KingVessel: Ok... Let's do this!
Chapter 01: Four Heroes, Four Gifts
"O brave Heroes, please save our world!"
Despite being a self proclaimed otaku, Naofumi Iwatani would honestly state that he had never expected that phrase to ever be spoken to him with utter seriousness.
Naofumi was one of four people that were summoned to this world as Four Cardinal Heroes the day before and had become the Shield Hero. The other Cardinal Heroes were Motoyasu Kitamura the Spear Hero, Ren Amaki the Sword Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi the Bow Hero. Naofumi didn't have too much of an opinion of his fellow Heroes just yet. Despite the rather rude attitude that they displayed during their briefing with the king, they didn't seem like bad guys.
A real important fact however was that later that night, he had learned that they all originated from different Japans. Which was really incredible. But even that was eclipsed by a depressing fact that all of his fellow Heroes had agreed on despite being from separate worlds.
A complete Shielder was... utter shit past the beginner levels.
Still, Naofumi refused to give up hope!
Even as the first morning of their lives dawned in Melromarc, Naofumi would give his best.
"Hm? What's this?" Ren's confused query got him just as he met in their common room.
Right there, on the table were four fruits, each with very unnatural patterns, stems and swirls. These were...
"Woah, Devil Fruits!" Naofumi exclaimed as he dropped to his knees to examine them.
"Devil... fruits?" Itsuki muttered in confusion.
Motoyasu raised an eyebrow. "Wait, is this some exotic stuff from your Japan?"
"What I want to know is..." Ren asked the really important question. "Why are there four of them and how were brought here without any of us noticing?"
Naofumi and the others stopped to ponder that question before he noticed a note on the table... when he had been quite sure it hadn't been there twenty seconds ago. "There's a note."
Itsuki picked up and opened up allowing the others to read over his shoulders.
"Dear Cardinal Heroes.
This is a little... 'experimental boost' for your Journeys ahead.
But I must still warn you.
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in."
"P.S. I removed the weakness to seawater so be rest assured."
- KV
'A warning?' Naofumi frowned at this revelation. "Looks like we have a mystery benefactor watching over us. Still, why Devil Fruits of all things?"
Ren turned to face him. "Speaking of which, you're the only one here who knows what these are. What are Devil Fruits?"
"Ah. Well, Devil Fruits are mysterious fruits that grant permanent superpowers when eaten." Naofumi explained. "They're kinda like gacha in how they're super random and can go from unbelievably mundane to crazy destructive."
"Do you know these ones then?" Itsuki pointed down at the fruits on the table.
Naofumi shook his head after examining them. "No. I've never seen these ones before."
"Are they super rare or something?" Motoyasu picked up a yellow one to observe it better. Considering how the fruits had been colored to match the gems on their Legendary Weapons, Naofumi had almost expected him to have picked the red one. "How much do they usually sell for?"
"There were some identified ones that could go for billions... but the lowest actually paid for even an unidentified one was ¥100,000,000." Naofumi spoke, his thoughts continuing on their own as he ignored the others' various states of shock. 'At least, that how it was in the manga. Well, it's not like people wouldn't pay as much if it truly existed in reality back home in Japan.'
"A-Amazing." Itsuki muttered as he picked up the green one, prompting Ren to pick up the red one.
"Huh?" Naofumi blinked at the last blue one on the table. "You're all eating them already?"
"Well, when else are we going to eat them, then?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "Best to show no weakness and eat them as soon as possible. Besides, aren't you supposed to be grateful that you'll get something other than just a shield?"
'That's true.' Naofumi picked up the last Devil Fruit, holding the blue fruit up to his mouth before remembering a crucial fact. "W-Wait! I should warn you all. From what I know, these taste really bad. So... just prepare yourself."
With that said and nods being shared all around, the four bit into them as one... and promptly gagged as one as the bitterness and disgust nearly overwhelmed them.
"Urgh!" Naofumi clasped his mouth as he grabbed on to a chair. "'Horrible' doesn't begin to describe what I just ate."
"That was worse than an actual rotten fruit I got dared into eating before." Motoyasu choked out.
"I might have spat it out if you hadn't warned us ahead, Naofumi." Ren grunted out, his head pressed against the wall as he held his stomach.
Itsuki added nothing, but judging by the way he strongly held both of his hands against his mouth, he didn't need to.
"Do... do we need to finish eating them?" Motoyasu asked.
Naofumi shook his head. "Nah. Just a bite to swallow is enough."
Sounds of relief from the other guys filled the room just as Naofumi got a notification from his Shield.
[Extra Skill {Splash-Splash Fruit (Passive)} has been acquired.]
Just as it appeared, Naofumi became startled when water started to generate and fall of his hands. The only reason why nobody paid attention to him was because they were subjected to the same phenomena. Ren curiously watched the flames burning in his palm, Motoyasu's hand was sparking with electricity and Itsuki was chuckling as he kept shooting small gusts of air everywhere.
[Extra Skill {Spark-Spark Fruit (Passive)} has been acquired.]
[Extra Skill {Burn-Burn Fruit (Passive)} has been acquired.]
[Extra Skill {Blow-Blow Fruit (Passive)} has been acquired.]
'Here we are.' Naofumi thought as he and his comrade approached the monster territory. For a brief moment, he took the time to take in the beautiful landscape before his attention returned to the adventurer at the side.
His comrade was Myne Sophia. A pretty redhead who had been the only one out of several others to join his party earlier in the palace. Apparently, the other Heroes weren't the only ones who believed the Shield to be undesirable.
Although, Motoyasu's suspicion that their chat last night might have been eavesdropped on had some merit...
Still, despite that, Myne had joined him in his adventure! Although, she had gone for really expensive armor and equipment from that Erhard guy, Myne was really supportive and took several opportunities to hug his arm into her well endowed chest!
Isekai for the win!
"No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in."
Naofumi shook his head to focus. The note from earlier was right. If he was going to live here as a Cardinal Hero, then he needed to be strong as possible. His love life could come later.
'This calls for the most important objective. Grinding.' Naofumi shuddered as the term floated through his mind. To Grind was to relentlessly rack up stats to level up and upgrade the Character. While he had been punching the Balloon Monsters, it had been so frustrating to discover that not only did the Shield prevent him from literally picking up any other weapon, it had also stuck his ATK at 1.
Do you know how embarrassing it is to punch a monster for three hours ineffectively, only for Motoyasu to come by and literally shish-kebab two of them in an instant? Very.
"No good, huh?" Motoyasu asked as he and Naofumi took a break under a tree. Nearby, Myne was chatting with the other girls in Motoyasu's Party whom she apparently already knew. "I told you the Shield was useless."
"Yeah, yeah." Naofumi grumbled as the afternoon sun caused a nearby lake to glimmer brightly. "How've you been doing with your Party members?"
"Great!" Motoyasu beamed. "They're so pretty and appreciative and pretty!"
"Nice to see where your priorities lie." Naofumi snarked.
"They were so stoked at the little tricks I showed them with my lightning!" Motoyasu clapped his hands together, before separating them to reveal a bolt of lightning crackling between them. "Pretty cool, huh? Have you tried your Devil Fruit yet?"
"Yeah." Naofumi sighed. "I can't do more than splash a bucketful of water though. Not quite the amount that qualifies as destructive."
"Don't worry about it!" Motoyasu cheerfully slapped Naofumi, causing him to wince at the first bit of pain he had felt from an attack, his Lv. 1 stats meaning little to Motoyasu's Lv. 4. "Just think about whatever water can possibly be used for. You seem like a smart guy so I'm pretty sure you've got it covered! Besides, I'm sure that you've seen something similar from your home since the Devil Fruits come from your own Japan, right?"
'Just think about whatever water can be used for?' Naofumi's eyes widened at Motoyasu's suggestion before he suddenly sat up. 'He's right! Water is useful! Other than permanently solving a logistic issue since Devil Fruit edibles are actually safe to consume...'
Naofumi brought his hands together and willed the water to flow out and compress. Once suitably dense, Naofumi spied a faraway Balloon Monster and fired the compressed water blast after aiming.
[+30 EXP]
[Level Up: Lv. 2]
"Nice distance." Motoyasu whistled before patting Naofumi's back again. "As expected of big bro Motoyasu's advice, it certainly works miracles, huh?"
Naofumi was too elated about the received EXP to care about Motoyasu at the moment, especially as he had finally levelled up and found a way around his shitty ATK stat. "YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
'Water manipulation, huh...' Naofumi thought even as Myne came running from his scream. 'Good thing I read a lot on physics books regarding liquids for one of my former projects back home! Ah, speaking of which.'
Naofumi put down the satchel at his side and pulled out the clothes and other stuff he had on him.
"What are you doing, Sir Hero?" Myne questioned as she and the rest of Motoyasu's Party approached.
"I'm gonna check out something." Choosing the least valuable object, Naofumi placed the wallet against the gem of his Shield and was stunned by the notification it showed him.
[Non-Monster item detected. Choose between Assimilation or Storage.]
'I get choices?!' Naofumi's cheeks hurt from how widely he was smiling and instantly chose Assimilation. It's not like this country needed his yen or wallet.
[Requirements met: Money Shield Unlocked - Quality: Unique - ATK: +2 - MAG: +10 - DEF: +10 - DEX: +4 - Bonus Skill: Bank Savings (Passive)]
[Money Shield: Store your money in here.]
[Bank Savings (Passive): Any bit of saved money that stays unused for over 20 days will get doubled.]
"Hehehehehehehe. To think I could get such great stuff from my own stuff." The evil chuckle that escaped Naofumi freaked out everyone around him. "Motoyasu, go tell the others to try assimilating their Homeworld Items. You'll unlock something nice."
"S-Sure." Motoyasu got up and left immediately with his Party in tow, although judging by the "Holy shit!" he heard some seconds later, Naofumi knew he had gotten something just as good.
"What exactly happened, Sir Hero?" Myne got back Naofumi's attention, slightly caressing his arm. "What did the Legendary Weapon just do?"
"The Shield can store our stuff in a pocket dimension!" Naofumi dropped the satchel and the rest of the brought out items above his Shield, causing Myne's eyes to widen as it all vanished in a flash of emerald light. "Ha! Eat your heart out, Doraemon!"
"Y-Yeah!" Neither her hesitant cheer nor the calculative look in her eyes were noticed as Naofumi cheered more before he returned to grinding.
Later at night in the privacy of his room, Naofumi carefully added everything else to his Shield. While his money obviously went into the {Money Shield}, he carefully had his Homeworld Items all assimilated along with the Balloon Monster skins he couldn't sell instead and was rewarded for his diligence.
[Requirements met: Apparel Shield II Unlocked - Quality: Legendary - ATK: +2 - MAG: +8 - DEF: +3 - DEX: +8 - Bonus Skill: None]
[Apparel Shield: Not only does this allow you to store clothes but also exchange them for the one you are dressed in.]
[Requirements met: Phone Shield VI Unlocked - Quality: Unique - ATK: 0 - MAG: +20 - DEF: +3 - DEX: 0 - Bonus Skill: World Map + Contacts + Camera + Clock + Browser + Media]
[Phone Shield VI: This does whatever your phone can but better.]
[World Map (Active): This grants you a map of the planet. However, it only works in the world you currently reside in.]
[Contacts (Active): This allows you to telepathically contact Party members. This is unable to be used to contact those from Earth.]
[Camera (Active): This allows you to capture moments in time and also record from memory if set.]
[Clock (Passive): Permanent feature that always tells you the time.]
[Browser (Active): Allows Internet access.]
[Media (Active): A storage for all the pictures and videos already stored inside your phone. Waste not, after all.]
[Requirements met: Orange Balloon Shield II Unlocked - Quality: Common - ATK: 0 - MAG: 0 - DEF: +12 - DEX: +15]
[Requirements met: Red Balloon Shield Unlocked - Quality: Common - ATK: 0 - MAG: 1 - DEF: +6 - DEX: +6]
Although disappointed at the fact that he was almost completely cut off from home, Naofumi still whistled at the haul he'd gotten in the day. 'I hope I don't reach a limit on what I can store away, though.'
[Mass placed inside the Legendary Shield for storage faces no problems with weight or size.]
'Well, that's convenient.' Naofumi threw himself back on the bed, writhing in excitement. 'My ATK may be shit but I'm really racking up the DEF stats.'
He thought back to earlier in the evening when somebody had accidentally dropped a potted plant onto his head from above as he passed a building. If it hadn't been for the soil falling before his eyes, he wouldn't even had noticed something that was supposed to have given him a splitting headache at minimum.
'If I continue on like this, I'm gonna be able to tank actual attacks from stronger monsters soon enough. Imagine the face it'll make when it bites my arm only to break it's own teeth instead!' Naofumi chuckled as he looked at his Shield. 'I take it back. You're not useless in the slightest. You probably just have different functions in how you work.'
Whether in response to his thoughts or not, the gem on the Shield glowed brightly for a bit.
'Wait.' Naofumi suddenly sat back up. 'This is like a game, right? What if I make some skills of my own? Like mana shots and repairing and healing and all of that stuff!'
The more he thought on it, the more Naofumi got excited. Getting dressed again and heading out, he briefly greeted the guards before heading out for the Monster Meadow again.
"Alright, now." Naofumi breathed deeply as he gazed over the area. In the darkness of the night, the area looked rather menacing.
"Okay, now..." Naofumi held his Shield up. "What exactly do you use a shield for besides blocking?"
Several thoughts came to mind, although one had him chuckle out loud. "This Shield isn't like Captain America's Vibranium Shield. Forget the shape, I can't even get it to separate from my body. Wait..."
Getting an idea, Naofumi held the Shield before him like the large transparent shields he'd often seen SWAT officers use on TV. Letting out a yell, he rushed towards a tree, pushing his Shield forward like a battering ram. "R-Ramming Charge!"
As Naofumi closed his eyes, he didn't see his Shield glow green with power. He did however feel himself smash through the targeted tree, tripping over the torn stump as the top half of the tree fell over due to the large hole in it's trunk.
"I-It worked!" Naofumi cheered as he got up to survey his work, the notification that appeared later only exciting him further.
[Extra Skill {Ramming Charge (Active)} has been acquired.]
[{Ramming Charge} allows you to accelerate and land devastating strikes with the Legendary Shield. Mastery of the {Orange Balloon Shield} will increase this Extra Skill's proficiency.]
'So that's what those balloons could give me!' In his excitement, he didn't notice that one of the bars on his HUD, the purpose of which he still had no idea about, had dropped to half. He also didn't notice the hidden figure following him as the Shield Hero then started to deal with the monsters that had become attracted by the noise he made.
Cracking his fingers excitedly, Naofumi faced the incoming stampeded of various colored balloons with a wide grin. "Come on, all of you. You all just saved me the effort of searching for you!"
*thump*
The ground suddenly shook, causing all the Balloon Monsters to suddenly stop approaching... only to swiftly vacate the area with panic so obvious on their faces that Naofumi's excitement died a bit.
*Thump!*
The ground shook a lot stronger this time, causing Naofumi to nearly stagger from the tremor until he finally saw the cause. "What the hell?!"
It was the largest Balloon Monster he had ever seen, being almost as large as a bear while possessing a white caricature of a crown around the skin of it's forehead.
[Red Balloon Monster King: Lv. 10]
'Level 10?! I'm only Level 2!' Naofumi flinched as the Boss Monster roared out in challenge before grinning at the challenge. "Come on!"
The Red Balloon Monster King roared before surging forward, much faster than Naofumi expected. With a growl of his and secret relief that his arms had already been in position, Naofumi slammed his Shield right against the Boss Monster's face and held his ground, grimacing as he was sent back five feet backwards from the impact.
'My arms feel like they're about to break! If it wasn't for all the DEF stats of my unlocked Shields adding up...' Naofumi thought fiercely as the monster started to bounce around rapidly, confusing Naofumi from just how fast it was moving! 'If it hits me at this speed, I'm fuck-?!'
*BAM!*
Naofumi's breath burst out of his mouth as the Red Balloon Monster King slammed heavily into his back before bouncing off again and coming in to smash into Naofumi's right shoulder.
'It's no use! I can't make my eyes catch up!' Naofumi stopped trying to follow the speedy monster and now relied on instinct, which ironically was helping out a lot more.
*CRACK!*
"ARGH!"
It was kinda weird. Despite his now broken arm, Naofumi somehow managed to stay calm and not panic. It was a true fight for his life against a great monster, just like the LNs always displayed. If he lost, he would die. If he won, he'd Level Up by a huge degree.
This... This was a Boss Battle!
"[Orange Balloon Shield!]"
Somehow aware of where to aim for, Naofumi slammed his Shield with his uninjured right arm against the Boss Monster's face as it shot forward for another attack. There was a small shockwave as the monster ricocheted away while one of it's eyes swelled up from the impact.
Taking advantage and bracing for the imminent pain he would feel, Naofumi rushed forward and taking advantage of the Boss Monster's distraction, shoved his broken arm into it's mouth!
"Thirsty?" Naofumi grinned despite the immense pain. "Have a drink!"
At Lv. 1, the generation rate for Naofumi's Splash-Splash Fruit was comparable to that of a kitchen tap. At Lv. 3, the water that gushed into the Red Balloon Monster King's maw could've rivalled a firefighter's hose!
Gurgling and proving that even monsters as oddly shaped as it needed to breathe, the Red Balloon Monster King flailed and bounced about, doing it's absolute best to knock off the human clutching to it's face.
"Urgh!"
Even smashed against a tree, Naofumi didn't budge.
"ARGH!"
Even bounced upon against the ground, his grip stayed steady.
"GURK!"
Even as the Boss Monster rolled about at dizzying speeds, the Shield Hero wouldn't. Let. UP. Finally, with one last gurgle, the Red Balloon Monster King came to a stop before slumping over as water disgustingly leaked from all of it's orifices.
[Level Up: Lv. 3]
[Level Up: Lv. 4]
[Level Up: Lv. 5]
[Level Up: Lv. 6]
[Level Up: Lv. 7]
[Level Up: Lv. 8]
[Level Up: Lv. 9]
[Level Up: Lv. 10]
[Level Up: Lv. 11]
[Level Up: Lv. 12]
Naofumi gasped heavily, caught between the headiness of the sheer power rush and exhaustion ripping though him, before he bonelessly flopped over next to his kill. "Ha... Ha... Ha... I won..."
And now, Naofumi was too tired to properly defend himself.
Naofumi didn't know how he sensed it. He was so tired that he was just about to nod off. Then a chill rushed up his spine and it was inexplicably clear to him:
He should really move his head.
Almost on instinct, Naofumi turned just as something long and thin impacted where his head had been a second before. Robotically turning his head, Naofumi's jaw hung as he regarded the meter long rod of stone that had smashed deep into the ground. 'W-What? What?!'
"A-An attack?!" Naofumi awkwardly crawled away from it, nearly missing the shadowy figure that leaped forward from the brush to land before Naofumi. As they flew through the air, several more stone spears were shot down at Naofumi, prompting him to start dodging. "EEEEEEH?!"
"Honestly..." The shadowy figure landed suddenly before Naofumi on a knee and his fist, cutting off the Shield Hero's path. "You're really difficult to assassinate, aren't you, Shield Devil?"
'Shield Devil?!' "Who are you?!" Naofumi held up his Shield like it was the only thing between him and certain death... which it kinda was. "Assassinate?! Who hired you to kill me off?! I've only been here for one and a half days! Who'd I piss off in that time?!"
"That's a true mystery." The figure spoke, somehow very clear despite the full mask obscuring their entire head. With their all-black attire which was somehow neither baggy nor taut, rendering their gender indecipherable. "It's as if you came to this world just to be targeted, Devil!"
They finished their sentence with another suddenly thrown spear that would have barreled through Naofumi's brain had he not bent his knees just before the stone spear left the Shadow's hand, causing the attack to harmlessly skim his hair and slam deep into the tree behind Naofumi. "You dodged again."
Naofumi gaped at the cold tone of the Shadow's voice. 'He's... seriously trying to kill me!'
"At first, I was satisfied with just luring that Boss Monster to you. I mean, you snuck out here on your own without any prompting. It's hard to tag the death of an overconfident Hero with 'assassination' after all." The Shadow crossed their arms in befuddlement. "But somehow, you triumphed that. Plus, our intel never said anything about you already attaining Water magic. Add that to your recent Level Up and it'll be no use trying to eliminate you as naturally as possible."
The Shadow spread their hands out, summoning rocks into their palms before they were suddenly compressed and shaped into blades. "In that case... I'll just have to kill you as directly as I can."
"I don't get this at all!" Naofumi hastily dodged, bursting into a run away from his assailant. (What? You thought a civilian of the modern age would bravely face an armed assassin trying to kill him? What a joke.) "Why are you trying to kill me?!"
"You shouldn't run, Shield Devil." The Shadow easily kept up, constantly slashing at Naofumi vigorously despite his toneless voice. "I'm trying to give you a quick death, you know. That would actively go against my Faith."
"Fine, then!" Naofumi suddenly twisted about in his run, a compressed orb of water hovering in his hand. "Take this!"
The compressed water blast tore through a tree branch on it's journey for the Shadow's face... only for the Shadow to smack it out of the way without a single change of pace from his part.
"Huh?" Naofumi gawked at his attack being literally swatted out of the way, before having to dodge as the Shadow rained stone spears onto him again. Thankfully, the little mental chill in his head kept warning him of where to instinctually put his running steps and bob in a manner that almost resembled a dance, allowing Naofumi to successfully dodge all of the Shadow's attacks.
Taking another chance, Naofumi gathered up a much stronger Water blast, only for the Shadow to counterattack with a fireball, causing the two elemental attacks to hit each other and release a large burst of steam.
When Naofumi tried to peer through it, the Shadow leapt out of it from above and spun once before slamming both stone blades in their hands against the hastily raised Shield. "You sensed me again. Your intuition vexes me."
'Sca... Scary...!' Naofumi gritted his teeth as the force sent him down to a knee and nearly broke his arms. 'These blades are way scarier than anything I've seen today! It's just instinct... But I'm dead sure that even this things were made from stone instead of metal, it won't matter! The edges of these blades can cut me...!'
Naofumi blinked as an idea popped into his head. 'Edge...'
Leaning back and letting the Shadow get unbalanced, Naofumi swung his (now fixed from the Level Up) left arm and sunk his fist into their masked face as he backpedaled to make some space. 'I need to focus more on the attack...'
"Stop resisting, Shield Devil." The Shadow muttered before charging forward. "If you would just relent, I swear to kill you gently."
'Right... I can't shoot an attack they can casually deflect...' Water gathered in Naofumi's hand before compressing again. 'I need something thinner...' The water orb started to spin and flatten. 'Something sharper...' The Water 'disc' was now dangerously thin, it's width near invisible. 'Like a blade edge!'
Naofumi swung his hand again, shattering the Shadow's blades as the Water Disc cut through them and slashed at the Shadow's face. However, the mask was apparently very durable as they didn't keel over and die from that attack.
"Not bad, Shield Devil." The Shadow complimented as they clutched their bleeding face. "There's an actual Zweite-level spell like that so I guess it's possible to make a low-level variant that focuses on sharpness rather than power. Still..."
The Shadow surged forward, uncaring of their injuries. Thoroughly freaked out and panicking, Naofumi swung his arm again with far more intent and far less thought.
Each originating from his fingers, five sharpened streams of water slashed through the air and into the Shadow's body. Fatally injured, the Shadow staggered as their blood spilt out, horrifying Naofumi at the damage of his handiwork.
"What's wrong, Shield Devil?" The Shadow rasped, their voice weakening. "Is this your first time seeing bloo-"
*SCRACK!*
It happened so quickly that if Naofumi had blinked at that moment, he was quite sure that he would've missed it.
Emerging from the darkness, another Shadow, similar but definitely female from her body shape and exposed thighs, smoothly leapt out of nowhere and onto the Shadow's shoulders and sharply twisted his head about until it was facing their back.
Well, that was it.
This was where Naofumi's mind hit its limit, the man's eyes rolling back into his skull as he fainted from the murder he just witnessed.
Before his head hit the ground, the female Shadow already caught Naofumi and gently lowered him to the ground. Taking the time to softly place down his head, she swiftly got to work.
Dragging over the corpse of his earlier kill, she dropped it over the Legendary Shield's gem. After a brief moment to confirm the assimilation, she went over to the dead Shadow's body and ripped off their mask, proceeding to drop it as well over the Shield.
[Requirements met: Red Balloon King Shield V Unlocked - Quality: Legendary - ATK: +5 - MAG: +5 - DEF: +21 - DEX: +20 - Bonus Skill: Anti-Royal + Fiery Bouncer]
[Anti-Royal (Passive): Any member of royalty who attacks this Shield will have damage reflected back at them.]
[Fiery Bouncer (Active): You are now able to conjure a forcefield around you that can reflect flames against any attack. If alone within the forcefield, you can also bounce and roll around in it.]
[Requirements met: Mask Shield II Unlocked - Quality: Rare - ATK: +0 - MAG: +5 - DEF: +3 - DEX: +20 - Bonus Skill: Anonymous]
[Anonymous (Active): This Shield hides your identity from others. However, it is less effective against Shadows and others who are already in your Party.]
Satisfied with this, the female Shadow left with the dead Shadow, hoping to properly dispose of the corpse.
As the rays of the morning sun lit up the throne room, King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII silently stewed in his rage as he awaited for his knights to bring in the accursed Shield!
To think that the Devil hadn't even waited a full day before trying to lay his filthy hands on his dear daughter was unacceptable! Even now, her heartrending sobs occasionally filled the air as she clung to the Spear Hero for moral support. If only she hadn't felt pity for the Shield and left his Party, this mess wouldn't have happened!
The doors finally opened, revealing the knights along with the Shield Hero. As Aultcray opened his mouth, rather than insult him as he planned to, a query he didn't expect crossed his lips instead. "Why is the Shield Hero covered in blood?"
One of the younger knights, Ake he believed, stepped forward and bowed. "We found him asleep in the monster meadow, your Majesty. The area he was in was utterly devastated and in ruins. We suspect that he ran into a boss monster and the resulting battle left him exhausted, causing him to collapse right there."
"There was a boss monster there?" The Sword Hero exclaimed in shock. "How come we didn't find it yesterday?"
"That's not the issue here, although I'm pretty curious at how Naofumi won despite his pitiful ATK stat." The Bow Hero spoke out before glaring at the Shield Hero. "Naofumi. Why did you attempt to rape Myne last night?!"
"Rape... Myne...?" The Shield Hero blinked blearily, as if he was barely registering the words. "So this isn't about... the guy I killed last night?"
...what.
"Hah?!" Lightning crackled around the Spear Hero as he snarled at the Shield Hero. "How can you have the gall to lie about what you did to Myne-chan, especially with a lie like that?!"
'No, he's not lying.' Aultcray knew as he observed the Shield Hero's state. His chainmail was damaged, especially around his left side, but the real cincher was the young man's eyes. He had a far-off stare that Aultcray himself had experienced along with several of his soldiers.
The Shield Hero was caught in the memory of his first human kill, constantly in a loop unless someone snapped him out of it.
Urgh. As much as he detested the Shield Hero, his duties as the King of Melromarc took priority.
"Shield Hero, describe the one who attacked you." Aultcray raised his hand to silence the Spear Hero just in time. "I would like to know who reduced you to such a state."
The Shield Hero swallowed. "Last night, I couldn't sleep so I went back to the meadow to level up some more. After a while, this Boss Monster appeared and I broke my arm trying to defeat it-"
"While your arm looks damaged, it's clearly not broken." The Sword Hero cut in.
"That's because it healed after I levelled up." The Shield Hero continued, ignoring the small mutters of "that's impossible" that was whispered around him. "Then, this... ninja guy or girl... I couldn't tell their gender so I'm sticking with guy just to be safe. He tried to kill me with some kind of Earth magic that allowed him to shoot projectiles."
Behind him, a few of the knights widened their eyes in realization and started to mutter amongst themselves while occasionally gazing at the Shield Hero's dirty visage.
Aultcray had little doubt that the area they had found the Shield Hero must have had the corresponding damage that matched the Shield Hero's testimony. "He said that he had been trying to assassinate him but since the Boss Monster he brought couldn't do the job, he'd have to do it directly."
'That explains it.' Aultcray realized. The monster meadow wasn't supposed to have boss monsters, especially because he personally hunted and killed them all monthly. 'The assassin must've smuggled it in and simply lured it towards the Shield. If he had truly died from that, indeed nobody would've bothered investigating thoroughly.'
"How did you beat an assassin trying to kill you?" The Bow Hero asked.
The Shield Hero gained a pained look in his eyes. "By complete accident. He didn't land a hit on me since I made it a priority to run away instead, but everything I tried to use on him was useless. It was only a surprise attack that let me kill him-"
"You didn't kill him, Shield Hero."
Aultcray was just a tiny bit grateful that the Shield Hero's loud scream hid his own tiny squeak. One of his wife's Shadows had appeared unnoticed at the Shield Hero's side, throwing his court into disorder.
"W-Wait. It's you!" The Shield Hero exclaimed after he recovered. "You were there last night, Ninja girl!"
"Indeed." The Shadow replied. "I apologize for the trouble you suffered. Be rest assured that it will not happen again."
The way that the Shield Hero stayed silent for almost a whole minute spoke millions. "...who was that guy? Why did he try to kill me? And why did he keep calling me a devil?"
The Shadow stayed silent for a bit, no doubt thinking over how much she was allowed to divulge before replying. "I shall answer your questions at a time where you are with trustworthy individuals. Instead, I would like to query for why Princess Malty has been pretending to cry into the Spear Hero's shoulder."
""""Princess Malty?!""""
"I-I'm not pretending!" Myne flinched while the Heroes looked at her with varying amounts of shock. "T-The Shield Hero barged into my room and tried to rape me!"
She finished her testimony with a sob, throwing herself into the Spear Hero's chest. The spearman himself held her close reassuringly before glaring at Naofumi. "I swear I'm gonna kill you for this, Naofumi!"
"What the hell?!" Naofumi yelled back in shock. "Even if I wasn't nearly killed last night several miles away from her, why in the world would I do that?!"
"I agree with the Shield Hero's statement, Princess Malty." The Shadow stated from his side. "According to your earlier testament, you claimed him to be drunk. However, according to our intel, it was distinctly noted the Shield Hero very much refused to take a single drop of wine despite your efforts to share a drink with him."
"What?" The Sword Hero turned to glare at Malty. "Is that true, Myn- No, Princess Malty?"
"Come to think of it, the night while we were all still together, didn't Naofumi refuse the drinks they served us back then?" The Bow Hero crossed his arms as he thought back. "He was just satisfied with water and juice."
"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that Myne-chan was assaulted!" The Spear Hero roared as he pointed his Spear at Naofumi accusingly. "We can't just let a rape attempt go ignored!"
"Rape attempt, huh..." The Shadow said nothing more, only staring at Malty for a long, uncomfortable minute and causing her to squirm.
"What if..." The Shield Hero's voice cut through the tension, getting everyone's attention. "What if there was an imposter impersonating me?"
"What?" Aultcray blinked at that. An imposter? That... was actually likely. No, it was dangerously likely considering the kingdom's main religion.
(While it was nice to have his hatred for the Shield Hero and the Demi-Humans encouraged in this land, Aultcray wasn't naïve enough to be unaware of others who also used the religion to satisfy their depraved urges.
It's not that he did it himself or made a point of encouraging it.
It's just that he didn't care in the slightest.
After all, when several candidates for the Shield Hero's Party had arrived to enlist, was he not a kind man by simply imprisoning the Seaetto Heiress and swiftly having the Demi-Humans executed privately?
Who knew what his fellow nobles would've done to those poor Demi-Humans.)
"Think about it." The Shield Hero worked himself into a fervor. "I got attacked by an assassin last night while Myne got assaulted. If I had..." He paused to gulp. "died from that, it'd be easy to assume that I was guilty of the crime and ran off. Therefore, not only would the kingdom's trust in me be irrevocably broken, even you guys would instantly think the worst of me, with nobody trying to investigate the case in the slightest! I mean, Motoyasu's already making death threats at me and we've only known each other for a day!"
The murmuring in the court was quite loud at this point, as even Aultcray, one of the ones who had aimed to make use of the fiasco, was now seriously considering this to be a likely truth.
After all, the Shield Hero was not supposed to be assassinated, but to suffer while alive! Emphasis on the alive, please.
Even the Sword and Bow Heroes were quietly debating between themselves.
"Did we just unlock a conspiracy plot?"
"I'd say so. Imagine how flatfooted we'd be if Naofumi had failed the trigger event last night."
"...if you wish to believe that theory, then I shall accept your judgement, Shield Hero." The Shadow spoke before giving a knowing look at both Aultcray and his daughter as she approached the throne and handed him a scroll. "A message for your eyes only."
Grimacing as he recognized the seal on it, Aultcray broke it and unrolled it to see his wife's words.
If Eclair Seaetto is not released and medically treated within 1 day of you reading this, the words I shall have with you the moment I return will be far more violent than you can believe.
- Mirellia Q Melromarc
The moment he finished reading it, the scroll proceeded to flashfreeze and break apart immediately, startling Aultcray in the middle of his court.
"What was- Wait, where'd she go?" The Shield Hero's query caused Aultcray and everyone else to realize that the Shadow had long disappeared.
Grimacing, Aultcray had to put a stop to this so that he could recover and plan accordingly. "Shield Hero, by my authority as the king, I hereby acquit you of the rape charges in light of the fact that there may be an imposter at large. Be appreciative as you are still required to fight off the Waves of Calamity as a Cardinal Hero. However, I strongly suggest that you do not flee the country, otherwise I will assume you to be guilty and punish you accordingly!"
"R-Right..." The Shield Hero muttered before facing Malty. "Myn- I mean, Malty, I'm disbanding our Party. Even if I didn't do it, it's understandable if you wouldn't want to constantly see the face of your assailant."
With that said and not even waiting for her response, the Shield Hero bowed and walked away.
Aultcray frowned at his demure behavior. 'Was I too hasty in judging him?'
KingVessel: Whew! This was more difficult than I thought it'd be. It's gonna be hard to write my usual style into this verse... but not impossible.