19

I opened my eyes to a very familiar ceiling I've been seeing ever since I began staying at the Xiao Long-Rose household. Yawning, I slowly got up from the bed that had a loosely imprinted figure of my body indented within the mattress.

Slipping into my fuzzy slippers, because yes, they are very comfortable - gotta thank Sans the Skeleton for introducing me the fuzzy slippers - I slowly shuffled my way towards the chair where I hung my clothes before going to bed.

I like sleeping in just my boxers, thank you very much. At least I don't sleep in the nude like some other maniacs. Even more so if the place they're sleeping at isn't their house and had other people living in.

Getting dressed into my clothes from last night, I yawned a bit more and an itch made itself known on my belly. Hand going underneath my tank top, I scratched the itch away and felt pleased with myself.

So long, giant beer gut. Hello six-pack.

It's been about six months since I've been here in Remnant, and the entrance exam for Beacon happens in two. I was far from ready against the likes of Cinder or even Tyrian, but from what Taiyang said about me, he said I was ready for the first year of Beacon.

The practical side, that is. Academic wise, I sucked ass, and next month, I was going to go cram the subjects needed to be accepted. I sometimes forgot that Beacon is an academy for students, so even those graduated from Huntsmen academies had a diploma if ever they retire and want the civilian life.

Something that the show, if I am correct, didn't say in the lore. I don't know if this was an alternate universe or something, but logically speaking, even a Huntsman should have some degree of education for when they stop pursuing their Huntsman career.

Opening the door to the hallway, I heard shouting coming from downstairs, leaving me confused. Today was a Saturday, so there were no classes, but Taiyang had a sort of meeting with the teachers every Saturday for school stuff.

Which begs the question, what are Ruby and Yang arguing about now? I hope it isn't about the weapons again. God forbid I see another amalgamation of a .50 caliber anti-material rifle cross-overed with a chainsaw because 'Awesome'…

Then again, it was a pretty cool concept. Heavy duty damage for long-range engagements, and devastating melee for close-quarters combat. Hella impractical and cumbersome, but when has that ever stopped human ingenuity? Even more so if this world ran on semi-anime logic.

Aura be carrying most of the people here to greatness.

Which reminds me…

Name: Jack Alano

Title: Unlucky Sunovabitch

Race: Faunus (Tiger [Retractable Claws])

SP = 20 - 20 = 0

STR: 19 + 5 = 24

VIT: 34

END: 36

AGI: 16 + 15 = 31

DEX: 13

INT: 11

WIS: 6

It was about time I increased my other stats, granted, I did this two months ago after that spar, but still…

I was now nimble! Also, kind of nice that working out increases my stats even by a little bit. It doesn't show me when and how, but it did. That being said, two months of working out and I only got… I think two Endurance points? Jesus, that's tiny. These quests are really my fucking lifeblood.

Anyway, reminiscing over, I think it's time I took a look downstairs and see what all the fuss is about.

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Okay… What the hell am I looking at here?

Ruby was on the ceiling, one hand hanging for dear life on the ridiculously sturdy light bulb, and the other clutching what looked to be a jar… Wait, it's transparent… Are those cookies?

The person she was hissing at was none other than Yang, who looked closer to blowing a vein as she growled like an insulted dragon.

"Ruby! Get down here right now!" Ruby hissed some more, and I saw a vein bulge on her forehead. "Dad made those cookies, so you're gonna share!"

More hissing and I was close to busting my gut at the ridiculous scene I just stumbled into. I knew Ruby was a cookie lover, but I didn't think she'd be that much into cookies. She'd probably marry one if the law allowed it.

"Sup, Yang. What's going in?" I made myself known to the two, and Ruby hissed at me too. "Is she always like this?"

"Only when there's cookies…" Yang sighed as she scratched the top of her head. "I swear, cookies are like drugs to her."

"Mine!" Ruby's squeal made me think of a chipmunk fiercely defending its stash of nuts. Not gonna lie, it was fucking funny.

"Want me to do something about it?" I asked Yang and she opened her mouth to respond, only for something else to take my attention away.

[Quest Received!]

[Thou Shalt Face a Monster Beyond Comprehension!]

[Objective: Take the jar of cookies away from Ruby and hold on to it for 30 seconds]

[Bonus Objective: Hold on to the jar for another 30 seconds]

[Rewards: 1 perk roll, 1 item roll, 5 stat points]

[Bonus Rewards: (Redacted)]

… Well then, Ruby, that jar of cookies is mine.

Without waiting for approval from Yang, I jumped into the air and flung water at Ruby's face. Her silver eyes went wide and got a face full of pure water as a present. Instantly, she let go of the jar. The object in question succumbed to gravity and I caught it in my arms, cradling it to my chest gently like it was but a newborn babe.

Gravity took a hold of me, and I finally dropped down. Mind moving a mile a minute, I knew that I wasn't going to outrun Ruby, and I'm pretty sure Yang was gonna pry the jar off of me because she wanted the cookies too.

But there was one thing I knew I had the advantage of over the two.

Endurance.

Fucking do like a Rammus and curl up like a fucking ball!

Curling myself into a ball-like shape, I cradled the jar and clutched it tightly to my chest.

"Hey! What gives!" Yang was the first to realize that I was hogging the jar of cookies and began shaking me like juicer. I didn't budge nor made a sound as Yang began kicking me in the ribs. And not the light kicks either.

She was kicking like a demon possessed! My ribs were getting sore from the kicks. Hell, she even tried to grapple me out of my position, but I held firm.

"MY COOKIES!" It was at this moment that Ruby finally joined the battle and landed right on my back. My spine was throwing profanities at me, but I held strong.

Everything for that (Redacted) reward! It's been two months since my last quest! This fucking System is too RNG when giving out quests, and hell if I'm not gonna try and get that special perk!

I want to be a munchkin goddamnit!

"Jack! The fuck dude! Share!" Yang pounded my back, and I swore I heard something crack. "Fuck! The fuck are you made out of!?" Okay, it was her hand that cracked. Damn, my perks are going overdrive for this.

"Yang, swear! Also, MY COOKIES!" Gotta hand it to the little reaper, even when near apocalyptic, she was still cognizant enough to recognize somebody swearing around her. I also heard something jingling within a glass… Did Ruby get the swear jar in a second and have Yang insert some of her Lien inside?

Damn, girl is tenacious, I'll give her that. I didn't dare look up, however. If I lose this quest just because of curiosity, I'll be hitting myself face because of my stupid ass.

More blows, more hands grabbing my arms, but none of them were able to budge me. And finally, after a minute has passed. It finally happened.

[Quest Complete!]

[Thou Shalt Face a Monster Beyond Comprehension!]

[Objective: Take the jar of cookies away from Ruby and hold on to it for 30 seconds]

[Bonus Objective: Hold on to the jar for another 30 seconds]

[Rewards: 1 perk roll, 1 item roll, 5 stat points]

[Bonus Rewards: (Redacted)]

Haha! Yes! Finally! Another System perk!

I quickly got up, face beaming and left the jar of cookies on the ground. A glance on the two's faces and I saw them look at me with confused faces. Not that it's my problem anymore.

Cackling, I quickly got out of dodge before the war could start again. As if on cue, just as I stepped outside the kitchen, all hell broke loose, and the shouts of rage and anguish echoed behind me as the two girls fought for the jar of cookies.

Not my problem. I want to look at what perk I got.

[Perk Received!]

[Implant GRX (System Version) - Za Warudo…? Oh wait, wrong fandom. Speeds up perception, allowing for more moves and actions. Lasts for 3 real-time seconds. Can be used up to ten times before charges reset every 6:00 AM.]

"… Holy shit." My mouth hung wide open. This was a game-changer. Like, no joke. This is literally an overpowered ability. Sure, it doesn't come close to most other abilities in the multiverse, but in this world? That few seconds of speed could mean the difference between life and death.

I'll be keeping this as my ace in the hole. Plus, three seconds in real fights is a long time. With Implant GRX, I might be able to turn my two heavy hits into eight, or even twelve. That's how busted this perk is.

Also, ten times? And charges reset every six AM? I can already see myself using the ten charges just before six, and then using another ten after six during a very difficult fight. Not that I'd be able to do that because that shit is very, VERY specific.

Anywho, time to roll my other perk and item. I'll just do them at once since I'm already expecting common rolls.

[Common Harvesting Perk Received!]

[Monster Scavenger - Waste not, want not. Scrounging up materials from a hunt isn't as wasteful as it is anymore. No more killing the same monster just for that single gem, 'kay?]

[Epic Craftsmanship Item Received!]

[Ornn's Fork - For some reason, just holding on to this piece of utensil makes you feel like you could craft anything. Or maybe just make a good barbecue.]

… Bruh… Why couldn't the epic thing I got be the perk?

I sighed. Oh well, Implant GRX was today's finest catch. The other two I got were just background noise as far as I was concerned… Well, not the fork thing, though. Could probably use it when I'm creating my own mechashift weapon. I ain't trusting my RNG to give me one when I roll for an item.

Also, time to allot the five points I got.

Name: Jack Alano

Title: Unlucky Sunovabitch

Race: Faunus (Tiger [Retractable Claws])

SP = 5 - 5 = 0

STR: 24 + 5 = 29

VIT: 34

END: 36

AGI: 31

DEX: 13

INT: 11

WIS: 6

Yep, dump it all into strength. This way, I won't be punching like a little sissy. I think that's why it took so long to beat Yang during our first spar even with reinforcement.

Now then, with all that said and done, it's time to get back to my workout routine.

"RUBY! I WANT MY SHARE DUSTDAMMIT!" Yang's roar caused me to jolt slightly. It was followed by another shriek, but this time, instead of the roar of an angry lion, all I heard was the cute squeak of a mouse.

"MY COOKIES!!!"

… Yeah, today was weird.

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A/N: Tiny announcement, I'm starting to create my own game via RPG Maker. I already have a direction of how I want the game to play like, but story is still in the void. I'll let y'all know when I get a working demo.

Shameless Plugs:

patreon.com/IAmGuavaFruitFictionHub (only 1 early access chap rn, focused on SHA and ATH)

discord.gg/v9f5kjsfVv (Darius, eat your heart out.)