Hey all you cool cats and kittens out there! I have to say that I didn't think I would be typing this out so soon. I hope you all are doing well out there. I actually had a little time and I got the motivation to write this out. For those wondering about my actual writing process, I'll take a second to explain. Because of my current job, I don't work a set schedule, so I'm left with days where I will or won't have time to write anything or do anything. I also babysit my niece and little brother most days as well.

But I'll generally try to shoot for uploading at least one chapter a week. I can't make any promises on this though, but I'll at least give you some sort of timeframe for it. As for my process, it's nothing typical. I generally have a planned out idea of what I want to happen in the chapter, then literally sit down and type it all out in one or two shots. I do all of my spell checking on the spot and try to keep things cleaned up as I go. Things don't always go completely as planned as I don't write anything down or take notes. I usually just plan it all in my head and make adjustments as I write it down. It's sorta like I'm just "winging it," but there is a method to my madness.

It would literally drive me more insane than I already am if I had to write everything out twice. I may actually start keeping notes on important aspects of my story such as how mechanics will work. Also this reminds me, I'm also going to be changing how the legendary bow will work from now on. I will be removing the "base power" aspect of the weapons in favor of simplifying the process. The weapon itself will be streamlined to work off of Tyrus's stats and the bonuses will be added to his stats as well. I've always been terrible at math, so this will make things that much easier for me to keep track of everything in the future. Now for some reviewer shout outs!

Theoneandonlyedster: As I've stated in my message to you before, I'm going to stick to "Elhart" rather than "Erhard." It's what I found in the web novel as well as it flowing better for me personally. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I'm sticking to my guns on that. Ha. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you enjoyed what I cooked up for Elhart and Tyrus. Elhart will feel more like an older brother to Tyrus than anything that is good natured but just likes being a dick to him. Also, I read your chapter to your story Rise of a True Shield Hero (Redux) and I fully enjoyed it. I don't agree with Itsuki's theme song choice. That song is too damn good for him if you ask me, but that's just a personal thing really. It's my favorite song of all time lol and it doesn't really fit Itsuki. At least on a surface level anyway. Thanks for your review so far though cool cat!

Da Stronkest Ork: Hey there cool cat or kitten! Thank you for the review, but I'll be honest. I have no idea what you said. So yeah, thanks regardless!

VGBlackwing: Defend him he shall. I'm still thinking up how I want to handle this scene as it's an extremely important scene for the entirety of the show itself. It sets up the world the heroes are truly in, and where they actually stand. How the world reacts to them, and the entire theme of the show. I just hope I can do it justice in the end really. Thank you for your review so far cool cat or kitten!

Hawa-chan: Thank you for your review cool cat or kitten! While Tyrus, Motoyasu, and Naofumi are technically adults, it's hard to say that any of them are sensible really. Especially Motoyasu and Tyrus for different reasons. You have to remember, that Tyrus is basically driven by the need for revenge and that can lead to terrible choices for terrible reasons. Also the man has very bad PTSD from going through two wars. That will be coming into play as you've already seen a few instances of it in my previous chapters. Motoyasu is an idiot stuck in his own delusions of grandeur and thinks he's without consequences in his actions until it hits him hard enough. Naofumi on the other had come into this world thinking it was a game, but had his naivety ripped away from him in one fell swoop. He smartened up quickly after realizing just how shitty the world was and didn't want it happening again.

Disclaimer: You know it. I know it. Aneko-Sensei knows it and probably laughs his/her ass off about that fact. I don't own Rising of the Shield Hero….. On with the show… I'm gonna go cry in a corner now.

XxXxX

Chapter 7: Guns and Penguins

Tyrus Owens didn't believe he was petty man, but he had come across many people in his life that outright told him differently. This thought had come across his mind as he was walking out of the blacksmith's shop with a half-smile on his face, though he was extremely annoyed with the older man.

"If you break my shit, I'm breaking your ass you bald bastard." Tyrus said without any real heat in his tone, but the smile was still present on his face. This only prompted the man in question, Elhart to roll his eyes and shake his head at the younger man and grin right at him with crossed arms.

"I'd love to see you try it, bow boy. Just don't come crying to me when you're on your ass knocked out cold later. We both know I'm stronger than you, brat. You may be slightly bigger than me, but I've fought bigger shits than you on my worst days." Elhart let out a loud laugh at Tyrus's expense when he saw the man visibly deflate at their strength being called into question now.

"Keep laughing, you prick. I'll get you back one day for that." Tyrus just huffed as he stopped at the door for a moment before exiting the shop. "Oh, you said that the shield and sword heroes came by your shop right? Did either of them put in a special order like I hope they did?"

This caused Elhart to nod with a grin. "Yep, sword boy said he wanted armor, and he just got light leather to start with. While the shield boy put in that special order and got himself some chainmail and his partner a new sword. Their signatures are on the equipment as well if you feel like you want to verify it as well."

This caused Tyrus to stop and turn around fully and rush back up to the counter. "Wait a second. What do you mean by signatures, as in receipts on the equipment or your own brand signature? It shows who the owner of the equipment is and where they got it, if it was bought?"

"Yeah, of course. What kind of idiot blacksmith wouldn't add their signature to their work? Without that anyone could just claim someone else's hard work as their own. I'm sure you have this concept in your own world right? If not then what the hell is wrong with the people there?" Elhart let out a huff at that and shook his head mumbling about talentless blacksmiths.

Tyrus shook his head and laugh out a humorless laugh at that. "Yeah, you're right that we do have blacksmiths in my world that brand their wares. I just didn't think it would apply here, but then again, I should have known better considering the quality of your works. If I were a blacksmith and sold off my stuff, you could bet your ass that I would definitely want people knowing where they got the stuff that saved their asses too."

The bald man let out another laugh at that before making a waving motion. "Yeah you're right about that. But enough about that for now, I'm going to inspect your guns to see what I can learn from them as well the ammunition you've given me. You need to go field test that legendary bow of yours, bow boy." He finished with a smirk that Tyrus didn't miss.

Tyrus then proceeded to give him the universal middle finger as he grimaced and started walking out of the shop. "You know what Elhart? Fuck you, Anderson, and everyone else that thinks they can look down on me simply because you're older by a few years! All of you must have gone to the same school and learned how to be an asshole like no other! I've already beat Anderson's ass and you are next on that list! Start counting the days until it happens, because they are numbered! You hear me asshole!"

Elhart for his part was in complete laughter at that and slammed his fist on the counter with a grin on his face. "Oh, I hear you brat! Bring it whenever you feel like it! I'll beat your ass left, right, and center any day of the week you're feeling like you want to try me! But for now get out of my shop!" He continued to laugh as he watched the younger man walk out of the door, but soon stopped after a while. "Tyrus Owens the bow hero, huh? For as old as you are, you still can act like a kid at times. You'll go far here, but I just hope you don't lose yourself along the way."

XxXxX

Tyrus soon found himself outside of the castle town and in the open grass fields that surrounded the castle towns. Taking the gun out of the holster on his hip, he looked it over once more. The yellow gem was embedded on the side of the holster staring back at him, and he grunted at it. It was finally time to field test this thing to see how it would operate. It was the weapon copied M9 Berretta he had on him this time, as he had the extra magazines in case he needed it.

Walking out a ways into the field, he soon saw a few red flashing icons appear in his field of vision. Seeing them move at a high speed in front of him through the grass, he could see the enemies appear before him. They looked like orange balloons with angry faces that wanted to maul him to death. So it was with narrowed eyes that he started running to the same speed as the balloons as he took aim at them with the gun.

He squeezed the trigger as one of the balloons jumped at him with its mouth open ready to take a bite out of him. There was a loud bang that was familiar to the soldier as he watched the bullet fly through the air and hit directly into the mouth of the creature, then out the other side of it into the ground. The balloon burst into pieces as a screen popped up in front of Tyrus indicating that he had gained one experience point from killing the balloon.

But, he couldn't exactly stop and celebrate as he had noticed there were at least five more balloons trying to murder him by eating him. He only grinned as he took aim and fired five more times in quick succession. With each shot that rang out, there were five sounds of popping sounds of the monster balloons. Tyrus then saw that he had gained one experience point for each kill. Coming to a stop, he let out a small sigh as he could hear the ringing in his ears he had become accustomed to over the years.

"So it fires just like a real gun does. It has the same consistency that the bullets normally do, at least on these orange balloons. They are balloons though, and they pop with a single shot so I'll need to test this on something a little stronger. But it seems that it doesn't consume any ammunition. That's actually a relief if not a little cheap, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth." Tyrus muttered to himself as he decided to keep going with his field test, but he had to stop as he noticed the remains of the orange balloons on the ground.

"Hmm.. It worked with the bullet before. It should work with these as well." He muttered as he picked up the remains and fed it into the yellow gem of his legendary weapon now. He then fed it into the bow and watched as the telltale screen popped up in front of him now.

Requirements Met: [Orange Bow (0/10) unlocked – Rarity: Common – Equip Bonus +1 agility (unmastered) – Proficiency (0%)]

Seeing this caused Tyrus to think about everything he had seen so far. He had come to see that, unless materials entered into the bow were designed for a gun, it would default to a bow type weapon being unlocked. That was fine with Tyrus as he would need to better understand how the bow worked in order to get stronger to fight the waves and survive. He then noticed that in the corner of his right eye there was movement once again amongst the grass.

Grunting to himself, he readied his gun for another fight and he wasn't disappointed as he found more balloons appearing in front of him again. This time there were red balloons mixed in with the orange ones that were coming in ready to take a chunk out of him. So he took aim and fired on all nine of the round creatures. With each pull of his trigger there was a gunshot then a resounding popping noise going along with it. Then there was the telltale sign that he had gained experience points for each kill.

This chain of events kept up for the next two hours or so as he mowed the balloons down with little effort at a rapid pace. Over the course of the two hours he had decided to switch to his new bow as well as test out how to accurately fire the weapon off. He knew he would need the training with it, and this would be the best time for that while he had the chance to start grinding and practicing off the weak monsters. Tyrus had come to find out that the bow also produced its own arrows whenever he pulled the bowstring to take aim and fire with it.

This would definitely come in handy as he found out that he wasn't all that great with the bow itself. The dark skinned man noted that it took more skill to aim and hit his target with the bow than the gun as it required greater strength to pull the bowstring and accounting for trajectory and range as well as the wind and how far he needed to shoot. He reasoned he'd need more practice with the bows if he wanted to use his new weapon to its fullest extent.

After another hour of practicing and grinding, he had become level two and he noticed his stats were rising.

[Tyrus Owens: level 2

Health: 350

Magic: 40

Attack: 100

Magic Attack: 15

Defense: 40

Magic Defense: 10

Agility: 120]

Looking at his status screen and seeing the increase, he could see how the others saw this as nothing but a game. It felt way too much like one with how there was an interface and everything, but he wouldn't let himself fall prey to that line of thinking. He knew it wasn't a game because over the past hour that he was training with the bow, he had been attacked by the little balloon bastards and they had gotten a bite on him.

The little bastards hurt like all kinds of hell and they drew a bit of blood from him to boot. It had dried up by the time he was finished and was making his way back to the capital town to check in on Elhart and find an inn to turn in for the night. With only twenty-eight days left until the wave hits, he needed to get stronger and fast, as well as deal with his issue of finding at least one companion that can keep up with him and he can trust.

XxXxX

The sun had started setting as he strolled back into the capital town gates, and he needed to see Elhart again before turning in for the night. So quickly making his way over to the man's shop, he entered it to see said man getting ready to close up for the night. The chiming of the doorbell prompted the bald man to look up and smirk at one of his new favorite customers now.

"Welcome back you brat! How did it go with your field test? Find out anything good?" Elhart just had to get in a jab about how he was older than Tyrus knowing it would get to him instantly. To his great pleasure, he wasn't disappointed by seeing Tyrus's eye twitch in annoyance that he tried to cover up.

"First of all, fuck you chrome dome, I'm 28 years old and your 32. We're only four years apart in age you bald bastard. But, yes I did find out quite a lot about this weapon." He started by walking up to the counter and placing it on the counter now for his blacksmith to inspect with him. "This thing doesn't require ammunition of any kind, because it produces its own arrows and bullets whenever I fire it off."

That got the lesser of the scarred men between them to widen his eyes in complete surprise now. "You're kidding me. So you could just fire away with bullets and arrows like there's no tomorrow and never need to worry about it just like that? Well I shouldn't be too surprised however, because it is a legendary weapon after all." He rubbed his bald head and then frowned heavily as a thought crossed his mind.

"If that's the case, then what the hell am I supposed to do with all of this ammunition you're having me make? It's just a waste of time and resources to make then if you don't even need them." He looked at Tyrus to see the man smirking and shaking his head now.

"That's not exactly true, my friend. The bullets it produces to attack on its own aren't exactly as strong as an actual bullet. Over the time I was training, I noticed a message that explained how I could use accessories such as arrows and bullets to increase my striking power. It seems the weapon is only as strong as my stats are themselves, so I'll need the ammo to have an extra kick in firepower when I come across stronger enemies in the future."

Hearing this caused Elhart to sigh in relief to know that his efforts wouldn't go to waste now. "Alright then, that's good to know at least. Plus you still have to find yourself some companions like the other heroes. I'll admit that you're good as its obvious you've been in a fight before and have more experience than the others, but you can't possibly do everything alone."

Tyrus only grunted with a nod at first in response, but finally sighed out. "I know, I know. I will be finding at least one person as soon as I can that I can trust to watch my back, and can keep up with me, or at the very least have the potential to one day. I don't mind training someone if need be, but if they can't hold their own it wouldn't be worth it in my eyes. Oh yeah, did you find out anything yourself? Is there anything you feel you need to know to get started on my request?"

Elhart shook his head as he produced the M16 on the counter with a grin. "Nope. The blueprints we came up with and the inspection from this thing was all I needed. You've paid me already so I can start on it tomorrow. However, it's going be a while before I'm done with it. I'm doing this completely from scratch even though I have the listed materials to make this thing. Give me a few weeks on it."

Tyrus nodded as he turned to walk out, but stopped as he saw a pair of black studded gloves hanging on the wall. He picked them up and looked them over, and turned back to Elhart who was watching him with interest.

"How much for these gloves?"

"Those? 40 copper since they are studded and provide a small increase in physical protection."

"Alright, I'll take them. Keep the change."

Tyrus grinned happily as he placed a single silver coin on the counter now. He took out his combat knife and proceeded to cut the fingers off of both gloves turning them into a set of fingerless combat gloves now. Slipping them on and flexing his hands out a few times, Tyrus couldn't keep the grin off his face now.

"Perfect!"

"I want you to know that I think you're completely weird, brat."

"Bite me! These are perfect! They will protect my hands from the recoil whenever I fire the gun or punch something. I'll need a pair made out of Kevlar, but I think I'll need to go to the tailor for that later."

"Whatever you say, bow boy. Well, I need you to clear out as I'm closing shop now. You can find one of the inns to go stay in for the night. I'll get to work on yours and the shield boy's orders tomorrow."

Tyrus frowned for a moment at being called bow boy again, but let it slide as he gave a halfhearted salute and turned to walk out of the blacksmiths shop now.

XxXxX

Tyrus could be seen on the streets of Melromarc walking towards one of the inns as the night had finally claimed the sky. As he was walking towards his destination to turn in for the night he was stopped by an odd, short, and round man. He was wearing a tuxedo with pink feathers around the collar, and a top hat that that was black in color. He had a perpetual Cheshire cat like grin on his face as he spoke to the tall black soldier.

"Hello, hello friend! I know who you are and I've heard the rumors about you. I've also heard that you have companion troubles as well. I may be of help to you on that front, my dear bow hero!" The odd little man moved out of the alleyway into Tyrus's full view now as he kept his grin up.

Tyrus for his part only narrowed his eyes at the short little man and tried to keep himself from opening fire on this guy in the middle of the street. Though, he did have to admit that he needed companions, but he wouldn't just take anyone. Although that issue could be put on the backburner as he needed to know something else first. "It's rather rude to not introduce yourself first before trying to make a proposition of any kind to someone, you know? That's bad business etiquette, and I can tell that you're obviously a businessman with the way you're dressed."

The short man's grin grew even wider if that were possible as he let out a laugh at the response he was given, and then bowed to Tyrus. "Why you are quite right! Where have my manners gone? My name is Beloukas! I'm in the business of trading merchandise of a lively kind you see, and I approached you after hearing the rumors that you were searching for companions. I believe I can help you on that front!"

Tyrus let a growl escape from his throat as his had floated over the gun handle that was on his thigh now. He was ready to open fire and Beloukas could see clearly see this was the case as his grin dropped now. "This lively merchandise you're trading wouldn't be what I think it really is, would it?" This man reminded him of the Batman villain, The Penguin, as he was similarly dressed as the short and round man and had a similar attitude. He was only missing the gun umbrella that the villain carried on him at all times.

Beloukas could see he may have made a mistake in approaching the bow hero so early, as he seemed ready to attack at a moment's notice. He was afraid for of the much taller and muscular man, but he couldn't falter as he wasn't ready to die quite yet. Though it was only for a moment, his grin disappeared, but it reappeared just as quickly despite the danger. "Why yes, it is what you think. I won't lie to you as you seem to be a very intelligent man, but I offer more than just that as well if it doesn't suit your tastes. I can provide you with information that you wouldn't be able to get anywhere else!"

That stopped Tyrus in his tracks instantly as he went slightly wide eyed at that. He was dealing with a true blue slave trader, but in the past experiences, slave traders did indeed know valuable information. He heavily frowned at the thought of letting this man live and continue on with his business, but the prospect of information was too good to pass up. "I should kill you where you stand, Penguin, and I just might if this information turns out to be useless."

Beloukas frowned slightly with a tilt of his head at the odd word for a moment. "What or who is a penguin?" Beloukas couldn't help but ask as ignored the threat to his life before shrugging it off. It wasn't the first time he'd been threatened in his life for being in the business of slave trading, and he could tell that this wouldn't be the last time either. "Well either way, I can assure you that I have information you would be dying to know about, but of course it comes at a cost."

Tyrus for his part shook his head as he couldn't believe he was really considering letting this man live and ignored the question about the penguin bit. "Alright, you get one chance to convince me that I shouldn't fill you full of lead, and then set all of your merchandise free." He gave the man a cold death glare as he crossed his arms looking directly at the short man who had his full grin again.

"Well how about this then? For starters, the kingdom of Melromarc is a matriarch, and not a monarch. Aultcray Melromarc is mainly a figurehead in power while his wife, Mirelia Q. Melromarc is away at the moment. You four heroes were summoned behind her and the other nation's backs by Aultcray and the Church of the Three Heroes. Each major country was supposed to summon only one hero to deal with the Waves of Calamity all over the world."

At this bit of revelation, Tyrus's blood ran dead cold for a moment before boiling over in pure rage the next. He wanted to storm that castle and murder Aultcray Melromarc right then and there, but that wouldn't do him any good at the moment. He took a few deep breaths before looking at the man that continued to grin at him the entire time. He sighed at pulled out 15 silver coins and handed them over to the man.

"I'll have to take your word on this. You couldn't possibly make something like that up on the spot unless it was true. I won't ask how you know this, as you're a slave merchant and successful one at that from your attire. You've sold to nobles and commoners alike in more than just this country if you told me something like this. I've noticed throughout the day that a lot of the shop owners seemed to have slaves doing manual labor for them. I guess that would indicate that slavery is legal within this country." This left an extremely bad taste in Tyrus's mouth as he wouldn't want to wish slavery on anyone, but killing Aultcray, Beloukas, and Mirelia for letting this go on.

Beloukas grinned even wider as he accepted the money happily as he had given up a rather hefty piece of information in exchange for his life. He was also stunned at the rather astute assessment and nodded at him. "I have to say I'm extremely impressed by your assessment! Though it only pertains to Demi-Humans in this country, as the country of Melromarc has been at war with the country of Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden for years off and on. Those countries are run predominately by demi-humans and have human slaves in turn."

Another sigh escaped Tyrus's throat as he felt the need to just sit down. He was extremely pissed at this point at having found out this new information as well as learning that the waves also happened in more than just one country, but rather over the entire world as well. He needed sleep and he needed it now. "I get it. This whole damn world is corrupt to its core, but this is how things are here. Killing you and the leaders of this world would do no good for me. I'm going to go sleep. I'll be back for more information later." Tyrus sounded completely drained and defeated as he started massaging his head to stave off a growing migraine now.

"As you wish, sir hero, I have more information should you need it for the right price of course. You can find me at my tent by going through the back allies from here. You won't be able to miss it once you start looking." With his piece said, the man slinked into the darkness of the alleyway off back to his slavers tent.

Tyrus just walked off in a much fouler mood as he quickly found an inn for the night and paid for his room and dinner. As he ate his dinner, he had heard the voices of the heroes laughing and having a good time with their companions. He looked up and saw Naofumi going up towards his room upstairs, while his partner from before, Myne, was still sitting at their table drinking alone.

He ignored her avoiding eye contact with her completely as he saw Motoyasu off to the side with his party of women drinking with him and enjoying themselves. He ate quickly and went off to bed himself, as he was unaware of the trap that was being set for the shield hero.

XxXxX

And scene! Ok! I know what you're thinking, why have Tyrus meet Beloukas, the slave trader, so early and not kill him or get a companion from him? Think about it for a second. Why would Tyrus take a slave in the first place? He's not at that point that Naofumi was at that he needs to buy one. There's no reason for him to buy a slave as he won't end up in the situation that Naofumi will that he has no other option but to buy one.

Beloukas comes from a family of slave traders the world over. It would make sense that the man would have highly sensitive information that most others wouldn't be able to come by so easily. Generally speaking, police and military use the tactic of having informants to gain information on targets for different reasons. Tyrus comes from the military where information is key to winning wars and such. He can deal with the devil to get what he needs here, but he will do his damnedest to not cross that line.

As for the legendary bow itself, I decided to go with what I did for the sole reason that in the anime, manga, light novel, and web novel there was never any mention about Itsuki once having a quiver of arrows or magazine of ammunition on him. Which leads me to believe that he had unlimited arrows and ammo due to the legendary bow itself producing the arrows as he drew the bowstring. But, it runs off his attack stat, unlike his companions that have to have the arrows.

We all know what's coming next and it kills me to have to do this to Naofumi once again, but it must be done. I hope I do this scene justice. But for now, ciao for now to all you cool cats and kittens!