The group was led through a magnificent corridor, with windows looking out of the castle over the expansive medieval city. Ben felt a bit irritated about the number of stairs he needed to climb in order to get his first look outside on this world but at the end of the day it was worth it. The other summoned "superheroes" seemed interested in the view, reminding him of the first time he went to Donovan Grandsmith's underwater resort and ended up fighting a group of rogue cyber squids.
From what he could guess, this place seemed like a mix of medieval and mediterranean setting with a bit of Eastern European influence. Architecture like that wouldn't have seemed so out of place in probably late 15 or 17th century. Of course this was a parallel universe so it was hard to draw similarities between this place and his homeworld. However of all the places he could have been summoned to, this didn't seem half bad in comparison.
Though considering the fact that last time he got to visit a parallel dimension was when he was kidnapped by an evil version of himself who called himself Mad Ben (So original!), it wasn't much of a competition
As the crowd led them out from the tower and he could finally see the royal palace, he noticed something strange with his vision. Some sort of circle in corner of his eyes which moved with him as he turned his head, almost as if he was wearing a pair of glasses with smudge on them.
Curious about what he could only describe as small icon at the edge of his sight, The young Tennyson focused on the small button. Immediately a sort of menu...filled his vision. Startling Ben a great deal.
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Status Magic? What the hell is this about?
Ben's eyes looked over the menu as a whole grid of information became available to him. Class: Bow Hero Lvl 1 was written in one of those boxes, printed in english characters. Below his name and equipment is his statistic parameter lists, from the top in a clockwise order, Attack, Agility, Magic, MP (Magic Points), HP (Health Points), and Defense. One particular part of this ID card looking screen is his defensive capability reaching a disproportionate amount in comparison to his high attacking power and agility
That was strange. He worked out a lot throughout all these years, he never remembered himself being so squishy
Lvl as in Level. Like in some sort of game. Darn! It's official. I am in dire need for some serious medical help...
A ping like voice sounded in his mind as another "menu " popped up in front of his eyes
-[Help Section]-
#1. Legendary Weapon is capable of assuming various forms, as long as the user has unlocked them and has the necessary requirements for their use. Absorb various materials in order to unlock new bow series and strengthen the holy weapon.
#2. According to the sacred agreement, A hero must only use the legendary weapon to fight. A hero can not under any circumstances use other weapon with an intent to fight
The young hero shook his head, perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him or he was terribly exhausted after escaping the undead planet. There was no way in hell he was seeing his own character sheet as if he was playing in some sort of MMORPG game. That was absurd even by his standards.
Let's meet the King first and get to the bottom of this cardinal hero business. I can deal with everything else later.
Ben stopped focusing on the small button and just like that, the status window disappeared, replaced by his usual eyesight.
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The walk to royal palace was followed by a stereotypical needlessly fancy massive double door which required at least four people on each side just to open. Surprisingly, despite his initial misgivings he felt normal, great even. His body seemed full of energy and vigor something you wouldn't expect from a superhero who had been into an hour long life and death battle which was supposed to decide the fate of his Universe.
Soon, the four summoned individuals approached the supposed king, a man appearing to be in his early fifties, he wore fancy purple and golden garbs alongside a golden crown which had a bright glowing purple gem embedded in the middle. All around him were oddly dressed individuals, who were busy whispering amongst themselves. The guarding knights silently standing around throne room irked him a bit as the knights back home held a " very special" place in his heart. He tried his best to ignore their presence even if the shine of their polished armor pieces nearly made him punch one of them in the face.
"I am Melromarc Aultocray the XXXII, King of Melromarc. Heroes, please introduce yourselves." Ben shook his head with a sigh. Needless to say his first impression of this man wasn't very pleasant. His tone reeked with superiority and vanity. It hadn't even been a moment since this man saw them and he was already looking at them as if they were lesser beings.
"Well, I suppose introductions are a must after all. I'm Kitamura Motoyasu, 21 years old and a university student." As expected from the spear wielder he introduced himself in a rather pompous manner, showcasing his skills with the polearms with a couple of swift movements.
University student? Doesn't seem like a way someone in hero business would introduce himself
The sword boy scoffed and walked forward , introducing himself in a rather aloof manner "I am Amaki Ren. Age 16. Highschool student."
The shield bearer took a long breath as he moved to introduce himself, "I am..."
"So we now know the names of Sir Spear and Sir Sword. How about you introduce yourself Sir Bow?" Aultocray cut Naofumi, eyes solely focused on the three in front of him.
Now that caught Ben off guard. The intense hatred he saw in the king's eyes when he looked at the third hero made him flinch, making him wonder if even Harangue could hold a candle to that. Strange. How could anyone hate the guy so much when he had only been in this place for a few minutes? He was also the quietest one of the bunch.
This is getting weirder and weirder with each passing moment. Does he have some sort of memory problem or he is doing this intentionally? This isn't something a King would do to a hero he called upon to save his Kingdom.
"Of course your highness." Ben responded with a forced smile, "But isn't it proper etiquette to let my friend here finish his introduction first?"
A quick exchange of eyes happened and Ben second guessed himself, but he swore he saw contempt and annoyance inside the King's eyes as he looked over to the shield hero.
" I'm Iwatani Naofumi, Twenty-years-old, I'm also a university student." Naofumi introduced himself a little nervously, finding his situation a bit awkward as he noticed how the king's eyes seem closed and he almost seemed to be ignoring him completely. On purpose if he dare say.
Looks can be deceiving, but I doubt any of them are experts in saving a world on brink of destruction
"Ben Tennyson, Age 24, I run a couple of plumber shops in LA country." Ben introduced himself with a slight bow. There was no point in completely hiding his identity from these people given that he was famous throughout the universe. But he wasn't going to mention anything about the omnitrix and aliens until anyone asked him to.
Deciding to play his cards rather close to his chest in case thing went south (Which they did seven out of ten times)
"Nice meeting you Tennyson-san." Naofumi greeted with a smile. Afterall he was the person who helped him in somewhat saving his face in front of a king who clearly disliked him. Besides compared to those other two, Ben seemed rather approachable and easy to befriend.
"A plumber, Huh? " Motoyasu repeated, raising an eyebrow in contempt and half smirking. Ben just shrugged in response taking a page out of his grandfather's book who were mocked by his fellow NASA peers for taking such a "lowly" job but deep inside, the old man always knew the joke was on to them.
There was an air of dread that Ben could feel seething all over them, especially the shield hero in particular. He had doubts about the king, and he fully wanted to know if there was any ulterior motive behind this urgent gathering.
All of a sudden, a robbed individual, most likely a sorcerer, took center stage, spreading his arms and approaching the four summoned individuals. "Oh heroes, if you could please confirm your status so we can properly proceed."
Ah so it wasn't just me...this status crap is for real!
As he could guess, everyone didn't seem much happy at seeing that despite being called legendary heroes, they were on level 1. Though Ben wasn't expecting them to be so much defensive about it. Especially the spear wielder, much of the confidence he displayed before had now vanished. While Ben was surprised at first after seeing this "status magic" once he began thinking about it, that didn't seem like the weirdest quirk to have. Especially when he came from a world where a sorceress could transform people into dolls and there was an alien species which could fly in the air by literally using their mustache.
Now that he knew he wasn't hallucinating the young hero pulled the menu back up , directly going for the help, as he scanned through the list of items on it...he realized that this was basically just owner's manual for having a legendary holy weapon.
"Man! All this reading is going to give me a massive headache. I hope this world can provide me with a bunch of aspirins. I am definitely going to need it." He groaned inwardly.
"I understand that being on such low levels makes you all uneasy. That's why we would like you to go on a journey to polish your skills and strengthen your weapons, alongside the companions we chose to accompany you. The next wave of calamity should be arriving soon and the fate of our world rides on your shoulders. " The king explained to the panicky and breathless heroes.
Wearing a heavy frown on his face, Ben spoke out in a serious tone
"Forgive me your highness but you are still withholding some information from us. Especially in regards of this waves of calamity stuff. I feel like..."
However the spear hero cut him off before he could finish
"That's right! You can't expect us to work for free, right? Say, if we were to fight in these waves you speak off, what guarantee do we have that you won't simply send us off with our hands empty after we beat it?" Motoyasu spun his spear angrily clanging the butt end of the ground. Ren didn't do anything else but a wave of his sword was more than enough.
Ben shook his head, a bit startled by seeing the aggression from his fellow heroes. While he could see where they were coming from as his best friend Kevin used to tell him, Nothing is free, everything has a price, he was tackling a different approach by getting more details about his trip here so far something a person who had been in the hero business for a long time would do.
Shiny armor, fancifully dressed individuals, pompous attitude. A distressed nation being attacked, all this seemed a bit too flimsy for his taste. Like they used to teach in the Plumber's academy Precaution is never enough.
"Rest easy, heroes! It would bring utmost shame upon our nation to not reward their saviors. Of course, you'll receive rewards, glory and fame. We ask that you trust in our word and fight the waves." The king spoke loudly, many of the aristocrats around them also nodding and lightly clapping to their sovereign's words. Ben couldn't help but notice the empty seats besides the king, most likely reserved for Queen and the heir apparent, as he continued speaking, explaining the reason behind the hero summoning. The grand summoning of the supposed saviors of this world would be something important enough to warrant the presence of entire royal family. Yet only the king occupied his throne right now.
Aultocray said that since ancient times, Waves of Calamity came over the world from a dimensional crack in the sky, pouring in all types of creatures that threatened the world with destruction. Heroes were summoned to help combat the creatures, their strength necessary to end the Waves as they would become harder and harder to fight off.
A large hourglass called The Hourglass of the Dragon's Era was said to count down the time between the waves, with the first one having already happened three days ago.
"Heroes, let us feast your successful summoning. A banquet is being prepared, so please, rest for now. We shall have our maids summon you when it's time for the feast.
"Very well." Motoyasu once more hit the butt end of his spear on the ground.
"He sure is easy to please." Ben sweatdropped
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As the time went by, the possibility of his three colleagues being some sort of super individuals from parallel universes became less and less probable. The spear hero didn't waste any time in flirting with the maid sent to guide them to some fancy room. He didn't have to make much efforts though as she appeared to be rather star struck from the very moment she saw him. While she treated all three of them with utmost respect and admiration , once again, he felt some amount of hidden contempt in her voice when she greeted Naofumi.
That was strange. First the incident with the king and now this? Why these people would hate one of the guys who was supposed to save their world by battling hordes of monsters? That didn't make sense at all.
The room assigned to them wasn't half bad. It was rather large, had a lot of expensive furniture and artistic tapestry. The room also had a huge verandah at the right exit.
"I guess that is the royalty for you." Ben tried to strike a conversation, hoping that now he would be able to get a better grasp in regards of these three individuals as they were all by themselves for now.
"It seems rather cliche but this setting has it's own charm." The swordsman responded as he examined the curtains of the room.
"Right? The plot is somewhat similar to Emerald Online." Motoyasu let out an excited grin as he practised a few thrusts with his spear.
"What are you talking about? This is just like a VRMMO I used to play." The swordsman offered his own tid bit.
Now Ben was feeling a bit lost, while he could understand that why this world reminded them of some sort of MMORPG as he had similar thoughts in the beginning as well. But after hearing about stuff like "Prophecy" and battling the horde of monsters in order to save this world, their survival and how they intended to deal with this gigantic mission on their hands, should be the first thing in their mind.
Don't tell me...I have to save this world with the help from bunch of guys who play video games?
"Look, I have no idea of what you guys are talking about. There was is no Emerald Online, and no VRMMO." Naofumi responded in an agitated tone, wondering if those two were just playing some sort of prank on him, "I guess that the closest thing you would find related to that would be WoW or some recently created MOBA right? In first place, VR is still in experimental stages and whatnot."
"Oie, Plumber/Tennyson-san!" Motoyasu and Naofumi both came to Ben, The spear wielder calling out to him, "Tell him that I am right! You also played it, right?" The duo came close to stepping inside his personal space, prodding him to agree with one of them.
"I don't know , A lot of AI manipulated games came into market recently. I can't keep track of all of them." Ben shrugged in response. Ren raised his eyebrows at listening to that.
The three heroes started a discussion amongst themselves, with Ben occasionally chiming in. They started with comparing basic notions, World War, The current Japanese Prime Minister, the person on the 10-thousand Yen bill, and even the current year. All different answers for each of the heroes.
"Are you telling me that we all came from different versions of Earth? That is crazy!" Naofumi stated the group's thoughts. They all were huddled together, sitting on Ben's bed, and now each was left to ponder on their own for a while.
It didn't have much impact on Ben though as he knew the fact from the very beginning. If a person from his universe was here he would have recognized him without any doubt. He saved the planet twice in every month, for crying out loud.
"Anyways, it's not like any of that matters now." The blonde spoke, desperately trying to change the topic as he was still very much shaken from recent events, "Wait, Naofumi, your weapon is a shield?" Naofumi once more became the focus of the group as eyes settled on his shield.
"That's right, Shield Hero and all that."
Motoyasu let out a disappointed breath and shook his head sideways.
"You know, don't take this personal, but in Emerald Online, Shield Bearers were bottom tier trash!"
"Their initial defense is high and all, but there are no high-level shield users. Hell, a shield isn't even a weapon, it's more like protective gear." Ren nodded alongside him
Motoyasu got in Naofumi's face , bending down to see eye to eye with him. "In other words, you are a loser with no future."
Naofumi felt a little pissed off, but he could understand the blonde. When you heard weapon, you didn't exactly picture "Shield" in your mind; that, however, didn't mean he was taking this sort of talk towards him without firing some heat back. But he didn't know what to say, Come on, for god's sake, it was a shield. What could it do?
All of a sudden, Ben let out a mild chuckle, causing all three heroes to look at him.
"This isn't a game kiddo. This is reality, Anything can be a weapon here, you know! I mean, even a spear or a sword can be used as a shield if the need arises besides..." Ben laughed heartily, patting him in the shoulders, "You have a weapon of legends! The possibilities are endless. Who knows, there might be a way to turn this into something which has a high attack, you just need to figure it out. Anyways, we are all at Lvl 1 so our stats are incredibly low at this point. What is your Attack Power and your Defense Naofumi? "
" If you were to talk about me in particular, I have high AP , around 60 but my Defense is quite low, barely around 15. That's pretty obvious considering I am a spear wielder more suited for strength and speed based combat." Motoyasu explained in a rather pleased tone.
Nervous, Naofumi answered. "My Defense is 40," Ben nodded, already expecting this, "But my Attack Power..." he trailed off.
"Well, What is it?" Ren prodded, raising an eyebrow.
"My Attack Power is 1." Naofumi admitted.
Ben flinched, his eyes widening as his jaw dropped on the floor anime style, the sword hero remained calm but he could see his brow furrow. However the not so subtle spear hero broke out in a boisterous laughter which echoed throughout the room.
"MUHAHAHAHA"
Naofumi's head hung low in shame as he looked at his right arm, where his shield rested.
Damn ! I was a shut- in back in my world and never bothered to learn how to defend myself and my weapon is even more useless than me. How the hell I am supposed to fight monsters like this without any sort of Help?
All of a sudden, a ping like sound echoed inside his mind as a menu popped up in front of his eyes.
[The Legendary Weapon is capable of assuming various forms, as long as the user has unlocked them and has the necessary requirements for their use. Absorb various materials to unlock new Shield Series and strengthen the holy weapon.]
What the hell? Don't tell me I can actually fight with the shield
Naofumi pulled the help menu, both out of curiosity and amusement. He noticed that his skill tree for the bows was full of locked entries, many more also had question marks. Even as he looked and messed with the menu, a few new shield entries kept popping up, all of them locked by level. He glanced and tried to read more about the locked shields, but even their names were unavailable. Though before he could explore this menu any further, and talk with his fellow heroes about it,
Knock knock~
A knock on their door caused him to turn back, The muffled voice of the maid from earlier sounded behind the door "Heroes-sama, the king has called for you. The banquet in your honor is served."
Though the other two had already left by the time he close the menu, the bow hero was still standing there, leaning against the wall.
"Let's eat something first, I didn't even have time for breakfast today. We will figure out what to do with your shield later." Ben spoke up with a reassuring smile, trying to comfort the apparently distraught shield hero.
Naofumi responded with grateful nod, happy about both making the discovery about his shield and the fact that he somewhat made a new friend in this strange new world.
"It's alright Ben, I think I have it all figured out. Let's go."
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