Chapter 15: Checkpoint

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Checkpoint

"Do you really think this will work?" I asked skeptically as I cleaned myself off by the river. Getting rid of the gunk on my armor was pretty easy, as Crocea just pulled some Metal magic and made the stuff run off, but the rest of me…

Well, I was filthy on a level that was hard to describe. Grimm spelunking will do that to you, I guess. I wanted to clean up before trying on the new suit.

"Probably," Adam mused after a moment, there to make sure no Grimm appeared will I was cleaning up. "At the very least, it'll leave everyone confused."

"I believe that," I admitted.

At its most basic level, Adam's plan was fairly simple, merely building off the groundwork Blake had already laid. Blake's design for my disguise had included a few changes in clothing and one of Adam's old masks as part of the image she wanted me to adopt. Adam's plan, then, was simply for that mask to actually be a mask, a disguise over my disguise, guarding the secret that guarded my secret. Not merely the mask, but the entire role I was to play—that of the airship pilot and hacker and the White Fang member—would be another layer to the lie.

But…

"You want me to pretend to be the decedent of an ancient martial artist king—except you also want me to pretend I'm not?" I shook my head.

"Not necessarily a descendent," He replied. "We'll let them come up with their own explanations; most will probably go with that one, but I'm sure a few will wonder. Perhaps we should even call you Jian? It's similar enough to your real name that it might be easier to get used to and it will be amusing to watch people wonder."

"And what are you going to do when people ask you questions?"

Adam looked at me like I'd just said something unbelievably stupid.

"I'll say nothing," Adam said slowly, as if talking to a small child. "And stare at them until they go away."

"Oh," I said, remembering who I was talking to. "Right."

"Regardless, if you're concerned about questions, you risk them either way," He continued. "Ideally, no one will get close enough to see anything to wonder about—though I'm certain someone will question how someone learned to fly an experimental airship—but if you're forced to act…well, I'm certain you can think of a few issues that might draw attention, whether it's your martial arts or your ability to heal people. It's unlikely anyone will make a connection to Jaune Arc, but think of this as another layer of protection and a way of explaining away inconsistencies. It's not like you'll have to do much, either; we'll just put Bai Hu's symbol on your back, have you wear a cloak over it, and move on. If someone notices, give them a cryptic glance and say nothing."

He didn't say it out loud, but I heard the message beneath the words and nodded seriously. This wasn't just a measure against the Schnee or their soldiers, but also, if only in part, against the White Fang, if only by lessening questions.

"I still haven't mastered Bai Hu's technique, though," I reminded him, sighing. "I'm still grinding the lower stuff and there are two skills I don't even meet the prereqs for yet."

"And still you've come farther than anyone else who's tried to recreate the art," Adam reminded me. "You still have time to train your skills some more skills some and your title helps too, right?"

The Tiger's Child

Obtained by using all of the basic techniques of an ancient martial arts in conjunction during a battle. You have become a true student of Bai Hu! Train hard to improve your mastery!

20% increase the damage of White Tiger techniques.

20% increase to the defense granted by White Tiger techniques.

10% decrease in the cost of White Tiger techniques.

"Yeah," I nodded gesturing towards what to Adam was empty space. "Even ignoring the other benefits, the decrease in cost adds up fast, because of how much MP the skills use. It'll help a lot later, though I have Grimm Slayer equipped right now, since it'll probably be more helpful while fighting out here. I'll switch over for the mission or at least parts of it."

Grimm Slayer

Obtained by killing a major Grimm. You have slain a true beast of the darkness! Become a true hunter and continue to slay the enemies of Humanity!

60% increase in damage against Grimm.

60% increase in defense against Grimm.

+10 to beneficial status effects while fighting Grimm.

"Besides which, while you may know your art is incomplete, you're also the resident expert. No one else has truly seen Bai Hu's style in action since…a long time ago. Since the techniques seem to be designed to work together and build off one another, I doubt anyone will notice that you aren't a master." Adam continued after giving me an acknowledging nod. "And if they do, so what? You're still far closer than anyone else. The ruse would still fit."

"I guess so," I nodded. "And I do intend to learn the rest of the style, when I can."

"How close are you on that front?" Adam asked, actually seeming interested.

"The penultimate technique requires STR 50, VIT 50, DEX 50, INT 60, and WIS 60. Currently, I have STR 31, VIT 33, DEX 29, INT 39, and WIS 55."

"But you also have…thirty-one points?" He asked and continued at my nod. "So you could raise Intelligence and Wisdom to sixty and still have fifteen points left over. You could get Vitality to forty-eight, perhaps, and then you'd just be nine levels from learning the technique."

I nodded but then shook my head.

"I could do it that way, but it'd be really wasteful," I explained. "No matter how high or low my stats are, I can always improve them by one with a stat point—but I only get five per level and leveling up gets harder and harder to level up. Even if we assume that I only got an amount of experience equivalent to my contribution to the fight, that Nevermore was over level fifty and I only got about five levels off of him when I was level fourteen. At that rate…"

I shook my head again.

"Leveling up is going to get harder and harder. I'm going quickly now for the same reason it's easy with my skills early on—and because I keep running into enormously dangerous monsters—but I'll start slowing down soon, I'm sure. Since I can improve my stats without using points, I should do that as often as possible while I still can, unless something comes up."

"Makes sense," Adam shrugged. "But doesn't that get harder too, though?"

I sighed.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I mean…I had to increase my Intelligence to twenty-five to learn Soulforge Restoration—the healing thing—at which point I'd only just increase Vitality to twelve. But after a week of training, there's only about six points of difference between them, even when I was probably studying more than working out if you count the time I spent in the middle of the night. Eventually, it'll probably take weeks of effort to receive any improvement and using points might be more efficient again. But until then, every bit helps."

"How high do you think you can get them in the time we have left?"

"I honestly don't know," I admitted. "But I tripled the weight I'm using and we have about a week and a half left…if I train every chance I get, raising my physical stuff above forty should be possible, or maybe even…but I just don't know, really. Still, I don't want to spend any points on them until I get them as high as possible. Although…despite that, perhaps…"

I looked down at the water, sighing slightly as I debated with myself.

"Given how busy my schedule's going to be until the mission," I began slowly. "I don't think I'll have time to train my Intelligence as well. So…"

"You sure?" Adam asked slowly after the silence lingered. "The reasons you gave were good. Your points are a finite, valuable resource."

"God, do I know that," I said, nodding. "And…they are, but…there are lives at stake for this mission, so I won't hold back. I mean, I'm not gonna waste points or act stupidly; if it's just a matter of improving my Vitality by ten points, I can do that any time and I'll get more bang for my buck if I train it first. However, raising my states above fifty is different. If Wisdom is anything to go by, I should get a powerful new skill for doing so—and as Intelligence seems to be the magic stat, what I got from Wisdom, and how every point in Intelligence also raises my MP by ten points, I think I can make some guesses about what I might get. Given that we don't know what lies ahead and what's at stake, I'd rather do this now and have time to practice then regret not doing it later. If I could raise my other stats about fifty as well, maybe I'd do that, too—but since I can't, it's smarter to wait, I think. We'll see where I am at the end of training."

After a moment, Adam nodded, seeming to understand what I was struggling with.

"Then do it," He said.

I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed deeply.

"Goodbye my points…" I said, honestly saddened as I called up my Status Screen. "Your sacrifices will not be in vain."

I was a little surprised when Adam didn't say anything about that, but I focused on what I was about to do. Carefully, I placed eleven points in Intelligence, raising it from thirty-nine to fifty as a fact check. I paused for a moment to make sure nothing happened and then added a twelfth point, boosting it above the marker. I hadn't known about it before so I hadn't been able to check, but…it seemed that it really had to be above fifty. Expected, given the message I'd gotten before, but still good to know.

Sure enough, a moment later a new screen appeared.

The skill Mana Affinity has been created through INT rising above 50.

Mana Affinity (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%

Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, learned to draw upon the light of their souls to survive in an unforgiving world. This skill increases the user's sensitivity and control over that power, improving their affinity with Aura.

10% Increase in Mana Recovery Rate.

5% Increase in total MP.

5% Increase to Magic Attack.

5% Increase to Magic Defense.

30% Increase to MP related skill effects.

It's amazing how getting cool stuff can allay one's sadness, even if only temporarily.

"What is it?" Adam asked while I oh'd and ah'd over my new skill.

"The skill I got is called Mana Affinity. As I thought, it seems to make me better at using Aura and stuff and improves a lot of things," I said without looking at him, smiling to myself. "And if it's anything like what I got from Wisdom—no, actually, I bet this works well with Nature Affinity, too. In fact…"

Adam just stared at me as I continued to ramble, but I paid him no heed, turning slightly away to test an idea again. Gathering my power as I pointed at a tree, I focused the power I'd normally put into Energy Bolt compressing it carefully at the tip of my finger. It resisted and tried to come apart as it had before, but this time I managed to keep ahold of it, forcing it down into the shape I desired.

A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with focused power, 'Mana Bullet.'

"Heh," I said, smile widening. "I'm not done yet."

I took the song that seemed to hum constantly from my gauntlets—Crocea Mors' song—and channeled it into the glowing white sphere at the tip of my finger, aligning my Aura with the element of metal and forming it into a rigid shell around the energy to keep it focused, controlled.

And then I fired. A flickering marble of bright white light flashed across the river we'd found and pierced a glowing path straight through the heart of a tree before I lost track of it, making my laugh and clap my hands.

A skill has been created through a special action! Continuous manipulation of mana has created a skill with focused elemental power, 'Magic Bullet.'

Magic Bullet (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:10

An attack skill that compresses Metal-aspected mana into a small form and fires it with great force. Power increases with INT, skill level, and Metal element affinity. Only possible for those talented in manipulating both mana and the elements.

10% defense penetration.

"Hah!" I shouted. "You see that!?"

"Yes," Adam said, frowning slightly. "You compressed your Aura into the form of a bullet and fired it?"

"Yup," I said with a smirk. "I tried it before and it didn't work but now bam!"

"Impressive," Adam mused. "There were experiments along those lines a long time ago, but the act of compressing and controlling ones Aura throughout was too difficult for most people—and the results were rendered obsolete by the creation of Dust rounds. In your case, though…hm, it might still lean in Dust's favor, but if you train it…"

"I will," I promised, practically hopping in place. "I'll grind it up over the next few days—and hey, if power's the issue…"

I pointed at the same tree, drawing up the power with ease now that I had the skill—and then I kept drawing, pulling more and more power towards it. What started as a small marble grew quickly, spinning and lengthening as it was guiding by my hands and will until it was a lance of blazing white light floating between my fingers. I reared back and threw it with all my might at the tree.

Which it promptly tore in half. In fact, it carved a path of destruction through several more trees before disappearing from my sight as shattered trucks fell with the snapping of branched and thunderous impacts.

I turned both of my hands up, holding them out towards the destruction as I turned my head towards Adam, mouth open wide with smiling shock as I let out a choked, disbelieving laugh. Even he looked surprised at the scene.

"What was that?" He asked, mouth slightly—very slightly—open.

I was about to laugh and say I had no idea when a window I'd never seen before popped up.

You've thought of a new skill. Would you like to name it?

I paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowing, before smiling again.

"Magic Missile," I said.

Magic Missile (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP:80

A technique used to gather an immense amount of Metallic Mana in an elongated, spinning form which can be launched with great speed. Power increases with INT, skill level, and Metal element affinity. Only possible for those talented in manipulating both mana and the elements.

40% defense penetration.

400% damage increase.

6 second charge time but can be charged for up to 12 seconds.

There is an additional attack damage increase as charge time increases.

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"Impressive," Adam agreed after I explained it to him. "But also very distinctive."

"So?" I asked.

"So you can't use them as Jaune Arc or people will make the connection," He said. "You won't be able to use it later, so…I'm not really sure how to say this, but don't work yourself into a corner and throw away all your best techniques. What you use on this mission, you'll probably have to leave behind."

I snorted.

"Oh, is that what you're talking about?" I said, shrugging with a smile. "You don't have to worry about me, Adam, because my power's amazing. I have another ranged attack thanks to Far Strike, so I can develop that as well and I can use a lot of Bai Hu's techniques without fighting the same way, if I needed. Lenore and Dreary Midnight kind of stand out so it'd draw attention if I wore them as, well, me. Thanks to Nature Affinity and Mana Affinity, I can make plenty of techniques, so it's just a matter of deciding which of myselves gets what."

I paused for a beat and went over that last sentence before nodding to myself and continuing.

"Like, I could use this on the mission," I said, gesturing towards the broken tree line. "Or I could work on Far Strike and make a more powerful version of it. Or I could do something else, maybe? I can probably make a fireball spell if I get a Fire Affinity or I can play with Air or any number of things. No matter what I choose to do, I think I can grow a lot, so…it's okay. I can deal."

I smiled at him with a cheer I wasn't entirely certain I felt. What I said was true, but…

There was going to be a lot of things I would have to leave behind, huh? A lot of techniques, a lot of people, a lot of…

But I'd known that from the beginning and had accepted it. There were things that were more important.

"If you're sure," Adam said and though I was half-certain he knew the truth, he dropped the subject. "Are you ready then?"

I drew a towel out of my Inventory to finish drying off and nodded, taking out Dreary Midnight and Lenore.

I had to smile a bit, looking down at them, even if it didn't fit.

"So I guess this makes me a knight pretending to be a martial artist pretending to be a pirate, huh?" I asked, throwing the cloak over my shoulders. "I can deal with that, too."

I put on Lenore.

For a moment, the world seemed to drop away. Light and sound faded, as did the gentle wind on my face and the small dampness that remained from my bath. I could see or hear anything and even the scent of the forest faded away. All that was left to me was the feeling of falling—or maybe flying. For a moment I was bizarrely unsure of where or even who I was. I was lost in the dark, uncertain of…everything. In that moment,all I wanted was to find something, anything, to cling to, to hold onto, to keep from slipping away, but all that was left was—

And then the moment passed and I was back where I was supposed to be, apparently having closed my eyes at some point. I opened them now and was surprised when four eyes opened, rather than two—a pair right where they were supposed to be and a set higher, on my temples. The other eyes on my mask.

I lifted a hand to touch my chin and felt human skin. Then I reached higher and made sure the mask had not somehow become a part of my face. That had been a serious concern, but it didn't seem to have some to pass.

But that brief moment in the dark had been…

"Everything alright?" Adam asked and I looked up to see him overlaid in light, bright red highlighting parts of him as I had only seen twice before, lights illuminating his hair and shining through the flesh of his chest to reveal a stead, beating core within. I could sense it, feel it, and for a brief moment before I regained myself completely, I wanted to find out what would happen if I took it out.

It wasn't just him, either—I could see light washing through the trees and grass, sparks in the air that I focused on quickly and saw to be insects. But I could also see patches and pools of…not quite light, but something that was nonetheless bright and clear. It took me a moment to recognize them because of how different they looked through my new eyes and even then I was only sure because of the pool growing from Adam's feet, casting his silhouette across the ground.

Shadows. Darkness. Except…it wasn't dark anymore, at least not to me.

I saw windows opening up before me, lots of them, but I looked down at myself before reading them, just to see what I looked like. And I was…burning, white fire shining through what my dark cloak didn't cover, bright and gentle and pure—and shot through with trails of cold, empty black that I thought I could almost feel. My Aura was marked and scarred with it like veins or stripes and even before I followed them back to it, I knew the source.

"Jaune," Adam said again, more pressingly. "Are you okay? You look…"

"Yeah," I answered, still looking around with too many wide eyes. "It's just…weird. I can see your Aura, Adam—I can see everything's Aura. Is this how the Grimm see the world?"

"But there were no side effects?" Adam asked.

"Uh…" I hesitated, finally looked at the windows before me, and winced.

Status 'Ghastly Grimm and Stately Raven' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'

Status 'Dirges of Hope' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'

Status 'Nameless Here Forevermore' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'

Status 'Terrors Never Felt Before' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'

Status 'Soul and Shadow Floating on the Floor' has been granted by the item 'Lenore.'

Status 'Into the Tempest' has been granted by the item 'Dreary Midnight.'

Set bonus! Status 'The Wind and Nothing More' has been granted by the simultaneous use of the items 'Dreary Midnight' and 'Lenore.'

Status 'Nameless Here Forevermore' has been partially negated by the skill 'Gamer's Mind.'

Status 'Terrors Never Felt Before' has been negated by the skill 'Gamer's Mind.'

Status 'Soul and Shadow Floating on the Floor' has been negated by the skill 'Gamer's Mind.'

Um.

I had no idea what…any of that meant, but I once more felt exceptional gratitude to the utter bullshit that was my power.

"Uh," I said. "Well, like we expected, my power seems to have blocked the bad stuff—of which there was a great deal, I mean damn—but I'm not sure what any of this stuff does. Give me a second…"

I called up my Status Window and immediately frowned. What seemed almost like a thin layer of smoke covered the entire screen, gathered particularly hard near the top. Wherever I focused seemed to clear, but the rest…

"That's weird…" I murmured, frowning at it. "My status screen is hard to see."

"You're hard to see," Adam said. "That's what I was trying to say before."

I blinked at him—and God, that was still weird with four eyes—and looked down at myself again.

"Am I?" I wondered. "I can see myself just fine."

"You're…" Adam frowned. "It's hard to describe, honestly. I can see your mask, I can see the cloak, but you are kind of hard to focus on…sort of? I can see you just fine, but if I didn't know it was you…"

He shook his head in irritation.

"Well…" I mused, touching Lenore. "It is a mask. Not sure which ability would do this, though?"

I frowned at my screen, eyes gazing over it searchingly. There was…something up with my stats, a marking beside them in the shape of my mask, but I had not idea what that meant. My Air Affinity had increased greatly as well. The upper part of my screen was especially covered with the smoke, such that I could only see a twisted blur of my name and stuff, but…

I shook my head and just selected one of the new statuses randomly.

Dirges of Hope: ?

"Goddamn it," I said, annoyed. "You're still not gonna tell me?"

I tried again.

Nameless Here Forevermore: The dark smoke of the Grimm rises around your soul and conceals it from the eyes of man. Beware, however, of wandering in the night. This status effect hides your true self from mortal eyes and minds—including your own. Greatly increases the difficulty of identification attempts made towards the user, regardless of source. Partially disabled by Gamer's Mind.

Um.

"Well, uh, I…dodged that bullet I guess," I stated before speaking to Adam. "It seems the mask has some powers I still can't see, so I'm not sure what they're doing. Or if they're working at all, really. Maybe I have to figure out what they are before I can use them or…maybe they require the negative effects to function properly."

"Could be," He shrugged. "It's really hard to draw upon examples in a case like this. But…you'd think that since it was your power that created it, it would be designed for your use in mind. Or at least your potential use. If the only way to use it was impossible for you, why would your power create it?"

"That makes sense, but I don't know," I shrugged, still browsing my statuses even though several windows were already open. "Honestly, how or why my power does what it does. But yeah, you'd think that item drops would be for me. I guess I'll just have to level up Observe some more until I can see it or do this the hard way."

What I didn't say was that I'd had the same thought as Adam and that I had some support for it. I'd checked 'Into the Tempest' and then checked 'The Wind and Nothing More,' finding I could see both and that they served roughly the same purpose—increasing my Air Affinity—which was something that would undeniably come in handy in the mission ahead. In fact, it would be so useful that it made me wonder.

Was that luck or design? It wasn't uncommon in games to need to get some item in order to make it through a specific dungeon and it was quite possibly these two items would save me in the skies, but…then, had my power somehow organized this, drawing me into place just in time to be attacked by a Nevermore? Or had it made the Nevermore attack me? Or, perhaps, had it truly just been luck—or Luck?—that had led to me being attacked and getting what I needed when I won?

Or maybe…had I done this? Had my power led me to what I wanted, what I needed? If this was my Semblance, a representation of my soul, was I somehow…and if not me then…

I looked at my other statuses, for now hidden from my sight, and wondered what that might mean for them if any of my suspicions were true. I could even, perhaps, take that further and wonder what that meant for anything that had happened to me. I'd given some thought to it before, to what had happened and how I'd so suddenly been involved with the White Fang and in over my head—I'd bemoaned my luck. But was it luck? Had I just been in the right place at the right time and entered some enormous, sprawling side-quest that had gotten me into a quest chain?

Or, if this was a game, then was this the, or a, plotline? If I thought about it, I had always wanted to be a great warrior, a hero like my parents. Maybe that was even, in a way, why I had always loved games so much—apparently enough to get this power. But if so…had it led me to this?

It was a concern I'd never voiced—about my power and about Luck, about how things seemed to come together. I don't know when I'd started to wonder and I'd avoided giving it more than a passing thought, but if I was a game character, if my power could access information I had no way of knowing and provide items that couldn't otherwise exist, if there were quests, if I had a stat that could literally effect the probability of what happened to me…

If I truly was able to live life as if it were a game…

Then who programs my game? Was it me? Was this all truly the work of my Semblance? An expression of my soul and what I wanted most? Had it known I wanted to help people and manipulated me towards a place where I could?

Was I just over thinking this?

And, most importantly, did it matter? Even if couldn't be sure how far the 'game' went, did it change how I wanted—how I should—change my life? Regardless of how I'd gotten here, there were still people who needed my help and I still wanted to help them. Did it matter how or why I was able to, even if it meant letting my power guide me? Even, perhaps, pull my strings?

Yes, I thought. Why always matters. But if the reason why I could save people, why I could be a hero, why I could be here was because of my power or my wishes or whatever caused it…then I was grateful for the opportunity. Even if in the end it led me into danger—if, in the end, it maybe even resulted in my death—then still I was glad to be given an chance. If it was for this, for helping people…

Then I wasn't afraid. I was born to do that.

I smiled then and felt like a weight had been removed from my heart. I looked at the water, at my reflection in the shifting river, and saw my white mask and hood hiding my face and more. But even if it meant hiding things or leaving them behind, if it was for this…it was okay. If it was my loss, if I was the one who needed to lock things away, and if in return I could set others free…

I shifted within my new cloak, closing it over my chest as light gleamed upon Crocea Mors from both the sun and my soul. I saw Crocea Mors within it, even, a light submerged in my own and in my darkness. But those things were in everyone, weren't they? It was simply a matter of understanding what that meant. I wasn't sure, even as I felt it flowing down into my weapons, white claws growing further into dark talons to better arm me against…itself?

I guess I'd have to figure that out for myself, one way or another.

Though he was rarely one for words, I heard my sword whisper a reminder at the edge of my thoughts.

Whatever should happen, I will always protect you.

I closed my four eyes and nodded as the world went dark around me. I felt it now, like a touch on my skin—slight here in the day, but forever there, if only in the shadow trailing at my heels. I drew power from it now, breathing it in, and relaxed.

"Jaune?" Adam asked.

"Hm?" I looked at him, blinking. "Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought, I guess. But…I'm fine."

I shrugged one shoulder and smiled at him honestly.

"By the way, I forgot to ask…" I held my arms out to my sides and stood tall. "…How do I look?"

He stared at me for a long moment, considering—and then waggled his hand.

"You look like you're trying to hard, but it's not terrible," He said. "Could be worse."

I snorted.

"Well, I was about to tell you something cool," I said, turning and walking away. "But since you can't appreciate how awesome I am, I'm gonna go do stuff. Since Observe is being finicky, I'll just have to try and figure out what my mask does the old fashioned way. And I'll try and combine my wind affinity with stuff and see what I can come up with, too…"

"Meh," Adam said, following me.

"Yeah, I'm going to start with Far Strike. I wonder what happens if I over charge it? Oh! I wonder if I'll get to name another technique. If I do, I'll call it, uh…" I mulled over that for a bit before smiling. "Far Slayer. Or should I make it one word? Or maybe—"

I'm pretty sure Adam rolled his eyes again.

"Oh, shut up and tell me already."

I smirked at him.

"Well, I was thinking…if my Semblance can apply to stuff besides me…do you want to see if we can make a party?" I asked. "I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings for you and find you a place on Team Jaune. What do you say?"

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