Chapter 1

Evening

Standing in the pouring rain was a 19-year-old guy with short silver hair that was matted by the rain and green eyes that could bore into ones soul. His name is Ryu Xerxes.

Ryu wore a black jacket over a red shirt and black jogging pants, who at the moment was looking at the sky glaring at it as he fell to his knees with multiple bullet wounds.

'If I somehow live, I will live for my owe interest and not others.' Ryu thought before darkness started to encompass his vision as he hit the ground only to feel himself freefalling.

Ryu's eyes opened quickly as he started to feel better before finding something in his hand.

Looking down he found himself holding a weird looking white umbrella with red stripes before looking down at his body and feeling that the wounds were gone.

Taking his eyes away from his body he saw four other guys looking as lost as he was, and a group of people dressed in robes looking at them.

'It looks I've been given a chance to live.' Ryu thought.

"Great heroes, please help save our world!" Pleaded a robed man

"What!" Shouted all of the guys shocked.

"I am sure you all are shocked at your current predicament, but through the use of an ancient spell, we were able to summon you brave heroes here." Said the robed man.

"What is happening in your world that needs our help?" Ryu asked.

"Large numbers of demons plague our country Melromarc coming from a dimensional crack. Our country's knights and adventures were barely able to defeat the first wave of demons which brought severe casualties." The robed man answered looking at Ryu and his umbrella with an odd expression.

"Now if you will, I will take you to see the king." The man said.

Ryu nodded as he and the other started following the robed man. Looking outside Ryu couldn't help but feel something off as they got closer to the throne room.

As they walked it gave Ryu time to think, 'This feels like I've been shoved into a game, but if I die will I respawn or truly die?' Ryu questioned to himself before they made it into the throne room.

"So these are the ancient heroes?" The spoke an old man sitting on a throne.

"I am king Aultcray, 32nd ruler of Melromarc. Heroes, names yourselves if you will." Spoke the king.

The sword wielder with black hair and blue eyes moved forward, "Amaki Ren, 16-years-old, high schooler." He said.

Next the spear wielder, who in Ryu's opinion came off as arrogant. "I am Kitamura Motoyasu, 21 and a college student." He said.

"I believe I'm next. Kwasumi Itsuki, 17-years-old and a high schooler." Said the boy with light green hair and green eyes.

"My name is Iwatani Naofumi. I'm 20 and a college student." Said the young man with black hair and green eyes.

No one seemed to notice the quick flash of anger in the king's eyes before it vanished except for Ryu before he stepped forward.

"I'm Xerxes Ryu, 19-years-old and college student." Ryu said noticing the king look down at him the moment he saw the umbrella..

"I suppose I owe you an explanation for bringing you here." The king said only for the five guys to shake their heads.

"It isn't needed, we were given an explanation after we were summoned." Ren said.

"We had underestimated the waves and paid the price with the lives of many soldiers. After seeing the devastation it called, we knew that only the four cardinal heroes could counter them." The king said.

"What do you mean by four cardinal heroes when there are five of us?" Ryu asked.

"We only intended to summon the sword, spear, bow, and shield hero, but somehow you were brought as well though I don't know what you are supposed to be." The king answered.

The others looked at Ryu and couldn't help but wonder as well, "Hey, did you bring the umbrella with you when they brought us here?" Asked Motoyasu.

Ryu shook his head, "Nope, I found this umbrella on me the moment we were summoned just like you found that spear in your hand."

"This world must have screwed with you because you're not going to do anything with an umbrella." Motoyasu replied laughing at him causing Ryu to glare at him before looking back at the king.

"We got the gist of it now, but surely you didn't believe that summoning us that we would save you for free." Ren said.

"Of course, once you have repelled all the waves, you all will be rewarded handsomely." Said a man standing beside the king.

"I'm willing to help but doesn't mean I have to obey you." Ryu said as the others said their piece.

"How do you plan to help with an umbrella?" Ren questioned.

"I don't know but there is probably something special about it." Ryu replied as Ren just scoffed and looked away.

"Then I trust we have an agreement, and now you should all check your statuses." The king said.

"What's a status?" Naofumi asked.

"I believe it to be the icon at the corner of your vision." Ryu said.

Ren nodded, "All you must do is focus on it."

Ryu looked at his status and couldn't help but be surprised at how much this was like a game.

"What is this?" Naofumi asked.

"Status magic is an ability exclusive to heroes." A man answered.

"Now you all must leave on an adventure to grow stronger and upgrade your legendary weapons." The king said.

"Can't we just use other weapons until these are useable?" Motoyasu asked.

"We can figure that out along the way, but first we have to train and level up." Ren said with the others agreeing.

"Then if we all form a party- "Naofumi started only to be interrupted.

"Heroes, you will each recruit and adventure separately for the reason it said that the legendary weapons repel one another and if you work together it will hinder your development." The man said.

"The sun begins to set, rest so you may journey tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll gather the best of the best to join your parties." The king said.

"If you will we have rooms prepared for you." Said a woman as the heroes followed her, but not before looking back at the king with a narrowed gaze.

After the heroes were all shown their rooms, they decided to meet up in Naofumi's room and discuss things.

"Isn't this kind of like a game?" Naofumi said.

"It is a game; it is exactly like emerald online." Motoyasu said before Ryu tunes out there conversation as he looked at his umbrella.

After hearing random things come out of their mouths Ryu stepped forward, "We all come from different versions of Japan. You all should have figured it out after hearing a different name being on the thousand yen." He said.

"I thought we might just be from different eras." Motoyasu said.

Naofumi shook his head, "Instead we each come from parallel worlds and each of you played games similar to this world. Why am I the only one unfamiliar with this stuff?"

"Your world is probably just more different from ours." Ryu said.

"That or it may be because you're the shield hero. Though I would think it would be the same for someone wielding an umbrella." Itsuki stated with Ren and Motoyasu agreeing.

"What do you mean, is there something wrong with the shield?" Naofumi asked.

"I'll give you the basics about the shield. No one plays it for long and has no high-level players and I never heard someone wielding an umbrella as a weapon." Motoyasu said crushing Naofumi's spirit.

"How about your worlds?" Naofumi asked looking at Ren and Itsuki, who gave him basically the same answer.

"What about you Ryu?" Naofumi asked desperate.

Ryu closed his eyes, "The shield is a class for those who are willing to put in the work. They have to work harder than everyone else to level up, but it is worth it with the abilities that a shield could have. For example there was a shield with the ability to absorb other weapons and use them and still be considered a shield." He stated bringing hope to Naofumi.

Looking outside Ryu couldn't help but get a bad feeling before he went to rest for his journey.

Morning

After getting a good rest the heroes were guided to the throne room before they began their journey.

Entering the throne room, Ryu saw a group of warriors lined up in front of the king.

"We have gathered brave warriors that will journey with you and fight the waves by your side. Now our champions, time to begin your journey!" The king said as the warriors walked forward and chose their hero.

After the warriors had chosen Ryu was a little surprised that no one choose him, 'It may have to do with me wielding an umbrella for a weapon.' He thought before shrugging, 'I can find someone on my journey.' Ryu thought paying little attention on how Naofumi hadn't gotten chosen as well.

"Word had spread of how the shield hero is ignorant of this world, while the legend says that heroes come here with understanding of our land. Also no one is willing to join a person wielding something so mediocre" The king stated looking at Ryu and Naofumi.

"Maybe someone was ease dropping on our conversation last night." Motoyasu whispered.

"Even still, I would think there would be a kind warrior wanting to have the honor of getting to teach one of the four cardinal heroes and about this world." Ryu stated with his arms crossed as he looked at the warriors who all looked at him like he was insignificant.

"What about you Ryu? Aren't you worried you didn't get any party members?" Naofumi asked.

"It doesn't matter, I'll just find a party member on my journey." Ryu stated before a beautiful red-haired girl with green eyes offered to join Naofumi's party.

"Now that that is settled, every month we shall provide each hero with the funds they may require and for this time Naofumi and Ryu's payment will be higher than the others to compensate for the lack of party members." The king said as they were handed money.

Ryu was given 1000 silver coins while Naofumi got 800 and the others 600.

"Go and use this to purchase equipment needed to go on your journey." The king said as all the heroes then left.

Not wasting any time Ryu found himself at the armory shop after asking for directions, which was hard to get with the people scoffing at him and leaving when he got to them to ask for directions.

Entering the shop Ryu found himself looking at a tall man with a scar on his head.

"Well if it isn't the odd umbrella hero." Said the man.

"First time I heard that, I came here for armor since I'm not allowed to wield any other weapon besides this one." Ryu said.

"Yeah the shield hero was here a few minutes ago and tried to hold a sword only for it to fly out of his hand." The man said.

"Thanks for the info, so can you tell me anything about this umbrella?" Ryu asked as he grabbed a black cloak on display.

"I'm sorry but I didn't even think you could use an umbrella as a weapon." The man replied.

"I would think something went wrong with the summoning." He said.

"Maybe, but I guess I'll have to see how to fight using it." Ryu said with the man nodding.

"For all we know it could be an overpowered weapon.." He replied making Ryu chuckle.

"Thanks for the laugh, so how much for the cloak?" Ryu asked.

"Are you sure? Leather armor is stronger, and the cloak doesn't really look like it would with wielding an umbrella" He stated..

"I'm sure, and I can always get a stronger one made, and I don't want armor wearing me down, at least not right now. Also what is supposed to fit with an umbrella wielder?" Ryu asked as he paid 10 silver coins for the cloak.

Throwing the cloak over his shoulders Ryu left the shop and went towards the fields where he could level up.

Walking onto the field Ryu was surprised as he was attacked by an orange balloon before holding up the umbrella and thrusting it forward.

Ryu was surprised when the orange balloon instantly popped in front of him, "I guess this is how it is supposed to be used." He said before seeing dozens of balloons surrounding him.

As he popped the weak monsters to pieces Ryu couldn't help but think that he probably got the umbrella because of a mistake in the summoning.

'I mean seriously an umbrella for a weapon, why not a sword.' Ryu thought as he unconsciously slashed through the orange balloons, not noticing that the umbrella had transformed into twin swords.

'Though I wonder what ability this thing might have, I hope it is better than that Motoyasu idiot and his spear.' He thought not noticing that his umbrella then transformed into a lance as he ran it though three balloons.

After shaking his head at such thoughts he was surprised that all the monsters were destroyed, and he was at level 5 before looking at his weapon and saw it in its lance form.

'What in the world happened to the umbrella!?' Ryu thought looking at it before it changed back to its umbrella form.

"Does it change based on my thoughts." He questioned before thinking of it as a sword before he found himself holding two swords in his hands.

"Alright, this is cool. So does it have a shield form?" Ryu questioned before the swords merged and the umbrella opened acting as a shield.

"All that is left is bow form." Ryu stated before frowning when the umbrella didn't transform.

'I guess you can't have everything.' Ryu thought before rubbing his chest as he thought about how he was gun downed and brought to this world.

Looking down at his umbrella, Ryu was shocked when he found it had transformed into a Gatling gun.

"This umbrella is amazing!" Ryu shouted as he started fighting the orange balloons using the umbrella's different forms.

After getting enough practice in and looking at the sky Ryu saw the sun setting and decided to stay at an inn before he looked at his status and saw he had leveled up.

'Looks like I got in some good progress.' Ryu thought as he walked to an inn.

After finding an inn and paying for a room, Ryu couldn't help but feel something wasn't right before he fell asleep.

A few hours later Ryu suddenly woke up as he heard his door rattle like someone was trying to get in.

Standing up with umbrella in hand Ryu knocked the butt of his umbrella on the door and wasn't surprised when the door stopped rattling and the sound of footsteps got farther away.

Going back to bed Ryu slept as tomorrow he would leave for his journey.

Morning

Ryu squeezed his eyes shut as he was awoken to the sound of banging on his door.

'This person had better have a good reason for waking me up.' Ryu thought as he opened the door and was surprised to see almost a dozen soldiers there.

"What do you want?" Ryu asked with a glare still mad at being woken up.

"The king has summoned you." The soldier replied scoffing at Ryu.

"I thought I told the king I wasn't going to obey him like some dog, but fine lets go. Though should you piss me off again." Ryu said leaving the threat hanging causing the soldiers to laughed as they started walking to the castle.

Looking over Ryu saw Naofumi beside him looking confused as they walked.

Walking into the throne room the soldiers threw Naofumi to the floor. They looked at Ryu only for him to grab a spear and break it against his knee as he glared at them.

"What's going on?" Naofumi asked still confused.

Ryu's eyes narrowed as he watched Naofumi call out to Myne only for her to hide behind Motoyasu.

"King, I had my money and equipment stolen from me while I was asleep." Naofumi said.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ryu asked.

"Quiet you scumbags!" The king shouted at the two causing Ryu to glare at the man.

"Myne, could you testify for us once more for us on what happened last night?" The king asked.

"T-the shield hero came into my room drunk and pinned me down and said, 'the night is young.' The defective hero then came in and tore my clothes off. I was able to escape and ran to sir Motoyasu for help." Myne said.

Naofumi couldn't help but be shocked while Ryu only scoffed.

"I would've cut you two down if Myne hadn't told me to wait and call the knights." Motoyasu said.

"To think the shield and defective hero would commit such a grave sin after all we've done to help you." The king said.

"To attempt to sexually assault a woman in Melromarc the punishment is death." Stated a man.

"But you won't since we are heroes, will you? After all five is better than three against the wave." Ryu stated calmly pissing the king off.

"Even though you are defective we need all the help in fighting the wave and that is why you won't be executed!" The king shouted at him.

While Naofumi tried to plead is innocence Ryu just looked at the other heroes and shook his head.

"You three are truly idiots as to completely believe the words of strangers and that we were framed to give us a bad reputation." Ryu said.

"And why would they do such a thing?" Ren asked.

" Figure it out yourself." Ryu said as he gripped his umbrella as the soldiers got too close with their spears. "Try and see what happens."

"Like the defective hero could do anything against us." One of the soldiers mocked.

"Why aren't you trying to prove yourself innocent?" Naofumi asked Ryu.

"Because I know I'm innocent and that's all that matters, not the words of those who believe her lies." Ryu answered.

After hearing how they could only be sent back to their world after all the waves were taken care of Ryu decided he had enough.

"For your punishment defective hero, you are to give up the cloak and the money that was given to you and start from scratch." The king stated.

Before the soldiers could get closer to take the money and cloak from him Ryu swung his umbrella and knocked all the soldiers away.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Motoyasu questioned.

"I don't need to waste my time on deluded people like you. You can try and stop me, but you better hope you have a good doctor and to you king, this money was a stipend you give to the heroes each month. So I'm taking what's mine, but if you want to take it, come from that throne and take it from me like a man." Ryu said as he left the throne room enraging the king.

After walking for a while Ryu found himself in the field from yesterday surrounded by dozens and dozens of orange balloons.

"Looks like I'll take my frustration on you." Ryu said as he started to massacre the weak monsters one after the other without a moment's rest.

"Those fools truly believe me to be a rapist and now it is going to be impossible to get party members." Ryu said with gritted teeth as he transformed the umbrella into dual swords and sliced through 4 orange balloons in a single swing.

'Should they ever need my help, they can forget it.' Ryu thought as his swings started to get faster and stronger the more frustrated, he got as the number of orange balloons started to rapidly decrease as his eyes flashed pitch black before returning to normal.

Taking a deep breath Ryu calmed down as he looked around to find the tattered remains of the monsters.

Looking at his status Ryu was a surprised that he had hit level 10 as he started picking up the tattered remains intending on selling them before he left the field.

Making it to the merchant Ryu put the balloon tatters on the table, "How much?" Ryu asked.

"I count fifty, so how about 15 copper for it." The merchant said.

"I heard how these are each worth 1 copper." Ryu said with narrowed eyes.

"You have to know it's just business." The merchant said before he found an umbrella near his throat.

"And you have to know not to piss me off. Now you will pay me double what their worth or I can shave a little off the top." Ryu said calmly.

"And what is that supposed to?" The merchant laughed.

"To kill you." Ryu replied calmly as the umbrella started to draw blood.

The merchant turned white, "Yes I'll do that." He said handing Ryu double before pulling the umbrella away.

"It was great doing business with you." Ryu said walking away.

"Young man I think I can help you with your problem" Called out a voice in an alley causing Ryu to stopped as he walked closer to the voice.

"And what problem would that be?" Ryu questioned as he saw a short interesting man.

"Well your problem on getting party members." He answered.

"So what are you offering?" Ryu asked.

"If you'll follow me, I will show you what I'm offering." Said the man walking away.

"And why would you be willing to help the defective hero?" Ryu questioned.

"Because I have a feeling that you will be an interesting customer in the future." He answered.

'I may as well see if what he has can help me.' Ryu thought as he followed the man to a huge tent.

"Now what are you offering to fix my issues in getting party members?" Ryu asked.

"Well slaves of course. The best thing is they can't lie to you, disobey you, or betray you due to a strong seal-based curse placed on them that can very well take their lives." The man said.

"Show me what you have." Ryu stated making the man smile as talked about the different slaves he had.

"I have monsters, demi-humans, beastmen. "The man said with smile on his face before Ryu stopped at a cage and looked in to see a pale-skinned girl with snow white hair and crimson eyes staring right back at him. She wore a white skin type outfit that had red circles all over

"What about her?" Ryu asked.

"You have some eye; this girl here is a demon that I had caught during the first wave. Though her combat ability is high, her personality is different from what you expect of a demon." The man said.

"How much do you want?" Ryu asked causing the man to grin.

"High combat skills though take into account her dangerous split personality. 600 silver coins." The man said.

Ryu nodded as he paid the man and let the girl out the cage. "What did you mean by dangerous split personality?" He asked.

The man chuckled, "That girl has a split personality that comes up when she finds herself in danger. This other personality is sadistic and powerful and will kill all that get in her way. Though you shouldn't worry, I had a seal placed on her to keep that part of her contained." He said.

"Now if you will, we still have to put the curse on her." The man said as they moved to deeper into the tent.

The man had Ryu drop a little of his blood into a pot before stirring the pot and drew over the seal on the girl's chest as it started to hiss.

"This girl has a high pain tolerance. The slave crest makes it impossible for her to for her defy you in any way." The man said.

Ryu's status bar appeared in from of him saying he had acquired a slave, but also a skill tree popped up with the words 'Demon abilities.'

He looked at the skill tree and saw many different locked abilities before seeing the one that was unlocked, 'Blood Scythe.'

'I guess I am able to gain demon abilities if they are a part of my party. Though I wonder if I can do the same if I defeat a demon.' Ryu thought as he looked at the girl.

"So what is your name?" Ryu asked the girl.

The girl looked at him with a smile on her face that seemed so innocent even though she was a demon, "I'm Shiro and what's your name?" She said.

"The name is Ryu." Ryu said as he nodded to the man who just smiled at him.

"You know where to find me if you want more party members." The man said with a creepy smile as the two left.

"He is going to be an interesting client." The man said, "Now it is time I go see the shield hero." He said walking away into the night.

Author's Note

I have been watching this anime like no tomorrow and couldn't help but express the idea of a fifth hero.

If you're wondering what the umbrella looks like then look up Myriad Manifestation Umbrella from The King's Avatar.

Tell me what you thought in the reviews and ideas about another person to put in Ryu's party.

MY WRATH WON'T DIE!