Ozpin sent Mateo off to the library while he had some funds and gear allocated for his new not-student. Which Mateo doesn't really mind. It gives him time to stare—study! Yes. Look at books and not at the rearview of the strict blonde teacher leading him around the school. He wasn't this bad before… right? Sure, he has more strike zones than a bowling alley, but he could at least control his eyes before this whole age regression thing.
It was pure survival instinct that stopped him from talking. He opened his mouth to say something like "I don't want you to leave, but I love watching you walk away," before a cold shiver went up his spine. Which, yeah, fair. She probably doesn't have the smallest inkling of messing around with him.
But a man can dream.
As for the library itself? In the immortal words of an orange dumbass, "it's yuge. The biggest library. It might even be the best library." Terrible impressions aside, there was just so much shit to read. From old Mistralian cookbooks to A Dummy's Guide to Theoretical Dust Physics. But he spotted an especially interesting book: Auras, Semblances and the Inner Machinations of the Soul. It was overtly flowery in language, but informative. Like a poem that was trying to be a science textbook.
What really hooked him was the chants used to unlock Aura and the traditions behind them. Each continent had their own personal chant, all evolving from the first documented one. Oddly enough, the first chant was a marriage vow. The main religion at the time (which he couldn't be fucked to look into) stumbled upon it by accident during a wedding that got interrupted by a Grimm invasion. The priest panicked and was getting ready to book it like everyone else. But the bride-to-be was so fucking done that she just took over the vows and made some up on the fly while joining her spouse in combat against the Grimm.
"My love, mirror to my soul, light brought to me on my darkest day.
Though this world seeks to challenge us, shadows to break us, tragedy on this joyous day.
By your side, I stand. By my side, you shine. By each other, we shall thrive.
This I swear. In life. In death. In the memory of us long after we are gone."
Good on this lady. If he can respect any kind of mindset, it's the "fuck it, we ball." The sheer gall on her to be fighting Grimm and finishing her own wedding because fuck you, you're not ruining my perfect day. Oh, he's an instant fan.
Of course, following that was a few decades of a trend where couples willing to be Hunters married to unlock Auras together and became some of the first "noble" families. Eventually, a standardized chant came about on each continent, so those who already had Aura unlocked could do it for others… in public.
Aura had been around long before that, but it usually awakened during times of great personal duress. These people were known as Hunter Errant. Knights were Aura users known to be in service to a royal family. It's been confirmed in records that before the documented marriage chant, there were various knightly chants… all lost to time, sadly.
It's theorized that kingdoms kept that knowledge private in order to control the general public. Sort of a "work for us, get powers if you're loyal" type deal.
Next came hereditary chants, which even gave the Schnee family line as an example. In order to develop a "bloodline" chant, a grandparent would have to recite a personal chant over two generations—meaning their child and grandchild, at the least. More often than not, the Semblance from that chant would directly copy the chanter's. Those that developed a variant Semblance were relegated to branch families… which is where things get fucky again.
So, if a hereditary family adopts someone from outside the family, and that someone has no Hunter blood for at least four generations, the family can still give them the chant. And more often than not, they'll develop the family Semblance anyway. All that to say, a "bloodline" chant doesn't actually give a shit about blood.
Chants to unlock an animal's Aura were also a thing. Someone even successfully awakened a tree once… which was cut down by their obnoxious neighbor a week later. That turned into a massive family feud that apparently still goes on to this day. Just more corporate warfare now—less weekly duels and… marital sabotage? Apparently, they have a thing for stealing each other's spouses. And in one rather detailed record, one of the men converted the fiancé of the rival family's woman to playing for the other team, got caught on purpose, and then dumped the guy he converted once the wedding fell apart.
Delicious drama aside, something caught his personal interest: teacher-student chants. Basically, a variant of the bloodline chant, meant for a Huntsman to train a direct student. The inherited Semblance wouldn't be a one-to-one copy of the teachers, but close enough.
Which gave him an interesting thought.
Mateo has multiple power systems. If he were to engage in a teaching chant, would his student's Semblance be related to one of those systems? Or could he refine that, to purposefully give his student access to one?
A Shinigami chant? Maybe. A Jujutsu chant? Devil Fruits probably wouldn't work… but Haki? That's teachable. Mostly through extreme violence, but teachable. Alchemy? Dangerous and doable, just requires knowledge, and a door of truth. Which he got through a cheat...
Then there's his whole adaptation deal. If he remembers right, spend enough time in a world and he can learn their power system. So… could he pass ninjutsu along through a Semblance eventually?
Oof. That's cursed.
Little Ruby with Fire Release? Beacon wouldn't survive, and Summer would put a bounty on his ass so large it'd break the economy.
---
Mateo spent the better part of an hour going through various books, science being the main takeaway. He needed periodic table knowledge to better use his alchemy. Beyond just reshaping what's already there, he had to actually convert materials into other things. Like, how much wood would he need to convert that into a kilogram of steel? Same with stone. What would he need in order to make himself a set of Mustang gloves?
A controlled cyclone of combustible gasses that he could snap his fingers to ignite? YES, PLEASE. Combining his Devil Fruit with alchemy would go absolutely crazy. Or Black Flashing a tornado-powered punch? MMM, Come to daddy. Fantasizing about possible badassery aside, he knew it'd take a lot of trial and error. He didn't even know what the hell his transmutation circle looked like yet, and he hadn't seen the show in years.
He had a lot on his plate, didn't he?
He needed to learn Jujutsu—his technique, and hopefully a Domain Expansion down the line. He needed to learn alchemy properly, not just the basics. He'd have to form a bond with his Zanpakuto… whenever his Semblance actually decided to give it to him. On top of that, he wanted to remake his favorite songs just to have a playlist again—and maybe make some money on the side while he was at it.
Then there was mastering his Devil Fruit and Haki, beyond manipulating wind for backup singers. Which by themselves were already a full-time job. After that, he'd have to somehow cobble all of it together into a functional fighting style and then keep adapting that style as he gained more power. And, of course, all of this had to happen while he was occasionally getting "shooped" into alternate universes to help people in need.
…Yeah.
He was a little busy.
"You seem busy."
"GAH! ... For someone in heels you move like a ghost when you want to." Mateo flinched hard when Glynda appeared behind him, A full suitcase placed before him on the table he was using. Within was 2 scrolls. A small phone model and a larger tablet model, along with a few Stacks of Lien. 50k, Life starting money. He could live frugal on tips from his busking and never worry about food.
"It helps me catch students before they make a fool of themselves and Beacon. From what I've heard from Ms. Rose, you not joining beacon is both a disappointment and a godsend."
"She told you about the thong song, didn't she?"
"No, at least not so blatantly. Merely that you have a penchant for music that may or may not be inappropriate."
"I didn't even write that one, It's just super catchy."
"Then I dearly hope that it somehow does NOT begin as an epidemic here on school grounds Mr. Stalleon. There's a Bullhead waiting to take you back to Vale at your leisure."
"Uh, before you go... Could I buy some of these books from your library? I know I could find them in the city probably, but why hunt for dinner when You have a chicken in the oven, right?"
"... Get a list and negotiate the exchange with the librarian."
---
HEY! LISTEN! I'm back, got some of my personal life in order and the Bakery is built, just needs paint. Not gonna lie, not a lot I want to do pre-story Remnant so now is the time to vote, right here on Webnovel.
1. Deku
2. Naruto
3. Tanjiro
4. Eren
5. GOKU!?
6. Ed and Al
7. Readers Choice. Toss a recommendation and see if it catches light.
Thine interaction Feeds me... and let me tell I'm starving.
Also. Decide for a reward for Matty. You may pick from Video Game maps.
No I'm not telling you how it's gonna work or when he'll receive it.