Author Notes:

Welcome to Re:Centurion! A reboot of Centurion that (I hope) is better (please be better) than the Centurion that you (might have) read!

To celebrate this special occasion, I will give you guys the First Arc, the Rising Hero Arc, which has three chapters. And it will be uploaded all at once.

Yay!!! Woohoo!!!

And I hope you guys will enjoy it. And feel free to criticise me as I'm only a human, after all~


Arc 1: The Rising Hero

Chapter 1: The (New) Beginning


Ring* Ring Ring*

An alarm was ringing from the side of the bed.

"Ugh…" A man's hand then slides the "X" symbol using his fingers so that the ringing will stop.

"Wuah…" The man then gets off from his bed and heads towards the bathroom inside of the room that he sleeps in.

The man's name is Tomori Tanaka. He's just a "normal", 21 years old university student. He's 172 cm tall and his hair and eye color is dark brown.

Right now, Tomori is at his aunt's house during the semester break. He is currently sleeping in one of the guest rooms inside his aunt's house.

The reason he spends his semester break at his aunt's house is because his aunt is the "cool and rich" aunt. Ever since he was a kid, his aunt always gave him an absurd amount of pocket money. Which makes her kind of his "sugar mama", but without the romantic and sexual stuff.

As he finished washing his face, he got out of his room and went downstairs to the kitchen. Tomori's cooking isn't godlike or anything, but it's tasty enough to fill people up for the day.


"Alright, that will do." Tomori said as he lined up varieties of Japanese breakfast on the dining table.

" Sniff* Sniff*" He heard someone making a sniffing sound around the kitchen. Tomori turns around and sees his aunt peeping from the side. He then quickly closed his eyes with his left hand as he saw her aunt from the side

"Toshi-nee… How many times have I told you that you get dressed first? You should remember that you had a nephew that stays at your house."

"Hey, who's the one who put on your diapers when you were a baby, huh?" His aunt said to him.

"I don't think that argument has any credibility here, Toshi-nee…" Tomori replied back to her.

"Alright, fine, fine. Imma change to my suit." His aunt then walked to her room upstairs. As the steps fainted, Tomori moved his left hand from his eyes.

" Sigh* This is what happens when you stay at your single, late 30's aunt's house. But hey, the pocket money is worth it."


"Mmm…! Your cooking is always the best, Tomo-chan!" His aunt exclaimed as she munched through the breakfast that Tomori cooks. "I wonder why you didn't apply for the culinary course."

"I don't want to be a chef. Besides that, cooking 24/7 is boring."

"That's a shame. Oh, I know! How about you stay here and become my househusband?" His aunt suggested it to him.

"I don't think mom will approve that."

"Don't mind her. It's just her little sister staying with her son. Nothing bad will happen. I can just use some of the embarrassing pictures that I take during the times when she and your father are dating to blackmail her."

"You're evil, Toshi-nee. Did someone ever tell you that?"

"A lot, actually. Not that I actually cared about it." She then takes a look at the watches on her wrists. "Oh, my! I'm going to be late!"

She quickly finished her breakfast and stood up to leave for work.

"Don't forget this." Tomori handed his aunt a bento box.

"…You know what, I'm really considering taking you as my househusband."

"Just go already!" Is what Tomori said to his aunt as she left her house. "And with that, I need to wash the dishes."

Tomori piled up the plates and put them on the sink to wash them.


Few minutes have passed as Tomori washed the plates. After he arranged them, he went upstairs to his room. As he walked to his room, he heard a sound.

Clank*

"Huh?" He turned to his right and saw a door open by itself. "If I remember, this is a room that Toshi-nee forbade anyone from entering. But why did the door to the room suddenly open up by itself?"

Tomori went inside the room to inspect if there's anything wrong with the door.

"The door knob on the other side is busted, but how come it randomly makes the door open by itself?"

He wondered as he turned around to look at the room forbidden by his aunt.

"Wait… Isn't this just a normal storeroom?"

He walked towards the shelf that has a ton of books lined up.

"Whoa… Is this some old school manga right here? Is this the reason why she forbids anyone to enter this room? Because she has some manga? Or maybe she has some extraordinary stuff stored here."

As he scanned through the shelf, Tomori noticed a small, locked crate on top of the shelf.

"Okay, there's definitely something inside of that thing."

Tomori then stood on his toes to pick up the crate.

"…Uh-oh!"

He then suddenly lost his balance and dropped the crate to the floor, breaking it apart.

"Aww, Crap… I'm going to die for this… I guess I'll check if there's any spicy stuff before I die."

Tomori went through the broken crate until he found a book on the floor.

"Hmm… That looks like a novel." Tomori picked up the book. "The Record of the Four Cardinal Heroes:Centurion…"

He opened the book and read through it quickly.

"Hmm…The world is on the brink of destruction. So, heroes from another world are summoned to fend off the threats. The heroes are Magic Hero, Projectile Hero, Shaft Hero and Blade Hero. Magic Hero is a knowledgeable person, Projectile Hero is a diligent person, Shaft Hero is a person who is loyal to his comrades and Blade Hero is a person who is full of wit. Is this an Isekai story or some sh*t?"

Tomori continued to read, until he stumbled onto the blank pages.

"Huh…? Why does it end here?"

After a while, there's a glowing light surrounding him.

"Ah, crap-" He instantly knew what's happening to him at that moment.


"Oh wow…"

"What's all this…"

"What the…"

"Ugh… My back…" Tomori groaned as he felt his back hurts like a b*tch. "Note: Apparently, there's a book that will LITERALLY Isekai you in your aunt's storeroom."

"We did it! We summoned the legendary heroes!"

He heard someone talking. Tomori sits on the ground and takes a look at the person who's speaking.

"Robed dudes… Are they mages or sorcerers?"

Tomori then looked to his left and saw three other people besides him.One is a tall blonde man with golden eyes, and two girls who looked like they were in high school. One of the girls has dark blue hair with azure eyes while the other girl has a black hair with brown eyes.

"Seems like all of them is asian, or according to the Isekai bullsh*t plot, a Japanese like me. Besides the black haired girl, the other two people look… Unique? I mean, do they dye their hair and wear colored contacts? But that's not all…"

Tomori saw that they all had a weapon.

"The blondie has a spear with a yellow gemstone, the blue haired girl has a bow with blue gemstone, the black haired girl has a staff and I have…" He searches for a weapon on his body. There's a long sword with red gemstone attached to his waist like a magnet.

"Spear, bow, staff and long sword… In other words, the spear because it has a shaft, the bow because it uses arrows as a projectile, the staff because it's related to magic and the sword because it has a blade. Yep, we're the heroes. And what's this…"

He find something on the bottom left of his vision.

"Isn't it me or there's a tiny box on the bottom left of my vision?"

Tomori stared at the box then it suddenly let out a sound.

Beep*

"It's like a VR game…" Tomori saw a menu on his screen. "Status, Weapon Tree, Skill Tree, Magic Tree, Inventory, Help Menu, etc…"

He was confused by the fact that there's a game system in the world that was based on fantasy books. He decided to check his status first.

Tomori Tanaka

Level: 1

Age: 21

Race: Human

Magic Affinity: Unknown

Job: Blade Hero

Equipment: Small Sword

Other-World Clothes

Skill: None

Spell: None

"Stats are okay for level 1, but I think my magic stats are low. Maybe it's because I'm the Blade Hero, not the Magic Hero. But why there's Luck in the stats-"

"Oh Heroes, please save our world!" The robed guys suddenly said.

"What?!" All of them, except Tomori, shouted simultaneously.

"Damn, I thought these guys weren't surprised by this. Maybe they didn't watch isekai that much. Especially that blondie. He looks like a normie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The blue haired girl asks the robed guys.

"To offer a simple answer to your questions, we have just completed an ancient ceremony to summon the Holy Heroes." One of them replied.

"Our world is on the brink of destruction. Heroes, please lend us your strength!" All of the robed guys started kneeling in front of them.

"Oh wow, summoning us to work for free labour…" Tomori thought to himself.

"Well…" The black haired girl started speaking. "I guess we could-"

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, me either."

Both of the blondie and blue haired girl spoke up before the black haired girl could finish speaking as both of them stood up.

"What are both of them doing? Don't they know that they can clap us to the shadow realms if we don't behave?" Tomori thought to himself. He doesn't want to be clapped into the shadow realm.

"You guys are just going to send us back after we dealt with your problems, right? That sounds like free labour to me."

"I hope all of you understand that I don't have time to do some work without any proper compensation. Depending on how this goes on… We could become the very enemy of yours."

The blondie and blue haired girl said to the robed dudes. They were shocked to hear that their very heroes that they summoned said that to them.

"Dammit! I have to do something or this will end in a sh*t hole!" Tomori then uses his courage to speak up. "Hold on a second!"

"Huh?" All of the people inside this room stared at Tomori.

"Both of you know that we're level 1, right…?" Tomori asked both the blondie and the blue haired girl.

"Wait, we're level 1?!" The blondie exclaimed.

Tomori just facepalm his face. "Haven't you guys checked your status? And also, threatening only works when you know that the one you're threatening is weaker than you. And since we're level 1, they can just poof us with a single magic spell. So I suggest you guys behave and respect the gentleman in front of us."

The blue haired girl toggle her eyes, as if she's checking her status. "He's right. We're level 1."

"How do you check your status in the first place?" The blondie asked.

"See the icon on the bottom left of your vision? Stare at it for a while and it will make a beep sound. It will indicate that you have opened your status." The blue haired girl replied.

"Oh, yeah. There it is." The blondie then checks his status. "We're really level 1… That sucks."

"What do you expect? That all of us will become level 100 the moment we're summoned?" Tomori said to him.

"Well, yeah. I mean, that's how it usually works, right?"

"You really have watched that kind of anime a lot, haven't you?" The blue haired girl said to him.

"I don't have time to watch anime and stuff. Got a date with my girlfriends all the time."

"Right… Wait, girlfriends?" Now Tomori knows that he's a playboy.

As he, blondie and the blue haired girl getting absorbed by talking to each other, one of the robed dudes breaks their chatters.

"Ehem! Dear heroes, it seems like our king is demanding an audience with the four of you."

"Oh, okay then. Show us the way."

"Alright."

"Sure."

"O-Okay!"

All four of the heroes replied while the black haired girl replied nervously. One of the robed guys opened a huge door and gestured to them to follow him.


After walking for so damn long, they finally stand in front of the individual who looks like a king.

"So this is the hero of the legends…" The king said.

Tomori saw the king glancing at him. "Why does he stare at me like that…? Meh, maybe it's my imagination."

"My name is Aleksander Welle the XXI, and I'm the king of this country. Now then, I shall begin with an explanation. This country, no, this whole world is on the brink of destruction."

"Well, here goes some long *ss explanation."

The world gets hit by disasters called Wave of Destruction that hit every few centuries. When the wave starts, it will hit every one month. The kingdom has decided to summon us, the Four Cardinal Heroes.

"Uh-huh, in other words, you wanted us to work for free, isn't it-" Before that blondie could finish, Tomori interrupted him.

"Remember what I said back then. We are level 1. L-E-V-E-L 1. Please don't make this as hard for us too…" Tomori then turned to the king. "I'm sorry for his rudeness, your highness."

"Hmm… Worry not, Blade Hero. I had already planned to richly compensate all of the heroes for your efforts." The king said as he stroked his beard.

The blondie seems happy about it while the girls just stay neutral.

"Very well then. Heroes, tell us your name." The king said.

"I'll go first." The blondie stepped in front. "My name is Tadashi Kaneshiro. I'm 18 years old and a university student."

"Around 175 cm, has an Ikemen face, and has an easy going personality… If this guy has tanned skin, he would be your generic NTR guy."

After Tadashi introduced himself, the blue haired girl stepped in front.

"My name is Reika Ishikawa. I'm 16 years old and I'm still a high school student."

"She gave out a tomboyish vibe. She probably does sports. She is around 165 cm. Someone like her is a tough nut to crack. Like a certain someone I really know of."

After that, the black haired girl stepped in front.

"Um… My name is Akira Sato. I'm 17 years old and a high school student."

"She looked like a very timid girl considering she's around 160 cm, but she looked like a very smart girl. Maybe she's the serious type when it comes to studying. I can get along well with nerds. So it's fine, I guess."

"My name is Tomori Tanaka. I'm 21 years old and I'm a third year university student." He said confidently. "Seems like I'm the boomer in the group."

"…"

"Why is the king staring at me? Is it me or do I sense a disturbance in the force?"

"Now then, Kaneshiro-sama, Ishikawa-sama, Sato-sama and Tanaka-sama, correct?" The king asked.

All of them nodded our heads.

"Okay then, mages." With the order from the king, four dudes in robes stand in front of the heroes. "Heroes, please put one of your hands onto the Crystal Orb so that we can evaluate your Magic Affinity."

"Yes!"

The four of them put their hands onto the orb. The crystal glows corresponding to the color of the hero's weapon gemstone.

"The affinity for Magic Hero is Wind and Support Magic." The mage who checked Akira's affinity said.

"The Magic Hero can use all Magic Affinities without any restrictions besides manually learning them." The king explained. "How about the other heroes?"

"The affinity for Projectile Hero is Water and Support Magic."

"The affinity for Shaft Hero is Fire and Earth Magic."

The mage who checked Reika and Tadashi said to the king.

"Hmm… How about the Blade Hero?" The king asked the mage to check Tomori.

"Just a moment, your majesty…" The mage said as he inspected the orb that was glowing super bright red and.

"Considering the red color, it's probably Fire magic." Tomori thought to himself.

"Um… The affinity for Blade Hero is Lightning and… Reinforcement Magic."

"…Whut? I thought that red was supposed to be Fire? And Reinforcement Magic? Is that a sub type of Support Magic or something?"

"Very well." The king exclaimed. "Heroes, I will secure travelling companions for all of you to embark on the journey to fight off the waves."

"Wait, I thought the four of us were going to form a party or something." Tadashi spoke up.

"Yeah… Considering that there's a Warrior, Vanguard, Marksman and Mage class here, we make a pretty balanced party." Tomori thought to himself.

"Unfortunately, that can't happen. According to the legends, The Legendary Weapons you possess will interfere with one another should you form a party. Both your weapons and yourselves can only grow when you are apart from one another." The king explained.

"What?" Tomori opened his help menu.

Attention: The Legendary Weapons and their owners will experience adverse effects if they fight together.

Caution: It is preferable that the Heroes and weapons are used individually.

"I guess the 'adverse effect' is not being able to level up if we near each other."

"All of you should rest. Your travelling companions will arrive tomorrow morning." The king said to them.

"Alright, I guess it is what it is." Tadashi said as he spun around his spear.

"Yeah…" Reika checks her bow by pulling the strings.

"R-Right!" While Akira tightly hugged her staff.

"Hmm…" Touma pulled out his sword and looked at his face in the reflection of the blade. "Now I wonder if this is a dream or not…"


After having an audience with the king, the heroes were led by the attendant to go to the guest room. Tomori lay down on one of the sofas inside the guest room. The other heroes then sit down at the sofa that isn't occupied by Tomori. He opened up his status to read the help menu.

Apparently, Tadashi and Reika are checking their help menu while Akira is silently sitting down. As Tomori navigated his status magic with his mind, Akira decided to break the silence.

"Hey, this is just like a game, don't you think?" She asked.

"Like a game? I think this is an actual game. I know a game like this." Tadashi said while he's sitting on the sofa. "I think this is Citrine Online. It's a pretty famous game."

"No, you're wrong." Reika suddenly said. "This is a VRMMORPG game titled Century Progression Online."

"What?! VRMMORPG? You mean like a game that lets you dive inside of it?" Tadashi asked.

"Yes. VR games are everywhere. And I've never heard about Citrine Online before."

"Never did I hear about Century Progression Online. How about you, uh…" Tadashi turned to the black haired girl.

"You can just call me Akira."

"Okay then, so Akira-chan, have you heard about Citrine Online?"

"No, I did not. Either about the Century Progression Online…"

"I see… How about you?" Tadashi asked Tomori.

"Huh?" He was busy navigating his status magic, but he heard enough to continue the discussion. "Nope. And you said that this world is similar to a game that you guys played, right? Do you get sucked into the game or what?" He asked both of them.

Reika just stayed silent while Tadashi just started sweating a little.

"Okay, let's start interrogating you guys one by one."


Few minutes have passed since all of them discussed their own world. Aside from Tomori, Tadashi and Akira, Reika is from a world where VR technology has risen in the early 2020's.

But the world that Tomori, Tadashi and Akira came from is very much different. Like, the president of Japan is different, food brands and also the year that they come from.

"Doesn't that mean that the multiverse actually exists?" Akira said out loud.

"Well, considering the fact that we're summoned to another world as heroes with magical weapons, I can say yeah, the multiverse does exist." Tomori replied. "Okay then, since we know where we came from, let's cut to the next point. How do we get here? Is there anyone who wants to start first?" Tomori asked them. Aside from Akira, both Reika and Tadashi seem anxious about it.

" Sigh* I'll start first. I found a book inside a crate. I read the book and I noticed that I was surrounded by light. After that, I'm here." He left the details about how he broke the crate to get the book.

"May I ask what book you read?"

"Oh, it's The Record of the Four Cardinal Heroes: Centurion. What, don't tell me that you get here the same way as I do?"

Akira nodded at his question. "But I found that book at my school library."

"Ah, that's why she's still in her school uniform…" Tomori thought to himself. "Mind telling us what happened before you get summoned?"

"I just read the book, got surrounded by light and instantly summoned here."

"Gotcha. We have discussed how we're here. How about you two?" He motioned to both Reika and Tadashi. Tomori saw they're reluctant to speak about it. Until Reika spoke up.

"I was going to an event where you can get DLC for CPO with some of my friends. But then the goddess of luck has pulled over, I guess. I heard that there's some crazy sicko going on murder spree. And unfortunately… We stumbled upon him. I remember him going for my friend first." Reika started rubbing her stomach. "I remember that she was alright and that sicko got arrested…"

"I see… With that kind of backstory, she deserved to be here."

"Ok, I guess I'm next." Tadashi said. "I have… a few girlfriends."

"We knew that already…"

"And well…"

"Did they stab you because you couldn't choose either one of them?" Tomori said that as a joke.

But it wasn't for Tadashi. "Well… Girls are terrifying."

"Okay, he's 10.000.000% doesn't have any right to be here. Like, getting killed by your girlfriends doesn't mean that you can go to Isekai. Who the f*ck make the system here?" As Tomori regained his composure, he began to think. "Both of them died and they had information about this world. Hmm…"

Tomori tried his best shot at it.

" Clear Throat* It seems like both me and Akira didn't have any experience in this world while both of you have been through your games. Might let us know some tips and tricks?"

"Sorry, but information must be attained by oneself. So I can give any information to you." Reika said.

"Huh? But this involves a live and dead situation right here. Come on, at least a little information would help us a bit." He continued. But then he realised something. "Don't tell me… You think this is a game?"

"Huh? Isn't that obvious. It even has a game menu. Of course it's a game." Tadashi said.

Tomori stood up from the sofa. "Tadashi, let's say that if you get knocked out by a strong monster, where would you be after that?"

"Either the spawn point or a hospital. Why do you ask?"

"Reika, is it the same to you?" He asked her. She just nodded.

"Ok. It has been confirmed." Tomori then put up his most bland looking face. "You guys are a bunch of idiots."

"What?!" Tadashi was just shocked by hearing that while Reika just stood silently.

"Yes. Think about it. Both of you die and get teleported to a world that's the same as your game. This is something you have to think about. This is not a game. Those people back then were not a bunch of NPC. They're living beings. Every sweat that comes out from our body and the injury we received here is real. So stop with your delusion that this is a game."

Reika started thinking about it. But Tadashi ain't having it.

"But this is a game world! What do you know about it?"

"I don't. That's why I asked for some information. What I want is a way to get this weapon stronger. But I guess you don't have anything to tell me about it. Heck, maybe the info from your game here is false."

"No it's not!" At that moment, Tadashi tells Tomori about the mechanics of their weapons. Inventory System, Drop System, Crafting System, Weapon Copy System and Power Up Method. As Tadashi explained the Power Up Method, Reika had a perplexed expression about it.

Beep*

A sound appears as Tomori memorised the Power Up Method that Tadashi told him.


Shaft Weapon Power-up Method:

Quality Power:

The higher the weapons quality, the stronger it is. Weapons made out of the same material will have different stats depending on the quality.

Smelting:

Through the use of gems, heroes can upgrade a weapon form to increase its stats. Has no upper cap and a chance to fail. As the smelting level rises, the odds of successfully smelting it again decreases. If it fails, the refining level zeroes out and heroes have to start over from 0.

Item Enchantment:

By converting items and monster drops into energy, you can add a new enchantment to any given weapon form. Once applied, the enchantment can be upgraded, but only has a percent chance to succeed in upgrading.

Bonus Status Level:

Using the same energy, you can increase a bonus to a given status. Once this is done, a cooldown is in place, and each successive level requires more energy.


"Yeah, bruv. You ain't lying. All of the stuff you said appears on my status menu."

"Yeah, it appears on my menu too."

Tomori and Akira said to Tadashi.

"I've told you. This a game-"

"Wait a sec." Reika cut Tadashi off. She then turns to Tomori and Akira. "Does the Power Up Method that he spoke of really work for both of you?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Doesn't it work for you?"

Both of them replied to her.

"Such methods don't exist in CPO."

"Well, how about telling us the Power Up Method in your game?" Tomori asked her.

At first, Reika was reluctant to speak about it. But curiosity killed the cat, which made her speak about it.

Beep*

Another beep appears inside Tomori's head.


Projectile Weapon Power-up Method:

Skill Level Link:

As the Hero levels up, all skills will grow stronger alongside them.

Monster Encyclopaedia:

Grants the user a variety of attribute bonuses dependent on the materials stored within the weapon. In addition, completing a monster's drop list will provide additional bonuses.

Spirit Enchantment:

Pieces of monster souls can be used to imbue a weapon form with special powers.

Status Enchantment:

Items or pieces of monster souls can also be used to imbue a weapon form with a status boost, like a boost to attack or magic. The outcome is random. You can remove and replace the enhancement until you obtain a desired one.


"It appears on my menu."

"Me too."

Both Tomori and Akira said.

"Hmm… It doesn't work for me. How come both of you get it?" Tadashi asked.

"IDK. You guys just tell me about it and it appears on my menu. That's all." Tomori replied as he navigated his help menu. "Maybe there's some loophole here we haven't exploited or something. And also, my weapon and Akira's don't have any Power Up Method like the both of you. There's surely something like that outside there."

He glanced at the window in the guest room.

"I guess that we can conclude that's the case. I mean, it's better to not fuss about things that we didn't have any knowledge of." Reika concluded. "And speaking of knowledge…"

She then turned to Tadashi to exchange information about the monster terrains and mobs distribution.

"Oh yeah, won't tell us any information but gladly exchange info with someone that has information. Hah… Hypocrisy at its finest." Tomori rolled his eyes. "And to top it all off, those two really believe that this is a game… Sure, there's game mechanics and all, but we can't be so sure. Or this will be SAO all over again."

"Honourable heroes," Four of them turned to the attendees in front of their guest room. "We have prepared meals for all of you."

"Oh, great! Come on, guys!" Tadashi is the one who went out first. The others then followed him from behind.


All of the heroes have arrived at the dining hall where a lot of another world's cuisine has been served to them. All of them took a seat, except for Tomori who's still choosing the food, while thinking about something.

"Mkay, how do I convince those two that this is reality?"

It has been in his mind for a while. Clearly, Tadashi and Reika truly believe that this is a game considering that it resembles the games that they played. But how the hell did they get Isekai to a GAME, where they had spent so much time playing, when they died?

Tomori knows that something is fishy here. And speaking about fishy, he suddenly remembered his cousin who's 8 years younger than him, who always asked him to go fishing when he spent summer break at his grandparent's house.

Never mind that, he needs to focus on the subject here. After he finished picking his food, Tomori intentionally sat next to Reika. She briefly gave him a side eye for a while before continuing to eat in silence. Tomori ate his food in silence as well for a few seconds, until he stopped and spoke to her.

"Do you… Believe this is a game?"

"…Huh?" Reika stopped eating and turned her face to Tomori. "I mean, yeah. This world has game mechanics. And also, it's a game that I'm well versed at."

"Huh…" Tomori let out a huge sigh. "Listen here, kiddo. I may not know about whatever full dive VR game that you used to play back home, but I'll tell you what I believe. This is not a game that you know off. The first proof I have is the Power Up Method. I remembered you said that the methods from Tadashi's game don't line up with your game, right?"

"Yes…"

"Which means that there's also methods for my weapon and Akira's. That also proves that this is not a game that you know off."

"…Why are you telling me about this?"

"So that you won't make any mistakes. This is reality, not a VR game. Don't make any choices that you will regret. And also, try to believe in Tadashi's Power Up Method." He said in a soft tone, which made Reika confused for a moment.

Tomori finished the food on his plate and left the dining hall.

"I hope she realised that this isn't a game. The fact that she almost has the same look as her is pretty uncanny. Now then, how do I make that playboy believe that this isn't a game…"


In the end, Tomori concluded that Tadashi is too thick headed to believe that this isn't a game. So, he just thought that a person like Tadashi wouldn't do any collateral damage, except being a playboy. But that's fine, collecting girls like catching pokemons for your harem is okay, and Tomori thinks that Tadashi can surely make them happy. He finds it weird that was his impression on Tadashi.

Anyways, he went to bed early and woke up early. So, he just took a bath without any guards noticing and went to his room real quick. He just waited until the others were awake. When they finished having baths, all of the heroes went for breakfast in the dining hall.

Tomori is eating peacefully, until he realises that Reika has been secretly glancing at him for some reason.

"Does she have a crush on me or something?" Is what Tomori thought as he was trying not to awkwardly eat his breakfast.

After everyone finished their food, they were accompanied by an attendant to the royal chamber where they met the king yesterday.

"Heroes, come in." The king said. All of them went inside. They all saw 9 adventurers with some of them having their own equipment. "Unfortunately, some adventurers can't make it here. But these adventures had heed the call from the crown to serve the Legendary Heroes. Now then, gathered adventurers, choose the hero that you wished to embark on an adventure with."

"Wait, it's a gacha roll?!"

All of the heroes form a line. And the adventurers move to their desired heroes one by one.

"Reika has 2 people, Tadashi has four people and Akira has 3 people. And me? Zero…"

"Hmm… I didn't expect this to happen…" The king said.

"Well, I didn't expect that this was going to happen either… And as I expected, Tadashi already has four girls on his team. Damn, his rizz is on another level. I guess I have to go solo on this one." Tomori then walked forward from the line. "I don't mind going solo, your highness. I would search for party members along the way."

"Hmm… Very well, Blade Hero. Now then, I will distribute the funds towards the heroes and their party." The king then ordered the attendees to give the heroes their funds.

Tadashi's party would get 1000 silver, while Akira and Reika's party get 600 silver. As for Tomori, he would get 400 silver for himself.

"Alright… Let's do this." Tomori swiftly left the royal chamber to find the exit of this castle.


"Okay… It's time to begin then!" Tomori walked through the streets as pedestrians gazed upon him. "Damn… I need to change clothes. Hmm… But weapon's come first. Let's try finding a blacksmith."

As he scrolled around the town, he found a shop that had a sword signboard. Trusting his guts, Tomori went inside the shop.

"Welcome!" He was greeted by a bald middle aged man who seemed like a blacksmith.

Tomori then looked around the shop. There's a lot of weapons and armor displayed inside the shop. "Seems like I'm in the right place."

"Oh, a new customer with weird attire. How could I help you? The name is Vadge by the way." The blacksmith said.

"Yep, it's Adidas that makes people think I'm a weirdo." Tomori then walked closer to the counter. "My name is Tomori, and I'm the Blade Hero."

"Wait… You're a Cardinal Hero?!" Vadge is shocked to hear that. He then takes a good look at Tomori. "I think you're too scrawny to be a hero."

He frowned when he heard that statement. Tomori considered himself the peak of an average Japanese dude, but considering that the person who told him he's scrawny is literally taller and buffer than him, he just accepted that.

"In any case, I want to do business here. Mind doing that?" Tomori said to the blacksmith.

"Sure. What can I get for ya?"

"Hmm… I want some clothes and a set of leather armors. Can you do that?"

"Do you want a normal set or a full set?"

"A full set."

"Gotcha. Wait here for a sec." Vadge then went to the back of his shop.

While Vadge is fetching Tomori's armor, the dark brown haired men scan around the interior of the blacksmith shop. All of the armors and weapons display on the walls and racks. Then, Tomori remembered something from yesterday.

"Wait a minute… Weapon Copy System…"

Tadashi explained that using the system, he can copy any kind of weapon that falls into the jurisdiction.

"Blade… Any weapon with a blade… Isn't that overpower or some sh*t? Like, how many weapons exist that have a blade on it?"

"Here's the stuff." Vadge then comes back carrying black long sleeve shirt, black pants and the full leather armor set in garnet red, which is a mask, chestplate, gloves, cuisses, greaves and boots. "Sorry, but I only have this color available for the leather armor."

"Actually, red is my favourite color. I would gladly take it." Tomori took the equipment and went inside the dressing room next to the counter.


After wearing the clothes and armor, Tomori left the dressing room.

"Hmm… Now you don't look that scrawny compared to back then." Vagde gave his comment about how Tomori looks now. "And why don't you wear the mask?"

"I'm a hero, not a mountain bandit. Maybe I'll wear it if I want to conceal my identity or something."

"Okay then. Do you have anything more that you wanted to buy?" The blacksmith asked him.

"Hmm… Actually, I wanted your advice on this one since it's my first time in this world. What should I have before I start venturing?"

"Oh, I see. Well, first of all…" Vadge started explaining the basis of needs that Tomori needed to stock up before he went out. He then went under his counter and handed Tomori something. It was a map and a pickaxe. "You could get the other stuff I told you about at the apothecary and the magic shop."

"Alright, thanks a bunch. And before I forgot, how much is all of this?"

"75 silver."

Tomori handed over the coins and left the shop.

"Blade Hero, huh? That kid looks promising. But I hope he didn't get into any troubles considering this country's relationship with anything related to the Blade Hero…" Vadge thought to himself as he saw Tomori leave his shop.