Chapter 37: Shift

Chapter 37: Shift

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

Shift

The pain faded after a moment, but I laid there breathing hard, body pushed to exhaustion. I could already feel Regeneration working to alleviate that, though, and I healed myself to hasten the process, clamoring to my feet just moments after going down. As long as I was alive, as long as I had power to fuel my skills, what happened to my body was almost irrelevant, so I pushed on through, looking at my opponent.

"You've gotten stronger," My mother praised, waiting patiently as I rose. We stood together in the clearing I'd made during my training backwow, sometimes it was hard to remember that it was really not all that long ago. It was only a week or two ago that I'd been wasting away some time out here, training myself for the mission. I wasn't sure when she'd found this place, though it probably hadn't taken long after finding out I was missing. I wonder what she'd thought when she saw it? She must have known I came out here to practice, but what'd she think when she saw the pockmarks I'd left behind beside the disturbingly pristine trees I'd healed? Did she see something in the marks, go over them again and again trying to discern some hint as to my whereabouts?

I didn't know and it made me feel guilty again. But now I was

Well, getting my ass kicked, honestly. She'd brought me out here to train, asking about my skills to begin with. I'd given her a rundown of what I could do, where I could give specificsthe MP costs, my MP and HP bars, how regain my SP and HP by healing myself, how I replenished HP and MP at a rate of one percent a minute prior to other modifiers, and the general stuff about the Gamer's Mind and Bodyall of which she'd dutifully noted down in her notebook. I'd even listed my exact stats and given the general descriptions of most of my skills, though a lot of those things were more relative. As a result, I wasn't surprised in the slightest when she'd demanded a sparring match to test my strength. I wasn't surprised when she asked I show her my full power, either, though I'd warned her.

Not about any danger to her, of course, because that'd just be silly. I still couldn't see her level which meant she must have beenI wasn't sure, but at least level seventy-something. I had neither fear for her safety, nor any delusions of victory. What I'd warned her about had been, quite simply, about the costs of the White Tiger's Five Hundred Years and that just because the Gamer's Body and my various skills made it look like I was invincible didn't mean I wasn't taking damage. I didn't want her to splatter me on accident or something, so I made sure she knew my limits and that I might need to heal myself periodically.

She'd nodded in acceptance and told me it wouldn't be an issue.

It hadn't been. She'd just put me down hard and then let me scrape myself off the ground before going again. Even with my vastly enhanced speed, she kept up with me without a single wasted movement. Her eyes were alert and her face expressionless as she calmly parried each of my strikes with her swordprobably more to test my strength than anything else.

"You used your fists as your weapon on your mission?" She asked as we fell into what probably counted as a relaxed rhythm when your level was in the stratosphere.

I went to nod but aborted it to shake my head.

"I had gauntlets," I said, hands on the restored Crocea Mors as I tried with all my might to push her back. I wouldn't succeed, but that wasn't the point of the exercise.

"Even so," She said, take a step closer with no apparent effort, pushing my feet back along the ground. I couldn't use Observe on her, so I wasn't sure how her strength compared to Penny's, but she wielded it with an ease and grace that set her apart. There was strength and surety in every motion, a silent confident in her casual stride as she pushed back. "Is that your weapon of choice now?"

I half-shrugged, trying to stay upright and braced against the immense weight.

"I needed a fighting style that was different from my own," I explained distractedly. "Fell a little behind because I trained my martial arts so much, but the type of weapon doesn't really matter. I wanted to work on my swordsmanship some, though."

She hummed and made a gesture like she was shaking something off her sword.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

I went flying again, barely managing to get my feet beneath me and bounce off the tree.

"Not that I don't enjoy thisbecause I do," I said honestly. "But you're not trying to show me that there are bigger fish or something, are you? Because boy, do I know. Half my plan was trying to avoid getting into fights against people I could lose again. I can use Observe, too, and see peoples levels and stats and such, sowell, I know where I stand with most of the people around me. Even if I can't see their levels and stuff, that just means they're out of my league. It's pretty hard to me to underestimate people, honestly. I mean, I'll fight them anyway if I have to, but"

"Good," She said, coming to my side with that same casual serenity. She presumably passed through all the points between point A and B to get there, but I couldn't confirm thatI just reacted to my Danger Sense and brought up my shield in defense. Parrying even an absent attack sent shocks of pain through my arm and hammered me down hard enough that I felt dirt brush my ankles. "Knowing where you stand is vital to any battle. Knowing when you have to fight and when you can avoid it, perhaps even more so. Your ability makes such things easier for you than most and that's good. If you had fought the wrong person"

I heard worry color her voice a moment before the pressure on me lightened. I didn't relax, still aware of the danger, but instead brought up my shield. She flicked her blade several meters away and threw me back.

"You did well, Jaune," She said, voice steady once more. "I know something of the opponents you had to fight, the odds you had to face, and you did very well. And I won't insult you by saying you got lucky"

"Nah, luck had a fair amount to do with it," I shook my head. If I'd fought Penny anywhere but a Dust mining town

"Because I can see how far you've come," She continued as if I hadn't said anything. "But it's precisely because you've come so far that this is necessary. You've decided, haven't you?"

I knew what she was asking and the answer was obviousbut I saw the gravity of her expression and knew how serious this question was, so I considered it silently for a moment. There were a lot of arguments to be made either way, but even so, the answer was still

"Yes," I said at last. "I want to help people. Hunter, healer, it doesn't matterbut this is who I want to be. It's all I ever wanted."

She nodded, looking at once saddened and proud.

"Then, if your mind's made up, I will train you," She replied. "You don't need anyone to tell you that stronger opponents exist; you know that better than most your age. Your heart is in the right place and, though we'll discuss your actions later, I trust it and I trust you. Though you've made some choices I consider foolish, you made them for reasons I can see and understand and you took my words to heart when it came to the value of wisdom. Granted, if I had known how deeply such words would shape youwell, it doesn't matter, does it? You turned out well, Jaune. However"

She turned her face away, looking up at the sky. I don't know what she saw there, but it probably wasn't just the stars.

"You probably know this, too," She said quietly. "But we live in an unforgiving world. It's cruel to the innocent and the weakand crueler still to those who'd fight to defend them. If you make a mistake out there, I can't promise you'll ever get a chance to make another oneand the awful truth is that we all make mistakes. I"

Her lips tried to form words but couldn't seem to give them breath. After a moment, she closed her mouth, apparently changing her mind.

"I'm glad that I got to see you grow up," She said. "All of you. I had friends who never got to do so for their childrenand others who died too young to even consider having them. A lot of Hunters simply disappear one day; go out on a mission that no one knew was special and justnever come back. Sometimes they leave behind bodies, sometimessometimes we don't even know until a week becomes a month. Your father and I have avoided that thus far, as have your sisters, butsomeday"

"Yeah," I said quietly, looking at the ground, remembering a child's fears, a sister's words, lies we all hoped were true. "II know."

"I've seen a lot of good men and women go," She continued after a moment. "Some of themmaybe stronger than me. That I'm here and they aren't was only because ofluck? Skill? Maybe a mixture? I don't know. ButI do know that strength alone isn't always enough. Nor skill, nor even luck. The odds are against us, because we can win a thousand times, but we only have to lose once and it doesn't"

She cut herself off for a moment, closing her eyes before continuing.

"Swung out to pick up some stuff from a friend at the University," He said, reaching into the bag to draw out a book as he took a seat on the edge of the bench. "He said he'd ship most of them later, but these should keep you entertained for a few days."

His fingers covered a worda name?but I read the rest of the front cover upside-down.

"Theory of Games?" I spoke the incomplete title aloud. "Is that a textbook?"

"Yeah," He chuckled, thumbing through it. "I saw it and I knew I had to get you this one. It's not as fun as it sounds, though."

"Shocking," I said, tilting my head for a minute. "My Intelligence?"

"There's no point in just training your body if we can train your mind as well. You said you could increase it by studying, right?" My mom asked. "Then we'll make sure you have plenty to study. I'll set aside specific times for it later, but for now, you can just do so through the night."

I nodded in acceptance.

"What about school?" I asked. "I usually studied there, beforeyou know."

"Canceled, still," Dad said, closing the book and squinting at the back cover. "Because of Ziz. City's on alert in case it needs to evac, so school's closed until the situation drops a class or two. Probably have a week or two before Ozpin gets everything fixed."

I mulled over that for a bit before wondering aloud.

"Should I even bother going back?" I asked after a moment's hesitation. "It's kind of a waste of time now, isn't it? And I don't need to finish to get into Beacon, do I?"

"Not much point now," Dad agreed absently. "You'll be done with the material and then some soon, anyway."

"I already finished reading all my school books, actually," I said.

He snorted.

"Nerd," He drew the word out for several seconds, ruffling my hair. "I'll handle it and I rather doubt it'll matter once we get you some street cred."

"Please stop," I asked, smiling at him. "Another step closer, huh?"

"Mm," He replied nodding as he put the book away. "Keep taking steps like you have been and it won't be long now. How long do you plan on training him, dear?"

I followed his gaze to my mother, curious myself. She was silent for a minute before putting up the bar and looking our way.

"However long it takes until he needs to fight Grimm to advance further," She said. "What level do your stats need to be to learn Bai Hu's final technique?"

"Physicals at seventy, mentals at ninety," I answered promptly. "I can probably get the physical stuff up that high in a month or two. Should be able to raise my Intelligence to seventy or so in that time, as well, if I have enough books. Beyond that, thoughI don't know how long it'll take to keep improving. I'll stick at it, but improving them gets harder and harder. Raising them to a hundred naturally could take most of a year."

"Then until his physical abilities and Intelligence are at seventy," She said calmly. "It'll take some time to get everything in order, but we'll train his physical abilities and important skills by day and he can study and practice on his own at night, until they reach that point. Improving Wisdom and raising Intelligence beyond that is likely better done through leveling up, so after that we'll start taking him hunting; he has thirty points already so he'd just need four levels."

"Sounds good," I said, starting to pant a little again. "I think I'll get something good once I raise my skills past a hundred, too, though."

"Eight levels, then" She corrected. "After thatwe'll see."

Dad nodded.

"Two months or so for the basic stuff though, huh?" He mused and chuckled, ruffling my hair again just because he could. "Pretty lucky timing. If you get done on time"

"What?" I asked, pausing for a moment as I brought the bar down. My dad smirked and opened his mouth to say somethingprobably not an answer but somethingwhen my mom spoke again.

"Jack, don't distract him," She said. "Jaune, keep working."

"You heard her," Dad said cheerfully, already at the door. "Goodbye, my nerdy son and beautiful wife. Don't train too long or I'll order your favorite foods and come down here to eat them in front of you."

"You'd probably die doing that," I informed him though quick breaths, giving him a nod as he went. "I would have neither the ability nor desire to prevent your murder."

He chuckled and closed the door. I made a note to ask him about his words again later and went back to work. I did another hundred thirty reps before Mom spoke up.

"Jaune," She said. "You're father's right; the timing is good. If we get done in timeOzpin asked me to look into something, as somewhat of an expert. If we get done in time and it's safe, would you like come with me back to my homeland?"

"To Mistral?" I asked and saw her nod out of the corner of my eye.

"It'd be just in time for the festivals," She said. "It'sI think you would like it. Do you?"

"Of course," I said. "I'll make sure to work hard."