The roar of battle faded away, leaving Jaune standing at the center of the crater.
The simulation chamber began its reset sequence. The fractured skyline flickered, concrete dissolving into harmless light. The slurry hardened, then dissolved entirely. Buildings reassembled themselves from scaffolding grids of pale blue lines before vanishing. The air cleared of dust that had never truly existed.
Within seconds, the battlefield was gone.
The vast chamber returned to its neutral state, smooth metallic flooring stretching beneath evenly spaced light panels. The faint glow of runic light along the walls dimmed to standby levels.
Jaune exhaled slowly, rolling one shoulder as he let the last threads of power settle back into his core.
Runic technology truly was impressive.
The entire chamber had just been reduced to a liquefied warzone and rebuilt without a scratch left behind. LUCID's integration of technological runic matrices into training infrastructure was leagues beyond what any normal military training facility could accomplish.
He lowered his swords and clipped them back to his waist.
Behind him, he heard the smattering of footsteps scrape lightly against the floor.
"That was totally unfair."
Blake's voice carried the slight irritation of someone who had just been decisively overpowered and did not appreciate it.
Jaune turned, one brow lifting slightly. "Unfair? Nahh."
She sheathed her katana in a clean motion, amber eyes narrowing. "That wide scale weakness pulse. You ruined the entire battlefield..."
He shrugged, expression mild. "It's a part of my kit, you know, why wouldn't I do that? Besides, you were all ganging up on me."
Blake opened her mouth to retort, then hesitated, brows twitching slightly.
Pyrrha stepped forward, red hair settling over her shoulders as she rested her spear against the ground. There was no frustration in her expression. Only thoughtfulness and a spark of competitive fire.
"It was fair use," Jaune continued calmly. "If I limit the power of my runes, then what's the point of training? Besides, you've already reached comprehension in your Phantom rune. I had to pull out all of the stops."
Blake folded her arms, looking away. "There's a difference between training and overwhelming, you know?"
Jaune chuckled softly. "You summoned ten armed clones and coordinated an aerial support with a dragon."
"That was different."
"How?"
She did not answer immediately.
Mocha landed lightly a few steps away, bow dissolving into pixel fragments that evaporated into the air. She dusted off her shoulder dramatically even though there was no dust to brush away.
Jaune glanced at Pyrrha.
She met his gaze, slightly thoughtful.
Truth be told, their one-on-one spars were much harder.
When it was just him and Pyrrha, there were no divided attentions and secondary variables. No external timing to account for. Pyrrha at full focus was terrifying. Her control over metal was refined to a razor edge and her instincts honed by countless hours of disciplined training.
Today she had been splitting that focus.
Even so, she had coordinated beautifully. The way her metal spears had curved to funnel him into Blake's intercept point and the timing of Mocha's dragon breath to cut off his vertical escape.
Though, even this fight, Pyrrha had been holding back ever slightly. While the fight was indeed impressive, Pyrrha had not used Aura Echo at all.
Jaune's gaze sharpened faintly.
After he had begun consistently edging out victories in their duels, Pyrrha had sought other methods to close the gap. Her second rune was still far from comprehension, after all.
So she had turned to learning Aura Echo.
The technique allowed her to reverberate fragments of her aura through the use of her Will, creating an echo effect of a previous strike. It was difficult to master at Rank 1. Truth be told, most Rank 1's didn't bother learning this skill. One, while it was indeed powerful, it tended to fall short of Rune skills. Yet, versatility was something impressive and Pyrrha had been practicing it relentlessly.
She didn't employ the use of it during the team spar.
He suspected she had held back to avoid complicating the coordination further.
He would ask her about it later.
For now, Blake was still staring at him like he had personally offended the concept of balance.
"You didn't have to liquefy everything," she muttered.
Jaune stepped closer, an easy smile tugging at his lips. "You'll adapt."
She scoffed.
He reached out, intending to ruffle her hair in casual teasing.
Blake reacted instantly.
She slipped sideways, avoiding his hand with fluid grace, and drove a quick punch into his abdomen.
The impact landed squarely.
Jaune let out an exaggerated "Oof" and doubled over dramatically, clutching his stomach as if the blow had genuinely staggered him.
In reality, his rune frame armor had absorbed the strike entirely. Even without it, he could have dodged effortlessly.
But that was not the point. He groaned louder for effect.
"Ouch. Right in the vital organs."
Her lips twitched.
He peeked up through his bangs and saw it.
The tiny smirk at the corner of her mouth that she was trying very hard not to show.
Worth it.
He straightened slowly, rubbing his stomach as though nursing a bruise.
"Better?" he asked lightly.
Blake turned away, arms folding again. "Maybe."
Pyrrha shook her head fondly.
Jaune felt a quiet warmth in his chest. Little things like this mattered. Not just power scaling and rune refinement, but morale and team cohesion.
Emotional equilibrium.
His gaze shifted to Mocha.
She was standing a short distance away, completely absorbed in her own theatrics.
A pixelated cigarette rested between her fingers, glowing faintly at the tip. Blue gray pixel smoke drifted upward in lazy spirals before dissolving mid air. A long brown trench coat composed of shifting polygons draped over her shoulders, its hem fluttering dramatically despite the absence of wind.
She inhaled from the fake cigarette, then exhaled a plume of digital smoke with practiced coolness.
"Not bad, kiddo," she drawled in a deliberately husky tone. "I taught you well. The student has surpassed the master."
Jaune, Pyrrha and Blake stared at her.
There was a long silence.
Mocha flicked the pixel cigarette away. It burst into harmless light upon contact with the floor.
She tilted her head slightly downward, eyes half lidded as though framed by an invisible spotlight.
"Heh."
The coat rippled again.
Jaune slowly and glanced at Pyrrha.
Pyrrha glanced at Blake.
Blake simply turned and began walking toward the chamber exit.
Jaune followed.
Mocha remained where she was for a moment longer.
She turned her head slowly toward the far corner of the room, staring off into the distance like a lone protagonist contemplating destiny. The pixel trench coat flared once more for dramatic effect.
"Heh," she repeated softly.
Jaune did not look back.
As they approached the door, he noticed figures standing near it.
He recognized Ruby and Weiss easily, but there appeared to be a new face among them. A face that he surely would have recognized if it belonged to the Vale branch of LUCID.
A tall figure with spiky hair and an easy stance.
Golden eyes met his.
Jaune slowed slightly.
Behind him, Mocha finally dropped the trench coat in a flicker of pixels, jogging forward to catch up as though nothing unusual had happened.
.
.
Jaune smiled easily. "Hey, Ruby. Weiss."
Weiss inclined her head with composed acknowledgment. "Jaune."
Ruby clasped her hands together in excitement. "Jaune, this is Sun Wukong. He's from Vacuo. He's here because of LUCID's Vytal Tournament."
"Ah." Jaune's grin widened. "So you're one of the incoming competitors."
Sun stepped forward without hesitation and extended his hand. "That's me."
Jaune took it firmly.
'So this guy could potentially be a candidate for the Shadow Realm Expedition.' The thought slid through his mind calmly, filed away for later consideration.
He released the handshake. "Welcome to Vale."
Sun's gaze flicked briefly toward the chamber behind Jaune before returning to him. "That was insane, by the way."
Jaune tilted his head slightly. "The spar?"
"Yeah, you broke the entire field. What type of Rune was that?"
Jaune smiled. "Well, considering that you're a competitor, it would be somewhat counter intuitive for me to tell you, wouldn't it?"
Blake, now standing a short distance behind him, muttered something under her breath.
Sun grinned faintly, then his expression shifted to something more curious.
"Fair enough, though if you want to know what mine is, I wouldn't mind letting you know. In any case, I saw you do something pretty cool back there." he said, tone casual but attentive, "You know how to use Aura Echo?"
Jaune nodded. "Yeah. I can use it pretty well."
Sun's brows lifted a fraction. "That's quite impressive."
"Yeah, it synchronizes well with my skillset, letting me layer attacks into a single strike." Jaune replied evenly.
Sun nodded in response. "One of my teammates learned it too. He's ridiculously good with it as well. It's as wicked as a heatstroke, with his Rune skill."
That piqued Jaune's interest.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah," Sun continued. "He's got crazy control too and makes it look easy."
Jaune felt a small spark of curiosity ignite.
"Who's your teammate?" he asked. "And where is he? Is he here as well?"
Sun crossed his arms loosely. "His name's Neptune. He'll be arriving later today by plane."
"Neptune," Jaune repeated thoughtfully. "Is he competing in the Tournament as well?"
"Of course," Sun replied. "Wouldn't miss it. It's kingdom vs kingdom after all."
Jaune gave a small nod. "I'll be looking forward to seeing what he can do."
He paused briefly before asking, "Oh wait... you two didn't arrive together?"
Sun scratched the back of his head, grin turning sheepish. "Nah. I thought it'd be fun to get to Vale early. Explore a bit before the rest of the team showed up."
Jaune studied him for half a second longer. So he caught an earlier flight and wanted to scope things out first.
Jaune did not press further.
Ruby bounced slightly on her heels. "Sun's base is under Shade high school, just like ours is under Beacon. Isn't that cool?"
Jaune smiled faintly. "Really? Seems to be a pattern."
"Except Atlas," Weiss inserted smoothly.
"Guess they're the odd one out. Though... I guess we don't know what Mistral's situation is." Jaune noted.
Then Weiss folded her arms.
"Yes. We don't. And for the record," she added, tone sharpening slightly, "Sun Wukong, here, didn't exactly arrive through conventional means."
Sun's grin turned a little bashful, like he was being praised for his ingenuity.
Ruby's eyes shone with amusement, though she did not interrupt.
Jaune looked between them. "Conventional means?"
Weiss's gaze slid toward Sun with refined precision. "He was a stowaway. At the wharf. Without documentation upon entry. He was pursued by local law enforcement."
Silence fell.
Jaune blinked once.
Then twice.
"…You were chased by the police?"
Sun lifted both hands defensively. "Hey! I thought it was funny. And it was!"
Mocha, who had just caught up, looked between them with open interest.
Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "It looked a bit chaotic."
Jaune stared at Sun for a long moment, trying to reconcile the composed aura he had sensed during their handshake with the image of him sprinting across Vale's docks with officers in pursuit.
"I mean. The paperwork would have just been a pain. Just saying." Sun shrugged
Weiss arched a brow. "Paperwork exists for a reason."
Sun shot her a sidelong glance. "Well, I did report to Counselor Vex right after."
"That does not negate the fact that you evaded maritime security."
Jaune pressed his lips together, attempting to maintain composure. Though, he was clearly failing. Truly, Vacuons were a different breed.
"So," he said carefully, "you decided your first impression in Vale would be running from the police?"
Sun grinned. "Technically, they were running after me."
Pyrrha let out a small, disbelieving breath.
Blake looked away, shoulders shaking slightly as though suppressing a laugh.
Mocha whispered under her breath, "Hmm. Quite Iconic."
This confident, sharp eyed Vacuo representative who might be a potential Shadow Realm Expedition candidate had started his stay in Vale by hiding in cargo and sprinting through the wharf district under active pursuit.
"…You know what," he said at last, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips despite himself, "that's actually impressive in its own way."
Sun brightened immediately. "See? You get it."
Weiss looked scandalized. "Jaune."
"I'm not endorsing it," Jaune clarified quickly, lifting a hand. "Just acknowledging the…uh... boldness?"
Sun pointed at him. "Bold! I like that word better!"
Weiss exhaled slowly through her nose. He looked at Sun again, this time with a slightly different lens.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
.
.
AN: Advanced chapters are available on patreon