Chapter 16: A new week
As the school week came to an end, you prepared for your first day of work. You had asked your teammates if they had any advice for you. Both Blake and Ruby had informed you that they had no prior work experience. Thankfully, Felicia had some tips to give you.
You shouldn't argue with the customer, always smile, don't do anything offensive. These were some of the useful things she told you. With that, you headed off to "Brown's Bakery".
Greeting the owner, you followed his instructions and headed to the changing rooms. Your uniform was rather odd looking, and you hadn't seen anyone else wearing it. When you asked Mr.Brown about it, he told you that it was to "Bring out your image", whatever that meant. You really didn't mind, they even gave Blake a cat-sized version.
You encountered quite a lot of people as you worked. A little girl with blue hair wanted to pet Blake, Mr.Brown had charged her mother 5 Lien. You would have done it for free, Blake was fine with it after all, but you were sure Mr. Brown knew best.
Aside from the little girl, many others wanted to pet Blake. Eventually, she refused and you had to tell anyone asking for permission that
there would be no petting. The final customer, who was a woman dressed in a suit wearing a fedora, had ordered the biggest type of bread you had ever seen. Did it taste good, you wondered? With that, your work day came to an end and you left for Beacon. The day after was more or less the same.
[150 Lien Gained!]
Having finished work, you decided to look over your weapons. After all, you knew nothing about maintaining a weapon, so it would probably be a smart idea to check them once in a while.
As you were looking at your usual sword, you found small cracks and scratches all over the blade. Not knowing if this was a serious problem, you went to your team leader for help.
"WHAT!" Ruby yelled
Well, yes, you've been using it non-stop since you received it, and no, you haven't been cleaning or polishing it.
She gives you a look
"Mordin.....please bring all of your other weapons here." She says
Complying with her order, you head to your locker and grab all of your weapons.
Surveying all of your swords, she mumbles things about size, sharpness, and practicability.
"All....of these weapons are ancient! Especially the weird engraved sword." Ruby replies after examining each sword.
Well, you did find it in some underground building.
"Wait! Really? Ooooooo, this must be a really old weapon then! I'm holding such an amazing thing! Sure, it can't compare to my Crescent Rose, but having such an important part of history in my hands is so cooool!" Ruby says,taking a large breath as she finishes her rant.
Suffice to say, the next hour is filled with her talking about the history of swords and such. She does give you a basic overview of weapon maintenance. She wouldn't let you leave until you could follow the simple steps required to take care of your weapon, after all, "Weapons are an extension of ourselves", or so she said.
As you finished with her little tests, she tells you that you should probably try to find a better weapon. She even offered to build you one or help you build your own.
Choosing to fix up the old sword you found, you and Ruby decided on a schedule to work on it. You'd both work on it right after finishing any home or "Dorm" work as Ruby called it. Grabbing some history books to see if you could find the sword, you and Ruby began your research.
Ruby had fallen asleep quite easily, was she that tired you wondered? Eventually, you found a book that detailed a similar sword. Surprisingly, the book was a storybook, not
a history book. It detailed the journey of a knight as he battled through beast after beast to save his kingdom.
Eventually, he fell to the corruption the beasts spread and became a beast himself. For years he would terrorize the nearby villages and kingdoms, eventually making a home out of the kingdoms great cathedral.
Slain by a wandering knight, his sword would be taken and returned to the original owners family. They would pass the sword from generation to generation, reminding each wielder of the dangers of fighting monster. The book even had a nice quote, "Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss.
The abyss gazes also into you." Sadly, as you both examined the sword you noticed that
the metal was too damaged to salvage. Thankfully, Ruby knew the perfect material to use as a substitute.
As you both dismantled the sword, you discovered that the metal acted more like a sheath for a crystal frame. Without the metal,
the great sword looked more like a short one-handed blade made of pure emerald crystal. Ruby made quite a weird happy squeal at the discovery. There was still much to do.
======
Returning to your old reading spot, you open up your copy of "The Four Kingdoms and You". Blake runs off to enjoy the park, perhaps
she's made a friend? Either way, you start reading. While the last half of the book
detailed the basics of the four kingdoms, the other half goes into more detail on the culture
and cities in the kingdoms.
Atlas is a very militaristic kingdom, they also employ a lot of autonomous "Robots", you wouldn't mind visiting there. Mistral is known to be a very trade-oriented kingdom. It's surrounded by many small human villages, though, it seems they are populated by many
unsavory characters. Does that mean they taste bad?
Vacuo is inhabited by people that face the harshness of the desert on a day to day basis. Finally, Vale seems to have small villages scattered around as well. The only new thing you really learn is the fact that there was a small underground town nearby. "Mountain Glen" does sound like a place you could go and explore.
From what else the book says, each kingdom has their own types of Grimm native to their location. Overall, the book gave you a lot of basic information on the four kingdoms that you were lacking.
[The Four Kingdoms And You (100% Done)]
As you get ready for next week, you think back on the last couple of days. Your first week went fine and you even managed to make a few more friends, you think. You hope Next week can be just as enjoyable.
====//Start of Week Two//====
It had been a while since you last talked to Hazel, and she was probably wondering
what had happened to you.
As she answers your call, you thought about what would have happened if you had decided to stay
in Spring's End.
"Hello?" her voice responds
Greeting her, you proceed to ask how she is.
"Fine fine, I'm glad to hear from you. So, how goes beacon?" She says
It's going fine, you and your team get along just fine. You then go on to tell her
all about your team members.
"The only guy in a team of four, you know, I'm sure others would be quite envious of you." She says you can hear her giggling on the other side.
Well yes, your team is very strong and cooperative.
"Hahaha, you know, you're a funny kid, Mordin. Though, do you actually even know about.....no, never mind. I'm not getting into that, someone else can give you that talk." She says
What?
"Don't worry about it, you'll find out eventually. I'm sure it will be funny." She says with a giggle
.....this strangely reminds you about the whole learning to use a bathroom thing. You make sure not to say that out loud, though.
"So, want to hear something crazy? That lazy pile of meat we call Brick went and awakened his aura. Said something about not letting you beat him...or something" Hazel says
Did he? That's good to hear, after all, he's very squishy.
"Hahahahaha, I'll make sure to tell him that." Hazel says as she laughs
And so, you continue to talk to Hazel about all sorts of things.
Talking to her really does calm you down, you like it.
=//Training//=
As you've watched everyone else fight, you noticed something. You are sorely lacking in skill when compared to your peers. To fix this weakness you trained harder than before.
You swung and swung, but you noticed something. You had no idea how to improve. Yes, you would eventually find a way to do so on your own, but it would be much easier if you had someone to help you.
[Great Swords: (D+) -->(D++)]
You began training in your Major domain. It was your biggest strength, so increasing it was the logical thing to do. Finding a nice spot in the emerald forest, you pushed
your powers to the limit.
Your improvement with the Time domain allowed you to be just a tiny bit faster and be able to speed up larger objects. While you didn't make any great leaps in control and power, you still managed to improve and that's all that matters.
[Can now speed up items the size of a kitchen knife.]
//Blake's (c) Pov//
Experience, one of the things that decided the victor of a fight. You still remember the
shame you felt, unable to so much as scratch the scorpion. The other Blake, she was
brutal and precise. You could tell this came from the way she fought, she must have a lot of experience in fighting.
She's a much better fighter than you, but you won't give up! Asking the one you care for most for training was the first step towards this. You had asked him not to hold back, and hold back he did not. He knew that making you stronger was a good trade off for a little bit of pain. Truly, he is wise.
[Inexperienced Combatant --> Not So inexperienced Combatant]
Your power of the beast, is a great weapon. Sadly, you were still very inexperienced with its use. What better way to test your powers than while training with him. Through many
painful defeats, you learned much about your domain. The most important discovery was
the fact that you could harden your fur, making most mundane attacks ineffective.
It also allowed you to take a bit more punishment from any enemy that might try to kill you. The extra speed given to you by your training also helped a bit.
[Combat Form now grants a bonus to your injury threshold and a increase to Dex while transformed.]
======
As the week continued, something happened
======
You had decided to take a nice quiet walk. Blake had gone off somewhere, so you had
left her behind. As you walked the streets, you began getting hungry. Perhaps you should
try out a restaurant? You're sure they have food you haven't eaten yet.
As you continue to muse about the types of food you'd like to eat, something attracts your attention. You're not sure what it was, but you
follow it. Perhaps it's something new and exciting to eat.....but most likely not.
Following the odd.....glint? You continue to delve deeper into what appears to be the dilapidated part of town. Odd paintings adorn the walls, some show a skull with a knife in its eye, another depicts a snake eating its tail.
You can tell that the artists put a lot of effort into their drawings, though, some of the drawings have messages underneath.
These messages use words you've not heard before, like the one that says "The Police Can Go Fu-". You're once more brought out of
your thoughts by something. Turning around, you follow the sound of something tapping the ground. What you see is a girl, you notice that she's about your height and has multi-colored hair.
Is she lost, like you? In respond to your question, she simply walks up to you and extends her hand. The look on her face clearly says that she wants something. Having never been in a situation like this, you default to your usual response when someone extends their hand. Grabbing her hand, you shake it up and down. Her eyes narrow and she grips your hand tighter.
Is this some kind of new handshake, you wonder?
Your question is answered once she squeezes again. You can hear all the bones in your hand cracking and breaking.
The girl gives a wide wolfish smile.
Oh? it must be a new form of handshake you've never done before. After all, she's not attacking you. Well, it's only proper that you return her gesture. As you heal your hand, you notice the girl pulling away.
Is this another part of the handshake? Either way, with a now fully healed hand, you clamp down on her fingers. The sound of cracking bones is heard once more. Letting go of her hand, you notice that she's now giving you
one of the strongest glares you've ever seen. Did you do the handshake wrong?
She simply gives you a vicious smile in return. With her other hand, she pulls something from her back. You can tell it's an umbrella. As your eyes roam over the umbrella, you notice that it looks exactly like the one you found.
Oh! She must be Neopolitan. Is she here for her umbrella? Sadly, you don't have it with you.
Following the proper steps Hazel told you, you apologize and thank her for taking care of Blake.
Looking at her, you notice that the vicious smile she had before is now replaced with a look of confusion.
Moving her hand back, It seems like she's about to do something.
Whatever she may have been planning on doing is forgotten as 10 older adults come out of the nearby alleyways and surround you.
"Heh, you're on our turf little boy. You obviously want to get hurt, huh!" The apparent leader says.
Turf? What's that? Can you eat it?
"HUH! A wise guy are you! Well, we'll see how smart you are once we mess you and your little girlfriend up. Boys, it's party time!" The tall man shouts
Taking out some kind of baton, he swings at Neopolitan. Well, that won't do. She helped you find Blake, the least you could do is prevent any harm from coming to her while in your presence. Quickly grabbing his hand, you pick him up and slam him into the ground.
As the ground cracks, you think back to what Ozpin had told you. He made sure to engrave in your mind the importance of keeping injuries non-permanent and non-lethal. With that in mind, you move on to the quickest and most efficient way of disabling the man for the fight.
Namely, breaking both his arms and legs. As the man passes out from the pain, you turn around. You notice all the other men have fear clearly written on their faces. On the other hand, Neopolitan has the same wolfish smile on her face once more. Either way, you still have the others to take care of.
As you go on disabling them, you notice that Neopolitan is helping you out, though, you don't think she knows about the whole non-permanent thing. Oh well, Ozpin can't blame you for her actions. Finishing up, you call the police and inform them of the situation.
With that done, you walk up to Neopolitan and tell her that you'll be going back to Beacon to grab her umbrella. In response, she proceeds to grab your scroll and enter her contact information. As you look up from your scroll, you notice that she's disappeared.
Huh, that's odd, you were certain you kept her in the corner of your eye. Perhaps she's really quick? Or maybe it's her semblance?
Either way, you return to Beacon and grab the umbrella. Following the directions on your phone, you end up at an "Ice Cream" stall. Walking up to Neopolitan, you tap her on the shoulder and present her
the umbrella.
You notice she doesn't have her other umbrella, perhaps she left it at home? l Motioning for you to sit, she begins eating the frozen milk. Wait, Ice cream is food? Taking out your wallet, you order some ice cream. As you finish, you turn to find that your possibly new friend is gone. Checking your scroll, you notice a short text message that says the following, "Bye"
"Ahem....you will be paying for your friend, right sir?" The stall owner says.
Oh....good thing you have the money.
[25 Lien Lost!]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone