Here it is, my fourth series, this time based off of the new hit anime, "Rising of the Shield Hero." Like all my other stories, this is going to be an adaptation of the story, but just from the view of my new OC. I will do my best to keep the story as close to the original as possible, but having a brand new character and possibly even a few more new characters, expect some times to have much larger changes. Things will start off in a similar fashion to the actual anime and manga but it will begin to differ quite quickly, maybe in the next few chapters. Now, with everything out of the way, here it is, The 5th Hero! Enjoy!

I was walking in a meadow, the sun bright and the wind blowing through my hair. I could see flowers for as far as the eye could see. And in the centre of it all stood a handful of figures. I could see several of them but I couldn't make out what they looked like. "Hello!?" I called out to them but they did not respond. Instead of calling again, I decided to walk straight for them. Most of the figures turned around and walked away but two remained in place, one large and one tall. As I got closer, their shapes began to unfold. The larger figure looked like a man with a lumberjack style ginger beared. He was carrying a large club with pipes coming out of it. It sort of had the shape of bagpipes. And the other figure was a large woman with long whiskers on her face. She also had stripes on her face and arms, making her look like a mix of a human and a tiger. She carried a large staff with a glowing gem on the end of it. "Who are you people?" I asked as they both shook their heads. The two of them then started to walk away just like the others, getting smaller and smaller as they went further into the distance. "Wait! Come back! Just who are you!?" I said as I ran after them. But as fast as I was, they seemed to still get away from me. "Hold on! Stop!" I said as I tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground. I fell on my face but I found the strength to get back up. But as I tried to stand, I could feel objects grasping onto my body and pulling me down. I looked down at my feet and I saw them sinking into the ground. "What's happening!?" I yelled as I tried to pull myself free. Nothing was working though and I soon sank deeper into the ground. I was now deep in the ground with only my arms, shoulders and head sticking out of the ground. "Somebody help!" I screamed as my head began to sink into the earth. I looked up and took my last few breaths before my whole head went underneath the ground. And after that... there was nothing but eternal darkness. 

I woke up shortly after, sitting up in my bed and gasping for air. I looked around and saw I was in my room, daylight seeping in and birds chirping outside. "A dream? It was just a dream...." I said to myself as I got out of my bed and slipped into my clothes. My name is Ayuma Saruwatari. I'm a second year college student with a slight video game problem. I guess you can say I get a little too into them. But, that hasn't stopped me from getting straight A's on assignments. I live in Nagasaki, Japan, and i'm currently taking residence in a rental home while I attend college. I had a part-time job as a cook at a local restaurant to help pay for rent. I kind of have a passion for cooking so I felt right at home whenever I started work. Between my job and all my college work, days would become pretty busy very quickly for me. However, I was always able to squeak in some time for my favourite video game, Monster Hunter World. I loved the high-action gameplay it delivered, as well as, the great crafting system for weapons and armor. Every time I would play it, I would imagine what it would be like to be in the world of Monster Hunter. Getting to slay vicious beasts and be known as a hero would just be so cool. But, as fun as it was, I had other things to worry about lately. Exams were coming up for my current semester of college and I needed to study for them. 

Today, I was headed to the local library to see if I could find some books that related to some of my course topics. I find outside sources provide better information for studying instead of the textbooks given in class. When I arrived, I saw one of my friends was here as well. She was also here to study. We often shared the same ideas so we got along quite well. I went over to say hi before I began to study. "Oh hey, girl!" She said rather loudly even though we were in a library. "Shh! You're in a library." I said as she quieted down. "Oh, sorry!" She whispered back which made me giggle. "Find anything with some good resources for our exams?" I asked but she just shook her head. "No, I only got here five minutes ago. I haven't had much time to look around." She explained to me. "Ok then, i'll go look around for some things on ancient history. Why don't you go look around for some books on biology." I recommended as my friend agreed with me. We separated and I found my way to the history section in the library. I reached for some of the books on the top shelf, seeing that they were thicker and had a better chance of giving more information. Plus, with books on the top shelf, the dustier they are, the better they will be. I had my hands on a book and I went to pull it out but I caused a small number of other books to come crashing down on me as I pulled. I got hit in the head by a couple books and one of them knocked the book I was looking for out of my hands. A lot of dust came down with the books and it made me sneeze a couple of times. When I came back to my senses, I began to clean up the mess I just made. I looked at all the books first before putting them away though, just in case any of them related to my course topics. "What's this one?" I thought as I picked up a small red and very dusty book. "The Five Cardinal Weapons" The book was titled. "Well, it's not related but it sounds interesting." I said to myself as I opened up the book and began to read it. "In order to save the world from the waves of apocalyptic catastrophe, five heroes will be summoned from another world. Each hero wields a distinctive weapon, a sword, a spear, a bow, a shield, and an axe." I read as I continued to read through this book. "Man, all this hero stuff sounds pretty cool, kind of like my character in Monster Hunter. If I were one of these heroes, I think i'd go for the shield. Defense is the best offense in my opinion." I thought to myself. 

I kept on reading through the book, going over the details of the spear, sword, axe, and bow heroes. But when I was about to get to the details on the shield hero, the pages turned up blank. "Hey, what's-" I began to question but for some reason, the pages in the book began to glow with a bright golden light. I became engulfed by the light and before I knew it, I was falling. "What the hell's going on!? Wasn't I just in the library!?" I questioned as I continued to fall. The same golden light surrounded me as I fell to wherever I was going. Eventually, I landed face first on some sort of glowing floor. I was now in a dark room with a blue glowing floor that had small beams of light rising into the air. "Fantastic! The summoning was a success!" A man's voice said as I looked around the room I was in. I saw there were some people standing in front of me and they were all wearing cloaks. "Summoning? What's this guy talking about?" I thought to myself as I went to stand up. "Oh brave heroes, won't you please save our world from pure evil?" Another man asked as I just grew confused. "What?" Several people including myself said. I turned my head around and saw four other people standing beside me. They were all men. One was a smaller boy and he had dark blonde hair and a green school uniform on. The next had black hair and he wore a blue sweatshirt. Next to him was a taller man with blonde hair in the style of a ponytail. He wore a red jacket with a white undershirt underneath. I stood in between him and the last person. He also had black hair but he wore a green sweatshirt. And besides these people strangely appearing all around me, I saw that the four men by my side were all carrying weapons. The boy in the school uniform had a bow, while the one in the blue sweatshirt had a sword. The man next to me with the red jacket was carrying a spear and the other one next to me with the green sweatshirt had a small shield attached to his right arm. "Wait... is this... what I think it is?" I thought to myself as I raised up both of my hands. And as I thought, I was carrying something in my left hand. It was a double ended battle axe with purple edged blades and a bright purple gem in the centre of it. "What the heck is this? Why do I have this axe?" I thought to myself. 

"What do you mean by this world is in need of saving?" The boy in the school uniform asked. "The story behind it all is long and complicated. But suffice it to say that you are the five cardinal heroes and you were summoned here using an ancient ritual." One of the cloaked men explained. "Cardinal heroes? So... is what I read in that book actually happening right now? Am I supposed to be one of these heroes of legend?" I thought to myself. :Our world is in a most fragile state and teeters on the edge of destruction. So we beg you, O brave heroes, please lend us your aid." The cloaked man said as him and the rest of the other cloaked men bowed in front of us. "I guess I could hear you out..." The boy in the green sweatshirt said but he was cut off. "Forget it." The boy in the blue sweatshirt said as I looked over to him. "I also refuse." The boy in the school uniform said. "You can send us back to our home world, right? Do that and maybe we'll talk." The boy in the red jacket explained as the one in the blue sweatshirt stepped forward and raised his sword. "You've brought the five of us here without our consent. Don't you even feel the least bit guilty about it?" He asked as the boy in the school uniform now stepped up. "Not to mention, if you throw us out as soon as we restore peace, we'd have done all that work for nothing." He said as I now stepped in. "I think what we're all trying to say is how willing are you to accommodate our requests? Depending on your answer, we might just end up as your enemies instead of your allies." I explained as the boy in the red jacket gave me a nod, seemingly agreeing with me. "Good sirs and ma'am, before I say any more, we'd like you to have an audience with the king of Melromarc. You can negotiate your rewards with him directly so please." The cloaked man insisted. "All right, fine." The boy in the blue sweatshirt said as he lowered his sword. "I suppose we should consider their offer." The boy in the school uniform said. "Sure, doesn't matter who we talk to, our demands won't change." The boy in the red jacket said as we all began to follow the cloaked men. "I guess it's the best option. Maybe this king can explain what's going on here." I said as the boy in the green sweatshirt agreed with me. "Yeah, i'd like to know what's going on too. This all feels so weird, just to be dropped into all this." He said as I gave him a nod. 

We closely followed the cloaked men up a spiral staircase for a few minutes. Eventually we came by a window and we could see what the outside world looked like. It was beautiful. Expertly crafted buildings, looking like they were from a medieval era surrounded us and gorgeous mountain ranges could be seen in the background. "This really is another world, huh?" The boy in the school uniform said as we all agreed with him. "Sure is. Even the air feels different. It's like how you'd expect to see it described in some kind of travel brochure." The boy in the green sweatshirt said as we all looked to him. "Does that mean you've never been outside of Japan before?" The boy in the uniform asked. "Judging by the breeze, i'd say this place has a fairly standard Mediterranean climate." The boy in the blue sweatshirt explained as I just rolled my eyes at him. He was acting as if he knew everything. "Yeah sure, that's what I meant. I just couldn't remember the word for it." The boy in the green sweatshirt said, trying not to sound stupid. We then continued on our way to the king, walking through a courtyard and finally into the throne room where the king waited for us. 

The king himself was an older man, wearing his crown along with a nice looking purple robe with white fur which complimented his gray hair. "So, you young men and woman are the five cardinal heroes of ancient legend. This is the land of Melromarc, and I am its king, Altcray Melromarc XXXII. Welcome, brave heroes. Please identify yourselves." The king requested. "Ren Amaki. I'm a high school student and i'm sixteen years old." The boy in the blue sweatshirt explained. "I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, college student, twenty one." The boy in the red jacket explained. "I guess i'll go next. Itsuki Kawasumi. Still in high school and i'm seventeen years old." The boy in the school uniform said. "My name is Ayuma  Saruwatari. I'm a second year college student and i'm twenty years old." I explained as only one of us was left. "Guess that leaves me-" The boy in the green sweatshirt began to say but he was cut off by the king for some reason. "Good, Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ayuma." The king said as the boy in the green sweatshirt tried to jump back in. "Uh, yo, king! Aren't you forgetting someone?" He asked. "Uh, oh, yes, forgive me." The king said. "Hey, you can't just say "yo king," you have to address him with a little respect." Itsuki whispered to the boy. "So what then? His majesty?" The boy asked. "That might be too formal." Motoyasu said. "Just king is fine." The king said. "Alright, whatever you prefer. I am Naofumi Iwatani, college student, twenty years old." The boy in the green sweatshirt explained as I looked at him. "So, he's just like me. Same age, same level of education too." I thought to myself. "Now then, I suppose I need to explain why we've brought you all here. My beloved country of Melromarc and the entire world surrounding it are heading down a path to certain ruin. There is an ancient prophecy that has been with this world since the down of time. Every few generations, the world suffers from a series of incursions of destructive force. We have come to call them the "Waves." If the calamities wrought by the waves are not stopped, this world will meet its end. In every country of this world, there lies what is known as a "Dragon Hourglass." These depict how much time remains between each wave. They are what we use to predict when the next wave will begin. The first wave washed over this land not long ago. We were able to fend off the forces of the wave somehow, but we soon found out that each wave is more difficult than the last. And if the Dragon Hourglass is correct, which it will be, the second wave will arrive in less than one month. We heavily underestimated the potency of the waves. Once we actually experienced the first one and barely survived, we realized that only the five cardinal heroes could counter them. So we followed the legend and summoned you five. But now, we have no time to lose." The king explained as everything became a little too much for me. My head felt like it wanted to explode from everything that was going on. "So all this is exactly like I read in that book I found in the library. Which means.... I was chosen from another world to be one of these heroes!" I thought as I looked at my axe in my left hand. 

"Ok, I think we get the gist of it. Anyway, i'm sure you didn't bring us here thinking we'd save you for free." Ren said. "Of course not. Once you repel all the waves, I can assure you we shall reward you most handsomely." The king's assistant explained. "Yeah? Well it would seem we have no choice but to take you at you word." Motoyasu said. "Long as you don't renege, we'll work with you, but don't think for a moment that you can tame us." Ren said. "Exactly. We won't put up with you looking down on us." Itsuki said. "Sounds like fun. I've always wanted the chance to be a real hero. And seeing as this might be my only chance, there's no way i'm refusing." I said as Naofumi looked at us all. "Right, what these guys said." He said as I just rolled my eyes at him. "If I can trust that we have reached an agreeable arrangement, i would ask you brave heroes to now check your statuses." The king asked which confused me. "Wait, what's a status?" Naofumi asked. "Um, yeah?" Itsuki asked as well. "Are you guys dense? It should've been the first thing you noticed when you got here." Ren said which ticked me off. "Would you stop acting like you know everything, already." I thought as Ren continued to speak. "Don't you see the icon in the lower right corner of your vision?" He said as I looked down and slightly to the right. I could see a tiny green circle with three small green dots inside of it. "Yeah, I see it now." I said. "Try focusing on it." Ren explained as I did as he said. I looked carefully at the icon and a screen opened up in front of me. On it was my name, hero class, what type of weapon I used, health, armor, stamina, etc. "I'm only level one? That's kind of disconcerting, isn't it?" I said. "Yeah, no kidding. Who can tell if we can even fight like this." Motoyasu said. "What is all this, exactly?" Naofumi asked. "It's called Status Magic, an ability exclusive to the heroes." The king's assistant explained. "So where do we go? What's the first step?" Ren asked. "You must set out on an adventure to develop and upgrade these legendary weapons you have been equipped with." The king's assistant explained as I just let out a sigh. 

"Can't we just use other weapons until these ones become usable?" Motoyasu asked as he twirled around his spear. "Suppose we'll have to figure that out as we go. Regardless, it looks like we've all got a lot of training ahead of us." Ren said as I agreed with him. "We'll have to level up pretty fast if we wanna be ready for these waves." I said. "Then once the five of us feel like we're ready, we can form a party and-" Naofumi began to say but he was cut off again. "One moment, brave heroes. I neglected to mention, you must each recruit allies and adventure separately." The king's assistant explained as I sighed again. "And why is that?" I asked. "It is said that by their very nature, the legendary weapons repel one another. If you try and work together, it will apparently hinder their development." The king's assistant explained. "Since the sun will be setting soon, rest here for the night and begin your quests tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll gather the best of the best to form your parties." The king said as a woman wearing a lovely dress stepped over to us. "We have quarters prepared for you all. Please, right this way." She said as we followed her. But, with everything that's happened today, I don't think i'd be able to rest at all. Me and the others were just sent here and now we're being told that we're some heroes of legend made to fight these destructive waves of darkness. It's all a little much if you ask me. But, it seems that we're stuck here for now so I guess I have no choice but to go along with all this. At least I actually get my chance to be a real hero, just like in Monster Hunter. Maybe i'll even get to slay a cool monster just like in the game. I just wish I had a different weapon. I'd rather have the shield that Naofumi has instead of this axe. I wonder if there's a way we can trade? Or if that doesn't work, maybe I can find a way around the whole "adventuring separately" thing. If I have this offensive weapon, then having Naofumi and his defensive weapon would be pretty nice. I guess i'll just have to find out tomorrow though, seeing as all of our journeys will officially begin. We were sent to this world to save it and that's exactly what the five of us are gonna do.