History Fanfic / HopeOfTheShieldHero

*** Ren II then makes the smart choice of taking his closest friend and family member and fleeing to another world. Living a peaceful life and staying out of the public eye of that world for the rest of his life.

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** When Jaralis keeps trying to turn his army on Melromarc [[spoiler: after Melromarc's Third Wave opens up right above the battlefield]], Naofumi paralyzes him mid-battle and calls him out for being a murderer. A completely baseless accusation that actually makes things easier for him after the battle.
** [[spoiler:Kyo brutally beats the crap out of the Mirror Hero after the latter reveals that not only was he the one to send [[MoralityPet Kizuna]] to the Infinite Labyrinth, but also that he was planning to do it again after amputating her limbs, cutting off her tongue and raping her.]]

* LetsYouAndHimFight: (Have updated info up to here, will continue another time, don't delete this placeholder in the meantime)

** When Itsuki, Aksel and Maya enter Glass' World, they find themselves in the middle of the Ancient Library Labyrinth, a high-level dungeon, while they are level 1, making it pretty much impossible for them to get out. Then, when they try to make fire, they get warned that making fire is against the rules - so Itsuki deliberately triggers it, getting himself and his party kicked out of the Labyrinth.

** As noted by Naofumi himself, all four heroes tend to be dense when it comes to romance.

** Rishia progresses in character development much faster thanks to Itsuki's encouragement and her lack of a BrokenPedestal while in the Otherworld.

** While in the Otherworld Arc, it's shown that while RapidAging still occurs in the case of Raphtalia and Maya, because of how quickly they leveled up, it was revealed that RapidAging still requires at least the course of a week for demi-humans to hit their age-up growth-wise. So it is in fact NOT an instantaneous feature that happens as one level up, but a process, a very quick process.

** Ren notices during the fight against the plant monster that Wyndia, while having hardly grown, is older than she looks. In interactions with Wyndia, she is shown to be calm and mature. But in more personal cases, she's also shown to care for others, and worries for the Sword Hero. In short, she reads more like a teenage girl instead of a child.

*** This is still true after 125 chapters.

* SevenHeavenlyVirtues: The Heroes can end up unlocking a Blessed Series weapon, which are the counterparts of canon's Cursed Series, based on the SevenDeadlySins. Unlocking a Blessed Series requires overcoming a trial that would have unlocked a Cursed Series or regaining the purpose of fighting for the world. While powerful, the latter unlock option has a weakness in that the Hero must hold onto the virtue that unlocks the weapon, and they have a time limit of use. Naofumi unlocks the Shield of Hope early in the story, which grants him several very useful skills. In instances where it becomes something more, that timer is slowed down, or outright not mentioned entirely.

** (For next chapter)

** Eclair developed a crush on the Shield Hero due to the stories her parents told her about him. However, when she meets Naofumi, she can tell that he is in love with someone else and tries to let go of it.
** Wyndia acts like a {{Tsundere}} when she's around Ren (mostly because he was duped into killing her adoptive father, although he immediately tries to begin to atone), but her care for him and her wish to help him can be clearly seen. The fact that one of the few memories she has of her mother singing the song of the Sword Hero is one reason. Her unknowingly being a descendant of the past Sword Hero Keichi is another possibility. Either way, she falls in love with Ren.

* TailorMadePrison: The fic features one that holds the Shield Hero and Eclair, not allowing them to access their magic nor their inventories.

* WouldHurtAChild: Kyo has no problem in killing babies if it fulfills his objectives.
* {{Xenafication}}: Downplayed, but the women in Motoyasu become more powerful and capable after he abandons them. This is due to Aultcray forcing Malty to study and them using Rino to gain levels.
* YouRemindMeOfX: Wyndia reminds Ren of his best friend.

''Hope of the Shield Hero'' (renamed ''Diligence of the Shield Hero'') is a ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' fanfic written by Allen Blaster, and can be read on Website/FanfictionDotNet [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13350285/1/Hope-of-the-Shield-Hero here]] or on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2360128 here]].

The story was put on Hiatus as of September 28th, 2022 after concerns from the author about their own mental health. But after a while, he planned on ending the fic's hiatus after finishing his other fic "Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure". Leading to the story’s hiatus ending on August 7, 2023 and is now being updated weekly again.

!!''Hope/Diligence of the Shield Hero'' provides examples of:

** In canon, Raphtalia and Filo behave like sisters, often bickering for the attention of their father/mutual-crush Naofumi. Here it's framed more like a mother-daughter relationship. Raphtalia even encourages Filo to identify her as "mommy" and Naofumi as "daddy." It is shown to go both ways as Naofumi often refers to Filo as "my daughter" at times instead of viewing her as just a {{Mon}} he bought.
** In canon, Naofumi is hated by his fellow heroes thanks to his false rape accusation, while he has disdain for them for their recklessness and treating the world like a fantasy. Here, Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren have a stronger respect for each other, with Ren and Itsuki knowing that Naofumi never raped Mein/Malty and even offering advice to him on upgrading his shield and reaching the Waves. Motoyasu later reaches this point as well.
** The four heroes are better at working together than their canon selves. They eventually reach the point of being like brothers to one another.
** Ren's relationship with Eclair starts off better since he is more willing to learn from her. She isn't his first LoveInterest in the series either, as he instead develops feelings for Wyndia earlier on. She and Ren both end up having a healthy mentor-mentee relationship with the rose-haired knight.

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: The Shield, Bow and Sword heroes all have elements of this added to their backstory. Naofumi's heart was shattered back in school, which is why he has a harder time trusting people even before Malty's betrayal. The Bow hero had a friend who was bullied to suicide, which is why he can't stand bullies making people suffer. And the sword hero knew someone who was almost raped, which is why he [[SpottingTheThread instantly starts seeing red flags]] when Malty jumps into the Spear Hero's bed after [[FalseRapeAccusation accusing Naofumi of raping her]].
* AdaptationalHeroism: The canon-counterparts of Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu are all [[IdiotHero Idiot Heroes]] at best, ThePoorlyChosenOne at worst and only ever make things worse in their attempts at a short-sighted chance at living out a hero fantasy for the first ten light novels of the story, only being redeemed and becoming real heroes after that point. In this story, both Ren and Itsuki are [[AdaptationalIntelligence far less gullible]], [[AdaptationalNiceGuy far less of a dick to Naofumi]], and each have a BreakTheHaughty moment that makes them more worthy of their titles. [[spoiler:Ren is tricked into killing an innocent dragon by men who want to enslave its adoptive daughter, Wyndia. Itsuki starts a campaign against the Melromarc nobility's practice of slavery and cruelty to demi-humans, upgrading to the role of [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous]] AntiHero when he sees just how bad it really is when a noble kills a demi-human child. And lastly, Motoyasu later becomes a Hero as well after he learns just how bad Bitch truly was. Letting his kindness and other traits show for Naofumi and the other Heroes.]]

* AdaptationalWimp: Downplayed. Because of the "WhatIf" nature of the story, many events have significantly changed that made Naofumi and his Party somewhat weaker than their Canon selves. However, in-exchange for this, [[AdaptationalBadass Naofumi's Party now has other means that his Canon self is lacking in.]]
** Naofumi doesn't have Gaelion's crystal; which makes his Barbarian Armor slightly weaker, along with Naofumi not possessing the '''Blood Sacrifice''' Skill from the '''Cursed Series''' that was used to kill the Pope. [[spoiler:However, having unlocked the '''Blessed Series''' much earlier, Naofumi has access to the '''[[TakenForGranite Pandoras' Box]]''' Skill which he used to defeat the Pope and restrain him long enough to separate him from The Replica and be imprisoned.]]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:The Mirror Hero reveals to [[ArcVillain Kyo]] that he was the one that sent Kizuna into the Infinite Labyrinth, and that he intends to do it again after mutilating and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping her]]. Kyo brutally kills him.]]

** Kizuna hates being called "lolibaba".

** Just as Ren and Motoyasu are about to die in the crystal prisons they're being held in by Kyo, Wyndia smashes it with a gem magic spell, and afterward, pulls the Sword Hero from his DespairEventHorizon with a hug and words from her heart.

* BrickJoke: Remember how Naofumi noted that he had to find someone that could give Raphtalia TheTalk? [[spoiler:Chapter 39, "He Forgot The Talk", has him realizing (after he and Raphtalia snogged for a while) that he forgot that, and now he might be forced to do it himself.]]

* BroughtDownToBadass: When a reincarnator steals the Hunting Tools Weapon from Kizuna, not only does it render him inoffensive, it allows Kizuna to use lethal force without restriction and turn the thief into LudicrousGibs with [[OneHitKill one punch]].

** Ren and Wyndia, and Itsuki and Rishia, also have a lot of trouble trying to convey their feelings.

*** Itsuki goes from having an InferioritySuperiorityComplex to acting like [[JustLikeRobinHood an actual Robin Hood]] by fighting for SlaveLiberation and stopping Melromarc's worst nobles. He also relies on his party, better relates with them all, and even does his best to encourage Rishia, doing his best to overcome his flaws and become a real hero.
*** Ren begins to lose his IneffectualLoner attitude as he realizes he needs other people if he is to survive and aid in stopping the Waves of Catastrophe. As he gets stronger, he cares more for his party, and eventually develops a deep love for his party member and friend Wyndia, one which she reciprocates.

* ClarkKenting: During the Chapter 42 omake, Naofumi, Ren, Itsuki, and their parties manage to infiltrate Rabier... while wearing glasses. Ren and Itsuki become convinced that the Church Knights are completely stupid. The only one that even comes close to sound suspicious of them confounds Itsuki for his cousin.

* ClusterBleepBomb: The author, not being keen on writing expletives, replaces the words with either asterisks or symbols - which creates this effect whenever Naofumi gets going.

* CrapsackWorld: High-level monsters appear and kill indiscriminately until they are stopped by deadly force? Check. There is a giant magical hourglass showing when it will happen, each and every time? Check. HumansAreBastards? Check. One of the most honest and upright merchants in the setting at the beginning is a slave trader? Check

* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:The fight against Glass. Naofumi uses the Soul Eater Shield's power to drain her of energy and blocks her attacks. He then buffs up Ren while Itsuki debuffs Glass, and Ren unleashes his latest skill, '''One Thousand Swords''', to defeat Glass.]]

* CutenessOverload: Raph-chan induces this in Naofumi. After she is created, Naofumi spends an entire page's worth thinking '''Pet.'''

** The Cursed Series is this. They greatly empower the user, but at the risk of pushing them into a reflection of their worst selves. Naofumi's Shield of Wrath makes him capable of heavily damaging his enemies... at the cost of making him unable to distinguish friend from foe. Itsuki's Bow of Pride turns him into a ControlFreak with brainwashing powers that, similar to Naofumi, puts him in danger of harming his allies. [[spoiler: And then there's Ren's Sword of Gluttony, which grants him obscene amounts of attack power, as well as the ability to weaken his enemies and absorb health from them, allowing him to kill the Spirit Tortoise with basically zero effort... but for all this, it also makes him go on an indiscriminate rampage, attacking anything and everything nearby, seeking EXP. He is also inflicted with a curse that keeps him from gaining EXP after he comes out of his Cursed Series.]]
** The Blessed Series run on the Heroes' positive feelings (such as Hope, Bravery, Compassion, etc.), but in their great strength lies their greatest weakness: if the Hero is unable to sustain such feelings, they run the risk of falling even worse into the problems the Cursed Series would cause. At least, that is the case early on...

** [[spoiler:Trash spills the beans about how he murdered his uncle and father, kills all the soldiers under his command when they turn on him, and admits he did it all just because he wants the Vassal Katana. Unfortunately for him, Naofumi had a crystal ball on hand, courtesy of Motoyasu, and thus, he recorded the entire thing. Meaning he can clear Glass and co of murdering their fellow hero once and for all.]]

* GodzillaThreshold: [[spoiler: When Ren unlocks the Sword of Gluttony, it takes Fitoria using the ability "Sanctuary" to forcefully drag him out of his Cursed State. Ren's overall mental health doesn't come out well at the other side, and it takes a month for him to recover.]]

* GoodWeaponEvilWeapon: While the [[EvilWeapon Cursed Series]] weapons still exist, there is also the addition of the Blessed Series.
** Naofumi has the Shield of Hope (not to be mistaken with the Shield of Compassion from canon). The first level is unlocked when Raphtalia [[RestoredMyFaithInHumanity declares her complete trust and love in him even after her slave crest is removed]], and it gets upgraded by exploring his feelings of hope and love Raphtalia inspires in him. He's said to be able to unlock another Shield, the Shield of Diligence, later in the story.
** Ren has the Sword of Bravery, which becomes unlocked when he makes peace with the friends he lost fighting the Spirit Tortoise and resolves to make Wyndia happy, breaking off from his previous lone wolf attitude.

** In chapter 34, Filo starts to deliver them wholesale to the knights trying to kill Naofumi, so much that Naofumi wonders if he should teach her to attack other parts of the body. Hopefully, fighting with Fitoria solved this issue.

* GuestStarPartyMember: Discussed. Itsuki offers to temporarily add Naofumi and Raphtalia to his party as Naofumi hadn't had a chance to register the Dragon Hourglass yet. [[spoiler:Naofumi turns him down, instead opting to [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome break into the Church of the Three Heroes and force his way to the Hourglass with seconds to spare before the Wave started]].]]
* GodzillaThreshold: [[spoiler:In a bind on how to force Otherworld's Cardinal Heroes to realize [[NotAGame they are not in a game]], Itsuki decides to resort to force them to confront reality by putting them through a traumatic event.]]

* HufflepuffHouse: While the author did an outstanding job with the Sword and Bow Hero's parties, giving them names, personalities, and development, taking them out of this trope, sadly the trope still applies to the Spear Hero's party. Averted somewhat in more recent chapters that show off more of the party, but definitely made fun of in an omake in Chapter 64, the very first chapter of Diligence.

** Naofumi eventually encounters the Miracle Seed and used Plant Reform on it.

* LetsYouAndHimFight:

*** [[spoiler:In Chapter 76, Raphtalia finally gets given "The Talk" by Therese, who makes a mental note to slap Naofumi for forgetting about it. She actually does slap him for it.]]

* ClingyMacGuffin: The legendary weapons must always remain on the hero's person, though their size, appearance, and location can be adjusted to render them inconspicuous.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Itsuki is terrified of himself when he realizes the brainwashing power he has used on the mercenaries attacking him.]]
** Naofumi suffers a HeroicBSOD when he realizes that [[spoiler:he has killed many people under the influence of the Shield of Rage II and gravely injured Raphtalia.]]

* OffTheRails: Because of ''PointOfDivergence'', many events from both the Light Novel and Anime happen very differently in this story.

* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: The Otherworld Conference organized by King Corrin. The only thing they manage to agree with is lifting sanctions against Sickle after they get irrefutable proof that Trash was the one who got Kenshiro killed - and, even then, it takes them a full day to approve the measure and there are ''still'' several delegates . When it comes to the serious matter of the Waves, it quickly splinters, as several of the leaders think they can profit from the Waves and don't care about other countries.
* OffTheRails: Because of ''ForWantOfANail'', many events from both the Light Novel and Anime happen very differently in this story.

** After Filo hatches, due to Naofumi not being able to enter the Capital to try and get a slave crest from Beloukas, Naofumi has to raise Filo by himself with Raphtalia's help. This leads to him and Filo becoming more of a [[AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul
Father/Daughter relationship]].

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The modified Miracle Seeds Naofumi kept in his inventory end up being useful when he and Rishia get trapped in the Infinite Labyrinth with Kizuna.]]

* RageBreakingPoint: One of the two options which can lead to a Hero unlocking their Cursed Series.

* BreakTheCutie: After all the hell she went through, Kizuna still manages to keep her optimism. Then [[spoiler:Kyo, the person she considered a friend and that she was hoping to stop,]] revealed everything he had done as part of his EvilPlan. Kizuna, in response, unlocked the Cursed Series and attempted to kill [[spoiler:him]].

** [[InSpiteOfANail Ren still kills Gaelion]], but this time he learns both that he was duped and that Gaelion had an adopted child (Wyndia) who was the real target of the man who hired him to return Wyndia to his owner: [[spoiler:Pope Balamus]]. After being shown Gaelion's memories; [[NotAGame the façade that Ren believed in for so long in thinking that this world was at all Brave Star Online finally cracks]]. To atone for his mistake, Ren fights the slavers off and takes Wyndia in as a party member. He also gives Gaelion a proper burial and properly disposes of the corpse, thus clearing the issue of a Dracolich terrorizing the town below. He does, however, have Gaelion's Dragon Emperor Fragment resting in his sword. [[spoiler:He also unlocks his Cursed Series during this event, which is eventually revealed to be the Greed Series.]]

* AdaptationalWimp: Downplayed. Because of the "ForWantOfANail" nature of the story, many events have significantly changed that made Naofumi and his Party somewhat weaker than their Canon selves. However, in-exchange for this, [[AdaptationalBadass Naofumis' Party now has other means that his Canon self is lacking in.]]
** Naofumi doesn't have Gaelions' crystal; which makes his Barbarian Armor slightly weaker, along with Naofumi not possessing the '''Blood Sacrifice''' Skill from the '''Cursed Series''' that was used to kill the Pope. [[spoiler:However, having unlocked the '''Blessed Series''' much earlier, Naofumi has access to the '''[[TakenForGranite Pandoras' Box]]''' Skill which he used to defeat the Pope and restrain him long enough to separate him from The Replica and be imprisoned.]]

** Played Straight with the two '''Interdimensional Soul Eater''' Bosses from Chapter 58: who in Canon were too difficult that Naofumi had to resort to using '''Iron Maiden''' to defeat one of them. Here, thanks to Naofumi, Ren, and Itsuki having shared their Strengthening Methods with one-another along with incorporating Naofumis' own [[MagikarpPower pseudo]]-[[SkillScoresAndPerks methods]] to strengthen their Weapons and Parties, along with having taken part alongside Naofumi in an even tougher battle with the Tyrant Dragon Rex weeks earlier[[note]]a Monster so powerful that Fitoria had killed it in Canon, and that a previous set of all Four Cardinal Heroes saw no other choice ''but'' to seal it away[[/note]], the Sword and Bow Heroes were able to One-Shot both Soul Eaters.
* AlternateUniverse: The Heroes quickly determine that while they all came from Japan they all originate from Japans in different ''universes''. Their currency is slightly different, they have different politicians, and the world they happen to be summoned to is, to them, from very different games. In Naofumi's case it wasn't a game at all, but a book.

*** Itsuki goes from having an InferioritySuperiorityComplex to acting like [[JustLikeRobinHood an actual Robin Hood]] by fighting for SlaveLiberation and stopping Melromarc's worst nobles. He also relies on his party, better relates with them all, and even does his best to encourage Rishia; doing his best to overcome his flaws and become a real hero.

* EmpathicWeapon: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. What happens when your Legendary Weapon also reacts to your worst emotions? The result is the Curse Series, the Superpowered Evil Side of the Legendary Heroes' weapons, which only become accessible when the wielder flies past the Despair Event Horizon. While they do grant powerful moves and are terrifyingly powerful, they also eat away at the user by intensifying the associated emotion (i.e. hatred or greed) until it is the user's only motivation — and that doesn't take into account the other detriments.

** [[spoiler:Trash spills the beans about how he murdered his uncle and father. And proceeds to then kill all the soldiers under his command when they turn on him. And admits he did it all just because he wants the Vassal Katana. Unfortunately for him, Naofumi had a crystal ball on hand, courtesy of Motoyasu, and thus, he recorded the entire thing. Meaning he can clear Glass and co of murdering their fellow hero once and for all.]]

** The exception to this are a few members of Lute, who term him the Shield Demon... right up until Naofumi and his party save the village from the Wave, after which they start treating him with more respect, going as far as to call him a "Real Hero".

** Because he managed to overhear Maltys' FalseRapeAccusation plan, Naofumi manages to escape the Inn with both his purchased Armor and all of his money before going to Elhart for help and explains to him what Malty is planning to do, so Elhart never suspects him of the rape.

** Because he wasn't that jaded due to how soon it was, Naofumi and Raphtalias' interactions together were much more sympathetic; seeing the young Demi-Human not as a slave he had purchased but as the child she appeared as.

** Due to Ren having firsthand experience with a rape victim in his old life; Ren was completely suspicious of Maltys' claim when on the same night after making the accusation: she decided to shack up and bed with Motoyasu. Information which Ren shares with Itsuki; allowing them to be more trusting towards Naofumi when they meet later.
** Because of Naofumis' fugitive status within Melromarc; he had to be smuggled into the Capital to return to Elhart for new equipment.
*** Also, instead of being allowed in to register at the Dragon Hourglass, the Church Knights posted outside prevented Naofumi from registering: [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption forcing Naofumi little other choice than to fight his way into the Three Heroes' Church and Register himself and Raphtalia]]: being teleported out of the Church and into Lute Village just as the Wave Timer hit 0.
** Naofumi attends the celebration after the first Wave only because he was invited by some of the Royal Knights with a guarantee that he would not be arrested by King Aultcray. During the party, [[IShallTauntYou he thoroughly enjoyed making the King angry with his unarrestable presence.]]
** Because of how much trust Ren has in Naofumis' innocence; he warns the Shield Hero of the Churches' plan to attack him; forcing Naofumi to instead of being tricked into a duel with Motoyasu over Raphtalias "freedom", to instead serves as a [[WeNeedADistraction diversion]] so he wouldn't be attacked underneath the rules of a Sacred Heroes Duel.
** Naofumi actually wins the duel against Motoyasu, having used his unlocked Blessed Series '''Shield of Hope''' to cast the '''Hope Asunder''' skill: which destroys Motoyasus' armor, forcing the Spear Hero to surrender and accept defeat. The only reason Naofumis' declared the loser this time is because Bitch throws a tantrum and states (with no proof whatsoever) that Raphtalia used magic (after Bitch herself blatantly used magic on Naofumi).
** Queen Mirelia is already aware of the Pope's intentions to overthrow the royal family.

*** [[SlaveLiberation Because of Itsuki's new goals]]: a large number of his Noble and Church Zealot Party Members: including [[ToxicFriendInfluence Mauld]] wind up leaving his Party, resulting in the Bow Hero recruiting a party that is more of a RagTagBunchOfMisfits instead.
** Naofumi learns about the Weapon Copy system from Ren after his duel with Motoyasu. Where before leaving the Capital, Naofumi stops at Elharts' shop to upgrade Raphtalias' equipment and copy a few Shields for himself.
** He is also made aware of Raphtalia's not-so-platonic feelings for him after she brings him out of the Cursed Series before he unlocks the '''Shield of Rage.'''
** After Filo hatches, due to Naofumi not being able to enter the Capital to try and get a slave crest from Beloukas; Naofumi has to raise Filo by himself: [[AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul eventually resulting in him and Filo developing a straight Father/Daughter relationship with one-another]].
** Without Naofumi there to counter Motoyasu and challenge him over the latter's takeover of Lute, the townspeople are soon driven into outright rebellion due to his abysmal rulership. [[spoiler:Eventually, the town's former adventurers form a group called the Order of the Spear Breakers, and rise up in arms against Motoyasu and Myne's knights, fighting until their former Lord is restored to his position. The Lord then returns from the Capital with a seal from King Aultcray: [[WhatTheHellHero chewing both Motoyasu and Myne out for everything that they did]] while the restored Lord proceeds to expel Motoyasu, his party, and the knights from his village: [[PersonaNonGrata stating that they will never be allowed to return.]] The Spear Breakers disappear shortly thereafter in order to avoid the trouble their rebellion could cause to them and their town. They have as of yet to reappear.]]
** Because of the incident with Lute Village, Motoyasu has lost his favoring by King Aultcray, and thus separates him and Myne for some time. [[spoiler:It's revealed several chapters later that Aultcray punished Malty by subjecting her to a TrainingFromHell that caused her level to be raised to 66.]]

** [[InSpiteOfANail Ren still kills Gaelion]], but this time he learns both that he was duped and that Gaelion had an adopted child (Wyndia) who was the real target of the man who hired him to return Wyndia to his owner:[[spoiler:Pope Balamus]]. After being shown Gaelions' memories; [[NotAGame the façade that Ren believed in for so long in thinking that this world was at all Brave Star Online finally cracks.]] To atone for his mistake, Ren fights the slavers off and takes Wyndia in as a party member. He also gives Gaelion a proper burial and properly disposes of the corpse, thus clearing the issue of a Dracolich terrorizing the town below. He does, however, have Gaelion's Dragon Emperor Fragment resting in his sword. [[spoiler:it's possible during this event, he unlocked his Cursed Series. Yet, similar to Naofumi after the duel, it has as of yet to reveal what sin it is tied to.]]
** Instead of Naofumi, the one that ends up going after the Bio-Plant monster Motoyasu had unwittingly unleashed, this time it is Ren.
** Because Itsuki decided to [[SlaveLiberation liberate the Demi-Human slaves]] being held by the Melromarc nobles instead of going after corrupt governments, and did it by killing a majority of the slave-owning nobles, not only is he deemed a false hero by the Church[[note]]since the majority of these Nobles were part of the Three Heroes Church[[/note]], making him the Churchs' priority target over Naofumi, but now he's also wanted by the Kingdom of Melromarc for more obvious reasons.
*** After seeing one of these Nobles simply kill his Demi-Human slave: A child, it triggers Itsuki as he remembers his friend who was DrivenToSuicide long ago and starts him down on [[NotAGame the path to realizing that this was not at all like]] ''Dimension Web''. Though he tried to deny it for so long afterwards; believing that it was just a very dark Quest Storyline that he felt compelled to completing, [[spoiler:the reality of the situation wouldn't become finalized until he was brought into an ambush [[ILetGwenStacyDie and one of his Party members Marx was killed by members of the Church right before his eyes]]: resulting in Itsuki unlocking the next stage of his Cursed Series: '''Bow Of Justice II'''.]]

** Since Naofumi doesn't have the Dragon's Heart accessory (Gaelion's Dragon Emperor Fragment taken from the Necrodragon) with his Berserker Armor, he won't have access to the Eternal Torment [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Blutopher]] Shield Spell used to kill off the High Pope in Canon.
** Eclair is introduced much earlier in the series than in canon as Naofumi's cellmate when he first wakes up in the Castle Dungeons; [[TeamMemberInTheAdaptation even becoming a part of his Party.]]
*** Because of Eclairs' presence, Naofumi was able to learn more about why exactly King Aultcray had it out for him since day one by detailing his DarkAndTroubledPast which saw Aultcray go from the optimistic Staff Hero that pushed back the Demi-Human tide out of a sense of protecting his people, to hearing how his own sister was murdered which served as his StartOfDarkness to become the ill-tempered Trash King that Naofumi had first met.

** [[spoiler:Naofumi challenges Bitch to a duel once he saves Melty's life and escapes the Dungeons. He almost wins; despite the Bitch Princess being now 24 Levels above him, but due to Malty/Myne/Bitch promising to torture Raphtalia and Filo to death once he's dead, Naofumi ends up using his Cursed Series to utterly destroy Myne, unlocking '''Shield of Rage II''' in the process and his rampage ends up decimating the entire town area he fought in. Raphtalia suffers cursed burns from trying to snap Naofumi out of his Rage-induced rampage, almost dying in the process.]]

** [[spoiler:King Aultcray is now front-and-center to the Coup instead of learning about it afterwards from Mirellia [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething as he now fights against the traitorous Church Knights]]; showcasing that even though he no longer possesses the Vassal Staff; he's still not going to go down easily. After the Judgement spell strikes his city and The Pope claiming that Melty was caught in the blast, causing Aultcray to fall into a HeroicBSOD as [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Pope Balamus now has free reign and takes control over Melromarc.]]]]
** [[spoiler:After arriving at Van Reichnotts' territory and having unlocked '''Shield of Hope II''' to heal both Raphtalia and Rishia, Naofumi and the other two heroes hold their own version of the Heroes Meeting far sooner than in Canon; minus Motoyasu.]]
*** [[spoiler:[[BandOfBrothers Due to the three Heroes being more connected and trusting of one-another here]], Naofumi was able to convince them to share their individual power-up methods with each-other: and due to their shared experiences managed to easily believe one-another that [[AdaptationalBadass they managed to unlock each-others' methods for their Legendary Weapons to gain more power much sooner than ever before.]]]]
** [[spoiler:The Church sends an army to support Idol Rabier's attack on Van Reichnott's lands after Itsuki had killed almost every other corrupt Noble in Melromarc that had a measure of authority and faith in The Three Heroes Church.]]
** [[spoiler:When Raphtalia was taken away from Rabier, the Shadow tried to give her medicine for her sickness: only for Raphtalia to ask it be given to Rifana instead. [[InSpiteOfANail while Rifana still dies]], because of the assault on Rabiers' Estate happening just a week before the Second Wave, Raphtalia was at least able to give Rifanas' corpse a proper burial in Luroluna instead of just burying her friends' skeletal remains like what happened in Canon.]]
*** Also, the Three Heroes are able to rescue far more Demi-Human Slaves that were kept imprisoned by Idol Rabier; delivering them to Van Reichnotts' estate.
** [[spoiler:When Idol Rabier unleashed the '''Tyrant Dragon Rex''' from its prison; instead of chasing after Naofumi and Filo like in Canon; it instead chases after Ren due to him possessing Gaelions' Dragon Gemstone in his Sword.]]

** [[spoiler:Following the Popes' defeat, a large number of the Three Heroes Church and Myne managed to escape in the confusion and is still at large within Melromarc: meaning that Meltys' life is still in danger [[TeamMemberInTheAdaptation and has become an official member of Naofumis' Party]], instead of being a GuestStarPartyMember like in Canon.]]
*** [[spoiler:While meeting with Motoyasu, Naofumi gives him Fitorias' cowlick to unlock the Filolial Series for his Spear.]]
** [[spoiler:Mirellia is now a lot softer with Aultcray than before in Canon; having seen her husband left a despondent mess since The Three Heroes Churches' Coup had nearly broken his spirit.]]

*** [[spoiler:Because of Itsuki and Ren sharing their Strengthening Methods with one-another; the two of them were able to more quickly solo the two '''Interdimensional Soul Eaters''', instead of having Naofumi use his IronMaiden Skill on one, while Glass crushed the second one when it popped out like in the Anime.]]

** The Three Heroes Church codify this trope due to their adherence to ''[[ShieldsAreUseless Shields Are Evil]]'', where even their own dedicated Knights choose to go into battle without carrying any shields. [[spoiler:When Queen Mirellia and her Royal Knights launch their attack to retake Melromarcs' Capital from The Three Heroes Church, the Church Knights wound up getting mowed down simply because they didn't try to carry any form of protection with them; while the Royal Knights took cover behind their own shields.]]

** [[spoiler:Ren has a LoveConfession to each other the night before the first fight against the Spirit Tortoise. She gives the other half of the LoveConfession after she rescues him.]]

* SelfDeprecation: The authorntakes a piss on himself in Chapter 100's {{Omake}} by showing how terrible he would be as the Bow Hero in spite of (more like because of) his meta-knowledge.

* SelfDeprecation: The author [[TakeThatMe takes a piss on himself]] in Chapter 100's {{Omake}} by showing how terrible he would be as the Bow Hero in spite of (more like because of) his meta-knowledge.

The story was put on Hiatus as of September 28th, 2022 after concerns from the author about their own mental health. He planned on ending the fic's hiatus after finishing his other fic "Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure". Leading to the story’s hiatus ending on August 7, 2023 and is now being updated weekly again.

The story was put on Hiatus as of September 28th, 2022 after concerns from the author about their own mental health. He plans on ending the fic's hiatus soon though now that he's finished his other fic "Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure". The stories hiatus ended on August 7, 2023 and is now being updated again.

!!''Hope of the Shield Hero'' provides examples of:

** Because of the incident with Lute Village, Motoyasu has lost his favoring by King Aultcray, and thus separates him and Myne for some time. [[spoiler:Its' revealed several chapters later that Aultcray punished Malty by subjecting her to a TrainingFromHell that caused her level to be raised to 66.]]

** [[spoiler:When Idol Rabier unleashed the '''Tyrant Dragon Rex''' from its' prison; instead of chasing after Naofumi and Filo like in Canon; it instead chases after Ren due to him possessing Gaelions' Dragon Gemstone in his Sword.]]

** Played Straight with the two '''Interdimensional Soul Eater''' Bosses from Chapter 58: who in Canon were too difficult that Naofumi had to resort to using '''Iron Maiden''' to defeat one of them. Here, thanks to Naofumi, Ren, and Itsuki having shared their Strengthening Methods with one-another along with incorporating Naofumis' own [[MagikarpPower pseudo]]-[[SkillScoresAndPerks methods]] to strengthen their Weapons and Parties, the Sword and Bow Heroes were able to One-Shot both Soul Eaters.

The story was put on Hiatus as of September 28th, 2022 after concerns from the author about their own mental health. He plans on ending the fic's hiatus soon though now that he's finished his other fic "Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure".

The story was put on Hiatus as of September 28th, 2022 after concerns from the author about their own mental health. Recently, he finished his stories for the Teen Titans fandom and has been working on his other Rising Of the Shield Hero story "Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure"; he plans on finishing that one up before finally resuming work on this story.

** After Filo hatches, due to Naofumi not being able to enter the Capital to try and get a slave crest from Beloukas; Naofumi has to raise Filo by himself: eventually resulting in him and Filo developing a straight Father/Daughter relationship with one-another.

The story was put on Hiatus as of September 28th, 2022 after concerns from the author about their own mental health. But recently he seems to have recovered and is writing again, though is only doing his other Rising Of the Shield Hero story; so only time will tell if he’s ready to continue this story in the foreseeable future.