Author's Note: Hello everyone! This story is my first fanfiction, as I am a new writer. Before we get into the story, there are a few things I would like to point out beforehand. First, I was inspired to create this story by Zinmaster24 and his story, From Soldier to Hero. I would also like to add that, as a new writer, I am very open to any sort of constructive criticism that is provided by any of you readers! Also, as a new writer, I am currently looking for a Beta Reader to assist me in the creation of these stories. Final note, I have only watched the anime, but I do have some knowledge of the light novels. So, without further adieu, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero, only my character.

"Dialogue."

"Reading."

Thoughts.

August 4, 2020

Another day in lockdown. I swear, this virus has had us stuck in emergency protocol for almost a year. A year! Everyday is the same: Wake up, hygiene, breakfast, exercise, drills, shooting range, lunch, mask training, more drills, dinner, sleep, repeat. At least not everything is so bad. Finally got new weapons from Austria for testing. A new variant of their AUG, the A3 or something? Also, we get to try out those highly spoken Glock - 18's. However, it is still boring being stuck on base for such a long time, but it is better than nothing I guess.

- Private First Class Wisniewski

"Hey Leo, what are you doing?" Called out an unknown female voice. Leo turned around to notice one of his squad-mates, as well as his childhood friend, Private Klementyna Bosak walking up to his bunk. She leaned on the chair and took a peek over his shoulder, noticing his journal. "Ah, writing again? About what this time, same old or something new?"

"Eh, same old same old Klem. The only new thing around are those weapons we got for testing. Why are you here anyway, weren't you going to get some breakfast?" Leo responded, looking at her. Her blue eyes were staring into his green before she finally stood up.

"Just came by to tell you that those weapons finally got unpacked. Should be set up at the range soon. Also, I found this near your locker, some sort of book. Is this yours?" Klem asked.

Leo threw a quick glance at the book before taking it out of her hands. Looking over it, he rubbed his chin with a look of extreme confusion plastered on his face. "Nie, never seen this book before. Maybe one of the others dropped it? I'll look into it, let's go check out the new weapons." He responded. Having stood up and placed the book and diary in his backpack, he followed his friend to the newly unraveled weapons. As noted before, they were a new variant of the Steyr AUG and the world renowned G - 18 automatic pistol. Taking hold of one pistol and rifle, they each set up at the shooting range. After an hour of testing Klementyna was called over by a fellow soldier, prompting her to leave.

"We can do some more shooting later. For now, find out who's book that is." Klem called out before jogging off. Having watched her take off, Leo released a sigh before heading back to the barracks. Upon entering, he found it empty like normal. Taking a seat at his desk once more, Leo brought out the book.

Huh, The Records of the Four Cardinal Heroes. Never heard of it before. Opening the book, Leo had begun reading the interesting and old looking book. "The Waves of Apocalyptic Catastrophe. In order to save the world from the Waves of Catastrophe, four heroes were summoned from another world. Each of the four heroes wields a distinct weapon: a sword, a spear, a bow, or a shield. Wait what? A shield? I mean, it's a form of protection, not necessarily a weapon per se, but I guess it's understandable. The princess is supposed to betray them? Hm, sounds rough."

Leo continued to read each detail about the four heroes. That is, until he got to the shield. Huh? Why is it blank? He wondered. He continued to flip through the book, noting that everything about the shield hero was blank, as if it was unfinished. After a moment, the book began to glow a bright gold color.

"What the hell?" Leo asked, surprised. He stood up and slowly backed away from the book. Quickly, the color grew brighter, prompting Leo to place his helmet - hooked goggles over his face, in an attempt to see. Soon, the entire room was engulfed in white, as if a flash-bang had gone off. If one were to enter the barracks upon seeing the light, nothing would be out of the ordinary, except a single book on a desk.

What the hell? Where am I?

Leo couldn't tell what was happening, whether he was floating or falling, as all around him was a black void. Taking a moment to assess himself, he noticed that his clothing and equipment had come with him.

Ok that's good. Whatever happens, at least I'm armed.

However, after around a minute, Leo felt himself being pulled further into the void by an invisible force with the strength of a whirlpool. Suddenly, his vision turned black. The next thing Leo knew was a cold stone floor. Opening his eyes and blinking to clear his vision, he noticed multiple robed standing over him. "We… We did it? Fantastic! The summoning was a success!"

Summoning? What the… after standing up, Leo took a moment to look around, realizing that not only were there men in robes here, but also, three other people. One looked like a young blonde, another looked just as young, except with black hair, and the last looked the oldest, also with blonde hair.

As he was watching the other three, one of the men in robes spoke up once more with a bowed head. "O great heroes, please, save our world!"

"What?" Leo asked aloud, turning back to the other three who also had the same question. This time, he noticed that the tall one had a spear, or something similar. The young blonde had something akin to a bow, while the other one had what looked to be a sword. However, he also noticed a shiny piece of metal attached to his left arm. A shield? Why do I have a shield? Why does this sound so similar to that of the book?

The bow wielding blonde haired boy was the first to speak up. "What do you mean? Where are we anyway?"

The man with his hood down responded, "There are many things that will take some time to explain. To quickly put into perspective, you are the four cardinal heroes, summoned by an ancient ritual due to our world being on the brink of destruction."

A moment passed before someone said anything.

"No." Out of the four of them, the boy with the sword spoke up. "You brought us here without our consent. If you send us home, then we can talk about your situation."

The blonde bow wielder soon followed. "I agree. Besides, if you guys send us back home after peace has been restored, then we would've done all that work for nothing."

Leo just stared at them silently, wondering what they had just said. Really? You're summoned to another place, and your first instinct is to act hostile?

Before they could go on, the man without a hood finally spoke again. "Heroes, perhaps an audience with the King of Melromarc will help? You can take your demands straight to him alongside any additional information."

Before any of the others could give their minds, Leo spoke up, making his presence known. "I believe we should consider their offer. Who knows, there could be more that we do not know."

The group began following the robed men, with Leo stopping and taking a moment to look out the window of the spiral staircase. "Hm, this place feels like a standard Mediterranean environment, similar to that of Italy or Spain. Even the air is cleaner." As he looked back towards the group, he couldn't help but notice their stares at his uniform in the light. He sighed knowing that they will bring it up eventually, and that he must explain.

Soon enough, they were within the main throne room, the King looking down upon the newly summoned cardinal heroes. "So, you four are the ancient cardinal heroes of legend? I am Aultcrey Melromarc XXXII, king of the country of Melromarc." As the king spoke, Leo studied the room and took notice of the other empty throne, as well as the picture of the royal family above it.

Hm, so this country has a queen? I wonder where she is. And the two girls, I suppose they have to be the princesses, right? Ok, this sounds exactly like the book now, and if I remember correctly, one of them will betray us. Noted, must be careful.

Leo was snapped out of his thoughts when the king suddenly spoke with a loud, orderly tone, "Heroes, name yourselves!"

The black - haired person walked up first. "Ren Amaki, 16 years old, high school student." He kept his voice in a calm manner, his face expressionless. Leo figured he was trying to act cool.

The tall blonde soon followed, "My name is Motoyasu Kitamura, 21 years old, college student."

The blonde boy then came up. "I suppose I'm up next. I'm Itsuki Kawasumi, 17 years old, high school student."

The king looked like he was about to speak, however, Leo beat him to it. He stepped forward and offered a standard two - fingered salute, before stating, "Private First Class Leopold Wisnieski of the 6th Krakow Infantry Division. 21 years old." After stating who he was, Leo quickly stepped back in line and stood at parade rest. He watched the king and could've sworn he saw a frown of disgust.

While the others stared at Leo, surprised by his introduction, the king cleared his throat, gaining their attention once more. "Now then. Ren, Itsuki, Motoyasu, and Leopold. I suppose I must explain why we have summoned you four. Our country, Melromarc, and the world around is falling down a path of darkness." The king went into further detail about the event known as the "Waves of Calamity," the dragon hourglasses and how each country had one, the fact that one wave had already hit Melromarc, and the summoning of the four cardinal heroes.

Leo's face contorted into one of hard thought. All of this sounded like some sort of video game, yet, everyone around him felt real. For now, I'll treat this as if it were real. One must be cautious here, especially since this is a whole new world.

"I think we get the gist of it now." Ren said. "Anyway, you didn't think you could bring us here and save you for free, right?"

Leo nearly facepalmed at this. We were summoned to another world, told we are legendary heroes who must save this land, and yet, all you care for is money?

The king addressed the group again. "I presume we have reached an agreement then? Moving on, heroes, please check your status'."

"Wait, what?" Leo and Itsuki asked, surprised.

Ren sighed at this, "Really? It should have been one of the first things you noticed after getting here. See the icon in the bottom right of your vision? Focus your attention on it."

Leo focused his attention to the icon, and after a moment, a menu popped up.

Leopold Wisnieski

Age: 21

Level: 1

Weapon: Legendary Shield (Locked)

Otherworldly Clothes and Armor

ATK: 1

MAG: 13

DEF: 59

MDEF: 47

AGI: 14

Huh, I guess this makes sense. However, my attack stat being so low could put me at a real disadvantage here. Defense seems nice and high, so I can try to focus and build my attack up. He was a bit disappointed at how low his attack stat was; at least he could use magic to a certain degree… Wait, MAGIC?! Like, fire, water, electricity? Oh yeah, this could be fun. Leo smiled at the thought of shooting fire from his hands.

While they were discussing their stats, Itsuki brought up how they could form a party and level up that way. That idea was quickly shot down however, since they were quickly informed that the legendary weapons could not be near each other, less they repel each other's growth.

The king spoke up again, "Heroes, perhaps you should rest tonight since the day is almost done. Tomorrow, we will provide you with the finest companions we can, then you may set out on your adventure."

After leaving the throne room and eating a feast for dinner, the four heroes found themselves within the sword heroes room to talk.

Checking his status menu, Leo found the help tab, to which he had begun to read and gain as much information about the shield as possible. It was at this time that he also spoke up. "This whole thing really feels like a video game." The Polish soldier commented.

Motoyasu responded with, "That's because it is. This is exactly like my game, Emerald Online."

"What do you mean? This is clearly Dimensional Wave, a console game that just recently came out." Itsuki quickly retorted.

Ren then spoke up, "You're both wrong, this isn't a console or PC game, it's obviously the VRMMO Brave Star Online."

Motoyasu turned, shocked. "VRMMO? That can't be right, no such thing even exists. I mean, VR does, but that?!"

Leo took a moment to think, trying to remember if he heard of any of those games. "I haven't heard of any of those. The closest thing I can think of to our situation is a popular PC game called World of Warcraft. I never played it, but my friends did."

They all stared at each other, surprised at each other's ideas.

"No way, that can't be true. Ok, let's get everything squared away." Motoyasu said. "Who was the face on the 1000 Yen Bill?" They all gave different answers, except for Leo, who knew almost nothing about Japan.

After some more questioning, they came to the conclusion that they may be from different worlds.

"Hey, Leo, there is something I need to ask. You're obviously military, with all that equipment and the way you introduced yourself, but why do you cover your face? You've been wearing goggles and that mask the whole time." Itsuki asked.

It took Leo a second to realize what he just said, then wordlessly took off the goggles and placed them over his helmet, exposing his emerald green eyes. "Well, I originally had them on to shield my eyes from the book that sent me here. It emitted a very bright light that momentarily blinded me."

They all looked at him, a sort of "Really?" expression plastered on their faces. It was then Ren who actually asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, I was reading a book that was found in my barracks when suddenly, it emitted a bright golden light. I quickly put on my goggles in order to protect myself in case it exploded or something, as well to shield my eyes from the intensity of the light. Then, everything went dark and soon after, I found myself here. Other than that book, I don't exactly know what to think about for this world. Why, is something wrong?" Leo quickly asked, clueless as to why they were staring at him.

Itsuki was the first to respond. "No, nothing like that, it's just, you may not know much about this stuff because you're the shield hero."

"Huh? What do you mean? Is something wrong with the shield?" Leo asked, genuinely confused as to what he was getting at.

Motoyasu was the quickest to respond. "Relax, it's not that anything is wrong with the shield, it's just that," he leaned in close, "the shield class is for losers because no true gamer ever plays it."

Leo just stared intently at the shield, then back to the others. "Really? Is that how it worked for you guys too?" Ren and Itsuki quickly nodded. "Well then, I guess we have different views on shields."

"Why is that?" Ren immediately asked.

Leo responded saying, "While you guys apply video game logic to this place, I am applying real world applications, as I was not much of a gamer. In my world, the shield was the guardian of its wielder, and those around it. Let's say someone was shooting an arrow at your friend, you can use the shield to protect that person. And as someone from the military, a soldier is a shield to their country, their people. So, I feel as if this "bad shield" is a perfect fit for what I am."

The others just stared in shock, surprised at Leo's thoughtfulness of what the shield is.

"I- I guess you're right. But still, I doubt you have a very high attack stat, so you have to have someone fighting for you at all times." Motoyasu told him.

"That's fine, then I can have a trusted ally be my sword, I have no problem with that. In my line of work, we were taught that your "battle buddy," as it was dubbed, is our greatest weapon." Leo casually responded. "Anyway, it is getting late, so I suggest we get some sleep." After that, Leo got up, popped his joints back into place, and left to go to his own designated room. However, this was not because he was tired, but rather, to test something he found in his help menu.

So, if I absorb materials into the shield, I'll unlock new shields? Leo took out his pistol, but quickly saw that it was the Glock - 18 that he took from the shooting range. At least I'll be able to use my gun if nothing else. Leo removed the magazine from the pistol, then took out one of the 9mm bullets. He placed the round near the gem of his shield and found that it was absorbed almost instantaneously. In his status menu, he saw that he had unlocked a shield he never thought possible in this medieval fantasy land.

Ballistic Shield

+100 to DEF, +75 to MDEF, Elemental Resistance Bonus (Small), 'Spartan Bash' (Level 25 Required)

Equip Bonus: Projectile DEF Bonus (High), MDEF Bonus (Medium), MAG Bonus (Low), AGI Penalty (Low)

Looking through all the stats that his new shield provided, Leo smiled, satisfied that such a piece of equipment now existed. With a smirk, and a new shield at his disposal, he removed his tactical vest and helmet, and laid down to sleep for the next day.

For the next day would be the beginning of a new adventure for the world's new savior.

Nie - No in Polish

Author's Note: And there you have it! My first attempt at a proper fanfiction. And from one of my favorite animes to boot! Also, the ballistic shield I have envisioned is a shield similar to that in Battlefield 4. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I will see you in the next chapter! For now, I hope you all stay safe in this time of crisis. Bye!