"Fantastic! The summoning was a success!"
Those were the first words Naofumi heard as he slowly got up. He was inside a large dark room, with a ritual sigil underneath lighting the room a tinge of green. Looking up, he heard the first words of another human being in a long time, or rather, a set of cloaked summoners and mages in front of him smiling, knowing their ritual was a success. Naofumi, in contrast to them, only widened his eyes at the sight in front of him, not knowing what to say. It all looked familiar to him… the process… all of this looked familiar before.
"What's going on…?"
One voice behind Naofumi interrupted his thoughts, as his head turned around and met three other individuals, one with long golden hair, one with short black hair, and one with short curly blonde hair. All three of them each had a weapon in their hands, something that Naofumi narrowed his eyes upon: a spear, a sword, and a bow.
"Oh please, brave heroes! Our world is in dire need of saving! We have summoned you here for your aid when "
The head summoner said, but Naofumi's ears completely disregarded what he said, as he was looking through his status screen, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. All of his stats, all of his achievements, all of the time he wasted inside that damned prison for years on end…
...was all back to 1.
'M-M-My hard work…' Naofumi felt like his heart stopped for a full minute, as the summoners and other heroes disregard him and left for the king's throne. 'Was it all for… for nothing…?' His mind flashbacked to various images of the past, from the summoning of the four legendary heroes, the waves, the kingdoms, his friends, his loved one…
He shook his head. The man promised himself he wouldn't be held back by this again. Standing up, he began to exit, intent on what the king has to say on his reasoning for summoning all four heroes here, and only here.
.o0o.
Ten minutes of walking later, Naofumi found himself in front of a silver door that leads to the chambers of the king. But as soon as he began to step in, two armed guards blocked him with their weapons.
"Sorry, but the king is occupied and is not taking any sort of pleas from homeless bums like you." One of them sharply told him, which made the man narrow his eyes.
"Homeless bum you say…?" Naofumi gripped his hands and was about to deck him in the face, until he noticed that… yes, he did look like a bum. His face was not shaved in so long, that his beard clearly covered the entirety of his lower face. His hair looked like cobwebs grown in them, and was long, reaching all the way to his ass. His clothes were all ragged, and his boots were undoubtedly sandals at this point. His nose repulsed from the smell, as he clearly did not bathe in… almost ever. "Phew…. You're kinda right, but you know that I need to get inside."
"Oh really? And what makes you say that?" The first knight challenged, taunting the homeless man. The second knight, however, backed off, seeing the shining glint of the legendary shield on Naofumi's arm, and noticing a glint in his eyes.
"Uhhh, I think we should let him inside…" The second knight panicked, stepping back.
"And why's that?"
.o0o.
"And so, heroes, we implore to please help us! Help us in fending off the Waves of Calamity, and the monsters that plague our-!"
BANG!
The door slams open, as the other heroes, the king, mages and attendants jumped at the sudden intrusion. In walked the bum Naofumi Iwatani, his hand flexing from the punch he gave to the first knight, while the second knight was apologizing profusely, and bowing his head to the Shield Hero.
"Hey." The man simply introduced himself, giving a small wave and smiling, hoping to be a little polite and get some politeness back. This produced the opposite effect, as some of the attendants chastised or berated him for entering in without permission. However, the king has silenced them with a raise of his hand, but Naofumi noticed the twitch in his eyes, almost as if he wanted to say the same things that the others were saying.
"And who might you be?" The monarch asked inquisitively, a little weirded out by the attire of the Shield Hero strolling in. Whispers of his attire from the mages were also going around, but the young man ignored it.
"Hmph. So this is Melromarc, eh…? Times certainly has changed for this kingdom." Naofumi said to himself with a smile, which made the king tighten his fist at being blatantly ignored. But before he could raise his voice, the eyes of the Shield Hero looked at the king, like he was boring his eyes through the monarch's skull, and that made the king freeze. "You can call me Naofumi. And that's all you'll get from me, your highness."
The whispers were louder than before, as they were clearly aimed at Naofumi. The king felt quite uncomfortable at the gaze he got, like he was staring at a war veteran, and was speechless at what to say next. However, the three young men holding the legendary weapons was what Naofumi was really staring at.
"Whoa, for a bum, you're certainly ballsy to talk to a king." The blonde haired Spear commented, looking at Naofumi oddly. The other two heroes looked incredulous at the Shield Hero's words, with the Sword facepalming and the Bow a little peeved.
"You shouldn't say that to a king…! Be a little respectful next time!" The Bow chastised Naofumi, but he waved it off.
"Sure, I'll do that next time, when hell freezes over, shrimp." He replied back, smirking and quickly patting the shoulder of the Bow, which made him snarl. But the king cleared his throat, the whispers now silenced, and now that the Shield was here, he needed to be brought up to speed.
Not that he would need it. The words he said were familiar to his ears too: from the Waves of Calamity, demons, and the like approaching, Hourglass of the Dragon's Era, and that heroes need to defend the people, and the fame they will get when they do. He has heard these things before.
They were things that was happening ever since he first arrived here.
"Now that you know the status of our world, it's time we set you off, but not without supplies and companions to aid you. Now, come in, adventurers!"
The doors open and in walked a group of adventurers, their eyes drawn to the young heroes in question. The three were impressed by the look of them in response, while Naofumi just blankly stared at the semi-motley group, uninterested.
"Who are they…?" The Bow asked, his eyes drawn to the group.
"Adventurers who wish to travel with the heroes." The king explained in his throne. "Your weapons are ineffective when traveling together, so you must take separate journeys to grow stronger. However, as King of Melromarc, I will not let our heroes go alone, so allow these fine young men and women to choose who they want to go."
"No need." Naofumi blurted out, which shocked the three heroes and the other occupants in the room.
"E-Eh? Are you sure, Naofumi?" The Sword asked in a bit of worry, with the Spear and Bow looking at the Shield Hero.
"It's fine. After all…" His dismissive tone changed to a darker shade. "Nobody would want a bum and a shield, so I'm fine by myself." Those words made the adventurers look at each other, almost as if he knew what they were thinking. Even the King was silent in his royal seat. The Spear and Sword only raised an eyebrow at that declaration, while the Bow looked sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Jeez, how arrogant can you be?" The Bow commented.
"Have you been looking in a mirror recently?" Naofumi smugly commented back, making the Bow step back at his audacity.
"Y-You-!" He tried to fire back his argument, but the Sword stopped him.
"That's enough, Itsuki. Let him be." The black-haired swordwielder tried to calm the now dubbed Itsuki.
"Ren, that's no way he can be a Hero, if he's disrespecting and pushing everyone away!"
"Then just let him be. It's his choice." The Spear smirked, saying his own thoughts. "It's clear he has his ways and we have ours. So just let him be. He's probably a veteran Otaku for Emerald Online, so he knows what to do."
"Motoyasu!" Itsuki was surprised by the blonde man's words, until he froze. Before, he was fingering his own bow like a toy. But now, his hands felt like they were feeling air… like it disappeared.
"Nice bow, shrimp."
The words of Naofumi echoed, as the man was standing there, holding the Legendary Bow in his slightly shaky hand.
"H-Hey! Give that back!" Itsuki panicked and ran to Naofumi, but failed to grab the bow when it was out of his reach. The rest of the gallery and the nobles were shocked at the display.
"What the-? I never saw him take it!"
"Who is that man?!"
"That should be illegal! Arrest him!"
Naofumi didn't care about them, only about what's in front of him. "Please! Give it back!" Itsuki demanded, with a brim of tears appearing in his eyes. His message now across, he let go of the bow, with what looked like a small bit of pain in his hands. It didn't matter to him, as it felt only numbing to him.
"Shield Hero! What was the meaning of that display!?" The King demanded, slamming his fist on the armrest, but his words were ignored by Naofumi, who just began to stroll to the outdoors.
"Hmph. Pathetic..." His offhand comment offended the three heroes, but he didn't let them get a word on him, as he walked out the door. His last words echoed out to the gallery, before the heavy metal doors slammed shut on their faces.
"...Surely, you're nothing compared to the previous heroes."
.o0o.
"Damnit all… so they really did go back to zilch…"
The man looked peeved as he looked at his status screen.
Iwatani Naofuni; Shield Hero Lv. 1
[The Hobo Hero]
Equipment: Iron Shield (Legendary)
Rugged Clothes
It wasn't only that which was bothering him, but the shield's orb ringing a red warning message in his face.
WARNING:
The Shield Hero may only used their equipped Legendary weapon. Holding any other weapon with the intent to fight will violate the rules of the Legendary Weapon.
"Tsk… This message again…?" He has seen this message before, but he isn't going to let that stop him again, despite being lower-leveled. Walking through the town, he stopped by a merchant who was counting his coins after being sold some materials.
"Welcome~! How may I be of service… sir…?" The merchant began with such energy, that when he turned around and laid his eyes on the Bum Hero himself, he furrowed his eyebrows and lost that energy. "No, I do not give bums any charities. Get lost!"
"N-No! That's not what I am here for!" Naofumi corrected him, and pulling out three shiny giant feathers, the size of feather quills and headgear feathers. "I am here to sell these."
The merchant's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and stuttered, before calming himself. "H-H-How did you get these?! These are giant feathers from Golden Roc Gryphons, only found in the Desert Prison! H-H-H-!" The old man began to hyperventilate again, before Naofumi grasped his shoulders. The other onlookers looked at the pair oddly, before walking ahead.
"Caaalm down, sir!" The Shield Hero firmly squeezed his shoulders reassuringly with both of his rugged hands, which made the merchant relax again.
"S-Sorry…! These will sell for a lot! Nobles would sell their entire fortunes just for these feathers! H-How much? I-I can give you 50 silver coins for each!" The merchant could see the dollar signs in his eyes, but Naofumi sighed.
"100 gold each. No negotiations. Deal?" He offered, which was a good deal. After all, it was life or death to get those feathers. It was only a bad deal for the merchant, who would be foaming at the mouth at the absurd price and would vehemently deny the deal, if the glare from the Shield Hero told him otherwise. Soon, he walked out with three bags full of these golden coins, while the merchant cried and laughed jovially at the same time, almost as if he got ripped off by three feathers that would rip any other person off.
"Right, next stop." The Hero told himself, arriving at the blacksmith. Inside was a wooden standard-looking shop, with weapons and defensive armours on the walls and stands. A bald bearded man was at the counter, smiling at the customer.
"A customer! Welcome!" His gruff tone welcomed him in, which made him smile. He seemed like an honest salesperson, compared to the merchant before. "Looking for a good weapon?" His easy smile brought him to his merchandise.
"No, but do you have any armors? Or shields?" Naofumi asked, curious on what's available. That got the man's attention.
"Of course! Take a look!" He said, his arms presenting the shields and armors. All of them look modestly prepared and well-kept. With that, he presented his own shield, preparing to intake the shield qualities for himself. "H-H-Hey! What are you…?!"
"D-Don't worry. I'm the Shield Hero. I will pay you now if you wish." Naofumi promised, pulling out a gold, and placed it on the counter. The blacksmith only frozen and widened his eyes at the sight, and then smiled happily.
"A-Anything you want, Hero! Just name it! Just for you, or my name isn't Erhart, town blacksmith!" The blacksmith named Erhart offered, which made the hobo-lookalike smile. "Heck! I'll even show you some new cloaks too!"
"Thanks, but no Hero praises or change required. Just call me Naofumi." This blacksmith, Erhart, has obviously been proven useful and an honest businessman. Scanning all the shields in the shop, grabbing some good armor, a bracelet, and an enchanted cloak, he began to exit.
"So, going to an inn? The sun is setting after all." Erhart asked.
"No, I'm heading out to the fields. I gotta train after all."
"Alright! Come again someday! I'd love to talk with you again!" Erhart called out and waved, with Naofumi smiling under the beard and nodding, as he closed the door. Letting out a breath, he remarked that it went better than he expected. Taking a look at the shields he has gotten, he cycled through them.
Leather Shield
Iron Shield
Buckler
Tower Shield
Round Shield
Blackguard Shield
Silver Shield
Steel Shield
Bronze Shield
Copper Shield
Spike Shield
Mudstone Shield
Fencing Shield
.
Iwatani Naofuni; Shield Hero Lv. 1
[The Hobo Hero]
Equipment: Iron Shield (Legendary)
Knight's Armor
Knight's Gauntlets
Knight's Greaves
Cloak of Protection
Bracelet of Resistance
Those defenses and other stats just rose astronomically, and the benefits from them, like Blackguard Shield's defense against magic, the Round Shield increasing his agility, the Fencing Shield's ability to parry and stagger, the Spike Shield enabling him to reflect physical damage back, and the Tower Shield rose his stamina quite well, along with being the best with physical defense. He was now the perfect tank.
"Hmph. But these were small peanuts compared to before I came here… No, peanuts can't even describe these stats now…!" He spoke to himself, before resolving to fix this! And there was only one day to do it. Risky, but it had to do with that message and that damned Legendary Weapon Rule.
Well, there was only one way to break that rule, and that's to break it your own damned self.
.o0o.
The castle gates opened for him to venture and train, as he strolled past the two guards, and onto the fields, where there were a few Orange Balloons in the grasslands. However, he just swatted them away, bringing out his trusty stick. It may be a stick, but it ain't no weapon. It's at least something he can wield.
But this is where he was going to do his own source of… whatever he can call this. Hacking? Termination? He doesn't know the term, but he wasn't going to let a damn rule keep him out again.
Arriving at a weird circular area in the ground far out of the way of Melromarc, surrounded by small rocks, the Shield Hero stepped just before the circle. Smiling at the formation, he remembered one of the gamer rules that stuck with his mind.
If there's a mysterious sign, puzzle or a weird circle of rocks, then there is a reward waiting!
And this isn't any ordinary treasure, but a keep. Pressing both of his hands on the circle itself, he began to say an incantation.
Latent truths and destructive lies, unbound thee by your keepers and reveal thyself unto thy world!
The circle glowed, revealing a magical sigil on it, before crumbling into dust, revealing a staircase. Smirking, he went down the steps, covering it back up with another layer of rock.
'Heh… I still got it!' He cheered to himself, although it cost him a small chunk of his mana. After all, if you know the incantation, then you know the spell, no matter what. But if you weren't part of the same magic class as the spell's category (like a fire spell cast by a priest, or a healing spell cast by a spellcaster), then it would cost a lot more mana.
In essence, he wasn't supposed to cast any of these spells, but he remembered these incantations by heart, and by God and any other deity out there, he wasn't going to let them go to waste!
Soon, he arrived at the underground sanctuary, clean water coming out from a fountain, with ornate decorations of a temple underneath. A statue of a winged filolial was in the center of the fountain. It just bled in, in contrast with the dark damp underground cavern aesthetic. It was much more serene, hearing the running water soothing one's insecurities. Inside, he walked to a secret compartment, and opened it up, revealing five vials of a mysterious liquid, and a letter.
"Even after 125 years… it's still in pristine condition." He smiled, grabbing the five vials, but glances at the letter… before closing the compartment. "Hero's Elixir of Life… this should be enough." The man then sat down at the far end of the sanctuary. "Here we go!" Placing the shield down, and grabbing his stick, he chugged one elixir… completely restoring and tripling his reserves of HP, MP, and SP, and exploded in temporary power!
'I know it's risky, but this is what I gotta do!' He then grabbed the stick with two hands, and shouted his incantation. "Spirits within, hear my call! Spirits without, taste your fall! For the bridge between the heavens and hells shall be formed with these very hands! Light Ferry!" The spell was a buffing spell, enabling the stick in Naofumi's hands to violently glow dangerously. Lightning and holy light flowed inside the stick, empowering it to a violent degree. Soon, it was forming into a sword, the same sword that felled those worms in the Desert Prison.
"NOW!" And then he struck. Right at his shield, specifically, against the green orb lodged in there. The sanctuary violently, as it felt like an earthquake. Rocks fell from above, hitting some of the foundations of the temple, but that didn't stop him. The light kept repelling his blade, but he knew he was making a dent, and that was all he wanted.
WARNING:
Attacking and destroying your own shield can result in your own Legendary Weapon and its perks being lost!
Those warnings kept popping up, but that wasn't stopping Naofumi. Images of his past kept coming up as the force increases twofold, until…
Crack…!
"THAT'S IT!" Retracting his stick, he then pressed on the jewel and sent his energy inside. Replacing the functions of the jewel from the Divine to his own. Green energy kept flowing out, while Naofumi's red energy flowed inside.
"You won't take my power away!" He screamed, ingesting another elixir, and pumped in more energy inside. The magnitude grew twofold, as the earth was literally shaking. Nobody knew where that earthquake was coming from in the surface, but Naofumi wasn't caring one bit.
ALERT:
Many functions will be prohibited, in the name of the Divine. Interfere with the Divine's contract, and you will suffer the consequences.
Soon, the jewel was a pure crimson red colour, but now the final and most deadliest phase was in existence.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Chugging yet another elixir, he began to mend the crack of the jewel with his own power. He didn't need a spell that would do it, or else it would either counterbalance the jewel on the shield, or simply bounce off. No, all he needed was pure power, whether it was from his HP, MP or SP.
DANGER:
You are risking potential death from altering the functions of the Hero's Shield. You do not know what you are doing.
Naofumi wasn't paying attention to the warnings. He knew what he was doing, and he knows it's dangerous, but it didn't matter. He did it once in the Desert Prison, he could do it again, and this time he wasn't going to play by their rules.
A final burst of power shook civilization, as the Melromarc citizens were frightened in terror of the red pillar of light that erupted from nearby their walls. Motoyasu, who was hanging out with his female party members, looked out the window to see the pillar, and had his jaw drop to the ground. Ren and Itsuki, as they gathered their own things in the inn, saw the pillar as well. The King stepped back in horror as the pillar of red light made the night sky crimson, while another red-haired princess was frightened at the sight, inside her own bedroom.
Even Erhart, the blacksmith, could only fall to the ground on his ass from gazing at that pillar, his thoughts lingered to his own customer Naofumi.
And soon, the light died down and the pillar dissipated. Many citizens wondered what that was, with the knights panicking on what exactly that was. Within the pillar, Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at his work. A metal shield, with a crimson jewel, instead of green. His eyes becoming heavy, he grabbed his shield and lied on the walls of the ruined sanctuary, content with his masterpiece. One singular message popped up on his screen before he passed out, and it made him smirk.
W}{47 H \/3 `/O|_| |)o|\|3?
A few things.
No, it's not a time travel story.
Yes, it took all that effort just to break the game. Even if it was just a minor thing.
What did Naofumi alter? Well, he can now switch classes on a whim. That's it. It may sound like it's a minor thing, but this is actually a very major thing. Nobody can change their jobs (unless they have that function and real money may be required) and are stuck with their own weaknesses, but Naofumi can easy cover those weaknesses. The shield's gonna stay with him regardless, so it's still incredibly useful if you're able to weird a battleaxe with two hands, yet still have a defensive shield for defensive means.
And that's it! What classes/jobs do you think Naofumi should start with first?
