RWBY: Ascent

---Third Person POV---

It was noon when Ryze finally arrived at the outskirts of Mount Glenn. Once he arrived, he spent around ten minutes searching for the goliaths in the area before finally finding them.

"There they are. I can't wait. The first challenge I might actually experience in this world. I was worried that I'd be bored out of my mind until I got the chance to fight the boss grimms like the grimm dragon or Salem's giant whale. These guys though, they'll be a perfect challenge," Ryze whispered to himself excitedly. Without noticing, a maniacal grin had crept onto his face.

Ryze leapt up to a nearby cliff and watched the goliaths approach the area he was at. In the quiet surroundings of the mountain only disturbed by the footsteps of the goliaths, the sound of crackling lightning started to grow in volume.

"Let the show begin! As Madara would say, it's time to dance!"

Ryze launched himself from the cliff, lightning streaming off his body making him look like a blue streak in the air. Within a split second a loud crash sounded out as Ryze's fist collided with the skull of the first goliath in the group.

"You guys are far more durable than those other lousy grimm aren't you? A strike like this would usually turn any grimm to dust!"

After colliding with the goliath, Ryze kicked off its head and landed in front of it. A small crater was left in its skull armor. The moment Ryze touched the ground, the goliath let out a resounding roar as it stomped one of its legs down towards Ryze.

"Let's see how your strength compares to all the other failure grimm that came before you!"

As the goliath's leg came crashing down, Ryze raised one arm and reinforced himself with cursed energy. The moment the goliath's leg collided with his open palm, a large shockwave spread out from the impact. A wave of dirt and dust rose up, and after a few second the dust and dirt settled down. The view would've left anyone else on Remnant reeling. 

"Not bad! I'd hazard a guess and say a stomp like this could crush some small settlements!"

Ryze was in a large crater in the ground. However, he himself was still standing and his arm was holding up the goliath's leg. In a split second, he pulled back his other arm and launched it into the bottom of the goliath's foot, sending it upwards onto its hind legs.

"No wonder you guys are considered smart. You've already circled me in. Cheeky bastards."

While Ryze had been busy catching the first goliath's stomp, the other goliath's of the group had ran around him and created a large circle, trapping him in. Ryze was stuck in the middle of hulking black masses of giant monsters. He had never felt more alive.

"Come on! What are you waiting for, an invitation? Show me you aren't trash like everything else that challenges me," shouted Ryze with a look that could only be described as absolutely insane.

All at once the goliaths around Ryze roared into the air. Black swirling masses of energy formed in each of their mouths and blasted toward him all together. In the split second they had charged up, Ryze launched himself upwards towards one of the goliaths and grabbed it by one of its tusks. 

"I don't remember grimm being able to fire of beams of energy like that. I wonder if it's something reserved for the higher tiers of grimm that are older."

Ryze slammed his heel down into the tusk of the goliath while activating his lightning cloak. A sharp crack echoed as the tusk snapped off. In the middle of the air Ryze swung the tusk around himself and catapulted it toward into the eye of one of the goliaths. It roared out in pain as one of the other ones swung their tusks at Ryze.

Seeing the tusk rapidly approach him while he was falling, Ryze constructed a lightning whip and latched it around a tusk of one of the other goliaths before swinging himself away. At the apex of his swing he turned around midair and swung his arm at the goliath who attacked him.

''Dismantle!"

A large gash appeared on the side of its hide while the other goliaths redirected their gazes at him and launched another volley of energy blasts at him. The site of this brought Ryze great amusement as he laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! You want to challenge me? Be my guests! Open!"

Within the palms of his hand appeared a blazing fire as Ryze stretched his hands apart and formed a large arrow with said flames.

"Let's see what wins! Your lousy beams or my divine flames!"

At that moment Ryze released the arrow from his hand as it collided with the coalition of beams charging towards him. 

---On the outskirts of Mount Glenn a few miles away---

"What in the world was that explosion?!"

---Back with Ryze---

The surrounding area looked like a view straight out of hell. All that remained of the area was burning flames that stretched tens of meters into the air. Each of the goliaths had scorch marks along their bone plating and hides.

"Of course divine flames would win. In what world would divinity ever lose to mindless creatures such as yourselves?"

Ryze stood upon the disintegrating body of a now dead goliath. It was the one closest to the blast of Ryze's flame arrow. It's decaying body served as a stark warning to the other goliaths that they may not leave this battle alive.

"Enough messing around. I've seen enough. You creatures certainly are a step above the other wastes of space. You even coordinate your attacks against me. However, that's the extent of your abilities. Your strength still can't rival mine. Now let me show you why."

Within a fraction of a second Ryze's form vanished from where he was standing and reappeared right in front of one of the goliaths.

"Cleave."

Ryze placed his palm upon the goliath's face as he said one word. In the next instant thousands of slashes ran across the goliath's body as it screamed in pain. It collapsed as it's head was mutilated beyond recognition. This gruesome attack occurred all within the span of a second.

The other goliaths that witnessed this took a collective step back from the scene. 

"Oh? Do creatures of darkness such as yourselves experience fear? How delightful. I can't wait to torment you more," Ryze spoke with fervor as he lifted up both of his arms like a conductor would in front of an orchestra.

"Dismantle!"

Ryze swung his arms across his body as he directed two slashes at the legs of the two nearest goliaths. Their legs were sliced out from right under them. As they fell forward, Ryze dashed toward one of them, lightning gathering in the palm of his hand.

"Raikiri!"

His figure carved straight through its body as the raikiri pierced straight through the goliath's entire figure. Ryze landed on the other side of it, the sound of a thousand chirping birds still loudly blaring throughout the landscape.

Ryze pivoted on one foot and launched the raikiri straight from his hand towards the other falling goliath. A dazzling streak of lightning soared across the air and instantly eviscerated the head of the other goliath.

By this point the other goliaths had retreated a few meters away and looked like they were about to run from him.

"Now where do you think your going? I didn't give you permission to leave!"

The next moment Ryze slammed his hand down onto the ground and used cleave on the surrounding area. A large spiderweb of cracks spread out from underneath him and caused all of the other remaining goliaths to stagger.

"It's been around a few minutes since this fight started and you bastards are already cowering in fear. Well then, let me put you out of your misery!"

Raising a hand, Ryze sent a bolt of lightning up above him. For the past few minutes, thunderclouds had slowly started to form above them due to the flames left from Ryze's divine flames. A slow rumble could be heard as the clouds began to darken and blue lightning could be seen briefly crackling.

In the span of a few seconds, the form of a large dragon could be seen in the clouds, shaped by lightning. 

"This is it! Your ages of life end within an instance. Ironic isn't it?"

A loud laughter could be heard echoing into the air as the lightning dragon grew in size. Then, one phrase was uttered.

"Begone with a thunderclap! Kirin!"

The sound of thunder ceased as pure lightning crashed down upon the remaining goliaths. All that remained of the once mighty beasts was ash.

"You guys truly were the best grimm around. I've never gotten the chance to use these abilities on anything else since they were all so pitifully weak."

The sounds of distant caws filled the air as a flock of fully grown nevermore began to flee the scene. After noticing there had been a fight with the goliaths, they came to see if they could gather some food for themselves after the battle. However, now that they had seen what became of the once mighty goliaths, they rapidly began to fly away.

"And who said you all were allowed to leave? I certainly didn't"

Ryze raised his arms. His fingers slowly came together and formed a single sign.

"You can try to fly away, but in my domain nothing can escape."

"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine"

The entire surrounding zone was instantly cast into darkness expanding 200 meters. A large shrine shaped itself underneath Ryze's feet as he gazed towards the fleeing nevermore. In the next instance, they were reduced to nothing, countless slices ravaging their bodies.

"I truly am king, aren't I?"

With that one sentence, Ryze turned away and let his domain fall. As he started to leave for home, he noticed a faint life signature in the distance.

"Hm? How did I not notice that before? Must have been enjoying myself too much. Let's see who it is," Ryze muttered to himself as his form disappeared from where he had been standing.

In the next instant he reappeared behind a young man. Around the same age as himself. He had blonde dirty hair and a chest plate on. Strapped to the side of his waist was a simple sword in a scabbard.

"Now what do we have here?"

The man jumped in terror and let out a girly squeal. His form quivered as he slowly turned around and looked into Ryze's eyes.

"Uhh... hi? I'm Jaune sir. Jaune Arc," he said while his body still quivered with fear.

"And what's someone like you doing out here Jaune. Judging by your reaction to me and how scrawny you are, I don't think someone like you is trained enough to handle being anywhere near Mount Glenn," Ryze commented as his gaze rested on Jaune's pathetic form.

"Umm, w-well I wanted to come out in a forest area like this to practice swinging my sword and I saw a big explosion from far away. I guess I just kind of unconsciously walked over here to see what was happening. I usually wouldn't go into such dangerous places like this," Jaune stuttered nervously, obviously shaken from something.

"So I'm assuming you saw the end of my fight then, huh?"

"Y-yes sir. I d-did. Ummm, I'm so sorry if I'm bothering you right now. I'll just go now..."

"Wait."

When Ryze told Jaune to wait as he started to turn away, he instantly froze. Jaune slowly turned back to Ryze.

"Y-yes sir?"

"You're afraid of me, aren't you? I guess I can't blame you, but there's no need. You aren't grimm, are you?"

"N-no sir! Definitely not grimm," Jaune urgently shouted out with fear.

"Then you're fine. I'm going to be a hunter and I don't just harm innocent people. It seems like you want to be a hunter too with your attire and sword, right?"

"Yes sir, I do want to be a hunter! It's my dream! I'm actually going to head to Beacon soon and take the initiation test," Jaune said in a much more relieved voice. He was grateful that the terrifyingly strong guy in front of him wasn't dangerous to him.

"I'm going to be honest here Jaune. You've got no shot at being a hunter right now. You're obviously not trained at all and your body's condition is poor. I can't even sense any aura from you. You do know what aura is, right?"

"Ummm, aura? No sir I don't know what that is. B-but I'm sure I can still be a hunter," Jaune said in a dejected tone after hearing what Ryze had said about him.

"If you don't even know what aura is, you've certainly not got any chance. I have a question for you Jaune, depending on your answer I'll make my decision on what kind of person you are. Why do you want to be a hunter? And are you willing to do whatever it takes to be one?"

"I want to be a hunter to live up to my family legacy. But, it's not just that. I want to be a hero like my grandfather and those that came before him. I want to save as many people as I can, even if it's only one. There's nothing more that I want to do with my life. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, which is why I left everything behind and came here to Vale."

"Hmmm, I see. You have a strong a resolve Jaune, but we'll see in the future if it holds true. As for now, I'll give you a gift."

Ryze lifted his hand and placed it on Jaune's shoulder, a light glow emanating from his palm.

"Uhhh, sir? What are you doing?"

"Unlocking your aura. Aura is the manifestation of your soul and can be used as a protective shield around yourself along with fueling your semblance. Everyone has an innate semblance, or ability, they can use with their aura. Now shush, let me focus."

"T-thank you sir!"

"For it is in strength that we achieve ascension. Through this, we become a paragon of might and fortitude to stand above all. Infinite in potential and unbound by the past, I release your soul, and by my hand, grace thee."

A bright glow emanated from Jaune as his aura erupted forth from his body. Ryze was subtly shocked by the sheer amount of it. Sure, Jaune was known to have a large amount of aura in the original series, but it seemed that it was a lot more than that with Ryze being the one to unlock it for him.

"I guess the stronger the person who unlocks your aura, the stronger your aura will be. Congrats Jaune, the amount of your aura is truly astronomical compared to others."

Ryze wasn't joking when he said Jaune's aura amount was astronomical. Jaune's aura amount could be estimated to be about over half of Ryze's. That may not seem like a lot, but considering Ryze's constitution, Ryze had a nearly infinite amount of aura.

"Thank you so much! I might really be able to achieve my dreams with this power! I feel amazing, like I could do anything," Jaune shouted with glee. His face had shifted into a large smile as he gazed at his arms and watched them glow with his aura.

"Don't get too cocky now Jaune. You'd still be beaten by anyone with formal hunter training. You have no experience with using your aura and probably don't know how to fight very well, do you?"

"No sir, I don't," Jaune said with a now much more dampened tone. His smile had fallen from his face and a frown had taken its place.

"It's fine. Your aura amount is a great starting point in comparison to others. But, I will say this Jaune. I don't think you should go to the Beacon initiation exam. You'll die," Ryze said with a serious voice as he stared straight into Jaune's eyes.

"B-but that's what I've spent all my life dreaming of! If I don't go to Beacon now, what am I going to do?"

"Go to Atlas. That's not a joke Jaune. I honestly think your best move would be to go to Atlas and enlist in their army. There you'll be trained harshly and be forced to grow rapidly. Considering your exceptional aura levels, you might even gain the attention of higher ranking officers and be given specialized training. If you go to Beacon now, you won't be given the proper basic training and will be expected to do well fighting grimm right off the bat. You'll die."

"Atlas? I never really considered that. But, won't I just be another soldier then?"

"I doubt it. First off, there's nothing wrong with being a soldier Jaune. But anyways, with your aura levels, if you truly push yourself and become the best you possible, you'll rise in rank and become a formidable hunter. I believe in that."

"So, I should head to Atlas? Is that really my best choice?" Jaune's face had a conflicted look on it. Jaune never even considered going anywhere but Beacon to become a hunter, but with the advice from Ryze, he was seriously thinking about going to Atlas.

"I think it is. The training will be hell there in Atlas Jaune. You'll be trained as a soldier through and through. However, if you can endure and rise up, no one will stand in your way of becoming a great hunter and possibly a high ranking officer"

"I'm willing to put in the work. After all, I don't care about which way I become a hunter and hero. If this really is the best way, then I'll put in as much work as it takes! You can count on that," Jaune promised with a smile blooming onto his face. It seemed as though he came to a decisive conclusion for his path.

"Then I recommend catching a flight to Atlas. I wish you the best of luck Jaune. Don't disappoint me. Someday, I might even want to see if you'll be a challenge to me. And by the way, my name is Ryze. Enough of that sir stuff."

With that, Ryze leapt away into the forest and quickly disappeared from Jaune's sight.

"I don't know about ever challenging someone as strong as you Ryze, but I'll be sure to make the most of myself. That's an Arc's promise."

---First Person POV---

I don't really know if what I did was right in terms of the story. However, I truly think this is the best course for Jaune. When he first showed up at Beacon he was pathetic. He had so much potential but never became anything worthwhile until Atlas and the Ever After despite his huge aura amounts. With the increased aura and strict training of Atlas, Jaune might truly become one of the best huntsman of this generation. His potential is high after all.

After leaving Mount Glenn, I made my way back home. I knew that the confrontation with Ruby and Roman would be soon since the month was almost over and Beacon's initiation was going to happen soon. Ruby got invited to Beacon right before Beacon started, so I don't have much time left until I meet her. I guess it's time for the story to really kick off.