"Huh?"
A voice spoke out as he lifted his head while his body looked like it had been slammed to the ground. All he could see was grass, trees, and a bright blue sky with clouds. He looked very confused as the last thing he could remember was that he was just at the library.
He quickly got up to check his body to see if there was any damage, as he could still feel the impact of the ground. His green and white sweater and black pants have a few dirt marks, but overall, nothing too damaging. Other than…
"What the!? A shield?"
He was holding a dull-looking shield, which felt feather-light as it fit his hand perfectly. There was also a green gem in the center which made his eyes green.
"When did I…? Huh? I can't take it off!"
He tried to put down the shield, but it didn't fall to the ground; it didn't even leave his hand, as it was stuck to him. He tried moving it around as he was a bit relieved that he was able to put it on his arm. He quickly assumes that the shield can be moved around his body.
"This is so strange, first I was at the library, opening a book about heroes, got blinded by a strange light, then found myself out here with nobody around! What kind of isekai troupe is this!?"
He said the last part out loud which scared the birds of a nearby tree. He quickly came down as he looked around again.
"No special room, no people greeting my arrival, no one speaking of why I am here in the first place… Ugh, just where the heck am I? And this shield… Am I supposed to be the Shield Hero?"
He said with a hint of disdain, as in his mind, as he looked back at his shield, a shield was not even a weapon at all. It was more of a defensive armor. Yet, he felt like it was more important than it seemed.
He couldn't help but tap on the green gem, curious about why it was there on the shield. Then something caught his attention, something that could have gone unnoticed, little marks at the edges of his vision.
At first, he tried to touch it, but no reaction of any sort. Then, he tried using his mind. Then suddenly a soft beep echoed in his mind as he saw an icon turn to a camouflage screen, like he was opening his computer. Information that he quickly took note of.
Naofumi Iwatani
Class: other world Shield Hero LV 1
Equipment: Dull Shield (legendary weapon) ◯ ▶ ◆x type ???
Other-world clothing
Skills: none
Magic: none
"Wow… This looks like VR, but more advanced and realistic."
Naofumi said as he rubbed his hand through his short black spike hair. He looked through his stats as he couldn't help but cringe. It looks garbage except for his defense stat which was the highest so far. Guess the class Shield Hero means his defense is his strongest attribute. But with his gaming knowledge, he is aware he's incredibly weak right now.
Not to mention his attack stat looks barely existable, how could he even do damage when his attack stat was only a single point? How could he gather experience to level up?
Naofumi just lets out a frustrated sigh as he is thankful there aren't any creatures or anything that can harm him. At least he can stand still without having to run into anything or anyone that could have bad intentions like bandits or thieves.
"Oh, there seems to be more information, there's a help menu. Hmm…"
He made sure to glance at his surroundings every second, and it made perfect sense as he couldn't fully fight. As long as he is away from danger until he gets stronger then the best course of action is to just gather as much information as possible.
So he decided to sit down in the tree that had the birds earlier as he carefully read up all the information that would be crucial for his new life in another world.
"Let's see… Legendary weapons cannot be near each other as it can cause no experience. Only the assigned weapon match is considered; wielding a different weapon will cause a violation. Absorbing materials can unlock different weapon forms as long as you meet the required level to unlock them. Mastering a form can make the equipment bonuses permanently added whenever it stats, abilities, skills, magic, or any that can further power you up."
He is learning more about what his shield can do and how to use it. Soon enough, he exited his help menu as he saw other options he could look at with the information he had. He first checks his weapon book as the only thing that is unlocked is his Dull Shield.
The stats were mediocre; at least, it gave him a +3 to his defense. But once he absorbed something and prayed that it was only a level 1 requirement then he won't have to keep the form.
"Actually, there are some materials I can absorb right now."
He quickly grabs grass, dirt, a piece of wood from the tree, along with a leaf, a fruit that has the shape of a pear but the color orange, a pebble, a rock, and water from a nearby lake. He absorbed them all, and thankfully, each of them unlocked specific versions of shields.
But there was a shield that needed him to be at level 2 so he'll have to put that on hold for a while. He then noted some important shields.
Grass Shield: equip bonus: stealth 1
Water Shield: equip bonus: water resistance (small)
Wood Shield: equip bonus: woodchopping 1
The rest of the shields were bonus stats, mostly defense. But at least he has another shield to master to get their bonuses. Even if one of them has a weaker stat than his Dull Shield. So he figured that he'd master the Grass Shield first, just to get the bonus, so he wouldn't switch to it.
"Okay, looking good so far. Should I just wait for the shield to be mastered, or go explore this brand new world? If I stay here then I'll be safe, but who knows how long I'll wait to master all the shields. But if I go, then there is a chance I can meet someone, or find more materials for my shield. Maybe even a chance to find a creature so weak I can gain exp."
For what seemed to be minutes of thought, Naofumi decided it wasn't worth sticking around if it meant standing there for hours. So he walked towards the dirt path he noticed when he got his materials as he made his way to the unknown. His first steps on a journey in a different world.
Naofumi can only feel excitement as it was every otaku's dream of being sent to another world. Naofumi considers himself lucky that he was one of the few to actually get to experience this. Who knows, maybe he'll find someone to join him, build friendships, and perhaps even find romance.
He almost took a full sprint as he calmed himself, he didn't wish to act like a complete weirdo who gets excited for anything. Plus, he is a hero, and in his mind heroes are supposed to do their duty to protect the people and the world. Or whatever he read in that old-looking book.
Naofumi soon noticed that he was on a mountain, as he could see a city from where he was. He couldn't help but be amazed by the sight of it. It looks wonderful from where he is at as the breeze makes it all more amazing.
"A windmill, a church, heck even a castle-looking place! And it's on that island with a bridge! Although, it could take hours just to get there. I'm surprised I was able to see the city from here."
He mutters as he looks around to see if there is another way to get down from the mountain. But all he could see was the dirt road. And some kind of creatures are not far away from here. Some… Strange-looking slimes with small wings.
"Are these… Not what I would imagine but hey, beggars can't be choosers… And I have to stop talking to myself."
He immediately changed his shield to his supposed strongest form, which is the Rock Shield, as its defense was the highest so far, since he is at level one. He then carefully made his way to the group of slimes as each of them was minding their own business. At least until one bounces off in a direction on its own.
Naofumi quickly follows it to recall how many exp he needed to level up. Which reminds him of his shock as he saw he needed 1,000 character points to level up. What kind of game system requires you to get 1,000 experience?
He could only hope the slime would give him more than a single character point. Once he saw the slime alone and just hoping, Naofumi made his move. He rushed at it, raised his fist, and punched the slime that went a few feet. The slime didn't even look hurt as it turned to see him.
Naofumi could only blink before cursing his 1 attack stat as he raised his shield to protect himself. The slime immediately began to attack as it gathered up air, jumped up, and launched itself towards Naofumi. It was met with the block of the legendary shield as the slime couldn't damage him.
He did another punch, as this time it seemed the slime did feel the attack, but at the same time, it didn't. It continues to attack Naofumi as he did the same to it with his punches. At least until Naofumi punched it off a small edge as the slime floated down slowly. That gave Naofumi a chance to deliver more punches while it was gliding down.
This went on for five whole minutes as neither one wanted to give up. Both were determined to finish the other off. Naofumi thought it would take forever to finish off this slime and considered retreating. But his thought made him lose focus on his defense as he was immediately hit by the slime.
Unlike the slime, Naofumi did feel hurt and was shocked by how it hurt him. He checked his HP and saw he had lost a few hit points. He quickly realized that the slime's attack heavily focused on wind damage as it kept using wind within its attack. It makes sense as his magic defense wasn't as high as his physical defense.
It made Naofumi surprised that he was able to block the slime's attacks for so long, not before noticing the slime had already prepared another bump as it launched at him. Without thinking and acting on pure instinct, he punched the slime as it was still inflated, and it immediately popped like a balloon.
It released a short burst of wind, pushing Naofumi back slightly as he saw the slime acting similar to a popped balloon. Soon it ran out of air as it landed on the ground, and a few gooey-like substances also landed beside the now dead slime.
Character EXP +20
Naofumi saw the exp that was given to him as he agreed with the amount. A slime that is strong against his magic defense shouldn't be underestimated. But at least he now has a way to defeat them faster, just punch the slimes when inflated.
He sighs as he goes to absorb the new materials he got as he looks at his weapon book. And like he expects, he needs to be at level 2 to unlock the new slime-related shields. Once he checked that he went back to the group as he saw two more leaving in a different direction. Once he follows his new strategy commence.
Thankfully, it didn't take another five minutes, as all Naofumi had to do was to attack at the perfect moment while defending himself. Two more slimes popped with their remains, and actually, slime was absorbed in his shield. The reason why he kept on absorbing them is that he has unlimited storage inside his shield as he can gather up so many materials and find them just by going through his item menu.
And so he did the same to the remaining group of slimes as Naofumi gained a total of 100 character points. It looks like much but he knows he needs 900 more to reach a level up. What he can do now is to find another group of slimes and gather exp from them. But it doesn't seem there was even a single slime nearby.
Naofumi sat down on a log as he took out a sunsettia from his shield as he ate the fruit. He enjoyed the taste of the fruit as he felt he could eat countless of these. He looked around once again, as he didn't really take notice of the area he was in, when he noticed something in the distance.
A tower of some sort with strange mask-wearing creatures wielding wooden clubs or bows. A part of him was intrigued by what he was seeing, but the other part also couldn't help thinking that those creatures might be stronger than the slimes, maybe even smarter.
"Should I go fight those creatures or just keep looking for slimes… Maybe, just attacking one wouldn't hurt."
With that, he stood up, made his way to the tower, hid behind a tree, and observed from afar.
He can see four creatures, all bear-chest, and bear-foot with manes covering most of their heads. They appear to have two elongated ears sticking out of their mane. The only clothing they wear is a loincloth, while their arms and legs are loosely wrapped in bandages. It wasn't any creature Naofumi had seen in any games.
One had red fur holding a bow, three others had light brown fur, with one wielding a club, another having the same bow, and the last wielding nothing. Naofumi couldn't help but wonder how he could separate one away from the other three. His HP hadn't replenished, and the creatures properly have more defense than the slimes.
Before he could think of an idea, he saw one of them walking away, it was the one without a weapon. Naofumi quickly followed it as he made sure to look back in case it wasn't followed. Once he made sure it was safe, he went to attack. He strikes, this time with his shield, at least on the sharp edge.
The damage looked nonexistent, but it did alert the creature to attack. He went for a strike but Naofumi blocked his attack as he struck back. The creature let out a roar that made Naofumi wonder if he should call for help. He quickly turned around and, as he feared, the other three came to back their fellow kind.
The red fur one shot an arrow at Naofumi as he quickly blocked it. He then blocked a strike from the other with the cub, but he felt something try to pierce him as he saw the arrow of the other bow creature, as Naofumi didn't feel hurt by it. He sighs in relief that his defense was helping, but he knew it wouldn't last long.
Naofumi dodged and struck when he got the chance. It was four against one, and he was surprised at how he was able to keep up. He wasn't that good at combat, nor was he very good at using a weapon to defend himself. But he needs another way to win this fight.
He needed something that would do damage but knew it wouldn't be possible thanks to the legendary shield's limitation. Plus, he wasn't doing any damage to the creatures as they kept on attacking. Leaving no room to rest even for a moment. Naofumi knew that he'd eventually get tired and possibly die from these creatures.
He knew he needed to get away from them. Get as far away so that they won't continue to chase him. He could go back to where he was and come back to his original route. Naofumi nodded to himself and prepared to flee. But before he could run, he suddenly felt a chill. Feeling cold as if someone turned on the AC to the max.
Then, with no warning, an icicle slash went through all four of the creatures as each of them fell at once. A one-hit KO! Naofumi can feel the effect that was left on the creatures as he notices someone in front of him.
"Hmph! Lowley Hilichurls dared to attack a person with only a shield. Vengeance has been done!"
A female voice spoke as she turned to Naofumi while having a stern look on her face.
"Citizen, are you alright? These Hilichurls didn't hurt you badly did they?"
She asks with concern in her voice, but at the same time, she is expecting Naofumi to say something she would normally hear. But to her surprise, she neither saw hatred nor disgust, only gratitude and thankfulness. And that surprised her a bit, but not compared to what she heard next.
"You're beautiful!"