3 Chapter 3
A/Ns at the bottom of the chapter
I don't own RWBY or any of its characters
I only own my OCs…
Maybe.
"A nest?" I asked, as calmly as I could.
There was not a lot of calm and my words expressed themselves more as a squeak.
"Yeah, pretty simple, right?" Qrow kept smirking like the bastard he was.
"When you said dangerous, I thought you were kidding." I mumbled.
"Now, why would I do that?" He was mocking me. I know that he's mocking me. "Besides, the nest is new. It shouldn't be any more simple than to kill a few Grimm then murder the big bad boss."
"Qrow, I got a named quest for this mission," I warned him. "Named quests usually become bad over time. Me ignoring the quest also means tempting Murphy's Law to come kick me in the ass."
"How bad do they usually get?" He asked curiously.
"It got bad. I remember a bit when I was 10, I think. I was just doing my usual rounds of hunting beowolves when I landed right into their den. Let's just say that Dad chewed me out and there were no more beowolves. Though the exp gain wasn't anything to desire." I muttered the last part to myself.
There were at least 30 wolves in the area. If I combined the exp I got from it, I got 2200, 1500 from killing the wolves and 700 from the quest itself.
It was on quests like those that reminded me why my power was broken yet cheap at the same time.
It also doesn't help that all my quests did not give me the amount of EXP I would receive upon completion. Usually, the amount of EXP and rewards you gain after the quest gives you another gauge to measure the difficulty of a mission, but without it… well, essentially, you're going into the quest blind.
I did not like going into a quest blind.
I nervously fingered with my newfound sword. I should probably name it to make it easier for me. "Can you at least tell me the mission details?" I begged him. I need at least some semblance of information.
My uncle just snorted. "Sure. We're going into the Grimm's nest to shut it down. It's supposedly new and a few miles away from Vale's border. Reports show that the Grimm coming around the area were young ones, only a few having a powerful enough exoskeleton." Well, at least he doesn't keep information hidden. That's one thing I could appreciate from my uncle.
"Should is the keyword," I supplied. "Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, Uncle. You should know that best."
He grunted in reply. "Believe me, kiddo. I know that all too well."
I was confused for awhile, not knowing what to make of the sentence he just said. He glanced at me and probably noticed my strange expression and tried to dissuade my worries. "Don't worry about it."
So of course, as any logical human would react, I worried about it.
Or is it just me? God knows that I'm not exactly a logical person myself, my ability speaks for itself.
"We're closing in on the LZ. Fifteen minutes, tops." The pilot spoke through the intercom. I worriedly glance at Qrow and he just gave me a shake of the head.
"He can't hear us unless we shout. I know you want to keep your secondary ability secret, so I'll just trust you for now. As long as it doesn't interfere with the mission."
"It shouldn't." I assured him. My grip on the sword tightens. "So what do we do when we get to the nest?"
Qrow looked at me. "We bust in, crack some heads, kill the big bad, get out. As it is, the big bad shouldn't even be big at all."
"Shouldn't," I reminded him again. "Shouldn't is a keyword."
"Yeah, it is." He nodded. I paled.
"You're not even denying it? Not even to make me feel better?"
"Hey, I shouldn't try to sugarcoat it. You should have known what you were walking into when you accepted my apprenticeship."
"I was expecting to help some villages guard against some stray Grimm." I informed him. "I did not expect a class A extermination."
"Actually, when I got the mission it was just supposed to be a Class B," He so cheerfully told me. "Though if your worries are right and I felt it right, it could be elevated to Class A."
I groan and bang my head on the walls of the Bullhead. "Ow."
"Yeah, that happens when you inflict self pain." Qrow nodded sagely, like he's done it before several times.
"Shut up, smartass uncle." I grumble as I try to use my old sheath to fit my new sword. "Damn, doesn't fit."
"We'll get one for you after the mission," Qrow waved off my concerns. "We'll also get you a combat outfit. That's pretty much a required set for any Huntsman, really."
I dryly glanced at him. "I bet it's also required that new hunters be fully adjusted before going into a class A extermination mission."
"Hey, if anything, you're bound to get lots of experience for this." At this, Qrow smirked at me. "That should be fun and good for you."
"Those would be some very sexy numbers," I mumbled. "The numbers don't make up for the danger though. Usually. Unless my ability decides to stop being a cheapskate and give me the proper EXP that actually scales with difficulty then I'm not going to hope for the best."
He snorted at me. "Please, you've maxed out your Bladed… thing, right?"
"Bladed Melee, and yes, I did." I supplied and answered, waiting to see where he was going with this.
"What does that exactly mean?" He asked curiously.
"100% mastery to any Bladed Weapon. Knives, Swords, Katanas, Spears…" I glance at him to see him, for once, shocked. "You know, the like."
"A hundred percent?" He murmured. "That's.. that's… wow. I didn't really understand it when you said you lived life like a game but… your ability is bullshit, has anyone told you that?"
"I tell myself that everyday, yes." I nodded sagely. "I stopped trying to understand it and just lived with the regret that I'm essentially cheating and accepted that I'm getting stronger."
"A regret that's hopefully fading away?" He asked regarding my 'regret'.
"I'm regretting it not as much if it helps," I told him, ignoring his eye roll and scoff. 'Children.'
It feels good to make him scoff for once.
Suddenly, the Bullhead started moving really fast. I held on the my armrests as the ship decided to take a twirl, leaving me a little sick to the stomach. Qrow looked better than me at this regard, but he had a look of annoyance on his face as he held on tight.
The intercom piped up. "LZ is hot, I repeat, LZ is hot. Executing evasive maneuvers."
"You could've told that to us before you started doing them," I mumbled as I tried to control my stomach.
"Don't worry kid, you'll get used to it."
"Shut up."
The Bullhead banked again, and Qrow barked a few words that I never would have said myself.
"Open the door, pilot! We're dropping off!"
What.
What does he mean dropping off, and why are we dropping from several hundred feet up?
I got my answer for the first one, and made me doubt his sanity on the second one.
The door on the side of the Bullhead opened up vertically. I could see a murder of Nevermores below and beside us, squawking in anger. A few Nevermores tried to shoot us down with a bunch of feathers, a few embedding themselves into the metal framework and the others out of my sight.
Qrow stood up and shakily strode to the edge of the exit. He peered down and squinted then looked back to me. "Well, kid, looks like this mission did escalate."
I cursed. "What do we do?"
"First, we gotta kill these annoying birds," Qrow stated, as if it was any normal everyday thing. "Then, we gotta kill those annoying wolves, bears, snakes, and pretty much everything else down there."
I bang my head on the wall again.
"Hey, that hurt less this time."
Qrow snorted. He flicked something on his weapon and it folded for the lack of a better term.
It folded forwards, making a few gears—'I always wondered what those were for.'—rotate and click together, which signaled the completion of the transformation.
He saw me looking with an open mouth and smirked. "Mechashift weapons do tend to have that effect on people."
His shifted weapon still bore similarities to the sword, except the point was something akin to a shotgun barrel and the grip tilted 90 degrees to be a handle for the weapon. It was a shotgun.
"Your sword is a gun?!" I shouted over the winds, which were starting to get louder as the Bullhead got faster and faster.
"It is a gun and much more," He nodded sagely, not at all bothered by our increasing speed.
"Get ready to drop. 30 seconds!"
Qrow basically shoved me up to next to him. "Alright, kid. You got 30 seconds to think of a landing strategy. Think of it as practice for Beacon."
I grumbled in annoyance. "If I keep doing these kinds of missions with you, I doubt I would even need to go to Beacon."
He chuckled. "That would be a good thing, right?"
"It would be," I agreed. "If I actually lived through it."
"15 seconds!"
"Get ready," Qrow told me.
"He just literally told us the estimated time."
"10!"
"So, did you name your new sword yet?"
"9!"
"No, not really."
"8!"
"Why not?"
"7!"
"Too lazy. Too hectic," "6!" "I'll do it after this mission."
"5!"
"You better name it something good then."
"4!"
"Yeah, I wouldn't dare name it anything shitty."
"3!"
"Language."
"2!"
"Oh screw off, Uncle."
"1!"
"That's our cue." With that, Qrow jumped off.
I really doubt my uncle's sanity.
Regardless of my doubts on his sanity, I jumped off the Bullhead, flipping around to see it fly off, the murder of Nevermores training their attentions towards the two Aura filled targets quickly descending towards the ground at break neck speeds. Literally.
Qrow landed a bit before me, except he landed on a Nevermore that strayed off the murder. He looked at me for awhile but I quickly dropped past him, so I couldn't catch any words he might have said. Though, if I caught the gist of it, I believe it would be something like 'Take care of the Grimm below.'.
My theory gained evidence when he shot off the Nevermore's head, then immediately jumping off to a new one.
I set my sights on the closing ground. There were a lot of Grimm, way more than the Beowolf den I found in Patch. I could count at least a hundred, and that's not counting the ones inside the cave. There weren't only Beowolves too. I see at least a few Ursa, a snake thing I'm not familiar about, and a few oversized scorpions.
This situation keeps getting better and better.
I was, however, knocked off my trajectory when a smaller Nevermore hit my sides.
It was at least a dozen times smaller than the ones above us. It probably thought it could get a free meal out of me.
Nope.
I gripped my sword tight and channel Aura into it. I bring it down on it's head, morbidly satisfied in the scream it emitted as it melted and dissolved into black material.
Woah. It was a really good sword.
I got my landing strategy a second more after the oversized bird hit me. I used my Aerokinesis to push the winds against my fall.
Aura Check Success: 64/50
Hey, I guess my Luck is better on these kinds of things than missions.
Perk earned: Vacuum
Unique Perk! Can be used to pull things towards the player, or be unorthodoxly used as a slowing tactic.
The game does love poking fun at me.
Despite the snide comment, it worked perfectly and I felt my descent flow. More than a few Grimm decided to take advantage of my slow descent and were running towards me. I noticed a few pig grimm—Boarbatusks, if I recall correctly. I hadn't seen them when I was falling because they were too small—advance faster than the rest. They had an exoskeleton.
Information seems to be wrong already, as if it wasn't already wrong when the giant Nevermores attacked.
I cut off my Semblance prematurely, causing me to fall faster. I raise my acid sword above my head, Aura already channeling into it.
At a height like this, the fall wouldn't matter much.
I charged my semblance at the blade of my sword, carefully mixing it and the effects of the acidic dust in the sword…
Aura Check Success: 64/60
And I landed.
I slammed my sword down upon a Boarbatusk, making it squeal in pain as the blade effortlessly melted through its armor. A shockwave of wind formed from where it got hit, a green effect accompanying the normally uncolored winds.
It was a perk that I had already used before, but this time, it had an acidic effect with it. I frowned as I realized I didn't get EXP or a new perk. I guess even making the perk have a different element doesn't give me new EXP since it's still a variation.
The Grimm that would have converged upon my location were hit with the direct brunt of the shockwave. I idly note that some of their armor were melting and the lesser, weaker Grimm were howling in pain.
I took my opportunity.
Time to take my 100 points on Bladed Mastery to the test.
I ignore the Boarbatusk I just demolished and faced the horde in front of me. I ready my sword beside me, seeing it already charged green with Aura and dashed.
I slice off an arm with the sword, then a head with another. I flip over a writhing Ursa, bringing my sword in between its head mid flip and cutting its head in half. I crouch when I land and do a spin with my sword extended outwards, cutting the Beowolves around me in half. I narrowed my eyes and flip backwards as the snake Grimm revealed itself to me again.
It was fully black, just like any other Grimm, except where the others had an exoskeleton, this one had scales. It also had markings on the head, and its red eyes were similar to that of a bug. Compounded.
I flip back as an Ursa took the chance I gave it with a roar, making it run towards me and slash. Slow. I dashed forwards and impale it straight through the chest, tearing out my sword and slicing off another Beowolf's head in quick succession.
Behind me.
I parried the snake's diving head, making it hiss and back off, observing me. I'd heard that Grimm were intelligent, but this… this was more intelligence than what I expected with Qrow's botched intel.
But then again, it was botched so I shouldn't really rely on it, should I?
I melted another Boarbatusk's exoskeleton and cut through its hide quick, running forwards quickly. Left, decapitated Beowolf, Right, dead pig, above, dead Ursa, front, pierced a few wolves. Slow.
I don't know why I expected this mission to be too hard.
I should slap myself. I shouldn't have tempted fate.
Thankfully, Fate didn't act yet and I didn't find myself surrounded by Elder Grimm. The snake hissed at me and dove forwards. I jumped, making it miss and hit the ground instead. My sword, still glowing green, dropped through its neck, leaving it dead.
I twirl my sword around, fully cutting off the head and dropping it to the earth. I turn around to take care of the dozens of other Grimm in the surroundings before I dove to the right, following my danger sense.
It was the snake, except it was white. It was hissing at me, and it looked pissed. I glanced at over where I killed the other snake. Seeing it was still dead, I was sort of thankful this wasn't some sort of powerboost.
"Got you pissed, didn't I?" I murmured. Over the sound of the growls and howls, it wouldn't be heard, and I intend to keep it that way.
I charged my semblance to my blade again and run forward, parrying any attacks that came close to me and slicing off appendages and the occasional head. The snake slithered faster than I thought it would, making me slice empty air when I went for its head.
My eyes widened as it went for my sides, but I successfully parried the attack and was instead sent back into the sea of Grimm.
I cursed as I was sent flying, but I activated my Semblance again, this time, using my new perk Vacuum towards the annoying snake.
I don't think it expected me to rebound, because it stopped hissing when I flew back and sliced its head off.
I rolled as I landed behind the dead snake Grimm, noting with satisfaction that the snake's body landed after I crouched. I stood up and observed the Grimm around me. They were a bit hesitant to fight me now, though a bit more angry.
Instead of attacking like I expected, however, the lesser Grimm retreated inside the cave. I cut down as much Grimm that was passing as I can, more than a few bearing fatal lacerations and several dead when they ran.
Watching the Grimm retreat in the cave, I could only tilt my head in confusion.
I thought Grimm were mindless creatures—my thoughts were cut off when I heard a rumble behind me.
"What's up with powerful Grimm deciding to come out of the ground to surprise me?" I sighed. I was likely not to get an answer.
The ground broke open as a black pincer appeared. A little more behind it, a golden stinger pierced the ground, and the ground broke off as an oversized scorpion took itself off the ground and shook off the earth that it came with.
My god.
It was armored on the points that I could easily graze. The weak points themselves were filled with earth, which would make anyone with a normal sword or rapier deflate.
Not with the sword I have, though.
I jumped as the scorpion used its tail to try to pierce me, burying it on the solid earth below. I heard it growl in annoyance for a second as it tried to pry its stinger free from the earth, but a single second is enough for me to push myself forward with my Semblance and melt the appendage from the scorpion.
It made a loud, unfamiliar sound that was akin to something in pain. Its eyes flashed dangerously as it crawled near me. I just ready myself in response, eyes narrowed as I prepared myself. In a blur, I was in front of it, my sword positioned right in front of its face, already glowing green. It easily plunges into the supposedly powerful armor, making it scream and then settle down, before disintegrating into particles.
I disable the sword's effect with satisfaction as I watch it disintegrate. While it wasn't as hard as it could have been, it was one of the harder things that I had to fight. I imagine that without this new sword, it would be pretty annoying to fight something that had no chinks in its armor.
Out of nowhere, a Nevermore crashed behind me. I throw myself forwards and twist my foot, making me face the already disintegrating Nevermore. I see Qrow jump off and casually flick something, making the scythe on his hands transform into a sword.
"Is there anything else your weapon can turn into?" I asked him, irritated. Why did he need a scythe if he already had a sword?
He shrugged in response. "None, really. You've seen all that you needed," He glanced behind me. "Is that a Deathstalker?"
"A Deathstalker?" I questioned, confusion overtaking my features for a moment. "You mean the scorpion?"
He paused. "Yeah, the scorpion. Did it give you any trouble?"
I shook my head. "Was it supposed to?"
Qrow sighed. "Yes. I saw that thing up in the air while you were having fun with the King Taijitu—the snake. Yes, it's the snake. Learn your Grimm next time—It was older than the intel suggested. Be more careful."
I grunted. "I pretty much thought that when I saw the Giant Nevermores. Don't need to tell me twice."
He stares at me, baffled. "You know what Nevermores are but not what Deathstalkers and Taijitus are?"
"I don't like birds that could eat me up if I went to high with my Aerokinesis."
Qrow pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Of course."
We take cautious steps forward, watching the cave for any Grimm movement. "You know, I would be proud of you essentially taking care of the Grimm presence in the surface," Qrow admitted as we stood outside the cave. "Not a lot of Huntsmen could do that, and they're usually pretty good."
"Thank you," I didn't turn to look at him when I acknowledged his compliment, too busy observing the darkness of the cave for anything hidden. "Do you see anything?"
I don't see his face, but I imagine he raised a brow. "Doesn't your ability help with that?"
"I can't raise my base stats, and it's at 3. I intend to get something for it," I answered. I can't see anything other than the darkness, so I hope Qrow can do it.
Instead, he just shook his head when I snuck a glance at him. "Nah, we're clear. Still though, you have low charisma and low vision—"
"Perception," I corrected him.
"Perception," He repeated with more than a little sarcasm. "Do you have anything else that's low?"
I shook my head as a no. "My Endurance and Luck is average, which is 5. Intelligence is above average at 7, Strength is a point above at 8 so I'm way stronger than anyone above my age and possibly older, and my Agility is maxed at 10, making me faster than a lot of things. And people. I'm fast in general."
"Obviously, speed isn't the only advantage with that," Qrow surmised. He was right, I suppose.
"Yeah. Attack speed, which is exactly as it sounds scales off it too. I'm also quick on my feet and move more fluidly. I have speed and grace."
Qrow just shook his head with a sigh. "I think I know why you wanted to keep this power a secret, I'm getting jealous on how broken it is already."
"Don't lie to me, uncle."
"You're right, I am jealous," He smirks and ruffles my hair. "Now, let's jump in the hellhole, shall we?"
"There's a hole inside?"
"… Does your low charisma affect your perception on expressions too?" Qrow asked, exasperated.
"It's actually a bit of both. Charisma and Perception, I mean." I supplied him, watching as he groaned and palmed his head.
"How am I gonna get you better at talking to people if we can't even change that?"
Well eventually, I convinced Qrow to not charge in yet, not until we got what we needed, like flashlights. He seemed to accept that reasoning, so he got out a scroll, a device so wonderful that I wonder why I don't have it yet, and called in the Bullhead.
The pilot landed outside the cave, its blades kicking up dust under it as it landed. Qrow rushed for the Bullhead and went in quickly, before getting out with two miner caps and tossing one to me. He gave the pilot a thumbs up, to which the pilot responded by making the Bullhead gather more power and fly away before looking back on the cave.
"There's your cap, snowflake." He snorted.
"I don't want to fight anything I can't see," I tell him seriously. "Low perception sucks."
"You basically got through an army of Grimm with instincts and you're telling me that you can't get through a cave of them."
"The winds don't help me perceive much in a cave."
It was true. My semblance was very helpful in regards to my lack of Perception. It gave me a sort of perception around me as long as the winds were blowing, which means with my semblance, always blowing thus giving me an advantage on any open area. In an enclosed space like the cave, however, the winds were far weaker and thus gives me a lower perception bonus. The only bonus I retained regardless of area was Air Step, which gives me a 30% boost in Speed.
Huh, actually, if I get Light Feet with it, I would be even faster.
That's going to be my next Trait. 20% boost was nothing to scoff at, especially if the base stats were already big enough already.
"You use your winds to feel—actually, you know what? I'll just stop questioning it. I should just accept that my apprentice is broken." Qrow sighed yet again as he accepted my abilities.
"My abilities scale off with my age." I added helpfully, just to get a rise out of him.
"And you're 12, nearing 13, right?" I feel like he's going to bang his head on something now. "I can't believe I'm just realizing this now."
I rolled my eyes and turn on my miner cap. The cave was something typical of a game design. A large cavern from an unassuming entrance, and an even bigger cave entrance inside it. The ground was weathered with the footsteps of the Grimm, the walls having several claw marks and even a Beowolf shaped indent on it. Nice.
Qrow and I rush forward, immediately stopping to investigate inside the entrance. There was nothing inside the entrance except two pathways. I could see the Grimm's footsteps on both paths. Qrow and I shared a look.
"Should we split up?" I asked, hesitant, waiting for his response.
He looked conflicted for a moment, eyes flicking towards the two pathways then to me, then to the sword currently strapped to my waist (the strap coming along with the sword). It glinted in the light the cap flashed, making it seem more dangerous than it was before.
"My good conscience that sounds like Taiyang is telling me to keep you close to me and wait for reinforcements," He smirked. "But I've seen what you can do with that sword. You're definitely better at it than me at both skill and control." He paused as he casually strolled towards the left path.
"Give 'em hell, kid." With that, he dashed inside.
A prompt surfaced on my vision, and I read it as quick as I could.
Quest Updated: Grim Outcome
Destroy the Grimm's Nest
Meet up with Qrow at the end of the tunnels
Well if there's an upside to this whole thing, I get to kill Grimm and there's a proverbial if not literal light to the end of this tunnel. I dash to the right path and run as fast as I could, oddly noting the lack of Grimm in the tunnel.
Shouldn't have thought that, I thought as a gargoyle of all things appeared on my path. It had a Grimm Mask adorned over the head of the Gargoyle, and I wasted no time burying my sword into its mask, quickly strapping my sword again.
Thank God for the Quick Draw skills, I sighed. Bladed Mastery was a really good investment.
The Bladed Mastery trait was good in more ways than one. Other than giving me more attack speed and damage with anything bladed, I learned that I could use my aura to do sword skills. Some were Quick Draw ones, like the one I just executed, others were Power Strikes or Combo Skills like Atom, which was essentially 12 quick and hard hits that would probably cut something like a Beowolf into several pieces, though I imagine with this new sword… I salivate at the thought.
There was the downside however, of me having to state the name of the skill if it's more than 5 hits. Thankfully, I can keep it as quiet as I want, but I don't want to ruin my surprise factor so early into the fight. There was no silent casting trait yet, but I imagine it won't be long if I keep on going on Extermination missions.
Qrow looked awfully pleased at my work and he didn't seem fazed after he killed all the Nevermores on the skies. I'm detecting a lack of care, that, or he does this a lot.
I skid to a stop as I enter a big cavern. Seeing as there was no Qrow I assume it's not our rendezvous. There's also the issue of a lot of lesser Grimm being on the cavern. I guess this is where my half went when they ran away.
Remember my Combo Skills that I just explained a while back?
Well…
"Atom." I uttered, executing a 12-hit combo skill. Looking at the results of 12 white slashes that seemed to appear out of nowhere kill countless Grimm, I couldn't help but feel a bit smug.
With the single skill, I had carved out an area for me to dash in and execute my skills. "Swords Dance." Unfortunately, it wasn't like the Pokemon move which let me get better speed and damage. It was, however, a glorified spin attack. I was a metal beyblade, except I killed monsters instead of people.
Did beyblades even kill people?
I don't remember.
I stopped spinning after the 21st hit, the maximum hit for the move and activated yet another combo skill. "Release."
It was a skill that I named myself. While for any other slow outsider, it looked like it was only 3 sword slashes in a straight line. In reality, it was actually several slashes in those three lines which allows me to kill more stuff as I can just cut through the initial resistance a few times to get further. In total, it was a 24 hit combo.
It was, in a way, a release of my sword.
The Grimm in front of me were disintegrating as I strapped my weapon to my side again casually. Thank God they were gone. These small fry were boring but there were a lot of them and I didn't want to waste more than a few minutes even if it meant me use high cost skills. Though they did give EXP—wait, did I just level up? Holy shit, let me see that.
Crimson Branwen (LV. 8)
Health: 270
Aura: 200
Semblance: Aerokinesis
Experience: 200/11000
S – 8
P – 3
E – 5
C – 2
I – 7
A – 10
L – 5
Skills:
Speech (Charisma): 32
Barter (Charisma): 15
Bladed Melee (Agility): 100
Blunt Melee (Strength): 49
Unarmed (Endurance): 18
Small Guns (Agility): 25
Big Guns (Strength): 20
Lockpick (Perception): 10
Repair (Intelligence): 18
Smith (Intelligence): 18
Computers (Intelligence): 18
Sneak (Agility): 51
Medicine (Intelligence): 18
Aura Manipulation (Intelligence): 64
Available Points: 17
Well that solves my low Aura problem.
I didn't have anything to use my points on yet. My semblance didn't need that much of Aura Manipulation, and I doubt any of the combat skills could aid me here right now. I decide to hold off on spending my points and skip into the Traits section to choose my new trait.
Light Feet.
Trait earned: Light Feet
Your feet are lighter now! Makes player faster by 20%.
Is it just me, or is my ability making more jokes or snide comments the more I grow up?
Dismissing the prompt, I feel the effects of the trait take hold. My feet really did feel lighter, and a short dart to the left made me go a bit further than I intended. That was good. I'm faster now, this should help if there's a boss battle that needs to be fought.
I looked straight forward and saw the tunnel again. I looked behind me to confirm that I didn't spin in the wrong direction.
It looked the same.
I took a deep breath to avoid saying a prolonged 'Fuck,' and thought of my options. I could check on both options, but I doubted Qrow would appreciate waiting for me nor would I appreciate having to dash back and forth. I considered my options and—
Wait, I can control the wind. There's no natural wind that blows inside the cave so…
I make the wind blow inside the cave. It was a bit odd, but the gust of wind came from in front of me so the entrance should have been that direction.
I turn around and shoot forward to make up for the lost time. I ignore the lesser Grimm that seemed to have been on the ground that I accidentally stepped on, making them howl in pain and chase after me through the tight tunnel. If there was an end to this tunnel, I could probably choke them all and kill them quickly. If there was a cavern like earlier, however, I bet there could be another one.
Well, if anything, it was a baseless hope. But a hope, nonetheless. The horde of Grimm behind me hasn't gotten close yet and they don't seem to be shrinking nor growing. Good. That means this tunnel is on me.
Seeing as there won't be a literal light on the end of this tunnel, I skid forward and rotate 180 degrees, towards the Grimm. My sword held beside me as I charge it up with Aura, glowing a bright green on the dark cave around me, making my face glow as I face the midnight horde with the speck of red in the occasional spot.
Unlike my previous skills, this one didn't need an outward cast. I could do it silently since it didn't exceed more than 5 hits. It was also much simpler, though a bit bigger than normal and charged with a different element.
You may remember it as a Wind Blade.
I slash my sword horizontally, green tinting the winds as it easily cut through the first wave of Grimm. As expected, it didn't take out all of the Grimm, but it didn't eat up a lot of my Aura either, my Aura Regeneration which I attributed to Aura Manipulation working wonders. I should max that out soon.
I redo my slash several more times, cutting down hordes of Grimm in the numbers. It was a simple yet effective skill. The Grimm, even if they could learn from the attack, would still be hard pressed to avoid it considering they were in a tight space. My wind blade has a set height, and setting it diagonally makes me take full advantage of my situation.
While it carved a straight path in the middle of the horde, I lunge forward and jump high, avoiding the claws of a Beowolf that got a bit too close for comfort (or maybe it was the other way around since I was the one who lunged).
Do you know the feeling in a game?
Where even your low level skills would decimate hordes of enemies and you can't help but feel proud as you showcase your skills to a bunch of newbies?
Well there weren't any newbies but the acid tinged Shockwave was something I'm still proud of doing on the fly (or fall). The Grimm that weren't murdered by the Wind Blades were being currently melted by the acid dust, those a bit further away from my effective range experiencing a burning sensation as they still howled but didn't have any noticeable acidic effects like melting their faces off. Sad.
I lunge towards the nearest Ursa that was affected by the acidic shockwave, clawing at the parts most affected by the attack. I swipe at its waist, effectively cutting it in half and darting to the side to impale a Grimm through the chest, killing it.
I tore off my sword, making the Grimm drop to the floor to disintegrate before I parried a powerful punch from another one of those statue things, except instead of a Gargoyle, it was an inanimate statue of a non descript Hunter.
Thankfully, they did not inherit the skills of said Hunter, otherwise, I would have had more trouble than it was worth. I quickly deflected another of its attacks and lunge forward, my sword poised towards its head.
It worked and I penetrated through its mask. The statue turned inanimate again as the ghostly Grimm got brought along with my lunge, disintegrating on the way down as I brought my sword to cut down another Grimm, an Ursa.
I slash in front of me, taking care of a handful of Beowolves that thought they could overwhelm me. I bring my sword behind me and twist to pierce an Ursa's heart that thought it could claw my head off, I parried five several Beowolf attacks and cut off all their heads. I don't know what I felt, but I was finally feeling the extent of my abilities for once. While my Endurance was only average on Huntsman's standards, it was still quite high and being tired was one of the few things I didn't get to enjoy on Patch. A grin started to come across my face as I cut down many of the Grimm in this tunnel, feeding my battle lust.
And so, after that, none was left. Not a single one beside the statues of the ghost Grimm that I fought, the remains of the other types of Grimm already dissolving into nothingness. I twirl my sword and strap it to my side again, reminding myself exactly why I need a sheath.
A wind blew inside the tunnels, and I set my gaze on the direction it was going. The path was clear. There were no more Grimm in these tunnels anymore, and if there were any, they'd have been dragged into the mess I made in this tunnel. I grimaced as I noticed several cuts in the walls and deep indents of the Grimm I sometimes send into the walls.
Well at least this doesn't count as property damage.
I don't have any money to pay for that and I don't know how I would make money to pay for the amount of damage I would inevitably do.
I took one look at my surroundings again and dashed towards the direction opposite the origin of the wind, intent on meeting up with Qrow at the end of this tunnel, which the Quest prompt implied. Hopefully, it didn't mean that I'll end up with Qrow fighting a boss Grimm.
Hopefully.
Thankfully, there was an end to the tunnel. After 10 minutes of running, I saw the end of the tunnel. There was no light, however, which disappointed my creative mind. This was enough however since I am frankly sick of tunnels as of today.
I slowed down to a stop as I observed the cavern I found myself in. It was bigger than the previous one, that one was something I'm sure of. It was shaped like a cone. There were only two noticeable entrances to this position, which is the one where I came from and the other to my left. I tried to look down, but it was a hard drop and I couldn't see anything besides a dark hole. Currently, I stand just a little bit from my entrance, drinking in the scenery and possible boss room, trying to use my Aura boosted Perception as much as I can.
This isn't natural.
Anyone with half a brain would know that. If it was some ancient civilization or if it was some project by the Grimm, however, remains to be seen. Honestly, I don't know which would be more terrifying. A civilization capable of doing this then dying to the Grimm or the Grimm as a capable hive mind.
Actually, if they were a hive mind, they would learn more from every Grimm that died. That's a zerg thought if it wasn't already, and one I would never want to entertain again.
I heard a bit of footsteps on the left and I snapped my head towards it. My hand unstrapped my sword and held it in a ready stance, just in case it wasn't my good for nothing Uncle.
It was him.
Quest Updated: Grim Outcome
Destroy the Grimm's Nest
Completed: Meet up with Qrow at the end of the tunnels
"Uncle Qrow!" I called out to him. He didn't look worse for wear, but he didn't look a bit tired either. I wondered if he met any Grimm on the way, and decided to ask him now. "Did you meet any Grimm on the way here?"
"No." Qrow's expression, which was a bit calm, twisted into concern when I asked. "Did you?"
"I met a few," I confirmed. "Though if you didn't meet any then it was probably what was left of the army from the surface."
Qrow's concerned face paled. "Oh crap, your dad is going to kill me."
"I don't think that should be your concern right now," I state dryly. "Look down, can you see anything?"
Qrow acknowledged my jab and request. He looked down, red eyes squinting for any source of movement as his miner cap's light showed a deeper hole than I thought. "I got nothing down there. Are you getting anything?"
"I lost my cap during the fight with the horde, so I couldn't examine anything," I informed him. "Cave's shaped like a cone though, that much I know."
"Yeah and if what you're saying is true, then there shouldn't be any Grimm left here." Qrow grumbled. "Really, why'd I even bother offering my help if you could just demolish the Grimm here?"
"I had the advantage of a choke point and my versatile sword skills," I snorted. "To be honest, I just whittled a few down from the front with a few wind blades then tore them apart when I hit enough Grimm with the Acidic Shockwave."
Qrow slowly nodded. "Smart. Acid isn't something mostly used in combat because it usually hurts the user as much as it hurts the enemy but," he glanced at me. "You don't seem to have a problem."
"I don't," I agreed wholeheartedly. "It's a sword. I'm good with swords."
"Yes, you're good at swords." Qrow admitted with a sigh. "With how much I've seen of your skills, I'm inclined to believe that you're almost as good as any third year on Beacon already. And if you're truthful about the Grimm on your way here—"
"And I am," I quipped.
"Then it's pretty safe to say you're at least fourth year level." Qrow finished.
"Only fourth year?" I asked him, disappointed. "Really?"
He looks at me dryly. "Those were Beowolves, Ursa, and Boarbatusks. They weren't even relatively old yet."
I nodded. "I also fought some ghost Grimm that possessed some statues. They were annoying."
He jerked towards me. "You fought Geists?" He sounded bewildered.
"Yeah, they were really easy to fight too," I added. "Just go for their masks. It helped that they kept their possessions small."
Qrow palmed his face. "Geists usually take over big stuff," He explained slowly, as if he was talking to a child.
…
I am offended.
"I've seen one take over a bunch of boulders and become a giant towering over any attack my team and I made. We cut off an arm, it took over a tree. We cut off a leg, it took over a boulder. They were usually fast too." He sighed again. "You're really lucky, kiddo."
I shrugged. "I don't count myself as lucky. I only have 5 on luck right now."
He stared at me.
I stare back.
"I know I said I don't mind your power, but it can also manipulate luck?" He asked, incredulous.
"One thing I know is to never bring it down to 1." I nodded like someone with a lot of experience.
"Then it should be good enough to tell you that my semblance is basically misfortune," Qrow informed me.
"Well that makes sen—wait, what?"
The ground beneath us rumbled as finally, something happened after our catch up. I caught Qrow's semblance of misfortune and deduced the fact that it was causing misfortune.
Unfortunately (no pun intended), I don't think this was misfortune on his part.
The hole beneath was then filled by an enormous worm like Grimm, flesh as dark as the night, red eyes on the side of its head and its mouth shaped like a cone. It was smaller than the cavern but just as big as the hole as it stared down at us, opening its mouth, which spread itself into three triangles with rows and rows of teeth inside and screaming.
I asked Qrow numbly. "I don't suppose this was the cause of your semblance?"
"Nope," he answered just as numbly, popping the P. "I've seen worse, but that was an entrance."
"I haven't," I replied honestly.
Quest Updated: Grim Outcome
Destroy the Grimm's Nest
Kill the Nydus Worm
Haha, it's funny because I said Zerg awhile ago.
Thankfully, it didn't do anything to attack us but instead, opened its mouth further to release hordes of Beowolves into the fray. Qrow was already in action, killing off packs of them as he held them off.
"We need to hold them off until reinforcements arrive!" Qrow shouted over the growls and parries of our weapons. "We can't let these out into the surface!"
"Like Hell I didn't know that!" I snarled as I barely parried a slash from a Beowolf. Unlike before, I didn't have a choke point to hold and the Beowolves were slowly circling us. We could go back into the caves, but I'm unsure of whether or not the Nydus Worm could take advantage of that to eat or trap us, so we essentially have to wait for others.
Quest Updated: Grim Outcome
Destroy the Grimm's Nest
Kill the Nydus Worm
Survive (4:58)
Oh, there's a timer.
For what, my reinforcements or the Nydus unleashing some God knows what attack, I didn't know. But if the Quest was telling me to survive for 5 goddamn minutes then I'm going to survive 5 goddamn minutes.
-16 HP
Thank god for Aura, I hissed as a Beowolf got a lucky nick on me. Nick was a light word when a Beowolf clawed my side. While years ago that would have caused me problems (like shaving off half my health for instance), my Aura has improved significantly since then, and the same can be said about my natural vitality.
Survive (3:34)
Just a few more now, I grit my teeth as I deflected a strike and activated an Acidic Shockwave, affecting the nearby wolves and making them yelp in pain. I couldn't afford to activate it full power with Qrow nearby as he had his own wolf problems. I'm a bit thankful that it's just some relatively young Beowolves because if it was anything else but, I imagine we wouldn't have a chance to walk out of this alive.
Survive (2:46)
So close, nearly half the time left. This timer must be slow, or Qrow and I are moving fast. I stabbed another Beowolf and sent it flying to a group that was trying to get past me, making me jump towards them and slash off their heads. I twist and slash diagonally, activating the sword, which made the wolves behind the ones I slashed feel the acidic pain.
Survive (2:13)
I jump back, panting heavily. My HP was on 264 out of 270, Aura already doing its work. But because of that and my use of skills, I'm running pretty low on juice. I can see Qrow getting tired too, so I decide to jump in with him and rely on my sword skills more than my Aura instead.
Survive (1:38)
I slash down a wolf as Qrow takes off the heads of a few wolves behind me. I lunge forward and plunge my blade on the throat of a stray wolf that got in my way, tearing its throat off as I took my sword out and decapitated another wolf. Qrow shot off a few rounds and I saw several wolves fall down with bullet holes. I nod at him and I take his side as he took mine, switching targets. It was a good way to recover at least, since my side had the least wolves and he can have more rest while I fight with my regained energy, though I imagine the horde would move to him again mainly because of his Aura.
Survive (0:30)
Not for long now, reinforcements are coming. Relief flooded through me and I yelled at my Uncle, who just took down several wolves at once. "I can feel them coming!" and I did. There were 2 of them from what I can tell with my winds. They were hauling ass down the left tunnel and trying to make it to us as quickly as possible, which is the only thing I could hope for at the moment.
Survive (0:15)
Not long now. The hunters were close. I murdered another pack of Beowolves but they just won't stop coming!
Quest Updated: Grim Outcome
Destroy the Grimm's Nest
Kill the Nydus Worm
Completed: Survive
Fucking finally, I thought as I panted with exhaustion. Sweat lined my brow and my grip on my sword was weakening. Qrow was a tad better as he handled exhaustion better than I did and frankly had more skills with missions than me. He stood tall, his sword held in front of him as he stared down the Grimm army, which just kept growing every second.
"Beowolves," I said through breaths. "never thought they'd be some of the things I'd need to take care of."
Qrow snorted. "All Grimm are dangerous, kid. In a situation like this, Beowolves are a great choice as they're usually pack nuts."
"Hello?! Is anyone there?" Someone shouted. Reinforcements.
Qrow couldn't resist to form a smile on his face, and neither could I. "We need some help!"
In the scheme of things, I don't know how two hunters could help in an army of Grimm. I was already preparing to haul ass the moment Qrow told me to run. I was prepared to abandon this quest to save my own life. I was not prepared to handle a few more minutes of holding off the horde. Fuck.
I had leveled up once on battle, and now had 1450 EXP to 13000 to my next level. I have 34 points left and considering I have 64 Aura Manipulation, I decided not to cuck myself and spent it all on Aura Manipulation.
Immediately, I felt a change. I could use my Aura better. I took a peak at my Active Skills and saw the change, their costs were drastically reduced. I wonder if I could get a similar bonus to what I got when I maxed out Bladed Melee, which was the different perk tree, or if I would get something else.
I could feel my Aura regenerating faster, but unfortunately, I didn't feel my fatigue go away. Some things that Aura can't fully fix, I suppose.
Qrow glanced at me and noticed the change. "What happened?"
"I put 34 points to Aura Manipulation, which makes me better at Aura and improves its regeneration," I whispered, careful to not say it too loud. "Its 2 points from perfection."
"Of course," Qrow set his eyes on the horde. They were waiting now, growing in number.
"What's taking them so long?"
"I—" Suddenly, there was a hole on the wall beside us and two hunters busted out. One was a male who had red hair and was wearing a red suit. He had a club strapped behind him, a club he was already reaching for. The other one was a girl with blue hair, wearing a white shirt inside a cyan coat that was buttoned below her cleavage, which was thankfully covered by her shirt.
"I don't think my weapon can help much in this," the girl said as she observed the Grimm. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the Nydus, though. "But I can help with that."
And with that, she put her arms forward and her eyes glowed. A translucent barrier appeared between it and us, the only other thing that separated the worm from us was the Beowolf army, which had started to growl angrily.
The club in the red guy's hand started to shift into something else, though it was less noticeable. He held it to his shoulders and I realized.
It was a bazooka.
He shot a red rocket towards the mass of Grimm, making it explode into fire and brimstone.
Well, maybe not the brimstone, but there was a lot of fire. The fire spread to some wolves, and he glanced at us and shifted his weapon back to a club. "Ready?"
Qrow snorted. "Ready."
We dashed forward, the four of us. Age didn't seem to matter to anyone here. I was the only 12 year old among them but they didn't seem to mind working with me, that or they haven't realized I'm 12 yet. The two looked to be in their early twenties, meaning they should be fourth years or new graduates, and Qrow was older than the three of us. We cut down the Beowolf army with ease now that there was not a constant supply of them anymore. It was kind of a pity, really. The only thing they had going for them was sheer amount and even that failed them when our reinforcements arrived…
Though, it makes me wonder what the girl's soul is like,I idly note about her semblance while I watch her gun down several wolves with her uzi fists. Would it be that she likes setting walls between her and people?
Then again, I don't even know what my semblance means and I've been using it for years. I should stop speculating and keep fighting.
And keep fighting I did, until we cleared the infestation and made it to the Worm.
The wall went down, and the Worm seemed to be tired from releasing all those Beowolves. It was limp, so to speak. It had its head curled down with less strength than what it had when it came in 5 minutes ago. I guess I would be a bit weak after puking out disease, too.
Qrow goes in first, jumping to its head and grabbing it at the neck with the blade of his scythe and pulling hard. He immediately disengages as he sees that it doesn't work, only forming a gash on the place where he cut. He curses and jumps off, rolling as he sees the Worm regain a bit of strength.
It roared.
Instead of an endless army of Beowolves, it puked out a handful of Ursa and Boarbatusks. Thankfully, these weren't a lot, but the Worm was still puking them out, so collectively, they will be dangerous.
"We'll handle them!" The red guy told us, watching the Grimm grow in number. "Go, sir!"
Oh so that's why they didn't mention me. They didn't notice me yet.
I took a deep breath and lunged.
I cut down as much Grimm as I can while I dash past them to make our reinforcement's job easier to handle. Glancing to the side, I see Qrow doing the same thing, his eyes set on the Worm as he twirled his scythe around to murder the Grimm around him.
My sword glows an eerie green and I jump towards the Worm, making it jerk its vision towards me and cutting off the way its supplying the Grimm. It screeched at my sword and it started rumbling, but I was faster.
I slash at its flesh, seeing the acid eat through its hide. My eyes widened and I snorted.
"Qrow, its weakness is acid!"
He smirked.
"It's our lucky day today, isn't it?" Qrow so casually stated, changing his scythe into a shotgun and loading a different magazine in.
My sword glows. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied as I dashed forward, the green glow forming a trail behind me as I dash past the obstacles in front of me. I tune out the explosions and SMG fire from our huntsman and woman friends. I skid right in front of it, my sword already in motion for a horizontal slash. There was a shot behind me, and bullets bury itself into the oversized Worm's head, green coloring the wounds. It roared, but I was faster.
A Wind Blade came out of my sword slash that was already coated in acid. It was big enough that it encompassed the worm's whole neck, making it stiffen up and stop roaring. I couldn't help it though, so I yelled as I jumped and dove down its mouth.
Qrow was probably thinking of his own funeral now.
I wasn't done with life yet, though. I immediately turned my sword's ability on, making it glow green. I stabbed it at the flesh around me, making it sizzle as the surrounding flesh turned dark green.
I stop holding on to the side of its throat and keep falling down. I imagined it would be a long fall but this is just ridiculous, I thought as I slid down even more. Eventually, I stopped channeling power into the sword and hung on again, before gathering air beneath me and… explosively releasing it to throw me up.
I succeeded launching myself upwards, but unfortunately, I will not go through the mouth.
I put my sword up and activate it again. I look down and see countless Grimm pouring out from some places I couldn't see, but I was faster than them due to the matter of my explosive wind. I look up and see its head closing in, the green glow making it hard to not see it.
I pierced through it like a bullet.
And what happens when a bullet goes past a person's head?
Usually, there's a blood splatter. In my case, I buried myself into the ceiling.
"… Ow." I blandly said as the Grimm fell down into its own hole, falling to its death. While its already dying. Ouch. Meanwhile, I'm above it and my sword is impaled. I activate the acid dust, but I forgot exactly where I was and would have fell back in the hole if Qrow didn't grab me.
"That was reckless," Qrow reprimanded me. "You're an idiot." He seemed too tired to honestly give a shit.
I shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"
"That, it did." Qrow agreed and closed his eyes."That, it did."
Quest Completed: Grim Outcome
Completed: Destroy the Grimm's Nest
Completed: Kill the Nydus Worm
+ 15000 EXP
Oh boy, I just leveled up.
I don't even care, I just wanna rest… for… the rest… of the day…
With that thought, I passed out for the first time in years.
A/N
Hello,
Yes, the Nydus Worm is from StarCraft 2. It was something I found amusing as I took a few seconds to think about it. A Grimm that could house and send other Grimm to places closer to the kingdoms. Ha. Grimm Nest and Monster in one.
People would be wondering where he stands right now so hmm…
Well, let's assume people have specific skills instead of general ones like Crimson has, so instead of Bladed Melee, Ruby would have Scythes instead etc. (just a rough idea)
At Volume 1, Ruby would have 65/100 on Scythes,
At Volume 1, Yang would have 60/100 on Unarmed
At Volume 1, Blake would have 70/100 on Swords
At Volume 1, Weiss would have 65/100 on Rapier
Qrow would have 85~/100 on Scythes,
Ozpin would have 95/100 on whatever weapon he's using (Sword?) though could be raised to 100 if I actually get to research him,
Raven is arguably 90+/100 on swords as well,
And then some other points on other stuff like casting, stuff
Also, skills also depend on SPECIALs
So let's say Qrow has 8 agility and has 100 Bladed Melee and Crimson has 10 Agility but 80 Bladed Melee
Crimson would be a tad bit better than Qrow because he can utilize the skill more effectively than Qrow can.
Also, someone asked for SPECIALs combination and yes, they would be quite different. Someone with I1 C10 for example, would be a good talker. Could be a leader, but simply lacks the intelligence to strategize and could be used as an inspirer instead.
But someone with I10 and C10 would be somewhat self aware that they are in a story, a story they can't change and would be somewhat pessimistic
I also thought of Crimson with I10 and A8, which I glorified with an omake that I will share here:
Omake (The Magus)
Crimson twisted to face the endless horde of monsters. Behind him was a wall of stone. He couldn't pass that, nor can he expect anything behind it if he were to blow it up. So instead, he will face his enemies head on.
No strategies for this one. His eyes scanned the scene before him, taking in the possible escape routes and weak points in their formation.
Namely, there were none.
So he sighed.
His eyes glowed blue, his skin started glowing, and he started to talk.
"I am the bone of my sword,"
Pfft, yeah. No. Maybe in some alternate universe, but yeah.
Different SPECIALs combination make a different person. Crimson has A10 and S8 and I7, but P3 and C2, which made him slower to perceive changes in emotion and noticing stuff and talking in general but better at fighting.
To put into perspective on how bad he is at talking to people, I would say that Ruby has C – 4.
Also, some other standards for SPECIALs
3 – Civilian
5 – Huntsman with Aura
7 – Above Average
8 – Exemplary
10 – Perfect
Anything below 3 is sad. Thankfully, Crimson has C2 so he isn't that bad so he can be mistaken as a broody person like Sasuke or shy like normal shy people.
Anyway, I think that's about it,
Remember;
Semi serious, so don't take it seriously
Take this story with a grain of salt
Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary
