Chapter 5 – An Unexpected Situation
Night was falling upon our return to the capital. Naofumi and I said our goodbyes as he said he had to purchase some equipment for his companion, Myne.
My party searched for a suitable inn to stay the night. I was quite satisfied at the process I made today. I leveled up eight times, and I was now currently sitting at a nice and comfortable level 9. Not bad for a complete newbie. However, my companions that were at higher levels did not level up at all, probably because they didn't do much killing themselves.
After scouring the streets for the better half of an hour, I saw a sign that, according to Welst, read "General's Inn". We walked into the building and asked for their prices.
25 bronze per person, per night. Those prices seemed quite reasonable as the inn was quite nice. It had a nice, cozy feeling and a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with adventurers and traders exchanging information and telling exciting tales. The food was cheap as well, at the according to Welst, good price of 3 copper per person.
After wolfing down the dinner that we bought, which took at most a few minutes or so, we returned to our booked room. There were four of us, and we all had to share the same room, but we'd work something out. We agreed that Eda and Welst would sleep on the bed, and Rojeel and I would sleep on the floor. To be honest, I'd heard that back in the day some medieval inns made you sleep in stables or with dozens of other strangers in pungent and unsanitary rooms, so this was heaven compared to whatever that was like.
While I was trying to fall asleep, I finally realized that the "Help" menu was just sitting there the whole time in my periphery, and I never noticed. How silly of me! I decided to check it out and see what it contained. Although nobody ever read the help manual, unless they had no life at all, maybe there was something useful here. Since I was in a new world, every tiny piece of information would be vital to my success or survival.
It contained a ton of boring text, and not really anything else of interest for the time being. I did read into a few things though, such as weapon copy, which allowed me to remember any bow that I touched and re-create it later. Other useful information was information about the inventory system, how item drops worked, and some other stuff. One particular thing that did catch my eye, were the "Power Up Methods."
These were apparently ways to make my weapon stronger, and they were, in no particular order:
Rarity Power – Which meant that the rarer a weapon was, the stronger it is.
Ore Equip – Which meant that the power of the bow would be raised by equipping it with mineral ores. Each form of the bow had a limited number of slots to put ores into, and each ore boosts a different stat.
Item Enchantment – Which meant that items that were absorbed into the bow could be converted into energy, which in turn could be used to enchant the bow and would raise its stats. This wasn't guaranteed to work, and it was mostly luck based.
Job Level – Which meant that specific stats could be increased by using energy converted from monster parts or items that were absorbed by the bow, such as the Orange Balloon I killed earlier. Kill enough monsters and the level gauge would be filled, and the desired stat would be raised.
These power up methods were pretty cool and could certainly make me very powerful. I would certainly utilize these methods when the time was right, and/or when I acquired the materials necessary to use them. Just needed a way to quickly gain levels to collect carcasses to feed to my bow. Like really, what kind of dumbasses wouldn't use these methods? They were clearly around to allow lower leveled people to acquire stats far surpassing others of the same level.
After today, according to what the inn owner said, it'd be a good idea for us to go check out the dungeon on the outskirts of the town of Lafan. It wouldn't make us much money, but we could level up quickly. If this world was truly like an RPG, then I knew exactly where to farm. Dungeons are a must, and I should also do lots of quests for money. The guilds in these games were literal piggy banks, giving out a seemingly infinite amount of money for the most mundane of tasks.
After exiting the menu, I lay face down on the floor, exhausted because of the tiresome, though eventful day that I had just gone through. I shut my eyes and started counting sheep to help myself fall asleep, hopefully remembering to wake up early to meet Naofumi in the fields.
The next day, I woke up many hours before the break of dawn, just as promised. How I was able to do so, I did not know. I sneakily slipped past my slumbering companions, careful not to cause a sound, grabbed a small bag of supplies filled with food and water, and creaked open the door. After exiting, I then proceeded to quietly shut the door and tiptoe out of the inn, who's keeper was nowhere to be seen.
Cruising through the empty, lifeless streets and out into the pitch-black fields, I patiently awaited Naofumi's arrival.
What was taking him so long! Maybe he was busy with something? That could very well be the case.
Well, I couldn't wait for him all day. Might as well get ahead and grind some levels while I got the opportunity.
Sighing, I cruised about until I saw a creature moving far in the distance. Since it was still pretty dark, I couldn't quite make out what it was. Still, I decided to take a shot.
PHEEEWWW!
What did I end up killing?
Jogging up to the dead creature, I could barely recognize that it was a skewered porcupine. I pressed my weapon against the carcass and unlocked a new form for my bow.
Apparently, there was a bow form or everything. I'd already absorbed random stuff, including candles, paper and unfamiliar metals, and they all allowed for me to use distinct, though usually useless or extremely weak, new bows. I tried to shoot what Welst called a usapil with one, but it wasn't as effective as other bow forms I had unlocked, say an iron bow or something.
After quite a long time, with me continuing to cut through balloons and other monsters at an unbelievable rate, Naofumi finally showed up, sweating and panting. By this point, the sun was due to rise in a few hours, according to my observations. The hues of the horizon of this world were ever so slightly more beautiful than what I had experienced back home.
"Good morning, Naofumi!" I waved, motioning for the man to come this way. "What took you so long?"
"Er…well…I just overslept."
"Well, no time to waste. Do you want to start killing balloons? Make sure that you are a kilometer away, or not we can't gain XP."
"Gotcha. It might be hard to communicate from this far out, though. You sure that's alright?"
"Well, we don't have many other choices, now, do we? Let's get grinding!"
After separating with Naofumi, I began rapid firing at the balloons, my bow effortlessly popping them like darts at a birthday party. Dozens by dozens, hundreds by hundreds, more and more balloons began meeting their untimely demise. To my right, I could barely make out Naofumi beating up a balloon, barely whittling down its health after every hit.
Grinding wasn't fun, but it would pay off in the long run.
How many balloons did I have to kill to level up again? Ugh. Too many.
I kept cutting down even more balloons. Eventually, the message that I had longed for had finally appeared.
Level up.
The XP to next level gauge had reset to 0 after I had leveled up. Guess it's time to repeat the same process over again.
After mindlessly mowing down countless amounts of balloons, I only leveled up once more. Guess the higher the level, the longer it takes to level up, like in most games. To be fair, that was to be expected. Otherwise, everybody would have levels in the five digits.
In the distance, Naofumi was celebrating in glee. He presumably also barely managed to level up, though his level was still super low in comparison to mine as, you know, he can't attack. Maybe he could gain XP through other methods though. One example would be in Minecraft where a wide variety of things could grant you XP, such as mining, smelting and growing crops. Time would tell whether this hypothesis would prove true.
Well, this was enough grinding for one day. Time to check up on Naofumi.
"Naofumi," I yelled at him from the distance, slowly closing the gap between us. "Do you know much about the mechanics of this world?"
"Not at all!" He hollered back. "In fact, my help menu is really bugged! Is this normal? Did this happen to you?"
"No, not at all! That's hella weird. In that case, why don't I tell you everything I know about it? Since we're fighting for a common cause, after all, it would only make sense if we assisted each other. Besides, we're bros, right?"
"You bet! Thanks, Satoshi! I don't know what I'd do without you."
"No worries. Let's see. Uh…."
I proceeded to explain to Naofumi everything I knew about this world, from the mechanics to everything I read earlier in the help menu. I spend the better half of an hour explaining to him the most confusing bits of my current knowledge the best I could, though that proved rather tricky as even I myself wasn't that knowledgeable about such matters. I briefly explained the inventory system, which just seemed like a good old MMORPG feature, and I also went through what power-up methods were. I found out he didn't have any. Strange. I'd ask Motoyasu and Ren when I got the chance.
"Yo, Naofumi." I asked him after completing my rundown of things. "What was your life like before you were summoned?"
"It's a long story. Where should I begin? Well, I was a college sophomore, and a hardcore otaku. I was interested in games, anime, and otaku culture. This made my parents very upset, and they decided to focus their efforts on my little brother instead. He was way better at academics than I was. Due to the sheer pressure that he was experiencing, he, for a lack of better terms, cracked. You know what I mean, right?"
"Oh, definitely. My parents were hyper strict at first. It took a few weeks, but eventually I reached the top of my class through sheer hard work and determination. I'm actually surprised I didn't develop any mental problems during such a tenuous time period."
"That's tough, man. Glad you came through. So, as I was saying, I helped my brother become an otaku. His scores went up, and he passed all the examinations. Due to this, he got into a prestigious high school. My parents were very happy that I had helped him alleviate his stress and become successful, so they allowed me to experience a carefree college life. They gave me a monthly allowance of 10,000 yen, which I spent on a multitude of different things."
"Could you tell me some interesting stories about yourself?"
"Sure thing! Well, back when I was younger…"
We talked for god knows how long about basically everything that you could imagine. Life stories, hobbies, anime that only existed in each other's world, books, and jokes.
"So-yeah, we were taking a bunch of swigs, and after chugging like a few dozen beers I still couldn't feel a thing. Like, that is so ridiculous, don't you think? That amount of alcohol would have killed anybody else, and then some. After that, I never drank a beer again-hey! What are you guys doing!"
Before I realized what was happening, a group of what appeared to be Melromarc castle guards creeped up behind us and yanked Naofumi's arm. How did I let my guard down like that? We were having just too much fun!
"You will come with us immediately, Shield."
"Pardon me," I tried to compose myself, baffled at their rude attitude. "But for what reason would you need my friend to come with you?"
"The king has summoned him. He requests your audience as well."
That sure answered my question. However, why would the king want to see him so early in the morning? And what did Naofumi do that would warrant the king to seek him at such a time?
"Well," I sighed. "Can you at least unhand my friend and allow him to walk normally? We promise we'll behave ourselves on the way there, and we would like to hear what his Majesty has to say."
"That request is perfectly reasonable. Now, right this way."
Naofumi and I followed the guards to a horse carriage, and we were swiftly transported back to the castle. Throughout the town, I could see peddlers set up their stands on the sides of the road, some turning their heads to watch our convoy pass by.
Naofumi and I were ushered into the throne room, with spears pointed at us from the rear, and guards surrounding us from all sides.
Aultcray was sitting on his throne, as high and mighty as ever, with court officials standing on either side of him. Ren and Motoyasu's parties were standing in front of the king, and my party was there as well, seemingly baffled that I had left them and gone off. Myne hid behind Motoyasu as she was shivering in fear, fixing her gaze at Naofumi in a disdainful manner.
"Myne!" Naofumi asked, clearly confused about what was going on. "Why are you hiding behind Motoyasu?"
She didn't respond.
Motoyasu walked over and shoved Naofumi, causing the man to stumble on his feet. He gave off a piercing stare, that sent shivers down my spine. If looks could kill, Naofumi would be dead.
"You mean you really don't remember what you did?"
"What are you talking about?" Naofumi asked, obviously not knowing what was going on. "What did I do?"
Seeing enough, I placed myself between the two arguing individuals.
"Gentlemen, settle down. Let's wait and see what the king has to say before we jump to conclusions, alright?"
"Fine." Motoyasu spat. "Let's do it your way."
The two men backed up, agreeing to my proposal.
After this brief scuffle was over, Aultcray began his announcement with a booming voice.
"We will now hear the charges against the Shield Hero."
Charges? Naofumi committed a crime?
"Charges?" Naofumi gasped in disbelief. "What did I do?"
Myne clung onto Motoyasu's back, testifying while sobbing uncontrollably.
"L-last night the Shield Hero got drunk, burst into my room, and… and… f-forced me down against my will!"
"Huh?" Naofumi asked.
Huh? Naofumi's being accused of rape? This early on? Something didn't seem quite right. I knew that our party members were around level 20, and Naofumi was only level 2. Due to how stats worked in this world, it was literally impossible for a person with a level that low to do anything to a person with that high of a level if the latter resisted.
Even further, I knew for a fact that it would take a ridiculous amount of alcohol to get the man drunk. From what he told me earlier today in the fields, he never went drinking with friends because he could drink as much as he wanted without feeling a thing, while his friends would get hung over. Therefore, he just got bored. At this point, there were already two discrepancies in her story. Besides, if he truly wanted to commit such an act, wouldn't he need to be stronger and also be a bit further from the city in order to not be caught?
Myne continued to speak, ignoring Naofumi's words of disbelief.
"He told me that the night is still young, baby, while ripping my clothes off and…"
Myne pointed a shaky finger at Naofumi while she finished her sentence.
"I screamed as loud as I could and ran from the room. That's when I found Mr. Motoyasu, and he rescued me."
"Huh?" Naofumi questioned in disbelief.
This was a lot to process. I did not believe that he was capable of such an act. I mean, Myne seems to be pulling some things straight out of her ass. The level difference and the fact that Naofumi couldn't get drunk easily, that information coming from the long-winded story he told me, really sounded off some alarms in my head.
"What are you talking about?" Naofumi rebuked. "I went to bed right after we finished eating! None of this ever happened?"
"Liar!" Motoyasu screamed. "If what you're saying is true, why would Myne be crying like this? Besides, there's even a piece of torn lingerie on the bed!"
Strange. Why would Motoyasu defend Myne so fiercely if they had just met? I knew for a fact that the guy was easily lured by women in his past life, so maybe something of the sort had happened. Besides, a piece of torn lingerie could easily have been a set-up.
"Your Highness! This is truly a grave misunderstanding! I didn't do anything of what I've been accused, I promise! Please, bring whoever did do such an evil deed to justice!"
"Silence! Any act of sexual aggression committed against the citizens of this kingdom, will be punished by death!"
"But this is all a mistake! I didn't do it!"
"I had a feeling you would do this, you piece of scum!"
"What did I do?"
"I knew it! You were different from the rest of us! I'd never think you'd stoop so low."
"Satoshi, you're the law expert here! Got anything to say to this criminal?"
"Actually, I do. Your Majesty, may I have a word?"
"Yes. You may."
Taking a deep breath, I proceeded to make my point, in the most persuasive voice I could muster.