It began with the alarm. It was loud and dreadful, signifying that a Grimm attack was occurring. These alarms weren't particularly a cause for concern as they usually rang once every few weeks. Grimm attacks tended to happen quite a bit at these parts.
The Militia stationed at our town would be able to hold off the attacks like every time before, so I only gave the alarm a cursory glance before ignoring it completely.
The people around me did the same as well. We were all used to these kinds of attacks and it was almost a monthly occurrence.
I was currently strolling through the market. My mom gave me the job to buy some groceries so I was on my way to do so. First on the list was Chicken. She wanted to try out a new recipe and a good deal of fresh meat was available here.
There were some chicken coop farmers who reared a large population of them here in Ambiance. It was a fairly good business to get one's self into and I was even planning on seeing if I could work part time there.
I had to get some money somehow you know?
After choosing and picking out the packs of chicken, I headed over to the vegetable section and did the same. I wonder what recipe my mom was going to make?
See, my mom used to be a famous cook in these parts. The Arc family, actually owned a restaurant here in Ambiance. It was a fairly famous one at that and my mom, Crystal Arc was the head chef. Needless to say, her cooking was absolutely divine.
It was perhaps almost to die for. I actually think that Jacques Schnee from the Schnee Dust Corporation had visited our restaurant once and gave an official review stating that the food was truly sublime.
Yeah, yeah. I know what you're thinking. If your family owns a restaurant business, why would you need to work as a chicken coop farmer part time? You might as well work in the restaurant and your mom could pay you, couldn't she?
Yes, although that is indeed true... I've been helping out in that place since I was a kid. I'm kinda sick of it, to be honest. The same environment catering to rich people and the like. It gets kinda boring. I guess that's probably why I want to become a huntsman.
I want an adventure.
Unfortunately, I'm not trained in the art of weaponry. Two of my sisters actually graduated from Beacon, becoming fully fledged huntresses. Last I saw them was about two days ago. They were twins and fortunately were put into the same team.
They told us that they had a mission nearby these parts and they would be back for dinner today but the life of a huntsman was tough. You never truly know what's going to put a damper on your schedule.
My thoughts faded away from my mind as I made my way to the cashier. After tallying up the price, he bid me farewell and went on towards the customer behind me.
I smiled.
The cashier was a frequent visitor to the restaurant. I had seen him multiple times and I believe his favorite dish was steamed salmon.
I bid him farewell and headed back home. It was time to give mom the food. I couldn't wait to try out the new recipe she was interested in creating.
It was bound to be good.
Unfortunately, my plans would forever be put on hold. Because today would be the biggest tragedy in my life. The day where my outlook of the world changed for the worst.
.
.
[The guard tower, on the wall surrounding Ambiance]
A retired huntsman who went by the name of Corzon was glancing about the clearing that separated the walls of Ambiance from the vast forest.
The last few Grimm were being shot down by the militia members under his squad. The attack on Ambiance this time was a fairly small amount. The Grimm that tried to siege through were also of the weaker kind.
Younger ones. The ones who had little experience with facing humans.
It was easy to tell how old a Grimm was looking at its size and bone platings. Younger ones were smaller and only had bone platings covering their vitals.
The older and stronger Grimm had much more. They were usually massive in size, had spikes and some even tended to have primal tactics which could be used to kill.
Corzon finally raised his hand to stop the firing squad from shooting any longer. The horde was thinned to a manageable size for melee fighters to clean up.
This was a standard tactic to culling a Grimm Incursion. Thin the heard with bullets then bring in the melee fighters to kill any that is left.
This tactic was efficient and also deadly. Ambiance would save up money on some special bullets and the taxpayers money could also be used for more important aspects of civilization. More businesses meant more cash flow.
Corzon himself was pretty proud of having come up with this tactic.
The gates opened and out ran the Militia members. Some were carrying swords and other were carrying spears.
Though Crude the weapons may be, they were effective. Soon the horde of Grimm were completely exterminated and the fighters were called back into the base.
Another retired huntsman scaled up towards where Corzon was.
"Corzon, boss wants a damage report soon. Fatalities, ammo left and the like. Report should be done by tonight if we're going to take a day off tomorrow."
"I'll have it done." Corzon replied. "Fortunately no deaths occurred. That would be a problem no one wants to face."
"Don't I know it." The huntsman sighed, glancing at the blue sky above. "I miss those days Corzon. The ones where we were in our prime, culling Grimm left and right."
"Midori, you know those days are over. We're way past our prime now and the best we can contribute is training the Militia at best. Forget the past." Corzon sighed, running a hand through his white hair.
"Yeah, I know. Lets go. Time to check on the northern sector." Midori, beckoned.
Corzon was about get up to follow but suddenly, his scroll pinged. He frowned glancing at it and seeing a message from the northern Quadrant.
[Radar has been disabled. Large amount of enemies caught in the sector]
"Shit. Not good." Corzon cursed.
"Why? What's happened?" Midori asked, his wistful expression morphing into a serious one. It was one of the reasons Corzon got along well with his former partner. He knew when to relax and knew when to take things seriously.
"Amber's side is struggling. Radar's gone. Most likely Grimm having destroyed it. We need to back her up before anything happens." Corzon slipped into his leader persona.
His partner nodded and barked out a few orders to his subordinates stationed below the wall. Before the could leave however, a cry was heard from below.
A soldier ran up to Corzon and hastily explained the situation.
"Sir! Sapphire Arc has returned from her mission! She has urgent news to report, stating its code red!"
"Sapphire? Bring me to her, quickly." Corzon nodded to Midori to go ahead of him to back Amber up. He followed the soldier and was greeted to a sight of Sapphire Arc whose clothes and armor were in shambles. Her hair had dried blood and her face was wet with tears.
Corzon frowned. The girl looked like she had just gotten out from a battlefield. He had a bad feeling that the news she was going to deliver was....
"Corzon! Evacuate the town now!" She grabbed his hand.
"What?! Why?" Corzon felt his heart sink at her answer.
"Multiple Elder class Grimm are headed this way at the moment. My team bought me time to leave but on the way we recorded the existence of two Goliaths, Giant Nevermore and a never before seen Grimm type."
"... Not possible. Goliaths aren't from these parts."
"Its the truth!"
"...Dammit! Sapphire how long do you think we have till they reach?"
"T-thirty minutes tops!"
"But sir, we haven't picked anything up from the radars!" A soldier complained, seemingly believing her words to be fake.
"Radar was destroyed by Grimm from the northern sector. Dammit, we don't have enough time to evacuate the entire town! Get the ships ready we're gonna save as many as we can. Send the announcement!"
"Yes, sir!" The soldier quickly rushed to complete their tasks.
Corzon however stayed by Sapphire.
"Sapph, I know you've been through some rough times but I need details about what happened. What's got the Grimm all riled up? "
"I don't know. Our team was given a mission from the Hunter's association in Vale. They said that scouts reported seeing odd Grimm activity at the forest nearby but... it wasn't what we expected at all. There were so many." She cried as she thought of her team mates. Her sister was one of those people that sacrificed themselves to get her to Ambiance in time to warn the settlement.
"Sigh. Alright." Corzon nodded. His gaze heavy. Ambiance was going to fall today. There was no way a town like this could hold against the combined might of a Goliath, let alone two.
Suddenly, Corzon's scroll pinged a new message.
It was from Midori.
[Northern sector has fallen. Goliath appeared and is about to crash into the wall. Smaller Grimm have started pouring in. Militia can't control them.]
No!
Corzon cursed.
"Sapphire, help with the evacuation! I have to head to the Northern District."
"A-alright."
.
.
Jaune's body froze as he witnessed a scene straight out from a nightmare. Fire was spreading all around the market, people were screaming and panicking and the worst of it all was the existence of the Grimm who were slaughtering the civilians.
Beowolfs. A whole lot of them had broken through the Northern sector wall, scaling them like they were running across the ground and jumped into the Town of Ambiance.
Their sharp, clawed feet cracked the pavement and sent shivers down Jaune's spine.
See, Jaune had always wanted to become a huntsman. He had always heard tales of Hunters protecting the weak, becoming a hero to combat the forces of evil. He grew up around these stories. His grandfather was actually from a long line of famous Hunters as well.
Jaune had seen Grimm before. Hunters made killing Grimm look easy, so Jaune himself had started to believe that he too could become like them. Although he knew that training was required, it hadn't exactly dawned upon him how much a hunter truly trained to be able to go toe to toe with beats like that.
And Jaune had to admit....
Stories had nothing compared to reality.
His body was unresponsive, his mind shaken.
Move!
He shouted inside of his mind, but his feet were glued to the ground.
He could only watch in horror as the maws of a Beowolf were enclosing around his head.