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  For better or for worse, following along the river proved to speed the champion's march considerably. In less than an hour, he had covered far more ground than days prior. Along the way, he had seen a gradual change in scenery.

While the forest had remained one entirely, the layout became more...convenient. Trees had dispersed, allowing for easier navigation and more room for potential combat. The shroud from the constricting leaves above had largely receded, allowing a near full view of the sky and sun both. Every so often, the Unkindled One also began to notice moss coated columns of stones, hinting there might have once been an ancient city within the forest.

Whether it be intuition or superstition, the man felt as if the place held ulterior motives. Footprints, both fresh and ages old, said that this area and this very section of the forest were frequently used by peoples unknown. Most notably however, had been the thunderous explosions, sounds the ashen one reasoned had been the ignition and combustion of canons.

Looking above, he saw...a girl. Seemingly flying through the air from a great distance. If the faint tilt of her head was anything to go off of, she somehow saw the Ashen one as well. In cue however, she crashed into a small black bird, inciting an inaudible panicked scream of guilt.

It was evident he no longer had the luxury of solitude. Though he walked with no indication of hesitation, he kept a hand firmly grasped around the hilt of a Sellsword Twinsblade. In the off chance he was met by whatever creature or man that made the commotion, he wanted to be prepared. Still, he'd prefer to avoid conflict entirely, willing to utilize the maze-like wilderness as an escape route. Even if it meant being lost yet again, he would rather not rush yet another death.

In the distance, a feminine scream was heard, one that the champion willfully ignored. It had been the cry of help, as if the owner of the voice had been falling helplessly. If he had to guess, another vicious pack of those strange wolves had ambushed or actively pursued the girl.

He was not one to rescue another on the whim, especially in unknown territory, let alone an alien world. To rush in now would be a fool's errand, seeing as the woman would likely be long dead by the time the warrior arrived. Then again, the cry for help risked the chance of being a facade to lure in others into a trap. After all, the champion had more than his fair share of being fooled, the instigator almost always being that bald scoundrel in Firelink Shrine. In short, he carried on his way, care escaping his mind at the sorry souls inevitable demise.

Eventually however, he heard the rustling of bushes and without remorse or hesitation, he drew his curved blades. A flash of red and yellow emerged and despite the champion's initial thoughts, they had been only humans. Even more so, they seemed to be largely friendly if their relaxed and

One was a man, a messy mop of singing yellow claiming his hair. He wore mediocre armor above peculiar blue leggings and a...strange and unfamiliar shirt underneath the plating of chest armor. To his his, a simple straight sword was sheathed. His apparent off hand however, bore a run of the mill kite shield.

The woman however, had been dressed as a true warrior. Her plating held a coat of bronze, accenting her crimson hair almost flawlessly. Furthermore, she carried a small round shield on her back. In her hands, a spear nearly her own height proudly stood. Surprisingly, she stored her weapon away into a small scabbard-like pouch on her back, the shaft of the spear collapsing into itself in a mechanical manner.

She politely waved at the champion of ash, whom she thought had been another student. "Hello there...are you lost too?"

Tilting his head, the Unkindled one put his own weapons away, sadly without the luxury of self storing weaponry. He scanned the area around him, peering over each shoulder. And with hesitation, he gave a nod of the head, confirming he too had been wandering aimlessly.

"Aw man...we're never getting out of here, are we?" The blind boy said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Of course we will! We just need to find the temple to gain a vantage point!" She quickly comforted, now turning her attention back onto the Ashen One. "So…do you have a partner?" She awkwardly said, eyeing the unfamiliar figure.

Again, he shook his head, crossing his arms as he did so. The red spartan grimaced, feeling hope at conversation slowly slipping away. Making the best of the two's situation, the blonde knight stepped forward, a hand held out for greeting.

"Well anyways...I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc. This is my partner. Pyrrha Nikos."

Beneath his silver mask, the Ashen One eyed the boy "Jaune" with caution. He seemed to be fairly young, likely within early adulthood. More so, the Unkindled Ash felt a surging smell of naivety. Stealing a glance at "Pyrrha", he felt something else. At face value, she seemed trained and at the ready for any misstep taken. With caution, the champion unfurled an arm, carefully grasping the other boy's hand as to not let his blackened metal crush Jaune's fist.

"Alright, well then. Do you have a name?" Jaune asked, letting a small smile slip by.

Immediately, the Ashen one released his hand. Looking at the dirt, he pondered the question himself. For what seemed like ages, he had been nameless. The title and moniker he carried in life had been burnt aflame once becoming undead. More so, it was lost to the annals of history upon becoming resurrected ash.

What was his name? Did he ever have one? If so, what would it even be? Could he reuse an old friend's in the off chance he had no alias? Or perhaps...

The Ashen one let his body descend, falling into a kneeled position. With an abysmally plated hand, he slowly drew a series of letters. With a pause, he read over the accursed word again and again. Would this defiling moniker truly be the name he bore in this land?

Then again...he was ash. He was accursed undead, unfit to link even the flame. Far too pitiful to withstand it's scorching hunger, yet not deserving of becoming even the smallest of fuel. This was, for all intents and purposes, who he truly was.

"Asche...Embers?" The blonde paladin said, reading over the champion's shoulder.

Standing to his feet, the champion solemnly looked over the name once more. His face was hidden, and the burden the name carried was left tucked away. With a breath of defeat, he looked to his new companions, offering a small bow.

"That's a… nice name. I think it uhm… suits you? Really brings out the ah…cape-cloak-armor-mask thing you have going on. I-I mean it, r-really!" Jaune said, holding his arms defensively.

The Ashen One remained silent, not taking insult to the young man's words.

"I'm sure Jaune meant no disrespect, Asche. In the meantime, why don't we all go find the relics together? With any luck, you can hopefully find a partner of your own too." The spartan said, covering for her comrade.

With the revelation of "relics", his interest grew. Perhaps they would be worth something of value? Or with any luck, they might offer insight as to what the Unkindled One should do next. After all, it would not be the first time ancient or famed totems provided a sense of relevance and purpose for the champion.

"Yeah, no relics means no acceptance. I'm not so sure about the whole partner thing though. But hey, you look like you can take care of yourself pretty well… unlike me." He spoke, gloomily whispering the latter part to himself. "Well anyways, Better get this thing over with already."

In unison, Jaune and Pyrrha turned to walk in an unspecified direction. The Ashen One stared blankly at the back of the duo. And after seeing no reason to not join, he quickly caught up to the young huntsmen-to-be. With him joining the two, Jaune attempted to strike up conversation yet again.

"So uh...You don't talk much, do you?" He asked stiffly.

Again, the Ashen one let no words fall from his mouth. The only response the blonde paladin received had been yet another individual tilt of the head.

"Right... taking antisocial to the next leve- Ow!" He began to say, Pyrrha quickly elbowing him.

The rest of the way resulted in a bland questioner. With "Ache's" severely limited vocabulary, the lackluster and dull conversation whittled down to simple "Yes and No's". Not much knowledge of value was gained though, seeing as "Asche" silently refused to provide an answer to the more personal questions.

For Pyrrha, she cared little. It was nice to be around others who treated her normally, and she took solace in the fact "Asche" helped further diversify the party's capabilities. Jaune, though, quickly became enthralled with seeing at least one other wielder of "classic" weaponry. It gave him a sense of confidence and comradery at seeing he was not alone in being seemingly underprepared.

Eventually, the trio reached a small cave, a faint hue of gold illuminating from the depths. After some idle chatter of the possibility of the source being a relic, the group (Jaune and Pyrrha) agreed to dive into the small cavern.

The grove was a curtain of darkness. Each step was taken with oblivious intent and the trio were largely dependent on one another to stay together. The chattering sound of droplets falling from stalactite had been the only noise, aside from their footsteps, that accompanied the party. But with every passing second, the trio drew closer to the glowing light.

Jaune reached out, eager to claim the trophy and have this nightmare of entry end as quickly as it could. Pyrrha had felt much the same, in addition to later having a more appropriate time getting to know Jaune himself...and perhaps even "Asche" as well. "Asche" meanwhile, was only allowing fate to deal it's hand before him. He had nothing better to do really, and had figured these so-called 'relics' may prove fruitful later on.

The yellow globe however, resisted the young boy's grasp, causing Jaune to fumble further at claiming his rightful trophy.

"Oh come on...just a little more….aaa~nd… th-EREEE!" He exclaimed, being flung helpless by the flailing beacon of gold.

With their eyes now adjusted, it had become clear the trophy was only a ruse. In place of an ornament, a monstrously sized scorpion took its place, the yellow globe being the beast's telson. With the brief amount of time he had to spare, the ashen one took notice of the red eyes and skull-like mask the monster wore. As he and Pyrrha instinctively sprinted towards the exit and entry of the grove, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that the wolves earlier and the current monster were somehow connected.

Reaching the light of day once more, Pyrrha dashed through the bushes with prose and purpose. She had been like a frenzied Valkyrie charging a horde of Norse warriors...if that group of Vikings had been safety at least. The ashen one meanwhile, had remained calm and collected, planning his next course of action. And poor Jaune found himself holding on for dear life while the creature pursued its prey.

Without warning, the morbidly sized arachnid swung a mandible towards the fleeing warriors. Pyrrha Nikos with her superb agility, flung herself forward while drawing her spear and shield, twirling to face the beast once she landed safely. The Ashen one meanwhile, took the opportunity to roll in the direction of the swing, his Sellsword Twinsblade striking in a near ballad manner as soon as they were unveiled. The two blades were reflected off the chitin plating of the monster, causing the ashen one to backstep out of harm's immediate way.

While Pyrrha and "Asche" eyed the creature, Jaune's grasp tightened as the scorpion tired of the added weight to its stinger. Pyrrha called out to her leader, hoping to avoid any potential injury on his sake.

"Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-" She yelled as Jaune was thrown into the air like a raggedy scrap of cloth. "Go…" the spartan weakly finished.

Leaving the remaining fighters with no time to recover, the Deathstalker charged yet again, causing both of it's targets to run further into the forest. Thankfully, the brush slowed the beast down long enough for the duo to reach a clearing...until the monster blitzed past the treeline yet again, far too enraged to let simple forestry slow their own hhunt.

Despite her best efforts at dodging the barrage of attacks, Pyrrha was thrown similarly to the manner Jaune had been. By surprise, a series of strikes were gifted to the monster from its backside. Without pause, and without a single misplaced blade, the ashen one gradually carved away at it's once thick and hefty plating.

The scorpion reared its tail back, thrusting the stinger into where the heart of the attacker should be. And like before, "Asche" had rolled to the side, continuing to twirl his now enchanted blades without a sign of halting, even when the beast turned to face him. Furiously, the deathstalker extended its stinger once more, baiting the ashen one into the grasp of his claw.

He foolishly fell for it, gravely mistaking the beast for one of ignorance to pull off such a maneuver. Like the two prior, he was cast aside like a heap of unwanted litter. He soared...but not before departing without another gift. He had thrown a fire bomb at the half exposed ribcage of the beast, who was promptly staggered and sent ablaze on impact.

He would then roll several times before eventually coming to a halt at the feet of four unfamiliar figures...and at the side of Pyrrha Nikos.

"Great, The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" A sarcastically cheery voice bellowed.

"Not if I can he-" A squeaky yet determined voice began to say. "Wait...aren't you that guy I saw by the river?" She asked curiously, her attention being drawn to the masked stranger.

Now standing to his feet, the ashen one brushed the newfound dirt off his garbs. To say he seemed out of place from the four new faces was...and understatement. He wore hardened leather with a torn cloak and onyx colored plating on his limbs, not to mention the silver mask and strange hat he wore as well. The rest meanwhile...dressed in a polar opposite manner.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

One girl wore a pink and white blouse with a matching skirt, a fine contrast to her bright orange hair. Another wore a simple black and red uniform resembling the fairy tale of "red riding hood". Another girl wore a bow of all things to go along with her simple black and white casual esque attire. Fourthly, another young woman wore a strange punk like ensemble of clothing, the apparel complimenting her wild yellow manes excellently. Finally, the black haired boy of the group wore a green kimono like shirt to compliment his white loose fitting pants. At this time, Pyrrha had now risen to her feet, standing beside "Asche".

"Ah so this is that guy, Rubes?" The lioness said, addressing the red and black themed girl. "Hey man, how did you land so quickly?" She spoke, this time addressing "Asche".

The girl with a bow stepped forward, eyeing the man skeptically with amber feline eyes. "If he even landed at all." She skeptically said.

"He doesn't look familiar. And I don't remember seeing anyone dressed like that at the launchpads." The only other male said.

"Well...I don't really remember a lot of things, but I'd trust Ren on this one ladies." The orange haired girl said, lazily resting a war hammer on her shoulders.

Without hesitation, Pyrrha defended her compatriot. "What is that supposed to mean? He could have come from a separate launchpad location. Ozpin and every other staff member were assigned their own."

Immediately, the group shared a moment of contemplation. This was the Beacon Academy after all, the most prestigious huntsmen academy in all of Remnant. With such a large pool of applicants, they should have remembered there had been separate launch areas. After laughing the implied accusation off, the yellow haired girl stepped forward and offered a handshake.

"I guess that slipped my mind. Name's Yang, the newest, baddest, and flashiest huntress to be!" She said, giving a charismatic wink and cheeky grin.

The Ashen one took a step back, politely waving off the handshake. Seeing as he wore jagged black gauntlets, the lioness shrugged the refusal off without a second word. Even her own golden gauntlets were nowhere near as rigid as his own and the very last thing she wanted was a scratch in her 'babies' paint.

"I don't think 'baddest' is a real word, sis…" A girl with black hair and red streaks said, shuffling the dirt with a colorless combat boot-wearing foot.

"Oh yeah, and this is my lil' sis Ruby!" She said, throwing an arm over the smaller girl while pointing with the other. "She's kinda shy, but she'll sweep the feet off of any old Grimm, you can bet on that!"

Aside from the struggling sounds of "Ruby" attempting to escape the near death grip of her supposed sister, the remaining characters stepped forward, the first being the Raven haired boy, who now that he had been closer, also wore a magenta streak through his hair.

"I am Lie Ren, please just call me Ren. That girl over there is my partner and long time friend, Nora Valkyrie." He said neutrally, addressing the cheery girl who was now waving ecstatically.

"Blake. And you?" The final girl quietly and quickly said.

Again, Pyrrha stepped forward to offer an answer.

"His name is 'Asche Embers'. He uhm...Doesn't talk very much." She politely explained.

The group, Ruby and Yang included, looked at the stranger with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. Their thoughts and following words however, were quickly broken by an abrupt crash, one that sent 'Asche Embers' to his back.

In the distance, another crash was heard, followed by an accompanying 'ow...my back'. Immediately, Pyrrha ran over to the sorry soul, who had been Jaune, now covered in leaves and twigs. 'Asche' meanwhile, felt a heavy weight against his chest. Normally, some may think this had only been the concealed chainmail underneath the coat of the "Black Hand" garbs, but the Ashen One knew it's weight...and for whatever reason, this foreign material felt much more hefty.

With an elbow to balance himself, he saw that yet another stranger had made their grandiose entrance. She wore a white blouse with a matching skirt, tinged of red being seen from the folds of each garment. Her snow shaded hair was absurdly long and thankfully, most of it had been tied back into a high braid, save for her white bangs.

At first, she was relieved to not be caught by the ever unappealing Jaune Arc, who had attempted to catch her mid air. But when she took a moment to process the stranger she used as a (admittedly harsh) cushion, she became flustered. Here she was, a heiress to the largest dust centered company, being kept from a squishy demise by a blackened knight clad in dulling leather and abysmal plating. Then again...hadn't this been a complete stranger? Immediately after locking eyes with his silver mask however, the girl flung herself off of the Ashen one, clambering backwards clumsily with her elbows.

"J-just who...d-do you think you are...y-you dolt!" The snob stammered.

Yet again, the ashen one stood to his feet, dusting his armor and leather off once more. Taking a closer glance at the girl, he saw a small red trial of blood seep from her pale hand, one that shared a striking resemblance to one of the many clawed fingertips from his black gauntlets. Out of pity and slight regret at harming her, he walked over to the still sitting girl, offering a gloved hand.

"I-I didn't ask for your help, d-dunce! I… can manage just fine on my own!" She uselessly argued, still graciously taking his help anyways.

From her perspective, it was like a fairy tale. A princess of elegance, being offered a hand by a valiant and gallant soldier of chivalry. And although this version lacked the welcoming charm or sleek aesthetic of a noble steel clad warrior, she felt her stomach rise. It had only been the first day, and though there were setbacks and frustrations, perhaps Beacon was a decent choice after all. She accepted the stranger's aid, a chill catching her hand when cupping the void metallic gauntlet.

And as for the ashen one, he kept his eyes trained on the girl's hand. It seemed as if the previous wound he unintentionally inflicted had simply mended itself together again. For a moment, he thought the girl was capable of performing the sacred and holy art of Miracles.

"Did that… really just happen?" Blake said in disbelief.

"Wow Ice Queen…That was...pretty weird." Ruby murmured.

"Well...Hate to 'crash' in on your moment Weiss-Cream, but we've got two baddies closing in." Yang half joked, earning a groan from Ruby.

"Here they come…I'm ready~ I'm ready~ I'm ready~!" Nora sang, grasping her hammer with two hands, malicious intent written across her face.

"No more awkward talking…" The wannabe reaper said, uncollapsing her scythe in its full glory.

Weiss and the unkindled one turned their attention towards the approaching monsters. One, had been the previously fought deathstalker. The other, came from the sky. It was a beast similar to an overgrown raven, well beyond the means of fighting conventionally. And as for the deathstalker, it had been in the midst of preparing a charge, only to be met with the dull clang of metal...

"It's time to let my baby do the-!"

...Metal that had reflected harmlessly off of its chitin, resulting in the beast harshly tossing the girl aside.

"-talking..." She murmured after climbing to her knees.

Caught off guard, Ruby was now trapped in a volley of hardened feathers from the Raven-like monster above. At first, she attempted to flee with her semblance, only to find her cloak had been snared by one of the gargantuan quills. In fear for her life, she glanced towards the Deathstalker, who had reared its stinger. Without warning, the monster sent its mandible forward, ready to impale the girl. In response, she closed her eyes, wishing for her death to be quick and painless.

Instead, she heard a strange and benevolent sound. It was as if a mass of crystals took form, only to collide into a solid wall. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes to reveal a strange sight.

A storm of blue energy blitzed the deathstalker, shattering its armor with ease. Following this, a cascade of exponentially smaller yet identical blue darts burst forward, littering the monster's exposed flesh with countless holes. Stealing a glance backwards, she saw the silver masked man casting another volley of blue bolts of crystalized energy from his hand, which held a sinister crimson mist around it. Still though, the best was not felled, even after the second volley laid waste to its body.

Nora and Pyrrha, though, had slipped underneath the pincers of the deathstalker. While Pyrrha went to work stabbing out each individual eye in a flurry of thrusts, Nora instead settled for outright crushing the monster's skull. Finally, Yang went to work punching out whatever vital points she could from the early busted side plating, again courtesy of 'Asche'. And with one final screech of pain, the monster began disintegrating.

Ren, Jaune, and Blake went to work freeing Ruby, easily knocking the razor sharp quill from the earth. With one grimm down, the group collectively set their fire on the currently diving Nevermore. Alongside them, 'Asche' casted the spell of 'Homing Soulmass', creating five separate self targeting projectiles.

Unslinging the 'Black Bow of Pharis' from his shoulder, the ashen one drew three arrows from his quiver, each being the highly flammable variant. With a tremendous pull, he set the darts forward, the soul masses quickly following behind. The wings were sent ablaze, and the body devastated with the combined gunfire of the other future students and "Asche's" spheres of blue energy.

After only a moment, the engrossed bird fell to the earth, skidding across the dirt before coming to a halt. Still though, as weakened and frail as it now was, the nevermore was not yet killed. Without remorse or hesitation, the ashen one drew his Crescent Moon Sword. He then placed the blade across the monster's throat, who in turn, effortlessly gave into the fate it would inevitably meet…

When the ordeal was done, the group collectively celebrated, some more ecstatic than others. Weiss nonchalantly took in whatever praise she was given, while Yang and Nora basked in the glory of helping to slay two high tier Grimm in a handful of moments. Ren and Blake both gave their praise, but mainly kept to themselves. Pyrrha and Jaune meanwhile, took turns complimenting each other's roles in the initiation.

The Ashen one meanwhile, leaned against a nearby tree. His arms were crossed and he left the young adults to have their celebration. Like before, no souls were claimed from the slaying of the Grimm. This continued to bother him, considering just how much more of a threat the newly slain beasts were compared to their wolf counterparts. His thoughts though, were shaken once he saw Ruby make her way to him. Immediately, she began bombarding him with question after question.

"Wheredidyougetthoseswords?!They'resocool!Whataboutthatbow?Doesithaveaname?Whatkindofarrowswerethose?!?!?!" She said, figuratively projectile vomiting her words.

Beneath his mask, the ashen one was appalled at the sheer speed the girl spoke. It had been as if someone took a sound track of her voice, and gave it a listening too at three times speed.

"Hey,whatkindofshoteldidyouuse?I'veneverseenonelikeitbefore!Andthatredhandwiththebluedartspearthings,wasthatyoursemblance!?!?"

The Ashen one stared blankly at the girl, his mind not even processing what she had been saying. While his silver mask gave off the illusion of stoicism, his true face grimaced.

"Isitenergymanipulation?Ooo,ormaybeit'selementalcontrol?Evenbetter,isitasemblancelikeMissGoodwitches?!Hey,youshouldtotallyteachmethat "Spintowin"moveyoupulledoff!!!!!!"

The Unkindled one felt a bead of sweat drop from his forehead. How much longer could she go on? He had yet to even hear the girl take a breath.

"Thatwassoepic!Youwerealllike,"wha-chaaa!Wha-chooo!"Andtheywerealllike"Ohnooo!NottheDeyDladeburst!OhmyOum,youweresocool!Weshouldreallyspartogethersometime!Ohohoh!andmaybewecould…"

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LOCATION CHANGE

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Atop a cliff, one that overlooked the entirety of the forest, two figures stood. One had been a spectacle wearing man with a bird's nest of white hair, his uniform exuding signs of emerald shaded sophistication. The other had been a woman wearing the stereotypical secretary attire with the addition of a black and purple half cape.

In each of their hands, they held a strange device that provided live coverage of the ongoing initiation.

"Strange...I don't seem to recall a student enrolling with that one's arsenal, let alone a semblance of that caliber." The man said, nudging the spectacles to fit snugly on his nose.

The sharply dressed woman squinted, clearly left with mistrust at the stranger. Whether or not he had aided the students-to-be was largely irrelevant. He was clearly uninvited, possessed skill beyond the average huntsmen in training, and exuded a visage ripe with ulterior motives.

"Neither do I, headmaster."

Like her superior, she too readjusting her glasses. the woman lowered her device, tucking it away before elaborating over her own concern.

"This doesn't sit right with me, Ozpin. Our students have had each piece of equipment registered and accounted for three two times over. None of the catalogs held records of those types." The woman said, tapping her device's screen in the general direction of the masked hunter.

"Even more so, not a single student, let alone past student has had a semblance such as that. It feels inhuman, even by your standards, Ozpin."

With a slight curl of his lips, the headmaster shrugged off the comment. It was true, he had very complex prerequisites when calling something "inhumane". Still though, he agreed with the fellow staff member. Unlike the woman however, the silver and black clad warrior drew the interest of Ozpin, for reasons better left tucked away in his own mind at the very least.

"I would refrain from insulting your future students, Glynda. It might set a bias against their potential growth. Most huntsmen use collapsible weapons, so who is to say the same is not true for armor? Perhaps the student was able to find a loophole around the registration process, much like what the Branwen twins did long ago." He retorted, defending a man he knew naught of.

"Still my stance stands. Weapons, collapsible or not, must always be listed and recorded, and that includes combat attire. None of our databases lists this intruder's own. I don't believe this "stranger" exactly belongs here. Headmaster, he could be intruding on the initiation with ulterior motives set in mind."

With an exasperated breath, the headmaster cursed himself for having such a stubborn assistant. Then again, he knew Glynda's heart had been in the right place. She only wanted to ensure the children's safety, as pestering and tedious as it was at the current moment.

"Even if this person had mischievous intentions, don't you believe they would have made a better effort at slipping by unnoticed? Let alone interacting with the very people they may or may not mean ill will to?" Ozpin answered, being sure to raise a skeptical brow.

Ignoring the headmaster's point, Glynda remained steadfast. "On behalf of the students safety, would you allow me to intervene and apprehend the potential trespasser?"

Wordlessly, the man known as Ozpin mulled over the thought. As he did, he took a near intoxicating sip from the white mug, being sure to blow on the hot liquid this time.

He wanted, no... he needed answers from the man himself. Glynda would no doubt hand the stranger over to law enforcement, severely limiting the amount of knowledge Ozpin would gain. Letting the man masquerade as a student, however dangerous, could prove fruitful. And unfortunately, Ozpin was desperate to confirm his hidden suspicions.

Once the rich and heated coco graced his tongue and had been swallowed, he made his final rebuttal.

"Perhaps he is a student after all, Glynda. Even if this character was indeed trespassing, I doubt they would stand a threat against a horde of valiant hunters, in training or not. As a side note, I have yet to see any harm done to the other students. In fact, this 'intruder' exemplifies the very essence of a hunter."

Taken aback, Glynda frowned in confusion. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"They not only saved Miss Ruby Rose, but were also a vital part of taking down the Grimm duo, averting the bear's attention to create an opening for their compatriots. If they were indeed a snake among our ranks, they would have certainly not gone this long without enacting a preemptive strike, let alone saving those they wish deceit on." He said, raising a brow at his assistant's gung-ho attitude.

Taking a step in faltering defense, the woman made a hasty reconsideration. Perhaps she was being too harsh. Many students and professionals wore identity concealing fatigues, the mysterious man might have just been one of many. If this man truly was a threat, they would have certainly not put themselves in the previous predicament either. Begrudgingly, she nodded her head in acknowledgement of her mischaracterization

"Right, of course sir. I apologize, I should have taken better thought and consideration. If you have any further orders, I will begin sorting the teams that have already arrived." Glynda said, bowing before she began her walk back to the academy, but not before Ozpin appeased her worrying all the slightest.

"And if they truly do concern you, feel free to keep a close eye on them. I too, have my own suspicions." He said, earning a professional and somewhat satisfied nod from Glynda.

With his assistant disappearing into the distance, the headmaster took once more glance at the silver masked man. In the device, it seemed that the other eight accompanying souls were celebrating the defeat of the nevermore and the accompanying deathstalker. The stranger meanwhile, stood off in the distance, leaning against a tree while they looked on at the joyous teenagers around them.

Miss Ruby Rose then ran over to the boy, rambling off a series of questions in both amazement and bewilderment. In response, he gave no answer, save for a collection of generic shakes and nods of the head. Afterwards, Ruby Rose continued to pester the man even further, Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie quickly following suit. Whilst they did this, the masked figure glanced upwards...directly into the camera feeding Ozpin his current video.

"Or perhaps...you are something much more than a student." He almost whispered, his curiosity numbing out the subtle sense of familiarity at the other man.

"You nameless accursed undead…"

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BONFIRE LIT

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||| "Don't You Dare Go Hollow..." |||