The chamber returned to its neutral gray glow, leaving Jaune standing with his sword lowered, still catching his breath. Ruby and Yang exchanged a glance, their expressions shifting—less impressed spectator and more seasoned veterans, now.
Yang broke the silence first, uncrossing her arms and nodding toward him. "Not bad, Blondie. You've got guts, and you've got instincts. But… that was still just the kiddie pool."
Ruby tapped the console, locking the simulation in standby mode. "Yang's right. Fighting simulated Beowolves like that is good training, but you're basically just testing your footing. If you want to understand how LUCID operatives fight—how we really, fight, and how Rune Skills change everything—you should see it firsthand."
Jaune wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist guard and tilted his head. "So… what, I just stand back and watch?"
"Exactly," Yang said. She tilted her chin toward the far side of the chamber. "Take five. We'll give you a show."
Ruby was already moving, walking toward the open space with the faintest bounce in her step. She reached behind her back and pulled out her weapon. Jaune's eyes widened at it.
Where was she hiding that?
It was a scythe. Not a bulky agricultural tool that was unwieldy or theatrical. This was a weapon designed to kill. Its shaft was matte black with faint red lines glowing along the length, the curve of the blade gleaming with a faint shimmer of patterned silver. He could tell instantly it was no ordinary alloy—it was the same LUCID-issued tech his own new sword had been made from. The edge wasn't just sharp, it was impossibly thin, the kind of monomolecular edge that could split air if angled just right.
Jaune blinked. "A scythe huh? I guess you weren't kidding yesterday."
Ruby turned the weapon with practiced ease, letting the blade catch the sterile light of the room. Her smile was sheepish, but her eyes were steady. "I told you I liked them, didn't I?"
"I thought you meant—well, I suppose you did mention that you would have loved to actually fight with one."
She shrugged, rolling the haft into a ready position. "Cool eh?"
Jaune chuckled under his breath. "It does look pretty awesome."
His attention shifted to Yang, who flexed her fingers before raising both fists. That was when he noticed the gauntlets—sleek black frames fitted tightly to her forearms and hands. They weren't bulky like boxing gloves, nor overly ornate. Just heavy enough to look unyielding, reinforced with faint yellow lines pulsing at the joints.
"Huh," Jaune said, tilting his head. "Those don't look like they're meant for cutting or stabbing?"
"They do niether," Yang replied with a wolfish grin. "They hit. Hard."
Ruby glanced back at Jaune, her voice turning a little more serious. "Watch carefully. We'll spar using our full strength. It's not on the level of our dream selves because we can't exert that much power in the waking world, but it's enough that you should be able to get an understanding of what peak rank 0 strength will look like."
Jaune stepped back toward the wall, resting his sword against his side. The private room was quite big after all, so he had ample space to sit on the side while watching them fight. His chest still rose and fell from his own fight, but his eyes sharpened with focus. "Alright. Show me."
The two girls squared off.
For a moment, nothing moved. Ruby held her scythe in a defensive guard, Yang shifted her weight onto her back leg, fists raised. The silence stretched, the tension building. Then Yang lunged forward, fast enough that her motion blurred. Jaune flinched, his eyes barely keeping up as she closed the distance in a blink.
Ruby pivoted, her scythe whipping out in a red arc. Metal rang as Yang's gauntlets clashed against the blade, sparks scattering across the chamber.
The impact wasn't what stunned Jaune—it was the speed. Yang's fists were moving in flurries, every blow sharp and deliberate. And Ruby—she wasn't just keeping up, she was ahead. Her scythe moved with precision, each swing flowing into the next as if she knew where Yang would strike before the gauntlets even moved.
Jaune's mouth parted. They were still moving quite fast for untrained eyes, but Jaune's time in the Dream, where death lurked in every shadow—let him track their rhythm. He saw Yang's foot twist before a hook, Ruby's shoulder dip before a counter.
But then Ruby disappeared.
One moment she was there, blade locking with Yang's gauntlet. The next, she was gone in a blur of red light, reappearing a few feet away with her scythe already swinging.
Jaune blinked hard, nearly missing it. "What the—!?"
Yang raised her forearm to block, grunting as the monomolecular blade scraped against the rune plating of her gauntlet. She shoved Ruby back with sheer force, the ground beneath her boots cracking from the pressure.
Ruby skidded, her cape flaring behind her, but she was smiling.
Jaune gaped. "…That wasn't just speed. That was—"
"Accel." Ruby called out between motions. She vanished again, reappearing on Yang's flank, the scythe cutting a red crescent through the air. Yang twisted, her gauntlet intercepting the strike just in time. "My rune Skill. It gives me a speed boost. Dangerous if you can't control momentum—but when you can, it changes everything."
Yang grinned, slamming a fist forward. Her gauntlet lit up, glowing brighter as a pulse of energy discharged with the blow. The shockwave cracked the air, even from Jaune's distance. Ruby was forced back, digging her scythe into the floor to halt her skid.
"That's mine," Yang said proudly. "Kinetic. I can absorb force and feed it into my attacks. Basically, you hit me, I hit back harder. Works even better against big guys."
Ruby rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Which is why she likes to get hit so much."
Yang smirked. "Don't judge my hobbies."
Jaune stared and analyzed their abilities. His mind was racing. He'd fought many a grimm in the Dream, survived through grit and luck, but this… this was a different tier altogether. These weren't just teenagers sparring—this was weaponized augmentation, skill layered on top of skill, turning them into blurs of lethal motion.
And yet, he realized, he could still see them. His eyes tracked the blur, noticed the tells. He could feel the rhythm of their clash. He wasn't completely lost.
Ruby vanished again, scythe striking from impossible angles. Yang blocked, parried, and retaliated with bone-rattling shockwaves. Their duel was equal parts brutal and graceful, strength against speed, raw force against honed precision.
Finally, Ruby leapt back, calling off the exchange with a raised hand. Yang stopped instantly, lowering her fists. Both of them were breathing hard, sweat glistening at their brows, but they were smiling wide.
Ruby twirled her scythe once and then rested it against her shoulder, glancing back at Jaune. "See? That's the difference. Normal weapons and raw strength can only take you so far. But with Rune Skills—and the right weapons—you fight on a completely different level."
Yang nodded, flexing her gauntlets. "That's what you'll need to learn, Arc. How to push your weapon past being just a hunk of sharp metal."
Jaune swallowed, his grip tightening on his sword. His dad's blade was strong, and his body stat gave him strength, but watching Ruby and Yang, he felt the gap between surviving and fighting like them.
He exhaled slowly, forcing a smile. "…Guess I've got a lot to learn."
Ruby's silver eyes softened as she looked at him, her voice gentler now. "Don't worry, we'll teach you."
Jaune felt the stirrings of excitement bud through his mind.
The chamber still hummed faintly after Ruby and Yang's spar, the lingering resonance of power dispersing into the air. Jaune leaned against the wall with his sword propped beside him, letting the thudding in his chest slow. Ruby had returned her scythe to its folded state, clipping it neatly at her side. Yang stretched her arms out with a long exhale, her gauntlets still glowing faintly before dimming back to neutral black.
For a few quiet moments, no one spoke. Jaune simply tried to process what he'd just seen. His friends were operating on an entirely different level. His training against Beowolves felt like he'd been sparring with wooden toys compared to the real war machines these two had become.
Ruby broke the silence, wiping her brow with the back of her sleeve. "Oh! I should probably mention that I didn't get Accel on my first try at creation. Rune Skills aren't just something you stumble into perfect on the first try."
Jaune raised a brow, pushing off the wall. "Right... Goodwitch mentioned that. You can change them right?"
"Sort of." Ruby held up her hand, her Rune frame shimmering faintly across her forearm in a silver-red light. "When you get your first Rune, it's… raw and untamed. Sometimes— or rather, most of the time, it doesn't fit who you are yet. So, you test it and see if it's compatible with your fighting style. If it's not? You can 'imbue' it into an object and erase it from your dream vessel, and try again. It changes into a one-time use rune then."
Jaune frowned. "Hmm... sound like a lot of work, to be honest. Risky too, in combat situations."
"It is," Ruby admitted with a nod. "You only get so many chances to make one before you start to stagnate behind your age group. I personally went through two Rune skill cycles before settling on Accel."
Jaune tilted his head. "What were they? Your previous two rune skills?"
Her lips pressed into a small smile, almost embarrassed. "My first Rune was Beam. It let me shoot straight-line bursts of energy from my weapon. Sounds cool, right?"
Jaune nodded quickly. "Yeah, that sounds—"
"It wasn't," Ruby interrupted, shaking her head. "Not for me, anyway. It wasn't very accurate and didn't suit my fighting style. Half the time I just left scorch marks on the walls. The other half, I nearly blinded myself from the light." She chuckled sheepishly. "Yang still teases me about it."
Yang grinned wickedly, arms crossed. "Walking flashlight. The world's most aggressive lamp."
Ruby huffed, puffing her cheeks before continuing. "Anyway, I got rid of Beam and rolled Step for my second Rune. That one was… better. It gave me short-distance movement in quick bursts, kind of like teleportation but clunky and extremely aura intensive. Could barely use it. Every step would leave me winded and the timing was also awful. I couldn't chain it smoothly into my scythe swings, and it messed with my rhythm. But technically, it was stronger than my current Rune, Accel."
Jaune could almost picture it—Ruby vanishing mid-combo, reappearing half a step off and stumbling. It didn't fit her. He could see why she'd scrap it.
"So then you got Accel," he said softly.
Ruby's eyes lit up, her voice firmer. "Yeah. Accel was… it. Short-range bursts, but not disjointed like Step. Smooth and controllable. Like adding another beat to my rhythm instead of cutting the music. The second I tried it, I knew it fit."
Jaune found himself smiling faintly. It made sense. Ruby wasn't about blinking around or sniping beams of light. She was about speed, flow, momentum—her scythe cutting arcs in seamless motion.
He glanced toward Yang. "And you? What about you?"
Yang let out a low whistle and rolled her shoulders. "Oh, my Rune journey was a disaster compared to hers. I went through four before landing Kinetic."
Jaune blinked. "Four?"
"Yep." Yang held up four fingers and ticked them off one by one. "First one? Harden. Gave me a temporary armor shell. Useful, but I'm not exactly the 'turtle up and hide' type. I like hitting things, not standing around waiting to get hit."
"Second was Pulse. Let me send out little vibration shockwaves from my body. Kinda fun, but it didn't scale well. Felt like I was pushing grimm over instead of actually hurting them."
"Third was Drain." Yang grimaced. "That one… sucked. Literally. I could siphon stamina from whoever I hit. Sounds cool in theory, but the effect was a bit weak for my fighting style. And honestly kinda gross. Made me feel like a leech. Can't believe I thought it was a good idea."
Ruby snorted. "You were grumpy the entire week you made that one."
"Damn right I was," Yang muttered, folding her arms. "Finally, I tried again and landed Kinetic. It just… clicked. Every punch I throw, every hit I take, I can store the force, build it up, and release it when I want. Fits me like a glove." She raised her gauntleted fists, grinning. "Pun intended."
Jaune smirked at that. "So it's not just about getting a Rune—it's about getting the right one."
"Exactly," Ruby said firmly. "A Rune defines you in combat. If it doesn't fit your style, you're holding yourself back."
Jaune leaned back, his thoughts racing. How many iterations would he need? Would his Rune be something that clicked right away, or would he stumble through useless skills like they had?
Before he could voice it, a sharp knock echoed against the training room door.
Yang glanced over her shoulder. "Huh. Didn't think we had an audience."
She strode across the chamber and keyed the panel. The door slid open with a hiss, revealing three figures. Nora stood front and center, Rune frame gleaming faintly along her arms like jagged arcs of lightning. Ren was beside her, calmer as always, his frame forming faint green lines up his forearms. They were accompanied by none other than Counselor Vex who had left him earlier to get situated with gun training.
The lady gave him a friendly nod. "Arc. How's training coming along?"
Jaune smile at her instinctively, gripping his sword tighter. "It's pretty good so far. Ruby and Yang have been teaching me a lot of things. What's going on?"
Vex stepped inside, her eyes scanning the chamber briefly before landing back on Jaune. "Im glad that you're adjusting well. Effective immediately, you will be placed into a squad. Special training will commence to ensure you understand proper procedures when entering the Dream Realm."
Jaune blinked, glancing at Ruby and Yang before looking back at him. "Wait, squad? Special training? I mean—I get it, but… all in one day? Isn't this kind of… a lot?"
Vex's expression didn't change, probably expecting his question. "Unfortunately, it is necessary."
"Why?"
"Because," Vex explained simply, "you are an operative now. Your duty will be to patrol sectors and clear Nightmare Zones—whether they are infested by Grimm or not. This will rarely be a solo affair. Squad-based combat is the standard, and your survival depends on knowing procedure."
She stepped forward, her chocolate hair draped braid swinging wildly. "Besides, the only way to exit the Dream Realm is to slay a grimm of your rank. If you aren't careful of the risks, or if you fail to coordinate properly, you might get yourself killed."
The weight of her words pressed down like a physical force. Jaune swallowed hard, his throat suddenly feeling a little dry.
"So yes," Vex continued evenly, "we are cramming you with knowledge. Just remember that hesitation or ignorance is not an excuse once you are inside. Your life, and the lives of your squad-mates will depend on this."
Jaune looked down at his sword, the reflection of the chamber's lights glinting along its edge. He felt the old nervous flutter return, the fear that maybe he wasn't ready. But slowly, he nodded.
"…Alright. I understand."
Ruby gave him an encouraging smile. Yang clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. Nora was practically bouncing in place, while Ren simply inclined his head in quiet acknowledgment.
Survival huh?
That felt like an oddly funny word to Jaune for some reason.
.
.
Honestly, I haven't yet decided who Jaune is going to end up with, yet. I'm going to just build interaction with all the characters and probably reveal it on the final arc. I'm not very good at writing romance, but I'll try my best. Any suggestions for pairings?
AN: Advanced chapters(up to 10) and character images(free) are available on patreon.