30 – The American
The night passed by in a blur of activity. Tears, sobs, alcohol filling cups as the villagers consoled each other for the cruelty of the king and the various corrupt lords who were abusing their authority...
But eventually, the activity died down. Fatigue and sleepiness came for them all.
Even Lia and Sylvia.
We had moved back to the Village Chief's house to retire for the night. Unfortunately, I only got as far as the fireplace before Lia and Sylvia started nodding off.
The Village Chief himself was passed out in the middle of the village plaza, along with some of the other older generation.
I, of course, was wide awake.
How could I NOT be after all of that.
'...This is why I never went into law enforcement...'
Fragarach pulsed as it orbited me, responding to my emotions.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax.
Lia was sleeping with her head on my thighs, curled up against me on my left.
Sylvia had fallen asleep resting on my right side.
And it was only because of the two of them that I hadn't marched off right now.
Because blind righteous wrath was stupid.
No.
If you wanted to make a change in the world, you had to make it DECISIVE.
Just like what I had been researching before I got here.
So.
To that end...
===
[Otherworldly Vassal Hero Weapon - Kusarigama (broken)]
<The fragments of a Vassal Hero weapon from another world. Its power has been purged, leaving behind only raw divine materials.>
[Otherworldly Vassal Hero Weapon - Shamshir (broken)]
<The fragments of a Vassal Hero weapon from another world. Its power has been purged, leaving behind only raw divine materials.>
[Otherworldly Remains - Hero of the Kusarigama]
<The processed remains of the former Vassal Hero of the Kusarigama. Strangely appears to carry traces of life.>
[Otherworldly Remains - Hero of the Shamshir]
<The processed remains of the former Vassal Hero of the Shamshir. Strangely appears to carry traces of life.>
===
'...These are definitely enhancement materials, right?'
I stared at the items flashing in my inventory. Then I mulled it over a bit.
I had a vague sense that I could use these for that enhancement function to increase my level.
But I ALSO had a vague sense that wasn't a good idea.
Part of it was my gamer instincts.
If this was a game, then using these to strengthen myself would definitely shift my alignment to evil or chaos.
But the other part of it was my intuition as an avid reader of NovelFires and light novels.
And these were screaming 'cursed materials' to me. Red flags and death flags galore.
The moment that I made them part of who I was... I would probably be 'on the hook' for whatever was behind them.
And since the shamshir guy had shouted something about 'The Army of the Waves' before he died...
'Synthesis it is.'
...I opened the familiar menu and started analyzing the material properties in the IDE to use them for a weapon instead.
I clicked through their properties, assessed their makeup, debated about what I could use them for...
As I did, Fragarach continued orbiting around me.
And when I saw it, I had a thought.
'Hm. If Noble Phantasms were a thing, but translated here as Royal Illusions. Then...'
I opened up the Synthesis console and started typing.
===
> Synthesis has been activated.
> You have selected: [Otherworldly Vassal Hero Weapon - Kusarigama (broken)] and [Otherworldly Remains - Hero of the Kusarigama] as materials.
> Aligning to user's will...
> The trait 'immortality nullification' has been parsed from the materials.
> The trait 'manipulation of shadows' has been parsed from the materials.
> The trait 'absolute concept' has been parsed from the materials.
> The mythological weapon, Harpe, has been forged!
===
After the messages appeared and the window closed, I clenched my right hand and watched as oily blue shadows coalesced into the form of a scythe around it.
'Harpe, huh?'
It seemed like the system had somewhat a mind of its own. Or maybe autocompletion?
I had just wanted to make a generic immortality slaying scythe as a backup for Fragarach.
After all, it would be bad for people to learn that Fragarach nullified concepts.
Better for them to think it just cut through things easy.
But anyway, I was planning to make something generic with a single property, but...
I flicked my wrist out to the right and watched as midnight-blue shadows extended into a crescent blade. I pulled the shadows back and the blade slashed through the air before coiling back into my arm, dissolving into me.
'...Okay, the system definitely has autocomplete. I didn't add these features.'
Maybe it was kind of like a GenAI? That, or the world itself was chipping in to try and translate my intentions.
But it seemed like Harpe had kept the chain concept from the Kusarigama while molding to the rough vision I had.
'Well. This will be useful later, I guess.'
I wasn't sure if or when I would be killing immortals... but it would be useful when that time came.
...Not sure if it would work on a god, but I guess I'd need to check what type of god I was facing. If it was an outerversal being, I was fucked. But then again, those sorts wouldn't care about a small world like this anyway.
I was fairly sure we were only dealing with planetary sized threats. Although the waves were interdimensional, they weren't INTERGALACTIC.
Probably.
If they WERE, then I needed to triple down on <Solaris> to attack with the might of a thousands suns... literally.
But that was later.
This was now.
'Alright. In that case...'
I still had some materials left. So...
===
> Synthesis has been activated.
> You have selected: [Otherworldly Vassal Hero Weapon - Shamshir (broken)] and [Otherworldly Remains - Hero of the Shamshir] as materials.
> Aligning to user's will...
> The trait 'magical bombardment' has been parsed from the materials.
> The trait 'translocation' has been parsed from the materials.
> The trait 'crescent blade' has been parsed from the materials.
> Seeking an appropriate record...
> The mythological weapon of the Trickster God, Loki has been forged!
> You have obtained Laevatein.
===
I blinked as a small emerald knife appeared in my left hand.
'Laevatein?'
As if to answer my question, the Royal Illusions menu popped up.
===
Royal Illusions:
Fragarach, the Answering Sword of the Pale Blue Star: Not the Retaliator, but instead the Answerer.
<A blade that emerged in response to a man betrayed by a sacred oath, forged from material born of a world plagued by interdimensional warfare.
This sword cannot be wielded by another.
All attacks using this sword cannot be blocked.
The only means to avoid being wounded by this sword is to evade.
Attempts at parrying will fail.
When facing opponents from a different world as the user, nullifies conceptual armaments.
Outside of combat, transmutes into a shimmering blue orb reminiscent of Earth that orbits the owner.>
---
(New!) Harpe, the Refractor of Immortality from the Pale Blue Star: Not the Immortal Slaying Scythe, but the Edge of Time.
<A blade forged from the remnants of a man who hid from death and sought to cheat it. Time itself has come to enforce the end.
This blade cannot be wielded by another.
All attacks using this blade cannot be blocked.
When facing opponents from a different world as the user, prevents escape through means other than physical movement.
When not in use, this blade remains hidden within the user's shadow.
---
(New!) Laevatein, the blade of the Trickster God from the Pale Blue Star: Not the Sure-Striking Arrow, but the Wand of Cunning Deceptive Injuries
<A blade forged from the remnants of a man who continuously used tricks to fool and slay his foes. Now he was proven the fool.
This blade cannot be wielded by another.
All attacks using this blade cannot be perceived.
Allows usage of magic without penalty while held.
When facing opponents from a different world as the user, they will perceive all attacks as potentially fatal.
No matter where this blade is stored, it will appear in the user's hand during combat.>
===
'...So that's how it works, huh?'
I hummed and chucked the glowing green blade across the room. Then I flicked my left wrist as if slicing the air with a knife. The moment I did, Laevatein reappeared and carved the air before vanishing again.
"...Oh that's scary."
A blade that appeared only at the moment of attack, stealing the opponent's life.
Just like how Baldr was felled by Loki using Mistletoe...
Sylvia shifted against me and murmured, "Master...?"
I stored Laevatein in my inventory and then patted Sylvia's head. "Sleep, Sylvia. It's fine."
"Mmkay..." Sylvia murmured and leaned against me, drifting back off into slumber.
I stared at the description of the Royal Illusions again and frowned. Specifically, the epitaph of 'Pale Blue Star...'
Was it because I was from Earth? The 'real' Earth?
The fact that it distinguished that way... it was like it was deliberately saying these weapons were from my world. But...
'These don't exist on Earth, right?'
...Yeah, that had to be the case. Since the names also read 'Not the X' then it seemed to be an altered version.
Nothing but questions, huh?
Still...
I quietly stared into the flickering fireplace. Then I murmured, "Why am I here?"
It was odd.
Was it REALLY just chance?
This was definitely the Rising of the Shield Hero's world.
But at the same time, it wasn't the one I remembered... and might not even completely be the light novel or anime.
If that was true though...
Then what brought me here?
I didn't remember seeing anything strange. And I had been working before I arrived here.
...Hah. Thinking about it more wouldn't help when I lacked information.
Still, I was still awake. And there were still plenty of hours until daylight.
So I pulled open my status again to see if I could get any clues. This time, I read it carefully instead of just skimming it.
===
[Status Screen]
Alias: Naofumi Iwatani
<Not your name, but the one you wear like a mask.>
True Name: <Hidden>
<A name that you hold in your heart, hiding it from the world and all observers.>
Class: 剣士の英霊 - Heroic Spirit of the Swordsman
<Also known as Saber, your ideals and feats have been sublimated to a suitable container.>
Alignment: True Neutral
<You care not for good nor evil, but only your personal code. Power is simply in the eye of the beholder. Good and evil are the same coin at the end.>
Strength: D
<Superhuman, but not to the extent of being overwhelmingly powerful. Can carry a car with minimal effort.>
Endurance: D
<Superhuman, but not invincible. Can be struck with the force equivalent to a semi-truck without flinching.>
Agility: C
<Clearly superhuman. Can easily move at a speed just under supersonic.>
Magical Energy: N/A
<Due to the rigid laws of physics etched into the soul, mana cannot be stored.>
Luck: N/A
<Due to coming from a world where time and space are entwined as well as immutable, luck-based events do not occur.>
[Class Abilities]
Magic Resistance: EX
<Due to coming from a world with such rigid rules that magic is not allowed unless it is based upon physical axioms, normal magic does not work.>
Riding: D
<Possesses intuitive knowledge of how vehicles work, but expertise depends on personal knowledge.>
[Skills]
Ominous Aura: EX
<A warning of existence that has been unraveled due to a critical mistake by an entity on the level of a god. Those possessing this skill are natural enemies of the world that defy its rules. Level suppression is applied when facing a bearer of this skill. At this rank, those opposing the bearer of this skill have mobility and stat parameters reduced to half of the current value (stats may decay as battle persists, but never increase). Negates buffs.>
Parallel System: EX
<A composite rules engine that has been engraved upon the soul due to intimate understanding. Not a mystical or otherworldly boon, but the compilation of transcendent metaknowledge of systems derived from work performed in one's vocation. Allows the construction of various modules based upon the capacity of one's soul. Current capacity: 10,000>
Fragments of the Legendary Shield: A
<The remnants of the Legendary Shield's system have been sublimated by the Parallel System. Allows construction and usage of 'Shields' provided sufficient soul capacity, materials, and logic.>
Counterfeit Magic System Solaris: EX
<Not magic, but physics molded to replicate the concept of magic itself through extensive programming and axioms. Rather than mana, it operates by an initial mana cost to establish the framework before utilizing photons and photonic energy for its source of power.
Using the fact that consciousness itself is stored as a form of light, as well as leveraging the manipulation of energy that mana allows, a cascade of axioms are utilized to bootstrap the ability to transmute energy from the fundamental and universal premise that "energy is not created or destroyed, but simply transformed."
It is leveraging the fundamental laws of physics to recreate the fantasical nature of magic through sheer logic, rationale, ingenuity, and a replicated Von Neumann machine that can be utilized as both a normal and personalized computer as well as a system to transmute and manipulate energy to produce physical phenomenon.>
===
A few lines jumped out at me after I carefully parsed it all.
First: 'Your ideals and feats have been sublimated to a suitable container.'
That was used to describe my class as 'Heroic Spirit of the Swordsman.'
That was a critical clue, because it implied that I wasn't 'physically' here. Instead, my 'ideals and feats' had been sublimated to a 'suitable container.'
This was DEFINITELY my body. But it was also definitely my body at its prime. Tuned to fit the sword skills I could conceive, but not replicate in reality.
Hm...
It was ALSO strange that it had the original kanji and Japanese characters. That implied that the system felt it was important to have the original text as well since nuance could be lost...
A shame I couldn't read Japanese very well, otherwise I'd know what it meant.
Next: 'You care not for good nor evil, but only your personal code.'
It seemed to be an indication of 'True Neutral' alignment... but it wasn't. That was literal.
A casual observer would only read it like alignment flavor text... but it was definitely talking about my life.
I had been working on a project that, when unleashed and properly opensourced, would-
No. Let's not even think about it here. I didn't know who or what was listening.
But after that, the key phrases that stuck out to me...
That one.
'A warning of existence that has been unraveled due to a critical mistake by an entity on the level of a god. Those possessing this skill are natural enemies of the world that defy its rules.'
I read it again.
It was part of <Ominous Aura>, the skill that I had gained after seeing Sylvia and Lia treated poorly.
But...
"...Oh. So it WAS a mistake," I murmured.
They weren't looking for me. Whatever had tried to reach out for the hero summoning definitely did not mean to grab me.
No, considering the fact that the system and even everyone expected someone like 'Naofumi Iwatani'... And how the shield spirit kept suppressing me...
Yes. I saw it now. The chain of events.
While I wasn't sure how *I* was pulled here, it was clear they had been targeting Naofumi for the summon. And since I had stolen his name from the start, the Legendary Shield stuck to me.
And the shield spirit probably realized its mistake too late, which was why it was trying to force me back on track.
But as for the original Naofumi, the guy they WANTED to summon...
If I remembered right... that guy eventually got to the point where he got rid of the big bad goddess behind the waves.
...But this wasn't that world-
'Wait.'
...Unless it WAS.
It was a while ago.
But I remembered that time was splintered somewhat near the end.
There was a spin-off series involving Motoyasu doing some timeloops, if I remembered right.
And the NovelFire originally ended with Naofumi and Raphtalia heading back to his Earth...
Then was this that?
Did someone try to do a loop and summon that Naofumi back after reaching a dead end?
...No.
I shouldn't think like this.
Going in with preconceived notions was dangerous.
I didn't have savestates or do overs.
While these were things to flag, I shouldn't EXPECT these.
Still...
'...They really made a mistake, huh?'
Not just the King.
But whoever brought us all here. Brought ME here.
Because I didn't have to play by their rules.
I had a lot of capacity now. I had trump cards. I had Solaris.
So...
'...The best weapon is always surprise.'
I opened up my now familiar IDE.
Although I couldn't extend and tinker with my attributes anymore since I'd been removed from the status magic system that this world used, I still had the shield creation system I had been using.
And while the legendary shield itself was gone, I could still make shields of my own on top of Shattered Veil.
Hm... the cost was higher. It seemed that power creep and resource inflation was a thing no matter what system you used... but fine.
Let's update my loadout.
===
[Loadout]
Shields (4/4):
(New!) Homeostasis Shield Mk IV: A shield that emphasizes the user's health and maintaining a peak performance regardless of any external changes. Prevents lethal blows as long as you can still move. All negative effects are nullified. Regeneration fixed at 50% health per second (percentage healed spread over the second). 1000 capacity.
(New!) Potential Amplification Shield Mk III: A shield that focuses on improving the abilities of the user's allies. Latent growth is increased by twenty fold. Each stat increases by 10% of current max each level. 2000 capacity.
(New!) My Body as a Shield: Automatically redirects all attacks as well as negative effects upon those the user designates as allies to the user. No range restriction. 1000 capacity.
(New!) Detection Shield MK III: A shield specialized in detecting hostile and malicious intent as well as potential dangers. User can detect all falsehoods within sensory range. Focused intent, hostile or otherwise, is detected and pinpointed via a system message. 500 capacity.
(New!) Portal Shield Mk II: A shield that utilizes the bridge between the user and a target born from the relationship and memories that exist between them. Time cannot be fooled, but space can be folded. The user and his party may warp to the side of an allied force after targeting the allied force and declaring the activation word "Warp." The user can also warp allied forces to a targeted location by declaring the activation word "Transfer." 1000 capacity.
(Wiseup!) Shattered Veil: A shield born from the broken covenant, it represents a crack in what should have been inviolable. Through the void within its core, a glimpse of the Pale Blue Dot may be seen. And from the Pale Blue Dot, power springs forth. Absorbs divinity. Nullifies conceptual warfare targeted upon the user.
Spells (6/6):
(New!) Restoration III: Through parsing the record of existence within a target, reject all negative status effects and damage and restore the body to an optimal state. Mana can be infused to increase restoration speed. 250 capacity.
(New!) Lightning III: Coulomb's law as applied to combat. 100 capacity.
(New!) Radiant Emission I: Direct manipulation of photonic energy. 1000 capacity.
Oxidize: Forces an exothermic reaction upon a designated target to induce rapid oxidization. 25 capacity.
(New!) Condense: Strips loose molecules from a designated target, ripping them free into fluids and equivalent materials. Degree of control determined by expertise. 25 capacity.
(New!) Shape: Manipulate the internal molecular structure of a designated target. Degree of control determined by expertise. 50 capacity.
Capacity 6950/10000
---
Royal Illusions (3/3):
Fragarach, the Answering Sword of the Pale Blue Star: Not the Retaliator, but instead the Answerer.
<A blade that emerged in response to a man betrayed by a sacred oath, forged from material born of a world plagued by interdimensional warfare.
This sword cannot be wielded by another.
All attacks using this sword cannot be blocked.
The only means to avoid being wounded by this sword is to evade.
Attempts at parrying will fail.
When facing opponents from a different world as the user, nullifies conceptual armaments.
Outside of combat, transmutes into a shimmering blue orb reminiscent of Earth that orbits the owner.>
---
(New!) Harpe, the Refractor of Immortality from the Pale Blue Star: Not the Immortal Slaying Scythe, but the Edge of Time.
<A blade forged from the remnants of a man who hid from death and sought to cheat it. Time itself has come to enforce the end.
This blade cannot be wielded by another.
All attacks using this blade cannot be blocked.
When facing opponents from a different world as the user, prevents escape through means other than physical movement.
When not in use, this blade remains hidden within the user's shadow.
---
(New!) Laevatein, the blade of the Trickster God from the Pale Blue Star: Not the Sure-Striking Arrow, but the Wand of Cunning Deceptive Injuries
<A blade forged from the remnants of a man who continuously used tricks to fool and slay his foes. Now he was proven the fool.
This blade cannot be wielded by another.
All attacks using this blade cannot be perceived.
Allows usage of magic without penalty while held.
When facing opponents from a different world as the user, they will perceive all attacks as potentially fatal.
No matter where this blade is stored, it will appear in the user's hand during combat.>
===
"Tch. Of course."
I stared at the new limitation that suddenly popped up as I had just finished implementing the latest spell.
A loadout limitation...
The fact that it appeared meant 'something' was watching me. Either an entity or a force.
It definitely couldn't act directly.
But it had arbitrarily assigned a limit, forcing me to either work with what I had or replace what I had.
"Fine." I shifted my gaze towards the window, where I could see the starry sky. "...Whatever entity is constraining me like this. If you're doing it out of fear, you've made a terrible mistake. Because now I know for sure." I smiled. "...I can kill you."
It was a simple extrapolation.
If my powers wouldn't be able to harm whatever entity was observing me, then it would have left me alone.
But the fact that it had manipulated the world's rules itself to cap me like this and even attempted hacking into <Parallel System> via the remnants of the Legendary Shield system I had internalized...
Mm.
I had a feeling I could push past it if I dug deep enough with how <Parallel System> was being implemented.
Not only that, but I had a clear stack trace since whatever had done it didn't understand how <Parallel System> really worked.
Specifically, the fact that it was an OS being run on top of sandboxed hardware, i.e., my soul.
And because of that, I could see EXACTLY how it had changed things.
But for now, I let it be.
It was still early, after all.
And it was better this way.
'You just go on thinking that this is all I can do and that I didn't notice you. When the time comes...'
If there was a 'god' behind all of this...
"One nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." I let out a soft chuckle. "I don't know who you are... but you made a terrible mistake summoning an American to a shitty world like this, you know?"