173So here we are again, back after one month. I could've finished this chapter during the march break, but I got distracted with Undertale. Well, hope you all enjoy chapter 4.
'New Born'
Beowulf Gateway
Difficulty: Easy
"Seriously, what the hell am I looking at?" he spoke out loud, hoping that some unknown force would answer.
Unfortunately, nothing mystical happened. Stupid 1 luck stat.
Jaune has seen many things, but a miniature dark star floating out of some non-existent black hole definitely takes the prize for the most bizarre. It was just a glowing sphere; what exactly made it a "gateway"? It didn't look like a door at all. More importantly, why was it displaying that the difficulty was Easy? On second thought, why did it have Difficulty in the first place? Weiss, for example, only displayed her title, level, and name over her petite head. Not only that, but Observe's passive only worked on living beings. (Jaune had no doubts in his mind that he would get a seizure if that passive also applied to objects as well). So what on Remnant is that thing?
Right now, the Beowulf Gateway remained stationary. An array of emotions began to flood his mind as each single second passed. He felt a twist of fear and curiosity in the presence of something new. A part of him wanted to run as fast as possible. Another part of him wanted to stay and investigate this strange entity even further. After all, this might be his only chance to confirm if he lost his sanity or not.
And what he thought was the best part? That warm feeling from earlier had enveloped him the moment he walked into this alleyway, allowing him to think out a strategy on what to do next. 'Okay, first things first. . .' he thought, 'I should use Observe's active and see what other information I can get.'
"Observe."
'New Born'
Beowulf Gateway
Difficulty: Easy
HP: N/A
MP: N/A
"A construct born from Nothing; acts as a portal into the Void."
"Great, now I'm even more confused." Jaune frowned. "How can something be made from nothing?!"
It also explained that it was some kind of portal that would lead to somewhere called the "Void". Honestly, it sounded like the name of some shady bar club downtown.
But the question remains: should he go in? If he stepped through this gateway, would he get answers? Or is this just some illusion?
"Heh, if it is an illusion then I'm definitely going to see some help." He declared.
Carefully, he inched both feet towards the Beowulf Gateway. Jaune could feel the temperature around him drop as he got closer to the construct. The grip on the metal bat tightened to the point where the blond could basically feel his knuckles turning white. He couldn't help but experience anxiety about being in this scenario. What if – like massive WHAT IF – this wasn't an illusion forged from his insanity? He would be hurled into a new location, heck new "world" if he followed through with this. He could be trapped in the unknown for literal eternity for all he knew!
'Wait, if this is a portal, then how am I supposed to enter?' he suddenly realized.
Gritting his teeth, Jaune cautiously extended his weapon at the orb. If he was going to be testing his dumb luck, then he might as well use a test-dummy first. Hopefully, the world won't screw him and have the floating ball explode in his face. That would be a horrible way to go; he could imagine what his tombstone would look like, 'Here lie the pieces of Jaune Arc, killed by an explosive floating orb that was apparently made out of nothing. . . I don't get paid enough for this job'. Yeah, he can definitely see the guy in charge of his grave writing that at the end.
It was that moment when the bat had physical contact with the sphere that Jaune immediately regretted his decision. The best way he could describe it was that the Gateway radiated with a stronger flame, and with each passing second, its radiance expanded. Mere moments passed, and Jaune found himself consumed by a blinding light.
Jaune was disoriented in a general term. Even with his eyes shut, all he could register was pure white. Not to mention that annoying ringing chorusing trough his ear drums. 'If this is what it's like to be hit with a flash grenade, then joining Vale's military is definitely going off my possible careers list!' He screamed internally. He could still feel the cold metal from the baseball bat in his grasp. 'Okay, that's good. At least my sense of touch isn't messed up.' He pushed the toes of his feet inward; they were met with solid ground through his shoes. Using video game logic, he assumed that that he would be flying through a black hole with the colours of rainbows dashing everywhere. Then again, reality and video games were completely separate things. Well, up until today that is.
When the ringing began to quiet down, Jaune rubbed his eyes with his free hand until his vision restored to darkness. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened his eyes expecting the worst to come.
". . . What?" he deadpanned. His entire surrounding environment was the same. He was still in the same alleyway; the ocean sky indicating that time was more or less the same thing. The only difference was that the lighting around him was darker. He looked forward and noticed that the Gateway had vanished. Bringing down the bat, he turned around and let out a disappointed sigh, "Crazy, I've definitely gone crazy-"
A sizzling sound was heard in the direction of where the sphere used to be. Looking back, he gazed at a shadow with black smoke rising from the concrete. More smoke appeared out of the shadow as the dark entity sluggishly started to condense into a blob. Its structure appeared to be unstable as bubbles and a foam-like substance was beginning to form. The blob twisted and turned; its shape morphing and materializing into a being. Its new form resembled from what Jaune could interpret as a werewolf from one of his video games. Its size expanded to at least six feet tall standing on its hind legs. Its pitch black claws developed from its arms, extended outward, ready to rip apart whatever got in its way. When its transformation was complete, the wolf-like creature stared at Jaune with crimson eyes filled with bloodlust.
Beowulf
Lv 5
'So a werewolf made out of smoke and shadows? You don't see that every day. . .' Jaune trembled. A shivering feeling had abruptly consumed him. He could feel the blood in his veins freezing up in fear from this monstrosity. His hands were fidgeting with a mind of their own and his legs grew numb; his dread had locked him in place. The only thing that was still functioning was his strangely organized inner thoughts. He wasn't sure if this warm feeling was a blessing or a curse because while he could still think properly, Jaune was just a soul trapped in a frozen vessel right now.
He tried to scream, whisper, heck even let out anything audible, but it was no use. There was a lump of solid horror stuck in his throat.
'm-move. . .'
The Beowulf howled, its deafening roar sending vibrations through the boy's spine.
'Move. . .'
The beast leaned forward, its blades for claws crushing the concrete floor beneath it. His eyes widened at the sight of its barred teeth, a faint black mist evaporating out of its breath. It was preparing to kill Jaune.
'C'mon . . . move dammit! You're going to die if you don't!'
With a growl, the Beowulf lunged at him. "I'm . . . I'm not going to die here!" He declared, forcing his will power against his fear. Just as its claws were about to sink into his flesh, he intercepted the strike with his bat. However, upon immediate contact, the force from the monster had sent Jaune stumbling onto the ground. The wolf pounced on him, but Jaune rolled out of the way in time. He quickly got up and tried to get away from the enclosed space. But the Beowulf intercepted his escape path. It snarled in apparent disgust at his cowardice.
Jaune didn't freeze up this time, however. He felt as if someone had injected liquid adrenaline into his blood stream which was causing him to become high with courage. With both hands firmly gripped on the bat, he cautiously took a step back. The black demon reacted with rage and once again charged at him. He shifted to the right to avoid its attack. Instead of Jaune, the Beowulf slammed its arm right through a dumpster. It violently thrashed its body in an attempt to free itself.
Taking the advantage, Jaune ran up and swung with all his might at the beast. It connected with the monster's left shoulder. The beast howled with fury and forcibly ripped its arm out. Retreating back, he had to resist the urge to vomit at the sight at the way its right arm was bent. The manner that it just hung there lifelessly seemed really disturbing to Jaune. It didn't seem to faze the Beowulf, though. It raised it broken arm, and with a series of alarming cracking noises, it somehow fixed itself into place.
The strange thing, however, was that it just stared aimlessly at the Gamer.
"Observe" he grumbled through gritted teeth. He didn't think that it would help much. After all, how was a description going to save him? That was when another display screen appeared in front of him.
'Observe' level has gone up by 1!
Beowulf
Lv 5
HP: 94/100
MP: N/A
"A low-class Grimm in the hierarchy of Nothing. Despite its position in the chain of command, these monsters have a surprisingly strong healing factor. However, these beings become docile when healing their injuries . . ."
If the Beowulf becomes docile when healing, that means that it won't be able to attack him! With his new found knowledge, he quickly devised a strategy. He readied himself back into his previous stance. With its fury restored in its eyes, the Beowulf advanced towards him again. It swung its newly repaired arm at him, but Jaune ducked and swung his weapon at its hind leg. It buckled in response, and using the side of the bat, Jaune pushed it towards the ground.
This is where his plan would become effective. While the Beowulf would be busy healing itself, Jaune would be able to get away and call for help. He sprang for the exit out of the alley. But just as when he was about to reach the sidewalk, an invisible force pushed him back into the area with the monster.
"What the heck?!" he cried, quickly steadying himself back to his feet. He extended his hand outward. It was met with some sort of energy wall. It was invisible, but when he touched it, a small portion of it changed into colour resembling a dark tint of the Beowulf Gateway. It felt ominous, kind of like touching the surface of a coffin that held the body of some crazed serial killer that was ready to come back as a zombie at any moment. Annoyed, he punched the barrier; it had no effect.
"Hey! Is anyone out there! I need help! Somebody help me!" he cried out desperately.
But nobody came.
His cries for help faltered when he suddenly heard snarling from behind. The Beowulf was back in its pouncing position, its eyes lusting for his blood.
If he killed whatever that thing was, would he be free to go? He didn't have much of a choice in the matter.
The Beowulf charged at him with a similar form of attack. It was like fighting a mob in a video game. They only had a few attacks before they became predictable. Anticipating the lunge, Jaune jumped out of the way. To his surprise, the energy wall had deflected the Beowulf back into the alleyway as well. Seizing the opportunity, he struck blindly at his opponent. A loud crack rang through his ears as a message popped up in front of him.
Enemy left arm crippled! Enemy damage reduced by 10%!
Striking wildly at your enemy has increased you ATK by 1!
Jaune knew that the Beowulf would become passive in order to heal its arm. Knowing this, he could easily beat this monster into oblivion. He decided it would be efficient to aim for the head rather than just swing randomly. Approaching the beast, Jaune raised the bat over his head, preparing to end this once and for all.
Or so he thought.
The Beowulf let out another furious howl. Suddenly, the monster twisted its body, flinging its crippled arm at a surprised Jaune. Taken off guard by the Beowulf's lack of self-preservation, Jaune was punished with what he could describe as a sledgehammer to the face. The force had sent his body to collide with the wall and he was met with a searing quantity of pain throughout his body.
He was hurting, but still conscious. He focused his attention at the wolf-monster, the same cracking sound emitting from its limb. He cursed its ability to heal – why didn't he have health regeneration?!
His eyes widened in pure shock and his heart stopped beating for the briefest moment.
Beside the Beowulf's feet was his silver baseball bat. "Dammit, it must have fallen out of my grip when that thing launched at me." he groaned. He cursed at the pain he was feeling as he forced himself up against the wall. "S-Status. . ." he grunted.
Name: Jaune Arc [Conditions: Normal]
Title: N/A
Class: The Gamer
Lien: 100
Level: 2
Exp: 0/ 50
HP: 35/60(+)
MP: 10/10 (+)
ATK: 12 (+)
AGI: 7 (+)
CON: 8 (+)
INT: 10(+)
WIS: 8(+)
LUK: 1(+)
Points: 6
His HP wasn't that bad. But all it took was a swing with a broken arm to reduce his HP to such an amount. He really didn't want to find out how much he'd have left if that thing managed to get a swipe with its claws against him.
Jaune was tempted to upgrade his stats now, but the Beowulf would have killed him by the time he pressed the Accept button. Right now, all he could do was wait for that damn werewolf-thing to finishing healing, dodge its next attack, and head straight for his weapon. After what just happened to him, he wasn't going to take any more chances with testing if that Beowulf was actually "docile".
Mere seconds passed and the Beowulf was ready at another attempt to kill Jaune again. A long breath escaped his mouth in an attempt to calm down his tense muscles. He had one shot at this. If he failed to dodge, Jaune was going to die a painful death.
Without warning, the Beowulf jumped at Jaune, its claw raised to strike the blond. Jaune dashed towards his weapon, he twisted his body to the left to dodge the attack. But just like his fight with Cardin, the sluggish movement of his body screwed him over. The very tip of the Beowulf's claw had managed to slash him across the back of this left shoulder. He wanted to scream in agony as a feeling of fire-burning-flesh raced from his shoulder to his entire left side of his body. He could feel his back becoming tingly as blood trickled out of his wound. Slight tears began to well up in his eyes from the pain. He just wanted to fall onto the floor and accept his fate. But pain was also a good motivator.
The sheer determination to stay alive filled him with even more adrenaline; his senses suddenly began working into overdrive. Next thing he knew, he was standing face to face with the monster with his weapon in hand. Seriously, he felt amazing right now. It was a feeling as if he could take over the entire world! Everything right now felt clearer. It was like that warm feeling didn't just affect his mind anymore, but all of his senses as well!
With a wicked grin on his face, Jaune could no longer hold it in. "Hey you! I'm pretty sure you can't understand me, but my name is Jaune Arc and I'm going to be the one who gets out of this alleyway alive!"
The Beowulf growled in response and lunged at Jaune. Even with gashes over his left shoulder, Jaune still had a firm grip on his weapon. Without thinking, Jaune charged as well. With new found strength, he swung the bat right across its jaw, sending it flying towards the damaged dumpster. The Beowulf shook it off and attacked Jaune again. It swung its right claw at his head. He ducked out of the way. Jaune countered with a one-handed upward swing to its jaw once again. Before it could recover from the blow, Jaune sent the steel towards its left hind leg. Its knee hit the ground upon impact. Using the same move from earlier, he pushed the beast back using the side of his bat.
Instead of running like last time, Jaune was going to press the advantage. He swung down and the Beowulf let out a cry of pain.
CRACK!
Enemy left leg crippled! Enemy Agility reduced by 30%!
He wasn't focused on reducing its speed; he aimed for the leg to make sure it stayed down. It was a savage yet effective strategy.
With his enemy immobilized, he swung downward at its chest. The beast growled in agony. Common sense told him to aim for its head, but logic warned him that was a bad idea. See, if Jaune wanted to strike at this creature's cranium, he had to move a couple feet ahead. Sure, he'd do more damage, but that would lead him wide open to a flailing claw at his legs. He'd prefer to get out of here with both his legs intact. At his current position, he could relentlessly attack the monster without getting hurt. So with the bat raised over his head, he prepared for another attack.
He swung again.
Again.
Repeated physical effort has increased your ATK by 1!
And again.
At first, the Beowulf was thrashing widely, limbs whirling in all directions in a desperate attempt to get away from the blond. Its cries of bloody murder were so loud that Jaune was sure that the entire island must have heard it. But as his brutal strikes connected, its growls became weaker until they were reduced to nothing more than feral grunts. Soon its body began to falter and eventually became limp.
Jaune knew that his next attack would be the finishing blow, he didn't need the Observe skill to inform him that. He gazed upon the beast's face one last time. It stared at him with a stubborn defiance. Even after the Beowulf was beaten, its crimson eyes still possessed that unnatural fury behind them.
Letting out a scream, he swung with all of his remaining strength.
The Beowulf let out an unexpected howl, probably as its dying breath. The blood in its eyes darkened until they looked as if they had become hollow. There was an eerie silence as the corpse remained lifeless; Jaune was half expecting it to get back up and start trying to kill him again. Suddenly, the black smoke he saw earlier began to emit from the still body. It started off as a little puff of dark mist, but then it expanded like a wildfire in just a couple of seconds. Next thing he knew, pieces of the body started to tear off and become part of the smog. It was as if the entire corpse was set ablaze with invisible flames, burning until even the ashes themselves became part of the inferno oblivion.
Even though he was standing right in front of it, his nose couldn't pick up a single hint of burning. The air around him was clean, and his eyes didn't even shed a tear of irritation in the presence of the evaporating smoke. The Beowulf finally disintegrated into nothing. He didn't blink; the sight left his mind wandering for answers.
That was when he noticed something odd. The sky above him had shifted from an ocean of blue to the same shade of colour of that damn Gateway. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. It turned back to its proper colour, only to revert back to the distorted hue a moment after. It initiated a flickering display of colour shifts, much like Weiss turning the light switch on and off to get him out of bed on a lazy weekend. Its rate of change slowed down until the dark tone faded back into the correct colour that he'd grown to love since he was born.
A message popped up in front of him.
All enemies eliminated! Gateway cleared!
"What the -" his voice vanished, sudden weakness overwhelming his entire body. He felt like being crushed alive under a massive boulder. All of his muscles went numb from the aftershock and he stumbled back to lean against the wall with his uninjured shoulder for support. A soft clang rang through his ears as the baseball bat hit the floor. He didn't even have enough strength to clench his hand. The wound that the Beowulf gave him earlier had returned full force; throbbing agony practically screaming from his left shoulder.
His physical boost left him. That warm feeling that had given him the extra strength to prevail over the monster had retreated back to the realm of his mind. And now his body was paying the consequences.
God, he didn't even notice how bad his physical condition was. His face was drenched in sweat and the bandage that Velvet had placed over his cheek was gone, exposing his bruise to the elements. He was completely out of breath. Jaune was taking in large gulps of air, but his lungs still felt as if someone had poured lava into them.
His legs surrendered to his unexpected fatigue and he crashed onto the ground, limbs sprawled in all directions.
'I really don't want to die here'
"Stat - *pant* - Status. . ." he gasped through heavy breaths.
Name: Jaune Arc [Conditions:
Bleeding: -1 HP/Second {Duration: 5 sec}]
Title: N/A
Class: The Gamer
Lien: 100
Level: 2
Exp: 25/ 50
HP: 19/60(+)
MP: 10/10 (+)
ATK: 13 (+)
AGI: 7 (+)
CON: 8 (+)
INT: 10(+)
WIS: 8(+)
LUK: 1(+)
Points: 6
As much as he hated feeling like his insides were going to blow up, a small tide of relief washed over him as his eyes desperately focused on the screen before him. Closing his eyes, he was met with calm darkness. His eyelids remained shut as he mentally counted up to five. And then a miracle happened.
The searing stinging from his shoulder vanished, replaced with a tolerable aching instead. 'N-No way. . .it couldn't – no shouldn't have worked.' He thought in disbelief. Did he really stop bleeding out in just five seconds?
Sure Bleeding sucks, but to actually prevent something like that from happening? Was he #1 on some "Chances to be affected by the supernatural" list?
Right now, he had 14 HP remaining, and he definitely felt like it with his body being weighed down by exhaustion. Jaune decided it would be best to just lie here until he could breathe properly.
Hoping for someone to find him was very unlikely. After all, no one answered his pleas for help when he was trapped in that energy barrier. What are the chances of somebody coming to his aid now? Besides, as much as he wanted to be in the hospital getting treatment, Jaune would probably be sent to an insane asylum shortly after. He could picture the conversation in his head:
"So Jaune, can you tell me what caused you these injuries?" the doctor would ask.
"Oh gosh golly Doc', here I was minding my own business when suddenly a werewolf comes out of a floating orb and starts attacking me! But don't worry Doc', I killed it with my good ol' trusty baseball bat! Oh, and did I mention my entire perception of reality turned into a video game! Isn't that great?!"
That would be his out-of-character response.
. . . Then they'd arrest Qrow for distributing alcohol to a minor.
His breathing had been reduced to a steady rate. Granted his insides were still on fire, but it was manageable. He was tempted to lose consciousness and drift off into the peaceful darkness. But he dismissed that idea believing that it would do more harm than good. His body was functioning below average, but what would happen if he shut down? He'd probably turn into a sculpture the moment he opened his eyes. He needed to get home right now.
That and Weiss would probably castrate him if he didn't be back home to make dinner.
'Ok Jaune, just take it slow and steady,' he thought, carefully lifting his arms up and planting his hands on the floor. His arms trembled tremendously the instant he tried to push himself up. His body was commanding him to submit and stay down, but his mind rebelled against its notion. He brought one of his legs up into a kneeling position; the feeling of gravity doubling over him. But he didn't surrender; Jaune forced himself to stand up with one final mental push against his body. He felt the weight on his body begin to weaken and a surprising amount of energy surged through him.
Overcoming your physical limit has increased your CON by 1!
Although the energy boost wasn't much, his fatigue had been cut down from 'I-just-survived-a-monster-attack' exhausted to 'I-haven't-slept-in-three-days' exhausted.
He placed his fingertips on his shoulder. He immediately flung his arm away when he was met with a stinging ache. The injury may have stopped the bleeding, but it was still there to his dismay. He'll just have to worry about it when he gets home.
He kneeled down to reach for his weapon. That's when something caught his eye. Inches away from the bat was a silver gem that illuminated with a weak glow. A part of him was terrified to interact with this foreign object. After all, he almost died when he decided to touch the Beowulf Gateway. Playing it safe, he used Observe on it first.
Reward Gem
Rewarded for eliminating a Beowulf. Contains 25 lien.
"I-It's just like a video game. . ." he muttered in amazement. He reached over for the gem. But just about when his hand was going to it, the crystal transformed into a sparkling gas and it absorbed itself into his palm. He quickly brought his hand back and inspected it for any change. Thankfully, it remained the same.
A message screen popped up in front of him.
Reward Gem acquired! +25 lien added!
He pulled out his wallet and examined his currency. He couldn't believe it. There was actually 25 lien extra when he counted the total.
"No freaking way."
He wanted to reason that he was crazy. That he somehow found that extra money and forgot all about it. But after having a fight to the death against a monster made out of shadows, anything was possible now. Jaune wasn't crazy; his life truly had become an RPG.
He couldn't help but chuckle at this revelation. To think his stupid luck had caused the supernatural forces to change his reality. The concept sounded so dumb that it would make for a pretty ridiculous fan-fiction.
He aimlessly reached for his bat, not bothering to look at it because he quickly realized that bending his neck generated aching signals to his brain. He set out for his walk home, letting out a groan of irritation for this was truly going to be a test of endurance.
After everything that's happened to him, the boy was sure that it would make a great joke for Yang, 'A somewhat crazy gamer and a demonic werewolf meet up in an alleyway . . . the werewolf got bludgeoned to death by a baseball bat.'
By the time he reached his apartment, he lost all feeling in his legs. And as a cruel joke, fate decided to flip him off and not grant him any additional CON points. Another dose of that energy would do him wonders right now.
He fished for his key in his pocket, but to his dismay, it disappeared. "Sure thing fate," he grumbled, "first you let Cardin beat me up, then you send a monster to kill me, and now you steal my key. You're giving me the greatest day ever, aren't you?"
With no other alternative, he dropped the bat to the side and knocked on the door with his right hand.
No response.
Jaune tried knocking again. He called out through the door, "Weiss, it's me."
Again, no response.
He grunted at his roommate's behavior. "Weiss, c'mon, I know you're in there. You always head straight back home once school is over."
Once again, only silence responded to him. Annoyed, Jaune just kept knocking. He knew that she would give up with the silent treatment eventually.
He heard some shuffling and footsteps from the other side. "Would you stop with that knocking?" she yelled from behind the door.
"Okay, okay," he called back. "Hey, can you open the door for me?"
"Why should I? I understand that you're lazy, but this is taking it to a whole new level." She countered, slight disgust in her tone.
"Look, I lost my key sometime today okay? Just open the door, please?" If only their door's eyehole wasn't blocked with a piece of gum, Weiss would have opened the door the moment she saw his face.
"Oh, so you think you can just get away with being irresponsible and-"
"Weiss, please just listen." He begged. "If you open the door, you'll understand."
There was a brief silence, then the sound of locks releasing was heard. "Alright, what am I supposed to understand-" Weiss' eyes widened and she let out a gasp "- oh my god, Jaune what happened?"
That grim expression on her face – did he really look that bad?
Before he could respond, she immediately grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into the apartment. For a petite girl, Weiss had a startling amount of strength. She threw him onto the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. Jaune was tempted to turn on the television, but that would definitely lead to a pointless rant with Weiss.
Weiss returned with a bucket and a first-aid kit – wait, when did they get a first aid kit? She set them down on the coffee table. She pulled a cloth out of the bucket and squeezed water out of it, and then went to work on cleaning his face.
'Well, Weiss did say that a Schnee must be prepared for everything. I guess first-aid must be one of them' he thought, 'Though I gotta' admit, for someone who can't make their own meals, it's really ironic.'
She opened up the kit and brought out a bandage and, of course, the dreaded disinfectant. Jaune really hated that thing. "Hold still, I have to apply the sanitizer before I place the bandage on you."
He expected it to hurt less since he already experienced it, but the moment the rag touched his face, he couldn't help but hiss through gritted teeth from the burning. Great god, it felt even worse and lasted longer than last time! Weiss may have knowledge in this kind of field, but Velvet definitely had more experience.
A portion of your injuries had been treated! + 5 HP Restored!
She let out a sigh as she placed the fuzzy white fabric over his bruise. "Yes, I know it hurts, but act like a man will you?" She commented.
Jaune sniggered a bit, "Your weird sense of humor is always at the wrong time, Weiss. Then again, you didn't really have one until you moved in."
"I blame Yang. She's a terrible influence," was her comeback. She fixed an amused expression on her face, "Besides, you laughed, didn't you?"
"I'd roll on the floor, but I'm kind of hurting everywhere."
There was an awkward silence before that grim look returned again. "Jaune, what happened?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that a werewolf attacked me?"
"This isn't a time to be joking around you idiot." Her eyes narrowed. Well, it was worth a shot. Then again, he probably would have said the same thing if she gave him that response.
Pausing for a moment, he decided to stick with the half-truth. "Okay Weiss, the truth is that I got into a fight with Cardin."
"What? What could have made you do something so stupid? You know he can squash you like an insect."
"He was picking on Velvet." He said.
"You mean that faunus from the gardening club?" Jaune nodded.
"I couldn't just walk away and pretend it never happened. I-I don't know what came over me . . ." he lied on that part. That warm feeling gave him that extra push to stand up for himself. ". . . But I finally decided enough was enough. Luckily for me, Qrow was able to come in and save the day."
Jaune wanted to tell Weiss about the gashes behind his shoulder, but he couldn't think of a way to explain how he got them. Plus, she'd almost certainly call the hospital if she saw something like that. Hospital equals insane asylum, and he wouldn't want that. Right now, the wound was concealed with his back pressed against the couch. He was giving Weiss the best poker face he could muster up with what strength he had left. Fortunately, it was working.
"I understand that, but what I don't understand is why you look exhausted." She inspected his entire body with her eyes. "Sure, that brute hit you hard. But that doesn't lead to you looking as if you had to brawl against some monster and barely getting out of there alive."
Oh the irony.
"T-That's because some guys ambushed me on the way home." He lied, but then he quickly added when he noticed her facial expression, "And before you freak out: no, they didn't give me more injuries. It was just the occasional shove and jabs to the stomach. Oh and that reminds me, can you go get my baseball bat? It's just outside the door."
"Baseball bat?" she inquired. "When did you get a baseball bat?"
"Velvet gave it to me. She said that Cardin's gang might attack me for revenge, so she figured I might as well look intimidating. If it weren't for her, I probably would have a lot more bruises."
She sighed in relief. "Well, you should thank her tomorrow then. That's what a gentleman would do." She left outside to retrieve his weapon.
Taking the opportunity, Jaune decided to get comfortable. He shifted his weight to the side and brought himself into a position with his back on the seat of the couch. He squirmed until the pain around his shoulder was reduced to a minimum.
"I'm just going to leave it by the door." She called out as a faint sound of metal against wood was heard. When she returned, Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm going to take a well-deserved nap." He said.
"On the sofa? You have a bed, remember?"
"My legs stopped working, plus I'm already in a comfortable position." He yawned.
"You mean to tell me after all that, you still want to be lazy? Jaune, for crying out loud, your room is just a couple of steps away from where you're loafing!" she shook her head in frustration.
"One hour? Just give me one hour for my body to recharge itself." He raised his index finger in the air. "Then I'll go get myself cleaned up and prepare dinner. Heck, I'll even let you pick what we're having for today."
Weiss smirked at his proposal. "Well, I haven't had spaghetti in awhile. . . Alright, you got yourself a deal. But if I see that you're still asleep, I'm going to pour that bucket all over you."
"Aye aye, captain Schnee." He waved her a mock salute before leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling.
"I have an essay to finish, so I'm going back to my room."
As quiet footsteps rang through his ears, Jaune finally remembered his manners. "Hey, roommate?"
The sound of feet moving stopped. He could have sworn he heard her letting out a breath. "What is it now?"
"Thanks for – you know, treating my bruise. I really appreciate it."
There was a short stillness in the air. ". . . If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Then the thud of a door closing was heard.
Finally, he was alone.
'It's actually funny now that I think about it. The one thing I had a passion for takes full control of my reality and transforms it into a real life video game. The kind where I'm some kind of hero whose job is to slay monsters. . .'
In a weary whisper, he opened up the Status screen.
Name: Jaune Arc [Conditions: Normal]
Title: N/A
Class: The Gamer
Lien: 125
Level: 2
Exp: 25/ 50
HP: 29/65(+)
MP: 10/10 (+)
ATK: 13 (+)
AGI: 7 (+)
CON: 9 (+)
INT: 10(+)
WIS: 8(+)
LUK: 1(+)
Points: 6
His finger reached for the desired stat.
'But if that's the case. . .'
Name: Jaune Arc [Conditions: Normal]
Title: N/A
Class: The Gamer
Lien: 125
Level: 2
Exp: 25/ 50
HP: 29/65(+)
MP: 10/10 (+)
ATK: 19 (+6) (-)
AGI: 7 (+)
CON: 9 (+)
INT: 10(+)
WIS: 8(+)
LUK: 1(+)
Points: 0
Confirm?
[Yes] [No]
He pressed on [Yes], and with a smile, he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
'. . . I'm going to win this game my way.'
You want some cheese to go along with that? Anyways, that whole interaction between Weiss and Jaune was to further establish their relationship as friends/ roommates. What I mean is that although Jaune refers to Weiss as his 'Cold roommate who makes his life miserable', I didn't want to completely define her as a 2D-character. I also wanted to portray that Weiss isn't in full fault either; Jaune also has cons to deal with. Their friendship is like, "We annoy each other but that means we care about each other." Plus if you've been living under the same roof with someone for 3-4 years, you're bound to warm up. Anyways, if you haven't spotted my update pattern, it's monthly around the 20-30 day period.
One more thing (though it's mostly directed towards fellow writers): if you're going to review, I'd appreciate if you added advice regarding what I could do to improve my writing either at the end or beginning of your review. You can relate how frustrating it can be when your projected words don't match the picture in your imagination.
Well, that's all, have a nice day.