Chapter 2 - Chapter 1. Getting to know the situation.

Chapter 1. Getting to know the situation.

 We need a plan! Preferably a more spirited one…

 From the thoughts of an enthusiastic farmer.

 Neo happily closed her eyes and put another spoonful in her mouth, after which she almost purred, albeit silently. It looked damn cute, though, I was beginning to think that this lady had a small Black Hole or Spatial Pocket in her stomach, since this was already the seventh bowl. That is, the fourth kilogram of delicacy was already underway. If I didn't know for sure that it was unrealistic for an Aura user to catch a common sore throat without first squandering the said Aura to zero, I would have started to worry, but as it was, I was worried about only one thing.

 - How do you fit so much in? No, seriously, Neo, this is some kind of magic!

 – (<‸<)… (u‸u)… – the girl glanced at me warily and moved the eighth bowl of ice cream further away.

 - I'm not trying to encroach on your charm, I'm just trying to understand how this is even possible.

 – (^_^), – the little girl smiled and enthusiastically began to destroy the ice cream again, paying little attention to external stimuli, while I allowed myself to admire her a little – after all, the girls in this world were damn beautiful, almost all of them without exception, and the girl with an open Aura – even more so.

 Admiration didn't stop me from once again plunging into Torchwick's memory.

 Each time it became easier and more natural. But the motives of the previous Roman... now I had to get used to this name... I didn't understand his motives. He had achieved everything that could be desired. On his own. Yes, over heads, corpses and broken lives, but still. And... he lost everything, simply by getting involved in things that an "honest thief" should never have gotten involved in. Even if he didn't know all the ins and outs, but when you are offered to work with terrorists, and even organize a mountain of explosives and ammunition for them in the center of the most densely populated city on the continent... I would have thought about cleaning out such "partners", at least out of self-preservation instinct. This, in turn, led to the question "what to do now?" And this question was very difficult.

 Just running away... won't work, neither Roman nor I, the viewer, have any idea where and how many agents Cinder has, much less her mistress. Fact: in canon, she and her retinue arrived in Beacon as students of another Hunter Academy, having all the necessary documents, confirmations, recommendations, and casually included Neo in this "hunting team", generally making her a new identity and documents (although here, perhaps, not without Roman's help). Moreover, the documents passed the check according to the standards of the international competition, and this meant that the "crusts" are genuine and really issued by the Academy... it seems to be Mistral, if I remember correctly, but that's not the point. It turns out that these crusts were issued with the knowledge and permission of someone high-ranking from the administration of the said Academy, or even the rector himself. That is, the head of one of the four centers for training fighters against the Enemy of Humanity in the entire world works for agents of this very Enemy. This raises a completely logical question - where else could they have their agents? Living in constant fear that if not today, then tomorrow they will come for you... as memory suggests, the pleasure is much lower than average.

 Not run away, but go and give everyone up? Firstly, with Roman's reputation, it's not at all a fact that even knowledgeable people will believe me. Secondly, the "Light Side" remains lawmen, and the "exploits" of the previous owner of this body are enough for three life sentences or even five years of execution. Neo will most likely be able to get me out, and such a risk, in principle, could still be called acceptable. If not for one "but". The notorious Light Side and its leader, the Immortal Hero, who is also the rector of the Beacon Hunter Academy... I'm not sure that it is appropriate to judge a real person based on his cartoon image, but I am currently in the aforementioned cartoon, and so far everything completely coincides with the story I know. Of course, the devil is in the details, and the motivations, information, and calculations of the heroes may differ greatly from how it was presented by Rooster Teeth and their prophet, Monty, who cooked up this series. But we have the facts: the Immortal Hero has been fighting the Queen of Grimm for a thousand years, if not more, and the Grimm have dominated the planet and continue to dominate. Of course, one could argue that humanity is gradually evolving and even winning back living space, but this is just a naive dream. As practice and the infamous, though carefully "washed away" episode with the development of Mount Glenn (Vale's last attempt to expand its territory. A huge city, an even larger underground part, an extremely convenient location and even direct communications with Vale itself through underground trains... Almost half a million corpses, when a wave of monsters simply overwhelmed, and a little later broke through the walls of the settlement and arranged a real massacre. And neither modern defense systems nor communications with Vale helped the city. No one even had time to evacuate properly) have shown, humanity lives only as long as the Queen allows them... us to do so. In other words, this Hero is completely useless. Yes, I understand that when the enemy is so superior, you can't really make a move, but that doesn't make it any easier for me. If we talk about personalities again, then I simply don't trust Ozpin, the current "avatar" of the Hero. I'm generally annoyed by the old men who run schools for young wizards. A drop of lemon, my boy? Or "a cup of coffee," if we're talking about Ozpin.

 Well, they would be worth each other, that one did not notice the "planted Cossacks" in his educational institution, that the other. And both missed the "corruption" of their supporters - the directors of the other Academies were appointed not without the participation of this "old man", even if it was not particularly noted anywhere, but a person capable of organizing forged documents that can withstand verification, albeit cursory, even by the admissions committee of the same Beacon, has some information. Simply due to his specificity. In short, I do not know what could be here - "Ozpingad", "Ozpintup" or some other nonsense, but the fact remains: the competence of the director personally raises great doubts in me. Well, and the second point - even if he is competent, he is unlikely to get involved in solving the problems of a criminal who has been causing trouble in his city for a decade, and at the same time slightly ruining his reputation - how is it that some self-taught gifted person is causing a stir in the fiefdom of the most respected person in Remnant? No matter how you look at it, the Light Side is closed to me, at least unless something out of the ordinary happens.

 And again we are back to where we started. What should I do? What do I even have? I have a personal glutton, a sweet one. But if anything happens, she will, with the same sweet smile, slit the throat of anyone I point out. There have already been... incidents. No, conscience, stop trying to bite! That was the previous Roman, and I will definitely not do that! I won't, will I? So, let's just... just put this issue aside and pretend that it was never raised. What else? There is also myself and the skills of the previous owner of the body. What does this give? Knowledge of crime, the authority of a "thief in law", masterful use of a cane-club, a light sword (it was Roman who taught Neo to fight with a combat umbrella, as well as a hidden rapier in this umbrella), although in the latter this girl most likely surpassed me long ago. The skill of shooting offhand from any position and without any significant aiming devices. And shooting with precision. Also a very good supply of Aura, and after my appearance in his body, I can judge, albeit by indirect signs, that it has become more. But as for Manifestation, alas, there is no.

 Hmm, perhaps I should expand on this question a bit, and it wouldn't hurt to run the "brief summary" through my memory once again. All living things in this world have an Aura, well, except for the Grimm, but they are generally incomprehensible crap, and at the very least they don't need food to continue their life, and they clearly don't reproduce sexually. So, the Aura can be in two states - "closed" and "open". Closed is the default, in the closed state the Aura does not give anything, in fact, a person with a closed Aura is an "uninitiated mage", no different from an ordinary person, except for the potential to gain powers if he is initiated. An open Aura immediately turns a person into a super soldier. Even in the "passive" mode, an Aura user can easily lift a hundred or two kilos, run at a speed of forty to fifty kilometers per hour, take a burst of machine gun fire point-blank to the chest, or even catch a grenade launcher salvo in the face without consequences (I've personally verified this), plus regeneration on the level of Wolverine from the "X-Men" if the "armor" is still penetrated. True, severed limbs do not grow back, but even so - very good. Increased agility, reflexes and coordination are simply a pleasant bonus. Plus there is also an "active" mode, when attack, speed, regeneration or defense are additionally enhanced by "infusion of Aura". With such "doping" a person can easily smash a half-ton carcass of a local Grimm-bear into a concrete wall, jump tens of meters into the air and survive under artillery fire.

 Of course, there had to be a fly in the ointment. Firstly, Auras are different for all people, and it is absolutely impossible to know the volume of the Aura until the moment of its "discovery". Modern science cannot answer what these volumes depend on and how they develop, it, science, has only learned to determine the volume and state of an already open reserve, but that's all. Otherwise, Aura is considered the "Power of the Soul", the stronger the soul, the more Aura the user has. Hence the second minus - it is almost impossible to develop a reserve of this power, throughout history there have been only a few intelligent people who have managed to do this. And then there was either the achievement of "catharsis" in the best traditions of Buddhist monks, or such Overcoming that the hero should have immediately been enrolled in the Space Marines, no lower than a sergeant. The third and, in my opinion, the most dangerous problem is that "an open soul" hits the brain hard. And the "stronger" the soul, the more the brain goes sideways. Each Hunter (a trained Aura user with a reserve sufficient to withstand large numbers of Grimm) has his own "quirks", from harmless ones, like Neo's maniacal passion for ice cream, to very unpleasant or even dangerous ones: alcoholism, sadism, obsessive ideas, etc. Even if they don't write this anywhere, but in Roman's memory I have not found "a single" completely adequate rational person with at least an average reserve of Aura. So, given my increased reserve indicator, I am already getting a bit scared. Maybe putting on mascara and a manicure is just the beginning? And then I will want to wear heels and stockings? Brrr-r-r-r. Against the background of the third point, the fact that "meaningful" control of Aura had to be trained, like any other skill, and that even with large reserves, some people simply "were not given" the ability to use them competently, as well as the temporary transformation from a "super soldier" into a "paralytic" with severe expenditures of Aura, no longer looked good.

 But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The most interesting thing about Aura users is the so-called Manifestation. A phenomenon that has been studied even less than Aura itself. In essence, Manifestation was, hmm... a manifestation of the soul, its unique property. Each person had their own and it opened completely by accident. Or it didn't open at all. They tried to classify them many times, but no normal system was ever built, and it's hard to do, because there really could be anything there. From banal amplification/acceleration to something suspiciously similar to magic, psionics, and control of conceptual things, like probability theory. How Manifestation is acquired, no one knows. Someone just suddenly realizes that they can do this and that. Someone sits and meditates, waiting for "enlightenment", sometimes they really wait. But most often, Manifestation opens in an extreme situation. When a person really, really wants to live or do something, without asking the question of the price of this action or its seeming impossibility. And Roman's Manifestation wasn't open, but what about me?

 I was pulled out of my introspection and reflection by a slight tug on my sleeve.

 - (-_-v)? - the little illusionist looked with concern.

 - It's okay, Neo, I was just thinking...

 - (o_o)?

 - What are you talking about? About life in general. What we've already achieved, what might happen next, - I sigh. - You know, I suddenly realized what an asshole I was.

 - (O_o)?

 - No, it's not that I don't like being an asshole - there really was something to it. A kind of romance and recklessness that many dream of but refuse, preferring "stability" or encountering the first difficulties that such a path brings. We'll keep quiet about the moral aspect again - but I don't like that I was like that with you.

 – ("~_~")!.. – she shakes her head and nods at the row of ice cream bowls, but I can't help but smile. "Roman, who feeds Neopolitan with goodies, can't be an asshole," her whole pose screams about it.

 - If only... but I honestly promise to improve! Maybe I'll even get the courage to ask you out on a date.

 - (O_O'), - Neo choking on ice cream is truly an unprecedented sight.

 - What, no chance at all? Oh, poor, unhappy me...

 – (>‸<), – she pouted.

 - No, I'm not making fun of you or joking. I just really realized that if we continue like this, it won't end well. You really are dear to me, and... well, I don't know, I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do for me...

 – (T_T)! – they grabbed me, in an instant covering the distance from the other side of the table. I didn't get it… I got it. I'm an idiot.

 - No. This is not goodbye, I did not put sleeping pills or poison in your ice cream. And anyway, how could you think that I would manage without my faithful servant? Although... if you want a vacation, I can rent the twins from Junior...

 *Crunch* – OK, I get it, that was a bad joke. You shouldn't tease the illusionist assassin by mentioning other girls. Not right after you've asked her out, albeit in a veiled way. Although for some reason I find that a very funny and interesting pastime. Bad Roman, very, very bad!

 - Oh, I see. Well, since you're so enthusiastic and don't want to go on vacation, then I suggest we get down to business... but first have some more ice cream, I'm feeling a little uneasy...

 – (<_<)…

 – …

 – (v_v)…

 - Okay, as an apology, I'll feed you with a spoon... Like a child, honestly.

 – (^____^)!

 Feeding ice cream to a beautiful girl who "for convenience" moved into your lap is incredibly pleasant. But the fact that she feels affection not for me, but for the past Roman - no. But what could I do? Say, like, sorry, your friend was killed by your gods, and their emissary was placed in his body to carry out an important task? In the best case, she would have thought that Torchwick had drunk himself into a squirrel. And she would have tapped out and tied him up, "until I come to my senses." In the worst case, I would have found myself "on the carpet" again at the Dark Dragon's at the moment when I finished delivering my speech. And frankly speaking, I myself did not feel anything other than a completely natural attraction to a beautiful girl of my taste, Neopolitan. And the fact that she had a small, but quite respectable cemetery behind her, in my eyes, did not add any points to her attractiveness. Let it be Roman had more, and the memory of it is now with me, as are the sensations of scarlet streams flowing down my hands, and we should not forget that we are a little under siege by demons or someone like that, and the world in general is not nearly as beautiful and rainbow as we would like. But it is one thing to understand all this, and another to accept it. Perhaps, with time, this will not bother me, perhaps I will be able to create with Neo our own, shared memories, where there will be much more comfort and much less blood. Perhaps, she will really become dear to me not in words, but in deeds. But... all this will happen later, and now... what the hell should I do with all this?

 I had no ideas at all. I had never had the task of "take and get out of a situation where a gun barrel is pressed against your forehead, and electrodes are already connected to your balls", but the current one was exactly from this opera. Roman had such an experience... yeah, the guy generally has a fun life, but the problem is that he is not me. A different way of thinking, a different character. And as sad as it is to admit, this hardened criminal was much "cooler". Racist jokes surrounded by White Fang terrorists who want to kill all humans? No problem! Flirt with a lady who promised to incinerate your balls? Easy! The fact that she knows perfectly well that you are mocking her, and tolerates it, because decency is preserved, and she still needs you - only adds spice. And drowning her minions in the slop - God himself ordered. Yes, yes, right in front of her and making faces. This delightful combination of impudence, charisma and, it would seem, a careless attitude towards the instinct of self-preservation, while combined with the ability not to cross the line... Even taking into account the fact that I remember how he did it... I am not capable of repeating this. So, I need to use what I am superior to Roman in. And I have had this. Not martial arts - I have never been a special forces soldier, and my experience of fights is only a couple of skirmishes in my school and college years. Super hacker is also not my specialty. Engineering knowledge is closer, but here are completely different materials. But general scientific and technical, and simply information development... here, oddly enough, a lot of prospects open up.

 Twenty million people is not a small number, but the population boom happened relatively recently and, no matter how you look at it, it still doesn't count compared to seven billion. Plus Grimm, Aura and fauns. These things contributed to all spheres of life. In my head there was knowledge of another world, and a world that exceeded this one in population by more than two orders of magnitude. Where people had been cutting each other's throats with gusto for thousands of years, without looking back at anyone. Where a financial crisis due to credit manipulation and a "banking bubble" and the depression associated with it could not lead to breakthroughs of infernal creatures. Yes, the locals could do something, knew how to do it and practiced it… but compared to the inventions of my former compatriots, all this looked almost innocent. There were no chlorine or sarin munitions here, no severed limbs of relatives sent as warnings, no cities doused with napalm, and there was no napalm either. What's more, a banal "broken leg" sustained by one of the participants at, damn it, a sports event involving combat with combat weapons using explosives caused such horror and indignation among the spectators as if they had at least been taken on a tour of a torture chamber while it was being used for its intended purpose.

 I froze for a moment, imbued with Awareness, exactly like that, with a capital letter. Even sitting under siege by demons, even sometimes selling souls to these demons, the local inhabitants were many times more humane and purer than the inhabitants of my world. Yes, there were fights, there were murders, there were even tortures, but, comparing the arsenal of a guy who for twenty years now, almost from the first conscious childhood memory, has been spinning among the most select criminals and walking towards a better life over heads, with the knowledge of "having picked up all sorts of things", but in essence - a completely ordinary "gray" earthling, I came to the conclusion that our Roman would pass for a romantic hero, not without sin, but overall - a nice guy! And with a good lawyer, he could even come out as almost an ascetic and great martyr. And what? An orphan and street child. I have a disabled child in my arms, they don't pay benefits, they won't hire me, and I need something to eat... yeah.

 - Hm? - the said "disabled child" of about twenty years old happily swung her legs and shoved a spoonful of ice cream in my face. - Is it really that you can't fit any more?

 – (^_~), – bite! I was wrong, it's crawling, and how. But they decided to share with me and now feed me. I resign myself to fate and steadfastly endure this ordeal. Well, yes, a beautiful girl, sitting on your lap, feeds you ice cream. Unbearable suffering.

 But let's get back to our thoughts. The picture was unpleasant and absurd at the same time. I didn't like what Torchwick was doing. I was very unsure that I could do the same thing at all, and I'm absolutely sure that if I could, it would turn out much worse for me. At the same time, I know and... basically, morally allow, considering it something albeit unsightly, but natural, methods to which even Roman would say something like: "well, damn, could you do it like that too? You're such a scumbag, my friend." After which, with a high degree of probability, he would smash my head. Just in case.

 The clock was ticking. Cinder had set a clear task. She needed Dust. Lots of Dust, as if she intended to send Beacon into orbit at the very least. At least that's what Roman thought. I knew astronautics had nothing to do with it. But blowing up the bulkheads that sealed the path from Mount Glenn to Vale, and attracting the Grimm along the way - that was it. And if she didn't get the first good news soon, her confidence in my usefulness would be seriously shaken. Considering what Mr. Torchwick had already seen and heard, only a clinical moron would leave him alive in this scenario. Cinder Fall, unfortunately, was not a clinical moron. So, as sad as it was, if I wanted to live until next week, I really would have to take up robbery and theft. Damn Dust...

 Oh yeah, Dust... Also known as Dust, since the term used to describe it has several meanings, it just so happened historically. Dust is the basis of all modern society. It is used everywhere: as fuel for generators, directly, as a source of energy, as a filling for ammunition and a substitute for gunpowder, it is used to alloy metals. It can also interact with Aura and release the accumulated energy at the command of the gifted, and if the gifted is also well trained, then the released energy can be directed. Fortunately, fucking "Dust Mages" are extremely rare. Unfortunately, Cinder is one of them, and with an interesting "doping" at that. But I prefer not to talk about this even in my thoughts. To avoid it.

 Much is known about Dust itself, and at the same time, sadly little. People have learned to process it, use it for their needs, and somehow protect themselves from its effects, but what it is in itself, perhaps only Ozpin, Salem, and the Dragon Gods know. And I'm not sure about the first two. Roman has never been interested in such matters, only heard somewhere out of the corner of his ear that Dust no longer works outside the atmosphere. Personally, given my new knowledge and, ahem, acquaintances, I suspect that this substance is nothing more than crystallized mana (or spiritual energy) of the world. That's why users of "open soul" can work with it directly. That's why it doesn't work outside the world, and that's why there are so many strange types of it - from the banal fire, ice, and air, to gravitational, medical, and who knows what else.

 Dust differs in the quality of purification, the size of the crystals and, as a result, the energy stored in them. The worst and cheapest can be used only for fireworks, but even the best Hunters spend quality ones with caution - they cost a lot, and the right cartridge loaded with such dust can easily penetrate a couple of dozen centimeters of steel ... and destroys an average aura to zero in two or three hits. The size of the crystal also matters. "Dust" is just a consumable, it can be expensive, but still remains a consumable. But a druse the size of at least half a finger is already a serious argument. If such a thing ends up in the hands of a strong Hunter, and with the right Manifestation, it can cause destruction equal to a carpet bombing, give or take. But this is a rare case. Nevertheless, even just firing a healthy fireball or a hail of ice arrows from such a crystal is quite within the power of many.

 And Dust is not the most stable substance. Of course, it won't explode from one sidelong glance, but from an accidental sneeze at the wrong time - it can. Well, and the most piquant feature: the monopoly on its extraction in the whole world belongs to one mega-corporation. Of course, there are all sorts of small-scale and private shops, but this is a drop in the ocean, let's return to the monopolists. Extracting Dust is not easy, the richest mines are in the Lands of Grimm, which means that the miners need to be protected, supplied, raw materials must be transported, and the corporation has thirty-three more reasons to force people to work for almost nothing and under a bonded contract. No conditions, no normal labor protection. Black, dangerous and thankless work. And 90% of the miners are fauns. Because of the racism of certain individuals, the actions of the White Fang, and the clever propaganda of the same corporations, finding normal work for "animals" is not an easy task. What's more, "cat girls" might not even be accepted into a brothel. Only for hardcore perverts, or "for their own." And I just couldn't understand... What the hell is wrong with these people? Of course, it wasn't that bad everywhere, in Vale it was almost more or less, but in other Kingdoms... well, yeah.

 Okay, screw it, I may not be thrilled with the current situation, but I have enough of my own problems right now. And the first question is how to steal the maximum amount of resources with a minimum of risk, but in such a way that later some crazy bastard couldn't use these resources to harm me? And the rest of the city, for that matter...

 I really wanted to smoke. My hand habitually reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigar. A careless movement of my finger - and the tip was broken off, and the other hand, slightly pushing Neo away, was already striking a lighter.

 – (>_<), – expressed their dissatisfaction with me that between the Divine Food and the despicable tobacco my body chose tobacco. After the first puff, by the way, it really did get easier. And my thoughts started running more coherently through my head.

 I had a rough plan, fortunately Roman, even getting drunk during the "celebration of the new prospects", managed to make a sketch: he and the hired thugs go to make a visible noise on the border of the shopping and residential areas, three streets away from the Beacon Academy supply center, and Neo, while he makes noise and attracts the attention of all possible Hunters who decided to take an evening stroll near the "strategic object", quietly robs the building's warehouse. Everything is as always - one acts openly, the other carries out a real scheme from the shadows. Each is doing their favorite thing. But my knowledge of the future showed that not everything would go so well. And here it was necessary to think where and how to insure myself and what to change. I feel that I have a fun night ahead. And not at all the kind that one might think about, looking at a contented beauty fidgeting on my lap, eh ...

 Yes... "not everything is smooth", or rather, "everything is going wrong". The original plan was to distract random Academy students who could rush to protect the property of their favorite educational institution, noticing suspicious movement near the place where they all pass, going to the city or returning from it to the dorm. This is what thugs with open Aura were needed for - a loud, noisy brawl with shooting and waving iron would reliably distract any attention from the inconspicuous truck that quietly and peacefully drove to the warehouse building and, after some time, left on its business. Alas, the facts known to me said that instead of students, the brawl would attract the attention of Glinda "the Good Witch", that is, Goodwitch - Ozpin's deputy and first assistant. Let's skip the rumors about their love affairs and other things - what only tormented teenagers at the most interesting age of 17-20 years don't make up, and as for a lonely pretty teacher and an equally lonely powerful director... well. Her Manifestation is telekinesis, but, as we managed to find out, the range of its application is quite limited, so if you keep a certain distance, nothing terrible will happen. And keeping this lady at a distance on open city streets (and with Cinder herself on duty "on the lookout" with a local helicopter-fighter) will not be too difficult. Actually, Cinder was supposed to participate as a backup, in case one of the Beacon teachers or a group of already adult Hunters showed up. But, as my memory also told me, in addition to the aforementioned Glinda, a cute little girl will get involved in the showdown. With a hee-e-ealthy combat scythe, combined with a sniper rifle and a shotgun. And everything would be fine, but she is supposedly the local Chosen One or someone like that, besides, this skirmish will allow her to enter Beacon a couple of years earlier, and in general too much is tied to her, so I won't be able to act in the most reasonable way and change the place or at least the time of the distraction.

 In principle, even though she was talented, but still a little braided chick didn't pose much of a threat. Why, the real Torchwick could easily twist her and spank her properly, all the while commenting on the situation and puffing on his cigar. Actually, that's how it turned out at the end of his life, and then the Chosen One's grand piano came from the bushes. Yeah, in the form of a Grimm-griffin, which ate Roman. The problem was that I, with my "talent", and most importantly, my fighting experience, had a pretty good chance of introducing my neck to the blade of this cute little brat's scythe. And then Glinda would join in. Of course, ending up in prison, from where Neo would sooner or later get me out, wouldn't be so bad, but when would she be able to do it? And wouldn't I have to watch through the bars as the city was being eaten by Grimms? Or maybe instead of the expected Neo we'll meet the aforementioned Grimms? The situation... But the first point is clear.

 - My dear servant, a couple of interesting plans for the evening just crept into my head!

 – (^_0)? – the lazily questioningly open pink eye on the happy face looked… interesting.

 - No, we will not have a wild orgy with fauns! - we need to cheer her up.

 – (O_o)???

 - Well, it wouldn't hurt to check a couple of ligaments, so let's go home and jingle, - the girl shrugged in response and easily jumped off my lap. Having paid the bill (yes, now, having seen with my own eyes her ice cream-eating abilities, I am not surprised by her ability to squander the income from shady dealings in a couple of weeks), we headed to the place that Roman and the little mute girl called their home. Although personally I can't call this "officially abandoned" warehouse with a small residential extension anything other than the most unpretentious temporary shelter. And it makes sense - the couple had about fifty such temporary shelters in Vale alone - just in case, but a normal, full-fledged home - alas, is not the profession.

 Training Aura users is a pretty interesting and effective thing. It's hard not to be when you can use combat weapons, real bullets and explosives, the main thing is not to overdo it and not drain your opponent's Aura completely. So the fight to the "red zone" - about fifteen to twenty percent of the reserve - is conducted in full contact and with a natural desire to kill, as all sorts of smart sensei in shonen talk about ... damn, what nonsense is creeping into my head. Meanwhile, as soon as we went out into the center of an empty warehouse, a sweet, kind girl tried to smash my Adam's apple with the tip of her umbrella.

 *Knock!* – how the cane, which I had been carrying around in my hands until then, appeared on the trajectory of that umbrella, I still don't understand. And no one was going to give me time to understand. Click… scrape… slap… click… attacks to the head, body, feet, groin and eyes, an attempt to enter a clinch and tie me in a knot… ended in nothing! The body itself, automatically, would put the cane under it, but would take a step back or to the side, consciousness didn't participate in the process at all, it seemed as if Neo and I were simply dancing, it all looked so easy and beautiful! And then a "brilliant" idea came to me to try to attack… that is, to consciously interfere with the process…

 The lunge went well, the "jab" with the cane, practiced hundreds, if not thousands of times, was clean and unmistakable, but the girl simply stepped to the side in another dance step, hooked the weapon with the hook of her umbrella, and... I didn't have time to figure out what happened next. Something touched my head, the world swayed, and now I was lying on the cold concrete floor, and this cute little thing was towering over me... raising her combat umbrella, on the end of which was a hefty steel spike, aimed right at my neck! At that moment, I completely forgot about all sorts of Auras and the fact that such a blow would definitely not finish me off, there was me, lying on the floor, and there was a sting aimed at my carcass. And I really didn't want to die so stupidly and go to the dragon's carpet as a complete loser. All my instincts were just screaming "get out", and... the world swayed again.

 *Clang!* - the blade hits the concrete, and I, dumbfounded, stand behind Neo. Then the body worked itself, and the girl received a heavy "slap" on the back of the head with a cane, but... - *Crunch!* - and her image crumbled into a thousand pieces, and as if by itself, the hand twitched deftly blocked the blow of the damn ninja standing to the side. However, a new attack did not follow, instead...

 - (O_o)?

 "It seems that I have finally opened my Manifestation," the vague sensations were very difficult to describe, but I really just understood what and how to do, albeit very crudely and vaguely, but still.

 – (^_^)! – several claps of hands.

 - Yes, yes, I am also very glad about this, not even twenty years have passed... - apparently, my tender soul reacted much more strongly to the danger, even if it was imaginary (although at that moment I thought completely differently), than Roman's essence, hardened in all sorts of troubles. Well, and Awakened. Or maybe the Dragon helped, realizing that without something like this his "emissary" would not last very long. But for some reason my hands are shaking badly and I really want to smoke again.

 He didn't feel embarrassed in front of anyone and took out a cigar, but he couldn't light it—his trembling hands couldn't handle the lighter.

 – (-_-#)… – a heavy sigh, they take away the fire-making tool from me and give me a light.

 "Thank you," I take a blissful drag, frantically trying to come up with an explanation for the girl who knows Roman's past very well, why he's shaking like an ordinary civilian who was almost stabbed, giggles. "Apparently, a rollback from using Manifestation..." I couldn't come up with anything smarter, and there were similar cases. Not very often, but they did happen.

 As a rule, they are associated with a sharp expenditure of Aura, however, teleportation (and the talent that opened up to me looked like it) is indeed a gluttonous thing. But my understanding spoke of something slightly different. Moving in space was far from the main "feature", rather a side effect. I don't know if the dragon really tried or if it was my soul, remembering the experience of being in a spiritual form and adding Roman's hamster-ness, that did such a thing, but the fact remained. My Manifestation is a very strange spatial... um, spiritual pocket, where I can put anything. Including my own body. And then "throw it out" in a certain radius of my sensitivity. And no, vision has nothing to do with it, rather some kind of spiritual attraction... in general, who the hell knows, but I just got a great option for escape... which couldn't help but please considering the fact that I'm a lousy swordsman. At least until I somehow synchronize my brain and reflexes.

 – (u_v)?

 - No, I think we won't continue - I don't want to disgrace myself any further, or tempt fate by causing the girl to have reasonable doubts about everything that's happening. - Rest, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow... although no, go to Junior, confirm our arrangements about his clowns for tomorrow's performance.

 A nod - and Neo leaves. Ah, she's a good companion after all - she helps you through life, doesn't nag you, doesn't hang around on the phone with your girlfriends for three hours... so, Roman, pull yourself together. Well, you've ended up in a world that's been at the Armageddon stage for a thousand years now, well, they can roast/eat/imprison you at almost any moment, but you're still alive and even healthy, aren't you?

 - He-he... haa, - the laughter came out forced and a little hysterical. In my mind, I should now continue practicing swings with the baton, study at least a little bit of the opened Manifestation and, ideally, practice shooting... but... I couldn't even stand up. My legs simply refused to support my body.

 Now, left alone in an empty hangar, which the girl-killer had just recently left, I suddenly realized that all of this was "for real". Dark Overlords, hordes of bloodthirsty monsters, terrorists, Nazis, anarchists and other crazy **-ers. And I'm already somewhat past the age when you want adventure, but I haven't yet entered the one where "why not, there's nothing left to lose!" I still have my usual life at home, comfort, some kind of career and quite a good income. And here are all the above-mentioned monsters and an assignment from an incomprehensible entity that, suddenly, can do whatever it wants with me. And it's not at all a fact that this "wish" includes any "payment" for my, forgive me, Universe, "services". Maybe they'll devour me and that's it? After all, it seems like it was this very sweet dragon who unleashed a horde of these very bloodthirsty monsters upon this world, so what does he care about me?

 I tried to think positively, honestly, but all sorts of sayings about "even if you were eaten..." were perceived either as a perverted mockery, or a slogan of an idiot who had never been eaten, and for whom even hurting a finger was a tragedy and a world event! The only thing that made me get up was the realization that if Neo returned and saw me in such a state, I would not be able to avoid uncomfortable questions. And I really don't want to guess what will happen when I can't answer these questions.

 - Okay, calm down, Roman, don't make it damp, or the mascara, ha-ha, will run! - the evil irony, together with the slap he gave himself (zero effect, even Aura didn't flinch) made him get to his feet.

 Staggering, I somehow made it to the ersatz version of a bathroom and stuck my head under the cold water. It became a little easier. Okay, since I was already up to my nose in this whole thing, I need to grab a shovel and dig myself out of the "life circumstances". After all, an opened Semblance allows you to make a lot of interesting moves, especially if no one knows about it. I had no doubt about Neo - she would be silent as a mute, ha-ha. And if so, then we will still fight. Tremble, Remnant, I will arrange my RWBY with blackjack and catgirls!

 On that positive note, I let my body crawl to the bed and pass out. It seemed like I had done very little, but it felt like I had been unloading dump trucks all day… with sand… with my hands… in minus forty… hrrrr…