Playing For Keeps - Ch 57 (Adv) - Heavy Metal (Patreon)

[Duel Alert!]

[Combatants: Jaune Arc vs. Mercury Black]

[Victory Conditions: Reduce Mercury Black’s HP to 25% or obtain a surrender.]

[Loss Conditions: Surrender, be reduced to 25% MP, be noticed throwing the fight.]

[Victory: 10,000 EXP, increased closeness with Mercury Black, increased notoriety with Cinder Fall, decreased reputation with Salem’s Circle.]

[Loss: 1000 EXP, decreased closeness with Mercury Black, remain below the notice of Cinder Fall.]

[Accept/Decline]

Notoriety? Is that a new fucking social stat to keep track of? Or is it tied to reputation and just indicates that the attention isn’t strictly positive? The only other game screen that has mentioned notoriety is the [Taking Names] quest, so I guess that’s it…

Dropping [Aura] so my MP could recharge, and swapping my combat buffs momentarily for [Fox’s Cunning] and [Owl’s Wisdom], I tried to assess the pros and cons of accepting the duel quickly, extending a hand to buy a bit of time. That’s only a hair over 42/min net regen with these two active, but a single minute there will bring me back over 90% anyway.

“I don’t think we’ve met? Jaune Arc.”

To my slight surprise, he shook my hand without any pretension. “Mercury Black.”

In the meantime, my mind was racing. Cinder’s had enough time since breakfast to figure out that I go to Beacon. He’s gotta be scouting me like he did Pyrrha in the show… hell, that was right after she soloed CRDL, too, so the situation is pretty similar. And he’ll… like me if I win, despite it drawing their attention? I can stay below their attention if I lose… but only if it doesn’t look like I’m taking a dive. I’m probably good enough at [Acting] to pull that off, and it’s arguably the smarter play, but… I kinda don’t want to?

“I wouldn’t be keeping you out of class, would I?” I asked lightly.

“Like you’ve never skipped class?” he shot back. “Nah, I’ve got a free.”

I made a show of checking my Scroll as I examined my last thought. I don’t want to throw… Winning here will definitely draw their attention, potentially put them on guard against me from now on… but on the other hand, having them focus on me means they aren’t focusing on Pyrrha and the others. That was really what it boiled down to, in the end. Lying and throwing the fight wouldn’t violate my Oath, but it’s just not who I am. If I didn’t want to be in the sights, I’d’ve been a rogue or something.

“Sure, I’ve got some time,” I said, swapping back to [Eagle’s Splendor].

“Careful dude, he’s tougher than he looks,” Neptune groaned, rubbing his shoulder.

I grinned. “I’ll take my chances.”

“I was talking to him!”

Mercury’s smirk widened. “You oughta know that just gets me more pumped, Vasilias.”

“Yeah, yeah… You’re just like Sun,” Neptune sighed. “Friggin’ fight nuts…”

“I didn’t get a chance to spar with Sun, how does he stack up?” I wondered.

“He made me actually try,” said Mercury. “Which is more than I can say for most of the chumps here.”

Several students in the crowd jeered at that, and Mercury rolled his eyes.

“Anyone who’s got a problem, feel free to square up. I could use a warmup,” he called, and silence fell. “That’s what I thought.”

“Same rules?” I asked politely. “Red Aura or tap out?”

“Works for me,” he shrugged lazily. “Let’s see what you’re made of.”

My thoughts exactly. I hit him with [Observe].

[Name: Mercury Black][LV 61][Title: The Butcher][Race: Human][Age: 18][Job: Mistral Student][Class: Hitman][Semblance: None][Background: Son and killer of the assassin Marcus Black, who unlocked Mercury’s Aura but stole his Semblance at a young age. Currently working with Cinder Fall, partly as a mercenary but mostly to chase his enjoyment of a good fight. Has grown bored with playing student and hiding his actual strength. Mercury feels he has worked harder than most to attain his skill, and although he enjoys fighting, privately he worries that he doesn’t know a purpose outside of violence.][Emotions: Boredom, curiosity, battlelust.][Relationship: Acquaintance.]

Interesting.

Mercury synced his Scroll to the Arena screen, and I cued up another 30-second timer.

Glancing around the crowd myself, I called, “Any chance we can get some more music?”

Paint it black and white if you like,The story’s still the same:A generation built on a lieThat every one of us is safe.

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Mercury bounced in place a little, rolling his shoulders and limbering up.

Joke’s on you, I fucking love this song. I was plenty warmed up from fighting SSN, so I just deployed my shield again, tilted my head to the side until my neck popped, and then re-triggered my physical buffs and [Aura] when the clock hit :00.

Paint it black and white if you like,If it keeps you sane!You know the world just ain’t rightSo tell me, who’s to blame?

[BGM unlocked! Fight Song: Mercury Black - “Son of Sam” by Shinedown.]

Mercury was on me in a flash, having kicked off complete with a shot from his boots for momentum and spinning a roundhouse straight at my head. Well, I was just saying how I couldn’t find an even fight, and here’s someone on the same level. Let’s see how I stack up.

I set my feet and raised my shield, counting on the poise from [Steadfast] to take care of that kick, and focused on his follow-up. Either he plants both feet on my shield and kicks back off, or tries for a second kick under my shield with the backfoot, I decided, lifting the Family Sword and aiming a stab beneath it. If Mercury kicked off I would miss entirely, but if he tried for the second–

Dark grey flared under the Family Sword’s point as it tried to pierce Mercury’s thigh. His Aura flexed and held, but it ruined his planned recovery as I forced that leg back and down. He hit the floor on his chest with a surprised oof!, but he was already rolling away from my second stab, leaving my sword to pierce the chipped and scarred mats on the floor once again.

And I will catch you,But you might break the fall…

Undeterred, I stepped forward and aimed a goal kick into his ribs. He twisted and curled up, managing to catch it on the sole of his boot and turn the momentum into a spin. He fired his boots one after another, spinning him faster, and to my mild surprise they made it through [Steadfast] and actually shaved down my MP.

Mercury then slapped the mat to pop back to his feet as I continued to chase him, turning into a standing heel-kick in the same motion. I could block or lean back to dodge that, orrr–

Rather than just catch it, I used [Parry] to backhand my shield against his heel with all my STR, slashing at his back with the same motion. His Aura held once more, and his upraised boot fired, pushing him away and into a cartwheel before I could combo the stroke.

I brought my shield up to block the next shot, taking a second to assess where our respective Auras stood. He’s down to about 90%, but those two shots combined with my buffs refreshing brought me down to 85%.

Goddamn, I might be the son of Sam!The only child of a holy man.I stand alone for all to see,‘Cause they ain’t never seen a war like me!

Mercury didn’t fire again, and I could sense he wasn’t moving, so I lowered my shield carefully. He was bouncing on his toes again, looking reluctantly impressed.

“Heard you almost tied the Invincible Girl last year,” he said casually, causing a new wave of murmurs to sweep the room. “Guess that wasn’t just talk.”

Off to the side, leaning against the wall, Neptune squawked, “What!?”

(Goddamn.) Son of Sam!(Goddamn.) Son of Sam!

“I barely knocked her into the yellow; she won pretty squarely.” Honestly, I’d still have lost even if I hadn’t spent everything on buffs.

For some reason the murmurs redoubled.

Mercury scoffed. “You don’t realize what kinda rep she has here. She’s supposed to be untouchable; the only person who so much as put a dent in Nikos’ Aura was Altan over there.” He jerked his head toward the bleachers, and I glanced over, staying alert in case it was a diversion.

Sure enough though, a dark-skinned blonde in the front row was leaning forward, watching us both intently.

‹Don’t Run From Who You Are›LV 29Arslan Altan

“The rest of this lot can’t even imagine trying,” Mercury went on. “Why do you think I give them so much shit?”

“Because you’re kind of a dick?” I quipped, and he barked a laugh.

“He’s got you pegged, Mercury!” Someone called from elsewhere in the stands.

“You know you like it, Ems!” Mercury called back without looking.

A quick glance in the direction of [Detect Magic] showed that Emerald had indeed joined Cinder. Hm, wonder if I need to worry about her Semblance? Guess we’ll deal with that if it comes up.

“Don’t call me ‘Ems’, dickhead!”

“She wants me,” he confided to me.

Burning buildings from aboveSend their best, and send their love.Turn away. Goodbye, goodnight.Go to sleep now, don't you cry!

This time we both moved, charging at each other just as the final line started. Despite that, Mercury was definitely being more cautious this time, keeping his feet planted for the moment and throwing out probing jabs. Yep, there he goes feeling me out. I guess that means he’s taking me seriously… Wonder how many Haven students he took out with that opening combo?

Frankly, the slightly slower pace suited me better than him. He wasn’t bad at boxing per se, but it clearly wasn’t his forte because I was able to block or deflect most of them, and [Steadfast] absorbed the few that got through without touching my MP. Still, I didn’t take that for granted, taking the practice with [Sword And Board] happily.

I whittled Mercury down to 80% at about the same time my buffs drained me to the same point. I heard him click his tongue as I blocked yet another hook with my shield and stabbed his thigh from behind it.

Are you afraid your life means less?Are you concerned you might be next?It's much too soon for me to tell,If you're in heaven or in hell.

Mercury feinted high again, drawing my sword up to block, then dropped to the floor and tried to sweep my legs. Rather than try to resist it, I dropped backward into a handstand and came back to my feet with my shield positioned low to catch the most recent shot from his boots.

“You’re pretty light on your feet for a guy in heavy armor,” he mused, kipping back to his feet. “But how long can you keep that up?”

With my CON? “How long can you?”

And I will catch you,But you might break the fall…

Mercury’s grin widened, and he started bouncing from side to side, empowering his hops with Aura to slowly circle to my right before coming at me again. Evidently he’s sick of me blocking and has decided to come at my sword side instead of the shield… let’s make him regret that.

I spun the tip of the Family Sword in a circle as he sidestepped one more time, then brought it forward to meet his newest kick. The shift back to kickboxing was extremely smooth, but between the increased speed, strength, and grace of his movements I’d have been able to tell it was his preferred style even if I hadn’t already known.

Goddamn, I might be the son of Sam!The only child of a holy man.I stand alone for all to see,‘Cause they ain’t never seen a war like me!

The kicks came out fast and hard, and more impressively he seemed to have no trouble switching from right to left and back. I had to dedicate some genuine focus to getting the Family Sword in place to handle them all. Fortunately, between Olivia and Blake, I had some practice against dual-wielders, and I wasn’t above bringing my shield back into play a few times when I couldn’t get my sword around in time.

Man, when did I turn into someone who likes fighting? I wondered, realizing I was grinning just as broadly as my opponent. I guess when the danger was removed. It’s not exactly like a game — notwithstanding the Game — but it’s still kinda fun.

(Goddamn.) Son of Sam!(Goddamn.) Son of Sam!(Goddamn!)

Ultimately, Mercury was clever and tactical, and his overall skills were arguably a bit above mine, but he just didn’t have the raw stats to keep up… on top of the fact that he had to spend Aura to keep me from slicing up his legs, while my sword, shield, and armor cost me nothing to block. Consequently, despite his more aggressive approach, he was the one losing several percentage points off his Aura with every exchange, while mine was only ticking down minute over minute from my buffs.

Your ceiling, falling piece by pieces.Raining down like concrete.Just surrender and rememberWhat you've done to me.

To his credit, Mercury seemed to notice it too, and as his Aura crossed the 50% mark he started working in more shots from his boots, not seeming to care if they missed. Of course he doesn’t, this is the same move he pulled on Yang in their fight. It was better, actually — unlike the fight in the show, he seemed to realize I wouldn’t tunnel-vision so much that I wouldn’t notice his shots spinning around the arena, so he was curving them up toward the ceiling, waiting for a chance to rain down on my head.

They were still in range of [Detect Aura], though, so I kept my focus on him, waiting for the moment when–

Mercury jumped suddenly, bringing his left leg around in a heavy axe kick. At the same time, his Aura flared. Like called to like, and the Aura he’d infused in the shots responded by shooting down like meteors.

Look now, over your shoulder.No, it's not over.It's just beginning,And I will write the final ending!

It was a damn impressive combination, and it would probably have done a number on my MP reserves. Hell, it might have even forced me to cut off some of my buffs to stay in the fight longer… If I hadn’t seen it coming. As it was, in the split second I had to react, I raised my shield.

And retracted it to keep my view clear.

A very careful use of [Parry] let me step to the right at the same time I guided Mercury’s leg past me… and my heightened DEX let me wrap my arm around it, catching his calf in the crook of my elbow.

I saw his eyes widen, but he didn’t have time to react before I twisted to my left, levering his leg with me and forcing him into the place I’d just been standing, helped along by a punch in the ribs with the hand holding the Family Sword.

Goddamn, I might be the son of Sam!The only child of a holy man.I stand alone for all to see,'Cause they ain't never seen a war–

Repositioning done, I redeployed my shield just as the ‘meteors’ impacted their creator. The impact and detonations forced me back a step, but the arena’s buzzer sounded as Mercury’s Aura dropped below 20%, fizzling and sparking as Aura Shock set in.

My own Aura was just barely still in the green, sitting at 51%, and I quickly cut off all my buffs except [Eagle’s Splendor]. That gives me 70some MP/min passively while keeping my CHA high. On with the show.

Sheathing the Family Sword and shifting it back to the baldric, I made my way over to Mercury and extended a hand just like I had to SSN.

To my mild surprise, Mercury didn’t hesitate to take it, popping to his feet with a groan. “Urgh, didn’t miss being on this side of that move…”

“Good fight,” I said as the music tapered off and some actual applause swept the room this time.

“It was; I guess I’ll have to pull out the stops next time,” said Mercury, and for the life of me I couldn’t tell if he was joking.

“Don’t strain yourself on my account,” I said drily. “But look me up if you want to spar when you get to Beacon.”

“I might just take you up on that.” He held out his Scroll, tapping it against mine to exchange contacts. “Been too long since I’ve had a fight that didn’t feel one-sided, one way or the other.”

“I know the feeling.” Aaand your system is now infected with Pawn. I had to lean on [Acting]’s Mastery bonus to conceal a smirk of victory. This thing is so damn useful, if Watts was still in custody I’d send him a fruit basket.

I wasn’t entirely lying, though; that had been a genuinely good fight.

[Duel Alert!: Jaune Arc vs. Mercury Black]

[Result: Victory!]

[You have gained 14,200 EXP! Increased closeness with Mercury Black. Increased notoriety with Cinder Fall. Decreased reputation with Salem’s Circle.]

[Level up! Your level has increased by 1!]

[Your skills have increased. Tap for a full list.]

I assume this accounts for both fights, but not bad. Aura, buffs, Melee Combat Mastery, Martial Arts, Parry, Powerful, Steadfast, Nimble, Sleight of Hand, Aura Affinity, Aura Mastery, slight boosts to Endurance, and a shitload to Sword and Board… Glad the early levels of prestige skills also come fast, especially with [Enlightened] and [Prodigy] doubling up.

[Secret Objective Complete: Give Mercury Black an enjoyable fight.]

[Greatly increased closeness with Mercury Black. Mercury Black is now a friendly acquaintance. Charm has increased by 5!]

I guess he wasn’t entirely lying either. Huh. Thoughts for later.

Name: Jaune ArcLevel: 62 (Next: 13.79%)Title: InitiateRace: HumanAge: 18Job: Journeyman HuntsmanClass: PaladinSemblance: The GamerHP: 8431/8431MP: 2453/4619STR: 229 (100)CON: 293 (102)DEX: 165 (54)INT: 139 (51)WIS: 113 (52)CHA: 162 (53)Points: 117Money: 1,008,990LStatus: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]

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

Was this entire chapter an excuse to write what’s basically a songfic? …Not completely, no.

Sometimes writing is asking yourself ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen right now?’ and then making your characters deal with that — in this case (re: Chapter 55) Jaune was clearly hoping to avoid crossing CMSN’s path, and that was honestly the original plan… until I realized it was much better to drop him directly in their sights.

For the record, I know that the webshow uses 20% as the surrender threshold in Volume 3 (15% in 1v1s). By author’s fiat, in this fic 25% is the ‘default’ red threshold which can be adjusted for specific tournaments or preference.

I hope I did my version of Mercury some justice… I see him as much stronger (in terms of Aura and skill) than most students, with how easily he handles Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Pyrrha. Personally, I think he took a dive against Yang as well. I wanted his cockiness to shine through in how he talks about the other Haven students, but for him to actually respect someone who (like Jaune) fights ‘without’ using a Semblance as a crutch.

(Yes, The Gamer is always active, but from the outside it just looks like Jaune is extremely good at Aura Boosting, because his apparent Semblance is healing.)