Rise of the Sword and the Shield

Preparations for the Second Wave Part 1

Lyall the Werewolf: Originally on FanFiction.Net, I am now cross-posting Rise of the Sword and Shield on Wattpad.

So, without further ado, let's get started.

(I don't own Senran Kagura or Shield Hero)

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"Wait!"

It had been a week since the incident in the mine for Naofumi and Raphtalia.

During that time, Naofumi had been hard at work unlocking more shields than he could count. Their levels have increased significantly. Naofumi should be prouder, considering he had a lousy start, but his confidence would wane somewhat when a monster came out of nowhere and attacked him.

It resembled a porcupine, but it was bigger and more vicious. Its attack left one of its spines jagged in Naofumi's arm.

The spine didn't hurt too badly, thanks to his high defense, but it was a bit of pain to remove. As soon as he did, he absorbed the spine into his shield.

Meanwhile, Raphtalia was chasing the porcupine monster around with the intent to kill. She wasn't as hesitant about killing as she was before. It was thanks to this that her teamwork with her master improved greatly.

"Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia called out. Her voice had lost its stutter and sounded more mature.

Heeding his slave's call, Naofumi stood up and cast a skill from his shield.

"Shield Prison!"

The skill manifested and incased the porcupine in a metal sphere covered in chains.

Naofumi acquired this Equip Skill from absorbing a pipe, thus gaining the Pipe Shield. Thanks to the frequent use of this shield and its skill to trap monsters, the Shield Hero could use this skill any time he wanted. The same applied to other skills he obtained.

When the skill timed out, Raphtalia took the opportunity to slay the porcupine monster in one blow.

As triumphant as this moment was, it still reminded Naofumi that they needed better armor for what lay ahead.

"The Second Wave is almost here. It's about time we upgraded our equipment." Naofumi thought. Right now, Naofumi and Raphtalia are at levels 16 and 18 respectively. This meant they were as ready for the Second Wave as can be. Now they needed new equipment.

"Naofumi-sama, I did it!" Raphtalia cheered as she held up the dead porcupine monster.

"Good job, Raphtalia." Naofumi praised, "By the way, are you really Raphtalia?"

The more he looked, the more amazed he was at how Raphtalia had rapidly aged. By the end of the week, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She looked like she could be eighteen years old. Her childish features were gone, replaced by a mature beauty. Her pale skin looked much healthier compared to before. Her long hair was hung in curls reaching down her back. Her eyes were no longer dull like they first met. Instead, they were big and bright, like deep red tea. And thanks to all the training they were doing, she had a healthy physique too.

If there was one word to describe her now, it would be beautiful. It wasn't the same type of beautiful Myne had. Raphtalia was the innocent kind of beauty that was rarely found. Of course, Naofumi wouldn't say it out loud.

"Geez, Naofumi-sama! How many times are we going to go over this?!" Raphtalia whined. It seemed she still had some childish quirks.

"Sorry." Naofumi shrugged.