Chapter 6: Fist 2: The Path to Take.
Fist 2: The Path to Take.
"It's really interesting," in a spacious, hidden laboratory deep underground, a scientist examined a freshly acquired sample of black meat.
"Did you make sure to obtain all the biological material properly?" His question was directed at a slim man with a scorpion tail waiting in a corner.
"Everything the goddess's Grimm didn't eat first," the smile he displayed might have terrified anyone else, but the scientist remained unfazed.
"Acceptable," he simply replied.
"My goddess wants to know more about this strange thing that invaded her lands. The Grimm that consumed this 'black meat' have been uncooperative... she is not pleased with that," upon the faun's words, the scientist nodded.
"I'll do everything I can."
"It's better that you do more than just 'everything you can,' Merlot," the faun left with those words hanging in the air. The scientist clicked his tongue once he was gone.
Meanwhile, enclosed in a metal cage, the mass of meat discreetly listened, expectant.
Allowing itself to be "captured" had certainly been more interesting than it had anticipated.
The reason for its capture actually had to do with the creatures that had attempted to devour it.
When those things consumed its flesh, it was as if its cells entered a new body.
There was no consciousness there, though it seemed they had instincts and behaviors. He could recognize an empty vessel, which made it easy for him to start controlling it and generate more cells from within.
He had planned to merge with all those soulless beasts and start generating a new army of cells from their insides until the man with the scorpion tail arrived.
Somehow, the soulless creatures obeyed his commands, which intrigued him.
Hence the reason for his capture.
In truth, his cells were already free in dozens of bodies, generating more cells. The mass that was "captured" was only a part of him.
So far, he had gained a lot of information from this trick. For now, he would be content to wait for his moment.
If he continued to consume more of these soulless creatures, he estimated that in about three years, he would have enough cells to create a new Golden.
In four, he could return to his perfect body, and if he waited longer, perhaps even go beyond that.
Let no one say that Black Sperm wasn't patient.
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The end of classes and the return home marked the beginning of the greatest challenge Jaune had faced since he woke up in this world again.
Dealing with his family.
He had already had a small taste in the morning and during the break with his sisters, but things really took a turn for the worse when he got home.
From a little 5-year-old girl wanting him to carry her on his shoulders to pretending he was at a tea party and letting them style his hair. They had even put makeup on his face.
His limit was reached when they brought out the dress; he had to make an escape.
So that's exactly what he did, running without looking back.
Perhaps it was a vague attempt to reconnect, or maybe a forgotten desire to spend time with his sisters. The reason he allowed himself to be dragged into all these activities wasn't entirely clear to Jaune, but one thing was certain: he wouldn't let it happen again.
Looking at the sky, there were still a few hours before the sun would set, so Jaune decided to train.
He didn't aim for anything too strenuous; this body hadn't undergone any training before, so he needed to start with some basic conditioning before moving on to more challenging tasks.
He began with stretching exercises to prepare his body efficiently for the upcoming training. He knew he wouldn't gain a ton of muscle in a day, but he definitely hoped that by the end of the month, his body's strength would double or even triple.
It might sound like a lot, but considering that this body struggled to lift a 5-year-old girl on its shoulders, increasing his strength by two or three times was the minimum he expected.
He spent all the time he could training in an isolated place until the sun began to set, and he decided it was time to head back.
His body felt tired, but it was a mild fatigue compared to more advanced training he had done before. At least he didn't have any broken bones or torn muscles.
He hoped to reach that level soon. It wasn't that he enjoyed pain, but nothing tested the extent of your efforts quite like the feeling of your bones cracking.
It might seem inhuman, but it was an effective method, and if you followed the steps correctly, injuries would heal rapidly. After all, beyond a certain point, the body of a true martial artist ceases to be "simply human" and becomes "superhuman." They might not achieve regeneration on the level of monsters, but certainly, the speed at which wounds heal and the effectiveness of that healing is far above that of ordinary humans.
This allows injuries that would be lethal for ordinary humans to be only a nuisance for martial artists. Many techniques, training methods, and other things are behind this, requiring incredible effort, but in the end, the result is worth it.
Not to mention that reaching the "Beyond human" stage means that the things one can do can no longer be sustained by simple logic. Jaune had to cross that threshold to kill a Dragon-level monster and ascend to the S-class.
Not to mention what comes after that, a power that he only achieved in his battle with Garou, a stage beyond what was thought possible.
Transcendence.
In reality, martial artists didn't have levels or realms as portrayed in comics or novels. Their strength could only be judged based on their feats.
However, that didn't stop Jaune from creating his own metric to measure the level of martial artists, as mentioned earlier, and it was divided into four levels:
Human-level
Superhuman.
Beyond human
Transcendence.
In truth, these were just elegant names that Jaune, an avid fan of comics, decided to give to the different stages a martial artist goes through, representing a qualitative change in their strength.
They didn't represent an absolute by any means. After all, a martial artist can't be judged solely by their raw strength; technique, experience, and intelligence can make even a human-level martial artist defeat a superhuman one.
Still, they served as a goal for Jaune.
Right now, he didn't even have the strength of a human-level martial artist, even though he possessed the knowledge of one at the transcendence level. If he pushed himself, he could certainly display the appropriate strength of a superhuman, but it wouldn't be easy, and his body would suffer the consequences of using more force than it can currently withstand.
That's why he set a goal to reach the level of a human-level martial artist in two months.
To reach superhuman in six months and go beyond human in three years.
Transcendence... his best bet would be to achieve it in five, of course, all of this was if he took it slowly.
If he were to be pushed, he could unleash the most brutal and efficient training methods to accelerate the entire process and reach transcendence in three years.
He calculated this estimated time based on his strength test and the exercise he had just completed.
On the other hand, another method would be through combat. This was the method Garou had used after being expelled from the dojo, and to a lesser extent, what Jaune had used.
For a martial artist, there was no faster and riskier way to improve than through a life-or-death battle.
Now the question was, were there Grimm in Remnant strong enough to accelerate his growth in this way?
There would undoubtedly be Grimm strong enough to take him from human to superhuman.
However, if there were Grimm that could make him go from superhuman to beyond human, then the realms in Remnant wouldn't exist.
This was not an exaggeration; after all, the beyond human level is where the threats of Dragon-level exist. If there were something that powerful in Remnant, even if they had Huntsmen of equal strength, the collateral damage from the battle alone could easily destroy a realm.
Although Jaune couldn't remember everything, he still knew that the population in Remnant wasn't as large as on Earth.
Taking Vale, for example, it had just a little over 55 million registered inhabitants, a fact he had learned by asking his mother when he returned from school.
And that number was for the entire extent of the kingdom.
Jaune had seen cities crushed by Dragon-level monsters with more inhabitants than that.
So, it was reasonable for Jaune to have doubts about the existence of Grimm of such caliber.
He would need to investigate further just to be sure.
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Sitting back in his room, Jaune began to meditate. He couldn't retrieve all of his memories from his first life, but he hoped to obtain something useful. At the very least, something important enough to focus on.
He would have preferred to do this by a waterfall in the middle of a forest, not sitting on a messy bed in a cluttered room. Unfortunately, he had to work with what he had.
Slowly, he delved into the depths of his being, into the core that composed his mind. His five senses closed, and all his focus was directed inwards.
"You know, Jaune, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."
"You're not cut out for fighting. You have no talent. Forget those silly dreams of yours, Jaune!"
"Dad will never let you train, Jaune. You're a failure."
"Arc never goes back on his word, son! Remember that."
"The greatest tragedy since the end of the Great War, Mountain Glenn has been completely decimated by the Grimm."
"Over four million dead."
"Vale will never recover from this."
"The tunnels collapsed due to strange explosions, and the survivors couldn't escape."
Slowly, Jaune opened his eyes.
He had regained enough.
Mountain Glenn... that must have happened when he was 15 or 16 years old?
Now he was 14.
"At least one year, at most two."
It seemed that he now had a goal.
Jaune clenched his fist. He was a hero; saving people was his primary duty. Even if there was no hero association in this world, that didn't mean he would cease to be one.
But if he wanted to be ready to save Mountain Glenn, he couldn't stick to his moderate training plan.
"Dinner's ready!" his mother's call sounded, and Jaune couldn't help but smile slightly.
His mother... the warmest memories of his first life belonged to her.
He couldn't remember everything, but what he had gathered was enough to remind him that yes, she was his mother.
What had she said?
"An Arc never goes back on his word."
He had sworn to be a great hero, he had promised his master that he would use his martial arts to help others.
Now there were at least four million people waiting for his help.
Doubt was never his style when others were in danger.
Well, the domestic life of a teenager was never his thing.
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Note:
Don't take the 'martial artist levels' part too seriously, as mentioned, it's just Jaune's personal way of measuring a certain level of strength.
It's not something 'real' that exists in the One Punch Man or RWBY world. This isn't a Chinese novel, darn it!
I thought someone who reads comics or plays games should do things like that. I've certainly found myself creating my own 'levels for certain things' with friends.
Is that too Chūnibyō?!!!!!???
By the way, I don't think it was mentioned before, but like almost all RWBY fics, this is a bit AU due to lack of information, so don't lynch me, hardcore fans who know even the size of their favorite character's nails
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