"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
It had been several weeks since the incident with the two-headed black dog and the second wave was closing in. Naofumi had mastered most of the more necessary shields. Having raised both Raphtalia's and his own level to 24, he'd gained the levels necessary to use [Clock Shield ll], [Satellite Shield], and [Camera Shield ll]. He still could not use the [Meteor Shield] however. He also gained quite a few more shields.
He gained some from materials
.
[Pipe Shield]
+1 def
[Ability: Shield Prison] Create a ball cage around a target for 30 seconds.
.
[Mirror Shield]
+1 mdef
[Ability: Reflect] Activating this upon successfully blocking a traveling/ranged attack will cause the attack to redirect back towards the sender.
.
[Sharpening Shield]
+1 atk
[Unique Ability: Sharpening l] Placing a blade within this shield for 8 hours refines and sharpens the blade.
.
[Flower Petal Shield]
[Ability: Forage ll] When collecting material. Receive 10% better quality.
.
[Lille Pad Shield] (Locked: Higher level required)
[Unique Ability: Water Walk] While equipped, you may travel atop bodies of water for up to a minute.
.
He gained some from monsters
.
[Animal Needle Shield]
+1 atk
[Ability: Needle Shield] (requires 'Change Shield') (requires 'Shield Prison') stab at captured targets from all sides.
.
[Butterfly Shield]
+1 to paralysis resistance
.
[Egg Shield]
[Ability: Cooking l] Slightly increase the taste and nutritional benefit of food you cook.
.
[Sky Egg Shield]
[Ability: Simple Recipes] Gain 100 beginner food recipes.
.
[Blue Egg Shield]
[Ability: Inspect Plus] Enhance [inspect], allowing it to grant more information and increase the range of level gap needed to deny information.
.
And the 3 commissioned by Naofumi that Erhart finished
.
[Duelist Shield]
+2 atk
[Ability: Sunder] Attack using your defense stat. (once per day)
.
[Saw Shield]
+2 atk
[Unique Ability: Spin] Causes the saw blade to spin. Causes structural damage, can damage armor. Speed of the spin and therefore damage of the saw scales with Agility.
.
[Spiked Shield] (Locked: Higher level required)
+2 atk
[Ability: Hazard] Attacks that fail against your defense stat causes harm to the attacker. It causes more damage the greater the gap in stats in your favor. (Only affects melee attacks)
.
There was also a new discovery by Naofumi involving his shields, thanks to his [Menu Plus]. It was called [Mastery bonuses]. Basically sometimes his shields could create new combined or expanded effects from 2 or more shield's abilities, but all abilities must belong to mastered shields. The ones he currently had were;
[Mass sharpening l]: [Storage Shield] + [Sharpening Shield] Weapons stored within [inventory] for 8 hours or more are also affected by 'Sharpening l'.
.
[Projector]: [Camera Shield] + [Camera Shield ll] + [Mirror Shield] allowed him to project his images or videos onto a surface for better viewing.
.
[Integrated Information]: [Map Shield] allowed detection shields to provide their information on the [Minimap]. Those shields include; [Two-Headed Black Dog Shield], [Prophecy Shield], and [Mining Shield].
Besides all these boons, he had a heavily stock [inventory]. He had a large storage of medicine and of great quality as well. He could of sold much of it by now, but decided to keep all he could until after they survived this wave. He also found that the fungus dropped from mush monsters was used for poison, so he had a small stock of decently strong poison as well.
However the greatest advantage he had gained over these weeks had to be Raphtalia's growth. She was already a women grown, much to Naofumi's disbelief. Her hair nearly perfectly framed her face. Her armor that covered all of her before, now showed most of her legs as she simply grew beyond it. Naofumi tried his best to ignore her very feminine features, but could not deny their existence. Most importantly to Naofumi though, she looked strong and healthy. Few would believe the state she was in just a month prior
Naofumi had returned to Erhart's shop. There were some things he had to get in order before the wave. Namely upgrades. As he entered the shop with Raphtalia right behind him, Erhart was beaming.
"How are you doing erh-" Erhart went to grab his stick to measure Raphtalia, but stopped as soon as he saw her.
"The hell? That beautiful lass is little Raphtalia?" Raphtalia chuckled, taking the compliment well. Naofumi was less enthusiastic.
"She has grown quite a bit. Her eating has slowed to about normal. I assume the accelerated aging is done". He did what he could to ignore the 'beautiful' comment.
"Thank you for the compliment Mr. Erhart!" Raphtalia did her best to ignore Naofumi, ignoring the compliment.
He sat the stick back down and walked back behind his counter. "So what do you need?"
Raphtalia had received some new supplies. While her armor was the same, it had a few additions and enhancements. It no longer looked like the cheap starter gear she had prior. She had armored boots and leather gauntlets as her only real wardrobe additions. She also had a real long sword now and 10 or so throwing knives. Naofumi felt a little guilty that he'd given Raphtalia armor and a mission in place of a dress and fun, but Raphtalia would rebuke such a line of thought.
"Naofumi-sama is in desperate need of armor! Just look at him. If not for the shield you'd have no idea he was suppose to be a legendary hero."
Naofumi went to say something, but she was having none of it. "Naofumi-sama..." She pulled a sword from the wall and drew it to full length in a threatening manner, "If you don't take this seriously, you'll die".
Naofumi couldn't tell how much of that was a good-natured warning and how much of it was a threat. It had amazed him. Sure, she looked... older. The thing that amazed him though, was her attitude. She seemed bright, out-going, and incredibly brave. He had trouble recalling the crying child he had to hold as she slept, though he still held her while they slept.
"If I'm getting armor. I need relative bonus this time, so something that'll last." Naofumi said finishing his purchases for Raphtalia.
"Well I have a few, but It'd probably do better to make a custom job, what do you say?"
"Well I have some good materials I can use". He used [inventory] to drop the many salvaged metals from the mine as well as his good enemy drops.
"Hmm" Erhart was sorting through it quickly, a smile forming on his lips as he separated metal from leather. He stopped when he saw a pair of weaponized gloves. They had dog faces carved into them and seemed to hold some magical effects. Erhart used [Appraisal] on them.
[Orthrus Dusters]
[+ 8 atk, + 8 agi]
[Bestial Senses: grants enhanced sense of smell while worn]
"Hey kid, these gloves..." Erhart was interested.
"Yeah they're good, quite good. Neither of us can use them though. So might as well sell them to you".
"Plus I hate the look of them" Raphtalia added with a frown.
"... Still what if one of your future party members is good at hand-to-hand? Might be wiser to keep it just encase".
"Future party members?" Naofumi had not considered that. Not the gloves, but future party members. "Maybe if I buy another slave..." He glanced to Raphtalia. They seemed to have a wordless conversation. At the end of which Naofumi had an answer. "Okay keep the gloves, but no slaves..."
Naofumi finally responded "Yeah, guess I'll keep them. No idea when I might get a new party member though..."
"True, your situation is less than ideal considering the ru-"
"Anyways!" Naofumi didn't want Raphtalia to hear about these rumors. He didn't want her to fear him in a whole new way. "Can you work with these?"
"Yeah, but I gotta ask how you got your hands on some of these?"
"That's another hero effect. Sometimes I gain items upon a foe's death. I have 4 shields that boost the chances currently, so the chances are decent."
"I see. So some of these things are either harder to find normally or straight up don't exist without a cardinal weapon's power... Yeah, I can really whip you up some good armor... oh" Erhart was pulled from eyeing the materials and put on a more serious face. "It would take nearly a day to make. How long until the wave?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Erhart looked dumbstruck "W-what? Kid! Are you telling me you don't know!?"
"How could I know?" Naofumi seemed tired of this conversation.
"Kid. Go to the big church near the center of town. They have this big hourglass there that-"
"Ah the dragon hourglass? it's there? Understood." Naofumi knew this much from the book.
"..." "Go ahead and start on that armor. I'll be back as soon as I can. Come Raphtalia".
"Yes, Naofumi-sama" She looked like she wanted to sigh, but quickly followed behind him.
They both left Erhart to his work. "...'sama' huh? Dumb kid doesn't even notice."
...
As they walked, Raphtalia began talking to fill the silence and maybe even lift Naofumi out of his usual spirits. "Top of the line, custom armor? New sword? That Mr. Erhart is looking out for you, huh?"
Naofumi didn't want to answer, but as the words hung there without him saying anything, he eventually had to respond."Yeah. He's been a great ally. I'm quite thankful to him. He does what he can to watch out for me." He sped the pace up a bit, not liking this overly open conversation.
"I'll do my part to watch out for you too". Raphtalia said in a near whisper. Naofumi heard it though and it got him thinking even more.
...
"gurrrr" The sound of a stomach growling was heard. Naofumi instinctively turned to Raphtalia.
"I-it wasn't me this time. I swear." She weakly protested.
"I know... It was me. Can't taste a thing, but I have to eat..."
"Can't taste?" Raphtalia seemed concerned.
"Whatever, let's just eat" He ducked into a restaurant, Raphtalia right behind him.
He tried to order the same as last time, cheapest meal for himself and a kid's meal for Raphtalia. She was having none of it.
"Naofumi-sama. I am not a child anymore. Why do you insist on treating me like this?" That she had a problem with being treated like a child, but not complain about being his slave had Naofumi a bit tilted in confusion.
"It's about the same amount of food and it looked like it'd taste better, just enjoy it... also you sound like a kid"
"Naofumi-sama... what would it take for you to see me as an adult? What would I have to do?" She seemed genuine. She always seemed genuine.
Naofumi was getting flustered. He had held her as she cried as a child, not a few weeks ago. Bought her a toy, pat her head... She was a child and he treated her as one... but now? She was looking and sometimes acting like an adult. Other than knowledge, there wasn't much of a difference... maybe a lack of maturity, but- He was making excuses. She had grown up faster than he could adjust to it. It's his fault isn't it?
He decided to be a little genuine too, "Sorry. I guess I don't want to give up on the idea that you are a child... Because taking care of you when you were a kid was... calming. It helped me not be angry all the time. It was almost therapeutic".
Raphtalia had been with Naofumi only about a month, but she could tell he was opening up a little bit to her here and she needed to encourage that. "I see. But I can help in different ways than before. Not as a child, but as an adult. I can find a different way to comfort you."
Naofumi was now heavily blushing at her unintentional implications "She's a kid! She's a kid! She's a kid!"
Raphtalia was left out of the loop as to what caused him to react in that manner. She took his arm and held it to her. "Did I say something wrong?"
Naofumi felt his arm against her chest "She's not a kid! She's not a kid! She's not a kid!" "N-no. It's fine, j-just order whatever you like".
...
Naofumi and Raphtalia entered the church with a little resistance at the door. Naofumi expected at least a some discernibly. A nun intercepted him only 2 steps in.
"And to what do we owe your visit today shield hero?" She seemed decent enough.
"The wave is due to hit soon. I want to register while I have the chance." The nun nodded in agreement.
"Ah, of course. Please follow me." The three traveled in silence for roughly a minute. Upon actually seeing it, the hourglass was a bit more elaborate than Naofumi expected. It seemed to move in all kinds of weird ways.
Naofumi stepped forward "So, do I have to touch it or-" Suddenly a beam of light shot from the gem at the center of his shield towards the large golden hourglass. After a moment it faded.
[20:48:31]
[20:48:30]
"A timer. Less than a day. we can manage that somehow."
"Is that Naofumi, the criminal hero?" Before he turned to the source of the voice, he already knew who it was. He turned to see Motoyasu and "That bitch..."
Naofumi mood took a heavy dip and Raphtalia picked up on this immediately. She looked at these new people with only one thought, "At least one of these people is Naofumi's enemy"
She eyed them. "4 in total. 2 of them did not even look in their directions, so... The remaining two. A tall blond guy with a spear, wait the cardinal spear! Was Naofumi' enemy a fellow hero? The last one... yes. She just had a look on her face that disgusted her. As if upsetting Naofumi was something worth achieving".
"Seriously? You're still wearing such noob armor? You can't be serious." Motoyasu looked like he was fishing for an outburst.
Raphtalia intervened, "Who are they, Naofumi-sama?"
"Come Raphtalia, we're leaving" He lowered his head slightly, letting his bangs cover his expression. He began to leave and she began to do the same, but at a slower pace.
Naofumi slowly, deliberately walked passed Motoyasu. Doing his best to show indifference. Even as Princess Malty complained at him, he never stopped moving. Motoyasu went to block his path, but Raphtalia went between them.
"Excuse me. Why are you being so disrespectful?" Raphtalia was not as naturally hateful as Naofumi. She wasn't so successful as expressing her irritation. That being the case, no one seemed to notice she was becoming upset.
"So cute" As Motoyasu said in a low voice. Malty was becoming flustered.
"Greetings, fair maiden. I am Kitamura Motoyasu. What do you say? Do you wish to travel alongside me, saving the world?"
Naofumi was now far past pissed and reaching toward violent anger. "She's all I have dammit!"
"Lord Motoyasu, don't. She's a filthy demi-human. We have the luxury of time to find more suitable allies." Malty's insults were ignored along with everything else she said.
"No". She said instantly, devastating Motoyasu. "I am already sworn to fight for Naofumi Iwatani, the shield hero. Please, excuse me."
Motoyasu's face grew to one of worry and concern, "Wait. You can't be serious? Naofumi? You'd be in great danger! Have you not heard the rumors!?"
Naofumi had given in to Motoyasu's fishing. He walked right up to Motoyasu, inches from him and stared in as threatening a manner as he could manage. Motoyasu seemed to lock eyes with Naofumi, a smug face plastered on him. He seemed not to realize that Naofumi was truly inching towards a violent option.
"What? It's the truth. Plus she'd be a waste to have fight along side you. During the wave, you'll be lucky to protect yourself. Forget anyone else".
Naofumi was done. He switched to his [Dualist Shield]. Using [Sunder] on Motoyasu might even score a loss of a limb, if Naofumi was lucky. Raphtalia placed a hand on Naofumi's shoulder and looked at him, really looked at him. He was at his limit. She smiled, trying to diffuse the situation the best she could.
"Come Naofumi-sama. We have far more important things to do than converse with these kinds of people, yes?" That was Raphtalia's best attempt at an insult. It wasn't great, but it gave Naofumi the 'out' he needed. He took a deep breath and began to leave again. Motoyasu had some parting words, but the pair ignored them entirely.
...
They made it to the inn they would be staying in tonight. The whole time they traveled, neither said a word. Raphtalia was a little worried, but admitted to herself that Naofumi looked a sight better than at the church. it wasn't until they were in their room and the door shut and locked that Naofumi spoke.
"Sigh... thanks for that back there. I was about to-"
"No need Naofumi-sama" No need to thank her or no need to admit what he was about to do? "It's like I said earlier, I'll find a new way to help you... as an adult."
Naofumi was still not ready to hear this. "I'm taking the first bath." He shot up and walked into the bathroom before she could contest him.
She sighed. "Does he really need a kid to be happy?" Her thoughts took themselves in directions she did not intend. She was now blushing and kicking her legs in embarrassment.
...
The following day, the duo entered the now all too familiar shop. Erhart had some bags under his eyes, but forced a smile as they closed the door.
Naofumi had a look of concern. He cared for a very few people in this world right now. 2 to be exact... Maybe 3, Mr. Beloukas... Well didn't care about him in the same way, but he was a valuable business partner "Whoa whoa, did you get any sleep last night?"
Erhart could force that smile, but that was the extent of his enthusiasm. "Heh, not a wink. That's why I'm charging you extra. It's worth it though".
Naofumi's sympathy was lost at the mention for spending more money "And here I was trying to give a shit, sigh".
"Mr Erhart, thank you for all your hard work! The wave is today, so it was well worth the effort." At least Raphtalia had some sincerity to give.
"Of course lass. Anything for you 2."
"Anything? So how about a discount."
"I already said I'm charging extra."
"...Well, let me see what I'm paying for." Naofumi took the armor and went to the back to change. While he was gone Erhart and Raphtalia had some time to speak openly.
"So, how is he?" Erhart started
"He's nicer to me than ever, but... he's angrier in general."
"Hmm?"
"I actually got him to admit something to me. He said he thought taking care of a child was calming for him."
"You got him to actually say that? Ha! ... Does that mean he doesn't see you as a child now?"
Raphtalia sighed heavily, "Not in the way I want him to. He still dismisses me like a child and he's blind to my f-..."
Erhart smirked knowingly
"But tending to me no longer calms him down the same as it did. Being able to do more was what I wanted. I wanted to lighten his burdens by doing more of the work, but now I'm afraid I can't help him in the way I did before."
"I'm sure you can find a way to help him, just be patient. Maybe work on getting him to see you as an adult in all aspects." Erhart laughed despite the fatigue
Raphtalia was now fully convinced he knew how she felt about Naofumi "You're just awful... but I want to tell him. Tell him about how thankful I am for making me want to live again..."
Erhart lost all his humor. "She was waiting to die before the kid bought her... but she seems so bright and open now. Guess the kid raised her right, like I told him".
Before Erhart could say something further on the matter Naofumi shouted, "Are you kidding me!?" He walked out wearing his new armor (same as canon in appearance except the leather is darker because it came from the two-headed black dog) looking at Erhart in annoyance.
"The hell old man! They already think I'm a criminal and you sell me this? I look like a bandit!"
"Hey! Not a bandit. A bandit chef. You have the look of a big shot marauder!" Erhart said it like nothing was wrong with that at all.
"That's not the point! I-"
Raphtalia had her hands together and sparkles in her eyes, "Naofumi-sama. You look great in that! Truly wonderful! It matches you so well. And the gifted cloak goes with it too".
This would of been an insult if anyone, but Raphtalia said it. He saw her, tail wagging at him. He gave in. He used [Inspect] on the armor.
[Barbarian Armor]
[Def x 1.25, Mdef x 1.25, Blunt resistance (small)]
[Threatening Visage: Enhances attempts at intimidation]
Naofumi was pleasantly surprised to see it was really damn good. 25% more defenses? that's actually quite a bit. His base def and mdef were around 140, so +35ish more is crazy good. Much better than his old +8 chainmail. He looked at Erhart who was doing his part by looking at Naofumi in the smuggest of ways.
"...This is really good, how much?" Naofumi was convinced
"If you defer that remaining materials I didn't use to me, then 3 gold and 34 silver". Erhart's face stayed exactly the same.
This did not make Naofumi happy, but it seemed reasonable considering the quality and the all-nighter "... I don't have that much".
"Just pay what you can. Give me the rest out of the reward you'll get for dealing with this wave". That Erhart assumed their survival and success gave Naofumi a smile despite himself.
"Here's 1 gold and 13 silver, all I have". He placed it on the counter and did his best to beat the smile off his face.
All three of them were quiet a moment and they all shared a this time contently. It was Erhart who broke the silence.
"Alright. Lock my door on your way out. I'm going to bed." He turned away, waving them off.
They did as they were asked. Naofumi looked up to the wave countdown
[00:03:13]
"We have just a minute or so to go" Naofumi said out loud so Raphtalia would know.
Raphtalia wanted to say something, but was finding it hard to find the words. Naofumi saw this and misattributed it as nervousness.
"I know the idea of a wave scares you, but if we don't help there will be more victims of the waves... just like you. Besides. I promises to protect you, remember?"
Raphtalia gained the last bit of resolve she needed. "Naofumi-sama. I'm truly grateful to have met you. You gave me cloths to wear and food to eat, you drove away my nightmares and made me want to live again. Naofumi-sama. I am your sword! Wherever you go, I will follow... So, please rely on me".
Naofumi Stared at her a moment. He didn't know what to say or think. He knew that she changed her mind and wanted to live again, but did she truly not hate him? How could she not? Naofumi had built up an image of a bastard choosing his life over hers, but she acts like she sees it differently. Naofumi almost wanted to believe her, but "Of course you'll follow me, you're my slave. I didn't give you a choice. Offering help, when you already have to help isn't worth anything..."
Naofumi for a brief moment considered what she said, but he didn't want to be proven wrong. So he wouldn't test it. "I wish you didn't have to be my slave. After everything I've done to build her up. Everything I've done to repair her, to heal her... She'll always have that horrid seal on her, marking her as less than a person... and I am complicit in that. Maybe there was a little truth to what she said. Maybe she doesn't hate him, unlikely as that is. However, no matter what, if given the chance to abandon me and be free... she'd do it and I can't really blame her."
"Sure" He just responded because he felt he had to. Raphtalia was a little disappointed that her words seemed to do little for him. Being his sword was the way she was going to help him. That's what she decided, but... It was having no effect on him at all. She resolved further. "If words can't move him, I'll show him I meant them with my actions."
[00:00:00]
...
[author's notes]
I decided to have the base barbarian armor be better due to having more items and drop system items as components, when in canon it was made from fairly poor quality and low-end materials.
I extended the time before the first wave by a short amount. That plus having Raphtalia right away meant he saved a lot of time. Speaking of that... He was level 15 at this point in canon. When he got Raphtalia he was already level 5. I don't believe we are ever told how long he wasted ramming his head into a wall, but since he was level 5 when he got her in canon, then he wasted at least a week based on his slow pace of leveling.
While he was 15 at the start of the wave, Naofumi was level 21 at the duel. Likely he gained levels in the wave because all the heroes were far enough away from him.
Motoyasu was level 43 after the wave and obviously gained no EXP during it. Meaning he was level 43 before the wave. Based on this, I decided that level 24 before the wave is more than fair. Please tell me if you disagree and why.
Please leave a review!