2 01 – Where Everything Began
I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar dark chamber.
(Huh? Where am I?)
I pondered as I slowly stood up. I realized that my right hand was holding on to something.
(This is…)
I stared at the 'Legendary Sword' from 'The Rising of the Shield Hero.'
Reflected on the stainless steel was an Asian face with blue eyes, framed with black hair. I moved my hand to touch my cheek, and the reflection followed my movement. When I pinched my cheek, I felt pain.
I had many questions, but I put all that aside to check my surroundings.
I was standing on a glowing complex circle with mysterious symbols painted on the stone floor. The magical glow was the only source of light in this dark chamber.
I saw walls made from stones, several stone pillars, and a cold stone floor. Several men wearing dark robes that made them look like wizards from a fantasy story were standing in front of me. Those guys had gazes filled with awe and reverence despite their exhaustion.
(Did I get summoned to another world? Did I transmigrate as Ren Amaki? Did I become a protagonist in Isekai fanfiction?)
I silently pondered. Normally, I could easily dismiss this ridiculous idea. However, I could not do it now. Everything was so real, after all.
"Whoa!"
Someone made a sound in amazement. I turned my head to the sides and saw three guys slowly standing up.
(Motoyasu, Naofumi, and Itsuki...)
Using their characteristics and their respective Legendary Weapons, I guessed their identities.
"O, Heroes! Please save our world!" One of the robed men appealed loudly, interrupting my contemplation.
"What?" The three guys beside me shouted in unison.
I ignored the commotion and searched for the blinking icon in my peripheral vision to access [User's Interface], or [UI] in short.
When I found it, I immediately put my focus on it. Then, [Head-Up Display], or [HUD] in short, filled my vision.
(Huh? Meteor Shower? Full Scan Map? Aren't those things from Death March?)
I was taken aback, but I recomposed myself and silently inspected the [HUD].
A hexagonal map was hovering in the top right corner of my vision; the hotkey was hovering in the top middle of my vision; a panel with four bars was hovering in the top left of my vision.
(What's that? The name tag is broken!)
It was displayed as [RËÑ ĀMÆKĪ – Level 1]. Right underneath it was red, green, blue, and purple bars. A sword icon was hovering at the left side of the panel.
My attention lowered, finding two notifications in the box of [Log].
[Learned: Swordsmanship – Level 1]
[Learned: Zen – Level 1]
Then, [Augmented Reality], or [AR] in short, working together with [Detailed Analysis], displayed the information of those two skills.
[Swordsmanship – Level 1 [+] | You have novice swordsmanship; the higher the level, the higher your proficiency.]
[Zen – Level 1 [+] | Cost: 0 | Calms your mind; can be turned on or off at will; the higher the level, the harder your mind is to be shaken up.]
(Maximizing [Swordsmanship] seems good, but staying calm in all situations is better.)
After a short consideration, I maxed out [Zen], consuming 9 Skill Points. In the beginning, I had 10 points, and it was now one point left.
Just like one of the features of Satou's unique skill in Death March, each level up gave me 10 Skill Points. These points could be used to increase the level of skills, giving various results like increasing the proficiency, raising the potency, expanding the range, lowering the cost, and so on. At level 10, my proficiency became absolute.
Then, I moved my attention to the right, finding several icons with labels that read; [Status], [Storage], [Catalogue], [Skill], [Recipe], [Party], [Unit Management], and [Help].
I accessed [Status]. A window appeared, and it was split into three sections.
The first section in the left showed my [Name], [Level], [Experience Points], [Title], [Job], [Max HP], [Max MP], [Max SP], and [Max EP]. It looked like this―
[Name: RËÑ ĀMÆKĪ – Level 1
EXP: 0/20
Title: Sword Hero [+]
Job: Novice Swordsman – Level 1/5
Max HP: 140
Max MP: 100
Max SP: 50
Max EP: 50]
[Name] was obvious, but it was also broken here―I suppose it was due to my transmigration into this body; [Level] was a measurement of how strong I currently was, though being the Sword Hero could make me stronger than what my level indicated due to various strengthening methods; [Experience Points] was an indication of how far I was from going to level up, and when a certain amount of EXP has been gained, I would grow a level; [Title] was one or more words bestowed upon me after I achieved something, whether it was good or bad.
[Job] was originally the strengthening method of the Legendary Bow, but it was available likely because I knew about all strengthening methods of all Legendary Weapons in this world. It had a level system, and each level gave me some bonuses. For example, [Novice Swordsman] gave me [Swordsmanship – Level 1] skill, the origin of my first acquired skill, for equipping it, and it also gave me [Attack +1] bonus per level. Once it reached the limit of the level, it could be upgraded or changed to a different job.
[Max HP] was a stat that determined how much damage I could take before dying; [Max MP] was a stat that determined the amount of my maximum magic power; [Max SP] was a stat that determined the maximum amount of my 'spirit power,' which was unique energy that only Heroes had due to their contract with the Legendary or Vassal Weapons.
[Max EP] was a stat that determined the maximum amount of special energy generated from mixing HP and SP. Originally, this special energy was unlocked because of the Energy Point strengthening method of the Legendary Shield. Just like [Job], I unlocked it due to my knowledge.
Those stats would gradually recover after getting drained due to various reasons. Consuming special concoctions like Health Recovery Potion, Magic Recovery Potion, or Soul Recovery Water could speed up the recovery.
Those were the content of the first section on the left. For the content of the second section in the middle, they were statistics that applied in combat. There were [Attack], [Defense], [Magic Attack], [Magic Defense], and [Speed]. As the Sword Hero, my [Attack] was the highest, followed by [Speed], then [Magic Attack], then [Magic Defense], and finally [Defense] as the lowest. It looked like this―
[Attack: 16
Defense: 4
Magic Attack: 10
Magic Defense: 6
Speed: 14]
Each level up, Attack and Speed rose by 3 points, Magic by 2, and Defense and Magic Defense by 1.
The content of the third section on the right was another set of statistics that determined my capabilities. They were [Strength], [Constitution], [Dexterity], [Agility], and [Intelligence]. Of these five stats, only [Constitution] and [Intelligence] affected my other stats, increasing their base value per one point; for the ratio, [Constitution] was equal to 10 [Max HP], while [Intelligence] was equal to 10 [Max MP]. That meant the bonus points from [Constitution] and [Intelligence], my base [Max HP] should be 100, and my base [Max MP], 50.
Anyway, it looked like this―
[Strength: 4
Constitution: 4
Dexterity: 6
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 5]
As an aside, [Strength] measured my physical power; [Constitution] measured my physical state, which included but not limited to my stamina and durability; [Dexterity] measured my control over my movement and coordination; [Agility] measured my flexibility and reflex; [Intelligence] measured my mental capabilities, which included but not limited to processing speed, recollection speed, problem-solving, and so on. 5 points were the average value of an ordinary man, and 4 for women.
I mentally scrolled the window to the side and discovered a new section; this new section showed my resistance for [Physical Attack], [Fire Element], [Water Element], [Wind Element], [Earth Element], [Lightning Element], [Light Element], [Dark Element], and [Special Element]. All of them were zero.
I closed [Status] and was going to open [Storage], but someone called me.
"Umm, are you okay?"
I turned my gaze to the person who called me and saw Naofumi, who was staring at me in concern. I looked at my surroundings, no one else besides us. There was a mage, waiting for us at the door.
(So, they have left.)
I turned my attention to Naofumi. "I'm fine. Let's catch up with them."
"Okay." Naofumi nodded.
We exited the stone chamber.
