Fitoria's Guide to Armories

Unknown Ruins

"So let me see if I've got all of this straight," said Darius as he ate some, hopefully sanitary, blue berries out of a bowl provided to him by the filolials, "These waves of catastrophe come about every few decades to every century or so. Each time the waves bring in a mass of nasty monsters who terrorize and attempt to destroy the kingdoms of this world. So in order to combat the threat, heroes are summoned from other worlds to stand against them. Now ordinarily only four heroes are summoned, but from time to time things get wonky and that's where the Armory hero comes in, have I got that right so far?"

"The basics at least, yes," replied Fitoria as she sat on the stone wall next to Darius, "The original Armory Hero's place of origin is still relatively unknown, or at least the information has been lost to time. What little I know is that he wasn't a cardinal hero when he arrived, but a sort of traveler with the ability to store items of all kinds with his magic. It was also during the time of his travels in this land that he met and became a party member of one of the cardinal heroes, likely the shield hero given that he had more use for the weapons that couldn't be wielded by him."

"So these four cardinal heroes don't have a choice on the weapons they use," surmised Darius with a hand to his chin, "And the shield hero would be the most limited in terms of combat weaponry. But I suppose if he's got skills like Captain America, then a shield would be more than enough."

"Captain who?" Questioned the Filolial queen with a tilt of her head, her cuteness defying the fact that she could turn into a twenty story tall bird.

"A character from a book," explained Darius dismissively, "Anyway, how did the Armory hero wind up with cardinal status?"

"It was during one of the worst waves at that time," continued Fitoria, "One of the opponents who appeared wielded jamming magic and used transformation jamming on the four hero's weapons, making them unable to use a number of their stronger abilities. But the Armory Hero's magic was different and he was able to switch out his weapons as needed, allowing him to deal enough damage to their opponent to end the jamming spell, but at the cost of nearly losing his life and most of his weapons. His efforts allowed the cardinal heroes the ability to access the full might of their weapons once more and they were able to defeat the boss of that wave. It turned out to be the final wave at that time, and in order to thank the Armory Hero, the four cardinal heroes combined their power to heal him. The unexpected result was his status as a cardinal hero and his bands becoming weapons to be worn by his successors upon the meeting of certain conditions."

"So he's more of an honorary cardinal hero than an actual one," said Darius as he looked at one of the bands, "Though I suppose better a happy accident than a well-intentioned screw up."

"You're wrong," said Fitoria, her tone surprising Darius a bit, "He earned his status as a hero and each of his predecessors has done the same. I witnessed one of the previous Armory Heroes myself, even if my memory of them is a bit vague. The world may not always need the fifth cardinal hero, but that does not make him any less of one than the other four cardinal heroes."

"Well, no pressure then," said Darius as he set the bowl down, finished with his meal for the moment. "Whatever the case, I don't suppose you know how I can make it home, do you?"

"The cardinal heroes typically return home one of two ways," explained Fitoria, "They either fight through all of the waves plaguing the land, or they die in battle."

"Somehow I knew you were going to say that," said Darius with a sigh as he stood up, "Alright then, I don't know much about this world but if it works the way I think it does then there's only one thing to do. Level up and level up fast while also figuring out what all it is I can do with these abilities of mine."

"I can help," said Fitoria as she also stood up, "Ordinarily you'd have been summoned to one of the kingdoms, but that doesn't appear to be the case at the moment. In order to insure you don't meet an early death, I shall oversee your training in the basics. But be warned, if you give me reason to believe that you're hopeless at this or aren't who you say you are, I won't hesitate." The queen Filolial let her threat hang in the air, the meaning quite clear.

"Uh, got it," said Darius as he gave a nervous thumbs up, "So where do we start?"

The Next Day

Fitoria had advised him that night was not the best time for monster hunting, given that Filolials usually sleep during that time and the more ferocious beasts would likely be out during that hour. So Darius agreed to wait until the next day, though that didn't stop him from browsing his menu and managing to find a couple of help screens that explained a bit more about his abilities and limitations. Sleeping arrangements were, interesting, given that Fitoria had offered to let him sleep in her feathers, but Darius had declined due to it being a bit too weird for his taste and the possibility of getting sat on by a giant bird would've made it impossible for him to sleep.

So he settled for sleeping on a type of giant nest the other filolials made for him, which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. Now he was awake with the rising of the sun and standing in a clearing Fitoria had led him too. "As you seem to have figured out already," said Fitoria, "The heroes become stronger with each monster they vanquish. The means by which you dispatch the monster are irrelevant so long as you kill it."

"So what sort of nasties do we got out here," questioned Darius as he summoned a curved sword from his inventory.

"Balloons," replied Fitoria as she pointed out to some motion in the grass. The Armory hero swept the area with his eyes and noticed that red indicators marked their locations. 'A threat indicator,' he thought, 'that'll come in handy.' In the next moment, a blue ball with white eyes and teeth suddenly leapt out at him.

Darius reacted instinctively and swung, causing the miniature monster to pop upon contact with his weapon. "Wow, so that's why they're called balloons," he thought out loud as he slashed and killed another one. This time he noted EXP gains appeared when the monster died. "So it really is like a video game, just slash," another balloon popped, "get EXP and boom, instant growth. It's a cinch-OOOOWWW!"

While he'd been talking, Darius had made the unwise decision to turn his back for a moment, allowing a group of four to clamp onto some of his limbs and, to his embarrassment, his ass. Fitoria simply sighed at the hero in training struggling on the ground before destroying the balloons with a wave of her hand. "One piece of advice which has kept me alive for centuries, is to not let my guard down until I'm sure the threat is over," she lectured, "And even then I'm still cautious."

"Yeah, right," said Darius as he got back to his feet, rubbing the spots where he'd been bitten and noting that they didn't hurt near as bad as they should. 'I guess these bands help regulate pain too. But the best way to not feel pain is to not get hit in the first place.' "Won't happen again, so let's keep at it." The Filolial queen nodded as she stepped back and watched him continue his training, taking note of his level of competency with each weapon he selected. She wasn't sure why, but something about the whole situation made her feel, nostalgic.

A few hours later, and after a lunch consisting of more berries and some suspiciously good mushrooms, they were ready for the next part of training. "As you now know, the abilities of the Armory Hero are a bit different in comparison to the other cardinal heroes," Said Fitoria as they stood out in front of the ruins, "One of the main ways is that while the other heroes can take in materials and add them to change the properties of their weapons, you can actually replicate weapons. From the smallest of daggers to the largest of war hammers, all weapons are capable of being replicated to some degree for you. Now, take one of your weapons out and leave it, then try to replicate that same weapon."

Darius did so, deciding to pull out a morning star style mace which he tossed out between them before going over the ability options in his menu. He proceeded to select REPLICATE while staring at the mace, watching as the data scrolled by. In the next instant, glowing lings appeared in his hand, a design forming in the air until an almost exact duplicate of the mace came to being in his hand. "Well now, that's gonna come in handy," said Darius as he examined the weapon, "But the durability seems a bit off."

"The way it was explained to me," Said Fitoria, "Was that while the weapons are indeed replicas with identical properties, they are not as strong nor as durable as the original. So it would be unwise for you to try and duplicate a powerful weapon then attempt to match its attacks blow for blow against the original."

"I guess that's what you call balance," said Darius as he used replicate on a weapon that was still in his inventory. He was able to successfully duplicate the weapon, a spear this time, but as before it was less powerful than the original. Fitoria then moved him on to the next ability of his known as Phantom Army, which allowed him to fire the weapons from his inventory like projectiles or spawn them in different locations to skewer his opponent within a certain radius. But the training got to its most interesting, for Darius anyway, when they touched upon his final ability, Imitator.

"This ability is the one that requires the most practice," explained Fitoria, "It allows you to use any weapon or hand to hand attack you've seen so long as you're within a certain visual range. You won't be able to imitate magical attacks unless they're attached to the weapon or replica you're using."

"Is it a onetime deal or can I store the attacks for later?" Questioned Darius as he looked for the ability on his menu. Once he selected it, a white mask appeared on his face with slanted eye-holes.

"It will be easier to show you," said Fitoria as she did a T-pose with her palms facing outward, "Try and follow my movements, High Quick." She seemed to disappear then as Darius moved his eyes in an attempt to follow her. But the speed was overwhelming, so much so that after images were left in her wake before she suddenly appeared in front of him with her right hand in a claw-like gesture aimed at his face.

"Whoa shit!" Darius swore as he backed up and nearly tripped over his own feet, "How in the world did you do that?"

"It is one of my attacks," explained Fitoria, "I have several, but only a few of them are physical attacks in this form. Later, if I think you're able to handle it, I'll show you a few in my Filolial form that you should be able to copy."

"Why don't we just stick to human attacks for the time being," requested Darius as he read the stats about the attack he'd just witnessed. Then, taking a running stance, he engaged his ability. "High Quick!" He shot forward then at a speed he didn't think was possible as he moved from one end of the field to the other in seconds, only to fall flat on his face as he tripped over his feet trying to turn. 'Note to self, no sharp turns moving at high speed,' Darius thought with a groan.

Fitoria sighed at the failed execution of the attack as she realized something. "I just now remembered, take it slow when using the styles of those who are a much higher level than you. Your body won't be able to handle the more strenuous attacks at first and it will tire you out far more quickly."

"Gee, thanks for the heads up," replied Darius as he dusted himself off, "Any other words of advice to help me avoid running off a cliff or plowing into a tree on accident?"

"Not that I recall this second," replied Fitoria, "But Filolials don't have the sharpest of memories, so I'll let you know if I do remember something. Now then, we're wasting time and you need to get as strong as possible before the next wave arrives."

"Hai, Fitoria sensei," said Darius as he attempted the attack again. The training took up the rest of the day, and by the end of it, the Armory hero was capable of performing a few of his self-appointed teacher's moves as well as aim his weapon attacks a bit better. He also sparred with Fitoria in order to learn how to use attacks on the fly. It was an exhausting start to what would be an exhausting week.

One Week Later

'I never thought I could get used to eating so many plants, and unknown scraps of meat,' mused Darius as he aimed and fired another spear from his inventory into the tall grass. He was rewarded with the sound of a pop as he watched his EXP go up again. Another group of three attempted to charge him, only to be skewered by swords suddenly jabbing them from midair before retreating back into their miniature portals. He finished it off by firing another barrage of weapons into the grass, destroying the enemies that were left. "Whew, another day's work taken care of," he said as he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead.

"Indeed," said Fitoria, "I think you might be ready to take the next step." The Filolial queen beckoned Darius to follow her as she led him to a different part of the ruins, one which had another sealed door.

"So how do you plan on smacking me around today?" Questioned the Cardinal Hero, "You don't have a huge golem behind that door, do you?"

"I have a gift for you," replied Fitoria as she held her hand up, dispelling the winged seal and causing the door to slide open, "It's something you might find quite useful in your future travels." She proceeded to lead him down a short passageway into a chamber similar to the one Darius had appeared in where a type of large, chained up chest with intricate silver designs stood at the opposite wall.

"That's not a booby-trapped monster chest is it?" the Armory hero couldn't help but ask.

"It is protected by my magic and that of the previous hero," stated Fitoria as she held up her hand, extinguishing a number of the silver lines on it, "I remember he told me to give this to his successor should he appear again within my lifetime. Now, your hand please." Darius did as she asked and held out his hand, which Fitoria grabbed and guided onto the chest. Immediately, the jewel on his band started glowing, causing the chains on the chest to suddenly come to life and retreat into its keyhole.

The lid opened of its own accord then to reveal a rather long, wrapped up chain with a black spike at one end and a gnarled looking, iron clawed hand at the other. "Well this is certainly something else now isn't it-HELLO!" The moment he touched the chain, it leapt up and dove into the pearl jewel on his band. In less than a minute the entire length of the chain was consumed by the jewel as a notification flashed in his mystical HUD. 'Unlocked Phantom Chain ability set.'

'Alright, well let's see what this is supposed to do then,' he thought as he selected one of the commands. A portal opened on the floor as the chain shot out with the clawed hand floating in front of him. "That is certainly different," said Darius as he held out his hand. The chain responded by grabbing hold and shaking his hand before returning to its original position, "Oh ho no way." Darius then proceeded to conjure a second chain, this one also with a clawed hand at the end.

"The chain has been enhanced with mystical properties," explained Fitoria, "It is capable of extending to several times its length and duplicating its ends, allowing you to attack and restrain your targets from multiple angles. It also strengthens with your level, meaning it will grow stronger as you grow stronger, but remember to watch your mag-." She stopped as she noticed her explanation was not currently being heard due to Darius starting a spirited game of rock-paper-scissors with the floating chains. The Filolial queen simply sighed as the Armory Hero managed to lose the latest game before starting up again.

'He still doesn't grasp the severity of the situation,' she thought before a memory flashed through her mind. 'Come on, we're in a whole other world! There's no reason we can't have at least a little fun here and there!' For some reason, this made a little tear fall from her eye. A blue Filolial entered the chamber then and whispered some news to her. "So it's happened then," she thought aloud before turning to the hero-in-training, "Darius, it's time to commence training with the chains. Then…there's something we need to discuss."

"Right, funs over for now boys," said Darius as the hands retreated back into the portals on the floor. They exited the chamber and proceeded to train at the usual spot, with a focus on conjuring the chains in different formations for attack and defense this time around. Though as before, the fifth cardinal hero spent a good bit of time getting knocked around by Fitoria's speed and surprisingly high strength as she proceeded to flip him, one-handed, over her shoulder for the umpteenth time.

"Ya know," said Darius as he picked himself up off the ground, "As strong as you are why aren't you protecting the world from the evil monsters?"

"I am protecting the world," replied Fitoria, "But I am only doing so as a favor to the previous Shield and Armory heroes. Truthfully, I have little concern for what happens to humanity."

"I, uh, suppose that makes sense," said Darius as he rubbed his head, "Guess your first priority would be your own kind, given that you're the queen and all. But if you're willing to do a favor for the previous heroes, what were they like?"

"I think it'd be best if we discussed this over dinner," said Fitoria as she indicated a wooden table and benches that had been set up by the other Filolials while Darius wasn't looking. It was also covered with food that wasn't just random samples of meat and wild berries. "I am starting to feel a bit hungry and it seems a good time to conclude training for the day."

"What's the occasion for getting all of this together," said Darius as he examined one of the rolls, "Come to think of it, how did you get this all together?"

"Melromarc royalty came passing through recently," explained Fitoria as they sat down, "Her highness, the queen, has a fondness for Filolials and tends to toss us surprisingly extravagant food as gifts."

"Well that answers my second question," said Darius, "But what about the occasion?"

Fitoria didn't answer at first, giving him a potentially sad look as she finally spoke. "I've received news. It seems the other four cardinal heroes have been summoned in the capital of Melromarc."

"Well that's good news," said Darius as he took a bite of some of the specially prepared meat, "It means all we gotta do now is head over there and let 'em know they've got help."

"It's not as simple as that," said Fitoria, stopping his premature celebration before it even began, "Many things have changed in recent years in the kingdom, no, it's more accurate to say the situation has gotten worse."

"What are we defining as 'worse' in this scenario," questioned Darius, his full attention now on the Filolial queen.

"Because there are four heroes, it means four differing viewpoints which do not always coincide," explained Fitoria, "In the past, this has often taken the form of one or more of the heroes disagreeing with the practices of some of the other countries. Most notable to me, is that of the Shield hero and his stance against the mistreatment of demi-humans."

"As in half-human/half-animal people?" Darius guessed, using what knowledge he had of fantasy anime to try and fill in the gaps.

"Yes," affirmed Fitoria, "the Shield hero was a noble person in my time and the times before. He cared about all races within this world and that often put him at odds with other countries who discriminate against them. Recently, however, a cult of sorts has emerged in Melromarc which worships only the three heroes and denounces the Shield hero as a type of demon. When you get to the kingdom, do not believe anything anyone says about him being evil, for it is all lies. Instead, trust your own judgement and your own measure of people to tell you whether or not he is evil."

She stopped talking for a moment then as Darius saw a few tears fall from her eyes. "You said when I get to the kingdom," noted the Armory Hero, "Aren't you coming along too?"

"I," she said after a moment, "Cannot. I must tend to my own people and prepare my own warriors for battle against the waves. You'll be setting out tomorrow, without me." Darius wasn't sure what to say to that as he ate the rest of his meal in silence. He'd figured at some point she wouldn't be able to hold his hand anymore, but somehow it still seemed, too soon for him to be saying good bye to the winged girl with silver hair.

After another minute or so of silence, Darius decided to say the first thing which came to mind. "So what was he like?"

"What was who like," questioned Fitoria, seeming to perk up for a moment.

"The last Armory Hero," Darius clarified, "was he serious, was he nice, did he have personal space issues, was he afraid of interacting with people?"

"He liked to laugh," stated the Filolial queen with the slightest hint of what might have been a smile, "in his own words, he described himself as a 'wise ass,' someone who was clever when it came to making light of things, but not so smart when it came to other matters. Even after the toughest battles, he'd still try and say something he thought was clever and we'd laugh in spite of how much it made us cringe to hear it. To so many, he probably appeared to be somewhat idiotic. But the Shield hero and I saw him as a kind and respectful person who took his responsibility as a hero to heart. My fondest memory of him was when I got sick one day and he stayed behind to take care of me, trying to make me laugh the whole time while he was at it."

"Sounds like quite the hero," said Darius as he crossed his arms in thought, "I honestly can't say if I can really live up to any of that. But after all the help you've given me, I at least owe it to ya to give it my best. Especially now that the rest of the heroes are here too. So starting tomorrow, Darius the Armory Hero is setting off into a brave new worl-YAAAAAAAWN." Unfortunately for him, his inspiring moment was ruined by a very inconveniently timed yawn. "Jeez, that speech must've been more boring than I thought, but I guess even aspiring heroes need their sleep."

Darius stood up and made to leave, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Please," said Fitoria, "Just for tonight, could I?" He wanted to say no, but even if she wasn't the Filolial queen, something in her eyes told him she wanted this desperately. No, she needed this. So that night, the Armory hero slept on his leaf and stick made bed, with the queen nestled under his arm.

"You told me all about how Filolial queens are born," said Darius as he stared up at the stars, "Tell me, was it the Shield Hero or the Armory Hero that raised you?"

"I honestly don't remember very clearly," replied Fitoria as she buried her head deeper into his side, "After so long, I'm lucky to even recall their faces some days. But I'll never forget how they made me feel. It was one of the happiest times of my life adventuring with them and I….I miss them both so much." Darius rubbed her head as the girl let out her emotions, staining his shirt with her tears. In that moment, it wasn't a powerful queen or a centuries old warrior lying next to him, but a girl who missed her nearest and dearest friends.

The Next Day

"Okay, I'm all set," said Darius as he finished looking through his inventory. He'd been pleasantly surprised to learn that his inventory ability not only extended to weapons, but a certain amount of supplies as well, including food and a few gifts from the queen herself.

"Then I shall get you as close to the capital as I can," said Fitoria as she held out her hand. The ground beneath their feet began to glow then as the surrounding area disappeared in a flash of light. It was quickly replaced with that of a forest road surrounded by trees on both sides.

"Teleportation, now that is useful," noted the Armory hero as he took in his surroundings before turning back to Fitoria. "So how far is Melromarc from here?"

"It is still several day's travel," explained Fitoria, "I have not ventured towards that area recently, so while I could bring you closer, you still need some more time to build up your strength and to take in the state of the world."

"Well I suppose it would've been too easy for me to just pop up at the front door," said Darius, "So where do I go from here?"

"Down this roadway," replied Fitoria as she pointed to her left, "It will take you to a village with a kind nobleman who may be willing to provide you with transportation. Remember, should you desperately require currency there are many who trade it for materials gathered from monsters."

"Sounds reasonable," said Darius, "Now I'd best get going. You said the coming wave could strike by the end of next month which means the sooner I make contact with the other heroes the better."

"Y-yes," stammered Fitoria before suddenly hugging his waist, "Please, be safe."

"I'll do what I can," said Darius as he patted her head one last time, "You take care of yourself and your people."

"I will," said Fitoria as she released the Armory hero and watched as his journey began. She waited until he'd long faded from her vision before finally teleporting away. It was soon after this, that the forces of the world would bring Darius to his next fated encounter.

Some Time Later

He'd been walking for at least a half an hour. Well, half an hour if one didn't include the little scuffle he'd had with some kind of rabid porcupine monster. But at last he came to the top of a hill where he spied a fair-sized town with a mansion on one end and another mansion on the top of a mountainous looking rise. 'Well that's the town,' he thought, 'Now I just need to figure out which of those mansions has the nobleman I'm looking for.'

As he made to continue down the hill, a rather distressing sound reached his ears. The sound of fighting, including the screams of soldiers and the snarling of monsters. Darius picked up his pace and ran down the hill. A carriage with a damaged wheel soon came into his view as he broke into a full on sprint upon taking in the situation. A group of six guards in silver armor were attempting to hold off a pack of nasty looking wolves who were being led by a larger, two-headed wolf.

'Here goes everything!' Thought Darius as he quickly selected and fired a small number of spears and swords while continuing forward. Three of the wolves were downed in the volley while the two-headed wolf was wounded by a spear. "Keep the other wolves off the carriage, I'll take the big one!" He ordered. The guards seemed to hesitate for a moment, not really grasping his intentions until the hero jumped in front of the nearest one and blocked the dual-headed wolves' jaws with a large ax.

Another couple of wolves attempted to pounce on his back, only to be skewered by two of the guards who managed to get their act together before retreating back with the rest of their comrades. Darius used that moment to free his ax from the monster's grip and jump back before leaping forward and decapitating one of the heads. The remaining wolf howled in agony before being quickly silenced by a small collection of spears from above. "Whew, not bad for my first real fight," he thought aloud as he made the spears retreat back into their portals.

Darius then moved to collect the weapons he'd used as projectiles before he noticed all of the guards staring at him. "Oh don't mind me, just helping out," he said with a wave before sending some more of his weapons back into his inventory.

"What a splendid display," said a happy, or rather smug sounding voice as a large man with blond hair and a small mustache stepped out. He was dressed in a type of fancy blue outfit with an ornate shirt and cape. His pants were held up by a fancy belt from which hung a saber on one side and a whip on the other. "Do tell, what sort of magic was that?"

"Oh this," said Darius as he made another weapon disappear into his inventory, "I guess you could say it's like-." The Armory hero paused for moment as he noted the expression on the man's face. It wasn't just smug, it seemed almost arrogant in a way. Whatever it was, it gave Darius a bad feeling which is why he changed his explanation at the last second. "A type of conjuration magic, more like summoning really."

"And does our conjurer have a name," questioned the man as he signaled his guards to stand down.

"Darius Saxon," he replied, "I'm an adventurer of sorts. I was just passing by when I noticed your carriage getting attacked."

"Well I certainly do thank you for your assistance adventurer," said the man, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Idol Rabier, and I just so happen to be a noble of the town we're approaching."

"A noble eh," said Darius, "Do you happen to have a wagon or two heading for Melromarc's capital?"

"In due time I might," replied Idol as he rubbed his hands together, "Why don't you accompany us to my mansion for the time being. Traveling is rough after all and if one isn't properly prepared they'll be dead long before reaching their destination, especially going as far as that."

"Well I suppose I do need a few essentials," said Darius as he scratched his cheek a little. He truthfully didn't want go with this guy. But Fitoria had mentioned a noble, so this prick might be his best shot in getting to where he needed to go.

"Oh most excellent," said Rabier with a somewhat forced smile, "I'm certain we'll be able to come to a most satisfactory arrangement." And there was an arrangement in the end, but it didn't turn out like either of them expected.

Whew, world building and expo-dumping are something else. But at last it is here for your enjoyment, the second chapter of my Rising of the Shield Hero fan fiction. For those wondering, yes Darius will meet up with the other heroes in the next few chapters and more of his abilities and limitations will be explained as the story progresses. But enough technical stuff, I hope you all had fun with this chapter and as always feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Darius uncovers hidden monsters within the kingdom. 'Til then.