Well when I get a response this fucking amazing I am inclined to continue it. Hopefully this chapter is up to you people's expectations. Story will continue to diverge as time goes on don't worry.

Enjoy!


A long yawn escaped me as the four of us stood in the same hall we had had an audience with the king in the day prior. Honestly, I had not been able to sleep that night very well. I blamed the thoughts and shy excitement I felt at what had happened only just yesterday. Either that, or my habit of staying up longer than any human should reasonably be able to followed me into this world. Both were equally valid, and it was probable that both had played a part in my drowsiness.

Despite that, I was practically shaking with excitement. Who wouldn't? I was finally becoming something I'd always wanted to be, in one way or another. I felt like I could finally do something, if that makes sense.

My eyes still feel heavy tho

We can't win them all.

But enough about that. We were about to set out on our journey. In front of us were about two-dozen people of various shapes and sizes (although none taller than me still), wielding a plethora of weapons and staves, and in various forms of armor and robes. The four of us stood in front of them, apparently inspecting them.

"Heroes, here we have the best and brightest adventurers who I have summoned that are willing and able to fight by your side." The King explained. "Once they have chosen which of you to follow, each of you will be given 800 silver to spend however you see fit."

I analyzed the adventurers in front of us. Each one seemed like they'd be able to handle themselves in a fight. Basically, exactly what I was looking for.

My eyes made contact with someone else's. A woman with red hair and green eyes stared back at me. She wore what appeared to be leather armor with various other bits of metal strapped here and there. She smiled at me.

excuse me what

I turned around to see if she was perhaps smiling at a friend or something but saw no one except a royal procession of some sort that was no different from the others. Turning back around, my eyebrow raised.

Unfortunately, that was the moment that the king allowed the adventurers to choose who to party up with, so I didn't get to see what else she was doing.

I shut my eyes, attempting to get my breathing under control, my previous sleepiness completely forgotten. The footsteps of the adventurers around was the only thing I heard. After I couldn't hear them anymore, I opened my eyes, and turned around.

I was met with a line of ghosts behind me. Not literal ghosts though. That implies that there was someone there.

Not a single solitary soul stood behind me.

Now that's just rude. Didn't realize I was so intimidating/ugly. Fucking hell

Groups of adventurers gathered behind every single hero except me, and none of them looked like they wanted to move from their comfortable positions behind them. In fact, a few of them glanced at me as if I was about to pounce on them and tear them to shreds.

"Okay, I'll bite, what the hell?" I asked, my arms stretched to my sides, as I looked around. "No one? Not even one?"

"Well, that is unfortunate…" The King murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. He honestly didn't sound broken up about it.

"Okay… okay." I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Ren, you willing to… lend me anyone?"

Kirito stared at me, and then looked back to the group behind him. "If you want to, go ahead. I have no use for weaklings. If any of you fail to measure up, I will not be afraid to cut you loose." He told them coldly, to which they nodded their heads vigorously.

Laying it on there a little thick ain't ya Sasuke-Kirito

I looked at Legolas, who merely gave me an apologetic shrug.

You really are an elf; you're fucking useless

I turned to the last hero other than me in the room. "…Motoyasu?"

"Eh he he…" He laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at his… at his all-female party.

One thought passed through my mind.

what

They were all gorgeous women. Every single one of them. It was almost surreal that they all gathered behind him like that. Lancer stared at them with a gaze that would make Issei Hyoudou proud, but he reigned it in well enough I supposed.

"Ah- Ahem. Uh, I mean, if anyone wants to go with Alex…?" He tried looking at them with what I could only assume to be a constipated expression.

Well you're just living the perfect dream aren't you motherfucker

I felt the optimism that I had had since arriving in this world begin to crash and burn as no one showed any signs of straying away from the party they had chosen.

I clapped my hands against the sides of my thighs. "Well, I guess I'm alone then. Fantastic. Amazing. Just absolutely fu- stupendous. Thanks a lot, guys. Really making me feel welcomed here."

It wasn't so bad, I thought. I mean, I still had the shield, right? At least it cared about me. I stared down at it and smiled.

The shield's green gem-eye looked right back up at me and seemed to say: 'you lonely bastard'.

That hurt shield

The King sighed, leaning back in his throne. "I suppose there is no way to help with that. If everyone is-"

"Excuse me, I would like to party with the Shield Hero." A light voice said.

If I was a dog, my ears would have perked up. I turned to the sound of the voice and saw her.

The same woman from before who had smiled at me when our eyes met now stood behind me, switching places from the back of Lancer's group to mine. She gave me a pleasant smirk as I stared at her in bewilderment.

Something ain't right here boyo

I couldn't quite place my finger on it at the time. I just guessed that my paranoia involving people in general, which I had tried to suppress after last night, came back to the forefront of my mind. She was, after all, admittedly gorgeous, and had zero obligation to join me. I was fully prepared to accept my fate as the fucking sad boi I was. It was completely realistic to feel a little bit of suspicion when something like that happens.

Nonetheless, I accepted her with a curt nod. Lancer, on the other hand, sputtered like a dying car from the 1950s.

"Wha- But-" Lancer took a deep breath. "Are you sure?" He asked finally.

The red-head nodded exuberantly. "Of course! I assume the Shield Hero can't fight on his own very effectively, so he needs someone to fight for him, correct? Either way, this should make for a nice change of pace." She looked back to me and smiled, holding her hand out. "My name is Myne Sophia, Shield Hero. I hope we work well together!"

…maybe you jumped the gun a bit there boyo

After a few seconds standing there like a fucking gimp, I shook her hand. "Likewise, Myne." I managed to mutter. "Nice to have you aboard."

If anything, her smile somehow became more radiant than it was before.

I decided then that I was going to keep an eye on her, but not actively distrust her. What would she have to gain from betraying me? Nothing I could think of at that moment. Besides, we were here to save the motherfucking world. There were more important things to worry about.

I turned back around and saw that the king had an expression of grim understanding on his weathered and bearded face.

"Very well," He intoned. "If you have all gathered your respective parties, here are the coins you were promised…"


It was outside of the castle, just right before we exited the groundseas proper, that I decided to do something I had been meaning to do since my conversation with the other three heroes ended the night prior.

"I'm gonna go… uh… say something to the other heroes real quick. Wanna come with?" I asked.

Myne shrugged. "I'll go wherever you go, Shield Hero. I'm part of your party after all!" She flashed a smile.

Despite myself, I smiled back. "So you are." I replied. "Let's go."

To my surprise, and to the satisfaction of my laziness, they were all gathered in one place, apparently saying good bye to one another. I made my way there, Myne in tow, and interjected into the conversation.

"Hey guys." I greeted softly.

Lancer raised his brows in slight surprise. "Well, look who it is."

"I honestly thought you would have left by now." Kirito commented.

I grant you a seat on the edge council, but I do not grant you the rank of edgelord Kirito

Legolas gave a single nod in greeting.

"Yeah, that was about the response I was expecting." I sighed. "Look, I know I was a bit of a douche yesterday, and I can't blame it all on nerves and exhaustion. However, this entire situation is bigger than all of us, and I don't wanna go into the fire knowing the people I'm probably gonna try and protect hate my guts. So, I guess I'm saying I'm sorry for being massive prick yesterday and hope we can… eh, work together as the world falls apart around us?" I finished, taking in their expressions.

Lancer looked genuinely surprised, and so did Kirito. Legolas was the first to step up and hold out a hand.

"Apology accepted, Alex," He smiled.

I nodded and shook his hand, meanwhile Kirito merely scoffed.

"I never held a grudge against you. Do you really think I would be so irrational and petty?" He said.

Normally I'd say yes but I'm trying to be nice

I just nodded dumbly at him, assuming that was his way of saying 'no hard feelings bro'.

Lancer looked like he thought long and hard about what he was going to say, before he apparently gave it up and just sighed. "Eh, I guess I was a little mean yesterday too. It'd be good to start over before we head out, right?"

I smirked. "My thought exactly, Motoyasu."

"Shield Hero?" Myne called my title next to me. "We should probably use that money the king gave us to purchase equipment. We do not want to be caught out in the dark before we have a chance to gain experience."

I turned to Myne. "Yeah, you're right. Just a sec," Looked back at the other heroes. "Well guys, this is it. Let's go on a motherfucking adventure, yeah?"


"You sure this is the best place in the city to buy gear?" I asked with a raised brow, staring at the rather humble looking building.

"The best that I know of." Myne confirmed. "Although even then, we might have to place a custom order, considering how… large, you are."

I gave her a flat look. "…Are you calling me fat?"

She held a hand to her mouth, looking shocked. "Perish the thought!"

She definitely just called me fat

I merely sighed and opened the door, holding it open so she could enter first like the gentleman I was.

It certainly looked like what a weapon/armor shop would look like. Swords, axes, daggers, along with several types of armor were displayed on the walls. A bald man stood behind a wooden counter. He was easily the largest person I'd seen since arriving in Melromarc, being around 5'6. I still stood above him but not quite as much as everyone else I had seen. Hell, Myne only stood to about my chest.

"Welcome! Can I… Oh, it's you!" The man seemed to recognize me to some extent. "The… Shield Hero, right?"

I nodded. "That's right. Word already spreading?"

"It would be weirder if it wasn't, Shield Hero." Myne commented. "You are all called the 'Four Cardinal Heroes' for a reason."

"Fair enough." I huffed. "Any chance you could offer us a discount? Ya know, since we're trying to save the world and all?"

Might as well save money where I can

The shop owner adopted a thinking pose as we approached the counter. "You are not wrong- Damn, you're big, aren't you?" He said as I stood in front of him.

"Whatever gave you that idea? I was under the impression I was a dwarf." I drawled, looking down at him. Myne giggled next to me.

The shop keeper grimaced. "Yeah, sorry about that, it's just surprising… Anyway, yeah, I could offer a small discount I guess, but nothing major. Still got to run a business, you know?"

"Just trying to save money, man. Not run you outta business. Speaking of which…" I looked to one of the sword racks. "Myne, buy whatever you feel like you need. I need to check something."

"Roger that!" She replied cheerfully.

Sometimes I can't tell if she's being real or just making fun of me

I wandered over to the sword rack, the conversation in the background nothing but background noise. Once I was there, I attempted to grab one of them.

Only to have my hand, for lack of a better term, repelled.

For a single instant, a blue light sparked, and my hand was forcefully batted away as my vision became obscured by a notice.

"Notice: The wielder of the Legendary Shield cannot hold anything with intent to use as a weapon."

Okay that's bullshit

"Shield Hero! Are you okay!?" Myne was behind me in an instant, checking to see if anything had really happened to me.

I gave her a disarming, but slightly dampened smile. "Yeah, just had to test something. Really sucks too. Ah well, did you find something?"

She nodded her head excitedly. "Yes! I found this-" She hefted a shortsword that was sheathed, but it was almost like I could feel the sharpness from inside of it.

plz don't be Lorena Bobbitt. plz

I looked at the shop owner, who looked completely nonplussed at the fact that a blue glow kept me from using any of his weapons. "How much?"

The shop owne-

You know what, I'mma call him Bob

Bob walked over and inspected the weapon. Appraising it, really.

"Well, considering your Hero's Discount, I'd place this at around… 250 silver pieces." He told me.

I felt the metaphorical punch to the wallet and had to stop tears from falling as I handed him the money, reasoning that if Myne was my only companion that I might as well give her the best money could buy.


"Gah! Motherfucker-!" I shouted, feeling the sharp pointy teeth of a living balloon pierce my clothes and prick at my skin. I tore it off me with a snarl, glaring at the ugly thing's face for a moment before punching it into the ground and stepping on it, hearing the cathartic 'pop' it made.

Myne was off to the side, waiting for her turn to make mincemeat out of the goddamn balloons.

"No, it's okay, Myne. I'll just stand here and get nommed on by fucking balloons. Can't have your hair ruined, now can we?" I deadpanned, giving her the stink eye.

"Oh, please, you are fine! Those creatures barely made a dent in you!" She replied, brandishing the new, shiny, sharp sword I bought for her with my money.

I should've negotiated a better deal fucking hell

I looked off to the distance to see Kirito, in all of his edgy glory, cutting down a few balloons with complete ease as his companions watched.

It occurred to me that if there was a party system, it would be extremely helpful, and Myne wouldn't have to sit on her finely-shaped ass while I sat there and threw a temper tantrum on pieces of bloated helium. Unfortunately, I was helpfully informed that that didn't exist by my red-headed companion. So, in a nutshell, we weren't technically a party.

Which honestly didn't make much sense to me, and I was planning on investigating what she said later.

But for that moment, I had no choice but to grind EXP from these trash mobs, slowly raising my level.

It ain't much but it's honest work

I yelled in pain as another fucking balloon seemingly popped out of nowhere and proceeded to bury its teeth into my shoulder.

I suppose it didn't help that my attack stat was so ridiculously low that it took a minute just to kill these trash mobs. Good thing that my defense stat, to compensate, was ridiculously high for my level. With the balloon still trying to chew a hole through my flesh, I looked down at the shield on my left arm.

'Spose I have you to thank for that huh

It occurred to me then that I still had a balloon munching on my seemingly delicious shoulder while staring at a Shield that I talked to when I was lonely. All the while Myne looked like she was about to explode from holding in her laughter at the scene.

Grunting, I tore the balloon from my shoulder and squeezed it till it popped. Turning to Myne, I tried to keep my expression as level as possible.

Safe to say I failed miserably and laughed as well, for the first time since I arrived there.


"Oooh, that looks sturdy…" Myne trailed off, inspecting several pieces of armor as I talked to Bob.

"Look, I realize I'm taller than literally everyone here, but is it possible I could place an order for something… custom?" I asked, hopeful.

"Of course," Bob replied. "Considering your height, it would have to be custom. But I'll need your measurements to make it completely comfortable to wear. And it'll probably cost as a lot."

I sighed. "Of course it will. Everything in this world is expensive as shit. I'm not exactly made of money, ya know?"

Bob raised a brow. "You have the backing of the King of Melromarc. Even if he isn't the Queen, he should still have a lot of money."

I jingled my coin purse. "800 silver pieces, man. 650 since I bought that sword off you." I put the purse away, glancing at Myne out of the corner of my eye. "And it looks like I'm about to lose more of it."

Bob shrugged. "I guess the King wants you all to be… eh, self-sufficient? If he just up and gave you money all the time it would put a strain on the coffers I reckon."

"But like you said, he's the King, doesn't he have the most money and power or some shit?" I asked.

A strange grunt was all I heard before a metallic 'clang' of armor being piled on top of the counter nearly made me go deaf.

"Shield Hero!" Myne called, coming to my side. "I'm sure this is all I need! With this, I'll be able to take a hit or two before you have to step in!"

I eyed the shiny bits of metal. It did look sturdy. And expensive. Very expensive.

I'll come up with a nickname for you yet Myne and right now I think it's 'She-Who-Has-No-Sense-Of-Money'

I gave her a near-tear-filled stare. "Are… Are you sure you need this much?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm! You have a shield, and while I'm sure I can count on you to be there when I need you, I can't be cut down so easily, you know? Please?"

She got… almost uncomfortably close to me. I thought she was actually pressing her armored chest to me on purpose and tried her best to fill my nostrils with her perfume. It smelled good, I'll admit, but it also made me, well, suspicious.

Nah actually I think your nickname is 'Gold-digger'

Not wanting to make a scene because I'm a spineless moron, I turned to Bob.

"How much?" I asked, pointing at the armor.

"For you? It's free." He replied, sounding completely serious.

I stared at him for a good twenty seconds. "…Really?"

"No."

The sound of my wallet being torn to shreds was probably the stuff of legends at that point.

My head felt so heavy I felt my forehead almost slam into the counter. "How. Much." I repeated gruffly.

He inspected the metal bits and bobs for several seconds before giving me the bad news.

"450 silver." He answered.

It felt like 450 silver bullets into my soul.

I looked back at Myne, fairly certain tears were streaming down my face in droves. She merely gave me a smile and continued to plead by getting closer to me.

HMMMMMMMMMM

Putting my suspicion down for the moment, I attempted to haggle, slamming my fist on the table and demanding a lower price.

I left that shop 450 silver lighter and the tearful laughter of Myne in my ears.

It didn't sound very light-hearted to me anymore.


"So, you mean to tell me, that the nearest dungeon is around this village here? And it's often frequented by adventurers?" I asked, pointing at a dot on the map with writing I couldn't read next to it.

I found that out fairly quickly. Whatever magic allows me to communicate with the other heroes and the locals doesn't extend to the written language. I was sure the other heroes found that out as well, considering the language looks nothing like any Asiatic languages I'd ever seen. It looked like a strange combination of Hebrew and Latin.

Didn't know the indo-europeans visited this place too

Myne nodded. "Yes. It's a very old ruin, but if we go deep enough we should find something that can help us."

"Considering you just told me that it's a very popular stop for new adventurers, I doubt that." I sighed, leaning back in my chair. "But I guess it can't hurt to have a look around. We'll head there tomorrow."

She smiled. "Whatever you say, Shield Hero!"

She hadn't even said my name once.

I'd quickly grown more and more distrusting of her. My distrust of people in general had quickly grown during the day until it was all I thought about. I thought about it at the time but I really did want to have someone to adventure with, but I was quickly losing the feeling of gladness. Now, I realized I was probably a fool.

She hadn't done anything overt, but it was just enough for me to notice. She had no obligation or true reason to join me other than 'I felt like it', and throughout most of the day I'd been the one doing most of the heavy lifting, and then she coerced me into buying her cool, shiny new gear while I was still wearing my now tattered and torn clothes from my world. I hadn't even been able to place an order for a set of armor because of it. Now, I only had about 100 silver coins left. I lost 700 silver in just one day.

Safe to say, I was going to try something that night. And if it held true, I was going to have to be on the lookout for new companions.

"Ah, that's good…" Myne sighed contentedly, drinking wine out of a glass. I stared at her as she did this, and apparently, she took it a different way to how it actually was, because she smiled sultrily at me. "Would you like a drink, Shield Hero?"

"No." I replied curtly.

I hated alcohol.

She gently rolled the glass around on her hand, the wine sloshing from side to side like she was trying to hypnotize me. "Are you sure, Shield Hero? You know, Melromarc is a matriarchy, and it's extremely impolite to refuse a drink from a woman." She smirked at me, the same one that she flashed to me when I first laid eyes on her.

It seemed a lot more sinister now.

What have you gotten yourself into boyo

I crossed my arms, my expression unamused. "I'm not trying to seem rude, Myne. I just… really don't like alcohol." I looked beyond her at the wall. "I've seen what it can do to someone. I never want to be like that."

I would truly have to be at rock bottom if I ever stooped to drinking.

She pursed her lips and took another sip. "Suit yourself."

We sat there in an awkward and cold silence. Even the regular sounds of the inn seemed faraway and quiet.

I abruptly got up and made my way to the staircase, not even looking at her. "I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow."

"Sweet dreams, Shield Hero." She responded quietly. "Sweet dreams."

Okay you know what fuck you


I got to my room and immediately began preparing. 100 silver coins left. I took 50 out of the small sack and began hiding them in the shield.

If only the room had a lock, then I wouldn't have to do it that way.

You'd be surprised how effective a storage piece it was. All kinds of ways to hide coins in it. After I was done with that, I placed the last 50 on the top of a dresser, only a small walk and within eyesight of the door.

I tried to keep the jingle of the coins inside the shield to a minimum as I laid down and prepared to fall asleep.

This was a small test. If those coins were gone tomorrow, then I'll have a pretty good idea on who took them. If they weren't, and Myne was still there, I'd keep her on board for now but keep an eye on her. I decided to recruit people as fast as possible as a buffer zone between me and her, or, if I truly was sick of her shit, just kick her out.

So much for allowing yourself to trust people huh boyo


I awoke fully aware almost instantly. Getting up slowly, I looked at the dresser.

The bag was gone.

that bitch

I should have known. Not only did she get practically free armor and a new shiny sword, but she stole what little money I had left. Well, half of it, at least. And now, I wagered, she was long gone. Off into the distance I was sure she went, cackling at my stupidity. Clearly, I was going to need to vat my new companions, if I ever found more again.

I sighed. Not only was I 750 silver short from yesterday, but now I was alone. Alone again.

Perhaps it's better this way

In the end, you can really only trust yourself.

Groaning, I got up. I guess I was lucky she didn't steal anything else. Not that there was much for her to steal other than the money, which I still held half of if the clinking inside the shield was anything to go by.

I stretched my back, hearing the satisfying pops as I did so. At least she was gone now.

I stepped outside my room and turned to my right. Guards ran up the stairs, their armor clanking loudly enough to wake the dead. The held spear almost as longer than they were tall, and the instant the saw me those spears were firmly pointed at me.

I stared blankly at them. "Problem, officers? You know, besides the fact that my money has been stolen, I mean."

They didn't look amused. One of them approached me. "Are you the Shield Hero?"

I held up the shield, staring at it then him. "I have no idea what could have given you that impression."

"We have the orders to take the Shield Hero into custody." The guard said. "The King demands you submit."

I scowled. "For what? The hell did I do?"

"I was not informed. I'm just following orders." He held up his spear. "We have also been ordered to take you in with force if you refuse to comply."

I looked at him and then at the shield, debating if it would be possible to fight my way out.

And then I remembered how paltry my attack stat was.

I sighed. "Fine. Fucking take me to the goddamn King then. Not sure how this day can get any fucking worse but I'm willing to bet that, somehow, it will."

Murphy's Law is a bitch


This poor boi. His life is gonna be fucking destroyed. And if you think Naofumi went off the deep end when this shit happened...

Anyway, I have a challenge to people who play Skyrim. I call it the Shield Hero Challenge. You can only use shields and non-damage dealing magic (although you can summon stuff). So basically: Block, Alteration, Conjuration, Restoration, Illusion, and whatever armor type you want to use. Hope you have as much fun as I am.

The ending of this chapter irks me a little, but my friend who read this before I posted assured me it was good, so I'll take his word for it.

See you next time!