Sword and Shield
Journey 4
With a thought, Naofumi accessed his Menu and called up the Statuses of himself and his party.
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Naofumi (Age: 20)
Lv: 46
Class: Shield Hero
Equipment: Legendary Shield, Barbarian Armor +1
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Raphtalia (Age: 10)
Lv: 40*
Class: Demi-human (Sub-type: Raccoon)
Equipment: Leather Armor, Mithril supplementary Armor, Mithril Longsword
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Shirou (Age: 12)
Lv: 40*
Class: Demi-human (Sub-type: Raccoon)
Equipment: Leather Armor, Mithril supplementary Armor, Magic Steel Sword, Monohoshi-zao, Magic Willow Longbow, Mundane Quiver, Steel Arrows
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Filo (Age: 1 month)
Lv: 40*
Class: Filolial Queen
Equipment: Transforming Clothes, Steel Claws
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Elrasla (Age: 72)
Lv: 93
Class: Human
Equipment: Martial Arts Uniform
Naofumi felt a touch of annoyance. Because he was the only Hero present for this Wave he had been able to Level up considerably, and his party had gotten the full benefit of increased EXP gain, but because they had hit the Level cap of 40, Shirou, Raphtalia and Filo had not been able to grow any bit further then said Level cap.
The Shield Hero was off mixed feelings. On the one hand, thanks to the Wave all his party members were now ready to Class-Up. On the other, because they had hit said Level cap, a ton of EXP had gone to waste.
At least this confirmed what he had found in his Help Menu: Heroes had no Level cap and could continue to grow in perpetuity. It was odd. For the first time in a while, his Level was now higher than that of Shirou's, Raphtalia's and Filo's.
We'll have to visit a Dragon Hourglass and get that Class-Up ASAP, Naofumi thought to himself. Having resolved to do just that he dismissed his Menu and surveyed the surroundings. It was without a doubt an odd scene.
Most of the bandits were collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Most of them also sported various injuries, but nothing life threatening. Even he was surprised that there had been no deaths amongst their number. Perhaps they were tougher then he had given them credit for.
The same held true for Lord Ciaran's servants: exhausted and injured, but alive.
Naofumi was also tired, but he was still capable of functioning, as were Shirou, Raphtalia, Filo and Elrasla. They had been busy scouring the woods, hunting down any of the remaining Wave spawned monster that they could find and rounding up as many monsters corpses they could.
After all, for a Hero like him, the post battlefield of a Wave was very much like a treasure trove.
Speaking of which…Naofumi turned around and placed his hand on the Dread Wolf's corpse. With a thought, the massive corpse was absorbed into the Legendary Shield.
Several shields were unlocked. All of them were decent, but one shield caught his eye.
Requirement met: [Otherworld Dread Wolf Lightning Crystal Shield – Base Defence: 43 – Equip Bonus: Defence +8 / Agility + 12 / [Second Shield] / [Electric Terrain] (unmastered)]
[Electric Terrain – A Skill that fills the surrounding area with static electricity. Any enemy that steps upon this ground has a percent chance of being Paralyzed. The longer the enemy remains in the area of effect, the bigger the chance of being Paralyzed becomes. Lightning based attacks will be strengthened while the Electric Terrain is up]
Special Ability: Surge (medium)]
Inwardly, Naofumi whistled in appreciation. An upgrade to his existing Air Strike Shield Skill, another Skill that fit perfectly with his fighting style and a nifty counter attack. He had to admit that he'd been making a killing lately when it came to the shields and the Skills he had been unlocking.
He dearly hoped that this would become a trend.
"We're back, Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia called, getting his attention. Behind Raphtalia, the rest of the party followed, with Filo bringing up the rear and pulling a carriage filled to the brim with monster corpses. Said monster corpses were unceremoniously added to the small mountain's worth of them in the clearing.
The Shield Hero placed his hand on said mountain, and absorbed it whole cloth in the blink of an eye. Naofumi was glad that absorbing multiple things at once was possible. Doing it one by one would have been annoying.
"Now that's finished…" he mused, accessing his Item Box once more, even as his hand dipped into his satchel. Multiple lengths of rope manifested, and he handed out several clear bottles filled with purple powder. The others took them with some reluctance, Raphtalia and Shirou especially looked a little conflicted, but they accepted the bottles and what they were about to do.
They slowly spread out. The bandits, exhausted as they were, didn't notice until it was too late.
"Hey, what are those guys..?"
On some unspoken signal, the entire party threw the bottles. The bandits were situated so close to each other that the resultant cloud of purple powder covered their group whole, and there was only time for a few sounds of surprise before everything fell silent again.
The cloud cleared, revealing the bandits again, out cold. Naofumi nodded satisfaction. The sleep powder he had made worked as advertised. Too bad the stuff wasn't all that effective on monsters. It would have made things a lot more easy in general.
"Now to tie them up," Naofumi instructed.
"…I feel dirty doing this," Shirou muttered beneath his breath.
"Me too," Raphtalia sighed. "But even if they helped us they are still bandits, so we have to take them in. And something tells me that they wouldn't have come quietly if we asked. At least like this we won't have to subdue and possibly harm them again."
"Yeah, well, I understand the logic, but I still don't like it," Shirou said stubbornly.
Raphtalia inclined her head in agreement.
About ten minutes later, all the out cold bandits were once more tied up. At the instructions of Lord Ciaran's Servants, they made sure that the bandits couldn't escape.
"Now what?"
"Now Lord Ciaran needs to be informed what happened here. Both about the success of our mission and the Wave of Calamity that occurred here," Nondescript Woman said.
"Quite so," Nondescript Man Number 2 concurred. "Shield Hero-sama, would you and your party be willing to ride ahead and inform Lord Ciaran? We will stay here and ensure that these bandits do not get the chance to flee in the meantime."
Naofumi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you two will be safe on your own?"
"We are more than capable of fending off some random monsters, and while neither of us are all that proficient with magic, we can keep these bandits from waking up," Nondescript Woman assured them. "Considering the speed at which you arrived here after receiving my message concerning the location of the bandits, it will only take half a day for you to make the journey. After that, it will take a day or two for the necessary people to arrive to transport these bandits safely. That is doable for us, I assure you."
"Well, if you're sure," Naofumi said uncertainly.
"We are. Don't worry about us."
With that, the agreement was made. Still, the Shield Hero's party staid for over a day to recover from their battle weary exhaustion, before setting out and leaving Lord Ciaran's servants behind.
The carriage rocked down the path, Filo happily pulling it along. They had been traveling for an hour or three, heading back to the lands of the man who had employed them. They carried the news of a successful mission, and a rather wild story of a crazy adventure with them.
And said story was about to get even more wild.
"Master!" Filo called. "There are monsters up ahead!"
"Hmm?" Naofumi hummed, looking up from the grimoire he was reading. He looked outside the carriage and his eyes widened. A large swarm of Lesser Wyverns were in the sky ahead flying towards them. He very much doubted that a confrontation could be avoided.
"Filo, stop the carriage! Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
The party piled out of the carriage and readied themselves for battle.
"I was afraid of this," Elrasla mused out loud. "There was no way we could have hunted down the majority of these Wyverns in a dense forest while they have the ability to fly."
"At least they are coming back to us, so we can deal with them now," Shirou looked at the silver lining, having already drawn his bow and pulled out an arrow.
"Uhm, guys," Raphtalia had similarly drawn her sword, but her attention was focused on something else. "Is it just me, or has the light dimmed a little? And…is there a fog setting in?"
She was right. The light of the midday sun seemed to have dimmed, and a fog had rolled out of the surrounding woods startingly quickly, giving the world an odd blue tint.
"I was just thinking the same thing." Naofumi responded, grimacing. He had a bad feeling about this.
"This…A Bounded Field?" Shirou theorized.
Naofumi didn't have the time to question what Shirou meant by that. A massive shadow had become visible in the dense fog, and when it stepped forward, they could feel the ground tremor underneath their feet. And when it stepped into their field of view…
"Holy shit!"
The Shield Hero did not know who had sworn when the massive shape became visible. It could have been himself, but his mind seemed to have deserted him in that moment.
He was looking at Filo. But only if Filo had a white and blue colour scheme instead of white and pink, was in the possession of five blue and gold feathers on her head – like a crest or maybe a crown – oh, and if she towered over them more than sixty feet.
[Filolial Queen Lv: 350+]
"So cool!" Filo gibbered in excitement.
That snapped Naofumi back to reality. "You idiot! We might be in serious danger here!"
"The Filolial Queen of Legend!" Elrasla gasped in open shock. It was the first time anyone of them had seen her behave like that. "I can't believe the legends are real!"
"Shield Hero," the Filolial Queen boomed. "I wish to converse, but first, let me deal with these pests."
Said pests, the Otherworld Lesser Wyverns, had panicked the moment the Filolial Queen had stepped into view and had been trying to flee. Yet, every time they dove into the fog in an effort to do so, they would emerge back out of it in short order, looking confused and disoriented. Somehow, the fog was keeping the monsters from fleeing the area.
The Filolial Queen crossed her wings, and then snapped them apart. There was no chant, no build up of any kind. One moment, everything was still. The next, wind blades of massive size were fired off in every direction in an indiscriminate fashion, and every single Lesser Wyvern plummeted to the earth in many thousands of chunks.
"Oh, we are so fucked," Naofumi hissed underneath his breath.
"She said she only wanted to converse," Shirou offered hesitantly.
"Let's goddam hope so."
The Filolial Queen approached them, and started to shrink with every step. Once she was before them, she was no taller than Filo, and she shrunk even further when she took human form. Just like Filo, said human form was of a ten year old girl, with short silver hair in a bob cut with three golden tinted antenna-like hair sticking out of it. She wore a dress similar to Filo as well, only more ornate with pink ribbons and frills, while the wings on her back were significantly larger than Filo's. Her deep red eyes regarded them with quiet intensity, and the magical energy she was exuding made the mere act of breathing in her proximity difficult.
There was a tense moment of silence.
"You said you wanted to converse," Naofumi broke the ice.
The Filolial Queen smiled, and Naofumi felt as if he had passed some test. Abruptly, the presence she was exuding lessened significantly, and breathing became easier again.
"That's correct," she said, inclining her head. Her voice was soft, but it had a quality to it that made it bewitching to listen to. "There are many things I want to converse about, however, and it will take some time. Perhaps we should make ourselves comfortable first, and some food while we talk would be much appreciated."
"…Sounds good to me. It was almost time for dinner anyway," Shirou said holding back his incredulity and agreed for the party. "Naofumi, shall we?"
Naofumi was silent for a short while, before nodding. "Let's prepare dinner, then."
"Thank you, Shield Hero. I'm starving."
Shirou was preparing the ingredients, while Naofumi cooked. That had been their standard routine for a while now. Shirou himself was an old hand at cooking in spite of his age, and Naofumi was man enough to admit that, if it wasn't for the Legendary Shield improving his ability, that Shirou would have been a much better cook than him.
Still, with his experience and knowledge, Shirou was the best cooking assistant he could have asked for. Several dishes, from simple to extravagant, were prepared surprisingly quickly, as the rest of the party set up an impromptu picknick.
The Filolial Queen of Legend – Fitoria, they had learned her name to be – waited patiently, passing the time by having a conversation with Filo. Naofumi couldn't hear what they were talking about, but both were smiling brightly. It seemed they were getting along.
Naofumi supposed that was good thing.
The dishes were laid out, and whatever discussion Fitoria wanted to have was further delayed as she dug in eagerly. It appeared she really had been hungry, and she could pack it away even better than Filo. That was something that the rest of the party had believed to be an impossibility.
Their picnic was a lively affair. They ate, they talked and made merry, and even Naofumi forgot for a very brief moment that Fitoria had wanted to discuss something important. Fitoria had similarly forgotten, but that only lasted while the food did. The second everyone had eaten their fill, the very atmosphere seemed to change.
"Well, then, Shield Hero. Let me properly introduce myself. I am Fitoria, the Queen of the Filolials," Fitoria began without preamble.
"Naofumi," the Shield Hero responded curtly.
"My name is Raphtalia. Nice to meet you," Raphtalia bowed her head.
"My name is Shirou," Shirou copied Raphtalia's actions.
"Filo is Filo!"
"And this old bag of bones' name is Elrasla!" the martial artist cackled at her own joke.
Fitoria nodded towards them. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, I have several questions I would like answered," she said, then narrowed her eyes. "For one, why aren't the Holy Heroes helping with the Waves around the world?"
Naofumi already had a suspicion that said topic would come up. He sighed. "When I was summoned, I was given very little information. Until yesterday I wasn't even aware there were Waves in any other place than Melromarc. So, to be short, ignorance is my answer. As for the other Heroes, well, I don't know. You would have to ask them."
The other Heroes had previous knowledge from the games they played, and Naofumi knew nothing about what they had been up to since being summoned. If they weren't aware of the Waves going on in other countries, were somehow being prevented from helping out, or simply didn't care to help, he had no idea.
"Now that I have answered your question, would you care to answer mine?"
"Go right ahead," Fitoria allowed.
"Why does Filo grow so differently compared to other Filolials?" Naofumi asked. That question had been bugging him for a while now, even if he had a pretty good guess…
"It's because she is being raised by a Hero."
Huh? So his guess had been right. Good to know.
"That's not important, however," Fitoria brushed off the topic. "Shield Hero, I can feel a dark power resting in your shield, but it's oddly muted. You have unlocked the Curse Series, haven't you?"
"That's right, but I have never worked up the nerve to use it," Naofumi admitted.
"Good. Don't use it. Ever. The Curse Series can grant a Hero much power, but it takes a lot in return. Eventually, that power will consume you if you use it recklessly," Fitoria warned sternly.
"I had figured as much," Naofumi muttered. "If it will make you feel better, I have already resolved to only use it when I have no other choice."
"I suppose I'll have to take settle for that," Fitoria sighed, nodding and closing her eyes. "Shield Hero, now that I've satisfied my idle curiosities, I'll get to the important subjects. May I ask to what you are going to do next?"
"We were heading for Zeltoble."
"Will you synchronize with that country's Dragon Hourglass and help beat back the Wave in that area?" Fitoria asked the loaded question bluntly.
Naofumi fell silent. His immediate answer would be no. To be truthful, he had no love for this world or its people. The only reason why he had participated in the Wave in Melromarc was because he had believed the trash king would have used that as an excuse to have him killed. The only reason why he had not been killed off after being framed was because he was an Holy Hero, but they might have come back on that decision if he did not play his role.
So, he wanted to say no.
But his party would be disappointed in him if he did. Filo probably wouldn't care and he wasn't quite sure how Elrasla would react, but Raphtalia and Shirou would not be able to stomach such an answer and he knew it. Moreover, even he himself in the back of his mind felt uncomfortable with just doing nothing when he actually had the power to help. In the end, it all came down to the question if he would be able to live with himself if he decided to leave the people of this world to their fate, and if his choice would make Raphtalia and Shirou think ill of him.
"…Heh," a scoff left Naofumi's lips. Like he could ever live with something like that. "I am a Holy Hero even if I don't want to be. I'll play my role."
"Then you will help with the Waves around the world?"
"I said as much didn't I? Please don't make me repeat myself," Naofumi replied testily.
In spite of his less then polite answer, Fitoria nodded, pleased. "Good. It is my duty to take care of the Waves in the wilds where no humans or demi-humans live, but I cannot cover the entire world on my own. I need the aid of the Holy Heroes to achieve that. The fact that you have accepted your role is comforting to me."
"No problem," Naofumi responded with a blatant half lie.
"Now we just need to get the other Heroes to do their part as well," Fitoria stated matter of fact. "Shield Hero, would you be willing to contact the other Heroes and pursued them to help out with the Waves across the world?"
Naofumi had to bite down on his bottom lip to contain the immediate and adamant refusal he wanted to give. The other Heroes had written him off as a vile rapist a long time ago, and would have gotten rid of him if they could. There was no love lost between them and him. If it was an option, he would like nothing better than to never see them again.
Fitoria saw the reaction, and let out an explosive sigh. "Let me guess, the Heroes are fighting amongst themselves, aren't they?"
"…How did you figure that?" Shirou asked with narrowed eyes.
"I've seen it many times. The Heroes of the past often fought amongst themselves as well. It is much rarer for there to be no conflict between them, in my experience," Fitoria said with definite irritation.
"It's not my fault," Naofumi said, barely holding his anger in check. "They-"
"I don't care for the reason why the Heroes are fighting," Fitoria cut him off. "Conflict amongst the Heroes is not allowed. If you want to be able to fulfil your duty, than the Heroes must cooperate with each other. All of you will never reach your full potential otherwise."
"What do you know?" Naofumi scoffed, spitting out the reply.
Fitoria blinked, apparently surprised by the derision. She narrowed her eyes. "A lot more than you do, Shield Hero. Do you know what happens if a Hero dies?"
"They stop being a bother?"
"Maybe, but more importantly, the Waves of Calamity will get worse," Fitoria said, not appreciating Naofumi's sass.
"What? How come?" Raphtalia blinked in surprise.
"I do not know the specifics, but the mere presence of the Heroes in this world lowers the 'power' of the Waves of Calamity. With the death of a Hero, the trials you will be facing in the future will only increase," Fitoria did not sugar-coat it.
"You got to be shitting me," Naofumi swore. "In other words, I would need to keep the other Heroes alive if for no other reason than to make it easier on myself?"
"There is more to it than that, but essentially yes," Fitoria confirmed.
Naofumi swore again.
"…I see," Shirou sighed, even as Naofumi stewed in his anger behind him. "Naofumi."
"What?" the Shield Hero snapped.
"You already know what I am going to say," Shirou deadpanned.
"Do I?"
"Don't play ignorant. You do indeed know, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia responded drily.
"Yes, I goddammit do," Naofumi spat. "You want me to kiss and make up with the other Heroes. To forget and forgive for what they did. To simply move on and-"
"Naofumi, that's not what I want from you at all," Shirou cut in strongly.
Naofumi blinked. "I-what?"
"What the other Heroes did…I cannot say that should just forgive them. It would probably be better for you in the long run if you let go of it," Shirou admitted. "But, asking you to simply forgive them is unreasonable in the extreme. All that I want, all that the world needs, really, is that you work with them. You can hate the other Heroes all I want for all I care. I personally certainly am not a fan of the Spear Hero either. You just need to work together as Heroes. That's it."
Naofumi stared at him for a long moment. What Shirou had just said wasn't at all what he'd expected from him. It…was a strangely mature, level headed answer.
It was moments like these that Naofumi had to remind himself that Shirou was only 12 years old. It was so easy to forget. He didn't look like a 12 year old, didn't act like a 12 year old and didn't talk like 12 year old. The same held true for Raphtalia, who was nodding her agreement with Shirou.
"…Snrk," Naofumi let out a snort. "The both of you really have my number, don't you?"
"That's what we're here for, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia smiled.
Naofumi could only give one response to that smile. "Fine, I'll do my best to work with the other Heroes, and try to get them to help with the other Waves," he promised. It was going to suck balls, he just knew, but, in the end, it was better for everyone if he did cooperate with them.
"I'm relieved," a happy smiled flitted across Fitoria's face. "Both at the fact that you will try and work together with the other Heroes, and that you have such steadfast companions at your side, Shield Hero. Heroes tend to perform best if they have loyal companions at their side."
Fitoria got up.
"There is, however, one other thing I wish to address before I leave," she said, turning towards Filo. "Filo, I wish to test you."
Filo blinked and pointed to herself with a guileless expression. "You want to test Filo? Why?"
"I have lived for many generations, and I wish to find someone who can act as my successor," Fitoria remained blunt as ever. "Candidates like you are rare. I always go out of my way to meet anyone that qualifies, to see if they can one day carry on my work of protecting the world."
"What's in it for us?" Naofumi cut in before Filo could even respond.
The sound of Shirou and Raphtalia palming their faces echoed, underscored by Elrasla's chuckles.
"Multiple things, Shield Hero. I will offer several boons that will not only increase Filo's future power, but also your own," Fitoria explained, but did not elaborate.
Naofumi remained silent, thinking it over. He turned towards Filo. "What do you think, Filo?"
"Filo wants to try!" Filo said, getting up and pumping her fist. "Filo wants to make us all stronger!"
"That's a good attitude to take," Fitoria smiled. "For this test, we will fight each other in human form."
"Huh?" a noise of surprise escaped Filo. "But I have never fought in human form before."
"I was observing your actions during the Wave yesterday. I have already seen you fight in your Queen form, and you clearly have the potential strength and instincts required," Fitoria said. "But to be my successor requires more than just that. One of the qualities I am looking for is adaptability. Having you fight me in human form when you have never done so before will show me if you have what I am looking for."
"Okay!" Filo didn't need to think long about it.
"Good, then follow me," Fitoria walked out into the field, Filo following on her heels.
"I don't know how comfortable I am with Filo fighting Fitoria," Raphtalia muttered. The rest of the party murmured in agreement as Fitoria and Filo squared off with each other.
"The only rule is that you fight in human form," Fitoria reiterated. "Everything else goes."
"Okay!" Filo nodded determinedly. "Then, here Filo comes!"
Filo bolted forwards. She wasn't as fast as she usually was in her Filolial Queen form, but even most battle experienced humans would have had trouble following her with their eyes. In the blink of an eye, she was in Fitoria's face.
Her punch, clumsy though it was, landed square in Fitoria's stomach.
Clang!
The impact kicked up sparks, but the sound of the no damage indicator made everyone's stomach drop. Filo's face was frozen in a rictus of surprise. This had never happened to her before. Naofumi could sympathize.
"That's it?" Fitoria asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then I guess it's my turn."
Fitoria seized Filo by the scruff of her neck and flung her up into the sky.
"Whoa!" Filo let out a cry of surprise as she became airborne. With effort, she managed to right herself and aimed for Fitoria with a drop kick as she came down, using the momentum of her fall to give her attack extra weight.
Said attack landed solidly on Fitoria's shoulder, but the no damage indicator put a dampener on the hope that Filo's attack had gotten through Fitoria's Defence. This time Filo quickly made distance before Fitoria could counter attack, but…
"Too slow."
Fitoria closed the distance with such speed that it seemed that she'd teleported. The retreating Filo let out a sound of surprise before a solid punch struck her in the stomach. Filo went tumbling away in an uncontrolled spin, but again, she managed to right herself and launch herself back at Fitoria.
"Take this! High Quick! Spiral Strike!" Filo used the same combo that had blown off the head of the Boss Monster of the previous Wave, speeding up massively as both her hands sprouted long, golden energy blades.
Fitoria calmly raised her hand, almost as if to block. A barrier manifested out of nothing in front of her. Filo struck said barrier with a deafening crack. Fitoria let out a minor sound of surprise as cracks after a moment of struggle started to web throughout her barrier.
The barrier broke, and Filo swung at Fitoria with her claws out. The no damage indicator was heard once again, but this time Filo did not stop attacking. The golden energy claws struck Fitoria again and again, kicking up sparks, but doing no damage.
Shirou clenched his fists at the display. Fitoria was simply way too strong for Filo to do anything to her. Her Defence was simply too high…It was while he was thinking this that Shirou noticed a faint glow to Fitoria's clothes. If these clothes were to same as Filo's then…
"Filo! Fitoria's cloth-!"
"Filo knows!" she shouted back, cutting him off, and it was at that moment that Fitoria deigned to strike back. A vicious backhand swung for Filo's face, it's small size belying the weight behind it. Filo ducked underneath it, and struck again, but this time uppercut Fitoria just beneath her chin, a small area of her body that wasn't covered by her Transforming Clothing.
Fitoria's head snapped back, and a little blood dripped down her throat.
Filo didn't get the chance to celebrate finally drawing blood. Fitoria's knee found her stomach a bare second later, and the much younger Filolial Queen gasped as the force behind Fitoria's kick made her slide back. To everyone's surprise, Filo wasn't send flying, and while the attack had hurt Filo, it had done far less damage than expected.
It was then that everyone noticed that Filo's Transforming Clothing were similarly glowing, and that the damage it had accumulated during the short battle disappeared as the magical cloth regenerated itself.
"Very good," Fitoria commented in approval, her minor wound having already healed. "You noticed how I was defending myself, struck around it and adapted it for your own use. Your instincts are indeed superb. Let's continue."
In other words, focusing magical energy into Transforming Clothing will increase its Defence and also regenerate any damage done to it, Naofumi summarized what he had just seen. Good to know. I wonder if I can raise the Defence of standard clothes and armor with the same method?
Filo raised her hands towards Fitoria. "Filo commands the origin of power! Filo has read and deciphered a law of nature! Blow them away with a raging tornado!"
"Zweite Tornado!"
A raging tornado of cutting wind raged towards Fitoria, but…
"Not bad, but not good enough. Anti-Zweite Tornado!" Fitoria raised her hand and waved it, and Filo's raging tornado fell in on itself before even making it halfway to her.
Interruption magic. I think I read something about that once. It's a high level skill that only the truly adept at magic can do, Raphtalia thought to herself.
Fitoria blinked in surprise as a Faust Wind Sphere speared forwards, having been hidden in the wake of the Zweite Tornado. Filo had launched it without chant or even saying its name in an effort to catch Fitoria off guard. This lowered the attack's potency a little, but it did its job of surprising Fitoria.
Not enough to hit her, of course. Fitoria swatted the attack out of the sky with the same effort that a man would swat down a fly.
It was then that Fitoria noticed Filo had disappeared in the split second she had taken her eyes of her opponent.
"Take this!" Filo yelled from directly behind her, having used High Quick to accelerate greatly and circle around Fitoria. Her hands were tipped with the energy claws of Spiral Strike, which she brought down on the back of Fitoria's head.
Another barrier snapped into existence, but Filo smashed it just like she did the previous one and her strike struck home.
"You are indeed a superb Filolial Queen. I'm glad I met you, Filo."
The ground underneath Fitoria's feet had cratered, but she didn't look perturbed. She turned towards the stunned Filo with a wide smile.
"You pass, Filo. I'll happily name you my successor."
"Huh?" Filo blinked, dropping out of her combat stance in her bewilderment. "Really?"
"Of course. You have more than shown the qualities I am looking for," Fitoria explained clearly.
The Filolial Queen towards Naofumi as the rest of the party approached.
"Shield Hero, I must commend you. You have raised an excellent Filolial Queen in startingly little time," Fitoria stated matter of fact.
Naofumi hid any kind of embarrassment he might have felt at the honest praise. "Thank you. Now, how about those boons you mentioned?"
This time, the Shield Hero's one track mind and personality only got eye rolls from his companions.
"Of course," Fitoria said. She turned back to Filo, and out if thin air an elaborate tiara manifested in her hands. "Filo, come here, and lower your head."
Filo did as instructed after getting a nod from Naofumi. Fitoria placed the tiara one Filo's head, and in a flash of light, the tiara dematerialized. A long strand of hair popped out of Filo's head. Some people would have referred it to as idiot hair, or an ahoge.
A snort escaped Elrasla at the sight.
"Huh?" Filo tilted her head, making the ahoge sway. She reached up, and her eyes widened as he felt the long strand of hair sticking out of her head. "No! What's this?!"
The boon…is this ahoge? Naofumi thought incredulously. On a hunch, he checked Filo's Stats in his Menu. To his pleasant surprise, Filo's Stats had jumped across the board by about 15%. That was very impressive, and a boon that had been worth the hassle.
"Shield Hero, I have given Filo her boon. Now you. Come here," Fitoria instructed.
Naofumi did, wondering what she was going to give him. He hoped it wasn't another ahoge, even if it did make him stronger…
Fitoria reached out and tore out one of her own ahoge, making some of them wince, but Fitoria displayed no sense of pain as she did so. A new ahoge immediately popped up out of her head, while Fitoria held out the ahoge she had torn out and allowed the Legendary Shield to absorb it.
[Filolial Series of Shields Forcibly Unlocked]
Over a dozen shields were unlocked, the entire tree of the Filorial related shields his Legendary Shield apparently could unlock. Most of these shields had Stats Growth Up abilities (small, medium, large) specifically geared for Filolials, while a few others had a few more exoteric bonuses. One ability that jumped out to him was Ability While Riding (small, medium, large) that would raise Filo's Stats if he was riding her in combat.
"Thank you," Naofumi said. There was not much else one could say to getting such a gift. Filo was set to become an absolute beast in the future…
"It's my pleasure," Fitoria smiled. "There is, however, one other thing I would like to give you."
"Oh, and what's that?" Naofumi asked, not hiding his interest.
"Knowledge," Fitoria said primly. "It harkens back to what I had said previously about the Hero's being incapable of reaching their full potential if they do not work together," she said, then narrowed her eyes at Naofumi. "Shield Hero, you aren't aware of the Legendary Shield's Strengthening Methods, are you?"
Naofumi's eyes widened.
"I thought as much," Fitoria nodded to herself. "If you did know the Legendary Shield's Strengthening Methods, you would not have reacted with such vehement derision to my assertion. The Legendary Shield Strengthening Methods, for the most part, are dependent on cooperation between the Heroes and others in order to work. I myself know this, because I was raised by a Shield Hero in the past."
"I…was summoned here while reading a book. I knew literally nothing when I first arrived here," the Shield Hero admitted. "The other Heroes had foreknowledge from the games they had played before they were summoned, including their Strengthening Methods, but I had none of that."
Fitoria nodded. "The summoning process might sometimes lead to such unfortunate outcomes. Let me correct this," she said, then raised her finger in a lecturing pose.
"The Legendary Shields Strengthening Methods are as follows."
"First, there is Trust. By placing their trust in others and by being trusted in return, the Hero and the one they trust gain strength. By being trusted in turn, the Hero is further strengthened. This is a flat 2% increase in Stats across the board for the Hero and the people he places his trust in. For the Hero, the bonuses gained by being trusted stack, while the same doesn't hold true for others."
"Then there is Sharing and Understanding. By sharing and understanding Strengthening Methods between Heroes, their efficacy increases. In other words, if you share and understand Strengthening Methods with other Heroes, they work better. For example: the percent chance of failure with the Upgrade Strengthening Method of the Legendary Sword will decrease. Or the bonuses a Hero can gain from Weapon Enchantment, a Strengthening Method of the Legendary Spear, will increase for less cost in Soul Fragments."
"And lastly, the only Strengthening Method of the Legendary Shield that isn't dependant on cooperation with others: Energy Boost. This allows a Hero to raise the efficacy of their Skills, magic, and even their regular attacks by mixing in their Life Force."
Fitoria finished her explanation.
Even as Fitoria explained, said Strengthening Methods appeared in Naofumi's Menu as they became known to them. The Sharing and Understanding method was not a factor at a moment, but Trust had kicked in immediately, raising his Stats by 10% while his companions Stats' each increased by 2%. And as the Energy Boost method was explained to him, a black bar labelled Energy Points was quietly added to his Status Magic, and a surge of Life Force rippled out from him.
"BWUH!" a sound of pure shock escaped Elrasla's lips.
"…Did Naofumi-sama just now learn how to perceive and wield Life Force?" Raphtalia asked, blinking.
"I think so," Shirou was right there with her in her bewilderment. He tilted his head. "Wait, does this mean that the Hengen Musou is an artificial recreation of Energy Boost wielded by Heroes?"
"That's correct," Fitoria confirmed. "I met the man who'd founded the Hengen Musou style of martial arts, and he indeed got his inspiration from a Hero the man in question had adventured with. I was quite impressed with the feat at the time."
"…Haha," Elrasla laughed, shaking her head. "So much for meditation, huh, Holy Saint?"
"Yeah, I guess," Naofumi felt faintly amused. "No offence, but I do much prefer this method instead of meditation. Much less flaky."
"Too bad it isn't applicable to us," Shirou snarked.
Naofumi nodded, still amused.
Fitoria allowed them their brief moment of mirth, before speaking up again. "I have finished my business here," she said, but smiled brightly. "I wish you all much success in the future, and I'd hope we will see each other again soon."
"Hey, wait a minute," Naofumi cut in as he realized something important. "That was only three Strengthening Methods you just shared, but the other Legendary Weapons had four. What gives?"
Fitoria closed her eyes, as if pained by something. "I'm afraid to say I do not know the fourth Strengthening Method of the Legendary Shield."
"...But you were raised by a Shield Hero, weren't you?" Elrasla asked, confused. "How can you not know the final method?"
"I'm afraid that the fourth Strengthening Method of the Legendary Shield has long been lost," Fitoria said regretfully. "I do not know it, the person who raised me did not know it, and I am afraid no one alive currently knows that secret either."
Naofumi pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course its like that, he thought, angered. Though to be fair, he had no reason to be angry. He had already gained three new Strengthening Methods. Asking for more was just being greedy, but as being greedy in this context translated to better being capable of protecting himself, those he cared about and the world in general, he thought being greedy was justified.
"It's fine," Naofumi let out a deep breath. "You have given us more than enough."
The others echoed their agreement.
"Thank you, everyone. Shield Hero, don't forget your promises."
"I won't," Naofumi assured sincerely.
"Good. Farewell," Fitoria lowered her head and muttered, "Portal."
The Filolial Queen of Legend became transparent, then disappeared, having teleported away. She'd left them with her best wishes, and her uncountable hopes.
Fitoria wished her trust had not been misplaced.
"…I see, so that's what happened," Lord Ciaran stroked his chin, deep in thought. "You people have had an interesting couple days, haven't you?"
"That is one way of putting it."
They were once more back at Lord Ciaran's abode. The room, the Lord, and the merchant Hickwaal looked exactly the same as last time. Both the Lord and the merchant people had been listening with growing interest as they regaled them with their story. Except for their meeting with Fitoria, they held nothing back.
"A Wave of Calamity," Hickwaal breathed. "So close, with no warning."
"Perhaps its divine providence that we had the Shield Hero on the scene to take care of it," the Lord of the house commented, a little amused. "It's one hell of a coincidence, you have to admit."
"That's true," Hickwaal nodded.
Lord Ciaran's countenance suddenly hardened. "That said, the fact that a Wave of Calamity occurred so close to my lands is worrisome. I've read the reports about the Waves that have occurred in other nations. Even if the Wave is successfully defended against, its practically guaranteed that some of the monsters spawned by it escape and cause havoc elsewhere. As things stand now, my lands and even my very own home might be in danger."
The Lord fell silent for a brief moment before nodding decisively.
"Shield Hero-sama, previously I had planned on hiring you for…less risk prone pursuits, but now that a Wave of Calamity as occurred so close to home, I wish to employ your main purpose," Lord Ciaran orated like the leader that he was.
Naofumi nodded. He was far from surprised by this. "You wish for me and my party to protect your lands from and Wave spawned monsters that might have infested the countryside. Most likely using pre-emptive methods and hunting said monsters down before they can do any harm."
"Exactly," Lord Ciaran didn't beat around the bush.
"We'll have a contract drawn up later, I presume?"
"Of course."
Ah, Magical Contracts. How handy they were. Without that assurance, Naofumi would have had a lot more trouble entering deals like this.
"Now that has been hashed out, why don't we talk about less important, but still pressing issues?"
It was Hickwaal that prompted that. Naofumi nodded towards Shirou in response, who got up, opened a bag at his side and pulled out several exquisite enchanted jewellery pieces. One look at the pieces would be enough to convey their worth to even the most ignorant layman.
"Ah," a delighted smiled crossed Hickwaal's scared face as Shirou placed the pieces on by one on the table. "That's all of them. Excellent work. What of the bandits?"
"Beaten and tied up where we left them. Lord Ciaran's servants are currently ensuring that they don't escape in our absence," Shirou filled him in.
"I have already sent several dozen of my men to take these bandits in and have them questioned," Ciaran added. "Once they return, we will get confirmation that this story about a Wave of Calamity is the truth or not. Please don't misunderstand, Shield Hero-sama. While I do not doubt your words, I need more evidence before I'd be willing to hire you again. I'm sure you understand…"
Naofumi did understand, actually. The Lord had assumed that they had been telling the truth; it was a rather outrages thing to lie about after all. But he had once thought the same thing about rape accusations. It was perfectly logical for the Lord to want some confirmation, before he committed to any action.
"That's fine by me," he assured.
"Good," Lord Ciaran nodded. "Now that you have held up your end of the bargain, I and Hickwaal will hold up our end."
"That's right," Hickwaal turned towards Shirou. "We'll hash out a schedule to start your lessons past haste. I know that your role as the companion of a Hero means that you will not be sticking around for long in these parts, so we need you to get the basics down of making accessories and Enchanting as quickly as possible. Once you have the basics down, you can further improve on your own with daily practice."
"I'm looking forward to it," Shirou nodded. He was telling the truth. He'd always enjoyed any kind of diligent work with his hands.
Naofumi nodded in satisfaction as the deal came to fruition. "Good. Before we do that, though. We'd like to visit Zeltoble's Dragon Hourglass before anything else."
"Ah, will you synchronize with it and participate in the Wave?" Lord Ciaran questioned. "I heard that the Wave in Zeltoble proper is due in about a month or so."
"That's one of the reasons, yes," Naofumi confirmed. "But the most important reason is that most of my companions have reached the Level cap and are in need of a Class-Up."
Lord Ciaran hummed in understanding. "I see. That is indeed important, especially if you will be going on monster hunts on my land. It would be the height of foolishness to not get a Class-Up in the mean time and ensure that you will be able to grow further. Very well," Lord Ciaran nodded. "I'll have some of my servants escort you and yours to the church in the Capital City."
Naofumi inclined his head in thanks. He saw no reason to refuse.
Lord Ciaran had said church when he mentioned going to the Dragon Hourglass.
It had only clicked in Naofumi's mind after they had already set out with their escort. Thankfully, said escort explained that the Church of Three Heroes had no power in Zeltoble, and while the country didn't have any national state religion (most around these parts only really worshipped wealth of any kind), but the only churches to be found in Zeltoble were those of the Church of the Four Holy Warriors.
As the name implied, it was a church that worshiped all the four Holy Heroes equally. And that meant that Naofumi and his party had no problem accessing Zeltoble's Dragon Hourglass.
"Now, I have been told that I, as the party leader, have the right to choose what you guys Class-Up in," Naofumi said to them. "But it's not my place to make such important decision for you. You'll have to make that choice on your own."
"I would be fine with whatever future you'd have chosen for me," Raphtalia promised.
"You have to choose."
"Okay," Raphtalia mumbled. For some reason that Naofumi couldn't fathom, Raphtalia looked rather disappointed.
"What's a Class-Up like?" Filo asked curiously.
"It really isn't all the special on the face of it, nor is it painful," Elrasla explained. "It's just a short ritual that uses a Dragon Hourglass as a catalyst. Your Level cap is removed and your Stats in Class specific related fields are raised by 20% to 30% while unrelated Stats get lesser bonuses."
"An all-around improvement," Shirou mused idly.
"Exactly."
They fell silent after that, entering the church.
"Right this way, Shield Hero-sama," the nuns they met just inside the church greeted them reverently and with polite words. It sheer contrast with the last few nuns he had met momentarily threw Naofumi. Apparently, they'd had forewarning that the Shield Hero was coming to pay a visit, because they weren't surprised at all. The nuns led them directly to the massive Dragon Hourglass in the back. Several men were already standing at the ready, readying the materials needed for the Class-Up ritual. Lord Ciaran had probably send a message ahead, so that they could prepare.
Naofumi reminded himself to thank the man when they went back.
"Who will be Classing-Up?" one of the men questioned, a higher dignitary if his more ornate clothing was anything to go by.
Shirou, Raphtalia and Filo stepped up.
"Good. All three of you, step up and touch the Dragon Hourglass," the man instructed, stepping aside.
The three did just that. They came to a stop in front of the Dragon Hourglass and placed their hands on it. As they did that, the men began pouring some kind of liquid into an intricate series of grooves that were cut into the ground. Obviously a magic circle of some kind.
"Now, close your eyes and focus."
Shirou, Raphtalia and Filo did just that, and in response, the sand in the Dragon Hourglass started to shine. The magic circle carved into the floor responded in kind, releasing a light so bright that it was blinding to look at.
As that happened, Naofumi got the choice to choose their future growth path. As Naofumi was the party leader, it was his right to choose for them, but he immediately refused it. All three of them had to chose their own path in life, and he didn't think he could have dealt with it if he were to choose a path that one of them would have hated.
Shirou, Raphtalia, and Filo all three saw the possibilities laid out before them in their mind's eye, like a game interface that showed a growth tree. All three of them looked through the options and made a decision.
The moment they did so, however….
"Ah, what the hell is going on!" Naofumi yelped.
A bright golden light was being released from Filo's ahoge, overpowering the glow being released by the magic circle. Shirou, Raphtalia and Filo let out sounds of surprise as something hijacked the process of the Class-Up and a heretofore unknown path of growth revealed itself, a path which then selected itself.
Unnoticed by anyone else, a much more muted glow was coming from Shirou's entire body, the presence of an unknown factor inside his body further altering the standard Class-Up process. The light released from Filo's ahoge completely eclipsed it, hiding said glow from view, but the effect this third factor was having on him could not be understated.
The room shook as light surged, more sounds of startled surprise being released from the people conducting the Class-Up ceremony. Naofumi had to turn away lest the light blind him. The quacking of the room gradually lessened and the light slowly lessened while smoke rose from the still crackling magic circle.
"Shirou, Raphtalia, Filo! Are you alright!" Naofumi shouted into the smoke.
"Youngsters! Say something!" Elrasla joined him, equally worried.
"I'm fine!" Raphtalia shouted back.
"Filo is too!" Filo echoed.
Shirou, meanwhile, remained silent.
Naofumi called up their Statuses in his Menu. He chocked. Contrary to Elrasla's earlier words, all their Stats had doubled. What the hell just happened?
The smoke slowly cleared, revealing his party members. Raphtalia and Filo had not changed much. Raphtalia's hair and the fur on her raccoon ears and tail was a little more glossy, and Filo's ahoge was a little more pronounced, but that was about it.
"W-what happened?"
Shirou, on the, other hand…
"Why is everyone staring at me like that?"
Somehow, Shirou felt different at a fundamental level, as if something in his very being had shifted. No, the feeling he was experiencing at that moment was more like..like…a gear had started to move after an age of disuse.
How everyone was staring at him only exacerbated the feeling.
"Shirou, are you alright?" Naofumi asked again, staring at him with a peculiar expression.
"I think so. Why? Is something wrong?" he responded naturally in spite of his feelings.
"Shirou, you, uhm…" Raphtalia tried to explain, but couldn't find the words.
"You've changed, Onii-chan!" Filo bulldozed ahead like always, seeming inordinately excited.
"Changed?" he repeated, not quite processing what he was being told. One of the men ran out and returned with a small mirror.
Shirou accepted the mirror and held it up to his face.
His face was still the same, that of a young adult, but the ruddy red of his hair and raccoon ears had turned stark white, while his previous amber eyes had changed into dark red. Looking over his shoulder, he confirmed that the fur on his tail had gone bone white as well.
"Okay," Shirou said slowly. "Can anyone explain?"
"I have heard stories of certain items being able to affect the Class-Up process," Elrasla offered in a probing manner. "And I think I know what item caused this, but why it would have such an effect on you alone and not on Raphtalia or Filo…I haven't the foggiest."
Loud murmurs broke out across the spectators as they began to speculate about what just occurred.
Naofumi looked back down at the Statuses of his party members, and his eyes widened at something that he had missed in his haste.
Another Stat had been added to Shirou's Status.
Divinity.
"I had wished we would meet again, Shield Hero, but I hadn't expected that we would meet again so soon."
"Yeah, well, you are the one that insisted on paying us a visit."
Out in some small corner of Lord Ciaran's land where no one would bother them, Fitoria manifested in front of them in her Filolial Queen form, having teleported to them. Apparently, the Filolial Queen of Legend had a connection to Filo through the boon, the ahoge, she had granted her and had been observing while they had gone through their Class-Ups. After they had left the church, Fitoria had in short order contacted them through Filo and had asked for a meeting to discuss what just happened.
Not one of them saw a reason to refuse. They had plenty of questions themselves.
"Before anything else, could you explain what just happened during the Class-Up ceremony? I have a suspicion things didn't quite turn out the way you expected them to either," Naofumi began.
"Then you would be right, Shield Hero. The reason why I came was to figure out this little mystery," Fitoria said.
The Filolial Queen approached and morphed into her human form.
"The changed Class-Up process was because of me, a Blessing that I granted to you all as a way to increase your future strength," Fitoria halted before them and turned to Shirou. "But that should not have had such an effect like this. This is…unprecedented…"
"Any idea what might have caused this?" Shirou asked.
"The only thing that I can think of is that some item you're carrying influenced my Blessing and the Class-Up, or there's something intrinsically different about you that caused this," Fitoria said, looking closely at him. "I don't see anything on your person that could be the reason…"
"I don't know if it's relevant or not, but I…am not a native of this world," Shirou admitted. "I don't know how it happened, but a little over a month and a half ago I was somehow transported to this world."
"Truly?" Fitoria looked intrigued.
"Yeah. For some reason I was even changed into a demi-human. I didn't have these before coming to this world," Shirou indicated his raccoon ears and tail.
"I see," Fitoria hummed in thought. "It's rare, but there have been cases before of people spontaneously being transported across worlds. Are there any other changes you have noticed?"
Shirou shifted. "Yes, another Stat has been added to my Status. Divinity."
Fitoria's eyes snapped wide, looking shocked.
"Is…that a bad thing?" Shirou asked, looking at her closely.
"No, but that shouldn't be possible," Fitoria mumbled, looking deep in thought.
"Why? Have you never met anyone before with a Divinity Stat?" Raphtalia questioned.
"No, that's not it," Fitoria refuted. "I myself have a Divinity Stat, but I only gained that after I met certain requirements and my Level exceeded 100. For you to develop a Divinity Stat at a Level so low for no apparent reason…"
Fitoria stepped up towards Shirou.
"I need to figure out what happened here. Let me do a scan of your body," Fitoria all but demanded.
"Will said 'scan' be harmful in any way?" Naofumi jumped in.
"No, I'll just use a spell. Your companion might feel some tingling, but it won't do any harm," Fitoria assured.
Naofumi looked at Shirou. It was his choice in the end.
Shirou nodded to Fitoria after a moment of thought.
"Go ahead."
Fitoria came to a halt in front of Shirou and placed her hand on his chest.
"I am the Queen of the Filolials that commands the origin of power. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. Lay bare the secrets kept within!"
"Deep View!"
Fitoria closed her eyes, and like he was told, Shirou felt an odd tingling all over his body as Fitoria's magical energy gently surged through his body. The Filolial Queen's brow was creased in focus as she went about her scan.
"I have found something…odd," Fitoria said almost immediately. "Your body…There is something bound to it."
"Bound to it?"
"To your flesh, blood, bones, and even your very essence. Something that is gold and screams Divinity. I cannot tell what it exactly it is. Whatever it is, it is not so much conceptualized inside of you as it's a part of you. I cannot remove it, so I'm going to draw out an image of it. Don't worry, it won't hurt you," Fitoria said and immediately turned words into action before Shirou could even get a word in edgewise.
"I am the Queen of the Filolials that commands the origin of power. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. Show me what I am searching for!"
"Conceptual Image!"
Fitoria stepped back from Shirou, and in the space she had just vacated a ghostly, see through image materialized of what was bound inside of Shirou.
Everyone gasped.
It was a sheath. A sheath for a sword to be exact. It was made out of glorious gold and decorated with luxurious blue enamel, engraved with crisscrossing lines of blue and gold. In its centre sat a line of unknown script.
"A divine spell, crystalized into the form of a sheath," Fitoria breathed. "Something that was made by a higher order that works by different rules. Its nature is completely different than those of the Legendary Weapons, but it holds at least the same weight…"
"Avalon."
"What was that?" Fitoria turned her eyes towards the one who had spoken, Shirou.
"It's name is Avalon," Shirou said, not taking his eyes off of the image in front of him.
"Avalon? The sheath of Excalibur?" Naofumi questioned. He was more into light novels and such, but he had dabbled once or twice in old stories and legends to pass the time. "I had thought that was just some story. And how the hell did something like that end up in you?"
"It might just be a story in your world," Shirou reminded him. "And apparently dad placed it inside of me after he…adopted me."
"Oh? I'd guess you know all that because of what the Magic Shop Owner mentioned? What was it again? Blade only psychometry?" Naofumi asked. He had realized that Shirou wasn't quite telling him everything in that moment, but figured he would have if it was relevant.
"Yes. It might not be a sword, but the moment I laid eyes on it, it's name and history just popped up in my head," Shirou confirmed.
"A little context please?" Elrasla complained/requested. She was completely lost in this conversation.
"Long story short: Shirou's Element and Origin are both Sword, which allows him to learn basically everything about any bladed object he sees, including its history," Naofumi explained in a concise a manner he could. "For some reason that also works with this sheath, which is why he knows its name and how it came to be inside of him."
"I see," Fitoria nodded in understanding. "What else can you tell me about it?"
"Not much," Shirou admitted ruefully. "Much like the Legendary Weapons, it's a divine construct. Because of that I cannot comprehend it in its entirety. I just know that it's name is Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur, its history and that it was made by Fairies."
"Hmm, and what manner of beings are these 'Fairies' in your world?" Fitoria continued to question.
"Dad brought them up only once during my studies with him. He said that Fairies are a race of beings that act like extensions of the world, almost like its sense of touch. That's all he told me," Shirou said, frustrated at his own ignorance.
"An extension of your world," Fitoria nodded to herself as she started to theorize. "Then it would not be wrong to say that your world itself made this sheath, much like this world makes the Legendary Weapons. Though different on a fundamental level, this Avalon has more than a few similarities with the Legendary Weapons…"
Fitoria ruminated for a while longer, before sighing.
"Tell me, how high is your Divinity Stat?"
"It's my lowest Stat. It's only in the single digits," Shirou answered.
Fitoria nodded. "Considering all that we have discussed so far, I think I know what happened to you."
All of them focused their attention on the Filolial Queen of Legend.
"A Class-Up is at its core, a simple ritual that enhances abilities and removes the ceiling on one's own growth," Fitoria began to explain. "My Blessing in this context is an enhancer that magnifies your abilities and maximises your future potential. This is only a theory, but I believe that when the ritual and my Blessing tried to maximize your future potential, it interacted with this Avalon in an unexpected manner. Do you remember me saying that Avalon was not just conceptualized inside of you, but that it was literally a part of you and I could not remove it?"
"Yeah."
"Before your Class-Up, I believe Avalon was simply conceptualized inside you," Fitoria continued her explanation. "If that was still the case, I could have removed it. But in order to maximize your potential my Blessing integrated the conceptualized Avalon with yourself to the point that it became a part of you. Avalon is mostly inert, most likely because it was never meant for you, but when it became a part of you, some of its traits were transferred to you, which includes you gaining Divinity of your own. This would explain why your Divinity Stat would be so low. If you had full use of Avalon, and its traits were simply transferred to you wholesale, your Divinity Stat would be far higher."
"And the physical changes?"
"Just cosmetic, I assure you. I had similar changes as well when I gained Divinity, but it meant very little in the end."
"And what does having Divinity do for me exactly?" Shirou continued to question.
"At its most basic Divinity is a modifier for your other Stats. It will increase them by small amounts. Your Attack Stat will functionally be a little higher than what is shown in your Status, because of your Divinity modifying it a little. The higher your Divinity Stat, the more bonuses you gain in other Stats," Fitoria said. "That said, my ability to bestow Blessings was a consequence of developing my Divinity. If your Divinity Stat grows as you Level up, you might spontaneously develop new abilities and skills."
"So, it's a good thing, then?" Naofumi asked to be sure.
"Most certainly," Fitoria confirmed.
More than a few sighs of relief were released.
"Now that's cleared up, I think it's time I leave again…"
"Please wait, Filolial Queen of Legend. I still have a question I want to ask."
Fitoria turned towards the one that had spoken, Elrasla. "Yes?"
"This Blessing that you have provided to these youngsters, will you also provide it to others?"
"Naturally. So long as Filo is present and you are a companion of the Shield Hero, I'll bestow them my Blessing," Fitoria assured.
Elrasla nodded, then turned to Naofumi. "Holy Saint, I would like to have my Level reset."
"Is that possible?" Naofumi questioned, blinking. "And might I ask why?"
"I think the reason would have been obvious," Elrasla chided. "Though these youngsters are not even half my current Level, their Stats are nearly as high as mine because of the bonuses to their Stat growth they gain from being your companion and the Blessing they received from Fitoria. Even with my skills I will eventually start to lag behind if I do not start over from scratch and gain the full benefit of the bonuses and the Blessing."
"The next Wave is over a little less then 2 weeks, remember?" Naofumi cautioned. "Do you think You will have Leveled up enough by then to safely participate?"
Elrasla Hmmphed. "Gave my some credit, Holy Saint. No matter my Level, I am still a master of the Hengen Musou! No matter the Level difference, as long as I can hit a monster, I can hurt them. And I have faith that you will be able to keep me safe on the battlefield, and that I will have raised my Level back up to a satisfactory Level before the next Wave."
"Well, if you're sure," Naofumi sighed. He just knew she wouldn't listen to reason on this, so he'd just capitulate. Arguing with Elrasla over this would be a waste of time. "And how do we go about resetting your Level, exactly?"
"It can be done with the use of a Dragon Hourglass."
"…Couldn't you have brought this up sooner? Now we have to go back into the city," Naofumi complained, annoyed.
"We would have to go back at any rate, Holy Saint," Elrasla reminded him with a smile. "After all that just happened, we completely forgot to ask for some sand from the Dragon Hourglass. Wasn't gaining some teleport Skill one of your main motivations for coming to Zeltoble?"
There was a moment of silence. Naofumi smacked his own face at his own stupidity, underscored by the amused giggles and chuckles of his party and Fitoria.
Goddamn it!
Huh, it seems miracles do happen. This chapter I managed to type out in record time. I hope you guys enjoyed.
By the way, the Legendary Shield Strengthening Methods described in this chapter are canon. They are introduced later in the light novel series. It always annoyed me that Fitoria did not inform Naofumi of these Strengthening Methods, as it would provide excellent motivation for him to make nice with the other Heroes. That was a criminal oversight on her part, so I corrected it here in my story.
I did modify Trust a little, as that didn't give exact numbers. Me, being my autistic self, didn't like that, and added the clause that the bonus doesn't stack for companions. Otherwise, it would be completely overpowered.
Hopefully till soon again!
