Chapter 1: Reviving as the Spear Weilder
—Part 1—
Floating aimlessly in a void, I remembered that I was dead. How I died was unimportant, just like my old life. I was dead. End of discussion.
I felt numb. I couldn't feel the emotions that I could express openly when I was alive.
Then, this place. There was nothing… If I wasn't already numb, I would have become crazy. Or maybe, I was already crazy and the numbness was the manifestation of my craziness.
Whatever it was, I wanted to leave this place. I really wanted to leave this place.
'Do you really want to leave this place?' A distorted voice asked. The voice resounded from everywhere.
Huh? Who was that?
'Your kinds call me A Random Omnipotent Being.'
I blinked my spectral eyes. My mind tried to process the statement.
A ROB? Like the one in those self-insert fictional stories?
'You can think like that.'
I wasn't crazy because of staying in this void, was I?
'You are not.'
So, I wasn't crazy. I wonder if I was the main character in a fictional story due to this.
'Are you ignoring me?' A ROB asked, perplexed.
Ah, sorry. My mind was trying to wrap around this event.
'Understandable. But, we have been digressing and you haven't answered my question.'
That question, huh? The answer was obvious, right?
'Regardless, I want to hear it from you directly.'
Well, I wanted to live again. I had died young. There were many things that I wanted to do, but my death had changed my plan.
'Then, would you like to make a deal with me?'
A deal?
'Yes. A deal. I will revive you in a world of my choice and I will even give you a gift.'
A gift? Like a type of power in fiction?
'Indeed.'
What was the catch?
'Just entertain me with your new life.'
Only that? Was there another Reincarnator that I was going to face off in a death match later on?
'That idea does sound appealing, but, no. I'm haven't reached that point yet. As a matter of fact, you are my first vi—volunteer for this.'
Did I hear something outrageous like almost calling me his — her — their victim? Well, whatever…
So, I was going to have a new life and a potential cheat just like that, yes? No strings attached? Really?
'No strings attached. Really. I don't need to prepare some convoluted plan to spice up my entertainment. I believe you humans have something called "Butterfly Effect," are you not?'
Ah, the theory that said "A single flap of butterfly's wings can create a hurricane in another part of the world," wasn't it? It was true. A single and minuscule change had the potential to bring untold chaos whether it was unintentional or not.
I thought that I understood where this was going… so, betting on the change that my existence would cause, eh?
'Indeed.'
By the way, what kind of a world I was going to be revived in?
'It is a secret.'
Very well, then. Back to the previous topic. Since there were no strings attached, it meant my total freedom, right?
'Yes. You can do anything as you wish, as you please.'
What A generous Random Omnipotent Being. Thank you very much.
'You're welcome. Now, your answer.'
Of course, I accepted it! I didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary.
'Good answer. Before I gave you the gift that I promised and revived you, I have a question that you must answer.'
Fine. Just ask the question away!
'What is a hero for you? A Slayer of Monsters. A Knight for Maidens. An Ally of Justice. Or A Defender of the Weak?'
A hero, huh? I didn't like Heroes that much, truth be told. I liked the Antiheroes more.
But, if asked and given those choices to pick out one, my choice was "A Knight for Maidens."
'And why was that?'
Why? Maybe, because the hero can get laid after saving maidens?
I died virgin previously! I wished that I could graduate from my virginity in my next life!
'…I accept your answer.' The voiced declared, though it sounded exasperated. 'Here, your gift.'
Then, something appeared in my field of vision.
It looked like the HUD — Heads Up Display — in MMORPGs.
I assumed my cheat was similar to The Gamer. Well, a power like this could turn me into an overpowered being later on. So, all was good.
'It is called RPG System,' the voice continued, 'I am going to revive you now. My part ends here. Entertain me as the payment for helping you out of this predicament. Farewell.'
Right after the announcement ended, I felt my consciousness becoming a fleeting thing.
—Part 2—
I woke up without fanfares and found myself in a room, made of stone bricks with a high ceiling. I looked at the floor. It was covered in geometric patterns that had been painted in some sort of fluorescent material. There was also an altar of some kind and I was standing on it.
Finally, my eyes shifted to the item held tightly in my hand. I had been holding it unconsciously.
It was a spear. Not any spear. It was a gaudy looking spear with a white body, golden decorations, and a red gem.
It was the Holy Spear wielded by Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero in the Rising of the Shield Hero series and the protagonist of the Reprise of the Spear Hero.
I assume I was in the world of the Rising of the Shield Hero series. In addition, it looked like I was taking over Motoyasu's role as the Spear Hero.
…
The Holy Spear is attempting to scan your mind. Allow? Yes/No
…
A window cropped up in my HUD, asking me a question. I picked out "Yes" and returned to the major discovery in my new life.
So I was the "Hero" of the Holy Spear? Yet, I wasn't shocked. There was only apathy. I easily accepted it all.
Was this the effect of the Gamer Mind? Well, I would find out soon enough. But, I needed to put my mild curiosity on hold. At least, for the time being.
There were people watching me in awe. They were wearing robes like the typical mage's getups in fantasy stories. They were people who summoned the four Holy Heroes, most likely.
I could see their levels, and each one of them had a high level. The lowest was around LV 30s. The rest had Classed Up and were above LV 40.
I recalled that LV 40 was the first Level Cap for the population of this world. I guess they could live up their Titles as Court Mages.
Finally, I turned in the direction of the three guys who were resting on the floor. No, they were waking up now.
A black-haired kid with a sword, I guess he was Ren. Another kid with a wavy sandy brown hair with a bow, Itsuki. Last but not least, a guy with untamed black hair and a shield attached on his arm, Naofumi.
Then, me, the Spear Hero. So, all Holy Heroes assembled here.
"Oh…" Some mages made awed sounds as the rest of us woke up.
The other heroes finally stood up and looked around.
"Where are we?" Someone amongst us asked.
"Oh, Heroes! Please save our world!"
"""What?!"""
The other three shouted in unison. I, meanwhile, just deadpanned at the mage who appealed to us.
He should have done better than that, not confusing these guys. They weren't like me who knew what was happening and what would happen.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Naofumi asked, perplexed.
"There are many complications in this situation, but to offer a simple answer to your question, we have just completed an ancient ceremony and summoned you all, the four Heroes."
"Summoned?" Naofumi asked again.
I finally recalled that Naofumi was too trusting, very naïve, and so innocent at the beginning of the series. He was a good guy, but his luck was bad because he was summoned as the Shield Hero in a country that hated him just for existing.
"Our world teeters on the brink of destruction. Heroes, please lend us your strength," said the robed men, bowing very deeply to us.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to…" Naofumi began to reply, but Ren and Itsuki spoke up quickly.
"I don't think so."
"We can go back to our world, right? We'll talk about your problems after that."
I gave them a side glance and kept my mouth shut. In the corner of my peripheral vision, I saw Naofumi glaring at Ren and Itsuki in silence.
Ren and Itsuki turned in Naofumi's direction and gave him a vague, condescending smile. It pissed off Naofumi even further.
Ren turned away from Naofumi's direction and pointed his sword at the robed men. He nearly shouted, "Don't you feel any guilt for calling people into your world without their permission?"
"Besides," said Itsuki, "Even if we save you and bring peace to your world, you'll just send us back home, right? That just sounds like a job to me." He was glaring at the robed men.
"Yes, well, we would very much like you to speak with the king. He will discuss future compensation with you in the throne room."
Stating that, one of the robed men, apparently their leader, leaned against a very heavy looking door until it opened, at which point he pointed in the direction we were to go.
"Fine."
"I don't think it really matters who we talk to, but whatever."
Ren and Itsuki complained as they left the room in the direction indicated.
I looked at Naofumi who looked lost and shrugged my shoulders. I followed them out, just as Naofumi who followed me in a hurry.
We walked out of the darkened room and down a hallway made of stone. I swiftly recognized the unpolluted air of this world. It felt fresh unlike the air in a modern city.
We were able to steal a glance through a window, and the scenery took the other three's breath away. But, I just looked at the scenery apathetically.
The clouds were high, high in the sky for as far as you could see. There, below us, a town spread out from the building we were in, all the houses lined up in am orderly fashion, just like one of those old European towns.
The other three seemed to want to take a pause and enjoy the scenery, but we were hurried past the window and down the hall, and soon enough we arrived at the throne room.
"Huh, so these kids are the four Holy Heroes?"
An important-looking older man was sitting there on the throne. He leaned forward as he spoke. He didn't make a good first impression on everyone, I excluded. Even the easygoing one like Naofumi seemed offended by the king's condescending attitude.
As an aside, his level was over the roof. It was above LV 100.
"My name is Aultcray Melromarc the thirty second, and I rule these lands. Heroes, show me your faces!"
I caught the other three's faces twisting before returning to a neutral state just in time. It looked like they couldn't stomach the king's attitude, but to me, it was clearly a power play.
Aultcray was a king and he needed to project his authority even if he was facing the Holy Heroes. Still, if I was like the other three, I would flip my lid due to his attitude.
"Now then, I shall begin with an explanation. This country, no, this whole world is on the brink of destruction." Aultcray began.
However, Ren and Itsuki cut in.
"Well, I guess that makes sense, considering you'd call for us from another world."
"Yeah, figures."
They didn't even show respect to the king in spite there was nothing to be respected from him. He wasn't the hero's renown that he was in the past because of his decadence and Malty's manipulation. Even so, he was still very strong. As apathetic as I might be, I didn't want to piss him off this early.
That aside, this was the short version of Aultcray's explanation — There was a prophecy about the end of the world. Many waves would appear, and they would wash over the world, again and again, until nothing remains. Unless the waves were repelled and their accompanying calamities avoided, the world was doomed.
The prophecy was from long ago, though the time it spoke of was now, this very moment. There was also a large and ancient hourglass that would signal the times. The hourglass predicted the arrival of the waves, and its sands began to fall one month ago. According to legend, the waves would come in one-month intervals.
In the beginning, the citizens of the land mocked the legends. However, when the sands in the hourglass began to fall, a great calamity visited the land. A fissure appeared in the country, Melromarc, a fissure to another dimension. Terrifying and horrible creatures crawled out from it in great numbers.
At the time, the country's knights and adventurers were able to repel the advance of the creatures, but the next wave was prophesied to be even more terrible.
At this rate, the country was doomed, having no way to ward off the impending disaster. Considering the situation nearly hopeless, the kingdom decided to summon heroes from another world.
That was it. I could understand Aultcray's story perfectly because of a translation function of some kind. Whether it was the Holy Spear or the RPG System, I was uncertain for the time being.
"All right," said Ren. "I think I understand where you're coming from. But does that mean you are basically commanding us to help you?"
"All this sounds pretty self-centered to me. If your world is on the road to destruction, just let it burn. I don't see what it has to do with us." Even though he said that Itsuki was struggling to hide his condescending giggle.
I just watched and listened to everything in silence.
"As they have said," Naofumi finally stepped forward, "we don't have a responsibility to help you. If we dedicate our time and lives to bringing peace to your kingdom, do we get anything besides a 'thanks and see you later'? I mean, I guess what I really want to know is if there is a way for us to get home. Could you tell me anything about that?"
"Hmmm…" Aultcray shot his vassal a sidelong glance. "Of course we are planning on compensating you all for your efforts."
The heroes, excluding myself, pumped their fists in celebration. I decided to check out my Status Window since I believed nothing important would come up next.
So far, my HUD was filled with the normal features from what you would expect from HUD in MMORPGs — Level, Gauges, Clock, Mini Map, Notice Box, and the icon to access Status.
I decided to open up my Status Window and discovered something like this—
…
Class (Primary): Roleplaying Gamer LV 1 (EXP: 0/10)
Class (Secondary: Displayed): Spear Hero LV 1 (EXP: 0.10)
Equipment:
- Holy Spear (Holy Artifact)
- Other-World's Clothes Set
Parameter Status: [Open]
Hidden Status: [Open]
Skill List: [Open]
Party List: [Open]
Inventory: [Open]
Holy Spear: [Open]
…
It looked like I had two Classes, and the secondary Class, Spear Hero, was the one that got displayed. I checked out Parameter Status.
Normally, The Gamer's Status had Strength (STR), Vitality (VIT), Dexterity (DEX), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Luck (LUK). There were other iterations that included Charisma/Charm (CHR), and so on.
However, the Parameter Status had Attack (ATK), Defense (DEF), Speed (SPD), Magic Attack (M. ATK) and Magic Defense (M. DEF). This category was measured by numbers. I found that my ATK, SPD, and M. ATK were high, but DEF and M. DEF were low.
Every level up, it looked like I would obtain Status Points to increase this Parameter Status.
Unfortunately, I couldn't hoard Status Points because I must appoint them within a time limit. In spite of that, I was cool with it. It could be worse.
Then, there was the Hidden Status. The attributes were Constitution (Con), Dexterity (DEX), Mind (MND), Charm (CHR), and Luck (LUK). Unlike Parameter Status, the attributes in Hidden Status couldn't be increased by Status Points because they were measured by letter.
As of now, the grade of each attribute in Hidden Status was only "F." Well, there was a single exception — Luck, which was "EX" or "Unmeasurable." As an aside, the "G" rank seemed to be the lowest rank, which meant below the average.
I was clueless if my LUK was unmeasurable in a good way or a bad way, and I had decided to put my assumption on hold.
I prayed that my LUK was unmeasurable in a good way. I didn't want to have Lancer's bad Luck just because I was now the Owner of the Holy Spear.
In addition, the system didn't tell me how I could raise the grade of Hidden Status. I must experiment later on.
Skill List was next, but someone elbowed me to get my attention. I looked around, finding that everyone else was looking at me in exasperation, bemusement, neutrality, and even contempt.
"What?" I asked bluntly.
"Introduce yourself, man. Ren, Itsuki, and I have introduced ourselves. It's your turn now." Naofumi sounded exasperated.
"Ah, okay. Let me think about a name first."
"Huh?" Naofumi looked perplexed. "Why? Just give your name already. What's wrong with you."
I looked at him in silence and he looked unnerved for some reason.
"I have died." I began, "This is my new life, so I want my name to symbolize my new beginning, so to speak."
"What?!" Naofumi was taken aback by my blunt answer.
"Ah, you too, huh."
"I see. So you have died too…"
"Et Tu, guys?"
Naofumi looked unnerved when Ren and Itsuki gave me understanding looks. The two then gazed at empty space with a faraway look. Not only Naofumi, everyone in the audience chamber had a troubled expression when the three of us were acting out of it.
"How did you die? A dump truck struck me when I returned back from my prep school." Itsuki started with a hollow gaze and a nihilistic smile.
"A steel girder fell on me when I walked near a construction site," I responded bluntly.
"I see," Itsuki flinched at my blunt response. He asked Ren, "What about you?"
"I died when I tried to help my friend from a mugging attempt. Got stabbed at…" Ren trailed and flinched as he grabbed the side of his body.
We turned in Naofumi's direction and he recoiled from our looks. Well, I already knew that Naofumi was still alive when he got summoned, but the other two didn't know that. They wanted to hear Naofumi's death, but he was going to disappoint them.
"I just read a novel in a library when I was summoned suddenly…" Naofumi trailed off and had a stiff expression after receiving the cold, contemptuous looks from Ren and Itsuki. I still had my usual gaze, but I didn't think it was any better than their looks.
"Anyway," I said, gathering everyone's attention to me, "Call me Arif. Twenty-three years old. I just graduated from college."
"Why Arif? That name sounds Arabic when you look like a westerner?" Ren asked.
"It's true that Arif sounds Arabic and it means intelligent, knowledgeable, and wise. But, this name is actually an abbreviation."
"Of what?" Itsuki asked, perplexed.
"A Random Isekai'd Fellow."
Naofumi looked at me incredulously, Ren snorted as he tried to hide his laughter, and Itsuki just smiled at me.
Itsuki's smile was both indulging and condescending. Even though he was the youngest of us, he was a dick. A little dick, but still a dick. If I was any other person, I would flip my lid from Itsuki's attitude.
Aultcray coughed, trying to bring our attention back to the topic. He spoke, "Now then. Ren, Arif, and Itsuki, correct?"
"Your Grace, you've forgotten me," Naofumi interjected suddenly.
"Ah yes, pardon me, Mr. Naofumi."
Aultcray looked at Naofumi with unveiled contempt. As a matter of fact, there were more than just contempt in his look. There seemed to be hatred, but I forgot the reason behind Aultcray's hatred for Naofumi.
…
Sense Intent: learned
…
Looks like I learned a useful skill from perceiving Aultcray's intent. It was good.
"Now then, Heroes," said Aultcray. "Please confirm your status, and give yourselves an objective evaluation."
"Huh?" Naofumi released another confused sound.
He was really bad before his personality warped due to his hatred, huh?
"Excuse me, but how are we supposed to evaluate ourselves?" asked Itsuki.
Ren sighed loudly like he couldn't be bothered to explain it to them. "You mean to say that you all haven't figured it out yet? Didn't you realize it the moment you arrived here?"
Naofumi looked in Ren's direction sourly but held his opinion to himself.
"I mean," Ren went on, "Haven't you noticed any weird icons hanging out in your peripheral vision?"
"Huh?" Again, Naofumi did that.
I ignored the rest and returned to my own Status Window. I was going to check out my Skill List before I was interrupted before.
So, where was I before? Ah, yeah, Skill List. There was only a single skill listed in the Skill List.
It was called Gamer Mode. It was a fusion of several skills such as:
Gamer Physiology — the stereotypical Gamer Body with additional Respawn that allowed me to respawn after death.
I sensed mild amusement because having the ability to respawn indirectly told me that I had an "EX" rank Battle Continuation. Yes, all Lancers must have Battle Continuation skill after all.
Ha, ha, ha, what a lame joke…
Gamer Psychology — the stereotypical Gamer Mind with the additional Language Comprehension that allowed me to master (I.e. listening, talking, reading and writing) another language that I never if ever learned.
I tested it, wishing to be able to speak Japanese, and the vocabulary and grammar just appeared in my mind as if I suddenly remembered something that I had forgotten a long time ago. Fortunately, I found no harm from this phenomenon.
The skill could be useful in the future. I could read this world's language, unlike the other heroes. I recalled that the Translate Function of the Holy Weapons only translated spoken words.
Gamer Sight — the stereotypical Observe skill of The Gamer that allowed me to read Status and Information of a character whose LV below mine. If a character's LV was above mine, I was limited to see their LV and Race. When I observed an item, no such limitation imposed on me.
Overall, Gamer Mode was really an unfair advantage.
I preferred to keep this power hidden from the others. They would be jealous and they would do stupid things due to their jealousy. I didn't want to get dragged into trouble they caused if I could help it.
As an aside, when I inquired a bit deeper about this skill, I discovered that my emotionally stunted state wasn't due to Gamer Mode. It only protected the user's mind from any mind-control or mind-reading attempt and allowed me to perceive the world like a gamer who was playing a game in the safety behind a monitor.
It looked like my muted emotion was due to that void in which I stayed for an unknown amount of time.
That sucked.
But, it couldn't be helped.
I hoped that I could restore my ability to normally feel emotions in the future…
Well, moving on.
The next Status Window's function was Inventory and it was like the typical inventory in MMORPGs. It displayed as panels and each one could hold the same item up to 999 pieces. It had countless panels and had no weight or size limits.
In addition, Inventory could hold living beings and they would be put in stasis.
Another broken feature. I remembered that the Holy Weapons had the same function called Item Box, but I put my opinion on which was the better one after experimenting later on.
I checked out Party List. It looked like I could enlist up to six party members and they would have the limited version of Gamer Mode.
Another advantage to abuse later on.
The last feature was the Holy Spear function. It had Weapon's Form List, Item Box, Strengthening Methods, and Help function. The details were for another time.
"Level one, huh? That makes me nervous," Itsuki remarked, taking my attention away from my Status Window.
"What is all this?" Naofumi sounded perplexed and the king swiftly responded in return to his question.
"Do these things not exist in your world, oh Heroes? You are experiencing 'Status Magic.' Everyone in this world can see and use it."
Looks like Aultcray wanted to get dirt from Naofumi as much as he could. He really hated Naofumi because the guy was chosen as the Hero of Holy Shield, huh? Naofumi didn't seem to realize that too…
"Really?" Naofumi sounded amazed. "And what are we supposed to do? These numbers seem awfully low."
"Yes, well. You will need to go on a journey to further polish your abilities, and to strengthen the Holy Weapons you possess."
"Strengthen them? You mean these things aren't strong right from the get-go?"
"That is correct. The summoned Heroes must raise their Holy Weapons by themselves. That is how they will grow strong."
I idly listened to their talk, but Ren cut in, "We can work all that out later on. Right now, we should focus on improving ourselves, just like the king has asked us to do."
"Are we going to form a party? The four of us?"
"Wait just a moment, Heroes." Aultcray cut in before the rest of us could give a reply to Naofumi's question.
As a matter of fact, I planned to reject the plan because I already knew about the limitations of the Holy Weapons. The memory was vague, but I could recall some things.
"Hm?" Naofumi looked at Aultcray in confusion.
"The four of you should set out separately, to recruit your own companions."
"Why is that?"
"According to the legends," Aultcray began, answering Naofumi's question, "The Holy Weapons you possess will interfere with one another should you form a party. Both your weapons and yourselves can only grow when you are apart from one another."
"I don't really understand all that, but if we stay together, we can't level up, right?" Ren asked to clarify.
At that moment, we received a notification in our HUD. To me, it was different from the standard window of the RPG System, so I swiftly understood that it was from the Holy Weapon's system.
…
Attention: the Holy Weapons and their owners will experience adverse effects if they fight together.
…
Caution: it is preferable that the owners and weapons are used individually.
…
"I guess it's true then…" Naofumi trailed off despondently.
"So you think we should try and form our own parties?" asked Ren to clarify.
Aultcray spoke, "I will attempt to secure travel companions for you all. Regardless, the evening draws near. Heroes, you should rest for the night and prepare for departure on the morrow. In the meantime, I will find companions for you from the village below."
"Thank you very much."
"Thanks."
We all thanked Aultcray, though I did it halfheartedly
Then, we all retired to our room for the night, led by an attendant.
—Part 3—
On the way to our assigned room, I was contemplating my future. Because of my incomplete memory in regard to the Rising of the Shield Hero series, I hoped that I could learn Occlumency or anything that allowed me to recall my old memory perfectly.
I need it. ASAP.
Tomorrow was going to be the time we would be assigned with our party members and I guess the Bitch would make an appearance too.
I wondered who the Bitch would use when I didn't show any interest to take her in my party. Ren, perhaps? Nope. It was probably Itsuki.
Itsuki's arrogance and delusion as the Ally of Justice was a weakness that Malty would take advantage of.
Personally, I didn't want to get Motoyasu's party members in the source materials because they seemed useless and only acted like cheerleaders. It was true that I wanted girls to join my party, but I wanted them like Raphtalia who could fight too. I wanted them deadly as they were pretty.
Speaking of Raphtalia, should I get her before Naofumi?
Truth be told, I was very tempted to get Raphtalia before Naofumi. I couldn't remember it clearly but she seemed to be royal blood of Q'Ten Lo. Being a badass was in her blood.
But, she was very important for Naofumi's development later on, and taking her away from Naofumi meant that I neutered Naofumi's potential to be the badass shield bro he was in the series.
I needed Naofumi to develop like his canonical counterpart. Why? Because I needed him for assurance.
Since he was the so-called protagonist. He was chosen by fate and had Plot-Armor to protect him.
I didn't want to fix all the problems in this world alone. Why would I bother fixing everything if someone else could do it for me?
Well, I was going to think through everything later on. For now, I must ask Ren and Itsuki about their weapon's strengthening methods.
We were currently led toward our room. It looked like we were given a single room to share, just like in the source materials.
Soon, we arrived inside the room. Ren immediately went to bed. Naofumi and Itsuki walked to a small, round table with chairs and recliners around it. I headed for Ren.
"What's it?" he asked me as he looked away from his Holy Weapon's system window.
"Can you tell me about Sword's strengthening methods? I will tell you about the spear's." I responded bluntly.
Naofumi and Itsuki looked at us, interested in the topic.
"Why? Shouldn't you already know about that? You play Bravestar Online too, right?"
"Nope," I responded shortly.
"Bravestar Online? I am sure this looks like a console game Dimension Wave," Itsuki chimed in.
"Consoles? Who is still playing that ancient stuff? Nowadays, VR technology has made those things obsolete."
Naofumi and Itsuki looked perplexed after they heard Ren's derisive statement.
"VR? You mean virtual reality, right?" Naofumi asked aloud, his voice hinting his confusion.
"Of course. What did you think?" Ren asked, sounded exasperated. His look at Naofumi and Itsuki spoke his amazement at their obliviousness.
Previously, I wished to steer the conversation so we wouldn't get into tangents, but it didn't seem to go as I wished. Even Murphy's Law still functioned in another world, huh?
"I have a hunch," my statement took everyone's attention, "It looks like we come from different worlds, or at least, alternate versions of Earth."
They looked at me incredulously in unison.
"Have you ever heard "Multiverse Theory"?"
"Yeah, but…" Naofumi trailed off and looked unsure.
Ren and Itsuki shared an uncertain look.
I could understand why they looked uncertain. It sounded so far-fetched, but we were now in another world, one with heavy fantasy elements in it.
Then again, Ren and Itsuki seemed to think they were in a game, unlike Naofumi who already realized that this world was real as our previous world.
"If you want to find out, try to compare something that's common sense in your respective world." I decided to give them help so we could move on to a more important topic quickly.
"What about you?" Naofumi asked.
"Nah, I am sure that we came from different versions of Earth. You needn't include me in your discussion."
"That he said," Naofumi turned in the direction of the other two, "Let's compare the year and the name of Japan's prime minister in our time first."
Ren and Itsuki nodded their assent. Then, they began comparing their common knowledge and found out that everything was different.
"Told you so," I stated simply at the three dumbstruck guys.
I focused on Ren again, asking him to return to the previous topic with my look.
It looked like he understood it. He then sat on the edge of the bed and started giving me a lecture.
"In Bravestar Online, there are three main strengthening methods of your main equipment," he tried to sound wise and smart, though he was badly hiding his smugness.
I didn't mind it. He could be as smug as he wanted and relished in his superiority for the time being. In the end, I was going to profit the most from this.
I kept my focus on Ren as he lectured me about the strengthening methods of the Holy Sword.
From Ren's explanation, I unlock Proficiency, Energy Grant, Rarity, and Skill Points.
In addition, he also told me how this world reminded him of Bravestar Online.
"What about you?" Ren asked me.
"Warcraft Online." I just pulled out the name randomly. "Alright. It's my turn now."
"Don't bother. I don't need a lame strengthening method from whatever games you have played." Ren waved me off dismissively and returned back to his Holy Weapon's system window.
I shrugged off his dismissal. Since he didn't want to hear it when I offered the Holy Spear's strengthening methods, it was his loss.
I turned in the direction of Itsuki and Naofumi. I caught their expression, and I didn't think that they had unlocked Sword's Strengthening Methods.
I became curious about it and then recalled the most important requirement to unlock the Strengthening Methods of the Holy Weapons.
The Wielders need to believe that such methods existed.
Just what's "belief"? From what I could remember, "belief" is the acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof. Confidence in believing something is the most important factor.
The Holy Weapons know if their Wielders believing in something or not because they scan their wielder's mind.
Since I knew that the strengthening methods were a thing in the canon knowledge, I believed them to be true. Thus, the Holy Spear unlocked the Sword's Strengthening Methods.
I walked to Itsuki and asked him about his Holy Bow's strengthening methods. Just like what happened with Ren, Itsuki explained the strengthening method of the bow.
He sounded like he was bragging and even commented on how lame Ren's strengthening methods were.
His comment sparked a fight with Ren and those two started arguing whose strengthening methods were better.
From Itsuki's explanation, I unlocked "Job Assignment" and "Ore Enchant". There was also Rarity, but I had unlocked it from Ren's explanation. Skill Points affected Rarity, after all.
I ignored them and went to Naofumi. The guy readily told me his Strengthening Method. He only had one and it was the "Item Encyclopedia Bonus."
"Can you tell me about yours now?" Naofumi asked, but it looked like he asked that for courtesy sake.
I didn't think he knows about the main condition to unlock the Holy Weapon's Strengthening Methods. In his perspective, we were only comparing our methods and he didn't think that he could unlock the other methods because our assigned weapons were different.
As of now, he was still too trusting and his potential to unlock the other strengthening weapons was better than when he'd become the bitter version of himself. But, I was going to tell him this information later on.
Regardless, I told Naofumi about Holy Spear's default strengthening methods.
"Alright. I'm going to take a walk outside." I told him after concluding our talk.
"Huh?" Naofumi was taken aback by my soft and sudden announcement. "Why?"
I silently shifted my eyes towards the bickering children in the room. Ren and Itsuki were still at it.
"Heh… They are still at it. Personally, I think that each method has its pros and cons." Naofumi remarked as he watched the arguing children.
"Do you want to join me?"
"Nah. I'm good. Besides, what happened today exhausts me. I want to laze around for a while."
"Fine, then. See you later, Naofumi."
"You too, Arif."
We parted away and I walked to the door. My movement took the attention of Ren and Itsuki.
"Where are you going?" Itsuki asked.
"Taking a walk outside. Do you want to join me?"
"Nah. I need to tell this guy that his methods are super lame."
Ren scoffed at Itsuki's remark. "Your methods are the lamest ones. Job Assignment doesn't have any relation to a weapon's strengthening method, you dunce."
With that, they started arguing again, forgetting about me.
That was fine with me. I'd like to have a walk alone. I wanted to try out something after I unlocked those strengthening methods.
Besides, I was aware of the Shadows that had been keeping their eyes on us. They couldn't hide from the Mini Map.
And so, I left our assigned room to find a place to experiment with something that cropped up in my mind.
—Part 4—
I was currently in an empty training field that a cute maid had led me to. She was certainly good looking and I wouldn't mind to hit on her, but I didn't think she was going to be useful as my party member. Who I needed in my party wasn't only good looking girls. I needed my party members to be able to fight too.
That aside, my reason to search for this place was for experimenting.
First, I tried to learn Spear Mastery and succeeded after trying out some moves and maneuvers. Of course, I didn't know a thing about using spear besides stabbing the pointy end to my target or smashed their head with the shaft. Afterward, I tried to experiment with the Strengthening Methods of the Holy Weapons.
The experiment gave me a good result.
I unlocked Clay Spear from making the Holy Spear absorb the ground. In addition, absorbing more ground successfully increased Clay Spear's proficiency. It looks like proficiency could be increased by absorbing the item that unlocked a certain form.
Well, Ren's explanation about Proficiency was vague and I had convinced the Holy Spear to increase proficiency by absorbing the material that unlocked a certain form. Fortunately, the Holy Spear allowed it to happen and now I could increase Clay Spear's proficiency by absorbing the ground.
This discovery was a loophole that I was going to abuse. This also helped me to carry on and increased the success rate of my plan tomorrow.
As an aside, a traitorous part of me told me to just accept the Bitch in my party just for enjoying her body. She was said to be very attractive and she could fight too. But, remembering her personality from anime made me discard that idea.
Even if I was apathetic to almost all things, I didn't think that I would like to stick my dick into a girl with a personality that wasn't different from waste disposal.
I wasn't going to invite her to my party just because I want to fuck her. She wasn't worth the hassle and I had a standard.
All the digressions aside, back to my experiment.
'Hmmm… So, ten points of proficiency can increase skill mastery by a percent. That's good.'
I stopped the Holy Spear from absorbing the ground. I was now standing inside a waist-deep hole with a 2-meter diameter. That volume was enough to fill Clay Spear's proficiency to the maximum limit of 100 points.
I drained the proficiency and used it to increase my skill mastery. Then, I continued digging a hole to refill the Clay Spear's drained proficiency, and when the proficiency was filled up, I drained it to raise up my skill mastery. Rinse and repeat.
Before long, Sense Intent, Sense Presence, Spear Mastery, and Night Vision were mastered. I learned Sense Presence from trying to sense the Shadows that followed us after we left the audience chamber for our assigned room. I learned Night Vision not a long time ago as the light around me dimmed due to the depth of this hole.
Speaking of which, I looked at the mouth of this hole and found that it was very far above. It looked like a small dot to me. I didn't have breathing problems and think that it is because of Gamer Mode.
Soon, I continued digging and then used the points to strengthen Clay Spear. The speed of my digging rose significantly after the Clay Spear got strengthened. Amidst doing that, I wondered if I was lucky enough to find magic ore deposits.
"Hmmm? I can use the Map's search function to find one, right?" I verbalized my realization. "Okay, let me try…"
I paused and started fiddling with the Map's search function. Soon, I found out several magic ore deposits under the castle town.
"It's deep below the cathedral of the Church of Three Heroes, huh?"
I decided to go to that place.
Some time later, I arrived in the first magic ore deposit.
It was a beautiful sight. The crystals were glowing with fluorescent colors. If I was like any normal person, I would have been awestruck by the breathtaking scenery, but I didn't feel a thing.
Well, I felt something in the air. The ambiance of this small cavern with walls covered by glimmering magic ores was very unique. It gave me a faint and harmless electrifying sensation. It felt ticklish and comfortable at the same time.
…
Sense MP: learned
…
Hm? It looked like I accidentally learned a skill to sense magic power. I guess the unique ambiance in the air was because of magic power?
…
Attention: a strong Dragon Pulse is detected!
…
The Holy Spear informed me via a pop-up window of the Holy Weapon's system. There was also an explanation about the Dragon Pulse and what it was.
In short—the Dragon Pulse was a magic power hotspot in a certain location. I could liken it to the concept of Ley Lines or Dragon Veins on Earth. The magic ore deposits existed because the strong magic energy gravitated underground.
I swiftly instructed the Holy Spear to absorb the magic ores. I had unlocked some Weapon's Forms due to allowing the Holy Spear to absorb some magic ore shards.
The Holy Spear absorbed the magic ores into the Holy Spear's Item Box, and soon, the first deposit was emptied and the Holy Spear continued on absorbing the ground, creating a tunnel, to reach the next deposit.
A few hours later, I cleaned all deposits beneath the Church of Three Heroes HQ. When I checked out the Clock, it was around 1 AM in the morning. There were several hours before dawn.
I decided to take a break and tried to learn Meditation. I wanted to learn something similar to Occlumency and I faintly recalled in Harry Potter fan's fictional stories that Meditation was the key to learn Occlumency.
Of course, it was just an assumption, but it was better than nothing.
Several minutes later, I successfully learned Meditation and mastered the skill by spending drained Proficiency. When the skill was mastered, I could delve into the deepest part of my mind — my subconscious.
I discovered my old memory in that place.
I swiftly searched my old memory that was related to the Rising of the Shield Hero series. Web Novel, Light Novel, Manga, and Anime. Even fan's fictional stories about RotSH. I refreshed my memory and got what I wanted.
When I returned to the real world, I discovered that time had passed by several minutes. It felt like days in my mindscape. I suppose time in my mindscape flowed faster than in the real world.
I chose to enchant the Holy Spear's current unlocked form, though I focused on the Equip Bonuses more than unlocking the Enchantment spaces of the weapon's forms. Why was that? Because the Equip Bonus can become permanent after a weapon was mastered. In addition, I had unlocked the Body Modification method from my memory.
After strengthening several forms that the Holy Spear unlocked, I checked out their details.
…
Clay Spear +10: (AF) 75/75 (Awakened)
Proficiency: 0: Mastery: 100% (Mastered)
Weapon's Status: 1,250 ATK
Unlocked Ability: Digging Up (Extra Large): Consumption (Small)
Enchantment: Unavailable
Equip Bonus: ATK +50, DEF +75, SPD +50, M. ATK +65, M. DEF +85, Resist Magical (Small), Resist Fire (Small), Resist Water (Small), Resist Ice (Small), Resist Wind (Small), Resist Electric (Small), Resist Earth (Small), Resist Light (Small), Resist Darkness (Small), Resist Abnormal-Status (Small)
…
Rock Spear +10: (AF) 95/95 (Awakened)
Proficiency: 0: Mastery: 100% (Mastered)
Weapon's Status: 2,500 ATK
Unlocked Ability: Piercing Damage Up (Extra Large): Consumption (Small)
Enchantment: Unavailable
Equip Bonus: Mineral Appraisal +15, ATK +85, DEF +90, SPD +10, M. ATK +45, M. DEF +55, CON Up (Huge), DEX Up (Small), MND Up (Small), CHR (Medium), Earth Magic Up (Large)
…
Magic Ore Spear +10: (AF) 115/115 (Awakened)
Proficiency: 0: Mastery: 100% (Mastered)
Weapon's Status: 3,750 ATK
Unlocked Ability: MP Up (Extra Large), MP Recovery Up (Large): No Consumption
Enchantment: Unavailable
Equip Bonus: ATK +40, DEF +65, SPD +15, M. ATK +95, M. DEF +100, HP Up (Medium), HP Recovery Up (Medium), MP Up (Extra Large), MP Recovery Up (Extra Large), SP Up (Small), SP Recovery Up (Small), Magic Damage Up (Extra Large)
…
There were some other forms, but let's put them aside for now. Besides, their details were more or less similar to those three.
For the Clay Spear, I was intentionally enhancing it with low-quality Resistance bonuses because I only needed those Resistances to be registered in Skill List.
As an aside, I discovered the five grades of effect's potency. Starting from the lowest to the highest, it was Small (S) and then Medium (M), Huge (H), Large (L), finally Extra Large (XL).
Soon, I completed the Body Modification method and restrengthened the forms. With the permanent bonus of mastering those forms, I was confident that I could pull off my plan tomorrow. The success of my plan depended on my ability to fight off a knight or an adventurer that the king would prepare for me.
There was no way the king would allow me just to go off alone. Thus, I was going to fight either a knight or an adventurer to tell him that they were going to be a burden.
"That's enough for tonight."
I was certain that the people in the castle were searching for me. I'd been staying for several hours underground now. Better getting back sooner before something bad like the High Priest decided to kill the other three heroes because he thought that I'd died buried underground.
—Extra: Shield Hero—
My name is Iwatani Naofumi, and I'm a sophomore in college. I'm also aware that I am more of a nerd than the rest of my classmates. Ever since I first became interested in video games and anime and other Otaku past-times, I've given them more of my time than I give my actual studies.
But, enough with the introduction. As of now, I'm in an interesting predicament.
The other three guys and I have been summoned to another world as heroes. It was just like the cliche plot in novels that I read, but I would be lying if I wasn't excited by the idea.
I was summoned when I was reading the record of the four holy weapons. In that story, the four heroes that were summoned to another world to face off the Wave of Destruction wielded four different weapons — a sword, a spear, a bow, and a shield. Well, a shield was supposed to be armor, though.
Regardless, the world, the land that the others and I were summoned to was called Melromarc. It looked similar to the record of the four holy weapons. And you guess what? I got the short end of the stick and was chosen as the Shield Hero.
Last night, after one of our companions left for his walk, Ren and Itsuki started poking fun on my Class: Shielder. They mercilessly told me that Shielder was the most useless class of all. But, I was an optimist. If I couldn't fight, then I would let my future companion fight and I would defend them with my ridiculous Defense stat.
Let's digress for a little bit and talk about my companions who got summoned alongside me.
The Sword Hero, Amaki Ren. He was an attractive young guy. His face was handsome, and he was relatively short, maybe 160-centimeter. If he cross-dressed, you'd mistake him for a girl in an instant. His face was so composed. His hair was black and cut short. His eyes were sharp, and his skin was white. Overall he gave off a cool impression. Like a quick, slender swordsman.
The Bow Hero, Kawasumi Itsuki. He looked like the calm, piano-playing sort of character. How to explain it? He seemed vain, and yet, at the same time, he held some hidden strength. There was something indefinite about him. Something vague. He was the shortest among us, probably somewhere around 155 centimeters. His hairstyle was slightly wavy as if it had been permed. He was like a soft-spoken younger brother.
The Spear Hero, Arif. I was uncertain how I should describe him as a person. He seemed detached and reclusive. His voice was soft and silky but very apathetic. His face was handsome and exotic, he wasn't a Japanese like the rest of us. He looked western to me. Additionally, he looked like a type of guy who was sure to have girls falling for him left and right. He was tall, probably around 175-centimeter or a bit more. His hair was as black as Ren's, but it's a little wilder. Not as wild as mine, however. Overall he seemed like a good-looking introvert guy.
All of them had died before they were summoned, and I was the only one who was alive when I got summoned. I felt singled out when those three exchanged their horrible experiences. I was uncertain about Ren and Itsuki, they seemed fine to me. But, Arif had this emotionless expression almost all the time. I suppose his death hit him hard.
We then had the audience with the king of this land. He called himself Aultcray Melromarc the thirty-second. He was old and very condescending. Truth be told, I disliked his attitude even if he was a king. We discovered that we couldn't go adventuring together as a party because of the limitations imposed by our Holy Weapons on us. Fortunately, the king promised us to find volunteers to join us in our adventure.
After we concluded our meeting with the king, we were led to our assigned room that we shared together. In there, I discovered that Arif was an okay guy in spite of his introvert nature. He started to ask the rest of us about our Holy Weapon's strengthening methods, and I didn't have problems with it. Each weapon had its pros and cons, just as its strengthening methods.
It was also when we discovered that we came from different versions of Earth. I wasn't sure about Arif's version of Earth because he didn't join the rest of us when we compared our common knowledge, but he believed that we were all coming from different alternate versions of Earth.
Arif was surprisingly open-minded and very patient. He calmly listened to Ren and Itsuki when they bragged out their knowledge about the games that seemed to be similar to this world. However, Ren and Itsuki began to bicker about whose strengthening methods were better and they had gone into it for a while. When they stopped their bickering, Arif had left the room at that point, they began poking fun at me because of my Class.
Yeah, it sucks to get the weakest class, but I believe that I could pull this through.
Then, we fell asleep when it was very late. However, Arif hadn't returned yet. Well, he was the oldest amongst us and he could keep himself safe, probably.
My expectation was betrayed. Arif, for some reason, dug a very deep hole in a knight's training field. We were woken up by the castle's attendants and left for the knight's training field. We found the hole in question, and it was so deep that nobody dared to jump in. We had tested the depth by throwing a stone, but it hit the bottom after a while.
Why and how Arif had created such a deep hole was beyond me. I wondered if he was safe down here. I feared that he died because of the lack of oxygen to breathe.
At least, he returned alive from a front gate around 2 AM. He gave the whole castle a scare because of his stunt. When he was questioned why he did that, he bluntly replied that he was searching for magic ore deposits under castle city that he knew from his in-game knowledge. Honestly, digging all night to get magic ore deposits? Well, it was certainly useful since he found those deposits. He even shared some with the rest of us. However, he should tell us or the castle's staff first.
This morning, when I woke up, I discovered that Arif was already awake. Did he even sleep? Did his death affect him so much that he had trouble sleeping, unlike Ren and Itsuki who seemed fine? Well, I don't know and I don't dare to ask about it. I just felt bad for him. I hoped that he would get over his trauma of death soon…
Then, we had a sumptuous breakfast. And, man, we found another odd trait of Arif. He was a bottomless pit. He could eat everyone under the table. As a matter of fact, he ate three times our meals put together. He was really the oddest amongst us. Still, how could he eat so fast while maintaining his table manner? He left everyone — the rest of us, the maids, and even the knights guarding the area — awestruck and speechless by the sheer quantity he had eaten.
After we finished eating breakfast, we were waiting in anticipation for the king's summons. It was only natural to give us a little spare time in the morning. No one wanted to feel rushed out of bed.
Finally, when the sun was pretty high in the sky, probably around ten o'clock, the king called for us. We could hardly contain ourselves, and hurried to the audience chamber, our hearts dancing in our chests. At least, I thought that happened to me, Ren, and Itsuki. Arif still had his deadpan face like the usual.
"The Heroes enter."
The doors to the audience chamber swung open to reveal a group of twelve strangers, all dressed as though they were about to embark on an adventure of their own.
There were knights among them.
The king certainly knew how to show his support.
We all bowed to the king and settled in to listen to his proposal.
"As we discussed yesterday, I have called for others to assist you in your journey. Apparently, my call did not go unheeded."
If there were three assistants provided to each of us, we might just survive.
"Now then, gathered adventurers, please choose the Holy Hero with whom you will travel with."
Wait, So THEY got to choose?
That came as a shock to the three of us. Arif was, well, he watched one pillar intently for some reason. As I said, he was the oddest amongst us.
By the way, back to the topic. When I thought about it, it only made sense. We all came from another world, so what do we know about our journey? Better to let the experienced citizens made the decision.
The four of us lined up.
The gathered adventures shuffled over in our direction and formed little clumps before their intended partners.
Five people stood before Ren.
Four people stood before Arif.
Three people stood before Itsuki.
And before me? Yeah—zero.
"But Sir!" I called to the king. How could this be? It was so unfair!
The king was unnerved by my protest. He spoke, "I did not anticipate anything like this."
"He's not very popular, is he?" The minister sighed as if there was nothing he could do about it.
The king, for his part, seemed disinterested.
The men in robes were whispering something to the king, and they all seemed to laugh. But why?
"So there are rumors?" the king sounded amused.
What rumors? I couldn't make sense of it. It was like being in elementary school when we'd split into teams. I guess I was the last one picked? How could they do this to me, here, in a completely new world?
"It seems that people are whispering around the castle. They are saying that among the four Heroes, the Shield Hero does not know very much about our world."
"What?!" I reflexively shouted.
"The legends say that the four summoned Heroes will have an understanding of our land. People are wondering if you will truly be able to fulfill the conditions set out in the legends."
Understanding of their land? I remembered my conversation with Ren and Itsuki about their games, so the king probably meant that.
Besides, Ren and Itsuki were leaving me on my own because I hadn't heard of a game?! I couldn't ask Arif last night because he had gone digging the ground all night. In addition, what kind of a legend was this, anyway? I might not know much about their kingdom, but I was still the Shield Hero! For whatever reason…
According to Ren and Itsuki, I was stuck with the most useless class… but this wasn't a game, to begin with!
"Ren! You can't even use five people! Let's share!"
The adventures standing around Ren (and men among them) all suddenly huddled behind him, quaking in their boots. They were behaving like terrified little sheep.
Ren looked annoyed and scratched his head, perplexed. Then he said, "I'm more of a loner, myself. So if you can't cut it, I'm leaving you behind."
He said it relatively forcefully, but none of the people behind him showed any signs of moving.
"Arif! What do you think of this? Isn't it horrible?!"
"Yep. Pretty horrible. " He replied bluntly, but he didn't seem to mean it.
Was he making fun of me?! I thought he was better than this!
"If they want to join you," he continued, "by any mean please take them away from me. They look like a bunch of cheerleaders than fighters. They will drag me down."
Everyone in the audience chamber and I looked at him incredulously. The girls around him looked scandalized and angry at his blunt statements. I wonder what a cheerleader was translated into this world's language.
By the way, I'd like to point out that there was not a single man among the adventurers with Arif. It looks like he was setting up a brothel or something.
"Well," Itsuki's voice jolted us awake, "I don't want to be biased here… but uh…"
He looked a little confused but seemed to be saying that he couldn't exactly refuse the help that he'd been offered. It was an indirect jab at Arif's decision. However, Itsuki didn't seem to notice it himself, though.
All the adventurers gathered around Arif were women. I guess he really did have a way with them. It was like some kind of involuntary attraction. Well, he was the most good looking one of all of us. Well, was it just me or did Arif become more handsome?! Whatever…
Back to the topic. I couldn't accept this!
"I suppose it would be fair to split them evenly, with each of us getting three. But then again, it's not gentlemanly to deny them once they've made their decision." What Itsuki said sounded fair enough, and everyone in the room nodded along.
"You mean I need to go it alone?"
I was stuck with a shield! If I didn't have a party to travel with, how was I supposed to get stronger?
"Sir, if it pleases you, I could serve with the Shield Hero." One of the women with Arif raised her hand to volunteer.
"Hm? Are you sure?" the king asked to clarify.
"Yes."
She was cute and had shoulder-length red hair. Her face was pretty too. She was relatively tall, just a little shorter than me. When I looked at Arif, I saw him watching her with a strange expression. It was subtle but I felt like he's staring at waste disposal. How could he look at a cute girl with that kind of stare?! Outrageous!
Well, he was certainly the oddest amongst us. I only hoped that he wasn't gay since he seemed to be disinterested in those women.
"Are there any others among you that would throw your lot in with the Shield Hero?"
…No one moved a muscle. The king sighed heavily.
"Excuse me, Your Grace." Arif raised his hand suddenly, gathering our attention.
"Yes? What's it?"
"Let Naofumi have the rest of who have volunteered to be my companions. Like I said they will only drag me down."
"Then, you are going to be alone?" The king narrowed his eyes at Arif.
"Yep."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
"However, you are still weak now. What if some unforeseen accident happens?"
"I can take care of myself."
"Really? Would you show it to me, then?"
Arif sighed resignedly as if he'd expected this. He spoke, "Very well, then."
Ren, Itsuki, and I looked at Arif blankly.
Well, I was thankful he gave me his volunteers, but I didn't want him to venture this strange world alone in spite of having knowledge from his game.
"Wait, Arif!" I called out to him.
"What is it?" He looked at me disinterestedly.
"You don't need to do that. I am sure that they can be helpful to you. One volunteer is enough for me."
He shrugged casually and spoke, "I have made up my mind. If they don't want to go with you, they better go back home. Trying to find a prospective husband that can raise their house's power, perhaps? Besides, I don't want to get into trouble because a bunch of noble's daughters trying to play heroines and get killed later on."
So, he was already aware that this wasn't a game, unlike Ren and Itsuki. But, he still insisted to go alone. He was courageous or simply didn't care. I was not sure which one he was.
In addition, I saw the girls around him flinch as if an arrow struck their heart because of Arif's words. I guess Arif had hit a bullseye with his words alone, huh? He actually had the sharpest tongue amongst us.
"If you say so…" I decided to stop since he already set his mind on this.
I watched the girls around him and saw their despondent expression. I held the urge to flinch from that. Man, what a waste…
Those girls were cute. Not as cute as the one who volunteered to be my companion but still above average.
Soon, we made a space for a small spar between Arif and the king's chosen champion. He was a knight in full body armor. He had an obnoxious mustache. Arif watched him contemplatively as if he knew him from somewhere. I guess he knew about this knight from his in-game knowledge.
As an aside, the knight's level almost reached LV 40.
"Prepare yourself." The king informed the combatants but sounded disinterested like the usual.
The knight prepared his sword, which looked like it had been blunted for this occasion. He seemed relaxed. When I saw Arif, I saw a small frown marring his handsome face.
"Are you looking down at me just because I am still level one?"
Arif's question caught the knight off guard. The knight turned in the direction of the king, asking what to do. The king had lost his disinterested expression and watched Arif with a calculative glance.
"Go all out," he simply told the knight, who nodded in return.
Then, the knight and Arif took a stance. The knight looked ready with his stance. Meanwhile, Arif twirled his spear in a flourish before taking a low stance like a runner, his spear behind him. His usually deadpan expression now was decorated by a small, playful smile. His eyes narrowed and held the intensity that they lacked normally.
Arif looked enjoying this immensely. What was it called? A battle junky, yeah? So, Arif was a battle junky, huh? I wonder if he had fought with a spear before. He looked like he understood what he was doing with his spear. Maybe, he joined spear club or had an official match with one before?
Either way, the tension became palpable in the room. I unconsciously swallowed my saliva. It was so tense that I was affected by the atmosphere. Yet, I couldn't deny that this standoff looked so damn awesome!
"You know," Arif suddenly remarked, "Spearmen have two roles in a war."
Hm? What did he mean by that? By the way, was that what they call pre-battle banter?
"First is cannon fodder. Spear or pike is easy to use but hard to master. Even more so than a sword, a bow, or a shield. Even a beginner can use it for smashing or stabbing. But, in the hand of a skilled user, it can be a deadly weapon. A skilled spearman, however, has a role to cause untold havoc in the front line."
He crouched a bit lower and suddenly, I felt something pressing down my shoulder. I felt sick and wanted to throw up. Sweat drenched my back and the shiver crawled up and down my spine. Even Ren and Itsuki looked affected by this… Whatever this was. So, I was not the only one who sensed this… malevolent presence?
Just what was this? Who could bring such a malevolent presence? Did Arif cause this? Just what's up with him?! There was no way a man from peaceful modern earth could project this kind of intent!
"Do you know what is the most important stat for a skilled spearman?"
"S-Speed." The knight stuttered. He had a stiff expression and gazed at Arif warily.
"Good. Remember to not blink." Arif sounded playful and gave a king a glance, who nodded shortly.
The king looked impressed as he looked at Arif.
"Are you two ready?" The king asked both combatants.
"Anytime, your Grace."
"Y-Yes, your Grace."
"Then, start!"
Right after the king announced that Arif disappeared from his spot and reappeared in front of the knight. The pointed tip of his spear was only an inch away from stabbing the knight's forehead. The knight had become petrified and ashen-faced and sweat rolled down his forehead and cheeks. His armor was ratting as his body shook in terror.
But, how? How could Arif move that fast? He was still LV 1, right? Yes, he was! Was that some kind of skill?
"Told you so…" Arif remarked playfully and tapped the knight's helm.
The knight dropped down on the ground, and he looked like several years of his lifespan had been shaved from what happened. Well, I kinda felt for him. What happened was as scary as hell.
Arif turned in the king's direction and gave him a pointed look.
"The winner is Spear Hero." The king nodded with a small, impressed smile, "Very well, then. You have shown your mettle and I allow you to go alone, Mister Arif."
"Thousands of gratitude, your Grace." Arif bowed. His face had returned to the usual deadpan.
However, I wouldn't get fooled. He was actually scary as fuck. Just what the hell was he? Was he a kind of psychopath? I was both curious and scared of him, a sentiment that Ren and Itsuki shared if their stiff expressions as they looked at Arif was any indication.
"So, it seems the adventurers who chose to join the Spear Hero can have two choices. Either join the Shield Hero or other heroes. Now, choose!"
However, the girls went to Ren and Itsuki — one for the former and two for the latter. They didn't want to join me because I didn't know my way in this world, huh? Well, at least, I had the cute red-haired girl with me. Better than nothing, I guess.
"I suppose there is no way around it. Shield Hero, you'll have to recruit others to accompany you while you are traveling. Each month, I will supply all of you with the necessary funds for your journey, though in compensation for today's events, Naofumi's first payment will be higher than the others."
"Y…Yes, sir!"
It seems like a fair resolution. If no one wants to work with me voluntarily, I will have to find people to help me.
"Now then, Heroes, I have set aside these funds for you. Please accept them."
Attendants placed envelopes in front of each of us.
I could hear something heavy and metallic rattling inside the packages. A peek inside revealed a rather large money pouch.
"I have set aside 800 pieces of silver for the Shield Hero, and 600 pieces for the rest of you. Spear Hero, you won't have a problem with this, right?" Arif shook his head shortly and the king continued, "Please take these funds and begin your journey."
"Yes, sir!" We, the heroes, and our new companions, all answered in unison.
Each of us made our obligatory bow of gratitude before backing out of the audience chamber. Once we were all out of the room, we made our introductions. It looks like nobody dared to get close to Arif and I could empathize with them…
What happened was scary as fuck. I think that I couldn't face Arif without being afraid of him after this…
"Um, so it's nice to meet you, Mister Shield Hero. My name is Myne Suphia."
"Pleasure."
She didn't seem to be very shy, and she spoke without reservation. With all that was going on, I suppose I forgot to mention that she was the girl who agreed to come with me.
I believe in taking care of your friends. Especially considering that, according to everyone I'd met so far, I had been dealt a losing hand. On top of it all, Myne was a girl, and I was the Shield Hero. It would be up to me to protect her.
"Very well then, let's get going, shall we? Ms. Myne."
She smiled and nodded before following me out of the throne room.
(Thank you for reading the first chapter. What do you think? I know it started at the same time with the beginning of the canon, which was kinda cliché because all SI RotSH started at that point, but if I gave him more time to prepare himself, the main character would just have trampled everything in his path with the power-leveling. Remember that he has two powers, RPG System and the blessing of the world as the Spear Hero. His growth will be faster than the other Holy Heroes due to that.
Now, I would say that I'm proud to write the first Spear Hero SI. Usually, the SI will be either one of the other three. I feel like the holy spear lacks love from the fan of RotSH in this site. My other reason to pick out the Spear for this new story is that the nature of heroes the spear chose. After taking a look into each heroic trait of the Holy Heroes supposed to represent, each one certainly holds one aspect of heroism in spite of being twisted one. I alluded it to the question of A ROB in the beginning.
Spear hero is supposed to be the parody of the Knight-in-shining-armor, so it is twisted into an unrepentant womanizer. And I have a desire to write smut with a plot, so here this goes. As you might have guessed, this story is going to diverge from canon swiftly.
For the members of MC's harem, it's going to be secret for now, but I would give you a little spoiler about two of them: the spirit of Holy Spear whose appearance is based on a character from Type-moon, and an OC whose character based on a character from another franchise.
I suppose that's all. Now, review!)
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