I don't own Rising of the Shield Hero or Live a Live…
Oersted opens his eyes to find himself in… the Hate's Promise chamber in the Archon's Roost and sees in front of him, the demon who abducted Alethea and sent everything in motion….
On the floor leading against the statue in the chamber's central, bloody and beaten
He turned to see his companions. Hassin, Uranus, and… Streibough were all tired and injured but determined. Hassin was about to deliver the final blow to the fiend. But Oersted suddenly blocked the strike, stopping him.
Oersted! What are you…. Old Knight asked, the younger man sheathing his sword, before replying, "The princess isn't here…" turning towards the defeated demon. "besides, something isn't any up". He said the others had to lower weapons.
The Knight stepped towards the vile field, which looked pathetic; it was a missing wing, its arm badly burned, and its chest? It was so mangled that the knight could swear that he could see its bones.
Nevertheless, he stayed firm, glaring at the fiend. "why?" he said. The demon just looked, blood in its vile mouth. "Why what?" he asked, coughing out blood. "Why tired to get my rightful vengeance or…Its rant was cut short by Oersted slamming his foot on its broken rib.
"DON'T LIE TO ME!." He yelled as the demon screamed in pain… "You are NOT The Lord of Dark, just a servant." he said. Both Uranus and Streibough gasped in shock, while Hassin only murmured, "Of course."
The Vile Demon stared at him, coughing out blood… before smiling. "You right, I am not the lord, I am just a humble servant of the true lord," it said, trying to stand up, causing Oersted's companions to prepare defensive stances.
"I knew anything I did would lead to failure…" It said before starting to cough out blood." "So I prepared for the return of the true lord of the dark. My defeat was a stepping stone for his grand return." It said as it was leading against the statue.
Oersted asked. "That's why? You orchestrated the capture of the princess just drew any heroes towards you, so you corrupted them? " he asked, demanding an answer from the Demon. But It just... tilted its head in confusion. "what do you mean... master". Oersted was taken aback by that sentiment; the fiend stared at him before its grins.
"oh? You didn't know, you the real lord of the dark, everything I did to reawakening you"
"no" Oersted exclaimed. Before the demon laughed. "Ahahah Why not, my master? You were born for this." It said before pointing towards Oersted's companions.
"Hassin, the bitter dying old fool."
"Uranus, too blinded by the evils of man."
"and Streibough probably would be a powerful lord of the dark, but he's nothing but a shadow to your might."
Oersted, paralyzed in terror, falls to his knees and places his hands on his ears. The demon continues, "Your True Lord, the true lord of Dark, the one who is destined to bring this world to ruin." He Finished with glee in his voice.
"no, no, no, no," he said, refusing to believe the demon, "this is not real, this is not real," he thought. Before feeling a presence behind him, he turned to his horror, glaring at him before trying to slash him.
Oersted managed to dodge; standing up; he saw companions glaring at him. "So thou art him... vile demon," Hasshe said. Oersted widened in shock. "wh.. What?" He said as fell back. Uranus didn't say anything, he just looked disappointed at him. "Hassan, Uranus… please wait, this..." He tried to defend himself, but... Streibough interpreted him. "Silence! how wouldst thee? Betray US!" He said..all while badly hiding an evil grin.
Three began to approach the frightful knight, who went back and forth, feeling himself against the statue. All the while the demon laughed.
That that heard a voice
"Accepted my power"
"no…" he said, recognizing the voice was… "H̵͙̅Ị̵̉S̵̝̼͊̔"
W̴̧̛̞͖̩͈̬͓̅̌̿̕͝͝͝ė̸̳̪͉͕͕͒̌͜ ̴̡̙̟͍͋̒ä̴̢̓̾͜͝͝͝r̵̨͕͖͛̀͠e̷̗͔̟͘ ̸̪̗̀̌͐͋̌̎͐Ǒ̶͔̤͙̓̄̎͑͊̈́d̷̡̼̤̙̗̎i̴̬͛ơ̴̥̱̾̎͌̏͠.̴̛̪͍̂̌̄́̋̈́̈͝ͅ.̶̡͎̗̍͒͐̓͌.̶͎̳̫̃̽̑͆́̄̓Ų̵̻͉̙͎̣͈̿̈̂̍͆n̵̨̧͈̘̘̮̼͊͛̑͐͝͠͠͝͠ͅd̷̻̯̥̗̀͋̍́͝y̶͇͉̟͎͗i̸͕̯͔͖̜̰̦͕̾̇̿ṉ̸̝̌̿̍͐͗̽g̷̣̻͖͑̍́ ̷̨̛̥̺͚͓̻̦͚͆̉̐͆h̶̝͉̻̎̐̈́͗̋á̵̬͔̜̝̬͂̾̆ţ̸̦̦̯̻̭͓̔̈̽̂͌̇̏̑͠e̷̦̤̠͐̆̓͌̍͌̈͆.̶̝́̓̓.̷͓̌͛̊̃̿͊͘.̸̨̇͆̇̓͆̎̈́Ú̶͓͍̻̦͗̚n̶̩̣͓̲̺̤̱͒y̴̢̘̮̏͝ḯ̶͔͓̄̊͆͋̏̉̿̕ê̸̡̺̌̐̒̄̓̚l̸͇̜͎̓͂͜d̶̲̮̭̅̈́̏́̕͘͝͝͝ͅi̷̢͊̿̉͠͠ǹ̸͉̙̗̻̪̻͋͌̑͐̾ͅg̸̪̠̪͖̃̆͌́̃͂͝ ̸̫͙͈̬̯͚̮̦̿r̷͈̤̪̞̤̟̒̍͜͜à̷̢̧̻̳̳̬́̒͜͝g̸͓̺̈́̔̎͠͠͝è̷̛̠̱̈́
NO!
Oersted awoke in a cold sweat, panting heavily before scanning his surroundings. In the room that was given to him and the Shield Hero, Naofumi, for the night. Rubbed eyes, he observed that Naofumi was peacefully sleeping.
Getting off of the bed, he realized he wasn't wearing his armor, though he still had a sheath with the blade on him. He wonders how, for heaven's sake, Naofumi managed to sleep with the shield attached to his arm.
But he blushed that aside and found his armor near the door, after putting it on and leaving the room without waking Naofumi. He Walked by some maids and overheard them gossiping about how he fought and defeated the general, expressing a mix of admiration and fear for his victory.
Suddenly, he heard someone calling for him; turning, he saw a young maid with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a typical maid outfit, but she also had an orange bandana on her hair. The Girl bowed towards him
"Greeting Sir Hero is any... " But Oersted stops her. "Please, call me Oersted," His request staggered her a bit, before regaining her composure. "Right, yes... Sir Oersted. Do you want anything, Sir?" She asked.
The man rolled his eyes, before inquiring. "Yes, tell me if there's a library here?" The maid gave him a nervous look. "yes... is their library in the castle, but under renovation," She told him.
The Knight just looked at her. "That's alright," he said simply; the maid widened and then sighed. "Follow me please sir…"
LATER
After a short time, two near a large door, the maid pulling too revealing a large vast liberty, most bookshelves were covered in cloths. The Knight was in awe; even in the renovation, the library was beautiful, even greater than in his home.
Before he could take another step, he called out. "Oh no, no, no, NO" The Knight turned to see... a very beautiful but anxious-looking blonde woman with glasses; her outfit consisted of a black jacket with silver trim and shoulders, fastened by a belt and black pants and knee-high black boots. And surprised was tall, probably a bit taller than the Spear hero...Who Oersted dreading to see, but he needs to apologize for last night.
The Maid tried to explain to what he reckoned to be the Librarian. "Miss Quistis, sir..." But interrupted by the woman who was clearly tired. "I don't care! He can be the f-ing pope all I care, his highness ordered that no..." Oersted interrupted her by unsheathing his sword and charging it to its 'Default form'; the woman nearly dropped her glasses, and she began murmuring before regaining her composure and bowing. "um, forgive me, Sir Hero," she said.
"Is alright, miss... Quistis was it?" he said, the woman nodding as she adjusted her glasses.
"Quistis Trepe... Sir Hero. Sorry for my outburst but... it's been exhausting." She said as let out a sigh.
Oersted felt bad for the woman and observed the room. "I see... so long the renovation has been going," He said; the librarian gave a nervous look. "...not long, sir, the king ordered the library to be renovated 2 days ago, but..." while glancing back and forth. "The king...yesterday ordered all books to be moved to the archive," she finished.
"The King, huh? The man must not want any hero to learn something," he thought he already didn't like the man, but...
The Knight turns towards the Librarian. "Well, no matter, I am just passing the time until I am summoned to meet my party... But His Highness did promise me I can use the liberty... He said, causing the woman to stand up. "Of course!" she told him... before she added. "although we already move most books, tomes, etc to achieve... which is only accessed by the royal family or the Tome keeper, who is currently out of town for the moment.
The knight just gave an annoyed look, before her friendly smile. "is already. Am just looked around." he said, bowing to him, and before leaving, Oersted turned towards the maid who accompanied him and asked her if she could do something for him.
The cheerful maid responded that it was her obligation to provide assistance.
The Knight said, "I want you to Awaken the Shield Hero and tell him I'll join the other heroes when the king calls." She bowed and left. As he charged the Gnome Sword, he noticed something unusual before sheathing it.
Gnome Sword
[Equip bonus: 7 Attack/1 Agility Locked]
[Mastery: 12%]
After a few moments of looking, he determined that his Mastery Method was active... He wondered if the process could be accelerated if he fought with it. But sheath the bladeWhen he glanced around, he noticed a young man resting against a bookshelf; he had unruly brownand was wearing a simpler outfit than Trepe, just with a gold color instead of silver. His reading was a book.
The Knight decided to approach the man."Greetings, sir." but the man said nothing; Oersted blinked and decided to try to use a more knightley tone of voice. "so... thou art a knight." The man simply replied, "Yup..." without even looking at him.
"Well... this sir is a talketh'r" He thought. "So why..." but the man rudely interjected "off duty..."
The knight rubbed his head. "My name is Oersted," he said; the man turned towards who saw that he had a scar across his face. "...Leon."
At that moment, Miss Quistis appeared. "Squall! there you are..." Before noticing Oersted, who asked. "Wait? Squall? Isn't your..." but was quickly cut off by Quistis. "Oh no, Squall Leonhart is his name; Leon is the name he prefers others call him."
Leon/Squall let out a sigh, eliciting a chuckle from the Sword Hero. "Do you two know each?" He inquired. The man rolled his eyes and replied, "...we grew up together."
Quistis patted Squall's head, referring to him as the little brother she always had to get him out of trouble before 'Leon' adjusted her glasses with a flick. "...funny coming from the one considering how stressed out I am when I am not around..." he replied, making the woman frown.
Oersted laughed at this, Quistis blushed in embarrassment, and 'Leon' just rolled his eyes. The Knight apologized and asked them if there were any books about the heroes. Leon pointed towards the cart near them. "You can check that cart. It might have a few books you are looking for." Oersted didn't notice, so he grabs a few books and bids them farewell.
The knight was leaving when he overheard them talking, and without making any noise, he managed to lead against the shelf to hear them.
"... You wouldn't truth that fraud," Leon told her. Quistis hush him. "King Aultcray is been..." The woman said defeatedly but was cut off. "Lord Seaetto's death was a murder, not by those monsters," he said, shocking the blonde. "what? But the brunette continued. "my squad was the ones who found him, contacting the mage there weren't any bite marks." Squall explains.
This 'Seaetto' must have been important, Oersted thought. While just a thing never happened in Lucrece, he heard horror stories in other nations, where political backstabbing was common.
Quistis paced back and forth before quietly asking. "But why? " But Squall interrupted her. "think about He and the queen were against the Church's rise of power, they should stopped if these waves hadn't appeared" he said
...yeah, but do you believe Aultcray would order the hit, two were... she . Leon took a moment before replying. "either he is aware and involved...or he's underwear" he finished uncertainty in his voice
"But about Eclair? She is... Quistis asked suddenly, worried in her voice.
The man assured her. "she's fine... thank god... but went to rescue the villagers who were taken by... slavers." Quistis gasped in horror. Then he mentioned that Garland had also tried to find her. Quistis guessing "...he doesn't know either..." Leon didn't say, but Oersted presumed that he nodded.
After that, he sneaked away and resumed what he was doing.
It seems there is a power struggle between the royal family and the 'Church' that the king is associated with. The king appears to be less respected than the queen. If he were to guess, it is likely that the queen's family is the ruling dynasty, while Aultcray merely married into the position, either he's some noble from Melromarc or another country... or he's a relative of a high-ranked member of the Church like a bishop or even the pope.
As Pounder did this, he then realized that.. he never met the queen... so the question now is even alive?
However, he chose to dwell on that later as he found the candle-lighting table, placed the books on it, took a seat, and started his research.
Scene Change
Naofumi awoke from knocking on the door. Rubbing his hair, before opening his eyes. He was startled upon waking up in an unfamiliar room didn't recognize...before remembering yesterday: the summoning, the king, the waves, and...
My hate! My boundless hate shall transcend time!
...Oersted
He gazes at the Shield. "Oersted... was he given a second chance?" He also taught about Garland... was he also summoned to this world, or is he someone or is he someone who just simply resembles? He turned towards Oersted's bed which was vacant. "Did he already wake up?" He thought.
His train of thoughtcut short when he heard the knocking again; he asked them to hold on and got up, slipped his shoes on, and grabbed his jacket...when the shield suddenly disappeared from the arm and reappeared on the other, enabling him to slide it onto the sleeve, before it repeat on other arm, allow the ShielderShielder put the jacket with on no problem... He still doesn't understand the thing.
But chooses to ignore it and move in the direction of the door, opening it.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by a blonde maid... who was wearing an orange bandana.
"Good morning, sir Shield. I am here to escort you to breakfast." She said, Naofumi blinked and stared at her. This maid... she looks oddly familiar...
"Umm, sir?" She asked, prompting him to come out of his daze. "Sorry, I'm just feeling sleepy," he lied, but inquired about the Sword Hero.
She cheerfully told him that he woke up early, then went to the library, and will meet up with him and him and the others, when the king calls them.
Two heads towards the hail, he attempted to engage. "So miss..." he started, prompting a pause before she replied, "Oh, please call me Gemma, Sir Shield," She said happily. "wait? Is she..." he thought before responding. "Only if you called Naofumi." She nodded as they talked about the town near the castle and its surroundings. She revealed that she is from a small village not far from here called Cobblestone," she informed Naofumi, who was taken aback by this revelation. "HOLY SHIT! She from Dragon Quest XI" He Thought. First Garland and now a Dragon Quest character, now wonders if... if this a Square Enix villain like Chaos or Calasmos is behind the waves.
Before dwelling on that, the pair reached the Dinner Hall and found Motoyasu already seated, indulging in his meal and flirting with the maids, until he spotted the shield hero.
"Yo Naofumi!" Having said that, the maid says goodbye to Naofumi and departs. He sat down next to the spear hero and asked him how he was feeling after... What happen last night.
"yeah... a bit sore but feels better, though
my head still hurts," Motoyasu nonchalantly said, but Naofumi asked about their head and if it was because of 'Him' slamming you on the table, which Motoyasu widened.
"nooo... I... I fell down some stairs." He said.
"... ok," Naofumi said, unsure.
After a maid brought Naofumi food, the Spear Hero asked the Shielder. "Anyway, I see you have been staring at that cute maid." he gestured towards Gemma. "yeah..." Naofumi asked, causing the older hero to chuckle. "so... you have a thing for blondes? I give you some tips on..." This caused cough his food. "no- 'cough,' I mean I know her," he said, which surprised Motoyasu, who asked from where.
"She from Dragon Quest, being started, thinks that... Motoyasu?." He asked the older hero, just stared blankly before regaining awareness. "Oh, Dragon Quest...yeah...what is that?" He inquired.
Naofumi just blinked, flabbergasted at what he had just heard. "Your Serious? "he asked
Blonde just blinked. "what? Is it some obscure game or something?" he asked. Naofumi gazed at him in astonishment, his mouth hanging open.
"Wha?... Dragon Quest is... it's the father of JRPG!" the baffled Naofumi explains; Motoyasu just scratches his head. "Umm, sorry, I never heard of it...Tell me was it made before and after Final Fant..." The shield hero interrupted his question and said. "Before!' he said, facepalming.
After a brief moment, he had a sudden thought. "Is there a gravestone in Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy?" he inquired. Motoyasu blinked and then his eyes widened. "Oh yes, certainly." "He answered, 'Here is where Link lies.'" he replied.
"ok, but in English release what it says," Naofumi asked Motoyasu, who... tilted his head "...Here lies Link? They didn't change it, dude," he answered.
Naofumi looked at him. "ok, Smash Ultimate, who was the third DLC fighter?" If you don't know, he gives up. Motoyasu simply answered. "ooh, that's early. It was Garnet," He said... before noticing the Shielder's blank expression. "...who?"
Just then, Itsuki entered the hall. "Good morning guys, ... guys." Archer looked, and the two stared at each other before turning towards him.
Naofumi was one to speak. "Itsuki! Please tell us that you know what Dragon Quest is?" he said in a desperate voice. Itsuki was weirded out.
"huh? Well, yeah, of course; why are you asking?" He said.
Well, Lancer over here doesn't know what Dragon Quest is," the raven-haired hero said, shocking Itsuki. "huh? Seriously?" He looked at Motoyasu, who was getting annoyed.
"Can you two just tell me what is even Dragon Quest, god's sake." He said. The two gave him a brief explanation, and the Lancer asked what the best way to describe DQ was. Naofumi explains that Dragon Quest has a light-hearted tone with a whimsical classic fantasy feel in comparison to FF. Itsuki also adds that DQ is more interconnected.
They also told him DQ made by Square Enix angloside FF, which... Motoyasu blinked.
"wait? Square... Enix? don't you mean Square Solf?" He asked the two just exhausted glances before pounder implication.
"I see, so that explains... Enix has never been in Motoyasu's world." Archer said, confusing the spear hero. "huh?"
Itsuki quickly explained. "Basically, in my world, there was a game company called Enix, which was DQ, but during the early 2000s, they merged with Square Solf, forming Square Enix. And by Naofumi's expression, I can guess the same thing." He asked, to which Naofumi nodded.
Huh... you know, I thought my and Naofumi's worlds were nearly identical. But it seems there are major differences..." Blonde said.
Three Heroes decided to eat their breakfast when Naofumi got a thought.
"Say... do you guys know about the game Live a Live?" He asked
Nope...
sorry, I never heard of it; why?
Naofumi just smiled nervously. "Oh nothing...random thought… ahahah," he said as he looked away; this gathered the attention of Motoyasu.
"ANYWAY!" Naofumi shouted suddenly. "Oersted woke up early, and the maid is with us when calling us," he said. The other two heroes,
Motoyasu was a bit nervous to see him again.
Seeing their nervous looks, Naofumi spoke, "Look, now you two don't know the truth, but..." But was cut off in mid-sentence. "Is... alright," interjected Motoyasu, surprisedly enough. "Look, don't forgive him, but do understand him." he finished
Naofumi was still a bit uncertain. "I... still don't know if this is just a collective dream we are having... or this a Fushigi Yuugi situation."
The Two just glanced at the Shielder.
"huh... that's a deep-cut reference"
Naofumi chuckled, and then all three of them began laughing...
"excuse"
The Three shifted their attention to see a duo of knights positioned at the entrance. One of the knights spoke with a tone of authority, "Greetings, O Brave Heroes. We are here to escort you to meet His Majesty."
The Three Heroes shared confused looks, with one of them questioning. "What?... Already?" They got up from their chairs and started walking out of the dining hall, when Naofumi informed the knights abouts the Sword Hero's absence, "Oh right... The Sword Hero is..."
Before he could complete his statement, the knight cut in, saying, "Don't fret. We have already sent someone to fetch him." With that reassurance, the knights led the way as the group exited the dining hall, anticipation hanging in the air as they prepared to meet the king.
MEANWHILE
Oersted yawned after finishing the 10th book.
These books lacked any useful information, instead focused more on the Spear Hero, as opposed to the Shield, who is barely mentioned in these.
That he deliberated on what the advisors said yesterday:
He pounder one that advisors years:
-"Yes, Legend states that your weapons will reward you all by offering the opportunity to create ideal circumstances back home, or you can live here where they will be treated as heroes for the rest of their lives"-
What if Spear Heroes after stopping the wave decided to stay living their lives as heroes and... is it possible that their status may even marry into the royal family...
His thinking was disrupted by the sound of an unfamiliar voice talking to Miss Quistis.
Standing up, he approached and saw a young man who appeared to be around the ages of Naofumi and Itsuki. ; he was wearing a typical knight sans the helmet and coif, which revealed his... white hair.
The pair were engaged in a discussion.
"Como on, Lady Trepe, I beg of you..." the knight pleaded as the Librarian packed some scrolls into a crate. "Blue Magic isn't something that can be learned, and besides you, that is how the Church views..." She warmed him, but he interrupted her.
"yeah, yeah 'the devil's work,' blah-blah-blah, they said the same thing about black magic years ago, and look at it now." The knight rolled his eyes as he spoke.
The Young Knight was eager to learn magic... Oersted can't stop to compare to himself when he was young and native…
The Riverbed
Oersted hailed the staff tiredly, reciting arcane words and performing the ancient movement; he felt mane flowing through him. Then his eyes open glowing with power, before yelling out
"Wind strike came f'rth"
...
But nothing happens... Again. The Knight just let out a groan. He hears a sigh behind him. It comes from Streibough, who is sitting against a tree. "Thee brute forced it; you need to empty thy mind and…"
But Oersted just groans "yeah, i didst I also took a deep breath, performed these moves, and did recite those whatev'r chants, but still nothing" He said in annoyance
The Mage just sighed and rubbed his temples. "Look Am I natural for this, i
did teach thee the most i can... but for someone who is't nev'r used magic,doth take timeth". He said, trying to assure.
Oersted just groans and gives the Mage his staff. Deciding to train his swordplay, the mage just signed.
The Knight unsheathed his sword, and as he swung it, an unexpected gale swept through the air, throwing him off balance. "The hell?" he shouted, bewildered. Streibough rushed over to his friend, asking if he was all right.
"Yeah, I'm tis fine, but what hath happened?" He asked the mage, Streibough's eyes widened as he examined the hand.
"Thy hand was imbu'd with the arcane forces... at which thee swung…" His voice trailed off, lost in thought.
Oersted regained his footing, with determination in his eyes. He grasped the sword, clutching the sword firmly, he readied himself to chant a spell.
"Wind strike ca—" he began, but before he could finish, a swirling blade of air shot out from his sword, hitting a nearby tree and cutting the trunk in half.
Both men stood in stunned silence, their jaws dropping in disbelief. Then, the Knight jumped in joyous celebration. "Aye! I did it! I actually did it!" He jumped with excitement, a big smile spreading on his face. But, Streibough stayed immobile, his thoughts rapidly trying to comprehend what he just witnessed.
At that Time, he didn't think much of it. But what if...
"Sir Oersted?"
He suddenly came back from his thoughts, spinning around to find both the Librarian and the young Knight.
Oersted tousled his hair and awkwardly smiled. "I apologize, I heard your conversation by accident, hahaha," he chuckled.
"Is alright, in fact, my friend, to here see you," She said, addressing the knight beside her, who gave him a salute before bowing.
"Yes, I was sent escorting to see the King," he said before standing up.
Oersted didn't say anything, just stared at the knight with his arms crossed; the two glanced at each other before the hero let out a chuckle. "Alright, lead the way, sir..."
He said.
"Ake! Sir...Oersted was it?" he said, awkwardly smiling towards the older knight before him.
The Oersted wouldn't but chuckle at the young man. "Just Oersted will be fine," he said before both knights left the Library.
Later
The Three were brought to the throne room as they were yesterday. There was a king on his throne, but there was a line of 12 people standing in front of the throne; they were probably the group of adventures the king spoke about yesterday.
"Ah, great heroes, I see you all..."
Aultcray blinked as they noticed someone was missing. "Where is the sword hero? " He said, the shield hero informed him that he went for a walk.
As he said that, Oersted arrived accompanied by the young knight. Upon seeing the man who bested the undefeated Garland, some noble reeled in fear, Oersted recognized some
half of them were in court yesterday...
"Sorry about being late and..." He said before turning towards Motoyasu; both gave awkward looks. "I... want to say am-" But interrupted by the taller blonde. "Look, can we talk about that, later?" He said while turning away. Oersted wasn't sure if he avoiding him…
Nevertheless, the four heroes all faced the line of advantages. The King cleared his throat before speaking. "We have gathered the greatest warriors in the land." He said, addressing adventures. "These brave souls will-"
"Wait"
The King widened in surprise and saw it was the knight who stepped forward. "I will be the judge of that." he walked toward the gathered Adventurers to… inspect them? The King narrowed his eyes, he was annoyed by the sword hero testing his patience.
After finishing, before saying. "These are the best? Half of them looked like jesters to me" he said, which angered the adventurers, especially…
"Jesters?" One of the adventures said, stepping further; he was a tall and robust man with a thick mustache. His most were brightly colored, extravagant armorhe was also wielding a Silver Axe. "Who do you think you are? He demanded.
The sword hero gave an unimpressed look. "Someone who doesn't want to babysit some Wannabe Adventurer who got here, thank their high status." He Mocked
The man gritted his teeth and approached the hero; some guards tried to warm him. "Sir Mald, you wouldn't want to anger..." The man, now identified as Mald, told him to be quiet as he grabbed his Axe clearly in an act of intimidation. But he was interrupted, this time by the Shield Hero. Um, Sir, You know he defeated your General in combat, right?"
The Adventurers were surprised by the shield hero's statement, then they turned to the hero knight… who was smirking at the rude knight. Who was taken aback, by the revelation, Oersted with a swift motion, unsheathed his blade and brought it just inches to man's face before anyone could reach. The man trembled. I wanted to say...is... am looking... forward fighting alongside you..." He spoke as he nervously smiled before going back to the line.
Oersted gave a disappointing look before returning next to the other heroes.
The three just annoyedly looked towards him, who, for his part, rolled his eyes.
"Anyway let this over with. I'm going pick that rude knight..." he points to Mald who reeled in fear. "...keep him in line, then I'm going..." But he soon interrupted.
"Um, Sir Oersted," said one of the King's advisors. The Knight just groans. " What now?" He asked which caused the man to leap in fear. "Aaah!" he screamed, but when he realized nothing happened, he regained his composure. "What I mean to say is these fine adventurers will choose who they will accompany". He said.
The Four just stared at the man before Oersted broke the silence. "why?" He inquired, the other three also wondered
Upon seeing this, the other advisor explains that it is traditional to force warriors to offer their strength to the heroes.
"or...this is a waste of our time." The Knight interjected, the advisors looked nervously, while the King looked irritated.
But the knight signed. "Fine, get this over with."
The King stood up and announced. "Now Our future champions, the time has come to begin your journey!" as the king said, all the adventurers moved behind the hero of their choosing,
Oersted turns towards the ones who chose him. Were Four individuals funny enough?
- The 1st was was Large man with short black hair, carrying an axe
- 2nd was blond hair man who dressed like a thief in a green cloak
- 3rd was Grey man typical noble attire, had a bag holding a book... so a mage
- Finally the 4th was a young green-haired woman with ponytail, who was probably a martial artist judging the lack of weapons and the outfit...she oddly reminded him of both Pogo and Li
But he wasn't interested; instead, he was, in fact, that Naofumi...
"Yo! King!"
No one chose the Shield Hero.
The Advisor narrows his eyes. "'Yo, King'? You... "
"cough"
The advisors widened as they turned to see the knight glaring at them.
"I, I... I mean, It must be that rumor that is quickly spreading around town that the so-called Shield Hero is ignorant of this world.
"What?" Said three heroes while the knight just stood silent. "Wasn't Oersted the one who complained yesterday," Itsuki points out, which shocks the adventurers. "wait? That was you?" Asked the green-haired girl. The Knight didn't respond; just stared at the king and his terrified advisors for a few moments. The King calmly explains "Legend tells us the heroes arrive with a firm understanding of our lands"
The Three exchanged glances while the knight murmured, "Of course."
Naofumi was about to say something, but the Knight raised his hand grabbing everyone's attention. "Before anything is said, I have a question. " He said, the king narrowed his eyes at the sword hero. "yes"
Oersted began. "So, this whole Party concept, the summoned heroes considered the leaders?" His question left everyone looking bewildered, unsure of what he was getting at. "yes?" said the king, confused by the question.
The Knight pressed on, "So, that means I am the leader of my party, correct?"
"Yeah," the heroes, including Naofumi, said.
"Ah, I see..." he turned towards his party. "Is that true?" He asked them, and all The Four nodded.
"Good... that I order you Four to accompany the shield, NOW!" He ordered, which shocked everyone in the room, the king especially was shocked. "What is he doing!" he thought everything was falling apart.
The Four exchanged uncertain looks before the larger man spoke. "Sir Sword Hero, we can't just... Ouch." Suddenly Oersted punched the larger man in the gut causing him to fall to his knees, he coughed to turn towards the hero, and to everyone's horror seeing him unsheathed his blade placed inches of the large man's throat.
I will make things easier. I Am going to count to 5; if you four refuse to go with the Shield hero before I am finished... well, starting CUTTING. 5." He said, everyone was horrified.
King was shocked. "Sword Hero! I order you..." The Knight turns and glares at the king who reeled in fear.
"I DON'T TAKE ORDERS! REMEMBER?" He roared before turning towards his 'Party'
"4"
"Oersted! You can't be serious..." Motoyasu tried to stop him, but the knight glared at Spear Hero. "Didn't thee sayeth this is a game or a dream or whatev'r, last night?" he said, speaking with a odd accent
This caused Motoyasu to reel back and turn into shame. "Yeah. But..." this shocks everyone.
"Well if this isn't real so then killing 2 random nobodies will matter… RIGHT?" He asked, before resuming counting.
"3"
However, Itsuki was wondering about the mad knight's sentiment "Two?" Before noticing rogue and mage were missing and turning to them were beside Naofumi; Shielder noticed the archer look, turning, he jumped when they noticed two Adventurers. "Don't judge us," they said.
This leaves the Axe wielder and the Mook both panicking. The Knight just coldly continues counting down.
"2!"
The Room brace themselves with most turning their eyes away
"1!"
Oersted says as a prepared swung, when...
"OK!" He shouted at the man, he got up, and walked slowly toward Naofumi. The girl was shaking in fear; the knight glared at her side-glared and gestured to her to do the same. Which she did.
Everyone let out sighed in relief, but Naofumi walked up to the knight and punched him in the face, much to everyone's horror.
"The F # Man?!" He yelled.
The knight remained silent as he rubbed his face. "Huh… 4 damage?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice. But Naofumi grabbed him by the collar. "Don't change the subject, you ASS! What were you thinking?" Naofumi yelled.
The adventurers couldn't determine if the Shield Hero was brave enough to confront the knight… or was incredibly stupid to provoke the insane hero.
After a few moments, Oersted finally spoke. "Oh my, sorry. If these so-called Adventurers accept some baseless rumor that, well… I decided to send the record straight." Oersted coldly said. he didn't care what others thought... wouldn't let anything happen to Naofumi.
His "party" is now beside Naofumi, that's all that matters.
The Room was silent, seeing both heroes stare at each other. Until Naofumi turned and headed towards his party, the King was especially stunned, his plan went up in smoke, worse still the blasted sword just made the shield more heroic in comparison.
The King shouted loudly. "Sir Oersted, that was completely wasn't necessary. I would send a few to my knights to..." but stopped, and just glared at him. "oh, is that true? You are ordering your knights to companing a hero, after the fact?" he said. The king just glared at the so-called hero.
"May know you for at least a day, but I can tell you are unworthy of that crown, least my respect! You can keep your guards, I am fine on my own!" He finished, everyone just stared in shock. The King was fuming at the knight, it took all his might to not lock him up in the dungeon.
Both Men glared at each other until.
"excuse"
The attention turned towards one of the adventurers behind the spear hero, a beautiful redhead with green eyes and a short purple skirt who have her hand raised. "I attempted to volunteer to join the Shield...but since then the issue has been resolved. I would like to join the Sword Hero." She asked
Everyone gasped in shock. "huh? what?" King said he seemed... worried about the woman.
"Are you sure?" asked Motoyasu; the woman nodded. This prompted him to face the knight and pulled him towards the corner. Both Itsuki and Naofumi decided to follow.
"Ok, asshole, I was willing to put up with your outbursts; I am willing to forgive you for last night... but I draw the line of you killing," Motoyasu told the knight, who cocked his head.
"...who said anything about 'killing'?" he inquired, which left Spearman puzzled until Itsuki understood the situation. "... you were pretending?" he asked.
"Of Course, I just want to scare them into doing what I ordered, it isn't my fault that they refused," he said nonchalantly.
The Three looked at him bewildered. "But you went too far!" Itsuki exclaimed. "You're a Hero, you..." But the Knight cut him off. "I'm not a hero, I never claimed to be one. The one time I acted like one was when I caused the destruction of my kingdom," he said. Itsuki was taken aback, he looked tha thet order hero.
"Even still, you went too far... look, just try to act like a hero... you're making us look bad." The Archer said.
The Knight looked at them... before sighing. "Fine... I do knight bethink to taketh the maiden und'r mine own wing." he said with that odd accent.
After finishing that, the knight walked up to the maiden and courteously bowed in front of her. "Very well, M'lady" This woman was surprised how gentlemanly the man was acting. "Thank you Sir..." she said
"Is Oersted, miss...?" He inquired her name..
"Oh, Mein, Sir Oersted." she responded, offering a respectful bow. However, The Knight experienced a sudden feeling of familiarity upon hearing that name. "Mein... Me...MEDEA?" He thought, maybe this was a blessing in disgust.
The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence until one of the guards eventually spoke up. "Umm, sir, you need to add her to your party." he said. Oersted looked at the man with a puzzled expression. "huh? But I just did," he said, causing the majority of those present to facepalm.
Motoyasu explained. "No no no, just… open your HUD." he suggested, Oersted did what he was told and... saw a notification.
'Mein' want to join your party
Do you Active?
[YES] [NO]
The Knight just stared at the screen bewildered, before rolling his eyes and pressing [YES].
"It is stupid… I mean what's the point of this? " he asked, no one would answer.
At the same time Naofumi also found the invent screen and added the four to his party. He suggestion. "Maybe this activates some EXP share function in the weapons." He said. Everyone turns towards the Shield Hero in surprise.
"Huh…"
"Yeah… that makes sense…"
After that that Four heroes have their party:
Naofumi was now accompanied by Oersted's Party
Motoyasu had a Blonde woman, Maron-haired woman with a ponytail and a... Red haired middle aged man with a rose-style outfit, wielder a rapier
Itsuki's Party was that rude knight, a spear woman, a swordsman, and a hooded person who Oersted wouldn't tell if was a male or a female
And Oersted had the maiden...
"These were the best of the best?" He thought, feeling insulted
The King rubs his temples before addressing them. "Now, Every month, we shall provide each hero with the funds they require to procure all necessary equipment!" He Said
The Three turned towards the Knight inspecting him to complain, he just gave a raised eye at them. "What? Do you think was given this armor? All Knights in Lucrece buy their own Armor and equipment." he said
This surprised the guards. "Really?"
The King continued. "Anyway, since Oersted has only one party member, his payment will be higher than the others." He said, no one seems to have any complaints.
Once they receive their funds, Oersted turns to his new companion. "So… Now what?. He inquired, surprising the woman. "huh?"
"Well, you're from here, right? Thus, allowing you to take the lead," He stated, Mein pondered for a moment.
"well... I think it is better to use the funds to get better equipment. she said. The Knight nodded and motioned for her to take the lead.
She faced the King, who appeared concerned, she made a gesture, telling him that everything was fine, before smirking under breath.
After all... she just hit the jackpot, screw Father's and that dumb priest's plan. She got a stronger hero, now all she just needs to do is earn his loyalty and the kingdom will be her…
And besides... what could go wrong…
Notes
She... will probably regent say that...
But anyway, it is official: both Oersted and Aultcray now hate each other. Also a bit of foreshadowing for Eclair.
Also Also, even SE Characters
- Squall's and Quisti's backstories somewhat the same, just a few alterations
- The same for Gamma
- You probably wonder why Ake has white hair, yet combined a certain FF Character and their character...
As for Dinner hall scene, I want to establish how different three Earths are:
- Naofumi is similar to our Earth
- Motoyasu's world: Enix never exist Dragon Quest while
- and for Itsuki, I had an idea that in his world, DQ is more popular that FF and in his Enix, who made Kingdom Hearts.
For the Three Young Heroes
- Motoyasu is be somewhat the same but mixing aspect of original story and from The Reprise of the Spear Hero versions
- While to Naofumi for can
- As for Itsuki, i think will be interested to see his and Oersted's dynamic, between two men who want be a hero: one egotistical too understand what true heroism even is, while the other understands it, but believes himself to never be one.