Winter Break 29

Everyone followed suit while the blond leader activated his aggravation skill. 

The foul roar echoed throughout the terrain as the ground shook every so often. The horses began to panic before Ren used his Semblance on them to calm them down.

Within a few seconds, a screeching centaur Grimm approached with malicious intent radiating from every pore.

"Jaune…let me handle this," Ren said as he drew back his bow.

"Right, if you need help, we're here for you."

Ren dash forward and plucked a Diamondnite Arrow out of his inventory before drawing the bowstring back. His aim was spot on as it landed inside the Grimm's leg.

While the monster roared in pain the string of Aura was attached to the end of the arrow suddenly wrapped around its legs.

The Nuckleave tumbled to the ground when Ren jumped into the air and shot off another arrow.

The Aura coated arrowhead stabbed into the creature's arm and pinned it to the ground before he did the same with another.

As he landed ontop of the Grimm's shoulders, the bow mecha-shifted into a sword that he stabbed down with. 

The Grimm let out a deathly wail before it suddenly turned to ash. 

[Mature Nuckleave Slain]

[5,000EXP Acquired!]

"That was…Amazing!" Nora cheered.

"That felt…too easy," Yang tilted her head.

Ren stared at his hands in shock as he thought, "Just how much stronger did I become?"

"I guess that's the result of your training," Jaune smirked before saying, "Besides, taking down a young Nuckleave is easy compared to what we put up with in the future."

"I guess he's right. I think I'll have nightmares for years after seeing the Grimm on the Dark Continent," Weiss shivered.

"I don't think there was a single Grimm that wasn't ancient class at the least," Ruby followed up.

Pyrrha nodded her head as she added, "Well, we'll just have to keep training until we can kill hoards of them easily."

"With the system helping us improve, we might catch up to our future selves in not time," Blake commented.

"I have to agree with you there," Jaune said as he walked over to Ren and plucked up a dagger from where the Grimm faded away.

Ren noticed Jaune handing it over before he said, "It belonged to your father, right?"

The amethyst-eyed Hunter nodded his head and took hold of the dagger.

"Jaune…thank you," Ren smiled before Nora suddenly tackle-hugged him.

"That was soooo cool! Renny, you took it down all by yourself! You were all thwip-thwip, swhing, and the Grimm went poof!"

Ren blushed a bit but shook it off rather quickly as he watched Jaune walk off. His eyes followed his leader until the blond knight stopped in front of an empty lot.

Ruby walked up next to him and said, "So…this is where we built our house?"

"Yeah, I can still see it…"

While the lot was empty, Jaune could see a white fence, a 2 story house, a workshed, and a garden all around the place. The only thing still here was the large Sakura Tree.

Yang nudged him with her shoulder before she said, "It happen someday. We'll get our home back."

"Come on, let's get moving. We have a mine to collect from," Jaune said as he started walking off.

Yang was a little off put by his attitude and was about to speak her mind when Ruby stopped her and shook her head.

"Not now, Yang. It's still fresh for him. I mean…for us, it's something that hasn't happened yet, but for Jaune, it wasn't too long ago."

The blond brawler sighed as she shrugged her shoulders and followed after. 

Jaune led them up and across a narrow pathway that led to a dark cavern at the top Blackstone Mountain.

"Is this where the ore is?" Ruby asked.

The blond knight nodded his head before putting his hand on his partner's shoulder and asking, "Pyrrha, if you would?" 

Pyrrha smiled as she held her hand up and felt Jaune amplifying her Aura. She could feel all the metal within the mountain cavern. It looked like specs of multi-colored stars glittering like lights flashing off diamonds.

She then took a deep breath and started to recall all the metal within her reach. Chunks of ore came flying out of the cave entrance. Piles of varying ores started to stack up in front of the group.

Pyrrha separated them into metals with the same signature titanium, aluminum, iron, impure gold and silver, and lastly, the ore Jaune was looking for.

Pyrrha suddenly hit the ground as she felt mentally exhausted from burrowing out so many pieces of metal. Luckily, her team was there to catch her.

"Easy, there Pyrrha," Ren said with a worried expression.

"Yeah, take easy. I think we have enough, right?"

"You okay?" The blond knight asked.

"Yeah…I never moved so much in one session before. I just need a few minutes to rest."

Ruby nodded her head as she picked up a rock with gold and silver specs in it, "Huh…well, what do you know. You may not be able to manipulate pure gold, but since that's super rare to find in nature, you can get money whenever you need it."

Ruby then looked over the piles and said, "There must be 25 tons of metal here."

"Just about," Pyrrha huffed with a smile on her face.

"Seriously, if Hunting doesn't work out, or you retire someday, you could start your own mining company and make bank," Yang commented as she grabbed hold of a chuck of silver.

Jaune crouched down and plucked up a pure black looking rock when Ruby asked, "Is that the ARM?"

"In its rawest form," Jaune answered as he smiled and placed his Aura into it. 

The black surface of the ore suddenly flaked off to reveal a prismatic metal that shined brightly with the color of Jaune's Aura.

"Unlike other metals, it's impossible for ARM ore to get mixed up with other materials unless its hits melting point. There seems to be about 3 tons of it here. So we can make everyone's weapons now." 

"That's good," Weiss nodded her head.

"Thanks for all the hard work," Blake followed up as she patted Pyrrha on the shoulder.

"Mnnn!" Pyrrha nodded her head as she sat on the ground, "But there's still so much more down there. I barely scraped the surface."

"It's fine. This is more than enough for what we need," Jaune informed as he stored the raw ore in his inventory.

"No, if we can collect more, then the better off we'll be," Pyrrha replied as she stood back up.

Ruby smiled and asked, "You guys want to camp out for a couple of nights?"

"I'm down if you all are, besides…I think we should let Ren make some graves for his parents," Yang mentioned as she nudged Jaune's shoulder.

"Oh, crap…sorry Ren. I was so caught up in my own thing…"

Ren shook his head and said, "No, not your fault. I imagine you did it once before."

"Yeah…we know you didn't mean anything by it," Nora nodded her head.

"You need a break, ARC!" Weiss pointed her finger at Jaune's nose.

"Seriously, you've been pushing 110% since you got back. Relax a little. You need it," Ruby followed up with the pointing.

"I have to agree with our sister team," Pyrrha chuckled.

"We can do something fun while Pyrrha and the rest take care of getting more ore," Nora commented.

Ren chuckled before he said, "Nothing wrong with a nap."

Jaune smiled as he shook his head and said, "Alright, I can see when I'm outnumbered. I learned my lesson. I'll take a break."

"That's a win…right?" Blake asked with her ears twitching.

"Yeah, I think so," Yang nodded her head.

The group forced Jaune back into the village. He walked to the empty lot that would someday become their house and set down the luxury tents.

While he sat on a bed, Jaune looked at the roof of the tent and let out a tired sigh.

"Just a bit longer and everything will change…" Jaune closed his eyes and took a power nap.

In total, he got roughly 12 hours of sleep. However, there seemed to have been some kind of change within his soul. When he woke up, Jaune realized that it was the first time since he got back that he actually chose to rest his weary soul.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Jaune's soul suddenly inflated.

[Due to resting from overly excessive training, your soul recovered and experienced a breakthrough through the act of hyper-recovery.]

[+2,500 To Aura]

[Your Aura has breached the 10,000 barrier. Title Reincarnated Hero has evolved!]

[Heroic Soul: Increases Aura growth by 100%, and Physical Growth by 50%]

[Evolution Requirement: Reach and Aura Level of 100,000] 

[Due to resting from overly excessive training, your physique has fully recovered and experienced a breakthrough through the act of hyper-recovery.]

[+15 to Constitution]

"Huh…I guess I should take a break every now and then…" Jaune thought as he got up and left the tent.

Letting out a yawn, he saw Ruby, Ren, Weiss, and Nora sitting next to a camp fire. The snow around them was completely melted, and they were eating some of his mother's left overs. 

Jaune smirked as he walked over and asked, "Soo, anything you guys need me to do?"

Ruby jumped up and hugged him before saying, "Good morning…and no, you're on a mini-vacation right now. No work for you."

"Yes, mam," The blond knight replied before looking for the rest of the party.

"Pyrrha's up top exploring the mine right now. We've managed to collect around 48 tons of Arm ore," Yang called out as she walked out of the female's tent.

"That's was four hours ago, Yang. We have 80 Tons now. Pyrrha's set a goal for a solid 100!" Ruby chuckled.

The blond knight scratched the back of his head as he asked, "She hasn't been overworking herself, has she?" 

"No, we've been making her take hour long breaks after each use of her Semblance, and she got a full eight hours of rest. We've also been exploring the cavern," Ren answered.

"Find anything interesting?" Jaune sat down beside Ruby and pulled out some breakfast.

"Well, we found platinum and an extinct volcanic tube full of gems, but other than that, nothing much. We didn't even find any Grimm," Nora replied with a giddy tune in her voice.

"Not surprising seeing that a Nuckleave was living in it. Since they're a berserker type, they're one of the few Grimm that attack their own kind," Jaune explained before he started munching down his food.

"Not to mention the natural barriers the mountain provides," Ren followed up.

"What about Nevermores?" Ruby asked as she bit into a rice omelet.

"The strong winds and occasional lightning storms keep them from making nests. But some have been known to reach this place," Jaune informed while he stuffed his face.

Yang nodded her head with an impressed expression, "Neat, I bet it would only get better once we get that barrier up and running." 

"Hey! We're back!" Blake called out as she walked over towards the group alongside Pyrrha.

"How much did you get?" Ruby's eyes sparkled.

Pyrrha laughed as she rubbed the back of her head and said, "I got 90 Tons. I also found another Copper Vein."

"I wonder why so many different metals are in this mountain. Usually, you only find a few different ores inside mines," Weiss commented.

"It's because this place was shaped by a bombardment of meteors. Most heavy elements come from space, and there are dozens of impact craters that can be seen from the top of the mountain," Pyrrha replied.

Ren nodded his head and confirmed his teammate's statement by saying, "It's true. Even the flatland we're standing in used to be a large meteor impact. The people that used to live here filled the crater in with earth from the surrounding landscape and flattened it over the course of seven years."

"You don't think there could be Moon Dust around here?" Weiss asked before everyone paused what they were doing and stared at her with blank expressions.

"Nah…what are the odds of that?" Jaune shrugged his shoulders.

Everyone paused again and looked to Pyrrha while thinking, "Well…maybe…"

"Since we'll be spending another day here, what do you want to do Jaune,"

"Well, I guess we could hunt. There are a few Grimm nests inside various caverns near the base of the mountain. I'd like to gain a few more levels before we return to Beacon."

"Cool! I'll join you," Ruby said as she stood up and patted her breast with a closed fist.

"But first, I'll be making Grimm's Bane. Ruby, would you help me?" Jaune held his hand out.

Ruby smiled happily as she took his hand and said, "I already repaired and set up all my gear in the village forge! Luckily, it wasn't too damaged. If you hadn't noticed, check Crescent Rose's new sheen."

Jaune saw the pearlescent glimmer on the red painted metal and grinned, "I see. She's looking good."

"I know! Right?" Ruby's eyes sparkled as she walked beside him.

"Yang shook her head with a smile as she thought, "Really, those two are meant to be. I don't know anyone else who gets Ruby like he does. I'm glad he's going brother someday."

"I'm jealous…" Pyrrha pouted a bit.

"Don't worry P-Money! You'll find a guy that's right for you someday," Yang patted her on the shoulder.

"Well, he should at least a good man like Jaune," Weiss commented drawing everyone's attention towards her.

"Was that a compliment from our resident Ice Queen?" Yang asked with a dropped draw.

"I think Arc has proved himself time and time again just how good a man he is. It's a shame my alternate timeline incarnation couldn't see it sooner."

"Wow…" Blake pinched herself, "I'm surprised to hear YOU of all people say that."

Weiss suddenly looked at the ground and mumbled, "He gave his life for us…how many people do you know would do the same…"

Everyone looked at the burning flames in front of them with an expression of realization.

"Something tells me he'd have no problem doing that again…" Nora clenched her fists.

"Hahh…it's not like I don't understand why he did what he did…but I don't like that we only survived because he gave up his life," Ren commented with a pained expression.

"I'm blame Pyrrha, she's was a bad influence on our adorkable knight," Yang chided as she saw the Spartan's shoulder's cringe.

"Seriously, team JNPR needs to stop sacrificing themselves so much…I never thought I'd say something as strange as that."

"Sorry," Pyrrha bowed her head.

"Hey! It's been a while since we heard that word! Relax, P-Money! We'll do better this time…we have to." Yang patted her friend on the back. 

"Ahem! Nora and I are going to pick up some local herbs that only grow in this region. Would you care to join us Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha nodded her head and said, "Sure…I could use a break from mining."

As the trio walked away, Blake looked to Yang and said, "So…what do you want to do?"

"I'm going to go check out my old...new…house? Man this weird," Yang waved her hand over her head.

"Can I join you?" Blake smiled.

"Sure thing, kitty cat! I don't mind having my neighbor around," Yang gave a thumb's up.

"Heheh! I guess that means I'm on watch duty," Weiss shook her head and poked the campfire with a stick.

While Weiss pondered over her Semblance and various Dust Combinations, Jaune and Ruby were welding ARM ore inside a tube made of Diamondnite to make a unique Damascus weave that looked like flowing waves.

 Once it was finished, they heated the metal and got to work hammering it into shape.

The two worked like finely tuned machines as they pounded out the dents in the metal and turned into the shape Jaune was familiar with.

They added a long groove in the center of the blade and a thin line on each of the edges leading all the way to the tip.

They then got to work on making the mecha-shifting parts for his sword and shield.

It took them almost 3 hours to finish everything up. Ruby even made a pair of 22 caliber Derringers/Daggers she named Twin Thorn. She had paid attention to Gwen's teachings about the possibility of being separated from Crescent Rose.

After strapping them on to her thigh with a belt holster, she noticed Jaune adding the rose pommel to Grimm's Bane and smiled.

Jaune then twisted the rose and watched as the sword opened up to reveal that it was two longswords that had a set of vents in the gap. 

Jaune calmed his mind as a small amount of Aura moved into the hilt of the sword and filled the gap, turning the normally 5ft 10 inch sword into a seven foot energy sword.

He was surprised by how little Aura he was using to maintain the shape of the sword. His control had advanced by leaps and bounds, far surpassing his future self, and with the Arc Reactive metal allowing him to use only a minute fraction of his Aura, Jaune realized that he probably could've survived his last stand.

"Heheh…sooo cool!" Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"Hey, you can do the same with Crescent Rose now too," Jaune chuckled as slotted the sword into his Aegis and placed it on his hip next to Crocea Mors.

"Shouldn't you upgrade Crocea Mors too?"

Jaune looked at his family heirloom and shook his head, "No…I don't think I can do that again to my old partner. I'll reforge it with…huh, I never gave the combination of Diamondnite and Arm ore a name."

"How about we call it Adamantium?!" Ruby chirped.

"Sure…I like fantastical metals from legends. Anyways, I'll reforge Crocea Mors into Adamantium, but that's as far as I'll go. I think I should leave Crocea Mors as it. I've already changed the shield, so I'd at least like to keep something of my ancestor's weapon the way it should be."

"It's true…I guess it's graduated from the name Crocea Mors and become its own weapon."

"Aegis will take care of me, not to mention my shield can become more than one sheath. Might as well take up two sword style too," Jaune chuckled.

"You're going to keep using him?"

"Of course, I won't part with Crocea Mors until I pass it down to my son."

Ruby blushed a bit as she smiled with approval.

"Right, let's go cut up some Grimm! Recreating Joan's Symbology for our gun barrels was a pain and I want to test out our babies!"

"Hahaha! Alright, I think there's a nest of Chimeras nearby we can raid. I think there are even a few adults."

"Something we hunted in the future?" Ruby asked as she geared up and stored all the forging equipment.

"Yeah…if we play our cards right, we might be able to gain four or five levels in one go."

"Screw prepared, we're going for overkill!" 

The two walked out and back to the camp site to see Weiss writing something in the ground.

"What'cha up to, Weiss?" Ruby asked as she poked her head over her partner's shoulder.