Optimistic Game Chapter 93

Edited by: Priapus, Marethyu

Rewinding the video of my duel with Coral, I analyze the footage once again, growing increasingly concerned the longer I watch. Yeah, there’s definitely something weird going on with her semblance, and with the few theories I’ve come up with, she could be a much larger threat than I thought.

Besides her movement and positions being weird each time she teleports, she’s objectively a lot less skilled than most students in Beacon. Less experienced, too, despite her being a third-year student. I just didn’t notice it during the spar since I was too preoccupied with the way she uses her semblance.

Of course, I’m not saying she’s not trained. She’s still better than Jaune Arc, but at the same time, just like him, it feels like she has only just picked up a weapon recently. Two years of training at the absolute maximum.

Something else I noticed, or I guess remembered, is the person who infiltrated my mansion, whom Qrow stopped. He said the same thing about the way she fought, didn’t he? Same issues I found in my spar with her. Weird teleportation semblance that didn’t feel like teleporting.

And the way she got tired too quickly. That’s another thing: burning up a lot of energy in so little time. Yes, I’m aware that some people have worse stamina than others, especially when their aura is broken. But here’s the thing, there’s a difference between aura breaking and aura depleting.

Supernatural strength or not, things like running, lifting weights, and general exercise do make you tired, even with your aura active. No doubt there. Same thing when your aura is damaged. But semblance usage? It’s not the same.

If Ruby were to consume her entire aura reserves using her semblance, the most she’d feel is numb legs and a tiny bit exhausted. But if she were in combat and it got broken by an attack, she’d be on the verge of passing out. This is why I trained that weakness out of her and my students.

I pause the video and zoom in on the spy’s face, frowning in suspicion. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth agape, and sweat dripping down her brow and chin. This was after her fourth ‘teleport’. I hadn’t even hit her yet. So for Coral to feel this exhausted so quickly meant one thing.

Her semblance is crazy powerful, and ‘teleportation’ definitely does not fit the bill.

Spinning my pen around, I look down at my notebook, having written down several possibilities. Most of them crossed out, only leaving two options that share a very similar concept, and honestly? Both are terrifying.

How else would you feel about someone who can control time in some capacity? Either Coral is somehow skipping through time or stopping it entirely, and I’m leaning toward the latter option.

Absurd as it might sound, it explains so much. The unnatural way she teleports leads me to believe that, and manipulating an entire universal concept would naturally consume a whole lot more aura than just teleporting here and there. But how were my attacks dealing so much damage even though I held back? Could she be deliberately stopping time after my strike to give the illusion that her aura reserves are average?

If so, then credit where credit’s due. That’s brilliant.

“This is gonna complicate things…” I sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

I guess ‘reality-breaking’ semblances weren’t an exaggeration after all, if this really is the case. I’m almost reconsidering Ozpin’s idea at this point, because while I was prepared for a very powerful semblance, time manipulation is on a whole other level.

Almost reconsidering. I’m not off killing her right now for three reasons. One: Coral is obviously untrained, and not just in weapon-wielding. Although her aura is about twenty times the average hunter’s, her stats aren’t that much higher. Someone like her should be equal to one of Wildberry’s. She isn’t. She’s much weaker than they are stat-wise.

Two: It’s obvious she can’t keep time stopped for a long time. If a couple of ‘short-distance teleports’ got her this gassed, then her limit is a couple of seconds at most. It consumes too much aura, and her body isn’t trained to withstand that sort of pressure properly.

And finally, even if her semblance is stopping time, she can’t attack through aura. At first, that was my biggest concern since she obviously never tried to attack while time was stopped, but if she was the same person who had infiltrated my mansion, then she confirmed it by actually hitting Qrow.

Her attack should’ve pierced his aura and maybe drawn blood, but it didn’t, which means that aura remains a constant, even when time is stopped. That’s good to know.

All of this is speculative, of course, but something tells me I’m right on the money. I guess I should warn Ozpin and Amber, too, because if I’m correct, then we’re going to need to be way more careful. Salem sent the spy here for the Relic of Choice, and I’d rather not give her an artifact that can see the future, especially after I rejected one myself.

But I digress.

As Winter approaches, I close down the video and watch her putting a cup of coffee on my desk.

“Your coffee, sir.” She says, her tone as blank as ever.

I didn’t even tell her to make me anything, since coffee doesn't affect me. She went out of her way to do this after a while of doing nothing. This is our first day, so I imagine she has a lot of free time on her hands, even as a professor's assistant.

Not me, though.

“Thanks.” I nod in acknowledgement. “…You know, instead of calling me ‘sir’, wouldn’t ‘Professor’ be a lot more appropriate?”

Winter pauses.

“It might be temporary, but I work here now,” I add. “So it makes more sense to call me by my role while I’m in Beacon.”

I’ve only spent about an hour with her, and although we didn’t really interact much, I have to admit, I don’t like how cold she is. Yes, I can tell she holds the utmost respect for me, but it still feels like I’m talking to a robot devoid of emotions. I hope she lightens up at some point.

She takes a moment before responding.

“That may be so, but your position as the strongest Titan Slayer in history far surpasses that of a mere academy professor.” She argues. “It would be an insult to call you anything else.”

This is a bit too much, even for me. Oh well, worth a shot.

“Right…” I reply, dropping the subject.

“Turning to another matter,” Winter says, glancing down at the papers on the desk. “Have you chosen which students will be part of your class?”

“Hmm, well…” I pick up the papers for each student I picked and read through them again.

After my report to Oz and my confrontation with Neo, I had time to properly grade the students who took part in my test. From thousands to twenty-ish to six. And I gotta say, it was challenging to pick who I wanted to be in my class. Obviously, two were guaranteed, being Neo, or Trivia Latte while she’s here, and Coral Zamen. I want to keep an eye out for Coral since she’s Salem’s spy, and Neo because she’s a handful.

That leaves me with four students. Pyrrha Nikos was an obvious choice. She was ironically the closest to landing a hit on me, though, surprisingly, I noticed a lack of experience that wasn’t present in most other students. In a way, when Pyrrha fights, it feels like almost purely for sport rather than genuine combat. The talent is still there, and with a semblance like hers, I think she’d benefit more from Observation Haki.

Nora Valkyrie was my second pick. Strong, tenacious, and unusually aggressive for someone of her personality. And out of everyone present — aside from Neo, who doesn’t count in this assessment anyway — she was the least anxious in my presence. I’d wager she wasn’t intimidated at all, which makes me believe she could be a candidate for Conqueror’s. Would definitely easily pick up on Armament, though.

Lie Ren was significantly more analytical than the rest, and has shown impressive growth in our spar. Not in strength or speed, but he got used to the way I moved the fastest. He was nimble, his movements smooth, and he was skilled in martial arts. Well-prepared for surprise maneuvers and even had a couple of decent counters that almost got me. I think he’d be equally skilled in both Armament and Observation.

That’s three students from JNPR making it in, but there was a reason they made it to the Vytal Tournament finals. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the ‘J’ in the team. Jaune, although showing a lot of heart and determination that honestly left me pretty surprised and somewhat impressed, isn’t eligible to be part of my class.

Of everyone I tested, he felt like he had the most to prove. I’d say he wanted to be in the class the most, and although I feel slightly bad for leaving him out when his whole team made it in my class, he’s just too behind in terms of skill, experience, and physical power. He passed the willpower test, which is saying something. But the second test? I can’t do this. It wouldn’t be fair to the other students.

Instead, I picked second-year Yatsuhashi Daichi of team CVFY, or CFY, after I stole Velvet from them. Physically, he was the strongest by far, and since he’s a second-year, there’s a significant jump in experience and skill when I tested him. He was very collected and composed during our spar. Plus, he’s the first person I've ever met who’s taller than me. Imagine that? That’s not something you see every day.

So the students who will be in my class besides Wildberry are:

Coral Zamen

Trivia Latte (Neopolitan)

Pyrrha Nikos

Nora Valkyrie

Lie Ren

Yatsuhashi Daichi

I pause and silently stare at the papers, my lips thinning as I realize something. The genders are kind of skewed, aren’t they? Two men and four women. Nine if we count Winter and Wildberry.

I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.

It wasn’t.

I believe you.

It really wasn’t. I have no intentions to have sex with my female students, alright? No matter what Ozpin schemes behind my back. That fucking weirdo. I’m sure it’s some kind of fetish for him. And what’s wrong with Ironwood practically whoring his specialist out like that? Is he insane?

It’s pragmatic.

It’s gross.

Call it what you want. It makes perfect sense. He wants genuine magic users who aren’t tied to maiden magic. You’re the only one who can supply him with what he needs.

Besides, she’s a Maiden Candidate. Aren’t you curious to see how that interacts with your magic-granting power?

…No.

You hesitated.

I didn’t.

Uh-huh. Well, you’re already having sex with almost half of the people you’re working with. What’s four more? Who knows, maybe you’ll fuck some sense into that spy and turn her over to your side.

That’s not how it works. Why are you even trying to convince me to do this? Are you into it? 

You know what, don’t actually answer that. I’d rather not know.

I ignore her amused chuckle and answer Winter.

“Yeah, I think I’m done.” I nod.

“Then let me prepare them for you.” She replies. “I will bring them to the headmaster to look over once I’m done.”

I hesitate slightly before giving her the papers. She is my assistant…

“Sure. Thanks, Winter.”

“Only doing my job, sir.” She says.

Winter exits the office and closes the door behind her, leaving me alone.

Ozpin should have everything taken care of and ready by tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean I’m free today. Again, this is just for the haki class stuff. I’m part of the general combat class alongside Glynda.

There are also a couple of things I want to do outside Beacon. I need to look for Ruby first and have a couple of golems follow her for a bit, then check up on Eero and the place he’s staying in, and finally, my super weapon underneath Vale.

It’s nowhere near ready, of course. I doubt I even have the materials I need to fully construct it, but I should probably get it started as soon as I can. I can always clear out high-tier dungeons for materials, seeing how well I did in the vampire dungeon.

Besides, I need to master my new transformation, and although I don’t think it would be possible to access it with Gamer’s Mind active, I’d still rather try it in a world that can actually handle it.

There’s still much to do.

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– Yang –

Watching countless students swarm Reid in the hallway, Yang couldn’t help but feel amused and a little grateful. If he hadn’t decided to work here as a professor for a little while, she knew she’d be in his position right now. Surrounded by so many students asking her and her team thirty questions a second. It was only recently revealed that Wildberry was the team the Titan Slayer trained, after all.

Although it hurt an extrovert like her immensely, she had been prepared for her social life to be over. Such was the life of a student (and girlfriend) of the chosen one, as some intense fans on the internet put it. While not on the same level as Reid or Ruby, Yang and her team were public figures now, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Certainly, stardom had always had its appeal for her, but perhaps she was just being naive. Maybe it wasn’t all that good after all. Not when she didn’t feel like she’d earned it. Really, what had Yang even done? Aside from fighting a dragon and stealing its egg. She’d never fought a Titan or anything.

One day, Yang. She thought to herself. One day.

But she digressed. Ever since Reid had come to Beacon, he had practically taken the limelight from Wildberry. Yang was grateful for that, because although making new friends would still be difficult, it meant she could hang out with the friends she already had, like her team or JNPR.

And it always looked like Reid handled the fame pretty well, too. If anything, he seemed to enjoy the spotlight, which she always found an odd trait of his. Maybe she was too comic book-brained, but all the heroes she knew of tried to have a modest life separate from their heroism.

On the other hand, real heroes across history never bothered to do such a thing. It was actually better to be public in some cases. With how the Grimm functioned, Remnant needed a strong symbol of hope to keep Grimm activity low. Perhaps that’s why Reid was doing it? It made sense.

…But being real, he probably also liked the spotlight.

“So, how are we feeling about this?” Blake suddenly asked.

“What do you mean?” Levi replied.

“Reid being here?” Blake clarified. “Yeah, we’ve known this was going to happen for a good while, but seeing him here… Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda weird?”

“I dunno, I think it’s cool.” Yang shrugged. “Secret training after school is great and all, but this saves so much time.”

Admittedly, there had been a few days where she’d felt too exhausted after school to train, and only pushed herself to do so because she knew she had to. And because Reid was very good at ‘de-stressing.’

Plus it didn’t hurt that she could use the Haki class to skip some of her least favorite subjects. Though they wouldn’t be able to train with magic while they were here, and with how busy Reid had become recently, he’d practically told them that they were on their own for now.

As the memory of Ruby saying how he didn’t trust them anymore flashed in her mind, Yang felt a twinge of discomfort in her chest, but decided to ignore it for now.

“I’m not really sure what you mean by ‘weird’,” Levianna said.

“I don’t know, seeing him around Beacon just feels off to me.” Blake sighed. “I’m not saying it’s bad. I’m just too used to seeing him in his place, or the training chamber, or doing magic experiments in his lab. Reid becoming a professor wasn’t something I expected.”

“Hmm…” Levi squinted her eyes as she observed their mentor. “…Maybe it’s the suit? It’s not every day you see him wearing one. Even in events, he usually wears something a little more casual.”

“Maybe.” Blake hummed. “…It’s a bit too bright for my liking.”

“Right? Almost like he’s trying to impress someone for some reason.” Levianna whispered in agreement.

“You kidding? I think the suit looks great.” Yang disagreed before putting a hand on her chin. “Though, I feel like it’s missing something…”

“A tie?” Blake offered. “He’s not wearing any.”

“No, not a tie. And I’m not talking about the suit itself. More in his place as a professor.” Yang explained, then snapped her fingers as a light bulb flashed above her head. “Oh, I know! Imagine how he’d look with glasses.”

“Glasses?” Blake crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Yup. The thing is, we know more than anyone here that, despite how he looks, Reid is actually just a big nerd. And what do nerds usually wear?” The blond pointed out. “Exactly. Glasses.”

“What does that have to do with him being a professor?” Levianna asked.

“You won’t get it until we bring him a pair.” Yang refused to make a point for her argument and, instead, looked at Ice Queen for support. “What do you think, Weiss? You agree, right?”

Their leader, who had been quiet the whole time, glanced at her teammate as her name was called. She seemed visibly distracted, which was unusual for someone like Weiss.

“I suppose.” She answered, clearly not hearing the question at all.

The three members glanced at each other, mildly concerned for their leader.

“You okay, Weiss?” Blake asked.

Weiss hesitated to answer, prompting Yang to make a guess.

“Is this about your sister?”

“I…” Weiss hesitated again, and for a moment, she looked like she wanted to drop the subject. “…Yes.”

But she didn’t.

“How do you feel?” Levi gently held her partner’s hand.

“Confused, mostly. I didn’t know she was going to be Reid’s assistant.” Their leader replied. “I thought about approaching her, but she feels more distant than I remember.”

“You said you haven’t seen her for longer than a year, right?” Yang said. “Maybe she just feels awkward?”

“I don’t know.” Weiss shook her head. “I mean, she has yet to congratulate me for winning the tournament…”

Oh, yeah. That’s not good. Yang thought.

As an older sister herself, Yang wouldn’t dare do anything close to that cold to Ruby. Whether this Winter chick was too busy or not, if she couldn’t even spare a text message, then there was something wrong with her.

But Yang didn’t want to assume anything and end up looking like a jerk.

“Regardless, I think you should try talking to her,” Blake suggested. “Whether she feels distant or not. Hopefully, a conversation will clear things up.”

“Yeah. She might’ve also been too awkward to congratulate you.” Levianna said. “I know I’d be if it had been this long since I’d talked to my younger sister.”

“You have a younger sister?” Yang asked.

“My hypothetical younger sister.” She corrected herself. “I’m a single child.”

“Ah.”

Hardly anyone to relate to. Yang thought.

“Maybe you’re right,” Weiss said. “Winter might just be taking time to adjust. It’s a new environment for her, after all. Nonetheless, I should make the first move.”

Weiss then smiled at them.

“Thanks, girls. I needed to hear this.” She added. “But right now, there’s something more important on our hands.”

Weiss didn’t have to elaborate. All of them quickly knew what she was referring to as their expressions sharpened. With how hectic everything had been the past few days, what with the Vytal Festival and whatnot, they hadn’t had a chance to confront Reid about his feelings. But now, they had an ample opportunity.

…But, at the same time.

“…Should we?” Yang wondered.

Her team looked at her with confused frowns.

“Yes?” Blake confirmed. “We’ve been planning this for a while now. Why would we stop now?”

“Yeah, but the thing is…” Yang glanced at Reid in the distance, who was leading the students away. He couldn’t hear them from over there with how loud it was. Still, she made sure to whisper the next part. “It just kinda feels like he went over it? Look at him.”

The girls did as such.

“His smile doesn’t seem so fake anymore, right? He’s not as tired.” Yang explained. “It’s like, I dunno, he feels way better than we saw him that time. And I don’t want to bring up bad memories for him.”

Her team, seeing her point, slightly hesitated for a moment before Blake responded.

“That might be true. Reid does look like he’s in a better place.” She agreed, speaking in a hushed tone. “But that’s exactly why we should do this. This is the perfect time to talk to him, if anything.”

“I agree with Blake.” Levi nodded. “If we confront him now, he might even tell us what’s been bothering him.”

“Whether he feels better or not, keeping what has been weighing on his mind to himself isn’t healthy,” Weiss added. “I think we should do this regardless.”

“But Ruby—”

“Ruby is wrong, Yang.” Weiss insisted, sounding confident. “I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed in her for giving up, but we don’t need her here. Reid trusts us as much as he trusts her.”

The blond looked at the rest of her team, the pair obviously on their leader’s side. Although Yang had her own doubts after what her little sister said, she couldn’t exactly deny the rest of Wildberry. Truthfully, she just didn’t know what to do if Reid refused to talk.

“Guess I’m outvoted, then.” She relented, putting a hand on her hip. “Alright, when do we do this?”

“Ideally, a few days from now. Whenever he adjusts to his position as a professor.” Her leader answered. “During break hours, when he’s in his office. We should have at least twenty minutes alone with him. Hopefully, enough time to make him fess up.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Yang replied.

Admittedly, this hadn’t cleared up her doubts. Something about how Ruby seemed so convinced that she’d go on her own journey all of a sudden made Yang feel anxious. Was this really the way? Did Reid not trust them, after all?

Well, that couldn’t be right. You can’t love someone without trusting them, and Reid most certainly adored them all. It was just this whole hero thing being a much heavier burden than he had expected. Probably.

…Maybe she should ask someone else for advice. Someone who could somewhat relate to him better than she or her team could.

Luckily, she had seen her uncle strolling around Beacon earlier today.

Yang was hoping he hadn’t left yet.

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– Reid –

First day in Beacon was… sort of uneventful, all things considered. Beyond Neo being annoying and the Spy’s semblance possibly being something utterly insane, there hadn’t been much. The students I picked will receive a message tomorrow telling them they’ve been chosen, and those who didn’t make it but got to the second test will receive a rejection message. To keep them informed.

Of course, I had other things to do in the academy. I helped Glynda with combat class, spoke with a lot of students, and did some paperwork. It wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be, but that’s because I haven’t really started being a professor yet.

Though thankfully, that left me with a lot of time to work on a few other things outside Beacon. Firstly, seeing what Ruby is up to. From a distance. Because something tells me trying to approach her when she specifically told me not to look for her will piss her off. And I don’t want to hurt her feelings.

Floating high in the sky, I observe my first girlfriend and the short old woman accompanying her as they travel on the road. They don’t notice me, but that’s because I drank an invisibility potion moments prior. Though even with that, if I get any closer, Ruby will detect my presence with her Observation. She’s been getting the hang of it scarily quickly.

I put a hand on my chin as I stare at the pair in thought. That’s definitely Maria, and I don’t need my Observe skill to tell me that. They’re going west of Vale, to Vacuo, I’m assuming. However, I’m not entirely sure why. I mean, it would make sense if this journey were made purely for training, as Vacuo is the most dangerous region. Not counting the Dark Continent, of course.

Best way to train her silver eyes, I suppose. Though I still believe that refining her Haki and magic should take precedent. The eyes are definitely useful, being Anti-magic and all, but they’re not all-powerful. Otherwise, we would’ve seen way more Silver-Eyed warriors running around. Besides, Salem probably has a counter against them.

She has been fighting against them for thousands of years. Haki, on the other hand, only showed up this year, and just like the silver eyes, I highly doubt Salem would be able to reliably get it working. Things like golems, potions, and magic in general? Sure, I won’t be surprised if she reverse-engineers them to her benefit. But even with all her intelligence and experience, I’m confident Haki is the one thing she would struggle with.

After all, it’s not magic. It’s an entirely different concept.

But I digress. While I shouldn’t stop Ruby from doing what she wants, I have to at least keep an eye on her in case she gets in trouble. Strong as she might be, I will NOT put her in danger. Not when she’s a target.

I take out a small sphere of manasteel infused with my blood and a crumbled-up piece of paper in my hand, clenching as the magic circle in my palm glows. Once I open my hand, what greets me is a paper bird with a manasteel core in its chest.

“Follow her,” I order. “And don’t let yourself be seen.”

The paper bird chirps and flaps its wings, pursuing the pair from a distance. Since it's not made out of anything too strong, it’ll barely have any presence, so Ruby shouldn’t notice it. The core, if destroyed, will instantly alert me that something happened. Something that requires my immediate attention. The bird can also break its own core in case it doesn’t get damaged in whatever dangerous scuffle Ruby gets into.

This should keep her safe, keep me informed of whatever she’s doing since I’m pretty interested in how the silver-eyes actually work, and not interfere with her business. Win-win, I’d say. I’m sure Ruby would understand.

I watch her walk on the road, happily chatting with Maria, as hearing her giggles all the way from over here makes me smile. I take out a silver and ruby ring I designed, glance at it, then stare at her again.

…Her birthday is in a couple of weeks. Prime time to ask her, huh? To think I’ve only really known her for a couple of months and I’m already considering it. I love her way too much.

Though I should probably enchant this before giving it to her, and I want to give it a very powerful enchantment. An enchantment that will keep her safe in case something happens and I’m not fast enough to save her.

I do have an idea, but I’m not sure I have the required materials to make it. Something of that magnitude is going to need a massive sacrifice, and it’ll push my enchanting skill to its limit.

…Guess I’m gonna have to go back to Teralos sooner than I thought. Perhaps during the weekend? As long as I have what I need before her birthday. No way I’m giving her the ring before I enchant it. That’s not me.

I close my fist over the ring before sending it to my inventory. Well, regardless, now that I’m done here, I should check if Eero has more profound knowledge about the halfborn transformations. I haven’t talked to him in a while, and I’m sure he’d want to know what’s been happening in his home world.

Now, my halfborn form is obviously different from his, given the skill description, but maybe he can explain why. Knowledge like this should help me figure out how to access and hopefully master that form on my own.

And maybe he knows about the Void Herald. If the eyes were that troublesome in the hands of someone who didn’t even want to fight, then the other shards are gonna be hell to deal with unless we prepare properly. If I know what each shard can do, then maybe I can figure out a counter.

…I am NOT looking forward to dealing with those fucking things again.