Disclaimer - I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero, all credits for the canon material goes to the original authors and creators.
Chapter 1 - Tale of the Forgotten Heroes
"What beautiful weather today."
Iwantani Naofumi, a 19 year old college student, decided to head out for a change of pace. Seeing as today was his day off from studies, the young man figured it would be a waste to stay indoors. After all, he wasn't someone you could call a NEET, but one who enjoyed a healthy balance between games and reality.
A couple years ago when Naofumi brought back his brother from going down the wrong path in life, his parents began to spoil him in gratitude, giving him a substantial allowance every month. Perhaps due to this, he began heading out more whenever he got the chance. After all, he had all this money just lying around so why not go have some fun every now and then?
And that was precisely what he was going to do. With his usual net cafe destination in mind, Naofumi quickly changed into more appropriate attire, throwing a coat and muffler on top in light of the cool morning air, before grabbing his wallet.
Despite the day's early hours, the central shopping district was already bustling with life. Most of pedestrians were housewives casually going from store to store to purchase everyday essentials, but there were an occasional few who just had too much time on their hands like Naofumi. You could easily tell them apart by their less than purposeful strides as they seemingly wandered about looking for something to do.
Because he was planning on spending the majority of the day chilling out in the net/manga cafe, Naofumi figured it would be best to purchase some food and drinks as snacks now so he wouldn't have to leave the store at noon for lunch.
Nodding in approval to his new plan, Naofumi quickly spun around on the spot albeit a bit too quickly as he ended up bumping into a pair of school girls.
"I'm very sorry for not looking where I am going!" He quickly apologized seeing that it was his fault for being lost in thought. "Are you two okay?"
"We're fine thank you."
"Don't worry, we are okay!"
Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the pair of girls leave, still chatting happily amongst themselves about mundane topics like what they did on the weekend and favorite TV shows.
In a way, you could say he missed the good old high school days because at least he had one or two other otaku friends to chat and hang out with. But because he wasn't really the most social person out there, those friendships had long since faded away into oblivion with a majority of his phone contacts being something that he would never look at again. Of course, he had originally thought that making friends would be just as easy in college as it was in high school.
But in the end, nothing really came out of it besides a handful of people he could simply say hi and bye to when the opportunity presented itself.
"It kinda sucks to have just online friends huh? Even one buddy in real life would be better than none." Naofumi sighed internally as this was a thought that often weighed on his mind whenever he had a moment to himself. "No, I shouldn't give up! They say that all it takes is one special encounter!"
With this lone motivating thought, the young man once again resumed his journey towards the local convenience store, only this time, he was much more careful of the ongoing traffic.
"Hmm, maybe I bought a bit too much." Naofumi groaned as he felt the plastic bag digging somewhat painfully into his fingers due to the substantial weight within. "But then again, not only is this a limited time product but it was also on a buy-one-get-one-free promotion, so why not right?"
The young man had always been a sucker for limited time products and discount sales especially when it came to online games which was where a majority of his allowance usually went. Of course, the same could be said for junk food and drinks as Naofumi strolled with a grin on his face towards the original intended destination with not one but two sets of bento lunches in his possession. Even if he couldn't finish both sets (which was more than likely), he could always save the other for dinner tonight. Furthermore, the lunch was composed of a limited time assortment of fried shrimp, chicken, pork, duck with beef curry as the main dish. It was indeed a very heavy meal but surely a delicious one. He also chose two bottles of green tea as the complimentary drinks along with a couple of packaged red bean mochi for desert.
All in all, he went completely overboard even if it was quite a bargain at only 1000 yen for everything.
It wasn't long before Naofumi arrived at his usual hangout spot with the familiar clerk greeting him instantly upon his arrival.
"Welcome back Iwantani-san, good to see you again this week." An older man greeted Naofumi with a warm smile, obviously pleased to see the return of a regular customer. "Would you be purchasing the usual booth?"
"Yes please Tanaka-san." The college student replied whilst whipping out his wallet for payment. "Oh and I'll pass on the food and drinks please."
"Hoh? Came prepared this time?"
"Can't help it when there's a limited time sale." Naofumi grinned before showing the store owner his earlier purchase.
"You never change huh? Anyways, take your time and enjoy your stay." Having received the right amount, Tanaka-san proceeded to hand over the change along with a set of keys for Naofumi's private net cafe booth.
"They sure have fast internet here huh?" Naofumi muttered to himself as he browsed the usual forums for gamers like himself, interested to see reviews for some of the latest gaming titles for both PC and consoles alike. Although he had his fair share of allowance, he didn't want to purchase any games he might find boring right off the bat so it was essential for him to do the appropriate research beforehand. "Oh, this game looks pretty good, might check that one out on the way back."
Once he was satisfied jotting down several interesting titles on his phone, the young man left his private booth for the manga section of the store, hoping to find the newest volumes for several light novel series that he had been following thus far.
"Yes! Volume 14 is out for this. Oh, Volume 15 is too, might as well take that while we are here." Brushing his fingers over the book-spines, Naofumi carefully searched the whole shelf for points of interest.
By the time he was done, a substantial mountain of novels filled his arms as the young man struggled back to his booth, doing everything he could to maintain the pile's balance.
"Phew." Naofumi stretched his arms after relieving the paper weights, plopping himself comfortably down on the armchair in preparation for some serious binge reading. Just as he was about to reach for the first book however, a glint revealed itself in the corner of his vision. "What's this?"
Laying on top of the computer keyboard was a rather unnatural looking book. It possessed the appearance of a red hardcover novel with golden inscription like writing printed on it. One thing was certain, this title was not among the ones he had hand-picked for reading earlier.
"The records of the Four Cardinal Weapons?" Naofumi raised an eyebrow at the rather unusual title before flipping it open out of curiosity. "The waves of Apocalyptic Catastrophe... In order to save the world from chaos, four heroes will be summoned from another world. This kinda seems like something you would find in a light novel. In fact, I'm surprised I haven't heard of this name before. Perhaps it wasn't a popular entry?"
Naofumi was honestly pleasantly intrigued by the prologue as his emerald eyes danced from page to page. In summary, it was a story about four otherworldly heroes, each of whom used a different weapon; a sword, a spear, a bow, or a pair of one handed hand-axes. Apparently, each possessed unrivaled powers that would one day help bring peace to the fantasy world.
"Huh...each of these heroes seems pretty impressive in their own right! So I guess this means that all 4 of them are protagonists since they all get their respective highlights and chapters." Naofumi continued as he flipped page after page with momentum, eager to finish this book. '
But when he arrived at the final page, something mysterious happened once Naofumi set his eyes on the only 5 words written on it.
"Tale of the Forgotten Heroes?"
No sooner did those words leave his lips did the book begin glowing unnaturally in his hands. The pages started flipping on their own as though possessing a life of its own. By now, the light had gotten to a blinding level as Naofumi winced and closed his eyes in response. But that only left him unprepared for what occurred the very next second.
Naofumi yelled out in shock as his feet no longer felt the reassuring sensation of the solid floor beneath, causing the young man to fall into what felt like a bottomless pit of light.
"Ouch!" Naofumi groaned as he felt a sharp pain spread all over his body at the sudden impact with what felt like solid ground. The young man arose albeit slowly, trying to ascertain if he had any lasting injuries during the process. Thankfully it didn't seem as though that was the case as the initial wave of discomfort quickly eased.
But with one problem solved, another quickly came to replace it as Naofumi soon noticed a peculiar weight seemingly latched to his right arm. Immediately lifting his arm for confirmation, Naofumi was shocked to find a silver shield with a green gem attached to his arm.
"What is this shield doing?" Try as he might, the young man couldn't force the mysterious object off. "I'm dreaming right?"
As though in response to his question, a freezing gust of wind blew past, causing more than just a shiver to pass through his spine. Momentarily ignoring the shield, Naofumi hugged his full-body coat after wrapping his muffler even tighter around his neck, making sure that there were no gaps in which his internal body heat could escape from.
"Brrrr...it's so cold."
He quickly surveyed the nearby surroundings to find himself in what looked like a forest, the sort of view one would find when following a nature's trail in a park. All around there were trees that provided shelter from the skies above and a neat stretch of creek passed to the left of where the young man currently stood. It appeared as though the body of water ran a long way, seemingly stretching into the horizon in both directions. The water itself didn't appear particularly deep even in the middle and it was barely 3 meters in width. If push comes to shove, Naofumi was fairly certain he could cross it given how gentle the water flow looked. Having said that though, that should be a last resort because the idea of being soaked in freezing water whilst in this temperature didn't seem all that appealing.
Yet there was an even more fundamental problem that dominated his mind.
'Where in the world am I? Is this even planet Earth? Did I just get teleported to another reality entirely?'
If his memory served, the last thing he could remember before appearing here was reading that very strange book. Furthermore, when he reached the end of it, it had seemingly burst into a bright array of light. Did he experience some form of magic without knowing it?
'What do I even do now? I'm lost and alone with no idea on what is going on.' Despite the cold atmosphere enveloping him, several beads of sweat still managed to form on his brow. However it wasn't out of heat but rather out of the fear that threatened to overwhelm him.
Eventually the negative emotion spiraled into despair, manifesting itself physically on him, ultimately forcing the boy to feel a slight wave of nausea. He didn't even have time to find a good resting spot. Instead he just sat rather unceremoniously on the spot whilst giving his temples a good rub as he felt the initial signs of a migraine settling in.
"Crap, I'm not going to die out here am I? And all because of a net cafe visit?" The boy whispered in anguish, knowing full well that no one could hear him. Yet somehow it felt better to speak his thoughts out loud, as though the mere action itself helped to stimulate his mind and reinvigorate his confidence. "Like hell, I'm going to die out here! I haven't even held a girl's hands yet!"
Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Naofumi managed to strength his will enough to think through his current predicament from a logical stance.
'First off, what do I know about this place?'
Besides the scenery that laid before his eyes? Virtually nothing was the answer. But that didn't matter for now.
'Next, what do I currently have in my possession?'
Well it was hard to ignore but he somehow came into the possession of a mysterious shield, at least that was what he assumed it was. But the most troubling point was the fact that he couldn't seem to remove it from his arm. It was firmly attached and wouldn't move an inch no matter how much strength he used. On the bright side, it didn't seem to cause him any pain at all and might even come in handy should he somehow come into contact with hostiles or even wild animals.
When he glanced down to look at his attire however, Naofumi saw a plastic bag lying at his feet. From a single glance of the logo, he immediately recognized it as something belonging to his local convenience store.
"No way! Is that?" Quickly kneeling on the spot, the young man gingerly peered inside the bag. A grin immediately adorned his features when the sight of two meal sets filled his vision. "These are what I bought earlier. All questions aside, at least I have some food and tea as rations...for now at least."
He knew it wasn't going to last long but at least he had something. Somehow his tendency to purchase limited time sales worked in his favor on this occasion, effectively doubling the resources at hand as a result.
"Do I have anything else?" He muttered before taking a look around, hoping for signs of other good news.
Yet when he scanned the area, something ultimately caught the corner of his eye. At first he thought it might have been a speck of dust or the rogue eyelash that got in his eye. But even after he gave his eyes a good rub, the small detail still stayed transfixed on his vision. It was then that he decided to address it.
On the bottom left of his vision, there appeared to be what looked like a small square box with dots in the middle of it. Curious as to what it was, Naofumi focused his attention on it but was shocked by the virtual window that filled his vision right after.
But the information it held was even more interesting.
"Are these like my stats?"
On the left side of the window was what appeared to his name followed by 3 different colored bars which he assumed represented something like health, mana, sp or something of the like.
In the middle of the screen, there were what appeared to be his status screen, which listed everything from his Name, Age, ATK, MAG, DEX, various resistances and even equipment to boot.
On the bottom left, there appeared to be an information log with only 1 message filling it at the moment. Iwantani Naofumi has been summoned as the Shield Hero.
"This is almost like a game with the way everything is presented." Naofumi exclaimed somewhat surprised that it even displayed a mundane detail like his age. But what really bothered him was the message log. "What does it mean when it says I've been summoned as the Shield hero?"
Recalling the book he had read earlier, he did not remember there being a shield hero amongst the four cardinal heroes. Because he would have certainly taken a mental note of how strange it would be to consider a shield a weapon. But one thing was certain from that message...he was in fact in what was probably an alternate world seeing as it specifically mentioned summoned. Furthermore, there seemed to be magic as well judging from his various stats and as far as he was concerned, that was not something that existed on Earth.
Yet all of this information only translated to more questions than answers. Naofumi was almost certain that he was summoned here for a reason but had no inkling why at all.
Brushing those thoughts aside, Naofumi decided to study the last part of the window.
Arranged neatly at the bottom right hand corner in a row were several small sized icons, each representing a different option.
Help
Contract
Party
Recipe
Profile
Equipment
Skills
It really did seem like a game after all. In fact, if he could ignore the chilling breeze brushing past his cheeks, Naofumi could almost picture himself relaxing at home whilst playing a game on his computer. But he didn't have the luxury of time at the moment especially with daylight slowly running out judging by the position of the setting sun.
With so many options, Naofumi found it hard to choose which one to delve into first. Ultimately he decided to click the one that he found to be the most interesting as he gave the Skill button a quick tap.
But the results were a lot more disappointing than he originally anticipated, for the list that appeared in response to his command was...small to say the list.
To be more precise, there were only 2 skills currently.
Block - Allows the Shield Hero to block incoming attacks.
That's...a surprisingly simple skill, so simple I wouldn't even call it a skill to begin with.
But the next skill was fairly different in comparison.
Resonance (Unique Exclusive Ability) - Allows the Shield Hero to permanently summon a Vassal Hero into their world for assistance. This skill can only be used once.
Please note: This skill can only be attained by the Shield Hero and is intended to make up for their lack of combat abilities. However, this skill is not a contract/pact of any kind as the summoned Vassal hero will have full control over their decisions and therefore are not forced to join the Shield Hero's party.
"I mean it makes sense that they get full control over their choices as they aren't slaves but...that is a bit worrying. What if they turn tail and leave me behind?" A deep frown could be seen on the young man's features as he lost himself deep in thought. It was an important decision after all since he could only use the skill once which meant that he would only get one ally from it. "What even is a Vassal hero anyway? Are they like cardinal heroes?"
Again, the new information only succeeded in bringing more questions and Naofumi felt like he was sinking deeper and deeper into a swamp.
There were simply too many things to think about and he had too little information to work with. Needless to say, he needed to make plans for tomorrow. Forget tomorrow...he needed to make them now as he gave the setting sun a glance, obviously not too thrilled with the notion of spending a night out in this wilderness.
Screw it, he was too much of a chicken to survive overnight alone, he was calling in the cavalry right here and now.
So without a second thought, Naofumi gave the Resonance skill a firm tap.
Are you sure you would like to use Resonance? Yes/No
"Heck yeah I am." He shouted in order to dispel any lingering doubts.
The window brightened up and glowed pleasantly before dimming again to show a brand new list.
Available Vassal Heroes
Please select one of the following Heroes to summon:
- Taiga
- Yuma
- Himari
- Haruto
- Miki
- Momo
- Yuuna
- Glass
Note: Please select the ? Button next to their names if you wish to see details about the specific Vassal Hero.
"Oh crap, I have to pick from such a big list?" Naofumi scratched his head in frustration, feeling his indecisive nature starting to kick in much to his chagrin. The young man was never good at making choices that mattered in life (this included multiple choice tests). So when he was confronted with such a list, he was naturally succumbing to fear. After all, this was something that could potentially make or break his future.
"Nuts, how do I get the good ending? Where is the game walk through guide when I need it?"
But time waits for no man as the sun slowly set behind several tall mountains. With the skies dyed in a orange hue, Naofumi knew that darkness was not too far off so he needed to make a decision fast if he didn't want to spend the night alone.
"For now, lets just check their details."
Clicking on the first hero, a new window opened, providing him with a brief and basic overview of the individual.
Hero Name: Taiga
Vassal weapon : Greatsword
Race: Giant
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Likes: A big meal
Dislikes: A small meal, using his brain, humans.
Unique Trait: Enjoys fighting and will serve as a good tank but does not listen to strategy.
"Okay...how about we take a look at the next one."
Hero Name: Yuma
Vassal weapon : Kunai
Race: Elf
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Likes: A sleeping target, money, expensive clothes
Dislikes: Poverty
Unique Trait: Expert thief and assassin. Will handle any job so long as money is involved. Tends to swap masters regularly.
"Expert thief and assassin plus swaps masters regularly? I mean...no offense but that kinda sounds like a recipe for disaster."
Hero Name: Himari
Vassal weapon : Chakram
Race: Human
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Likes: Lying, drinking, lazing around
Dislikes: Working, poor men
Unique Trait: Able to charm almost all men to her will.
"I mean I'm smack bang right in her dislike category so better not take the chance."
And in such a fashion, Naofumi continued to inspect the details of each and every one of the Vassal heroes. It wasn't that they weren't powerful, in fact there were a couple that caught Naofumi's eyes as very appealing particularly Haruto and Miki. Both seemed to be fairly respectable in nature seeing as they were both Knights. However it was undeniably a fact that every single one of them had their own quirks and drawbacks which created an unpleasant nag in the back of his mind. Given the lack of confidence he had in himself at the moment, Naofumi was simply too on edge to overlook them, fearing that they would all simply move on and leave him behind eventually.
In a world where he had nothing, Naofumi wasn't sure he would be able to handle being abandoned.
Eventually, Naofumi arrived at the last Vassal Hero on the list and immediately their name jumped out to him. After all, it was vastly different to the rest.
"Glass huh? That's a pretty cool name." Naofumi muttered, pleased as his initial positive impression on the character. "But I still need to check their details just in case."
Hero Name: Glass
Vassal weapon : Fan
Race: Half human, Half spiritual being
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Likes: Fulfilling her duties as a Vassal Hero
Dislikes: Pointless chatter, everyone who isn't her master
Unique Trait: As she takes pride in her position as a Vassal wielder, she will eagerly aid her summoner in their mission to save the world as Heroes. However due to personal reasons, she will have a lack of trust in anyone else. Therefore if she joins your party, you will be unable to recruit any other party members as a permanent cost.
"She seems like a really serious and reliable person. Moreover, it does say that she will always be loyal to her summoner no matter what. Sure it means I won't ever be able to invite anyone else to join my party, but in exchange, I will always have someone who I can trust with me."
Really, the only quirk that Naofumi really saw in all this was the fact that Glass is likely the cold type of person who hated casual conversation. But that wasn't even all that bad considering the trade off.
A sound that resembled the howling of wolves reached his ears. It sounded extremely far away but it did wonders in building up his anxiety.
"I'm not waiting any longer!"
With that said, Naofumi made his decision.
Are you sure you would like to summon Glass with unique skill Resonance? Yes/No.
"As sure as I'll ever be." Naofumi selected the appropriate option whilst mentally saying a quick prayer. He sincerely hoped he had made the right choice.
Without any further delay, the young man's skill activated as he felt a course of energy build up into this right arm, causing the shield to tremble ever so slightly as though it were powering up for a spell. Gradually the green gem brightened before a brilliant beam of light shot out from it, directed at the floor directly in front of him.
An intricate magic circle slowly formed in the area, rapidly expanding in size shortly afterwards. Then without any warning, the circle transformed into a column of light that reached the skies above like a massive cylinder causing Naofumi to shield his eyes in response.
As quickly as it came though, the bright aura disappeared.
Hesitantly, Naofumi stole a few peeks before opening his eyes to a captivating sight.
A girl wearing what looked to be a jet black kimono decorated with silver embroidery was currently genuflecting herself in front him. Her features were hidden from his view by her fringe as she had her head bowed yet that didn't stop the night breeze from gently brushing past her silky long black hair, causing them to sway elegantly in the wind. It wasn't until she lifted her gaze to meet his did he widen his eyes in surprise.
She was in every sense of the word beautiful with her smooth pale skin and attractive crimson eyes that radiated with strength. To say that she was attractive in Earth's standards would be the understatement of the year.
But he wasn't alone in his shock, for as soon as their gaze's met, the girl's crimson eyes also widened as though she had seen something utterly unbelievable.
"Er..." Feeling a tad bit overwhelmed by the awkward silence, Naofumi hesitated a little before speaking up. "Hi it is a pleasure to meet you! My name is Iwatani Naofumi. Um, may I get your name?"
Even though he technically already knew her name from the details that he had been given earlier whilst using the skill, Naofumi figured that it would seem rude to just call her without permission. Therefore he opted to allow her to formulate her own introduction especially since he wanted a friendly start to their partnership.
But the expression that reflected on her immaculate features only stiffened in response. Perhaps due to the dim lighting, Naofumi thought he saw her eyes narrow and water over but it was probably his imagination. Because in the next few seconds, the black-haired beauty heaved a lonely sigh before steeling her nerves. In just a short moment, her troubled gaze was quickly replaced with a more powerful one. As they stared at each other, Naofumi could definitely feel a strong sense of loyalty radiating from her eyes, the type you would see from a vassal to her master. Of course this was simply his first impression, but she felt like someone he could trust to have his back at all times.
"It is an honor to be able to meet you milord, My name is Glass."
"Pleasure is all mine, and I hope we get along well in the future Glass! Oh um, there is no need to be so formal!" In hopes of easing the tension, he surfaced his most natural smile before offering her a hand in order to help her up. But instead of arising, she simply shook her head before replying.
"There is something I need to do before that." Glass took his outstretched hand in both of her own, pulling their intertwined fingers close before locking gazes with him once more. "I hereby vow to obey and follow your every command and to serve Iwantani-sama with every fiber of my being from now till forever. I swear to protect you with my life."