The sun slowly rose above the mountain range that rested upon the fringes of Melromarc, shining itself upon the valley below. The Melro Mountains have always acted as the border between those who have attempted expansion and the natives. The only successful campaign against the country was when the Demi-humans used the ocean.

Said demi-human settlement to the south however would soon become disenfranchised from the other Demi-humans, the Great War becoming the chance they wanted. When the Demi-human advancement into Melromarc had failed in the Ougaughst Swamp, the new Republic of Shieldfreeden took the opportunity of the major loss to become independent from their continental counterpart.

For Maple, she never knew of the bloody history of where she made camp. The Shield simply enjoyed the sight of the massive range while cooking for herself a small morning stew. A slightly large bear-like carcass laid at Maple's side, a beast that Syrup killed an hour after making camp. While they could tolerate eating the creature straight, sometimes you just want the luxury of cooking such fine meat.

It had taken over an entire night, but the stew had finally cooked properly. Maple was throwing in the final round of salt and spices Erhard had suggested for the stew. However, it was a little odd to be given a baseball size salt crystal to shave off instead of a simple salt shaker.

After adding two more shavings from the crystal, Maple took a small sip of the broth.

"Sugoi, it's even better than last night. But, hmm…"

Maple reached into her bag, hoping that maybe she might still have pieces left from her previous foe. She could still recall the taste of when she ate the meat raw and maybe its was what the stew was missing. At first she could not find any and seemed as if she had finally consumed all the meat. That was, until she saw something small shining at the bottom of the bag.

"Huh, was this a part of the swamp boss?"

She reached in and took what looked to be a crystal and brought it out of the bag to get a closer look. A purple glow covered her hand. The crystal itself was quite odd, and with a little knock on some nearby rocks, Maple confirmed it was a similar structure to that of the salt crystal. Curiosity got the better of her, and Maple decided to lick the odd piece figuring it was just odd colored salt.

"Sugoi!" Her smile reached from ear to ear as her tongue touched it. It had a taste similar to all of the bosses that she ate, but was far superior. It was as if the flavor that gave them such epic proportions was concentrated into a single item.

Oh it would work so good with the stew!

With that thought in mind the Shield Hero took a knife out and tried to strike the crystal, but instead of breaking the crystal the knife just slid across it. A sharp sting came from her hand from the path the knife took off of the crystal. Her blood splashed on the item and started eating away the crystal itself.

"Oh no oh no!" With a quick motion Maple ran to the pot, dumping the crystal into the sludge along with the small drop of her blood. Instantly, the crystal dissolved completely into the pot.

"..." The amature chef looked at her meal for a moment before shrugging and filling up the prepared bowls, "Alright, time to eat Syrup!"

"Kyaa!" The beast who was now the size of a large dog quickly made its way over. The head count for Syrup had been changing quite a bit, but Maple noticed that it seemed to stay at about 3 heads for itself. Either way, it happily ran over to her and ate from the bowl that Maple gave it.

With her friend happily eating Maple herself began to eat. The moment she started to eat it, she could not stop herself from eating the entire dish. Within a moment of starting, Maple had eaten the entire thing, bowl and all.

[New Genetic Material Detected…]

[Assimilation]: [Hide of the Dragon Emperor]

After seeing that come across her screen, Maple quickly checked up on the effects. She didn't stop smiling, as it looked to have been a massive buff to her defence. Why did she not eat this sooner, Maple would not know. Well then again, she didn't know it would give her any ability.

"Hey Syrup, are you ready to get going?"

"Kyaa!"

Once camp and all their items were packed up and put onto the Abomination's Shell they were on their way. A small kue was given before Syrup began their last few hours of travel towards their destination.

The horizon to the north was covered in a series of massive mountains, similar to those Maple saw near the Swamp of Ougaughst. If her memory and map served her right, that mountain range was what protected Melromarc from the outside world. They were, for the most part, completely impassable by land travel due to the rough terrain and the Dragons that lived there.

While it was an awe inspiring mountains range, there were people who lived at the foothills of these structures. As Maple looked around, she could see the signs of major damage all around her. Full forest of trees showing signs of a major fire and hills with large scares running along their faces.

Where there should have been animals grazing, were instead empty fields filled with thick grass all about. Maple could have sworn she saw movement in one of the fields, but whatever roamed in the grass was trying its best to run away from her.

Soon Maple made it to her destination, the City of Bucharest. All about the City Maple noticed similar massive scorch marks to the ones she saw earlier. The fields boarding the town that should be green were nothing but ashe. All in all, Maple could not believe the pitiful state the town was in.

She arrived at what should have been a guarded gate and instead was greeted to a broken frame and no apparent barrier. Maple could not help a chill go up her spine while going past the ruins.

Erhard only gave her a brief summary of what happened here, that this is where the Waves first hit Melromarc. Since they were at the edge of the Kingdom, the Royal Levies were not fully assembled till a few days after word of the first attack. So the Monsters had enough time to break through the walls, killing a good number of the population until the Levies finally arrived and crushed the Waves.

As the Shield Hero wandered the streets she did not see very many people going about in the city. The few she did see were walking slowly, a fallen look upon their faces. Maple almost instinctively covered her nose, the stench coming off of these people was not the most pleasant.

How would she get started to help these people?

Should she contact the local authorities? She was doing this for the King, so she should have permission to at least talk to them. Ah, but what if it takes too long for anything to happen? She only has less than two weeks to take care of everyone here before she needs to head back for the next Wave.

Soon though Maple was brought out of her thought with the sound of clanking metal. In a motion that was hard for Maple to really follow, one of Syrup's heads quickly went to the source.

"Gah!" With a fluid motion Syrup whipped its head, sending the assailant flying in front of them. Maple's eyes met that of a little boy, younger than even herself being tossed onto the ground like a rag-doll.

However, as their eyes met the boy quickly got onto his feet and started into a full sprint away. In reaction Maple reached out with her left hand, "[Ensnare]!"

"Oh no!" the boy cried out as the ground quickly shattered beneath him. Vines just like those of Vialan quickly wrapped themselves around him, easily binding him to the ground as he struggled to escape.

"Please, let me out, I'm really sorry for doing that!" He shouted as Maple approached him, "Please don't kill me!"

"Uh, I, uh, what were you doing? Did you just try to steal from me?"

"N-No! I just saw something-"

"Grrrrrrr…." The deep growl came from Syrup, three heads positioning in attack mode. They were ready to pounce upon the little boy, eliminate him for such a transgression against Mother.

"Sorry, but Syrup doesn't think you are telling the truth." Maple solemnly answered to him, "Do you have family?"

"I won't tell you where they are!"

"But I can't let you go without a proper scolding. Uh, I think." Maple took a moment to herself in thought, turning towards the crowd of onlookers that formed, "Uh, are there any guards here?"

No one said a word, all of them simply looking at her with a small dash of fright. Few did a motion, if at all really. They were all simply onlookers to the small amount of entertainment that they could rarely get during such a ruined state of affairs.

Maple could not help but swallow at the sight. No one here was really in the right minds, and this encounter was long enough that someone of authority should have shown up. The realization brought a windy chill right up her spine, easily doing more damage than a sword ever could.

Maple went ahead and released the boy from the vines, however before he could run Syrup gave a subtle growl towards him causing him to freeze in place.

In and out, in and out. Maple controlled her breath for a moment before speaking, "Then for punishment I want your help."

"W-with what!?"

Maple thought for a moment, thinking back to everything she had. The dozens of skills she had already accumulated, each one capable of doing vast amounts of change for these people. Then an idea lit itself inside of her head.

"Uh, could you get some seeds or something? I need them for my task."

"Seeds? How would I get seeds!?"

"Oh, is that so…" Maple looked around for a moment, the harsh eyes of everyone upon her, "Uh, could you lead me to a field or something? You know, where people grow food?"

"W-why would I do that?"

Maple could not help but feel a slight bit of irritation talking to the boy. However now was not the time to get angry, a slight sigh escaping her mouth.

"Because I want to help everyone here."

The boy looked at Maple with a questioning glare, one that could pierce a person who did not tell the truth. However, he did not feel any spite from her, simply her being a person slightly older than himself. While she kind of looked like an adventurer, she seemed different to the others who came before.

"A-alright. Follow me, and don't you get any ideas!"

"Shouldn't I be saying that though?" Maple noted while scratching her head.

Once the two and the creature left the area, the crowd began to disperse. While most simply went back to their homes, a small few decided to follow. This was their reality where following a heavily armored girl and her escort was more entertaining than watching two Rats fight over edible flies.

In one of the alleys nearby a pair of green eyes observed the full commotion and soon grew curious. They decided to tag along with the small crowd staying far in the back to cover themselves.

It did not take long for both groups to reach the field. The largest obstacle were the remains of the once proud gate of the modest city. Now fully seeing what should have been a proper field where wheat and grain was supposed to grow, Maple could see clearly why this place was truly suffering.

Instead of healthy green stocks of wheat, the land was completely covered in ash. Massive holes littered through the landscape, each easily larger than a normal man. Why even as Maple stood here, there was an inkling that something foul might soon take hold over this place. Maple thought of how many must have died here in this place. She wondered how it feel for her escort when he was really still just a kid.

For now, the past would have to wait and she had a job to do. Honestly, what she was going to do was a gamble on her part. She never got a chance to test those abilities from Vialan, but now was not really her time to think about it.

Maple reached over to one of the packs that rested on Syrup's back, taking out her knife. After taking in a deep swallow, the Shield Hero gently poked the tip of her finger. The tip of the knife started to form steam, showing the dangerous toxins already eating at it. Within only a second's notice Maple flung her arm about, small droplets of her blood landing upon the ground before everyone.

"Well, here goes. [Blood of Plant Life]!"

Having closed her eyes once she pricked herself, she opened them to the sight of green returning to where her blood landed. The green then started to grow rapidly. Healthy wheat rocketed out of the ground like a series of spears that would pierce the heavens.

"Yata! It Worked! See!" With joy going through her entire body, the Hero of the Shield quickly laid the blade to her hand and sliced a nice groove into it. She was experiencing a high unlike no other, one that heroes upon battlefields experience when they knew their duty would change the lives of those around them.

With a wound now cleanly opened, Maple simply allowed the vitae to fall upon the ground. Within the next moment the ground below her grew green, quickly expanding in all directions.

Roots and steams of once dead wheat became animated, the leaves and stalks blocking the soil below her. Quickly did they rise, embracing the subtle sunlight that shined upon the ground around her. The wheat quickly dried, turning to a color unmistakably that of Gold and the greatest yield of seeds any within the crowd had ever seen.

Within that crowd was the daughter of the Burgermeisters, her green eyes looking upon the miracle being performed before her. Her thinning stomach bgan growling at the delectable food about her. To her, and everyone about her, that girl in such wicked armor had somehow brought life back into the fields of their city.

It was obvious to them she had to be one of the Great Heroes, maybe even an Angel sent by the Gods themselves in such trying times.

The Golden Miracle of the Shield Saint, that is what this event would be called to those hundreds of years from now. Evidence of her Divine power against the catastrophe that waves wrought.

For Rishia, the daughter who we see such a miracle in front of her eyes, felt her feet already moving. While her soul told her to stay and watch such an act save the lives of her people, her mind and honor instructed her to move. To flee so that she can tell her father what has happened!