Story 22 Bloody Evolution Chapter 7

Over the next couple of days, I practiced working in and around my new armor and weapons. Getting used to them and making sure I wouldn't be an invalid while wearing it.

And at this point, I had learned how to pop my hands and arms out of the armor to take it off and put it back on in like a good two and a half minutes. Which although it wasn't nearly the speed in which a firefighter could put on their outfits they had to basically just step into.

But it was progress, and in time when I explored my weapon creation and other abilities. I could possibly trust the Scarlatina's to put more Mechashift technology into this than just the belt feeders and ammo sorting machine that went on my back.

Either way... With two more days left till Beacon started, I had one major goal. 

To fucking finish this last Wisdom Cube so I could create another shipgirl.

As if I was going to hold a would-be fortress from any number of Grimm. Then I wanted to make sure that I had some more firepower that only another shipgirl could provide.

"So, do you have any control over what kind of shipgirls come out of the wisdom cube?" Prinz asked as she watched me holding the ever so slowly forming wisdom cube inside my hands as the sounds of the hotel room's tv filled the room to break the silence.

I shook my head and after said after a moment. "Other than getting a mental picture of what kind of ship I want, in like a carrier, destroyer, battleship, etc. I can't pick a particular ship I want. Why is there a comrade you wanted?" I asked curiously.

There was a pause before Prinz spoke slowly. "Not in a particular ship I suppose. But I want you to summon someone strong as although I am one of the better medium-scale fighters. I am not at the level of mass destruction the leaders of other navies are." 

I nodded in understanding as Bismark the leader of the Iron Blood navy could create tiny black holes at the contact points of where her cannon shots landed. Likewise with Queen Elizabeth in the Royal Navy was able to heavily boost all Royal Navy ships that fight alongside her.

Either way, I took a breath and said. "Well, I planned to make a Battleship, as they all have a great amount of blunt firepower without any muss or fuss." I waved the wisdom cube in the before I continued my thoughts. "Then after I make Destroyer for a high speed and damage unit, I was going to make a repair or munitions ship."

Prinz gave small hum of thought before she said. "That is a good plan, but also it could be useful to have a carrier to use their planes as scouts and to harry the Grimm. Or I will suggest making a Large Cruiser to act as the core of our formations."

At the thought of a large cruiser... I looked down at my Wisdom Cube and gave a weak smile and said. "Yeah... Large Cruisers take two wisdom cubes, so I am going to stick to a Battleship." 

Prinz understood what I meant as it was more important to have more guns on the field than none at all when our lives were going to be at stake in the next couple of days.

So for now I just kept working at forming the Wisdom Cube while Prinz and I shared small talk and got closer during the next couple of days.

-

The ride to Beacon was set for three in the afternoon, and I had gotten ready early in the morning and for the rest of my free time, I worked at the wisdom cube and then... At like one o-clock I finally did it!

It took me a couple of weeks but I had done it. I made a wisdom cube on my own!

Holding it in my hands I felt the Battleship's soul within just waiting for me to push a bit of aura/magic into the cube to awaken it. "Well Prinz, are you ready?" I asked with excitement.

Prinz leaned up agaisnt me with her arms wrapping around my waist as she gave out a slight hum before saying. "Sure go ahead. I am ready should the meeting go a bit poorly from the get-go."

I nodded and then taking a breath, I squeezed the wisdom cube with my aura rising up to fill it one last time and the glowing rainbow-like wisdom cube brightened in its colors before it broke apart in my hands with the shards flying outwards to form a shape out of solid light.

The solid form of light began to take on shape... And I breathed a mental sigh of relief at seeing how the shape continued so I wasn't unlucky enough to get a little girl.

But as the light took on its final size and the light faded away, I couldn't help a small smile as I did a mental fist pump at who I had gotten.

"The indomitable Black Dragon... That's right, its me New Jersey!" She announced happily as she posed and pointed at me dramatically.

And to make sure New Jersey didn't feel awkward, I clapped my hands together as Prinz gave a slight groan and muttered. "Oh god... It's her." 

"Hello, New Jersey. I am glad to see a ship from my homeland was the one that formed from that wisdom cube." I spoke kindly.

To which New Jersey nodded and then her eyes landed on Prinz beside me. And she nodded with an easy smile as she said. "Iron Blood huh... Well I was on a Pacific front so no hard feelings between us?" 

There was a moment of silence before Prinz slowly nodded and said. "Yes.. I am Prinz Eugen, and we now serve under the same Admiral. Our past will be left behind us as this world is dangerous enough as it is."

And from there Prinz and I worked to share the information we had collected in our notes about the dangers of this world, the nobility system, the magic, and of course how we were going to Beacon in but a couple of hours at this point.

After downloading all that information New Jersey put a finger to her lips and said earnestly. "Alright! Its a lot of info... So for now, just point me at the enemies and I will deal with them haha." 

While New Jersey was reading the information we had collected and was speaking. I was also taking in her appearance. From top to bottom, she had long light blue hair, and bluish grey eyes while having a head piece on her head that looked kinda like bunny ears.

But they were actually a set of complicated radio equipment and radar. And while she had similar rigging to Prinz, hers was a good deal larger with her rigging being two platforms on each side of her with each carrying her main cannons from her ship that held six-inch guns and fifteen-inch guns.

Meaning that she shot... Stupidly powerful rounds.

But beyond that, she wore a top jacket on her shoulder with her arms outside of the sleeves and her body was otherwise covered in a tightly clinging black body glove that that clung to her ample breasts and at her waist a sort of skirt was introduced to the body glove that covered her bottom area while the body glove continued downwards all the way to her feet.

So she was definitely hot to say the least. 

Though not as exotic looking as Prinz who has her white hair with the red strip in it.

"So! You said something about some retainers that will be working for us? Are they cute hehe?" New Jersey asked excitedly.

And Prinz chuckled with her leaning agaisnt me a bit more fully as she said with some fond teasing joy. "Oh yes, those two are indeed quite cute. Two of the local faunus's, they have these adorable rabbit ears on their heads." 

I could see New Jersey's eyes light up as she clapped her hands together. "Oooh, I can't wait to meet them!"

'Good to see that New Jersey is keeping her rather happy excitably personality.' I thought with a small smile coming to my face before relaxing for a minute before I realized something. "Oh yeah, we will probably need to gather up New Jersey a bag of stuff. She won't be in her combat outfit all the time." 

My newest shipgirl placed a hand on her chest and pouted as she said firmly. "My outfit is perfect! I was the longest-running Battleship in all of history after all, I am here to stay!"

To which I raised an eyebrow and asked her curiously. "Oh you want to sleep in that as well?" 

And that made New Jersey still before she chuckled with a wry smile crossing her face as she said. "Alright alright, you win Admiral." 

After that, seeing as the clock was ticking down. I decided to have us get going to get going. Our flight was in less than a couple of hours and god knows what the lines and other obstacles are going to be like.

The three of us made our way through Vale's busy streets and we took a tram ride to the northern side of Vale where the airstrip was that would take us over to Beacon.

Once we got to the landing strip there was a whole crowd where Beacon initiatives would be going and several signs rules what we needed to have done.

[Have your valid I.D within your suitcases for extra gear for Beacon Staff to register to you.]

[You will only need to verify your identity should you be accepted into Beacon after the initiation. All materials, weapons, dust, magical reagents and books are formally Beacon's property should you fail initiation.]

There were a couple more rules... Like rules utterly forbidding fighting lest they be banned from Beacon. But I was more interested in the second rule. On how magical reagents and books would be collected by Beacon should the initiate fail their entry into Beacon.

'I wonder if that's how they got to fill their libraries. They just kept the books and inherited knowledge the nobles had collected who failed and died during initiation.

As literally, the only criteria for failing or passing initiation was simplifying surviving a set amount of time and making your way to the rally point to be taken back to Beacon.

But as I was mingling with New Jersey and Prinz Eugen next to me a bit off to the side, I saw how the people here were separated into what looked four or five major groups.

First was the clearly magically trained young adults who were on the older end of in their early twenties as magic apparently took years before you were combat capable with it.

The second group was the aura users who were more on the younger end who were here to get as strong as possible in such an eventful environment that would enrich their souls.

The third group... It was clearly the nobility, they wore themselves with utmost pride and whereas the group of magic user's only really had some handguns and their staffs to cast magic.

The nobility clearly had enchanted weapons that could act as both a weapon an aura user would use while still being capable of casting magic with the runes and magical gems inlaid within the staffs.

The fourth group was the retainers who belonged to said nobility, they wore fastenings and the family icons of the family they served. While being well-armed and all of them had large leather backpacks they wore on their backs.

The last group was another group of retainers. But they were all clearly attached to people without backing or they had latched onto someone who didn't support them.

But after a couple of minutes, I blinked and waved towards some familiar faces with Alice and Velvet moving over towards us to join my group with them both looking at New Jersey's rabbit ear-like radar system on her head.

"This is New Jersey, she is another one of my companions, did you girls make the preparations as you needed?" I asked as I saw that Velvet was carrying a small cylinder at her hips while Alice had a large battleaxe that looked like it was also part gun while they both had the leather bags I saw all the other retainer's having.

"Yup! We got everything we needed done, and unless the initiation somehow goes past a week even with ten people we have enough compressed food to last for a week." Alice said cheerfully.

I nodded and then I tilted my head to the side and asked curiously. "Wait what about water then? Are we acquiring water in the field?"

Velvet flushed a bit but said. "It's a Vale thing so it makes sense if you don't know. But retainers always have these special bags, they are actually alive as they have the liver, stomach, and heart of a single cow and goat from which the soul of the cow and goat is used. With their own leather to enchant these bags to process used water, food scraps, dead animals, and any other biomatter to make food and water for hunters in the field if needed." 

'That... Is fucking metal as hell.' I thought with a slight shiver as I saw Prinz and New Jersey turn their nose up at the thought.

"Actually... It its pretty good, the milk the bag makes anyway. The food... Is basically curd that you want to bake in a fire into make a cookie or brick so you can just stuff it down." Alice said with a weak grin before she looked over at the different colored bags the high-end retainers had.

"The nobility enchants their own retainers bags to have them make flavored milk, and I heard the Astrasa Family has actually succeeded in making part of their bags out of herbal plant matter and then making the rest of the bag out of a single clutch of chickens they were basically able to make the bags produce fried chicken flavored blocks."

I couldn't help a snort at the thought and I shook my head as I said. "Thats... Weird to say the least." 

But any further talking were cut off as a wave of pressure landed on our shoulders and everyone snapped to attention as a feminine voice spoke sharply.

"Silence!"

I looked over and saw a strict woman... A woman I recognized from her tight-fitting outfit and blond hair as Glynda Goodwitch who smacked her riding crop into her hand as before she continued to speak after seeing everyone shut up.

"My name is Glynda The Goodwitch, A-rank Hunter, and I will be going over your initiation. Keep quiet as your own life is on the line regardless of your parentage." She spoke with warning towards the nobles who grimaced as though her gaze held a great weight that pinned them in place.

"For this half of the year's initiation. You will have to survive three days, all of today, and the next three days up till this point of noon three days later, where I and two more hunters and magicians clear out the relay point which you MUST reach from whatever point you are in within the Emerald Forrest." 

Glynda took a deep breath before continuing. "You will be airlifted from this airstrip and then directly air-dropped into the Emerald Forrest, you will be leaving everything you cannot carry on your back or your retainers back here. Which will be taken to Beacon with your luggage being reunited into your hands should you survive the initiation."

"Any relevant questions?" She asked and I saw a male young adult from the magician's side raise up their hand and Glynda nodded towards him and he asked a good question actually.

"What will be the signal for the rally point?" He asked.

To which Glynda nodded and said. "I will be using a large-scale destructive spell to clear out a landing pad for the surviving students to be taken back to Beacon via the airships, beyond that initial bombardment from the air, I will also be releasing several flares to make the area." 

With that last question done Glynda gave us all a clear look and said bluntly. "The Beacon Initiation has a forty percent survival rate and an additional twenty percent casualty rate of people being crippled. I want you all to think on this, do you think you are great enough to beat those odds? Are you willing to bet on escaping the jaws of the endless Grimm?" 

I saw a number of the nobles grimace and look unwilling to go further but Glynda just said darkly. "Those who realize the danger should turn back now. As this profession only ends in your death, and even then... Death isn't the end of your service in protecting humanity."

With that she turned around and climbed into the open back bay of a bullhead and with that an intercom spoke up. "All prospects. Please board the Bullheads with your weapons and gear firmly in hand while retainers stay beside your lords as you will be leaving the Bullhead with your lord."

"Not a great pep talk huh." New Jersey said with a wry smile and I could only nod as I strode onto the bullhead even as I heard the sounds of anti-air guns on the walls going to work to clear out the area for us to take off.