right, that happened. Of course she'll start reacting this way. It's cute.

They all stare at the giant blue Golem behind me, with three of the girls looking in awe. The blond did look a little surprised, but she's gotten used to this magical bullshit ages ago, so she didn't give it much attention.

"Ah, you're finally here," I say as I pat Yang's head, pulling them back to reality.

"T-thank you so much for accepting our selfish request, sir," Weiss says with a bow.

"Don't worry about it. This will be more mutually beneficial than I first thought." I say cryptically while waving it off. "Regardless, I've come up with a good way to gauge your skill and power. You won't be fighting against me, but him."

I point at Indra, prompting all of them to look at him curiously as their shock wore off.

"This here is similar to those Atlesian robots, but it's my personal creation, and I made sure to make it far more powerful than anything you're likely to come up against. Aside from me of course." I clarify, making Yang roll her eyes at that last sentence. "Team, I only have one task for you, and that is to beat him. Do everything in your power to destroy him."

"A-are you sure, sir?" Weiss frowns in confusion. "Wouldn't it be wasteful to break something you've created?"

"Oh trust me, I'm perfectly fine with it." I grin almost maliciously. "If you destroy it right now, I'll guarantee that all of you will graduate out of Beacon as S-ranks."

Man, the things I can do as a Titan Slayer are frankly insane, especially since I killed two Titans. I'm like the King of Remnant in all but name. I've said this countless times, but I absolutely love the sheer power of it.

The team, excluding the blond, now looks even more motivated than before, thinking they have a chance at beating it, but Yang? Oh, she knows what this is. She looks at me with pleading eyes, her confidence utterly vaporized and replaced with sheer terror.

"Reid-"

"Sh, they need humbling." I cut her off with a whisper, and catch the slightest of twitches from Blake's bow. "Just play along."

"You owe me so much for this." She scowls as she breaks into a cold sweat.

"Alright! Everyone, get into position." I say, ignoring the blond. "Team, you're on the left. Indra, on the right."

[Indra, hold back for the first few minutes, then work your way up. Ending the fight in a few seconds isn't exactly gonna help me understand their fighting styles, weaknesses, and strengths. Don't use lethal force, though do make it hurt].

With that mental order, a shining blue glint sparks from the Golem Elite's helmet, as if he fully understood my intention, and he moves to his side of t. I leave the training ground and wait behind the glass of the spectator chamber, eagerly awaiting the fight that'll take place.

I say fight, but it's mostly one-sided. Yeah, sure, Yang is significantly more powerful than the first time I saw her, with the whole teaching thing resulting in exponential growth, and she has her entire team backing her up, but realistically? Indra could end the fight in less than a second.

…Assuming I haven't overestimated Indra's power. This will be the first time I see him fight after all.

Hmm, I wonder how good Ruby could do against him with Senketsu?

"Ready?" I speak into the megaphone. "And begin!"

Indra draws his spear and twirls it around before getting into a stance as Team WLBY rushes towards him, Yang taking the charge as she launches herself towards him with her shotgun gauntlets. Levianna, the most nervous out of the group, follows suit with a pair of green tonfas, as Blake circles around the marble field to take it by surprise.

As for the leader of the group, well, she stabs her rapier on the ground and summons a big Beringel, which surprises me. Does she already know how to summon? I thought she only unlocked it after the Fall of Beacon. If I'm not mistaken about the timeline, then we've likely reached the halfway point of Volume 1.

Damn, so much earlier. Go, Weiss.

Even as her summon roars and rushes forward, the first strike is already landing. Yang's fist clashed with the metal rod of the spear as Indra blocked her attack, stepping back and deflecting all of her attacks with ease. Levianna gets close and ducks under Yang, who jumps up to throw a high kick, and skillfully spins her weapons, landing a few decent hits on the Golem's legs as Indra is too busy dealing with the blond.

Indra blocks Yang's kick with his arm and swings his spear at impressive speed, faster than any of the girls can react, and hits the blond directly in the side, sending her flying to the other side of the battlefield.

I was a bit worried as I saw that, but once I checked Yang's AP with Observe, I realized that Indra made sure to hold back considerably. That's good.

Blake, who managed to sneak by Indra as he was too busy dealing with Yang and Levi, ambushes him from behind, striking his back with her small cleaver, which makes me frown a little. She didn't take the time to look for a weakness- she panicked a bit when she saw Yang get launched away and acted too hastily.

Indra, with his massive size, simply kicks Levianna away before grabbing Blake's hand, slamming her on the ground hard enough to shatter the ground underneath. As he's about to hit her again, the gorilla Grimm summon punches him right in the face… which does virtually nothing. He doesn't even flinch.

However, it still seemed like a decent distraction as Weiss had formed several glyphs behind her, all charging blasts of various elements. As soon as the blast shot forward, so did she, seemingly looking for an opening in the armor.

Weiss was quick enough to reach the Golem before her blasts, however, even as he was being held up by her summon, he pushed her back by swinging his spear in a wide arc, prompting her to jump back and barely avoid the blow. This caused the Beringel to land a few more blows to the chest and head though, this time damaging him slightly.

As the blasts hit, the elemental explosion gives Blake enough time to recover, leaping back before starting to shoot him alongside Levianna. However, this doesn't seem like it did much damage either as I see his state after the smoke clears, the spear cleanly going through the summon's chest, killing it in a single strike.

They barely did any damage.

Indra rushes past Levianna and towards the leader of the team, aiming to land a heavy punch on her face, but then Yang gets right in front of Weiss and skillfully parries his fist, countering with a very heavy uppercut that does a significant amount of damage.

The punch combined with a shotgun shell to the chin seemingly stuns Indra, as he takes a few steps back. This prompts Blake to act; using the ribbon of her weapon as if trying to strangle the Golem with it, but that wasn't her intention, because she plans on making him fall by pulling him back.

Levianna assists Blake by using her Semblance - a burst of high-speed dashes - to trip him over, ramming her body against his legs. This damages her of course, but she successfully trips the Golem over, and Yang wasn't about to waste this chance.

They're mostly doing decently, but they keep panicking and making reckless decisions. Gonna need to fix that.

Right before Indra hits the ground, Yang gets close and lands a hit directly on its face with a roar. Right before the punch hit, I smile as I see the raging inferno around her fist, not made by any Dust in her weapon, but by her personally.

About damn time.

The ground under Indra shatters, creating a sizable crater as a pillar of flames bursts forth. Everyone, Yang included, was pretty shocked at what happened, but they didn't get to question it as Indra, only a bit damaged, uses its inherited lightning to shock the blond and force her to back off before getting back up.

"How the hell is it still standing?!" I hear Blake growls. "What is it made of?"

"I don't know, but I'm scared." Levi whines.

"This is nothing." Weiss scoffs before barking orders. "Don't lose focus! Let's do our best and defeat it!"

Yang, though, didn't say anything, but I can feel her emotions from here, and if I have to summarize her thoughts from that?

She'd be saying "We are fucked."

And it's funny because it's true.

Indra rushes towards Levi, likely the weakest of the team, far faster than any of them could react, and uses the butt of his spear to hit her in the face, grabbing her leg before she can fly away and throwing her at Blake, making the two smash into the wall. Without giving them a chance to recover, Indra points the spear at them and unleashes a wave of electricity, one strong enough to shatter their auras.

And in those swift movements, half of the team is down.

Jesus, he does not fuck around.

Even the conscious girls were shocked, the hopes they had now getting drained rapidly, however, Weiss doesn't back down and rushes towards the Golem, forming multiple glyphs around him. Yang follows her leader, charging past her to distract Indra so Weiss can at least land a solid hit.

Indra swings his spear at Yang, who leaps above it, delivering a strong jab to its helmet. The Golem responds by grabbing her leg, only for a glyph to form around it, stopping it in place. Indra glances at Weiss, who shoots from one glyph to the other, striking it from multiple angles as it struggles to move.

Another glyph forms under Yang, who uses it to jump, twirling to avoid a swing of his spear. Yang's leg engulfs in fire and Weiss summons a huge block of ice, then the two strike each side of its head, dealing considerable damage.

I can't help but smile at the show beautiful show, unfortunately knowing the outcome of the battle. All the damage they did combined is only barely above 20k, with that last attack doing half of it.

Indra unleashes another burst of electricity, shattering all the glyphs around him and stunning the two girls. With two swift attacks of his spear, he shatters their aura and knocks out Weiss, with Yang barely able to stay awake due to earlier conditioning and training from me.

They've lost, which was the expected outcome, but even then, I'm more than satisfied. They've barely been together as a team, yet their teamwork is impressive, and their individual skill set and powers are quite noteworthy. I'd be an idiot to let talent like this go to waste.

Give me three months of training, and they'll all be as strong as Indra.

The Golem puts the spear on his back and bows respectfully as Yang breathes heavily, groaning in pain. I approach the blond girl, crouching next to her. She scowls as I do, looking positively annoyed.

"Does it hurt?" I ask.

"Fuck. You." She spits out.

"You've done really well, by the way." I pat her head, ignoring her aggression. "Seriously, that was a good show."

"At least one of us enjoyed it." She scoffs.

"I thought you liked pain?"

"Not in this context and you know that you stupid dick." She growls at my smug grin.

"Hey, on the bright side, you finally used your magic," I remind her, making her pause as her annoyance with me evaporates. "You know what this means? We can start practicing now."

"Oh yeah!" Yang sits up, immediately regretting it as she flinches in pain. "The hell is up with that golem? Ow…"

"Right, take this." I hand her an Aura potion. "Anyway, that one is currently the most powerful golem I've created. It's stronger than even Fenrir."

"Wha- seriously?!" Yang looks at me in shock. "And you just let us fight it?!"

"Yang, you weren't supposed to win," I say in amusement. "As I said, I wanted to gauge your team, and I'll say, you all pass with flying colors."

"Yeah, yeah, right." She sighs. "At least Weiss will be happy about this."

"Aren't you?"

"I'm already training under you." She deadpanned as she uncaps the potion. "I literally got my ass kicked for no reason."

"Haha! Yeah, that's true."

"Laugh harder, why don't you." She grumbles before drinking the potion, looking at the unconscious bodies of her team right after. "But uh, what do we do with them?"

"Wait for them to wake up." I shrug. "While that happens, how about we see what your magic can do?"

Yang's eyes lit up in excitement as I say that, looking exactly like her sister when I told her the same thing. They really are the same, no matter how different they look on the outside. Even if one is older and more mature, they still share the same adorable expression of childish excitement.

God, they're just so damn precious.

– Yang –

"This is so awesome," Yang whispers with wide eyes as the small flame dances around her index finger. "I can use magic. I'm an actual wizard now."

She's seen it multiple times- with Reid using it to incinerate large groups of Grimm without batting an eye or Ruby flaunting it around by shooting the walls with beams of light, but to see herself do it feels different. She almost couldn't believe it if she was being honest.

And while fire apparently wasn't the strongest, being a basic element compared to Ruby's advanced light, it's the one Reid was most skilled at according to him, so he'll be good at teaching. Yang honestly couldn't give a crap. Why would she care about what she can do? It's still magic damn it.

Once the fight was over, Reid ordered the little golems to take her unconscious team to rest on the first floor and had them alert him whenever they were awake to explain what happened and how they did. Given Yang was the only one awake, she fully realized how important Reid's training was and why he sees that it's necessary.

A broken Aura doesn't mean it's the end. If she was able to stay conscious even after a blow as heavy as that, then perhaps fighting at her peak without the need for Aura was possible. She'd been taught otherwise her entire life, but then again, she never went through training as harsh as this.

Hell, having magic now supported the claim. Out of Aura? She can still shoot fire out of her hands.

"Heh. That's what Ruby said too." Reid said in amusement. "Alright, let's start small and work our way up."

Reid snapped a finger and a fireball the size of his head formed over his hand. He looked at her and she nodded in understanding, frowning in concentration and trying to do the same thing he did.

In mere seconds, the little spark obeyed and expanded to the same size, surprising the two. Yang smirked and puffed her chest in pride at that. It was a lot easier than she expected, she doesn't understand what Ruby was going on about.

"Hmm…" Reid frowned, thinking for a moment before speaking again. "Make a sword, spear, and a hammer. In that order."

Yang blinked and nodded. She concentrated, and the ball of flame began shifting, getting smaller and smaller before turning into a sword. It shifts again, and the blond notices that it was a bit harder to make a spear, but was able to anyway.

When the time for the hammer came, Yang experienced a lot of issues, losing focus a few times for one whole minute, but barely managed to do it, sweat rolling down her brow as she smiled in satisfaction. That was a lot tougher than the rest, but nothing she couldn't do.

"You're talented," Reid said, looking both proud and surprised. "Incredibly talented. You shouldn't even be able to make the spear much less a hammer."

"Heh, I'm too good." Yang shrugged, a cocky grin plastered on her face. "But please, go on. I wanna hear more."

"I mean, comparing you to Ruby, you've had a significantly easier time, even though your sister has a bigger pool of mana." He continued, then paused. "But maybe that's why?"

"Huh?"

"Maybe the bigger pool affected her growth in skill?" He frowned as he continued muttering. "No, that wouldn't make sense. More magic means she can afford to be wasteful, meaning she can practice for longer periods of time, so even light magic's inherent difficulty shouldn't matter."

"Uh, Reid?"

"But how do we explain this? You haven't had nearly the amount of training your sister went through- this is your first time for god's sake, yet you're already more skilled in your fire magic than Ruby is in her light magic."

"Reid."

"Genetics? If yes, it does make sense." Reid nodded to himself, not hearing her. "Perhaps you are more in tune with your element than Ruby is with hers."

"Look, I don't really understand what half of that magic mumbo jumbo is all about, so you can stop nerding out now." Yang cut him off. "I just know that it can do cool stuff."

"Right, sorry. I just find this kind of stuff really interesting." He said.

'Yes, and it's adorable.' Yang thought with a smile.

"Long story short, while Ruby has more mana than you, your magic seems to be more… 'stable' than hers, making it easier for you to control." Reid summarized. "So both of you are talented in two different ways."

"Yes, more praise please."

"What more do you want me to say?" He sighs.

"Maybe do, more than say."

Reid blinked as he saw her wiggle her eyebrows suggestively, and then shrugged.

"Whatever you say."

As soon as he finished this sentence, Yang's back was against the wall, and her breasts were being toyed with. The shift in mood wasn't what she was used to, but she couldn't get enough of her lover's aggressiveness.

Yang moaned in the midst of their kissing as his hand slid under her panties, finger spreading her lower lips apart, only for him to pull back immediately, making her whine as she looked at him, finding him staring at the ceiling in mild annoyance.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Your friends are awake." He answered.

"Already?" Yang frowned.

"Restoring their Aura probably reduced the time they needed to rest." He sighed. "We should go."

However, Yang disagreed and pulled him back, giving him a sultry smirk as she guided his hand back to her crotch.

"A quick round wouldn't hurt." She said, whispering in his ear. "Right?"

"...Don't count on me bailing you out if they feel something is off and ask you about it."

"You have a deal." She replied quickly as his erection poked her. "Now fuck this eager pussy~"

Perhaps she was affected by her arousal, but Yang couldn't wait to share the euphoria her stud of a boyfriend could inflict on the rest of her team. She knew she couldn't leave him the first time she passed out in the middle of his pounding, and they'd be no different.

The faces they'd be making when the time comes turned her on so much.

– Blake –

She expected many things going here, from getting valuable lessons to finding out more about Yang's relationship with Reid, but none of them got close to getting knocked out by a giant blue knight that single-handedly wiped the floor with her team.

There were many things running through her mind when she woke up in the backroom of the store, with both Weiss and Levianna snoozing on the right side of the room, and Yang nowhere to be seen.

Her first instinct was to explore the place and find her partner, but she also didn't want to leave her other teammates alone, so Blake decided to wait for them until they woke up so they could go together. Thankfully, they didn't take long, waking up around ten minutes after she did.

When Weiss realized that Yang wasn't with them, she felt concerned as well, but unlike Blake, she didn't want to look for her, saying that it would rude to snoop around and that Astera would contact them soon enough. Probably.

Blake didn't like that, but unfortunately for her, Levianna agreed with her partner. After all, why worry? It's the Hero of Vale that's with Yang. He wouldn't let any harm come to her. A fair assessment, but it didn't make the Faunus feel better about it. Her paranoia was making her think of the worst.

So they waited, observing the little… robot-things that served them tea and sweets from the kitchen. Atlesian Robots weren't rare, especially when Atlas began selling them to other kingdoms, but those looked odd. They didn't look like the robots Blake had seen and fought before, nor all that much like the robot that Reid had had them fight.

First, they're shaped differently, unlike the big blue one that dismantled them earlier. Where that giant was built like a knight's armor, these ones were very different. They didn't look like the usual humanoids, as they were short, only reaching her knees, and are pretty round with tiny heads. Hell, they were made of clay and stone, not metal.

They looked weirdly cute with how they were waddling around the place.

What the hell were they? They were too weird to be robots, and according to Reid, he made them himself. So on top of the absurd achievement of destroying two Titans and inventing these powerful potions, he's now an engineer(?) too?

This guy is just way too suspicious. He's hiding something, and Yang definitely knows what it is if the way she acts around him is any indication.

Just who is he really?

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the door opened, and in walked both Yang and Reid, both looking strangely satisfied, and… what's that strange, faint smell? Blake frowned a little as her team leader stood up from the couch, looking worried and ashamed.

"I-I'm so sorry for how bad we've done, sir." She immediately started, eyes flickering to Yang and then back to him. "Please give us another chance."

"It's fine, Weiss." Yang calmed her down.

"What do you mean 'it's fine'?" Weiss snapped before Yang could elaborate. "We lost that fight! We're not good enough!"

"Nope. You exceeded my expectations." Reid said, surprising all of them. "You're more than worthy to be training under me."

"Huh? B-but we…" Weiss blinked in confusion as she whipped her head at him, looking lost. "I don't understand."

"Weiss, we weren't supposed to win." Her partner said, also knowing that the test wasn't exactly meant to be fair. "That… robot was far beyond our abilities. He knew we'd lose."

Reid smiled, and Blake spoke up before he could confirm her claim.

"That's why he told us he'd guarantee us graduating as S-ranks," Blake added, even though she found it kinda obvious. "I realized it around halfway through the fight. We couldn't have beaten it no matter what we did."

She found it surprising that it went over Weiss's head. The girl is very smart after all, but perhaps she wasn't used to situations like this.

"Exactly." He confirmed. "This test had two objectives. One: Analyzing your abilities and skills."

"And two?" Blake frowned.

"To remind you of your mortality." He answered. "To prove that you three are far too reliant on Aura."

"Reliant on Aura?" Weiss looked confused. "But that's a hunter's main weapon against the Grimm. Their lifeline."

"Which is complete and utter bullshit." He said, making her flinch at his vulgarity. "Can anyone of you explain why Yang wasn't here when you woke up?"

They all remained silent as Yang silently preened herself on her achievement by puffing her chest in pride.

"Because I've conditioned her to be able to remain conscious even if her Aura was broken." He explained. "And with how her training is shaping up to be, she'll be able to fight at the fullest of her ability without Aura in just a few months."

That's insane. Blake narrowed her eyes. It's not even possible… is it?

True, what Yang is capable of right now wasn't unheard of- moving and staying conscious with a depleted Aura that is, but fighting at the same level of power is flat-out unbelievable, because it's not how Aura works in the slightest. The moment your Aura breaks, you lose all the strength needed within you.

But then again, the proof of the concept was right in front of her, in the form of her own partner. Was she really able to stay awake even though her Aura was shattered? While already established that it isn't exactly impossible, you'd need over a decade of conditioning to reach that level. It's why only S-rank and upper-tier A-rank hunters are the only ones capable of doing it.

This training of his seemed pointless. You'll need to be in your eighties to reach that level, past your prime, and most hunters don't even make it to forty.

…But Yang is neither an S nor an A. She's not even an official huntress yet, only a student. If she was able to do what the best of Remnant can do under his tutelage, then maybe what he's saying is feasible after all?

Blake can't believe it, not fully anyway, but this was a man that did the impossible more than once.

"That is the first part of my training. All five of you, Ruby included, will be fighting against me continuously, as a group or one-on-one. Your Aura will be broken over and over until you feel no fatigue from it happening anymore." He said seriously, making them shiver. "You'll see the results after the first month. In the meantime, whenever you have free time, I want you to train by yourselves. Go to the gym or spar with your teammate, both are viable options."

"Y-yes, sir!" Weiss straightened her back, looking the most motivated out of them all. "I won't let you down!"

"I'm sure you won't." He smiled at them, making Blake's heart skip a beat. "But keep in mind that while training hard is good and all, you also need to relax and have fun. I've given Headmaster Ozpin a notice to be more lenient with you four."

Even Yang wasn't expecting that as she whipped her head at him, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"For real?!"

"Yeah, you have shorter classes, an extra day off for the next three months, and are exempt from 20% of quizzes. Midterms and finals not included." He answered, shocking them all. "You can say it's a pseudo apprenticeship. If you do well in these months, in both academics and combat class, I'll make it official."

Yang jumped in his arms and hugged him tightly as she laughed joyously. "Hell yeah! You're the best!"

Even Weiss and Levianna were starry-eyed as he said that, looking up to him but not being bold enough to tackle him as their blond teammate did, although the former was seconds away from hugging him also.

As for Blake? Well, she was a lot more reserved than the rest, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't grateful or excited about this. A genuine apprenticeship to the most powerful huntsman in Remnant's history? She expected this training was a simple 'get stronger' deal, not something as valuable as this.

The things she could learn from him, from how these potions might work to these little waddling robots to how he's gotten so damn strong. Perhaps once she's gotten good enough under his tutelage, she could fix her past mistakes and be free from the guilt that's been festering within her.

And with how he promised to be helping Menagerie- how ballsy he was to casually recognize it as a kingdom… then maybe he could help her with her current dilemma. Maybe he'd understand why she hid her heritage from her team, why she joined the White Fang.

Blake was beginning to think that maybe this 'nice facade' wasn't really a facade after all and that he'd always been genuine. She could maybe understand Weiss's view on him and her hero worship syndrome.

But she still needed to be wary. Even with the warmth she was feeling towards him and his generosity, it never hurt to be a little hands-off with him, right?

Her eyes met his deep blue ones for a split second, prompting her to look away as her face felt hot, cat ears subtly twitching as a response. Why does she have to be into older men? Yeah, he's younger than her if what he said was true, but he looks as old as Adam damn it.

"Don't think I'd settle for subpar scores, though." He warned with a frown. "To pass, all of you must be in the top five. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!" All of them replied in unison.

"Right, well, that's it for today." He said. "Your training starts tomorrow at 7 AM. It'll last for two hours, and you have one free hour before your classes at Beacon start. You are dismissed."

With that, Weiss bowed deeply before leading them out of the store, the entire team in high spirit from the unexpected surprise. Even though they just woke up from a painful ass-kicking, the smiles of confidence never left their faces.

Blake would make sure to use this golden opportunity to its fullest.

Her smile dropped for a moment as she glanced at her partner, who was completely oblivious to her judging stare. Blake didn't forget about the weird, close relationship this blondie had with the Titan Slayer but wasn't fully sure why it was beginning to annoy her.

It took her a while to recognize the smell, but she wasn't that ignorant. They were real close with each other, so much so that they didn't care about the time or place. Honestly, the whole thing was one reason Blake felt a little apprehensive about him.

But she still wanted to know more. This was a delicious scandal right here, a tale like the one in her books. How did it come to this and what does it all mean?

Whatever it was, Blake will have her curiosity sated.

– Reid –

20 Reputation with Blake Belladonna [95/100]

20 Reputation with Levianna Blossoms [70/100]

20 Affection with Weiss Schnee [85/100]

14 Affection with Yang Xiao-Long [99/100]

Wow, okay, I did well apparently. The apprenticeship thing was an idea given to me by Oz in all honesty, after he asked me about training Ruby and Yang. Probably Glynda told him this, and I don't really mind that at all.

He's likely gonna try to probe info out of whatever student I have, but I've made it absolutely clear to Ruby and Yang that magic isn't something you talk about with anyone, no matter what, and they understood that clearly.

He still doesn't really know, but eventually, Oz will figure out that I was capable of giving both Ruby and Yang magic without sacrificing my own. Him knowing that means he might also figure out that I'm not fully human either.

And I don't want that yet. Ozpin is an ally and something of a friend, but he's someone I want to keep at arm's length for now. Until I'm absolutely 100% sure I can trust him, he's gonna stay in the dark.

Anyway, Oz offered the idea to at least trial it, and I agreed. I knew the girls would pass the test, so I wasn't worried in that regard, but the battle only confirmed it. They're all prodigies in their own right, even if I don't know much about Levi yet.

She seems pretty nice, if extremely nervous at times.

We'll see how things develop from here. Who knows, maybe at some point, I can train up another team.

I did always wonder how the Invincible Girl would fare against the Titan Slayer.

– Ozpin –

"Headmaster?" His secretary called out, frowning in confusion.

Ozpin, with a steaming mug of cocoa, merely gave a hum of acknowledgment as he gazed at the setting sun through the window of his office.

"I've been going through some of the paperwork-" Glynda started. "And couldn't help but notice some odd decisions you've made."

Glynda put the papers in question on his desk, prompting him to turn around and gaze at them. A few seconds of reading the first few paragraphs made him nod in understanding, sipping from the mug before responding.

"Ah, this."

"You were never the best when it came to avoiding favoritism, but this with Team Wildberry is too far, Headmaster." Glynda voiced her concern. "I understand that they're the best first-year team in Beacon, but this will only isolate them from the rest of their peers. Care to explain?"

"An apprenticeship with Mr. Astera," Ozpin said simply. "This has been a recent development, I'll admit."

"Apprenticeship?" She raised a brow.

"Yes. As Reid is teaching a few student-level huntresses, he revealed that he planned on adding a few to be under his tutelage, so I decided to lend a hand." He explained. "This is an experiment, you could say."

"Oh?"

"As you know, I want to offer Mr. Astera a place here as a teacher, but we're not quite sure what his teaching skills and methods are like." He continued. "So this can be a test to see if he's a suitable candidate or not."

"I see." His secretary nodded in understanding. "But you are assuming he will take taking the offer, aren't you? I don't believe that's wise, Ozpin."

"That is why it's not an official apprenticeship." He smiled. "If he brings good results but still refuses the role of a professor, he'll still be able to at least take a few students as pupils to train them up personally. A bit selective, but incredibly valuable to us still."

"I see."

Personally, Ozpin would be fine either way. Reid becoming a professor is the better option all around, but he also understood the risks. This Haki power becoming known and mainstream would mean Salem picking it up herself, and that is not something they wanted. She'd get her hands on Reid's potions eventually, which was catastrophic enough.

Even if, realistically, she could wipe out humanity any time she wanted, and was holding back for reasons unknown to him, he couldn't afford to let her add too many new cards to her hand. Anything that could empower her agents could make it much harder to keep the maidens and relics out of her hands, after all. She's different, completely different, from the woman he once loved.

Regardless, both options have their pros and cons, and Reid will get to choose either one of them.

"Speaking of Reid's students-" Glynda started again, and Oz noticed how she referred to him by his first name. Cute. "Yang Xiao-Long has been showing incredible improvement recently."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. The last match with Ms. Nikos ended in a draw, and she was far less fatigued compared to the Invincible Girl." She informed him. "I believe whatever training she's been doing is very effective, however, no sign of those Haki powers of his."

"Fascinating…" Ozpin muttered. "Keep an eye out on Team Wildberry, especially Ms. Xiao-Long, and report their progress to me."

"Very well."

Now, this was a development he could get behind.

The next few months would be very interesting.

I didn't expect this to be Blake-focused when I was writing it to be honest. I actually don't like Blake, but I try to not let my personal feelings get in the way.

And I have a few plans - genuine plans - for Jaune, so you can't call me out. He will get his time to shine.

Also, bigish news. At some point, I'm gonna go back and fix the grammar and phrasing of older chapters because they're pretty scuffed compared to new ones. there might be some plot changes because I'm an impulsive little shit and made a bunch of dumb decisions, but nothing really drastic. I'm telling you this to prepare you for the tens of messages of 'new chapter' from ffn because if you see three consecutive messages, then know its just me going back to fix stuff.

Cool? Cool.

Discord Server link: (Discord . gg / Rjjzt8erYK) no spaces. It's a relatively new server, but I might post exclusive content there. No, I'm not bribing you to join.

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