The Games We Play

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattles publishment at threads/rwby-the-gamer-the-games-we-play-disk-five.341621/. Anyway on with the show...err read.

Sea Level

The Leviathan released another steaming hiss as it opened its mouth wide—and damn, but the damn thing had teeth bigger than me. It lashed out with a gargantuan tongue, the dark pillar covered with tentacles and spines, the structure of the things reminiscent of jellyfish from hell. It shot past us as I ducked aside, holding a close grasp on Adam's cord and gathering power as I dodged. From my free hand and my firing spheres came a rush of bright lances, aimed for the exposed flesh of its tongue, its eyes, and its face.

The Magic Missiles bit deeply into the former, relatively speaking—I was fairly doubtful driving a meter of hardened Aura in the flesh of a creature that large amounted to anything—but only left scratches on its armor and bounced off its scaled eyes without penetrating. As the glow of my lances faded from its tongue, I saw activity in the tiny holes as they filled with red. It wasn't blood, however, but the interior matter of the Grimm and I could see flesh beginning to mend.

"Ho," I said, smiling. "I suppose those three digits aren't just for show, then."

Its tongue twitched slightly, reacting to what I suspected had been more of a prickling sensation than anything else by trying to swat at us. The motion was a minor one, but it was large enough that it blocked the sun from where we were standing and plunged us into a massive shadow. Even before the attack reached me, I could feel it pressing against me through the sheer amount of displaced air and I could sense that this attack, the simple lashing of a tongue, carried force enough to shake mountains.

I wondered, briefly, how I measured up. I wasn't strong enough to match this creature's physical power, I could tell that at a glance, but I was sure I could survive a hit or two. How far would it throw me before I recovered? How much of the force would I be able to resist? A part of me wanted to try and find out.

But not with Adam here.

I dodged again, Shedding three skins to carry us far enough to avoid the colossal blow. The air pressure as it swept past us was fiercer then any gale I'd ever encountered, but I forced myself to remain where I was by bracing my thoughts against it and pushing with Vimana. When the wind faded, the Leviathan gave another hiss of outrage that sent steam pouring across the surface of the lake and then slid back into the water with a crash that made massive waves rise around it. Coils of dark flesh rose like hills from the water as the Leviathan adjusted and circled, but it didn't immediately go on the attack.

If I had to guess, I'd say it was wondering if it should even bother. Daring as snubbing such a creature and escaping might seem, in truth I doubted it was even hurt. If anything, it was probably just annoyed at this point at being woken up and made to move around, and was considering whether or not it should go back to sleep, move elsewhere, or press the attack. Though several of its many eyes were peering up at me, it was like a tired man looking at an annoying fly that persisted on buzzing around the room—like it was wondering 'Are these dumb fucks stupid enough to keep bothering me or will they go away if I just ignore them?'

That was understandable, even intelligent. The Leviathan was large enough that it had to be a very intelligent predator and, as was often the case, it wasn't so much a question of whether victory was possible, but whether victory was easy. If you think about it logically, even a fifty-fifty chance is pretty shitty when it comes to a fight—that's a fifty percent chance you're going to die, after all, and for what? What do you stand to lose and what do you stand to gain? Whether you're a Hunter, an animal, or a monster, you have to wonder if a fight is worth it or not before risking your life.

So then, at what point did the odds become worth it for, say, a meal? Ten percent sucks a lot, in that case, because you figure you'll have ten meals and then you'll die. Even one in a hundred isn't that great for something you'll need to do regularly. Swatting an annoyance is even lower priority and though the Leviathan probably didn't think we looked like much, who knows? And there's always the chance that any deaths could draw unwanted attention, if only in the form of more annoyances, but there's always the chance someone dangerous could come along. Is it worth the bother for a housefly?

Probably not. Odds were good that if we both flew away right now, it probably wouldn't bother following.

But if a housefly suddenly turns into a tiger and starts chewing on your face, well…that's something that kind of demands a reaction.

"What do you think, Adam?" I asked. "It looks like it's giving us a chance to run. You feel like leaving now that you've seen it?"

Adam sniffed disdainfully.

"How strong is it?"

"Oh, twenty levels above us or so," I answered with an easy grin. "It's built like a fucking battleship though, I'll tell you that much. Might take a while to kill."

"Better then killing mooks for an hour," Adam stated. "Might actually be worth our time."

"Mm," I agreed.

Adam looked at the sky, presumably trying to judge how long it would be before classes started. Then he apparently remembered that he didn't actually give a shit about classes and gave a shrug.

"You think we can take him?" He asked. "I think we can take him."

I flashed my teeth at him in a fierce grin before tearing the silk parasail I'd woven around him. He fell about a foot before landing on a Psychokinetic platform and I braced him with a thought. I'd made the parasail both for Adam's sake and my own—Adam's because of his issues and mine because it saved time and energy. Making a Psychokinetic road was possible but meant Adam would need to run the whole way and we'd be limited by his speed. If I'd picked him up Psychokinetically, however, I'd need to spend not only the energy to support his weight, but also the energy required to move his mass up to whatever speed I desired—and maintain it all the way across the sea.

Which would have been both a huge pain in the ass, slow, and a lot of work. Also, it still would have pretty much been carrying him, defeating the point. It would have been a waste all around.

But for a fight, well, that was a bit different.

"Can't carry your ass around all day," I explained when he looked at me. "Well, I could, but I don't want to—tying us together would just make this more complicated."

He nodded, conceding that point without argument. He was probably thinking of about the same thing I was; of me pulling him all over whenever I did anything.

"How do you want to play this?" He asked.

"I'll say hello this time," I answered. "I'll have Xihai running support, so if you want to go down there, she'll hold you up until to get up to speed."

He grunted.

"Waves could be a problem," He said. "That thing's so fucking huge it makes them whenever it moves. Xihai'll shield me?"

"Mm," I confirmed. "But if you need to think three dimensionally, just say the word and I'll make platforms for you. And when I say 'say the word', I mean it; tell me if you want to go up, down, or whatever. Once you're in the air, things get tricky."

"Somebody should think of something for that," Adam noted.

"Somebody should learn to fucking fly," I replied. "We'll just have to practice it later until its second nature."

"Hmph," He snorted again. "Fine. Send your greeting card, then."

"I intended to," I replied, smiling widely as I held out a hand.

Lux Aeterna (Active) LV1 EXP: 99.04% MP: 14400

A glimpse of the endless light that gives form to Creation. Channeled in its pure state, without passing through the spheres, it is a destructive power, obliterating all that stands in its path. A skill that is only possible for those able to touch the undivided form of Light, it is a devastating attack, able to destroy armies and slag mountains, though for an equally tremendous price.

High chance of consuming nearby sources of light and energy, as well as unprotected projections of Aura.

Damage increases with the amount of energy consumed.

Current Base Damage: 100000%.

In an instant, there was nothing left but darkness and light. My illusions of bent light were torn away and devoured, leaving the cloak of my erupting Aura to spring free for a brief moment before following it into the open maw of my attack. The stars flickered out and the moonlight vanished as the light faded, drawn into my hands by the elemental power I was directing—and I used that word intentionally, because saying I was in control of it would have been a massive exaggeration. In that moment, I felt like the sun was burning inside my chest, like lava was flowing through my veins instead of blood, and even with this much power I felt like I was skimming the surface.

I was a wonder, really, that I wasn't consumed along with my illusions and lost in the drift.

For a second, the only thing visible atop a suddenly pitch-black sea was the rushing torrent of power I'd unleashed, piecing through the darkness like a spear. And then, when that moment ended, it was to the sight of mountains of rising steam above a roiling, screaming sea. The Grimm, even those far from my attack, had felt the light as it refracted through the water and it had seared the soulless creatures in a way that, bizarrely, wasn't entirely physical. The Leviathan in particular let out a cry, a shriek that rose to the edge of normal audibility and then past it into the realm of enhanced hearing. Even so, it was loud, visceral in the sense that you could feel the noise, and it was filled with shock and terror and rage.

The Leviathan had a long wound all the way down its left side and seemed pretty pissed about it from the way it rose to the surface with its jaws open wide. It all but leapt from the water, several hundred meters of the creature reaching for the sky as it gave a glass-breaking shriek. I gestured and flung Adam away with a blast of psychic energy before flying at the creature, Shedding several skins as I went. I glanced towards its open mouth and sincerely thought about it, but decided against it—partially because the evil jellyfish stingers and what they said about its insides, partially because of how damn big the thing was, but mostly because it's mean leaving Adam out here. Instead, I flipped up at the last moment and landed feet first on the tip of its nose, a sphere of bright white clasped tightly in either hand.

I crushed both and felt the flames spill over my hands—and into me.

Karna (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%

The signature ability of the ancient warrior Vasusena, made to combat his greatest enemy. An advanced fire technique based on the refinement and purity of Aura, it is a skill that allows for the generation of extremely intense and focused flames, which can then be molded and expelled by the hands of the wearer. Rather than a single attack, this skill represents the ability to generate those flames, with the cost and form of the attack dependent on the wearer. The power, versatility, and intensity of the flames increases with the Fire Affinity and Wisdom of the user.

I grit my teeth slightly as I felt the sensation take hold. It felt as if the bones in my arms had been replaced by burning steel rods and the way the metal of my gauntlets had turned brightly incandescent did little to shake the idea. Even so, I pushed the pain aside and let my Aura flow down my arms, feeling it twist and burn as it was stripped of any impurities, focused, and then let loose. It roared from my hands like a blade, piercing into the Leviathan's skin on either side of me and leaving long burning scars in my wake.

I'd run across its face and started down its neck when I first caught sight of motion in the wound Lux Aeterna had left behind. Still amorphous shapes began to bubble from the opening even as red flesh began to pour in. I saw those masses take shape quickly, sprouting tentacles and claws as the formed into Grimm, and let go of my cutting torches to cross my arms.

Spreading my arms wide again, I swept a pair of thin, white-hot lines across the horde, one level with the knee and the other with the neck—as with bursts of smoke and vaporized matter, the burgeoning horde fell to pieces.

The Leviathan hissed again and opened its mouth wide. Every motion the creature made sent tremors through its flesh like a miniature earthquake, but I found it simple enough to remain steady, forcing myself to stay upright with an absent thought. What was more concerning was what the Leviathan did next, firing a thin—at least, thin relative to its size—stream of black fluid at the surface of the water. On contact, it spread through the water, darkening it like it was an octopus's smokescreen.

But that sure as hell wasn't what it was. As the jet flashed towards the water, I looked it over and analyzed it with my senses, gritting my teeth as I noticed the similarities. I turned on a dime and ran back across its head to get a line of fire, but the jet was moving fast enough that it could have cut through layers of steel as quickly as air. By the time I leapt off its nose and fired a thin line of fire at the attack, quite a bit of it had already reached its target. Adam dodged easily, no doubt sensing the attack coming, and a wall of water rose to defend him from any spray but, though I was glad to see him safe, that wasn't the point of the attack.

Instead, I turned my sights on the water far below, watching as it turned dark. The fluid mixed with the water quickly, some even making it through the blast of fire streaming from my hands, and wherever it spread, the water began to hiss and boil. It wasn't being diluted so much as it was consuming whatever water it came in contact with, devouring the mass and repurposing it. Already, I could see the first of the dark shapes taking form and moving to attack, black and white shells forming around the Grimm as they were given life. I held my position, burning away as much of the stuff as I could before it reached the water.

It was easy enough to understand what it was doing. These creatures it was making were just distractions and though no real threat in their own right, it was making them by the thousands. Spawning them from its wounded flesh, creating them when it attacked, it was able to produce armies on command. And while its attackers were preoccupied dealing with them, its injuries were healing and its strength was returning. Although killing lots of Grimm was its own reward—or, at least, the experience from it was—I didn't want to get too bogged down in small fry. Most of them were so much weaker than me that the reward was marginal and the consequences annoying. If I wasn't to deal with a legion of weaklings, I could have stayed in Naraka.

Besides…I had other things to worry about.

The flames that flew from my hands burnt brighter and brighter as I turned up the heat, small jets of fire flaring from the joints in my gauntlets as my fingers bent. For several seconds, the Leviathan and I matched our attacks against one another, clouds of vaporized matter streaming upwards where our powers met. Even so, I could see the darkness spreading through the water beneath us as I hovered above, more and more monsters rising. At last, the Leviathan cut off its attack to bite at me, teeth and tongue coated in more of the black fluid as it came.

Baring my teeth at it, I gather light in my hands, forming my power into a pair of spears—a Gungnir in either side, glowing brightly. I reared back and threw the spear I grasped in my right hand, tossing it straight into the monsters face.

The resulting explosion of light and force swept over me, blowing back the surrounding water even as it killed the nearest of the Grimm. The Leviathan gave another boiling scream and drew back, the scales on the tip of its nose blown away and those surrounding it smoking and cracked. Without a moment's hesitation, I threw the other spear into its face, triggering another explosion that actually blew me back. Then, targeting it through the blast, I took aim at its weak point, braced myself, and fired.

For the second time, Lux Aeterna brightened and darkened the Sea of Monsters, leveling up in the process. When my vision returned, I saw that I'd caught the beat literally head-on this time, and much of its face had melted off. The upper part of its jaw streamed over the bottom, flowing in rivers down to the water below, and the melted hole stretched back up the ridge that should have served as its brow, burning a hole right into its braincase.

In response, the Leviathan hissed in outrage, partially liquefied face bubbling as it did. What would have been the brain of another creature was just more of the same red interior matter and unlike the lesser Grimm, the Leviathan didn't seem willing to die just because its 'head' had been destroyed.

Was there a vulnerability elsewhere or did I just need to do more damage? Its HP had taken another hit from the blast so I knew I was hurting it, I just needed to hurt it more.

While pondering how to best go about doing such a thing, I withdrew slightly, most of my power drained by the consecutive attacks. Mentally, I reached down in preparation to call up my trump card, the maxed heal I kept in stock, but I didn't trigger it just yet, turning my attention downwards to see if it was needed.

Far below, Adam and Xihai were picking up the slack. My friend ran atop the surface of the water, which rose into bridges and troughs as needed. As a school of Grimm swarmed towards him beneath the surface of the water, Adam gestured with his blade and the water level shifted around him, sinking around to Grimm to reveal them even as it pushed them up from below and forced them into the line of fire. Adam sheathed his sword smoothly and drew it far faster, a wave of energy cutting cleanly through the ranks of the Grimm and continuing on to trace a long, thin line across the belly of the Leviathan.

At the same time, Xihai rose behind him, snakelike coils raising her high above my taller friend. She gestured with a hand and a Karkinos exploded from the waters; a twitch of the other tossed up an Akheilos. Adam cut down the latter from a distance and drew close to the other, jumping onto its shell and driving his sword down like a nail into its shell. Xihai lifted her hands and another pair of creatures rose and fell—and when Adam quickened his pace and cut down more and more, she reacted by growing four more arms in response, tearing creatures from the sea with reckless abandon. Then, seemingly growing tired of it, she brought her six hands together in front of her chest and then spread them wide with a tearing motion.

The water plunged as if cratered, creatures of Grimm held out in bubbles along the sides. Adam jumped, blade angling down as he flew through the air, and then with fifteen Far Strikes he tore them all apart. He landed for a moment on the other side, Xihai supporting him, and then he was off in search of other prey.

I smiled at the sight and released the mental hold I'd kept on my fail safe before snapping my incandescent fingers and calling upon my friends. Suryasta flood forth from my hands, shaping a body for himself from the fire before hovering to one side of me even as Levant made her presence abruptly known on the other. The two stood weightlessly at my side even as I raised my hands above my head, electricity cackling between them until I hurled down a Thunderbolt and gave Vulturnus shape among the waves. Though the electricity would normally be too defused to hurt the Grimm after spreading through the water, I was sure he'd guide it to where it was needed most. I made a pair of firing spheres and the bottom of my range to help that particular process along and then dropped my hands to my sides.

Reaching out to the two Elementals beside me, I touched their hands once and smiled at them before floating a step forward so that they were just behind me. Turning my palms to the sky, I gathered a sphere of bright flames in either hand and then turned them towards the Leviathan, watching as they spiraled up and away, targeting weak points in its flesh. Not even waiting to see the attacks connect, I swung my hands closed in a clap, power slipping from my fingertips as they went. In the wake of my hands, I left a thousand droplets of white fire that sped towards the massive Grimm in a horde of needles that burnt hot enough to pit its flesh.

The Leviathan steamed again, semisolid upper jaw somehow managing to rise, trailing ropey strands of flesh as it gaped open. When it did, another dark stream fired from the twisted opening, aiming right for me, but I ducked clean under it and Lunged towards it.

Bai Hu's Lunge (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 400

The White Tiger's leap. A technique central to Bai Hu's ancient martial arts style, through which he dragged down his enemies. Taken to its highest level, this skill allows the user to move like lightning between his foes, leaving only the broken in his wake.

1000% increase to jumping distance.

500% increase to movement speed.

500% increase to attack damage.

I slipped right under the twisted stream reached up the touch the bottom with a burning hand as I drew near. The speed of my approach was such that both the stream and the air around us ignited, heat and fire flooding in every direction—and then I made contact. I crashed into the creature's throat with force enough to crush it and make it cave in, incandescent arms sinking almost to the shoulder in the beast's flesh. It gave a croaking, sputtering hiss, drawing back and falling. Only then did I use my stored heal, restoring my power fully. My hands flexed wide, power gathering in either hand as I channeled all the power I'd regained into a new pair of attacks.

And then there was light.