Chapter 2

Dirt and leaves blew around her body, Ruby’s skin feeling the occasional pinch of the natural debris of the autumn season while she rode on the back of Yang’s motorcycle. The both of them were headed towards one of the Vale entrance exam buildings, where each upcoming student was to take their final test before being allowed entry into their respective school. The details of the test were vague, and information about it was difficult to find, that combined with something else giving Ruby a sense of anxious dread. For not only will failure of this test result in her entry to the school being denied, but this test is completely autonomous and individually based. She won’t have the typical support of her sister or her peers; she will be completely alone as she is tested. Her older sister looked back behind her, her sunglasses reflecting a harsh sunlight into Ruby’s face while she spoke. “You good?” Yang asked, Ruby nodding while she answered. “Yeah, I’m just a little nervous.” Tilting her head, Yang looked back to the front of the road, steering the motorcycle past a truck. “What?” Yang yelled out, Ruby inhaling deeply. “I’m kind of nervous!” She loudly clarified, Yang shaking her head while she coasted along the side of the road. “Don’t be. This’ll be easy for someone like you, Ruby.” “You think so?” Ruby questioned. Yang grinned, taking the motorcycle off the road and cutting into the next street, Ruby gripping onto Yang’s sides tightly while her older sister made the illegal turn. “Yeah - ” Yang began, kicking up a cloud of dirt as they drifted onto the next road, the motorcycle taking off towards the auxiliary building. “I do.” “You’re gonna get pulled over again.” Ruby stated, Yang laughing out, beginning to slow down in front of the building’s parking lot. “Alright, we’re here. Get us a spot in line while I park.” Stepping off the motorcycle, Ruby walked over towards the large, modern-looking building, seeing a guard stood by its entrance. As she got closer to it, she took in its Atlas-esque designs, its white foundations with blue highlights shining brightly, even from outside. “ID.” The guard ordered gruffly, Ruby flinching, reaching her hand into her satchel and pulling out her wallet. She pulled out her Vale ID, handing it to the guard and watching as he inspected it. Nodding his head, he handed her back the ID, before waving her inside the building.

Stepping inside, Ruby looked around the building, slowly walking forwards as she inspected the interior. It was similarly designed to the exterior, with the same Atlas insignias and noble family crests scattered throughout. She turned to see several large interior arenas, each of them having a line of people standing in front of them. She began to walk over towards the first one, heaving a deep exhale to try and calm her ever-growing nerves. Attempting to focus on more pleasant things, Ruby squinted her eyes as she stopped at the back of the line, reaching for her scroll to give Yang a message. Simply messaging her that she was now in line, she watched as Yang responded with a quick “omw”, Ruby sticking her scroll back into her pocket. Turning over to the other lines, Ruby saw tens, if not hundreds of people in the same age range of her sister, their boisterous chatter nearly audible over the sound of the building’s air conditioning. “They can’t all be applicants to Beacon, right?” Ruby thought to herself, pursing her lips as she stepped forward in line. She looked at the people ahead of her, each of them holding their weapons out in anticipation of their upcoming test. The sight of the diversity of weapons was calming to her, reminding her of a time when she would browse weapon magazines for hours within her room. “Ruby!” Yang yelled out from a distance, Ruby spinning on her heel towards her, waving her arms up while calling out her name. “Yang! I’m right here!” Ruby shouted, Yang marching over towards her, cutting in line right behind her, the people behind them too engrossed in their scrolls to notice. “Alright. Ya ready?” Yang asked, Ruby rubbing her hands along her wrists, shrugging her shoulders. “I… I don’t know. Do you know what the test is?” Thinking for a second, Yang narrowed her eyes, scratching her hand along her neck as the two walked further in line. “...no, not really. I know you fight one of those Atlas simulated grimm things, but… uh, yeah, no intel outside’a that.” The two soon reached the front of the line, a large airlock filtering the last fighter out of the arena. Ruby looked over her shoulder to see Yang preparing herself, strapping her weapons onto her arms. Two thickly armored gauntlets that went all the way to her elbows, a mechanical whirr emitting from them as its dust emitter powered up.

Once Ruby reached the front, a holographic panel appeared in front of Ruby, a pleasant, masculine voice chirping from its speaker. “Hello! Would you like to continue this instruction in Common, South Fauni, or Bordlish?” The panel asked, Ruby clearing her throat slightly before answering. “Uh… Common, please.” “Okay! Please display your identification papers.” Reaching into her satchel once again, Ruby fished her ID card from her wallet, holding it up in front of the panel. “Thank you. Confirmed identity as Ruby Rose, applicant for Beacon Academy. Please hold…” A new panel showed up, showing an image of a wire connecting and disconnecting from a wireless Scroll. “Please allow us to connect to your Scroll, Ruby Rose.” The robotic voice requested, Ruby taking out her scroll, receiving a pop-up requesting remote access from “VATC #6”. Accepting the request, the panel vanished, the airlock door opening for her to enter. “Thank you for your cooperation. Please enter the arena.” Drawing a deep breath, Ruby walked forward, looking back towards Yang and receiving a thumbs-up from her older sister. Upon entering the airlock, both of the doors closed around her, Ruby watching as air filtered between the arena and the rest of the building. Shortly afterwards, the other door opened, Ruby walking through it and stepping within the arena. It was a simple, circular field of packed dirt, stretching about a hundred meters around. A levitating spherical drone came flying in front of Ruby, scanning her for a moment from its singular, green-colored camera. Outside of this brightly colored camera, the drone was a solid, polished orb of metal. After a slight delay, it finished its scan, speaking in the same voice as the earlier automation. “Hello! My name is Linguistics Instructions and Armaments Manager, though you may call me LIAM for short.” “Oh, hi, Liam!” Ruby replied, LIAM displaying a panel for her to interact with. It appeared to be a concise terms and conditions document, Ruby speed reading it and agreeing. “Thank you! Welcome to the Vale Auxiliary Training Center. Here, you will be tested on your combative capabilities to ensure you are fit for Huntress training.” The panel then displayed a visual transcript of what LIAM was saying, the drone proceeding to read off what was written. “You will be provided with simulated grimm creatures to battle with. The creatures are chosen at random, though there are five difficulty categories for you to pick from.” Ruby raised an eyebrow, listening while LIAM continued to explain. “Depending on your choice of school, choosing higher difficulties may place you in a priority above other applicants.” The panel switched to the next slide, the transcript moving down under an image of what looked to be some sort of user interface. “During combat, your Aura will be measured via a bar on your scroll. It will also be displayed on four screens mounted above the arena.” Ruby looked around the arena, watching the four monitors flicker on, loading for a moment before displaying her aura percentage. She took out her scroll, its screen occupied by a similar interface, reading out “RUBY ROSE - 100%”. “Upon reaching 15% Aura or lower, the simulated grimm will automatically deactivate, and the test will be failed. Taking longer than 15 minutes will also result in failure.” Before Ruby could speak, LIAM flew directly in front of her, stopping just a foot from her face. “To help remember, simply think of it as the 15/15 rule!” “Oh, uh… okay.” LIAM backed up, hovering next to the panel, the holographic image switching to a new slide. “Do you understand the regulations of the Vale Auxiliary Training Center?” LIAM asked, Ruby responding with a simple “Yes.” “Good! Now, please select your difficulty.” Looking back at the panel, Ruby saw that it was now only a choice of five buttons. Labeled from 1 to 5, Ruby looked towards the first option. It had a green coloration to it, Ruby hovering her finger in front of it, prompting LIAM to begin explaining. “Difficulty 1 is most suitable for those without any combative experience. Its grimm types are passive, fearful creatures that will rarely attack the user.” Shaking her head, Ruby hovered her hand in front of the final option, it shining with a menacing, glowing red. “Difficulty 5 is most suitable for those with professional combative experience. Its grimm are incredibly powerful and aggressive beings that utilize advanced tactics when fighting.” Gripping her hand, Ruby hesitated for a moment. “Beacon is gonna pick the people who choose the hardest difficulty, right..?” Ruby thought, pressing a finger up against the Difficulty 5 option. “Are you sure you want to choose Difficulty 5?” LIAM asked, Ruby looking up to it while she answered. “Yeah!” “Please note that this difficulty was made for - ” “C’mon, just lemme fight it already!” Ruby anxiously whined, her patience beginning to wear thin. LIAM stopped its monologue, hovering silently for a second before speaking. “Very well. The test will begin shortly.” LIAM flew up towards the ceiling of the arena, vanishing from sight. Inhaling deeply through her nose, Ruby stepped back, drawing her weapon and transforming it into its scythe state.

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She already began to regret choosing the hardest difficulty, her gritting her teeth as the unbearable silence of the arena casted over her. She wouldn’t know what to do if she failed this test, her anxiety beginning to skyrocket as LIAM’s voice sounded over the arena’s intercom. “Summoning the Olgoi-Khorkhoi… now.” Ruby gripped her weapon, narrowing her eyes while she looked around the arena. Despite many grudging seconds passing after LIAM supposedly summoned the grimm, Ruby couldn’t see it anywhere, feeling only a faint rumbling from beneath her. Her worries were settled when a sudden force came burrowing from the earth behind her, Ruby turning around to see a giant, worm-like grimm barreling towards her. The thing was easily twice her height in width, with a length that seemed to stretch across half the arena. Bursting from its head were 4 tentacle appendages, each of them feeling around the air and the earth below it. But all Ruby could see was a large row of jagged teeth angled towards her, narrowly dodging out the way while the Olgoi-Khorkhoi sped past her. As it went to turn around towards her, Ruby noticed a large, red bulb at the end of its tail, smirking as she prepared to strike it. But once she got within reach of it, it sprayed out a red, sickly fluid towards her, Ruby not able to react in time to dodge it. The hissing nanites simulating the venom stuck to her clothes and skin, Ruby noticing her aura rapidly ticking down while she was covered in it. Quickly transforming into a burst of petals and shedding the liquid, Ruby dashed past the worm’s next attack, bringing out her scythe and running it along the creature’s side. Its skin was far too thick for such a direct attack, the tip of her blade bouncing off it as she failed to penetrate past its chitin armor. The Olgoi-Khorkhoi screamed out, its booming yell deafening, causing Ruby to hold her hands over her ears while slowly backing away from it. It then rolled over towards her, Ruby not managing the strength to get out of the way, being crushed under the creature’s massive weight. Once it passed over her, Ruby struggled to get back onto her feet, firing her weapon towards it and using the recoil to make some distance. She looked over at one of the monitors to read “RUBY ROSE - 21%”. “...heck.” She let out, gnawing on her lower lip as she looked back towards the grimm. It was burrowing back into the ground, its body sliding around while the red bulb on its other end dangled around. However, Ruby saw something different with the bulb this time. Instead of glowing red, it was a faint, darker color, defenselessly bobbing around while the Olgoi-Khorkhoi dug back into the earth. Grinning, Ruby prepared her weapon one more time, aiming it under her feet and firing a shot. Being launched up into the air, Ruby fired another bullet, earning just enough distance to collide into the creature’s bulb. Before it could move its bulb away, Ruby swung her blade into its soft flesh with all the might she could manage, the Olgoi-Khorkhoi howling out in pain from under the ground, its entire body flailing around while it quickly burrowed into the earth. Landing on the ground, Ruby brought herself into a more defensive stance, standing across from where the Olgoi-Khorkhoi breached the earth. Globs of the red venom from earlier pooled in its maw, the grimm then firing several of these projectiles towards Ruby. Jumping up into the air, Ruby elegantly dodged between each of the liquid projectiles, petal bursting towards the Olgoi-Khorkhoi. It brought its head up into the air, Ruby angling the barrel of her weapon into the ground from her right side. Once it slammed its body into the ground, Ruby leaped out of the way, bouncing off the ground and landing on top of the grimm. Running forward, she held her weapon up, planting the tip of it into its head. Its body wiggled around for a moment, Ruby mounting on top of it, her face bright with a strange sense of glee while she rode the creature. Her earlier nervousness and doubts were replaced by sheer adrenaline, her heart beating in her chest while the Olgoi-Khorkhoi burrowed back into the ground. Above her, the aura meter on the monitors slowly climbed up, it currently measured at 45%. Once its tail whipped up into the air, Ruby ascended along its back, stopping mid-air and firing a round into its bulb. Giving another howl of pain, the creature whipped its tail end into Ruby, smacking her into the ground. “Uuf…” Ruby moaned, rubbing at the side of her head and looking up at the monitors. “RUBY ROSE - 16%”. Baring her teeth, Ruby met the Olgoi-Khorkhoi’s gaze, the giant worm screaming out, Ruby just enough out of its range to not be stunned by it again. Grunting, the creature laid down against the ground, rapidly swinging its body left and right as it headed towards Ruby. Petal bursting in the air, Ruby met the creature’s advance, bringing the edge of her blade against one of the creature’s sensory appendages. It yelped out, pointing its tail bulb towards her and firing a burst of venom, with considerably less accuracy than last time. Sliding around its head, Ruby swiped her blade against its last remaining appendage on its left side, the tentacle flopping against the ground as it was severed from the Olgoi-Khorkhoi’s body. It cried out in pain, its teeth gnashing together as a mixture of saliva and venom oozed from its mouth. Jumping up into the air, Ruby fired her weapon to get more aerial momentum, spinning her blade around in her hands above her head. The Olgoi-Khorkhoi turned its head up to meet her attack, Ruby bringing her weapon down onto the being’s final two appendages, managing to cut both of them off in one fell swoop. The grin on her face widened, Ruby petal bursting onto the creature’s back, it flailing around helplessly underneath her. Just as she anticipated, its lack of sensory organs caused enough shock to deactivate the bulb, her running along the creature’s impossibly long body to finish it off. As she brought her scythe up to the bulb, the creature attempted to bend around towards her, its movements stopping once Ruby skewered her scythe’s blade into the bulb, ripping the organ from its body and causing nanites to spray across the ground. Narrowing an eye, Ruby then ran along the Olgoi-Khorkhoi’s back and went to drive the severed bulb into its mouth. Firing her weapon, Ruby tried to use the momentum to slam the bulb into the creature’s maw, only for it to rapidly wither away into a mass of nanites beneath her, causing her to fall down onto her rear. With a slight pout, Ruby stood up, dusting herself off and looking at the cloud of nanobots filtering back into the vents. “Ahh… these nanobot Grimm just aren’t like the real thing.” Ruby muttered to herself. She looked up to the monitor, it no longer displaying her aura. Instead, it simply read “TEST PASSED - TIME 7:49”. A wide grin on her face, Ruby sheathed her weapon, raising her arms up while she cheered. “Prey slaughtered!” Ruby declared, turning her head to sounds of mechanical whirring above her. LIAM came flying down from the ceiling, hovering in front of Ruby while it spoke. “Congratulations! You have successfully defeated the Olgoi-Khorkhoi!” It chirped, Ruby jumping up and taking the drone in an embrace, spinning it around while she eagerly cheered. “I did it! I did it! I beat up the big worm!” “Yes, you did.” LIAM managed to pry itself from Ruby’s grasp, beginning to hover its way towards the airlock. “Please follow me.” It requested, Ruby nodding, following the drone, barely able to contain her excitement as she exited through the airlock. Once she entered the main building, she immediately bumped into Yang, looking up to her older sister with a beaming smile on her face, Yang chuckling while she met eyes with Ruby. “Did ya win?” Yang asked, Ruby nodding while jumping in place in front of her. “Yeah! I chose the hardest one, and I thought - I thought I was gonna lose, but once I was in it, I - I did it! I beat it!” The panel whirred to life in front of Yang, Yang walking up to it, showing her ID card. “Let’s talk about it on the way home, alright?” Yang suggested, Ruby nodding in response. “We might, uh… need to put that outfit in the laundry, too.” “Huh?” Ruby looked down at her clothes, pulling at the edges of her skirt while more closely inspecting herself. Both her skin and clothes were coated in a thin layer of dirt, with some bruising visible at the top of her torso. “Oh. Oops.” Ruby let out, Yang softly laughing to herself as she entered the airlock.

About ten or so minutes passed, Ruby looking towards the airlock door as Yang came walking out of it, LIAM drifting off back into the arena. “So? How’d you do?” Ruby asked, Yang chuckling to herself, cracking her neck before answering. “Oh, y’know, just kinda stomped that difficulty 5 thing. Was a lot easier than expected.” “Error.” The panel’s speaker ringed out, Yang going pale as it displayed her test’s results as a holographic slide, Ruby beginning to read it while the speaker spoke. “We’ve logged into the system that you have chosen Difficulty 4. Would you like to flag this as a mistake?” It innocently asked, Yang shaking her head, placing her hand on Ruby’s shoulder while beginning to walk towards the building’s exit. “Yeah, I’ll… fix that later. Let’s go, Ruby.” Ruby stopped in place, snickering as she placed her hand over her mouth. Pursing her lips, Yang stood silently as Ruby began to laugh, drooping her head downwards and turning around. “C’mon…” Yang let out, looking up towards Ruby while the two walked alongside one another. “It - it wouldn’t let me change it back. It’s not like I wanted to do 4.” Not buying the lie, Ruby only gave another snicker, Yang drawing in a deep breath as she pushed past the door. “Okay. Guess who’s walking home, now.” “Aww! Don’t be such a wuss, Yang!”