Chapter 12: Stop Questioning My Virtue!

Turns out getting a Level 5 Knife Throwing Skill was a double-edged sword— Er, knife. You know what I mean. Yes, my nightly war against my Zanpakuto did see me put up a much stronger and competent showing, but because the Skill was reflected in him, that just made the experience exponentially more intense as a consequence.

Where before we could at most only keep up nine cutting tears open at a time, now we could sustain fifteen. Where before I could barely come close to hitting him, now I was often times a hair's width away from landing a hit and getting stabbed what felt like five times as often.

Fortunately, Souls were made of sterner stuff than flesh and bone. Even if I came out of the training with more than enough cuts and "blood loss" to kill a hundred normal people, I was never truly wounded to the point where my fighting prowess diminished. I might have looked like I would die at any second, but I was still fighting by the end of the night as well as I had at the start; better, if I was being honest, even; I had to be with all the experience I was getting.

I woke up with two more Unique Gacha Coins. On the "warm-up" trip to Beacon, I got a few dozen more Rare Gacha Coins and almost two-hundred Uncommons. That was par for the course, so I moved on to see Ozpin without any fanfare.

I walked over to the most prominent building on the campus, Beacon Tower, and took the elevator to Ozpin's office on the second-highest floor. When I entered the room, the man was already waiting for me with another person I did not recognize.

"Mr. Lain," Ozpin said in greeting. "I'd like to introduce you to Nicholas Arc, the specialist I mentioned to you on our phone call yesterday."

"Nice to meet you," I said as was to be expected.

Nicholas offered a handshake which I accepted. He tried to test my grip but came short of overwhelming my inhuman strength. "Promising," he said. "I can at least be assured my vacation wasn't disrupted for nothing."

"Ozpin?" I looked at the white-haired man judgementally. You did not mess with someone's vacation unless there was an emergency; and it had better been for something actually important. Getting my Aura unlocked wasn't something I needed urgently.

"It was the best opportunity I could arrange for the foreseeable future," Beacon's Headmaster explained. "Mr. Arc was already visiting Vale and I arranged for his leave to be extended and covered for back at his home in exchange for getting your Aura unlocked. Believe me, it was the fastest and cheapest way to get someone with an Aura pool large enough to safely handle a case like yours. I can't count on one hand the number of people who might have more Aura than him."

That was reasonable. I gave him a nod and turned to Nicholas before asking, "So, how are we doing this."

"Right here, right now, so I can get on with my day," the man said as a matter of fact. He didn't sound agitated or impatient, just done with the situation and looking to get through it as quickly as possible.

"Sit down," he told me. When I did, he placed a hand on my shoulder and began to pour his Aura into me. It was either that or his Semblance.

I watched as the yellow-gold Aura of the man poured faster and faster. The light it cast on the room continued to brighten up to the point of becoming blinding. Then from one moment to the next, the glow flickered from yellow-gold to vantablack.

[Congratulations! For unlocking your Aura without the use of Gacha, you have earned a Locked Unique Gacha Coin!]

[Congratulations! For achieving City-level destruction potential, you have earned a Locked Epic Gacha Coin!]

What?! I could get Locked Gachas outside of Scenarios?! Aura alone had taken me to the point where I could destroy cities?!

"You're a scary kid," Nicholas said as he took his hand off my shoulder. "That took nearly 80% of my Aura and if you didn't already know, that was just to break through the barrier to bring out yours. It's possible that you have five or six times as much Aura as I do."

"Thanks?" I said, unsure of how I was supposed to respond.

"Anyway, my business here is over with. Don't bother me again unless there's another emergency," Nicholas told Ozpin before leaving without waiting for a response.

"Don't let his shortness with me ruin your opinion of the man," Ozpin said. "He isn't usually this callous. As you can imagine, no one likes being dragged away from their family when they're supposed to be relaxing."

"Hey, as long as he isn't being an asshole to me without a reason, I won't complain." Even if he was being an asshole to me, I wouldn't complain. I'd be an adult about it and be an asshole right back.

"In that case, I think we can call today a success. You have your Aura, so I'll expect you to at least take one mission for me every two or three weeks."

"Sure thing," I said.

He told me he'd message me via Scroll, when he had a mission lined up for me and I left for the gym.

Immediately, the benefits of Aura became evident as I crushed all my previous records with ease. If I wasn't using at least one whole ton, I wouldn't feel anything even while doing lateral raises for my shoulders. I twelve tons was a good weight to rep out squats and if I really focused, I could go up to fifteen tons. All my other exercises scaled similarly and though it didn't look any different than my first day at the gym, anyone keen on checking my weights could tell.

I worked out until lunch time rolled around before heading over to the cafeteria.

"And so we meet again," Coco said as she dropped her tray across from me and sat down.

"Hello to you too," I said before eating a french fry. Today I was eating a hamburger with fries like any proud and red-blooded American would for lunch. The random thought made me pause and consider, 'had I been an American before coming to Remnant?'

"A little birdie told me you may or may not have impressive bartending skills. Be honest, how much of an alcoholic are you?" She asked.

"I don't drink," I stared at her challengingly.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't either if I was good enough to put professionals to shame with my skills. Don't lie to me, I have video proof."

"I don't drink!" I hissed. "Why do people keep assuming that, just because I can mix drinks? You don't need to be a chemist to make soap as a hobby. Cooking just so happens to be one of my hobbies and it encompasses the art of mixology."

"Are you serious?" She asked.

"Yes! You, Velvet, and everyone else here could probably look just as good working as a bartender as I do. Whatever video proof you have, I highly suggest you review it. If you did, you'd see there's no flair to what I did, just raw speed. Follow the right recipe, and anyone can look good if they're fast enough."

"Hmm," she hummed while taking a sip from her drink. "Maybe I will. Just know that I'm keeping my eyes on you. Don't even think about tempting Velvet with your fancy drinks. I won't even have to convince Yatsu to kick your ass if you do something distasteful."

"Do I look like a scumbag to you?" I deadpanned. I know she was joking, but it was still a bit insulting anyway.

"You better not be," she snorted.

We ate together while the rest of her team arrived one after another.

"Say, Lapis," Velvet said, drawing my attention.

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking… About your suggestion, I mean, and I was wondering if you could teach me how to bartend." She said, before quickly adding, "Only if you can set aside some time and it doesn't cause you any trouble and… You know what, forget about it."

I looked at Velvet before turning to look at the rest of her team. Coco was staring intently, Yatsuhashi was observing cautiously, and Fox was whimsically enjoying the sudden tension at our table.

"Sure, Velvet. I don't really do anything on Tuesdays or Fridays and my Sundays are also usually free too, so if any of those days work for you, I'd be happy to have something lighthearted like teaching bartending—" I stared everyone but Velvet down "—to do to kill the time."

"Fridays work for me! Are you available on or after six? Training with my team lasts until five and I need at least half an hour to get cleaned up and get ready, then another half hour to get to the city from Beacon."

"Anytime after six works for me," I said.

"Great!"

"Great?" Fox grinned delightedly as he asked, "And where do you guys plan on—" he snorted as he failed to suppress a chuckle, "—holding your lessons, huh? I'm just dying to know."

"My apartment, I guess. Why, do you have a better place in mind?" I genuinely asked.

"Not really," Fox's grin lessened, presumably because he didn't get the reaction he wanted. It picked right back up as he asked, "I wonder though. Two adults, alone at an apartment far away from Beacon, with alcohol and only themselves around to stay entertained. Whatever could go wrong?"

"First off, I don't have any alcohol in my apartment. I also don't plan on buying any either. You don't really need any to learn how to mix drinks. I can just teach her nonalcoholic variants first, use substitutes and rely on ratios for the rest. Beyond that, if you really don't trust me or her to be responsible adults, you're free to come along as a chaperone."

That last bit was a lie and a gamble. I didn't actually expect him or anyone on Velvet's team to accept the offer. The implication behind accepting that kind of thing could fracture their relationship if they went through with it. Could you imagine having Aura and training to be a Hunstman or Huntress and your own teammates don't think you can handle your own relationships? It couldn't be me.

"You really know how to take the fun out of everything, don't you?" Fox sighed.

"You're learning," I nodded sagely.

The five of us chatted a bit more before we finished our lunch and went our separate ways. Them, to their classes, training or whatever else they usually did, and me to more superhuman training at the gym. It went about as well as I expected with no interruptions until the time for me to leave arrived.

With my Aura-enhanced body, I got home about twice as fast as I took to get to Beacon this morning. If not for the force-spreading effect of Aura, which I could instinctively use both defensively and willfully, the force behind my running steps would probably leave web-like cracks on whatever piece of floor I touched while running at full speed.

Today had been intense enough with all the physical work I subjected myself to, so after getting back to my apartment I spent the rest of the day lazing around until it was time to go to sleep.

As I was in the process of slipping back into my Inner World, it occurred to me that Katayoki had been unusually quiet since… Since I unlocked my Aura.

I awoke in my Inner World and my wonder became concern. The void of inky black nothingness, was still just that, but it was deeper if that made any sense. I don't know how I could tell, but it had changed and my Zanpakuto Spirit was nowhere around.

'Oh yeah, I never did cash in those Locked Gacha got for unlocking my Aura,' I remembered before using them.

I lost consciousness instantly.