stood over the door of the village chief's house, nervously twiddling with my hands to calm my nerves down.
There are only three days left until the waves arrive here. I don't know what will happen to this village if it does so the right thing to do would be to warn the chief of the incoming wave and have them evacuate when it comes.
The reason why the first wave was so devastating according to the statements I have heard from the villagers that I have talked with here is that no one in this world can keep track of when the next wave will occur, making everybody helpless when it does appear and catching everyone off guard.
It is stated in "legends" that only the 4 legendary heroes and the seven-star heroes have the ability to keep track of the waves from the hourglass. I…was actually quite curious about the fact that they are other heroes besides us and wondered why we haven't even heard of them yet.
Food for thought.
But they are not important as right now, the important thing for me to do is warn the chief that the next wave is coming…but that would mean letting them know I was the Shield hero. And that will not be a fun conversation for me. Hopefully, the news of my…accusation hasn't arrived yet in this village. Doubtful but I need all the luck I can get here.
Just…take a deep breath and…
Knock Knock
"Come in."
I opened the door to find myself in front of a cozy living room. It looks just as what I would expect a living room from the old ages to look like. I can see on the far left side of the living room what appears to be a bunch of burnt wood plopped together with a tube of bricks connecting upwards. I can see the dining table in the distance with fruits placed on a bowl. I could probably make out some other medieval stuff here like the animal skulls being hung on the walls but they are not the focus right now.
The village chief is seen sitting down on a couch as ungodly amounts of paper can be seen on his table. Too bad for me I can't read any of this so it all looks gibberish to me.
Thank God too for that, I wouldn't want to have a request that involves…paperwork. I got enough of that from school thank you.
He looked at me and beamed. "Ah, Enigma! What a surprise visit from you. Please come in."
I nodded politely as I closed the door behind me before sitting at the opposite side of him, wanting to try to be as professional as I can be.
"Now then…what can I do for you?" He asked as he continued to look at his papers and wrote some things down.
I decided that while I worked up the courage to…tell him about the waves, I decided to just ask him some basic stuff. "Umm…how are you doing sir? I mean with the village and all…"
Ladies and gentlemen, master of conversationalist Greg Veder over here, not being able to even ask the simplest questions…man when did I get so cynical?
Luckily the chief was more than happy to tell him about it. "Ah yes! Due to your efforts for clearing out the mines, business has been booming thanks to our supply of light metal. We have also been able to equip our own men with new fresh gears as well. I can never truly thank you enough for all you have done Sir Enigma." He bowed his head, inclined to let me know how grateful he was to me.
I couldn't help but let out a smile underneath my metal mask, knowing that the pain I went through in the mines that day…was all worth it in the end. And we got good metal that Erhard was able to put into use and gave us fresh new armor since ours has been through quite the wringer.
The new armor I have been wearing or rather, the armor that was upgraded to was much better than our previous ones. The downside though was that since the leather came from a very rare bull, Erhard wasn't able to repair the armor with the same leather, thus reducing the bonus I got from it but the jump in defences made it all worth it in the end anyway.
[The Blacklight Armor - Equip Bonus - +49 DEF - Enchantment - Increase ATK +10%]
New name aside, the light metal that I acquired in the mines also gave me a new shield that would really help against those with magic attacks. Alongside the corpse of the two-headed dog that gave me another somewhat offensive shield as well.
[Light Metal Shield - Equip Bonus - +5 DEF - Equip Effect - +25% MGD]
[Two-headed black dog Shield - Equip Bonus - +2 DEF - Alert Shield - Equip Effect - Dog Bite]
Overall, I say that the mission to that mine was worth it, and since it also gave people access to the metal…well all the better no?
I could do without the two-headed dog eating my shoulders though…that particular encounter sucked.
I gave him a nervous laugh at his…praise. "It was nothing, sir…I'm sure that given time, one of the adventurers would have accepted your quest at some point…"
The chief however was triggered by my words and gripped the paper a bit tightly. "Ah yes…the adventurers who could care less about us as long as they can fill their own pockets. That request that I had you do? Been there ever since after the wave and even after almost a month, not a single person even dared to take the quest at all. Not even the damn Heroes that were supposed to save us."
I winced at the hero's part as ironically, I am a hero that did the request, just not the one they may like.
"But it doesn't matter now. You not only slain the beast but also did help the people in my village as well, despite your incapability to read and for that, you have my thanks." He waved off the issue with a kind old smile before continuing. "So young man, for why have you visited me? Surely it's not to just chat right? Of course, if that is the only thing you desire, I would be more than happy to tell tales of this village if you like?"
I shook my head as I prepared myself for the worst. "No…but I'm here to tell you that the wave will be arriving within 3 days from now on, around midnight."
I waited with bated breath as I watch the chief stare at me with calculating eyes. I shifted nervously in my seat and wondered why the hell did I had not brought Rifana or Raphtalia with me into this meeting.
Oh right, it's because I gave them a break for today to let them hang out with some friends in the village. Kinda my fault there.
The chief then nodded to my absolute shock. "I see…thank you for telling me this Enigma. This news of yours would hopefully save more lives when it inevitably hits."
I was just shocked at the fact that he didn't even seem fazed by the news. News that should have at least shocked the man that I was one of the four heroes standing right here in front of him, telling him this news. Does he suspect of me being a hero or is it something else he isn't telling me…
"Will you be present in defending our village, Shield Hero?"
My eyes widened at his words, causing me to stand up and reflexively change to [Bladed Shield] as my eyes darted around his home, afraid that any moment now, the knights would jump in and arrest me for another crime I haven't committed yet. I even look behind me to see nothing but a window that is displaying children playing from afar.
I then focused my attention on the chief who just simply smiles and rearranges his papers neatly and stacked them against each other before putting them down and focusing all his attention on me. There was only one question that I had to ask…
"How?"
The chief sighed deeply. "Many clues that separate to each other meant little, but together painted a picture. I am doubtful if you went to another village or town, they would piece it together now."
So it didn't matter how he found out then? But it should! That would mean that this disguise is ineffective and I would need to find out what flaws it had in order to disguise myself better.
I was about to ask him just that before the old man raises his hand. "Do not worry on how I found out. All you need to know is that your secret is safe and no one else knows but me and a few confidants of mine." I couldn't trust these so-called confidants of his as I have never even met them. Then again, I was too busy grinding my XP so I probably wouldn't have notice him with his confidants if they passed by me anyway so it's futile to even ask. I just have to place my faith that his confidants of his wont come to backstab me nor my allies.
I let out a sigh as I sat down back at the couch and glanced cautiously at the smiling chief. Something telling me that he knows a lot more shit than I could ever imagine.
But it's not relevant right now for this topic so I dropped it.
I took a few deep breaths before deciding to just do something reckless. If he knew I was the Shield hero, might as well be comfortable right?
I pull the hood out of my head as I took off my metal mask and revealed myself to him, showing him my vulnerable expression. I really am not comfortable with this…but I was gonna reveal my identity anyway so this changes nothing.
"So…now what? Will you arrest me? Kick me out of the village? Just tell me and I'll be out of here." I tried not to sound bitter but after all the effort I have made into keeping my disguise to be figured out this easily? Well…it says a lot about me as someone who is clumsy and not careful.
"Hmmm…now what indeed Shield Hero? Or should I say…ah Greg Veder right?"
"Just…Greg is fine sir. No need to get fancy."
"Greg then…well here is my opinion about you…" I bated my breath as I wait for his verdict on what will happen to me.
But his response shocked me.
"Quite frankly, all the accusations to you are absolute bullshit if you ask me. But even if they were true in the first place…I would honestly not care for it. You were the one who came here into my village and helped us, not the knights of Melromarc, nor any of the adventurers that passed by on occasion, you did Sir Greg. You, despite all the accusations made on you, lend your hand to this poor village of mine. Why I haven't seen any of my people this lively since the wave had fallen upon my village. For that, you truly have my eternal gratitude."
My face could only gaped as I tried to wrap my head around it. I didn't came here just to help people, I came here because this village seemed like a safe place for me and the others to hide from. I only helped the people around here because I still needed some coins despite being technically rich. The mine quest was just a coincidence that benefitted me and the village all the same. If anything…I'm the one who should be thankful for letting me hide here in the first place.
The elder can see my face clear as day and chuckled. "When you get to my age sir Greg, you tend to see things from a different perspective. It also helps that I have experience in such things as politics so this is something you don't have to worry about. You got enough on your plate as it is with the waves. Just focus on your job Sir Greg and protect our world. That is all I ask from you." With his piece said he stood up as he grabbed his stack of papers before going upstairs, presumably to his room.
The words he said to me were…something I needed to hear ever since I came to this world. Something that my comrades couldn't fulfill. This was it…even though it took about almost a month before it finally happened…
Gratitude. Recognition for my deeds. Acknowledgment as a hero…it made me feel…happy. It gave me such warm feelings in my chest and stomach. I couldn't just help but…express it to him. Even if it's for something so simple…
"Thank you Sir for your kind words! I will protect this world, this I promise you!"
The chief glanced behind him at the declaration and just gave me a smile before heading to his room. I left the chief house, determined to live up to his expectations (low as they are), and set out.
I wonder if the village needs more medicine and optional? I should ask and make a bunch more for them.
April 6, 2011
"Let me get this straight…you want to buy all of my armor and weapons correct?" Erhard questioned my request and I simply shook my head and clarified.
"Not all of them…just enough that could fit my budget."
"And how much is your budget?" Erhard looked skeptical at me as if I couldn't afford the price for it. Well if I didn't rob the noble a few weeks ago then he would be right to do so. But I haven't drained that much from the silver I gained aside from buying the armors that cost around one thousand to buy…
Huh…maybe it would have been better if I bought something cheaper seeing as the armor didn't last long before it needed to be repaired…hmm. I wonder if there are any self-repairing armors I can buy instead…
Thoughts for later I suppose.
"Four thousand silver."
"F-forty Gold!?" Erhard had to do a spit take without the water as he looked at me as if I was crazy to spend that much. "Where the hell did you get that amount of money from?! I understand if you would pay at least one thousand silvers but four thousand just seems way too overkill!"
Oh right…I never told him that I robbed a noble yet huh…maybe it would be for the best if I didn't say that…
"...generous donation?"
"Who even-! You know what, never mind, I won't ask." He just shook his head tiredly as he went over to his collection and began piling up the armors and swords that will be stored in my inventory.
I didn't bring Raphtalia or Rifana with me as I asked them to help Lute village prepare for the oncoming waves. They protested in me going alone without anybody with me but I told them that I would just stay in the road and avoid any monsters that I can't kill on my own, even though all the monsters at this point are too weak to even harm me in the first place. They reluctanly agreed and let me go.
I left Erhard's desk to let him do his job while I stared at the window that displayed people running on and about. Horses are seen rushing out with carriages quickly as a small battalion of knights marched on the streets as people began scrambling to buy things like food and medicine. They all looked quite stressed, probably hearing news about the waves that would be coming quite soon. The other heroes must have told the king about when the wave would arrive and decided to prepare for the inevitable.
I felt a bit of anxiety at this amount of preparation that was needed for this…wave. Sure, the four heroes might be far stronger than the average adventurer or citizen, no doubt about that but the fact I couldn't help but gulp at the possibility that maybe…the wave really is far more devastating than the king may have thought doesn't help with the churning of my stomach.
We were summoned from our own worlds to fight…but what if we aren't enough? What if despite all of our efforts, we might just…lose? What then? Would we simply revive back like indefinitely? Do we have a set amount of lives before we die permanently? Or do we have simply one life and that's it?
I couldn't help but shudder at the thought but I kept myself calm and collected. I'll be fine…I'm the Shield Hero after all. It's my task to protect my allies while they deal with the monsters.
I just hope we are strong enough.
"Here you go, kid!"
Erhard's voice brought me out of my stupor as I turned back to see the ungodly amounts of weapons and armor that lay on the desk. I walked over to them and began analyzing them.
So far…they are mostly iron weapons and leather armor. Some do have fancy stuff like magic iron weapons or iron armor as well but I'll take what I can get.
As I was about to get my pouch out to pay for the armor and weapons, the door behind me opened, alerting me of another customer. I was gonna just ignore them and pay the stuff when the voice of said customer stopped me in my tracks.
"Holy crap! That is so much gear! Who are you supplying these with, the whole city!?"
I hitched my breath as I immediately recognized that voice. The voice that I haven't heard since the trial. I turned around to see the spear guy and his harem of girls staring at me in shock. I began to have a little panic attack but I quickly pulled myself together and formed a hasty response.
"Th-this is for the village outside of here just a few hours walk over there. They were running low on weapons so I decided to buy it for them."
"But this is a lot though…are you sure you can carry this by yourself?" I slightly backed away at the spear guy's sincerity. I know that he can't recognize me due to my different armor and a mask on my face but its still feel so…weird to be treated kindly by him after being accused of a crime…
Yeah life is weird.
"Don't worry. I'll just get a carriage to help me bring this stuff with me." I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. I don't really feel comfortable with him around me. He might figure out my identity soon.
Unfortunately for me…his kindness is my downfall as he pats his chest and puffs out air. "I see! Then can we accompany you to the village then? It would be bad if you got attacked in the middle of the road and lost all of it."
What the hell? Was he always this much of a good guy that helps people whenever he goes? Or is he one of those "nice" guys I hear girls talk about back in school? Apparently the difference is "nice" guys aren't truthful while good guys are? Kinda confusing if I'm being honest but maybe he is just faking it?
"But Lord Motoyasu, we were supposed to go to talk to father about what we need to do about the waves." Mein's voice cuts into the conversation with concern on her voice. I couldn't help but frown underneath my mask as I tried my best not to clench my fist in front of them. I can't let them know that I know Mein or that I am the Shield Hero…
Man this is getting stressful already.
I let out a frustrated sigh, gaining the attention of everybody here. I quickly coughed into my hand embarrassingly. "Sorry about that. I'm not mad at you or anything, just a bit…stressed is all."
The spear guy waved it off with a smile. "Oh no don't worry about it. I get it that the waves may be scary but fear not! I, Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero will save the day! Along with my fellow heroes of course!"
I rolled my eyes at his so-called encouraging speech. A bit narcissistic don't you think? And yet all the girls in his party couldn't help but swoon at his sermon.
"That's just like you Sir Motoyasu."
"Ahhh~ I feel safe already with you, Spear hero."
"Yeah…we are safe thanks to you."
Surprisingly one girl in his party did not swoon like the other three girls but rather had a frown on her face. It's a mage girl, judging by the wizard hat and the staff but it's not like I would bother to learn her name anyway so she isn't important.
Thank God I didn't bring Raphtalia and Rifana with me or else I wouldn't know what I would do if this bastard would seduce them away from me…I might just kill the bastard and myself right there and then. Morbid but what else could I do at this point…
Shoot…he is looking at me isn't he? Gotta reply back, can't keep musing in my head now.
"Umm…ok?" Man, this is awkward even for me. Is it because of his cringe speech or is it because he hates my guts and only doesn't because of my mask? "Sure I guess…but I would prefer it if I were to transport these weapons and armor myself. I don't wanna disturb you and you have many more important things to do than to simply help out someone like me…" Please leave already dude! I can't handle this shit right now!
"But I must help you! I may not be a justice maniac like Itsuki but I am still a hero and my job is to protect and help the people too! That includes you in the list, mister..?"
"Enigma Sir."
"Right Enigma! By the way, a cool name for an adventurer. Not your real name right?"
Why the hell would he ask that question? Is he dumb or something? I just shook my head to answer his question.
"Cool! Well…let me just get some gear for my party and we can go after this!" He then turns to Erhard as he reveals his purpose for coming here. "Hey blacksmith, I want to see if you have some armor for Rino over here." He points to the mage girl. Huh…now I know her name…cool. "Also, do you have more spears for me to see? The last spears were good but not for me and I would like to see if there are any new ones for me?"
Ok…that was scummy. If I didn't tell Erhard about the weapon copy function, he would have given more spears for him,none the wiser.
And judging by the narrowing of the eyes by Erhard, he seemed pretty pissed off that he was gonna get ripped off again.
As he was about to open his mouth to tell him to go fuck himself…probably, he closed his mouth and contemplated for a few moments before smirking.
"Sure. How much is your budget for Rino's armor?"
The spear hero then dropped a pouch in front of him. "About…two hundred silver?"
The blacksmith nodded before taking the money and began to rummage his collection for the set he was looking for a mage type.
"So…why do you need my spears exactly? Surely yours is way superior compared to the ones I make… I mean…you did check them out yourself after all right?" Erhard prodded the question as he got a huge cloth and began wrapping all my armor and weapons and set them aside before beginning to look for armor that would fit for Rino.
The spear hero (ok maybe I should try and remember his actual name. Don't know why I hate Japanese names so much) shrugged. "Well…this spear is not that great. I mean…I'm still looking for better spears than this one and I figured at least I should check your store, seeing that you are the best around here right?"
Erhard grunted at the praise before taking out what looked like leather armor. "Huh…is that so." He narrowed his eyes on him. "And yet…you never bought any of the spears you looked at yourself. So are you saying that they aren't that good at all?"
The spear hero waves his hands in a placating manner. "Oh no! I'm sure your spears are great blacksmith but…it's just not better than my own one."
"Then can I see your spear instead? I wanna see it for myself." Erhard questioned as he gestured his hand to give him the legendary spear.
"Ahh…" Uh oh, looks like the spear hero is in some trouble as he slowly backs away. "I mean…the spear doesn't exactly come out of me so…"
"But you can put it on your back right? I mean…how else you're gonna go and eat or take a shower if the spear is in your hands all the time hm?" Erhard continued to look for gauntlets while his eyes were glancing at the speed hero sharply every now and then.
I blinked at his words and looked subtly down at my shield, wondering if I could do the exact same thing and hide it in my back rather than trying to hide it using my cloak…
That would be convenient. I should try that.
"Hey! You shouldn't get into the hero's affairs! You should do what he asks and give him your spears to look at!" Main berates Erhard but he was having none of that and looked at her blankly.
"Miss, you don't know a thing about blacksmith so shut it." I almost let out a laugh as Mein sputtered, while he glanced back at the spear hero. "I want to see your spear so that I can compare it to the ones in my collection and give you a better spear than the one you're using. Surely that is not a problem, no?"
"Ye-yeah…no problem at all." He gulped nervously before handing his spear to Erhard who took out a little magnifying glass and took a look at the spear. It's strange how he still is using the base form of the spear rather than using his most powerful one. It would take at least a second before he wills it to change forms so why change it to its weakest form? It would leave him vulnerable at that moment and he could die quickly.
Erhard looks intensely at the spear before nodding to himself. "Well…there should be a spear that is stronger than this one. Let me get it for you." He hands the legendary spear back to the harem protagonist and goes over to one of his spear racks and hands it to him. "I'm pretty sure that you checked this one out before but I could be wrong. My memory might be fuzzy with all the other customers buying my gear after all."
"Hehehe…yeah true." He looked away nervously as he took a look at the spear that Erhard handed him over. I decided to check the spear as well.
[Partisan - Equip Bonus - +62 ATK - Increase Critical Rate (+15%)]
Oh…oh shit he is so screwed. And that spear is so unfair!
"So?" Erhard is smiling like a predator that found his prey. "Is it better than the one you have?"
"Ye-yeah it is…" Oh God, it's so funny seeing the spear hero being afraid of a blacksmith of all people.
"This is enough! Stop harassing Sir Motoyasu and-!"
"Great!" He clapped his hands, ignoring Mein's complaint as he announced the price of the spear. "That would be about 450 silver pieces please."
Moto (yup, I'm shortening his name to Moto) gulped as he gave the spear back. "N-no thanks, sir. I don't have enough silver to pay for it."
"Oh? And I thought you heroes are paid by the king. Surely 450 silver isn't that much since it's discounted already." Erhard raised his eyebrow incredulously at Moto.
"Dis-discount?!"
"Yeah. That spear is worth 10 gold without any discount."
Yikes! That would hurt your wallet a lot that's for sure.
"That price is outrageous!" I looked at Mein with an unamused glare as she voiced her complaint. "You should lower it to 200 silver! That price would suit him better."
"No." Erhard shuts her down hard. "He may be the legendary hero but I run a business too. And if he can't accept the discounted price then he shouldn't bother." He then turns towards Moto. "The other "spears" that I have in the back are far more powerful than this one but cost way more and if you can't afford them then I don't see the reason why I shouldn't let you see them at all."
"But can't you at least let me see them?! Just a little peek? So that I can know if they are worth buying?" Moto asked him, unaware of the fact that Erhard can see his BS that he would just copy the weapon and leave. There is no point, he won't be getting through.
And with the shake of his head, the deal is off. "Can't afford to do that Sir Hero. Sorry but bring more silver and maybe we could talk."
"This is an outrage! I will have this establishment-!"
Whatever Mein was about to say to him was interrupted as the door opened, revealing a knight looking a bit haggard. He looked for a bit before finding Mein and walked to her. "Mein, you are requested by your father to meet with him and the spear hero right away!"
"Now?!" The knight nodded at her words which made her take a deep breath and just flicked her hair. "Fine. Our meeting is way more important anyway than arguing with overcharged sticks. Let's go Sir Motoyasu." She dragged Moto and the rest of the sans Rino and left the building.
"Umm…" Rino looked confused before Erhard handed her the armor set for her.
"Here lad, this is worth 200 silver. This gear will give you a boost in your magic attacks. It's not that much but it should help you at least a little bit."
"Oh…thank you, Mr. Blacksmith." She bowed to him before taking the armor and left.
Erhard clicked his tongue and turned towards me. "Thanks for that warning from before. If I didn't know any better, he would have gotten away with it scott free."
I just gave him a thumbs-up before giving him the four thousand silver from my inventory and handing it to him. I went over to the wrapped cloth filled with weapons and armor and had my shield store them in my inventory.
"Thanks again for the weapons and armor!"
Erhard smirked and patted me on the back. "Sure kid! Knock those monsters dead!"
I grumbled about not being a kid before leaving the building with a small smile hidden by my mask.
5 minutes and 34 seconds
I took in a deep breath of this slightly cold night as I stood outside the village, staring off into the forest. It's almost time for the waves to fall upon us and I have never been more nervous than in my entire life.
This isn't the same nervousness as trying to talk to girls or trying to make friends or even the nervousness of being the next victim to be kidnapped by the ABB or drugged by the Merchants no. Instead, I'm nervous about how this wave could go down and screw us all. And how the village behind me could be in ruins.
I heard an announcement from the passing knights that all the cardinal heroes should gather in the town square of Castle town but I didn't even bother to go back there again and instead dedicate my life to protecting this village instead. It was the right call too as no knights have even dared show themselves here in this village. Only a few adventurers showed up here. All the weapons and armor that I delivered went to the guards of the village and the men who were willing to fight and die here.
My anger flashed in that moment but I took a deep breath and let it all out. No use in getting angry for something you can't do shit about.
"Umm…sir Enigma?"
I turned around to see a teenager boy with pink hair who was quite nervous. Whether it's because I am making him nervous or that's who he is, I wouldn't know.
"Yeah?"
"The uhh…women and children have all been evacuated to the mines and are now being barricaded inside."
I nodded at the unnecessary report for me. I don't know why he decided to tell me this but I guess it was at least a bit helpful I suppose. "Thank you sir knight for telling me that."
"Oh no! I'm not a knight…I'm just a guy fighting here because…I can't do anything else…" The young man looked down at his feet with a frown on his face which I mirrored. I wasn't sure why he was sad about this. Maybe he was forced to fight here? Maybe he is afraid? There are too many things that could go through in his mind.
I decided to try and encourage him…even if I'm not the best at it. "Well…all you can really do is try your best. For…whatever you're fighting here for."
The young teenager nodded before scurrying away from me. Huh…weird kid.
I turned back to simply stare at the eerily quiet forest. No crickets can be heard nor the footsteps of animals nor even the sounds of animals killing each other. It seemed like they know what's coming and decided to just stay out of trouble. Maybe even flee outside the forest as well…
I decided to just check the stats while passing the time.
Greg Veder - LVL 33
Raphtalia - LVL 38
Rifana - LVL 23
It seems that Raphtalia is almost leveled up to forty while Rifana is slowly trying to catch up to her. But what caught me off guard is the fact that the stats of Rifana and Raphtalia are heavily unbalanced in Raphtalia's favour. Even when Raphtalia was 23 back then, her stats were way bigger than Rifana's. It's weird though… I wonder why that was the case until I remembered that a certain shield did that.
The Slave User shield. A shield that can boost not only XP gains but also give your increased bonus stats as well …only downside is that you need to be a slave in order to get the benefits. Something that I won't even suggest to Rifana at all in the first place, bonus stats or not.
It just…wouldn't feel right for me to bind her while I was planning on releasing her friend as well anyway…so no need to cause unnecessary pain.
I just hope that my kindness doesn't bite me in the ass and get her killed.
"Greg?"
My musing was interrupted as I turned back to see Raphtalia approaching me.
"Oh hey," I gave her a small wave. "Where is Rifana?"
"She is currently helping the guards barricade the mines. I wasn't needed there so I came to look for you." Raphtalia came close to me, standing beside me. I nodded to her before looking back into the forest aimlessly.
We both stood here for a few minutes, not knowing what to say to each other. Not like I knew how to make conversation anyway. I wasn't always the greatest in making friends, I know that now thanks to the experience I went through arriving in this world. It really made me think…was trying to make friends in Winslow even worth it in the end?
The only decent people there in that school are people who were already forced into the gangs, social outcasts that I haven't myself even bothered to reach out…or Taylor.
An unpleasant emotion made itself known in my stomach, twisting it into something ugly. I knew that beating myself up for something that has happened already seemed silly, even stupid but…I just couldn't help but have so many what-ifs in my mind if I just fucking reached out to her and helped her at least carry her burden of being the social pariah…
It really made me wonder if…I deserve this power that I wield in my shield? I'm pretty sure the Wards, despite all the rules imposed on them by the PRT, could do a better job using this power to save so many people.
"Greg?"
I looked beside me to see Raphtalia with a complicated expression on her face. I don't know what she is thinking about. But it's not like I'll know until she tells me about it. "Yeah?"
"I…wanna talk for a bit. Is that ok?"
I tilted my head at her but remained quiet and gestured to let her speak.
"Thank you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I…was enslaved after the first wave hit."
I flinched at her dead tone, not liking how she was talking about how she was enslaved but I remained quiet as she continued to talk.
"I used to live in a remote region of this country. The demi-human village that I grew up in focused on agriculture and farming; it was also the spawn point of the very first wave."
She then continued her tale, on how at first the monsters from the wave were being handled quite well by the adventurers and soldiers. But eventually, the overwhelming monsters had them outmatched and soon, the first and last line of defense was breached.
Then a pitch-black, three-headed Cerberus appeared. And the villagers were trampled upon like they were helpless wilderness buds.
My eyes widened at the detail, remembering how Rifana and Raphtalia trembled at the sight of the two-headed dog, despite them being completely different from what she described. They both may had trauma from dogs that has a resemblance of the one from the wave. Let's hope Bitch doesn't come here and traumatize them here either.
I continue to listen to her story as she described her and her parents running away from the three headed beast, only to end up in a cliff. Her parents threw her off in the cliff, sacrificing themselves to save her. My gut churned even further for her. No child should ever go through shit like that. It's like a tale of Behemot or Leviathan survivors. There are terrible and gruesome, despite the clear difference in abilities and power.
I had tears in my eyes behind the mask as Raphtalia proceeded to explain that she somehow managed to survive and landed on shore. At that point, reinforcements arrived and managed to subjugate the black beast but it was too late as her parents were long gone, nothing was left but a red stain on the ground.
By that point, she pretty much gave up on living, leading to her and her other friends capture by the knight's that we're hired to take slaves. She was one of the lucky ones as she was only bought once to try and serve a rich noble by teaching her household chores but her nightmares caused trouble and thus, was promptly returned shortly before being bought again.
The next buyer tried the same thing but to no avail and was returned again. Had it not been for me taking her in at that moment…she would have been sold off to another slave owner as well.
She did not once cry during her tale, her emotions ran dry at that point already and were only left with bitter memories at that point.
"Greg…I like to thank you for all you have done for me. Not only you have taken care of me when you didn't need to, but you also rescued my friend when you didn't have to. You could have left for Siltvelt and there was nothing I could have done to stop you…but you still went ahead and rescued her in the end…despite losing Ghira, Adam, and Deery." Raphtalia looked saddened upon the names of our fallen allies who gave their lives to rescue Rifana.
In the grand scheme of things, three for one isn't the best trade. It could be considered the worse thing to have ever happened but yet…seeing her being happy with her friend made it a bit easier to breathe at least.
"Even though I already have thanked you back then, I still want to thank you…for giving me another chance at life, another chance to take back what I had lost during the waves. I will do my best!" Raphtalia's eyes are burning with determination at her declaration to me.
I simply nodded to her, not knowing what to say to her nor trusting myself to say anything stupid to her in the first place and gave only a few words. "Alright then…give it your best shot."
I looked back at the timer and waited, shifting my stance.
5 seconds.
4 seconds.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second.
0.
April 7 2011.
"This is…" I couldn't even describe what the fuck just happened.
One moment, me and Raphtalia were standing at the front of the village, the next, we stood in a plain field with Rifana looking a bit confused where she is. I immediately looked around where we were before finding Lute village a few minutes away from our destination. At least we weren't teleported too far.
I looked up to the sky to see the sky red and weird colors swirling around like a badly made arts and craft. Cracks began peeling away and expanding outward through the sky due to the dimensional rift.
I didn't try to bother making sense of the sky and instead focused on the black swarm creatures that are coming out of said weird swirling colors like some sort of biblical plague of Egypt or something and were making their way down towards the ground.
In the corner of my peripheral vision, I see three distinct groups of people, marching towards what I would assume to be where the boss monster would be as it hasn't come in yet. That's most likely the other heroes and their party members who teleported here as well.
I wouldn't join them for the boss, knowing that the boss could potentially kill him and his allies easily and just focused on getting back to Lute village as quickly as possible.
"Rifana, Raphtaila! Let's go back to the village and defend it!" I yelled out to them as I first made my way to the accidentally abandoned village from it.
It rook longer than five minutes before they even made it to the gates as their paths wee constantly blocked by huge ass wasps and zombies. Never thought the day would come when I get to live my widest dreams of being in a zombie apocalypse…except that it really ain't a zombie apocalypse and more of a monster apocalypse? Eh, it didn't matter as I was able to kill zombies here so that's good enough dream fuel for me.
After hacking our way through the horde of monsters, we made it to the front gate of the village where…nothing was left behind. The front gate was smashed open as corpses of the dead can be seen gathered there but no guards as far as I can see. They must have pulled back at the last minute when the crowd of monsters became too much for them.
The three of us looked at each other before nodding as the two demi-humans rushed to the village while I absorbed the corpse of the undead to gain a new shield. I didn't even bother at the new shield stats as I was busy looking for any sign of suffocating humans in this mountain of corpses.
After searching around the corpses and the surrounding area for a minute and not finding anything I rushed into the village.
And it was not a pretty sight.
Buildings are ruined as fires started to spread around the village, relentless of its pursuit to burn everything whether it would be the monsters or the people.
I saw a man who was on the ground as his weapon was a few feet away from the zombie knight. His armor looked like it took a heavy beating to it. So he must have been fighting for a while only to get caught off guard by the zombie from his blindspot most likely. As the zombie's sword was about to dice the man up, I called out one of my skills.
"Air Strike Shield!"
The same green translucent shield that appeared before was now rushing towards the zombie, knocking him back quite far from the down person. The man sighed with relied as I kneel down to him at eye level and quickly handed my potion to him.
"Are you alright?"
"Ye-yeah. The bastard was tougher than I thought and he managed to get through and almost murdered me." He took my potion and gulped it down like a champ. I can see his injuries starting to disappear as I helped the man up and grab his sword for him.
Only to hear a groan as the zombie I knocked back started to come around, dragging its sword behind it.
I stood in front of the man. "Can you still fight?"
"Yeah. Still got some fight in me." The man gave me a wolfish grin as I nodded to him before charging towards the zombie with my [Bladed Shield], blocking the sword attacks from it and countering them with my attacks as well. I did barely any damage against the zombie despite being higher level than it but that wasn't my purpose.
Slash!
The arm of the zombie was lopped off by the sword of the man before quickly beheading it in one swoop, instantly killing the zombie.
"Thanks for that Enigma."
"No problem. Do you know where the others are?"
"They should be in the town square. Go ahead! I'll catch up with you."
I frowned at the man's willingness to be left behind but I knew I had to get there first. So before leaving, I gave him another potion to hold on to just in case an encounter like that happens again. I waved him goodbye as I rushed to the town square.
Once I get there, I can see the fruits of my labor thanks to the assistance I and my party provided for the town and its guardsman.
Thanks to them being properly given gear and prep time, they were able to build some sort of defensive line that managed to hold most of the monsters back. I can see Raphtalia and Rifana blitzing through the battlefield as corpses of monsters fell one after another.
The wasp-looking monster tried to sting Rifana but thanks to her changing her armor to a skin-tight leather armor with the upgrades of light metal (don't know why she decided to change to that type of armor), she was able to dodge the stingers rather easily and shishkebab the wasps easily with a thrust. She dodge two more stingers before twirling her weapon and slashing the two wasps in one go. As a zombie was about to approach her blindspot, an arrow made its way to its head, courtesy of the adventurers who were in the backline, providing cover fire for them.
Meanwhile, Raphtalia is over here looking like a sword master, slashing through hordes of zombies one after another without pause. She deflected a sword from an armored undead before cutting its hands off to disarm it and beheading it. Two armored guardsmen were watching her back, striking down any monster that came too close to them for comfort.
I was quite happy with the results of my efforts into improving this village's defenses against the waves of monsters pouring through. But now it's time to do my part, one that I'm not entirely comfortable with.
"Hate Reaction!"
A red pulse of energy spread out through the battlefield, making all the monsters pause at their attacks for a moment before turning to me. They began to rush towards me to take turns to rend my flesh dry. I smirked as I switched to my recently discovered [Pipe Shield] and unleashed its skill.
"Shield Prison!"
I was covered by a layer of green solid shields and chains, holding the like against the herd of monsters trying to break through this "prison" of mine. I can hear muffled voices through my cover but it's drowned out by the moans and groans of the monsters that are trying to eat my soul. I began to hear the sounds of combat outside of my temporary prison. The guardsmen and my party members took advantage of my skill and started hacking away at the monsters. Though once the prison dissipated, two zombies were already gonna pounce on me as they tried to sink their teeth into my flesh, only to find an Air Strike Shield getting in the. way of their meals.
The two zombies were quickly dispatched and Rifana rushed to my side while Raphtalia was engaged in combat with another zombie.
"Greg! Are you alright?!" I gave her a thumbs-up as she let out a sigh of relief before her eyes widened as I turned around to see a giant of a zombie with a huge ass axe, about to crush us all with it.
"Air Strike Shield!"
The emerald shield appeared above my head, blocking the attack that could have left me splattered against the earth like ground pork. Rifana went quickly to it's sides as it gave it a huge thrust to it's leg, causing the giant zombie to roar in pain and knelt down to one leg before being shot at by multiple arrows to the face, followed by an easy decapitation, courtesy to Raphtalia.
"Are you both alright?!" Raphtalia rushed over to us to check up on our injuries.
Rifana let out a grin on her features, twirling her spear on and about, probably her way of conveying how she is fine. I just give a nod to her. I walked over to the defensive line where a group of guardsmen have gathered.
"How are you guys so far?"
"Still standing strong! Sadly though we had lost a few men here due to their panic, allowing the monsters to get him while we were distracted." The guard's look conveyed his feeling on the matter as I gritted my teeth at not coming here sooner. If only I didn't spend too much time at the village gate looking for "potential" human survivors at the mountain of corpses. But I shook those thoughts out of my head, knowing that they will be no more than a distraction at the moment. As I was about to ask our current condition, an archer yelled at us to look at the sky.
The lights all shot up into an arc around the center of the village high in the air, the light gathered together in a ball before popping and the light raining down. My eyes widened as I knew what was up!
"EVERYONE! TO ME NOW!"
All of the guardsmen, adventurers and my party members quickly gathered around me as I used a wide defensive barrier to protect everyone here.
"Shooting Star Shield!"
The blue translucent barrier that encompassed all of us absorb the first impact of the raining fire spell. Everyone could feel the vibrations of the spells hitting the shield and the barrier surrounding them. It sounded like fireworks going off around them, whizzing by their ears and hitting the ground around them, one strike hit them dead on, making me almost get knocked out of the barrier, however Rapthtalia's grip kept me steady and made them kneel down together.
Once the spell expired, the barrier also dissipated, allowing everyone to see what the spell had done. It basically made the entire village look like hell on earth. If it was bad before the spell was casted, now its even worse.
"Our homes…"
"That's my house that got destroyed over there!"
"Who cast that damn spell?!"
Everyone here who had a livelihood in the village was angry, looking for the culprit who was responsible for casting such a dangerous spell. Fortunately for them they would get their answer in the form of laughter.
"Ha! Look at that! We got them all in a single strike."
Everyone turned to see a platoon of Royal Knights marching into the remains of the village, the one in front, with a light brown mustache, saw everyone here and paled.
"Oh…god. I didn't know you were-!"
"BASTARDS!"
One of the guardsmen rushed straight at the paling commander whose life was flashing before his eyes, only to have her sword blocked by one of the knights with his own sword and shield.
"You bastards! That was my home your burnt down you sick fucks! You will pay for that!"
The commander regained his composer and a smirk was etched on his face. "Hoh? You should be grateful that we saved you from those damn monsters in the first place."
"Grateful?!" Another voice spoke up, this time it was one of the adventurers with a bow. "You nearly killed us all you bastards! If it wasn't for Enigma and his barrier, we would have all died you assholes!"
The royal knights then turned towards me with a scrutinizing gaze. I tensed up as I raise my shield in defense against them.
"That gem…" One of the knight's muttered underneath his breath. Oh shit… "You're working with the shield devil!"
Craaaaap!
I knew my identity would be revealed sooner than later but not in the middle of a fucking apocalypse!
"Is that so?" The commander's smirk grew even larger, threatening to spill over his face. "Guards. Draw your swords and slay the followers of the shield demon!"
Shit!
The guard who was the first to strike at the guard widened his eyes in surprise as he was knocked back by the knight before bringing his blade to kill him. Or that is what would have happened if not for what came next.
Slash!
The knight's arm was cleanly sliced off, blood gushing like a fountain as his decapitated sword arm dropped at the shock guardsmen.
"AAGGGHHHH!"
Raphtalia was behind said knight, flicking the blood out of her sword as she turned to the guard with such hatred in her eyes.
"You will not harm anyone else today." Raphtalia sensed an attack coming as she leapt back, avoiding from another knight that would have cut her shoulder down as she landed right next to me and a shocked Rifana.
"You demi-human scum! You will pay for this-!" The commander's rant was interrupted as the ground exploded in asphalt as another giant zombie with a mace swung his weapon down, killing a dozen knight's in one go. The Melromarc knights then began to panic and scatter, causing their formation to crumble instantly and getting several more knights killed due to another wave of monsters that descended upon them.
"Everyone! Retreat to the mines. We won't be able to fight this one!" One of the guardsmen commanded before sprinting himself towards the mine first.
The rest of the guardsmen and adventurers shook in rage as they wanted to make the knights pay for what they did to their village. But they knew it wasn't worth throwing their lives away, especially against a horde like that. And so with dissatisfaction etched on their faces they made slowly made their retreat to the mines as well.
One of the guardsmen turned to me and spoke. "You too Enigma. Your part of us too thanks to you for defending us. We can use your help too!"
I looked back between the retreating group and the scattered knights who were getting picked off by the wave of monsters. Logically, it would be best if I did just retreat with group as the knight's bought us time to escape.
But…
My vision hones in to one of the knights who looks quite young, maybe even around my age. His weapon was easily batted away by the zombie knight. My hands trembled in anger as before my very eyes, he was a lot to be killed by the undead knight. And that was when I made my decision.
"Hate Reaction!"
The retreating guardsmen and adventurer looked at me as if I was crazy to do something like this. To an enemy no less. All I did in response was turning to them with a tired smile. "A hero's job is to reach out to those who cry for help…right?"
They looked at the incoming horde before they shook their heads and smiled at me. "Guess you wouldn't be…take care Shield Hero."
With their peace said, they left the defense like completely. I then turned to the downed knights and yelled at them. "Oi! If you still give a shit about this village. Then get your shit together and help us!"
Most of the knight's decided to use this opportunity to retreat and leave while some of the others knights gathered their comrades and began to take formations again.
I looked over to Raphtalia. "Are you ready?" She responded by rushing towards the nearest zombie and slicing them down. I looked over to Rifana to see her still shocked. I nudged her gently, causing her to snap out of what she was shocked about. She looked over to me, confused and lost. I didn't know why she was being like this but right now I needed her to focus.
"Rifana? You good?"
"Ye-yeah of course Greg! I'm ready!"
I let out a smirk. "Then let's go kick some ass!"
I began leading the charge, being flanked by at least six zombies at once who were trying to get through my defense. I was able to handle three of them at once but one managed to sneak up to me and tried to stab me with a spear which to my surprise, the familiar sound of NULL was echoed through my mind, indicating that these enemies can't even hurt me to begin with. That made me giddy inside, knowing that these enemies are too weak to even harm me at all.
"Hahaha! You guys are so screwed!" The monsters response to that was a stab in my face, which broke their sword and didn't even left a dent at me. The zombie was then dispatched by Rifana with a simple thrust to the head.
I replenished the Hate Reaction skill, forcing all the monsters to try and do their best to harm me to no avail, heck, even the giant zombie with the mace couldn't even harm me. I felt invincible here. I always kept an eye on my party members and the knights who were trying their hardest to make sure they don't die.
As the last group of zombies was slain, the group of defenders readied for the next wave of monsters. However as soon as they were readied, the wave above their heads began to fade, and the blood red sky flashed blue.
The entire group visibly relaxed, I looked up at the sky in momentary relief before looking ahead to the village entrance where the hornets were buzzing. The wave was over…..but there were still monsters that needed to be killed.
We did it…we fucking did it.
I couldn't help but scream out loud.
"WE DID IT! WE SURVIVED THIS WAVE!"
Everyone else let out their own screams of joy, even as the remaining hornets began to approach us. I didn't even care as I charged recklessly at the monster, punching them with my [Bladed Shield], I couldn't help but but be hopeful for the future…that maybe just maybe…
Despite all the things that I had done up to this point…I could clear my name and be a hero once more.
This village was a start, but maybe…just maybe…I will no longer be treated like a criminal and can stand beside my fellow heroes as one.
But first…we need to clean up this mess.