Hello again.
REAPER IN RED
Chapter 6
Okay, maybe this whole 'school' thing wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be. At least, judging by the bored expressions of my classmates, this sort of learning was not the best way to keep the engagement of teenagers. Especially those who were as physically fit and active as hunters. Even Weiss seemed to be losing it, rubbing her temple with one hand and tapping her pencil on her near empty notebook with the other. If I turned around fully in my seat, I could notice the slumbering students, drooling on their arms, desks and classwork.
I was having a blast. Who knew that Professor Peter Port was such a legendary fighter! Just him and a box of paperclips against a herd of chimera. After the embarrassment of asking him what a paperclip was -little metal files bent to hold sheets of paper together- and discovering that none of the class was listening, nor seemed to care about my question, I listened with rapt attention.
There were even little bits of wisdom in his story. Some of which I knew, others I did not. I knew Chimeras, especially of the half-wolf variety enjoyed being rubbed behind the ears. I remember for my fifty-sixth birthday mom and me went to the northern outskirts of Vale and played with a herd of them. I played with the herdlings while mom led the pack away from the city. If I scratched behind their ears in just the right place, they would growl and breath out flames through their nostrils. Afterwards, they would get very sleepy and cuddle up onto my lap. That was an incredible day.
Professor Port had discovered a similar quirk with the elder chimera. Using the filled box, jamming it into the alpha chimera's ear had it breathing out a heavy plume of flame and smoke. The flames would go further than normal, but would leave the creatures panting for breath and exhausted. It seemed a little rude to me to jam something into the animal's ear, but hunters were always a peculiar lot.
"And then I cut off their heads one by one with my trustee battle axe!" Professor Port finished with gusto. "Any questions?"
I looked around the classroom then raised my hand.
"Ah yes! Miss Rose, the most attentive student I had in all my years. What more of my fortuitous tale do you wish me to reveal?"
"Why not just use your axe to fight the chimera off?"
"That would be most unsportsmanlike miss Rose!" The man guffawed while rubbing his belly. "Such a creature as impressive as a chimera deserves to be defeated in the most exciting and impressive of manners. Why waste my battle axe on such a herd of beasts? Speaking of beasts, I brought a special gift for one talented student today. Do I have any volunteers?"
A few people raised their hands, Weiss among them. The professor looked around the room, finger stroking his chin as if he were deep in thought. "Let's have you my dear."
"Yuhs," Yang pumped her fist in triumph as she leaped from her seat. Weiss crossed her arms and grumbled.
Yang was chosen! I wondered what she was going to be doing but judging from the big crate which the professor wheeled in, it would involve fighting whatever was inside. "Go Team RWBY!" I cheered, waving my hands in the air.
"Thanks sis. Not that I'll need it of course." She said, kissing her fists. "No love from the ice queen? Even kitty-cat has some spirit."
Weiss harrumphed, refusing to glance at her while Blake waved a mini Team RWBY flag. From where she got it, I would never know.
"Let us see if you have the talent, nay, the gumption to defeat this Grimm in front of a class of your peers!"
"Will do teach!" Yang laughed, jumping down to the small floorspace in front of the levels of desks and chairs. Stepping back into a fighting stance, she brushed a tuft of hair from her shoulder.
With a nod of confirmation, Professor Port opened up the cage. A boarbatusk came out spinning, rolling head over tail, ripping up the floorboards with its powerful tusks and claws.
"Whoa!" Yang belched, hopping out of the way as the Grimm came flying passed her.
"Go for the belly!" I shouted between cheers.
"Let the girl fight for herself," I heard from my left side, followed by a smack on my shoulder from a dainty hand. "Nobody needs your childish commentary!"
"Thanks Rubes!" Yang winked, giving me a thumbs up.
The boarbatusk circled around for another pass, but this time, Yang was ready. A quick sidestep and a single punch sent the Grimm sprawling across the room, slamming forcefully into the blackboard. As it hit the ground, it began its post-death journey to the after-realms, flaking off into shadows and disappearing into the very air.
"What else you got! Ember Fistica and Knuckles Celica are ready for more action!" Yang said, lifting up her left and right fists respectively.
"Jolly good work! And without any weapons. Brilliant! Most brilliant!" Professor Port shouted ecstatically. "That was an amazing show of combat as befitting true warrior. I would never use my battle-axe on such a feeble opponent as well! Of course, I would lock this type of Grimm in a classic Peter Port Choke Hold. Using my superior strength and manliness, it would be easy for me to take it to the ground and really show the creature who's boss! That reminds me of the time I was sailing to Mistral and we were set upon by a massive -and quite charming if I do say so myself- Siren who was just begging to be given the old one-two by Peter here-"
"Then what would you use your axe on?" I asked, not bothering to raise my hand. The class was mostly inattentive anyways after that short bout.
"Why, the Higher Order Creatures my dear!" Professor Port bellowed. He paused for a second, his eyebrows raising, yet his eyes continuing to be hidden under his eyelids. "Ah! A perfect jumping off point before class ends. Thank you my dear. Can anybody tell me what are the Higher Order creatures?"
Finally, more of the class seemed engaged. Weiss's hand sprung up faster than I thought possible for a human to move. The professor pointed at her and she stood in her seat.
"Higher Order creatures, or Higher Order Salemites as they are often called, are the most intelligent of the Salemite species on Remnant. While there are other Salemites which could be stronger, such as alpha Grimm or half-lion chimera, Higher Order Salemites are known for possessing an intelligence or mode of thought akin to that of humans. Though it is impossible to confirm if these creatures act on an instinct which dwarfs that of a person, in order to appear intelligent, or if they do actually possess conscious reasoning. My opinion places these beasts in the former category."
"Textbook answer, miss Schnee. Textbook answer. Most impressive indeed. I see we have a true huntress in our midst! The creatures are a huntsman's bread and butter. We are often called to action to take out minor pests like the Grimm; there are a hundred times more Grimm than other Salemites. For instance, once I was minding my own business on an excursion from the deserts of Vacuo-"
"Professor?" Weiss interrupted, shaking the professor from a new story.
"Ah, right my dear. The Higher Order creatures are why the four kingdoms train hunters, instead of just regular militaries. A gun and a well-placed round can kill a zombie or a chimera or Grimm," the professor held up his hands as if carrying an invisible rifle, firing silently towards his audience. "But a creature of the Higher Order. Now those require the skill, quick-thinking and natural grace of a huntsman. Or huntress of course."
"Professor?" A student in the back of the class raised his hand. I had yet to meet him, but his tall Mohawk definitely made him stand out from the rest. "What are Higher Order creatures?"
Professor Port clapped his hands together. "There are four of these Salemites! Someone shout out a name!"
"Witches!" Said Jaune, rising from his seat to spout out the name.
"One of the strongest of the Higher Order! Only the bravest go after witches. Monsters which look like the Grimm in colouration but have the shape of a human or faunus. One of the few Salemites capable of speech. I have only managed to slay a half-dozen in my lifetime. Another!"
"Necromancers!" Came another name. By now, the class was actually engaged with the surly professor, as he hopped around the room with a newfound vigor.
"Creatures capable of raising the dead. They look quite like the zombies they create and are often hidden among their own hordes. Capable of disconnecting themselves from their zombies, so that if they die, their hordes live on. How they do that is still unknown. I was a talented Necromancer-slayer back in my glory days. I will have many a story for you about them over the course of this year!"
That brought up a groan from the crowd, only to be diminished when he shouted for another one.
"Vampires!"
"No! Well, maybe." The professor began. "Vampires are often called the fifth of the Higher Order. They are strong and somewhat smart, but they are on the border of the definition of Higher Order as miss Schnee described. Do they have intelligence? Maybe. But are they Salemites? Also maybe. Vampires are created by draining the lifeblood, the very soul out of a man and replacing the man's aura with their own. Sometimes described as Higher Order, but not one of the core four."
"Skin-Crawlers?"
"Very good, good sir. Horrid creatures which suck out the innards of a person and take control of their body. A most unpleasant experience to bear witness to. I will most likely spare you the details of that story for your second year. Can anybody tell me the final Higher Order Salemite? You are all still missing the most dangerous creature to ever exist. These are smart and nearly impossible to kill. Only the very best of huntsmen would even dare try to take one of these creatures on. Even I would only face off against such a beast with a team of expert huntsmen and huntresses at my back. Anyone? No?"
The professor looked around the room for any venturous student. All the while, I ducked further and further into my chair, hoping to remain unnoticed as red touched my cheeks.
"The Grim Reaper." The professor finally remarked. His voice was now shallow, much quieter than his exuberance from only a moment ago. His hands dropped, no longer being waved through the air to rile up his students. He was hunched over, a much more solemn man. He looked older. More tired.
"The Grim Reaper are the antithesis of life itself. Where they move, only death remains. There is a reason nobody knows how old a human or faunus can get before we die of natural causes like animals do in nature. There has yet to be a death recorded without a Grim Reaper to have thought to be involved. Either by eyewitness accounts, or by educated guesses based off decades of extrapolated data. Grim Reapers are why we hunters were first created.
"There is not a student among us who has not heard of the Reaper and its affinity for death. Each carry a long blade; a scythe, stronger than any material or dust we know to exist, capable of pulling a person's soul from their bodies. As their name suggests, literally reaping souls. To do what with? It is unknown. Some suggest they feed on them. Others that they let them drift off into the unknown next plane of existence. Some have even suggested that Reapers are the tools of Death; predators used to keep humanity from overextending. Like coyotes, whom keep the populations of hares and woodland creatures from overpopulating.
"Know this. It is not cowardice to run from a Grim Reaper. Huntsmen and huntresses stronger than you and in teams larger than you have gone up against these monsters and lost. Only a select few from around the entirety of Remnant are sanctioned to go up against Reapers and exterminate them. Even when you graduate from Beacon. You may be the strongest from among your peers. The smartest, dare I say even the bravest of the lot. You will not be allowed to try your hands at fighting a Grim Reaper without a team of your equals and a decade's worth of experience on your belt. I have never gone up against a Reaper. Even one as brave and talented as I, the mighty Peter Port! I would rather flee than risk my life trying to take down this beast. Grim Reapers are not to be taken lightly. You will study them in depth in your later years, but pray you do not see one during your youth."
With those final words sending a shudder of fear through the class, the bell rang. Students stood up and grabbed their belongings, placing books and pencils into their bags and slinging backpacks over their shoulders. They talked pleasantly with their friends and teammates, many of them glad that the professor did not assign homework that first day.
"Hey Rubes, you alright?" Yang said, shouldering her bag and cracking her neck.
I could only nod. My fingers were wrapped around the bottom of my seat with an iron-grip. My face, like my knuckles, ghostly pale.
This was what hunters thought of me. This was what I was to them. The antithesis of life. The cause of all deaths ever in history. The creature among all the countless monsters which roam this world to be feared above all else. A shiver ran down my spine.
What did I get myself into?
So, that happened. This was definitely my favourite chapter to write so far. Let me know if you want to see more class chapters like this. They will be showing up from time to time interspersed with the usual story. And thank you all! This story has just reached 100 Followers. I am so thankful and my mind had been completely blown. As a little surprise and gift to everyone for helping me reach this milestone, I have a little surprise for you. See you all Thursday! ;)
IanAlphaAxel - Glad you enjoyed it!