The Eternal Game Chapter 1, a rwby fanfic

...I'm not even gonna bother defending myself this time around. Hope you all enjoy!

This story is probably only gonna be one or two chapters for the foreseeable future, just a warning for y'all! Also, the first chapter is gonna set some stuff up in a really quick and dirty manner, because I need to get this sorted out. So if some stuff seems dumb, just...go along with it for now, please.

Also, Imperial Problems, Imperial Solutions Chapter 1 is also being worked on, so you guys can look forward to that if it's your cup of tea (It's in the Mosh-Pit on my profile along with all my other weird and wacky ideas).

'Text' - Layla speaking in her mind.

"Text" - Normal speech or writing.

Text - Game-entity speaking to Layla.

Text - Game plain-text explanation to Layla.

Chapter 1

"Stupid bitch!"

A boot slammed into her face, and Layla glared back at the man who was sneering down at her. All she did was bump into him on the way past, he was barely moved. "Fuck you." She spat, getting a pull on her long hair for her words.

"You say something, bitch?" The ugly man yanked her face up to head-height, trying to force her to make eye-contact. Layla knew what the bastard holding her up was capable of, she'd heard stories from the other slum kids about how he'd come into the slums, force some poor kid to look him in the eyes, then he'd start ordering them around like a fucking dog. They'd still be able to yell and try to run away, but he could simply command them to stop, and they'd freeze in fucking place.

Layla didn't believe it. RWBY canon never had a Semblance like that. There were some scary ones like Emerald's or Neo's, but one that gave mind control when you met someone's eyes? That seemed just a bit ridiculous. Didn't stop her from trying to keep his eyes away from her. "Stop squirming you little slut." A vicious backhand dazed Layla for a few moments, and in those moments he forced an eye open and met it with his gaze. "There, now stop fucking squirming."

She tried to continue, but it was like her body refused to even move slightly. "Y...you bastard! FUCK YOU! LET ME GO!" The man backhanded her again, growling.

"Shut the fuck up! You know what, just stop fucking talking!" Layla opened her mouth to yell again, but as no sounds came from her lips, she blinked at the man, who had a smug look on his face. "There, that fucking shut you up now didn't it?"

Sure, not being able to talk completely silenced Layla, but that wasn't why she just blinked emptily.

Xachs Menshun - Level 27

Class: Criminal/Body-snatcher

There was...text, just floating above the man's head.

Well, this is a rather...compromising situation now isn't it, 'Layla'?

Floating text appeared before her eyes, and Layla skimmed it quickly, remaining limp within her captor's arms. It was quite lucky he ordered her to stop squirming or her inactivity would be quite suspicious. 'Uhh, hello?' She thought, watching the text blink out and re-appear in a different structuring.

Hello there. Oh, you are so much more polite than my previous user. Now, I'm sure you'd rather this man not take you to his intended destination, aye?

Layla mentally nodded in agreement quickly. Never mind the fact that his armpits stunk, the title of Body-snatcher did not bode well to Layla's future.

Well then, allow me to help you.

The girl waited limply for a few moments, before feeling something powerful flooding her body. Able to move again, she immediately shoved her arms against her captor, breaking his grasp. "Wha-" Was all he managed to say before Layla viciously snapped his neck, not allowing him a moment to force her to stop fighting back. 'Thanks.'

'...Oh fuck.' Layla looked at the corpse in horror. Her voice wasn't back. She could move, so his order to stop squirming was removed, but her voice wasn't...she couldn't fucking speak! 'Hey, what the fuck is going on?' She yelled into her mind.

Wow, I help you get free from a life of imprisonment and slavery, and what do I get? Yelled at. So ungrateful. Just for that, I'm not giving you a tutorial. Have fun trying to figure out these powers on your own!

'Hey, you get back here you motherfucking son of a bitch, you fucking caused this!' Her mental yell went unanswered, and a shiver went through her body as she realized the full implications of what her little tantrum caused.

Layla knew video game mechanics, she played a lot of games on her own. The problem was she didn't really play MMORPGs or really RPGs in general, she was more of a first-person-shooter and Milsim girl. Spotting the corpse on the ground, she bit back her revulsion with surprising ease and stepped tentatively towards the body. Kneeling down, Layla pawed through his pockets, retrieving a wallet with an assortment of Lien cards valued at about 3300 Lien total, or roughly £38.

Alongside that, he had a switchblade, which Layla quickly pocketed, a protein bar, some random string, and most importantly, a standard-issue scroll. Layla had seen these devices around, quite a few citizens used them. As a slum child, she never got the chance to even look at one. Understandable, but it was frustrating being to close to such amazing technology, and never getting the chance to even look at it.

Patting the rest of his pockets and finding nothing of note, Layla hurried away from the secluded area before anybody stumbled across her. It'd be bad news if a Hunter of the Police found her when she was looting a corpse. Huh, it was funny how well she was taking that. Layla had never killed somebody else in either of her past lives and yet even after she snapped someone's neck in cold blood, she barely cared.

Sure, he was an evil kidnapping criminal who probably abused his Semblance for all it was worth before turning his charges over, but still, Layla expected to feel at least something, anything at all. Walking through the streets of Vale as she pondered this, she quickly found her way out beyond the farms and across fields and forests to The Nest, her home away from...well, everything. Layla was a Slum Child, born to a mother who died when she was barely old enough to fend for herself. If she didn't have the experience of a previous life she would have almost certainly followed her mother to that grave.

What that ended up meaning was that she barely had somewhere to call home before, and after her mother died, that home was immediately taken over, with her being booted out by those bigger and scarier than she was. Not willing to risk trying to simply make a new home within the Slums, Layla wandered around for a while in Vale, sleeping wherever she could find shelter and dumpster-diving for anything to help her survive until she found the nest.

It was out in the Agricultural side of Vale, an old abandoned watchtower far beyond where people usually ventured but still within the colossal area the walls encompassed, held up by a metal framework supported with stone, and built sturdy enough to survive an Ursa crashing into it. Nobody had visited the tower in presumably years, and so Layla had turned it into her home. There were dirty but comfortable covers she scavenged from dumpsters, a few scuffed-up bits of random furniture left lying around outside homes, even a small bookshelf lined with worn-out but still perfectly legible books people tossed out.

And it was all hers. Nobody even knew it existed apart from Layla. As she slumped down onto her pile of covers, she finally relaxed for a moment, letting the events of the day play out. She almost got captured by a Body-snatcher, she got saved by some weird entity which freed her from the Semblance and gave her enough strength to snap the man's neck, and now she was back home, safe.

With a snap of her fingers, Layla recalled the numerous Fanfictions she had read, detailing this exact situation. 'Uhh, stats!' She called out mentally. Nothing happened. 'Okay, what about...status?' Again, nothing popped up. 'Grr. Menu. Screen. Options. Tutorial. Inventory.' Inventory seemed to work, and a big screen appeared before her eyes, with dozens of empty grey boxes blankly hovering before her. 'Cool.' She vocalized to herself. 'Hmm, maybe...help?'

Another menu popped up, detailing information in a big list like Locations, Quests, Experience, so on and so forth. Pushing the experience one at random, the screen expanded, with a wall of text appearing, causing Layla's eyes to glaze over slightly. 'Oh fucking hell, I really hate RPGs.'

EXP, or Experience, is the way in which the player is measured for progression within The Game. Many actions will give the player experience, from defeating enemies, completing quests, gathering resources, crafting items, passing skill checks, exploring, traini-"

Layla skimmed past all the different ways to get experience, committing a few to memory as she skimmed down to the next part of the text.

Experience will eventually hit a cap, at which point it is decided the player has progressed enough to 'Level-up!' This will grant the player one Attribute Point, one Proficiency point, 10 Health Points, 10 Aura Points, and will fully heal the player, removing all negative debuffs at the same time. This does not include permanent status afflictions like missing limbs, digits, organs, and so on. The level-up can be held off, to avoid awkward situations, and applied later, at a safe time. The player cannot have more than one level held in reserve at a time.

Noticing that the Attribute and Proficiency points were marked like URL links, Layla pressed the 'Attribute Point' one, opening up another page of information.

Attribute Points measure the player's overall skills. These are listed as Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Wisdom, and Luck. Strength is your ability to lift heavy objects, strike and defend powerful blows, and is used in Intimidation Skill checks. Vitality is your health, it determines how much of a beating you can take a stand back up, and will affect your maximum health pool, how much damage you take, and your health regeneration speed. Dexterity is how well you can move your own body, allowing you to bend around attacks and handle weapons efficiently, whilst synergizing with strength. Wisdom is your ability to use your Mind correctly, it will determine how much Aura you have, how efficiently you use your Aura, and how swiftly you learn Proficiencies. Finally, Luck if how generally lucky you are, causing events, potentially good like a critical blow, or bad like a very tough enemy, to occur based on how lucky you are.

'Hmm.' Rubbing her chin, Layla took a moment to process all that. It seemed like her ability would affect her physically and outside of her own body, not messing with her mind in any way. That was good. It would have been weird to have an Intelligence stat, then start off practically brain-dead before turning into Einstein. Pushing Proficiencies, Layla cracked her back, watching the Sun slowly set with a tiny smile. It was beautiful.

Proficiency Points are the currency of individual skills. These are FAR more specific than Attributes. Some examples are as follows: Daggers, Swords, Spears, Archery, Stealth, Evasion, Dodging, Pickpocketing, Swimming, Sprinting, Hunting, Foraging, Farming, Wood-cutting, Dancing, Jumping, Lying, Stealing, Building, Crafting, Digging, Walking. Some Proficiencies will synergize with active Abilities and grant bonuses.

'That...was a fucking lot.' Layla thought to herself as she gazed over the list. Apparently, that was only 'some' examples. With a roll of her shoulders, Layla leaned back and mentally nudged the 'Abilities' link.

Abilities are powers, either Passive or Active, which affect the player in a variety of ways. These abilities are highly varied, and can be unlocked through either special actions such as intensive training or through the reading of documents, scrolls and books. Some examples are as follows: Far Strike, Power Strike, Power Shot, Block, Fire Bolt, Aura Bolt, Aura Shield, Sneak Attack. Basic attacks, such as firing projectiles and swinging a melee weapon are handled by Profiencies, and Skills will supplement their damage.

'Okay, that all makes sense I guess. So, how do I see all these...' Layla prodded the Proficiencies link and scanned it for anything that told her how exactly to see her own stats, then used the Attributes link to go back to that page, only to be disappointed again. 'Okay, so I don't actually know what my own stats are...Hey, uhh, Game? I'm sorry for being so rude, I was in a bad situation and didn't honestly blame you. Thank you for giving me this ability, but, can I please have some more help?' She closed her eyes, bowing her head and waiting.

After a few moments, a ringing sound, almost like a gentle bell, called out, and she raised her head, opening her eyes to see the familiar text.

I suppose even for one such as you, the stress of such a situation should be expected to get the better of you. Very well, I shall aid you. However, insult me as such again and I shall leave you with no help whatsoever. Are we clear?

'Crystal clear. And...I do mean it when I say thank you. I don't know exactly what would have happened if I was caught, but I have a pretty damn good idea, and you saved me from that with whatever you did. I just...I don't like the idea of not having my voice. Is there...are there any ways I can get my voice back?'

I'm afraid not. You see, you came to this world with knowledge from your past life. However, some things have inexplicably escaped your notice. Tell me, when you look into your own reflection, what do you see?

Frowning, Layla shrugged. 'Myself.' She 'said' simply. She always looked a lot like Neo, even in her old life, which was nice considering she always liked Neo.

That is true. However, what you see is not quite correct. You see Layla, a girl who is only 'similar' in looks to the girl known in RWBY as Neopolitan. However, those two are now one in the same. You are Neo, and Neo is you. Neo's body with Layla's mind so to speak. Now, the reason I cannot fix your voice is that this is actually in part your own fault. Simply by changing what happened in the original version of Neopolitan's life, you avoided the event which took her voice. Thus, the world created Xachs Menshun to force you into this situation. Rest assured, you would have always ended up with this...'gamer' ability, even if you did not acknowledge my help. It would simply have been far more...painful.

Layla's jaw was dropped. She WAS Neo? As in, somehow, instead of Neo being born and living, Layla had basically taken the place of her mind and hijacked her life?

NO!

The very large text-box suddenly flaring in front of her face startled Layla immensely, making her fall back over her bedding and onto the floor.

You did NOT 'hijack' anything! Neopolitan was technically never born. From the moment that body was conceived, it was destined that you would always be the one to inhabit it. Neopolitan does not exist in this world. Get that silly notion out of your head. Neopolitan COULD have existed, just as any child could have existed, but she didn't, and you did.

Now then, as I said, I shall aid you. When you attempted to use your menu earlier, I will admit I was feeling petty and blocked your access. By mentally vocalizing 'Status' you will open the menu.

'Status.' The menu opened up, and Layla quickly glanced down it with a frown.

Name(s): Layla, Neopolitan

Class: Slum-child

Level: 1 (55/100 EXP)

Title: None

Health Points: 115/115 - 3% Regeneration Rate (3.4 Per Minute)

Aura Points:120/120 - LOCKED (Cannot use Aura-costing Abilities) - 4% Regeneration Rate (4.8 Per Minute)

STR: 3. 5% Increased Attack Damage, +5KG Carry Strength, +5% Chance to successfully Intimidate Target.

VIT: 3. +5 Health Points, 5% Less Physical Damage Taken - Maximum 75%, 1% Increased Health Regeneration Rate.

DEX: 8. 5% Increases to Reaction Speed, Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Ranged Weapon Accuracy.

WIS: 4. +5 Aura Points, 5% Less Aura Used in Abilities - Maximum 75%, 1% Increased Experience Gain.

LUK: 2. 5% Chance of Critical Hit, 5% Chance for bonus loot drop, general luckiness improved.

*Bonuses stack per point.*

Lien: 0

Now, the help tab might have told you what those stats do, but as you can see, I've added a little note to the end of the Attribute points that tells you exactly what those stats do. Luck is a bit open-ended, I know, but I can't quantify something as nebulous as Luck beyond general luckiness, okay?

'Hey, I'm not saying anything. Thanks for this...uhh...do you have a name?' Layla rubbed the nape of her neck. 'It'd be nice to have something I could address you by.'

Ahh, there is no need for that. You see, I said I would aid you, but our time together is coming to a close. The 'tutorial' is ending, and soon you'll be left alone to fend for yourself, so we must hurry. Now then, there are a few systems I cannot cover in time, but I'll give you the gist. Quests will sometimes appear, with an objective, reward, potential bonus rewards, what failure will cause, and if there is one, what the time-limit is. Canon will be trying to fix itself, so don't worry too much about messing time up. Even if you stop Ruby from going to From Dust Till Dawn, she'll still find a way into Beacon, the Universe won't allow that not to happen, it's too pivotal.

*Ding!*

A quest has been generated.

Kill the rat.

Description: There is a rat scurrying around The Nest. Slay it.

Victory: 10 EXP, 1x Rat Tail, elation.

Failure: Feelings of inadequacy, Rat will attempt to eat your food.

Accept? (Yes)/(No.)

Jabbing a finger out, Layla accepted the quest promptly, immediately spotting the little brown rat scurrying about.

Rat. Level 1. 10/10HP. 0/0AP.

Shoving a hand into her pocket, she drew out and flicked open the Switchblade she took from Xachs' corpse. As she tracked the rodent, she had a thought and flipped the blade around instead of holding it normally. With a few moments to focus on dredging up all her childhood knife-throwing experience, she flicked her wrist and sent the blade flying through the air, stabbing the rat through the head.

*Ding!*

Critical Hit! X2 Max Damage! -14HP. Rat was defeated. +1 EXP.

Drawing the blade from the creature, Layla watched with wide eyes as the critter fizzled into blue light, leaving nothing behind.

Oh, right. Sometimes the game will generate things to use as Bobs and Bosses. When defeated, they will disappear after a few moments, leaving behind loot. This can vary from Lien, Dust and normal Fabrics up to specialist items like Skill/Proficiency Books, equipment and items that will grant you bonuses, and more items that to another person would be worthless, but to you could be invaluable. Now then, if you open your Status Menu, you'll see an attached tab named Quest Log.

Nodding, Layla opened her screen. Sure enough, a taskbar had appeared at the top of the screen, much like a browser tab. Focusing her eyes on it for a moment, it clicked audibly and changed, revealing a Golden screen.

Success!

Kill the rat.

Victory: 10 EXP, 1x Rat Tail, elation.

Layla had to give it to the game, she felt pretty fucking good for only killing a single rat.

Ahh, but that's not all you did. If you would now vocalize 'Proficiencies'...

Layla did so, watching a new screen open up.

Proficiencies:

Gamer's Body - Lvl: NaN. Your body is now comparable to that of a video game character. Health Loss will only give you minor pain levelled based on what % of health it removed. Player will die if Health Points reach 0. Health is recovered over time or through use of a bed.

Gamer's Mind - Lvl: NaN. Your mind is now comparable to that of a video game character. While light emotions will still be allowed, major emotional distress will be suppressed.

Throwing Knives - Lvl: 1 (5/100 EXP). Maximum Lvl: 100. Through use of a thrown attack, you have gained proficiency in throwing weapons. +1% Throwing Weapon accuracy and damage per level.

'Huh, that's pretty damn neat.' Layla thought to herself. Flipping the switchblade over in her hand, Layla threw it down against the floor, checking her screen and smirking slightly when it gained a single point of experience. 'Well hello grinding. So, if I throw this knife at the ground another 94 times, it'd level my ability up. Presumably, when it levels the amount of experience needed will increase by some amount, right?'

That is correct. If this were a typical gamer ability, you'd have received Wisdom there for that deduction. Alas, it is not to be. Now then, my time has all but run out, so I have this much left to say. Whatever you do, do not attempt to break the timeline too much. Remaining as close to 'canon' as you possibly are able to can only be helpful for you in the long-run. If you break the timeline too much, predicting future events will become impossible. As long as you stay relatively close to normal, things should turn out just fine, and you'll be able to avoid any...nasty hiccups, shall we say. We wouldn't want you to get gobbled up by a Beowolf because you started sniffing around in the wrong places.

Alas, 'tis my time to depart from your humbly crude mind. To you, Layla Neopolitan, I bid you farewell, and I hope you succeed in your endeavours, treacherous as they may be.

'Thanks...Monty.' She said with a smirk. Having felt the presence in her mind be slightly startled as they left was quite amusing and for good reason. It wasn't likely that the entity was actually Monty Oum re...not really reborn, more reincarnated. But it was still a fun thought. To imagine, Monty Oum just having fun making new Universes for his characters.

With a shrug to herself, Layla opened her inventory and inserted the switchblade, quickly adding the Lien she had in her pockets, the protein bar and string alongside it. Tapping the Switchblade, a smaller pop-up appeared.

Switchblade - Level 1 Weapon - Damage 3-6HP - 18/20 Durability.

'Okay, so the Critical Hit dealt the maximum weapon damage times two, then +15% for my Strength, presumably rounded up. So 6, times two for 12, then take 15% of 12 which is...uhh...1.8 ish, then rounded to the nearest number which is two and added to make 14. Yeah, that seems to make sense.' Layla frowned when she saw the durability of her weapon. It was a pretty damn weak weapon, considering even if it got 5HP damage each time it would break before it killed her. Unless it got a critical hit or something.

With a hum, Layla dragged the Switchblade to the avatar-like construct on the left side of the screen, dropping it into the right side slot beside the hand which was flashing. When it didn't actually appear in her hand, Layla frowned and flexed her hand, smirking when the blade slipped up into her hand from her sleeve. That could be really damn handy for Sleight of Hand, not having to actually carry around smaller weapons. Presumably, anything too big to hide up a sleeve wouldn't work like that, but then she could just make it Mechashift into a smaller form, then hide it there.

Yawning, Layla slipped the blade back up her sleeve and made it disappear. First order of business was to get her aura unlocked.

*Ding!*

'Oh for...fucking really? Already? Well hey, i won't turn down experience and loot I guess.' Layla muttered as the opened her status screen and switched over to Quests.

A quest has been generated.

Unlock your Aura.

Description: Your Aura is currently locked. Find a Hunter or someone with unlocked aura and convince them to unlock yours.

Success: Unlocked Aura, 30 EXP

Failure: Aura remains locked

Accept? (Yes)/(No.)

Pushing the Yes button, Layla was startled when a little circular map appeared in the corner of her vision, with a glowing point on one edge. Presumably, that was where she could go to continue this quest. With a mutter about how she wished this shit was simple like Call of Battle or Titanfield, Layla climbed down the ladder to the nest, noticing on the map that her home had been marked.

Well, at least she wouldn't get easily lost any more.

"Hey there little girl, you can't come in here."

Of course. Of fucking course. Her quest had to have a sadistic sense of humour, sending her to fucking Juniors club. What was quite hilarious was just how the guards were named.

Junior's Cannon Fodder - Level 5

Junior's Cannon Fodder - Level 4

They were stood on either side of the door, and one of them had his hand held out to stop Layla from getting any closer. This whole not being able to talk thing was gonna be a fucking bitch. With a shrug and a skip in her step, Layla quickly disappeared down the street then looped around the building, unconsciously shifting into moving quietly and not drawing attention to herself. The ratty and torn 'clothes' she was wearing lent assistance to this venture, making it hard to spot her.

*Ding!*

'Oh fuck off, not now.' She made a note to check the notification later. Presumably, it was a sneaking skill or something. Slipping up to a back-door, Layla tested it slowly. Locked, as she suspected. Pulling a pin from her inventory, she contorted it around itself a few times, absurdly grateful that despite their technology Vale had never made the leap to full-on electronic locks everywhere. That'd make lockpicking a far more technical experience. As the first pin clicked up and rested against another piece of the pin...

*Ding!*

'Oh, that's going to get annoying real fucking fast.' She angrily muttered to herself mentally, clicking another pin into place. The lock seemed to be a standard 5-pin tumbler lock, barely a challenge, even for her. Click, click and click, Layla twisted the bobby pin to be rewarded by the lock turning smoothly. Tugging the door-handle down, she swung it open cautiously, tip-toeing into the building and shutting the door behind herself, leaving it locked just in case. 'Okay, first order of business, look less like a street-rat.'

She wanted someone to unlock her Aura, maybe even Junior himself if Layla's luck was especially awful, since she didn't need that kind of attention. But if she just waltzed out into the main part of the club wearing what she was, she'd be out on her ass within seconds. Scavenging through the back rooms of the club and avoiding the occasional club staff who strolled by, she finally struck gold...ish.

There were some black pants about her size, which were nice, but the problem was her upper half still looked like she'd wrestled an Ursa, took a bath in its blood then dived into a Grimm pool...Okay, not quite that bad, but she still looked like a bit of a mess. Her hair still defied reality and remained the perfect pink and brown it always was. Wait...hang on a fucking minute...

'Abilities' She thought, and almost immediately had the overwhelming urge to put a fist through the wall.

Abilities:

Overactive Imagination: This ability was Neopolitan's Semblance, and thus it is now yours. Despite your Aura being locked, you can use it to create illusions. These illusions will shatter if hit, but will alter everyone's perception of reality aside from your own. Costs - 5AP/Minute. Lose 20 AP instantly if Illusion is forcibly broken.

'...I hate you so much game. Seriously, why the fuck can I use this, but I can't use my aura? Fucking bullshit storyline crap.' She thought as she conjured an illusion around herself, perfectly mimicking Neo's Mistral outfit, down to the hat she wore after Roman's demise, though of course she didn't have Hush, trying to make a weapon out of an illusion would likely end very poorly for her. Far more confident now, Layla walked out of the back area, slipping past a few inattentive club staff and emerging onto the main floor.

The screen really didn't do it justice. The black and white motif was pretty nice, kinda bland though, but it was still absolutely packed with club-goers. The outskirts were more empty, but they were presumably meant to be that way, so bouncers could drag rowdy or drunk people out of the group without having to jostle several dozen dancers on the way out. Scanning the area, Layla spotted Junior, with Melanie and Malachite beside him. Crossing her fingers, Layla looked towards her minimap, and slumped.

'Yep, he's the fucking target, great. Just what I fucking needed, the biggest info broker in the city meeting me face to face.' Rubbing her eyes, Layla double-checked to make sure her illusion still looked solid, noting that her aura had gone down in single-point increments, once every twelve seconds. Slowly approaching the rather imposing man, she was first noticed by Miltia, who elbowed her sister and gestured at her. Melanie gave her a once-over, shrugged, and got back to her drink. When she got close enough, she saw the pop-ups appear over their heads and stalled a little.

Miltiades Malachite - Level 17

Melanie Malachite - Level 18

Class - Criminal

Title - Junior's Enforcers - +50% Damage when on Junior's Property

Those were some pretty high levels compared to her measly one. They weren't as tough as Xachs though, which was a scary idea, the thought that Xachs was stronger than these two, who were able to keep up with a First-Year Yang quite handily until she pulled out her Semblance. Again, she thanked the game for giving her the opportunity to snap his neck before he could stop her.

Junior Xiong - Level 15

Class - Mob-Boss/Information Broker

It was at this moment that Junior noticed her approaching, and after giving her his own once-over, he waved the two sisters away and span around on his stool to look at her. "You lost or something kiddo?" Layla just smirked, using her illusions to conjure up a sign with writing on it. "Huh, okay, that sounds pretty damn easy. Let me guess, can't speak?" She nodded, changing the writing on the illusion. "Hmm, well, unlocking an aura isn't something that costs me anything, but it'll make either me or the girls weak unlocking yours since we have to expend our own aura to unlock it."

Bullshit, it took Pyrrha a fraction of her aura to unlock Jaune's, it was like using a match to start a fire. Unfortunately saying that would reveal too much info. "So, how 'bout this. You stay in the Club for a week, free room and board, and act as a bodyguard for me. By the end of your run, I'll consider you paid off and you can leave. Or hey, maybe you'd like to stick around, I pay well and you can get hammered during the day if you want." Layla shrugged, changing her sign again. "Oh that's fine, I'll get Miltia to give you the rundown on using your aura. I assume you know at least a little self-defence?"

Wincing, Layla shook her head, gesturing with a hand and bringing out her Switch-blade. When Junior warily shifted his position, she quickly changed her sign and put the Switchblade away again. "Right. That sounds like a mighty helpful Semblance you got there. Though, the fact you can use it with your Aura locked is quite intriguing. I've heard of a few people who unlocked their Semblances without their Aura, usually in dire need." It was clear he wanted to know the backstory, but Layla just smirked. "Fine. Well, can I get a name Kiddo?" Layla was about to just put her own name down but hesitated.

The entity told her to try to remain as close to canon as possible...But she really didn't want to give up her own name. Thinking it over for a few seconds, she settled on a compromise and showed it to Junior. "Layla/Neopolitan? What, you got two names?" She nodded enthusiastically, pointing to Layla then herself, then pointing to Neo, waving her hand about a little, then pointing at herself. "Ahh okay, so you'd prefer Layla, and use Neo as what, your Business name?" Thinking a moment, Layla nodded again.

"Fine, whatever works for you I guess. I mean, with that Semblance you could be the most wanted girl in Remnant and still walk around without a care in the world."

*Ding!*

"Jeez Layla, get your arms up."

Wishing she could curse the little she-devil out, Layla raised her arms and settled her feet again, watching Miltia carefully as she charged forwards. The mismatch between their levels really showed, since even with high dexterity, she had absolutely nothing on Miltia, who was able to roll all around her and attack basically at will. Another kick to her back followed by a scrape of claws, and her Aura dipped again.

With a growl, Layla lashed out, throwing her dagger at the surprised girl and using the opening to grapple her.

Or tried to at least. With her higher base strength attribute, Miltia easily pulled Layla's arms off, flipping her overhead and slamming her into the ground, knocking the wind out of her. With a lazy arm, Layla conjured her familiar little sign, waving it about. "Fuck you Miltia." It read clearly. The reason Layla was being so pounded came about thanks to a new proficiency she unlocked.

Observation - Lvl: 2 (27/200 EXP). By observing numerous people, you have gained the ability to gauge their abilities and skills. Level 1: HP, AP. Level 2: Attributes.

Miltiades Malachite - Level 17

Class - Criminal

Title - Junior's Enforcers - +50% Damage when on Junior's Property

HP: 275/275.

AP: 280/280.

STR: 7.

VIT:3.

DEX:15.

WIS:4.

LUK:7.

There were certain things that were added to her UI because of her past knowledge, like knowing who Miltia, Melanie and Junior were, and the levels were presumably there to give Layla at least a chance at gauging other peoples strengths compared to her own. It was quite interesting to know that Junior was actually a lower level than his enforcers, but considering how in the show he hit behind his men until he had to fight back, it was likely he just let the girls do his fighting for him.

The man had a goddamn lock-on missile launcher, it was clear he liked being as far from the fight as possible. But what truly intrigued Layla was just how...weak people seemed. Level 17, and Miltia didn't really have a lot more health or aura than she did. Sure, she was a lot faster and stronger, and luckier, but her Health and Aura didn't increase much.

With a groan, Layla tried to drag herself back into a standing position. She could still make noises it seemed, but that bastards order was specifically for her to 'Stop fucking talking'. No matter what she tried, she couldn't make a single syllable, the order was absolute in that regard. However, she could still laugh, still sigh, groan, rumble, and make noises, she just couldn't speak.

She ended up 'telling' Junior this, and his only response was to shrug. His Semblance should have stopped acting upon her when he died, so the fact that it didn't meant was baffling for Junior. The information broker didn't like being baffled, but Layla couldn't really offer any more information. He told her to stop speaking, she killed him when she caught him unawares, and she still couldn't speak.

Being unable to talk was very good for withholding information. Hard to read someone who simply sat there with a bland face and used signs for everything. With a thought, she registered how much health she had left and dropped her arms. It was weird, her health was visible in the bottom left of her vision at all times, yet all she had to do to know what HP or AP she had left was to just think about it, and she would just know.

"You're done for today?" Layla nodded. "Right, you need to work on your dodging and evasion, since you can't really take a hit." Layla rolled her eyes at that. Of course she couldn't take a hit, she was still only level 1 after all. So far, she'd managed to unlock a couple of her proficiencies and abilities, but they were still pretty low-level. "You managed to catch me off-guard there by using your illusion to conceal your knife and throw it, so many work on being an ambush-fighter?" With a smirk, Layla pointed towards where the blade was thrown, showing Miltia that she actually threw the knife, not an illusion. "Right. Well, maybe use an illusion to fake it out, then you don't throw your own weapon away."

With a smile, Layla dug her knife out of the ground, wincing when it practically fell apart in her hands. She tried to avoid using it because it had such little durability, but she forgot it only had a single-use left. Sighing, Layla picked up the scattered pieces.

Knife-Parts. These components can be used in crafting or modification.

'Huh, that's kinda like Fallout.' She thought to herself, not noticing Miltia slipping up behind her and looking at the scattered pieces of metal with a whistle. "Jeez Layla, how hard did you throw that thing?" Shrugging, Layla pocketed the parts, brushing her hands off and walking to the door. Junior had a little gym-room buried within the Club, which was where they did their sparring and exercising. What sucked was that no matter how much weight-lifting she did, she didn't get an extra Strength attribute, leading Layla to believe that this was not going to be as easy as those stories made it out to be, grinding a ton of Strength by lifting weights, Dexterity by doing parkour, or anything like that.

"So, you give much thought to Junior's offer?" Layla just gave Miltia a deadpan look. Junior offered her an actual job doing what she was already doing, guarding the club. It paid pretty well, 860 Lien an hour. That sounds like an absolute ton, but actually it came out to about £10 an hour. That was still good money, and Layla also got a Quest when he offered to keep her on. The quest just sealed the deal.

Quest.

Find a job.

Description: Junior has offered you a Job. Accept this job, or find your own work.

Success: Employment, 50EXP, 10EXP per day spent working.

Failure: Unemployment, no income, homelessness.

Accepted.

The 50 EXP dump was nice, but that recurring EXP gain was really handy early-on. She was currently sat at 96/100 EXP, so this would push her right into Level 2. Taking a guess, she presumed the EXP needed would double with each level. So Level 2 was 200, then 400 for 3, 800, 1200 and so on. Sure, past level 3 it'd take ages to level up just by using the job, but by then Layla would probably have found a better way to get EXP. All she had to do was hunt down Junior and accept the work.

Popping a new sign out, Layla waved it above her head as she tugged the door open. "Oh, Junior's probably up in his office. So, can I take that to mean you accepted his offer?" With a wave of her hand, Layla left the Gym and began walking through the back-rooms of the club, passing a few quite literally Nameless Goon's. Presumably if she learnt their names it'd update, but since she saw them as nothing but Nameless Goons, her Game called them as such. Most of the guys under Junior's employ were level 4 or 5, with civilians being level 1 and a few very rare level 2s.

Passing one who actually had the name Jerry, Layla made a point to give him a wave and a smile. She remembered him as the one who ran the bar itself when Junior wasn't doing so. He was a pretty swell guy, only level 3, didn't get into fights much. All in all, a pretty nice lad. Hopefully when Yang came busting through he wouldn't be one of the poor guys who got their asses handed to them.

Arriving at Junior's office, she knocked a few times and waited, rocking back and forth on her feet and whistling softly, another sound she was able to make. "Come in." Junior's gruff voice called her in, and she opened the door to almost fall over in surprise. Junior was sat at his desk like usual, but a familiar Orange-haired and flamboyant thief was stood by the window looking down at the dance floor. "Neo." Junior thankfully used her 'business' name when in the presence of others. If he decided to call her Layla in front of Torchwick, that'd really fuck with Canon. Sure, a name isn't that important, but she was warned to keep to canon, so that was what she was going to do.

Roman Torchwich - Level 27

Class: Criminal

Title: Gentleman Thief - 15% chance to trigger no police response during Robbery Events.

HP: 405/405.

AP: 430/430.

STR: 6.

VIT:7.

DEX:14.

WIS:12.

LUK:8.

Flashing her sign out, Layla held it up beside her head with a smile. "That's great kiddo. Well, I don't really need to explain much to you, you should know it all already. Just...do what you were already doing. Oh right, I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here and guess you don't exactly have a Lien Account?" She shook her head. It had come out that she was using an illusion to hide her clothing, but Junior just chuckled and exclaimed that it was a good way to save money, but not something she should rely on all the time.

Not that she would be able to do that anyway. She could hold her illusions up for 24 minutes before they dropped, which meant she couldn't actually hang around on the dance-floor using them. To cover this, Junior simply took her out and got her a tailor-made outfit exactly like her illusion, hat and all, which was nice. She had to do three extra days to cover it, but having that outfit actually be on her body was so worth it.

'Oh right, the hat.' Glancing over at Torchwick again, she saw that he had his familiar hat, and hers was practically identical, the only difference being that his had a tiny feather in the brim whereas hers was clear. Deciding to have some fun, she pointed at the thief, who still had his back turned to them, then lifted her hat and spun it about. "I did notice your hat was similar to his Neo." That drew his attention, and the man finally turned around, freezing up when he spotted her stood there with a cocky grin and the hat twirling on her finger. She stuck a sign up at him.

"Well, hello to you as well. So, that hat, deciding to follow your role model?" Snorting, Layla shook her head, fizzling her sign to change the words. "Well, that's just rude." Sticking a hand out, Torchwick offered her a handshake. "Torchwick. Roman Torchwick. Thief, gentleman, and partne...uhh, never mind." His choice of words was a little odd, but Layla ignored it in favour of taking his hand, giving it a shake or two before taking her hand back. "So Junior, what were you two talking about? I'd normally listen in, but I was a little pre-occupied." He jabbed a thumb behind himself to the window. "Some of the girls down there are real eye-catchers."

"Oh nothing, Neo here just needed her Aura unlocked and took a job from me for a week to pay for it. So now that that's done, she's staying on full-dive." Roman made a humming noise and looked over Layla again. She held up a sign that said 'If you want to ogle the girls, do it downstairs after buying a drink.' Gaffawing, Roman jerked a thumb her way.

"I like her." He said with a grin.

Fucking hell I rush-ordered the last little bit of that. I am writing this 15 minutes before this and War Dog are due to go up.

So, in comparison, which do you guys prefer? War Dog has much bigger stat numbers, flashier abilities, and Ninja! The Eternal Game has Hunters, Semblances, and Neo! (Neo is my new Best Girl, fuck you all if you disagree. Best Boy still Scarlet though, Hook and Darling are awesome weapons, and his privateer look is amazing.)

Like I said at the top, this story is probably gonna get one, maybe two chapters in the foreseeable future, since Hana Nanashi and War Dog are...pretty difficult to write.

Name(s): Layla, Neopolitan

Class: Slum-child

Level: 2 (46/200 EXP)

Title: Club-Bouncer - 50% Intimidation success rate to Drunks on Junior's property

Health Points: 115/115 - 3% Regeneration Rate (3.4 Per Minute)

Aura Points:120/120 - 4% Regeneration Rate (4.8 Per Minute)

STR: 3. 5% Increased Attack Damage, +5KG Carry Strength, +5% Chance to successfully Intimidate Target.

VIT: 3. +5 Health Points, 5% Less Physical Damage Taken - Maximum 75%, 1% Increased Health Regeneration Rate.

DEX: 8. 5% Increases to Reaction Speed, Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Ranged Weapon Accuracy.

WIS: 4. +5 Aura Points, 5% Less Aura Used in Abilities - Maximum 75%, 1% Increased Experience Gain, 1% Increased Aura Regeneration Rate.

LUK: 2. 5% Chance of Critical Hit, 5% Chance for bonus loot drop, general luckiness improved.

*Bonuses stack per point.*

Lien: 3150

Proficiencies:

Gamer's Mind - Lvl: NaN. Your mind is now comparable to that of a video game character. While light emotions will still be allowed, major emotional distress will be suppressed.

Throwing Knives - Lvl: 1 (13/100 EXP). Maximum Lvl: 100. Through use of a thrown attack, you have gained proficiency in throwing weapons. +1% Throwing Weapon accuracy and damage per level.

Sneaking - Lvl: 2 (11/200 EXP) - The art of being super sneaky. +1% Difficulty to detect per level.

Lockpicking - Lvl: 1 (72/100 EXP) - Picking a lock has granted you this ability, be thankful for it. +1% Chance to instantly unlock doors when inserting bobby-pin.

Observation - Lvl: 2 (29/100 EXP). By observing numerous people, you have gained the ability to gauge their abilities and skills. Level 1: HP, AP. Level 2: Attributes.

Blocking - Lvl: 3 (145/300 EXP). Blocking attacks from opponents has made you proficient in stopping their damage. +1% Damage Negation per level, maximum 100% when attack is blocked. Armour-piercing will still bypass Block.

(Okay, I need to explain this clearer. Say a swing of 10 damage, with 30% AP comes in. I have 50% Damage Negation. 3 Damage will hit the character, and then the 7 remaining damage will be negated by 50%, so I take 3.5, rounded up to 4. In total, I took 7 damage. This way, Layla can never have a true 100% Damage Negation, as AP will still hurt her.)

Hand-To-Hand - Level 3 (5/300 EXP). Fighting with your fists is a good way to not worry about durability. +1 to Melee Damage with fists per level. Base Damage is 2.

Dodge - Level 7 (177/700). Evading attacks means you take no damage. You just have to be dextrous enough to do so. +1% chance to evade attack when dodging. If Dex is less than half of opponents, chance to dodge is halved. If Dex is less than a fifth of opponents, chance to dodge is quartered.

(I know I listed a lot of proficiencies like Woodcutting, Sprinting, Fishing, Dancing and all that, but I'm not going to actively track those. Layla will occasionally mention them and I might assign them a level if necessary, but those will be rare and used mostly as a joke. Only proficiencies that actually matter will be listed, and this list will appear every 5 chapters, with her status appearing at the end of each, to help keep track of the stuff she can do.)