Rising Of The Shield Hero Web Novel ver

Brave Introduction

"Oh..."

I awoke to the sound of murmuring voices.
For some reason, a bunch of guys in robes were staring right at me.

"What the...?"

I shifted my attention toward this new voice, and realized I was surrounded by three guys who were apparently in the same situation as me. I tilted my head in confusion. What the hell was going on? Wasn't I just in a library?

No matter which direction I looked, massive stone walls loomed over me. Or maybe they were brick? I couldn't tell. At any rate, I'd definitely never been in a building like this before in my entire life. Beneath me was an altar, with a strange pattern drawn on it in glowing paint. It looked like a magic circle you'd see in an anime or something.

Wait, more importantly... when did I get a shield? It was strangely light, and almost felt like it was clinging to my arm. This was too weird. I tried to drop it, but no matter what I did it refused to come off.

"So, are you guys going to tell us where we are?"

The guy with the sword called out to one of the robed men. And in response...

"Oh, honorable Heroes! Please, save our world!"
"...Huh?"

We all replied in unison.

"What do you mean by that?"

This way this conversation was heading felt strangely familiar. Like something I might have read before in a web novel, maybe?

"You must have many questions, but time is short. You are the chosen Heroes, summoned here by an ancient ritual."
"Summoned...?"

Right. Okay. Obviously I couldn't wrap my head around that one, but I figured it was probably best to just go along with it and hear him out.

"Currently, this world is teetering on the edge of destruction. We pray of you, please, lend us your power!"

The robed man bowed.

"Man, so much talking."
"This sucks."
"Right?"
"Can we go now?"

The other three people summoned here with me spoke up, interrupting my efforts to smoothly progress the conversation. And not only that, to answer in such a way...
Listening to people when they were talking to you was just basic manners!
As if they could hear my silent rebuke, all three of them turned to face me.

...For some reason, they were smirking.

It almost seemed like they were enjoying themselves.
I mean, if this was actually real, and we had really been transported to another world... well, I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel like a dream come true. But that was all the more reason to pay attention, right?

"Don't you guys have any shame at all, suddenly dragging us here without our permission?"

The guy with the sword - he looked to be in his late teens - brandished his weapon.

"Even if you send us home when the job is done, that's basically just using us as slave labor, you know?"

The guy with the bow voiced his agreement with a glare.

"You get where we're coming from, right? Keep in mind that depending on your answer we might have to become your enemies."

I could sympathize with what they were saying. It was our right to confirm our situation, and whether or not we'd be rewarded for our efforts. Still, to raise their weapons like that... these guys had some serious balls. Somehow I was starting to feel outclassed.

"P-Please, at least have an audience with the king before you do anything rash. You can discuss the details of your compensation there."

One of the robed men opened a heavy-looking door and gestured us inside.