5

This… This is fucking great!

I salivated as I stared at the screen showing my new perk that boosted my healing. It may not be superhuman levels of regeneration, like that of Wolverine or Deadpool in the Marvel comics, but hey, not being cooped up in a hospital every time I get an injury would be great.

Plus, I get a knock-off version of The Gamer system when sleeping. It may not be as effective, but I'll take anything that can help me at this rate. Now, if that isn't all, what I need next is to roll for my next perks. The other item roll can come later.

[Rolling]

[81]

Yes! Finally, a rare roll. Now, what the hell will it give me?

[Perk Received!]

[Metallic Sense - You gain the ability to sense metal and its properties. You find rare metals a bit easier and gather them with practiced ease. It ain't mastery, but hey, at least you can grab and bag metals like a shopper on Black Friday.]

… Well, that's something. At least if I ever needed to make a weapon myself, I'll be able find better ores to make them with. Speaking of which, I'm in the RWBY universe, right? Mechashift weapons are a thing here… Can I make a Guts sword that can shift into a giant shotgun?

Actually, that would be pretty rad. Imagine the looks on people's faces when they see that huge, hulking beast of a metal slab slap you in the face, followed by a 4 gauge shotgun shell.

If they ain't dead by that point because of aura, then they ain't waking up until the next day.

Grinning to myself, I ready the next roll and, fingers crossed, hoped for a higher tier perk.

[Rolling]

[59]

Oh fuck you. Where's my fucking luck!?

[Perk Received!]

[Earthen Channeling - You can control rocks, metal and dirt. Good for you. It may not be as strong as those with mediocre training, but hey, magic is magic. Go make some dirt golems, or something.]

This system is becoming more of an ass the more I deal with it. Sighing, a light smile crept over my face as I continued reading the perk.

Finally! I am a certified magic user! It may be no fireball, but damn it if it ain't fun lobbing giant rocks at people. Hm… How about lobbing animated rocks at people? That could be a new one. Heh, golem bullets. Now that's something to think about.

With my perks rolled, next is to roll my item roll. GIVE ME FUCKING EXCALIBUR DAMN IT!

[Rolling]

[72]

No! Fuck you System!

[Item received! It has been deposited into your inventory for safe keeping.]

[Craftsman Satchel - Tool bag that contains the tools needed for various crafting disciplines. All of them are of high quality make, but they are just mundane, nothing too special about it.]

… Ugh… And here I was hoping for a better weapon than my hatchet, or hell, even just something I can use in the NOW, instead of the future.

Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. Time to allocate my stat points then.

Name: Jack Alano

Title: Unlucky Sunovabitch

Race: Faunus (Tiger [Retractable Claws])

SP = 10

STR: 6

VIT: 9

END: 10

AGI: 6

DEX: 9

INT: 9

WIS: 3

"Hmmm…" I hummed. Should I continue going the tank build? Or pivot into a mage build. I'm sure with my magic perk, I can advance it into something that is worthwhile, but I don't know if time is at my side. Hell, there wasn't any indication at which point canon started, other than it was at the start of the school year.

There was no mention of a date of any kind in the show. Just, "Here are some badass girls, they go to school, and they kick ass."

I clicked my tongue. Fortunately, there was a television just hanging from the ceiling directly to my northwest. There was one problem, though.

It was off.

Now look here, I ain't some kind of boomer that don't know how to operate a fucking TV, but one: the TV looks alien, and two: the remote beside me situated on a desk is also alien.

Like, where are the damn buttons?

Frowning, I grab the remote and try to figure out how the fuck it works, because frankly speaking, it looks like some kind of holographic interface with only the bits of metal located at each ends.

After fiddling with it for a couple of minutes, I finally managed to turn the TV on. With a sigh of relief, as well as slight giddiness, I waited with bated breath as the TV went through something all the TV's in the entire multiverse has.

A booting screen. At least, I think all of them in the multiverse has one. I ain't an engineer, or whatever they are called.

A few seconds was all it took for the TV to boot up, and then it lit up. Insert Discord light mode meme here, because holy shit, everything was blindingly white for a moment.

Cringing at the display, I squinted my eyes as I waited for my visual organs to adjust. A few more seconds and finally, FINALLY, I can look at the TV screen without thinking it was a second sun.

Also, thank god or whoever governed this world that the channel was already in the local news station, one with a Miss Lisa Lavender as the newscaster.

"Surge in Grimm activity rise in the outskirts of Vale as White Fang continues to make footholds within the Kingdom. Just this week, a train from the SDC arrived at the Vale Station with half of its cargo missing and most of its security destroyed. Eye witnesses claim that the White Fang were the main perpetrators of this theft. Luckily, there were no casualties among the passengers."

Wait, I recognize that event. Isn't that the Black Trailer? When Blake left that unhinged boyfriend of hers? What was his name? Something along the lines of bull?

Anyway, I've actually scoured the internet for RWBY lore when I was first fascinated by it, and one thing I came upon was the timeline. If I recall correctly, the Black trailer happened roughly a year or less before canon. Which means I have time to prepare.

So, just a year or more of training before shit hits the fan. Hopefully, I could stop Cinder and her cronies from destroying Vale because one: I live in this world now, and two: if Vale falls, that's one less Kingdom to protect people, and by extension, me.

Plus it makes General Irondick even more paranoid, thus making Atlas more of a liability in the future.

And all of this stems from a single problem.

Cinder Fall.

Don't get me wrong, Salem is the big bad of the series, and by extension, this world, by Cinder is the main reason why everything fell to shit. Without her, Salem would still be probably twiddling her thumbs in her dark castle or looking for a more suitable pawn that can get work done.

I mean, let's be real. For all the shits she's has thrown at her, she is the most capable of the entire of Salem's cronies. Hazel is muscle, Arthur Watts is just an egotistical tinkerer who thinks he's above everything, and Tyrian is a whack job that worship's Salem's feet like it was invented by the very Gods themselves.

Cinder, on the other hand, is a planner. The strategist. Sure, it may look like Salem is the one pulling the strings, but Cinder is the one who planned everything from start to finish. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Cinder would most definitely usurp Salem if she's sure she can overpower her.

So, to start with, the first thing I need to do is off Cinder. Ain't no way in hell am I trying to turn her to the good side. As for her two bitches, Emerald and Mercury? I don't know, I'll have the main cast decide, but Cinder must die, no matter what.

I can worry about Salem afterwards. Most probably with Ozpin and the Kingdoms behind my back. If one thing's for sure, the Shadow War between those two cannot be continued if I want it to end during my lifetime.

[][][]

The next day proved to me that things can somehow get worse when you're just starting. The previous day was all fun and sunshine, with me just lying in bed and watching the TV and any of its myriad channels.

Getting free food handed to me by the nurse that didn't taste like shit was another good point in my book.

So yeah, all I did yesterday was be my old slothful self. Lay in bed, watch TV to amuse myself, and sleep. Nothing I could really do with me being confined in this clinic and told to rest. So I did just that.

Now? Now it was like watching as all my hopes and dreams were sucked into a void while a monster looked at me like I was a piece of hanging meat.

"Well, this is quite a surprise." The man, the myth, the legend, Ozpin, stared at me like he was looking at something he wanted to dissect. Something he wanted to take apart to know what makes it tick. "You are looking… quite healthy for someone who just had his ribs broken a day before."

"Indeed, Headmaster Ozpin." The doctor from yesterday frowned slightly as he took a look at my new health results. "This rate of healing is abnormal, even with veteran Huntsmen with their aura unlocked."

"Quite a curiosity." Ozpin strode forward like he owned the place, eyes never leaving mine as he came closer, like a hawk observing its prey. "Pray tell, young man, do you know who I am?"

"Not a single clue." I lied as easily as I breathed. One thing was for sure, I made it a practice to learn how to lie and deceive back in my old world. It wasn't for anything bad, just evening the playing field with those big-shot gamblers at the table.

That didn't do any wonders for my social skills, however. All I got out of it was getting better at lying and having a good poker face. Throw me into a party to socialize? I'll come out of it like a fish out of water.

"Really?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "You really have no clue as to who I am?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "I just got here… Wherever this place is yesterday when something… funky happened."

I made sure to give Ozpin my best 'thinking' frown and stared at the doctor. I want to tell Ozpin the truth, because it would make this a whole helluva a lot easier, but you never know who's listening. Hell, the doctor could be a plant for all I knew.

Ozpin probably got the hint and motioned towards doctor. "Doctor Pines, would you allow me a moment of privacy with the young man here?"

"Why, certainly, Headmaster Ozpin." The doctor, Pines as Ozpin stated, and went out of the room while hauling a numerous amount of papers along with him, probably going to try and check why I healed fast.

As the door closed and the click was heard, Ozpin stalked towards me once more, eyes scrutinizing every little detail my face had.

"Now will you tell me why you're here?" Ozpin grabbed a chair and pushed it next to my bed, his sophisticated ass gently plopping itself onto the soft cushions.

"Alright then. What I'm going to tell you is true, and everything you learn about me, keep it to yourself, Ozma." The headmaster of Beacon twitched slightly, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes as he glared at me. "Don't look at me like that. I don't want to get between your feud with Salem and what the Brother Gods did to you, but because of unseen forces literally dragging me here, I now live in this world, and I'm pretty sure I want it to continue so I can continue living my life."

"… How?" Ozpin growled, actually growled, out the word. Looking over him, he hid it well, but his tone told me everything I needed.

"As with all fairy tales, some of them hold a tinge of truth." I said with a low voice, wanting to keep my voice close to a whisper. "In my case, the story of four girls… The story of your world were told through an animated TV show…"

The silence was deafening. Ozpin kept on glaring at me like I was public enemy number one, but his body looked as relaxed as it always was. Welp, time to hit the nail in the coffin. Hopefully, the semi-immortal believed me because this was one hell of a fucking gamble.

"In a universe not your own… In a universe where I was born at, this world was a piece of fiction consumed by the people as amusement. Your stories, motivations, your actions, everything was laid bare." I intoned, dramatically laying all the words on the table. Sue me for being a drama queen. "And I know how it ends."

"How does it end, then?" Ozpin frowned. I don't know what the hell he was thinking, but maybe he was taking what I was saying to heart.

"Well, knowing how it ends was a half-truth." I sighed, just now regretting not watching the latest episodes. "You see, the piece of media your stories were told wasn't finished yet. But it sure went damn close."

"Would you like to tell me then?" Ozpin looked like he had regained his calm, possibly ready for any possible revelation I might throw at him.

"Beacon destroyed, Vale in ruins, Mistral in anarchy, and Atlas fallen. As far as I have seen, Vacuo was the last line of defense against Salem." My words caused Ozpin to visibly tense. Observing closer, I could see his hands gripping against his cane tighter.

"… How did it happen?" Ozpin's voice sounded hollow. To be fair, even I would sound like that if after thousands of years, everything you did to fight against a horror ended up in failure.

"A single person. Cinder Fall. The main pawn of the Queen."