"Where is that Spear Hero?!"

Malty was getting rather impatient very early this morning. She had already tipped off the guards that the Shield Hero had attempted to rape her and that she barely escaped his clutches. The next step is that she would give everything she had taken from him to the Spear Hero, all while clinging onto him like he was her life-line and simultaneously seduce him into being her pet for a time.

It had all gone according to plan... Up until she found out that nobody could find the Spear Hero anywhere in the city. No matter how thoroughly the guards tried to comb the city to gather the heroes before the Shield Hero was brought in, he never turned up. Even her friend Lesty didn't know where he was; she claimed that she was kicked out of his party due to "not fitting with his standards" or something like that.

This put Malty on edge, wondering if he somehow overheard her conversation with the Church of Three Heroes nun the night before… or if he was shirking his duties as a Cardinal Hero.

Regardless of the reason, she knew she had to make his life miserable somehow as payback for this inconvenience. Until I can come up with something, I'm just going to have to cry to my father. The Bow and Sword Heroes have enough brains to figure out my ploy if I just went to them with things like this, so it's best to play it safe.

It's not like the Shield Hero will have any allies left in this world anyways. Malty's face changed to a sadistic grin as she pushed her plan forward. Besides, I'm sure a certain elite guard wouldn't mind getting all of these… "gifts" from me as well.

Chazon flinched awake when the first rays of dawn managed to slip through the cracks of his tent right onto his eyes. His first instinct was to either roll over or move to a spot where he won't be as bothered by light, but he knew he had to get up; who knows how long the monster repellent will last.

After changing back into his plate armor, and noting that the bloodstain from his leg injury had dried, he checked how much time was left on his monster repellent. Enough time to quickly make breakfast and pack up before moving on. I'm far from a morning person, but circumstances have changed. I no longer have the luxury of being able to sleep in willy-nilly.

He cooked up more Usapil meat and forced it down before taking one of the jerky rations he bought from Castle Town and chewing on it in between bites to give himself a shot of flavor he actually liked. He made a mental note to look into fishing, since it would allow him to cook up tastier meals even when using bland monster meat.

Once all of his camping supplies were packed up and put back into his "active inventory", he went hunting for various medicinal plants and herbs while taking out any monsters that got in his way. His status magic could also tell him if a particular plant was of a certain quality while he was touching it. A shame I can't look from a decent distance to tell the quality, but I suppose I'll have to find a way to upgrade my status magic for things like that.

Chazon figured out a basic system for gathering plants: If the quality was too low, he'll leave it alone under the assumption that it's either underdeveloped or requires more time to attain better quality even when fully grown. He also left a few higher quality ones alone, doing it out of courtesy for his fellow adventurers since they most likely need to gather them for various purposes as well.

He did see some other adventurers wandering around as well, but he overheard something about a rape accusation that went on in Castle Town and how everyone is in an uproar over it. He didn't like the sound of it at all and was full glad he decided to get practice camping early on.

As he explored the plains around Castle Town gathering and hunting, his status magic alerted him to the fact that he had gathered a full stack of materials in his material inventory. Checking it, he noticed that he already has over 99 Orange Balloon scraps, with yellow and red scrap numbers not far behind.

"The heck? Am I just being lucky with the number of scraps I'm getting, or have I already fought that many?" He quickly noted that he was talking out loud to himself and shook his head. I can't already be losing it… I know humans are social creatures by nature, but I've been by myself for longer periods of time than this.

By the time the sun was beginning to set, Chazon noted some rather mean looking clouds rolling in, more than likely for rain. As such, he decided to wrap up exploring for the day, though he would hold off on the monster repellent to get more exp while waiting for the rain. He was on the verge of level 5 despite the low exp rewards.

Naofumi had been venting all of his frustrations on the orange balloons all around him for some time now. No matter how hard he punched, he could only do a pitiful amount of damage to one of the easiest monsters to kill.

Ever since he was dragged into the castle in his underclothes for accusations of rape after finding out he was robbed of nearly everything, he had a lot of pent up rage and hate for this world. Especially for the red-headed bitch who had so severely stabbed him in the back just because she could and it was within her powers as royalty.

After finally popping his fifth balloon, he noted a small campsite near a river and some trees. Everything screamed at him to simply ignore it since it would just be another person willing to backstab him, only to stop himself short when he saw Chazon exit the tent, remembering that he was getting practice camping early on.

Naofumi balled his fists in anger. That bitch was friendly and kind up until she pulled the rug out from under him. Who's to say that Chazon was any different with his friendly, yet self-defeating comments just being a front. That he'll turn his back on the Shield Hero just like everyone else in this world. To think I called you a friend...

Despite screaming at himself to leave, Naofumi found himself approaching the camp anyways.

Chazon was putting the final touches on his tent when he heard someone approaching. Looking up, he saw someone he wasn't expecting to see. "Naofumi! How have you-"

"Save it, I'm not interested." Chazon recoiled at the harsh cut-off, his heart slowly growing cold. It was only after looking into Naofumi's eyes did the cold take over fully.

There was once compassion, kindness and warmth in the shield hero's eyes. Now all that remains were eyes full of distrust, loathing, and coldness, like he had cut his heart off from everyone in the world.

Chazon shook his head in a panic. "What happened to you? Why are you like this?"

"HAH, wouldn't you like to know." Came the dry reply. "Perhaps if you'd chosen a later point to start this whole "camping" thing, you would already know what I've been through." Naofumi pointed an accusing finger at Chazon who flinched. "Was our friendship worth so little to you that you abandoned me right from the start?"

"B-but I told you ahead of time that I would be doing so-"

"AND, while you were having a jolly good time out here without a care in the world, I got robbed of EVERYTHING I owned, accused of rape, and treated like I'm lower than the dust on everyone's shoes." Naofumi growled, his hate slowly getting the better of him. "What do you have to say to that? WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE FOR ME LIKE A REAL FRIEND?!"

Chazon said nothing as his stance changed. He didn't have a rebuttal to anything Naofumi has said or could say. For all that has happened, the Shield Hero was correct.

Eventually, in a pained voice, Chazon simply said, "Nothing… I've got nothing… to say for myself…"

After a moment of silence, Naofumi scoffed. "We're done here… permanently." He started to walk away from the camp, intending to vent his newly built-up rage on more Balloons.

"Wait." The Naofumi turned, intending to shut Chazon down before he could speak, only to catch a coin bag that was thrown at him. "You'll... need that more than I will. Use it to get back on your feet. Everything in this camp is yours as well."

There were 300 silvers in the bag. Half of what that trash king gave him when we started. Shaking his head, he thrust the bag back at Chazon. "I don't need your charity or your pity."

"Then pay me back when you can. You're fine with that.. right?" Chazon's response was low, but not in the aggressive way. "Just know that I… I still believe in you. That you're the one who's going to shine above the rest of us…

"That you're still a good person."

Naofumi scoffed again, but put the bag away. "Fine. If that is everything, then I'll be on my way. If we meet again, it'll be too soon." He walked away after that.

Chazon said nothing as he watched his former friend walk away before leaving the campsite to return to town. His walk was slow and purposeless, with nothing quickening his pace. Not even an orange balloon chomping at his hand and actually hurting his unarmored palms changed his pace, nor the rain that had started to drizzle.

Eventually, he dropped to his knees in the middle of the slowly muddying road, the raindrops on his face hiding the tears that had begun leaking out.

He's right… I called him my friend, but I did nothing to prove it… nothing to solidify it…

Nothing to protect it…

He slowly spiraled down the despair in his own mind as he looked to the grey skies above.

Can't even protect my own friend in his greatest time of need… What kind of hero am I?

…

Worthless…

Useless…

Weak…

Weak...

Weak…

Getting back on his feet and finally killing the balloon that was making his hand bleed, Chazon knew that the only thing left for him now was to simply level grind for the wave. He had no party to speak of, though nobody would want to party with such a useless hero, and he lost his only friend since coming to this new world.

The only way to make up for it was to successfully fight off the waves. Even then… it may never fully make up for my failings…

When Chazon made it to the Castle Town gates, the rain was already in full swing. The guards near the entrance inquired about where he was, but he simply said that he was just level grinding and had set up camp outside of town, though circumstances had brought him back.

As he walked through the rainy streets and into a tavern, he already heard talk about how Naofumi was a rapist and scum of the earth. Chazon desperately wanted to stop them from saying anything bad, but knew that it would never stop. Once rumors start circulating, they're impossible to squash effectively.

After ordering the cheapest dinner set and eating, ignoring all the looks he was getting due to his bleeding hand, he headed towards Erhard's smithy. He didn't know what he was going to do once he arrived. Was he looking for better insight on what happened or just looking for comfort from someone he knew?

Even though the smithy was near closing time, he entered it anyway. Erhard's voice boomed out, "Welcome! We're almost closed up, but take your time to dry off and-" He stopped himself short when he saw Chazon. "There you are, kid! Where were-"

"E-Erhard…" The blacksmith saw how red his face around his eyes were, his bleeding hand, and the mud on his armored knees. "I-I don't know w-what I should d-do…"

"Gods, you look like a mess! Let's get your hand looked after-"

"No… I'm fine… It's what I deserve after all, considering I… failed to protect my friend…"

Erhard put two and two together and realized that Chazon had a bad run-in with a hate-filled Naofumi. "Kid, don't beat yourself up for something out of your control."

"B-but if I had been there, then Naofumi-"

"It wouldn't have changed anything." Chazon recoiled at how blunt Erhard was being, even now. "Rape accusations are taken extremely seriously in Melomarc. Shield Bro is lucky to have kept his head after being accused of that, especially by the first princess, who had disguised herself as the adventurer that joined the shield hero if I recall correctly. All that would have changed is you getting dragged through the mud with him."

"Myne was…?" The Spear Hero was horrified to learn that Myne was not only royalty, but also the one who ruined Naofumi. Despite that, he shook his head. "B-but then he wouldn't be all alone…" Even with new information, Chazon saw being reviled as being better just so long as he could show Naofumi that he believed in him enough to go down with him. To think that I allowed her to join him...

Erhard sighed at that. "It still wouldn't have helped him much. Give him time to sort out his feelings and I'm sure he'll recognize that you still believe in him. For now, let's get you sorted out. I'd rather not have one of my favorite customers bleeding to death at my doorway."

Chazon let himself get dragged to the back, where his hand was bandaged. After some time, Chazon had calmed down enough to let out a sad sigh. "Why am I always the one everyone goes to yell at?"

Erhard looked over with a mixture of concern and curiosity "I highly doubt you've pissed off enough people to get that treatment in this world, so I'm guessing it happened a lot in your old life?"

Chazon nodded pitifully. "My own father admitted to me that I was an easy person to vent to no matter what topic. However… the first time it ever happened…" Chazon trailed off, wondering if he should be opening old wounds like that.

Erhard gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Talk to me about it, kid. Maybe you'll feel better if you vent about something yourself. It's unhealthy to bottle things up for too long." Especially for you, considering how much it kills your self-confidence…

"It's more like an old war wound on my mind but…" Chazon paused to gather his thoughts and prepare himself for the painful memories. "I've had plenty of friends in my old life and I treasured all of them. However, they sometimes start yelling at me for no reason whenever the stress of their own life gets too much. There are times I can calmly counter them and help them calm down faster, but more often than not, I just take the verbal lashings in hopes that they feel better afterwards."

Chazon shook his head before Erhard could speak up. "I wasn't always like that, though. When I was younger, I had a dear friend that I practically did everything with. The school that I went to considered us unofficial brothers due to how close we were.

"But some things were never meant to last. After coming home from a family holiday one day, he blew up at me for not being there when he needed me the most."

Chazon breathed in shakily. "I… had a very nasty temper when I was younger. The moment my friend started ranting at me, I lost it on him." Tears began gathering in his eyes again. "I said some… incredibly cruel things to him, things that should never have been said. Before long he was the one cowering from me before running away in tears, declaring that we were never friends to begin with."

Erhard began to understand why something like this so deeply affects Chazon, but the spear hero wasn't done. "The next few days, nobody saw or knew where he had gone. His seat was empty in school and it became a lot more lonely for me. So much so that I wanted to buy him a gift as a way of apologizing for what I had said, that I wanted to be friends again."

Tears finally started rolling down Chazon's face again. "I… found out that day… he had committed suicide… and while nobody said anything, I knew…

"It was all… my… fault…"

Erhard gave Chazon a hug, fully understanding why he had such low opinions of himself. When you feel directly responsible for someone taking their own life, it makes you feel like you died inside yourself like a part of you also committed suicide.

It was also why he just rolled over and took Naofumi's verbal abuse. He didn't want to ruin any chances of the two reforming their now tattered friendship.

After some time, Erhard broke the hug and looked at Chazon square in the eye. "I understand more than you think, Chazon. You felt so at fault that you never again gave yourself any credit or high opinion of yourself. But killing yourself over this… over anything out of your control won't do you any favors. It won't ever bring your friend back." Chazon nodded pitifully. "But what you can do… is live your life how your friend wanted you to live it. He wouldn't of wanted you to slowly kill yourself over things like that, I can tell."

Chazon was silent for a while longer before laughing sadly at himself. "That's… what my mom always said to me as well." Drying his face, he nods at Erhard. "But even so... Thank you for your words. They mean a lot to me."

"As long as you understand. Just remember that I'll be here to lend an ear if things get too difficult." Erhard gave him a once over with his own status magic. "At least you're making decent headway with your levels."

"Yeah, though I'm at something of an impasse in regards to that. Everything I have been fighting doesn't give worthwhile exp anymore, so I'm wondering If there's anywhere that could give me more of a challenge."

"Give yourself some time to recover first. Come to me tomorrow morning and I'll tell you where you can go." Chazon nodded at Erhard and gave him a silver. "What's this for, kid?"

"Payment for the bandages and your time. I probably shouldn't be throwing my money around willy-nilly after what happened to my savings, but it's the least I can do."

"Did you get robbed?!"

Chazon shook his head quickly. "No. I gave 300 silvers to Naofumi under the impression that he needs it more than I do. I also gave him all my camping gear, so I need to buy new stuff tomorrow."

"Let me guess, he wouldn't accept it unless you accepted the fact that he will pay you back?" Chazon nodded and Erhard decided to hit a certain nail on the head again. "He might not show it or even acknowledge it now, but I'm certain he's grateful for your kindness. He'll come around, I know he will."

Chazon nodded and said his goodbyes before leaving the blacksmith for an inn. While telling his story to Erhard did take a good amount off his chest, he still couldn't help but feel guilty over not being there for Naofumi. When he went to sleep, he was plagued by nightmares from his past life.

Some hero I am...

After going to purchase more camping supplies, a couple more HP potions to replace the ones he used yesterday, and even a fishing rod for whenever he camps by a river, Chazon went back to Erhard's place for the information he was promised.

"Now, since the monsters most commonly found in the plains and fields aren't sufficient for you, I'd suggest heading closer to one of the forests nearby. They've got some Forest Dire Wolves, Treants, and Murderous Crows for you to test your mettle against."

Erhard gave Chazon a hard look. "You're almost level 5 right now, yet some of these creatures average level 10 with some being even higher, so you'll need to be extra careful. In addition, I've heard that a powerful monster has been seen wandering some of these forests that's at LEAST level 15, so stay as far away from it as you can; it's killed a few parties of adventurers already. If you see it, just run."

Chazon nodded, mustering as much determination as he could to see his role through. "Got it. Hopefully I can go in, deal with what I can, and get out before things get too dangerous."

Erhard nodded. "And don't bother paying me for this information. Not only is it common knowledge, but you already gave me a silver last night. That's enough payment for me."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to drop by before the wave starts to update my equipment. I might have to come in before then for repairs or replacements, though." Chazon looked at the spots in his clothing under his plate armor that was stained with blood from monster attacks.

Erhard nodded at that. "I'll hold you to it. Damaged armor is little more than glorified scrap metal or cloth after all and I'd hate for one of my favorite customers to have to drag himself into my shop half-dead. Who else am I supposed to shake down for money?" Chazon let out a mirthful laugh at that before bidding the jolly blacksmith goodbye.

Once he put his mind to it, Chazon noted that the trip to one of the nearby forested areas didn't take long even with interruptions from Balloons and Usapils. In fact, he reached level 5 before even stepping foot in one of the forests.

Alright, I'd best stay frosty. I'm probably in here a lot sooner than I should be all because I chose to go solo for a while.

I wonder if this is how Naofumi feels…

Chazon shook those thoughts out of his head. He had just gotten rid of his self-depreciative thoughts of himself back at Erhard's place, he didn't need to have another one so soon, especially in a dangerous area.

Almost right on que, he noted a wolf monster a fair distance away, which was one of the Forest Dire Wolves Erhard mentioned. This one is level 8, so it shouldn't be too bad to fight.

The wolf noticed him and immediately moved to attack. Chazon barely had time to dodge out of the way, but when he righted himself, the wolf was almost on top of him again due to the difference in agility. He decided to stick his spear in the wolf's trajectory after it leaped at him again, leading the monster to getting skewered by the force of its own jump.

It wasn't done yet, though. Slowed down by the injury it decided to try rushing in for simple bite attacks. Now that Chazon was more acquainted with how the wolf moves, He was able to kill it with one decisive blow to the head.

The exp notification showed that he was definitely getting more here than on the plains. I need to be more careful, though. If I was any slower, my face would have been bitten off. We're not in the beginner areas anymore, because this world is showing how it plays for keeps now. Carving the corpse for materials, he pressed on.

Armed with more than one type of experience from the fight, Chazon searched for more monsters. He also encountered Green Treants, which were typically level 9 or 10, so he avoided them for the time being. The Murderous Crows, while level 8 like the first Dire Wolf, were nowhere near as strong. Their only strong suit is their speed and ability to fly, making them annoyances at best that weren't worth much exp wise.

Chazon fought until he retired for the night, using the monster repellent that he forgot to give Naofumi when he allowed the Shield Hero to have all of his previous camping gear. He had only reached level 6 during the day, due to him making sure to properly learn the movements of the monsters he had fought thus far.

After Chazon reached level 7 the next day, which took longer than he'd care to admit, a level 10 Treant decided to pick a fight with him. While the monster was slow, it could attack from a distance by burying its root-like limbs into the ground and having them rapidly come up around Chazon to attack. He fell for it the first time and promptly got a shallow gash down the back of his legs which were only partially armored, but the rest of the hits actually deflected off his plate mail.

Killing the Treant after quickly downing an HP potion was no small task, either. Unlike wolves and crows, Treants didn't have an overly obvious weak spot and their hides were akin to tree bark and wood. Guess I'll just have to brute force it!

Stabbing attacks turned out too risky when his spear got caught in the wood and almost took a hit for it. Slashing with his spear turned out to be more optimal, though when he saw something akin to a heart in the Treant's body, he thrust his spear at it as hard as he could, finally killing the creature.

Killing a monster 3 levels above him gave him another good chunk of exp towards the next level. Eyeing the corpse, he didn't know what would be considered useful materials so he just cut what he could to store in his material Inventory. He fought at least two more Treants, five more wolves, and a murder of Murderous Crows, which put him just over half-way to level 8.

Noting the setting sun he decided to set up camp where he was, grateful the monster repellent he still had would suffice even in a more dangerous area. Once he was situated, he decided to read up on his help guide page on Refinement Smelting.

From what he could glean, he can upgrade a weapon form to increase its stats by using various ores found either by random monster drops or by mining. The process will increase the stats of a weapon, though there is a chance of failure. If a smelting is ever failed, the smelting level zeroes out and he loses any stat gains gotten up to that point. Feels like a risk vs reward system. Plus... it feels familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. I wonder if Naofumi knew about this already.

Chazon's thoughts turned down when he thought of the Shield Hero again. Erhard seemed convinced that Naofumi wouldn't stay that way forever, but Naofumi had stated that their friendship was permanently done for after he was done yelling. At this point, he didn't know who to believe in regards to that.

Letting out a depressed sigh, he cooked and ate some of the wolf meat he has gathered during his expedition today. While it had plenty of sinew, it somehow held a better flavor than the Usapil meat. Afterwards, he Smelted his spear with the one ore he had found in his inventory and managed to increase its attack.

As some of the Forest Dire Wolves started howling at the moon around him, which had covered the screams of a young girl crying out for her parents in her dreams, he went to sleep. Praying that he can rebuild his friendship with Naofumi one day.

I know you can't hear me, but I want you to know: if you ever want to be friends again, even if we weren't as friendly as we were before, I'll be waiting… no matter how long it takes.

"We're doomed! If nobody can help us, our village will starve to death!" A young man in his late teens cried out despairingly as his stomach rumbled. He was one of three people in the dark alleyway behind the Adventurer's guild.

The man in his thirties sighed. "We posted our request on the board at the adventurer's guild, we've gone around asking for help… there's little more we can do."

"We can't give up yet!" The red-headed girl in beginner adventurer gear cried out. "We need to keep trying, for everyone back at the village!"

The older man shook his head as he looked at her. "Rino, You've tried the hardest out of all of us to try and get help. But at this point, we need to face it. We'll have to go back to Lurno Village empty handed; we've barely gotten by here with what you made as a solo adventurer. It would be wrong to keep relying on you here."

Rino deflated at that. "But… but we need to keep trying…"

"Perhaps I can help you with that, degozaru." The trio looked at the speaker in surprise, who looked like a shady figure dressed all in black and a mask.

"W-who are you?" Rino tried her best to put on a brave face, despite only being a level 3 adventurer.

"Merely someone who's master has shown a great interest in your plight." The shady person, who couldn't be identified as either male or female, brought out a sack of silver coins and threw it towards the trio. "Use that sack as your reward for completing the request you posted. It includes useful information on the location of an artifact that can help you save your village, degozaru."

"Y-you'll really do that for us? Oh, heaven's be praised!" The young man said, falling to his knees in relief.

"BUT!" The tro stopped in fright. "The location of this item is a very dangerous location, much too dangerous for normal adventurer's to retrieve it." The figure made it poignant to motion towards Rino, who whimpered. "Who you need is a hero. Specifically, the Spear Hero that was summoned here a while ago, degozaru."

"B-but we haven't seen hide nor hair of any of the Cardinal Heroes since we've gotten here!" The older man stuttered. "Our companion here has even been looking for help outside of the city while leveling up and she has had no luck."

"Relax. The spear hero is set on the path of claiming a bounty that will require him to come here, earliest possible time is tomorrow afternoon. You can plead your case to him when he comes around, degozaru."

Rino put her hand on her heart. "Perhaps… Lerno village can be saved after all…"

"I must make one more condition before I go. Speak not a whisper to anyone else about this deal or I will rain retribution down on you, degozaru." With that, the figure disappears into the shadows.

Shaking his head as he grabs the sack of silver, the older man looks to Rino. "I suppose we have little choice. Rino, take the earliest possible carriage back to Lerno Village tomorrow and inform the elder what is going to happen. The both of us will stay here and see if this person is right. If the Spear Hero does come to the guild, we will do our best to persuade him."

Rino wanted to argue, but she knew it was the smartest move. She was no longer needed at Castle Town if a Cardinal Hero would help them. "I understand." With that, she exits the alleyway with her companions.

Little did anyone know, the entire conversation was heard by an unrelated third party. "Take advantage of what I'm doing, will you? Perhaps I can spin even this to my advantage. The Spear Hero might gain even more confidence in himself if everything falls into place." With that, the cloaked maiden vanishes as well, making plans to "coincidentally" meet with Rino before she leaves.