What's this? Another Gamer fic? Aren't there, like, hundreds of these already? Well do not fret! I shall try my best to not follow the mold...by taking the mold and tweaking it. Maybe…hopefully...yeah.
So yes this will be my attempt at another popular genre within the RWBY FNDM, with Jaune getting Gamer powers. But I have an explanation for that later. One that isn't as crazy as most. Or maybe crazier? You guys don't know that just yet!
Well without further ado, here's the first chapter of Joueur!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or whatever piece of media I use to influence the plot.
The first thing that Jaune Arc noticed upon waking up was the beeping. It was an annoying beeping that came from the left. Which made no sense since his alarm was usually on right.
"I swear if Aqua or Marina moved my alarm again, I'll mess up their breakfast," Jaune said as he opened his eyes, only to freeze.
The blond wasn't in his room. He wasn't in his house. He wasn't even in a place he knew.
No, the child was in a hospital room. Various tubes were attached to his left arm and the beeping was coming from one of those heart machines that he saw on TV. Looking to his right he saw a nightstand full of get well cards, from his family. The TV was on in the corner, and in the other corner was his father.
His father with...floating words over his head.
Ruggiero Arc
Title: A Peerless Blade
Level:?
"Uh...what?" Jaune was so confused at the words floating over his father's head. What were those? Why were they there? Oh gods, is he going crazy? He hoped not. He was only twelve for goodness sake! The young man was going to call out to his dad only to stop when a loud ping interrupted.
WELCOME JAUNE ARC TO YOUR SEMBLANCE!
It took two moments before his young pre-teen mind reacted to the sudden appearance of a yellow text box with white letters.
"AHHHH!" the twelve-year-old in the hospital bed screamed in surprise. This prompted the older Arc to wake up and see his son screaming.
"Jaune! Are you alright?" Ruggiero asked as he went to his son. Jaune looked around and saw various red boxes with white letters.
You are experiencing stress! Please calm down!
You are experiencing stress! Please calm down!
You are experiencing stress! Please calm down!
You are experiencing stress! Please calm down!
"Of course I'm experiencing stress!" Jaune shouted out at the boxes.
"My son what is happening?" Ruggiero asked as the smaller blond freaked out.
"Y-You don't see the floating text boxes?" He was pointing to the floating things in his field of view. Jaune watched as his father looked about, quite confused by the outburst.
"Son, you're not okay." The father held his son by the shoulders, who was still looking about in worry. In fact, Jaune was so worried that the heart rate monitor was going crazy. Some nurses and a doctor came in and stared at the boy in the bed.
Jaune looked at the people entering and also saw names, levels, and a title over the doctor's name. Which made his heart rate spike.
"Sir, we're going to sedate him," the doctor, who's name was Charles Mortimer Jaune notes, said before they injected Jaune's IV drip, sedating the young man back into the land of unconsciousness.
Warning! Foreign Substance being injected! Expunge? Y/N
"What?" Jaune said. He wasn't even able to understand what was happening before he was knocked out.
It would be a few hours later when Jaune opened his eyes again. And the first thing in his vision was another gold text box.
You have rested on a bed within a safe zone! You've been fully healed!
Let's try this again! Please, calm down, take a breath, and don't freak out.
WELCOME JAUNE ARC TO YOUR SEMBLANCE!
Say Next to continue
Jaune took a moment to breathe in before releasing it. "What the heck is a Semblance?" Jaune said aloud. It sounded familiar. He remembered his dad talking about it before to some of his Hunter buddies.
"A Semblance is the manifestation of a person's innate and personal power. Mostly used by Hunters," his dad's voice cut through his thoughts. Looking towards the voice, Jaune saw his dad sitting once more in the only chair once more. "Why are you asking about that?"
"My Semblance is appearing in front of me looking like text boxes from a video game. Why do I even have a Semblance? I thought only Hunters were supposed to have them." Ruggiero shook his head.
"Those with their Aura unlocked can get their Semblance. Even those who aren't Hunters." That made Jaune blink.
"Aura?"
"I can't believe I haven't given you this talk," the elder Arc sighed.
"Mom already gave me the birds and bees talk," Jaune replied almost instantly. This had his father sighing once more.
"I have a lot more on my plate than I thought." Blue eyes meet blue, as Ruggiero spoke once more. "Do you remember why you're even in the hospital?"
That caused Jaune to take a moment again. Why was he in the hospital in the first place? Brow furrowing, Jaune thought back to the last thing he could remember before he woke up in the hospital.
"I...I remember we went on our annual family trip. I asked you to train me to be a Hunter and you said no." Ruggiero nodded his head, before motioning for his son to go on. "And while we were picnicking and everyone was setting up the table. You went out to the car to get something Maron left. And then…"
Jaune flinched as he tried to recall what happened after that. "There was some shouting. Mom told us to run...because there was a Grimm attack." Jaune's head snapped up and they met his dad's sad eyes. "What happened during that dad? Did I get hurt? I don't feel hurt."
Ruggiero took a few moments before he spoke. "I heard the scream and ran as fast as I could. I heard the second scream before I could get there though. When I arrived…" The older man gripped the arms of the chair as he looked upon his son. "When I arrived you were on the ground bleeding with a Beowolf over you. And right below you was Iris. You shielded her from the attack."
The younger Arc male tried to remember what his dad was saying. Jaune recalled the red eyes with the black and white body. He remembered seeing his purple-clad younger sister screaming in fear. Then the next thing Jaune remembered was throwing himself on top of his sister and the searing pain.
"Iris! Is she okay? She's not hurt is she?" Jaune asked immediately.
"Aside from the small scrape on her knee when she fell, Iris is fine," Ruggiero replied. "I swear sometimes you care more about the girls than yourself." That caused Jaune to blush in embarrassment. "So in my worry, I had unlocked your Aura to try and mitigate the damage. And you had a lot of Aura, enough to bring you back from the brink. Long enough to take you to the hospital."
"Sorry," Jaune apologized.
"What are you apologizing for? I'm the one who should be for not being fast enough," Ruggiero said with tears in his eyes. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I was faster...or had trained you to be a Hunter when you had asked. You wouldn't have had to experience that."
"Dad it's fine. I'm alive aren't I?" Jaune said. "And I have my Aura unlocked so the next time should be different."
"Next time will be different," Ruggiero replied. "Next time you'll be ready. I know I originally didn't want to train you as a Hunter, namely to keep you out of harm's way. But I see that was wrong. You should have been able to fight off one Beowolf."
"Wait, you mean-" Jaune perked up. "You're going to teach me how to be a Hunter!?"
Your relationship with Ruggiero Arc has increased!
"Yes." Jaune whooped happily in his bed. "Now can you tell me more about your Semblance. Seeing as you're staring at it right now."
"Oh right." Jaune looked back at the floating text box and followed the instructions of the box. "Next."
Since this is the first time you're using your Semblance, you are automatically put into the tutorial. First things first!
Please say 'STATS'!
"Okay, it's telling me to open up stats...why does that sound familiar?" Jaune said while scratching his head.
"Does it? Have you seen something like this before?" Ruggiero asked. The younger Arc kept thinking about it before groaning. "Have you figured it out?"
"Yeah...it's like one of Olive's RPG's. I suck at RPG's…" the young boy groaned. "Why couldn't it be based on RTS?"
"RPG? RTS?" The look of confusion switched from Jaune to Ruggiero as those words flew over the father's head. "When did Olive get a rocket-propelled grenade?"
"No no. The RPG I'm thinking about is a roleplaying game. And RTS means real-time strategy." Jaune groaned again. "I'll do the stats tomorrow. Can you get Olive to come and help me?"
"Of course. Why don't you get a little more rest, son? I should tell your mom to bring the girls tomorrow."
Jaune blinked. Why should he rest? He wasn't even tired? Then again looking outside, it had darkened skies. So they would be resting. But how would he go to sleep?
As if to answer his question, his Semblance pinged.
You are in a bed within a safe zone! Would you like to sleep? Y/N
"Okay…" Jaune said unsurely to his dad. "I'll go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning I guess. Yes."
"What do you mean Yes?" Ruggiero just looked just as confused when his son immediately began snoring. A beat passed before the Arc father cursed. "I would kill to be able to sleep on command."
You have rested on a bed within a safe zone! You've been fully healed!
Those were the words Jaune had woken up to once more. And now that Jaune wasn't freaking out, he felt completely refreshed. As he sat up, Jaune stretched, feeling the tension on his back release. Looking around, he saw that the IV still was in his left arm. But he really needed to go to the bathroom.
"Now how do I do this?" Jaune asked himself. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Jaune thought he'd be in pain, given he was hit on the back by a Grimm, but he wasn't. Odd.
"Whatever." The blond shrugged and dragged his IV to the bathroom to relieve himself. After washing his hands, Jaune exited the bathroom. This was how he came face to face with his little sister Iris who had just entered. Well, all the Arc women had entered. They all froze when they saw him. "Uh...Hi?"
When he said that multiple pings and text boxes appeared before him.
Your relationship with Bradamante Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Maron Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Saphron Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Aqua Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Marina Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Olive Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Teal Arc has increased!
Your relationship with Iris Arc has increased!
"You're alive!" The youngest of the Arc siblings shot herself forward, colliding with Jaune's stomach.
"Whoa!" Jaune shouted as he felt Iris connect with his stomach.
You have taken 1 point of damage!
"Oh come on!" Jaune groaned as he saw the ping. Iris looked up with teary eyes when she heard that.
"A-Are you angry at me, brother?" Iris sobbed.
"For shame, Jaune. Making our little sister cry," Aqua, one of the twins, said while shaking her head.
"For shame," Marina the other twin said, also shaking her head.
"What? No I'm not angry at Iris!" Jaune tried to defend himself.
"Then why are you complaining?" Maron asked. The eldest sibling crossed her arms as she looked at her only brother.
"I'm not complaining about that! I'm complaining about the text boxes!" Jaune said pointing to thin air.
"It seems like Jaune might have hit his head sis," Saphron told her older sister. "He's acting crazy."
"He's always been crazy Saph," Teal corrected the second oldest Arc sibling while fixing her glasses.
"Yeah, I mean, he still dances with the mop when no one is looking," Olive snickered.
Jaune opened his mouth to respond only to pause and see that his sisters were all holding back smiles, as was his mother. "You guys were just pulling my leg weren't you?"
Bradamante, or Ada as she liked to call herself, giggled. The Arc Matriarch walked over and patted her son's head as Iris snuggled more into her older brother's stomach. Unlike most of the other members of the Arc Family, she had long sandy blonde hair which was only inherited by Jaune and Iris. Maron, Saphron, Olive, and Teal had their father's bright blond hair. While the twins were somewhere in the middle.
"They are, Jaune. They're just relieved to hear you're safe and sound," Ada said as she hugged her son. "And I am too. I'm also proud of what you did. We all are." All his sisters nodded their heads as they looked at him, smiling happily.
Jaune blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed when all his family looked at him. "Anyone would have done it," he said quietly.
It was at this tender moment that Jaune noticed something. While his sisters only had names floating over their heads with low levels ranging from three to four, his mom had something akin to his father.
Name: Bradamante Arc
Title: The Glistening Shield
Level:?
"Uh…" Jaune said blinking his eyes to make sure what he saw was there.
"Is it another text box from your Semblance?" Ada asked as she stepped back.
"How do you know about that?"
"Ruggie told me," Ada replied, using the nickname of her husband. "Seems like your Semblance doesn't make sense to you. That's why you asked for Olive right?"
Jaune nodded his head. When he finally had space, he laid down back on his bed once more. Iris, however, refused to let go and laid next to him. She wasn't going to let go after what had happened!
"Yes. You girls are going to want to sit down while I explain." The twins took seats on the end of his bed, Maron sat on the ledge of the window. Saphron on the chair, flanked by Olive and Teal. Ada meanwhile stood as Jaune explained everything.
"It does sound like an RPG!" Olive clapped her hands. "So why don't you do what it asks you and we can see what's happening."
"Gotcha. Stats." Before Jaune a large box that had a picture of Jaune T posing, a few bars, and some info about himself.
Name: Jaune Arc
Title: N/A
Level: 1
Health: 119/120
Aura: 200/200
Mana: N/A
Condition: Healthy
Attributes
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 6
Available points: 27
Please allocate points before continuing.
Jaune blinked a little confused. "Ugh, there so much there I can't wrap my head around it," Jaune groaned. "This is why I suck at RPGs."
"But RPGs emulate life!" Olive replied. "If you suck at RPGs you suck at life."
"That doesn't change my thoughts," Jaune pouted. "I wish I could share this with you guys."
Would you like to screen share? Y/N
"This is...rather convenient…" Jaune mumbled. "Yes, screen share."
"Oh that is neat!" Olive clapped.
"Why is that big sis?" Iris asked.
"We get to see what Jaune see?"
Who would you like to share it with?
"My family."
ALL of your family?
Jaune groaned again. "What's wrong dear?" Ada asked her son.
"This Semblance is rather thorough," he replied to his mom. "It's asking a lot of smart questions that I didn't think of. Screenshare with immediate family."
A ding rang out and all the women in the room, as well as one Arc father who was sleeping, had the opportunity to see the same screen Jaune was looking at.
Screen share to 9 people! Aura drops by 27!
Aura: 173/200
"Whoa…" Saphron said reaching out and touched her screen. It rippled with energy, making the screen go fuzzy.
"This is rather fascinating," Teal said adjusting her glasses.
"So you know more about these sorts of things than me, can you help me out?" Jaune asked his green wearing sister. Olive said nothing, eyes mystified by what was in front of her. "Olive?"
"Okay first of, I'm sooo jealous," Olive responded upon breaking out of her stupor. "Second most games have info within their tutorial. Why didn't you just advance a little more before asking me for help?"
Jaune opened his mouth to respond, only to stop. He did his best imitation of a fish before slumping in his chair. "I didn't want to deal with it so much that I didn't even think about just continuing further into the tutorial."
"That just like you bro," Maron laughed. She walked over and ruffled his hair. That caused Jaune to pout, only to be remedied by Iris hugging him.
"Then again," Aqua grinned as she pointed at two attributes. "His Wisdom and Intelligence is a bit low."
"As is his Charisma," Marina giggled.
"This is why I told you you should study more dear," Ada chided her son, who blushed again.
"Okay Semblance, tell me what these things are about," Jaune replied.
Really? Are you sure you don't want to ask your sister?
"I-Is your Semblance jealous of me?" Olive asked, caught off guard
No. The Semblance is just part of Jaune and that comes with some confidence issues. Sorry.
"This is the oddest thing I've ever seen," Ada said. "And we need to help you find some pride in yourself Jaune."
"That's a little hard when your own sisters dress you p as a girl from time to time," Jaune frowned.
"Sorry," the sisters chorused.
"I know you guys don't mean it as a malicious thing, but it's really hard to feel a little proud of yourself after that." Jaune sighed softly. "And then there was dad refusing to train me too." He then puffed up his chest a little. "But that's changing. Dad is willing to train me now!"
Maron nodded her head slowly. "Okay, we'll stop harassing you like that Jaune." The eldest sister looked at the other girls. "Right?"
"Yes," Saphron replied with the others nodding.
"Thank you." Jaune then turned to the screen once more. "So can you explain the attributes to me."
Of course! Olive feel free to put some input for Jaune to understand easier.
"Got it!" she replied.
Strength is the measure of your physical power. The more strength you have the stronger you are.
"Usually that means things like lifting, pushing, pulling, etc," Olive told her family.
"Simplest one indeed," Ada nodded.
Dexterity measures your agility, reflexes, and balance. The more dexterity you have the easier it is for you to move around.
"In some RPGs, that also includes the speed of your hands and the ability to aim," Olive informed Jaune.
"Wait, quick question. Is jumping dexterity or strength?" Jaune asked his sister.
"Strength. You need the power to jump, not speed."
"That makes sense. Why is my dexterity higher than my strength though?"
"Maybe because you took dance classes with me silly," Iris giggled.
Constitution is a measure of your health and stamina. The higher the stamina, the more you can endure.
"This is also what helps you against things such as poison and disease," Olive filled in some gaps. "It's also tied to your health."
"I wonder why your constitution is high?" Ada asked. Jaune also thought about it. He didn't have to think long though.
"I got it," Jaune said. "I had to endure all of your guy's cooking."
"Our cooking is not that bad…" Teal pouted.
"All of you had me throwing up until I had to assume control of cooking for the family. I'm surprised we managed to survive this far," Jaune joked.
"Well, we did end up getting take out a lot before you and Olive were born, Jaune," Saphron admitted.
"That makes so much sense…" the twins said at the same time. "I never remember eating home-cooked meals until Jaune was born."
"Less money spent getting take out when it was just a few of us," Maron replied.
Intelligence is the measure of your mental acuity, your recall, and the ability to reason. The higher your intelligence, the smarter you are.
"What?" Jaune asked.
"It means intelligence is based on your logic, memory, and education," Teal said this time.
"Is it safe to assume that intelligence is tied to Jaune's mana?" Olive asked the Semblance.
Yes. The higher his Intelligence the more mana he has.
"Why does it say N/A though?" Jaune asked.
You do not meet the requirements to have Mana. Minimum Intelligence needed 25.
"Dang it."
Wisdom measures how attuned you are to the world and how you perceive it. The higher your wisdom the higher your understanding.
"Again what?" Jaune asked stumped. "How is that different than intelligence?"
"Okay this time, I'm stumped too," Olive said. "Those two are usually mixed in video games."
"I can handle that one Olive," Ada said. "Intelligence is knowing something. While Wisdom is you use this info."
"I'm still confused," Jaune replied.
"We are too!" Iris said raising her hand, as were the twins.
"I have an analogy for that, let's just finish the last stat before we continue," Ruggiero said as he entered the room. "I've kept up with half of this conversation so I'm up to speed."
Charisma is the measure of how well you interact with people. This comes from a variety of sources such as confidence and eloquence. And it can influence how others see you.
"Slightly clumsy, nervous, and self-conscious," Jaune muttered to himself. "I can see why that stat is so low."
"Again we'll handle that," Ada said, as she hugged her husband.
"So that analogy dad?" the younger male Arc asked his father.
"Right. Strength is being able to crush a tomato. Dexterity is being able to dodge a tomato. Constitution is being able to eat a bad tomato. Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing to not put a tomato in a fruit salad. And charisma is being able to sell a tomato-based fruit salad."
Jaune then snapped his fingers. "Okay! That puts things into perspective!"
By understanding the meaning of the stats all your stats have gone up by 1!
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 7
Health: 129/130
Jaune blinked and felt a surge of power.
"Whoa," he said. "That felt cool!"
"Wait, that doesn't explain how his Aura is measured," Teal points out.
Jaune's Aura is strictly tied to his Level. The higher the level the more Aura he has.
"For such a low level, he has a lot," Ruggiero whistled. "It feels like he has more than what I had when I first unlocked my Aura.
"That he does, Ruggie," Ada hummed. "He has more than me too. Probably gets it from our ancestors."
"So before I can move on, I'm going to use those twenty-seven points." Jaune nodded. "And this is why I wanted you here Olive. How should I spend those points?"
"Wait. You're asking me how you want to be?" Olive asked in surprise.
"Yeah! You're better with this type of game than I am."
"I don't think I can help you bro. Not like this," Olive frowned.
"Why?"
"Because while it's styling itself like a game, it's your life son," Ruggiero told Jaune. "And as a whole, we can help, it's up to you on how you want to grow."
The blond boy sighed. "And here I thought I could get out of this easy." Jaune raises his hand up to the screen and noticed a plus sign on the right side each of stat, and a minus on the left. "Semblance, what's the minimum attributes needed to be considered a hunter-in-training."
25 in each stat.
"I guess I have a long way to go." Jaune then began hitting pluses.
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 14
Health: 140/140
Aura: 172/200
Available points: 3
"Seems like his Aura finally regenerated that missing health point," Ada pointed out.
"Is it wise to keep everything equal?" Maron asked, looking at his balanced attributes.
"Since, I don't know what path I want to take, for now, I'll keep it simple. But I do need to figure out where I should put these final three points. Where should I put them guys?" Jaune asked his sisters.
"You sure Jaune?" Maron asked her brother. When he nodded the sisters mulled it over.
"Intelligence obviously. It will help you pass school faster," Teal said. When she did her glasses seemed to flash in the light.
"Nah! Strength! More power to be a Hinter!" Olive said, flexing her arms.
"Puh-" "-lease." The twins said. "It should be charisma. Lets him speak better."
"Constitution wouldn't hurt," Maron helpfully said. "Literally."
"I think dexterity! So he can dance with me more!" Iris announced from his side.
"Maybe wisdom? So he can read the room better?" Saphron suggested. The other girls paused and thought about it.
"Yup/definitely/totally/smart/so true/indubitably/uh huh!"
Jaune groaned while his parents chuckled. "Girls come on now," Ada chided her children.
"Just choose what you think feels right Jaune," Ruggie said as he smiled at his son.
"I guess I'll go like this," Jaune said.
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 15
Do you wish to finalize your decision? Y/N
"Yes," Jaune said resolutely. Another surge of power courses through him as he finalized his attributes.
Congratulations! You have taken the first step in understanding your Semblance. Once you are at home, you can access part 2!
The screens all vanished except the one for Jaune.
"As it said, you've taken the first step to your Semblance," Ruggie said. "And your first step to becoming a Hunter."
"Thanks dad," Jaune said smiling.
"Now let's get you out of here and see what else you can learn at home," Ada replied as she smiled as well.
"Woo! Let's go brother!" Iris exclaimed.
"Wait! We need a doctor!" Saphron said as she went to get one. As the sisters began to fuss about getting Jaune out, the parents shared a look of concern.
This turn of events with their son was weird. Weirder than most. What sort of Semblance acted like a real-life video game? What was Mana, if Aura was already a power source? And how was the Semblance able to interact with others, especially those who don't have Aura?
Name: Jaune Arc
Title: N/A
Level: 1
Health: 150/150
Aura: 200/200
Mana: N/A
Condition: Healthy
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 15
So there we go. An idea that I had come up with due to my mind being far too occupied with various ideas. So I decided to mash them all together in this way. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't do this sooner. As for now, that's all the data you will get for Jaune. You will learn alongside him so there are no spoilers.
Unless you know who his parents are then you can guess what his job is going to be.
I also have the entire tutorial arc planned out which will take a few chapters.
Currently, the ages of the Arc family are as followed:
Ruggiero: 41
Bradamante: 39
Maron: 17
Saphron: 16
Aqua and Marina: 14
Jaune:12
Olive: 11
Teal: 10
Iris: 8
So please leave a review!