Bloody Evolution

by Azazyel0714

Summary:

Reborn in the world of RWBY... But changed to fit it's creed of bloody evolution. Jake has to not die in this land of extreme violence where the Grimm are an actual threat of extinction after the Darkness Brother God was slain and supercharged the Grimm.

Chapter 1

The meeting room was rather quiet as my sponsor read my file before dropping it and bringing his hands up and down... Up and down. As he tried to process the information that was on it about my death.

"So... I assume this was a rather original death, at least?" I asked with a wry expression. 

Oh, sure, I had already freaked out about my death... But honestly, I died very quickly without much pain, and my revival felt like just waking up in my restored body.

My sponsor's expression twitched into a wry smile before he looked at me and chuckled. "Yeah... I can say this is an original one to say the least. Normally, Jake's die in funny ways, especially once they cool down and look back on it. But you..."

I shrugged as he shook his head and spoke in complete exasperation. "Like it was an unjust death as well! You were dating a quintuplet, and when you got with one of the other four of her damned sisters... They literally looked damn near the same, and it was in the dark she was the one who started it!"

"And yet it was all five who decided to do a weird fucking ritual and then sacrifice me to Satan... And then kill me via a literal woodchipper. But hey, at least I smashed three out of the five quintuplets." 

My sponsor giggled and said past his chest-shaking chuckles. "They say to be careful of the goths and emo chicks due to all their mental issues... You took that as a fucking challenge and got literally put face-first through a wood chipper."

I took a deep breath. And with sage wisdom, I said quietly. "The more mental issues a woman has... The better head she gives."

My sponsor just shook his head in disbelief before turning more serious as he said. "Well, thankfully, we did manage to snatch up your soul... As their ritual did work, and a demon got summoned even if you all couldn't see it. So when I snagged your soul from your lifeless... splatter, I got rid of the demon, and those girls will be going straight down to hell to be eternally tormented for making a demonic deal." 

Before I could reply, though, he continued in the same serious tone. "Now, though, moving on to your reincarnation as your soul cannot remain in the void between the quadrants of the Omniverse. You will be going to an... Interesting world to say the least, so here is the rundown."

He took a deep breath and began to monologue. "Basically, it's the world of Remnant of RWBY but... Well, basically Salem's little fucky wucky actually worked. When the Brother gods had their brief argument over Salem's gaslight, that pushed the Darkness god and Light god into conflict."

My sponsor visibly looked annoyed as he continued. "In the battle, the Light God accidentally killed his brother, the Darkness God... And then seeing what he had done, the Light God fled the world, leaving his brother's corpse behind." 

"But tell me... What happens when you leave a creator god of Darkness's corpse next to pools of darkness that would spawn monsters all the time to keep humanity united together against a regulated common enemy?" 

My face twitched as my sponsor gave out a shrug and said. "Yeahhh, the pools of darkness got supercharged and now the world is utterly flooded with Grimm, the Grimm are stronger, come in different forms, and their numbers... All but unlimited as they spawn thousands a day." 

Taking a breath, he did leave some hope for me as he said. "Due to the Light God's abrupt exit, after his battle killed his brother and even Salem on accident in the crossfire, even though he never even noticed her in the battle. The people of the world still have magic, aura, and Dust itself to fight back."

He gave out a wry smile as he said. "I was reincarnated in a rather similar situation, honestly. The world was some twisted cultivation version of Genshin Impact, so I will be blessing you with a similar cheat, I had along with the standard reincarnation bonus of a blessed body and mental protections." 

My sponsor took out a glowing ball of pure... Potential and even the sea, from what it felt like with it being across from me. But then he held it out to me as he spoke. "While I had something akin to the Essence of the Crafter, you will have the Essence of the Admiral."

The blue light shot into my chest, and I shivered as he continued to speak. "Most Jakes have either fire, lightning, or water elemental alignment, and I have seen many a Jake. But you have the strongest water alignment in your soul, so let's see how it goes for you." 

And I could feel the Essence going to work within my body as it worked to tune my body up while granting me the knowledge it contained within.

First, it covered all aspects of being an Admiral, sea-faring information on both water and in deep space. And then it downloaded the technological knowledge needed for both sides in terms of all levels of scale. From a humble pond boat, you go fishing in. To the Star Destroyer of Star Wars, it was all within my fingertips in knowledge.

Not only that, but once I unlocked some amount of supernatural energy, I could convert matter into ship needing materials like oil, shells, and other parts and things through a hyper-specialized form of alchemy, basically.

But most importantly, I felt the core of the essence, the power to uplift my ships and give a piece of my soul to the ship to give them their own life and human bodies... I could make ship girls!

And my sponsor laughed as he reached into his desk again, and he brought out what I would need to make in order to make a Kansen, a Wisdom Cube. A solid construct of soul energy, the ship's essence, and condensed history acted as the core to make the ship girl.

"Here you, bud, I got a gun given to me when I reincarnated by my own sponsor... Heh, you get to go with a waifu who has cannons mounted on her body." He chuckled smugly as though he was going to win some battle against his own sponsor, who reincarnated him.

As I took the Wisdom Cube ever so carefully into my hands, I heard a snap of some fingers, and I yelped as I was sucked out of my chair with the Wisdom Cube stuck within my hands as I was sucked into a portal and sent spinning through the void.

-

Once the colors stopped tasting purple, I was dropped down into some soft grass with a dull thudding noise ringing out, with a dull groan escaping me as I stared up at the slightly cloudy skies above my head. 

Sitting up, I gently put the Wisdom Cube into my inner jacket pocket as I took in my surroundings... And seeing as I knew I was going to be dropped off in Remnant, and that I knew RWBY's world decently. 

Seeing the nearby trees of what looked like the park, and the more European buildings outside the small, empty park I was dropped off in. I realized rather quickly I must have been dropped off in Vale the Kingdom, in which the first part of canon typically took place in.

But remembering my sponsor's words... Canon didn't exist anymore, there was no Salem, and Cinder was causing issues. No, this was a world that was fighting a constant war for survival.

And my thoughts were correct, as in the distance, towards massive grey walls I could see over past the surrounding buildings in the far distance. I could hear the roar of what sounded like an AA-Gun going off.

'Ok! I got dropped off.' My thoughts of what to do next was cut off as a thump rang out beside me as a small backpack hit the ground.

And seeing as it was obviously mine, I went to open it, and atop all the contents within was a letter, which was addressed to me that simply read. [Got your papers here, a bit of Lien, the local currency to get you started up. Go to combat school, start a mercenary company, or even be a bartender, I don't care. Just be ready, as trouble will be coming to Vale.]

I frowned reading that last bit... As should my sponsor go out of his way to tell me that trouble will be coming, then that meant actually dangerous shit was coming to me.

So I took a deep breath as it as seemed that whatever effect was surrounding the park had dissipated as I saw people walking by and entering the parks with their kids to play. And I got up with my new backpack in tow as I went to go find a library.

As before, I could summon whichever ship girl I needed to find out what the hell was going on here in this world and gain an idea of the recent history.

I quickly made my way through the city of Vale and it truly was Vale as I found several monuments, newspapers, and other things named things like the Valian times, the Vale Letter etc, and from there it wasn't difficult for me to find a local library which had some computer terminals I fairly easily managed to get onto and begin looking into the local history.

And yup... canon wasn't a fucking thing. Vale itself? Yeah, it was part of the four Major Kingdoms in Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral. But they were actual Kingdoms, with literal royalty.

The Valian or Vale Royal Family was known for their extremely powerful army-enhancing semblances that were hereditary. Likewise with the other royal families across the four kingdoms were extremely powerful. And even within Vale itself, there were still noble families that were based on personal power.

As noble titles had to be won through blood. Through the slaughter of the endless tide of Grimm and a person's standings were only as high as their noble rank here in Vale, in Atlas, apparently, it was even more stringent, while Mistral ran on more of a clan-based system with their Eastern culture.

Vacuo, on the other hand, was just fantasy. Australia turned up to eleven with horrible Grimm and wild magical shit that commonly happened.

But as I was researching the major news of the world and what has been going on. I looked into past history and found out some... Fucked up stuff.

First, the Great War between the Four Kingdoms never happened. As the Kingdoms did skirmish over some valuable territory and resources, they literally physically could not go to war with one another due to the Grimm they had to constantly fight and how the suffering of war would draw even more Grimm to their lands, in which soldiers busy with war wouldn't be able to deal with.

So when the Faunus Rights War started... The Faunus races, knowing humans ruled through the royal and noble families, targeted the warriors of all levels of culture in Vale, Mantle, and Mistral, in the men who ruled the houses at the time.

And in the course of a week, they killed like seventy percent of all the huntsmen, warriors, and heirs to the noble families through poison, guile, and forbidden aura-breaking enchanted blades.

When the powers that be got control over themselves... The replacement for the Faunus Rights Civil War occurred. It was simply called the Faunus Culling, with its history being marked in a simple paragraph across all history books, which was made by the King of Mantle/Atlas at the time.

[The Animal has overstepped, dragging back the lines humanity has fought for against the Darkness of the End for millennia... They are cowardly traitors to all life on this planet, and they shall all pay for that sin by being swaddled in naught but chains branded upon their backs, chains around their wrists, and chains around their necks for all eternity. Never shall humanity ever forget this betrayal.]

The Faunus race, which basically was a human with an animal feature, wanted the same right to advance up the noble ranks as humans rather than being stuck doing manual labor, farming, and serving humanity, which was proud of its martial might.

And just as they culled humanity's warriors in three major kingdoms by more than half. Humanity butchered more than seventy-five percent of all Faunus men in turn. With many Faunus women dying as well, but not even ten percent really.

Leading the Faunus Rights movement to be strangled with chains in the cradle, and to this day, Faunus's were looked at with disgust, and distrust, and weren't even allowed to rise up the ranks of the nobility or even hunters. 

They were not slaves so much as just the gutter trash of society, in which they couldn't rise up from their station in life.

But my research over 'common' knowledge of how fucked this world was. I was cut off as I looked into more pressing things. Like, where could I get housing, where could I go grocery shopping... And I came across a rather distressing bit of information.

[Only Grand Knights- Men or Women who are currently engaged in the active defense or have retired due to injury in the line of duty of Vale- May own property, all lesser citizens rent their property from the Royal Family or a noble family they shall serve.] 

So I obviously went to see the ranks of nobility in Vale to figure out where the fuck I was, as I took out my ID card and only saw a large C on the card.

[Knight at Arms- Soldier who has served at least one engagement honorably against a Grimm Tide.- An F-rank Hunter or Huntress.]
[Grand Knight- Soldier who has honorably served ten battles against Grimm and must have killed at least five hundred of them.- An E-rank Hunter of Huntress.]
[Baron- Squad leading soldier who has survived dozens of battles and slain thousands of Grimm with their skills, not large weapons of war unless their Semblance enhances such weapons.- An D rank Hunter of Huntress]

I drew a hand over my face as I realized just how fucking many Grimm there were as the list kept going on... Kept going on with the requirements for soldiers serving the royal family getting even crazier as the ranks went up, while the Hunters only kept the letter grade system, which was its own thing based on the Hunters' ability to either slaughter Grimm on mass or have a special semblance like teleportation, etc.

[Viscount- A Platoon leader that leads multiple squads. Advancement requires the ability to command a great number of warriors and fight better than them all.- An C rank Hunter of Huntress]
[Earl- Requires you to defeat all the Viscounts you are the leader of, and have a semblance or magical talent for large-scale warfare.] [An B rank Hunter of Huntress]

There were the listings for the Marquess, Dukes, and A and S rank Hunters... But their requirements weren't listed, so I just exhaled as I realized I had two choices ahead of me now.

First, I joined the military of the Royal Family to become a soldier and rise up slowly using the military structure with my cheats to gain great power in a few years. But in turn, I would be suppressed, and any ship girls I summoned? Yeah, they could be taken away from me by some noble asshole.

Or... I go the path of the Hunter in joining Beacon, and although I wouldn't have nearly as much support. But there I would gain personal power, and my ship girls wouldn't be 'reassigned' elsewhere. 

There was only one real option, really, so I looked up Beacon's needs for its admission... Saw that my backpack had literally everything I needed, and I set off as Beacon started in a week, and I wanted to get a hotel room to summon my shipgirl and get us both signed up.

Chapter 2

The backpack given to me had a good bit of funds allocated to me with the Lien of this world working rather similarly to the US Dollar back home so with ten thousand dollars, I had more than enough money to get a decent two-bedroom hotel room for a week. 

And most importantly, have the extra money to go get myself a weapon to join Beacon and pay to have my Aura unlocked if I could find some people to do so.

So after I put the hotel room's standard cuck chair away into the small closet, I took the Wisdom Cube out of my backpack and held it within my hands. I could feel the power, and potential within the cube of condensed soul energy along with other things my mind couldn't really process at its level.

And I took a deep breath as I held the Wisdom Cube and then it glowed ever brighter as I flipped the mental switch within it. Its essence and power unfolding as it floated out of my hand and began gently spinning in place with the light becoming brighter to the point that I coudn't see the wisdom cube within the swirling light.

I watched as the blooming light grew more powerful and then finally its light became solid with the light retracting outwards as the light dissipated into small motes that disappeared.

White hair, with a red streak graced my view and as I took in her smiling face, I was entranced with her dark amber-gold eyes that met mine before I took in the rest of her form as she seemingly studied myself. 

She was wearing a red and black highly decorated suit like leotard that exposed her sides and her legs up till her knees that were covered in pantyhose of sorts. And then there was her rigging.

On her hips was the draconic like decks that had dragon like heads at the end that were seemingly smelling the air while small cannons that I knew would shoot a 122 kilogram round at 900 meters per second.

As with her being a Shipgirl, those rounds, torpedos, and missiles that they had, they may be shrunk down. But when they were fired, they still had their orignal mass. So beyond her main gun she also had a number of smaller but still powerful secondary guns and even some anti-air guns as was the norm for World War 2 ships.

Mounted on her back was two large pieces of rigging that held a flat part of a ship's deck and underneath the ship deck top, were a couple more guns and rows of torpedos.

But my inspection of her form ended as my ship girl gave a slight hum and spoke with her voice having a sensual purr to it. "Hello mine Admiral, am I your first first shipgirl?" She asked curiously.

I gave a small start at the question and then smiled wryly as I nodded and said. "Indeed, it will be a good while until I gain the resources to call upon another ship girl, so I will be relying on you Prinz Eugen." 

There was a moment of silence before she shifted and she put her hands under her ample chest as she strode over and grabbed one of the wooden seats next to a table and brought it over to sit in front of me. "Well then, in that case. Tell me what your plans are. I need to know what I have been summoned for after all ufufu."

I nodded and after I organized my thoughts I began speaking. "I am not so sure what memories you have of your previous world, but in this world, its being over ran by monsters of darkness that wish to eat humanity and all sentient life on this world."

Taking a breath, I then continued on as Prinz listened in without cutting me off. "I plan for us both to enter a Combat School with yourself being registered as part of my inherited magical ability, and from there we can work our ways up the ranks as a Huntsmen to gain the nobility rank to have a good life here in this world." 

She was visibly digesting the information I had given her, and after a moment she nodded slowly and her eyes looked back at me in turn before she spoke softly. "Then my Admiral, what is your name?"

I smiled and held a hand to my chest as I said. "My name is Jake Bariss."

To which she looked almost... Annoyed for a second before she asked. "American, am I correct?" 

Blinking, I nodded and she took a deep breath before she said bluntly. "I am the ship Prinz Eugen, you are not American anymore with this new life, just as I am no longer German."

Slowly I shook my head as Prinz Eugen took a deep breath before she spoke. "I fought so hard during the second Great War... I defeated Hood, and the Prince of Wales, and cleared the English Channel many a time before being hurt by Trident."

She leaned in and asked me with a haunted look in her eyes. "Do you know how I sunk? How I died?"

I slowly shook my head and without emotion in her voice she spoke. "After the war, I was surrendered to the United Kingdom which... Although disgraceful for my homeland, it was needed. But rather than keep my form which had sunk many of their own ships, the British gave me away to the Americans as a War Prize."

She shuddered as she spoke with zero emotion. "They used me and other war prizes to test the effects of their nuclear weapons... Twice I survived blasts that fried my internals, twice I felt my hull shuddering and breaking under the force of the explosions and water slamming into me with tidal wave-like power."

There was a moment of silence as I sat there stunned at the trauma download she was throwing onto me. And then she looked me in the eyes and said coldly. "And even then... I lived, a barely floating carcass of a ship unwilling to die until a large wave capsized me when I was dragged to Kwajalein Atoll and the American's finally deigned to send a single screw from my body back home to Germany after almost thirty years of my irradiated corpse poisoning the sea."

You know... I never really stopped to consider the mental issues a lot of ships would have being that they were all war vets in a number of ways. So although Prinz Eugen didn't have memories of Azur Lane itself and fighting the Sirens and such.

She very well remembered her life as the ship she is named after. 

So after a moment of thought... I slowly nodded as Prinz was right in a way, I wasn't American anymore anyway. I was now Jake Bariss, born from the slums here in Vale as said in my paperwork and I needed to take this new life by the horns and accept it.

And in turn, Prinz would let go of her... Honestly fair, if irrational disdain/maybe even hatred of Americans. 

"Alright Prinz, so we are now Valian's of this kingdom of Vale... Can I count on you to stand beside me?" I asked bluntly as I held out a hand towards her, with Prinz taking a breath and nodding.

Her gloved hand slid into mine, and she said solemnly. "Of course Jake. Even if you remained dogmatic in keeping to your American ties... I would have been disappointed but I am your ship, I will protect and serve you until I sink into the dark stormy waters." 

There wasn't any hesitation in her words. The sea waters were wet, and Prinz Eugen would serve alongside me until she died. That was the end of the discussion.

So with that tension pushed away as Prinz shook my hand carefully before retracting her hand, I spoke again. "Alright, so the next steps we need to take are thus. First, I need to get a weapon I can use without too much training, and second I need to get both of our Aura's unlocked." 

Prinz put a finger to her lips as she laid a leg over the other as she leaned back in thought before she spoke in her slightly german tinged accent. "Hmm, perhaps a shotgun for a weapon? And what is this Aura you speak of?"

"Aura is basically activating your soul, which then will create a force field around your body protecting you from harm, enhancing your body's abilities, and every person gets something called a Semblance that is unique to them and an expression of their soul made manifest into reality."

Prinz raised an elegant eyebrow at my words before her legs began kicking about as she considered things. And I could see her mind working as she put together the knowledge of supernaturally enhanced warriors, with aura, my brief mention of magic, which was arrayed against a seemingly endless tide of monsters.

"Very well, getting Aura for us both first would be for the best. As in the worst case, you can use your abilities as my Admiral to create your own weapons correct?"

I blinked before actually face palming as I forgot that I wasn't limited to just RWBY weapons, I could make the ship girls Augment Modules, which I myself could use... And Azur Lane had some wacky weapons that could be fairly powerful honestly.

With Prinz nodding and saying calmly. "Indeed, as although I have my standard loadout, I can have my weapons, armor, and scanning equipment upgraded if not replaced... To say nothing of how useful it would be to have my own Augment Module added to my frame."

Prinz Eugen's Augment Module was an enhancement of her boots, and with the upgrade it allowed her cannons to have a bit more armor penetration along with enhancing the solid energy shields she could call upon.

While, I could likewise make some augments that I could use as well. Either way, Prinz after a moment asked me. "So, beyond Aura, what do you know of the local magic system?" 

To that, I could only shrug and say honestly. "I truly don't know. This world is unfamiliar to myself and I just landed here today after all. So in the morning, I suggest we go about learning how to get Aura, and finding out how magic works in this world."

"Very well, then goodnight Jake. I will take that bed and tomorrow we will go back to the library and see what this world has in story for us." Prinz said and I nodded in understanding as her rigging disappeared into motes of light around her body leaving her body unadorned by weapons of war.

I knew I had alot to do tomorrow, so I went and got myself changed out of my clothes, and put on some shorts I bought for cheap as I got myself into bed while I noticed that Prinz's head was the only thing peeking out of the blanket she wore over her body.

There weren't any other words spoken, as Prinz let me sleep throughout the night without issue... Until like halfway through the night the roar of what sounded like a dozen anti air machine guns roared to life and woke me up before petering off with Prinz standing beside the window to look outside.

"The anti air guns were taking out a flock of large birds? Are they the monsters you spoke of" She whispered in some confusion.

I gave a grunt of agreement as the roar of Anti-Air guns was a loud and fucking uncomfortable way to wake up to say the least. "Yeah... The monsters are called Grimm, they come in all different shapes and sizes even though most them take after an animal theme. Though some of the more of the more powerful ones look more monstrous."

Prinz was silent for a moment before she said calmly. "Go back to sleep my Admiral, I can keep awake comfortably for a couple of weeks without rest."

I gave a grunt of dismay as I bundled up the thin pillows around my head to block out the sounds and cannons and machine gun fire to the point that even Prinz sighed with annoyance as she knew I wouldn't be able to sleep like this.

I could hear Prinz's amused laughter as she went back to bed and finally after a while... My intercity brain got used to the gunfire like I got used to loud cars and people doing stupid stuff, and I managed to get some sleep.

=

A few hours later I was eating a rather expensive breakfast as the food was apparently at a premium here in Vale what with it being a very closed ecosystem to keep out the Grimm besides the small port entrance on the coastline. And as I was eating I asked Prinz more seriously.

"So you going to be fine without oil for a while? Or do we need to make that an utmost priority?" 

Prinz smiled indulgently as she was seemingly in a much better mood after seeing me being a not-at-all-morning person. And she replied easily. "I shall be fine for a few days, I was summoned at full capacity for fuel. So, so long as I am not getting into prolonged combat, I shall be fine."

I nodded in understanding before yawning and as I covered my mouth, I said. "Alright. Then lets head back to the library, you can help me look up the best ways to get our Aura unlocked, find out what magic is, etc."

And Prinz nodded in agreement so we quickly made our way out of the medium-tier hotel I was renting out of, and we made our way back to the local library I was at before and got back onto the terminals.

Once we got onto the terminals we were both off on our research expeditions with Prinz working on researching magic and the local Grimm. While I was focused on the legality of Aura and how to acquire it.

[Aura. The light of one's soul. The left hand of humanity's continued survival in this world. Aura is the manifestation of a user's soul power leaving the body to protect it, an unlocked Aura however is a beacon to the beasts of Darkness. Hence while it is perfectly legal to be a Knight at Arms or a Huntsmen in training and have it. It is expected that those who have it are family with those who serve the kingdom in protecting it.] 

[On the other side of things. outside of Vale's enchanted walls manned by thousands of Huntsmen and at least a single S rank and five A ranks at all times not including soldiers in far larger numbers. Outside settlements will try to keep aura user numbers down to make their settlement less noticeable by the tides of darkness as they toil to send Vale the small amounts of resources it needs to prosper in its closed Eco-system.]

Looking past the definition and the bits of lore and history of Aura, I got into the nitty gritty of it actually acquiring it as a civilian trying to move up in the world. [Aura use is the foundation of all huntsmen. They do not have the centuries if not millennia of stored magical knowledge and tools that the Royal Families and nobility do. So the act of unlocking your aura within the confines of Vale is not a punishable offense as Beacon advocates for even novices to combat to join for when they did not have the ability to join a combat-focused school.]

'Ok so getting aura isn't a problem. All that remains is actually getting it.' I thought. And then I did the simple things and typed up. [Aura unlocking for sale]

And low and behold I got all the hits I wanted.

After a couple minutes of searching, I found a good hit I liked mentioned for a local marketplace in one of the slightly more commoner sections of Vale in a retired vet that would unlock some people's aura for a cash payment of five hundred Lien.

Which was... A good bit as the average rent for a single-bedroom apartment in the medium-tier commoner sections in Vale seemed to go for three thousand a month.

The prices for owning land though here in Vale? Yeah, that got up there real quick with how Vale literally had limited land due to its nature of being a walled-in kingdom.

After doing some more research and seeing how the vet's prices was fair, I gave a hum and asked Prinz quietly. "Sooo find anything out?" 

She sniffed and spoke with annoyance. "Indeed... Magic, seems to be in the domain of the old families and especially the royal families. As to learn magic will take a great deal of study and then innovation and progression with magic can take decades at the very least."

'Well, there goes that... Should do my own research though.' I thought with some annoyance as I began looking up magic myself while Prinz went to begin taking notes on the various Grimm here in Vale and how they were apparently classed as threats.

And Prinz's analysis was correct as I began doing my own research. [Magic, the bending of reality towards one's own will. The right hand of humanity's survival.- Magic as a system is even less understood then aura in which everyone can have it unlocked and have it put to immediate use. Magic on the other hand requires the knowledge gained from millennia of failures, losses of the lives of researchers, their experiments, and the untold billions of Grimm slain with such magic.]

I kept reading as the various articles tried and failed to put magic into a box that could be analyzed and studied. [Magic comes in all shapes, sizes, and uses... No two mages can and will use the same spell the exact or even minorly in the same way hence why magic is an art form reserved for the old families and powerful organizations that have the resources to teach their children magic.]

[Various schools of magic may have similar effects, but are completely different. The Schnee Royal Families, Slaying of Evil Summons, is completely different from Necromancy. As the Schnee Royal Family uses constructs of the things they slay enhanced by their likewise inherited Semblance shared within the bloodline to create armies on demand. Whereas a Necromancer has to use his magic to reanimate the Grimm or people they have slain or gathered the bodies of.]

Just out of curiosity... I went to go see how Necromancers were actually treated here in this world and surprisingly. Not bad at all.

It was honestly sad, that Faunus's were treated worse than Necromancers which were actually well-favored as should a Noble warrior or Huntsmen die, their family can sell the remains of that warrior to Vale's Royal Necromancer Lich Lord, and that comes with the benefit of having your nobility privilege extended for a full extra generation.

Either way with my path to Aura at least secured I leaned back with my neck popping as I looked at Prinz and said. "Alright, you ready to go get our Aura unlocked?" 

 

 

Notes:

I got alot more chapters and stories on my other sites such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. Its a journey to transfer everything over so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also I do have a Patreon but I respect this sites rules and won't be linking it, however if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 3

Prinz Eugen was definitely a beauty, and she didn't shy away from her beauty as she walked just behind and to my side to protect me as her admiral/commander as we walked through the streets of Vale.

Thankfully, no one tried flirting with her or anything cringy, as I knew Prinz had a sharp tongue and could easily tear some poor teenager's heart apart who dared work up the bravery to speak to her.

But we quickly made our way to the Steel Market of Vale, which was the... Lowest class marketplace in Vale, besides the rumored Black Market district that was supposedly hidden underground.

The Steel Market got its name aptly as well, not for selling steel weapons or even construction materials. No, its name was derived from it being a mostly faunus-dominated marketplace, and the name came from the primary steel chains they wore in unison.

Not wearing their race chains on their necks and around their wrists was a good way for a police officer, a human civilian, or another Faunus to beat the dog-shit out of them... It was actually a law that should a Faunus catch another Faunus without their chains and be caught on Vale's many camera's dealing with it in-house. The offending Faunus wouldn't even be fined after their beatdown.

So as we came into the marketplace, I finally got to see my first Faunus's... And they were mostly women due to the purge happening, but a couple of decades ago, and even with their gender ratios slowly switching back to normal, there was still the fact that this world had a good sixty-seventy to thirty split between the number of female to male births.

"Hmm, gotta admit they can be a bit cute with the ears," Prinz spoke ever so quietly as she leaned into me as we waited for a light to signal for us to go across the crosswalk.

And I looked over at who she was looking towards with my lips twitching into an amused smile as I nodded shamelessly.

As Prinz had picked out this wonderful specimen of a woman who had these soft cow ears on the sides of her head with a soft, gentle face... And torpedo tits that looked like they could happily feed quintuplets.

I felt Prinz shift against me as we kept moving through the marketplace place and as we followed the directions needed, I finally found what we were looking for.

[Undying Hearts Armory]

Opening the door, a short jangle rang out, and a dry voice spoke out tiredly. "Hello, welcome to my store."

I looked around, and my eyes landed on the veteran, and I raised an eyebrow at how the old... Old as hell, man had a single rabbit ear atop his head.

And then as he moved around from behind the glass case, I heard the squeaking of metal, and as he came around, I saw the vet was missing both of his legs past his knees and only had a single arm with him, not even having a stump at the elbow or anything with his missing arm.

"Hello, my name is Jake Bariss, and I was hoping you could unlock our aura. And maybe we could take a look at the weapons." I asked respectfully, as I was raised back home to respect veterans and this man... Was as veteran as it came, honestly.

The old rabbit Faunus gave a slight hum and looked between me and Prinz with eyes colored with age before he said bluntly. "Fine, if you are willing to let me unlock your Auras. I won't stop you."

I held out my hand to him, and I felt his grizzled, singular hand grab onto my hand with his old muscles having an unseen grip of strength within them as he held my hand tightly as he coughed with a dim glow of green light surrounding his and then my form.

Then, with his voice tinged with age and soul-deep exhaustion, I heard him speak within my very soul, which stirred at his aura touching mine. "It is in suffering that we find power. Through endless trials, we gain the power to shape our own destiny or doom. Infinite in potential and unburdened by expectation as none exist, I release your soul, and by my hand, condemn thee to the struggle of life."

His flickering soul light of Aura retreated as he breathed heavily. Even as I watched entranced as my far brighter soul burned brightly with a gentle blue light that left my body in waves.

"So... Would you like to look at what weapons I have in stock?" He asked with clear exhaustion in his voice, and I blinked away my entrancement as I nodded with a small smile before I paused and reached into my pocket to take out the first bundle of five hundred Lien cards to pass it over to him.

He paused as I handed him the money, and I raised an eyebrow as he looked rather... Shocked if anything, so I asked. "What? Was the ad online about your prices wrong or something?"

The man smiled wryly before taking the offered money, and he coughed into his hand, and I frowned at how wet the cough sounded like his lungs were filled with a thick liquid that he couldn't get rid of.

But he visibly swallowed down his coughing with him speaking somewhat hoarsely. "No, I thought you simply weren't going to pay for the Aura and just buy a weapon instead."

My lips twitched at that, and I wondered if this was a racism thing before I said calmly. "That is not the case, but I can see you are rather exhausted for the moment, so I have a couple of questions if you don't mind about a weapon system."

The old man nodded, and I collected my thoughts. I already had a good idea of what kind of ranged 'mundane' weapon I wanted from him, as I knew Azur Lane weapon systems couldn't be mounted on my very human frame, even if I could use some of their modules if they were a sword or something like that.

And there was a lot of powerful modules I could use... Like the True Longinus, in the Lance of the Golden Age. Belfast's armored gauntlets, and what I planned to use as my main melee weapon in Zara's Fabulous Fioretto.

"So I am looking for arm-mounted automatic shotguns that can be set to shoot at a fast rate and handle long periods of firing with a high caliber," I explained, making the man raise an eyebrow at my words.

For a moment, he chewed on his thoughts before he spoke slowly. "You don't want it to transform into a melee weapon or anything?"

I shook my head, as I was well aware that guns were finicky things. And I didn't trust that when swinging something and smashing it into and cutting through bone or chitin, the internals wouldn't get fucked up regardless of my aura, which would naturally protect the weapon.

"I don't trust mecha shift weapons honestly," I said with Prinz snorting with amusement as her rigging poked me in the back with one of the draconic heads, and the gunsmith/veteran looked at her weapon system before muttering quietly.

"Animation magic? No, the heads are moving independently, so maybe necromancy with souls bound into the constructs?" He mused before visibly shuddering and looking back at me, and speaking. "That's fine, though how do you want to hook up a reload system to it if they are going to be mounted on your arms, it would be difficult to reload."

To that, I already had the answer, as already with my aura I had unlocked Admiral Essences's ability to make ammo, oil, and other sea-based materials so I then explained how I wanted ammo belts going from the arm-mounted cannons leading to my back which I planned to get an autoloader system set up which would push ammo to my guns.

And the reason why I went for automatic shotguns? That was simple, even with shotguns, I could have the advantage of spraying an area down with Dust or my conjured-up lead, or instead do slug rounds for more penetration.

The old man blinked as he envisioned the plans in his own head, as I had crude drawings that showed what I wanted. With him brushing his scarred and age-marked hand across his chin as he slowly nodded and said. "I see... Well, thankfully, I already have such an ammo feeding system that was commissioned by a huntsman that failed to return from a mission. So I will only charge you the material cost for it. And as for dual-arm mounted cannons... I will say five thousand Lien for the whole system."

I slowly nodded, as although that was half of my liquid funds, I obviously needed a weapon. And this guy had good reviews online, plus I wanted to help the old guy out if I could.

"Alright, so when can this be done. As Beacon's initiation is in just a few days, and all?" I asked more seriously.

"Hmm, that is not an issue, my granddaughters work in the back of the shop, and we can pound out a couple of arm cannons without issue, as it's not like it's going to be a Mechashift project." He said confidently.

After a moment of looking at him, I brushed a hand across my jaw before I nodded and then reached into my backpack to pull out five small stacks I bound up in rubber bands to denominate a thousand Lien, and I placed three of them on the counter. "A bit more than half upfront, alright for materials and such?"

The old man nodded with a small smile crossing his face, and then I looked back to Prinz and asked. "I assume you are exhausted with your aura and cannot unlock my partner's aura. Can you?"

He grimaced slightly before saying plainly. "Yes, young man... When a man is crippled and beaten down, as I have been in life. Our very souls get weak and can't do as much. But whereas a grand hero will live for centuries and can withstand being thrown through a mountain."

He took a deep breath as I absorbed that and continued. "However, I did unlock my granddaughter's aura, and they are able to unlock other people if you are willing to allow them to unlock it."

At being directly addressed, Prinz just shrugged with a careless smile as she spoke calmly. "That's fine. Unless you mean to tell me that different people activating another aura will have changes to their aura?"

The old man just shook his head with his single rabbit ear bouncing in the motion before he coughed and held up a hand as he said. "Alright, young lady, let me text one of my granddaughters to come."

And he took out a scroll and began doing so while I had a thought cross my mind.

'This old man is too old to have been part of the Faunus Culling. Did he get caught up in the semi-regular border conflicts between Vale, Atlas, and Mistral?' I mused before shaking the thought away as I heard the sound of rapid footfalls running up a set of stairs ringing out behind the back of the store.

And from around the corner came of his granddaughters, and I blinked in surprise as I actually recognized her!

With brown hair, brown eyes, and matching brown rabbit ears atop her head. And with the typical faunus chains around their wrists and a collar, I recognized the girl as Velvet Scarlatina.

"Grandpa, you needed help?" She asked curiously as she glanced at us, and her grandpa gave a weak smile before waving his hand at Prinz while saying.

"Dear, you need to unlock the young lady's aura, and I have some schematics for you and Alice to work on for the young man's project he commissioned."

Velvet nodded in understanding before walking a bit closer to Prinz, and although she looked a bit nervous at Prinz's very alive-looking rigging, it thankfully retreated slightly to allow her closer to the German vessel, "May I hold your hand? It helps to have a bit of skin contact."

Prinz gave a small smile and she pulled off her glove and laid it out for the rabbit faunus to take her hand and as she did so and began unlocking Prinz's aura I decided to play with my Admiral Essence a bit as I knew I could use my aura as magical energy fuel to conjure up materials, ammo, and other stuff.

See I was well aware that most weapons, energy systems, and even alloy forging in this world of Remnant worked with one very important material... Dust.

Dust was essentially crystallized magical energy forced into a single elemental attribute, and depending on its element, you could forge weapons, make clothes, or even just use lightning dust as completely clean and pollution-free electricity.

Gravity Dust-infused boots allowed you to deny the impact of harsh falls from a high fall. Wind Dust-infused jackets could let someone glide through the air... Elemental dust infusion was its own form of science and art in of itself

And this world did have flying warships that would escort massive convoys across the seas, so with a mental push, I felt my aura drain slightly as a heavy weight filled my hand.

Lo and behold was a twenty-pound flak cannon round filled with a mixture of Fire and Wind dust that, when shot, would explode in the air, creating a brief pressure bomb to blow a large amount of flyers out of the air.

And then as I held the large flak cannon round... I realized I fucked up as I realized that the round was here to stay, as the things I made weren't temporary constructs.

Thankfully, though, the old man's attention was on Velvet and Prinz's aura awakening as Velvet's coffee brown gentle light pulled out Prinz's dark red aura that was even brighter than Velvet's own aura.

I then went into my backpack to grab some more money... And put away the large round into the backpack so I could bury it somewhere or something.

And once I came back up with a perfectly innocent face, I handed the other five hundred over to the man while I grimaced at the realization that I was down to less than a thousand Lien left now.

"So how long do you think it will take for you and your granddaughters to do my commission?" I asked as the two ladies separated, with Prinz holding up her glowing hands to inspect with them with a raised eyebrow.

The older man shrugged and said calmly. "Oh, we can have it done and everything, within two days, without any issue. Now, will that be all, young man?"

After a moment of thought, I looked at Prinz, and she spoke with some amusement. "I think that will be all. Jake, let's head on back to the hotel for now, then."

And I gave Velvet one last glance as I wondered what her life was like here working as a gunsmith, and I shook my head as I walked out of the store with Prinz following me close behind as my guardian.

-

As the door closed behind this last couple months' best customers, the old man gave a slight hum of thought before looking at his granddaughter, who was looking out towards the door in which the two humans had left.

"Hmm, you thinking about it, Velvet?" He asked quietly, and Velvet bit her lower lip as her rabbit ears dipped down lowly.

"I... I am not sure, Grandpa, they didn't seem to think any less of us. But it's a huge jump to make."

Andros Scarlatina was an old man. He had fought alongside Vale's military back before the night of the Dark Knives and the resulting Culling, and he knew the truth of the world. Faunus kind would never... Never be able to be equal to humans if they didn't have the chance to distinguish themselves in armed combat against the Grimm.

Andros sighed and said bluntly. "Velvet, I am literally dying here, I will be dead within the next couple of months at the absolute most, and when that happens I don't want you and Alice to be homeless as we certainly don't get enough business for you to rent this property when the Royals strip our name of being a Grand Knight."

Prices for housing, especially in Vale, were rising due to the influx of people fleeing into the main city after a new variant of Creeps had developed the ability to silently dig under walls before detonating and destroying the first and main line of defense for the frontier towns.

But just as Faunus couldn't properly serve in the military or become huntsmen anymore to gain their own titles of nobility. That didn't mean they couldn't become a noble's vassal and have a lower equivalent rank and have similar rights.

And that was the Faunus's latest plan now. To show that they were not weak, they didn't just stab humanity in the back. They had the right to fight for their own place in the world, as they had learned the hard way that conflict between the two races of humanity and faunus was only a lose-lose.

Velvet's face went still before she swallowed down her words and said quietly. "It's just a bit scary, you know."

But Andros just snorted and said chidingly. "You youngins are too scared to put yourself out there. When I joined the Valian Guard, I was put in a squad of thirty men and women I never met, and we quickly got over all forms of body shame when we had to shower next to each other, and we would be forced to run and exercise to the point that we were vomiting on our teammates."

Velvet's face curdled at her grandfather's crass words, and she covered her face as she sighed. "No more tales about you snagging Grandmother with your vibrating semblance, Grandfather... I swear the reason why Alice hides away in the machine shop is that she is being traumatized by your old tales of 'glory'."

There was a moment of silence before Velvet took a breath and spoke more seriously. "Why him, though? His... The attendant looked like she was actually a mage."

Andros smacked his lips before he gave his granddaughter a look as though she was stupid, before he said frankly. "Velvet, my dear, you know exactly why hehe... He is a man of good taste and was looking at your ears like he wanted to take a bite."

The old man chuckled louder as he looked up into the ceiling of the old shop and said. "Ahhh... The gaze of an ornery human who knows exactly what they want. Reminds me of my Marybeth."

A groan rang out as Velvet whispered pleadingly. "Grandpa, I love you... But if you try to tell me the story about how grandma had a fetish for rabbit boys and girls, I am going to smother you with your hypoallergenic pillow as you sleep."

But Andros just shook his head as he smiled knowingly, as Velvet shifted slightly at the thought of being in a similar position. Though he spoke more seriously. "Not just that,t Velvet, but while you were busy unlocking his retainer's aura. I saw that he had a micro Manifestation-type magic."

Velvet's face tightened into a more serious expression as she looked at her grandfather and asked. "He is too pale-skinned to be a descendant of the Vacuo royal family, though? How do you know?"

He explained how he watched Jake create an anti-air flak cannon round that he recognized from the years of his own service, and how it wasn't just a construct of mana or aura to a temporary construct.

No, Jake had a similar ability as the Vacuo's royal family in turning magical energy, aura, or other states of energy into solid matter.

And that was huge, to say the least, in this world ruled by careful rationing of war materials and the ever-fervent delving into the world's dangerous underground to mine up Dust.

 

I got alot more chapters and stories on my other sites such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. Its a journey to transfer everything over so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also I do have a Patreon but I respect this sites rules and won't be linking it, however if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 4

Artoria Arc sat on her couch, staring blankly at the official notice addressed to her.

The day had started so terribly as well. Her coffee mug's handle snapped when she went to take a drink,k coating her lap in hot coffee that only her aura protected her from. She stubbed her toe when she went into the kitchen to get a rag to clean up the coffee sticking to her.

Even worse, on the way back to the living room after getting changed, she stepped on a fucking lego block somehow... All her children were adults, and even if they just moved into this townhouse, none of her daughters and her sole son didn't even play with legos!

But she should have taken it as a sign.

As by noon, a series of knocks on the door led to her receiving the imperial document signed by one of the workers of the royal family.

[It is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that we must inform you of the tragic loss of your son, Jaune Arc. Jaune was killed in the line of duty on [date], while bravely serving our kingdom of Vale.

Jaune exemplified the highest standards of bravery and dedication. His commitment to his duty, his comrades, and his unwavering sense of justice were deeply admired by all who had the honor of knowing and working alongside him. He faced danger with courage and selflessness, embodying the true spirit of a hero. With his form not leaving his position, and dying with honor.

Please accept my deepest condolences on behalf of the entire Royal Family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this incredibly difficult time. We understand that no words can ease the pain of such a profound loss, 
Enclosed within the envelope is a voucher which can be turned in to your landlord for your year's lease to be paid out.

Once again, please accept our heartfelt sympathies. Jaune Arc's valor and dedication will be remembered with the highest regard for his sacrifice.]

Tears fell down onto the thick paper that was stamped with the royal insignia, and Artoria wetly whispered. "They didn't even fill out the date of my baby boy's death..." 

-

Hours later, her younger daughters, who were on break from Beacon, came back from their shopping trip, and the three looked at their stun-locked mother, and Jeanne asked. "Mom, what's up? Are we getting kicked out or something?"

Silently, Artoria put the paper down on the table and said with a hiccup in her throat, but she had cried out all her tears at this point. "Jaune died. He died on the wall." 

There was a moment of silence before Jeanne silently came around, and read the letter while the other two, Nero and Okita, did the same before all three all but collapsed onto their mother in a large pile on the couch as they just held one another.

As Jaune was their last major hope for owning property here in Vale. Sure, out of the seven sisters, all but six of them in Nero, Mordred, Okita, Jeanne, Jean, and Morgan were huntresses or wizards in training. But becoming nobility as a hunter took more time.

Time that the Arc family didn't have any more with the fall of their previous town and having to move to Vale without much resources. Sure, they had enough money to keep afloat and even somewhat prosper with how everyone pitched in.

But the landlord... He wanted more, he wanted the 'perks' of such a fertile woman being added to his noble bloodline, and it was only Morgan's status as a respected Disciple of The Goodwitch that kept the low-ranking noble from... Pressing on their situation.

But now? A woman with seven children, all busy working to become a wizard or a huntress? The very courts would rule that such a woman, for the very future of vale, was obligated to continue to spread her bloodline, with how heroic her children were.

To say nothing of how the courts would, as a matter of fact, of course, rule in the favor of the nobility, in which the judge wouldn't want to put one of his peers away in jail.

Soon afterwards, Okita, being the more stoic of the sisters here, got herself together and then did what needed to be done and sent a picture of the notice into the family group chat with everyone except Morgan saying they were going to rush back. 

Morgan, on the other hand, was outside of Vale's walls and didn't get the message as she was busy with the S-Rank Sorceress Glynda Goodwitch helping her clear Grimm and create a fortified zone that would allow Kafka the Jorogumo to make some poisoned lines to contain the grimm for material gathering.

-

Later that day, with all six sisters minus Morgan in Nero, Mordred, Okita, Jeanne, Jean, and Saphron, who was carrying her adopted son beside her girlfriend Terra, who was sitting next to her. They decided to have a family meeting.

"Alright... Five of you are in Beacon, with Morgan being one of Goodwitch's apprentices. With Saphron and Terra making the majority of the household funds." Artoria spoke as she collected all the information.

Mordred, even though clearly emotionally exhausted after hearing of her brother's death, she still spoke clearly. "We just need to reach the Grand Knight stage to own property... But we need a Barony's influence to keep that fucking sleazeball off us." 

For all that, the Huntresses in training could probably fairly easily kill that fat fuck who was trying to pin something on them to get them as indentured servants he could abuse. They knew that killing a member of the nobility was a fucking terrible idea.

As here in Vale? The dead did not keep secrets with the Royal Necromancers, who kept the city safe by using the heroes who died to keep protecting the city with the same powers they held at their prime points.

For those with great power... They had the responsibility to keep back the darkness eternally; whether it be in life or in death, they would keep the torch of humanity going.

"So that leaves us with three options currently," Saphron spoke softly as she looked at Terra, who grimaced as she knew what was coming.

"The first option is someone discovering they are a genius in a field of magic, 'seeing as we all already found our semblances that won't work,' and that person becoming another high-ranking apprentice in the family. The second option is one of us marrying into nobility to keep the family safe from nobles while the rest of us work our way up the ranks as a huntress or Morgan finishes her apprenticeship."

Letting Saphron take a breath, Jeanne asked quietly. "And what's the third option?" 

Saphron grimaced but said. "Mom, and me could become an indentured servant to one of your classmates, a new student, or someone to that effect... If someone has a claim to mother, the bastard can't do anything."

Leaving the Arc family of eight women pondering of their future. As Beacon was starting in the next two days, all new things could change and come about as that happened.

Notes:

I got alot more chapters and stories on my other sites such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. Its a journey to transfer everything over so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also I do have a Patreon but I respect this sites rules and won't be linking it, however if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 5

The following days, while waiting for my dual arm cannons, were spent running between the local library and other places for Prinz and I to get used to this world. I had learned more about the Royal Family of Vale, and the important Dukes who were a very minor kingdom in of themselves that held a fiefdom outside of Vale's walls.

First of all, the Valian Royal Family had an inherited semblance, as did all Royal families, which was how they kept track of the bloodline. But the Valian Royal Families bloodline was called Peerage. In which a member of the Royal Family had sixteen slots to take in vassals.

The vassal would be made a great deal stronger with the royal being able to pump magical energy and aura into the vassal from an unlimited distance, and combined with their specialized magic focus that allowed them to greatly boost the physical limits of people should they take to the battlefield in far larger numbers. They were the ultimate support unit.

But there was just one... Little issue that stopped me even thinking about taking the vassalage mark from a royal, even if I was willing to subordinate myself. Should the royal die, every single member of the peerage would die as their souls would be ripped out of their bodies to follow their lord to whatever afterlife this world had.

So there was that... But beyond the royal families' scary as fuck Peerages that were all A or S rank, Grimm and dissenter slaughtering machines. The Dukes were also very interesting.

As in this world, Dukes weren't just members of the royal family who bowed out of the succession races for the most part. No, Dukes were people that were so horrifically powerful on the battlefield that playing political games with such a force of nature was completely illegal.

Literally, the dukes were so powerful that the Royal family just about said. [Dumbasses, I am making it illegal for you to stick your dick into the light socket... If you ignore the clear warning and law not to do so? Whatever happens to you and yours is just nature going about its course.]

One of the examples of that was a new Duke/Duchess here in Vale was Kafka the Jorogumo. Her Semblance allowed her to create permanent, stupidly highly toxic razor-sharp threads that she regularly filled the countryside with to slow, if not stop wandering Grimm hordes. To say nothing of her masterly over chemical and magically conjured biological virus/parasites.

Another more recent example of a Duke-level entity was the new General who rose to power in Atlas in Isaac McDougal The Glacier. He wasn't a magician or an accomplished magic user at all yet... But he had the stupidly powerful semblance of being able to absorb snow and ice to create Ice Dust, in which he was a master.

Either way, Dukes were an entity of power that allowed themselves to stop, slaughter or halt a whole Grimm Tide on their own... And that's what I wanted to be.

I could already see my title with my abilities, honestly, once I got myself going. 'Jake Bariss, The Admiral.' That had a damned good ring to it, honestly.

Though I was still stuck with one major issue... Making more Wisdom Cubes to summon another Shipgirl was a fucking pain in the ass, I didn't have enough depth in my aura to make one without slowly forming the thing over the course of probably a couple weeks so at this point I was only half done with forming one as I had a lot more time to meditate to increase aura recovery.

When I got to Beacon, my free time to spend it just meditating to refuel my aura would be cut in half, obviously.

"Hmm, well, I think it's about time we go get my arm cannons, and then I can make my sword. Are you done with lunch?" I asked Prinz as she was elegantly sipping straight fucking condensed oil from a metal cup out of a thick straw.

I saw her lips compress, and my lips twitched as she made a thick slurping noise as she drank the last drops from the tin before she boredly tossed the can across the room and into the trash can with a loud clatter.

"Alright, let's get going. I have been getting bored just reading. I am a woman who needs some action." She said as she stretched her arms above her head as she got to her feet.

Then she elegantly stepped forward, and as she came away from the chair, her form glowed as her rigging appeared on her body, with her smiling as she took my arm against her chest and said. "Now my Admiral leads on hehe."

I then put on the ammo crate, I had in mind for the arm cannons I commissioned, and then, after one last preparation, I was ready to go.

I nodded with my free hand, summoning an officer pistol that I slipped into a holster on my waist to arm myself as I knew this world was dangerous as hell, even if the criminal element hadn't really shown itself to much to what I could find.

However, that could easily be attributed to any real criminals being sent to the penal legions to quickly die on the front line against the Grimm or show promise and be reformed.

Prinz's initial issues with my heritage as an American quickly wore away when she realized I was... A very easygoing person, and the best type of person she liked in someone she could tease and sometimes turn the teasing back on her without getting butthurt. 

And with the bond we had as her being my Shipgirl and myself being her Admiral, we quickly clicked into closeness with her very touched, starved, abandonment issues coming to the fore, resulting in her being very touchy-feely with me.

"Alright, there is the store," I muttered, seeing the familiar store logo of [Undying Hearts Armory] 

We came into the store, and I nodded, seeing Velvet sitting at the storefront. "Hello, I am here to pick up my order, those two arm-mounted cannons?"

"Hello! Uhm yeah, they were completed yesterday, just give me a minute to text my sister to bring them out of the workshop!" Velvet said quickly with a small flush crossing her face that made her adorable ears twitch.

I nodded with Prinz, giving a small giggle as she was far less caring of Velvet's embarrassment as she cooed and whispered. "My god, she is adorable, isn't she?" 

My face twitched as Velvet flushed deeply with her pulling her large rabbit ears to block her face as Prinz loudly giggled, and I said with some exasperation. "Don't bully the little rabbi,t Prinz... She can hear you all too well, and you know it."

But before the interaction could go further, another female voice spoke out. "Ohya, big sister, are you having fun with friends?" 

I looked over to the source of the... Rather matronly voice, and my eye twitched as I thought. 'That isn't a fucking little sister!'

As Velvet's sister was a lot more full-figured, with almost a milf's soft body that hid muscles underneath the padding with blue hair and white rabbit ears atop her head.

And oh my god... Her eyes just radiated 'Hug me, for I am mommy.' energy. Like, how does a teen have a milf's aura? It was impossible!

"So you are the client, sir?" The younger sister turned towards me with a gentle smile, and I nodded with myself coughing as I said.

"Yes, hello, miss, I don't think I got your name," I asked respectfully as I held a hand to my heart and bowed my head slightly in greeting.

The new rabbit Faunus gave a soft chuckle that made her large breasts bounce as she carefully put a large case onto the metal-topped table in front of us. "My name is Alice, Alice Scarlatina, I am Velvet's half-sister." 

I walked over to the case as Alice undid the clasps and locks on it, and then she spun it around to face me as she said with a knowing smile. "Go ahead, Jake, open your present ufufu." 

Carefully removing the padlocks from the case, I lifted open the case with Prinz's soft chest pushing into my side as she tucked her chin onto my shoulder as she got onto her tippy toes to look.

And it was... Exactly what I hoped for.

Full metal gauntlets and arm armor that held the firing mechanisms for the two-arm cannons were built into the top side of the arm armor. Also, with two mechanical ammo belts that would feed from a store of ammo in a backpack that I could just endlessly conjure ammo to fill.

As simple ammo, even Dust ammo wasn't an issue for me. I had experimentally formed a hundred large cannon rounds, and it barely made a dent in my aura. It was only the powerful supernatural things like Wisdom Cubes that drained my aura heavily.

Now I just needed a full suit of Terminator Power Armor, and I was basically Warhammer 30K Perturabo!

"Alright! Let's get this on me, and see how it fits haha!" I laughed joyfully as I took out the ammo-feeding crate on my back and I saw Alice's eyes blink before she spoke with a wry smile.

"My oh my, most huntsmen fight with agility and strength in mind, knowing they will need to retreat once they run out of ammo or get low on aura," Alice spoke.

And in turn, I shrugged and said honestly. "Yeah... Well, I got Prinz and others to do front-line fighting. I am an endless armory that can make any ammo they need, food, drink, and even spawn more simple weapons that they can use, to say nothing of myself summoning a particularly large naval cannon should something get too close."

Just imagine... A dumbass giant Deathstalker, a giant scorpion, gets past my ship girls, and I respond by summoning an artillery cannon to shoot it directly in the face. Now that would be funny.

Not to mention that Prinz, once I made her Unique Augment and other special equipment, would get even stronger and more dangerous.

"Velvet, help our knight get his arms ready," Alice spoke more seriously, and I saw Velvet blush slightly before her face firmed and she wore a serious face as she came over with Alice, saying. "Raise your arms please, sir."

Raising my eyebrow at how formal they sounded, I nodded and stepped back to hold out my arms at shoulder height as the girls came and with an undescribed formal sense they unclasped the cannon-mounted armor and I quickly learned that the naval-style jacket I conjured got in the way with how the armor went all the way to my shoulder to distribute the impact and recoil of the cannons.

"Prinz, tear off my sleeves please," I spoke with the ship girl doing so without a word and the two bunny-eared girls continued their work with Velvet stepping close to my chest as she snapped the clasps shut on the armor binding the armor to my arms while running thick leather straps across my chest and back from each arm to the other arm to put the weight of the armor and cannons on the straps.

"The firing mechanism is set that only when you have your fist pointing straight will the cannon fire when your thumb is pressing on the button on the first digit of your index finger's gauntlet," Alice spoke softly, and I gave a hum of acknowledgment to that.

So a two-step feature for safety, and Velvet continued to speak as she poked my left hand that she was working on to make sure everything fit and was in tip-top shape. "The right hand is your dominant hand, so it has the firing button, but your left-hand controls the fire rate in switching to burst fire, automatic, or single fire for when you are using more powerful rounds."

And despite the armor and cannon being rather hefty on my arms. Even as I let my arms sag downwards or held them upright in a firing position, I could feel the straps on my back and chest helping deal with the weight. So I doubted arm soreness would be too much of an issue compared to swinging a huge melee weapon around.

"You guys did great work." I said with a smile as I flexed my hands in and out of fists to get an idea for the feeling as Velvet went to work attaching the 'mecha-shifting' ammo belts that could stretch seamlessly to transfer different types of ammo without issue to the cannons.

And the cannons themselves had some mechashifting properties as they could also fire a lot of different types of ammo with all the room they had, seeing as it wasn't also a melee weapon.

 

Notes:

I got alot more chapters and stories on my other sites such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. Its a journey to transfer everything over so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also I do have a Patreon but I respect this sites rules and won't be linking it, however if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 6

It took a good five minutes to properly put on my complicated arm cannons, armor, and make sure my ammo feeder and the sorter were properly sorted so that I could form the ammo I wanted in the basket on my back to be moved and sorted into the ammo feeder.

My weapons were complicated to say the least. As with how heavy and ungainly they made me, I was already becoming of the opinion that I should just go all the way and just spend the aura to create a suit of power armor as the arm cannons were fitted to armor that could simply be refitted to fit around a suit of like Fallout Power Armor, for example.

And that was without me making the weapons also into a melee weapon, like most people here in Remnant did. Though for the vast majority, they didn't use as high of a caliber as I was going to, as all my ammunition fit more into emplaced turrets and cannons.

"So Prinz Eugen was it?" Alice spoke calmly as Velvet was directing my movements to see if the ammo belts would stretch and move properly with any movements I made.

I looked over to see the white-haired beauty raise an eyebrow as she eyed Alice and responded simply. "That is my name indeed."

Alice gave a small smile and spoke. "So, I was curious. What relationship do you have with Jake? Is he your liege lord or something?" 

I saw Prinz tilt her head to the side, and then she shrugged and replied honestly. Neither Jake nor myself are nobility of Vale. But yes, I am beholden to him out of duty and my own desire."

"Should Jake be called as a huntsman to take to the field or during the initiation test, will he be able to get his weapon ready quickly?" Alice asked again, and hearing that, I honestly grimaced as it was a hard no.

For all that my weapon was going to be a punishing bitch on any open field, it wasn't like I could really eat, drink, or do anything else while wearing it. And taking it on and off even with two people helping me who literally built it, took a whole couple of minutes just to get it on me.

Should I be sent out into the field, and we were camping or something to that effect and a bunch of Grimm come after me... What the hell could I do then?

Hence my power armor idea of something I could take off or step out of more easily with it being able to use more heavy munitions as well. Hell, nothing was stopping me from creating space-age stuff besides the aura/magical energy cost, along with not having the room to store it.

I could literally make a Titanfall, Titan without much issue due to its strictly mundane nature, only its large size and taking a couple of days probably to make it stopped me.

"What is Beacon's initiation? I haven't been able to find anything about it." I asked in confusion, as I actually had looked it up. But could little of it beyond the terrible death count

I was curious to see if Hunter teams were the same in teams of four or whatever so I could try to plan around having another Shipgirl as I was getting close to finishing another Wisdom Cube.

But to my question, Velvet and Alice shared a look before Velvet spoke quietly. "It's not advertised... And the students who survive don't like to speak about it."

Alice then took over as she spoke softly. "You have to survive three days in the Emerald Forest past the front lines where the Grimm numbers are thinner. Several of Beacons S and A rank Hunters clear the forest, but they still miss and skip over so... So many Grimm."

"Sixty percent survival rate, twenty percent washout from the trauma, and the last twenty are what is left of the initiation... Ten thousand would be hunters, aged sixteen to twenty-five, join every year, and then only a couple thousand are left as only the best magic users and aura users manage to survive the initiation." Velvet finished leaving me to think as both of the rabbit girls stepped back to inspect my form.

I stilled as I considered that... Surviving outside the walls to become a hunter in training. No wonder high-tier hunters were looked at with so much more respect than equal-ranked military personnel. They were monsters who took the battles in their own hands.

And that... That was exactly what I needed, especially with my abilities.

But before I could speak, Alice smiled and said. "In that vein, Jake, my sister and I have a presumptive request to make of you. Would you be willing to take myself and my sister to Beacon as your retainers?"

My mind stalled as her words hit me. As I was well aware of the reality of what a 'Retainer' was in the context she meant.

A Retainer was someone who was tied to someone else at a slightly lower status, but they were bound to help that person in all things, on the field, taking care of their needs at Beacon or otherwise.

Once someone rose into the ranks of nobility, those retainers would speak with the nobles voice and have that same respect. And should someone take offense to that Retainer's actions or words, the lord HAS to stand up for their retainer lest they lose all credibility and respect.

So... These girls were asking a fucking lot right now.

And they knew that, I knew that, and Prinz definitely knew that as her gaze on the two became cool rather than the teasing humor she had previously.

But Alice just gave a calming smile as she said slowly. "Jake, you yourself alreadly noted the time it takes to put on your armor. What if you decide to upgrade to more armor? Carry more ammo, supplies for long-term camping to hold a position?" 

All her points were sound, although the bit about supplies was a bit moot as Prinz didn't need human supplies even if she would enjoy such things.

And I was well aware that having natives helping me in my goal of rising through the ranks was for the best.

Sadly, although there was some extremely powerful mages that had figured out some manner of teleporting matter, it was only teleporting matter between two fixed points with complicated runic circles and rituals.

People couldn't be teleported at all, nor could Dust be teleported due to its volatile magical nature,e so people still needed to transport goods and supplies on their backs. Hence why retainers were a thing to support powerful hunters on the field.

But I did not need any ammo carriers with my abilities... But I did need help getting my armor and cannons on if I decided to keep using these things in a timely fashion due to the bare minimum of mecha shift stuff to make it more easy to use.

So I asked the simplest question. "Why should I trust you in the field with the lives of Prinz and myself?"

Velvet gathered the bravery to speak for herself as she said quietly. "If you have us as retainer, we could feed you while you wear the arms, give you drinks, help you deal with bathroom needs on the field. Also, we would be in charge of carrying your living supplies and doing scouting work while you and Prinz do heavy combat."

All good points... Even if the bathroom bit was weird. I honestly think I would rather have a Grimm try to tear my ass apart than have a girl wipe said ass for me because I was too lazy to spend five minutes taking off and putting back on my armor and weapons.

'But having them carry our tents, and such would be good... Not to mention there is nothing saying I can't just spawn turrets or something for them to use if we have to defend a point. Hell there is nothing saying I can't summon or create fortifications.'

There was just one bit left. And that was simple trust that was not a thing between us.

And as though already considering that Alice spoke calmly. "Jake, you trusted me and my sister to make you your weapon. You already trusted us to make a weapon that would keep you alive in the very field itself. Why is trusting us on the field personally any different?" 

"She has a point, Jake. It's not like the military forces their defense contractors to take to the field to prove how viable their weapons are." Prinz chuckled lightly as she spoke in their favor.

I looked over to her and she raised an eyebrow and said frankly. "They want to use us to step up in this world. Make use of them and keep their loyalty, it's not that complicated." 

And there was Prinz's pragmatic mindset of an Iron Blood Shipgirl. Do what needs to be done to be the most efficient and have the most power, regardless of the costs.

In that same vein... I knew for a fact that should these two betray me in some way, Prinz would have punished them far worse than I could before killing them.

So I took a breath and I had one last question. "What about your grandfather? How is he going to run this store alone?" 

I saw Velvet's twist turn into a frown before Alice said slowly. "He passed away last night in his sleep... And that is part of the reason we are being so blunt in our desire to stand behind you as your retainer with your potential."

"We will lose his Grand Knight rank with his death, and the Royal Family will repossess the land, making us pay high rent to the Royal Family until the land is sold to another noble who would become our landlord." 

'Well, that makes sense... They are scared of becoming homeless as they have no right to sell this property at all.

There was nothing else to ask or discuss at this point. Trust, knowing them for a certain point, or even just discussing their duties towards me, was just running around in circles.

I either agreed to this. Or I disagreed. 

And with Prinz throwing her support into such an idea. I was inclined to trust Prinz Eugen, along with the simple fact that I would need the two to service my weapon at times anyway.

"I am... Inclined to agree, what will need to be done for this to be made official?" I asked curiously.

To which Velvet spoke up. "Thats the easiest part. There isn't any paperwork to be done until you actually become nobility, so we will be following you to Beacon as technically servant and then once you prove yourself, we will be elevated to stand by the rank you, yourself, acquire as a Hunter." 

I nodded in understanding as becoming a Hunter was far easier than it was in canon, probably. There were no four years or more of Beacon schooling to become a registered Hunter.

No, to become a licensed Hunter required one thing, and one thing only. The ability to slaughter Grimm on mass on your own and to hold a point against the Grimm. 

And even when someone became a registered Huntsman, it wasn't like Beacon, and its resources were closed to them.

No, it was a school for Huntsmen and Huntsmen-in-Training to eternally better themselves as the school offered tutoring in the magical arts for doing missions to cull Grimm numbers, deal with bandits, or otherwise deal with elite Grimm that had feasted on too many souls.

So with that all said... I said. "Alright. So we will meet you ladies at the Bullheads, taking us to Beacon?" 

"Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you for agreeing, Jake," Alice spoke as she exhaled in relief, while I nodded.

"Alright, Jake, let's head off for lunch. These ladies need to get ready and pack up their belongings to meet us at Beacon." Prinz spoke as she gave me a slight nudge.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

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 them.

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 at 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 were 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 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 a 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, it's 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 the 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! It's 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 headpiece 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 ID within your suitcases for extra gear for Beacon Staff to register 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 that the nobles had collected, who had 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 like four or five major groups.

First were 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 and 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 that 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 retainers 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.

 

 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 8

Five thousand people were going into the Emerald Forrest, so it was taking a good while for everyone to get loaded up. But regardless we had Velvet unlock New Jersey's aura real quick, so by the time we got dropped off, it would be regenerated.

Our ships soon took to the air as the Anti-Air batteries and mages took apart any Grimm in the area, and as I looked through the small portholes in the bullhead, I took in the surroundings past Vale's massive walls that would put the Attack on Titan walls to shame.

And I could see that in the distance was the castle fortress that was Beacon that we were going to fly past. And then from there, we would be dropped north of Beacon in the supposedly somewhat cleared-out Emerald Forrest.

"We will want a defensible position. So we want to have a cliff or something to our backs and a strong fortification that can allow us to escape from it if needed." I mused as I took in the deep evergreen forestry beneath the dozens of Bullheads carrying the prospects into hell.

I felt Prinz lean against me before she said calmly. "I believe in you. Just pick a point and we will make our way there."

I gave a slight hum before I blinked as I saw in the far distance a massive gorge. Built into the center of the gorge was a massive tower that was in the center of the gorge that had two large stone bridges leading across both sides of the gorges.

'Is that where the canon cast fought their stronger Grimm in their easy mode invitation?' I mused before pointing at the structure I saw with Prinz and New Jersey nodding in agreement.

With only Alice having the advice of. "If we do get overrun. It will be hard to escape, you know." 

But with the emplaced weapons I could summon up. I wasn't worried about being overrun by any casual grimm, so I nodded in respect to her advice that did have merit, and we kept flying a little longer before Glynda Goodwitch's voice cut in through the intercom as the ships dipped forward to bring us closer to the ground.

[All prospective students of Beacon. You will need to jump out of the Bullhead within the next five minutes after the doors open. If you are unable to jump from the Bullhead and ride back to Beacon after the allotted time. You will be considered a failure and will thus be sent back to Vale in another shuttle.]

The doors to the back of the bullhead opened, and I took a breath as I saw the people in the back move away from the opening doors... But seeing them moving away, I pushed forward with the girls following me.

"Hold hands or something! We are going to try to fall as close as possible!" I spoke loudly over the holding winds as I felt Prinz and New Jersey's hands grab my wrists, and then I felt hands grab the back straps of my armor.

And knowing that hesitating would only make this harder, I just powerwalked out of the large bullhead with New Jersey making a loud cheer as we free fell out of the air...

For all of like five seconds as the Bullheads were flying really fucking low and I felt the girls let go as we hit the tree line and I brought up my aura to protect me as I grabbed at several branches to slow my fall with my armored gauntlets allowing me to off load the weight of my grabs into my shoulders and whole body.

A series of soft thumps rang out as we hit the ground just a few seconds off, and then as soon as I stood up, I heard the sound of the ground being torn up.

I looked to my side, and I instantly backhanded a Beowulf in the face with my gauntlet, pushing it aside. Making sure it didn't bowl me over and seeing a dozen more of the Beowulf's, I finally took advantage of my arm cannons.

Heavy booming noises rang out as my cannons rang out powerfully, as the larger caliber pellets in the shot tore through the air, and their forms blossomed like bloody black flowers as the shot tore their bodies apart.

"Everyone lands alright?" I asked loudly over the sound of a sharp snarl that turned into a gurgling whine as Prinz's draconic-headed rigging tore a Beowulf in half.

"I am fine." Prinz and New Jersey said in unison, with Velvet nodding while Alice hefted her large battleaxe over her shoulder and spoke with a small smile.

"Yup! Me Velvet and landed just fine." 

'Good... It would be terrible if someone literally tore their ankle or something.' I shuddered at the thought.

"Alright, let's make our way to the gorge. It can act as the perfect choke point, which will fit my magic." I ordered and quickly continued towards the gorge that was likely going to be a good... Five or six miles to the north.

But quickly I realized something... Why the hell were we walking?

I held up my hand for everyone to stop as I was taking point, and I spoke. "Wait a second." I pointed my hand outwards and I marshaled up my Aura, and with its mundane nature, it only took ten percent of my aura to create what I wished, as bright light formed in front of me that quickly broke apart.

As in front of me as the light faded away was the AA7 amphibious vehicle that had been modified to switch out the mounted 50cal on top of the turret with a 950 RDJ machine gun. 

"Well, it's a good thing I know how to shoot that turret, Jake." New Jersey spoke excitedly while Prinz hopped onto the tank, I said.

"Velvet, Alice, get inside the tank, it will allow us to cover a lot more ground!" I spoke as I jumped atop it as well, and I thanked all the gods that I was able to somewhat control certain aspects of the machine during its creation.

As it had a large cockpit for me to drive in, while the back wasn't as large.

"Alright... This steel should be strong and thick enough to ignore anything that hasn't eaten any souls or has Grimm acid." Velvet spoke as she climbed into the back of the amphibious tank as I brought it online.

A loud rumble rang out, and I saw in the systems as Grimm came out of the tree line, all directions, the sound of our tank revving up was loud as shit and was a bigger draw than the sounds of the other prospects.

"Well, this is a good time to open up," Prinz spoke and I watched in awe as her large battle cannons fired for the first time in the cameras as the massive rounds that belonged on a naval ship tore through the surroundings with her anti-air guns tearing through the chaff as her main cannons brought down tree's like they were nothing.

The amphibious tank, however, was rolling now. And with this tank not having, for example, as much armor as an Abram's, it could get to a good bit of speed.

Though... The sounds of New Jersey showing Velvet how to use the turret were getting to me, with the sounds of Prinz Eugen and New Jersey's heavy cannons tearing through the surrounding forest.

But I had one funny thought that wouldn't escape me. 'I wonder what the staff of Beacon is going to think seeing me summon or create a literal tank on demand.' I mused as I pushed down the throttle with a roar ringing out as the tank smashed into a charging Boarbatusk, only for the Grimm...

To be splattered and ground up by several tons of mechanical steel running the bitch over.

With the thick forestry, it took my tank a good half an hour to drive over to the gorge itself... And it wasn't even night, and I realized how dangerous this initiation was as I ran over several dozen lesser Grimm with my tank with New Jersey using her larger cannons to blow up any larger Grimm like Taijutu that came for my tank at the noise.

"Hmm, I am down ten percent of my ammo. Jake, keep driving, this stone bridge is like a solid thirty or forty feet thick, so it can hold the tank!" New Jersey spoke excitedly before she spoke again.

"Prinz Eugen, we should switch to lower calibers. We don't wanna damage the bridge should we miss our targets." 

The center of the large structure in the gorge was a large flat platform that was forty meters wide, with the main platform being supported by the structure that went all the way to the base of the massive gorge, that I couldn't even see the bottom of due to how dark it got.

"Alright, so a quick run down... I can make weapons, emplacements, ammo, and resources that have to do with a naval theme." I spoke as I took in the gorge and considered things.

'Two main points of entry, no major way of escape except...' I then summoned a larger rocket cannon onto my shoulders, and I turned towards the edge of the gorge where the far tree line was.

I then pulled the trigger on the rocket launcher I had, and with a loud thumping noise, a thick rope got shot outwards, flying hundreds of meters before, with a soft thumping noise, the spiked hook on the end caught on the trees on the other side.

I then tied the line to one pillar a good ways up, and Alice spoke with some excitement. "Ah! You made a zipline to get over the gorge!"

But just as I went to respond with some pride at using a simple tow line as a zipline, I was cut off as the heavy sounds of Alice using the heavy machine gun atop the amphibious tank drowned out any noise I could make.

'My heavy machine guns are loud as fuck... Let's go even further beyond!' I cackled as I realized now was my fucking time to shine!

The surrounding area glowed as I fully immersed myself into my Essence of the Admiral, and I could almost smell the sea as the stone beneath our feet were replaced with thick steel, and the matter below us was transformed as I used my ability to turn the massive platform we were atop into the top and lower section of a large nuclear-powered battleship.

"You truly are royal blooded..." Alice spoke in a hushed voice as my will filled the surrounding machinery of the partly manifested battleship.

I smiled as I held up my hand and, like a maestro, I felt my will connect with the dozen Phalanx CIWS anti-air guns along with the four mounted GAU-8 Avenger cannons mounted pointing at the two bridges.

But manifesting all this wasn't actually that bad for my aura. As it only took half my aura to do so, seeing as I was able to use the thick... Maybe even a slightly enchanted stone that made up the platform.

"Alright, girls! Let's go into the ship, we can control the guns and be safe from any Grimm acid under several meters of steel." I spoke quickly with the girls, nodding as they followed into the manifested section of the ship I made to head into the control tower.

And by the time we got up to the top, already the sounds of the Avenger Cannons and their beautiful 'Brrrrt' noises were filling our ears with a dull hymn due to the thick glass that separated the outside world from ourselves.

"So... You are from Vacou's royal family?" Velvet asked unsurely as I stared past the heavily tinted glass to keep the Grimm from possibly seeing us inside the tower and focusing on it.

I was silent for a minute before I slowly shook my head.

As much as possible, using the name of the Vacuo's royal family as an aegis to claw my way quickly up the ranks of the world would be easy... That could also be very dangerous when said royal family demands blood tests to find out whose bastard I am.

"No. The Vacuo royal family has the ability to make anything they want on a large scale... But their manifestations are hollow, the castles they throw up with a wave of their hands break down after mere months when such castles could last for centuries if cared for and made with mortal hands." 

I gently touched the control panel of the ship I manifested before I spoke. "I, on the other hand... Can only manifest things that are tied to a naval theme, but in exchange, my manifestations are permanent and no different from a hand-crafted project." 

"Wait... Does that mean these two are?" Alice spoke, and I smiled as I turned around to face the rabbit faunus's as I wrapped an arm around Prinz's waist and my other arm around New Jersey's shoulder as I responded.

"Yes... They are also constructs I made. And as you are well aware, they even have their own souls." I spoke proudly as Prinz summed it up perfectly.

"We are his ships, and he is our Admiral. Do you have any issues with that?" 

To that, Alice and Velvet shared a look before Alice gingerly pulled at the leather collar around her neck and said plainly. "No, we are your retainer,s Jake. We will carry your burdens, and in turn, you will elevate our status. Your follower's status as constructs doesn't matter... Especially when I have seen one of the necromancy lords be a woman who collects handsome Huntsmen after they die in the field." 

My lips twitched hearing that... And honestly, how could I blame her? New Jersey and Prinz were all but human in all the ways that mattered.

But any further discussion was cut off as I tilted my head to the side, as I felt in my connection with the ship I was on... A procession of a dozen massive cargo plane-sized Deathstalker Grimm scorpions lined up to cross over the bridge to head towards us.

I looked over to that particular bridge,e and Alice whistled with a hint of some fear in her voice as she spoke. "Those are five-decade-old Deathstalkers at least... Do we need to go outside to deal with them or even leave our position?"

In response, I flexed my will, and the ship beneath me hummed with power as the two Avenger Cannons spun to life along with all the Phalanx screaming to life as a curtain of alternating armor penetrating and explosive rounds painted the scene.

"Those small circular towers over there are automated anti-air turrets shooting 4500 rounds of 20 MM depleted uranium sabot... While those large cannons are shooting 30MM of alternating explosive and armor-penetrating variety at 4000 rounds per minute." Even as I spoke.

I watched in utter amusement as the emplaced guns utterly obliterated the line of powerful Grimm that tried to bum rush in the worst kind of kill box they could face.

"What about ammo?" Velvet asked quietly, and I held up a hand to form the 30mm round the Avenger was using in my hand with a small smile.

"So long as the item I am trying to make isn't enchanted or otherwise has supernatural properties, making thousands of these rounds in literal moments won't even take a full percentage of my aura," I explained with a smile, with the girls nodding as they glanced at the ammo crate on my armored back in understanding.

And now... It was just a waiting game. See if I ran out of aura to manifest more ammunition. Or the Grimms ran out of bodies to throw at me.

"I am going to relax and meditate to keep my aura regeneration at its best," I spoke as I settled down into the captain's chair of the ship with my eyes closing as I relaxed and dropped my mind into the ship and its systems.

With Prinz laying a comforting hand on my knee as she sat on the arm of my chair to lean against me slightly.

-

"Move out of the way... He is a dead man." A male voice spoke tired and coldly as Cardin Winchester hefted his large spell mace in his hands as he watched his peer, Russel Thrus,h choking and drowning in his blood.

As a Lancedevil had snuck up and slammed one of its stupidly sharp spikes it carried through Russel's throat.

Lancedevils were extremely fast, wasp-shaped Grimm that typically were the size of a large dog, and they held three large spikes as they flew upright and with their almost mono-molecular point at the end, even Aura had a hard time protecting from a head-on blow.

Cardin took a deep breath, and he met the gaze of his peer he had grown up with, and as he looked into the panicking eyes of his friend, he said solemnly. "In death, may you find peace, brother." And his spell mace was filled with power before he smashed it down with all his might into Russel Thrush's head, splattering it into nothingness and ending his suffering instantly.

"There... He isn't suffering for the next few minutes. And those fucking necromancers won't insult his line by using his body as chaff or be used by some freak." Cardin spoke tiredly as he looked at his two surviving friends, and then he glanced at their retainers before shaking his head.

The three older teenagers looked at the headless remains of their friend before Dove slowly spoke. "Cardin, take his earrings. We can give it to his family after we get out of here." 

Cardin nodded, seeing the enchanted earrings that were unharmed, and he spoke softly. "Alright, let's take these and we can hold up in a cave that my family has noted down. We just gotta hold out for the next few days while that dumbass is using a tank and those cannons get all the Grimm's attention."

Sky was wearing a wry smile as he said with a sad smile. "He will for sure run out of ammo by tonight when the Grims come out in force. So let's take the easy day while we can."

And so the surviving three teens and their two surviving retainers continued to the hidden cave that Cardin's family had noted down for a safe place to bunker down over the years.

-

A great field of frozen ice stood as a stark reminder of nature, and standing formally on a wall of ice that used hundreds of Grimm as foundational blocks were two young women with almost matching winter-themed outfits and white hair.

One was dressed in a formal dress with ice crystal-like gems embossed into her dress, that was the highest quality of dust that had been cut into perfectly formed gems to enhance her magic.

The other was clad in a shorter blue dress with their eyes covered in a blindfold that had an upside-down half moon embossed over the front of it.

"A Vacuo Royal seems to be in this initiation as well... Probably a bastard as none of the ones I know of are in the right age group nor of the desire to put themselves on the front line like this." The blue dress-wearing woman spoke as she gazed with some interest towards the sight of a fresh fortress that had popped up out of nowhere.

And Weiss Schnee, the wizard who was wearing the magical gem encrusted gem gave a slight hum before she spoke blandly. "They are certainly a bastard, as they didn't bother to network with the other students. If they had, they would have gotten a great amount of political favor in making such a fortress for all to defend together."

They remained silent for a moment until they saw a line of explosive munitions being shot into a line of Grimm, with the Grimm being torn apart without any resistance being able to be put up.

"It is odd, however. The Abizar's Manifestation Semblance doesn't do... Chemical or magical reactions. Where is he getting the ammo? is the question. Weiss mused with an upraised eyebrow at seeing thousands of rounds being used with impunity by several turrets on the oddly shaped metal-topped platform.

There was a moment of silence before the other girl spoke bluntly. "We can account for that section as being a possible safe haven, Weiss. But for now... More are coming for ourselves." 

Weiss turned away from her partner and guardian Jingliu to look down with a frown as all the new souls in the Emerald Forrest had finally dragged the real Grimm population from the surroundings into a feeding frenzy.

Already she could see... Literal thousands of black shadows ran through the deep forest line in various directions as the Grimm ran towards various gunfire and feeling the magic used by the prospective students.

And with Weiss having made her own massive wall and frozen domain out of ice dust and magic. Plenty of Grimm was naturally running towards her.

Today... Was going to be a very long day for her and the prospective students of Beacon. Even if that fool was dragging many Grimm over to himself with his heavy cannons, drowning out the sounds of the students' much smaller weapons.

Notes:

Next 10 chapters are on Patreon and Ko-fi
Hey if you like this and want daily uploads and to read early chapters please drop a tip in my Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/azazyel22926 or https://www.patreon.com/Azazyel and your precious energy stones, it keeps me working on it.
My commission rate is 15$ per thousand words.

Chapter 9

Silent tears of anguish fell to the forest floor as the sun crested over the horizon and the true horror of the never-ending Grimm tide showed its might.

With blank eyes. Nora Valkyrie held the decapitated head of Lie Ren to her chest, uncaring of her own wounds as part of her died on the inside, and the Grimm didn't even notice her as she was curled up against a tree as they finished tearing the rest of Lie Ren's corpse into a slurry that couldn't be recognized.

The initiation had seemingly started so well. The Atlesian Royal and the Vacuo noble dragging the vast majority of the Grimm towards their entrenched positions.

But as Nora and Ren were going to make their way to the Vacuo Royal's fortress, which was easily wiping out so many Grimm, they ran into a small pack of Beowulfs.

"Come on, Renny! We just gotta put down some the bad puppers and then we can sleep nice and easy in that ship after we do some guard duty or something!" Nora said happily as she danced in between lunging Beowulfs and easily smashed several to death with her hammer grenade launcher, Magnhild.

Lie Ren gave a soft nod as he kept a solid pace behind his excited friend, watching her back and skillfully killing any Beowulfs that had the fortune to dodge or avoid Nora's extremely powerful but somewhat slow blows.

"I will use my semblance to make us invisible to the Grimm as we pass through the bridge, just make sure to avoid using your grenades to gain any Grimm's attention, Nora," Ren spoke in warning, as although he trusted Nora with his life...

He knew Nora was a bit too excited at times and didn't think about her actions.

And he held in a sigh at seeing Nora cheer out. "Rennie! Look a super boar, let's ride it to get to the bridge!" 

"Nora, slow down!" Ren called out in exasperation as the hyperactive Valkyrie sprinted forward and then leaped into the air and smashed a leaping Beowulf alpha into paste before landing on the back of a squealing Boarbatusk of good age with Nora's strong thighs forcing it to turn its charge to the side allowing Nora to grab Ren as she passed by him and they were off!

"Come on, Rennie! We gotta get to the bridge before it turns to night! Otherwise, the really bad Grimm will start coming for us with how we are the open!"

To that... Ren could only agree as he and Nora had survived in the wilds for very short stints only due to the semblance that made him and her invisible to the Grimm's passive detection for souls and emotional radar.

And thus Ren knew all to well the horrors of the more magical Grimm that came out during the night when the sun's gaze was on the world.

But only minutes into using the Boarbatusk as a charging steed, Nora cried out with Ren's eyes widening as he watched in slow motion as the Boarbutusk's legs seemingly slipped off and fell behind with them all pitching forward.

"Razor Arachne!" Ren cursed aloud and Nora instantly shot her grenade launcher in all directions not far from them with a loud screech ringing out as the fire dust grenades quickly catching the razor-thin and sharp threads hidden between the tree on fire with Ren quickly locking onto the horse-sized Grimm spider hiding in a tree and spraying the unarmored Grimm to death with his dual automatic pistols.

"Alright, Rennie, let's get a move-"

Ren's thoughts cut off as he felt a wetness cross his throat and down his chest, and he put a hand over his throat and looked down slightly... Only to realize that his entire front was painted in red. In his own blood instead of a light green of his typical clothes.

'Oh... I was too tall and I went through wire.' Ren thought with a weak smile as he staggered, as he felt the seams of the wound opening with every heartbeat, every movement.

And with his final thoughts, he marshaled all his remaining aura as Nora looked at him with wide eyes, and he lifted a hand.

His form glowed in a bright grey aurora of his soul's flaring energy as he activated his semblance with all his might and pushed it into Nora as he choked through his blood-filled throat to hiss as he put his hand on Nora's chest. "Go to the bridge... Eat well, and be good, Nora."

And then all the movement was just too much... Maybe if the initiation wasn't an all-or-nothing thing. Maybe if a healer was there, things could have changed.

Lie Ren's head fell from his shoulders into Nora Valkeries hands as she stared blindly ahead as Ren's overflowing semblance drowned out all her emotional and soul energies making her no different than a rock to a Grimm's senses and she only moved away woodenly to curl up against a tree with Ren's head while more roving Grimm drawn to Ren's aura came and tore apart his corpse.

-

"Hmm, the Schnee is doing well as was expected... To say nothing of Jingliu, the Frozen Sword Saintess, being at her side." Grand Wizard Ozpin spoke dully as he watched through cameras and scrying spells alike as students fought and died under his gaze.

Not a single one, whether royal or commoner, would be helped if they were overwhelmed by the staff of Beacon. The very creed of Beacon was thus. [Become the Beacon of Light for Humanity. It's Bulwark in the Darkness.]

If they couldn't survive three days with all their supplies, plenty of preparation, and the ability to make teams and just... Hide without even fighting. Then they didn't deserve to even bear the name of Huntsmen in training.

As Huntsmen were the greatest force for all life on this world against the Grimm. The Dukes were powerful indeed but they were tied up in defending the main city and the resource-producing towns. Who was the one who defended mines where Dust was mined by robots and automatons?

Hunters did it.

Who defended the mega-farms and the families who ran them from the Grimm and bandits?

Hunters did it.

There was a reason that seventy-five percent of Dukes were previously Hunters after all. 

But even with all the knowledge and power in his hands... Ozpin, the S-rank mage, raised an eyebrow of interest as he watched the several cameras and scrying tools that had turned to the enigma that had taken over the gorge crossover point.

"Glynda, that boy... Jake Bariss, does he have any established lineage?" He questioned coldly as he watched some fool of a girl drive a Boarbatusk through a Razor Arachne's lair with her friend paying for the mistake with his head falling off.

Glynda the Goodwitch trawled through her enchanted book and with a noise of sliding paper she spoke. "According to the Vale's registry, he is an orphan with his lineage being of common soldiers on both lines that for recorded decades have no ties to the Abizar's of Vacou and they would have shown the bloodline semblance if they had it." 

Ozpin grunted before saying. "Hmm, so it's a new mass manifestation semblance... I wonder about its drawbacks, is his constructs all but hollow like the Abizar's? Is his manifestations dangerous for other people to handle?" 

There was a moment of silence before a voice with a velvet candor spoke out coldly. "The students are destroying the heads of their peers when they are dying... And their words are an insult to my craft."

The teachers, whether master combatants or powerful mages, gave the Beacon, Necromancer Lord, and Lich Calia the Death's Embrace. Nods of agreement.

Although they understood that necromancy being performed on their colleagues and allies was... Distasteful to say the least. But its existence here in Vale was one of the reasons Vale was one of the best-defended kingdom cities out of the four kingdoms of this world.

Because the dead could be endlessly put back together with only their brains needed to remain in a decent state, so the enchantments and control anchors could control the corpse...

And if the corpse was fresh, and the soul was powerful enough, they could anchor the soul back into the body and create higher-end undead that had their own levels of intelligence and sometimes even had large parts of their previous personalities and memories remaining.

So seeing the noble children going out of their way to smash the heads of any human or faunus corpses they came across... Ozpin sighed as he muttered. "Calia, you are free to make an example out of a couple of them. Necromancy is, after all, offered within Beacon's halls just as any other magic that can be turned against the Grimm. Lower-leveled nobility has no right to insult your craft in doing so." 

Ozpin wasn't consigning a couple of young men to a terrible death via being flesh-crafted into a higher-tier augmented zombie just to support Calia and her craft... This was purely a punch to the jaw of the nobility as he was disgusted at seeing so many noble children literally hiding in caves and utterly avoiding any conflict.

'Huntsman who just avoids fighting Grimm. Utterly ridiculous, you should remain within the walls and be a good sheep if you can't lay your life down for humanity.' Ozpin snorted as he watched with cold eyes from one scrying ward as the descendant of the Winchester Viscount Family sexually shared his two surviving female retainers with his two friends as they hid within a deep cave system.

So seeing Jake Bariss and his team doing Huntsmen's main job in taking a point and making it a Grimm killing zone... Gave Ozpin a feeling of satisfaction knowing that this year, there were going to be some people who already knew the core tenet of being a Huntsman.

"Sir, Ruby Rose," Glynda spok,e and Ozpin's eyes snapped over to another warding system that was following the latest generational carrier of the magical Silver-Eyes.

Wherever Ruby looked, her partially activated Silver Eye's made the Grimm freeze as the powerful holy seemingly light within her eyes made the outer layer of the Grimm's bodies stiffen to the point they could barely move.

And with Ruby's speed semblance that was almost a match for her mother's semblance. Ozpin watched as the scion of the Summer Duke House just casually slaughtered hundreds of Grimm as her form blitzed through the hordes with her enchanted scythe cutting through bone and chitin like they weren't even there.

"She will manage, so long as she doesn't get picked off as she is sleeping," Ozpin spoke with surety before his lips twitched and he looked over Taiyang Xiao-Long's older mistake in the woman he made the error of bedding, who was fighting in another section of the forest.

Yang Xiao-Long was a weapon of violence as she used a bastardized sword that looked like the crossbreed of a Falchion that mated with an Odachi. A long Odachi that had a thicker blade and at the end it flared out with a weighted end that carved through flesh and bone with Yang's impressive strength for her age.

But... Yang was not the descendant of a Duke house like Ruby Rose, who had congenital magic at birth in the Silver Eyes. Yang, if she kept up the noise she was making as night fell... Would falter and fail.

"Hmm, Taiyang does have some good genes, maybe we replace a sperm bank with his seed or pay to have some women carry his seed to term." Glynda coldly spoke as she noted both girls' physical talents that came from the almost S-rank Hunter Taiyang Xiao-Long, the Giant Dragon.

A dark voice spoke with the shadows in the room roiling at his words. "They are both too impetuous... They both may not live through the first night, to say nothing of the third night, where the farther away Grimm will converge on the source of magic and aura being spent."

Ozpin gave a nod to the resident master Umbramancer, who was responsible for the forces that cleared out Vale's sewer and cave systems with his shadow manipulation magic. As it was true.

But after a while, Glynda asked with some amusement. "So. The real question is, who plans to take Jake Barris as their apprentice? As many of you are still A rank hunters and need an apprentice to reach A rank as well to reach an official S rank."

Hearing that Ozpin couldn't help a chuckle as Jake truly was the perfect apprentice for the status and resource-hungry A-rank hunters who wanted the last piece in a legacy that would have the Royal Family name them S rank and open their libraries to them.

Both there was just one last note to look upon.

The scion of the Nikos clan of Mistral that had fled here to Vale. 

"The Nikos are still demanding we hand over Pyhrra Nikos to them. She is still set to be wedded into the Xiao Family." Glynda reported with amusement, and Ozpin loudly sipped from his mug of hot chocolate.

And only after an unnecessarily long slurp of his drink did he say bluntly, as he watched as seemingly endless streams of iron sand crushed Grimm while swirling saw blades zipped through the air at high speed, carving through Grimm in the air.

"The Nikos can pound sand... I killed their previous head on the coastline, and I will do it again should they reach into Vale's resources. An assured future, A rank is an asset of Vale I am willing to kill for, to say the least."

-

"There is too damned many!" Yang snarled as she backhanded the head off of an Ursa as used the blow to retreat from a seemingly ever-growing pile of Grimm that she just couldn't kill fast enough.

Idly, she wondered how her... Half-sister was doing before she shut that thought down, as she and her half-sister were. Didn't exactly get along with how Summer Rose almost killed her own mother when they fought after realizing Taiyang was cheating on the two of them.

Raven Branwen was strong... Very strong and skilled with her favored enchanted Dust Odachi's she could cut through small armies of Grimm with without issue. But she wasn't a Duke, she didn't have millennia of magical knowledge at her fingertips, and her semblance wasn't even combat-applicable.

All those thoughts were put aside as Yang finally snarled as she punched with a massive fireball from her punch, breaking through the lines of Grimm surrounding her, with her running off to the gorge. As she realized that she wasn't going to be able to last through the night with the never-ending hordes of Grimm coming for her.

"I just need to get past the Grimm on the bridge to get to that bastard... Why the hell didn't he say he was taking a literal fucking army with him and all the ammo the kingdom goes through in a week!?" Yang cursed to herself as she cursed the noble who obviously had some kind of spatial magic or something that could store all the ammo he was pissing away.

Yang had to dodge several more dangerous Grimm, like Deathropers that used spiked tendrils to grab their prey, and she got stabbed by a Lancedevil in the side as she didn't manage to fully dodge the needle on the wasp Grimm.

But soon enough she reached the bridge on the gorge, and as she did so. She blinked as she realized that the stone bridge had been seemingly replaced by metal, as her boots made soft clicking noises as they rebounded on thick metal covering the top of the bridge.

"Move to the tower in the center of the platform. Get the fuck out of the middle of the firing lane, dumbass!" A voice roared out of a loudspeaker, making Yang shrink in at the volume before she realized... That she standing in front of the lanes in which the scary as fuck heavy machine guns and cannons were firing from all day.

"I am coming!" Yang yelled as she felt her stomach clench at the thought of a fresh meal, as she hadn't had any time to sit down and eat beyond shoving some nutrient bars in her mouth as she endlessly fought.

Though even in a rush... Yang smartly ran close to the edge of the guardless metal bridge and for good reason, as the Grimms that were initially following her came to the bridge and Yang had to cover her ears with her aura as the machine guns and cannons all but deafened her.

But soon enough, Yang reached the tower at the center of the platform... And as soon as the metal door leading into the room was opened. Yang thought she was dreaming as a beautiful woman with light blue hair opened the door with a wide grin and held out a large platter of literally steaming hot pizza. "Did you smell the fresh pizza and want some? Oh, and my Admiral says if you ask for Hawaiian, he will throw you off the platform." 

And without an ounce of shame, Yang grinned and said. "At this point, I would be happy with just some sausage, you know." 

Notes:

Next 10 chapters are on Patreon and Ko-fi
Hey if you like this and want daily uploads and to read early chapters please drop a tip in my Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/azazyel22926 or https://www.patreon.com/Azazyel and your precious energy stones, it keeps me working on it.
My commission rate is 15$ per thousand words.

Chapter 10

'I have long since lost count of the damned Grimm I killed.' I thought even as I heard New Jersey taking one of the pizzas, I conjured up to our newest guest.

One who I recognized fairly well in Yang Xiao-Long, even if she was wearing a bit more covering and protective of clothes than her usual almost cowboy-themed outfit she wore in the first season.

"Wow, this is some sweet digs you got here," Yang spoke, and I could feel as Prinz shifted as she stood between me and Yang as she spoke calmly.

"Hello, guest, my name is Prinz Eugen, and this is my Admiral Jake Barris. You are welcome to seek shelter here and even take over some turrets outside to fight off the Grimm. But I ask that you do not disturb my Admiral, who is controlling the defense systems."

There was a moment of silence before my lips twitched as I heard the crunch of pizza crust being bitten into, and after a moment, Yang spoke. "Is he like asleep or something? And I appreciate the food, and I am willing to help hold the line or whatever. I just need a minute to catch my breath and recover my own aura, as I got hurt a bit out there."

I took a breath and said. "I am not asleep... It's just hard to keep my focus here when I am looking through a dozen cameras embedded in the turret systems to control them and take out the Grimm from several directions." 

"Alright, alright. Anyway, my name is Yang Xiao-Long. Can I get the name of the handsome savior who opened their castle gates to me?" Yang spoke with a bit of teasing in her voice.

I lazily opened up a single eye and gave her a look before I gave a chuckle and said. "Jake Barris, common born... Anyway, how is it out there in the forest? I am keeping the bridges and air cleared, but there are a lot of the fuckers."

Even if Alice and Velvet rolled their eyes at my crass words, I saw Yang relax slightly at hearing how I was common-born and using a common tongue. 

"Oh, it's... A shitshow out there, in the shadow of every tree, there seems to be a Grimm. And even reloading takes too long with the seemingly never-ending little packs that get attracted to you that you can't kill fast enough to take a breath before the next pack arrives.

Unbidden to myself, I remembered my sponsor's words. A thousand Grimms a day from each of the thousands of Grimm Pools that lay on the Dark Continent.

It was no wonder that the world was just... Fucking overflowing with the damned things.

"I see... Well, you are safe here for now unless Beacon decides to throw some Elder Grimm at us for the Lolz. But even then, I have methods should something like that happen." I spoke as I gave New Jersey and Prinz Eugen a look, who nodded.

If some wanna-be kaiju of a Grimm came over, they were going to be in for a world of hurt when huge battleship cannons decided to open fire on their asses from a mile and a half away.

But I doubted Beacon would purposefully drive such a Grimm here just to massacre some prospective students when they had already thrown them into the depths of the ocean.

"So has anyone else tried to come here?" Yang asked, and at that, I allowed Velvet and Alice to speak for me as I was busing mowing down a small flock of young Nevermore flying over the gorge over towards the well-lit up platform and our tower.

"Nope! Most people are probably thinking that Jake was just going to run out of ammo by now. But he can just make more with ease, and now with night coming. People are either going to bunker down for the night or make their way here... Or die when the converging Grimm overrun them." Alice said bluntly.

But just as she was saying that.

I saw through my connection with the manifested ship someone was walking blank-eyed across the bridge I had made into ship deck steel instead of simple stone.

And as I focused on the face, I stilled as I first recognized the girl walking towards me... And then I recognized the head looking blankly at me within Nora's arms.

"New Jersey," I spoke before stalling at a loss of what to say before I swallowed and spoke. "We got another guest in coming. She is going to be mentally distraught as she seems to be carrying another person's head with them." 

Seeing Lie Ren's head being carried in Nora's hands... I had a bit of a thought actually.

I quickly added on as New Jersey got up to bring our new guest in. "Jersey, get her to come in quickly. I might have a way to help our guest bind the soul to the decapitated head. Go!"

At my firm, New Jersey powerwalked away at almost a run as she slid through the tight tunnels of the ship down to the floor level while Yang whistled.

"Wow... Bringing a friend's head with them after they died, they must be a bit broken right now, right?" 

I remained silent while Velvet hissed out. "Don't prod them, let Jake do what he needs to. That person may do something stupid."

A couple of minutes later, I blinked as New Jersey had Nora in a hold as she held the valkyrie's arms against her own chest as she held the valkyries to her side. While she held Lie Ren's head in her free hand by his hair.

"Yeah, she needed to be manhandled; she won't listen to reason." New Jersey spoke as Prinz walked over and took Ren's head from here and brought it over to me.

I swallowed down my bile seeing the slick gore leaking from the stump of Ren's head, but I shook my head and spoke. "I can bring him back with his brain intact. Please calm down." I spoke.

But I could feel Nora's eyes boring into me as she said with dead calmness. "If you enslave him as an undead construct,t I will dedicate my entire existence to killing you." 

My lips twitched hearing that, but I delved into my essence, and the stump of Ren's neck glowed as a metal plate formed over it with dozens of electrodes and signifiers popped out of the larger ring over the metal over the stump.

Then glass was encased over his head, which then filled up with a softly glowing green fluid with a speaker system forming on the metal base of the fish tank-like glass case that formed around Ren's head.

Then I looked over Nora and spoke. "You were ignored by the Grimm because he had some invisibility semblance or something, right? New Jersey pushed her hand against this, please." 

The much stronger shipgirl manhandled the girl into doing so, knowing that this girl was... A bit broken at the moment, and as I saw a small flicker of grey light flicker into the head case, I chuckled as I flipped a switch and the whole thing glowed with the grey light of Ren's aura.

Apparently, humanity cloned a fuck load of old admirals into Head Jars in Futurama when they got tired of complete incompetents like Branagan. So with Ren literally having his soul still around partly, it wasn't hard to manifest a Head Jar for him to take over.

And Nora froze as Ren's eyes blinked open in the fluid-filled Head Jar and the coms system linked up to the baseplate on the bottom of his neck came to life. 

"Nora... Where am I? And why am I in nasty pond water that tastes like pepperoni oil?" He asked blankly.

Nora remained blank-faced as she looked at the Head Jar, so I coughed and said. "Well, Nora brought your head over to me. So I decided to bring you back to life in a way. You are stuck in the ja,r unable to do anything other than talk... Or scream."

As Nora and Ren looked at me in horror, I couldn't help but laugh as I waved my hands and said. "I am kidding! Uhh, yeah, I can make Ren a robotic body he will be able to pilot around and even fight in. But that will need to be after we get to Beacon, as manifesting more advanced technology is more costly to my aura." 

"Please let me go," Nora asked softly as she relaxed in New Jersey's arms. 

And as my Battleship looked to me, I nodded even as the Avenger Cannon's roared to life outside to cut down a pack of lesser Ursa's that tried to rush down the bridge.

I was more focused on the now with both my eyes opened as Prinz hovered next to me as Nora slowly made her way over to me and kneeled in front of me as I slowly put Ren's Head Jar on my knees so they were but inches apart from one another.

"It truly is you... You have the same light in your eyes." Nora whispered, and I couldn't see Ren's expression. But I saw him shake his head and say with forced calm.

"It truly is me... I still have my Semblance, even if my aura pool... Seems a lot smaller than it used to be. I still remember everything we used to do as kids, when our town fell to the Grimm, when I killed that guy who snuck into the bathroom stall we were sleeping in to avoid sleeping outside in the winter." Ren spoke.

Nora closed her eyes before she slowly took the Jar Head from my hands and brought it up to her chest in a gentle... Scared embrace before she looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes and with a thick throat, she whispered with her voice clogged with shattered resolve to as she finally let it all out. "Fank you... Fank you so much." 

I nodded and said honestly. "It cost me damn near nothing. Not a single percentage of aura with how little mass it took to make that construct. However, I will need to give his jar a feeding every day in some specialized chemicals that will keep his mind and nerves in top shape."

Nora nodded swiftly in understanding before she bit her lip and looked at Velvet and Alice and spoke slowly. "You... Will you take me as a retainer? I swear I will do anything you need, I don't even want an allowance or anything. Just... Please keep my Rennie here with me. I need him."

I blinked and looked and 'Rennie' and spoke with a wry smile. "So Rennie... Or Ren, want to continue to live for a long while? I can make you an android-like body where you will be able to feel things and not go too insane?"

Ren spun around... Somehow inside his Head Jar and his eyes landed on mine, and he met my gaze before he blinked, and he nodded within the jar as he said.

"Yeah. I want to live. And I approve of Nora's thought about whether you would accept her. You are soft, you don't have the crazed glare in the eye of someone who has eaten someone else's corpse or regularly sells people on the black market."

'Well, that is a fucking scary thought.' I mused before I took a breath and said. "Alright, Nora. Those two lovely ladies are Velvet and Alice Scarlatina, and they will tell you anything you need to know to be my retainer... As I have no idea what you need to be doing, seeing as I can conjure up a fortress, food, and ammo for all my machines." 

To which Yang muttered aloud, seemingly forgetting that we could perfectly hear her already. "He already sounds like my dad with how he has everything covered." 

With that all said, I took a breath and refocused outside as Prinz silently sat back beside me, as the sounds of the cannons outside came back online as I tore apart... Yet another small horde of the bear-like Ursa Grimm, with a couple of Ursa Majors sprinkled in with the crowd.

"They never seem to end," I grumbled in exasperation, not even joking, but there were quite literally at least a hundred Grimm rushing down my bridges every five minutes at the very least.

It was just a never fucking ender stream of pockets of the bastards trying to run down the bridge, to say nothing of the flying Grimm, my AA gun quickly shredded out of the air.

"Ladies, I am going to make some tablets and controllers to control the guns. I am going to get some sleep now before it gets late into the night, and you girls, too, can wake up to trade off watch duty." 

I gave Velvet and Alice control of the Anti-Air machine guns, and then Prinz got control of the four Gau Avenger cannons to watch the bridges. While New Jersey was in charge of watching the bridges to make sure people if they came could have somewhere safe to be.

"Alright, there is a bunk in the back for me. Yang, Nora, if you girls need sleep... Just sleep on the floor, I guess haha." I joked lightly with Yang, sticking her tongue at me.

"I see how it is... You make the girls have to curl up on the cold, hard metal floor while you go to sleep in a nice, soft bed!" Yang spoke in 'outrage', making me chuckle at her joking, and I just waved a hand as I went to lie down with a full stomach and some pride at keeping Nora from completely mentally breaking.

-

After a while of remaining silent, besides some light introductions being made between herself and the two rabbit faunuses. Nora remained silent as she gave Ren some space to come to come to terms with his current state, and she could tell from the minute twitches in his eyes...

That her friend had put himself to sleep basically with his semblance so he could pass the time until Jake was going to make him a body... Not having a body had to suck! 

Nora shivered and bit her lower lip as she looked at the two weird girls who had ship-based weapons and equipment attached their bodies, and she imagined herself in the same scenario...

Locked in a jar with only the sounds of softly rumbling water and the voices of people who deigned to speak to the head in a jar that was stuck there...

Nora had no doubt that with how much pent-up energy she had, she would go utterly mad in short order.

'I need to have Jake make Rennie a new body... One made out of super strong metal! With huge cannons, and hmmm... He needs to have a jetpack and an enchanted lightning gun!' Nora thought before it struck her.

How was she going to have Jake spend all that time... And resources to make Renny such a super stomper, so he can never get hurt again.

And then it struck Nora, and her body stilled as she bit her lower lip as she realized what she needed to do. She needed to give Jake a reason to make her happy beyond just feeding Ren in his jar.

She got up and went over to Prinz, who Jake seemed the closest too, and with a tap, she got the white-haired girl's attention with a grunt.

"Can... I see Jake for a bit." She asked quietly.

And with a quiet but calm voice, Prinz said calmly and bluntly. "He needs his sleep." 

There was a pause before Nora put aside any pride and whispered. "He will sleep better should he be relaxed... You know."

Prinz's amber eyes glanced in her own, and there was a cold calculation in those eyes before the girl smiled a mirthless thing before she shrugged and said just loud enough for Nora to barely hear. "Fin,e go ahead. But if you start crying and make him unable to sleep, I will throw you into the gorge."

Nora hesitated, hearing that, before she took a deep breath. And she thought. 'Ren will never get hurt if he is made into a literal tank... I can do this!"

And Nora widened her eyes as Prinz walked over to the window and spoke out to Yang. "Yang here, there is some Ursa coming down the bridge. Come watch as I make them into mist."

This gave Nora the perfect chance to sneak into the hallway leading to the other rooms of the control tower, and it didn't take long for her to find Jake's room.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 11

After the long day of mental concentration, all but the moment I landed on my cot, I was out like a light.

Though... Even asleep, I could somehow feel my connection with the half-manifested battleship that had taken over the platform we were on. And thus, even as I dreamt of a simpler life, my previous life.

This meant even as I was talking to people I knew in my previous life... I could see out of the corner of my eye the cannons and machine guns of the ship deck roaring as they carved through Grimm's unceasing hordes.

But then my light sleep went fuzzy as a soft form climbed into my bed, and my body instinctively wrapped my arms around the target as I was still used in my previous life, my dog always climbing into my bed when I slept.

I opened my eyes with a groan escaping me. "Prinz, what... Nora, what are you doing?" I grumbled as I saw the head of orange hair lying next to my body.

There was a moment of silence before Nora spoke with her upper face buried into my body so I couldn't see her expression. "I... If I take care of you... In all things, will you make sure Renny gets a powerful body?"

I gave Nora's head a bland look before my head hit the rather hard cot pillow with a thump as I let out a groan of exasperation. "Don't get me into this drama... You agreed to be my retainer, I agreed to take care of Ren's needs, which includes giving him a body so he can feel things below his neck stump."

Once again, Nora hesitated before I felt a smaller hand slowly drift to my groin, with Nora speaking thickly. "I want Ren to be strong though... I know it will be costly to you, and I don't have nearly enough money, and I am no good besides swinging my hammer hard at things so... This is the only way to make sure Renny gets a strong body where he can't get hurt anymore!"

I was silent for a moment as Nora's hand stroked my manhood before I exhaled and took a deep breath, and spoke. "No," I spoke as I first put a hand to Nora's shoulder to push her back slightly.

"I am not blind; I know you have strong feelings for Ren, so I won't take advantage of you. Just... Wait for us to get into Beacon, and I will make Ren a couple of bodies his head can be slotted into. One for human interaction, and one for fighting."

Finally, Nora looked up to me, and I held in a shudder at how... Dead, her blue eyes were. "I killed him, you know." She muttered, and then she spoke on how she stupidly rode a Ursa Grimm with Ren into a Razor Arachne nest.

With Ren's neck being right in the line of one line that took off his head so cleanly that his head stuck to his neck for a couple of minutes, even after doing a front flip.

"It should have been me that died there for my stupidity... The only reason I am alive is because I was too short for any of the lines to catch me. And Renny died there." Nora spoke hauntedly before her eyes refocused on me as she mounted my hips.

"Jake, I may be stupid... But I get people, and I know after being an orphan on the road for the last few years that nothing... Absolutely nothing is free. So what will it cost me for your support of Renny?" She asked bluntly.

I was this close to giving Nora a titty twister and telling her a good night's sleep, but looking into her eyes, I realized Nora needed something to keep herself stable as she utterly blamed herself for Ren's 'death'

So I had two options here. I sent her off for her to stew and hate herself as she looked at her best friend/maybe crush. As it was definitely one-sided, with how Ren all but chemically castrated himself by overusing his semblance. 

Or I let Nora pay me in advance for making Ren's bodies for the future?

"Alright, Nora. What do you have in mind?" I said as I decided to say fuck it and leave it up to her.

She was an adult; she came here to the Beacon trials knowing full well she could die here.

Nora seemingly already had an idea of what she was willing to do as of right now. As she silently scooted down and within a couple of moments, my pants were unbuckled with her pulling them down to my knees.

And then, without hesitation, I saw her lean down, and my length was taken into her wet, hot mouth with her nice ass going up into the air as she leaned down to aggressively suck my dick.

'This is less of a blowjob... And more of her trying to punish herself, jeez this is almost depressing.' I thought with a wry smile as I felt and heard Nora gagging as my dick hit the back of her throat.

And she was 'punishing' herself by shifting and pushing against her gag reflex as she tried to force my dick down her throat, even if I couldn't really see what she was doing with how my head was just on a thin, hard pillow.

There was a lewd glucking noise as she finally found the angle, and I felt her nose actually hit my waist with some force as she crammed my dick down her throat with her throat revolting against my intrusion.

My hand instinctively snapped to her head at feeling her chin brushing against the root of my length just above my balls and I was honestly scared she was going to hurt me with how she rough she was being with herself.

But she just kept herself low and choked herself out in giving me a harsh, rough deepthroat, and I didn't fight the sensation and embraced it as much as possible, so a couple of minutes later I was shooting my climax directly into her throat.

Nora then took a washcloth she had hidden in the folds of her clothing and wiped me up silently, and then I spoke up softly as Nora's face was a mask as she hid her emotions. "Come here, Nora." 

She blinked as I gave her a slight pull, and she stiffened as I made her the little spoon, her my nose burying into the back of her neck as my hands wrapped around her waist. "Take a nap with me, have an ugly cry, or just stare at the wall knowing I can't see your face... Just let it out while I go back to sleep." I ordered her.

She sniffled and spat out with a thick voice. "You are terrible at making people feel better." 

And I calmly stated. "And you are a mess. Calm the hell down and rest. You can regret this later if we live past initiation."

With that, I gave Nora a squeeze and then shut my eyes, and I exhaled against the girl that smelled... Like Maple Syrup somehow? 

After a few minutes, and realizing I wasn't groping her or anything. I felt Nora relax slightly against me and with her taking one of my hands that had wrapped around her stomach and move them up to her chest, allowing me to feel her breast and her heartbeat as she held my arm as though to steady herself.

And then my post-nut relaxation kicked in and I went back to sleep.

-

A few hours later, I was awoken by a particularly loud explosion that made me blink awake with Nora shuddering in my arms, and instantly, I pushed my consciousness into the cameras of the guns to find out what the hell was going on.

A massive Grimm that had three legs that ended in large bone spikes, with an almost spider-like body, as the body was in the middle of the triangle-shaped leg formation. It had an almost humanoid chest that was fifteen meters tall with a massive glowing eye in the center of its chest that was staring in all directions.

My door was slammed open, and I saw it was Velvet who hissed. "We have a Moonraider! It's going to invade people's dreams and lead the Grimm to anyone who is asleep by magnifying their negative emotions in their dreams!"

I looked back through the camera's and I saw as Prinz Eugen's battle cannons tore large holes through the monster's flesh.

But the wounds were visibly healing at high speed. Worse was how the large oily splotches of blood hit the ground, and I could see minor Grimm forming from the splots of oily blood.

I snapped up with all the gun stations not controlled by the girls using their tablets roaring to life as I aimed them at the fucking abomination, and then I even summoned some flak cannons onto the ship, hooking them up into my systems and then loading them up with incendiary Dust rounds.

The sounds of a dozen powered cannons, even inside the control tower, dampening metal form became a drone that vibrated the air visibly as all the cannons vented my disgust and... Fear as I saw dozens of Grimm forming from the blood pools.

Thankfully, though, the dozens of cannons and Prinz's own high-end battleship cannons turned the fucking monster into a paste with the incendiary Flak Rounds turning the surrounding area into a burnt wasteland as well to make sure the blood pools were destroyed.

"Alright... It's dead." I whispered as I felt something inside me retreating, and I shivered as I realized even I was subject to that thing's dream manipulation.

Velvet likewise shuddered with her giving Nora, who sat up silent, a look, but didn't say anything about Nora seeing as we were both fully dressed. "They have one of the higher kill counts for Grimm due to their ability to direct tunneling Grimm under towns and into the homes of people who are sleeping."

I gave a groan as I stood up from my bed with my back cracking as I stretched. "What time is it?" I asked as I tried to push down the thought of Grimm burrowing underneath my bed to eat me as I slept.

Refocused after stretching, I looked at Velve,t who gave a wry smile and said. "Prinz and New Jersey let you sleep mostly through the night. It's about an hour before dawn at this point."

I blinked before rolling my eyes and muttering. "Worrywarts... Alright, Velvet, you and Alice get some sleep. Wait, here is some food as well." I spoke as I manifested a tankard filled with water, along with a couple of MREs for the two rabbit girls to eat.

I gave Velvet a pat on the shoulder as I passed by her, and as I left the room, I saw Alice was standing behind her sister with exhaustion clear in her eyes so I gave her a small smile, which she matched as I let her into the room I used for the two of them to get some sleep.

With Nora following behind me silently, we walked back onto the bridge, and my eyes snapped to Ren's head that was in its jar, and it seemed that he was still in his semblance-induced coma as he was trying to make time pass by faster.

As I came in, I saw Yang look at me with blurry eyes that reflected as she looked away from her tablet, and she coughed before saying with forced cheer. "Woohoo, does this mean it's time to rotate?" 

I gave a wry smile and manifested a couple of cosmic brownies to hand over to Yang, making her blink as I said. "Yeah, go ahead and relax, Yang. Take one of the smaller rooms and get some sleep. I got this for the rest of the day at least."

Yang gave me a look before she looked between me and Nora, before shrugging with her taking her oversized Falchion/Odachi blade and saying with some gallows humor. "Alright, I am going to get some sleep... We still got two more days of this insanity to go haha." 

Leaving just me, New Jersey, and Nora in the room with me, exhaling and saying. "So how are you doing, New Jersey?" 

The Battleship, however, just grinned and said. "Ha! I am the strongest of the Eagle Union, the Black Dragon! Pulling one all-nighter and playing around with a tablet is nothing, haha."

She sounded like she was in a good state, and through my senses, I could feel Prinz coming back into the control tower, so I gave New Jersey a large metal cup filled with the oil that, ship girls needed to fuel themselves.

"Alright, drink up some oil, and I want you to get a quick nap in at least while I am fully awake," I ordered with New Jersey giving a snappy salute as she happily sucked the oil through a metal straw with a loud noise.

Then Prinz came up to the top of the tower, and after checking in with her, I likewise gave her some extra oil as she had gone outside and used a good bit of her ammo. In order to get rid of several larger Grimm that came to the edges of the gorge we were in the middle of.

So while Nora went over to hold Ren's head to her chest, I was speaking with New Jersey and Prinz. "So how was it last night when I was sleeping?" 

Prinz shrugged and said honestly. "It was certainly something... A lot of lesser Grimm, but the weapon emplacements worked just fine to deal with them."

New Jersey made a humming noise and spoke with some curiosity. "Jake, can you manifest some more passive defenses like barbed wire or something over the bridges? The gorge is big enough that none of the other Grimm can make it over to the platform, and the fall is deep enough that the Grimm die who fall into the gorge." 

I raised an eyebrow at the question before thinking and nodding as I had such options. "One second, ladies," I spoke, and then I closed my eyes and, with my mind, I connected to the manifested ship hull we were on and the platform bridges leading to the other side of the gorges.

From there, I delved into my knowledge as I didn't want to spend a bunch of aura making ranged defense options, I opted for the more passive defenses.

I manifested the laser/plasma barriers that were used to hold lines and fortifications in Gears of War, and they had the sensors to pick out humans to let them through the laser field.

"Alright, I got some passive protection on the bridges. Anyway, I am surprised no one else came through the night." 

Prinz and New Jersey shared a look before Prinz said bluntly. "A few people reached the gorge, but not where the bridges were. And then they got overwhelmed after being caught in such an open area. To say nothing of the people who got hunted down by that Moonraider last night before it came to the gorge."

'I need to start putting up some Hammer of Dawn satellites into space when I get into Beacon... But I can already tell such a futuristic weapon is going to drain the shit out of my aura to say nothing of how much of a bitch it will be to put it into orbit.' I thought with a sigh escaping me.

"Alright... Well, we should have cleared out a good bit of the surrounding Grimm at this point. So I am going to take over watching through the camera systems. You two get some rest." 

I had a feeling today was going to be easier. But on the other hand... I had a feeling tomorrow and the rush to get to the exfiltration was going to be a mad dash.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 12

"This year's lower nobility has proven themselves rather disappointing." Khamel the Master Umbramancer spoke darkly as he watched without any change in expression as Cardin Winchester abandoned his teammates when several lesser Ground Dwellers tunneled into their hidden cave.

With the two female retainers being stabbed hundreds of times by the fist-sized lances, the large centipede Grimm ran them over before focusing on the threat that was Sky and Dove.

Who didn't last long in a tight cave with a dozen large, armored centipede-like Grimm running into them full tilt.

"Admittedly, the Moonraider is an issue... Should we get involved? As they are still prospective students, having them all die via being unable to sleep in the slightest is a bit unfair for their level." Glynda questioned, but it was clear that the sorceress was only asking as a formality.

Ozpin the Grand Wizard replied calmly as he watched through a camera as sleeping students were attacked by the Grimm, who were drawn to them via the Moonraider's amplifying their emotions in their sleep.

"No. This is their fate if they aren't prepared with the right mindset for the field from the get-go. Wasting our time in teaching a fool in a group, to not even bother setting a watch, doesn't deserve our intervention." 

Beacon and the rest of the Hunter Schools were there to make warriors into Legends. Legends into literal Demi-Gods whose power was great enough to stand up to the Grimm's Titans and other abominations.

They had no interest in the chaff of humanity; they would only take on the best because only the best had a chance to hold back the worst of the Grimm. The rest was just a waste of resources.

Ozpin then flicked his wrist to form another scrying mirror, and he watched as Jake Bariss... Just sleeping peacefully after getting his rocks off in the stupid girl that got their teammate killed.

But his weapons were still at work, still slaughtering Grimm en masse whenever they came into sight of his varied weapons.

"Hmm, he is certainly attracted to the female form," Luxanna spoke with amusement as the Master Elementalist pointed out Jake's entourage was filled with ladies.

But then the Necromancer Lord Calia drawled out. "I am more interested in the soul manifestations in the personified ships following his every command... Along with whatever method he used to reanimate Lie Rin's head with his soul, although diminished, remaining intact." 

Ozpin gave the Lich, who had armies of undead under her command, a glance and said calmly. "Calia, you are free to offer an apprenticeship and share information. But you know all too well the laws of forcing a mage to give up their secrets."

There was a moment of tension as the pale-skinned Lich gave Ozpin a bland look before she replied bluntly. "I am well aware... Ozpin." 

A cough broke out as Luxanna the Elementalist called out. "Oh? The Moonraider has broken through the treeline around the gorge."

The half dozen teachers watching the current initiation looked back to the various scrying mirrors and cameras that were focusing on what was going to happen.

And happen it did. As just like before, the moment the various weapons on the odd ship, Jake Bariss had replaced the bridge and platform on the gorge with caught site of any movement and Grimm in particular.

They came to life with high-powered rounds and explosive munitions slamming into and around the target, and they watched as the Moonraider was torn apart via the munition,s which was expected.

But as the resulting minature Grim pool was born, Ozpin raised an eyebrow as Jake had seemingly awoken. Added more weapons to his ship with incendiary, heavy explosive payloads. And then just turned the area into a wasteland.

"He certainly isn't in any way subtle." Khamel the Umbramancer said with amusement before continuing. "By the way, Glynda... Are we going to have to destroy Jake's station there? As it will interfere for sure with future initiations." 

There was a pause before Ozpin cut in to say with some thought. "I would hope not... Depending on Jake's range of control, it could be a good rest station for the students who are sent on culling missions in the forest." 

Seeing Jake's machines finish mopping up any Grimm running around, Ozpin turned their gaze towards the more... Valuable pieces and notable students.

Ruby Rose was sleeping within a cocoon of silver light made from her mother's hair that had been woven into her cape, which turned any grimm that saw the light into stone.

Weiss Schnee and her retainer Jingliu were also casually sleeping as Weiss Schnee took the Atlas approach of dealing with Grimm in turning a part of the forest into a frozen domain that would freeze the Grimm solid after they dared wander into the domain.

Pyrrha Nikos was likewise sleeping... But her defensive method was more active as she had gone the path of hypnotized defenses, as her magnetism semblance was in full display.

As she was surrounded by a multisection pyramid of iron sand. Which was covered in spikes that were spinning in multiple directions to tear apart any Grimm that tried to attack the pyramid.

They would survive this night, and if they were smart, they would go to Jake during the day, as the following night was going to be bad with what else was coming.

-

Later in the da,y with the rising sun bringing light to the surrounding forest. I was welcomed to the sight of a woman with silver hair calmly walking down my bridge with the laser fields cutting off as she approached.

"New Jersey, Prinz, we have a guest. Please follow me." I spoke as I got up to go see what the person who was calmly walking down my bridge wanted.

The two shipgirls followed me without a word, and by the time we climbed down the stairs to the bottom of the watch tower and went down the metal hall leading to the exit of the watch tower. The woman was standing a half dozen meters away from the door.

"Hmm, so the windows were indeed only one way." The woman spoke before she refocused on me and spoke again. "You may not be a progeny of the Abizar, but my Lady, Weiss Schnee, has sent her royal greetings to you in my stead. And has formally requested that we combine our forces to safely make it to the extraction tomorrow." 

The woman was beautiful as was kinda the norm for people who had aura for years, which healed their skin of any marring from puberty. Her hair was long and colored silver while held in a tight ponytail that went down her back.

But she was also wearing a blindfold that had a moon embossed upon it. With her looking unerringly at me beyond the blindfold.

"I am unaware as to how I could help Miss Schnee. Though I plan to create a good ruckus in making my way to the meetup point." I admittedly freely.

While I made sure to refer to Weiss with some amount of respect... As I knew, the Schnees were Atlas's royal family.

The woman tilted her head to the side and then said bluntly. "The final day will be the worst by far... All the Grimm for dozens of miles will be traveling to this testing site with all the magic, aura being spent, and the souls being devoured, which will draw them here." 

I stilled hearing that, and after digesting that, I said slowly. "I do have an idea if I may... I can make a large flying vehicle, and then if Weiss and other mages are able, they can cover the vehicle to fly safely?"

She considered my words for a long moment. Before she shrugged and said. "I see... Riding a Bullhead adjacent vehicle would solve the ground issues. But at that point, there will be plenty of flying, and anti-air Grimm." 

I gave a wry smile at that and said. "Either I can make a large tank with a huge drill to push through the forest. Or we can fly over the forest. That's the main way I see using my manifestation semblance to get through this situation, unless you have a better idea?" 

She gave me a non-committal of acceptance to my state before I coughed and asked. "My name is Jake Bariss, may I get your name?" 

She blinked and gave a wane smile as she spoke. "My name is Jingliu. Lady Weiss Schnee's royal protector. You... Don't know of me?" She questioned, almost amused as I shrugged in answer.

She gave a shake of the head before humming and saying. "Very well... In any case, my lady and I will attempt to meet you on the journey to the extraction point tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck tonight, then." 

The silver-haired beauty bowed her head in my direction before turning on her heel and marching back into the bridge with the laser fields cutting off as she walked closer.

"Hmm, a royal is interested in you... I wonder what Elizabeth would think if she got summoned haha!" New Jersey spoke with amusement, and I shuddered at the thought.

Shaking my head and I gave the surrounding thick forest a look before I spoke slowly. "If she is right about anti-air, and flying Grimm coming here in mass. Flying will be a bad choice... So I am going to spend some time making a large drilling unit." 

Thank all the gods that space technology was still 'naval' in theme, so my powers still allowed me to abuse that loophole even if there was a higher mana/aura cost to doing so.

This meant that vacuum-sealed and armored carriers with drilling units for hostile exploration were perfect, and I had a good idea of what to have built.

What was a good fuck you drill unit that could and did deal with hordes of bullshit trying to tear it apart? 

I held out my hands with my aura draining at a quick speed as, within the large open spot leading to the bridge, I began forming the large drill unit that Issac Clark used in Dead Space 2.

Which was used to tunnel into worlds without atmosphere and to gauge their mineral loads without too much forward planning due to how durable the massive drill was.

And here? It was just going to be drilling through trees, and its sheer mass would deal with any but the largest of Grimm.

The drilling unit was twenty meters tall and fifteen meters wide. It ran on wheels made completely out of metal with thick treads and spikes on the flat side to get even more traction. While I could feel the entire machine was powered by a couple of the typical Dead Space power cells.

Which were self-contained nuclear batteries.

"Now... I just need to finish this by tomorrow." I muttered with a wry smile, as just to taunt me, a Nevermore screamed as it flew over the gorge towards us, and one of my anti-air guns blasted it out of the sky.

Prinz frowned at the large size of the machine and gave me a look, and asked. "Will you be able to make it by tomorrow? As you will need to be the one to drive it." 

I nodded as, despite being by all accounts a large machine. It was still mundane technology at its core.

There wasn't any magic or dimensional folding bullshit some higher technology liked to use, which prevented me from making something like a Halo starship with a slip space drive.

Anyway, it was still going to be a work of progress regardless. 

So with that in mind, I hunkered down next to the huge drill I was making as it slowly formed and filled in as the edges of its material existence glowed as it filled in all the gaps like a 3D printer working to print everything from the bottom to the top.

"So... Did you do the deed with Nora?" Prinz asked calmly making me jolt at the random question.

I threw her a look before I refocused and almost glared at the Iron Blood ship as I spoke slowly. "You sent her to me, didn't you?" 

Prinz Eugen gave a wane smile before she admitted. "I 'allowed' her access to you. She wanted to do whatever she did, as she hated herself for getting her unrequited crush killed. Obsessive people like her can have their obsessions once disturbed aimed towards a more... Useful purpose." 

Before I could reply, New Jersey, with a rather uncustomary frown, gave a sigh before she said. "Special Forces... People who work in the background to clean up issues. It takes a certain type of crazy to do wetwork." 

I gave both New Jersey and Prinz a flat look and said without any humor. "Nora? Nora Valkyrie as a wetwork assassin or whatever?" 

To which Prinz shrugged and replied calmly. "She is happily willing to kill to keep her Rennie alive in that head tank. Once her obsession shifts towards you. Even better, and sometimes leaving a mess for a message is even better than an accident, as you Americans so like to prove." 

My lips twitched as New Jersey happily fucking nodded shamelessly, making me sigh as I was forced to remember my shipgirls were all PTSD-ridden wrecks whose memory of life consisted of them standing in front of other ships and blasting the shit out of each other.

I exhaled and said. "Whatever... Future me's issue. I am going to work on this drill/troop transport. You girls, make sure that anyone who comes here, makes it here." I said firmly.

Both ladies nodded at my order and I closed my eyes as I leaned agaisnt the drill unit to increase its speed of formation. And if I had my timing anywhere near correct. I would be done making it in like forty-five minutes.

Leaving me plenty of time to rest up for the rest of the day to deal with apparently apocalyptic night as all the Grimm in the distance make it the test site after sensing all the magic and aura being spent.

 

 

 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 13

There was a fuckload more Grimm then what showed up in the original 'canon' of the world. Hell, every few decades it wasn't uncommon for whole Grimm species to fade away and a new species that had an advantage in killing humanity and faunus kind to replace them.

No one bothered to come to my safe zone... They were all deep in hiding, dead, or constantly on the move to keep the roaming hordes of Grimm from overwhelming them.

But too the previous other topic... I needed to reinforce the safe zone heavily due to a fucking abomination I was hating with all my guts. 

Deathleapers... Fucking terrible minivan-sized grasshopper-shaped Grimm that roamed in large packs of at least five dozen. And could leap and glide for more than three hundred meters somehow with a fuck load of bone armor on its front section.

And worse! When something hit the front of its armor plate/face. The Deathleaper would fucking explode sending glowing acid everywhere that melted through solid steel like it was styrofoam going through a white hot wire!

So I was being run ragged through the night via needing to have dozens of anti-air cannons and machine guns that had explosive rounds to keep the waves of Deathleapers from causing issues.

Though... I did find that I was getting used to running the guns in a meditative state in the back of my mind. It was like looking down at your phone to check your messages while you are still keeping an eye on the game you are playing.

So you can drive to the destination you are trying to get to without needing to give it your full attention.

But... The sun rose eventually once again with everyone besides the shipgirls looking a good bit tired due to the sounds of non-stop bombardment.

And now from the vantage point of my ships watch tower we were just waiting for Miss Goodwitch's supply signal to come around and while waiting we were having a good meal to bring up our energy and spirits.

'Also... It would really suck to be torn apart via Grimm and think, man... I wish I finished that last meal.' I mused as I ate some bomb-ass mac and cheese with hot dog pieces and washed it down with a DR. Pepper.

If I was going to die today again... I was going to die with some delicious food in my stomach.

"You ladies ready to go?" I asked after we finished eating.

Everyone nodded with Nora holding Ren's head jar against her chest. "Ok, so once again... Let me go over this. As soon as we see the signal. We rush towards it. As we certainly don't want to be left behind. If the Atlas Royal and her knight jump on the drill tank... Ignore them, if they demand to be let into the holding area, Prinz you get out and escort them in as fast as you can." 

The top of the drill/tank was a platform that people could ride with the drill purposefully made to make sure debris didn't get thrown on top of the drill unit.

I gave Yang and Nora a look with Yang giving a wry smile and said. "I know, I will stay in the cargo hold. If something breaches the hold we are free to leave. I got it." 

Nora who gave a firm nod of agreement so I exhaled and then I shook along with the building as a massive explosion rang off in the distance to the south.

"Thats the signal!" Alice spoke with some excitement and I nodded standing up with my arm-mounted cannons humming as I made sure they were properly loaded and ready to go.

"Alright let's move out!" I commanded as I ran out of the watch tower through the shell of the ship's body and then out onto the deck to get to the massive drill/tank.

And even as we were running outside to my tank with myself as quickly as possible got into the pilot's cabin in the side of the tank. I was also controlling all the anti-air guns on the ship to blast out the tide of Nevermore that flew into the air due to Miss Goodwitch's powerful spell that was leaking purple smoke into the air.

The girls got into the cargo hold of the tank and then I turned on the huge drills on the front and the grinders on the side of the tank that was meant to further break down the larger rocks that were collected for ore collection.

The seven hundred-ton machine roared to life and I could feel in my connection with the malformed ship its metal groaning as the massive drill rolled along its massive wheels as it rolled down the bridge and into the Emerald Forest.

And let me tell you... When seven hundred tons of machine going at thirty miles an hour hits some piddly trees. Those tree's didn't stand a fucking chance.

The roar of the engines powered by nuclear batteries broke through the bedlam of the forest that was at war with itself as thousands of Grimm themselves rushed directly towards where Miss Goodwitch had poured her power into blasting a large landing zone for the bullheads to pick up Beacons accepted students.

"Ursa." I muttered as we barreled into a grove and from the other side was a pack of half a dozen of the large bear-shaped Grimm that rushed with a roar and snarl at my drill unit.

But... Once again, seven hundred tons going thirty miles an hour seeing as there wasn't a rock wall in front of me. Equaled those Grimm becoming a splattered mess.

But then I felt with my connection some Nevermore throwing their bladed feathers onto the top of the tank making me frown as their large bladed feathers scratched the two-meter thick steel plate atop the drill.

"Time for countermeasures seeing as no one is on top." I spoke to myself with a grin and then some loud thumping noises rang out with a loud cracking noise followed by explosives ringing out as I used short ranged incendiary missiles I put on top of the drill to blow up above the drill.

While also activating the war crimes attachment I made sure to add to the drill's sides and back. 

Dozens of high-powered flame throwers all shooting out, all the lovely napalm that was mixed with rocket fuel to burn even hotter

The missiles that had shot off then killed the flying Grimm around the tank with the force of the explosives, and then for an added benefit left a thick patch of lovely napalm behind the tank to block off the Grimm that were following us that the flame throwers weren't shooting far enough to deal with.

And in this case. We didn't run into any Grimm that was simply big, strong enough, or had mystical bullshit from eating human souls that could answer the drills... Drills chewing them up. Nor deal with the flame throwers.

"I am going on a trip... On my favorite rocket ship." I hummed a little ditty to myself as I drove the drill through the thick foliage of the forest towards the constant pillar of purple smoke in the distance.

I blinked as I saw on the camera's mounted on the top of the drill a large arch of ice shoot over the drill and then Jingliu fell onto the top platform with her catching who could only be Weiss Schnee wearing a more ornate than usual dress with better curves filling out the dress elegantly.

"Hello, again Jingliu, and Miss Schnee." I spoke through the drills outside the intercom system and as they said something I smiled wryly and said.

"I can only see through my machine's cameras and speak through its intercom. Do you want me to stop the drill so you both can get into the cargo hold? Or do you want the freedom on top of the drill?"

Jingliu and Weiss seemed to discuss the options before Weiss shook her head with her waving her hand glowing making a floating mist that froze into ice that clearly spelled out. [Outside]

So I shrugged and kept the drill moving with Weiss and Jingliu took charge of dealing with flying grimm as Weiss would seemingly lazily shoot icicles at blinding speeds into the air to shoot down the flying Grimm.

But a couple of minutes later, as we smashed through a particularly deep part of forestry I saw a group of three people running alongside the drill so I turned off that sides flame throwers and extended out the ladder attached to the top of the drill that was similar to the motorized ladders fire trucks could aim and extend.

I saw Weiss look over at the people who came up and climbed atop the drill unit as I kept on going with the drills speed kicking up. But whatever Weiss said thankfully didn't cause any drama or whatever as the three men just nodded and sat at the other side of the drill as they tried to recover.

And soon enough I was forced to make the drill go slower as more and more people converged on our direction as we got closer to extraction... But more and more Grimm was also appearing.

By that, I meant that I had more than fifty people on my drill unit... Fifty people! And the number of Grimm that were fucking around my drill?

Too damned many. But once again, mass equals force and a literal million plus pounds of force of fuck you heavy metal coming into you doesn't give the less supernatural Grimm a way to fuck with the people in and atop the drill.

"Jake, the top of the drill is becoming too full," Prinz said with a hint of something in her voice and saw some more people running as they followed the extended ladders to climb up. I realized she was right.

"Ladies and gentlemen. The top of the drill is becoming too full for people to be moving around. For future people, and the people with ranged abilities. Please all others sit down and tuck in to save space unless you see Grimm flying over your head or something."

I saw several people atop the drill frowning and some even yelling... But I just said frankly through the intercoms. "I have zero idea what you all are saying as if I had a microphone out on the drill... All I would be able to hear is the drill so just do what I say."

A couple of the people did what I said. And due to that we were able to pick up more people more easily with Weiss taking to the front of the drill to throw magical attacks at the larger grimm that came for the people that thought my drill was the easiest way out of the forest which it was.

As Miss Goodwitch didn't put the exfiltration anywhere near us... It was a good twenty-something damned miles away so at thirty miles an hour at full tilt. It was going to take my drill that could ignore all the obstacles for forty minutes to get there.

And it got ugly... Weiss and the other people with ranged attacks couldn't save or get everyone onto the drill with all the Grimm coming to my loud-as-hell drill and the sounds of the forest being destroyed.

People just getting bowled over by a rushing Grimm and then being torn apart. They were running without paying attention and they rushed into the same razor thread making Grimm that killed Ren.

That last one was... Alot more common than I liked with more than ten. thirteen fucking people running towards the tank and abruptly their limbs would leave their bodies and they would just fucking fall apart.

'The monsters are stronger than base humans not counting the mystic fucking bullshit when Grimm eat enough humans to gain their own magic. And they have so many damned way's to prey upon humanity as well.' I thought with a frown as I watched as we all jumped as the drill went through a Prairie Snatcher's nest.

Which was a Grimm that had the body of a large weasel without much armor besides their powerful claws which they would use to dig up the ground in a way that always sink holes that were notorious for destroying roads in the countryside when vehicles drove over them.

My drill however? It just tipped into the sink hole and then I controlled it to dig out of the sinkhole with the hole not even being deeper than my drill was tall anyway. However there was a bit of drama as the drill sunk low enough that some of the more agile Grimm were able to begin climbing onto the sides of the drill.

But with a hundred people armed to the teeth, they were quickly dealt with, via gun, or magic.

-

"That boy..." Glynda spoke with her face twitching as she watched through the scrying mirror as Jake summoned some abominable tank of a drill that was tearing its way through the forest through sheer mass of power with so many prospective students of all status's riding atop and within the drill.

"Well, he certainly has made an entrance. Reminds me of my own initiation in fact." Luxanna the master elementalist beamed with a chuckle escaping her.

Miss Goodwitch sighed with her looking at her once apprentice with a glare as she said flatly. "Using your light semblance and magic to burn a literal corridor through the entire forest and make a tunnel for people to travel through, isn't in the theme of training the best of humanity to become hunters." 

To which Luxanna shrugged and replied evenly as she flicked a finger that sent a ray of light that flew through several dozen Grimm that entered the safe zone with the Grimm that were pierced exploding into ashes.

"Ehh. They survived their two nights in this damned forest. That's enough for me... And even then some people had it much easier than others." 

With both Luxanna and Glynda Goodwitch looking towards Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose who had made it to the safe zone first without any issue due to their personal power... And in part Ruby Rose who had the advantage of her cloak that screamed anti-Grimm properties.

However there were the outliers who were also just lucky to be around the randomly chosen pick-up zone like Cardin Winchester... And neither Miss Goodwitch nor Luxanna pitied him as Ozpin and the rest of the teachers were going to be remarking on all the students of note.

Which included himself as a prospect of 'note'.

And soon enough Jake's drill reached the safe zone with all its students with Bullheads having to leave the site as Jake's drill brought so many prospective students and retainers at once that they had trouble processing them.

"Soooo, think I can get Jake as my disciple?" Luxanna excitedly asked Miss Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at her once student before shrugging and saying calmly.

"That depends on his own will... And whether or not Jake is willing to be dragged into the political landscape as you being a member of the Crownsguard Duke family will bring even more of a spotlight onto him." 

Although Miss Goodwitch had taught her disciple well, leading her to reach the A rank of Huntresses, along with having... With time to prepare, the power of an S-ranked Hunteress.

She still needed to have the legacy of having a student reach B rank with the clear potential to reach A rank. For herself to reach S rank.

And the reason Beacon was so successful in churning out Hunters was that the best of humanity wanted that final stretch of legacy to reach the vaunted status of an S-rank Hunter/Huntress.

Though... It wasn't like Jake wasn't going to have something of a spotlight on himself for his actions. 

And for a moment Miss Goodwitch idly considered taking Jake as her own disciple... And then banished the thought as she was already S rank herself and after seeing the drama surrounding him with Nora and the other women she knew he was going to be in trouble.

Better to let the younger generation have their crack at him.

"So... What happens to his drill? Do we just leave it here?" Luxanna asked with a wry smile and Glynda's face twitched as she knew many factions would want to inspect the drill as it was without a doubt a piece of hardy hardware.

"I will bury it before we leave to preserve it... Keep watching for the Grimm though. You can make your case for taking Jake on as an apprentice during the welcoming ceremony when the Headmaster notes the students who did well." 

-

Driving the drill into the huge clearing where a fleet of bullheads were was a quick and brutal affair. Everyone leaped off and ran into the bullheads for assured safety while rays of light shot over our heads to kill the grimm that followed us.

And after I got out of the drill I was surrounded by Prinz and New Jersey along with my retainers in Alice and Velvet before we threw ourselves into a cramped Bullhead with Prinz literally sitting on my lap with her being strapped onto said lap.

As we had reached hard max capacity due to the large mass of students I brought them all at once rather then them tricking in over the rest of the day.

Once we were flying in the air I had a male recorded voice speaking through the intercoms of the bullhead. "Students of Beacon Academy. Welcome to the most prestigious hunter academy in the world, once you arrive in Beacon you are to retrieve your baggage and you will be able to take a room to rest for the rest of the day with your retainers though if your group does not meet at least four members you will be assigned to a room with such numbers to save space."

The intercom continued to goon, about if we were injured we were to report to the infirmary where healers would be looking at us in more depth than the healers who were providing first aid here in the Bullhead.

But otherwise, the ride back to Beacon was uneventful with my head laying on Prinz's shoulder as I dozed fully at rest for the first time at not needing to keep the guns back at my ship going on.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 14

"It's pretty nice they just send us straight to bed with some food and water being delivered," Alice spoke with a slight groan as she finished her sandwich and curled up in her bed.

I gave a grunt of acknowledgment and said quietly. "Everyone is dead on their feet after being in the forest for three days basically... Plus, even if the teachers were willing to put us on the spot in the acceptance. I imagine everyone wants to shower before they have to crowd together in a group of like five hundred-plus people."

"Not to mention the few wounded." Velvet nervously mentioned.

I didn't have a response to that... As the wounded weren't many. Because if you got wounded in a battle with the fucking seemingly endless Grimm, that meant your aura wasn't up properly and that you would be dying soon enough anyway.

Beacon itself was far more impressive than in its canon depiction. It was surrounded by powerful elemental wards that attacked everything that came into its radius, which included our bullheads.

But thankfully, the wards were turned down, so a little bit of sparks wasn't much for the protected bullhead. However, I have heard some of the other students talking about stories of waves of Nevermore that made the poor decision of trying to get past Beacon to Vale and being obliterated.

The school was less of just a school and more of a giant castle built on a mountain, with dozens of towers mounted between the various walls of the campus that separated things out.

After we arrived in our rooms, we were given a general map of Beacon, which was... Huge to say the least, and from there it was rather easily picked out on how various factions had formed within the campus based on magical schools and the more melee-focused aura users.

But despite the magic studies having clearly more power, with them having the majority of the funding and support of the nobility. They were also... Very heavily split between the various schools of magic. Of which, some schools of thought outright hated others, which definitely exacerbated the issues.

Like how the Druidism school was having a silent war with the Necromancy Branch. The Holy Sect, which was somehow able to get some measure of blessings from the Brother God of Light, was almost at war with the Hemomancers and Umbralmancers. 

The generalists in the Sorcery and Elementalism Branches were keeping things more calm as they dabbled in most, if not all, fields with a focus on more bombastic displays rather than the most minute of details.

And of course, out of no one's surprise. The Ritual/Thaumaturgy branch was one of the most heavily populated of branches for a number of reasons. One of them. was how they were just researchers, so they didn't 'need' to go through the initiation.

But they would also set up tantric rituals for people so they could enchant their gear or do any number of things.

Sooo there was a lot to consider when it came to the schools of magic available here in Beacon. Can't forget the fact that some schools of magic. Although powerful, they were utterly unavailable to me at all, like the holy classes.

That required you to have some form of blessing, like what Ruby Rose apparently had with her Silver Eyes.

That and some teachers were ultra-picky about who they even let into their school of magic and would only take on direct apprentices to their art.

The map and general guide to Beacon outright outlined that final detail very fucking clearly with a warning not to push the masters to force them to accept you.

"Alright, we are safe here now. So everyone get some sleep." Prinz Eugen spoke somewhat tiredly as she herself lounged on her bed with her rigging having faded away, leaving her in just her clothes.

And that was the final words of the day before we all fell asleep, with us finally getting some actual uninterrupted sleep. No howling monsters in the night, no roar of my cannons and machine guns.

Just a room filled with people who had fought against the endless Grimm with us coming on top, thankfully with no losses... Minus Nora, who had lost Ren, she had to split off with Yang to take another room with a random person.

As apparently, Beacon was still counting Ren as alive... Yay!

-

Waking up... Literally some eighteen hours later, I groggily got some new clothes on and took a nice long relaxing 'HOT' shower, even though Alice and Velvet teased me a bit with how long I took in the shower.

Then the two rabbit girls went to take their own shower as Beacon had two people showers to make sure people got done in reasonable times. And then likewise, Prinz and New Jersey took their own shower.

With everyone cleaned up and not feeling like death warmed over. We decided that we could head on over to the welcoming ceremony.

'Jeeze... Beacon is certainly so much more real when you can see everyone, not being literal shadows the animators couldn't be arsed to draw.' I thought as I took in all my potential classmates as we entered the main hall.

Once again, everyone was clearly separated into various cliques, this time even further reinforced as it seemed that the nobility had taken steps to separate themselves by their own levels of rank.

So with myself obviously not having a rank of nobility, I just joined the aura specialists that where I saw Yang was... Along with Nora, but she didn't have Ren's head? 

"Oh, I was worried you were guys were going to be late haha." Yang joked, making me smile wryly.

"It's still half an hour until the ceremony," I said, looking around with an odd expression as already the atrium was rather full.

Yang snorted and said with humor. "That's the joke... To be a hunter and respond to a call of a town or village being attacked. You want to be there an hour before the attack even happened." 

My lips twitched at that bullshit, but thankfully, I wasn't late, so though I could already see several of our supposed teachers and the various magical masters who were teaching their particular schools of magic.

With the Elementalists having the largest group of teachers as many forms of elemental magic fell into their umbrella.

There was a pause before, with a crackle of energy, the Headmaster. Ozpin himself, not Ozma, 'at least I thought Ozma was still was dead along with Salem,' who seemingly teleported onto the main platform.

And without any preamble, Ozpin began speaking calmly with his voice carrying through the atrium filled with at least five hundred, maybe seven hundred and fifty people max, with his voice coming out crystal clear.

"Five thousand, three hundred and thirty-eight. That's how many people dared to take the initiation this year." Ozpin spoke as his eyes glided over the silent atrium with his gaze pinning us in place with the weight within those eyes.

"In this welcoming ceremony, there is a grand total of eight hundred and fifty students. A couple hundred of them... Maybe don't deserve their place here, frankly." He drawled out at the end with his gaze going to the nobles in the front seats in front of him.

"Still. Less than a fifth of you survived. The rest who couldn't make it to the extraction site were left maps back to Vale along with some supplies. But to be frank, it's not expected for the couple dozen people left in the forest to make that trip." 

I frowned at the cold statement as I wondered why they didn't just send them to Vale via a bullhead or something. But my thoughts were left behind as Ozpin continued.

"Now. For introductions for the common-born who do not recognize us beyond our Huntsmen names, if they even recognize us at all." He finished with a humorous smile crossing his face as he tilted to the side to begin pointing at the bleachers behind him.

Which had the various teachers of the different schools of magic and aura-specialized melee-focused masters assembled.

He pointed out to the far right, which held the aura of specialized warriors and spoke. "Sir Bearington Udry is the leader of the Aura Division of warriors who specializes in boxing, and other forms of unarmed combat, along with druidism." 

The man he pointed out... Was a fucking tank of a man. Thick with corded muscle and padding, I realized the dude had to be seven and a half plus feet tall at the very least. With his arms and hands covered with leather that acted as wraps.

But Ozpin was on a roll as he continued. "Lady Fiora Laurent, the Grand Duelist and the resident Grandmaster of all swords. If it's a blade that stays in your hand and is used to cut down foes, she is at the very least a Master of the blade in question." 

Ozpin then turned to the last 'Warrior' who was sitting in the front line of the aura teachers with him, saying. "Lord Gelar Kharisma, master of more specialized melee weapons, along being a specialist of finding ways for students to apply their semblances in more productive ways." 

There was a pause as Ozpin let us digest that information, and I realized he was only introducing the main teachers of each bloc and clique within the higher-ups of the school.

As I quickly noticed that Lady Fiora's teachers behind her were clearly of nobility, Udry's teachers behind him were of a rougher sort that clearly WEREN'T' Nobility and very much proud of it. While Lord Gelar's people were clearly the neutral people who didn't want any part of that nonsense.

Then Ozpin turned and held out an arm to the side for the magical teachers. "Now, as for the magical studies, allow me to introduce Luxanna Crownsguard, the youngest over Grandmaster Elementalist, and otherwise almost a Master in all accredited schools of magic." 

I gazed at the teacher and yup... She barely looked to be older than her mid-twenties, with her giving a gentle nod to us along with a smile. While she was a young woman with long blond hair and wearing a very well-fitting dress that gleamed with glowing gems.

"Next is the esteemed Lady Calia, a Grandmaster of Necromancy and considered a master in many other arts involved in the human body, mind, and soul."

Lady Calia scared me with her glowing red eyes. Her skin was alabaster pale, and her form was covered in a tight-fitting black dress that clung to her voluptuous form. But there was no denying how every inch of her skin was bared only to be used as a weapon.

Seeing Calia with her black dress and glowing red eyes... I could only call her a black widow, whose webs included the teachers of dark magic behind her.

And behind her was her apprentice, who also unnerved me, with light gray hair and sharp elven ears with matching crimson glowing eyes.

Ozpin finally seemed to take a breath as he pointed out. "And of course, the Vice Headmistress of Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch. An S-tier huntress and a Sage of Sorcery, and accredited as a Grand Master of several Elemental schools of magic."

Glynda Goodwitch likewise looked the same, if not slightly younger than what canon depicted, with her having her blond hair done up in a tight bun while she was wearing the same ladies' business attire.

There was a pause as Ozpin turned back to the students and visibly chewed on what he wanted to say before. It all... All came out.

"A Huntsman's job is to take an area, clear it of Grimm, and hold it from the advance of all Grimm. That is their job. Their job isn't to hide in caves and avoid fighting. Their jobs aren't to simply wander a forest and kill any Grimm they find."

Ozpin's dark green eyes glowed with power, and I shuddered as the weight of his gaze... Became far more real as he spoke calmly, but coldly. "Their job is to be a mobile bulwark against the evil that threatens to end humanity."

He then gave an empty smile as he clapped his hands together. "Jake Bariss, and Weiss Schnee. Stand up for me."

I slowly stood up and didn't look around, only keeping my gaze ahead towards Ozpin as I felt the gaze of close to a thousand of people people lock onto me and presumably Weiss Schnee.

"Jake Bariss, you did something no other student has done besides Duke and Royal families' scions in taking an area and making it a safe zone that all could go to for safety. And that is the very definition of a Huntsman. Miss Schnee, you did a similar thing, but you made it utterly unhabitable for all who were not almost a Master Cryomancer who can survive negative 150 Celsius winds." 

And I could feel Weiss's gaze on my back at being picked out apart from that line with Ozpin turning his gaze elsewhere to continue speaking, and I naturally sat down without him ordering me to sit down.

"Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos, you both likewise killed several thousand Grimm during the initiation. But there was no cohesion in your actions, you just wandered like a blind fool killing all the Grimm you came across." Ozpin said with actual disappointment in his voice before he turned his gaze to the front.

To the nobility in the front lines.

There was a crackle of energy in the air, and I blinked as six students appeared on the raised platform, kneeling on the ground and looking around in utter confusion.

"Now.... Students of Beacon, we are the bulwark for Humanity, we push back the darkness via any method that is possible. We do not discriminate against any form of magic or fighting style so long as Grimm die in droves."

My eyes widened as that same crackle of energy went off, and then a fist-sized hole appeared in all of the students' chests appeared where their hearts would be.

"What the fuck..." I whispered along with several nobles' scions yelling out at Ozpin as the six students slumped face-first into the ground and began violently twitching as a large pool of blood appeared around their forms.

"Beacon has its Grandmaster of Necromancy in Calia, who herself is becoming close to the title of Sage in the school of Necromancy and the Royal Family's Grand Sage of Necromancy has more than shown their value in protecting humanity."

"Which is why it is illegal to burn bodies along with anyone who murders another, via a destroyed brain faces the punishment of being turned into a flesh golem." Ozpin's voice raised in volume to the point that my ears were vibrating and in pain despite my aura.

And Ozpin then spoke with finality. "The next person to destroy another person's brain to prevent them from protecting humanity even in death. I and every other teacher will deliver their forms to Lady Calia to be turned into a Flesh Automaton."

The entire assembly visibly shuddered, and I remembered what that meant...

Basically, it was a Flesh Golem, but the soul was still inside its body, and locked within via the laws, codes, and orders the necromancer bound the body and soul with to make it their slave.

They were normally illegal to make unless the poor bastard was declared a traitor to humanity in being a bandit, or someone who very publicly went against the Royal Family in a way that was against Vale's survival.

So the people would be stuck within their body, their mind providing the body all the intelligence it natural had. But it couldn't move, scream, or show any form of defiance unless they found a way to skirt the rules and such engraved into their soul's chains.

With that warning down, Ozpin gave Calia a look behind him, with her nodding while I saw her apprentice giving the corpses a hungry look to get her hands on them.

Then Ozpin turned back to the cowed crowd and said. "Now! All of you return back to the rooms you were assigned. Depending on the size of your groups and where you decide to study, and if you are offered an apprenticeship or will just take general classes. You will likely be assigned a new room based on the classes you take."

With that, the same crackle of energy rang out, and Ozpin was gone with Calia and her apprentice striding over towards the corpses as a couple of curtains fell on the front raised section.

"Let's wait for everyone to get moving I said, knowing the rush that was going to happen as a thousand teens and young adults tried to force themselves through four medium-sized doors.

And for the next fifteen minutes, we watched as several dozen people at once tried to force themselves into the doors to get out of the room as though afraid Ozpin was going to kill them as well.

Though... I did notice several students throwing me looks as I was the only student mentioned in a truly positive light. Along with Weiss Schnee, who was sitting beside her retainer Jingliu, who was throwing me looks every few minutes as she was sitting in front of me.

But after a few more minutes where the students finally began thinning out, and we were about to leave the room. A voice spoke up from the front of the stadium as Luxanna Crownguard, the Elementalist teacher, spoke up.

"Jake Bariss, may I have a bit of your time in meeting room B across the hall in like five minutes?"

I blinked, hearing that, and I quickly nodded as I spoke with forced calm. "Alright, Miss Crownguard, I will see you there." 

'I wonder what she wants with me there?' I wondered as my two ship girls and retainers followed me as I began trying to leave the room.

 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 15

"Ladies, why don't you go secure our room. I imagine that this meeting with Miss Crownguard will be a quick one." I spoke with Prinz and New Jersey, sharing a look before New Jersey spoke.

"Alrighty, Prinz, you take the cuties back to our rooms to make sure no one steals our room, haha."

My lips twitched as Prinz mockingly saluted and said. "Aye aye. Alright, Alice, Velvet, let's get moving." 

Then I raised an eyebrow as she waved down Nora, who was holding Ren's head in her arms, with her talking with Nora before all four ladies left me and New Jersey alone as I went across the hall to Meeting Room B.

"What do you think I am in danger in New Jersey?" I asked in confusion.

To which New Jersey gave me a solemn frown before saying honestly. "The fact that everyone is allowed to carry their weapons on them openly says a lot about their attitude for violence between people... To say nothing of Headmaster executing half a dozen people for cowardice and sabotage." 

"You think the nobles' not wanting to be resurrected as slave undead is sabotage?" 

And New Jersey actually laughed as she laid her hand on her large breast over her heart and said with humor. "Jake, my admiral... I am literally a resurrected ship you soul-bound into a human shape with a bunch of oversized patriotic guns stapled to my form." 

There was a pause as I digested that and shrugged... As that was true enough.

Either way, with some time to myself, I relaxed and began the process of creating another Wisdom Cube so I could make the next ship girl. Hopefully within the next couple if not three weeks. Maybe even sooner if I manage to get my magic pool unlocked.

"Anywho, so any thoughts on what magical school you want to study?" New Jersey asked curiously.

I gave a hum of thought and mentally looked back at the mentions of schools of magic open to taking more students and answered. "My semblance is so heavily skewed towards production it's not even funny. Although my semblance has a fuck load of combat adjacent use. It's not like I can directly use my semblance in combat."

Well... Besides, manifesting a large chunk of a boat in the middle of the air and dropping it on some poor bastard.

Beyond that, however, all my semblance use was the production of naval-themed things, even if said things could be stupidly powerful, like the Wisdom Cubes I could use in making Shipgirls.

So I needed to either tie into that theme and enhance my semblance as much as I could. For example, going into necromancy to have automatons piloting and controlling the machines I create so I could offload the mental weight of running guns and such to the undead. 

Or enhance the things I manifest, even other magical stuff with runic, thaumaturgy, and ritual magic.

On the other hand. I go the completely opposite direction, in taking on something like Elemental magic or Sorcery to have a magic more based on pure offense... Ain't no way in hell I would refuse to learn the secrets to Chronomancy for sure.

Being able to stop time and manifest one of my things outside of the timeline and then come back in with the object in like a turret or a vehicle would be stupidly useful to say the least.

Either way, I responded with an amused smile. "We shall see. I'm keeping my options open." 

And with that New Jersey just took up a position behind me with her rocking back and forth on her high heels as she hummed a quiet unobtrusive ditty to herself as I closed my eyes and threw my consciousness outwards to get away from the memory of the those other teens and young adults squirming after Ozpin seemingly punched their hearts out of their chests.

In particular, I realized I could still... Even if it took some mental strength. I could still mentally connect with the manifested ship I had out in the Emerald Forrest. And as I looked through the cameras of the ship, I blinked as I saw people were... All fucking over my ship.

"Fucking excuse me? What are you all doing aboard my ship?" I demanded over the intercom systems.

I realized the people on my ship were huntsmen in their mid-twenties or something. Probably being low-class huntsmen as they were protecting a couple of dozen engineers who were clearly going over my technology.

"Oh, shit, the kid is still connected to this place?" One of the huntsmen spoke before his eyes focused on the camera's and he spoke out. "Hey, Jake, Ozpin told us to come to secure your site as an outpost to be used in keeping the Emerald Forrest clear of upper-class common Grimm." 

I electronically blinked at that information before I mentally shrugged, as what the hell was I going to say about that? 'Fuck Ozpin, this massive metal installation is mine muahaha! I shall never walk here again, probably, but I will never let someone use all the stockpiled ammo and weapons forever!'

Yeah no. I wasn't a fucking idiot, to say nothing of how Ozpin praised me for making the installation to herd, control, and eradicate Grimm.

So with all that in mind, I said. "I have tablets in the control tower that control the guns installed on the ship. The ship, so long as it's not destroyed in the center, will not have power issues so long as you guys don't try to power Vale or something... I will try to restock the ammo stores like once every night before I go to sleep."

I paused, wondering if there was anything else before I remembered the laser defense system, and I said. "Also! The laser defense system on the bridge. It registers humans and shuts off when you walk around it, as you may know. It will not turn off for faunus, undead, or anything that isn't a pure human walking into the sensory field of the lasers." 

I heard one of the engineers puff up, and my lips twitched as I saw she was a blue-haired woman who... It wasn't unusual for this world, but it was funny as she remarked flatly. "Racist laser fields... How am I not surprised?"

I was silent for a long moment hearing that... And then I drawled out through the intercom. "Alright, anyway, connecting to the ship from Beacon takes some concentration. So don't fuck anything up as I need to focus hard to reach the ship and won't feel if a horde or something comes up to the ship." 

With that, I made the intercoms loudly crackle as though telling everyone I was hanging up on their asses.

And the huntsmen shared a look before the leading one said. "Well, you heard him. Get up to the control room in the tower to get those tablets. We need to see what we are working with."

Seeing them not like... Setting a nuke into the ship to destroy it or whatever, I shrugged and mentally pulled back to myself with New Jersey remarking.

"Your eyes were glowing through your eyelids... You good?" 

I gave an awkward cough and said. "Yeah, yeah. I was just syncing up with my ship fortress back in the Emerald Forest to see if I could. And I can actually."

There was a pause before New Jersey chuckled and said. "Wait, haha. What happens if you connect several ships together, or something like how you fused the ship into the gorge's central platform tower thing? Could that make it easier for you to connect if the ships are connected together to draw more of your mind to it?" 

I tilted my head to the side in thought, with my shoulders jumping as I felt New Jersey gently cup the side of my head and tilt it back upright as I said. "Maybe... I will need to give it a try later on."

We remained silent with New Jersey's hands moving to my shoulders to give me a gentle shoulder massage that wasn't covered via the straps that held up the majority of the weight of my autocannons.

But a couple of minutes later, her hands paused, and I pointed my arm to the side with the autocannon humming to life as I glared at a pair of glowing red eyes that formed in a dark corner of the room. 

"Why don't you come out of the shadows? It's to be frank, rather creepy." I said bluntly, and my face twitched as from out of said corner came... Not one but two figures, with each red glowing eye split into two, with Calia, the Necromancy and dark magic master, along with her disciple, striding out of the shadows.

"I apologize if I unnerved you, Mr. Bariss. Shadow travel can be a bit unsettling for those first seeing it." Calia spoke with her voice being a gentle, caressing velvet to my ears.

Which I hated... The more comfortable, beautiful, and welcoming she portrayed herself. The more I was unnerved by her.

Not even Ozpin's power-filled gaze before he killed a dozen people put me as on edge as Calia's regal smile she wore.

"And... This is your retainer, New Jersey, I suppose?" Calia spoke as her glowing eyes in the soft lightning room locked onto New Jersey behind me.

The Shipgirl, however, remained silent, though with how she manifested her rigging when I pointed and activated my gun. I knew she was in combat focus as she eyed Calia coldly from behind me.

So I gently folded my hands on the table in front of me as I spoke. "Yes... This is my guardian and friend, New Jersey. May I assume the lady standing behind you is your apprentice?" 

To which Calia's eyes snapped down to mine, and she eyed me before she shifted and spoke enigmatically. "Indeed, she is my apprentice, Ferid Gallowstone. She has decided to approach me for tutoring rather than her progenitor in the Lich Lord of the Royal Family."

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about. But instead, Calia elegantly stepped forward, and I stilled as darkness surrounded her form and from behind her formed a throne of bones that she settled into. With her apprentice, Ferid, silently sitting on one of the thick arms of the throne with a lazy smile crossing her face.

"So, Jake, if you don't mind me using your first name. I am curious, have you considered what your plans were for your magical education?" Calia spoke with a welcoming, if not gentle tone.

I remained silent for a long moment before I spoke slowly. "I indeed have some ideas of what I want, Miss Calia."

She gave me a knowing gaze before she looked to the side at Ferid and spoke. "Necromancy... It is the manipulation of souls. Whether it be giving a corpse a whiff of a soul's essence to give it life again. Binding souls to their bodies so they may not truly die. Or even becoming immortal in the binding of a user's soul to an external object or source of power." 

Her eyes snapped back to mine as she spoke, and her voice carried a smoky huskiness to it. "You already are a necromancer by any definition, Jake. You have summoned and or created false life in your personified ship constructs that have their own modified souls."

Those glowing eyes filled my gaze completely as her voice was a whisper in my ears. "Jake, I can teach you every form of magic you desire... I can give you the power to bottle death, to deliver it to your enemies, and keep it from your friends and family. And I can summon the souls of past Masters to deliver their secrets for you to learn." 

But Calia's whispers into my ears as I was shaking my head clear of her glowing eyes that filled my mind was sharply interrupted as the door to the meeting room exploded... It literally exploded off its hinges and shot into the opposite wall with a mighty crashing noise, followed by licks of solid-looking flames.

And from the gaping hole of molten metal in the hinges strode in Luxanna Crownsguard with her form glowing with holy light, with little squeals and screeches ringing out as... Things in the shadows and darkness of the room screeched as they climbed into Calia's pitch-black dress.

"Well, that was uncouth." Calia drawled out as I watched as another woman... One I very much recognized strode in behind Lux with her hands glowing with flames, and her dress glowed with fiery runes that glowed in warning of several prepared spells.

But Lux wasn't having any of Calia's sass as she calmly stood at the end of the table and stated. "I made it clear I wished to approach him to become my apprentice first. I even called him out just after the ceremony... Where do you get off in approaching him using Hypnotic Soul Ensuring Gaze to take him as your student?"

To which Calia merely smiled gently and spoke calmly. "Oh? Was that so? I was busy dealing with the remains of the six... Examples that the Headmaster created. I must have missed that." 

Then Calia's voice darkened with the shadows in the room returning as she spoke coldly. "As for the magic I used... It was to see the truth within his heart. Did he want the power I offered? Was he so weak of mind that he would let his soul be ensnared by my casual gaze?"

There was a silence before Calia finished flatly. "After all. There are many who have methods of controlling others. Illusions, mind control, soul ensnarement, potions." 

Lux coughed, hearing potions with Calia snorting, and her gaze snapped to mine as she said dryly. "Oh yes indeed, young man. I would be very careful of what you eat and drink. People are going to want you under their control, want your seed to see if your semblance will breed true. And of course some... Will just want you dead." 

I took a deep breath as I remembered all too clearly Calia's questions that were prodding my own opinions. Not her telling me to do anything over, even to accept something as fact.

If anything... I appreciated her doing that. As of now, I had something of an idea of what supernatural mind control felt like.

But I stood up and took a deep breath as I felt New Jersey stand beside me. "Lady Calia... With my semblance of mass-producing weapons, I honestly believe you could bring me a great deal of power. Having flesh golems and zombies with some level of intelligence controlling my weapons to great effect to say of nothing else." 

I shook my head and said honestly. "But frankly... I admit this with no shame. But you scare the fuck out of me. Your smile makes me shiver with more fear than Ozpin flexing his power and killing those six people. So I am going to politely refuse your no doubt amazing and powerful knowledge."

The entire time I was speaking, Calia's relaxed, seductive appearance finally cracked as her disciple had to cover her mouth with an elegant loose sleeve as Calia's mouth opened a bit in shock at my honest words.

Calia closed her eyes and visibly reset before she shook her head with a husky chuckle escaping her. Then she stood up with her disciple Ferid standing up with a slight hop from the throne of bones that made her breasts bounce.

"Well, Jake." She paused as she visibly chewed on the words before she continued. "I hope that you can overcome your fears, as working together, we could do great things, I am sure. Now I can see where I am unwanted, so Ferid, come, it is time to part." 

The elfin-eared beauty gave me an almost smirk before she waved with her, finally speaking up. "Yes... Though Jake, I will say that we shall meet again all too soon, haha." 

And with that, both Ferid and Calia were swallowed up in a wave of shadows, leaving me alone with Luxanna Crownguard... And the person who was also bugging the fuck out of me.

As I could easily recognize who it was.

It was literally Cinder Fall, standing behind Lux with her glowing runes in her dress fading away as she audibly sighed with relief at Calia and Ferid leaving.

Long black luscious hair falling down her back in a wave, and she was wearing a very form-fitting red dress that had golden runes sewn into the dress, with her golden eyes gazing at me with a raised eyebrow before she looked back to Lux, who coughed.

"Ahem! Soooo Jake, well that was unpleasant haha... Anywho, so whatcha think, Jake, wanna be my apprentice? You can be friends with my apprentice, Cinder here?" She offered awkwardly as fuck honestly.

I shared a look with New Jersey, whose visage screamed. 'Fuck no! She is a complete goober!' 

I raised an eyebrow as though to tell her. 'And you are a complete goober as well. I saw you eating chicken wings. You had more sauce on your face than what was on the wings somehow.'

"Ahem... Leaving me hanging here." Lux whispered, and I looked back over, and my lips twitched as she had a small blush on her face.

I coughed and said honestly. "Uhh... So, what do you think you can best teach me? I am a blank canvas when it comes to actual magic besides my semblance." 

Lux clapped her hands together excitedly as Cinder rolled her eyes and leaned against the table with her arms pushing up her large breasts... But I noticed her golden eyes scanning every shadow in the room warily.

"Oooh! I am at least a master in literally every form of elemental magic school there is, besides Spatial and Chronomancy! Cryomancy, Pyromancy, Hydromancy, Geomancy, Photomancy, Sonimancy, Ferromancy... I can do it all, haha!" 

As she said that, though. I knew very well that the schools of magic were far... Far more expressive and powerful than merely just their base element. As Cryomancy was the manipulation of the concept of ice and cold.

A sage of Cryomancy of which there was one in Atlas actually... It could freeze time in a large area beyond even what Ozpin could do casually without actually using Chronomancy himself.

Imagine fighting a fucker that 'Freezes' your momentum so you are stuck in unable to move, or even accumulate the power to undo the 'freezing' he applies to your mana pool.

That was just one example. 

For Lux, for her age to be a Master at all those different elemental schools of magic? That was incredible.

Though... I couldn't help but wonder if she could have become a Sage if she stayed with a single element or school of magic. 

Either way! I didn't make Lux wait to answer as I answered with total honesty. "I am a blank slate for magic. And for someone with such diversity of knowledge, you would be the perfect teacher. So I would be honored to enter your tutelage." I finished more formally and bowed my head towards Luxanna.

With Lux clapping her hands together with a cheer as she said. "Wonderful! Now, Jake, you just call me Teacher in front of other teachers, staff, and other students. But when it's just us and our retainers, you can just call me Lux." 

Lux then turned to Cinder with a wide grin, as she said almost smugly. "See! I told you he would accept." 

A chuckle escaped Cinder before she looked at me and said dryly. "And you stepped directly into the political land mine collection. Welcome to the big leagues, Jake Bariss." 

I woodenly turned to Lux and asked dryly. "How bad is it... What did you drag me into?" 

Lux kicked her foot across the ground and refused to look me in the eye as she muttered. "The second princess wants me in her Peerage. She wants to compete against the first prince who has my older brother in his Peerage." 

I brushed my hand across my face... Then I literally screamed into my hand before I slammed my hand onto the meeting room table.

The room was silent at my outburst.

While my expression... Utterly smooth and without emotion.

Finally, after an awkward silence, I broke it by saying plainly. "I see... Well, in that case, that doesn't matter as I don't plan on joining the Vale Royal Families Peerage system. Anyway, how will my learning go about? What do I need to do?" 

I was very obviously trying to switch the subject. As fucking about with the royal family, which was filled with A-rank huntsmen and great Generals, was a damned horrible idea.

Lux blinked at my change of subject before she froze and awkwardly chuckled and said. "Ah! Well, if you are a complete novice. Then we need to get you a good catalyst that will fit to the school of magic you want to learn, besides that... Hmm, Cinder, do you think you could help Jake open up his mana pool over the next few days?"

My teacher then looked away from the annoyed-looking Cinder, who didn't look interested in helping me do such a task. And then she refocused on me and said. "Whelp, most importantly, do you know what school of magic you want to learn? Or maybe just test and see if it fits you?" 

After doing research and learning my mana pool would be tainted and need to be refined later on to make my mana pool neutral again to cast magic for different schools of magic. I knew that I needed to choose my first school of magic to truly devote myself to it carefully.

So after a moment of thought, I answered in the thing that was most fitting. As even my sponsor had told me that I had an insane water affinity. "I would like to learn Hydromancy. My semblance is the manifestation of 'Naval' themed things, so it just makes sense if I learn water magic." 

I saw Cinder raise an eyebrow at my words before shrugging as Lux put a finger to her lips and said. "Hydromancy... There have only been a couple of hydromancy sages in all of recorded history due to humanity being blocked from the sea due to the amount of ocean Grimm."

She visibly stalled before admitting honestly. "I am an accredited master of Hydromancy for sure. But I am nowhere near the level of a Grandmaster of Hydromancy. Are you sure you want to stick with that?" 

I nodded firmly as I said. "I have plenty of methods to defend myself and hold an area. I want magic to shore up the shortcomings of my semblance in not having active offensive measures." 

I then gave a chuckle and said. "Plus... I had a bit of an evil thought. What if I indeed became a Master or Grandmaster of Hydromancy and was able to make a giant pool of water roll through the countryside where my manifested ships could float along in those pools of water?

At my words, Lux tilted her head to the side as she imagined such a scenario, and then a peal of laughter escaped her that made my heart flutter with how beautiful her laughter honestly was and the pure joy she radiated.

"Oh my, I can already imagine such a scene... Actually, I myself could set up such a spell." She spoke more to herself before she grinned and asked. "Would you be interested in seeing how effective your summoned ships would be on such a rolling lake?" 

I firmly nodded with New Jersey, saying aloud. "That would be very nice. As it would allow me to manifest my actual body if the pool was big enough." 

There was a pause before I coughed and said. "Speaking of manifesting things... I do have an issue, Lux, I can manifest. A lot of very useful and powerful things. But I don't have anywhere to put them." 

Lux didn't even blink as she said casually. "Oh, thats understandable, Jake. Under my tower, I have a massive access tunnel leading to the base of Beacon Mountain, where I practiced my volcanic and earth magic. I can unseal the tunnel, and you can use it for whatever you need." 

'Well, that was easy...' I thought before I said with a wry expression. "I appreciate it. But will the tunnel... Be big enough as the tank, drill I made is a good representative of the size of things I can make with a bit of time to work." 

"Ooooh. Nope, it shoudn't be an issue as the tunnel is already a hundred and fifty meters tall, as I spent months making the support pillars and roof into solid steel, as I practised and reached Master tier alchemist! So it should have plenty of room haha!" Lux announced proudly, making New Jersey cough at the sheer size of the damned tunnel she made.

I myself cleared my throat and said. "Well... That will certainly do it, to say the least. Thank you for opening it up to me." 

To my thanks, Lux just nodded as though her workspace was to be expected, and then she said. "Alright! Jake, come with me. We are going to my stores to pick out a water-based catalyst that you can use to cast your magic through. Then I will leave you in Cinder's hands to get your mana pool unlocked. I sadly am going to be busy with my own responsibilities with the new term starting." 

I nodded in understanding, and I followed Lux and Cinder with New Jersey walking behind me. However, I made sure to send a mass message to Velvet, Alice, and Prinz that I was with Luxanna Crownsguard. And going to get something from her stores, and I would explain when I get back to our dorm room.

-

As Lux led me out of the assembly area of Beacon, I realized very quickly how fucking massive the school/fortress was. Lux spoke proudly. "Beacon! Home to thousands of Huntsmen of Vale, it has several of its own farms built inside the mountain, and weather mages make it rain every weekend to ensure we have plenty of fresh water."

"The pure Elemental branch of magical study here in Beacon doesn't get between the Holy/Light branches of magic that are... Squabbling with the dark schools of magic." Cinder spoke with a bland tone with her look behind her as she added.

"As a teacher's disciple. You will also need to keep any biases you may have for certain types of magic to yourself... Unless said magic is being used on you without your consent obviously." 

I shrugged and said with total honesty. "So long as the magic is being used to kill Grimm, and isn't like... Sacrificing babies or something. I won't judge upon the magic." 

And with that, we just kept walking for a minute until Lux casually asked. "So, New Jersey. Are you interested in learning magic as well, if you can?" 

To which New Jersey chuckled aloud and replied in a hearty voice. "Sure! If I am not busy watching my Admiral and making sure he doesn't get in trouble, haha." 

I gave New Jersey a look behind and groused. "Oi, I am not stupid. I stay nice and comfortable in the back line, blowing up monsters with heavy munitions, thank you very much!" I finished primarily making New Jersey do the proper and mature thing in response.

And by that. I mean, she just childishly stuck her tongue out at me as Lux chuckled and then called out. "Ok, Jake, that over there is your new home!" 

I blinked as Lux pointed at one of the large towers that were connected to the various walls running through the forest of Beacon, as the massive campus used the differing walls as buffering zones to hold back Grimm Tides.

And the tower was clearly part of the magical faction, and as was along with Lux's reputation of being open to all types of elemental magic, it didn't scream one school of magic effects like of the other towers did.

Looking at Calia's or the Necromancy tower, for example... A tower made using a massive Grimm dragon's spine and skull as a frame wasn't subtle in the slightest.

But Lux's tower was made out of a light pearly marble with bands of bronze metal running across its ledges and outcroppings, a trim. With the tower seemingly looking to be about... Maybe nine or ten stories tall with many windows looking like they could lead to their own floors.

"So as students, I only have you and Cinder so far, as I only have been teaching at Beacon for a couple of semesters now. And frankly, I am still finding my niche in teaching people magic." Lux spoke honestly 

With Cinder speaking next. "She is a genius, so if you have any difficulties... Make sure you say you have an issue, as Teacher is automatically going to assume you have the same disgusting talent she had." Cinder finished with dry amusement as Lux coughed and looked at her disciple with betrayal.

"Cinder... How could you!" She whispered in betrayal, to which Cinder just shrugged and said plainly. 

"I respect you greatly, teacher... But your semblance of mental partitions gives you an insane cheat when it comes to learning magic. Not so much teaching magic as you are used to having a dozen independent minds and thought processes to control your magic to an insane degree." 

I cleared my throat and said. "Well, I will make sure to say if I have any issues. So do you need to key me into the tower or anything?" 

At me getting back on topic, Lux nodded firmly and said. "Yes, Jake, come here. New Jersey. I am not taking you as my student, so do not follow us any further lest the wards think you are hostile. We will only be gone for like five minutes at most to get Jake's catalyst." 

New Jersey frowned at the order while I... I honestly wondered if Lux was trying to spring a trap on me.

Before I remembered how much of a goober she had been and I shook the thought aside and said. "Alright, New Jersey, please wait for me. I will be back in five to ten minutes... If I am not, level the tower." I finished 'jokingly'

Lux then brought me along with Cinder up the stairs leading into her tower, and I shivered feeling Lux's mana cover my from lightly just as rough mana inspected my form. But Lux's mana seemingly acting as a shield let us reach the large door leading into the tower, with Lux saying.

"Alrighty, here ya go. Knick your finger to make it bleed and then put the bloodied finger onto the gem on the right side of the main center gem." 

Taking the small... An extremely small-sized razor from Lux's offered hand. I went to lower my aura to do so, but Lux added. "Nope, it's Aurablight. It cuts through the aura." 

I blinked upon hearing that... And I carefully cut my finger with the apparently aura-cutting tiny razor blade, with myself hissing as I felt it parting my skin and even my fucking soul in my aura. 

"Yeah... Getting touched with Aurablight is really nasty. It's a death sentence for a civilian and any faunus to own or even be caught with." Lux said frankly.

"The hell is Aurablight?" I said as I pressed my finger onto the exact gem Lux pointed out, and not the obviously other trapped enchanted gems with the wards leaving my form alone.

There was a pause before Lux said coldly. "Aurablight is the bones made from Apocalypse-grade Grimm."

I tilted my head to the side, as honestly, it was very hard getting concrete information on the grades of Grimm, which was something... Kept out of the civilian side of things, which was another reason I was at Beacon. 

I needed access to the information of this world.

"Alrighty! Now that you are keyed into the tower, as a resident. You are free to live here if you desire, along with having the staff serve you in all things reasonable. Hmm, beyond that, I will also give you a dozen passes to allow your retainers to also live in the staff quarters just above us."

And so Lux burst into an explanation on how the store room was just below the main lobby, and the staff's rooms, kitchens, etc, were just above us. While above the staff area was Lux's personal library, which was open to me only. And then above the library were magical laboratories and research rooms.

"And the top level is my personal room for myself. You both aren't allowed in there though as it is just my personal room. But the floor below it has several rooms available to claim, just don't sneak into Cinder's room if you care to keep your hair, haha." Lux joked.

With Cinder giving me a cool look and saying flatly. "If he breaks into my room, some burnt eyebrows are going to be the least of his worries."

I shrugged and said plainly. "I am not so foolish as to break into a ladies' room... We are all adults and have our own desire for privacy."

With that, Lux brought us down a ramp leading us to the storage area, and once we were in there. I blinked at seeing it was a massive warehouse, with Lux proudly announcing. "All of my collection of magical ingredients are time-locked to preserve their magical energies. As well as being sorted by their elemental, or magical school of alignment. So come on, the Hydromancy treasures are over here." 

She brought us over to the water-aligned treasures, and I blinked as the so-called treasures... Looked nothing magical at all, honestly!

A sea conch sitting in a glass-lined case. A bundle of seaweed frozen in the air within a glass cylinder. The complete skeleton of some random smaller fish. It wasn't a glowing mire of powerful objects it just looked like random rubbish.

But Lux just chuckled as she spoke. "I know, haha. A catalyst, although powerful in the right hands, its powers normally don't display themselves so openly, thankfully... If they did, the more powerful Grimm would eat them all the more commonly and become a much worse issue."

She turned around with a hum escaping her as she spoke. "So I am assuming you wish to be a combat-focused Hydromancer, correct? As I doubt you plan to stay at Beacon, being a simple magical researcher."

"Correct," I said firmly.

Her eyes glowed slightly before she shrugged and said. "In that case... I would suggest either this Beach in a Bottle. Or the Weight of the Sea." 

She had pointed out two bottles, with one of them being a larger vial that had sand inside it, while the other one. Just looked like a normal vial filled with pitch-black liquid.

"What's the difference between the two?" I asked curiously.

Lux looked back to me and said. "The Beach in a Bottle, when you are casting water magic through it, will add a sandblasting feature to water spells that are moving fast. While the Weight of the Sea will have all your water attacks hit with far more force due to the water acting as though it has the pressure of exactly one hundred and fifty-eight meters below the sea. Which is where it was collected, actually."

 I blinked at hearing that. And after a moment... I imagined sending powerful streams at Grimm, and I thought about which would be worse. A stream of muddy water that would sand Grimm's flesh and bones off. Or just more force in the stream of water?

After a moment, I said. "I think the Beach in a Bottle would be better."

Lux nodded, and then she took the bottle, and I blinked as she summoned a thumb-sized blue gem that she then pushed together against the magical catalyst, and with both items glowing, they seemingly snapped together with the blue gem having a watery glow within it that had tiny specs appearing within the gem randomly.

"There you go. The catalysed gem will act as your beginning spell-casting device until your taint solidifies into a solid catalyst. You will replace this with until it comes to making your permanent catalyst as a Sage... But that is a good way off in the future haha." Lux finished with a wry grin.

I nodded and said formally. "Thank you for this gift, teacher."

"Guh! Jake, don't get all formal, it's weird... Anyway, I have a lot of stuff to do for my master's with the new semester starting. So here are the passes for your retainers, Jake, and Cinder, please escort Jake back to the residential building and set up a mana pool opening ritual you want to do with him."

With that, Lux quickly handed me a stack of metal-lined marble slates the size of my pointer fingers before she seemingly transformed into a pillar of light that shot out at blinding speed out of the storage area.

Leaving just me and Cinder alone...

"Haaa... Just like a teacher. She didn't even open my own mana pool when she took me as her student." Cinder complained with a wry smile before she lost the smile and looked at me seriously.

"Now, Jake, I am your fellow disciple under Luxanna Crownsguard... We do not know one another, but I will say this straight and simple." 

Cinder stepped closer and her golden eyes peirced mine as she said calmly and with no discussion in her voice. "Lux is our teacher... She has done much to make my life better, so I won't brook any disrespect towards her. But if you need help, come to me, I will help you as much as I am able so long as your needs aren't at fault of a foolish action."

I raised an eyebrow at how blunt she was. 

And in turn... I nodded as her words were fair and she was offering her help so long as I didn't do something explicitly fucking stupid. "I will strive to bring our teacher only accolades and fame for teaching me. Not bring her any additional troubles."

With that, Cinder closed her eyes before exhaling in confirmation, before she turned on her heel with those high heels clicking on the marble floor as she spoke. "Come, I will escort you to the residential building... That bitch Ferid is obviously looking for trouble." 

My lips twitched at the actual outburst of annoyance and... Negative emotions from Cinder on Ferid. And with how Salem was dead, I knew Cinder wasn't a traitor to humanity or whatever... So I asked, obviously. 

"What's Ferid's deal anyway? Is she your opposite in being Lady Calia's apprentice?" 

There was silence as Cinder kept quiet as we walked outside the store room and through the tower until we reached the outside. Then she paused outside the tower while still inside the wards, where she spoke.

"Ferid... It is a monster. She believes herself to be an artist who crafts her undead and toys into admittedly beautiful forms. But she has a fascination with taking Flesh Automatons and making them into overwhelmingly beautiful forms that are then filled with illusion magic to make them mess with people's minds."

Cinder stared listlessly into the distance for a moment before she broke the silence, speaking coldly. "Only the Royal Family can legally make Flesh Automatons out of people who are declared traitors to humanity's survival in very strong bandits, and people who make pacts with Titan and Apocalypse-grade Grimm for power." 

The ebony-haired beauty took a deep breath before she continued. "Ferid brought two dozen high-grade Flesh Automatons into the school with her. And the first thing she did entering this school was have her automatons enter the student body and begin making friendships and more... Much deeper relationships."

My face twisted in disgust as I realized what that meant. Flesh Automatons were technically classed as Undead despite the body being alive due to the fact that their soul was utterly chained away within their body and having no control over their body besides in how they interrupted their operating rules and orders.

"Did you?" I slowly asked, with Cinder shuddering and saying coldly.

"No. No, I did not get intimate with a Flesh Automaton, though a closer friend you could say of mine did... And she was so ashamed of herself that she has since fled the campus. She was Lux's first student actually." 

I was silent for a long moment before I spoke slowly. "No one could tell what they were?" 

As being zombies, they still had a lot of tells, obviously. But Cinder's face twisted into a grimace before she said. "No... Ferid is a monster, but an artist all the same. She twisted her automatons into becoming so beautiful that, along with the illusions and admittedly phenomenal mental programming that not even Lady Goodwitch was able to recognize them until it was announced." 

After that, Cinder took a deep breath and said. "Lux is also a Grandmaster of Holy energy, being a worshipper of the God of Light... So with that incident, Lux's staunch neutral magical bias has a bit of a hole in it due to Calia and, by extension, Ferid." 

She shook her head and said flatly. "This discussion is over and you shouldn't repeat any of it in an area that isn't heavily warded... A number of people are quite upset over it. Including several noble families who raised hell over their daughters being deflowered by what is registered as a zombie." 

I gave a slight hum with the thought of why was Ferid not facing any consequences coming to mind. Before I was reminded of her status as Calia's student... And whatever connection she had with the royal families, Lich Lord. The Sage-level Necromancer who protected the Royal Bloodline.

Either way, Cinder said flatly. "So, although Calia has a code of ethics in her school of magic. Ferid is a monster who delights in showing off her 'works of art.' Now, let's get you home. I can see your New Jersey all but bouncing like an attention-starved puppy." Cinder finished with a drawl in her voice.

And looking over at New Jersey as we walked out of the wards... I could literally see stars in her eyes as she excitedly waved at me, excited for my return.

So by definition, Cinder wasn't wrong.

"So what kind of Catalyst did you get?" New Jersey asked, and I explained the Beach in a Bottle I got with that topic lasting until we got to the residential side of Beacon's ground where Cinder spoke.

"Meet me at Lux's tower tomorrow at 7 P.M. We will work at locating and opening your mana pool for casting magic. Also, pay attention to your scrolls as the general Huntsmen classes you lot have been assigned to will be hitting your scrolls sometime tonight." 

I nodded in understanding and said. "Thank you for the escort, Cinder. I should be fine here now." 

Cinder gave me a searching look before she took in the surroundings and said slowly. "Watch the shadows, Jake... They are not so empty as you may think." 

And with that, Cinder turned on her heels and strode off back towards Lux's tower.

I gave a quick glance around. And although I couldn't see anything... I could definitely feel a sense of hibby jibbies from the feeling of being watched. So I exhaled and said. "Alright, New Jersey, let's go see what has happened with Prinz and the rest." 

New Jersey and I walked past many other students, many being researchers and fellow students, most obviously being of upper years, as most people of my year were probably getting to know their roommates.

Then, after a couple minutes of walking and looking around, we found our assigned dormitory that actually had four separate bedrooms and a couple bathrooms, so we could have some more space.

Walking into the room after scanning my scroll on the sensor, I saw Nora was staring with deep seriousness into the equally deadly seriousness of Velvet... As they were both play chess of all things.

"We are back!" New Jersey called out in a sing-song voice that had Nora and Velvet jump in place.

"My stuff is all here already," I noted idly at my couple of sports bags. I had my extra clothes in at a door that someone had obviously moved. So with that, I looked to Nora and, taking a deep breath, I said quickly. "So! Where is Ren? I made a promise and I am ready to pay up with a full aura haha." 

Nora's eyes widened with glee as she shouted. "One second! I was letting him watch TV on my scroll. I will be right back!" 

But as I watched Nora's perky behind bouncing in the tight short shorts she was wearing as she bounced away... I had a thought strike me.

'What if the reason Calia and Ferid were so interested in me. Was Ren's soul binding to his head and technically a resurrection?' I mused as Cinder already explained how much of a fanatical artist Ferid was about her necromancy.

Who was to say she didn't so dearly want to properly resurrect the dead with their souls just bound within her grasp so she could do her process of making them as beautiful and perfect as possible while still keeping their souls buried deep within?

But my thoughts cut off as from the room that my stuff was placed inside, Prinz Eugen came out of the room with her wearing one of my dress shirts and a pair of undershorts with her yawning. "Welcome back, darling. What happened with Miss Crownsguard?"

Seeing Velvet, and Alice following Nora, who was holding Ren's head jar in her hands. I gave a wry smile and quickly summarized the events of what had happened with my meeting with Calia and her disciple. The minature confrontation Lux and Calia had, before I agreed to become Lux's disciple, and how I was given a Catalyst I could use for when I began my magical studies.

Anyway, after my quick explanation, I took a deep breath and said. "Enough on that topic, though. Ren, it's time for you to get a new... Social body at least. I can make you a war body later on when I get some space." 

Ren gave a small nod, and he said formally. "I will certainly appreciate any help you can give Jake... Living in a jar isn't exactly my preferred state of being." He finished with a wry smile.

I nodded, and then I threw my mind into the collected knowledge I had. Of things that could suit him.

And honestly, I had a few thoughts in place, but for a body for social situations and just needing to get around. I had one good idea that would allow Ren to fit in with a normal... Humanish life.

My form glowed with gentle but bright blue light as I delved into my semblance and began to manifest Ren's new body.

 A modified Scout body from Nier Automata, with the head simply removed to allow Ren's head to be attached via some wires going to his neural cap on the stump of his neck.

However, I could manifest YoRHA android bodies due to their nature as a 'Space Naval' outfit. It was hard on my aura, and even if for say. I manifest 2B for example... It would only have her base programming and not any of her memories, so it wouldn't exactly be her.

'But... On the other hand, maybe making some Operator Units to operate my war machines would be smart? Though that sounds like drama with how people would want the secrets of the androids I could make.' I thought as I realized that producing androids en masse would need to wait until I myself had the protection of a noble rank.

Not to mention how, once again. The androids wouldn't have the memories and mental conditioning beyond the bare minimum to serve my goals.

Either way, in but a couple minutes, Ren had a new body clad in a sailor outfit with the neck being a mess of twisted wires and attachments.

"Alright, Ren, with this, your head can leave your tank most of the day. But you will need to insert your head back into the tank to take back in the rejuvenation chemicals when it is time for you to sleep and rest." I explained.

Ren gave a slight hum before saying frankly. "For someone else, that could be an issue. But I can put my own mind into a stupor with my semblance and make it easy for me to fall asleep even if it's just my head back in this jar." 

I nodded and then said. "Alright, I programmed the body to pull your head out of your jar, and then put it on the neck slot, and then with some commands, you will have access to. You will be able to order the body to remove your head and put it back in your jar when the day is over."

The remote connection between the scout body and the control plate on his neck came to life, with the scout body twitching as it came to life, and everyone made noises at seeing the headless body, reaching into the tank to pick Ren's head up.

And then stick Ren's head with the metal control plate, attaching to the neck plate on the scout's body, making it look like Ren was just wearing a particularly odd metal collar around his neck.

'Wait... With that metal collar, it kinda reminds me of the collars faunus wear.' I mused before banishing the awkward thought, as I knew Ren could just wear a scarf or something.

Then Ren's new body shook as Ren shook his head clear of the rejuvenation chemicals that dripped from his black hair. "Well, how does it feel?" I asked curiously.

Ren held up his android hands, and I saw them flex and close into fists before he took a long breath and said with a wry smile. "I am shorter than I was... But I can feel my hands even if I feel the metal within my new body. The oils, pistons, and the battery within my chest." 

I tilted my head to the side as Ren blinked, and I was surprised as from his open hand came Ren's dull grey aura that matched his cold emotion-wrecked soul that had been wrecked via overuse of his semblance over the years.

"My aura... Is it seeped into this body? It's like the Black Box within the chest is acting as a second store of Aura that is filling up with my aura and will be able to produce its own."

'Dafuck... Did I accidentally give Ren an actual new body with his head not needing to get put into the rejuvenation vats?'

As should his soul completely transfer over to the YoRHa Black Boxes, that typically housed the souls of YoRHa androids. Then that meant I could just move his soul into a completely new YoRHa body.

With that, though. I coughed and said. "Well, that's great to hear. And it's good to see your control plate has synced up with the new body."

"Rennie can walk again, whoohoo!" Nora screamed loudly as she picked me and Ren up and tried to spin us around.

Keyword on try as Ren's new body weighed a nice, lovely three hundred and fifty pounds, which meant her spin was off-kilter as fuck due to the uneven weight distribution.

So after getting my feet back on the ground, I told Nora and Ren that seeing as Ren has literally lost his weapons in the Emerald Forest... And I certainly wasn't going to go get them, nor was he.

I was going to make him a body purely based on large-scale warfare I had in mind after Ren matter of fact accepted being another one of my Retainers while still working to become a huntsman as well. Just under my aegis.

See, I had a number of options in mind for smaller-scale mechs and such that Ren could control. But there were several issues with many larger-scale mechanical bodies. 

First, the weight they would put on his mind with the connectors possibly literally boiling his brain if he can't control the mech right.

So many mech anime and other sources weren't fucking around when they say how mechs often choose their pilots quite literally. So that left a lot of the more magical, eldritch, or alien mechs that Ren could have possibly piloted.

So the goal was for Ren to have a war body that was A, very durable. B, very physically powerful. And C, in Nora's words. Have the boom, so no Grimm can get close to him.

With Ren himself saying he liked Storm Flower, his oversized blade-covered auto pistols, due to how they could fill a large area with bullets, so he could maneuver to kill Grimm via his mastery of martial arts.

So I thought... Why not laser weapons that with a large series of batteries strapped to his back? He basically just wouldn't run out of ammo? 

Or more specifically, I first considered a Warhammer Dreadnought for him. Nixed that thought due to how maneuverable they were. Then I thought more on the lesser mechs of Gundam and Armored Core.

And I swiftly realized that they would be a complete bitch to make on my aura, and would need a lot of resources to keep it in top shape.

So I decided on a happy medium. In the Riptide Battlesuit of the Tau army of 40k. They had powerful laser and energy weapons I could let Ren abuse simply by having him have a more powerful battery.

And by design, Tau battlesuits were made to be very modular so different weapons and accessories could be added at his leisure... Plus, the suit had anti-gravity technology so it could fly.

However, the anti-gravity bit would definitely make it more costly in terms of aura. But fuck it. I needed some more laser Dhakka in my life.

"Alright, you should be good with the body you have now for general things. And I will make the next body to be used in more heavy of warfare when I get my mana pool unlocked and can use it to speed up the process." 

Ren nodded in understanding with him, saying. "I am perfectly content in waiting for however long is needed. Now, if you will excuse me, I wish to do some yoga to stretch out and test this body, if you all don't mind?" 

I waved him off with Nora looking between me and him as he walked back over to an exercise mat that was clearly Velvet and Alice's, with how it was hot pink. And began stretching on it to test his body.

And then Nora turned back to me and gave me a back-popping hug with her whispering tightly. "Thank you so much! Thank you so much, Jake!"

I gave her a firm pat on her back. With my own back popping one more time, with her squeezing my back again. Before she bit her lower lip as she stepped back. "Ok, buster, you... You just wait, Nora Valkyrie pays her debts, mark my words!"

And unbidden, my mind went back to the 'blowjob' she gave me back at my fortress, and as she saw my expression turn, she flushed with her mouth opening and closing before shutting with a click as she seemingly mentally blue-screened, unable to say anything.

"Jake, by the way. The latest disciple of Glynda Goodwitch, Morgan Arc, came over and left her contact details here. She said that 'With our shared discipline lineage, we should take care of one another if we need any help." Alice spoke, making finger quotations around the words that Morgan spoke.

Making me raise an eyebrow, and asked slowly. "What? I am just a new student, do you think she has an ulterior motive or something?" 

To which Alice said bluntly. "Yes, yes, I do. Maybe she doesn't want not something bad. But it was odd how she came here before we even got your text about becoming Lady Crownsguard's disciple." 

'Yeah... That is a bit weird.' I thought with a sigh as I realized becoming Lux's disciple was likely going to be more trouble than it initially appeared.

But I wasn't going to back out so quickly. And I gave Alice a nod of appreciation for her warning and said. "I will keep that in mind, Alice. Thank you. But I should still share contact information due to the shared disciple lineage we have anyway. Now, Prinz, has anything else of note happened while I was gone?" 

There was a pause before Prinz said without any emotion. "A couple of young heirs of some lesser noble families came to... Test Alice and Velvet to see how loyal they were to you, who isn't actually a noble. I had to send them off, and I imagine their egos were quite bruised." 

I was silent for a moment before I spoke with a tired exhale. "Well, shit... Right, did they announce their lineage or the family they belonged to? Something along the lines of, I am the young master of so and so? And to offend me is to court death?" 

Velvet coughed and said with confusion, "What? No, thats a Mistral thing. They are the ones obsessed with becoming Sages via martial arts and alchemy. While having an insane culture about personal pride." 

But Prinz, with only a small twitch of her lips to signal her amusement, said. "Unfortunately, no, they did not 'announce' themselves. Though to be fair, they are easily recognizable due to them both being rather fat and being researchers and not actual Huntsmen students." 

To that, I shrugged and said. "Well, that's something. Though the lesser rats will likely keep away when they find out I am Lux's apprentice. As to mess with me too much would be spitting in the Crownsguard family's face." 

But with that, Prinz handed me over the embossed and fucking gilded business card that had Morgan Arc's scroll ID on it so I could call or text her and likewise. 

Then just as I was entering Morgan's information into my scroll. Said scroll loudly buzzed with a large message being directed to me.

[Student Registry and Mandatory Huntsmen Learning.]
[Jake Bariss/ No nobility rank.]
[Currently 5 retainers/servants = Nora Valkyrie, Prinz Eugen, New Jersey, Alice Scarlatina, Velvet Scarlatina.]
[Disciple of Duke Families Luxanna Crownsguard]
[Jake Bariss is currently enrolled in four mandatory classes this semester.]
[Grimm Studies. 8 AM-9 AM
 Huntsmen and Nobility Law. 10 AM-10;30 AM
 Human/Faunus Suppression/Eradication Training. 11 AM-11:30 AM
 Combat Training/Semblance Training/Magical Combat. 12 PM - 2 PM]

After reading my mandatory classes. I literally only had one thing to say. "What the actual fuck is Human/Faunus suppression? And why does it need to be a class?" 

To which Velvet spoke through a clear grimace. "Bandit and traitor eradication. It's not too uncommon for someone to get their aura unlocked, find their semblance, and think they are some A-rank wonder at the very least and run off to make their own fiefdom." 

I gave Velvet a look at that as I could easily be seen as such a figure with my overly useful 'semblance' that everyone thought I had.

But either way, she continued. "It's not like illegal for people to try to make their own settlements. The issue when the people those arrogant people round up and leave Vale and its safety. That they quickly learn that they don't have farmers, don't have a supply line. And will quickly turn to banditry."

I pulled a hand across my face as Alice added in. "Grandpa used to talk about it when he was in the army... Before the Faunus Rebellion, it's even more common now with faunus's trying and failing to leave Vale and not being cut out for living in the wilds and out of Duke and Earl-ranked noble settlements." 

An exhale escaped me as I realized I was a perfect walking war crime with how I could launch missiles and mortars into places where bandits were and such.

But beyond that, I shook my head and said. "Fine, you girls also have classes, right? Even as my retainers?" 

To which Prinz Eugen spoke up. "Yes, me and New Jersey have the same class at the same time due to being your retainer and also studying to be our own huntsmen... Velvet and Alice do not have those classes, though."

"Correct, instead Velvet and I will be busy working in the magical research department. Myself working in the enchanting department, and Velvet with her photographic memory semblance will be studying Runic Magic." Alice spoke.

While Nora also said she was on the huntsmen track... While Ren? He seemed to be in kinda limbo right now.

Which made sense, what with him literally being a talking head in a damned jar.

Either way, I was glad to hear Alice and Velvet would be busy as well, doing something that would help me in the future when I created my own noble house. Though honestly, I was surprised they were allowed into such lessons at all with them being faunus? 

"Anyway. I am going to order some early dinner to be sent over here. You guys message me what you guys want. I am going to get changed into some more comfortable clothes." I spoke as I took my bags into the room that had been clearly assigned to me.

The bedroom had two queen-sized beds and two long tables for research or school work, with two chairs to each table, while having a couple of metal shelving units for the residents of the room to put up their stuff.

After I put away my clothes and such and got changed, the door opened with Prinz Eugen walking in as my Scroll began beeping with the messages of what people wanted.

Prinz strode over, and I gave a light chuckle as Prinz walked behind me and pulled me onto her lap as we fell onto the bed that was behind me. "So this Luxanna. Do you think it's worth getting involved with the politics at her level?" 

The Iron Blood Shipgirl's arms were tightly wrapped around my stomach and chest as she leaned her head against my back, and as I looked between New Jersey, who was in front of me, and attempting to see Prinz behind me. 

I answered honestly. "Luxanna is a jack of all trades... Master of many basically. She is honestly one of the best teachers I could land, especially with how I wanted to pick up Hydromancy to help my Admiral Essence." 

"Hmm... Still, it can be a double-edged sword." Prinz said, and I could only shrug as it was true.

New Jersey came over and plopped herself down as well on my bed, just lying down across it with a huff of relief, leaving her as I used the Beacon app on my Scroll to order all the food my entourage wanted.

And... I realized that Lux had added to my inner school balance a good deal of funds in order to support any magical research I needed to do. And... [Make sure you get yourself a nice higher-end combat outfit.] Was tagged at the end of the notice of the large payment into my account.

So with that, I just relaxed against Prinz with her moving her head and body so I could properly lay down on the bed with New Jersey giggling as I just shamelessly laid my head on her stomach.

"We got classes early tomorrow, so we should probably get to sleep early. God knows how tired our bodies still are from the initiation." I muttered calmly as I patted Prinz's head, who was lying her head on my chest.

-

The next morning things were... A rushing mess to say the least, five people needing to use the showers, even if we had two of them, took time, especially with how Alice and Velvet had long hair, and their faunus features needed special care.

Thankfully, I was able to take a quick shower with Prinz, and even though seeing her naked was... Just awesome, obviously. I was in too much of a rush to do show my appreciation, even though I knew Prinz noticed my appreciation.

As I was right. We all slept through our first alarm, and by the time Prinz woke up with the second alarm, we only had an hour to get ready, instead of the two-plus hours I wanted us up and ready by then for.

Well, us Huntsmen studying would be going for the major classes. Ren, Velvet, and Alice had their own lessons planned out, apparently.

So it was Nora, Prinz, New Jersey, and myself going for the full mandatory lessons.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat for breakfast, to get our minds going. We entered the Grimm Studies classroom.

As we came into the classroom, I had to do a double-take at seeing that the room was a massive, long hallway with a large arena pit built into the floor at the end of the massive hallway. And lining the massive hallway that was like two football fields long, were dozens... Probably a few hundred exhibits of what looked like Grimm.

"They... Are so lifelike." I muttered as I took in the Grimm statues... No, the deeper I looked, I frowned as I realized the joints had points of movement. These weren't statues, they were puppets.

"It honestly feels weird with them not snarling and trying to tear us apart." New Jersey joked as I noticed more of my fellow students streaming in and also looking at the puppets with trepidation.

I shook my head and said. "Come on, let's go get some good seats. I am interested in seeing what kind of teacher will be teaching us about Grimm." 

The four of us quickly took our seats with more people streaming into the classroom, where I saw Yang Xiao-Long, Ruby Rose, and Pyrrha Nikos taking their seats as well. Though Yang did give us a nice wave.

Then I saw Weiss and Jingliu come into the classroom last of all, with Weiss making a beeline towards me, and my lips twitched as Weiss literally waved her hands to add a matching bench made out of ice next to my seat for the two to sit in.

"Can you manifest something to cover this?" Weiss asked curiously, and my lips twitched as I delved into my naval knowledge, and then with a wave of my hands, I manifested some treated seal pelts that fell onto the ice bench.

'That ice is going to melt and make a mess.' I thought with my lips twitching as Jingliu sorted the pelts onto the chair to make them fit, and Weiss daintily sat on the ice bench.

"You know... I could have just manifested a chair or bench for you." I said with a wry smile.

To which Weiss raised an eyebrow imperiously before she said primly. "Indeed, you could have. But instead of having you seemingly bow and scrape to earn the right to sit beside me, I manifested my own seat, you made it more comfortable, and thus to everyone else. It looks like we are cooperating together. Just like during our exodus in the initiation to extraction." 

I peered around and beside the bench, directly behind and in front of me, I could hear Weiss with the hundred-odd students in the lesson making a loud din of noise, even with quiet conversation.

And I noticed she was right, as people we looking at me with an introspective light in terms of the people who descended from nobility.

But with that, I looked back to Weiss and spoke. "So, did you come to make conversation? Or did you have something you wanted to combine our efforts upon, Lady Schnee?" 

Once again. Weiss Schnee was of a royal bloodline. I had no idea why she was here in Vale. Especially when their semblance basically made them inborn Master-tier Runic and Thaumaturgy users.

But I was still going to be respectful if, besides not wanting to get the ire of a royal when a couple extra words would cost me nothing.

Weiss gave me an inspection look, taking in my appearance, and then she looked upon New Jersey and Prinz Eugen, who were on my right side as she was sitting on my left.

She, after doing her little inspection, said clearly. "You, as a commoner, probably don't know the rites of huntsmen, but next weekend we will be having our first Class Trial. I want you for my team of ten."

I blinked, hearing that. And seeing Nora shrug at knowing it, either I looked back to Weiss and said plainly. "I indeed am ignorant of the Class Trial. Could you explain it to me?" 

To which Weiss took a breath with a small smile crossing her face, and she spoke patiently. "Vale's Huntsmen Trials are based on leading large amounts of Grimm towards a killing zone, and its students' jobs are to either corral the Grimm or, if they have the capabilities, take part in the slaughter to mass eradicate Grimm from areas of interest." 

I raised an eyebrow at hearing that,t and after a moment I spoke. "Hmm... And you want to work together on this? I am not against it as I can always manifest a large fortification as I did before."

And hearing me, Weiss smiled with a light entering her eyes as she spoke slowly. "Correct, Jake Bariss. As you set up a central fortification, I will create a negative pressure zone surrounding it to make all flying Grimm come to the ground and block large distant attacks. While your inner fortifications will deal with the Grimm that will be drawn to our area."

While her plan was plan was rather sound, honestly. I had one bit to niggled at my mind. "How do you plan to lead the Grimm to our area... And beyond just improving our chances of survival and efficiency, what else do you get out of this?" 

Jingliu instead spoke up in a slow husky voice. "My lady wants the honor of Hero of Light. The team that kills the most Grimm during their first Trial will be taken into the God of Light's church, and they will be blessed via the God of Light, allowing their weapons and semblances to match high-tier Grimm's domains much more effectively."

'Holy shit, that's fucking huge... Why haven't I heard about this before?' I wondered as I clearly remembered my sponsor saying how, although the Brother god of Light didn't punish humanity after he accidentally killed his brother during their fight.

He certainly wasn't actively helping humanity. Which was countered by the whole Church of Light and Holy Magic in general.

So something was obviously fucky.

"I mean... I accept your offer, Lady Schnee." I finished as I wasn't going to spit in the face of Weiss's offer. If anything, I was going to ask Cinder and Lux about this so-called blessing of the Light god and what it meant.

Weiss gave a small smile before she exhaled and said formally. "Good! Now, as Lady Luxanna Crownsguard's disciple. I am saying here and now that you, Jake Bariss, may speak to me without honorifics. Lady Luxanna is, after all, someone who is titled the Sage before Sages." 

My lips twisted as I knew it was partly a joke, but still respectful, as no one else currently had nearly as many accredited levels of Mastery as Lux did in all forms of Elemental magic. And likewise, she was still a Grandmaster in Holy and Light magic, respectively. 

Under her breath, I heard New Jersey coughing into her arm. "Thirsty snowflake!"

But Weiss... Thank fucking god, didn't seem to understand New Jersey's horrible allergies, and I quickly said. "Then I thank you for the offer, Weiss."

And before we could continue, I saw in the back of the classroom, past the large pit arena in the floor where a large curtain was. The curtain pulled back, and I blinked as a woman with light blue hair done up in ringlets walked out of the back room.

But... As I took in the woman, I realized and remembered a couple of things as I watched her moving. First, I recognized her as part of Calia's dark magic group that were behind her during the welcoming ceremony.

Secondly, her walking... It was just weird, it was both stilted in some movements, and in some they were supernaturally smooth with her legs seemingly stretching and twisting too far.

But I couldn't see her legs with or anything with how they were clad in pantyhose while she wore a long ornate dress that covered much of her rather petite form.

She held up both of her hands up to chest level, and I frowned as I saw spectral threads shoot off from her hands that zoomed over our heads and past students to attach themselves to a couple of the Grimm puppets in the back behind the class.

"The Grimm, the unending tide of Darkness from the land of death. Tell me, what happens when a Grimm dies?" She asked.

The class remained silent before she smiled and said. "All Grimm, no matter their age, magical power, or accumulated intelligence from the amalgamation of souls they devour, escape the fate of having their slain essence mystically return to the Dark Continent." 

Still, everyone kept quiet, as everyone was looking between our teacher and the Ursa Major, the larger, more armored bear variant of Grimm. And the large Alpha Beowulf, she was also controlling.

"Now, my name is Gwen Altross, sometimes known to the wider world as The Marionette, A-ranked Huntress at your service." Gwen finished with a slight bow, with the Grimm likewise bowing in the same motion, while I saw Weiss next to me shiver at the sight.

"In this class, you will be learning what the many variants of the currently known Grimms are. And with my wealth of experience, I will pilot the Grimm puppets I have made to simulate allowing you to fight more... interesting Grimm, such as ones who have succeeded in eating their first ten souls and evolving." 

She then walked over to the marker board and began writing on it. And as she was writing, she was also speaking. "There are two factors to Grimm evolutions. Resulting in three classifications of Grimm."

"First is their age, which can easily be told from a combination of a Grimm's size, their armor thickness, and the way if other Grimms of the same race will be visibly following that Grimm." She didn't even seem to take a breath as she continued without stop.

"Grimm come in the following stages, first Baby Grimm, which are almost always found via their birth of greater Grimm like that Dreamwalker Grimm you all faced in Initiation, second is adolescent Grimm, which are the most common." 

Even as she was speaking and outlining, I watched as she quickly began drawing up outlines of what quick artful depictions of Beowulf's with each level being visibly bigger and more details.

"Next is the adults/matured Grimm, which have their armor fully set in their bodies. They still don't have developed any intelligence, and it is noted that for a baby Grimm, depending on the race, it can take up to a maximum of five years for a baby Grimm to reach the adult stage."

Her voice became more serious as she swirled and made a circle around a Beowulf that was a good thirty percent bigger than the previous adult variant. "Alpha, and other leading class Grimm take much longer to grow into their power and general instinctive intelligence. But they don't die nearly as often as they know they have seemingly endless bodies of their own races to throw at humanity."

"Omega, King, Disaster, Transcendent." Each rank of these Grimm takes even faster evolving Grimm like Beowulfs and Creeps up to three hundred years. Supposedly, from the information we have taken from traitors who served Disaster and Transcendant Grimm, they took at least a thousand years to mature, even with the many souls they consume over the years, helping their growth." 

Gwen finally seemed to take a breath, allowing us to catch up in taking notes before she spoke. "A Grimm's age is a major contributing factor to their danger level in their physical power and to an extent, their general intelligence. But that is not the most important factor."

She wrote the word 'SOULS' in all capitals with a cold expression crossing her face as she spoke. "The Grimm, whether they eat humans, faunus, huntsmen, or civilians. It doesn't matter if they consumed more than fifty percent of a sentient being's mass; they will have devoured the target's soul into their body, essentially. And their soul will be used in time as the Grimm get older to enact corrupted magic and even miracles if the devoured was blessed with holy magic."

The room was filled with whispers before Gwen spoke up. "Indeed, it's kept quiet, but the souls of the fallen within higher-leveled Grimm are... Alive, in a way. They are forced to provide their memories, mockeries, and shards of their own semblances, and in time, when the Grimm become near Transcendent level, the most powerful soul within the Grimm will become the catalyst to become the core of the Grimm's newborn personality. And to act as their catalyst as they become the match of Humanity's Sages." 

I shivered at the thought of being devoured by a Grimm and then over the course of thousands of years, be corrupted into becoming a Grimm's Sage Catalyst or whatever.

Gwen gave us a moment to take all that in before she spoke. "And all those souls are distilled power, and often... All too often, those Transcendant and a few Disaster-tier Grimm will share their powers with humans and faunus who want to watch the world burn. People scorned those who want to destroy all life in the world by implanting some of the souls they had devoured and corrupted into the traitors they take in."

She smiled mirthlessly as she said. "Not that those traitors are able to do anything in Vale. The Holy Church is... Exceedingly skilled and motivated in hunting all those who are touched by the Grimm in such a way." 

Gwen coughed, and then her blue and red heterochromia eyes slid over my form before she looked elsewhere and said. "Still, such Grimm are uncommon. And are often times prone to infighting as they raid smaller settlements for easier to collect souls as they know the dozen Sages within Vale can and will set aside their differences to tear them apart." 

With that I watched the large Alpha Beowulf lower a paw towards Gwen which she jumped into and I watched as the Beowulf puppet raised her up in the air with Gwen speaking. "Now! I have given you all plenty to research already later. So how about we have someone take to the field? This Beowulf is Alpha tier, and has two simulated semblances from the souls it has devoured." 

And Gwen's eyes snapped to my form with her smile coming out entirely too wide... Inhumanly wide with teeth that were now seemingly sharpened into points.

"Ah Mr, Bariss. The Headmaster heaped a good deal of praise upon you. Why don't you face this challenge, show the classroom the power to earn an apprenticeship with Lady Crownsguard." 

My face darkened as I realized what was happening.

Fucking Calia or maybe even Ferid had gone to the other teachers in the dark magic bloc of the school and were going to single me out.

I stood up knowing it wasn't a request, as to refuse would at the very least make me out to be a coward. To say nothing of how she invoked my teacher's name and said if I refused, I would make Lux look like she had bad taste in choosing me for a disciple.

I frowned slightly as I realized I also left my arm cannons behind, as I didn't expect Grimm Studies to have us actually facing Grimm puppets of all things.

"And let this be a lesson for you all as well. Just because in a mission, something, or in an official statement. You should be prepared for all eventualities. As look, Jake didn't even bring a weapon to this class!" Gwen spoke sternly as though the damned class wasn't clearly marked as an academic class.

I popped my neck to the side with my hands filling my pockets as Gwen dropped to the ground as her Beowulf puppet shot forward into the arena, as I entered it as well

"Now, Jake, your job is to destroy my puppet. And, my job... Is to bring your aura down to red, or down to twenty percent." Gwen spoke with a smile, and my lips twitched as I knew in combat training/sparring it was only to yellow of forty-five percent in order to account for certain powerful blows that could do a lot more damage to aura, like hitting someone in the neck or head.

'Meaning... She wants to have fun kicking my ass.' I thought with a sigh before I looked up at the ceiling lights as though looking for the secrets to the universe. While in reality... I was already using my semblance to manifest something beneath my feet, as the arena was a good thirty meters wide in all directions.

"Are you ready, Jake?" Gwen asked sportingly.

I tilted my head to the side as I looked directly at my teacher with a smile crossing my face as she left me plenty of time to manifest what I had wanted in the sand beneath my feet and with that I bent over and pulled a sheathed sword out of the sand with my aura having dropped by thirty percent after manifesting the magical Azur Lane Module enhancement sword.

See, Azur Lane had these wonderful enchanted weapons that were clearly in my naval theme... The main issue was most of them were add-ons to the abilities certain ship girls had. Not actual weapons.

But the 'Fabulous Fioretto' belonging to Zara was a beautiful, if not simply, a thin European straight sword. 

"Yes, I am ready, Miss Altross," I spoke calmly as I drew the sword with a soft noise from its sheath, with the sheath fading into mist as I leaned into my Admiral Essence in inheriting the knowledge on how to use this enchanted sword.

The teacher's face held in a barely concealed twitch before she snapped her fingers, and a roar all too real escaped from the Beowulf.

I held up a hand as it dipped low and its front legs helped its back legs as it sprinted across the arena towards me, and my second plan came to play as its feet slammed into the sand and a powerful explosion rang out as I held up an arm to block the sand that exploded towards me.

'Fuck you. I put anti-tank mines throughout the sand!' I thought with a smirk as I saw Gwen actually scowl... But then I noticed something.

The fucking puppet was completely unharmed after being blown up by an anti-tank mine that was made to blast through a literal meter of assorted metal and parts.

And then it hit me. The puppet was protected and being controlled via Gwen's magic and, by extension, her own aura. Which meant I needed to break her aura in order to truly damage her puppets truly.

"Fucking shameless!" I cursed out loud. This was fucking bullshit!

So, with how shameless she was going to be. I decided I should just say fuck it. My I waved my hand and drained another fifteen percent of my aura... But I didn't summon an enchanted weapon to fuck around with.

No, I went straight back to my roots and summoned the anti-air machine guns in the Phalanx in a row of three, and I saw Gwen's eyes widen as she seemingly remembered what they were.

But before she could say something as her Beowulf dashed at an insane speed to the side... The Anti-Air machine guns were built to track and attempt to shoot down missiles and jets.

The roar of armor-piercing 20MM rounds damn near deafened the class for sure, with how the massive classroom was indoors and with each Phalanx shooting at their max speed of 75 rounds per second... That meant with three Phalanx's there were two hundred and twenty-five rounds per second hitting that piece of shit puppet!

So the fact that it could survive, for what was, in reality, five whole seconds, as what looked like an earth shield surrounded it from the 'simulated semblance' the Grimm was supposed to have. That was impressive.

But by the sixth and up to the tenth second... Gwen's puppet was a pile of scrap that my Phalanx's further tore apart as they switched to explosive rounds, leaving not a single intact piece of Gwen's puppet in decent condition.

And finally, I held up a hand as though to say stop with the roar of the anti-air machine guns abruptly stopping, and with a calm, even expression, I met Gwen Altross's empty expression and spoke. "This was an enlightening lesson. I will make sure to share with my teacher later tonight. But I think I dealt with your puppet in a sufficient manner, so excuse me as I take back my seat."

With that, I slightly tipped my head to her in 'respect' before turning my back to her and returning back to my seat... But in reality, and everyone else's view. My manifested Phanlanx's were still aimed near Gwen in case she attacked me from behind.

And I could see through my Phalanx's cameras in my mind's eye that a cold smile crossed her face before she huffed and spoke up. "See how Jake destroyed the Grimm? It was definitely overkill by any metric, but just as a lion hunts even a rabbit with its full strength. You should take every Grimm seriously, as you can never know if it is a monster in disguise that has eaten dozens of souls."

I took back my seat as Gwen continued talking about Beowulf in particular and how they were one of the most pack-oriented Grimm there were. While also having a notoriously short growth stage from Baby to Alpha level compared to very slowly aging Grimm, like Goliath Grimm, which were Grimm Elephants basically.

"Hmm, so why is Miss Altross trying to suppress you?" Weiss asked curiously.

I chewed on my thoughts before I answered. "Lady Calia tried to take me as her disciple while testing me with illusion magic. In the meantime, while I was in the meeting room, my teacher called me."

"My Teacher broke into the room, stopping Calia's request, and I politely denied her tutorship. If anything,g I believe Ferid, Lady Calia's disciple, is the one who pushed Miss Altross to try to make me look incompetent." 

There was a pause before Weiss said with a huff of amusement. "I see... You are already being pulled into the Great Game."

That was the end of the conversation as class continued with myself making a mental effort, and I smiled as I broke down the anti-air guns into motes of light.

Which... Although it didn't give me back the aura I spent back. It still allowed me to deny people the right to fuck with the stuff that I summoned into the world.

Then Prinz, next to m,e leaned into my ear to whisper. "You may need to stay behind in the next class. Learning how to get your own noble rank so fewer people are willing to mess with you is becoming more important." 

I slowly nodded before I felt Prinz lick my ear, making me jump slightly as she giggled and then whispered into my ear hotly. "Of course... You could always just skip straight to the top if you marry Lux, or that little snowflake sitting next to you."

And with that, Prinz pulled back with an even smile like she didn't suggest anything so spicy as the class continued, while I mentally screamed at the crazy shipgirl.

With that, the class continued without incident, with the exception of Miss Altross bringing another puppet in a Ursa Minor that she had a random wizard classmate fight that I didn't know. With the wizard student getting his ass rag-dolled and mauled as the damned bear Grimm had a speed semblance from the 'simulated semblances' it had from the souls it supposedly devoured.

Honestly, the whole scene just reminded me of the movie Cocaine Bear from my previous life with how the clearly overwhelmed wizard was brutalized into a crying mess via the fucking speedster Ursa Minor that was could run faster than my eyes could track without aura-enhancing my body.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 16

Thorn-covered fingers ever so gently stirred a crystal chalice filled with dark red fluid. The figure holding the chalice was seated on the floor, beside a large figure seemingly cloaked in solid shadows in which no light could pierce.

Both figures were sitting in a large room, once filled with opulence and grandeur, now wrecked. With a dozen corpses of the Noble Clan's children staked into the walls in precise, non-lethal spots that had them slowly bleeding out into large buckets beneath their feet.

The room itself was high atop the mountain; it was built upon, allowing the two figures to watch the hordes of Grimm tearing through the civilians and would-be warriors below. 

"I do not understand your desire to drink specifically orphaned virgins' blood... What makes an orphan so valuable? Does the status of being an orphan take time to season their blood, or can I merely pluck the head of a parent, and their children automatically taste better?" The large figure spoke with bland disdain as it eyed its lesser.

The smaller figure bowed their heads and then, in a calm voice, explained. "It does take time, my lord. The status of an orphan is no immediate thing; it's something that needs to season their hearts, mind, and soul with jealousy at what they lack, sorrow at what they miss, and despair at knowing they will never see their loved ones again." 

The smaller figure once again spoke, but this time with more amusement. "Just like yourself, my lord. Why do you still eat the souls of humanity, but deliberately avoid gaining more power by devouring the souls of Grandmasters and Sages... It's because they are too heavy for a casual meal, my lord." 

The large figure was silent for a moment before it looked down, and in the middle of its facial area of a mass of shadows gleamed a single beachball-sized crimson glowing slitted eye. "There is truth to your words. But only at the end, the truth is that I rightly fear my Apocolpyse class brethren who would attempt to devour me while I myself am digesting my meal. But you yourself merely hate all of humanity, faunus, and want to destroy this world." 

The shorter figure shrugged her sitting up and allowing the roiling flames of the burning settlement to reveal her mutated female form. "Grimm... Human, Faunus, all are the same. Just one thing or another tears at another to push themselves above others. I merely shed my mask to become the best me I could be."

There was a particularly loud gurgle of agony coming from one of the children staked into the wall, and the mutated 'Traitor to Humanity' strode over to the younger boy. Not even properly a teenager with a lick of facial hair.

"Shhh, shh, just... Hang there. You are doing the world a favor by dying now. Your worthless life will mean nothing, and no one will ever remember you, you adorable little thing." She whispered as she gently drew her blackened hand that was covered in Grimm white bone thorns across his cheek.

But her motion was anything but comforting as the boy gurgled and shook with his face turning red and then purple in but moments as dark cuts of micro cuts formed and expanded on his cheek. With the woman leaning down to lick the expanding cuts that were mixed with his tears of agony.

"Now that's a good boy. The taste of despair fits you quite well." The woman simpered at the end.

Then the large figure remaining in the room actually stood up, and past the thick wreaths of solid shadow were legs of humanoid shape, if not for their size. 

"Sawnay, you have a new task... You have had fun playing in Mistral. But I want you to go to the continent of Sanus, my brethren in Obriareus, the Hundred Handed One is playing a game I wish to be ruined. Force his lieutenants in the Transcendents who follow the Hundred Hands games into attacking the major settlements." The figure ordered without inflection in its wretched voice.

Sawnay, the woman, frowned as she looked at her prizes. A dozen children, obviously virgins who were going to be bled for her consumption of their lives, blood, and even souls with her mastery of Necromancy.

"My lord... This process takes a few days. Could I just leave when I am done?" She begged, kneeling down to the figure.

The figure was silent. Not making a noise nor any movement, and with pressure filling the room, even the tortured orphans couldn't even make a noise.

Finally, the figure blinked its massive single eye, and Sawnay whimpered pathetically as her legs gave out from underneath her, along with her arms falling off, leaving her only a head attached to a torso.

"If you will make me wait for your little pleasures. Then your pleasures will be tainted by your arms and legs reforming, should you take more than two weeks to reach Vale... I will break our contract and leave you to the world's mercy." The figure stated calmly.

There was a pause before Sawnay smiled a mad, demented thing as she simpered. "Of course, my lord. Anything you wish."

And with that, the figure seemingly disappeared as it faded into a swirl of shadows, leaving Sawnay to regenerate her limbs painfully over the next few hours. And then began her grizzly heretical work.

She hummed and sang with haunting beauty as she worked over the children and used the special necromancy techniques that she had learned over the many years she had lived with the Apocalypse Grimm's blessing. She removed their faces so she could wear them and hide her identity.

-

Tired, dull, and hungry eyes looked upon the noble Sage of Heaven. Mistral's the uncontested strongest Sage. And, supposedly,' the strongest Sage in the world, having defeated all of the sages in combat before, as he gave another of his oh-so-common speeches.

"The fall of the Dragon Elephant Martial Sect is indeed a loss, though I will be personally going to deal with the measly transcendent Grimm and the traitors who are serving the Grimm! But... With the loss of the Dragon Elephant Sect, that means that many refugees from the farmers and serfs who worked the sect's fields and lots will be arriving in Mistral."

The cold grey eyes of the Sage raked over the assembled crowd of thousands of people who arrived to hear the sages 'wisdom' and the latest news of the world beyond the Great Wall of Mistral.

"Thus, while the... Refugees are being redistributed to other Martial Sects and noble clans to work the fields. The city will be rationing food supplies again to pay the sects and noble clans to take in those refugees."

Even as dark whispers filled the stadium, the Sage had no change to his expression as the dull, tired eyes closed, and Emerald Sustrai thought. 'More like the clans and sects are demanding bribes not to disclose how the Elephant Sect got destroyed internally via one sect or whatever, allowing the Abberation, the traitor humans, into the sect.'

Emerald took a deep breath with her heart firming as she thought about the orphanage she basically ran now. Her illusion semblance allows her to craft powerful illusions of monsters, allowing young masters to fight them for practice... And even taking great payments from elders and especially young masters to craft an illusion for them to play with some unattainable great beauty.

Both Mistral and Atlas had zero problems with slavery... With Mistral being of the opinion that personal might was all that mattered in keeping humanity alive, and even Faunus's were allowed to rise up in power should they become strong enough, though humans wouldn't go out of their way in the slightest to assist in their growth.

While Atlas... Dressed up the slavery and called it 'work contracts' being paid in company script or indentured servitude, or the worst... Compulsory service in the service of Atlas's overwhelmingly powerful military that was only kept in check, if at all, by its native mega-corporations.

So that left Emerald three choices, but only two were real options for her to flee this god-forsaken kingdom. First, I was trying to go to a smaller settlement, but that had many issues. Mistral was based entirely on strength, and that meant a psycho Grandmaster could disembowel her and the rest of the orphans she was supporting to make facial moisturizer.

And face zero consequences for doing so.

Or she and the children she was helping raise could go to Vale or Vacou, as she knew this rationing was going to be bad with the previous tax season being just a couple of weeks ago, and some civilians were still eating boiled bark to survive that fleecing.

'Vacou is a terrible desert filled with the worst of the Grimm due to Vacou simply not having enough water sources to sustain larger populations, even with water elemental mages... Going there would put us too much upon a tribe's mercy should we even make it across the ocean to the east to get to Vacou.' Emerald thought.

But that left a major issue: Emerald was currently in Mistral Imperial City. The main city of the Kingdom. And thus, that meant if she wanted to get to Vale. She and the other caretakers would need to pay... An exorbitant amount of money to take the orphans she was in charge of, to Windpath City to charter a ship that could take them all to Vale's harbor.

As Mistral was as strong as it was, partly due to it being built into the tallest mountains in the world upon powerful ley lines, and thus was a good distance away from any port that was open to the oceans of the world.

Unlike Vale, which had the world premiere harbor and was in part so resource-rich due to its willingness, if not desire, to trade with the other three kingdoms other than itself.

Emerald, seeing the Sage of Heaven flicker in place before disappearing,g took a breath before she pulled herself out of the crowd at all possible haste as she rushed towards the orphanage she helped run. 

After all, to move five dozen orphans that had lost their families due to the Grimm... Or worse, Sects and Noble Clan disputes. So much had to be done. Not to mention the bribes that would need to be made to get space on a chartered ship.

-

Iron sand trickled across the palm of a noble beautiful woman clad in a revealing toga while gleaming enchanted bronze armor across her feet up to her knee's while also having the same gleaming bronze armor over covering her arms from wrist to elbow.

The woman had bright crimson hair that flowed freely down her back, and as much as her face was beautiful. It was clear the woman was one of power and was respected with how she held herself.

"So... My little Pyrrha has managed to make it into Beacon." The woman spoke as the iron sand flowed into the air to form a thorny rose with the iron seemingly rusting, becoming red hot, and even gleaming polished silvery metal in spots to add texture and definition to the artful rose she created. 

Another woman, one wearing a similar tight-fitting toga but no armor, nodded her head, but didn't make eye contact with her lady as she spoke submissively. "Yes, my lady. She passed well, even earning praise for her combat abilities from the Sage of Time Ozpin." 

There was a moment of silence as Pyrrha's mother swirled the rose sculpture in between her fingers before she stated plainly. "Hmm... She didn't link up with anyone, did she? No, no, she wouldn't. My proud little gladiator wouldn't do that unless she trusted them explicitly; thus, she was then humbled by Ozpin, who remarked on her merely being an aimless machine of slaughter."

It wasn't a question. Pyrrha's mother spoke those words as a stated fact, and the servant bowed gracefully and spoke. "Indeed, my lady, your foresight is of the divine. That is exactly what has happened."

There was a moment of silence as Pyrrha's mother played with the rose until, abruptly, the entire rose turned to molten metal that dripped through her fingers and splattered onto the ground between her feet, with Pyrrha's mother's baleful, bright green eyes turning onto the servant.

"And Ozpin's response to my daughter being returned to me?" 

There was a slight pause as the servant swallowed before she spoke quietly. "He... Rather rudely replied that Lady Pyrrha has decided to join Beacon and is thus considered by law a Valian Citizen. With her adulthood giving her the right to go where she pleases." 

The Volcanic Sage gently stood up with each step she took from her throne of burnished and cast bronze that resembled the Niko's colors and symbol. With her walking outside, a set of double doors led to a large raised balcony that overlooked a massive estate of rolling hills covered in vineyards being worked by the Niko's serfs.

"What, explicitly, did the Sage of Broken Time say?"

The serving woman was silent for a moment before she hiccuped and said almost frankly, if it wasn't for the fear in her voice. "I dare not say it, my lady." 

Pyrrha's mother's face twitched as she idly threw a glance at her servant, who cowered in place, and she rolled her eyes. 'The weak should fear the strong in order to serve their betters all the better... But sometimes too much fear can be detrimental to actually getting your help to do their duties.' She thought with some annoyance.

"I will not throw you into the Bronze Bull for speaking whatever foulness, leaving the Valian wretches tongue... That is only for those who attempt to steal my alchemical wine, as you know well." She tried to jest.

But the words 'Bronze Bull' made the servant's face go white, and the Volcanic Sage actually exhaled in annoyance, seeing her legs twitching with the desire to flee the situation.

'You stick a dozen people into a solid bronze bull to cook them alive slowly over a couple of hours, and all of a sudden, your servants think it's the default punishment. When it was only for the Abominations who made deals with Grimm and needed a way to properly kill them through their annoying regeneration.' She thought with frustration mounting.

"Ma-Ma Mistress... He said, and I quote. Make a bronze cock, sit on it... And spin while thinking about the wine I stole from you when you tried to take slaves from Patch, Pandora Nikos." 

Pyrrha's mother... Pandora Niko's went still in place as she processed that so-called message. Before her lips quirked up into a smile and she snorted in cold amusement as her green eyes turned molten bronze.

"I see... Then he had better watch my daughter well. It would be a pity if a volcanic vent were to erupt in the middle of vale."

There was a pause... And then the servant girl spoke with a voice even a mosquito would be offended by. "He knew you would say that... And he said that he stopped time, while you were in Mistral to speak of the Sage of Heaven, and he stole a bottle of your alchemical wine from the well of all places." 

The marble ground beneath Pandora flashed red hot, and as Pandora stared out into the distance as a rumble rang out through the vineyard as her powerful lava and geomancy magic flexed with her overwhelming motions.

The serving girl could only silently watch... As Pandora had gotten so hot-headed that the marble floor beneath her feet had become so overheated. That Pandora was literally sinking along with the rest of the rest of the balcony down to the base level of the Niko's estate.

"Both Lady Pyrrha and Mistress Pandora are too stubborn." The serving girl muttered to herself as the balcony made a loud groaning noise that covered up her voice as the molten metal and stone gave way and fell down the ground level below.

-

Back in Beacon. That very Sage, Ozpin, was carelessly pouring that very alchemical wine he had stolen into his large mug of coffee with him taking an obnoxiously loud sip of it before he smacked his lips and spun in his office chair to stare out across the many tower-filled fortress that was Beacon Academy.

"Hmm... This school year does have its gems for sure. A new Silver-Eyed Warrior, pity about her being a girl. A male silver-eyed warrior is something humanity direly needs to spread their genes about." Ozpin mused to himself before his eyes focused on the more modest' tower of Luxanna Crownsguard.

"And that Jake Bariss boy... His power over naval-based manifestations does have promise, depending on how far he can take it. But even if he cannot have true mass power, being able to manifest and remotely control a whole line of turrets to ease the pressure off Vale's walls could be enough to put him in A-tier." 

And then Ozpin's eyes saw past the wards and other towers as he gazed upon his once protege, Glynda the Goodwitch, teaching her latest Disciple in Morgan Arc.

"Ah... Glynda, tough love only works when it is focused on the person who personally fails. Not when other people are relying on them." Ozpin sighed as he watched his taciturn and truthfully terrible at social issues disciple telling Morgan that she would not help her with her issues of the pissant Baron encroaching on her mother.

Sure, he knew that Glynda was doing it to push Morgan out of her... Shell, 'more like the magical tower' she loved to hide within and do her research on magical flames that fed and burned off souls and magical constructs that would be extremely effective against the Grimm and necromancers.

But Morgan didn't know that. All she was hearing was the woman she considered her secondary mother for the last four years was telling her to buck up and solve her issues on her own. Or worse... Leave her mother to her fate.

"Hmm... Glynda needs to spend some more time with Luxanna to stretch her social muscles." Ozpin muttered before he tilted his head to the side and smiled an obnoxious and evil thing as he took his scroll and sent a quick message to his Vice-Headmistress.

[Take Morgan and introduce her to Jake Bariss. He needs to be acquainted with people who aren't royals and higher-tier nobility.]

After sending the text message, he looked away, and then his amused expression died as he peered through the wards of the 'Dark Magic' wing of study. Already, Calia and her disciple Ferid were discussing the finer workings of the flesh abomination they had turned the six examples Ozpin had made out of the cowardly nobles that had hid during the initiation.

And of course, there were grumbling on the Valian council of nobility about his actions... But the Royal Family stood beside him at that decision, as cowards defending Vale did not fit the Royal Family's goals of expanding Vale's territory.

Though... It was a pity. Ozpin did try to give those examples a clean death, but it seems that punching their hearts out right in front of Calia wasn't enough, with how she had reformed their hearts and was now twisting their bodies and souls into an amalgamated abomination.

But a powerful abomination nonetheless, and with six souls powering the monster... That gave the monster quite a bit of aura to take a hell of a beating from lesser Grimm, to say nothing of one of the souls coming out on top inside the abomination and being able to use its semblance in the future, perhaps.

 Ozpin turned his sight from the grizzly scene and then with some amusement saw the latest Silver-Eyed warrior. Ruby Rose was staring longingly at the weapons attached to Jake Bariss's so-called 'Ship Girls'

'A teenager who can make women who are utterly devoted to him... How the hell did he even make it to Beacon honestly?' Ozpin thought incredulously before his amused smile died painfully as Yang Xiao-Long came around the corner... With Ruby and Yang's eyes meeting and he sighed knowing issues were on the way.

After all... That dumbass Taiyang had the nasty habit of making bastards that would fall into his lap and cause issues. Even if Yang was the only one he stepped up to the plate and took care of due to how Raven had to flee Vale partially with how Summer Rose wanted to kill her for 'cucking Taiyang' away from her.

"Like that blond bastard has a faithful bone in his body." Ozpin groaned seeing what he expected to happen did as Yang and Ruby began to fight with Jake Bariss coming out of his bedroom half-dressed due to having gone to bed early.

'I need to steal more wine and booze... Maybe I should mug Raven's brother for his whiskey.' Ozpin thought.

 

 

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 17

My attempt to get changed after the rather boring Huntsmen and Nobility Law class that went from 10.AM-10:30 AM was rather fucking rudely interrupted when a bullet blasted through my walls and shot through the back wall, opening the room to the elements outside.

Obviously pissed at this point, with my aura flaring to protect me from any blows while I had the Fabulous Fioretto sword in hand as I stomped out of my group's communal apartment, only to yelp as a I was graced with a flare of flames that pushed me back into the apartment.

"That is enough!" Prinz Eugen yelled as she strode down the hallway, as I got back to the door.

But the two damned idiots ignored her. And those two idiots, being Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long, with Ruby looked like she wanted to kill Yang for some ungodly reason, with her wielding dual axes for some reason, and not a scythe.

"Stop them!" I yelled with Prinz Eugen and New Jersey throwing themselves into the fight with their aura flaring and a circular spinning shield from Prinz Eugen's ability to make shields flaring to life as both of the ship girls just tackled the two teens to the ground with Velvet and Alice literally then pinning their hands on their weapons to the ground.

With Ruby not being able to use her speed semblance, with how tightly packed the hallway had become with the other classmates coming out of their rooms and also joining in to bring her down.

I brushed a hand across my face as several people were yelling over one another, along with myself idly noticing with a scowl all the fucking holes in the walls from Yang's shotgun gauntlets and apparently Ruby's twin axes, having Dust/Rune blades could cast magic through the edges of the blades to project elemental magic.

But before the mob of freshmen could start taking a pound of flesh from Ruby and Yang, I froze as a wave of mana washed over myself... And everyone else, with everyone freezing in place comically before our forms beyond our control, stood up straight and floated to the sides of the hallway.

And in the corner of my eye, I watched as Glynda the Goodwitch strode down the hallway with a bland scowl across her face, as Ruby glowed her purple energy, unlike everyone else, with Glynda saying dryly. "You Silver-Eyes are immature, so they cannot petrify upper rank mages' magic, so don't bother... And your mother's cloak, although a powerful artifact, cannot withstand my concentrated attention."

She strode over to Ruby and Yang, who were being far more obedient than the mutinous-looking Ruby before Glynda spoke flatly. "Ruby Rose, why did you start a fight in the common quarters? When you naturally have your own suite in the Duke sector of Beacon." 

Ruby was quiet with her eyes only glancing at Yang with some darkness in her eyes before she took a breath and spoke with forced calm. "I came to recruit for the Class Trial next weekend. And upon seeing her, I decided to act upon my own issues with her."

Glynda's face twitched at Ruby's honest answer that had no deception in it. She saw someone she didn't like and had beef with. And then laid hands on them. That simple.

I blinked as I felt Glynda's mana and on me, then with a thought, I mentally shrugged, and I saw Glynda twitch as I redirected her mana into the beginnings of another Wisdom Cube I had in my pocket.

'Hey... I can use other people's to fuel my shit. Is this new, or is this what my actual semblance is, maybe?' I thought as I felt Glynda's mana leave my form as she threw me a glance that pinned me in place with the weight of it before she rounded back on Ruby.

"I see..." She drawled, and then, looking at Yang, she spoke. "Is that true? I know the two of you have a history to say the least. Did she just see you and decide combat was the best decision?" 

Yang hesitated for a moment obviously wondering how this was going to go down. But with Glynda already outlining everything perfectly. All she could do was nod and say honestly, even as she covered part of her chest where her clothes got slightly burned from whatever lightning and fire attacks Ruby was using.

"Yes, Lady Goodwitch, that is basically exactly the events."

After a moment... Glynda brushed a hand across her face as she groaned aloud. "Teenagers... Teenagers with daddy issues are the literal worst. Fine, Ruby, I assume you are here to ask Jake to act as your retainer or otherwise help you during the Class Trial. That will not be happening. You are hereby banned from the common rooms and area for the next two months." 

Ruby's face paled before she snarled. "I need the Hero of Light title! I have the silver eyes, and my mother got the title all four years she spent in Beacon. You cannot do this? How am I supposed to recruit other nobles who will contest with my leadership of the group?"

Honestly... It was jarring to see Ruby like this. So damned different from the canon RWBY. But then again, from what I knew. She was raised by her jaded mother, Summer Rose, who felt like Taiyang just abandoned them to raise Yang, who was even a few months older than Ruby.

With Raven not actually running off, leaving Yang behind, but having to flee Vale as Summer at learning how her teammate had slept with Taiyang almost killed her killed her.

But Glynda didn't have any sympathy as she said calmly. "Your mother didn't shoot her classmates when they were relaxing between classes on her first day, either. You, as the heiress of a duke's house, will serve as plenty of warning in that case."

And Ruby flushed at realizing this punishment wasn't being directed solely toward her for her actions. It was also a warning to the nobility to behave in Beacon lest more censure be enacted.

However, I was unaware as to why Ozpin and the teachers were getting on the kids of the nobility so hard.

Finally, Ruby nodded with anger in her eyes as she said acidically. "Very well. The Goodwitch, I will be leaving now, then." 

Glynda stared at her silently before she stepped forward into Ruby's space and said bluntly. "Killing your fellow huntsmen, or even crippling them for a stupid reason, is a good way to have the Royal Family make an example out of you." 

With that, Miss Goodwitch stepped aside and Ruby, with her twin axes going over her back, strode out of the hallway... Though she naturally had to pass by me and my lips twitched at the heavy look she threw at me before she strode away.

A sigh rang out with Miss Goodwitch calling out. "Freshmen, head on to your next classroom. By the time you all get back, I will have fixed all the property damage." 

Realizing that 'Human/Faunus Suppression/Eradication Training' was going to be happening in ten minutes, I nodded with Miss Goodwitch's gaze falling on me, and said more quietly, with her voice carrying over to me magically. "Jake, my disciple Morgan Arc wishes to converse with you after classes if that is alright." 

I blinked and nodded firmly before I looked away from the blond teacher and spoke aloud to my group. "Ladies, let's get moving." As once again this was a purely huntsmen-based course, which meant that Alice and Velvet wouldn't be there with Ren, having moved himself into more supporting courses as he didn't know how to even properly fight with his body yet.

To say nothing of losing his weapons and such.

And I quickly brought my group away from all the drama with myself brushing a hand across my face, with Nora cackling. "Wow, Miss Goodwitch really nailed the nail on the head with the daddy issues comment, right?" 

I groaned aloud as I added. "Daddy issues I don't want in my area. I already have enough issues, honestly. Alright, let's get going to class. I have a feeling it's going to be a harsh class with it being all about killing human/faunus malcontents." 

After all... ' Human/Faunus Suppression/Eradication Training' didn't leave much to the fucking imagination now did it?

The classroom was actually another arena, unlike the huntsmen's law and nobility law classroom I was at previously, which was a rather dry lecture from an old, retired huntsman.

Similar to the Grimm Studies classroom and its raised classroom with a dug-in arena to give people an overview, but there was a metal gate leading somewhere within the arena.

Though I didn't have my arm canons due to being within Beacon, I still had my Fabulous Fioretto strapped to my side, and as we came to the lesson rather early, we managed to get some good seating closer to the arena.

"Hehe... So Jake, why didn't you like drop a boat on Ruby or Yang to stop them from fighting?" Nora asked with a teasing voice.

But she got cut off as New Jersey cackled and said. "Because, me and Prinz are the best boats he could ask for haha!"

And even Nora looked distraught after walking into that one.

With myself dryly remarking. "That's some family drama, I don't want any part in... I don't understand why Summer Rose and Ruby hate Raven Branwen, along with Yang for Taiyang being a slooty slut buutttt." I shrugged as I had no fucking answer.

And soon enough, my fellow freshmen began filling the classroom with Weiss being in this class as well with Jingli,u but she didn't come sit with me this time as she took her own table with Jingliu.

But instead, Pyrrha Niko had instead taken a seat in front of my group alone at her own desk... And I noticed looking back that she was always rather alone, actually.

Before the classroom could fill with too loud of conversation. The metal door in the side of the lowered arena loudly... I mean, loudly and obnoxiously creaked open with a man walking out of it.

And after a moment of thought, I recognized him as one of the teachers belonging to the neutral warrior/aura user who Ozpin actually remarked upon in 'Gelar Kharisma', who was apparently from Vacou before he immigrated here to Vale.

The seven-foot-tall man's voice was deep as he spoke with his voice silencing all within the classroom. "As Ozpin already introduced me early yesterday. But for the ones who have forgotten. My name is Gelar Kharisma, I am a man of Vacou's deserts who has come to the soft lands of Vale to teach you all how to control Humanity's greatest weakness."

His eyes, which were hidden by the helmet he wore, seemingly pierced our own eyes as his voice stated flatly. "Being that humanity's greatest weakness is itself."

He came up to the edge of the arena, and his voice softened as he spoke. "Now... I want each and every one of you to raise up a hand." Slowly, after a moment, everyone raised up a hand.

Some are above their heads, some merely laying their arms on their tables with their hands held up from that position.

After seeing everyone with their hands up in some way. Gelar asked calmly. "How many of you have taken a human or faunus life? If you have... Lower your hands." 

The room went still.

And then Mr. Kharisma's voice was filled with amusement as he spoke. "Ahhh, I see some of you have been blooded indeed." 

I noticed quite easily that Pyrrha herself, who was in front of us, had raised and then lowered her hand along with Nora, Prinz, and New Jersey, having admitted to killing others.

The man then clapped his hands together with him saying. "Good. Now, the weight of a human life taken by another human does have weight. But if done in the service of humanity itself? It will soon weigh less than a feather on the mind."

Gelar raised up a hand, and then I saw the metal door open below completely silently with another five other students or maybe a teacher's aid literally dragging a group of four or five dozen people in scraps of clothing into the arena.

"Bandits, traitors who cavort with the other kingdoms in order to lessen Vale's own power... And the most unforgivable. The wretches who become Abominations in making infernal deals with higher-ranking Grimm."

Mr. Kharisma looked upon the heavily chained and gagged people the teacher aids had dragged into the arena, and he said. "These things here are particularly traitors to Vale. They were engaged in the illegal slave trade to Mistral and were caught selling literally dozens of kidnapped children, mostly faunus, admittedly that were going to be loaded up into a cargo container and shipped to a Mistral, Dark-Sect." 

The teacher's dark eyes landed on us, and then he began listing names, with my own being mentioned before he said. "All of you who I had named... Stand up. You will be blooded here and now so that you are in a controlled environment with therapists and your retainers to comfort you if you are that mentally weak and need it." 

I swallowed as the teacher's wind magic filled the air and I realized this was a fucking order. And after a moment, I took a deep breath and stood up with steel in my core.

I looked at the teacher and I spoke. "Their crimes... This isn't a test to see if we just follow orders, is it?" I questioned.

Mr. Kharisma gave me a long look before he said calmly. "Part of this test is indeed to see if you have the strength to take a life and live as a huntsman. But no, the crimes I listed are merely one of the many that deserve death... A couple of them, knowing the children's fates once reaching the Dark Sect, were partial to sampling the merchandise as it were, even."

With that doubt smothered, I nodded. With myself being in the second row closest to the arena, I made my way into the arena first, with the teacher calling out calmly. "Ah, also. These criminals are slated to be given to the necromancers. So do not destroy their brain matter with your method of execution." 

My lips twitched at the thought of now I needed to fucking be specific and specific with my execution... Before I came to a thought, and after a moment of thought to consider if I had the strength and will to do so. I pulled out my sword as several of my classmates followed behind me, that the teacher named.

"Teacher. Which one was the one going after the kids?" I asked coldly, and after a moment, the teacher replied bluntly.

"Not telling you. These criminals simply need eradication; displaying some misplaced righteous anger is not at all part of this lesson. This is you merely taking the life of another and getting over it." 

I held in a grunt at that, and after a thought, I literally walked up to a man whose body had several cuts over it, and then, after taking a breath, I started things off by shoving my cavalry sword through his chest, where I thought his heart would be.

But as my sword hit the man... I froze as I realized with horror that the man had an aura.

With the teacher saying calmly. "Yes, you need to look your target in the eye, knowing as you work to break their aura that you are the one taking their life. Now get to it." 

I grimaced at the thought of needing to do so. And dear gods, this was fucking dark, but thankfully, the Fabulous Fioretto was a magical weapon.

So I flared my aura through the blade, making it glow as energy grew on its edges, and the man's untrained aura popped in, but a couple of moments as the enchanted blade's sharp tip stabbed through his aura and into his chest.

The man who was heavily gagged and chained snarled. But I then dragged the blade back and forth through his rib cage with the enchanted blade carving through organs and bones alike, with only the bones giving a meaty crunching feeling as I cut through them.

With that, I ripped the blade out with my face made of stone as I flared my aura through my sword, hard to explode all the gore off the sword before I sheathed it and went to sit back down on my seat.

As half of the students who weren't called to be blooded clapped for those who did the grizzly deed.

Even the teacher gave a couple of claps as well before he said. "Good. Those of you who did what needed to be done, good work... Those of you who could not, do not fear, we have cattle, chickens, and other things to bleed you on to see if you have any heart, if at all. If you fail in that... Then you may be removed from this course, which will bring issues if you plan to rise up the ranks of being a Huntsman." 

With that, Mr Kharisma had the teacher's aides go get a cart to bring the corpses and a few survivors who hadn't been picked back through the metal gate in the arena, where they would obviously be sent to the necromancy course.

And then the teacher continued speaking. "Now, I imagine this has been an enlightening class for you all. Class only has five more minutes left, so go ahead and head off to the cafeteria for lunch if you want." 

Gelar Kharisma then, with no hesitation, hopped into the arena with himself following behind the teacher's aids, going through that metal door and leaving the classroom to begin speaking rather loudly at the events that just happened.

"Jake, you alright?" Prinz asked quietly.

I held up a hand to stop her and said quietly. "I don't think I can eat right now, frankly... But I will manage. I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight, honestly."

Chapter 18

After the lesson on being blooded, with the weight of a scum bag's life on my hands, the shorter class all too soon released their students with everyone going for their lunch.

Once we got to the cafeteria, I grabbed myself a light, flavorless lunch of grilled chicken and rice, as my stomach wasn't the best after killing someone in cold blood. We all sat down with Ren, Alice, and Velvet, joining us as they got out of their own lessons as well.

"So Jake got bloodied on some criminals in the first lesson," Nora announced helpfully.

Ren raised an eyebrow, and he asked me calmly. "Would you like me to use my semblance on you, so you can eat in peace at least?" 

I blinked and I nodded, holding out a hand to him, and Ren took my hand into his android hand with his grey aura covering my hand, and then his semblance activated on me. And I lost... Literally all sense of emotion.

I couldn't feel that pit in my stomach as my mind ran over the sounds of the man's bones shattering as my sword carved through them... But even as I thought of Prinz and New Jersey, I idly realized I couldn't even muster up a spark of positive emotions either.

So I began eating as I knew I would need my strength with the actual combat class coming for the last mandatory lesson of the day. With myself being enrolled in Aura/Semblance training along with melee combat.

As Lux, my master was supposed to be responsible for my magical education.

"Thanks," I said perfunctorily to Ren, not really feeling any gratitude but knowing it was the proper thing to say.

'Huh... No wonder he doesn't feel anything for Nora if this is his default. No love, no despair, just a grey void of existence with only sparks of emotion flaring up before his overused semblance drowns his mind if his mind even produces the chemicals to experience emotions anymore.' I mused.

And so I kept eating with my stomach having calmed down, and I realized Ren's semblance only lasted literally a couple of minutes as I could feel my emotions and illogical thoughts coming back up to the foreground of my mind.

But it still let me eat most of my food in peace as the girls left me alone to share their own conversation.

Until I finally finished my food and was back to feeling like myself and Nora gave me a wry smile. "Rennie's semblance can feel a bit weird for people the first time he uses it on them." She spoke, and I nodded.

"It was certainly something, useful for avoiding the Grim, obviously. But I imagine it also keeps the user calm and cool-headed to think in serious situations." 

Ren nodded with a small smile at the advantages of his semblance being listed. With Nora pouting about her own semblance being much more needy in needing lightning or lots of electricity to be useful.

In either case, I popped my neck and asked. "So who is ready for combat training?" 

Ren gave a shrug and then said with a wry smile. "I am taking the assassination course for going after Abominations in particular. Whole different lesson plan." 

Nora pouted and said softly. "Uhm... I signed myself up for magic lessons. I can already smash things really good with Magnhild. But if I can learn lightning elemental magic to activate my semblance at will better that will be huge."

I nodded in understanding, knowing the Prinz and New Jersey would be the only ones with me for this lesson out of my ground, as both of them were already masters of ranged combat, to say the least.

With Alice and Velvet both being busy with their runic, enchantment, and forging training, they were doing so for their own goals. 

Either way, I finished my food and joined in the conversation Velvet and Alice were having. "So with rising Dust prices, it's going to be a bit hard to buy truly high-grade dust as most are being hoarded by Dust Casters and mages. To say nothing of the Valian army itself." I mused before I tilted my head to the side.

"Well, it's good I can still manifest Dust munitions, remember... Just gotta disarm the bombs or missiles that contain the Dust and you can use them." I said with a wry smile, making Velvet and Alice chuckle, with Alice saying darkly.

"Probably safer than being someone alive working in an illegal Dust mine." And thus I was reminded of an interesting fact of this RWBY world. In this world, miners weren't alive... That grunt work was done by the undead who only needed to follow simple orders given by the necromancer.

As Dust mining wasn't fucking safe at all!

Imagine you are mining fire Dust and you inhale the particles for the fire Dust... Your lungs could literally boil from the inside when the dust-filled air hits your lungs and is enhanced via the body's natural aura.

Yeah fuck that noise.

"So Jake, any idea when you are going to get your mana pool opened?" Nora asked me curiously.

I shrugged and said honestly. "I have zero fucking clue, Nora. The nobility has all magical knowledge locked up tighter for the general public than a nun's asshole."

All the girls rolled their eyes at how crass my reply was. But none refuted my statement as it was more than true.

"Anyway. Prinz, New Jersey. Any idea of what kind of melee weapons you plan to use?" I asked curiously.

New Jersey grinned and then held up her fists in a comical boxing stance as she said. "Heh, I just wanna learn how to apply my aura to some punch so I can get more distance to use the strongest martial art... Huge artillery!"

'Can't exactly argue with that.' I thought with a chuckle escaping me as Prinz admitted the same, though she wanted me to make her a special, unique module, which were boots that would make her stronger, so she wanted to pick up some practice kicking.

And so our group finished their food, everyone split off after I told them I was going straight to Lux's tower to begin learning magic from Cinder and to get my mana pool unlocked after our next lesson.

The next classroom actually took place in its own separate, smaller but still large stadium, with only a small classroom attached to it where we awaited our teacher.

"So you plan on sticking to your Fabulous Fioretto?" Prinz asked curiously as we claimed a corner of the classroom away from everyone else who was entering the class. 

In response, I hummed and held my hand out, and began forming the 'Lucky Ship's Punishers', which was Prinz's own special module that would make her stronger.

After creating them outside of the view of my classmates, I handed the metal shoes of to Prinz, with them just teleporting onto her feet when they touched her hand.

"Well, well, a girl is going to get jealous seeing you give another woman such beautiful shoes." New Jersey teased me.

I rolled my eyes and spoke with some amusement. "Sadly, you don't have your own unique augment module... But that honestly makes sense with how you are one of the strongest." 

And New Jersey just preened, but before we could speak more, the room quieted down as everyone watched as Pyrrha Nikos and Ruby Rose walked into the room. With Ruby's latest actions, it made sense why my fellow freshmen were giving Ruby the side eye.

But I didn't know why everyone was giving Pyrrha disdainful looks, even if they also feared her as well.

And the room remained on the quieter side until the lesson's time to start closed in.

But when the lesson started, I raised an eyebrow as instead of a single teacher there was three. First was Mr. Kharisma, which sorta made sense as he taught aura/semblance use. Another was Miss Laurent, the Grand Duelist. And lastly was another large armored man who was armed with a large metal mace.

With Miss Laurent speaking up over the whispers of the students. "Students, the combat training will take place over the stadium's three floors with three different points of focus."

She pointed at herself and said. "I will be teaching blade work, while my colleague Mr. Kalos will be teaching blunt heavy weapons, along with unarmed combat, while Udry is busy today wrangling some upperclassmen who did something stupid. Mr. Kharisma will also be teaching more exotic weapons as well."

Miss Laurent's eyes skated over us all with her slightly accented voice becoming more serious as she continued. "Now, all of you who use blades stay where you are. The rest go on with the teachers, your fighting style follows."

Prinz gave my shoulder a squeeze while New Jersey patted my back before they went on ahead. Taking most of the class with them, leaving only a quarter of the class, of like ten people, who used swords.

"Come with me to the dueling sands. From now on, this is where we will be meeting unless you wish to spend some time in Mr. Kharisma's eyes working on your aura and semblance." Miss Laurent said as she led the swordsmen through a hallway and pushed open a door which opened up to a large room filled with fifteen individual sand pits for people to spar and fight in.

"If you can keep your footing in a sand pit. You will be able to keep your footing anywhere else. Also, we do change the sand pits out for mud, ice, and debris-filled forest-themed floors." The teacher said with an evil smile before she looked at us sternly.

"Now! While in the dueling pits, you will call me Fiora, not Miss Laurent or the Grand Duelist or anything else. When we are in the fighting pits, nobility and bloodline has no place in the dance of blades." 

She then looked to Pyrrha and Weiss and said plainly. "And that logic will go to the rest of you as well. If I hear someone calling you Lady Schnee, or Miss Nikos, I will have both of the parties running circles in the stadium until they puke." 

My lips twitched as Weiss looked rather offended, but she didn't say anything as a light but deadly sharp intent seemingly tickled our throats. With Fiora's eyes glinted with steel-grey intent.

'So that's sword intent.' I thought as I could feel Fiora's intent to cut gliding over our forms before Fiora pulled it back, and that grey steel light in her eyes faded.

"Now, some of you don't have much, if any, sword skills with how smooth your hands are. Without any calluses, nor a true intent behind the blades you carry on your back or waist... So as I set you all up with partners, you will be sparring without magic or semblances, and I will take some of you aside to give more personal lessons within the next three hours I have you." Fiora explained.

Fiora hummed in thought before she began listing names, and after a moment,t she spoke. "Jake Bariss, you are with Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha, you may also advise Jake on his swordplay as you are an expert-level swordsman." 

I raised an eyebrow, hearing Pyrrha was just one level below Master tier, but then again, that fit Pyrrha's competitive, highly skilled, and talented canon self.

"Be gentle, please," I said with a wry smile.

To which Pyrrha coughed and spoke with an equally wry smile. "I will try not to hit past your aura at least... Jake, right, can I call you that instead of your last name?" 

I was reminded about Mistral being a Greek/Roman and other mythology mixed with Wuxia themes that kept to Sects and Clans besides the main city of Mistral itself.

"Yeah, that's fine," I said simply as I unsheathed my blade, the Fabulous Fioretto, and I ran my aura through the blade as I pulled at the skills I had a sailor/admiral.

Pyrrha held out her hand, and my face twitched as the sand beneath my feet rumbled with dark dust flying up, and I saw the dust form a sword out of the iron and other metal particulates inside her hand.

"Come, Jake." She said with a confident smile, but I could tell there was a hint of something in her gaze as she looked upon me.

And so I came at her, my saber slashing through the air, and I held in a flinch as I backstepped when Pyrrha stepped forward, when our swords clashed. 'She is stronger than me physically for sure.' I thought.

Which made sense... With how she was an Expert-level Martial Artist, so I re-oriented myself as I fell into the swordplay that my Admiral Essence downloaded into me. 

The saber clashed with her conjured sword of iron held together by her polarity semblance or magic... I didn't know, honestly. But they clashed with Pyrrha's sword slipping down mine, and I pushed forward so the basket on the saber would block the blade.

I came forward with a kick going for her own leg and I saw Pyrrha stiffen and as my leg hit her leg she just took the hit and before I could react she shoved our clashing blades backward and as I was off balance she sliced across me across the waist and then as I brought my sword to block another such blow, she stabbed me in the shoulder.

"Ow," I said dryly, feeling the sting of the force of her blows through my aura, but I squared back up and went back to fighting her with my Admiral Essence, enhancing my swordplay.

And so the battle continued, with Pyrrha handily kicking my ass. But not overwhelmingly, sure, she got some good hits on me, but I had the skill to prevent far worse blows, and I was able to keep her locked in combat with me while she wasn't using any special martial techniques.

"Hmm, now it's my turn to take on offense." She said with a smile as she advanced on me, and I began skating across the sand and treating it like I was fighting on choppy waters, with how Pyrrha began throwing me around with her enhanced strength. 

"Your footwork is great, Jake, so is your defense! But you lack a killing edge in your sword." Pyrrha said as she stabbed forward with her long sword of combined iron sand. And even as I went to bat aside her blade, she instead batted my blade aside and used the force of her slapping my sword downwards to bring her sword towards my throat.

Her sword rested near my neck even as I hurriedly stepped back, with her slowly pulling back her sword and the sword falling apart into iron dust that fell to the ground. "Well, Jake... You need to harden your edge within your heart. You have strength in your arm, but your blade doesn't have to follow through, and thats what is blocking you from walking down the path of a sword master." 

My lips twitched as I heard Pyrrha advise me about becoming a sword master... Which in reality, I wanted to become a master of just having the biggest aura and mana pool so I could summon more shipgirls.

But I knew that becoming a Master or even better, a swordsman, would give me a much stronger body and aura. So I listened as Pyrrha passionately spoke and recited some wuxia 'The blade in the heart must be equal to the blade in your hand' speech.

So I sat down on the edge of the sand next to Pyrrha as she continued to speak with a smile on how I could improve, though most of it was seemingly a mental state that mattered. "And finally, although your fighting style has some grounding. You need a true martial art style that resonates with you if you wish to step forward as a true swordsman." She finished firmly.

I hummed and then replied honestly. "That will be something I will need to look into at some point. However, I have just become Lady Crownguard's disciple, so I will need to focus on magic for now."

Pyrrha pouted slightly, hearing that, but she nodded and said more seriously. "Martial Arts and Magic are both extremely powerful. But when they are both properly harnessed with their power combined, then someone can do great things." 

Before she could continue, a loud yell rang out and I looked over and my lips twitched at what I saw.

Jingliu, Weiss's guardian, was just manhandling two people at once with her great sword, sending the two people skidding back at least five meters with each casual blow.

"Hmm, she is an Expert-level swordsman as well," Pyrrha spoke as she gazed at Jingliu, and my lips twitched as I could all but see the competitive light in her eyes that wanted her to walk over there and challenge her.

But regardless, she took a deep breath, and we watched Jinglu beat two other swordsmen into the ground with no mercy or even interest.

With Fiora's sword intent filling the air as she said. "Jingliu, you spar with Pyrrha. The fight isn't to leave your sand pits, though. Jake, get in the pit with me." 

I mentally groaned as I got up and got into the pits with Fiora as Pyrrha happily danced into the sand pit that radiated cold energy as Jingliu reinforced her greatsword with ice.

"Go ahead and attack me, Jake," Fiora said as she drew out her sword.

So I stepped forward with my saber, slashing towards her side, and as her hand twitched and blocked the sword, I tried to drag the sword downwards to clip her leg, but she just twisted her thin dueling sword, and I stepped back from the point of her blade that threatened to spear my throat.

"I will not move from my spot, Jake, even if I will counter your blows... Just treat me as a soundboard for techniques and attacks, and I will advise you when appropriate." Fiora said primly as she held up her dueling sword before slashing outwards with a flick that sent a wave of air to the side that sent a wave of sand to the edge of the pit precisely.

'I am so outmatched it's not even funny.' I thought as I honestly chuckled out loud at just how far I needed to go if I wanted to personally be strong in this world.

So I continued attacking Fiora, and she punished me for each gross overstep or overextension with her sword, stabbing and slapping my limbs as a reminder of how I overextended.

"Hmm, you have a strong sense of fluid motion. A water-themed martial art would fit you the best." She said casually as she sheathed her sword with one hand and then pinched my saber between her pointer finger and thumb before she let go with the other hand.

"Your aura is low, and your breath is long. Relax, and digest this lesson." Fiora said with her accent coming a bit stronger as she walked away towards another dueling pit, allowing me to relax for a minute.

A couple of minutes later, as I was relaxing to get my breath back. I raised an eyebrow as Weiss sat down next to me with her eyes wincing as she held her side when she sat down. "That teacher... She fights as a duelist, but she kills like a butcher!" Weiss complained.

"Did she break your aura?" I asked Weiss, who shook her head, and I shrugged. "Then, although it hurts-"

But Weiss cut me off as she said dryly. "It's not the same, the Laurents have bad blood with Atlas, so she hit me a good deal harder with her intent going through my aura... See how she is playing with Pyrrha and Jingliu? She is suppressing them with her Sword Intent." 

I watched, whereas before Jingliu and Pyrrha were fighting evenly with Jingliu having an advantage in strength. But not Fiora was casually walking around with her sword glowing with the slightest hint of silver sword intent to bully Jingliu and Fiora.

"Because you ladies are foreign?" I asked blankly with Weiss snorting and saying flatly.

"Precisely... Though Mistral has its own major issues with Vale, so it's nothing unexpected even if Pyrrha has fled her clan. Still, her actions against me and my retainer will smooth over after she establishes herself." Weiss finished boredly, even if there was still some pain in her tone.

And after that, Weiss remained silent for a long while along with myself before Weiss continued as class was coming to a close. "Have you spoken to your master about the Class Trial coming soon?" 

I shook my head and said frankly. "No, she is busy with the new term, and she is having her own disciple in Cinder Fall help open my Mana pool. I will get my information on the trial from her after classes today." 

Seeing Weiss's lips purse, I continued calmly. "However, you have already approached me for a team, and should I take part in it. I want to work with you, and my Shipgirls and retainers can help us if you don't already have more people."

Weiss raised an elegant eyebrow before she inquired. "How many people do you have in your entourage that would take part in this?"

I hummed, and then, doing some mental math, I said Honestly. "Well, at least four fighters, including myself, and two retainers to take care of our living situation. collecting information and repairing any weapon damage, and another retainer who is well-suited to controlling my summoned weapons. So seven altogether on my side." 

Weiss was silent for a minute before she stated. "The teams have a max capacity of ten members, and although I understand the desire for your retainers, we need at least another front-line fighter." 

She then looked at Pyrrha and said. "Alongside Jingliu and myself... What about Pyrrha, would you have an issue with her heritage if she joined us?" Weiss asked bluntly, and I realized it was also a question about my character, if I cared about people being from other nations.

And I just said flatly. "Weiss, I am a commoner; I am not from a royal family. Nor am I remotely attached to politics; I have no personal issue with Pyrrha unless I found out she literally eats babies or something."

To which Weiss actually gaped at me for my comparison before she visibly reset herself, shaking her head and saying with a wry smile. "Well... Not nearly that bad, though the Nikos has a long history of slavery." 

'Whelp, that fits the Greek theme... But thats all the fucking way in Mistral. Literally not my problem.' I thought and I verbalized that as I said simply. "This is Vale... Mistral's might makes right culture isn't my problem." 

Weiss only had a hum of thought as we both watched as Jingliu and Pyrrha made their way back to us, with both girls having light limps in their steps from the thrashing Fiora gave them.

But... This class still had more than two hours of lessons, so I knew this was just a short break before we got swapped around for more ass-kicking.

Before that could happen, however, Weiss decided to rip the band-aid off as she asked. "Pyrrha, would you care to join my team for the Class Trial next weekend?" 

The red-haired beauty paused at the sudden question, and then she smiled awkwardly as she asked carefully. "Weiss, is it your team. Or is it Jake's large entourage with you, trying to take leadership with just Jingliu following you?" 

The princess of Atlas gave Pyrrha a dark look before saying flatly. "The latter." 

There was a moment of awkward silence before Pyrrha looked away from Weiss after some long, silent eye contact with her, shyly brushing a hand through her long red mane of hair, and she asked quietly. "Soooo Jake... Do you think I could join your team?" 

The way that Pyrrha put emphasis on 'your team' made Weiss visibly twitch, even though her facial expression remained carefully neutral, and I wanted to scream internally as Weiss slowly looked at me with hollow eyes as she waited for my response.

'Look upon the wild Jake Bariss in his natural habitat... My, he is in a most precarious position, stuck between two alpha females with dark intent in their eyes. What will Jake do now?' I thought with a British documentary voice as I brought a hand across my face.

Finally, I decided to just go for it and said. "Yeah, Pyrrha, you are welcome to my team."

And the moment I said that, I saw Weiss scowl before it disappeared, and she rolled her eyes as she snarked lightly. "Is there something wrong with my leadership, Nik-Pyrrha?" She tripped over the name as she glanced over at Fiora, who, even across the roo,m looked over and gave Weiss a cool smile that made me shiver. 

Pyrrha herself was quiet for a moment before she took a deep breath and said frankly. "I don't think you have any ability to lead Weiss in an operation here in Vale. You have spent your entire life in Atlas as royalty with alchemical golems and automatons doing the grunt work of fighting."

For a moment, I thought Weiss was going to explode on Pyrrha for the delivery, before Weiss actually slowly nodded and then admitted. "That's fair... I am indeed not used to Vale's method of Grimm extermination. In Atlas, we use the harsh weather to our advantage and kill the majority of Grimm through the unrelenting storms of ice and lightning, along with our alchemical creations to act as a front-line buffer. But here in Vale, we have to manually deal with the Grimm."

"Hence why I wanted Jake on my team to act as the front line buffer with his creations and summoned weaponry and fortifications." She finished with Pyrrha looking at Weiss in some shock, with the white-haired princess snorting.

"What? I am not stupid, although I am offended you think I am not suitable for leadership. I do respect your correct opinion that Vale's Grimm is different from Atlas's, along with the resources we will have at our disposal." Weiss said with some annoyance aimed at Pyrrha.

With Jingliu then cutting in coldly. "Thankfully, we didn't need to give you the same response for why you shouldn't lead a group as well,l Pyrrha." 

And I saw a flash of anger... Then shame crossed Pyrrha's face before she nodded stiffly as she said. "I came to Vale for a fresh start... Not to live the Mistral way. As I am sure you have your own reasons for coming to Vale rather than staying in Atlas." 

With Weiss simply remaining silent while I sat there awkwardly... I had no stakes in this argument after all.

Then, after a moment, Weiss spoke up. "Jake, now that we have both rested for a few minutes. Let us return to the sparring sands... Lest our teacher decide to make us both fight her together." 

And I nodded, standing up and offering Weiss a hand to stand up, where I went into the dueling sands to continue sparring with Weiss and the rotating between other people for the next couple hours between breaks.

[Morgan Arc- Hello Jake, I hope this message finds you well after your first day of lessons. And the blooding you went through,
If it's not inconvenient, I, along with my sisters here in Beacon, would like to meet my fellow lineage disciple after your lessons with Lady Crownsguard around 7, perhaps? I can have dinner delivered by my Master's servants and we can discuss how Beacon and other topics.]

Attached to the message was a picture of Morgan Arc... And seeing the picture, I certainly wasn't going to refuse.

Chapter 19

I was rather exhausted after the long series of sparring sessions, though on the brighter side, Mr. Kharisma would be working with me on my aura control, and working to find my actual semblance tomorrow, so it wouldn't be as intensive the next day.

Once class was over, I went directly back to my suite and went to get myself cleaned up, and it was only as I was in the shower that I realized how Nora was still being a little gremlin. "Heya, boss-man! Was wondering if I could wash your back, ya know?" 

My lips twitched seeing Nora with a towel wrapped around her chest, and I wondered if New Jersey and Prinz deliberately let Nora in... Before I shrugged and said. "Alright, I... Go ahead, I am not going to stop you."

If Nora was deadset on playing with fire, I wasn't going to play the gentleman now that I knew Ren was all but chemically neutered through overusing his semblance for the majority of his life.

I turned my back to Nora as I got back to washing my hair, and I sat down on the small chair that was in the shower as even for the 'commoner' side of things. It was clear the school expected retainers to be involved with the other students.

So rather than forcing people into tight-as-hell showers, they might as well just shove two large high-pressure shower heads together so multiple people could shower at once to get clean.

I felt Nora's hand, which was filled with a soap bar, begin rushing down my back after a soft thump rang out. I realized that Nora had abandoned her towel to jump in the shower with me.

"Soooo," Nora whispered softly as her other hand, which was covered in a washcloth, began scrubbing at my back. "You alright after the day? I mean, you popped your cherry after all. In cold blood at that." 

I exhaled and said honestly. "Truthfully... I am internalizing it pretty easily. Probably easier than I should be, with the thought process of them being slavers and traitors to humanity making it easy to stomach." 

There was a pause before Nora spoke slowly. "Jake, I... Ren and I went through a lot moving from Mistral to Vale over the years. We had to kill... A lot of people that wanted to enslave us, Ren is... Was very handsome and had a great talent for martial arts, so sects would buy him as a disciple. And myself? I could be turned into some kind of electricity generator with how I so obviously have such a high lightning attribute." 

"Being around Pyrrha, Jake... To those ideals of killing that slaver as evil, you have to realize that even to me and Ren, who were gutter rats. We knew of the Nikos estate, which was infamous for making magical wine and being the major breadbasket of Mistral in producing insane amounts of food." 

Nora was quiet for a moment as I digested that, and she said softly. "Such a massive estate can't be run even by one family or clan... The Nikos clan is infamous for their volcanic and metal-affecting semblances and magic. Which is matched with their volatile, explosive tempers and cruelty to their slaves."

An exhale escaped me as I swallowed back my instinctive. 'Pyrrha isn't like that.' Because Ruby herself was a far different person, having lived a life of much more responsibility and being raised by Summer Rose.

Was Ruby just a bitch or even just straight-up evil? I had no clue, as the only interaction I had had with her. Was her in the act of pursuing a blood vendetta she had probably been raised with?

So that swung back to Pyrrha in this world... She was raised part of a clan with her mother, who was a Sage being their leader, and was involved in brutal, back-breaking slavery work, as Mistral didn't like using undead for menial civilian work for some odd reason.

Do I push Pyrrha away or just avoid her like Weiss was surprised with my disregard of her clan's actions?

And finally, I came to my own mental decision, as I already said previously. "Mistral's issues are Mistral's issues... Vale isn't perfect for sure with their obsession with nobility, but so long as Pyrrha isn't going around enslaving people, I won't alienate her for her clan's actions." 

Nora was silent for a moment before I froze, feeling her large 'Happy Bumpers' push onto my back as Nora gave me a firm hug with her arms wrapping around my waist.

"Thank you, Jake... I am happy you also don't think less of Ren and me for being street rat orphans!" Nora cried out emotionally, making my lips twitch as she gave me titty filled bear hug and made me stand up lest she knock me off the small stool I was sitting on.

And in standing up and turning so I didn't get pushed into the wall by Nora's typical emotional hugs of doom... We got turned around, so she was hugging me around the front.

Nora pausing in her full-body hug as she felt something picking her waist, with my manhood being the obvious answer.

"Hehe... Jake got excited, didn't he?" Nora teased with her sticking her tongue out at me, making me, in turn, roll my eyes.

And Nora's eyes widened as a loud 'Plap!' rang out as I spanked one of her ample ass cheeks. With my hand landing back on the ass cheek, I slapped and said with wonder. "God damn Nora. All those pancakes are making stacks back here." 

The woman paused for a moment before she snorted, and I felt her push her ass into my hand slightly as she looked up to and snarked. "Are you calling my ass fat? Or worse... Doughy?" 

To which I nodded and said with complete honesty. "Nora, you got a thick ass that is a delight to squeeze... Thank you for the honor." 

And Nora just giggled as one hand of hers went to my length and another got wrapped up in soap before also going to my length. "Well, fine then. Go ahead and play with my dumpy while I make sure you can walk fine to meet with your magic teacher without scarring her for life, haha." 

It was actually comforting to hear Nora joking about this, even if her ample breasts showed more of her own arousal as her light pink nipples stood at proud attention in our shared shower.

"Now come on, Jake... Don't make me put it in my mouth, I just got it all soaped up after all." Nora teased as her hands aggressively milked my lubed-up length.

I exhaled and just relaxed against Nora a bit while my free hand that wasn't on her ass went to play with a titty and after a couple more minutes of Nora whispering joking lewd things I reached my peak with Nora letting go with one hand to hold me around the waist so I didn't slip in the bath while her other hand remained devoted to milking my dick.

"And there ya go, Jake! Nora Valkyrie strikes again muahah and now I have stolen your cummies haha!" Nora cackled like a mad fucking witch as she literally skipped out of the shower and licked the white streaks of my semen off her hand as I watched the chaotic force of nature go.

And what a wonder sight it was to behold as her thick ass bounced with her skipping away with her prize.

'Well... That was fucking something.' I thought as my lips twitched when I realized I still hadn't gotten a chance to wash my hair yet.

-

After finishing up getting clean, and then dressed for a meeting with my master. And Cinder, who would be the one doing my lessons with how Lux was supposed to be busy.

"You girls be good. I am heading out for my lessons." I called out with Velvet and Alice bidding me goodbye as Prinz and New Jersey were busy drinking their oil and only deigned to wave me goodbye... The ingrates!

Either way, with a pep in my step after the wonderful shower, I made my way through Beacon's massive campus, passing by hundreds of people, students, and huntsmen alike who were here doing their own thing until I reached the wards of Lux's tower, where I was supposed to meet with Cinder. 

[Cinder, I am here at the tower. Where should I meet you?] I messaged her.

And within but a couple of minutes, I got a message back. [Meet me at the fourth floor. It's the ritual room and will serve well in getting you in touch with mana.]

So the fourth floor I went. 

'Well, this is a rather big room.' I thought as I took in the massive room where dozens of glowing glyphs were contained within ritual circles, and sitting at a large table was Cinder, whose glowing eyes stared at my form before she nodded at me and waved me over.

After I walked over, Cinder got up with a mild sigh, making me raise an eyebrow that turned into a scowl as Cinder said coldly. "Jake, do not move... You have a magical glyph on you." 

I stood perfectly still as Cinder walked up to me, and after a moment, her hand pinched my shirt and pulled it up out of my pants, where I scowled, seeing a lightly glowing blue glyph of sorts on my side.

"The mana in the room is so thick that all glyphs, runes, and other things are forced to manifest... So Jake, strip down completely." Cinder ordered frankly.

I paused for a minute before I exhaled, and I knew if I was going to put my life in Cinder's hands to teach me magic. Getting naked was nothing.

And after stripping down to my underwear, I quickly checked inside my underwear while Cinder checked around my body. "You only have the one magical glyph... A simple one that stores auditory data, and then when the caster touches you again, they can transfer all that data to their own glyph to listen to its contents at will." 

I scowled, hearing that, and I had... A fairly fucking good idea of who did this, as only one mage really touched me today, that wasn't Glynda Goodwitch with her magic. And she wouldn't have done this at all.

Weiss Fucking Schnee put the glyph on me almost certainly. "Thankfully... There is an easy solution to this. And you can find out who did this." Cinder spoke as she took out a small grey razor blade and I shivered realizing that was Aurablight in her hands.

"I am going to do a blood ward over the Glyph... And once the caster goes to collect the data, it will naturally go back to them... Very painfully and violently as the Glyph will attack them with their own internal mana." Cinder said calmly as she cut open her finger with the Aurablight razor.

"Will this hurt or mess with in any way?" I asked calmly.

And Cinder looked at me with those glowing amber orbs, and she said bluntly. "Oh, it's going to hurt like a hot iron over your skin... Why ask?" 

I took a breath and, without hesitation, I put a thumb to my chest and asked. "Can you give me a rune, a glyph, or a ward. That will help block such casual attacks?"

There was a pause before Cinder said frankly. "What you are asking is a body-locked curse that will protect you from other people's non-concentrated foolish things, correct?" 

To which I nodded, and she continued calmly. "That would require me to magically engrave the wards onto your very bones... So that your entire body would be protected from foot to head." 

"If you got the time and patience, Cinder... I would appreciate this boon." I said firmly, with Cinder raising an eyebrow as she seemingly re-evaluated me completely.

"Very well, Jake, a fellow disciple who is willing to go so far. Will only bring Lux and myself honor. So I will perform the ritual on you... After I cover this glyph anyway. I doubt you will be able to focus on my magical lessons before we do the ritual in any case." 

Cinder led me over to a chair, and then, after a moment of thought, she handed me a small silk pad with her saying. "Bite onto the silk... Magically fixing teeth is also rather painful, and this will likely be more painful than you are used to." 

I nodded and put the silk pad in my mouth before my front agaisnt the chair as Cinder took another chair and came over to my side. "This is going to hurt." Cinder reminded me firmly, and I just grunted to tell her to get on with it as I held the sides of the wooden chair.

And in the side of my vision, I saw the finger she cut open with the Aurablight lit up in dark crimson flames, and I just closed my eyes as the finger came in... The moment the flaming finger touched me, however, I growled into the silk pad.

As it felt like Cinder was drawing over my skin with a burning hot metal poker or something.

It was only the fact I was holding onto the chair so firmly that kept me from leaping up from the chair as I kept my aura down as well.

Finally, a full minute later, of what felt like Cinder drawing on me with a red-hot iron poker, the agony abruptly stopped, and I felt blissful cold air hitting my inflamed skin. "There, the glyph is done... You ready for the runic protection?" 

I nodded as I relaxed my face into my arms, with Cinder standing up behind me, and I stiffened, feeling her hands trace over my back, and then she began counting as she drew her hand over my ribs and spine. "One, three, seven, nine, eleven... Now to seal all evils." 

And I hissed as I felt Cinder's nails digging into my skin, with her softly whispering. "Let me in, Jake... Keep your aura down." 

I held in the instinctive desire to summon a fucking grenade to blow Cinder away as she cooed softly, as her fingernails acted as four blades basically, and I felt the hand push through my muscles, and then her fingertips gently curled around a rib of mine.

And then I screamed into the gag as what felt like liquid fire combined with a fucking demented dentist's tooth drill filled my body as a loud grinding noise rang out as Cinder used her magic to engrave runes across my body's bones."

"The worst is over, Jake... I am already doing it. Just close your eyes and think of slowly eating your favorite meal, each bite taking at least five seconds, with you savoring each bite." Cinder coaxed me gently as I shivered and shuddered at the agony filling my form.

Soft crunching noises were Cinder's answer as I cracked the old wood of the no doubt antique chair's thinner spokes that acted as the back of the chair.

But I held firm.... As no doubt, myself, trying to leap up from the chair, could do some terrible shit to me if Cinder's hand hooked into my rib, decided to clench and break my rib from the inside.

And not at all soon enough. The agony came to a close. Cinder pulled her bloodied hand from my back and covered my wound with a square of silk to soak up the blood as she said. "Let me go get a healing potion and tincture. Don't move."

I waited with my breath coming out rather ragged from all the pain I just been through, and Cinder came in front of me with her holding out a glowing red potion. "Here, don't move your arms as it will stress the back wound. I will pour it slowly." 

And so Cinder carefully gave me the healing potion to drink before she popped another vial that she poured over the wound after removing the silk, making me hiss as the liquid burned as it entered the wound. "You will be all healed up within the next half-hour, rather than needing a solid week of your back muscles being weak, so just relax." 

Cinder spoke as she pulled a couple of marker boards in front of my face as and then she popped her neck before saying. "Should I begin the magic lesson now? Or are you in too much pain to pay attention?"

She wasn't being sarcastic or cruel; she was honestly asking if I was in too much pain to be paying attention. So I took a breath and said honestly. "In a bit of pain... So stick to the easier topics for a few minutes I guess."

Cinder nodded with a small smile before she coughed, and then her fingernail tapped on the board before she spoke. "So Jake, where does magic come from?" 

I tilted my head to the side as I considered the question... Before I answered unsurely. "Uhh... The mana core inside of ourselves?"

To which Cinder firmly shook her head and said calmly. "No, Jake, although you are correct in terms of when mages already having formed their magical core and then use their internal magic to perform spells far more easily. But no, in all cases, magical energy must... MUST come from outside the human body, which is how the magical core is opened."

Cinder made a circle on the board with her writing 'magical core' inside it. "Now, Jake, a magical core, no matter who opens or creates it... Is always, always different for each and every user. With their personal magical core, all having pros and cons to their formations." 

I watched Cinder, but a hand between her ample breasts, and she continued. "My magical core is a building thats on flames... I won't bore you with the symbolism, but I have a very strong talent for fire magic and I am able to feed magical energy thats can typically feed a house fire if found in their natural types to the flames to fuel them." 

"In more simple words... I am a hard counter to people who use undead, wood, and other fire magic, along with some other niche things. In either case, I will be helping you open your magical core if you are ready?" 

Nodding, I saw Cinder pull up another chair next to me, and she spoke. "Good, so while we wait for you to be in a more relaxed state, with the wound being healed. Do you have any questions for me as your senior?" 

"What's the big deal about the Class Trial? Ruby Rose, the heiress of the Rose, Duke house, caused a big scene and got into trouble with her chances at doing the best at the trial being lessened. Making her extremely angry." I asked curiously as I steadfastly kept still, even if I wanted to squirm at my back healing at high speed and itching something fierce.

Cinder paused at hearing my question before she exhaled and said. "Ah, yes, the class trial... Well, I assume you wish to take part in it correct?" At my unsure nod, she hummed again before saying frankly.

"It has its pros and con's Jake... Doing very well will obviously bring you great prestige, along with bringing honor to Lux. But should you gain the God of Light Church's gaze, that can complicate your life greatly, especially if you take their blessing for winning."

"What does the blessing do? I heard Weiss mention it, but thats it."

"The Church, through the ritual sacrifice of pure evil in a captured Abomination, will gain the brief attention of the God of Light. And while thats done, you will be in a pool of holy oil while virgin nuns who have been raised within the Church with their eyes plucked out to see no evil in their lives, along with their hearing ruined to also prevent them from hearing evil."

Cinder had to audibly take a breath before she continued. "The teams of nuns will wash you and your teammates in their own separate pools to purge you of filth and sin... Then the God of Light's grace will fill the pools and you will be blessed with a hint of his 'Divine' Light, which will make all your Magic and Martial Arts have a hint of his grace, which is beyond toxic to Grimm." 

With that, Cinder let me absorb that information for a long minute before she continued. "You already have a sizable group. Did you plan on taking on any other people?"

I nodded and said with a bit of a frown. "Yes, Weiss Schnee approached me in hopes of myself and my people helping her, and her retainer be the most successful team. With Pyrrha Nikos of Mistral also joining the team after she asked me to be the leader, after refusing to entertain Weiss being the leader." 

"Weiss Schnee... She is a bit of a black sheep of sorts. She refused to uphold Schnee traditions in either marrying a General of Atlas or becoming one herself, like her sister Winter did." Cinder mused idly before her face hardened as she said more firmly.

"Pyrrha... Is a bit of a sensitive topic, especially with our headmaster being someone who has gone out of their way to steal all of the wine from the Niko's estate on several occasions... Stealing all the slaves and then dropping them off here in Vale, showing up when Pandora Nikos was fighting high-end Grimm, only for him to kill the Grimm and steal the materials before leaving with his time stopping before she could do anything." 

"Why does it sound like Ozpin has an obsession for bullying Pyrrha's mom?" I asked with some amusement.

And Cinder looked at me with a wry smile crossing her face as she continued with amusement. "Oh no... Pandora Nikos isn't that special. Ozpin just loves driving the Mistral Sages up the wall, as he grew up fighting Mistral Slavers most of his life. At least before he became a Grandmaster and then began looking at the bigger world picture." 

Cinder shook her head as she sighed. "It's hard to look at Ozpin as such a terrifying demi-god of a warrior when he regularly does things like sealing a thousand farts into the Sage King of Mistral's cologne... Or spending literal days worth of time hand plucking every single grape in the Nikos's vineyard to prevent them from having a harvest."

"Gods... Thats just so fucking petty, haha." I chuckled with disbelief, and I made a mental note to check in with Pyrrha about this.

As this was honestly just some Reverse Flash level of pettiness.

But with that, Cinder coughed and spoke. "Hmm, if Weiss was actually the person who put the glyph on you. I suggest using the weakness she will show by proving to be caught in doing so to show dominance over her." 

I raised an eyebrow and said, unsurely. "You sure messing around with a Royal, even if she is from Atlas, is a good idea?" 

To which Cinder nodded and said calmly. "You, as a student of Luxanna, who is the heiress of the Crownsguard family, had spying glyphs laid on himself. Putting a foreign royal in her place will only help the Valian royal's opinion of you."

I tilted my head to the side as I asked curiously. "Thought Garen, her older brother, would be the heir of the family, honestly." 

But my words made Cinder grimace as she then spoke carefully. "Jake... Do not mention Garen so casually. He is a sore topic with the Crownsguard family about how he joined the First Princes' Peerage. Which, with the how, First Prince serves as an expedition leader. And taking on Apocalypse and the lesser but still highly dangerous Transcendent Grimm, he could very easily just die should the First Prince fall during one of those expeditions." 

'So the Crownsguard's family head was removed from being the heir due to the first prince running around in dangerous situations that could lead to Garen just dropping dead.' I mused.

Before I shook my head and said. "So, in your own opinion. Is it worth myself, pushing to do the best in the Class Trial?" 

Cinder was silent for a moment before she spoke slowly. "It depends on how much you want to be under the church's radar. With a hint of the God of Lights' essence, they will push you to breed with their nuns to birth people with lesser Silver Eyes, along with having inborn Holy and Light magic attributes." 

With Cinder adding on. "In which case, you will have the church's aid in many things, but several forces, including the Royal Family, will distance themselves from you... Which also includes Ferid and her ilk of necromancers." 

My lips twitched as I said dryly. "Cinder... Literally, everything you are saying is a plus in my book." 

With my elder disciple snorted in amusement before she said with a shaking head. "So yes, I would advise you, if you can, to do the best you can during the Class Trial."

From there, Cinder shifted on her seat as she asked. "Any other questions?" 

I blinked and nodded, asking. "Yes, uhhh... Do you have any dealings with Morgan Arc, Miss Goodwitch's disciple?"

Cinder gave me a raised eyebrow of confusion as she spoke slowly. "I indeed do... We are rather close as our pyromancy focus does lead to us comparing notes, to say nothing of our shared disciple lineage of Lux being one of Miss Goodwitch's best disciples." 

I nodded and then said. "I got a message from her that wanted me to meet with her and her sisters to discuss my life at Beacon and answer any questions I might have." 

I shrugged and added on. "I haven't even properly started my magical lessons... What kind of questions could I have?" 

To which Cinder nodded slowly, and she asked. "If you don't mind, can I see the message?" 

With a slight wince at my sore back stinging as I moved my arms, I pulled my scroll out of my pocket and, after pulling up the message... After seeing a wonderful message of Nora, sending me a pic of her tits. I brought up her message.

[Morgan Arc- Hello Jake, I hope this message finds you well after your first day of lessons. And the blooding you went through,
If it's not inconvenient, I, along with my sisters here in Beacon, would like to meet my fellow lineage disciple after your lessons with Lady Crownsguard around 7, perhaps? I can have dinner delivered by my Master's servants and we can discuss how Beacon and other topics.]

Cinder read through the message a couple of times before saying with a hum. "Yes, this is definitely Morgan, I can but all hear Lux complaining about how formal she has to be in writing a message to Miss Goodwitch. Who will not suffer a single emoji without making the disciple do a thousand pushups." 

"Though... Hmm, perhaps Morgan's sisters are also wanting to have a little get-together here in Beacon and just wanted to meet you at the same time?" 

I shrugged and said. "I already agreed to the meeting, as you can tell. Anything I should know about Morgan from your point of view?"

There was a pause before Cinder nodded and said calmly. "Morgan is a very... Very proud woman, she is taking on a lot of responsibility as Miss Goodwitch's primary disciple and is trying to push to become a Master Pyromancer by the end of the school year so she can be named a noble even if she isn't spending as much time on the battlefield." 

"Beyond Morgan's very hardworking and studious nature, she is also... Very fiercely protective of her family, and due to a recent death in the family, she has been rather withdrawn as of late.

After a bit to accept all that information, I nodded in acceptance before I smiled wryly and asked. "So what kind of gift should I bring to this little get-together?" 

A laugh escaped Cinder as she chuckled and said more easily while she passed my scroll back to me. "A simple gift of food to be shared amongst the party would serve. Or if you wish to be more proactive and helpful to Morgan, any Fire, Burn, or Magma, Dust would make her happy." 

I held out a hand in which I manifested a large military-grade Dust missile that manifested onto the ground... And I felt the manifestation actually take a good deal less aura from me, and then I realized the fuck load of ambient mana must have supplemented the cost to some extent.

'Huh, I wonder how much faster I could create a Wisdom Cube when I have my magical core/pool to also push magical energies into making the Wisdom Cube?' I thought as Cinder gave the missile a dry look.

"And what is the meaning of manifesting a large missile?" She asked flatly.

I smiled wryly and said. "I can manifest naval weapons with the more... Strictly Naval themed they are, the less aura or magical energy it takes. That missile has a five-pound Grade Eight Magma Dust core inside of it." 

Did you know that Dust also has Nuclear Fission-like properties when you smash certain elements together? I wasn't sure if my naval ability was reaching into some weird fucking RWBY worlds, but I could manifest a missile that used Top Grade Gravity Dust, along with cores of synthetic Darkness and Magnetic Dust to create a short-lived black hole when it exploded.

Such a missile was my plan for whenever I inevitably fucked around too much and I got the attention of a Transcendent or Apocalypse Grimm... If I could catch them anyway before they jumped me.

"I see... Hmm, and you have some sort of ingrained knowledge of the use of these weapons, and in this case, disassemble them?" Cinder asked curiously, and I nodded.

Either way, we left the missile alone as Cinder spoke. "Well, Jake, please stand up and stretch. Let us see how your back is." 

I stood up, and after stretching for a good bit, I was feeling just fine, even if my back was a bit tight, which Cinder told me would rectify itself soon enough, especially after I began moving about.

"Now! Let's begin your magical lesson in earnest." Cinder spoke firmly as she retook her seat in front of me as I spun my chair around so I could face her properly with my back to the back of the seat, and we were facing one another.

"So to start off, all magical comes in elemental typing. Even for more... Niche forms of magic such as enchantment, alteration, rituals, or even summoning. Many of such schools of magic simply are using the element of Ether, or the pure element of simple magical energy." Cinder began making me nod.

"Hence, for you who will be studying basic Hydromancy to begin with, you will of course start with the manipulation of outside Ether that is in the air, which will then be incorporated into your body that will thus become your mana, and then you will channel it into hydromancy attributed spells." 

I slowly nodded as I understood that my mana pool/magical core would be dealing with that, with Cinder continuing. "Now, typically new disciples would spend weeks... If not months, using outside mana and a catalyst like the Beach in Bottle you got previously, to properly get a taste of the mana and its manipulation before creating a mana core. But that is the mark of mediocrity."

I raised an eyebrow and asked flatly. "Isn't that unsafe?" 

To which Cinder snorted and said coldly. "Yes it is unsafe, but I formed my core under extreme duress at the direction of Miss Goodwitch, and I am currently one of Beacon's strongest Pyromancers, even though I am only a Master in the field... Besides the Headmaster, anyway." She admitted with a snort as the Headmaster was bullshit, as was expected.

"But yes, forming your core without a great deal of practice will allow you to use your catalyst without your core already being tainted from your body being so tainted from your catalyst's attributes." She explained patiently.

'That checks out with the info I got previously of wanting my element to taint my magical core more than anything so I could turn it into my catalyst later on and then into my Sage Tool.' I thought.

"Alright, so how do I get started?" I asked, with Cinder actually pausing in thought before she continued. 

"There are many... Many options and methods can have pros and cons in the creation of a person's magical core. Especially with other people involved, but I will be teaching you the manual way, and should you desire to awaken the magical pools in your allies through more rigorous and blunt methods, then you can research how to do so." 

I blinked before I smiled wryly as I understood she meant things like Tantric rituals, or something of the like.

But regardless, Cinder began explaining the method of 'Magical Meditation.' Which was both the slowest and safest way of creating a magical core without taking any shortcuts.

"Some shortcuts can be useful if not downright helpful without any consequences, but you will need to research which methods you will deign to use... I am unable to help you in any such way, as my magical core, should we connect in such a way, would kill you, as it would consider you fuel to burn." 

'Kinda reminds me of a cultivation method frankly.' I thought that a person's natural and almost certainly unique magical core or mana pool would have its own abilities besides simply acting to hold a person's mana.

Just like how a person's Aura didn't act as just a bit of physical reinforcement and a force field. It also came with a Semblance that every single person could one day find.

"Now this ritual room will have all the mana you will need... And with how thick the mana is, it's not like you will struggle to feel it in the air. You just need to begin meditating and use your concentration to pull in the mana that touches your body." 

I settled down just leaning into the chair with my eyes closing, and with how utterly flooded the ritual room was, it wasn't like I had to struggle to feel the mana in the air even slightly.

It had its own cloying weight to it that was separate from the air. And within a couple of minutes, I shivered as I felt some mana enter my body, finally, as I pulled at the misty mana surrounding myself with my mind. 

"Good... Now, in feeling that mana, begin pulling more mana into your body. When you accumulate enough mana, your core will naturally form." Cinder spoke softly so as not to distract me as much.

And I kept doing what I was doing. Slowly pulling in more mana, where I realized it was a bit like a black hole effect really. It was hard to get that first wisp of mana inside myself, and then with mana inside myself. More mana came in without as much prompting to join in with the first tiny wisp of mana.

With that process continuing for a long while. I had no idea how long it took, honestly, as the process of absorbing the mana into myself was mentally taxing to say the least. Giving me no time to consider other thoughts.

But after a while, it finally happened. I shivered and shuddered as all the loose mana in my body thickened as they came together, and my mental eye could see it. While Cinder knew intrinsically that her magical core or mana pool was a house or building on fire.

I could 'see' my mana pool was... A puddle of water. 

But I wasn't disappointed, as I could feel that the puddle would grow with the more mana I had. From a puddle to a pond, and then from a pond to a lake, and then from a lake, it would become a sea one day.

My eyes slowly opened, and I saw Cinder was looking at me with her nodding with a small smile as she spoke. "Your water attribute is indeed extremely strong, Jake. Your eyes have a slight blue glow to them now." 

I blinked, and I pulled out my scroll, and although I didn't turn on the screen, I could indeed see a bit of reflecting light from the screen, with Cinder clapping her hands.

"I assumed you would need at least six hours here in the ritual room to open your magic pool, and even prepared to take the hit to cancel your meeting with Morgan. But you only took three hours actually." 

I smiled wryly, and then, after checking my phone, I saw that I still had half an hour before I needed to go meet with Morgan Arc.

"So... Now what? Am I a wizard yet?" I asked with a smile, making Cinder snort with amusement.

"Oh dear heavens no. You haven't read any spell books and have to pick up a couple of spell matrices to form within your mana pool. You also haven't made a staff or integrated the catalyst, the Beach in a Bottle, into said staff or your enchanted sword there... To say nothing of learning how to use Dust to enhance your magic as well, haha!"

Cinder was actually giggling as she looked at me with amusement before she shook her head and said. "In either case. I am done lecturing you for now, Lux can teach you more intricate pieces of magic tomorrow... Lest I complain to Miss Goodwitch and our master will get into trouble, hmph." 

I bowed my head to Cinder and said. "Thank you for the help, Cinder. I appreciate you taking the time to help me so much... With everything." 

Meaning also the runes she put on my body to help defend me from passive weak bullshit like Weiss trying to put that spying rune on myself.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I will be going back to my own research, Jake... Try not to get into trouble today." Cinder spoke as she stood up. And I also stood up with myself idly noticing that my back was fully healed and fine now as I followed behind her.

'The ritual room certainly helped a fuck load.' I thought, as I was well aware that my chances of unlocking my mana pool outside of such a mana-rich environment were slim to none. And for me who had a special body after reincarnating. 

That inherent difficulty was proof of the power of noble families, as no commoner, no matter how skilled, would be able to manifest their mana pool without help in a special environment or a special catalyst that could emit the mana needed for them to make a mana pool.

With that all said, however, I took the magma missile I made with a grunt of effort and went down to the workshop and got to work using the obviously neglected tools that Lux used to become a Master of using metal magic or whatever... I had no idea why she had such a huge, expansive workshop down here, but I could use the massive cavern to manifest some larger vehicles and such.

"Hmm... Maybe I should have Velvet, and Alice put in charge of getting a group of Faunus together to dismantle my munitions for Dust." I mused to myself as that could be a good way for me to start making some good money.

And hell... If I really wanted to be a fucking asshole, I could then sell the dismantled bombs and such to the Valian military for them to load up with their own Dust and use.

If I didn't just sell the munitions straight to the Valian military. Either way, with a heavy as fuck American football-shaped crystal of glowing orange held in a carrying case that weighed a good seventy pounds altogether. I left Lux's tower and began heading over to Miss Goodwitch's personal tower, which was a good ways away.

Beacon Academy was fucking massive... It was a massive sprawl that was built onto a large singular mountain that intersected a large number of leylines, that was only matched by the leylines under the Imperial Palace within the main city of Vale.

So in the map of Beacon that all students got... There were quite literally more than fifteen hundred different mage towers spread about Beacon's campus, with each being owned by a Master mage at the least, and were often passed down to the Master's disciples if they were also at the Master tier of mages.

[Jake Bariss- I am on my way to Lady Goodwitch's tower. Could you please have someone allow me in?] I messaged Morgan as I was well aware that Miss Goodwitch would likely have potent defenses around her own magical tower.

All the magical towers also had a major attribute, as well in something many didn't consider. Each and every magical tower was synced into the leylines and had powerful spells encoded into them. So, should a true tide of Grimm come towards Beacon that the Huntsmen and Mages couldn't deal with?

Well... There were basically 1500 Grandmaster-level full-powered spells ready to remove the landscape of wherever they were aimed, with the magical towers being able to fully recharge over the course of a week.

Once I got to Miss Goodwitch's tower, I was greeted by a... Faunus maid/secretary. In a woman who was wearing a maid's headpiece while wearing a businesswoman's suit that clung to her voluptuous form.

And I idly noticed she had three faunus traits in her eyes, being slitted, and she had a large reptilian tail behind her. And lastly, she had a curved horn atop her head. "Welcome to Mistress Goodwitch's tower, Master Jake Bariss. My name is Elma, and I am the Mistress's head maid and caretaker." 

I nodded my head in respect to the woman's bow to me as she stood back up straight, and I smiled as I said. "Thank you for the warm welcome, Miss Elma. Could you please direct me to Morgan... My gift for her is rather heavy." I said with a wry smile as I moved the large carrying case I was carrying.

Elma giggled and then tilted her head in acknowledgment as she said kindly. "Very well, I will skip the tea ceremony to welcome you into my Mistress's home."

With that, Elma turned around elegantly and led me up the stone steps leading toward Miss Goodwitch's personal mage tower, and the closer I got to it, the more I could feel the difference in mana pressure around the tower.

'So this is the difference between a Grandmaster and a Sage.' I thought as the wards around Miss Goodwitch's tower weren't a joke. And I could feel them scanning me before relenting as they seemingly picked up on something. Probably that I was Lux's disciple if I had to bet on anything.

"Come inside, Master Jake, I will lead you to the meeting room Lady Morgan has taken on the third floor," Elma said kindly.

"So how come I didn't have to tag myself in to the wards if you don't mind me asking... Also, why are you calling me Master?" 

Elma gave a slight hum as we passed through a beautiful front entrance and we headed towards an elevator. "Both questions can be answered with the same answer... Mistress Goodwitch is a woman who loves to micromanage things. And that includes being a mother hen for her disciples and acting almost like a surrogate master for her disciples, disciples should they meet her own standards."

The faunus woman put a key into the elevator's panel, and the buttons came alight with power with her continuing. "You have already met her expectations in being an ideal Huntsman, even if you aren't a proper mage yet. So when you bled upon the wards at Lux's tower, you yourself were added to the wards here." Elma finished calmly.

This reminded me of the time when Ozpin singled me and Weiss out after the initiation. Where he promptly reminded everyone that an 'ideal huntsman' acted as a Beacon to the Grimm, and would drag them all in for a controlled and merciless slaughter rather than being an inefficient murderhobo like Pyrrha and Ruby were during the initiation.

"Well, thats good to know... I just need Lux to have some free time after she gets her chores for this term sorted out so she can point me in the direction I need to learn in magic." I spoke with a small smile.

But instead, Elma tilted her head to the side and looked behind herself at me, her saying in confusion. "What do you mean? Didn't she just help you with building your mana pool? I can tell it's brand new after seeing you in the initiation and not having one at all?" 

I blinked and said, matching confusion. "What, no? Lux's other disciple, Cinder, helped me form my mana pool through meditation in the Ritual Rooms just a few minutes ago in a similar manner Miss Goodwitch helped Cinder form her own mana pool, apparently. Lux said she was going to be busy for the first few days with the school term starting, though." 

There was a moment of silence as Elma turned around and fully stared at me for a long moment before she groaned slightly and said. "My oh my... Mistress is going to be quite irritated to hear that Lux failed to help another student form their mana pool. Not to mention Lux obviously failed to spend the last two weeks productively before the new term in doing other things."

I nervously giggled and said helplessly. "Don't snitch on me, please... I don't want to start my apprenticeship with myself being labeled a snitch that got her in trouble."

And thankfully, Elma nodded in understanding, she smiled and said. "Oh, it will be quite alright, Master Jake. The fact I was able to tell so easily will be easily figured out as Lux is currently spending time with the First Princess... So the fact that you have your mana core is proof enough that she had nothing to do with it." 

With that, the elevator made a soft dinging noise, and Elma bowed her head and said softly. "Here you are, Jake. I wish you to have a productive meeting with Mistress Morgan. And after the meeting, I respectfully advise you not to wander the tower; some rooms are protected quite... Thoroughly due to having sensitive materials, and I wouldn't wish harm upon you."

"I understand, Elma, thank you for your guidance," I said respectfully,y with her giving another bow, and I idly realized Elma was wearing a tight leather choker around her neck rather than just the loose collars that most other Faunus wore.

But I didn't ogle the Faunus any more than a simple glance as I made my way into the main room to go meet with Morgan Arc.

The fourth floor was apparently a meeting and entertainment floor of sorts... At least the entertainment room, according to Miss Goodwitch's standards, was a radio room, a library, a snack hall filled with candy, and a cinema room. 

With the Cinema being where I was supposed to meet with Morgan and her sisters. And I could hear their voices as the cinema room's door was wide open, invitingly as I approached.

I walked into the Cinema and after a moment I looked in... And saw a fuck load of blondes! And like two girls with more silvery blond hair. But too many damned blonds!

"Hello?" I called out unsurely before I recalled that Jaune's had some seven sisters, and these must have been the sisters... While I also wondered where Jaune was supposed to be.

But either way, the seven girls turned toward me, and I smiled wryly at Morgan, who had the lightest of silver hair that I recognized from the picture she sent me of herself.

Morgan herself was a full-figured woman with long silver hair that came down past her waist, with sharp ice blue eyes that she gazed upon me with interest and something else in her gaze.

"Ah, hello, Jake Bariss," Morgan spoke as she left her gaggle of sisters, and then she hummed and then said more firmly. "Sisters... Please come over here so I can properly introduce you all." 

And the seven sisters moved closer and surprisingly into a uniform line which... Kinda made sense if they had to introduce themselves over the years, all at the same time.

"Now let me introduce them according to their ages." Morgan began and then moved down the line.

The youngest was Mordred Arc, who had the most petite of frame... And being the most scantily clad, as she wore tight-fitting gym wear that exposed her stomach, and her pants clung to her frame like a second skin.

Jeanne, who had seemingly stolen the sisters' genetics as she was the most stacked while having a sunny disposition and she was actually wearing a nun outfit out of all things.

Nero was next with her, wearing a rather revealing dress that clung to her still curvaceous form.

Okita was wearing a more Mistral-style robe and... She was barefoot? Or at least half bare feet with only a sock-like thing covering the middle of her foot, leaving her sole and toes exposed. Oh, and she was the shortest of the girls.

Jean was wearing a tight-fitting goth choker over her neck and a tight-fitting minimal black dress that clung to her voluptuous frame, that almost matched Jeanne's curvaceous form while having lighter blond hair like Morgan's.

Saphron had a country girl feel to her with golden blond hair done up simply, and she was wearing a simple blouse and a pair of blue jeans, while she also felt... Soft, she just screamed civilian to me.

"These are my six sisters, and with myself, we are the seven daughters of our mother Artoria Arc," Morgan said proudly, with herself clearly being the eldest, and seemingly in her mid-early twenties.

As apparently, 'Artoria Arc' was a fan of triplets and twins to cut down time in mass production of productive children.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Jake Bariss, and I am the disciple of Miss Crownsguard, so we can be distantly called family at this point." I said respectfully as I gave the sisters a slight bow of the head.

And then I hummed and then said. "Actually, I do have a gift for you, Morgan, if you don't mind me using your first name."

Morgan shook her head with a slight hum as she said calmly. "I am not a Master yet, so speaking to me casually is for the best."

I nodded, and then I brought the carrying case containing the large Magma Dust crystal onto a nearby table with a soft clatter. "I was advised by my fellow disciple, Cinder, that with you studying pyromancy the same as her, even if you have differing focuses. A Dust Crystal could serve as a good gift, so I hope this Magma Dust crystal will help in your research or to be used to enhance your magic." 

Opening up the case, the girls whistled as they took in the large missile core that weighed around seventy-five pounds, with Morgan herself humming and saying with a small smile. "Well, well, that is a princely gift indeed. I appreciate the gift as no matter what, I can easily trade it for another resource, or as you rightly put it, I can use it as fuel for several very powerful spells."

She walked over and, after inspecting it, I could feel her mana synch up with it with her raising an eyebrow. "A Top-Grade Magma Crystal? Was... Did Lux give you this crystal?" Morgan asked in confusion.

I shook my head and said frankly. "Nope, my situation is a bit weird, as you may have realized with having a bloodline power similar to the Vacuo's Abizar's manifestation semblance. But in exchange for my stuff being capable of bearing elemental and magical power. I am limited rather strictly to naval-themed manifestations." 

Pointing at the crystal, I said calmly. "That crystal came from a missile. I dismantled that I manifested, actually." 

Morgan raised an eyebrow at my explanation, as even I was well aware Top-Grade Dust was very much a controlled substance that someone couldn't just buy. It was hoarded by the nobles for their own magical uses, hoarded by the military, or just generally hoarded by the nobles who mined it up outside of Vale's walls.

After a moment of thought, Morgan gently closed the carrying case and bowed her head towards me, and said. "Still, in either case, I thank you for the gift. Now, the retainers have some pizza over there. Please help yourself if you are hungry."

And I was actually hungry, as after Cinder's lesson, I didn't get anything to eat, and it was well past when I typically got dinner.

Saphron led me to the pizza with her saying. "So, how is your time going at Beacon? I am just visiting, so I don't really get the full picture of life here." She said clearly trying to engage in conversation.

I hummed as I picked up a couple of slices of pizza and put them on a paper plate before I responded with a slight sigh. "It's been... Certainly eventful to say the least. So, what do you do outside of Beacon unless you work here?" 

She waved her hands in denial as she said with a chuckle. "Oh, dear heavens no. I do logistical work outside of Beacon with my wife... I don't have the temperament for a huntsman or the patience to be a mage researcher, haha." 

I shrugged as that was more than fair enough... As Beacon's initiation proved, the school only took the talented, the driven, and those willing to put their entire souls into fighting the Grimm.

And if they failed during the initiation... That was what the Class Trial was for, apparently, to pull in all the Grimm that feasted on a bunch of souls, and then cull them before they could get smarter and more dangerous.

With that, our conversation petered out as I came back into the larger sister gathering with my dinner, and I was pulled into the conversation between the sisters as Mordred spoke bombastically. "Heh, Jake, aren't you also taking warrior/hunter classes even if you have that manifestation semblance and studying magic?" 

Raising an eyebrow at the tone in her voice, I responded bluntly. "That is very much correct. I can already manifest missiles, machine guns, and such. myself being able to remotely control dozens of such things at once. But I also want to make sure I am able to defend myself should my manifestations not match the threats of what I face." 

Morded nodded fiercely with her whirling on Morgan and pointing at her and saying. "So yeah, Morgan! You need to get back into training with your sword and staff to make sure you keep up your forms and don't get out of shape with how you are always sitting around meditating and reading!"

Morgan herself rolled her eyes and said flatly. "I am but on the cusp of becoming a Master mage, I do not wish to waste my time training my swordplay when I can become a Master mage... Which will solve a great many numbers of troubles, as you are well aware, Mordred."

For a moment, Mordred looked pissed before she snorted, and with a cough, Okita cut in with a more friendly tone. "So Jake, I see you have a thinner, more agility-based sword. Would you care to spar sometime, as I have a similar fighting style!" 

I nodded and said. "Yeah, Okita, that could be nice. I am going to be looking into picking up a style of swordplay to truly focus on. So having a partner I can train in swordsmanship would be great." 

Then Jean stepped closer to me, and my senses sharpened as she bowed her head slightly and said contritely. "I apologize for my own mistress's actions. She was... Overzealous in her attempt to recruit you, Jake." 

Looking at Jean, I paused before I realized. "Ah, you are Lady Calia's disciple?" 

To which Jean nodded firmly with her smiling wryly as she said. "Yes, I am, though it's not nearly as prestigious as Morgan's apprenticeship to Lady Goodwitch. Mistress Calia has several dozen apprentices that also double as her workers for when she is working on a large necromancy project that spans several of the lesser necromancy schools." 

'Hmm.. So one of them is part of the dark magic side of things, well, Morgan also has a bit of a toe in the dark side as well with her study of soul-eating flames.' I thought before Jeanne took a chance to talk after speaking with Saphron.

"So Jake, if you don't mind me asking. You are planning on taking the Class Trial, correct?" She asked with a... Measured voice. And I realized she distinctly wanted something as I slowly nodded.

"Yes, I indeed am. I already got a full team for it as well." I said calmly.

And I saw Jeanne flinch before she smiled wryly and said. "I see, then forgive me. I was hoping I could join your team as a holy and light-wielding mage."

I raised an eyebrow as such a mage was indeed very powerful, and after a moment of thought, I said slowly. "Well. I say, I have a full team. But several slots are taken up by a few of my retainers. A holy and light mage would be welcome on any team, I am sure."

I distinctly knew that Velvet and Alice weren't that religious, and both of the girls were deeply invested in their chance at learning from Grandmaster smiths and enchanters here in Beacon, so they probably do not even want to go, honestly.

So I shrugged and said. "Could I get your scroll ID? I will ask my retainers if they would prefer to stay here in Beacon anyway, as they aren't much for fighting."

Nero cackled with her, patting the side of my arm as she said teasingly. "Wow! Just met my sister and within five minutes you are already asking for her scroll ID haha!"

"Do you have a crush on her? Is it her holy aura that makes you want to gherk!" Nero choked as Mordred slung an arm around her neck and began choking her with a wide grin as Jeanne smiled gently and offered me her scroll with it lightning up as it prepared to pair to my scroll.

I held out my own scroll to hers, and with a soft clinging noise, I got her info, and I smiled before Morgan spoke up. "So have you seen Ferid since that... Awkward meeting, Jake?" 

I paused and I shook my head before I said with a hint of exasperation. "No, I haven't seen her... Though who knows if she is like hiding under within the shadow of a cabinet or under my dresser." 

Nero and Mordred both snorted at my words, with Morgan frowning and saying more firmly. "That... Could in fact be an issue with how you are still in the commoner dorms with your entourage correct?" 

At my nod, she continued. "Then in that case, you should consider having your group move directly into Lux's tower as the tower will be well protected should Ferid or another decide to play some juvenile prank or otherwise attempt to harm you."

"Like the Rose heiress attempting to murder her half-sister in broad daylight," I said flatly, and then, at seeing their expressions of disbelief, I explained the incident, and Morgan nodded as she blinked and said.

"Oh yes, Summer Rose is quite... The Spitfire still holds a torch for Taiyang Xiao-Long despite his philandering ways. It is not surprising her daughter Ruby Rose also has some... Unresolved emotions due to how her supposed father figure was 'stuck' raising Yang instead of being her own father." 

Mordred summed it up perfectly as she stated with a chuckle. "Daddy issues combined with superpowers always leaves a nasty mess, haha."

And damn, wasn't she right, honestly?

With that, I nodded and said. "Alright,t yeah, it would probably be a good idea to get my group moved into Lux's tower. I will do that tonight, in fact, before we get too set into our ways at the dorm." 

The girls gave me a couple of minutes to get back into eating my pizza, and then after I finished a slice, Jean dragged me back into the conversation as she asked curiously. 'So, Jake, I hope this doesn't offend you. But could you tell me a bit about New Jersey and Prinz Eugen? They are ship personifications with a soul built on the ship they were made after, but they are... Truly alive in their own way." 

I had to take a breath at that, and then I said frankly. "It's... Grossly complicated to say the least. But to put simply, a ship is alive, you know. Each groan is her stretching; she cares for her sailors, and the sailors in turn care for her. What I do is take all those amalgamated emotions and combine them with the ship's history and life, forming their ego. And with my own aura acting as kindling, their ego forms the basis of their own soul." 

Jean blinked before she smiled and said. "I see. And then with your manifestation ability, you form their human body due to how they 'ARE' a ship more than anything else."

Which... Minus the whole Wisdom Cube thing, she was rather spot on, so I nodded with Jeanne speaking softly. "I am glad you are giving those ships life of their own... No, as you said, giving them a body so their experiences can be shared with us land walkers, ufufu."

I honestly thought she would be more critical of them, with how they were technically classed within the class of Necromancy due to them being soul incarnations. But was obviously glad she was so chill.

And so we continued to share small talk with myself getting to know the seven sisters better. Though it was clear that with eight people here, it was going to be hard to truly get the cores of people's personalities and what they were like.

But we spent a good hour just talking after Morgan turned on some movie to run in the background as we all sat together on a couple of couches with the movie muted with just subtitles as we continued talking.

And both Nero, Mordred, and Okita shit-talked the heroine of the movie, who used some super flowy sword style that was just pretty to look at as she was trying to hunt down a powerful Grimm that had infiltrated Vale.

'Hmm, a movie that helps promote looking out for Abominations. People who got turned into half Grimm basically after making a deal with the highest-ranked Grimm.' I thought before refocusing as Morgan got my attention.

"So, Jake, I am curious. How is your living situation, though? Do you have a retainer who can take care of your clothes, and to prepare you any food you need outside of the cafeteria?" 

I smiled wryly and responded honestly. "No, I do not... That is something I will likely need to prepare for, though. Lux only has a couple of servants whose jobs are to clean up the many floors and rooms of her magical tower."

Morgan nodded firmly before she hummed and said slowly. "Seeing how you plan to become a noble yourself. Might I make a suggestion and request?"

I nodded with her continuing. "You see, my mother and my sister Saphron here have been having some difficulties due to her landlord being a Baron who is fond of throwing their weight around upon people who aren't noble."

'That tracks with how commoners aren't allowed to legally own land in the city of Vale.' I thought before I spoke calmly. "You want me to take your mother... And even Saphron as my servant or retainer? I mean, I have no problem offering my umbrella of protection due to our shared master lineage, but no offense, couldn't you do that?" 

Morgan was almost a Master in her field of Pyromancy, and that wasn't a simple thing. That was a power that people respected. But instead, Morgan scowled and said with some amount of anger in her voice.

"I myself am still only registered as a researcher mage, having not gone through initiation. Until I become a Master and then prove myself on the battlefield of which, such a thing will be very dangerous, as I have all of zero experience in fieldwork. I am still but a commoner, and Lady Goodwitch has said she will not interfere with this situation." 

I frowned upon hearing that... Miss Goodwitch was the equivalent of a fucking Duke, as an S-ranked Huntress. If some jumped-up fat bastard of a baron was doing stupid shit, she literally had the right to take his life if he wasn't also an accomplished hunter, and even then, she would be let off with literally less than a slap on the wrist.

Something fucky was going on, and I didn't like it... Then I had a thought. 'What if another Duke-ranked house or force was keeping Miss Goodwitch from directly interfering? Or more simply, what if Goodwitch just wanted to Morgan to become a Master sooner or likewise deal with the Baron on her own?'

I gave Morgan a look before I asked slowly. "Who is supporting the Baron? What backing does he have that prevents you from just stomping him down?" 

Morgan grimaced, and it clearly galled her as she took a breath and said coldly. "No force is directly supporting him. Besides the fact that he himself is a landed noble in good standing due to his father being an above-average huntsman when he was alive."

'Which meant that the next generation would lose their nobility status if they didn't show promise.' I thought knowing how noble families worked here in Vale and knowing that, for all their power and privilege, it was born with a controlled amount of nepotism and abuse being allowed.

There weren't any people rising up to become Nobles without providing or inventing some wondrous things. No, to rise above your lot in life, you needed to take to the field in slaying Grimm in some way or another.

So with that, I asked Morgan simply. "I understand then, but I have one final question... Why haven't you smacked him down with how you are already an Expert-tier mage when he is a useless lout?" 

And Morgan grimaced before Jeanne spoke softly. "For all that he is a useless lout who is only a baron. He does have connections and is also a priest of the God of Light Church who uses the funds from his services in using healing magic to buy up property."

'Ah fucking lovely... The dude is an ugly bastard priest as well, though it makes sense now why Morgan doesn't want to strike directly at the landlord that's acting pushy.' I thought as I realized all too quickly that Miss Goodwitch also didn't want to fuck about with the church.

As zealots with superpowers were something to fear... I had already heard some stories about the church's Inquisition that hunts down Abominations that serve the Grimm, and they were apparently batshit crazy and had the same outlook of the fucking Inquisitors from Warhammer 40k.

So after a moment... I exhaled and said. "Alright, I will take your mother, Artoria, under my umbrella, Morgan. But if something happens that brings the church on my head, I will have to involve my master."

There was a pause before Morgan nodded in understanding at getting what I meant.

But either way, I coughed and said. "Besides this... Dour topic to say the least. So Jean, you been working on anything interesting? As I do have a thought that could be interesting for a large project."

See, I had an interesting thought process. I could make ships being my primary focus, magical-based stuff, and highly advanced technology, also being a major drain upon my aura. 

Jean shook her head, and I smiled as I said. "So I had an idea, what if I manifested a ghost ship? And then from there, if you could help, you could crew the ghost ship with ghosts and revenants so that the entire construct would be immune to lesser Grimm that didn't have magical attacks!?"

"That's a fantastic idea actually!" Jean spoke excitedly, and then we began speaking about it in turn, as apparently making ghost constructs of structures... It was just not really a thing unless necromancers used stupid amounts of material to just make the entire structure out of the bones and biomass of their victims.

Myself, on the other hand? So long as it was a ship itself, I could create a ghost ship that would be able to fly over land, its keel crashing on the winds themselves, and from my mind, I realized the ghost ship would only be able to manifest during the night, as the sunlight would banish it.

And soon enough Jean and I were locked into conversation hard as the big titty goth girl got close and we were sitting but a few inches across from one another as we began making notes... A literal list of materials and reagents Jean would need to bind spirits and revenants to a spectral construct like my ship.

"Hmm, the question is whether the spirits need to be sailors themselves, though... Well, in the worst case, I can still pilot the ship a bit in the back of my mind, the spirits just need to know how to use the cannons that will on the ship." I spoke with Jean, nodding and saying.

"That is true, spirits can only do what they knew in their previous life. So, although sailor souls are going to be a bit hard to call upon as sailors just... Aren't that common due to how dangerous aquatic Grimm are? But soldier souls are aplenty, and using a cannon isn't too difficult." 

Jean finished with her dropping her pen to the paper she was writing on, and Okita called out. "Heeyyy! Is nerd talk over yet?" 

I shrugged, and then after a moment of thought, I asked. "I have a question if we could build this quickly enough. Could my team use this for the Class Trail?" 

And everyone in the room paused. As they had seen that the ship Jean and I had planned wasn't a small thing. It was a massive four-mast frigate that had three dozen cannons on each side that would, in truth, be shooting magical cannonballs due to the cannons being ghostly as well.

Jean was quiet for a moment, and then she smiled as she leaned over and grabbed my hand that had poked the diagram. "Jake, let me join the Class Trial as well. I can't use the blessing of the Light God, but the prestige of coming in first place will help me so much in getting more of Lady Callia's attention and resources." 

I raised an eyebrow, and honestly, that was still fine. With Velvet and Alice both out of the Class Trial, that left spaces for Jean, and Jeanne just fine.

So I nodded and said firmly. "Yes, I agree to this. But will you be able to get the souls and revenants to bind to the ship?"

And Jean took a deep breath and said with a wry smile. "Oh, it will make me bleed... But yes, I can take out the resources I am allotted for the next couple of months, but yes I can do it. And here is my contact details as well so we can begin work tomorrow if we want to make the deadline." 

With that, Mordred hummed and then asked curiously. "Wait, so I get the whole ship thing. But Jake, can you make stuff like crab monsters or something?" 

My lips pursed, but I shook my head as I said firmly. "Although such a thing does fall into a category of water. I can only make 'naval' themed stuff. Something you could expect to see on a naval ship, be stored upon one, or otherwise used by people that will be leaving the vessel to do a deployment." 

I shook my head and continued. "Well, in either case... I appreciate the dinner and the company. Thank you, Morgan, for the invitation, and send me your mother's contact details if she does want to go ahead and be my group... Den mother? I am not sure, do our cooking and cleaning, I guess, is what she would be doing." 

Nora and New Jersey were both scatter-brained to say the least, and didn't pick up after themselves, so having someone to pick up the slack would be good.

With that, Jean carefully folded the information we wrote down, and I saw a flash of her pale, expansive cleavage as she hid the folded piece of paper in her titty pocket dimension, and then Morgan spoke with gratitude, clear in her voice.

"I thank you for standing up for my mother, Jake. If you need anything, please ask me for aid."

I got up from the seat I was on, and I just smiled and said. "Ahh, it's alright. Gotta stick up for our shared master lineage. Anywho, I got moving to do before I get some sleep, so you girls have a good night."

Then I was off I left the sisters behind as I made my way through the hallway of Miss Goodwitch's magical tower, and I quickly made my way out of Miss Goodwitch's tower, with myself only pausing as I left the boundaries of the wards to send a group text that said.

[Get all our belongings together, we are all moving into Lux's Tower.]

And from there I moved directly towards Lux's tower, knowing Prinz and Ren with their more calm disposition could get Nora and New Jersey to follow along. While I imagine Velvet and Alice were going to need a bit of help moving their tools.

Either way, it's not like we had too much personal belongings, so it's not like they were going to have to cart over a bunch of stuff.

-

With Lux's tower having like a dozen floors in it that were still unclaimed, I chose the floor underneath the floor Cinder lived on, and with each floor having a dozen rooms that gave us plenty of room to quickly put our stuff away, with all of them getting my retainer seals.

And likewise, my meeting with Alice and Velvet about the Class Trial went very well. As they didn't particularly desire being part of a punitive expedition to kill massive amounts of Grimm. When they weren't aligned for straight combat, either.

Sure, they could defend themselves... But they couldn't stand up to dozens of Grimm coming for them at the same time.

After everyone got their stuff put away, I took Velvet and Alice down to the fucking massive workshop underneath the tower with its equally large tunnel that would lead out the mountain Beacon was built upon.

"Wow... Alice, we can make a bunch of weapons and fit more rugged enchantment ritual areas down here!" Velvet spoke excitedly.

I smiled and said happily. "My master said this cavern heads down to the base of the mountain and has an exit out there. So make sure to stay away from the end of the cavern as it is protected by some hostile wards that will attack anyone besides myself."

With that said, I refocused as I took a deep breath. "Now, you girls mark out areas for where you want to put your own facilities. I have my own project to work on."

Both of the rabbit-eared girls nodded and took out some chalk so they could begin marking off the space they needed for the servants to begin moving in supplies and more tools, while I went down a bit myself to get some free space, as I was going to be building something big.

'A ghost ship...' I thought as I embraced the Admiral Essence, and I could feel my small pool of magical energy, and my larger pool of aura draining as glowing green misty formed in front of myself.

Sure, although higher-ranked Grimm probably had their own malformed aura, and magical bullshit they could pull to touch the Ghost Ship I was making. But that didn't matter; such Grimm weren't going to be anywhere within a hundred miles of Beacon.

A ship made out of pure spiritual energy couldn't be harmed by mere physical blows, though there was a caveat that the ship could only properly manifest during the night, and each shot of the cannons would take some amount of energy from the ship itself.

First came a glass bottle inside my hands, and I could feel my aura draining a good deal just from the creation of the bottle. As it was the core of my idea, an idea that could change a great deal actually.

As the bottle was filled with a great deal of water that even when the bottle was at rest, the water within seemed to be constantly in motion like it, itself was a lively sea.

'A Ship in a Bottle.' That was my plan... Basically, a pokeball but an enchanted glass bottle that could seal away a ship, and when I uncorked it, the ship would teleport out of the bottle's false sea.

And more importantly, the Ship in a Bottle had the ability to refuel the magical stores of the ships within it. Along with fixing some minor damage thats done to the ship.

So in essence, right now I was just making the framework of the ship as although a ghost ship could itself be useful. Having the ship instead possess a necromantic ship structure would amplify its resonance in the world. 

Because... As cool as a ghost ship would be. If I tried to board the ghost ship without it having a frame to possess, then I would literally just phase through it.

Halfway through making the ghost ship itself, I had to stop as I was running out of aura, and my tiny pool of magical energy was already long gone. So I decided to call it there as I was already tired.

'Time to take a nice bath after a long day.' I thought as although I already had a shower earlier... Where Nora joined in. I still wanted a nice long soak as tomorrow was likely going to be hard day as I would be working with Jean to make the ghost ship properly.

But just as I was relaxing in my bath with my scroll in hand, I almost dropped my fucking scroll into the bath when a message popped up from someone I didn't expect.

[Ferid Bathory- Oh! I heard such wonderful news. You plan to make another ship... But this time, a spectral one in which a horde of ghosts and revenants could properly control! What a wonderful idea, in fact.]

I gave my scroll a dark look before I typed in. [,,  How did you get my contact info?]

[Ferid Bathory- I just checked the student records with Callia's identification, don't tell on me, pls!? Anywho! I must say I look forward to seeing the ship in action, though I am obviously incapable of taking part in the Class Trial. Oh, and by the way, I was curious actually.]

I was silent for a long minute after reading the message... As I was obviously worried about what the hell she would want to trade with me. And if she asked for one of my shipgirls, I would have to ask Lux to smite her.

As I didn't have any way of killing a fucking lich, at least for now.

So after a moment, I typed back simply. [I will not be giving one of my shipgirls before you even ask.]

There was a slight pause before Ferid answered again swiftly.

[Ferid Bathory- Hahaha! No, I perfectly understand Jake. I felt... Such anger when I let other people get so close to my Flesh Automatons and doing things with them... So I can't let them play as much anymore as I just get so jealous! So I perfectly understand the love an artist has for their personal masterworks. Actually, I was hoping that when the Class Trial is over, you could help make me my own ghost ship?]

I had to digest that...

As outright refusing her was spitting in the face of Calia and whatever connection she had with the Litch Lord, the necromancer Sage that served as the head of the Royal Family's guard.

But saying yes was also... Eh, because both Cinder and Lux had issues with Ferid in particular.

So I first screenshotted all the messages and sent them to Lux and Cinder with questions as to whether I should agree, as I didn't want to go behind their backs. And then I messaged Ferid back. 

[I will consider it. I am obviously busy with my own projects, and after the Class Trial, who knows if I will even be able to do that when the God of Lights' blessing runs through myself.]

[Ferid Bathory- That's perfectly fine, Jake. I can wait for you to finish the project with Jean.]

I sagged in place in the bath before my scroll blooped again, but this time it was a phone call from Lux.

"Hello," I spoke in greeting, and Lux's cool voice hit my ears.

"Jake, if it is at all possible, I recommend you to just do what Ferid asks. She will overwise be insufferable and will likely seek to enact some plot to inconvenience or embarrass you should you refuse for no good reason." 

I gave my scroll a dull look before I exhaled and said. "Alright, Lux, I will do so. Assuming I survive the Class Trial in any case." I said dryly, with Lux snorting and saying flatly.

"Oh, it will be dangerous, alright. But you are already a part of Beacon, we will be making sure nothing too outrageous comes after you. You have already gone through initiation and proven yourself." 

The call went silent before Lux broke the silence with a bit more of her peppy cheer entering her voice as she asked. "Sooo, how did it go with Morgan?" 

I chuckled in turn and said with amusement. "Well enough, I met Morgan's sisters as well. And then were all good to me with Morgan herself being a very good host... They had good taste in pizza as well, haha." I finished jokingly with Lux sniffing.

"Hmph, while I am working myself to the bone, my disciples are out getting imported coffee and having a pizza party! I have been betrayed and abandoned by my heartless disciples!" Lux bemoaned loudly.

I actually had to pull my face away from the screen at how loud she was, and after a moment, I called out flatly. "Yeah, and whose fault is it that you are still stuck with work you should have finished during the break after the last term?"

There was a moment of tense silence before Lux's exploded. "Haha, what? I didn't catch that. We must be breaking up because of distance or something." She rambled.

And with my voice as dry as a fucking desert, I stated flatly. "Lux... We are literally in the same building, you goober. Have a good night, I am heading to sleep." 

Lux's hurried denial were silenced with a loud click as I hung up on the blond, and I tossed my scroll onto a towel I had next to my bath, where I just sighed and said tiredly. "Blondes... First was Yang and her issues with Ruby, I got Morgan and her family, and now my magical teacher is a weirdo." 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 20

The next day I was awoken to the feeling of big soft boobies in my face as New Jersey had seemingly climbed into my bed and I, being a man... Nothing more than a mere man, I had of course welcomed her into my arms without even waking up.

And now I woke up to the heavenly feeling of the Black Dragon wrapped around me with my face buried into her very ample tits with her arms wrapped around me and her legs tangled around my own.

"Bwbblw." I mumbled into New Jersey's sweater pillows, and the American battleship giggled as she tightened her grip around me and mumbled.

"No honey... Chocolate or whipped cream only. One at a time." She whispered at the end as a soft snore rang out from her.

"Truly. The strongest ship of America's Navy shows her power and elegance." I heard Prinz saying teasingly from across the other bed that was in the room.

There was an audible popping noise as my head popped out of New Jersey's tits and arms before I was able to groan out. "Morning to you as well, Prinz."

After getting myself dressed amidst New Jersey and Prinz taking themselves a quick shower and getting ready in my bathroom, I went through my messages and such as I looked at the lessons scheduled for today.

First was Grimm Studies, then Huntsmen, Nobility, and Law. Then there was Human/Faunus Suppression/Eradication Training, and finally Combat Training/Semblance Training/Magical Combat as the last lesson of the day.

Then, after those classes, I had magical lessons with Lux, and then I had to work on the Ghost Ship project with the big titty goth girl Jean.

So I still had a good, busy day ahead of myself. 

When everyone was up and ready after we had a quick breakfast, we headed to our separate classes with the combat-aligned members of my retinue following me closely, as New Jersey and Prinz Eugen didn't take Weiss's spying on me kindly.

I took a seat for Grimm Studies next to Yang, with Prinz taking the seat behind and above me in the raised seating, while New Jersey took my other side, as I already shared that I wanted to have Weiss somewhat to myself when she went to retrieve the information she wanted.

Much better for me to have Weiss more alone, like in the dueling squares, than in a full classroom like this one in any case.

"So how was the combat training class?" Yang asked with a bright smile, and I realized she must have been in Udry's unarmed class instead of Fiora and Kharisma's armed classes, that I was in.

"Yeah, it went well enough. How is Udry as a teacher?" I asked curiously.

And Yang's face became pinched as she laughed awkwardly and then shook her head. "He is something else... I think he honestly forgets how he is a fucking sage and we mortals aren't immune to harm like his ass is. Reminds me of my dad's style of training, though." 

"And how is your dad actually... I mean, what with how Ruby tried to kill you in the middle of the commoners' dorm hallway?" I asked frankly.

And Yang's face became truly awkward as she brushed a hand across her face as she said in embarrassment. "He is celebrating me leaving the house for extended amounts of time by bringing his hookups home... Which was why Ruby was probably so mad as Summer popped in to say high only to find Dad folding fucking a pair of triplets he seduced."

I gave Yang a long look before I asked bluntly. "Does Taiyang Xiao-Long have a death wish? Or why doesn't he just marry Summer or another woman to put a stop to"

I was stopped as Yang, with a firm face, held up a hand and said calmly. "Dude, I get it... I have had this conversation a million times, Jake. But my dad has a life goal of literally having one thousand bastard children and already... He has hit double digits of percentage in that life goal." 

'Holy shit... Yang isn't fucking lying at all.' I thought as I stared at her, astounded, and Nora summed up my thoughts as she said from the next seat over on my other side. "Damn girl... How many diapers have you changed already, haha!?" 

And Yang's face twitched in horror as she imagined being responsible for changing countless babies' diapers and such.

But any further conversation was cut off as a soft cough broke out, and I saw on the edge of the alley for our seat's row was Weiss, shadowed by her retainer Jingliu, who spoke simply. "Jake, if you wouldn't mind. I would like to speak with you after class privately about the Class Trial. If you have conferred with your teacher about it?"

I kept my emotions to myself as I gave a nod, and thankfully, our teacher, Gwen, entered the classroom just in time, making Weiss go find her own seat as the lesson started.

And this time I didn't get called down to be made an example out of as Gwen lectured to us in particular about siege-breaking Grimm in Creeps, Bile Spewers, Chargers, Nightcrawlers, and other Grimm species that were focused on getting through or over fortifications.

Then a mage student was called up to fight a Bilespewer Grimm, which was a Grimm that had the body of a spider with eight legs but instead of a spider front end, it was built more like a beetle or something with a long protruding mouth that allowed it to spew congealed superheated acid that could melt through steel without issue.

Then another student, this one a melee fighter, got pulled into fighting a Nightcrawler, which was a Grimm that totally was a spider in fact.

And its special ability was its optical camouflage that allowed it to slowly crawl past motion detectors, as the micro hairs on its body had the effect of breaking apart the lasers used in motion detection technology, apparently.

However, the teacher just showed off the spider's ability as its ability wasn't that useful in a direct fight. In either case, the melee student, unlike the mage student, previously was graciously allowed to fight the Grimm without getting drowned in sticky soda like the mage was.

'I wonder if Gwen isn't targeting me because I can and will destroy her puppets without remorse. Plus Calia and Ferid now want to be on my good side, with Ferid wanting her own ghost ship.' I wondered.

The rest of the class went without incident, with me and Yang talking a bit, though not in-depth. And once class was over, I got ready for what was to come with Weiss as I left the classroom and went into an empty classroom that was next door, where we wouldn't be disturbed, and with only New Jersey and Prinz Eugen at my heels.

I took a seat at a table with my hands laid across the table, with a chair left open for Weiss directly in front of me at the other end of the table.

With New Jersey and Prinz Eugen standing behind me with their rigging ready to be summoned at a moment's notice.

Weiss herself walked in a bit behind me, and seeing me already sitting at the table, she raised an eyebrow and said calmly. "Well, I would almost say you were ready for this meeting if anything."

I gave a mirthless smile at that, which I said bluntly. "Afraid I expected this conversation later today, frankly."

And Weiss gave me an analytical look before she smiled softly and took the seat, with Jingliu standing at attention behind her with her hand as usual at rest at her sides, but ready to draw her greatsword to defend her mistress.

"So, I assume you will be going along with the Class Trial?" Weiss asked bluntly.

I nodded, and then I waved my hands towards her slightly as I said. "Correct, I talked to my master, along with my senior in Cinder Fall. And they advised me it was likely to my best interest in doing so." 

Weiss was silent for a moment before she smiled, and I watched coldly as she took my hand into a handshake as she spoke. "Good! I am glad to hearrrrrr-" She slurred before her face locked up and her arm shot backward as a loud crackle of flames crackled to life between our hands.

Jingliu's face hardened with her greatsword of ice manifesting into her hands, but she paused as a dozen cannons spawned into existence and pointed at her and threatened complete annihilation as I calmly pulled my hand back.

"So Weiss Schnee... So much for the vaunted pride of a royal, really... Putting a spying glyph on another student, the disciple of a Duke-ranked house Grandmaster, where said student would be closely watched by said Grandmaster when he was building his magical core... What were you even thinking?" I asked incredulously at her honest stupidity, the more I thought about it.

Weiss's face curdled like she tasted something sour, and Jingliu herself looked at the back of her mistress's head, where she said flatly. "Wow... That really is dumb when he puts it like that."

I leaned back in my chair with my arms folding across my chest, and I just stared into Weiss's eyes for a long minute as the room went painfully silent.

Until I broke the silence and asked plainly. "Well, how are you going to make this right? I obviously don't want to work with you during the Class Trial now." 

Her blue eyes tightened on me as I put a hand across my chin, and I tilted my head to the side and spoke. "Ahh... Thats what it was about. You wanted to hear what me and my master would talk about in terms of the Class Trial, well in either case..." I drew off.

Weiss visibly took a deep breath, and she said slowly. "I... I understand, I can try to find another team then, with the trust between us broken." 

I remained silent for a moment as I gazed at Weiss, and I myself considered things. Did I want to hold a grudge with Weiss over her stupid as-hell move? Or should I let bygones be bygones in order to use her talents along with Jingliu as a fighter?

As her being a royal was something to consider, as I wanted to win the Class Trial, her going to another team was a team I had to consider a rival to my own ambitions.

And it's not like I could sabotage another team during the Class Trial besides stealing their Grimm kills. 

So it was in my best interest to keep Weiss on my team simply to prevent her from being the leading factor of another team possibly winning.

That is to say, if there weren't other mages and warriors who themselves had mass grimm slaying abilities like Ruby's Silver Eyes.

There was a pause before I said bluntly. "I said... What will you do to make it right? I did not ask for an apology for being a failure and getting caught so you could skulk away."

Weiss's face twitched at my crass way of speaking, and she glared at me with the room becoming freezing cold as her ice magic leaked out of her.

But I didn't react to her mana release.

I just stared her right in the eye as I sat primly in my chair.

Weiss took a deep breath, and her right cheek sank in before she said frankly. "You don't care for an apology, so what do you want then? Some Dust? Magical Reagents? Money? I don't know what you want, frankly." 

"It's simple... During the Class Trial, you will wear a maid's outfit." 

Weiss's face became bright red as she gaped at me, as Jingliu actually laughed out loud as she could seemingly imagine Weiss's expression far better than I could.

"How... How dare you! I am a Schnee! A royal born of Atlas and lady of tens of thousands who waited on my every desire!" She snarled at me with her blue eyes glowing in magical warning.

But I instead leaned in and said with a cold smile. "My name is Jake Bariss... Commoner, slave to none, and lord to those who rely on me. I will see you in a maid outfit next week, or I am afraid there will be two more open spots on my team." 

There was a pause as Weiss seethed in her chair. She was malding with each moment she breathed, and just to finish things off, I added. "The Atlas Royal running off to Vale, to Beacon, who couldn't get first place against a commoner. That will be mighty embarrassing, won't it?"

At that, Jingliu's amusement ended as she gazed at me coldly and said calmly. "That will be enough, Jake, do not torment my lady." 

And I hummed before I nodded and said to the retainer. "Very well. In either case... I have said my piece. I am not your enemy, Weiss Schnee, nor even a rival. Even now, I can help you in much, but either way, I have said my demand for peace between us."

I stood up and prepared to leave, but Weiss's low voice cut me off. "You ask me to abandon my pride... The last thing I have to assuage this grievance?" 

To which I looked down at Weiss, who wasn't even looking at me, and I said more softly. "What pride? Your royal pride? Your royalty was left behind in Atlas, and even then, you still bleed the same red blood I do. So yes, I am asking you to shame yourself publicly to earn my forgiveness, Weiss Schnee." 

With that, I turned my back on the royal and Jingliu with New Jersey and Prinz Eugen following me as I headed off to my next damned class in Huntsmen and Nobility Law, which was strictly an ethics and schoolwork class.

Which was taught by an older man, and it was the hardest class so far... As it was truly a chore to stay awake in the class, as fucking law and ethics of all things were discussed by a monotone-speaking old man.

And so after the lovely lesson on how civilians normally worked themselves up into a knight position through the military. I headed on towards my second least favorite damned class in Human/Faunus Suppression/Eradication Training.

With Mr Kharisma standing promptly already at his podium waiting for us to file in, and once class started, the lights dimmed slightly as he handled a remote and he spoke aloud. "Today will be an academic day after yesterday's lab exercise in getting the untainted among you blooded." He spoke.

A projector screen lit up, and he continued to speak. "One of humanity's and Faunus kind's biggest issues of today, beyond Abominations and the Grimm themselves, are of bandits."

Soft whispers broke out in the class with Mr Kharisma's voice rising as he silenced the whispers. "Yes! Normally, a civilian who decides to take up some kind of trash weapon and attacks a resource convoy leaving Vale or one of its surrounding towns will just die to the Grimm in the wilderness."

The teacher gazed at the students before he said coldly. "But what if they have a semblance that makes them all but invisible to the Grimm? What if they have the patience to just dig up the dirt-impacted roads to make a hole for the trucks to fall into? Or just sets up a daisy chain of dust crystals to explode violently?"

The teacher shook his head as he continued. "It's not uncommon in any case, as people outside the walls of Vale live a much harsher life and are willing to do much to see their own walled-in towns prosper, to say nothing of keeping the loot for themselves."

A student raised up a hand and called out. "Sir, why don't we use mages with divination or information-gather magic to root out the bandits?" 

The teacher gave a wry smile and took a breath before saying. "The fact that you ask is plenty of evidence that you yourself don't use such magics. No, the Grimm themselves, with their dark, magical aura, taint magical signatures and areas that don't have other magical signatures or active aura pushing through them. It's how the Grimm seemingly teleports across continents into an area that has so many Grimm that more Grimm just seemingly spawn from the tainted area."

'Well, that makes a bit more sense.' I mused as the dark continent was its own solitary landmass, with any previous land bridges connected to the hellhole being destroyed long ago by the great Sages.

I raised my own hand as I asked. "How often do bandits attack, actually?" 

Mr. Kharisma, seeing my pointed question, swiftly answered. "Vale typically gets three hundred to four hundred and fifty major cargo shipments each day from the surrounding towns and noble dominions. And each day, there are typically a dozen bandit attacks that make attempts at stealing the convoy or at least making off with part of the cargo." 

"Hence why, as Huntsmen, besides just Grimm eradication. Much of your time will be spent escorting convoys between the major towns and Vale, as the resources from the towns are the lifeblood of Vale as with its large population and limited space within the walls.... There isn't any room to be farming obviously." He finished dryly.

I knew what he also meant. Vale, with its massive population, was a burning beacon to the Grimm's gaze, and thus, for the most part, the tides of Grimm were rushing toward Vale instead of running toward the less defended towns.

And so the lesson continued with the teacher explaining how small teams of Huntsmen, if not entire retinues, depending on the size of the cargo load being sent, would be assigned to protect the cargo loads.

With class ending this time without blood on my hands, quite literally, I was able to enjoy my lunch much more easily with my group coming back together to discuss things, and after a bit, I got locked into a conversation with Yang, who was talking about the unarmed combat instructor Udry who she was becoming the apprentice of.

"Yeah. It kinda sucks I won't be able to take part in this year's combat trial with how Udry wants me to go camping with him and the rest of the apprentices... But, eh, probably for the best, honestly. Ruby may try to pull some shit." She said with a shrug.

I raised an eyebrow and asked curiously. "You guys are just going... Camping?" I asked dryly.

And Yang grinned and said shamelessly. "Not just camping, you know! Udry is an old-school Druid, so there will be a punch of drugs and drug-filled alcohol that will get us apprentices in touch with our most primal selves. It's a good way to take your semblance as far as it can in unarmed combat, as the mind just focuses on madly smashing shit, haha!"

My lips twisted at the thought of a bunch of strung-out teenagers and young adults doing drugs in the forest to go punch Grimm to fucking death... But Udry was a literal Sage.

He has comprehended the way of punching shit so hard and good that he became literally immortal. And if getting high in the forest was part of that, who the hell was I say to anything about it. I certainly wasn't a sage after all.

Either way, Yang continued on. "Oh, and by the way, Jake. You need to get some one-on-one time with Fiora to get a real martial art. Sure, swinging that magic sword around is good and all, but you need an actual foundation to find your ki and begin training in that way." 

I gave Yang a gimlet glare as I stated flatly. "I literally just got to Beacon and began magic lessons, and plan on making a giant magical ghost battleship for the Class Trial. I am afraid I quite literally don't have the time for that, honestly." 

"Pshhh! Come on, Jake! You got like three or four hours after lessons and your extra crap to relax. Put an extra hour into sword lessons with Fiora if she will take you up on it!" Nora called out excitedly.

I gave the damned ginger a glare for the thought of stealing more of my already very short free time to relax before I sighed and said. "Alright... After today's lessons with Fiora, I will ask if she has free time to teach me and help me find a water-aligned sword martial art." 

Yang laughed, and my face was smushed into big soft titties as she drew me in for a damned noogie of all things as she said teasingly. "Good! You can be a spell caster all you want, but when baddies get up your face. You need a good way to beat their asses, haha!"

And just to prove her words, she showed how helpless I was when she squeezed me good, making my neck burn in warning at the pressure she was putting on me before she let go of me.

Shaking my head clear of that, I said flatly. "Ye,s well, I typically have canons between me and any weirdos who want to put their grubby mitts on me." 

With New Jersey pitching in helpfully. "I don't know Jake... Do you want me to get between you and Yang, giving you another motorboat session?" 

Yang actually flushed at New Jersey's words, with myself saying shamelessly and making her give me the cutest glare. "You know what... Yang is an exception to a bit of a struggle snuggle." 

With Nora and Alice chuckling at my words, as Velvet and Ren rolled their eyes.

Changing the subject, however, I reengaged Velvet and Alice as we began talking about making spectral cannons that could fit onto the ghost ship I was planning, and the conversation stretched out until our lunch was done and we split up with myself heading to my last official class of the day in Combat Training/Semblance Training/Magical Combat.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 21

Ahh... My second to least favorite class of them all. Fucking Combat Training/Semblance Training/Magical Combat. Or just melee combat training for me.

Honestly, I wasn't wired for straight-on brutal melee combat. It just wasn't me, I much more enjoyed controlling an anti-air gun and filling the air with more lead than air to make an enemy into a parking lot.

But I was well aware that knowing how to stab a bitch was extremely important if I wanted to become somewhat powerful in this world.

So once again I was in the mega classroom with dozens of sand pits but this time instead I was paired off directly with Mr. Kharisma who had chosen me to be the second chosen student for him to try to sus out their semblance and personal training.

Mr Kharisma obviously was intimidating with how large he was along with being encassed in armor. Not to mention the casual aura of impervious strength that clung to his form.

"Jake." Mr Kharisma drawled slowly as he unfolded his arms from around his chest.

I nodded and said respectfully. "Mr. Kharisma." 

He grunted and then he nudged his helmet-covered head to the private dueling pit he was in charge of. 

After getting into the dueling pit with Mr Kharisma he took a deep breath and spoke bluntly. "As you are well aware from Ozpin's speech, my semblance is foresight into the next ten minutes. But what you don't know is that each time I use my semblance I experience the entire ten minutes mentally in the course of a quarter of a second."

"So by the time you have entered classroom, I have already simulated the next ten minutes by more than five hundred times." He spoke with a slight frown.

I nodded and then said. "So... What did you kill me or something?" I asked flatly.

And I froze as he nodded and said calmly. "Yes, I did. I did it in order to find your semblance... And you would be surprised how many people have semblances that require them to die or be on deaths door. Basically, all of those people are sent directly to the necromancy branch or taken into the royal family to be trained by the Lich Sage Lord." 

For a moment of silence, I wanted to do something... Like ask what rhe fuck he was even thinking but I pulled back in those thoughts as I said dryly. "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that for my own sanity." 

To which Mr Kharisma in that said monotone emotionless tone said bluntly. "Each time I did it, I myself would die in short order as your ship New Jersey has a semblance that allows her to teleport to you when you take damage... Though Fiora would in turn kill New Jersey within a couple of moments of my own death.

I drew a hand across my face before I said flatly. "Well? I assume you found my semblance or something?" 

There was another slight pause before he nodded and his voice had a bit more interest in it as he spoke. "Correct, yes I have... It fits you entirely too well in fact." 

He waved a hand at me and he said more in his monotone and I realized his monotone was coming from mental exhaustion... As he had likely simulated this conversation and teaching me hundreds if not thousands of times in the minutes I had been here to say nothing of since I came into the classroom.

"Your Semblance is the creation of specifically 'Back Doors'."

I blinked hearing him. "Creating, back doors?" I asked for confirmation and he nodded silently.

'What the hell kind of semblance is opening a back door?' I thought in confusion before I caught the word 'creation' not just opening back doors.

"How do I create the backdoor, and how do I even use them?" I asked curiously.

With Mr. Kharisma audibly taking a breath before held his head and then spoke quietly so I had to lean in towards him.

"You image the door in your mind... And then you draw the door in your mind while connecting the door in your mind to another door. That is all we have found so far." 

I took it in... And after a moment I nodded and said. "Alright... Thanks for the help Mr. Kharisma, uhhh how long did it take us to find this out?" 

And Mr. Kharisma sighed and said. "A bit more than two thousand simulations in total, so in terms of simulated time about a month and a week... Now please excuse me, I am going to go drink as myself dying more than two hundred times has its own mental weight." 

I watched in bafflement as my teacher staggered off from the dueling pit... And as he went I considered offering a shoulder to help him.

Before I recalled how he killed me in those simulations with no fucking shame, and I bet he did a fuck load worse to me in order to push me to find my semblance.

So I just took a deep breath and my body glowed with my soft blue aura and I mentally created the outline of a door, hinges, handle and all. And I could feel my aura draining as a standing normal cheap painted apartment wooden door opened in front of me.

I slowly grabbed the handle of the door that matched my bedroom door from my previous life and I took a deep breath before pushing it open and as it opened my breath caught as the inside was filled with darkness before the bright light of the arena filled the room.

And I exhaled weakly in a wry smile as I saw my bedroom within Lux's tower filled that was now filled with the light of the arena. Not my apartment bedroom from my old life.

"Wait... How the fuck did I open a door portal into my room? Lux's tower is stupidly heavily warded to all hell?" I muttered in confusion.

But then a voice distracted me as Fiora called out in her thickly accented voice. "Jake, Mr Kharisma has already left to his quarters... I see you have found your semblance though."

The door that was standing in the middle of the dueling sands seemingly crumbled into a blue aura of mine as I wasn't focused on it and as I refocused on it, it solidified and I spoke frankly. "Yeah... Seems like I lucked out and basically got a teleportation semblance of sort? But instead of portals I just open doors."

Fiora gave a slight hum before she said calmly. "Doesn't seem so combat inclined at first glance... But that doesn't diminish the value of your semblance in the slightest if my thoughts of it are correct. The value of people being able to carry boxes for example through your semblance will basically set you up for life in any case." 

I nodded as that was a pretty easy thought to imagine and if my semblance couldn't even do that... I wanted a fucking refund honestly.

Either way, I willed the door to disappear and then watched as the door broke down into blue motes of light that quickly faded away.

"Come with me Jake, you will still have combat training even if you have managed to put Mr Kharisma to rest in exhaustion." 

Remembering Fiora's warning to only use her first name lest I wish to be running laps around the entire sparring yard of dozens of minature arena's I made sure to use said first name as I responded firmly.

"Yes Fiora, I do need more training with swordplay, to say the least." 

"Hmph, this is good that you know that least." Fiora scoffed lightly making me smile wryly.

Once we left the private dueling arena and entered the main room filled with the many dueling pits we took to one of the dueling pits and we began the lovely process of myself trying to hit Fiora with my saber.

Which went about nearly as well as it could be expected with how Fiora was a grandmaster with the potential to become a sage... To say the least, it didn't go well at all.

But after Fiora brought my aura down low after a good five minutes of sparring and was about to go beat the tar out of the Jingliu. I asked her about the lessons that were brought up earlier.

"Fiora I had a favor to ask." 

An elegant eyebrow rose up in curiosity before Fiora said calmly. "Speak then, the worst I will say is no... Unless it's an offer of courtship, then I will be saying no and then stabbing you." 

It was the utter banal way of saying she would stab me that made me pause before I coughed as Fiora's calm expression became awkward as though she was actually afraid of me saying something to that effect.

"No Fiora... That wasn't my intention, I was hoping I could get an hour or something in the afternoon for more sparring and if possible. Your aid in finding a water-aligned saber martial art style." 

Fiora blinked at hearing my question and she slowly nodded. "I see... Frankly speaking, I am more of wind alignment but I have several dozen water-aligned sword martial arts... Specifically saber ones?" She drew off in thought before nodding.

"I at least have a couple, but yes I will teach you at let's say... Eight O'clock tomorrow sharp, and you will be there yes?" She finished with a bit of terseness in her tone making me hurriedly nod.

"Yeah that should be perfectly fine, that gives me plenty of time to finish my magical lessons with my master in the afternoon along with working on my project for the class trial next week," I spoke firmly with her giving a slight smile before she twirled her sword and said.

"Good on you then for being organized, Jake. Now excuse me, I have other lessons to imprint upon the minds and bodies of the other students. You have ten minutes to recover your aura, then I expect you back in a sparring ring young man." 

With that, the Grand Duelist strutted out of my dueling pit with her heading for Jingliu to go beat some more elegance into her apparently.

In my small break, however, I got a good bit of amusement watching Pyrrha stomp Weiss into the ground. The petite white-haired beauty having decided to challenge the Hoplite-themed Amazon for pointers, which went as well as expected.

With both of the girls ending their sparring session after Pyrrha disarmed Weiss with a punch to the throat... Which was thankfully blocked by Weiss's aura.

"So Weiss, why are you acting so anxious," Pyrrha asked calmly as she leaned upright against the bleachers I was sitting at the edge of while Weiss took a seat a bit away from me as well.

My lips twitched and I gave Weiss an amused look as she huffed and then she visibly chewed on her thoughts before she said dryly. "I have been roped into doing something distasteful against my will." 

Pyrrha frowned and then she said with some heat. "Is it something just mildly inconvenient or is it something bigger?" 

And Weiss looked like she sucked on a surprise lemon before she spat out. "It's humiliating."

There was a pause before Pyrrha shrugged and said frankly. "My mother had me fight naked with several of her retainers on separate occasions... Humiliation and embarrassment is merely a state of mind." 

I gave Pyrrha a long look before I said in a drawl. "So does Ozpin bully your mother as much as the rumors say?" 

Pyrrha's expression twisted before she brushed a hand through her admittedly beautiful hair and said awkwardly. "It's not just my mother in particular... It happens to all of the Sages of Mistral, as Ozpin abhors slavery and even now he bullies at least one sage of Mistral each week." 

I shook my head at how ridiculous that was. But then Pyrrha spoke up again. "So in any case, is our team members set for the Class Trial?" Pyrrha asked for clarification.

"Yup, I got a couple of students to replace my retainers in a light mage and Light God worshipper, along with a student of Lady Calia who is helping me with a project," I explained.

Pyrrha nodded in understanding and after a minute Weiss spoke with grudging curiosity. "What project are you working on?" 

And I remained silent for a minute to make Weiss flush with anger before I spoke calmly. "Oh, I got a plan to make a ghost ship of a sort that I can control with my semblance, yet also be piloted remotely and automatically by the enslaved souls bound to the ship."

Both girls looked nonplussed at my words, but Weiss was a royal and was used to people serving her... And Pyrrha came from a clan that was based on Sparta's culture and dealt with their slaves no differently than the Spartans of my old world treated Helots.

Either way, I looked at Weiss and Pyrrha and asked curiously. "Are you two getting magical lessons from any of the teachers here in Vale?" 

To which both paused before Pyrrha chuckled and said. "I have an inheritance from lightning and metal magic-wielding sages. That will at least get me to the Grandmaster tier in magic."

And Weiss shrugged and said calmly. "I also have the inheritance of several ice magic-wielding Sages. So I will be quite fine."

'Well, that's fancy.' I thought rolling my eyes but then Pyrrha asked. "So Jake, how are your own lessons with your master Miss Crownsguard?" 

"Well enough, I suppose. Today is supposed to be my first dedicated lesson with her after she helped me form my magical core. In either case, we should probably get back to sparring... We probably don't want Fiora to have to personally remind us to keep going."

Both ladies nodded quickly in agreement and I got matched up with Pyrrha for some sparring while Weiss went to go fight another student.

-

With combat training done I went and took a good long shower with my shipgirl's following along with me while Nora had to limp behind a bit as she decided to try to see what limits her Semblance allowed her to absorb electricity to strengthen her.

Which was in fact a large amount of electricity... But she did find a limit that she found and was now working on extending that limit to access greater amounts of strength.

But with Beacon Classes over for the day, I grabbed myself a quick snack before I headed down the tower to the ritual room where Lux was supposed to meet me for our first lesson of magic.

As I sat in the thick mana-filled ritual room I continued working on the Wisdom Cube to make another Shipgirl, but honestly, I was thinking about saving up two Wisdom Cubes to guarantee a stronger Shipgirl.

Because it would be really... Really awkward if I got unlucky enough to get one of those preschooler ship girls that made up the majority of the 1-star ships.

But as I was waiting for Lux to make it here, I twitched as my scroll bleeped in warning as one of my few contacts messaged me.

Taking my scroll out with one hand as my other kept filling the Wisodm Cube with my aura, I hummed as I read the message.

[Morgan- Jake my mother Artoria has agreed to become your retainer along with my older sister Sapphron as well. Lady Crownsguard who was meeting with my master hearing this has already given a couple of spare passes to the tower so you do not need to worry about letting her in or anything.]

Then my scroll vibrated as she sent another message. [Thank you for the help with this issue Jake. And Jean is very excited to begin work on that ghost ship project with my siblings sparring no expense to tease her... In any case, I wish you a productive rest of your day Jake.]

'Jeeze... Morgan definitely is rather formal.' I thought with a wry smile before I messaged her back. [I am glad to hear she has agreed to the proposal, and I will try not to bully Jean any further... But yes I also wish for you to have a productive afternoon as I will be.]

And with that I put away my scroll knowing that Morgan wasn't going to message me back, allowing me to get back to work on filling out and creating another Wisdom Cube.

A soft thumping noise rang out and I looked over at the entrance with my lips twitching harshly as I saw a fucking fat stack of books floating into the room with a book having fallen down when Lux had opened the door.

"Hello, Jake!" Lux spoke in a sing-song of excitement making me deadpan as I stared at the stack of books taller than Lux was herself.

"Dropping a massive pile of books on me... Doesn't count as magical lessons Master." I said dryly making Lux pout as she looked at me with blame.

"You! Bah, I got in trouble due to not helping make your magic core but how was I to know Cinder was such a go-getter!" She muttered making my deadpan turn to sarcasm as I retorted.

"Because you got easily caught due to me making my magic core while you were off playing hooky with the princess!" 

Lux covered her chest with her hands as though my words were an arrow through her heart making me roll my eyes as she just stuck her tongue out at me before giggling.

"Anyway, nope! These books aren't merely just for reading Jake, they are Grimoires, books in which Grandmasters and Sages have written their very core understanding of their styles, and magic, into said books before they die typically!" 

I blinked as I looked at the books and as they came closer I shivered as the stack of books seemingly emanated their own mana that only when closer to me overpowered the dense ambient mana that filled the ritual room.

"I mean... I knew you were rich and the Crownsguard family had history, but I imagine these are exceedingly rare aren't they?" I asked respectfully.

But instead, Lux pouted and she grumbled. "You are damned right they are rare, my family whose lineage spans literal millennia... Millennia! Only has twenty-six of them. I had to borrow these from the first princess which is why I was meeting with her yesterday buster!" 

And as she said that, she poked me with one of her pointer fingers with blame clear in her eyes making me smile wryly so I said softly. "Alright Lux. Next time Miss Goodwitch is on the warpath on you, I will see if I can take the fall." 

Lux sniffed and said with some flat amusement. "That will just make Miss Goodwitch punish both of us and make it into a team exercise... Trust me, Jake, don't put yourself in Miss Goodwitch's sights." 

"Now! Back to the fun part, so as Cinder probably told you. With your individual mana pool, you will need to build a spell matrix inside of your mana pool." Lux began to explain.

"In order to cast a spell you need to carefully build a spell matrix that will basically act as a program for the spell inside of your mana pool. And then when the spell matrix is complete you will be able to use the spell from the mana within your mana pool whenever you want!"

I nodded slowly in understanding before I asked curiously. "And these Grimoires will help me form a spell matrix I assume? And would having the book helping me, hurt me in the long run?" 

Lux shook her head swiftly and said firmly. "Although the books certainly help a good deal Jake, they basically just form the outline of the spell matrix inside of your mana pool for you. You still need to be able to draw within the lines inside your mana pool with your own mana."

She smiled wryly and said with a shudder. "Trust me... These Grimoires will cut down literally months of training in mana manipulation within your mana pool to days if not weeks at most. Especially when you are concentrating on your mana pool and having to look at a mundane spell book to copy that spell matrix." 

After a moment the stack of books slowly hit the ground with a soft thump as the various books gently flew off the tower and then floated down to meet my sitting form on the ground.

Lux then spoke. "Each book is authored by either a Sage or Grandmaster of water elemental magic and a part of their immortal will resides in the book in deep slumber... I won't tell you which is written by a sage or grandmaster so you gotta find which one accepts you." 

I stared at the books before I dryly asked. "What if they all reject me?" 

And after a short pause Lux retorted flatly. "I accepted you as my student... If they all reject you then something is wrong with the books of course!"

'Damn... My master is shameless.' I thought in amusement as I started on the leftmost grimoire.

[Transcendent Waves]

And the moment my hand touched the book gently I yelled in pain as spikes of water shot through my hand making me wrench my hand back in surprise as I held my bloody hand that had three coin-sized holes shot through my palm.

"Fucking bitch, I told her not to give me a cursed book!" Lux snapped as she took my hand from me with unforseen strength and I bit my lower lip as I held in a scream as a freezing icy sensation covered my wounds.

And then Lux said more quietly. "I numbed the pain Jake, I am a Grandmaster of Light Magic which includes healing magic... I will have you as good as new in a couple of minutes, just close your eyes and count to ten." 

I did as Lux said even as sharp lances of pain shot up my arm and then as I slowly counted beside Lux who was verbally counting for me to center my mind obviously I felt the pain leaving my hand but I didn't open my eyes... 

As Lux was pouring out enough holy light energy that my eyes were burning even with my eyelids closed.

Finally, the light darkened down with Lux huffing and saying. "Ok, my adorable disciple it's all better." I felt Lux patting my head as I opened my eyes and instantly took in how my hand didn't even have a scar on it.

But I just blinked and with a cough, I asked the obvious fucking question. "So what the hell just happened there?"

And Lux scowled with heavy mana escaping her form along with a disturbing swirl of rainbows in her eyes as she growled. "Only technically the book wasn't cursed... It's got a bloodline lock on it, so the spikes that pierced your hand were only to graze your skin but seeing as you weren't related to the Sage of Waves you got spikes through your hand." 

I gave Lux a long look and I with a wry smile. "Master... Please inspect the other books for such issues. I don't want to get cursed, or more spikes through my hands. It hurts quite a bit in fact." 

After a couple of minutes, Lux pushed three more out of the dozen-plus large tomes out of the stack with her muttering embarrassedly. "Yeah... With more bloodline locks, the Princess didn't exactly have a chance to choose the books at length besides grabbing all the water element Grimoires. So please don't blame her."

I exhaled and said with a slight huff. "I mean you healed the wound... So I can't blame her for loaning out such valuable treasures that rightfully have their own protection." 

Though a part of me definitely blamed Lux for not checking the damned books beyond making sure they weren't cursed with something lethal or something.

Either way, I looked to the next book on my left, and with my left hand, I gently laid my hand on the top of the book with one eye closed as I waited for some kind of violent reaction.

[Needle Rain Drops] The name filled my mind and from within my Mana core, the pool of liquid mana that made my core I saw a large three-dimensional raindrop floating partially inside of the pool of mana with much of the spell matrix outside of the pool of mana.

"Huh, old Needle Storm accepted you huh." Lux muttered as she pulled the book away from my hand and I shook my head as the foreign mental energy was pulled away as well with the book leaving my hand.

"Anyway, you will be able to read the book here in the ritual room where it has some protections against the will of the Needle Storm Grandmaster polluting your mind," Lux spoke as she waved her hand with the Grimoires flying across the room and then stacking themself into a trio of neat piles on a table near the wall.

"Now! Here comes the worst part about becoming a mage... Actually drawing the spell matrix and filling it with mana." Lux said with fond annoyance in her tone which clearly expressed how annoyed she was.

Lux began a long-winded explanation on how I needed to basically mentally form a paintbrush that I could coat in my mana. And then from there, I had to pain over the three-dimensional spell matrix within my mana core to form the spell matrix.

Which to say the least was far easier said than done especially when A- I had no art experience, B- It was a bitch forming a pain brush out of mental energy when I had never formed anything with mental energy before.

And finally, there was the fact that if I failed even slightly, the spell matrix frame implanted by the Grimoire would shatter the spell matrix and make me start completely over so I was forced to make a basically perfect spell matrix.

"Alrighty so within the mental scape of your Manacore, magic is made manifest so go ahead and begin working on your paintbrush," Lux spoke as she levitated a couple of chairs for us to sit and get comfortable within.

And as I sat down Lux asked quietly. "Do you mind if I watch you try to make the mental energy paintbrush?" 

I opened my eyes and asked simply. "Will it be like... Show my memories or something weird like that?" 

And Lux giggled and said brightly. "No not at all Jake. Also don't worry I will be leaving you with some general magic books for you to study at your leisure. I just want to make sure you have at least one spell matrix done in your mana core before you rush off to the Class Trial."

I nodded in understanding and said calmly. "Go on ahead then." 

And I just kicked back in the seat and relaxed. My eyes closed as I tried to lull myself into a stupor so I could begin the process of fully moving my mind into my mana core.

I felt Lux's hand gently take my own, not fully holding my hand intimately or anything. But she was gently holding my four main fingers in her smaller hand as her mana gently entered my body.

And softly I heard Lux speak. "Well well, you really do have a very strong water alignment. I wonder what your semblance is, and if it aligns with that as well as if your magic core is as water-aligned as possible." 

I didn't interrupt as I just focused on drawing as much mental energy as I could into my mana core.

Several minutes later I felt a spark of something and Lux hummed gently with her saying. "There you go, Jake. You congealed enough mental energy to spark to life within your mana core, now do it again but maintain the mental energy glow to create the paintbrush."

And I quickly realized why being a mage was such a difficult task and why there weren't countless more of them compared to warriors who specialized in simply using aura.

Coaxing mental energy to the point of solidification was... Literally a migraine on demand as when I ran out of mental energy as I clumsily tried to make the mental paintbrush which meant I was out of mental energy.

"Here Jake, drink this. It will help your mind become more active so your mind can supply more mental energy." Lux spoke as she opened a rip in the air and I watched her hand disappear into the rip before she handed me a small vial that she opened.

'Was that like a pocket dimension or something?' I wondered before I knocked back the small vial and shuddered as the horrid taste seemingly continued all the way down my throat with the taste lingering within my stomach.

"Just relax for a minute, and when the headache goes away. Continue working on the brush, I will be paying attention in the background with my mental partitions while I do my own reading." Lux spoke calmly as I nodded slowly in understanding.

I kept working at the mental brush while Lux gave occasional pointers and some actually helpful anecdotes that made sense the more I thought about them. But either way, I spent a good couple of hours just working and practicing making the paintbrush.

With Lux having me break the paintbrush down and how to make it better as the better the paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil or whatever you used to make the Spell Matrix, the easier it would be to correctly form the Spell Matrix.

And for some higher leveled spell matrices like Master and Grandmaster Spell matrix, Lux told me quite bluntly that even for her, who could split her mind into dozens of independent minds to form the Spell Matrix with multiple brushes, chisel, and other tools.

It would take her a couple of weeks without a single failure to correctly create a Master Spell Matrix that she could cast at will when it was created... Now imagine how long a Sage spell would take for a normal person who didn't have Lux's cheat ability to be able to divide up her mind into partitions.

"Alright Jake, the mental quickening potion will be running out soon. I suggest you work at making the paintbrush after dinner until your mind runs out of energy, and then right before bed." Lux spoke making me nod in understanding.

"I will do that," I said with Lux giggling and saying.

"Just don't pull a Cinder and make me rush to the infirmary... She overworked herself and gave herself a wee bit of a brain hemorrhage by overusing her mental energy when she first started." 

My lips twitched before I said dryly. "I... I will make sure to be responsible then."

Lux then stood up from her chair and said. "Alright! Come with me Jake, I got some books over here I want you to read over the next couple of days."

I followed her out of the Ritual Room with myself shuddering a bit at leaving the cloying mana rich room and as we left through the thick enchanted door I was reminded about my semblance.

"Lux I do have something to talk to you about. I found out what my semblance is from Mr. Kharisma." 

She listened carefully as I explained how I could create a door that could connect to other doors and how I opened a 'Back Door' to my own bedroom here in Lux's magical tower.

Lux's face became pinched before she said flatly. "I didn't clear you for any spatial magic to be used within my tower... In case a Grimm ever ate you, I didn't want that Grimm to be able to use your soul as a ticket to teleport into my tower after it devoured your memories." 

I shuddered at the way she spoke but I swallowed and continued. "Want me to show you here? I can summon up the 'Back Door' to my room?" 

And damn Mr. Kharisma for telling me my semblance was the creation of 'Back Doors' now whenever I thought of being in a stressful situation and shouting. 'I am opening up a back door!'

All I could imagine is someone looking at me and people whispering about a butt hole or something...

But Lux nodded and said firmly. "Go ahead Jake, open a door to your own bedroom right here."

And I concentrated on making the door... And I realized it was using a tiny amount of mental energy to do so. Making me wonder if the quality and the detail of the door matter at all.

But soon enough I formed a door in front of myself and Lux stepped closer to inspect it with her eyes glowing with mana.

"Yup... It's made entirely out of your aura, so it is indeed your semblance. A pity it's not a semblance like mine but this is... Utterly ridiculous! My wards aren't picking up the door at all!" Lux snapped at the end and looked ready to stomp on the ground in frustration.

So I helpfully said. "Mr Kharisma said it's me opening 'Back Doors' Maybe the fact that it's a back door instead of a front door is why your wards can't pick them up."

Lux slowly turned around and looked at me with a deadpan that was complete with her eyebrow twitching and then she said flatly. "That... Is distinctly unhelpful Jake. Wait one second." 

My master took out her scroll and then she dialed a number that bleeped twice as she put it on speakerphone. And then the call was picked up with a calm but firm voice speaking.

"Luxanna, what do you need? Did Jake have a brain hemorrhage like Cinder did due to you not warning him about overusing his mental energy?" 

Lux just stared at her phone in betrayal as though Miss Goodwitch just sold her up the river into slavery.

But she took an audible breath and spoke bluntly. "No Miss Goodwitch, He learned his semblance is a teleportation type. Stable material and non-portal form of teleportation. The issue is I didn't clear him in the wards to use any spatial magic or anything which should include semblances." 

There was a pause before Miss Goodwitch hummed and asked calmly. "I assume you wish for me to test if Jake can teleport into my own tower due to my much stronger wards that totally disable any spatial abilities?" 

"Correct," Lux said shortly.

There was a pause before Miss Goodwitch said. "Very well, tell Jake to open a door to the entertainment room he was in yesterday, with my disciple Morgan. I have the mundane security cameras watching the room currently." 

"I am doing so Miss Goodwitch." I spoke aloud and I blinked as I realized I could open more than one door at a time though it seemed that the second door cost more aura than the first one did despite them being the same door essentially.

To the side of the first door, was a second door. And just like before I could feel the connection with the second door and while Miss Goodwitch was silent on her scroll I saw Lux's eye twitch as I pushed the door open revealing the inside of Miss Goodwitch's tower and poked my head through the door to look around.

Both ladies were silent for a long minute before Miss Goodwitch said flatly. "I see you Jake... And my wards as well only registered you when you stepped into the door." 

Left unsaid was how Miss Goodwitch, the literal Sage's wards couldn't sense my Back Door opening inside her magical tower.

"Luxanna, Jake, do not tell anyone you can open these doors behind wards, if Masters from Mistral hear about that. Who are still heavily involved with their slave trade, they will stop at nothing at kidnapping you Jake." Miss Goodwitch said honestly making my lips curl at hearing that.

I brushed a hand across my face and said. "Alright thank you for the warning Miss Goodwitch."

And with that Lux added on. "Yes, thank you master for your aid, I imagine you will wish to do some testing as well. But my disciple needs some rest after working on his mental paintbrush for the last couple of hours."

"Very well Luxanna, you and Jake have a good night. Maybe in a few days once Jake is done with making his first spell matrix I will take him for a couple of lessons and do some more testing with his semblance if you would agree Luxanna."

Lux looked at me with all but teary eyes and a quivering lip and I nodded with Lux doing a small fist pump before she said 'calmly'. "Of course, Master, Jake would be honored to have your tutelage for however long you are willing to teach him." 

And with that, there was a bit of pleasantries before Miss Goodwitch hung up with Lux sagging in relief at not being scolded by the very strict Vice-Headmistress of Beacon.

"Well, I am glad Miss Goodwitch didn't snap on me." Lux said with honest relief making my lips twitch in amusement.

Looking at my own scroll I raised an eyebrow seeing a message from Jean messaging me that she was free now for our project. "Lux, I have a large-scale project for the Class Trial to make sure I win. Is it ok if I give Jean Arc, Morgan's younger sister a pass to the tower?" 

Lux's lips curled into a frown for a moment before she nodded slowly. "Yeah... I know Jean is a good girl, even if she Calia's student. Go ahead and give her one I don't mind, but make sure you escort her through the tower and take the pass back when the project is done."

I nodded in understanding as I was well aware that Lux had some issues with Calia the necromancy teacher due to Ferid being her bitch self.

"Alright, then I am going to go let Jean in so we can get to work. When will our next lesson be Lux?" I asked curiously.

My teacher gave a slight humming noise before she spoke.

"Two days from now probably. Continue to practice and empty your mental energy three times a day, five times at most spread out across the day and I will message you so we may, if the mental construct is good enough. Begin working on your spell matrix." 

I then shared a few pleasantries with Lux and then I left her as I went down to the bottom floor of the tower where I met with Prinz Eugen who would be guarding and spending time with me.

With New Jersey helping spar with Ren to help him get used to his new body... And speaking of which, I also need to make his more advanced body as well.

Either way, when Prinz came down I was immediately greeted with a teasing smile as she playfully demanded. "Jake! Are you abandoning me and New Jersey?" 

I huffed and pulled Prinz in for a hug making her freeze slightly as my hands wrapped around her waist and I said softly. "No, I would never abandon you Prinz." 

A soft squeeze around her waist was given before I let go of her and spoke softly but still firmly. "I am making a ghost ship so that we can have a mobile fortress basically. And you girls still have all your firepower even if you don't summon your actual ships."

I then leaned back to cutely poke Prinz on the forehead as I said with humor. "You and New Jersey will be far more effective just climbing up into the crow's nests and then blasting the landscape with your rigging with the height advantage.

With that Prinze just rolled her eyes and danced out of my arms with her saying pointedly. "Sticking far stronger ships atop a far worse ship doesn't make you right Jake?"

I raised an eyebrow and retorted. "I know you and New Jersey can fly... But the rest of us can't." 

"Such is the weakness of mere humans. As Nora would put it... That is a Skill Issue my Admiral." Prinz finished with a throaty pur that made me want to jump her.

But that would only play into the hands of the horny Iron Blood ship so I did the best thing and just snorted and said. "Either way, having a mobile fortress I can literally carry on me will only be for the better." 

Nothing was saying I couldn't keep upgrading the ghost ship after all. Adding more people's corrupted souls to it that we collected from the Grimm we killed. Or the captured souls of criminals and such.

To say nothing of using magical reagents to improve the frame of the ghost ship I had in mind.

Soon enough however Jean arrived at the tower and I went and brought her into the tower giving her the pass to the tower while making sure to tell her that it was a temporary thing due to our masters... Colored history.

Which Jean understood all too well especially knowing how Calia had used some kind of soul hypnosis on me to coax me into becoming her own student.

"Hmm, you certainly have better taste in fashion than the majority of the rest here," Prinz said with a small smile seeing Jean in black and dark red goth clothes in a tight-fitting short dress and spider web-themed lace gloves.

Which also fit Prinz Eugen's darker Iron Blood clothes as well.

"Thanks, I think?" Jean said with a wry smile before she shrugged looked at me and said. "Mistress Calia spoke with your master and she said that the materials have already been moved into the workshop under your master's tower. Are you ready to get to work?"

I nodded firmly. "Yes, I already got part of the planned process complete," I spoke proudly.

We headed down to the workshop and I proudly showed off the enchanted bottle I made with my semblance and explained. "With this bottle, I will be able to suck the ship into the bottle and carry it around without the bottle weighing anything extra!" I announced.

"Something about the connection between lost ships being captured by a black magic user and kept in a bottle Jake?" Prinz asked in good-natured curiosity.

And I nodded before shrugging and saying. "Something like that maybe. I don't know honestly, its part of my powers as an inborn Admiral. Anyway, so Jean we need to make the frame of the ship to be anchored to reality." 

Jean knowing what I meant nodded in turn with her saying with a small smile. "Correct Jake, even if the ghost ship you manifest can be powerful, a spiritual entity will be dozens of times more powerful if it has a host structure to use." 

I pushed some aura into the ghost ship that was within the bottle and it glowed a dark green with us being able to see through its ghostly form as it gently floated back and forth on the enchanted waters filling the bottle.

"Also... I am naming the ship the Black Pearl, and I can't be dissuaded from that." I said firmly with Jean raising an eyebrow as Prinz snorted in amusement.

But Jean just shrugged and then she pointed towards the large covered pile across the workshop. "That's fine. It's actually a pretty good name for a ship of undead and ghosts... Anyway so let's get to work making the frame." 

She brought me over to the large covered mound of materials and after we pulled off the large tarp I had to hold in a retch... As there were quite literally several metric tons of corpses on the platform.

"So the larger corpses at the bottom are elephants and some magical creatures that consumed magical reagents and mutated with them unlocking their mana pool along with unlocking their aura." Jean explained happily while I swallowed as I realized there wasn't any stink of death or rotting.

"How come it doesn't smell?" I asked dryly.

And Jean blinked before she gave a wry smile. "Ahh... All Necromancer's clothes are enchanted to get rid of the smell of decay and foul smells in a large radius around them. So we are looked a bit better upon when everyone loses their body odor smell." 

Prinz and I both gave the shameless necromancer a look before I brushed a hand through my hair and said. "Alright! So first thing we need to do is build the keel. To do that we will need the biggest spines and strongest magical bones to fuse together to form the keel which is the backbone of the ship." 

And so we got to work, and I realized that Jean although dabbling slightly in Morgan's soul-eating fire for offensive magic to defend herself. Her major study in necromancy was in fact fleshcrafting more specifically in bone manipulation.

With Jean's magic, she could all but mold the bones together like they were clay with the bones becoming whole new structures with Jean commenting. "Honestly this is far easier than my normal extra-large ghouls I make to be sent to the Walls. I don't have to worry about sticking muscles and ligaments to the bones or anything." 

I nodded as I took in the keel of the Full Rigged Ship styled ship and from there I called down the rest of my group to help make frames to hold the ship's outer shell as Jean worked hard to fuse countless bones from the various corpses into huge bone planks.

And with the meat and organs from the corpses... She used them as glue and ligaments basically between the planks with Jean saying. "With meat between the bones the ship will be more alive, and thus be able to fix itself without our intervention... So long as we throw more corpses into the depths of the ship as I am setting the bottom back as the stomach."

"Will the ship... Like, come alive or something?" I asked with a wry smile as I already saw the literal stack of soul jars next to the corpse pile that was filled with glowing candle flame-like souls of people who had died next to a necromancer.

It was Jean's turn to give me a dry look before she said flatly. "You literally have two ships that have been brought to life with souls you created from your own. Does it even matter?" 

And I obviously didn't have much of a response besides the ship's loyalty being an issue and Jean then responded. "Loyalty won't be an issue, the ship's brain module will be basically scrambled with all the conflicting souls. With only our commands being able to cut through the din of all the souls who will be bound to the ship." 

And that was fair enough.

Though beyond the ethics of keeping souls bound to the mortal earth and keeping them from going... Fuck all who knows where as not even the God of Light Church could say where the souls went.

At least on the Black Pearl, the souls would be free to roam about the ship freely when they weren't at work during a battle or repairing the ship afterward.

"Woah this ship is going to be huge isn't it!" Nora asked excitedly as she helped move one of the massive masts made out of bone with the sails made out of the fused skin of humans and creatures.

And I had a wide fucking grin as I called out back jokingly. "Yup! It's going to be a hundred meters long! More than big enough to carry your back bumpers haha!" 

Nora waved a fist at me in warning as she shouted back. "I will have you know, my back bumpers are perfect floatation devices! If anything my perfect behind will help the ship keep afloat haha!"

-

A few minutes later however as we were deep in work I was welcome to a new face and another one I had seen the previous day. "Sapphron, it's good to see you again," I spoke with a smile before I turned to the Arc matriarch.

And dear fucking god the fact that she had eight kids was evident as Artoria Arc was built like a honey blond-haired and blue-eyed fertility goddess.

Her long honey-blond hair was tied up in a loose ponytail that still cascaded down past her ample backside and she was wearing a sweater with a very wide cut across the top that exposed her cleavage.

But not only was she beautiful, but she had the welcoming smile of an angel. But she was carrying food!

"Hello, guys! I brought pizza for you all to snack on, just make sure to also have some of the grilled chicken salad I made for you all as well." She announced.

And like the teenagers we were. Even Prinz and New Jersey flooded towards the milf with her handing out stacks of pizza boxes and giving everyone their own premade salad.

Afterward, though Artoria followed me to a table where Jean, Prinz and I were eating while the rest of my retinue in Alice, Velvet, and New Jersey were sitting at another table.

Nora and Ren were also sharing a table... But Ren was carefully eating his nutrient 'fish' flakes to keep his disembodied head in good health, while Nora was just eating his pizza as well.

"So Jake, what made you agree to take me on if you don't mind me asking?" Artoria asked gently.

"Well, I am extremely busy, and several of my retinue are rather... In-the-moment thinkers. So frankly having a den-mother will help my group be kept far more on task." I admitted.

Artoria gave a soft hum before she smiled and said. "Well, I am well used to taking care of more than half a dozen children at once."

I gave the blond woman a look before saying with a raised eyebrow. "I would be careful in being... Too motherly in any case, most of us are orphans frankly." 

And Artoria's face pinched as Prinz helpfully explained how Nora and Ren were orphans with Ren having died before I revived him using his head. And then I said with a wry expression.

"Can't forget Velvet and Alice are also orphans... Their grandfather literally up and died in peace at hearing the two finally had someone to rely on and they weren't going to become homeless." 

"Should we just call our group the Orphan Brigade?" Prinz asked teasingly making me almost choke on my pizza.

Jean snickered which made sense with her goth and darker sense of humor. But Artoria just awkwardly laughed as it was a joke a bit too far for her apparently.

I coughed and then said more pressingly. "Alrighty! So Artoria how is moving into Lux's tower?" 

Artoria glad at the change of subjects about orphans put on a more natural smile and said. "Oh, it's certainly roomy enough. Though it's a change of pace I will need to get used to." 

I nodded and then added. "Do you need any help moving any of your personal belongings from your old home here? I imagine this was kinda a rushed thing right?" 

There was a pause before Artoria's smile faded and she said uncomfortably. "Yes... I will probably need some help truthfully. My landlord has been.-"

She had to visibly chew on her response before she sighed and said. "He is a man of the cloth, but his heart is darkened with the secular world, to say the least. He is trying to use old tenant laws for settlements outside of Vale to compel my staying within his owned property." 

I snorted as I was well aware of those laws from my huntsmen and nobility laws classes.

Basically, the nobility outside of Vale's walls were legally able to compel the commoners to stay within their homes in order to root out bandits, and abominations that might have infiltrated the settlement.

"Those laws are to enforce stability within the settlements past Vale's walls. If he tried to pull that in court, a judge would laugh him out of there." I said with disdain.

But seeing her mother's awkward expression Jean spoke. "The man is not only a Baron, which is still nobility, but he does have standing in the Church of the God of Light. That would allow him to get a judge more... Appreciative of his goals."

I was silent for a minute as I chewed my pizza at the reminder of Artoria's shitheel of a landlord... But to be honest it was only now that I got to see Artoria that I could actually respect the Landlord's choices.

Hell if I had a mortal fertility goddess living all alone on my owned properties and I was a scum bag like this pastor was. Artoria was literally perfect bait beside the bevy of connections her daughters had.

Actually... "Jean, I am curious. Did you talk to Lady Calia about your mother's landlord?" I asked.

Jean's face darkened and she said dryly. "Lady Calia only avenges her disciples if they die. We are told very bluntly not to rely on her for political games as she has even took Ferid to task for the Flesh Automaton incident." 

Jean continued with a now wry smile. "If I did ask her what I should do or for advice... She would tell me to just kill the man, reanimate his corpse, and then have it leave Vale through a convoy and be devoured by the Grimm." 

The table went quiet at that. And we just finished our pizza before I said with a wry smile. "Well Artoria, how about I help you today to go get your stuff while I am free? Jean you are going to be busy for the rest of the day fusing the bones into planks right?"

At Jean's nod, I continued. "Alright, so I am basically free for the rest of the day. Would you like to go then Artoria?"

Artoria considered the thought before Jean who had a wry smile said. "Mom, you probably want to get the clothes you couldn't fit in your suitcase right?" 

And I could see Artoria blink before she firmly nodded and then she threw me a thankful smile and said. "I appreciate you offering to help me Jake. Then how about we go in now if you are done eating?"

Truth be told I did already have three slices of pizza so that was enough to sate me for the rest of the night.

"Alright let's get going then." I spoke as I stood up with Artoria standing up and I looked over at the table where New Jersey was eating next to Velvet and Alice.

"Prinz and I are going to help Artoria move some stuff from her old home to Beacon." I called New Jersey just threw me a big thumbs up and a one-eyed wink as her mouth was stuffed with pizza.

From there Artoria and I headed over to the Flightdeck, where dozens of Bullheads were leaving Beacon every hour to ferry supplies and huntsmen back and forth between the city and Beacon.

So we were able to easily get a ride back to the city of Vale, and I learned that the arc's used to live just outside the noble quarter's as apparently a couple of generations back they did have a Baron within the family who allowed them to own land.

But said Baron died and for the last couple of generations, they hadn't been able to get a true landed noble.

The Arc's home was a rather large townhouse surrounded by a pleasant picket fence and we were dropped off out of the taxi in front of the house. Jean spoke dryly. "Father Elijah owns practically this entire street and the next one over." 

I hummed at the thought of land-owning religious figures but I just followed Artoria who was clearly in a rush as she went inside her home. But then as I approached the house I paused as I realized that going inside could be fairly rude so I just called out to Jean as Prinz went into the house as well.

"I will just stay here for a bit so you guys can pack anything sensitive... If you ladies need anything heavier moved just ask me." I spoke out.

And I saw Artoria's face tighten before she nodded with a sad smile. "I... Yes thank you, I need to put away Jaune's things if I am leaving this home behind and I don't want the landlord tossing his belongings into the trash."

I gave a grave nod of understanding knowing the mother was probably going to be in a bad mood having to do that so I just closed the door leading into the house and sat on the stairs and just stared up into the darkening sky above my head.

A few minutes passed by as I just relaxed with the only distractions being the sound of distant cars, and of course the distant sounds of siege weapons shooting constantly from the massive walls surrounding Vale.

But then that peace was shattered and my hand slid down to my enchanted saber lying across my lap as a white luxury vehicle came to a stop in front of the house.

'Zero guesses needed for who this is.' I thought flatly as I saw mounted atop the front of the car was a golden dragon which was the iconography of the God of Light.

And I actually let out a flat groan of fucking exasperation as I saw the so-called Father Elijah.

He was literally the definition of an Ugly Bastard. Being even taller then myself at like six and a half feet compared to my six feet flat he stretched out his white, red, and gold trim pastor outfit with each lumbering step his fat ass took.

"Ah, are you a friend of the Arc Family?" The man asked with false cheer as he eyed me with beady eyes and I raised an eyebrow.

Then I stood up as I wasn't going to play any games with this man. I took a step forward to block him from entering past the fence as I stood on the other side and I said calmly. "No, I am their lord, Artoria Arc is my retainer and serving me within Beacon." 

The man paused before his cheeks flushed as he actually glared at me and I noticed with a raised eyebrow as the gold trim in his pastor outfit glowed slightly so in warning I glowed with my aura with my hand resting all to clearly on my sword.

"Do it Fatman... Before you even react, your head will be rolling across the ground. My name is Jake Bariss, disciple of Luxanna Crownsguard." I said with a cold smile.

He sneered and he retorted flatly. "So what if you are the disciple of some other noble. I have the church behind me!"

A loud scraping rang out as I slowly drew the sword with it flaring with its enchantment. "My master isn't like Miss Goodwitch, she spoils me you see... If I tell her an uppity pastor whose only value to the church is the money he brings in is being an issue, she will have no problem using a Duke house's influence to crush any issues that come about from me killing you." 

I wasn't playing around with this guy. I knew that nobility in this world ran everything... And if I played at being a common civilian he would likewise try to play me to death.

Because he had gotten the completely right idea basically. He wanted me dead already for basically cucking him of Artoria Arc who he had clearly had his eyes on.

There was a long pause as the man glared at me and seemingly considered his options before he blinked and then my free hand that wasn't on my saber snatched up with a loud crack ringing out as his fat meaty fist hit my palm.

I saw him wince as his fist met mine and I was honestly bewildered at the dumbass who tried to punch me even without aura. "You... Are obviously too stupid to live, let alone breed." I said flatly.

A meaty crack rang out as I flexed my aura and muscles and his knuckles popped out of place as I crushed his fist. Then as I let go of his fist when he hurriedly pulled back. I kicked the wooden gate into his fat form and made him squeal as he fell back.

But as I raised an eyebrow at seeing the golden glow around his pastor robe that blocked the fence from properly hitting him. Almost like it was a shield of aura for himself.

And unbidden I thought with amusement. 'Ahh... A shield of faith I see.' 

Drawing my saber fully out I slashed just above his head and with a loud scream of metal being sheared the enchantment on my enchanted saber sent a wave of magical energy that sliced the top of his care off making it into a convertible.

The noise had seemingly drawn out the Arc's from their house along with the neighbors peeking out of their windows and doors. But those people looking out of their doors and windows quickly looked away when a wounded squeal rang out as I stomped the groin of Father Elijah.

Making a loud cracking noise as I blew up his balls. "Ladies, I see you are packed?" I said with forced nonchalance seeing the girls standing with several large boxes.

Prinz approached me and seeing I was ok she gave the pastor long look who was clutching his bleeding groin before she picked him up the past by the back of the neck with one hand and then a loud thump rang out as she threw the large man into his topless vehicle to get him out of the way.

"Yup, come on Jake. It's time for us to go back to Beacon, Artoria just shoved all her more needed belongings into these boxes."

And then Prinz leaned in and kissed my cheek before she whispered. "That was hot... You should have just killed him though." 

The Iron Blood ship pulled back with her heels clicking on the concrete as she picked up a stack of boxes and called out. "Darling, please call a taxi to pick us up at the end of the street... That wreck car is a bit in the way."

To which I did as I heard Jean mutter. "Damn... I don't think even I could flesh craft that much fat." 

 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 22

"Dammit, Jake... You killed a priest. Why couldn't you just kill a noble or someone at least somewhat less troublesome?" Lux muttered after she dropped her scroll on the table she was sitting in front of.

A slightly feminine voice then spoke out with amusement. "Hoh? Your disciple is giving you trouble, Lux?" The other figure was full figured with her form covered in a tight-fitting pink dress with her long blond hair falling behind her head in carefully shaped drills.

Lux, after taking a deep breath, looked at the blond-haired First Princess of the Valian Royal Family and spoke with annoyance. "Yeah, Ravel, my new disciple, Jake was helping Morgan's mother properly move into Beacon, and the priest that had been hounding her got badly hurt during the interaction." 

Ravel raised an eyebrow before she noted calmly. "Priests have the protection of the God of Light; even if Jake badly injured him, his wounds should have been sealed as the protection would put him into stasis unless Jake directly killed him."

There was a pause as Lux looked flatly at her friend, and then she said. "The priest killed himself after he awoke in the hospital and learned he was castrated basically, and the church told him that going after another man's woman is against their tenants, so they wouldn't heal him." 

Ravel had to consider that for a minute, and then she grimaced. "Ah... I see the Church is playing games again. In any case, did those books help Jake find a magic matrix he could use?" She spoke, trying to move the topic to a more relaxed point.

And Lux's face twitched before she smiled wryly and said. "Yes, he got accepted by the Rain Grandmaster's heritage. But there was a slight hiccup with another couple of books that had bloodline locks on them."

Both ladies took a drink of their tea before Ravel spoke out. "Well, I am glad that Jake has proved himself worthy of your teachings... As for the church, they know that the web of connections Jake has isn't worth messing with, after the loss of a single lower-ranking preacher." 

"I know, hence why I haven't teleported directly towards him." Lux said shortly as she mused on Jake's completely bullshit 'Back-Door' semblance that could bypass wards that even her master, a literal Sag,e had put up!

And then Lux had an evil thought... 'What if Ozpin shared a picture of the Wind Sage's treasury so Jake could open a door there?' 

But she buried the thought, for now at least. As Ravel spoke again. "Hmm, so beyond the Rose Heir. Are there any new bloods you could recommend I make attempts at pulling into my Peerage?" 

Lux had to consider that, and then she spoke honestly. "You should probably stay away from the nobility for at least this year, Ravel, as you are well aware, the Sages are working to purge the weakness out of the current generation of Nobility. With Ozpin executed several students that were cowards during the initiation." 

Ravel folded her arms under her ample breasts as she pouted before nodding in understanding. before she raised an eyebrow and spoke. "Oh!? And your new disciple, Jake, will be taking part in this semester's Class Trial, correct?" 

To which Lux nodded proudly with Ravel continuing. '"I see then... Lux how about I come spend the weekend over with you at your tower? I would like to meet your disciple, Jake, and see Cinder again, while I can also watch the Class Trial." 

Lux's expression became awkward as she knew that the First Princess had other motives then just meeting with her and spending time as friends, as she had competition in the Princess side of the royal family to say nothing of the male side of her older brother Jarvan, who was the crown prince.

But she swallowed her thoughts and shrugged before saying more easily. "Hmm, alright, having a sleepover again would be nice... But no ambushing my disciples to take them into your Peerage, you hear!" Lux said firmly with a glint in her eyes.

And now it was Ravel's turn to look awkward at the protective light in Lux's eyes. "Alright, alright, Lux, I won't steal your disciples away, I promise." 

Thus, the two ladies, one as noble as one could get, and the other as royal as a princess could be. Switched topics to strictly magic with Ravel and Lux sharing points and theories as they projected magical matrices of the fire and wind variety.

-

A slurp upon the delicacy that was a large container of coffee that was half whiskey and coffee rang out. As Ozpin was casually sitting in his office with Glynda Goodwitch sitting across from him.

"The Class Trial is projected to be especially difficult this semester with all the souls that were lost to the Grimm with the poor showing at initiation this year," Glynda spoke coldly.

Ozpin hummed, and then he held up his scroll and noted. "Kafka the Jormungandr has already culled several higher-tier Grimms that had... Problematic Semblances they absorbed, but the sheer number of Grimm that collected souls are indeed an issue." 

Glynda remained silent for a moment as Ozpin was clearly considering something. And he spoke after a minute. "I will have Garen Crownsguard do a quick route through the site. That should deal with the worst of the issues besides the Grimm that hibernating as they absorb the souls they collected." 

"Hmm, that is generous of you, sir," Glynda said, rolling her eyes with Ozpin snorting before he took a hearty chug of the coffee and whisky mix.

"Yes, I am a most merciful sage, aren't I?" Ozpin said sarcastically before his sarcastic amusement turned more genuine with him raising an eyebrow. "So... I already got a message from the church about Jake Bariss. Apparently, he responded quite violently to the priest getting pushy in trying to take Morgan as his wife." 

Glynda was silent for a moment before she took a deep breath and said coldly. "I see. Well, I wanted this to be a trial for Morgan to handle and was willing to step in should she tweak the church's nose... In either case, if the church plays too rough, I will smack them down for messing with my second-generation disciple." 

Ozpin snorted and said almost cruelly in his amusement. "Woe be to all who take advantage of your disciples, you mother hen. Really, cleaning up the messes of your disciples, disciples? Are you their grandmother?" 

To which Glynda raised an eyebrow and said flatly. "If I accepted them as worthy of my teachings, then yes, I might as well be considered their grandmother. I am certainly old enough, and I have been cleaning up teenagers' and young adults' messes for enough decades to understand the truth in such a title." 

A soft chuckle escaped Ozpin, but his laughter was cut short as Glynda said cuttingly in turn. "Not that you would know what it was to be a parent... You foolish man, you never even married and don't care nearly as much for your own disciples." 

The Sage of Time's expression was a bit awkward as he said earnestly. "Glynda, you know I never had much free time as a kid and young adult. I was either training, bullying Mistral slavers, or fighting off the corporations and military of Atlas during the skirmishes."

However, Miss Goodwitch just rolled her eyes before her slightly amused expression stilled, and she spoke quietly. "And speaking of skirmishes... Mistral is pressing internally for more slaves, as they want to jumpstart their population growth outside of Mistral City with how a few sects fell in the last few weeks."

Ozpin was quiet for a moment before he spoke tiredly. "The Apocalypse grade Grimm of Mistral are on the move and working to take territory between each other... Not to mention their Abominations causing issues within the human towns." 

There was a pause before Glynda spoke calmly. "Ozpin, what are we going to do about the Faunus as well? It's been a few decades since the Culling, and soon, even if they don't have any great teachers, a Faunus will become a Sage eventually." 

"It depends on the Sage in question. If it's Ghira Belladonna who just wants to give Faunus kinda a place outside of the cities. Then that's fine, we will leave him alone, and this is a statement shared with the royal family." 

The room went cold and quiet before Ozpin continued bluntly. "But... Should a new Sage decide to attempt an attack on Vale itself, like during the Night of Knives, then it's likely Vale will exterminate all faunus kind and give their corpses to the Lich Lord to be made useful." 

"Hmm, hopefully it won't come to that," Glynda said evenly with her sighing as the stress of the thought weighed on her a good bit.

But that wouldn't change the fact of her needed to do what needed to be done if it became necessary.

"On a lighter topic, however, how are Morgan's lessons going? She is doing well as a researcher, correct?" Ozpin spoke more conversationally.

And Miss Goodwitch gave a soft grunt of agreement before she smiled lightly and said. "She is doing quite well, even if I am disappointed she went to Jake to have deal with her family issue. She is well on her way to becoming a Master of fire magic and will soon enter the field properly." 

With that, Ozpin's and Goodwitch's conversation switched to more leisurely topics as they discussed Glynda's current generation of students.

-

The clink of several expensive tea cups rang out as Ruby Rose gently put down her tea cup that was filled with strawberry tea, with her mother, Summer Rose, doing the same.

Ruby Rose, despite joining Beacon a couple of years early, was very much an adult and filled-out woman as she was raised from a very young age knowing the power her Silver Eye's bloodline had. 

Which was the sole bloodline in the world that consisted of only women who had the direct blessing of the mostly absent God of Light.

"My little rose..." Summer spoke with Ruby's lips twitching at recognizing her mother's tone in her voice.

Ruby Rose was almost a clone of Summer Rose herself, and every day Ruby wished to blossom into the beauty that her mother had developed. 

Summer lounged in her plush office chair after putting down her teacup with her deceptively strong but thin and dainty hands falling into her lap as she looked at her daughter and spoke.

"Ruby, you do realize that attacking Yang in the middle of the school dorms was just... Foolish in the extreme right?" Summer said with a sigh at the end.

Ruby's face fell into a pout before she grumbled. "She was looking so darned proud though of entering Beacon... And she was making friends so easily, and she even had become friends with someone I thought I could become friends with!"

Now it was Summer's turn to smile wryly as she folded her arms under her large, ample breasts, as she mercilessly teased her adorable daughter. "My little Rose, just because someone can manifest a huge cannon out of nothing but their aura... That doesn't make them your bestie."

And with some actual heat, Ruby snapped sharply. "Then who else can be my friend automatically? Everyone else is acting all weird because I have the Silver Eyes to say nothing of me being the heiress of a Duke house... Is it wrong for me to just want a friend mom?"

At hearing the honest disappointment in her daughter's voice let out a small sigh before she spoke honestly and more comfortingly. "That's still not a good reason to go attack that bastard's daughter." 

Ruby's face twitched, and Summer continued. "I told you that you need to move on past Taiyang, just as I have... He is obsessed with having a thousand children of his own, and he is already more than ten percent of the way there."

Summer shook her head and said with finality. "Just because he actually raised Yang, doesn't mean she is special... He just kept her after feeling bad about how I injured Raven when all the drama happened." 

There was a moment of silence before Summer's face darkened, and she said flatly. "That... And he wanted to use Yang, a female clone of himself, and so pretty as bait to go after other single mothers." 

"I still don't like her... She is." 

Summer cut off the muttering Ruby as she said firmly. "Yes, she is your half-sister, Ruby, but there literally more than a hundred other half-siblings you have from Taiyang... Just because Raven and I have a history doesn't mean you should have some blood debt with Yang." 

"My rivalry with Raven isn't something you need to worry about, Ruby... That was my dark past of Beacon stupidity that spiraled out of control. Anyway, Ruby, so what is this about this friend you wanted to make? Tell me about Jake if you will." Summer asked casually.

But in reality, she had already done her own background check on him after hearing her rose had gone straight to him to try to make a team for the Class Trial.

And to say the least, she was more than happy with him as his manifestation abilities were potent in the extreme, especially when it came to making fortresses to hold like during their initiation.

"Jake is uhm... He has a noble bearing with how he is already leading his own entourage, he also is rather tall and-" Ruby squirmed a bit before she finished off with a slight flush. "He looks really cool when he makes a huge machine gun pop up out of the ground to tear apart Grimm." 

Summer exhaled with some amusement as she rested her chin on her hand and looked at her adorable daughter with a knowing smile who flushed much deeper at the knowing look.

"Well, Ruby, I say that you did come off on the wrong foot." Summer said gently before making Ruby sulk a bit, but then Summer said more supportively.

"And even though that... Shrew, Goodwitch has blocked you off from directly inviting him to your team. I think you and he could become good friends, so how about I help you make some cookies for you to share?" 

Ruby grinned with excitement as she clapped her hands together and almost shouted. "Yes! The Rose's secret weapon of super cookies! Please help me make some Mom!" Ruby begged with her hands together with pleading in her voice.

A hearty chuckle that made Summer's bosom bounce escaped her at the adorable sight, but she held in her true evil giggles until after she spoke. "Oh, alright darling, we will knock his socks off with the Rose special... But you aren't allowed to lick the bowl or spatula for causing the damage in Beacon." 

With dark betrayal clear in Ruby's eye's she all but whispered in despair. "If one cannot lick the spatula and bowl... What else is there to live for, Mother!?" 

To which Summer said flatly. "My bank account after having to pay for the holes in the walls. After the Goodbitch decided to be petty with how Beacon and the Royal Family are suppressing the noble families." 

-

Back within Beacon's hallowed grounds, Weiss Schnee was lying in a plush love seat with her leg's propped up as she was reading a grimoire with her having changed out of her enchanted dress and into a light, partly see-through silk nightdress.

But as she turned the page of the grimoire to focus on a different spell matrix, she was considering adding to her own library of them within her own magical core. The door to her room opened with her rolling her eyes as Jingliu strolled into the room without even knocking.

"Back in Atlas, if you walked into my room without knocking and the other help saw that, they would have had you flogged for invading a princess's room," Weiss said dully as she put the grimoire that carried the will of an Ice Magic-using Sage that had long died centuries ago.

And without a moment of thought, Jingliu retorted calmly. "And I would have killed the help that decided to touch me. We all would have a bad day... And speaking of a bad day, I got you your maid outfit for the class trail." 

Weiss froze as the words processed within her mind. And then she woodenly looked at her retainer with blank eyes and took in the... Skimpy! Maid outfit that had a cut-out for the chest section, a horribly short skirt, and even a small hole where her stomach would be!

The Atlas Princess's mouth gaped at the sight before she closed her mouth and scowled at her retainer with some actual heat in her gaze as she snapped out. "You are being ridiculous! I won't and can't wear such a... Outfit only fit for a slattern to wear!" 

Jingliu raised an eyebrow so that even as Weiss couldn't see her eyes under the blindfold she wore. She knew Jingliu was looking at her with those crimson glowing eyes that would only be saying something like 'Don't be stupid.' 

"Why not? It's not much more revealing than your dress in the chest region, and you are going to be wearing pantyhose beneath the skirt anyway... Do you have a complex about your belly button?" 

Weiss's face twitched at that, and she snapped out. "Nothing is wrong with my belly button! I just won't wear such a perverted outfit!"

"Something is really weird with your belly button, isn't there? Did the royal doctor make the wrong knot when he tied it up or something?" Jingliu spoke as though she didn't even hear Weiss.

And a dark flush entered Weiss's beautiful alabaster pale skin as she stomped her feet as she stood up. "Nothing is wrong with my belly button!"

Weiss sputtered as the plastic-covered outfit was thrown into her arms, with her instinctively catching and holding the outfit at feeling enchanted gems embedded in the outfit, making her pause and look at Jingliu in horror.

"Jingliu... Did you use the rest of my enchanted gems I brought from Atlas to get this awful outfit enchanted?" Weiss asked in breathless horror at what her retainer did.

"Really feeling your love and respect, Weiss," Jingliu said flatly, but she nodded and continued. "But yes, I did, and you deserve it for your... Honestly, outlandishly stupid action." 

Weiss's face twitched at the damned reminder of her rushed move to learn how talented Jake was and how Lux had obviously found the listening ward on her disciple with her very distinct magical signature upon the spying ward.

And the Atlas princess knew she was lucky that Lux obviously wanted Jake to bully her instead of stepping in and making the situation blow up as it wouldn't be just Jake getting retribution for Weiss's failure but a Duke house punishing a visiting royal.

'Even if that royal is here to act as both a political hostage, as well as the royal being a black sheep.' Weiss thought with a sigh escaping her as she held the damned outfit in her hands with her actually whining at her retainer.

"But... Why such a perverted outfit, Jingliu?! Couldn't you have just gotten one of those old matron outfits or something?" 

And Jingliu had a tiny smile cross her face as she stated without any doubt. "When Jake sees you so vulnerable and cute in that outfit. He certainly won't be able to hold a grudge anymore after a few comments." 

After a long moment, Weiss's face twisted several times into different expressions before she huffed and took a deep breath. "I am a proud Schnee... An outfit I have to wear for but a few days won't defeat me." She told herself more than anything.

And with that, Weiss took the maid outfit to another room to try it on as Jingliu took the moment of peace to read her own guilty pleasure in a romance book that had something akin to this very situation playing out across the last few chapters.

In a defeated princess being taken prisoner by the conquering foreign warlord, the noble lady retainer having to save her princess from the salacious hands of the warlord, even while she, the retainer and great warrior, falls in love with the conquering warlord. 

But after a few minutes, Weiss strode out of the room with a flush clear across her pale cheeks as she hissed. "Jingliu! The skirt isn't even weighted down like a combat skirt! It will show everything!"

To which Jingliu replied calmly as she licked a finger to turn the page crisply. "So just don't a front flip or anything... Be a good maid and just make Jake a cup of coffee while casting spells from the castle of ice and countless siege weapons you both will make. Not counting the project he is working with the Necromancy Department." 

"You are making me want to stab you, Jingliu," Weiss said flatly with defeat clear in her tone, even as she blushed and covered up the diamond-shaped hole that exposed her cute belly button with a hand.

And without a single change in expression, Jingliu proudly stated calmly as fact. "And I can stab you a lot better." 

Weiss's expression twisted before something evil entered her eyes, and she just waved her hand, making Jingliu howl in anger as she was covered in freezing snow.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 23

Artoria and Sapphron quickly got moved into Lux's tower, with the two ladies quickly getting into the groove of helping around the tower and helping my group, especially in dealing with things like laundry, cooking, and other things we needed done.

As it certainly wasn't as if I had any free time lately. From eight in the morning to eight in the afternoon. I was literally in class, sparring, or training with my teachers in Lux and now Fiora, who was beating, had spent the last three days beating sword forms into my head.

And then even after the classes, training, and my training to make the Rain Arrow spell matrix in my spell matrix that was within my Magic Core. I still would spend a good couple of hours working on the Ghost Ship with Jean.

With the Ghost Ship itself coming along beautifully... And fucking scary looking, honestly.

Its hull was made out of bones, its masts were giant ribs from a terrible deep-sea high-tier Grimm. And the sails were made from a patchwork of literal human skin so that they could heal themselves.

The bindings for every single blank, hinge, and rope for the ship were made out of bones, muscles, and ligaments. The ship was less of a Ghost Ship and more of a ghost ship that was possessing a ship that was made entirely out of living components.

There was not a single nail, clip, or anything that was made out of metal, stone, or anything of the like used in making the ship. The entire ship was a living construct with over three hundred souls enslaved to the ship that would all but automate the control and offensive measures of the ship.

However, the weapons were anything but organic... As I certainly wasn't going to try to manifest Tyrranid naval life forms to try to stick on my ship. The massive three-mast Frigate had open sides, allowing on each side of the ship to have fifteen Phalanx Anti-Air machine guns that shot enough explosive, incendiary, and armor-piercing rounds that nothing but magic could stop them.

And between each of the anti-air cannons was a 155mm Howitzer that, although shooting much slower, would hit with far more power and with much larger rounds, it allowed it those explosive rounds to act as a bit of carpet bombing when all fifteen Howitzers were targeting the same area.

Mounted atop the ship it's was another half dozen Phalanx for more anti-air defenses, with smaller artillery systems mounted on the sides for long-range bombardment. And lastly, on the bottom of the ship, I went for the real war crime delivery system.

Basically, the entire bottom of the hull was designed to ferry the thermite, and white phosphorus was stored in the much more secure center of the ship with the rest of the conjured ammo. And then the flying ship would leave a trail of blinding, and stupidly hot white phosphorus and thermite burning behind the ship as it continued to fly.

'War Crimes? What's that? I just make super big booms!' I thought with glee as I worked to stock the Ghost Ships' cannons and other ammo stores of everything it needed. 

Sadly... Chemical weapons weren't really that effective on Grimm unless you did some really fucked up stuff or used magical poisons and toxins like Kafka the Jourgmandur was famous for.

So I was left with using chemical weapons that would burn in terrible, inhumane ways to kill Grimm in a large area where more direct munitions like my cannons and anti-air machine guns wouldn't be as useful.

"The ship is coming along well ahead of schedule despite your own busy schedule," Jean spoke with a bit of exhaustion in her voice, making me nod as I popped my neck.

"Yeah, it's only thanks to your fleshcrafting and skill with soul binding, however, that it's gone so well, even if its nature as a ship allows me to fill in the cracks," I said in acknowledgment of Jean's skill, making her give a tired grin at my true praise.

Then, a somewhat scolding voice spoke out. "I can't believe I have to tell two teenagers to quit working so hard beyond Morgan, but Jake, Jean, you both need to get to bed. The Class Trial is in two days, and I want you both to be well-rested!"

I gave a slight chuckle as I gave Artoria a wry smile and said. "Come on, Artoria, and Jean been working so hard... We need to have a snack at least before bed." 

And I raised an eyebrow as I watched as Artoria puffed up with her large breasts bouncing in her tight nightdress before she exhaled and gave me a scowl, but it was without any heat.

No, she just rolled her eyes and said with amusement. "Fine, do what you want. But just get to bed at a reasonable hour." 

I nodded in understanding with Jean, yawning and saying. "Jake, you can get a snack if you want. I am heading straight to bed. Goodnight, Jake, and I love you, Mom." She said as she drew in and gave her mother Artoria a hug.

And I saw as Artoria's face pinched as the scent of... Death, meat, and other things that clung to Jean, with her being a necromancer. But Artoria still hugged her daughter and then said firmly. "Go get a shower, Jean, you stink after working for the last few hours." 

Jean just stuck her tongue out childishly as she danced away from her mother, and then she was jogging away towards the elevator to leave Lux's tower, as she still lived at Calia's own tower with the rest of her fellow disciples.

With Jean gone, Artoria turned back to me with a small smile before she raised an eyebrow and said. "Well, I should be turning in as well, Jake, unless you have some other major project?"

I just shook my head and said honestly. "Nah, I am going to take a shower. And then I am going to make myself a snack before I do some mental exercises, before I turn in as well."

Artoria gave a slight hum before she said gently. "How about I make you an egg sandwich, something nice and light to give you some energy before you turn in?"

I blinked, and then I said happily. "Yeah, I would appreciate that, Artoria, alright. While you make that, I will go take a quick shower." 

With the mother of the Arc family following behind me as we took the elevator that came back down from Jean's suite to head up the tower towards the living quarters, I noted that Prinz and New Jersey were already asleep in their shared room that was adjacent from my bedroom.

-

After taking a quick shower, I came out in a pair of comfortable shorts and a loose t-shirt, and as I came back into my bedroom, I paused as I saw Artoria was sitting on my bed next to my office seat at my office table, where I kept plans and other things. 

The reason I paused was seeing a hearty late-night breakfast in eggs, ham steak, some well-buttered toast, and a small glass of apple juice.

"Wow, you truly spoil me, Artoria," I said thankfully as I picked up the plate and sat on the office seat, where Artoria gave a small smile at my appreciation.

"Hmm. Cooking and cleaning for up to nine people, including myself and my... My departed husband always kept me so busy when the girls and Jaune were young. Now everyone has left the nest, and I was just bored to tears in that house." She said with some nostalgia in her voice.

I raised an eyebrow at that, and for a moment, I wondered what the best response was to that... Before I decided to bulldoze on as I was curious about Artoria herself. "So you never tried to be a huntress or anything?" 

And Artoria giggled with her, placing a hand over her ample breasts as she held in more boisterous laughter. "Oh dear heavens no, haha! My departed husband, Artucis Arc, was a huntsman himself. And even when we were young and first starting to date, he always seemed so stressed about allowing us to have a real house."

Artoria shrugged and continued in amusement. "I only got my aura unlocked so I could actually have sex properly with my husband. And I never got a chance to train as my husband was two years older than me, and he got me knocked up at the wonderful age of fifteen with Morga,n haha." 

'Wow... Well, he knew what he wanted at least, and he did support Artoria.' I thought with my lips twitching as Artoria gave me a knowing look.

"My husband was a good man, but he had the flaw of lacking foresight," Artoria said evenly before shrugging and said. "But, for an orphan of a family that lost their baronhood, he did well for me and took care of his children." 

I took a drink of the apple juice, and I finally spoke. "So... You miss him?" I asked awkwardly at all this being dumped on me.

And Artoria nodded, but said with a kind smile. "Of course I miss him, but he's been dead for more than half a decade at this point. And I have emotionally moved on to take care of my children."

After taking a breath, Artoria gave me a knowing look and said more measuredly. "Jake, I am not sure what your background is. But remember that people like you, like my past husband. They are expected to breed to spread their strong and talented genes around."

"Beacon, the Royal Family, and the noble houses all pool resources to help such scions of talent like yourself if such... Indiscretions happen on accident." 

I gave Artoria a blank look and I said with a wry smile. "Me and Jean are getting close. But not that close, Artoria." 

And Artoria snorted with a hysterical giggle escaping her as she said with amusement. "Oh dear heavens no, haha! Jean is one of the last ones I expected to jump your... Bones, as it were. No, if anything, it would likely be Mordred or Jeanne, especially if you win the class trial and get blessed by the Light God." 

I stared at the mother of... Eight children, as she shrugged and said in amusement. "Jeanne would be a nun within the church if it weren't for how much she loves children and wants to have her own someday. And Mordred is a woman who needs a strong leader to pledge her body and blade towards." 

"Morgan is married to the idea of magical research, Sapphron is a lesbian who thankfully adopted a child, Jean... I love her, but she hangs around corpses too much. Nero has a fetish for fire and art, and Okita is obsessed with pure swordsmanship." She listed off her daughters and their 'obsessions'

She then shrugged before smiling wryly and said. "But yes, I am very much open to the thought of grandchildren. And should you have any children with anyone in your retinue, I can be their caregiver alongside others... The Scarlatina girls would make good mother figures as well." She noted idly, speaking more to herself than anything.

And frankly... She was definitely right about Alice, who had a very strong, nurturing aura around her.

I knew Artoria a good bit for the week I had her as my retainer, so I knew this wasn't her pushing me to go... Breed her daughters like someone might have thought. No, this was just her opinion on her daughters.

So I moved past that landmine of a topic as I gave an honest smile and said, after finishing my bite of toast. "Well, we will just have to see what happens in the future. Anyway and thank you for the food again, Artoria, this will help me a good bit."

And Artoria gave a knowing nod before she squeezed her knees with her hands as she sighed and stood up from where she was sitting on my bed with her coming over and laying a hand on my shoulder as she spoke quietly.

"No thanks are needed, Jake. I needed something to do to get away from the house filled with a bygone life. Now you have a good night." She said sweetly as she gave my shoulder a soft squeeze before she left my room.

And by the Light God, her ass a wonderful sight in that tight sleeping gown she was wearing to behold as she left. 'Damn Jake, can't be thirsting after the widow.' I thought with a hint of scolding towards myself as I smiled wryly and kept eating.

-

The next day, things went about the same as usual. I got through my classes in Grimm Studies, Huntsmen and Nobility Law, and Human/Faunus Suppression Training just fine. And Combat Training went well with Weiss cooling off and only giving me weird looks while I spent a good bit of time sparring with Pyrrha and talking with her.

Then, after my magical lessons with Lux, which went well with myself getting close to finishing the Raid Drop Arrow spell matrix in my Magical Core, I then went to my final lesson of the day in pure swordsmanship with Fiora.

"You have done well within your form and footwork lessons, Jake. I am glad that, although you walk the path of magic, while dabbling in your semblance, and inherited magic. You still know the value of a good blade in your hands." Fiora spoke in her accented voice.

I took a deep breath as I massaged my wrist, which was sore from doing one thousand perfect swings of my saber between my two hands to start off the training.

"Now, Jake, I have got this saber martial art I think will fit you well enough. Or until you find what you are truly more suited for." Fiora spoke as she handed a large scroll to me from the table she was sitting at while watching me swinging my saber in the smaller training room.

Gently putting the Fabulous Fioretto back into its sheath at my side, I respectfully came to the side of the table and began carefully unrolling the scroll as I spoke quietly. "I practice the sword because I am human. And humans are the peak of the food chain because we use tools." 

There was a pause before Fiora spoke sharply, even as I finished unrolling the scrolls that had something similar to the feeling of the magical Grimoire of the water spell I picked up.

"Jake, thinking of swordsmanship, or a sword itself as merely a tool. It will not allow you to get anywhere as a swordsman. You must think the sword is a part of yourself, an extension of your arm. And then you will understand the truth of swordsmanship in the future."

My lips twitched at that... But hey, if the sword 'cultivator' who is has become so good at cutting things with her sword that she is working to cut out the end of her own lifespan.

Who the hell was I to say anything about her teachings?

'Hundred Waves Saber Art?' I mused internally as I looked at the scroll.

"At the end of the scroll, where the handprint of blood is. Put your own hand atop that handprint." Fiora ordered.

I gave Fiora a dry look and I asked blandly. "Is a saber of blood going to stab through my hand or something?" 

Fiora gave me a dull look before she blinked and snorted. "No, Jake, it's a heritage scroll from a respected martial artist. Not a Grimoire written by a foolish mage who would lock his legacy to his bloodline out of pride."

And Fiora's words were cutting indeed as I recalled all too well how a quarter of the dozen Grimoires that Lux brought to me had such bloodline locks. Which made them all but useless to everyone who wasn't already a match for the mage when they were alive or recorded that book.

So at the end of the long scroll filled with dozens of pictures of people using the saber art, there was the large handprint that was clearly of rusted blood. 'This sounds like a speed run to getting an STD.' I thought with a sigh.

But I just shut down those thoughts and put my hand on the bloody handprint and held in a wince as the handprint burned hot with the scroll glowing slightly.

Then the pictures of the forms and stances of the martial art swirled in place before they began going down the scroll and merging into the blood hand print of all things, with an ink-like tattoo forming around my wrist.

Once the heat dissipated from the scroll, I pulled back my hand and brought it close to my face so I could see my wrist... And as I looked closely to my wrist, I could see all the forms of the saber art in damn near-microscopic detail on my wrist.

"Good, the will within the scroll accepted you as an inheritor of the Hundred Waves Saber Art, Jake, though with your water affinity, that isn't much of a surprise," Fiora spoke, and I turned to her as I heard the signature rasp of her rapier leaving its sheath.

"Now, a Martial Artist Scroll is quite similar to a Grimoire in truth; it will remain on your body instead of within your magical core instead though. But it functions much the same in pushing you to adopt their method of use and style."

I likewise took up my saber, but instead, I realized that I was holding it very differently, with Fiora smiling as she noted me holding the saber downwards.

"So the Scroll helps train muscle memory... I see." I mused as I swung my saber, and it smoothly flowed into a diagonal slash upwards, and then, with double the power, it came back down in a much more powerful slash.

'The Hundred Waves Saber Art is a saber art that focuses on building momentum to use much more powerful strikes and excels at dealing with large groups of chaff, and once the momentum is built up, it can do great damage to elite enemies.' I noted to myself as I experimented with the odd feeling of my body being slightly pushed towards certain movements.

Fiora's rapier made a snap towards my arm, and I realized easily that Fiora was also helping me test my martial arts as she said casually. "The tattoo will fade away once you master all the movements, stances, and counters detailed within the scroll that has transferred to your skin."

My saber hit her thin rapier and knocked it aside, but before I could speak, in turn, Fiora silenced anything I could say as she bounced her rapier off my saber and sent the point of her blade at my face.

Automatically, I stepped back with my back leaning back slightly, and I realized that this was also in the martial arts. I stepped forward as Fiora pulled back her sword. And with the step forward and my back leaning forward, I brought my sword back down with a lot more force.

To which Fiora caught on the guard of her crossguard, and before I could react, Fiora had calmly sheathed her sword back into her side. "Good, we will continue sparring after the class trial, but I recommend you also spar with other swordsmen like Pyrrha, and Weiss in particular." 

"Is it because Weiss uses a rapier even if magical? Like yourself?" I asked curiously.

And Fiora gave a slight hum before she said calmly. "Partly, though more on the side of you being physically her superior, so you will get practice in properly dominating a weaker foe. While Pyrrha and Jingliu, on the other hand, will show you the other side of being on the weaker side in a match-up." 

"Now you go back home to rest, Jake. You have tomorrow off in terms of classes to meet with your teammates for the Class Trial. I hope for your own sake you use the time well." Fiora said in dismissal.

"Thank you for your time, Fiora," I said with respect and bowed my head slightly before I sheathed my saber and left to make my way toward Lux's tower.

Making my way through Beacon's massive campus as I was making my way past the common hall where I used to stay when my term first started. I saw Yang hanging out with another couple of people that she had in her 'unarmed' classes.

So I gave her a quick wave before I continued on with my own walk home... But of course, life was never that damned simple.

The air became colder, but more than anything was how the air became heavier and a soft voice that was twisted whispered towards me. "The cafe is to your right." And I looked down the road to my right, that led to more of the dark side of the schools of magic as I was entering the magic quarter of Beacon.

And lo and behold, was Calia sitting a hundred meters away from me at a table that was just outside a gothic-themed cafe.

Taking a breath, I swallowed down any nervousness, and I made my way over to Calia once I was close enough. I spoke respectfully as she was still a Sage herself. "Lady Calia." I greeted her.

I didn't demand what she wanted in getting my attention, nor did I even ask what she wanted, as it was obvious that she had something she wanted from me, as she got my attention on purpose.

Calia elegantly nodded with her waving a thin, delicate hand towards the chair in front of her. "Sit, young man. I have some wisdom to share with you, and to make sure your potential isn't snuffed out too soon."

I sat down and folded my hands atop the table, and I asked bluntly. "That isn't even a threat, is it? No... It's not the church, is it, for me beating up that priest, is it?" 

Calia raised an eyebrow before she said casually. "Ah, you mean the little preacher who killed himself after the church said they wouldn't heal his castration after lusting after another man's woman... No, your threat is closer at hand, I am afraid." 

My lips curled into a frown, and I cycled around who could be the enemy around me, and I honestly came up blank. Besides, maybe Ruby might have held some kind of grudge with how much she seemed to hate Yang.

"I see. Then please share your wisdom, Lady Calia." I said after a moment of thought.

And Calia's crimson eyes, which were a sign of her status as a Lich, glowed as a small rune formed on her finger that she tapped on the table. "I sealed the area so no sound could escape, nor could anyone read our lips from a distance." She said casually before her lips thinned.

"Ravel Phenex, the second born. And the first Princess of the Royal Family has made official plans to spend the next few days here at the Academy to watch the Class Trial, which includes staying at Luxanna's magic tower, as they are childhood friends."

I blinked and had to run that through my head a couple of times, and for a moment I thought Calia was saying Ravel was my enemy for some reason... But then I recalled the genetic magic all Royals had. And what the Valian royal family had in particular.

"Peerage," I stated with a frown, with Calia elegantly taking a sip of her tea.

And with a soft clinking noise of her putting the tea cup back on its coaster, she said calmly. "Peerage indeed, young man. Ravel is playing the Great Game, and is seeking her own Peerage to counter her older brother's and, of course, to suppress her younger siblings." 

Calia's glowing red eyes met mine with her saying calmly. "I already told Jean to refuse all such requests, with my own name being used as a shield. But you will need to watch your own retinu,e who doesn't have a sage behind them that can counteract Ravel's royal influence." 

With Calia finishing off bluntly. "Because even if little Lux tells Ravel not to invite you... She would be put in a very awkward place as the heir of Crownsguard, who are the most loyal to the Royal Family, and one of your members decides to 'join of their own accord."

"So it's a situation of better to ask forgiveness than to ask," I muttered with a frown, with Calia sniffing and retorting.

"Ravel is the First Princess Jake. Should the King and the First Prince die? She would be hoisted to the throne without a question as the Queen had recently died to the plot from Abominations. Unless she does something that will harm Vale greatly, she won't be censored or punished without good reason." 

I remained silent for a moment before I spoke. "My potential isn't what you are worried about. Why are you actually telling me this?" 

Calia was silent for a long moment with her giving me a look that brought a chill to my very soul, before she blinked and looked back down to her tea and began speaking. "Vale, Mistral, and Atlas have been in recovery for the last few decades after the Night of Knives and Faunus Culling."

"After these decades, even the Grimms' higher-tiered monsters are moving much more overtly. But in principle, Mistral and Atlas, for their own reasons, will also be coming into conflict with the bread basket of the world in Vale." 

Calia held up both of her hands, and with her left hand, she said. "Mistral's entire culture of decadence and strength is built on the back of a brutal slave culture of might makes right."

Calia then raised her right hand. "And Atlas is a center of magical and technological advancement that's material needs will never be sated. Conflict is assured, especially with how Weiss is here now."

I raised an eyebrow at Calia, and I couldn't help but recall how Weiss said she was sort of the black sheep of the family. So I stated. "Weiss is worthless as a political prisoner, huh... Why is she even here, though?" 

To which Calia gave a wane smile before replying coldly. "Whether it's in life or even death. The royal family has uses for her; in life, she could be added to one of the royal peerages should the right leverage be used. And even if she needs to be dealt with... Either myself or the Lich Lord of the Royal Family can make a very powerful corpse puppet out of her body."

I was silent for a minute as I digested that information, then abruptly Calia spoke again after she took another elegant sip of her tea, after speaking so much. "My disciple Jean has said good things about your work ethic, Jake... It's a pity you leapt into Lux's arms despite my admittedly ham-fisted attempt to make you see the power in true necromancy." 

"Soul ensnarment does give a bit of a bad first impression," I stated calmly before I shrugged and said honestly.

"Besides, with Lux, I am one of only two disciples, with her spoiling me a good deal. Yes, I imagine you are a wonderful, if not even better, teacher than her with your experience and power. But having almost her sole attention is more than worth it." 

Calia raised an elegant eyebrow before she closed her eyes with a mild sniff of amusement emanating from her. "I see. That is a fair point to make, as I indeed do have more than fifty disciples in my service. Though my time is not nearly as limited as you may think, Jake... As this is only one of my thirteen bodies that are roaming Beacon as we speak."

I actually paused at that before I realized that it made sense with how Calia was a Lich, and thus her soul had already been taken out of her body and sealed away somewhere safe. Who was to say that she hadn't already used wisps of her soul to create or take over bodies already? 

Either way, I had no doubt she wasn't lying to me in any way... Having a dozen plus Calia's running around wasn't something someone could hide or something, though I am surprised I haven't heard about it.

"In either case, little Luxanna is going to watch you most closely... One could say jealousy in fact, but regardless. Jake, I do appreciate you taking my disciple Jean into your Class Trial team. With your project, I am quite assured of your team's victory, honestly, so long as you all don't die." Calia said with a small smile despite the casual mention of our possible violent deaths.

I raised an eyebrow at her wording, and I slowly nodded before I asked a bit cheekily. "How much is your appreciation worth, Lady Calia?" 

And there was a pause before Calia blinked, and I felt the dark pressure of her mana flex ever so slightly before her smile deepened and she spoke in a soft tone.

"My appreciation is a dark, heavy thing, Jake. You probably aren't ready for such a thing, but as for what it's worth... You will not see my appreciation, Jake, but you will still feel and reap its rewards."

With that, Cali elegantly stood up, and I felt something sticking me to the chair I was in, and then Calia stepped behind me with her soft hand gently falling on my shoulders, just beside my neck. 

And then her hot, moist breath hit my ears as she whispered. "You can build souls out of nothing, Jake... Me and you could create something truly great if you wanted. And I can teach you things about life and death that Lux would never understand, even if she became a Sage."

I felt Calia's hands squeeze my shoulders before letting go with her painted black long nails sensually skating over my neck as she stood up. Then I realized her shadow construct that had stuck me to the chair had broken apart with Calia teleporting away via a pillar of darkness that swallowed her up.

After a moment, I gingerly felt my neck and muttered to myself. "Did I just get molested by a big titty goth milf?" 

And you know what... It wasn't that bad, to be honest.

Taking a breath to center my thoughts, I got up as I wasn't going to let Calia distract me with her wiles. And I continued back to Lux's tower without any other incidents happening.

-

However, once I got into the tower and got my things put away. I got a loud ping from my scroll, making my face twitch as I read its contents.

[Heya! Come meet my bestie. We are all relaxing right now. She is the first princess, but this is a private thingie, so your first meeting won't need to be super formal. We are on my floor, so come on up!]

"Damn... I can't just avoid her." I muttered with a wry smile before I sighed at the realization I wouldn't be getting to get some rest just yet or seeing my ship girls... Or my bunny girls.

Heading up the elevator to the top floor of the magic tower that was Lux's personal floor, I came out of the elevator with another message telling me where the girls were, apparently.

And I headed over to where she told me to. 

Lo and behold, I found my master, Cinder, and the First Princess Ravel Phenex all sitting around a large ornate wooden table that had a massive orb embedded in the center of the table.

"Hello, Jake! We are playing Divination and Destruction! You sit with Cinder, and she can explain!" Lux said excitedly, and my lips twitched as I saw how she was clearly fucking drunk with the dull eyes and the crimson flush across her face.

Ravel herself was looking drunk as well, with her having long blond hair that was done in a long, ornate braid. And she was wearing a thin dress that clung to her voluptuous frame, that exceeded Lux's as well as Cinder's.

Cinder, however, wasn't drunk even if she had clearly done a bit of drinking herself. And by that, I mean that she had drunk like half a bottle of wine while Lux and Ravel each had like three empty bottles in front of themselves.

"Jake," Cinder spoke quietly in greeting before she inclined her head towards the large orb and began explaining quietly.

"Divination and Destruction is a game Master mages and up do often for trading resources and such. Using the divination ward stones surrounding Beacon, we outline a zone and then, using the stones as a conduit to carry our mana, we create controlled spells that don't kill Grimm but instead draw them together or into a targeted area."

Then Lux shouted over Cinder, whose face twitched. "And da-winner is whoever blows up the most Grimm in a single Master tier spell haha!" 

Then, with a slight hum, Cinder added. "Jake, sync your mana into the Divination Orb. You will be able to watch Lux and Lady Ravel do their game."

And even as I did so, I felt Ravel's eyes fall on Cinder and me, with her pouting and saying in somewhat of a whine. "Cinder, no need to call me lady, princess, or whatever here. I am just relaxing and don't want any of that courtly nonsense right now." 

To which Cinder said calmly. "As you say, Lady Ravel, I will do my best to treat you more informally." The obvious sarcasm made Lux giggle mischievously while I finished syncing up my mana from my magical core into the Divination Stone.

It was rather like having all the viewing wards surrounding Beacon open to myself, but Ravel and Lux obviously had their connections set to follow them with me, and Cinder was able to switch between watching Lux and Ravel using their magic to guide their own small hordes together.

It was my first time seeing a powerful mage up close and personal, as the only other times I had seen mages in action were the other mages that entered Beacon's initiation, and they weren't all that special, frankly.

Well, besides no other mages than when Glynda froze everyone in the hallway when Ruby had her psychotic episode when she went after Yang anyway. 

Ravel was seemingly a Master tier mage or maybe even close to a Grandmaster mage when it came to Fire and Wind magics, as she was using explosive blasts of fire magic to scare and get the Grimm moving and then using her wind magic to guide them.

Then, when she got a large group of Grimm together within a good hundred-yard radius. She would use a fire spell, and it seemed she was fond of violent implosions that resulted in an even more powerful explosion that resulted right after the implosion's collapsed in on itself.

Meanwhile, Lux, being known as the Grandmaster of All, used a variety of elements to herd and control the Grimm until she used her preferred finishing magic in Light magic.

Which, in this case, was two circular rings of light that formed on the ground and in the air. Then, from the outer edges of the ring to the center, a massive pillar of light magic would blast upwards and downwards at the same time, annihilating everything caught in between the rings.

"Ha! I killed forty-seven Grimm!" Ravel said proudly.

"Yeah, but I killed higher-tier Grimm!" Lux said spitefully, sticking out her tongue at Ravel, and I almost wanted to face-palm at just how childish she looked.

Cinder leaned in and, as Ravel and Lux began drunkenly arguing, she whispered. "Be formal with Ravel. Don't let her get too close for your own safety."

I nodded silently as Ravel saw Cinder whispering into my ear and shouted out. "Luxie! Cinder is flirting with your disciple!"

And I saw Lux's eyes glow as she drunkenly scowled at us, and I couldn't help but wonder how Lux was even able to text me then. Lux flared out a bit of her mana and shook her head, and I realized she was burning away the alcohol inside of her.

"Ahh... You are killing the buzz, Lux." Ravel muttered before her hair glowed, and with the room's heat going up as she also seemingly purged herself of the booze she had consumed.

"I can't go smiting my adorable disciples just because you get me all worked up, Ravel," Lux said with some joking scolding in her voice, making Ravel raise up her hands in surrender.

Then, seeing the two older magicians were done with their game for a moment, Cinder spoke up. "Well, with Jake here and needing to introduce himself. I must be getting back to my research. So please excuse me, Lady Ravel and Lux."

Lux gave a small frown before she nodded with a small smile. "Ok, ok, Cinder, go back to your quarters if you want. Jake... You are mine for now, haha!" Lux said with joking menace in her voice.

Cinder quickly beat a retreat from the room while I coughed, and when Cinder had left, I gave a slight bow to Ravel and said somewhat formally. "Lady Ravel, my name is Jake Bariss, and it's a pleasure to meet you." 

Ravel raised an eyebrow before she gave a slight smile and said. "I see, I am glad you feel that way, then. And how has your time with my friend as your teacher been going?" 

"Lux has been a great teacher for me in the couple of weeks I have been under her study. I am almost done with my first spell matrix to the point I think I will finish it tonight, even honestly."

Lux blinked and said with some excitement. "Really, Jake? That's great news! Actually, can you try again and let us watch you try to form it?" 

My face pinched at the thought of letting Ravel and Lux both into my mana core to watch me make the spell matrix, and seeing my flash of reluctance, Lux giggled and said comfortingly. "Jake, it's normal for mages to show each other how they form their spell matrix with people they trust. And I have been Ravel's friend for my entire life, I trust her with my life." 

'Yeah, but I don't trust Ravel with my own life.' I thought with a sigh internally before I smiled wryly and said. "Alright, alright, master. No need to guilt-trip me."

Lux clapped her hands happily and said. "Thank you, Jake! Now let's mowsie on over to the exercise mat's over there and you can meditate while we watch your mana core." 

I walked over to the three-foot-thick exercise mat's there were clearly for more fun than actual yoga... Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Lux actually just slept on these mats instead of moving all the way to bed with how lazy she could be sometimes.

And I began the process of drawing the Water Drop Arrow spell matrix within my mana core as per usual.

But soon enough, I felt Lux's hand naturally fall on my own with her own mana merging into my body to look within my mana core. Likewise, then I felt on my other hand, a soft, dainty hand that could only belong to Ravel, that had its own strong feeling to it.

'Ravel is definitely at least a Master tier mage... Makes sense with how she is aiming to become Queen of Vale over her older brother, though.' I mused before I got back to work.

The Water Drop Arrow spell, however, even for a novice spell, was rather complicated. As it wasn't just using my mental energy with the Mental Brush to create a simple water drop or whatever.

No, I had to draw a perfectly even, perfectly filled-out, with zero overlap in the drawing of a three-dimensional droplet inside of my Mana Core.

As the premise of the spell was for the droplet to act as a powerful armor-penetrating spell, with the thin part of the solid droplet hitting and piercing the target with the pressurized water inside the droplet, then exploding within the target it hit and hopefully piercing into.

I failed a couple of times with the Spell Matrix falling apart, but as I went to do it again... I didn't fuck up this time like most other times and overlapped the spell matrix at some point.

And I finished the Water Drop Arrow spell matrix with the spell shrinking as it sank into the Mana Pool that was my particular Mana Core.

I opened my eyes with both girls letting go of my hands, with Lux waiting for me as I opened up a hand, and I slowly called upon the spell matrix inside my mana core with the Water Drop Arrow spell forming slowly above my hand.

A large sideways water droplet formed that was bigger than my fist, and I knew that the water was compressed enough to explode with the force of a hand grenade.

"Well, well. Congratulations, Jake Bariss, on your first spell matrix." Ravel said kindly as she shifted slightly from her rather formal sitting form of sitting on her knees.

And in her movement, I noticed that she had magically changed out of her dress while I was busy meditating. 

With her tight-fitting dress being replaced with a 'casual' tight-fitting sleeping blouse that exposed her deep cleavage, along with her wearing tiny shorts that I imagine also clung to her form.

Only taking a glance at her, I was saved from any interaction with Ravel... Is what I would love to say, but I was pushed into Ravel, face-first into her tit's making me mentally scream as Lux had jumped me in a bear hug with her shouting excitedly. "Jake, I am so proud of you for learning your first spell so quickly!"

'Titty logic is at hand...' I thought before I froze as I felt a bloom of supernatural heat as Ravel snapped out. "Lux! Get your hands out of there!" 

Then, as soon as Lux's weight got off my side and back, I got my face out of the fucking princess tit's with her having a deep flush and some slight anger in her eyes as I scooted away from her.

And the moment I got away from Lux and Ravel, Ravel made a slapping motion at Lux, whose eyes widened, and she squealed as a powerful gust of wind threw her ass over tea kettle across the large mat, making her roll across it a solid four times with the speed she had.

But even as Lux came to a stop, Ravel's scowl turned into a twitching eyebrow as Lux shamelessly called out. "That's what you get for touching my disciple's hand without asking permission, hmph!" 

"Where else would I touch him to see into his mana core other than his hand?" Ravel demanded in exasperation before pausing and then massaging one of her left breasts as I had landed more on her right one. "And why did you pinch my breast, especially in front of him, Lux?"

To which Lux puffed up her considerably smaller chest and said shamelessly. "That's what you deserve for flaunting them!" Then she paused as though in thought.

Then, Lux said with a wide smile as though she had an epiphany. "I got it! You can hold his foot! I don't want to touch his feet, so you can touch those instead of his hand, haha!"

And that's where I checked out, as I just covered my face in fucking embarrassment at how much of a damned goober my master was.

'Wait. Is she actually this weird with her friend? Or is she actually just going full ham to make Ravel too embarrassed to even bug me about peerage?' I wondered.

My thought was answered as Lux yawned loudly with her holding out her hand with a fresh, large wine bottle shooting into her hand with her saying cheekily. "Jake darling, go on back to your floor. Me and Ravel are going back to drinking Ozzie's special stash from Mistral while we watch some movies, and you can't be here for this depraved slumber party."

There was a pause before Ravel stated bluntly. "Jake, your master drools in her sleep, she monologue's her dreams... Even lewd dreams and-" 

Lux screamed shrilly as she threw another wine bottle at Ravel, who caught it with her magic while throwing an evil smile at Lux. And myself? I literally fucking ran from the room.

These older single mage women were scary!

The next day, I awoke to the sweet and succulent feeling of a sweaty body underneath my blankets.

Opening eyes, I took in two messy heads of white and blue hair snuggling up on my chest, and I knew today... It was going to be a good day, that's if we didn't die in the Class Trial today anyway.

"Prinz, Jersey... Wake up time." I groaned with both girls whining with Prinz Eugen looking at me with a pout before she retorted.

"No. You've been too busy to pay any attention to me, and I won't have it!" 

With New Jersey oh so helpfully chiming in. "Yeah! You've been working on a whole different ship than us, not even making another shipgirl that we could hang out with, darling, so take your punishment cuddles with respect and dignity!" 

And so I was horrifically punished with snuggles with my possessive shipgirls that demanded their own time, knowing full well that with the Class Trial today. We were going to be extremely busy.

-

After the great snuggledoom, my group, in myself, Ren, who had successfully trained himself into being able to use his new YoRHa body well enough, Nora, and my two ship girls, met in the hall designated for teams to get together before we took the Bullhead assigned to us.

And of course, while we grabbed everything we needed. I also had stuffed the Black Pearl into my enchanted Ship in a Bottle so that I could easily carry it with me.

"I am glad to see you all ready for this wonderful day!" Jeanne spoke excitedly as she smiled kindly as she all but dragged Jean behind her.

And bother sisters were outfitted in their combat outfit's which were almost a reflection of one another. Jean's was dark, with dull metal criss-crossing her outfit with a small crown of burnt metal that protected her forehead.

While Jean's outfit was clearly aligned with the God of Light church. With clean white fabric, gold highlights, and some slight blue trim on the edges.

"It's too early for this," Jean muttered with a slight yawn, and I noticed that Artoria wasn't anywhere to be found today... And then I realized she likely didn't want to be seen with how the last big event for her in killing Grimm was her son dying.

"Oh, you are just so cute in that outfit,t Jeanne! We need to coordinate some outfits together after this!" New Jersey went on with Jeanne, who smiled and met my enthusiastic Ship-girls... Particular brand of insanity easily.

While Prinz Eugen and Jean, however, just shared a look of silent agreement of some sort.

"Well, so now we are just waiting on the others," Ren noted calmly as he stood behind Nora with his android arms folded over his chest.

Seeing Nora look between me and Ren, I smiled wryly before I asked him curiously. "So how is your new body treating you? Is it everything you could have wanted?" 

To which Ren actually chuckled and said in his normal, calm voice. "It's certainly something. I think I honestly prefer my body this way. Without my body distracting my mind, I have made phenomenal strides in wind and shadow magic in fact." 

'Yup... There is that semblance-driven complete sociopathy. He still has little to no emotions due to his semblance throwing his emotional hormone spectrum into the gutter.' I thought as I talked with Ren, just having a bit of bro time to catch up with him, as we both had been stupidly busy for the last week, especially.

Then Pyrrha came into the room and over to our group after picking us out of the groups of other students making their way into the room. And she sidled up to me quickly as the other groups gave her dirty looks for obviously being from Mistral.

And I couldn't help but wonder if Pyrrha herself was a bit of a political prisoner like Weiss was... Even though Pyrrha had run away here to Vale herself somehow.

"Hello Jake, are you ready for today?" Pyrrha asked with a soft smile as she looked at me. And I noticed that smile had a bit of an edge to it as Prinz leaned against me a bit.

But either way, I just nodded and said confidently. "Yeah, we have all the best methods to come in first place for this event. I would be rather shocked to say the least if we didn't frankly."

To which Pyrrha gave a sharp incline of the head in agreement before she said somewhat quietly. "I agree, Jake. Not to mention how much it would hurt my pride to lose with how stacked our team currently is."

And wasn't that a statement. Our team was basically perfectly all-rounded; we had an assassin, plenty of long-range bombardment, duelists for elite enemies, and we even had a healer in Jeanne.

To say nothing of our precious Nora... Nora, who smashes things really good.

"So I have some pictures on my scroll of some food made from Mistral Jake. Do you think that when we get settled in, you could conjure up some authentic Mistral food?" Pyrrha asked as she sidled in a bit closer as Prinz got pulled into conversation with Jean as they shared some common interests.

Pyrrha's soft cinnamon body wash filled my nose as she looked towards me with hope, and I slowly nodded as I said. "Yeah, I will do my best. I can manifest food rather easily, though I am not sure how authentic it would be."

And Pyrrha gave a soft smile as she said gently. "Don't worry, Jake, I am sure you will get... Plenty of time to get the hang of it, with how long we will be together. And I made sure to get the pictures done by chefs I paid to make the food on a ship itself!"

As Pyrrha finished speaking, she had gotten so excited that she had actually grabbed my wrist, and as she did so... I realized something with how Pyrrha was a bit flushed as she looked at me.

'Ah hell... Pyrrha has a crush on me. I replaced Jaune in being the only one to basically treat her like a normal human being, and she has latched onto me because of it.' I thought with a wry smile.

But that was just the start... As the room went quiet and I startled with Pyrrha frowning as a soft voice rang out as I felt someone gently pull the back of my dress shirt and pull between the straps holding the cannon's to my arms.

I looked behind me in confusion, only for me to pause as I looked behind me. As right behind me and blushing fiercely was a clearly embarrassed Ruby Rose in her combat outfit that had the top couple of buttons undone to show off a bit of cleavage... 

But her pale breasts, being partly shown, wasn't something I could look at for long, as Ruby whispered weakly. "Uhm, Jake. I am sorry if I made a bad first impression. Me and Yang... I wanted to say I am sorry for being like that, and I made you some cookies!"

 She then held out a basket towards me filled with the scent of somehow freshly baked cookies that filled my nose... And as I felt my group's gaze on my back. I knew that 1. It would be extremely rude to refuse out of hand, with how it was clearly an apology she was making earnestly.

And 2, it would also reflect badly on me as Lux's disciple to refuse an open hand of apology and friendship from the Rose Duke family.

So even with some level of misgivings's I gingerly took the basket containing the cookies before I said respectfully. "I see. Well, I am sorry for the... Friction between you and Yang. But, uhh yeah, thank you for the cookies. They smell wonderful and I am sure I will enjoy them."

Ruby nodded, rocking back and forth on her boots with raised heels with the motion making her chest bouncing with the motion as she bit her lower lip.

And then after she mustered up her courage, she said quietly. "I... I think how you make your weapons is like really really cool. So I hope we can be friends, and uhm, would you like to hang out after the Class Trial or something?"

All of a sudden, I felt a dagger-like gaze hitting the back of my neck, but I just smiled helplessly before I said honestly. "Yeah, I mean,n after the Class Trial, and everything about that is taken care of. I wouldn't mind if you have some free time."

"That's great! Ok, I uhm, yeah I need to get to my team, so I will see you after the Class Trial, alright?" Ruby said as she looked at me with her big silver eyes, all but begging me to agree.

I simply nodded as Ruby grinned victoriously and she literally skipped away.

Turning back around to my group, I saw that Jeanne was giving me a wide smile as she spoke happily. "You becoming a friend with the Rose heiress is good news indeed for the faith!" 

And I was reminded on how the Silver Eyes was a direct and rare blessing from the Light God. Either way, I got back into conversation with my team before I noticed time was running out and that Weiss and her retainer, Jingliu, were going to be late soon.

But then she came through the door, and I couldn't help but stare as Weiss was wearing this perverted maid outfit I most certainly didn't expect to see her wearing.

And to say the least, Weiss's pale skin was tinted red as she forced herself to walk normally and not be hiding behind Jingliu, which was just emanating silent smug energy.

Even my own team fell silent as Weiss made her way over to my team, and once she got there... Weiss's eyes filled with embarrassment, pierced my own with her whispering as fiercely as a kitten who was defending their ill-gotten snack.

"Well? Are you content now?" She demanded adorably.

And I just took a deep breath as I looked into Weiss's eyes, and I said quietly. "You have an adorable belly button." 

For a split second, I thought Weiss was going to have an aneurysm as she covered her stomach while Jingliu chuckled and covered her mouth to hide her further hysterical giggles.

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 24

"I hate this." Weiss whimpered as she hid behind Jingliu while still holding her hands over the cut in the perverted maid outfit that exposed her pale skin and adorable belly button.

I smiled wryly and said. "Alright, alright, I didn't mean you needed to go... That far with the maid outfit. I mean, you even sowed a duke's ransom in enchanted gems in the thing as well!" 

Weiss's face turned dark with her throwing a look of 'hate' at Jingliu, whose smug energy levels seemed to explode from her form like a super saiyan using Kaioken!

But before Mt Weiss could explode, quite literally as her heavily enchanted rapier casting tool glowed brightly in warning. Jeanne smoothed Weiss's volatile emotions with her kind demeanor and overwhelming, nurturing big sister energy.

"Well, it is quite a daring outfit for you, Miss Schnee, but you look very beautiful and bring out its best qualities," Jeanne said in consolation.

I nodded and added. "Still, I... Yeah, alright, I can't hold your mistake against you anymore with this, if you are willing to humble yourself so much." 

Weiss gave me a long look before she bit her lower lip, and then she inclined her head to me as she spoke with embarrassment, clear in her tone. "Good! I am not some slattern, and the only reason I am wearing something like this is because Jingliu sewed my gems into it!"

"No regrets... Your belly button complex fills my dull life with endless joy, seeing you throwing a tantrum about it." Jingliu stated calmly before she looked at me and said with a bit more emotion.

"Jake, please bully my mistress more. Seeing her blush in indignation is good for her blood flow and health." 

"Jingliu..." Weiss drew off in a hiss, and I was honestly scared for Jingliu's life with how the short white-haired petite beauty looked ready to tear into her... Physically, at that as well.

But we were saved from further conflict as a loud thud rang out at the other end of the Atrium, and I saw Glynda Goodwitch striding into the room from a back door with, swiftly walking up to the podium, and without a moment of hesitation or taking in the room, broke into her speech.

"Welcome all Freshmen to your first Class Trial, you have the dubious honor of acting as the front line of purging the Grimm that have glutted on the souls of the failed aspirants that died during the Initiation. However, unlike the upper years' own class trials. Huntsmen and Noble warriors will be watching to make sure that not too strong of Garim will become an issue for your groups." Miss Goodwitch spoke.

The powerful sage then took a breath before she continued calmly, uncaring as people whispered about this news. "You were told that you can form groups of up to ten members at maximum. If you have teams of three members or less, please step forward and form a line of teams." 

A minute later, a dozen such teams formed in front of Miss Goodwitch, and with a cold expression, she said calmly to the dozen or so teams.

"You all fail, you didn't network to increase your team size to the best extent, which is a total failure on your part, as at your strength level, numbers are the best path to mass Grimm extermination." 

The dozen-odd teams looked downright mutinous... But although it had only been a couple of weeks since our term at Beacon had started. No one had forgotten Ozpin killing those nobles who survived initially, partly just by hiding, and had now been converted into some kind of Fleshcrafted monster.

Glynda looked away from the teams that had been cut off, and she looked towards us and said calmly. "You are not children. This is Beacon Academy for Huntsmen. Here, you will be learning how to slaughter Grimm and even your fellow man, should other nations become hostile. We, although your teachers and mentors are not here to handhold or guide, in common sense."

She allowed us a moment to absorb that before she continued. "Now, you will all be assigned a team number along with all members of your team, a special enchanted tablet you must carry on your person at all times."

"Each tablet has been made by Ozpin himself and will record your fate energy, allowing him to quickly tally and instantly tally up the numbers and quality of all the Grimm you slay after the event. With the Archbishop and Pope of the Church of Light likewise checking your tablets to ascertain the winner of the class trial." Glynda finished.

Then Glynda gave us a very firm look before she said very bluntly. "Should your tablet be broken, which is unlikely, lost, or otherwise stolen... You fail the Class Trial regardless of whether your team wins the prize of killing the most Grimm."

A hand was raised up in the air, and Ren leaned in behind me and whispered. "He is from my Shadow magic lessons."

The young man with dark tribal tattoos across his arms, earning a nod from Glynda, asked bluntly. "Are you saying other teams can steal other teams' or people's tablets, or otherwise directly sabotage others?" 

Glynda gave the young man a calm look before she said very clearly. "Teams are allowed to interact with other teams however they please... So long as conflict doesn't break out that leads to members of the teams being injured or killed by the Grimm."

There was a pause before Glynda added with a cold smile aimed directly at that man, and then some other people in the other teams she looked at pointedly, including myself. "I am saying that some things can naturally happen during a large purge, or likewise during excursions to other countries. But no deaths are allowed to happen during this class trial due to another student's actions."

That cold smile was unnerving as Glynda finished off this point by saying bluntly. "If your team decides to rob a team of their tablets and they all die due to their injuries and such... Your team will likely face harsh penalties such as being turned into a Flesh Automaton by Lady Calia and her students." 

Even as Miss Goodwitch had the team leaders come to pick up the stacks of tablets and mark down our team's numbers and names. I was thinking of something else... 

'It's a fucking test in a test... Making so many mentions of this being a test of dealing with other countries invading or likewise invading their own lands. It's complete bullshit, as Vale's whole motto is 'Strength in Unity.' She even used the whole 'If they die, you die' as a warning not to fucking mess with people.' I thought with disgust as I knew that I was likely going to need to deal with idiots who thought our tablets were the winning lottery ticket.

I kept my facial expression clear as I marked down my team member's names quickly and clearly, with Miss Goodwitch nodding in respect as she noticed my star-studded entourage.

Then, with each tablet being of stone and only as big as my thumb, basically, I just put them in my pockets before I brought them back to my team to distribute them among everyone.

"Hmm, I can definitely feel the holy magic in the tablet," Jeanne noted with her fingers glowing slightly as she called upon her brand of holy magic that came with being part of the God of Light's church.

"Just be careful you don't break your tablet," I said clearly before I frowned and added more quietly. "And especially make sure that no one else, even among our own team, gets your tablet. I wouldn't put it past others to use disguising magic to steal the other team's tablets." 

Weiss sniffed and stated calmly. "Any knave that dares to steal from us will be in for quite a rough time." 

I gave Weiss a wry smile, and I asked. "And how will you punish them, Weiss? If you injure them too much to the point that another Grimm can finish them off... Are you saying Miss Goodwitch would give you better treatment?" 

Weiss's face, which still had a bit of redness due to her perverted maid outfit, went still with the blush fading. As she knew all too well, her place as a political prisoner was unwanted even by Atlas, so it was certainly possible for Miss Goodwitch to put her into the dirt if it became a mess.

There was a pause before Jean added flatly. "The biggest advantage of our ghost ship now, beyond its power and destructive uses, is that we can fly over all the assholes and avoid all this trouble and backstabbing." 

I nodded and giving my group a knowing look as I jostled my small backpack I had on my back that had some stuff like a good toothbrush, toiletries, and other things I needed to have on myself, seeing as Velvet and Alice weren't coming to act as the group's retainer/supporter.

The Ship in a Bottle, which contained the Black Pearl, being within that backpack as well. "So we will do the best we can to just stay in the air and well away from other teams," I concluded.

But before we could do more speaking and planning, the rest of the teams had noted down their members, along with collecting their tablets, which resulted in Glynda calling out firmly. "All teams, move to your assigned Bullhead to be air-dropped into the Emerald Forest now. The bullheads are all waiting for you!" 

We all quickly moved towards the Bullheads with Prinz and New Jersey taking to my sides to box out any other team leaders from getting close to me as we all filed out of the large atrium and headed to Beacon's airport.

"Hmm, I don't like flying," Jean muttered with a dark expression with Jeanne holding her goth sister's arm with a weak smile as she nodded in agreement.

"You girls got some gum or anything to help with it?" I asked, and they looked at me in confusion, so I just shrugged and tossed them a pack of mint gum. "Chewing motions help settle the stomach, and mint itself soothes the stomach as well; it should help." 

Our bullhead had another team on it as well, and as we got into the Bullhead, the pilot spoke up through the speaker system. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. You will be dropped off in section F-13. Thirty miles out of Beacon's exclusion zone and well into Grimm territory, where it's postulated some of the surviving Grimm from Initiation headed towards." 

I didn't bother to strap myself down to my seat as I just laid my heavy machine gun-covered arms on my waist. I also had my Azur Lane brand of enchanted sword in the Fabulous Fioretto resting against my leg as I waited for us to get moving.

"Hey, Jake... I had a major question, actually." Prinz asked after a moment of thought that made me look at her in confusion. "What's to stop you from just opening a Back Door, back home to Beacon with your semblance so we don't have to sleep outside in the dangerous Grimm-held territory?" 

My lips twitched at the thought, and I shrugged as I said. "Probably, Lux and Miss Goodwitch wouldn't be happy with me basically cheating. But they would allow it, honestly. It's a tool at my disposal, and to not use it would likely lead me to be questioned about my intelligence level." 

I shrugged, and seeing my team members in Weiss, Nora, and Ren looking at me in confusion at the words I spoke previously, I said. "I will explain later." I didn't want to put my semblance in front of the other team, who, although at the end of the Bullhead, and not able to hear too well.

Well, there was no point in changing anything either way.

The ride deeper over the Emerald Forest went quickly as the plane flew high above the forest, well away from any other flying Grimm or anti-air-based Grimm that would try to shoot the Bullhead down.

And finally, the other team of six that I didn't know got sent out of the Bullhead with them falling out of the VTOL-style plane as it swooped down low to get them closer to the ground, allowing them to land easier.

"Your guys' landing point is fifteen miles further north. Just give me a couple of minutes to get over there." The pilot said calmly, even as the Bullhead's automatic machine guns came to life to shoot the Nevermore, Deathwasps, and other flying Grimm that were following our ride.

I meanwhile just took a deep breath as I centered myself, and I felt a lot better now with my first spell ready to go whenever I needed it. Hell, it worked out just perfectly with how my sword was firmly a one-handed saber, allowing me to use my Rain Drop spell in my free hand.

Until finally the comms system crackled with the jump light coming on, meaning it was time for us to go as the ship tipped downward to bring us closer to the forest for us to land.

"Weiss, clear out the landing zone as we come down in a big spell!" I yelled out as she knew of my plan to use a huge flying ship, and we needed a good landing zone for that to work.

Prinz Eugen and New Jersey held onto me tightly as we were sucked out of the plane into the air a good couple of hundred meters above the forest floor, and as we came down towards the forest, I began spraying downwards with my arm-mounted machine guns.

The spray of huge caliber machine guns on my arms slowed the three of us down before a white light almost blinded me as a loud crashing noise hit my ear when a massive freeze wind smashed into the ground, pushing trees aside and, most importantly, clearing any Grimm out of the way from the landing area.

When we came down hard as we neared the ground, the two girls let go of me, and we split up a bit. Allowing me to use a tilted, broken-down tree as a slide to break my momentum.

While the two ship girls came down a bit softer as New Jersey used her weird Ship-Girl technology to begin flying as we got close to he ground and out of the sight of Grimm in the distance.

As soon as we landed however I instantly took out the Ship in a Bottle out of my backpack, and then I popped it open with a loud water-rushing noise rang out as a powerful burst of blackened water shot out of the bottle with the massive sailing ship forming back into reality as it splashed and raised up out of the water that was shooting in the air.

The ship barred in the true sunlight was a masterpiece of both horror and ingenuity. Its thick bone and metal plating glistened in the sun, its sails a patchwork of hundreds of beings' skin was a tapestry with the living blood veins pumping under the skin.

"You should have just worked to summon an airship or carrier." New Jersey said with a pout, looking at how she saw me grinning at the sight of the ship that came down to the ground with a loud thudding noise under my mental control.

I shook my head and said honestly. "That could indeed have been more useful. But I would then be missing a friend or ally here. And besides, the Black Pearl is not a very powerful weapon for myself!" I said firmly as the rest of the group came over after completing their own various forms of landing.

With another flex of my will, the gangplank fell down from the ship, and I called out as I synched my mind fully with the ship, and my mind saw out of all the cannons, the anti-air guns, and the artillery.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, get on the ship so we can get this show on the road!" I called out, as already Grimm was coming into the large clearing that Weiss created to make the landing zone and place for me to take out the Black Pearl.

New Jersey instead picked me up and quickly flew on top of the ship as everyone else quickly climbed up on the ship either via the gangplank, which hit the ground, or in Ren's case, he did some ninja shit where he threw himself up via tiny hand holds in the bones and openings for the cannon's and such.

Not even thirty minutes later, the ship was in the air, above the sea of green trees surrounding us, and the noise began! Dozens of cannons, anti-air guns, and several missiles blasted the surrounding areas violently.

"We are flying in a grid pattern! We are going to purge everything in the map data I have collected from our scroll, and then we are going to go to the other sectors to purge their Grimm as well!" I yelled out over the endless noises of all the gun emplacements blowing into the thickening herd of Grimm coming towards the source of all our noise.

I didn't need any acknowledgment, as already everyone was at the edge of the ship and using their guns or spells to shoot over the barrier towards the crowds of mostly Beowolves that were charging out of the forest in their typical packs of dozens to almost a hundred strong.

Likewise, I also got to work, finally able to use my arm-mounted cannons as I joined in on the slaughter as I mentally controlled the Black Pearl's weapons all the while.

"Beringal pack coming." Weiss's mana-augmented voice called out, and I realized I needed to get ourselves some earbuds or something,g as there was just too much noise with all the guns and explosions.

But I still 'looked' over at the pack of two dozen three-story-tall giant bone-plated gorilla-shaped Grimm. And with a mental flex on the Black Pearl, a series of loud hisses rang out as three Hellfire Missiles launched from the ship, and the missiles exploded almost instantly upon the pack.

"Not anymore," I said with a small grin as the Beringals were torn apart by the missiles.

 

 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 25

I had no shame in admitting to being at half chub when I had giant speaker systems blasting 'Free Bird' as the Black Pearl came into the next team's sector. Blasting rockets, missiles, artillery, and the best kind of suppressive fire in explosive and incendiary anti-air guns.

As it's surprisingly hard for a multi-ton elephant, Grimm, to charge away in fear as thousands of explosive rounds turned their limbs and bodies to Grimm paste.

"Hmm, five thousand grimm so far. I wonder what the actual rate of Grimm eradication is in our previous zone, though?" I mused as I held onto one of the ropes, not made out of human skin, and such that went to the sails.

Pyrrha, hearing me, gave a soft chuckle and said. "Well, your ship is anything but subtle, so we did our best in attracting all the grimm to us to be destroyed. If they are hiding out. Then we would need to hunt them down on foot."

"Which isn't our prerogative. Our goal is simply the mass eradication of Grimm, even if we are looking for the smarter ones who managed to consume a soul or two." I continued with the beautiful red-haired amazon, nodding in agreement.

A particularly loud squeal rang out, and I looked over to the source and saw a lake in the distance that broke the monotony of the endless Emerald Forest. And within the lake was a massive humanoid-looking Grimm that had the lower half of a fish.

And by massive, I mean the twisted mermaid-looking monster was like three stories tall, maybe even four.

"Oh, a mermaid! I wonder how long it has been in that lake, as they are typically found in the ocean." Pyrrha said casually, even as I sent a large missile off the ship that shot off to loop around to gain speed before hitting the target in the mermaid, causing a massive explosion.

"There was a mermaid there, I think you mean Pyrrha." I retorted jokingly, making her roll her eyes before she hummed, and then, with a metal needle in her hand, she used her polarity semblance to launch the metal needle at high speed to snipe a smaller Nevermore.

"So I am curious, why doesn't other Hunters use things like the Black Pearl?" I asked curiously, as it was obviously proving effective. And it's not like the people of Remnant weren't capable of building similar things.

Pyrrha, hearing that, smiled and said casually. "Jake, you forget that Grandmasters and Sages can easily change the landscape should they take to the field. They don't need tools and weapons like this... Though I imagine they are getting a kick out of the sheer firepower you have managed to smuggle into this beauty." 

I shrugged as that was fair enough, so I looked past the side of the ship and with a hum, I used my waterdrop arrow spell to launch a high-speed arrow of water that hit the side of a Creep and broke its internal organs.

My gaze, however, was pulled elsewhere as the sounds of heels rang out on the bone deck of my ship, and I turned from the side of the ship and stepped away so I didn't get sniped by something as I saw Weiss in her... Delightful maid outfit coming up to the wheelhouse, where I was controlling the ship.

"Where is Jingliu?" I asked curiously while I stepped aside to allow a shade I could mentally control to take over, controlling the boat's more exact movements through the air.

But I didn't get an answer.

Weiss and Pyrrha instead shared a look with myself, tensing for a second at the shared look before Pyrrha spoke somewhat diplomatically. "Jake, now that we don't have countless extra ears listening to us like at Beacon. We were curious."

With Weiss questioning more bluntly. "Why do you associate with the two of us? We are basically political prisoners due to the rising tensions between the four nations, and being too close to us will impede your rise through the nobility." 

I blinked at that, and I couldn't help a small laugh at that before I said bluntly. "Because you both are useful? Pyrrha isn't a slaver, so I couldn't care less about her family's nonsense, and you... You are frankly adorable with your belly button complex." 

Weiss took back on her completely delightful, outraged flush that she wore on her pale skin so well. While Pyrrha just chuckled wryly and said with a depth of emotion I most certainly didn't miss. "So you just... Don't mind us then?"

I raised an eyebrow at Pyrrha, and I said honestly. "Pyrrha, you are a sweetheart, frankly. No, I have no ill will towards you, and my rise to nobility is all but ensured, no matter what, when I win this class trial." 

The girls looked at me with doubt, and I just said calmly. "I have the heir of a Duke house as my master, I am also becoming Fiora Laurent's partial disciple in sword play. I have a skilled entourage already; I can create more of these flying battleships that other people, especially necromancers, can control."

I took a deep breath and continued. "So I have both economic and military power in these ships, being possible things I could sell in the future. So after the Class Trial, and when the Royal Family committee comes together to nominate new Grand Knights and Barons. Do you really think they will pass over me?"

Weiss and Pyrrha shared a look before Weiss said calmly. "And you expect to rise beyond a Viscount? The Royal family is trying to curtail the nobles' powers, and if you are too friendly with us... Who are the literal black-sheep in this situation? You are going to have issues."

I remained silent for a moment. Before I smiled and said calmly. "That won't be an issue. In the worst-case scenario, at a Viscount, I can still own property within Vale. And I can still create my own settlement outside of Vale's walls." 

Both girls looked frustrated at me for a second at how I discounted their concerns, and I went even further as I said firmly. "It's my own consequences, I appreciate the care in even saying anything, but I will bear any responsibility on my own shoulders." 

And I saw Pyrrha flush a bit with her turning away, while Weiss scoffed and said in an utterly tsundere way. "Hmph! You talk big, but you better not come crawling to me when your life is ruined!" 

I just grinned easily and said with amusement. "Oh no! Whatever, should I do if that's the case, Weiss? Are you going to take responsibility and marry me?"

And I cackled as Weiss flushed darkly and attempted to stomp on my foot but failed and squealed loudly as I poked her exposed belly button her holding her stomach and looking at me with mortification.

Before the flirting could further escalate, my smile dipped as I saw through the ship's implanted eyes and camera systems a massive alligator-shaped grim was ignoring the explosives and ammunition hitting it as a barrier of some sort blocked the explosives and ammo.

"Pyrrha, Weiss, three o'clock, a Grimm with some kind of enhanced barrier semblance," I spoke seriously with the Amazon's brief moment of jealousy dying as she walked over to the edge of the boat next to me where I pointed at the elephant sized gator Grimm that had eaten and absorbed at least one soul for sure.

I felt a bloom of mana next to me, and Weiss held out her sword/staff towards the Grimm with a powerful, blistering freezing wind hitting the Grimm and the surrounding area, making its barrier flash freeze.

"The freezing wind is only freezing the barrier. Hmph, the barrier is also providing the Grimm protection from the elements, I see." Weiss muttered as she cut off the freezing tide of winds, with the Grimm being encased in a giant ice block as its barrier seemingly protected it.

I hummed in thought before I said calmly. "You ladies got any magical shield-breaking spells in particular?" 

And Pyrrha proudly chimed in as Weiss frowned. "Yes, my railgun spell is very adept with breaking barriers, whether physical or magical in origin."

I nodded and with a flex of my will, a series of explosions rang out as a dozen large explosives rang out as the ship's stronger artillery smashed into the large ice block, breaking the ice and pounding into its damned barrier.

Pyrrha conjured up a large bar of some sort of metal, and she got away from me and Weiss with her holding the floating metal bar in the air with her magic as several magical glyphs formed in front of the rod of metal.

Then a spark of lightning crackled around the metal before a howling boom! Rang out as the large metal bar broke the sound barrier, and with a loud clanging noise like a gong, it smashed into the Grimm's barrier.

The barrier turned from a ringed shield of corrupted black light to a full cocoon of power that surrounded the Grimm, and I saw as the metal rod the Amazon shot exploded as the high-speed object met the unmovable object.

"That student that had that semblance. He must have been hard for the Grimm to kill, with how it's ignoring all kinetic attacks." Weiss spoke calmly as she flourished her rapier with a Schnee glyph forming at the end.

"But magic has things beyond simple kinetic attacks." Weiss finished with her Glyph, enhancing the magic she was using, and I watched as Weiss first froze the gator in a tall pillar of ice that made me wonder what she was doing.

Then the glyph flared with power before the pillar suddenly compressed and became bright as though too much magical energy or something was running through it.

A loud explosion rang out as the compressed ice spell exploded, and I noted that the barrier around the giant gator-looking Grimm had cracks running through it.

"Hmm, let me try something." I mused, then I summoned a very large underwater sea mine onto the deck beside us. Then I used my semblance to form a Back Door below the mine, and then I opened up the Back Door with my foot, kicking the door open.

And a loud roar rang out as the Gator Grimm got a several-ton giant metal ball dropped on its head directly.

I quickly dismissed the Back Door, and then a massive boom rang out as the 1000kg explosive went off violently, with the gator being wiped out, and the Black Pearl made a loud creak as the massive explosive went off.

"Well, that's one special Grimm down," I said with a hum before I looked at Weiss and Pyrrha, who had both ducked down to avoid the blast wave of rushing air that came from the explosion.

"Anyway, yeah, I am fine, honestly. I can deal with any consequences." I said calmly, with the two sharing a look before shaking their heads silently as they seemingly shared some kind of message between the two of them.

"I am going to my own quarters now. I will be watching through the various sensory bits of the ship, though." I said next, as I knew we all needed a second away from one another.

"Get a good rest, Jake. I will remain up to make sure no flyers try to board the Black Pearl." Pyrrha said with a natural smile, making Weiss huff at how proactive she was.

"Hmph... I suppose I should also do a short shift as well." Weiss said with a slight pout.

"You girls be careful then," I said, and I stepped down onto the main deck before going into the captain's quarters, that was built right below the control deck, as it was my own private cabin with a separate bedroom in the back, a bathroom, and a small living room in the front.

And I just plopped down into my bed with my Scroll coming into my hand with me happily opening a small Back Door around my phone so I could let in the signal from my bedroom directly into my room. 

Then I called my master, Lux, as I wanted to run a couple of questions by her. 

[Jake... Why, no, how are you calling me? Your scroll is supposed to be locked to your team members?] She asked with her tone full of exasperation.

So I just said happily. "I just opened a portal around my scroll, and it worked! Anyway, I had an important question, Lux. I was-"

She cut me off with a cough as she said firmly. [Jake, I am with the Headmaster, my own Master, the Princess, and others. Speak properly for me, please!]

My lips twitched at the thought of the big titty princess Ravel giving my master a smug look at being embarrassed, so I took a breath and said firmly and 'respectfully'. "Master, your disciple has a most important question regarding his semblance. I am curious as to whether Beacon has any rules on the use of teleportation and portals during the Class Trial?"

Lux was quiet for a moment before she said with a choking giggle. [Wait a minute! I will ask the headmaster, snerk!] And I could tell she was audibly choking back a snort as she put me on speaker phone and spoke aloud for all to hear.

[Headmaster, are there any specific rules on the use of portals and teleportation during students' time within the Class Trial?] Lux asked in barely held-back amusement.

I could tell Ozpin was a bit nonplussed by the random question, but then the sage's strong voice said calmly. "No, Luxanna. The Class Trial doesn't have specific rules on the use of portals and teleportation. Only a single person a year at best has a spatial-themed semblance, and no younger students, unless they are the best of geniuses, can open stable portals, let alone teleport."

I spoke out as Lux made a slight throat-clearing noise. "Headmaster, then with myself able to open a portal back to Beacon... Does that mean we are within our rights to just sleep comfortably back in our dorm rooms at night?" 

The call went silent before I heard Glynda Goodwitch mutter something in the background, but I couldn't make it out. Instead, I heard Ozpin speak calmly but with clear amusement. [Jake, if you are capable of doing so. You are certainly welcome to do so. Making yourself and others comfortable is the privilege of the strong after all.]

"Thank you for answering my question, Headmaster. Master, I will be hanging up now if that is alright?" I spoke to Lux as I didn't want to be too impudent while my master was on somewhat on guard due to being around the royal princess and the headmaster in a clearly more serious setting.

[Be careful, Jake, we already saw you deal with that Grimm, and you did well. But already some students have been overwhelmed by Grimm, who had already digested the souls of those they consumed.] Lux warned me.

I remained silent for a moment before saying seriously. "I will be as careful as I can, Master."

There was a moment of silence before a click rang out as Lux cut the line to me, and I took a deep breath and just relaxed on my bed as I mentally closed down and spread my consciousness into the Black Pearl to take over several aspects to make it better.

Ammo stores replenished as my aura and magic filled the ship, the wear and tear of thousands of rounds passing through the guns regenerated and faded away. Missiles filled their launching systems, and the ship itself hummed as it gained speed, as an invisible wind seemingly caught in the sails, as my essence went to work.

Not only that, but I could feel my recording tablet heat up as I took full advantage of the ship's many sensory systems in literal eyeballs' camera systems, human and animal ears, and audio recording satellites that filled my mind with so much sensory data that it was unreal.

But having been used to running my Emerald Forest base in my off hours, I was well used to the seemingly overwhelming information flow. And instead, I used a mediation technique to cut out all the random bullshit and focus on two things.

Anything that was black and white, which contrasted heavily with the deep green forest that was the Emerald Forest. And with my sole focus on the Grimm, I was able to control the ships... Many weapon systems to purge the lesser grimm, while I noticed through the systems I had on the deck.

That Weiss and Pyrrha were having a hushed conversation while Jingliu, Weiss's retainer and guardian, was standing across the deck to give them a measure of privacy.

'I wonder what they are talking about?' I mused and focused on them both shamelessly as I decided that as the Captain of the Black Pearl, I needed to make sure they weren't planning some kind of mutiny, obviously!

"That isn't true... I am not trying to use him!" Pyrrha said with a distinct frown.

And Weiss retorted calmly. "Because that's how it looks. Unlike myself, who struck out on their own even if it wasn't given approval, or am basically in exile. You literally fled your nation and killed several people working for your mother, who attempted to capture you." 

Pyrrha's frown darkened, and she replied coldly. "And you wouldn't have killed for your freedom? No, the difference is that you want a clear path with Jake, not having any lineage to interfere with your own goals."

Weiss was silent for a moment before she said cuttingly. "Jake may see your comfy interior and think that's all that's there. But when he learns of your training from your mother. Cooking people alive in bronze statues to dissuade the other slaves from rebelling. Do you think he will see you the same?"

"Will he still see you with this... Girl next door, shy little crush attitude you have around him, when your spear's leather wrapping is literally tanned human skin?" Weiss demanded with actual exasperation.

Pyrrha just stared at Weiss for a moment before she smiled. But it wasn't a humorous smile, but one of relieving painful yet relieving memories. "The wrap is indeed human skin, Weiss, that is true... But it's not of a slave, it's my own that was removed when the elders of my clan would punish me for merely saying thank you to the servants." 

Pyrrha took a step towards Weiss, with her much more ample breasts all but hitting Weiss in the chin, with Jingliu eye's eyes laser-focused on the confrontation with a dagger of ice forming in her hand as she readied herself.

"I stood up for myself and was tortured for my refusal to fall into my clan's evil once I learned what evil it was. If Jake doesn't understand that... Then that's it. But is it wrong for me to like a man who can see past my clan's lifestyle and choices? Have you any right to decide his life, Weiss Schnee?"

Weiss's face darkened with some actual anger at Pyrrha's impassioned rant, and for a long moment, it looked like she was going to snap at her... Then Weiss snorted with her long ponytail almost snapping Pyrrha across the face as she whipped around with her heels, making clicking noises.

The royal took a couple of steps away from Pyrrha, and then, with a scowl, she turned back and sniped. Regardless of what ambitions I may have. At least I am not a love-sick puppy too afraid to say anything."

And with that... Seeing Pyrrha finally flush deeply, I cut off the feed as a knocking rang out from the front door of my cabin, making the girls atop the wheelhouse also pause as someone came out onto the deck.

'Whelp... Having a full team of powerful, literally combative girls was almost certainly going to lead to some friction.' I thought with some wry amusement as I got up from my bed with the ship powering down a bit, with how my consciousness wasn't filling it directly anymore.

Heading over to the door, I blinked as I saw New Jersey standing in front of the door with a wide grin. "Heya! Prinz decided to relax and chug some oil to refuel on some ammo. So I decided to come hang out with you!" 

I blinked before grinning and saying. "Well, come on in. I need my Black Dragon to keep me comfortable and safe after all." 

New Jersey literally bounced into my cabin, and I couldn't help a snort as she dolphin dived into the thick plush couch I had set up in the living room with her giggling as her tall, curvaceous form lay across the couch with her lying on her stomach and kicking her legs in the air.

"Soooo, you going to get with Pyrrha?" New Jersey asked bluntly, but with no lack of enthusiastic curiosity.

I rubbed a hand across my face before I collapsed into the couch beside New Jersey, with her giggling and putting the back of her head into my lap. With the cutest smug face crossing her face as she did so.

"Jeeze, Jersey. I have no idea, honestly. Normally, girls have daddy issues, and it's hot... But Mommy issues aren't nearly as hot with women. Not to mention, I don't have any plans to just settle down right now, obviously." I spoke with a wry smile.

New Jersey, having rolled onto her back to more comfortably have her head in my lap, gave a soft hum as I began threading my hand gently through her bluish hair as we both remained silent for a good minute.

After a couple of minutes of brushing my hand gently through her hair, I switched hands, and New Jersey broke the silence as she said with clear humor. "Want me to give you a massage or something to let off some stress, my admiral?"

And in a pique of... I don't know Nora's energy, I guess. I lifted up my free hand, and I plopped it on her very ample tits, gave a squeeze, and said with a smile. "Nope, I got the best stress toy all men dream of."

New Jersey just laughed and puffed out her chest before saying proudly. "Then squeeze away, Jake! I don't squeak though... I make much lewder noises, haha." She finished with a joyful laugh that reminded me a good bit of Nora and was a good reason why the two got along too damned well, honestly.

For a long moment, I just gave New Jersey's ample and large breasts a good experimentally squeeze, as although New Jersey and Prinz were... Very open to physical affection with me. We hadn't gone much further than hugging and sleeping beside one another.

And naturally, I got hard while playing with New Jersey's breasts and she giggled with her saying. "Ooh, looks like it's my turn to play with you haha. Is that ok, Jake?" New Jersey asked at the end, a bit more seriously.

"I... Yeah, I would appreciate it. But we don't have a lot of time to mess around." I said honestly, as even now I could see in the back of my head. The ship's munitions drained as they rained merry hell down on all the Grimm that came into the dozens of shades and the ship's integrated systems.

Even if I was in a perfect position. Lux would literally fucking strangle me if she thought I was going to fuck while in a Grimm extermination zone.

But honestly... It kinda made it hotter to do it. With New Jersey's returning grin saying all too clearly that she thought the same.

Without another word, New Jersey rolled onto her side with her breasts still pointing me for easy access. And I just pulled my pants and underwear down with my hard length falling across New Jersey's face as she pushed her head into my stomach.

"Hmm me and Prinz have been waiting impatiently for you to make a move on us." New Jersey stated with relish as she used a hand to hold my cock steady before she kissed and sucked the head of my length into her mouth hard before swirling her tongue around the head.

I exhaled in relief at feeling the wonderful sensation and I said quietly. "I didn't want to press you both. Prinz especially was skittish around me at first." 

New Jersey slurped down my length to get it nice and wet with her saliva so she could firmly and slowly massage my length as she made a popping noise as she broke her suction around my dick.

"She is skittish now because she wants you to grab her by the hair and bite her neck." New Jersey said bluntly before slurping my cock down her mouth and making me jolt as my length slipped into her throat with a soft glugging noise.

My hand that was previously massaging her breasts moved downwards past her waist with her curling up slightly so I could reach over her plush, soft ass and get to her womanly core on the other side.

New Jersey whimpered as I gently rubbed her womanhood that was covered by the tights and panties she had over her core, and she moaned in anticipation as I ripped her pantyhose open around her crotch and then pushed aside her panties.

Any further noises was silenced as I gently but firmly placed my other hand on her head, and she took it as a demand for her to properly deep throat my cock and focus on that. Which was fucking awesome. 

But her impression of a basketball being dribbled in my lap as she sucked my dick at high speed made focusing on fingering her rather hard. Especially when she used one of her hands to begin massaging my balls, trying to get me cum as soon as possible.

And I fucking realized it was a competition all too late as I came undone with a sigh of relief and began shuddering with New Jersey somehow sounding smug and evil while giggling as she sucked down my load.

A pop rang out with her relaxing her head on my lap, with only my head in her mouth as she looked up at me expectantly to finish her off.

Which I did as soon as I got over my own orgasmic shudders with my fingers going to work, going up to find her clit as she hiked up a leg with her humming out a soft moan as I found her happy button.

"Hmm, I want nice and gentle, darling... I like to feel loved unless we are going all the way." She whispered softly and filled with love.

And unbidden, I thought of her oath/marriage outfit she would wear in the game Azur Lane... I definitely needed to pamper and lewd my ship girls more often.

New Jersey got her head up out of my lap and then she washed out her mouth with some water that was at on the table before she climbed into my lap with her a lewd grin across her face as she said quietly. "Now, hurry up, Jake. I already took care of you, you aren't going to leave me like this, are you?"

To say the least, after another five minutes of fingering the needy ship girl. My wrist may have been sore, but we both walked out of my cabin with a swagger in our steps. And I welcomed the slight wrist pain as it was well worth motorboating her while she moaned into my ear as she held my head between her large breasts.

 

 

Notes:

I got a lot more chapters and stories on my other sites, such as Questionable Questing, Webnovel, and Scribblehub. It's a journey to transfer everything over, so please have patience or just go to those sites to continue reading at your own pace.
Also, I do have a Patreon, but I respect this site's rules and won't be linking it; however, if you wish to read advanced chapters or commission more chapters or new stories, please go to the other sites and follow the links there.

Chapter 26

Despite my best efforts... I did very much have a limit to my aura and magic. And three hours of prolonged combat with my ship draining those supernatural energy stores to resupply the. Many, many munitions were used with total abandon to destroy the Grimm.

Meant that eventually the ship needed to come down, and the other girls got time to do their own mass exterminations while I recovered my aura, magic, and refilled the Black Pearl's munitions and such.

"I need to make some kind of super energy core for the ship and have energy weapons. It's inefficient to be using rockets and such." I mused with some mental exhaustion at having to refill a massive battleship's worth of armaments.

But in the meanwhile, while I was meditating, I was watching the girls fighting the Grimm that came into the large clearing that Weiss blasted clear. So we could land in a clear spot with a good line of sight for bullshit rushing towards us. 

I could see that that were was still some tension in Pyrrha and Weiss, but thankfully, Nora being her bombastic self kept things contained and strangely on focus as she beat the smaller and medium-sized Grimm rushing towards the ship with her Warhammer grenade launcher combination weapon.

With a grunt of effort, I decided that I had gotten the ship filled a good bit, and that the least I could do is take to the deck of the ship next to Prinz and New Jersey, who were just being human artillery with their massive guns.

Coming out of the captain's quarters, I was buffeted by the loud fucking noises as Prinz Eugen and New Jersey's massive cannon's which were most certainly not for puny human ears to be around.

Thankfully, there was an aura technique that protected the ears, somehow numbing the sound of gunfire in particular and leaving the user able to hear everything else without much cost to it.

"Oh, are we ready to go now?" Prinz asked with a knowing smile as she hip-checked me as I mounted my arm canons on the railing of the deck and began shooting at a group of Beowulfs who were climbing over the wrecked trees that Weiss had knocked down.

"Still need to regenerate my own aura after filling up the ship Prinz," I said with a grunt of effort as I got myself into a better position to handle the recoil of my arm cannons that cut through the Beowulfs like a scythe through wheat.

We kept shooting at the Grimm for a long while, and I realized even further the value of our ship as Weiss and Pyrrha had to break out their own bigger spells as the individual small packs of Grimm became bigger, stronger... And more cunning.

A massive Gravity Dust explosion rang out in the distance as I saw a wave of the purple super gravity crushing stuff over the tree line from the ship. And I blinked as that couldn't have been one of us, and I saw as several humans run past our clearing.

And seeing them literally fucking running away, I called out firmly. "Ladies! Get back to the ship!" 

Weiss, Pyrrha, Jingliu, Nora, and Jean, with her necromancy constructs who were fighting on the ground. Ran back with Jean, being much slower as she was a pure mage instead of a hybrid like Weiss was.

"Did you see anyone you recognized from the team who ran away?" I asked the girls who were closer, and they hurriedly shook their heads. And before I could continue that line of thought, a pissed-off roar rang out.

"Ahhh... Shit." I grunted as I hurriedly pushed the ship to rise into the air on magical waves of ephemeral water that lifted it up into the air as I wanted, nowhere near the fucking Grimm that was breaking its way through the forest.

The Grimm in question looked like a jacked Earth Dragon of sorts, with it leaking corrupted purple lava from its body that was catching the surrounding forest on fire with purple flames blooming from the purple lava.

"Prinz, Jersey, kill it," I said bluntly, and my two ship girls turned their main canons onto the earth dragon, and for a long moment, there was a flare of multi-color light as the earth dragon had several colors of aura that protected it.

'Hmm, it probably ate a good half a dozen people... But that number of souls means it hasn't had any chance to digest the souls and use their semblance.' I noted with a forced calm as the ship girls powerful guns pulverized the Grimm for a long minute, with Prinz shooting several torpedoes that shot through the ground like it was water towards it.

And with a series of loud explosions, the torpedoes finally broke the Grimm's aura, allowing the canon from the ship girls to reach the Grimm and blast it into Grimm ash.

But that wasn't all... Grimm in this world wasn't so convenient, as Pyrrha muttered. "It was becoming a higher stage, Grimm."

As from the pit in which the Grimm had died, there was a pool of corruption and liquid Grimm blood that was roiling with forms stretching in the pitch-black darkness as newborn Grimm tried to gather the essence to properly form from the Grimm pool that had been created.

"I got the Grimm pool," Jeanne said firmly, and I saw as she began glowing with holy light, and then from above the Grimm pool came a golden magical glyph that radiated the same holy energy coming off Jeanne. 

From that magical glyph came a large, gleaming golden spear that shot into the Grimm pool and exploded in a blinding holy light that made me blink before seeing with a smile as the Grimm pool was actually gone with just one spell.

"Well, that's certainly convenient. It took dozens of missiles and being cooked in napalm for several minutes for the Grimm pool I had to deal with during Initiation to be dealt with." I muttered with appreciation.

Jeanne preened at my words and said proudly. "Of course! Mundane explosives, aura, and even magic are nothing in the face of the God of Light's Power in defeating Grimm!" 

My lips twitched, and I thought. 'Wait till I make a fucking Star Destroyer and start orbitally bombarding the fucking planet to get the Grimm. Tell me that hack is so great then!'

Weiss coughed and said with some irritation. "Wait! Why aren't you dolts focusing on how those reprobates led that dangerous Grimm directly to us!"

And I shrugged, saying calmly. "Because they are running like fools and probably going to end up dead as they run into a Grimm trap. That and if they survive this Class Trial, I imagine the Headmaster or their teachers will have unkind words and things planned for them already."

As I mentioned, the words 'Grimm trap.' I saw Nora flinch with Ren's android arm coming up to rest at his neck, reminding me of how Ren had his little 'accident'.

But either way, Weiss, at hearing my words, was mollified a good bit, and with that, I added. "Alright, Weiss, how about I conjure up some Ice Dust missiles for you. And you make a freezing zone around us in the forest so we can relax and eat for a bit." 

Weiss nodded in agreement, so I quickly manifested up some ice-based sea mines and removed the payloads for her to inspect, and then she used a Schnee glyph to create large pillars of ice in the distance that radiated thick mist with her saying proudly.

"Those ice pillars are radiating several hundred negative air so any Grimm coming around, under, or even flying over them will freeze in place!"

"Good work... Now for the best part of my powers, being able to manifest food because you can't have a crew on a ship without food for them." I said as we headed towards the small cafeteria just below the deck, which was just a table and several chairs bolted to the floor.

Pulling at my admiral powers, I spent a bit of magical energy as food itself wasn't a big draw with its very mundane nature to create a spread of various food that filled up the table on military-style trays, even if food itself wasn't military shill.

No, it was the good shit that people on Submarines would eat as the navy would feed the people in an underwater death trap, the best food as they were spending months in tight quarters and needed the moral boost.

Weiss primly but ferociously snagged the platter of buttered lobster tail, a plate of creamy risotto, and a small bowl of pasta salad and glared bloody murder at anyone who dared to look at her food.

Jean and Jeanne, happily, at least in Jeanne's case, were sharing a large meat-lovers pizza, etc. Everyone got plenty of food, though I did notice that people locked onto food they liked and ate those mostly exclusively.

'Huh... Shit, I forgot Thanksgiving isn't really a thing here in Remnant.' I thought with some amusement as my American past life was coloring this new one. But regardless, I shrugged as I watched with a bemused eye as Nora was feeding Ren as he had his head put back into the nutrient tank.

"Hmm, thank you for the different flavors of the feeding flakes. I was getting tired of the chicken-flavored. So the beef flavor is a nice change." Ren said with calm thanks as he kinda pecked at the flakes in the water, sucking them into his mouth.

I just cheered at him with my cup of Dr. Pepper and said. "Yeah, sorry about not having time to make a giant mech for you, Ren. I was kinda busy with the ship, you know."

Ren shrugged and said with his signature calmness. "I am quite content with the android body. It is a bit heavier and shorter than I am used to. But being able to touch things and feel it is doing wonders for my sanity." 

To that, I could only say with a wry smile. "I will get to the mech body after all the noise of the Class Trial is dealt with. And speaking of other stuff, I need to speak with you all about my semblance."

The girls and Ren tilted their heads in interest as I took a deep breath and then began explaining my Semblance. The semblance that was opening Back Door's in portals that could lead back to Beacon, so we didn't need to sleep outside basically at night.

Being outside at night was the most dangerous place you could be, as that was when the Grimm were the most active by far. And after a moment, Pyrrha, with a slightly weird flush, said. "Well, I would be glad with either option. Staying out here will definitely prop up our Grimm kills, which will be coming out in force. But having a good night's sleep could also be valuable." 

I nodded and said. "Alright, let's put it to a vote. Hands up right now for using my Semblance to teleport to Beacon so we can sleep safely tonight?"

I watched as Nora, Weiss, and Jingliu, after seeing Weiss raise up her hand, did so. "Three to seven. We are staying here then." I said simply, with Weiss pouting.

But I still took a deep breath and said. "Either way, I still have abilities to set up static defenses that can deal with chaff. Weiss, you will be in charge of creating a less intensive freezing zone that can last the night to block off the bigger issues." 

Weiss nodded in agreement as she was far more willing to use her abilities, seeing as I could conjure up Ice Dust to take the load off her mana stores.

With that settled, we went back to eating, with my senses catching some stray Grimm that made their way through the ice pillars Weiss made. But the shades infesting the ship dealt with them handily enough

Slowly though, however, Weiss's barriers were letting more Grimm in as the ice melted and ran out of the Dust and magical energy that Weiss had put into the constructs. "Hmm, there seems to be more Grimm than during Initiation," Pyrrha noted as we moved onto the deck.

I made a slight humming noise and said quietly. "Probably because higher-tier hunters cleaned out the Initiation area. Now we are in the wilds basically." 

Looking out towards where the Grimm would be coming, I just took a breath as it truly... Truly was a fucking never-ending tide of the damn bastards. 

"Alright, let's get the ship going. I regenerated my Aura and Magic so I can keep the ship's weapons going at peak level. Jean, take charge of the shades and spirits. We are making our way out of here."

-

The large viewing room was filled with more teachers and several noblemen of actual value in both their combat and economic means at the same time. While Luxanna was holding Princess Ravel's arm, they watched the scrying mirrors following Jake's ship.

"Although some of the necromancy and golem-studying students have a good number of constructs. Is Jake Barisses's giant ship in line with the spirit of the competition?" An earl spoke calmly to the assembly, breaking the low drone of people talking to their neighbors.

Lux tensed at her apprentice being called out so directly, and she looked over at the Earl and scowled, as it was a lesser family that she knew had some lesser business disagreements with her own family.

Then, before Lux could speak, however. Calia the Necromancer Sage spoke, making her face twitch. "That ship is a necromancy and engineering process that required his particular bloodline ability to use. My own apprentice Jean used her own resources and traded with her fellows to help Jake build, and is also partly in control of the ship..."

There was a long pause as Calia's glowing red eyes stared at the Earl before she smiled mirthlessly and finished. "Are you saying that students shoudn't prepare for a life-defining competition in the best way possible? Or that you are just angry your son ran away like a coward from a Grimm they easily slayed?"

That Earl was the father of one of those students who led the earth dragon-like Grimm to Jake and his party. He himself was a notable lower A rank hunter himself but in the face of an immortal sage... He had no right to refute her words, nor did he have an easy answer to either question either.

Before it could escalate further, however. Ozpin, who was watching Ruby casually slaying a dozen Grimm by blinking at them with her silver eyes. Spoke up with a measured tone. "The only rule for the Class Trial for Freshmen is not to kill other classmates. Jake Bariss actually creating a large movable weapon system is perfectly within the rules." 

And Ozpin's statement was the end of things, as even the Earl accepted the Time Lord Sage's statement as a simple fact of life.

'Wicked witch... Stay away from my apprentice!' Lux thought as she instantly stuck her tongue out at Calia, who threw her a glance at the end of the conversation. And Lux fumed internally as Calia just smiled enigmatically at the Elemental Lady.

"Ozpin, sector fifteen. Two teams were killed within a minute." A voice spoke out, and Ozpin's expression hardened as he looked over towards the site of the Scrying mirrors that held those teams' zone.

Ozpin then stood up from his seat, as being displayed on the invisible scrying mirrors in the Emerald Forest was the worst possible situation.

An Abomination... A human or faunus who had created a contract with the top two ranks of Grimm and gained Grimm powers and being infected with the Grimm's desire for the destruction of humanity and faunus kind.

A woman... If you could call her that. More than fifteen feet tall, she had a large bloody dress covering much of her form. But behind her was a massive, long reptile tail that was covered in spikes had fifteen students impaled on the tail that were pitifully screaming as the woman glowed with red streams as she literally fed off their agony and suffering.

"I will deal with her," Ozpin said with a frown as an Abomination was something Freshmen had no chance to deal with... No, should they come into contact with those monsters as well?

Before anyone could react, Ozpin glowed green with his signature green aura as he activated his time-stopping semblance to step out of the local timeline, and he was gone.

Then, in the same moment, Ozpin appeared on the Scrying Mirror in the vision of everyone else with his cane tapping the Abomination on the head as he stepped back into the timeline with his cane, making her head explode instantly as the Aurabane tip on his cane disregarded her aura and magical energy.

"There are more low-grade Abominations in the testing area!" Fiora spoke out, and several teachers got up without a word and charged out of the observation area while Goodwitch calmly called Ozpin.

{What. I am trying to stabilize the wounded students.] Ozpin's calm voice rang out from the scroll call.

"Counting right now. There are five, no. There are seven abominations currently locked onto by the Scrying Mirrors." Glynda reported with a frown, even though she spoke clearly.

Ozpin was silent for a moment before he said with sorrow in his voice. "Unlock all students' scrolls. Tell them to flee towards Beacon as an Apocalyptic class; at least Grimm is active in the Emerald Forest."

Glynda was silent for but a moment before saying. "I will tell them to do so. Should I have Jake use his ship for evacuation efforts?"

Before Ozpin could respond, he looked to the side sharply in the scrying mirror's view, and then the scrying mirror's view darkened as though the world where it was viewing was covered in dark shadows.

"Apophis, come out of your shadowy burrow, you wretch." Ozpin's stoic voice spoke out, and Lux shuddered as she clearly saw it. A dual set of two eyes, four in total, massive in size, glowed with malevolent light as its serpentine, scaled body seemed to billow pure, corrupting darkness from its massive form.

A true Apocalyptic-tier Grimm, which was the equal of a Sage, as they had digested enough souls to form their own true human soul that allowed them to make a Sage Icon that solidified their soul into immortality.

The scrying mirror cracked and then shattered, losing the view of what was going on as Ozpin and Apophis's mana and corrupted Grimm essence killed the students Ozpin saved and shut down any remote viewing of the battle.

"Pity about the students... Goodwitch, I will be calling the Litch Lord and then going to reinforce Ozpin." Calia said as she stood up, with her all-embracing death magic filled the air.

Goodwitch, hearing that, nodded and said stoically. "Very well. Have your undead constructs escort any students back to Beacon if you see any." 

Calia retorted flatly. "That goes without saying." Lux met Calia's gaze, who only blinked before being swallowed by a sphere of darkness that teleported her away, as she was one of the few people in Beacon with the right to teleport in and out of the warded citadel.

Ravel took a deep breath and then said with some annoyance. "Well, Lux, me and you can help using all these remoting scrying mirrors to cast our spells. I will also call my brother Jarvan and your brother Garen to go and help as well." 

Lux nodded with a pit growing in her gut as she remembered her first disciple, who Ferid got to with her soul-shackled undead constructs and made her a disgrace for having fallen in love with what was an undead construct in the end.

"Alright, Ravel, let's get to work," Lux said, taking a deep breath as she took out a large enchanted mirror from her spatial pocket to sync into the scrying mirror system.

-

The roar of dying Grimm rang out even louder than the sounds of explosions and gunfire as once again the Black Pearl was in full swing, as we were all... All ten of us were on the deck of the ship fighting as there was just. So fucking many Grimm, it didn't make sense!

"Is this a Grimm tide or something?!" I demanded in exasperation, and Ren calmly stated.

"No, all the Grimms are very young! It's probably an Apocalyptic or one level lower Grimm mass-producing chaff Grimm that the Class Trial alerted." He explained, and with that explanation, I could tell he was right.

Sure, there was enough Grimm to basically cover the fucking ground and make it easier to see black and red more than the brown and green grass of the ground. But none of the Grimm had any bone armor plating or spikes that came with being even a year old.

Mentally, I switched the artillery to exclusively use high-explosive rounds while I took a deep breath. "There is just too damned many Grimm on the ground for fucks sake," I muttered before pausing.

As I saw Ruby Rose out of fucking where, cutting through the brush of the surrounding forest and entering the spread of destruction my ship was causing.

"Hey, there is Ruby over there!" I called out before a loud blare rang out from all of our scrolls. 

[All students within the Class Trial are to flee to Beacon as soon as possible. High-tier Grimm and Abominations have been spotted, and teachers have been dispatched to purge Grimm. If you cannot flee, hide as Sages from Vale are also en route to form a net to eradicate all Grimm over time.]

I saw Ruby pause at hearing the message, and I synced up to the ship's intercoms and speaker system. "Ruby, get you and your team up here!" I spoke loudly through the speaker system.

Ruby flared with white holy light, with her line of sight being an actual cone of holy light where she was looking, and I saw the Grimm in the path of the ship was going to turn to stone in but moments.

Before Ruby blitzed forward with her speed semblance and her two great axes in her hands, making her a Beyblade of death as she would do these spinning twirls with her super speed.

'No... Her twirls at super speed with her semblance, allowing her to see and process things at super speed allows her to kill the Grimm with her Silver Eyes in all directions. With her spins at such high speed also allowing her to mulch targets with the heavy axes she has like a lawn mower.' I thought as I dissected her Grimm extermination fighting style.

But I frowned as I realized Ruby's white trim in her gothic outfit was dyed red, and I saw her spins were off-center and making her stagger. "New Jersey, go pick up Ruby! She can't jump up to the ship." I ordered the ship girl who shot into the air using her weird anti-gravity trick she had to fly at high speed to go get Ruby.

I took a deep breath and said. "Everyone, watch out for Abominations or higher-tier Grimm, if we see one. I will be opening a Back Door, and we are dropping back into Beacon!" I said before, frowning as I realized the Class Trial was almost certainly canceled.

Which was just further proof of how fucked this was... As the staff of Beacon didn't give one shit about how many people died during the Initation. They barely cared if we died here during this Class Trial, though supposedly, there were some safeguards.

No, this had gone so far out of control that even with Beacon's very strong belief that we were responsible for ourselves. They had canceled this massive event.

I watched as New Jersey flew down towards Ruby with her opening up with her anti-air guns to pepper all the bullshit around Ruby, with New Jersey quickly snatching up Ruby, who all but collapsed into New Jersey's arms.

But as New Jersey flew back towards the ship, she fell out of the air, and I gagged as all the air seemingly became thick with malice and just was... Like trying to breathe in syrup to get air.

"Ohhh? What a big ship you have here! Don't you know that humanity has been forbidden from the sea?" A dull male voice rang out and my connection with the ship snapped my vision towards a large, like seven-foot-tall male figure that stomped into the clearing as the Grimm paused their endless charge for my ship.

'An Abomination!' I thought with horror at seeing as the male figure that was covered in a cloak ripped off the head of a Beowulf and began eating it to make its stone arm break apart into fresh flesh, which Ruby must have tagged with her silver eyes.

The figure dropped off its cloak, and I stared in disgust at its nude twisted form. It had the legs of what was possibly a bear? And its chest and arms were humanoid. But its head was covered in a twisting nest of spikes and antlers, while its hands were like fingers were replaced by thorn-covered antlers.

I forcibly drew a breath, and with hate and spite that would make a Commissar from Warhammer 40k nod in approval, I yelled out. "Fuck you, you furry Abomination!"

My goal worked... Sorta, as he looked away from New Jersey and Ruby, who were trying to get up, I realized the Black Pearl was sinking towards the ground as the Abomination had done something to the air and ambient mana... A domain of sorts that was making my ship struggle to stay up.

"You are the captain of this-" He spoke with condescension, but although his fuckery made it hard to move... Fifteen loud booms! Rang out at once as all the Artillery shot at once, followed by all the guns and several missiles launching from the ship, all locked onto him.

I took a deep breath as I could feel my lungs burning at the strain as Pyrrha and Weiss also joined in by launching spells while Jeanne channeled a powerful holy spell alongside everyone else attacking to give New Jersey time to get up here with Ruby.

"My semblance is Kinetic Negation, you damned fool! Your explosives are nothing to me, haha!" The Abomination howled with laughter, and I realized even as New Jersey and Ruby got to us that we were kinda totally fucked here.

But then a massive pillar of light magic smashed into the Abomination as though Wukong from Chinese Myth decided to smash his staff at full size into the abomination, and my scroll rang out. [Jake, get the hell out of there! Me and Ravel can't channel strong enough magic through his domain to kill him.] Lux spoke through my scroll almost hysterically.

Then an evil... Utterly evil thoughts hit me. "Lux, is there any teams within like thirty miles of us?!" I asked quickly.

And she quickly snapped back. "No! Get the hell out now, Jake, the spell will be fading in like thirty seconds!"

I took a deep breath and dismissed the Black Pearl, making us fall to the ground below us before I marshaled all my aura... And then with some effort, I pulled Aura from New Jersey and Prinz as I shouted. "Push your aura into me! I am going to make something to kill the fuck before we leave!"

Both shipgirls hugged me, and both of them flared their aura, and I pulled the aura into me with my soul aching. As I rushed to manifest something I didn't really want to use casually... But fuck it, that bastard scared my girls, and the competition was fucked anyway.

A massive fifteen-yard-long bomb formed on the ground, and New Jersey looked at it in wonder and not a small amount of arousal as she whimpered. "Oh, my lord... You are really going for it, aren't you?"

I didn't answer her as I shouted out. "Everyone come on!" I used the smatterings of my aura left over to create a Back Door to my bedroom, with myself pulling New Jersey, who was carrying the wounded Ruby into my room, with everyone following quickly behind as the nuclear B4I bomb was left behind.

With all ten of us inside my room, I quickly dismissed the Back Door that collapsed into blue motes of light, with myself collapsing face-first into my bed as I could literally feel myself going into soul shock from taking in the foreign aura injections in such a rush.

But then, even as my scroll blooped with noise, Beacon itself rumbled as the 10-megaton 'Clean' nuclear bomb exploded with all its fury, and I muttered. "Fuck your Kinetic Absorption Semblance nerd. Try being in the center of the sun and having the same pressure."

I groaned and rolled over as New Jersey dropped the bleeding unconscious Ruby Rose onto my bed, with Prinz quickly grabbing the first aid kit from the bathroom, and I said. "Ren, we need to leave. They are going to need to strip Ruby out of her clothes to bind up her wounds." I said tiredly, with Run all but carrying me as Jeanne began chanting holy hymns to heal Ruby as well.

A crackle rang out as my master's voice broke through my scroll again. "Jake, are you and your team alright? We lost you after the teleport, as whatever you did... It destroyed all the Scrying mirrors watching you!"

I grunted and said tiredly. "We are alive, Lux... We also saved Ruby Rose, but she is badly hurt and bleeding out on my bed, even if we have Jeanne using her holy magic to heal her. I also am in Soul Shock after taking in too much foreign aura to make that explosion. So I am probably going to fall into a coma in a few minutes once the adrenaline runs out."

There was a pause before Lux said quietly. "Jake, have your shipgirls watch you closely while you go to sleep in another room. I will be having some trusted medics pick her up, but I am going to be busy for the next couple of days... I will send Morgan and Cinder as well to watch you."

I could literally see my vision losing color as the soul shock was going into effect, and I said with some effort. "Why? Shoudn't they be using arrays and shit to help purge Grimm from a distance?" 

Lux was silent for a moment before she said coldly. "No... The Class Trial shouldn't be known to the Transcendent and Apocalyptic Grimm. A spy, an Abomination, shared the news, and Abominations have many ways of twisting humans and faunus to their designs. Hence, you need to bunker down while you are weak." 

I nodded in exhaustion and said. "Fine. Girls, you hear that?" I called out through the cracked-open door as we were in the hallway, and my two shipgirls came out promptly alongside Nora, who was my retainer like Ren. 

"We gotcha, Jake! You just crash out, and I will smash anyone who comes in, haha!" Nora said bravely as she hefted her warhammer.

I staggered up to my feet from the wall I was leaning on, and Prinz Eugen came up and held me up as Ren did the same by taking me up by the shoulders. "Relax, Jake, we got you," Prinz said with Ren silently nodding in agreement, and I just let my head roll as I gave up the darkness creeping into my vision and relaxed.

The moment I gave up the fight, I knew no more besides the scent of Pyrrha's spicy cinnamon hair care product she used, which hit my nose for some reason.

-

The world itself was seemingly breaking as Sages went to battle, their immortal sage icons shifting the world to fit their innate domains, and their sagehood-covered aspects vied for control.

On one side was an endless abyss of swirling soul-eating corruption in Apophis, and on the other side was the timeless void of Ozpin, whose domain chronologically locked all effects, attacks, and existence within his domain under his control over time itself. Alongside Ozpin was another Sage as well, who had fought past the higher-tier Grimm's abominations.

Cali, with her domain over death and shadows as her Sage icon, was an oversized staff she wielded that had a skull with purple flames within its eyes at the top of the staff.

A pool of endless corruption filled the ground as Apophis summoned lesser Grimm to distract the sages, but the world itself seemingly stuttered as flashes of Ozpin flickered with all the Grimm dying the moment they attempted to spawn from the miles-wide Grimm spawning pool.

Calia tapped her staff onto an invisible surface, and a roar rang out as her shadow stretched seemingly infinitely with a skyscraper-sized skeleton with horns and gleaming metal bones growing out of her endlessly stretching shadow that filled itself with searching eyes and too many teeth.

The massive skeleton construct wordlessly threw itself at Apophis. The almost draconic-looking miles-long Grimm with the skeleton's steps shaking the earth as it swung its sharpened bone hands at the Apocalyptic Grimm.

"You humans... No matter how many souls I devour, I will never understand your hypocrisy. You hate each other, tarnish and enslave one another. Yet when I come to eat you, for some reason, you all come together despite you all being more than willing to kill one another without my presence." Apophis spoke with its voice being a rumbling hiss that made the trees wilt and die at the corruption within the mere sound waves.

"Why are you bothering with this sophistry, Apophis? This isn't a town you decided to visit and play with... Your words are worthless to only Sages." Ozpin retorted flatly.

Apophis's Sage icon, which was one of its fangs that dripped with killing caustic poison, shot forward, breaking the sound barrier easily as it shattered one of the clawed hands coming for its head from the giant skeleton construct.

Meanwhile, Ozpin shot forward with his cane, coming down onto Apophis's head with a mighty rumble of force as the miles-long and wide massive Apocalyptic tier Grimm's head was slammed into the ground with it grunting in amusement.

"Come now, Ozpin, merely beating me over the head? Are you truly feeling that petty for my little apostles killing your hatchlings?" Apophis teased as it flared its domain of Decay to weaken Ozpin's own domain of time manipulation.

But Ozpin was the Sage of Sages for a reason, as he had become a sage in several styles of martial arts and forms of magic. Calia herself knew Ozpin was switching his domain and flew back after summoning massive chains of pure shadow that made Apophis hiss in frustration, as it couldn't break the chains so easily.

Ozpin flew up into the air, and then there was a spark before a flare of blinding light rang out as Calia quickly teleported away, seeing Ozpin summon his domain of the Sun itself, with her teleporting five miles away instantly, and even then...

Calia raised a wall of shadows to block a wall of burning winds as the earth rumbled beneath her, as one of Ozpin's most directly dangerous domains was incarnated upon the world.

Then Calia froze as yet another massive explosive went off in a different direction with her frowning deeply as there was no warning of magical or life force build-up that caused the explosion.

[Lady Calia, your little disciple Jean has survived via Jake teleporting her through Beacon's ward through some form of portal he conjured up, hehe.] Ferid's voice spoke from the magically reinforced scroll that was hanging from Calia's hip.

The dark Lich beauty gave a hum as she looked through her shadow wall towards the massive half sphere of blinding white flames that stretched for three miles as Ozpin decided to go for trying to wear down Apophis's own darkness and corruption domain.

"And how Jake managed to teleport through the wards is the question... It's a pity that little Luxanna has sunk her claws into him." Calia spoke to herself in amusement even as she remotely controlled thousands of her undead constructs to fight the Grimm and even as she helped students get to safety.

She also... Just happened to acquire a good number of minimally damaged corpses that her shadow domain attached to her constructs could take into her demiplane to use for her projects later.

"Mastteeerrr! You better not be hoarding all those corpses or I am going to tell my grandpa on you!" Ferid whined, knowing all too well that Calia was being her efficient self.

With Calia huffing and saying crossly. "And what are you doing right now, young lady? Using a microscope to craft another one of your soul-shackled automatons?"

Ferid, in response, just hung up, making Calia snort at her capricious main apprentice, who was the granddaughter of the Lich Lord of the Royal Family.

"And speaking of the Royal Family..." Calia mused with an amused expression as a massive rumble rang out, as a ring of mountains seemingly rose in the distance, as Prince Jarvan uprooted the earth to create large land barriers with his martial arts to stop any of the more martially inclined Abominations from fleeing so easily.

Then Calia dropped her wall of shadows as Ozpin's domain of the sun darkened with Calia humming as she saw souls, countless souls of sages, and heroes' past streaming through the sphere of burning darkness as the Lich Lord had obviously joined Ozpin in the hopes of actually killing Apophis this time.

But Calia just turned to the side as she watched with disinterest as a thirty-foot-tall Gorilla-shaped undead of hers dragged a beaten and mauled abomination toward her.

If someone were to look at the head of the gorilla construct, however, they would instantly recognize the face of Cardin Winchester, who had his eyes removed with special enchanted gems added to allow Calia to see through his eyes easily.

"Going to kill me then?" The abomination spat out as its once feminine chest had been brutally smashed in and looked like she had been run over quite clearly by a truck. But in reality, it was just Calia's own undead construct that had beaten it half to death.

Calia gave a wane smile at the Abomination and said calmly. "Of course I am. But first, I am going to flay your corrupted soul into layers to find out what you know. Then I am going to happily send your remains to the Holy Church for you to be made into their 'holy essence' to call upon their god's miracles." 

The abomination spat at Calia with a wave of shadows blocking the spittle, with Calia tilting her head to the side in thought as she noticed the dog ears atop the Abomination's head. But its status as previously being a faunus was of no consequence to it.

"Now... Let's see your life story, little wretch." Calia spoke with almost affection as she was leaning down. And the abomination started screaming as soul-deep agony rang out as spiked chains of shadows pierced into their body and began ripping their soul from their very own corrupted body.

-

The sound of crumbling stone rang out as the sounds of high heels rang out on the stone as Summer Rose strode through the Emerald Forest like a Beacon of unforgiving purity. There was no healing, salvation, buffs, or aid in the bright silver light that leaked from her form and the beams that trailed for a solid couple hundred meters that turned everything to stone.

Summer Rose, the White Rose Reaper, whose semblance was an evolved version of her daughters, had countless... Countless tens of thousands of flying silver-white rose petals flew through the forest around her. 

And anything those petals touched, whether it be wood from a tree, a stone, or another life form. Would be turned into the purest of marble as her Semblance, that was mutated from her overuse of her Silver Eye's killed everything around her.

Her being the White Rose Reaper well proved her bloodline's right to keeping their Duke house rank, even if she was infamous for having to work solely alone due to the danger of her semblance to all but her own daughter, who had her own silver eyes.

Summer hadn't even needed to draw her own favored smaller dual-headed axes, as all of the Grimm died to her soundless fury at the news of her daughter being on the operating table after having several poisoned spines from that abomination breaking her ribs and causing organ damage.

"I know you are out here! A single Apocalyptic-tier Grimm wouldn't be brave enough to face all of Vale's Sages in this moment of peace!" Summer spoke out with cold fury.

A soft chuckle rang out, and Summer's eyes made crackling noises as the very air calcified into dust as she dropped down to dodge a corrupted reflection of the flare of her silver eyes. 

Summer's eyes filled with disdain at seeing another apocalyptic tier Grimm she knew all too particularly well. "Lahmasu, I am surprised you left the ocean." Summer remarked coldly as she stared at the aquatic apocalyptic tier Grimm, who was ten feet tall and floating off the ground.

As her lower body was that of a terribly mutated sea serpent, with each scale being a bulbous glowing eye that allowed her to see in virtually all directions at all times from the thousands of eyes.

Summer's scowl was well earned as Lahmasu was an old enemy and a counter for her, as Lahmasu had once digested a soul that had the semblance of 'Semblance Negation' via her eyes looking at the effects of a semblance.

So her petals that were spawning off her body were being zapped out of existence as Lahmasu's glowing eyes were canceling their existence.

"You know how it goes, Summer... A Transcendent Whale decides to move closer to the coast, pushing me up onto the land of all things. And I decided to come play with you when Apophis got forced into making this little game happen." Lahmasu's voice trilled in amusement beautifully like the siren she was.

Summer's grip on her axe tightened with the ground below her cracking as she prepared to leap at the apocalyptic tier Grimm. Who was renowned for her illusion, sound, and water magic.

Lahmasu, the Siren Tyrant of the sea, giggled at seeing the hate in Summer's eyes. Her beautiful sea-green shimmering hair fell down from her back to her side as she leaned forward in her floating position and whispered.

"Aww... Are you still so angry, darling? That I ruined your team's whole thing when I played at being Raven to get caught in fucking that... Delicious hunk you had tied down like the jealous little slut you are?"

A loud shattering noise rang out as Summer had seemingly teleported via pure speed and smashed her axe into the Grimm's beautiful human face, which was twisted into an ecstatic grin at the fury on Summer's face.

"No! That's right, I forgot haha!" Lahmasu's voice cheered from the side, well away from the shattered illusion that Summer broke. "Raven was already fucking him and the whore was pregnant with his spawn before you were,  haha!" 

Then Summer's fury turned into a cold storm as Lahmasu whispered into Summer's ear. "I watch him with my own apostles, you know... He still whispers your name, I give him the best dreams as I sometimes replace his women and I take your form when he is a drunken lout." 

"You lie... You are a cruel monster, but you aren't so bored to do that ploy repeatedly." Summer spat with cold hate.

There was a moment of silence before Lahmasu whispered, seemingly directly into Summer's soul, and that gaping wound she had. "Oh? And what if I am? A Grandmaster Martial Artist becoming one of my toys is well worth lying with of you monkeys every few days after all."

-

I awoke to the sounds of soft voices, and I took a deep breath before I groaned as my body felt heavy after running into aura exhaustion.

"You damned fool, it's one thing to take a foreign aura injection when you still have your own aura. But you had already all but broken your own aura before filling yourself on someone else." Cinder scolded me as I blinked my eyes open.

I blinked as I just stared at Cinder for a long moment before I coughed and said. "Did I kill that Abomination at least?" 

Cinder's golden eyes narrowed at me... And then after a moment of silence. She said flatly. "Once again. You are a damned fool; you are lucky you didn't taint your own soul with how over-stressed it was." 

I chuckled and said with pride. "And... And I killed an Abomination. Barely two weeks into Beacon and I killed a damned good target." 

Cinder leaned over, and I made an owie noise as she flicked me across the head. "Jake, you damned fool. You are making our master worried." She said with some amusement and not so much scolding.

Me and Cinder stared at one another for a long moment... Before I smiled and said. "So. You saw how I suppressed Weiss right with that glyph you carved on me?"

And I saw Cinder's expression crack with her snorting and saying with actual pride and happiness. "Yes, Jake, I cannot say enough the joy I felt seeing her climb into your bullhead and just a bit ago wearing that maid outfit."

She gave me a slightly sadistic smile as she leaned forward and asked quietly. "Did you pick out that outfit is the question. 

I shook my head and said with amusement. "Nope, that was her retainer messing with her. Either way, how long have I been out? Anyone I know die?" 

Cinder leaned back into her chair with a slight hum, leaving her. "Well, on our side. None of our Sages and Grandmasters who jumped into the battle died. As for below that... Yes, there were four Apocalyptic Grimms and a Transcendent who became active and fought against the sages and Grandmasters."

She shrugged and said evenly. "Out of the seven hundred students who went on the class trial, a bit more than two hundred died. But on the brighter side, two of their Apocalyptic-tier Grimm were slain completely, and hundreds of Abominations slain."

I grunted in answer as I considered how almost a third of the students died during the fucking event. And then I had to consider the reality that everyone was cheering that two high-end Grimm faced their ends.

Then Cinder stood up. "Well, I am glad your soul isn't contaminated from that foreign injection trick you pulled. Now I am going to back to my studies with Morgan while your retinue can watch over you."

I nodded and asked quickly. "How is Lux? Is she alright?"

Cinder snorted and said easily. "She is perfectly fine. She and Lady Ravel, the princess, spent the whole event using their magic from within Beacon to blow up large groups of lesser Grimm to clear the way for the other students." 

With that, Cinder left me alone in the room. For a grand total of like a minute and a half before my door opened up again.

I expected Prinz or New Jersey to come into my room first. Hell, maybe even Nora to come and belly flop onto my bed for the hell of it. Or even Alice and Velvet, my literal, more servile retainers.

But instead, it was Artoria, my other servile retainer, who was Jean, Jeanne, and Morgan's mother.

"Jake, how are you doing?" Artoria asked with some stress in her voice, making me blink.

I coughed and said. "Uhh, I am doing much better. How are you doing? Are you alright?" 

Artoria came to the edge of my bed and, with a small voice, she said quietly. "My daughters... Mordred and Okita. They lost their team when an Abomination attacked and they." 

Artoria swallowed with a pit growing in my stomach as she finished. "They themselves into a fast-flowing river to hide from a tide of Grimm, and their scrolls shorted out."

I brushed a hand across my face, knowing all too well that Scrolls weren't supposed to 'short' out so easily. "Ok Artoria... I need you to get me something... No, just hold on for a second for me to get some help outside." I said firmly.

I got out of bed with a bit of stiffness in my body, meaning I had certainly been out for at least a day or something.

"Jersey! Prinz, I need you both!" I yelled out, and both shipgirls rushed out of the other room with Prinz barely having her top on correctly.

"Are you alright, Jake?" Prinz asked with clear concern.

I shook my head and said quickly. "Artoria lost her daughters, Mordred, and Okita. I am going to open a back door to them, and I need your help to deal with any issues that they might be dealing with."

Wordlessly, both girls accepted my orders with manifesting their rigging onto their bodies, while I just grabbed my saber as I didn't have enough time to get my arm canon's on properly.

"Artoria, you stay here for a minute," I said before I mentally focused on the appearance and everything I knew about Okita Arc with my aura draining as I summoned up a Backdoor... But oddly, this back door wasn't a normal door. It was still a door, but it had Okita's face embossed on the door with her eyes closed.

'Weird... I need to learn more about my semblance.' I mused before throwing open the door and stepping through into darkness, as it was apparently night at this point.

The moment, however, I opened the door, I could hear the roar of Grimm, and as the girls behind me stepped through the door, I called out loudly. "Mordred! Okita, where are you!"

The Grimm roars seemed to pause for a moment before a wave of red eyes bloomed to life in the surroundings, with New Jersey and Prinz opening up with their anti-air guns to tear apart the surrounding area.

But then I heard a weak feminine voice speak out amidst the gunfire as I used the aura technique to protect my ears. "Jake..." 

I whirled around, looking around for the source of the whisper... Before I looked up, I saw Mordred and Okita had tied themselves high up into a tree. "New Jersey! Pull them out of the tree!" I called out with my flight-capable Shipgirl, quickly going to do so as I started shooting my water spell into the surrounding Grimm.

"Get them into the door! Let's get out of here!" I said with a frown as I wondered something painful. 'How many other surviving students that lost contact with Beacon are living a nightmare as endless Grimm prowl around for them?'

But I didn't know the other students... And god knows how long they could last and how many back doors I could open with my aura fucked up as it was currently. As the moment I dismissed my Back Door as we entered the other side back into my area's hallway.

My vision darkened, and it felt like I had a hundred pounds on each shoulder weighing me down. I staggered slightly, and I was grabbed by Nora, who had seemingly come out of her room, hearing all the noises.

"Help me to a couch, please," I grunted in exhaustion as I heard Artoria loudly crying as she fussed over the wounded forms of Okita and Mordred, who Prinz and New Jersey were moving into the living room as well.

Nora, despite being a good bit shorter then me, was still a fucking bull in terms of strength, so she easily got me to a couch and as I splayed across it I took my scroll and called up Lux. 

[Jake, what do you need? I have only a couple of minutes.] Lux's somewhat hurried tone rang out.

I swallowed at realizing I probably should have called Morgan or Cinder, but I wasn't entirely in my right mind. So I just said hurriedly.

"Where do I call for a medic? I had to use my semblance to snag Okita, and Morded from the forest. Morgan's sisters, who are wounded." I explained briefly.

I could hear Lux taking a breath before she said quickly. [Call the emergency number in the Beacon App and tell them to meet them outside of the tower's wards. And Jake... You made me proud to be your master.]

With that, she closed the call as she was presumably still busy, obviously, and I went and called the Beacon emergency first aid station using the App like she recommended. "Prinz, New Jersey. Take them and Artoria to the medics." I called with the two ship girls, quickly carrying the wounded Arcs into an elevator.

I drew a hand across my face as a door opened up and I looked past my hands to see Velvet and Alice standing in their opened door, looking around slightly nervously. "You alright, Jake? Beacon is on lockdown right now." Alice said in caringly.

I just stared at the two rabbit faunus for a long moment before I spoke quietly. "The class trial was a shit show. Hundreds died, and I am a dried-up husk of aura and magic. No, I am not alright." I admitted honestly.

The two bunnies shared a look before Alice tsked and walked into the living room fully and came over to me. Then her nose pinched, and she said quietly. "Jake... You been asleep for three days since your aura injection put your soul at rest. You need a shower; it will make you feel a lot better."

Taking a breath, I looked at Nora next to me and said with a wry grin. "Nora, think I can stand up alright?" 

And without missing a beat, Nora said, upbeat. "Not a damned chance in hell! I could feel your feet dragging on the ground as I pulled you onto the couch, haha!"

I shrugged and said tiredly with my head lollying back. "There ya go. I will just have to suffer in the stank for a day or something until I get my strength back."

My head's lolling paused as Velvet stated calmly. "Jake, we are your retainers, we will literally wash you in the bath. I don't mind if you won't be embarrassed."

I looked over at Velvet and asked in bewilderment. "Where the hell is the shy bun bun who flushed when doing my measurements for my arm canons?" 

Instead, it was Alice who deadpanned. "We've been doing your laundry, cooking for you, and hearing and smelling you lay into Nora some nights." 

Nora flushed at the faunus's very blunt observation, and for a moment, she squeaked and went to try to deny it, but she just closed her mouth with a click as she giggled and asked nervously. "So... Did you like listening?" She asked, trying to turn it back on the faunus's.

Although Velvet blushed a bit at Nora's verbal riposte. Alice just giggled and said teasingly. "Oh, it was certainly something, but Jake. I used to have to help my Grandpa with sponge baths and such. So don't worry, I can handle it ufufu." 

I looked to Nora and said. "You alright to help me again, Nora?" And she smiled weakly before nodding and hefting me up to stand up properly so I could get led through my level of Lux's tower and towards my large bathroom. 

I was at least able to strip myself properly, but I was truly just fucking wiped out for some reason... It's like instead of just emptying my aura, I had instead dug deeper into my soul, excavating new depths to my aura to pull up more, and that void as my soul had to fill in that new space in my aura stores was what was exhausting me.

Alice got the bath started, and while I was getting undressed and I blinked as Alice threw off her shirt, making me blink as I saw her large, ample breasts clad in a rather mundane bra. "Don't get too excited, haha. I just don't want my shirt to get wet." Alice said teasingly as she walked over to the side cabinets.

And we both giggled as she came out of the cabinet with swimsuits and hand-sized glove wash cloths, with Nora saying in a knowing giggle. "Does Lux have any retainers that help her wash up and such?" 

I shook my head as I said quietly. "No, she doesn't; she has her tower warded to keep the majority of dust out. I think she does have some constructs, though, no, that's just... Standard in a noble bathroom, I imagine."

Alice shrugged and tossed a washcloth to Nora and Velvet, who squeaked at taking the washcloth. "Do I need to take off my shirt too!?" Velvet asked with a deep flush.

And even as Alice went to say something. Nora spoke promptly as she tossed her top and sports bra off in one motion before working to kick off her panties and shorts. "Of course, Velvet! You and Alice can get his chest, back, and hair. While I climb into the big bathtub to wash his legs!"

Nora's utterly 'impeccable' logic was undefeatable to the much more demure bunny waifu, and it didn't help when Alice said with a casual smile as she helpfully filled the bath with literal bubble bath and turned down the lights a bit. "Oh, come now, Velvet, this is just helping our lord feel better."

And even with the lights turned down, I saw how Velvet's blush darkened, but she seemed to take comfort in the darkened lights with her unbuttoning her shirt and pulling it... And her bra off, exposing her lovely hand full-sized breasts to the air.

'I have died and gone to heaven.' I thought happily as Nora climbed into the large bathtub with a slight wave of hot water slapping my chest as she scooted across the hot tub-sized bath to get over to me.

-

Within a dark room, a group of five figures met around a large pentagon-shaped table. Sitting at each flat space of the pentagon stone table was one of the figures, and the table, most importantly, had five animals engraved in great detail into each space.

As the table held a masterpiece of engraved narrative art that seemingly told a story and described each animal.

The five animals represented across the table started off with a Fox at the bottom, but it wasn't a small predator, but depicted as being the size of mountains, with smaller foxes running along its feet, seemingly being tricksters and charming humans and other animals.

The second animal to the right was a noble tiger, this one holding reign over the mountains as a sovereign and not sharing ground with humans nor other animals, as the engravings depicted all were butchered by the noble tiger for intruding upon its territory despite ignoring its howling warnings.

The third animal was a proud wolf pack. With the wolf pack being depicted as slaying humans and animals alike as they took upon a shepherd's role towards those in their pack, even other animals and humans were depicted working with the proud wolf pack to survive as they hunted shadowy monsters depicted in the creases and corners of the engraved stone table.

The fourth animal took up the most space on the table due to its size, despite it being the sole one of its kind. A dragon with golden scales and eyes seemingly engraved with spirituality and wisdom, if you looked into its eyes. But if you looked at it otherwise, it looked like the dragon was suppressing the shadowy monsters into hiding places in the table.

Finally, the fifth animal had a single large version of itself and many smaller ones scattered across the heavily engraved table, but each of the smaller ones were cleverly hidden in trees and depicted as hiding around rocks and boulders. The final animal depicted was various snakes, with the major larger snake being a rainbow of various colors that made up its scales.

"Vale, Mistral, and Atlas are nipping at one another. Like hungry hounds fighting over a fresh kill, and the raising natural negative emotions naturally attract the desire for fresh souls to the high-tier Grimm." The female figure spoke that sat at the dragon's side of the table.

"War, as we all know, doesn't pan out especially between the four kingdoms. Sure, Mistral and Atlas will be able to suck out some of Vale's resources, but they will lose whatever territory they take, and Vale will, as per usual, strike back visciously and retreat to lick their wounds." The male figure at the wolf's side of the able spoke in a heavy tone.

The figure at the snake side was even wearing a full covering cloak, but her voice made her gender well apparent. "The question is whether we, the Faunus and Five Clan's will interfere with the human war that is bound to happen? And how we will take advantage."

Another female figure from the fox side spoke with a firm, strong voice. "Just as you already pointed out. Open conflict is a bad move, especially for how diminished we are with only five Sages compared to Vale alone having supposedly thirty." 

The female voice sitting at the dragon's side leaned in. Exposing her face of silver white hair and glowing red eyes that matched the four red horns atop her head. "We reside within Vale due to it having the most fertile land and the most Sages keeping the worst of the Grimm contained. We learned well that stabbing humans in the back is a thing we cannot do unless we slay all their sages."

All the faunus in attendance was silent in the memory of the Night of Knives, where Faunus kind slayed ten percent of the human population and many masters and a number of Grandmaster-tier warriors and mages.

And in unison, all the Faunus tensed at the following memory of the Faunus Purge. Where the sages of humanity ripped Faunus from their homes. The men, and all warriors regardless of gender, were slaughtered with leading the Faunus race to being culled down to barely fifty percent of its original population across the world.

The tiger also leaned forward with his hand falling on the table softly before he spoke in a deep, calm voice. "Fighting the host of where the Faunus race is rebuilding itself... Is a poor idea, especially when Ozpin could slay us all with how we haven't had years to harden and strengthen his domain.

The tiger lord was a large man with dark hair and yellow slitted eyes, with his faunus trait clearly being the cat ears atop their head.

The female Fox clan leader then spoke up with her voice ringing out clearly. "Well, Ghira, what does the Tiger suggest we do. As remaining in the shadow and hiding will only make Ozpin and the Royal family... React poorly when they learn we have five sages when they think we are only Grandmasters." 

Ghira brushed his hand across his slight beard before he said gruffly. "We do need to approach a faction, either the nobles, the royals... Or Ozpin himself to announce ourselves lest we be slaughtered when we surprise the humans."

The table was silent at the truth in Ghira's words... They all knew that should the Valians find out there were five unaccounted, possibly hostile sages in their land. Blood would be spilt without mercy, just as it was spilled without hesitation during the Faunus Culling.

The wolf lord made a clicking noise with his hands falling on the table in a clapping noise before he said heavily. "We will not kneel to Ozpin... I will not stand for it, and the rest of our clan won't accept it either. He killed our culture, our previous sages, and almost pushed the race to extinction with the Royal Family." 

The other clan lords made noises of agreement until the snake clan leader spoke in her soft, feminine voice. "For that same reason, we will likely need to avoid the royal family. In particular, the Lich Lord who pushed for the Faunus kind to be rendered extinct." 

There was further muttering until the dragon faunus spoke slowly. "Allying ourselves so bluntly with the nobility, however, despite the Duke and Marquis houses having so much power, is also a bad move. Due to how Ozpin and the Royal family are currently purging the wastes in the nobility."

All five figures nodded in agreement, well aware that despite Vale's more free approach to civil liberties compared to the other kingdoms... Its might-makes-right mentality was based more on the saying of Noblesse Oblige, where nobility was given special rights in return for their service to the kingdom.

And the weak nobles were rightfully being culled themselves now.

"How about we look... More in towards the middle, a noble family thats heavily connected to the Royal Family, having connections with Ozpin, and being a Duke house themselves." The snake clan lord spoke in her velvet voice.

There was a pause as the lords considered that until the fox lord snorted with her leaning in, allowing all to see her large silver ears atop her head and bright blue slitted eyes.

"You mean the Crownsguard Family, correct? Garen is indeed very attached to the Royal family in being part of Jarvan's peerage. Along with Luxanna being extremely close friends with Ravel, and both being Grandmaster martial artists and mages." 

The fox woman took a breath and then continued. "But how would we connect to them? To integrate ourselves back with humanity so that Faunus kind may throw off the shackles of the Night of Knives and become equal once more." 

Ghira folded his arms over his chest and said with a grunt. "Though the Crownsguard is a good target for integration. We cannot forget the matriarch and patriarch of the family... They also participated in the culling after one of our Knives killed the patriarch's parents. There is bad blood between us." 

The snake clan lord then said. "Then tangentially connected to them. All the noble families in Vale of any value and strength participated in the culling, so we can't be too picky as we need to ally with a Duke's house and maybe multiple of them."

Muttering broke out for a moment before the wolf clan lord spoke with some humor. "Trying to court multiple noble families into our pocket will hurt their pride, and get the royal family and Ozpin as our enemy, as it would look like we are reaching for power." 

There was a bit of silence until the fox woman spoke bluntly. "The Crownsguard are perfect, as for who we will go after to form a connection..." The woman took out her scroll, and then she said. "With the said of the serpent clan, the fox clan's spies found a perfect target."

All the clan lords watched with various expressions as the video played out with depicted the Beacon Initiation from the point of view of several cameras that had their contents stitched together and were watching the scrying mirrors within the Initiation.

And the video clearly depicted Jake Bariss and his retinue's actions. First, in creating a massive fortified base in the center of a mile-wide ravine that made his position utterly impregnable due to the two-way killing zone that made up his structure, as all Grimm had to run across the bridge to get there.

The video's sped up, but the Sages were easily able to keep up with their enhanced senses as they watched as Jake's installation destroyed wave after wave of Grimm for several days, including even higher quality Grimm without stopping.

"Jake Bariss, have a semblance or innate magic similar to the Abbizares of Vacuo... But although his constructs seemingly take more magic or aura from him, his constructs are permanent; he can manifest everything from food to magical items, to fortifications that do not decay like the Vacuan royal families." The fox woman explained before waving a hand at the serpent woman.

"Jake Bariss is a gem in the rough, his combat abilities are... Negligent as he has had zero former training, and our spies report that even now, he has only mastered the use of a single spell and is only now being trained in true Martial Arts." The serpent clan woman spoke with a soft voice.

"He is, however, heavily favored by his master, Luxanna Crownguard, who is the heir apparent to the Crownsguard family after her brother Garen joined Jarvan's peerage. He is a low-risk, high-reward target for seduction, ensnarment, simply put." 

The five clan leaders of Faunus kind were silent for a moment, with Ghira brushing his hand across his jaw line before saying calmly. "I suggest that we unveil ourselves to him through a proxy. And that through him, we will prove ourselves to Vale and humankind that Faunuskind, even diminished, is strong and worthy of respect."

There was a pause before the dragon woman leaned in with her eyes glowing as she looked into Ghira's eyes and asked calmly. "We will use him as a focal point, as he will be used to create castles and fortifications when Mistral's slaver bands reach Vale's shores that are on their way even now. I highly doubt that he will be put on the front lines against Atlas's true army."

The table was then filled with mutters of agreement until the Serpent clan woman spoke quietly. "There is the fact that we can use him there. Helping Vale in proving our strength in repelling the slavers... Or, we twist things to have him sent to the front line against the Atlas army, and through there in true open battle, we could prove ourselves against the worst of the kingdoms in Atlas."

A tense silence filled the room at the reminder that while Vale and Mistral culled about fifty percent of their faunus population during the culling... Atlas in particular was infamous for culling eighty-five percent of their population. And their culling wasn't 'clean' and clinical brutality like Vales's was.

No, every Faunus during the Atlas culling. In the faunus's man, woman, and children were forced into mines, with them getting worked quickly to death via exposure, alongside the typical undead constructs that typically did such grunt work. And when they died of hunger or were slain for attempting to escape, their remains were used to make more undead constructs.

"Also, from our spies within Beacon and you have already seen. Jake has faunus retainers, and he after the last few weeks have treated them well with them only having to bear their collars and wrist chains in leather instead of metal." The fox woman added.

There was a pause before the dragon woman spoke up slowly. "I would have suggested the Rose heir because she is already noted to have major loneliness and abandonment issues due to Taiyang Xiaolong's... Proclivites. But this Jake Bariss is otherwise a perfect target." 

The dragon woman looked at everyone and then asked bluntly. "We cannot ensnare him via magic or bloodline trickery like a Fox charm due to his closeness to The Goodwitch and Ozpin. So, how do we earn his trust and cooperation?" 

The table went quiet as they considered that, as they weren't dumb. They knew that Jake would have quite literally 'THE' best education and political protection with his connection to two sages in Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch due to his lineage.

Although he may not personally have a great amount of wealth, once again, Luxanna herself was the heir of one of the richest families in Vale, and the pocket change she could throw at Jake without a thought was in the millions of Lien.

The faunus couldn't even directly offer their services to Jake as a sort of hidden guardian... As unless the world goes to war, there was no one stupid enough to attempt to mess with the disciple of Luxanna Crownsguard, the Elementalist, the disciple of the Goodwitch. 

As the last time, a clan from Mistral tried to steal one of Goodwitch's disciples to take her home to be their young master's concubine/sex slave... That clan got smashed to literal splinters when the irate Goodwitch ripped her from the clan grounds, yelling about how she was late to her lessons.

Chapter 27

I awoke to the sounds of some quiet rustling around, and I lazily blinked my eyes to see on the electric clock next to my bed that was already nighttime. Meaning I had slept for another 24 hours straight, basically.

But now, at least, even as I blinked away the sleep in my eyes and took in my surroundings. It didn't feel like my soul was hollowed out from overusing my aura too much.

Then I saw the source of the noise was Artoria herself, who was wearing a skirt that went down to her knees and a backless, thick wool camisole that exposed a bit of side boob and her smooth back to my eyes.

"Artoria?" I spoke quietly with a slightly thick voice, but she still startled a bit, and I saw she was putting away the washed combat clothes I wore during the class trial in a cabinet.

"Oh, Jake, you are awake again. Can I get you a drink or anything?" She asked quickly in concern.

I cleared my throat and then sat up a bit, and thankfully, although my body was still a bit sore. My soul and aura was seemingly fully regenerated and without any issue. And that body soreness was probably the result of me sleeping, likely for four damned days in a row.

"How are Mordred and Okita?" I asked softly.

And Artoria grimaced before she spoke quietly. "Mordred had a poisoned spine shot through her stomach and had to have a couple meters of her intestines removed surgically, due to the Grimm poison resisting magical healing." 

"Okita?"

A sad smile crossed her face before she took a deep breath and said softly. "She ONLY broke both her wrists after her sword broke after killing so many Grimm. She will be fine in a few days at most at this point."

I took a deep breath of relief, at least happy that neither Mordred nor Okita were facing any life-changing issues, as even Mordred's removed intestines would be healed over time with magic and naturally in general.

Then I blinked as Artoria came over and sat on the edge of my bed with her gently taking my hand into both of her own. "Jake... I cannot thank you enough for saving my children. I know we may only know each other through your connection with Morgan and now Jean and Jeanne. But still."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "You were facing soul collapse, and yet you pushed yourself even further to save my daughters, who were left for dead in the Emerald Forest after their scrolls had been destroyed and lost."

I gave one of the hands holding mine a soft squeeze as I smiled wryly as I said. "It's... Well, it certainly wasn't nothing. But Jean, Jeanne, have become my friends, to say nothing of how Morgan and I share a lineage now. I couldn't let their family die while I could stand on my two feet." 

There was a moment of silence as Artoria's entirely too intense eye's stared into mine before she spoke quietly while maintaining eye contact. "No, no, you didn't need to. I begged you to help, even knowing you were hurt and possibly on the edge of death. I am sorry for that, Jake." 

I exhaled heavily and said with a weak smile. "Alright, it was totally your fault, Artoria, that I had to sleep another day... I demand you make me lasagna to repay me for the suffering I had to undergo." 

Artoria snorted and shook her head before she looked at me seriously. "Jake, I... I am sorry for what I did, even if I would do it a hundred times to save my kids again." 

"I accept your apology, Artoria. It's alright," I said with a grunt of effort as I shifted slightly as she weighed down my blanket.

She, in turn, got up and leaned forward for me to adjust my blankets, and in doing so, I got a good view into the cut of her top, allowing me to see into the valley of her very ample cleavage.

"So Jake, how have you found Jean and Jeanne while you did the class trial?" Artoria asked as she sat now on my sheet with her kicking a leg over the other to kick about as she leaned back slightly against my leg.

I blinked at the question before smiling and saying. "Well, me and Jean get along certainly well enough, as you saw. We built the ghost ship very quickly after all." 

And Artoria just patted my leg as I continued. "Jeanne herself... She is a holy sweetheart, I have no complaint, and I don't think anyone could with just how kind and nice she is." 

Then I paused as I went to speak more, as Artoria's hand moved from my leg she was using to steady herself a bit, to my thigh, and the room was filled with a bit of an ambiguous atmosphere.

And I raised an eyebrow as Artoria scooted forward, and then she climbed properly onto my bed with her sitting just above my chest as she leaned in towards me. "I want to take care of you, Jake. I want to take better care of you then those adorable rabbits who washed you in the bath and seemed so proud of it."

"And you don't." I went to gently put her down.

Then she put a finger to my lips as she smiled and said softly. "Jake, I am your retainer... And this thing right here. It is something I myself am responsible for and need to take care of."

Her hand, which was then on my thigh, went under my blanket and landed on my crotch with her hand firmly taking hold of my pants across my length. And for a moment, I considered stopping this.

But then I realized that would be fucking weak, and if the milf wanted to get more intimate with me, which wasn't too unusual with her being my retainer. Why in the world would I say no?

Seeing me not reject her rather blunt advancement, Artoria leaned in fully with her breasts mushing agaisnt my chest as our lips met in a soft kiss, as her hand went into my pants to take my length in hand.

And wanting more from this, I pulled the blankets off myself and pushed them to the side so I could pull her fully into my lap with her hand falling out of my pants, but I now had my hands filled with Artoria's soft, plush ass as I reached under her somewhat short skirt.

"Hmm." Artoria moaned into my mouth as I realized that she had a rather sensitive body when I took a hand that went from previously playing with those lovely ass cheeks to slide into the side of her backless dress and take one of her large breasts in hand.

I then pulled that wool camisole together, and with it bunched up in her middle, I broke the kiss to take in her large breasts that heaved with her heavy breath after the long session of making out with her beautiful breasts topped with these sharp, light pink nipples.

"Ufufu, you are making me feel like a teenager again." Artoria giggled as she ran her hands under her large breasts and then pushed them into my face as she began gently grinding herself into my lap on my still-covered length.

I, on the other hand, had no interest in answering her. As I was busy sucking on these milf titties that had been teasing me for the last couple damned weeks and her breasts were very sensitive her and making it fun for me to try to get all the reactions I could out of her.

And as she was so helpfully motorboating me with her tit's I kicked off my pants as I held her up slightly by her wide hips, and then she paused as I pulled her drenched panties to the side with my man meat sliding between the wet lips of her womanhood as I brought her down.

"You are going to take me, Jake?" She whispered more to herself than seemingly asking me, and I grunted into her tits. I just ripped her thin panties off completely before I moved forward to push Artoria into the bed with my hand that was holding her up by her ass, lifting up her leg.

And Artoria moaned loudly as I sunk my length into her depths, with myself moving from her tits so I could silence her very loud moan with a kiss, with her tongue going into my own.

Artoria was a mother of... Literally eight children, so I just went to work as I broke the kiss and sat up on my knees so I could take both of her hips in hand, and a loud slapping noise rang out as I slammed my length into her hot, sodden depths.

"Fuuuu! Not so deep! It's been years, Jake!" She whispered with her eyes filled with a lustful light, and in response, I buried myself to the hilt, making her toes curl, and along with her eyes closing as I just rooted myself inside of my and just prodded at her deepest depths.

After a couple of minutes of stretching her out and getting her used to me, I pulled out a bit, and then a loud slapping noise rang out as I slammed into her depths with her moaning and her large tit's bouncing in the motion.

'Oh god... That titty bouncing is almost as good as New Jersey's.' I thought before I began fucking Artoria harder and with more motion, specifically so I could see those large breasts bouncing on her chest with the full, long, hard strokes I was making into the mother.

I then pulled Artoria into my lap with her legs locking around my back, and she moaned into my ears as I used the change in position to do shorter, quicker dips into her deepest depths.

"You aren't wearing a condom, Jake." She whispered into my ear, and for a moment I thought. 

'Fuck a condom! I got hot pussy around my dick!' But then I recalled how fertile Artoria was, and I just nibbled on her ear before I said back. "Use your aura, or something."

And I hissed as her fingernails scraped against my back, as she sucked my earlobe before she whispered back in turn. "You aren't allowed to pull out Jake. Now hurry before someone comes in!" 

The sounds of our coupling became louder, and likewise the 'Plap Plap Plap' noises filled the room with a symphony of her moans being smothered by being kissed hard or her smothering it with a pillow she held up to her face to scream an orgasm into.

Finally, my own orgasm came to the fore, and I groaned into her neck as she had turned around and pushed her backside and back into my chest as I fucked her from behind while playing with her tits.

"Yes, give it to me, Jake!" She hissed as I shot my hot cum into her depths, and I held onto her as I rode out my orgasm with my hands massaging her tits firmly and making her shudder at the combined feeling.

With that... I took a deep breath as I enjoyed the aftershocks of the orgasm until Artoria giggled and said. "Come on, you need a shower after sleeping for a whole day and this bit of a mess. And I want you to wash my back, then we can get some food in you."

As she mentioned 'food', I could feel said stomach roar weakly in anticipation, making Artoria snort as I myself realized I hadn't eaten anything solid in a few days now.

"That sounds like a wonderful plan, Artoria. Let's do exactly that." I said with a small grin as she pulled me into the bathroom and into the shower. Where I would get the chance to get Artoria nice and soapy.

And if I washed her front as well and played with her tits a bit? Well, she certainly didn't complain.

-

After that wonderful waking-up bit, I got myself a couple sandwhich's to munch down on before I took out my phone to call Lux as I wanted to let her know I was alright and everything.

[Jake, you are awake already?] Lux spoke in some surprise in her voice, while I could hear something in the background. But I powered on.

"Yes, I am feeling in tip-top shape, besides a bit of soreness from sleeping for so long. Are you busy right now?" I asked respectfully.

There was a pause before she made a noise of thought, and I could vaguely hear a female... No, I could hear Princess Ravel's voice in the background as Lux said with audible dismay. [Of course, I am busy! Like more than half of you students died out there in the Class Trial when we expected less than five percent casualties! It's a complete mess, I tell you!]

I had a wry smile at that, and I just coughed before saying in amusement. "Well, it's a good thing the great Elementalist is on the case! Anyway, seeing as you are so busy, I will leave you alone and go play with Cinder. Baaaiiii master!" I finished teasingly.

And I could hear Lux's howl of outrage at my shameless escape of any responsibility as I hung up on her. "Whelp! Now to... Fuck it, I am going to check on Ruby. She made those delicious cookies, and it would be a damned shame if she died before I can get the recipe." 

Ok, more like I was curious what kind of person Ruby actually was beyond her issues with Yang... And she was hot, with her crush on me being completely obvious.

I left Lux's tower and headed towards the Beacon hospital with a hum as I made my way across Beacon's campus with my stride and good mood only being dampened as I saw... Shadowy constructs's watching me in the common areas and the natural parks that filled up Beacon's several miles wide campus.

'Calia or Ferid are watching me... That's not a surprise with how my Ghost Ship utterly crushed the Class Trial.' I mused to myself before wondering if I was even going to get the reward from the Light God Church in getting that 'holy bath' that was promised.

I made my way into the Beacon's hospital and, surprisingly... Very surprisingly actually, Ruby was awake earlier and had already added me to her guest list that wasn't just family.

So with the information on Ruby's room in most noble/upper-level huntsmen's care rooms, gotten. I went up there after checking in and knocked on her door.

After I knocked on her door, I was let in as Ruby seemingly hit a buzzer that unlocked a door for me, and as I came into the ornate hospital room's small hallway. I heard Ruby's somewhat tired voice call out. "Mom, is that you?" 

And with a shit-eating grin, I called out as I entered. "Nope, call me something else, haha." 

Ruby flushed with her throwing up her blankets to cover her face. "Noooo! I haven't put on any makeup or anything!" Ruby howled in embarrassment.

I just laughed in amusement at seeing Ruby's beautiful silver eyes peeking over the blanket she was covering up her body with. "How... Why are you here!"

"So, how are you feeling there, Ruby. I am glad you are in one piece." I said as I spun a chair around to sit beside Ruby's bed.

At my question, there was a small smile crossing Ruby's face before she took a deep breath and spoke. "I- I am glad you are here, though. And I am feeling a lot better after the poison was removed." 

"And when do you think you will be able to leave?" I asked curiously, with Ruby's pout growing as she kicked her blanket up and down in frustration.

"Ughhh! My mom is just so scared after I got poisoned, she is making me spend the rest of the week here!" Ruby complained with her pout going nuclear, and her silver eyes gleamed with unshed 'tears' 

I shrugged and said with a wry smile. "Well, having a loving mother can't be helped, I guess." 

"Anyway, I wanted to check on you. And make sure if you were dying, I got to get that amazing cookie recipe, haha." I joked with Ruby, giving me a playful scowl.

"Hmph!" Ruby snorted with fake disdain as she looked down at me with a snooty glare. "The Rose cookie recipe is one that is bound to my bloodline! The recipe shall only slip from my lips to my own daughter or son! Just as my grandmother shared the recipe with my own mother!"

I put a finger to my lip in thought. Then I looked at her and grinned before I said shamelessly. "Well... What if we got married? Could I get it then?" 

Ruby's face went bright red, then after hyperventilating for a long minute, she scowled and looked at me with a pouty scowl. "No! I- Ahhh!" She yelled as she hid herself under her blankets again.

Then a loud click rang out and I turned around in my seat... And watched as the milf version of Ruby strolled into the room like she owned it. Which she probably kinda did with her family being a Duke house.

"Oh? You are Jake Bariss!" Summer Rose spoke as she strolled into the room with a wide smile crossing her face, and I blinked as she placed her hands on my shoulders. "Thank you so much for saving my precious little Rose!" She said firmly, making me blink as I looked past Summer's much larger breasts and met her gaze.

"Oh... Yeah, I just saw her, so I helped." I said sorta awkwardly as the Grandmaster/Sage Head of the Duke house gave my shoulder a squeeze with a blinding smile being worn across her face.

Thankfully, Ruby was there to 'halp' me as she shouted in dismay. "Moooom! Let go of my friend!"

And Summer just chuckled and said in amusement. "Alright, alright, my little Rose." Summer then let go of me and strolled across the room to the other side of Ruby's bed to take a seat there, and as she took Ruby's hand into her own.

Summer spoke kindly. "So Jake, how were those cookies I helped my darling make?" 

I blinked at the question before I chuckled and answered. "Oh, you helped make it? Yeah, it was great! I was just trying to weasel out the recipe for those divine cookies." 

And Ruby pouted with her grumbling to her mother. "He teased that he wanted to marry me for the cookie recipe." 

Summer blinked at that... Then raised an eyebrow as she looked at me as though to say. 'Really?' 

I just shamelessly shrugged, and she likewise shrugged and said with amusement. "Well, they say that one of the quickest ways to a man's heart is through his stomach, haha." 

There was a bit of a pause before Ruby groaned and said. "Alright, stop trying to embarrass me... So, can I go back to my dorm at least, Mom? I hate how the staff are constantly checking me, and you know I just need rest, you know!?" 

Summer gave Ruby a small scowl, while I felt just totally out of place, obviously. And then Summer wore a... Scary smile as she said. "OH, very well then. But you will still need to be checked up on."

The milf of the Rose family turned to me, and I knew I was fucked metaphorically at least as she said. "Jake, being my daughter's friend. Could I ask you to check on my daughter in person at least once a day? It would mean the world to me and my noble house."

I blinked at the Rose trapped words, but with the promise of the favor of the Rose Duke house. I could only nod helplessly with Summer clapping her hands together as she said.

"Wonderful! Now, Jake, I need to talk to my daughter about some family things. I am sure you have much to do with how yourself need to catch up with your master and others." Summer said in kind dismissal.

I nodded, getting up from my chair and winked at Ruby. "Alright, Ruby, here is my scroll number," I spoke as I wrote it down on a notepad next to her bed on my side. And then I left the room and headed off.

Though, as I left the hospital, I raised an eyebrow as I got a call from... Pyrrha! 

[Hello, Jake? I am glad you are awake!] Pyrrha spoke excitedly, making me smile, and I responded quickly.

"Well, how you been, Pyrrha? Anything new happen?" I asked as I walked over to a small park before pausing and scowling as I realized I was being watched by... Animal familiars? As no, there was no damned way a fox would be sharing a branch on a tree with a squirrel and just staring at me.

'Which asshole teacher is watching me?' I wondered before rolling my eyes and leaving the park as Pyrrha happily told me how she has been practicing her sword and spear play for the last few days.

In order to compensate for how we spent the Class Trial doing nothing but ranged attacks to cull as many Grimm as possible.

[Well, in any case, Jake, how are you feeling? Are you up for some training... Maybe tomorrow?] Pyrrha asked with some interest, and I remembered all too clearly how Pyrrha and Weiss had that heated moment atop the ghost ship.

So I just said easily. "Tomorrow? Yeah, sure, in the early afternoon, I would be up for it. As Beacon's classes won't be restarted for another five days anyway, with the Class Trial being cut off so early." 

And for the next couple of minutes, I talked with Pyrrha, who was asking me more... Personal questions, clearly trying to figure me out a bit more on a personal level, especially after I told her I wasn't with my usual crowd of retainers and was just on a walk on my own.

And Pyrrha herself was alone in her dorm room, allowing her to come out more out of her shell, knowing no one else would get in the way of us speaking more honestly.

Then I had to pause as a message rang out from Lux that made me look away from the call, as Lux said. [Jake, I need you back at the tower for a bit for something important.]

"Sorry, Pyrrha, I have to let you go. Lux is calling me for something. I got to go." I said with Pyrrha making some weird thumping noise like she was kicking her bed or something, even as she replied 'calmly'.

[Ah... I- alright, if you have some free time later. I would appreciate another call. Or maybe we could hang out at your master's tower or we could go somewhere else, maybe?] She spoke almost in a needy manner.

Ok, actually in a rather needy way.

But I just avoided that and said it easily. "That would be nice, Pyrrha. I will text you in a bit if I do end up being free." 

With that, I hung up my phone and groaned as I muttered. "Alright... Time to go see what nonsense Lux is up to now." 

So I made my way back to Lux's tower, and knowing she probably meant to meet me on her private floor, I took an elevator up to her floor, and I saw Cinder, who quickly pointed me towards the meeting room her saying. "Can't speak much for now. Our teacher wants to speak with you now."

I wanted to ask what this was about, obviously, but Cinder quickly moved into the elevator I had already taken. Clearly in deep thought, so I just shrugged and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Jake." Lux's voice rang out, and I opened the door only to see that my Master/Teacher had three guests with her.

A large man with cat ears and a fucking refrigerator for a chest, with how huge and muscular he was, a more lithe but still toned woman with fox ears. And lastly, a woman with glowing red slitted eyes and thin horns atop her head.

"You wished to speak with me, Teacher?" I spoke as I felt... Something off with the three in front of her, and Lux clearly was in full noble heir mode.

As she said curtly. "Jake, sit down beside me. We have much to discuss with these guests." 

Chapter 28

I was stiff as I could feel the aura of these three faunus were at their peak. No, they weren't bothering to hide their status and existence like Summer hid her edge.

These three faunus were all Sage's, and that was without any doubt at all.

This obviously brought up a massive number of questions obviously. Like, why were they even alive after the purges? Why were they here, and most especially? Why the hell was I called to this meeting!?

"Master," I spoke with a nod to Lux in greeting before I likewise gave the Sages a nod of respect before I came to stand behind Lux's sitting form, who was sitting in a high-backed chair, notably with a highly ornate staff that screamed Lux's essence in her hands.

Which was clearly Lux's Soul Tool, a manifestation of her various marks of Grandmastery as a Grandmaster mage in several paths.

The three sages inspected me for a long moment with the draconic-looking faunus woman with horns and slitted eye's humming and saying calmly. "Not bad, Luxanna. He is clearly still new to magic and martial arts. But his aura stores are already akin to a weaker Master tier Martial Artist." 

The larger cat faunus, who I quickly recognized as Ghira Belladonna, Blake Belladonna's father, folded his arms over his large, very muscled chest before he spoke with a gruff voice.

"His aura stores are a result of his manifestation semblance, causing so much stress to it. Hmm, in that vein, young man. What was that weapon you used to kill that Abomination, as it was at the scale of a Grandmaster's spell, if not having the intensity or finesse?"

I looked down at Lux, who just looked sideways up at me and nodded. So I took a breath and spoke slowly and calmly. "It is a bomb. Made by tearing apart the building blocks of radioactive materials in the resulting violent reaction of radioactive elements meeting. The materials explode with great power."

The Sages shared a look before nodding, obviously not too concerned about it, which made sense... As Sages were walking nuclear arsenals themselves, who could defend themselves calmly against other nukes being thrown against them?

"Could you mass-produce those bombs?" The fox faunus woman, who was also clearly a warrior/aura user, interjected.

I shrugged, unsure, and I said. "I can probably make ten of them a day, if not more, with my current aura stores and getting some breaks between making them." 

The reason making the last nuke went so poorly was the fact I literally made it in but seconds in a rush to smash it out. If I made it over the course of like ten minutes, I wouldn't have had any issues with my aura tanking itself like it did.

The three faunus shared a look before the dragon faunus laid her hands on the large, ornate table separating everyone and spoke with a regality that made me believe she was a natural-born empress with how her gaze made me feel small.

And her gaze wasn't an insult or her trying to demean me either. It was just the feeling of a wise dragon looking towards a peasant, which was completely 'natural'. "Jake Bariss, what do you think that we are here for? Why do you think you yourself have been called for this meeting."

I took in her question and rolled it over in my mind for a long moment. Then I spoke slowly and thoughtfully.

"You are here in order to announce yourself, obviously... Three Sages, regardless of how long they have been sages, are a force to be wary of. And you wanted to announce yourself to Ozpin and have his support rather than contacting the Royal family because you didn't want to kneel to them."

The faunus shared a look with the dragon woman's eye's glowing with a crimson light, as she spoke quietly as she rested her chin on her hands with her elbows on the table. "Good... That is all correct, Jake. Continue your thoughts."

I took a deep breath and continued. "You likely are avoiding the Royal Family due to their Peerage Semblance and the Lich Lord, so you don't have literal chains and collars on your soul, and as for why you are here talking to Lux and myself..."

I had to consider that. Honestly, I couldn't exactly pinpoint why I was here. After all, I was still just an Apprentice mage who had successfully made his first spell glyph in his magical space.

Sure, my Ghost Ship was great, and so were my Shipgirls, who could give Masters some trouble with their giant cannons that everyone was underestimating. But myself? 

"You are here because of my web of connections. An apprentice of Luxanna Crownsguard who is best friends with the princess, heiress of the Crownsguard Duke Family."

"Beyond the connections I myself have, I am neutral in all affairs basically with how I am an orphan and not even tied to the nobility system yet for another week when whatever Class Trial results are used to distribute rewards."

The fox faunus slowly smiled before she looked at the dragon woman, who was silent and just waiting for the real answer. So I took a breath and I shrugged. "As for why I myself am here... I am to be used for some form of connection between your force and the web of connections I have to everyone around myself."

The dragon woman leaned off her hands that began softly clapping slowly and with regulated force so that the clapping wasn't that loud, let alone obnoxious.

"You are correct, Jake. Correct on all accounts. The Faunus Redemption League wishes to use you as a bridge to bring Faunus kind back to their rightful place as equals to humanity in the war against the Grimm."

I shifted slightly, and then Ghira spoke again with a gruff voice. "What remains to be decided is how you will be used if you agree to it. To be taken as a disciple or apprentice to one of the Faunus Sages, to be married to a faunus, to show humanity and faunus can get along... There are a number of options."

I looked down at Lux, who still had her noble heiress mask on, and I took a deep breath before I spoke respectfully. "I would be a fool to deny the honor it would be to have a Sage as my teacher. But my Master has already stolen me away from the teachings of another Sage." 

The three faunus's made noises of amusement as Lux shifted ever so slightly with her giving me a sideways glance that screamed. "Don't embarrass me!" 

But I finished off by saying firmly. "Either way, I will respect and, if possible, obey my Master's wishes in this. As she has been my faithful guardian here in my time at Beacon."

I wasn't stupid. My actions here in Beacon were anything but subtle in forming my own force around myself and yet I myself didn't even have a noble rank. The only reason some of the upjumped young nobles hadn't tried anything to me, a simple commoner, was simple.

My status as Lux's disciple hung over their heads like a literal guillotine should she snap on them. So besides Lux's protection and helping me deal with the church when I got Artoria out of her situation.

I was also very aware of the treasures she had given me, along with the grimoire, not to mention the rest of her teachings and attention being given to me.

I wasn't one of the fifty students like Calia had. No, with Lux, she literally only had me and Cinder as her disciples, and she smothered us with attention and care whenever she could. 

It wasn't an exaggeration that Lux and Cinder herself treated me as a loved one or a family member with our disciple relationship being just as tight as a shared bloodline.

So if Lux asked me to make a sacrifice for her, so long as it wasn't something like having to give one of my Shipgirls over to Calia to be dissected. I would do whatever she asked within reason.

Once Lux got over my statement, she took a deep breath and spoke quietly. "Jake, you need to keep this to yourself. Do not even share this with your fellows in your retinue for now. But there is major world information that plays a part in why I am even entertaining this."

"The cold war between Vale, Mistral, and Atlas is likely going to spark into hot combat between Masters and those below that level. With Vale being the breadbasket of the world, Atlas will be coming to steal our natural resources and especially our food stores from our mega-farms." 

The fox woman then interjected with a frown. "And Mistral's clan and sects will be sending their fastest airships to land in Vale's outer territories to snatch as many people to fill their endless slave auctions."

"Though it's not like Vale will be the only target in truth, Mistral and Atlas will also be raiding one another, though Atlas has a far more centralized population and is thus a terrible target for Mistral's style of fast-moving roaming brigands," Ghira added.

Taking in the information, I came to a realization as things began to add up. "Shit... Let me guess, I am going to be put on some frontier or some nonsense to counter an offense of Master's and below, right? As my manifested weapons in rockets, guns, and bombs are very much still effective to Master's."

Lux sighed and said with a wry smile. "That's correct, Jake. It's all your fault for being able to manifest hardened massive metal fortresses you can control from dozens of miles away and restock with ammunition and supplies."

My face twitched at my master selling me out, but either way, I exhaled and asked the real question. "Alright, so the war bit is... Well, it's bad news for me as I am just an adorable apprentice when it comes to magic. But let's get back to the main topic. What do the sages of the Faunus want with me specifically?" 

The silver-haired fox woman chuckled with her leaning back in her chair with her taking a clay jug of booze from... Somewhere, probably an enchanted storage tool. But she just took a heavy swig of the drink before she exhaled and announced without any regret. "Heh! He has spunk to be so candid."

Her gleaming blue slit eyes pinned me in place before she spoke in that same tone with a challenging grin on her face. "So, whatcha say, Luxanna Crownsguard. You be his magic teacher, and I be his martial arts teacher? We both use a sword and he... He is going to need all the help he can get, haha!" 

I could see over Lux's shoulder as her hand tightened around her staff that was lying across her lap, and there was a pause before she said 'calmly. "Oh? My disciple is so busy with magic, his retinue, and doing large-scale projects. That I don't think he has time for another master here in Beacon."

And the fox woman's ears twitched before she grinned and said easily. "Yeah, that's true enough. He certainly is easy on the eye's and is probably spending some time between the legs of a good beauty. Alright, it's a deal then!"

Lux and I both paused as the dragon woman exhaled in annoyance and literally groaned out loud. "Feixiao... Don't cause an incident, I beg of you."

But the now-named Feixiao just laughed a full-bellied thing as she said firmly. "Ehhhh, too late. Besides this, what we want most of all, right? An arranged marriage with Ghira's little spitfire will probably explode into a murder with how proud Blake is."

She shrugged and added on in a careless manner as she looked at me again. "Having me take him as my disciple would be for the best. The scenario of a human being taught by a Sage Faunus would be the best connection we could ask for with how filial he is to little Luxanna, for example."

And then she finished off by saying.

"Plus, it gives a perfect excuse for Luxanna's peace of mind... Because if Jake is nearly as effective as he was during the initiation and class trial as in stopping these slavery and resource raids. Well, the unspoken rules can be broken. And it's certainly not impossible a Grandmaster from Atlas or Mistral may attempt to snuff him out or capture him for breeding or god knows what else."

Silence rang out before Ghira shrugged and said with amusement in his gruff voice. "She has a good point. His connections make him a potent target for the other nations to target. And should more open battles occur, Lux, you will not be able to watch him if you are deployed to another theater."

There was a pause as Lux chewed on her thoughts. Thinking things like how someone kidnapping me would be in for a horrible surprise when The Goodwitch came to pay them a visit.

But there was also the simple reality that I could just be killed and that would be it. My potential was almost worthless if I was just killed after all. 

I say almost worthless... Because only the heavens know what the hell Calia or the Lich Lord could do with my corpse or soul if they manage to capture it.

So that left Lux in an awkward position until she spoke slowly. "Let's say that does happen. A group of Master's or Grandmaster comes to kidnap or take out my disciple. You being there and stopping their attack would be an escalation according to the unspoken rules."

Ghira then spoke rather blandly. "Isn't it rather funny how the unspoken rules was only made when Ozpin, after becoming a Grandmaster and killed thirty more of the same rank of Atlas and Mistrals and even a Sage of both kingdoms? Why should Vale be the main target of Atlas and Mistral?"

Then Feixiao added with a grin that promised casual murder. "Besides the fact that we would be just defending ourselves. Should I kill a couple of Grandmasters and get questioned on it, I can just give the corpses to Lady Calia or the Lich Lord to tell the other kingdoms."

She took a breath and then finished with my face twitching at her words. "Oh, sorry, our major Grimm clearing operation to clear out a new resource collection area was attacked by what we assumed were bandits. We never gave them time to announce themselves as warriors of Mistal/Atlas, so there wasn't any point in taking prisoners."

I held up a hand and spoke out. "I vote for having a scary Sage backing me up for whenever I inevitably kill a bunch of slavers. Regardless of what status said Sage has with me."

Lux and the rest of the Sages snorted at my candid and especially shameless tone, with Lux shifting slightly at my words and not being so... Possessive of myself as her disciple. Which was totally fair, and me taking on another master was only possible in the slightest was due to Feixiao becoming my Martial Art's Master.

So there wouldn't be any conflict between teachings in magic.

There was a long pause as the Sages gave Lux a moment to go over it, then Lux took a deep breath and spoke with some annoyance. "Gah! Fine, I won't get in the way of this!"

The dragon faunus nodded, and I interjected respectfully. "Excuse me, you all have my name. But can you three introduce yourselves... Especially if you are to be my master." I directed towards Feixiao.

Feixiao herself chuckled with a sheepish grin coming across her face as she spoke. "Damn, that's a good point. Alright, my name is Feixiao, no last name, as I was a slave before I escaped Mistral during the purges. And I am the Lacking Sage! Because I am lacking in rivals, worries, and all other problems, haha!"

I eyed the slightly muscular fox woman with a wry smile, and I wondered. 'I wonder if I will be lacking a competent teacher at the same time.'

Ghira who I recongized as Blake's fathe,r gave a short nod and said calmly. "My name is Ghira Belladona. Leader of the Tiger Tribe."

Feixiao raised up her hand lazily as she took a drink with her other hand, and after taking a drink of her wine out of the jar, she said with a light grin. "Alrighty, told you my name is Feixiao, but I am the leader of the Fox Tribe, even if I don't do the sneaky shit the rest of my tribe typically does."

The dragon woman then hummed and said simply. "Ophelia. Dragon Tribe leader. I am the spiritual leader of Faunus kind."

Then Ophelia stood up elegantly with Ghira and Feixiao doing the same with Ophelia speaking more formally. "With this meeting done, we will be leave now. Jake, when you are inevitably deployed for your talents, Feixiao will then take you under her wing and be your guardian and safety net."

Lux herself stood up from her chair and likewise spoke in a somewhat formal manner as she responded in turn. "Then, as Ozpin has said, you Sages and Grandmasters are welcome within Beacon for discussions and trade in the future."

The three Sages then left the room, besides Feixiao giving me a cheeky wink, and I was left in the room with just Lux, who just slumped back into her seat and threw her arms over her chest with a clear pout on her face.

"Jaaakkkkeee, why did you accept Feixiao's request so easily! Did you fall in love with her muscles already!" Lux whined loudly, making me chuckle as she kicked the chair a bit so she could glare/pout at me as hard as possible.

I just shrugged and after a bit... I said shamelessly. "Those thighs though, Lux. Come on, you know she could crush a literal engine with those."

And my words weren't even false. Feixiao was a literal Sage of martial arts and could punch through mountains. Even still, Lux choked and looked at me in despair as she held patted her own thighs. "What about my thighs? Aren't they so soft and huggable?" 

I took a deep breath and, with all the wisdom of the ancients, I spoke. "Soft thighs are for snuggles, strong thighs are for hugging during hard times."

There was a silence before Lux's face cracked, and she rolled her eyes. "I shall remember that wisdom my disciple... Don't say that around Master Goodwitch, or she will put you through a wall for being so crass." She reminded me with some amusement.

I shrugged and said with some amusement. "Ehh... She will do it at some point, I imagine. Anyway, are you actually ok with this?"

Lux got out of her chair, and I grunted as she poked me in the stomach and stepped away from Lux, who rolled her eyes and said firmly. "No, I am not happy with this. It's one thing if you were a Master already and sought another official teacher in another path. But you are still an Apprentice." 

I shrugged and, with a wry smile, I said. "Well... We haven't exactly had much time to sit down for long lessons, you know. I still need to form at least four Apprentice-tier spell matrices in my magic core before I can form an Adept-level spell matrix."

Lux nodded with some annoyance as we were both very busy, as Lux, despite her younger age, was one of the heads of the magical branch of Beacon, with her being a Grandmaster in multiple schools of magic and a Master in literally several dozen magical paths.

And I had spent much of the previous week working my ass off to make the Black Pearl with Jean's help.

There was a pause before Lux took a deep breath and said. "I do need to concentrate your lessons, though. Your lessons won't be about the core of magic and the major principles. If you are being thrown into war, you will need to be a battlemage and not a researcher."

Lux's gaze was heavy as she spoke firmly. "However, this is fine for now and even up to the Journeyman level. But you must understand that Master tier mages and above need to research and comprehend their magical path, as Grimoires aren't nearly as effective." 

I exhaled a bit and shrugged before I said bluntly. "I can lock myself into a library and lab to experiment and understand magic after the coming conflict peters out... Either way, in that topic, what spell should I learn next?" 

Lux raised an eyebrow, and with some amusement, she retorted calmly. "Ask your Grimoire that. It's got the will of the Cutting Rain Grandmaster within it, so it will still give you more spell matrices in the water element, which is your preferred element." 

Lux took a breath, and then she continued. "Now sit down. Seeing as I have the rest of the day free, I should give you a good lesson for the next hour on some important magical knowledge you should understand."

-

Across the great abyss called the ocean that was filled with countless magical treasures and horrors uncounting. Pandora Niko's sat upon a throne of bronze as she swirled a cup of wine, as she stared out into her vineyards and estate.

Notably, upon the repaired balcony, she melted when she learned that Ozpin had pulled another one of his antics in stealing several collections of high-value vintages.

The sounds of soft cloth-covered feet across her marble floors rang out, and she looked to the side as she watched as one of her slaves. One of the pretty house ones she kept due to them being good show pieces in how she could refine weaker humans and faunus's into living art.

Not at all one of the gladiator slaves, or heavens forbid, a field slave that was destined to die working her fields or the mines that sprawled across the dozens of miles wide Nikos Family estate.

"My lady." The house slave whispere,d and Pandora remembered who this one was as she saw the tail of the fox faunus swish behind her slightly.

"Koyanska, what message do you carry?" Pandora spoke imperiously, knowing this faunus was a new collection she bought at a heavy price a couple of months ago. From a collection operation that happened in an Atlas mining town.

The faunus bowed her head slightly in subservience, hiding her face as she spoke lowly. "The clan's ships have met with the ships of the Xiao clan, with the ships forming a fleet at the agreement of the captains to raid a larger settlement within Valian territory."

Pandora shifted slightly before she nodded slowly. "That is good... There will be issues of loot separation and conflict in that. But I trust Tyranus to do what he needs to do to keep my cut in order."

Though privately, Pandora had a darker thought running in her mind. 'The Xiao Clan still assumes that Pyrrha is their property after paying the bride price, even after she fled Mistral. Foolish to assume they will get anywhere near Beacon.'

Pandora then took a smell of her wine, taking in it's aroma before she took an elegant sip from the bronze chalice that was studded with large, gleaming topaz's, and emeralds.

Then she paused before she exhaled heavily. "Go to another room, Koyanska." She said sharply as the air sharply rose in temperature with the fox faunus running away quickly at seeing her mistress's anger.

Pandora rose into the air, flying in the air due to her Sage-grade mana having so much mass that she could ignore gravity, and as she flew up. She gazed with glowing molten eye's at the man, likewise flying in the air several hundred feet away from her manor.

"You dare to intrude upon my estate without invitation, Xiao Yan?" Pandora drawled out coldly to the man, the patriarch and Sage of the Xiao clan, who her daughter Pyrrha was set to marry into.

Xiao Yan didn't respond to Pandora's threatening tone. He merely questioned in a calm and cold manner. "You will not interfere should my people bring Pyrrha back to Mistral, will you?"

Pandora's sage tool gleamed in her hand in a large arcing spear of bronze, with the handle being of molten metal and the spear tip having countless sparks of lightning between the jagged points.

"You will change your tone with me, Xiao Yan... I tore that marriage contract in half with my own blood-soaked hands after I killed my concubine, who thought he could sell Pyrrha off as though he was my husband, let alone my equal!" Pandora spoke coldly.

The surrounding air flickered with hazy heat as even with the moonlight being the only illumination in the surroundings. The fire and lava sages were putting out so much heat that the air passively flickered as the air combusted into plasma.

Then Xiao Yan smiled, but it was a cold thing as he said blandly. "I see... The fact you aren't attacking means that you won't act openly then. I can accept that." 

Then Pandora scowled with her flicking her spear at the Sage, who waved his hands with a massive sword appearing into his hands to block a blinding bolt of lightning bigger than a skyscraper that pushed him through the air for several miles.

But as the lightning bolts' blinding radiance faded, the Xiao clan's patriarch and sage didn't rush back in to fight. No, he already got an answer, and Pandora's powerful blow was merely her lashing out in anger.

As both of them knew. That although Mistral operated entirely on the logic of the strong rule, and weak obey. That they were evenly matched and that coming to blows now would only result in Pandora lashing out harder due to the battle inevitably destroying her estate.

Likewise, the Xiao clan patriarch didn't push Pandora too far. As he knew all too well that having a volcano violently burst into existence within his clan's territory would lead to all his clan's people dying along with all their belongings burned away. 

Not to mention Pandora would piss on the ashes by making the volcanic eruption be filled with toxic fumes so the land couldn't be resettled upon for years, even with earth mages closing up the volcanic vent.

Pandora just watched as Xiao Yan flew away with jets of blue flames shooting from his feet to push him away from the Nikos estate at high speed.

After a moment of flying, she landed back on her balcony and she elegantly sat back in her seat, but as she took her highly elegant chalice back into her hands. She brushed her thumb over the central large emerald that matched Pyrrha's own eye color several times as she was deep in thought.

Then she raised an eyebrow as she saw Koyanska, that fox faunus with pink hair, come out of the other room with the clay jar containing more of the wine she was drinking. "I did not call for you," Pandora said with a chilly undercurrent in her voice.

Koyanska bowed her head in submission before she spoke quietly. "Your chalice is empty, my lady. Do you wish for me to return the wine?"

Pandora was silent for a long moment before she looked away from the fox faunus with her expression still as she said quietly. "Pour me my drink and leave me."

Koyanska closed in and then carefully poured the high-quality wine, and then she stepped back and bowed to the silent stage before leaving with Pandora exhaling softly after being left alone.

Then she stared off into the distance as she wondered what Pyrrha was doing... Unknowingly that Pyrrha was being an utter fool as she was kicking her bed loudly as she hugged her pillow after Jake told her he would happily meet her that night.

"Be safe, my daughter... Let no one chain you down." Pandora muttered to herself before closing her eyes as she took a much deeper drink of the wine.

-

After finishing a long lesson with Lux, that filled my mind with a good deal of magical knowledge. I sent Pyrrha a message asking if she was free to hang out tonight, and if so, where would she like to meet while finishing my conversation with Lux.

"So, is there any news on rewards from the Class Trial?" I asked curiously.

Lux blinked at my question, and then she nodded. "It's a bit of a toss-up, obviously, you won. But you have a bit of political issues with Pyrrha and Weiss being on your team. But yes, you yourself and the rest of your group can expect rewards soon in the next couple of days."

Then Lux waved me off as she took a drink before she said. "Alright, Jake, I have much to think about, so you go on ahead."

And all too soon afterward's I got a quick message sent back to me as I stood up and left the room. [I am free now if you want to hang out? I have my own dorm in the lower nobles' quarters if you want to come over?]

I shrugged and looked up the map of Beacon to look at where she was living and sent a message back saying I was on my way unless she needed some time to get ready/clean up.

[No! Come on over! I am totally free to hang out if you want.]

So I obviously headed over to Pyrrha's place as she was still a nice girl... And the fact that she had a clear crush on me was icing on the cake.

I made my way over to Pyrrha's dorm without any issues, and once I got there, Pyrrha herself was already waiting for me at the front door of the much more elegant-looking nobles' dorms. That was a great deal different from the commoner dorms I briefly stayed in.

"Jake, I am glad you were able to come," Pyrrha said with a skip in her step as she stepped over and pulled the door open for us to head into the dorms. 

I smiled and said easily. "Yeah, I needed some time to decompress with a friend." 

Pyrrha's smile widened at that, with her saying quickly. "Here! I have my room on the first floor, thankfully, so I don't need to go far."

The red-haired beauty then opened up the door, and I raised an eyebrow at how Pyrrha had clearly taken her culture from home here, as the room was filled with bronze accents and marble finishes.

Though I did notice that besides a couple of wooden chairs next to a dining table, where she seemingly ate or did her reading. The only major furniture in the room was her very large and plush bed. It was a large L-shaped couch.

"So! I got some snacks from the dormitory store... Wanna watch a movie or something? Or we can just talk if you want to relax!" Pyrrha said, quickly waving her hands around, making me chuckle at how adorable she was.

"Yeah, a simple comedy movie or something would be nice. Something I don't need to feel bad about if we talk over." I spoke in an easy-going manner to hopefully put Pyrrha at ease.

Thankfully, it did seem to work as she gave a small smile and pointed at the couch and said. "Sounds good, Jake. Go ahead and sit down, and I will grab the snacks from the kitchen." 

With that, I kicked off my shoes and relaxed on the couch after I moved a blanket over to the side... And I realized that the room itself was actually rather chilly, honestly.

Like cold enough that my hands would become pretty nippy in the next half and hour or something cold.

Then Pyrrha came back into my room with a bowl filled with some goodies, chocolates, nuts, and some sweet breads. And I noticed that her snacks were on the 'healthier' side, at least in the way there wasn't any terrible preservatives or whatever in them.

"So how are you feeling, Jake?" Pyrrha asked casually as she put the bowl of goodies on the small table in front of the couch.

"I am feeling a lot better, thank you for asking, Pyrrha," I responded in kind and then Pyrrha stood back up and pointed at the remote to the tv that was at the end of the living room. 

"You can pick us a movie if you want. I need to get changed as I just got back from the library." With Pyrrha wearing a pair of jeans and a tighter long-sleeved shirt, I didn't blame her for wanting to get comfortable, so I just nodded.

And I couldn't help watching Pyrrha walking away with those tight jeans, doing something magical with that ass of hers as she left the room.

'Hate to see her go... Yet love to watch her leave.' I mused to myself before I figured out the TV and how Pyrrha had already downloaded a number of movies and TV shows.

Much of them being soap operas and the most emotional kinds of romance movies, making my lips twitch as I couldn't find any action or simple comedy movies.

So I just settled for a romantic comedy that was about a foriegn princess warrior, who, after being crippled during a war, is taken in as a prisoner of war, and she falls in love with the doctor who takes care of her.

And the comedy part was supposed to be about how she clashed so much with the natural culture of the male doctor she was going after.

Normally, I would think it was a bit on the nose with how I myself was 'totally' a Valian, and she was from Mistral. But the movie was about a Vacuo bastard princess who didn't inherit the Abizar's inherent magic of mass conjuration like my own conjuration ability. And said warrior princess fell in love with a doctor from Atlas.

"You find the movie directory alright?" Pyrrha asked as she opened the door, and I looked over with my lips twitching at the sight before myself.

I expected something like a ragged sleeping shirt and maybe some pajama pants bottoms with how cold it was in the room... But Pyrrha was wearing short shorts that were all but painted on her curvaceous bottom and a very short midriff exposing shirt that exposed some of underboob with her nipples sticking clear out of the black shirt given how cold it was.

Pyrrha quickly sat beside me with her throwing the blanket I moved over herself to get comfortable, and I spoke after clearing my head. "Uhh yeah, I thought this movie looked interesting at least. I don't know too much about Vacou at all and thought this could be fun."

The amazonian beauty gave a small chuckle, and after she pulled a side pillow behind her, she spoke in some amusement. "Well, this is a three-hour movie. So why don't you lie down on the chaise, and if I get tired as well, I can lie across the couch the long way."

I raised an eyebrow at her offer before I shrugged and moved over to the L part of the couch and found it was actually rather comfortable with my feet only just hanging off the end of the cushion, which was just fine as I liked to let my feet breathe outside of the blankets.

"Alright, just don't pull a Nora and doodle on my face when I am sleeping," I said jokingly, with Pyrrha snorting at the thought.

The movie began, and I watched as it depicted the great sandy deserts of Vacou and introduced the main heroine before Pyrrha spoke quietly.

"Thank you for being so kind and welcoming to me, Jake. No one else has been so kind to me here in Vale... And especially back home."

I didn't exactly know how to respond to that. So I just patted her knee with her taking my hand into hers as I pulled it back. And as soon as she took my hand, she said almost scoldingly. "Oh, Jake. Your hand is so cold, what if you start to lose your sword skills and be like that lumbering fool Jingliu with her great sword?"

And that... Utterly shameless wench Pyrrha threw the large blanket outwards so it was covering us both with her letting go of my hand as though scalded, as her face flushed at the realization that we were now sharing a blanket.

And with how she have moved the blankets, I could now see the pale cleavage out of the top of her somewhat low-cut shirt. But I most certainly didn't comment.

I just chuckled and said teasingly. "Oh, my hands are so cold, huh?" And at Pyrrha's blank expression, I attacked!

My cold hands under the cover of darkness, 'the blanket' attacked Pyrrha's deadly weak point, her Achilles heel!

She jolted and squeaked in an utterly adorable way as my right hand snaked around her waist, with my cold hand latching onto her right side.

"You! Let go, it's cold!" Pyrrha giggled as she jolted away slightly with her flush of embarrassment turning in excitement as I laughed evilly and pulled her closer so I could grab her other side with my other cold hand.

"Never! You brought me into this cold ass apartment and didn't even offer me a warm cup of tea, so you must warm my hands with your body!"

The movie was ignored as Pyrrha totally fought with all her might to escape my cold hands, and after a minute, I pulled my hands back and let her relax with her huffing as I pulled the large blanket back up to cover us up.

And afterwards, Pyrrha spoke kinda sheepishly. "Wait... Should I have actually offered you a drink? I never had friends over, and during social meetings, the family's servants would do all that kind of stuff." 

I held in a 'what the hell do you mean?' As I just hummed and said quietly. "Outside of the nobility, where servants would bring refreshments and such. It is normal for hosts to offer their guests a drink of choice of what they are willing to share." 

Pyrrha gave a weak smile at my explanation, but I gently patted her leg and said easily. "Relax, I was just joking around previously... But I didn't know you were so ticklish."

And Pyrrha's almost guilty expression turned into a pout as she looked at me with blame and said pointedly. "I have never been tickled before! How could I be able to resist it?"

I just turned up my nose and said in a snooty manner. "Ah, I see. So it is entirely a skill issue on your part."

There was a moment as only the movie filled the room with noise, as Pyrrha gaped my shameless words, and she growled with her rolling across the couch onto my side, and she mounted herself atop me and tried to push my hands above my head so she could tickle me as well.

Sure, she had trained for years in combat, sure, she probably had some experience in grappling. But there was something Pyrrha didn't have that I did have in spades.

The experience of having several cousins to wrestle with back when I was a kid, and I knew all the evil techniques to mess with someone who attempted to mount atop my chest.

"Now you can see what it's- Hahaha stop noooo!" Pyrrha shrieked as I broke free of her hand that couldn't handle both of mine, and with her mounted atop me... She couldn't get to my real tickle spots!

My fingers danced across her exposed stomach and waist with her rolling away from me but I wasn't going to let this attack go unpunished and unchallenged, so I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her agaisnt me, with her exhaling heavily at the feeling.

With my face coming close to the back of her head before she giggled helplessly as I tangled my legs in hers to keep her from kicking off to get away from my tickling.

After a minute of that... I realized this was a bit much as so I stopped with Pyrrha just sagging and stopping her shuddering full-bodied giggles against me. And I could feel her full ass pushing against my waist that had been moving against me so much with her giggle fit.

'Ah, hell, is she trying to trap me? Or did I just trap myself?' I thought as Pyrrha's breath was slow but deep, and she remained turned away from me for a moment before I froze as she rolled atop me.

But it wasn't her trying to mount me for another tickle fight... No, this was all too clearly intimate as her large breasts lay on my chest with her face but inches away from mine. 

And with Pyrrha's almost luminous green eyes staring into my own, she took a deep breath, and visibly tried to speak... Failed at it for a half a minute as she built up to something.

Then Pyrrha managed to 'bravely' speak with a core of tofu in her voice. "Jake, you are my best friend!"

Even the movie had a lull as the heroine in the movie was dramatically staring into a sunset... Which just made the room fucking awkward with its silence.

I could see in real time, however, as Pyrrha died on the inside with her closing her eyes and seemingly giving up on life, at how she just fucking flubbed this.

"Well... That's too bad Pyrrha." I spoke, taking a risk with her form stiffening at my words, then I gently cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly.

Her hands gripped my shirt's sides with how she was laying atop me, and I let go of one of her cheeks with a hand, making her whimper and push deeper into the kiss until I wrapped the hand around her waist to hug her and extend the kiss.

Finally, a couple of minutes later of making out, I broke the kiss with Pyrrha's hazy green eyes looking at me in a daze before I continued. "Sorry, I don't just think of you as a friend, Pyrrha... And I know you don't think of me in that way either." 

She flushed deeply and bit her lower lip, unable to say anything for a long minute with her refusing to make eye contact. Until she regathered her courage and pushed up to kiss me again.

Chapter 29

There was something special about snuggling up with a rather musclar woman, sure, Pyrrha wasn't some kind of muscular monster of bulging muscles, but her muscles were well cut and defined as she had scuplted her body to be a perfect vessel for her martial and magical might.

But regardless of how good of a warrior that Pyrrha was, she was a bit of a girlfailure as she floundered in social situations, especially intimate ones. And would just melt into a mushy puddle of affection that just 'suckerpunched' me with kisses as she didn't know what to do.

As our movie came to an important arc with the foreign princess and doctor getting a bit handsy with one another in the middle of an alleyway of all things as they evaded Atlas's secret police.

Pyrrha flushed as the doctor began playing with the princesses breasts, and she looked between me and the movie as she laid on my side now so she could watch the movie as well.

I myself, seeing the very unsubtle hints, gave her a squeeze around the chest just below her breasts, as our position was a bit awkward to be getting too handsy without being unable to watch the movie.

And I think, I think that Pyrrha was wanting to watch the movie. And not me just turning it off and putting her straight into a mating press, like with what Nora would have wanted.

But as though in answer to my thoughts of where this night was ultimately going to go, a loud chime went off from my phone, and it was clearly a message from Lux, as that chime was her specific tone. "That's my master, it might be important," I spoke with a slight sigh as I saw Pyrrha pout and close her eyes.

I reached over to the table and I pulled out my scroll and I quickly read the message before blinking as Pyrrha's scroll likewise made a noise. "Well, this is good new's I guess. We will be part of a smaller celebration for doing the best during the Class Trial, and we will be able to go through the Holy Baptism with the church." 

Pyrrha, who was reading her own scroll, gave a wry smile before she said quietly. "Weiss, Jingliu, and I were asked politely not to attend such a celebration... Seeing as in but a month, you and others will be fighting off raids from Atlas and Mistral." 

I exhaled, hearing that, and I asked quietly. "Will you still be able to do the baptism at least?" 

We both put down our scrolls, but thankfully, Pyrrha smiled softly and said in amusement. "Correct, despite what Vale and the other kingdoms think. The Church of Light isn't bound to any one of the kingdoms, so Weiss, Jingiu, and I are still welcome to the Baptism."

I nodded, and the message kinda ruined the mood, so I just rolled us both over a bit so Pyrrha was face-first into my chest, and I just had my arms around her. "It will take care of itself," I muttered as I just relaxed.

Pyrrha, likewise feeling and hearing my evening of breath, likewise understood I was getting ready to truly go to sleep, so she just grabbed the remote that was next to us and turned off the tv and then she wrapped both her arms around my back as she rested her head on me.

-

Several hours later, I was happy that the apartment was cold as shit, as waking up sweaty due to two bodies sharing the naturally produced body heat could get pretty nasty and be a major turn off.

And as I woke up, I quickly realized that Pyrrha was a very heavy sleeper, so I decided to be nice and I went into the kitchen and after looking through her mostly empty fridge, I just shrugged and used my Admiral Essence to create the food I needed.

Seeing as Pyrrha was very health conscious, I started off with some rehydrated egg's being made into a lovely scramble that was made extra fluffy via some milk I added that I also laced with some protein powder being added into the milk.

Then, with a large plate of eggs, I added some shredded chicken that was lightly seasoned with just salt and pepper, so it wasn't too strong. 

For sides with that dish, I made a side plate of protein pancakes that had part of the powder mix replaced with protein powder in making the batter.

And lastly, to help Pyrrha for later. I began meal prepping a couple dozen salmon, chicken, and steak burritos that I put in some plastic baggies and then put into the freezer so she could easily re-heat them for later.

It was just as I was putting away the meal-prepped stuff into the freezer that I heard Pyrrha as she was leaning on the doorway of the kitchen.

I looked over to her, and I couldn't help a chuckle as she flushed and she spoke softly. "I have a new fetish... A good-looking guy being shirtless and his muscles covered up by the apron he is wearing." 

"Am I being objectified right now?" I asked with humour as I pointed a spatula at Pyrrha, who was silent for a moment before she nodded.

And as she came over to inspect the large breakfast spread, I waited until she came and sat down before I came around behind her to pull the dishes close to her.

Then, as she Pyrrha looked up at me to say 'Thanks' or something. With one hand, I gently gripped her jaw and tilted her head up so I could kiss her.

Then, as Pyrrha gave a hum of joy at the kiss that hum became a yelp as my other hand sneaked up her low-cut shirt and I massaged her ample breast, and with my hand brushing over her hard nipple, before I pulled my hand broke and broke the kiss.

Stepping back and around the small eating table. I got to see Pyrrha just stare at me blankly at how I ended the kiss and titty grab so quickly, and without a word, I left her to feel objectified as I began casually eating!

Pyrrha just gave me the most adorable pout before she began eating, and then she ate with gusto, happily, as she obviously found the food good.

"So, what are your plans for today, Jake?" Pyrrha asked curiously as she wiped her mouth clean with a napkin.

I myself sagged in my chair before I spoke thoughtfully. "I need to get back to my Grimoire, and then get a new spell matrix added into my magical core. Besides that, I should be spending some time with my master for her to advise me on the formation of the new spell matrix I get." 

Well, that, and I wanted to spend some time with Prinz Eugen as she wasn't as physically affectionate as New Jersey, and thus I hadn't given her as much attention recently.

But telling Pyrrha that was very much unnecessary, as we hadn't exactly established what we were right now. And saying. 'He, am I leaving to go pamper another girl? Thanks for the snuggles and kisses, but I am out of here!'

Yeah, that would go terribly obviously.

So Pyrrha and I finished our food, with her saying with an amused smile that I had left her with plenty of dishes to take care of, so she wouldn't be escorting me out of the lesser nobility dorm building.

'Alrighty, I spent time with Ruby and Pyrrha... I don't think I should visit Weiss so casually. So, time to get back to magical training! Then maybe I will get Nora to do some weight lifting training later on.' I mused to myself as I headed back home to Lux's magical tower.

Heading up to my quarter, I realized everyone was out as no one was out in the living roo,m which was rather surprising, but regardless, I went straight to my room and took out the Grimoire from my locked dresser.

With the Grimoire in hand, I sat down on my bed with it in my lap, and I muttered to myself. "Alright, give me something good... Why am I stuck with a gatcha like magic spell giver though?" 

My hand glowed with magic as I awoke the tiny hint of will from the Cutting Rain Grandmaster who had created this Grimoire. And then I felt the magic of the Grimoire enter myself, its own magic seemingly inspecting the spell matrix for the water drop arrow spell.

And then, seeing it was in good order, the Grimoire glowed, and then from within my magic core came a new spell matrix. The water arrow drop spell was a purely offensive spell, and as I saw the new spell form. I wasn't surprised to see a defensive water wall spell.

"I wonder how defensive this water wall spell is actually," I muttered as my first spell matrix took the form of a three-dimensional rain drop. I had to perfectly fill in with my mental energy and engrave it into my mind.

This one, however, was also three-dimensional, but also was basically a large square wall that had swirls around the edges to show the fluid nature of the wall being of water.

"Alright... Time to get to work, then." I muttered before I created the mental brush I used, and then with my mental energy, I began carefully drawing out the magic matrix with hopes that I could create that spell quicker with my practice with the last spell.

An hour later, I was massaging my head as my mind was a bit foggy from using all my mental energy. "Ughhh... I really am not talented at this mental inner magical manipulation bullshit." I grumbled before I paused as I had a thought.

Here in RWBY, even this fucking hellscape of a version, there wasn't anything that could train someone's mental power at a highly accelerated level. But wanna know an entire genre of bullshit that had their MC's training their mental, and soul power? 

Cultivation universes... Sure, the universe were cringe at times. Most of the time, really, actually. But they had one thing that no one could deny. They overpowered the vast majority of other fictional settings out of the park.

There was just one... Tiny problem. My Admiral Essence allowed me to manifest things related to ships, naval operations in both sea, air, and space.

The more scientifically advanced or magically powerful ships or stuff I made with my Essence, the more power it took from me. So if I tried to make some stupid galaxy-spanning cultivator or otherwise sci-fi ship. I was turbo fucked as it would take me years to make sure a thing, and it wouldn't directly help me.

No, right now I needed to make something that was related to ship's water, etc, and would make me stronger beyond the system of this world. As it didn't matter if I used this world's system to gain power. Obviously, it had its limits and wasn't enough to deal with the Grimm.

Let alone the hostile nations.

I felt the Admiral Essence strain as my aura, my magic, and even my physical strength was drained in but an instant. But in that instant, a small... A tiny little grain formed in my hand. "The Inheritance of the Skydark Holy Lands and their Myriad Water Sword Arts," I muttered as I inspected the tiny grain of the Jade seal that would convey the information I wanted.

The Myriad Water Sword Arts was a sword cultivation style that had a focus on water and spatial manipulation, providing me with an unmatched offensive means with it's two special moves in the Sea Splitting Sword, and the Drifting Snow Of Death.

Both moves were very powerful, and once I started filling my body with Qi, the Sea Splitting Sword could be my focused move of destruction. And the Drifting Snow of Death would be my army killer spell.

There was that, and then for cultivating my soul and mind, I had a heretical/demonic technique in mind... The Twelve Demon Head Generals Technique.

This would allow me to refine my own mental energy and soul into parallel thought systems similar to my master Lux's own semblance. Though it wouldn't be as strong as her stupid as fuck semblance.

The reason she was a Grandmaster in literally dozens of elements and the carrier of thousands of spells within her magic core was because she could create more than a hundred lines of parallel thinking.

Giving her basically infinite mental energy at the cost of her aura draining at a damned slow rate, somehow.

Either way, with both of those techniques and methods, I would be set. And I wouldn't be getting involved in a whole cultivation system as well. After all, Qi was just spiritual energy/mana that was mixed with physical energy specifically.

Sure, I wouldn't be able to store as much Qi if I didn't go through the cultivation path. But I didn't need it frankly. I just needed my base body, soul, and mind strengthened. The rest of the particulars didn't matter.

"Alright, this will take a few weeks... Maybe more to make this.' I mused before I wondered if I could cheese this if Glynda Goodwitch helped me, as I did manage to drain her mana that one time somehow.

Then I paused as I wondered if I could do something else...

'My backdoor semblance. Isn't just opening doors is it? The semblance teacher very clearly put a lot of weight on the aspect of it being more than just opening doors, right? To say nothing of how my semblance can get past the wards of even sages. I mused to myself.

Then I looked over at the ninety percent finished couple of Wisdom Cube's I had off to the side, and I shrugged. "Well, time to experiment with my semblance," I muttered.

I then sent off a text to Nora, Ren, Prinz Eugen, and, of course, New Jersey, asking where they were before I headed out of the room and over to Velvet and Alice's room, where I could hear some music.

Knocking on the door loudly, I heard the music cut off, and then I blinked as I saw Alice in a tightly clinging tank top that exposed much of her creamy cleavage, as the white tank top was a bit sheer, and she was a bit sweaty.

"Jake, can we help you?" Alice asked sweetly, but with a knowing smile at seeing me glance down.

I likewise smiled, knowing that Alice was a bit of a tease, so I said. "I was hoping you and Velvet could help me with an aura/magic exercise if you would." 

Alice nodded but then said a bit sheepishly. "Oh, I don't mind at all. But please give me and Velvet a bit of a chance to rinse off right quick. We've been messing around with runes and enchantments, and some of the catalysts are a bit messy." 

"Alright, I will be in the living room," I said easily, letting the rabbit faunus close the door, and I went over to the living room with a hum of thought. As I wondered what ship girl I would get from using two wisdom cubes at once.

After I sat down, I was then bombarded with messages with a smile crossing my face as Nora and New Jersey began spamming pics at me, showing me that they had all gone out into Vale and were currently at an outdoor cafe eating ice cream.

'Good to see Ren is getting used to being out of his head jar during the day though.' I mused to myself with some joy, seeing the asian style young man was patiently drinking some tea while Nora and New Jersey were acting goofy.

And Prinz Eugen was also drinking tea, but just relaxing as she was sitting sideways on a couch, just reading a book she had obviously picked out while in Vale.

So seeing as my friends were doing just fine. I just began meditating to rebuild up my aura stores for the idea I had in store.

A couple of minutes of later, Alice and Velvet came out of their room/small private workshop. And I damn, it had to be a secret perk of being a rabbit faunus as they wore their short shorts like a damned badge of honor.

"I was hoping you ladies could help me in a small aura experiment. I want you both to channel your aura into my hand if possible." I spoke.

Velvet looked a bit concerned, and she voiced it, and I realized it was a fair point as she spoke. "Remember that how New Jersey and Prinz Eugen's aura infusion laid you out for a few days, Jake?"

"That is a good point, but that was my aura being completely empty, and then I emptied all their aura through my own empty aura stores to do a powerful manifestation. I have a good bit of aura right now, so it shouldn't happen." I spoke.

The two shared a look before Alice shrugged, and then she said calmly but very firmly. "If you want to try, I am happy to help. But if your aura gets down below a quarter, we pull back, alright?" 

I nodded as that was fair, so I held out my hands to the rabbit faunus's while I held the two almost-formed wisdom cubes in my lap. Alice and Velvet then took my hands into their own, and then Velvet glowed with her coffee brown aura, and Alice likewise with her carrot dark orange.

And I held in a shudder as my plan worked. 'My semblance isn't just creating physical doors... It's the act of opening a Backdoor itself, not a door but the concept of a Backdoor itself, which is why I can create the doors past even Sage's wards.' I thought with realization.

As I had created a Backdoor to my own aura that instantly filtered the two rabbit faunus's own aura, and thus our aura poured into the Wisdom Cubes.

And as I was doing this, I couldn't help a sad thought. 'Damn, if only Jaune didn't die. His aura amplification semblance would have been useful as hell, I bet... Though I doubt he would have survived initiation unless someone carried him.' 

Another thing I noticed was that in my slightly meditative state of channeling our combined aura flow into the Wisdom Cubes that were visibly filling out, was that our combined aura's was regenerating faster than if we were alone.

"Hmm, so you found a way to safely channel our aura through yourself into that thingie?" Alice spoke with naked interest, and I nodded silently before I opened my eye's with a wry smile crossing my face.

"Yeah, using my semblance... I can't help but wonder how many people's aura I can channel, though. If I could channel like thirty people's aura, or like a martial artist grandmaster's aura, what could I build with that kind of store of aura and power?"

Velvet hummed, and then she asked carefully. "Can we use our magic now? We are reaching the halfway point on our aura?" 

I took a breath and then said to go ahead, and I felt the spiritual energy of my aura be slowly replaced with the more crisp uniform of non-attributed magical energy that was then transformed into aura after being run through the Backdoor filter into my own aura stores.

And seeing that transfer still working... I had a somewhat evil thought. What if I had Nora stick a fork in a light socket to supercharge her aura and then she transferred that supercharged aura/magical energy to me?

Lux's family had an equivalent value in the billions... Her family wouldn't care if the electric bill doubled, if even that.

Then the two wisdom cubes I had been working on for the last few weeks glowed, and I realized they were finally done! 

"Alright, that's enough," I spoke with Alice and Velvet, letting go and taking a heavy breath before I saw Alice throw her arms up and stretch.

"Oooh! That was a bit of effort. So what are those cubes?" Alice asked as she dropped her arms down and making her large breasts jiggle distractingly.

I shook the thought of mating, pressing the rabbit faunus out of my head, and I said after a moment of thought. "It's the soul engram of my ship girls. With these two cubes, I can make another Shipgirl, one more powerful than New Jersey and Prinz Eugen themselves."

My face twitched as I realized a bit of an issue. "I hope I don't need to throw them through initiation, though," I muttered with Velvet and Alice, chuckling at my muttering.

"Anyway... It's done, so I should summon her, I suppose." I spoke firmly before taking a deep breath as I infused a hint of my aura into the wisdom cubes, which glowed brighter before they shot into the air.

The wisdom cubes then broke apart into pixelated pieces of light and then began swirling together and forming a blob of light that then condensed into a new shipgirl...

And as the shipgirl formed, my lips twitched as I saw eleven slightly difficult issues. Being her two fox ears and nine big, fluffy silver and blue-tinted tails that stuck out from behind her body.

"Yamato class, Aircraft Carrier. Shinano... I was supposed to be the vanguard besides Yamamoto. Alas, there is impermanence in all things, and nothing became of this one's life... May your guidance lead my fate to a different outcome." Shinano spoke in a soft tone.

Velvet and Alice looked between me and Shinano herself, who herself blinked at seeing the two rabbit faunus. "Well, it's a good thing, I literally have a pamphlet," I spoke with a wry smile as I stood up.

And I noticed that Shinano was actually the same height as me, despite having a very withdrawn presence.

Still, I looked to Velvet and Alice before I said. "I will send a message to my master and everyone else about our new guest and companion. Thank you both for the help; you saved me several days of effort." 

"It's alright, well in that case. While you get... Shinano here settled in, we will go get her a new toothbrush and such if that's alright." Alice said, and I nodded and handed her some lien to cover any costs.

Then I looked back to the quiet fox girl who gave a wane smile, and I just smiled back and said gently. "Follow me, I have much to tell you about, and you will likely have questions." 

And so I brought her to my room, where I then gave her the info packet that Prinz Eugen and I put together for any shipgirls we summoned so that they could get a pretty easy world info download all condensed down to like ten pages of content basically.

After reading the papers, Shinano gave a slight hum of thought before she spoke in her soft monotone. "I see... So there is no major war going on in this world, and instead, humanity is fighting monsters called Grimm."

My face twitched, and I said with a wry smile. "Actually. Despite the endless tides of darkness against humanity. We still find time to kill one another for resources, it's likely I will be deployed to be act as a bastion against slaver's or resource harvesters."

Shinano just blinked before she nodded slowly with her fox ears twitching, and then she pointed at the bit about the Faunus culling and the Night of Knives. "So am I to wear a collar and leather cuffs as well?" 

I was silent for a moment before I sighed and said honestly. "Yes, it would make our lives much easier. You won't face any other discrimination as you are under my protection, but for right now. I need to keep with appearances." 

She was silent for a moment before nodding silently. "Ok, I understand. I don't mind so long as I can take them off when I go to sleep." 

Which was totally fine, until I recalled that Shinano was very much a narcoleptic who would sleep for days on end. And in the Azur Lane game, all her romantic scenes were her sleeping beside you, smothering you with her tails while both of you slept. And then giving you a lap pillow as you slept during a picnic under a sakura tree.

"So... Any other questions?" I asked curiously, and Shinano nodded, saying that she wanted her aura unlocked and access to a library so she could look through various forms of magic to augment her planes seeing as she was an Aircraft Carrier.