A New Piece Enters the Board

Inside an impressive tower reaching far beyond the ceaseless skies rests a middle-aged man sitting inside a room decorated with impressive-looking clockwork mechanisms kinetically interacting with each other in a monotonous pattern.

The white-haired man rests his hands across his deceptively old-looking table with one hand tapping away at the surface while the other holding on to an aromatic mix of his coffee beans prepared by his favorite assistant. This of course was much to the displeasure of said assistant.

Bringing up his brew he swirled his mug using his wrist to agitate the bean's natural scent. He took a deep breath, taking in the intoxicating smell of coffee. Although try as he might relax at the prospect of drinking this exquisite mix of his favorite beverage there were more important matters to think about.

The old table he had rested his other hand on suddenly projected a holographic surface. Most of the information displayed in the hologram were classified and thus only a select few could take a look at its contents.

'To think Qrow would happen on such a curious man-made construction. Not in any of my lifetimes have I seen its likeness being built. Not to mention it's apparent autonomous and self-restoring nature.'

Ozpin was a man of many mysteries, one could not discern what was behind his seemingly calm and calculated gaze that hid behind a pair of shaded glasses. Often he comments with enigmatic words, friends and colleagues alike have gotten used to such statements made by Ozpin.

Years, perhaps decades or more had honed him into who he was today. He didn't let his exterior crack for all those times he lived through, he built up the resistance to surprises.

Yet, a single message from one of his most trusted confidants was perhaps the first time in history that Ozpin truly was intrigued by such a thing. Not only that but not a second later General Ironwood is already asking for this automaton to be turned into a possession of Atlas for study.

Of course, being the much more reasonable voices of the group, Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda all voiced their rejection of the general's suggestion. Not many would know the automaton's response, a vehicle that could slaughter nearly a hundred grimm in a few seconds was not that unusual. Ironwood had spent a sizable part of the Atleasian economy to fuel war machines of his own after all. No, what piqued everyone's attention was the fact that said vehicle repaired itself to near perfection with some additional parts being present.

All of this was captured on Qrow's scroll which was sent to Ozpin, Ironwood, and Glynda. Ironwood unsurprisingly wanted to bring down dozens of bullheads to secure the mysterious armored machine. It would be a benefit to the world if such technologies were to be researched intensively, he reasoned.

Immediate rejection was the only choice for the rest of the group however, the ones capable of making such a fearsome machine could at most certainty program its automatic response to any other lifeforms trying to study its inner workings. It was capable of making sound decisions that no ordinary artificial intelligence could make based on the footage Qrow had sent. Who's to say the ones who created the machine would code in self-preservation for the vehicle to use?

Ozpin makes the wall of documents and videos disappear from his old desk and in its place was more information detailing the most recent attack on the Fall Maiden he was in charge of.

In a desperate attempt to prolong her life he had a capsule made just for her in the basement of the school. Those who made an attempt at her life knew what they were looking for. The magic stored within her was sapped away and although the maiden lived, she had visibly weakened from the attack.

Taking one last look at the images presented in front of him, Ozpin took out his scroll and sent an identical message to both Ironwood and Qrow.

"Leave it alone for now. It displays aggression to the creatures of grimm, so treat it as an ally and a friend. The Queen is acting so we must recognize her intentions and act accordingly."

Taking another sip at his beverage he raises a brow when he observes that the mug was, in fact, empty during the time he sat in his office.

Lightly placing his hand on a button on top of his desk he coughs lightly to clear his throat and pressed the button before he spoke in a benign tone.

"Glynda, could you be a dear and brew up some more coffee?"

Silently tapping away his finger at his table he awaits for his assistant to bring up some more of that delicacy he calls coffee.

In another isolated part of Vale…

The flapping of wings filled his surroundings as his pristine dark feathers fluttered in the skies before being interrupted by the roar of an engine below its vision. The moving vehicle powered through more hordes of grimm as the crow watched him observed and tailed it closely.

Feeling something amiss he drops down to cover and transforms back to his human form. Qrow stretched and lifted his cape from behind to fetch his flask attached to his belt and took a large swig. The scroll he had let out a buzz in his pockets and being the questionably reliable agent among Ozpin's inner circle he opened his scroll to reveal what message was sent to him.

"Leave it alone for now. It displays aggression to the creatures of grimm, so treat it as an ally and a friend. The Queen is acting so we must recognize her intentions and act accordingly."

He read the message aloud in his mind and after a moment of deliberation he closes his scroll and placed back his flask from where he fetched it from. The machine he had been tailing was going around the northern part of vale killing large swaths of grimm.

Ranging from beowolves, ursa, boarbatusks, and the occasional deathstalker or two. Qrow had been following the thing for almost the whole day just in case it stumbled upon a settlement and tried to gun down its inhabitants.

He took one last visual confirmation on the machine for him to see another dozen beowolves being mercilessly slaughtered with a single burst from its weaponry.

Qrow morphed back into a crow before lifting its wings and flying off towards somewhere else. He had served Ozpin for years and even decades at this point, he trusted the man's decision on almost everything and he would trust his judgment once more.

Back to Hanns…

He was currently in the process of sophisticated malding as he had spent the remainder of his time looking for grimm to kill. Addicted as he may be, he still has mentally a human. Constant driving around for grimm to kill was harder than it looked, he had spent most of his gamer life sitting around all day.

Physical activity was unknown to Hanns, the most he'd ever done in his pathetic life was to lift a microwave he bought at an online store but as soon as he reached the countertop of his kitchen he felt his legs and arms give way and made the microwave crash down onto the floor.

Driving around did not make him tired, but the joy of pc gaming was for the user to not use more than his hands at playing a game. The equivalent to what he is doing, trying to drive around, was like continuously running a marathon while stopping to fight a hundred different grimm before continuing his travels.

It took a toll on the man's mental state, he found out earlier that fatigue did not affect his performance at all. Although he discovered a while ago while driving through a small stream he felt his tracks go cold. So temperature was still felt which would be both good and bad for Hanns. Feeling if his body was cold could let him know that his engines and tracks could be affected while feeling heat could let him be more careful in driving around full speed because of overheating.

Although the negatives are pretty obvious, ever tried sitting out in an airconditioned room naked after taking a shower? Yeah, that was what it should feel like. Not to mention the heat he would feel all over his body if he ever went out in the deserts of Vacuo.

With all that said, Hanns still felt the effects of mental stress. He could go on whole days of playing a game but this was different. It wasn't the comfy gaming chair he sat on with drinks at arm's reach and a bed ready to be used, it was the cold hard stones digging at his tracks, the cold air washing over his frame, and the hour-long traverse times he had to endure. Thankfully he didn't have to worry about guts stinking up his body since the grimm dissolves fast.

He felt his track groan as he felt his brakes activate and slow him to a stop. He took in the almost identical forests he had been traveling on. Hanns took a look at his balance after a few hours of continued hunting for grimm.

SL = 3,486 → 9,786 SL

MOD RP = 113 → 2,067 RP

VEHICLE RP = 336 → 1,679 RP

CONVERTIBLE RP = 939 → 3,067 RP

GOLDEN EAGLES = 0

Hanns had earned a decent amount of SL but not nearly enough RP to unlock a good tank.

'Every single tank needed some investment in its respective sub-tree. But every single one of them had a good and bad use for them.'

While he could go for even lighter tanks that maximize speed over armor, he didn't want to know what would happen if he got a single clean attack from an alpha like last time but eventually those light tanks would reach the Puma which was one of Hanns' favorite vehicles to drive around and take pot shots at enemies with. Though the grind would need me to find a whole nation's worth of grimm to take down.

The mediums were not bad, if only he could switch vehicles but unfortunately for him, the moderator decided it would be funny if he could only ask one question at a time every 24 hours. The instructions buried among a hundred lines of text didn't mention how. He tried willing it like always, he tried opening a garage to no avail, and he even tried transforming just like how the modifications were added unto him.

'I guess I'll stick with my Pz.II C for now. I have enough for every upgrade now. The crew modification did not exist as I expected. So the total Mod RP I had to use went down to 1,720 RP and was accompanied by a 480 SL price tag.'

He gleefully confirmed his upgrade choices and once again a bright white light was produced from his body while Hans felt the sensations of metal churning and changing from within.

SL = 9,786 → 9,306 SL

MOD RP = 2,067 → 347 RP

VEHICLE RP = 1,679 RP

CONVERTIBLE RP = 3,067 RP

GOLDEN EAGLES = 0

'All good. Now then what would happen if I use this up?'

Hanns took a single glance at the now present hot bar at the bottom of his vision, acting like a hud. It was the symbol of shells targeting a spot on the ground with a description flashing by as he willed its instructions.

[Artillery Support]

[Targets a spot visible to the user and after an indeterminate amount of delay, shells will be fired on the spot the user has chosen. Accuracy may be varied depending on the distance from the target. A large red circle will be present at the point of impact. Limit: 500 meters]

[Note: Targeting circle can be disabled in options.]

'Let's see what you can do.'

Picking at the option a large targeting circle could be seen from where he stared. Every tree and every bush he looked at was covered in a red hue. Looking towards a random spot in a forest he let the artillery loose.

Distant sounds of barrages could be heard as the whistling of nearby artillery shells whizzing through the atmosphere came after the initial sounds of the barrage.

After a few seconds, the artillery finally hits its mark and the surrounding green flora were blown to smithereens along with the earth bulging upwards towards the air to create a realm of destruction that continued for a few more seconds before the artillery ceased.

'Never gets old to look at.'

Taking a look at the hot bar in his field of view he opened his eyes in surprise at the number displayed.

'4970 seconds!? Meaning it had a cooldown of 5000! That's nearly an hour and a half!'

'Did the moderator really nerf artillery support?!'

He mentally sighed as he readied himself to rest for a while, his entire plan was to spam out artillery while sitting somewhere with a large vantage point. He planned on staying near some high negativity sources to farm out grimm but that whole plan was scrapped.

It may be a horrible plan to most but at this point, Hanns was looking for other ways to grind other than traveling around the continent in search of grimm to exterminate. He thought of making settlements suffer an attack to increase negativity but even he wouldn't stop so low for some in-game currency.

These people in this world are now real people, they're not npc's with a set amount of movement assigned to each one. Each of them had aspirations, dreams and feelings. They were all alive and Hanns is not going to treat them like some expendable resource in a game.

'I'll think of all this tomorrow or at whatever time I feel like, it's not like I need sleep anyways. Just need some rest away from grinding.'

HANNS' BALANCE:

SL = 9,306 SL

MOD RP = 347 RP

VEHICLE RP = 1,679 RP

CONVERTIBLE RP = 3,067 RP

GOLDEN EAGLES = 0