Chapter 9: Belief
Belief was a strong word. The act of believing in something can come in many shapes and form. For example, a scenario involving a person telling someone about something they did today, the act of believing that the individual did indeed do the act that they said they did is the act of belief.
Belief also comes in the form of faith. Perhaps in religion, many a time, non believers or even non believers have different values of faith that they respond to, choosing whether to believe that the certain deity that they were worshiping, existed or not.
This is the act of belief. One could call it faith, conviction, acceptance or even hope, in some cases but the truth of the matter is...
Jaune had trouble believing.
There were many things that made little sense about the Empyrean App and Jaune had to admit that it did seem like an otherworldly component but... there was still the very, very slight possibility that his scroll was hacked.
The... stalker or hacker that was messing with him, could have been following him for a long time and came up with this elaborate prank to trick him. Which was why Jaune still was unconvinced about the App being a derivation of an otherworldly Force.
However, there was a simple thing he could do to prove that the App was in fact not lying to his face. And true enough, that thing was the quest, Preparations to becoming strong.
100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats and lastly a 10 kilometer run.
The reward was 3 stat points. With it, he would be able to upgrade the values of his stats.
"This is it... the one true proof that I need. If... I truly become stronger just from this...." Jaune muttered, his eyes indecisive.
The Empyrean App was meant for growth.
His growth.
Periodically, every single day, he would become either faster stronger, or even healthier. Hell, he could become smarter if he wanted to.
"Alright." Jaune muttered. "Lets do this."
Thus is began.
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.
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Pyrrha Nikos felt confused.
The subject, Jaune Arc.
When she had first met the Arc, he seemed unsure, slightly off and wanting to be a crowd pleaser. Pyrrha however, could see that he had the heart to become a huntsman.
It didn't hurt that he had no clue who she was, either.
He was kind, handsome but unfortunately seemed untrained. Jaune didn't even have his aura unlocked! She dreaded to think what would have happened had she not skewered his hoodie.
Then again, perhaps he would have been fine...
Because skill like that, though seemingly unrefined, was empirically perfect. The ability to... counter and deflect each and every move that Yang threw at him with utmost precision.
Like he was reading her like a book.
Superior prediction capability.
There was more to Jaune than meets the eye. That, she was sure.
"Ren, Jaune hasn't been back in a while. Should we call his scroll?" Pyrrha asked her teammate who as reading a book.
He glanced up at her, raising a brow.
"I'm sure Jaune's fine." Ren smiled to assuage her worries. "He'll be back soon. Didn't he say he was going to... train?"
"I suppose. But it is getting late and Jaune did miss dinner."
Ren closed his book and stretched. He glanced at the clock which belonged to Pyrrha. Perhaps they should call him.
"Alright, lets call him. It is getting rather late." Ren stood from his perch and reached for his scroll lying on the table before him.
Just as he was about to click on the call button, the door to their dorm rattled slightly. It then swung open to reveal Jaune.
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. Jaune was shaking.
"Jaune? Are you... alright?" Pyrrha couldn't help but call out, standing from her previous position on the bed.
"Huh? Oh, y-yeah." Jaune distractedly mumbled. He was fiddling with his scroll in an excited manor.
Pyrrha shot a look to Ren. He shrugged in response.
"Um, are you sure? You were out late and I-we were getting worried.." Pyrrha continued, a slip of the tongue remaining.
Jaune waved his hand in an distracted manor and instantly plopped onto his bed, replying half halfheartedly.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, I guess I was distracted."
"Haha, yeah distractions are a thing I can understand..." Ren trailed off.
Jaune nodded, but was still focusing all his attention on the scroll. Pyrrha could see that his breathing kept growing ragged to normal to ragged again.
There was definitely something up.
"Jaune, you're acting kinda weird. Did something happen on your way out?" Pyrrha asked, her tone was that of complete concern.
Suddenly, Jaune paused what he was fiddling with.
He gave Ren and Pyrrha a long hard look. They seemed genuinely concerned for his well being, and it was indeed the case.
They were a team and missing a meal, didn't exactly happen very often among huntsman potentiates. They needed all the energy they could get, after all.
But Jaune's Gaze felt very odd to Pyrrha and Ren. It seemed to hold a weight to it, distinctly sending a jolt down her spine.
As if his gaze held the secrets of the universe within.
For in that one moment, they saw Jaune being something other than human, something else entirely.
Something Empyrean.
The moment faded, as Jaune smiled. He did so to assuage their worries.
"Don't worry guys. I just... installed an app recently and it seems to be really fun to use. I'm kinda invested into it. Sorry if I worried you."
Pyrrha couldn't help but share in with that infectious smile of his and soon even Ren was smiling. Perhaps that was why Jaune was bound to be a good leader and why Ozpin chose him.
He seemed especially charismatic in unlikely moments.
But the weight of the gaze seemed to linger in Pyrrha's mind.
"Welcome back, fearless leader!" Nora's voice echoed out from the bathroom in their dorm. Her head could be seen poking out from behind the door. Droplets of water ran from her orange locks and slid down her neck.
She had been taking a shower and had overheard Ren and Pyrrha's conversation with Jaune and decided to make herself known to the trio.
"Did you bring me back any pancakes?" Her happy voice couldn't help but ask.
"Um... n-no?" Jaune cringed slightly seeing her anticipating look replaced with one filled with slight disappointment and sorrow.
"Nora, we'll get them tom morrow during breakfast. Are you done using the bathroom? I need to use it." Ren called out, picking up his previously forgotten book.
"Eh heh, sorry Ren 10 more minutes."
"Urgh, hurry up."
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Jaune couldn't sleep that night.
The reason being was what he had gained during his little test. His scroll was still on away to the side. He put his arms around his head and stared at the ceiling above him.
The daily quest...
It gave him the stat points.
The Empyrean App, the Empyrean force or whatever it was...
Was 100% real.
"This is a mess." Jaune muttered quietly.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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