Chapter 15

"Ah! Welcome back Shield Hero, it has been so long, I thought you may have forgotten about me, oh yes."

The slave merchant was practically jumping around Lyn.

"Yeah, yeah, it's been a while. I'm here for a quick visit to get a slave seal. Oh, and a bunch of ink while I'm at it."

"Right away, oh yes."

The slave merchant was in an abnormally good mood. Lyn looked at Rino, who was covering her nose from the stench.

Guess the place hasn't improved much.

The merchant quickly returned with two bottles of ink and a brush.

"Hey, Rino, last chance to back out if you want."

"I'm sure of my decision Sir Lyn. I will not back out now."

"Alright," Lyn nodded at the merchant. He opened the bottle of ink and raised his brush. Lyn turned around as Rino exposed her chest to have the seal applied.

"Ngh…" Rino groaned as the slave seal was applied, it sparked and glowed for a few seconds until an icon popped out in Lyn's status. He took the second bottle of ink and threw it into his shield. It didn't get him a new slave shield so Lyn decided to just keep the ink for future uses. He opened the status screen and turned off all the unnecessary functions.

Rino put her armor back on and walked over to Lyn.

"So what do we do now?"

"Now we need to relevel you to put the bonuses to use." He pulled out the [Crystal Drain Shield] and looked at the stats.

"It would be better for you to sit down. I'll drain all of your exp and then reset your level and give you your exp back. This will give you a bunch of stat bonuses and you might feel extremely light for a few hours. Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Rino nodded with determination in her eyes.

"Alright. [Overdrive], [Second Drain]," Rino slumped in the chair as she felt all her strength leave her body. Her level was dropped from 20 to 2. Lyn switched his shield from the [Crystal Drain Shield] to the [Dragon Hourglass Sand Shield] and put her hand onto the Hourglass.

"[Level Reset]." Her level dropped to 1 and Lyn switched back to the [Crystal Drain Shield].

"[EXP Return]."

Rino gasped. Her level jumped from one to 20 and she almost fell over while trying to stand up.

"Woah, my body feels so much lighter. I feel like I could take on the world right now."

"Ok, don't try to take on the world, the world would fold you. Let's go to the beginner's area for a bit till you get used to your strength."

Rino slowly walked towards the entrance, followed by Lyn.

"See ya around Beloukas," Lyn said, dropping the coins for the seal on the table. He followed Rino towards the balloon area and picked up a stick.

"So do you know any magic?"

"I know some support magic."

"Let's see it."

RIno nodded and started chanting.

"[Drifa Boost]," she pointed at Lyn and he checked his status.

Drifa level magic. It's not too bad. The speed stat increased considerably.

"Not bad at all. Anyways, get your sword out and come at me with everything you got. [Omega Aura]," Lyn boosted Rino's stats and hid his shield inside his pocket.

"Wait are you sure? You don't have any armor."

"I have way more than enough defense to tank a level 20 sword. I am the Shield Hero after all. So come at me like you want to kill me."

"Alright, then I won't hold back," Rino said, drawing her sword and getting into a battle stance. Lyn smiled and raised his stick.

Rino was the first one to make a move. She lunged at Lyn, trying to stab him in the neck. Lyn dodged it last second and swung his stick at her head. She managed to block it and take a step back, but Lyn quickly closed the distance and tried to hit her in the ribs. Rino blocked the stick and tried to hit him again but Lyn ducked and took a step back.

Not too bad. She's got a decent amount of experience.

They continued to spar until Rino was exhausted.

"Whew."

"Alright, I think that should be good for now. Let's go back. [Portal Shield]," Lyn raised his shield and teleported them on top of the carriage.

"We're back!"

"Welcome back Lyn-sama."

"Fo~od!" Firo said, jumping on top of Lyn in bird form. Lyn reached into his shield and handed her some food.

"Yay~!" she yelled as she gobbled it up.

Lyn and Rino jumped off the carriage and Firo got ready to pull it.

"Let's go~!" she said excitedly, finishing the food. Lyn transformed his small shield into the unmastered [Reinforced Magic Shield] and threw it in the back of the carriage. Then he picked up an empty bag and filled it with tiny [Airstrike Shield]'s, tiny [Airstrike Shield Dome]'s, tiny [Shield Prison]'s, and a tiny [Shield Bunker]. Then he opened his status and made a long [Auto-Craft] list for the shield that consisted of Rope Shield's, lots of recovery medicine, some herbicide, some medicine to help him stay asleep, some healing gels, and one vial of Yggdrasil Elixer. Lyn already had four other vials of the elixir, but making as much as he could wouldn't hurt. He absorbed a vial into his shield to further raise the auto-compounding quality of his shield.

It's funny how the shield can tell how much skill you have and change the bonuses you get based on it. Since I can already make excellent quality medicine the shield gives me bonuses that raise the effectiveness of the medicine, or the quality of auto crafting. So instead of 'Normal' quality, I get 'Great' quality no matter the quality of the herbs I use.

Finally, Lyn checked if his vambrace was still active. It was still draining him, storing his energy and health points while keeping him at 99% at all times.

Lyn put away his status and sat down in the front.

"Alright, Firo. Pull us to victory."

"Okay~!" Firo said, pulling the cart forward. Lyn handed Raphtalia a vial of medicine to help with motion sickness and drank one himself.

"Hey Rino, do you get motion sick by any chance?"

"No, I don't."

"Alright, [Inventory Shield]," Lyn threw the third vial into the shield and began muttering spells under his breath, buffing himself with as many spells as he could to master the spells quicker, while also making accessories out of the ores he got last night. Raphtalia pulled out a grimoire and started to study magic. Eventually, Rino joined her and tried to help her study. Firo made herself busy by singing a song.

Firo stopped the carriage at the entrance of a large cave. Inside Lyn could see the entrance to some old temple.

"We're here," Lyn exclaimed, throwing the accessories and materials back into the shield.

"This looks like an old temple. Are the stones we need inside?" Raphtalia asked.

"No. I think the person I asked about the crystals said something about a temple nearby the cave belonging to some mad alchemists or something. Let's check it out in case we find something useful."

Raphtalia and Rino nodded.

Lyn through a crack in the wall since the entrance was sealed. Inside was a small room, completely empty except for a small open chest and a small stone slab with some writing on it. Lyn picked it up and showed it to the rest of the team.

"'For those who decide to unseal the seeds. We sincerely ask you not to return it to this world. Our hope of saving people from hunger has taken the worst possible form. Do not touch this seal carelessly,'" he read out loud.

"Well it looks like it's a little late for that," Rino said, pointing at the chest. Lyn took a closer look at it.

"Looks like it's been opened around a week ago. Well if we hear news of a plant abomination, we'll know where it came from."

Lyn sighed and threw the slab into his inventory.

"Let's go look for the cave. I don't think we will get anything out of this place."

They exited the temple and began to look for a cave. Luckily it didn't take them long. Unfortunately...

"Fresh monster footprints. Guess now we know why this cave was abandoned."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Raphtalia said, looking inside the cave.

"Well we don't have a better way to get the magic thread, so I'm afraid we don't have a choice."

"*sigh, I guess you're right," Raphtalia nodded.

"[Meteorite Shield]," Lyn created a protective barrier around himself. "Stay inside my barrier."

Firo, Raphtalia, and Rino walked close behind Lyn as he led the way inside the cave. He equipped the [Small Lantern Shield] and activated the [Light] skill.

For a few minutes, no one said a thing. Everyone was fully concentrated on listening to their surroundings. Suddenly Lyn felt something float towards them.

"Are you going to leave us behind too?"

"Are you going to let us die as well?"

"Do you hate us that much?"

There were more whispers and screams but they were too quiet to make out any words. Lyn looked back at his party. Raphtalia had a saddened look, Firo was about to cry, and Rino was shaking slightly.

"[Hate Reaction], [Airstrike Shield Bash]!" he yelled. The shield slammed a bat-like creature into the ground. "Raphtalia now!"

Raphtalia ran forward and sliced the bat creature in half.

"Daddy! Please don't leave me behind!" Firo yelled, clinging onto Lyn. He petted her head and hugged her back.

"W-what was that?" Rino asked, looking at the creature Raphtalia just slew. Lyn picked it up and threw it into his shield.

"Just our luck. Voice Gengars. Bat variants. Pesky and annoying creatures. They tell you the last thing you want to hear from the last person you want to hear it."

"Alright, plan B. None of us say a single word until all the monsters are dead. I'll let you know when we're in the clear by summoning a floating dog shield."

Raphtalia and Rino nodded. Firo was still sobbing into Lyn's shoulder in her bird form. Lyn petted her until she calmed down and took a step back.

They continued to walk forward when Lyn felt a swarm of monsters crawl their way and a wave of magic hit them and plunged the cave into darkness.

"[Hate Reaction]!" Lyn yelled, dispelling the weak magic around them.

The illusion magic disappeared and Lyn felt a swarm of rats crawl all over his body.

.

"Are you sure you are the real S̴̛͕͉̫̘͕̈̑̎̊̆̃̒̾͒͑͝h̵̳͎͍͕̩̗̫̰̦̱̲͌̃̃̕į̶̯̯͍͍̳̫͌͂e̶͔͕̒̓̕l̸̦̦̺̩̼͖͚̪̟͗̽̉̓͊̌̑̓̃̈́̓ͅd̴͉̐̄̆̇̇́̆̚͠ hero?"

"You're just a useless fake!"

The voices started to get quieter and quieter as Raphtalia and Rino grabbed and stabbed the rats one by one. As soon as Lyn felt the last one die he summoned an [Airstrike Shield] and changed it into the [Two-headed Black Dog Shield].

"Thank god that is over," Rino breathed out in relief.

They continued down the cave until they saw a small light from the inside. The cave led to a bigger cave where a monster similar to the chimera was sleeping.

"So how are we going to beat this thing?" Rino asked quietly.

"Let's see... if I'm not mistaken, this is a Nue. It has a poison tail, an electric shockwave attack, and incredible hearing that helps it detect enemies nearby," Lyn whispered back.

"So what do we do?" Raphtalia asked in an equally quiet voice.

"Raphtalia and Rino, stand behind me and get ready to attack. Rino, boost Raphtalia, Firo, and yourself. Firo, you and I will come close, and once I give the signal..." Lyn equipped the [Voice Gengar (Bat Form) Shield]. "...scream into this as loud as you can. The rest of us will cover our ears. Then, while it's stunned, you will take it down. Any questions?"

After a brief moment of silence, everyone got in position. Rino boosted the team's speed, while Lyn boosted their attack and defense. The four quietly crept up to the sleeping monster. Lyn handed Firo the Megaphone and covered his ears, gesturing Raphtalia and Rino to do the same.

Firo took a deep breath and...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she yelled.

The Nue jumped out in surprise and blood started coming out of its ears. Its eyes rolled backward. Raphtalia and Rino lunged forwards and sliced the monster's legs. Then Firo jumped up and kicked Nue's head into the ground, shattering its skull.

"Huh. That was fast." Rino commented.

"Yeah. I guess I overestimated the thing. Well, it's better than underestimating it and getting hurt."

"Daddy, can I eat it?"

"Hold on. I gotta absorb some of the materials to get new shields," Lyn said, throwing some of its parts into his shield.

[Nue Shield] (Unawakened) Lv. 1 0/35 C

Abilities Unmastered:

Equip Bonus: [3 Defense]

Special Effect: Lightning Resistance, Lightning Shield (Weak)

"You can eat the rest," Lyn said, pouring energy into the shield. Lyn always mastered every new shield he got, but after he was done, he'd pick a useless shield and reset its mastery over and over to get more energy, which he would then pour into every new shield to (Awaken) them and see if their abilities were worth it. Sometimes he would upgrade the rarity of random shields to check for any new abilities.

[Nue Shield] (Awakened) Lv. 1 0/35 C

Abilities Unmastered:

Equip Bonus: [3 Defense]

Special Effect: [Night Terror, Lightning Resistance, Lightning Shield (Medium)

Not bad. [Night Terror] skill is a mental attack that can show people their worst nightmares.

...

You know... for a weapon that gives the user no physical attack, you sure as hell like to give me both physical and mental torture devices.

"Lyn-sama, why are you glaring at your shield like that? Is something wrong?"

"I'm just looking at some of its functions. I got a lightning shield ability, which is my thunder shield, but worse. And a new mental attack to scare away any attackers."

"Daddy~! These crystals are so shiny~!" Firo said, staring at one of the magic crystals.

"Ah! Right. Let's get what we came for," Lyn said, equipping the [Pick Axe Shield].

The magic shop owner was humming a song while restocking the shelves when her door was swung open and a man covered in dust, rocks, and crystals walked in with his hands full of glowing crystals. Behind him was a giant bird nibbling a monster leg.

"Hello! We found the magic crystals!" Lyn exclaimed, dropping the crystals onto the counter.

The witch showed Firo how to make the thread and they gave it to the tailor. She told them that it would be ready in the morning so Lyn teleported them back to the carriage and they set up some tents. Lyn summoned an [Airstrike Dome] around the camp and teleported to the capital.

"Erhard! I have come to buy your rope!" Lyn yelled, walking into the shop.

"Lad, I just sold you rope this morning. I don't have more rope!" And this isn't a rope shop, I sell weapons!"

"Fair enough. I would like to sell you some drops I got and to upgrade our equipment for the next wave."

Lyn pulled out several sets of armor, swords, and a pile of materials onto the counter, some of them falling to the floor.

"Well, these weapons will cover the full cost of any armor I can make with these materials. I should have two sets of armor ready by next week. Where in the world do you even find some of this stuff?"

"That's great. And do you think you can make a few more shields? The more I have, the better."

"Yeah, anything particular in mind?"

"Not really, anything will do."

"Alright, I'll get working on that tomorrow. Now get out! I have a shop to close."

"Later."

Lyn left the shop and ran to the slave trader's tent.

"Ah, the Shield-Hero. I haven't expected you so soon. How can I help you today?"

"Remember that Egg Lottery you showed me a while back? Bring it out."

"One second Shield Hero."

The slave pulled out a few boxes from under the counter and set them on top. Lyn directed most of his energy to his eyes and looked over the eggs.

22 Filolial eggs and 1 dragon egg. I could use a second monster for transportation since my party is expanding.

Lyn took the dragon and one filolial egg and registered them into his party. He gave the slave trader two gold coins and left.

One more stop. The adventurers guild.

Lyn equipped his normal trading armor and hid his shield before he walked in. There, he began to look over the different requests on the notice board.

A large order of herbicide from... wait. Isn't that the same village that suffered from famine a while ago? And there was that rumor about the spear hero giving a village suffering from famine a miracle seed. And the alchemist seed was unsealed over a week ago, more than enough time for it to mutate. But surely Motoyasu put the seed into his spear and modified it before planting it into the ground.

...

Lyn walked up to the counter with the request in hand.

"Hello, how can I help you?" asked the nice-looking lady was standing behind the counter.

"I heard that this village placed a request for food products, but I don't see it anywhere."

"This village?" the lady opened a book next to her and looked through the names. "Ah, I'm afraid that that request was completed a while ago by the Hero of the Spear. Anything else I can help you with?"

"No thanks. That would be all," Lyn replied with a strained smile, pinning the request back to the wall.

Motoyasu, you god damn moron.

Lyn walked back to the camp, mentally preparing himself for tomorrow's journey.