Chapter 2

Darkness surrounded Dante. In the distance, an orange light flickered. It gradually got closer, the orange light changing into dancing flames. A figure began to take form in the fire. When it was almost ten feet from him, he could make it out.

It was a woman. Her long hair was dyed red from the flames. Her eyes were empty sockets, burned from her scarred flesh.

She stared at Dante, her mouth opening.

"It's all your fault."

Dante woke with a start. It was that dream again. The same dream he had for the past two weeks. It was a reminder of his failure.

He looked to the window and saw it was still dark out, the sun only barely beginning to brighten the outside world.

That's enough sleep.

With that, he slid out of bed. Dante gave his left arm a quick rub, tracing his fingers over the scarred flesh. He glanced down at the similar scars on his right before standing. He got dressed, bullet proof vest and all, and continued where he left off yesterday.

Dante had already come to an understanding with this world the day before. To him, this was probably hell, possibly his mind shutting down, and a small chance it was all real. Assuming it was hell, he was going to be in for a rough time. If he just let himself die, he might end up in another place far worse, so death wasn't an option. If it was his brain shutting down, then nothing really mattered. However, if this was all real…

Then I can have my wish granted. He remembered as much from the novels. Once the world was saved from the waves, one option was to return to his world with a wish granted. Or was it several? It didn't matter, there was only one wish he wanted granted. If there was even a chance that was the case, he was going to take it. He was going to fix what he broke.

That was his main goal here. One he would go to any length to achieve. However, that wasn't the only thing that weighed on his mind.

There are people here that could really use some help. Despite not knowing them personally, Dante wasn't about to let some children he knew about suffer and die, like Raphtalia and Keel. Not when he could do something about it. And if he could help them out? Maybe he wasn't as much of a bastard as he thought himself to be.

After processing the events that happened, Dante had lay awake before going to sleep to recount the power up methods of the weapons.

Most of the vassal weapons were easier to remember than the holy weapons. Aside from only having one power up method, they didn't have too much overlap with one another. The only question was how useful each one would be to him, and when. A few came to mind.

The Axe gave points to modify his stats. This was going to help him the most early on. He already put a few points into his defense and agility, and played around with their placement to get the distribution he wanted. He'd forgotten that this power up method was also part puzzle-game. It wasn't much, but it was something. A three day timer appeared afterwards, letting him know when he could change them again.

The Carriage provided bonuses based what monster drops were in the shield. Or was it items? The bonuses weren't supposed to be anything amazing, but starting out may be very beneficial.

The rest of the vassal weapon power ups would take time to be able to use well, especially the staff and projectile, with the hammer and whip following after.

With the vassal weapons sorted, he had turned his mind to remember the shield, sword, bow, and spear.

The Shield was easiest to remember. Trust empowered companions, and vice versa. Power up methods could be shared. The heroes gained EP, though the actual letters appeared after he recalled it was an energy boost similar to that martial art form the old lady taught people. Hengo something-or-other.

The rest of the power up methods were, well…

He recalled the Sword based things on hero level, and could also use the energy from unlocked forms to increase rarity.

The Spear could upgrade the weapons with ore, with a chance of failure. He could also use monster souls to place in slots.

The bow focused on rarity of weapons; the rarer, the more powerful. It also could increase stats from monster souls, and it could equip ores into slots.

So that's how it was. He remembered all the vassal weapons, with some effects useless for the time being, and some of the holy weapons. Two from the spear and sword, and three from the bow.

There were more to each of the other three holy weapons, and possibly the vassal weapons that weren't explored that much, but this was a pretty good start.

He also recalled some of the general abilities of heroes, like having an inventory system, crafting and weapon copy. He would definitely need to copy the shields at Erhard's.

Then came time to make his plans. He didn't have much beyond the initial outline: leave a note for Sadeena, buy Keel, then Raphtalia. He couldn't remember when Raphtalia was sold to Beloukas, but it was a bit later. Fortunately, he'd be able to keep his starting silver. He could just place it into his shield's inventory. Although, if Malty knew he had the silver and she couldn't find it, she might try to make things more difficult. He'd have to workshop that plan.

If Eddy were here, he'd have a grand plan all set.

Putting aside those thoughts, Dante rested in bed. He let ideas float around in his head as he pieced together his next move.

~The Wrong Hero~

Morning eventually came, and Dante and the others were called to breakfast.

Once seated with their food, Dante looked over to Motoyasu.

"Hey," he said, getting the spear wielder's attention, "are we good from yesterday?"

Motoyasu gave him a smile. "Yeah, we're good, man. It actually gave me some ideas about how to fight."

"That's good to hear." Dante nodded. He turned to Ren and Itsuki. "How about with you two?"

Ren paused in his eating. "No offence taken."

Itsuki nodded. "I took it as you doing your job as the shielder and watching out for others."

Dante gave them a smile before digging in. They're much more mature about this than I thought. That, or they think so little of me that it doesn't bother them. Either way, probably won't last long.

Before long, they left the food hall and were standing before the king. All the adventures and knights that were supposed to follow them stood between them and the king.

"As I promised, we have gathered those willing to serve the heroes in their quest." Aultcray said as he gestured to the people in the throne room. "Now, adventurers, choose the hero you wish to follow."

What happened next was what Dante expected. All the adventures went to the other three heroes, with none left for him.

"Hmm, how strange." The king said as he stroked his beard.

Yeah, I'm sure it is.

One of the ministers leaned over to whisper to Aultcray. "I see. So there are rumors."

"What seems to be the problem, your majesty?" Dante asked as if he had no clue.

"It seems there's a rumor in the castle that the Shield Hero knows not of our world."

Well now, is that what was said? I only recall saying I didn't know about the others' games. Oh, wait, I did say I was new to this place, didn't I?

"There are also concerns about the Shield Hero's mental state. It seems he picked a fight with the Spear Hero last night."

Ah. Yes, I definitely did do something like that.

Motoyasu leaned closer to Dante. "Looks like someone was eavesdropping on us last night."

"Seems so." He responded. Dante refocused himself to the king. "That was just a short spar with Motoyasu to demonstrate my abilities in combat. I asked him and he agreed. There's no bad blood between us."

The adventurers with the others looked between themselves but stayed put.

"Though I suppose that won't change anything now." Dante was pretty sure no one would have volunteered even if that 'rumor' hadn't spread. He was pretty sure Ren's party members mentioned at one point something about not getting on the king's bad side by following the shield hero. Maybe he was remembering that wrong, but given the country's religion, there was a fairly good alternate reason.

"Will no one volunteer to join the Shield Hero?" The king asked. Again, none of the adventurers made a move. "So be it then. The Shield Hero will have to recruit members on his own. I will provide you all with your starting funds. Since the Shield Hero has no party, he will receive a larger starting amount to aid in his recruitment."

"I thank you for your generosity." Dante bowed to the king. He didn't seem to care about the show of respect.

"Sorry about that, man." Motoyasu rested a hand on Dante's shoulder. "I knew you'd have it rough, but not this bad starting out."

"Don't worry about it." Dante gave him a shrug. "It's like the king said, I'll just have to do some recruiting myself."

"Excuse me." The woman Dante was waiting for said. "I would be willing to join the Shield Hero's party."

Dante looked over at the woman with her hand raised. She had most of her long red hair pulled into ponytail, with some flowing locks falling down her face on either side. Her bright green eyes seemed to radiate as the morning light passed through the windows. She wore a set of leather armor that seemed to push up her lovely breasts-

Damn, I'd forgotten what it was like being a teenager. Dumb teen hormones.

"Are you sure?" Motoyasu asked her.

"Of course. Rumors or not, a hero shouldn't have to go it alone." Malty said as she smiled at Dante.

So you say. Wait, I just got an idea!

"Actually, maybe I should go alone for now." Dante said, earning a shock from both Malty and Motoyasu.

"Wait, really?" The blond man asked.

Dante nodded. "Just for now. Besides, I wouldn't want any of the adventures to feel like they couldn't go with their chosen hero."

"O-Oh. But still, I can't bare knowing that one of our country's saviors didn't have anyone to aid them." Malty said, trying to find the right words to say.

"I appreciate it, but it's not necessary." Dante said, then he placed his hand on his chin, as if in thought. "Although, how about this? I wanted to explore around a bit and get a feel for this new world, and I don't want to deprive an adventurer of gaining XP with a hero for our quest. So, you can stay with Motoyasu for the day while I adjust to this place and we can all meet at an inn this evening. Let's say…one closest to the castle entrance. If you still want to join my party then, I'd be happy to accept you. Of course, if Motoyasu is alright with that?"

Dante looked to the spear wielder, who gave a shrug with a smile. "Works for me. I should warn you, Dante, she might not want to join you after adventuring with me." He finished by giving a wink to Malty.

"That sounds reasonable, Sir Shield Hero." Malty said with a slight bow.

Dante nodded in turn and everyone turned back to the king as he spoke. "Now then. Heroes, you will each receive six hundred silver as your starting funds, with Mr. Dante receiving eight hundred. Now, begin your journey and save our world!"

With shouts of agreement, the heroes and their parties left the castle with their funds. Once they passed the gatehouse, Motoyasu patted Dante on the shoulder.

"Have fun on your sightseeing, little guy. Don't take too long, or you'll fall too far behind the rest of us." He said as he ran off with his three other party members.

Right. And what's with the whole 'little guy' thing anyway? I'm, like, two inches taller than you.

Ren and Itsuki gave their farewells before heading off with their parties as well. With all said and done, Dante began his plan.

He held his coin bag and took out a silver coin. He wanted to test using his inventory with a single piece, just in case the Projectile's power up method decided to eat it all.

However, when he held up the coin, the gem in his shield didn't react. He tried to will it into his inventory, but the gem remained the same.

That's weird. I was certain the weapons had an inventory. Naofumi loudly complained after he learned about it.

No matter how he tried, the shield wouldn't accept the coin. After about a minute, he decided to try a different method. When he thought to absorb it for the Projectile power, the shield immediately responded. He was greeted by a jingle and a popup in his status.

100G

After seeing that, he willed his shield to return the silver piece, but nothing happened.

Am I doing this wrong? There is an inventory, I know there is. Or, wait…

He realized his error when he thought back to Ren and Malty. She had tricked him into believing her, then she stole everything he owned while he slept. But Dante also knew there were times when Naofumi and Motoyasu had pulled things from their weapons.

Ah. That's right. I remember now. It was monster drops and item drops. And with crafting, I could probably put components in and store what they made. Well, damn.

That put a dent in his plans. He would need to improvise somehow. Maybe leave his silver somewhere no one would take it. That was for later.

His first stop was a shop that sold adventuring gear. Backpacks, bedrolls, rations, that sort of thing. He asked around and was quickly able to find the shop attached to the Adventurer's Guild. It made sense, if he thought about it.

When he went inside, he was greeted by a woman at the counter. After a short exchange, he was able to find most of what he was looking for. Aside from the mentioned equipment, Dante got a small pot and flint, a few pouches, a couple waterskins, and a few miscellaneous items. One thing he was sure to buy was a bundle of rope. It all came to just over twenty silver.

As Dante left the store, he fed a bit of rope to his shield.

Rope Shield (LV locked)

(abilities locked) equip bonus: skill "Air Strike Shield"

equip effect: rope

Glad that's out of the way.

Thinking about it, the information it provided was strange. He could see the stats of shields he couldn't use due to his level, but not what level was required. Seemed like it should be the opposite.

Next was to be Erhard's. He didn't know exactly where it was, possibly somewhere on the main street in the capital.

After about twenty minutes of walking and asking for directions, Dante was able to find the blacksmith. He saw Erhard behind the counter as he stepped into the store. Various armors and weapons lined the shelves and stands, including a number of shields.

"Welcome!" The bald man called as Dante approached. "What can I do for you?"

The man was about as friendly as Dante thought him to be. "Morning, good sir." Dante returned in kind. "I'm looking for some starting equipment for my adventure." He already moved to one of the shields and held it up, letting his weapon copy do its work.

"Well, you've come to the right place! Best weapons and armor in the capital!" Erhard boasted, though Dante knew this was likely true. He was trained by that pervert savant.

"Glad to hear it." Dante had already moved on to his second shield. "Sorry to say, you might be a little disappointed with my order."

"Oh?" Erhard leaned on his counter.

"Right now, I'm just looking for some cheap armor. Padded or leather, most likely." Dante said as he picked up the third shield. A gambeson, he believed it was called. That's basically what padded armor was in things like D&D, though he never got too into those games. What he did take a small interest in was medieval warfare, specifically in Europe. While padded armor was the lowest in the game, it was a pretty functional bit of armor in real life. It wasn't super easy to cut through and bludgeoning was cushioned a bit, but arrows and spears could do the job well. Kind of funny, considering how common spears were.

"Leather, eh?" Erhard scratched his chin. "I do have some, but if it doesn't have much metal, it won't protect you well."

"That'll be fine." Dante moved to the next shield. "It'll only be for the short term. Need to figure out what my future party members might need."

"Planning something big?" The bearded man asked as he began gathering the armor.

"You could say that."

It took a little over two minutes for Erhard to bring the armor pieces to the counter, just long enough for Dante to finish copying the shields out front. It got faster as he went, needing to only touch the shields to copy them part way through. He didn't find the shield that would give him the Shooting Star skill. It might have been in the back, and Dante didn't want to ask for a shield he was only going to hold for a second. Even if he looked to be inspecting it, it would seem a bit off and he didn't want to make any weird requests. Not yet, anyway. Besides, it would likely be a while before he was a high enough level to unlock it.

"Well, here's the armor you wanted." Erhard said as Dante approached the counter.

Dante looked over the armor. It was about what he expected from a fantasy-like world. "Alright, I'll go try this on. In the meantime, I have something you might be interested in." He unzipped his leather jacket to reveal his bullet proof vest underneath.

"That's a strange bit of armor you got there." Erhard said, giving it a look as Dante removed the straps. He moved around the holster so as not to drop it, though it probably didn't hold much value. Although, if he sold some bullets to a gunsmith in Faubrey—after the whole Takt thing—he might be able to make a fortune.

"It's a form of armor from my world." Dante set the vest on the counter as he gathered up the leather replacement.

"Your world?" Erhard repeated.

Dante just gave him a smile. "Let me go try this on and then I'll explain. Feel free to inspect that." He walked over to the changing area, leaving Erhard confused.

The armor was simple enough to work with. The straps were easy to figure out and it was pretty straightforward what went where. In a couple minutes, he was all armored up. There was even a shirt and pants to go with it, and he threw in a pair of boots as well.

Dante stepped out carrying his old clothes in his hands. He'd stashed those with his jacket, holster, and cigarettes in his backpack. He returned to the counter, where Erhard was still examining his vest.

"So, what can you make of it?" He asked the blacksmith.

"Well, it is rather interesting." Erhard set the vest down to look at Dante. "What is it exactly?"

"A bullet proof vest. It's designed to stop bullets from penetrating it." With a few exceptions, of course, but Dante didn't need to mention the specifics. "Although, with the physics of this world, it may not be of much use."

"This world…" Erhard let the words linger there for a moment. His eyes brightened as a smile formed on his face. "You must be one of the heroes the king summoned."

Dante held the shield up to him. "I am. The name's Dante MacRory, the Shield Hero."

"Hah! Well, I'm glad one of the heroes chose my shop to get there gear!" He said with his hands on his hips as he laughed.

"Well, if you are the best blacksmith in the capital, I imagine the others will show up here sooner or later." Dante said. No doubt to copy your weapons. I wish I could tell you, but I don't want to open that can of worms at the moment.

"Well then, good to meet you, Sir Hero!" Erhard held out his hand, which Dante gladly shook.

"Now then, about that vest." Dante said.

"Right." Erhard scratched his head. "Honestly, I can't really understand it, but it is rather light, and I can tell it's very well made. Tell you what, that armor you're wearing is worth about twenty silver. You keep that, I'll take this vest off your hands, and I'll give you another one hundred silver for it. Sound good?"

It did. The vest was worthless to Dante, but Erhard might be able to make use of it. What's more, this was a good time for the next part of his plan.

"That sounds reasonable to me." Dante said. He leaned on the counter and gestured for Erhard to do the same. "I'll need a cloak that covers my head as well." He whispered.

Before Erhard could say anything, Dante held a finger to his lips. "You think I could get that as a gold coin?" He asked nonchalantly.

Erhard nodded and pulled a dark cloak off one of the racks. Dante put the cloak on, pulling his black hair fully under the hood and stashing the gold coin Erhard handed him next.

"I think I'm being tailed. Mind if I sneak out the back?" He whispered again.

Erhard looked to think for a moment before he nodded.

Good. He probably understands the Shield Hero isn't exactly welcome in the capital of the place that follows the Three Heroes Church.

"I think I'll browse a little bit before leaving." He said normally before he whispered again. "Thank you for your help."

"Thanks for your business, and take your time." Erhard said, gesturing to the back of his store.

With that, Dante snuck out and began making his way to his next destination. Honestly, he didn't know if any church shadows were following him this early, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Given the abilities of shadows, however, it may be pointless.

With another thirty-some minutes of going down alleyways, and finding a number of dead ends, he found what he was looking for. The circus tent seemed bigger when he saw it from the castle. He pulled back the flap and was greeted by the smell of animals. And rot.

It took only a moment for the man he was looking for to spot him from behind one of the cages. He strode up to Dante with a smile on his face.

"Ah, good sir. How can I help you on this day?" Beloukas asked.

Let's see what I can do here.

"Well, good sir, I'm looking to place an order for some of your more…discreet goods."

The smile on the well-dressed little man grew wider. "Of course, of course. Why don't we take this inside?" He gestured for Dante to follow. They passed a few rows of cages and through another flap, the cage contents changing from monsters to therianthropes and demi-humans. Seeing the people in there like that, Dante wanted to do something, but he had his priorities.

They ended up at a small wooden desk. Beloukas took a seat on one side and Dante sat opposite.

"Now then, what can I do for you?" Beloukas folded his hands together on the desk.

Dante followed his example. "Right. Well, I'm sure you heard about the wave that happened in Lurolona, correct?"

"Of course! It was the talk of the town for quite a bit."

"Good." Dante nodded. "My order will be the residents of that village."

"I see." Beloukas took a sheet of parchment and a quill. "And which residents were you looking for?"

"All of them."

Beloukas looked up from the parchment. "All of them?"

Dante nodded again. "Yes. All of them." He retrieved his coin bag from his backpack and started counting out silver. "Now, I won't be able to pay for all of them, or even most right away. However, I plan on taking jobs around the capital to earn enough for them. Consider this a small down payment to get started." Dante slid five stacks of ten silver to the slave trader.

"Hmm." Beloukas hummed as he looked over the silver. "This is quite irregular."

"It's about to get more so." Dante continued. "I'm looking for a few slaves in particular to start with. Their names are Keel and Raphtalia…and Rifana."

Dante almost didn't add the last name. He was fairly certain there was nothing he could do for the weasel girl, but…well, it didn't hurt to try.

"They are all demi-humans. Keel is a dog, Raphtalia a raccoon, and Rifana a weasel. All three are girls, though Keel looks like a boy. I believe they're all around ten years old."

"Most irregular indeed, yes sir." Beloukas started writing the names and descriptions.

"I'm unsure of Keel's whereabouts, but she may be in the city. You can ask around and find her. Raphtalia and Rifana should be in the possession of Lord Idol Rabier. Others may be there as well."

Just saying his name made Dante want to spit. To do that sort of thing to children was just sickening.

"Idol Rabier…I know who you are talking about, but I don't have any connections with him."

"You don't?" That was odd. Although, maybe Idol had sent for Beloukas to make the sale. Beloukas didn't know about Raphtalia early on in Motoyasu's loops, so that seemed likely.

"Of course, I can send one of my men to his territory to ask about buying these demi-humans for you, yes sir."

It was as good a plan as any. "Have them ride there as quickly as possible. I'll pay extra for the…expedite fee."

Beloukas grinned further, if that was even possible. "Ah, it's good to know Sir Hero understands how these things work."

Dante couldn't help but let a smirk form on his face. "And you're just as cunning as I thought you to be."

"Do you have any other names for the former residents of the village? It would help in my search, yes sir."

"Unfortunately, I don't." If any of them were named in the books, Dante didn't recall them.

"Well then, I'll begin making inquiries."

"You do that." Dante said as he stood. "And, to show that this isn't some elaborate waste of time, I'd also like to buy some monster eggs from you."

Beloukas grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "Sir Hero knows his stuff. What can I interest you in?"

"Filolials. Two of them."

"For those, and the incubators I'm sure Sir Hero would want, that will be two hundred silver."

"Seems a bit high, don't you think?" Dante prodded. "Don't fully grown filolials go for around two hundred by themselves? At only half that value for an egg…"

In truth, he wasn't sure what the cost of an egg was. One hundred was the price for the lottery, and some of those probably contained balloons, or duds.

"Surely you jest!" Beloukas held his hand to his chest in fake outrage. "For the incubators, the monster seal, acquiring the eggs. Why, one hundred silver is a steal! Yes sir."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right." If he had better knowledge, Dante might have been able to lower the price. Perhaps not. "Also, I'd like to rent a filolial, if possible."

"Rent, you say?" The slave trader rubbed his chin. "I don't normally rent out steeds to my customers."

"Then how's this? I'll pay you for the eggs and then you keep them here as collateral. I'll take a filolial you'd sell for, say, around one hundred ninety silver. When I return, you get your filolial, plus ten silver from me, and I get the eggs. If, for some reason, I don't bring your filolial back, you keep the eggs and make a ten silver profit from the missing product."

Beloukas chuckled. "I like your style, Sir Hero. To have me store your purchase while you travel around. We have a deal."

Cunning indeed. Slave trader or not, Dante found him to be quite charming.

With that, they exchanged silver and registered the eggs to Dante. He was even able to get some ink for his shield.

Slave User Shield

(abilities locked) equip bonus: slave maturation adjustment (small)

Slave User Shield II (LV locked)

(abilities locked) equip bonus: slave status adjustment (small)

Huh. The first shield is usable at level one, but something like the Leaf Shield isn't. This world doesn't make sense. This better not become a pattern.

"By the way, I need directions to Lurolona." Dante said.

"Of course, Sir Hero. Do you have a map?"

Beloukas pointed out the village on the map Dante had bought. It was one of the more expensive items from that store. He also had the slave trader write a note he could leave for Sadeena, probably tacked to a surviving door.

His plans in the capital complete, Dante set out for Lurolona village. He made sure to keep his face covered as he rode atop the green filolial he rented. The guards at the gate didn't even bother looking at him. Once in the fields, he had the filolial move at what he assumed would be a gallop for the bird. He'd heard filolials were fast, but it was still a bit surprising.

Feels like I'm back on my motorcycle. It wasn't going that fast, but the experience felt similar.

According to the slave trader, Dante should reach the remains of the village in about five hours or so, depending on how many breaks he took. It would take less if he took a straight path, but that would lead him through forests and fields that would have monsters in them. With both him and the filolial being level one…nothing more really needed to be said.

After about two hours, they came to a crossroad. Dante took a look at his map to figure out which way to go. Beloukas wrote Lurolona's name in Melromarc's language on the map, but the letters didn't match what was written on the signpost. Of course, being a demi-human village, it probably wouldn't. Either for the demi-humans, or because it was a small village. The letters on the signpost were a bit worn, so it was difficult to make out which towns they led to.

Fortunately, he spotted a lone, cloaked traveler coming from one of the roads.

"Excuse me!" Dante said as the traveler approached. "Which way to Lurolona?

"Hmm? Why would you want to go there?" The traveler, a woman, said.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Well, you won't find them there. Lurolona was destroyed in the waves." She said, somewhat sadly.

"I know. It's a long story, but I'm sure it'll work out."

"Oh my. Well, if that's the case, it's down the path I came from." She said as she continued where Dante rode from.

"Thanks, I…" Dante stopped. "Oh my?" It couldn't be. He looked at the traveler as she passed. A bit of black hair stuck out from her cloak and there was a spear across her back. No, not a spear. A harpoon.

"Sadeena?" He called out to her.

The traveler stopped. She slowly turned around and pulled back her hood. Her face looked somewhat Japanese, with flowing black hair disappearing down her cloak. Partway down her arm was what could easily be mistaken as a tattoo.

"Oh? Do you know me?" She asked with a smile.

Dante sat on his filolial and stared at her.

Two gift horses in two days. Should I be concerned?

Author's Notes:

Yes, Dante, yes you should be.

I wanted to make this chapter shorter, but I underestimated how many words it would take. Going forward, I think most chapters will have around 4-5K words to them. So, you know, somewhere around this length.

If you're feeling things are a bit slow, don't worry. A chapter or two after the trial, there will be a fan, and something smelly will be hitting it.

Leave a review and tell me what you think