Just Another Day in Vale

With the dawn of a new day, you decide that it's time you find a place to train. The robbery showed you that you still had quite a ways to go before you could defend yourself from everything.

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You had wanted to find a good place to train, somewhere you wouldn't attract much attention, a place you wouldn't need to hold back. Sadly, what you found was an abandoned fishing villa near the outskirts of Vale. The passage of time had turned what was probably a beautiful house into

a plant covered wreck. Still, it had a lot of open space to work with so it would do. It also took time to walk here and go back, so you wouldn't be able to train as much as you hoped. Though, at least it was remote and out of the way. Because it was near the outskirts, Grimm seemed to pass by sometimes. That wasn't a problem, you could use them as training material. The best part of the location was the ocean.The fresh breeze and the smell of salt helped to calm and relax you. Really,

this wasn't that bad of a find.

Either way now having found somewhere to train, you looked back on your major weakness, namely, the fact that you had

absolutely no idea how to fight without your weapon. Orange had said that your punches were very telegraphed, so you decided to fix that first. Thankfully, there were quite a few boulders and stone walls to practice your punches on.

Many cracked and broken boulders later, you had managed to increase the speed at which you punched and how much control you had over how you punched. It wasn't that much progress, but at least you wouldn't accidentally punch yourself.

[Gained Skill "Unarmed Combat" Current Rank is (F+)]

=====

As you trained with your sword, you realized something. You were quickly approaching the limit of what you could learn alone. It wasn't impossible to improve alone, it would just be very slow and difficult. Finding a book or a teacher would almost certainly increase your chances of learning quicker and better. Still, you wold continue on.

Once more practicing the basics, you swung and swung your sword until you could no longer do so. You had managed to increase your timing and speed once more. Hopefully, you could find a good instructor at Beacon.

[Great Swords: (D) -->Great Swords: (D+)]

=====

Going back to the nice spot in the park, you opened up your copy of "Dust For Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals" and continued to read from where you left off. Once you had gotten past the safety instructions, the book went into detail on

the "Basic" types of dust and their major uses. The four basic types were Wind, Fire, Water, and Lightning.

They could be combined to make othertypes of dust, but the book didn't go into detail on that. You found the fact that no one has yet to figure out the origins of dust quite interesting.

You really would like to get your hands on some dust. Experimenting with dust sounded very fun.

[Dust For Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals 100% Done! You now know the basic types of dust and its uses. Need actual dust and practice to increase your knowledge further.]

With your other book finished, you opened up the small manual for your scroll. Hazel had given you her number, so you wanted to see if you could give her a call. The manual was quite short and it showed most of the basic features. When you finished, you could make calls, browse the "Net" and much more.

The thing you found most interesting was the aura bar.When you found the bar, the scroll had prompted you to press your finger against a little thumb print, so you did. After countless errors, you realized that the scroll might be trying to measure your "Soul". Letting a tiny bit through your fingers, the scroll beeped and displayed a green bar. So it measured the strength of your soul?

You supposed it would be quite ideal for hunters, after all, they wore their soul like skin tight suits. If this was monitored, you'd have to constantly keep a small stream of your soul going into the scroll to keep up appearances. How....frustrating. Although.....this might lead to you creating new soul based techniques. You rarely allowed your soul to leave your body, so doing so might allow you to improve in areas you didn't know you had to improve upon.

[Scroll Manual 100% Done! Can Now Properly Use A Scroll!]

=====

With your training finished, you began your walk back to the hotel. Checking your funds, you realized that you were running quite low. Before you left this morning, you had asked the hotel clerk how much the hotel charged per night, she had informed you that Ozpin was paying for your 7-day stay. Still, maybe you should find a job?

Lost in thought, you accidentally bump into someone. You apologize and take a look around. What you see is a group of people dressed in identical uniforms and

wearing the same mask. You also appear to have walked into some kind of warehouse, boxes litter the area.

"Hey...you-" The person you bumped into begins to say.

Stopping, he glances at you then at your sword. He opens and then quickly closes his mouth.

After a few seconds, he opens his mouth once more and asks-

"You the new kid? Did you lose your uniform or something? "

New? Well, yes, you are new to Vale.

"Right.....well, the changing room is that way." He says pointing towards one of the doors near the back

"Though, I'm not sure if we have any uniforms in your size." He says as he rubs his chin.

"Either way, don't let the boss catch you out of uniform, he'll chew you out. It's not fun, so hurry up. I promise I won't rat you out, us Faunus gotta stick together." He says

Taking one final look at the masked Faunus, you turn around and start walking away. You hear the man turn back towards the front of the warehouse.

You're going to leave this place. You have absolutely no idea where you are or how you got here. It wouldn't be nice to take advantage of such nice people. You were even offered some free clothes, you don't have many of those.

A small part of you is sad they didn't offer any food, that would have definitely convinced you to join their group.

Looking around as you step out into the fresh night air, you see tents set up all around the warehouse. The cold wind chilling your ears as it blows past you. Wrapping Taily around your leg, you look to the sky. The shattered moon is all that illuminates the large trees and people around you.

You're still in the forest and you have no idea which way Vale is.

Not wanting to ask anyone else for directions, you decide to find the tallest tree and climb it. As to not attract attention, you do this in a place where you can't see any people. Looking around for such a spot, you see someone that looks to be of some importance. Sadly, because he was walking towards the warehouse you only manage to see his back.

Is he the leader of this....club?

After you watching him enter the warehouse you return to what you were doing. Finding a nice tree, you get ready to climb it. Suddenly, you hear a loud shout coming from the warehouse. You couldn't really make it out, but it sounded like, "Breath to All Human!".That didn't make much sense, maybe this is some kind of Faunus club about humans?

Either way, you return to the task at hand.

As you stand atop the tall tree, you can see the faint glow of what could only be the city lights. It's quite far off, but it shouldn't take you too long to get back to the hotel.

Thankfully, you don't accidentally walk into any more secret clubs on your way back.

Finally arriving back at the hotel, you greet the clerk and wish her a good night. She smiles and waves before wishing you sweet dreams.

Thinking back on your trip home, even though you lost your way, if you ever wanted to join up with those Faunus you know where their clubhouse is.

Once more, you slide into bed and hope that tomorrow will be just as great as today.

=====

You dream of a boy.

Just a normal boy, average in every sense of the word. He, his sister and his parents live on the outskirts of a nearby city.

"The view is great! The Hunters are close by! I'll protect You" These are the words the father says to reassure his family that living this far out is perfectly fine.

The boy doesn't understand, he simply enjoys the forest with his sister. They play, run, hide, and find secret spots to make forts.

One Day, an old man asks permission to rest in their house for a few days. The Mother is cautious, but the father agrees wholeheartedly. After all, "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet"

As the days pass, the young boy develops a friendship with the old man. He shows the man all the secret places that he and his sister have found. The old man follows and humors the young boy, sharing stories

of his travels.

Soon, the day comes for the old man to leave. Even though it had been only a few days, the old man had grown fond of the young boy. So, as he prepared to leave, he offered to awaken the young boys soul. Without a second thought, the boy agreed. After all, with such power, he could grow up to protect his family. The old man chuckled and says, "I see."

With the choice made, the young boy's soul awakens.

Months pass and the boy had only scratched the surface of his new found power. He was faster, stronger and smarter. Everything was looking up for the boy and his family.

Sadly, the family would soon be attacked by monsters.

Like any other day, the boy was off exploring the forest. His sister had chosen to stay home and help their mother with the housework.

Lounging by a stream, the boy notices a large plume of smoke coming from the direction of his house. Fearing the worst, he runs back as fast as he can.

Sadly, what awaited the boy was only a burning house. He yelled and yelled for his parents, but nobody came.

Soon, men came from the city. They put out the fire and searched for his family.

After much work, the men had found the boy's family, but sadly, all that was left was bone and charred flesh.

Yet, there was one ray of hope. Only two bodies were found, the sister's body was not among the deceased.

Days later, it would be discovered that the fire was started by a well-known bandit group.

They had ransacked the family house, killed his parents, and taken his sister.

As the boy lay in bed crying himself to sleep, he cursed his power. It hadn't helped him save his family. What good was it if it couldn't help him when it really counted.

And so, at the height of the boys rage, sadness, and regret, something withing the boy broke. As if a floodgate to the boys soul had been opened, the boy was filled with power.

He heard a whisper, right by his ear. "What do you wish for?"

The voice unmistakable, the boy turned, but.....there was no one there.

Once more the voice at the edge of his ear whispers. "What do you desire?"

Hearing his mother voice again, the boy begins to sob.

"What do you want?" The voice continued

Emotionally exhausted, the boy whispered, "I..I.Just want to save my sister....."

Finally receiving an answer, the voice whispers back "Yes, that's my little boy"

The boy's sobs only grew louder.

With an objective chosen, the voice says, "Now, the first step to saving your sister is...."

With That, The dream begins to fade.

As everything returns to darkness, you catch one final glimpse of the boy looking up. No longer crying and with a determined look on his face, the boy gets out of bed.

Truly, as you watch the determination on his face, you can only say that this is the beginning of the boy's Path To Victory.

And so, the boy heads off to hunt monsters.

=====

Waking up, you feel a strange....emotion. Was it because of the dream? Is this...sadness?

Though, As usual, you hardly remember the dream you had. It involved a boy and a fire or something like that.

Getting out of bed, you get ready for the day ahead. Opening up the note given to you by Hazle, you begin to type in her number into your contacts list. Once that's finished, you select call and wait for Hazel to pick up.

"Hello, Hazel speaking." She says

Hearing her voice once again makes you smile. Making sure to keep a calm tone, you tell her that it's Mordin.

"Oh! Mordin, how have you been? I didn't expect to hear from you for another week. Students usually get their scrolls after initiation." she says

You tell her that Ozpin had given you one as a gift.

"A gift huh. You know what, as soon as you can afford a scroll, I suggest you buy one for yourself. Just in case, i really rather not have this "Ozpin" be spying on your calls." She says, a small amount of concern in her voice

Ozpin is spying on you?

"Probably not, but it's a possibility. Besides, custom scrolls are much better that the ones you get from school." She says. you can picture her writing this all down on a board for you to read.

And so, you continue to talk to Hazel about your stay at Vale so far. How you met a nice friend and how you found a secret Faunus club.

"Only you Mordin, only you." She says chuckling.

You make sure to ask her how Brick is doing.

"Brick? The guy found himself a girlfriend." She says

A girlfriend? As in a female friend? Would that make Brick your boyfriend?

Suddenly, you hear loud laughter coming from the phone

"Bwahahaha. I'll let him know you said that im sure he'll get a kick out of it. But no, a girlfriend is-" Whatever she was about to say is cut off as she stops talking.

"Alright, sorry to call it here, but I have to go. Maybe we can finish this discussion next time eh? Hope to hear from you soon, Mordin."

With that, you say goodbye and hang up.

You feel better, hearing Hazel's voice always calms you down.

=====

Finally opening up "Swimming For Land Lovers" you begin to read. You had looked at the map of the world and had been quite shocked at how much of it was composed of water. Had you been born over the ocean you would have been helpless and would no doubt have drowned. So you sought to fix the problem of "Drowning".

The book explains to you the basic ways to move your body to get maximum thrust and buoyancy. While reading, you come up with the idea of using Taily as some kind of propulsion system. Sadly, you won't be able to try anything you've learned until you actually have water to swim in.

[Swimming For Land Lovers 100% Done! Gained "Swimming(E++)" You know how to swim, or at least how it's supposed to be done. You won't Drown! Need actual Swim practice to increase your knowledge further.]

=====

Although you think you'd be fine alone in the forest, you decided to read "Basic Outdoor Survival Guide" just to be sure. Good thing you did. The book showed all sorts of poisonous and dangerous plants. More importantly, the book showed you how to make a fire without matches or powers!

You found it quite amazing that rubbing two sticks together could make fire. Not wasting any time, you decided to try making your own fire. Sadly, a nearby old man stopped and yelled at you. Well, maybe you can try making a fire later?

[Basic Outdoor Survival Guide 50% Done! Know the Basic Poisonous Plants Around Vale! Can Now Make a Fire!]

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Moving to your training ground, you find a nice spot to work on your body domain. Wanting to increase your durability, you focus on that to start off with. Progress is slow, but eventually, you manage to cover one of your fingers in a hard, rough material. After you manage to cover your whole hand with the scales, you move on to testing how much defense it provides you. Surprisingly, it gives a nice boost to your defenses.

Though, it seems like the scales disappear

quickly after they are hit. Still, they could be used in a pinch to stop a strong blow. With that done, you move on to tentacles. After much practice, you can now grow arm sized tentacles from your hands, you even manage to get them to stick to things.

[Dragon Scales(LV1) Gained! A Body Of Tentacles (LV1) --> (LV2)]

Still lacking when it comes to unarmed combat, you start punching things again.

Maybe if you punch enough times you could beat all your enemies in one punch?

Either way, you continue on with what little you know and eventually you see yourself improving. Sadly, you've still got a long way to go before you can call yourself proficient at punching things.

[Unarmed Combat (F+) --> (E--)]

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As the day comes to a close, you once more return home and have a good night's sleep.

You are awoken by the sound of water hitting the window.

Walking downstairs, you ask the nice clerk when the rain will stop. She tells you that it's going to be raining all day.