There are many kinds of heroes throughout history, and even in today's modern world. Some heroes did it for fame, for honor, for love, for greed, for power, and for duty. But not us. For we are the unsung heroes. For we are the ones who cross the line for the many, can find salvation. For it is our duty to protect the people from invaders and, at times, themselves.
Hello, my Fellow Readers! I'm glad to gain some positive reviews from you, fellow readers, of your thoughts on my first chapter so far. It's enlightening to hear your response to your ideas and feedback on my chapter. It helps me be motivated to create another chapter. Again thanks for the review and before we began.
To THATs1|3ntGUY: Thank you for the idea about the different ammunition when the bow absorbs materials to create special ammo. It would give Hunk many options when dealing with threats or when one of the missions will require using different ammo for different situations. So again, you for the idea THATs1|3ntGUY!
To CAD270895: Wait and find out if it is a coincidence or not.
Other than that, I would like to say that I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero or any other franchise's material that I used in my story. They belong to their rightful owners and publishers. The only thing that I do own is my OC (Own Characters). Other than that, let the story begin. Rated M.
Flashback would be all italicized.
'Thoughts would be italicized with Apostrophe.'
"Speaking would be a quotation."
Chapter 2 Information is Key
0700 hour, Castle Town, commercial district
Morning has arisen for the citizens of Castle Town, as people are starting to wake up to a new dawn. While others are opening up, they're shops for customers to look at their wears, or inns and taverns getting ready to cook for patrons to buy their food on the menu.
In a particular building in the commercial district lies a two-story magic shop. On the second floor, the shop owner is finishing up dressing herself for today's work. Her hair is short brown, her eyes are violet, and she dresses like any typical witch with a hat and cape. Her age being around late forty with a bet of plump to the side, giving out a caring grandmother vibe.
Looking at herself to see everything was in order, she nodded. She waved her hand as a quill rose from her shelves as it floated to her hand before taking a seat on her desk. She got a paper and envelope from her drawer, dipped her quill into an ink jar, and wrote her letter.
Dear Alexander,
How are you, my old friend? It's been a month since I last heard of you, but know that your old friend is doing just fine running her little old shop. Yet when I heard the first wave of calamity appeared in your territory. I became worried for you, your family, and the citizens of Lurolona Village. It only got worse with the news after the wave was repelled and hearing the destruction it brought onto Lurolona village.
I held onto hope that there were survivors to help you assist them to rebuild what they had lost. But to hear from the king that there were no survivors and that you had told him that you would leave immediately to warn the queen of the waves had begun and put him in charge of our kingdom. I also heard your wife and daughter are doing what they can to salvage this. It's hard to grasp that they're all gone, taken from us. If only we know ahead of time.
While the queen is at the summit in Faubrey with the other kingdom's rulers to decide who will summon The Four Cardinal Heroes for their kingdom's protection. I have heard that the king and the church are planning to deal with the wave of calamity. Yet I don't know why but I'm having a terrible feeling about what they are planning. Please come back as soon as possible with the queen and the chosen hero to save our home. If you or your family ever need any support in these troubled times. You only need to ask.
From your dear old childhood friend, Miriel.
Reading her written letter a couple times before nodding at her handiwork. Sealing her letter in the envelope to send it to her friend after her work is finished today.
She went downstairs toward her shop to open the front door to flip the sign to open. Until She paused for a second as she saw one of her shelves was low on magic potions. Deciding to go to her workshop down in the basement to resupply her wear before opening her store.
As she finally made it to her basement, it was filled with every typical witch serotype workshop with witch pots for creating potions and crates with the materials. With finished potions of all kinds for adventurers or customers, books of every kind of spells, ingredients to make potions, books of myths or legends, and the list can go on. The room was also spacious, with a chimney for her to cook ingredients. The room was illuminated with azure flames torches hanging on the walls to help her work on her witchcraft.
As she went to the crates filled with magic potions, looking around for the specific ones, until she finally found them. As she left the container of brews, she paused for a sec before placing it down. Without looking back, she smiled, "I know you're there?"
"…"
"You're behind my hidden passage in case I ever needed to escape." I told my hidden assailant as I turned towards the hidden passage next to my chimney taking out my wand to apprehend the person or rather three of them. "Oh, just so you know, dear. I know there are three of you behind the wall."
"…!"
"So please don't tr-"
"Mama Miriel, is that you?"
"That voice! It couldn't be!?" I Shouted almost dropping my wand. Hearing her voice I thought she was killed like the rest in the last wave. I dared to hope. Hoping that my ears weren't playing tricks on me. "Little Makoto, is that you?"
"It is me Mama Miriel! Please open up! We need help!"
Without hesitation, I flicked my wand as the hidden passage opened. The moment the passageway was opened, a brown blur ram into me, and the next thing I knew, one of the children I thought had perished was hugging as said child was weeping on me. Patting her head to comfort her, I looked up to see my two mystery assailants. The first person was a castle guard with the scarf hiding his lower face as he carried the third person on his arm. Getting a closer look at the third person, it was -"Eclair!?" I shouted seeing the young woman I saw as a Second daughter in poor condition.
"Big sis and I were placed in the castle dungeon for protecting me and the other demi-children from bad people." Mikoto said as she managed to calm down.
"WHAT!" I shouted enraged! Before things could have gotten out of hand, the castle guard got my attention.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your feminine fury. But do you have a place to hide us for the moment?" The castle guard had said.
Getting my rage under control, I nodded at him as I pointed my wand toward my bookshelves. With a wave of my wand, the bookshelves and the wall started to open up to show a safe room. Turning towards the guard, I saw him being slightly surprised before going back to a neutral expression.
"Come quickly little Mikoto, and you bring her to my safe room." I said to him as I carried Mikoto to the room with me. Getting a nod from him as he carried Eclair, yet the question still stands on what was going on? Why were Mikoto and Eclair in the castle dungeon? What happened to Lady Seaetto? More questions were popping up in my head, and I started to dread the answers.
'What a relief that we managed to find a friendly that Mikoto knows.' I said to myself as I looked towards the safe room, which is being occupied by the two free prisoners and a witch of all things. 'Than again I'm in a fantasy world, so why not.' Chuckling to myself.
Strange how Mikoto's name sounds familiar, yet I can't place it where I heard her name. Nevertheless, recalling back on how we got into this situation. Was that myself and the two escapees who went through the sewers system from the castle dungeon. Managed to get as far distant from the prison as I ransacked the remains of the inquisitions before discarding their remains towards a couple of man-eating alligators. Thank you nature. Afterward, we navigated through the sewers to find an exit to find a safe haven to get our bearing before planning our next objective.
Who would've thought the tunnel we selected went to a hidden passage towards a workshop that belongs to a witch of all beings. Luckily there seems to be a history between my two wards and the witch, which luckily didn't end in a confrontation.
Seeing that I have some time to myself. I looked toward my top left side to open my menu screen to learn more about this world's mechanics. In order to succeed, I got to adapt to my new surroundings and gain information to decide what the best course of action to take. 'However, the first thing I gotta do is check my inventory and… there!'
[Items inventory]
[Black OPS (Other-World Gear)]
[4 Inquisition Armor Hood Robes]
[Black Military Double Bag]
[50 GS Handgun / 85 Bullet]
[FR 5.56 Assault Rifle / 183 Assault Caliber]
[Origin 12 Shotgun / 89 Shell]
[HDR Sniper / 50 Sniping Ammunition Caliber]
[Steel Sword]
[4 Inquisition Blade]
[31 Throwing Knife]
[4 Combat Knife (Other-World Armament)]
[4 Grenade]
[3 Flashbang]
[Taser X2]
[Bottle of Chloroform]
[Med Kit]
[Military Survival Kit]
[Interrogation Kit]
[3 Canteen]
[2 MRE]
[3 Pen]
[Military Tactical Flashlight]
[Cell Phone]
[Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition Phone]
[Military Watch]
[Military Notebook]
[Worn Journal]
[457 American Dollar]
[71 Copper Coin / 559 Silver Coin / 13 Gold Coin]
'Not a bad start if I say so myself.' I thought to myself after seeing the list in my inventory. Nodding at the list, I check the help menu to see more about my Legendary Bow. Taking a glance at my bow/pistol, I need to know if I need to make more ammunition for my arsenal.
[The Legendary Bow gives its users infinity projectiles for the user to keep on firing without the fear of running out of… ammo?]
'Interesting. Is the bow trying to learn and adapt to the new concept of ammunition?' Pondering to myself as I saw the bow trying to adjust the new concept of ammo as it paused at the end with a question mark. Interesting indeed. 'However, I still have ammunition for my other guns; how does that play out?'
[The Legendary Bow gives its user infinity ammo, which gives out standard attack damage depending on the attack power. Depending on the form that the bow is in and adding to the current level, the hero is at. However, using other ammunition not connected to The Legendary Bow can add more attack power to the current bow form. The disadvantage of using other ammos is that the user is limited to how much ammos the user has until the user runs out of ammunition before automatically switching to infinity ammo.]
That's good to know. Looks like I have unlimited ammunition, but if I want to dish out more damage. I'm going to need to find a way to create more bullets for my guns in my spare time or pray that there is a gunsmith store that can customize my bullets… Thinking about it now, the odds of that happening are low due to being in a fantasy world. I'll burn that bridge when I get there.
Now I got to find the auto-aim and… there!
[Auto-aim allows The Legendary Bow to shoot their enemy without missing a shot. The projectiles will always hit the main target body no matter the distance or closer range of the target.]
Okay, good to know; now I want to know how I can turn off the auto-aim. Looking for the option in the menu, I started to get worried that there was no way to turn off auto-aim. Until it popped up all of a sudden.
[Option to turn off or on auto-aim?]
[Auto-aim (on)]
Moving my hand to touch the screen to turn off auto-aim.
[Warning. Are you sure you want to turn off auto-aim? If you turn off auto-aim, you'll likely miss your target.]
* Click*
[Auto-aim is now off.]
[Auto-aim (off)]
Finally fixing the problem with the auto-aim, nodding to myself before looking at my bow gun. Gazing at the citrine gem closely, it really does feel like it was alive somehow. As the people had called it, the Legendary Bow chooses its wielder, so it should be alive by definition. More precisely a sentient being, and yet at the same time it is not. Could it be that it is not fully awakened yet?
'Feel like I'm asking more questions than answers.' I sighed to myself before looking at… my new partner for the foreseeable future. For names, I could think of a couple of titles for it. Before I could think of any names, I saw the witch coming out but no Mikoto. Likely the kid stayed in the safe room where they were treating the unconscious knight. Seeing that the witch wanted some answers yet didn't know how to start it, I decided to break the ice first.
"So, how's she doing? Is she going to be alright?"
Hearing what I said, it took her for a moment before replying. "Yes, I believe she'll be alright. I double-checked everything to see if she was affected by any other status effects and to make sure she hadn't been taken advantage of by the… inquisitions." The witch said with venom at the end of the inquisitions. Can't really blame her for her hatred toward them.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Miriel. I own this fine magic shop that sells items for the adventures and populace in Melromarc. But most of all, I am grateful to you for rescuing little Makoto and Eclair."
"Not a problem madam. Did what any sane Good Samaritan would have done. As for my name… it's Hunk, madam."
"It's nice to meet you, Hunk…or should I say one of The Four Cardinal Heroes." Miriel giggles before continuing, "Before you can deny it, it wasn't hard to figure out. Little Makoto told me how one of the inquisitions vanished when you placed your contraption on the remains. I also saw your status in the other room without using a Ring of Status to open up normally, and the way you open it up can only be used by Four Heroes or Vassal Heroes. Melromarc has only one Vassal Hero, and you're too young to be him dear."
Cursed myself for letting my guard down for a rookie mistake. Captain Price would have scolded me for this, and Soap…that bastard would properly laugh at my mistake. Thinking of a couple scenarios of whether or not to deny or confess her claim. Yet, I see more pros than cons in having Miriel as an ally, and it seems I'm already on good terms with her.
"*Chuckle* Clever girl. I didn't give you enough credit for solving it so fast. Nevertheless, I'm sure you have tons of questions, and so do I. So go ahead, lady first."
"*Giggling* Oh my, such a gentleman you are." Miriel laughed before her face turned serious. "By chance, did you return with Queen Mirellia after the meeting in Faubrey?"
Shook my head negatively towards her answer. "No. I was summoned yesterday with three others before I made my escape."
"What! Are you certain!?" Miriel shouted in alarm, needing to know if it was genuinely true.
"Positive madam. Heard it from a maid and a couple of guards I passed by yesterday saying that King Aultcray was responsible for us having been summoned."
"This is bad, really bad. I known Aultcray is or was once a wise king of our beloved kingdom Melromarc. But does he know what he has done!?"
"I don't know. Did Aultcray summon us so he can have his wife executed by the other kingdom's leaders so he can take the throne?" I asked, trying to get a better grasp of the puzzle.
"WHAT!? Of course not! Sure they had arguments before, which I heard of from my friend who is close connection to the royal family. But King Aultcray would never do such a thing; he loves his family too much. He would rather die than have his beloved wife Mirellia killed! Including his youngest daughter Melty who is heir to the throne! Who is, by the way, with the queen."
"I see." I Responded rubbing my chin as I had gotten a lot of valuable information. So far, it can't be Aultcray for what I gained from Miriel. Aultcray loved his family too much to put them in harm's way. Yet he summoned the Four Heroes, including myself, which would have the queen executed for retribution or retaliation that can lead to war by political standards. Missing some vital information to solve this, I looked up to Miriel for clarity. "Why were we summoned to this world in the first place? What makes us so special other than having the legendary weapon on us heroes?" I asked Miriel the question.
Miriel took a second to gather her thoughts before giving out her answer. "The reason why we summoned the Four Cardinal Heroes is to save our world from its destruction by the Wave of Catastrophe."
"And these Waves of Catastrophe are...?" I questioned her to continue.
"The Wave of Catastrophe is an anomaly that rips open the skies that pour in monsters that wreak havoc and destruction across the world. If these waves are not stopped soon, then our world Is doom."
Getting a clear picture so far but needed more info, I continued, "And how do the heroes play into this? I presume it is related to the legendary weapons on how it chooses its wielder like myself and the other three, yes?"
"That is correct Hunk." Miriel responded as she continued. "The legendary weapons help its wielder in defeating the wave with its ability. Another trait that the heroes have is information about the Wave of Catastrophe and with the hero's knowledge, helps bring revolutionary Technology or information into our world. Most of all, those who join the heroes as party members level up faster. By leveling up faster, I mean that a person who joins the hero ranks will gain more experience faster, which would take an ordinary person longer to level up normally."
After Miriel explained the topic, my mind went into multiple theories of what I have heard so far. If we were to take out the king in this equation, then who is the suspect? Who can gain from all this by summoning all the heroes in one kingdom? Until an image popped up of a necklace of a cross with the three legendary weapon surfaces from yesterday. "The Church…"
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's the church. The church of this kingdom, They're behind this!"
"The Church of the Three Heroes...I should have known it was them…." Miriel resigned with a stain in her voice.
"I take it The Church of the Three Heroes only worships the sword, bow, and spear. While the shield is treated as an outcast, worst, the devil, correct."
"Correct, Hunk. The Church of the Three Heroes has been a major religion of our kingdom for generations. Including inquisition, who are the right hands of the church doing whatever the church asks them to do. Their action could be to root out enemies of the kingdom and punish heresy that goes against their belief."
"Without evidence or fair trial, right?" I asked Miriel, who only responded with a grim nod. Fan fucken fantastic. I pinched my nose as a headache was coming along. "Fucken religious fanatics, I swear…I take the church as something against Mikoto kind." I pointed out as I looked at the safe room where said squirrel girl is residing.
"Demi-human, yes, sadly. The church sees them as nothing more than less than human, if not abomination. It didn't help that Siltvelt was at war with Melromarc twenty-four years ago or that the king has lately been seeing the church in the royal court of late." Miriel responded sadly. "It also doesn't help that Siltvelt, if not all demi-humans, have looked up to the shield hero as their god and savior."
"I take it this added more fuel for the church to gain more power and declare the shield hero as the devil?"
Nodding at my answer before I continued. "I also take it that the church and their attack dogs, the inquisitions, try to make the demi-humans know their place, false accusations against them, and anything worse they can come up with?
She nodded again, disheartened at my question until her voice became content. "Fortunately, the queen had made great effort to build a friendly relationship with Siltvelt by having a couple of Melromarc nobles housing villages and towns for the demi-human to live in as citizens."
"I take it there was someone who was spearheading this other than the queen?"
"Alexander Seaetto, the right hand of Queen Mirellia, and his wife Elena are the ones spearheading the project. However, when the wave struck Alexander's land, where Lurolona Village was located, it was devastated with no survivors. It led to Alexander departing immediately to the queen. Alexander left King Aultcray in charge of the kingdom's welfare."
"…I see. And where did you get this information from?"
" I heard this from the church speakers."
"And we were just talking about how the church is likely behind this mess?"
"…Yes."
"And we just talked about how the church will do whatever it takes to gain more power even if it means doing great evil to accomplish their goal."
"...yes..."
"And so far, the church has become closer to the current king who is now in power, yes?"
"...Yes..."
"And whatever past scar that left the king to be easily manipulated into summoning all Four Heroes into one kingdom?
"…"
It didn't take Miriel long to add all the pieces together to realize what I was leading to with all the information I placed together on how corrupt the church really is. The moment that Miriel finally put everything together, her face became pale until a look of horror at the revelation. Alexander Seaetto never went to warn the queen of the waves or gave emergency power to the king because Alexander was most likely assassinated by the church's inquisitions during the siege of the wave. If he was assassinated, it's a high chance his wife Elena was also assassinated, or if not worse. Also, the village's destruction could be fabricated lies by the church to turn the demi-human into slaves by slowly integrating into their society without some of the citizens realizing it. All the queen's hard works for coexisting with the demi-humans goes up in flames.
If The Church of the Three Heroes really has likely assassinated Alexander for trying to make a bridge to coexisting with the demi-human. What other nobles or lords are on the hit list, and who supports the church? 'If the church and inquisitions are like anything from my world's past history. Then things are only going to get worse from here.' I thought to myself, looking back to Miriel, who got out of her shock before morphing into rage. Before I could say anything to her shouted out her anger.
"I'm such a fool! I should've seen the sign! They were right there in front of me the whole time! Alexander would have never done what those church bastards have said, and the inquisitions are more active than usual! Seeing both Mikoto and Eclair in prisoner garb should have been an even major red flag! I hardly have seen any demi-humans lately on the street or in my store! HHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!
It was probably a good idea to let the shop owner Let out her frustration and not get caught in the crossfire. Waiting for a while until she finally calmed down. "Better?"
"Yes, much better, and sorry for my little episode there."
"Not a problem madam." I reply before continuing. "So we know that the church likely is behind this, right?"
"Yes."
"So what I add up so far, the Church of the Three Heroes had manipulated events to give themselves more powers in the shadows while handing over powers towards the king in order to influence him to summon all four heroes. It is likely that the church of the three main heroes or the king will frame the Shield Hero for a crime he did not commit. So they can bring the entire populace to despise the Shield Hero and later assassinate said person. When the three heroes fight the Wave of Catastrophe in Melromarc, the other kingdoms are left to defend for themselves. Still don't know how the wave works or ends, but the other Kingdoms would be too exhausted to defend themselves once it finally over.. That would be the moment that the Church of the Three Heroes would strike and conquer the other kingdoms and convert them into their own religious belief." I Finally finished up the theory before I looked At Miriel, who was both pale and shocked at the revelation. Before she could say a word, I cut her off.
"I'm a soldier with unique skills. People like me were trained to think about almost every scenario's outcome. Even if it is outside my people's expertise *chuckles*. Nevertheless, to know your enemy, you must become your enemy. This means if you understand your enemy's way of thinking and their objective, it becomes easier to predict what their end goals are." Getting a nod of understanding from Miriel.
"What would become of the royal family, Hunk?"
"...Need more information on the church mindset and who is running the whole religious fanatics. But if I have to make an educated guess, the royal family would only be figureheads of the kingdom. The worst-case scenario would be the family will be killed off mysteriously or executed when it's the perfect time to overthrow the royal family, which then would make the church the dominant power of this continent if not eventually the world."
"…"
After discussing everything it was silent. I saw Miriel's expression and tones of emotion going through her thoughts, fear, sadness, and anger. I couldn't really blame her for all the feelings she must be going through. Politics has always been a pain in the ass but add religion into the fray, and that would be a recipe for a cluster fuck nightmare. Pinching my nose again, trying to get the headache out of my head. Speaking of the royal family. 'Hope the queen has one hell of a silver tongue to get out of this shit that her husband had made.' I thought to myself, just think of the hornet nest that the queen and her youngest…daughter… hold on. "Miriel."
"Yes Hunk, you said something?" Miriel responded after getting out of her trance.
"You said the youngest daughter is heir to the throne, right?"
"Yes that is correct."
"Then who is the oldest, and why isn't said person inheriting the throne?"
"The royal family has two daughters, the oldest child is Malty, and the youngest is Melty." Miriel said.
Nodding at the answers so far yet, naming their children the same name but just replacing the 'a' and 'e'? Seriously?
Spacing out until Miriel continues. "Even though Malty was the oldest sibling, Queen Mirellia decided to name her youngest Melty to inherit the throne. The reason for this is because of the oldest…personality."
"… I'm not going to like this where this is heading, aren't I?"
Nodding Miriel resumes. "Malty was always a problem child and still is. She uses her birthright of the royal family to cause mischief and problems. It didn't help that her father doesn't punish her because Aultcray is a daddy little girl to the point where Malty gets most of the time scot-free. The queen tried to set her straight but failed every time. The queen even sent Malty to another kingdom in Faubrey for abroad at one of their magic academies to hopefully set her straight."
"I take it, it failed miserably."
"Sadly yes, from a friend who works as a professor there. Professor Mercury stated that Malty was one of the worst students she has ever taught in the academy. Furthermore, in Mercury's words, 'That brat is so bad that my niece who is ten can pass my exam with flying colors and it's a fucken Magical Final Exam too!' It didn't help that there were rumors that Malty lost her virginity while at Faubrey."
"…"
My god… She sounds like a bitch. But she is not just a bitch, but a royal bitch.
"After finding out that Malty hadn't changed for the better but worse. The queen decided to name her youngest Melty to inherit the throne."
"I'm starting to get a bigger pitcher now Miriel." I told her before adding on. "Malty is most likely allying herself with the church to usurp the throne for her own gain. Willing to manipulate anyone including her father and assassinate anyone who gets in her way, even her own bloody sister."
"…You know, for some reason, it doesn't surprise me anymore."
Seeing Miriel's expression, she seemed to accept and acknowledge that Malty would do it without hesitation. Shaking my head at being summoned into this political and religious shit storm. Even though I was brought to this world. Am I even obligated to save it and its people? What's not to say that the other Kingdoms are any better but worse? Hell, is the world really united against these Waves of Catastrophe?
Most importantly, what will become of us heroes once the waves are dealt with? Will we be discarded once the waves are finished, killed off to become messiah, or worse? Sure, I can see this as a second chance... but… What is there worth fighting for?
So focused on the conversation with Miriel, I forgot to exit my inventory screen. Before deciding to log off, till something caught my eyes. I was staring at it for so long that recent memory started to surface.
Short Flashback
"Where Am I?"
"Wha-what?" Confused about what her capture meant.
"I Said, where am I?" He hissed at her as she got the memo.
"Yo-Your in the capital king- kingdom of Melromarc."
"Alexander Seaetto, the right hand of-"
"However, when the wave struck Alexander's land where Lurolona Villages was located, it was devastated with no survivors-"
[Worn Journal]
Clicking the icon of my worn journal and reappearing on my open right hand. Staring at my old journal for a while, old memories of my childhood resurface. They were unpleasant at times or left it buried, but those times I dreamt. Familiar names I've heard before. If that is the case then…
Gazing at my worn journal for so long. If there is a chance this world is what I think it is and not just a coincidence…then maybe… "All that is required for evil to triumph is for good man to do nothing." I said, which startled Miriel. Luckily I was still wearing the scarf hiding my low face. Didn't want to give her a heart attack because my mouth just formed into a predatory grin. Looks like I found my reason to keep fighting for after all. An added bounce, I always wanted to take down a religious fanatic cult.
"Well Miriel, it looks like my schedule is going to be very busy this week, no I take that back, months to clean up this Kingdom shit." As I said laughing darkly as it sent a cold shiver down Miriel's spine as she knew what I meant.
"Bu-But you will be going at this kingdom problem alone!"
"With all due respect Madam. The moment I signed up into the military, I was born for this." I could see Miriel being stomped at what I said before finishing it off. "Besides, didn't this world, its people, summon us heroes to save them? After all, Heroes were made to do the impossible, possible, no?" I finished with a shit-eating grin.
Miriel just stared at me a second till she lowered her head down until slowly her shoulders started to shake, and finally, she went into a burst of full-blown laughter. "*laughing* My oh my. There is no way of stopping you! Is there dear?" She said as she wiped away a tear in her eyes, to only be greeted with a stare of determination right back at her.
"In that case, I'll do whatever I can to support you Hunk." Miriel said with conviction.
"Are you sure about this? If the church, inquisition, or bitch finds out-"
"Oh, don't you worry about little old me dear. I may be old. But back in my days, I was once quite feared throughout the land and other Kingdoms for my magic reputation and…for the unfortunate souls who dared to challenge me. Will they wish they hadn't." She said laughing at the end darkly.
"*Chuckle* I take it back what I thought about you being a kind lady. You are one scary lady that I would not want to cross."
"Appearances can be deceiving dear, keep that in mind and…." Miriel trailed off to get my attention. "My magic ward is picking up a couple people in front of my shop. Go to the safe room while I'll deal with them. I'll meet you on my lunch break, and we can discuss this more later." She said in a stern voice.
Nodding to her, I walked into the safe room as the walls closed behind to hide the said room. Taking a considerable risk in trusting Miriel to not betray me. However, talking to her, I was able to get a vibe off of her that she was truly sincere in helping me in this endeavor. Seeing how worried she was to Mikoto and Eclair. Like Captain Price always said, trust your gut because it is usually right.
Before I could think what I was going to do, a brown blur slammed into me. "Are you really one of the Four Heroes in the stories books I always read about mister!" Shouted Mikoto with stars in her eyes. I also noted she was clean from the filth she had from the dungeon and was given new clothes to wear, probably by Miriel.
Laughing at her excitement, I replied, "Yes, kid, I'm one of the heroes you read but the Bow Hero more precisely."
"SSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOLLL!" Mikoto said in awe before continuing. "OH! Oh! Can I see your face!? Can I!? Can I!? CAAAANNNNNN IIIIII!?"
"*Chuckle* Sure, why not." I replied to her, and it was probably a good idea too. Started to get a bit stuffy wearing the helmet and the scarf too.
As I was walking towards my front door to open up my shop for my guest, they were banging at my front door hard by the sound of it. So uncivilized, were they not taught any manners whatsoever?
Once I managed to open my door for my rowdy guests, I was greeted by. "Why knight commander of the royal guard. What are you doing in my fine shop? And by fine shop, why were you banging at my door so loud! Why can't an old little lady take her sweet old time, dear?" I question him with a pleasant dark smile.
Seeing the commander going paler was sweet satisfaction. It also did help that his guards took a couple steps back to avoid their commander's fate. '~Ah, I still got it~.'
"M-My apologies Ms. Miriel but I was given an order by King Aultcray to ask you to hand over all your crystal orbs. So we can give them to the heroes and their companies for tomorrow's meeting. As for the spare ones will be given to the leaders of the garrison for future endeavors." The royal commander stuttered, not wanting to get on the wrong side like he did last time. Good.
"I see, and you do realize how hard it is to make them, don't you, dear? With all the ingredients and mana I need to make, which by the way takes days if not a week to make."
"A-again I apologize for your inconvenience but with the Wave of Catastrophe, we need to do whatever it takes to save our world."
'Save the world or just save your skin.' I thought darkly to myself without showing it. Staring at him blankly before sighing before letting them in to take my crystal orbs on the other side of my shop. After twenty minutes of taking my crystal orbs from my shop, we were all outside.
"Thank you very much Ms. Miriel, for being so understanding." The commander said to me with the most sincerity as possible.
"I understand full-heartedly and as for my payment." I reached out with an open palm.
The commander pointed his guard toward me and with haste, gave me my coins.
Before the knight commander could go with his prize, I called out to him. "Oh and one more thing, knight commander!"
"Yes Ms. Miriel?"
"Please don't let this be an everyday occurrence because you don't want my customers to be mad, because when my customers are mad. They are mad at me, and I've become mad. And when I'm mad, you don't want me to be mad. Because you don't like me when I'm mad, alright dear? Do I make myself clear?" I said to him with a dark smiling face.
Seeing him becoming a pale shaking miss with his head nodding in understanding. Some of his guards were about to piss themselves. ~Ah, I still got it~.
"Then off you go knight commander, Slayde." I said to him with a cheery smile as they walked/ran away from here. I laugh after that before going inside, giving a sigh knowing that many customers are not going to be happy about being out of stock of crystal orbs.
When my last customers left my shop, I walked up to the window to flip the sign out for lunch. As I walked downstairs to my workshop, and with a wave of my wand, the safe room opened. I was greeted with the sight of Mikoto sitting on a chair cross-legged next to Eclair, who is still resting from the drug used by those foul inquisitions. By the looks of it, little Mikoto was listening to a tale from Hunk's past adventures.
When I looked up to see Hunk's face for the first time without hiding it. I was surprised by what I saw, instead of seeing a battle-age veteran who had fought in wars in his mid-forties. All I saw was a young man, probably in his younger twenty, with a face that would make any young maiden fall over heels. His hair was short brown and spiked bangs, however, his eyes were surprisingly different; his left eye is blue like the sky while his right eye is frost green. Never thought I would see a person having two different eyes before until now.
When Hunk turned to see me, he must have seen my expression, as he was holding back a laugh, but his smirk was there. It didn't help that little Mikoto was not holding back in her laughter.
"Oh my! With the way you talk and from your own military experience. I thought you would be… older?" I said to him as I shook out of my wits.
"Yeah, I would be, wouldn't I. I'm still coming to terms... that I somehow got deaged. Not that I'm complaining." Hunk said seem to come to terms with it.
I was shocked when he said that, throughout history from the books that I had read, all of the Four Heroes who were summoned are all young adults. Never has there ever been any recorded records of any older heroes summoned before. Then was it possible that some of the Four Heroes were deaged like Hunk?
Shaking off my wits, I turned to Hunk to explain what had happened in the morning. "Never mind about that, the castle's royal commander and his royal guard came in today. They asked me to hand over my crystal orbs to help the heroes and their companies to find their affiliate elements. Also, if they're any orbs left, would be given to the rest of the garrison leaders."
"I take it they wanted to give the crystal orbs to the heroes of the sword, spear, and bow, if they ever manage to find me. But leave the shielder up and dry." Hunk said with a serious face.
"But that's not fair! The Shield Hero hadn't done anything wrong!" Little Mikoto shouted when hearing our discussion.
"I know dear, but that is the way it is…for now." I said to Mikoto as I patted her head to comfort her.
"Also, they said princess Malty is with the shielder right now while they were getting my crystal orbs."
"I see… That'll give me a rough idea to start with on what Malty and the church plans are going to be for the Shield Hero." Hunk said as he was rubbing his chin to form a plan.
"In that case Miriel. Do you know anyone that can be trusted or help us in the long run?" Hunk asked as he looked up at me to hear my reply.
"Yes I do know a couple of trustworthy friends that can help us once they know the situation."
"In that case. It looks like my mission begins now." Hunk said with a dark smirk.
Oh Yes, they won't know what hit them.
2100 hour, Castle Town, Angel Inn
"Well Myne, I think I'm going to call it a night." I said to my companion across from the inn table, and I have to say, she is dead gorgeous. Myne is around twenty with long red hair tied in a ponytail with one bang each on the side of her face with emerald eyes. With a body that most women would be envious of and wearing advantage gears that I bought for her.
"Not a problem sir Hero! Today was an excellent first start, don't you say?" Myne said with an angelic smile across her face.
"Yes it was, even if it was a rough start in the beginning. But we managed." I said with confidence.
"*Giggling* Yes we did manage it." Myne said trying to contain her giggling.
I rubbed my head in a bit embarrassed as I laughed along. Thinking back on how it all started with talking to the king in the throne room and being assigned a rooms with my fellow heroes. Excluding the Bow Hero, which they were unable to find him or her. Nevertheless, the other two and myself, Ren and Motoyasu, were able to exchange information to only find out we were all from parallel Japan with different time and history. What a roller-coaster, especially on how each of us got into this world in the first place. How Ren died from protecting his childhood friend from a serial killer. To Motoyasu who was killed by two of his yandere girlfriends. As for myself… well, I was reading a book I found in the bookstore called The Records of the Four Holy Weapons. When I got to the page about the Shield Hero, a blinding light engulfed me, and the next thing I knew, I was teleported to this world.
It didn't help that the other two told me that the shielder was the worst class in their own RPG MMO games. It didn't help today when no one wanted to join my party in the throne when rumors said the shielder had no known information about their world. Lucky Myne decided to join my party and showed me around the city in the commercial district to buy our gear. After that, we went outside the castle wall to grind XP from the monsters around the area. Sadly I only gained one, Level two…but it's a good start. After a long day of grinding, we called it a day and went to the inn to eat and rest for tomorrow.
Shaking my head before smiling at my partner. "Thank you so much for everything Myne!" I said gratefully to her to be respectful. "I have no idea about anything of this world, and you've been helping me along the way. So again, thank you Myne, for everything!"
"Oh Hero! You are too kind!"
Getting up to call it a night. "Well, good night Myne. See you tomorrow morning."
"Likewise sir Hero." Myne delightfully said, but I could have sworn she smirked, but it could be my eyes playing tricks on me for being tired today.
'Man, I thought I would be overwhelmed with everything for a moment.' I thought to myself, trying to fight off a yawn as I entered my room. Walking towards my bed so I could take off my gear. ' However, as long as Myne is with me through this adventure. I think I'm going to be all rig-'
Without warning, I was grabbed from behind with something covering my mouth to stop me from screaming for help. Suddenly, I started to lose strength in my body, and my mind began to fade as everything was starting to become a blur.
"You'll thank me for this kid. When you wake up. We have a lot to discuss."
With little strength left, I try to look over my shoulder only to be greeted with a military gas mask with a red visor. Then I succumb to blissful oblivion.
Here is the end of chapter 2, and I hope you all liked it so far. Sorry if there was no action in this chapter. It mainly focused on information gathering and what the hell was going on, so Hunk could decide his next step. Also, I wanted to try something new and unique where most FanFiction stories; were they have the main characters or writers OC meet Erhard or Fitoria, who helps them on their journey and is a trusted ally. So I used the Magic shop owner to be an ally for Hunk. Also, there was not much info on the shop owner, not even her name. So I gave her the name Miriel and flushed out a bit of background for her. Also, I hope I did well with her personality too.
Also am I doing alright with how my story is in first person and not in third person when the characters are talking or their interaction of the world. Is it going smoothly for you readers to understand when it transfers one character first person perspective to another character?
Another thing to my fellow readers, I need some help deciding what to name for Hunks partner/Legendary Bow. I have a couple of names in mind, such as:
Ashe, which stands for power, command, and authority.
Tauriel means "daughter of Mirkwood" or "daughter of the forest."
If you guys have any other names, you can come up with and explain the meaning behind the words you guys point out. I would really appreciate it.
Also it takes me away to post stories due to life situations so please be patient.
So till next time, peace!
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