CHAPTER 123

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JAUNE ARC POV

Raven swung her sword and he blocked it with his shield.

A loud sound rang out throughout the clearing and his shield sent vibrations down his arm but he was now at least able to block her attacks, unlike before when he was not even able to react to her attacks.

This was progress.

He grinned at Raven who looked unamused at his action and swung her hand faster than he could move.

He tried to defend with his shield but it was snatched away from him and before he knew it, he was flying back with a shattered aura and a few shattered ribs.

Raven is such a bitch!

Sure his ribs would heal as soon as his aura starts to recover, which would happen in a minute or so. But broken bones still hurt.

He fell against a tree and cried out in pain before falling to the ground, taking raspy breaths despite the pain the broken ribs sent him with each movement.

He felt his scroll buzz and spat out a glob of blood before he reached for his pocket and took out his scroll.

It was a message from Maria who had gone back to Vacuo in her search for the Relic of Destruction when they realized that Salem's minions won't be attacking Vale anytime soon.

He opened the message and read its content.

'Found out where it is. Need Neo for her Semblance.'

'Do you require any of the other three?' He sent back. He knew that their company device was secure but it didn't hurt to be cautious so he didn't mention Maidens in the message.

'No. This is one is hidden under a sleeping Titan Class Grimm.'

The fuck?

'Don't approach it. Not unless the whole team is there. This is a command.' He sent back.

He didn't want them to take on a Grimm who could rival the Wyvern on their own.

He had no idea why Ozpin would hide the Relic in such an important place.

Or was the Relic in Salem's hand?

Maybe it was a fake?

He didn't know.

He felt like asking Jinn but realized that he couldn't go to her to solve all of his problems.

He would only use her powers as a last resort and nothing else.

'I know. Just scouting for now. That's why we need Neo.' Maria sent back.

'I'll send her to you soon enough.' He sent back and put his scroll back in his pocket.

His aura had formed once again and his broken ribs were healing on their own so he didn't need to worry about them.

He walked up to Raven and sat down beside her.

"Raven. You need a hobby." He said "One that doesn't involve you killing Grimm or brutalizing your companions and calling it a spar."

She gave him a side glance and scoffed. "That's rich coming from you. You need to stop training all day long and find something to do yourself."

"No." He said "With how rapidly the twins are getting stronger thanks to my Dragon Blood, they'll reach the 7th tier in half a year. Without any outside assistance, I'll definitely fall behind them once again. And I don't want that to happen. So I train. As hard as I can."

Training here most of the time also meant that he won't have to be bothered by Weiss who has been asking him to attend another interview with her as her team leader *shudders*.

No thank you. One shitty interview was enough to last him for a few months at least.

"Why do you want to be strong?" Raven asked.

"What?" He looked at her, confused by the strange question.

"I asked, why do you want to be strong?"

"Why would I not want to be strong?" He asked "Do you know how shameful it is to get beaten up by girls all the time. Especially girls who rely on my blood to get stronger in the first place."

"You are still stronger than all of us in your Dragon form." She pointed out.

"Yes. That I am. But that's not enough." He said. "I want to become strong in my Human form as well. Or at least strong enough to not be the weakest human in the whole team."

Raven paused for a moment before she sighed and nodded "I agree. If you are strong then we won't have to worry about protecting you. And it does makes me happy to see that you're trying to become stronger on your own. But… and I may seem like a hypocrite for saying this… you need to enjoy your life as well Jaune."

He looked at her "You're right. It does make you sound like a Hypocrite."

Raven sighed. "If you don't want to talk about this then that's fine as well."

She went silent after that and he took the moment to stare at the devastated forest around them.

The place was large enough that he could fight his companions in his Dragon form without the fear of breaking any trees.

Because all the trees have already been broken or torn apart by him and others so there was nothing left to destroy at this point.

A necessary sacrifice to create a training ground in his Pocket Dimension.

"Have you decided to talk with Yang and Ruby?" Raven asked and he nodded, feeling nervous at the thought of telling his teammates and Yang about this.

"I have. I'll tell them on the last day before our holidays." He said.

"You want them to think over your offer during the holiday?"

"Yes." He said. It felt like a cowardly thing to do. To tell them about it at the last moment. But that was better than not telling them.

Raven nodded and got up from the ground. Then she looked in front of her and a portal appeared in that location.

He stared at it…

This was the first time he had seen her open a Portal by just staring.

Before this, she always had to use her sword to do it.

'Did that meant that her stare was more dangerous than her sword now?' he thought with some amusement.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he nodded.

"That was impressive. How long have you been able to do that?" He asked.

"A few days ago." She replied "I'll still not very good at it because of how long it takes to create the portal. But now, I can make a portal anywhere within five meters of me. I also have a feeling that once I become good enough at it, I'll be able to use more than one portal and change the shape and size of them according to my wishes."

"That's really impressive." He said, wondering how much improvement will Pyrrha's semblance see when she reaches the 7th tier as well.

Would she become as strong as Magneto, able to raise the whole Golden Gate Bridge on her own?

Probably not. But it would still undoubtedly be far stronger than anything she's capable of right now.

"Let's go." He said as he entered the portal, coming out in his home "We need to find Neo and send her to Maria."

"They found the Relic?" Raven asked as she closed the portal behind her.

"Yes." He nodded "But I'm not sure if it's the real thing or a replica. In any case. It's located near a Titan class Grimm so we need to be ready for it to wake up in case something goes wrong."

"We should deal with it during your holidays."

"Yes. For now. Go and find Neo. She's probably outside near the pool."

Raven nodded and then hesitated for a moment. Then she turned to him and pressed her lips against his own before she smiled and left.