A Shield's Stand
Chapter One: First Day on the Job (Part One)
WHUMP
"AH!"
The cry of pain startled the group of robed priests from their concentration, as they focused on the source of the noise. There, in the center of their summoning circle, sat four young men, each wielding a different piece of weaponry. A sword, a spear, a bow, and a shield. Each one was rubbing the part of their body that harshly collided with the stone floor beneath them, however, it appeared that the shield hero had it the worst of the four, as he was tightly grasping his head in agony, short gasps of pain escaping him every couple of seconds.
The others slowly stood up, taking in the scene before them before realizing they were holding actual medieval era weapons in their hands.
The head priest cried out in joy, "We did it! The summoning was a success!" The other priests celebrated in tandem with his cheer.
"Summoned…?" The bow wielder mumbled as he took in the strance scene before him. The last thing he remembered was being hit by a truck after failing to cross the road. He was… strangely numb to the fact that he apparently just died even though his body still felt some of the lasting aches from the accident. Most of the pain was centered around his neck. He reached up to try and soothe the pain with some pressure but was met with the rough texture of scar tissue adorning parts of his neck. The spear and sword wielders were similarly experiencing these discoveries as their fatal injuries were instead replaced with scar tissue, each pounding with a familiar and lasting ache.
"hrrrr…" a low grunt of pain once again escaped the young man with the shield from the floor.
The spear wielder bent down to check on him, "Hey man, are you ok? You're grunting something serious down there." He didn't get an audible response, so he repeated the question with some more urgency, "Do you need some help? I'm sure some of these people know first aid," he said as he turned towards the priests once more. Who looked at the scene before them unsurely before turning to one another. Had they messed the ritual somehow that resulted in the injury of the shield hero? None of them knew.
Another gasp of agonizing pain escaped the shield wielder. The spear wielder huffed a little in annoyance, "Listen, my body aches too, but it seriously can't be that bad dude. At least stand up."
At this, the shield wielder shifted before he took a deep breath and removed his hand from his head, placing them on the floor. Using his hands to support himself, since his legs seemingly couldn't by themselves, he pushed himself to his feet and stood up, allowing the people gathered to finally see the face of the shield wielder.
The priests gasped in shock and the other weapon wielders stepped back from the gruesome sight before them. If the scars they have is from whatever killed them, then this guy must have gone through hell.
Beneath a mop of black spiky hair sat a gruesome scar that covered almost the entire right half of the man's face. The scar began just right of the bridge of his nose and arc-ed down, brushing by his lips and rounding about his jaw line, fading back into his hair. Despite his right eye being placed in the center of the scar tissue, it still appeared to function completely fine. It even had the same jade green color of the left eye, if a bit lighter.
Swallowing his apprehension, the spear wielder spoke once more, "You uhh…" he cleared his throat, "you got somethin… there…" he pointed at the massive scar. The other two weapon wielders glared at him. "Anyway, you got a name?"
The shielded man tilted his head down in thought, "Naofumi Iwatani… I think. My head really aches and I can't seem to remember much."
"Well Naofumi, since you aren't in the best shape right now, why don't you sit back down and we'll talk to these robed guys to see if they can help you out, alright? Oh, and my name is Motoyasu Kitamura. Nice to meet you."
Naofumi nodded his head in appreciation before laying his aching head against the cold soothing stone wall.
How did I get here? I can't seem to remember. A lot of memories are just… gone. Maybe I can get them back somehow… Do I want them back?
A shout from the front of the room drew his attention as Naofumi gazed up at the red robed priests.
"Oh brave heroes, we beg of you, save our world!" They all offered a deep bow to us as we digested their words.
"Heroes?" Motoyasu questioned as he turned to look at the rest of the weapon wielders.
Naofumi snapped to attention, instantly analyzing the priests behavior and his words carefully.
Heroes? Save the world? He observed the priest closely. His eyes were shut tight as he gave them a deep bow, showing genuine desperation in his plea. So he's telling the truth. Or at least somewhat of a truth. Something truly dangerous is present and he needs the help of heroes to combat it. Considering us four are in the center of this intricate circle and they're bowing to us, I assume that means we are those heroes. But for us to be considered heroes means we must be innately powerful, which would make any person hungry for power want to use us as pawns. Which means there's three options: 1) He is telling the truth and we were truly summoned to combat a world ending event 2) He is omitting pieces of the truth to have us side with him so that he may gain incredible power and standing or 3) A greater authority commanded him to summon us and is trying to do the same thing as option 2, which means there's a 2/3 chance this is a setup.
Naofumi snapped out of his thoughts, surprise overtaking him at his sudden change in thoughts and demeanor. He smiled slightly in relief. If he could revert to his previous thought patterns like he just did, then maybe he could regain his memories and figure out what the hell was going on and how he got here.
Naofumi warily watched the priests, agreeing with his innermost thoughts on their true intentions, as they pleaded with the other three to talk with their sovereign king. Eventually they agreed (in possibly the most prideful and arrogant manner possible) and followed the priests out of the stone chamber, but not before throwing his hood up to hide the apparent scar he had. The halls they passed were all intricately decorated with ornate carpeting, beautiful golden chandeliers and hanging tapestries depicting what Naofumi assumed was the king and his family.
The family portraits showed a man, a woman, and their two daughters. The woman had piercing blue eyes and tied back magenta hair. She held herself properly with poise and dignity, with her face set in a neutral resting position. Atop her head was a golden crown. The eldest daughter, unlike either of the parents, had bright ruby hair that practically demanded attention. Her skin was fair, with no marks maring her incredible complexion. She had green eyes and was smiling. The younger daughter was comparable to a much smaller version of the queen, sharing many of the same traits as her mother, including the princess holding herself with dignity and poise, almost as though she was attempting to appear more mature than her age suggests. Finally, the man had gray, combed back hair and a beard, wearing a long flowing robe and several gemmed rings on his fingers. He was smiling happily as he held his family in his arms.
Naofumi shook himself from his thoughts, noticing the others had nearly left him behind as he scrambled to catch up.
Eventually they came to two massive wooden doors, each reaching halfway to the roof of the halls they walked in. On their opposite side sat the throne room, which was as elaborately decorated as the hallways the supposed heroes had just passed. Lines of guards and cloaked individuals lining the edges of the room, curtains adorned with the symbol of Melromarc hung from the walls, and at the forefront sat two thrones, one of which was currently empty. The priests leading them urged them inside before taking their leave and hurriedly closing the door.
The man sitting upon the throne was the same as the tapestry had shown, making him the king of Melromarc.
"Welcome to Melromarc, mighty heroes! I am her ruler, King Aultcray XXXII. Please, introduce yourselves!" He bellowed.
The first of us to walk forward was the sword wielder. He looked to be far younger than Naofumi and had black spiky hair. He wore a school uniform that had a small cut in its side that the young man tried to subtly cover up. The sword itself was very standard, with the exception of the small blue gem that was contained in the hilt. "Ren Amaki, 16 years old, high school student." He spoke in a very disinterested voice despite his body language screaming anxiety. He stepped back in line.
Next to speak was Motoyasu. He had blue eyes and blonde hair that was tied in a small ponytail. Unlike Ren or the bow wielder, he wasn't dressed in a school uniform and instead wore jeans and a red hoodie. The spear he held in his hand once again looked standard with a red gem at the base of its three prongs. "Motoyasu Kitamura, 21 years old, college student." His voice held arrogance with undertones of confusion and fear.
Next was the bow wielder. He was a dirty-blonde haired kid wearing another high school uniform but with no noticeable tears or cuts. He was the shortest of them all and had a small bit of baby fat left on his cheeks. Like the sword and spear it looked to be a standard bow with a gem in the arc, this time green. "Itsuki Kawasumi, 17 years old, high school student." Contrasting Ren, Itsuki's voice was laden with barely held back joy.
Naofumi moved forward to speak but the king spoke before he could, "Now then, heroes Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu, I must thank you for graciously answering our plea for help." Naofumi scowled under his hood at being ignored so easily but chose to remain silent. "We've summoned you here to repel the forces spawned from the Waves of Catastrophe. Our world has been under the threat of these waves for hundreds of years and every time they've appeared, we've summoned heroes to aid our forces in dispelling them. The most recent set of waves have already begun and our military forces along with any adventurers we could find were barely able to survive the first wave, so, in line with our world's tradition, we have summoned you to aid us."
"I understand what's going on here, you want our help, but what do we get out of it?" Ren asked, pointing his sword towards the King.
"Yeah, and what's stopping you from sending us back home without rewarding us?" Itsuki joined in.
"Depending on your answer you may have us become your enemies," Motoyasu follows up.
The King, seeing the heroes begin to rile themselves up in paranoia and distrust hurried to placate them, "Of course, you three will be handsomely rewarded and upon the completion of the waves, you will be sent to your homeworlds should you so choose." That seemed to appease the three as they nodded and listened once more to the King, "Now that we've reached an agreement the maids will show you to your rooms as well as the dining hall later for a truly grand feast in celebration of your arrival." The three heroes looked between each other, smiles slowly forming on their faces.
The maids walked forward as they obeyed their King's unspoken command, and the heroes found themselves together in Ren's room. While the other three discussed what happened in their original Japans, Naofumi was forced to stay out of the conversation due to his lack of memories. While they argued amongst each other, Naofumi took that time to learn about himself in the hanging mirror. He froze at the sight of the scar covering nearly half of his face, "what happened to me?" He whispered to himself.
Tearing his gaze from his marred face, Naofumi turned his attention to his clothes. Compared to the other three, Naofumi was dressed rather… bizarrely. The others wore school uniforms and generic hoodies with jeans while Naofumi was wearing an open silver and grey jacket with holes and tears scattered throughout while not wearing a shirt, leaving much of his torso bare, as well as green and grey combat pants stuffed into a pair of worn sneakers. He was fairly muscular, having a slight outline of abs and some amount of upper body muscle but not too much where people might consider him to be a workout junkie. Feeling his legs through his pants, Naofumi could tell that he wasn't lacking in muscle on his lower half either.
Turning his attention back to the jacket, Naofumi searched the two pockets on their sides. Naofumi stuffed his hand into the left pocket first, searching for anything that might give him a clue as to what happened to him only to find nothing. Holding back a groan, Naofumi searched the right pocket only to have his hand poke something slender. Wrapping his hand around the object, Naofumi pulled it out to reveal a golden and silver arrow that had the back half snapped off. On the arrowhead was a strange bug design and above it sat a small red gem.
His eyes widened slightly and he passed the arrow to his left hand, raising his right arm to compare the gem of the shield and the gem of the arrow. The arrow's red gem seemed to be more solid in color while the shield's gem was more opaque in consistency. Bringing the two closer for an easier comparison, the shield suddenly began shining brightly, forcing Naofumi to close his eyes. He opened his eyes to see that the shining had stopped and that the arrow in his hand was gone. Naofumi almost freaked out at the loss of the clue to his memories before noticing that his shield had changed forms, becoming much larger in size and on its face sat the very same arrow.
I… I'll figure that out later…
Naofumi noticed a message had shown on his HUD screen (which was weird to think about, even though this world was real, it seemed so much like a video game).
Otherworldly Shield Unlocked (LVL 30 REQUIREMENT)
DEF: +3
MDEF: +10
DEX: +2
AGI: +2
SKILL [ Otherworldly Arrow ]
Otherworldly Shield Lv 2 Unlocked (REQUIREMENTS NOT MET)
ATK: +2
DEF: +10
MDEF: +20
DEX: +5
AGI: +5
SKILL [ Otherworldly Arrow Lv 2 ]
Naofumi's brows shot up in surprise. His shield absorbed the arrow and it gave him stat boosts?
That's awesome! Naofumi inwardly cheered, ...but what are my stats?
Looking at the icon in the corner, Naofumi was met with the answer to that very question.
Naofumi Iwatani
Class: Shield Hero
Level: 1
Weapons: Legendary Shield (Locked),「Otherworldly Ability」(Locked)
Bizarre Otherworldly Clothing
ATK: 3
DEF: 63
MATK: 1
MDEF: 60
DEX: 19
AGI: 27
SKILLS: Stand Arrow (LVL Locked), Requiem Arrow (LVL Locked)
So any shields I unlock, my stats are boosted permanently? That's awesome!
…
…
Wait, even this world thinks my clothes are weird?
Waking up early, Naofumi heads with the other heroes back into the throne room, once again coming face to face with the King, with the Queen still strangely absent. The cloaked nobles from yesterday were still there, all muttering amongst each other as the four heroes filtered into the room.
The King cleared his throat and began to speak to the heroes gathered before him, "Heroes!" His voice rang, "You are about to venture out on a grand journey to save our kingdom from the waves, and to help you on your quest, we have gathered the finest adventurers we have to offer to join you. Present yourselves!"
A dozen people emerged from the shadows of the room, grouping in front of the throne, some of their eyes widening as they observed the legendary Cardinal Heroes for the first time. Though when their gazes landed on Naofumi, many grimaced at the sight of the gruesome scar adorning his face, many wondering how the Shield Hero of all people had managed to acquire such a wound and survive. A redhead in the middle of the group sent a wink and a smile towards Naofumi before returning her gaze to the others.
"To aid the heroes, you adventurers shall join them, and without further delay… Adventurers! Choose your heroes!"
Looking at the other heroes, they seemed to be surprised at their inability to choose their own partners but they gave no complaints. When the adventurers had chosen their heroes, Itsuki had 3, Ren had 5, Motoyasu had 4, and Naofumi had none.
"What?" He turned to the King, "I'm sorry sir, but I didn't seem to get anyone to join me? Is there anyone else who could?" He asks politely.
Motoyasu spoke in agreement, "Yeah, you should try to help the guy out a little, he can't even remember what his life was before he came here!"
This was not a good thing to say.
"The Shield Hero cannot remember his past?" The King questioned. Naofumi nodded sadly, "That would explain the concerning rumor regarding the Shield Hero."
"Rumor?" Naofumi questioned.
"It is said in the legend that the heroes, when summoned, all have intrinsic knowledge of our land and how it works. However, for you to have no memory of your own life, it would make sense that the rumor of your supposed ignorance to our world exists. This is certainly concerning as you and the other three heroes are who we depend on to save us in this dire time." He addresses the adventurers behind the other heroes, "Would any of you be willing to assist the Shield Hero in his time of plight?"
The adventurers all huddle closer to their chosen heroes, with the exception of one red haired girl. She raised her hand before moving behind Naofumi, placing her other hand on his shoulder for support. "I will join the Shield Hero. I cannot bear to see one our heroes fall because no one would place their faith in him. If I have to be the first to do so, then I will."
The King took a breath before continuing, "With that matter resolved, I will present you heroes with your starting funds to equip yourselves." His advisor stepped forward, intricate bags in his hands. "For Sirs Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu, they shall receive 600 silver pieces. For the Shield Hero, due to his lack of party members, he shall receive an additional 200 silver pieces for a total of 800." He stands from his throne, "Good luck heroes, our world depends on you."
"Sir Shield Hero, my name is Myne Sophia, I look forward to working with you." The red haired adventurer, now named Myne, said,
"Oh, of course, my name is Naofumi Iwatani, I'm pretty sure, and I'm placing myself in your care," Naofumi responds. Myne notices the whisper before slotting that information away for later.
The two decide that since Naofumi doesn't really know what he's doing, Myne will lead them to any shops they need to get supplies for their task. They stop by a couple different shops without buying anything before Myne leads Naofumi to a blacksmith's shop in the middle of the city. Rows of medieval style weaponry such as swords, spears, bows, flails and others are on display. Each weapon is incredibly made, practically shining with strength and ability, speaking to the dedication and skill of the smith who made them.
Naofumi notices that where the other weapons are on center display, the shields are shoved off in the corner, and he thinks he might even see some dust on some of them, but brushes it off as those shields being older works while the newer ones are stored elsewhere.
The back door opens and a fairly tall bald headed man enters the room. He has several facial scars and a goatee that just works for him. The man notices them and waves them over.
"Welcome to my shop, what can I do for ya?" The blacksmith asks.
Naofumi smiles at the genuine smile on the man's face. It seemed to be the first one he's seen since he came to this world and he was starting to get nervous around people, ignoring his thoughts, Naofumi responds, "Hello, my name is Naofumi Iwatani, I'm the Shield Hero. I was hoping you could help me out with some armor and maybe a smaller weapon for me and my friend."
"Sure thing, kid, what are you looking for exactly?"
The age old question, is it better to be able to survive any hit, or not be hit at all? While that answer may seem obvious to some, no matter how much mobility protective gear grants, it still depends on the wearer to avoid the attacks themselves, and since the armor is built for speed rather than defense, should the wearer make a mistake, it has a chance to be the last mistake they make.
"I'm looking for armor that would be a little on the heavier side. Even with my high defensive stats, I want to make sure I can take a couple hits before I go down, especially if I'm going to protect my friends." Naofumi said with a gracious smile.
The blacksmith and Myne squinted at the smile, Too bright, they thought, with one of them having a kinder tone.
"Well, in that case kid, you're probably going to want something like light or medium plate armor. There's also heavy plate armor, but I'm guessing you want to actually be able to make it to your allies to protect them, right?" Naofumi gave a yeah after some thought, "Well, seeing as you're the Shield Hero, you have to have some crazy defensive stats right? What exactly are they?"
"63 defense and 60 magic defense, and I'm level 1 if that helps at all, sir."
The blacksmith whistled, "Those are some good stats, but I guess that's the heroes for ya," he chuckles a bit, "Well, with stats like that, you can afford some lighter armor, so why don't we cut to the middle and get you some light plate armor?"
Naofumi goes along with it. Why wouldn't he, the blacksmith is the professional, not him. Now he needed a weapon in case enemies get a bit too close for his liking. Naofumi turns towards the nearest sword rack and grabs a dagger from the rack. Unfortunately, as he wraps his hand around it, electricity shoots out from the dagger, zapping Naofumi's hand and forcing him to drop the weapon.
Legendary Weapons Violation!
Use of any weapons besides the Legendary Shield is strictly forbidden.
What? How is he supposed to attack then?
"Jeez kid, you alright? I don't know what that was but it looked like it hurt," the blacksmith asked kindly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but the shield is telling me I can't use any weapon other than it, which kind of stinks."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but it won't matter if I have my friends to help me out. Besides, I was going to use it mostly if enemies get a little too close, but other than that I was kind of dedicated to being a defender for my friends."
"Makes sense, considering the shield," Naofumi gives a little laugh, "Since we can't get you a weapon, why don't we get your party member set up then?"
The two turn to Myne who is holding a very intricate sword in her hands, it looks to be a much higher quality than a large majority of the other swords in the shop. "I don't want to be rude Myne, but do you think you could pick a less expensive sword? I want to try to conserve our money if we can," Naofumi asks.
Myne huffed and put the sword back, before grabbing another, less expensive looking sword from the nearby rack. While it made Naofumi feel awful, they really couldn't afford to spend so frivolously when they still needed to buy so much other stuff. He would have to apologize to her later.
After haggling a bit for the price, they ended up paying 285 silvers for the armor and sword. As they left the blacksmith introduced himself as Erhard. He seemed like a very genuine man, Naofumi would remember him.
After getting a bit more supplies, aka some healing potions and a bit of other trinkets, they were left with 350 silvers. Finally, they went to the fields to fight as heroes for the first time. Here are some highlights:
"Gah!" Naofumi screamed in surprise as he was piled on by nearly twenty balloons all at once while Myne tried to swat them off him.
"I popped one!" Naofumi cheered as two more bounced on his head.
"Myne, look out!" Naofumi called as he blocked one single balloon. He felt proud that he managed to save his friend from damage no matter how little it may be. Three more balloons then jumped on his head.
By the end of the day Naofumi had only managed to level up to 2 since he was only able to do two damage per punch. Even if it wasn't much, every level helps. As they ate in the inn Myne had led them to, she looked at Naofumi curiously.
"Sir hero, why did you bring the balloon pieces with us? They don't even get us much money if we sell them," Myne asked.
"Well, I wanted to test some stuff out about this shield. If it works out, I'll be able to grow much stronger much faster," Naofumi said, "I can even tell the others about it and we can all get stronger together."
The two adventurers continued to talk before Myne left to head for the bar. She returned with a bottle of wine, inviting the hero to join in on the celebration. He politely declined, even after she insisted further, he didn't want to suffer any sort of hangover tomorrow when he went out to fight more monsters. He finished his meal and left to turn in for the night, wishing Myne a good night. As he walked to the stairs he noticed Ren standing next to them.
"Naofumi," he called out.
Naofumi turned to him, "Is something wrong Ren?"
"How are you holding up," he asked stiffly. He was not used to voluntarily talking to others. And it was showing.
"I'm doing really good actually, my head doesn't hurt that much anymore, and I got a good friend by my side," Naofumi answered.
"You remember anything?" He asked.
Naofumi said nothing. He looked away.
"...Keep safe Naofumi," Ren walked away.
Naofumi watched on, confused, as Ren said nothing more, not even responding to a call of goodnight. Well, hopefully Ren would be in a better mood tomorrow and they could all have a great day.
Naofumi was not having a good day in the slightest.
First, he is woken up by slamming on his door. Then, after getting out of bed, he manages to notice even with his sleep addled mind that all of his equipment and the like is completely gone, his traveler's bag with his supplies and money all gone as well. Now rightfully worried, Noafumi rushes to the door in the hopes of catching the thief. Luckily for him, a group of knights were there to listen to his pleas for help with catching the thief. Finally, he finds himself on the floor of the throne room before the king, accused of rape and dressed in his only clothes from his homeworld.
Worse still, the King won't allow him to say the truth and neither will Itsuki nor Motoyasu offer any form of support, immediately assuming his guilt and further ruining his chances of clearing the accusation. While the other offensive heroes berate him, Ren stands to the side, silent.
"Please sir! You have it-" Naofumi once more tried to state his case only to be silenced by another shout from the King, the self appointed judge of this trial.
"You shall speak no more, Shield Devil! I won't have you spouting any further venom from your tongue!" The King rapped his fingers against his throne, sifting through potential punishments for the demon spawn that lays before him. "Since you are a cardinal hero, we cannot execute you. So, in its stead, all will know of your demonic deed. You will never be capable of living a normal life as long as you live!"
Dread fills Naofumi at the sound of the verdict. This wasn't right! He would never do something like that! ...right?
While Naofumi panics at his lack of memories, Ren stands to the side, silent. The heroes were told to come here before Naofumi even knew what was going on. The trial and its final ruling both happened far too quickly for his liking. Furthermore, Naofumi was never given a chance to present his case.
The other heroes didn't seem to notice this, or maybe they didn't care, but Ren saw.
He saw the pain on Naofumi's face when they were summoned. He saw the anxiety when he wasn't given an opportunity to present himself. He saw the joy at the sight of a party member. He saw the care when Naofumi asked if he was alright. He saw the confusion when he was thrown disgracefully at the feet of the King. He saw the disbelief when he was told of his supposed crimes. So many emotions, yet of all of them, fear showed itself far more than any others at the call of his verdict.
And yet he stood silently.
Nothing would come from him attempting to defend Naofumi. The King, Itsuki, and Motoyasu all seemed dead set on his supposed crime that even trying to reason with him may very well get his own heroic privileges removed.
"Motoyasu… where did you get that armor?" The frail voice of Naofumi hailed over the court.
Turning to the spear hero, Ren saw a set of chainmail armor dressing the spear hero as he stood guard between Myne and Naofumi.
"Myne gifted it to me when we met in the bar last night, why does that matter to you, scum?" He shot back.
Tears gathered in the corners of Naofumi's eyes, "Why would you do this? Did you hate me that much Motoyasu?"
With those final words, Naofumi reatreated from the room. Ren looked away ashamedly as Motoyasu and Itsuki celebrated what they thought to be a successful trial. He looked down at his hands and the sword sheathed on his side. The betrayal on Naofumi's face made it all too clear.
This world isn't a game.
Naofumi ran from the castle and the people on the streets. He ran from their jeers, insults, and thrown items, and he ran from the people who hated him so. He ran and ran until he came to the very same fields he and Myne had fought for XP just a day prior, and then he ran some more.
He couldn't understand why they would do that.
His surroundings blurred around him, becoming nothing more than blurry and warped colors and objects.
Why they would accuse him of rape.
He couldn't breathe.
He thought they were his friends, but they never were.
He couldn't hear.
They used his amnesia against him, they used him.
He couldn't see.
They hurt him.
A large body crashing into his side brought him back to reality. He blinked his eyes, a large and very dangerous wolf snarled down at him, drooling from its snout and a wild look in its eyes. It was far larger than any wolf he had ever heard of. It's untamed mane sticking up, it's large claws ready to tear flesh, it's teeth ready to taste blood.
Naofumi's HUD flashed information on the creature ready to maul him.
Lv 24 Direwolf
The Direwolf drove its snout downwards to end the life of its prey. Naofumi threw his hands up to meet the jaws of the Direwolf, barely holding the beast back from tearing into him. If he failed to stop the Direwolf, he would surely die.
I can't die like this, he thought. I can't die alone without knowing who I am!
He pushed harder against the snout of the Direwolf.
I can't die here!
Even with his adrenaline fueled burst of strength, the Direwolf's bite drew ever closer.
I won't die here!
Naofumi let go of the Direwolf's jaw with his right hand, reeling it back for a blow.
I WON'T!
He swung his fist, resolve to survive shining in his eyes. The blow struck true, hitting the underside of the Direwolf's chin, and the beast was launched into the air, giving Naofumi enough time to stand back up and rear back another punch.
"I WON'T DIE!" He screams as he launches yet another punch into the Direwolf, which had fallen from the apex of its flight right in front of Naofumi. A deep crunch sounds from the impact, the Direwolf's torso caving slightly in on itself as it is once more launched away.
The wolf lands on the ground nearly thirty feet from him, blood leaking from its caved in torso and its life ending. Naofumi's HUD displayed a reward of nearly 4,000 XP from the kill, leveling him up from a meager level 2 to an impressive level 9, bordering on level 10. However, the message went unnoticed, as Naofumi stared wide-eyed at his right hand.
Because hovering slightly over his own hand was a nearly transparent white and brown arm that was following his every move.
For this story, at the end of every chapter, I will be listing every (important) character's stats and levels. So to start it off, here's main man Naofumi after his first bizarre experience.
Naofumi Iwatani
Class: Shield Hero
Level 9
Weapons: Legendary Shield (Locked),「Otherworldly Ability」(Locked)
Bizarre Otherworldly Clothing
ATK: 11
DEF: 103
MATK: 9
MDEF: 92
DEX: 35
AGI: 51
SKILLS: Otherworldly Arrow (Locked), Otherworldly Arrow Lv 2 (Locked)
Notes:
COVID has not killed me yet. I am indeed alive.
College is coming up for me soon and I needed to get everything ready for that, especially with COVID messing it all up, but I'm back now!
While I was gone, I noticed a severe lack of RoTSH and JOJO crossovers, even though I thought it would make an incredible pairing. So here this story is :)
PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! I want to improve my stories and my writing and your reviews would help so much with that!
Anyway, thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter
- RandomA99
