New Heights

Within the first six hours of the assault of Argus, everything was already burning. Just the Faunus under Shen's control did such massive amounts of damage it shocked even him. However, the true end occurred when the Grimm attacked. Flying through the air, massive Nevermore's flew through the sky.

"Oh god…" Citizens running through the street looked up in terror, seeing something like that flying through the sky. Without any hesitation, the Nevermores targeted the skyscrapers. Flapping its massive wings, it flew directly towards one of the tallest buildings. The impact echoed through the air as its massive body and wings went straight through.

A cloud of dust exploded in the air as forty floors worth of stone began to topple out of the sky. On the ground, no one was faring better. The wall surrounding Argus didn't stop the Grimm for even a moment. 'This can't be happening. It's a dream… I'll wake up and everything will go back to normal.'

A man was cowering in an alleyway huddled into a ball. The endless screams of pain and terror made their way into his ears as he tried to block them out. "Honey, are you there?" A soft loving voice entered his ears. Opening his eyes, he looked around him but saw no one. Yet once again, that gentle voice coaxed him. "Lial, where are you? Come out, I'm scared."

Standing up, he whispered to himself. "Maria?" Walking out from the corner of the alley, he searched for where the voice was coming from. But after only a few steps, he froze. His eyes slowly contracted as he stared down the alleyway. Standing there was a Grimm resembling the creature of myth, a Windigo.

At its feet was the lower half of a corpse. "Honey?" Its head did a one-eighty as it spotted the man. Its tall figure cast a shadow onto him as blood dripped from its face. "There you are…" His body broke out into a tremor as the Grimm's mouth opened, and it charged at him. "Ah! No! Stay awa-"

His plea was cut short as it mixed with the many flowing through the air. Soon it became obvious to Shen that the original twenty hours he thought he would need were too much. Without the Huntsman of Sanctum to guard them, the Grimm, along with the Faunus, wiped out almost every citizen in Argus.

And when it was finally the Huntsman's turn, they were quickly overwhelmed and treated like lambs to the slaughter. And by the first light of dawn, the siege was over. Sitting onto a pile of rubble, Shen had Gae Bolg stabbed into the ground next to him. Tons of smoke was still rising into the air, yet the fires had all gone out.

"Master, we count a loss around sixty two Faunus. Most died when taking Sanctum Academy." L1 was standing next to Shen, speaking decisively as L2 picked up on his words. "Of course with the others you called in from Kuchinashi our numbers are no issue. We stand at two thousand four hundred strong."

Cracking his neck, Shen stood up as his eyes scanned what was in front of him. The two thousand plus Faunus under Shen's control were standing in rank in front of him. They were silently waiting for any order he would give. Looking around them, it would be almost impossible to distinguish this place as a City in the past.

It had been crushed and flattened underfoot while the soil and ground had been drenched and burned. "Well that didn't take too long. Looks like I overestimated how weak the average Huntsman is." A majority of the Grimm Salem had sent his way had left. However, a good amount had remained, taking the City's remnants as a new home.

"So what now?" Shen heard Neo's voice as he glanced behind him. Both her and Torchwick were standing there with casual expressions on their faces. A little farther away, Shen also spotted Cinder and Emerald. The moment his eyes met theirs, they lowered their heads either in fear or seething anger towards him.

"First I want to make sure news abouts this spreads. When it comes to the general public, keep it simple. I want the news to cause panic and fear but still paint the Faunus in a good light. Neo, you'll help them create fake footage of the event. Utilize the shootings and discrimination before hand to gain sympathy." Hearing Shen, Neo smiled as she nodded, skipping off with L1.

"As for the news leaked to the White Fang I want it to go into further detail. But make sure it only reaches the High Leader."

L2 bowed before leaving to carry out Shen's orders. "As you wish."

"You're trying to get your boss's boss involved in this?" Torchwick was being sarcastic as Shen answered. "Of course the only step left for me now is to fully take over the White Fang. For that I'll go directly to the Hydra's body instead of dealing with its heads." As much as he loathed the White Fang for being so foolish, one thing was for certain.

Whoever ruled over the White Fang with the proper support controlled the majority of the Faunus race. Forcing the ones who won't submit wouldn't be an issue. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Shen heard a voice that he immediately recognized. "Ah Salem." Turning his head, he saw one of her Grimm Orb's floating towards him.

Her chilling voice immediately caused Torchwick's body to tense. At the same time, Cinder and Emerald, who were nearby, fell to their knees. "Master." Salem paid them no mind as she spoke directly to Shen. "You've had your wish fulfilled. I've even ignored you utilizing my authority onto my subordinates... Despite having one of them killed by one of your own."

Her voice was threatening; however, Shen gave off a casual smile as he answered. "Of course and as promised I will assist you. Infact…" Shen's eyes landed on Cinder for a moment. "You'll find relying on me will prove more fruitful than using your own. Given time the entirety of the Kingdom of Mistral will be under my control."

Both Cinder and Emerald glared at Shen, hearing him as he continued. "After that, delivering you the Spring Maiden or more precisely the Relic of Knowledge will be easy." Salem seemed to go silent before speaking more cautiously. "You know about the Maidens and the Relics?" That kind of information was extremely limited and hidden between a select few.

'I've been careful dancing around this subject. The Maidens are all based off of the seasons and capable of controlling the elements to an insane degree. They wield true magic that easily dwarf's the power of Semblances and Dust.' That also made them threat's to him, being some of the only beings capable of killing him.

However, the plus side came from the fact that the Maiden's abilities are transferable and stealable. Of course, Shen's real interest didn't lie in the Maiden's abilities. Their real use came from acting as keys capable of opening the vaults within each major Academy. 'If I had each Relic… Then any goal or ambition could easily be met.'

But before he could do that, he needed to take care of anyone or anything that could get in his way. Coming out of his thoughts, Shen spoke light-heartedly. "Of course I told you I know what you desire, don't I not?" Salem seemed to consider what Shen was saying as Cinder spoke up. "Master, you said that the Maidens would be handled by me. You can't be considering-"

Shen turned his head and gave her a death-calling look. "Be quiet." Those two words immediately caused Cinder to stop speaking as Salem came to a decision. "Very well. I shall give you the time you require and leave the matters of Mistral to you. However, if you happen to fail… Do not expect any mercy from me."

Shen could feel the intent behind her words as he nodded. "Of course." Hearing Salem agree, Cinder's face contorted as she was forced to swallow any complaints she had. As Salem's orb began to dim, Shen spoke one last time to her. "Oh, I will require one last thing from you before you leave. I hope you don't mind."

After that meeting with Salem, Shen spent one last day in the ruins of Argus before returning to Kuchinashi. Currently, he was within the Mansion the Black Sheep had signed over to him. Having moved everything important from the Purple Lotus HQ building to here. "I'm positive this System is screwing with me now." Lying on a bed, Shen was groaning while thinking to himself.

[Semi-New Potential Functions are now open to review.]

Yes, he had officially reached not just level fifteen but actually level sixteen. And the moment he did, he received a wonderful notification. He had gotten this notification before, and like the last time, it had the tempting Inspect and Inventory functions. However, due to him selecting Gaccha last time, the System had replaced it with something new.

{Available System Functions}

Inventory: Gives the user a limitless pocket dimension that is capable of holding an infinite amount of mass. While living matter can not enter this space, anything else will remain stasis-like until removed.

Inspect: While a function, this is also technically an Ability/Skill and, as such, can be leveled up. Capable of showing information and stats on any living or nonliving thing. As it level's up, it becomes increasingly more useful, to the point that it can even begin displaying weaknesses or giving tips.

Shop: This will allow the user to access a new special menu. Like the Gacha, the user will be required to convert currency. Afterwards the user is free to browse any manner of abilities or items. However, unlike the Gacha, the user will also need to have the appropriate level depending on their purchase.

…

'Of course it couldn't give me your average Shop where I just get to throw money at it.' He was actually pretty excited originally. After all, with a Shop, he could finally stop the gambling with the Gacha. However, this Shop was scaled heavily on him. Meaning if he wasn't high enough level, he wouldn't be able to get certain things.

'Ok assuming that I'm going to get this prompt every ten levels. That means I'll be level twenty five. By the time I reach that level I should have dealt with the RWBY world in its entirety. Meaning I would have the Kingdom's worth of wealth. At that point I could buy anything I wanted under level twenty six.'

So, in the end, his best option was sounding like he should ignore it until it came around again. By then, he could splurge all he wants. 'If I start gathering wealth now and not being tempted by that damn Gacha….' He could already see himself having a list of abilities fifty pages long. 'Alright. If thats what Im doing then the Function here that would speed things up is obvious.'

[New Function Added! The Inspect Skill is now available.]

Almost at the same time, he heard a knock on the door. "What?" Walking in was Taupher, the former leader of the Purple Lotus and the person he put in charge of most organizations in Kuchinashi. "Sir there is someone here to meet you. They are claiming to be the Mistral Branch Leader of the White Fang."

"Sienna's here? Looks like L2 did a pretty good job." Standing up, he followed Taupher as they went through the mansion. Making his way to the front portion of the building, a familiar woman was standing there waiting. "I didn't expect you to come all this way on your own. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Looking up, Sienna saw Shen coming down the stairs. Her expression was different than before. It lacked the same eyes full of hate but at the same time were not calm either. That's because Shen's overall situation and position had changed. Although not very clearly, she knew how strong Shen had gotten and how influential he was when it came to the Faunus of Mistral.

"As if you didn't plan this out. The High Leader has sent out a message to every Branch. They are to report to White Fang Main Base in her audience." Shen's brows raised as he stared at her for a moment. 'Now that I think about it. This is a perfect opportunity.' His amber eyes seemed to flash for a moment as they narrowed onto Sienna.

The next moment a menu appeared in front of him.

{Inspect Information}

Target: Sienna Taella

Level: 11

Race(s): Faunus (Nine Tailed Fox)

Summary: The Mistral Branch Leader of the White Fang. Normally manipulative and cunning in nature benefit from the Fox-like appearance. She is currently under the thumb of the Host due to them holding her life in their hands. She is currently both Worried and Anxious.

[Any further information requires for the Inspect Function/Skill to Leveled up.]

…

'Oh well, that's not bad at all.' By far, the most useful thing this showed him was their level. Although it won't be totally accurate due to abilities holding a large sway, it gave him a general threat level to play around with. At the same time, it even let him see into her head a bit. 'So she's anxious?'

Closing the Inspect Information, he smiled. "You know it's weird both you and the High Leader are both named Sienna. Honestly it'll get pretty confusing in the future. I'm going to call you Tealle from now on."

"How did you- Never mind that's not important. The real issue is that she told me to bring you along with me and not just the upper echelon. You're probably aware of this but despite a majority of Faunus and White Fang supporting your exploits, some don't." By some, she was obviously talking about the other Branch Leaders.

No matter how glorious the purpose, some in the White Fang simply enjoyed their status and power. However, Shen's personal group and the amount of attention he was getting was putting them in a losing situation. Them wanting to get rid of him was a possibility. But in this situation it was the High Leader herself who seemed to want to meet him.

Eventually, Shen shrugged. 'Well either way the end result will be the same. As things stand I have absolutely no reason to be on guard or worried.' Turning around, he looked towards Taupher behind him. "Has Pyrrha still not woken up?" Taupher shook his head. "If Master is referring to the girl you brought back then no."

"Alright then keep an eye on her and make sure security is tight. I don't want to come back here just to deal with a mess."