Ebott Village is a place where humans used to reside until it was left abandoned after the disappearance of the human child that climbed the famed Mt. Ebott. The humans packed up and moved away from the village as it was known that it was the sixth child that went missing, and some legends say that those who climb Mt. Ebott are said never to return.
No one wanted to have more children go missing so they all abandoned the village. No one stepped foot in the abandoned village until news spread that monsters do indeed exist and are now residing in Ebott Village. However, because of the population, they had to expand, so Ebott Village soon became Ebott City (monster version).
"that will be 20 gold."
The village was full of monsters, you could barely see any humans there. Even the ones who have come back to life after their SOULs were used to destroy the barrier that kept them trapped underground. Years have gone by after monsters have lived on the surface, there were problems and such, but it all worked out. Monsters are living peacefully alongside humans. At least in one country.
"One, two, three... Five... Fifthteen... Yep, here you go."
A teenager handed 20 gold to someone who looked like a skeleton. The skeleton runs a shop in a small town. You can find various kinds of monsters in the city. The comedian skeleton put the products in a bag and he handed them to the teenager.
"yep, the right amount. here you go, kiddo. make sure to be home on time, toriel is really worried since news of your friends suddenly gone missing one by one. honestly, it is getting bad especially since they are the same ones who did climb the mountain. I am worried it will happen to you and fred."
"I'll be careful Sans. I don't know why this is happening. Fred and I are really getting more worried by the minute, it's been a week since Ryan, Anna, Melody, Batty, and Clover vanished."
Many things happened when the monsters came out of Mt. Ebott. But nothing like how five people have suddenly gone missing with no trace. Nobody knows what happened to them, but it was becoming more dangerous for them and their friends. They could not help but wonder who would be next.
"So... Nothing at Mt. Ebott."
Sans: "nothing frisk, no matter how much they look, or how hard they try, there are no clues in mt. ebott or the underground. believe me, kid, they look everywhere."
Frisk: "I know, I believe you Sans, and I believe in Undyne, who made sure we were updated on the situation. She is afraid that Fred or I would somehow disappear."
Sans: "ha! guess that would explain why napstablook is floating beside you."
Sans pointed at the ghost beside them, they made sure nothing bad happened to them. Frisk was glad to have protection since no one knew if it was a monster or a human that was behind this.
Sans: "so, who's watching over fred?"
Frisk: "A police officer who looks like he's been in a mine."
Sans: "i see, be very careful frisk, we don't want to lose you and fred."
Frisk nodded at their friend as they left the store with the Napstablook behind them. The wind that passed by became a bit colder than it was on their way there. It was a good thing they were wearing their sweaters. A blue zipper with purple stripes along with their blue pants.
Frisk: "Hmm... It looked nice this morning."
Napstablook: "Ahhh, it does. Oh, I should have stayed home. But I must watch over you frisk. I don't want you to disappear like they have."
The ghost began to cry and Frisk comforted them as they stopped crying. The both of them were walking home when Napstablook couldn't help but notice Frisk's expression, they could tell Frisk was not alright and seemed more down than their usual poker face even if their eyes were always closed.
Napstablook: "You missed them a lot... haven't you?"
Frisk: "I do, it's just... We all were planning to go to college together. We've been friends ever since that very day. The day they suddenly appear in my head."
They can still recall the memory of them waking up on a bed of flowers, only for them to nearly get a headache just by hearing seven people talking at once. They bonded while they were in the underground, but they bonded more when they got to the surface. They are the best friends they could ever ask for.
Frisk: "I'm so worried that something bad must have happened to them. And the fact... I felt like I was being useless here."
No matter how much they tried, for some reason, their save file became corrupted. Frisk was unable to go back to their last save point, the day where Ryan first went missing. As if it wasn't the only problem the RESET button had been glitching. They weren't sure why it was happening but whatever it was wanted this to happen. Frisk could not accept it no matter how hard they tried to load back.
Frisk: "I just wish there was a sign! A message that tells me of what happened to them, to know how they are doing! Answer me fate!"
They yelled to the heavens above, hoping to at least get a clue. But what Frisk did not know was that fate did answer them. But in a demonstration.
Napstablook: "H-huh!?"
Napstablook looked in shock and fear as they saw a strange circle glow underneath Frisk. Frisk did not seem to notice as they continued 'looking' at the sky.
Frisk: "Answer me! What have you done to my friends!"
Napstablook: "Frisk! Below you!"
Frisk blinked before looking down, finally noticing the circle below them. They quickly move away but notice as they look back that the circle is following them. They did not know if this was the work of someone or something that was not human or a monster.
Frisk: "Wha...!? Get away from me!"
Napstablook tried to help but the moment they got close to the circle something was blocking them. Unable for them to reach Frisk.
Napstablook: "Frisk! Something is stopping me! I cannot get close. Try to move as fast as you can—!"
Frisk: "Napstablook! AH!"
They suddenly began to fall; the ground became an endless abyss. A red heart glowed on their chest as Frisk immediately knew that something was trying to take their SOUL. They quickly try to either go somewhere or at least away despite seeing it effortlessly. They move away as fast as they can until they suddenly bump into something. Before Frisk could see what they'd bumped into, the ground suddenly appeared again as they landed on the grass face down.
Frisk: "Ow... What just happened?"
They asked as they saw an open field. Frisk looked very confused about this. What makes it more confusing is that someone is next to them, a man. He looks older than Frisk, they could not help but notice that his clothes are like the ones other people wore back home. Except that he noticed he's Japanese, while they never went to Japan, they do know they seem like people who are from Japan.
They just hope that the man speaks English.
"Oh... My head. That was some fall."
The man next to Frisk was starting to get up. Frisk quickly got up as they offered a hand to the man as he noticed Frisk, he had a look of surprise and confusion but took their hand as they helped him up.
Frisk saw his appearance, simple clothing, black messy hair, and green eyes that really reminded them of Fred's green eyes. It was clearly different from their own clothes. The man looked at Frisk with gratitude before talking.
"Thank you. Umm... Do you happen to know where we are?"
The man asked, hoping that Frisk would know as he looked around, noticing their location. Frisk shook his head; they told him that they had no idea where they were. They asked if he knew how they got here. The man looked troubled for a moment until he remembered something as he quickly showed a book in his hands.
"This book! I remember reading this book, I turned to a blank page as it suddenly glowed, it made me fall and I quickly grabbed the book. Then... I felt something bump into me it felt like I was knocked away from something before landing here with you."
Frisk suddenly gasps, his expression looking in shock despite not having their eyes open. They recall that a strange circle appears below them as they too fall, they now know who they bumped into as Frisk explained that they were the ones they unintentionally bumped into. They apologized to the man which got him to tell them it was okay, but at the same time, the man noticed something on his right arm.
"What is this on my arm!? A shield?"
Frisk saw the shield on his arm, it looked like a simple small shield with a green gem in the center. The way its color was shown reminded Frisk of the green SOUL. Frisk asked if they could touch it as the man allowed him to do so, they carefully touched the shield, but nothing seemed to happen. Not even when they touch the gem.
Frisk: "Hey, do you mind if I punch it?"
Frisk asked while still looking at the shield. The man looked at Frisk in surprise but nodded, he raised his shield as he knew that shields are a part of the armor that blocks attacks. Frisk prepares themselves by tightening a fist and punching the shield as hard as they can. But suddenly a burst of force came out of the shield as it knocked Frisk back by a foot, making them fall to the ground.
Frisk: "Ohhh... That is a strong shield."
They were surprised that a shield has that kind of power; they knew that a weapon used as a shield can block attacks if their SOUL is green, but a block attack with a strong reaction was something they had not expected. The man quickly ran to help Frisk.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
The man asked with a kind worried expression, checking to see if he had done some damage to Frisk.
Frisk: "Yeah, I am alright. Just never thought that a shield could do something like that!"
Frisk said as they opened their menu, they were glad they still had it. They checked the amount of damage he received; the result surprised them.
"Frisk"
LV 1
HP 19/20
ATK 0 (0) EXP: 0
DEF 0 (0) NEXT: 100
MAG 0 (0)
WEAPON: NONE
ARMOR: NONE
COPPER: 0 SILVER: 0 GOLD: 100
They were very sure that a counterattack would have done more damage to them, or being at LOVE 1 meant something else. Still, the difference they notice is that the number of points for the next LOVE has increased, and how the money was not just gold but silver and copper too. Not to mention they now have a magic stat. What is going on?
"Umm... Hey... I never got your name. I'll introduce myself; my name is Naofumi Iwatani."
Frisk: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Iwatani, my name is Frisk Dreemurr."
Naofumi: "Just call me Naofumi, Mr. Dreemurr."
Both shook hands as Naofumi asked what Frisk was doing, as it seemed all they were doing was just looking down.
Frisk: "Oh sorry, I was just looking at my menu."
Naofumi: "...Menu? Like a game?"
Frisk looked at Naofumi as if they were confused by what he said. But they answer his question.
Frisk: "Yes... And no. Well, I never was able to learn why but where I am from, we have our own menus. We can just open them up to see our status."
Naofumi: "Wait, really? Could I do that?"
Frisk: "You should be able to. You should be able to see a black screen."
Naofumi suddenly looked excited as he moved his eyes, his eyes stopped as he was looking somewhere at the bottom right.
Naofumi: "Frisk, does the menu have a small box?"
Frisk: "Huh? No. My menu just pops up whenever I need to see my status. I usually just focus as it appears."
Naofumi seemed to have taken that seriously as he focused on whatever he was looking at, but it soon turned to shock. Looks like he opened his menu. Frisk was about to say something but upon seeing Naofumi looking interested they figured to just let him get used to the menu. They could understand when they first opened their menu, but it quickly died out as there was not much to see. They figured that the excitement would soon die out but saw Naofumi was still looking at nothing.
Firks: "Huh, does that mean some people don't have menus? Or maybe... It could be something else. Then again, I could not see anyone's menus."
They mutter as they look around again. They looked up at the sky, clear as day, even though the weather was more normal than it was back... Home! Frisk suddenly panicked as they realized that they could be extremely far from home. Where were they? What did that strange circle bring them to? Would they be able to return home? Frisk looked back at Naofumi as he nodded and it looked like he closed his menu.
Naofumi: "Wow, I managed to learn a lot of information. It turns out this shield is a legendary weapon, the legendary shield."
Frisk: "Really? That would explain the sudden force. That shield must have special powers. That would also mean your defense stat must be much higher."
They figured the shield would give them a normal amount of DF but now that Frisk heard it is a legendary weapon they figured Naofumi's DEF is much higher.
Naofumi: "Yep, it's the highest, but sadly it also means my attack stat is at 1."
Frisk: "...Wait, really? My attack stat is 0!"
A shield that only gives 1 attack point, Frisk could not help but recall that the stick they picked up did not give him any attack points. But the moment they said that Naofumi looked very shocked at Frisk.
Naofumi: "0 attack stat!? That means you could not do damage at all! Wow, I feel even more sorry for you."
Frisk: "What do you mean? I can still do damage. Well, not the way how I just attacked you. Then again, I did not have a weapon with me."
Frisk began to think as they wondered why they had left the Worn Dagger and the Heart Locket at home. But what they didn't notice was that Naofumi now looked conflicted, it looked like he had never seen or heard of someone who can attack with zero attack power.
"Wow... I have no words to say about that."
Before they said anything else Frisk felt their SOUL glow again, but this time they felt the danger. They quickly look to where the enemy is and what they see... Shock them completely.
* Balloon Monster suddenly appeared!
[FIGHT] [ACT] [ITEM] [MERCY]
"...What the hell!? A balloon?"
Naofumi said in pure confusion as if he had never seen a monster like that before. Or even knows that it exists. Frisk could somewhat relate as they had never seen this specific kind of monster before. They just hoped it was spareable. They quickly check the ACT button before the monster attacks.
[❤ACT]
* Balloon Monster
❤ * Check * Pet
* Observe
* Balloon Monster - ATK 1 DEF 0
* The weakest monsters in the world.
* What a nice orange color.
They noticed how cute it looked, a round orange ball, it looked at us with sharp teeth but that made it cuter. But without warning, at least for Frisk, the balloon began to attack as Frisk quickly dodged it but the same cannot be said for Naofumi who was still as the balloon began to bite him.
Frisk: "Naofumi!"
Naofumi reacted as he tried to remove the balloon from his right arm but noticed he was not taking any damage or feeling any pain. A glow appeared around Naofumi as he saw it was his shield as his high defense stat was dealing with the attack.
Naofumi: "Uh, guess it wasn't that much of a deal."
Frisk: "It isn't now that I saw its stats. It only had one attack stat. Plus it is the weakest monster that we could have encountered."
Naofumi let out a small laugh as he looked at the balloon. It was still trying to bite through Naofumi's clothes and he noticed it was able to bite through a part of his sweater.
Naofumi: "Okay, I'll try attacking."
Frisk: "Wait!"
Naofumi had his fist ready to punch the balloon before looking at Frisk, wondering why they stopped him from attacking the balloon.
Frisk: "Let me try something."
Frisk approached the balloon, not even noticing as it was still biting but no blood or anything was seen. They decided to pet it to see its reaction, as they thought the balloon would stop biting as Frisk continued to pet it. The balloon slowly had its threatening expression turn into a happy one.
* Balloon Monster seems to calm down!
[❤MERCY]
❤ * Spare
* Flee
* YOU WON!
* You earned 0 XP and 1 copper.
The balloon went from biting Naofumi to jumping onto Frisk's arms as they continued to pet it. Naofumi was surprised by what happened, he couldn't help but be amazed.
Naofumi: "I am honestly surprised Frisk. I did not think a balloon like that was easy to calm down."
Frisk laughed as they kept on petting the balloon even more.
Frisk: "Well sometimes Kindness can be the answer to monsters. You just have to ensure that you do not mean harm to them and become friends with them. You have to have Patience to make sure you don't overreact. Plus you have to be brave to take a chance of making new companions or friends."
Naofumi was astonished by Frisk's explanation as he looked at the balloon that tried to eat him. The moment he saw the balloon looking tame he could see how cool it was. He carefully joins in the petting as the balloon enjoys receiving double affection.
Naofumi: "Wow, this reminds me of petting dogs. Sure a balloon is different but it is very round!"
Frisk laughed as they recalled how many times they enjoyed petting Lesser Dog, Greater Dog, the dog couple, and Dogamy. Heck, even they petted the Annoying Dog.
Frisk: "By the way, Naofumi, does the legendary shield do more than give you incredible defense stat?"
Naofumi stopped petting as he looked back at his shield before looking back at his menu.
Naofumi: "I'm glad you asked about it, Frisk. The help menu said that the shield can absorb anything, which means it can act as a storage for me. Especially since I have the book that brought us here in the first place, I can unlock new shields, which could be anything if the things I absorb can unlock a shield."
Frisk was amazed by the information as they wondered if that was what the green gem was for. Frisk then realized that they had a few things that Naofumi could absorb.
Frisk: "Hey Naofumi, can we experiment with the shield now that I hear about this?"
Naofumi: "We can, perhaps we can start with the book."
He said it as he put the book on the green gem, it glowed as the book was absorbed in the shield. Both of them were very surprised by what happened as Naofumi checked to see what he unlocked, what he saw interested him.
Small Shield: ability unlocked: equip bonus: +3 defense
Book Shield: equip bonus: +1 magic, + 1 magic defense, magic power-up (small)
Foresight Shield: equip bonus: ability - Foresight
Naofumi was wondering what Foresight would do as he checked the information as it told him that it can warn him of anything dangerous that wants to cause him harm. He also saw that he can permanently keep the ability if he masters the Foresight Shield if he keeps the form on for a certain amount of time for the equip bonus to be unlocked. Not wanting to miss an ability like that he focuses on switching the shield form.
Suddenly a gust of wind flowed around the legendary shield, Frisk was very focused on what the shield was doing as it covered itself in a green light. They saw the size changing as the glow died down, revealing to be the exact look of the book that was once in Naofumi's hand. The design was very similar to the book except you can see the green gem in the center.
Frisk: "Wow! Wait, can you open it up?"
Naofumi gives Frisk's suggestion a try as it seems he can open the book (shield) as he notices it has the information he saw before he got here. He wondered if that was the same for the Book Shield as he made a mental note to check that out after he mastered the Foresight Shield. Just seeing the book made him remember that he skipped a few pages before checking the Shield Hero page. Maybe Naofumi can find out why he and Frisk were brought here in the first place.
Naofumi: "You know Frisk, I didn't fully read this book. Just skip a few pages, I only read about the four heroes and a princess. Maybe this book has more information I could have learned."
Frisk: "Huh, guess it must be a good thing that you still have the book with you."
Naofumi: "I'm honestly glad to, I let go of it the moment I was about to fall but managed to grab it."
Naofumi showed the book to Frisk as he looked at it, but they soon found out that they could not understand what the page contained as the words were very unfamiliar to him. That was when they realized that they didn't speak Japanese. They said this to Naofumi which caused him to wonder why before realizing that Frisk was not from Japan like him.
Naofumi: "Frisk, did you happen to be born somewhere else?"
Frisk: "Well, I was born in the United States."
Naofumi did not expect Frisk to be born in the US, he was so sure that Frisk was born in Japan as he never thought of someone like Frisk who has the anime trait of a character whose eyes are always shut.
Naofumi: "I see, that makes sense because it seems you don't understand the Japanese words."
Frisk: "Wait, if you speak Japanese, then how is it that I can understand you? The only language I know of is English."
Both of them did not understand how they were able to understand each other before Naofumi thought of something. He began to look in the book and he found the information that legendary weapons have the ability to translate any language for the user to understand. That would explain how Naofumi could understand Frisk when he thought they were speaking Japanese.
Naofumi: "The shield has the ability to translate any language I hear, like English to Japanese."
He wondered if this was like a translator for words except it was for the language.
Frisk: "Well, at least you can understand what the book is saying. Speaking of that, maybe you should translate the book to me so we both have an understanding of why we are here."
Naofumi seemed to like the idea as the two of them sat down on the ground, Naofumi began to read the book to Frisk, very focused on what he skipped. They continue to pet the balloon who enjoys the petting as Frisk wonders just why they are here. Unlike Naofumi they don't have something that is a weapon, just a SOUL of determination.
Frisk however was worried about everyone back home, as much they wanted to find out where exactly they landed, they also wondered if their friends were also here as well. They decided to wait as they can see Naofumi was adjusting to this situation, the least they can do is to be his guide to help whatever they could.
Nothing is ever normal for them, not even for a single day.