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  3rd Person POV

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  The fight with Melanie succeeded in making Lautrec stand out in The Club. Junior saw him differently, Lyoto automatically respected him enough to treat him well, the grunts that worked the bar nodded in acknowledgment whenever he passed. It was like a switch had flipped, and Lautrec could only assume that it made sense. Melanie and Miltia were THE Enforcers for the bar, so obviously if he could beat one of them then he was also a top dog. But, thankfully, there was nearly no change in Miltia, perhaps she didn't care that he was strong enough to beat Melanie, because nothing changed with her.

  A day passed since then and here he was in the Valean Forest again, reaping the benefits of a new Perk that was simply too good to pass up. It cost one Perk Point for intelligence. It was called [Mana Sight].

  [Mana Sight] - Perk Unlocked for purchase at INT 50

  [Description: With the use of Mana, channel the arcane through your brain and eyes to adjust yourself to the hue of all existence. Be able to see both Ambient and Active Mana.]

  It, on first glance, was worthless. Hardly anyone on Remnant HAD mana. Ozpin, Salem, the Maidens, Qrow, and Raven. Maybe there was more, but still. And at first, he dismissed it. That was until he realized that the idea he could see the workings of Mana, he'd be able to actually track Grimm, stronger Grimm for more XP.

  And wasn't that something he needed desperately?

  Speaking of Grimm, Lautrec ducked under a swipe, before practically jumping up. With his sword pulled back, he swung as fast as he could, the cold metal of the Nights Edge cut through its neck, beheading the beowulf, a rather large Alpha that headed a small pack of lesser beowulfs.

  [You have leveled up!]

  [+3 Wild Points]

  [Aura 2265 -> 2329]

  It was grueling and taxing work, but with his aura now doubled, his greater mana reserves, he could be out longer. So long as he wasn't stupid and used both at the same time. So he was flip-flopping. For every two fights he used only mana to protect himself and fight, he would do one fight with solely aura.

  But, just as he was in Patch, he was growing too quickly and was plateauing. Sure, he had found a way to farm [Mana Manifestation] by creating more complex things with Mana, and was able to do the same with [Aura Manifestation] by constantly coursing it through his body. But that was just technical skill that was getting better, stuff that depending on him being topped up on Mana and Aura.

  He needed physical improvement, and at this point he needed it more than he needed skill improvement. The idea that his skills could stand to diminish would've appalled him not a few days ago, but after the fight with Melanie, he understood just how far behind he was.

  Lautrec was still drawing parallels between this world and earth. He kept thinking that overwhelming skill would overpower physical prowess. The cracks in that ideology formed when he fought Taiyang and sparred with Qrow, being so utter outmatched physically that it wasn't even funny. But that was Taiyang and Qrow, they were the physical peak of humanity practically.

  But more cracks formed when he sparred Ruby and Yang. And while his skill usually kept him ahead, it didn't stop bursts of berserker strength from Yang and impossible speed from Ruby from breaking through and sometimes costing him victories.

  But that whole ideology imploded on itself against Melanie. He was better than her in striking, he simply was. He had range, height, weight, and skill on his side. If his ideology held up, he should've won easily.

  But she had a semblance, and such control over her aura that it didn't matter. And she nearly broke his aura in only a handful of strikes. If she hadn't been messing with him the first half of the fight, he'd have been destroyed. How lucky was it that he had the impulse to pump nearly all his wild points into stats?

  Lautrec shook his head, it didn't matter, not now. And with a sigh, he moved past trees and shrubbery. His eyes glowed a dull purple, and the shade echoed through the forest, patterns in the air formed, thin lines of Mana trailed around.

  Another funny thing he discovered, was that if a single weak Grimm escapes a hunt, it would search for others to group with. And while this was probably a known trait among hunters, it was new to him.

  So, he let a single beowulf escape, and followed the faint trail of Mana it left. All Grimm had the same color of Mana, he discovered. It was always a darker burgundy type of color, while his was a bright purple, even when channeled in the Night's Edge.

  And just like the dozen of other times he had let one escape, he found it not ten minutes later, attempting to integrate itself with a new group. Thirteen Grimm, not including the one he let escape. Nine minor beowulves, two Alpha Beowulves, and one Alpha Ursa. Easy enough.

  [Quest Created: Distress at Honeydew Glade]

  [Description: A nearby village relies on the Honeydew Glade for it large lake, running water, and rare medicinal tree sap. However, with a sudden uptick in Grimm activity has led them to call for aid! Handle the Grimm that have contaminated its land!]

  [Objective: Clear out all the Grimm (0/292)

  [Time Limit: 20 days]

  [Rewards: 55k Lien, Title; [Tyro Hunter], Skill Book: [Spell Creation; The Guide], 2 Perk Points, Perk; [The Hunt], 4 Chlorophyll Bars, Blessed Blue Dew Talisman]

  "Oh..." He paused. Twenty Grimm, he'd be confident, thirty was pushing it, anything over forty was a no go.

  Hell, he never came across a pack that was anything over thirty five, he just made the estimation that anything more than that was too dangerous.

  "But looking at the rewards..." they weren't insane, so obviously it wasn't like he was diving headfirst into a den of King Taiju. If anything, the amount of Lien for this amount of Grimm was paltry.

  'But even so..' He was running a little below half his aura and Mana. Even if it was three hundred completely newborn Terror Boars, he could.. No, he would lose that. It was almost funny, he could invision how it would go. He'd kill the first hundred easily. Without bone plate or any serious way to hurt him or even match his speed, they would be eviscerated before they could even put up an resistance.

  But after that? His arms would tire, having to cut through entire hogs isn't easy. He'd rely on Mana, corrupted hurricanes would cull their numbers by the tens with each swing. But with only three thousand Mana, he could only conjure about four or five if he scaled them down.

  And let's say eighty or so died to that. What happens then? Out of Mana, tired, and with only a thousand points of aura against over a hundred more Grimm?

  Ugh, he'd have to come back. Which sucked, this area was like fifteen kilometers out of Vale! "But that doesn't mean I can't start the clean up now."

  His eyes returned to their usual rogue hue, a smirk on his lips as two thirds of his remaining Mana channeled into his sword. The Grimm turned, looking away from their new pack mate and locking onto the concentration of Mana.

  By the time they did, a giant spinning sawblade made of a Mana closed in and reduced their group to shreds.

  [Quest Updated: 14/292!]

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  'Though, despite the Vacuans best efforts, the Sand Dune civilization of the Quirrels was lost to a new Titan, a splinter off of the once thought to be unaging Blind Worms. It's giant form grew terracotta orange scales that worked as armor, insect like eyes, and twelve legs and three pairs of pincers connected to its mouth. The Vacuans call it the worst event in the history of its existence. The Quirrels were known for their customs to 'call upon the stars', seeking knowledge and guidance. Of course, we can only assume that this tradition was the reason for their lack of protection. They trusted only the stars to guide them, in search of what they called 'Key to Salvation' within the Ruins of Havelock, the Fallen Bastion. We still do not know what triggered the attack on their civilization. Their people were only ten thousand strong, a wandering city, and yet we know that a Titan does not wake unles a great catalyst is spawned. With the second youngest Titan, Crom Cruach, being awoken the Kingdom of Vacuo still hunts it to this day.'

  Lautrec shut the book, finished reading it in its entirety. It was more a history of a fallen civilization than Vacuo as it is today. But it was enough.

  [Quest Completed: How the World Works!]

  [Rewards: +5 INT, +2 WIS, +Small XP, +200 lien, + Grimm Slayer's Journal.]

  [Aura: 2265 -> 2408]

  [Mana: 5510 -> 5693]

  After nearly three days, he had done it. Another quest he didn't have to worry about.

  But his moment of triumph was short lived, having to cut it short when his scroll buzzed in his pocket. And to his surprise, it wasn't Yang or Ruby. Nor was it Miltia.

  "Hey, found a Hunt that would get you solidified as a hunter. D Rank, nothing crazy. A pack of some thirty, give or take, beowulves led by what people can only assume is a semi-intelligent Beowulf. Meet me at Tuksons." - From 'Unknown Number', sent Just Now.

  Lautrec saved the number, knowing it was Ilia without a shadow of a doubt. He shot back a quick message. "Already at Tuksons, the same back corner I was at the first we met." It was marked as read, so he could only assume she had seen it.

  After a few moments of waiting, one Ilia Amitola waltzed over towards him, a friendly smile on her lips. She wore black pants and tightly laced black boots, accompanied by a red longsleeve shirt. "Hey."

  "Hi, Ilia." He stood, offering a fist to her, to which she looked at for a moment before slowly bumping it. "How's it going?"

  "Well, could be better." She shrugged, sitting down next to him. "Would've been easier if you weren't causing me such issues."

  "Oh? What am I causing now?"

  "Making me get back into Hunter work."

  "What?" The boy blinked at that, a little confused.

  She looked at him with a mirthful gaze and an upturned quirk in her lips. "That's how I got you the hunt, stupid. I'm a registered hunter, E-rank, but whatever. It was enough to get us a D-rank quest and nothing more."

  Well, wasn't that a surprise.

  "Ilia Amitola, hunter?"

  "Why do you sound so shocked? Is it crazy to think that the Fang wouldn't settle for civilian bodyguards?"

  "I don't know, just forgot that everyday people can also be hunters. Forgive me if I say you don't really look the part."

  She lifted her arm, and flexed it jokingly. Even under the longsleeve, Lautrec could see the shifting of muscle, like steel cables as her bicep scrunched up. They weren't massive, but they were defined. "You saying these guns didn't just scream huntress?"

  The boy laughed, and smacked her arm down. "I guess I must've missed them, they'd have cleared up any doubt I had.”

  “Hey! Don’t hit me!” She laughed. “But seriously! I’m here to be your escort through the Emerald Forest.”

  “The Emerald Forest? Isn’t that owned by Beacon?”

  She made a so-so gesture with her hand. “It’s a weird contested area. Technically, it isn’t owned by anyone. Beacon uses part of it for their initiation, but Vale likes to just call it apart of the Valean Forest. But other people say that it’s owned by Beacon because of how the two forests are separated by a river and stuff. I don’t know the specifics, I’m not Valean.” Ilia ended, waving her hand as she looked away. “If anything, I’d assumed you would know more than me. You’re from here.”

  “I’m from Patch, thank you. There’s a pretty huge disconnect from there to here.” Lautrec stood up, and offered a hand to Ilia.

  “Meh.” She reached up and grabbed his hand. “Same difference to me. They share a culture don’t they?”

  Lautrec brought Ilia to her feet, smiling slightly. “They do, kinda. It’s more compact on the island, though. But I guess that’s-”

  “Because it’s an island?” She rolled her eyes, her tone carrying her hefty amusement as a smile forced itself larger on her face.

  “Y-yeah… Probably obvious.”

  “There there, Lautrec, you couldn’t have predicted my genius ability to pull the answer from the future.” Ilia, joker as she was, gave his arm consolatory pats with that stupid grin.

  “Oh, shut up.” He bit down on the laugh that threatened to escape him. “Come on, we need to get started on the damn quest.”

  “Oh fine, but we aren’t walking, not a chance in hell are we walking that far.”

  “We can run it. How far is it?” Ilia opened her scroll, and held it toward him. He bent down getting a closer look of the dumb non-satellite map. It was slightly rough and scratchy, but had an estimation of nearly six miles into the Emerald Forest and discernible land marks, like exceptionally large boulders, wells, and hilly areas that could be used as compass’s.

  “That’s not super far, only a solid jog and we’d be there.” He met her eyes with a tilt of his head, boot understanding the issue.

  “Hey, silly man,” she snapped her fingers under the scroll. “This is the forest by itself, we still need to get to the forest. It’s on the other side of the city. And that’s what we aren’t running, even if we could it’d just be dumb.”

  “So… How are we gonna get there?”

  “Well, I saw fit to take from your wallet for this, and hereby demand you get us an Uber. To the Northwestern gate of Vale, in case you were confused by the ‘across the city’ thing."

  Luatrec sighed, but didn't argue. He was kinda a stranger, a friend of a friend for Ilia and yet she was willing to trust him enough to take him out solo into a Grimm infested forest. An Uber ride was a small price to pay. "Fine by me. Let's go."

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  A stick crunched under his foot. The two of them were in the Emerald Forest now, just barely though. It was no where near as fast as he would've liked, the traffic in Vale being torturous beyond all belief. But at least it gave him time to talk to Ilia more about the hunt.

  [Quest: Gnomes' Rock]

  [Description: Four years ago, a beowulf survived an attack against its pack, and now it fights and leads viciously. With a surprising amount of intelligence, it alludes the careful watch of Beacon Academy while leading one of the largest packs. Word of warning, where the Pack goes, Terror follows.]

  [Objective: Slay the pack of Beowulves that have been evading the careful eye of Beacon Academy (0/31)

  [Bonus Objective; Slay Montgomery, the Teachers' Pet.]

  [Rewards: +Large XP, +12k Lien, +REP with Ilia Amitola, +Hunter Rank]

  [Bonus Rewards: +Panic Necklace, +Large XP, +6k Lien, +Band of Mana Regeneration, Continuation and Rewards of [Names in the Obituary] questline.]

  All in all, a very simple, if boring, quest. The real treat would come from killing Montgomery, The Band of Mana Regeneration would be such a boon. He wasn't sure what the Panic Necklace was, but it was probably good, given it was an accessory.

  "Apparently, one of the reasons this quest is ranked as a D is because of how long its been around. The last time it was even attempted was a few years ago." Ilia shook her head an tutted. "A shame for any other hunter, it's really too simple to pass up."

  "Really? I'm not the greatest aspiring hunter there ever was, but over thirty beowulves at once would be a pretty nasty fight, wouldn't it?"

  "Yeah, a newbie like you" She teased. "Might struggle, but for me this is relatively standard. Even as an E Rank, thirty odd beowulves isn't so dangerous."

  Lautrec nodded, stepping over a thick log. But before he could return back into the silence of walking, it was interrupted again.

  "Hey?" Ilia started. "Do you mind if I ask a question?"

  He was bored, perhaps entirely too used to being out in the woods already to feel threatened. And as such, he welcomed the chatter. "Shoot, this whole search and destroy operation is so boring so far."

  "Boring is good, Lautrec. Means we aren't getting killed."

  "I doubt anything in this forest could." Lautrec responded with a cocky grin. "Two daring hunters ought to make a dangerous foe for any Grimm."

  "Pride before the fall, pride before the fall." She recited. "But as I was saying, Jakob had a question, I should say. An image we happened across."

  A bird cawed in the distance, it's echo ringing through the trees and the shrubs. "It was pretty weird, but... why were you at Café Supreme with-" She took a breath in. "A Malachite."

  "Oh... that." He cringed at the thought. Lautrec knew, now that he wasn't so out of it, that going to Café Supreme after having protesting right outside of it was practically spitting in the face of Jakob's and the other Faunus's efforts. They had an amazing success with him, and he just tossed it in their face by supporting their oppressors. "I-I... I didn't mean to. You know? I was invited out to Café Supreme and was just so tired that by the time I had realized how dumb I was being I had already been there for, like, an hour."

  "Good of you to realize how stupid it was. Jakob was pretty surprised and annoyed at that." Ilia offered a consoling smile at that, before her face shifted back down into a frown. "The main issue I had was why it was a Malachite you were talking to."

  Lautrec stepped under a low-hanging branch, and offered her a confused tilt of his head. "What do you mean? Miltia?"

  She adopted a shrewd look at that. "You're on a first name basis with her?"

  "I mean... she's a friend, yeah. Met her at The Club a few days ago and we've been friends since."

  "Oh... are you two... close?"

  "I wouldn't say close, but she's offered to train with me and stuff, but nothing crazy."

  Ilia hummed and looked away, the two of them resigning themselves to silence once more as they worked their way through the maze-like forest.

  'I mean, seriously! Every tree looks the exact same! All the bark is the same color, all the trees leaves have dark green color and a slightly translucent form, even in the middle of Autumn!' The ground they were walking on even crumpled and crunched under them, the cold making the drier parts of the dirt brittle.

  Maybe an hour passed since they started, and while they weren't going fast they were on a pace that would devastate a civilian, maybe around ten to fifteen miles an hour. Not exactly blistering speeds on a straight track, but through such a lively forest it was great. And yet, neither hide nor hair of Grimm. Even with activating [Mana Sight] every once and again. But, then again, Mana needed to be used in some amount for him to actually get a trail.

  "Are we headed the right way? We should've already hit where they were last spotted, right?"

  Ilia looked at her scroll, tapping on it with a disgruntled expression. "We should have. But we haven't seen a damn landmark on this map yet, even though we followed the directions perfectly."

  "You followed them perfectly. I followed you. I can't read those maps to save my life."

  "Yes, yes, whatever, I didn't ask for commentary."

  "It felt needed! This is basically your show, I'm just a stage hand."

  She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If that's your role, then can my stage hand be useful and scale a tree? We need to find the trees clearing and hilly area, think you can do that, Stage Hand?"

  "Should be easy enough." One hundred strength, eighty agility, and sixty dexterity. All of which were boosted by aura as well, it would make this a cake walk. Hooking his sword onto his back and tucking his necklace under his shirt, Lautrec stretched his arms and crouched.

  And then he jumped, hard as he could. It was weird, but not at the same time. Instinctually, everyone knows how high they can jump. Not in measured numbers usually, just in that 'yeah I can probably jump that high' type of way.

  That's why he knew he could probably jump around the thirty feet he'd need to jump before he hit a solid branch that looked like it could support his weight. The ground beneath him crumbled and ripped under the force, but he paid it no heed.

  In around a second, he went from ground level to quite possibly the highest place he'd ever been. The height was good, though, allowed him to see his surroundings pretty well. There were maybe two or three trees taller in the nearby area.

  "Well!?" He heard Ilia scream from below him.

  Lautrec yelled right back. "Give me a second! Still looking!"

  To the east, nothing but more trees. To the north, trees. To the west?

  No prize if you could guess, it was trees.

  "Ilia! How old is that map!?"

  "I don't know! can't be more than a few months!"

  "Didn't you say this pack avoided Hunters for years!?"

  "Yeah!? Why does it- FUCK!" She put two and two together, the map was outdated by years. If his quest was anything to go by, four or so years. And that was just a nightmare. Lots of shit can change in four years, especially in nature.

  But that didn't mean they were out of options, with his new vantage point, he could see so much more land. And in theory, he could see a whole lot more with [Mana Sight].

  His eyes flickered that same dull purple, and he had it. A single Grimm would only leave a small trail, almost untraceable at his current height even with there being no other Mana around, but thirty two? That would stick out. It would have to, it wasn't possible for it to be hidden. And for another thirty seconds, he scanned over the greenery with a scrutinizing glare, until he saw it. It was impossible not to, with how much the burgundy color of their mana against the emerald leaves.

  "Found our targets, though! Large pack, maybe one or two kilometers north-west!" Lautrec closed his eyes, activated [Oakflesh], and called forth his aura as he jumped off of the branch, landing hard against the ground and rolling to disperse his energy.

  Ilia seemed surprised, but nodded anyway. "Okay! Let's go, lead the way!"

  Lautrec nodded and began racing off towards where he saw them, hoping that Ilia hadn't lost him. Careful steps became less important the faster you were, and he was easily pushing thirty miles per hour through the forest, using the trees to push and change directions instead of slowing down. Ilia must've been doing the same, he could hear the loud crunches and thuds of her weight against the bark of trees that he hadn't yet hit.

  His hand gripped the handle of the Nights Edge, knowing that the second they were on the group of pack, they would be practically surrounded.

  In a way, he was cheating, he'd be fine. If he got surrounded, could cut through any angle and break through with [Corrupted Hurricane] if things got dicey. Ilia didn't have that luxury, and he could only hope that her semblance would be able to save her. She chose this mission, after all.

  [Mana Sight] was useful as after a few more seconds, he caught the mana trail that the horde of Grimm left, their unconscious use of it leaving him an abundance of ambient Mana to follow. And within seconds, he was less than ten paces away from the Grimm, pressed against a tree.

  Ilia landed next to him, and he grabbed her arm. "We're here. They're past this tree and maybe slightly further, ready?"

  She reached into her jacket, pulling out a mask that covered the top half of her face. "Ready."

  "on two." Lautrec unsheathed the sword, and peaked around the large trunk. He could see three of them sniffing the air, obviously alerted to them. "One."

  Releasing [Mana Sight], he replaced the cost with [Oakflesh], and crouched lowly. "Two!" Both him and Ilia dashed forward, and two Grimm instantly fell. His was decapitated and hers pierced through the head with her whip-spear.

  The remaining one, to both of their surprise didn't move to attack, but retreated while howling.

  "It's alerting the pack!" He roared out, catching up to the Grimm and bisecting it.

  Lautrec and Ilia shared a look, a single second was spared for them before four Minor Nevermore burst from the trees around them. They weren't as fast as a bullet, and Lautrec was able to duck under their talons.

  He didn't have time to check Ilia, not before a beowulf jumped out at him as well.

  'We were baited, those three were feelers!' A Grimm capable of making a plan, strategizing, that was dangerous. The Nights' Edge snapped out and cut across the beowulfs armored chest, leaving a deep gash as Lautrec backed up. A second took its place in front, armored as well, and forced him to either back into where Ilia was or move forward.

  The choice was easy. Move forward.

  [Corrupted Hurricane!]

  [-500 MP]

  It was a weak one, only enough to kill the Grimm directly in front of him, but it gave him space to attack the other, his sword swung wildly at the beast who seemed to revert back to mindlessness and met his slashes with swings of its own.

  It fell as quickly as the other, and Lautrec dodged forward to avoid another dive attack from a Nevermore and the tackle of a third beowulf.

  'If this is only the Pack, where is Montgomery?' He was sure Ilia must've been thinking the same, and sparing her a glance, he saw she was doing fine several bodies of dead Grimm were piled next to her.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Much like with the other two, the beowulf in front of him showed some intelligence in brief moments, retreating to dodge fatal injuries but other times just rushing forward. It was odd behavior to be sure, but he couldn't explain why.

  The third pass of their attack, Lautrec side stepped passed a swipe of its claws, slamming his shoulder into where the diaphram would be on a man, and stabbed through the chest of the beowulf and pulled upward, his sword cutting through its thick blood and hide with only some difficulty.

  That left only the Nevermore, all four of which seemed content to watch as the flew in circles high above the two hunters.

  "Those are its eyes. It must be monitoring us while it escapes!"

  "You think it's that intelligent?" Ilia asked, wiping the barest amount of Grimm blood off of her jaw.

  "It has to be, right? I saw their pack here, but now there's only, what nine beowulves? And those Nevermore are way too young to not be mindless, they'd have tried to attack us a dozen times by now if they weren't being ordered."

  "Shit. You're right." She groaned. "We have to catch them."

  "Let me lead again, I'll find their trail." Reactivating [Mana Sight], a road of burgundy revealed itself, and motioned Ilia to follow as he began to run once more.

  "No need, I can find them." At his raised eyebrow, she continued. "Perks of being a Faunus."

  "All faunus have better sense?"

  "Kind of, who cares, we have to move!"

  Lautrec nodded, and began to run once more. It didn't take longer than a few moments to begin catching up to the pack, given the Grimms' larger frames they had to be a lot more careful when running through the thick forestry.

  "They're right here, running!" Ilia called out, her whip-spear coiled and pulled back to strike.

  In a burst of speed, Lautrec [Flash Stepped] twice and instantly closed in on one of them. "Got it!" His sword swung down and carved through its hide, drawing a long line a blood from its back.

  Lautrec heard the electric crackle of Ilia's weapon behind him and dodged right, allowing her to have a clear shot on the beowulf. She loosed her shot, killing the Grimm with an incredibly precise strike to the back of its skull.

  The rest of the pack didn't turn to acknowledge them, only kept running.

  Lautrec's eyes squinted. 'Somethings wrong.' He couldn't tell what, not when this was technically what this pack was known for. Evading, running away. But this didn't feel right.

  'If it was smart enough to know to run, than why isn't it using the trees more? Climbing or ducking into shrubs?' His mind raced, and he was almost certain Ilia must've been thinking the same. It seemed so... unintelligent to run in a straight line with an entire pack instead of using the natural borders around you.

  In the end, it didn't matter.

  "Ilia! Take the far left, I'll take far right!"

  "On it!" Lautrec didn't bother turning to look, the sound of her electric whip crackling was enough for him. Despite their speed and situation, Lautrec found himself calm as he rushed to the right side of the lagging beowulves.

  His calves pushed hard, blitzing the furthest, slicing low and severed a leg. It's body tumbled, and Lautrec skid to a halt and spun, the Night's Edge slashed downward and claimed one more victim, the pitiful amount of mana the beowulf had going in and repairing the barest amount of the fractured blade.

  A howl from further ahead rang out, and the two he and Ilia had yet to kill jumped to the side, like battering rams to the unsuspecting tyro hunters.

  Ilia gasped in surprise, being aware and experienced enough to jump out of the way.

  "Bwah!?" Lautrec was not, the full weight and speed of a beowulf crashed against him. Seven hundred pounds of Grimm held him down as best it could. The disgusting mouth of the creature opened, biting down on his shoulder and neck.

  With his arms pinned to his side, and the beowulf practically hugging him to death and slowly draining his aura with its weak bites, Lautrec almost felt embarrassed that THIS was how he was getting beaten. Nevertheless, he struggled, straining with all those points in strength to overpower the beowulf.

  Luckily, he didn't need to. The beowulf went limp with a snap of yellow sparks, the whip of Ilia stabbing through its head. The body became infinitely lighter as it began disintegrating, and Lautrec shoved it off of him.

  "Thanks, seriously." He said, rubbing his neck several red dots litering it from the digging bite.

  She nodded. "Don't worry about it." Her hand lowered, open for him to use and pull himself up, which he gratefully took. "Come on, Lautrec, we still have to catch that damned leader."

  "Right."

  "Just don't make this a habit, okay?"

  He couldn't see behind her mask, but her small smile showed well enough her amusement. Though they didn't waste anymore time, and back on the run they were.

  'Meters'

  [Aura: 2262/2408

  Mana: 4820/6547]

  Not terrible. Though he was a little wasteful with two uses of [Flash Step]. Hell, maybe [Oakflesh] is a bit wasteful, considering he was using aura to tank the attacks and not the spell that was currently draining three hundred Mana per minute. Lautrec nodded to himself, and quit casting [Oakflesh].

  "Up ahead! They're leading us into a clearing." She had moved slightly closer to him so she didn't have to yell.

  "You can see that far ahead?"

  "Y-yeah!" She blew some wind past her lips. "Faunus thing."

  "Huh... cool." Faunus really were just better than humans, weren't they?

  The two broke through the tree line, and in complete contrast to how they were running before, the remaining nineteen beowulves stared at them surrounding a cave entrance where Montgomery had clearly ran into to hide.

  "You think they'll let us in?" Lautrec spoke as he skid to a halt next to Ilia.

  "Duck!" She yelled, going prone.

  He followed and crouched lowly, and was surprised to feel a small jetstream of wind pass over his head. When his head raised, he could see the Nevermore from earlier had tried to dive bomb them again.

  "Faunus senses?"

  "Faunus senses."

  The four birds perched above the Cave, and cawwed incessantly. And yet, the small horde of Beowulves stood still, guarding the cave entrance.

  "Their leader is in the cave. And were gonna need to bust in to get him. You have dust?" He asked.

  "Enough to beat this rabble, let's make this quick, okay? I told Jakob I'd be able to bring you back for a briefing once we got this done." She wasn't like Yang, she didn't smirk or grin largely at the thought of fighting, instead her lips were pulled into a small frown

  Lautrec didn't wait much longer, and bounded ahead, the Night's Edge pulled way back. The beowulves howled, and six met his charge.

  _____________________________________________

  Her initial thoughts of Lautrec, were much more pleasant than most humans. Only several nights ago had she seen him run into an alleyway headfirst and force a group of racists to stop beating on Edward and his friends. She wasn't great friends with the dog faunus, but he sung the praises of a human man saving him and his friends from some drunks and she thought nothing of it at the time.

  But then it happened again, a strange human man went to a rally and actually managed to help it spread to other humans. Insanity. Jakob loved it, reveled in how he was proof that they were making real change. Okay, crazy, but still not super suspicious.

  But then it happened again. Another one of her friends, and this time it was someone critically important to the Fang. Tukson, cynical, critical, and conniving Tukson. Tuskon fondly recalling his interaction with a human man who randomly entered his store and talked to him about books and even the White Fang.

  There were coincidences in this world, there was always going to be some stuff that never really added up, she knew that. Luck didn't exist, just how God's didn't exist, or magic or faeries. But coincidences would still happen every now and again, no biggie.

  But it couldn't be a coincidence, three positive interactions and two of which being with people incredibly influential? Not a chance she was dull enough to let that go unnoticed. And just as everyone else was falling for his games, she decided to really check his character. Weird as it may be, she considered the stalking worth it when she found out his ties with Miltia Malachite, Daughter of the Margaret Malachite in Mistral.

  But, when she confronted him not half an hour ago? He seemed completely aloof to the name.

  But then, that made sense, didn't it? It was a slow process to check with Tukson, but he came from Patch, just as he said. It was enough to make her pause, that perhaps her suspicions were unfounded. But, there was one last thing she could think of to test it, her mask. The clearest symbol of the Midnight Sun and he didn't bat an eye when she put it on.

  Even now, lithely evading the dozen bites and swipes from the beowulves that surrounded her, she could feel her thoughts drifting more towards the boy to her side, recklessly dodging away from one attack and into the danger of another. Attacking one and dismembering it, only to get hit hard enough to be sent reeling back by another.

  "An amateur. Truly." She mumbled under her breath. He wasn't some hidden operative sent by the Kuroi Kuma's head, he was just a random kid from a backwater island. It made her a little embarrassed, given how much she wrapped herself up in her own delusions. 'I have to stop letting Blake influence me, those novels aren't good for my imagination.'

  Her pony tail trailed behind her head as she moved under another claw strike, Lightning Lash sprang forward and poked a hole through the offending beowulf's head, leaving only five remaining. Her eyes widened, semblance flaring as a purple figure pervaded her senses, causing her to duck.

  Another attempt at divebombing failed against her, but out of the corner of her eye she saw it didn't fail against Lautrec. She almost frowned at that, before repremanding herself. It wasn't ability that helped her dodge, it was her semblance. 'He does not have that privilege, stupid.'

  Ilia had to admit, though, her style was tailored to being stealthy while his was obviously a 'take one to give one'. Reckless and stupid against bigger Grimm, but fine enough against small ones like these.

  Side step, duck, dodge, and strike was her memo. Evade, evade, evade, counter. Blake helped her hone it to perfection, and Adam forced her to go beyond that. Which Ilia, despite not liking the stupid man, would begrudgingly admit it was helping her immensely against the many targets of Grimm currently gunning for her.

  "Need help?" Lautrec's voice yelled out with a start, before dashing into her vision and defending her from a strike, parrying the claws and sending his hand forward with some form of purple energy to knock the Grimm back.

  "Thanks." Despite his recklessness, he was swift to work, at least. Not graceful like Blake, nor as skilled as Adam, but a hurricane of brute force hacking and slashing as he practically threw himself into the firing line.

  With Lautrec occupying their attention, she was able to take a step back and breathe. And then she began to intertwine her attacks with his, quick precise shots with her whip with her favored lightning dust paralyzed the beowulf that was chasing him down, and that brief moment of calm was enough for Lautrec to take advantage and strike it down with that purple blade.

  Ilia's eyes squinted, her Clairvoyance warning her of something, but she couldn't tell what. The Nevermore were still perched above the Cave, the remaining beowulves were attacking and falling onto Lautrec's sword. Nothing was put of the ordinary... "The Alpha is doing something!" She called out, and Lautrec nodded faintly as he ducked a swipe and stabbed his sword into the chest of another beowulf.

  The faint sizzling in her mind only grew, warning her of greater and greater danger, it was comparable to seeing Adam charging his Moon Slice or an Atlesian Spider-Droid charging its cannons.

  'The cave. It's the cave!' Her eyes widened foe a split second as ten glowing eyes, an intricate weave of red, and a disgusting yellow stinger highlighted itself in the darkness that was the cave entrance.

  "Lautrec! Run!" Panic invaded her. A Deathstalker, an honest to Gods Deathstalker. It was just as giant as she had heard, and all the more intimidating for it.

  And perched on top of it, the leader of the pack. An Armored Beowulf, at least nine feet tall and well on its way to become an Elder.

  _____________________________________________

  Lautrec wasn't sure what was going on anymore. Not five minutes ago they were chasing a pack of Grimm through the forest, and then a not a minute ago, he had killed the last of the beowulves that were protecting the cave. And then Ilia yelled out for him to run, and then that's when it happened. His eyes shifted towards where Ilia was looking, just past him and into the cave. That haunting glowing red and those creepy yellow eyes were rushing toward him

  Well, he could TRY to describe what it was like, but that was pretty difficult. Have you ever been hit by a car? Well, he hadn't either, but Lautrec was willing to bet that getting hit by a pincer the size of one counted.

  [OST: "Demon Prince" - Dark Souls 3]

  'But, fortunately, my aura held.'

  [Aura: 671/2408

  Mana: 4866/6547]

  Intellectually, he knew he didn't have time to look up at the sky, dazed and confused. But holy shit, it felt like his back broke under the force of the strike. It was like getting hit by Tai full force again. But, with a groan, he rolled to the side and forced himself up. His shakey eyes locked onto the two remaining Grimm of the quest.

  [Quest Updated: Gnome's Rock and Limestone Cave!]

  [Objective: Slay Montgomery and his Watchdog, The Deathstalker Infant!]

  [Bonus Objective: Keep Ilia alive and in one piece]

  [Rewards: +Massive XP, +40k Lien, +REP with Ilia Amitola, +Hunter Rank [C], +Panic Necklace, +Band of Mana Regeneration, Continuation, Rewards of [Names in the Obituary] questline, Spell Tome: Stone Flesh, Aura Tome: Reinforcement, Perk: Dark Vision, +2 Perk Points, +20 Wild Points.]

  [Bonus Rewards: + Massive REP with Ilia Amitola and Jakob Myerwitch + Large REP with ?, +REP with ? And ?, + [The Midnight Sun] Questline]

  [Failure: Death.]

  Yeah, it was a lot. A lot that he didn't have time to read right now.

  Pushing to his feet, and grabbing hold of the hilt of his sword, he ran at the action.

  Ilia was doing a good job of distracting the two, managing to somehow dance her way through every strike that both Montgomery and the Deathstalker were throwing. Every pincer, every stab, every slice, everything was avoided perfectly. But anyone could've seen how close she was to getting hit each time, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that no one can keep up perfection.

  "Hey, asshole!" There was no time to hold back, the Night's Edge hummed with energy and with a swing, a [Corrupted Hurricane] launched towards Montgomery. Before it could reach, the Deathstalker whipped its tail in the way, blocking the attempt with its exoskeleton.

  'Plan. I need a plan.' This couldn't be like Rudy. He could not risk his life on being stupid and letting his guard down. [Oakflesh] rematerialized over his body. "Ilia focus the Deathstalker! Let it attack, I'll handle the Beowulf up top!" He yelled. Two uses of [Flashstep] would be all he needed to reach Montgomery. And so two uses of flash step were exactly what he did.

  Not a few seconds after he yelled to ilia, he was airborne and then he was on the Deathstalkers carapace.

  The plan was simple in his mind. He would force Montgomery to focus completely on him before killing the beast, and then him and Ilia would tag team the Deathstalker until they could either kill it or escape. With one hundred strength, the element of surprise, and his sword already slicing down toward the arm of Montgomery, it should have been easy.

  But this wasn't a run of the mill Beowulf, and that was his first mistake.

  Faster than he could reasonably react, the beowulf raised its arms and caught the blade on its forearms. A loud screech came from their collision, and with a ripple of muscle it shoved him away. The back of the Deathstalker was large enough that he could catch himself on it, even after sliding several feet.

  'Elder Beowulves,' He reminded himself while launching forward once more. 'Experience their greatest evolution. Growing in strength and size, gaining larger bone plates and thicker hides.'

  His sword skid across its armor once more, and with a bit of Mana expenditure, a shadow shot from the cross guard, wrapping around the arm and closing back into the blade, much like a pair of jaws. Montgomery roared at the surprise attack, pulling its now injured arm away before jumping forward like a battering ram.

  It was much like the previous time against the other beowulf, but now Lautrec was completely aware of the threat, and [Flash Step]'d out of the way. His hand shot towards the beowulf, and with a grunt, a wave of Mana formed, purple and translucent as it crashed against the beowulf, shoving it just enough to send it careening over the edge of the Deathstalker.

  Montgomery flailed, slamming it's body into the scorpions legs and grabbing harshly on its exoskeleton to try and stay on. Lautrec's eyes widened for but a moment as the force of a giant beowulf caused the Deathstalker to tilt, his human body abiding the rules of gravity and quickly slipping off the smooth and moist armor of the Deathstalker.

  "Shit!" And he fell straight into the jaws of Montgomery. Jaws clamped over his bracers and over his forearm, and Lautrec yelped. The Nights Edge flew from his grip as the beowulf used its overpowering strength and began to swing him around.

  He crashed several times against dirt before he finally got his other arm around, gripping the jaw of the beowulf and then pulling. His mind, dull as it was, was quick enough to form thin and pointy Mana claws around his fingers, tearing into its unarmored snout. The monster was having none of it, and slammed him down fully onto the ground, digging him into the dirt before letting go of his arm and trying to mount him. That proved to be its mistake, as with a remarkable showing of dexterity and agility, he was able to kick off the ground moving just out of the way of a pair of claws that would've buried themselves in his chest.

  He stood, but had no room to breathe, Montgomery was on him once more, swinging rabidly as Lautrec retreated towards the forest.

  The boy very nearly ran away completely, before seeing Ilia still only evading the Deathstalker, not running. 'She is counting on me, damn it!'

  And with grit teeth, he saw the glimmer of his purple sword behind Montgomery. The Beowulf, still in hot pursuit, was not allowing him to go towards it. Every time he tried to rush to the side, the beowulf followed, only faster to make up any distance.

  'Mana is low..' He thought. Lautrec cut off [Oakflesh] with a grimace, before bursting to the side and rushing for his sword. Just like the last few times, Montgomery jumped to keep him away, but even the Elder Beowulf couldn't hope to keep up with a [Flash Step], and in an instant Lautrec was passed the beowulf.

  He wasn't faster than the beowulf, and even with it having to change directions it wasn't enough that he'd make the thirty yard run before the beowulf was on him again. It was with a heavy heart he commanded the system allocate ten points to agility. It made the difference, even if he still wasn't faster than the beowulf he was just fast enough to reach his sword and spin, Mana collecting haphazardly in the blade and prematurely releasing towards the general direction of where he had been running.

  It wasn't his most devastating [Corrupted Hurricane], nor his most tactically sound, nor anything really. But it did its job.

  The entire run, spin and attack lasted not two seconds. And as he spun, the beowulf was on top of him almost. Paws outstretched, legs jumping forward in a pounce, and its jaw opened so wide it looked unhinged.

  And then the glowing saw blade of sickly green color shot from his blade. So fast, so impossibly fast that not even Taiyang had reacted in time to dodge. And yet, Montgomery did.

  The beast tried to pull itself away but, mid-air as it was, it couldn't in time. The conjuration of Mana sliced deeply into its shoulder, avoiding most of its bone plating until it stopped in a clash against its bone helmet and even then it cracked the bone horribly. Then reality struck for the both of them, as the speed and weight of Montgomery crashed against Lautrec’s unprepared form, his aura flaring and without [Oakflesh] to help ease the load, his aura worked overtime as their bodies collided and sprawled across the dirt and into the forest.

  They bounced like skipping rocks over water, the Beowulf itself being sent through a tree, while Lautrec crashed into and indented one himself before falling to the ground. The boy groaned, stabbing his sword into the earth below and using it to help him stand up, gritting his teeth all the while.

  “Meters..” he mumbled, looking away from where Montgomery was sent.

  [Aura: 12/2408

  Mana: 1698/6547]

  His reserves were done, not a chance in hell he’d be able to pull another mission after this one. And that was only with Montgomery. His eyes focused ahead, not forty yards away where Ilia was still banking on him to pull some bullshit and find a way to kill the Deathstalker. Though Ilia didn’t look unharmed, her arm was hung lowly, bleeding. She only had her main arm left. ‘More mana, I need more mana.’

  The only thing he could rely on, his saving grace. Fourteen points more of wisdom would get him another fourteen hundred mana or so. Hardly ideal, but with no other options, it would have to be enough. ‘Allocate all remaining wild points to wisdom.’

  Mana flowed right back into his body, filling him with arcane potential once more as the points did their work. With the new points in Wisdom, amplified by the ring of mana, he sat at a comfortable amount now.

  [Aura: 13/3520

  Mana: 4170/8165]

  This was all the reprieve he would get, as the cracking of branches could be heard from behind him, and Lautrec turned his head. Montgomery stood to his full height, the arm that was struck was now torn off and half of his bone helmet gone. One eye completely missing, the gaping hole where it once resided oozing ebony liquid and black smoke as it healed. Its injured state didn’t make it any less intimidating to stare at, and for the first time, Lautrec observed the greatest Beowulf he had ever seen completely.

  [Name: Montgomery, The Teacher’s Pet.]

  [Level: 60]

  [MP: 71/100]

  [Status: Major - Elder Beowulf]

  [Notable Traits: Hardened Bone, Grizzled Resolve, Commander of Grimm, Vindictive]

  [Hardened Bone: Due to many years of constant evolution and hard fought battles, Montgomery has developed the Trait Hardened Bone. His bone plates have become twice as durable as the average Alpha Beowulf.]

  [Grizzled Resolve: Many close encounters have formed an inordinate will to survive and fight. Amplified by the Grimm’s baser nature to fight, will allow Montgomery to have a thirty percent chance to mitigate a single potentially fatal blow.]

  [Commander of Grimm: After years of experience, Grimm flock to Montgomery as they sense his seniority. Capable of commanding Grimm both younger and less evolved than he.]

  [Vindictive: After the fall of his last pack, Montgomery was left alive by a pitying hunter. Since then, Montgomery has been hunting humans, willing to kill or be killed in his pursuit for vengeance for his pack.]

  "You really are impressive." The beowulf put its paw to the floor and roared its final time before rushing toward Lautrec. And the boy, with no aura, welcomed the charge by meeting the beast in the middle, ready to swing.

  The two clashed, his sword parrying the beasts claws away easily, before dodging to the right to avoid the clamp of its jaws. He took another step right as it swung rabidly at him, but as the beowulf moved forward to backhand him, Lautrec rolled under the strike and jumped upwards, his sword poised to the air.

  The once gleaming purple of the Nights Edge ran black, it's large blade protruding through the even larger beowulfs unarmored neck. "You were a good fight, Montgomery." And with a flick, he pulled the sword out. And Montgomery fell on top of him, dead. And for the first time since the battle started, Lautrec let out a breath of relief.

  "LAUTREC!"

  The moment was ruined, for in Montgomery's final act of defiance, he called for aid. The evaporating body of Montgomery that the Night's Edge greedily drank up was ran through by a golden stinger whichslammed into the dirt Lautrec had stood in just a moment before. Only by the grace of Ilia's warning did he dodge.

  Lautrec's eyes tried to look toward the Deathstalker, but Montgomery had positioned himself to stand in between him and his Watchdog. And for the second time today, a car sized pincer rammed itself into his side, but this time he did not have the grace of aura to protect him.

  Lautrec's world spun as his body cracked around the pincer.

  _____________________________________________

  Things went to shit on missions. That was her reality, things you couldn't predict or faulty information. It was standard for her at this point. Hell! She, Blake, and Adam often felt more on edge if something didn't go wrong! They'd usually laugh in the face of whatever Atlas operative or Mistrali Rat they had to face as they tag teamed them.

  Even then, however, there had always been that nagging feeling of uncertainty as they did so. An anxiety of 'what if...' that always wormed its way into her mind.

  Ilia knew she was the weak link of the White Fang's stealth operation, her semblance being her only saving grace. She wasn't as talented or skilled as Blake. And, despite how much she LOATHED him, Ilia could recognize she was no where near as strong or intelligent on the battle field as Adam.

  A mission in Vale was a spit in the face, but she deserved it for fucking up in Atlas. Despite the situation, she laughed faintly to herself as dread pooled within her.

  'Seems even a mission in Vale was too much for me.' A mirthless grin overcame her, a morbid sense of humor invading her mind as she did her best to evade the Deathstalker that was chasing her.

  Her eyes strayed to where Lautrec had been sent. 'Fucking idiot. Amateur, stupid!' Her mind would scream.

  It was horrible, the sound of aura cracking, and then the disgusting stretch of his body as bones absolutely collapsed in on themselves. Lautrec was so obviously fallible, even with his cocksure additude, and yet she placed her faith that he would have something that would magically get them out of this situation.

  'But how could he? He wasn't expecting this, I told him this was a simple beowulf hunt. And he managed to kill an Elder.' Something she wasn't fully confident she could do.

  It had been not five seconds longer, when her aura flickered, and her Clairvoyance flickered with it. In that moment, she lost track where the next attack would come from. All the damage she had done to it, stabbing a few of its eyes out with her whip, burning away one of its Mandibles with a clever use of combustion and fire dust, and even damaging its tail. None of it would matter once that claw hit her. 'I am so sorry, Blake.'

  Her world spun, before she landed on her butt a few yards away. Ilia looked down, seeing her still intact body, and then her hands grabbed at her stomach, seeing there was still a connection between her upper and lower halves. And then she looked up.

  Lautrec Griscern, moving with speed reserved for B-rank hunters flashed back and forth as he weaved in between attacks, his glowing purple sword radiating a green glow as each swing cut through the Deathstalkers weak spots along its arms, legs, and even occasionally through its carapace.

  Ilia could only watch in shock as he did the impossible, and was actually killing the Deathstalker. She stood up suddenly, and ran in to try and help, to do something! Low on dust, low on Aura, and even lower in composure, she ran towards the action and brandished Lightning Lash.

  "Duck!" She yelled, and shooting out her whip. The perfect shot, stabbing through its last remaining eye.

  Lautrec nodded in acknowledgment, before jumping directly at the Deathstalkers open mouth, his sword lighting up a neon green, before unloading some form of aura attack into it, large and incredibly dangerous, she noted.

  The saw ripped apart the inside of its body, the green blade was completely unhindred due to the beasts lack of mandibles, digging deeper and deeper. And then she saw him charge his sword again, before slashing down onto its pincer arm, the neon green aura cut through the large limb as well.

  And finally, it collapsed, just as Lautrec did. There was a bloody wound on his side, or at least, there should've been. Part of his shirt was completely tattered, blood all over it, and yet he looked fine underneath it. She could see the fresh looking obliques on the side of his torso as he collapsed to his knees.

  "We fucking did it." He spoke. "We fucking did it. A Deathstalker. An infant one, but a Deathstalker all the same." Lautrec stood up, a hysterical smile on his lips showcasing his bright teeth as he wrapped his arms around her suddenly. "We fucking killed a Deathstalker! Thank you, Ilia, thank you for trusting in me."

  "H-hey!? Get off me, Lautrec, I don't hug!" She kicked his shin, and that buckled him, his arms releasing her instantly.

  "Ow! I don't have anymore aura, chill!" He grabbed his shin and rubbed it, trying to ease the pain whatever he could.

  'This is the guy that killed a Deathstalker.' She bemoaned in her mind as he laid back in front of her and held his leg. 'And worse... he's our ticket to undermining Little Mistral.'

  "Okay, okay, get up. We have to report this mission as completed." She held out a hand for him to help him up, which he took. "And then you can head home. I'll talk to Jakob about how the mission went."

  She saw the look of confusion cross his face, and before he could speak she answered. "You're a little injured for it, given being battered by Grimm all day. Go rest, you're making me feel inadequate."

  "Um, sorry? Are you sure? I feel great, you know. Cloud nine after that." He waved off her concerns, that same cocky smile on his lips as he stared into her eyes.

  She huffed and reached up to flick his nose. "Take the damn rest. You're pissing me off by acting like getting hit by a deathstalker is something that you can just shrug off." Her brow crunched as Ilia looked up to stare at him, not bothering to hide her slight annoyance. "Just... I'll talk to Jakob and give you a glowing fucking review. You're a shoe in for the job of being his bodyguard."

  And before she could go on, she spun on her heel and began to walk back from where they came, the faintest trail of her Clairvoyance acting as a compass.

  "Hey! Wait up!" She did not wait up. Frustration, as silly as it was, pooled in her stomach. She really wasn't worth the breath Blake and Adam wasted on her if a newbie like Lautrec could show her up like that.

  _____________________________________________

  Lautrec crumpled onto his bed the moment he was close enough to do so. He lived, and that didn't make sense. Or it wouldn't have if he was a normal person.

  It was like fighting Rudy again, despite his best efforts to not let that happen. That attack, that pincer that hit him? It as good as killed him.

  His ribs collapsed, his lungs were punctured, and he broke a few more bones when he crashed through the trees. And yet, he lived. Because he was lucky enough to be the best friend he could possibly be with Yang and Ruby. [Adrenaline Burst] activated first, keeping him alive as his wounds were mended by the Blessed Dew Talisman, and then [Time Slow] activated a moment later, and when he was still going to give up [The Reason] kicked in.

  Images and thoughts regarding Yang and Ruby fighting for their life in Beacon as it fell, the burning that he had seen in the distance destroyed, then Ilia still praying on him to save her from the Deathstalker, then a flash of Malachite green eyes and a pearly white and toothy smile under the calm light of a coffee shop.

  It must've taken several seconds because by the time the flashbacks ended, he was already stitched up and on his feet. It was weird, that many abilities firing off at once.

  "But... I still failed, didn't I?" Lautrecs voice, quiet it may have been, echoed in his empty room. "I had to rely on my bracers, I had to rely on my perks. I couldn't beat the Deathstalker without being reliant on my luck."

  Without those perks, without his magic, he really was nothing. Hell, he wasn't even able to take on Montgomery without magic.

  "I need to stop being so damn useless. Ilia was able to handle the Deathstalker solo with nothing but her damn self. The Night’s Edge won’t be around forever, Lautrec!" His eyes drifted to his forearms, the Lone Wanderer's Bracers had several dents, and even a small puncture. "Nor will these."

  [Lone Wanderer's Steel Bracers*]

  [Legendary Armor]

  [Durability: 70%]

  [Enchantment: Time Slow.]

  [Due to damage of the Bracer's form, the flow of Mana has been disrupted slightly. [Time Slow] will only work at 66% efficiency. Requires [Enchanter] and [Magic Blacksmith] skills to repair.]

  "Fuck." Was his only word. Lautrec palmed his face, and fell back against his bed. That was bad.

  "No, stop thinking about it, look on the brightside. I completed the quest best I could, kept Ilia alive, leveled up five times, and unlocked another another questline."

  [Quest Completed: Gnome's Rock and Limestone Cave!]

  [Objective: Slay Montgomery and his Watchdog, The Deathstalker Infant (Y)]

  [Bonus Objective: Keep Ilia alive and in one piece(Y)]

  [Rewards: +Massive XP, +40k Lien, +REP with Ilia Amitola, +Hunter Rank [C], +Panic Necklace, +Band of Mana Regeneration, Continuation, Rewards of [Names in the Obituary] questline, Spell Tome: Stone Flesh, Aura Tome: Reinforcement, Perk: Dark Vision, +2 Perk Points, +20 Wild Points.]

  [Bonus Rewards: + Massive REP with Ilia Amitola and Jakob Myerwitch + Large REP with ?, +REP with ? And ?, + [The Midnight Sun] Questline]

  [Panic Necklace]

  [Description: After taking a hit, the wearer is given a 10% agility buff]

  [Band of Mana Regeneration]

  [Description: Increases Mana Regeneration by 20%]

  [Aura Tome: Reinforcement]

  [Description: By focusing aura, buff physical aspects of your body.]

  "All good stuff." Even if he felt like a fraud in comparison to Ilia for having to rely on his Magic to make it as a Hunter, Intellectually he knew that more Magic would keep him alive. And as much shame as he would feel for relying on it, anything that improved his chances against monsters like Deathstalkers was welcome.

  He learned all the tomes, and let out a breath of relief.

  [Questline: Names in the Obituary]

  [Named Slain: Rudy, The Dumpling, Montgomery.]

  [Rewards for Montgomery: Battle Worn Bone Helmet, Small Potion of Regeneration, 8k Lien.]

  "Holy shit. Holy shit!" Lautrecs previously mopey additude evaporated instantly, and he stood from his bed, activating [Mana Sight] as he pulled the potion out of his inventory.

  'Potions! I never even thought that they would exist, how did I not think of that!?' He looked inside the bottle, seeing the concentrated Mana swishing inside. "Oh, I'm so going to need to experiment with this. But later, when I can actually understand it.”

  The boy placed the potion back into his inventory, and began shifting through clothes. “What I need right now, is to find a gym, one for huntsmen or at least for people with aura. That should be my next step. Something simple and easy. No more relying so heavily on wild points.” He opened his scroll, and shot a message to Yang, asking just for that.

  A proper gym to train would be a good way to get started.

  Oh, and Huntsman clothes!

  And since he was going shopping anyway, hair dye.

  _____________________________________________

  Ilia sighed, walking into the room with Jakob, shifting awkwardly as the bandage on her shoulder rubbed against the small cut.

  “So… Do I need to ask why you look so roughed up?” The unassuming man walked up to her with a bottle of water and a gracious smile.

  “The mission went to shit, ran into an Elder Beowulf and Deathstalker combo.” That wiped away whatever amusement Jakob wore on his face.

  “Shit, and you’re the one that got off light. How’s Lautrec?”

  Ilia laughed. “Would you believe me if I said he was completely unharmed and practically handled the two of them himself?”

  He sighed in response, lightly smacking the top of her head with the water bottle. “I wouldn’t, because you like to short change yourself.” His eyes went soft, slightly leaning down to be eye-to-eye with her. “What’d you do?”

  ‘Ah, the bastard..’ she thought, before words fell from her lips faster than she could properly think. “I distracted the Deathstalker and chipped at it with Lightning Lash while he killed the Elder Beowulf. Afterwards, we tag teamed the Deathstalker until we killed it.” After she finished, Ilia coughed and snatched the water from his hands.

  “Fuck off with the semblance! You know I hate it.”

  “Ha! You would’ve downplayed your contributions to me unless I forced them from your lips.” The man laughed and invited her to sit with him, which Ilia took. “Is he good enough to protect me in Little Mistral?”

  “Yes, absolutely.” She rolled her eyes, huffing. “He was probably as good as Adam while we fought the Deathstalker.”

  “Not when he fought the Elder?”

  “No. He had a huge jump in his speed and when he came back to help. Oh, and probably some decent aura reserves as well. He was able to take two direct hits from the Deathstalker and was apparently fine after. And good aura control as well, cause he was channeling it in his sword and shooting it out.”

  “Isn’t that something Menagerie practices?” Jakob looked particularly interested in her words.

  “Aura Channeling? It’s rare, but there are some higher ups in the Midnight Sun that use it. Like Adam or Jian. But Mistrali’s have a history with it too.”

  “Course they do. They love to steal and claim Faunus culture as theirs.” Jakob chuckled without any of the amusement, “Their history has ever been the same. Bunch of bandits and thieves.” He scowled.

  “Worse than Atlas.” She agreed. “We built their kingdom, supported their economy, held it together, and then they have the audacity to try and rid us completely from ‘their’ lands.”

  Jakob hummed, nodding lightly at her words. “Back on track, though. You said he was on Adam’s level?”

  “Around there. Not as skilled, but when he stopped sandbagging, he was a monster.”

  “Hm. How old is he, did Tukson ever figure that out?”

  “Like sixteen, somewhere around Beacon age.”

  “Hm, perfect. There was a request, from Blake. Adam and her are thinking about raiding a human outpost, they want you back for it. And best of all, they're thinking of using a human decoy to lure out the front guards without them triggering an alarm.”

  Ilia’s eyes widened. “No, you can’t be serious.”

  “Think about it, Ilia, think about how much this would change the Fang!” He smiled widely, crookedly. “Can’t you appeal to his sense of justice, that roaring passion of ‘I can not let the is people suffer.’”

  He must’ve seen the ill look on her face, and he calmed himself down, hiding his true colors once more, but not shying away from his ambition. “Ilia, I know. A human in the Midnight Sun? Terrible. But can’t you see how much this will help us? It would legitimize everything Sienna preaches. The Belladonna’s would have to cave to her demands for more aggressive action in Mistral. This is your way back to their ranks.”

  She bit her lip and looked away. It was disgusting, taking advantage of someone who was genuinely a good person, but it was for a good cause, a great cause even. Lautrec might even be willing to help, she just had to explain it well, right? “I’ll see what I can do. But he and I have only been friends for a day, give me a week or two to try and put it in his mind.”

  “I knew you would come around. Sienna will be proud that her pupil is making strides in Vale." Jakob smiled lightly, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Blake will love to hear that you're back. Imagine the looks on their faces when you come back, not only to help but bringing a combat ready human to help?"

  She was imagining it, and Ilia could admit it looked a beautiful sight.