Chapter 7: The Strongest Vs The Buffoon
Roar*
All of the hydra's heads started breathing fire, water, wind and earth at the group. But all of them evade the attack.
" Crimson Shot!" Reika uses a upgraded skill of Scarlet Shot that comes from the accessory that she attached to her bow. She uses the skill to attack one of the hydra's heads, instantly destroying it.
" Storm Blast!" Akira then uses a skill that blasts a storm from her staff to one of the hydra's heads. The head also got destroyed. Despite having a bad match up against the hydra with a high magic resistance, she still can deal a decent amount of damage.
"It's time for me to finish this!" Tadashi shouted. " Lightning Thrust!"
He targets the two remaining hydra's heads. Lightning came out from his spear and he released it towards the hydra's heads. It does damage, but not enough to destroy the heads. Tadashi scratches his head, confused why his attack doesn't do much damage.
" Comet Shot!" " Sunlight Beam!"
Both Reika and Akira finish the remaining hydra's head, instantly killing it.
"Woah… How come they're so strong?" Tadashi thought. Maybe it's because someone doesn't believe in the Power Up Method because he's an idiot by default.
After that, the heroes' timer reaches zero and the sky turns normal.
"That's weird… There's no timer for the waves in CPO. It just shows up during the fight. Sigh* Everything I know from CPO now might be useless here." Reika thought to himself.
"Is there anything troubling you?" Akira asked, seeing Reika sighed in disappointment.
"Nothing. Let's absorb some of these parts and save some of it for Tomori." Reika replied.
"Okay!"
Both of them go to the hydra's corpse.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Tadashi asked them.
"Can't you see, we're taking our parts for this. I wanted the blue hydra head. How about you, Akira?" Reika asked her fellow hero.
"I wanted the green one." She replied.
"Wait a minute," The princess suddenly spoke up. "Why do you get to choose first?! Tadashi-sama is the one who arrived here first!"
"And who deals the last damage?" Reika replied to her. "And I'm going to be blunt with you, Tadashi. From what I see, your attack is only scratching the hydra back then."
"What?!" Tadashi shouted. He dealt a lot of damage back then. Why is she saying this?
"And also, why aren't your party members fighting in the front line?" Reika continued.
"I can't get my fellow maidens to get hurt in battle. So that's why I asked them to support me with magic."
"Against a monster that has a high magic resistance?!" Reika yelled. She can't believe it. Is he dumb? "And also, why are there only three girls in your party? Aren't they supposed to be four?"
"Oh, she left my party a week before." Tadashi replied. The reason that his fourth member left was because she can't get used to fighting in the frontline.
"Right… Anyways, we're the one who dealt the most damage out of you and your party. So I think it's fitting for us to choose what we wanted first."
"But-" Before the princess could speak, Tadashi stopped her from doing so.
"She's right, May. They deal more damage to the hydra than us. It's their right to choose first." He said. The princess wanted to say something, but she backed down.
"Alright then, what head do you want?" Reika asked him.
"The yellow one."
"Okay." Reika went closer to the hydra corpse. " Split Shot!"
She shot an arrow, then the arrow split into four and hit all of the hydra's neck. Reika then lifts the yellow hydra head and throws it at Tadashi. He barely caught it. He absorbed the head and unlocked a new weapon form. Reika and Akira also absorbed their hydra's head. Also, Akira absorbed the red head and rest of the hydra's body into her inventory.
"What are you going to do about the red hydra's head?" Tadashi asked.
"We're going to give it to Tomori." Akira said.
"Why? He's only protecting the village. He doesn't even contribute in this fight. Why should you give him the boss's parts?" Tadashi said. Why does he despise Tomori so much?
"So you wanted to hogged the red hydra's head yourself?" Reika asked.
"That's not what I-"
Reika then cut him off. "Look, you said protecting the village is the knight's job, right?" Reika asked him.
"Yeah."
"What if I tell you that the knights actually casted a spell that rains fire on us back then?"
"What do you mean by that?" Tadashi asked.
Then, there's a few people walking towards them.
"Heroes!" It was the moustache knight and his lackeys. "You did a great job defeating the boss monster!"
"Oh yeah, how about you then? You did a great job burning those houses inside the village, didn't you?" Akira asked the moustache knight.
"But that isn't our intention-"
"I don't want excuses. If it isn't for Akira's skill, then we might face serious damage from your Ritual Magic. And why do you want to cast a spell that's going to harm the village as well? It seems to me that you know Tomori's in there and purposely choose to cast the spell at him." Reika said. The reaction that the moustache knight shows tells everything that she needs to know. "Well, we have to deliver the parts to the Blade Hero, who clearly contribute more than you."
Reika then signaled the rest of her party including Akira and her party to move back to the village.
"The King invites you all to celebrate your achievements during the waves. We humbly invite you to join as the king will also award you all." The moustache knight said as the group left the scene. Akira then gets closer to Reika.
"I thought that Tomori was amazing, but I guess you are as well." She said to her.
"What do you mean by that?" Reika asked.
"I mean… If it was me, I couldn't talk back to Tadashi and that knight like you."
"I see… But you aren't afraid of the hydra, yet you are afraid of people. I don't understand that."
"Yeah, me too. I think the normal reaction would be like me freaking out about it. But after staying here for almost a month, I kind of threw that thought across the window." Akira said while looking at her staff.
"Well, for me it's both terrifying and exciting at the same time." Reika said. "I mean, I did die in the first place, but I'm summoned to a world that is pretty similar to a game that I played a lot. But then I realised that I didn't have the desire to go home."
"Don't you have family members back home that's going to miss you?" Akira asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. I haven't talked to my parents that much since…"
"Since what?"
"Nevermind. It's not important anyway. Come on, we can't leave Tomori waiting, right?" Reika said to her. It seems like she wanted to avoid this conversation.
"Yeah."
Both of them and their teammates continue their journey to the village.
"Alright! Seems like there's no casualties at all! We did it, Ivaran!" Tomori said to him as he was confirmed that there's no casualties at all.
"Yeah…" Ivaran is so happy to hear that to the point that he can bawl his eyes out. But he's an adult now. And adults don't bawl their eyes out when they're happy. Maybe.
"But if we count burned houses as casualties, then we don't perfectly reach the 'no casualties' mark." Tomori said as he looked around the burned houses. It's not fully burned down thanks to Akira and Mizune spells. But the house is not livable as of now. " Sigh* Whether it's the princess or the knights, they're all a bunch of idiots."
Tomori then stared at the stern knight. He just knew that he was actually the vice-captain while the moustache knight is actually the captain. The captain was the one who ordered the Ritual Magic to be done. The vice-captain was against it, but the captain ignored him and casted the spell either way.
"And by the look of it, he really intended to hurt me during the waves. Heh, luckily he doesn't know that Akira and Reika are there with me. They're going to make their reputation bad, I dare say!"
"You are really weird when you are not talking." Riri said through Tomori's mind.
"I'm not weird when I'm talking, I'm overall weird when I'm talking or not." Tomori said proudly.
"I don't mean that as a compliment."
"And I don't take that as a compliment."
" Sigh* I knew it. Homo sapiens are weird…" Riri is starting to regret choosing Tomori as her contractor.
"Not all humans are weird. It's just me and a few percent of billions of people in this world. Maybe." Tomori doesn't know the total population of this world's earth.
"Alright then…" Riri ended her conversation with Tomori.
"Tomori!" A voice that Tomori is familiar with called his name.
"Oh, you guys." Tomori said as the whole gang walked towards him. "I saw you guys back then fighting the hydra. How did it go?"
"It's great, Sir Tomori. It's the first time in my life that I got the chance to fight a dragon!" Rylon said with a proud tone.
"I see. Good one for you then." Tomori gave him a thumbs up. "By the way, how did Tadashi and his girls do before you guys butt in?"
"Well…" Akira wanted to say it, but she knows what Tomori's response is going to be.
"Terrible. His attacks don't even deal much damage to the hydra. Probably because he still doesn't use the other methods beside his. And also, his group tactics are just horrible. Instead in the front line, Tadashi makes his party support him with magic attacks. Against a monster with a high magic resistance." But Reika is here to spill all the beans.
" Sigh* What to expect? He's Tadashi, the number one simp. His simpness even overtook his capability to use even an ounce of his brain power. I'm still surprised how he can still live this long with that kind of mindset." Tomori said. Rather than disappointed, Tadashi actually surprised Tomori. Surprised by the fact that he's an idiot.
"Wait a minute…" Reika just realised what Tomori had said before. "You saw us fighting the hydra?"
"Yeah." Tomori answered her. There's no point in lying.
"Does that mean you were spectating us back then?" Reika asked.
"No. The vice-captain of the knights that helped me subdued the monsters asked me to help you guys. I was reluctant at first, but then I think that if I had helped you guys beat the boss, the wave would end quicker. As I was going to the boss area, I was stopped by an enemy." Tomori explained.
"Enemy?" Reika wondered. Why does he say 'enemy' instead of 'monster'?
"Yeah. I almost lost, but I came in clutch in the end and I beat her. Beat, not kill. And I think she's going to come in the next wave." He continued.
"Wait… Her? Come in the next wave? What did you mean by that?" Reika asked in confusion.
"This is the only information that I'm going to give to the heroes only. As of now, there's only two people… Sorry, 2.5 people know about this."
All of the party members whisper to themselves while Reika and Akira are wondering what Tomori means by 2.5 people.
"Tomori-sama." Ivaran said as he walked closer to him. "There's a person who wishes to meet the Cardinal Heroes." He moved to the side and Tomori saw an old man.
"Yes, how could we help you?" Tomori asked the old man.
"Projectile Hero, Magic Hero and Blade Hero," The old man addresses them by their title. "I am the lord of this village. And on the behalf of this village, I wanted to thank you three and your companions for saving the villagers." The lord said.
Tomori didn't expect that the lord of the village himself would personally thank him as well, knowing his reputation.
"Well, you're welcome." Tomori replied. The female heroes also replied to the lord of this village. The lord then bowed to them and left. "Well, I didn't expect appreciation from someone. But I did save some villagers. I guess there's people in this world who appreciate my work."
"Anyways," Akira said while bringing out the red hydra's head and some of its parts from her inventory. "Here's the boss parts that you wanted."
Akira handed Tomori the boss parts. He then absorbed all of the boss parts to unlock the new weapon forms.
Weapon Form Unlocked!
"Hydra Series is unlocked. The Flare Hydra Sword isn't half bad. It's comparable to Meteoric Iron Sword with some methods applied to it. But the stats don't come close to the Sword of Absorver II." He said as he looked at his new, shiny crimson sword. Red has been his favourite colour since he was a kid, so he's going to be preferring this sword over the other weapons that he has in his arsenal.
But at that moment, Reika realised something. "Why is the sword he's equipping now the same as his old one? And why Ivaran's shield has a huge crack on it?" Reika turned to Akira. And it seems like she noticed it as well.
"By the way, is there anything else?" Tomori asked.
"Oh yeah, the knights invite us heroes and our companions for a feast that the king made. It also involved our rewards for the waves as well." Akira explained to him.
"Feast? When the people of his country get their house burned by the knights of this country?" Tomori said. Now he wondered if the king was right in his mind.
"Believe me, I also think that this is dumb. But rewards are rewards. Money runs the world. If we didn't have money, then we wouldn't survive." Reika said. This is the thing that Tomori didn't expect to come out of Reika's mouth.
"Yeah, you're right." Tomori didn't want to start WWIII by calling Reika a gold-digger, so he just agreed with her because what she said is true after all. "Well, since I, Ivaran, the knights and the villagers have cleared up the village from monster corpses, I guess I can go to the castle now. But I need to do some business first. You guys wouldn't mind if we head out first, right?"
"Yeah."
"No problem."
Both of the female heroes replied.
"Good. Is there anything else you wanted to do here, Ivaran?" Tomori turns to his companion.
"No, Tomori-sama." He replied.
"Okay, let's get moving then. Transport Blade!" Tomori and Ivaran instantly disappeared from the village.
"…" Shina slowly descended from the wave's rift. As her feet touched the ground, the skies turned to normal. She looked around her surroundings. It filled with monster corpses.
"Lady Shina!" A person who's wearing a traditional Japanese armor called her as he ran towards her. "The Young Master wanted to have an audience with you at the castle."
"Lars and Teresa have returned to the castle?" Shina asked him. The person nodded his head. "Very well. Return Dragon Vein!"
Shina activates her teleportation skill to teleport herself to the Dragon Hourglass in the castle.
"Lady Shina!" The knights who guarded the hourglass said after they saw her. "Young Master is waiting in the meeting room."
Shina nodded at the knights and headed straight to the meeting room. She opened the door and was greeted by the Young Master himself.
"Shina-chan!" A red haired man who's in his late 20's said to her. "Oh man, I thought something bad happened to you since you returned so late."
"Don't worry, Lars. I offered myself to do this in the first place." She said to him.
"It's a good thing that nothing bad doesn't happen to you, Shina." A green haired woman who's also in her late 20's said to her.
"You're quite wrong, Teresa." Shina said to her.
"What do you mean by that?" The green haired girl said.
"Oh yeah, when you cross the wave's rift, did you meet any Cardinal Heroes of that world?" Lars asked.
"Yes. I saw three of them. But I only engaged in combat with only one of them." Shina explained. "There's a black haired girl who used a staff with green gemstone, a blue haired girl who used a bow with blue gemstone, and a dark brown haired man who used a sword with red gemstone."
"I see… So which one would you choose to engage in a fight with?"
"The dark haired haired man. I speculate that he is the strongest out of them due to him taking command of the other Cardinal Heroes."
"So, did you win?" Lars asked her. But Shina doesn't reply to him. "So you lost against him."
"Yes…" Shina said while looking disappointed at herself. "I would definitely emerge victorious if he didn't fuse with his Shikigami."
"Shikigami? He also has a Shikigami like Selena?" Teresa asked. Shina just nodded at her question.
"I see. Well, how do you escape from him?" Lars asked. He probably thinks that whoever Shina is facing is definitely not letting her escape.
"I didn't. He… Just let me go." Shina said.
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. Not only that, he also recognised me as a Vassal Hero."
"Woah… Whoever that guy is, he's clearly better than our Cardinal Heroes are. Maybe he's on par with Takeru." Lars said. Hearing the name makes Shina's face saddened. "Oh, I'm sorry Shina. I didn't mean to make you down…"
"No worries, Lars. I understand…" It's been eight years since Takeru, the first Cardinal Hero summoned to Shina's world, has been missing. But they know he is still alive. They have searched all over the world for him, but he's nowhere to be seen. "How about the other Cardinal Heroes besides Miss Hina? Do they agree to fight the waves?"
Lars and Teresa just looked at each other with concerns on their faces.
"Miss Hina, Selena and Tony are trying to convince them to join the waves, but they are still waiting for this 'update' to come. I'm afraid that Selena's patience might have reached the limit." Teresa said.
"Yeah. And if she finds out we're doing this… I'm gonna say that it won't end well." Lars said with a worrying tone.
"She will understand. The only Cardinal Heroes heroes that we can depend on is only Miss Hina right now. But the strength of only one Cardinal Hero is not enough to fend off against the waves. That's why we need to kill the Cardinal Heroes from the other world. If they fall down, their world destruction will hasten. And if their world is destroyed, then our world will be spared." Shina said.
Doing this doesn't leave a good taste on both Lars and Teresa. Sacrificing an entire world population for their world safety is downright insane. But their world is at stake now. The other heroes are sitting idly while waiting for something that isn't going to come. This is the only choice that they had right now.
"I understand. So can I suggest something, Shina-chan?" Lars said.
"What do you have in mind?" She asked.
"You see… Teresa and I think that we both should investigate the other world of Cardinal Heroes when the wave hits the neighboring country. Study their weapon powers, their fighting style, stuff like that."
"I see… But isn't that risky? What happens if they find out who you are?" Shina said to Lars.
"Don't worry. I'll put an accessory on my gauntlet so they can't see the gemstone." Lars said as he fist-bump himself while he's wearing the Vassal Gauntlet on both of his hands. "And I won't be using any skills when I'm near them. They're never going to find out."
"Hmm…" Shina is thinking about it. This might be a good chance to know the other world Cardinal Heroes weaknesses. She knows that she can't defeat Tomori as long as he has his Shikigami on his side. But Lars has a chance to beat him. If Lars defeats Tomori, the other world will lose one of its powerful Cardinal Heroes. "I agreed with you. But I can't do anything if something happens to both of you there."
"Don't worry. I can take care of myself and Teresa." He said with confidence.
"Lars! I can take care of myself too, you know that?" Teresa said, protesting the idea that she's not strong enough to protect herself.
"It's not that I'm saying that you're weak. But it's a man's responsibility to protect women, am I right?" Lars said while blinking at Teresa.
"Whatever. Oh, I almost forgot! I need to fetch my new gems from Rayna. See you guys later." Teresa then leaves the meeting room.
" Sigh* Why can't my feelings get through her…" Lars said as he fell to the floor while sounding dejected.
"Don't worry, my comrade. Your time will come soon." Shina jokily said to him.
"Haha, very funny." Lars said while standing up. "By the way, you haven't spoken to Edmund for a while. Maybe he finds clues about the whereabouts of Takeru."
"Yeah. Maybe I should. Well, excuse me then." Shina then walked out from the meeting room. Lars then sat down on a chair and stared at the ceiling.
"I hope what we're doing now is worth it…"
"Hmm…" Vadge is analysing Ivaran's shield that had a huge crack on it.
"Can you fix it?" Tomori asked him. Both of them teleported near Vadge's shop to ask him whether he can fix the huge crack on Ivaran's Shield of Absorver.
"I can. I could probably finish it by tomorrow evening." Vadge replied.
"I see. How much?"
"It is on the house, Blade Lad."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's not a hard fix really. I just have to reinforce the cracks together and it will look good as it was before."
"Thanks a lot." Tomori said. Ivaran also thanked Vadge.
"Don't need to. Anyway, how can a shield made out of pure Mithril crack like this? Are the wave monsters that strong?" Vadge asked him.
"Yeah… Kind of. Right, Ivaran?" He turned to his Half-elf companion.
"Oh, yes." Ivaran replied. They didn't want Vadge to dig more about Shina.
"Hmm… Anyways, I heard that the king is going to hold a feast for the heroes. I think you guys should go now. You're a VIP after all." Vadge said to Tomori.
"Not in this country though." Tomori said. To be honest, he doesn't want to go. The only reason he wanted to go is because of the rewards and he wanted to have a private discussion with the other heroes. That's all. "So you can fix the shield by tomorrow evening?"
"Yeah. Just leave it to me."
"Okay then. Let's go, Ivaran. Can't make them wait for the VIP to arrive." Tomori sarcastically said to him.
"Yes!" Both of them left the shop.
"Well, well! As expected from the heroes! We suffered less casualties than last time!" The king said. There's also a lot of cheers directed to the heroes. But Tomori knew there were none directed to him.
"I can't understand the king. The villagers house is burned down by the knights, and he had the balls to invite all of the nobles in this country to this feast?! While they clearly didn't help in the wave at all?!" Tomori is furious at the king's decisions.
"Oh my, can you please quiet down your thoughts? I can hear you internally shouting, you know?" Riri said to him.
"Sorry, my bad." He apologized to her. "Anyways, can I ask you something?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Why can't I see your level and stats? Also, why is your name in parentheses next to my name?" Tomori said while opening his status menu.
Tomori Tanaka (Riri)
Level: 70
Age: 21
Race: Human
Magic Affinity: Lightning, Support
Job: Blade Hero
Equipment: Sword of Absorver II (Crimson)
Crimson Crest Armor
Skill: None
Spell: None
"Oh, the reason is that our levels and stats are the same right now." Riri explained.
"Wait… Doesn't that mean that you're as strong as me?"
"Not quite. I don't have access to the powers that the Cardinal Weapon that you possess. I can also cast spells that you have learned. But I also need to use your own MP to cast them. And if you die, I will perish from this world."
"I see… Can you walk through walls though?" Tomori asked.
"I can't. Why are you asking this stupid question anyway?"
"Well, you're a Spirit Beast. And I assume that you can walk through walls because you're a 'spirit'."
"Spirit Beast is almost the same as the creatures that live in the wild. Even though we can touch solid objects, we don't possess a physical body. The attack that you called Zweihander aren't going to work on us the same way as that spirit woman does."
"So… In other words, you can touch things. But in reality, you don't have any real body's. So if you die, you don't leave a corpse behind?"
"Not quite accurate, but yes."
"Hmm… Is there any other perks from making a contract with you besides that Spirit Union?"
"You can also access the Law of Earth Vein."
"What's that?" Tomori asked.
"It is a form of magic that uses the surrounding as its source. For example, you can cast wind magic using the air that flows besides you. And this doesn't require any MP at all."
"Oh man, that sounds OP as heck."
"But as of now, you can't cast this type of magic yet, unless we're united."
"That's kind of disappointing."
"But you can cast it on your own if you are trained enough. And if you trained enough, you can also use the highest tier of spells in this world. The Rising-class spell."
" Rising-class? It's more powerful than High-class spells?"
"It is. Though only the wielder of the Cardinal Weapons and Vassal Weapons can use it because they had access to SP, which also needed to cast the spell."
"I see…"
"Tomori-sama," Ivaran said to him. "Aren't you going to eat? The food here is delicious. Though it doesn't reach the taste of your cooked dishes."
"Oh yeah, BRB in a minute." Tomori goes to the long table that serves a lot of different kinds of food. He picks up a plate and starts picking the food one by one. He also saw this as the perfect chance to absorb some food to his inventory. The other guests at the feast don't notice it, besides Reika.
"Oh wow… Just… Wow…" Reika thought to herself. Now she can't believe the guy who sneakily absorbed some food to his inventory has the same title as her.
She's eating with her party, refusing every nobles who tried to approach them for a conversation. And Akira is surrounded by young noblemans, who try to hit on her. But her trusty party members disturbed the noblemans from doing that. Especially Emil. He doesn't let any nobleman get near her. And Tadashi… Is surrounded by a lot of noblewomen.
" Sigh* Ignoring the glares that the other nobles gave me, this feast is okay." Tomori finishes picking his food and returns to the table that Ivaran is seated at. He took a seat and started eating his food.
The princess that pushes her way to Tadashi who's surrounded by noblewomen.
"Tadashi-sama." She called him.
"Oh, what is it, May?"
She started whispering to him.
"What?! Is that true?" Tadashi asked her.
"Yes. You must act now, Tadashi-sama. Before it's too late." The princess said.
"Okay. Sorry ladies, I have something to do right now." Tadashi moved away from the noblewomens. "Hey! Tomori!"
The guest at the feast stared at both Tomori and him when he shouted that.
"Ah, f*ck! What does he want now?" Tomori thought as he munched his food.
Tadashi then removed one of his gloves and threw it to the ground. "Fight me." He said to Tomori.
" Gulp* For what?" Tomori replied after he swallowed the food in his mouth.
"I know it all! That the companion of yours is your slave!" Tadashi shouted. "Not only that, I also know that you blackmailed both Akira and Reika so that they will do everything that you said!"
The guests gasped when Tadashi said that. Both Akira and Reika stood up from their seats and started walking to them.
"Say what?" Tomori said as he stood up from his seat. "First of all, slavery is legal here. And secondly, why the hell would I be blackmailing both Akira and Reika? That doesn't make any kind of sense."
"That… That's wrong! We're heroes from another world! We can't behave that way here!"
"Oh yeah? Slavery existed in the past. And also, in a sense, don't normal, modern people like us are slaves in our world ourselves? Think about it. Other than that, why don't you ask them yourself." Tomori pointed at the direction where both Akira and Reika came.
"Since when did Tomori blackmail us in the first place, Tadashi?" Reika said to him.
"Both of you are always on his side. I knew that he's blackmailing both of you when we're at the hourglass room. Don't worry, I'll save both of you from him!" Tadashi then turned back to Tomori.
"But Tomori isn't even blackmailing us, Tadashi!" Akira said. But he ignored her.
" Sigh*" Tomori sighed as he looked at Ivaran. Ivaran's face then showed that Tomori should reject the duel. But Tomori then replied with a face that said 'I need to beat him in this duel or he's going to disturb us'. "Alright, name all the conditions then."
Tadashi swings his fist in front of Tomori. "If I win, you release that guy. And also, stop blackmailing both Akira and Reika! If you win, you can do whatever you want with that guy. And you need to also stop blackmailing both of them as well."
Tomori's jaw fell down. He can't believe that Tadashi is this dumb. Tomori is losing his braincells just by thinking of Tadashi's existence in this world.
"Really? That's your condition? I don't gain anything from this." He knows that even if Ivaran's slave seal isn't on him, he still will follow Tomori because he doesn't have any place to go. This condition is dumb. Tadashi is dumb. Everything is dumb. "How about this? If you win, I'll give up all my items, my rewards, Ivaran and I'll stop blackmailing them."
Tadashi is thinking about this.
"And if I win, I want all of your items in your inventory and 50% of your rewards. And of course, I'll stop blackmailing them as well." The reason Tomori said he will stop blackmailing Akira and Reika is so that Tadashi will accept this duel.
The king is listening to them. And he thought to himself that Tomori wouldn't make these conditions if he didn't have a plan to beat Tadashi. Before the king could interrupt,
"Deal!" Tadashi accepted the conditions because he's Tadashi. And also because he thought that he had the upper hand because he knows how this world works.
"Good, now I get something from this…"
"You're very creepy, you know. How come can you have a huge grin without having to grin at all?" Riri asked.
"It's because I don't show my emotions that much. It's a skill that you need in real life. Because you can often disappoint people by being yourself." Tomori explained to Riri.
"I see. That's a logical statement. And I thought that you're a savage person."
"I am. Only when I'm angry."
"I see… You're an interesting person, Tomori Tanaka. I didn't regret choosing you as my contractor." Riri said. She didn't mention that his powerful Lightning affinity is also the reason why she didn't regret choosing him in the first place.
"Just call me Tomori."
"Okay then, Tomori."
"Well then, the duel shall be held in the castle garden!" The king said, sounding worried. But looking at Tadashi's confidence, his worries instantly went away.
"Do you really have to do this, Tomori?" Akira said as Tomori prepared himself.
"This duel is pointless in the first place. Why do you accept it?" Reika asked.
"Two reasons. I don't like Tadashi. And he's dumb." Tomori said.
"Hmm… Valid reasons." Reika replied, knowing that he's clearly being sarcastic.
"I don't think that's a good reason to fight him." Akira, despite having higher academic intelligence than the other heroes, doesn't know that he's being sarcastic.
"Don't worry too much about it. I'll win." Tomori said with confidence.
"Oh well, make sure that you make the duel entertaining." Reika said. "Let's go take our seats, Akira. The duel is about to start."
"Oh, right!"
Both of them left Tomori alone.
" Sigh*" Tomori just sighed, knowing how stupid this duel is. But he will get rewarded if he wins. So he needs to win. "Any motivational speech for me, Riri?" He asked his Spirit Beast.
"Kind of. You can imbue a small percentage of Spirit Energy into your attack to deflect magic attacks. But it isn't as strong as when we're united." She said.
"Okay. Thanks." To Tomori, the information is better than a motivational speech.
Tomori walked to the garden which had been modified for this duel. The nobles are waiting for the match to begin. Of course, they rooted for the Shaft Hero to win. Tomori also saw a lot of people in robes holding a Crystal Orb.
"Wait a minute, they live streaming the duel on Twitch? Damn…" Now he can't lose.
"Now then, the duel between Shaft Hero and Blade Hero shall commence! This duel here will take place in the presence of the King and the pope, Balsilus B. Braxton. Thus making it legitimate and official. The outcome will be decided when a finishing blow is about to be made or one side surrenders. The use of healing magic and potions is prohibited." The announcer said.
"The pope of the Church of Shaft and Projectile…" Tomori stared at the pope. The pope ignored him. But then Tomori noticed something in the garden.
"Oi, Tadashi! Why is she in the arena?" Tomori said to him while pointing at the princess in the garden.
"Is there a problem with it?" He asked.
"Nay. If the chance of her getting hit by spells and skills is not a problem, then we can start the match."
Tadashi comes to realise that the princess might get hurt in this battle. He didn't want that to happen. He went to her. After a few minutes of talking, she finally left the arena.
"Are both sides ready?" The announcer asked. Both of the heroes nodded their heads. Tadashi then changed his Small Spear into Meteoric Iron Spear. Tomori pulled his Sword of Absorver II (Crimson) from his waist. "Fight!"
"Huoh!" Tadashi yelled as he ran towards Tomori.
"A spearman making the first move… Is this guy for real…" Tomori might have thought that this battle would be interesting, but no. It's dumb
" Chaos Stab!" Tadashi releases a skill that splits his spear into multiple pieces at Tomori.
" Sigh*" Tomori imbued Spirit Energy into his sword. " Spinning Blade." He uses his self-made technique that spins his sword on the palm of his hand to block all of the incoming spears.
Clang* Clang* Clang*
All the spears hit the spinning sword.
" Blade Bash." Tomori bash his sword blunt side to Tadashi, sending him off to the walls.
"Argh…" Tadashi groaned as he stood up. " Erst Javelin!" He threw his spear at Tomori.
Clang*
But he deflected the incoming spear with his sword, sending it to the side.
" Zweite Javelin!" Another spear appeared on Tadashi's hand and he threw the spear as well.
Clang*
But Tomori deflected the second spear as well.
"Tadashi… Can you up your game a little bit? The audience is getting bored, you know?" Tomori taunted him.
"Shut… UP!" Tadashi then dash towards Tomori. " Lightning Thrust!" Tadashi's spear tip started sparking with lightning.
" Chain Bind. Switchblade. Lightning Blade (Small)."
Chains started warping Tadashi. And then, the chains started shocking him with lightning. It doesn't do that much damage to him, but it still hurts.
"Damnit! Fight me like a man, you coward!" Tadashi yelled at him. Normally, Tomori would be mad. But he's too bored to be mad.
"What does that entail? Fight like a man? You mean like this?" Tomori dashed to Tadashi to the point that it created a small shockwave.
"What-"
Pow*
Tomori punches Tadashi straight to the face using his right hand while he is still holding his sword. Tadashi moved back a little. He then started to feel like there's something coming out of his nose. He wiped his nose and saw a red stain on his gloves. He looked terrified.
"What? Is this the first time you bleed in this world?" Tomori asked him.
"Grr… Damn you!" Tadashi suddenly yelled.
"What? I gave what you wanted, right? Why are you mad all of the sudden?"
"Shut up! Comet Thrust!" Tadashi sends a skill flying at Tomori.
" Slant Slash." Tomori slash the skill with his sword, instantly cancelling the skill out.
"Tomori, behind you." Riri said to him.
"Huh?" He turned around and saw a faint breeze coming at him. He imbued Spirit Energy on his sword and slash the breeze. The breeze then vanishes. He looked at the audience to see who casted the spell.
"That woman…" The princess is holding her hands in front, indicating that she's the one who casted the spell. "Is she dumb? If she gets caught doing it, the win will instantly go to me. I guess the princess might have a kahoot with the king to shut the audience up from speaking about it."
"Reika, you saw what I see, right?" Akira asked her.
"Yeah, that's definitely wind magic casted by the princess. We must tell the announcer." Reika stood up. Tomori noticed this and shook his head furiously.
"What? Is he telling us to not talk about it?" Reika asked Akira.
"That seems like it. But why?"
"I don't know. Maybe he expects something to happen if he continues the duel. Let's stand down for now." Reika sat down.
"Where are you looking?!" Tadashi yelled as he charged towards Tomori. " Scarlet Thrust!"
His spear tip started glowing. Tomori moves to the side as Tadashi is changing at him. He held Tadashi's spear shaft to stop him and deliver a liver shot to Tadashi using his right leg.
"GAH!" Tadashi fell to the ground as he groaned in pain.
Normally, this move by Tomori would outright kill anyone. But since he's using his legs, the damage shouldn't be that big. Though he might have not remembered that his stats are more than tripled than Tadashi.
Breath* Breath* Breath*
Tadashi stood up as he breathed in and out.
"Tadashi, I recommend you to surrender now." Tomori said to him. Another breeze is coming at him. He slash that breeze and continue the battle.
"No… Way… In… Hell! Overdrive! Comet Thrust!" Tadashi sends a skill towards Tomori.
Boom*
Tomori gets sent to the walls by the skill. There's a lot of dust surrounding the walls that Tomori get sent flying to.
"Take that… You bastard… I won!" Tadashi said while raising his spear up to the sky.
"The… Shaft Hero did it!" One nobleman said. The rest of the audience except Akira, Reika and their group cheers on Tadashi. The king and the pope have a huge smile on their faces.
"No, it's not over yet…" Reika said as she knows what happened to Tomori back then.
"Win?" A voice could be heard from the dust near the walls. Tomori comes out from the dust, looking fine as ever. "You have not dealt a single damage to me."
The audience then stayed silent while the king and pope looked surprised and shocked.
"Hey, can any of you guys tell me what happened?" Akira asked.
"Before the skill hit him, Tomori-san held his sword horizontally while putting his left hand palm onto the sword blade. The sword started glowing, and the skill hit the sword. By the look of it, Tomori-san didn't manage to keep his footing. So that's why he gets sent to the walls." Emil explained. Akira, Reika and the party members stared at Ivaran. "Is there anything wrong?"
"No, you're right." Reika said.
"How can you see all of that, Emil? It all went in an instant for me." Rylon said to him.
"That's Emil that we know. He's an exceptional observer." Mizune said.
"Hehehe…" Emil started to blush a little. He's happy that this is one of his qualifying traits.
"How?! The Comet skill plus the stats boost from Overdrive can deal a huge amount of damage to a level 40 monster!" Tadashi said.
"Did you forget that I'm not around level 40? Actually, did you check my levels using your status?" Tomori asked.
Tadashi instantly does that. "What?!"
Tomori Tanaka LV.?
"That's right. I'm 10 levels higher than you. Or maybe even more." Tomori said while ANOTHER breeze is coming at him, AGAIN! He slash that breeze down. He's confused as to why Tadashi still hasn't noticed it yet.
"No way… This country doesn't have any high level monsters to give you a huge amount of EXP…" Tadashi said in disbelief.
"You're right. I might have been lucky to meet some strong monsters that give a lot of EXP." Tomori looks at the pope, who's still ignoring his glares. "But let me tell you my secrets. I always grind for 12 hours. Everyday!"
"What?! But grinding like that can get you this strong! You must have been cheating!" Tadashi yelled at him.
"Cheating?" Tomori said. Then, he started to chuckle. "Hahaha… Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
All of the people in the castle garden are confused as to why Tomori is laughing like that.
"What's your deal?!" Tomori stopped laughing when Tadashi said that.
"Nothing. Cough* Cough*" Tomori coughs a little due to him laughing uncontrollably. "It's just… You blame me for being a cheater when I didn't know anything about this world in the first place. I can't believe you're so dumb!"
Tomori then rolled over to the ground and started laughing back. All of the people there are thinking whether Tomori is sane or not. But this is the chance for Tadashi to beat Tomori.
" Erst-"
" Chain Bind! Switchblade! Poison Blade (Paralysis)!"
But Tomori is quick enough to bind and paralysed him. Tomori stood up while coughing the sh*t out.
" Sigh* Oh man, that feels good." Tomori said as ANOTHER BREEZE IS COMING AT HIM AGAIN! He slash down the breeze. Now this isn't funny at all. Tadashi is trying to speak. But he can't due to him being paralysed. " Low Verringern X!"
Tomori cast the spell that lowered every stat on Tadashi. Colors left Tadashi's face as he saw how low his stats were. And due to him not being able to turn off Overdrive, his defence stats is the lowest stat that he has now.
"It's time to finish this. Demolition Slash!" Tomori gets closer to Tadashi and slams him with his sword. Then, a lot of cuts appear on his body. The cuts are too strong to the point that the armor that he's wearing instantly breaks apart.
" Breath* Breath* Breath*" Tadashi is on the verge of passing out. He looked at his status and saw that he has only 10% of HP left. "Ugh…" He gave in and passed out.
Tomori then stared at the king, who looked completely devastated at this point. He didn't want Tomori to win. But Akira and Reika have seen his daughter cast spells at Tomori multiple times. He also doesn't break any of the rules. The king gritted his teeth and glared at the announcer. The announcer almost shat himself because of the king's glare.
"The winner of this duel… Is the Blade Hero." The announcer said without any enthusiasm at all. And the audience has the audacity to boo Tomori.
" Sigh*" Tomori sighed in satisfaction. He knows he achieved a great victory if the ones who support the opposite team boo him. Be like Tomori who embraces positivity within negativity.
"Tomori-sama!" Ivaran came down to the garden to see Tomori.
"Oh, Ivaran. Did I scare you for a moment there?" Tomori asked his companion.
"A bit. But I know in the end that you will win the battle." Ivaran said.
"I see. And I thank you guys for not stopping the battle." Tomori thanked both Akira and Reika as they walked towards them.
"So you wanted to see what the king would do if you win, right?" Reika said to him.
"That's the gist of it." Tomori replied. But in reality, he just wanted to beat the sh*t out of Tadashi. And the fact that they are streaming this battle makes Tomori overflow with joy. Now the whole country knows that Tomori is the strongest. "Anyway, since both of you are here, let me start my private discussion. Akira, do you have any spells or skills that can make a soundproof barrier?"
"Actually, I have. Do you want to cast it now?" She asked.
"Yeah."
Akira casted a soundproof wind barrier around them.
"Okay. About this 'enemy' back then…" Tomori explained to them about Shina, the fact that she's a Vassal Hero, a little bit of truth about the wave, etc. "And also…" Riri came out from Tomori's body and landed on his hands. "This is Riri, and according to Ivaran, she's a Spirit Beast."
"Nice to meet you, wielder of the Cardinal Weapons." Riri said to Akira and Reika. Both of them looked surprised when they saw Riri talk. "Even though I might look identical to the Hound Wolf, I am a Spirit Beast that was born with characteristics similar to them."
"Spirit Beast… Never heard of them on CPO." Reika said.
"Well, that's expected." Tomori said to her.
"Wait, if this Shina person you're talking to is a hero like us, but from another world, why did she want to kill the Cardinal Heroes?" Akira asked.
"I don't know. She said that it's for her world's safety. Maybe the waves are more than just a phenomenon that brings monsters to this world." Tomori said as he wondered what it could be.
"Yeah. Like, the waves are supposed to appear every 30 days, but the timer has gone up to around 46 days. Maybe it's because we participated in the waves that the timer has increased for 16 days." Akira explained.
"That's a good thing though. We need that time to get stronger as possible so that you guys can handle Shina as well."
"But wait," Reika suddenly spoke up. "Can you tell me how strong this Shina was?"
"To be precise, every skill that I sent to her doesn't even scratch her. Not even my ace skill. Not only that, but she can get a massive boost in strength if she drinks Soul Healing Potion." Tomori explained.
"Hmm… I think I know what her weakness is." Reika said.
"You do? What's it?"
"There's a monster in CPO who only has SP for its HP. The only way to defeat that kind of monster is to craft a weapon that can absorb SP from it." Reika explained.
"I see… But does it get a boost if the monster gets to drink the Soul Healing Potion?" Tomori asked.
"No, it only replenishes its SP."
"So that means Shina is the same type of monster, but she can get a boost if she drinks a Soul Healing Potion. You know where the weapons that can steal SP are located?"
"Yeah. If my game knowledge is right, the monster or weapons that were created by using the monster parts are supposed to be in the country called Handler." Reika said. "And lucky for you, I'm actually planning to go there after receiving my rewards."
"That's great. If you can get the monster parts, we can no longer see Shina as a threat." Tomori said. But he's worried because Shina said that the outcome is going to be different. "So, where are you next after getting your rewards, Akira?"
"Oh, I don't have any plans for now. I'm still thinking about where I should go next." She replied.
"Yeah, same as me. Alright then, I guess we could wrap this conversation up into a burrito. Can you turn off this barrier?" Tomori asked. Akira turned off the barrier. "Well then, since everyone in this castle seems to hate me so much, I'm gonna do the 'daddy move' and get the hell out of here. See you guys tomorrow. Transport Blade!"
Tomori and Ivaran instantly disappeared from the garden.
" Shriek*" Reika suddenly screams as she knelt down to the ground. The audience has already left the garden including the hero's party. So the only one who heard the screams was Akira.
"Reika?! Are you okay?!" She asked with a worried tone.
"…Yeah. Sorry for freaking you out." Reika said as she stood up.
"Why are you suddenly screaming like that?"
"To release the stress that's building inside my head. That's how I usually calm myself."
"Wow, didn't expect that's how you usually calm yourself considering you're a cool headed girl."
"I can break a glass if I scream hard enough. Not that I'm proud of it obviously. Sometimes you need to know how to cope with stress. For me, it's screaming my lungs out."
"I see…"
"Don't you have a method to cope with stress?" Reika asked.
"Actually, no. I don't ever feel stressed that much."
"Well, lucky for you then. Being stressed is not fun at all. And also…" Reika looks at Tadashi who's being tended by the royal mages. "By the look of the duel, it's either Tomori is strong or Tadashi is weak. Now I can't imagine winning against Tomori without any preparations at all."
"Me too. I wonder how is he so strong? Both physically and mentally."
"It's either that he has a rough childhood or that's how he is from the start." Reika also thought that Tomori is like that because he was raised by a former hero. But in reality, that's kind of the opposite. She didn't tell Akira about it since Tomori made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it in the first place. "Either way, it's getting late. I think we should meet up with our party."
"Yeah, I agreed."
Both of them then left the garden.
After Tomori and Ivaran wake up, Tomori teleports them to Castle Town. They started walking to the castle.
"…"
The knights who's guarding the castle entrance just stared at them. But they didn't stop them from entering the castle.
"I guess it's either afraid of me because of yesterday or they don't care at all."
Both of them went inside the castle. They still get glares from people around them. But they ignored it and continued to walk to the royal chamber.
"Ah…"
On the front of the huge door, they meet with the rest of the heroes and their party. Everyone there looks normal besides Tadashi who's wearing the clothes when he gets summoned.
"I guess someone doesn't have any spare clothes."
Tomori tried to look at him. But Tadashi avoided making any eye contact with him. The door is opened by the knights who guard the royal chamber. All of them went inside. As soon as Tomori takes a step, the king makes an expression that he didn't expect that Tomori is going to be here. But he regained his composure quickly. All of the heroes form a line. Tadashi is in the first line, the second is Reika, next is Akira and the last line is Tomori.
"Now then, we will distribute the reward funds for your performance in the last battle, and also your preparatory funds for the next wave." The king said as some attendants went inside the royal chamber, holding some huge pouches.
"Now then, to each of the heroes," The king started with Tadashi. "As a reward for your effort during the wave and fulfilling my request, Tadashi-dono will receive 5000 silvers, and Akira-dono and Reika-dono will receive 4500 silvers."
The attendant gave them their pouches. Akira is fine with the silvers, while Reika mutters something along the lines, "Just because you had his daughter in your party…".
"And as agreed upon, I have set aside 400 silver for the Blade." The king continued. But as Tomori wanted to take his rewards, the king suddenly spoke again. "However, since the Blade broke Tadashi-dono armor and inflicted damage to him, we will subtract the amount to have the armor repaired and the cost of healing Tadashi-dono. That's 100 silver."
The pouch of silver held in his hand is very, very light.
" Sigh* But I still have what Tadashi owes me. So it's fine."
"I don't think that's going to fly." Reika suddenly spoke up. "You see, Tomori proposed the idea to evacuate the villagers during the wave to me and Akira. Of course, we gladly agreed to the plan. And because of that, he has contributed a lot to make the casualties as low as possible."
"But you should left the jobs to the knights, Reika-chan-"
Glare*
Reika glared at Tadashi before he could finish his sentence.
"Really? The same knights that came too late and set several houses on fire without actually killing any monsters? While also almost killing me, Tomori, Akira and our party?"
Everyone in the royal chamber looks at the captain.
"Wh-What are you saying, Projectile Hero? It's just an unfortunate accident that both of you got caught in the crossfire." The captain said, trying to defend himself.
"So you admitted that you purposely casted the Ritual Magic on the village to hinder Tomori and his companion? Is that what you mean?" Reika said while raising her eyebrows.
"That's not what I meant-"
"Anyways, the fact that Tomori contributes more than the knights, who are supposed to defend its people in the first place, should be rewarded accordingly for that." Reika cut the captain off.
"I agreed." Akira suddenly said. "Tomori deserves his share of all the work he has done." Akira may not have what it takes to speak up against the king, but she isn't going to let things slide if injustice is happening in front of her eyes.
All of the people in the royal chamber shocked to see that both of the heroes, including their god, supported the archenemy of their belief.
"Normally, I would be happy. But what they're doing now is making bounty appear on both of their heads for helping me." Tomori thought to himself.
"Fine… He will receive 1000 silver, take them and be gone!" The king exclaimed.
Tomori takes the huge pouch that's filled with 900 silvers.
"Actually," Tomori spoke up as he stored the pouches inside his inventory. "I like to claim my victory rewards." Tadashi's face paled as Tomori walked to him. "You won't go against your word, right Tadashi? It's not very manly of you if you do that."
Tomori stared at him with his bright red eyes. What caused the red eyes isn't the Curse Series, but rather he's channeling his Spirit Energy on his body. That's the reason his eyes turned red.
Tadashi evaded his gaze and stared at the ground. He pulled out the 2500 silvers from his pouch and gave it to Tomori.
"You scoundrel! That's the reward that Tadashi-sama earned through his efforts!" The princess yelled at Tomori. But he ignored her. Tadashi continues by dropping all of his items from his inventory on the ground. Tomori proceeds to absorb everything on the ground into his inventory.
"Thanks. You're welcome to challenge me again to a duel. Let's go, Ivaran. This place had no use for us anymore." Tomori said to his trusty half-elf companion.
"Yes!"
Both of them left the royal chamber while the king and the princess channeled all of their anger on Tomori.
"…" An orange haired woman in her 40's is staring at the windows in the guest room. Currently, she's at the main castle in Imperian.
"My queen." A Shadow appears in front of her. "I'm sorry that there's a delay in the report."
"No need to," The woman said to the Shadow. "Please state the report."
"Yes, my queen!"
The shadow proceeds to explain about how the church attempted to kill Tomori, how he acquired Ivaran, the second attempt of the church to kill him, etc.
"I see… They even denied access for the Blade Hero's companion for a class up. And I can't believe my husband didn't notice this…" The queen scratches her head, thinking about how her husband has become. She also didn't understand why her first daughter is working with the church to ruin the Blade Hero reputation. "It seems like I didn't have any other choice besides secretly sending Miya back to Welle so she can talk straight to my husband. This is also the perfect chance to release Flan Bassett from the accusation of 'murder'."
"Yes, my queen. What shall my task be now?" The Shadow asked.
"Your task now is to protect my daughter during her journey back to Welle. I will inform the other Shadows available to protect the heroes against any ploy from the church. Now go." The queen stated.
"Yes, my queen!" The Shadow instantly disappeared into the darkness.
" Sigh* May no misfortune fall upon my country…"
" Humming*" A girl is working on upgrading her weapon in her workshop.
Knock* Knock*
Someone is knocking on her workshop's door.
"Yes, who's there?" The girl asked.
"It's me, Audrey." A man wearing full dark green armor clad entered the workshop.
"Oh, Randy. Haven't seen you for a while." Audrey stops working on her weapon and faces him. "Why did you come here? Need an upgrade for your Blast-Volver? Or you need to change the Mana Core of your jetpack?"
"Actually, I wanted to propose a mission for you. You can reject it if you want to." Randy said.
"Hmm… What kind of mission?"
Randy gets closer to her. "I wanted you to infiltrate Welle and join the Blade Hero party."
"Woah, didn't expect that kind of mission. What gives?"
"Apparently, this Blade Hero here managed to survive far more than a week. This hasn't happened for more than a few centuries."
"Is that so? If a hero dies, General Rust would have told us about it. But wait, who's permission you got for this mission?"
"I got it from the Grand Armorer. I'm the one who proposed this idea to him. Originally, I wanted to ask the General about it, but it seems like he wasn't very keen about bringing a Cardinal Hero here."
"I see. Even the General can't get mad if the Grand Armorer is the one who's supporting this mission. Okay then, I'll accept it. So you wanted me to bring him here?"
"Yeah. But it's going to be difficult. From what I heard from the informant, the Blade Hero isn't a person who likes people joining his party without a reason. So that's why," Randy gives her a bag. "You should bribe him to join his party."
"Really? You thought that whatever is in this bag can help me join his party?" Audrey asked him.
"Just open the bag and see for yourself."
Audrey opened up the bag and a saw a bunch of stuff in there.
"A dozen gold coins… Few Mithril Ores… And…" She picked up a dagger that has a black color with an orange accent on its blade. "Komodo Draco Dagger… Isn't this dagger here from the Grand Armorer's Armory? This dagger here is centuries older than us, you know that? I couldn't believe that Grand Armorer would give this to the Blade Hero."
"I mean, it's clear that every weapon that was made for the Blade Hero should be passed down to the next successor. This Blade Hero here is no exception as well."
"Well, you're not wrong." Audrey stores all of the stuff back into the bag. "So when will I go?"
"After the Traveling Permit has been made, you can go. Make sure you pack all your stuff up. Oh, I almost forgot that you can't use your Adamantium armor on this mission."
"What?! No way! That armor is my pride and joy! You can take that away from me!" Audrey exclaimed.
"I know, but you're going to become a target for bandits if you wear the armor in daylight."
"What? You think I'm scared of bandits? They may not even have their class up yet."
"I think you're missing my point here. I don't want you to stand out that much. You can store the armor in the Inventory Box, but you can't wear it until the time is right."
"Fine…" Audrey agrees with him. "But can I use my Blast-Volver? You know that I'm not a melee type like you right?"
"Well… As long as you don't stand out that much, yeah. You can."
"Sweet!" Audrey said while doing a victory pose. "Oh, by the way, I wanted you to test this bad baby out."
Audrey throws something at Randy. He swiftly catches it. He looked at the thing that Audrey threw at him.
"This is… a Blast-Volver with a bayonet under the barrel?"
"Yep, I called it Blade-Volver. Unlike a normal Blast-Volver, it's equipped with an Adamantium Bayonet. Not only that, but I tweaked the stats so that it is suitable to be used for both melee and short range fights. In other words, it's a weapon that suits your fighting style. I also made another one for myself so I can test it." Audrey said while showing him another Blade-Volver on her hands.
"I see. Thanks a bunch. I will test this Blade-Volver of yours and give my honest review about it. But I need to go now. Make sure you're prepared for the mission, Audrey."
"Will do, Captain Randolf!" Audrey said to him while giving a salute.
Randy chuckled a bit before leaving the workshop.
Author Notes:
Well… I guess this is the end of arc one. The next arc is going to get 'funky', if that's even the right word for it. And I'm going to be uploading new chapters a little bit late due to me being busy. Too busy.