Chapter Five: Rumors and Discoveries

Shirou and his party spent three days at the town waiting for the dam to be unblocked. The group did some more grinding, with Shirou reaching level 17 whilst the rest of the party hit level 20. He also managed to unlock the equip bonuses for the Usaleather sword and the Timber Weaver sword, giving him a small, but permanent boost to his stats which he was thankful for. Thanks to unlocking the two swords, he was able to find out it takes roughly 15 hours to completely unlock a sword, but if he swapped from the sword, the progress would reset. The best method he could think of was to equip it during some down time, and let it fully unlock as he sleeps.

During this time, Shirou had also realized that he was lacking on swords, having only unlocked a handful of swords during the few days they had been here, and he wanted to change that. He had a plan in mind for later, but he wanted to sort out some stuff with the weapon smith in the village before doing anything else.

Shirou asked around, asking for directions to the blacksmith, and soon enough, he found himself in front of it. In the windows were an array of blades shown, from regular shortswords to Polearms. Shirou could appreciate the care put into them, but compared to Erhards weapons, these were second rate at best. Not that he would say it to their face, of course.

With no hesitation, he stepped into the weaponsmiths shop, a small bell being the only thing that signified his entrance, even as a man popped up from behind the counter.

"Ah, hello! Can I presume you're one of those adventurers who helped clear out the Timber Weaver infestation, yes?" Shirou nodded. "Great, we can't tell you how much we appreciate the help! So, what can I do for you today? Any new weapons, armor?"

"I was wondering if you had any spare ores? Anything you wouldn't mind selling would be appreciated?" Shirou asked politely.

The man put a hand on his chin. "I believe I have some out back, but can I ask why you want them? It's not often that adventurers want just raw ores and not weapons."

Shirou would take out his sword, and the man would nod. "I see, I apologise Sword hero. I was wondering because I've had a few people come by here looking for ores and such for no valid reasons. I'd much rather keep the ore to help make accessories and more weapons, but this is another good use of them. Just give me a moment to get them for you."

A few moments would go past, and the man would come out, a small smile on his face as he laid three ores on the table. "Well, I've got copper, gold and silver. I trust these will be fine?"

Shirou nods his head. "That's more than fine. How much would you say this all comes to?"

"Well, since you helped us out, I can give you a discount. Usually, I`d say it's 100 silver for these raw materials, but I'll lower it to 50."

"Alright. That sounds fair to me." With that, Shirou would open his bag again, quickly taking out the 50 silver and putting it on the counter, the man counting it to check.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Sword hero."

Shirou moved the ore to his sword, the gem flashing before absorbing the ores.

New swords unlocked!

Copper sword

+1 attack

+1 defense

Gold sword

+3 attack

+2 defense

Silver sword

+4 attack

+3 defense.

Shirou would quickly dismiss the notifications turning to face the man. "I appreciate this, but would you mind keeping my presence here a secret? I feel as if im not ready to be a true hero for the people yet. I want to get stronger beforehand."

"Of course, it'd be my pleasure. Also, if you're looking for some more ores, I heard Riyute has a mine. I think it's one of the only places you can get light metal?" The man said questioningly, but Shirou would smile.

"Thank you for the information. If me and my group have time, we`ll have to go check it out." With that, Shirou picked up the ores, moving out of the shop with another bow.

"If you're ever around here, feel free to come back! I'll try and get some more ores for ya!"

Shirou slowly made his way back to the inn, enjoying his surroundings, the constant chatter of the townspeople and the movement of wagons. Shirou let himself relax as he walked, listening to the sounds until a conversation caught his ear.

"Did you hear about the shield hero?" A knight whispered to one of the vendors.

"The shield? What happened to him?" The monster merchant asked curiously.

"You haven't heard? Have you been living under a rock for the past couple of days?" Another merchant shouted.

"Well i'm sorry that i conduct business outside melromarc! I only just heard of the heroes being summoned. Why they summoned that devil here, I'll never understand…" the merchant spoke, shaking his head.

"Well, the devil has already been up to his works. He was reported by the girl who joined his party. Apparently he raped her the first night after getting drunk. Not even 48 hours after his summoning." A shocked gasp came from the small crowd that had formed.

"To think the shield devil could sink that low…" one of the people in the crowd spoke, and the others all agreed with him.

Shirou couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had already spoken to his party about the churches treatment of the shield, and he saw the glances thrown by the King when the were first summoned. But Shirou didn't think Naofumi would ever do… that to someone. With that sincere look that naofumi gave him? He just couldn't believe it. He'd have to try and get into contact with the Shield hero, but how was he going to do that? That was something he was going to have to solve later.

Shirou made his way back to the inn quickly after that, greeting the innkeep before moving up to his room. Taking a quick look in, only Bakta was in there. Making his presence known, Shirou waved at him, and he waved back.

"Shirou. Did you set out to do what you wanted today?" Bakta asked, and Shirou nodded.

"Yeah. I got some ores and unlocked some more swords, but there's one other thing I want to try out. Would you mind helping?"

"Not at all. What exactly is it that you would need my help with?"

With a breath, Shirou locked the door and spoke.

"What i'm about to tell you, it doesn't leave this room without my permission ok?"

Bakta nodded, easily accepting the condition, whilst shirou continued to speak.

"I want to attempt something with my Magecraft. It's something I have done before, projecting a weapon."

"What do you mean by projecting a weapon?"

"Right, I forgot you don't know much about magecraft. So, I can only do a few basic Magecraft like I explained the other night. I can do reinforcement, Structural analysis and Projecting. Projecting allows me to create an object with my magical energy. I want to try it with a blade, but I'm going to need to do something dangerous to see them."

Bhakta nodded. "I have a few questions. Is it possible to project anything?"

"It… depends? For me, I can project bladed weapons with nearly no problems, but when it comes to armor and other things, it's where the trouble comes in. Essentially, the further away from the concept of a "sword" an item is, the more difficult it is for me to project."

Bakta nods again. "Ok, I understand… slightly? Better now. What is it that you need me to do?"

Shirou took off the shirt he was wearing without hesitation, pointing towards the shroud wrapped around his arm.

"What I need you to do is unwrap this slightly, and after a short time, wrap it back just as tight."

"What is that? I.. can feel the magic coming from it. It's heavily suppressed, but it's still there. How didn't I discover this earlier?"

"This is from an arm transplant from a man called Archer. He gave up his arm to me to let me live. It contains his magic circuits, as well as his memories. Every time i've used this before, its hurts me. It overloads my brain with his memories, even as his arm tries to destroy me. Think of it as trying to fill a small cup with a bucket. You`ll get the water you need, but lots of unnecessary water will be wasted, pouring all over the place."

Bakta nods, and Shirou keeps speaking. "Like I said, I need you to loosen it slightly, then tighten it shortly after. That should let the arm realize it's connected to me, and start sending memories."

Bakta nodded.

"If it looks like I'm not going to recover any time soon, feel free to fetch a healer or something. All I ask is that you give me some time before."

Bakta nodded, moving to sit beside shirou on the bed. With a breath, Shirou spoke again.

"I'm ready."

He felt the tug from the shroud, the tight hold it had on the arm loosening. The world is quiet for a moment, and as Shirou moves to check if he actually loosened it, Archer's Arm assaults him.

Swords, an infinite factory of blades roars to life before his eyes.

Everywhere Shirou looks, blades are present.

The sky is cloudy, Great gears turn in the sky. He turns to face the mountain of blades.

Two blades catch his eyes. Kanshou and Bakuya, his mind whispers to him. The married same familiar blades he had seen Archer wield. As he looks at them, he feels more information filling his head, the history of the blades, Archers fighting tears his eyes away, his brain threatening to overload. He looks around again, the world becoming blurry, the burning on his back as if a hot iron rod has been shoved into it, the feeling of wrongness, as if this place shouldn't exist, not yet. Like ants crawling into his body

He witnesses a battle of an Archer Vs a Lancer. The married blades are being reproduced over and over again, the Lancer`s scowling as every thrust is met with another pair of the blades, the Silver haired man's eyes cold, calculating..

His mind freezes, and he moves forth once again.

A fight against a cloaked man. Assassin, his mind supplies. He grits his teeth as he feels the arm pulse, in rhythm with the spreading of corruption in his body, only for it to pause.

Another skip.

He watches as the archer chants, his mind going numb to every noise except the words spoken.

"I am the bone of my sword,

Steel is my body

I have ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ blades

▇▇▇…▇▇▇▇!

The man shouts, a name that he should know, words he knows he has spoken before, and a purple flower blooms to life. Seven petals blowing in the wind, even as the dark, corrupting force pushes into it, the petals withering, one by one.

Time skips aga-

Shirou gasps as Bakta panics beside him.

"Shirou! Thank god, you weren't responding!"

Shirou lets out a few more gasps, breathing heavily even as he manages to speak, his voice hoarse.

"W-water…"

Bakta rushes out of the room, returning soon after with a cup of water. Shirou drinks it all greedily, a small cough escaping him.

"T-thank you…" Shirou would cough out.

"I'm not eager to do that again, Shirou. You were burning up! Any longer, and I would have gone to fetch someone, regardless of what you wanted."

Shirou could only grimace. "I'm sorry you had to experience that, Bakta. But it was the only way I could think of doing it. Of learning enough about those blades."

Bakta sighs, nodding. "Did you atleast get the information you needed?"

"I… Yes. I did. I'm just hoping I can project them properly."

"Then let's get to it shall we? I would like to watch you project something."

Shirou nods, positioning himself so he's now sitting straighter. With another breath, he speaks.

"Trace… on."

The familiar glow appears in his hands, Shirous eyes flickering towards the corner of his vision, The MP bar yet again emptying, slowly this time.

Judging the concept of creation…

Hypothesizing the basic structure…

Duplicating the composition material…

Imitating the skill of its making…

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

Reproducing the accumulated years

Excelling every manufacturing process

Shirou mentally went through the steps of his projection. The projection formed in his hands, Shirou letting them fall to the bed as he looked upon the blades, clearly this time. He looked at the married blades. He took in their forms, the Pure black and Pure white daggers, formed from the sacrafice of Mò Yé. He nodded to himself, moving the blades towards his sword, only for a popup to appear.

Warning! Legendary weapons cannot absorb projected weapons!

Checking functions…

Weapon Copy enabled!

Shirou looked at the notification in confusion, and the notification expanded.

Weapon copy

Allows the user to copy weapons to use for themselves!

Copying Kanshou and Bakuya

Weapon copy complete!

Kanshou and Bakuya (degraded) (Level 35 Required)

Stat increase (Minor)

Skill: Triple-Linked Crane wings

Shirou smiles as the blades are copied into the sword, and Bakta looks at them in awe.

"These blades… are you sure they are copies? Absolutely sure?" He would ask in shock.

"I am sure. They will either disappear soon, or I can dismiss them."

"Can I hold them?"

"Of course." Shirou would hold out the blades, pointing the handles towards Bakta as he took them from shirous grasp.

He swung both of them experimentally.

"I've never used these blades before, but it's like my body is adjusting itself, taking the memories from these weapons and making me understand how to use them. It's… weird." Bakta spoke, laying the blades back on the bed.

With one last look at the blades, Shirou dismissed them, fading into the usual blue that his projections do.

"What did you need to copy the blades for? I didn't see you put them into your sword."

"They unlocked something called Weapon copy. It allows me to copy other bladed weapons to be used later." Bakta would nod at that.

"I see, and I assume it copied them then?" A nod from Shirou confirmed it.

"I need to be level 35, but even the sword knew they were just copies. They are degraded by the sword's standards.."

"I wonder if there would be a way to get rid of that…" Bakta would say, curious.

"As far as I know? there isn`t." Shirou spoke. "Now, lets go look for the others yeah?"

Shirou smiled as the final member of his group came back from the bath, sitting at the table as they were served their food.

"So, Shirou. I'm assuming you probably heard what the Shield hero was accused of?" Welt would ask, filling his mouth with food.

Shirou frowned, but nodded. Swallowing the food he was chewing.

"I cant be 100% sure, but from speaking to him for a short time, I don't believe he did it. I don't know how he could either, considering his attack stat is zero. Surely that would have been a difficulty for him."

Farrie would nod. "Yeah. with that speech he gave you about not being weak, he's not going to chuck every chance away. He doesn't seem like the type of person to turn down an advantage. That plus the fact that he didn't even have a party member when we left, it just doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, it's just all… convenient." Tersia spoke up. "It just seems like they are trying to pin it on him. They should be helping the Shield hero prepare for the waves, not demonizing him for their own uses."

Bakta and Welt would nod, too busy eating to speak, but sharing the same sentiments.

"Then i think we need to meet up with Naofumi at some point. But i cant think of any way to meet up with him on the way to where we are going…" Shirou spoke, trying to think of a plan.

"Well, you did talk about meeting up before the waves. Maybe you could catch him there?" Welt would speak up, having finished eating.

"That's true. Maybe you could catch him there? We would need to leave for Castle town a few days before the wave hits, to ensure we get there in time." Farrie would say, nodding to the plan.

"Yeah, that's true… If I was level 50, I could use the portal sword to take us back there, But i`d need to register it first." He shook his head. "I guess we will decide when we get closer to that point. For now, let's enjoy the last night here, and get going in the morning, yeah?"

With a cheer, they continued eating, preparing for the next few days of travel.

Answering some questions

SentinalSlice: I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I thought of having Shirou's journey be a bit more intertwined with Naofumis in the beginning, but I kinda turned myself away from it. Everyone already knows what Naofumi went through, how he goes through it and such. Whilst they will still interact, it won't be them directly affecting each other, maybe just trading knowledge, and what sorts of skills they have/where they acquired them. As for the mana thing, I was trying to figure out how I could potentially link it towards the magic bar on the HUDs for the heroes, so I kind of tried to match them. I hope I can keep posting more, and you continue enjoying it :)

Strikerstriker315: Well, I guess you predicted what I had planned slightly with the copying of blades. As for Shirou using a bow and the Sword arrows, it's not really in the books due to him being… Well, y`know, the sword hero? As for what your other review was, well I do have plans for something, but it will be a bit longer until I can get there.

I dont know how im nearly at 100 favourites on this story, but i hope you all enjoyed the chapter and continue enjoying it. Feel free to leave a review, I'm happy to respond to any questions you may have, and I love reading reviews!