Chapter 9

-[Ozpin]-

Sitting in his office, the white haired headmaster observed a screen being projected on his desk. Behind him was Glynda Goodwitch who held a frown as she too watched the screen.

"I don't understand why you keep allowing him to go there. The emerald forest is not a place to be taken lightly." Glynda complained as they watched the camera feed of a blond haired boy finishing off a Beowulf.

"Mister Arc is a…peculiar case. He has proven more than capable of handling himself in the forest." Ozpin said as he sipped from his cup of coffee.

"He wouldn't have needed to prove anything if you'd stopped him the first time he snuck his way there." The blonde disciplinarian huffed in slight frustration.

"It's going to be fine, Glynda. After all, aren't students supposed to challenge themselves?" Ozpin asked rhetorically as the feed zoomed in on Rowan who looked a bit spaced out.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

The knock on the door took their attention as not a second later, it opened as a well built man entered the room.

"Oh hello Julius, what brings you here today?" Ozpin greeted curiously as the blond man closed the door behind him.

-[Rowan]-

After getting the [Huntsman in Training] title, he decided to milk the benefits for all it was worth. After a short deliberation, he didn't exactly see the need to ask for permission to enter the emerald forest.

He was aware that he was being observed by Ozpin and possibly Glynda each time. That was just how the man was. He didn't attempt to stop Rowan and simply watched.

A few weeks had passed since his first day at Beacon and he'd already settled into a rough routine. His mornings and afternoons were spent in class or at the library trying to raise his non physical stats while his nights were spent grinding in the emerald forest.

Watching the Grimm dissipate, he pulled up his menu.

•••

Name: Rowan Arc

Title: [Huntsman in Training]

Level:53

HP: 8260/8260 [236 per minute]

AP: 11,110/11,110(12,110) [645 per 30 seconds]

STR: 112

DEX: 149

VIT: 118

INT: 173

WIS: 129

Points: 60

•••

He hadn't spent his stat points from leveling up, wanting to attempt to raise them without them but it was proving to be difficult.

The stats that had increased the most were STR and WIS but even then it was slow for the amount of time that had passed.

At this point, nothing short of lifting tires for hours would net him any quick progress. Had his schedule not already been full, he would have seriously considered doing that.

'At this rate I'll be forced to use my points soon.' He thought as he made his way back to the school dormitory.

His situation with his team hadn't gotten any better and it certainly didn't help that he was barely in the room despite being the supposed leader.

He spent his nights in the emerald forest, only returning to take a bath and change into his uniform just in time for classes.

-[Later]-

Glynda's combat class had just ended and it was time for everyone to have lunch. Rowan was somewhat frustrated with the woman.

In the few weeks that he had been at Beacon, the woman had barely called on him to fight during class, opting to call out Cardin, Russel or Neela.

The one good thing was that he figured out the Branwen spy's fighting style. She fought a lot like Ren in that they both targeted their opponents from a distance. The difference between them was that Neela, unlike Ren, constantly switched between using her guns and going closer with her daggers.

The aim of such a style was to fight without giving the opponent a chance to properly prepare any form of retaliation. Another thing he noted was that while she wasn't that strong physically, she was fast.

Not as fast as he was but still fast. She had yet to use her semblance so he could only speculate on what it was from the name.

Seated in the cafeteria, he perused a book in his hand, the plate of food in front of him remaining untouched.

"Um Rowan. Do you by any chance want to be a doctor?" Pyrrha asked politely from her seat beside Jaune.

Team RWBY and Team JNPR were seated facing each other while Rowan sat mostly alone on the far side of the table. The person seated nearest to him was Blake who was still cautious of him. The person on the other side was a random student.

"No. Why do you ask?" Rowan asked in slight confusion.

"Well it's just that…" Pyrrha started, trailing off as Ren continued for her.

"You've been reading so many medical books lately. It kind of makes one wonder." Ren stated, enlightening him on the reason for Pyrrha's question.

He was working on something and to do that, he needed [Medical Knowledge] to a decently high level. Of course he wasn't going to tell them that.

"I just really love books." Rowan answered, getting a subtle look from Blake and a gasp from Nora.

"You said the 'L' word!" She exclaimed, drawing a dry stare from him.

"Oh grow up." He chided offhandedly as he turned his attention back to the book. His eyes briefly shifted to Jaune who distractedly playing with his food before taking his eyes off.

The older Arc had been silent and reclusive for a while now and he was sure it wasn't just because of Cardin. With Jaune's misplaced pride, Rowan couldn't do anything that wouldn't make it worse.

In the original, Pyrrha succeeded in helping him from his slump due to a lot of things, one of them being that she was already recognized for her skill.

For Jaune who had seen Rowan grow up with his head stuck in books for nights on end, he would feel even worse if his younger and formerly fragile brother who was now excelling at fighting came up to help him sort out his issues.

'That kind of stupid pride could get him into trouble one day.' Rowan thought sadly as he caught sight of something that made him frown.

"Excuse me for a moment." He said, dropping the book to the table and excusing himself.

He moved to the other side of the cafeteria where Cardin and Russel were in the process of bullying a certain bunny faunus.

"Are they real?" Russel asked as Cardin stretched his hand towards Velvet's ears.

"Of course they are." Before his hand could touch them, another hand strongly gripped his wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rowan questioned, slowly increasing his grip.

"Why do you care, 'leader'? This is none of your busines-!" The words got lost in Cardin's throat as he suddenly used a lot of power to grip the wrist in his grasp, a quiet crack ringing out as the boy dropped to the ground in pain.

"Ahh! You little…!" Rowan's shoes made contact with his face, instantly knocking him unconscious.

He then turned to Russel who gulped under Rowan's gaze. "Get him out of here." He said simply as the other boy scampered to drag Cardin out of the cafeteria.

Noting that Velvet was gone, Rowan then turned to Neela who was seated opposite where the two idiots previously were.

"What?" The girl asked.

"You didn't bother to stop them?" He questioned, causing the girl to shrug nonchalantly.

"Why should I? I don't care either way." She answered, causing him to shake his head. "Should you really be complaining, absentee leader?"

"If you've got something to say then say it." He said, staring her straight in the eye.

"You really think they're going to take orders from a leader who's gone more than half the day? There's also the fact that you've done nothing in your tenure as the so-called leader. A good leader brings results." She added with an eye roll.

"Take a look at the so-called 'team' you're talking about and you can guess why I'm not so enthusiastic about even being around you three." He said as the doors to the cafeteria opened, Glynda walking in with a stern look on her face.

"Mr Arc, follow me." She said curtly.

As he took a step forward, he heard Neela mutter. "Whatever, you're weak anyways."

He didn't bother acknowledging that statement, following Glynda as he was led out of the cafeteria. He felt the pitying gazes of Team RWBY and JNPR on him.

As he followed Glynda, he noted that they were heading towards Ozpin's office. 'Figures, I just broke someone's hand. I'm not fixing it though.'

As they exited the elevator, Rowan paused for a moment before continuing like nothing happened.

"Good afternoon professor." He greeted, standing in front Ozpin and now Glynda.

"A good afternoon to you as well." The white haired man greeted in return. "While I would like to discuss your bold activities in the cafeteria, there are other matters I wish to speak to you about."

Rowan suddenly ducked, a large fist going through where his head previously was. Throwing a low roundhouse kick, his attacker jumped over it only for Rowan to plant his palms on the floor, launching himself upwards with his feet out.

His feet slammed into the chest of his airborne opponent, sending them back to the floor, skidding a few feet.

"Why are you everywhere?" Rowan asked, slightly complaining as he looked at the older blond man who showed a grin on his face.

"Mister Arc!" Glynda exclaimed sternly, drawing two pairs of eyes. She sighed, massaging her temple before correcting herself. "Julius, why on earth would you do that?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Come on, I just wanted to see how he's coming along so far." The man said with a grin before turning to Rowan, giving him a thumbs up. "Well done."

"What are you doing here?" Rowan asked in exasperation.

"That is what we're here to discuss." Ozpin said, interjecting and drawing Rowan's attention. Julius stepped forward to stand beside his son.

"Since you can't seem to sit still, you're coming with me. We're going on a mission." Julius declared, his grin only growing wider.

"Huh? Is that even allowed?" Rowan asked, turning to Ozpin.

"Technically yes. It's not rare for a huntsman to take on an apprentice. Students shadowing professional huntsmen occur all the time." The man answered.

Unlike what he thought, Rowan didn't need convincing. He was more than happy to go on a mission and hunt Grimm. Julius also seemed to be aware of that seeing as how he didn't attempt to convince him.

"If you're worried about classes and your grade, have no fear. Should you choose to go along with this mission, your performance will determine your grade for the courses you missed during the time that elapses." Ozpin said before adding. "Or you could choose to take the tests when you return."

"For the record, I still think this is a terrible idea." Glynda commented.

"So, what's it going to be?" Julius asked despite already knowing the answer, prompting a huff from Glynda.

-[Later]-

It didn't take long for him to pack the essentials from his room. There was no grand send off or anything seeing as how he didn't inform anyone of his exit or the reason for it.

He did tell Pyrrha to keep Jaune away from Cardin, leaving the poor girl confused but she agreed nonetheless.

Rowan was currently in an airship leaving Beacon with Julius who seemed to be having the time of his life.

"It's just like the old days with me and grandfather. He'd take me on missions all the time when I was a kid, though that was when rules weren't that strict." Julius said with a laugh as they say in the cabin area of the airborne vehicle.

"How did you even convince Ozpin to allow this?" Rowan questioned.

"Oh Ozpin and I go way back. Though as you saw back there, Glynda isn't too happy about this idea." The man answered, missing the slight narrowing of Rowan's eyes.

He knew Julius was part of Ozpin's inner circle which meant that Ozpin most likely knew about his 'Semblance'. The man was extremely lenient and bent the rules for individuals he saw benefits in, such as team STRQ and team RWBY.

He didn't know the man's angle when it came to him so he had to be cautious about the headmaster.

"Where are we going anyway? What's the mission?" He had forgotten to ask that before they left.

"You may not have noticed but the Grimm are getting stronger, more…prevalent than usual." Julis answered in a serious tone. "About a week ago, a group of huntsmen and huntresses took on a mission to Shion village to clear a pack of Grimm that had been lurking close to the town."

"The last we heard of them, three out of five of them were injured. They also said they saw a strange Grimm."

At least now he was partially aware of why Julius wanted him to come along but that didn't come without its own questions.

"A strange Grimm? Strange in what way?" Rowan asked.

"They say it didn't attack them, simply staying behind the pack of Grimm while the huntsmen dealt with them. It was only until they attacked it that it retaliated, injuring the three that I mention." Julius answered, pausing to make sure Rowan was following along. "The team that went, they're good fighters. If a Grimm can injure three of them to the point they have to call for backup, I can only imagine how strong that Grimm is."

'I don't recall anything like this. If there was a Grimm that strong early on, it would have at least been mentioned.' Rowan wondered for a moment, realizing that there were a lot of things that could be different from what his knowledge told him. 'If there's a Grimm strong enough to fend off five professional huntsmen and seriously injure three, I can't hold back anything.'

•••

Name: Rowan Arc

Title: [Huntsman in Training]

Level:53

HP: 8260/8260 [236 per minute]

AP: 11,110/11,110(12,110) [645 per 30 seconds]

STR: 112

DEX: 149

VIT: 118

INT: 173

WIS: 129

Points: 60

•••

'If I want to be able to use 'that', I'll need more Aura.' He thought, thinking about the latest skill he'd been working on.

With a heavy heart, he assigned 27 points to INT, taking it to 200.

[Perk Gained]

[Aura Factory] - 200 INT

[Additional 30 AP per 1 INT]

He felt his aura reserves shoot up instantly but he wasn't done. He assigned 10 points each to STR and DEX before dumping the remaining 13 in VIT.

•••

Name: Rowan Arc

Title: [Huntsman in Training]

Level:53

HP: 9170/9170 [262 per minute]

AP: 19,000/19,000(20,000) [645 per 30 seconds]

STR: 122

DEX: 159

VIT: 131

INT: 200

WIS: 129

Points: 0

Ap Regen = WIS X 5

AP = INT X 100

Health = VIT X 70

HP Regen = VIT X 2

•••

'That is a lot of aura.' He thought, holding in the urge to whistle. In the event that he got pressured, he could always release the [Bookmark] he had on Neela and regain his spent 1000 AP.

As he thought over possible scenarios on how the mission would play out, he missed the subtle look that Julius sent his way.