Chained Down

"Fucking Christ, that's a face plant" I grumbled lifting my head up. 'When did I get a marble floor? Pretty sure I had a rug' I looked to the side noticing a group of four looking around as well. While a handful of people stood like they were praying. 'Okay this is just weird' I pressed against the ground. Although, as I pushed myself up a stiffness restricted my right arm. 'What is this… a chain' I twisted my arm in a circle before noticing a small dagger attached to the end of the chain. 'Is this some sick joke?' I tugged at the chain to no avail. "This better be a good joke" I muttered standing up. "Or did I have too much to drink last night?"

Standing up I looked at the chain and dagger closer. It was quite a plain looking chain, like it was made from iron or steel. The dagger on the other hand was small, the handle was barely big enough for my hand while the blade itself could be mistaken for a needle or a well-crafted shiv. However, most noticeable about the chain and dagger was the purple gemstone connecting the two together.

"Please cardinal heroes, save our world" one of the group of robed prayers announced.

"I refuse" one of the other four stated. he looked over seeing the black haired pretty boy answer.

"You can't expect us to work for free" the tall blond stated pointing a spear at the other group.

"You can't just summon people as you please" the younger blond argued, pinging the string of the bow he held.

I growled, glaring as best I could "and who said I would work regardless of getting paid or not?"

The fourth boy with a shield simply looked confused as he looked around. "What?"

The leader of the robed people looked down in worry. "Please I know you are all taken back by these circumstances but listen, I beg you" the leader gulped. "Within our country of Melromarc, demons, beasts and all matter of vile creatures have entered our realm through a dimensional crack that we call the wave". The leader bowed "please there is no one capable of repelling the wave, the first wave took a massive toll… many soldiers and adventures fought to contain the first wave but few came back. Only the heroes can stop the waves once and for all".

"Oh… and what are we getting in return for stopping these waves?" the tall blond leaned on his spear.

'What's this idiot thinking' I rolled my eyes. 'What's the point of asking for a reward on a suicide mission?' I looked around the other heroes with narrowed eyes. 'The other blond looks like he has the same stupid thoughts'.

"Of course!" the robed man exclaimed quickly. "You will definitely be rewarded for great deeds and the such, his majesty is a generous king and will compensate for you all perfectly".

"Then hurry up and take us to the man" I grumbled. "Well come on then, if it's so important for us to be here let's go!" I sighed. "I want my bed already… so tired" I mumbled to myself.

"U-uh, yes of course! Please follow us!" the robed man shouted over his nerves turning to the single large door of the room. "The throne room is just a small walk" two other robed individuals opened each side of the door letting a blast of natural light into the room. As the group stepped out of the room the five heroes shared looks of shock albeit, some looked more excited than others.

'I suppose this is better than making fries 9-5' taking a deep breath, I gazed out the window. 'But if these guys make me get fired in the only lazy job in town, I'm going to kill them'.

"Hey… so are you nervous about… this thing… we're in" feeling the words directed at me, I cranked my head around. "Nah shieldy they're paying us or they are going to be sorry they gave me a weapon".

"I-I see" the shield boy scratched the back of his head nervously. "But I doubt they would give us weapons if they weren't going to pay us".

"Childish naivety, much?" I twisted the dagger in the air. "It's a king, they can do whatever they want in their kingdom… promise rewards… force free labour… backstab when you fulfilled your usefulness… many reasons why you don't trust anyone, and why you should stab them first". I placed the dagger between the chains, rolling my hand in a circle to make sure I don't get stabbed by my own blade.

…

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down. Strolling forward with my left hand in my pocket, I gazed up at the man sitting on the throne. All the while I glanced around noticing several guards and posh looking individuals as well as maids. "Very… fancy" I unintentionally droned out, gaining some unwanted murmurs from the crowd.

"I see" the king hummed as an associate whispered something into his ear. "So these are the… five legendary heroes that the ancients speak of". The King sounded humbled but the tone still demanded respect. "I am the king of Melomarc, Aultcray Melomarc the XXXII, heroes of legend please come forward and introduce yourself to the court".

'Noble twat… definite dickhead wearing all those jewels just to show them off, probably worth more than what we are getting. Heh and there's so many, I'm sure he won't miss any… oh crap everyone's staring'. I coughed into my hand "Tadao Mitza, I'm 19 years old… and in college". I remained unfazed by the obvious chatter, slowly turning my head down the line of the other four.

Next to me the Sword Hero nodded to himself. "My name is Ren Akami, I'm 16 years old and a high schooler".

After him the Spear Hero stepped forward with a smug grin. "I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, 20 years old and a college student".

Fourthly, the Bow Hero stepped forward "I guess I am up next, my name is Itsuki Kawasumi and I'm also a high schooler"

"And-" the Shield Hero started.

"Ah Tadao, Ren, Motoyasu and Itsuki, is it?" Aultcray nodded putting his hand to his chin. "Fine names for legendary heroes".

"H-hey king… you forgot about me" the Shield Hero yelled.

I gazed in the boy's direction and blinked curiously. 'Really shouting at a king, boy he must be beyond stupid… still he's entertaining' I let out a loose chuckle at his performance. Feeling a gaze on me, I turned back to the throne. The king merely smiled at me before turning to the Shield Hero, the smile disappearing. 'Creep bastard, smiling at me like that'.

"I'm sorry Shield Hero, please introduce yourself" Aultcray stared at the boy harshly betraying his words.

"Yeah… anyways I'm Naofumi Iwatani, I'm 18 and going to college" Naofumi finished but my attention was now on the robed man that summoned me and the others.

The man himself posed, holding his arms out widely. "Oh heroes, before any of us continue. Please can you confirm your status". My eyes darting between the man and the other four, finally I saw it. Stopping on a small icon, I gazed on it for a while before a screen nearly smacked me in the face. Looking at the screen, I took note of several charts 'well that sucks, level 1 really…' I sighed 'high agility, high health, low attack and low defence… rest is about average'. I shrugged at the stats not really bothering 'so it's just Chain Hero, I suppose chain and knife hero would be too long'.

"Seriously, you guys haven't noticed it yet. Concentrate on the little box on the bottom for your status" Ren crossed his arms.

"Cool, no way!" Motoyasu grinned. "Turns out that I am what you call the Spear Hero".

I clenched my eyes shut at his exclamation. "Motoyasu, can I slap you? Seriously man, you are holding a massive over compensating spear. How the hell are you surprised you are the Spear Hero"

Motoyasu chuckled "well… I just wasn't really thinking".

"What worries me is that we are level 1 though" Itsuki held his chin in thought. "That would be troublesome if we encountered anything higher than level 5".

"But these are legendary weapons" I faced the Bow Hero. "if you think about it, these weapons are like pay to win items so I hardly think a level 5 would give us trouble… well those who can hurt an enemy at least, tough luck Naofumi".

"Eh? What?" Naofumi's eyes widened as he looked up and down his shield.

Ignoring Naofumi's outburst, I shrugged "and Itsuki, there are five of us so I doubt any low level thing will stand a chance".

"So we work together to train our weapons to a high enough level" Ren summarised.

"And with weapons like these we should easily be able to beat boss monsters, right?" Motoyasu grinned.

"So why don't we all form a party" Naofumi asked.

"Please excuse me for interrupting, dear heroes" Aultcray raised his hand to silence them. "But all five of you must journey out separately" he continued. "Heroes, you must form parties with other adventurers as each legendary weapon repels each other, hindering the process".

"So what? Do we have to go and find people willing enough to join us and fight of a catastrophe? That would work brilliantly, or are you going to lend us some royal guards?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Relax dear heroes, there have been adventurers selected to aide you on your journey" Aultcray motioned to the maids.

While the maids headed towards the door, I glanced at the fellow heroes with disgust. 'There's never meant to be more than one main hero from all those manga I read, what the hell happened to tradition… it is fantasy right and as a hero, I think there is two options to how this works. The first is that I'll be under the sheets with 20 women or I'm in a hell hole horror, that's how this reincarnation things work right?'

"Hey Tadao" Motoyasu tapped my shoulder. "You listening… we're all discussing what game this reminds us of, what's yours called?"

"Err… mine was a foreign title so we just called it the game and people knew what you were talking about" I lied through my teeth hoping to just avoid the attention of not played a game.

"I suppose that makes sense for you being the Chain Hero" Motoyasu pointed out.

"Yeah, the Chain Hero was a newly implemented DLC class" Itsuki noted while Ren nodded.

I smiled "yeah… Naofumi, you're being awfully quite over there, have you not played any games?"

"Yeah what about you? Have you played any games like this place?" Motoyasu moved his attention to Naofumi.

"Well, n-no not really… it's most likely because of a really old book that I read" Naofumi expressed the nervousness on his face easily as he answered the question.

'So he hasn't played this game either, interesting' I hummed curiously.

"You may enter now!" Aultcray's voice boomed as the doors opened. "Future heroes!" I turned to see 15 people all suited up in the stereotypical fantasy medieval gear.

"Ah so these are the all so willing people that are joining us, right?" I commented to myself. "Shame there's no bikini armour" I sighed while only Motoyasu acknowledged the comment by patting me on the shoulder sadly.

"These are the adventurers that have volunteered to join you on your adventure. You will all grow and strengthen the legendary weapons". Aultcray rubbed his beard "it would seem that the people here have chosen which hero they intend to follow therefore, select the hero you are willing to aide now!"

Closing my eyes for a moment, I waited until the foot-steps stopped to open my eyes again. 'Fuck… scrawny asshole, a totally subtle thug and the most shit eating grinner I have seen before' I shrugged. 'Could be worse, I could have five people like Ren… how does Naofumi have all the luck being alone. Being alone at level one is great because of the need to share essential exp'

"S-seriously… no one…" Naofumi gulped nervously. "Yeah… what can a shield do anyway" he clenched his fists. "Well go ahead and say something! On you go! Say it!"

"Fine I'll say something, stop acting like a brat about this. Don't throw a tantrum because you were never chosen, you are a legendary hero so if you walk out the door and talk to the first adventurer you see they will probably join you". I crossed my arms "the world's unfair, deal with it but if you really want people, you can have these three".

"I don't think that's very fair, Tadao" Itsuki remarked. "Telling people who purposely joined you to join another is quite bad although, Naofumi has no one you can't force people to leave".

"And here I was, just trying to be a nice guy here helping the only one of us that can't attack by himself" I groan sarcastically.

"Tadao, did you really mean it? You were trying to help me" Naofumi almost had starry eyes making me twitch.

"Yep… I would always help my fellow heroes" I shrugged.

"Don't worry Sir. Chain Hero" I glanced at the new voice. "I am willing to help the Shield Hero on his adventure".

"Sure, whatever…" I took peaks at the red head woman. 'So shield boy gets the babe…' I looked behind me at the three adventurers then back at the king. Ignoring Naofumi's small outburst of happiness about getting help I gazed at the king for a couple of seconds. "So that's that, do we just go now? Or what?"

"Please wait a minute dear heroes" a minister walked forward, holding five bags on a tray. "To begin with, we shall offer you all 600 silver coins so you may start your adventure in earnest to prevent the calamity". I grabbed the bag of silver, thankfully I had a zipped pocket to hold the bag.

Aultcray stood up from his throne "now go forth Heroes, protect these lands and fulfil your destiny".

…

"This is quite a big city, isn't it?" I asked myself, looking around from the entrance of the castle. Staring at the chain around my wrist, I looked off to my party of three. "So do either of you three know where a good blacksmith is?"

"Don't worry sir Hero, we can go to the blacksmith for you and deliver the armour and weapons to you" the scrawny one grinned.

"Yes don't worry at all, we'll just need the silver to pay the blacksmith" the thug looking one subtle put his sweaty palm out.

"And in the meantime, the two of us can get to know each other" the sole female leaned into my chest. "Very… very closely" she whispered, her lips grazing my ear.

"Right…" I shoved the girl back. "First off, I'm not into teenagers nor am I giving you crap unless you want it literally… also I wasn't planning on taking you guys anywhere with me… should've tried your luck with the gullible Shield Hero, not me". I pushed between them "now leave me alone, I can't be bothered dealing with gold diggers".

"Hey man, what the hell are you saying?" the thug gripped the handle of his sword.

"Fuck off, is what I am saying… now if you'll excuse me" I vaulted over the railing of the bridge, landing on a stairwell below. Vaulting again I managed to reach what I think is the solid ground. 'They want a hero, eh? Sounds like a lot of effort, maybe I should let the other four take care of everything… but it does sound very profitable' I hummed strolling down the street. 'I suppose I could give it a try, if I don't like it I can just quit later' I rolled my shoulders. 'Crap I still don't know where the blacksmith is' rubbing my forehead in frustration, I gazed up seeing some buildings with hanging signs. 'That helps… but which one means blacksmith, come on think… I really should've played more games'. I glanced as I saw a shirt like shape on a sign 'close enough'.

Heading into the building, a classic bell chime met my entry. "Hello, welcome sir, how may I help you today?"

"Uhh… do you do adventurer stuff here?" I hummed looking around the store. 'Okay definitely not a blacksmith'.

"Yes of course, I tailor many adventurer items" a light brown haired woman who looked to be in her early 30s, clapped her hands together excitedly. "pouches, bags and satchels for travelling items or perhaps some travelling gear or… oh! You don't happen to be that new hero right". The woman pointed to the chain on my arm.

"Uh… yeah" I paused as the woman got all excited running around me in circles.

"Oh my… where are my manners?" she coughed into her hand. "So you must have came for some battle gear correct?" I simply nodded as she picked up my chained arm. "A chain and small knife… I see, you would be stupid to wear large metal plate armour with a small weapon" she clicked her fingers.

"Yeah… anyway, do you have something protective or useful for me, or point me somewhere that can help me" I scratched my head awkwardly.

"Of course I can!" she grasped my hand with both of hers. "Given your weapon type, you need to be very agile so I do have some specially thick clothes that can protect you from scrapes and such. However, it's not as protective as armour but they can be used in conjunction with most light armour… oh just come with me, I'll show you~".

"Wait a… second" I half yelled as I got dragged into a changing area. "Hey at least give me some privacy".

"Honey don't squirm so much~"

"Watch where you're touching"

"Just making sure everything is in place, Honey"

"Oi, Oi"

"There we are" the woman dragged me out of the changing area. "Just look how good you look" she placed me in front of a mirror. "Not bad am I right?" I gazed at myself, just taking it in. the woman rubbed my shoulders from behind. "A dark leather tunic, a perfect mix of flexibility and sturdiness… also tailored with a baggy sleeve perfect to prevent hindrance to your weapon… then we have studded bottoms and boots, amazing for journeys and protect you from kicking things too hard… gloves made for transverse and climbing but also useful for weapon holding, that chain may put stress on your hands after all… and to finish your look off a pouch belt which includes 2 small pouches on the back and each side with one large pouch on the back. How does it feel? This outfit should protect you from most weather conditions in the country as well… I would say the only weather you may have trouble with would be on high mountains".

"Good…" I stretched around. "It feels pretty good" I moved to the side to swing the chain slowly. "I can hold the chain perfectly with the gloves as well… how much is it?"

"Let's see, the tunic would be 135 silver, the boots and bottoms would be 100 silver, the gloves are 10 silver while the pouches are 75 silver… that's 320 silver total but as it's your first time buying I can lower it down to 300 silver, sir Hero".

I reached into my pouch, taking out 320 silver coins. "You can keep that 20 coins but could you give me a run down on this city and any useful information… and it's Tadao not sir Hero".

"Sure thing… sir Tadao and you can call me Lizzie" she smiled taking the coins in stacks. "Well my little tailor shop is just behind the main market stall street while everything from a blacksmith to a magic shop is in the block of buildings in front of the shop. The guard barracks and prison are on the other side of the market street. While houses and taverns cost cheaper the further away from the castle you are. Just outside the city gates, it will only take a minute of walking before you may encounter some small monsters". Lizzie sighed "I would be careful at the market stalls, some are from the black market with stolen goods or certain goods".

"Hm… thanks Lizzie, I'll be back" I twisted around, waving behind me as I left.

…

"~And pop goes the weasel~" I stabbed the knife through a balloon monster. "Why do they only give one stupid exp" twiddling the knife around, I threw the blade like a dart. "Fuckin' brilliant shot" I commented as the blade totally missed the next balloon monster. Grabbing the chain, I whipped it to the side smacking several balloons as the chain spun around in a circle but none of them popped.

Clenching my left fist, I stood my ground as another orange balloon charged at me. As it reached me, I punched it square in the face sending it flying but still no pop. "Oh no" after my punch, my chain had stopped whipping round allowing the group of balloons to reach me and chomp down. "Ow" I tugged the chain for my knife back. "I guess this is the only way for now" twisting the knife into a reverse grip and stabbed one balloon popping it. "They pinch but this might take a while" I continued to pressed the point into each of them.

"Bloody hell that was annoying but I'm level 2 now, nearly level 3… and I'm talking to myself" I crouched down picking up rubber strands left behind from the balloons. "Maybe I can sell these" I began gathering the strands, accidentally dropping one on the knife. "Wha- huh? It disappeared… holy shit" I stared at the knife as the handle now had rubber attached to it for a better grip. "Wait a second I can improve the weapon by adding items to it? No… NO!" grabbing another bit of balloon remains I added it to the knife again. "The chain is being covered in rubber now does that also mean it's lightning resistant? Nice… what if" I grabbed a hand sized stone and placed it on the knife. "I knew it, I can upgrade this thing with items… but I literally have a stone on a chain now".

I shrugged spinning the chain around and threw the stone, shattering the bark of a tree. "Not bad, not bad at all" I reeled the chain in, grabbing the stone. "What if I add something else?" I plucked some grass and placed it on the gem but nothing happened. "Okay so I can't just take anything, good to know… now where are you, you little orange bastards" I spun the stone, holding the chain closely almost like a flail and charged into the field of the forest.