ushernet Ship, bullets, and question.
Ship, bullets, and question.
As always, if anyone wants to support me or just read 3/7 chapters, you can do so on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories.
That said, good night and happy reading!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
How could I start creating these matrices?
"The exact size of the vessel is one hundred eighty-six meters in length (606.955 feet), thirty-three meters in wingspan (108.268 feet), and twelve meters in height (39.3701 feet)..."
The ship was large, so I had some space to work with, but I couldn't leave the matrices disorganized. The barrier matrix primarily, or in this case, the matrices, I would need to see where I would place them.
I would also need to create a matrix at the front of the ship. The front of this thing was square, so wind would be a hindrance, even if minimal. A matrix using Wind Dust should suffice.
The matrix could also assist in turning the ship and decelerating. I would just need to adjust a few things to make it possible...
"The vessel contains two main engines, one at the front of the central body and the other at the rear. The vessel also contains four secondary engines, located on the outer propellers..."
I could use the engines as core points. Two internal matrix cores and four external cores, so if one or several matrices were damaged, the ship's defenses wouldn't fall.
I would need to replace the engines too or at least modify them. Even though Dust-powered engines were useful, with the mana in Dust serving not only as fuel for the engines but also for the matrices, I still preferred the A.R.C. Reactors.
The comparison of the energy generated by these two wasn't even funny, and since this ship was enormous, extra energy would be welcome.
"The vessel also contains twenty Dust cannons on each side. It also has ten launchers of... General, I don't think he's listening."
"I'm listening." I instinctively responded to the Ace-Ops woman presenting the ship's features. "I'm just thinking about a few things. Please continue, I'm listening."
I could feel her displeasure from afar. The irritation too, which I assumed was due to my 'lack of attention.' This Ace-Ops was hot-tempered, wasn't she? Where was Clover? That guy was way cooler.
I ignored the look from the woman who, for some reason, had her hair styled like two rabbit ears and turned to James.
"This ship is different from the other mothership out there." I pointed towards where I knew the Atlesian fleet was. "Any specific reason for that?"
"Mainly politics. I had an easier time bringing this ship in than if I had brought another large Atlesian ship."
I glanced at the students and Jinn. They were looking at the ship with varying degrees of emotion, mostly revolving around surprise and admiration.
At least the students, Jinn seemed just her usual self, content.
"Was this the prototype you mentioned was discarded?" Ozpin asked beside me.
"You gave me a prototype? If this thing fails and falls from the sky, I'm going to complain." I joked. And by complain, I meant I was going to steal an Atlas ship myself.
James didn't waste any time explaining.
"The Proto-A-001 is a discarded project, but not defective. The only reason the project was discarded was due to the high production cost and the significant fuel consumption."
"Why is the fuel cost higher?" I knocked on the nearest wall, making it echo. "Is it because of the weight?"
James nodded.
"The Proto-A-001 weighs about thirty percent more than its currently used counterpart. Although its defense is also greater, the fuel cost to maintain the same speed isn't worth it."
"That's what I figured..." It was easy to see that this ship was more robust than the other one out there, not to mention it was also bigger. "How did this thing get off the drawing board? Wasn't this inefficiency supposed to be noticed in the project?"
"Construction continued to facilitate the improvement of subsequent ships."
"A study model then." James confirmed with a nod.
Frankly, I didn't mind the extra fuel cost due to the additional weight. I could easily handle that with Mystic Symbols and Runes matrices, but...
"I'm going to need extra Dust for this."
"I figured as much. I've already added the equivalent of thirty percent of the weight to the cargo that came with the ship."
James was a smart guy.
"How many people are needed to command this thing? I'm guessing more than one."
James looked at the Ace-Ops woman, who, in turn, resumed explaining the ship.
"The Proto-A-001 was configured to operate with an estimated crew of five on the control panels. But it is possible that one experienced person could command the vessel alone."
"I hope the manual for this thing was included in the package."
"I've arranged for instructors for the classes. But yes, there is a manual." James commented with a laugh.
"I'll take the manual." I said before turning to Jinn. "Do you know how to drive this thing?"
"I have the knowledge, yes, but not the practice." She answered with a growing smile.
"Want a job?" At least while I was in Remnant, since I wasn't sure if she'd want to come with me to Terraria.
"Will I be called Captain Jinn?"
"If you want, yes." I didn't care at all about the title.
"Done!" She didn't hesitate to respond.
That was incredibly easy. I didn't even have to talk about the salary, not that I wouldn't pay, but still...
"I want to be in charge of the artillery!" Ruby didn't hesitate. She looked around before adding, "Dibs! I called it first!"
Nora seemed a bit miffed by this but then smiled.
"The artillery is on both sides! I'll take the opposite side from Ruby!"
"Dibs on the co-pilot or co-captain position." Yang jumped into the conversation right after.
"You don't have the slightest idea of how to pilot this thing." Weiss pointed out.@@@@
"It can't be that hard."
"Even you don't believe those words." Blake commented.
"Do you think there's time for me to request a position?" I heard Jaune ask in a somewhat vague tone to Ren, who shrugged. Pyrrha gave Jaune two pats on the shoulder, as if encouraging him to ask.
("Ruby, is firing missiles as cool as cutting down trees?")
I shook my head, amused by the whole scene.
"Does Beacon's insurance cover damage from ballistic missiles?" I turned to Ozpin.
"Unfortunately not, and it's not for lack of trying on my part." Ozpin responded calmly.
"Cow?"
"What a shame... I'm not paying if they blow something up."
"Cow?!"
Fortunately, nothing was blown up before or after the 'tour' of the ship ended. I also hadn't decided what name to give this thing yet.
[...]
After the tour of the ship, teams JNPR and RWBY returned to Beacon. The former went back to their activities, and according to Jaune, they wanted to have a light training session in preparation for the festival.
Ruby and the others, although they had said they wouldn't train today, ended up deciding to join the other four for a light training session as well.
That is, of course, after they had 'rightfully claimed' a room in the ship's dormitory. There were ten residential rooms on the first floor of the ship, each large enough to accommodate about ten people, which was more than enough space for the four of them.
I didn't quite understand why they wanted to move some of their things into that room, given that the ship was going to Terraria with me, but I wasn't foolish enough to deny the request.
"Are you going to start remodeling the ship right now?" Jinn asked me as we entered the command room.
"No. I'll need to draft some plans to be sure of how the matrices will fit before I actually start setting everything up." I said casually.
I paused for a moment before adding, "I also need to remove all the paint from the ship. I want to use my own."
Even though it was high-quality paint, it still lacked materials in its composition, materials that would make the Mystic Symbols and Runes more efficient.
Jinn hummed in response, keeping her eyes on the ship's control panel.
"About Salem. What do you think she'll do?" I asked after a few seconds of silence, bringing the attention of the only other two people in the room to me: Ozpin and Jinn.
James had left the ship with his agents after a brief conversation. As for Qrow, the old crow had gone with the students to oversee their training, if needed.
I was sure he just wanted to enjoy his free time and laugh if anyone screwed up.
"What are the chances she'll just give up on the invasion Cinder was planning for the Vytal Festival?" I activated the game table as I asked, so Jinn could speak normally.
It was amazing how having the Spirit of Knowledge as an ally made gathering information easier. An invasion of Vale along with the White Fang... The chaos this crappy plan would cause...
"Salem is patient. Discarding this plan and waiting a few years doesn't make any difference to her." Ozpin was the first to respond. "But knowing her after all these years, I don't think she'll do that. At least not in this case."
"I agree. Salem won't stop the invasion." Jinn commented next. "In fact, there's a good chance she'll come personally after the invitation you made."
"I don't remember inviting the Grimm Queen to visit me."
Ozpin scoffed at my words.
"Are you sure?" Jinn glanced away from the panel and looked at the lamp hanging from my waist. "You didn't make much of an effort to be subtle when you were walking around Mistral with the Relic of Knowledge at your waist. Not to mention I was literally walking right beside you—"
"Salem has never seen you in person." I pointed out. The argument was thinner than a saucer.
"She knows my appearance from the statues at Haven. Leonardo also described how I looked to her." Jinn continued without missing a beat.
"And then, just a few days after acquiring the Relic of Knowledge, you appeared in Shade, accompanied by an unknown woman and were greeted by the Headmaster of the academy himself."
"All just a mere coincidence." I whistled calmly.
"Salem will surely think so too and not that you now have three of the four relics." Jinn said with amusement. "If that's not an invitation for her, I don't know what is."
Alright... Even though I didn't actually have the crown, given that Ozpin threw it into the sea, Salem didn't know that. What she knew was that if she came to me, she could collect three relics at once, leaving only the Atlas one remaining.
Although there was a chance she might go to Atlas, which worried me quite a bit, the chance was minimal and, even if it happened, I could still show up there if necessary.
I considered James an ally, and he considered me one as well. Even though he wasn't in Atlas, the army he led was, and after a simple pronouncement from the man, there were plenty of targets for the WormHole Potion.
"I wasn't subtle at all." I admitted without any shame.
"You want to draw Salem in." Ozpin stated. I didn't deny it. "Why?"
"I'm going to kill her."
Ozpin and Jinn were silent for a moment before the former sighed while the latter laughed.
"James, I know your arm is metal, but your legs aren't! Bend your knees and use your thigh muscles!"
"Tortuga, focus on the muscles in your chest and back together! Don't try to use one at a time!"
Devas shouted orders one by one while running alongside the seven. With each order, he pointed out an error and poked a muscle on the person. Sometimes it was their back, sometimes their stomach or abdomen.
Even with the Ace-Ops's and James's training, less than an hour later, the seven were panting and leaning on their knees.
"Ten-minute break, drink water and we'll get back to running! We'll do this two more times before we finish training!"
"Just one?" I hid my smile while taking a sip of coffee.
"Alright, maybe a few more." Miss Jinn laughed.
[...]
POV: Roman Torchwick
"I wasn't expecting a visit from you today." Damn, I wasn't even mentally prepared for this!
The monster in the room blinked, confused, before lowering his head and looking at Neo.
"You didn't tell him?" Neo's response was only a silent laugh.
Neo, damn it! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!
"I should have anticipated this, actually..." Devas murmured before turning to me. "I came to pick up the goods. The Dust and the ammo."
I took a deep breath before replying.
"Junior lent me the warehouse; it's all back there." I pointed with my thumb over my shoulder. "I didn't manage to get much Dust; it looks like a very attractive thief stole a good part of the Vale's stock, but I have all the ammo."
"Did his bedroom mirror break?" I heard brat 1 ask from the other side of the counter.
"He's old; it must be cataracts." Brat 2 replied.
I ignored the uncultured and unrefined opinions of the twins and focused on the monster in the room.
"I didn't see any robbery in the news, so I'm assuming you bought the ammo and Dust with the money I gave you." Devas pointed, taking a sip of his juice. "Or the metals I gave you, in this case. Did you manage to sell everything?"
Did this guy never drink alcohol?
"Of course I bought them. I'm a completely honest citizen." I raised my right hand and put my left hand on my chest.
"The damn fleet flying over the city and the soldiers patrolling the streets have nothing to do with it." Neo waved her hands quickly. "Nothing at all~"
Devas huffed and let out a short laugh but didn't comment further.
The funniest part of all this is that the Atlas fleet and soldiers weren't the main reason I didn't steal the ammo and Dust. The guy in front of me was.
"As for the metals, I managed to sell almost everything. I reached out to some old contacts who deal with that sort of thing, but even they were surprised by the amount of material." I explained after a few seconds.
Where Devas had gotten those tons of iron, copper, and lead, I didn't know, nor did I want to know; it wasn't my business. But his Semblance was ridiculously overpowered, that was certain.
Or whatever that place was where he kept all those things. At this point, if he said it was magic, I'd believe it.
Without me seeing any movement, Devas's hand blurred and went towards his waist. More specifically, towards the strange lamp, clearly made of gold, on his waist.
I wasn't even surprised when, instead of closing his hand around thin air, he closed it around Neo's wrist.
"What did they teach you about stealing?"
"Not to get caught." Neo signaled quickly with one hand.
"At least you're honest." Devas looked at the wrist he was holding. "Or almost. Pick your target better next time."
"Aren't you going to tell me not to steal anymore?"
"Easier to teach a fish to climb a tree." Devas laughed to himself before letting go of Neo, who smiled and waved in agreement.
"I knew I liked you for some reason." She signaled quickly.
"It must be some curse that was put on me." His words only made Neo's smile grow.
It was kind of terrifying how well these two got along... I wonder if I could throw Neo at him and manage to escape before they realized I was gone?...
"So, do you want me to take you to the goods?" I stood up and adjusted my clothes, pushing these thoughts aside.
Life was good; I liked living.
Devas nodded with his chin while standing up and waving at Junior.
"Lead the way."
It didn't take more than a few minutes to reach the warehouse that Junior had lent me to store Devas's stuff, and it didn't take even a second for everything to disappear into thin air.
"Tens of thousands of rounds and tons of Dust, and it all disappeared in a second..." I whistled, impressed. "The perfect Semblance for a thief."
Maybe I was a little envious, but just a little. My Semblance was cooler than his; I just needed to learn how to control it...
"You're not the first to say that." Devas commented. "How much do I owe you?"
"To be honest, the change from the metals I sold is already a good enough payment." More than enough, actually. I'm not dumb or greedy enough to lie to this guy.
Devas looked at me for a moment before nodding.
"Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you." Devas said before starting to walk away.
"Leaving already?" Neo signaled quickly. "We haven't even had a drink yet. I have some gossip about Roman to share!"
"Three tubs of ice cream." I said out loud.
Neo opened her hand.
"Deal." Five tubs of ice cream were a small price. "Until next time, Devas, I enjoyed doing business with you." I waved to the man.
Devas looked at the scene for a moment before shaking his head.
"Take care of yourselves; I'll keep in touch." He waved as he left. "Message me if you need help."
It's amazing how those words were both comforting and threatening at the same time. I really preferred never to be in a situation where I needed this guy's help.
Because, damn it, wasn't it enough that the past Roman drank and gave me headaches? Now the future Roman will cause problems too?!
Apparently, the only Roman I can trust is the present Roman...
[...]
POV: Devas Asura
"You get along with them." Jinn stepped out of the relic as we arrived around Beacon.
"They're not bad company."
"Few would say that about one of the Vale's greatest thieves and a clear sociopath," Jinn pointed out.
I shrugged.
"It happens, what can you do."
Jinn shook her head, amused.
"Are you going to sleep or do you plan to work on the ship?"
"I'm going to sort out some things on the ship and do a bit of training," I said. I needed to figure out what to do with the angel feathers and fallen angels.
I'd made some plans and sketched a few designs, but I was still unsure about what I wanted to do. As much as making wings would be the easiest option, I didn't think it would be very useful.
Flying would be handy, of course, but probably not at a speed faster than I could run.
Maybe I could try making the wings create a platform beneath my feet, rather than making me float? That way, I could run through the air, which would be much faster, even if it limited things a bit.
It's possible, but it would be quite complicated...
Maybe if I used the double jump tattoo as a basis to create the matrix, it might work. Wind Dust should help too, as well as the feathers themselves. Isn't there something in DXD where beings don't literally fly, but use the concept of flight to stay aloft?
At least the Devil wings had something like that. Those ugly PNGs, the only way those things worked. Maybe the angel and fallen angel wings would work similarly.
Well, I'll figure that out later. For now, I had a question to ask...
"What are you going to train?" Jinn asked after we returned to the spot where the ship had landed. "Do you need my help with anything?"
"Actually." I turned to the blue woman. "Jinn, I want to ask you a question."
Then the world froze.
From what she had explained, everyone in the relic user's group could receive the answer to the question, which led to a discussion: Who and how many should be with me when I asked Jinn the question?
My presence alone already messed with some things in the relic, so after a conversation with Ozpin and the others, the best decision we reached was that I should ask the question alone.
Of course, the stream was on to record everything and act as an extra deterrent if something went wrong. It was better for the question to fail and nothing explode than for the question to fail and something explode.
"Tell me then, Devas. What question do you wish to ask?" Jinn smiled as time froze and extended her hand towards me.
I shaped my mana into a fireball in the palm of my hand before dispersing it and shaking her hand.
I was still getting the hang of using Remnant's magic. I was much better than before, but it was still a work in progress.
Let's speed up this process then...
"Tell me, Jinn... How did the people of Remnant use magic in ancient times?"
Nothing happened for a moment, and I began to think something had gone wrong.
Then a message from the stream appeared.
[The Relic of Knowledge: Jinn requests access to your 'Spiritual Realm']
[Allow/Deny]
I looked at the message for a moment before making my decision.
"I allow it."
Then the world around me shattered like glass.
[...]---[...]
Any theories on what might happen?... One person kind of nailed it, and I'm curious to see if more people guess correctly. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
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