Chapter 3: Hero's Discussion

Sitting on the luxurious beds inside the guest room, everyone was staring intensely at their own weapon as they went over its description. The sun outside the window had already set before they even noticed. That was how focused everyone was at reading the descriptions. Unlike regular weapons, the legendary weapons didn't require routine maintenance. Based on the owner's level, the weapon will be able to absorb different raw materials. The Weapon Manual will also fill up as they defeat monsters. At a glance, it seemed to contain a variety of branches which the weapon could change into.

Naofumi clicked on his Weapon Icon which opened up the Weapon Manual. Tons of icons popped up and spanned onward, even beyond the menu window in front of him. He didn't have the ability to change into any of these shields right now, but they were all described in detail. 'Incredible...' It seemed that some arms could only be unsealed by evolving its predecessor first. Seriously, this was just like a video game with skill trees, leveling up, and evolving. "Doesn't this all seem pretty game-like?" He might as well ask for help from the others.

"Seriously dude, isn't this an actual game? I've known some which are like this," Motoyasu proudly boasted.

The others were confused. "Eh?"

Motoyasu frowned. "Are you saying that you don't even know about this famous online game?"

Naofumi shook his head. "Sorry, I can't say I'm familiar with it." Ren and Itsuki had a similar response.

"So you scrubs really don't know? This is the net game Emerald Online, man."

"What's that? I've never even heard of that one."

"Just how ignorant can you guys be? It's such a famous title too."

Naofumi knew that he wasn't up on the latest trends, but he still kept in touch. "I know games like Odin Online and Fantasy Moon Online, aren't these pretty popular too?!"

"What are those? This is the first time I've heard of them."

Now, they were even more confused.

Itsuki interjected. "This world isn't a net game. It's more like a console game!"

Ren frowned. "This is a VRMMO, right?"

Motoyasu ignored the swordsman. "Isn't this world similar to games where you click and use a controller to operate?" Confused, Motoyasu tilted his head with a dumbfounded expression during the conversation.

Ren tried to get back into the conversation. "Click? Controller? What kind of retro games are you referring to? Don't people usually mean VRMMO when they say 'net game' these days?"

Motoyasu finally acknowledged the young man. "VRMMO? As in Virtual Reality MMO? What kind of sci-fi world setting are you trying to create? Are you daydreaming here?"

Ren only became more confused. "Huh!?"

"Well then... gentlemen, I'd like to ask each of you to name a game from your world which bears the closest resemblance to this one," Itsuki requested with his hand slightly raised.

"Brave Star Online," answered Ren.

"Emerald Online," answered Motoyasu.

"None that I know of specifically. I mean, there could be one very similar, but at the end of the day, isn't this simply a game-like world?" 'Why the hell are they arguing about this? Do they really think that they are in a game?'

Itsuki nodded. "I see. As for myself, this world is like a console game called Dimension Wave."

No one else knew this game either.

"Hold on for a minute, let's get our information straight," Motoyasu said while putting a hand on his forehead as he tried to calm us down. "Hey. Tell me what you know about the situation with VRMMO, will you?"

"It's common where I live," replied Ren. "Itsuki, Naofumi. What about you guys?"

Itsuki "If I recall correctly, it only exists in Sci-fi."

Naofumi "I have a an idea of what you're was talking about, but the one's I know are simple screens in front of your eyes."

"Is that so," Motoyasu replied. "Back to you, Ren, what's this Brave Star Online? Is it a VRMMO?"

"Yeah that's right, Brave Star Online is a VRMMO. It has system very similar to this world's."

"If that's true then, does that mean the world that you two came from only has retro games like the ones you both mentioned earlier?" Ren said with his head inclined.

Itsuki shook his head. "Reviewing what I know about gaming history, those type of computer games clearly did exist at one point. But for some reason I don't recognize any of those supposedly famous titles which you guys mentioned."

Motoyasu and I both nodded. Without question, not knowing a popular online game was certainly strange. And while there was a chance that our preferences were simply too different, it was blatantly impossible not recognize a single renowned title between all of us.

"Let's try asking a common question. What's the name of the current Prime Minister?"

Everyone nodded.

"Let's say it together."

"Yuda Masato."

"Yawahara Tsuyoshi Tarou."

"Odaka Enichi."

"Itsufuji Shigeya."

""""..."""" Everyone went silent. These were Prime Ministers either of them had never even heard of before. It's not the kind of mistake people their age would make. After that, they asked about famous internet slang, web sites, and games. Thus, they arrived at the same conclusion."

"Apparently, we all came from different Japans," deduced Itsuki.

"Looks that way. You guys definitely didn't come from the same Japan as me," added Motoyasu

Naofumi nodded. "This means there's another Japan for each distinctive world."

"There's a high chance that each of us have different eras, since they don't match each other at all." This was an explicit gathering of four weird individuals. They all came to an understanding that everyone here were gamers, so there was no need to panic.

"Based on this pattern, I think everyone has a different reason for being here," concluded Itsuki.

"Idle conversation isn't one of my hobbies, but I guess it's necessary for us to obtain information." Ren awkwardly scratched his nose.

Naofumi was impressed. Not a lot of people revealed their insecurities, especially high school students.

"I was walking back home from school, when I unfortunately encountered a troubling murder incident."

"Whoa. I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

Ren gave a nervous smile. "It's okay. I tried to save my childhood friend from a murderer. Somehow I managed to capture the killer, but that's as far as I can remember." Ren explained his circumstances while rubbing at his side the whole time.

'I can't believe he sacrificed himself for his childhood friend.' While the smart thing was to get help from the police, he had to admit that Ren probably acted in the heat of the moment. There might have not been enough time to call for help, and it was either himself or his friend.

Ren continued. "I was already in this World before I even felt a thing."

"I'm sorry that you lost your life, but at least it wasn't in vain." Naofumi answered. The others also gave their condolences.

"Thanks, I guess. It's still weird knowing that I died so young, and now I'm here with all of you."

Motoyasu pointed at himself and began to speak. "Then I'll go next. For me, it was because I had too many girlfriends."

The rest of the heroes deadpanned at the premise. 'I can already tell where this is going...'

"Are you telling us that you were cheating on people?" asked Itsuki.

Motoyasu didn't miss a beat. "Yup, and after doing a bit of this and that..." He trailed off.

"You got stabbed by an angry girlfriend?" Ren asked with a straight face.

Motoyasu's eyes blinked with surprise before he gave a small nod.

Ren shivered. "Man... Girls are really scary, aren't they?"

Naofumi raised a brow at the teen. "Ren, I know that you're still in high school, but there are rules when it comes to relationships. One of them is that cheating always leads to trouble." He gestured to the older blonde man. "Look where it got him. Don't just blame the girls."

"Well, it worked for a while," added Motoyasu without any guilt.

Itsuki had a hand on his chest and was already beginning his confession. "While I don't approve of your lifestyle, I guess it's my turn now. When I was crossing the street on my way home from cram school... a dump truck took a sharp corner turn. And afterwards..."

"""...""" In all likelihood he was run over... that was one hell of a pitiful ending.

'Eh? Wait a second, these stories didn't seem to mesh well with mine?' "Um... Do I absolutely have to recount my story on what happened before I came to this world?"

"Well duh, we already told you ours," answered Motoyasu.

"I suppose so. Sorry to say, guys. But as far as I remember, all I was doing was reading a weird book inside a store."

"""..."""

Everyone's gaze felt so cold. 'What? We couldn't be friends just because I came into this world without a tragic ending?'

The three of them began to secretly whisper among each other while leaving me out of the loop.

"But... that person... has the shield..."

"Right... same as our place?"

"Oh..."

'Why do I feel like I'm being treated like a fool?' "Listen, guys, I don't know how the rules work. You might have to ask the summoner people." He tried changing the topic. "In any case, we're her now and not dead. How would you rate this world now that we know the general rules?"

"So-so."

"It's not that bad."

"It's nice in its own way."

"That's good at least." Naofumi thought about how the others saw a lot of similarity to their own games. He played many different games himself, but the others seemed to be more confident about it. "Hey, guys. Since we're all in this situation together, could you help me get the ropes. I suppose Ren has the most experience in physical combat because of his VRMMO game, but I'm sure you all know some tactics involving a shield. It doesn't help that I've never been in a fight before."

"I see. That is a predicament," replied Itsuki. "Even I have some prior experience with a bow. Motoyasu, do you have any experience with a spear?"

Ren nodded. "If he doesn't, he should be in the same level of experience with you, Naofumi."

Motoyasu raised his hands up to his putrid phony face. "I may not have hands on experience with a spear before, but I'm sure that I'll be a natural." Naofumi wasn't so assured by his confidence. "However, I know a lot about the mechanics from my game. So first, according to Emerald Online, Shield... people who use shields as their main weapon are usually..." He trailed off.

"Yeah?" the Shield Hero asking for him to continue.

Motoyasu tried to phrase his thoughts again. "First of all, you have high defense. Secondly, even though your defense is high, if you keep on taking damage like an idiot, you'll die."

"Okay... That's what happens to anyone. If they take too much damage, they die."

"In other words, you're a loser class that will never be able to reach a high level."

Naofumi stared at the Spear Hero, dumbstruck. "Dude, what the fuck?" Ren and Itsuki also gave shocked expressions. "There's a possibility we might die out there, and you say that to me."

Itsuki composed himself. "Motoyasu, you really could have said that better. We are possibly risking our lives here.".

"That really isn't helping the morale," added Ren.

Naofumi tried to calm himself. "What makes a defense class a loser class, anyways?"

Motoyasu answered again. "In my game, it's a totally pitiful class when pitted against Bosses and even common mobs. That's why people just leave it alone."

"How about with you guys?" Naofumi look imploringly into Ren's and Itsuki's eyes. Both of them casually averted their eyes.

"Sorry..."

"Same here..."

The three of them were giving me side glances while they talked about each of their respective games.

The shield hero shook his head in annoyance. "It's not like I'll be fighting alone. The king even said that he would be giving us parties. Wouldn't we all have different jobs?"

"That is true," answered Ren. "Some people in my former party were Tanks when we went up against bosses."

Naofumi gave a slight glare to the Spear and Bow heroes. "Thank you, Ren for not leaving me hanging."

Itsuki coughed. "I apologize, I normally play as a solo character, so I can't speak on behalf of working as a party."

Motoyasu stayed silent but nodded.

Naofumi relented. He didn't need dissent between them. "So how's the landscape?"

"The names are different but hardly anything else," answered Itsuki. "It's very likely that the performance and distribution of demons are the same here too."

Ren followed. "Our weapon hunting locations are roughly the same, but let's not hunt at the same place as each other."

"True enough, we need to take efficiency into consideration as well," added Motoyasu

"Okay, we have a plan. Once we get into our teams we should be able to manage from there." "Maybe I could focus on strengthening another weapon and ignore this shield's special growth.

A voice came from outside the room. "Brave Heroes, your meals have been prepared."

Everyone stepped out of the door, the guide then lead everyone to the knight's dining room. The castle's banquet hall was like a scene from a fantasy movie. A complete feast filled the table in a buffet-like fashion.

The servant gestured to the table. "Everyone, please go ahead and eat whatever you desire."

"What the? Are we eating the same stuff that your knights eat?" A small grumble was heard.

'Why the hell would you say that to our hosts?!'

"Of course not." The guide shook his head.

'Eh?'

"This cuisine was specially prepared for the Brave Heroes and will be divided once you have eaten."

Naofumi looked around as he said so. He noticed that the noisy bunch of people were actually cooks. There was also a ranking order when it comes to meals. Eating here was a form of initiation, meant to introduce them to the knights.

"Thank you, let's dig in."

"Umm."

"I suppose."

And thus, they thoroughly enjoyed this parallel world's cuisine. The smell and taste was a bit odd, but there was nothing that couldn't be eaten. Well, the food had a unique kind of twist to them, like an omelet type food which tasted like an orange. After finishing their meal, they headed back to their room for some rest.

"Do they have baths here?"

"This place is pretty medieval-ish... So I guess the chance of it being an open air bath is fairly high."

"Personally, I don't think they have any."

"Well it's only our first day right now."

"I suppose. Time to hit the sack. We'll begin our journey tomorrow, so let's give it our best."

Everyone nodded at Motoyasu's words and went to bed. Their epic adventure will start tomorrow! The other three and Naofumi went to bed, awaiting impatiently for the next day to arrive.

If any of you have any thoughts, please leave it in a review.