Melromarc Castle (Night)

The four Heroes were escorted to a guest room, and were given meals by the castle's servants while they rested. While the Bow, Sword, and Spear Heroes ate together and exchanged stories, Connor sequestered himself to the balcony. To make sure he didn't miss any potentially vital information coming from his 'comrades', he kept the door open. So far, nothing of substance.

"They treat us pretty well here. Not really surprising since we're their Heroes, right?" Motoyasu said with a smile. "The girl who brought us here was kinda cute too."

"The food tastes strange, but not in a bad way." Itsuki noted.

"I gotta say, this place has the same concept as Emerald Online. Even the food's the same." Motoyasu said, confusing the other 'Heroes'.

"What kind of game is Emerald Online?" Itsuki asked.

"You don't know it? It's a very popular game in Japan right now. I've been playing for a while now." Motoyasu explained.

"What are you talking about? This isn't an online game, this is clearly based on a console game called Dimension Web." Itsuki argued.

"No, it's not." Ren disagreed. "This world is an RPG. It's practically identical to Brave Star Online."

Connor couldn't understand a word of what they were saying. While he did play online games every once in a while, he was oblivious to whatever a 'Dimension Web' was. After a few minutes of arguing, the three decided to test something by asking eachother various questions.

"Who's the current president of America?"

"Who won WW2?"

"Who is the prime minister of Japan?"

"When did Full House go off the air?"

The trio all answered differently each time, leading them all to the same conclusion. "Looks like we really do come from different Japans." Itsuki said, taking a seat.

"I thought we might've been from different regions, not different worlds!" Motoyasu complained. "Wait, what about you?" he asked, turning to Connor. The Sorcerer was less invested in the conversation due to the fact that he was already aware of the Multiverse and the countless worlds that were a part of it.

"I would prefer to not talk about my own world, and I have no questions about yours." he said, angering the Spear Hero. Even if he did say anything, it's not like he'd be taken seriously. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be going to my own room." he said as he left the others alone.

The three 'Heroes' all found Connor to be a bit...rude. Given the fact that they believed he had no offensive ability due to his shield, they were grateful they didn't have to form a Party with him.

What they didn't know is that they'd all be proven wrong very soon.

Castle Library (Night)

Since the royal library was locked, Connor broke in with a Spacial Rift. Since there weren't any magical warding systems, it was far easier than he expected. Once inside, he used telekinesis to bring all of the history books to him before sitting down at a table.

The first book was about the various kingdoms of this world. Faubrey, Melromarc, Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, Zeltoble, and Q'ten Lo. Faubrey interested him the most, as it was the most technologically advanced thanks to a previous Hero. As for the others, it seemed that Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden were governed by Demihumans. A species that the Schnee assumed were a mixture of animal and human, like the Faunus. And, much like what used to be the reality for Faunus, Demihumans were enslaved and discriminated against. It also appeared that Melromarc in particular wasn't only the most dangerous place for a Demihuman, but the kingdom was actually proud of this fact.

His eyes glowing bright green, Connor gripped the book tightly until it decayed into ashes. Black smoke filled the room, intoxicating almost everything it touched. Had anybody else been in the library, their bodies would've rotted from the inside out. When the smoke cleared, the mage was gone.

Throne Room (Day)

After they had breakfast, the four Heroes gathered before Aultcray to meet their new companions. Although, after reading that history book, Connor was apprehensive to team up with anyone from this kingdom. He wouldn't follow in his father's footsteps.

Standing in front of the king were 12 people, all of which were dressed in either armor or magically protected clothing. The boy recognized one of them, a red haired woman with green eyes, as the princess.

'I'll need to keep my guard up around her. If she was denied the throne, then she's most likely a troublemaker for the king and queen.' Connor deduced, remembering how a similar situation happened with his sister.

"As we discussed yesterday, I have called for others to assist you on your journey." Aultcray said, gesturing to the 12 volunteers. "Now, choose the Hero you would like to travel with!" he said, prompting the volunteers to walk to the Hero of their choice. Motoyasu ended up with four, one of which was the princess. Ren had five team members, something the other Heroes considered as overkill. Itsuki got three, which Motoyasu would laugh about later. As for Connor, he had nobody who wanted to follow him.

'Of course.' the Schnee thought to himself. Not like he needed any team members in the first place. With his Dark Magic, he could take down a Celestialsapien in less than an hour. He wasn't a Sorcerer Supreme for nothing.

"I must admit, I did not foresee this. But I cannot force the adventurers to alter their choices." the king said, lying through his teeth. Suddenly, a robed person approached Aultcray and whispered something into his ear. "It appears that a rumor has been going around as of late." the king said as the advisor left, both of them smirking. "It seems that while the other Heroes have a firm grasp on our world's rules, the Shield Hero is ignorant of our ways."

The four knew what this meant. Somebody was listening to them last night while they conversed.

Turning around, Connor proceeded to walk toward the front door. He had no reason to stay any longer than he had to. But before he could make it to the door, the princess spoke up. "Excuse me, but would you allow me to join the Shield Hero's Party?"

"What? Are you sure?" Motoyasu asked, unsure if he heard his teammate correctly.

"Of course. A person traveling on his own is quite lonely. And besides, he'll need someone to help him if he can't deal damage." the woman said, convincing the blonde spearman. "I'm Myne Sophia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Hero."

'Clever. If I refuse you, it'll seem like I have a death wish. But if I accept your offer, then things will just get more dangerous for me.' Connor thought to himself as he stared at Myne's hand, held out for him to shake. 'But, keeping an eye on you is far more important than that.' "Okay, then. Welcome to the team." he said, shaking the princess' hand. Unknown to her, a small tendril of Dark Matter slithered it's way up her arm from Connor's palm.

He wouldn't allow his guard to fall even for a second.