Playing For Keeps - Ch 44 - Prestige (Patreon)

A/N: Just realized I never posted this chapter on Patreon at all with the year turnover mixup... oop.

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“Fuck me, he’s fast when he wants to be,” I growled. Fishing some sanitary wipes out of my [Inventory], I pressed them into Bia's hands, then went to check on Qrow. “He got you with his tail; was it just that one time?”

“Yeah... just the once...” he panted. “What about you, though. He got you at least twice that I saw.”

“Three times,” I corrected.

“My fault,” Qrow muttered. His face was flushed, and he was leaning heavily on the handle of his scythe.

“Don’t start.” I cuffed him over the head, then assured him, “My Semblance is healing me faster than the poison can kill me.” For now, anyway.

“Your shield collapsing. From my Semblance. My Fault... All my fault…”

Tugging off a glove, I pressed my wrist to his forehead. “Shit, he's already feverish.”

“Does he need a hospital?” Bia asked. I cast an eye over my stat screen, then cut off [Cat's Grace] before grabbing Qrow's wrist to channel [Cleansing Touch].

“Nah, I can handle it.” [Lay On Hands] closed all his cuts in the 21 seconds it took to remove the Poisoned status, though I noticed my HP ticking down instead of up while I was lending my regen.

Once he was healed, I let go and my HP steadied, then took several seconds to rise by 1. So I need my full buffed regen to counteract High Poison... How long do I have this status?

[Status: Poisoned [High] – 17:46]

Too long; I’m just barely keeping up with it with all my buffs active, and I can only do that for maybe ten more minutes. The moment I run out of MP and [Aura] drops I’m not going to have enough HP regen to offset it anymore.

“I need to meditate,” I said out loud as Qrow shook himself awake.

“The burning’s stopped,” he muttered, checking the tear in his shirt and finding no wound under it. “Your Semblance can cure poison?”

“In other people, not in me,” I sighed. “I’m going to have to ride it out.”

“That’s… strange,” Bia commented.

I shrugged. “C’est la vie. I’ve got five minutes before I’m actually in trouble.” It was closer to eight, but better to err on the side of caution.

“Then let’s get the hell out of here,” said Qrow, collapsing his weapon and returning it to his back.

Bia quickly retrieved the spent brass and shells we’d fired, and we took off for our borrowed apartment.

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“Are you sure you’re all right, Jaune?” Bia asked solicitously as I dropped onto the couch.

“He said he’s fine,” Qrow snapped, as if he wasn’t hovering like a mother hen himself. “Why did you bring her?”

“We were out together when you called,” I replied through gritted teeth. “And seeing as her intervention is the reason I had time to heal you before you slipped into a coma, you could stand to be polite.”

Bia ignored Qrow the same way he was ignoring her, asking me, “Do you need anything?”

“A glass of water would be nice, but I really just need fifteen minutes or so to focus on healing,” I grunted. My HP regen was still just barely offsetting the poison, and since my HP bar was staying mostly empty the regen did nothing for the persistent sensation of lava in my veins.

Taking a deep breath, I dropped all my buffs and watched my HP start ticking away by 2s and 3s, before I activated [Gaia’s Pulse] and it began shooting up instead. With no active buffs, I could regen over 1000 HP/min and almost 600 MP/min while meditating, handily outstripping the poison by such a degree that my health and mana would both be full before the ten-ish minutes left on the Poisoned duration were up.

“But you can heal it?” Qrow asked.

“As long as I don’t have to move,” I nodded tiredly. “Just give me a few.”

[Story Event Complete!]

[You have defeated Tyrian Callows!]

[You have gained 70,000 EXP! (Reward halved due to Tyrian’s escape.) You found 75,000L! (Reward quartered due to Tyrian’s escape.)]

[Level up! Your level has increased by 2! Your skills have increased. Tap for a full list.]

Doesn’t feel like much of a victory, but I guess that’s why the reward was cut, I grumbled, absentmindedly tapping the Skill Up notification. Huge boost to Poison Resistance, smaller bumps to Sword Mastery, Melee Combat Mastery, Martial Arts, and Elemental Weapon; and a couple points spread between Powerful, Robust, Nimble, and Steadfast. Good progress all around, but especially…

[You have maxed out [Sword Mastery]! Please select a Mastery Bonus for [Sword Mastery]:]

BlademasterFocus on the use of your sword as a singular weapon.Increase to sword attack damage.

Dual WielderFocus on the use of your sword alongside a weapon in your offhand.Increase to dual-wielding damage.

Surprised there isn’t a third option for two-handed weapons, although I suppose that’s covered by [Blademaster] as well. In my case, Dawn Cracker can be one-handed but not really in conjunction with the Family Sword, so [Blademaster] it is.

[Sword Mastery (Passive) LV MAX]|[A skill that allows the user to freely handle swords of all kinds. The predominant advantage of a sword is its versatility, allowing the user to attack enemies in a variety of ways.][60% increase in attack damage with swords.][25% increase in attack speed with swords.][Mastery Bonus – Blademaster: Additional 40% increase in attack damage with swords.]

Aha, so instead of the bonus capping at 60% it goes to 100%. Neat.

[Mastery of [Sword Mastery] and [Shield Mastery] has created the new skill [Sword and Board]!]

[Sword and Board (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%][A skill that allows the user to freely handle swords and shields in concert, combining attack and defense in a balanced manner.][Increases attack damage with swords by 1%.][Increases damage reduction with shields by 1%.][Decreases stamina consumption when wielding both sword and shield by 1%.]

Okay yeah, it would be weird if I was already done improving with my sword and shield. So prestige skills do exist, they just require maxing out specific other skills first.

[Quest Update!]

[If I Only Had The Nerve, Part 2]

[In addition to the Grimm rumored to be in Mistral, you found evidence that Headmaster Lionheart was in contact with Tyrian Callows, and the latter is still in the city. Find out how the two rumors are connected.]

Interesting; I didn’t have to complete Part 1 for Part 2 to show up. And the quest makes it obvious the events are connected, but I still have to prove it.

[Bonus Objective: Kill Tyrian Callows.]

Bet.

[Reward: +25,000 EXP, +50,000L, increased reputation with Mistral Familias, catch the attention of ???.]

[Bonus Objective Reward: ???, greatly decreased reputation with Salem’s Circle.]

[Failure Penalty: Certain death of Leonardo Lionheart, decreased reputation with Mistral Familias, massacre in Mistral, possible Grimm Surge.]

Finally, my Poisoned status dropped to Low, which along with the increase to [Poison Resistance] and [Endurance] meant it no longer required me to meditate to offset it, and I let out a breath of relief at the tremendous reduction in that burning sensation despite the lingering aches. I was about to change my armor set to get out of my sticky, bloodied clothes when I remembered we weren’t alone. …Fuck it.

Bia nearly dropped the water glass she’d filled when my armor and outdoor clothes suddenly vanished, replaced by a tank top and shorts. “How did you…?”

“You sure that was smart, kid?” Qrow murmured, and I could hear him shifting in his seat.

“I trust both of you,” I said curtly. Cracking an eye, I squinted at Qrow. “I would ask why the hell you fought him, because your timing fucking sucked, but judging from your call you didn’t actually intend to. What happened?”

Qrow clicked his tongue. “Obviously I didn’t intend to yet. I caught sight of his coat and he was walking with purpose; I followed him in case he was meeting someone. I guess he must have twigged he was being followed… He’s got a better sixth sense than I expected.”

I sighed. I’m not sure if I should have warned you about him more or less than I did.

“He crossed into the park and I lost sight of him for a few seconds; he took to the trees. I should’ve done the same thing,” Qrow berated himself. “I must be getting careless.”

“No one ever remembers to look up,” I nodded.

Qrow’s self-flagellating expression immediately turned to faux-outrage. “Teach your grandmother to suck eggs, Punk.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I invite you to recall who my grandmother is.”

He winced. “Yeah okay, consider that particular comment retracted.”

“Fascinating as this is,” Bia drawled, still holding a glass of water for me. “I’m waiting to hear why a first-year student from a different Kingdom is hunting a serial killer. Not to mention why I haven’t heard of him being loose.”

Qrow and I exchanged another look, and he promptly threw me to the wolves. “Your contact, your show.”

Dick.

“Thank you,” I told Bia, taking the proffered glass. “Suffice to say I’m not exactly the average first-year student. In the process of researching and Hunting the Named, I stumbled across some things I probably shouldn’t have, and one of them is this… cabal.”

Qrow shot me a warning look, and I hoped he took my return glance for reassurance. Bia doesn’t need to know about Salem. Yet. But she’s my sister’s partner; I want her on side for this.

“Watts, the man we arrested in Atlas, is one of them,” I revealed. “The Scroll we confiscated should have borne out the worm he was designing. I never heard back about that, but I assumed no news was good news.”

Bia winced. “He actually escaped custody somehow. We weren’t able to recapture him before he went to ground.”

I frowned. “Sienna didn’t mention that. It does explain how he was able to crash my plane, though…” I clicked my tongue in annoyance. “So he’s still out there, and now he’ll have a bone to pick. It’s good he’s not in a position to mess with CLEO’s computers anymore, but I doubt he’ll underestimate me again.”

“Neither will Callows,” Qrow grunted, nursing his flask as usual. “You caught him off-guard tonight, but the next time you cross paths he’s going to come at you all-out.”

“Then we’ll have to step up training,” I shrugged. “That’s tomorrow’s problem.”

“This… ‘cabal’,” Bia echoed my phrasing, and it wasn’t hard to hear the skepticism in her voice. “What is their goal?”

“What does any shadowy group with power want?” I asked rhetorically. “More power for themselves. Prestige. Overturning the world order. Personally killing Ozpin. They’re not exactly aligned, but they’re all willing to use each other.”

“Who else is in this group?” I could tell Bia didn’t quite believe me, but she wasn’t outright denying it either.

Fair enough, I’m not exactly offering proof she can look at.

“I know of two more,” I said slowly, glancing Qrow’s way again. He still looked wary, but didn’t interrupt. “Hazel Rainart of Vale is one; he has a personal vendetta with Professor Ozpin. The other is a woman, I’ve heard the name ‘Cinder’ but I suspect it’s an alias.”

Qrow’s eyes narrowed momentarily, but his expression quickly returned to neutral as he offered, “We also suspect Doctor Julian Merlot is associated with this group.” And just like that, despite his own doubts, he backs me up. This is the difference between Qrow and Ozpin.

“The Grimm Behaviorist?”

“The same,” Qrow nodded. “He disappeared a few years ago, but every so often a mutated Grimm pops up. And we think they may have put him in contact with a man named Vermillion Raddock–”

“Of the Hana Guild of Kuchinashi?” Bia interrupted. At Qrow’s raised eyebrow, she reminded him, “I am Mistrali. Uncle Anicetus has mentioned them.”

“Raddock also went underground a year or so ago,” Qrow revealed. “I had a team looking into it… I should check in on them,” he added under his breath.

“And the reason no news has spread of Callows’ presence?”

“You tell me; his arrest was a joint operation, and as soon as he was in custody they squeezed the Mistrali Huntsman out of the op. The prisoner transport crashed and everyone except Callows was dead at the scene. Whyever do you think Atlas might have suppressed that news?” I asked sardonically.

Bia grimaced. “I hadn’t heard about that, but… I remember that crash. I knew Lorenz and Kesselring, and I’d heard of Brecht and Rosé. No one ever talked about a prisoner escaping. I’ll ask the General about it… or have Winter do so.”

“You know what, you do that; I’m curious what excuse Jimmy’ll give the Ice Queen,” Qrow smirked.

Bia frowned. “Kindly don’t speak of my girlfriend in those terms.”

Her criticism clearly rolled off Qrow like water off a duck as he got to his feet, stretching languidly. “I’m gonna shower and hit the sack. Sorry to interrupt your date~”

He was clearly trying to get a rise out of us, and huffed when neither of us took the bait, turning on his heel and striding into the bedroom. A moment later, the sound of the shower kicked on.

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“Sorry about him,” I sighed as the door swung shut behind Qrow. “He’s got some personal vendetta with the Schnee family that I don’t have the details on yet.”

“Many do.” Bia came to sit beside me. “That didn’t seem to include you, though?”

“If I meet Jacques Schnee in the street he’s probably not walking away with all his teeth,” I admitted, then assured her, “But I don’t extend that to his children.”

Bia’s hand shot to her mouth to stifle a giggle. “That’s good to hear. Winter and I… If we weren’t Atlesian there would be talk of rings,” she said delicately.

“Congratulations,” I smiled. Then I blinked. “Were… we not on a date tonight?”

Bia arched a brow.

“I already felt like an idiot for not realizing it was a date right away,” I babbled. “I’m gonna feel like a bigger idiot if it turns out we were actually just getting dinner as friends.”

“Jaune. Do you think I have ‘just friends’ walk me home and kiss me goodnight?”

I buried my face in my hands. “Kill me now.”

Thankfully, Bia started giggling again.

I glanced up, captivated by the mirth in her sparkling green eyes as she pressed her hand to her mouth again. After a moment, I glanced away again. “I’ve never dated someone who was seeing someone else… but I’d love to take you out again.” I paused. “I’m also seeing someone else.”

“I see. I’d like to speak with… her?” she questioned, and I nodded. “I’m sure she and I will have things to discuss.”

“You know, all conventional wisdom says that having you two talk can only end badly for me,” I joked, pulling out my Scroll to find Amber’s contact.

“I presume you told her you were on a date tonight?” Bia asked.

“As soon as I realized it. Which was when I ran to the bathroom,” I admitted. “She called me dense and told me to make sure you had a good time.”

“And you did,” she assured me. “The only thing you did ‘wrong’ was not mention it to your partner in advance, and from your words it seems she isn’t upset.”

I grimaced regardless. I still should have thought it through better. I owe Amber a proper apology. And another real date.

Bia put a hand on my shoulder, nudging me to look at her. “The key to any healthy relationship is communication, Jaune. You made a mistake, yes; I know you, though, and I’m certain you already apologized. Learn from your errors and don’t repeat them.”

“I don’t like that I screwed up in the first place.” Despite myself, I found myself smiling back at her. “What kind of paladin isn’t perfect all the time?” I murmured rhetorically.

“No one can be perfect all the time. Settle for trying to be good.”

The second tenet of my oath echoed in my soul, and I couldn’t help the smirk that ghosted across my face. “I suppose I can do that.”

Bia tapped her Scroll to mine, accepting the sharing of Amber’s contact. “There is one more point we should… acknowledge,” she said reluctantly. “I am older than you–”

“Barely,” I interrupted immediately. If this was an actual problem for her she wouldn’t have gone out with me in the first place. “Age gaps are problematic because of differing levels of maturity. My lack of experience with navigating polyamory aside, do I strike you as immature?”

“No,” she admitted. “If I didn’t know better I would think you were at least my age.”

“Amber is 22 and has said something similar,” I added. “I consider it a non-issue.” If anything, it would feel weirder for me to date someone ‘my age’. “That said… will it bother Winter?”

The arched eyebrow returned. “Already angling for my girlfriend? What a greedy man.”

I paused momentarily, not really due to the teasing, but brought up short by the memory of Bia and Winter in their clubbing dresses. Imagining them both waiting for me specifically… the thought took me a moment to shake off.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, but that wasn’t what I was implying. I presume she won’t mind you seeing someone else or we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but do you think my age will be a sticking point for her?”

Bia sighed. “It probably will be, at least at first. More than likely she’ll be a bit snide to get a reaction out of you, then point to it as ‘proof’.”

“An sign of prestigious maturity itself,” I drolled. At her sharp look, I pointed out, “Am I wrong?”

“No,” she admitted. “I just don’t like hearing insults aimed at Winter.”

“Teasing isn’t an insult,” I promised. “And I can easily put up with a bit of needling from someone important to you.”

Her answering smile was softer and somehow even more breathtaking. “That’s good, because I’m certain Uncle Anicetus will also have some words for you.”

“That’s quite all right.” This time my answering grin was feral. “I know how to speak his language.”

Despite my own issues with the man, I do believe Jack Arc provided the perfect blueprint to follow in this case.

“And frankly… well, I’m sure everyone else will probably have things to say,” she sighed.

“We’ll reassure the people we care about,” I promised. I reached up and cupped her cheek, and when she didn’t pull away pressed a brief kiss to her other cheek.

“And frankly…” I echoed, leaning in to murmur in her ear. “…‘Everyone else’ is welcome to fuck around and find out.”

Admittedly, I wasn’t perfectly confident in that reply… but her blush was all the proof I needed that I gave the right answer.

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Name: Jaune ArcLevel: 61 (Next: 63.35%)Title: Academy StudentRace: HumanAge: 18Job: Journeyman HuntsmanClass: PaladinSemblance: The GamerHP: 8202/8202MP: 4456/4456STR: 223 (100)CON: 279 (102)DEX: 162 (54)INT: 136 (51)WIS: 110 (52)CHA: 151 (52)Points: 112Money: 1,025,221LStatus: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]

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A/N: If you’re enjoying this story, feel free to check out my discord server at https://discord.gg/H6V854Fvbg

So yeah, Qrow has something of a complex where everything that goes wrong around him feels like his fault. (If you’re paying attention, the truth is closer to half the time, but let’s be honest, that’s a cold comfort.) Jaune, however, is having none of it, considering this is the entire reason he’s here instead of someone else.

I’m sure some readers won’t like that Jaune is being even remotely open with Bia regarding his abilities and the existence of the circle. And honestly, that’s valid — Qrow is thinking along the same what the hell lines. This is a legitimate difference of opinion where I believe neither side is ‘wrong’, and I plan to explore it a bit in the narrative going forward.

Qrow’s hostility toward Winter seems to be even parts to do with her being a Schnee as being an Atlesian Specialist, so I suspect other Specialists probably get some of the attitude.

Doctor Merlot (I invented the name Julian) is a semi-canon (as far as I know) antagonist from the licensed game RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. It was cute, but not very good. Vermillion Raddock is, from what I can tell, the BBEG from RWBY: The Grimm Campaign, the 5e-variant real-play podcast. I’ve made a few references to it and might touch on it again, but knowledge of it shouldn’t be necessary.I also invented the names of the dead Specialists on Tyrian’s prison flight and don’t currently have any plans for them.

Polyamory pretty much requires everyone involved to be on the same page, so while it worked out for Jaune here, this kind of bumbling into relationships without talking to your existing partners about it is not cool, and Amber deserves some more mea culpas the next time they chat.