A Special Kind Of Magic

Chapter 2

Recording Shield Unlocked

Map Shield Unlocked

Communication Shield Unlocked

Computer Shield Unlocked

Crystal Ball Shield Unlocked

Introduction to Magic Shield Unlocked

Sweetroll Shield Unlocked

"Was that last one necessary?" Petra asked from across the table.

"I was curious, and it worked." Naofumi held his shield up, the metal shifting until it turned into the treat that he was absolutely loving. The moment he tried taking a bite of it though, he had a lot of trouble taking a piece off. "What's the point of transforming into food if I can't eat you?"

Reading the stats, apparently equipping it boosted his cooking skills. Damn he needed that, but apparently it only applied to making baked goodies.

Worth it.

The two sat together in one of the local diners that was also an inn having their lunch. Though Naofumi doubted a sack of hay was going to be comfortable to sleep on later tonight. They had ordered some basic food, Naofumi looking over the meal with some interest. This world had potatoes and cows, something consistent but there were a couple other things he didn't recognize for the flavoring.

Throughout the morning, Petra took him to a local magic shop where the best detailed knowledge about magic could be obtained. While Naofumi could have nabbed a copy of the books from the mirror dimension into his shield, it would have been a crime to just steal the work that wonderful old woman put into collecting it all. So, he spent four hundred silver on a fast variety of books that now littered the table around them. Plus a fancy crystal ball that 'read' his affinity.

Flipping another page in the book in front of him, Naofumi narrowed his eyes at the words as he couldn't find exactly what he was looking for. "Ok, I get the whole being naturally talented in certain areas of magic. Yet how does that permanently lock your ability to perform other spells?"

"It doesn't lock the other areas, you just can't perform spells you don't have an affinity for. Does magic not work like that where you're from?" Petra took another bite of her heavy meat dish, enjoying the current luxury.

"The magic I learned works everywhere, it uses the foundation of interdimensional reality." He then looked up, seeing a slightly confused expression on her face. "In short yes. Even if you aren't good at it once you understand the principles and practice it enough you can perform any of the spells. Some of them do require some special tools or ingredients though."

"So maybe certain people here have ingredients or tools they're born with?" Petra threw out, but regretted her decision when she saw Naofumi give her a hard stare. He was normally happy, care free, whatever she just did seemed to anger him greatly-

"You are brilliant."

Huh?

Naofumi grabbed a notebook, writing down more ideas, things he needed to look into, dozens of hypotheses. "I'm going to need to purchase some anatomy books and see the relation between the spirit and the body here."

Looking over everything he was writing down, Petra knew this man was a scholar but he seemed to struggle to understand the basics of their magic. There were so many familiar yet foreign concepts to him, but she could say the same about his magic.

Not needed to pull from your mana pool, incantations were unnecessary, interacting with other spirits, and integrating different planes of existence.

There was a lot to learn from him. Taking a peek out the window, Petra noticed a shift at the corner. Another shadow had been watching them, but Naofumi was probably so absorbed towards his task he didn't notice. Discreetly, Perta began to lean on her hand, rubbing her thumb on her cheek while holding up two fingers. It let them know she herself was a shadow already on this case.

They probably got concerned with her lack of reporting to them, and were certainly going to approach her tonight about breaking protocol. Ok, tell her how she should handle a hero who can leave at any moment and has already come with advanced knowledge in a different world of magic? That's not including the fact that he can detect them while only being level one.

Was his magic even affected by levels?

The door to the inn opened, gaining her immediate attention. Looks like the heroes and their parties were coming back from training. Swinging around at balloon monsters hardly seemed very effective, even if it granted them experience points. Her eye though, was on Myne, aka, first princess Malty Melromarc. There were concerns about her recent communication with the Three Heroes Church, but she had yet to reveal she was actively plotting something.

She was pointing towards them while talking to the spear hero, getting his own attention on them.

"Well, if it isn't runaway?" Motoyasu called out to Naofumi, approaching them.

He continued to write, looking back and forth between three different books in front of him while placing glowing marks with his finger on different parts of the pages. Finally Motoyasu waved his hand in front of the shield hero, getting his attention as he looked up.

"Oh hi there Mo...Motoso?"

"It's Motoyasu."

"Right. Sorry, bad at names. Listen I'm a little busy now but at some point I want to-"

The spear hero just held his spear forward, the weapon changing shape to a red version with glass running up the sides and to the tip. There was sand in it, flowing ever so slowly. "Figured out your little trick. Once we got sand from the Dragon Hour glass we found we could teleport to-"

"The hour glasses!" Naofumi pulled another book from his shield, opening it to a specific spot. "They're connected to the waves obviously, but how can they tell when they're coming? How precise are they? Damn I need to find one that's in a church I can access. Maybe a quick hop to Siltvelt and-"

The tall blond's shoulders sagged, the man obviously disappointed by the lack of reaction. He then noticed Petra, sitting there while peaking through her 'closed' eyes while taking a sip of her drink.

"Well hello there, I didn't think this book worm was going to find a party member so soon." He pulled up a chair, sitting down next to them.

"I'm not his party member. I'm just showing him around town." She corrected, her job demanded subtlety. Being the companion of the shield hero was the exact opposite. The only reason she was ok with being around him right now was thanks to his illusion spell.

"Sir Shield hero doesn't have a party member yet?" Myne stepped forward, appearing concerned as she looked at Naofumi. Key word appearing.

"That is depressing." Motoyasu sighed, pitying Naofumi. "How are you going to fight the waves if you don't get any stronger? Reading books isn't going to save the world."

"I don't want to fight the waves." Naofumi shocked them all as he wrote down another line.

Petra's gut fell, the shield hero was abandoning them. He just wanted knowledge and that's it. No wonder given everything he learned about this country, but to doom the world without his help?

"I want to stop them." The hero looked up from his pages, pointing his pencil at the spear hero's face. "We need to find out the root of the problem, not temporary solutions."

"Well duh, defeating all the waves saves the world. Simple as that." The spear hero corrected Naofumi.

"Then why do they keep coming back? These events keep recurring throughout history and all this world has done is accept it like a natural disaster."

Motoyasu was stumped, scratching his head as he really started to consider if there were other options.

"Well Sir Hero." Myne placed a gentle soft hand on Naofumi's shoulder. "Until you figure out a way to stop the waves we still need to be prepared for the threat they bring."

Petra didn't want to agree with the known liar, but she still did. After hundreds of years you would think that someone would have had the same questions Naofumi had and looked into it.

"In the mean time, let me aid you since you have no party members." Myne offered.

"Wait, you don't want to be in my party?" Motoyasu grabbed her hand, heartbroken over the notion that she was leaving.

"The Shield Hero needs companions to help him train." The redheaded girl gently argued. "He needs help, I have full confidence you can fight the waves with your own strength."

"Well, uh, in that case ok. But keep in mind there's always room for you."

"Of course."

Motoyasu got up, looking over to Petra. "The offer is open to you too. How does it sound? Fighting alongside the spear hero to stop the waves of calamity."

"Tempting." Petra blandly said before returning to her meal. "But I have other responsibilities I can't ignore."

"I understand." The spear hero bowed to her, grabbing her hand and leaving a kiss on it. She didn't even bother to watch the display. "I will await the day you answer my call."

"Hey Petra." Naofumi closed one of his books. "I think it's about time to check out some other places before they close."

"Are you sure? You seemed very deep into your studies." The disguised spiderwoman was right, Naofumi seemed focused on nothing else but learning about their world's magic since he got here.

"From my experience you have to let your brain digest the information. Besides, there's a whole lot more to learn about this world than just magic."

"Of course!" Myna smiled happily to the shield hero. "Then perhaps we can visit the finest blacksmith in town and get our equipment?"

"...Sorry who are you?"

"Oh, forgive me. I'm Myne, I look forward to working with you to fight the waves."

"...uh huh." Naofumi just nodded, still trying to remember when exactly this happened. Petra said nothing, slightly amused at how he dismissed her existence earlier. Though if he was going to be on the front lines it was extremely concerning how he ignored what was happening in front of him.

"Blacksmith, alrighty then. Guess I can ask about enchanted items and how relics are produced in this world. Lead the way." The shield hero held the door open for Myne and Petra, the two girls stepping out of the building.

"Um, excuse me." Myne spoke to Petra. "I can show him to where he needs to go. No need to waste your time here."

"Trust me, this isn't a waste of time." She lagged behind the two, keeping an eye on Myne.


"Tell me Erhard, this spyglass works how exactly?" Naofumi asked the bald burly man. All along the cobblestone walls were displayed weapons and armor that had been expertly crafted for their own purposes. Myna was looking at a sword while Petra stood in the corner with her arms folded, doing her best to simply blend in without making it obvious.

"Well, it uses magic to give you a run down on its materials, stats, and other fine details." THe blacksmith explained.

"Yeah but how is it using the magic? Is it a focusing point for a spell or does it have the preset structure ingrained into its frame?" The shield hero questioned further.

"The second." Erheard then took the top lens off and showed the back. "This part has optical enhancement contained in a rune marked ring that perceives the magic signatures the target gives off. The information is then translated along the sides of the frame, and then displayed in this part here."

"That is pretty clever." Naofumi held it closer to his eye. "Now does that only work with preestablished magic or can it decipher new things?"

"It's dependent on the magical knowledge of the user."

"So it has a mental link script or just running on the influx of magic of the user?"

"Geez kid, you sure are a smart one."

"I'm just happy to talk with someone who knows more than 'deciphering the laws of nature.'"

The two of them laughed with one another, becoming more familiar with one another by the minute. Maybe then chose that moment to walk up behind them and place her collection of items on the counter.

"We'll be purchasing these." She said with a slight twitch in her smile.

Naofumi pulled out the first thing, a very expensive and way too revealing two piece of armor with what looked like a matching pair of boots and tiara. He rose an eyebrow towards Erhard who held up his hands in defense.

"Hey, that was a custom order that got returned by their father. I don't make that kind of stuff unless I'm getting paid well."

"And I'm sure you are." The shield hero said teasingly before putting it it to the side. He went through more of the items, a set of leather armor a size too big for himself, some bracers with jewelry imbedded in it, and a skinny sword that could probably do some-

*ZAP*

"SON OF A BITCH!"

The sword jolted out of Naofumi's hand with a display of violent lightning, the hero holding his wrist and glaring towards the air.

Sacred Weapon Violation

"Sacred my ass! That felt like the wasps of hell decided to rape my hand!" Naofumi glared at the shield, determined to strip it apart as harshly as he could when he eventually sat down to study it.

Petra came over to pick up the blade cautiously, turning the weapon over in her hands. "It doesn't appear the weapon itself is the issue."

"Apparently the shield won't let me wield a weapon with the intent to use it as a weapon." Naofumi explained, selecting a few help icons. "I thought that meant actually trying to use it against someone but it must be reliant on how you perceive it."

The shield hero stretched his hand out to the sword in Petra's hands, closing his eyes as he clenched his fingers around the hilt. Slowly, he lifted it up and placed it on the counter with no resistance. He opened his eyes, relieved in not getting shocked. "At least I can hand them off, so long as I think of them as weight or a gift."

"So, are you purchasing it?" Erhard asked, stacking the items up.

"None of this." Naofumi then pointed towards the little spy glass. "But what's the price on those?"

"S-Sir Shield hero!" Mine placed her hand on her bosom, leaning down towards Naofumi while letting her…bust be more visible. "How am I to defend myself without good quality armor and weaponry? You also need to have some form of protection yourself besides the shield."

"We really don't." The hero then grinned as Erhard brought out two more spy glasses. "I can defend you, and you already have a sword. I can throw in some good enchantments to make what we already have top quality. No offense Erhard."

"I admit I'm taking some." Erhart folded his arms. "But if you find your magic not working as well as you hoped, you can come back to me for some quality stuff. I can even make some custom items that are adaptable to whatever enchantments you want to equip."

"You can do that?" Naofumi stood in awe at the skilled man before him.

"Who do you think made these?" Erhart held one of the items that Naofumi was definitely buying.

"Can you do cloaks?"


"Did you really have to buy three of them?" Petra asked as she walked behind Naofumi through the streets. Myne dragged her feet behind them, unable to keep up her cheery persona anymore from seeing Naofumi neglect her shopping needs.

The hero held up two of them in his hand. "One's for experimenting on, this one is to be reference to the original in case I make a mistake."

"And the third?"

"My own, no plans on taking this one apart." He smiled, putting them all in his shield for safekeeping.

Analysis Shield Unlocked

"That will be handy." Naofumi spoke to himself, reading over some of the skills granted by the shield. If this worked with his own magic, it should accelerate his studies the more he used it. Best to have it equipped for the day to earn permanent effects no matter if it was equipped or not.

Waving at the guard as they left the outer wall of the city, he didn't get the gesture back. Yep, faithful three heroes church member.

"Ok, so where are the-there they are." Naofumi saw little red triangles shifting through the grass. It was strange how quickly they had run into the monsters. Maybe this world already has enough issues and can't devote its resources to permanently stopping the haves.

Something jumped out of the grass, lunging towards him. His body moved through the training pounded into it, his hands smacking against each other, joining one another with spiraling energy around them, and then he held his fists in a defensive position. Two bright orange mandalas were sparking with dimensional energy, hovering in front of his fists.

Naofumi moved to intercept the monster, prepared to retaliate against….a balloon. He let the monster bounce off his conjured shield, the creature falling on the ground below.

"Is this a prank?" He asked his companions.

"Sir Shield hero, these are balloon monsters. They may appear harmless but they are vicious! Most adventurers who underestimate them fall prey to their numbers!" Myne warned, pulling out a fancy sword. It wasn't as glamorous as the one in the shop to her displeasure.

Naofumi looked back down, seeing it was now chewing at his ankle with no damage to him. He then looked up at Petra, who nodded in partial agreement with Myne.

"Fine." Naofumi dissipated his shields and pulled the little guy off his leg. "Let's see what we're dealing with!"

He chucked the orange balloon, letting it sail back into the grass. Naofumi smiled, seeing it got the attention of even more.

"S-sir Shield hero?" Myne asked with some worry, seeing him let the swarm grow larger from him constantly throwing the orange balloons away instead of popping them. Petra just watched in semi boredom, seeing that they weren't harming his high level defense anyways.

"Alright, that should be enough." Naofumi nodded, happy to see thirty orange balloons charging at him from the front. He put his index fingers at his elbows while crossing his arms. As he zig zagged them up to his hands, red arcs of lightning began to increase exponentially around his finger tips. Taking a small hop forward, Naofumi twisted his body as he shot his hands at the enemy. Fiery lightning that vaporized anything it touched launched at its targets, jumping from one monster to the next.

In one move, Naofumi wiped out the small army while leaving the smoke to rise. No fire spread, just instant transference of deadly amounts of chaotic electricity.

Myne stood there, dropping her sword at the display. "H-how. H-he didn't even u-utter an i-incantation."

"You're sure you're level one?" Petra asked Naofumi and started looking for scraps. There was nothing left of the monsters. She should probably let him know part of leveling up the shield and making money was collecting the remains.

"Not anymore." Naofumi smiled proudly. "I'm level two now!"

"I-impossible!" Myne shouted, holding her sword out in front of her. "Y-you can't j-just cast m-magic that s-strong at level one!"

"...you look like you need a nap." Naofumi saw how shaky she was, her frightful demeanor over his apparent display of magic. "Or a drink."

"Y-yes. A drink w-would be good." The crooked smile crept up her face, the woman lowering her blade.

"You need to level up." Petra told him, looking back to the black spots on the ground. "And to learn some restraint."

"I didn't start a forest fire." Naofumi grumbled, walking back with the two girls after just five minutes spent outside the capital. He decided to spend the time going over his shield, looking at more options and features it held. Maybe there was a way to access the source code through the menu? Like an admin login or a control panel.


"Hey, looks like the shield guy got a companion." Itsuki pointed over to Naofumi's table, where Petra was looking over one of Naofumi's notebooks and adding some of her own. Along with a few doodles.

"Isn't that Motoyasu's over there too?" Ren motioned to the redhead, who was drinking a rather large cup of wine while trying to get Naofumi to drink some.

"Oh yeah, heard she took pity on him because he only has a shield." The bow hero sighed, but didn't feel that way personally. It was obvious Naofumi started off with either some DLC perks or spawn items. Yet in the end he was stuck with a shield with no real way to attack.

"She's just helping him get on his feet." Motoyasu smiled to a waitress, who blushed slightly and came to refill their drinks. "Once he manages to get someone who's willing to put up with him then she'll be rejoining my party."

"So that girl isn't in his party?" Ren asked to clarify.

"Yeah, she was just showing him around town." The spear hero informed them, his eyes trailing at an exposed pair of legs walking by him. "Hope he carries his weight when the first wave hits."

"Technically it's the second wave." Itsuki corrected the spear hero.

"It's our first wave though, our first big fight." Ren clenched his fist, his eyes peering through his hair. "People are depending on us."

The other heroes briefly wondered if Ren was purposely trying to sound overly cool, or was just naturally edgy.

"Y-you're leaving?!" Myne held back a hiccup, slowly bringing herself back on her feet.

"Yeah, I prefer an actual mattress over a poky sack filled with hay or feathers. Seriously if someone has semi bad allergies they would be screwed." Naofumi stood up, grabbing his sling ring and about to open a portal.

"There's somewhere I wanted to take you." Petra cut in, grabbing onto his arm from her spot on the table. She wasn't looking at him, just staring into nothing.

The shield hero looked down at her, his eyes looking back to the window outside. "Yeah, sure thing."

Pulling a coin out of his shield he handed it to Myne. "Here, for your room tonight."

"You're leaving me?!" The girl whined.

"We'll be back." Naofumi promised as he followed Petra out of the place. "Though I don't know when."

Everyone watched as the hero left with the freckled girl outside, a stunned Myne sitting with her jaw hanging.


Outside the building, the two stood in a dark alleyway as Naofumi negated the illusion spell that Petra wore. Her skin returned to its pale color, her hair straightening as it turned to jet black, and her four spiderlegs returned to the material plane. She covered herself with her cloak, placing the pseudo masquerade mask on her face to hide her features.

They waited in place, not speaking to one another.

And waited.

And waited.

Until Naofumi was tired of waiting. "Hey, sneaky ladies two and three. I know you're there."

He folded his arms, waiting for them to come out. They still were too stubborn to admit they were caught. Without looking, he pointed at a dark corner just around the bend of the alley. "Sneaky lady two is there."

He then pointed at the rooftop next to a chimney with smoke coming out. "Sneaky lady three is there."

Petra nodded next to the hero, knowing they were watching. In what looked like some bullshit anime ninja stuff, two other women in matching outfits to Petra stood in front of them.

"Why are you with the shield hero?" One of them asked Petra.

"He spotted me."

"You should have reported that immediately." Sneaky two said.

"Are you going to report this immediately?" Naofumi asked them, only to get what he assumed were glares under those masks. "Right, shutting up."

Petra took in a short breath of air, bracing herself. "The shield hero has demonstrated magic never before seen in our world, and has requested aid in pursuing his studies in order to end the waves."

"We are not allowed to interfere unless the Queen orders it." Sneaky three said with some urgency. Which was weird to Naofumi, perhaps he was misreading things.

"I believe he can stop the waves." Petra argued, her own emotions starting to crack to the surface.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, you are to follow orders. You're coming with us to report directly to the Queen. There she can give you your punishment for-"

Ah hell no you sneaky bitches.

"For what?" Naofumi stepped in front of Petra, absolutely livid. "For helping me? One of the guys that your country decided to pluck from their home and strap a weapon on and say 'Alright, now go fight our battles with the only guarantee is some silver coins from us.' Oh and that's not including the fact that I'm perceived as the fucking devil here by at least a third of the population!"

The spider girl behind him was taken aback by how, furious the shield hero was right now. He always seemed like he was taking all his problems as a joke, or that they were easy to solve. All that stress of the world must finally be catching up to him.

"I think it's time I had a chat with the person in charge." Naofumi announced, grabbing his sling ring once again.

All the shadows flinched at that. "The Queen-"

"Needs to have a talk with the guy who can send all the heroes back if he doesn't get some damn good answers for all of this bullshit." Swirling his hand in a circle, a bright orange portal emerged in the air. "Now, let's go have a chat."


Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc, a beautiful woman with purple hair tied up in a bob with eyes a shade darker, sat down in her private chambers. The negotiations with Siltvelt went better than hoped. So long as they get their shield hero during the summoning things will go well. Her first daughter loved the spear hero tales when she was a small child, so Melromarc would be summoning that one. If only there was a filolial hero.

Starting to undo her overcomplicated dress, she began to let it fall down her shoulders and-

Her shadow became more prominent on the wall, an orange light increasing in the room. Turning around, sparks were circling in the air as a slight breeze came from whatever magic was here.

"Shadows!" The queen called out, four of her personal servants appearing in the room with various short weapons drawn.

The image became more clear, three persons waiting on the other side with someone in the center approaching first. As everyone prepared for the threat, they were more surprised to see him enter with his hands up.

What was more shocking, the three shadows behind him.

"We need to talk."

Myne sat on her bed, glaring at the bottle in her hands. This was supposed to be her chance, but that damn shield hero just kept ruining everything! First, he left before she could join his party. She had to talk to so many damn peasants to spread those rumors fast enough. Then when she did manage to join him, there was already some slut hanging around him that just mooched off him. Then he did some, dark magic to kill those monsters!

Worst of all, he left her, paid her no attention, and didn't care for her needs. What sort of man wouldn't provide a girl as beautiful as her?!

She growled, smashing the bottle on the floor of her room. Fine, if he was going to be a devil then Myne was going to deliver hell to him.

"THAT IDIOT!" The Queen smashed her fists against her forehead, screaming into the air.

Naofumi just sat on her bed, surrounded by much more patient women that stood next to him. Seven shadows all with emotionless expressions watched the Queen rage, throwing things around in the room.

While the sorcerer was pretty pissed earlier about everything, once he saw that this was not the Queen's plan he couldn't help but feel like his anger wasn't as justified as hers. Still justified, but let's let one person be angry at a time.

Petra moved her head to the side to avoid a vase, the object shattering into tiny bits.

"What am I going to do?! We JUST made our plans with nearly every kingdom in the world!"

Patting his hands on his legs, Naofumi glanced to see if the others found this just as awkward. Nope, just him, ok.

"This...this will lead to all out war. How, how are we...we'll be too busy fighting ourselves to combat the waves."

"Unless we stop them." Petra spoke, the shadows slowly turning their heads towards her. The Queen paused her rampage, locking her eyes on the servant.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" She hissed the words out. "We can't fight the waves."

"Not fight, stop." Naofumi got up, weapons pointed back at him by the other shadows. Ignoring the violent tendencies these girls had he held the shield forward. "The waves, these weapons, everything magic isn't just chalked up to 'magic.' There are rules, pathways, sources to any of it. If we find the source of the waves we can find a way to stop them, permanently."

The Queen straightened the messy strands her hair, fixing parts of her dress that had come loose in her rampage. "Shield hero, while your spells are...unique, generations this world has fought the waves time and time again. While I am putting my trust in you seeing as how you came directly to me with my own servants, this is a task that none have been able to succeed at."

"The waves, they really take up that much to hold them back?"

"We just survived the first one, everyone has taken heavy tolls."

Naofumi looked back to his shield, guess he would have to play by their rules a little more. "Ok, how about this. While I'm looking for a way to end these twisted disasters I'll prioritize my ability to fight them."

"You are taking a lot upon your shoulders, more than we expect any of the heroes to fulfill." The Queen was right, but honestly, he was probably going to have an easier time than others.

"I have the advantage of carrying my knowledge and training here." He showed off, producing a small string of symbols roll over his arm. "I'm no good at politics, but I am skilled in magic studies and application. Try and keep the world from falling apart, and I'll keep it safe."

"For how long?"

"Just to the next wave, I should have produced enough results to keep them satisfied to make it to the next. Maybe by then I would have figured out what's causing all of this."

The royal woman contemplated his offer, pacing around the room as she thought out what was being given to her. "I'll see what I can do. Can you bring a shadow to report to me bi weekly or in case there are other...immediate developments?"

Naofumi gave her a short bow. "Of course, but I do have a preference for which one." He smirked as he looked back to Petra, the girl seemingly confused by, oh hold on that wasn't her. Dammit they're all the same height and are wearing the same things. "You know what I mean."

"I prefer them to be an observer, instead of being directly affiliated with you. I do not want you influencing their report."

"Dang."

"However, you still need a reliable party member." The Queen agreed with him. "Very well, but I wish to speak with her and the others first."

"How long will it take?" Naofumi raised his head.

"No more than five minutes." She assured him.

"Alright, be back in five." Creating a portal, Naofumi vanished out of their view to who knows where.

Once he was gone, the other shadows grabbed Petra and forced her to kneel before the queen. The girl gave no resistance as her hood was thrown down, her mask slapped off her face. Petra was indifferent to the treatment, knowing this would happen.

"You have broken your oath." The Queen walked up to her, looking down on the spiderling. "Are you prepared to pay that price?"

"Yes."

"Since things have not completely fallen apart, I will show mercy to you. The shield hero truly is a forgiving one."

Petra's head shot up in fear, but another shadow's hand forced it back down. "Please, I only live to serve you no one else!"

"You were one of my best." Queen Melromarc fondly ran her hand through Petra's hair. "Eliminating those who were stirring up trouble, squeezing your way into some of the most secure areas, you were reliable for so long. But the moment you were caught you abandoned your purpose to waltz around town."

"I only did what I thought was best for you, please don't." Petra's eyes began to water, her vision becoming blurry from the tears taking up her sight.

One of the shadows grabbed Petra's hand, holding it out as another brought out a rod of iron with a symbol at the end. They stuck it in the fireplace nearby, the metal glowing with heat.

"You are no longer fit to serve under me, to carry out my will, your authority to act in my name, all of it will be removed." The Queen was handed the branding iron with glowing runes along the surface, the woman giving one last look to the poor girl. "Petra, The Black Widow, you are no longer my shadow."

*SKSSSS*

Petra didn't scream, or cry out in pain, she just hissed along with the burning sensation that dug into the back of her hand. Her fingers spasmed as the hot iron dug past her skin, reaching to her bone. Once it was removed the shadows let go of her, letting her coil around her hand on the floor.

"If you want to find new purpose, serve the shield hero well." The Queen gave the brand back to a shadow, who hid it in her cloak. "He obviously is attached to you now, and I can't change that."

The spidergirl didn't reply, just shaking in place as she held her crying inside. Everytime her lungs shuddered, it jolted her torso as if she was about to vomit. One of the other shadows leaned down, wrapping Petra's hand in a bandage to hide the new wound for when the shield hero returned.

The Queen turned away, unwilling to watch the scene any longer. It was hard running a country, and sometimes you had to get involved with unsavory things. Her shadows needed to be absolutely loyal, always doing her will no matter what. This was a lesson to the others, that deviating from the rules was not tolerated. She needed to regain control over things, her negotiations, her country, and now her family.

With one motion of her hand, all but one of the shadows disappeared. Looking in the mirror, she quickly fixed herself back to be more presentable but still made sure she appeared distressed. Right now she needed the other countries to know she did not make the call to summon all four heroes, and work with them to make things right relying on their sympathies. With one final twist of her hair, she left Petra alone with a single shadow.

There was a world to save.


Petra herself had stopped shivering, staring blankly at the bandage around her hand. She was nothing before the queen, her earliest memories were in a cage. When the shadows caught the slavers that happened to have a captive royal with them, they slaughtered the traders. Petra wanted to be like them, and when given the chance to be one she made it her life to be the best servant for the Queen, for the sliver of good in the world.

If Queen Melromarc rejected her, did that mean she was bad?

"Get up." One of the shadows lifted Petra up on her feet by her shoulder. "The Shield hero will be back soon, and it would not be kind to her majesty if you sullied her image."

Message was clear, the crest imbued into her wound would alert the shadows if she still acted against the Queen. It was similar to a slave crest, only having prewritten rules in it and much harder to remove.

Petra didn't look up as the portal came into the room, Naofumi entering and looking around confused. "Where did everyone go?"

"The Queen has already gone to relay the news before the other leaders are informed of King Melromarc's actions." The shadow relayed.

"Hm, makes sense." The hero took notice of Petra's lack of shadow attire, the spider girl back in just her tanktop and pants. She did not look very happy, but then again he never really saw her smile. "What happened to the outfit?"

"Since I am no longer serving as a shadow-" Petra's voice was back to near monotone, hiding her true emotions at the moment. "-and instead your companion, the uniform was no longer appropriate."

"It was hard to tell you from the rest when you covered your features." Scratching his cheek, Naofumi glanced back to the portal and back to Petra.

"Anyways we should get some rest. This has been a rollercoaster of a day, technically two." The sorcerer went ahead, Petra slowly following behind him as they walked through the portal.

She didn't really know where he was bringing her, but it hardly mattered. Not like-coldcoldcoldcold.

"Shit, sorry forgot that you're not wearing a blanket anymore." Naofumi quickly guided her through the snow.

Where were they? Why was it snowing? Looking around it was a forest covered in at least six inches of frozen flakes, the trunks of the trees painted white, or was that natural? He was guiding her up stone steps to a two story wooden cabin with smoke coming from a round metal chimney. There were glass windows with drapes inside keeping the contents within hidden. The structure was built on an angle, yet stood straight with a balcony looking over the trees to the lake that she could barely make out through the gentle storm.

Naofumi opened the door, the warmth hitting her as they entered. It was rather simple, the ground floor having no walls beside the exterior. To her immediate right was a bed, and to her left was a kitchen with a metal oven and a large metal box. Though she couldn't understand the strange silver appendage with two knobs that stuck out over a basin built into the counter.

Lanterns built into posts in the center of the cabin didn't flicker, just continuing to provide bright light. Past that was a living space with a round couch that surrounded a table, a bed that was bent in the shape of a couch rested to the side. At the back was a fireplace, the only familiar thing here. Over said fireplace was a strange staff, no, spear? Petra couldn't make out the purpose of the long dark cylinder held in a frame of wood. A trigger mechanism rested on the bottom of the object, right in front of what she assumed was a handle.

There was a very steep staircase that was more like a ladder to the left, leading up to the second floor that only stood over the kitchen half of the building, letting those who would be above get a view of the fireplace. It was rather cozy here.

"Here." Naofumi approached, no longer wearing his brown robes but a tan jacket with a white button up shirt, blue jeans, and boots. He held out a steaming cup of brown liquid to her with white things floating on the surface. "Hot chocolate."

She accepted the gift, gently pressing it against her lips. In one sip the cold that had penetrated her body earlier vanished. The warmth of the beverage giving her life from the inside.

"This is a family cabin, no electricity but still has gas powered stove and fridge, running water with a boiler, and good insulation." He took a loud sip, smacking his lips as he overly expressed his love for this 'hot chocolate.'

"I thought this would be a good first step to see a glimpse of my world before you discover the wonders of electricity and the curse of a slow internet connection."

"This is, your world?" Petra asked as she looked around. There was only one bookshelf and it was short, hardly like anything she would expect of his residence. Nothing seemed magical besides the odd lamps, but they seemed more mechanical in nature.

"Yeah." Naofumi smiled, taking another swig of his drink before going to sit down at the round couch. "Well, this is a copy of just a piece of my world. Here we don't have to worry about anyone else bothering us."

He eyes his shield that was still stuck to his arm, and out of curiosity he plucked one of the white things from his drink and dropped it on the gem. Then poured some of his drink in.

Marshmallow Shield Unlocked

Hot Chocolate Shield Unlocked.

"Neat."

Petra joined him, sitting beside him on the couch as the fire crackled in front of her. No one could bother them here he said, there was nothing else. No responsibility, no slavers, no waves, no monsters, just a cabin in the woods.

"There's a washroom over there with soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, and some 'lady essentials' I had a fellow trainee help pick out.." He pointed towards the backdoor that Petra thought was an exit. "You can take a shower for however long you want. Spare blankets and pillows are in those chests there, and there's two guest beds upstairs."

He then finished his mug rather quickly, depositing it in the metal basin in the kitchen counter. "I'm going to do some studying, surprise surprise. Try and read up about the history of the weapons."

Yet after he brought the book out of his shield, he laid down on the bed near the front door and took off his shoes.

"Um, shield hero-"

He was out, already asleep. Sleep sounded really good right now.


"Hey, time to wake u-" Naofumi almost got speared by a spider leg to the face as he stood over Petra's sleeping body. Ok, probably wasn't the best idea.

But Petra was already moving out of her blanket, awake and alert at a moment's notice. "What's the plan for today?"

"Meet up with Myne, go find a good place to level up, see where we're all at skill wise, and then we can head back to town for supplies." Naofumi was back in his brown robes looking over her. Petra was still in her last outfit, not having need to wear anything else in a long time.

"Can you perform your illusion spell?" Petra asked, smelling something burning.

"Yeah, but after breakfast." Naofumi sniffed the air. NO! Not the pancakes!

He sprinted over to the kitchen, taking the pan off the stove as wisps of smoke rose from it. "It's ok! They're still good! Should have tried that cooking shield with it. Although…"

Burnt Pancake Shield Unlocked.

Damn you, no need to add insult to injury.

Petra looked over the food that was over the small dining table. There were thin strips of crispy red meat, fried eggs, and the stack of 'pancakes' with bowls of fruit to the side.

"Well, enjoy." The hero smiled to her, dumping the burnt pancakes in the fireplace.

Using the simple utensils, Petra actually found herself enjoying the meal. Yeah it wasn't necessarily good cooking, but there were some new flavors she never experienced before. 'Syrup' on the pancakes made them taste ten times better. Naofumi liked using 'hot sauce' on almost everything, but when she asked to try he only gave her a small drop of it. Petra thought he was insulting her, until she had to spend the next five minutes drinking milk to get that hellish substance off her tongue.

Once their morning routine was over, Naofumi showing her what the toothpaste was after having forgotten to explain the toiletries last night, they were ready to set out. Petra now appearing as a human girl.

"Ok, back to the inn." He summoned a portal to the area, the comfy cabin in the snow now left behind. It was still early morning, the rays of the sun bleeding through the window and lighting the empty area.

Naofumi walked to the front counter, ringing the bell on it.

"One moment!" Someone called out, making their way to the front. It was a middle aged man with stubble across his face, one of the employees here.

"Oh, how can I help you shield hero?"

"Hey, we were wondering where Myne was? Redhead girl about this tall? We were going to head out and-"

*SLAM* "HALT!" A group of knights rushed forward, pointing their weapons at the shield hero. "You are to come with us at once!"

"You can ask nickel-"

"SILENCE!"

Naofumi was taken aback by their very angry attitude. Sure he knew there was some bias against him, but for it to be this harsh?

"What should I do?" Petra asked, taking a loose stance.

"Let's just play along." Naofumi held his hands up, the guards grabbing them and slamming heavy chains on them. "Ok, not where I thought this was going."


Naofumi was thrown into the throne room, the young man rolling with it and just sitting on the ground in chains. Looking around, there was a lot more animosity towards him than last time. Geez they weren't upset that he tattled on the queen now right? They shouldn't have even been able to get any kind of word back yet. It was at least a week's journey from here to there.

The King was giving him the hardest glare of all, the three heroes positioned by his side with Myne in the arms of the spear hero.

Petra walked in, standing behind Naofumi with a worried gaze as she saw their situation.

After seeing no one speaking, Naofumi decided to go first. "This is probably just a big-"

"SILENCE!" The King roared.

Sweet, now he knew how to get someone talking. All he had to do was talk, get interrupted, and things would be explained. Well partially before he would have to ask deeper questions.

"I gave you the benefit of the doubt, despite your lack of respect and ignoring our cause." King Aultcray clenched his fist. "Yet you have committed the worst crime of all hardly a day being here."

Naofumi looked over to Myne, his eyes widening. Everything started to click into place.

"You clearly know why you're here." The King growled. "Did you think you could get away with it?!"

"You're Malty Melromarc! First daughter of Queen and King Melromarc!" Naofumi would have smacked his forehead, but he was currently 'wrapped up.'

Heh, wrapped up.

The King's eyes now twitched, Myne hiding her surprise further into Motoyasu's arms.

"Her?" Ren asked, pointing to Myne.

"Yeah, she was in the book I was reading when we first got here." Naufumi then looked over to Itsuki. "You saw it, it was like some character guide for this world that summoned me here."

"What does that have to do with anything?! You raped Myne!" The spear hero yelled as he clutched Myne's body tighter.

"Because if you read it you'd know she's a pathological liar. That's why her younger sister will be taking the throne instead of her." Naofumi then started to stand up, only to sigh as spears were placed near his neck.

"Really?" Itsuki put his hands against his hips. "Then you wouldn't mind sharing this book?"

"Sure, as long as I get it back."

Hesitantly, the bow hero started to step forward only for the King to throw his hand out to stop him. "You accuse my daughter of lying, yet you have yet to bring up any evidence against your accused crime!"

"Glad we're ignoring the whole innocent until proven guilty thing." Naofumi rolled his eyes. "Fine, what about Petra here? She's been hanging around me since day one."

"That's right!" Myne broke out of Motoyasu's grasp. "He threatened her outside my room that if she said anything he would do the same to her!"

"No he didn't." Petra simply denied. "We went to a cabin."

"Guards." King Melromarc pointed towards her in compassion. "Take her somewhere where she won't have to be in the presence of the devil anymore."

"I wouldn't do that, she won't like it. I think?" The shield hero looked over to see two knights approach Petra. When one put their hand on Petra, she snapped her fist up, bending the metal and breaking the poor soldier's arm.

"GAH!"

"Holy shit!" Motoyasu cringed, seeing the twisted limb.

"I swear I didn't know she was that strong." Naofumi was now really glad he wasn't speared in the face earlier.

"Restrain her!" The King ordered, now slightly disturbed by the girl's lack of reaction to the scene. A few more guards came running towards her, the girl jumping onto one of them and crushing their helmet to trap their head in it. She then leapt over and kicked another in the chest, the amor bending around her foot as the man was sent crashing into the opposite wall with cracks splintering around it.

"Petra! While we can both agree you're badass I don't think this is helping!"

As Petra was throwing more guards around, even grabbing one by the ankle and using them as a blunt weapon, Myne saw the bandage on her hand. She then whispered to her father, who's eyes widened at the news.

"Shield Hero, command her to stop this instant!"

"Fine fine, Petra cut it out! You break another guy's arm I don't think I can talk us out of this!"

Petra jumped away from the knights, landing on a column that ran to the ceiling. Her fingers barely had a grip on the ledge, but she seemed perfectly fine chilling there.

"So it's true, you did make her your slave." The King said with pity for the girl.

"Wow, you think just because someone's on my side they're my slave?" Naofumi huffed.

"Is it true though? Is she your slave?" Ren narrowed his eyes at the shield hero.

"Of course it's not! Holy shit can we stay on topic here? Pretty sure I was accused of rape and we're still trying to clear that up!"

"QUIET!" King Aultcray took in a deep breath, putting as much hate into his gaze as he could at the man in chains. "The reason she cannot testify against you is because you made her your slave, using a nearly unbreakable crest under those bandages."

Naofumi looked over to Petra, who held her bandaged hand closer to herself. He thought she just got a scratch somewhere and wrapped it up. Was she really a slave? Definitely not his, he would know.

"Guards, remove the bandage."

"Don't." Petra warned, leaning down into a crouch with one hand in front of her.

"Shield Devil, order her to remain still!"

"She's not my slave! Petra has free will!"

"Then let us examine her!"

"That's up to her not me!"

"If you won't order her to remain still and if she resists we will assume she is your slave!"

"It doesn't work like that!"

"SILENCE YOU DEVIL!"

Motherfucker this was getting nowhere. Naofumi reexamined his chains, seeing that they cuffed his wrists but not his fingers. Damn, he really didn't want to bother them so soon but honestly things were getting really hairy.

"Word of your crime has already spread throughout the capital, and soon the whole kingdom." King Melromarc announced.

"So this was never a trial!" Naofumi lashed out, glaring back at the man.

"Not one you were going to win!" Motoyasu shot back. "These girls will get their justice!"

"It's not a trial because that trash king already declared my verdict before it began!" The shield hero pointed at them in his restraints. "This is an execution to my name!"

"You deserve far worse." Itsuki spat.

"Kid, I'm willing to share that book I was talking about with you to show Myne is a known liar. Hell I have memory spells that we can use to see who's lying about all of this!"

"We will not use your dark magic!" That stupid king told him.

"Then how about we get a witness that everyone will listen to?!" Naofumi slipped his fingers into the sling ring on his belt, starting to conjure a portal.

"STOP HIM!"

He needed to get her over here, otherwise his options for helping this country were going to run dry. The guards around Petra kept their distance, the girl glaring at them between the locks of her hair at the many weapons pointed at her.

"Charger Spear!"

*SCHLICK*

Naofumi felt the air escape him as he smacked against the ground, his head smacking against the tile. There was a weight pressing down on him, more accurately in him. Looking to his left, a golden spear had pierced through his left arm and into the side of his chest. That didn't look good.

Petra jumped over the guards surrounding her, kicking the one nearest to Naofumi at Motoyasu. Her eyes widened as she looked over his wound, blood soaking into the robes. The sound of heels clicking against the ground broke the silence, someone entering from the other side of the portal.

The disguised spiderling dared to look up, only to immediately regret it.

The Queen of Melromarc stood in the throne room.

King Melromarc's words felt thick as he tried speaking "I-is that you my sweet-"

"Somebody heal him!" She demanded as Naofumi continued to bleed out under her.

"Y-yes ma'am." One of the guards dropped their weapons, using what support magic they knew.

Yet the spear disappeared, suddenly opening up the injury all too suddenly. Naofumi coughed blood as it began to run into his lung.

Motoyasu stood confused when his spear reappeared in his hand. His weapon coming back to him was common, but the woman before him was a mystery.

"My de-"

"If I find you're behind this you will be executed." The Queen warned her husband in a grave voice. "Your actions have not only jeopardized our relations with the other kingdoms, but the safety of the entire world."

"You." She pointed towards Petra who was crouched frozen under her. The Queen had spotted the bandage, quickly deducing the girl's identity. "Patch him up."

Hovering her hands over Naofumi, strands of spider silk started to reconnect the separated flesh on Naofumi's body.

"Um." Itsuki came forward, becoming pale at the sight of blood. "Who are you?"

The Queen looked over to the boy, judging him with her livid eyes. "I'm the true ruler of this kingdom, Queen Melromarc."


Ok, guess we're having some dark moments. BTW no ruler can stay completely clean, especially in a medieval society. The price of being the most trusted soldiers is having the worst punishments. I don't know why I ended up getting so serious, but maybe some part of me wanted to have some kind of character subplot to work with later on.

As you can see, we're doing a big canon divergence. Let's see how much shit these folk get themselves into.

Amy grammar mistakes please point out and I will fix them ASAP.

Let me know how well you like it and if you want to see more.

RedBurningDragon:

True, but we won't deal with any big players like that. It works since Naofumi is far weaker than Doctor Strange.

123coldsunishere:

I only watched the anime and I'm making my own reasons for the waves.

BlazingVictini09:

Ley lines are a concept from ancient civilizations, that's what I was referring to. No Fate here, especially since I haven't seen any of it.

Kisame Hoshigaki:

We will see her in the future.

drmcgraw186:

I have my own explanation for the waves.