Chapter Text
“First, I would like to congratulate you all on passing initiation. It is an honor to teach the next generation of hunters!” Said a tall fat man with a mustache. My eyes gazed along the seats, I was in the back of the class, able to get a full view of everyone. I don’t remember how I got here. I thought this was some massive joke but no one in their right mind would waste money for a set up like this.
I’ve seen this lecture hall before and this fat teacher. I recognized a timid blonde boy and an energetic redhead. And that damn hood. No way . I thought. I better not be inside of a game world!
***
Remnant Online (or RO for short) is a VRMMO based on the web series RWBY. It came out a few years after the show was completed. It was both hardcore action and school romance game. Which was weird because the school romance portion was only the base game which covered up to Volume 3. The main quest started by either choosing Ruby Rose or Jaune Arc as the player character. Player made characters had their own questline that took place alongside the ‘canon’.
The first three volumes got expanded immensely because of it being a video game. Volumes four and after were implemented as expansions a few months apart from one another. RO became a massive success. But after many beloved years, the company hosting the servers lost funding. But that didn’t stop the developers from going out without a bang.
In the final month of service, the developers announced a cataclysm event. It was sudden, every canonically dead villain was brought back to life, causing mayhem across the game world. It truly was the end of a world. The questline was the toughest in the game’s history. And I was the first to finish it.
At the end of the questline. I was given a prompt to “transport and start a new game”. I found the wording strange but I thought it to be a typo of “transfer” as in transferring my data. I selected yes. It didn’t give me an option to create a character. Before I could question why, I was suddenly in the lecture hall.
***
Well I’m out of stupid reasons for why I’m here… guess I’ll have to deal with it. I thought. But now I have questions about my situation.
The first question was if I was in the game or if this is my new reality? When playing RO, it was very easy to tell that it was a game when looking at the characters and certain architecture. Characters still had that anime artstyle to them and some visual bugs when it came to large structures. But sitting in class right now was very much different. The people here looked like actual humans. And certain details that the game never had, such as slight creaking of the seat when a student moved, or a student’s clothes wrinkling.
I remember that the interface was very minimal. Health and stamina was based on how you felt, so there was no display for it. And Aura was only able to be tracked via scroll.
My second question was: what happened to my original body? I felt taller, way taller than I was before. And if what the prompt said was true, then my body in the real world would be gone. Unless it took my consciousness which would explain my different body.
My last question was: did I even want to go back home? Sure I had some reasons. I was barely in my mid twenties, I had a lot of years ahead of me, and I had a stable job. But then again, there wasn’t much waiting for me if I came back either… should I ever come home, I’ll deal with it when I get there.
In front of me was the schedule given to first year students. Grimm Studies, World History, Lunch, Combat, Dust Application. Four periods of instruction. Another note on it mentions that the order of classes may change day to day to fit the curriculum. I folded it and stuffed it into my pocket. A bell rang and the teacher up front announced the end of his class. The schedule also noted that today will be shortened for students to spend more time exploring the school.
I stood up from my seat. But I didn’t move yet, I kept my eyes on the door. I looked at each student leaving and put it against my memory of RO. After the last student left, so did I. I walked through the grand halls of Beacon. Seeing it in such high quality was unreal, but it's reality now. I thought of the names of each student, of course I remember the main characters. But I counted eleven. Wasn’t there supposed to be twelve?
But then it dawned on me. I stopped walking and turned my head to the hall’s windows to see my reflection. I saw an orange haired prick looking back at me.
What the fuck? I’m Cardin Winchester?!
***
The next few days felt like hell mentally. I was remembering a lot of Cardin’s school memories, which was the only reason I was able to even answer most questions in class. And the homework—while easy—was too much, too many questions.
I was hunched over my desk, finishing the last question for history. I then rested my head down and groaned, mentally exhausted.
“You seriously finished Oobleck’s homework today? We had the whole weekend.” I picked my head up and looked over. Shitty Mohawk was sitting on his bed, not bothering to even look at the homework.
“Shut it, Russel. I want to relax this weekend. And I’d rather not get stressed out over unfinished homework when Monday comes. We officially start dueling next week.” I said as I stowed at my homework.
Living with Team Cardinal (CRDL) was quite an experience. The game rarely showed off how CRDL functioned by itself other than in combat. They were the antagonists in every scene they were in. So I was surprised when I noticed some quirks about my teammates. Russel was cocky, messy, but a brilliant artist. Sky was soft spoken but animated when talking about weapons. And Dove… he knits. Very surprising indeed.
Russel hopped out of bed and patted me in the back. “I’m gonna head out and meet up with Dove and Sky. You coming?” He asked me. I rejected his offer, I had other things to do. Russel nodded and left the room.
Now alone, I thought about this new life. I’m in Cardin’s body, but what happened to the original? I won’t be like him, but that might affect the game’s story. The whole Jaunedice Questline relied on Cardin’s blackmail on Jaune, which in turn would make Jaune stand up for himself after a week or two.
I pulled out my scroll and checked the calendar. Next week is the start of dueling, and then the week after is when Jaundice is supposed to start.
It wasn’t too late in the day. With the week I’ve spent here so far. I’ve thought of my main goal. To live better than the original Cardin. And also hope that the canon doesn’t get too fucked up.
I stepped out of the team room and made my way to the training rooms. I glanced at RWBY and JNPR’s door. Should I mess with canon? If I play things out right, Pyrrha could be alive. But that’s already a big change…
I pushed the thought down. It was too early in the timeline for that.
I changed into my combat gear and grabbed my weapon. I thought myself lucky since I used maces as my preferred weapon in RO. But Cardin’s mace felt awful to hold. It barely counted as a mace.
Another thing: the armor. I didn’t like it. In RO, Aura was the main thing protecting players. Armor was good in the early game, since people were more reckless and let their aura break. But in the end game, armor was basically cosmetic, the moment your Aura shatters, you die in a matter of seconds. And despite that, I loved fighting without Aura.
I’ll get some new threads later. I thought. Pretty much all of them were taken. You had to reserve a time slot, which is something I forgot to do. So instead, I walked into a random room and hoped whoever was in it would be so kind to let me join.
I heard the sound of metal against metal and the dinging of the score counter. I looked at the center of the room and I immediately regretted choosing this room. Fiery red hair and bronze armor, Pyrrha Nikos maneuvered around the training bots with ease. I glanced at the display on the wall: 20 bots defeated, level 5, 9 minutes and counting.
Nice to know Pyrrha is a genuine beast of a fighter. The training bot levels ranged from 0 to 10, so 5 was not something to scoff at, especially with the amount she’s already dealt with. I continued to watch, mesmerized by how efficient her fighting style was. But there was something I noticed. She was openly using her semblance. If I remember correctly, she didn’t use it much in private.
The timer on the display rang and the training bots stopped immediately. Pyrrha wiped a bead of sweat from her brow as she caught her breath. I cleared my throat. “Pyrrha Nikos. No surprise seeing Mistral’s champion training.” Pyrrha’s face twitched slightly.
Pyrrha turned her whole body to face me. “Oh, hello!” She said in that soft tone that I remember. “Were you waiting long?”
“Just got here. All the rooms were packed so I just picked randomly” I shrugged. “I’m Cardin Winchester, you wouldn’t mind if I joined?”
Pyrrha glanced away. “Actually, I was going to cut my training short today. You can use the rest of the time I reserved.” She said, she then walked past me in a hurry. She was wary of me from the moment she I spoke…
I bet it’s because I mentioned her accomplishments in Mistral. I thought. Pyrrha’s reaction was expected. Screw it. Let’s just get to training.
I connected my scroll to the room terminal. I set it to level 2. Which means these bots should be on the same strength as an average first year. I set a timer for 10 minutes. The training bots stood by the edge of the room. They were sleek in design, and looked like mannequins. In their face was a screen that would display its health which is supposed to represent Aura Level. As I turned on the training mode, I activated my Aura.
An orange hue highlighted my body. This was the first time I activated my Aura since coming to Remnant. So this is what Aura feels like… My body felt lighter and stronger. The armor I’m wearing felt like normal clothes now instead of heavy metal. This feels amazing.
I rushed at the first bot, ducked under its swing and knocked it at the side of its head. That took out half of the bot’s health. Another swing and the bot flew back to the ground. The display overhead dinged. One point.
I kept this up for the whole ten minutes. The bots got a lot of good hits on me. I struggled the most when I didn’t get rid of a bot in time and another one joined the fight. It was hard for me to multitask more than one target.
At the end of the 10 minutes. My aura was at 20%, in the red. I set the bots to level 3 and put in time for 5 minutes. I’ll have to train to fight even if my Aura breaks.
Those 5 minutes were hell. Level 3 was a significant increase in difficulty that I didn’t account for. And Cardin’s muscle memory didn’t help. After two and a half minutes, my Aura shattered. At 3 minutes, my nose was bleeding and my armor was dented. At 4 minutes, my clothes were torn and I had scratches all over my body.
“Come on! Is that all you got!” I roared. My body was on fire and my limbs felt like stone. But I rushed forward with my mace raised high .
Suddenly, my body and the bot stopped instantly. A purple glow highlighted me and the bot. Aw shit…
“Mr. Winchester. I hope you know that fighting without aura is incredibly dangerous…” Glynda Goodwitch, the combat instructor of Beacon…
“Yeah, I know all that. Also, why’re you here? Does Beacon have surveillance in these rooms?” I asked as Glynda let go of her hold.
“Beacon monitor’s Aura levels in active training rooms. And yours was off for…” she checked her scroll, “two minutes now.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t constantly use my Aura. It’s just a booster to your body. Might as well train my normal body in combat too.”
“What you’re saying is not wrong. But I’d prefer if you did Auraless sparring with your team instead of these training bots…” And with that, Glynda left the training room.
I didn’t bother to change out of the armor. It was trash at this point. I locked my weapon away and walked back to my Team Room.
“Holy Shit, you look like you got jumped!” Russel said when I entered the room. The rest of CRDL was back from their trip in Vale.
“Nothing like that. I just went a bit too hard in the training rooms.”
***
In Remnant Online, I was known as KoR, or King of Remnant. I was a solo player, sure I was part of a guild but I was only present for very specific events. My semblance did not work with other players.
In RO, semblances were unlocked by a questline that was generated for the player. RO had an AI specifically made for making Semblances and making questlines.
***
“This begins the official start of Beacon’s Combat Curriculum. This class will cover basic team strategies for Grimm encounters. And one-on-one fights between students.” Glynda Goodwitch said to the crowd. She stood in the center of the arena with her riding crop being used to point.
“Overhead will display your Aura levels while inside as well as a timer for your bouts.” Glynda then pulled out her scroll. I looked over and saw Jaune visibly shaking. It wasn’t hard to feel sorry for the guy. Especially since he’s the ‘Zero to Hero’ kind of character.
Playing as him in the early game was not well received at launch. His playstyle was very command oriented, meaning he worked best only being near his team. Compared to Ruby’s fast paced playstyle and ability to be independent, Jaune was basically a glorified point and clicker. Thankfully in later updates, Jaune was more enjoyable to play in the main story.
“We shall begin now. Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc, go to the locker rooms and change over. You two will be the first duel of the year.” I looked over at Jaune and he looked at me. And for some reason, I smirked at him. When we walked to the locker room, I realized what I was doing.
Why did I do that? I thought. For some reason, I just felt super cocky. Are these Cardin’s emotions?
Since my armor was busted. I changed into a simple blue jeans and hoodie combo. Just like Jaune’s except I didn’t have that stupid Pumpkin Pete logo. I had the Winchester family crest in the back. A golden bird with its wings spread. I found it funny that an aristocratic family had merch.
Jaune was silent as we changed over, so was I. When we stood across from each other, that’s when he decided to talk.
“Let’s have a good match, Cardin…” Jaune said, lacking confidence in his words. And that annoyed me a lot. Even though it shouldn’t, it did. I guess I should play into my villain role…
I sneered at him. “This better not be a waste of my time…” I said to him, Jaune visibly shrunk back. Shit, now I kinda feel bad.
Glynda stood at the edge of the arena. “Both fighters ready? Begin!” She calls out.
For a solid five seconds, neither of us moved. I stood tall, relaxed. And Jaune had his guard up, visibly shaky but held a determined face. He rushed at me with a sloppy downward swing. I dodged right, reeled back and swung. The mace head crashed into his shoulder, knocking him a few paces back.
I glanced up and saw Jaune’s aura reserve. My hit dealt 15%. Decent I would say, but didn’t seem to stop Jaune. He rushed again, this time with his shield up. I clashed with my shoulder, pushing against each other. I took the opportunity to spin around and swing. But to my surprise, so did Jaune, the bastard followed me and hit me square in the face with his shield.
Aura down by 12%! I yelled internally. I held a hand to my nose. Oh right, Aura stops bones from breaking… Jaune seems more determined compared to canon…
The fight went on for a few minutes. It felt more like a slug fest than a duel. Jaune had that farm boy strength but none of the technique of a swordsman. He even hit me more with the hand holding his sword, and his shield.
My aura was at 60%, Jaune’s was at 23%. Time to end this stupid fight. I threw my mace at Jaune. He took the bait and blocked it, which momentarily obscured his vision. He was able to reach in and grab his head. And to the shock of the class, I head butted Jaune until his Aura hit red. The buzzer rang signaling the end of the match. Jaune fell to the ground holding his face.
“Waste of my time…” I muttered as I stood tall and faced the class.
“Congratulations Winchester, your technique is a bit rough, definitely room to improve. And Arc, despite wielding a sword, you rarely used it. Please be sure to have an appropriate weapon or train more… Both of you change over.” Glynda said as he looked between the two of us. She then addressed the class. “Time for the next bout! Russel Thrush vs Ruby Rose!”
***
I don’t want to be an asshole, but if I’m going to keep the canon from diverging then I’ll have to deal with it. Even if it makes me sick.
In the locker room, I went over to Jaune and pushed his shoulder. “What was that? It’s like you’ve never fought before.”
“Hey, I got you down to sixty percent.” Jaune said in defense.
Unwanted emotions rose in me. “You got lucky. You’re still garbage compared to the rest!” I shoved him again. “Also what's the point of having a sword when you're not gonna use it?!” Jaune silently glared at me. After a second of silence, I just scoffed and walked away. “Just from that fight, I can tell you don’t belong here.”
After leaving, I cursed at myself. What was that? It’s as if Cardin is still here… I thought. Emulating Cardin might not be hard if his lingering emotions affect me… but Cardin was a school yard bully; knocking books out of hands, shoving people into lockers… and racist…
Fuck… Now I’m not sure how to go about playing The Bully…
Now that I think about it, Jaune was more confident in our fight. Strange… He should still be a pushover until after Jaundice.
***
When in our respective seats, Russel and Ruby’s match just finished. Russel was in the red with 10% while Ruby had 98%. That was pretty bad…
I felt a nudge in my arm. “Hey, Cardin?” Sky asked. “Why’d you go so hard on that Jaune guy? I mean, a headbutt? You’re crazy.”
“Because he’s terrible. He’s sloppy and has no technique. It baffles me how he even got into Beacon.” I said.
“Damn, first impression was that bad?”
I shrugged. The rest of the matches went on. Sky went against Ren, and Dove went against Yang. Dove did well enough to survive longer than Russel. His weapon was a glaive and used its reach to his advantage, keeping Ren away. But eventually Ren’s speed got the better of him and he lost. Ren was victorious with 80% Aura.
Dove’s fight was more or less a slaughter. Dove used wide heavy swings with his sword which Yang tanked to power up her semblance. Dove was caught by surprise by the increase of Yang’s speed and power. He was easily overwhelmed.
It’s no fault to them. RWBY and JNPR were anomalies amongst first years… this just means that I’ll have to make CRDL better than canon.
This is gonna be a long year…