Shield Hero in Teyvat

"Eula! Behind you!"

Eula dodges an attack from a bigger-looking Hilichurl wielding an axe imbued with fire. Naofumi heard from her that it is called a Mitachurl. A blazing axe Mitachurl. She landed a heavy strike and another ice attack that was different from the ability she used yesterday.

Right now, it was the next day, early morning, as Naofumi and Eula were currently fighting another group of Hilitchurls; the number was double that of yesterday. It seems like a good way to gain more character points for both of them.

"I could say the same thing to you Naofumi! I'll remember this!"

Naofumi blocked a strike of the normal Hilichurl with a club as he launched it towards Eula who finished it off with a strike.

Character EXP +8 EXP

Character EXP +12 EXP

"Don't have to tell me twice. Watch out!"

Naofumi blocks a huge strike from the Mitachurl's axe. But it quickly proved to be a mistake as Naofumi couldn't fully block the impact of the axe as he was flung away. He quickly tried to get up, but the Mitachurl was already in front of him, preparing the final strike.

But before it could swing its axe, Eula was already behind it as she quickly slashed through its body, and it fell in two. Eula gasps for air before checking on Naofumi. But Naofumi was focusing on something else.

Character EXP +40 EXP

Character EXP +60 EXP

Level up!

Leaf Shield unlock!

Hilichurl Shield unlock!

Hilichurl Mask Shield unlock!

Hlitchurl Fur Shield unlock!

Hilichurl Meat Shield unlock!

Hilichurl Bone Shield unlock!

Mask Shield unlock!

Etc…

That Mitachurl gives him the character points needed for him to finally level up to level 2. And in an instant, he unlocked brand new shields for him to master. The reason why there were six Hilichurl-related shields, along with more shields, was because of an experiment he tried last night. He checks his shield storage and looks through the slimes.

He took the remains of the slime out and disassembled the wind skin and the slime that was inside of it. He put them back in his shield as it notified him of unlocking new shields but still needing the level requirement. It shocks him how many shields can be unlocked by a single creature.

He checks the other materials he absorbs to see if they can unlock new shields when disassembled, but so far, it has only been monster-related. Still, he was happy for a moment before noticing Eula's worried expression.

"I'm okay. Just didn't expect the axe of that Mitachurl to be that powerful. Then again it was powered up with…"

"Pyro?"

"That along with my weak stats."

"I'm sorry, Naofumi, I was the one who suggested that we should take on that group of Hilichurls with that Mitachurl. If we had stuck with the small fries then you wouldn't have been knocked away. I believe it's best if you remember this grudge."

"Eula, I said I am okay. But thanks to you and your suggestion I was able to level up. And I unlock new shield forms. If I absorb the remains right now then I wouldn't have to wait another few hours just to master a shield form. I can even get the stat bonuses for my defense."

Eula was still guilty for her suggestion but when she heard about getting stat bonuses quicker, she quickly went to gather up the remains of the Hilichurls. The reason was that he also found out how to master shield forms quickly. All it took was absorbing the same material in his shield; the more of the same type he absorbed, the quicker he could master them.

Once she did so with Naofumi's help, he let his shield absorb them. And just like that, all the new shields within the Hilichurl series were unlocked. As for the Slime series, unlike with the other shields, he had just unlocked the series and the slimes he killed were already inside of his shield.

So he had to find more slimes to reduce the amount of time they required to master. The loophole had its own loophole. Still, he quickly went through his new shields as he noted down five important ones so far.

Leaf Shield: equip bonus: gathering skill 1

Hilichurl Shield: equip bonus: Hilichurl monster damage reduced by 5%

Slime Shield: equip bonus: Slime monster damage reduced by 5%

Anemo Slime Shield: equip bonus: Anemo resistance (small)

Mask Shield: equip bonus: stealth skill 2

Equip effect: identity camouflage

Naofumi was surprised by what these new shields had given him. But he did want to try out the unmastered one as he had his shield changed to the Leaf Shield which surprised Eula a bit as he went to grab a berry from nearby. The moment it was picked the appearance of the berry looked more appealing to eat.

"Did that shield give you… Wait that berry, it looks…"

"Like its quality improved. Perhaps the gathering skill I acquire can make anything I pick up have its quality increase. I just need to absorb more leaves to make it permanent."

"Wow! What a special skill."

Naofumi nodded as he picked the other two berries, as both of their qualities increased.

"Okay, now that that's over. Do you think that guy found his way back to Mondstadt?"

"I believe so, Barbatos knows how many times that guy has gotten himself in trouble. And how far the city is from here."

There was another reason why they fought that group of Hilichurls. It turns out there was someone who was surrounded by them as Naofumi and Eula quickly came to his rescue. The moment he saw Naofumi he quickly pleaded for help, to save him. But the moment his eyes landed on Eula, his whole demeanor changed as he showed disgust at having someone from the Lawrence clan come by to save him.

Eula obviously didn't care what the man thought of her as she fought the Hilichurls, but she did swear vengeance for his behavior. Naofumi was stunned, just seeing the hatred the guy showed to Eula just because she was there.

As much as he wanted to defend her, he knew Eula would need help with that many Hilichurls. Even if she was strong she was still one person fighting. And if Naofumi isn't helping, then what is the point of being the Shield Hero?

"His name is even Reckless Pallad; whenever he is out of the city, he'll always run into Hilichurls, or slimes, and he'll always expect someone to save him."

"Really? That would explain the fact that he was just on the ground acting like a coward. Not even doing anything like running away or fighting back.

Heck, there were only four Hilichurls that surrounded him before the rest came. He could have easily escaped from them. But no, he acted like it was the end for him."

Both Naofumi and Eula share a laugh as they continue on to their original route. To Mondstadt City. Eula knew Naofumi would need an ID, a place to rest, as well as finding a job to earn Mora.

And perhaps when both are nearly there, there could be a chance to meet up with her friend Amber, as she can help her as well.

"Naofumi, I meant to ask you yesterday but it was late. How did you arrive here in Teyvat?"

"Oh! Well, it was nothing too interesting. All I did was head to the library, open up an old book that didn't seem like it belonged to that library, open it up, and read through it until I got to a blank page. Suddenly, a bright light erupted from the book, and before I knew it, I was here with this shield."

"Wait, really? All you did was open a book and then end up in the mountains?"

"Yes. Just thinking back does sound strange and a bit uneventful. Honestly, if I had been summoned by something else, then there would have been a magic circle below me."

Eula was perplexed, to think he even arrived here, all because of a book. Then again, the summaries of the light novels she heard from those merchants do seem plausible for Naofumi to be summoned by a book.

"Strange way of coming to Mondstadt. Well, as I said, I haven't heard of the Shield Hero, but perhaps the other knights know of something. Perhaps there was a history of the legendary shield in the ancient past."

"Maybe. But there was another reason why I was summoned. To fight a world-ending calamity called the waves. Not sure what that even is but perhaps there is something that is threatening the world."

"Well, there is something not exactly like that, but it is a problem for the world. It is the Abyss Order, a legion that commands the Hilichurls we fought but not every type. They cause trouble for humanity and other civilizations. They have been like that for as long as I can remember.

There are higher beings called the Abyss Mages, who are more powerful beings who use different elements to create a shield. It is a major pain to get rid of it if you don't have the right element to weaken it. I think we're glad they didn't have Geo, Dendro, or Anemo Abyss Mages.

As for a calamity, I think it has something to do with the real Abyss, because it is something scholars are still trying to figure out where it came from. It was rumored that the Abyss Order came from the Abyss. I haven't learned more about it is mysterious itself."

Naofumi slowly nods off the information, so there are enemies that can control the Hilichurls. But he didn't see any Abyss Mages, or see anything that wasn't a Hilichurl. Eula would have already seen or felt something was off about the number of them. Was this the reason he was summoned to Teyvat, to eradicate the Abyss?

"Oh! Speaking of causing trouble, you should also be aware of an organization called Fatui?"

"Fatui? Doesn't that mean 'fool'?"

Eula opened her mouth only to be stunned by what she just heard, she then let out a "cough," which was obviously her trying to hide her laugh.

"I-It does? I d-didn't think it meant f-fool!"

"Uh, Eula?"

She coughed again as she became serious again.

"The Fatui are a group of people with power, influence, and numbers. They were formed in Snezhnaya, the home of the Cryo Archon the Tsaritsa, the Goddess of Love. Their technology and the Cryo Archon's power are what make their nation so powerful. It also helps that they have powerful figures who are known as the Eleven Fatui Harbingers."

"I'm guessing that this organization isn't truly meant to be trusted."

"No, not at all. Cause trouble to anyone, say if they are in debt, ambush anyone, manipulate and betray those who are swayed by them. They cause mistrust within the nations, other than their nation, they even try to take advantage of the situation if it benefits them. Like how an incident two years ago, before I joined the knights, the Second Fatui Harbinger, the Doctor saved Mondstadt by defeating Ursa the Drake."

"Ursa the Drake?"

"A demonic creature that plagued Mondstadt for thousands of years until the Doctor vanquished it. This caused Mondstadt to be indebted to the Snezhnaya, or to put it simply the Fatui. It caused quite the distrust as some believed it was staged but had no proof of any foul play. It also didn't help that there was a traitor in the knights who was discovered before the Doctor saved Mondstadt."

The last part shocked Naofumi to hear that a traitor had been found.

"A traitor in the Knights of Favonius? Was he a Fatui member?"

Eula shook her head.

"If he was a Fatui member when his abuse of the authority of Inspector was discovered then it would be possible for everyone to believe the last damage caused by Ursa the Drake was done by the Fatui. But no, he was a traitor to the knights and Mondstadt, Varka severely punished him and removed his supporters."

"Wow, so the Grandmaster ensured that the traitor wouldn't be scoff-free?"

"Yep, along with the Master of the Knights, Jean Gunnhildr."

"Jean Gunnhildr?"

Naofumi was puzzled by a name he hadn't heard before. But the look on Eula's face showed something.

"She is the Dandelion Knight, a title that belongs to the first Grand Master Vennessa. She is also one of the knights who didn't want to remove me when I first joined. And that her family and mine are sworn enemies. But she and her sister weren't like her parents, she gave me opportunities when I first started, and didn't care about my background. I swear when the time of my vengeance on her arrives, it will be a soft landing."

"Sounds like a nice knight like you."

This causes Eula to blush as she turns away.

"Hmph! Saying such words, vengeance will be mine, Naofumi!"

Naofumi once again smiles at her tsundere behavior, but he knows it will eventually get boring someday if she continues to do this.

It would take an hour for the two to finally get down the mountains to the area where Naofumi is informed that it is Starfell Lake. Naofumi was amazed by the sight of the whole area. The sight of the lake in the center was wonderful to see with a small island that has a statue of a figure.

He quickly assumes that the figure of the statue was Barbatos the Anemo Archon, the God of Freedom. But he was curious about the statue.

"Eula, isn't that the Statue of the Seven, you told me about? "

"Hm? Yes, it is. This is one of the few statues you can find around Mondstadt. It was said that if you pray to the Statue of the Seven the Archon, more specifically to Barbatos, then he will guide you in the right direction with wind."

"Huh, could I see the statue up close? If you don't mind."

Eula didn't mind at all; in fact, she had been meaning to check on the Statue of the Seven for a while now. She had noticed something was off about it as she felt it wasn't like how people spoke about it. So she didn't mind a detour.

So the two of them made their way to the island while Naofumi was picking up any material he could find. Mushrooms, apples, and different kinds of flowers. Anything he thinks he hasn't put in his shield yet. It went on until they stopped in front of the water.

Eula walked forward as if she didn't mind the cold or how the water would affect her with her stockings and boots. Naofumi, however, was worried about how the water would drench his pants and shoes. But seeing Eula just didn't care about it, or perhaps had done this many times just to avoid finding an alternate route.

He just sighs as he walks through the water. It felt freezing on his feet and he could feel part of his pants soaking. But he pushed through, and he quickly caught up to Eula, who was already waiting for him on the island. Once he reaches the island, he wonders how long it will take for the sun to dry the wetness.

He shrugs it off while trying to ignore the coldness in his feet. He saw the statue up close now, and it was better than seeing it in the distance.

A stone statue with a gold plate at the bottom. It does look like it hadn't been used much as there are some cracks and missing parts. But that didn't mean the glowing parts of the statue faded; in fact, the glow was red.

"This is strange. Did the statue get infected by something?"

"Infected?"

"The red glows, it wasn't red before, it was bright blue. I wonder if it had anything to do with those strange devices that are also scattered around Teyvat."

"Strange… Devices."

Naofumi thought for a moment, then recalled seeing a strange device near where he first woke up in the mountains. At first, he thought nothing of it as it didn't look activated or do anything, but it was giving a faint red glow. Perhaps it was something similar to the statue because of the glow, Naofumi thought that he should have checked on that device when he had the chance.

"So, what's going to happen now that the statue is like this?"

"The best I can do is to report to the knights once we get back to Mondstadt, and get a specialist to check on the statue to see what is wrong."

"Hmm…"

Naofumi walked a bit closer to the statue. He had a strange feeling about the statue, and he even noticed that his shield was faintly reacting to the statue. Eula was wondering what Naofumi was doing, so she just watched as she saw him slowly raising his arm, putting his hand on the gold plate.

At first, nothing happened… Until… The red glow began to change to blue as the statue began to shine.

"The world opens itself before those with noble hearts."

The words echo through Naofumi's mind, but before he could say anything his status menu suddenly popped up. More importantly, the map menu, a map that had once been fully blank, was now showing a small part of Teyvat. All the way from Starfell Valley to Mondstadt City!

Map Shield forcibly unlocked!

Naofumi was in disbelief, but before he could even say anything, the gold part of the statue began to flow along with the statue. He immediately removed his hand from the statue as a burst of wind emitted from the statue itself as a turquoise orb with a symbol of Anemo. It floated for a moment before making it to Naofumi.

The orb then went inside of him as a faint wind emitted from him, Naofumi felt that the wind was reacting to him. It felt nice and warm. Before either he or Eula said something, the shield began to react violently.

Naofumi never felt his shield react this much before as the shield began to glow in turquoise. Then the glow died out, revealing a brand new-looking shield. A gem circle-looking shield with the Anemo symbol.

Warning! Mysterious power overwrites the legendary shield! Bypassing restrictions! The system is currently being updated to the current world! 10%... 20%... 50%... 90%... Update complete!

You can now wield other weapons without causing a violation! But it will affect your experience boost and stat increase should you decide to wield weapons other than the legendary shield.

Strengthening methods blocked by mysterious forces have now been lifted.

You have gained the blessing of Anemo and can now use the Anemo element!

Elemental Energy Shield forcibly unlocked!

Wind Shield forcibly unlocked

Anemo Shield forcibly unlocked!

Teleport Shield forcibly unlocked!

Elemental Energy Shield: equip bonus: energy gathering (medium)

Wind Shield: equip bonus: skill: "Gust Shield"

Equip effect: wind magic up (small)

Anemo Shield: abilities unlocked: equip bonus: Anemo damage up (large)

Equip effect: Anemo user damage increase (medium)

Teleport Shield: equip bonus: skill: "Portal Shield"

Naofumi felt like his eyes were about to pop out when he saw everything his shield had said to him. So there was a reason why he couldn't wield other weapons, but if that was the case, then why shock him if he didn't know why?

Maybe whatever had affected his shield also affected the information to be hidden, like the strengthening methods that now appear in his help menu. But what truly matters is that he can now wield Anemo. Was this a perk of being from another world? Naofumi had no idea.

"Naofumi! What… What just happened!? The statue's glow is now blue again! And what was with that energy orb!? Why did it change your shield to…"

Eula snapped out of her trance of what she just witnessed, and she noticed the shield form looked exactly like an Anemo Vision of Mondstadt.

"Ehehe… The statue opened the map up for me as well as gave me the ability to use the Anemo element. So in a way, I guess Barbatos blessed me."

Naofumi explained in the simplest way possible to not get too confused, but for Eula, it was completely confusing. For someone to simply gain the ability to use Anemo just by touching a Statue of the Seven was something she had never heard of.

She intently thought it was something Naofumi could do as a being from another world. And right now, she has so many questions.