RWBY: Remnant's Blond Bard

Chapter 2

If life was a game then why wouldn't you play?

Jaune obviously knew it wasn't a game and that it was very real, the consequences too, but if you suddenly developed the power to treat it like one, then he didn't think anyone would be able to resist having a little fun.

The doors to Ansel High School slammed open and Jaune Arc sauntered in, smiling confidently and basked in every set of eyes looking his way. Gone was the slumped and tired demeanour, gone was the nervous aversion of his eyes whenever he saw a pretty girl. Gone was the microscopic tension of his muscles when he passed one of the bigger, tougher boys in the hallway.

This school was his playground now.

"Hey Sally." Jaune clicked his tongue and winked at the first girl, who blushed and looked back at her locker. "Hi Rachel. Brogan. Abigal, new hairstyle? It suits you. Rosemary, I love what you've done with your nails."

The girl, with orange hair, glasses and freckles, blushed and fidgeted with her fingers. "Thanks, Jaune."

A meaty hand slammed on the locker in front of him. "Oi," snarled Brett, six-feet tall and built like two men squashed together. "You making a move on my girl, Arc?"

Jaune stopped, aware of the sudden hush that had fallen over the hallway. Everyone was tense, nervous. Everyone except Jaune, Unknown Saviour of Ansel, Arc. He looked up at the bigger boy who had, in times past, dunked his head in the toilet and grinned.

"Yo! Brett. Killer game last night, eh? I heard you were top scorer."

The muscle-headed jock cracked a smile. "It was a good game. And yeah, I did."

"That's my man!" Jaune had to stand on tiptoes to hook an arm around Brett's neck. He turned him around to face the school at large. "A round of applause for the best athlete in school!"

Against all odds, everyone started clapping. Brett flushed, smiling bashfully, and Jaune slipped off him, the two sharing a fist-bump. Jaune sauntered on down the corridor, winking, pointing and flirting with just about everyone.

"Mrs Greene!" Jaune staggered when he entered the classroom. "You look stunning today!"

"Mr Arc." His homeroom teacher, thirty years of age, waved her hand bashfully but did turn a little pink in the cheeks all the same. His new title did wonders on making everyone in Ansel just a little more favourably disposed to him. "I wish you'd stop flirting with a woman almost twice your age."

"Twice? I'm sixteen and you can't be a day over twenty."

"Oh, please. You are the worst, Ja—Mr Arc. Sit down. Ahem."

As class filed in and Mrs Greene got to work, Jaune let his mind wander. It had been a pretty fun week since he unlocked his Semblance and saved an unknowing village from a bunch of bandits. His father had been interested in the story and set out to track the Branwen tribe, but they had indeed left for greener pastures. It hadn't stopped him upping the guard and sending a message out to every person young and old to be cautious outside the walls.

That was outside, though. Inside, Jaune had continued to play with his Semblance and watch his numbers, his stats, trickle on upward. It was never anything special in class or his free time. The game system felt a little too "realistic" in terms of wisdom and strength, requiring literal hours upon hours of working out to give him a single increase, and a full week of class to get a single point in wisdom. At that point, was a game-based Semblance even necessary? It felt like anyone would be stronger after working out that much.

-/-

Jaune Arc

Lvl 2.