I, eventually, make it back to my room. In my defense the castle is huge and in the dark everything looks the same. Also it was really quiet and until I found a maid that could show me the way I was freaking out. Sorry, what can I say, alone in a dark castle it’s not strange to be afraid of the dark.

My room is lit up by a few candles and since it's summertime, or at least I think it is, there is no fire burning. I get out of my clothes, blow out the candles and get to bed.

The next morning my back is killing me. The bed was way too soft. As I lie there grumbling about the bed I hear a soft knock on my door.

“E-excuse me, Mr. Hero?”

Before I can get up and get dressed the door I opened by a maid in classic maid outfit and demeanor. Like in a freaking manga!

"P-pardon my intrusion but the heroes are to be gathering for breakfast. I-if you would like to join them…”

She is young and apparently new at her work as a maid. Makes me want to mess with her a little bit, but…

“Do I have a choice? I’m rather comfortable right now…” I lie as I yawn out. Truth be told, I am not comfortable at all. I just don’t want them to think I am at their beck and call. My slight and silly way of declaring my independence or something like that. Man I can be childish at times.

“Of course if Mr. Hero does not feel well I shall convey to them that sir will be staying in bed…”

Somehow that makes it sound as if I am an old man. I’m only 27. Not even 30 yet!

I sigh and sit up “Well, I have to eat anyway so I might as well.” As I say that I look at the heap I made of my clothes. A bad habit of mine.

“When are the new clothes arriving by the way?”

“The first set was delivered this morning; shall I get them for you?” She looks like she really just wants to leave. I wonder if I was not the “Hero” she had imagined. Somewhat fat hair in a mess after tossing and turning all night. Rings under the eyes and bones cracking at every movement. I’m sure it wasn’t a pretty picture.

“Yes if you don’t mind. I would like to get dressed in something that fit.” I tell her and try to give her a smile.

As she exits the room I get up and wash my face in the water basin and try to get some order in my hair. The old fashion comb they have looks more like a weapon than anything else. With my hair drawn back I make a startled discovery. My face looks different. No, rather than different I guess you could say that it looks clean. All zits and blemishes are gone. There are no pores or anything. I look great! Better than I have ever looked in my whole life! Is it the water? No I don’t think it is. It’s just water. What else could it have been? Was it the garden? Hmm but that was just herbs wasn’t it? And all I did was smell them. The only other thing is that we were summoned. Ah maybe that is it, the summoning made us in to heroes right? What was it the Court mage said? We would be getting stronger than others in short amount of time and we would be learning things much faster and have a natural affinity to magic. He said nothing about our appearances changing. But on the other hand who ever heard of an ugly hero?

As I look over myself I realize that my body has lost a lot of imperfections. Birthmarks, scars, liver spots all gone. Even my nail bands are perfect. It’s almost like I am in a new body that only mimics the one I had before.

Is that what the summoning does? If so then our bodies are probably left in our world right? And this is all a dream kind of thing… If I got this right they didn’t summon us but our “souls” or our “minds” in to this place or something like that. But where did they get our bodies then? Something like our bodies is how we see ourselves? How confusing. And neither the Court mage nor the King mentioned anything about it so I guess they don’t have a clue. I wonder if the other heroes have noticed this too…

Now you all might think that I could not possibly be this smart. In fact this is a rather common thing in fantasy and I have read several books with the same plot. So I am just taking the information I have read and apply it to my situation. Of course there is nothing that tells me weather I am right or not.

The maid soon returns with my clothes. She is a little shocked to see me standing there. I don’t know why, I was in my underwear. Oh wait, did they have underwear in the medieval times? Well that would explain why she was in a hurry to get out.

The tailor had not asked me for how I would like my clothes made so I guess I was given a standard that all heroes would wear, at least in the beginning. It was a gray set of clothes, just picture a medieval noble without the silly puffed up hips or shoulders and you’re somewhat close.

“Should I help you dress my lord?” She suddenly asks. Now that caught me by surprise.

“Eh, do I need help to get dressed?” Maybe it really is necessary to have help, at least the first time, in order to look proper.

“Ah, ehm. N-no my lord I didn’t mean…” She pales and completely misunderstood my meaning. She seems to think I was insulted by her when in fact I was wondering the same thing.

“Calm down will you. I was honestly wondering if I really do need help. I have no idea myself. Never worn these types of clothes before. So let’s just say, yes. I do need help getting dressed.”

“As you wish my lord.” She tells me as she blushes realizing her mistake. She takes forth a wooden screen that I can dress behind.

“Oh and I am not a lord.”

“Th-then what do I call you?”

“Hmm…” Another question I never thought about. Since I am in a fantasy world I can’t use my own name, that would just be silly. I quickly go through all the names I can think of. It can’t be something like “Shadow” or “Blade”. That would just be stupid. And I can’t use my internet handle because it won’t work. I try to think of myself as a person, what would be a good name for me. I scratch my head as I come up with a blank.

“Just… call me whatever you want but I am definitely not a lord. By the way do you call all the heroes for lord?”

“Just the men, the women are called Ladies.”

“Ah then never mind. It’s not like it matters, I just think that me being called a lord sounds a bit silly, that’s all. Please disregard this conversation.” If I were to be called differently from the other heroes then I would stand out which is the opposite of what I want.

As I do my best to get dressed behind the screen she explains the process. There are at least seven parts I have never even heard of. Two of which, a strange upstanding collar and a long lace sleeve type thing, I disregard completely since they are only in the way. When I come out from the screen the maid quickly steps forward and adjust things here and there until finally I am dressed. Now I have her explain the “finer” details. Things like how to sit down without ripping my pants and how to go about visiting the toilet. Let’s not speak of this ever again…

I am going to have to talk to the damn tailor about this. I grumble to myself as I make my way down to eat.

As I finally make it to the great hall I hear the king explain about the magic of this world. But since I got here late, thanks to the trouble with the clothes, I don’t really get any of it. Not wanting to interrupt and make a scene as I arrive late, I quietly sit down at a table near the kitchen door.

Just as I am reaching for bread and butter I feel the people around me are staring at me.

“…what?” I ask wondering if I did something wrong. I am pretty sure I managed to sit down without my pants ripping...

“A-ah… Nothing my lord.” They say while averting their gaze.

“If I took someone’s place just tell me and I’ll move.” I whisper to the guy next to me.

“T-there is no need for that my lord. Rather it is us who should move for you.”

“Why? You have as much right to sit as I do.” I say and bread myself a sandwich. Seeing that they didn’t mind me joining them I thought to sate my hunger.

The people around me stare with big eyes and soon start to whisper among them. I didn’t pay too much attention as the king was actually talking about things I wanted to know, for once. He was telling the heroes to head to the armory after breakfast where we are to pick out weapon and armor that will be remade for us. Apparently they will make us new armor and weapons using existing once as reference. Seems like a complete waste of iron and steel to me. A few maids were told to show the way. I follow the last group out, by then I had eaten my fill.

Before I leave though I ask the people around me.

“Sorry but do you know where I should put the dishes?”

“W-well you could just leave them here, my lord. We will take care of them.” The guy who sat next to me said.

“Ok, thanks mate!” I shrug and head after the heroes.

When we arrive at the royal armory we are met with a big room. This castle seems to be filled with oversized rooms. The walls are covered in shields. There is tons of display cases showing of different kinds of armor pieces and in front of a huge window stands a bunch of mannequins covered in different armor sets.

“Welcome to my humble abode, my lords and ladies.” The dwarf we saw earlier come out of a side door and welcomes us. “The King has told me to craft you your own personal armor and weapon so please take a look around and tell me if anything takes your fancy. I took the liberty of putting together a few armor sets for those of you who are a little unsure of what you want.”

He shows us to the manikins. The armors have been polished and shines in the late morning sun. Sounds of admiration come from the heroes. I can’t help but thinking what a superb target these armors would make you on a battlefield.

The Armorer starts to explain about the armors he have put in order. There are all the classics and then some.

First is the heaviest of them all, the Titan armor. It’s a full chainmail armor covered in giant full plate armor. It’s heavy as all hell but provides near perfect protection. The Titans are part of the royal army that stands for the defensive part of the infantry. Their job is to hold their ground no matter what they are up against.

The Paladin armor. A full plate armor which is lighter than the Titan armor since it lacks the chainmail. Paladins are of course holy fighters of light and good who stands to protect the people. They are the heavy infantry of the church. Their job is more versatile than the Titans since they are able to act as cavalry and infantry.

The more modest Duelist armor. It is a light leather armor with a breast plate. It is favored by nobles for use in their duels since it allows free movement while protecting the vital areas.

The Cleric's armor. It is basically just a chainmail covered by a tabard. Favored by the healing clerics for its high defense.

The Knight armor, a half plate armor with a silly pointy helmet favored by the heavy cavalry.

The Scouts armor, a layered leather armor with some plate favored by light cavalry and scouts.

The Hunter's armor, a light leather and cloth armor favored by archers and hunters.

The Mage armor, which is really just a robe filled with magic symbols to protect the mage from other mages.

Basically they are like the premade classes in roleplaying games. Kind of boring.

Those are just my own thoughts of course; the other heroes seem to make their choices rather quickly. The Armorer writes down their choices and their room numbers so they can be delivered as they are finished.

“After you are done picking out your armor you can proceed to the next room and pick a weapon that suits you.”

And away goes the heroes, filled with excitement. They seem to be getting along rather well. Everyone seems to already have made up their mind as to what they would choose. As if it was a simple choice. I really can’t help but disagree.

“Can I choose anything in here, not just the armor on the manikins?” I ask.

“Oh but of course! Just bring anything that takes your fancy to the table by the door and I will write it up for you.” The Armorer responds a little surprised. I wonder if no one else actually looked around and just picked from the premade armors.

There is a lot of stuff here. From shoes to gloves to pads and full body plates. Made with steel, leather, chainmail, scale mail and even wood. So much stuff, I feel like a kid in a candy store. Or maybe it more like a nerd at a convention. I want to look at everything but while I am all giddy on the inside I do my best to look calm. After browsing for a good while I start to look around more seriously.

“Uhm, is it possible to have the pieces chosen altered? There is a lot of good stuff here but some lack what I am looking for and some things are not here at all. Can I have them made if I were to describe them to you?”

“That would be no problem whatsoever. As long as you give a sufficient description of what you want I am sure we can have it made for you. Even if you are not sure of what you want I am certain we can make something that will suit your taste.” The Armorer tells me while proudly puffing out his chest.

“Excellent! Then there are a few items I would like to talk about…”

*****

Starting with the dark brown leather shoes I ask for metal to be sown into the heel and toe, not wanting to end up like Achilles.

Then we have the shin guards which are reminiscing of the classic ninja style shin guards, as in they bend toward the toe slightly creating an area suitable for kicking. Not that I can kick anything more than a football but I have training to look forward to and a man can dream can’t he? I have the Armorer add some kneepads to it as well, since i will probably need it.

Next we have the, let’s just call it for what it is, the subligar. Yes it’s the leather man diaper they used for gladiators in the ancient roman times. I chose them to protect my interests. Also they provide for free movement. Just think of it as a cup for your balls.

Moving on I chose a nice wide and thick belt that covers my waist and stomach. It is filled with places that can hang bags and stuff. It’s about 20 cm thick and gives good support.

Then we have the chest armor, where I am going for a leather vest underneath a custom made breastplate. The breastplate is sown in between two layers of leather so the armor just looks like it's thick leather armor. It covers my chest, back and midsection. Leaving my sides open for ventilation and ease of movement. I think I was on the right track when I thought of it, I just hope the Armorer thought the same…

Lastly wrist guards. I made sure that they would cover my entire forearms and have a pointy by at my elbow that I can use to attack with. I also had the foresight of asking for room where hidden knives can be placed in my boots and wrist guards.

Oh and I made sure he understood that I wanted all my armor to have a slightly shoddy look to it. Absolutely no polished metal or shiny bits. Nor any brightly colored details, just some nice earthy colors that

don’t stand out much. I have no reason to find myself at a battlefield but, should I in some event do so, I really want to do everything I can not to be a bright and shiny target. It’s just self-preservation really.

*****

As I take a last look around the room the mage armor catches my eye.

What did he say about that again? It was good for protecting against magic?

“Excuse me but could you tell me some more about the mage armor?” I ask the Armorer who is by now a little annoyed with my constant questions and requests.

“Certainly my lord. The Mage armor is made with enchanted thread, which has been blessed by the elements, giving it a great resistance to the elements. It has also been inscribed with runes that wards against offensive magic. Although it’s physical resistance can’t compare to regular armor, it is unequal when it comes to warding against any magical attack.”

“If that is the case then why is it that you haven’t implemented its fabric in the other armors? Would it not make sense to have for example a full plate mail on top of this robe, there by getting the best of both worlds?”

“Sadly the enchantments in the fabric is disrupted by the metal in the plate armor. And the runes have a need of being on the outside to have any effect. There have been several people who have tried it but since the effect is greatly lowered or entirely ineffective when coupled with any metal most have simply given up.”

“Hmm… but why then…”

“I know what you mean to say but the elements do not look kindly to the used of the dead. Therefore even leather armor has a similar effect. Truthfully I don’t understand it all myself, I am but a smith. If you want more details as to why things are as they are maybe my lord should ask the church.”

“Well I guess it can’t be helped. However it’s not as if it won’t have any effect at all so rather than having nothing why don’t we make a cloak out of the fabric. That way it will be out of contact with the metal as much as possible while still being of some use.”

“Sigh… Fine I will make the order but please don’t put your hopes on it working.”

“Even if it only works 1% of the time that 1% can save my life one day. If not it will still be a fancy cloak.” I say with a smile, satisfied with the possibility of getting a magic item. Finally I am done with the armor and I head to the next room. Once more it’s a grand view, especially for a fantasy lover.

The walls are covered with every type of weapon. Display cases and barrels are filled to the brim with everything from simple knives and daggers to swords, spears and arrows.

“Oh ho ho hoo…” I can’t help but to be all giddy in front of all the fun stuff.

“Haa… This is going to take a while…” sighs the dwarf. I think he is starting to dislike me. Well, I am the last one and I have spent almost two hours picking my armor. I would be annoyed too.

The massive amounts of weapons in front of me makes me somewhat stumped as to where I should look first. Eventually I just turn to the right and go down the line.

There are long swords, spears, pikes, short bows, long bows, staffs, halberds, axes, throwing knives, daggers, short swords, falchions, rapiers, maces, hammers, sickles, chakrams, naginatas, katanas and a bunch of weapons I don’t know the name of. I find myself taking note of almost a hundred weapons I would be happy to take with me.

However eventually I calm down a bit and start to think about it more seriously.

The weapon I should chose is the first weapon I will learn how to handle so it should probably be something easy. That rules out all the more exotic weapons, especially the ones I don’t know the name or function for. It should be a versatile weapon that I can bring with me wherever I go. So no spears or ranged weapons. Nothing too heavy so no axes or maces. Ok let’s just face it; it has to be a sword right?

I make my decision and walk up to the massive collection of swords that cover the better part of a wall as well as a few barrels in front of it.

Now then what to pick, what to pick. The obvious choice is a katana. Known for its superior cutting power over all other swords a katana is always nice.

I take out a few katanas and put them to the side.

Hmm… What else are there? How about a rapier? If the katana has cutting power than the rapier has piercing power. Not only that they look good too, known as the dress sword.

I pick one that looks about right.

Then there are some silly once here. Just look at that overly curved one; it’s like a short half circle. No I don’t think so, nothing that round. Maybe a machete type blade?

I take out one and swing it around a bit.

No it doesn’t feel right at all. Hmm… is there nothing else?

I have to admit I felt a bit disappointed as I looked around. I was half expecting to find a perfect weapon for me in here but all I could find was some classics that took my fancy. Letting out a deep sigh I take up the swords I have gathered and prepare to head back to the dwarf who had gone off into the armor room. And clumsy as I am I misstep and fall on my face. As I get up cursing myself for not being careful I see a handle in one of the barrels filled with swords that looks rather different than any of the others. Instead of being a straight handle, like a normal sword, it was curved. It was also longer than normal, at least twice as long. Curious to see the rest of the blade I ignore the fallen swords on the floor and pick it up. It is a scimitar, but not the curved kind. Instead it is an almost straight scimitar with an elegantly designed blade. The blade is only about a meter long with a very slight curve while the hilt is about 40 cm with a curve in the other direction. It is really light and I can hardly believe it is steel. It’s not really decorated, other than the stylish form of the blade, and it lack a guard but I am still entranced with the sword. I know why most swords have a guard. The most common injury for swords users, apart from the obvious cuts, is the loss of fingers. Somehow it no longer seems to matter to me and I know I have already made my choice.

“I want this one.” I walk out and tell the dwarf.

“Huh!? Oh. well now I haven’t seen that blade for a long time. It was a gift to the queen ages ago, before the princess was born. Given by a passing merchant in hopes of gaining her favor. She never had an interest and told me to store it away for her. Been here ever since.”

“Such a shame for a fine sword like this to be lying around collecting dust. Well at least now I can let it see the sun.” I tell him happily.

“Ah well, you can let its soon to be forged brother see the sun. This one is the queens so it will have to stay here…”

“Oh, I see. Well if you can forge a sword that is equal to this one in shape, size, balance and weight then I don’t mind.” I tell him while smiling and hand him the sword.

“Haha that won’t be any…”

As he takes the sword from my hands he suddenly freezes. Feeling the weight of the blade he suddenly looks confused.

“What is…?” He mumbles as he draws the blade from the scabbard. He walks up to the window in order to see better and examines the blade.

“Oh, Oh my. I had can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. My lord, this sword is not a regular steel sword.” He tells me in a serious tone. “This was made by the dark elves of Everfalls.”

The hero finds a sword made by the elves. How more cliché can it get? I think to myself.

“The dark elves? Who are they?” I ask him, hiding my unpleasant feeling.

“They are Enchanters, known for their weapons. The dark elves live for their weapons, not allowing others, not even family members to wield them. A dark elf will, from the age of 6, start working on their own weapon. Over time they will perfect it until finally they die and are buried with it. They believe that a person’s weapon holds a part of their soul. That to be one with your weapon is to be one with yourself. I am sorry my lord but I can’t make anything like this, even if I had a life time I could never make something that even came close to rivaling this sword. Truthfully we should not even have it here, ah if only I had paid attention back then…” He trails off staring at the blade.

“Well if you can’t make it then… can I have this one?” I ask while knowing it’s a long shot.

“Huh? Out of the question! First of all this sword belongs to the queen, even a hero is not privileged to a queens belongings. Secondly, this sword is dangerous. Just having this sword makes you a target. The dark elves will move heaven and earth to get the sword back; it is like taking their ancestors bones with you. No this here sword will stay right here until we can figure out how to get it back to the dark elves without angering them. Trust me my lord you really don’t want this blade.”

I feel shocked. This whole situation is rather absurd. First I fall on the floor and find a rare weapon, then I find out it’s made by the elves and holds magic. Almost as if the sword was made for me. And now he is telling me I can’t have it? God damn it!

"Argh! Fine.” I tell him and leave. I no longer feel like picking a weapon. Instead I feel like sulking.

Showing me such a cool sword only to take it away from me. I grumble as I walk out of the armory.

“Oh my lord!” One of the guards I don’t recognize calls out to me “The other heroes are in the barracks, if you would like to join them I can show you the way there.” I nod for him to lead the way. Might as well see what they are up too.

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