Chapter 103 - The Conference of Heroes (End)

I reject the sudden accusation in a loud voice.

Weapon Copy?

There was nothing written about this on the help screen. I’ve been in this world for four months. I have committed the contents of the help screen to heart.

From this person’s explanation, it seems he modified all of his weapons the second he got them.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Motoyasu: “Naofumi… You don’t even know that? I’m surprised you’ve survived until now.”

Damn. It’s pissing me off. This person’s eyes are pissing me off.

No wonder I was getting nothing but strange shields.

I never got any normal shields like, ‘Iron Shield’ or ‘Round Shield’ or ‘Buckler’. I did think it was strange.

Naofumi: “Did you find that function on your own?”

Motoyasu: “More like, isn’t it common sense to use the weapons from the weapon store? The weapons were weak at first so I obviously visited the store.”

Now that I think about it, I had previously decided to leave my shield as it was and had tried to equip a sword.

At that time, ‘System Warning. To the holder of the Legendary Weapon. You have tried to equip a weapon besides your Legendary Weapon’ had popped up.

At that time I had realized that I couldn’t equip any weapons.

Naofumi: “I received a system warning, but Weapon Copy never came up.”

Itsuki: “Ah”

Ren: “Oh course.”

My head was starting to hurt.

Of course, I am the shield, but the first thing any adventurer looks for should not be a shield.

I already had a basic shield so I looked for a one-handed sword or anything else I could use as a weapon.

Is that why I never notices.

Naofumi: “… To advance the conversation, Ren, why did you already know which monsters to hunt to advance your weapon.”

Ren: “How?… Isn’t it common sense to check the identity of your drops?”

Drop!?

Ah… In normal Net Games, monsters do drop items.

Items that had no relations to the actual parts of the monsters.

Ren: “The Store also sold some high quality items. They had plenty of ingredients. It really gave off the feeling that I was in another world.”

Motoyasu: “Yep”

Itsuki: “And there were a lot of useful items within the monster drops.”

It seems that a lot of useful information is coming out one after the other.

And it seems that it applies to all the weapons.

It feels like the time I first came to this world. The feeling is unpleasant.

Ren: “Preparing equipment was basic and then comes”

Itsuki: “Learning skills, correct?”

Naofumi: “… for argument’s sake, please explain in greater detail.”

It feels like these people are teaching it as if it is common sense. I’ll strengthen my heart, and inquire further.

Itsuki: “Once you acquire recipes and skills, if you feed them to your weapon, the system makes them for you. If you do it enough times, the weapon learns the skill by itself.”

The system does it by itself! What the Hell!

It seems that it will still boost effects if you make it by hand, but as long as you have the recipe, the weapon makes it by itself?

So the reason Motoyasu had Holy Water was because he made it himself?

And it seems the materials come from monster drops.

Ren: “The drawback is that the weapon can only store items made from drops.”

Itsuki: “It really lightens the load.”

It seems that the system has some shortcomings, but I lived without any of the benefits.

To think I would be getting so mush useful information. I motion for Shadow to take notes.

Itsuki: “Regarding hunting grounds, we’ll need to set some ground rules.”

Ren: “Right… We could divide by level, but the monsters will probably be the same across the islands.”

Motoyasu: “We need to make sure our hunting grounds don’t overlap.”

Itsuki: “Correct.”

Ren: “Well then is there anything else?”

I pound this information into my head as I listen quietly.

Itsuki: “Then I’ll tell you my special method of becoming stronger.”

Itsuki sticks his chest out and begins talking.

Itsuki: “In this world, the rarity of equipment is everything. After that is Money. If you don’t build these up from the beginning, there is no point.”

Ren: “What a blatant lie.”

Motoyasu: “To mix in a lie after starting off with true statements, you really are the worst.”

And all of a sudden, Ren Itsuki and Motoyasu are in disagreement.

In one sentence, the atmosphere had deteriorated.

Itsuki: “W-What are you going on about! This is definitely the truth!”

Ren: “No, It’s a lie.”

Motoyasu: “Yeah, you really are a liar.”

Itsuki: “N-no! I never lie.”

Itsuki’s behavior is clearly different from before.

It’s not the same behavior as when he was defending his lie. He currently seems to be genuinely angry.

Well, Itsuki has been being called a liar for the whole meeting. Getting mad is understandable.

I suddenly remember something.

Naofumi: “Now that I think about it, Itsuki, you seem to gather this gem quite often.”

I take out the gem that Rishia handed meand place it on the table.

Itsuki: “Y-yes, this is useful in strengthening weapons.”

Refining, huh. Well, it is a game-like system.

Itsuki: “It’s important to strengthen your weapons to their limits.”

Motoyasu: “I bet there are risks of failure. Please tell us all of the details truthfully.”

Motoyasu warns him.

Itsuki: “There is no failure!”

No failure? What does that mean?

I don’t get it.

Naofumi: “What are you talking about, there can’t be such a convenient gem.”

Itsuki: “For a while, you have been doing nothing but deny me. Ren, please explain it to him.”

Ren: “Me? Fine, I’ll tell the truth to Naofumi.”

Why am I being singled out… But it’s the truth that I want to know.

Ren: “In this world, level is everything. As long as you raise your skill level, things will work out.”

Itsuki: “Lies are not good.”

Motoyasu: “Yes, please stop lying with a straight face.”

So which is it!?

Ren: “Naofumi, it seems like you’ll get nothing useful out of these people, so I’ll specially tell you. To strengthen your weapons, you must increase your proficiency in them”

Naofumi: “Proficiency?”

Ren: “Yes, if you use the same weapon for a long amount of time, it will get stronger. And when a weapon becomes obsolete, you can convert that proficiency into energy and transfer it. Storing energy unleashes extreme powers. This is most important”

Motoyasu: “Why are you lying in the heat of the moment?”

Itsuki: “Don’t be bothered by these people. All that’s important is rarity. In normal games, low level rare items would lose out in late game, but the Legendary weapons are different.”

Just by listening to these people makes me want to try out different things.

However, everything they say is a mystery. I don’t know what to believe.

Motoyasu: “What a guy. He can say such lies with a cool face.”

Motoyasu derides Ren.

Itsuki: “Yes, you shouldn’t listen to him. He’s lying.”

Naofumi: “I really don’t know what’s going on. What should I do?”

Ren: “First open your weapon tree and check your weapon proficiency.”

As told, I open my weapon tree and look at the Chimera Viper Shield, a shield I use quite often.

I just see the normal status window.

What am I supposed to check?

… nothing is happening.

Naofumi: “There’s nothing, but…”

So it was a lie. It’s not like I believed him, but this guy is also a liar…

Weapon Copy also seems dubious.

Ren: “That can’t be! I know what you are doing, you’re making me out as a liar!”

Motoyasu: “I also don’t have that function.”

Itsuki: “Me neither. It wasn’t written on the Help Screen.”

Ren: “Wha… Never Mind! The me that tried to help you was an idiot.”

Ren makes a dejected face and sits back in his chair.

The usually cool Ren has taken quite a bit of damage.

I have to assume that everything they told me is a lie.

It wasn’t written in the Help, so…

Itsuki: “I was still in the middle of my conversation. To strengthen equipment, you take energy from items and then you can add percentage points to the equipment through enchantment.”

Naofumi: “Like +10% attack?”

Itsuki: “Yes, this process takes up a lot of time, but there is a 0% chance of failure.”

Ren: “That’s a lie. You’re giving Naofumi knowledge from a separate game.”

Itsuki: “And I’m saying it’s not a lie! By absorbing items dropped from monsters into our weapons, we can increase our stats. This applies to all forms of the legendary weapons. Like increasing the level of another job.”

Ah, so that’s why Itsuki was mentioning monsters and percents earlier.

To even lie to Firo, he is quite thorough.

Motoyasu: “Yes, Yes, they keep saying bullcrap, so let’s leave Ren and Itsuki aside and move onto me.”

Naofumi: “I don’t really want to hear it…”

It seems everything I have heard so far has been a lie.

Motoyasu: “To be blunt, this world is all about strengthening weapons! Using your equipment to their utmost level is exponentially more important than level. As long as you get status bonuses, you can overcome level gap. Even a terrible weapon can be strong if upgraded!”

Naofumi: “That’s a large lie!”

Motoyasu: “Let me continue Naofumi-san!”

Motoyasu starts talking to me out of nowhere.

Motoyasu: “It changes based on the weapon, but you can then use a special gem to enchant weapons. In the original Emerald Online, there was a chance of losing the weapon, but for the legendary weapons, that chance is zero.”

Itsuki: “There is no such system!”

Ren: “Yeah!”

This has turned into nothing but a shouting match. Shadow also seems to be troubled.

I’m just as troubled as Shadow.

Motoyasu: “It’s all about status enchantment. If you feed your weapon the souls of different monsters, the effect is different. If you fight the same enemy for a while, you get attack bonuses against that enemy.”

Itsuki: “Please stop it already.”

Ren: “Yeah, you are speaking of a different game.”

Ran and Itsuki shout at Motoyasu in loud voices

Motoyasu: “For the love of… Why must all of you speak such lies?”

Itsuki: “That would be you!”

Ren: “Hello Mr. Pot, can I introduce you to Mrs Kettle?”

Naofumi: “Um… I’m sorry to intrude, but…”

I’m beginning to see the connection.

It seems that Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu have seen different things.

Naofumi: “Could it just be that each weapon works on a different system?”

Itsuki: “… Yes, it seems that way. It’s the same for what happened with my skills.”

Ren: “That makes sense. But Itsuki, we haven’t confirmed whether or not you are lying”

Naofumi: “But that means that none of this information will help me…”

And the conversation was back on track.

Well these people got genuinely angry, so I guess they weren’t lying

They had nothing to gain by lying here anyways. This meeting was organized by the queen to help combat the wave, anyways.

Naofumi: “Well, last is me.”

Itsuki: “Yes, you haven’t said anything for a while, so now tell us everything.”

Motoyasu: “… I have take no responsibility in whether or not he lies or not.”

These people…

Naofumi: “First, what do you want to hear?”

Ren: “Why are Rafatalia and Firo so strong?”

Having these people understand my abilities may save my life one day.

So I just tell them the truth.

Naofumi: “Yes, that is the bonus from the Slave User and Monster User shield series. They speed up the growth of monsters and slaves. They pretty much increase stat gain, and the effects are quite potent. Firo also gets bonuses from the Filo Rial Shield series.”

Should I also tell them about the Ahoge Class up item?

Ren: “There was no such skills in the shield users of my game.”

Itsuki: “I agree. An ability that convenient comes close to Cheating. Where did you get such a shield.”

Cheating, huh. Well, I can’t argue with that.

Naofumi: “I got the Slave User Shield when I absorbed the ink used for making the Slave Seal. I got the Monster User Shield by absorbing the Egg Firo was born from.”

Ren: “Well if you can prove your absorption ability, we will believe you.”

Itsuki: “He may be lying.”

Naofumi: “Say what you will.”

Itsuki: “Then next. When fighting the pope… Your battle abilities were surprisingly high. I’ve never seen such an ominous Shield in my games.”

Itsuki is staring at me with doubting eyes.

How troublesome.

Itsuki: “Where did you get that power? No, let me rephrase that. Where did you meet god?”

Naofumi: “Wha?”

Itsuki: “Where did you meet God, and get the power to cheat? In the forums for my game, I have read about a User who was able to meet God and gain that ability. Answer me.”

You! Even if it’s a joke, you shouldn’t go that far.

… Since coming to this world, I have met much misfortune, but phrases that annoy me to this extent are rare to come across.

Naofumi: “I’m not cheating!”

Itsuki: “For the Shield to have that much attack power, you must be cheating.”

Ren and Motoyasu nod.

Itsuki: “Where did you get that power? If we were to obtain it, our powers would increase exponentially. Please tell us.”

He has already assumed that he is correct. I’m getting a bit angry.

Naofumi: “You don’t think I could have gotten power through honest effort?”

Itsuki: “Like hell.”

He believes that the shield will always remain weak.

It’s a legendary weapon. There’s no way it can be as weak as he believes.

I just earnestly raised my stats by unlocking new shields and made use of the powerful Curse Series, that takes a toll on my body every time I use it.

Yet this person is asking where I obtained the ability to cheat.

Naofumi: “That shield originated from a shield called The Shield of Rage, and evolved into a series called the Curse Series. The conditions under which it appears are… uncertain, but it manifests whenever my rage crosses a certain boundary. I got it when I first fought Motoyasu.”

At that time, I was swallowed by an uncontrollable rage.

I can’t imagine what would have happened if Rafatalia hadn’t been there to restrain me.

Naofumi: “Isn’t it written in the Help? That shield requires quite a high price. I wonder if you would be able to control it. By the way, all of my stats besides defense have been halved since I used that skill on the pope.”

Ren’s eyes look like they are going through the Help.

And as expected, he says…

Ren: “… There’s no such item in here.”

Nonono, It’s written in mine.

Well, only after I unlocked the Shield of Rage.

Naofumi: “Maybe it only appears after you have unlocked it.”

Ren: “Did your net games contain such potent cursed items?”

Motoyasu: “Nope, it also did not shields that need compensation to work.”

Itsuki: “If you’re going to lie, you need to make it more believable, Like Motoyasu and Ren”

Itsuki’s comment pushes Ren to the Limit. He stands up, points at Itsuki and says…

Ren: “You’re one to talk, you compulsive liar!”

Itsuki: “What? Aren’t you the one constantly putting up a cool fa?ade?”

Motoyasu: “Yeah, Yeah!”

Both Ren and Itsuki: “And you’re a Skirt-chasing Idiot! Do you plan to self destruct defending another woman?”

Motoyasu: “What you say?!”

Ren: “And Itsuki, his shield may absorb things, but you have your meat shield to do that for you.”

Itsuki: “They are absolutely necessary!”

Naofumi: “And you, Do you plan to act like this is a game, and play Hero? Death is the end! If death isn’t absolute, then why did you people pursue me when I had that death warrant?”

Itsuki: “I don’t believe it’s a game to that extent! I thought that only heroes could kill other heroes! That I would be able to kill you since you became a Demon Lord.”

Naofumi: “What a convenient brain you’ve got there. Are you sure you haven’t played too many games that your brain is rotten? You might have thought it was a game event, but what you were trying to do was simple Murder.”

Itsuki: “The you that came under suspicion is at fault. And I didn’t believe it was an event!”

Ren: “Right! It’s fine if you see this as an event, but you see us as nothing but villains.”

Itsuki: “Ren! Do you plan on saying more!? Do you plan on having it out with this hypocrite Itsuki more? Who do you think you are? This world’s savior? If god has sent you to punish me, then I want to go and kill that god.”

If this world had a god, I want to smack the hell out of hm. He dropped me into this living hell.

Don’t outsource for heroes!

Motoyasu: “What are you saying to the god who made this wonderful world?”

Itsuki: “I won’t offer my thanks to someone with such a dubious existence.”

From here to the end of the meeting, I don’t really remember.

What followed was a long stream of verbal abuse.

Shadow tried to get the meeting back under control, but it was already way past the point of no return.

The first one to get fed up and leave was Itsuki. Ren soon followed. Finally, Motoyasu drudged off.