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Chapter Four: Compendium

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"That's a big Ursa!" - Speech

'I'm so tired.' - Thoughts

[Game Announcement]

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I don't own RWBY or The Gamer.

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Jaune stopped the attack head-on with his shield, sprinting through the hardened molasses grunting loudly. The pressure proved too great and Jaune went flying backward, then knocked out of the air by another slapping movement from the slime. The Brown Slime tried smashing a hardened slab of slime onto where Jaune was before he rolled away and stood back up onto his feet. Jaune panted quietly, raising his shield again and scanning around the slime with his blue eyes waiting for more attacks.

Crocea Mors sliced right through the coming molasses gunks as Jaune had taken his time in whittling away HP from the Slime. After cutting away a few spikes, Jaune went on the offensive and slipped his upper body to the left to avoid a spike, and drove his sword into the slime with a thrust.

Jaune cut the slime in half with a |Tear|, the cold steel of the Arc family sword ripping off molasses into the air of the Abyss within Vale. Jaune stepped back to avoid the coming attack from what remained of the slime. When Jaune sidestepped another smashing attack he ripped the molasses right off with a cutting motion starting from in front of his feet and ending with the sword's tip pointed right above him.

After the slime's attack was made null and spinning into the air, Jaune admired how Crocea Mors caught the light in the streetlamp. No kidding it had cutting potential, the inventory system did not lie.

Jaune soon realized that slicing the slime's attacks were much more effective than trying to dodge or parry them with his shield, as he both dealt damage as well as avoided being hit. Jaune's sword, again and again, cut hardened molasses away with Crocea Mors, making sure to twist off his heels how he saw Pyrrha doing so during their training sessions.

When he was done, only about a fourth of the slime's HP remained, and Jaune decided to raise his shield again and charge forward. He dodged a spike and finished it off with another thrust. After stabbing it, Jaune killed the slime by smashing the molasses monster with his shield, twisting his hips into the attack and driving his sword back out to chamber it.

After molasses exploded everywhere, Jaune found he had driven his shield right through the slime and onto the street. Jaune wiped all the molasses off himself before seeing the notifications the system gave him.

[You have improved your Swordfighting skill!]

[You have gained +200 EXP!]

[You have gained +1 to DEX!]

Unsurprisingly to Jaune, it was par for the course that practicing his reflexes and strength in combat would improve his sword ability and speed. But after only killing one monster? He was liking this game for sure.

The level difference between Jaune at LV 5 and the slime at LV 11 meant Jaune had most likely had an advantage in the Abyss. Jaune was a Gamer and the monsters programs. What he also noticed was that the Gamer system rewarded the defeat of enemies with stat gains. Did different enemies give different stat gains? Defeating the simple slime gave him no stat gains, while the stronger slime gave him a DEX gain.

Jaune walked down the street before building up into a run, stopping instantly when seeing the next mob. A simple figure colored light green was looking right at him gripping its sword of the same color, Jaune using Observe almost on instinct at this point. Other than its featureless human shape and katana, the mob had no notable features.

[Abyss Knight - LV 12. (HP: 700/SP:850). A lower-tier humanoid enemy of the Abyss. Standard STR, DEX, and STA.]

The strangeness of the mob would've made Jaune nervous as it lacked everything identifiable a person needed such as eyes, a mouth, and a nose, as well as hair. But Jaune's Gamer's Mind just calmed him completely, ready to keep playing the game.

Jaune took a deep breath and brought up his status. Seeing he had only used about 70 AP, he remembered Pyrrha mentioning he had a lot of aura as he wasn't really winded. Knowing this, it made sense he had defeated two slimes with effort now slightly tired.

Jaune stepped back and raised his shield, keeping his stance the way Pyrrha taught him.

The Abyss Knight's area was triggered and the green mob came charging forward with his katana raised. Jaune braced himself for the attack, crouching slightly more onto his knees. The Abyss Knight swung directly into Jaune's shield before swinging twice more.

Jaune caught all three attacks head-on with his shield, staggering back slightly after the last one.

Jaune pivoted into a thrust that was easily parried, then slicing left and right. The Abyss Knight blocked the first hack off his sword and the second he dodged, the whole time keeping his distance.

Waiting to catch each other in the middle of an attack, the green Knight and Jaune circled each other, both with their swords raised high to attack or be attacked. Stepping forwards, the Abyss Knight's first attack was a weaker one to drive Jaune back and defend before his second one was fully committed to deal damage.

Landing flush, the Knight took a decent chunk out of Jaune's aura striking cleanly across the white spaulder armor piece protecting Jaune's shoulder. Now staggered again, Jaune quickly turned and raised his shield, the downward hack knocking Jaune into the ground.

Jaune stood up slowly dodging a slash before responding with one of his one. It clacked off the wrist guard of Knight's katana harmlessly before the Knight's knee rose to strike Jaune's gut, hitting hard.

Having taken two clean hits and learned his lesson, Jaune shook his head and kept his distance, using his footwork and staying away.

When the Knight came forward to attack again, Jaune had sidestepped appropriately and swiped as hard as he could to the Knight's face. Raising its sword in time, the Knight blocked the attack, pushing off Jaune's sword despite the maximum amount of force he applied, the Gamer straining under the pressure.

Their blades rang together as they clashed before Jaune tried smashing into the Knight with his shield, hoping it'd have the same effect on the Abyss Knight as it had on the slime. The featureless humanoid green mob staggered back as the shield smashed into its chest, Jaune slashing downward not a second afterward to cut as hard as he could down the Knight's arm.

Staggering it proved extremely effective in creating an opening for Jaune.

Crocea Mors sliced the green mob's left arm off, sword and all fell, the blade clattering against the street. Defenseless, the green mob turned upward with no visible reaction before Jaune sliced its head off, throwing everything behind the slash. The green mob's head landed on the concrete, rolling a bit before the entire Abyss Knight disappeared into code before Jaune's eyes. He wiped the sweat off his face that was much thicker than it was before, the team leader of JNPR very glad it wasn't as messy as the other mobs had been.

[You have leveled up your Swordfighting skill! (LV 1 - LV 2)]

[You have gained +50 EXP from leveling up Swordfighting!]

[You have gained +300 EXP!]

[You have gained +1 to STA!]

[You have gained +1 to DEX!]

[You have gained +1 LV!]

Jaune read his first level up quickly before being greeted with another window.

[You have gained +400 EXP from completing the Introductory Dungeon!]

Using Observe on this window, curious to see the effect, ended up bringing up a whole other one.

[Dungeons, also known as Protected Spaces, are areas where the Abyss has manifested itself into the physical world. The Abyss is a digital realm where the Gamer can access mobs and loot to level up. Dungeons may be entered at random or created with the 'Create Instant Dungeon' Skill. If your 'Escape Instant Dungeon' skill is at a higher level than the Dungeon in question, you may escape any Dungeon at any time.

In Remnant, Mana exists as Aura in living beings. Monsters of the Abyss and Creatures of Grimm do not have Aura, instead, using Stamina points to fight and deal damage. Abyss mobs as well as Grimm almost cannot run out of SP, having very high Stamina regeneration and pools.

Most Gamer skills are used with Mana, consumed through the Aura Point (AP) stat. Gamer skills include Mana Shield and Power Strike.

Mana Shield provides protection by transforming AP into a bubble to protect the Gamer, more resistant, and layered depending on the level. Power Strike involves striking with intense force which passively raises damage depending on the level of Power Strike.

Gamer skills require more mana and higher-level related to how much power they offer. For instance, a lower level Mana Bolt fired with very little mana is far less effective than a higher level Mana Bolt fired with more mana. Skills are learned through completing quests. The more simple the Skill, the lower level it can be learned.]

[You have improved Observe!]

Jaune now knew he could gain EXP from increasing the level of his skills, defeating enemies, and completing dungeons. Dungeons clearly seemed to provide the best avenue in this regard. As for the Gamer abilities, Jaune began to wonder at what level he could learn Mana Shield, Power Strike, and Mana Bolt.

He was just learning how to use something as simple as a sword. He had only just gotten his first level up to LV freaking 6. How could he learn all these crazy abilities now?

Jaune took a deep breath as Gamer's Mind soothed his anxious thoughts.

It would all happen in due time. He was in no hurry to master the Gamer and all the abilities it could offer him. First would come the simple things like Aura channeling, sword fighting, and physical training, and then would come the crazy things like all the Mana nonsense. It's not like the Gamer would punish Jaune by locking the Mana abilities away forever for not learning them immediately. Even if he learned them earlier, he would learn them still.

Everything would happen when it needed to. The tools were there, there was no clock ticking.

Jaune also realized from the window he brought up through Observe that questions he'd have he could answer himself using Observe on text he didn't understand. What stood out to him the most was the part about Grimm and Abyss mobs. He was at a grave disadvantage in terms of the length of a fight, as they could barely get tired meanwhile he could very easily currently be noted by the sweat covering his head from fighting.

[You have gained +1 to INT from intense thought!]

Jaune brought up 'Skills' to quickly summarize what he knew so far. Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind were passive skills automatically maxed out, he had Swordfighting and Observe at LV 2.

Jaune then picked up the green sword the Abyss Knight had dropped after Jaune cut its arm off.

[Katana LV 9 - Average damage output and durability. Carried by weaker enemies of the Abyss. Do you wish to add this item to your inventory? Y/N.]

Curious to see what would happen, Jaune pressed 'Yes.' He then checked his inventory to see that the Katana had indeed been stored alongside some brown molasses and green goo the other slimes had dropped and added to his inventory upon their defeat.

Jaune currently didn't see any use for these items beyond sentimental reasons as trophies for beating his first dungeon.

By the time Jaune had realized he was no longer in the Abyss, he was right where he started walking in downtown Vale before all the lights went dark other than the streetlamps and nothing seemed alive. Jaune strangely felt like his body hadn't really changed despite shifting into a different dimension by just wandering into it.

Jaune then turned his shield into a sheathe and attached both it and his sheathed sword to his hip.

Jaune had gotten so lost in fighting the slimes and green Knight he had forgotten he was going to get a book for an essay as well as join Ruby for cooking and Pyrrha for training later in the day. Jaune checked the time on his scroll, it was only 9:17 AM, meaning it had been almost no real-time at all while he had spent about ten minutes inside the Abyss.

Jaune then strategized about how to maximize his time training. He'd need a reliable source of food and sleep, perhaps through turning a sleeping bag and food into items in his inventory, and then create his own dungeon with no enemies within it when he eventually got 'Create Instant Dungeon Skill'.

He realized that he would only leave a Dungeon if he used the 'Escape Instant Dungeon' skill or completed it. Meaning if he had a Dungeon with no monsters in it at the outset, he'd either be left in it until he wanted to leave or was instantly removed from it. If he could bring a jump rope or something like it with him, he could train his STA, STR, and DEX by leveling Swordfighting for hours just by practicing Pyrrha's techniques.

Until he received the 'Create' and 'Escape Dungeon' skills he wouldn't be able to test this, but for now, he'd need food, a sleeping bag, and a jump rope to spend extra hours training in the Abyss while no time at all would pass in the real world.

[You have gained +1 to INT from intense thought!]

Jaune soon realized that the massive advantage that Gamer's Mind offered him whenever triggered, was that he could use the mechanics of the Gamer itself to make himself more powerful by thinking things through logically. He had his own dimension that had its own time? He had a way to grind levels and stats? Why not take advantage of both at the same time?

The mobs could be great for him. The better monsters would drop better loot and give him higher EXP and stat gains from beating them. Already beating smarter monsters like the green Knight gave him DEX and STA gain. Logically, stronger monsters like humanoids gave better rewards than dumber ones like slimes.

Jaune checked his inventory and saw the light green katana sitting there. What if higher tier knights dropped crazy armor? Jaune honestly didn't see the advantage in wasting all his time mastering the use of his family sword when it seemed like a really good weapon and then picking up a great drop in a dungeon, starting from square one with it.

Curious, Jaune looked around the street before popping down an alleyway to check something. He pulled the Knight's dropped sword from his inventory before admiring the blade in the alleyway. It looked strangely just like any other sword, only completely colored the same matte green. Shrugging, Jaune put it away despite how strange it was that the Abyss gave him loot he could use at any time.

Fighting with weapons and armor from a separate dimension seemed like a pretty cool thing to do though. Maybe not to do in front of his friends who would be unable to understand, but still, cool in the Abyss and on his own.

Jaune put the katana away in his inventory before leaving the alleyway and walking back down the street to go to Tukson's Booktrade. It seemed ironic to him that even as he was instantly teleported to other dimensions inside Vale itself and fighting monsters that weren't Grimm, he was still just a student at Beacon.

Tukson's Booktrade wasn't far, Jaune noticing how strange it was that only moments ago he was fighting monsters of the Abyss in these streets when now there were ordinary cars and people about. Vale in the early morning wasn't too populated, and Jaune walked through it calmly admiring a small flock of birds that flew overhead.

The bell connected to the door of Tukson's Booktrade rang when Jaune opened it. He looked around it to see a rather unimpressive bookstore, the only thing that stood out to him were the comic books by the front that he thought Ruby might be interested in.

"Welcome to Tukson's Booktrade, home to every book under the sun." the man at the front counter with sideburns said.

Jaune read the floating box over his head.

[Tukson LV 17 - Booktrader]

"Yeah I'm looking for a book on Huntsmen, it's supposed to be very old and rare."

"Ah, A Hunting Compendium. It's pretty expensive, sure you want to get it?"

Jaune shook his head. "No, I just need to read some of it for school."

Tukson turned around and withdrew a key on a chain around his neck, unlocking the glass case full of other rare books behind him. "Normally people aren't into these books unless they're collectors, so I get it."

Tukson withdrew the Hunting Compendium and placed it on the front counter for Jaune to read as he approached. The book looked very old, as well as very large.

"So why do you need it for school?" asked Tukson.

Jaune opened the book. "I go to Beacon, I need to write an essay."

Jaune flipped through the pages quietly, before reaching a page that grabbed his eye. The drawing was of a battle, picturing man wearing full armor flying through the air wearing a cape on a white horse blasting the side of a trench in flames from his gauntlet covered hands. Jaune also noticed he was carrying the Arc family sword and shield into battle as well, the standard of Vale attached to his horse's saddle as he rode.

Lionel Arc.

Considered by some historians to be among the greatest Huntsmen in history, and among the first to graduate from Beacon, Lionel Arc was born a farmer in Southern Vale before unlocking his semblance. When a small pack of Grimm attacked his family's farm at 12, Lionel used his fire for the first time and helped defend his family.

Afterward, he enrolled at the recently founded academies of Signal and then Beacon before graduating top of his class in both schools and traveling worldwide on missions. At the Signal Forges, Lionel forged many swords and shields throughout his first two years as a Huntsman in training but ended up discarding all of them until finding a set that met his standards. Lionel was not known to be passionate about many things other than fighting which he took very seriously and was not seen taking pleasure in, but he showed complete dedication when forging weapons.

In fact, Lionel only made his family sword Crocea Mors, after using only the purest and strongest steel he could find would make do for him. Lionel found the best ore for him after 23 failed tries and went to work for over two weeks living forging the blade and its sheath which acted doubly as a shield. He used the name 'Crocea Mors' whenever asked what his sword's name was.

Soon after graduating from Beacon and becoming a licensed Huntsman, Lionel only did missions for two years before finding that becoming a soldier for a good friend was his best bet.

At 25, Lionel personally volunteered and soon became a high ranked officer in Vale's Army, fighting for his home Kingdom of Vale by the King of Vale's side. Having done missions successfully for the King of Vale for years, both were well acquainted and were determined to win the war together. The King placed Lionel in charge of a well-sized army based in northern Sanus, and he went to work personally making sure that his men were in good shape at all times, despite the fact that he wasn't that much older than the troops he was leading.

Like many other Huntsmen at the time, he was needed to use his combat abilities to great use when leading soldiers.

Lionel left the Arc family's mark on history at the Battle of Toronia, where he led his army and attacked Mantle's fortified settlements on the northern tip of the Continent of Sanus (seen illustrated above).

Lionel led the charge himself and carried the banner of Vale proudly on his steed. Lionel routed Mantle's forces in only a few hours before pursuing and capturing all fleeing units. Lionel was well known for brazen head-first attacks using his powerful semblance 'Ignition' and armored units to his advantage.

Unlike most Huntsmen, Lionel valued his loyalty to the King of Vale not just out of friendship, but out of utter devotion to the land his family had settled for centuries.

Lionel was among the few Huntsmen who argued for complete domination by Vale in world affairs following the resolution of the Great War, leading to Lionel cutting off ties to the King of Vale when the King chose not to fully acknowledge their victory. Disgusted, Lionel then chose to work as a Huntsman for hire, signing contracts on and off to work for Atlas, Vacuo, and others until retiring at 67.

Despite Lionel having lived in Vale his entire life, he considered moving his family elsewhere, largely he quoted the resolution of the war a waste of time and effort on his part, having won the entire war decisively on his own merits and those of his men, ultimately meaning nothing.

Lionel largely did not lead battalions against the Faunus Rebellion with the same vigor he showed during the Great War, many speculating he lacked the same fervor as he was not fighting for Vale any longer. Lionel was 37 at the time of the War, and despite being a veteran of many battles, failed to capitalize on his own strength or that of his troops during many engagements.

Many view Lionel's campaigns in the Faunus War as a formality to his current employer, the Council of Mistral, rather than Lionel's mark on history. Lionel himself was speculated as having very little interest in fighting the Faunus, preferring to fight more conventional open field battles than going about hunting contingents of guerilla rebels.

Lionel had only failed two missions out of a successful one hundred and thirty-seven after retiring at 67, both of which were canceled as he was called off to active duty. Lionel as well as never lost a battle fighting in either the Great War of the Faunus Rebellion, the latter of which rarely including significant engagements. Lionel was named top of his Class in Signal and Beacon and received the highest recorded score on Vale's Huntsmen licensing exam, and the highest globally who Maria Calavera nearly scored as high, who took the exam years after he did.

Lionel is also accredited with achieving the honor and prestige associated with attending Beacon Academy, having made the Arc name known and establishing a line of Huntsman from being among the first to graduate from it.

Lionel's Academic achievements were remarkable as well, his teachers being quoted on several occasions on being glad to have had him as a student. Lionel's skill in combat was "terrifying" as during the Great War, many men fled due to large sections of Mantle's battlements lit aflame in seconds by him at Toronia.

Lionel's views could be described as traditionalist to say the least. Many saw his victories in the war as an excuse to launch Vale forward towards global domination. He favored a very strong authoritative government with a strong military prior to the complete 'Restructuring' of world governments following the war. He also was good friends with the King of Vale prior to the 'Restructuring' and was rumored to persuade him towards a much more aggressive tone in politics possibly starting the Great War, serving as the right-hand man to the 'Warrior King'.

Lionel's utter disgust with the change after the war resulted in him rarely socializing with most people besides his family and taking on all missions on his own, isolating himself and his family and cutting off most ties with Vale until after he died peacefully at 83 and his son Brandon allowed his family to return to professional Huntsmen Ship full time under Vale afterward.

Lionel Arc is viewed somewhat as an enigma by historians. Despite his near-perfect 45-year track record doing missions as a legendarily powerful Huntsmen, Lionel never sought any help on missions or stayed in touch with his fellow soldiers after the War, mostly out of anger at himself in failing to shape the world in the exact way he wanted it and his refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new more peaceful governments of the world.

On his deathbed, Lionel was asked what his greatest achievement was. With pride, he said, "Forging my family's legacy the best way I could. Forging the Arc name with nothing but good steel."

Jaune wondered what his great-great grandfather's last thoughts were. He had forged weapons so well made they wouldn't age for over a century, he founded his own family of great Huntsmen, never lost a battle in the Great War and never failed a mission he had control over. Lionel was powerful, honorable, and brave. A warrior, an inspiring leader... yet still an isolated perfectionist who only valued family and strength.

Jaune shared no distaste for the founder of his own family but he honestly didn't see his own great-great grandfather as the person he wanted to be. He was angry, secluded, and hellbent on shaping Vale into a more aggressive Kingdom. The King of Vale's decision to move forward peacefully despite his position on the world's stage was a testament to his patience and the lack of Lionel's with the change in the world.

Jaune's opinion on the very founder of his name, a man of legendary status, was just that he was a freakishly powerful perfectionist who cut off ties with a good friend.

Was he the best? Maybe. The best person however? Maybe not. Jaune respected the founder of his house greatly for his will and strength, but if there was one thing Jaune respected more it was friendship.

A few more pages later and Jaune found an entry in the Compendium that genuinely warmed his heart. The image was not of a blazing warrior, but instead a very beautiful and kind looking young woman who was smiling at the camera.

Maria Calavera was on a beach with a surfboard, bikini and flip flops and sunglasses, multiple necklaces of flowers around her neck. The caption at the bottom of the picture was "the most fun, most beautiful, most incredible day of her life."

Boasting one of the most impressive track records as a Huntress of all time, Maria Calavera was described as a "blessing to be around."

Born to carpenters in Mistral, her father passed away fighting in the Great War soon before Maria began her career as a Huntress. Ranked second to Lionel Arc's Licensing score globally, Maria was so skilled in combat she never attended a Huntsmen academy despite an incredible amount of success.

Maria caught many criminals and terrorists who posed a threat to Mistral and Vale. At twenty-five, Maria brought an extremist Faunus Rights group leader to justice in the same week she saved the king of Atlas from an assassination. For her, this was "a regular week."

Maria took pride in protecting people, instead of being quoted as "protecting the world one day at a time the way it needed to was a fantastic reward."

Maria loved to travel, being a freelance Huntress who was paid by commission, she was never tied down by a contract like others and preferred to travel the world helping the small and powerful alike instead of Kingdoms in sets of a few years. Maria also found an incredible love for surfing, winning many competitions in Menagerie's and Vacuo's beaches in her free time.

Maria was quoted as likely "becoming a pro surfer if she hadn't become a pro Huntress."

Despite it being her hobby, Maria still was a very dedicated Huntress in her prime.

She was last seen at the age of twenty-seven tracking bandits in mountainous Northern Anima who were robbing local villagers. Presumed dead, Maria's body was never found, and the bandits who possibly killed her were never found either.

After slaying several aquatic Grimm by saving a village along the beaches of Vacuo in the height of a summer, Maria was feasted and honored with a shower of flower necklaces from the people she saved. Maria had her picture taken and was quoted that day as being the "most fun, most beautiful, most incredible day of my life." Maria was only twenty-three at the time and surfed with the villagers for a week afterward.

Maria always took the time to get to know the people she protected and said: "nothing was better than saving lives for the sake of it."

Jaune smiled after reading this. He knew it now, he knew who his choice for the essay would be. Jaune shut the book close and nodded to Tukson. "Thanks for letting me read this. That's all I needed."

"Really? No notes or anything?"

Jaune began to walk out. "It's a pretty open-ended prompt and it's pretty personal anyway. I should get started today."

Tukson picked up the book and turned around to put it away. "All right then. Thanks, have a good day."

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Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate it. And I'll see you all later at the next update!