Only I Level Up! (RWBY/Solo Levelling style AU) Chapter-1

Jaune Arc sat at his seat nervously, looking out the window as an ominous feeling he had no way to explain filled his being.

The fourth oldest of the Arc children had been feeling antsy for a few days now, causing frequent incidents ranging from being distracted from class to getting injured during gym class due to being careless.

But unlike those times, the ominous feeling he felt was much worse, his body was stuck between responding on instinct to the threat it was sensing and staying still due to the brain telling the body to calm down with the fact that there was no threat in the immediate area.

"Arc! Stop looking outside the window and pay attention!"

The shout from the frustrated teacher caused the boy to flinch and turn toward the adult who glared at the boy. The man's frustration from teaching a bunch of children ranging from 8 to 15 or 16-year-olds all day long got the best of him and caused him to start berating the boy who was obviously going through some kind of problem.

But suddenly, things changed as klaxons rang across the school building followed by a bright blue light bursting through the class windows.

"A Gate?? Children! Go to the bunker! Now!"

The children panicked and immediately burst through the doors of the class, forgetting all the drills they had gone through during their childhood in case of a Dungeon Break and instead crowding the corridors, causing congestion.

Strangely enough, Jaune was ignorant of the pandemonium happening all around him as his eyes were transfixed on the massive blue portal that sprang into existence right in the middle of the school grounds.

The massive size of the portal informed the boy that it was at the very least a C-Rank Dungeon, if not even higher.

And unlike everyone else in the building, he did not feel panic and fear. Instead, he felt like something strange was pulling him towards it, like a call from beyond, drawing him in. At the same time, he felt the ominous feeling and the uncomfortable sensation that he had been feeling for the past few days disappear in an instant followed by relief surging through his body.

Oddly enough, Jaune felt like he was fine, no, better than fine, better than he had ever felt in his life.

Then, he felt his arm being pulled, causing him to look toward the teacher who was running out of the class while dragging Jaune behind him.

"You stupid brat! Do you want to die??"

"…That is a Gate. There is no need to be afraid. Dad will beat it no problem."

The teacher frowned at the boy but did not slow down.

"Your father may be a Hunter, but that does not mean you should put yourself in danger and make his job harder."

Soon, they arrived in the bunker where all the children and the staff were located. The children were either huddled together in fear or were crying while the adults were staring seriously at the screens placed there that had a live feed to the security cameras across the school, including the playground where the Gate manifested.

"What did the Association say?"

"There is a Hunter team on the way. A-Rank, all of them."

"An A-Rank team? Wow, I didn't know the Association was feeling that generous."

"It's not generosity."

The principal of the school gave a subtle glace towards Jaune as the other staff members in the listening distance followed his gaze and realized the principal's meaning.

"..I see. Then, I guess we are lucky that the son of a Hunter studies here, huh?"

"Indeed. What about his siblings?"

"His older sisters are in the other bunker, while his younger sisters were absent today."

Soon, the staff fell into hushed discussions when they suddenly exclaimed as a van pulled into the school followed by a group of three men and one woman, armed to the teeth with sturdy-looking armor and weapons got out.

"That must be them right?"

Jaune's eyes widened as he spotted the leader of the group and shouted.

"Dad is here!"

The children around him did not know what was happening but they too stared at the screens along with the adults.

Jaune watched in awe as his father led his team into the Dungeon and fantasized about growing up to be a hunter just like his father, unaware that he had started to subtly glow with a yellowish-white light.

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Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie held onto each other as the Klaxons blared within the bunker, finding comfort in each other as the very ground shook under the intensity of the battle taking place outside the shelter.

The two friends were having a normal day at their school when the institute underwent and emergency lockdown.

The school had received instructions from Kuroyuri's chief to initiate the lockdown and place the children inside the bunker after an S-Rank gate manifested within the city, causing the man to issue an emergency evacuation order as their city did not have any S-Rank hunter teams. They did not even have a single S-Rank hunter with them.

"R-Ren? What do we do?"

Lie Ren smiled at his best friend as he exerted all of his mana into his skill, Void, to suppress his fear.

"We will be fine. Dad is an A-Rank hunter, and so are your parents, Mr. Baleyg and Mrs. Friea. They should be able to handle any Grimm that breaks through the Gate."

Nora Valkyrie, daughter of Baleyg Valkyrie and Friea Valkyrie, nodded her head at her friend's words and hugged him tighter, terrified of what was going on outside.

The two, along with the rest of the children in the school, sat there in such a situation for an unknown amount of time before the door to their bunker slowly opened and a tired man walked into it. His armor was covered in blood as his hollow eyes looked at the children before regaining some light within them.

"…Alan, ALAN!! WE HAVE SURVIVORS!! CALL THE BULLHEADS NOW!!"

The sudden shouting of the man caused the children to huddle together even more in fear as a stampede of footsteps rang out from the outside.

Soon, a large number of Hunters ranging from C-Rankers to an S-Rank along with a contingent of medics rushed into the bunker, watching over the terrified children as they were slowly escorted out. The Medics looked over the children for any injuries or illness while the hunters blocked the children's view of the outside as they were swiftly led toward a large number of Bullheads.

However, two children escaped this encirclement and rushed out, causing the Hunters to run after them.

The two children had heard the hushed whispers among the hunters that called the children 'Sole survivors' of 'the incident'.

Ren and Nora ran outside of the encirclement, their hearts beating rapidly in fear as they searched the surroundings for their parents.

Despite being young, they were children of Hunters. As such, they had sharper senses than regular kids and knew how to manipulate their mana, allowing them to overhear the hushed conversation between the lower-ranked hunters.

They were not stupid and immediately realized what they meant when they said that the children were the 'sole survivors'.

Once they ran out of the encirclement, they saw hell.

Blood ran like a river all over the streets of their home city. Bodies were strewn about, some intact, while others were ripped to pieces. There were people among the bodies that they knew, and some they could not identify due to their incomplete bodies.

But the children kept running, keeping their focus forward as tears of terror and disgust flew freely out of their eyes.

The children tried to follow a route that they were familiar with, a route that would lead them down to their homes. However, they did not get far before they were lifted off their feet by the hunters who were following them.

"Let me go! I want my daddy! LET ME GO!!"

Nora struggled with all her might, even using mana to try and kick the man who was holding her up. However, her meager mana was not strong enough to truly cause pain to the C-Rank hunter holding her up.

Ren, on the other hand, had a hollow look in his eyes as his mana started to leak out of his body after losing control. His mana-enhanced eyes fixed on a distant bow and a severed hand holding onto it near the rubble that would have been the local hospital.

On that day, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and a few dozen other kids ended up orphaned as the city of Kuroyuri was decimated by an S-Rank Dungeon Break.

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"Again!"

Pyrrha Nikos grunted as she pushed herself off the ground, flooding her body with the mysterious energy to enhance herself and her recovery speed as her opponent held his position, his sword stabbed into the ground as he waited for her to rise.

"You cannot take such a long time to recover. In a real fight, your adversary will not allow you a moment of rest, let alone such a long time for you to steady yourself."

Pyrrha nodded at her father's words as she held her spear and shield, using the stance that her father taught her.

Peleus Nikos nodded in satisfaction and a hint of pride as his daughter did not complain about his hard teaching method, once again proving her determination to become a fighter.

'If only she used that determination to find happiness for herself instead of dreaming of becoming a glorified Gladiator to support her useless father.'

Peleus brought himself out of his self-deprecating thoughts as his daughter finally gathered herself and shot forward, her spear aiming straight for his heart as she held up her shield to protect her vitals, just like he taught her.

However, despite her prodigious improvement, she was still an eight-year-old child, so she was still nowhere near close to surprising a Hunter, even if the hunter in question was a crippled and retired one like Peleus.

Shifting his weight on his civilian-grade prosthetic leg, Peleus parried her weapon and got into her guard, delivering a strong enough blow to debilitate her but not strong enough to give her any serious injuries.

Once again, Pyrrha fell to the ground and groaned as Peleus smiled.

"Good. You held up your defenses this time much better. We will end our session here for today."

"Father, you hit too hard!"

The eight-year-old girl whined in a rare display of her childishness as Peleus laughed and picked up his daughter, who nestled her head into his neck.

"I used very little strength, my little Amazon. In the future, if you still insist on becoming a tournament fighter, your opponents will be using strength on par with D-Rank or even C-Rank hunters. What I used can barely be considered E-Rank, if even that."

The girl mumbled something, but Peleus did not catch her words as they walked into their small house, revealing a woman with a similar shade of red hair and green eyes as Pyrrha, who sat at the table, waiting for her husband and daughter.

Thetis Nikos, wife of Peleus Nikos and mother of Pyrrha Nikos, smiled as the two entered the room.

"Finally, I was starting to think you two were going to spend the entire evening training. Now, clean up and return quickly, the food is getting cold."

Once again, Peleus laughed as he let down his daughter who rushed up to her room to clean up as he hugged his wife and gave her a quick kiss.

The family of three ate their dinner in good cheer as Pyrrha talked animatedly with her mother and father under the gentle light of Remnant's broken moon.

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Yang Xiao-Long held onto her father's hand as her uncle Qrow carried her sister, Ruby, through the white corridors of the hospital.

Yang, just like any other eight-year-old child, did not like hospitals. However, she would endure her discomfort for the sake of seeing their mothers as her father promised her.

Soon, the family reached a VIP room, where they spotted a man who looked a little older than her father. The man who was dressed in a green coat and glasses gave a serious nod to her father and uncle who gave him an apprehensive gaze.

"Oz? What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened, Qrow. I wanted to see if they were alright."

Yang's father, Taiyang Xiao-Long, gave a grateful nod to his former professor.

"Where is Glynda?"

"Dealing with the Association and making sure they don't try to sensationalize this incident to cover up their own mistakes."

Qrow scowled as Taiyang gained a neutral look on his face. However, Ozpin Norman, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy of Hunters and one of the only two National-Rank hunters of Vale could tell that the blond Hunter was furious if the way his mana was leaking out of his control and causing the walls to subtly shake was anything to go by.

"Let them try. We will show them what happens when they mess with a team of S-Rank hunters."

Ozpin smiled at his words.

"Fortunately, there is no need for that. Glynda will never let anything like that ever happen. After all, what hope does the Hunters Association have to face the wrath of Glynda Goodwitch, the National-Rank hunter?"

That caused the two to calm down as Yang just watched the conversation with confusion while Ruby started to wake up due to the noise.

The group opened the door and walked into the state-of-the-art facility of the hospital, reserved specifically for powerful Hunters of A-Rank and above.

Yang felt her stomach drop as she saw her birth mother, Raven Branwen, sitting up on the medical bed with multiple IV lines filled with mana-rich fluids, looking towards the other bed.

Yang followed her gaze and felt tears fall from her eyes as she saw the heavily bandaged form of her second mother, Summer Rose, who lay unconscious on the bed.

"Mama?? mama!"

Ruby started to cry and reach out for her mother, causing Raven to turn towards the group with a depressed look.

"Tai, I'm sorry-"

The powerful Hunter was unable to continue her words as her husband embraced her tightly, his massive form shaking slightly from suppressed sobs and fear.

Qrow took the crying Ruby and Yang toward their mothers. Raven picked up both the children to calm them down.

Qrow gave a stern glare to his sister who looked away with guilt.

"What were you thinking? Rae? Why did you two challenge an S-Rank Dungeon without us two? Aren't we a team? Look at yourselves now."

"Qrow, I did call for backup, but the Association, being what it is, was tied up in their stupid bureaucracy and gave an ETA of an hour at the very least at that time. The Dungeon had spontaneously erupted into existence and immediately proceeded into a Dungeon Break, If we had not tried to clear it out and really waited for an hour like they wanted us to, Mountain Glenn would have fallen."

Qrow fell silent at those words, but it was clear that he was not thinking straight as he kept looking between the missing stump of his sister's right arm. However, Raven had gotten off relatively better when compared to Summer, who was missing both her legs and her right eye.

Ozpin placed a hand on Qrow's shoulder.

"While what you did is indeed a noble deed, I need to remind you that it was still a hasty decision on your part. You could have killed the Grimm that flooded out of the gate and contained the situation until your team arrived to tackle the situation together. Regardless, what's done is done. I'll contact General Ironwood and have him send over a few Hunter-grade prosthetics for you two-"

"NO!"

The sudden shout from Taiyang caused everyone to jump in surprise as the children shook in Raven's embrace.

"Tai? What are-"

"No more! We are done! You are not going on any more hunts. I nearly lost you two today! I won't risk it again! Once you and Summer are discharged, you two are retiring!"

Raven's eyes flared with anger as she glared at her husband.

"No. We will not. At least, I won't. You can not force-"

"Actually, I think he has a point, Raven."

Ozpin's words caused the adults to give him a shocked look which her returned with a serious one.

"Raven, you and your family have been effective and inspirational Hunters to this kingdom, but Glynda and I have long been thinking that you should retire, if not for yourself, then for your children at least. We had always detested how the Association was running team STRQ ragged to conquer the Gates across our territory. This incident proves clearly that they don't care about your lives all that much. Your team should take this incident and use it to retire smoothly. Glynda and I will deal with any protests from the Association."

"But-"

"Raven, please."

The pleading look of her husband, the glare of her brother, and the reassuring gaze of her former professor finally caused the strong-willed woman to scowl. However, when she looked down at the terrified and tear-filled faces of her children, she finally caved.

"…Fine. But I can't speak for Summer."

"Leave her to me. I know how to convince her."

The confident words from her husband caused Raven to give him a fond and exasperated look before the family hugged each other in relief as Ozpin excused himself from the private moment, heading out to take a scroll call.

"Ozpin, it is done."

"What did they say?"

"What we expected them to say. I swear, I don't understand what King Ozymandias was thinking when he created that stupid organization. Each and every one of them is corrupted to the core."

Ozpin chuckled at those words as he agreed with his deputy and partner. Truly, King Ozymandias, the last king of Vale, must have been high on drugs when he made the International Hunters Association. Of course, that was not the only stupid thing that the king did during his reign which everyone despised to their core.

Thankfully, there was at least one thing that the Coward King of Vale did after the war that everyone agreed was a good thing.

The founding of the four Hunter Academies.

Shaking his head to bring himself out of those history lessons from his childhood, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy rushed out of the hospital, intent on returning to his office and pushing forward the retirement of his favorite team of hunters and his closest friends.

They had given enough for the people of Vale and they deserved to spend their lives in happiness from now on.

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Author Notes:

Baleyg is another name for Odin from the Norse myths, just like Friea is another name for Frigg. Also, In the Greek Myths, Thetis is the mother of Achilles, and Peleus is the father.

Did you guys know that the full name of The Wizard of OZ in the story is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs?

Since I am working on refining my Original work a little bit, making it so that there will be no update for it for the next week or so, I decided to write a story that came to my mind when I was re-reading Solo Levelling recently. If there is enough interest, I will continue this work as one of my main stories like with the Horizon Story.

Tell me in the comments if you guys like a Remnant with this kind of twist in it.