Raphtalia grew quickly until she was roughly his own age...in a span of less than a week. Crow chalked it up to her not being human and left it at that. He had seen weirder.

He just hoped her mentality didn't shift from child to adult just as quickly. The closest he had ever come to sharing a bed with someone had been Ginny...everyone else had been a string of random faces he didn't bother to keep track of, generally because they were used to get closer to him. After that he generally dumped them and gave the cold shoulder.

She seemed to like just being called Talia though. Perhaps because she could tell it was a name of endearment to her new 'brother'.

There was one thing that bugged the hell out of him. So five towns away near an area with a mine infested with demons, he finally decided to get an answer.

"What exactly is an Arch Mage?"

"An Arch Mage is someone who has mastered magic to an extremely high extent, and can tap into the natural ley lines within the planet. In rank they match that of the head priest or priestess of the churches that contain the Dragon Hour Glass and can even order the Guards without fear of reprisal," explained the owner of the magic book shop. He was getting some illusion spells for Talia. She seemed to have a knack for them once he showed her how.

"And a Grandmaster Arch Mage?"

"Is equal in rank only to the royal family. And even then they have the ability to dismiss the king's orders. But one hasn't been seen since the beginning of the first Heroes."

"Huh. I was just curious, because I had seen the term in a really old scroll and didn't know what it was."

"It's an old term. There's only seven Arch Mages, and all of them were used to summon the heroes, from what I heard," agreed the shopkeeper. "That will be fifteen silver."

"Keep the change. Not like I have much use for coin when goods are more useful in the wilds."

Coins and paper money were of little use out in the wild. And because he had a habit of tipping well when he got information that was useful (or tipping well in general) people talked well about him.

He found it easier to deal with bad rumors (like the one about him assaulting that spoiled princess) with ones that eclipsed them. Like the Shield Hero being generous with the funds the king gave him, or the fact he bought slaves but treated them more like family than anything.

"Crow-nii why did you ask about arch mages?"

"You can see my status right?"

"Most of it."

"I'll show you why later. Trust me, I needed to find out before it came back to haunt me."

Needless to say Raphtalia was in complete shock when she read Crow's status.

Crow

Title: Sheild Hero/Master of Death

Rank: Legendary Hero/Grandmaster Arch Mage

Age: 32

"...You're thirty-two? But you look only..."

"I look barely eighteen, because that was the age I took up the mantle as Death's Master. I've spent the past thirteen years since being stuck as the clean-up mage in charge of dealing with idiots who think they can get away with using the less pleasant magic spells to hurt others, because no one else had the balls to do so. It's also the reason why I chose to pick someone from the slaver's tent than deal with a companion the king had picked out. I'm used to being on my own, but if I have to have someone to travel with I would prefer that they were at least honest about why they wanted me dead," said Crow.

He'd been bitten one too many times like that before he turned 21, and after the last time he had given it up as a bad job altogether.

If he could have gotten away with it, he would have found a market like the one he found Raphtalia in sooner...preferably without that idiot Hermione screaming his ears off.

Talia didn't seem to mind that fact. If anything she was happy Crow had picked her. He was much nicer than the others.

"Well, if it isn't Shield Hero-sama. May I say it's was a pleasure to see the way that spoiled girl fumed over being called ugly while compared to one of my slaves."

"Oh believe me, it was even funnier when I pointed out I was in another town when she claimed I had assaulted her, and then spread more rumors about the others," joked Crow.

The slave owner smirked evilly in agreement. That was especially hilarious, hearing some of the things Crow came up with as a counter-attack to the claims he had assaulted the princess. The Spear hero had found he had a high turnover rate of party members, as girls quickly found out the rumor he was only interested in sleeping with them were true.

The only constant companion he had was the princess, and she was still pissed whenever word spread of the Shield Hero who was 'more generous' and 'very kind' in every town or village they came across.

While the rumors of him raping her were spread far and wide by the king, his rumors about the Spear Hero and how the girl had made them up because he dumped her after the first day for a demi-human were spread even faster.

Though the fastest rumor of all (which was fact) was the one of the Shield Hero being extra generous to those who showed his party exceptional service. Things like where the dungeons were, an small discount, or telling him where to find useful items. It spread exceptionally fast among those who sold slaves and pets.

He had already acquired an interesting monster's egg. He had no idea what was inside it (neither did the man who sold it) but he had the feeling he could make it useful.

In any case he wondered how that foolish king and his lying daughter would react to his true pet. It had taken some doing, but fortunately that ornery old bird happened to like him enough to save his skin. Or at least act as a familiar to keep people from calling him the next Dark Lord.

"That reminds me. We need to visit that hourglass to see when the wave hits," said Crow.

"It's in the capital," said Raphtalia.

"Great. Well if the idiot brigade tries to start something, rest assured I'll finish it first," said Crow tiredly.

And by that he meant the Spear hero and his ever changing party of loose women.

The Bow and Sword heroes were giving him an odd look. Apparently they, unlike the Spear Hero, had been listening to the counter rumors Crow had immediately spread upon hearing the fake charges.

That and the fact Crow tipped especially well to shopkeepers meant they found it easier to get better gear, compared to the Spear hero who found the price slightly jacked up. Not by much, but enough that it had made a noticeable dent in his funds.

Apparently thanks to his efforts, the Shield Hero was nicer and more pleasant than the playboy Spear Hero.

Until they did something of worth, Crow wouldn't bother remembering their names. It was less painful that way in the event they got killed.

He walked into the Church.

"I'm here to see the Dragon's Era Hourglass."

"Right this way sir," said the nun. She was neutral, considering some of the rumors she had heard about the Spear Hero, and the fact that people seemed to like Crow better. Even if there was that ridiculous one about him assaulting the princess, it was hard to believe her story when there were multiple people who saw him in another town entirely with a Demi-Human that same night.

"Let's see... only an hour before the next wave hits?" said Crow in surprise.

"An hour?" said Raphtalia in shock.

"Means we have enough time to upgrade our armor and get something to eat," said Crow shrugging.

They left the church and he apparated them straight to the blacksmith's shop.

"What are you doing here? Isn't the next wave about to hit?"

"Perfect time to upgrade our armor, considering from what I understand about this mess we'll be taken to where it is anyway."

"...What's your price range?"

"I still have four hundred silver that the king gave me before that idiot daughter of his tried to claim I attacked her," deadpanned Crow.

"...I'll be right back. Any preferences?"

"Anything that can handle magic usage. The more it can take the better, and if goes over four hundred I'll still be able to use the money we've been collecting by leveling Talia up," said Crow simply.

"What level of magic?"

"Again, the higher the better. Preferably arch mage level, but I'll take anything I can get seeing as how the last time I used a meager fire spell the damn thing burnt most of my clothes to cinders," he said.

The man blinked twice, before shrugging and pulling out various armors. Most of it was lightweight, but reinforced to handle the effects of magic. Talia took a swordsman's armor, seeing as how she was more used to blades.

Roughly thirty minutes before the next wave was to hit, they both turned when they heard a cracking sound from Talia's bag.

She pulled it out and revealed the egg they had been carrying for the better part of a week.

What hatched looked like the cross between a phoenix and an ostrich, in Crow's honest opinion.

"A philorial. You've got some strange luck, hatching something like that just before a wave."

"Odds are it'll grow up as fast as Talia before it's over. Got any armor for birds too?"

"I have some, but it'll cost extra."

Crow pulled out a large bag full of coin.

"Better to get it now than to deal with it later."

The man grinned.

"Coming right up."

He pulled out a set of chest and neck armor, along with something for the talons. Crow made sure to pay up front in case they got pulled into the wave suddenly. He also got a smaller, sleeker set of armor for a second bird, though he didn't name what kind it was. He was just surprised the man bothered to stock it.

(He would later find out that he had bought them from the slave merchants on the off chance Crow showed up.)

Crow paid well for the armor, and they barely had five minutes before the wave was about to hit when they put it on. The armor for the newly hatched bird and the one Crow was expecting to show up was stored in his special bag.

Talia still didn't know how the heck it could hold so much and still lay flat.

They waited while snacking on one of Crow's dried snack bags he had made months before coming to this world. Raphtalia had a real love of the things, which wasn't that surprising considering she was, after all, a raccoon.

Abruptly they were transferred to another town entirely and the sky darkened.

"Where are we?"

"Near Ryute, if I recall," said Talia easily. The recently hatched bird chirp from her bag, where it rested. It knew it wasn't big enough to do any damage.

"So what are we going to name our new feathered friend?" asked Crow, walking towards the town rather than the crack. Only a fool would head straight for the main opening without fortifying the civilians first.

Case in point, the other three Heroes went straight for the crack instead of the town. Idiots.

"How about Firo?"

The bird thing chirped, pleased.

"Firo it is then."

They made it five minutes before the first advanced forces hit the town.

"Raphtalia, you get everyone to safety while I deal with these idiots. Firo, you stay with her. I don't want you blasted by accident."

Firo chirped.

"Now to give these things a nasty surprise."

Crow began chanting in a fast, but clear tone while Raphtalia and Firo got the civilians to shelter behind solid doors.

Without much warning, he threw up the arm with the shield that morphed into a new form called "Magic's Embrace". It decreased the casting time and a small fraction of the mana it took to cast high-level spells...and made the weaker ones almost instantaneous. He could cast low-level healing spells with this shield and it wouldn't drain him more than a single point.

The wasps and other assorted monsters ran headlong into the barrier he had erected through pure force of will, and it became the magical equivalent of a bug-zapper. All the weaker monsters below level 20 were fried...and the strong ones had to fight to get through the shield at all.

He destroyed those with some fiendfyre.

"Are you alright?" asked Raphtalia...with a massive Ostrich-like bird with the coloring he had only ever seen in Fawkes...except where he was like the sunset, Firo was like the sunrise.

"Fine. Not like they could handle me after all the crap I went through before I came here. Think Firo could fit into her armor now?" asked Crow.

"The talon-guards, maybe. She grew pretty fast without much warning and it was a good thing she was out of my bag at the time," said Raphtalia, eying the bird.

"Making a magical monster-zapper will do that for you," said Crow with a mischievous look on his face. He pulled out the Talon-guards, which were more like magically enforced shoes for birds that could deal even more damage than a simple kick would account for, and Firo slipped into them.

Another added benefit was that the things gave her better traction, especially on slippery surfaces like ice.

"How are we supposed to make it to the battlefield in time? Firo has only hatched and grown up...I doubt she'd be ready to run us over."

"Which is why I got the other armor. Don't freak out about this..." warned Crow, before he held up the arm that didn't have the Shield and cried out a name. "FAWKES!"

At first nothing happened...then an increasing heat that felt like pure sunlight engulfed the area.

A cry Raphtalia had never heard before, but uplifted her spirit, rang out through the silent town. That was when she saw the bird.

"What is that?"

"Phoenix. Long time no see Fawkes."

The bird took one look at him and began to smack him on the head with his wing.

"Fawkes, you can berate me properly later. We have to deal with those things first!" yelped Crow.

The bird glared, but sat on his shoulder. It then seemed to notice his new arm decoration. He huffed, before plucking one of his feathers from his wing and dropping it on the shield. Then, to Crow's complete bafflement, allowed three large tears to fall on the gem.

'Phoenix Feather Shield now unlocked. Healing magic increased by 50 percent while active. Poison resistance up by 50 percent. EXP increased by 25 percent. Fire resistance increased by 75 percent.'

Crow stared at his shield, which now looked like a phoenix bursting into flames. This was a seriously useful shield, better than any monster he had added to it previously. It was even better than the shield he had gotten from the egg shell Firo came in.

Fawkes has now joined your Party.

"Firo, you keep an eye on the village. You can eat any of the monsters outside the barrier I erected if you're hungry, and I bet you are."

Firo made a happy noise, and Crow made a point to lower his shield just enough that it touched the monsters. Once they were clear of the piles Fawkes flamed them to where the army was trying to hold back the monsters pouring forth.

"Talia, you help the wounded to a clear area. Fawkes, you keep morale high. Don't bother with the Heroes, they need the experience if they're going to be of any real use next time," said Crow. Fawkes trilled in agreement. Nothing like trial by fire to get a measure of people's worth.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to have some real fun," said Crow with an evil grin. It had been far too long since he let loose and used his magic, and this was an excellent battlefield test of the spells he had learned since coming here.

The soldiers took one look at the Shield Hero's attacks, and immediately avoided the area. A few noted that shields suddenly sprang around them before they were attacked, saving their lives. It was easy to figure out the Shield had something to do with that, though the level of power it would take to make barriers that strong were ridiculous.

Unlike the other Heroes, who were just barely holding their own against the Chimera monster, the Shield seemed to have no problem dealing with mobs of them. In fact he seemed to be having fun while his companion made hit-and-runs into areas where monsters ganged up on the soldiers and took them out before helping to take the wounded to a larger group. And the bird, which was the color of sunset, flew overhead singing some sort of tune that lifted their spirits and renewed the energy they thought they has lost. It also seemed to cause the monsters pain, which was more than enough for them.

As far as the soldiers were concerned, the Shield Hero was more useful than the other three put together. At least he knew what to do in a real battle.

Finally the other heroes killed the Chimera boss, though they looked more worn for wear.

The Shield Hero turned his attention to the suddenly fleeing mass of monsters.

He cast a spell unknown to the soldiers, but the effect was pretty clear. Wide-spread destruction. A dragon made of flames roared, before charging the fleeing monsters. Whatever it touched turned to ash, until it vanished right before hitting the barrier.

The Shield hero paused and took a few deep breaths before draining a large mana potion dry. He looked particularly pleased about the amount of destruction...or perhaps it was the large kill count he had acquired.

He had done more damage to the attacking force than the other three heroes and their companions combined.

Then the Shield Hero looked for his companion.

"The wounded tents are this way. Are you going to try out your new Shield?"

"Might as well test out the Phoenix Feather Shield to see if I can't lessen their recovery time," said the hero with a shrug.

The bird landed on his shoulder, before making a series of odd trills.

"You can go tell Firo where to find us. I have the feeling I'll need your help healing the wounded."

The bird trilled again, before flaming away.

The Shield hero seemed to be looking for someone, before he found an officer ranked enough to give orders.

"Tell the men to burn any monster bodies they come across."

"Why?"

"Partly as a way to insure the blasted things are actually dead, but also as a reminder to the heroes that they should have fortified the village first. If I hadn't cast that barrier around the village and killed the survivors, there would have been heavy casualties from the advanced forces. I don't think they've earned any of the remaining parts for their weapons, do you?" said the Shield dryly.

The man blinked, before his face turned hard.

"They earned the Chimera, at least, but I agree they should have left at least one person to fortify the village. What are you going to do now?"

"I know some healing. If nothing else I can free those trying to save the wounded to deal with the more serious injuries while I take care of the minor ones."

The officer was relieved. If that odd fire bird could lift their morale while they were fighting, then who knew what sort of effect it's song would bring to those injured and in need of healing.

A philorial with talon guards raced up. It was almost full grown and the fire bird flew above it. The philo trilled before head butting the Shield hero lightly.

"Did you enjoy those monsters Firo?"

It trilled in pleasure, before head butting again.

"Do you want to help with the clean up?"

It shook it's head. It had eaten it's fill, apparently.

"Stay close to Talia then. And no kicking...unless it's the Spear hero or his idiot red haired companion."

The officer blinked at the odd command.

"What do you have against the Spear Hero?"

"He's more interested in sleeping around than training, and the 'princess' thought she could pull a fast one by claiming I assaulted her. Unfortunately for her, I could tell she was after something other than being part of my party, which was why I high-tailed it to the first town I could find away from the castle. Pretty hard to believe her claims when I was in another town entirely," said the Shield hero dryly.

The Shield Hero, who never gave out his name, walked into the field hospital and shifted the form of his shield. He looked at the fire bird.

"Ready, Fawkes?"

The fire bird trilled, and prepared to take flight.

"I am the path to the eternal flame. May this world be cleansed of all ills and pain. May the blessed fire heal the damaged flesh. Phoenix Fire Rebirth!"

Fawkes took off from his shoulder, and became a miniature sun as the Shield sent flames to him. From the bird came down what appeared to be fire balls at first...but every person these flames came into contact yelped in surprised, before realizing their pain and injuries were healing at an accelerated rate. Poisons and toxins were burned away, and what wounds there were healed with minimal scarring. And during the strange spell, the uplifting song of the bird spread through camp.

Then the song came to a slow halt, and the bird burst into a different sort of flame and neatly landed in the Shield Hero's hands.

There, sitting rather weakly, was a baby bird chick. It was a much younger, more exhausted form of the fire bird that had healed so many with the Shield's help.

There was only one fire bird that the mages knew of that could be reborn in flames.

The question was...where the heck did the Shield Hero get his hands on an adult phoenix that was that loyal to him?!