Hello once again, the Opulent Neckbeard here, and we welcome ourselves to a new chapter in the misadventures of Zofie Jiiva in the world of Shield Hero!

First off, Reviews.

Guest: I do have plans for Zofie to acquire companions, but I don't know what the egg would be. If it was a Filolial like Filo, it would probably be a bad idea because birds don't like dragons. If you want a Monster to be in the Monster Gacha, then by all means give suggestions. Companions as well. I had the idea of one biased off of Coral Pukei-Pukei who used Water Magic, but I scrapped the idea last chapter as it didn't seem right, and Raphtalia is more important than some OC.

Bill Draconic Cipher: Thanks for the motivation, I appreciate it. If you have any suggestions, then feel free to let me know.

Silverfox: Well here is chapter 3, so your prayers have been answered by my Opulence.

(More space for Reviews just in case)

Like I said at the end of the last chapter, this will cover the events of the First Wave, so a small timeskip has passed by since the last chapter. This will also be the last one that Naofumi and Zofie will be in an official party together. They will of course meet again, but, and they will leave on good terms, but it's a case where Zofie doesn't need to carry him to high levels anymore, he can do that on his own.

Onto the Story!!!!

Chapter 3: Wave of Elders and Beyond

(Roughly 4 weeks later)

30 minutes, that was all there was left before the Wave of Calamity struck, and the Heroes were having a pretty light hearted conversation about what should happen. They also talked about their adventures so far, having different methods to leveling. This made me curious since I lacked this status magic they had. It did, however act strangely according to the nuns there after they gave me nasty looks from my appearance. Rather than it being red, the sands were glowing a dark blue in color when I walked in to see it before one of the supports cracked slightly. Nothing to cause it to fall over, but enough to get me banned from the room.

Disappointed, I walked back outside where the Heroes were having their talk, not making any headwind whatsoever. Heading over there since I didn't like them fighting, I came up with a suggestion after they explained what they were arguing about.

"I can face this boss on my own if you want. I'm sure protecting others is more important than one thing." I said, a smile on my face.

"What about the loot? You are probably gonna steal it before we get to it." Motoyasu said, Itsuki and Ren nodding in agreement.

"What do I need a corpse for? Naofumi said I was level 78 before I grew curious of the Hourglass thing… I am not allowed in that room anymore." I said, fidgeting a little. Everyone but Naofumi and Raphtalia were shocked at this revelation.

"78?! How many monsters did you kill?" Motoyasu asked.

"Hardly any, only gained a couple levels since arriving with you guys." I said in response.

"She's right, I checked when I adopted Raphtalia. She was level 75 then." Naofumi said with a shrug. "I'm level 25, and Raphtalia is level 26."

Raphtalia in the past month has grown to her mid teens it seemed, making her a little taller than I am, and wore a bigger version of her earlier gear, only with light bits of armor here and there. I am jealous since I hardly changed outside of having better control over this body. We also found out Raphtalia knows Light and Dark magic, whatever that is. Naofumi has Healing and Support… not surprising, and I have Dragon and Fire capabilities. The old witch lady said I am the first person to have a Dragon affinity, even after I told her I was one.

20 minutes remain.

"Oh… but it's wrong for a kid to fight." Motoyasu weakly argued.

"Aren't I older than everyone here combined?" I asked, tilting my head a little. I figured out that people are weak to my head tilt for some reason, Motoyasu was no exception as he immediately stopped arguing to dote on me for being a precious angel. I sighed as the rest laughed at my expense. "Anyways, I want to handle the boss. You guys can help if there are people around." I said with determination.

"Would you like at least one of us to help out?" Itsuki asked. He didn't seem genuine about helping when he asked.

"I would be happier if I did this alone, sorry Itsuki." I said, going over, and patting him on the head. I wasn't going to be rude to him, he is a kid after all.

15 minutes remaining.

I made a final check on my blades, making sure they were at the right sharpness for a fight. While I don't know how to exactly fight in this form, I can try to imitate what I did with my origin form, minus the beams of energy and stuff. They were how I liked them, and I put them away safely in their holsters. Everyone checked as well after noticing I did that as I stretched my legs a little. Not much conversation was going on for the next while.

10 minutes.

5 minutes.

Times up.

Suddenly we vanished from the streets of Castle Town, and in the streets of a village that Naofumi, Raphtalia and I visited before for supplies once or twice. The skies shifted to a deep red, multi colored swirls running rampant while civilians were in a panic. The Heroes agreed to helping as monsters started flooding into the area. Most of them were rotting bodies, and weird yellow and black Vespoids, they chased me for a bit, but seeing as I relearned to fly since I grew wings, I was far faster than them. Some did get close, and were easily chopped apart from even simple swings of my blades.

What I was looking for was this boss they mentioned earlier. Circling around the town we ended up at, I noticed some fire in a nearby area. Soon a familiar orange mane caught my eye, along with the Lion like body.

The Flame Emperor Teostra, Lvl 40

Ugh, I knew the Lunastra cub was weird to see, now there is a full sized one. I don't know if I even understand them anymore, but what has to be done needs to be done. Flying down, I chop down what little resistance there was with the walking dead and vespoids. This caught the attention of the Teostra, who roared to attempt dominance.

"You are foolish to challenge an Elder, young one." It said in a familiar, yet foreign tounge. It was the language of the Elders. That much I do remember.

"Why does everyone assume that with me? I'm an elder too, you know." I complained as my wings stretched out for a moment before settling down. Seems this caught the Teostra off guard.

"An Elder that takes the visage of a Hunter. You betray us all if what you say is true." The Teostra rebutted.

"Not my choice I was revived like this, but you seem to be the boss here, so can we fight? I've grown to like humans in my time with them." I then drew my blades, getting into stance.

"You underestimate my strength, but I shall humor you…" the Teostra then light up in flames, giving a roar before we both charged at one another.

(Meanwhile)

"Air Strike Shield!" a transparent shield protected a family from a group of Wasps, but a couple of Zombies were approaching.

"Wind Arrow!" Itsuki's bow unleashed a torrent of high pressure air, knocking several nearby Zomies out of the way.

"Lightning Spear" Motoyasu's spear then immobilized them in place, giving Raphtalia and Ren time to chop them down, the support members of the party using buffs on the offensive members, keeping their stamina up for the long battle ahead.

"Thank you Heroes for saving us." The father said with a gentle smile.

"Thank us by getting out of here!" Naofumi said, using another Air Strike Shield to guard them further.

The evacuation efforts were going rather well considering that all Four Heroes were working together, protecting and fending off the waves of Zombies and oversized insects. It didn't go without hitches however as some attacks hit the Heroes, flinging them into buildings. It wasn't anything a health potion couldn't fix, but the downtime meant more people could have been hurt in the process. Eventually the evacuation was complete, the Heroes taking a breather as the fighting took a moment to cease.

"Hey Naofumi, good job with those blocks and parries back there." Motoyasu started as he took the time to absorb the body parts of the creatures they felled. Ren and Itsuki did the same.

"Yea yea, we are all here to save the world after all, might as well give it our all in doing so." Naofumi responded as he grabbed some parts as well. Nothing was spectacular, but not useless either.

"I guess Shielders aren't as useless as I first thought… Sorry for judging you when we arrived." Ren apologized with a bow.

"Yea, I can agree with that. Hopefully you can keep up with us when it gets tough." Itsuki chimed in with a chuckle.

"As long as Naofumi and I are together, we shouldn't have any problems." Raphtalia said with confidence. Her ears then twitched as she heard something the others didn't yet. Naofumi knew what that meant though.

"Everyone behind me! Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled out as the Heroes were encased in a large ball of shields, the sounds of arrows hitting the ground around them, as well as fire. The sounds of laughter could be heard as footsteps entered the village.

"We got them all men!" a commanding officer among a knights platoon said, a wide smirk on his face. When the Shield Prison wore off, his expression changed to one of horror. "The Great Heroes?!? What are you doing here??"

"We finished off the monsters before you guys arrived, but I guess we don't have to clean up the bodies?" Motoyasu said with a shrug.

"You should watch where you were aiming, look at the fires you started!" Itsuki yelled out, making the knights pale a bit.

"Mages, put the fires out Asap, last thing we need is a demotion!" the lead knight yelled out, and water magic started getting thrown around where it was needed. The lead Knight then cleared his throat. "So where is the boss?"

"You know how there were five of us summoned?" Naofumi asked finally, getting a small amount of stink eye from the Knight. "She turned out to be a Level 75 Elder Dragon… well, stuck in a human body."

"Seventy Five? You're kidding!" the Knight was too shocked to really be mad at Naofumi for being the Shield Hero.

"He isn't joking, I checked earlier before the wave." Ren said. "She is currently Level 78, and is going against the boss alone. Should be a Chimera if my guess is correct."

"We shall see about assisting where we can then." The Knights rallied up, ready to head out.

"Wait! How about some stay behind to protect the people? They are up the hill from here." Motoyasu suggested, Naofumi agreeing.

"I will aid in protecting the others with Raphtalia, you figure out which of you three will come with. The other two can head to the boss with the main group of Knights." Naofumi said as he began to head to defend the people, Raphtalia giving a light wave as she followed.

"I will join the Naofumi up the hill." Itsuki said since he thought it best to use his range and accuracy to aid their close quarters dynamic.

"Second Platoon, join the Bow Hero, First Platoon will head to the boss!" The CO said, getting the troops in line before they split off. Motoyasu and Ren's parties joined the First Platoon, seeing fire in the distance as they grew closer to the fight.

When they got there, with some casual conversations in the mix, they saw what could be seen as no less than a spectacle.

(Zofie's PoV)

BGM: The Invading Tyrant by FalKKonE

This Teostra had been a lot of fun to fight in all honesty. He behaved differently than most would, even so far as to pause for a couple moments for banter before amping right back up. Seeing how some Knights appeared with Motoyasu and Ren's parties, they must have evacuated the village.

"More humans… shall I blast them away?" The Teostra asked, somewhat displeased to see more people.

"No, they know better than to get into a fight amongst Elders." I responded as the looks of shock and curiosity went across most of their faces. Motoyasu telling the Knights that no one attack them.

"Very well then, since they are here, that must mean those things have been dealt with above. We can fight unrestricted now." The Teostra said, a smile forming on his face.

"We can agree on something? Wow, never thought I would say that with a fellow Elder." I joked before my expression grew more serious.

Taking in a breath, I gave a powerful battle cry similar to that of my roar. Dragon Energy flowed freely around my body, making my hair glow red, and my wings turning a sort of red-violet color. I had been holding back this whole time, more or less stalling to learn what this body can and can't do, and to help the villagers leave. Getting into stance, I prepared myself for the Final Round.

Silence hit for all too long before both the Teostra and I opened up with a respective elemental attack, a Fireball from Teostra, and A Dragon Blade Slash from my Dual Blades. This caused an explosion, which I charged through with more speed than what my fellow Elder would have expected.

"That isn't a Chimera…" Ren said. "At least what we know as one. Looks more like a Lion mixed with a Dragon."

"Yea, no kidding, but didn't you hear it and Zofie speak? I don't know what they were saying, but they seemed to understand each other perfectly." Motoyasu responded, leaning his spear over his shoulders.

"Could it be something from Zofie's world where this is common?" Ren asked, before going into deep thought.

While they had their conversation, the Teostra and I were exchanging blows more frequently, blast dust and my Dragon Energy making the area a dangerous place to be near. I was having so much fun with this fight, but I had to find out a way to end it soon or those vespoids will start attacking again. It just so happened that Teostra wanted to finish it in one shot. Getting airborne, he charged up a massive amount of Blast Dust, letting it all out in one shot. The resulting explosion leveled some houses nearby, but hardly did anything to me. The outfit I have has a high resistance to fire, and not to mention my dual blades have been gradually wreaking his powers. Elderseal is a pain to deal with, trust me.

Seeing my opportunity, I flood my dual blades with Dragon Energy, the pair glowing a pale blue flame, and even extending a little. I charged in at full speed, dodging a swipe from Teostra's paw, my blades sinking into his shoulder. They cut through the scales like butter, causing him to roar in pain. Resetting my position, I then spun myself around his wing, and onto his back with the momentum I generated, becoming a dragon saw of death. A huge gash was opened up on Teostra as he fell, seems his spinal chord got hit, and he became paralyzed. Seeing how this fight was over, I set up for one last strike.

Stabbing my blades into its back, I concentrated my Dragon Energy again, and made it burst through its heart, effectively executing it then and there. As soon as I did that, the skies started to turn back, and I got a loud applause for my efforts. Motoyasu and Ren even came up to me, and gave me headpats. Who told them my weakness, I don't know, but I didn't mind it at all.

BGM end

"Hey Zofie, it looks like you're level 80 now. Good job kiddo." Motoyasu said with a sheepish grin. I giggled at his response as people began to head back to Castle Town. I should meet up with Naofumi and Raphtalia before we head back as well. I hope that Teleport thing works.

(The next day, Celebration Banquet)

The King didn't seem too happy to see me, something that was explained by one of the nicer Nobles there. Turns out the Kingdom is anti Demihuman, and according to them, I counted as a Demihuman. While the feast was going on, I went to talk to the king myself to clear things up. He seemed alright, but this changes my opinion of him a little.

"Umm, Mister King, sir? Can I talk to you for a little bit?" I asked, a little nervous since the last time I said anything to him was when I threatened to kill his daughter. He looks at me, shooting away the company before he glared at me.

"What is it? I was having a nice conversation with the church's representatives." Aultcray said with a grimace to his tone.

"I just wanted to talk… about everything." I said, sitting down by the throne, hugging my legs. I wasn't in the most cheerful of moods as my wings and tail shrunk to take up less space.

"You have my attention, now speak." Aultcray said, his tone more of a demand than anything.

"…. Why am I seen as a nuisance? I do my best to help this world, even going as far to beat a Teostra during the Wave, but all I get is nasty looks and shown the door… Do people not see me for who I am?" I asked, my tone relatively quiet for the most part.

Aultcray was torn for a moment since he had a soft spot for children, but his past made it hard to sympathize with Demihumans, or those who looked it at least. Letting out a sigh, he finally spoke.

"This nation has been at odds with Demihumans for decades at this point. They took something precious away from me…. Something you threatened to take away as well." He said, a mix rage and sadness in his voice.

"Your people are blinded by racism…. That suddenly makes a lot of sense. And while I never intended to open old wounds you may have, your daughter is a horrible person. She makes morality seem like a chore, and just does whatever she wants for power… even if that means getting rid of people because she feels like it." I said, my tone darkening when I spoke of Malty.

"I don't appreciate that tone towards my family…" the King snarled a little bit before I looked at him, my hair turning red from anger.

"I don't hate you, or your family. I hate your daughter, and her alone. Whenever I see her now, I want to kill her. Whenever I talk about her, my anger wants to boil over, and look for her. I don't feel that way towards you because you have a level of dignity I respect. You care for your people, even if it is in a detached way… That I find admirable." I said, starting to calm down a bit, but my hair remained partially red.

"I see…" Aultcray was a bit quiet after that, unsure what to say. I decided to change topics to save both our sanity.

"There were no casualties during the Wave… The heroes evacuated everyone out by the time your knights came." I said, seeing the King nod approvingly at that.

"For that I thank the Heroes, but what of the boss? Surely it would've taken longer if the evacuation effort ignored the monsters." Aultcray argued.

"That wasn't a problem, I took care of it alone. The boss was something I am familiar with. An Elder Dragon by the name of Teostra. From what I could tell, he was a young adult, still in his overly arrogant stage. He also wasn't a match for me." I said, and the King seemed interested suddenly.

"How did you best it alone? The Heroes did say it was a level 40 monster." Aultcray said, his head resting on his hand in a lax manner.

"I am Level 80 according to Naofumi and Motoyasu. My outfit also resists fire and Dragon elements greatly." I said, almost boasting a little bit. Aultcray's eyes almost bulged out of his head a little at my level. Before he could say anything, we both heard a commotion starting in regards to a friend I made recently.

"Naofumi, how could you buy another person?! I thought you were better than this!" Motoyasu yelled out suddenly. Seems like some nobles tipped him off thinking Raphtalia was a slave. I had to intervene sooner or later.

"King sir, I should keep the Heroes in check.." I said before standing up. "We can continue our conversation afterwards." I said with a bow before heading over to Motoyasu.

I jumped up, and hit him lightly on the top of the head, which caused him to stumble. This garnered a laugh from a couple people nearby who found it amusing, but others seemed like they were going to riot.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Motoyasu then yelled, more in confusion than anything.

"I heard your outburst, you Kelbi-head. Naofumi adopted Raphtalia, not bought her." I said with a deadpan expression. "We even have the paperwork."

"Huh? So he didn't buy Raphtalia as a slave?" Motoyasu asked dumbly before getting slapped by Raphtalia herself. If I had something to drink, I probably would have spit it out before laughing.

"Ask us before you jump to conclusions, Spear Hero!" Raphtalia yelled before she walked back to Naofumi, the Shielder chuckling some.

"S-sorry, miss." Motoyasu gave a weak apology as his face was pulsing red now in the shape of Raphtalia's hand. I'm just glad things didn't go south from there. I then returned to the king to continue our discussion, but lost track of what we were talking about. Oops.

"Ahem… Thank you for defusing that. As much as I hold against Demihumans, I would rather not have a mess in the castle." Aultcray said before I looked to him.

"Why do you hold such anger towards them? You mentioned your family was involved, but you never said any details." I said, my tone more curious now.

"… They killed my parents when I was younger… I vowed since then that I will not accept Demihumans as equals since then." Aultcray said with a small amount of sadness in his tone. I put a hand on his shoulder, something Naofumi does for me when I'm stressed, or anyone he is attached to.

"While I don't know what it is like to have parents, I can understand that the loss hurts you." I said in a calm tone, not as good as Naofumi when it comes to comforting. "However, innocent people should never be thrown into the middle of it. No one should be hurt because someone else is."

Aultcray looked at me with a mix of emotions. Some anger, some sadness, some relief. I couldn't nail anything down, but he did seem tired all of the sudden.

"I am going to need some time alone, if you will excuse me, Little Zofie." Aultcray said, saying my name for a change. I give him room as he left the room, probably off to think about things. I wished him the best of luck in my head as I returned to the party more proper with the Heroes.

The party overall was fun for a while, but died down once some of the people left. To pass the time, I offered a little game humans called Arm Wrestling. I held myself back to make it interesting, and intentionally lost to see other people try their hand. The adventurers seemed to have the most fun, though a few of the nobles (in a drunken haze) took a chance at things as well. One of the maid even took the challenge, beating Naofumi and Itsuki with surprising strength. This got me curious about them since they seemed to be a Demihuman like Raphtalia, only more familiar in a sense.

I approached when she finally lost, taking some water, and an ice pack to help her shoulder some. I smelt the scent of a monster from her, but heavily masked by the general scent of humans. She had dark grey hair, and soft red eyes. A standard maid uniform for the most part as it had to be modified to an extent. Namely room to let her tail go behind her, which had a mix of fur and scales on it. Flickers of red could be seen in the fur covered top of the tail. She also had a pair of ears that looked like a wolf.

"Hello there, are you doing okay?" I asked, sitting down at the table she did. She nodded, saying it was just strain, nothing too big. "I'm Zofie, what about you?"

"I don't think it's proper for a mere maid like me to introduce myself to one of the Heroes." She admitted with a small laugh. She seemed somewhat nervous around me, which is understandable since what happened last month at this point.

"You beat a couple of the Heroes in Arm Wrestling though, specifically the Shield and the Bow." I said with a tease, which she suddenly paled a little.

"I b-beat the Shield Hero? Oh no, people are going to hate me!!" she held her head, shaking it back and forth a bit. "I'm such an idiot!!"

I giggle at this a little bit since it was cute. "It's okay, everyone was having fun, so it doesn't matter who won or not. I am stronger than all of them, yet I'm not having a mental breakdown."

"You're stronger than all of them? What level are you?" she then asked, stopping her panic.

"Level 80, though I have a star there now." I said. "At least that's what Naofumi said."

"Oh, that means you have to get a class up at the Church. Having a level 80 join with the Heroes is really cool." She said with a smiled with admiration.

"I can't go in the church anymore… the Hourglass reacts violently when I'm near." I said, my tone devoid of emotion, my face blank.

"So that's why the Hourglass had to be fixed. King Aultcray was curious about that… Anyways, since you said all of that, I am Avaritia Drakevow." She finally introduced herself. "I am just a maid here, nothing special."

I cheered up a little bit since she finally introduced herself. "My full name is Zofie Jiiva, I guess Xeno works as a nickname at this point, haven't thought of my old name much since I adopted this one."

"Xeno? Seems a little odd to say, but it suits you somehow." Avaritia said with a smile.

"Okay, okay… now that we know what are names our, I have a question to ask…. Would you like to join me, and help save the world?" I asked suddenly, my hands on the table as I leaned over.

"Eh?" Avaritia broke down a little as her mind tried to process what I was asking. "You… want me to go with you? I can't, my duties are here." She then said.

"Then why don't we ask the King then? He should feel better now since he has had some time alone." I suggested with a wide smile. It seems the trick works still as Avaritia briefly fawned over my expression, and lead me to the King's room, knocking of course because barging in would be rude.

"You may enter." Aultcray said, his tone seeming to be a bit more jovial.

Avaritia and I came in, and I gave a wave to Aultcray, a smile still plastered on my face.

"Little Zofie, and…."

"Avaritia Drakevow, your lordship." The maid stated her name.

"…. Thank you, Avaritia. How may I help you?" Aultcray asked. It seems like he is more accepting of me at least now that we had a bit of a heart to heart, but I can tell that his racism isn't going to vanish in one day.

"I wish to make Avaritia a companion of mine so we can help save the world." I said with confidence, hand on my hips and everything.

"And what brought the occasion to ask a maid to help?" Aultcray asked, and to be honest, I didn't think I would get this far.

"Ahh… Firstly I don't think I'm a good cook, that goes to Naofumi. Secondly, Ava-chan here is more special than she thinks." I take one of the red things from her tail to show. "Do you know what this is?"

"I can't say I do, but I have been told they are usually seen around Dragon's Nests by my researchers at the church." Aultcray said, not sure where this was going.

"They are Dracophage Bugs. Some have nested where I originally lived while I slept. I know only enough about them to know what they are capable of in the right situation, something Ava-chan here can do. That's why I want to take her with me. She is the first I've seen like myself in a way." I said, my voice all sorts of excited as I return the bug to Avaritia's tail, it nestling nicely.

"I see… I will leave that up to her to decide. I will come up with an appropriate payment for your efforts in the Wave. You may stay here for the evening alone with the Other heroes." Aultcray said, giving a small smile at my excitement. It reminded him of his younger daughter at times when she is around.

"Thank you, King Aultcray." I gave a bow, returning the name honors he gave me earlier before Avaritia and myself left for the night.

"Hey Zofie, what did you mean by that I can use those bugs on my tail?" Avaritia asks, her tone curious.

"You will know soon, curious Stygian…" I said with a smile still on my face, bubbling with excitement of a new companion… more than likely.

'Status Magic Unlocked'

And that is the chapter done, and boy is it a long one (for me at least). Now to explain my thoughts through this.

With the Wave, I wanted to change little with the general monsters, but wanted to throw a curve ball for the boss being Teostra. He looked close enough to a Chimera to count, and kept him a low enough level to not seem so strong. I feel like the Butterfly effect with Zofie is working things for the better so far.

As for the party, I didn't like how King Aultcray didn't talk to any of the Heroes one on one, so I had Zofie again do that so she could have a heart to heart. While it may seem out of character for Aultcray to accept Zofie a bit here, I will just chalk that down to Zofie being somewhat similar in personality to Melty at this point.

Her knowledge also stems from the one month timeskip where Naofumi and Raphtalia helped her out when she struggled, her adaptability also being a key thing since she was able to quickly adjust to things. Also the fact that she does remember from the Void she sat in before attaining her human form about various things about the New World….

Which leads to Avaritia Drakevow. She was a last minute addition to start her split from Naofumi, and also the first companion of a Monster/Demihuman. Of course Dracophage Bugs only mean that Avaritia is a Stygian Zinogre Demihuman. Her level hasn't been decided yet, but I will think of it by the next chapter.

Also things to confirm for next chapter. Zofie will not be limited to Level 100. Since she is not classified normally by the world of Shield Hero, she is seen in a similar vein to Fitoria or other creatures that do not fit in the standard leveling system. How far she can go, I don't know, that is up to you.

Speaking of Fitoria… shall the two meet within the next couple of chapters? I'm sure that their first encounter would be rather funny now that I think of it. Also what should I do about companions? Perhaps a Malfestio Filolial?

Anywho, that is all I have to say for now, so bis später, and the Opulent one is out!