So, I thought of something dumb. Try not to enjoy it.

*I edited this on 04/27/2020, at 3:30 PM MST, I wanted to change the story later on.

**I edited it again on 05/07/2020 around 12:00 to 1:00 MST, I deeded to proofread it.

Chapter 1: The Re-Summoning

My name is Naofumi Iwatani, and I am the Shield Hero. I was summoned from Japan to this world, in the kingdom of Melromarc. Unfortunately, that red headed bitch known as Malty S. Melromarc, framed me for raping her. And unfortunately, since she was apparently the first princess, she got away scot free.

I had to buy a slave in order to survive. And that slave, Raphtalia, was the only person who I could really 'trust', aside from the old man at the weapon shop. Though, that's mostly because the slave crest can and will kill her if she tries betraying me. At the moment, she's hunting that porcupine that got a needle in the arm for. When it ran back to me, stood up and pointed my shield arm at it.

"Shield Prison!" I shouted. The monster was surrounded by a cage of shields wrapped in chains, preventing it from escaping. The prison disappeared, and Raphtalia went in for the kill. I took it apart, and absorbed different parts. I already had a porcupine shield, so I was more excited about the needles.

Animal Needle Shield conditions unlocked.

Animal Needle Shield

abilities unlocked equip bonus: attack 1

equip effect: needle shield (small)

Finally, I could attack! Yes, it was only 1, but I unlocked a tree that had multiple shields with attack stats. I just needed to find some more shields that match then-

"Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia piped up, "is that a spell you learned?" I looked at where she was pointing. A complex magic circle surrounded me, and stretched out. I jumped away from Raphtalia, and used Shield Prison on them to keep her away. "Master Naofumi!?"

"You need to stay back!" I shouted. I didn't recognize the magic circle at all, but it looked sort of holy.

Suddenly, I was enveloped in a white light. I felt like I was floating. After a moment, I felt hard ground under my feet. The light slowly dispersed, and I realized that I was in a room. One made from marble. One that was ornately decorated. One full of men in robes, with their hands clasped together. I looked around me, and I saw several people in semi-familiar school uniforms, as well as someone who looked like a first grader. They were slow in getting up.

I looked at my shield. It wasn't one I've seen before, it looked like a small silver Kite Shield, but with a green gem in the center. I tried to change into my new Animal Needle Shield, but I got a notification.

Attention:

Level has been reset. Unable to access the chosen shield.

Please choose a weaker shield.

'Seriously!?' I thought. I checked my level, and it was back at one. I guess this Kite Shield is the equivalent of my Small Shield I started with in Melromarc. I'd need to level up a lot before I could get as strong as I was before. I looked back to the Kite Shield.

Oh? I noticed that all the students were following the robed men. Some of them looked at me curiously. I followed after them, the chain on my armor clinking in a rhythm.

After a short while, we arrived in a large, ornate room. At the front of the room was an old man dressed in priest robes, and lots of gold jewelry. Everyone took a seat, and I chose to sit between two girls. One had black hair that draped down to her upper back, and large, brown eyes. The other had a black ponytail, and red eyes. I set my shield on my shoulder, and the two at my sides eyed me curiously. One of them even stifled a giggle. I ignored it, and looked through my menu.

More specifically, I looked at what shields were available. All the Balloon shields were available at level 1. All the shields that helped with making potions and jewelry were a few levels too high to be available. I had my rope shield available, and some other shields, but all their abilities were locked again.

I figured that we'd have a lot of time, so I switched to the rope shield to unlock the skill again. No one noticed, as their attention was divided. The girl to my right, the ponytailed one, was staring curiously at the wine in front of her. The girl to my left was staring intensely at another student, who himself was staring at the maid who placed wine in front of him. When he turned to her, she smiled at him. I'd seen enough anime to know how this was going.

Everyone else was listening to the robed guy at the front, Ishtar or something like that. He began to explain this world. Apparently, this world has three races. The humans, same as usual, the Demi-humans, the same as the ones from before but technically weaker, and demons. The demons had darker skin, pointed ears, and much better usage of magic. Recently, they learned to control monsters, which were basically demonized animals that became stronger, so humanity started to lose. That's why we were summoned.

The god of humans, Ehit, summoned a whole class of heroes to save humanity. Well, a whole class of students who were supposed to be heroes. But I was already a hero, and I just got people I could trust! Now I have to save two worlds!? You gotta be kidding!

I looked down at the red wine the maid put in front of me. I was completely ignoring whatever god speech that Ishtar was giving. I took a sip, and it wasn't half bad. I've had better though.

Huh? My shield's reacting to the wine of all things? After a bit of hesitation, I poured the whole glass into the shield. Damn, it wasn't enough. Though, the ponytail girl hadn't touched her glass. She wasn't looking at it, and I doubt that she's gonna drink that anyways.

So I grabbed her glass, and poured the contents into the gem of my shield. I finally unlocked something, but I was too low level to use it. I needed to kill something, and level back up.

At some point, everyone was shouting. I still didn't pay any attention. Though, I did notice the look on Ishtar's face. It was full of contempt, something along the lines of 'These people have been chosen by Ehit themselves! Why do they not rejoice?' I looked around, and someone else noticed, too. The one that got the death glare from the girl on my left. He wasn't freaking out like everyone else, or at least not as much. He looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't tell.

After a minute of chaos, someone slammed the table with his fists, and got everyone's attention. "Guys, there's no point in complaining to Ishtar. He doesn't have any say in it anymore. And I at least… I want to stay and fight! These people have been given such a tragic fate, how can I just leave them? And besides, if we do save them, maybe we'll get sent back! Right Ishtar?"

"Indeed. Surely, Lord Ehit would fulfill your request, being his chosen heroes." The old priest replied.

"Also, we've gotten a lot stronger now, right? I've felt some new power since we got here!" He shouted again. Did they feel something new? I felt the same.

"Yes, it would be safe to assume that you all have the strength of anywhere from three to twelve men." He replied.

"Then that's that, I'll stay and fight! I'll save everyone, including all of you!" He put on a disgustingly dazzling smile at the end. God, he's annoying. Everyone stared at him, and their eyes filled with hope. A lot of the girls also had adoration in their eyes, too. He's probably worse than Motoyasu, when it comes to girls. Actually, with how he's acting, he's probably a combination of Itsuki's sense of justice, and Motoyasu's playboy-ness. Or maybe he's just some dense anime protagonist.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," said the guy left of him, "still, I'd feel bad if you ran off alone… which is why I'm going with you."

"Ryutaro…"

"I guess it's the only real choice we have. I wish we could actually choose what we wanted, but…" the girl right of me began, "I'll fight too."

"Shizuku…"

"I-If Shizuku-Chan's fighting, then I am too!" Called out to the girl left of me.

"Kaori…" Now, all four of them were standing. This riled up the rest of the class, since they were all shouting that they wanted to fight, too. The first grader was crying, since no one would hear her out. I decided to get away from all the shouting. Since everyone else summoned was a student, maybe she's just a teacher. I remember a friend of mine having a teacher like that.

"I don't think you can convince them." I said to her, "their heads have been filled with ideas of power and justice, fame and fortune. Seeing as how they're high-school students, they took to it like a moth to a flame." She looked at me with red eyes, probably from the crying.

"What about you? Why haven't you taken this so well? I mean, you're no older than my students." She replied.

"I'm actually twenty."

"What? But you look so young…" Was she seriously saying that to me?

"I feel like you should be the last person saying that." I shot back with a smirk.

"Hey!" She shouted in annoyance. "I'm four years older than you, I'll have you know!"

"Sure don't look like it." Talking with her reminded me of some people in anime.

She could only sigh at my antics. "Anyways, I'm Hatayama Aiko."

"Iwatani Naofumi." I replied calmly.

"You're… handling this surprisingly well. I didn't see you panic at all when Ishtar said we couldn't go home."

"Well, I wasn't paying any attention. And I'm used to this kind of stuff, anyways." She stared at me in shock.

"What? I mean, you do look used to those clothes..."

"Exactly. I've been wearing it for a while. Can't be a hero without looking the part, after all." I said sarcastically. I definitely looked more like a bandit than a hero.

"You were already a hero…?" She held her chin with her fingers. She looked like she was thinking hard. "Have… have you done this before?"

"Something like that."

Ishtar started to lead the students out of the room, to the entrance of the temple. Me and Aiko followed shortly. Every hallway, every room, every door, they all looked so ornate. It was a lot like Melromarc's castle. After a while of walking and talking with Aiko, we got to the front gate. We were on a mountain top, above the clouds. Everyone other than me and Ishtar looked on in wonder. Ishtar urged us onward, and we came close to a round pedestal surrounded by a white fence. It had a large white magic circle on it. The students huddled as close to the center as I could, but I looked over the fence. Only clouds, but between the gaps I saw houses.

Ishtar began a chant; "Faith is the key that opens the road to heaven— Celestial Path." The magic circle began to glow, reminding me of that spell that brought me here. The entire pedestal detached from the rest of the Temple, and glided down the mountain like a cable car.

Again, everyone other than me and Ishtar were amazed, though this time due to their first seeing of magic. I realized that this was supposed to symbolize 'god's children descending from heaven,' or something like that. It was certainly better than being seen as a criminal.

When we got to the royal palace, we were escorted to the throne room. Every hallway here was just like the hallways of the church, overly ostentatious. Along the way, we passed many maids, soldiers, servants, and other officials. They stared at us in wonder and awe, but I noticed something else. They all stared at me much longer than they stared at anyone else. Probably because of my vastly different outfit.

When we arrived at the throne room, we saw a pair of massive doors. Two guards loudly announced our presence to whoever was inside, probably the royalty.

When we walked through the door, most of the students were anxious. But not the four who stood up, and definitely not me. Definitely reminds me of Melromarc's throne room. In the throne was a middle aged man who radiated dignity. Next to him was a woman, likely the queen. Next to her were two children, both with blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy looked ten, and the girl looked 15. Ishtar offered the king his hand, and the king gently kissed it. It seems like the church holds more power than the king. That's definitely concerning.

Next, we got a lot of self introductions. The king was Eliheid S.B. Heiligh. His wife was Luluaria. The prince is Lundel, and the princess is Liliana. Many other nobles and military officials also introduced themselves. I noticed that the princes' eyes were on that girl, Kaori I think. And the princess' eyes were on me. I swear, if she was anything like that red headed bitch…

After introductions, we were treated to a feast. It was definitely good, judging from the reactions of the others, but I still couldn't taste much of it. For some reason, unless it has a really strong flavor, I can't taste it. I don't know why.

Prince Lundel spent the whole meal talking with that Kaori girl, causing many jealous gazes her way from the boys in her class. I guess she was like some class queen. Though, for some reason, she was strangely familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I feel like we've met. Every so often, the princess would ask me something. Stuff about my armor, shield, nothing major.

And every time she smiled, every person in the room got all cheery all of a sudden. And when she saw my lack of a reaction, her eyes would widen like she didn't believe it. It was starting to get annoying.

After that, we were introduced to our instructors and magicians, who would train us come tomorrow. Though, I didn't see anyone with a shield. Not even the knight captain.

Once dinner and introductions were complete, we were all sent to our individual rooms. Mine was pretty luxurious, with a large canopy bed to boot. But I didn't plan on getting much sleep that night.

I pulled tools from my bag, and got to work. After roughly an hour of making medicine, there was a knock at the door. I set down the one I was working on, and went up to answer the door. Surprisingly enough, it was that group of four. Kouki, Ryutaro, Shizuku, and Kaori, I think. In the back, there was another kid, the one that got that death glare from Kaori. He never said his name, but I knew it. I knew him.

"Hajime?" I asked curiously. He looked confused, but when he got a better look at me, his eyes widened.

"Naofumi!?" He shouted while running at me. "It's been too long, man!" We fist bumped, while the other four looked at us weirdly.

"Nagumo-kun? You know him?" Kaori asked.

"Yeah, Iwatani Naofumi. He worked at my favorite game store. You know, that one that got famous for that one story in the adult section of the store?" He replied.

"I remember that." I replied with a smirk. "So much blood."

"Wait, what?" Kouki shouted. "Why was there blood?" Ryutaro nodded, while the two girls flinched, their faces red.

"You might want to sit down for this." I told them, and I let them into my room. I sat back down and continued work on the medicine I was making. "So, it started like this…"

I used to work at the game store Hajime mentioned. I was a normal store clerk, but my experience in games made me one of the more effective workers, since I knew what was trending at the time and I'd been here often enough to know where everything is. I'd see him a lot, since his parents made some of the big titles out there. His dad was the president of a company that made a lot of games, and his mom made manga. Both of which would end up sold out, but Hajime would give me a copy before that happened.

This was another one of those days, where I would have to tell people that we were all out of the 'safe' versions of the game. We had some +18 versions in stock, but only because our boss ordered a few too many. I was idly talking with Hajime about some of the games, since many people were only browsing and didn't plan on buying anything. There were a few, and I took care of them. But after a while, we heard a commotion at the adult section of the store.

"W-wait, Kaori. You can't just go in there!"

"B-but, Shizuku-chan…"

I heard a few loud voices in the back, and Hajime stiffened.

"What's wrong, Haj?" I asked him.

"I think I know those two. But why are they here? More specifically, why are they in there?" He questioned. I stepped out from behind the counter, and we headed to the adult section. When we got there, we thought a murderer passed by. Several people had nose bleeds, several others were passed out, a few were helping those who were bleeding out, and in the center?

Two high-school girls who were beet red, and one of them was holding an +18 version of the game Hajime's dad made. Hajime chose to stay outside the adult section as a 17 year old, but would come in if I asked him to. He had my permission. I didn't really know how to act here.

The one with the ponytail started bowing and apologizing profusely, while trying to drag her friend out of the store. The other one nodded to herself, and walked up to me. "I-I'd like to buy this, pleash!" She said. I looked behind me, at the curtain.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you need to be at least 18 years old to buy this." I said. "Could I ask you to leave?"

"It's for my dad!" She shouted back. "It was a gift for him, and we were going to play it together…" her friend kept trying to drag her out of there.

"...Haj, are you sure you know them? I mean, they have your uniform, but…" I trailed off. Hajime reluctantly looked past the curtain, and saw his school's goddesses clearly in the adult section.

"Shirasaki-san… Yaegashi-san… why are you in here? It's +18 in here." Hajime asked. Kaori turned even more red, I swore that steam came out of her ears. She grabbed Shizuku and bolted out of there. She dropped the game, so I picked it up and put it back on it's shelf.

"So… that was a thing." I said. I looked upon the carnage they left in their wake. "Why did everyone get so many nosebleeds?"

"Well," one of the conscious gentlemen began, "when she and her friend came in here, she grabbed that game. And she told her friend that one character on the back looked like her." Hajime grabbed the game, and looked at the back. He reluctantly nodded. The one with her butt sticking out looked very similar to Shizuku, and the one on top of a man looked like Kaori.

"I swear, if my dad based the characters on my classmates…" Hajime sighed. "We can figure out what happened next. They described exactly what was on the cover, right?"

"Y-yes…" The gentleman quietly replied. I felt bad for whoever had to clean up this mess.

"In the end, I looked at the footage from the security cameras. In all honesty, I really think you should've kept those thoughts to yourselves." I said with a slight smirk. "I guess that's why you two looked so familiar."

The two goddesses of Hajime's school were completely red. "I'm still very, very sorry, Mr. Iwatani." Shizuku said, her head down. She hid her face with her ponytail.

"There's no need to worry, other than the havoc in the moment, there were no problems." Hajime said encouragingly. Kouki and Ryutaro didn't want to think. Kaori, the Kaori, the girl who was sweet and slightly airheaded, she tried to buy porn? "By the way Naofumi, where were you?" Hajime asked.

"What do you mean, Nagumo-kun?" Kaori asked, her embarrassment gone.

"Well, a few months ago, half a year now that I think of it, he randomly disappeared. His brother, his parents, his boss, even the police. They had no idea where he went. It's like he vanished without a trace. His brother Yuki, he asked me if I had any idea where he went. I didn't." Hajime stopped. "So, where did you go, Naofumi? What's with that armor, or that shield? Why do you know how to make whatever that is? And why do you look so angry?"

I felt my anger surge, and clenched my fists. I tried to call myself down. "I'd… rather not talk about it." I said quietly. Then I started thinking. Six months? It hasn't even been two. Is the flow of time in Melromarc slower than in Japan?

"What!?" Kouki shouted. "You disappeared from your friends, your family, your job, without a word. And when someone asks what happened, you don't want to talk about it!?"

"Kouki!" Shizuku shouted. "That's enough. It's his story to tell. If he doesn't want to, that's his choice."

"Then… can I ask you this at least?" My old friend asked reluctantly. I waited for him to continue. "Why did you leave so suddenly?"

I thought carefully on how to word this. If I gave them an inch, they'd ask for a mile. "It… It wasn't my choice." I said, "Has Yuki been doing well?"

"He's been having a hard time. He can't focus on his work, and when your parents told him to stop worrying about you, he lashed out at them." I felt even more angry. Not only did they cause me to suffer, not only did they try to take away what was precious to me, not only did they try to kill me... but, even though he wasn't there, they caused Yuki pain, too? When I get back there, I swear I will torture them until they cry, and beg for mercy!

Hajime noticed my expression change, and backed up a bit. I calmed myself down, and turned to the four he brought with him. "So, why'd your friends drop by?"

"Well, we wanted to properly introduce ourselves. Though I guess you already knew a bit about us." Shizuku said.

"I'm Amanogawa Kouki. While I don't agree with your sudden disappearance, I'm sure you had your reasons." Kouki spoke up. Damn, he really was a mix of Itsuki and Motoyasu. I wonder which one's Ren?

"Sakagami Ryutaro." Was all the second guy said. He had very prominent muscles, so he was probably a big sports fan. I recognized Yaegashi Shizuku, not only from the incident but also from her reputation. She was renowned as Japan's greatest swordswoman.

"I'm Yaegashi Shizuku. By the way, when you say Yuki, are you talking about Iwatani Yuki?" She asked. It was strange to hear her ask about my brother.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. Why?"

"What!?" Kouki shouted. "Your younger brother is the smartest person in Japan- no, the World!?" What!? What was he talking about? Sure, he got sent to a big school, but how does that make him the smartest person in the world?

"He's a child prodigy. For a while, he had a bad attitude. He dyed his hair and would cuss. But after a while, he got better. He got rid of the dye, and would act much more polite." Shizuku began. "He focused on his classes, and showed an unmatched IQ, over 200. With his help, Japan managed to lay the groundwork for a space colony."

"I've talked with him a few times, namely on talk shows and interviews. I think I had part of it saved on my phone." She pulled out her phone, and clicked through for a minute. "Ah, here it is."

She held her phone out, letting us see the interview.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you both! Miss Yaegashi, Mr. Iwatani." Shouted the interviewer.

"Likewise." Was all my brother replied. Shizuku nodded.

"So," the interviewer began, "I'm sure the crowd has been wondering, but what brings you to where you are now?"

Shizuku began first. "Well, I have a lot of things like that. My parents and dojo, which trained me like this. My best friend was also a pretty big part of it, too."

"I see. And you, Mr. Iwatani?"

"Well, a lot of my thanks goes to my brother." Yuki said.

"Ah, you have a brother? What's he like?" This time, it was Shizuku asking.

"I'll admit, he's not the most remarkable person. He's pretty laid back, and a master at relaxation. Growing up, he stayed in his room a lot. He's a big fan of movies, games, stuff like that." Yuki began. "Because my parents basically stopped trying to make him shoot high, they focused on me. And that built up stress. For three months, I'd dye my hair and cuss at everyone.

But then my brother stepped in. He showed me something called a simulation game. I was skeptical at first, but I went with it. It was a big help. I was able to vent my stress safely, and I could put more work in.

The games didn't only vent stress, either. They gave me a few new perspectives to look at, and I could think outside the box. That's how I came up with the idea for the colonies."

"Your brother seems like an interesting person. I'd like to meet him someday."

The video stopped. Shizuku looked up at me. "I guess I did eventually meet you, it's a shame it was so embarrassing." She said.

I sighed, and put a lid on the medicine I finished. I put it in my bag, and got to work on the next one. "You should know that I'm different from the Naofumi that Yuki mentioned. A lot has changed." I said calmly. "So, who's this?" I looked towards the other girl.

"Oh, I'm Shirasaki Kaori!" She shouted. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Iwatani." She looked at me nervously. Apparently, I was pretty intimidating. I'm told I have a 'resting bitch face'.

"Hajime's talked about you from time to time." I said. I recall him talking about her with a wry smile.

"Really?" She asked. "What does he say?"

"He says you're sweet, cute, and a bit airheaded. You try hard to be nice to him, even if it brings him trouble." I explained.

"Trouble?" she asked. Either she was ignoring the first two parts, or she hasn't realized yet.

"Well, he gets bullied a lot. From time to time, he'd stumble into the store with bruises, cuts, and the occasional broken bone. Hell, one time, he came in with a third degree burn on his side." I pulled up his shirt, showing the scar it left. He pushed me away, and tried to hide it. Key word being 'tried'.

"That's horrible!" Shizuku shouted. "Why was he burned?"

"Apparently, some of his classmates, 'Hiyama and his cronies' as he put it, found a metal pipe and tried branding him 'Otaku Trash'. Honestly, with classmates like that, who needs the Yakuza?" I said with closure.

I looked at their reactions. Amanogawa looked deep in thought, Ryutaro looked pissed, Shizuku looked shocked, and Kaori? Her eyes were being shadowed. That was never a good sign.

"Naofumi, why did you have to tell them? It's really nothing to worry about." Hajime asked me annoyed.

"..." I remained silent. It really was something to worry about. You get cut, burned, branded, broken, and it's nothing to worry about? Was he always like this?

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Iwatani. I think we should head back, we have a long day tomorrow." Shizuku said. I nodded, and the five walked out of my room.

I continued making potions for a while, then went to sleep. It'd been a long day, after all.

The next morning, training began. The knight captain, Meld Loggins, gave us all twelve by seven centimeter plates and explained what they did.

For a minute, I wondered why the knight captain himself was training us, but then I remembered that we were heroes. If they did something half assed, it'd show. And Meld didn't seem to mind, shouting about pushing his paperwork into his vice captain with a hearty laugh. He seemed a bit too cheery.

"Alright, did all of you get one? This is a status plate. Like the name implies, it shows your status, abilities, and gives them numerical values. They also make great ID cards. So don't lose 'em, got it?" Meld explained. It probably worked like my Status magic.

"As you can probably see, one side has a magic circle inscribed on it. Use the needles I gave you to prick your finger and drip some blood onto the circle. That will identify you as its owner. Then, just say Open Status, and you'll see your stats on the plate. I have no idea how it works, so don't ask. These are ancient artifacts from the age of the gods."

"Artifacts?" Kouki asked. I tuned out Meld, and looked at my plate. I pricked my finger, having been used to this by now. My status plate was glowing green, but a red spark would appear every so often. My stats looked something like this:

Name: Naofumi Iwatani

Age: 20

Male

Job: Shield Hero

Level: 1

Strength: 120

Vitality: 500

Defense: 1750

Agility: 300

Magic: 700

Magic Defense: 300

Skills: Legendary Shield, Weapon Restrictions, Weapon Copy (Shields), Crafting (Shield), Inventory, Recovery Magic Affinity, Support Magic Affinity, Status Magic, Exp Share, Language Comprehension [+Shield Translation]

My stats were higher than I thought they would be, but seeing as how I'm a hero from two worlds, assuming my natural abilities being increased both times, it made sense. But why was defense so damn high? And my magic and vitality, too? Was it the shield?

And what were with these skills? Weapon Copy? Crafting? An inventory? Did I get these when I came here, or did I always have them? I do remember seeing Ren with the same type of sword Raphtalia uses…

I looked over the others' plates. Hajime's glowed sky blue. Kouki was white. Ryutaro was dark green. Kaori had light purple, and Shizuku had a dark blue, probably Lapis Lazuli.

Apparently, this is the color of our mana. I guess I have green mana. So what was with that red spark?

Meld continued his explanation, and it summarized into this: Levels go up by raising your other stats. The level maximum was 100, and that is the limit of a human being. Stats increase naturally as you train, but you can also use magic imbued items to raise stats. Those with high magic stats level fastest.

Later, we get to choose items from the treasury. We were the heroes chosen to save the world, after all.

Apparently, killing a monster won't be enough to level up. I wonder if my shield will be affected by that…

The box labeled Job apparently refers to my natural affinity. Though, I didn't have much say in it. The job affects what skills I can learn, though the plate's 'skills' and my shield's 'skills' were very different. Jobs are divided into two groups, Combat and non-combat. Combat jobs were very rare, depending on the job itself. Non-combat, while still rare, were much more common.

According to Meld, the average person at level one has stats of ten, but since we're heroes, we should have much higher stats. I noticed Hajime sweat drop when Meld said how normal people start out.

Meld asked us to show him our stats so he best knows how to train us. Kouki went up first, and his stats were all 100. He had thirteen skills, twelve excluding the Language Comprehension skill we all have.

"Woah, you really are a Hero. You already have triple digit stats at level one, and so many skills! What a reliable hero!" Meld shouted.

"Well, you know how it is… Ahaha…" Kouki said nervously. Meld was at level 62, and he had stats in the 300 range. At level one, Kouki was a third of the way there. But I was above Meld's level, though not in strength. Could I actually attack now?

After that, everyone else went up. No one had stats as high as Kouki, other than me of course, but they were still stronger than most people. When it was Hajime's turn, Meld's expression dropped. He muttered to himself, and rapped his fingers on the plate. After a while, he gave it to Hajime with a conflicted expression.

"Well, a synergist is basically a blacksmith. It's useful if you plan on crafting or opening a workshop, but otherwise…" Meld trailed off. A blacksmith is definitely not a combat job. I was certain that most of the class would make fun of Hajime. And unfortunately, I was right.

"Oi, knock it off."

Hiyama turned to me, his smug grin plastered all over his face. Damn, he reminds me of Motoyasu. So damn annoying. "Oh? What's it to you?" He asked, causing the three closest to start laughing.

I clicked my tongue, and glared at him. Obviously, he flinched. They all did. "'Cause he's the only reason I'm willing to put up with your attitude. If he wasn't here, I'd personally shut your mouth." I said, silently reaching for one of the balloons hidden under my cape.

"Now now, calm down." Meld suddenly said. "There's no need for infighting. By the way, I never saw your stats, young man." I flinched when he called me that. I'm twenty.

I handed him my Status Plate, and I saw his eyes widen when he read what was on it. He repeated what he did for Hajime's plate.

"What, is he a weakling like Nagumo?" Hiyama asked.

"Quite the opposite. This is quite impressive, Sir Hero!" The class looked at me surprised. "I've never seen a stat this high! Well over 1,000! And this class? I've never heard of it! Just who are you?"

The rest of the class stared at me wide eyed, waiting for an answer. I sigh, cross my arms, and change my shield from the "Small Kite Shield" to my Orange Balloon Shield.

"My name is Naofumi Iwatani, and I'm the Shield Hero."

Alright, so I edited this to set the timeline back a bit. To be specific, it's a bit between when Naofumi and Raphtalia fight the two headed dog, and the second wave of calamity. (The one from episode 3 of the anime, AKA the one with the Chimera boss.)