Chapter 10: The Merchant Sage of the Shield and the Burning Devil of the Sword
[Gold: 0, Silver: 200, Bronze: 96]
'New monster crest for Filo, new magic clothing for her and Akafusen, increased meal costs...' Naofumi Iwatani sighed at the depressing sight of his budget defeated by his latest expenses, mentally making newer calculations on what would be needed to recover. "I'll have to sell a lot of stock... Maybe even branch out more with my tools..."
~"Filo has wind affinity!"~ Filo sang in her Filorial Queen form as she pulled their wagon along, eager to be at work as it befitted her breeding. ~"I blow away all the enemies! My job is to draw the carriage."~
"Well, she's in a good mood." Raphtalia commented from the driver's seat.
"Well, she better be. Both her and Akafusen drained so much of our money in such a short period." Naofumi huffed as he observed the filorial, one hand stroking Rei's head as she napped on his lap inside the carriage. Looking away, he did a brief check on the crafted items he could afford to sell.
[Ladybug Earrings of Fortune(pairs) x4]
[Turtle Bracelet of Fortification x2]
[Fox Pendant of Invisibility x1]
[Snake Choker of Magic Boost x5]
"...in retrospect, these are all probably bad things to sell to civilians." Naofumi noted. "Especially the earrings. A genuine item that grants definite increase in luck would be worth assault or maybe even murder back home..."
"Naofumi-sama, I think we'll be fine if we stick to your medicine." Raphtalia chatted as she held up his Merchant's Pass. "This is sure to come in handy, too."
"Master, there's someone up ahead." Filo alerted them, gesturing at a man who was desperately running along the road right before them.
"Is something the matter?" Raphtalia asked as they pulled up to the tired man's side.
"P-Please, give me a ride on your carriage." The man begged in between his pants as he paused to recover his breath and gestured with a vial he'd been clutching. "I need to get this medicine to the village past this mountain at once!"
"Filo, how long will it take to get there at full speed?" Naofumi asked as he stepped up to Raphtalia's side.
"Not long." Filo replied. "But we can get there even sooner without the carriage."
"We can't be leaving the Wanderer without you." Yes, Naofumi had named the carriage. "Come out, Akafusen."
The man winced as Naofumi's Shield released Akafusen with a bright emerald flash. "You are...?"
"I'll take you there for 1 Silver Piece." Naofumi offered as he patted the Red Balloon Queen, not caring for the man's dropped jaw as he gawked. "With her, we'll be there in probably less than twenty minutes."
The man snapped out of his shock and gave a worried look to his vial. "But I already spent all my money on the medicine..."
"I also accept goods worth the offered monetary value." Naofumi assured him. "As long as I'm assured of my payment, I won't mind you paying me later."
"That would be fine." The man quickly agreed. "Please help me!"
"Good answer!" Leaping onto Akafusen's head, Naofumi easily yanked the man up to his back. "Better hold on, tight! Go, Akafusen!"
The man shrieked as Akafusen bounced up into the air and cleared thirty meters of distance in a single jump before doing so again, his only lifeline being Naofumi with his powerful grip.
After quickly reaching the man's village(and using the Merchant's Pass as a confirmed ticket to bypass the toll), Naofumi let the shaken man down before his house. While Akafusen stayed outside while the other villagers stared at her, Naofumi followed the man inside to see the woman who needed it.
He didn't know what her sickness was, but it seemed that it was bad enough that to render her bedridden. Her old age probably didn't help either.
"Mother, I got the medicine for you." The man gently woke up his mother, only to become disheartened at her weak coughs.
"You go boil some water." Naofumi directed. "I'll give her the medicine."
"But..."
"I've got a Skill that'll boost the medicine's effectiveness." Naofumi took the vial from him and let {Flora Enhance} do it's work. "Don't worry, this one'll be a freebie."
'Still, who's this woman?' Naofumi hummed as he opened the vial and gently directed her to drink it. 'The aura she's giving off to my Kenbunshoku shows her to be really strong, even in her state. To think that even someone like her can still fall to sickness in a world dominated by levels is scary.'
"Mother?!" The man returned sometime later, the cup of hot water nearly spilling from his surprise at the sight of his mother sitting up with her own power. "The Shield Hero's Skill allowed the medicine to work this fast?!"
"Yes. The pain went away so quickly." The woman confirmed. "Thank you, the both of you."
"No problem." Naofumi replied as he leaned back and looked at the man. "Also, you remember what you promised?"
"O-Of course." After giving his mother the water, the man later went on to bring what was at least-
"This bag of foodstuffs is at least worth 2 Silver Pieces." Naofumi noted from atop Akafusen. "Not that I'm complaining, but why?"
"I wish I could say that this was a freebie like you did earlier, but there's also the fact that you were also a good doctor for my mother." The man replied. "Quite a few people were surprised at my mother of all people becoming sick, but you never questioned it. Please accept my gratitude, Shield Hero-sama."
'I'm supposed to be your religious enemy, though...' "Okay, then." Naofumi hoisted the bag over his shoulder and tapped Akafusen's side. "Let's bounce."
"Thank you so very much!" The man called after the hero and monster duo that leapt off into the distance.
Much to Naofumi's surprise, things continued on like that for quite the while. He found it a bit weird that there would already be some people waiting for him, but he let it slide when Raphtalia guessed that rumors would probably be circulating the countryside about the Shield Hero selling effective medicine, considering their relative scarcity.
Add in the facts that Filo, a super rare filorial subspecies, was the one to pull the carriage while Akafusen, easily the largest and most unique Red Balloon monster in existence, was often used if he had to separate from the carriage.
End result: "Have you heard of the Shield Hero? I heard that not only is he the best potioneer and craftsman in the country, but he has literally tamed monsters so well they evolved under his care! Devil? Are we sure he isn't instead a merchant or sage?"
As one could now probably tell, religious belief could only do so much against contrary and blatant truth.
At some point, Akafusen and Filo ended up becoming focal points for people to even identify the Wanderer, causing Naofumi to have to frequently remind them not to speak as monsters.
But each time he found another village, town or city, it was the same thing, the rumors becoming bigger and fancier each stop on the way. He mostly left it alone, seeing as there was little he could actually do about that, and since it wasn't actually harming his business or reputation, he let it go.
The better he seemed to the populace, the better Naofumi's goods would be sought after.
He'd just finished loading the Wanderer with another crate of empty glass vials, when Rei perked up from her nap and looked towards somebody approaching him. Still, as Rei didn't show immediate hostility, Naofumi allowed himself to stay calm.
"Excuse me, Shield Hero-sama, but might you be willing to grant me a ride to the next town in your carriage?" The rather plump and gaudily dressed individual asked Naofumi. "I had plans to catch a carriage, but it seems no one is leaving for the next three days. I was wondering if you might be so kind as to take me with you? I'll pay for the ride, of course!"
Naofumi frowned at the plump man's practiced smile, immediately noting the startling similarity to the ones used by Beloukas but less... slimy? Spine-shuddering? "That's fine, I guess. I'll be needing a name to call you, though."
"Of course. My name is Hickwaal." The merchant gave a little bow. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
After a quick round of introductions, Hickwaal took a seat on one of the installed benches while Naofumi took the other with Rei claiming his laps almost immediately as her pillow.
'After we drop off this guy, we'll need to camp out again for training and new materials. We're almost out of monster meat for Akafusen and Filo, so we'll be doing lots of hunting too. As for the rest of us, we'll soon be needing a change in our weapons and armor. Erhard-ossan will hopefully have something for my monsters to use in their human forms.' Having finished his accounting, Naofumi pulled out his tools and started to work anew on one of his unfinished projects.
In his hand was a thermos-like container with strategically placed slits near it's top, along with a few runes carefully and painstakingly etched into the metal. He'd all but finished engraving the right characters, but still needed to adjust the duration for how long it would work.
Plus, there was also the fact that he had to alter the usual incantations to create an entirely new spell.
"As source of thy power, the Shield Hero orders thee. START. Condition; User speaks "Switch". Function; Generate cold air in a slow vortex shape with a radius of 1m until "Switch" is spoken again. END. [Cold Conditioner]."
Naofumi sighed as the written sigils glowed as they absorbed his magic before fading down. "Switch."
At his command, the cold conditioner immediately went to work as the sigils on it blazed to life while cold air slowly started to swirl around in the carriage. After a whole minute of watching the magic tool work steadily without slowing down or starting to overclock, Naofumi threw up his arms in triumph. "It works! It finally works!"
"How lucky of me!" Hickwaal commented, a wide smile stretched on his face as Naofumi suddenly froze on remembering his presence. "Being able to witness the work of Merchant Sage of the Heavenly Fowl and the Illustrious Balloon right before my eyes, it surely is a sign of luck, don't you think, sir?"
"Really?" Naofumi leaned back, hiding his nervous fingers by digging them into Rei's hair. "I wasn't aware that my skills were of interest to you in such a manner."
"But of course, they are." Hickwaal insisted. "Just this invention itself will be sure to upheave the local market! ...you are planning on selling this, right?"
Naofumi grinned with his eyes closed. "Sure. How about you give me a starting price, Hickwaal-san? Then, we'll see how much I can fleece from you."
"Hahaha! Such ruthless initiative!" Hickwaal actually laughed at that, his eyes closing as well. "Today has been nothing but a memorable experience, indeed!"
The two traders acknowledged each other for a few seconds, merchant smiles on their faces.
"Is gaudy guy like slave guy?" Filo turned around to give Hickwaal a wary stare, shocking the man at her capability to speak. "He's making Master smile weird."
"Filo! Naofumi-sama told you and Ballie not to talk while we travel with strangers!" Raphtalia reprimanded the bird of burden, making her whine.
"How amazing! To be able to speak and comprehend Quartlish, it's only normal for the Divine Fowl!" Hickwaal praised with almost literal sparkles in his eyes as he turned from Filo to Naofumi. "Might I be able to witness the Illustrious Balloon as well, Merchant Sage-sama?"
Before he could reply, Akafusen came out of her own from the Shield, taking a proud seat on his laps when Rei shot up from the sudden flash of light.
Appearing in her human form, Akafusen looked like a girl in her mid-teens with her straight blood red hair long enough to just grace her shoulders. After having retrieved magical crystals which were then spun into magical thread with their own mana, Naofumi had purchased customized clothes for his monsters so that they stopped becoming naked with every transformation they took.
Having taken ideas from his phone, Akafusen had chosen for her magical threads to be woven into a red cheongsam with golden fiery designs all over it. As for Filo, she'd chosen a sky-blue dress with feathery frills.
"Yo!" Akafusen cheerfully greeted as she crossed her legs. "I'd show you my monster form as you wanted, but Boss says I'm too big for the carriage."
"W-Wondrous!" Hickwaal exclaimed. "Your monsters are capable of transformation magic as well?!"
Naofumi opened his mouth to speak, only to pause when Rei perked up and directed her ears forward. "What is it?"
"Numerous people ahead." Rei's ears twitched a bit before her fangs bared into a growl. "Most are armed and waiting along the path, Alpha."
"Bandits, huh?" Naofumi surmised as he patted Akafusen's head. "Well, thank goodness. Full speed ahead, Filo. Legal looting targets await us!"
Doing as Naofumi commanded, Filo increased her pace until they came right before a group of men came out of the woods carrying axes, swords and the like. The leader of the group, a man with curly, light brown colored hair came to the front, leather armor and spear prominent, and shouted at them.
"Whoa, stop right there!" The leader chuckled as Filo did stop the carriage, if only for Naofumi to fully show himself. "Strange bird you've got there. We heard that a certain accessory trader was hitching a ride with you. We know you're in there, Hickwaal!"
Hickwaal squeaked in fright and ducked out of sight.
'So it was Hickwaal that they showed up for, huh.' Naofumi noted.
"Quietly hand him over, and we'll spare your lives, at least." The leader smarmingly offered.
"Do you take us for idiots, bandit-san?" Naofumi retorted. "That's basically saying that you'll take everything but our lives, and we have no reason to believe you'd even uphold that part."
"You're a sharp one, sage lad." The leader replied. "But still, you act like you can do anything but what I'm still nicely asking of you."
"Nicely, huh..." Naofumi leaned down and took the reins from Raphtalia's hands, looking her and Rei in the eye as he pointed at the leader. "Girls, you may proceed to inflict injuries and severe trauma upon these vagabonds."
The two girls gave bright smiles before immediately kicking off from the Wanderer hard enough to make it creak, along with Rei immediately focusing on a particularly strong guy who tried to block her kick with his katana but got immediately punted through a few trees.
A few minutes later, Naofumi stood in front of the kneeling bandits. The leader, now possessing a blackened eye and sporting many bruises and burns, tried to smile in a suave manner.
A sad effort due to a quarter of his teeth now missing thanks to Raphtalia's heel.
"S-S-Some other trader told us to mug the guy riding with you, Merchant Sage-sama!" He hurriedly explained. "He was supposed to be carrying a bunch of nice stuff!"
"One of my own sold me out, huh?" Hickwaal sighed in disappointment.
"So, how about you guys lead the way to your hideout?" Naofumi demanded. "You guys are sure to have built up quite a haul. Offering it to me is the least you could do for deciding to take everything but your lives, at least?"
"Hah?!" The bandit leader exclaimed. "Aren't you the Merchant Sage of the Heavenly Fowl and Illustrious Balloon?! How can you so casually rob us?!"
"Two reasons." Naofumi raised up two fingers. "First reason is that you guys are bandits who must have no doubt taken lives in order to suit your desires. I'll be losing no sleep in fucking you guys over. Second reason is that before I am the Merchant Sage... I am still the Shield Hero, you wretches."
At that declaration, a great pressure slapped down over the bandits and sent most of them into foaming unconsciousness, leaving just the leader and the one who had claimed to be class-upgraded.
"Now, then..." The leader shook violently as Naofumi crouched before him, letting him see the glowing pits that appeared to have replaced the Shield Hero's eyes. "Where is your hideout?"
Minutes later, the bandits all fearfully loaded all of their precious loot into Wanderer, terrified of the seemingly harmless Hero who hadn't needed to touch them to inflict more damage than the demihuman girls.
"Such wonderful spirit you have, Merchant Sage-sama!" Hickwaal proclaimed with gusto. "I truly haven't seen such a prime example of the term 'merchant' as I have today!"
"Really?" Raphtalia was doubtful. "Naofumi-sama was just intimidating them with his haki."
"Speaking of which, Hickwaal, you better be able to compensate me for this." Naofumi called out. "If it wasn't for you, these guys wouldn't have showed up and made disgusting eyes at Raphtalia- Yeah, I saw you looking, baldy!"
The aforementioned baldy flinched at Naofumi's harsh glare. "I-I-I'm sorry, Shield Hero-sama!"
"I offer you all the knowledge and connections I possess." Hickwaal promised. "I've taken quite a real liking to you."
By the time they'd dealt the bandits and bid their farewells to Hickwaal the Accessory Merchant, Naofumi had gained a new business venture to add to his selling of medicine and convenience items: A link into the traders' grapevine, where he learnt more of his fellow heroes via rumors.
Apparently, Motoyasu had recently saved a famine-stricken village to the southwest by introducing a legendary crop. He hoped Malty had little to do with that one.
As for Ren, he was last seen heading southeast, looking for vicious and powerful monsters to slay. He knew that Ren was okay, but sometimes Naofumi worried for the battle-obsessed guy.
But for Itsuki, the information on him had been all over the place. The differing tales Naofumi got were too varying in credibility for Naofumi to make sense of. It didn't help that of all the other heroes, Naofumi knew the least about him.
Satisfied with what he'd learned for the moment, Naofumi now took his time in letting Raphtalia, Akafusen and Filo try their hands at peddling. He only gave them tips and advice, letting them deal with the bartering, while he worked on making potions and crafting more items in Wanderer, all the while Rei kept at guard duty.
He hoped the others were doing well.
Ren Amaki sighed as he finished off the boss, absorbing the corpse when he found no worthy drops.
[Requirements met: {Vinesquatch Sword} (0/35) Unlocked – ATK: +35 - MAG: +43 - DEF: +10 - DEX: +21 – Proficiency: (0%)]
Ren smirked at the sight of the results, glad that Naofumi's method of taking in everything the Legendary Weapon could possibly use as a means to get stronger. As an added bonus, he'd stopped leaving corpses behind before they dispelled into useless pixels later.
While he was looking over his new Sword, he could hear the sounds of fighting nearby. His Party members, who were busy dealing with some of the lower leveled monsters, were busy grinding.
This was normally how it worked. Ren would go after the stronger monsters in an area while his party members would grind using the lower leveled monsters.
It was like how a leader would assign the weaker Party members to fight in areas suited to them, but Ren didn't do it because of that. He did it because he preferred fighting alone.
It was always easier to fight by himself, never having to worry if he looked cool or anything. No matter how disappointed the ridiculously life-like NPCs tended to get.
'It's for their own good, too.' Ren thought as he waited for them to be done. 'They'd only get in my way if they never learned gained genuine combat experience on their own.'
But I must still warn you.
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in.
Ren shook his head as that stray memory suddenly hit him out of nowhere. Even if that earlier warning did hold some truth, especially with what he'd seen with Raphtalia and the royals, how could Ren not at least see the world as {Brave Star Online}?
Once again, Ren believed in his compromise. The people were original content, but the world itself was like {Brave Star Online}.
With an always present icon at the corner of his screen/sight, a sword that absorbed material and increased his power and a constant flow of EXP from various defeated monsters, how could he look at everything around him and decide that they were all as real as him and Naofumi?
Well... this felt real...
"[Crimson Sword]!"
"GROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!"
This! Felt! Very! Real!
Ren grunted as his flaming slash, being amped by his Devil Fruit, did little to knock the evil dragon out of the sky.
It looked like he'd have to use the special mode he'd unlocked for the sake of defeating Eclair the next time they met.
'It's good that I warned the others to stay back.' Ren determined as he forced his flames directly into the Sword's gem, letting it guzzle as much as it wanted as it changed form into that of a longsword composed entirely of whitish blue flames with just the glowing sapphire being the sole physical feature.
As for Ren, rather than his body releasing flames as usual, the blue flames had gone inwards and compressed within him like a furnace, being stoked to obscene amounts of thermal energy that circulated around his body and boosted his already high physical abilities through the roof while generating incredible amounts of heat and pressure.
[{Burning Devil of the Sword Mode} is now Active.]
[Devil Fruit Awakening at 30%]
Grinning widely, Ren silently hefted his sword up to the dragon as a challenge.
"It seems... that you really quite someone quite dangerous..." The dragon huffed before rapidly shrinking down in a burst of sickly purple clouds Ren now knew to be poison-based. "Be grateful. I can barely remember a time when a human forced the requirement of this form."
When the poisonous cloud faded away, it revealed an elderly man twice his size with a smaller pair of his dragon wings unfurled from his back, slit eyes glaring in hatred. Being dressed in simple clothing the same coloring of his scales, Ren could still see his hands and feet were scaled and clawed, even if in humanoid shape rather than reptilian. "Know that your death came from Dragon Emperor Gaelion, human!"
'A form that reduces his size and strength but probably boosts his speed and agility greater than ever.' Ren surmised as he took a stance, preparing for the greatest fight he'd ever had since Eclair. "Come on, then."
Gaelion whipped his arm forward, unleashing a powerfully condensed whip of poison that tore through the terrain and confused Ren on it's movements until it was almost to late to cut it apart.
However, just the act of doing that had left him open to another of Gaelion's breath attacks. Unlike his previous ones which had been wide and devastating in it's range, this one slammed into Ren with all of it's power condensed into a width barely larger than his torso.
"AAARGH!" Ren grunted as a good chunk of the mountain was obliterated from how hard he'd been slammed into it, his current form doing well to protect him from instant death while being essentially dragged through the corroding earth.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence as Gaelion panted from the effort before a glowing figure suddenly rocketed out from the massive pillar of smoke and hung in the air, pressurized jets of flame from his soles keeping Ren airborne.
Sighting his target, Ren allowed himself to dive, letting gravity aid his speed as he aimed for Gaelion's neck. Clashing his Sword heavily against Gaelion's claws, Ren entered a furious dance of flaming slashes and toxic swipes.
Eventually, one had to fall and it was Gaelion who had unfortunately extended his punch, leaving his torso open for a vicious strike that seared across his chest.
Gaelion roared in agony as he fell down, his human transformation failing as he crashed down into the ground in a heap of limbs and entangled wings.
A few meters away, Ren landed almost gracefully in comparison, even if he immediately fell to his knees while gasping for breath as {Burning Devil of the Sword Mode} faded away.
"Glad that's over." Ren returned his Sword to it's original form as he observed the dragon not get up again.
"Ren-sama! That was amazing!"
Having kept at a safe distance through out the whole battle, the Sword Party were immediate to rush to their leader's side.
"I've never seen anything like that!" Welt marveled in awe. "You usually attack with flames, but that form of yours..."
"You actually wreathed yourself in flames without getting burned...!" Tersia exclaimed as she surveyed his Sword. "Fire as an element is usually offensive in nature, but such a defensive approach is something I'd have expected of the Shield Hero instead...! Not to mention the sheer heat of your flames actually making it change color..."
"That a Cardinal Hero for ya!" Bakta guffawed as he patted Ren's shoulder, only to recoil when his gloved hand hissed from the contact.
"Sorry. I guess that I'm still hot to the touch." Ren replied before casting a wary gaze at the devastated surroundings. "I... didn't hurt any of you, did I?"
"Not at all, Ren-sama." Farrie saluted. "As you commanded, we kept our distance while your battle with the dragon laid waste to the forest. Still..."
Tersia and the others matched Farrie's depressed expression. "I wish we were strong enough to have joined you in battle."
Welt cast a wry look at his twin daggers. "In this battle, we would've been nothing more than liabilities had we joined in. And that really bothers me."
"'Us', you mean." Bakta lightly elbowed Welt's shoulder. "Just as you declared at the castle, none of us joined you with the intention of becoming deadweight."
Ren wished that he could say something to his Party that would help lift them out of their funk. He might not have been as close to them as his fellow Hero Naofumi(Neither Motoyasu nor Itsuki counted with their Party dynamics, for one was a harem that was doomed to break down and the other was a badly disguised cult), but he did care somewhat for these NPCs under him.
However, he was bad with relationships. Hell, even his best friend Saya had been the one to initiate their relationship.
(He hoped she was doing okay. She'd been crying over him as he bled out in her arms-)
"You're fine... as you are." Ren blurted out, struggling to untwist his mind from the memory of his death. "Remember back at the castle, when I told you that anybody who couldn't cut it would be left behind? What do you think it says about yourselves that only one of you has left since then? Tersia, Farrie, Welt, Bakta... You guys are all amazing. Except that sellout, Mald."
"Yeah, fuck Mald!" Farrie cheered, with all of the others nodding in agreement, including Ren.
Glad to see them all smiling again, Ren returned his attention to Gaelion and approaching the fallen dragon. 'Why haven't I gotten the EXP from killing it yet?'
After a few seconds, Ren noticed the steady (albeit weakening) rise and fall of his chest, Gaelion glaring at the Shield Hero as he approached. Even if it was not dead now, it would be dead within moments from what Ren could see of the pool of blood slowly forming beneath it.
'Dragons sure are made of stern stuff.' Ren huffed at the way the dragon glared at him. While he had been searching for strong monsters, this one had attacked him and his Party first. Rolling his eyes, Ren prepared to decapitate-
"Father! Father!"
Ren and his Party turned at the sight of a small girl running towards them. From what Ren could see, she was a canine-type demihuman with light brown hair and panicked brown eyes. "Wait, it's not safe-"
Ren's words halted at the sight of the girl throwing herself at Gaelion's side, his jaw dropping as the dragon protectively put an arm between her and him. 'Wh-What?'
"Father, please don't die." The girl cried softly, her sobs barely loud enough for Ren to hear.
"I apologize... Young one..." Gaelion whispered back, his sadness reciprocating the child's own. "I have finally... been bested... by my enemies..."
"B-But you promised you'd always be at my side!" The girl protested through her tears. "You said that you deemed me your treasure! What kind of dragon leaves their treasure behind...?"
"I did promise..." Gaelion spoke difficultly, a bloody cough briefly interrupting his words. "But I... am also old... and weak compared to my kin..."
Ren and his Party stood by, stunned at this turn of events. This was clashing horribly with everything Ren had experienced just minutes ago.
"What the hell... is this...?!" Ren snapped. "What kind of cutscene is this?! After attacking me and my Party like this, you pull some tearjerker scenario?!"
"Wretched swordsman..." Gaelion growled, crimson wisps of toxic breath escaping the side of his head not being held by his ward. "Do not speak such words... when you seek... to enslave my children and plunder my treasures..."
"Don't screw with me!" Ren pointed a finger at the girl. "I didn't know she even existed a minute ago! I didn't even know you existed before you dropped almost dropped a noxious gas bomb on us! I came here only because I heard there were strong monsters to fight here, not whatever... you two are!"
Ren gestured helplessly at the dragon and the dog girl.
"Is that so...?" Gaelion murmured with curiosity replacing the hate in his eyes as he locked onto the Sword Hero's own...
And suddenly, Ren blinked as images flashed through the forefront of his mind, along with psychic knowledge of what was happening. Creating a mental connection between them, Gaelion crafted a concise series of images, memories and scenarios from both of their minds to give an explanation.
Gaelion had made a pact of peace with the forbearers of Mirso Village long ago. He stayed up in the mountains close to the village where his poison would harm no one, while the inhabitants of Mirso wouldn't go into the forest to hunt his offspring.
As a Dragon Emperor, Gaelion valued his honor and had never gotten an intention of breaking the pact. The people in the village had no intention of breaking the pact either, having passed down the knowledge of it with every passing generation.
Instead, this mess seemed to have been caused by outsiders.
By a group of greedy adventurers who had passed him the idea to come to the mountains near Mirso, no doubt hoping for the Sword Hero's victory to allow them access to Gaelion's treasures.
Ren had been set up from the start.
'No way...' Ren stumbled back after the link broke. "This can't..."
"...you were a strong opponent, swordsma- No, Sword Hero Ren Amaki." Gaelion sighed as it tried to sit up, cradling the girl who Ren now knew to be Wyndia in his massive paw. "It seems that my rather poor handle on my rage has blinded me with my need to protect my children from poaching plunderers. If you'll accept my final wishes... absorb my body into your Sword... and please, protect my treasure in my place..."
Ren only noticed Gaelion's passing when he finally received the EXP notification.
[+7,620 EXP]
[Ren Amaki: Lv. 56]
[+100 EXP]
[Tersia: Lv. 36]
[+100 EXP]
[Welt: Lv. 34]
[+100 EXP]
[Farrie: Lv. 36]
[+100 EXP]
[Bakta: Lv. 35]
'He's... dead...' Ren stared as Wyndia's tears of grief increased into screams as she pounded her fists against the dead dragon's snout. 'He was... an NPC... right?'
But I must still warn you.
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in.
'No... This was supposed to be a Boss encounter...'
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in.
'No... All of this... can't actually be real...'
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in.
'This is... I died, after all...'
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in.
'This... This is a game...! It has to be a gam-!' Ren paused as an image of Raphtalia's state under Rabier came to the forefront of his mind. Then his conversation back in Castle Town about the slaves. Then the 'conspiracy' that Naofumi had unlocked and caused to divert {Brave Star Online}'s storyline. Then finally...
But I must still warn you.
No matter much this World seems like a game, this is a Reality you are all living in.
The utterly broken tears of Wyndia herself as she wept for Gaelion.
The same tears he'd last seen Saya shedding for him.
"This... wasn't a game." Ren murmured in realization. 'This has never been a game. How could I think something like that? Right from the start, the mystery benefactor warned us. Was Naofumi the only one to take it seriously? Or was the fact that he knew absolutely nothing of this world a blessing to him, a chance to forge ahead without pre-knowledge hindering him to particular methods and irrelevant storylines? Just like I might have never considered training in actual swordplay had I not encountered Eclair...'
"...ma! Ren... Ren-sama...!"
Ren blinked in surprise as the voices around him gradually became clearer, until...
"Ren-sama, please wake up!"
Ren blinked at the sight of his Party members surrounding him. He was still standing where he was, with Wyndia having never left Gaelion's side.
At the sign of him coming too though, relief came onto their faces.
"Oh, thank the gods." Tersia gasped gratefully.
"What... What happened?" Ren asked confusedly.
"You passed out... while standing." Bakta seemed just as confused. "You wouldn't respond to anything we did for many minutes."
As Bakta spoke, Ren looked at the large axeman with new enlightenment painting him in a new light, along with the same for the others in his Party.
His Party members were not NPCs.
Wyndia, the mourning demihuman girl, wasn't a NPC either.
Gaelion... while having the potential to be a raid boss, or a boss monster, due to his nature as a dragon, had been none of things...
And if the genuine concern he'd shown for Wyndia meant anything, Ren had just... just... 'I just killed someone that was clearly a guardian to this girl... all due to my ignorance and apathy...'
[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖊 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖀𝖓𝖑𝖔𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉.]
[𝕽𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝕾𝖑𝖔𝖙𝖍 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝕸𝖊𝖙]
*CLANG!*
The Sword Party became speechless at the sight of a Legendary Weapon completely separating from their owner's body, the Sword clattering down upon the ground.
As Ren would later learn, Legendary Weapons never separated from their owners due to their strong attachment to their lifeforces. For a Legendary Weapon to fall loose from the Hero's body... that spoke of how badly Ren had dissociated from his shock.
"R-Ren-sama?" Tersia gently patted his shoulder in worry.
Ren sort of jerked in place before speaking up again. "Set up a perimeter and take up lookout points. Warn me if anyone approaches this area... I need a moment alone with her."
The adventurers looked amongst themselves in worry. To leave Ren alone with the grieving daughter of the dead dragon, especially with his Sword in such a state...
"Please."
With that plea, the Sword Hero's comrades accepted his wish and separated to do as he asked, leaving Ren alone with Wyndia.
By now, she had stopped crying, rather just staring blankly at Gaelion's corpse.
"...I won't apologize for killing him." Ren finally started, seeing the girl's ear flicking towards his direction as a sign that she'd heard him. "Because I know that if I were in your place, I'd never accept such a thing."
"Then... why are you still here, Sword Hero?" Wyndia growled. "Why not take what you want from Father's body and treasures and leave? I know enough of the Legendary Weapons to know that they can use monster parts to get stronger better than any other thing in existence."
She was right.
Ren had been looking for a strong high-leveled monster to take down to help increase his own strength along with the strength of his Party. A monster he could harvest for its various parts so he could unlock more Swords.
There was nothing he could say in his defense. So Ren didn't bother.
"You're completely right." Ren confirmed. "I will take every bit of Gaelion into my Sword, and I will be leaving here with all of his treasures."
[You have been invited to join Ren Amaki's Party. (Accept/Decline)]
Wyndia startled from the message that had suddenly appeared on her HUD, only to freeze when Ren knelt down and raised her by the chin so that they could look each other in the eye.
"And as Gaelion declared you as his treasure, that includes you." Ren stated, his usually clear blue eyes dull. "I have promised Gaelion to protect his treasure, which is you. You clearly desire to repay unto me what I have done to Gaelion. That is why..."
Ren released her chin and stood up. "You will join my Party, get stronger under my care... and when you think you can do so, feel free to take my head."
"Ren-sama! A group of men is approaching from the forest!" Welt dropped down next to him from where he'd been keeping a lookout. "I recognized one of them as the one who suggested we come here. What are your orders?"
"Have the others come back here and start prepping Gaelion for harvest and stay with her until further notice." Ren released Wyndia's chin and stood up. "Don't interfere unless I call for you."
Walking forward in the direction that Welt had indicated, Ren crossed his arms and waited. Soon enough, the group of men had arrived, all dressed in leather outfits and armed with weapons.
Ren found the uproar of glee from them sickening when their sights landed on the dead dragon behind him.
It grew worse when he spied one of them holding a vial of purple ink at his side. A vial he might have never recognized had he not met the younger Raphtalia and had gone searching for information related to slaves and their crests.
'It looks like... Gaelion had really been more justified than I thought.' Ren's eyes narrowed hatefully at the men, causing them to halt from the force of his glare. 'Why else would somebody carry slave ink all the way up here?'
"Hey, Sword Hero! Looks like my suggestion to you bore some fruit after all!" The archer who had suggested coming to Mirso looked up at Ren with a pleased grin. "I worried a bit about how you'd fare against the dragon, but I see that you've proven yourself as the Sword of Strength once more!"
The men behind him gave a loud cheer at their leader's words. Ren still did not speak.
"You can keep anything from the dragon, of course. I would never do anything to hinder a Cardinal Hero's growth." The archer looked over until his eyes landed on Wyndia. "There's only one thing we're here for and that's for that demihuman over there. With her as our guide, we'll be led straight to where the evil dragon kept his hoard full of treasure."
"And what happens after?" Ren finally spoke, his tone glacial despite the rising heat around him. "What will happen to that girl now that the dragon that was her guardian is dead?"
"Well, it's not like she's actually worth anything to someone like you, right?" The archer replied in a joking manner. "It's a pretty known fact that none of the Heroes except the Shield care for the demihumans. Unless you count the fortune gained from selling her after we're done using her."
[this is bothersome...]
"...'using her', huh?" Ren sighed. "Well, I guess I can't claim to be much different. Even if my reasons are different from yours."
[to think this was caused by my unwillingness... to know more... to do more...]
Ren raised his hand and gestured. In the distance behind, Wyndia and the others startled as the Legendary Sword launched itself from the ground and spun towards Ren until it's hilt smacked into the Hero's ready palm.
[Requirements met: {Sloth Series, Sword of Negligence I} (1/3) Unlocked - ATK: +30 - MAG: +300 - DEF: +30 - DEX: +30 - Proficiency: (0%) - Bonus Skill: {Crushing Aura Curse (Passive)} + {Strength Augment (Passive)} + {Bottomless Pit (Active)}]
Immediately, the blue gem of the sapphire dulled to a menacing navy as the Sword turned completely black, gaining navy-blue stars across it's length, as if the night sky itself had molded itself into the shape of a Sword within Ren's grasp.
"Huh?!" The archer and his men suddenly buckled when a heavy force slammed down upon them all, most of them immediately crumbling down to the ground and being pressed flat.
As if the gravity around them had increased severely.
"What exactly do you people take me for?" Ren's dead tone belied the severe torrent of emotions roiling within him. Too calm, yet too heavy. All of his anguish seemingly seeping into the dark bluish aura wafting off him and causing even the tiny dust particles of the air to fall down to the earth. "And what have I been taking you all for?"
"I... I..." The archer and his men were now paling, seeing how Ren now held their lives in his hands.
"Because of you all, I have just derived a girl of her father." Ren continued in his angry, yet self-depreciating tone, gesturing back with his free hand to Wyndia. "Because of you all, she would've probably ended up like Raphtalia, maltreated and abused. All for nothing more than your greed and malice."
"B-But that's just a damn demi-human!" The man with the slave ink protested. "You can't seriously be saying that you care about her?!"
The heavy force doubled, sending everybody flat into the ground now.
"W-Wait! Look, we get it!" The archer pleaded, a wet spot forming in his pants. "We won't touch her or anything here! We'll never bother 'em again! Please, believe us!"
"...don't worry. I believe you. Because..." The men's brief ray of hope died when Ren raised up his sword as if he were about to cast judgement. "I will ensure that you never do such a thing, to her or to anybody else."
A new Skill Tree appeared in Ren's HUD, immediately providing him a means of execution via the new Sword he had unlocked.
"Foolish sinners, I hereby sentence you all to be crushed! Suffer from the overwhelming weight of a hundred stars and be dragged down into the abyss! [BOTTOMLESS PIT]!"
The stormy clouds above burst apart to reveal a black hole in the sky that screamed as it poured down a massive column of navy energy and pressure that slammed down upon the men who didn't even have a chance to scream.
After a long moment, the pressure column disappeared and everything left before Ren was gone. In fact, the entire area had completely vanished, all that was left being a fathomless chasm with it's oval edges sanded to a smooth finish.
It truly was the aftereffect of a hundred stars concentrating their weight upon a single spot, leaving nothing behind but a {Bottomless Pit}.
Returning his Sword to normal, Ren turned around and walked back to Wyndia.
"Why didn't you let them take me?" Wyndia coldly asked. "Why did you kill them?"
It sounded like she would have preferred being enslaved by those horrid people rather than being saved by the person who had killed her father.
"...because you're mine." Ren replied. "Mine to raise. Mine to protect."
"I am not yours!" Wyndia growled.
"Then get stronger and free yourself from me!" Ren knelt down before her. "In this kind of world, someone who has no power cannot hope to accomplish anything. What do you think would happen if I just left you? Would you be able to do anything by yourself?"
Wyndia bit her lip and didn't reply.
"That is why you should accept my offer." Ren stood up. "As the Sword Hero, I was brought into this world to protect it from the Waves of Calamity. And for that, I require even power, by any means necessary. That is absolutely why I will not apologize for killing Gaelion. He was undoubtedly the strongest enemy I've ever faced, which is why he'll be useful for my Sword. If you have a problem with that, feel free to take my head after the Waves are done with."
"What?!"
"Ren-sama, you can't!"
"Please, be reasonable!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Ren raised a hand to halt their words, his attention on Wyndia who still knelt with her head down.
This was fine... It was okay for her to hate him... If he could get her strong enough within his Party while protecting her as Gaelion had requested...
[Wyndia has Accepted Ren Amaki's Invitation.]
"I can't believe this." Wyndia muttered in a flat voice as she stood up. "A murderer like you is a Hero? What a humorless joke, Ren-sama. When the Waves are over, a devil like you better watch out."
She had spoken that honorific in a mocking tone compared to Ren's respectful comrades, but there was cold hard resolve in the way she glared at him.
"As expected of a dragon's daughter." Ren commended as he turned about and stabbed his Sword into Gaelion, letting it devour all of the massive monster in one hungry swoop. Normally he'd have taken the separate parts that would be useful, but just for this instance, it was probably better to take it all.
[Dragon Series Unlocked]
[Requirements missed: {Poison Dragon Sword} (0/10) Locked due to Insufficient Level]
[Requirements missed: {Imperial Dragon Sword} (0/5) Locked due to Insufficient Level]
[Requirements missed: {World Beast Sword} (0/4) Locked due to Insufficient Level]
[Legendary Weapon Status Alert: The Sword Hero is now recognized by the {Will of the World} and will be receiving 10% access to the Dragon's Ley Lines.]
"Welcome to my Party, Wyndia. You can start at it, after we're done with the Waves."
Through it all, Wyndia stayed silent as she directed them to Gaelion's cave. She helped secure the egg inside. She helped remove the valuable items he'd hoarded over the years. All through it all, she'd kept a scowl on her face while holding a large dragon egg close to her.
'I'm so sorry that I'm putting you through all this.' Ren thought sadly as he and the others started to depart, heading down past the {Bottomless Pit} which Wyndia (along with Farrie and Bakta) paused to look down into.
A sudden thought occurred to him and Ren immediately called for his {Phone Sword}, dialing Naofumi's number. If there was anybody who could help...
"Hello, Naofumi? I need your help... Where are you currently and how quickly can you get to Mirso Village? I... I need your expertise on raising a demihuman girl."
KingVessel: WHOOOOO! What a chapter! And now, we've averted two messes the Shield Hero had to clean up himself in Canon, but now in exchange has to deal with the problems Envy and Sloth will be causing in the future. Keep close, readers~!