I do not own or maintain any rights to Rising of The Shield Hero they belong to One Piece Books and Aneko Yusagi. I am just playing in their sandbox for a minute.
Chapter 5: The Long Road Ahead
We left Erhard's shop and started making our way towards the main entrance to Castle-Town; on the way to the main gates, we walked past many of the small market stalls and open-air shops. The scenery was still so surreal to me, I was enjoying seeing all the people making their way through the colorful and diverse shops.
"We should keep an eye out for anything else that might be of use for us," I said to Naofumi as we strolled along the path.
"What should we be looking for? I thought we had almost everything we needed." He responded, looking at me curiously.
"Keep an eye out for camping gear, we need a tent, sleeping bag, cookware, rucksacks, and a simple butchers kit," I said, counting off the items and my right hand.
"Right, so look out for some kind of adventurers shop," Naofumi said, nodding now that he understood what I was talking about. He looked pensive for a moment before he asked, "Do you think we will be outside of town that much? I mean, we have almost 500 silver, we could afford to spend our nights at inns."
"We should conserve our resources as much as possible. Additionally, roughing it will help you learn more survival skills and level up quicker," I explained to Naofumi. "The military taught me to keep out of population centers and to stick to the wilds when stranded behind enemy lines," I said, scanning around us as we walked.
"Do you really believe we are in that much danger?" Naofumi asked, looking around at the people like he expected one of them to leap out and attack.
"Honestly, no, I don't, but I have a practice of preparing for both the worst-case and best-case scenarios. If you are ready for these two extremes, you should be able to handle everything in between." I said, elaborating on my thoughts.
"That seems like a wise way of going about it. What do you think is the best-case scenario?" He said, thinking over what I said.
"That I am wrong, and the king just has a personal dislike of you. That he is going to let us operate as needed to level you up and not try to intervene." I said, explaining what I hoped would happen.
"And the worst-case?"
"That the king hates you and is going to try to kill us off. We are talking about a man how could turn a force of thousands out on us. I fear he might even try to turn the others against us." I said, explaining what I feared might happen.
"Well, that is a depressing thought. What do we do if the worst should come to pass?" He said, looking concerned about the future.
"We run for it if it even looks like we are going to be hunted down we make a dead sprint for another country." I thought about it for a moment before I suggested where to flee to, "If that happens, I think we should try to get to Siltvelt." I said with my right hand on my chin.
"Why there?" He said, coming to a stop.
"It was founded by your predecessor; if the king hates you because of the shield's past, they should love you, or at least be welcoming to you. As an added bonus, they hate Melromarc. Logic stands that if we can get word to their government, they might even provide aid to us."
"Do you always think about things in terms of warfare?" He asked, innocently.
"No… yes," I admitted begrudgingly after thinking about it for a minute. "Besides, you stopped at the right moment, the shop we need is right there," I said, gesturing over his shoulder to the shop behind him.
As we approached the shop, I was able to a large selection of camping equipment and tools. The man behind the counter looked relatively squat and rotund. "Hail, shopkeeper, my associate, and I need a full complement of camping and survival supplies. Can you help us out?" I said jovially as I approached the counter.
"If you need wilderness supplies, you have come to the right shop, my friends! I should have everything you need on the walls behind me. What is your budget, if you don't mind me asking?", the squat man responded in good humor.
I leaned towards Naofumi to whisper to him, "What do you think? Should we try to conserve our money, or should we get the best gear we can while still getting two full kits?"
Naofumi pondered my question for a moment before he gave his response, "I think that if we are going to be outside the walls that much we shout go all out. I mean, the better gear we have, the better our odds, right?"
I nodded to let him know that I had understood before responding to the shop keeper, "We would like to get two full kits of camping equipment and butchering gear. Also, I would like to get a set of cooking equipment if you have it. In total, we would like to spend a total of 225 silver." I said kindly to the orange-haired man as I explained what I wanted to him.
He responded by scratching his chin for a moment in contemplation. Then giving me a soft smile before he spoke, "That should be more than possible sirs, it will afford you almost the best equipment money can buy. However, the packs you have to carry are going to be considerably heavy for new adventurers." He explained to us kindly. "However, sirs, if you have a filolial in your service, I can load it into saddlebags for you." He explained cheerfully for us while picking up premade kits to demonstrate their weight.
"Pardon me sir, but we are new to the area, what is a filolial?", Naofumi asked the man.
The shopkeeper looked puzzled for a moment before responding," Why they are the large birds you see all over town pulling carriages or with people on their backs." He hesitated for a moment before he continued, "How could you have gotten into the very center of Melromarc without knowing what a filolial is? He asked us, looking skeptical with his head cocked to the side.
Naofumi and I shared a look before we gave each other a slight nod that it was okay to be truthful with the man. "I am the Sheild Hero, and my friend here is the Spare Hero," Naofumi hesitantly explained to him. "We are trying to get out of the city because we are worried the others may make it difficult for us to hunt monsters," He said, deceiving the shop keeper.
"Why two of the heroes in my shop! Who would have thought!" The shopkeep shouted in excitement. "Why sirs, it is my privilege to help you on your quest!"
"We are grateful for your help, but please, sir, we are trying to be discreet; we don't want the others to get suspicious of us," I said, gesturing to the man to speak softer.
"Why, of course, sir, pardon my outburst. It is not every day that the most important men in the kingdom come in my apologies." The keeper said, sincerely.
"It is okay. I don't believe that we were overheard," I said reassuringly to the man. "I don't believe that I ever got your name, sir,'. I paused before offering our names, "I am Richard Willamson, and my friend is Naofumi Iwatani." I said, gesturing first to myself and then to Naofumi.
"I am Eustace Claremont," He said, giving his round chest an enthusiastic thump. "But where are my manners? Let me get your equipment ready for you!" he whispers shouted, gathering up our supplies.
"If I might ask where you are going to travel, I might be able to provide I recommendation," Eustace said kindly to us.
"We are planning to go to loot today," I told him honestly.
"Right, well, you should not encounter any powerful monsters if you stay on the main road there. However, I would recommend that you do not travel beyond Loot until you are both at least level ten. If you get the opportunity, try and mine some ore in the village. I heard that some monsters from the last wave made the mines their home. Naturally, the ore has increased in value considerably," Eustace offered helpfully, setting two large packs on the counter.
"Thank you, sir,' Naofumi stated with a smile, "How much do we owe you?"
"For everything I have here, it will cost you 150 silver. I have everything you need. You can get better equipment, but I would not do so until you have a steed in your service." Eustace said, passing us the packs.
Naofumi pulled the requisite amount of coin from his shield and slung one of the packs over his shoulders. "Thank you, you have been quite accommodating. We will have to investigate the mines you mentioned," He said, handing the money over.
"The pleasure has been mine sirs, I hope this equipment helps you on your journey," He said, giving us a cheery wave as we walked away from his shop.
We made our way out of the gates with a polite nod towards the gate guards and began walking down the road from Castle Town to Loot Village. We walked in silence for a few hours, just soaking in the scenery and enjoying the gentle morning breeze that blew across the open plains and fields outside of the castle. I saw Motoyasu fighting some creatures that resembled orange balloons in the distance, trying to impress the girls that made up his party. We walked for an hour after that to make sure we were well away from the others before we stopped for a break.
Naofumi was looking worn as he let his pack fall from his shoulders onto the ground. He took a handful of deep breaths now that he was freed from the burden of his pack. "How long have we been walking?" He said, reaching up to rub his sore shoulders.
"About three and a half hours," I set, setting my pack on the ground and laying with my legs crossed in front of me as I reclined on my pack. I saw Naofumi look a little dejected at the time we walked. "Don't worry about it; we are actually making good time. we should be able to rest a little bit before we need to go."
"I guess," he said, putting his legs out in front of him and laying back on his pack. "What is your plan?" He asked, trying to get comfortable.
"I think we should rest for a moment, have a drink, and then look for some monsters before having lunch and finishing our walk," I said, tossing him one of the canteens and taking a few large swigs from my own. He looked grateful for the much-needed water. "You can take a short nap if you want, I will keep watch for any unwelcome visitors."
Naofumi was out in mere seconds after I had told him it was alright.
'For a civilian, he has actually got decent stamina,' i thought scanning the surrounding area. 'Just how am I going to get him battle-ready though? I don't want to scare him, fear is not going to really do us any good in this situation'. As I thought about training Naofumi, I got caught up in an old memory.
I looked around hesitantly as the gray bus pulled up to the gates of Fort Benning. 'Okay, keep calm, these guys can smell fear.' I scratched my head as the bus pulled through the entrance and started down the road inside the training post. 'Remeber what Johnathan said. The best way to survive basic is to get through without any of the Sargents knowing your name, just do exactly what they say, and you will be okay. And, most importantly, don't do anything to make yourself a squad leader'.
The bus came to a stop outside of a building that had recruit barracks written on the side and large white letters. A large man stepped onto the bus has the driver pulled the air-brakes, making a loud hiss. The Sargent took a moment to survey the recruits with a feral smile that showed off his canines before yelling, "WELCOME TO FORT BENNING! OR HAS YOU WILL COME TO CALL IT HELL!". He was so loud that he made all of us jump in our seats and look startled up at him.
"I am Drill Sargent McDouglas! But you will only ever call me Drill Sargent unless you want to die!" He continued his feral smile as he looked at us. In a second, his smile disappeared, and he resumed yelling, " Whenever a drill Sargent talks to you, you will respond with yes drill Sargent! Now let's try again! Get your bags and get toes to the yellow line on the pavement!"
"Yes, drill Sargent!" We coursed frantically, grabbing the meager belongings we were allowed to bring and trying to run each other over to get off the bus. McDouglas was laughing maniacally while he watched this happen. I took what seemed like only a moment for us to line up outside the bus. After we were in a line, the other drill sergeants descend upon us. They systematically moved through the line like a wildfire reducing a handful of the recruits to tears.
"You with the peach fuzz! State your name!" McDouglas yelled only inches from my face.
"I am Recruit Richard Williamson drill Sargent!", I responded loudly over the commotion of the others.
"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, a recruit with a spine! You must think yourself a big man Peach Fuzz! A strong man! A grown man! Well, I got news for you! You aren't worth shit!" McDouglas hollered at me.
"Yes, drill Sargent!" I shouted after his assault on me.
"Oh ho, so you do have a spine! Well recruit since your the only recruit I have seen with a spine today you are going to be a squad leader!", McDouglas yelled, stepping back from my face. "I want you to take the three idiots to your right and get inside!", He said, pointing at the three idiots to my right in turn.
"Yes, drill Sargent!" I shouted, running down the sidewalk and heading for the building.
"Close those ranks recruits! Nuts to butts! Make your buddies smile!" McDouglas yelled at us as we made it to the door.
I let out a laugh as the memory of arriving at basic training at Fort Benning. I could see Naofumi's eyes flutter open at my laugh as he sat upright and stretched. "I don't think I have ever heard you laugh before. Something funny?" he asked, taking a swig from his canteen.
"Yeah," I said. "I was thinking about my first day in basic training.", I explained, looking off down the road.
"Why is that funny?" He asked, looking puzzled. I took a moment to explain my memory to him. He let out a howling laugh as I finished explaining it to him. "Oh my god, that's hilarious! How did you survive?" He asked, still chuckling at my story.
"The same way we are going to survive this," I said, gesturing around us. "We are going to take it one day at a time," I said, getting fired up.
"It's going to be hard. I can't help you at all in a fight, I can only act as your shield and block attacks for you," Naofumi said, looking forlorn.
"You know I have been thinking about that," I said, stretching out and coming to my feet.
"Oh yeah, how so? Do you have any ideas?" Naofumi inquired, getting up as well.
"Yeah, I do; I am going to teach you how to fight using the environment around you," I elaborated, gesturing around us at the world. naofumi looked at me quizzically, pulling his pack on.
"Okay. . . If you say so," Naofumi said softly, attaching his canteen to his pack.
"I do. Now let's go kill some monsters," I said fist-pumping in the air.
It did not take long for us to come along some of the orange balloons I saw Motoyasu fighting earlier. I raised a closed fist above my shoulder, bringing us to a halt away from the balloons. "You see those over there," I said, pointing them out to Naofumi.
"Yeah, they are low leveled balloons. You want to fight them?" He asked, looking a little hesitant to go engage them.
"Yes, I do," I said, " But more importantly, you are going to fight them," I said, looking at Naofumi. He sputtered like a car that got a firm hit of water and looked at me like I had lost my mind.
"How!? My punch on you literally did nothing but make a silly sound effect!", He said, almost yelling in fright.
"Try stepping on them, pick one up and bash it on the ground, whip it at a tree, through rocks at it, try ripping it in half using its mouth try anything and everything until something works. I have faith in you, Naofumi," I said, holding his shoulders in my hands and giving him a slight shake.
He looked still slightly afraid, but his eyes started to get a little resolve in them. "Okay, I will try!" he said, putting up a small fist pump. I gave him a fist bump as he turned to face the balloons that were coming closer, having spotted us.
The closest one lunged at Naofumi, and he threw his arm up to block it. Sadly he tossed up the arm that did not have a shield on it. The balloon sunk its teeth into his arm viciously. He looked like he was in shock as I lunged forward with my knife and popped the balloon that bit him.
"You okay there, bud?" I asked, waving my knife at the balloons to keep them at bay.
"Yeah, It bit me, but I didn't feel anything but a squeeze on my arm." He said, coming around and actually smiling. "I think my attack is too low to hurt them, but I think the same applies in reverse too!", he said having thought about it for a moment. "Step back, I want to try taking them on my own.
I looked back at him to make sure I heard him correctly, and he gave a slight nod in my direction. "Okay, I will not engage them again unless they start to hurt you," I said, quickly stepping backward from the hoard. The moment I got behind Naofumi, they all lunged at him and clamped on.
He didn't even flinch as they sunk into him. He whipped his arm around and plucked one off of his leg before he tried to punch it to death. Unlike when he hit me, there was no clang noise, but it only scuffed the balloon. Seeing that this was going to be ineffective, he then tried bashing it on the ground, this worked much better. After the third got wack into the cobblestone road, the balloon burst.
Naofumi jumped bolt upright with a shout. "I did it! I killed one!" he yelled in joy, dancing around with the rest of the hoard hagging of him. I started clapping in earnest happy that he got one.
` "Good job, Naofumi!" I yelled from the sidelines, encouraging him. I saw that the ballon he popped had left some scraps on the ground. "Hey buddy, you even got some loot!", I said, pointing at the scrap of balloon. He bent down to pick it up and examine it between his fingers.
"Do you think it is worth anything?" He asked, holding it up.
"Probably, Lets put it one of the bags and take it with us," I said, pulling one of the smaller bags out of my pack and taking the scrap from him. "You kill em, and I will collect the loot. We should be able to do this while we walk to Loot Village." I said, collecting the scrap the had stuck on my knife earlier.
"Right!" He replied, grabbing another balloon and grabbing one jaw in each hand and ripping it in different directions with his arms. The balloon's jaws stretched apart but did not give.
"Pull with your arms and your back, not just your arms," I said, seeing his efforts.
Naofumi nodded his understanding and gave an almighty heave on the balloon trapped in his grasp. With a loud battle cry, Naofumi kept the power on. And slowly at first, the balloon started to tear and then exploded outwards. With two halves in each hand, Naofumi raised his arms above his head and shouted at the sky, "Take that Motoyasu! I Am Not Useless!."
"You show em Naofumi! You can do anything you set your mind to!" I shout with feeling excitement for him.
We continued on like this for the rest of the day, Naofumi would get excited as he was able to kill the balloon scourge faster and faster with every kill. I followed on behind him picking up the scraps from the ground as they fell. We switched out after a quick lunch and filling our canteens from a stream.
It was a good practice session for me to get better acquainted with my spear. I practiced basic slashes and lunges at first. Has my turn wore on, I started to incorporate some basic twirls and dodges into the mix. I tried to get the tip of my spear to stay in as a consistent motion as posable. Without having to forcibly stop its momentum and change direction, I was able to take out balloons almost as fast as they appeared. After about thirty minutes of this pace, I stopped to look around and saw that there were no more balloons nearby.
"I think we got em," I said, tossing a grin back at Naofumi as I sheathed my spear.
"Well, I'll say! You looked more like you were dancing at the end there. I don't think you stopped killing them one after another for the last five minutes! How did you do that?!" Naofumi said with his jaw hanging open. Holding up the small bag we were using for loot to show that it was almost at capacity.
"Don't forget I am a trained soldier Naofumi," I said, taking a long drink from my canteen and stretching out for a moment. "We may not use a spear in everyday warfare anymore, but conserving energy and momentum is still taught. You want to try to fight as fluidly as possible.
"I will try to do so going forward," Naofumi said, taking my words to heart. "How much farther do you think Loot is?"
I pulled out my map and looked at it and the sounding area for a moment, "We should be there shortly, do you want to take point again?"
"Sure, I will take point," Naofumi said, passing of the loot bag to me. "Should I be worried about running into anything meaner than a balloon?" he asked, taking a drink and moving forward.
"The only other thing we should see out here is what Ernhart called a 'Pill Rabbit.' I think they are pretty much a more aggressive rabbit. If we come upon one try to break its neck," I stated while miming the correct motion for him a couple of times.
"Right, seems like the nicest way to do it," Naofumi said, sinking in on himself a little. "I just realized that not everything we fight is going to be a basic monster," he said glumly.
"Yeah, I don't think we are going to be that lucky," I said remorsefully. "Naofumi," I said, getting him to look at me, "If it should come to it and you have to fight or even kill another person to survive, you do it without a second thought." I could see him look a little put out by the idea. "Having to kill someone who threatens your ability to live or kill and animal to eat doesn't make you any less of a man. Believe me, it is not something you should want to take pleasure in, but if you have to do it, you do," I finished looking him in the eyes and eliciting a slight nod.
"Yeah. . . I can see what you mean. So to break a rabbits neck, you have to hold its body and head firmly and . . ." He gave a sharp twist with his hands.
"Yes, that pretty much it. Make sure you twist firmly and quickly. I figured you would rather do it more humanly then beating it bloody on the ground," I explained.
"Okay, will do," He said, resuming to walk forward.
We walked in silence for about ten minutes when it turned around to scan behind us, trying to make sure that no one was following us from the capital. I was just about to turn back around when I heard a soft squeak follow by a quick snap. I whirled around like a tornado with a hand on my knife, ready to pull it. When I saw Naofumi holding onto the body of a dead pill rabbit in his hands. I could see him look a little shaken for a moment.
He turned to look at me and said, "I guess we are going to be having rabbit tonight."
"Yep, I don't want it to go to waste," I said, quickly taking it and placing it in the bag of loot. "Don't worry, I am not going to make you clean it tonight, I will save that for when you are more comfortable with the idea. After all, I am a merciful God," I finished try to look as goofy as posable. I heard Naofumi gave a soft chuckle.
"You surely are Mr. I am going to make you carry a heavy pack all day and fight monsters," Naofumi said with a little color coming back to his face. "Thank you Williamson-sama, I needed that.
"Willy," I replied to him, "My brothers in arms call me Willy," I said with a smile reaching out and patting his back. "How about we stay at the inn tonight and strikeout in the morning looking for work around town."
"As long as they have to cook the rabbit," He said, looking pleased with the thought of not having to set up a campsite after a long day of fighting and walking.
"Deal. Let's finish strong Loot is right there," I said, pointing at a short wooden gate in the distance.
We walked at a good pace for the rest of the way. When we got to the gate, we spoke with the guard who directed us to the local inn and informed us they would be more than happy to cook the rabbit Naofumi had killed on the road. When we reached the inn, Naofumi spoke with the innkeeper to establish lodgings for the night while I went and handed off the rabbit to the inn's chef. After I finished that, I climbed the stairs to the rooms Naofumi arranged for the night to drop off the rest of our gear.
"Well, today was certainly eventful," I said to the exhausted Naofumi, who was sprawled out of his bed.
"Is it wrong? I am looking forward to eating that rabbit?" Naofumi said, sitting up with a yawn.
"No, I figured you would be hungry. I took the liberty of arranging a full meal for us, including some ale," Naofumi looked appreciative at me for doing so. Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a maid entered the room with a tray carrying the grilled rabbit and ale.
"Thank you, miss," I said as she dropped off the tray.
"It was my pleasure sirs, please enjoy your stay and meal, it is not every day we get adventures in our little town," she responded, departing with a wave.
I leaned forward and picked up one of the ales. "I propose a toast to our success today and to many more on the long road ahead," I said, acting dramatic.
"Here, here," Naofumi said, clanking his glass against mine and drinking deeply. "That's much better than I thought it would be," he said, looking at his glass.
I laughed at his surprise and started to eat the deliciously grilled rabbit. We ate quickly because of our hunger. We fell asleep even faster when our heads hit the pillows because of exhaustion from walking all day. I was looking forward to exploring the town tomorrow.
Hey everybody guess what? I am not dead! To be honest, though I am sorry it took two months to get this chapter out, I decided to take a few digital classes on writing to improve the quality of work I put out for you. I hope that the improvements have been worth it for you. Thank you for sticking with me during this mess! Oh, and before I forget I hope you all have a good time this holiday season!
~Sobe James