If there's one thing I like it's when people or things do their job, and do it properly. Fortunately that's exactly what the maid who brought me the books and maps last night did. Regardless that didn't change the mountains of text that were those books since even one of them could put the entire Twilight series to shame on their length, and I had to go through seven of them. Still it was weird having to read the dialogue as it typed itself in my vision since the language was different then what I was used to reading. But after five hours of going through tons of paper and skimming the hell out of those books thanks to the Table of Contents and documenting everything important to take with me, I felt pretty satisfied that it was worth it, even if I only got like five hours of sleep. Since now I had the locations of several shops and services that I was going to check out as soon as I and unfortunately my party set out for our adventure.
Of course that's provided that the king actually provides us with the funds to acquire supplies on our own, or whether he expected us to earn our funding from the ground up. Well it's either that or he planned to give all of us money to get started, but considering the stupidity I've already found is present in this castle my hopes aren't entirely high. The fact that I also decided to study my shield's features in the Status Menu for a good few hours, instead of pointless conversation with the others also didn't ease my doubts. The fact that they would rather engage in pointless chatter instead of taking the only possible moments of rest we have to study this world and it's rules baffles me. Sure I didn't expect them to be geniuses, but I had that plan in the works since I found the Status menu after I was summoned.
Fortunately since I had time to kill before the king summoned us as relayed by the new maid since the one from yesterday had the day off as I was told, I decided to go over the notes I took last night. The plan of action for the first day was simple enough since when I did end up with my party I would need to at least bond with them enough that they trust me, but my plan was to level up as fast as possible. Going off of game logic the stronger the enemy the more experience it was worth, and since I needed two hundred and fifty to get to level two I needed to learn how much each enemy was worth. Then there was the 'Shield Tree' I found when digging through the Status Menu which was exactly like a Skill Tree from any other game except I apparently needed to feed it monster drops to unlock each one, and I needed to be high enough level to even use them. However instead of lamenting that fact I actually saw it as a good research opportunity since while I go and unlock the different shields I could document how much experience the monsters that unlock them are worth.
Thanks to one of the maps I asked for I at least know of the large field outside of town inhabited by low level monsters, but going off of what I managed to eavesdrop on the other's conversation last night they would most likely grind all of them right after they set out. Plus since I had low attack strength it would be hard for me to even kill one of them in all likeliness, so that meant I either need to go farther and take on stronger enemies at the start or take it slow. However since my intentions were to level me and my party up fast I didn't want to take it slow, as I still don't know exactly how strong the next wave is going to be. Then I have to worry about how strong the other monsters in this world are and what sorts of dangers they can pose to me since I don't exactly know the full extent of the Laws of Physics in this world. Would downing a healing potion if they exist replenish a missing limb or organ? Or would getting cleaved with a sword only leave phantom pains and I only die when my HP bar drops to zero.
"Hey tall dark and emo!" I was snapped out of my thoughts as the voice of Motoyasu sounded from the other side of my door, preceded by a few knocks. "King is expecting us in ten minutes," He continued before I could make out the faint sound of snickering as he laughed to himself. "Just thought I should let you know."
With that he thankfully left as I could hear his boots walk away along with the sound of the double doors being opened and shut. No doubt he was going to be early in order to get on the kings good side and expect special privileges, or in an effort to gain something else of value. Personally I could care less of what the king gives me since I'm used to fending for myself, but if he decides to give out money or supplies for this adventure I won't say no. But, I guess I should be heading that way too since it's a decent five minute walk there and that's if I speed walk.
Getting up from my bed I at least take the tie to smooth out the covers from where I was sitting, since I had already made it up from when I woke. Other than that I grabbed my list of important details about the world that could be useful in the future, my other list of different party ideas, and finally my somewhat decent map drawing that I tried to sketch on a small piece of paper since I doubted the king would let me take this one out of the castle. And of course my phone was still well hidden deep in my pockets so the others couldn't find or see it until I left. While I do not consider myself an impatient man by any means I had no intentions of going on long travels without my music. Thankfully I checked it and my earbuds last night and all of my songs were still there, and my earbuds worked perfectly. And it shouldn't be hard to create a makeshift charger meaning all I need to find is a power source, which given the fact that the castle was either illuminated by torches or outside light might prove difficult.
"Guess I better head off to see the King of Fools." I muttered to myself as I once again mentally ran through everything I had on my person before exiting the room.
Looking around the common area I could see that both Ren and Itsuki were also gone, meaning that they had no intentions of telling me when they left and left that responsibility to Motoyasu. If I didn't feel like they were just doing that because of last night instead of them just deciding to be rude for no reason I would be upset at them. Still though they did leave cookies from last night on the table and it would be such a shame to leave chocolate out to spoil.
"Their loss not mine." I said as I popped one into my mouth and grabbed another three and slipped them into the pouch on my hoodie for later.
I give props to whoever the baker was that made these since they are pretty good. But when you potentially have the best and most expensive ingredients in the kingdom at your disposal you should have skill to cook like the best.
Turning back to walking through the hallways I passed by the occasional maid or cleaner, with the former I noticed sometimes giving me side eyed looks or glares. I don't know why though since I haven't even seen nor spoken to most of them, and thinking about it the only one I've spoken to was the one from last night. But I was never good at reading or understanding women so maybe they're just jealous of the maid I did interact with since I am supposedly a hero to these people.
Just the thought of thinking that makes me sick though. Why should I defend these people who took me from my already disgusting life that I had grown used to and throw me into this. It took everything in me last night to not gut them all like the pigs they are. Just listening to the others declare how superior they are and flaunt their arrogance was infuriating to no end. NO! Good thoughts... think nice happy thoughts. Think nice fluffy kittens with razor sharp claws and large teeth to rip and tear flesh with their bare pa... fluffy kittens with the biggest eyes that meow softly and purr as they sleep on your lap.
"I need another cookie." I tell myself as I pop another cookie in my mouth having already swallowed the other one.
What can I say sugar and chocolate are my kryptonite and I am damn proud of it, especially Tootsie Rolls... especially the Tootsie Rolls. Everybody has their weakness and I have mine, and honestly having a overfondness of sugar isn't the worst weakness to have. Then again I already have one of the others weaknesses pegged down to a T, so hopefully Motoyasu never makes me have to use it. Now I really just need to find out what Ren and Itsuki's weaknesses are, which given the fact that they're not even eighteen yet and the main thing I know about them right now is that they both have superiority complexes, but Ren is the smarter out of the two of them. However he is the youngest out of all of us if only a year behind Itsuki he is still in a learning and developing stage of his life. And while he may not be a child he still possesses the naïveté of one, hopefully whoever his party is will help him mature some.
Still of how much I dislike other people it would be wrong to deprive Ren of the last of his easy years in life, even if he only has less than two until he's considered an adult by my worlds standards. And as much as I hate it I envy him and Itsuki ever so slightly for their youth. I may not be much older than them, but being born with a brain like mine was never easy. Especially considering how they... enough of that.
Anyway since I can't work with the others during the time I and they level up in preparation for the waves then that makes it harder for us to fight them. Since most likely we'll all develop our own tactics and attacks that are unique to and suit our different styles of fighting then we're all going into the fight blind of the others. Sure we may be able to win against the wave and survive, but it would be more efficient and successful were we all to know how to work off of each other. Then again if Ren and Motoyasu stay the same as they do now then things will undoubtedly be harder then they need to be. Ren has the attitude of how I was at his age thinking everything had to be done by myself, and from what I eavesdropped he was known for playing solo in his worlds most popular VRMMO RPG game. At what point does he become a copy paste Kirito again? Regardless he will stick to what he's used to since if he did play the same type of VRMMO as the ones that were in SAO then that means he'll stick to what he's used to playing like, which I also hope being in a party will help curb from him.
Then there's... Motoyasu, whom I once again question how he was summoned here as a hero since he seems like the regular womanizing type. Sure he's not as bad as most of them since I only have the ones from my world to base off of, but regardless it's painfully obvious what his type of person is. And I swear to whatever Gods exist in the universe if he actually decides to build a fucking harem as his party I will tear out each one of his eyebrows by hand, and then slowly pull out his eyes as he STOPPING RIGHT THERE! If he decides to build a harem then hopefully they can fight and he won't just be there for the women. I doubt he would be like the womanizing people from my world since he doesn't seem to be the type to use them against their will, but I'm one hundred percent positive if one of them offered he wouldn't refuse.
God I've never been paid enough to deal with this stuff, in this world or my own one. I can at least expect Itsuki to be the most reliable one out of the three of them since even though he's seventeen I'd say he's more mature than Motoyasu since he seems like the type to think things through, but just like Ren I'm hoping his party will help him mature some. Even though it's obvious he has a superiority complex the fact of the uniform he wore and the way he carried himself spoke volumes of his backstory on their own. The uniform either means he is military giving that he is at the age where he could enlist, or like my original assumption from when I first saw him and academy which I find more likely. If he was military he would be more disciplined and alert and going off of our introduction last night it's obvious he lacks military discipline, so that then leaves me with another two options to go off of with him being from an academy. One is he comes from wealth wherever he's from, or two is that he is smart and got accepted into them. However personally I'd wager that he has both considering he doesn't act as spoiled as many rich people I've seen, but he doesn't strike me as the next Einstein either.
But I'll ponder all of that later since judging off of the large double doors and the two knights guarding them in front of I have reached my destination.
"Greetings Shield Hero!" The knight on my right said as he stood at attention, looking me straight in the eyes. "The other three heroes are inside waiting for the kings arrival."
And he's telling me this why? I already know where the other three are if Motoyasu's comment earlier meant anything, and considering that messengers and or knights haven't swarmed me then it's obvious the king hasn't gotten up yet. Does he really think I'm that inept that I don't even have basic deduction powers.
"So can I go in." I ask him without it being a question because I really just want out of this castle already.
"Of course sir Shield hero!" the knights says as he sends a nod to his opposite on the other side of the door as the both pull them open, causing the light that was stored in the throne room to flood my vision.
I just walk through without paying them anymore attention, and with the quick resounding thud behind me signaling the doors closing so did they. Doing a quick look around I spot the other three heroes in the center of the red carpet where we stood yesterday talking in a circle amongst themselves, and considering how they practically left me in the room earlier I have a suspicion I'm somehow the topic of their conversation. Then glancing upwards reveals that the balcony's are full of the same or whom I assume to be the same nobles from yesterday as well.
Wonder why they're here before the king since you would think he would set the example for them, and I can probably guarantee that one of the nobles up there could run the kingdom better than him. After all most times kings are only figureheads, but this king isn't even in charge if what I read in the books was true. I guess I just have to worry about getting on the Queens bad side, but then that just means all of the faults I found yesterday and directed towards the king is now on the Queens shoulders. But if that's the case then why was it the king that greeted us instead of her, and where is she right now if she isn't in the castle.
I can ponder that later since it changes nothing about my overall goal I have, what does change it however are the adventurers or who I can assume to be the adventurers lined up in front of the throne facing us. Just like I hoped it seemed there were several people who were obviously mages based on their hats, robes, and wooden staffs that portrayed a typical magic caster appearance.
In total I count twelve of them in total and they seemed balanced gender wise. I will say the big guy in heavy armor looks useful for a heavy lifter since I'm not strong physically, but then again if he's just a brute with all brawn no brains then in my opinion the cons outweigh the pros. I could probably play it safe and go for one of the magic caster looking ones, but the majority of if not all of them were female and young ones at that and I don't feel like dealing with romantics anytime soon.
"Well look who came to join us," I hear the voice of Motoyasu snap me out of my train of thought. "Finally get out of bed?" He asks with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. Murder is frowned upon Logan, murder is frowned upon. But fine if he wants to start playing this game, I am more than happy to oblige
"Sorry If I don't feel like spending an hour on my hair like you do," I reply craning my head to the side flashing my smirking face as my hair slid out of the way. I wish I could take out my phone and get a picture of his shocked face, obviously not expecting me to have returned fire. "Besides I had better things to do then socialize for pleasantries and stating the facts we already know to each other."
His face morphs into a scowl as he grits his teeth in minor anger, but is quickly calmed down by Ren placing a hand on his shoulder. Really if you can agitated by a basic insult like that I hate to see what would happen if someone actually trying insults you. What would you do stab them in the eye Moto? I know I would. but thanks for letting me know how to rile you up. Makes my job easier. Besides it wouldn't be a stretch to see if he actually does spend that long on his hair, but he can do him for all I care.
But back down to business it looks like the king has finally arrived if the guy who told us we would be rewarded handsomely yesterday, and some weird guy in a robe with a bob cut hair walking in from the side of the room is anything to go by. The treasurer guy from yesterday I doubt I need to worry about since it seems he's like all the others that being power obsessed and money, not caring about people beneath him. That being said point a knife or a gun at him and he'll turn a complete three sixty since he looks the part at being frail and wrinkled.
'How useful.' I think to myself as a smirk crosses my face for a brief instant, before a glint flickers in my eyesight snapping me out of it. Looking for the source I see it's from the bob cut guy or more specifically the... GOD DAMN IT! He's wearing a fucking cross around his neck!
Of all the books I didn't ask for religion just HAD to be one of them! NO! Calm down Logan it may be a cross but that doesn't mean it's bad, not all religious people are like them. New world and new people give them a chance and you can still tear through hordes of monsters without mercy, perfect stress relief. Just focus and be stable, look the king is coming and then you and your party can leave.
"Greetings great heroes," The king says as he makes his appearance known entering the room and sitting down on his throne immediately. "Before you are the greatest warriors in the lands, and these brave souls will fight the waves alongside you in your quest!"
Yes the small looking girl in a witch costume who looks like a discount Megumin is definitely going to fight these waves of bloodthirsty monsters and come out not traumatized. Or she could be older than she looks after all I was at least half a foot taller than my mother, and she can still kick my ass if she wanted to. Leaves one with a healthy fear of women and not to be rude to them. I miss those times, makes not wanting to paint the town red easier. But anyway how do we decide who gets who, do we draw or are they already decided that each of us get three.
"Our future champions the time to begin your adventure is now!" The king says loudly as I notice that I and the others have subconsciously lined up.
Then the marching begins as all of people they brought in start moving towards us, and wouldn't you know t now is the time I close my eyes. Makes life more fun that way doesn't it, plus it means I'm not racking myself trying to come up with a million different scenarios in an instant. Then again knowing my luck they'll all chose everybody else but me, but I highly doubt that the king will allow that. And this is me trying to give him some positive credit towards his intelligence, not assuming that he is a complete moron all things considered. Opening eyes in one... two... and.
I knew I hated religion for a reason since it seems god hates me, either that or lady luck has me on her hit list. Not one. Not a single fucking one of them picked me! Are they IDIOTS! DO THEY EXPECT A PERSON WITH DEFENSE TO FIGHT SOLO! And wouldn't you know it Ren has the most with Motoyasu following second and all FEMALES! Reminder set to conveniently miss protecting a church during the wave when it hits, and the casino if it exists.
"Wow talk about karma." Motoyasu jabs at me smirking as soon as I turn to acknowledge him, and looks like you have taken first place on my list right ahead of the king. Speaking of him I hope he understands what my glare means.
"Though I am loathe to admit it even I did not expect this." He says as he lets out a huff of breath and slumps in his chair. Well what were you expecting given all the other heroes are offense based and I'm defense, meaning that they by proxy are also the better defense since if you off the threat then there's nothing to defend from.
"No volunteers he must have zero charisma." The treasurer guy says as he has his head looking down, but eyes pointed forward looking at me. And by the way I choose when to use my charisma and when not to, I just choose not to make attachments when they could possibly die.
The guy with the cross leans in to whisper something in the king ear, using his hand to cup it like the stereotype portrays. And the king... smirks for just a brief second before composing himself, that does not suit him well and I know because I do it. It's the telltale sign of behind the scenes stuff that you found out works, or finding out that you've just won a fight, or... oh don't you fucking tell me.
"I have just been made aware of an unsettling rumor." The king says as the other guy backs away to his post stone faced like when he entered.
"And said rumor would be?" I ask or demand however he interprets it I don't care nor will I ever if I'm right.
"It seems that the rumor quickly spreading around town is that the shield hero is ignorant of this world," Oh and going off the fact that it was night when we were summoned and not even fucking noon yet, I wonder who started the rumor. "Legend says that the heroes arrive with a firm understanding of our lands, and the townspeople believe that the shield hero does not meet that criteria." Oh your enjoying this aren't you asshole, well I'm going to enjoy it when I shove a pike right up your ass and through your mouth, and use you as my goddamn lawn flamingo. CALM! NO!
Calm is for people who aren't dogs who try to sabotage you, calm is for the people who actually give a damn about the world and others. I'm no fool king, and I know you played a hand in this since only I ordered the books last night and studied up on this world. But fine in the words of a dear idol with the alias Jigsaw "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!", because if you think I can't do this on my own your wrong.
"Fine then." I declare causing stun looks to flash across the king, Motoyasu, and Itsuki's faces as Ren merely looks at me.
"Dude you can't be serious!" Motoyasu exclaims as he throws his hand out in an exaggerated gesture. Since when did you start caring mister "Part of his own Harem", just half an hour ago you were willing to lave me behind in the room.
"I have to agree, the shield class is the weakest in terms of damage!" Ren says as I see a look of worry on his face.
"And I should care why?" I ask him dully with an edge to my voice before causing him and the others to flinch back. "All that means is that I need to level up faster and harder." If they want to try and make my life harder by not partnering with me then good luck to them, I can do this alone and without anyone of their assistance. I work better that way... less people to have to worry about getting attached to.
The room goes quiet at that save for the whispers that make themselves known from the rafters above, mission accomplished then if the nobles are whispering. Means that even they acknowledge what I'm doing that while on paper sounds bad, just means that the EXP doesn't need to be split between me and the party and I can level up faster. I'll just need to grind a lot on the weaker enemies for the first few days until I can get strong enough to advance to the harder ones.
"Your resolve impresses me Shield Hero," The king says with a stern expression on his face. "Because no one desires to align themselves with you, you shall be granted extra funding to hire adventurers yourself for your journey," How generous of you sir king, I'll be sure to return the favor in kindness. The pike will only go through the throat and not the mouth. "With that in mind all of you shall be granted a monthly allowance to procure any and all equipment needed for your journey."
As the king said this four nobles who had been on the sidelines walked towards us each one holding a bag of coins if the rattling is anything to go by.
"While this time the shield hero receives eight hundred silver pieces the other heroes each receive six hundred," The treasurer says as I grab the pouch and feel the shift in weight. Good god this thing is like fifteen pounds, did they actually make these coins from pure silver?! Looks like I won't be skipping arm day anytime soon if this is how much money weighs in this world, never thought I'd miss paper money so much.
Regardless I must actually thank you king, after all you caused yourself to have to pay me more from your own folly. Makes my spending a lot easier and potentially heavier if I find a good deal, wonder how much a gun for hire costs in this world. Then again might be a bad idea since I doubt they would be legal and I don't need my name out in that market since the king already doesn't like me, would be a bad idea to give him more ammunition.
"Take these war chests with our thanks heroes and prepare to set out on your adventure as you leave immediately." Maybe god doesn't hate me if I can finally leave this place and start killing monsters.
"Sir!" I reply in unison with the other guys before we turn to leave the room, I making my way out quicker than them since they had their teams to deal with.
That doesn't help alleviate the many pairs of eyes staring right into me as I walk out of the castle, as even going through the halls I can feel them watching me all the way to the gate. Perhaps I did overdo it back there with my loner act but they brought that upon themselves when the king tried to sabotage me by spreading rumors about my knowledge of this world. I was the only one of us who actually tried to learn about their environment instead of figure out the obvious as soon as I could, plus if they were so knowledgeable about this world then they wouldn't have talked about how weird the food served at dinner last night was. Little things like that are what I'm good at picking out when I feel like it, especially when the rumor was about the shield hero by name instead of just a hero. And the fact that a rumor managed to go through t least the whole town and stay the same means multiple outlets were saying it and I doubt most people would want to do that in the dead of night just to gossip.
"I'll play their game," I mumble to myself as I start walking down the long path towards the castles gate already seeing it beginning to open off in the distance. "And I'll show you just what I can do when I can cut loose." I giggle to myself as I think about that as my eye twitches behind my hair as I need to brush it out of the way. I probably look insane right now but I don't care, if someone thinks I am then so be it!
"Hey Parker!" What do they want now? Can't they see I'm trying to get out of this castle of morons.
"What is it?" I turn around and see Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki approaching me with their parties continuing to walk ahead past us, leaving us by ourselves for right now.
"We just wanted to wish you good luck man," Motoyasu says as he puts a hand on my shoulder... making mental note to cut off his right hand in the future might make a nice cup holder if I can find a use for it. "Seeing as how your at the disadvantage we figured the least we could do was wish you luck."
Really that's the least you could do? Well I guess it's better than most would do for me. Making mental note to possibly let him keep his right hand in the future and not cut it off and use it as a cup holder. I can use my own hand to hold my drink anyway.
"Yes. Even though we aren't able to directly help you just know all you need to do is ask us for help if you need it." Itsuki said before going quiet for a moment and then looking over to Ren, before nudging him in the shoulder.
Well if your so inclined on giving me a favor I might have to use that in the near future, especially if I need your help in something other than leveling up. So I guess I'll have to thank them for that if I want a repeat offer in the future, which I suspect I just might have to hope for.
"Yeah we'll help you if you ever need us." Ren says dejectedly making me suspect that this wasn't his idea. I understand your pain Ren I really do, but you let them rope you into this after only a few hours of knowing them.
"Thanks." I tell them before walking off giving them a nod as I turn back.
It only takes a few minutes before I find myself in the middle of a bustling market in the town making me do my best to not bump into anybody. As much as I want to I can't afford to cause a scene that involved beating a person senseless currently. Right now I need to focus on getting to the blacksmith shop I wrote down last night while looking at the maps. Hopefully it's worthwhile and has everything I need before going stress relieving later, since I don't feel like fighting while in a pure black and white hoodie in the sun. Plus hopefully I can get rid of some of the weight in my coin pouch since its really annoying to have to walk lopsided and constantly straighten myself. My clothing is already making me feel nervous about people watching me, and I'm already starting to drip sweat since its getting to be about around noon now. Hopefully I can find some light armor at the blacksmiths to change into since I don't feel like being drenched in sweat when I go to sleep tonight since I doubt they have showers in this world, let alone any sense of plumbing at all. Probably going to have to find a secluded river later in order to clean myself, wonder what passes for soap in this world.
"This should be the place." Lets see sign typing itself out translated in the bottom of my vision. Mix of stone and wood with the smell of fire and coal inside, and swords and shields visible in the shop through the window.
Well lets see how well medieval style armor compares to modern day clothes... and even in this world they have bells that ring whenever you open the door. Walking in I'm surprised that its actually a little cooler in here than outside, like actual Air Conditioner cool and I am going to investigate further because if I'm wrong blacksmiths are supposed to have superhot furnaces to smelt and mold metal.
"Coming!" I hear a male voice say from what I assume is a room in the back of the shop.
Might as well look around and see what kind of shields they have for sale here since according to the warning I found while digging through my menu last night I can't touch any weapon that isn't a shield. Once again whoever made this shield on my arm was stupid as hell since not only can I fight with the others who have the legendary weapons, but I can't even touch anything that isn't a shield. Well I can still make this work since beating someone or thing in the head with a slab of metal should hurt no matter what world you're in. and if game logic applies to combat in this world hitting things in the head should do extra damage, and normally one shots the weakest enemies there are.
"So these are the types of shields they have in this world." I say to myself as I look at all of the shield this guy has on his racks.
Movies don't give these things enough fame since normally shields are portrayed as all one universal mold or design, but this guy nearly had zero duplicates I could see in his entire display. I'm no expert either but I would hazard to guess that many of these would take a long time to make just one of them. Given the spikes that covered some of them and the weird and sudden angles that they bent or twisted in. I'll give the guy this he has serious talent if he made all of these himself, wonder if he does custom orders?
"So sir how can I help you today sir?" I hear the same voice ask shortly after a door opens and closes.
Turning to look at him I Gotta say he can somehow make a three pronged beard and bald head look good, and he has muscle to back up his appearance. Well lets see how well he compares to the rest of his kind in person, so far he's at least leaving a better impression than everyone else in the castle. Aside from that maid from last night since she didn't immediately seem like she hated me, but that could have been from wither fear or personal gain.
"I'm looking for some armor to go hunting." I tell him as I walk over to the counter where he's standing.
He rubs his chin in thought as he closes his eyes in concentration. "Well you could certainly use it considering your outfit doesn't look very protective." he says as I must agree with him on that considering that I doubt a hoodie made of nylon, wool, and cotton could stand up well against whatever monsters are in this world.
"I'll take that as a compliment." I reply to him shaking off the fact that he called my best outfit combination weird since to him it probably does, which causes him to chuckle lowly before he lets out a booming laugh.
"I like you kid," He says as he starts walking out from behind the counter showing that he has well over half a foot on me in height, well looks like dad now has competition for people taller than me by that amount. "You got spunk." He says as he clasps a hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks." I tell him in my most polite voice since it wouldn't do well for me to tick off a man as intimidating and even more muscular looking than my father, and with a personality to match my grandfather. But I swear if he starts talking about cooking possums and hunting lizards I will actually throw myself off of the highest cliff I can find and into the ocean.
"So what kind of armor are you looking for?" He asks as he leads me over to another side of the store where he has many different sets of armor hung up on racks.
Just like with the shields they all look unique and different from each other, with a few of them even having matching swords sheathed on the waist area of them. But they all look to clunky for me and probably weigh a ton, and would slow me down. Yeah I'm supposed to be the tank class but my speed is higher than all of my other stats and I want to put that to use.
"So see anything you like?" He asks me as I trace my finger from armor set to armor set. They feel cool and sturdy to the touch which is good since that only means this guy sells quality goods from what little I know, and I might actually come back for other things if they work out.
"Is there anything light and mobile?" I ask him as I hear him hum in thought at my question.
"Well lets see... the closest thing I can think of that I have in stock right now is some basic chainmail," He tells me as he points behind him with his thumb to the backside of the store, meaning that he has that in the back. "But that depends on your budget since it's a hundred and fifty silver."
My response... slam the bag I've been lugging with me on the counter with a resounding thud.
"Not an issue." I tell him as I watch his gob smacked face as looks at the amount of money I just put on the counter.
"Well I can see that," He says as a grin spreads across his face as he claps his hands together. "Give me a moment." He says as he turns around and enters the back of the shop again.
I decide to go back to looking around the shop again to see if anything else looks like it would be useful. I'll have to ask about custom armor later as well since from every single iteration of chainmail I've seen it's literally wearing a bunch of small chains linked together, and that while it does fit what I asked for does not sound appeasing at all. But I can make do until I can find something better. Plus I imagine I'm going to have to buy upgrades for my party after I find some people to be a part of it later.
"This shield looks good." I say to myself as I look at a shield shaped like a Buzzsaw that was circular and had spikes going along the rim and in the center forming a smaller circle.
Deciding to touch it and inspect it closer I take it off the rack before my eyes are assaulted by a blinding light erupting from it for a solid five seconds. As I regain my vision I see my Status Menu pulled up under a 'Weapons Copied' section with a bunch of lines blank before the first one fills in with "Medium Iron Spike Shield". And fuck the shield is now gone as my hands are empty. This thing better be fucking useful in battle since I didn't intend to buy it anyway, but it should be useful.
"Silver lining found though." I chuckle to myself as to anyone watching I would be touching solid air, but to me I'm touching the shield's name I just copied on the list.
As soon as I press it I notice a flash of light erupt from the gem in the center of my shield covering itself before it molds itself into the shield I copied with the gem residing in the center circle of spike now. I imagine getting both stabbed by spikes and bludgeoned by metal should deal more damage than just being bludgeoned, so maybe it'll be more useful than I thought. The sound of heavy footsteps and the door to the back of the shop opening alerts me to the shop owners return, as I see him walking through with the armor draped over his arm.
"Well I see you've found a shield you like." He says as he walks over to me with a smile on his face.
"How much for it?" I ask him knowing that it's better to go ahead and pay him upfront with a little extra for essentially stealing his product without asking.
"That shield will run ya about... 25 silver." He says as lays the chainmail armor over the counter next to the bag of coins I left there before walking over to me.
"Take thirty," I tell him as a confused look crosses his face most likely wondering why someone would want to pay extra for a product. "I accidentally copied it and therefore stole it without asking, so take five extra silver as an apology." I explain to him as he looks even more confused.
"What do you mean you copied it?" He asks me seriously as he folds his arms, yet I don't feel any anger coming off of him just confusion and interest.
In response I hold up the shield on my arm as it returns to the original slab of metal that it was when I was summoned. It's better he sees what I'm talking about instead of me struggling to explain it since I have no idea what he knows of the legendary heroes I'm apparently a part of.
"So your one of those heroes huh," He says as he rubs his chin again letting out a sigh. "Well then consider the shield a testament to my good faith." He says as his demeanor changes and he lets out a smile.
"Your good faith?" I ask him wanting to know what he means by that.
"Well consider it me doing my part to help out in stopping the waves," He says as he looks over to the hooks that used to hold the shield I had copied. "Truth be told that thing has been up there for a few months now so at least it can get some use," He says with a big grin before he points over at the suit of chainmail armor draped over the counter. "So how about trying on some armor."
"Sure." I reply as I walk past him and pick up the long shirt looking thing that was apparently chainmail. Upon picking it up I can feel what I assume to be the chains underneath the material covering it.
"Changing booth is right over there." He says pointing to where the mall style changing curtain is on the other side of the store.
Considering this thing is made like a onesie without completely covering the arms and legs , but it means that I have to take off my hoodie, shirt, and jeans for this. At least the color of the outer material is black so I can keep up with the theme.
'The cold air of the shop feels good.' I think to myself as I pull off both my shirt and hoodie at the same time, because I have skill. Strangely the armor is actually comfortable considering the insides are lined with chains, but it actually feels no different than me wearing my hoodie except it doesn't completely cover my arms. Making mental note to look into gloves unless I want a half arm tan going on, which I do not because they look stupid as hell.
"Well your certainly looking the part of a hero now." He says as I walk out holding my other clothes folded up in my arms.
"Thanks." I tell him as I set my clothes on the counter and open the bag of coins. I notice a few gold coins strewn in with the copious amounts of silver ones so I'm assuming that a single gold one is worth one hundred silver ones.
"So you've got armor a new shield, how about a sword?" He asks as he reaches under the counter and produces an iron word from beneath it.
"I can't," I tell him as I shake my head. "The shield doesn't allow me to use anything that isn't a shield." I explain to him as he hums in thought.
"I wonder how that works then?" He questions to himself as he pulls out a small magnifying glass looking thing from a pocket. "May I see it." He asks me as I hold out my arm across the counter so he can do what he wants.
"Shield doesn't come off of me." I tell him as he starts looking at the gem in the center of my shield.
"Hmm. It looks like any other small shield, but I can feel an incredible amount of magic in it," He says as I see small blue ripple emit from his magnifying glass that I'm assuming is some sort of magic. "Other than that my Appraisal magic doesn't tell me much else."
I withdraw my arm as he hums further in thought. As he does that I reach into the bag and pick out two gold pieces that are at the top of the pile, and places them in front of him.
"Does that cover me?" I ask him as he nods in confirmation.
"Yep. That leaves you with twenty silvers if I accept your five silver apology." He says as he picks up the two coins in his hand.
"Are there any shields you recommend that are twenty silvers then?" I ask him hoping to find another shield to use and copy, with his and my permission this time.
"Well all of the shields on that row were twenty silver so it's up to your opinion." He says as he pulls out a box from under the counter and puts the two coins in it.
"Well then tell me good sir," I ask him as I small grin appears on my face. "Do you do custom orders?"
After about another hours I decided to not get another shield and instead managed to submit my designs for a few special orders to the blacksmith whose name I learned was Erhard, with my final total coming to four hundred and seventy five silver, or in what I paid with three gold pieces and seventy five silver pieces. He said it would be about a month or two until he could complete them since he had to order special materials and I asked for the strongest stuff there was. Personally I can deal with the wait and can make do, but the problem is I don't know how long until the next wave occurs and I need to know if one of my requests will work.
Still though I managed to get a couple of pouches for my clothes and other things, like those cookies I shoved in my hoodie pockets that somehow didn't melt in the heat.
"So these things are probably magic." I tell myself as I put them back in one of the pouches, with the other one holding my clothes, the next one my remaining coins. I also asked him if I could trade two hundred silvers for another two gold so I could get rid of the dead weight and also minimize the amount of money that would be visible.
I don't feel like taking the risk of some eagle eyed mugger seeing a bag full of coins and thinking it's his lucky day, so the less coins I have the less likely they'll try me.
"Now then," I tell myself as I drop the three bags I had slung over my shoulder into the tall grass I was standing in the middle of, in the giant field outside of the town as I see a bunch of red cursors appear in my vision as a large grin subconsciously splits across my face. "STRESS RELIEF!" I yell as a bunch of enemies lung into the air from the tall grass revealing themselves to be creatures named 'Orange Balloons' and that they were nothing but orange balls with white eyes and a mouth.
If it wasn't daytime and I wasn't paranoid I would so have my Slayer playing in my ears right now to commemorate and complete the moment. I grab the first balloon I see by the lower part of the mouth as it chomps down on my hand, and I feel no pain from it as a green aura covers me. I then grab its upper mouth with my other hand and attempt to tear it in half.
NO BLOOD! I WANTED TO STAIN THESE FEILDS RED WITH THEIR BLOOD! NO MATTER, I can still fill it with their CORPSES!
With the first one taken care of I block the next one I see with my Iron Spike Shield as I slam the center spikes into it resulting in it bouncing back into the air and away for now. In that moment I feel another three pairs of jaws lamp down on me as more balloons appear on my legs and non shielded arm. Jumping into the air I slam my legs together causing both balloons to let go, and using my momentum I slam the balloon on my arm into them sending them off back into the grass away from me. Then I move backwards from the regrouping bunch of balloons as I take stock of their numbers, and see six cursors spread out in my field of vision.
"COME ON! I'm here expecting stress relief and instead your MAKING ME MORE STRESSED!" I yell in rage as I charge them holding me shield out in front of m and slam it into the first one that lunged forward causing it to pop.
The other five seeing this decide to follow suit and lung forward at me, with me successfully blocking two of them and the other three clamping onto my left shoulder, right leg, and the left side of my chest. Once more I don't feel any pain which I assume means these things can't deal enough damage to bypass my defense stats. These things are honestly PATHETIC! I'm only level one and these things can't even hurt me, it would be cute if it wasn't so humiliating for them. I throw myself backwards as I put the full force of my body weight on the balloons that were clamping down on me, causing them to once again let go as I pick myself up. Seeing an opening I slam my foot down on one of them through the mouth causing it to pop like the one I pulled apart.
I will give these things that they can take a beating, but that's most likely because of my low attack stats since they're in the single digits and my defense and speed are in the low to mid double digits.
Moving my eyes to see the two I swatted away earlier I see them lunging at me again, making me deliver a quick roundhouse kick with my right leg to one of them causing it to be throw to the side. And using my left arm I grab the other one in the air and slamming it full force into the ground. As chuckle to myself as it tries to squirm out of my grip which only makes me tighten it in response, as I pick it up and hold it in front of my face.
"You know if I met you when I was back in my world I would have wanted you as a pet," I tell it as it's anger filled eyes lower themselves as its large gaping grin reverses into a frown, and it starts shaking. "But now your NOTHING TO ME!"
I crush it in my grip as another five seconds of increasing pressure causes it to pop like all the others. I then reach up and grab one that had latched itself onto my shoulder as I place it on the ground before raising my shield, and crushing it underneath the spikes on it. Turning around and standing up I see the remaining two balloons look at each other before running away back into the tall grass.
That's funny! These things think they can run! Think they can and that I'll let them SURVIVE! Someone ought to teach them what happens when they try to run from my wrath! Running after them at full speed since these things are fast when their running in the grass, I lung at the closest cursor I get to and grab the balloon with both hands as I tear it in half like the first one I fought.
Craning my head I see the other cursor already a long ways away and well out of my caring zone for right now. Why you may ask? Well the other ten cursors that appeared all around my should be answer enough as the wind blows all of the grass to the side revealing the new gang of orange balloons that think they can take me.
"Well come on," I tell them as I throw my arms to my side and spin myself to look at all of them. "What are you waiting for? The Grim Reapers approval to die!"