Chapter 5

After we finished with our dinner, we returned to our room. The idiot trio easily fell asleep.

I, on the other hand, had trouble sleeping. My fully charged stamina and mental energy made it hard for me to fall asleep quickly!

When I finally fell asleep, I had a prophetic dream that warned me about the threat of a gorgeous woman with red hair and green irises. I never saw such a beautiful woman despite being active on the internet.

Putting aside this woman's beauty, in this dream, I was framed of raping her, manhandled by knights, and scorned by everyone even the idiot trio. As everyone else scorned me, the girl mocked me when no one but me put their attention on her.

When I woke up, the dream stuck in my mind. I realized that the dream warned me of my incoming first trial.

After that, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to read the help interface carefully. Other than that, I also created more skills I deemed important for my survival as well as skills for the sake of convenience.

Time passed like that, and dawn finally came. I only slept for a short while last night, but I didn't look sleep deprived, and I didn't feel sleepy either.

After the sun rose, a maid knocked on our room, waking up the idiot trio. The maid told us that breakfast was ready, so we headed for the dining hall.

We returned to our room and waited for the King's summon after our breakfast. And soon, it was time to head for the throne room.

We arrived outside of the throne room. After the knights announced our arrival, the doors swung open to reveal a group of twelve strangers in armor or robes.

I saw the red-haired, green-eyed woman from my dream and knew who she was. When she sensed my gaze, she looked back, smiled at me, and waved her hand.

She was gorgeous, and this fact couldn't be denied. However, she didn't put my mind at ease.

Intuition - a skill I created last night - warned me about her. She was nothing but trouble!

Anyway, we all bowed to the king, reluctantly in my case. After that, we waited for his words.

"As we discussed yesterday, I have called for others to assist you in your journey. Apparently, my call did not go unheeded," said the king.

After lapsing into momentary silence, the king declared, "Now then, gathered adventurers, please choose the Legendary Hero with whom you will travel with."

The four of us lined up. The gathered adventures shuffled over in our direction, and formed little clumps before their intended partners.

Five people stood before Ren.

Four people stood before Motoyasu.

Three people stood before Itsuki.

And before me? As expected, zero.

"King!" I called out to the king while feigning my shock.

With my Persuasion skill, coupled with the Perfect Acting skill that I created last night, my shock seemed natural that not even someone with a sharp intuition could see through it.

The king looked troubled as he spoke, "I did not anticipate anything like this."

"He's not very popular, is he?" remarked the vassal who stood next to the king.

The king, for his part, seemed disinterested. The vassal whispered something to the king, and they seemed to laugh as if they heard something funny.

"What is it?" Motoyasu asked with a confused look.

"It seems that people are whispering around the castle. They are saying that among the four Heroes, the Shield Hero is unreliable because he can only defend," replied the king.

Motoyasu looked at me with pity. Even Ren and Itsuki had the same look.

Since I'd expected this outcome, I was ready. Even so, this was another discrimination against me that continued fueling my grudge for the king.

"So, what will happen? Do I have to recruit someone outside?" I asked.

Before the king could respond, the red-haired woman from my dream who'd joined Motoyasu raised her hand to volunteer. By the way, his party was filled with women!

"Sir, if it pleased you, I could serve with the Shield Hero," said the red-haired, green-eyed girl.

"Hm? Are you sure?" asked the king with genuine concern as he looked at the girl.

"Yes." The girl nodded firmly.

"Are there any others among you that would throw your lot in with the Shield Hero?" asked the king while eyeing the other volunteers behind the other heroes.

No one moved a muscle. The king sighed heavily.

"I suppose there is no way around it. Shield Hero, you'll have to recruit others to accompany you while you are traveling. Each month, I will supply all of you with the necessary funds for your journey, though in compensation for today's events, the Shield Hero's first fund will be higher than the others," said the king.

I nodded my head. After that, the king declared, "Now then, Heroes! Please accept the funds I have prepared."

Maids approached us and offered a pouch on a tray for us. We took one pouch each, though mine was definitely bigger and heavier than the idiot trio's.

"I have set aside 800 pieces of silver for Shield Hero and 600 pieces for the rest of you. Please take these funds and begin your journey," said the king.

"Yes sir!" We all answered in unison.

Each of us made our obligatory bow of gratitude, reluctantly in my case, before backing out of the audience chamber.

Once we were all out of the room, we split into four groups and kept our distance with each other.

"Um, so it's nice to meet you, Shield Hero. My name is Myne Sophia," she introduced herself, and I nodded my head.

"Alright, then, will you lead me to the church where the Hourglass of the Dragon Era is? I need to register my weapon for the Wave," I said.

For a split moment, she looked unnerved by my request, but she regained her mask. She smiled sweetly and nodded before leading me out of the castle.

There was a drawbridge strung between the castle and the town. Crossing it, I got my first real view of the town.

The cobblestone streets were lined with stone buildings, many of which were furnished with wooden signs. There were delicious smells wafting from many directions at once.

Myne led me to the Church. We headed for the clock tower that was visible from most of town, but the closer we got, the higher and higher it seemed to grow.

When we arrived, I saw a large building with a domed roof, and the clock tower extended from the top of the dome. The doors to the building were open, and people came and went as they pleased.

There were women dressed like nuns. At first, they had polite looks, but they started giving me dubious glances after seeing my shield.

"You would be the Shield Hero, correct?" asked one of the nuns who approached me.

"Yes. I am here to register my shield to the Hourglass," I answered, trying to seem not bothered by her barely concealed distaste and contempt.

"Well then, follow me." The nun nodded and led me and Myne deeper into the church.

Moments later, we arrived at our destination. There in the center was a giant hourglass with red sand trickling down.

It looked to be around seven meters tall, covered in detailed decorations that lent the whole thing a mystical feel. Overall, it looked like the one from the anime.

Myne and the nun stayed behind when I approached the Hourglass. I stopped before it and heard a high-pitched beep, after which a beam of light shot out from the gem of my shield to the center of the hourglass.

Then a small clock appeared in the corner of my field of vision. I had more than three weeks before the next wave.

Before I left, I stole fistful red sand with a skill that I created last night. The skill was:

[ Steal Mk. I: The user can steal physical objects that can be held in the hand. Range: 5 meter max. No cooldown. SP Consumption: varies. ]

I fed the sand to the gem in my shield. I unlocked my first shield form.

[ Red-Sand Dragon Hourglass Shield unlocked: requirements not met! ]

'I need to reach the required level to unlock this shield. Oh, well, I don't really need this shield's abilities. I'm just unlocking more shields for the sake of completing my Weapon Book,' I thought.

During that, I had covered myself in an illusion, so everyone - Myne, the nun, and the hidden presences watching me - only saw me staring dazedly at the Hourglass. They didn't know what I'd done.

By the way, the illusion was made using a skill that I created last night. The skill was:

[ Perfect Illusion: The user can create illusions that affect five senses. No cooldown. SP Consumption: varies. ]

When I was done, I dispelled the illusion. After that, I went to Myne and the nun.

"Are you done?" asked Myne with a sweet smile.

However, I wasn't fooled by her smile. Not only was my Danger Detection warning me but I also knew about her well enough to know that she was a problem.

"Yeah," I answered and nodded.

"Then, let's go to the weapon shop to equip ourselves with proper gear," she said, and I nodded.