The Grimmlands of Menagerie (V)

With a month to kill while waiting for initiation to come to pass, Izuku was given free rein to stay at Beacon and see how things were run at a Huntsmen Academy. Ozpin didn't impose a cost for him to stay at one of the unoccupied dorm rooms by himself, and he allowed Izuku to freely enter the lecture halls and academy library at his discretion.

The offer was too good to be true, and… to good to pass up. Whatever Ozpin's intentions were, Izuku didn't particularly care. He knew from the man's Divined Description that they were on the same side.

Ozpin, unfortunately, didn't have the Gamer System to tell him that, so Izuku reasoned he was probably doing all this to keep him close by and assess his intentions. It's what Izuku thought was pragmatic for the man given his position.

Still, Izuku didn't just spend all his time waiting for initiation within Beacon's campus. He routinely traveled to and from Vale to get a better sense of the Broken World and its culture; and try to make headway with his newest Side Quest, too.

Most of what he'd learned from Katherine and the others back in Menagerie was all well and good, but some things one needed to experience for themselves to truly understand.

What he saw was heartbreaking.

The Faunus, though not openly harassed, were treated like dangerous miscreants wherever they went. Most humans who saw one approaching from the same side of the street would go out of their way to cross the street and guard themselves as if the presence of the Faunus in and of itself were an active threat.

It was all the worse as Izuku worked to develop his Observe Ability by casting it on most people and things he came across. He discovered that the majority of Faunus hid away their animal traits if at all possible as if it were their deepest shame.

Then, he came upon the slums and his eyes dulled…

For every human face he saw struggling to make ends meet, he saw eight or nine Faunus. For every poor human, saw five or six Faunus who needed to turn to crime just to survive. The slums, filled with drug addicts, gangsters, and pimps were where 90% of the Faunus living in the slums found their "employment."

They made up the middle of the pack, so to say, as they were unlucky enough to not make the cut for becoming Huntsmen or find a business that accepted their employment. Yet, they were also at least fortunate enough to live where they had more options than choosing between being a legal slave for a labor camp or outright dying.

The stats Izuku read through Remnant's version of the internet on his Scroll regarding Faunus employment affairs was truly the stuff of nightmares.

Essentially, if you were a Faunus who couldn't hide your features — the overwhelming majority of them, that is — your only chance at a decent chance of being able to live a "clean" way of life was to become a Huntsman. Everyone else statistically had over a 95% chance at either turning to crime or working for a mining operation, manufacturing facility, or factory; the only ones who accepted Faunuskind being owned unanimously by greedy and corrupt businessmen who saw no issue with isolating them to "working towns" where the only thing to do was eat and work.

It was inhumane on a level that Izuku found so disgusting that he vowed he'd change it.

With his nearly maxed-out Analysis Ability it didn't take him long to formulate a plan. After all, he already had a way to completely flip the Lien economy and attain unspeakable amounts of wealth; killing the Grim was easy and profitable. He also was in a position to quickly learn and master the things needed by a successful businessman; he was Eidetic and had Observe to supplement his understanding of anyone he might have to work with.

All he really needed was a Huntsman License that allowed him to work anywhere on Remnant and by the time he had that, he'd have already learned everything he needed. The Gamer System and Observe would expedite the process at least a dozen fold.

This, he was sure, he could attain by researching with his Scroll and leveraging his access to Beacon's library.

…

"So, hotshot, are you up for a little spar?" Coco reiterated.

The curiosity she had developed over the mysterious non-Student who had one day randomly started attending some of the lectures for her class, had led her to wanting to find out how strong he was. Now that he'd finally decided to show up to one of Goodwitch's practical classes, she just had to capitalize on the opportunity.

"I'm not sure if that is allowed," Izuku said apologetically. "I'm not a student here and I'm not about to interrupt the learning environment any more than I already do by asking for permission. Sorry."

"Mister Midoriya," the professor who oversaw the training class, Glynda Goodwitch, didn't miss a beat. "Please," she gestured to one of the many open sparring platforms, "You can rest assured that you haven't been bothering anyone. You've been nothing but respectful and proper thus far, so I see no reason to disallow you from participating if you so wish."

"So will that be a yes or no?" Coco asked once again.

"If that's what you want…" Izuku said as he walked over to the platform Goodwitch had gestured at.

To no one's surprise, the fighting of most others died down as people were just as intrigued as Coco to find out how strong their mysterious guest was. They just weren't bored or confident enough to approach him with a sparring request first.

"Whenever you're ready," Izuku said when he made it to the starting position indicated by a red line along the platform.

"Wh— Oi, is this some kind of joke? Or do you think your so good you can beat me barehanded," Coco asked as she aggressively pulled on her handbag… and somehow turned it into a six-barrelled rotary minigun.

"Um… I'm not good with weapons," Izuku said.

[Observed Status

Title: Bullet Hell Diva

Level: 75 | Master Class

Name: Coco Adel

Stats

Health: ~100%

Stamina: ~100%

Aura: ~100%

Strength: ~95

Constitution: ~50

Dexterity: ~70

Agility: ~75

Intelligence: ~105

Wisdom: ~90

Will: ~50

Charisma: ~80

Description: A first-year student of Beacon Academy and leader of team CVFY. She is one of the strongest students in her class and fights by empowering her attacks with the augmentation effects of her Semblance. She is feeling very insulted by you and your apparent disregard for her abilities.]

'Oh well,' Izuku internally shrugged.

"If you are both ready, then… This will be a tournament-style match, you may win by bringing your opponent's Aura down to the red or by knocking them off the platform to achieve victory by ring-out. On my count you may begin," Goodwitch said.

"1, 2, 3! Begin!"

Brrrrrrrrrr!

Coco made the first move by immediately mag-dumping a couple hundred rounds into Izuku. Of course, none of them so much as grazed him as he moved before she could even squeeze the trigger.

"What the—" Coco froze as she felt a chill creep up her spine.

"That's a pretty nifty gun you have there," Izuku said, from behind her. He didn't even bother trying to attack her as that would serve no purpose other than to humiliate her by not giving the others a chance to see just how outclassed they all were against him.

Coco didn't deign to give him a response as she transformed the minigun back to its "hand-bag" form and tried to use it to wack Izuku upside the head.

Izuku effortlessly dodged all her attacks as he asked, "Does it actually also work as a handbag? Or, like, is that just a facade to hide the gun's working parts?"

"Fight! Back! Damn it!" Coco yelled as her frustrations built up over the complete and utter ease with which Izuku avoided all her attacks.

"Right… This is a spar," Izuku mumbled before he started pointing out the gaps in her use of Martial Arts.

He had absolutely no idea if what he was trying to do was beneficial, considering he'd learned all his fighting outside of a structured discipline like Muay Thai or Kung Fu. But, he hoped that by limiting his effective Agility and Strength to match what Observed estimated hers to be, he'd be able to fight her in such a way that she could improve.

"Izuku Midoriya wins the match," Goodwitch eventually called out a few minutes later. The projector connected to both Izuku and Coco's Scrolls showed the former's Aura hadn't even been touched, while the latter was running on fume with less than 15% remaining.

"Holy shit, dude," Coco said as she fought to catch her panting breath. "What kind of insane Semblance do you have to do all that? Is it, like, precognition or something?" She guessed.

"Uh… No? I didn't use my Semblance at all for our fight. It's not very useful for combat," Izuku admitted.

"What?!" More than a few people cried out in shock. They couldn't imagine how strong he must have been, or how much fighting he must have done throughout his life, to be as good as he just showed himself to be.

"That's crazy…" Coco said and her mind raced. She then grinned at him and said, "I hope you won't mind me asking for more spars in the future. You just the kind of whetstone I need to get better than all these other bozos."

Ignoring the cries of outrage from the crowd, Izuku said, "That's fine. I like to help people when I can."

Of course, almost no one was insane enough to ask him for a spar after the utter trashing he did to Coco. So besides the girl herself, the teammates she forced upon him, and one other person, Izuku kept his routine before initiation relatively the same.

He would attend some lectures during the day, spar a couple times if anyone asked, and then spend his nights studying from his Scroll and the archives at Beacon's library. Like that, the days passed by seemingly faster than ever, and in no time at all, the day of initiation arrived.

…

"Mr. Midoriya, I hope you've found your stay at Beacon… enlightening. Would you care for a cup of coffee?" Ozpin said as he welcomed Izuku into his office once again. It was the afternoon before the day of initiation and he had already given his speech to the prospective freshmen class.

"Thank you, but I'll do without the coffee. My experience in Beacon has been great, sir," Izuku said as he took a seat.

"Yes… I've heard of your many exploits over the last month. Make no mistake," Ozpin smiled as Izuku began to grow bashful at his declaration, "I've heard nothing but good things from all the professors who have had you attend their classes."

"Really?" Izuku asked as he exhaled a sigh of relief, "I thought you might have been calling me in to kick me out for disrupting the environment or something."

"You do not have to worry about that. I've already formed a great opinion of you over the month you've been here. No, the reason I've called you hear today is for an entire matter altogether."

"Sir?" Izuku asked, for him to elaborate.

"You must understand, I do not mean to disparage you by saying this, but your presence has uprooted the balance for the incoming freshmen class. Fortunately, I believe you are more than ready to accept the responsibilities of a Huntsman proper without the aid of a team, but to make things fair, I'm afraid I've been forced to change the requirements for you to pass."

"I'll give you the details tomorrow, but you can rest assured that with your abilities, you should have no issues adapting to the additional requirements to meet the acceptance requirements," Ozpin concluded.

"Ok? Is that all?" Izuku asked, more or less accepting of the situation.

"There was one other matter I wanted to talk to you about…" Ozpin dragged out the tension in his words.

"Um… That is?" Izuku asked, completely out of the loop.

"You have Magic," Ozpin calmly accused.

"Yes?" Izuku didn't understand how monumental the fact was. "So do you," He didn't see what the issue was. Although, as the tension in the room was rising, he did start to make connections with regards to the fact that while some people had Aura, no one but him and Ozpin seemed to even know of the existence of Magic.

"So you know, then," Ozpin stated as a matter of fact as he kept his expression free of emotions.

"Was I not supposed to? I mean, even as suppressed as your Magic signature is, anyone else with Magic would be able to sense yours from miles away," Izuku candidly said.

At that Ozpin finally allowed himself to smile knowingly, "So you can see that much, but you don't understand how important it is for one to possess Magic, huh. Well, no matter, I'm sure there will be all the time in the world for me to successfully clue you in after you pass initiation."

"Ok?" Izuku was still confused, but he accepted whatever was happening regardless.

"Before you leave, though, could you tell me why you have yours suppressed as well?" Ozpin asked.

"...You could say that it keeps part of my Semblance in control. If I let go of the magical veil that hides its presence anyone who looked at me would see… Well, I'm not really sure, but to me it looks like they've seen their worst nightmare come to life." Technically, that was entirely true since his soul reflected his possession of Argent Energy and withheld the source of his intent.

"Would you allow me to see it?" Ozpin asked.

Even after being warned once more, since he wanted to see Izuku's Exposed Nature, Izuku did not deny him.

And for a second the world was drowned in a sea of wrath and malice. The once-blue skies had reddened, and the colors of the world melted into a monochrome of unsaturated hues. Death had arrived. Destruction awaited. The very world would end.

A second later, Izuku recasted his Presence Concealment. He could only offer the poor Headmaster one of his apologetic smiles for whatever life-ruining trauma he'd just suffered through. The man hadn't moved or said anything, but the very light in his eyes had dimmed dangerously even long after Izuku had left his office.

…

[Observed Status

Title: Wannable Hero

Level: 22 | Classless

Name: ?

Stats

Health: ~100%

Stamina: ~100%

Aura: ~0 (100%)

Strength: ~10

Constitution: ~15

Dexterity: ~10

Agility: ~10

Intelligence: ~10 (100)

Wisdom: ~10 (75)

Will: ~15

Charisma: ~5

Description: A prospective student for Beacon Academy. He has wanted to be a hero and a Huntsman all his life but was denied the opportunity to train by his family. He currently does not have an opinion of you or even knows you exist.]

'Wow,' Izuku grimaced as he watched the scraggly blond-haired boy he had observed walk past him. 'How the hell did he get in here? He's got worse Stats than some of the citizens I've seen. He doesn't even have his Aura unlocked!' Izuku thought, flabbergasted.

Nobody, absolutely no one, was a Huntsman without Aura. That would be like a Quirkless kid trying to be a Pro Hero… Only, several times worse as everyone with a soul could at least unlock their Aura and level the playing field to a certain extent.

Izuku sighed as he wished the poor kid at least dealt with rejection well. He couldn't see a way blond would be able to pass initiation as it would be a practical test of all the prospective student's Huntsman qualities; in other words, qualities that almost all revolved around combat prowess.

He made his way to the Beacon Cliff and arrived as the first of all the prospective students. There he waited for everyone else to arrive and for Ozpin to explain the rules for passing the initiation.

Everyone would be launched into the Grimm-filled forest, make their way to the site of an abandoned ruin, secure a relic and return to Beacon Cliff.

"...As for you, Mr. Midoriya, as per our last discussion, you are to take a special relic that will otherwise be withdrawn if you do not make it to the abandoned ruins within ten minutes," Ozpin said. He looked like he'd completely moved past whatever horrors he'd seen in Izuku when he had undone his Presence Concealment.

Izuku just nodded in acceptance of the terms. He was more than confident in being able to achieve the additional requirement in half the allotted time.

So, initiation began… With the prospective students being launched hundreds of meters through the air, over the cliffs.

'Uh oh,' Izuku winced as he looked at the blond boy who didn't have access to his Aura. There was little chance he'd survive that kind of launch unless someone saved him. Even the blond knew it as he started voicing his hesitations before he was thrown by the launching platform underneath him.

Fortunately, he already had a guardian angel looking out for him in the form of a red-headed girl who caught him by spearing his hoodie against a tree before he managed to fall to his death.

As was the case, Izuku did not have to lose his chance of passing initiation by breaking the rules right off the bat and saving the blond boy himself. Instead, he soon enough was launched as the last person in line.

The moment he touched ground, he instantly disappeared in a burst of speed that left him almost imperceptible to the naked eye. He jumped far, far higher than the launch pad had catapulted him and located the site of the ancient ruin in less than a minute.

Less than three minutes after that, he arrived at his destination after weaving a path through the forest in his path for nearly ten kilometers. His prize was a Queen chess piece that was tinted in a gradient of colors; the only "relic" without a match to form a pair.

'Now, I could go back and be done with the initiation, or… I could stick around and see which of the hundreds of other prospective students manage to make it fast enough to secure one of the remaining twenty pieces,' Izuku thought.

In the end, his curiosity won out and he decided to see how long it would take for the first duo to make it to the abandoned ruins.

It ended up taking nearly an hour and unlike him, the two who arrived were worn out and left just as quickly as they arrived. Two more duos ended up taking their chosen relic and leaving before the situation quickly devolved after the fourth pair arrived.

[Observed Status

Title: Ex Terrorist

Level: 68 | Classless

Name: Blake Belladonna

Stats

Health: ~100%

Stamina: ~70%

Aura: ~75%

Strength: ~65

Constitution: ~45

Dexterity: ~80

Agility: ~75

Intelligence: ~85

Wisdom: ~65

Will: ~65

Charisma: ~55

Description: The daughter of Kali and Ghira Belladonna which you have been looking for. She left the White Fang after they ask her to cross a line she was not willing to cross. She hopes to redeem herself by becoming a Huntress. She currently does not have an opinion of you or even knows you exist.]

Not only had the person he'd been looking for, for the last month just spontaneously appeared, but within seconds, another girl could be heard screaming as she fell from the sky. Before she could land, the blond boy, who previously didn't have access to Aura but now for some reason did, collided with her in midair; apparently, he had been catapulted again, somehow.

Then another girl, followed by her partner, came riding on Ursa and arrived just in time for her to have exhausted it to death. And, before anyone present could even question how absurd the series of events were becoming, yet another girl — the redhead who saved the blond at the very start of the initiation — appeared whilst being chased by a giant scorpion Grimm; a Death Stalker.

Very intrigued, Izuku watched as a second girl fell out of the sky, chased by a Giant Nevermore — a massive crow Grimm — and how the eight present fought a disastrous battle to kill off the two Alpha Grimm.

The collateral damage done to their surroundings ended up destroying the way back to the top of Beacon Cliff, but Izuku wasn't bothered by that. He just felt bad for the remaining groups who had to be picked up by Bullheads on the other side of the bridge between Beacon Cliff and the Emerald Forest, where the initiation had taken place.

Eventually, the time came for initiation to end and for the new teams to be announced. He noted that Blake was in team RWBY, and wasn't surprised to find that there hadn't been a team formed around him. Instead, he was presented with a provisional Huntsman License and officially accepted as a student at Beacon while retaining all of his previous privileges. He kept his one-bedroom dorm, his library pass, and was given a set of uniforms.

Then as the day was coming to an end, he was called by Goodwitch back to Ozpin's office.

…

"Tell me, Mr. Midoriya, do you know of the true threat behind the Grimm?" Ozpin asked. Izuku had already sat before him after closing the doors to his office.

"I'm not exactly sure what you mean," Izuku said. "As far as I know, the Grimm are just monsters borne of negativity. I just so happen to be powerful enough to go after them by destroying Grimm Pools, and so, for the betterment of humans and Faunus alike, I chose to do so."

"But do you know that the Grimm have a leader? A mastermind behind the scenes?" Ozpin asked.

"Like, Ancient Grimm? I think they get more intelligent and cunning as they grow older."

"No," Ozpin shook his head. "I mean, their Queen. She was once a human, but after falling into a Grimm Pool and managing to survive thanks to her mastery of Magic, she became corrupted and gained the power to command the Grimm. Ever since, she's been following the God of Darkness' will in trying to purge the world of its people."

"What?" Izuku paused as the information he had learned failed to fit with the logic he previously understood. "Why hasn't she won then? If she had the power to command the Grimm, why not just awaken all the Ancient or even older and stronger Grimm to level the world?"

"I believe they are much too powerful for even her to command and she dares not risk it. Otherwise… You can imagine where we'd be. But regardless of this fact, she is still an immortal being and can effortlessly command and even create Lesser Grimm by the hundreds and thousands. I've made it my life's mission to find a way to stop her once and for all," Ozpin said.

"Immortal…" Izuku hummed as he considered his options against such an enemy. His eyes widened and he smiled as he said, "I think I could deal with that."

"Could I borrow this book for a second?" Izuku asked. When Ozpin allowed him to do so, he then cast a Sealing Rune on the very air above Ozpin's desk and lock it in time before placing the book on top of it.

Ignoring Ozpin's open shock after witnessing the Ability, Izuku explained, "It's not exactly Magic, but I have an Ability that allows me to seal objects in time temporarily as well as certain characteristics of a person or living being. I'm not sure if it could work on Immortality, but it's worth a try."

"That's… That would be perfect!" Ozpin uncharacteristically yelled as he regarded Izuku with open praise and admiration. "With you on our side we might just yet be done with her terrible reign and finally have the capacity to grow to the point of being able to retaliate against the Grimm nesting grounds," his excitement grew with each word.

"So long as it helps mend this broken world, I'd like to do whatever I can," Izuku said.

"Then, I'll personally welcome you to the team," Ozpin said, extending a hand for Izuku to shake.

When he did so…

[Congratulations! Alliance with "Ozpin's Group" for the betterment of mankind has granted you access to the Root of the Mind System!

-You have gained the base of one of The Gamer's most powerful Core Abilities; Gamer Mind. It has manifested as the Perk Shock Resistance.

-Find and gather the remaining fragments to regain the full power of Gamer Mind and possess total immunity to Shock, Illusions, Mental Manipulation, and generally negatively influential emotions.]

[Main Quest Updated!

Progress: 4/28 Fragments Collected

Broken World Progression: After allying yourself to Ozpin and the people of Remnant in general, you gained a great clue as to where another one of the Mind System's Fragments could be; in the hands of the Grimm Queen. Continue to cleanse the world of the Grimm threat and with Ozpin's help, you will sooner or later come face to face with the Immortal Queen.]

[Please Choose your next course of action:

-Search for the next Perk System Fragment in your Original World

-Search for the next Inventory System Fragment in the Doom World

-Search for the next Spirit System Fragment in the Dungeon World

-Search for the next Mind System Fragment in the Broken World

-Search for the root of the ? System Fragment in the ? world]

"Ugh… Take the reigns again, I guess," Izuku sighed as he was resigned over how abruptly he had been brought back into the void of white. He had already gotten his fill of being a part of a member of a functioning society.

[Acknowledged!]

[Now Travelling To… ERROR, ERROR, ERROR. CURSE INTERFERENCE HAS CHANGED THE PARAMETERS OF HIGHER DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL.]

[Now Travelling To "The Invasion of the Sound."]