The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 05 Read online

  At the same time, huge spikes shot up from the ground all around the Karma Rabbit.

  So it had earth attacks. That wasn’t good.

  “Alright! I’m going to stop that thing in its tracks. Everyone, attack when you get the chance! Got it?!”

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah!”

  “Okay!”

  “Let’s do it!”

  And so the battle with the Karma Rabbit began.

  Throughout the battle, familias kept appearing. They weren’t a significant threat though, and we cut through them pretty quickly.

  The Karma Rabbit had a lot of different attacks at its disposal, and it was a violent and crazy thing. But I was able to restrict its movement enough that its agility didn’t do it much good. We were able to defeat it easily compared to the boss we’d taken on the day before.

  “Whew.”

  “I guess that’s that.”

  Raphtalia flicked her sword to knock the blood off of it, but then she stopped to inspect the blade more carefully.

  The blade itself was definitely starting to bend. It probably wouldn’t be long before it broke.

  “You kiddos are . . . .”

  “Huh? What?”

  I felt like he looked at me for a second, considering something carefully.

  “Never mind, it’s nothing. You kiddos sure are tough!”

  “Well I’m pretty impressed with you two as well.”

  They were stronger than I’d expected. Suspiciously so.

  If they hadn’t been with us, that battle definitely would have been a little tougher.

  “Well I’m glad we didn’t disappoint you.”

  “Yeah, yeah . . . . Anyway, what should we do with this thing? Want me to take it?”

  I wanted to see what sort of drop item the Karma Rabbit had been carrying. The Karma Dog’s drop item had significantly increased Filo’s attack power. And because of that, she had probably done the most damage out of anyone in the fight against the Karma Rabbit.

  “Sure, it’s all yours. You guys did most of the work anyway.”

  “Thanks.”

  I absorbed the corpse into my shield.

  Then I checked the drop item.

  “Karma Rabbit Sword?”

  I pulled the sword out of my shield. The hilt was black, and it was engraved with a rabbit pattern. It looked like it was part of the same weapon series as Filo’s claws had been.

  Karma Rabbit Sword

  quality: excellent

  special effects: agility up, magic down, attack up, defense down

  It seemed to be a very powerful weapon. It must have been just like Filo’s new claws.

  “Raphtalia, try this thing out.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “What’s up? You got a new weapon?’

  “Yeah.”

  Raphtalia gripped the hilt and gave the sword a few light swings.

  “It seems to be an excellent sword. I think I can use it for the time being.”

  We spent a little more time leveling up with L’Arc and Therese in the interior of the island.

  By the time we thought about finishing up, we had all gained quite a few levels.

  I had grown to level 70, Raphtalia was at 72, and Filo was at 73.

  We’d leveled up, but it was definitely less efficient than it had been yesterday. I wonder why? Did it mean that we were approaching the appropriate level for where we were?

  There was still so much I didn’t understand about this world.

  It seemed like you could power level if you wanted, but it also sort of seemed like there were level caps on areas.

  Those sorts of systems were different depending on the game you were playing.

  There were MMOs that made it so that you couldn’t level past a certain point if you were battling weaker enemies.

  They called it appropriate leveling, and basically you were only awarded experience points for the battle if your level and the enemy’s level were within a certain range of one another.

  If the system was set up that way, then you couldn’t put characters in your party that were substantially weaker than you were and still expect to be able to level them in difficult areas.

  But when we were raising Filo after she hatched, I never got the feeling that there was a system like that in place here. Just what was going on?

  “Raphtalia, how’s that new sword working out for you?”

  “It’s very light and easy to wield, but I haven’t gotten used to its nuances yet.”

  So apparently it was powerful, but nuanced, and easy to use.

  I wondered if the old guy at the weapon shop could make something like it, if I mentioned that it was part of the “karma series” of weapons. I’m sure he’d need the materials though.

  It seemed like I could count on the series for serious attack power though—which was great.

  Still, they didn’t have a blood clean coating, so we wouldn't be able to use them for very long, which was not so great.

  I could always use the whetstone shield on them at night when we were back at the inn. But I had so many shield abilities that I still needed to unlock. I’d have to prioritize that over the sharpening. Maybe I could bring the weapons to the old guy in Melromarc and he could apply a coating to them. Regardless, I’d have to pay him a visit before the next wave.

  Anyway, we leveled up so much so quickly that I hadn’t really figured it all out yet.

  It had all happened so fast that it almost made me anxious.

  I was working to unlock the new shields the whole time, but there were still so many monsters that I hadn’t collected yet, it made me anxious to think that I was going to miss out on something important.

  I had to ignore that feeling. I would just have to wait until the next wave was over, then I could go out in search of new leveling grounds.

  I could probably count on the queen for her assistance too, so I didn’t think that money was going to be an issue.

  But first things first, I’d have to power up as much as I could in the meantime—Raphtalia and Filo too.

  “Had about enough for today?”

  The sun had started to sink low when L’Arc suggested we head back.

  “Huh? Yeah, I guess so. I think it was a pretty good day, all in all. What are you doing tomorrow?”

  The Karma Rabbits were not offering us much in the way of a challenge anymore.

  It would have been an easy enough area with just Raphtalia and Filo, never mind L’Arc and Therese.

  I wanted to make sure that we weren’t wasting their time.

  “Oh boy, I think we’ve done just about enough, but it was a great time. I think you guys can handle yourselves tomorrow.”

  “Oh . . . .”

  That was kind of a disappointment. But then again, adventurers typically valued their freedom.

  When it was time to leave the island, I would have to think about inviting them to join the party.

  “Let’s head back then.”

  “Alright.”

  And so we left and went back to the main island. We arrived before sunset was over.

  While we were still in the boat, there were moments of silence where L’Arc and Therese seemed to be ruminating over something.

  What was it all about? Had they realized that I really was the Shield Hero, but they didn’t want to say it?

  I didn’t think so. L’Arc didn’t seem like the kind of guy to hold back from saying whatever he wants.

  “Later, Shield Kiddo. Hope to fight with you again someday.”

  “Yeah. And if you run into any spare cash before you leave the islands, come pay me!”

  We parted ways. It had been an enjoyable time we’d spent together.

  “That’s the first time we’ve fought on the same side with anyone since we were traveling with Melty.”

  “You’re right.”

  “They were very experienced and powerful.”

  They were. I nodded.

  They had been surpr
isingly strong. They were just as strong as we were.

  If I got the chance, I wanted them in my party.

  Chapter Nine: Island Days

  We continued to level at different spots around the islands.

  We defeated a boss called the Karma Pengu. It was a monster that flew in the air and looked like a giant black penguin.

  But we defeated it so easily it was almost boring. Just more of the same. It was all so easy and so expected—I figured that was probably why the other heroes hadn’t abandoned the idea that it was all just a game.

  Karma Pengu Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: swimming skill 2, fishing skill 3, pekkul status adjustment (medium): special effect: underwater swimming time increased

  Karma Pengu Familia Shield: ability locked: equip bonus, swimming skill 1, fishing skill 2, penkul status adjustment (small)

  Pekkul . . . I thought those had gone extinct?

  I’d gotten pretty similar shields out of the other karma series monsters that we had been fighting since we got here.

  I think they were called usaunis and inults.

  It was great that I could use them if I wanted to, but they were extinct—so it wasn’t going to do me much good, was it? I was complaining to myself while I checked the monster’s drop item.

  Pekkul Kigurimi?

  “Is it some kind of sleeping bag?”

  It was a soft costume of a penguin wearing a Santa hat. I checked out the stats.

  Pekkul Kigurimi: defense up, attack resistance (small), water resistance (large), shadow resistance (small), HP recovery (low), magic up (medium): automatic recovery function, underwater swimming time increased, size adjustment, skill adjustment (small): type alteration, monster equip time, no alterations other than type

  Wow! It had a lot of great effects. It was at least as powerful as the barbarian armor +1 that I was using. If it would increase underwater swimming time, did that mean that it was for diving or something?

  “It looks like it’s a really good piece of equipment. Raphtalia, why don’t you . . . .”

  “No thank you! I don’t care how good it is, I’m not fighting in that!”

  I thought she might say that. I felt the same way.

  “Alright then. You try it on, Filo.”

  “I thought she hated clothes?”

  “Looks fun!”

  Filo turned into her giant filolial queen form, and when she went to try it on the kigurumi grew to her massive size!

  Maybe that’s what size adjustment meant? That was pretty neat!”

  “I’m gonna wear it!”

  Filo clucked her approval as she slipped into the giant kigurumi. Then the kigurumi seemed to glow for a second before melting into her feathers?”

  Then Filo was standing there as normal, but her coloring had changed to look more like a penguin, and she was wearing a Santa hat.

  “Urm . . . . It feels kinda scratchy!”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah . . . and I feel sort of . . . sort of like I can’t flex my muscles?”

  “Then take it off.”

  It probably had something to do with the type adjustment effect. Its magical effects would make her into something other than a filolial, so my monster status adjustment probably stopped working. That effectively meant that monsters couldn’t use the equipment—which limited its use for me.

  “But I kind of want to wear it when I sleep back at the inn!”

  “Yeah, that seems to be what it’s for.”

  It was probably most useful as a type of pajama. I wondered if she could just take it off so easily? But there was nothing to worry about, her coloring returned to normal, and the kigurumi appeared in her hands. What a weird piece of equipment.

  “Mr. Naofumi, if I wear your armor, you could wear the kigurumi, and then it wouldn’t go to waste. “

  “Raphtalia, are you seriously suggesting I wear that thing?”

  Still, its effects were nothing to scoff at.

  Because of my shield, the monsters weren’t able to damage me anyway. And I was getting concerned about Raphtalia and Filo’s equipment too.

  “Um . . . uh . . . .”

  “Fine then, let’s draw straws to see who wears it. After how it melted onto Filo, it’s probably safe to assume that it doesn’t restrict movement.”

  “Oh . . . okay then . . . .”

  Oh boy. It was looking like I was going to have start measuring efficiency and power next to looks and fashion. It was going to be a tough choice.

  “Master, you’re so cuuuute!”

  “Shut up! I’m taking it off the second we start heading back!”

  I was mortified at the thought of being seen in it. And it wasn’t acting the way it had when Filo had worn it.

  It hung off of me, baggy, just like a normal kigurumi.

  I really didn’t want anyone to see me wearing it!

  It mostly hid my face though, so unless they saw my shield they’d have no way of knowing that it was me. That’s right, I looked like a pekkul.

  And it raised my stats while I had it on. But when I wore it the type adjustment didn’t activate.

  Raphtalia wore my armor, and we pressed on. The Karma Pengu Familias we ran into along the way didn’t pose any threat to us at all.

  “Raphtalia . . . .”

  “What?! Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not going to wear that thing.”

  I held out a cup of straws to her.

  “You’re wearing this thing tomorrow. I swear it. Better make your peace with that now.”

  “Hmph!”

  As for Filo . . . well, she better just be happy that she was born a filolial.

  “Well that ended up being a pretty good day.”

  “Yes, you’re right.”

  We were in the boat on the way back to the main island, and Raphtalia seemed concerned.

  I could sort of see where she was coming from. It was the way our leveling had dropped off that had her upset.

  I made it to level 73, she was at 75, and Filo was at 76.

  According to the earl, it was basically impossible to level past 80 there.

  When things seemed too good to be true, they were. That’s what people say anyway.

  Right about the time we started approaching level 70, I’d noticed the leveling efficiency dropping off. If we didn’t push really hard to keep leveling, I didn’t see how we were going to make it to level 80.

  It was still fun and interesting to collect drop items, but if the leveling efficiency wasn’t worth it, then it might be smart to start looking for another way to level. The wave would be upon us pretty soon.

  “But we still leveled up, isn’t that good enough?”

  “Yeah!”

  Filo apparently still felt like she hadn’t done enough swimming. She was in the water next to the boat.

  “Filo, I wasn’t talking to you.”

  “Oh . . . .”

  “Back to what I was saying, we’ve still gone up over 30 levels since we got here.”

  “I know that . . . but . . . the monsters are just too weak . . . and I’m starting to wonder if it’s going to be good enough.”

  “I know how you feel.”

  With how things were now, the Karma series bosses barely caused us to break a sweat, and as for the rest of the monsters we encountered, they all went down with a single hit. Raphtalia and Filo had powered up very dramatically though, so I suppose that was enough to be grateful for.

  There were still a ton of shields that had equip bonuses I’d yet to unlock.

  We’d been leveling really efficiently since we got to the islands, but I think we were all realizing that getting more powerful wasn’t going to be quite that simple.

  The levels had . . . well they possessed some sort of magical meaning, but they didn’t directly translate into confidence.

  We were going to have to raise our confidence, and our morale, if we wanted to stand a hope of facing the injustices that surely awaited us in the future. There was n
o avoiding that.

  In the online games I’d played, there were lots of players that had leveled up quickly but didn’t have the skills or the knowledge to handle themselves. They were powerful enough, but too ignorant and weak-willed to really be of use to anyone.

  And there were plenty of them that made the mistake of thinking their high levels automatically made them impressive and respectable.

  It was a real danger, one we’d have to watch out for. And that all went double for Itsuki and his party.

  Chapter Ten: The Water Temple

  We ended up spending a few peaceful days on the islands.

  Filo was pretty obsessed with swimming the whole time.

  We’d been on the islands for five days or so when Filo said it:

  “Hey master! There’s a thing. It’s like another island! It’s red! It’s at the bottom of the ocean!”

  “What?”

  What was she talking about? It sounded pretty interesting though.

  I suddenly recalled the red outline of the island that I’d seen against the sky. It had seemed to be glowing.

  I’d just assumed it had been related to the activation event. I’d seen it pretty much every day since we’d arrived.

  “Yeah! If you go out into the ocean at night, you can see it at the bottom!”

  Hm . . . another island?

  “Well, our leveling has pretty much stopped anyway. We might as well go check it out.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “We’ve got that new equipment that let’s us swim, don’t we?”

  Raphtalia scrunched her nose up. She’d worn the kigurumi the previous day and hadn’t been happy about it.

  The thing sure made you look like a fool, but I couldn’t argue with the stat boosts.

  The drop item wasn’t all that common, but by the time the day was done we’d ended up with three of them.

  So if we wanted to, we could all wear one and swim. It didn’t help Filo though.

  “The bottom of the ocean . . . ?”

  “What, you can’t swim?”