SCENE: NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA arrive back at the tavern, and order some breakfast. The hall of the tavern has a dozen tables for eating. Behind the counter, INNKEEPER is taking a nap. She is surrounded by shelves full of glasses and plates, and a board with hooks for room keys. Two of the keys are missing.
Except for NAOFUMI, RAPHTALIA and the INNKEEPER, the inn is empty.
NAOFUMI: How much do you know about history?
He gestures with a fork as he talks.
RAPHTALIA: Um. You mean like who the previous kings and queens were? I know a bit from an old scholar who lived in our village. He taught me to read, and some things he considered important to know.
NAOFUMI: Yeah, that's a good start. You were probably taught who annexed which bit of territory and when, what kind of wars they fought, which dynasties married one another, that sort of thing?
RAPHTALIA: Yeah.
NAOFUMI: In my world, a lot of people also were taught history that way. This is called the "great man" theory of history: that most of the change happens because of the people at the top, like kings, emperors, generals, religious figures, and so on.
RAPHTALIA: Great man? But most of the history is about queens…
NAOFUMI: This is because Melromarc is a matriarchy. In my world, those were rare.
RAPHTALIA nods, listening attentively.
NAOFUMI: Another theory of history is called the "spirit of history". In it, history is mostly determined by
ideas. For example, an idea might spread that slavery is bad, or that good rulers should educate their population; this leads to societies changing, and drives history forwards. A subset of this theory is the so-called "whig history", which claims that these ideas get better over time, and so society inexorably improves. I would call it a just-so story.
RAPHTALIA: So an idea is… For example, thinking that peasants should "do their duty" and pay taxes, that's an idea, right?
NAOFUMI: Exactly.
RAPHTALIA: And it would influence society because if peasants believed it, they would pay more taxes?
NAOFUMI: That's right. Of course, both of these "theories" can, once in a while, be applied to a particular historical development. You can find examples where something major happened primarily because of an individual person, or some idea randomly spread and influenced things. But advocates of these theories of history don't claim they are applicable once in a while; they claim they are the primary drivers of historical development, and that's just not true. Furthermore, neither of these theories is capable of going one step deeper: asking what brings these "great people" or "ideas" into existence in the first place, and puts them in a position where they can spread.
RAPHTALIA: Is there a better theory?
NAOFUMI: It's called materialism. In it, history is primarily determined by Material Conditions: things that directly influence your life. For example, when it comes to people in this village, they have to pay heavy taxes to the king; this is a material condition. What people own in society, how much they eat, how long they work, what laws they have to obey, how those laws come into existence - all of those are Material Conditions. It's a very broad term. These Material Conditions then influence what you consider good or bad, and how you behave in society.
RAPHTALIA furrows her brows in thought.
RAPHTALIA: So there is some kind of Material Condition which makes nobles and guards talk about duty a lot?
NAOFUMI: Oh, they probably believe it themselves. Material Conditions
cause them to believe it, but the people themselves may not even be aware of this relation. See if you can figure it out.
NAOFUMI takes a sip of cider, and leans back in his chair, giving RAPHTALIA time to think. RAPHTALIA closes her eyes in concentration.
SPIRIT OF RAPHTALIA: Okay, I have to think carefully. Guards believe that peasants have a duty to pay taxes, and they have a duty to collect those taxes. Why might they think so?
SPIRIT OF RAPHTALIA: Well, they had to learn it from somebody. This could be their parents, or they could have picked it up on the job. But why would their parents teach them this? And why would they learn this on the job? It doesn't have any obvious connection to being a guard…
NARRATOR: Slowly, gears inside of Raphtalia's head spin up! They accelerate! Where gear teeth grab one another, they start to throw off furious sparks!
Many sparks start to come out of the head of SPIRIT OF RAPHTALIA, as it frowns in concentration.
NARRATOR: Soon, a thought forms! A conception! A theory of socialism!
Shower of sparks intensifies into a volcano, until it looks like a powerful, glowing mohawk on the head of SPIRIT OF RAPHTALIA. Soon, the sparks slow down, recede, and reveal a smaller figure sitting on top of SPIRIT OF RAPHTALIA's head. It is only a foot tall, and looks like RAPHTALIA wearing a tuxedo. The suit is tight, and wiry muscles visibly bulge under it, rolling around with every movement. Its face is framed by a wide, long beard. No, not "a" beard; THE beard. Charisma emanates from THE beard, lighting up the entire room. Once your eyes glance upon THE beard, they cannot leave.
It is RAPHTALIA's SPIRIT OF THEORY.
SPIRIT OF THEORY hops down from the head of SPIRIT OF THE HEART (formerly SPIRIT OF RAPHTALIA) and turns to face it.
SPIRIT OF THEORY: I see it! We have to think materially!
SPIRIT OF THE HEART: What do you mean?
SPIRIT OF THEORY: Think about it! It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his pay depends on not understanding it. The guards' job is to take food away from the peasants; of course they will develop all sorts of crazy theories about why it is justified! Otherwise, they couldn't live with themselves.
SPIRIT OF THE HEART: But why would the guards do this job?
SPIRIT OF THEORY: Material conditions, once again! First of all, the guards have to eat and pay for a place to live. This means they don't really have a choice wherever to do a job or not! And secondly, this sort of job would inherently attract the sorts of people who would be fine with robbing peasants: those who aren't would probably leave, or know what sort of work it is in advance and not sign up for it!
SPIRIT OF THE HEART: Okay, I think I get it now.
RAPHTALIA opens her eyes.
RAPHTALIA: It's because the guards get paid to rob the peasants of food, right? So over time, they would come up with a theory of "duty" to justify their actions. Generations of guards would teach it to one another, fill in the logical holes, and make it more and more complex.
NAOFUMI smiles.
NAOFUMI: Very good. Of course, you are only a third of the way there, but you can't come up with the entire theory inside your own head without learning anything. This is still a very important discovery.
RAPHTALIA cheers up.
NAOFUMI: You are missing two key parts. First of all, the nobles. They are the ones paying the guards; and they, too, would come up with all sorts of ideas about "divine rights of kings" to explain - to themselves, and to the guards - why they should stay on the throne, and accumulate wealth and power. These theories would, of course, drip downwards, and influence what the guards think.
NAOFUMI: Furthermore, do you remember that guard with a fancy helmet? Did you see how he looked at the villagers? It was a little different from the other guards, wasn't it?
RAPHTALIA narrows her eyes, trying to remember.
RAPHTALIA: Yeah. It was like he was…disgusted?
NAOFUMI: Yeah, I also think so. I am willing to bet money on this, but I think he is a son of some noble or other. Not a prince or a duke, or anything similarly high-placed; but someone smaller, like a baron. Of course, because his family is the one benefiting from the arrangement, he would be very motivated to come up with a reason for why it was justified!
RAPHTALIA sits up straight in her chair.
RAPHTALIA: No way!
NAOFUMI: Yeah. This is what is called a "class conflict". A "class" is simply a group of people with common characteristics; usually, as socialists, we distinguish them based on how they relate to producing or owning goods. For example, here, we can distinguish three classes: villagers, who produce food, nobles, who take that food and spend it on whatever they want, and guards, who transport the food and enforce the entire system. "Class conflict" then is simply a term for how this tension between the classes manifests: for example, villagers want to keep more food to themselves so they don't starve, while nobles want to keep more to themselves because they are pests.
NAOFUMI: Final piece of the puzzle you are missing is everyone else. For example, take the Church. At first glance, it's not a part of this structure, right? But actually, it is. Nobility would, of course, influence the church: for example, they could donate money to it, or they could change laws around what kinds of lands they can own. As a result, the Church will tend to slant things in favor of nobility. In their sermons, they will also talk of duty, and needing to follow "tradition". This will affect all three classes, cementing the system in place. It will also make it harder for people to see the system: after all, it just seems like how things always were, right?
RAPHTALIA puts her head in her hands.
RAPHTALIA: It's all so tied together!
NAOFUMI: Yep. Don't worry, you'll learn it all as time goes on.
As they finish their breakfast, TRAVELING MERCHANT finally comes downstairs.
TRAVELING MERCHANT: Oh, you are up already? Good. Let me have some food, and then I'll show you the mines.
SCENE: Road leading to the mines. TRAVELING MERCHANT, RAPHTALIA and NAOFUMI are traveling in the wagon. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are looking at a piece of parchment with a scribbled plan of the mine. One point in the mine is marked with a cross.
TRAVELING MERCHANT: Remember, go straight to the center. That's where they stored the ore before moving it out. When the monsters came, everyone abandoned the mine in a hurry, so a lot of the ore is still there. You just have to put it on carts and move it out of the mine, and I'll take it from there.
NAOFUMI: May I ask why you are doing this? I thought you weren't related to the mine, but if your family lives in the village…
TRAVELING MERCHANT is silent for a while.
TRAVELING MERCHANT: Well, first of all, ore isn't ours, we just give it out as tax. By the time they get around to clearing up the mine… Who knows where the ore went, right? Maybe the records will go missing too. It's not like the count knows how much ore was mined but not shipped out.
TRAVELING MERCHANT: Plus, well, there are monsters, right? They are too strong for us, but you are a Shield Hero, dealing with monsters is your job. Maybe you clear them out, and then our village could mine again. But if you don't run into them, at least the ore won't be sitting there unused.
RAPHTALIA: Oh, this is also a Material Condition, isn't it Naofumi? Villagers not owning their mine?
NAOFUMI: Yes, very good.
The wagon rolls into view of several buildings, flanking the cave-like entrance into the mine. TRAVELING MERCHANT stops next to one of them, turning the wagon's back to the mine. He hops off, unstraps his filofials from the carriage, and cautiously leads them to the building.
TRAVELING MERCHANT: Come, this is the office. I'll hide inside until you are done, in case anything comes out of that mine.
NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA quickly sweep the building for threats, but find nothing. TRAVELING MERCHANT locks himself inside, and they head towards the mine entrance. Right by it, he sees a set of pickaxes, picks one up and feeds it to his shield.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: Pickaxe shield unlocked! Special: mining 1.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: Rope shield unlocked! Special 1: Air Shield. Creates a shield of force in the air at the target location. Special 2: Grappling hook.
NAOFUMI concentrates, and changes his shield into a flat roll of rope. RAPHTALIA raises an eyebrow at him.
RAPHTALIA: You unlocked a rope shield from a pickaxe?
NAOFUMI: No. There is a tree of shields: some earlier shields are required to unlock later ones. It seems that the rope shield was locked behind a pickaxe shield. Now, let's see, how do I use this…
NAOFUMI: Air Shield!
A giant, glowing green shield shows up in mid air, hovering a dozen meters away from them.
NAOFUMI: No idea why a rope shield would let me use this.
RAPHTALIA: It seems pretty useful though.
Having tested the new shield, they walk into the mine.
SCENE: A wide central area within the mine. Wooden beams support the low ceiling. The room is filled with various mining equipment: carts, boxes, pickaxes, and so on. Many tunnels lead away from the room into the darkness. On one end of the room, there is a mine shaft, leading deeper into the mine. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are stacking boxes full of glowing rocks on top of a cart.
NAOFUMI: Okay, I think that's enough. Let's get it to the entrance.
NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA try to move the cart, but it quickly gets stuck in the loose earth on the ground.
NAOFUMI: Damn. We must have put too much on it. Help me take some boxes off.
RAPHTALIA sniggers.
RAPHTALIA: Is this also a Material Condition? No wooden planks on the floor, so carts can only carry so much?
NAOFUMI: It is. Now do less theory and more lifting.
RAPHTALIA: Sure, just - AAAAH
RAPHTALIA shrieks, leaping away from the cart. She cowers on the ground, eyes wide, hand pointing to the other side of the room.
NAOFUMI: Raphtalia!
From a tunnel entrance on the other side of the room comes a monster. It is the size of a horse, with two dog heads. It snarls, and charges, slamming into an Air Shield NAOFUMI puts in the air in front of it. NAOFUMI moves to stand between the giant dog and RAPHTALIA, taking out a potion from his bandoleer and drinking it in one gulp.
NAOFUMI: Damn, it is five levels above us. We should still be able to take it. Raph, take all the buffing potions.. Raph? Raph?!
RAPHTALIA is not listening. She is hyperventilating on the ground, staring at the giant dog.
NAOFUMI: Fuck.
Air Shield winks out, and the giant dog charges at NAOFUMI. As the jaws of the dog are closing on NAOFUMI's neck, a second Air Shield snaps into existence between them, pushing NAOFUMI away. The dog crashes into the shield, sending it sprawling on the ground. NAOFUMI turns and runs to RAPHTALIA, picking her up. He turns towards the exit.
The dog is on the ground in between them and the exit, standing up.
NAOFUMI: Motherfucker.
NAOFUMI turns around and runs to the mine shaft on the side of the room. He leaps into it, activating the grappling hook from his Rope Shield. The hook impacts the ceiling beams, lodging itself in them. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA fall down the shaft and stop with a jerk, suspended from the grappling line.
The dog reaches the mine shaft, staring down. Saliva drips from its jaws, flying past NAOFUMI into the darkness. NAOFUMI stares it down. RAPHTALIA is gripping him tightly. NAOFUMI keeps her from seeing the dog. After several minutes, the dog leaves.
Slowly, RAPHTALIA's breathing slows down.
NAOFUMI: Raph, are you okay? Please talk to me.
RAPHTALIA: Yeah. Yeah, I am here.
NAOFUMI: That dog. You said that a dog monster killed your family in the first wave.
RAPHTALIA stills, then nods.
NAOFUMI: We need to get past it to get to the exit. Could you kill it? You are strong enough.
RAPHTALIA shivers, then shakes her head.
RAPHTALIA: No.
NAOFUMI: Okay. Then we'll have to run. Can you take out a stamina potion from my bandoleer? I used a bunch on the shields back there.
RAPHTALIA carefully opens one of the bandoliers on NAOFUMI's chest, and takes out a stamina potion, before feeding it to NAOFUMI.
NAOFUMI: Here is the plan. We will drink speed potions so we can run faster. I will reel us back up. I don't think the dog is really gone, so just before we cross the edge of the shaft, I'll make an Air Shield in front of it. Once we are on stable ground, you run to the exit as fast as you can. I will cover the retreat. Your goal is to get to the office where that merchant is holed up and get on top of one of the filofials. From there, we could flee properly.
NAOFUMi grits his teeth.
NAOFUMI: Now, I won't lie to you, this will be very dangerous. There is a real chance I will die -
RAPHTALIA jerks back, coming to face NAOFUMI. The grappling line they are hanging from sways dangerously.
RAPHTALIA: No!
NAOFUMI: Listen to me. This is a very dangerous monster. This plan I have? It can fail in any of a dozen ways. The single most important thing here is that we don't
both die. If it catches me, you run away. If I stumble and fall down? You run away. If it corners us? I will delay it, and you will run away without me. Don't look back, get to the merchant.
RAPHTALIA shakes her head.
RAPHTALIA: No! We are going to get out together, and -
NAOFUMI puts a hand on RAPHTALIA's mouth and stares into her eyes with a cold expression.
NAOFUMI: Raphtalia, I am not joking here. I really need you to agree to this.
They stare each other down, until RAPHTALIA squeezes her eyes shut and nods shakily. NAOFUMI takes off his hand.
NAOFUMI: Good. Now, what do you do if the dog catches me by the leg?
RAPHTALIA: I run away.
NAOFUMI: Excellent. I left our money in the tavern room. You take it, and you get to Erhart. From there, you should be safe.
RAPHTALIA nods shakily again.
NAOFUMI: Alright. Let's wait for a couple more minutes so your breathing is completely level.
They hang in the silence and darkness. NAOFUMI strains his ears for any sounds of the dog, but hears nothing.
NAOFUMI: Alright. Potions, bottoms up.
RAPHTALIA takes out several potions, and drinks some herself, feeding others to NAOFUMI. NAOFUMI starts to slowly reel them up the shaft.
NAOFUMI: Prepare to jump off.
NAOFUMI speeds up the reeling speed. As they cross the edge of the shaft, he summons an Air Shield. Dog, lying in ambush at the edge of the shaft, crashes into it with a howl.
RAPHTALIA jumps off, running past the dog picking itself off the ground. NAOFUMI reaches the edge, but is slowed down by the grappling hook being stuck in the beam. He changes his shield into a steel one and back into the rope shield, making the hook vanish, and freeing himself. He starts running, casting another Air Shield behind himself to block the dog off.
As NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA run up the tunnel, the dog chases after them. NAOFUMI casts another Air Shield, but the dog avoids it, having learned now. It catches NAOFUMI by the neck, and he cries out. Second dog head bites him on the shoulder.
RAPHTALIA: No!
NAOFUMI: Keep running, you idiot!
Instead of running, RAPHTALIA turns around, spins through the air, and stabs deep into one of the dog necks. The dog howls, releasing its hold on NAOFUMI's neck and tries to bite RAPHTALIA. NAOFUMI summons an Air Shield, blocking the dog off. RAPHTALIA keeps rapidly stabbing the dog in a rage until the dog stumbles and falls down, dead. RAPHTALIA jumps off its corpse, landing on her feet, her breathing ragged. NAOFUMI slumps against a wall.
NAOFUMI: Oh fuck, this actually hurts.
RAPHTALIA spins to face him, dropping to her knees and fishing out healing potions from her bandoleers. As they take effect, NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: This was very dumb and you should have kept running.
RAPHTALIA scowls at him and hits him on the head.
NAOFUMI: Ow. Thanks for saving my life, though.
RAPHTALIA hugs NAOFUMI. As tension in the air releases, she starts to laugh.
NAOFUMI: What?
RAPHTALIA: Oh, it's just - oh gods. Well, you freeing me from slavery and then us training together. It's a material condition which lead to both me not running away and being able to kill this dog, isn't it?
NAOFUMI rolls his eyes at giggling RAPHTALIA.
NAOFUMI: You are
really stretching the definition there.
They sit in peace for a moment, before NAOFUMI cuts off the dog's ear and feeds it to his shield, unlocking the greater dog shield.
NAOFUMI: Alright. I don't think this dog would have let anything else live in the mine, so I think we are safe. Are you up for checking the rest of the mine though?
RAPHTALIA: Yeah. I feel much better now.
She kicks the dead dog.
NAOFUMI: Let's go then.
SCENE: Montage, as NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA do final preparations for the Wave.
NARRATOR: They return victorious!
NAOFUMI, RAPHTALIA and the TRAVELING MERCHANT arrive back at the tavern. They hop out, and explain to the INNKEEPER that they cleared the mine of monsters. Other villagers gather as they hear the news, and thank NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA.
NARRATOR: With the ore in hand, they finally have the funds they need to finish their preparations!
NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are in the weapons store again. RAPHTALIA looks smug as NAOFUMI is getting armor fitted to him.
NARRATOR: Even the mysteries of magic are finally in their grasp!
Back in the magic store, RAPHTALIA is sitting at a table. Her hand is placed on top of a crystal ball. On the other side of the table, OLD WITCH is staring into the ball, muttering spells, her creaking voice unintelligible. NAOFUMI is looking through the merchandise, paying attention to the process out of the corner of his eye.
OLD WITCH: Alright, this one is pretty clear. Young lady here has a light and shadow magic affinity. I could have guessed, what with her being a raccoon girl.
NAOFUMI: Is that typical?
OLD WITCH: Oh yes, very, among raccoons. Your affinity for healing and support magic is, on the other hand, quite rare. Maybe one in fifty humans has it.
NAOFUMI: Interesting. We'll take one spell book for each of our affinities. Oh, and -
NAOFUMI goes up to one of the display stands, and picks up an orb of milky crystal.
NAOFUMI: It says here this is an "eye of memory" and that it can record your surroundings. What exactly does it do?
OLD WITCH: It's pretty easy to use. You push mana into it, and it will passively record everything that happens around you, and allow you to play it back as an illusory scene. Mostly they are used by the guards for recording testimonies, and sometimes for plays. That's a basic model, and it will only record what you see; more expensive ones can record sound, or even transmit the picture to a second orb.
NAOFUMI: So I could turn it on, record a fight with a monster, and then see where we made mistakes?
OLD WITCH: Yes, I think that should work.
NAOFUMI: We'll take it as well. Here is your payment.
NAOFUMI hands over a sizable bag of coins. OLD WITCH opens it, and starts counting out coins to check the amount.
NAOFUMI: Pleasure doing business with you.
As they leave the store, NAOFUMI feeds the memory orb to his shield, unlocking the SHIELD OF VIEWING.
NARRATOR: They study! They crunch! In the three days before the Wave, each of them manages to learn one spell! But the time for the wave is fast approaching…
SCENE: Light streams through the glass ceiling of a tall room, with several stories of observation decks. In the middle of the room is an enormous pedestal, above which hovers a mechanism of gold and ivory, as tall as a dozen men, every part of it spinning and changing. Every individual part is engraved with pictograms of monsters, and two large statues of dragons complete the design. In the middle of the mechanism, there is a large sand clock. The sand has almost run out.
This is the Dragon Hourglass, counting down time to the next Wave.
NAOFUMI approaches the Hourglass, and raises his shield. A ray of light shines between them, and glowing Arabic numerals appear out of thin air. Six hours and twenty five minutes remain until the next wave.
NAOFUMI: Thankfully the Church let us in here. Would have been hard to prepare without knowing the exact time.
RAPHTALIA: Are those symbols from your world?
NAOFUMI turns to her, in confusion.
NAOFUMI: What, the numbers? Can't you read them?
RAPHTALIA: No. That's not what our numbers look like.
NAOFUMI rubs his forehead.
NAOFUMI: But I can read your language. The shield must be translating for me.
MOTOYASU, THE SPEAR HERO: Is that Naofumi I see?
SPEAR HERO, MYNE, SWORD HERO and BOW HERO, as well as their respective parties, enter the Dragon Hourglass room. They are all equipped with top of the line armor and weapons, unlike NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA. MOTOYASU is leading the group. He glances over NAOFUMI and smirks in disdain.
MOTOYASU: My, what shoddy equipment. Where did you find that, in a bargain bin sale?
NAOFUMI ignores them and motions for RAPHTALIA to follow him, heading for the door.
MYNE: Hey! Sir Motoyasu is talking to you!
MOTOYASU approaches RAPHTALIA as she passes by, drops on one knee, and clasps her hand. RAPHTALIA pauses out of sheer surprise.
MOTOYASU: Hello. I am Kitamura Motoyasu, the Spear Hero.
RAPHTALIA: Yeah, I figured.
MYNE twirls to face the scene, one of her eyes twitching. NAOFUMI looks back, and pauses, waiting for RAPHTALIA.
MOTOYASU: So cute!
MYNE: Sir Motoyasu! Why are you complimenting a filthy demihuman!
MOTOYASU ignores MYNE, focusing on RAPHTALIA.
MOTOYASU: A girl as adorable as you shouldn't wield a sword; I'll protect you!
RAPHTALIA looks at MOTOYASU in confusion, until something clicks in her head.
RAPHTALIA: Wait.. The Spear Hero?
RAPHTALIA starts chuckling, until she descends into laughter, bending at the waist.
NAOFUMI's SPIRIT OF THE HEART: Oh boy.
RAPHTALIA: You mean that
moron that couldn't see past his own nose? Naofumi told me
all about you.
MOTOYASU: What? You are with Naofumi?
RAPHTALIA: Of course I am with Naofumi. He freed me and will free the rest of us demihumans.
RAPHTALIA tears her hand away and walks after NAOFUMI.
MOTOYASU: No! You can't. If you stay with him, you will be in danger -
RAPHTALIA spins to face MOTOYASU.
RAPHTALIA: Oh please. That bitch -
She points to MYNE.
RAPHTALIA: Is all but ready to skin me alive and turn me into a rug. I'll take any monster over
that.
RAPHTALIA turns to NAOFUMI and heads for the door.
RAPHTALIA: Come on, we are leaving.
REN: See you at the Waves.
SCENE: NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA are back in the tavern room they rent as their base of operations. They are sitting on their beds, surrounded by several packs. NAOFUMI is holding a checklist in his hand.
NAOFUMI: Armor, sword, daggers?
RAPHTALIA: Check.
NAOFUMI crosses out items on the checklist after they both make sure they are fine.
NAOFUMI: Replacement sword, inside of pack 1?
RAPHTALIA: Check.
NAOFUMI: Rope, pack 1?
RAPHTALIA: Check.
NAOFUMI: Potions in bandoleers: healing, mana, stamina?
RAPHTALIA: Check.
NAOFUMI: Potions in pack 2: speed, strength, defense?
RAPHTALIA: Check.
They continue down the checklist until the end.
NAOFUMI: Seems we are as ready as we'll ever be. Now we just have to wait for the Wave to start.
To pass the time, they play a couple games of go. Finally, light surrounds NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA. They stand up and pick up their packs. In a moment, they vanish into thin air.
NARRATOR: The Wave of Apocalypse has begun!
SYSTEM MESSAGE. Provider of skills. Voice of the status magic.
NAOFUMI IWATANI, THE SHIELD HERO. The first socialist. Protagonist. Makes plans and checklists.
RAPHTALIA'S SPIRIT OF THE HEART. Voice of the majority of the heart.
RAPHTALIA'S SPIRIT OF THEORY. Anathema to idealism. Grows with knowledge. Voice of materialism.
RAPHTALIA. Racoon girl. Second socialist. Junior theorist.
TRAVELING MERCHANT. Knows the prices, knows the places, has a swanky wagon.
INNKEEPER. Owner of the tavern. Married to the TRAVELING MERCHANT.
OLD WITCH. Magic store proprietor. Provider of books.
MOTOYASU, THE SPEAR HERO. Creep. Misogynist. Allegedly a hero.
MYNE. Definitely racist. Casual slavery enjoyer. Betrayed NAOFUMI.
REN, THE SWORD HERO. Hero. Gave NAOFUMI a map once.
ITSUKI, THE BOW HERO. Hero. Mysterious. Stance on slavery unclear.
