Chapter 3 - A Heroic Revelation (Part 2)

The Reimagining of the Bow Hero

Chapter 3 – A Heroic Revelation (Part 2)

As soon as I saw this man, I instantly knew he was the boss of this place. Judging from his clothing, there was no doubt in my mind he was the King of the place. Pissing him off would be a death sentence.

Due to these concerns, I would try my best to placate him while formulating a course of action in my head. That would start with shutting my mouth and listening to what he had to say.

"My name is Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, and I am the ruler of these lands. Heroes, present yourselves!"

"Now then, I shall offer an explanation. This country, and the whole world, is heading towards total annihilation."

This man sure knew how to leave an impression. Hearing that booming voice, it was impossible not to listen to him.

"Makes sense why'd you summon us, then." The others commented.

The king continued on for quite a while. To save time, I will summarize what he told us.

There was this prophecy about the end of the world. First of all, waves would start appearing, and they would attack the world repeatedly until nothing was left. Unless the waves were defeated, the world was screwed. Although the prophecy was written a long time ago, it indicated that now was the time it would come into effect. There was a giant draconic hourglass that could detect when a wave would be incoming. Legend indicated that the waves would strike every month.

The countdown timer started one month ago. The sands started falling inexplicably.

Then, the wave hit, greatly shocking the citizens who had been mocking the prophecy up until then. Monsters and creatures of the most revolting kinds emerged, and wreaked havoc upon the land. They were ultimately repelled, though not without casualties.

Knowing that their country was doomed without outside help, the kingdom decided to summon heroes in order to defend itself.

This is why we were summoned here.

Our legendary weapons, which was what the bow, the shield, the spear and the sword were called, had a unique quirk that allowed us to understand the language of the world. I'm not sure if it allowed us to understand every single language or just the local language, but I'd need to figure that out later.

"Well, we get what's going on here," said one of the other heroes. "Does this mean you are basically just ordering us to do your bidding?"

"Yeah, that seems unfair. What's in it for us? If your world is going to hell, so be it. What's it got to do with us four?"

Judging by their expressions, I could tell one of them had some sort of mental problem. Chuckling at someone else's problem, while getting off at their despair, isn't what a normal person would do.

Naofumi took the opportunity to voice his thoughts.

"As the other two said, we don't have any obligation to help you. If we dedicate our all to bring peace to your kingdom, do we get any benefits? What I mean is, is there a way for us to return home?"

I decided now was the perfect time to talk.

"With all due respect, your majesty, I would like to add on to what he said. If you promise us a way back home, I will pledge myself to assist you in your endeavors."

I attempted to say that sentence in the most respectful way possible, to avoid any issues.

"Of course, we will compensate you for your efforts," the king reasoned. "I've arranged to support you all financially, and to provide with whatever you may require, as long as you agree to assist our cause."

The other two heroes were high fiving each other. I could tell that what the king just said told them all they needed to hear.

"As long as you keep your end of the bargain, we'll keep ours."

"What he said."

I couldn't help but facepalm. To threaten the king, and then act so stuck up before him wasn't a good plan. The king was the most important man in the room, so why would you be so greedy and risk making an enemy out of him.

"Now then," the king said, "Please tell us your names."

I decided to go first.

"My name is Satoshi Sera. I am 24 years old, and a law school student."

I didn't want to give too much away at the moment.

The sword and spear heroes proceeded to introduce themselves. The man with the sword was named Ren, and he was 16 years old and in high school. The man with the spear was named Motoyasu, and he was a 21-year-old college student.

Naofumi proceeded to introduce himself. He was 20 years old, and also a college student.

The king gave Naofumi a frigid, penetrating stare.

"Now then," the king said. "Satoshi, Ren and Motoyasu, correct?"

Naofumi, visibly annoyed, reminded the king of his mistake.

"Your Grace, you've forgotten me."

"Ah, yes, pardon me. How careless of me to do so."

"Anyways," the king continued, obviously not very apologetic about his error. "Please evaluate yourselves and confirm your statuses."

Almost instinctively, I zoomed in on the weird icon in the corner of my eye. It showed me some videogame-like information.

Satoshi Sera

Class: Bow Hero LV 1

Equipment: Legendary Bow (Legendary Weapon)

Other-World Clothes

Skills: None

Magic: None

Great, so my stats sucked. At least I had some good gear though. Most games aren't so generous as to give you such a powerful item as soon as you join.

Now, I don't think I'm even in a different world. What probably happened was that I passed out from too much work and someone put some advanced virtual reality headset on me.

I didn't see an option to log out, though.

With such a low level, I made sure even more not to piss off the king. One wrong move and it's game over. I didn't know if this game was like Sword Art Online, and it's "If you die in the game, you die in real life."

Chapter 4 out tomorrow!