I'm glad to see this story is getting pretty good reception, thanks for reading. As for some of the Gamer related I'll answer those in the form of this chapter. Enjoy!
If there was one word to define how Jaune felt after choosing to accept the power of The Gamer it would be underwhelmed. In the back of his mind he was expecting some sort of feeling of power to course through him, but all he got was a little tingle in his left thigh, and even that might have just been a muscle spasm. Eight level-up notifications in total flashed in front of him, yet he felt almost no different at the end of it. That said he gained a new class skill at level five.
Shield Bash (Level 1): Hit back! Surprise an opponent by turning your defense into offense. Stuns humans and lower level Grimm for a brief moment. (Active: No cost)
While Jaune wasn't sure why that was a skill when he could easily use his shield to attack himself, he let it go seeing as he's such a low level. Turning his attention to his stats Jaune rolled his eyes.
Name: Jaune Arc
Level: 8
Title: The Shield
Class: Tank
Exp: 20%
AP: 500/500
HP: 160/160
Stats:
STR: 10
CON:12 +20% (14) (In Combat)
DEX: 8
INT: 8
WIS: 11
CHA: 7
LUCK: 3
POINTS: 40
Of course he didn't feel any stronger, because he was weaker, in every category. The only saving grace was the forty points Jaune had to distribute where he wanted doing the math he figured that each level awarded about five skill points for him to distribute.
For racking your mind to figure out simple arithmetic you have gained +1 INT
This was the rest of his life now wasn't it? Facepalming, Jaune decided a course of action for his points, since he didn't exactly want to spend them all at once in case some stats are easier than others to level up which was his current hypothesis. Until then he figured his best course of action was to simply get his stats to where they were during his 'tutorial'.
Name: Jaune Arc
Level: 8
Title: The Shield
Class: Tank
Exp: 20%
AP: 760/760
HP: 190/190
Stats:
STR: 15
CON:15 +20% (18) (In Combat)
DEX: 15
INT: 15
WIS: 15
CHA: 7
LUCK: 3
POINTS: 15
This time Jaune felt a slight power surge as his body powered up back to how it was a couple minutes earlier. Though the back and forth was making him queasy threatening to bring his cheerios back into their bowl.
Despite his urge to vomit, Jaune did a double take at his stats and the math didn't add. His INT before only gave him a boost of twenty AP, yet now it had gone up way more than it should have. Looking through his stats Jaune figured out the problem, he had looked right over the class passive he unlocked at the same time he unlocked Shield Bash.
Tank's Body (Passive): Your body's fortitude is a tanks most valuable asset. (CON gives +30 AP and HP per level)
That felt like a very powerful passive especially for him considering his swordplay was lackluster at best. Besting opponents on sheer endurance sounded good to him for the time being. However, he would need to level up his sword proficiency quickly if he wanted to last at Beacon.
Unfortunately, now the cafeteria was beginning to fill as huntsman and huntresses alike dragged themselves into the cafeteria like a hive mind with one purpose, coffee. His opportunity to explore his new power dwindling Jaune turned his eyes to his inventory before everyone started to feel the effects of their coffee and discover him reading the air like a madman.
His inventory had a bit more than he expected, more lien than he'd seen in his life, a health potion that restored fifty health on use, and the last thing he saw in his inventory was.
Grimm Essence: ?
Reading that gave him the shivers, and ignoring the voice in the back of his head that told him to get rid of it Jaune moved on. Picking up an apple he had grabbed when he came in Jaune tried to 'put' it in his inventory using his mind. He only shrieked a little when said apple literally disappeared in his hands and became a line of text in his inventory. The implications of this discovery only plagued Jaune for moments before his mind wandered and he completely forgot what he was thinking about
Once Jaune's mind came back to the present he tried to do the reverse, although this time he put his hand up his shirt first for some cover. Then Jaune pulled the apple out of his inventory with his mind causing it to basically teleport into his hand (though it could also have been described as just a very fast phase into existence). Jaune poked the apple once then took a very tiny bite to make sure it was what it claimed to be still and found much to his relief that it was in fact an apple.
He would test the limits of his inventory later when he got some alone time. Looking at his Game display Jaune spit out his milk and started jogging towards the dorm seeing as class was beginning in 15 minutes.
Team JNPR sat quietly waiting for Professor Port's first lecture of the year to be over, the events leading up to their current position playing back violently in Jaune's mind.
Ren had been the easiest to wake up, the ninja's eyes opening the second Jaune opened the door as if he hadn't been asleep to begin with. Ren gave him a curt nod as he sat up and moved to get ready. Jaune noticed a distinct jolt in his movements as ren noticed the time.
Pyrrha came next slowly sitting up as she shook off her grogginess and remembered who and where she was. Once she finished remembering she started getting ready without prompt. Although a cough from Ren drew her attention as he gestured to an imaginary clock on his wrist, getting Pyrrha to match his speed when she checked the time on her scroll.
Nora just kept snoring and boy did that scare Jaune. Looking to Ren who shook his head furiously as Jaune approached Nora, causing Jaune to pause until he remembered that he was their team leader and he had to do this despite not knowing the rest of his team too well just yet. Jaune saw a notification for a new skill pop-up as he crouched down, but forced himself to ignore it as he tiptoed right up to Nora's bed. Reaching down slowly to try and shake the girl Jaune saw his danger sense go off, and then instantaneously the world flipped upside down. Jaune felt a weight against his back as his mouth tasted the carpet. Warm breath tickled the inside of his ear and Gamer's mind forced back the terror Jaune felt as Nora whispered.
"Only Ren wakes me up" And just like that it was over and Nora was up getting ready as if everything was normal.
Once everyone was ready Jaune called out. "A-Alright team! First team mission, not be late to class!" Nora cheered as Jaune opened the door and led his team out.
All in all, Aside from one of the most terrifying experiences of his life the morning hadn't gone too poorly. Jaune had organized his stats and figured out how inventory worked which was a win for him. Despite the impending sense of doom he got whenever Nora looked his way during class.
With class winding down Jaune figured he'd check what skill he got before flipped his world upside down literally.
Sneak (Level 1): Right now a roaring Ursa could hear you trying to sneak up on it, continued use might help.
He guessed he deserved that, considering stealth had never been his forte, but now he sat reading through his stats and skills to see if he could glean anything really. It hadn't taken long for him and everyone else to see what kind of teacher Port was. With everyone besides Pyrrha and Weiss tuning the portly man out as he droned on. Blake with her head in her book, Yang was just a ball of hair as she slept against the desk and Nora was following suit. Ruby was drawing something, and Ren could have been paying attention if Jaune hadn't noticed his pencil stop moving a couple minutes ago. For all his effort which amounted to zero Jaune had gained some levels in Grimm Identification, three to be precise, despite his utter lack of attention.
His mind wandered to the Grimm Essence in his inventory and his mind told him that capturing the essence shouldn't be possible as Grimm dissolve upon death. Chalking up that knowledge to his new levels he figured he'd ask if it was possible to capture something off the Grimm before it dissolved and raised his hand.
"Aha! Perfect mister Arc before I could even finish my question. I can appreciate a man with a bit of ambition, grab your weapons and get on down here." Cursing the Gods Jaune went to grab his weapons.
Quest Accepted! Port's Surprise!
Defeat the Foe Port has in Store
Reward: EXP, Respect From Your Classmates, Skill Book
You have Lost Affiliation with Weiss!
You have Gained Affiliation with Pyrrha!
"Break a leg Jauney" Nora cried, although he had a small feeling she meant it literally.
"You can do this Jaune!" Pyrrha called out in support as Jaune tightened the straps on his armor and gave them a thumbs up. He stood at the center of the classroom and readied his weapons. He didn't want to give up that he had no clue what he had signed up for so he stood ready for anything to come out of the cage that Port had rolled out from seemingly nowhere.
With a booming laugh Port opened up the cage and Jaune immediately used Observe on it.
Name: Boarbatusk
Title: Test Dummy
Level: 5
Strongest Stat: DEX
Instantly Jaune knew he had to get the Boarbatusk flipped over as it's belly was unarmored opposed to the rest of its body which was like a castle. The beast chose to rudely interrupt his planning process and spin with a surprising amount of speed into his shield. Luckily he raised it in the nick of time. Jaune grunted as his arm threatened to buckle against the impressive amount of force the beast had generated in such a small space. Feeling the pressure mounting Jaune angled his shield so the Boarbatusk spun past him and into the wall.
He didn't have much time to gather his thoughts as the Boarbatusk began to spin again. Jaune readied his shield and as it barrelled towards him tried to shield bash it to stun it. His arm pushed his shield out and connected with its armored body which promptly ignored his strike and knocked Jaune back and onto the floor.
With his newfound perspective on the floor Jaune hatched a plan. Once the telltale sound of spinning began Jaune flipped his shield over so the tip was pointed towards his enemy and waited for the Grimm to get close before he flattened himself against the floor and created a makeshift ramp out of his shield. Once he felt its weight on his shield Jaune attempted to shield bash with all the strength he had and was met with success this time as the Boarbatusk went airborne. Wasting no time Jaune stood up quickly and pulled out Crocea Mors as the beast collided with the wall with a loud thud. Dazed and confused the Boarbatusk tried to get up, but Jaune sheathed his sword into its body with a squelch before it got the chance. A short squeal contained the last of its life before the body began dissolving as Port clapped along his team.
"A level of ingenuity fit for that of a team leader, impressive showing lad!" Port clapped Jaune's back as he finished which did more damage that the Boarbatusk had actually feeling his Aura dip from the blow.
By fighting valiantly against the Boarbatusk you have gained +1 STR and CON.
Quest Complete!
Rewards Received!
Shield Bash has Leveled Up!
Shield Proficiency has Leveled Up!
Shield Proficiency has Leveled Up!
Sword Proficiency has Leveled Up!
Grimm Identification has Leveled Up!
You have Gained Affiliation with Pyrrha!
You have Gained Affiliation with Ruby!
You have Gained Affiliation with Nora!
You have Gained Affiliation with Ren!
As the game promised he gained experience bumping him to sixty percent towards his next level and the skill book which had piqued his interest when he saw that as a reward. It read in his inventory as.
Skill Book: A Monk's Guide to Aura Enhanced Blows
Definitely something he would have to check out later when he got a free moment. With the fight over Port dismissed the class allowing Jaune to indiscreetly scoop fifty lien into his inventory before making his way over to his team to head to the next class.
However before he could make it to his team Ruby caught up with him first. "That was so awesome! You were like... and then you were like... Then you ended it with a... That was such a cool idea too how did you come up with it." Providing exaggerated hand gestures as she spoke making Jaune chuckle as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Eh, I wish I had a cooler way of putting it, but that just sort of came to me because I was too slow to dodge and too weak to stop its charge fully Y'know?" Now it was Ruby's turn to laugh opening the door for him as they stepped into the hallway.
"My entire semblance is based around speed, so I don't really know what it's like to battle in slow motion like you do." Jaune sputtered for a moment before Ruby's face went beet red. "I-I'm not calling you slow, just my semblance is so fast it makes everything look slower if I'm a spectator."
Jaune waved her off as he used Observe on her. "Don't worry I know what you meant Ruby. Besides, my style isn't exactly known for utilizing speed so I take no offense." Ruby looked relieved at his response while he read what Observe brought up praying Ruby didn't ask about this non-existent style he had.
Name: Ruby Rose
Title: Reaper
Level: 27
Strongest Stat: DEX
Dex made sense seeing as Ruby was the fastest person he'd ever met, and that was before her semblance come into play. Most importantly he was now a high enough level to see his friends levels, or at least Ruby's, which was still a win in Jaune's book.
"Really good job Jaune!" Pyrrha started giving him a nudge with her shoulder as the rest of his team approached Ren and Nora giving him words of encouragement as well.
With a blush forming on his face Jaune waved them off. "It was nothing guys, it was just a single Grimm that couldn't even get to full speed. Who knows what would happen if we met in the Emerald Forest or an open field."
Ruby reinjected herself into the conversation here. "That's a great idea Jaune!"
"Meeting a Boarbatusk on an open field?" Ruby met him with an empty slap to the back of the head. "No you dummy, a training excursion to the Emerald Forest!" When Jaune thought about it he actually considered the possibility, it seemed like a good excuse to grind for experience as well as to bond with his team and their sister team at this point RWBY.
"Then let's do it guys!" Jaune looked to his team with Nora grinning like a madwomen alongside Ren and Pyrrha who gave a thumbs up. Jaune then moved his vision to the rest of RWBY which was only Blake and Yang with Blake shrugging and Yang snatching Ruby up into a headlock. "I'm sure Weiss wouldn't say no to more training either, so let's plan it, todays Wednesday so how does Friday after classes sound?"
Ruby took the lack of reaction as a yes and jumped next to Jaune. "Alright teams, Friday will begin Rubiper Fridays!" A collective groan was issued causing Ruby to quickly addend her declaration. "Jaune and I will be open to ideas on what to call our combined team name, but until then, break!"
Jaune slowed down a little bit before calling out to his team, "Yeah I'm actually gonna head to the gym real quick, I'll catch up to you guys for lunch." Pyrrha looked concerned for a second, why Jaune had no idea, but it was instantly washed away as she put on her gentle smile and called out that she'd save him a seat.
Before he went to the gym Jaune walked back to the boys locker room and moved his gear from his locker into his inventory. It made no sense to keep it where he wouldn't have constant access to it. After that he stopped by the room to grab some workout clothes, black athletic shorts and a white tee shirt, then finally made his way to the gym.
The gym was pretty empty for a school of huntsmen in training, although Jaune chalked it up to being the first week well actually more like the first hour. Though that wasn't to say it was empty, there was a girl with short brown hair on the treadmill and a huge hulk of a man sitting on a floor mat with his legs crossed in a pose of meditation if Jaune had to guess.
Jaune laughed at himself, he'd never gone to the gym seriously before. Sure his sisters would drag him every once in a while, but he would typically spend the whole time wishing he was back home playing video games. So now by himself Jaune figured he'd just do every workout he'd seen on television.
Beginning with the bench Jaune put thirty five pounds on each side adding that with the weight of the bar itself he approximated that he was trying just over a hundred pounds. The weight seemed a little high for him, but he figured The Game might have given him some extra strength. Jaune laid down under the bar and wrapped his fingers around the notch in the bar he guessed was where it wanted him to grip it. A grunt signaled that he had lifted it off its platform and Jaune began, finding it surprisingly easy completing ten reps before setting the bar back down. Jaune read the notification that read before his eyes.
New Passive Unlocked!
Lifting (Passive) (Level 1): You can lift 10 times your STR modifier.
A simple passive for a simple task Jaune smiled as he stood up adding the maximum weight so that the bar in total weighed one hundred sixty. Laying back down Jaune gave a determined grunt as he struggled to get the bar off the platform, dedicated to level up his new skill to level five to see what it would unlock for him.
Sweat covered his face as Jaune let the bar fall onto its resting place with a loud crash. He'd gone as long as he could, which was about ten minutes of sustained lifting, netting himself two Strength and one Constitution up on the way until his arms gave out and he finally reached level five in Lifting. Jaune read the skill again.
Lifting (Passive) (Level 5): You can lift 15 times your STR modifier. Class Combat Passive: In desperate times you can lift up to 50 times your STR modifier when coming to the aid of someone in need.
Now that was definitely an awesome ability to have considering his job is to fight giant monsters that weigh a ton. The Class ability he gained was also something to look into in his other passives considering that he didn't plan on training those skills because they wouldn't help him in combat. But with this development he might have to put some time aside in this fictional training schedule he kept talking about that only existed in his head.
After a couple minutes rest Jaune moved onto the treadmill, it felt like some kind of joke that endurance, something he definitely had the least of and hated the most before The Game was going to be his most critical stat for his class. Cursing whatever cosmic deity gave him this power Jaune turned on the treadmill and started running.
Despite Constitution being Jaune's highest stat with his title bonus he still got some good gains from his running session. Two more points in Constitution and Dexterity were his final totals as he flicked the machine off barely fighting off the feeling of jello in his legs trying to bring him to his knees.
Despite the ache he could already feel Jaune did push himself to do a couple more random workouts before he left the gym netting him another point in Strength for his troubles. Walking slowly as to appease his achy legs Jaune made his way to the cafeteria. Taking the longer way around so he could catch a bit of the cool air as well as allowing himself some more cooldown time after the pretty intense workout he put himself through.
As he walked about the grounds admiring the cobble walkways Jaune spotted the icy heiress ahead of him looking off into the distance. Jaune groaned internally, while he wasn't even on her team he knew a person who was lost in their own thoughts when he saw them. Knowing he might just get told off Jaune approached her anyways taking louder steps as he got closer to let her know he was coming up to her. When he got close enough Weiss turned around and a little scowl came over her face as she recognized him. He winced at the response and although he was tempted to turn around he bit his tongue and closed the gap between them.
"Penny for your thoughts Weiss?" Jaune withheld any nicknames opting to seem serious. Weiss in turn looked as if she had an insult queued up but decided against it as she sighed and turned away from Jaune to look over the cliffside.
"You're not exactly my first choice of who to talk to but I guess you'll have to do." Weiss turned back to look at Jaune. "All my life I've been taught and trained to be a leader, whether it be the SDC or here. Yet I get here, a child blows me up, and said child gets put as my leader." Weiss massaged her temple, "Surely Ozpin made a mistake I mean she's an immature child who desperately wants to prove herself."
Jaune shook his head. "Ruby" He started and when Weiss gave him a look he continued. "That 'immature child's' name is Ruby, Weiss so you should start by calling her that. I mean why would Ozpin make you the leader of three other people when you only respect people similar to you like Pyrrha. Sure Ruby has her flaws, but I'm sure we can both already see the compassion and heart she has despite how little we have known her, and the desperation you see? That's because of you, her own partner won't give her the respect she deserves, so she's trying desperately to get it."
Weiss paused for a moment before finding her resolve. "I see your point, but surely with all my training I was more qualified to lead." Finding a smirk as she felt she had a good comeback.
Jaune externally groaned this time putting another scowl on the heiress' face. "That's exactly why you aren't the leader Weiss. I know you can't see it yet, but if you go into being a leader thinking you already know everything you won't grow and you'll end up a stagnant team with the lowest skill ceiling possible. However, if you go into leading with an open mind willing to make mistakes and learn from them, then your limit will know no bounds."
Passive Unlocked!
Rousing Speech (Passive): You can inspire others with your words. The higher the level of this skill, the more likely you will be listened to. (Level 1)
Jaune dismissed the notification focusing on Weiss as her face twisted as she digested his words, Jaune didn't expect her to instantly change her morals and values. He hoped however that he was at least sowing the seed of discord in her mind that maybe the world isn't so black and white. Jaune turned around going to let the girl stew in his words, but before he left he gave her a few more to think over.
"I know it's the second day, but Ruby and everyone else seems special. You need to think about how spending the next four years in isolation would feel." With that Jaune walked away leaving Weiss to her own thoughts and the sounds of his footsteps slowly getting quieter as he walked away.
There it is finally. Canon is shifting as you will definitely see more of in the next chapter I accelerated Weiss's conversation and also got rid of it partially as Jaune fought instead of her, it makes sense I promise . I want to keep this story interesting so a new yet not so new that it's disorienting plot is my plan, I'm currently running ideas through of what events are going to happen without suspending too much belief. That said the chapter itself is probably underwhelming and you're right. I had surgery a week ago (read months ago as I go back and edit this before finally releasing it) and it's impeded my ability to write more than usual as my typing speed is awful at full health. Hopefully soon I can try to get another chapter out. Finally thanks for reading, we hit 80 followers on two chapters, and the first chapter I might delete out of the story for how useless it is but I'm still debating that point. As always Fav, Follow, and Review and who knows, maybe next chapter I'll start reacting to User reviews at the bottom of the chapter.