Jaune's Resolve

6 - Depth

His own team exchanged glances. Sky even leaned in to whisper something, but Cardin didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on Jaune. Something in him was... quieter.

Port turned back toward the center of the room and clapped his hands together.

"Now then, let's not assume young Arc has all the answers—he's bright, but we must all remain humble in our studies!" He turned, stroking his mustache theatrically. "A follow-up, Mister Arc! Tell me: what variant of Geist is most likely to form a symbiotic bond with other Grimm species, and under what conditions?"

The classroom quieted.

Jaune froze.

His eyes darted to the textbook—but this wasn't there. He frowned. Thought hard. 

And eventually..

"I... don't know," he said at last, honestly. No hint of shame in his tone.

Professor Port paused—then smiled.

"Good," he said, voice suddenly softer—but no less proud. "Then there's still so much for you to learn, Jaune Arc."

A few students blinked at the response. Even Jaune tilted his head slightly.

Port gave a satisfied nod, his arms crossing behind his back. "You're doing well. But do not let one success fool you into thinking the road ahead is short. Knowledge is the blade no Grimm can dull. Keep up the pace."

Jaune nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."

He sat down, not with embarrassment—but resolve. His hands curled around his notebook, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel like a fraud sitting in these seats.

He felt like a student.

A real one.

And more importantly, one who wanted to learn.

Port cleared his throat.

"Now... Where was I?"

Next Class

"Alright," Doctor Theodore adjusted his square-framed glasses with one hand while writing a complex equation across the digital board with the other, "today we continue with linear functions, matrices, and how to not insult my intelligence by pretending you paid attention last week."

A few students chuckled. Others groaned.

Jaune sat near the middle row, nestled between Ren and Pyrrha. His notebook was open, pen in hand, eyes locked on the board—not with confidence, but with intent. Determination.

He had always struggled with math. Back in his old timeline, it was one of the many things he had skimmed through, just enough to scrape by. He used to sleep through classes like this. Daydream. Doodle in the margins.

But this time...

This time, he paid attention.

"Let's start with a warm-up," Theodore announced, tapping the board. "This matrix here represents a basic transformation in two-dimensional space. Can someone walk me through how this would affect the vector (1, 3)?"

Silence.

Jaune leaned forward slightly, eyes scanning the numbers. His brain tried to push through the fog—he remembered bits and pieces from his late-night reviews.

'Rotation? No... This one scaled values. Or... did it?'

He didn't raise his hand. But he tried. Pencil tapping lightly on his notebook, he attempted the multiplication.