Cherreads

Chapter 2 - CHAPTER 1

[5/11 - Morning]

Inside the Bullhead heading towards the large castle-like structure at the edge of Beacon's Cliff, an atmosphere of both excitement and anxiety from the Huntsmen-to-be applicants filled the helicarrier.

Countless people around the world have applied to such a grand school for a single reason. To be officially recognized by the Kingdoms as a high-quality Huntsman for the betterment of Remnant.

To do so, one had to complete their education in this very Academy.

Especially in Beacon Academy, where graduate Huntsmen are considered the best of the best in the whole world in terms of skill and prowess, it is no surprise that most would kill to gain a chance to be accepted.

However, it is also the slim chance to be accepted that some of the less confident individuals in the Bullhead found themselves fidgeting, second-guessing their abilities, or staring out the window in an anxious silence.

In the middle of all the excitement, anticipation, and stress, an ash blond with unkempt hair tousled and arms crossed lazily over his chest, who dozed on a seat away from the rest, suddenly stirred awake in a panic.

With a deep gasp, he opened his eyes, staring wide-eyed at the metal ceiling above him. His hand instinctively clutched at his chest as he calmed his rapid beating heart with slow, deep breaths.

No one helped, granted his presence was so minimal that most hadn't even noticed him there to begin with.

Once his heart had smoothed out, he resisted the urge to vomit as he breathed in and out, slowly, to collect his thoughts.

Clerval Greyson.

That was his name, at least that's what he could recall in his blurry memories; it was like traversing through a murky fog with no sense of direction.

All he could remember was his name, what he looked like, a vague background history of himself, basic motor functions, a common understanding of this world, and...

His hand reaches out for the necklace around his neck, fiddling with it. A strange warmth bloomed in his chest as he tightly gripped it.

This blue butterfly necklace. It was a gift, but he can't remember who gave it to him. All he knew was the fact that letting it go would be a mistake.

He surveyed the interior of the Bullhead, recognizing the emotions lingering in the air before his attention was drawn to the window in front of him.

Beacon Academy... It looks like he wanted to be a Huntsman, seeing that it corresponds with the current timeframe of Beacon's required on-site test.

Theoretically, he should have some form of belongings...

He reached under his seat instinctively, his hand brushing against the rough texture of old leather before pulling, revealing a worn-out backpack filled with items.

Opening it, he dug through it as his mind briefly filled in the blanks of the item descriptions.

The bag was mostly empty, except for a few exceptions, such as clothes, hygiene products, his Scroll, music player and earphones, and a few radiant-cut gems of various colors.

His eyes frowned as he compared them. They differed from normal elemental Dust, the radiant-cut gems had more of a glow and were more vibrant.

Agi, Bufu, Zio, Garu, Kouha, and Eiha Gems. He had never heard of them before, yet he knew how to use them. There was no such thing as Light and Darkness elemental Dust.

Deciding to keep them in their respective places for now, he checked his Scroll, unlocking it without any password needed.

Looking through the contents of the hardlight-constructed screen, he sighed before keeping it in his pockets; it was empty as if brand new. There was nothing in there that would help his blurry memories at all.

With nothing else better to do other than wait, he brought out his music player and earphones to enjoy some music. Hnn, flipping through the music selection, the upbeat tunes with depressing lyrics really fit his tastes.

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Blending into the crowd spearheaded by a red-haired girl, he followed the majority of the Huntsmen-to-be into a large amphitheater where they were supposed to rendezvous.

Waiting for a good ten minutes, the headmaster and deputy of Beacon Academy finally turned up to give their speeches. The headmaster, Ozpin Woz, if his memory was to be believed, spoke about knowledge, self-discovery, and hard work.

Meanwhile, the deputy, Glynda Goodwitch, simply stated that they will be staying in this exact amphitheater for the night, with the on-site test scheduled tomorrow.

Both speeches were vague and short; he did not expect so much free time in between the next day and the current situation. So did the other applicants, as they started to walk out of the amphitheater with the intention of exploring Beacon Academy.

He personally moved to the locker rooms where their larger luggage was already neatly stored, courtesy of Beacon's staff. Looking for his numbered locker, he passed by a worried black-haired girl with red tips who dashed towards her designated locker with a blonde in tow before finally locating his luggage.

As expected, the luggage in the locker was minimal at best. Opening it with a zipper, he looked through the rest of his belongings.

More spare clothing, stationery, empty books, daily necessities such as his identification cards, some cash money...

And two weapons meant for combatting the Grimm.

One was a black longsword. Its design was so bland and uninspiring that one might think that it was a mass-produced product. He squinted as he gave the sword a quick check.

From the looks of things, it was as if the sword had never seen live combat before, from the sword edges and the perfect condition of the handle and blade.

As he unsheathed the blade of the sword to test its weight, he felt a sense of familiarity once he gave a quick few swings. This was interesting; it seems that he had some experience wielding it.

He sheathed the sword and placed it back into his locker before moving onto the remaining weapon in his arsenal.

It was a silver gun inside a holster. Unholstering the gun, he inspected the firearm, only to realize that it was something akin to a toy or item.

It didn't have any means of firing a Dust bullet. He double-checked it; there was no mechanism built-in, and the magazine couldn't even be released to load a bullet.

Instead, it held something that glowed in the dark. A familiar shade of blue, similar to the butterfly necklace of his.

A little embossing was etched on the shell of the magazine, perhaps it was the name of the gun?

He had no idea what it was, but he felt that it was something important, so he carefully inserted the magazine back into the gun-like item.

His fingers instinctively caressed the gun barrel where the words "F.O.O.L." were engraved. Holding onto the gun, Evoker was its name he suspects, just like his longsword, a wave of warmth arose in his chest.

This was... something precious. That, he knew, but he didn't know the reason.

Pointing the Evoker straight at the locker walls, he hesitated as his finger rested on its trigger before putting more pressure to pull it back.

...

...

...

Nothing happened. There was just a soft sound of a click. As expected, it was a dud.

But just holding on to it made him feel a sense of security, so he decided to wear it at the side of his hip.

Anticipating questions about why he was carrying a firearm in public, he mentally rehearsed his answer that it was just a toy.

Still, he hid the gun by sliding the holster deeper into his jacket to avoid the question being asked in the first place before he locked his locker.

His intended questions were already answered, so there was no other need to stay here any longer. The day was already darkening, so he made his way to the cafeteria for some food to end the day.

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NEXT UPDATE: Take a Deep Breath, Deep Breath, The Butler Who Can Bend Fire (14 Jan, Wednesday)

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