SXD: The Test of Strength

“Your test will be to eliminate a group of Grimm.” Issei blinked. "Wait, hold on—what are Grimm?" The room went silent. Weiss stared at him

“Your test will be to eliminate a group of Grimm.”

Issei blinked. "Wait, hold on—what are Grimm?"

The room went silent. Weiss stared at him like he'd just asked if water was wet. Even Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know what Grimm are?" Weiss asked, her tone sharp with disbelief. As if completely forgetting that he had amnesia. 

"Should I?" Issei rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I barely remember anything, okay? I wake up in a new world, punched a big wolf monster into dust, and now people are asking me to fight more of them. Figured I should at least ask why before jumping into another brawl."

Ozpin studied him for a moment before nodding. "A reasonable question." He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together. "The Grimm are creatures of darkness—soulless, destructive beasts drawn to negativity. They have plagued humanity for as long as history can remember, and Huntsmen and Huntresses train to fight them."

Issei crossed his arms. "So, basically, they're mindless monsters that attack people for no reason?"

"Essentially."

"Alright. Sounds like a good enough reason to punch 'em." He cracked his knuckles.

At that moment, the door to Ozpin’s office swung open, and a tall, blonde woman in a stunning blonde woman in a tight-fitting teacher outfit with a cape stepped in. She adjusted her glasses as her sharp gaze landed on Issei. Issei’s eyes, naturally, went straight to her impressive oppai.

"Headmaster Ozpin," Glynda Goodwitch said, her tone crisp and professional. "Who is this?"

Weiss exhaled. ‘Finally, someone reasonable.’

Ozpin gave his usual enigmatic smile. "Miss Goodwitch, allow me to introduce Issei Hyoudou. He is… a rather unique case."

"Unique how?" Glynda narrowed her eyes.

"He claims to be from another world," Weiss said before Issei could respond, her arms folded. "He also destroyed a Beowolf with a single punch."

“While that is impressive, What is he doing here?”

“We are simply about to do a little test to see young Hyoudou’s abilities.”

Glynda frowned. "You're sending a civilian to fight Grimm?"

"We are testing his abilities," Ozpin said calmly. "If he proves himself, he will stay at Beacon under supervision until he regains his memories."

Glynda looked at Issei again, this time with a more scrutinizing expression. "And if he fails?"

Issei grinned. "Then I guess I get eaten. But, uh, that’s not happening."

Weiss muttered under her breath, "Cocky idiot."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "We’ll quickly react and rescue him. Now shall we proceed to the testing grounds?"

Ozpin led them outside to the forest behind Beacon, a training ground commonly used for combat exercises. The rest of Team RWBY had joined them, all standing by a set of monitors set up to observe the test from a safe distance.

"Alright," Issei stretched his arms, stepping forward. "So, where’s the fight?"

Ozpin gestured toward the clearing ahead. "The Grimm will come to you."

Weiss, standing beside Yang, pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why are you even here?”

Yang grinned. "Hey, if he can beat Grimm with his fists, I kinda wanna see it."

Blake remained silent, but her golden eyes were watching Issei intently.

Ruby, on the other hand, was bouncing with excitement. "I just wanna see that cool glowing gauntlet in action!"

Glynda sighed. "This is ridiculous."

Ozpin remained quiet, simply watching. They quickly left the field and headed to monitor the fight.

And then, the Grimm appeared.

Several Beowolves stalked out from the trees, their red eyes locked onto Issei. A few Ursai followed, their massive hulking forms snarling as they prepared to charge.

Issei eyed the approaching Grimm before speaking into his earpiece.  "So, I just… kill them?"

"Yes," Ozpin confirmed.

"Cool."

And then he moved, allowing his instinct to take over.

The Boosted Gear flared to life, crimson light bathing the battlefield.

[BOOST!]

A shockwave erupted from Issei as he shot forward, closing the distance faster than any of them expected. The first Beowolf lunged—only for Issei’s fist to meet its skull in a blur of motion. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, and a second later, the creature’s head simply ceased to exist, its body dissolving into black mist before it even hit the ground.

The body disintegrated before it even hit the ground.

In the next instant, Issei grabbed another Beowolf by the arm and ripped it off before slamming the creature into the dirt with bone-crushing force.

A massive Ursa roared, rearing up to attack. Issei turned, his gauntlet glowing brighter.

His fist met the Ursa’s chest like a sledgehammer, and for a split second, its massive frame seemed to freeze. Then, with a deafening crack, a shockwave rippled outward, and the beast imploded into nothing but swirling black mist.

Another Beowolf pounced from behind. Without looking, Issei backhanded it, sending it flying into a tree so hard the trunk snapped in half.

The fight lasted less than thirty seconds.

Total annihilation. No strategy, no careful movement—just brutal, overwhelming force.

And just like that, it was over.

Back at the monitors, Team RWBY stood frozen.

Weiss’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again—like a fish struggling for air. No words came out.

Yang blinked, then let out a low whistle. “Holy crap.”

Blake’s golden eyes remained locked on the screen, her hidden ears twitching beneath her bow. “That wasn’t a fight. That was an execution.”

Ruby practically vibrated with excitement, stars shining in her silver eyes. “THAT. WAS. AWESOME!”

Glynda adjusted her glasses. "That… was unexpected."

Ozpin took a slow sip of his coffee, utterly unfazed. 'Hmm.'

On the screen, Issei dusted off his hands and turned back toward them. "So, uh… am I in?"

Back in Ozpin’s office, Weiss still hadn’t fully processed what she had just witnessed.

Ozpin, ever unshaken, took another slow sip of his coffee. “Well, that was certainly… enlightening.”

Weiss snapped out of her daze. "You’re actually letting him stay?"

Ozpin placed his cup down. "Leaving someone with such power unsupervised would be far more dangerous."

Weiss opened her mouth to argue—then promptly shut it. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point.

Issei grinned. "Sweet! Looks like I’m officially a student now."

Glynda let out a long-suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is absurd."

Ruby, meanwhile, was still buzzing with excitement. "You should totally let me see the gauntlet."

Yang patted Issei’s back. "We should totally spar sometime!"

Blake narrowed her eyes slightly. "Strength like that comes with responsibility."

Weiss just groaned. This idiot was going to be around her all the time now, wasn’t he?

Ozpin smiled. "Welcome to Beacon, Mr. Hyoudou."

Issei grinned wider. "Nice. Now, uh… where’s the cafeteria? I’m starving."

Weiss couldn’t take it anymore. She turned sharply to Ozpin, her voice rising in sheer disbelief.

"Headmaster, are you seriously considering letting this lunatic attend Beacon?! He doesn’t even know what Aura is!"

Issei tilted his head. "Aura? That some kind of shampoo?"

Weiss threw up her hands. "Unbelievable!"

Yang snorted, covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Ruby, on the other hand, looked genuinely confused. "Wait… you really don’t know what Aura is?"

"Uh, nope." Issei shrugged. "Like I said, memory’s kinda busted. Should I?"

"It’s literally the most basic thing a Huntsman uses!" Weiss exclaimed. "How can you fight like that without even knowing what it is?!"

"I dunno. Just kinda do it, I guess?"

Ozpin, instead of looking concerned, seemed even more intrigued. His fingers tapped against his mug as he observed Issei thoughtfully. "Fascinating…"

Weiss turned to Ozpin, fully expecting him to revoke this ridiculous decision. Instead, the Headmaster simply smiled.

"I believe Mr. Hyoudou’s presence will be quite… educational."

Weiss felt a headache coming on. "You cannot be serious."

Ozpin took a slow sip of his coffee, clearly very serious.

Issei, on the other hand, looked completely fine with everything. He grinned, placing his hands behind his head. "Oh, sweet! So, Weiss, does this mean we’re classmates now?"

She tensed.

"Guess you’ll have to get used to me, huh?"

Weiss groaned loudly, realizing that this absolute idiot was now officially a part of her daily life.

Yang chuckled. "Ohhh, this is gonna be fun."

Blake, ever the quiet observer, gave Weiss a sympathetic look before returning to watching Issei.

Ruby, oblivious to her partner’s suffering, simply beamed. "Welcome to Beacon, Issei!"

Weiss, however, could already feel her patience wearing thin.

This was going to be a long semester.