A/N: (Note/Disclaimer) All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners. Such as Neopeople for Dungeon Fighter Online(Also known as Dungeon & Fighter) and Aneko Yusga for The Rising Of The Shield Hero
Note 2:
("Human/Speech")
("Thoughts")
(Attacks/Weapon names)
(Other/Foreign/ Speech & Text/Book/Scroll)
(Actions/POV)
(Titles/Flashback/Time/Dates/Place)
(Narration & Everything else)
('Demonic Speech')
("Demonic Thoughts")
Hero And Fighter Chapter 4
Castle Town: Merchant District
5/18/0000: 1100
Third Person: Omni
"I caught a glimpse of it last night, but up close it really drives home that I am in another world." He remarked as the hustle and bustle of the major city grasped his eye, passing several stalls that sold commodities and others that gave entertainment to the passing children.
"What do you think we should do next Sir Shield Hero?" Myne looked over at the young man with a pretty gaze as she walks alongside him. Melina walked a step behind him, mainly to minimize the amount of collisions that could occur on the crowded streets.
"Well, the first thing would be getting equipment, how are both of your equipment's condition by the way." He made way for a raptor-like creature with a man riding atop it, probably some kind of wealthy merchant or noble that was allowed to do so within the streets.
"It is practically brand new." The swordswoman remarks with a cheer. The shield and the mage looked at each other in slight amusement and annoyance, it was probably brand new with no use on them.
"My staff and robes are still good for my level." The mage remarks with a bit of pep, she was still a generally happy person, despite all that she went through. They hide the glance between themselves as him looking at her for confirmation.
"The main thing that I want to check is what can I equip besides this..." He gestures to his shied as disguised noble runs off to show them the blacksmith's shop that she knew of.
"Melina, I should also get you a spear. You are level 3 after all." He was able to see his party's level through the status magic, though only Melina was truly part of it. She looked at him in surprise.
"So you know who I am?" She keeps her expression became guarded, in this world, she was only known as a court mage after cohering some officials with magic. Other than that, no one knew anyone about her besides showing up around when a wave happened.
"I don't know from what part of the journey you went through, but I know you extremely well. But that talk will have to be for another time, we have to not look suspicious after all." She quickly nods in assent, it is paramount that they talk it over. Her expression turns into one of cheerful calm, one that is fake to a person that understood her well.
_(DUNGEON FIGHTER ONLINE)_
Erhard Smithy: Castle Town
"I wholeheartedly recommend this place." Naofumi looked at the equipment that lined the walls, swords, shields, and suits of armor are what greeted his eyes. He was quite enthralled by the store.
"Welcome." A grizzled man spoke with a grin on his face, despite the scars on his face the cheerful expression did not feel strange on that face. He was bald with a beard and was currently wearing a white shirt with a leather apron.
"Is this your first time in a weapon's shop? You sure know how to pick'em." He remarked while placing his gloved hands on the counter. It was also Melina's first time in an actual weapons shop… majority of the time she got what she needed from enemies and gifts.
"Actually, she brought me here." Naofumi quickly refuted the compliment on the intuition of his quality in stores.
"Have we met before miss? Why do you look so familiar?" He looked at her searchingly, actively trying to recall who she is.
"I've come here shopping before." She went behind and grabbed Naofumi, trying to be as intimate as possible. Naofumi immediately knew something was strange, along with the blacksmith. He would know regulars and did remember all the people who bought his weapons.
"You're shop is quite famous after all." She remarked with closed eyes and a flattering tone.
"Ain't that nice of ya. By the way, who is your companion in the strange outfit." He could have meant either the mage or Naofumi, though in the current world he definitely was asking about the shielder.
"Can't you tell Oyaji?" Myne said with the slightest of teasing in her voice. The smith looked a bit closer at the young man before focusing on the shield that was on the right arm.
"You mean that you are one of the heroes? Ah, I see you have the shield. You must be dud." He knew that the shop owner was joking. He probably more than any other non-combatant and on par to knights knew just how critical a shield is to a person.
"Well she is the one who picked me, I didn't have much choice in that regard," Naofumi said with an exhausted grin.
"I'm Naofumi Iwatani, the shield hero." He introduced himself with a bow, a habit ingrained from youth.
"Naofumi huh. If you'll become a regular I don't give two cents on if you wield only a shield or not. Nice to meet you kid!" Naofumi looked up at the kind man.
"Anyway, Boss can you provide him the needed equipment, around 240 silvers please." Myne clamps her hands onto Naofumi, even when he knew that it was an act to foster trust to break, it was still a rather pleasant feeling.
"Sure." He stepped into the back in order to gather some swords. Melina just looks over the various swords in the shop.
"We have iron, magic iron, magic steel, and silver iron in ascending price and order." He lays down the swords on the table, well maintained and shining with a light coating of oil, the blacksmith was definitely not a stranger to swords. Naofumi tried to pick up the magic steel sword.
Bzzt The sword was instantly dropped as if it shocked him from trying to hold it. Naofumi was immediately reminded to the conversation on his first day in the world… so this is why they required to level them up instead of gaining legendary weapons on the way and disregarding the growing ones.
"It would seem my hunch was right despite me hoping it was not," Naofumi remarked with a sigh and a downtrodden expression.
"What do you mean?" The redhead and weapons dealer asked. Melina just shook her head, bound weapons had a bunch of restrictions that didn't make any sense. Such as slayers with swords that demanded blood, or certain guns needing a number of hours in prayer every day.
"Cant wield anything besides a shield in with combative intent. I could probably use a knife to butcher an animal, but not use it for combat. And it would outright reject weapons made for combat." He frowned at the thought.
"How does that even work… It looks like an ordinary small shield." The bald man kneeled to the ground and looked at it with a monocle that he brought out.
"Does it even move around?" He asks while trying to force it off with a large amount of power, all he did is move Naofumi's arm around.
"I can manipulate it around my body however I want…" Naofumi motioned for the man to stop before moving his right arm to his back and the shield sticking to it. He moved the shield onto his left shoulder before returning it back to the right forearm.
"That is so weird, it feels like it has a lot of power in it but my appraisal magic can't tell me much." He prods at the green gem in the center of the metal shield.
"Well, thanks for showing me something interesting… Want to buy some armor instead?" Naofumi took a glance at the Astarte… no the Neo Battle Mage. She shook her head, it would be best for him to get some armor than getting a spear for her at the moment. She did have her pole, after all, one kept out of sentimentality but still quite usable even if it was made of glass.
"Sure. Let's see what you have in stock." It would seem that the smith was also a pretty good leatherworker, though it should not be a surprise.
"Feels like a good fit." Naofumi remarks as he inspects the Brigandine armor. It added some slash and stab resistance to him, besides the change of 25 points to physical defense, it also changed his MPDef to 15, probably from the leather.
"How much is it?" Myne remarks as Melina observes everything, she was not the most capable of negotiating, after all, no that would be their Paladin, Micheal.
"130 silvers with a discount. And I'll throw in the inner whare." He remarks with a grin.
"While it is more metal than chainmail, it is less work to manufacture right?" Naofumi asked with his rudimentary knowledge about armors honed from the recommended section.
"Yep." The older man looked a bit surprised, he thought that the otherworlder was not knowledgeable about armors and weapons.
"How much would you pay for it?" Myne made sure to ask, a majority of other people not in the know would have just left the conversation at the cost to them.
"About 105 silvers mostly new is what I would pay." He remarked while leaning on the doorway. Naofumi moved around in the armor to get a better feel for the weight. It would be what DFO classified as Heavy armor considering the plates of metals, Chain mail was considered light armor after all.
"Well take it then." Naofumi understood why Myne asked for the price he would buy it, it was fairly common in games to sell back older armor.
"Shall we head off for battle now Sir Hero?" Myne asked while Naofumi grabbed his backpack, he would ask if they could make a better version of it with leather once they got the time to. He motioned for her to give him back the bag of coins now that he was done changing.
"No, we need to get a backup weapon for Melina." Naofumi refuted her quickly, keeping the coins on him.
"Oh, sorry I almost forgot. Why a backup weapon?" Myne asked while looking the mage over. She had the glass rod that could channel magic fine.
"In case they get too close to her or MP runs out." He states a lie that both of them knew, she was just far more used to a spear than a pole as a battle mage.
"A spear would be best for a beginner user right?" It took a good amount of training to use a bow, sword, or even knives. Spears were the best option to learn with.
"Sure. They are in the same options as the swords." He quickly brought up several spears onto the counter for the mage and hero to inspect. The illusioned lavender haired lass focused on the two magic ones, she did not spend much time in this world at all and was interested in the magic of them.
"Magic iron good for you?" Naofumi remarked calmly, already knowing the answer as he used the same exact voice when haggling in-game, one that she proudly heard before.
"Sounds good to me, it also makes a good secondary focus." She quickly affirmed to the spear that he chose. While not as good as the steel, the magic in it was close enough.
"How much is it?" Naofumi asked, already in the haggling mode that kept the group in the black, despite the one who would be buying the most.
"Bout 50 silvers." He remarks with a grin, Naofumi immediately got the sense that the man was overpricing it a bit, probably to compensate for the discount earlier.
"I say by the market price it should be around 30 silvers," Naofumi remarked as the mage looked in a bit of surprise at his actions, it was disturbingly familiar.
"I have got to make a living you know, 48 silvers." He immediately knew that the man infront of him was testing the waters for negotiations.
"Despite the material and craftsmanship, it is still less metal than the swords or armor," Naofumi spoke with a merchant's grin. The conversation went on a few rounds.
"So we agree on 40 right?" The smith asked after a minute of haggling from his probable new regular.
"Yep, here you go," Naofumi spoke as they both gave satisfied smiles. Quickly passing the coins over and putting the bag of it within the backpack that transferred with him.
"Now we can get to the action. Lead the way Myne." Naofumi spoke while turning back to them once more. He quickly gave the spear over to the specialist, even if she had to hide it till the other could be trusted.
"Sure, let's go." She states in a fake cheer that many would not notice if they weren't actively looking for it.
_(RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO)_
Grasslands: Castle Town
5/18/0000: 1230
The bright blue sky with several clouds insight was clear to see in the plain area that they would be grinding in. Naofumi looked across the grasslands to see Ren nearby fighting some orange balls that charged straight at him.
"So that I what I'll be facing huh…" Naofumi immodestly noted it down in his head. Myne stood by a tree as to not interfere with his combat, much like Ren's party members. Melina just watches from the shade, not at all hiding behind it. It made more sense for Myne to be closer in case any incidents were to erupt but it seems she didn't think of that.
"They are coming." Naofumi noticed the red markers were swiftly running at him, cutting through the grass without wait. Melina kept observing around the area and him.
Naofumi immediately punched one as it tried to bite him, forcing it back with a tiny bit of damage. Noting that the flat of the shield gave it a good knockback. Next, he tried using the edge to slash next that jumped up with its mouth wide open. It went farther back than the flat and did a bit more damage than the first try.
By then, he was overwhelmed by the attacks of all the monsters, quickly getting swarmed by even more after that. He closed his eyes and braced for the pain… and none came, he could feel the balloons on him, but no pain whatever. A green sheen pulsed each time the knawed on him.
He quickly grabbed one and spiked it with the point on the shield, immediately killing it. He quickly repeated the action after finding out physics still applied, it probably was a high critical damage amount.
"Well, I found a way to kill them fairly efficiently." Naofumi breaths out as he bursts another ballon. He looks over to Ren in the distance quickly dispatching 3 of them. Myne and Melina move towards him, Melina
"So it can absorb endless things huh," Naofumi remarked after placing a piece of a balloon into the shield when they finally get to him. He got the feeling that the requirements were not met to upgrade the shield.
"Are these sellable?" Naofumi asked the native of this world while holding the yellow balloon. Melina quickly bringing out a rucksack to store the materials.
"Yes, it is common for monster materials to sell, it would be 1 copper though." Naofumi felt that it was far too little to be worth it for grinding money, but to get a unlock a shield would be better.
"Well, now that you have a feel for combat and earned some exp, let's get working," Myne states with a cheer filled voice. Naofumi immediately notices that Melina's name and two bars were in the top right under his own quick stats.
"Right," They spent the rest of the day till sunset slaying the balloons.
_(DUNGEON FIGHTER ONLINE)_
Erhard Smithy: Castle Town
5/18/0000: 1600
"Go look for some better equipment," Naofumi stated with a smile as he reached the counter, the two girls went off to the armor sets and looked around.
"Now, this is when it starts getting expensive… Lets haggle." Naofumi said with a smirk, it was far more like a piece of entertainment to the two of them than it was actual haggling. With Naofumi getting progressively closer to free and the smith progressively heightening the price. Melina brought nothing up as she stood beside the men, a smile on her face as she enjoyed the argument.
The clank of equipment stopped the fun of the two as it settled atop the counter, the unmistakable shine of metal was what they turned to see.
"What would the equipment be after buying these at a 60% discount?" Naofumi asked the sell with a bit of distress. He already got the feeling that she was up to something when buying that armor.
"480 after the discount. I can't go any lower." He remarks with a smug smirk.
"That would leave us with 150." Naofumi quickly did the math of all the purchases today, glad that she doesn't have the money on hand anymore.
"Myne, I know that you want to fight better and all, but buying that right now is a horrid idea. This is all that we have for the month besides equipment, and I would like to stay in lodgings for the entire month. Could you downgrade a bit?" Naofumi was used to keeping bad spending down and immediately knew that it was a bad idea.
"Don't worry about that Sir Hero, the stronger I am the more loot that we can get." Myne quickly remarks while going in to try and seduce him to buy it. Melina was quick to put a death to that plan.
"I am sorry Miss Myne, but it would be foolish not to have backup funds for emergencies for the month. It would also be unfair to me as you already had a full set of equipment before this and the sword is still in good condition." Melina quickly stopped her from hugging the team leader from behind.
"Understood." She pouted with an annoyed expression as she silently returned to get a cheaper set.
"By the way, do you know where we can sell these?" The tank of the party shows the rucksack filled with mob drops.
"Yeah, there are stores that will buy most monster drops." He remarked while waving his hand to display that he won't buy it.
"How about this one." The new set of armor was placed onto the table. It didn't look as polished but it still had a good amount of workmanship.
"How is the total at 60%?" Naofumi quickly asked, making sure that the mage was beside him.
"The gear and the sword would come out to 280." Naofumi sighed, it was pricey but what he expected from her. It looked like it was the furthest she would go down so he quickly accepted that it would be the best option to buy this set.
"Sure, here you go." Naofumi said with a tired face, he got the feeling that she would be doing something tonight if she was trying to buy expensive equipment.
Word Count: ~3200 Words
Date Completed: 12/12/2020
Notes: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, this is what I meant by focusing on Hero and Fighter before. Sorry about the last chapter mixup on FFN, I accidentally clicked a chapter for Hase Jager. I apologize for it. However, those reviews will not be featured in Review Corner today. On another note, I kept Enchantress on the original chapter when it was supposed to be Battle Mage, oversight on my part.
Review Corner:
FFN:
runelt99: Ah nice wonder how this will develop…
Reply: I honestly have only the faintest clue where it is going, my muse is just dragging me along with it.
Dcraus: Naofumi Iwantani Harem list:
Raphtalia
Eclair
Sadeena
Shildina
Female Fighter
Female Knight
Elven Knight
Female Chaos Knight
Female Dragon Knight
Female Priest
Female Inquistor
Female Slayer
Female Crusader
Female Shaman
Mistress
P.S I truly hope that you have suitable names for the female characters in Dungeon Fighters Online
Response: The harem is still undecided, though the original classes won't be in… mainly due to having the subclasses, and a whole lot of them. I will be making up names on the fly anyway.
AO3:
(Empty)
Thankyou to runelt99, drmcgraw186, and darkstel for reviewing about the wrong chapter being posted, if you hadn't I wouldn't have noticed till today.