Without a doubt, Motoyasu stood in the spawning point for new players. It also served as the respawn point if you died near Melromarc Castle Town, and Motoyasu had been slow on the uptake when first introduced to Emerald Online. He was more familiar with the room than he cared to admit.

But what was he doing physically standing in that room? Last he remembered, he'd been slumped over on his kitchen floor, attempting to reach out to Momiji and Ikuyo as they dueled to the death, everything growing dark and cold. He didn't feel dead. No stab wounds anywhere. Was he in some sort of coma dream? Or maybe… he had more than two girlfriends. Incredible as it seemed, the undeniable fact that had been thrust into his heart was that Momiji and Ikuyo could be driven to attack him. Did that mean another girl could do the same? What if one of the others had found him defenseless and abducted him? He'd read about stalkers trying to live out crazy fantasies with their captive obsession targets before.

…Probably not. That two girls could do something awful was already unlikely. Three? Motoyasu wasn't thinking clearly. The attack must have really rattled him. Who in his life was aggressive enough for something like that? No one. He didn't have any gamer girls in his life currently who might think to recreate this scenario.

"Oh wow…"

Motoyasu turned his head towards the voice and saw three other people standing next to him. A black-haired boy with androgynous features inspecting a sword, a mild-mannered boy with fair hair who tested the string of a bow, and another black-haired boy with a plain face who tried his hardest to drop a spear from his hand.

Those were all pretty standard weapons in Emerald Online.

"What's all this?" The one with the bow asked.

But the question that unnerved Motoyasu was the spear wielder asking, "Where are we?"

People in his dreams didn't ask sensible questions. If this was some sort of elaborate setup in real life, why would people who didn't recognize the setting be abducted.

But when a man in robes cried out, "Oh, heroes! Please save our world!" it all fell into place. There was still a little confusion at first, but it quickly became apparent that this wasn't some stalker scenario.

Motoyasu hadn't dated many otaku, but he'd heard one complain about scenarios like this being overdone in light novels. Everything going dark as you think your dying regrets, and then waking up in a fantasy world. Didn't you sometimes reincarnate as your character though? Motoyasu placed a hand over his chest and looked down to confirm that he was still male. Flat chest? Check. Blond bangs? Check. Shield on his arm? That wasn't on the list of things to confirm, but there it was.

Motoyasu grabbed the shield and pulled, but only succeeded in getting it attached to his other hand.

As the sword and bow wielders talked back to their summoners, Motoyasu stared helplessly at his hand and wondered why he would be stuck with a shield. Shielders were useless. The summoners must have botched the ritual. They might as well have only summoned the other three. Still being alive after taking two knives to the torso was nice and all, but he couldn't demand proper compensation for saving the world like the other heroes were when he wasn't able to contribute.

He looked back helplessly at the other three. For some reason, the spear wielder smiled at him as if they were confidants.

Come to think of it, the spear wielder had been silent as well, even though he could easily throw his weight around.

"You don't want to ask for anything?"

"They seem pretty desperate, don't you think?" the spear wielder replied,

Motoyasu thought that was the perfect time to ensure your good will wasn't abused, but whatever. If someone better equipped was willing to let others walk all over him, then fewer people might place too high of expectations on a shielder.

-o-

"Jeez." Motoyasu threw himself on one of the beds, already done with the day. "I get to reincarnate into Emerald Online, and I'm stuck playing a shielder. What kind of luck is that? The cutie who showed us to our room barely gave me a second glance. It's like chick repellent."

"Are shielders bad?" Naofumi asked. "I've played a game or two. Tanks are harder to get the hang of, but they have their place in the meta."

"Yeah, and that place is rock bottom. The shielder is a total loser class," Motoyasu told him. "They have better defense starting off, but at the higher levels, good equipment for the other classes makes you obsolete. There's no option to change your class, save to pick a more specialized version during class-up. Man, I'll be useless within a few weeks, won't I?"

"You don't sound that torn up about it," Naofumi noted.

"Well, the spear's a pretty good weapon. You can pick up the slack for me."

Naofumi made a face like he wasn't sure if he should be annoyed or pleased, and looked to Ren and Itsuki for confirmation.

"It is one flaw in the game that you can't change classes," Itsuki said. "You have to restart your save file if you make a mistake like picking the shielder."

"Save file?" Ren asked. "You mean delete your account. There are no save files in Brave Star Online."

"Emerald Online," Motoyasu corrected.

"Never heard of it."

"Um…" Naofumi scratched bashfully at his cheek. "I haven't heard of any of these games. Are they anything like Fantasy Moon Online? Or… maybe not. Nothing we've seen so far sticks out to me as resembling that game. The UI when you use status magic is completely different too."

"Now that one I've never heard of."

"Really!? But it's huge. You don't even have to be a gamer to know about it."

"I don't know what you two are talking about discussing online games. Dimension Wave is played on a console."

"You're all wrong. If anything, this is a VRMMO."

Motoyasu looked at Ren as if he were insane. Or, more likely, some sort of chuuni. "No way. Even If we suppose, for a moment, that we're in a game, it still has to use a mouse or controller."

It was a the most rational, incontestable statement any of them made since the whole bizarre argument began, yet somehow Ren looked lost hearing it.

"A mouse? A controller? What kind of antique games are you guys talking about? These days, aren't all online games VRMMO?"

The four of them stayed up late, working through what they knew until they had it determined that they weren't merely from different points in Japan's history, but all from entirely separate worlds. Discussion drifted from their to how they came to be summoned into Melromarc. Motoyasu wasn't familiar enough with 'isekai' scenarios, but his must have been a pretty typical way for a person to die. Ren guessed the ending as soon as he started his tale. With Ren too, although he never specified, Motoyasu got the sense that he'd also been stabbed. As for Itsuki, his account was the only one Motoyasu recognized. His otaku girlfriend had a nickname for that exact scenario. The only anomaly was Naofumi.

"Why did the rest of us have to die if all the Spear Hero had to do was pick up a book?" Motoyasu griped. He could still feel his heart rate pick up just recalling the look in Ikuyo's eyes as she drove that knife into his chest. Living in Emerald Online was a nice compensation for dying, but if he could enter the game without dying then obviously that was preferable.

"Well, he didn't set himself up for failure the same way you did," Ren said.

"Why don't you come a bit closer and say that again?"

"What are you going to do? Duel me for your honor? You're a shielder."

Prick. Motoyasu fixed Ren with a glare that he hadn't fully wiped from his expression by the time he returned his attention to Naofumi.

"Um… I don't really know why my experience was different."

"Hmph."

Whatever. That just meant Naofumi would be less prepared than the heroes who had already faced down death. Motoyasu took solace in knowing he wasn't the only one at a disadvantage. Itsuki and Ren could compete to be the best hero. Motoyasu had to settle for not being the only one who people looked at and asked, "Was there even a point in summoning him?"

Eager to move the conversation past deaths, Naofumi asked, "How does party selection go,? Since you guys know what you're getting into."

"You build your whole party and select their classes whenever you create a new file."

"Ignore the single-player game nonsense. You make a character. You form a party by meeting other players. You start as a general adventurer and don't have to pick a specialty until you hit level 40 and need to go through a class-up. That unlocks all the abilities that come with that class, and you're stuck with a choice regardless of when you make it. Although…" Motoyasu opened up his status menu and made a face at the line announcing his class. "It seems that being heroes automatically forces us to pick the class that specializes in our given weapon at level 1."

With a fake sigh, Ren said, "Shielder was one of the original four classes when Brave Star Online first released. Once of us had to draw the short stick."

"Oh. Your game only added the other classes later too?" So a few system-specific mechanics varied, but their games were roughly equivalent. It was safe to assume that any instances of the world varying from the game Motoyasu knew—such as the status menu opening through gestures rather than clicking the escape key— were a clash between hardware limitations and how game features would manifest if real.

With that in mind, he looked to Itsuki.

"DLC."

"That's all fascinating, but it sounds like we're the only ones summoned and we're not supposed to form a party together. There isn't some event at the start of the game where a king assigns you party members?"

"Nope."

"Of course not."

"In Dimension Wave, your entire party is formed before the king has you brought to the throne room."

"So him arranging party members for us isn't part of a game script, and we have no idea what to expect."

It seemed obvious enough to Motoyasu that they expect a general group of adventurers. Probably whoever from the adventurer's guild agreed to show up at the castle after some guard ran down to the building to ask for volunteers, which likely only happened after the heroes were introduced. The king hadn't exactly struck Motoyasu as someone who could put together a force for battle or lead a campaign with any semblance of competence. Speaking of which…

"Did anyone else think that king was a bit senile?"

"He seemed poised to me," Itsuki said.

"Really? He couldn't remember four whole names right after he heard them!"

"That's right," Naofumi said with a grin that suggested he wanted to be punched. "He forgot yours, didn't he?"

"Five seconds after I said it!"

"That was a little strange," Naofumi agreed. "But once we have our party members, we'll only have to worry about the king whenever we return here to deal with the waves, won't we?"

-o-

Motoyasu found himself standing alone in the throne room the next morning, the adventurers having gathered behind every hero except for him.

"How come I'm the only one without party members?"

What the hell! The other three all got to play as classes that could solo with ease! Why did everyone line up with them and not him? Surely the point of brining in party members was to ensure that all of the heroes were able to get stronger, right? Right? Right?

No. He knew why. These people lived in the world of Emerald Online. The uselessness of a shielder wasn't merely something they could read about in forums. It was a part of their reality. Parents probably warned their daughters not to run off with shielders because of how little they had to offer as men.

He was so fucked. Or rather, he would not be fucked at all while the stupid shield clung to his arm.

Motoyasu had staked his odds on the fact that half the point of MMOs was the social aspect. This was a world where you knew you were looking at the real deal rather than an avatar that might even be gender-swapped. He'd thought that enough charm might make up for his inability to contribute. Sure, it made sense for the king to collect strong fighters to support them, and a lot of them probably didn't need a level 1 shielder to have their backs… But why summon a shielder then!? He could have been given a different class! Like… Like… Mage! Emerald Online let you use axes and claws and whips too! Why did he have to get stuck with a shield!?

Yet when Ren boasted about how he didn't care for party members, his own recruits grouped up closer to him, and Itsuki dismissed the idea wholesale with some bull about how it might destroy morale if they asked the adventures to please support the one hero who needed party members. And Naofumi, the bastard, glanced at the three girls who had lined up behind him and then looked back at Motoyasu as if appraising a love rival!

"Crap! I know shielder is a losing class, but you guys can't really expect me to get any stronger without party members!"

Caught up as he was in nervously checking his stats to confirm that his attack was at 0 (his old character had started off with 16!) he almost missed when a wonderful voice said, "I can assist the Shield Hero."

"Are you sure?"

Motoyasu looked up to scowl at Itsuki as he tried to convince the hottest of his party members, a buxom woman with a gorgeous face and stunning red hair, that she ought to leave the least fortunate hero without any offensive power to speak of.

"Yes."

If all women were angels, then this beauty was an arch-angel! Pure divinity! The greatest of the great, both in looks and in the kindness that overflowed from her heart! To put herself in a worse position to help a pitiful shielder elevated her to the status of sainthood. Motoyasu determined that he would cherish her like no other. He would do his part in preventing her from ever getting so much as a single scratch on her supple skin.

With only a single party member at his side, even if the other heroes were callous bastards, the king took pity on Motoyasu and granted him additional funds. With that, he could afford to outfit himself and the gorgeous Myne in gear you usually couldn't obtain at the start of the game. They might even have money left over to commission other adventurers to team up with them so Myne wouldn't have to work so hard.

He had drawn the short stick as a hero, but it seemed everything would turn out alright.

-x-

STA: I know someone else already did a "Motoyasu is the Shield Hero" oneshot, but Aneko also did a too-short story exploring that concept, and after painstakingly looking up all the kanji in to figure out what it said despite the fact that I can't read Japanese for shit and then listening to discord muse about how fucked everyone was in that scenario, I had too many plot bunnies. So since it's now semi-canon that being betrayed by Myne after 24 hours isn't as sanity-ending for Motoyasu as being betrayed by her after like 4 months and staking all hopes on her while in dire straights, here's an attempt at a story where he's the shield hero and the world isn't completely fucked for it, but is slightly more fucked than if the Shield Hero was someone cautious and competent.

Gonna try and skim through things that aren't to different from the main story so I can hurry up and get to what happens after stuff significantly diverges. (I wonder if I made the second scene too long?)

Um… I generally dislike honorifics in fics, but I dislike how much OPB uses "Mr." More, so I'm going to just… use them in this fic.