Sorry for the delay, this story is hard to write

"Speaking"
-voices-
——————

Breathe in, then out, repeat. In out, repeat. In out repeat

That's all that was going through Jaunes mind as he sat on the floor of the cave, completely shell shocked from his latest encounter with the beasts of this new world.

That thing was easily more terrifying then any Grimm Jaune had encountered, making the death stalker seem like a child in comparison.

Why? The death stalker was bigger, much bigger, and have visible weapons on it. The thing he just encountered had nothing that could visibly hurt him, bedsides it's giant hands and maybe antlers.

No, it wasn't the threat of the beast, but rather the way it could hurt him. It was something Jaune had been slowly noticing since coming to thing place, the lack of healing and protection from it, it all made sense now.

He had no aura

It was like it had been taken from him when he stepped into this world, it didn't make any sense yet it had to be. The wounds he had taken, the cold and starvation that threatened him, these were all things that wouldn't have happened if he had aura.

It was just, gone.

He was like any normal civilian, but instead of living his normal life he was fighting for his life in a new forgein world that wanted him dead.

It was not a pleasant feeling, to be trapped and afraid, but he had to rise above it. If only so he could live to see another sunrise, then he would continue on.

Jaune shakily rose to his feet, and assessed his equipment.

His iron armor was slightly cracked in all places, with his helmet being near shards at this point.

Besides the armor, all he had on him body was a pair of Jeans from beacon, a self made green hoodie, and a pair of black sneakers.

His tools were no better, with his iron pickaxe having a large crack going down the center, but it seemed still usable. But it wouldn't last.

His axe was still fine, having not been used much, but that might be his only defense soon. His shield was fine, only having a few cracks, Jaune counted himself lucky at the minimal damage to his most useful defense option.

His sword was gone, on the other side of the gravel mound he had just toppled, there was no retrieving it. Not while that monster could still be lurking around.

Besides his tools he had some wood, a few sticks, a crafting table and two furnaces along with some coal and stone. He also had some backup iron and 12 diamonds he had mined down here, which he would eventually fashion into some armor. His food reserves were dangerously low, Jaune only had 5 rabbit meat to his name.

It wouldn't last him long, but it didn't need to as long as Jaune could get out of here. Once he was above ground he could gather more food, and likely find a place where he could build himself a house and settle down.

Of course he still had the glowing apple, something he was very hesitant to even hold much less think about using it.

After all, he only had one.

Jaune didn't really have any reason to think it was valuable, it was gold and shining so that had to mean something. Right?

-golden things are usually valuable, like gold coins and pirate treasure!-

-there's no point of wasting something we only have one of and no way to get more of, unlike with the pearl where we could have gotten more if we needed it-

-I really don't want to fight another one of those tall guys-

-we'll have to eventually, that pearl came in handy-

-what if that apple doesn't do anything? The book doesn't say anything about it-

-Wait, the book! Why didn't we think of this before! Read the book, let's see if it has anything on that beast we just ran from-

Jaune almost slapped himself, why didn't he think of that earlier? He quickly fished the book out of his inventory, finding slight comfort in its pages.

It was the only thing he had to guide him through this world, his only lifeline that without he would surely be dead.

-ok, so we're going to monsters and looking for something about the thing we just ran from-

-correct, and anything else we find useful-

Jaune flipped through the many chapters of the book, finding some useful but not relevant information as he did. Finally he came to the chapter he had been searching for, hopefully this could shed some light on his unknown enemy

Monsters

He swooped through the pages, skipping over the many monsters he already knew about.

Zombies, skeletons, spiders

-why are the spiders so big anyways? It's creepy-

-does it matter?-

Enderman evokers pillagers

-so those big guys are called endermen? Weird name, wonder if it means anything-

-again, does it matter?-

Until he stopped at the final entry of the book, one that curiously hadn't been there before.

Warden
A hulking beast of a mob. Fast moving and incredibly aggressive, but also blind. They react violently to any sound they here, the only way to get past them is to either kill them, which is near impossible. Or sneak by, be aware though they can hear a pin drop from a mile away. Be silent as a shadow

Jaune, satisfied with his answer, closed the book and put it back in his inventory. He then leaned against the cold walls of the cave, and began to think.

-so, not something to be messed with then-

-we can't fight it, that much is clear from our little encounter-

-so we just run?-

-yes, we run and get to the surface, it's the best way-

Jaune stood from his place against the wall and began to move. Each step was a risk, each breathe a chance, every little movement of his body created some sort of noise he was painfully aware of.

But that was just how a human body worked, it made noise, and there was nothing Jaune could do about it. All he could do now was continue on, and hope the beast didn't hear him.

The caves were eerily silent as he traveled, and the lack of mobs was a welcomed thing to Jaune.

-where are the mobs anyway? This place should be teaming with them-

-the warden most likely killed them, the book did say it reacted violently to sounds-

-mobs killing mobs?-

-It seems so, didn't know they would do that. This could be used to our advantage in the future. But now our priority is getting out of here-

-seems like a good plan-

-of course it is-

Jaune silently stalked through the dark empty cave, his torch leading him through the darkness and keeping a small area around him illuminated.

He was turning a corner when he heard it, the sound of something approaching. Thundering footsteps, what sounded like hagered breathing and grunting. It was here, the warden had found him.

Jaune felt his heart jump into his throat, and his breathing became erratic as the sounds continued closer. His eyes went left to right, searching all throughout the small area he had found himself in

Nothing, no escape, nothing but him and soon to be his death. Death was coming, and it was a cruel mistresses.

-We need to hide!-

-quickly, be silent!-

Trying to push down his small panic attack, thankful for his voices for knocking some sense back into him. He couldn't die here

Not when he had to much it live for

Jaune quickly moved to a corner of the cave, and placed his shield on the floor and prepared to curl himself into a ball, and let the beast pass by leaving him safe.

As he was though, a small memory resurfaced in his mind.

"A hunstman does what he must to protect everyone around him" Jaunes grandfather Joshua told him as he laid a hand on his shoulder "A hunstman must be fearless, powerful and tenacais. They must never quake before any foe, and face them with everything they have! Do you understand Jaune?"

He understood, maybe he hadn't then, and he most definitely didn't understand during his short stay at beacon, but he did now.

He would not hide like the coward he knew himself to be, he would not let his grandfather down and prove those who moked him right.

He would prove himself as an Arc, the next of a great line of hunstman.

Jaune stood and steeled his nerves, and opened his mouth.

-what are you doing!-

-don't be a fool!-

"COME AND GET ME YOU BASTARD!" Jaune yelled with all his voice could muster. His voice echoed throughout the cave, almost tauntingly back at him.

For a moment Jaunes more rational side was relieved, as it seemed the beast hadn't heard his call or was long gone.

That side was soon silenced when a roar worthy of the beast called back out, almost challenging Jaunes own yell.

The beast rounded the corner at high speeds, and ran right for Jaune. But unlike before, jaune had a plan

-we can't Kill this thing!-

-but it can kill itself-

-wait what?-

Jaune sprinted as fast as his legs would take him, hoping to any gods above that he could outrun this beast for a short time.

He could feel the anger rolling off the Warden as it chased after him, the thundering footsepts that threatened to trample him if he slowed down for even a moment.

Jaune didn't waver, his resolve stayed strong.

Jaunes eyes soon met with the gravel mound he had used earlier to stop the monsters before, and knew what he needed to do.

He quickly threw his shovel at the mound, and watched in satisfaction as it tore a hole through the substance. Just small enough so he could fit, and he has no doubt that the Warden would find its own way through.

Jaune dived through the gap, and landed hard on the stone on the floor. His moment of rest was broken quickly as the warden burst through the mound, it's head spinning around rapidly as it looked for it's next target.

"IM RIGHT HERE!" Jaune yelled, his voice reaching new heights "COME AND GET ME!"

Jaune quickly continued the run, the warden following just as quick. Soon he found himself in the cave where he originally found the beast, and if memory served correct

A pool of molten lava awaited him, it's surface bubbling as he grew nearer.

Jaune resched the pool fast and turned to face the warden, who was only a bit behind the boy.

"WELL? COME AND GET ME!" Jaune demanded as he screamed

The warden seemed to hesitate for a moment, it seemed weary of the lava and what it could do. Jaune couldn't let that thing change it's mind. "COME AND GET ME YOU PUSSY!"

Jaune grabbed his pickaxe and threw it with all his might, hitting the Warden square in the chest. It did very little damage, but it did piss of the thing.

The warden ran for jaune, and that's when he struck.

Just as the beast reached for him, jaune dived to the side and used his shield to break his small fall. The Warden, having no way to  stop his momentum, flew right past Jaune

Right into the Lava

The warden sunk into the molten liquid, sinking as it tried in vain to grab anything to stop itself.

The beast let out a pitiful wail of pain, maybe trying to gain some sort of sympathy from Jaune.

He had none

He watched impassively as the beast sunk into its demise. The smell of a burning creature should have made him sick, it certainly would have before he came to this world.

Even the thought of killing something was forgein to him before he came through the portal. But Jaune supposed, this world has changed him

For better or for worse, only time would tell which.