The Rising of the Fisticuffs Hero

Chapter 1: The Fisticuffs hero (Part 1)

It was just another day for Cadverus. Get up, breakfast, go to school, get made fun of since his name was weird, come home and watch anime. His friend always seemed to know exactly what anime would make him the happiest on each day. They would join a voice call and watch it together, talking about it and laughing together. They were both shut-ins, but neither had picked up nor played video games, since they couldn't see the point. An imaginary world with a made-up plot with no real meaning to life. If there was a game like SAO, with real stakes, then maybe they would play, if only to enjoy what the characters from that series did, but even then it was unlikely. They did everything together, or as much as feasibly possible.

It was quite shocking then, when his friend had 'something else' to do. He still sent an anime to watch, a video game world styled one with the main character not actually holding a weapon. They had armour and a shield, but no sword or spear that he could see. When he read the title, he almost laughed. 'The Rising of the Shield Hero'? What a joke, shields weren't weapons. Unless your Captain America, then it's a weapon of mass butt-kicking. He booted up his computer, logged in, then went downstairs to grab a bite to eat.

His parents were away on business, almost never home. His older sister had looked after him for a while, but her plans for the future didn't involve babysitting her brother forever. So he was left alone, age 17, with greasy reddish-brown hair which hadn't been washed for months, blue-green eyes which had shopping bags hanging under them and a constant dead stare with no emotion behind it. He wore jeans and a grey t-shirt, his favourite green hoodie was hanging from the banister, but he was more interested in food than cleaning up his rogue clothing.

After taking a jelly pot out of the fridge, the one food he could consistently make good enough to eat, he headed back upstairs and sat back at the computer. He opened his email and found the link he had been sent. He double clicked it and it opened in his browser. He took out his spoon while it loaded and dug in, enjoying the rich fruity goodness on his tongue. Then, it finished loading, becoming a screen of golden light. It gradually got brighter, causing him to cover his eyes with his arm. Even then, it was blinding. Then, it slowly became dimmer.

Suddenly, voices were around him, he uncovered his eyes, scratching his cheek as he withdrew them from his face. I'm front of him was 9 people. Five wore medieval style robes with hoods. These ones were flabbergasted as they stared at him. The other four seemed surprised, but they were clearly different from the others in the room.

The one on the far left wore an unfamiliar school uniform with a red tie and a green blazer. He was carrying a bow with a pearl-like object on the handgrip. The teen with a blue tracksuit stood next to him, sword held firmly at his side. A similar pearl just above the cross guard.

The tallest of the four, a blonde with a red casual jacket held a spear at the ready. Just below the tip was the reoccurring pearl. Finally, the most confused of the bunch wore a similar style hoodie to his one on the banister. This guy had a shield with its pearl inlaid in the centre.

One of the robed men, who seemed to be the leader of the group, stepped forward.
"Who are you? How did you get in here? I'll call the guards, no individual is allowed in the churches inner chambers without our express permission!"
At his words I looked around. We were in a large decorated room. Very clearly not my bedroom, nor any room in my house.
"Where the hell am I? I was just at home when this bright light appeared..."
"Oy, priest person," the sword user spoke up, "It appears you accidentally summoned another hero. Look at his hands, he has gauntlets..." And so, the priest and myself looked at my hands. They were encased in a hard silver metal with a pearl inlaid on the back of each. One of the finger joints of the gloves had blood on the back, where I had cut into my own face. I stumbled back in surprise, then tried to tug one of them off.