To Kensei- 1085: In this Fanfic, the only ones who can use sword skills or other combat skills are those in the Clans or Families that are known for their prowess in close combat. Their will be other clans in the far future, but sword skills from other characters will not be showing up for quite some time apart from those trained by Eugeo, Kirin or Naofumi.
To SentinelPrimeKnightOfCybertron: Not sure about Sachi and Yuna, but Kayaba is a definite No. He isn't even regarded as dead because his mind is currently surfing the internet and watching over the Seed he gave Kirito grow.
To Ozilla: I guess great minds do think alike. You are actually half correct in how I'm going to handle the False Rape Accusations. But some things have to happen and we have to remember that the Church currently has a strangle hold over this country. In the start of the anime, they are at the very peak of their influence in this nation that no amount of evidence would be enough to prove Naofumi's innocence. But as their 3 so called beloved heroes made a complete mess in their heroic actions, that absolute control started to loosen. Made even worse when the Evil Shield Hero is the one who cleaned up their messes. So you will have to see how things go.
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The throne room is currently in the middle of what could only be called as... the most stupid and unbelievable trial ever!
'I already know King Aultcray and a large number of the Nobles hate the Shield Hero... but this is just insanely the lowest low of cruelty!!!'
It's taking every scrap of patience and self control that Eugeo had to not just outright call out Myne aka Malty of all the false accusations she threw against Naofumi. The evidence that was being provided as proof of the supposed sexual assault is incredibly unconvincing, especially for someone who actually thinks logically about the entire situation. The very fact that Naofumi's armor and other things that weren't stored in the Shield's Item Storage got stolen the very night he supposedly committed the crime is already a big reason to be suspicious! Especially since Motoyasu is currently wearing that very same armor right now!
But since every noble in the room WANTED to screw over the Shield Hero, they are probably involved in this farce. No one tried to question the glaring hole in Malty's so called proof and the other two Heroes didn't even bother!
[I have to admit... that two faced woman... has extremely good acting skills.]
Eugeo could do nothing but agree as Malty now had Itsuki and Motoyasu wrapped around her finger believing every word she says! Motoyasu most especially, because of the guy's skirt chasing tendencies.
As of now, Eugeo is wearing an angry and disgusted expression on his face towards Naofumi. But in reality, this emotion isn't aimed to the very innocent Shield Hero... but to the true enemy that is sitting on the throne and the other currently in the Spear Hero's arms.
It's truly gut wrenching to watch Naofumi when he screamed that he didn't do it and that Myne set him up, but not a single person believed him. Aultcray then said that he couldn't kill Naofumi because doing so would cause the Waves to become exponentially harder. When the topic of just sending him back to his homeworld is brought up, it was explained that it's impossible to do so until the Waves of Catastrophe are over. To summon a new Shield Hero requires the death of all four heroes to do so.
It was at the next moment when Naofumi saw the disgusted expression on Eugeo's face that seemed to be aimed at him, that something inside Naofumi broke.
[Eugeo! If you have anymore plans you wish to put into motion, then do it now! Otherwise, something far WORSE is going to happen to Naofumi! His Legendary Shield is starting to get corrupted!]
Spooked by what Alice frantically told him, Eugeo quickly walked towards the kneeling Shield Hero. King Aultcray, Malty, Itsuki and Motoyasu were all so surprised at this sudden action that they didn't stop him. The soldiers that were holding Naofumi down with spears all took a few steps away in fear of getting caught in the Sword Hero's wrath. Eugeo's expression is just that intimidating.
Naofumi glared with great intensity at Eugeo as he pulled out his Legendary Sword and placed the flat side on top of the Shield Hero's shoulder.
"What the hell! ! !" Naofumi completely forgot about the extreme anger that he was feeling and was replaced with overwhelming confusion. Somehow, he's no longer in the Trash King's throne room. Instead he's now standing in the middle of a very beautiful meadow, the kind of peaceful scenery that can cause almost anyone to calm down and forget their troubles for a short period of time.
"Have you calmed down a bit now, Naofumi?"
Turning to the familiar voice, Naofumi saw Eugeo with his arms crossed leaning against one of the trees at the meadow's edge. Naofumi's anger resurfaced for a moment. But when he noticed that Eugeo is looking at him with a face full of remorse, Naofumi decided to at least hear him out. After all, the two of them shared a good comradeship during their short time together the previous day. So Naofumi is able to control his anger and give his fellow hero a chance to speak.
The difference in the environment also helped a lot to calm his nerves down. Especially now that all the people who are now on his most hated people list are out of the picture for the time being. Unknown to Naofumi, Alice was also doing her best to use her influence to increase the Mindscape's soothing effect. Secretly helping to at the very least, lessen the Legendary Shield's corruption.
"Yes, I guess I have. So is this some kind of magic spell you have in your world? And more importantly, what the hell is going in that stupid throne room?!" Naofumi responded with a bit of his rationality returning to him.
"I'm sorry but we only have less than 3 minutes before we are forcibly sent back out of this Mindscape of mine. So you have to listen very carefully to everything I managed to uncover from my information gathering yesterday. Understood?" Eugeo said with great emphasis to his urgency to listen. Naofumi nodded with a new fire in his eyes as he can now get some much needed explanations.
"First and foremost, Melramarc is a matriarch ruling system. Meaning, King Aultcray isn't the true ruler of this country, the Queen is."
"Seriously!? All of that bravado about his word being law is all a sham to begin with!" Naofumi couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle that Aultcray isn't as all powerful in Melramarc as he claims to be.
"That might be true. But the Queen who is widely regarded as a just ruler, is currently out of the country to have International Meetings with the other nations. With her out of the picture for the unforeseeable future, King Aultcray is taking full advantage of her absence." Eugeo grimly informed.
"Well that just sucks. So what's the deal with them hating me so much?" Naofumi grunted with a bit more aggression in his tone.
"I was just getting to that. First thing you must know is that King Aultcray, the Nobles and Melramarc's main Religion, have a strong hatred and prejudice against Demi-Humans."
"Demi-Humans? You mean those people that have half human and half animal features right?"
"Exactly that. It just so happens that many of the previous Shield Heroes were known to have a soft spot for Demi-Humans. Their is no doubt that a few of the other Legendary Heroes have shown them kindness too. But it's the Shield Heroes that have made the most effort in giving them equal rights and to be treated as equals to humans."
"Great... So that makes me the most hated hero here since I represent the Demi-Humans that they hate so much." Naofumi's face wrinkled with a very deep and bitter scowl at the unfairness of it all.
"I also have a strong suspicion that us 4 Heroes weren't even supposed to be all summoned in Melramarc. Other countries and nations are also experiencing these Waves of Catastrophe, so the most obvious and logical plan is for each country to have one hero. But with Aultcray summoning all 4 of us, he basically left all the other countries for dead. I'm pretty sure the Queen is now stuck and couldn't come home as soon as possible because she needs to calm the other nations down, as they are most likely outraged by what Aultcray has done."
"So what happens now? I pretty much lost everything! I may have saved a few potions and a few silver coins in my Shield's Item Storage, but with this entire country against me now no thanks to that Bitch, fighting the Waves is the least of my worries! I highly doubt that I'm strong enough to travel all the way to another country for help. And I wouldn't put it pass Trash King to order some kind of law to make sure I never get to any of my destinations!"
"You're not alone Naofumi!" Eugeo strongly declared. Causing Naofumi's despair to lighten somewhat. "Just before I came to the throne room, I gave some items to Kirin and told her to go straight to Erhard and tell him the truth that you're innocent. Erhard will pretend to try to beat you up and drag you to his shop to do it. Kirin will "accidentally" leave her items behind in fear that you might rape her too." Eugeo explained.
"I..." Naofumi couldn't help but feel a bit touched at his efforts, "Thank you. But why...?"
"Something like this happened to me too back in my homeworld." Eugeo confessed as he can see that Naofumi is shocked but he needs to hear this, "The accusations might be different, but I was also sabotaged by people of Higher rank and got labeled as a criminal despite not doing anything wrong."
"I see... So the reason why you didn't say anything back at the throne room is because you knew that doing so would be completely useless."
"It's unfortunate, but that is the truth."Eugeo sadly admitted, "I would have an easier time in helping you if the entire kingdom thinks that we are now on very bad terms."
"I suppose you're not wrong."
"Anyway, you will have to find a way to get stronger without anymore help from me. It's not so impossible now that you've learned the Combat Skills, but you will need people to join your party eventually. Going out solo can only get you so far and will become inefficient in the long run." Eugeo strongly suggested.
Naofumi's face contorted into an intense scowl at the thought. Trusting Eugeo is one thing, the young man has shown wisdom beyond his age because of the harsher world he originated from compared to the other three heroes. The fact that Eugeo was in the very same position Naofumi himself is now, also helped in shaking away the doubts he had for the Sword Hero. But learning to trust others in this world is a totally different story altogether! ! !
Seeing the inner conflict on Naofumi's face, Eugeo wanted to convince him more. Unfortunately, they simply don't have the time since they only have less than 1 minute left before they get sent back.
"Naofumi, we only have 52 seconds before we get sent back so listen closely." getting the Shield Hero's attention, "The moment we return, we'll be right back where we left as time slows down to a crawl when in the Mindscape. I will strike you with a new skill that I learned yesterday. It's an attack that's more suited for multiple enemies so the damage it does on single targets is significantly weaker. You shouldn't have much trouble in using your [Shield Counter] to block it. This will cause a strong burst of wind that will send all the surrounding Castle Soldiers slamming into the walls."
Naofumi's eyes widened as he caught on to the ingenious idea, "Thus creating an EXTREMELY convincing illusion that you seriously tried to kill me despite the warning that Trash King said about it. Cementing in their minds that the camaraderie we had yesterday is now long gone."
"Exactly!" Eugeo confirmed with an out of character smirk before gently smiling, "As soon as you get some decent clothes, go synchronize with the Dragon Hourglass in the town's Church as soon as possible. Doing so will cause a timer to appear in your Hud to show how much time before the next Wave hits. It also teleports you directly to the Wave's location."
Naofumi couldn't help but groan as another thing to hate Bitch is added to the list in his head, as she didn't tell him anything about that either.
"Absorbing the sand from the hourglass will also give you a Teleport Skill once you reach Level 50. But I highly doubt that Church would give you some because of their hate towards you. For now, I will do what I can to help you in more subtle ways. Things might be a bit different after the first wave. Once I get stronger and have a more firm grasp on how this world works, I should be able to help you more openly. Just survive and grow stronger until then, okay?"
Eugeo reached out for a handshake, Naofumi hesitated for a second but quickly returning it. A few seconds later, the countdown hits zero and a flash of light sends them back out to the real world.
Eugeo raises the Legendary Sword in the air and transforms into a multicolored blade with a few balloon scraps attached to the guard before swinging towards the disgraced hero, "Air Burst!"
Naofumi activated his Shield Skill and met the swing head on, "Shield Counter!"
Just like what Eugeo had hoped for, the air bursting sword and glowing shield colliding caused a whirlwind to blow all of the nearby Castle Guards away. It also had the unexpected side effect of causing Eugeo to slide backwards to join the other two Heroes while Naofumi slid back to the throne room exits.
"Eugeo! Stop!" Itsuki exclaimed as he grabbed the Sword Hero's left shoulder while Motoyasu held the right.
"Sir Eugeo! As justified as it may be, killing the Shield Hero will do more harm than good!" King Aultcray said with a hint of worry in his voice.
Eugeo took a very deep breath, as if he's trying his best to calm himself down before speaking, "Get out of hear while you still can Naofumi. Because if the next one comes, you might not be able to deflect it again."
"I was just leaving!" Naofumi yelled in anger before turning around to leave. The Castle Guards a bit too scared to stop him now that they saw a fraction of the Hero's power. If the Shield Hero survived the Sword Hero's strike, then what hope do they have in standing against him. As Naofumi exited the room, the Guards that were scattered all over the room are now starting to get up, a bit shaken by the whole ordeal.
"What happened to you Eugeo? You were so calm and collected during our short times together. Your reaction just now is so out of character of you." Itsuki asked with a bit of worry and wanted to hear his answer.
"Yeah. I mean, sure I think beating him up a bit is something I also wanted to do. But just now, you seriously tried to kill him right where he stands despite what the King said about what happens when a hero dies." Motoyasu chimed in also, very curious of why Eugeo just flew of the handle when he has shown to be a level headed guy for the most part.
Turning away to hide his face, "Back in my homeworld, a rival of mine who can't stomach the fact that I'm better than him, have set a trap for me. He lured my female Sword Apprentice into an enchanted room where she's forced to obey every word he says. When I arrived to save her, he also sprung the trap on me where I'm going to be forced to watch her get violated while he gets away with it."
Itsuki and Motoyasu couldn't help but flinch at the thought.
"It's only pure luck that I managed to break free and cut off one of the guys arms before anything could really be done. Since then, I always had an extremely short fuse when it comes to sexual abusers." Eugeo finished.
Accepting the Sword Hero's explanation, finding it to be quite reasonable of why he suddenly lost control like that. The King then cleared his throat, "Aside from dealing with this unsavory matter, I called all three of you heroes to provide you some Crystal Balls that you can use."
"Really! That's great!" Motoyasu cheered.
"Yeah! Now we don't have to spend our money in buying those." Itsuki commented with a smile.
Eugeo on the other hand, is confused, "Crystal Balls? What's so great about those?"
"They are magic items that let's you instantly learn a spell by releasing the power sealed within. It's a really convenient way to learn magic." Itsuki helpfully explained.
"They are also really expensive. So the King getting them is actually a huge help for us and our party members." Motoyasu said as he grinned.
"Is that so..." Eugeo mumbled in thought as Aultcray called for the maids to bring in the cart that is full of Crystal balls. '
[Yet another clear indication that these people are purposely supporting the three heroes while the Shield Hero is being denied of any sort of help.]
Myne, who has suspiciously recovered from her supposed trauma, is now helping Motoyasu in choosing the Orbs that they are getting. Itsuki also helped himself with a few offensive Orb spells. 'Either they already knew about the Item Storage function or Myne told them about what she learned from me and Naofumi.' Eugeo thought as he saw them storing the Orbs they chose into their Spear and Bow
He decided to let the Bow and Spear get most of the Orbs. He settled to pick all the Orbs that have the Recording and Communication function instead. Which is 4 out of the 20 orbs that the king provided.
Both Eugeo and Kirin already know how to use magic, even if his type is different. If they want to learn more, it would be simple enough to purchase Magic Books from a shop. Although he still needs to get through the language barrier to read normal literature let alone magic writings.
After the whole ordeal, the three Heroes went to their separate ways. Alice then reported to him that a small amount of SP was deducted from him when he used the Weapon Skill {Air Burst}. It turns out that SP stands for Soul Points, a type of energy exclusive to Heroes which a set amount is spent whenever a Hero uses a Weapon Skill.
Before Eugeo went too far, he managed to overhear that the other two heroes plan to go to a place called Zeltoble. Saying that they have the best and most powerful man made weapons in this world available in their shops.
'They are going to have a field day of Weapon Copying all the strong items that they could find in Zeltoble, without telling the merchants what they are doing aren't they?' Eugeo sighed at their plans of technically cheating those people out of their products.
[Well, not many people can be as honest as you are Eugeo. Besides, we already have an EXTREMELY powerful sword form in stock. Although it will take quite a long time before you can use it, I highly doubt that any man made Weapon can surpass that completed Holy Sword Series.]
While walking towards the inn where he spent the night with Kirin, Eugeo can hear the rumour mill already in full swing about the evil Shield Hero. 'There's no way the info about the False rape accusations would have spread throughout the town in just a few hours. Especially in a town this size.'
[The King's handy work most likely. He wants everyone to hate Naofumi so he went out of his way to deliberately spread the word to the entire town.]
It makes Eugeo sick to see how an innocent man is now going through this just a day after arriving. Eugeo could only try to ignore all the gossip as he walked as fast as he can. When he arrived in the room, he found Kirin sitting on one of the beds with a solemn look on her face. No doubt she heard all of the drabble that is openly being spoken outside.
Eugeo decided to leave Kirin alone with her thoughts while he thinks of what he plans to do next. 'Are there any spies around?'
[Surprisingly none. Whoever those spies are, the one with malicious blades is probably involved in this entire scheme, the Three Heroes Church perhaps. The one with the neutral and loyal blades on the other hand, that one probably belongs to a different group altogether.]
'Didn't Kirin mention that her family have their own private spies that gather information for her clan. Do you think that other spy is a Toudou member who specializes in stealth?'
[It does sound plausible. Her family does seem to be well versed in combat after all.]
'With the Church's spies too busy with this Shield crusade of theirs, maybe we should have a talk with Kirin's mother while we have the chance. I need a reliable source of information that can keep me updated about the latest events in this world. Kirin's mother just might be my best shot.'
[I think it's a good idea.]
With a new plan in mind, Eugeo caught Kirin's attention, "Hey Kirin... why don't we pay your family a visit before we leave the town for our journey."
"Huh?" Kirin blinked in confusion since she was still a bit lost in thought.
The Toudou Clan's compound is a bit big, looking more like a school instead of a clan home. Unknown to Eugeo, all the buildings look like a Medieval version of Japan with Dojos, wide open fields and extravagant gardens that are perfect places for people to meditate.
When the two entered the gate, the guards greeted Eugeo with respect but looked at Kirin with fondness. Hinting that Kirin has a good standing within her clan. Looking around as they walked passed one of the extravagant gardens, there's actually a few Fox and Dog Demi-Humans tending the plants there. Much to his relief, they seemed to be treated nicely here as they don't show any signs of bruises, exhaustion or starvation.
In a few open fields, several people are in the middle of their sword training. Swinging their wooden swords in sync as they went on a few stances and sword katas. Eugeo couldn't help but smile as he remembered the fond times he spent with Kirito when they trained in Centoria.
Kirin soon led them to the Clan Head's home which is two or three times bigger than the normal homes of the clan. As they walked through the halls, they walked passed a door with an eye catching symbol on it. It was a red heart with a pair of white wings.
"This is actually my room. That symbol is something really special for me... but I can't really explain why. Although I won't be using this room for a long while since we'll be traveling out of this town soon." Kirin pointed out before walking on to the Head's private room.
Entering a heavily decorated door, a gorgeous woman with long purple hair wearing a lavender combat kimono, is meditating in the middle of the room. Behind her is a beautiful long samurai sword on top of a pedestal. The walls are decorated with drawings of flowers and birds flying among the floral background.
"Hello mother." Kirin greeted with a bright smile.
The woman opened her eyes and returned the smile in kind, "Hello my little Kirin and welcome Sir Sword Hero. My name is Aoi Toudou, the current Head of the Toudou Clan."
Eugeo nervously bowed in greetings, "I-It's really nice to meet you Lady Aoi. My name is Eugeo Zuberg."
"My my, such a gentleman you are." Aoi giggled before inviting them to take a seat on the other pillows available in front of her. Her expression soon turned serious as the pleasantaries are now out of the way. "So Sir Eugeo... before I hear what you came here for, I just had to ask. What is your honest opinion about this latest events concerning the Shield Hero?"
'Alice?'
[There are two spies, one at the ceiling and one at the window. Both of them are neutral spies since there aren't any evil intent in their blades.]
"The entire thing is a complete sham." Eugeo answered with a frown, surprising Lady Aoi and the two eavesdropping spies, "Wether or not King Aultcray is in this plot. I know for a fact that an innocent man has been labeled a criminal for a heinous act that he didn't do."
Eugeo took a deep breath to calm down before looking at the Lady, "One of your private spies were keeping watch over us since yesterday right?"
Lady Aoi just smiled, "I'm impressed, so you noticed one of the Toudou Clan's private Shadows. But you should know that the Queen and the Church also have Shadows of their own. How did you know that a spy belongs in this clan?"
Eugeo decided to give an answer in a way that doesn't expose much of his abilities and could easily be misunderstood as something else, "The blades of the Church's Shadows are tainted with malice while the other is neutral and traced with loyalty."
"I see, so it's their weapon's history that gave away the Shadows' affiliations. You Heroes truly are amazing." Lady Aoi is both right and wrong but Eugeo decided not to correct her. "But I'm confused, if you knew that Sir Naofumi is innocent, then why did you strike him with that powerful Weapon Skill you just learned?"
"I managed to use one of my abilities to mentally tell him about what's going on. If I'm going to help him, the kingdom must think that we are no longer in good terms. So we made that entire act where it looked like I seriously tried to kill him to cement that belief in the minds of everyone watching. As Kirin could confirm, I asked her to leave some items in Erhard's shop for Naofumi to pick up after he left the throne room." Eugeo answered with Kirin nodding in confirmation of what they did to help the Shield Hero.
Lady Aoi was speechless for a moment before she started laughing, "Hahaha... That was ingenious thinking! You two did a really good job in selling that belief with your very convincing acting. Hahahaha..."
"If even you were fooled, then that just means that our plan worked." Eugeo awkwardly chuckled for the complements as he couldn't help but blush at how beautiful Lady Aoi's laughter is before shaking his head of impure thoughts
"Whew! That was a real good one." Lady Aoi sighed as she finally calmed down,
"So Sir Eugeo, what is your purpose for visiting my Clan's compound to meet me? Do you wish for my daughter's hand in marriage perhaps?" Lady Aoi asked with a mischievous face and snickered.
"MOTHER! ! ! !" Kirin screeched as she blushed in embarrassment.
"No! That's not it at all!" Eugeo yelled in protest, blushing as well. Especially since he already considered himself taken. He's already dead set in getting Alice a human body so that in the future, they can finally be together. A married life with Alice is already at the back of his mind, something that he plans to turn into a reality once the Waves are finally over.
[I don't know if I should find Kirin's mother to be hilarious or not.] Alice seems to be grumbling.
"Ok, ok, I had my fun. It's just something that popped into my head. You see, one of the traditions in the Clan is that only someone who have bested the Heir, which is Kirin, in a fight can be worthy to marry her in the future." Lady Aoi explained with a chuckle, "Kirin has remained undefeated for the last 2 years and has proven herself to be a prodigy. I'm by far the only one capable of besting her in a fight. Over 100 suitors have already tried and failed to win against her, even with the handicap of her not using any of the Toudou Sword Skills. Since you're the Legendary Sword Hero, it's only natural for you to become an exceptional swordsman."
"I see, well... that's not my decision to make. Kirin's the one who decides who she would like to spend her life with." Eugeo answered firmly.
[Once again, you just made things worse.]
'Urk..'
"Very well said." the Clan head smiled while clapping her hands before getting serious, "So what do you want from my Clan, Sir Eugeo?"
"What I want are two things, first is to have a reliable source of information. As you already mentioned, you, the Queen and the Church have Shadows which also serves as a spy network." Eugeo explained as he grabbed one of the Crystal Balls from the Storage and handed it over to Lady Aoi. "There will be times that I need to know all of the details before acting on my duties as the Sword Hero. Or else, I just might be used like a puppet by others, most especially the nobles who are in Aultcray's side in their crusade against Demi-Humans."
Lady Aoi nodded with a smile of approval, "And the other one?"
"I want to receive training on how to be a Shadow." Eugeo said, surprising everyone in the room and outside of it, with his request.
"Sir Eugeo, why would you want to train to be a Shadow?" Kirin asked as this wish of becoming a Shadow, isn't something she she expected from a Legendary Hero. She fully expected that Eugeo will ask for more advanced training in the Toudou Sword Style to add to his skills.
"As twisted as it may be, I would have an easier time in being a hero if no one knows who I am." Eugeo said as he explained his reasons further, "With the Three Heroes Church, the Nobles and the King himself involved with the corruption in this country, it's by far my only choice. I also plan to travel to another country to fight one of their Waves after the Melramarc Wave is done. And I can't do that as Eugeo Zuberg, the Sword Hero. I need to be someone else... I need to be... something... else."
The silence that followed was really thick that you can cut the air with a knife. That is until one of the two Shadows that were listening in their conversation, decided to reveal themselves with a flicker of movement and some kind of camouflage magic. Kirin flinched back in surprise while Lady Aoi and Eugeo remained still as they already knew that they were there. The Shadow's outfit left nothing to be identified with, having black robes, metal mask and silver and black themed armor.
"A very intriguing idea Sir Sword Hero. While I can't contact my Queen at the moment, I'm very sure that she would approve of your decision. This will actually help her immensely on the mess that the King has made." Shadow 1 says before facing Lady Aoi, "Although it's not a direct order, I wish for you to grant his request to be trained."
The Clan Head just nodded since Eugeo's idea really did have a lot of merit and potential, "Very well. Though my Kirin will also have to join in this Shadow training, if she wants to stay by the Sword Hero's side. I approve of this decision."
"Excellent." the Shadow seemed to have smiled a little bit, "I shall get going now. This is a piece of good news that must be delivered to her majesty as quickly as possible."
With another blur of movement, Eugeo lost sight of the Queen's Shadow.
[Well... if you can do something like that after your training, then your job as a hero will certainly be a whole lot easier.]
'No kidding.' Eugeo chuckled.
"Alright then, let's get this Shadow training started shall we." Lady Aoi declared, "You may reveal yourself now. Sir Eugeo already knows that you're there after all."
The second Shadow then dropped from the ceiling, not making a single sound as she did so. Eugeo couldn't help but feel impressed at how good these Shadows are at what they do. The Shadow then removed her mask and black cloak to reveal the person beneath.
"You may call me Ayane... Ayane Toudou, at your service." The Shadow introduced herself, she had maroon hair and possessed what you could call an exotic beauty. A beauty that hides a deadly secret within, which actually fits her occupation quite well. "It seems that I will be your teacher for the coming two weeks, Sir Eugeo and Lady Kirin."
"Thank you for having us." Eugeo and Kirin replied in unison as they bowed towards her.
[Something tells me this is going to be a long two weeks.] Alice seems to be sighing.
Eugeo had no idea how right Alice is by her assumption.
[System Call - Generate Aerial Element - Form Element String Shape - Discharge]
Eugeo and Kirin both casted the Sacred Art on their feet before breaking into a burst of intense speed towards an obstacle course that Ayane had set up for them. Sprinting sideways on the walls, avoiding laid out traps, dodging airborne projectiles and choosing the safe footholds to step on as they went for the finish line.
For the passed two weeks, they spent most of their time inside one of Melramarc's Hidden Dungeons where they can also grind Levels and gather materials for Eugeo to absorb.
Apparently, Dungeons are special locations in this world that naturally spawn monsters from within its deep underground caverns. One of the best places for Middle Class Adventurers to Level up. What makes this particular Dungeon unique from the rest is that it's a top secret location where the Queen's newly recruited Shadows are taken for training. With fragile pavements, elaborate rock formations and the poor lighting, it's the perfect training ground for them.
This is where Eugeo and Kirin learned how to walk, run and parkour like a Shadow. Ayane was then given the permission from the Queen, to give the two some Mirage Belts. They are special equipment for all the Shadows who have proven themselves worthy to serve the Queen. It's extremely useful since it has the ability to change his name and his appearance. It's no wonder that these Mirage Belts and their method of creation is at the highest level of confidential. Only the top rulers of each country can know about them, so this is something that is beyond the Church's reach, even with King Aultcray's help.
Which is a great relief in Eugeo's mind as he finally have an advantage over the King and his corrupted allies. Eugeo shortly asked for another one of those Mirage Belts which he absorbed along with one of his Recording/Communication Crystal Ball to the Legendary Sword which gives him...
[Multipurpose Orb Sword Unlocked]
[Quality: Low - Base Attack: 40]
[Mastery: 0/60 - Resonance: 0%]
[Equip Bonus: Flash Sword]
[Exclusive Ability: Recording, Communication]
Level 30 Required
[Illusionary Sword Unlocked]
[Quality: High - Base Attack: 120]
[Mastery: 0/150 - Resonance: 0%]
[Equip Bonus: Air Strike Slash]
[Exclusive Ability: Invisible Air]
Level 40 Required
Eugeo is beyond happy to see this ability. The most noticable aspect of the Legendary Sword that can give his identity away is the Blue gem engraved in its guard after all. With the {Invisible Air} , a layer of wind envelopes the Legendary Sword and turns it invisible. He can now use the Legendary Sword and no one would ever know that he's the Sword Hero as long as he's careful.
It was also during their first days of training that Eugeo unlocked the [Companion's Sword 2] when he experimented with absorbing some of Kirin's hair. It then upgraded to [Companion's Sword 3] when he absorbed Kirin's blood at the time she accidentally got wounded with a hidden monster suddenly popping out and hit her with a surprise attack. Causing her Stat gains to go up from small all the way to large.
Alice also unlocked something when he reached Level 30, something that caught them completely by surprise, the Telepathy Ability. Just like the Mindscape Ability, it also has a cost of 50 Fluctlight Points which Eugeo had no problem in spending. With this, the couple can now communicate a lot better than before which made them very happy. The only limitation is that if Alice wants to communicate with other people besides Eugeo, she would need to use some of his SP to do so. Although it seems a bit wrong, the two decided to keep Alice's existence a secret from Kirin. At least for a little while since they need to focus on their training first and not get distracted.
Back at the present time, Ayane can now classify Eugeo and Kirin as Average Level Shadows. They are by no means professionals, but they now have a solid chance in outsmarting and escaping any of the best Shadows the Three Heroes Church can throw their way. Which is more than enough for Eugeo's opinion.
Just a few minutes later and the two Shadow trainees eventually crossed the finish line that she had set for them. Ayane couldn't help but think of how convenient the Sword Hero's brand of magic is. While Eugeo's Sacred Art may be a bit lacking in terms of raw power, it makes up for it by being more versatile and precise when compared to this world's type of magic.
As Eugeo and Kirin leaned on each other as they caught their breath for all the running they did at intense speed, a loud clapping came from Ayane. "Well done you two. Although you two are far from being Professional Shadows, I think both of you are now ready to face anything King Aultcray or the Church can now throw at you. You are now free to go on your journey Sir Eugeo."
Eugeo then straightened up and gave her a bow of respect, "Thank you very much for all your help. I promise to use all of your teachings wisely on my journey as the current Sword Hero."
"Yes, thanks a lot Ayane-sensei." Kirin said alongside Eugeo.
"You're very welcome." Ayane beamed in pride for her temporary students. But just as she was about to leave, the Sword Hero had one more task that he wants to be done. "Miss Ayane, if it's not too much trouble, I would like for you and your colleagues to look into something for me."
"What might that be Sir Eugeo?"
"I want to find out where the majority of the Demi-Human survivors of Lurolona ended up to. As silly as it sounds, I would like to do something... Heroic... before the Wave of Catastrophe arrives for Melramarc." Eugeo answers with a slightly sly grin. Kirito's habits truly are contagious.
[Eugeo - Level 35]
[Kirin - Level 32]
Whew! ! ! I had to revise and adjust this chapter at least 10 times before I finally decided that it's ready to be updated to this site. I hope you are all happy or at the very least satisfied with what happened to the False Trial with Naofumi. I know some of you wanted Eugeo to outright speak up against the accusations, especially since he knows what the face of a rapist looks like from first hand experience.
But as I explained at Author's Note to Ozilla at the start of this chapter, it's simply impossible for anything to be done.
As always, please write a review about your thoughts, suggestions and critiques that can help in writing this story. But for those who are simply being mean to us writers, please just leave us alone.