(1) Isekai? For real?
"Fantastic! The summoning was a success."
Dan found himself waking up to that. He was on the stone floor, and stood up alongside a green-eyed black-haired Japanese man who had a shield on him. The man gave Dan a confused eyebrow, an action Dan returned.
Then, he saw two other men next to him, they were blond(!) and definitely had some kind of Asian heritage. Well, no, Dan sees that one of them has light brown curly hair.
Dan was very perplexed. Where.. where was he? Why was he not in bed? He had work tomorrow. At first, Dan thought he was kidnapped by a creepy cult of Satanists. Considering that there was a bunch of robed people in front of him, he can't be blamed for making that conclusion. But that didn't seem to be the case.
For some reason, there's a sword in his hand.
"O, Four Saint Heroes of Old! Please help save our world!" a cloaked weirdo begged.
"What!?" All four of us yelled.
It was Dan who asked, "What are you talking about? Why are we here?"
"The story behind it all is long and complicated. But suffice to say, that you four are the Cardinal Heroes. And you were summoned here using an ancient ritual," the robe leader said.
It was at that moment Dan fully realized that he was freckin isekai'd! This only happens in a manga, right?!
"Our world is in a fragile state and teeters on the brink of destruction. So, I beg for your aid."
Jesus. The group of robed people just bowed in front of them.
Dan's head was starting to turn at that. Brink of destruction! Who decided that he was the best person to pick for this job?
"Is this for real?" a young teenager asked as he pulled a the bow in his hand curiously. "I refuse this mission you have forced upon us."
The tall ponytailed blonde that was summoned with a spear on him then said, "I also refuse. You can send us back to our homeworld, right? Do that and we can talk."
What? They made up their minds pretty quickly. The blonde and the curly-haired one's of the group looked pretty nonchalant about this. They have better handles on their nerves than Dan does, but he don't think talk like that is going to do any good.
"I, uh.. think we should at least hear them out. We need to know more about our situation," said the black haired guy. He seems as nervous as Dan, but had a face that that seemed to be full of awe and curiosity.
"I agree with him," Dan said to the two others. He gulped, "We should find out more before making decisions or demands."
The robed man smiled, "With that said, you all may state your concerns when you have your audience with the King of Melromarc. Now, let us guide you to His Majesty."
"Doesn't matter who we talk to, we're still going to have our demands and requests," the tall one said with a smug smile. "Lead the way."
All four of them followed. On the way, Dan and the rest of them saw a through the windows a medieval-style city. It was a nice view, and Dan wondered how big this castle, he was currently in is. Besides that, he was quite equally cautious and interested in seeing what a bonified king looks like.
For Dan, this was still hard to believe. But he'll have to get through it.
In only a few minutes, the four of them entered a throne room. A large room, courtiers and knights on the two sides with the summoned individuals at the center of attention. Dan saw the king sitting on the throne, lavishly dressed and possibly in his mid-50s based on his elegant long white hair and beard.
"Greeting brave Heroes," the king welcomed. "I am this country's King, Aultcray the thirty-second ruler of Melromarc. Please, introduce yourselves."
Taking two steps, the tall blond introduced himself first, "My name is Kitamura Motoyasu. I'm 21, a University student."
The young curly haired teenager placed his bow closer to him, smiling, "I am Kawasumi Itsuki, 17 years old. I'm currently in high school."
"Alright, I'll go next," Dan said, steeling his nerves. "The names Dan Harpe. 21 years old. I'm college dropout."
Is it the best introduction? Probably not. It's not like he ever met a king before. He just followed Motoyasu and Itsuki's lead.
The king nodded, "Ahh, Good. Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Dan..."
"Um, I still haven't introduced myself yet!" the guy with the shield said.
"Ah, yes. The Hero of the Shield. Apologies," the ruler said. He didn't sound very sorry. "Your name?"
"Right... Iwatani Naofumi. I'm a 20 year old university student," he introduced. And looked a bit nervous. Dan can't blame him.
He frowned. What was up with that blatant disrespect? Dan wasn't a idiot. The king purposely left Naofumi out. It's strange. He got summoned with the rest them, and he can't imagine why the King Aultcray would leave his fellow summoned hero out of the introductions. Was it a display of power? Did Naofumi remind him of something?
"It all begins with a prophecy that tells of an apocalypse," King Aultcray started, his face darkened. Oh, okay then, just moving on with the story. "It spoke of a destructive force that come in incursions which are known as Waves. If not stopped, then the world will fall into despair. To tell when the Waves comes, each country has an ancient hourglass in their possession."
"We underestimated the potency of the first Wave when it struck Melromarc. Our country's knights and adventurers barely managed to eliminate the first wave of demons. However, it is said that Waves get increasingly difficult over time. Finally, we realized that to face the odds we needed to summon the Heroes of legend. Now here you all are, so must inform you Legendary Heroes we only have a month until the next Wave."
"I see... Well, I got one problem," Motoyasu said, not stopping a beat after hearing the dreadsome backstory. "I hope you're not expecting us to work for free."
A valid concern, Dan thought, but the tall blonde could have saved this for a later date. It would them look mercenary rather than the heroes these people expect them to be.
"Of course not. After you all repeal the Waves, you shall be repaid handsomely. Whether lands, coin or something else."
"Fine, then. We are going to have to trust you, but you better not look down on us, Your Majesty," Itsuki says.
"Cardinal Heroes should never be looked down upon, no worries of that, Hero of the Bow," the royal replies. Cardinal Hero. Cardinal? Dan found himself interested in that word. Cardinal as in important? Or is their some important religious aspect?
"However, heroes, I must ask you to check your statuses."
"Huh?/Status?" That came from Naofumi and Motoyasu.
"What are you talking about?" Dan and Itsuki said simultaneously, blinked and looked at each other.
Aultcray seemed amused by our ignorance. "Do you all see any icon in your field of vision? Focus upon that."
Dan does, and he surprised that he didn't see it before.
Dan Harpe
Title: Sword Hero, Wearer of the Legendary Sword
Level 1
[Inventory][Skills][Magic]{Party}
Dan saw a menu similar to other JRPG's he's played in the past. So, not only was he isekai'd into a fantasy world to fight monsters, but it's also a world run by game mechanics. Dan wondered how such a thing can even be possible, but the headache was cut short after Itsuki started talking.
"Oh, I see, it's based off a video game I played."
Motoyasu smiled, "So, it's like Emerald Online? Man, I think this world plagiarized that game. This place looks almost like the first map."
"What are you guys talking about?" Naofumi asked, thankfully as confused as Dan was.
"You know, virtual reality massively multiplayer online game," Motoyasu mentioned off-handily.
Dan piped in, "Honestly, I never heard of virtual reality being this complex and in design." Being a Danganrompa fan; he's reminded of playing Danganrompa 2. There's also Sword Art Online, but Dan didn't think this world is like that - or at least, not until he was convinced otherwise.
"Seriously, where do you come from? The boonies?" Motoyasu grinned, meaning it someplace between a actual question and funny insult.
"Nah, Canada," he replied easily.
"Where's that?" Itsuki asked curiously, while the other three heroes looked at him in shock.
"Use the statuses' magic well, Legendary Heroes. For this is a gift meant for you and only you four," King Aultcray said. "However, the sun is setting. You all should rest here for tonight, and by morning, you'll have a party of volunteer's lined up for all of you."
OoO
That was that. Afterwards, a female servant leads the four of us to a nice room. They gave them pretty nice treatment. Large rooms with queen-sized beds, a look into the city, and a nice table in every room. The servants promised to fulfill the Heroes every needs, whatever that was.
The four heroes decided to head to Naofumi's room and have some ice cream. It was about time they have a chat with one another in private. Dan did think they needed to talk to one another - hero to hero - and discuss their futures as co-workers in this heroic setting.
"Man, getting special treatment is the best," Motoyasu lays on the bed and gave everyone a smile before it turned a bit more sly. "And did you all see that chick. She was pretty cute, huh?"
"You know guys," Dan said, hurried to a new discussion. "I have to wonder, are your features natural?"
Itsuki finished his spoon of ice cream, and raised a brow. "Well, yeah. I've always had light hair. I looked more blond when I was a kid. Why would you ask that?"
"Well..." the Canadian found himself in a bind, unsure if what he's about to say to be rude or not. "Where I come from, Asians usually aren't blonde. At the very least, some can be dirty blonde. And then there are your eyes? You guys have orange and golden eyes. That's beyond rare."
The Hero of the Spear shrugged. "Not sure what to say, where I come from, blonde is uncommon everywhere, but still a rarity. You won't believe how many hotties dig natural blonde." He smiled. "You know not all Japanese people have black hair, Dan?"
"Actually, I'm with Dan," Naofumi said. "Japanese don't have hair like you guys have. Usually, we just dye our hair."
Itsuki frowned. "That can't be right. There's a lot of blonde Japanese people. Scratch that, blonde makes up 20 percent of human population."
"I don't think those are the right numbers," Dan pondered. Was it? Last time he Googled surfed, natural blonde hair makes up 2 percent of humanity. He looked at the three fellow summoned heroes. Dan made a guess. "Is it possible that we're not all... from the same world?"
"Man, that's out there." Motoyasu said, stomping his foot. He clenched his hands and stood up. "Okay then, let's sort this out! Everyone, name the person on the 1000 yen bill!"
"How am I supposed to know that?!" protested the Canadian.
"Oh, right," Motoyasu forgot the only non-Japanese of the group, then shrugged. "Okay, something simpler then. Do you know the Prime Minister of Japan's name?" At that, Dan nodded. "Good. Everyone on one, two, and three!"
"Shinzo Abe/Yawahara Tsuyoshi Tarou/Odaka Enichi/Yoda Mastato."
"Who?" all the heroes asked.
After that, the four heroes had so many questions to ask each other. Like, What religion is there? Who's your favorite voice-actor? Who won their WW2?
"World War 2? What about World War 3?" Motoyasu asked. The other's look hesitant to elaborate on this topic.
"My world didn't, have that" Dan said, a bit worried and curious now. "So, how did World War 3 go? Was it a nuclear war and civilization went Mad Max?"
"Uh, no?" Motoyasu replied. "In the Third War, Germans made the first nuke, bombed Moscow. Japan made the second one, we bombed San Francisco. Afterwards, America made their own nuke, and in returned, bombed Nagasaki. Thankfully, after a short rebellion in Japan, we didn't go as far as destroying everything."
The other heroes all looked at him in dread, thinking that his world was way more violent then their own.
"Jesus..."
Naofumi said it best.
"I still don't know who Jesus is," Itsuki said, looking at them for an answer. His world seems to be the most different out of all the other heroes.
"Yeah, I still can't believe Canada doesn't exist in your world," Dan mumbled, looking at Itsuki. "I mean, who made up 'Federated Provinces of Cabotica'? Seriously. Provinces under the Prettranoi Empire. From the sound of it, it's like a more liberal British Empire."
"It is what it is. Just glad all our Earths have a Japan," Itsuki shook his head. "I can't believe none of your earths have robot dogs."
"That's probably the most unbelievable part where I'm standing in," Naofumi said dryly. "Your world sounds like more advanced than our own. I mean, has your Earth solved cancer yet?"
Itsuki's eye widened in shock. "You guys haven't?!"
Oh come on, Dan thought annoyingly. Cleary, Itsuki's world was a hell of a lot more of a paradise than his (besides the fact they're missing an extraordinary country with a maple leaf for a flag). He sighed. Nothing he can do about it.
"Okay, guess it's been made pretty clear that we all come from entirely different worlds," everyone nodded at Dan's words. "So... do you guy's remember how you got in this world? For me, I was just busy sleeping."
"With your clothes?" Itsuki asked, and Dan's ears reddened.
"Yeah... I might have been bing-watching a show. Uh, look that's not important. Did you guy's get come here the same way?"
Motoyasu and Itsuki had surprisingly somber expressions, and Naofumi elected that he spoke next. "I went to the library, and well, it was really hard to find the book I wanted. Anyway, it leads to me to just look around and suddenly, an old looking book was on the ground. So, I read the story about four heroes, found that the Shield Hero section was empty and here I am."
"A more interesting story than mine," Dan said. He is not going to tell anyone what he binged on TV. He'll take that story to the grave.
Motoyasu frowned, and didn't look like his average self. In the past few hours, he seemed more like an arrogant playboy - still is, probably - but it's clear this subject is a bit awkward.
"I... I died."
The others were notably silent after that.
That took a huge fucking turn, Dan thought incredulously.
"Shit. Holy fuck. Sorry, Motoyasu," he said, now feeling extremely awkward. What does one say to that?
The blonde waved him off. "No, it's alright. I already mentioned it. May as well end this story. The short of it is that I may have... hooked up with too many girls. And then I had two friend who happened to be girls and had a crush on me..." he trailed off. "They started to follow me around, proclaiming their love and stabbed me to death. Saying that if they can't have me, no one can."
Once more, the friendly blonde of the group managed to make their group quiet. Holy shit, Dan thought, Motoyasu died from yanderes.
"I was run over by a truck," Itsuki said suddenly, all eyes on him. He looked nervous. "I, er, just wanted to get that over with. I think we all know that Motoyasu pretty much won the most dramatic way of getting summoned."
Motoyasu laughed with only a tiny bit of bitterness. "Yeah, you said it. Maybe I should be more careful around girls. Or maybe more caring. I do not want to go through that again," he looked around, seeing three awkward otakus still uncertain what to say next. "Listen, it happened. Whatever. I mean, I think I'm still alive anyway."
Naofumi asked, "Why would you think that?"
"Because we're in a game," he replied, like it was obvious. "I think I'm in a hospital, sleeping and having a VRH on my head."
Naofumi frowned, and so did Dan. Itsuki said, "What? No? That wouldn't make any sense. We don't come from your world."
"Well then, you guys aren't real either," Motoyasu said, finding his words certain. While the other heroes glared at him. But eventually Dan soften, thinking that maybe's he's currently going through shit. He did frecking die, after all. Rather horribly, at that.
"I'm definitely real!" Itsuki shouted, glaring at Motoyasu. "This game... it's..." Itsuki struggled to find the worlds. "It's my Paradise!"
"What are hell are you guys talking about?! This world isn't a game!" Dan shouted, looking at this rather uncertainly.
He's not entirely certain, but maybe it's that Motoyasu and Itsuki only now are starting to figure out what the real reality of the situation is. This escalated quickly.
Motoyasu and Itsuki turned their glares at him, "Of course it is!"
"Guy's, how about we calm down," Naofumi asked suddenly, standing up, trying to calm down the situation. "I mean, this all looks pretty real-"
"It's graphics. Catch up, you shield noob," Motoyasu insulted, taking back Naofumi and Dan. "Honestly, you're not going to last long. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but shielder class sucks. Only losers get it."
"We can agree on that," Itsuki nodded, treating Naofumi more.. differently. "Quite frankly, Naofumi, you should give up on this game. Your class only focuses on defense and it's going to leave you open. You're not going to win against anyone."
Oh, for the love of..., Dan thought. Motoyasu and Itsuki are being provocative. They shouldn't have insulted him like that. It'll piss him off. Not to mention, it pisses me off too.
Dan was about to say something, but Naofumi spoke first while grinding his teeth, "Maybe that's true, but you don't have to be such an asshole about it!"
They're going to start fighting.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Motoyasu taunted.
"Just because I'm the Shield Hero doesn't mean I can't still kick your ass!"
I got to stop this.
"OKAY, THAT'S IT!"
The Sword Hero shouted, and used his weapon for the first time to cut the table in half. Ice creams and dishes fell on the floor. The other's quieted and looked at him.
A servant opened the door. She looked at the room, appearing concerned. "Is everything alright?"
Dan looked at her and nodded, "Everything is alright, miss. We just need some time to have a civilized conversation, if you don't mind."
"Very well, my lord. Call if you need me," the servant said. She closed that door as quickly and loudly as she could.
Dan made a loud sigh, and looked at them. "Okay...How about we all sit down? Tensions were high and we all need to calm down."
They all did, now the four heroes eyed each other with some measure of caution.
"I'll start with this," the Canadian turned to Motoyasu. "Why would you think we are any less real than you are?"
"Well, cause this is a game," he said weakly. He then asked, "What else could it be?"
"So by that logic, you assumed everyone was an NPC."
Motoyasu nodded, but it's clear he's thinking otherwise now.
"Newsflash, there's no logout button."
Itsuki and Motoyasu were actually shaking by that, and the Bow Hero went to check his status.
In a sense, Dan could see why someone would think like that. Maybe they haven't accepted reality, maybe there's another contributing factor. He wasn't quite sure.
"Itsuki, do you think this as well?" Dan turned to the bowman. Itsuki was now having his doubts as well, he just didn't want to voice it. Naofumi then spoke up.
"This is clearly something out of a Isekai. We weren't transported to a game. We were sent to another world," he explained, deciding to look at the two of them disapprovingly due to their earlier insults.
"I've never heard of Isekai before," Itsuki said.
Dan's and Naofumi's brow's rose way up. "You have never heard of Isekai before," Naofumi said incredulously.
Motoyasu said, eyes darting to Naofumi and Dan, "Me neither."
It took a few minutes to explain what Isekai is to the two of them. At the very least, the words between the summoned heroes are less heated now. Always a plus in Dan's books.
"Okay. Okay," Motoyasu repeated. "Summoned to another world is apparently a common genre in anime where the two of you are from. I mean, the concept existed and there were a few shows here and there, but no one made a name for it."
"So, you still think we're NPC's? Cause, I got to say, really offended to hear that from my fellow heroes who I'm going to be working alongside during apocalyptic Waves," Dan reminded.
Itsuki grimaced at the reality of the situation. He grumbled, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry. I was wrong. I'll own up to it. This looks similar to a game I played, but there's too many differences," Motoyasu admitted.
The four heroes, at least felt some tension go away at that. Something Dan was relieved off. He doesn't want to be antagonistic against his fellow heroes.
"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for losing my cool earlier," Dan said to the group.
Naofumi coughed, looking at Motoyasu and Itsuki meaningfully, "I'd also like an apology of my own."
The Spear Hero and the Bow Hero looked at each other. Motoyasu spoke.
"I don't think you deserve it."
"Dude!" Dan protested. Do we have to do this again? he thought.
"Listen, if what you say about this world being entirely different is true, then maybe Naofumi has a chance," Motoyasu explained, calming the two angered heroes down.
Itsuki nodded in agreement. "If Naofumi proves that he's not a liability due to his class, then I'll apologize. But right now... Well, right now, I guess I want some sleep."
"Yeah, I'll get going. What I am sorry for is for exploding out on you guys. It was uncalled for, and definitely not worthy of a hero," Motoyasu said apologetically. "Good night."
"Good night," Dan waved them. It was mostly out of instinct, he's not sure how to feel about them. They were douches one moment, and the next minute they only got some measures of improvement when it comes to their personality.
Naofumi didn't say anything as the two heroes went out of the room. He was glaring down at his fists, he curled above his knees.
Dan stood up and put a hand on his fellow heroes shoulder, "Hey, don't listen to them. Alright? It's just a shield. All I got is a sword. They're both useful, but in the end. It's just weapons. Those two still got some game-related issues work out."
"I don't know. To be honest, I'm not all that impressed with my shield either," Naofumi admitted, looking at the shield stuck on his arm.
Dan frowned, but lightened up after thinking of a good example, "Captain America did some pretty badass things with his shield."
Naofumi tilted his head, and a small smile shown on his face. Look's like our earths are more similar than not if he knows who Captain America is, he thought.
"Yeah, he did, didn't he?" Naofumi said, but frowned. "Not sure if I can throw the shield at all, but yeah, nothing's certain yet. Maybe I can be the hero I want to be." He gave Dan an excited smirk, one that seemed to him more hopeful for the future. "Thanks Dan."
"No problem," Dan smiled and left the room.
Well, Dan tried his best here. It could have been worse, he'd imagine. Could have ended violently. And the real fight hasn't even started yet. Dan supposes he should look at things more optimistically.
"LOOKOUT, I'M COMING WORLD!" Naofumi yelled from inside the room.
Well, least someone is. Dan smiled again and went to catch some Zzzzzz's.
Author's Notes: I have ultimately decided to mess with a friend of mine. He's a fellow writer named PotatoSorcerer. A regular self-insert seems very... well, I'm not that self-absorbed. So, I've decided that my friend can suffer for me in my stead. Thanks man! He doesn't know anything about Rising of the Shield Hero, so he's learning as I write him living the Hero's life. So, yeah. Played around a bit more with Itsuki's world, it doesn't have anything to do with the plot, but seems liked a pretty trippy conversation to feature.