The next morning, after enjoying the breakfast prepared by the palace maids, Kiriko and the others were brought back to the palace.
The other four looked eager and ready for action. Apparently, being heroes in another world really suited their tastes.
They couldn't wait to begin their adventures.
Following behind the maid, Kiriko opened her status menu again. Just overnight, her level had already risen to Level 180.
She wasn't sure exactly how high-level the strongest individuals in this world were.
But if she used Final Fantasy XIV as a benchmark, even Ultimate Weapon, Bahamut, Alexander, Omega…
I'm not targeting anyone specifically, but compared to me, you're all trash.jpg
Last night, Kiriko had asked Naofumi and the others about their levels. Although they could see their own status menus, all four of them were still Level 1, unlike her own levels, which soared faster than a Kerbal Space Program rocket.
Well, since the King had arranged adventurers to join them, today she could finally leave town and fight some monsters.
Honestly, she wasn't all that interested in saving the world. This wasn't her homeland, and she felt no attachment to it.
But monster hunting and leveling…
It's free anyway, might as well give it a shot.
Entering the throne room, Kiriko noticed a difference from yesterday. On the second-floor gallery, many nobles had gathered. And in front of the throne, a line of strangely-dressed people already waited.
These must be the adventurers the King mentioned.
"These are the adventurers who wish to fight the Waves alongside the legendary Heroes," said the King, still using his haughty tone.
"Future heroes, step forward and join the Hero you wish to serve!"
The adventurers walked toward Kiriko and the others.
So it was up to the adventurers to choose?
That was unexpected. Kiriko had assumed the heroes themselves would choose, or that they'd be assigned randomly.
The adventurers recruited by the King approached the Heroes they'd selected.
In the end—unsurprisingly yet still awkwardly—not a single adventurer chose Kiriko.
Compared to the other four Cardinal Heroes, Kiriko lacked a Legendary Weapon, and she was also the suspicious fifth hero among the four…
Well, it made sense nobody trusted her.
Kiriko wasn't particularly upset about it. Her current level was already far beyond the other heroes' anyway.
And barring any surprises, it would just keep climbing.
With her current power, going solo wouldn't make much difference compared to partying up.
In fact, going solo meant she could mess around freely.
A sudden, incredulous voice came from beside her.
"How could this happen?!"
Kiriko looked over and noticed another unlucky guy who'd received no adventurers willing to follow him.
That unlucky guy was the Shield Hero—Naofumi Iwatani.
But compared to Kiriko, he was way worse off.
Kiriko was already insanely high-leveled—even just walking from the guestroom to the throne room, she'd gained two more levels.
She was already Level 182.
Naofumi, however, couldn't casually level up like Kiriko. His "weapon" was a shield. In terms of defense and protecting allies, he was undoubtedly top-tier, but for attacking, he'd naturally fall short.
At least compared to the other three, who were clearly DPS types.
Though she wasn't sure exactly how low his attack was, without a party, his leveling speed would definitely lag far behind the others.
"I never expected something like this would occur," the King said, not sounding surprised at all.
"The Shield Hero and the Zero Hero having no followers at all—how unfortunate," added a minister bluntly.
They didn't spell it out, but Kiriko figured "Zero Hero" referred to herself, as she was the only one among the Four Cardinal Heroes without a Legendary Weapon.
Motoyasu Kitamura, who had four adventurers following him, sighed loudly, clearly on purpose.
"Guess it's because he's stuck with a shield, huh?"
Naofumi jumped as if his tail had been stepped on.
"What's that supposed to mean, Motoyasu?"
Motoyasu scratched the back of his head.
"In the games I've played, tanks are usually the worst trash-tier classes."
Itsuki Kawasumi, who appeared the youngest among the transmigrators, mercilessly chimed in:
"Same in the games I played. Tanks might have decent defense early on, but at higher levels you don't tank—you dodge. Tanks are basically garbage."
Ren Amaki, who had the most followers, joined in as well:
"Besides, isn't a shield technically armor, not a weapon?"
Seeing Naofumi being utterly humiliated by these guys, Kiriko—who'd planned to stay neutral—couldn't stand it anymore.
"Hey. You guys must've only played garbage pay-to-win games, right?"
Only in P2W trash or cheat-ridden games could people spout nonsense like "tanks are useless."
Take her favorite Final Fantasy XIV, for example. No tank? Good luck running a dungeon—you'd be crushed instantly.
Even single-player games like Dark Souls—who'd dare say shields were trash? A skilled player with a tiny round shield could still parry bosses into existential crisis.
Or Monster Hunter. Charge Blade wasn't easy to use, sure, but in expert hands, bosses got beaten black-and-blue.
Calling tanks garbage was like saying assassins could only assassinate—laughably ignorant.
But just then, a female adventurer with long red hair from Motoyasu's group stepped forward, volunteering to join Naofumi.
Apart from this woman, nobody else moved.
The King finally sighed.
"Well then, Zero Hero and Shield Hero, you'll have to recruit your companions yourselves later. We always give aid money to Heroes—this time, you'll each receive a bit extra."
A few servants approached, each carrying a heavy pouch. The pouches were open enough to reveal shining silver coins.
Because they lacked followers, Kiriko and Naofumi each received 800 silver coins, while the other three got 600 each.
"Heroes, set forth on your journeys!"
After seeing off the Heroes who'd save the world and their companions, a minister quietly whispered to the King:
"Your Majesty, with the princess at the Shield's side, things should go smoothly. But how will we retrieve the aid money from 'Zero'?"
"Don't worry, Malty will handle it."
The King stared coldly towards the throne room's exit—the direction in which the heroes had gone.
"Shield and Zero…though you've done nothing to harm us, there's no other choice. Blame yourselves for not being Sword, Spear, or Bow—the Heroes our country worships."
...
The royal castle was separated from the outside town by drawbridges and gates.
After leaving the castle, Motoyasu and the other two immediately led their adventurers out of town.
But since Naofumi only had a shield, and Kiriko didn't even have that, they had to head to the town's weapon shop first before going monster hunting.
Just walking from the castle raised Kiriko's level even more. She was certain her bare-handed attacks already greatly surpassed the three proud Heroes who'd left earlier.
Still, most of the skills she'd acquired upon leveling were sword-related, so she'd have to get a sword to test them properly.
Luckily, the female adventurer who volunteered to join Naofumi knew a reliable weapon shop and offered to lead the way.
So Kiriko tagged along with them.
The shop Malty recommended was run by a weaponsmith who looked a bit like a Caucasian Erhard.
Due to "Language Comprehension," the shopkeeper spoke in a flawless, textbook-standard translated accent.
Listening to the shopkeeper and Malty's stiff, translation-style dialogue reminded Kiriko of The Witcher 3. During the quest where Geralt visited the dream-reader in Novigrad, if you switched to the Japanese dub, you'd have an experience wildly different from the English version.
If you listened without visuals, you'd swear you'd opened an A…
—A fun video.
Upon learning Kiriko and Naofumi were there to buy weapons, the shopkeeper brought out several longswords coated in anti-bloodstain finishes.
This "anti-bloodstain coating" prevented blood from sticking, keeping the blade sharp longer.
Ultimately, Kiriko spent 250 silver coins buying a magic iron longsword.
Though better weapons existed, the King's aid money only totaled 800 silver. Spending it all at once would be a bit reckless; it was better to save some for later.
After buying her weapon, Kiriko bid farewell to Naofumi and set off alone toward the wilderness.
…
Ah! This glorious sunlight! Ah! This sparkling water!
The pure, green, pollution-free beauty of this fantasy world was incomparable to any computer wallpaper.
Gazing at this breathtaking scenery and breathing in air fresher than anything in a city, Kiriko couldn't help herself from shouting that iconic phrase…
"Link Start!"