[Chapter=9] Hero Elixirs
On the fields, Naofumi slowed his sprint down to a jog when he realized that nobody was following him at all.
Slowing down to a full stop, the out-of-breath man bent over and gripped his knees, his beating heart calming down.
Seeing where he is right now, the man began to notice he wasn't far from the castle at all.
He was actually on the Western wall, with nothing except grass and a long tree he can hide behind.
A few Orange Balloons tried to come and bite his face, but he simply swatted and ignored them, using his new Spike Shield to have them hurt themselves as they continued to attack.
Looking around for what he can use, he was about to wander off farther away from the castle until he noticed a weird arrangement of rocks.
Looking at it oddly, he then remembered one of the hidden unspoken rules that stuck out in his mind.
If there's a mysterious sign, puzzle or a weird circle of rocks, then there is a reward waiting, assuming you know the incantation!
Arriving at the circular area of small rocks, the Shield Hero stepped just before the circle. Trying to remember what it was inside, the man scratched his head.
What was it that was underneath here...? Was it a treasure? A safehouse? He didn't know, but the incantation was something he still remembered from the bottom of his heart.
Pressing both of his hands on the circle itself, he began to say an incantation. "Latent truths and destructive lies, unbind thee by your keepers and reveal thyself unto thy world!" The circle glowed, revealing a magical sigil on it, before crumbling into dust, revealing a staircase.
Cautiously, he went down the steps, the exit covered back up with another layer of grass and rock.
'Heh… I still got it!' He cheered to himself inwardly, although it cost him a very huge chunk of his mana.
After all, if you know the incantation, then you know the spell, no matter what.
But if you weren't part of the same class or job as the spell's category (like a black magic spell cast by a priest, or a healing spell cast by a spellcaster), then it would cost a lot more mana.
In essence, he wasn't supposed to cast any of these spells, but he remembered these incantations by heart, and by God and any other deity out there, he wasn't going to let them go to waste!
As he walked down, he noticed that there was light coming from the bottom of the cavern.
"Ya know, I should do it here... It should be deep enough, that it becomes quiet on the surface." Naofumi noted, bringing out his trusty ironwood walking stick.
It may be a stick, but it ain't no weapon. It's at least something he can wield. Today was the only day when he could do it. Risky, but if he so desired the power from before to emerge once more, then he's got no choice but to do it now.
He knows that the Shield Hero's original moveset is, while robust, inconsistent and powerless. The rule was: he had no choice but to rely on others to kill for him.
So with this method, not only will he be able to defend himself, but he would be able to fight for others as well. Not just defend. He wasn't going to let a damn rule keep him out again.
Soon, he arrived at what seems to be not treasure or a safehouse, but a keep. More specifically, an underground sanctuary, with the cleanest waters coming out from a fountain and ornate decorations of a temple underneath.
A statue of a big white puffy winged filolial, which was a bipedal bird mount, was in the center of the fountain. It just stood out more, in contrast with the dark damp underground cavern aesthetic.
It was much more serene to even be in its presence, hearing the running water soothing one's insecurities. Kneeling on the fountain's edge, he took a small handful of its waters, and drank it.
"Incredible... and refreshing..." Naofumi smirked, feeling his mana restore back quickly. Looking around, the man explored the sanctuary, which only consisted of the fountain, and what seems to be a tribute box, with a plaque as the lid, in front of the fountain.
Going up to it and opening it up, the man saw what seemed to be five vials of a mysterious liquid. "These... these are..." Naofumi muttered, examining them, and then widening his eyes at the liquid's properties the HUD was talking about.
[Hero's Elixir of Life (DIVINE quality) ]
[Completely restores HP, MP and SP, triples Max HP, MP and SP, triples your stats, and powers up your attacks temporarily.]
The man nodded, impressed. "Who could have made these elixirs...?" Naofumi asked himself, before looking at the plaque and reading the lid.
[Dedicated to the fallen rebels of Melromarc during the World War against the Queen of Melromarc XXVIII, the Tyrantress.]
[May we never forget the rebels who sided with the Shield Hero.]
"World War... I remember now..." He frowned, offering his respects to the rebels, before closing the compartment.
Pulling out his stick as a weapon (The Shield doesn't know that it was a weapon... yet), the man sat down on the far ends of the sanctuary.
Readying the Hero's Elixir of Life, he popped open the cork, took a deep breath, and filled himself with resolve. "Here we go!" Placing the shield down, and grabbing his stick, he chugged one elixir… completely restoring and tripling his reserves of HP, MP, and SP, and exploded in temporary power!
'I know it's risky, but this is what I gotta do!' He then grabbed the stick with his free hand, and shouted his incantation. "SPIRITS WITHIN, HEAR MY CALL! SPIRITS WITHOUT, TASTE YOUR FALL! FOR THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE HEAVENS AND HELLS SHALL BE FORMED WITH THESE VERY HANDS! LIGHT FERRY!" The spell was a buffing spell, enabling the stick in Naofumi's hands to violently glow dangerously.
Lightning and holy light flowed inside the stick, empowering it to a violent degree. Soon, it was forming into what seems to be the shape of a sword: the same sword that felled those worms in the Desert Prison.
"NOW!" And then he struck.
Right at his shield, specifically, against the green orb lodged in there. The sanctuary shaken violently, as it felt like an earthquake.
Rocks fell from above, hitting some of the foundations of the temple, but that didn't stop him. The light kept repelling his blade, but he knew he was making a dent, and that was all he wanted.
[WARNING⚠]
[Attacking and destroying your own shield can result in your own Legendary Weapon and its perks being lost!]
Those warnings kept popping up, but that wasn't stopping Naofumi. Images of his past kept coming up as the force increases twofold, until…
Crack…!!