It has been roughly 3 weeks since I was summoned here to this world called Terra and told that I was apparently the fabled “Sword Hero” of legend. My name is Samuel Swords, and while I was just as confused as the others who appeared with me, all of us had differences we discovered during our unexpected time together. Summoned with me, were Haru Speargin, Kyle Bowgert, and Miles Magus. All of us were humans, and whilst we all came from Earth, there were... Surprising differences regarding our common planet’s “history”. Even so, it didn’t take long for me to adjust to my new found reality. Maids, servants, butlers, and all types of caretakers alike, were all more than eager to assist me with any of my wants and desires. So, I made sure to put them to use in my desperate pursuit of meaning and artistic expression!
Like most individuals, my interests, appearance, and wants, had gradually evolved overtime to meld and blossom into what they are now so passionately obsessed with... The purest and most pristine form of art known to all sentient, living beings in the universe!
Crochet!!!
“Ummmm... Sword Hero sir... Are you almost finished with your... Dolls? I really do think you should get back to training with the other heroes... The tournament just finished and the champions will be here shortly. You really should be present with the other heroes to welcome them...”
“Don’t talk to them like that Stella! You’ll hurt their poor, sensitive feelings!!! It’s ok Jeffington, the mean, scary lady didn’t mean that!
And now, back to you my dear, I’m almost finished with your cute wittle stitching! And... Almost... There we have it! My MASTER PIECE!!!
Ahhh! How brilliant! A body made from the finest of silk in the kingdom, stuffed to the brim with the softest of cashmere, while overflowing with a radiance and vibrance of colour! You are the epiphany of my creative expression!!! I must name thee:
Elliot, the Magnificent!”
...
“Mr. Sword hero... We really should be going...”
“Fine... Fine... Let me place Elliot the Magnificent Rainbow Dragon with the others first...”
While many people back on Earth judged me for my appearance, they all failed to see I was only trying to express my ideal self. For whatever reason, this world didn’t seem to care I was covered in piercings and dark eyeliner, which I was all the more welcomed to. After all, it helped highlight my wonderfully blue eyes... Furthermore, I was allowed to explore all of my creative pursuits, one of which manifested into my recent obsession for making cute crochet dolls!
Arriving at my adorable army of plushy friends, I neatly placed Elliot in his new home, nestled between the spear hero and magic hero! Looking around the room, everyone was in their proper spots! My recreations of the king, the princess, heroes, and all the unique citizens of the kingdom, were appropriately laid out in their respective places. Waving goodbye to my adorable recreations, I followed my attendant out towards the grand entranceway of the castle.
The walk... Was long.
This castle truly was massive. Each hallway appeared to stretch far into the horizon, and made me seriously question the space requirements the king actually needed. While all of the halls and rooms were kept exceptionally clean thanks to the dutiful attendants, this amount of space was clearly excessive in my opinion. But regardless, it wasn’t wise of me to question those who were currently allowing me the freedom to pursue the sophisticated art of crochet!
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As I walked, my thoughts drifted towards what it was like meeting the other heroes. All of us had similar experiences playing games and reading novels, so the setting of “summoned hero” was familiar to us. However, while we all came from “Earth”, it was troubling to learn a few things during our conversations and expeditions into the labyrinth below the kingdom.
Haru and Kyle, both appeared to have died, but were brought to this world as their conscious was fading. Haru was stabbed while on a date, while Kyle was hit by the infamous “Truck-kun” while crossing the street. Miles and I, appeared to be direct summons when we were going about our once daily routines. Furthermore, there were differences between the Earths we came from! Kyle’s Earth appeared to match mine, but Haru’s had a completely different history and names for major countries! Seriously... The thought of an Earth without the great “Guns & Freedom State” was appalling to me. Miles’ Earth was also rather different. Apparently, the usage of magic was possible there, and all humans instead had natural blue hair!
I learned all of these things while we ventured into the labyrinth below the Kingdom of Solara. While I had no knowledge of how to use a sword, other than it being the word in my family name, I was apparently rather gifted at using the blade. This was perhaps something related to the hero summoning magic. Regardless, I was able to effortlessly execute combos and slay monsters! But I still couldn’t get use to the blood staining my clothing!
For our party, Haru assigned himself as the leader, which none of us really cared to contest. During the 3 weeks we had for training, we had steadily raised our levels, with all of us advancing to level 8 by this time. Apparently, this rate of level growth was abnormal for this world, where it normally would take several years to reach level 8. Regarding the labyrinth journey, it was unknown how deep the dungeon actually went. The only information we had to work with, was there was some powerful treasure at the bottom we would need to defeat the Demon King... I think...
We had recently reached the 12th floor and were currently “stuck”, unable to progress further due to a weird miasma blocking our pathway. When we shared this knowledge with the king, he decided it would be best to organize a tournament to determine the strongest group of adventurers to accompany us. The thought was perhaps they would be able to figure out how to handle the miasma from their experience. I did question why he didn’t just seek council on the problem, but it wasn’t my place to voice such concerns.
The adventurers that would be joining us also further served another purpose. The dangers of the deeper labyrinth floors were starting to become too much for the royal guard to handle. Most members of the military were level 5 or 6, which while only slightly behind ours, was severely lacking in raw status power. It was not reasonable anymore to send large squads of the nations military to ensure our safety, when many could be wiped out in an instant and clutter the battlefield. So, instead, a small, effective task force compromised of only elite troops, led by Raya, was to be prepared. The adventurer guides would be a part of this task force. That’s when I noticed that I had finally made it to the entrance hallway with the other heroes.
Haru and Kyle were standing near the entranceway, currently talking with what looked like some adventurers, while Miles was standing off to the side. Were these the people who won the tournament? The first was a male of average build with brown hair, and a weird snake looking shield and sword. The 2nd individual was a... Humanoid fox? Oh, that was probably one of the beastkin races we’ve heard about. None of them were allowed into the palace, so we’ve never actually seen them. Apparently, they were usually kept as slaves in this kingdom. I wonder how strong these individuals are? I was expecting rougher looking individuals with plenty of battle scars, but these two were anything but the sort. But after seeing them, I was overcome with a surge of inspiration! It was destiny, that these two, would become my new crochet master pieces!!! Oh how I couldn’t wait to make the perfect fabric recreations of them!!!