"... Ugh." I groaned as I stirred awake.
Well then, Ozpin didn't tell me this about the whole linking process.
I got up off of the ground, dusting myself off as I looked around the area I was in.
One thing was certain, I wasn't in Beacon anymore. From the looks of it I was in some sort of field filled with some strange looking flowers.
In the center of the field was some sort of tree with glowing light blue leaves.
"Geez, this is sure one weird way of forging a contract that's for sure." I said to myself.
Suddenly, I could hear the sound of footsteps coming from behind me.
I spun my head around to face the person walking, though once I did, the source of the footsteps was nowhere to be seen.
"... Okay I didn't think there'd be other people here."
I turned my head back towards the tree and clenched my fist.
"Well, I guess that I have to go there." I said as I started to walk towards the giant tree.
Though as the gap between the tree and I started to close, the sound of a whisper could be heard coming from behind me.
"What the—?!" I asked as I turned around to face the sound of the voice.
Though just like the strange footsteps, the source of the voices was nowhere to be seen.
"Okay, is this some sort of trick someone's playing on me?" I asked as I continued to walk over to the tree.
I continued to walk towards the tree, the bottom of the trunk now clearly visible. The whispers started to act up again, though this time a figure actually appeared in front of me.
"The hell?!" I yelled, stumbling back a bit.
The figure glowed with the same blue light as everything else in this strange dimension, they didn't really have any real face other than two glowing white eyes.
"... Okay, who the hell are you? Are you the spirit?" I asked.
After a few seconds, the strange figure looked like it was starting to giggle.
"Uh, so is that a no?" I asked.
The figure continued to giggle, though after a few seconds they started to run towards the tree.
"What the-?! Hey! Get back here!" I yelled as I started to run after the figure.
I continued to run after the figure, eventually reaching the trunk of the tree.
"Okay, if there's some sort of joke you're trying to play then I'm not… getting… it?" I said as I looked up at the trunk of the tree.
What I found strange was the fact that I saw not just one figure, but five figures sitting on the roots of the tree.
"So… these your friends?" I asked.
The six figures merely looked at one another before staring back at me.
"Silence. That seems to be a common thing here."
Suddenly, a sixth figure walked in front of me.
"This everyone?" I asked.
"Yeah, I thought so." I said.
The figure turned towards me and held out her hand as if she were passing something to me.
"... Uh, okay?" I said, as I took her hand.
Though as soon as we made contact, she along with the five other figures disappeared from sight.
"Are you-?! Seriously, what the hell is your… deal?" I asked as I turned around to face yet another strange figure. Though unlike the other one's, this had a lot more clearer features than the other figures I had met.
Well, I say clear because I can identify one thing on its body, that being the top hat it wore on its head. Everything else was just a silhouette of something.
"So, you have to be the spirit." I said, causing the figure to nod.
"I've got a couple of questions for you." I said, walking towards the spirit. "Why did you bring me back from the dead?"
"..."
"So I'm assuming your only form of responses are gonna involve nods and other movements." I said, causing the spirit to nod.
"Then I guess questions can wait." I said as I stood in front of the spirit.
"Name's Haruto. Where do I sign?"
"..." The spirit merely extended his hand outwards.
"... So is this it? Is this the contract?" I asked, causing the spirit to shake his head.
"Oh, though I'm allowed to use your powers, right?" I asked, causing the spirit to nod.
"Then that's fine by me, contracts can wait." I said as I shook the hand of the spirit.
Suddenly, a bright light consumed my vision, temporarily blinding me.
"Ugh." I groaned as my eyes fluttered open.
"Ah, I see you're awake now." Ozpin said as he walked over to me.
"Geez, that was really weird." I said, getting up from off of the ground.
"How do you feel?" He asked.
As I stood on the ground, I started to open and close the palm of my hand.
"I feel… different." I said.
"Oh? What do you mean by different?" Ozpin asked.
"I'm not really sure how to describe it. I just feel… different than before."
"Good or bad?"
"Hmm… I'd say it's kinda good. I mean I don't really know what it is but I know it's not necessarily bad."
"I see… Tell me, when you decided to take your little nap, did you have any strange dreams?"
"Yeah, I was in this weird field of some sort where the grass was glowing with this strange blue light."
"Interesting."
"I know, there was also this giant tree in the center of the field, and the strangest part was that I wasn't alone.
"... Pardon?" Ozpin asked.
Well, that grabbed his attention.
"Yeah, there were six people waiting for me at the bottom of the roots of the tree. They kinda looked like spirits except they still kept their human form."
"... Well now, that is quite a fascinating discovery."
"Wait, you mean you don't know what I saw?"
"Mr. Harlaown, while my knowledge of the world of Remnant is vast, my knowledge of the spirits are quite… limited."
"Meaning?"
"I only know what I saw from my previous pupil."
"Oh, okay… wait, you mean you've taught a spirit user before?"
"Yes, a very long time ago."
"... Who?"
"That is a story for another day. For now, it's time we get onto the main event."
"Main event?" I asked, causing Ozpin to propel himself off of the ground with his cane.
"Your training of course." He said, landing at the other side of the arena while spinning his cane in his hands.
"Oh, right… so do you have a training dummy or something?" I asked.
"We have a holographic training simulator, yes. Though today we won't be using that. Instead your opponent will be me."
"... I'm sorry I don't think I heard you correctly."
"You are my pupil after all, so it is my job to get you into fighting shape."
"B-but I don't even know how to swing a sword!"
"We intend on changing that very quickly. Though for now how about you show me how you are in hand to hand. You do know how to punch, correct?"
"Sure I do."
"Show me."
"... Okay, though what if I come in from right here?" I asked as I pointed at his left side.
"Hmm?" He hummed as he looked to his left.
As soon as he did, I swung my fist in an attempt to hit the headmaster, though in the blink of an eye, he was right behind me.
"What the—?!" I yelled, stumbling forward a bit.
"Your form needs some work. Not to mention your physical strength."
"How did you—?! When did you—?!"
"So, are we just going to stand around all day, or are we going to fight?"
"..." My only response was to get into a combat position.
"Lower." Ozpin said.
"What?" I asked.
"You have to be lower to the ground."
"Oh, okay. So like th—?!" I began, only for Ozpin to give me a swift punch to the face.
"Ow! What the hell?!" I yelled.
"Next lesson, Mr. Harlaown, always be on your guard." He said.
"Right, yeah whatever." I said, recovering from Ozpin's sudden attack.
The headmaster quickly sent another punch my way, though this time I was able to dodge this attack.
Once I dodged another one of his attacks, I rushed forward and attempted to hit the man.
Though the headmaster was able to dodge my attacks with relative ease. Before I could go in for another attack, Ozpin swept his leg under my feet, causing me to fall head fist onto the floor.
"Ow."
"Heh, tired already?" Ozpin asked.
"Tch, I'm just getting started, old man." I said, wiping the dust from off of my cheek.
"Very well." He said with a smirk on his face.
I growled and ran at the headmaster with my fist clenched. I threw another attack at Ozpin, though just like before, he was able to dodge the attack with ease.
"Yah!" I yelled as I started to throw punch after punch at the headmaster, though right as I went for a kick, he quickly moved to the side once again.
"I will admit, you're quite the fast learner. I'll give you that. Though allow me to show you how it's done." He said with a smirk on his face.
In the blink of an eye, Ozpin managed to close the gap between us in an instant. He started to throw punch after punch at me, though while I was able to dodge the first couple of attacks, the last one he threw managed to hit me.
Before I could react, Ozpin gave me a swift kick to the cheek, causing me to slide across the floor of the arena.
"Though despite all that, you still have a long way to go."
"Yeah, I figured." I groaned as I got up from off of the ground.
"Oh ho! We're ready to depart Professor Ozpin!" I heard Port say.
"Yes, we have the bullhead all packed and ready for lift off!" Oobleck said.
"Wha—?" I asked.
"Ah, I see that the next part of your training is about to begin." Ozpin said.
"... What?"
"You'll be needing this." He said, handing me the vessel that contained Excalibur.
"... I know I already said this twice now but… what?"
"Come now Mr. Harlaown! It's time to go out into the field! No better lesson than a hands on one!" Port said.
"..."
"Ah yes, I forgot to tell you. You'll be going out into the Emerald Forest for a couple of days to get a general idea on the enemy you will be trained to fight." Ozpin said.
"I'm sorry wh—?!" I began, only for Oobleck to put a safari hat onto my head.
"Come now Mr. Harlaown! We are already behind schedule!" Oobleck said, pulling me by my hood.
"Wait, hold on a minute!" I yelled.
"Hmm, I never expected to train yet another one. What a strange turn of events." Ozpin said.