"It's pretty nice they just send us straight to bed with some food and water being delivered," Alice spoke with a slight groan as she finished her sandwich and curled up in her bed.
I gave a grunt of acknowledgment and said quietly. "Everyone is dead on there feet after being in the forest for three days basically... Plus even if the teachers were willing to put us on the spot in the acceptance. I imagine everyone wants to shower before they have to crowd together in a group of like five hundred-plus people."
"Not to mention the few wounded." Velvet nervously mentioned.
I didn't have a response to that... As the wounded weren't many. Because if you got wounded in a battle with the fucking seemingly endless Grimm, that meant your aura wasn't up properly and that you would be dying soon enough anyway.
Beacon itself was far more impressive than in its canon depiction. It was surrounded by powerful elemental wards that attacked everything that came into its radius which included our bullheads.
But thankfully the wards were turned down so a little bit of sparks wasn't much for the protected bullhead. However, I have heard some of the other students talking about stories of waves of Nevermore that made the poor decision of trying to get past Beacon to Vale and being obliterated.
The school was less of just a school and more of a giant castle built on a mountain, with dozens of towers mounted between the various walls of the campus that separated things out.
After we arrived in our rooms we were given a general map of Beacon which was... Huge to say the least and from there it was rather easily picked out on how various factions had formed within the campus based on magical schools and the more melee-focused aura users.
But despite the magic studies having clearly more power with them having the majority of the funding and support of the nobility. They were also... Very heavily split between the various schools of magic. Of which, some schools of thought, outright hated others which definitely exasperated the issues.
Like how the Druidism school was having a silent war with the Necromancy Branch. The Holy Sect, which was somehow able to get some measure of blessings from the Brother God of Light, was almost at war with the Hemomancers and Umbralmancers.
The generalists in the Sorcery, and Elementalism Branchs were keeping things more calm as they dabbled in most if not all fields with a focus on more bombastic displays rather than the most minute of details.
And of course out of no one's surprise. The Ritual/Thaumaturgy branch was one of the most heavily populated of branches for a number of reasons. One of them. was how they were just researchers so they didn't 'need' to go through the initiation.
But they would also set up tantric rituals for people so they could enchant their gear or do any number of things.
Sooo there was a lot to consider when it came to the schools of magic available here in Beacon. Can't forget the fact that some schools of magic. Although powerful, were utterly unavailable to me at all like the holy classes.
That required you have some form of blessing like what Ruby Rose apparently had with her Silver Eyes.
That and some teachers were ultra picky about who they even let into they school of magic and would only take on direct apprentices to their art.
The map and general guide to Beacon outright outlined that final detail very fucking clearly with a warning not to push the masters to force them to accept you.
"Alright, we are safe here now. So everyone get some sleep." Prinz Eugen spoke somewhat tiredly as she herself lounged on her bed with her rigging having faded away leaving her in just her clothes.
And that was the final words of the day before we all fell asleep with us finally getting some actual uninterrupted sleep. No howling monsters in the night, no roar of my cannons and machine guns.
Just a room filled with people who had fought against the endless Grimm with us coming on top with thankfully no losses... Minus Nora who had lost Ren and she had to split off with Yang to take another room with a random person.
As apparently, Beacon was still counting Ren as alive... Yay!
-
Waking up... Literally some eighteen hours later I groggily got some new clothes on and took a nice long relaxing 'HOT' shower even though Alice and Velvet teased me a bit with how long I took in the shower.
Then the two rabbit girls went to take their own shower as Beacon had two people showers to make sure people got done in reasonable times. And then likewise Prinz and New Jersey took their own shower.
With everyone cleaned up and not feeling like death warmed over. We decided that we could head on over to the welcoming ceremony.
'Jeeze... Beacon is certainly so much more real when you can see everyone not being literal shadows the animators couldn't be arsed to draw.' I thought as I took in all my potential classmates as we entered the main hall.
Once again everyone was clearly separated into various cliques, this time even further reinforced as it seemed that the nobility had taken steps to separate themselves by their own levels of rank.
So with myself obviously not having a rank of nobility I just joined the aura specialists that where I saw Yang was... Along with Nora but she didn't have Ren's head?
"Oh, I was worried you were guys were going to be late haha." Yang joked making me smile wryly.
"It's still half an hour until the ceremony," I said looking around with an odd expression as already the atrium was rather full.
Yang snorted and said with humor. "That's the joke... To be a hunter and respond to a call of a town or village being attacked. You want to be there an hour before the attack even happened."
My lips twitched at that bullshit but thankfully I wasn't late so though I could already see several of our supposed teachers, and the various magical masters who were teaching their particular schools of magic.
With the Elementalists having the largest group of teachers as many forms of elemental magic fell into their umbrella.
There was a pause before with a crackle of energy the Headmaster. Ozpin himself, not Ozma, 'at least I thought Ozma was still was dead along with Salem' who seemingly teleported onto the main platform.
And without any preamble, Ozpin began speaking calmly with his voice carrying through the atrium filled with at least five hundred, maybe seven hundred and fifty people max with his voice coming out crystal clear.
"Five thousand, three hundred and thirty-eight. That's how many people dared to take the initiation this year." Ozpin spoke as his eyes glided over the silent atrium with his gaze pinning us in place with the weight within those eyes.
"In this welcoming ceremony, there is a grand total of eight hundred and fifty students. A couple hundred of them... Maybe don't deserve their place here frankly." He drawled out at the end with his gaze going to the nobles in the front seats in front of him.
"Still. Less than a fifth of you survived. The rest who couldn't make it to the extraction site were left maps back to Vale along with some supplies. But to be frank its not expected for the couple dozen people left in the forest to make that trip."
I frowned at the cold statement as I wondered why they didn't just send them to Vale via a bullhead or something. But my thoughts were left behind as Ozpin continued.
"Now. For introductions for the common-born who do not recognize us beyond our Huntsmen names if they even recognize us at all." He finished with a humourous smile crossing his face as he tilted to the side to begin pointing at the bleachers behind him.
Which had the various teachers of the different schools of magic and aura-specialized melee-focused masters assembled.
He pointed out to the far right which held the aura of specialized warriors and spoke. "Sir Bearington Udry is the leader of the Aura Division of warriors who specializes in boxing, and other forms of unarmed combat, along with druidism."
The man he pointed out... Was a fucking tank of a man. Thick with corded muscle and padding I realized the dude had to be seven and a half plus feet tall at the very least. With his arms and hand covered with leather that acted as wraps.
But Ozpin was on a role as he continued. "Lady Fiora Laurent, the Grand Duelist and the resident Grandmaster of all swords. If it's a blade that stay's in your hand and is used to cut down foes she is at the very least a Master of the blade in question."
Ozpin then turned to the last 'Warrior' who was sitting in the front line of the aura teachers with him saying. "Lord Gelar Kharisma, master of more specialized melee weapons, along being a specialist of finding ways for students to apply their semblances in more productive ways."
There was a pause as Ozpin let us digest that information and I realized he was only introducing the main teachers of each bloc and clique within higher-ups of the school.
As I quickly noticed that Lady Fiora's teachers behind her were clearly of nobility, Udry's teachers behind him were of a rougher sort that clearly 'WEREN'T' Nobility and very much proud of it. While Lord Gelar's people were clearly the neutral people who didn't want any part of that nonsense.
Then Ozpin turned and held out an arm to the side for the magical teachers. "Now as for the magical studies, allow me to introduce Luxanna Crownsguard, the youngest over Grandmaster Elementalist, and otherwise almost a Master in all accredited schools of magic."
I gazed at the teacher and yup... She barely looked to be older than her mid-twenties with her giving a gentle nod to us along with a smile. While she was a young woman with long blond hair and wearing a very well-fitting dress that gleamed with glowing gems.
"Next is the esteemed Lady Calia, a Grandmaster of Necromancy and considered a master in many other arts involved in the human body, mind, and soul."
Lady Calia scared me with her glowing red eyes. Her skin was alabaster pale, and her form was covered in a tight-fitting black dress that clung to her voluptuous form. But there was no denying how every inch of her skin was bared only to be used as a weapon.
Seeing Calia with her black dress and glowing red eyes... I could only call her a black widow, whose webs included the teachers of dark magic behind her.
And behind her was her apprentice who also unnerved me, with light gray hair and sharp elven ears with matching crimson glowing eyes.
Ozpin finally seemed to take a breath as he next pointed out. "And of course, the Vice Headmistress of Beacon Glynda Goodwitch. An S-tier huntress and a Sage of Sorcery, and accredited as a Grand Master of several Elemental schools of magic."
Glynda Goodwitch likewise looked the same if not slightly younger then what canon depicted with her having her blond hair done up in a tight bun while she was wearing the same ladies business attire.
There was a pause as Ozpin turned back to the students and visibly chewed on what he wanted to say before. It all... All came out.
"A Huntsman's job is to take an area, clear it of Grimm, and hold it from the advance of all Grimm. That is their job. Their job isn't to hide in caves and avoid fighting. Their jobs aren't to simply wander a forest and kill any Grimm they find."
Ozpin's dark green eyes glowed with power and I shuddered as the weight of his gaze... Became far more real as he spoke calmly, but coldly. "Their job is to be a mobile bulwark against the evil that threatens to end humanity."
He then gave an empty smile as he clapped his hands together. "Jake Bariss, and Weiss Schnee. Stand up for me."
I slowly stood up and didn't look around, only keeping my gaze ahead towards Ozpin as I felt the gaze of close to a thousand of people people lock onto me and presumably Weiss Schnee.
"Jake Bariss you did something no other student has done besides Duke and Royal families scions in taking an area and making it a safe zone that all could go to for safety. And that is the very definition of a Huntsmen. Miss Schnee, you did a similar thing but you made it utterly unhabitable for all who were not almost a Master Cryomancer who can survive negative 150 Celcius winds."
And I could feel Weiss's gaze on my back at being picked out apart from that line with Ozpin turning his gaze elsewhere to continue speaking and I naturally sat down without him ordering me to sit down.
"Ruby Rose, and Pyrrha Nikos, you both likewise killed several thousand Grimm during the initiation. But there was no cohesion in your actions, you just wandered like a blind fool killing all the Grimm you came across." Ozpin said with actual disappointment in his voice before he turned his gaze to the front.
To the nobility in the front lines.
There was a crackle of energy in the air and I blinked as six students appeared on the raised platform kneeling on the ground and looking around in utter confusion.
"Now.... Students of Beacon, we are the bulwark for Humanity, we push back the darkness via any method that is possible. We do not discriminate against any form of magic or fighting style so long as Grimm die in droves."
My eyes widened as that same crackle of energy went off and then a fist-sized hole appeared in all of the student's chests appeared where their hearts would be.
"What the fuck..." I whispered along with several nobles scions yelling out at Ozpin as the six students slumped face first into the ground and began violently twitching as a large pool of blood appeared around their forms.
"Beacon has its Grandmaster of Necromancy in Calia who herself is becoming close to the title of Sage in the school of Necromancy and the Royal Families Grand Sage of Necromancy has more than shown their value in protecting humanity."
"Which is why it is illegal to burn bodies along with anyone who murders another via a destroyed brain faces the punishment of being turned into a flesh golem." Ozpin's voice raised in volume to the point that my ears were vibrating and in pain despite my aura.
And Ozpin then spoke with finality. "The next person to destroy another person's brain to prevent them from protecting humanity even in death. I and every other teacher will deliver their forms to Lady Calia to be turned into a Flesh Automaton."
The entire assembly visibly shuddered and I remembered what that meant...
Basically, it was a Flesh Golem but the soul was still inside its body, and locked within via the laws, codes, and orders the necromancer bound the body and soul with to make it their slave.
They were normally illegal to make unless the poor bastard was declared a traitor to humanity in being a bandit, or someone who very publicly went against the Royal Family in a way that was against Vale's survival.
So the people would be stuck within their body, their mind providing the body all the intelligence it natural had. But it couldn't move, scream, or show any form of defiance unless they found a way to skirt the rules and such engraved into their soul's chains.
With that warning down Ozpin gave Calia a look behind him, with her nodding while I saw her apprentice giving the corpses a hungry look to get her hands on them.
Then Ozpin turned back to the cowed crowd and said. "Now! All of you return back to the rooms you were assigned. Depending on the size of your groups and where you decide to study and if you are offered an apprenticeship or will just take general classes. You will likely be assigned a new room based on the classes you take."
With that, the same crackle of energy rang out and Ozpin was gone with Calia and her apprentice striding over towards the corpses as a couple of curtains fell on the front raised section.
"Let's wait for everyone to get moving I said knowing the rush that was going to happen as a thousand teens and young adults tried to force themselves through four medium-sized doors.
And for the next fifteen minutes, we watched as several dozen people at once tried to force themselves into the doors to get out of the room as though afraid Ozpin was going to kill them as well.
Though... I did notice several students throwing me looks as I was the only student mentioned in a truly positive light. Along with Weiss Schnee who was sitting besides her retainer Jingliu who was throwing me looks every few minutes as she was sitting in front of me.
But after a few more minutes where the students finally began thinning out and we were about to leave the room. A voice spoke up from the front of the stadium as Luxanna Crownguard the Elementalist teacher spoke up.
"Jake Bariss, may I have a bit of your time in meeting room B across the hall in like five minutes?"
I blinked hearing that, and I quickly nodded as I spoke with forced calm. "Alright, Miss Crownguard I will see you there."
'I wonder what she wants with me there?' I wondered as my two ship girls and retainers followed me as I began trying to leave the room.