Special thanks for Angel Wraith, who read the draft of this chapter and provided feedback and a short addition near the end of the chapter. And of course, Ace-Triad for SPAG editting this chapter.
As always, stay behind at the end to watch me blabber some more.
The hero's party, and the younger crusaders all sit down just outside the farming village's wooden wall. The men the crusader family brought along with them begin to gather woods, regular ones together with the pruned branches of dryad trees and piling them together to build a bonfire. The sun is already halfway down the horizon, and very soon they would no longer have light for illumination.
Naofumi's body was noticeably more tense than his fellow heroes, like he's ready to spring his shield arm up to defend himself. He has a good reason. Unlike the rest, he alone witnessed first hand, a glimpse of the vice captain's true strength and skill in House Seatto's family catacomb. He'd be a fool to disregard both the ability, and intention to threaten him from the man who is now supposed to coach him into becoming a more effective hero.
Some of the villagers wander out of their home and look at the newly arrived with curiosity. The children, boys and girls, are especially eager to see the soldier man with their polished and shining weapons, uniformed armor with house tabards over. Long gone are the days when the lords call their serfs to fight a war, and everyone picks up whatever equipment they can scramble together from a trusted smith. Thanks to suggestions from previous heroes, and countless eras of warsmiths forging weapons and armor, it became standard practice for lords to hire smiths and make enough standardized equipment to outfit even the peasant levies.
Coach Zellus walks round and around, in front of the circle of people sitting on the grass, making some light conversations. Mein gives a quick glance over to Yatsuhashi, worried that the bodyguard for the Shield Hero would have another violent outburst. Sure enough, the sworn shield is scowling at his nemesis, but at least he's sitting dutifully behind Naofumi.
"You have the smell of something other than Salamander, even if your hall descends from the Lord of Infernal's bloodline." Gaelion flies over Lord Julius, the pygmy sized dragon lord makes a few hard sniffles at the red haired young man. "No, The First Born's imprint on you is stronger than even Salamander. What name does he go with you mortals? Surely he doesn't go around announcing his title of World Eater? To speak the name itself willy nilly would be a bad omen to our world. Was it Kalameet, the One-Eyed Destroyer?"
Wait, The World Eater of the Old Gods is real? She thought it was some kind of baseless superstition for the followers of the old way, to cling onto old and useless pride. Does this mean the others, like the forgotten Old One the Chief God supposedly casted down were real too?
"My patron lord goes by the name of Lord Loptous, the Dragon of Dark Ambition. Lord Gaelion." Heir Velthomer's reply makes Mein's throat feel tight. She doesn't know her world's history as well as her younger sister, but even she remembers the name of the old dragon cult patron. The traitor humans who allied with the beastmen hordes against the old human kingdoms before the era of heroes.
"Well, I hope all of you got whatever introduction you wanted out of your system, because it's time for your coach, me, to share some discoveries I made on my travels before I joined the king's royal guards." Vice-Captain Zellus claps his hands together, getting everyone's attention to focus on him. "Now, my first lesson: Forget whatever you were taught, or learnt about your status screen. It's complete filorial dung that lies to you."
Needless to say, the noise around the group suddenly became even louder. Some in disbelief, others in outrage.
Chapter 75: Forging of the Future Heroes
"That's impossible! Our status, powered by the magic from the Dragon Hourglass is sacred. Given to us by the Chief God himself!" Mein turns her head around, and sees Sir Crepe's face contorted. Her eyes wide, yet without focus. Her mouth now open wide, becoming almost misshapen, as if in a silent scream. The knight is clearly in shock due to sheer disbelief, considering what she'd be taught by the church.
"Why would this world have a status screen, only to show us the wrong information?" The Sword Hero frowns, and questions Coach Zellus' revelation from a more logical point. Considering Status Magic being the most common form of magic, even a beggar or a child can perform intrinsically, it certainly would be the greatest act of divine comedy if it turns out that the Chief God was just playing everyone by giving the wrong information.
"Nah, nah, nah~. That's not what I was getting at." The vice-captain of the royal guard wags his index finger at the crowd of listeners. His usual smirk never leaves his gruff face. "The information on your status screen isn't wrong, or fake per se. But here's the deal: They don't tell you everything you need to know either. And the easiest way to observe this for me was when I fought multiple opponents during my travels, that all had a higher SPEED rating then me. Yet, not all of them actually move faster than me. Why do you think that is?"
"That… is admittedly a curious topic often discussed by the professional adventurers in the guild." Everyone turns their attention towards the blonde bard who first followed the Spear Hero, but has since apparently gotten in with the Bow Hero. It appears that she was a seasoned adventurer, or at least a seasoned bard before she was picked as a potential companion for the heroes. "Many have discussed the usefulness of SPEED rating, and a consensus was never reached among the professionals. Some consider it the most important status to any class, as it improves the rate you can perform actions vs your opponent. Others consider it the most useless stat rating of all, as the speed of anyone who can move seems to plateau at a certain point no matter how high the rating itself climbs."
"Are we even talking about the same stats rating here, Miss Croissant? Because of some of the queen's Shadows. They are FAST." Sir Crepe tilts her head at the blonde bard, not looking convinced. "They can disappear from my view in the blink of an eye, and it's not because of their smoke bombs."
"Yes, we are talking about the same SPEED rating. As for the queen's Shadow, or other prestige classes that focus on speed, It's a widely accepted theory that their inhuman speed is contributed to some special class ability, not their actual SPEED rating." Croissant first nods her head, and then shakes. "Which is why someone with a class like, let's say, an Assassin would always be faster than a Warrior of Sword, even if they have the same SPEED rating for some reason."
"Not untrue either. Class ability certainly also contributes to how your stats affect your actual battle performance. But I'm going with the scenario where two people have the exact same class, abilities, and SPEED rating here. Even in such cases, they rarely move at the same speed." Vice-captain Zellus closes his eyes and shakes his head, his finger starts wagging again. "I'll give you a few guesses on why that's the case before I reveal my theory."
"That should not be the case. All things being equal, both individuals should perform the exact same way." Croissant blinks a few times while looking at the ground in front of her. It's clear she's also in shock just like Sir Crepe, having her long held belief challenged by Zellus. The girl is talking more to herself than anybody else at this point.
"Maybe one of them is just really untrained?" Maron, the mage with the stereotypical big brimmed hat, tilts her head left and right.
"Oh yeah. That must be it!" Sir Crepe nods furiously, clearly finding some comfort in Maron's suggestion. "I know. From rumors, at least. Some of those nobles who shirk their duties don't bother to lead their men to exterminate the monsters plaguing their land. They have their guards, or worse, sellswords that capture monsters and bring them barely alive so they can land the finishing blow and gain EXP to raise their level. They seem strong if you look at their Status Screen, but they falter very easily against a veteran warrior who puts in the sweat and blood, and climbs their levels properly."
"Ding ding ding! The little witch got it right. Somebody gives her a cookie!" Zellus makes a motion of ringing a nonexistent bell to match the sound he is making. He then points his finger at Maron with a grin that almost split his lower face.
"Aw, there's no need. I still have cookies my sister made for me." Maron reaches into her robe, pulls out a plain looking biscuit and starts to munch on it.
"Do you have more? Can I try it?" Katarina leans her head towards Maron, practically drooling in her mouth. She then looks back at her friend Bertia, who is trying and failing to pretend a lack of interest in the offending pastray. "And one for Tia too?"
"Sure! Always happy to promote little sis' bakery." Maron fishes out two more pieces of her cookies, and hands them over to Katarina.
"Anyways, let us return to our topic while the ladies enjoy their snacks." Zellus walks back a few steps and begins his lecture again. "That's the thing that the Status Screen doesn't inform people about. Everyone sees some big, eye-catching numbers and immediately takes them at face value. They don't realize the stats rating for you isn't a static number like your ATK and DEF rating, when in reality they fluctuate. That's why someone with higher SPEED than you can move slower, or someone with high INTELLIGENCE and WISDOM can still make dumb choices from time to time even without some debuff hex on them."
The princess has a sneaking suspicion that Coach Zellus is now secretly mocking Father. Unlike his commanding officer, the traveling mercenary turned royal guard vice-captain never held true loyalty to Father. His antics are merely tolerated because of his skill and the reputation among sellswords to have most of the free fighters follow him. He simply accepted the post and did his duty, because he thought the training regiment and working with Captain Lotheringen could help him grow stronger.
"Because that's what the status screen, or even your Help menu don't bother to tell you. Unlike derivative ratings such as ATK and DEF, the stat rating shown in your status screen is more of what your limit is at, not your actual rating at any given time. And most people can't maintain 100% of their limit all the time, or even most of the time if they haven't trained themselves properly." The vice-captain points his finger at the side of his head. "About the only time you can take your stats rating for granted is when you are at base level 1. Because your body had enough time when you were a kid to get used to your limit. As you level, especially when you level too quickly, your body can't keep up with your growing potential without dedicated training. And you become less and less able to maintain your stats rating limit. Or worse - your body spins out of control."
"Incredible…" The blonde bard's mouth is now hanging up. "I wonder why nobody in the guild has figured this out."
"Probably because too many different people all have their own idea on what's the 'proper' way to go on adventure." Zellus shakes his head and lets out a snort. He walks left and right as he drums his finger in the air. "So that's why someone who only focused on grinding level, or gaining stats rating as fast as possible through exploitation would have a hard time when they go head to head with a veteran fighter who knows what they are doing. Because a seasoned fighter knows how to use their body to their max, even above their own limit. While an exploiter can barely control their own strength, and would easily have their power turned against them."
"Skill does beat cheating and mechanical exploitation after all…" The Sword Hero also seems to be in a trance. The princess is reminded of his almost deranged rambling back when he fought Naofumi outside Trumpet. She didn't understand half of what he was saying, but he clearly found solace in what coach Zellus was saying. "Do you have actual proof, or are you just spouting your theory?"
"Well… not tooting my own horn." Zellus turns his head towards the Sword Hero and flashes his teeth with a wide smile. "Nah, just kidding. I'm totally bragging right now. But back in my traveling sellsword days, I went to challenge some level 99 noble lady back when I was still level 40 because I wanted to see what all the fuss about this noble lady reaching the pinnacle of Prestige level in her teens was all about. Well, her performance was utterly disappointing, and that got me thinking over the hows and the whys of our status screen."
"You meant Lady Yumiela Dolknes, the fiance to Prince Cecil Glo Alphasta of Faubley?" Sir Crepe blurts out, making Mein slightly raise her eyebrow at the knight's reaction. "I remember back in the days, she was all the talk of the noble circles. The future bride of martial excellence to the boy prince genius of House Alphasta. But then… It's rumored that she got defeated by some random traveling merc, and people slowly stopped talking about her. That was YOU?!"
How did this idiotic young knight serving Mother knew what the high society were gossiping about. Was she born the daughter of some noble house's servants?
"Honestly, she defeated herself more than anything I did. The foolish girl raised her level so quickly, she barely had any control of herself when using half of her full power. All I had to do was to perfectly position myself." Zellus snorts as he shrugs his shoulders, putting his feet out, and then pulling his training wooden sword out and holding it at arm's length as if to demonstrate. "A foot out here to send her kissing the dirt, a sword held like this to make herself cut or impale herself on it. And the kicker is, because of how quickly she ramped up, there's no way she'll ever be able to fully control her power. Unless she does a level reset at Dragon Hourglass and restarts from level 1 again."
"Are you saying it's wrong to power level and stats grind? That we should keep our levels low to not have a much more skilled opponent exploit our inability to control ourselves?" The princess turns around, and sees that Naofumi, and the rest of his fellow heroes all have very hollowed expressions on their faces. Eyes blank and unfocused, mouth at various stages and shape of hanging wide. Sir Crepe, and that blonde bard clearly isn't the only one who got their mind totally blown out tonight.
"Now, don't get me wrong here. The strength of you Hero types is your ability to ramp up quickly compared to the rest of us common folks." Coach Zellus pulls his arm and foot back to stand straight up, but his smirk seems to only grow wider. "No need to give up your biggest advantage, when we only have about a year till the Wave of Catastrophe grows to a critical level that'll wipe this world's strongest without your help. But it all comes down to trade offs, you see. You want the raw power, but you also want to decide how much control you want to have for all that power. Because you probably don't want to have so little control, any seasoned adventurer can trip you on your ass. Or maybe you do, it's not my place to judge. That was how the King of Rape fought in the last Wave, so I heard. He sacrificed everything to become the world's strongest sorcerer at the time, and wield his magic like a blunt warhammer smashing through opposition, while having an army of his sired kids protecting him."
"I don't want to become someone like him!" Naofumi practically recoils back with disgust.
"Well, you were right after all, Naofumi." Motoyasu nudges on the Shield Hero's shoulder. "This is real life, not a video game with simple rules. All this talk about power and control and not to take our stats at face value is already making my head spin."
"Yes. It's always an act of balancing multiple things on a thread. And when it comes to getting stronger, there are always wrong ways to go about it, but there's never only one true way, depending on how you want to fashion yourself." The vice captain holds his index finger up, wiggling it in the air. "Now, about that noble girl I was just talking about. She'd be a force of nature on the battlefield, as she has enough power to plow through the entire army by herself. But going up against a highly skilled martial master like the Sword Saint? She's Donald Duck."
"Please, do NOT refer to the strongest beastman magus in history in such a derogatory manner." The mage of the Bow Hero's party actually raises his usually soft spoken voice multiple degrees, just shy of angry shouting.
"Alright, alright. I didn't mean to trash talk about Old Donald's magical prowess." Coach Zellus actually takes an exaggerated step back while holding his hands up in a show of placation. "Although you have to admit, his short temper made him stumble many times in his life, if not for his king holding him back."
"Very well, I concur." The wizard's posture becomes less rigid, and returns to being a silent observer.
"So what you are trying to say is: don't get wild exploiting all the fast level up, and grinding mechanics we are discovering. Actually hold back, and get used to our new found strength first before the next phrase if we don't want to turn into the equivalent of a three years old swinging a sledgehammer." The frown over the Sword Hero's face slowly recedes, as he nods along. "I can accept that. Back in my world, I always preferred games with a high skill ceiling where myself, not the character I control, gains the skill. I guess I can't be angry at this world for its complexity, and punishing lazy people and cheaters who try to exploit the system to get to the top."
"But MAN! This just made what we discovered back in our last meeting useless. That SUCKS!" The Spear Hero dramatically falls onto his back. The other heroes instantly turn their attention to him. "I mean, think about it. Now all four of us have all four weapon enhancement methods. But they all give extra bonus stats. If we do all of them, we'd be ramping up too fast like our coach is warning us not to do."
"Not necessarily." Naofumi pulls his free hand down from his chin. His head moved in gentle circles. "We probably shouldn't go wild enhancing all our weapon forms, if we don't want to over extend ourselves and lose control. But with all four of our enhanced methods, we can use them to focus on a few weapon forms that's weaker, but have extra utility to make them stay competitive. Me, for example."
The shield over Naofumi's arm turns into a coiled plate of rope. "This rope shield, I can use it like a lasso or a grappling hook for faster movement. But it's really fragile. Ren was able to cut it when we had a little fight outside of Trumpet city. But if I enhance it with all of our methods, maybe I can make the rope much more durable, and I wouldn't have to worry about someone dropping me down a cliff if they cut my rope."
"Then the reverse would also be true. We can further power up our strongest weapon forms we unlock before each Wave, and use them against the Wave Boss." The Bow Hero, clearly inspired by the Shield Hero's thought, also gives his suggestion. "Since this isn't some game and people get hurt if we don't kill the Wave Boss fast enough, a stronger weapon should help us take them down faster."
"There you go! Now all of you are starting to think like actual world saving Heroes. Not some pampered noble children who don't know how the world works." Coach Zellus once again starts giving some slow claps. Mein hopes it doesn't come off as condescending to the heroes due to his flare for drama. "And remember, just because I focus on being highly skilled at utilizing my body to exploit my opponent's weakness doesn't mean all of you have to be too. As I said, 'there are always wrong ways to go about it, but there's never only one true way, depending on how you want to fashion yourself.' In the end, it's all about what fits your natural growth, and what kind of role you want to serve in a team."
"But I have very average growth with all my stats when I level up." Motoyasu abruptly sits back up again, the Spear Hero sounds genuinely worried this time. "I can't focus on tanking heavy hits from enemies like Naofumi, close in fast and overwhelm someone like Ren, or hitting multiple targets with strong aimed attacks like Itsuki. Does this mean I'm screwed?"
"Not really. Yeah, 'Jack of All Trade, Master of None' is the worst growth pattern in a video game, but remember this isn't a video game, and we are working with a much more complex system here?" To Mein's surprise, Naofumi actually tries to comfort the Spear Hero, considering how he verbally took down the same person back during the duel at the Second Wave celebration. "I think your strength would be… your ability to recover from any situation better than the three of us. Yeah, you can't specialize like us, but this means you also don't have critical flaws like us and can adapt to most situations. You aren't lacking in offensive ability like me, or can get easily rolled over Ren or Itsuki when someone breaks their rhythm, or get close and wail on them."
The Sword Hero visibly bristles at the mention like an unhappy, wet dog. Bow Hero gives him a glance, and pokes him on the shoulder. "Admit it, Naofumi got us here."
"I know." The Sword Hero turns his head to stare at her for a brief moment, before he dips his head down. Either in shame, or to brood. "Mein took me down outside of Trumpet. Because I don't know how to properly fight with a sword."
"Ding, ding, DING! We got another winner! Someone give him a cookie and congratulate him!" Coach Zellus claps his hands again, and then points a finger at the Shield Hero.
"Here you go, Shield Hero. Enjoy your treat, from my sister Rino's bakery." Maron pulls another piece of cookie, and drops it in the Shield Hero's hand. Naofumi turns the unremarkable looking treat in his hand a few times, shrugs his shoulder and props it into his mouth. With a short and snappy crunch sound, his eyes practically light up.
"This is really good!" The Shield Hero nods his head while waving the half bitten cookie in his hand at Maron. "It's perfectly crunchy, and it's just sweet enough. Not too plain, and not overly sweet either. Did you say your sister made this? I should go visit sometimes. It's nice I'm getting some good food made by other people for once."
"Firo wants one too!" The devil bird jumps up from her perch, and holds her hand out at Maron to demand her treat. The little mage isn't bothered by the devil bird's petulance and drops some cookies into Firo's hand without any fuss, perhaps she's happy to promote her sister's bakery some more.
"As I was saying. There are many different ways to prepare yourself. Just because I prefer the way of a duelist who focuses on skill and fighting against a single, or even a few human opponents, doesn't mean all of you have to, or should be like me. There's nothing wrong with that noble lady's way of being an overleveled, and barely in control war machine so long as you aren't going around challenging skilled martials into duels. We are facing a Wave of Catastrophe after all. We need people who can plow through waves of enemies, pun totally intended." The vice-captain scratches his chin again as he leans back against the wall. "Take some time, sleep on it if you need to, and decide on what kind of fighters you each want to be. Talk with your followers too, they are there to support you, so it's important to decide how you'll compliment each other's skill, and not get in each other's ways. I'll see how much each of you improve by the end of the week, before we'll have to fight in the next Wave."
"Well, I'd be wasting a lot of time trying to cover my weak ATK growth to fight by myself." Naofumi is the first one to make his decision known to the people sitting around the bonfire. "I think I'll focus on bulking up my defense to absorb hits from strong enemies, and maybe see how I can break their posture and leave them open for everyone else like Zellus suggested to me earlier. I'll leave the actual offensive to the rest of you."
"I'll take you up on that." The Bow Hero nods his head, quickly following the Shield Hero's example. "I'm an archer. I'm supposed to stand in the backline and fire at enemies. It really doesn't make sense for me to fight on my own, unless there's some kind of bullet time mechanic letting me do dodge offset, like Bayonetta's [Witch Time]."
"[Witch Time], huh?" Maron tilts her head at the mention of what must be some kind of magic, or technique mentioned by the Bow Hero. "I don't know what, or who this 'Bayonetta' is, but I did hear this name mentioned by my master and her colleagues during my apprenticeship. I think it's a technique used by a secret coven of witches from Faubley."
"[Witch Time] actually exists?" The heroes collectively blink their eyes, the Bow Hero immediately grabs the hand of his newer follower to ask for elaboration. "Do you know more, Miss Maron?"
"No, sorry. I just heard my master mention it once or twice. It's really not even important to me, since I study the art of Wizardry, not Witchcraft." Maron's answer is met with a collective blank look from the heroes. It's clear they can't distinguish the specific magical schools yet. "Wizardry is also called elementalism, where we base our magic on the four prime elements. An advanced wizard can further augment their prime elements with one or both of the two celestial elements, light and dark. Witchcraft, also sometimes known as Hex on the other hand, is specifically a branch of dark magic even in its most basic form, so only those attuned to the dark can use them."
"Dark mages, hmph." Count Seliph crosses his arms, his usually soft expression becomes harder. It's clear the Scion of Light doesn't like dark magic wielders, go figure. On the other side, Bertia begins to shrink under the silent denunciation of the 'light prince'.
"You really have to stop the prejudice against dark wielders, brother mine." Julius smirks at his half brother. The redhead opens his arm up, almost like he's beckoning his brother in for an embrace… or strike. "I'm a dark wielder myself, do you seek to cut me down too?"
"Well… you are different, brother. You are more dramatic than cruel." Seliph relaxes his posture and expression, placated by his brother, for now. "But besides you, Manfroy and his posse are the only other dark mages I know. And I have seen those warlocks our father kept around him trying to harm Julia, our little sister."
"Ah, yes. My mentor. His knowledge of dark magic is extensive, but he's also a doddering old fool." The Velthomer heir sniggers under his smirk. "Keep going on and on about Lord Loptous' superiority, and how we have to eliminate our immortal enemy Naga. Silly old warlock! If Lord Loptous truly is superior for being the only Dragon Lord to achieve true divinity, then I would have nothing to fear from Naga. Not to mention Julia loves the two of us, it's not like she's going to try to kill us because of compulsion from her bloodline."
"Hmm… right…" Naofumi nods his head at Maron's dry and academic answer, he doesn't look any more enlightened than before. "Will Itsuki even be able to use something like [Witch Time], in that case? Doesn't he have to be a… you know, witch to use it? As in being a girl?"
"Considering this is a world where chocobo raised by us turn into little boys and girls with angel wings, I won't be surprised if there's magic that'll turn us into girls."Motoyasu gives a light shove on Itsuki's shoulder, his hand is immediately slapped away by the annoyed Bow Hero. "You up for a little pole dancing and [Witch Time]?"
"Fuck off, Motoyasu." Itsuki hisses at their oldest, yet most immature hero compatriot and shoves him away. "Nobody wants to learn all your sex fetishes!"
"Oh, you don't have to be a girl to be a witch, silly. You only need a strong enough dark affinity. You probably won't even need that, since you guys are heroes and your legendary weapon probably has some forms that'll help shift your affinities for you." Maron laughs at the antics of the heroes. "Well, the male witches were called Volh, if you want to get SUPER~ technical. But almost nobody uses their old title anymore, and people just call them man witches. It's not like there's as many witches as there are wizards and sorcerers."
"Might be something worth looking into, after this Wave. I don't think any of you have a Faubley location saved in your teleport weapon." Naofumi turns his over to the three weapon heroes. They collectively shake their heads. "Do any of you know something that'll help further shrink down the search? Isn't Faubley as big as Melromarc? It'll take Itsuki too long to find a witch."
"Not just any witches either. The Coven of Umbra, or so I heard during my travels as a bard." The one who replied isn't Maron, but the blonde bard Croissant. "I heard someone mentioned the island of Dunwall. Maybe that's something for you heroes to look into."
Dunwall? The seat of power for Cousin Emy? Perhaps she can pen a letter to her Faubley cousin asking her about this special, secret coven. But only after she reclaimed her birthright, of course. It would raise too many questions on how a commoner from Ascart County knew a Faubley princess enough to ask for a favor.
"I… still want to be skilled enough to actually use my weapon like a real weapon." The Sword Hero looks down at the Legendary Weapon in his hand. "I'm not sure if I want to become a duelist, and I don't want to give up the combo skills I gained from Brave Star Online. But I don't want to end up a scrub who doesn't even know how to properly fight with my given weapon."
"Hey, look alive, big brother. That's what we are here for!" A forceful, female voice draws Mein's attention over to the group of the young crusaders. The first princess of Melromarc looks over, and sees the speaker has typical Issachian black hair and brown eyes; she's also wearing a set of medium chest plates with a pauldron similar to the young man she's currently pushing at. The woman has a slightly curved Issaachian saber on her side, while her brother carries a more traditional straight sword.
Mein wonders if the speaker was the famous 'Shooting Star Princess' of Issaach, Larcei. Well known for both being a sword-wielding prodigy, and her fierce temperament. Although something doesn't sit right with this assumption. The way this female swordsman carries herself doesn't exactly scream royalty, or even nobility. Her posture is tense, ironically like a spear ready to jump forward and stab someone. But it lacked the same kind of grace, and self-assuredness King Shannan demonstrated back during the parade that comes from the habit of giving orders and commanding underlines.
Of course, despite their long history of alliance, many old Melromarc families still consider Issaachians to be little better than barbarians. Only a step above the Siltvelt animals on the virtue of them being human, so most Melromarc nobles would probably dismiss their famous sword-wielding princess acting more like a sellsword. But from the way King Shannan carried himself in the parade, Mein doesn't think this is the case.
"Yes, sister." The man stood up alongside his sister. He gives a full bow to the heroes, while his sister only slightly tilts her head. The man confirms Mein's suspicion. "We are Dalvin and Creidne of House Issaach, disciples and retainers of King Shannan. While His Majesty is discussing strategies regarding the Wave at Melromarc castle, he has commanded us to help with Lord Sword Hero's training."
"It's much appreciated, I have a lot of work ahead of me." Ren stands up too, and bows back to the retainer siblings. He pulls his sword out, and changes it into its original base form. "I'd like to start now. We only have about a week before the next Wave."
"Are you sure about this, milord?" Dalvin takes half a step back, seemingly surprised by how eager the Sword Hero is at learning how to properly handle his weapon. "It's not my place to tell you no… but perhaps we should wait till we have sunlight tomorrow? It's easy for us to drip on our feet, practicing in the dark and hurting ourselves."
"Like I said, I have a lot of work ahead of me if I want to know how to fight with a sword. And there's no time like the present." The Sword Hero sets his feet apart, into a very improvised stance. Now that Mein remembered how Naofumi revealed that the Sword Hero was someone who fights for spectacles in his own world, it's not hard to notice how his stance is more focused on looking heroic, rather than maximizing certain fighting attributes like stability, or speed. "We have all these people spectating. I'm sure one of them can heal us if we twist our ankle."
"Come on, brother! You are being challenged by the Sword Hero. Give him what he wants! Don't be a pussy!" Creidne gives another, much harder push behind her brother's back, nearly making the swordsman stumble.
"Oh… alright." Dalvin stretches his limbs a little, before taking a few slow steps forward to face Ren. With the way he moves, it's hard to tell if he's simply being cautious, or reluctant. The young Issaachian settles into a plain, yet effective and stable guarding stance. "Let me see what you already know, milord. Also… while it's not strictly forbidden, I suggest you only come at me with your sword, and not your sword arts. From the way you were talking about, I get you want to improve your sword fighting skill, not how to use your more advanced sword arts. It would kind of defeat the purpose of our exercise."
"Alright, I'll try to remember that." The Sword Hero pauses for a brief second, before lunging at the retainer of King Shannan, and it's not a pretty sight. In fact, it's like watching the new recruit of Father's men trying to whack a straw dummy. The Sword Hero wasn't being coy when he said his actual swordsmanship needed a lot of work.
The princess turned adventurer turns to look at Dalvin's sister. The palpable eagerness quickly drains from the female fighter's face as she sees how the legendary Sword Hero actually fights.
"So, how's Dave, Cousin Leaf?" Katarina kicks her legs out, and lies onto her back in a very distinct unlady-like manner in front of Marquis Leif. She doesn't look any more entertained from the fight either.
"Big brother is fine." The young Marquis' voice is soft with sadness. Something in Leif's voice suggests that General David Naussu Clauss is most definitely, not 'fine'. "Nanna and I tried to set him up with Jeanne, Nanna's good friend, back in their Healing Troubadour Order. But… Well, things didn't work out."
"Oh, Jeanne! Healer girl! She used to heal my injuries back when I was breaking my bones all the time in my training. They'd be so CUTE together!" Katarina reacts with obtuse eagerness, completely missing the second part of how Marquis Leif and Princess Nanna's match making ended up a failure. "Wait, they… didn't work out? How come?"
"They are both too dedicated to their own work, I guess. My brother, as my advisor and general. And Jeanne had to take over Nanna's old role in Healing Troubadour; now Nanna is the acting Lady of Leonster: Organizing and leading traveling healers to help our people." Leif's posture actually falters, as the young marquis hunches over on his back rather than sitting perfectly straight. "If he wouldn't take his rightful title of Lord of Leonster, I would like to have him take a wife and have a family. My brother… he deserves much more than working himself into an early grave for his service to the Leonster people."
The current generation of glorious Melrommarc is one without any princes. Both the royal house, and the princely house of De Gallia only have female heirs. This doesn't stop gossiping ladies for granting princely titles to the most charming young man of the generation, princely titles they don't deserve through birthright through small talk. Katarina's adopted brother is a good example, although the ladies can't decide on his exact title. The most popular two being the mage prince, and enchanter prince respectively.
Yet, even among the many 'princes', there is a good reason why the 'Light Prince' of House Chalphy, and the 'Silver Prince' of House Claus being the most popular and gossiped about by the noble ladies even after both of them have married, or entered into betrothal. For they both seem to jump out of actual novels. Seliph's story is self-explanatory enough, as for Marquis Leif Faris Clauss, he and his elder brother General David Nassau Claus are practically living legends out of a knight's novel of betrayal, loyalty, faith and personal sacrifice.
Lord Leif lost his parents early in The Great War when he was only a toddler, while his elder brother David was but a boy. When the Siltvelt invaders tore down the defense of northern and central Melromarc, the beastmen bore down on their land in horde. They considered House Claus easy prey without an adult leading them, and intended to end the Njorun bloodline.
It's hard to imagine the kind of fear Lord David must be under for a boy around ten summers. Being besieged by the army that took away his father, mother and younger sister. Yet despite his youth and inexperience, he stayed behind to rally his father's subjects for their desperate last stand, while dispatching a small contingent of knights to flee further south with his younger brother. Despite heavy losses, including his own right eye, the 'One Eyed Hound' of House Claus managed to hold back the invading army long enough to see Melromarc's eventual counter attack breaking the siege of Leonster and the safe return of his younger brother.
In spite of what most of his fellow nobles believed would happen, the elder Claus didn't assume lordship of House Claus for himself despite his achievement in The Great War proving his capabilities. He willingly reinstated his younger brother as the Marquis of Leonster, first acting as his regent, and then as his advisor and general after Lord Leif came of age. Now twenty years later, the story of the Claus brothers is often used as the finest example of Melromarc nobility and chivalry.
Of course, as someone who has more refined knowledge of how The Game is played, the first princess of Melromarc. Knows that there is much great machination at play for Lord David's seemingly charitable actions. Unlike his younger brother, he did not inherit House Claus' dark hair, not even his mother's rosy one. Lord David's blonde hair has raised many questions about him possibly being an illegitimate, or even an adopted son of his father.
If he had tried to assume lordship, there'd be a good chance many would question, and challenge his rule despite what he managed in The Great War. No, it's clearly a much safer bet for him to be the power behind the throne, than sitting on it himself.
It seems like that the 'Silver Prince' of Leonster does at least have some self-awareness, unlike the Light Prince of House Chalphy. He clearly tried to butter up his elder brother, or maybe stage a spy near him in the form of his fiance's good friend. Perhaps that's the reason why General David declined the matchmaking. The elder Claus is clearly more experienced, and perfectly aware of his baby brother's amateurish scheme.
"Dave should have been the marquis. Back in the Great War, he was the one who stayed behind Leonster to rally the banners in defending our home while I was hiding away. And he's the one who acted as my regent when I was too young to rule, and later as my advisor and general. The only reason I'm the marquis is because of… this." The young marquis strips his glove off his right hand, and shows a black marking that looks almost like a downward anchor on the back of his hand. The holy mark of the Divine Crusader, only those with such mark may wield the Dragonblood weapon passed down from their family. The lord of Leonster looks at his hand, almost with disdain rather than reverence.
Perhaps it is because Gae Bolg, the 'Spear of Earth' passed down from the Claus family, has been lost to the Siltvelt animals after the Great War. Or maybe Lord Leif resents how he's burdened with the life of his brother's political puppet, without the tool that could have helped him break free of his shackles.
On the other side, Naofumi clearly feels the need to defend his fellow hero's honor. Or maybe he wants to make his near defeat at the Sword Hero's hand less embarrassing. "Huh… he's actually pretty strong, when he's chaining combo abilities one after another. I know from first hand experience, because he totally kicked my ass back outside of Whiterun, if Mein didn't step in at the end."
Creidne's eyes practically twinkles as she smirks at the Shield Hero. Something tells Mein that out of the two siblings, she's the more reckless one. She slowly pulls her saber out of its sheath, and points it towards Naofumi. "Well, now that Brother is going to work with the Sword Hero, fancy putting yourself to the test? Shield Hero? You said you want to focus on working on your defense and breaking your attacker's stance. Want to see if you can knock me on my ass, or if I overwhelm you and knock you on your ass?"
"Please, do not do something so foolish and hurt yourself. My fair Lady Creidne." A man with short brown hair tied by a blue headband says in a singsong voice. Mein briefly wonders what's the point for the crusaders to bring a stage man with them.
"I didn't think you'd care, Luchar." Creidne narrows her eyes at the fool, her voice practically turns into a venomous hissing. "I'd reckon you are too busy chasing after Her Highness Larcei's skirt to care about me."
Wait, Luchar? Wasn't it the name of Duke Dannan's second born son? The father isn't exactly the best example of what Melromarc nobility or the Divine Crusaders has to offer (sadly not the worst either, Chief God help them all). But she didn't expect the second son to be this… melodramatic. He seems to be more fitting to a life of theater, than fighting and commanding the army.
"Oh, I don't care about you in that way, my fair lady. For my heart sings with eternal love only for my beloved Princess Larcei." Luchar's voice only becomes more like a passionate aria. He even wiggles his fingers, almost like he's playing at an invisible lyre. "But my foolish younger brother does care a great deal more for you, my fair lady. It would be for the best, that my less perfect brother Lucharba would settle with you, who is less divine as my sweet princess Larcei."
"Is that guy alright?" Motoyasu leans closer to Itsuki and asks in a hushed voice that's still loud enough for everyone to hear. "He seems a bit crazy, and kind of stupid."
The Bow Hero gives a sideway glance to the older hero. "Pot, kettle, black."
"HEY!"
"Luchar..." Mein's eye moves over to Creidne. Despite being confirmed not to come from a crusader bloodline, the female swordsman is glaring daggers towards the descendant of Nal. "...SHUT UP AND FUCK OFF BEFORE I CUT YOU TO ITSY BITSY PIECES AND SHIP YOU BACK TO LARCEI WITH A COURIER!"
"I can't back this one out, can I?" Naofumi blinks his eyes in confusion as he stares at Creidne's saber pointing at his nose. After a few seconds, he shakes his head and stands up. "Well, might as well man up and get some training done then. Let's get further from Ren and your brother, so we don't bump into each other. At least I can heal us if we hurt ourselves…"
"Are any of you good with a spear?" The Spear Hero nudges away from the Bow Hero and looks at the rest of the crusaders while the Shield Hero and Creidne walk further away with a small detachment of guards and Siltvelt warriors holding torches. "I'm also learning how to fight with a spear from Iris' personal maid. But her fighting style doesn't suit me, as my body isn't flexible enough. Maybe I should learn how to fight with a spear from one of you?"
"I am of the Njorun bloodline, where the spear is our family's weapon." Leif looks over at Motoyasu and smiles. The young marquis clearly appreciate having a chance to step out of his brother's shadow and do something useful. "Though our way is more about using spears in mounted combat, I will teach you what I know. Hopefully, it will help you in the coming Wave, Lord Spear Hero."
Omake: Apprehension of the Pious Preacher
Guided by his former disciple Siegmar, Preacher Logarius walks through the hall of the Three Heroes' Cathedral. Drapes of mourning still hang in the solemn hall as their boots click on the marble floors. Right now, the dark child is leading him towards the personal chamber of His Eminence, Pope Biscas T. Balmus.
The preacher fights back his urge to raise an eyebrow as a young Consevatie pushes the door right open, rather than knock and wait. "The preacher is here, Your Eminence."
"Very well, my child. You may leave us." Biscas has his back turned against them. Right now, his attention is focused on the personal altar he set for his own master, the last Bow Hero, Shirou Emiya, from sixty years ago.
Perhaps calling it an altar is an over exaggeration, as it is free of any artifact that gives it any holy power. It's more fitting to call it a personal memorial, with a lot of Master Shirou's personal but mundane possessions the now Pope of the Three Heroes' Church collected to remember his teacher.
"I'll leave you two to it." Siegmar bows down to Biscas' back, with too much dramatic flare to be respectful. As the dark child turns around, Logarius can see the barely hidden smirk on his young face. It bodes ill to speak badly of one's own student, but there has always been something that's seriously wrong with the Consevatie boy. Perhaps, it was a mistake to admit him in this holy order, or at least accept him as a Knight Templar.
"I'm sorry, my old friend, for tasking you with investigating the incident with Lord Inquisitor Emon." Biscas' words bring Logarius' attention back to the present. "Your master, Vicar Lawrence, passed away while you were elsewhere."
"We knew this was a distinct possibility, his health was failing badly, and we said our goodbyes before I left." The preacher steps into the Pope's personal chamber, his scarred face doesn't show any excessive sadness despite his heavy heart. "It's more important for me to fulfill my duty to our teachers, and our order than staying by his bed in his last moment."
"Now he has passed away, may I suggest you petition to succeed his position? You have stayed the role of a humble preacher for too long." The Pope turns around to look at Logarius, Biscus' face is as grim as the preacher. "We just lost another high ranking member of the moderate faction, and the balance of our faith has shifted dangerously towards the radicals. A very bad situation to find ourselves in, during a Wave of Catastrophe, and talks of a crusade declared against us."
"We talked about this, Biscas." Logarius shakes his head at his old friend, sad that he has to disappoint. "I do more good work, preaching the true words of our teachers to our newest members than sitting in a comfortable chair high in the cathedral, pushing papers. Who is petitioning to succeed my master, by the way?"
The preacher is almost afraid of the answer.
"There are many candidates - Confessor Cromwell is most likely to win, if you don't run against him." Logarius fights back a curse when his fear is confirmed.
"That self-serving, narrow minded charlatan!" Logarius quickly mutters a prayer after his outburst. "Forgive me, my old friend. It is unbecoming of me to speak ill of our colleagues, but Cromwell is unworthy to succeed my master's position. Master Lawrence was far from the saint we told the public, but he is still ten times a better man than Cromwell will ever be."
"I know, that's why I want to convince you to run against him."
"Tempting… if only to block Cromwell, and his band of sycophants from gaining more power." Logarius narrows his eyes and ponders over the suggestion. "Is there no other person who can take the position? What about Lord High Inquisitor Duncan? He is a good man, practical enough to know our faith is more about antagonizing and vilifying the Shield Hero and the beastmen."
"Would you rather have the radicals control the Inquisitors?" Biscas' question makes Logarius realize that his suggestion was ill-advised.
"I concur, that would be an even bigger disaster." The preacher nods his head gravely. To think, the honest clerics of the Faith of Three are being pushed into the corner by the raving thugs who only seek to further their own greed and ambitions. It is truly a sad day for their order. "I will think about who may fill my position. If there is no other, I will task Brother Martin as the new preacher. It would technically be a demotion from his role as a battle priest, but he is pious and dutiful. He will take the position in stride, spreading the true words of our teachers."
"I'm sorry for asking so much of you, and your students. Yet… in the future I will only ask more of you." Pope Balmus places a heavy hand on his shoulder, the preacher can almost feel the weight of the entire nation on him. "Always be honest with me, old friend. Even if I go where you hesitate to follow. Everyone needs their critic to not stray from the path of righteousness."
There is a definite sense of foreboding in Biscas' words. The preacher can't help but ask. "What are you truly planning, Your Eminence?"
"To protect the weak, old friend." The Pope of Three Heroes' Church lifts his hand from Logarius' shoulder. Biscus turns around, to look at the humble memorial he set for Master Shirou Emiya. "Everything I do, I do it to protect the weak.
That's what my master taught me."
End Note:
Yes, I made Alduin from TES, Kalameet from Dark Souls, and Loptous from Fire Emblem the different identities/facets (with slight different appearance/power level each) of the same entity in this story. And also, I made David Nassau into a crusader, and Leif (Fire Emblem 4/5)'s older brother, because those characters comes from a family with a relic named Gae Bolg.
In my opinion, The Last Remnant is a seriously underrated game from Square Enix catalogue and it either deserves another direct entry (either prequel or a sequel), or a spiritual successor where its combat system where multiple characters act as a single combat unit can be more refined. It's an interesting system to explore for a JRPG where it allows much more characters than a conventional RPG to play active role, yet doesn't make the fight too clustered with controllable unit like a true SRPG or Tactic/Strategy game.
And the meat of this chapter so to say... Zellus explaining how the 'RPG system' in the world is much more complex than people thought. Which is of course, another one of my thinly disguised tantrum/rebellion against a lot of Japanese webnovel writing troupe.
Not saying a typical 'Gamer' type of story can't work, especially when it isn't trying to be anything more than a psychological quickfood power fantasy, but I'm very annoyed by the 'Gamer' stories convention troupe by this point where it's always about how there is an one optimum way to grow strong, which tend to be conviniently discovered or already known by the main character. And it's usually to reward cheating/exploiting the system and throw people who put in genuine hardwork under the bus (probably because hardwork and effort run antithetical to power fantasy).
So here, Zellus' lecture pretty much went opposite of this genre convention, where he explains how level/stats grinding too quickly can end up with a person unable to control their seemingly superior power and have said power turned against them against a much more skilled opponent, which I coined the term 'Statsbreaker' (derived from Spellbreaker) when I had a private message chat with DJman248 during an earlier chapter. Zellus' lecture basically comes down to how there is no one true viable way to have optimum growth in this setting, and every action is a trade off. And while there are certainly more optimum way to train in style of one's chosing with their natural growth in mind, there isn't something that'll be inherently superior to everything for the main character(s) to exploit.
Guest review time.
To Halo:
Spacebattle isn't really my preferred platform (go figures, since I don't post on there), since navigating through the thing is a red princess (haha). But yeah, I am aware of the story you brought up. Not really my preferred cup of tea, since I like stories that stick with the original quintate and explore their characters more.