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The Shield Tamer

Summary:

Naofumi Iwatani is dragged to another world by some unknown gods. While being transported, he is granted an ability by an unknown god. Can Naofumi use his new ability to get back home, or will he have to suffer until time allows him to go back?

Notes:

Just so you know I've only watched the anime and I probably won't be following that plot since I don't remember much of it.

'___' = thinking

Chapter 1

Notes:

Chapter 1 has been edited :)

Chapter Text

Iwatani Naofumi sat inside his shrines study reading a book called 'The weapons of the four saints'. The book was a gift from a regular visitor who usually left him delicious treats. Naofumi smiled as he turned the page only to be greeted with nothing. Naofumi then started to flip through the rest of the pages, and nothing was there. Frustrating, he tossed the book behind him, causing the bells tied to him to ring.

"And when it was just getting good."

Naofumi then let out a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head.

"I need to sleep before going out."

Naofumi grumbled as he stood up. Naofumi turned back to pick up the book he tossed only for it to glow a golden colour.

"Ah shit!"

The pages kept on flipping until it reached the blank pages. Naofumi was about to run away from the book only to stop as golden chains formed and grabbed him. The chains dragged him quickly into the book.

 

Naofumi hit the floor hard only to hear a splashing sound. Looking down, he saw that he was actually on top of water.

"Hello, child."

Naofumi quickly looked around to find the distorted voice, only to see nothing but a dark sky filled with different colour and sized stars. Naofumi stood up, growling under his breath.

"Do not worry, little fox. You are being summoned to another world! How exciting is that."

The distorted voice cheered as a small wave hit Naofumi's feet. Naofumi growled as he stomped his foot on the water ground. The sheer power of his foot caused a 12 foot wave to form and crash several feet away from him.

"What the hell are you talking about! I am not dead, and humans don't have enough power to summon me."

The voice sighed.

"Little fox. All shall be answered soon. Now then, here is a gift for your troubles."

A golden star not so far away came flying at Naofumi and quickly striked his chest. Naofumi looked at the fading light with a blank stare.

"Now good bye little fox."

Within seconds, Naofumi vision turned white.

 

Waking up on a cold stone floor was something Naofumi hated. He heard some people speaking around him in a different language.

 

Notice

Now translating language.

Transfer understanding of Melromarc language to Naofumi Iwatani complete.

 

Naofumi looked at the pale green window in confusion. He then noticed the shield attached to his arm. Groaning Naofumi decided that he'll get up and listen to what these people wanted. As he looked around, the robed people gave him slightly disgusted looks. Naofumi then heard some other people groan and complained in obvious Japanese. Suddenly, the old man in the centre of the group stepped forward.

"O' four saint heroes of old! Please save our world. "

Naofumi huffed while the others just looked confused.

"While I'm certain you are all taken aback by your circumstance, time runs short for all of us. Within our country of Melromarc, vicious demons in large numbers have crawled out from a materialised dimension crack and are exposing everyone to great danger! Our country's knights and adventurers barely manage to eliminate the first wave of demons, but the hourglass is already indicated in the next wave of calamities will soon be upon us..."

The three other guys who were summoned to this world complain about being summoned and what they want from it. The elder just pushed all of their questions to the side for the king to solve.

 

Soon, he and the other heroes were following the mages that summoned them up a spiral staircase. Everything was silent except for the occasional ringing of Naofumi's bells.

 

They stopped infont of a large grand door where two armoured gaurds easily pushed it open. As they walked into the now identified throne room, gaurds slamed their spears on the ground as a slight warning to the four heroes. They stop a few feet away from the throne where a very old man sat on a throne. The pale purple robes the grey man wore looked well made along with the jewellery and crown he wore.

'I'm surprised he can even keep his head up with that much jewellery on him. I thought a leaf could kill him, but maybe it will take a bit more than a leaf...'

Naofumi was about to laugh at his thoughts but realised that he could be seen as crazy if he did so. Instead, he started to cough pretty badly. A gentle hand patted his back as the fit subsided. Looking at his side, he saw the young black hair boy who wore blue at his side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

The boy nodded and took a step away from him. Suddenly, Naofumi could smell the hatred and evil intent the king and a few others had in the throne room.

 

Notice

Now showing the location of those who intend to harm the host.

 

In front of Naofumi was a map of the throne room, and when he zoomed out, it showed the layout of the whole castle. Zooming back into the throne room, red dots littered everywhere within the room. The biggest dot was right in front of him. The king told everyone to introduce themselves except Naofumi, who he rudly interrupted. Soon, a small group of maids walked in to show them to their rooms. When Naofumi opened his room, he quickly fell onto his bed and fell asleep.

 

The next day, parties were made, and Naofumi was left with no one. The black haired boy who was named Ren was about to speak up only to stop when Naofumi glared at him. Some snoby looking people handed them 500 silver each before the king sebt them on their way. As Naofumi was about to leave, Ren grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side.

"You know you could use a party. After all, you are one of the weaker heroes."

"What makes you say that?"

"Shields are for support, not offence."

Naofumi smirked and pats the shorter boys head.

"I'll be fine."

Naofumi then started to walk away, leaving a slightly flustered boy behind.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Naofumi finally gets a start to levelling up!

Chapter Text

Naofumi was walking around the castle town only to stop at the sound of people and large animal cries.

'At least my hearing is still the same.'

Sighing, he walked in the direction where the crying was coming from while opening his map. Naofumi then stopped infont of an extremely large red and white circus tent.

'How odd.'

As he moved the flap of the tent, he was greeted by a shorter man in clothes that were more modern than they should be.

"Welcome, shield hero! What brings you here?"

Naofumi stare down at the shorter man in slight confusion. He could smell the man's impurity.

"Oh! You must wanna know who I am. My name is Beloukas. I'm one of many slave traders here in Melromarc."

Naofumi could feel his anger rise but stopped himself before things could get messy.

"What do you mean by slaves? I thought that would be illegal."

"Human slavery is! However, beast folk and demi human slaver isn't. I even have monsters here. They are treated more like pets than slaves in our world. An example would be the Filolials you see pulling wagons outside."

Naofumi nodded in understanding.

"So what are you looking for?"

Naofumi hummed.

"Probably a monster."

Beloukas clapped his hands together and then motioned to another part of the tent.

"Then follow me over here, sir.'

 

The two entered a room full of both large and small cages. Inside were monsters that Naofumi knew, like parrots, wolves, and tiger cubs. However, looking closer, some had odd deformities such as multiple wings, eyes, or heads.

"Have a look around! Everything here has a price."

Naofumi nodded and started to walk around the room. The monsters in the cages either growled or moved away from him. That was until he stood in front of one of the bigger cages. Inside were two extremely malnourished dire wolves. One of the two wolves was white and had an infected wound that went from the start of its muzzle all the way to its right eye, which was also swollen close. Its other eye was a pastel blue and with a closer look has small scars similar to cat scratches. The wolf tried to lift up its head but couldn't because of the weight of the collar around its neck. The wolf next to it was black with glowing green eyes and very little fur left on itself. Naofumi could definitely see all the bones on the wolf. The poor thing couldn't even move its head thanks to the collar.

"Getting either of them would be a waste of money. Neither of them would eat or drink no matter what I do."

Naofumi nodded.

"So how much?"

"12 silver each. Plus, the cost of the slave crest..."

Before the slave trader could finish, Naofumi interrupted.

"I won't need it. And how about we lower that cost as well."

"How about 9 silver each."

Naofumi shook his head.

"They are basically dead, so how about a silver each?"

"That is too low. These are dire wolves, after all. So how about 5 silver each."

"Deal."

Beloukas nodded.

"Then continue to look around for anything you like."

Naofumi nodded and started to look around the area with smaller cages. Come close to the last few cages, Naofumi noticed a slight smell of a burning fire coming from one of the pigeon like monsters.

 

Notice

The creature infont of you is using the skill disguise.

Would you like to use appraisal to overwrite the disguise skill?

Yes/No

 

Naofumi used his eyes to click yes.

 

Notice

This is a phoenix [Lv 5]

 

Naofumi looked at the phoenix with a slight smirk.

"What's the price for the bird?"

"That? It's 5 copper. Those are regular carrier pigeons, so they aren't actually rare or valued highly."

"I'll take it then."

Beloukas nodded.

"Anything else catch your eyes?"

"No. I think this is all I want."

"Alright, I'll get everything sorted then."

 

A bit of time passed before Beloukas returned with the three monsters. The two wolves were barely managing to stand, while the 'pigeon' had one of its feet chained to a bracelet that Beloukas handed to him.

 

Outside the castle town, Naofumi can be seen staring at his new monster companions.

"Let's see if this works."

Naofumi took the chain off the phoenix and touched the phoenix's head while activating his skill.

 

Notice

Now taming phoenix [Lv 5]

Would you like to name the phoenix now to increase the chances of taming it?

Yes/No

 

'Yes'

 

Notice 

What would you like to name the phoenix?

 

"Nina."

 

Notice

You have successfully tamed the phoenix named Nina.

 

 

Suddenly,  another notice appeared.

 

Notice

You are the first hero of this generation to tame a monster of fantasy rank. Your chances of taming monsters of fantasy rank have been increased. 

Congratulations! 

As an award for this achievement, you have also gained 10,000 points.

 

Naofumi looked at the notice with confusion as a new option appeared on his system window. It said 'points = 10,000' when he tried to click it, an error came up.

 

Notice

An error has occurred!

You are not able to access this function due to the currant level. You must be level 20 to access this function.

 

Naofumi sighed and waved the window away. He then looked at Nina, who was now on fire and transforming into her original form. Nina spread her large flaming wings as she let out a loud squawk before landing on his shoulder. Naofumi smiled and then turned towards the two wolves. As he approached, both let out a small whine. Sighing Naofumi touched both of them.

 

Notice

Now taming Arctic [Lv 22] and Shadow [Lv 20] dire wolves.

Would you like to name Arctic and Shadow dire wolves to increase the chances of taming them?

Yes/No

 

'Yes'

 

Notice

What would you like to name the Arctic and Shadow dire wolves?

 

"How about Lumi for the Arctic dire wolf and Kage for the Shadow dire wolf."

 

Notice

Successful tamed Arctic dire wolf named Lumi and Shadow dire wolves named Kage.

 

Notice

You are the first hero of this generation to tame a monster of king rank. Your chances of taming monsters of king rank have been increased.

Congratulations! 

As an award for this achievement, you have also gained 8,000 points.

 

Notice

You are the first hero of this generation to tame a monster of leader rank. Your chances of taming monsters of leader rank have been increased.

Congratulations! 

As an award for this achievement, you have also gained 6,000 points.

 

"What is up with this ranking thing?"

 

Notice

Monster ranking system:

Monsters are categories in the rank order of common, leader, king/queen, fantasy, and finally demonic/holy.

A common and leader rank can only reach up to king/queen rank. Any changes to a monsters rank can't be reverted.

The king/queen, fantasy, and demonic/holy ranks are unable to be changed.

 

Suddenly, Naofumi was cut out of his trans when both wolves started to glow a pale green. Looking closely, Naofumi noticed that the two were being healed. When the glowing stopped, all their injuries were healed, including Kage's fur coat.

"Guess it doesn't help with your guy's weight."

The wolves looked at him with their heads tilted and tails wagging.

'They are so cute.'

Naofumi smiled and pats the duo on the head. The two then leaned into the touch more. Nina let out a squawk and flapped her wings.

"Are you jealous."

Naofumi smirked as Nina puffed up her chest feathers and moved her head away from him.

"It's alright. I'll give you some scratches soon."

Nina then turned and looked at him. Smiling, he lifted his hand and gently scratched the top of the flaming bird's head. Nina let out a small purring sound as Naofumi scratched her head. Soon, Naofumi stopped.

"Now let's level up!"

 

After a long day of hunting down balloon monsters and other monsters that look like vegetables, Naofumi finally levelled up.

 

Notice

You have reached level 4!

Nina has reached level 8!

Kage has reached level 21!

 

Naofumi was sitting under a tree with both wolves lying down beside him. Nina sat on a lower branch above him while shooting small balls of fire at any monsters that came near them. Naofumi looked at the pile of balloon scraps in front of him.

"What to do with this? I can probably sell them."

Sighing at his stupid question, Naofumi fell onto Lumi's stomach. Lumi lifted up his head before licking Naofumi face and wrapping his tail over him. Naofumi smiled and decided to take a small nap.

 

When he woke up, there was a screen infont of him.

 

Notice

You can absorb monster parts to unlock new shields and skills.

 

Naofumi tilted his head before grabbing the balloon scraps and some plants from around him.

 

Notice

Orange small shield unlocked.

Yellow small shield unlocked.

Red small shield unlocked.

For completing the small balloon series, you've been awarded 200 points.

Leaf shield unlocked.

Harvest skill acquired, the restrictions have been lifted.

Blue mushroom shield unlocked.

Simple compounding skill acquired.

Red mushroom shield unlocked.

Green mushroom shield unlocked.

Yellow mushroom shield unlocked.

For completing the colour mushroom series, you've been awarded 250 points.

 

Before Naofumi could put the pill rabbit into his shield, Kage grabbed it and ate it in a single bite. Naofumi sighed and decided to stand up.

"I should have an inventory."

 

Notice

This is the current inventory:

Unknown device

Wallet

Blessed katana

40 good quality balloon scraps

20 mushrooms

25 excellent quality herbs

10 good quality poison herbs

1 Pill rabbit foot - increases luck by 5%

 

Naofumi smiled as he clicked onto 'unknown device'. The shield glowed slightly as his phone appeared in his hands.

"Oh, how i've missed you."

Naofumi quickly turned it on and was happy to see that everything was still there. Naofumi then looked at his shield and back at his phone.

"Might as well try."

Naofumi put his phone over the gem. The gem glowed and consumed the phone.

 

Notice

There are no records for this item. Now creating new shield. Estimate creation time is 1 day.

 

Naofumi then put his wallet in.

 

Notice

Wallet shield unlocked.

All currency of this world can be changed back and forth with this shield.

 

Next was the katana.

 

Notice

The legendary shield can not absorb this item.

 

Naofumi then used appraisal on his katana.

 

Notice

This katana has been blessed by many unknown gods and can bypass the shie lds restrictions.

 

"Restrictions?"

 

Notice

The shield will not allow the weirder to use other weapons.

 

Naofumi smiled at his katana before putting it back into his inventory.

'I should make sure not to show it around the others.'

"So why do I have things in my inventory that I didn't put there?"

 

Notice

You have a chance of getting extra drops from monsters that will automatically enter your inventory. The chances of rarer items depend on monsters' rank.

 

Naofumi nodded as the notice disappeared. Smirking, he looked over at his companions. All three monsters shivered as they looked at Naofumi.

"Let's see what you'll give me."

Naofumi gently took some fur from both wolves and a chest feather from Nina. Thankfully, phoenix feathers seem to regrow very quickly. He added them to his shield.

 

Notice

Phoenix shield unlocked.

The skill life line has been acquired.

Dire wolf shield unlocked.

The skill pack leader acquired.

The skill shadow step has been acquired.

Basic fire magic acquired.

Basic sound magic acquired.

Basic ice magic acquired.

Basic shadow magic acquired.

 

Smiling, he gave all his companions a scratch on their heads.

"Now it's time to look at what each of these can do."

Opening his menu, he clicked onto 'shields' first.

 

Notice

Current shields are:

Orange small shield

> Equipment bonus - Defence [+2]

Yellow small shield

> Equipment bonus - Defence [+2]

Red small shield

> Equipment bonus - Defence [+4]

Leaf shield

> Harvest skill

Blue mushroom shield

> Equipment bonus - Simple compounding [+1]

Red mushroom shield

> Equipment bonus - Simple compounding [+2]

Green mushroom shield

> Equipment bonus - Simple compounding [+2]

Yellow mushroom shield

> Equipment bonus - Simple compounding [+1]

Phoenix shield

> Equipment bonus - ×2 damage while using fire magic

Dire wolf shield

> Equipment bonus - ×2 physical attack

Wallet shield

> Currency change

 

Naofumi then moved onto his skills.

 

Notice

Current skills are:

Appraisal

> Can tell you anthing you want by looking at it

Alcohol immunity

> Alcohol has no effect on user

Motion sickness immunity

> Motion sickness has no effect on user

Poison resistance

> Poison has no effect on user 

Animal whisperer

> Animals always feel naturally at ease and become friendly around user

Cooking skill

> User always produces gourmet food no matter the ingredients.

Nullification

> Can nullify curse magic

Blessed Fox

> An unknown blessing from the Gods

Spirit sight

> Can see lingering spirits

Fox deity

> When prayed to stats are increased [+1]

Detection

> Can detect any malicious intent

Tamer

> Can tame and store tamed monsters. Note that this skill will not affect anything humanoid like demi-humans

Life line

> At 1HP, you will die and quickly come back with full health

Pack leader

> You can communicate with your party no matter the distance

Shadow step

> In dimly lit areas, your footsteps can't be heard

 

Final Naofumi decided to check his magic.

 

Notice

Current magic skills are:

Fire magic [basic]

> Fire ball - A small ball of fire [Damage = Attack + 20]

Sound magic [basic]

> Screech - Creates a high sounding frequency that can confuse the enemy

Ice magic [basic]

> Ice shard - Medium size icicles form where the user is thinking [Damage = Attack + 20]

Shadow magic [basic]

> Dark strings - Strings made from the shadows that can't be cut with a normal sword and are only able to suffocate an enemy [Damage = Attack]

 

"Not bad."

Naofumi waved the window away and motioned to the others to get up.

"Let's put everything away first before heading back to the city."

Everyone nodded and started to place items into Naofumi's shield.

 

Notice

Current inventory:

Unknown device

Wallet

Blessed katana

120 good quality balloon scraps

65 mushrooms

45 excellent quality herbs

25 good quality poison herbs

1 Pill rabbit foot - increases luck by 5%

 

Back in the city, Naofumi sold all of his balloon scraps and got quite a bit of silver from it. He then got some meat and quickly left the city. Outside, he cooked the meat along with some of the mushrooms. When it was done, everyone ate in content silence.

Chapter 3

Summary:

Naofumi gets new members!

Notes:

['Prayer']

Chapter Text

Waking up the next day, Naofumi noticed that the two wolves were shedding, so he collected their fur into two separate balls.

 

Notice

Unknown device shield has been successfully created.

Unknown device shield:

> Can produce a bright light that can stun monsters

> Can imitate other monsters or people

> Has a global map

> Can translate all languages

> Can record anything 

> AI

Would you like to name this shield now?

Yes/No

 

Naofumi clicked 'No' before waking the others and heading back into town where he met a heberlist who handed him a book about making healing potions.

"You should learn to craft your own since you'll need them while travelling. It also seems like you've got a good eye for collecting poisonous herbs as well."

The older man turned around and handed him another book. The book was covered in black leather with golden thorn vines imprinted all around it, and in the centre was a very detailed purple dragon head. The cover said, 'Poisons that can kill even a dragon by Tim Stone'. 

"Are you sure you want to give me this?"

The man nodded before pointing over at a mortar and pestle.

"Have that as well. It was my sons but he left this business a while ago."

Naofumi smiled at the man.

"Thank you very much. If I start getting into the trade, i'll definitely give you a discount."

The man nodded as Naofumi turned and left the shop with his newly acquired items. Lumi and Kage sat diligently outside the shop while Nina flew down onto his shoulder in her pigeon form.

"Let's get going."

The two wolves stood and followed Naofumi.

 

Inside a blacksmith shop, Naofumi watched the older man hang up a sword before said man turned and noticed him.

"What can I do for you, kid?"

"Can I commission some armour to be made for me?"

"You sure can! What kind of armour are you looking for?"

"Something light but sturdy."

"Want anything added to it like a crest or partial material?"

"Can you make a cloak lined with those two's fur?"

"Of course I can. I just need some of their fur."

Naofumi handed him two medium-sized balls of fur.

"They just started shedding this morning."

The man laughed and patted Naofumi's shoulder.

"The name is Erhard, and it's good doing business with you."

Naofumi nodded.

"I'm Naofumi."

"Greate meeting you, kid. I'll have your armour done by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks."

Naofumi then handed the man 15 silver before leaving to grind some more.

 

The next day, they were back in town selling whatever monster parts they could until that afternoon. When Naofumi entered the shop, Erhard smiled at him.

"Just on time!"

Erhard then handed him his armour before pointing to a changing room. When he finished changing, he put his old clothes into his sheild along with the bells he had on him. He then opened the curtains to see Erhard smiling even more.

'How big can his smile get?'

"This is called barbarian armour, and that a dire cloak since the fur lining it is from a dire wolf."

The cloak was a nice forest green colour that reached just above his ankle with both the hood and bottom being lined with a mix of black and white fur.

"Thanks, Erhard. This means a lot to me."

"Don't worry about it, kid. Now hurry and level up since the wave is coming up soon."

"How long is that?"

"Did you not go to the dragon hour glass yet?"

"No."

"The hour glass tells the heroes when the wave is going to start, and it teleports them and their party to the wave."

"Stupid king. That old fart didn't say anything to us about it when we were brought here."

"When the other heroes came here, they seemed to know about it."

"Someone from their party must have told them."

Erhard nodded.

"All you have to do is head towards the three heroes church to find it."

"Thanks again."

Naofumi gave a small smile before leaving. Nina landed on his shoulder while Naofumi decided to put the wolf duo into his shield for now.

 

When he got into the church, he quickly found the dragon hourglass. As he got closer, a beam of light hit his shield, and a timer appeared in the corner of his vision.

 

Notice

You have made a connection to Melromarc's dragon hourglass. When the time runs out, you and your party will be teleported to where the wave will be. Note that this will only take you to waves that happen within Melromarc.

 

Nina squawked before flying straight through the hourglass. She then landed onto Naofumi's shield and shook her feathers. Small grains of sand landed into the shield.

 

Notice

Dragon veins unlocked.

This allows the user to teleport to any location they mark and to any hourglass they have visited.

 

Naofumi smiled and scratched Nina's head.

"You're one clever bird."

Nina puffed up her chest feathers and flapped her wings. Chuckling Naofumi looked at the timer.

 

30:10:50:25

 

"We've got at least a month before the wave."

 

After a couple of days of training, Naofumi noticed the EXP they got was now very little. Sighing, Naofumi changed his shield to the unknown device shield. Naofumi looked at the options once more and realised what AI meant. He quickly turned the option on, and his window glitched for a second before a grey eye appeared on the top of the window.

 

Notice

You have successfully integrated an AI into the legendary shield. This AI also seems to be blessed by a goddess. Now naming AI...

 

Notice

Athena's eye has been added to the legendary shield.

 

Naofumi looked at the notice in shock.

'If I had a drink right now, I would have spat it out faster than lightning.'

"So how do I use it?"

 

Athena

All you have to do is as a question out loud, and I will give you an answer to the best of my abilities. I will not answer questions that aren't directed towards me by you. I can also access all your sheilds functions, so all you have to do is call what you want, and I'll automatically open or use it for you.

 

"That good."

The window then disappeared. Naofumi sighed before putting the trio into his shield and heading back towards the castle town.

 

Back in the castle town, Naofumi was selling off all the monster parts they got that morning. He soon stopped when a familiar voice called him. It was Beloukas.

"Afternoon shield hero."

Naof looked down at the man.

"I've got some new goods if you're interested."

With a slight frown, Naofumi nodded and followed the man back towards his tent.

 

Inside the tent, Naofumi was led to the monster side, and it seemed many of them were just some common monsters or ones that were not suited for Naofumi. Naofumi stopped at a smaller cage where a monster with the head of a fox, forelegs like an eagle’s talons, the chest of a greyhound, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters and tail of a wolf. Naofumi called the trader over.

"How much for her?"

"I'd say 30 silver."

"Deal."

 "Is there anything else you like?"

"No -"

['Please save me... sheild hero']

Naofumi looked at the map that suddenly popped up. On it was a golden dot.

 

Notice

Fox deity activated all stat have gained +1.

The current location of the preyer is shown on the map.

 

Naofumi then mumbled.

"So red is intent to harm, and gold is preyers?"

 

Athena

This is correct. Here are what each colour means:

Red - Intent to harm user

Gold - Preyer towards user

Black - Criminals

Green - Party members

White - No intent to harm user

Blue - Other legendary/Vassal weapons

 

'That probably explains why Beloukas marker is black.'

"Actually, let's have a look at the other things you have."

Beloukas nodded and opened another side of the large tent. The room was filled with large cages that held both demi-humans and beast men.

"Go take a look around. Call me when you find something you like."

Naofumi nodded and quickly headed the direction of the golden marker. When he was there, he noticed a cage that was covered. Pulling off the large sheet, Naofumi could smell the sent of urine and rot. A small gasp was heard as Naofumi looked down at a small girl with raccoon features. The girl started coughing and moving slightly away from him. Next to her was a rabbit demi-human who looked to be in his late 20s. He was very skinny, and a big chunk of his left ear was gone while the other had the tip bitten off.

"What are your names?"

With a raspy voice, the male spoke up.

"My name is Roko, sir."

Naofumi nodded and looked at the girl.

"R-Raphtalia."

Naofumi called the trader over.

"I'm taking them."

Chapter Text

Notice

For answering a preyer, you have been awarded 100,000 points.

 

Naofumi and his party walked into Erhard's shop.

"Back so soon. What can I do for you?"

"Can you get these two some armour and possibly a weapon that will work for them."

Erhard looked at the two demi-humans and at Naofumi with slight shock.

"The not slaves."

Erhard sighed.

"That's good. Alright, you two follow me. I probably have something for you in the back."

The two looked at Naofumi, who motioned for them to follow Erhard. Naofumi then looked down at his newly acquired monster.

"Let's get you tamed."

Naofumi crouched down and placed his hand on the fox head.

 

Notice 

Now taming Enfield [Lv 11]

Would you like to name the enfield now to increase the chances of taming it?

Yes/No

 

'Yes'

 

Notice

What would you like to name the enfield?

 

"Mocha."

 

Notice

You have successfully tamed the enfield named Mocha.

You have been given 5,000 points for successful taming a fantasy rank monster.

 

"How many points do I have now?"

 

Athena

You currently have 129,450 points.

 

Naofumi nodded as he picked Mocha up into his arms. He plucked a small bit of fur from her back before placing it into the shield.

 

Notice

Enfield shield unlocked.

The skill far sight has been acquired.

The skill night vision has been acquired.

Basic wind magic acquired.

 

"Can you show me the new things I've got?"

 

Athena

Recently obtained:

Enfield shield 

> Equipment bonus – x2 damage while using wind magic 

Far sight 

> Can see an extra 2 miles

Night vision

> Can see in the dark.

Wind magic [basic]

> Gust - A strong force of wind that can push an enemy away slightly

> Wind blade - A blade of wind [Damage = Attack + 22]

 

Soon, the two demi-humans walked back into the front of the shop. Erhard grabbed two daggers, a short sword, and a long bow with arrows.

"These should keep you alive."

Roko grabbed a dagger and slipped it onto his belt before grabbing the long bow and arrows. Raphtalia, look at the two blades with worry evident on her face. Mocha wiggled herself out of Naofumi's arms and onto his shoulder.

"You don't need to fight for me. The both of you. I just want to make sure you're both safe. If you ever want to leave, I won't force you to stay."

Roko smiled.

"I think it would be best to stay here."

Naofumi nodded and then looked down at Raphtalia.

"I wanna fight! I wanna be useful..."

Naofumi sighed and patted the girls head.

'I should probably let her have a bath later.'

Raphtalia quickly grabbed the blades and attached it to her belt. Naofumi handed over 20 silver before leaving the shop.

 

 Naofumi watched as the demi-humans killed off some monsters. Raphtalia getting covered in what Naofumi could smell was tomato juice. Roko, on the other hand, was clean.

“Alright, let’s get some rest.”

The two nodded and helped set the tent up. Naofumi made sure to wrap Raphtalia in the thicker blanket after she took a bath in the nearby river. He then used the herbs to make medicine for Raphtalia.

 

Notice

Compounding, successful!

You have made common medicine.

You've earned 10 points!

 

The next morning, Naofumi went and caught some fish before waking the others to give Raphtalia the medicine he had.

“Drink this.”

“Y-yes sir.”

After a couple of attempts of drinking the medicine did Raphtalia finally got a good dose of it. The three ate in silence. When they went back into town, Naofumi sold the monster parts while he was selling them. Raphtalia was staring down an alleyway. After getting his money, Naofumi noticed Raphtalia staring at the alleyway. Looking down the alleyway, Naofumi saw a group of boys playing with a ball.

“You want a ball?”

“Ah! Um... no.”

Smirking Naofumi took his companions out of town and back into the open world.

 

A pill rabbit and jumped at Raphtalia, who screamed as Naofumi blocked its attack with his arm.

“Stab it!”

Raphtalia was shocked and slowly moved away.

“But I can’t. It will bleed."

“Everyone bleeds Raphtalia. You need to get used to it if you want to fight. So, move on and show the world your strength.”

Raphtalia shook but quickly ran at Naofumi with a blade in hand. The rabbit screeched as the blade plunged into it.

“I- I did it... I did it!”

Naofumi smiled and patted her head. Raphtalia tailed swayed behind her. In the corner of Naofumi's vision, he could see Roko smirking at them. Naofumi smirked before heading over and patting the slight taller mans head. Roko's ears fell down as he turned his head away.

 

That night, everyone was snuggled up around the fire where Naofumi stirred a large pot of stew. Naofumi watched as everyone’s tails waged in excitement. When it was done, everyone digs in. 

“Delicious!”

Naofumi chuckled as he patted Raphtalia’s head. Roko was silent, but Naofumi could feel his appreciation.

 

After a couple of days, Naofumi and the two demi-humans were back in town. Naofumi told Roko to look after Raphtalia so he could get something. Roko nodded, and shortly afterwards, Naofumi came back with a small leather ball.

“We can play later.”

Raphtalia nodded.

“Now then...”

Naofumi took out a piece of paper and showed it to the others.

“Let’s do this job really quick.”

 

The trio arrived at the mine and quickly searched the shed.

“2 pickaxe's, some rope and a map.”

Naofumi added it to his shield. He then handed the other pickaxe to Raphtalia.

 

Notice

Mine map unlocked.

Rope shield unlocked.

Pickaxe shield unlocked

 

Naofumi then opened his recently obtained menu.

 

Notice

Recently obtained:

Riyute mine map

Rope shield

> Equipment bonus – skill: 'Air strike shield’

> Special effect - rope

Pickaxe shield

> Equipment bonus – Mining skill [basic]

 

The group entered the mines only to stop at a dog like footprint. Raphtalia shook slightly, so Naofumi crouched down and pulled her into a small hug.

“If it gets too dangerous, we’ll leave.”

Raphtalia nodded into his shoulder. Smiling Naofumi stood up and led the way with a newly lit torch in hand. 

 

They followed some tracks until they reached a small waterfall within the mines.

“Great!”

Naofumi walked under the waterfall and motioned to the metal rock. He handed the torch to Roko before changing his shield into the pickaxe shield. He mined at the metal until he got a good chuck of it.

 

Notice

You have obtained light metal.

 

Suddenly, a red dot appeared on the map.

"What is it?"

 

Athena

A strong monster of demonic rank has appeared.

 

Raphtalia screamed, and Roko quickly dropped the torch to take out his bow and fire at the creature.

“It’s a two-headed black dog, sir.”

Roko calmly spoke as the arrow hit the large two-headed dog in the chest. The dog quickly ran at the two demi-humans. Roko grabbed Raphtalia as they were both knocked off of the ledge of the waterfall. The dog quickly turned to him and quickly pulled the arrow out, then charged towards him. Lumi and Kage jumped out of the shield quickly and bit down down on a neck each. The dog howled and shook the dire wolves off before slowly stumbling towards Naofumi. The dog then collapsed onto Naofumi. The dire wolves growled as they circled the still alive monster.

 

Notice

Now taming two-headed black dog [Lv 45]

Would you like to name the two-headed black dog now to increase the chances of taming it?

Yes/No

 

'Yes'

 

Notice

What would you like to name the two-headed black dog?

 

"Inma! Your name is Inma!"

 

Notice

Successful tamed two-headed black dog named Inma.

 

Notice

You are the first hero of this generation to tame a monster of demonic rank. Your chances of taming monsters of demonic rank have been increased.

Congratulations! 

As an award for this achievement, you have also gained 25,000 points.

 

Inma then started to glow red, which soon faded into a green as its wounds started to heal. Inma quickly got off of Naofumi and growled at the two wolves. The duo growled back with zero fear of being killed.

"Alright, everyone, stop fighting. Let's go and find Roko and Raphtalia."

The monsters glared at each other but followed Naofumi's command.

 

When Naofumi spotted the two, Raphtalia looked scared. Naofumi motioned for Inma to stay, which they dutifully did. He walked over to Raphtalia and hugged her.

“It's alright, Raphtalia.”

Raphtalia nodded and started to cry into Naofumi’s chest.

 

The group left the cave with plenty of metal and some crystals that Roko claimed were valuable but can also be used for magic enchantments. At night, they slept in an inn together.

Chapter Text

Notice

You have reached level 19

Nina has reached Lv 25

Lumi has reached Lv 36

Kage has reached Lv 33

Mocha has reached Lv 22

Inma has reached Lv 46

Roko has reached Lv 27

Raphtalia has reached Lv 24

 

"Isn't it supposed to be harder for higher level monsters to gain levels in such a low level area?"

 

Athena

It seems like Inma went further into the forest to fight a bladed swamp snake.

 

"How do you know that?"

 

Athena 

Yesterday, you gained an item called bladed fang. After using appraisal on it, it showed that it was from a bladed swamp snake. You also gained its scales, eyes, core, meat, and a pouch of its venom.

 

"What to do with them..."

 

Athena

You can craft a blade similar to your own with its fang since it is sturdy and has high defence properties and a skill. Bladed swamp snake scales can give you a new shield and are also good for armour or accessories because of their defence and how easy they can be enchanted. You can consume the core and have a high probability of gaining a skill. You should be careful of putting the cores of monsters into your sheild because it has a high chance of being cursed, so consumption of the core is necessary. The eyes will gain a new skill. The meat of a bladed swamp snake is famous for being the most delicious of all snake monsters, and the poison can be used to gain poison magic and to kill monsters or people.

 

"Since the scales can be enchanted, can the fangs be as well?"

 

Athena

Correct!

 

Naofumi nodded and took the fang, scales, eyes, and poison out before putting them back into the sheild.

 

Notice

Bladed swamp snake shield unlocked.

The skill stone glare [advance] acquired.

The skill serpent skin acquired.

The skill snake fangs acquired.

Advance poison magic acquired. 

 

"Open the recently obtained menu."

 

Athena

Recently obtained: 

Bladed swamp snake shield 

> Equipment bonus - Defence [+35]

Stone glare [advance]

> When an enemy looks into your eyes, they will be turned to stone for 2-10 hours

Serpent skin

> Your skin will shed after combat if your health is under 50%. This will restore health back to max

Poison magic [advance]

> Poison fog - A fog of poison is created that will do constant damage in a certain area for around 10-20 minutes [Damage = 20-55]

> Poison sludge - Can be thrown at an enemy to poison them for 15 minutes or put on a weapon to cause more poison damage [Damage = 10-45]

Snake fang

> Biting a monster will cause them to be poisoned equal to poison magic grade and attack

 

Naofumi then took the core out. It was the size of a baseball and a swamp green colour. Sighing, he bit into the core only to be flooded with something that tasted like an apple. Naofumi quickly ate the rest of the core.

 

Notice

All stats have been increased by 5.

The skill devourer acquired.

 

"Recently obtained menu."

 

Athena

Recently obtained:

Devourer

> A hunger to devour to grow strong

> This allows you to gain skill or stats after eating a part of a person or monster you have fought or have a good relationship with

 

Naofumi waved the window away. Raphtalia came running over with the ball in hand.

"You ready to go now?"

Raphtalia nodded as Roko and the others finally made it over. Raphtalia handed the ball to him so he could store it in his inventory.

 

00:00:00:03

00:00:00:02

00:00:00:01

00:00:00:00

 

Notice

The wave has begun!

 

Naofumi and his companions were teleported in a familiar looking forest. The sky was a dark red, and monsters were coming out from it.

"Sir Naofumi, look."

Roko pointed towards the direction of smoke.

"Riyute village is over there."

Naofumi nodded and quickly summoned the dire wolf duo.

"Take us over there, you two."

The wolves nodded and started running when they were on their backs.

 

Naofumi got Nina and Roko to help guide the people towards the mines where it was safe. While Raphtalia and him fought or monsters on the backs of the two wolves. While running around the village, Naofumi was making sure everyone was protected. Suddenly, a large humanoid creature appeared and took a swing at him. Kage quickly dodged.

“Air strike shield!”

Jumping onto the shield, Kage pushed himself off it and landed on top of a nearby roof.

“Shield prison.”

Naofumi surrounded them in a leaf like sphere with chains.

'The pipe shield is really useful. Now, let's activate detection.'

A window popped up in front of him with many red dots around him. Suddenly, there was a strike to the shield prison as a large red dot appearing next to him on the map. Suddenly, the dot vanished as Lumi's dot appeared next to him. He dropped the shield and continued to fight on Kage's back. 

 

30 minutes have passed with no signs of the wave ending.

'What are they doing! Are they having a tea party with the boss or something?'

Naofumi stopped Kage as Raphtalia appeared with Roko behind her.

"Where's Lumi?"

"He's guarding the mines from monsters."

Naofumi nodded.

"Is this going to end soon?"

 

Athena

Warning!

A large-scale fire attack is being aimed at you.

 

Naofumi cursed under his breath as he quickly pulled the two demi-humans onto Kage's back.

"What's happening, Lord Naofumi?"

Without saying anything, he changed his shield into the light metal sheild and raised activated its special effect.

 

Notice

Magic defence enhancement activated.

 

Small to large balls of fire hit people's homes and even Naofumi's shield. The wooden buildings easily burned and collapsed. As the balls of fires stopped, the sound of horses galloping could be heard. A group of soldiers rode in on horseback, with a few having smirks on their faces.

“Well looks like the shield has this place covered.”

Some of the soldiers followed the captain while others quickly got into action and fought off some monsters.

'Damn bastards leaving like they didn't destroy their own village.'

After about 10 more minutes did the cracks that were in the sky fade away. Everyone in the village cheered as the last of the monsters were slain. Heavy rain then started falling and slowly extinguishing the flames. A young knight came over to him.

“Uh... shield hero. The king is holding a banquet for the heroes if you would like to follow us to the castle.”

“Alright.”

The group headed for the castle.

 

When they entered the ballroom, it was filled with noble men and women, along with tables full of food and drinks. Naofumi sighed as the knights left them to suffer.

“Let’s get something to eat.”

The two demi-humans nodded and ran off to get some plates to fill with food. Nina suddenly appeared in her pigeon form on his shoulder, and Mocha appeared beside him. Naofumi smiled down at Mocha only to quickly pick her up into his arms.

“Let’s get some food then.”

Naofumi’s group quickly filled up a small table of plates.

“Isn’t this too much, guys?”

The two demi-humans shook their heads before digging in along with the two monsters. Naofumi sighed and joined in the feast. After they finished eating, Naofumi felt like his stomach was going to explode.

“That cheesecake was delicious.”

“Do you want more, Lord Naofumi?”

Naofumi sighed.

“Get as much of it as you can.”

Raphtalia nodded and shortly came back with the whole cake. Raphtalia’s tail swayed happily behind her as she smiled. Raphtalia held the plate out in front of her and bowed her head.

'She looks like one of those typical anime girls handing a letter to her crush.'

"As you requested, my lord."

Naofumi heard Roko chuckle. Smiling, he took the plate from her, and as she looked up, he flicked her on her forehead. Raphtalia straightened up and rubbed her forehead.

"That was mean, Lord Naofumi."

 Naofumi smiled and quickly put the cake into his shield.

 

Notice

You have gained a new cooking recipe called cheesecake.

 

“Now I can have it whenever I want to.”

Raphtalia chuckled as Naofumi started to pat her head.

“You’ve grown quiet a lot, Raphtalia.”

“Lord Naofumi!”

The group chuckled. They decide that they’ll travel after Naofumi gets his pay and a drop by the slave trader. Soon, the king paid all the heroes and let the party continue. Just as it was about to come to an end, a familiar face came over to them.

“Hey Ren.”

“Afternoon Naofumi. Can I ask you something before you go?”

“Sure.”

“Are those two slaves? Because I heard Myne say that demi-humans are usually slaves in Melromarc.”

“Oh! No. They would have been, but I decided against it since they are still human in their own right.”

“That...”

Suddenly, Raphtalia screamed as a woman with red hair poured red wine onto her head.

“Your kind shouldn’t be here, you rat.”

Naofumi growled before walking calmly in front of Raphtalia.

“Excuse me, miss, but what’s the matter with my party members being demi-humans?”

“Of course, they are yours.”

The woman then walked off, and Ren came over.

“That was Myne.”

“She’s kind of a bitch in my opinion.”

Ren nodded then bid Naofumi goodbye.

 

Notice

Restrictions for ‘Curse shield' have been lifted. The skill nullification has activated. Curse shield is temporarily locked.

 

Naofumi looked at the notice in confusion as he handed Raphtalia a new set of clothes from his shield.

"Go and get cleaned up."

Raphtalia nodded and headed toward the bath in the inn they booked.

"If they try anything again, they are dead."

 

Notice 

The point shop is now open due to you reaching Lv 20. As a reward you can choose a free skill from the shop.

 

Naofumi quickly opened the shop.

"Might as well get the most expensive one."

As Naofumi scrolled through the shop, he realised a lot of the skills were his own. Naofumi found the skill and brought it along with another skill.

 

Notice

Skills will now permanently merge with the host.

 

Naofumi looked at the mark, forming on the back of his hands only to see them fade away.

 

Notice

Spirit summon and divine gates have returned to the host.

Chapter Text

Naofumi walked into the tent and greeted the slave trader.

"Here to see what's new?"

Naofumi nodded and followed the trader into a familiar area.

"We haven't gotten many monsters because of the wave, but we do have these."

Beloukas motioned to the boxes filled with eggs.

"They are monster eggs. They contain filolials and have a small chance of having a dragoon in one. Dragoons are worth 20 gold, and these are only 100 silver a piece."

"So how many can I get."

"Usually, it's one egg per customer, but since we have such a large shipment, I'll let you choose at least 5."

Naofumi nodded and activated spirit sight before looking through all the boxes. Naofumi smirked as he spotted 3 eggs that had what he wanted.

"I'll take these three."

Beloukas nodded and gently placed all three eggs into one rectangular incubator that had a separater for each egg. The man then lifted the incubator up and handed it to Naofumi after getting 3 gold from the man.

"How to do business soon, shield hero."

 

Outside Naofumi showed the two demi-humans the eggs. Both looked at him in shock after he told them how much they were.

"Lord Naofumi! That's a lot of money you spent on 3 monsters that could be worth half that amount altogether."

Naofumi just smiled.

'This purchase is worth it.'

Naofumi looked at the three eggs that were surrounded by different coloured spirits. One was surrounded by a black glow while the other was surrounded by a golden glow, and the last one was surrounded by a silver glow. The two demi-humans sighed and just nodded.

 

The next morning, after eating, the group headed to an herbalist shop and sold some of the medicine that Naofumi made. Before they could leave, the owner called to him. The owner then took out a book and placed it on the counter.

“Take this.”

“What’s that for?”

“It’s a recipe book for medium level medicines.”

“Why are you giving me this?”

“You saved a relative of mine in Riyute village, so I want to give this as a thanks.”

Naofumi nodded and put the book into his inventory.

“The magic shop owner also wants to thank you, so you should head over there.”

“Thanks.”

As Naofumi and his party went into the magic shop, they were greeted by an older lady.

“Shield hero! My staff owes you a great debt. Now come on!”

The lady grabbed Naofumi’s arm and dragged him towards a crystal ball. The woman sat him down before peering into the ball.

“You have a natural talent in recovery and protection magic, sir hero.”

The woman then looks over at Raphtalia as Naofumi internally smirks. 

'Thank God for his pass abilities being locked away.'

“You miss have an infinite for light and dark magic. You, sir, have an infinite for wind and water magic.”

The demi-humans nodded.

“Now then...”

The lady then pulled a stack of books from under the table and dropped them in front of the trio.

“These grimoires are novice level, but they are packed with lots of spells. So please take them as thanks.”

Naofumi thanks the owner and takes the grimoires.

 

Later that day, they walked into Riyute village to see them dragging the boss monsters corps. A villager spots them and calls the trio over.

"You should take what you can before we start processing this thing."

Naofumi nodded and thanked the villager. Going up to the corpse, Naofumi noticed that all that was left was a snake head that seemed to be its tail. Taking Roko's knife, he cut open the monster and started to collect whatever he could salvage. After cutting open the snake head, a marble dropped from it.

"What is this?"

Naofumi mumbled.

 

Athena

That is the snake heads core. This creature is a chimera with 4 cores. 3 of the 4 cores seemed to have been taken.

 

"It's so small."

When no one was looking, Naofumi tossed the core into his mouth and ate it.

 

Notice

The skill devourer had activated. Due to devourers' activation, bonus stats will be given, and you may gain a skill from the monster.

 

Notice

All stats have increased by 25, and a bonus of 20 has been added to defence stats.

 

Notice

You already have already got this monsters skills, so you have been given 45,000 points instead.

 

Naofumi sighed and tossed the materials into his sheild to absorb.

 

Notice

Chimera meat shield unlocked.

Chimera bone shield unlocked.

Chimera leather shield unlocked.

Chimera viper shield unlocked.

 

He opened up the recently obtained menu.

 

Notice

Recently obtained:

Chimera meat shield

> Equipment bonus – Cooking quickly improvement

Chimera bone shield

> Equipment bonus – Shadow residence [Medium]

Chimera leather shield

> Equipment bonus – Defence [+10]

Chimera viper shield

> Equipment bonus – Skill: Change shield, Antidote compounding up

> Special effect: Snake venom fang [medium], Hook

 

Naofumi nodded to himself as he told a nearby villager that he got what he wanted and they could have the rest. The villager nodded and told the others to continue moving the body.

 

Later that day, the trio sat in an inn trying to sleep. After a while, Roko was fast asleep while Naofumi was nodding off here and there. Before he could subcome to sleep, Raphtalia shook him. Naofumi groaned and slowly sat up.

"What is it? Did you wet the bed again?"

Raphtalia blushed and shook her head.

"Of course not! Look at the eggs."

Raphtalia pointed to the dresser where Naofumi kept the eggs. The egg with a golden glow was fading as cracks formed on the egg. Naofumi got up and opened the incubators lid. As the egg fully broke open, a pink filolial chirped happily before jumping onto Naofumi's head.

"It must think your its parent."

Naofumi nodded and gently took the chubby bird off of his head.

 

Notice

Congratulations on hatching your first monster!

2,500 points have been awarded.

 

Notice 

Now taming filolial [Lv 1]

Would you like to name the filolial now to increase the chances of taming it?

 

Yes/No

 

'Yes'

 

Notice 

What would you like to name the filolial?

 

"Filo"

 

Notice

You have successfully tamed the filolia names Filo.

 

Notice

You are the first hero of this generation to tame a monster of common rank. 

Your chances of taming monsters of common rank have been increased.

Congratulations! 

As an award for this achievement, you have also gained 1,500 points.

 

They headed to the stable when Roko woke up. They ask about the filolial that was still on top of Naofumi’s head.

“We had a lot of filolial's before the wave, but most died during the wave itself.”

“Hasn’t the king given you compensation for damages since it was his knights that set this place ablaze and your part of his kingdom?”

“No, he hasn’t. But that’s alright! Anyways, if you don’t allow a filolial to pull a cart, they can become restless. It’s in their nature. “

Raphtalia then piped in.

“So, what do they eat?”

“It’s best to feed them bean paste, and when they grow up, they’ll eat anything given to them. You can also level them up to make them grow up quicker.”

Naofumi sighed and spoke up.

“Can we buy some paste from you until they are big enough to eat other things?”

The farmer nodded and handed Naofumi a bag of beans. Naofumi gave the man 5 copper coins before leaving.

 

Notice

You have reached level 25!

Raphtalia has reached level 27!

Roko has reached level 30!

Nina has reached level 28!

Lumi has reached level 40*!

Kage has reached level 36!

Mocha has reached level 25!

Inma has reached level 47!

Filo has reached level 12!

 

"What's with the star?"

 

Athena

The '*' represents Lumi reaching the level cap. To increase this, you'll need to go to the dragon hourglass.

 

A few days passed before Naofumi could be seen holding an egg with large cracks forming on it. A couple of seconds later and a green blur landed on top of Naofumi’s head. Naofumi chuckled and gently took the baby chick off his head. The newborn chirped happily and flapped their wings.

 

Notice

Congratulations on hatching a monster!

150 poins have been awarded.

 

Notice 

Now taming filolial [Lv 1]

Would you like to name the filolial now to increase the chances of taming it?

 

Yes/No

 

'Yes'

 

Notice 

What would you like to name the filolial?

 

"Fumi"

 

Notice

You have successfully tamed the filolia names Fumi.

 

Notice

You are the first hero of this generation to tame a monster of holy rank. 

Your chances of taming monsters of holy rank have been increased.

Congratulations! 

As an award for this achievement, you have also gained 10,500 points.

 

"Wasn't Filo only a common rank?"

 

Athena

It all depends on the monster DNA.

 

Naofumi rolled his eyes and looked at the small chick in his hands.

 'So cute.'

 

A few days later, Filo was put into a stable.

“You’ve changed a lot from a couple of days ago.”

Filo flapped her wings while chirping. The filolial has changed a lot over the last couple of days. Her feathers changed from a pink to white only for the tips of her feathers to stay the same baby pink she was at birth.

“Let’s go out now.”

Instead of going into the woods Naofumi’s group helped out some of the villagers and played with his monster companions. Naofumi sat under a tree along with Fumi. The two were watching the others play with some of the villagers.

“You know it’s strange that you haven’t been growing up as quickly as Filo.”

The filolial chirped and jumped into Naofumi’s lap as they watched the others.

Chapter Text

Naofumi woke up to the sound of a familiar distorted voice calling to him. Looking around the room, he saw Raphtalia sprawled out on her bed with a slight bit of drool falling from her mouth to his left, and Roko curled tightly in a ball to his right. Naofumi's head started to hurt as the voice grew louder in his head. With a sigh, he got out of bed and headed the direction the voice was coming from.

 

After about an hour of traversing through the forest at night, Naofumi found himself in front of a creepy looking mansion. With slight reluctance, Naofumi stepped into the mansion grounds. Suddenly, a bunch of red error messages started to pop up.

 

Notice

You have entered a forbidden area.

 

Notice

The Gods are angered by you.

 

Notice

A fatal error has happened.

 

Notice

A world reset will start.

 

Naofumi looked at the last notice in shock. Swearing under his breath, Naofumi ran towards the familiar voice. A 30-minute timer appeared above his vision. Naofumi ran as fast as he could through the mansion and out the back where a familiar shrine stood at the top of a hill.

 

"No way..."

 

Hearing the voice calling to him, he started running up the uneven stairs, passing through many of the old torii gates. As he reached the top of the stairs, the front sliding doors opened, and a golden chain came out and dragged him in. Naofumi closed his eyes as the chain pulled him in.

 

A small splash was heard when Naofumi hit the ground. Opening his eyes, Naofumi looked around only to see a familiar galaxy above him.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Naofumi yelled at nothing. Suddenly, a familiar distorted voice spoke up.

"Hello, little fox."

Naofumi looked around only to see nothing but water and stars.

"I'm sorry about what is happening right now. It seemed the skill I gave you didn't activate, so your abilities were sealed by that world's God."

Naofumi just nodded.

"So now the world is resetting to the start of your arrival. I will give you a present when you wake up."

Naofumi tilted his head.

"What kind of present?"

The voice just chuckled. Naofumi waited and then released something.

"What about my party and shields!?"

The voice sighed.

"You'll have to regain them."

Naofumi sighed and laid down on the floor. Some of the stars started to come down and surrounded Naofumi. Naofumi could hear them chuckle.

"Good luck this time, little fox."

The distorted voice cheered as the world around him vanished.

 

Naofumi woke up on a very familiar stone floor. He quickly sat up and looked around.

'Same old men and heroes.'

"O' four saint heroes of old! Please save our world. "

 

Naofumi rolled his eyes while the others just looked confused.

 

"While I'm certain you are all taken aback by your circumstance, time runs short for all of us. Within our country of Melromarc, vicious demons in large numbers have crawled out from a materialised dimension crack and are exposing everyone to great danger! Our country's knights and adventurers barely manage to eliminate the first wave of demons, but the hourglass is already indicated in the next wave of calamities will soon be upon us..."

 

The three other guys who were summoned to this world complain again about being summoned and what they want from it. The elder just pushed all of their questions to the side for the king to solve.

 

Naofumi followed them to the throne room, where he ignored everything that was being said. He followed the maid to his room and fell face first onto the comfortable bed. He rolled over onto his back before opening his status menu. It was the status window he made on his old world. The window was black with golden words and boarders. A small white star then appeared at the top of his window. Naofumi poked the star only for it to glow and turn into a familiar grey eye.

 

The Athena system has been synced to the fox system.

 

Naofumi smiled at the message that then popped up.

 

Athena

Welcome back, Naofumi! :)

I will now start synchronisation to this world's code.

...

Synchronisation completed!

 

"That was fast."

 

Athena

Of course it was. I'm a goddess, after all!

 

Naofumi smirked as he skimmed through the rest of his menu. He suddenly stopped when he noticed his party menu.

 

Current Party:

Naofumi iwatani [Lv 1]

Nina [Lv 5] (L)

Lumi  [Lv 22] (A)

Kage [Lv 20] (A)

Mocha [Lv 11] (B~A)

Inma [Lv 45] (SS)

 

"Is this the gift that voice talked about?"

'Probably not since they said I had to regain them myself. Also, what about Raphtalia, Roko, Filo, and Fumi?'

Naofumi stared at the screen for a bit longer before waving it away. He then opened his inventory to see that his old inventory had merged or over took this world's inventory.

 

Current inventory:

Gleipnir rope (SSS)

> A sentient rope that is strong enough to hold a demi-god

Blessed sword (L)

> A sword made by a famous blacksmith, but instead of being cursed, it was blessed by many gods

Fafnir's scale (L)

> A small scale from Fafnir

Shakespeare's pen (D)

> A pen that was used by Shakespeare that can twist reality slightly 

Fenrir's cloak (SS)

> A cloak made from Fenrir's fur that has self-cleaning and regnative abilities

> Equipment bonus - +120 to all stats every level up

Athena's scarf (S)

> A scarf nitted by Athena that has self-cleaning and regnative abilities

> Equipment bonus - Cold resistance (S)

Athena's gloves (S)

> A pair of gloves made by Athena that has self-cleaning and regnative abilities

> Equipment bonus - + 120 attack

Black collar (L)

> A collar to be given to your partner

> This can transform into other accessories

Phone (E)

> A device from another world

Wallet (F)

> Something that holds money

Keys (E)

> Keys to unlock the home of Naofumi Iwatani

Blessed journal (S)

> A journal blessed by an unknown god

 

Naofumi was  happy to see the items he had in his inventory.

'If I knew this would have happened, I would have moved everything I had in storage into my inventory.'

Waving the screen away, Naofumi turned to his side and fell asleep.

 

The next day, Naofumi stood in front of the king along with the other heroes. The parties were formed, and once again, Naofumi had to stop Ren from speaking with a glare.

 

Ren pulled Naofumi to the side, but before he could speak, Naofumi pats the younger boys head.

"Don't worry about me, Ren."

The boy nodded. Smiling Naofumi left the castle.

 

Outside the castle town, Naofumi opened up his map and saw his monsters were mostly nearby. The closest was Nina. Naofumi took off in the direction Nina's marker was at and soon came across her. The phoenix sat up in a tree grooming herself.

"Nina!"

The fire bird looked down and happily flew down to her master.

"Greate to see you remember."

Nina puffed up her chest feathers and held her head high. Naofumi smiled and scratched the birds head. He then opened his map and saw three golden dots rapidly approaching him. Naofumi tapped one, and the name 'Kage [Lv 20]' popped up beside it.

"So they are already on their way here."

Naofumi mumbled to himself. About half an hour later, three familiar monsters appeared in front of Naofumi.

"Kage, Lumi and Mocha! You all look well."

Naofumi looked at Mocha, who was being held by the scruff by Lumi. The enfield looked sick as it struggled in the wolfs jaw grip. Lumi noticed and gently set Mocha down. The enfield ran at Naofumi and climbed onto his shoulders.

"All that's left is Inma."

 

Naofumi sat under a tree and watched the others kill balloons. Suddenly, a group of multiple colour balloons charged at Naofumi. The bit his clothes but no damage was delt to him. Naofumi pulled off one of the balloons and smirked.

"Since my powers are back, let's do some experimentation."

 

You have successfully tamed a small orange balloon.

 

Small orange balloon [Lv 5] (E)

 

Athena

You should see if it can evolve.

 

Naofumi agreed and opened up his party menu and clicked on the balloons name. He then clicked onto the blue sprout icon that was in the top left-hand corner.

 

Small orange balloon [Lv 5] (E)

Monster evolution routes

Levelling route:

> Small balloon (E)

> Medium balloon (D)

> Large balloon (C)

> Giant balloon (B)

Note

> The bigger the balloon, the slower it is

> The bigger the balloon, the stronger the burst it has when defeated

> The attack slightly increases the bigger it is

> The defence slightly increases the bigger it is

 

Athena

Maybe you should modify it. Create a new evolution route for it.

 

"I could, but that would put more attention on me. This world's God or God's seem to be angry at me."

 

Athena

I guess so... but you should at least see if it works properly.

 

"I'll do it when I have my full party back."

 

Athena

You should also see if your party has any evolution routes.

 

Athena then opened all of his party's monster evolution routes screen.

 

Nina [Lv 5] (L)

Monster evolution routes

This monster is completely evolved.

 

Lumi  [Lv 22] (A)

Monster evolution routes

Levelling route:

> Arctic dire wolf (A)

> Frozen dire wolf (S)

Note

> The frozen dire wolf defence and attack greatly increase upon evolution

> The frozen dire wolf is thought to be extinct, but in reality, an arctic dire wolf has little chance of surviving long enough to reach the level needed to evolve

 

Kage [Lv 20] (A)

Monster evolution routes

Levelling route:

> Shadow dire wolf (A)

> Void dire wolf (SS)

Note

> There are no records of this evolution being achieved 

 

Mocha [Lv 11] (B~A)

Monster evolution routes

This monster is completely evolved. However, it is young, which means it rank can change when matured.

 

Inma [Lv 45] (SS)

Monster evolution routes

Levelling route:

> Two-headed Black dog (SS)

> Cerberus (SSS)

Note

> This monster isn't originally from this world

> The more heads the Black dog has, the greater the attack power

> When it becomes a Cerberus, it will learn a few new skills 

 

"Is Cerberus in this world the actual one?"

 

Athena

The Cerberus evolution isn't the real Cerberus but may be a descendant.

 

"What about the void dire wolf evolution?"

 

Athena

It seems like when they do reach this level, even the Gods don't know anything.

 

Naofumi smirked at that information. Naofumi then called Kage over. The large wolf trotted over to Naofumi and killed all the balloon.

 

The small orange balloon has died.

 

Naofumi noticed that the balloon didn't give him any EXP.

 

Athena

You didn't gain any EXP from it because you didn't have a strong bond to it.

 

Naofumi nodded and started petting Kage's face.

"You're such a good boy."

Kage huffed and started rubbing his face against Naofumi's. The others looked over in jealousy.

Chapter 8

Notes:

Yeah I'm still here just struggling with some ideas.

Chapter Text

A couple of days passed before Naofumi headed back into town. He went straight to the potion shop and asked about the herbs he gathered. The old man was slightly shocked at the amount he gathered and the quality of all of them.

"You have a good eye for herbs, kid."

The man then started to separate the herbs.

"These are used to create the healing potions you see around here. The better the herbs, the better the potion. This pile can be used to make poisons."

Naofumi nodded.

"Do you have any books I could buy?"

The old man nodded and handed him two books. The first was a brown leather covered book with a green tree printed on it along with the title and authors name. It read "Healing potions 101" by Alice Collins. The other was a familiar black leather covered book with golden thorn vines printed all around it, and in the centre was a very detailed purple dragon head. It read "Poisons that can kill even a dragon" by Tim Stone. The man then gave him a mortar and pestle.

"That would be 5 silver. The mortar and pestle are free."

Naofumi handed him the silver and thanked him before leaving.

 

He then headed to Erhard's shop and commissioned his armour.

"That cloak you're wearing looks well made, kid."

Naofumi nodded. 

"It was made by a famous seamstress in my world."

"Well, she did a good job at making it. Your armour will be done by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks."

Naofumi paid the man before leaving.

"Tomorrow, I will get Roko and Raphtalia back."

 

The next day, Naofumi and his party were in town selling balloon scraps and monster skins before heading over to Erhard's shop for Naofumi's armour. It was the same armour he got before, just without the dire wolf cloak. He thanked the man before heading towards a familiar circus tent.

 

Inside the tent, Naofumi spotted Beloukas talking to one of his personal slaves.

"Excuse me."

Beloukas looked over at him in surprise.

"Shield hero! What can I do for you today?"

"I wanna see what you have here."

Beloukas nodded and waved his slaves off.

"We sell both demi-humans and beast men here."

Naofumi tilted his head.

"That's all you sell?"

"We do sell monster eggs, but our next shipment isn't here just yet."

Naofumi nodded.

'Strange.'

"Alright. I'll like to look at the slaves you got."

"Of course, follow me."

Beloukas then took him into a familiar section of the tent.

'I am a bit earlier than I was before.'

"Call me over if you find something that interests you."

Nodding Naofumi took his time looking around. The map suddenly popped up in front of Naofumi with two golden dots. Sighing, he walked to the cage and took the cover off of it. Inside was Roko and Raphtalia. Naofumi quickly got the two and left. 

 

He headed back to Erhard's shop and got the two some armour. When they were out of the castle town, Raphtalia started to cry before running and hugging Naofumi from behind.

"Lord Naofumi! You came back for us!"

Naofumi was slightly shocked but turned around and hugged the little demi-human.

"Of course I did. You two are part of my party."

Roko nodded, and the group set off to level up.

"We'll need to head to Riyute to get Inma."

The demi-humans nodded as Naofumi summoned both Kage and Lumi.

"We're heading to Riyute."

 

On their quick ride to Riyute, they were able to level up quite a bit.

 

Current Party:

Naofumi iwatani [Lv 18]

Raphtalia [Lv 20] 

Roko [Lv 22]

Nina [Lv 23] (L)

Lumi  [Lv 27] (A)

Kage [Lv 26] (A)

Mocha [Lv 21] (B~A)

Inma [Lv 45] (SS)

 

As they entered the village, some villages looked at them with fear.

'Oh! I forgot people don't have wild monsters as pets.'

The group got off the dire wolves who soon returned to Naofumi's shield. 

"Let's go."

The two nodded, and they were off to the mines.

 

After getting some of the stuff from the shed, they headed down into the mines. They didn't find many monsters, and Naofumi was able to mine a lot of ores this time around. As they continued walking down the cave, they heard something coming towards them. Naofumi checked his map and saw Inma's dot coming towards them. The two-headed dog stopped in front of them with his tail wagging behind him. Inma quickly grabbed the back of Naofumi's cloak and ran off deeper into the cave. Naofumi heard the demi-humans call for him as he was taken away.

 

Inma soon put him down and trotted over to a hole in the ground. Naofumi calmly walked over and gasped in surprise at what he saw. In the hole were 6 sleeping puppies that looked around 8 weeks old . Naofumi looked Inma up and down before checking the dogs gender. Inma was definitely a male. Inma gently nudged him forward. Sighing Naofumi hovers his left hand over the puppies and got multiple messages saying.

 

You have successfully tamed a black puppy.

Black Puppy [Lv 1] (S)

 

Sighing Naofumi watched as his party list got longer. Humming to himself, he picked a puppy up and glanced at his modification menu.

'Since they're puppies, the features won't show until they're a bit older.'

Smirking, he started to modify the puppy. He did the same to all 6 puppies.

"That should do."

He placed the last one down with their siblings, who were playing with each other. He then looked over his shoulder to see a tired Raphtalia and Roko.

"Are you okay, Naofumi-sama?"

Naofumi nodded and motioned for the two to come over and see the puppies.

 

The next day, they were back in Beloukas tent. Naofumi was holding a wooden box with a blanket over it

"Ah! Shield hero, what cab I do for you today?"

Naofumi smirked and took the blanket off the wooden box. Beloukas was surprised at the site of 6 monster dogs.

"I've got a proposal for you."

The trader nodded and took a closer look at the puppies.

"I have an ability that allows me to tame monsters. These 6 are tamed and can grow to become great gaurd dogs. Especially for the nobles."

Beloukas nodded.

"How can I trust that your skill works?"

Naofumi smiled and summoned Inma from his shield. The trader was a bit surprised.

"This is their father. As you can see, he's actually a wave monster. Usually, they would go crazy during a wave, but since they're tamed, they won't. Black dogs are very intelligent and follow commands quickly. For example, up!"

Inma quickly stood on his hind legs with his front paws swaying in front of him as he tried to stay balanced.

"Good boy."

Inma fell forwards to stand on all fours. Beloukas nodded with a smirk on his face.

"You've got a good idea there, sheild hero."

Naofumi nodded and looked at the puppies.

"We could make a contract. I'll tame monsters and bring them to you to sell under the shield heroes' name."

Beloukas nodded.

"And to make sure no one copies me, the monsters are branded with a marking."

Naofumi handed the box to Roko, as he took out a puppy and showed the trader the green skin and fur on the puppies' forehead.

"When it grows older, a green shield symbol will be on its forehead. Each puppy has a marking but on different parts of its body."

Beloukas smiled.

"So how much do you want from this?"

Naofumi hummed.

"How about 70% to me and 30% to you."

The trader smirked before pulling out a piece of paper.

"Then let's write up that contract."

 

After a while, Naofumi left with 6 fewer party members.

 

Athena

You can always check on them through the 'Followers' menu.

 

Naofumi nodded as they quickly headed to the church where Naofumi finally got the waves' time before they left the castle town to level up more for the wave.

 

When the wave started, the group quickly headed to Riyute village to help them. Once again, Naofumi let Roko and Nina lead the villagers to the mines while the rest took down the zombie creatures and saved any villagers who were stuck. Soon, the spell that rained fire on them was activated. He quickly looked around and saw that everyone but him was out of the spell range. Changing his shield, he covered himself and waited for the spell to end. When it did, the group of knights appeared only to be attacked by a giant zombie, which Raphtalia quickly killed. The knight commander and a few other knights fled while the others stayed and fought. When the wave was over, Naofumi and his group were quickly whisked away to the castle.

 

In the castle, Naofumi watched as his party took over a table. Nobles were mumbling about how he had monsters in his party. Ren soon came over.

"It seems you're doing well."

Naofumi nodded and watched as Nina in her pigeon form landed on his shoulder.

"I was lucky to find these guys."

Ren nodded.

"But aren't they slaves?"

Naofumi shook his head.

"They would have been if I didn't buy them from the trader."

Ren hummed before pointing at Kage, who was sitting next to Naofumi with his tongue out.

"What about them?"

Smiling Naofumi pets the overgrown wolf.

"I have a skill that allows me to tame some monsters. This guy was just a puppy, so he was easier to tame."

Naofumi lied as Kage huffed and leaned into the touch.

"I guess that's fair."

Ren soon left, as did Naofumi's group when they were given their reward for participating in the wave.

 

The next day, the group was in the Beloukas' tent to buy the eggs that contained Filo, Fumi, and the unknown egg. The trader greeted them with a smile.

"What can I help you with today?"

"Well, I wanna see the monster eggs you have."

Nodding the trader lead them to the room full of eggs.

"As you can see, my latest shipment of eggs is a bit too much. So for the next two days you can get as many eggs for half price the price!"

Naofumi looked around, slightly confused.

'This is new. Last time, he only got 6 boxes of eggs, but now there are over 30 boxes. At least I'm getting a discount.'

Looking around, Naofumi spotted the three eggs he got last time. Looking around more, he spotted two other eggs glowing brightly with potential. 

 

Athena

Shall I examine the eggs?

 

Naofumi gave a small nod. Soon, multiple windows popped up.

 

Filolial Egg [Lv 1] (B)

Note

> This egg can become a queen under certain conditions

 

Filolial Egg [Lv 1] (B)

Note

> This egg is part of a forgotten breed of filolials that can evolve under certain conditions 

 

Dragon Egg [Lv 1] (S~L)

Note

> This egg seems to be blessed by a demon

 

Serpent Egg [Lv 1] (C)

Note

> This egg is emitting a strong aura

 

Centipede Egg [Lv 1] (F)

Note

> This egg may seem weak, but it has a strong will to protect

 

Naofumi gathered all the eggs and handed the trader his money. The man seemed pleased as the group soon left the tent to head to Riyute.

Chapter Text

In Riyute Naofumi and his group would head out at least once a day to kill monsters left behind by the wave and to help with construction. During that time, Naofumi gained quite a few new shields and skills from monsters. Mocha also finally reached maturity.

 

Current Party:

Naofumi Iwatani [Lv 27]

Raphtalia [Lv 31]

Roko [Lv 33]

Nina [Lv 32] (L)

Lumi [Lv 40*] (A)

Kage [Lv 39] (A)

Mocha [Lv 26] (A)

Inma [Lv 48] (SS)

 

Later that day, Filo's egg hatched, revealing the pink filolial. The bird happily jumped into Naofumi's hair. Soon after, both the serpent and centipede egg hatched. The snake looked like an albino boa constrictor, while the centipede looked like a giant desert centipede. Naofumi picked up the tiny snake with a smile.

"Your name is Ivy."

The snake flicked her tongue in approval. Naofumi then looked at the centipede.

"You'll be called Mr Wiggles."

The centipede gave a small nod.

Naofumi then reached his head to pat Filo.

"And you are, of course, Filo."

Filo chirped happily. Naofumi watched Roko stare at the centipede with interest.

"Here."

Naofumi handed the demi-human the centipede.

"He's your responsibility now."

Roko nodded. The group continued helping around the village until one day Fumi's egg hatched. The green filolial was chirping happily on his head. Naofumi gently takes the filolial off his head and scratches under her beak.

"You'll be named Fumi."

Fumi puffed her feathers, making Naofumi chuckle.

"You're so cute."

 

One day, Naofumi saw everyone gathered in the village square. On a stage was Motoyasu and Myne, who showed a scroll saying Motoyasu was going to be Riyute's new lord. The actual lord questioned them about it because he wasn't told about it. Myne just waved the scroll in the man's face.

"The king signed it himself. Are you going against the kings wishes?"

The gaurds grabbed their swords, ready to kill at a moments notice.

"Now well impose a new tax throughout the village. It's 50 silver to leave and 50 silver to enter."

The crowd started yelling at the hero, making Naofumi smirk.

"Hey!"

Naofumi yelled as the villagers started parting.

"Do you know how much it is to sleep at an inn in this village? It's a single silver coin, including meals."

Naofumi hummed.

"An adult village only needs 20 copper a day. Are you trying bleed villagers just for reconstruction of a village the knights burnt down!?"

Myne was about to say something only to be interrupted by masked people.

"Who are they?"

Naofumi whispered. Roko's ears twitched.

"They are the queen's shadows, I believe."

Naofumi thanked his party member just in time for Myne to point at him.

"Shield hero! Over the right to decide the fate of the village, I challenge you!"

Naofumi stepped back slightly in shock.

"Hu!?"

Ivy tightened around his arm.

"The duel will be a race. Between our dragon and the shields white bird."

Filo flapped her wings happily. The village lord begged Naofumi to help. Naofumi nodded before looking at Motoyasu, who came over and pats Filo's back.

"Your bird isn't purely white, which means it's cheap!"

Naofumi sighed as Filo got angry and kicked Motoyasu in the crotch. This move sent the man flying. Myne yelled for a healer as Naofumi started to laugh.

 

The two stood at the starting line, and the village lord started the race. Filo strongly kicked off and was leaving behind dust as she ran. The two were already halfway around the village when a map pop-up showed a red dot around the corner. Naofumi closed his eyes to sense what was happening. Naofumi could faintly hear a man chanting some earth spell.

"Get ready to jump, Filo."

Filo nodded as they rounded the corner and jumped over a conveniently placed hole. As they finished the first lap, a slowing spell was cast on them, and Motoyasu pasted them. The dragon spitefully hit Filo with its tail, then smirked at the filolial. Filo got angry and quickly broke through the spell and sped past the two. During the final lap, the hole they previously jumped grew bigger, which made Naofumi hold onto Filo's reins tighter. Filo angry flapped her wings as she used the edge of the hole to push off and clear the hole. Naofumi chuckled when he heard a gasp from the treeline. When he reached the finish line, the villagers cheered while Myne got angry and yelled at Naofumi for cheating.

 

Athena

It seems like Filo is ready to evolve.

 

Naofumi looked over at Filo, who has now changed into a large owl like bird.

"See! He's cheating."

Naofumi sighed and pointed at Filo.

"She just evolved, princess."

Myne glared at Naofumi. Naofumi rolled his eyes as the group of shadows landed and told Myne about how they found traces of magic, meaning she was cheating. Motoyasu came over with a slight injured dragon. Motoyasu quickly ran over to Myne, who was being led out of the village. Motoyasu's dragon tried to follow only to be yelled at by Myne for being weak. The dragon whined as it master left it without a second thought. Naofumi 7 before walking over to it and taming it himself. The injuries it had quickly healed. Filo seemed angry but calmed down when Naofumi told her she did a good job. The dragon soon bowed its head towards Filo to apologise. Filo huffed, then squawked in approval. The villagers quickly ran over to thank the hero and praise Filo. 

 

The next morning, Naofumi was given a merchant pass and a carriage that Filo was eyeing for a few days while they helped repair the village. Naofumi gave the dragon he tamed to the village to help with farm work and other odd jobs. As they packed up the carriage, the villagers gathered around to say goodbye to them.

 

After a couple of hours of travelling, the group stopped when Raphtalia started feeling worse. Raphtalia apologised as Naofumi laid her down on a blanket. The male smiled and pats the demi-humans head. Raphtalia soon fell asleep, as did Roko. Naofumi sighed and laid down on Kage as Filo came over to lay down next to him. 

 

The next morning, Naofumi was woken up to Raphtalia yelling. Naofumi groaned and opened his eyes to see a little girl sleeping on his lap. The girl woke up and jumped at Naofumi, who was unimpressed.

"Papa!"

Naofumi held the girl as she babbled about being able to transform. Naofumi used his appraisal on the girl.

 

Filo [Lv 22] (S)

Gender: Female

Age: 2 months

Race: Filolial

Class: Filolial Queen

Notes 

Filo has grown up in the care of a hero, allowing her to evolve in a filolial queen. 

Filo has a strong affinity with wind magic.

 

Naofumi looked down at the girl and pats her head, making her laugh. Raphtalia looked shocked and kept telling him to stop.

"Filo doesn't care if Papa sees Filo naked!"

Raphtalia stopped and yelled in confusion.

 

The group arrived in the castle town and entered Erhard's shop. Filo was in her human form complaining about how Naofumi let Kage and Lumi pull the carriage. The filolial was wearing his cloak as the blacksmith came out from the back of his shop.

"Who the little girl."

Naofumi puts his hand on Filo's head.

"This is Filo. We need something that can transform with her."

Erhard shook his head.

"You should go to the magic shop. The owner can help you find a solution."

Naofumi thanked the man, and the group left for the magic shop. As they entered the shop, the owner smiled.

"Shield hero! You finally came to my shop."

Naofumi nodded.

"Erhard said you can help make magic clothing."

The old woman shook her head.

"I can't make clothes, but I can help make the thread for the clothing."

Naofumi nodded. The woman's face soon saddened as she pointed at a threading machine.

"Sadly, the gem is broken, and it's hard to find a new gem."

Naofumi sighed.

"However, there is one place that has the gem I need."

The woman placed a map onto her desk and pointed to a place.

"Right here is a rumoured to be an alchemist lab. It's said to be built on a mine full of gems."

Nodding the group set out to the mines

Chapter 10

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As the group arrived at the cave. Raphtalia quickly ran off to throw up. When she came back, Naofumi told her to stay and rest up. Raphtalia apologised before getting into that carriage while the two dire wolves kept guard. The rest headed inside the caves grand entrance. As they walked down the narrow tunnel, Filo pointed out an opened chest. The group inspected it and found a stone table. The witch coughs and starts reading it.

"To those who would break the seal on the seeds, I pray that the seeds will not reach the outer world."

The witch hummed.

"Maybe the alchemist sealed his failure here with a warning to anyone who enters here."

"Probably."

The group continued onwards. Soon, Filo stops and tackles Naofumi. The girl cried about being left by Naofumi as bats started gathering. The witch quickly cast a spell that snapping Filo out of whatever spell was cast on her. Filo cried and apologised to Naofumi. Naofumi pats her head. Filo then got angry and started killing the bats. After a few minutes, she completely killed all the bats. Naofumi and Roko were picking up the corpses only to put them into Naofumi's shield. The group continued onwards only to stop in font of a large opening. All around were large crystal like chunks that seemed to be protected by a strange creature.

"What is it?"

The witch spoke up.

"That's a Nue. It's a bit small, but I wonder why a monster from the east is here."

Filo suddenly charged, making Naofumi sighed and summon Inma. The witch seemed surprised but helped support the group when the monsters escaped from Inma's attack. Roko shot it in the eye, making it collapse and easier for the two monsters to kill. Filo seemed happy as she dragged the dead monster towards him. Naofumi placed a hand on the body and watched it vanish into his shield inventory. They then walked over to the large crystal and took some of it.

 

When they group returned to the shop, the witch quickly replaced the gem and told Filo to slowly put her mana into the gem. Filo nodded, and thread started to be made. After a couple of minutes, the thread was made, and the group took it to a seamstress who happily made the clothes for Filo. Filo spans around with a smile on her face.

"Filo likes these clothes."

The seamstress smiled at the complemented. The group then leaves and heads out a random direction. As they travel, Naofumi decided to use appraisal on everyone except Filo.

 

Raphtalia [Lv 36]

Gender: Female

Age: 10 

Race: Demi-human [Raccoon]

Class: Swordswoman

Notes

> Raphtalia has a strong affinity with light and dark magic.

> She may look and act like an adult, but she is still a child.

 

Roko [Lv 37] 

Gender: Male

Age: 29 

Race: Demi-human [Rabbit]

Class: Ranger

Notes

> Roko has a strong affinity with wind and water magic.

 

Fumi [Lv 20] (B)

Gender: Female

Age: 1 month

Race: Filolial

Notes

> Fumi has a strong affinity with earth, wind, and light magic.

> Fumi has the genetics of an extinct breed of filolial. At the rate she is growing, she may evolve into the extinct filolial breed.

 

Lumi [Lv 40*] (A)

Gender: Male

Age: 6 

Race: Wolf [Arctic dire wolf]

Notes

> Arctic dire wolves are found on icy mountains and in high level frozen dungeons.

> Arctic dire wolves can reproduce with either gender. This is because they had low reproductive rates in the past since the cold weather would kill new pups quickly.

> Arctic dire wolves are immune to the cold, making them immune to all ice attacks.

> Lumi has a strong affinity with ice magic.

 

Kage [Lv 40*] (A)

Gender: Non

Age: 6

Race: Wolf [Shadow dire wolf]

Notes

> Shadow dire wolves are found when it's night and in high level dungeons.

> Shadow dire wolves don't have a gender because they are made up of shadows, and because of that, a shadow dire wolves can self reproduce or reproduce with another wolf.

> Shadow dire wolves are rare to find when it's light out since they become vulnerable to all attacks. This is because in the dark, they become a shadow, and the only attacks that can harm them are light magic attacks.

> Kage has a strong affinity with dark magic.

 

Nina [Lv 40] (L)

Gender: Female 

Age: 182 

Race: Phoenix [Fire]

Notes

> Phoenix's are extremely rare monsters that can not be killed since they can just revive themselves from their ashes, which makes them immortal.

> Phoenix's absorb any fire attacks and use it to heal themselves.

> A phoenix will lay one egg in its lifetime.

> Nina has a strong affinity with fire, light, and wind magic.

 

Inma [Lv 50] (SS)

Gender: Male

Age: 2402

Race: Dog [Otherworldly]

Notes

> There isn't much information on this monster because it's not of this world.

> Inma can use two spells simultaneously since it has two heads.

> When it evolves, it can use three spells simultaneously.

> Inma has an affinity with fire, dark, and lightning magic.

 

Mocha [Lv 30] (A)

Gender: Female

Age: 3 years

Race: Chimera [Enfield]

Notes

> Enfield's are common monsters but are extremely strong when hunting in groups.

> Enfield's cannot fly but can glide when falling.

> Mocha has a strong affinity with wind and earth magic.

 

Ivy [Lv 21] (C)

Gender: Female

Age: 2 months

Race: Snake [Boa constrictor]

Notes

> Ivy is a breed of snake that usually constricts its enemy to death.

> This breed of snake is able to crush steel and digest it.

> This breed can grow up to 30-50 metres in length.

> Ivy has a strong affinity with light magic.

 

Mr Wiggles [Lv 20] (F)

Gender: Male

Age: 2 months

Race: Centipede [Giant desert]

Notes

> This breed of centipede doesn't attack humans unless provoked.

> The bite of this centipede can cause extreme pain but not death.

> This breed can grow to be 20-25 feet long.

> Mr Wiggles has a strong affinity with earth magic.

 

Naofumi looked at Ivy in shock, only for her to flick her tongue at him. Sighing Naofumi looked outside and spotted a man running. Raphtalia stopped the carriage, and the man begged for a ride to his village.

Naofumi summoned Kage and quickly jumped onto his back. The man was shocked as Naofumi pulled him onto the large wolfs back.

"We'll wait for you at the village."

Raphtalia nodded.

"This will cost you a silver."

As the man was about to speak, they took off. The man screamed as they traversed the mountain.

 

The man held on tight as the village gates came into view.

"Hey! Stop."

Naofumi tossed the past the gaurd.

"My companions will be arriving soon, so give that back to them."

Kage easily hopped the gate and ran into the village. The man pointed to an old looking house.

"It's that one."

Nodding Naofumi told Kage to go to the house the man pointed at. With a grunt, the wolf trotted up the hill. The man quickly got off and ran into the house. Naofumi followed behind as Kage lay outside. Inside the house, the man ran into a room where an elderly lady lay in bed. Naofumi looked at the medicine in disgust.

"Go boil some water."

The was jumped slightly but handed Naofumi the potion anyway. Naofumi activated his medicine enhancement skills and gently poured the medicine into the woman's mouth. The woman's body glowed slightly as the man walked in. The woman thanked Naofumi as she sat up. Naofumi soon left when his party arrived. The man handed him a bag of vegetables and meat that seemed to be acquainted to 1 silver. Nodding the group left. 

 

As the group travelled, Naofumi decided to start up a small travelling business. Naofumi's group would stop at any village they saw and trade healing potions to those who needed it. Naofumi even went to people's homes to treat people whose family members didn't know if they were ill or dying. Some people couldn't afford the medicine, so Naofumi told them they just needed to give him something of equal value, be it food, materials, or books. However, Naofumi would always treat those who are aged 14 and under for free. Families with lots of children were thankful for that.

 

One day, the group was stopped by a guy on the road. The man then asked for a ride, which he quickly paid for. The man claimed to be a merchant and started making conversation with Naofumi. The carriage soon stopped when Roko pointed out a group of bandits. The group seemed to want the accessory merchant who was with them. Naofumi didn't care what they were saying until one spoke up.

"That demi-human girl looks hot. Looks like we're going to have fun tonight, boys."

The laughed as Raphtalia grabbed the hilt of her sword.

"Don't even think of attacking us. We've got a class upgraded bodyguard."

Naofumi watched as a man walked to the front of the group with a smirk on his face. Naofumi roled his eyes and told the two girls to gather the group of men alive. The men quickly confessed.

"So what do we do with them?"

The merchant told him he could do what he liked to them. One then pointed out that he's the shield hero. The group laughed. Snapping his fingers, the gem on his shield glowed and released Ivy into the world. The snake grew until she was around 20 feet long. The men gasped.

"I guess it's time for a snack."

Ivy flick her tongue before opening her mouth wide. The men started to beg, which made Naofumi smirk.

"Please, we'll do anything. Just don't kill us."

Naofumi nodded and waved, Ivy away. The snake vanished back into the shield.

 

Later that day, the men were handing Naofumi's party members boxes to be loaded into the carriage. When everything was done, Naofumi told the merchant he'll have to give him something for all the trouble he was causing him. The man offered him his connections and knowledge. Naofumi exepted. The merchant taught him how to make accessories and introduced him to his contacts. Naofumi thanked the man and quickly left to continue his journey.

 

After a couple of days of travelling, Naofumi stopped the carriage when he saw a massive cave. It was massive, and the entrance was at the top of a mountain. Naofumi looked inside, only to be sent back slightly by a strong gust of wind. A low demanding voice rang out.

"Who dares enter my nest."

Soon, a large dragon stepped out and looked down a Naofumi.

"Ah, one of the heroes. Are you here to challenge me hatchling?"

Naofumi shook his head.

"No. I was just curious."

The dragon huffed.

"Smart. Challenging me would lead to your demise."

Naofumi sighed and looked over at his companions then back at the dragon.

"So why are nesting in a place like this?"

The dragon seemed a bit put off.

"Well..."

"Farther!"

A dog like demi-human girl ran out of the cave and ran in front of the dragon with her arms opened wide.

"Don't hurt my farther!"

Naofumi tilted his head before an idea came to mind. He then looked at the dragon.

"So you're here to protect her."

Naofumi then pointed down the mountains.

"The village beyond those mountains recently put up a request to kill you. I've heard that the sword hero took the request and is coming here."

The dragon lowered its head so it could look into Naofumi's eyes.

"You don't seem to be lying."

The dragon then looked at the girl.

"Those humans probably want my treasure, so they are tricking a hero to kill me."

The dragon quickly nudged the girl forward.

"Take my daughter. From what I can see, putting her in your care will guarantee her safety."

Naofumi was slightly shocked.

"I didn't mean stay here."

The dragon shook his head, then looked back into the cave.

"I have to protect the shrine."

Naofumi was confused.

"My nest is actually a dungeons entrance. Down at the lowest level is a shrine that can awaken the dragon king."

"Dragon king?"

The dragon nodded.

"He's the strongest of the four guardian beasts. Bringing him back to life will cause a catastrophe greater than the waves."

Naofumi nodded. The girl suddenly spoke up.

"I wanna stay here!"

The dragon looked at the girl with a frown.

"Wyndia... you need to go."

The girl shook as tears fell down her face.

"But..."

She then burst out into tears and hugged the dragons snout. Raphtalia quickly ran over to him with the final egg.

"Master Naofumi! The egg."

Naofumi took the egg and watched as it started to crack.

Notes:

Gotta love cliffhangers... 🤭

Chapter 11

Summary:

The dragon has hatched!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Naofumi watched as a black scaled foot broke through the shell. Naofumi chuckled and touched the foot. A small whine was heard as the foot retreated back into the egg. Naofumi quickly noticed the egg warming up.

 

"Oh no."

 

A small blast of black flames hit Naofumi's face. The group gasped as the smoke cleared from Naofumi's face. The man was unharmed and smiling.

 

"Strong flame you got there, bud."

 

The now fully out dragon whined. The baby dragon was fully black with green eyes, small wings, a set of small horns, and a thick tail. The larger dragon roared and huffed hot air at Naofumi and the baby dragon.

 

"It seems like he's a pureblood. You should be careful with him. Purebloods lose all regard to race when in heat or rut."

 

Naofumi looked at the baby dragon and then sighed.

 

"Thanks for the information."

 

Naofumi hummed before patting the baby dragons head.

 

"I'll name you Cogmos."

 

The baby dragon smiled and pawed at Naofumi's armour. Naofumi then looked over at Wyndia.

 

"You wanna hold him?"

 

The girl looked down at Cogmos and then nodded quickly. Naofumi gently placed Cogmos into the girls' arms. Suddenly, the large dragon spoke up.

 

"The sun is soon to set hero. Let me give you a parting gift."

 

The dragon walked into the cave and soon came back with a sack in its mouth.

 

"Use these as you see fit."

 

Before Naofumi could open that sack, he watched as the dragon went over to Wyndia and touched Cogmos with its snout.

 

Cogmos has been blessed by the dragon emperor Gaelion.

This blessing will make other dragons and subspecies of dragons slightly fear Cogmos.

 

Naofumi was shocked at the message. Naofumi shook his head and handed the sack to Raphtalia.

 

"I'll sort that out later."

 

Raphtalia nodded and quickly ran back to the carriage. Wyndia then came over and handed Cogmos back to Naofumi. Cogmos smiled and snuggled up to Naofumi's chest while whining.

 

"Now be a good girl, Wyndia."

 

Wyndia nodded and stood in font of Naofumi with her ears down and tail tucked between her legs.

 

"Is it okay for me to join your party?"

 

Naofumi smiled and patted the girls head.

 

"Of course you can join. We'll even come back here if we are nearby."

 

Wyndia smiled, then quickly ran into the cave to get her belongings.

 

"Please protect her even after I die."

 

Naofumi sighed.

 

"If that's what you wish for."

 

Gaelion nodded.

 

The group left to head back towards the castle town. Along the way, Naofumi made sure to change Cogmos' mating urge.

 

'Don't want him going after anything that moves. Plus, he's too cute to have that kind of urge.'

 

Naofumi also made sure that Filo, Fumi, and Cogmos won't attack each other. Roko told him about Filo, nearly attacking Gaelion when she saw him. This then led to Wyndia telling them about the two races hatred for each other. The group eventually stopped when it started to get dark. They weren't far from the castle town, so he allowed every to sleep to prepare for tomorrow. The next morning, everybody was packing away their things when Naofumi stopped and remembered the sack Gaelion gave him. Naofumi pulled it off one of the boxes and then dragged it onto the grass so he could dump it out without braking anything. As he poured the content onto grass, the group gathered around to make sure nothing rolled away. Naofumi looked at the items with appraisal. All together, there were 6 items and a small pile of gold coins. The first was a clear orb.

 

Item: Skill core (L)

This core is empty.

To use this, the user needs to put their own magic into the core and select a skill they would like to be copied into the core.

 

Besides, it was another orb. It was purple and had a lot of light scratches on it.

 

Item: Skill core (L)

This core holds the skill 'Skill Plunder'

Skill Plunder (S)

Can copy a skill from a recently dead person/monster.

This skill can only be used twice a month.

This skill rank may increase with the user.

 

Sighing Naofumi picked up the next item, which was a plain black leather book.

 

Item: Tim Stone's diary (E)

This is a diary writing by Tim Stone.

 

Naofumi was confused. He felt like he knew that name. Roko then spoke up.

 

"I think he's the guy who wrote that book about poisons."

 

Naofumi quickly took out the book and saw the man's name written on it.

 

'But why does Gaelion have his diary?'

 

Naofumi put both books away into his shield.

 

'I'll read it later.'

 

Next was a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

 

Item: Wind bow (S)

This bow can only be used by those who have a strong wind affinity.

This bow will also grow with its user.

 

Item: Magic arrows (A)

These arrows can pierce through barriers lower than rank A.

These arrows can also be imbued with mana, which increases its power.

 

Next to the quiver was a dagger. Everything about it looked normal. Everything exepted for the embedded red gem on the handle.

 

Item: Flame dagger (B)

This dagger will be coated in a flame when mana is passed through the gem.

 

Naofumi hummed to himself before giving Roko the bow and arrows while Wyndia got the dagger. They then got back into the carriage and headed toward Melromarc.

 

When they arrived, they quickly sold off any monster drops they had. Naofumi was sitting at the front of the carriage with Cogmos on his lap. The baby dragon cooed and whined as Naofumi scratched his head.

 

"You know you can sleep in my shield."

 

Cogmos shook his head and leaned more into Naofumi's stomach. Naofumi hummed and watched Roko, Raphtalia, Wyndia, and Filo play with a ball. 

 

"I wonder what blessing that demon gave you."

 

Naofumi pats Cogmos on his head.

 

Athena

The demon lord Yumi's blessed Cogmos with a copy of her skill,'Black fire'.

Black fire is one of the strongest flames that can be manipulated to damage certain enemies.

 

Naofumi nodded.

 

"That's probably why I didn't actually get burnt when he hatched."

 

Athena

Correct!

 

Naofumi smiled as he swiftly dodged the ball that was about to hit him in the face. He looked over at the group to see Raphtalia shaking Filo.

 

"You nearly hit Naofumi-sama, Filo!"

 

Naofumi gently picked Cogmos up before heading over towards the group.

 

"It's alright, Raphtalia. Filo didn't mean any harm, and no harm was done."

 

Raphtalia stopped shaking Filo and nodded. Filo quickly hugged Naofumi while crying.

 

"I'm sorry, Papa! Filo will be more careful when she's playing."

 

Cogmos groaned and shifted slightly so Naofumi could pat Filo's head.

 

"It's alright, Filo."

 

Filo pulled away slightly and then smiled. Naofumi smiled back and then messed up her hair.

 

"Papa!?"

 

The group stayed in town for a while until one day Naofumi heard some surprising news while at an inn.

 

"Did you hear? The sword hero killed a dragon."

 

"For real?!"

 

"Yeah, and he left the corps, which means we can make bank if we get there early."

 

The two laughed as they left. Naofumi sighed as he rested his head on the wooden table.

 

"How am I going to tell Wyndia about this?"

 

Naofumi grumbled as he quickly stood up and left.

Notes:

I know this took a while, but that's just who I am.

Chapter 12

Notes:

I know this is short, but who cares! It's another chapter!

Chapter Text

Naofumi and his group were on the way to a village to give them a crate full of herbicide. Along the way, they helped out a group of people moving away from their village because the new lord. Soon, they arrived at the temporary village where they handed the herbicide over. The man thanked them but was soon cut off by screams from outside. Naofumi sighed and told Filo to go save them. Within minutes, Filo dropped the men in font of the villagers. Raphtalia scolded her, which ended up in a full-blown argument. Naofumi sighed as the villagers gasped. They suddenly bowed down to the group, asking for help. Naofumi nodded and quickly healed the infected. They then asked for help, which Naofumi exepted.

 

"This will cost you."

 

The elder nodded. Naofumi then summoned Lumi and Kage. The wolves growled at the men. Naofumi pats them before climbing onto Kage's back. Roko and Wyndia got onto Lumi while Raphtalia got onto Filo. The group quickly left. Cogmos was clinging to Naofumi's shoulder with a smile on his face.

 

The group arrived in the village where Naofumi handed the group some herbicide. Roko coated his arrows with them and started raining arrows on the mutated plants. Filo and Raphtalia took off towards the large mutated tree only for Raphtalia to be grabbed by the vines. Filo kicking in the eye, which made it drop Raphtalia. Filo quickly caught her and ran back to Naofumi. Roko dipped an arrow in the herbicide and then fired it at the mutated tree. The monster screamed, but it still regenerated its eye. Naofumi groaned and told Kage to go. The wolf huffed and took off. Naofumi took a bottle of herbicide out and quickly changed his shield to enhance the herbicides effect. The trio made it to the base of the tree where Naofumi poured the contents onto the tree's base. The mutated tree screamed and crumbled. Naofumi then got everyone to collect the fruit so it could not be revived again.

 

Back at the temporary village, Naofumi was testing on some of the fruit seeds. He soon stopped when he successfully made a seed that won't mutate to the extent the last one did. Sighing Naofumi laid down on his sleeping bag. Cogmos whined and pawed at his chest plate. Naofumi pats the dragons head.

 

"You're such a needy dragon."

 

Cogmos cooed as Naofumi undid the straps, keeping the chest plate in place. He stored it into his inventory before cuddling Cogmos and falling asleep.

 

The next day, they gave some of the seeds to the villagers and assured them that they won't mutate like the one Motoyasu gave them. They then found the merchant and sold off several crates of the fruit and seeds. The merchant then asked them to make a delivery for him. Naofumi accepted. Naofumi sat in the carriage, feeding Cogmos some raw meat while Filo lay on his shoulder, and Fumi was sitting on his head. Raphtalia was guiding the two wolves to a nearby village. Wyndia was fast asleep on Roko's should. The rabbit demi-human was entranced with a recently brought book. Naofumi rubbed Cogmos's head before slowly subcoming to sleep.

 

When they reached the village, the group handed the supplies over and got their payment. The village had hot springs, which made Naofumi want to cry with happiness.

 

'It feels like ages since I've been in a hot spring.'

 

"Alright, everyone, we're staying here for the day."

 

The group cheered. Naofumi got the group a room before heading over towards the hot springs. As he entered, he placed Cogmos down only for the baby dragon to start whining.

 

"Stop whining. Let me summon the others, and then I'll hold you again."

 

Cogmos huffed but sat quietly. The shield glowed, and suddenly, everyone was out. Nina flew into a nearby tree soaking up the steam while Mr Wiggles laid in his lager form under her. Everyone else got into the hot springs, letting out relieved noises. Cogmos was lying on his chest while Fumi was floating around like a duck. Ivy was using the large rocks to help shed her skin while Mocha, Kage, and Lumi were having a race. Inma was sitting next to Naofumi with his heads resting on the side of the hot spring. A loud splash was heard.

 

"You shouldn't do that, Filo."

 

Naofumi scolded.

 

"How did you know it was me!"

 

Filo stared at Naofumi with her cheeks puffed up.

 

"Because Roko and Raphtalia wouldn't do that."

 

Huffing again, Filo decided to join the three monsters racing. Roko soon stepped in and sat down with a sigh. Naofumi closed his eyes and sunk deeper into the water. Next to them, Raphtalia and Wyndia could be heard chuckling while speaking of some sort of myth this village has.

 

That night, Naofumi woke up to his system shining brightly at him. It showed Raphtalia's and Filo's health drops slightly. Sitting up, Naofumi watched as Cogmos rolled off his chest. He then looked over at the bed the girls were sharing and only saw Wyndia. Sighing Naofumi opened his map and watched the two green dots run away from a red one. Lying back down, he pulled Cogmos closer to him. The red dot soon vanished, meaning the duo killed it. Sighing Naofumi closes his eyes and falls asleep.

 

The next day, the duo handed him a tool kit. Naofumi thanked them and pats their heads. The two smiled before running off. Naofumi sighed and scratched Cogmos's head.

 

"I still need to tell Wyndia about Gaelion."

 

Cogmos whined and nudged Naofumi's hand. Sighing Naofumi left the room and quickly spotted Raphtalia helping attach Filo to the carriage. Wyndia soon ran up to Naofumi and hugged him. The demi-human was in tears. Sighing Naofumi pats her head.

 

'Guess she overheard someone talking about it.'

 

The girl cried as Naofumi picked her up and sat her down in the carriage. Roko sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. Naofumi then sat next to her. Raphtalia then got up front and took hold of the reins. Filo flapped her wings and took off.

 

"Where heading towards the village with the plague."

 

Raphtalia nodded and steered Filo towards their destination. When they arrived, they quickly got to healing the sick. Naofumi got his payment and left towards the mountains.

 

The group stood not so far away from the dead corps of Gaelion. Wyndia cried at the state of her farther. Roko comforted her as Naofumi moved Cogmos to his shoulders to summon Nina. The phoenix sat on his arm with her head tilted. Naofumi motioned towards the dragons body. Nina squawked and flew forward. Nina flames grew bigger as her flames became brighter. When she reached the body, the dead dragon started to move. It growled and started spewing out poison. Nina flew straight ahead, burning through the poison. When she was close enough, she scratched the dead dragons face. The dragon let out a loud whine as its face started to melt. Wyndia screamed for Nina to stop only for Roko to hold her tightly. Nina then shot up into the sky, and within seconds, a large ball of fire appeared above her head. Squawking, she sent the ball of fire at the dragon, burning it to ash. As the flames died down, a large football size core stood in front of them. Nina flew down to Naofumi and landed onto his outstretched arm. Cogmos whined and tried hitting Nina away. Nina pecked the dragons forehead before returning into the shield. Cogmos whined again as Naofumi walked over towards the core. The core was a blood red. Picking it up, he placed it into his shield.

 

Athena

You know your inventory is a mess.

 

Naofumi rolled his eyes and opened up his inventory. He then quickly closed it in shock.

 

"Can you fix it?"

 

Naofumi mumbled.

 

Athena

Nope!

 

Naofumi groaned and turned to look at the others. Wyndia was crying into Roko's chest as Raphtalia gently rubbed her back. Filo was off to the side, eating some of the fruit. Sighing Naofumi spoke up.

 

"You guys stay here. I'm going to check out the cave."

 

As Naofumi turned around, only to be stopped by Wyndia.

 

"Wait! I wanna come to."

 

Naofumi nodded, and the group quickly entered the cave.

Chapter 13

Notes:

Hi you all!
I'm still alive but still here to post as often as I can even if I am a little busy.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The group descended into the cave. Raphtalia held onto a torch while Wyndia looked around the cave in shock.

 

"They took it."

 

She mumbled as she grabbed onto Naofumi's sleeve.

 

"Took what?"

 

"Father's hord."

 

Naofumi gently pats the girls head as they reach the end of the cave. In front of them was a large stone door with a dragons head craved into it. They pushed the heavy door open only to be greeted by a smell of gas. Naofumi eyes widened in shock as everything went up in flame. The screaming from his party was heard as everything went black.

 

A black screen appeared in front of him with the words 'You have died' written in red. Suddenly, a golden window appeared.

 

You've unlocked the Gods' system.

Congratulations, Naofumi Iwatani!

Now installing the Gods' system...

Install complete. All previous data has been wiped.

Now creating profile...

Profile created.

Starting game...

Error...

Saved data seems to have been corrupted.

Restarting game...

 

Naofumi looked at the new system in both shock and confusion. Naofumi's vision then went completely black as he soon woke up back in the castle for a third time.

 

Naofumi sat on a leather chair in his bedroom, the king provided him. He was looking over the unfamiliar system. In front of him was a golden screen with his profile.

 

Name: Naofumi Iwatani [LV 1]

Username: Fox of creation and justice

Age: 1,521

 

HP: 10,500

Attack: 1

Defence: 15,200

 

Party [0] >

Shields [1] >

Skills [8] >

Spells [0] >

Inventory [0] >

 

In the corner was a picture of his true form. A giant 9 tailed black fox with green tipped ears and tails. Smiling slightly, Naofumi yawned and walked over towards his bed. He lay down and fell asleep.

 

The next morning, he was off towards the slave trader after getting his silver. Opening the tents curtain and walking in Naofumi spotted Beloukas. Said slave trader looked over at him and then smiled.

 

"If it isn't the shield hero. What can I get you?"

 

"What do you have?"

 

Beloukas hummed, then walked over towards a cage and pulled the sheet off of it. Inside was a wolf beastmen.

 

"I have beastmen and demi-humans for sale, sir hero."

 

Naofumi nodded.

 

"Do you mind if I look around?"

 

"Not at all."

 

Beloukas then walked away, leaving Naofumi by himself. Naofumi quickly headed towards Raphtalia’s and Roko's cage only to see Raphtalia by herself. She was awfully skinny and had her bad cough. After searching for a bit, Naofumi found himself in front of a small, fresh pile of corpses. Right on the top was Roko. Naofumi touched his cold body with a frown.

 

'What is happening? Raphtalia looks half dead while Roko is actually dead.'

 

Beloukas then appeared behind him. Naofumi sighed and looked down at the other man.

 

"Found anything you like?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Great! So tell me what you want."

 

"I want the racoon girl at the back and all the corpses here."

 

Beloukas seemed shocked but smiled.

 

"Of course. That would be."

 

Naofumi quickly interrupted him.

 

"20 silver. I don't need a slave crest either."

 

Beloukas nodded with a smile.

 

"I'll get the girl. You wait right here."

 

Naofumi nodded as Beloukas left. Sighing, he outstretched his arm and activated a skill called 'Devour'. A black fog slowly left his shield and quickly wrapped around the small pile of corpses before disappearing. A widow suddenly appeared.

 

Congratulations!

You have gained [5] new skills.

You have gained [3] new spells.

You have unlocked [4] new shields.

The Demon Lord of Black Flames has sent you a gift.

 

A small window appeared with a familiar egg showing on it. Naofumi tapped the window.

 

Dragon egg [1] has been transferred to inventory.

 

Naofumi smiled slightly. He had Cogmos. His clingy baby dragon. When Naofumi spotted Beloukas walking over with Raphtalia, his smile dropped into a frown. Raphtalia didn't recognise him. Not like last time. Naofumi quickly gave the slaver his money before picking Raphtalia up and leaving towards the city's gate.

 

Naofumi quickly placed the girl down on the grassy field gently before coaching down to use his new spell.

 

"Heal."

 

With glowing hands Raphtalia’s completion came back, and her coughing lessened. Raphtalia seemed surprised but quickly started to tear up and thank him. Sighing again, Naofumi pats her head, which caused her to flinch slightly. 

 

"Now, let's start with introductions. I'm Naofumi Iwatani, also known as the Shield hero."

 

"The shield hero..."

 

Raphtalia mumbled.

 

"I'm. I'm Raphtalia."

 

Naofumi nodded and stood up properly.

 

"Well, Raphtalia, how about joining me to protect your world and making it a better place."

 

Raphtalia’s ears flattened against her head.

 

"But I don't know how to fight."

 

"That's okay. I can teach you."

 

Raphtalia stayed silent before nodding.

 

Raphtalia [LV 1] has joined your party.

 

"Now let me gather some things before we go back into town."

 

Raphtalia nodded as she slowly stood up. Naofumi added some herbs to his shield.

 

Congratulations!

You have unlocked the 'Leaf shield' shield.

 

He changed his shield to the leaf shield before collecting more herbs. Naofumi smiled and quickly headed back into town with Raphtalia. He quickly brought her equipment before heading towards the church to register with the hourglass. Naofumi yawned as he paid for a room in an inn. Raphtalia clinged to his kimono as they waited. The receptionist handed him his key. Naofumi thanked her before picking Raphtalia up and heading towards their room. After Raphtalia fell asleep, Naofumi decided to look over his new shields, skills, and spells before going to sleep.

 

Sheilds [6]

> Main shield

> Meat shield [Equip bonus: Locked]

> Fur shield [Equip bonus: Locked]

> Leaf shield [Equip bonus: Collection]

> Hair shield [Equip bonus: Locked]

> Bone shield [Equip bonus: Locked]

 

Skills [13]

> Tame

> Modify

> Devour

> Detect

> Polyglot

> Summon

> Foresight

> Judgment

> Possession

> Magic control 

> Horsemanship

> Poison immunity

> Motion sickness immunity

 

Spells [3]

> Heal

> Windblade

> Strengthen

 

Inventory [6]

> Rabbit demi-human corps [1]

> Wolf demi-human corps [2]

> Cat demi-human corps [1]

> Tiger beastmen corps [1]

> Dragon egg [1]

 

That morning, they were out in the fields, killing monsters and Naofumi unlocking his other shields. Naofumi stretched before calling Raphtalia over. The duo headed back into town to sell off everything they got that day. They then grabbed something to eat before leaving towards the inn they were staying at.

 

The next day, Naofumi was taking a walk by himself, only to overhere some people talking about an auction going on at a nearby barn. Smiling Naofumi left to go pick Raphtalia up and see what this auction has

Notes:

I know this is a bit rushed but I don't really care. From here on it should be better now I know what I'm going to do.