by Nikita Thorn
“Hey!” yelled Satoru from another tree.
For a moment, as Seiki gazed at the two corpses on the ground, a thought crossed his mind that he could loot them right now and take to his heels. The Hikari, he could always claim back in Mannaka Village.
Satoru had let loose another arrow from her tree, in an attempt to keep the beast off the only healer, and the Chimi dashed up to it. The monster sank its front claws into the trunk and started to climb.
Satoru cursed. “It’s a cat.”
With one last glance at the dead bodies, Seiki grimaced and ran out from behind the tree. “Hey!” he yelled. He had no idea what he was trying to achieve, but these people were giving their all, and he simply could not bring himself to run away like a coward.
The ryoushi, at Level 17, could do a decent amount of damage, and perhaps Seiki could buy them a few more seconds with his Slides.
The Chimi turned toward him in slight surprise. “Ah,” it said. Perhaps the fact that he was a ronin also helped, and the thing abandoned the ryoushi and jumped down from the tree. Seiki mapped out the longest Slide he could, taking it around the tree. He should not be able to outrun this thing, but Miya was keeping Hinder up on it, slowing it down once in a while.
Wondering whether speed potions existed, Seiki prepared another Slide, using almost all his energy. He could hear Satoru’s bow singing as he let loose his normal arrows.
He could not run out of range of the healer, and he had only one Parry on his Jade Steel Dagger before the thing killed him. Another useless thought arose about how he missed the extra energy regeneration he got from his Kohagane, which was somehow very noticeable in a time like this.
As the Chimi closed in, Seiki turned, drew his dagger and Parried. His skin was both warm and cool at the same time with Ward and Soothe, as the houshi tried her best to keep him alive. But as expected, there was a limit on the Parry, and the violent force of the impact sent an icy wave through his body. Next thing he knew, he was on the hard damp ground, his mind in a haze. With Miya at Level 23, her Heal filled his health in one go, and as his vision cleared Seiki saw the Chimi’s wrinkled face staring at him.
Mountain Chimi [Level 27 Rare]. HP 5012/12810. Energy 4125/7050.
It was standing over him, one paw on his chest to pin him in place. Its eyes were abnormally large and did not seem to reflect light.
“Are you afraid?” asked the beast.
“Not really,” said Seiki. “There are worse monsters.”
The Chimi did not like the answer. It hissed, and stepped up on Seiki’s chest with both its paws, its weight squeezing the wind off him. Seiki winced, but it did no damage, except make it difficult to breathe.
Satoru’s super-charged Focused Shot hit the Chimi on its shoulder, and it turned and snarled at the ryoushi.
“Hey! Look at me!” said Seiki, getting the beast’s attention back.
“Are you afraid?” asked the beast again.
“No,” said Seiki, wondering if keeping it engaged in conversation was indeed a viable tanking strategy.
“No?” said the Chimi. It extended its claws, and Seiki could feel their icy sharpness pierce through his armor into his thorax. He thought this was probably it and that, despite everyone’s attempt to keep him here, he would finally be free of these people. And completely blameless at that. But perhaps the Chimi knew its numbers, and Seiki’s health dropped to exactly five percent, just before the automatic Strength of Will activated.
Seiki opened his eyes. He felt wet blood drenching the front of his clothes.
“And now, are you afraid?” it asked him.
The ryoushi’s normal arrows were still whittling away at its health, most of which it blocked with its tail.
Mountain Chimi [Level 27 Rare]. HP 4064/12810. Energy 4125/7050.
“If you knew what I’ve gone through,” Seiki said. “You’re not scary to me.”
The Chimi bent down, bringing its human face uncomfortably close, and Seiki turned his head away. The monster’s thin long tongue dragged across his chest as it licked up his blood.
“Okay, that’s disgusting now,” Seiki admitted.
Mountain Chimi [Level 27 Rare]. HP 4143/12810. Energy 4387/7050.
It was recovering health.
And so did Seiki, in a quick bout that was not a Heal, and his wounds closed immediately.
Before Miya could Ward Seiki, the Chimi hissed and sank its claws into his chest again, once more dropping his health to five percent.
“Save your Ward,” said Seiki, faintly. Ward or no Ward, the Chimi always managed to drop his health to five percent, so she had better save her energy for something else. The Chimi bent down for another lick, and Miya filled Seiki’s health and closed his wounds before it could do so.
The Chimi hissed with fury, and Seiki winced as its claws dug into his flesh for the third time. He impatiently waited for his energy to recharge enough for a Focused Strike. Maybe he could hit it then, forcing it to kill him, since this was getting rather unpleasant.
“You know how to escape the mount, kid?” said Renshiro’s voice beside him.
He did. The beast was not human, but it had four limbs.
“Focused Strike into it,” said Renshiro.
As the Chimi bent down again, Seiki wrapped his legs around the beast’s hind leg to trap it. His hand shot forward with Focused Strike, and the energy forced the paw off the top of his chest. With both his arms, he pushed hard on the outside of its arm as he threw the beast off him.
The Chimi growled and flipped around easily, before pouncing on Seiki.
“Here!” said Itsuki’s voice. Seiki turned in time to catch the Hikari she had thrown toward him. With what felt like a splash of water, his energy was full again, and Seiki stepped out with his right leg and hit the beast with Sweeping Blade.
It did not do much to push the monster back, but it was enough to almost stop it in mid-air for a split second. Right then, Satoru’s trapping net landed around it.
Seiki leapt back and pulled his Hikari away before it could get trapped too.
The beast snarled from under the tangling net. Its curved claws, now fully extended, were snapping through the vines like multiple daggers. Seiki was not quite sure what was happening, but Renshiro, with a dangerously low level of health and energy, who was standing beside the trapped Chimi, did not seem in the slightest worried. The ronin simply stepped up toward the beast’s back, and plunged a short blue blade into its flesh.
The beast let out an angry howl, and Renshiro walked away from it. “Take a breather, kid,” said the ronin. “It’s pretty much over.”
In confusion, Seiki stared at the Chimi, which was still alive and well. Somehow, it had faded into a specter of itself, and it was now almost invisible. It was still struggling, but it did not seem to be cutting through the net any longer.
Mountain Chimi [Level 27 Rare]. HP 4017/12810. Energy 4387/7050. Banished to the underworld.
“We’ve got five minutes,” said Renshiro.
Further away, Itsuki was also standing there, alive again, but with very low energy and half health.
The dagger in Renshiro’s hand was bluish gray and mildly transparent. In the firelight, it looked like it was made out of liquid.
Yomi no Kouri. [Unique] +28 attack. +28 defense. A blade forged in the dead waters of the chilly underworld. Effect: targets below 30% health wounded by the blade are temporarily transported to the underworld, where they cannot interact with the world for 5 minutes, after which the blade loses its chills and therefore its effectiveness for 72 hours.
“Ice of Yellow Springs,” said Itsuki, when she saw Seiki looking. “I call it the Intermission Dagger.” She giggled.
Renshiro quietly put the unique blade away and took a swig from a potion bottle. Seiki glanced back at the Chimi in the net. Five minutes was a long time, and enough to clear the lockout for pretty much most kinds of potions, perhaps enough to run back from spirit shrines, or
for houshi to revive group members.
“People typically use it to cheat bosses’ enrage,” said Itsuki. “Or things like the Underground Tomb boss’ double hit that’s really difficult to heal through. You all soak the first blow, tank stabs boss with the dagger, and you can all chill and drink your potions. Five minutes later, you continue where you left off, but with full health and energy.”
“Do the Rangers know you have the dagger?” Seiki asked.
Itsuki shook her head. “Of course not. Otherwise we’d all be constantly dead. So you’d better not tell.”
Satoru dropped down from the tree. “There goes another net,” he sighed.
Miya was also slowly climbing down, with a chunk of health missing, and Seiki now recalled that houshi had an ability called Sacrifice, which gave a percentage of health to another player. It was much faster than a Heal, and it must have been what she had used several times to close his wounds when the monster was trying to recover health from Seiki’s blood.
It was pretty much over as Renshiro had said, and they all casually drank their potions and waited around the Chimi.
“Time’s up,” said Renshiro. He grinned as he turned to Seiki. “Sit back and watch.”
As the banishment effect expired, the Mountain Chimi faded back in, still snarling at them. It was still stuck in the net, and as its claws started to snap through the woven vines again, the four outlaws—now with their health and energy fully replenished—unloaded on it with everything they had. Seiki quickly noted that Renshiro used a sliding Focused Strike, which meant it was still his biggest move at Level 19. Itsuki’s Assassin’s Stab had recharged, and Satoru landed an enhanced Focused Shot, which plunged deep into the beast’s ribs. Miya kept putting Hinder on the beast, slowing down its attempt to free itself, and Seiki could see now she had another ability that could top up other people’s energy.
With a last wail that made Miya grimace, the Mountain Chimi went down in a pool of dark blood.
Mountain Chimi slain. 681 XP gained.
The joy rush—which he had not experienced in quite a while—flooded through Seiki and filled his mind with a strange kind of dizziness.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 11.
HP increased to 495.
Max energy increased to 302.
Enhancement Slot now available.
Seiki sheathed his Hikari. At least, he had the blade back now. Perhaps he would do it one step at a time.
“Happy birthday.” Itsuki giggled. “I miss that feeling. When you’re over fifteen, it starts to take forever.”
“And this is how we hunt big game,” said Satoru with some satisfaction, before looking wistfully at his net, that was now in tatters. “Although that’s another three hours of needle work before we can take on the Onikuma.”
“The Ice is on lockout anyway,” said Renshiro, bending down to loot and disperse the body, which revealed a variety of items.
There was a carved piece of wood which turned out to be a healer’s scepter called Carved Rod of the Mountain +76 defense, and there were an array of scrolls, orbs, twigs, and other crafting ingredients that Seiki did not recognize.
Seiki now understood what they were all about now. These were Rare Hunters, and they were specifically equipped to do exactly that, with this particular unique blade and Satoru’s net trap. With the right kind of set up, the Wilderness was indeed a ludicrous place.
“This would go for three hundred at least,” said Itsuki, as she picked up something that looked like a pink peach.
Renshiro walked over to Seiki. “Hey, kid, it dropped something for you as well.”
You have received: Woven Bamboo Strip. +12 defense. +2% health restoration. Charm slot.
Good charms were hard to come by, and Seiki still had a free charm slot, which was at the moment temporarily taken up by the anti-Locate charm Fuyu had given him.
As Seiki studied the strip of bamboo in his palm, Renshiro’s hand quickly closed around his wrist, while his other went for Seiki’s Hikari on his waist. With a surprised cry, Seiki burst into a quick Slide away before Renshiro could take away his sword again.
“Oh, seriously?” Seiki said. After all that, these people were still trying to disarm him.
Renshiro was laughing.
“It seems Ren-san wants to keep you around for a while,” Itsuki said.
Seiki was about to retort when he felt as if someone had turned off a light, like when the library is closing and they want people to leave.
You are now moderately Fatigued. 174 minutes to Severe Fatigue.
What had happened to Slight Fatigue? Whatever the answer, Seiki decided he had had enough of the Wilderness and its inhabitants for one night.
He looked warily at the outlaws, before turning toward a tree and climbing up onto a low branch. “You know what? You people are impossible, and I’m going to bed,” he said. An early night would be very welcome right now.
“Good night!” said Itsuki, merrily.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be right here when you come back,” said Renshiro.
Seiki let out a sigh but, for some reason, what the man said did not annoy him that much.
Chapter 15
The pine forest in the early morning was cool and thinly veiled with mist, which was slowly evaporating under the weak sun rays shining through the tall trees. In the daytime, the Wilderness seemed perfectly safe and pleasant, and Seiki suspected it would be much more pleasant without the Moderate Fatigue, which made him feel like he had pulled an all-nighter.
The outlaws were true to their promise. The first thing Seiki saw was Itsuki’s face looking at him. She had climbed up and was sitting beside him on the branch.
“Good evening,” said Itsuki. “You now owe us a few wood blocks.”
“Why?” said Seiki, wondering what she was playing at now.
The ninja girl glanced over his shoulder, and Seiki followed her gaze. Even in the day light, these people still had a fire going. On the other side of it, by a large pine tree, was now a tiny wooden house, just big enough perhaps for a person to cram their body in. The front edge of its roof was lined with hanging ceremonial ropes, and a small altar could be spotted inside. Renshiro and Satoru were sitting beside the fire with woodcutting axes lying beside them on the ground.
Seiki remembered now that since all these people could climb trees, perhaps Woodcutting was a basic Wilderness survival skill.
“Now we wait for Miya,” said Renshiro, as Seiki and Itsuki climbed down from the tree. “She usually doesn’t come in on weekdays, but she said she would pop in for a sec.”
Seiki stared at the wooden house, marked Unassigned Way Shrine. Built by Satoru.
What the heck was that? Seiki turned to look at them.
“Temp shrine,” said Satoru, with a slight sense of pride.
Before the ryoushi could explain further, Miya slowly appeared beside the fire. She blinked as she glanced around. “Morning?” she said in slight surprise. “Hi, Seiki.”
Satoru handed her a piece of polished wood in a perfect square, marked Ceremonial Cypress Board. Made by Satoru.
Miya smiled as she took the item from the ryoushi. After sitting down on her legs with grace, she produced a large bottle of Ceremonial Ink and a large brush from her chest pocket. She then wrote down the character ‘sword’ on the wooden board.
Seiki was not well-versed in Calligraphy, but he could tell it was high-level, and something Kentaro would very much appreciate. The ink glowed silver for a moment before fading to black.
Miya then handed the board back to Satoru, who went up to the shrine and placed the board on the wooden altar. After a moment, the shrine’s label became Swordsman’s Way Shrine. Built by Satoru.
Renshiro tossed Seiki an item. “Go ahead,” the man said with a smile.
It was a scroll.
You have received: Ability Enhancement Scroll – Sliding Spree. Every last charge of Slide now c
osts 60% less energy. Read the scroll aloud in the Swordsman’s Shrine to apply the enhancement.
Seiki looked at them. He was now Level 11. His first Enhancement Slot had opened up.
“Go on,” said Renshiro. “Kneel down in front of the shrine and read.”
“Usually, you have to go to Mani Shrine or the Fuoka all-purpose hall to apply or switch out your ability enhance,” explained Satoru. “But when you’re on the road, you can do temp shrines with Woodcrafting.”
Seiki took a deep breath to control his rising excitement. “You sure you want to do this?” he said, carefully. “I’m still not going to unlock that box for you.”
Renshiro shrugged. “Wouldn’t rob a kid of his first Enhancement Scroll, and if you happen to successfully die and get away, I don’t want to have to go all the way to find you at Kano Castle.”
“Oh, that will be a bloody business,” said Itsuki, giggling.
The ronin ignored her. “And Miya wants to see it.”
“Your eleventh birthday present,” said Itsuki.
Seiki narrowed his eyes. “It was already mine in the first place,” he pointed out.
“Nope,” Itsuki said. “Once it got nabbed by Pickpocketing, it wasn’t anymore. Right, Ren-san?”
“Says a thief,” muttered Satoru.
Itsuki shot the ryoushi a challenging look. “You really want to go there, Sat-chan?”
Miya paid them no attention. “Go on, Seiki,” said the houshi, nodding eagerly toward the shrine.
With a slightly wary peep at the outlaws, Seiki walked up to the shrine, knelt down and rolled the scroll open. The wording appeared exactly the same as the notification text, and Seiki could not help but take a second to appreciate the inked characters. The prompt flashed in his mind as soon as he had read the text aloud.
Are you sure you wish to apply the Enhancement: Sliding Spree - Every last charge of Slide now costs 60% less energy? The Enhancement Scroll will be consumed.
“Yes.”
You have successfully applied the Enhancement: Sliding Spree – Every last charge of Slide now costs 60% less energy.
Seiki waited for something to happen, like when he leveled up. But nothing did.