Sorry about the gap. Turns out I had poor timing with my attempt to return to this story in regards to my normal life. I had gotten a new job at the tail-end of last year and just recently we have to work 6 days a week for tax season (before anyone says anything, it's made up for in the summer where we only work 4 days a week). As a result, I had a hard time trying to remember to upload this. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter!

In the Queen's tent the next day, a modest-sized round table was set up in the middle of the room, barely big enough to have a large map unfurled completely on it. Sitting around it were the four Cardinal Heroes and the Queen of Melromarc. Mirellia had called all four heroes together to not only have a proper talk about things regarding each other, but to also strategize on how to deal with the Church of Three Heroes.

It started out with some awkward silence. Not because nobody wanted to speak, but because nobody knew what to speak about. It probably didn't help that the table was a tad cramped for everyone.

Eventually, Mirellia sighed. "Perhaps it would be prudent to start by telling everyone everything we've been doing since you four were summoned here."

Opposite to her, Chazon slowly nodded. "Probably the best place to start. I'll go first to catch everyone up on what I've been doing." He got a round of nods from that.

Summarizing it up as best as he could, Chazon went through what he had been doing for the past 4 or 5 months since he started on his journey. From letting his "volunteered" party members go, to the Cyclops Mauler and the result. He described the Alchemist's Cave, Lerno village, what happened before and during the 2nd wave, and the time spent in Lerno raising up his party members.

Eventually, he mentioned that he was attacked by the church after leaving for Lute thanks to someone recognizing that he had Rifana and Kardia at the time. What sent chills down the other hero's spines, including Naofumi despite having heard it already, was his retelling of how he unlocked Hatred's Trident.

Itsuki shook his head at that. "Perhaps the way you dispensed your justice was somewhat improper, but I can see why you went about it the way you did. Honestly, I'm glad you did execute that noble." His face turned a bit green when he remembered something that sickened him to his core.

Chazon sighed somberly. "Perhaps… but that doesn't change the fact that not only were my hands permanently stained with blood, but I had caused my party members pain and worry."

When he mentioned Glone and the first encounter with a replica spear, Mirellia grimaced. "I had heard from the Shadows that saw the skirmish. That the knight named Glone had used a hero skill caused me and my Shadows a good measure of confusion."

Naofumi narrowed his eyes. "What's the deal with that knight anyways?"

"Glone Vaga was always a "problem" knight ever since he joined. Not only because he did things his own way, but he also held grudges rather personally. Malty kept him around because he amused her for some reason. He not only took everything she told him at face value, no matter what others said, but his loyalty to Malty was because she ensured his ascension to elite knight and… other reasons…"

There was a moment of silence before Chazon pinched the bridge of his nose at that when it clicked in his mind. "Seriously? He's motivated to follow her whims because of THAT?"

"First Princess Malty… I had sent her to an educational institution in Faubray in the past in my attempts to get her to straighten out. Sadly, the only certificate she got during her time there… was the certificate of losing her virginity. She never stopped there." Mirellia glared at the table. If only my foolish husband didn't pamper her so much growing up. Now we have to deal with her machinations in situations like this.

Naofumi burst out laughing at the new information he was given. "You mean Bitch accused me of rape… when she regularly whores herself out?! Ohhh that's just too good!"

"Something I intend to address when we get around to clearing your name, Shield Hero Naofumi. It would not only be the perfect way to regain the rest of the people's trust in you, but also dissuade Siltvelt from invading any further once they know your name is no longer marred."

Naofumi regained control of his laughter with a nod. While the Queen is using clearing my name for ulterior motives, I'm all for it if we both benefit from it.

Both of the younger heroes glanced at each other with looks of disgust. Ren in particular sighed in disdain. "And here I thought royalty were above such… things. Then again, considering Malty and Glone were part of the forces who attacked my party in the church, I can't say I'm too surprised."

Mirellia nodded at the Sword Hero. "We'll hear more on that once it's your turn, Sir Ren. For now, continue with your story, Sir Chazon."

Chazon continued by describing the events leading up to the 3rd wave, what happened during it, and what went down in Castle Town afterwards. Mirellia found a mild amount of amusement in learning that the Spear Hero had used her name as a threat to her husband. I suppose what the Shadow assigned to him said was enough for him to come to his own conclusions.

Itsuki looked happy when Chazon mentioned he had saved a group of demi-human children from a noble living near the hot spring town. After that, his party found Mirellia's encampment, fought their first large-scale battle, and rescued all of Idol Rabier's slaves.

"After combining my party's might with Naofumi's party, we managed to put down a level 150 monster that Idol's guard unleashed onto us. Once the dust settled, we returned to Queen Mirellia's encampment and… well I'm sure everyone here knows what happened after." He decided to omit his meeting with Fitoria for now.

"Taking down a level 150 monster with a group of level 40 party members using a mixture of support magic, debuffs, and old-fashioned wit. You guys never cease to amaze me." Ren admitted.

Naofumi crossed his arms after everyone nodded. "I'll go next. Anything in my story that overlaps with Chazon's I'll omit unless I have an observation on it." With that, he went over everything that happened within the timeframe, which most were things Chazon already knew.

Ren interrupted Naofumi at one point with a confused look. "You didn't just craft things using your weapon? I didn't comment during Chazon's story since he crafted with his weapon as well, but I'm surprised you kept going by hand after he created his grenade items."

"I did try it, but my crafting bonuses only apply if I make them by hand. Besides… it just felt more fulfilling to make everything by hand than popping materials into my shield and mindlessly crafting that way, though I do use it if I'm pressed for time."

Chazon found what happened after he teleported to Lerno interesting. When Naofumi left to make for another country for class ups, Melty had managed to catch up to him. While he did allow her to make her case, he quickly turned her down when he discovered that she wanted him and the King to reconcile. It was then that the knights loyal to the church tried to have Melty killed, something that made Mirellia tense up.

After saving her and the knights having that scuffle recorded and edited, they were eventually chased down by a group of knights led by both Malty and Glone. After escaping their pursuit thanks to the Queen's Shadow, they found themselves in Lord Van's care, though Idol quickly invaded and kidnapped both Melty and Van in trying to lure Naofumi out. "The rest, Chazon already told you about."

Ren sighed as he mulled over everything the two heroes have said to him. They've definitely been through a lot, even though they can't class up their party members. Perhaps I need to learn from their example. Using my game knowledge can only carry me so far.

Itsuki nodded. "Perhaps it's my turn. However… I'll be honest, there isn't much I've done compared to Chazon and Naofumi, but let's see if my story will reveal anything important."

The Bow Hero described his timeframe as best he could. While the time leading up to the 2nd wave didn't hold much, he had been approached by someone from outside of Melromarc immediately afterwards to overthrow a despot in one of the northern kingdoms. He mentioned the aftermath and his attempts to try and help at least one village before Chazon and Naofumi came along.

After the 3rd wave, him and Ren had actually overheard a church priest talking about their plans to deal with the other two heroes. "I apologize, you two, but Ren and I figured that you didn't need our help just because you actually were stronger than us. I felt my time was better spent gathering info about the church and helping the citizens out as best I could until something came up that I could properly help with."

Naofumi nodded, accepting Itsuki's reasoning. "Did you learn anything before the church tried to kill you?"

"Outside of the information Ren used, just the fact that many of the nobles in this country are sick. I broke into one noble's manor to wring information out of her… and she was raping one of her young demi-human slaves at that time." Itsuki's face turned green again there. "That's why I was supportive of Chazon's decision to execute the noble that attacked him."

Walking into something like that… it'll change a person…

"Regardless, apparently taking down three nobles faithful to the church was enough for them to brand me as a fake. Their shadows tried to have me silently executed for being a "fake hero," but thanks to Rishia's quick thinking and help from the Queen's Shadow, we managed to make it out and return to her village."

Ren nodded before sighing. He wasn't a fan of being put on the spot, but there were more important things to worry about. "I'm last up to narrate my life, huh? Let's see if anything new comes up with my story."

It was standard fare like Itsuki's, but Mirellia interrupted him when he mentioned being approached by the Adventurer's Guild. "Official guild members aren't allowed to directly approach adventurers unless the quest is deemed an emergency quest. That one of their members did that anyways is suspicious."

"I agree. Thanks to Chazon's council at the banquet, I discovered that the dragon I was sent to kill was peaceful. I did have to kill his wrathful brother, but Gaelion thanked me for ending his madness. After adding Wyndia to my party, we had discovered that the people who commissioned me for the quest were actually slavers. Let's just say, I made sure they could never deceive me again."

Itsuki put a hand on his mouth. "Ren, didn't you mention something about the church being involved in that incident?"

"Wyndia apparently used to be owned by the Pope himself, so that might be why." Ren growled a bit. The religion really is rotten to the core if the very LEADERS of it partake in such actions.

"That's something else about the church that I feel I should mention. They get plenty of funds for their activities… from slave trading." Mirellia felt it was most prudent to bring that up now that it was revealed that Pope Balmus himself had a slave. "I believe the noble that Sir Chazon executed was one of their sources of income, so to speak, and he specialized in sex slaves. I'm willing to bet that the church was not happy about you killing one of their patrons."

That got a dismissive scoff out of Chazon. "Heaven forbid I prevent them from getting money from selling innocent people off as unwilling sex slaves. I actually feel a bit more empowered in my decision to kill him." That got a facepalm out of Naofumi.

Ren cleared his throat. "Anyways, after the 3rd wave and my talk with Itsuki, I had gone back to Dragon Village to make sure they were recovering and to supply more medicine. Gaelion had returned and mentioned that while the kingdom of dragons had calmed down, there was unrest in Siltvelt. They really didn't like the treatment the Shield Hero was receiving and it sounded like they were on the verge of invading. Before you say anything, I wasn't in a position to really warn anyone of that at the time.

"After Itsuki mentioned the church vault, I headed down there and… learned some interesting things before we were attacked by Malty. For one, demi-humans came from another world alongside the Bow and Shield Heroes rather than being born of monster and human heritage."

Chazon noted that point with interest. Demi-humans being descendants of monsters and heretical humans definitely sounds like a propaganda piece. With how much the church hates them and Siltvelt, it would make sense to appeal to that fear and demonize them further.

"We also learned of the existence of the Legendary Weapon Replica that the church has been reverse engineering for power. After escaping the first ambush, we headed towards the shrine containing it… but it was a trap. They tried to kill my entire party with a spell I later learned was called Judgement. From what I could discern, it was basically a giant bolt of light-augmented lightning that comes from the sky."

Mirellia stood up quickly in horror. "They went that far to kill you?!" Upon seeing confused looks she clarified, "Because what the church used is called Covenant Magic. It requires many people to cast at once and all of them must be willing participants. The result is a spell that's completely devastating to enemies, allies, and the environment alike!"

"Meaning that there were enough nuns and priests nearby to cast it ahead of time… I see why you called it a trap." Naofumi mused out loud. "How did you survive that?"

"One of the Shadows was able to get everyone out in time before the spell could do any real harm. She recommended that we flee towards Reichnott Territory for succor until the other heroes were found and… well here I am now."

Mirellia sat back down and folded her arms with her eyes closed. I'm glad the Sword and Bow Heroes are at least trying to live up to their status as heroes. "You have all been through quite a bit up until this point. That you still found trust in each other despite the Church of Three Heroes trying to drive a wedge between you all, especially between you three and the Shield Hero, is a relief."

Itsuki nodded at Chazon. "If I may be honest, Chazon's the one who managed to indirectly convince us of Naofumi's innocence after his trial. Even after he learned everything, he still believed in his friend… and perhaps that made Ren and I want to try believing in him as well."

That made Chazon recoil a bit. "I was just trying to be a good friend to Naofumi, even in spite of everything going on. I don't think I could be responsible for a change in opinion!"

"We saw your duel after the banquet and how you were trying to lose on purpose, Chazon." Ren let out a somber sigh. "That… and your despair at being unable to save him from his anguish more than convinced us that something was wrong. Especially when we were more keenly aware of how unfairly the King was treating him afterwards. While we didn't do any real digging on the church until after the third wave, we still wanted to treat Naofumi better as well."

Mirellia smiled at that. I was right… The Sword hero is the body, the Bow Hero is the soul, the Shield Hero is the mind… and the Spear Hero is the heart. I shudder to think how things would play out if someone more gullible was summoned in place of Chazon. According to legend, the Sword and Bow Heroes always seemed to follow the Spear Hero's lead, at least initially.

Chazon shook his head at everything. "You guys were the ones willing to change your belief, so I'm not entirely to thank for that. Regardless, we should move on to our next topic."

Itsuki realized that it was the perfect opportunity to ask. "Naofumi, Chazon? How did you guys get so strong even though you're lower leveled than us? I meant to ask that right after the wave but… well…"

Ren put his hand over his mouth thoughtfully. "Discounting your Cursed, Corruption, and Purity Series weapons you guys used, of course. Were you guys just very efficient about increasing your mastery on your weapons?"

The Spear and Shield Heroes were about to question Ren when Itsuki suddenly said, "Huh? It's about equipping ores to increase the stats of your rare weapon-forms!"

"What are you talking about?! Obtaining rare weapons is great, but it's about mastery, getting energy from the prestige, and using that energy to increase rarity!"

"Now what are YOU talking about?! Item enchantments and bonus status is what strengthens rare weapon-forms!" Queen Mirellia let out a low, yet irritated huff at the sudden shouting going on.

"Guys guys guys GUYS GUYS!" Chazon suddenly shouted, cutting off the two younger heroes before the situation broke down any further. "Let's not devolve into an argument over here in the presence of her majesty!" He paused to think for a moment before remembering back to when he had to tell Naofumi about Refinement, Spirit Enchantment, and Status Enhancement for him to use them. "You're both correct in your methods on getting stronger. It's just that those self-same methods are currently unique to you guys."

Naofumi nodded. "I didn't know any direct strengthening systems until Chazon told me about how he strengthened his weapon-forms."

That caused Ren and Itsuki to look at each other. Chazon suddenly noted something about what both of them were saying. "Out of curiosity, what kinds of weapon-forms do you guys typically aim for?"

"Rare and very rare, since they provide the best stat boosts." Itsuki raised an eyebrow questioningly at Ren but nodded; he wasn't disagreeing, but it seemed odd he would be the one to say it first. "I additionally don't unlock any more weapons than I feel like I need to in order to try and master the ones I have."

"That, right there, is the first thing you guys need to correct. Rare and mastered equipment is nice and all, but never ignore the stat boosts the more common weapons give. I'm guessing the both of you know to absorb materials for new weapons, correct?" Both of them nod, which made Chazon feel inadequate. I was the only one who didn't know in the beginning…

Naofumi picked up from there. "Absorbing even the common materials can provide bonuses that are useful in more ways than just head-on fighting." He quickly thought of an example. "Let's say Ren obtains a single rare weapon-form that gives him 100 in attack while I obtain 100 shields with 1 defence each. While I have to spend more time unlocking them all, I have the advantage since I have access to various bonuses that I can switch to as well as potentially having access to more skills."

When the two younger heroes continued to look unconvinced, Chazon sighed. "Queen Mirellia, do you have a pen and two pieces of paper on hand that I can use?"

"I can oblige." She nods at a nearby soldier, who quickly fetches the requested items.

Beckoning the two younger heroes over, Chazon quickly draws a graph. "I'm going to give you a more visual way of realizing that even common weapons have a place, discounting leveling up and Strengthening Methods. For simplicity's sake, Y will be Useful Stats while X will be Time. The first graph will be how you guys are doing it."

He starts by drawing a slight curve, only to jump straight up and begin a "staircase graph" afterwards. "Assuming you initially went after common materials and only switched to purely rare ones after your first one, this is how your guys' stats increase without levels."

Ren nodded. "Jumps in power while times between rare weapon-forms has us staying the same."

"Now look at how Naofumi and I do it." Using the second paper, he draws another graph… only this one never loses the slope. "Because we adopt the stats of EVERY weapon we unlock, we take advantage of exponential growth. As long as we keep finding materials for new weapons, we'll keep growing stronger."

"But how does that translate to you having better stats than us?" Itsuki asked with a confused frown.

Chazon overlaid the two graphs. "Certainly, your guys' method seems more potent… at first. But look at this." He circles the point where the exponential graph surpasses the staircase graph completely. "Because you guys no longer unlock common weapons, not only do we surpass you even with just common unlocks but we have access to more skills and other bonuses than you do. And here's the thing, we ALSO take advantage of what rarer weapons offer on top of everything."

Ren widened his eyes at that. "And more skills means more ways to deal with enemies… or even to get around. All on top of exponential growth only slowing down then the flow of new materials and weapons slows down.."

Naofumi nodded. "Exactly. Another way to think of it is this. That extra 5 points in attack could very well mean the difference between a one-shot and a two-shot, especially if your opponent is a threat if you can't one-shot it."

"Then… we were going about it the wrong way." Itsuki realized now how the two outstripped them, even with higher levels.

"If you want to survive, you need to take advantage of EVERYTHING you can." Naofumi looked at his web of unlocked shields. "When any situation could mean life or death for you or your party members, you can't afford to be picky. And that's not even getting into other things like crafting your own medicine or enchanted accessories."

"All of those common weapons and materials we neglected to copy or absorb…" Ren realized just how many stats he was missing out on now that Chazon drew the graph out for him.

One word made Chazon look up in confusion. "Wait, copy? Copy what?"

"Weapon Copy, another way to get unlocks for your Legendary Weapons." Itsuki realized something with surprise when Chazon and Naofumi looked at each other in confusion. "You guys don't know about Weapon Copying?!"

"We thought that our legendary weapons would just reject any weapon we picked up."

There was a pregnant pause before Ren sighed. "If you picked up a weapon that WASN'T the same class as your legendary weapon, then I can see how you would think that way. All it entails is just picking up a compatible weapon and you'll copy the stats and any skills or bonuses it has."

Mirellia knew the perfect way to allow both Naofumi and Chazon to test that out. "My soldiers here carry both spears and shields. Would you like to try with those?"

Chazon analyzed the spear the royal soldier had presented and identified it as a Royal Soldier Partisan. He grabbed the spear, expecting to get zapped, only to receive a different pop-up.

Royal Soldier Partisan

Equip bonus: ATK bonus (medium), AGI bonus (medium), 'Royal Thrust'

"Holy shit… how many weapons did we miss out on?!" Chazon was exasperated at the fact that their stats could have been MUCH higher if they had known that.

Naofumi nodded knowingly as he returned the shield he copied from. "Nothing for it. We'll just have to copy any weapons we see from now on. I'll have to borrow Rifana's shield a bit later." Chazon nods in affirmation.

Ren let out a small laugh. "To think we just made you even more powerful."

"Actually…" Chazon decided to be a good sport and willed his spear to eject his first page of materials onto the table. It complied and the Sword and Bow Heroes looked at the pile in shock. "I'll let you guys get a head start on unlocking your more common weapons. Take what you need."

Naofumi let out a very loud snort. "The pack-rat hero is at it again." Chazon rolled his eyes at that.

What followed was an unlocking session akin to what Naofumi put Chazon through back when he told the Spear Hero about it. Chazon made sure to recollect unused materials after Itsuki and Ren were done with them and unload newer materials. The result was a sizable potential power boost for the two younger heroes.

Ren noted Chazon's grenades among the materials and decided to absorb one for science. He got a new sword from it. "Chazon, did you ever absorb your grenade-like items?"

There was a deafening silence before a loud slap was heard. Chazon had facepalmed. "I am an idiot box once again!" Everyone couldn't help but laugh at that as he absorbed a grenade begrudgingly.

Grenadier's Gunlance

Equip bonus: ATK bonus (low), 'Spear Drive' (Gunlance exclusive)

Special effect: ATK up (high), AGI penalty (high), Movement penalty (extreme), Shell type (Explosive mortar)

"Gunlances, huh?" Chazon switched to it and it looked like an oversized grenade with the gun barrel and bayonet coming out of it. The handle had a trigger, presumably for shelling attacks. His help guide suddenly updated with new information on gunlances that he marked for later reading. "Looks like I got a new weapon to test out in the coming conflicts." God damn it, Monster Hunter!

"You're telling me. I got an explosive counter on my Grenadier's Shield." Naofumi mentioned with a grin.

"I got the skill Explosive Arrow with mine." Itsuki was beaming with delight at that.

Mirellia felt her heart fluttering at the four heroes interacting with each other positively. I recall hearing about the rough start between them all, especially between the Shield Hero and the others. I'm glad things have smoothed over between them.

After the two younger heroes absorbed everything they could from Chazon's and Naofumi's inventories, they decided to do the same and allowed the two older heroes to unlock weapons from materials they had. Naofumi and Chazon gained even more weapon-forms for the conflict ahead.

Naofumi realized something and motioned to Ren, who had just finished putting away all of the materials from his stockpile. "Could you explain how your systems work? I'm curious."

Ren raised an eyebrow at that. "You want me to explain how I get stronger? Seems kind of pointless, but if you're sure." He clears his throat. "Best place to start would be my simplest method, which is Mastery Level. A weapon will slowly increase in stats until it reaches the maximum mastery level of 100 as you use it more. From what I've observed, depending on the weapon, the stat increase from attaining Mastery Level 100 can reach upwards of a 50% increase.

"Mastery from older, unused weapons and materials can be converted to points in the Energy Transfer system. Once you have enough energy, you can use it to "Awaken" weapons, which will further increase stats and even unlock new abilities."

Ren paused to catch his breath, clearly not used to explaining things for long periods of time. "Lastly, that self same energy can also be used in the Rarity Up system. All weapon-forms have rarities attached to them ranging from Common to Super Rare Plus and even beyond that. Each rarity change will increase the stats of a weapon-form, but I found once again that how much the stats increase depends on the weapon-form."

Chazon regarded the information drop with rapt interest, knowing that if Naofumi could use his Methods then he could use Ren's. He suddenly noticed that his help guide updated with the entries "Legendary Sword: Mastery Level", "Legendary Sword: Energy Transfer", and "Legendary Sword: Rarity Up". He realized that his Power Up menu was updated to include the information. "Looks like I can start using everything you just explained to strengthen myself now!" Naofumi nodded in agreement.

Ren looked dumbfounded. "Wait, just from me explaining it, you guys can use it too?"

"Chazon was sharing his strengthening methods with me not long after our journey began, so I know I can use your guys' methods as well. You guys can more than likely use each other's and Chazon's methods if that's the case."

Itsuki frowned at those words. How can that happen? I know those two are good friends, but Naofumi believing Chazon on something like that seems… a bit far fetched for how early in our careers it was. Deciding to question it he asked, "Naofumi, what was your inclination to believe Chazon back when he first shared his "methods" with you? If I recall, you had cursed him for not being there under your breath, which indicated to me that you hated him as well."

Chazon shot a worried glance at Naofumi who shook his head. "Could you expect anything else out of me at that point back then? When it feels like everyone is accusing you of the vilest things, you start believing that even your friends would turn their backs on you." He nods at the Spear Hero. "Even after I lashed out at him, he still gave me most of his money and supplies to try and get me back on my feet."

"Believe me, Naofumi, I thought our friendship over as much as you. I just figured… that if I could earn even the smallest iota of forgiveness for my failure-"

"That wasn't your failure. You were just trying to think ahead on how we would be living in this world, it was just extremely unfortunate timing. What mattered was that you kept believing in me as a friend and I'll always be grateful for that." Naofumi looks back at the other two heroes. "But there's more to my belief than just that. Do you two recall the Cyclops Mauler he fought?"

Ren nodded. "Chazon had taken down a boss monster that was double his level by himself. He claimed to not be a "hardcore" gamer when he first told me about it, but I couldn't believe it." He grimaces. "Er… even though this whole thing isn't a game, of course." That got a confused look from Itsuki.

"I'm not sure if he told you, but Chazon was more handicapped than you realize at that time."

"Naofumi! I'd rather not talk about how I never unlocked a single weapon-form besides my default-" Chazon slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized he blurted it out anyways.

That got a chuckle out of the Shield Hero, both from Chazon blurting it out himself and the younger hero's shocked reactions. "As he so helpfully said, he had NO stat gains from unlocking weapon-forms, just stats from leveling. He did mention off-hand that he Refined his Basic Spear once for slightly higher stats, which gave me a bit more reason to believe it.

"That… and the fact that he tried to sacrifice himself to kill the Mauler." Chazon slumped back into his chair at the memory as Ren and Itsuki stammered at the new information given to them. The King told them that a single dead Legendary Hero would make the waves MUCH harder, but Chazon wasn't present for that.

Mirellia let out a soft sigh at that as she recalled when her Shadows reported to her on that whole situation. To say she had literally gotten sick with worry at that time wouldn't be overselling it. Yet another way my idiotic husband failed. He never properly prepared ANY of the heroes with information, including what would happen if even one Legendary Hero falls, during the initial briefing.

Naofumi continued, "After I saved his life and he showed a lot of unconditional kindness to my only companion when she was smaller, I had to show Chazon how to get new weapon-forms via absorbing materials into his weapon. That's when he properly went over Refinement and, with the idea that he had no reason to lie to me about it, I gained the ability to use it as well."

So Naofumi gained Chazon's Strengthening Method just by believing in him? It sounds a bit too convenient, but… I've seen some of what those two have been through together. Deciding to take a leap of faith, Itsuki trusted in the two older hero's judgement and accepted Ren's explanations as fact. His status magic updated and his help guide showed the new information. "It… worked? It worked! I can use Ren's systems!"

Ren gave Itsuki a surprised look. "Wait, you can as well now? Then… is it really possible to use each other's systems?"

"If you're unconvinced, I'll share my methods next for everyone. As cheesy as it sounds, have faith in my explanations." Itsuki cleared his throat.

"I'll start with my simplest method as well, called Ore Equip. It's exactly what it says: you equip ores onto your weapon forms for stat increases. The stat and how much it increases depends on the individual ore and all weapon-forms have a finite number of equip slots for ores.

"Next up is Item Enchantment. By converting monster drops and other items into energy, you can use that energy to add new enchantments to your weapon-forms. Once enchanted, you can increase the level of the enchantment, though failure will drop your enchantment level back to its base increase.

"Finally, I have Bonus Status Levels. Using the same energy from my previous method and, presumably, Ren's methods, you can directly increase a status bonus. For Instance, you can increase your attack level or agility level in this way to increase attack and agility respectively. Once you've successfully increased a status bonus, you'll have to wait a day to do so again, and each successive increase in a status bonus will give bigger returns."

Chazon and Naofumi both nod as their status magic is updated to include that information as well under "Legendary Bow: Ore Equip", "Legendary Bow: Item Enchantment", and "Legendary Bow: Bonus Status Level". Ren saw the convinced looks on their faces and decided to try believing in it as well, resulting in him getting the same updates. "I can use them as well now… and my status magic didn't update until I let go of my reservations. I guess it really doesn't work unless you truly believe it to work."

Itsuki nodded. "I suppose the power of belief is strong with these weapons. What's telling is that there's a lot of systems that use energy for their function. Thankfully materials can be used as a substitute, but even so..."

Naofumi sighed as he went through his items, including some of the monster soul fragments he had started getting after he learned of Spirit Enchantment. "I'm thankful Chazon told me about our inventory system as early as he did. Guess we're all going to be pack-rats going forward."

Chazon chuckled. "Careful of what you say to others, Naofumi. You might end up more similar to them than you initially realized." Naofumi scoffed at that while the other two Heroes eye-rolled. "My systems are last up, so here's hoping my explanation is sufficient enough for you two to believe them."

He pauses to gather his thoughts. "The first one I had gotten was Refinement Smelting. You take ore you've found or mined and expend it to directly increase the stats of your weapon-forms. The key difference between this and Itsuki's Ore Equip is that there is no limit to how many times you Refine, but the ore is consumed and a Smelting failure will knock your Refinement level back down to its base. Bare in mind, each weapon-form has specific ores you can increase its stats with, so there's no way to spend any kind of ore on any weapon this way."

Naufumi let out a low grunt that nobody heard. Still doesn't help my case in some ways. I tried to increase my attacking stats on the few shields that give me additional attack with Refinement and I kept using up the ore without getting anything in return...

Chazon kept going, "My second method is Spirit Enchantment. By using randomly dropped monster soul fragments or other items, you can enchant special powers onto a weapon form. Unlike Itsuki's Item Enchantment, however, the result depends on what you enchant with. As such, you might wind up with somewhat niche bonuses like a bonus against insectoid monsters if you use certain insect monster soul fragments."

Itsuki frowned at that. "Even so, the fact that my methods share resemblances to two of Ren's and two of yours seems uncanny."

"It's going to get even more uncanny when I mention my final method, which is Status Enhancement. Using more monster soul fragments than what Spirit Enchantment needs, you can imbue a status boost to a weapon. The boost is random, but you can remove it and retry if the wrong boost is on a weapon-form you don't want it on."

Ren and Itsuki, knowing full well that Chazon was telling the truth, got the Spear Hero's strengthening Methods as well. They went through their weapons thanks to the new information given to them and widened their eyes. "The weapons we were using before have the potential to become so much stronger with the methods given to us!"

Naofumi crossed his arms. "It seems everyone is becoming that much stronger just by sharing this kind of information with each other." Hopefully Ren and Itsuki have wisened up enough to not let this power go to their heads. Ren almost slipped back into the game mindset, but I don't know about Itsuki.

Mirellia nodded at that, having been observing silently for a while. "This is part of the reason why the Four Cardinal Heroes need to get along with each other. Mutual benefits allow them to unlock even more power. Power to level mountains with a single blow."

Ren looked at her in shock. "If the legendary heroes are capable of such power, just how dangerous are the waves?!"

"Nobody but the most ancient of creatures knows. All we can rely on are legends."

Naofumi suddenly realized the reason why Fitoria was concerned about the four heroes getting along. If we weren't and refused to communicate, we'd be stunting each other's growth… making fighting the waves even harder!

Mirellia continued, "Additionally, Seven-Star Vassal Heroes have their own strengthening methods that you all can use as well. I cannot remember any at this moment in time but if you encounter a Vassal Hero, be sure to inquire about it."

Chazon breathed out. "Guess we should expect even tougher battles from here on out if us heroes are expected to have this much power and more still. For now, we should focus on the conflicts at hand."

Itsuki nodded. "Indeed. I can't see things ending well if we let the Church of Three Heroes continue their reign, especially if it costs the lives of innocent people. Then there's Siltvelt's invasion we need to worry about..."

"Then let us proceed with our final item for this meeting. Because my own Shadows, save Sir Ren's and Sir Itsuki's assigned Shadows who couldn't report until recently, accidentally fed me misinformation, I have to assume the church thinks Sir Ren and Sir Itsuki dead as well. They may be searching for Sir Naofumi and Sir Chazon to eliminate them and summon new heroes to be manipulated into doing their bidding."

Itsuki leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Then we can assume that the Pope will have sent most of his forces to this area if Chazon and Naofumi have been spotted here."

"More than that, Pope Balmus likes to remove dangerous threats personally, so expect him to be on the battlefield. However, we also can't discount the probability that he remains in Castle Town overseeing things there."

Ren brought up his status map with a nod. "Then we should have a small team infiltrate Castle Town and see if they can't retake the city from within. Everyone else will remain with our forces and join the main battle against the church."

"It should be noted that the church will probably bring their full arsenal of legendary weapon replica replicas to the main battle." Naofumi noted with a grimace. "Plus the probability of the Pope himself leading the main army with the most powerful replica."

Ren remembered something right then. "I haven't mentioned this yet, but the Legendary Weapon Replica, while powerful in its own right, cannot be used without excessive stores of magic. That's one of the reasons why it could never replace actually summoning the Four Cardinal Heroes"

Chazon thought for a moment before motioning to the two younger heroes. "They think you're both dead, so you'll have the element of surprise whichever you do. As for myself… I'll stay here and help the Melromarc army."

Mirellia nodded gratefully. "Your Spear of Hope was a boon last skirmish and my soldiers were very inspired by it. However, my army hasn't grown since the last battle, so if the church brings even more forces than the last time it'll be an uphill battle."

Itsuki shook his head at that. "There's more to fighting wars than just head-on confrontations. Sneak-attacks, pincer movements, hit-and-runs, the list goes on. Numbers can make a difference, but if all the enemy does is march forward then tactics and strategy will even the playing field."

That got a questioning gaze out of Chazon. "Did you study military tactics in your old world, Itsuki?"

"Kind of. It was more of a hobby that was borne of my interest in guns, but I did study some."

"Then perhaps you and Chazon should be the ones to join her majesty's forces in the main battle." Naofumi looks at Ren, who nods at him. "Ren and I will infiltrate Castle Town and retake it from within."

"Then to save time, take Obsidian with you two. Ren, pick the two party members who'll join you in the infiltration while the rest remain to help fight the church's army."

Ren folded his arms and contemplated a bit. "I'll have to inquire with my party members a bit later, but it will be done."

Chazon looks at Itsuki. "Since you're perceived as KIA by the church, would you like to lead a small party in guerilla warfare?"

"Can do. Though I think I'll keep Rishia relegated to healing and support duties in the main army. She nearly had a mental breakdown the first time she killed someone and I still feel guilty about that. She'll probably be at the back of the main force."

"Then take Rino with you when you start. Her speed and fast attacks will help your cause immensely. She can also heal, which is a nice bonus." Chazon thought for a bit before getting another idea. "Take Kekal as well. She's a debilitator, so she'll be of immense help against the stronger enemies you fight."

"You've got a party member for everything, don't you?" Itsuki asked with a laugh.

"Well… Rino's my fast-hitting mixed attacker, Rifana's my primary tank, Kardia is my hard-hitting magic caster, Amber is my mobile magic attacker, Obsidian is my single-target and high-single-hit-damage physical attacker, Merlay is a healer and supporter with the ability to attack, and Kekal is my debilitator. I really do have a well-rounded party…"

"One that's full of girls." Naofumi added with a snort of amusement. Chazon double-facepalmed in embarrassment as the other two heroes laugh.

Mirellia giggled before clearing her throat. "Then it's settled on what we're doing. Sir Naofumi and Sir Ren, along with 6 other party members, will infiltrate Castle Town and retake it from within while removing key people. Sir Chazon will join my main army while Sir Itsuki will take a small force to whittle down the enemy numbers."

"I'll teleport to the Lerno Village Aetheryte with Ren's group in tow when we move out. I doubt they'll expect an attack from that direction while their forces are looking in this direction."

"Then our strategy is set. Spend some time with your party members and prepare for tomorrow. The church won't wait for us, so we must act quickly. Dismissed!"

As the heroes move to leave, Chazon remembered something and turned to Mirellia. "Your majesty, permission to inquire about something?"

"You hardly need my permission, but what is your request?"

"Is there a chance that I could get spear training at some point?" Mirellia raised an eyebrow at that. "I've been meaning to become a better spear user, but I kept putting it off until I found a break in the action. Sadly… there has been only one break and I used that on relaxation so… I'm kind of slacking. It doesn't have to be now or right before we march, I just wish for better training at some point."

That made Mirellia giggle. "I'm sure we'll figure something out after we've dealt with the church. Perhaps after you spend some time with your party, you can get some training from some of my elite knights who also use spears." Looks like Sir Chazon was either told or realized that he needed proper training with his weapon to be a more effective fighter.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to inquire later about who I should talk to!"