To D3lph0xL0v3r: I'm well aware that Ren is the least bad out of the three stooges, but that still doesn't change the fact that he has innocent blood on his hands due to his carelessness. I'm sure he would feel a lot of guilt once he sees the dragon that he killed.
To Hyrulian Hero Akai: I'm very happy that you noticed that reference. That was actually Arementi Revnant idea, so the credit goes to him.
To E.T. 2000: I'm well aware that Ren is the least bad out of the three stooges and will definitely put his more loyal companions into consideration. As for the lemon content, I will make a funny scene out of it while also censoring it in a way.
To Halo: I apologize, but I prefer to watch English dubs when I watch my anime shows. So I didn't realize that Kirito and Ren had the same japanese voice actor until much, much later. J to make things easier for me, I chose to use the English voice actors when I read and write fanfiction.
To Mr Miliardo: I know that Kirito is an introvert, but you must also remember that he received quite a lot of character development after all this time. So he at least knows how to be a smooth talker when he needs to, epecially after the 200 years he had spent in Underworld. While its true that his memories of those 200 years have been erased, some things will always remain in his character development.
To shiftfiredragon: Oh they definitely will, especially for Asuna once they realize who Kirin was.
To Guest 2: I'm sorry to inform you, but a good fanfic where Kirito gets Suguha's body in Aincrad by accident still doesn't exist. I do plan to write a future fanfic with this storyline, but it will still be a very long time before that happens.
15 Reviews, 40 Favorites, 49 Follows
As promised, since we pass the 100 mark in the counting of reviews, favorites and follows, I give you the first chapter of this reaction story a week ahead of schedule.
I hope you all enjoy it!
With another snap of Zelretch's fingers, their surroundings (with the exemption of their seats and the food stations) quickly morphed into the events that transcribe in the other timeline.
[Author's Note: Zelretch won't be reacting that much since his attention will be more focused on observing the cast instead of the events in the BRSH fanfic timeline. He will only speak up during the more important events of the story.]
"Where in Goddess Stacia's name am I!!!!" Eugeo exclaimed quite loudly when he suddenly found himself in some kind of magic circle inscribed on the floor within some kind of stone room with a group of men dressed in priest robes standing across from him.
By his side were three other men with a different weapon attached to their person.
"Oh brave Cardinal Heroes we beg of you, please save our world from the waves of Catastrophe!"
Everyone in the theater (even Kirito) couldn't help but chuckle at the somewhat amusing way Eugeo greeted his new life in this other world.
Kirito stared longingly at his now revived best friend, happy to see that he had been given a second chance in life, but also sad that they wouldn't be able to see each other again. Asuna and Alice were quick to take notice of their man's, placing their hands on each of his shoulders as a gesture of comfort. Something that Kirito greatly appreciated.
"So this is how Master Naofumi first arrived in Melromarc," Raphtalia commented, both in wonder and in worry, as she was about to bear witness to the events that led to her Master's fall from grace.
"So that's my Uncle Eugeo," Yui mumbled to herself as she observed her daddy's best friend and partner in crime from Underworld, "I wonder how he's going to react now that he's the one who got transported to another world."
Naofumi, Queen Mirellia, and Princess Melty all looked closely at the unfamiliar Sword Hero. The three of them were all hoping that this one is an improvement to the one that they, unfortunately, received in their own world.
"That's the guy, huh?" Ren muttered to himself as he and the other two Heroes noticed that Eugeo was also a human, like them.
"He doesn't look much different from us," Itsuki commented.
"True, but if he's from a world where fairy races like Asuna and Alice exist, then he probably knows some things that we don't," Motoyasu pitched in with his own opinion.
Ren and Itsuki couldn't help but stare in slight amazement at the fact that the Spear Hero actually made a reasonably educated guess.
Filo didn't have much to say about what they witnessed, so she decided to sneak a bite from Yui's French fries without her consent. Something she immediately regretted as the flaming sensation of the spicy BBQ flavors engulfed her tongue, mouth, and throat in full blast.
"Ahhh! Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!"
Melty handed Filo a glass of water in panic, much to the Filolial's relief as she consumed the much-needed drink in just one gulp.
However, it seemed that water wasn't enough to douse the fire in her mouth.
"Ahhh! It's still hot! Help!!! Filo's dying over here!!!" Filo yelled in tears, taking off from her seat and running around in a vain effort to make the inferno die down.
At that point, the viewing had to be paused, since everyone's attention was on Filo with her making a fuss.
Motoyasu, seeing this as an opportunity to improve Filo's low opinion of him, headed towards the food stand to grab another drink for her.
However, he was a step too late as Asuna flew to the stand to grab a drink and bring it to the girl before he could even reach the stand.
"Here, this should help!" Asuna said, handing the Filolial a glass of milk this time. She knew that drinking milk was much more effective in eliminating spicy flavors from your tongue rather than water.
"Ahhh!~ (*gulp, gulp, gulp*) (*sigh*)"
"That's what you get for taking other people's food without permission," Yui giggled in amusement before adding, "I inherited daddy's taste for spicy foods, so I highly advise that you ask first before tasting any food from either of us if you don't want another fiery experience."
"Filo...~ (*cough!*) understands...~ (*cough*)" the young Filolial replied hoarsely.
"Hehehehe..." Melty chuckled. Many others followed.
With the matter settled, everyone sat down again, with the sulking Motoyasu being the last one to take his seat.
'Are they referring to me?' Eugeo asked himself before noticing that there was more than one Hero present that was summoned alongside him.
To his right were three guys with a different weapon attached to their person. The closest one on his right was probably the youngest looking of the four of them, with blonde curly hair and a youthful expression currently soured by annoyance, and was wearing what looked like a green school uniform. The design was extremely different from the styles he is used to in Centoria or any village he ever traveled through with Kirito. In his hands was a bow with white trim and yellow tips on each end.
The second person was a young man who is most likely a year or two older than Eugeo with blond hair tied into a ponytail, wearing some kind of casual clothes that he was not the least bit familiar with. He was holding a fancy-looking spear with a red jewel embedded in the shaft.
And finally, the one at the end was another young man who looked just a bit older than Eugeo with somewhat messy black hair and green eyes wearing some kind of green and white jacket and black pants who had a very plain looking shield with a green jewel in its center.
Nothing much was said between everyone here as the scene only showed what everyone looked like upon arriving in this foreign land.
Kirito, Asuna, Yui, and Alice were quick to notice just how... normal... the others were when they first arrived. With the exemption of Eugeo, the other Heroes seemed to be just a bunch of ordinary citizens that you could easily run into while walking through a mall as they go about their everyday lives. Unlike Eugeo who had countless hours of combat and drill training under his belt.
Raphtalia and Filo along with Mirellia and Melty were more focused on how different "pre-trial Naofumi" was compared to the Naofumi they had right now. The man in question, however, couldn't help but scowl at the man he once was. Seeing how naive his younger self was, completely clueless to all the injustice and suffering that he was about to endure for the foreseeable future.
The shield guy was about to make some kind of reply or most likely a question to the pleading group of priests when he got beaten to the punch.
"We refuse." Rudely grunted the spear guy.
The shield wielder looked wide-eyed for the extremely obvious show of bad attitude and Eugeo was just about to reprimand him to mind his manners. But unfortunately for either of the two, the guy holding the bow was the first to follow up.
"You can't just kidnap us from our world and make such demands. Don't you feel any sense of guilt?"
"Yeah, it's pretty insensitive of you to try and force us to risk our lives."
"You people should be ashamed of yourselves," Alice's eyes shadowed over her face as she grumbled towards the Heroes in question.
Her common sense being one of the two things that were holding her back from giving the so-called Heroes a piece of her mind. The other reason being Kirito and Asuna were both holding on to her shoulders and arms. Even though Kirito and Asuna both shared their thoughts, they could still somewhat understand why outsiders like them would feel detached from a foreign world's plight.
Naofumi and his party along with the royal pair and Yui could only sigh in disappointment at the Heroes' less than heroic first impressions.
The Heroes themselves couldn't help but flinch under the unpleasant looks that they were receiving from the others. Even Ren wasn't spared as everyone else already had a hint that he was no different to the Bow and Spear Heroes that were displayed in the holographic projections.
Eugeo couldn't help but facepalm at the blatant show of immaturity these two so-called fellow Heroes were showing right now.'Stay cool, Stay cool Eugeo. The situation is still not a lost cause,'Rubbing his forehead as he chanted to himself as he prepared to scold these two.
But Eugeo got distracted when he just realized that just like the other three, he himself was also holding a weapon. A golden yellow sword that had a blue gem embedded right beneath the bladed edge itself with quite the fancy and Holy looking design. It was vastly different from his signature Blue Rose Sword that he was extremely accustomed to wielding.
"Eugeo really took my 'Stay Cool' catchphrase a bit too seriously," Kirito chuckled softly in amusement before taking notice of Eugeo's unfamiliarity with his new blade, "And seeing Eugeo wield any sword other than his signature one feels kind of weird."
"Kind of like what happens to you, whenever you're forced to dress up in anything other than black," Asuna teased with a giggle.
"I agree with her wholeheartedly," Alice added with a smile in a rare show of humor.
Deciding to investigate the Sword later, he simply hooked it to his belt where the Blue Rose Sword used to be.
"We should get some kind of reward for our troubles you know," The bow user all but demanded.
The Hero wielding a spear leveled his weapon at the leading priest. "If you can't even do that much, then we might have to become your enemy.
Eugeo felt his annoyance turn into slight anger. The Spear and Bow Hero had just reminded him of those 2 rotten nobles who attempted to rape his and Kirito's sword students. His opinion of these 2 guys steadily got lower and lower as this interaction went on.
Asuna quickly leaped over to cover Yui's eyes while Raphtalia did the same with Filo's as a few flashes of that unpleasant memory are displayed in front for all of them to see. Melty attempted to cover her own eyes too but was halted by her mother from doing so.
"I know it's unpleasant, but you will need to face this harsh reality sooner or later," the Queen said as she soothed her quivering daughter, "better for you to handle your fears now in this observatory, than doing so when you face the real thing."
Melty nodded reluctantly as she removed her hands to look intently at the unsavory memory.
Everyone else flinched in disgust at the sight, especially the women, as being raped is undisputedly the worst fear any self-respecting woman could ever have in her entire life. As evident to Asuna as she repeatedly shook her head in an attempt to push any recollection of Noboyoki Sugou out of her mind. Alice wasn't much better as she couldn't help but feel ashamed that she arrested Kirito and Eugeo for simply doing the right thing while the truly guilty ones were left scot-free.
Although justice did eventually catch up to the surviving Humbert, and others like him were arrested for the crimes they've committed, thanks in large parts to Kirito and Asuna, Alice still felt violated for defending those two rapists.
Kirito growled at the sight as he is once again being forced to relive that faithful night. While he regretted the life that he unintentionally killed, he would never regret saving Ronie and Tiese from a horrible fate.
While very mild, Itsuki and Motoyasu felt a tiny bit ashamed that they reminded this Eugeo person about these two stuck-up would-be rapists. Although they reasoned in their heads that they will never sink that low.
After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Eugeo politely interjected between the two parties.
"Excuse me..." he said as he stepped forward and got in between them, "Bow guy and Spear guy, forgive me since don't know your names yet... but aren't you two going a little too far with your rudeness? I'm pretty sure that these men are just doing what they were told and following orders of someone of higher authority. So threatening them like this isn't really going to do us any favors."
Everyone was a bit perplexed with Eugeo's words as he succeeded in defusing the tension between the two sides.
Giving a disappointed look at the bow and spear users, Eugeo then turned to the summoners, "Will you please take us to your Master? I'm sure he or she can give a much better explanation about us being summoned here. They will also probably be better prepared to appease my fellow Heroes' necessities as well," The priests were a bit speechless to see how the Legendary Hero of the Sword took upon himself to reel in his fellow Heroes. The respect in their eyes shining through for all of them to see.
The Spear and Bow Hero frowned at Eugeo before the Shield Hero spoke up also. "You know, I have to agree with him. Maybe we should hear these guys out before making a bunch of demands."
"Glad I'm not the only one," Eugeo sighed while giving the shielder a small smile.
"Wow, that's pretty brave for Eugeo to do," Kirito commented as he took another mouthful of his extra spicy fries.
"What do you mean by that Kirito?" Alice asked in confusion. After all, anyone who was courageous enough to face their strongest Integrity Knight Bercouli could only be considered as brave. Asuna also perked up in curiosity over why Kirito found Eugeo's actions to be surprising.
"Eugeo has always been a bit shy in letting his voice be heard. His less-than-stellar job before he became a swordsman didn't help in his social skills either. I know that I'm not one to talk, since I'm not much of a social butterfly either, but he's even worse than me when it comes to interacting with others."
"I see."
"If what you say is true, then his hesitation to speak up is much more understandable."
Meanwhile...
"Gotta admit, I'm starting to like this guy already," Naofumi commented with a small grin on his face. Something Raphtalia and Filo agreed wholeheartedly as they nodded with great enthusiasm.
"Daddy did mention that Uncle Eugeo always had a strong dislike for people who abuse their power and authority over others. I think that's the reason why he's acting this way," Yui said as she added her input before taking another mouthful of her 'French fries of doom' as Filo now dubbed it as.
Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty couldn't help but feel hopeful upon hearing Yui's descriptions regarding Eugeo. Hoping that this blonde fellow, who is now the current Sword Hero, would not only do a better job in performing his duties but also be there to help Naofumi for the trials that are ahead.
As for the other Heroes... well...
All of them could only feel a jumble of emotions within them as none of them were willing to admit that their first impressions upon their arrival were left much to be desired.
The men shortly got back to their senses and finally complied with the Swordsman's request, "Of course, I'll take you to see the king of this country."
With that, the priests walked towards the exit of the room which lead to a spiraling staircase going upwards with all four heroes in tow. While the group made their way up the stairs, they walked past a window that showcased the town that they were currently in. It was breathtaking to see and solidified the fact that this world wasn't their own. But Eugeo silently berated himself after a split second of staring,'Get a grip Eugeo, Centoria looked like a perfect Utopia at first glance but actually hid a REALLY dark secret. Stay cool.'
"He's really taking that 'Stay cool' line that I thought him a little too far," Kirito groaned in both embarrassment and fondness, much to Asuna and Alice's amusement.
"Nonsense!"
"This just shows how strong of a bond you two share during your time together."
"I wish I had that same level of skepticism when I first arrived," Naofumi grumbled as he gave himself a facepalm, "It would have at least spared me some of the pain."
Much to Raphtalia and Melty's worry as they rubbed the Shield Hero's shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
Then Eugeo realized that this city seems to be perfectly fine. There were no signs whatsoever of any damages from these Waves of Disaster that the priests were talking about.'Could it be that these Waves haven't come yet? Or something much more sinister is happening behind the scenes?' This question lingered in his mind while the other three Heroes held their own chat which he tuned out for now. After everything that happened to Eugeo in the Underworld, he learned his lesson about how some Nobles have no problem abusing their power for their own benefit.
After another minute, the group went on their way to the top of the staircase and were eventually brought to some kind of throne room which was filled with members of the nobility. This set off more red lights in Eugeo's head but decided to put it aside for now while reminding himself that Nobles with kind hearts also exist. Upon one of two thrones sat a man wearing regal purple robes who Eugeo could only assume was the ruler.
"Impressive," Queen Mirellia commented, "While it is troubling that Sir Eugeo is already on high alert regarding Melromarc by the atmosphere alone, I can't deny that his worries were not unfounded."
Princess Melty could only nod in sadness at just how true her mother's words are at this point in time.
Deciding to be a good example for his fellow heroes to follow, he bowed to one knee before the king as a sign of respect. The shield guy was quick to join him, but the spear and bow took a couple of seconds of hesitation before taking a knee also.
"Brave heroes please raise your heads."
All four otherworlders raised their heads to look at the King who continued. "I am the ruler of Melromarc, Aultcray the 32nd, and the one who has summoned you all to save our world from the catastrophe known as the waves."
"Your highness, is it possible for you to elaborate about the situation with these so-called Waves?" Eugeo asked as he remembered how the Underworld had the End Mountains that acted as a natural defense against the forces of darkness. The Underworld also had huge stone walls that shut off the few openings the mountain range had.
'Does something like that exist here?'He wondered to himself.
Everyone who wasn't from Kirito's group perked up when they were shown a glimpse of the humongous mountain range that protected the Underworld's human realm.
"You have Waves occurring in your world too?!" Raphtalia blurted out in sheer surprise, pretty much becoming the unofficial spokesperson for everyone else as they all shared the same question about the matter.
'Are the Waves of Catastrophe a multiversal phenomenon too?'
Naofumi and Queen Mirellia were both hoping that they might find some long-lost information regarding the mysterious origins of the Waves of Catastrophe. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
"I deeply apologize if I'm dashing your hopes of discovering answers..." Alice spoke up as she volunteered to answer, "but the attacks that occurred in our world are simply forces that were sent by other races that we misunderstood as mindless beasts."
"I see, that's too bad." Naofumi slouched in mild disappointment as they didn't gain any new information regarding the Waves.
"Moreover, thanks to Kirito and Asuna's valiant efforts, a mutual agreement of peace between the two sides was eventually reached. So anymore meaningless bloodshed between the different races are a thing of the past now."
"Truly?" Queen Mirellia perked up once more when she stared at the young couple in admiration. After all, she had been trying to foster better relations with the other races for years with minimal results, but these two were able to achieve it in record time! Then again, perhaps they age much more slowly compared to them due to their fairy heritage and were simply older than they look. Perhaps Kirito has some blood relations to another fairy race that gave him his longevity.
Looking at the young pair's pride and joy cheerfully interacting with Melty and Filo was living proof that humans, fairies, or any other race in between can coexist in peace.
"Of course. You see, our world has recently been faced with a catastrophic legend in which hordes of monsters appear in the form of waves that will destroy our world if they are not stopped. Unfortunately, we thought that this legend was little more than a myth and completely ignored it. That is until the last grains of sand of the Dragon Hourglass finally fell and the first wave appeared. Portals and cracks appeared in the sky with monsters pouring out of them, causing devastation in the surrounding area of where it appeared," The king answered with a somewhat grim tone.
"Well that's problematic," Kirito quipped as both his gamer mentality and battle senses went into overdrive on how he would handle such an onslaught.
"If these Waves of Catastrophe simply opens up at completely random locations once the timer hits zero, then building any kind of formidable defense to counter them is nigh impossible to form," Asuna's own strategic mind, honed from her time as the Vice-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, also found their situation to be very troublesome to handle.
"And even worse, bringing in any sizable forces to fight against these Waves will be incredibly slow. By the time they reach the Wave's location, a lot of devastation and casualties have already occurred," Alice also added her two cents as she recalled the deadly first strike the Dark Territory did when they attacked Rulid Village.
Eugeo raised an eyebrow at this information.'If that's true, the Waves has already started before we even got here. But how come there doesn't seem to be any signs of devastation in this town?'
"Our military forces were able to subdue the wave, but at far too great a cost that we realized, we would never be able to stop the Waves on our own. So we decided to heed the old prophecy and summon you Heroes to help us in our time of need."
Yui couldn't help but stare intently at the King as he spoke to the Heroes. His facial expressions... his breathing patterns... his eye movements... his tone of voice...
"He... doesn't seem to care... that some of his people were killed during that Wave."
The halfling's silent observation was like a sucker punch in the gut for the two royals, knowing fully well that their husband and father most likely saw the destruction of Raphtalia's home village as a blessing than a loss. Not only did the King got rid of the Demi-human village that he so despises without getting his hands dirty, but he was also able to kill off the Queen's right-hand man who happened to be that region's lord. Thus usurping his control over the Queendom while the true ruler and heiress, Mirellia and Melty, were away in a political conference with the other nations.
"Ohhhhh he most definitely didn't," Naofumi snorted, glaring at the holographic King Trash as he rubbed Raphtalia's back to comfort her over the memories.
The Spear Hero stood up and replied. "That's nice and all but are we getting anything out of this, I mean you guys are asking a pretty huge favor of us so I think we should get some kind of reward for it."
Eugeo just sighed,'Are the rewards the only thing on your mind?'
"Of course, we'd never ask you to partake in such an endeavor for free, you'll be greatly rewarded for your troubles."
The Bow Hero took a step forward. "And don't think for a second you can tame us, just because you summoned us doesn't mean we're gonna let you control us."
Eugeo loudly groaned over the complete disrespect the Spear and Bow Heroes were displaying to the king before signaling the other decent Hero to stand up alongside him before speaking out.
"You two don't have to be so rude about this you know," Eugeo interjected once again as he looked at his 2 fellow Heroes in annoyance, "I'm pretty sure that this country will do their very best to support us in combating these so-called Waves. They need us to be at our very best when we do battle after all. So at the very least, we don't have to worry about not getting any rewards for our troubles."
Furthermore, what is it with you two anyway? We're supposed to be the Heroes of this world, but you two have been so UN-heroic ever since we got here," Eugeo emphasized the "un-" extension greatly as he gave the two rude Heroes his best chastising look.
"You want to be treated as a Hero right? Then start acting like one!"
The entire throne room was amazed at Eugeo's words as the Legendary Sword Hero kept his fellow Heroes' unruly behavior in check. Showing a certain charismatic side to his character.
"Did Eugeo really just say that?!" Kirito's eyes widened as he is left completely stunned at what Eugeo just did.
"Ahuh... apparently..." Asuna was also left speechless.
"That... came out as a surprise. Considering how timid he seemed when I first met him." the same could be said for Alice.
"Wow! Great going Uncle Eugeo!"
"Yeah! Show those meanies who's boss!"
Yui and Filo respectively clapped and cheered for the verbal beatdown, much to Raphtalia and the royal pair's amusement. Naofumi on the other hand was barely keeping his laughter in check, as he saw how Itsuki and Motoyasu both have a mix of sour and constipated looks on their faces for being told off by this new Sword Hero.
As for their current Sword Hero Ren, well, he was now feeling a bit lacking when it came to his leadership skill. Seeing as he preferred to fight alone and simply order his party to fight their own battles during grinding, any charisma he had was nearly nonexistent.
The silence was broken when the king started to chuckle which evolved into laughter. It didn't last long but the king was quick to explain himself, "I apologize but I just realized how accurate the legends are. It was said that the Sword Hero is widely regarded as the Greatest of the Cardinal Heroes, thus becoming the defacto Leader of the Four. It was also rumored that one of your predecessors founded his or her own nation and became its ruler. I expect great things coming from you in the future."
While the Bow and Spear Heroes are now scowling at Eugeo for embarrassing them, the Shield Hero and the rest of the room's occupants were looking at him in admiration.'Wow, I have a lot to live up to,' Eugeo trembled ever so slightly at the thought.
"Wait just a darn minute! Is what he said over there true?!"
"Myne never mentioned anything about this."
"How come he never told me about that?"
Itsuki, Motoyasu, and Ren blurted out in respectively as they set their sights on Queen Mirellia for answers.
"He probably thought it would cause more trouble than what it's worth," Naofumi quipped as he chuckled over the other Heroes' folly.
" "Now, now Naofumi... / Master Naofumi..." "
Melty and Raphtalia patted the Shielder's shoulders to tell him to knock it off.
"To answer your questions in order..." Queen Mirellia spoke out her response, "First, yes, what he said is true... second, she most likely didn't mention it simply because she never bothered to take her history lessons... and third, he most likely thought that you would grow too prideful if he mentioned to you about your predecessors."
"That sounds just about right." Naofumi snorted out with a smirk.
Meanwhile...
"Aside from the Shield guy over there, these so-called Heroes are just a bunch of problem children," Alice said in a deadpanned.
Kirito and Asuna both nodded with the same expression on their faces.
"Now with that out of the way, I will ask all of you future Heroes to introduce yourselves."
Upon hearing this request, the Spear Hero eagerly stepped up to introduce himself as well as recover some of his lost pride. "Motoyasu Kitamura, age 21, college student."
'He's actually 2 years older than me... He sure doesn't act like it,'Eugeo silently thought to himself. Assuming that 'College student' is a different term for the education system that existed in Motoyasu's world.
"I agree with Eugeo's opinion wholeheartedly" Alice grumbled in annoyance at the man-child that was being shown before them, "This ponytailed idiot doesn't act like his age at all."
Kirito and Asuna could only nod in agreement.
"My name is Itsuki Kawasumi, 17 years old and a high schooler," Looks like the bow had the same idea as the spear of trying to redeem himself.'No surprise in his personality issues since he's the youngest of us four.'
It was then Eugeo's turn and he could clearly see the anticipation in some of the people's eyes so he decided to use the Swordsman's salutations that was practiced back in his homeworld. Standing up straight, Left hand gripping the hilt of the Legendary Holy Sword, Right arm in front parallel to the ground with fist slightly tapping his chest, "My name is Eugeo Zuberg, I am 19 years old and an Elite Disciple of the Sword Craft Academy," Eugeo discretely blushed as he decided to use Alice's last name for himself. Last names meant a lot to society, so he decided to go with Zuberg for his love for Alice.
The king and the rest of the Nobles approved of Eugeo's introduction, correctly guessing his unknown action as an Otherworldly version of a salute to a higher-ranking individual.
"Zuberg?" Kirito perked up at the familiar last name before glancing at Alice with a teasing smile, "I guess it's pretty obvious where Eugeo got that last name, isn't it Alice~?"
"B-Be quiet!" Alice retorted with a blush before looking away in embarrassment, much to Kirito and Asuna's amusement.
"Huh, I guess that's their world's equivalent of doing a salute," Melty watched in great interest over another world's cultural salutations.
"It seems so," Queen Mirellia whispered with similar interest.
The Shield Hero stepped up next but the king spoke before he had a chance of introducing himself, confusing Eugeo greatly.
"Motoyasu, Itsuki and Eugeo correct?"
"Indeed your highness but why did you just forget the Shield Hero? It's true that a shield is technically not a weapon, but I had my share of battles where having a shield would have made my past fights a bit easier and a whole lot less life-threatening," Eugeo remembered his battle with the Crimson Integrity Knight and Sun Integrity Knight.
The king and the rest of the Nobles were quite shocked to see the most respectful and seemingly competent Hero, call him out of his attempt to ignore the Shield Hero.
The Shield Hero looked at Eugeo with a mixture of surprise and appreciation. "Thanks for speaking out for me."
"The Shield is meant to protect lives. But on the other hand, the Bow, Spear, and Sword are meant to do the exact opposite. So yes, I genuinely think the Shield should not be underestimated," Eugeo's words were met with skepticism from the other two heroes while the other nobles were too far for him to understand.
"M-my Apologies. Shield Hero, you may introduce yourself," The king reluctantly said with a hint of annoyance on his face for a moment. But Eugeo noticed nonetheless and decided to investigate just as everyone's attention is on the Shield Hero.
"It's pretty nice for Sir Eugeo to go out of his way to defend your honor, isn't it Master Naofumi," Raphtalia commented with a smile.
"Yeah... but who knows how long that will last," the Shield Hero replied skeptically, still not raising his hopes up too high on how this new Sword Hero could change things for him.
Subtly placing a hand inside his pocket and ever so softly, Eugeo chanted, [System call - Generate Aerial Element - Form Element Sound Amplifier – ]
A small green orb of light formed in one of his fingertips, unseen by anyone. Eugeo clenched his fist to hide the light and made a move that looked like he was scratching his ear...
[ – Discharge]
the spell went into effect as Eugeo's hearing from his left ear got a boost. To his absolute shock, every single one of the Nobles was talking insults and trash about the Shield Hero. Calling him things like Devil, Demon, traitor to humanity, and many more degrading words.'What the hell! We literally just arrived today, how can they possibly hate the Shield Hero so much when he's been almost completely quiet this entire time!? If anything, the Bow and Spear are the ones who need a serious reprimanding for how disrespectful they have been the entire time,' Eugeo decided to look into this deeper later on. He knew from first-hand experience how Corrupted Nobles will set up a scenario where they get the moral high ground while the truly innocent victims are the ones to appear in the wrong. 'There's a conspiracy in the making here, I just know it!' He then allowed the spell to fade.
"That was quick," Naofumi remarked in awe as he stared at the blonde Sword Hero in amazement. Somewhat taken aback at how quickly this Eugeo person saw through the fabric of deception that Trash was trying to weave over their eyes.
"Putting aside the fact that my... replacement... saw through the former King's schemes from the get-go, what was that magic spell that he used just now!?"
"Oh yeah! It looks and sounds completely different to all the magic spells that Myne and the girls have ever used!"
"Not to mention the fact that he cast it with so few words! There wasn't any kind of magic circles either!"
While Naofumi and the others didn't verbally voice it out, it was obvious by the looks on their faces that they too were curious about the spell that Eugeo used. With Filo as the sole exception as the spells that she can cast were mostly instinctive in nature rather than the intellectual kind that others used.
Looking amongst themselves in a brief discussion, Kirito, Asuna, Alice, and even Yui promised that they would do what they can to explain their magic system once they reach their first break time.
This seemed to appease everyone as they quickly returned to their viewing.
"Right, my name is Naofumi Iwatani, age 20, college student."
The king leaned back in his chair. "Good, now great heroes, please check your statuses."
All four Cardinal Heroes were confused about what the king is referring to. That is until Eugeo realized the parallel it has to his homeworld. "Do you mean the Stacia Window? The one that shows our physical strengths, our life, and our ability to use spells?"
"Right you are Sir Eugeo, that is exactly what I meant. This is an ability that all individuals in this world possess. But you Heroes possess something that makes you unique because of your Legendary Weapons," The king confirmed in approval.
"Stacia Window?" Ren's confused question was pretty much mirrored by everyone else, as it was a term that they're all unfamiliar with.
Noticing his fellow Heroes looking at him for answers, Eugeo then showed how it was done. "Just do what I do," Right above Eugeo's palm, he drew a letter (S), the other Heroes mimicked his actions and were a bit surprised to see it actually work as they now also have a letter (S) floating above their hands. Eugeo felt amused when Naofumi tested if the (S) stayed in place or follows his hand, turns out it follows the hand.
Naofumi groaned in embarrassment as everyone else began laughing at his other self's silly antics of playing around with this differing 'Status Window'.
"Am I right to assume that this is how your people refer to the Status Window in your world?" Queen Mirellia asked, on behalf of everyone in her group about the subject.
"Indeed it is," Alice answered in kind as Kirito, Asuna, and Yui all nodded in confirmation of her words.
"It certainly is an interesting twist compared to how our world normally operates our Status windows," Melty comments in interest.
The four Heroes in the theater were all equally curious about how their method differed from theirs. Or rather, how different Eugeo's method was compared to Ren's since it was their respective Sword Heroes that ended up introducing this concept to the rest of them.
Eugeo then pressed the center of the (S), the Stacia Window appeared. But much to his surprise, the Stacia Window seemed to have been upgraded.
Eugeo Zuberg
Level 1
Weapon: Legendary Holy Sword "Locked"
Equipment: Otherworldly Clothes
HP: 130/130
SP: 50/50
MP: 50/50
ATK: 30
MAG: 30
P. DEF: 20
M. DEF: 20
AGI: 25
DEX: 25
EXP: 0/100 {Level up requirement rises for every Level up}
Weapon Skills: None
Combat Skills: Aincrad Sword Skills, Balto Sword Skills
'Didn't expect the Stacia Window to get an improvement like this. It even shows my Skills in Aincrad Style and Balto Style',Eugeo contemplated to himself. All things considered, his Stats were well balanced.
"So the Status Window and the Stacia Window are almost identical, they only have different methods of execution," Ren mutters out loud. That is until he noticed the extra slot that follows the Weapon Skill list at the bottom, "Hey, what's that Combat Skill slot that's shown at the bottom?"
"Aincrad Sword Skills and Balto Sword Skills... what the heck are those?" Itsuki asked in confusion.
"Who knows..." Motoyasu voiced out his cluelessness.
Naofumi didn't say anything as he simply looked at his shield and wondered why that slot never showed up in his Status Window.
Needless to say, Kirito's group were all very surprised that a system assist mechanic such as Sword Skills were still carried over to this foreign land.
While it is true that Underworld, where the epitome of virtual reality had been pushed to its very limits to bridge the gap between VR and RL, at the end of the day, Underworld is still a virtual world. So for an actual, living, and breathing world to have this kind of reality-breaking mechanic is simply flabbergasting.
Meanwhile, Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty were left bewildered as to why the Heroes never discovered this fundamental part of their world. Then again, Combat Skills were not only a great rarity for the population, but it also requires a certain degree of mastery over their weapons. Something their Heroes, with the exemption of Naofumi, simply did not have the patience and discipline to do so.
Seeing as they much prefer to use the power of their Weapon Skills than to take the time to implement any sort of finesse into their fighting styles.
'No wonder the Sword is widely regarded as the Greatest of the Four Cardinal Heroes. The Bow, Spear, and Shield Heroes all have obvious weak points while I have none of them. How I take advantage of this fact to make myself stronger depends entirely on me.'
"Well... I suppose he's not wrong," Naofumi easily admitted that indisputable fact, inadvertently flattering Ren while somewhat offending Itsuki and Motoyasu, "What? As much as I don't want to admit it, the Sword is by far the most balanced weapon out of the four weapon types. A Jack of all Trades and Master of none as the old saying goes."
"That particular anecdote does have some merit," Alice muttered in thought as she reminisced about her comrades in arms, "Not one perimeter being too low nor too high, it makes sense in a way why almost all of the Integrity Knights are swordsmen."
"Ahh Level 1, seriously how are we supposed to fight the waves at Level 1?" Motoyasu moaned out.
Eugeo snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the other Heroes talking about their Stats in their respective Stacia Windows. He took note of the fact that their Stacia Windows seemed to be invisible to him. Looking very closely at his own Window, he found the switch that will make it visible for everyone to see.'I guess this serves as protection so others don't see our abilities and weaknesses.'
Tuning out the other heroes, for now, Eugeo opened his Weapon Skill Tree which showed a massive list of different swords and skills which were unsurprisingly locked. He had to work hard in unlocking them.'I have to look deeper into how this Legendary Sword works later. Perhaps looking for information on my predecessors would do me some good while raising my Levels as I do so.'
"Holy moly... that is one freakishly huge skill tree," Kirito's eyes widened in both shock and amazement at just how massive the potential of these so-called Legendary Weapons truly was. And being the hard-core gamer that he is, Kirito couldn't help but feel excited about how Eugeo is going to utilize the game-like mechanics of his new main weapon.
"Eugeo's idea of seeking information about his predecessors is quite clever," Alice added her two cents.
"The only problem is, where would he even start looking?" Asuna commented her concerns about the concept before focusing her gaze on the royal pair on her left, "Judging by what your husband has explained earlier, has it really been that long since the last generation of Heroes were summoned?"
"I apologize, but we really have no way of knowing just how long it has been since the previous cycle of the Waves," Queen Mirellia admitted her lack of insight before adding, "However, if I am willing to venture an educated guess, I would say it has roughly been 10 generations worth of human history since the last batch of Heroes were summoned to our world."
This caught Yui's attention as her cybernetical mind went into overdrive, calculating the most accurate number of years that has passed since the last cycle, before speaking up.
"Then that would mean it's been approximately 689 years, 7 months, and 25 days since the previous Legendary Heroes has walked this Earth."
Yui's display of intellectual might left everyone else who was listening completely speechless. Kirito and Asuna on the other hand could only look on with parental pride.
"That was... a very precise calculation that you made there Yui," Melty chuckled nervously while Filo was left completely confused as her eyes were reduced to swirls.
"You will each have to go out on a journey to strengthen your weapons." The king announced.
"Well, until our weapons are stronger, we could use different ones that aren't this weak," Motoyasu suggested with Itsuki and Naofumi nodding in agreement.
'I guess they missed the Label that says "Locked", which most likely means we are quite literally stuck with these weapons with no way of using anything else. I wonder if some kind of punishment is in place if we break that specific rule?' Eugeo asked himself.
"It sure would have been nice to receive that warning ahead of time," Naofumi grumbled in annoyance as he gave the other Heroes a mild glare, causing said Heroes to look away.
Raphtalia and Melty once again rubbed the grumpy Shielder's shoulders to soothe his mood.
"That is a rather troublesome handicap," Alice pointed out in concern as defenders would normally have a sword or spear to complement their shields, "No offense, Sir Naofumi."
"None taken. I learned to work around my limitations anyways and use them to my advantage, so it isn't all bad."
"If we have to go out to power up our weapons, I guess we could form a party," Naofumi suggested with some excitement only for someone to shoot down his idea by what seemed to be an advisor to the king.
"I'm sorry but that won't be possible, legends claim that when the weapons are within close proximity to each other they interfere with one another and as a result neither will grow stronger. Meaning all of you will have to venture out into the world separately."
A new window appeared in front of each hero confirming that what the advisor said is true.
"Seriously..." Kirito groaned incredulously at that latest tidbit of information, "As powerful as those Legendary Weapons are, they sure have some ridiculous design flaws."
"No kidding."
"I must agree."
"Have those weapons always been like that Melty?" Yui asked.
"Unfortunately, as the ancient texts show us, that's just how the Legendary Weapons have always worked."
"That's not very assuring. Are we seriously supposed to go out by ourselves when we're only level 1?" Motoyasu complained.
"Fear not, Heroes. We will make sure to find worthy adventures to aid you in your endeavors. For now, please enjoy a grand feast tonight," The King assured the heroes about that part but Eugeo decided to add his preference into the mix.
"Your majesty, if it's not too much to ask, I would like to give the people who want to join me a test. A first strike dual, those who failed to meet my expectations will be denied to join me," Eugeo gave his terms, the King and nobles were somewhat intrigued by his suggestion. While Naofumi looked amazed by the Sword Hero's decision, he could hear a faint scoff of "What a show-off," coming from one of the two other Heroes.
"That can easily be arranged, but might I ask why you want to do so?"
"A common belief in the Sword Craft Academy where I'm from is that when two skilled fighters face off in combat, they see the inner self their opponent possesses," Eugeo explained then added, "I want to make sure that the people who fight alongside me, are people I can proudly call my companions."
Seeing the logic behind this belief, the king accepted the Sword Hero's explanation and whispered an additional order to be carried out to the other nearby soldiers.
"That's some pretty clever thinking on Uncle Eugeo's part," Yui complements her uncle before drinking some juice.
"Why? All Filo understands is that he wants to fight the mean King's adventurers."
"That may be it on the surface. But by doing this test, Uncle Eugeo will be able to weed out the ones who won't be able to work with him. May it be due to lack of strength, lack of morals, or lack of resolve."
With that, the four Heroes were led to a dining area where they soon saw that the king was serious. There truly is a grand feast waiting for them, prompting all of them to take their seats with Itsuki and Motoyasu on one side whilst Naofumi and Eugeo on the other.
As Eugeo ate his meal, enjoying the never-before-seen cuisine that doesn't exist in his world. He started to wonder how Kirito and the Other Alice were doing back in his homeworld.'Hopefully, they managed to finish what we started after I was able to injure that Evil woman.'
"We're doing just fine Eugeo."
"I hope you can live a fulfilling life in this 2nd chance that you've been given, Eugeo."
Kirito and Alice answered the onscreen Eugeo respectively, uncaring to the fact that the person can't hear them. Asuna and Yui couldn't really say much, as they unfortunately never had the chance to meet the young man who became Kirito's closest friend and partner in Underworld. But even so, they still hoped for the best for Eugeo as he has been given a second chance in life.
Meanwhile...
The others couldn't help but feel quite curious regarding Eugeo's backstory. Just who was this evil woman that he was referring to.
"I really hope the adventurers they send tomorrow are cute girls," Motoyasu declared, causing Naofumi and Itsuki to chuckle while Eugeo just rolled his eyes whilst the Heroes continued eating.
'I really find it hard to believe that this guy is older than me.'
" " " "You're not the only one." " " "
Kirito, Asuna, Alice, and Naofumi all deadpanned in unison at Eugeo's words concerning the immature Spearman.
Much to the embarrassment of said spear user as everyone else laughed or giggled at his expense.
"Here's one of the rooms we've prepared for you tonight and the others are just the next few doors over there," A maid said leading the heroes to one of the bedrooms prepared specifically for them.
"I could get used to this type of special treatment," Motoyasu said taking a long look at the pretty maids that were doing their duties.
Naofumi simply took a seat on one of the fancy sofas and raised both hands behind his head, "This world feels a lot like a game."
"That's because it is a game, haven't you all noticed the resemblance to Emerald Online?" Itsuki asked with a sly grin.
This earned confused looks from Naofumi and Motoyasu whilst Eugeo just remained stone still as he couldn't believe his ears,'These people think this is all a game! This explains a whole lot of why they don't seem to be taking this entire thing seriously! They don't think any of this is real!'
Said Sword Hero decided to stay silent and try to understand what they were talking about.
"Huh? I've never heard of it. This world is a lot like Dimension Wave," Motoyasu countered.
"You're kidding, right? You know about some game that hasn't even made it into the mainstream but you have no idea what the biggest online game is?" Itsuki argued back.
"That's my line, there practically isn't a soul that hasn't heard of Dimension wave," Motoyasu turned his eyes to the other two occupants. "You two know about the game right."
Naofumi just made an awkward smile. "Actually, I haven't heard of either of the games you mentioned."
Eugeo with a more serious tone, replied, "I don't have the faintest idea of this so-called "online game", "Dimension Wave" or "Emerald Online" you are talking about, and nothing you are saying makes any sense. I'm a dedicated Elite Swordsman in training, so the closest thing I know for a game is when I spar with my fellow Trainees using the wooden practice swords or going out in picnics with my friends and Sword Apprentice."
With the exception of the Heroes who were there when this conversation happened in their timeline, everyone else was left appalled at how ridiculous their perception of this world is.
All but Filo of course, as she failed to understand the complicated part of their conversations.
The three other heroes all stopped and just stared at Eugeo while processing his words. Then coming up with the one conclusion that they silently regarded as ridiculous but now seems to be a high possibility of being true. Surprisingly, it was Noafumi who broke the silence, "You're from a world where magic and monsters exist aren't you?"
Eugeo got confused about such an odd question but decided to go on with it, "Yes I do, although we call them Sacred Arts instead of magic. Monsters do exist but they are being kept mostly at bay by the Mountain Range that separates the Human Realm from the Monster's Realm. Those who were given a calling of Swordsman or any combat-oriented jobs are normally sent to the Capital City Centoria where they are trained. Those who manage to climb the rankings and become champions of the yearly competitions are given the right to become Integrity Knights. The highest possible rank and honor a warrior can be given."
"Wow, that's pretty interesting," Motoyasu comments in genuine intrigue.
"I wonder how powerful those so-called Integrity Knights were to garner such respect," Ren nodded with his own two cents.
"I'm more concerned about the fact that this Eugeo person has a huge advantage over us thanks to his medieval background," Itsuki said with a slightly grumpy tone.
There was another moment of silence before things became hectic again.
"Seriously? Is everyone here from a different world or something?"
"Most likely. If I'm reading this correctly, magic and monsters don't exist in any of your worlds. Because of this fact, none of you 3 were ever given a reason to train in combat and a great majority of your people only do non-combat jobs for a living. Am I right?" Eugeo made an educated guess and by the looks on their faces, it was fairly accurate.
"He really hit the nail right on the head there," Naofumi said in mild exasperation, recalling just how ill-prepared he and the others were for their responsibilities as Heroes, no matter how much they don't want to admit it.
"No wonder you seem to be more at home in this world compared to the rest of us, this world is very similar to yours," Naofumi thought out loud and Eugeo simply nodded in confirmation.
Itsuki then started testing this theory, "I guess this means we're from different versions of Japan, aren't we. Let's see... who's the prime minister of Japan?" Motoyasu and Noafumi both gave different answers before the bow hero divulged a third name.
"Ok, whose face is on the one thousand yen bill?"
Again all three came out with different answers. After several failed tries, Motoyasu then allowed himself to fall back at his bed before adding, "I guess that settles it, we're all from different versions of Japan with the exception of Eugeo. Who is from another magic and monster-filled World."
"If Eugeo really is from a world that's extremely similar to ours, then it's no wonder that he has a massive advantage over the other Heroes," Melty mutters out loud before facing her new friend to ask a question, "Yui, are any of these conjectures true?"
Thinking carefully on the information she gathered about Underworld, Yui confirmed that their world is very similar to theirs, albeit with some differences in how they perform magic. Along with the cultural heritage that comes along with the formation of religions.
Hearing this caused Raphtalia some concern. After all, religious beliefs in their world had been heavily corrupted due to bias and prejudice. Something her Master Naofumi was familiar with far too well.
Naofumi then shared the best explanation he could think of, "Since magic and monsters don't exist in our worlds, our people created different types of devices where there are artificial Worlds that we can play with as artificial characters and go on adventures within these said devices. Somewhat creating a watered-down version of what it feels like to be actual warriors."
"That... is actually a really good way to put it. Good job Naofumi," Itsuki praised with a chuckle.
"I think I understand what you mean now, thank you for explaining it to me in a way that I can understand," Eugeo thanked gratefully.
"That... actually summed up the gamer immersion phenomenon quite nicely," Kirito uttered in bewilderment as he looked towards Naofumi for giving such an accurate depiction to someone who is clueless about things like MMO logic.
Yui could only nod in agreement with her father.
"You're very welcome," Naofumi said, feeling good to finally help someone. "Just out of curiosity, what were you guys doing before you got transported here?"
To Naofumi's surprise, all 3 of his fellow heroes suddenly had grim looks.
Itsuki answers with his head falling a little, "I was on my way to school when a truck took a corner too fast and hit me… next thing I knew I was in that chamber with the rest of you."
"Ouch," Naofumi said with a wince and Motoyasu nodded in agreement.
"Death by Truck-kun..." Kirito was barely able to restrain his laughter at the ridiculousness of it all, "I know I shouldn't be laughing at someone else's death (*snicker*) but that has to be the oldest Isekai trope in the book!"
"I may not be that familiar with anime tropes (*giggle*) but even I see that as something unbelievably cliché," Asuna wasn't doing much better as she also covered her mouth to restrain herself.
Alice was left confused out of the three as she still wasn't fully accustomed to the real world's commonly accepted knowledge in everyday living.
"What's a truck?" Eugeo asked, being unfamiliar with the word.
The mood lifted a bit at Eugeo's cluelessness, "It's like a really big carriage made of metal that normally delivers heavy loads of products," Motoyasu answers with a chuckle.
"Oh," Eugeo imagined it in his head and winced, "Ok, that has got to hurt by quite a lot."
"A large metal carriage!" Filo exclaimed in glee at the thought, "Master, is it possible for us to upgrade my carriage into a full metal one!"
"Nope! That's not gonna happen!" Naofumi quickly shut the idea down as the mere thought of all the expenses that the endeavor is going to require was just not practical, much to Filo's dismay as she whined childishly.
"Sorry Filo," Yui consoles the pouting angel girl as she, Melty, and Raphtalia patted her back, "But your papa does have a point... commissioning a carriage made completely out of metal is not just possible. Not only is it impractical, I also highly doubt any expert blacksmith would even know how to accomplish such a feat."
" " "Papa?!" " "
Itsuki then joked, "It was supposed to be. Fortunately, I didn't stick around long enough to suffer the pain and came straight here afterward." No longer feeling very down.
"Thank the small miracles I guess." Kirito chuckled out as his and Asuna's laughs started to die out.
"I'll go next," Motoyasu said with a more cheery tone and gestured to himself. "Before I came here, I had a lot of girlfriends, you know?"
"I figured as much," Naofumi said while Eugeo felt very annoyed, already guessing what happened next.
Motoyasu ignored him and just kept going. "And so, because of that..."
"... you were two or three-timing them and got stabbed, right?" Itsuki said, finishing off for the guy. It seemed like his comment was supposed to be sarcastic, but Motoyasu just blinked his eyes in surprise and nodded.
"... Women are scary," Motoyasu said nervously. Naofumi and Eugeo looked at the guy with disgust.
Kirito and Asuna were able to take this discovery rather well, only feeling slightly irked. Considering how the Black Swordsman himself was sort of in a similar situation, him having multiple women who had feelings for him, they were able to take Motoyasu's infidelity in stride.
The same could not be said for their blonde-haired knight though.
"Disgraceful! No! Despicable!" Alice all but shrieked from her seat. She was just about to march over to the now cowering spearman to give him a piece of her mind when Kirito, Asuna, and even Yui joined in to pull her back to her seat.
While having more than one wife was technically legal back in the Underworld, it was strictly said in the Taboo Index that'the Husband must treat their wives fairly,'It was also implied that an understanding must be reached between the wives so all of them can be happy with their husband.'Just as my opinion of Motoyasu is starting to go up, it goes crashing back down,'Back at the present Motoyasu then turned to Eugeo, "So what about you, Mr. Elite Disciple? Did some hideous monster cause you to kick the bucket too?"
"In a manner of speaking," Eugeo's tone became harsher reminiscing about the events that happened.
An image of an extremely beautiful woman was flashed at the forefront of everyone's view.
She had long silver purplish hair, including eyelashes and eyebrows. Her eyes were silver in color, seemingly reflecting the seven colors of the rainbow. She was voluptuously proportioned and was donned with light clothes, which were hemmed with silver threads, and had an unreservedly open neckline.
"WWHHOOAA!!!" the now officially established pervert of the audience all but slobbered at the dazzling beauty of a woman that was now being shown in Eugeo's memory.
Itsuki and Ren weren't doing much better as the woman that was being displayed for all of them to see truly was quite the looker.
The only males who weren't affected by the woman's seductive allure were Kirito and Naofumi...
Kirito, because he knew the woman's true nature...
and Naofumi, because he saw the well-hidden traits this woman had that reminded him of Bitch.
Raphtalia couldn't help but feel quite relieved that her Master Naofumi wasn't ensnared by this unknown woman's charms. Filo, on the other hand, bristled in alarm as her feathers stood on end. Her instincts were warning her how dangerous this woman was in more ways than one.
Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty leaned forward, curious on why this woman is viewed with such contempt by this Sword Hero.
"A woman in my world, one who achieved Unbelievable power when she mastered the Sacred Arts to a degree beyond what a human should have. To the point where she's basically only a few steps below the Goddesses that my people worshiped in my world."
"I think I know where this is going... She abused that power didn't she?" Itsuki said with a very sympathetic look.
"That's a massive understatement," Eugeo's voice now laced with a healthy dose of anger, "So many lives were ruined because of her. She even managed to use a Mind Manipulation Sacred art on the girl I love and forced us to fight each other."
"Yikes... That is one line... that one should never... EVER... cross," Naofumi said with a somewhat frightened face. Just imagining what it would feel like if he got forced to fight someone he dearly loved sent chills down his spine. Motoyasu and Itsuki could only nod in agreement.
Raphtalia shivered in terror at the thought, simply imagining herself being under the control of someone and being forced to fight her beloved Master was simply too horrible for words.
After hearing about the woman's deplorable crimes, the admiration that the other Heroes felt for the beautiful woman quickly turned sour. Although Motoyasu still saw her as hot, he at least had the minuscule brain cells needed to acknowledge her wickedness. Which was an improvement on everyone else's books.
Meanwhile...
Alice sunk her head and covered her face in shame. Being reminded of her disgraceful past had always been an unpleasant endeavor for her.
Fortunately for her, Kirito and Asuna were there to provide her with support before she could sink any lower into the abyss of self-depreciation. Made even better when Yui left her seat to give her a comforting hug.
"B-But she was defeated, right? Justice was served in the end right?" Itsuki asked in distress.
"I don't know... But I'm optimistic to say that my best friend slash mentor managed to deal the finishing blow. Before I died and got summoned here, an ally of ours combined her power with mine. I attacked and pushed with everything I had. I succeeded in destroying her secret weapon and cutting off one of her arms," Eugeo had a pleasant smile of satisfaction on his face, which creeped out the other Heroes for a little bit.
Itsuki sighed in relief that Eugeo's sacrifice wasn't in vain, the jealousy he felt before now turning into a small feeling of admiration. Motoyasu and Naofumi patted him on the shoulders for a job well done.
"You defeated that evildoer right?!" Itsuki asked with nearly equal amounts of urgency compared to his onscreen counterpart. The other Heroes and companions were also curious about how Eugeo's final battle ended.
"Yes, we won the battle, but it came at a cost," Alice answered with great sadness and guilt in her voice.
Sensing how sensitive this topic seemed to be for Kirito's group, especially after recalling how this was the cause of Eugeo's death, everyone simply accepted the incomplete answer and moved on to see more of the viewing.
Motoyasu then turned to Naofumi. "So how did you end up here?"
"Well you see…" the Shield Hero trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"This is a bit embarrassing since all of you met your ends, Eugeo's being the most exciting and meaningful. But I was just reading a book depicting the four Cardinal Heroes before being transported here."
This caused both the Bow and Spear Heroes to laugh, "Seriously! That's so lame."
Feeling a bit offended, Naofumi shot back, "At least I didn't have a very shameful end! Besides, all our stories are lame when compared to Eugeo's."
"Naofumi's got you there Motoyasu," Itsuki chirped in good humor.
"Oooohhh... burn!" Itsuki shared with his own counterpart's good humor as he along with the others laughed and giggled at the Spear Hero's expense.
Even Naofumi couldn't help but let out a few chuckles in amusement at how his nemesis Motoyasu got his dignity roasted.
Eugeo checked the time on what he now referred to as the Stacia Hud that now also displayed his HP, SP, and MP on the upper left corner of his vision. Guessing that HP means his Life and MP means his capacity to use Sacred Arts and most likely this world's type of magic since it dropped by a very small amount when he used the [Sound Amplifier] a couple of hours ago. He was still not sure what SP meant. "We should really get some sleep now. If I find any companions to join me tomorrow, we'll be hitting the fields and doing some combat training."
"Fair enough, cutting down low-level monsters should be a good place to start. But I don't know how Naofumi will manage to do that," Motoyasu said glancing at the Shield Hero with pity.
"Wh-what makes you say that?" Naofumi inquired with a slight hint of worry.
"You have the worst weapon out of all of us here. In Emerald online, shielders were only good at the start of the game since all they can do is block and that became obsolete when players encounter stronger monsters so there were never any high-level shielders. To be blunt, the shielder is a useless class that only losers use."
Naofumi turned to Motoyasu. "What about your game?"
"Same, the shield class was useless since it couldn't attack."
"You guys really should have given Naofumi a little more compassion you know."
"It's bad enough that he has to work around the Weapon's strict rules, you didn't have to crush his spirits like that."
"Disgraceful. A shield might be a defense-focused piece of equipment, but it doesn't mean it's useless."
"Yeah, shielders are very crucial supporters. Giving attackers some much-needed breathing room while in mid-combat which could be the difference between victory and defeat!"
Kirito, Asuna, Alice, and Yui, exactly by that order, all protested on Naofumi's behalf for being unjustly written off as useless. Much to Naofumi's surprise and to his companions' happiness. The Queen and Princess pair were also elated on how Naofumi was being given the acknowledgment that he deserved.
The three Heroes, on the other hand, had no choice but to grumble silently as they were bombarded by the other group's ridicule.
Naofumi sighed before walking toward the outer balcony. Eugeo was starting to get worried for the Shield Hero because of how his fellow Heroes were calling him useless. So he decided to speak up, "Tomorrow morning, I plan to teach my possible companions about my world's style of combat. You can join us if you want. Who knows, you just might learn something useful while you're there."
"Really!" A bit of Naofumi's enthusiasm returned to him as he turned around.
"This other Sword Hero is really making a world of difference, isn't he Master Naofumi?"
"No kidding..." Naofumi couldn't help but let out a grumble, "Any kind of combat training, especially this early on in our journey, would have been helpful."
Eugeo nodded with a smile before facing the other Heroes, "My offer is open for both of you too."
"Thanks for the offer man, really. But I want to go out there in this world my own way. Maybe later on down the line when I hit a roadblock, I just might take you up on that offer," Motoyasu politely declined but considering it at a much later time.
"I decline as well, I want to get a head start as soon as I get my companions tomorrow. But just like Motoyasu, I just might accept it in the distant future," Itsuki said with an apologizing expression.
"Alright then, but my offer will always be open," Eugeo declared before they all went to their respective rooms to get some much-needed sleep.
" " " " "Idiots..." " " " "
Several of the audience facepalmed while others simply shook their heads in disappointment. Appalled at the sheer stupidity the other Heroes were displaying when they decided to reject such an offer.
Even Ren felt inappropriate as all he had in his arsenal was spamming Weapon Skill attacks instead of any kind of genuine swordsmanship.
As Eugeo slept, he began to dream.
He found himself in some kind of meadow, one that looked very similar to the one that existed in his hometown of Rulid. Eugeo looked around in slight confusion, but then correctly guessed that this was just a dream until...
"Eugeo..." a very familiar voice was heard a short distance behind him.
"Wait! Is that-..?"
"Could it really be…?"
Kirito and Alice both jolted up on their feet in surprise when they heard that voice. Asuna and Yui caught up with their train of thought soon enough as they also somewhat recognized the voice who called out to Eugeo in his dreams.
He hastily turned around and saw Alice, or to be more precise, what she would have most likely looked like if she had never been taken from him all those years ago. Her face being more soft and innocent compared to the Integrity Knight Alice that he met back in Centoria. Not to mention her clothes being a much more mature version of the dress she used to wear during their youth. Looking like the perfect wife for any man lucky enough to have caught her interest and love.
"ALICE!"
Everyone exclaimed in unison when they saw the person that was calling out to Eugeo.
"So, that is her… My other self… Alice Zuberg…" Alice said in a melancholic tone. Feeling even more guilty as she saw the girl in person.
"Alice... I'm sorry. But I guess I won't be reunited with you for a good long while. This world needs me and I just can't turn my back on them," Eugeo apologized with a few tears dripping down his eyes.
With the exception of Kirito and his group (who were already aware of Alice's complicated history), everyone was left confused. Why was Eugeo speaking to another Alice and acting as if she were dead?
"That is not me," Alice admitted, her voice laced with a great deal of remorse, recalling how she basically stole the original Alice's life when her Synthesis Ritual was completed.
Seeing the guilt that the Knight Alice was feeling due to the non-existent crime that she felt she committed, Kirito decided to at least explain a bit of Alice's situation in her place. Much to Asuna and Yui's surprise.
"Remember what Eugeo said when he mentioned how he was forced to fight the woman he loved?" Kirito gently hints to everyone with a question.
"Yes..." Naofumi voiced out, "but what does that have to do with-..!"
The Shielder nearly choked with his own spit when he and everyone else suddenly realized what Kirito was implying.
"You don't mean..!" Queen Mirellia gasped in uncharacteristic shock.
"The woman that was mind-controlled and forced to fight Eugeo against her will..!" Princess Melty wasn't doing much better.
"… was you, Miss Alice!" Raphtalia finished the sentence with a shriek of both astonishment and horror.
"Yes and no," Alice croaked out as she appreciatively patted Kirito and Asuna's hands, silently thanking them for their continued support before facing the others to get this over with, "The deplorable woman that you saw earlier, used a spell called the Synthesis Ritual. It involves forcibly removing all of another person's memories from his or her body... and then inserting a completely blank slate in its place."
Everyone who wasn't in the know of Alice's plight was already disturbed by things like mind manipulation. But after learning how the procedure worked and how the original Alice pretty much had her body stolen, the room's already low temperature dropped even further at an all-time low. Even the normally innocent and clueless Filo was frozen in terror at the implications of having your body forcibly stolen by another. It is a truly terrifying thought.
Noticing that their discussion has been frozen to a halt and Kirito and his group were still too busy comforting Alice to finish their explanation, Zelretch (who had been completely silent ever since their viewing started) decided to intervene.
"Just to make it clear!" the dimension hopper raised his voice, grabbing everyone's attention to snap them out of their stupor, "The Synthesis Ritual is, in a rather devious sort of way, the artificial creation of a doppelganger. The Alice that's standing before you, is just as real and deserving of life as the supposed original Alice that we are seeing in the other timeline. She never wanted this, she never asked for this, but despite her questionable origins, she is still a sentient being that has the right to exist."
Zelretch's words worked wonders in calming everyone down, the eyes of Kirito and his companions were all conveying to him their appreciation for preventing the situation from escalating any further. Replying to it with a nod, the dimension traveler spoke once again.
"Now then, I think it's about time you return to your seats, we've frozen this projection viewing long enough. Besides, if you've only waited for just a few seconds longer, you would have discovered that the original Alice is happier than ever before. Because now, she is reunited with her beloved Eugeo."
Confused about what the elderly man meant, everyone rushed back to their seats to continue their viewing.
But Alice just smiled and approached Eugeo, grabbing one of his hands and pressing it against her cheek. "You dummy, we are already bonded forever. This time, I can finally fight alongside you instead of just watching you from afar and being helpless to do anything to aid you."
Eugeo's head perked up, "What do you mean by that?"
Alice just smiled as her eyes started to glow, the rest of her body followed shortly after. In a very bright flash, her body seemed to burst into light particles.
"Wait!" Eugeo tried to retain his touch on her cheek when he realized that he was back in the bedroom that Melromarc had provided for him. In his grasp was the Legendary Holy Sword, which was glowing a yellow aura with the blue gem shining very brightly.
"Alice..." Eugeo cried tears of joy as he hugged the Sword very tightly on his chest.
The screaming of...
"The original Alice is within the Legendary Holy Sword!"
in its various forms of speech (depending on who you were paying attention to) was generally what has resounded in the observatory upon realizing what just happened.
The 2nd true magic wielder could only watch the chaos in amusement as she proudly declares...
"See? I told you things would have been alright if you just have waited a few seconds more."
Now seeing the very good point that Zelretch wanted to convey to all of them, everyone once again relaxed a little more in their seats. Nearly all of them now eagerly awaiting what the future may hold for this alternate timeline.
The beginning of a different story...
it wasn't just the Rising of the Shield Hero...
but the blooming of the Blue Rose Sword Hero
As always, thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm open for compatible suggestions and any advice that you readers could give. As for those nasty Reviewers who loves to Insult us authors, please just leave us alone.
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