by Nikita Thorn
“I’ve got it.” She transformed back, her eyes wide, her hands trembling as she showed him a rolled-up scroll, marked Expel Enemies. “Ikumi really had another one on her when she told us to loot.”
Seiki glanced back toward the stairs, where the masked figure was making its way up. Mairin let out a little grunt as they fled further down the corridor, leaping over the broken shoji panel. The bodies had now disappeared.
They stopped in front of the last room.
“Remove the outer walls for me, all right?” Seiki said before sliding the door open.
In the corner of the room was Kajidoro [Level 4], sitting crossed-legged on a floor cushion, a casual smile on his face. He did not seem surprised by Seiki’s entrance. “Quite an eventful event, isn’t it, Seiki-san? How exciting. Interesting read, by the way.”
The man looked amused. In his hand was the Collected Beta Arts Volume III, which meant he had gotten up, gone to the next room, picked up the document Seiki and his friends had been studying and come back here to wait for him.
Seiki took a step forward. “I have no idea how you’re doing this, but this ends now.”
“Are you sure?” The man raised an eyebrow. “At my level, I’m afraid I’m… untouchable.”
Seiki was no longer listening. He fixed his eyes on the floor cushion, the wall, and his trajectory. He took a deep breath. The man was saying something else, but Seiki had shut out all noise. In front of him was nothing other than the floor cushion, the wall, and his trajectory. In the right mind state, a Level 4 was as untouchable the same way an Inner Palace Guard was.
He burst out in a Slide, his eyes fixed on the window panel. His foot caught the underside of the floor cushion as he slammed into the man. His momentum was unstoppable, and he crashed into the wall that had in reality already ceased to exist.
Seiki managed to grab a hem, or perhaps a sleeve, or some bit of cloth, and it was enough to drag the looter together with him out into open air. The refreshing night wind greeted them, coupled by the instant vertigo as they fell. Seiki had no idea when the sun had gone down. Tumbling in midair, the man let out a sound that could have been a surprised laugh, or an angry grunt. Seiki saw a glimpse of the Festival lights from the stalls, like bright networks of highways seen from a night plane. He had a second to think how beautiful they looked from above, before they both plummeted to the ground.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
You are now outside a territory owned by the Shinshioka Scientific Society. You have 60 seconds to re-enter the territory or your mercenary agreement with the Shinshioka Scientific Society will be automatically terminated.
With his defensive abilities on lockout, Seiki could only rely on his armor, which fortunately allowed him to just about survive an awkward fall from the fourth floor. The impact left the whole of his right side completely numb, and he rolled onto his stomach to shield his face from the broken bits of wood that rained down all around.
More notifications followed:
Mairin has activated Amplify Scroll. A utility scroll now has a territory-wide effect.
Scroll activated: Expel Enemies – all players not originally invited by a clan member have been removed from the territory.
Congratulations! There are no more invaders left on territory grounds. The Shinshioka Scientific Society is victorious! All clan members and mercenaries have been automatically revived.
Seiki found himself breathing heavily. Nothing moved in his immediate vicinity, and as the notification sunk in, he allowed himself a pang of relief. His health was below a fifth, but it was not dropping any further. Heart still racing, he pushed himself up. Next to him was what looked like a pile of expensive clothes.
Kajidoro [Level 4]. HP 0/42. Lootable.
Seiki recalled hearing surprised yelps from the passersby as he and the man came crashing down from the sky. Now a group of curious spectators had gathered around, murmuring among themselves.
“Had too much to drink?” someone asked with a chuckle.
Someone else then attempted to Heal him, but it must have been a very low-level houshi, since his health only ticked up by a few percent. Seiki reached for his potions but realized he was out.
The crowd parted as sounds of hooves approached. Seiki looked up to see a Shinshioka Patrol [Level 35 Elite] on his armored horse, a stern look on his face, as usual. “Trouble here?” The man eyed the dead Level 4 on the ground.
“No trouble, officer,” said Seiki.
“They just had too much to drink and went through the wrong door.” The person chuckled again. Seiki was grateful this time.
“Uh, yeah, something like that.” Seiki thought he should jump on it. “It was an… accident.”
It was not at all convincing, but perhaps it was because he had not technically attacked the looter, or, if it had happened, it had happened in midair and therefore out of the Patrol’s jurisdiction, the officer looked at him for a moment, then nodded begrudgingly, before turning his horse around to make his way back to his patrol route.
The double glass-paned door behind Seiki burst open and Mairin ran out.
“Seiki!” She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was still alive.
Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed red, a bewildered look in her eyes. Even so, she looked more flustered than distraught, and Seiki took it as a positive sign. The kitsune waved her hand to fill his health with Spirit Mend, and Seiki shook away the rest of the numbness and sat up properly.
Mairin’s lips twisted at the sight of the looter. “Oh, good. He’s dead.”
The crowd stirred as if wanting to ask why a Level 4 could end up dead and why that could be a good thing, but Mairin simply waved them away. “Nothing to see. Just a…”
“Drunk accident?” suggested the same person who had spoken before.
Seiki finally looked up and smiled. “Yeah.” The man was someone from the Honor Warriors, in the low double-digit levels, who returned a friendly grin before continuing on his way.
Perhaps people jumping from buildings happened more than Seiki was aware of, and, without any signs of more exciting developments, the crowd soon started to lose interest. Seiki waited for the nearest spectators to disperse before turning to the kitsune. “All good with the territory?”
Mairin nodded. “Kazuki’s back and he did something else and he said it’s safe now.”
Despite the notifications already specifying so, Seiki still felt a flood of relief to hear the confirmation. Nothing had changed. The Society still had their territory. The uniques were safe in Ippei’s hands. Thinking back to what had just happened, Seiki fought down shivers as he realized how badly things could have gone.
Drawing a deep breath, he glanced at the dead Level 4 beside him. Based on what happened, he could now draw several conclusions.
Getting the looter out of the territory had ended the invasion. That was ample proof of guilt. The man’s reaction right before Seiki dragged him through the wall had also made it clear that he had been the prime instrument in this. Seiki suddenly recalled the looter’s mention of his ‘employer’, and wondered if they were indeed the one responsible. After all, it was after his encounter with the man that the masks started appearing.
Even so, Seiki could not see why they had to spend the prior week stalking him. He hoped the Society would have the answer, now that they also had first-hand experience with the masked invaders.
A smile lit up on Mairin’s face. “Okay, we’re going to loot, right? This is totally your turn to get back at him. Loot the looter.”
Seiki let out a weak chuckle. He doubted anyone would start an invasion with valuables in their inventory, but he touched the man’s silk sleeve and confirmed the prompt to loot. The body dispersed into white smoke, leaving behind a single item: a piece of paper.
Formal Invitation Letter [ ] – [Seiki]: allows access to the host’s private reception room during the Night of the White Dragon at the end of the
Pacchi Festival: Fifth Floor Himawari Reception Room.
A shiver traveled through his body as Seiki recognized what it was. He stared at the two familiar characters that made up his name and forced his brain to read them over twice more. There was no mistake. The invitation was addressed to him.
“Oh God,” said Seiki under his breath. The invitation was pre-written. It was definitely meant for him, whether the man had been planning to deliver it at some point, or wait for his dead body to be looted. The masked figures must have been stalking him for a reason, and he still had no clue why.
Mairin leaned in to look, her eyes wide in disbelief. “It’s…”
“It’s for me,” said Seiki. “The guy…” He shook his head as he had not the slightest clue what was happening.
Mairin let out an uneasy breath. “Okay, that’s… freaky.”
The sender’s name was missing, and Seiki stared again at the blank space where it should have been. “How…” He suddenly felt the urge to crumple the invitation and discard it in what would be a very satisfactory puff of smoke. It was, however, yet another clue to these mysterious invaders. He finally shook his head and stuck the paper into his inventory. “Okay, I… I don’t know. I’m just… gonna go to the Morgue.”
In a time like this, Ippei’s presence would be most welcome.
Mairin nodded solemnly. “I’m coming with you.”
Someone in the crowd had pieced the clues together, and whispers of an invasion started to go around, but Seiki did not particularly care as he and Mairin started weaving their way through the buzzing spectators toward Trade Street.
The endless streams of merry festival goers turned out to be an effective remedy for agitated nerves. Seiki let himself flow with the crowd, absently taking in the sights and sounds and appetizing food smells, as he replayed the invasion over in his head.
It had happened quickly, and was also over as quickly. In a way, Seiki was relieved that the masked figures had now been witnessed by someone else. As powerful as they were, they were tangible threats. His Hikari had connected. The knockback effect had gone off as expected. The masked invaders were bound by certain rules, perhaps ones he did not completely understand, but in the end Ikumi had pretty much figured out how to defeat them.
Still, it had been close, with so much at stake: the main Society territory, not to mention seven of the sixteen uniques. Seiki felt cold sweats on the back of his neck as it started to catch up with him. Somehow he was also involved, and now he had an invitation from the invading party, addressed to him by name.
Seiki was glad when he finally saw the black roof of the Bureau of the Dead. Perhaps out of respect for its function, the street in front of the building had only a few black and red Festival flags, and no festive stalls in sight. The area was also less busy than usual, which was perhaps to be expected. Without brawls, very few people had use for the public City Morgue, and the only life-threatening activities in the City were the Corrupted Beast events, which were instanced and had their own internal revive points.
The building normally only allowed for outward traffic, and the Bureau Guards stopped them at the gate. Mairin gave up a few of her Favors in a quick negotiation, and the guards eventually agreed to let them through, but not before giving a stern warning that hassling recently revived players could result in jail time.
Seiki realized he had never actually come in through the exit before. In fact, it had been a while since he last visited the Morgue.
The individual revival rooms where players resurrected and sat out their death nausea were unreachable, with Elite Bureau Guards standing right next to the corridor that led deeper into the building, but visitors could roam freely around the Recovery Hall and watch revived players come out and claim back their belongings from the numerous counters located at the far end.
The hall was nearly empty, except for a Level 7 girl, who looked as if she was there for the first time after having died to some unlikely cause, and who hurried past them with a confused look as she tried to find the exit.
Ippei was sitting on a low platform at the edge of the hall. He broke into a smile as he saw Seiki and Mairin. “All good with the territory then?”
Seiki nodded. He supposed if things had gone otherwise, he and Mairin would be emerging from the Morgue side, or not at all for another hour if the territory had been taken and they were executed by the invading party.
There was no way Ippei could have known how the invasion had ended, but if the samurai had been fretting, none of the anxiety showed on his face.
“You all right?” Seiki asked.
Ippei looked at him, a strange gleam in his eyes, a kind of wild fascination. “You know, I’m the richest man in Shinshioka right now.”
Seiki felt tension dissipating as he chuckled. “Not a lot of people can claim they ever had seven uniques in their inventory.”
Mairin giggled. “Don’t let power get to your head.”
Ippei started laughing, sounding almost drunk, before he buried his head in his hands. “God, this is ridiculous. What have we gotten into?”
“Oh, there you are.” Footsteps sounded from the entryway. Seiki turned to see Ikumi approaching from the exit, her brows knitted in worry. She did not appear any less anxious even when she had found them.
Mairin smiled apologetically. “I should have told you where we were going. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
It had not crossed Seiki’s mind either how shocking it must have been for the Society to find out that as soon as the invasion was over, their three emergency mercenaries had disappeared with all the uniques.
Ippei smiled as the houshi approached them. “I take it you’ve recently misplaced some valuables?”
Ikumi was apparently too stressed to be amused. “You have all seven?”
Ippei nodded, his grin widening, a spark in his eyes. “You know I can just log out right now.”
“That’s not funny,” said Ikumi, although it was clear she recognized the joke and visibly relaxed. “All right. How many Favors do you have?”
“Excuse me?” The samurai blinked. Ikumi glanced toward the back of the Recovery Hall, where all the counters were, and Ippei suddenly looked horrified. “You mean… No!”
Seiki followed their gaze, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary with the officials or anywhere Favors could be spent, unless there was a way to get combat logs that he did not know about.
Ippei grimaced. “Look, I’ll just give them to you right now.”
“That won’t work,” said Ikumi. “I didn’t revive here, so I’m not entitled to the service. We need to be really safe now.”
“You’ve lost me,” said Seiki.
“Same,” said Mairin.
“So how many Favors?” Ikumi asked again.
Ippei eyed her warily, before heaving a sigh. “Enough for what you’re thinking,”
The houshi seemed satisfied. With a quick nod she produced a tiny object from her sleeve. “Here. This should be able to compensate for the amount you’ll have to spend right now.”
It was a delicate figurine of green stone, labeled Carved Jade Bird [treasure]. Seiki did not need Appraise in his Free Slot to guess it was very rare.
“It should give you five hundred Favors when you trade it in,” Ikumi explained.
“Five hundred?” cried Seiki.
Mairin blinked. “Uh, you’re telling me we’re about to spend five hundred Favors right now?”
“With some negotiations you’ll get more, so you’ll end up making a profit.”
“But five hundred?” cried the kitsune.
Ikumi finally let out a little laugh at their reaction. “It’s necessary.”
“Where did you even get five hundred Favors from?” Seiki turned to ask Ippei. Both of them had been doing pretty much the same missions, and he had no idea where his friend could possibly acquire that many when his total was currently around a hundred.
Ippei le
t out a solemn chuckle. “Long story.” He did not elaborate, so Seiki did not press.
The group moved over toward the counter at the end of the row, manned by a single Bureau Official. Seiki had never noticed that this one had an additional white five-petaled flower emblem on his official headgear.
“You know what to do?” asked Ikumi.
Ippei nodded, a little reluctantly, before turning to the official. “I’d like to buy… protection.” He sounded almost in pain.
Mairin raised her eyebrow. “Oh, you can do that?”
Ippei grimaced. “It’s never worth it, and… you know, people call this the pansy counter.”
The officer glowered in the way NPCs did when they had trouble parsing whether a statement was insulting or not, but after a moment he handed him a piece of paper.
Palace Guards: Gain the protection of the best of the Shogun’s personal guards for 30 minutes, or until the player makes an offensive move. The guards only protect and do not assist in combat. 900 gold.
Seiki stared at the price, no longer surprised no one ever used the service.
“That’s a total a rip-off,” cried Mairin in shock.
“That’s only half of it.” Ippei handed the piece of paper back to the official. “Yes, this one please.”
The official thought for a moment. “Oh, I’m afraid that is unavailable to someone of your current rank, Unit Chief,” he said apologetically.
Ippei made a face. “I’m sure you can help?”
This was where Favors came in, and an invisible exchange took place. The official nodded, a bright smile suddenly lighting up on his face. “Oh, of course, of course, Unit Chief. I’m sure I can do something. Your escort will be waiting by the door.” The man even gave a low bow, with both palms placed flat on the top of the counter, before gesturing politely to the exit, and standing up to bow again as they made their way toward the door. Seiki actually expected no less for five hundred Favors.
“That was easy,” said Mairin.
“Five hundred Favors for invincibility for thirty minutes,” said Ikumi.
The houshi explained that the protection service was one of the perks only available to high-ranking Lord of Ladies of the Inner Court. For those without the required ranks, it cost five hundred Favors for an exception to be made, more if they had no military rank at all.