Chapter Summaries

Chuan Wenwu learned that Melromarc’s Three Heroes Church excluded the Shield Hero because of religious and political hostility toward the Shield Faith. He decided to remain in the country and protect its people from the Waves despite the prejudice against him.

• Chuan Wenwu asked the weapons shopkeeper why Melromarc’s leaders rejected him while accepting the other heroes.
• The shopkeeper explained that Melromarc worshipped the Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes, while its people called the Shield Hero the Shield Demon.
• The shopkeeper described Melromarc’s human-supremacist attitudes, the previous Shield Hero’s support for demi-humans, and the Shield Faith practiced in Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden.
• Chuan Wenwu considered leaving Melromarc but rejected the long journey to another country.
• Chuan Wenwu resolved to stay and fight the Waves to protect ordinary people, even though Melromarc’s leaders treated him badly.

Chuan Wenwu collected the magic iron needles he had commissioned and discovered that the Shield of the Hero could absorb them to unlock a spiked Magic Iron Needle Shield form. He ordered more needles made from common materials and then asked the shopkeeper to let him test whether the shield could absorb other equipment.

• The shopkeeper gave Chuan Wenwu the needles forged from his Magic Iron Sword and explained their piercing qualities.
• Chuan Wenwu let the Shield of the Hero absorb three needles, unlocking the Magic Iron Needle Shield with defense +2 and thorns +2, though its thorns ability remained locked.
• Chuan Wenwu asked the shopkeeper to make needles from iron, magic steel, and silver iron, and paid him 100 silver coins.
• Chuan Wenwu asked to handle the shop’s weapons and armor so he could check whether his shield could absorb them, promising to buy anything it could absorb first.

Chuan Wenwu discovered that the Shield of the Hero could copy shields into new forms, then negotiated with the shopkeeper and paid to copy the shields in his store. As he relaxed with Bruce, the shield’s gem lit up again after brushing against the dog.

• Chuan Wenwu tested weapons and armor in the shop, but the Shield of the Hero reacted only to a shield.
• Chuan Wenwu copied an iron-banded wooden shield and unlocked its form in the Book of Weapons.
• The shopkeeper protested as Chuan Wenwu began copying the shop’s other shields, then negotiated a learning fee and payment for the copied shields.
• Chuan Wenwu paid two hundred silver coins, and the shopkeeper teased him about the Royal Palace before warning that the road ahead might be difficult.
• Chuan Wenwu hugged Bruce and declared that he trusted him, then the Shield of the Hero’s gem lit up when Chuan Wenwu’s arm brushed Bruce’s back.

Chuan Wenwu unlocked six Companion Shields by offering Bruce’s shed fur, blood, and a shed tooth, gaining major growth and stat modifiers for his companion. After learning from the shopkeeper Elhart that Bruce might grow into a powerful creature, Chuan Wenwu decided to take him monster hunting before buying him equipment.

• Chuan Wenwu discovered that Bruce’s shed fur unlocked the Dog Shield and two minor Companion Shields.
• Chuan Wenwu drew a drop of Bruce’s blood, unlocking two more Companion Shields with moderate modifiers.
• Chuan Wenwu used a tooth from Bruce’s old Dog Fang Necklace to unlock the final Companion Shields, which gave major modifiers.
• Elhart explained that legendary heroes could help their animal companions grow into powerful beings.
• Chuan Wenwu decided to take Bruce out to level up, introduced himself to Elhart, and left the shop to hunt monsters.

Chuan Wenwu and Bruce hunted multicolored Balloon Monsters on the Hulunbuir Grassland, gaining levels and strengthening their abilities. After clearing one last wave at sunset, they gathered the monster remains and headed back toward town.

• Chuan Wenwu used his high defense and iron-needle traps to grind Balloon Monsters, unlocking shield abilities and raising his level to 17 while Bruce reached level 14.
• Chuan Wenwu inspected a Balloon Monster’s teeth and insides, then popped it and decided to finish hunting before nightfall.
• Bruce’s growth made him larger, stronger, and more intelligent, and he killed Balloon Monsters with powerful bites as Chuan Wenwu held their attention.
• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce wiped out the remaining wave, collected the Balloon Monster remains, and set off toward town.
• Chuan Wenwu watched Bruce walk ahead and wondered whether he could ride him if he grew bigger.

Chuan Wenwu tried to sell his Balloon Monster scraps, but the shopkeeper unfairly slashed the offer because of rumors about him. Chuan Wenwu forced several merchants to sell him their balloon hide, then returned to sell the combined haul at the fair price.

• Chuan Wenwu brought his balloon hide to a monster materials shop, where the shopkeeper offered him one copper coin for every ten scraps after paying another adventurer one copper for every two.
• Chuan Wenwu confronted the shopkeeper and used his reputation and threat of public exposure to make him sell all his balloon hide at Chuan Wenwu's stated price.
• Chuan Wenwu asked the shopkeeper for the addresses of rival shops, then bought up their balloon hide stocks using the same method.
• Chuan Wenwu returned to the first shop with the purchased and gathered hide and asked the shopkeeper to buy it for one copper coin per two scraps.

Chuan Wenwu and Bruce spent their earnings on a hearty meal and planned to use the rest to prepare for leveling up in a high-level area. After bathing Bruce and settling in at the inn, they enjoyed Chuan Wenwu’s most peaceful night since arriving in the other world.

• Chuan Wenwu paid for a room and two deluxe meat meals, and the waiter let Bruce eat despite the restaurant’s rules.
• Chuan Wenwu recalled selling balloon hide for over twelve hundred silver coins and decided to spend his money on equipment and leveling up.
• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce devoured their meals, then planned to buy supplies and camp in a high-level area the next day.
• Chuan Wenwu gave Bruce a long bath, got soaked when Bruce shook himself dry, and ordered him to stay off the bed.
• Bruce fell asleep on the floor, and Chuan Wenwu covered him with a blanket before going to bed for a peaceful night.

Chuan Wenwu used the Shield of the Hero to unlock new thorn shields and planned to commission shields in different shapes to gain more stats. After learning that potion trading could bring quick profits before the coming Wave, he left to prepare for a long wilderness training trip.

• Chuan Wenwu showed Elhart how much Bruce had grown with the Companion Shield’s bonuses.
• Elhart gave Chuan Wenwu a bundle of spikes, and Chuan Wenwu used them to unlock five new shields with additional stat bonuses.
• Chuan Wenwu commissioned more material-based spikes and proposed making wooden shields in different shapes to expand his Book of Weapons.
• Elhart suggested Chuan Wenwu earn money by trading potions, since demand and prices were rising ahead of the Wave.
• Chuan Wenwu asked Elhart to hold his commissions and said he was going to camp in the wilderness to grow stronger.

Chuan Wenwu returned to town with Bruce, who had grown into a towering beastman, and collected the needles Elhart had crafted for his shield. The needles unlocked dozens of new shield forms, greatly increasing Chuan Wenwu’s potential thorns damage.

• Chuan Wenwu returned to Elhart’s weapon shop after a week away, accompanied by Bruce in his new beastman form.
• Elhart questioned how Bruce had transformed, and Chuan Wenwu explained that Bruce had grown stronger by leveling up in the Monster Forest.
• Elhart told Chuan Wenwu about legends of the Filolial Queen, a powerful monster able to take human form.
• Elhart brought out the needles he had made from various materials, including several extra alloy varieties.
• Chuan Wenwu fed the needles to his shield, unlocking dozens of needle shield forms with different bonuses and the thorns trait.

Chuan Wenwu tested three new shields with Elhart and unlocked Shield Bash from the Iron-Banded Wooden Cross Shield, giving him a way to turn defense into damage. He commissioned more shield designs and materials, paying Elhart a silver deposit to begin making them.

• Elhart explained that the decorative and size changes to the Iron-Banded Wooden Square Shield were not enough for Chuan Wenwu to unlock a new form.
• Chuan Wenwu copied the Iron-Banded Wooden Cross Shield and unlocked Shield Bash, a technique that added damage based on his defense.
• Chuan Wenwu celebrated the new attack skill and explained its effect to Elhart.
• Chuan Wenwu copied Elhart's Small Round Shield and gained two points of speed.
• Elhart concluded that the Shield of the Hero recognized new shields by their materials and how they were used.
• Chuan Wenwu asked Elhart to make more shield types from different materials and paid him a silver deposit.

Chuan Wenwu returned to Elhart’s weapon shop with a Storage Shield and damaged armor, then learned he had outgrown the shop’s ready-made gear at level 41. Unable to afford custom armor for himself, he asked Elhart to find equipment for Bruce, and Elhart presented him with a huge greatsword.

• Chuan Wenwu showed Elhart how his shield stored supplies, explaining that stored weight still made it heavier.
• Chuan Wenwu praised Elhart’s Cross Shield design, and Elhart agreed to focus on making more of them.
• Elhart appraised Chuan Wenwu’s battered Light Iron Plate Armor and recommended replacing it with better equipment.
• Chuan Wenwu revealed that he was level 41 and Bruce was level 37, surprising Elhart, who said high-end custom armor would cost dozens or even a hundred gold coins.
• Chuan Wenwu asked Elhart to equip Bruce instead, and Elhart showed him a massive dark gray greatsword.

Chuan Wenwu bought Bruce the Black Rock Heavy Iron Sword and arranged for Elhart to forge him custom Barbarian Armor. They left the shop with most of their money spent and planned to return for the armor in two days.

• Elhart showed Chuan Wenwu a massive greatsword and said it would suit Bruce’s strength and build.
• Bruce tested the Black Rock Heavy Iron Sword, and Chuan Wenwu bought it for twelve gold coins after negotiating a scabbard, blade coating, and three free maintenance upgrades.
• Chuan Wenwu gave Bruce the sword and asked Elhart to find armor that would fit him.
• Elhart offered to make Bruce custom Barbarian Armor from a blueprint, and Chuan Wenwu supplied monster materials and asked him to use shop stock for the copper and iron.
• Elhart agreed to finish the armor in one or two days, while Chuan Wenwu wondered whether his remaining silver would be enough.

Chuan Wenwu and Bruce searched for a monster merchant who could equip Bruce in both his original and kobold forms. After getting lost and asking for directions, they reached a remote tent and met a merchant who claimed to sell all kinds of monsters.

• Chuan Wenwu told Elhart he wanted size-adjusting equipment for Bruce’s seven-meter-long original form, and Elhart directed him to the southwestern district.
• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce struggled to navigate with a paper map, and Chuan Wenwu urged Bruce to use his nose to find the monster merchants.
• A suspicious passerby pointed them toward the merchants, then said he needed to report their arrival to his master.
• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce followed the directions to a remote square with a large tent.
• A stout man in a top hat introduced himself as a monster merchant and claimed he had all kinds of special merchandise.

Chuan Wenwu asked a magical beast merchant for equipment that would fit Bruce in his giant form. After the merchant demonstrated an interest in valuing Bruce as a commodity, Chuan Wenwu discovered that the shop concealed cages of humanoid captives and that the merchant was selling slaves.

• The magical beast merchant recognized Chuan Wenwu as the Hero and praised his reputation while Chuan Wenwu asked about gear for Bruce.
• Bruce transformed into a seven-meter-long hound, showing the merchant why Chuan Wenwu needed armor that could fit a giant magical beast.
• The merchant claimed he had magical equipment that could change form and invited Chuan Wenwu and Bruce into his tent shop.
• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce found a dim, foul-smelling interior filled with iron cages holding indistinct humanoid figures.
• The merchant revealed that the captive in the nearest cage was his most highly recommended slave.

Chuan Wenwu discovered that the monster merchant was selling enslaved demi-humans and condemned the practice. He left the shop without acting, weighing the limits of what he could do under Melromarc’s laws.

• The slave trader showed Chuan Wenwu and Bruce a wounded Rupur and demonstrated how a curse forced it to obey.
• Chuan Wenwu questioned how the captives became slaves and declared his hatred of slavery.
• The slave trader defended the trade as legal, claiming the slaves came from approved sources and that the Kingdom set the rules.
• Chuan Wenwu challenged the merchant’s claims after seeing children and women imprisoned, but fell silent as he considered the risks of freeing them without being able to protect them.

Chuan Wenwu confronted a slave trader about the cruelty of the slave trade, but restrained himself from freeing the captives because he lacked the power to help them safely. He bought a Shapeshifting Collar for Bruce and left the shop, only to be halted by a captive’s desperate scream.

• Chuan Wenwu told the slave trader that he would eventually tear down the laws permitting slavery, then inspected the abused Demi-Humans in the cages.
• Chuan Wenwu held back from freeing the captives, reasoning that acting now could put them and Bruce in greater danger.
• The slave trader showed Chuan Wenwu a Shapeshifting Collar that grew with its wearer and stored their belongings in its bell.
• Chuan Wenwu bought the collar for five gold coins and refused the slave trader’s offer to purchase the captives for their freedom.
• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce headed out of the shop, but a captive’s anguished scream stopped them.

Chuan Wenwu found a sick, terrified raccoon Demi-Human girl being held in a slave market and stopped the trader from punishing her. He bought her for fifty silver coins, but the trader said a transfer procedure still had to be completed.

• Chuan Wenwu followed the girl's cries into a dark room and found her trembling inside an iron cage.
• The slave trader explained that the girl had panic disorder and threatened to dispose of her because she was sick and difficult to sell.
• When the trader activated her curse markings and she fainted, Chuan Wenwu confronted him about her condition.
• Chuan Wenwu asked the girl's price and paid fifty silver coins to buy her.
• The slave trader told Chuan Wenwu that they still had to complete the procedure to transfer control of the girl.

Chuan Wenwu bought the unconscious Racoon Demi-Human girl, transferred her slave mark to himself, and left the slave curse in place until she recovered. He took her to Elhart’s weapon shop for clothes and planned to find her family or a safe adoptive home.

• Chuan Wenwu refused to remove the girl’s slave curse immediately after the trader warned that the procedure could kill her, but he transferred her slave mark and acquired her as a slave.
• Chuan Wenwu left the Circus Tent with the girl and Bruce, then returned to the main street and visited Elhart’s weapon shop.
• Elhart teased Chuan Wenwu for getting lost and finding the slave traders instead of the monster market, then gave him spare clothes for the girl.
• Chuan Wenwu said he hoped to reunite the girl with her family or find her a trustworthy adoptive home, and rejected Elhart’s suggestion that she join his party.

Chuan Wenwu treated Raphtalia’s severe illnesses and malnutrition with potions while she slept at an inn. Raphtalia woke in fear, and Chuan Wenwu gently reached out to ask how she was feeling.

• Chuan Wenwu and Bruce settled the unconscious Raphtalia in an inn room after leaving the weapon shop.
• Chuan Wenwu checked Raphtalia’s conditions and brewed potions to treat her illnesses, dehydration, hunger, and weakness.
• Chuan Wenwu bathed Raphtalia and put her to bed while he and Bruce fed her medicinal broth.
• Bruce noticed Raphtalia was awake, and Chuan Wenwu pulled back the blanket as she trembled in fear.
• Chuan Wenwu asked Raphtalia if she could understand him and how she was feeling.

Chuan Wenwu gently cared for the terrified Raphtalia and explained that he had freed her from the slave shop, though her slave mark would remain until she recovered. After recognizing him as the Shield Hero, Raphtalia shared her name with him in tears.

• Chuan Wenwu told Bruce to move away after his imposing appearance frightened Raphtalia.
• Chuan Wenwu moved Raphtalia into the sunlight, covered her with a sheet, and reassured her that she was safe.
• Chuan Wenwu introduced himself as the Shield Hero and demonstrated his shield, prompting Raphtalia to recognize him.
• Chuan Wenwu explained that he had bought Raphtalia's freedom, treated her illness, and would remove her slave mark once she was stronger.
• Raphtalia told Chuan Wenwu her name as tears filled her eyes.