If you are still reading this after he first chapter and it's warnings then thank you for giving this story a try. I cannot promise that it will be a super awesome one but I can promise to do my best. Further AU warning that a few major and several minor changes will take place. Some characters will be a little OoC and some will take on completely different roles altogether. Lastly and I shouldn't need to say this but this story is rated M for a reason. This is more so for those squicky about sexual scenes and less about over the top violence.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Chapter One: Beginnings 2.

I kept staring at the screen in front of me for a few more seconds. Then I felt it. The grin that was slowly widening on my face would have made babies cry but I didn't care. Why? Because I just got my aura and my semblance at the same time. If awakening your aura by yourself was already rare then discovering your semblance at the same time is almost unheard of. This is wonderful.

New Task!

Go through the tutorial.

The prompt made itself known once again and pulled me out of my shocked euphoria. I took a couple seconds to breath and focused on the screen again. It is a wonderful thing that this has happened sure but it would be pointless if I didn't even know what my abilities were or how to use them.

At first glance it seems to superficially imitate a video game's interface. And there are multiple screens up at once with the latest ones at the front. Almost like the tabs on a computer.

I tried touching the screens and didn't feel any degree of resistance. Not enough to stop my hand from going through it at least but I could still tell that there was something there and that it was not just a figment of my imagination.

If it's really an interface then I should be able to interact with it. But how? It's clearly not touch based. Vocal?

"Um … ", I cleared my throat a little and said with little confidence,"Tutorial?", I said awkwardly. If it isn't touch based then does it take voice commands?

The Interface relies on mental commands.

Please think 'Tutorial'.

Oh. Okay. Tutorial. The screen immediately changed to another larger one. Guess it worked. I shook my head. This is beyond surreal. If I wasn't so sure that I am awake I'd have thought this was just another lucid dream.

This Interface is the means of communication between you and your semblance. Your semblance focuses on one concept only. Rapid Personal Growth. It has taken on the format that your subconscious responds the best to in terms of motivation. Thus the video game system that it uses.

That's … actually really amazing. It's all about my growth? And it functions similar to a video game? I had read that semblances were basically expressions of their owners but this is incredible. If this works like I think it does then it really is tailor made for me. Like my own real life RPG system. Hah! It even has the acronym down! Is that a pun?

While I wasn't losing my mind yet I was slowly devolving into an excited little child at the situation unfolding before me. And there's still more!

The Interface is divided into multiple parts that function together towards the goal of your mental, physical and metaphysical self improvement.

First is the Status. This provides information on your true name, occupation and the most impressive title which you bear.

Next are the Attributes. They are an accurate numero-alphabetical measure with which your physical, mental and metaphysical aspects are gauged. The letter grades are based on comparisons with other beings and the number grades denote your position on each letter grade's scale. Attributes can be raised through effective training and by assigning attribute points.

There are nine attributes;

-Aura: The cumulative grade of the amount of aura that you have, the density of your aura and the degree of control that you have over it. It does not determine how well you can manipulate it but can help you do it.

-Vitality: The quality of your life force. Determines the regeneration rate of your aura, stamina, resistance to disease, resistance to death, virility, metabolism, general healthiness, etc.

-Strength: The amount of raw physical force that you can exert. Closely related to physical offensive power, durability, environmental resistances, etc.

-Agility: The raw speed behind all of your actions. Closely related to reaction time, reflexes, thought speed, etc.

-Dexterity: Your finesse. Closely related to skill execution, ease of movement, coordination, etc.

-Intellect: Your learning capacity, thought processing, decision making and mental fortitude. Closely related to skill acquisition and development.

-Senses: Your perception of the world around you. Determines the quality of your five primary senses, aura sense, spatial awareness, instinct and intuition.

-Charisma: The degree to which other sentient beings find you attractive be it in terms of appearance, personality, power, wealth, influence etc. Closely related to leadership skills, relationship management and communication.

-Luck: The relative effects of probability. Determines the chances that something fortunate will occur.

The next main feature is Skills. These are all actions which you have at least a proper handle of. They are graded from 1 to 10. Average/Unskillful actions are all technically graded 0. Grades 1 to 3 show advanced mastery. Grades 4 to 6 show professional mastery. Grades 7 to 9 show exceptional mastery. Grade 10 is reserved for legendary mastery.

Grade 0 skills are not monitored as technically every mine has level 0 mastery at the very least in anything that they know how to do. Legendary mastery means that a skill has begun to infringe on the limits of reality. This grade is nigh impossible without an ability such as this system.

The Reward feature takes note of all of your actions and rewards you for completing anything significant. The tier of reward depends on both the difficulty of the action and how well the action was performed.

The lowest tier only grants attribute points. The next tier adds skill points. And the last tier adds a unique skill. Actions can be dynamic or come in the form of assigned tasks. Tasks will at least give you a tier two reward. Dynamic actions are far more varied in terms of the reward tier.

You have no outstanding tasks.

The reputation feature helps you to create, maintain and develop all of your relationships. It measures your social status and worth in the eyes of those who at least know you on a personal level and whose opinion you are interested in knowing.

The relationship grades are Vilified, Hated, Disliked, Neutral, Liked, Loved and Exalted. Next to the grade will be the exact relationship between you and the individual from their perspective.

You have two qualifying relationships.

-Misty Garnet: Liked/Boy Toy.

-Finn Verdant: Neutral/Cash Cow.

That's a lot to take in. This goes even more in-depth than most games that I have played. The details seem to make sense. And if it's entire reason for existing is to help me grow then it does make sense for it to have a proper means of measuring my progress.

The relationship aspect is kind of sad and a bit annoying to see. Boy Toy is a bit of a stretch though. It is more of an exchange. Regular sex with a hot boy half her age and all she has to do is cut his rent down to a token amount so she won't have to lie about him paying some kind of rent. The apartment building is a cut above the norm in Mantle so four years into this little 'exchange' and I can't find a reason to complain.

Sure she's definitely a cougar but I also get to have regular sex at age fifteen. This is the sort of stuff that the other boys at school fantasize about all the time. I definitely ain't complaining.

The Cash Cow bit though is more than a little annoying. I wonder what he'll do when I suddenly stop coming to make him money? Atlas Academy is basically funded by the kingdom so I won't ever need to worry about money again. I will miss Miss Garnet though. She's older but she's still pretty hot for her age.

Speaking of getting into Atlas I wonder how close I am to being ready? I know that I can fight low level Grimm already but is that enough?

What was my current status again?

Status

Adam Taurus

Arena Fighter

Grimm Slayer

Attributes [25]

Aura: D665

Vitality: E972

Strength: D108

Agility: D125

Dexterity: D365

Intellect: D756

Senses: D570

Charisma: C175

Luck: B369

Is this good? Bad? Okay? How do I know how good I am?

There is no clear cut distinction between a civilian and a huntsman in terms of attributes. However the average Huntsman Trainee has attributes in the D and C grades. You just barely qualify.

That was a harsh blow to the ego. After years of fighting and honing my combat skills I only just barely qualify?

I thought about it some more and I guess it makes sense. Huntsmen are the pinnacle of strength. They wouldn't have struggled so much against a single Grimm like I did.

All that means is that I have to train even harder to make the cut. Just barely qualifying isn't enough. I can't just be a huntsman. I've gotta become one of the best. No, the best. Heroes never come second place. They always become the best of the best. If I want to become as strong as one then I've gotta get stronger faster!

Task Complete!

Rewards;

-5 Attribute Points.

-1 Skill Point.

New Task!

Advance all attributes to grade C before the initiation. A Hero is never second place. Enter Atlas Academy with, relatively, top class attributes!

Seems like tasks can be generated by strongly desiring something. That's neat. Now I'm sure to get a good reward for every major thing that I do.

But how do I train them all up an entire grade in less than two years? There's only so much I can accomplish with regular training and the arena. I don't even know how to use my aura. I mean I get the theory behind it but putting that into practice is beyond me right now.

I thought about it some more until I was distracted by the sound of my stomach seeking attention. Maybe I'll think of something after breakfast.

X-X-X

It's a Saturday so I've got nowhere to be as school is closed today and I have no friends. Which I'm starting to think is the reason why my only two relationships are with my landlady and my boss.

I'd already gotten out of bed, showered and settled down for some Pumpkin Pete's by this point. It was the equivalent of concentrated diabetes but damn does it taste good.

Back to the task at hand I need to figure out a training plan to complete that task. The key to everything a huntsman does is aura. The first thing that I need to do is learn how to use it. Then learn how to make the shield.

Let's give it a try.

I close my eyes and try to meditate and feel the world around me. The process is a lot more vague than I would have liked it to be. It doesn't take me long to realize that I might be over complicating things. It's always described as an instinctual thing. I don't need to try to find it like some mystical energy. I've just got to call it out. It's my soul after all.

As soon as I had the thought I felt it coming out of my skin. The feeling was wierd. Sometimes warm, sometimes cool. It's like a layer of gel that's so light that it might as well be air. I open my eyes and literally see red. It's a beautiful sight to see it for myself.

"This is my aura.", I couldn't help but say out loud. Both joyful and excited. I felt energized all of a sudden like I could do anything. The high wasn't enough to cloud my judgment but it was a pleasant heady feeling. Like waking up from a wonderful dream. I loved it.

I tried to move it about a little and met with very little success. It barely even seemed to pay attention to me. I wasn't frustrated however. This was to be expected. I couldn't gain mastery over it that quickly. It would be too easy. After a while I even started to get a headache and feel tired. The red haze around looked much thinner as well.

It seems that manipulating your aura, even unsuccessfully, uses up some of it. I'll make a point to practice controlling it every morning and save my physical training for the evenings. Everything else that I need to do will be done between those two times. This will be my schedule for now. I've got a bit under two years to complete the task and a reliable way to keep track of my progress. I can do this.

X-X-X

A Few Weeks Later.

X-X-X

I swung my sword repeatedly. My chest was bare and exposed to the elements. I was attempting to raise my swordsmanship skill. By this point I'd already learned to control my aura and even gotten the shield down. It was enough to keep the cold from killing me in a few hours.

This has been my routine for the past couple of weeks. I'd tried to figure out what to improve on next after getting my aura to, mostly, do as I tell it and settled on getting better at fighting. My physical attributes have improved tremendously in that time and I was more than a match for an adult twice my size but I chose to stick with what I knew and focused on relearning the basics of swordsmanship.

There's something to be said about the feeling of cutting through a metal rod with a sword. The day that I got strong enough and learned to channel my aura into my sword was a satisfying one. I'd just been trying to look cool and didn't think about it too hard. It was just like in the games when the top half slides off due to gravity.

The fights at the arena were becoming a joke to me now. I fought at least three times a night instead of once and made just as much more money. Of course I kept things entertaining so that the audience didn't lose interest but I never got hurt again even when I didn't use my aura.

It's been about two hours since I started training today and I'm almost out of energy. But I can feel it. Any moment now the skill is gonna upgrade. Then my swordsmanship will be in the exceptional tier!

Swordsmanship increases by one point.

Swordsmanship 7.

"Finally.", I said tiredly as I allowed myself to fall over and lie in the snow. That was enough training for now. If I push myself too much I'll probably just die.

Show me my attributes and skills.

Attributes [278]

Aura: D789

Vitality: E972

Strength: D789

Agility: D764

Dexterity: D834

Intellect: D756

Senses: D576

Charisma: C263

Luck: B369

Skills [4]

-Household Care 3

-Mixed Martial Arts 5

-Swordsmanship 7

-Acrobatics 4

-Battle Meditation 1

-Aura Manipulation 2

-Aura Shield 1

-Aura Channeling 1

I've earned a lot of attribute points over the last few weeks. I chose to save them until I reached the point where normal training won't work anymore. I've begun to reach that limit recently so I'll start using them up from now on. I've even raised a few skills up in the process.

It's finally time to spend them but I'll need to be careful. I noticed that ever since the tutorial I have not gotten another task or skill point. And the number of attribute points that I get from the same activities keeps lowering. I don't even get anything from fighting in the arena besides money.

Attribute and skill points will take more and more difficult actions to acquire in correspondence with my increasing ability to do things. It's a fair system and one that motivates hard work. I can deal with that.

I'll invest my attribute points in my vitality to bring it up to the D grade at least and increase my recovery speed as well as my stamina. It will allow me to train harder and more frequently. That will allow me to reach my goals sooner.

Vitality: D250

I can feel myself suddenly get better? No more vigorous. My lung capacity has increased. I'm breathing more slowly and gently yet getting far more air in. My muscles feel less tired too. The effects of raising an attribute almost feel like magic. The experience is amazing.

Next up are the skill points. These are even more valuable and definitely must not be wasted. If I want to grow stronger faster then I need to start hunting wild Grimm. Nothing else in the city is a real challenge. I just need to pick the skills that will make such expeditions into the wild not completely suicidal.

I'll raise my aura skills then. With some practice afterwards they will be what will really keep me alive when facing Grimm out in the tundra.

Aura Shield increases by two points.

Aura Shield 3

Aura Channeling increases by two points.

Aura Channeling 3

Now my only offensive and defensive aura skills are at the top of the advanced tier. That should be good enough if I don't stray too far away from Mantle. If I run into anything too dangerous then I'll just run away.

I decided to return to Mantle. The area I train at is not too far away from the gates. The Grimm don't dare come anywhere close. The automated defenses just rip them to shreds. I've had the luck of seeing them in action once and I have to admit. They're pretty cool.

Now that training is over and my shirt is back in its rightful position I make the small jog over to the gate, pass through security and begin wandering the streets of Mantle. I could use a nice ice cream cone to really cool down. Or a smoothie. Nope, definitely a milkshake. Cold snacks aren't the most popular in Mantle but I can't do without them.

X-X-X

"You've definitely improved lately, honeybun. You're actually starting to show a bit of skill.", Misty said as she lay on her side watching me get dressed.

She was a middle aged woman with good genes that kept her from aging as quickly as her peers. Her bronze skin had only the faintest of wrinkles and her blue eyes twinkled with the sort of playful light you'd expect to find in a child.

She took good care of herself and it showed in her looks. Her blue hair looked good even as messed up as it was right now and she clearly exercised as her physique demonstrated. Many wonder why she is still single. Most assume that she just prefers to not be in a relationship.

I know better. To put it simply, she likes her men young. Teenage to be more precise. Boys about my age. If she'd been a regular cougar then no one would bat an eyelash but the age of adulthood in Remnant is sixteen and her range starts below that.

That's the only reason why our relationship is even possible. She was even willing to completely waive my rent but I didn't want my finances to look suspicious when Atlas Academy does their background check. While they may not notice that I'm paying too little as rent the complete absence of a rent history would definitely stand out.

"We've been doing this for over four years now. It weirder that I'm only just now showing some 'improvement'.", I said making sure to emphasize improvement with air quotes before going back to buttoning up my shirt.

"I could always tell that you were never really into me. No matter how cute your face looks once it's scrunched in pleasure I'm not dumb enough to confuse it with love or anything of the sort. You never really had a reason to go further than you already have.', she said still smiling at me.

I didn't reply and just let her keep watching. She isn't wrong. She's hot and knows how to make me lose myself but other than mutual pleasure there are no real emotions involved in our relationship.

The amicable silence went on for a bit until I finally finished my outfit by setting my hair straight. It spiked up naturally but still needed a little bit of effort to keep the spikes neat and organized. I'm not super vain but I do like to present myself well. I'll be the first to admit that my pride and ego are quite large.

I gave one last look at the mirror on the dresser. I know I looked good even if I barely ever leveraged it outside of this fling with Misty and a couple of girls at school. Red hair, fair skin and silver eyes went well together. My face had a sort of beauty to it that didn't make me look any less male.

If I wasn't into girls I might find myself attractive too. C grade charisma really did count for something. I'm actually slightly embarrassed that it's still one of my highest attributes. Without getting any attribute points. It's got its uses though. Like my current situation. I'll be sure to use it more once I get to Atlas. Maybe I'll get some rich girl to fall for me.

"You're planning on going to Atlas aren't you?", Misty said suddenly breaking me out of my admiration of myself. Maybe I really am kind of vain.

"How did you figure that out?", I never told anyone my plans. It's well known by now that I tend to keep to myself.

"It's not that hard to figure out, baby.', she got out of the bed, still naked and strutted over to me before sitting in my lap.

"You don't talk much but your actions speak for themselves. All the other boys your age who are still in school are preparing to start some business or get a management job at the SDC. You're the only one I know who's spending all of his free time training. When he isn't screwing a new girl or two.", at the last bit she smirked at me and played with her hair.

I didn't look her right in the eyes. Not out of embarrassment of course. I'm not that easy to fluster.

Okay maybe just a little bit.

She seemed to enjoy this reaction as she giggled a little before moving into a full straddle.

"The only reason you could have for putting so much effort into your training even though you're paying the high fees for secondary education is Atlas Academy. At first I just thought that you wanted to join the military at the officer rank but that's not right, is it? No. You wanna be a Huntsman don't you?", by this point she had started humping my crotch and I was also starting to get into it.

"Congratulations. You get a cookie. I'm guessing that if you know then Finn and all the other people who know me are aware too. That would explain why I've been getting more and more matches so frequently. The bastard's probably trying to make as much money as he can with me before I eventually leave.", it was easy to realize this after a little bit of thought.

I really need to pay more attention to things going on around me. Guess putting attribute points in perception is useless if I don't bother trying to perceive anything.

She didn't confirm or deny my thoughts and instead reached down to pull my dick out before starting to ride me. One more round it is then. I'm starting to think that I like sex a bit too much. The odd realization didn't make me any less endusiastic about fucking the woman on top of me though.

I stood up, holding her ass in my hands while she wrapped her legs around my waist and walked back to the bed. The moment we fell back on it I took the initiative to pound her into her bed. The room was filled with the sounds of panting and grunting for a few minutes before she let out a little squeal and tensed up under me.

I took a short break to watch her writhe for a couple of seconds. I loved seeing that face on the girls that I fucked. It's kinda amazing how satisfying it is to know that you caused that. The feeling of dominating a girl so thoroughly.

I fell in love with this feeling after I starting sleeping with other girls. Most are amateurs so I was almost always able to fuck them senseless but Misty was a tougher nut to crack. I rarely ever got to make her lose it like this. It made me feel powerful in a different way than training.

I admired my handy work for a bit before she pulled me into a wet and sloppy kiss. I started going again and this time I didn't stop until I came inside her. I might have needed to fix my outfit again before leaving her apartment to go for training but it was worth it.

Sexual Arts increases by one point!

Sexual Arts 2

The goofy grin on my face must have looked extra punchable because I swear that there were guys glaring at me all the way to my training spot. Must just be my imagination.

X-X-X

Six Months Until the Initiation.

X-X-X

Attributes.

Aura: D918

Vitality: D783

Strength: C567

Agility: C387

Dexterity: C345

Intellect: C135

Senses: D987

Charisma: B210

Luck: B547

Skills.

-Household Care 5

-Mixed Martial Arts 6

-Swordsmanship 7

-Acrobatics 5

-Battle Meditation 2

-Aura Manipulation 4

-Aura Shield 5

-Aura Channeling 5

-Sexual Arts 4

"I'm not gonna make it at this rate.", I said as I lay on the roof of my apartment building, watching the stars. "My attributes and skills just aren't growing fast enough anymore."

I'd noticed very quickly that my progress was slowing down. Regular training had long since reached its limits and I don't have access to the sort of equipment needed to do more effective training. The arena is more tedious than funny at this point and I would have already quit if it wasn't essentially my job.

I already had an idea on how to solve my problem but it is one that I dismissed a while ago as unneeded and excessive. I was already hunting solo Grimm that wandered close to Mantle but I've never gone too far from the walls.

But I guess I have no choice now. I need to complete the task. It's just a feeling I have but I'm certain that my semblance will never give me a task that I cannot actually complete.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I've got six months. I've got to make them count and Grimm hunting is the only thing that's giving me a good amount of rewards these days.

I need to go on an adventure. Like a real hero. I need to experience actual danger just like the arena used to make me feel. Nothing stimulates one's growth more.

Tomorrow I'll buy some fresh gear with a map and plot a route. Close enough for me to run back to safety but far enough that I'll encounter Grimm strong enough to challenge me.

My eyes gleamed with determination as I finalized my decision. Heroes do stuff like this all the time. I'll make it through this and come out far stronger because of it. There is no other option but to success.

X-X-X

In case it isn't clear Adam isn't all good in the head. He is still young and inexperienced despite what he might think. Because of this he has a rather shallow understanding of who he is, what he wants and what he is capable of. He is still power hungry and ambitious but where he drives those aspects differs from canon.

His sense of justice and morality is something that we will slowly unravel throughout this story. It will feed into his understanding of what it means to be a hero and vice versa. He won't be completely selfless but he will be his own hero and the hero of those who find their way into his heart.