Special thanks to Holy_Knight777, Michael_Robison_0719, for giving me power stones. Sorry if your name isn't here. Webnovels' systems seem to refresh themselves every few months, it seems, thanks to Michael_Resonance, Shadow3wolf_Crow, Monarchles, Joseph_Benton_8359 for commenting on my story and making this story feel special to me.
Once again, sorry if I missed anyone. It'll be Wattpad's turn next chapter.
6th November 79 AGW, Second day of school. 11:00 AM, lunchtime.
Before Edward could realize it was lunchtime, so moving to the cafeteria and waited in line. He began to question what he should have, but he couldn't be bothered to put much thought into it.
Grabbing a sandwich and heading to somewhere private, he began listing ideas for what weapon he'd use, 'as cool as it would be to use a scythe, it's not very practical, due to it being made for farming and gardening… though they never said we couldn't make more than one weapon.' and with that, he began to draw all sorts of weapons.
10 minutes later, he has a list of possible weapons that might suit him; there are swords, guns, and even odd weapons like whips or musical instruments.
Off to the side, there were notes about himself, such as his preferred class in video games and his thoughts on each weapon and class. The notes included his possible adrenaline addiction and how he was quite a pacifist, along with his possible sociopathic tendencies.
'It's pointless thinking of what class weapon I should have. As I could just make a weapon that can switch from range and melee, though the main problem is what melee weapon I should use.' Getting rid of the notes by scratching out the most sensitive parts, mainly so that nobody could use them against him.
While Edward is thinking about his weapons, a group of boys led by a girl approaches. Looking up, he sees Yang Xiao Long with her signature long golden hair and her jiggle physics-
"So, are you Edward Smith? The same guy who laughed and embarrassed my sister on her first day here in the assembly?" Yang said, cracking her fingers while her eyes glowed a slight red.
While he could have denied it or even tried to run, his main focus was on the overly strong perfume that was making his eyes burn. 'Seriously, why do girls need to wear so much?' he thought with his eyes watering a little.
Rubbing his eyes to ease the pain, Edward sighed and spoke, "So what exactly are you planning to do now?" He was tired of people pushing him around. 'Might as well get this over with,' he thought, falling back to his pacifist ideas of not wanting trouble.
His ears picked up on some of the boys openly laughing at him, probably even taking pictures or recording it with their Scrolls, and sending it everywhere on the net. There was a part of his mind where he thought about killing them, but a certain black bird is probably watching.
Looking up and seeing Yang about to answer, but thankfully, she didn't get to as Ruby came running and stood in front of me with what I could only describe as a pout, clearly unhappy with her sister.
Yang paused for a second before smirking and saying, "Oh hey sis, perfect timing. Now he can apologise to you, without me dragging him everywhere." Though in reality, she was actually going to beat him up, but well, Ruby's here now.
Raising an eyebrow while thinking, Edward couldn't believe that all he had to do was apologize. 'Seriously, that's it, I was already going to do that, but in my own way,' believing that apologizing requires more than just words.
"If all you wanted was an apology, then yeah—I was already planning on doing that. But words aren't really my thing, so I wanted to make something instead. Something that shows I mean it, oh, and here's that money for the swear jar." he then pulled out two lien from his wallet and handed them to a slightly stunned Ruby.
Ruby was lost in her head due to thinking of how embarrassed she was at herself for forgetting her self-made promise of disliking him but forgot as quickly due to the crazy day she had, from hearing that interesting song, which she finally found last night when she couldn't sleep thanks to texting Lewis, then to her uncle's super amazing weapon, and the planning of her hopefully soon to be amazing weapon.
After handing Ruby the money, Edward started walking to his next class, even though there was still quite a while before his next class started; he just wanted to see what the classroom was going to look like, considering he had a Dust experimentation class with the first years.
The thing he wanted to make for Ruby, even though it was mainly for himself, was a bracelet that would turn into a hidden blade. Then, with her help, they could improve the design to make it even better. After all, it was said that she helped make Ember Ceclia, and that thing managed to transform into a bracelet.
Edward eventually got lost in his daydreams of possible weapon ideas using common jewelry, for example, a necklace turning into a whip, or even a ring into knuckle dusters. Luckily, with Ruby's help, he could probably make anything into a weapon.
He wondered if he could make clothing into a weapon. There are the dust-infused clothes; however, there's always the risk of self-harm, thanks to a lack of concentration, though that's unlikely to happen thanks to his semblance, which he needs to name.
Edward began to think of possible names. He eventually decided on the name Merlin, and as if triggering a requirement, things suddenly became a whole lot clearer, straightening his back and improving his posture, as well as his breathing; everything just became easier.
While Edward could feel the improvement and potential benefits of all this, he, however, was panicking like nobody's business as he was unable to control his body at this current moment. So the constant thought of 'WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!' eventually became his only thought.
'Answer: I have chosen the best possible state for the body to be in at the current moment.' There was a voice in Edward's head that responded in a monotone and emotionless voice.
'Wait, what, who the fuck are you?'
'Answer: I have been given the name Merlin.'
'Okay, and what the fuck are you?'
'Answer: I could be known as a semblance.'
'But I already had a semblance, and how come you're only speaking to me now?'
'Answer: You only used one of my abilities when you unconsciously activated that ability.'
'So what are the other abilities? Also, explain your function.'
'Answer: My abilities are thought acceleration, Analytical Appraisal an altered version of Mettle and I can also block out any mental based attacks, and as for my function, it is to support and ensure the survival of the master, and the reason why I did not speak to you before is because I wasn't assigned a name or status and I have only recently finished absorbing your memories as to find my purpose.'
'Wait, so you're just a watered-down Great Sage.'
'Answer: Yes.'
'You sound mad, you're not mad, are you?'
'Answer: No, you're imagining it.'
'Right, anyway, I'm going to set up some rules that you must follow. The first rule is that you are not allowed to control me unless I'm in immediate danger that will cause me to die, or I have permitted you to control my body. Question: Can you control my aura?'
Slouching slightly because he no longer has Merlin's control over his body, he gives a quick stretch and relaxes. 'Answer: I can fully control your aura, similar to how Great Sage can control Rimuru's magic.'
'I see, well, the second rule is that you are not allowed to manipulate my aura in a way that may damage my soul intensively and unintentionally, the third rule is that you must ask for my permission to do anything unless I am unconscious and in danger, you are however allowed to ignore this rule if it benefits me and does not bring harm to anyone and anything that is not a danger towards me.'
Edward tried thinking of any more rules, but he couldn't think of any more that might benefit himself, so instead decided to just communicate with Merlin until the lesson starts.
Edward learned that the reason he gained a semblance of Merlin was due to his desire to have a loyal and supportive companion like Lewis, who was always there for him, even if it was unspoken at times, just a call away, which manifested into Merlin.
He also asked Merlin what a possible plan for the future could be. The answer was that if they ever get the chance to try and find the Brother gods' domains more specifically, the light gods' domain, though it's reasonable to assume that Ozma/Ozpin has already handled that, as he doesn't need more than one immortal running around.
After a few more plants and calculations of possible plants and futures, the lesson was finally about to start. 'Seems I talked with Merlin longer than I thought.'
The talk lasted longer than he expected because Merlin was able to access some of Remnant Edward's memories and learnt that when he was a child, both his Mum and Dad took him to Atles due to work-related reasons.
His dad was from Vale and had dark brown hair a bit short and slightly dark skinned with their family first coming to fame after a great-great-great grandfather started making canes then further down the line they began making weapons and technology and though they aren't as famous as the SDC they had their own space in Vale even if mainly the older generations are the main customer.
As for his mum, she was very cheerful and outgoing. She was, however, seen quite a few times talking to herself impatiently. She's been like that since she was very young, with her semblance being able to grow and control plants by having her aura grow them.
She was light-skinned and had pink hair, with her being described as an amazing cook and also a retired huntsman.
Both his parents, however, died, with the only living person being James Ironwood, thanks to his semblance dulling his emotions enough to trick the Grimm. He now, however, has to live with essentially half of himself being metal, given all that happened around the time he was 3.
Ten days later, a funeral was held at Vale, with Ozpin even attending due to having known the family in the past.
Merlin then said that the helper on his scroll contacts is Ozpin, with him saying, "I'll help with whatever I can; you just have to contact me." And although Edward has asked for a few things in the past they were mainly given to his nanny/helper who raised him till he was old enough to take care of himself which was when he entered Signal and although she does visit a few times but has stopped due to having an improvement mission to accomplish and wouldn't be back for quite a while.
Concentrating back on the classroom due to the door opening, the teacher was shown to be wearing a lab coat while also carrying boxes full of dust, with each box being labeled with what type of dust it contained, which is actually very impressive considering there are a lot of different variations of dust.
'Master, it is advised that you go and help the teacher, as it could result in a favorable impression, allowing yourself.'
Edward approached the teacher with a slight smile, appearing friendly, though internally he was debating whether the teacher would even let him help. The teacher glanced up, surprised.
"Need any help with those, Sir?" Edward asked, already reaching for one of the heavier boxes.
The teacher blinked, then gave a small nod. "Ah, yes—thank you, Mr...?"
"Smith. Edward Smith."
"Right, well, thank you, Mr. Smith. These are sorted by dust type, so don't mix the red and blue dust."
'Note: Red and blue dust combination results in concussive force and unpredictable discharge.'
'Thanks, Merlin.'
As they placed the boxes on the tables, Edward glanced around. A few first-years were staring—some with confusion, others with interest. He saw Ruby at the edge of the group, biting her lip like she was thinking hard. When their eyes met, she quickly looked away.
'Master, it appears emotional dissonance has increased in the girl known as Ruby Rose. Estimated reasoning: internal conflict over past embarrassment versus current intrigue.'
'Thanks, Merlin. Really helpful. Next, you'll be telling me water is wet.'
Later that day, after the lesson, Edward visited the academy's storage shed under the pretense of looking for a wrench he "must've dropped." What he was really doing, of course, was scanning the inventory logs trying to see if his plans of making more than one weapon would work.
'Master, this registry shows a 32% increase reduction in scrap compared to the last 3 years, with no abnormal increase in student enrollment or usage requests logged.'
'I'll have to think on this later, Merlin. For now, we need to get out of here.'
-o-o-O-o-o-
Turns out having what accounts for an AI in your brain is extremely beneficial, considering now, when learning anything new, I could be considered a genius. Sure, I haven't digested the info as they say, but at least I have that knowledge, so if I ever need it, then I can just remember it like I am now.
Today is the 9th of November, and it's a Friday.
Instead of just one blueprint, I was able to negotiate to be allowed to use all the scrap to make as many weapons as I want, though I still had to make a primary weapon don't know why. Thought, considering they're just wasting their money, probably trying to get me in det or something.
Now, something Merlin and I found weird is that there used to be a lot more scrap in storage in case of shortages on materials, either due to delivery being attacked by Grimm or the mines being attacked, so there's always at least some level of scrap, so if a student needed it, they would be available for use.
It was waved off, however, due to the weapons teacher claiming that it was due to class projects and that she was training the class so that when they get the proper materials to make their weapons, nothing would go wrong, and it would decrease the risk of accidents.
Now, call me paranoid, but there's something fishy going on in here. After all, where are all the practice-made weapons, and why haven't they been turned back into scrap? Why is it that the upper years are still making practice-made weapons when they've already got their primary weapons?
Now, sure, it could be said that it's so that the students would have practice repairing their weapon if it ever got damaged, but with Merlin's help, I thought of something. How and where is the white fang getting all their weapons? Sure, some of it could be coming from menagerie; however, to be able to supply all the white fang members shown in the show, that's not possible, especially since menagerie was shown to be more of a desert island, with Grimm also being a problem, so they probably wouldn't supply outside the island.
So my conclusion after all this data, Miss Dolus, the weapons teacher, and resident goat Faunus, is secretly working for the White Fang… That or the White Fang get their weapons by stealing them from weapon stores and blacksmiths.
That's about it for this chapter. Sorry, it took so long for this chapter. However, I've been trying to find why I just don't like this chap, but at this point, I think I've had enough of this chapter. So yeah, let me know what you think of this chap.
R.Q., can you figure out why Ozpin helped Ed? If you need a hint, read the parent's description.