The Samurai: Rising of The Shield Hero X Male Reader

The Book!

As he was walking back to his home to get his rest back, he stops when he looks over to his side and saw a manga store.

Reito: I can spare some time. I want to see if they have anything new.

He walks inside as the automatic doors open and he feels the cold breeze of the AC. The isles were filled with different mangas. On the other side of the store, there were collectibles, hats, shirts, and posters. He headed over to the side of the store that had "New selections." As he browses, he spots a book that stands out. It was hardback. Different than the other books.

"The Waves of Catastrophe"

Reito: A weird title.

Upon opening the book, he saw a picture of a spear, bow, sword, and shield. He began to read the description and what the weapons meant.

Reito: "The Four Cardinal Heroes. Each wields one of these weapons, to fight off The Wave of Catastrophe to save the country of Melromarc. With each passing wave, it gets stronger and stronger." Huh, not a bad start.

He turns the page and sees a silhouette of a princess.

Reito: She looks bitchy. 

He had no interest in that page, continuing.

"The Four Cardinal Heroes are the only ones strong enough to face off the waves. With these weapons, they are the only ones able to save Melromarc. The Shield Hero has a higher defense than others but is cast aside. As if he didn't belong. The Spear, Bow, and Sword Heroes are the ones that are praised by the people and the king."

Reito: That bad? Makes me wonder what the Shield Hero did to be hated like that. This book has a good start, but it has potential. 

"With the heroes having disagreements, they can barely fight off the waves. The Shield Hero, who contains the most defense and arsenal, is the only one among them who is capable of having a positive fighting chance. The people and soldiers are quite frustrated with what's been happening. The last wave destroyed a few villages. People fear that these heroes are no longer capable of saving their homes. However, there may be a chance of salvation. According to legend, there are only 4 heroes. Due to forbidden magic, a fifth hero was summoned. One with armor and weapons from a faraway land. Power capable of putting the heroes in their place and fighting off the waves."

Reito: Armor and weapons from a faraway land, huh? That's interesting.

He looks back at the weapons and the phrasing.

Reito: Armor and weapons from a faraway land. The weapons do look like weapons used by knights during the medical period. A faraway land. America? No, wasn't colonized then. Japan? That wouldn't be too far off. The timeline between the knights and samurai wasn't too far off. Imagine the fifth hero being something like a samurai. That'd be funny.

As it got interesting, he turned the page, only for his smile to vanish. The next page was blank. He scrolled through the entire book and saw every page where it talks about the fifth hero being empty.

Reito: You're kidding me, it's not finished? That's a shame. I wasn't getting interested-

He went to put the book back but stopped. The book suddenly began to glow. He didn't know what to do. When people walked passed him, they walked by, as if they didn't see the light. The pages soon started to flip on their own, and without warning, Reito was sucked into the book. The only thing that remained was his bag and shinai.

*Elsewhere In A Mysterious Wolrd*

Four people were gathered around a circle. From what Reito had read in the book, in times like this, mages with holy powers would be in this situation. But not these people. They were the opposite. These four were dressed in black robes, praying that someone would come to save them once more. Their attention was drawn to a magic circle, giving off a bright light, and a figure of a person could be seen, crouching over with their arm on their knee and head down. Their other hand planted on the ground with a fist.