by Nikita Thorn
“Pests!” cried Kagenushi.
Seiki was ready with his Focused Strike. He aimed directly at a dark opening in the armor just under the demon’s ribs, but the black snake came to stop him too. It hit Seiki squarely in the chest before he could block and threw him backward. His lumbar region went numb as he crashed onto the ground. He heard Ippei’s grunt as the smoky snake whipped him aside.
With a quick glance, Seiki located the bamboo sword which had flown off his hand. He was reaching for it when a sense of utter terror descended on him. His heart started racing in wild panic and he felt like getting up and fleeing. But his body would not move, trembling uncontrollably. He took a deep breath as he stopped himself from crying out.
This was what the demon had used on the troops earlier, Seiki thought to himself as he fought the feeling. Ippei had landed somewhere behind the demon and was part hidden from view, but Seiki could note that he was also immobilized.
The demon looked around in disgust. “You really believed this little trick of yours would work, Tomoaki?” He sneered at her. “You have underestimated the fact that my Shadow Essence has grown in power, my dear hime-sama. What a great gift from Captain Okamoto, was it not? In exchange for the fifty-thousand lives of the Morishige Army, a trade his commander did not wish to make.”
With his body still shaking uncontrollably, Seiki could not turn to look at the Ambassador behind him. Further away, Ippei, who had been hurled to the other side of the demon, seemed sickly pale. There was no movement from the building rubble that had collapsed on Mairin.
“Shinshioka has fallen far,” continued the demon, the dark snake that was his arms swirling around him. “Now I see that you are even allowing citizens to fight for you. Patriots, I’m sure.” He glanced at the lieutenant, still unconscious on the ground, and his lips parted in a nasty smile. “Unfortunately, the lieutenant is unable to do us the honor of bearing witness to their deaths too.”
The black shadow snake hissed and, without warning, a dark pool of liquid shadow appeared under Seiki—as if he had sunk into ink. Seiki struggled while it seeped up his legs, and his health started dropping. The terror intensified, and Ippei let out a scream.
Sparing them no attention, Kagenushi’s snake hand shot forward toward the Ambassador. Seiki could hear her cry. “No!” Her voice was desperate, and the radiance from the Seed of Light that had been holding the shadows at bay started to fade.
“Do you not remember what happened to the Light Essence that Captain Okamoto gave to me?” bellowed the demon. “All lights eventually perish once they stand in the darkness for too long, Tomoaki. I’m certain the Seed of Light is no exception, after which there is nothing but shadows.”
Ippei was still screaming, and Seiki felt like yelling too at his inability to do anything. He struggled in vain against the ice-cold ink that had crept up to the middle of his back and was devouring his health. He heard the Ambassador collapse behind him and the demon let out a long laugh. Kagenushi drew back his shadow hand, now wrapped tightly around the Seed of Light whose glow had become so dim it looked nothing more than a common pearl.
Seiki’s health had drained to less than a fifth now, and his heart was beating fast from the silent sense of dread. His arms still trembled violently and his head started to spin. The numbness had reached his neck and he could no longer feel his body. Before his eyes, a dark fog descended, luring him to sink into a sleep of endless nightmares.
Seiki suddenly knew what to do.
Using the last of his strength to force his mind to focus, his Strength of Will kicked in, flooding him with renewed energy and mental clarity. The drain on his health paused and terror fell away from his heart like dry leaves falling off an autumn branch. Grabbing his sword, he sprang to his feet and the shadow liquid slid off him like drops of oil. He ran in, and struck the shadow snake with his Sweeping Blade, knocking it out of the way as he rushed at the demon.
The snake swerved back. Seiki knew that his health was so low that he could not afford a single hit, so he ducked under. Ippei, who had also managed to break out of the shadow pool, joined in and hit it away again with his Sweeping Blade.
At that moment, they heard a hoarse cry. Behind the demon, Lieutenant Kato had regained his footing. His eyes shining with a last bout of determination, he plunged his gleaming light blade into the gaping opening in Kagenushi’s armor. Everything seemed to pause for a split second. Then, a silent explosion erupted and threw Seiki off his feet. A storm of shadow swirled violently around them like a tornado, which quickly drew smaller into a tight whirlwind before finally dispersing completely in the sunlight.
The abrupt silence was deafening. Seiki had to shield his eyes from the sun.
Mairin was the only one standing, in front of the pile of rubble, with a slightly surprised look on her face. She had been further away from the center of the eruption, so it had not affected her. On the ground, the fallen bodies of the soldiers and their mounts had evaporated, leaving only Lieutenant Kato and the Ambassador, who were half-sprawled on the ground after they had been thrown off their feet by the force from the explosion.
Ippei started laughing at everyone’s shocked expression. He was sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out, leaning his weight back casually on his arms behind him. “Still pretty intense, even the third time around.”
Mairin had walked up to them, knitting her brows as she looked at Ippei. “Did you really have to scream so loudly?”
Ippei grinned. “Thought I would give you guys some realism.”
“I’m sure whatever it was didn’t hurt,” said Mairin, a little furiously. She must have been quite flustered by all that happened, Seiki figured.
“That was the fear effect,” said Ippei. “Did you know that fear is actually an emotion very close to joy? That’s why people go on roller-coasters. You just gotta embrace it,” he added with a smile. “It’s rather… liberating. You should try it sometimes.” He looked at Seiki.
Seiki shook his head with a grimace, doubting he ever would. To be honest, he did not know quite how to feel about the experience.
“Way too liberating,” Mairin muttered, as she shot out heals at them, filling up the missing health that had been drained by the ink pool. “Anyway, I was surprised I actually got to heal the Lieutenant, since his HP became apparent to me.”
“He comes to on his own if there’s no healer in the group,” said Ippei, getting up and brushing dust off his clothes. “I heard for a ryoushi the demon guy throws you straight through a high window and the shadow arm then tries to strangle the Ambassador, and you have to zoom and shoot it off her.”
The event seemed to be tuned specifically for each class of player, and with the purpose of teaching them their class perks.
“Which proves my point that the real kitsune perk is just being a fox,” concluded Ippei, probably to annoy Mairin on purpose. “Since all you have to do is dig yourself out of the pile.”
Mairin pouted. “At least, it’s more than your thing that kicks in automatically after four percent health.”
It just occurred to Seiki that perhaps he did not actually have to do anything. That if he had not understood what the perk did then, he would have as soon as it auto-activated. After all, the fear effect was very obvious, and no one would fail to notice it clearing away.
“Point still stands,” Ippei said. “I think if you actually wait that long, you might not make it.”
A hopeful thought occurred to Seiki. “Does it break out of Freeze?”
Ippei raised his brow. “What Freeze?”
“Obake’s ability.”
Ippei seemed surprised. “Obake’s Soul Freeze? That’s a Level 18 ability. When would you ever go up against that at this level? It’s not like they ever use that in brawls since it’s such an energy drain and a random hit on the user breaks it.”
Then it dawned on him as he remembered the incident earlier. “Oh, not only high-level ninja, but obake,
too?”
“The Shadow Manor?” Mairin asked.
“Uh,” said Seiki. “Actually, it’s not them, but some other clan.”
Ippei shook his head in amusement. “Makes one wonder what you have been doing for the past six levels.” He made his tongue click. “Unfortunately, no, Freeze is actually a kind of trap, not an effect. You’ll get something pretty soon, as the fourth or fifth ability, depending on whether you become a samurai or ronin.”
Everyone had seemed purposely mysterious when it came to this matter. The most information he had gotten off anyone was that it was a different kind of play style. “What’s the difference and when do I get to choose?” Seiki asked, looking for a hint.
Ippei turned out to be no exception. “Spoilers,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to ruin it for you.”
Then he thought for a bit. “I’ll give you a hint, though: two pine trees. That’s where the trail starts. Saves you a bit of time.” That was all Ippei would say.
Seiki heard a gasp from the Ambassador. Turning to look, he saw that she had picked up something from the ground: the Seed of Light, with a quarter of it broken off and missing. It was still giving off a very dim glow. Just then, another thunder of hooves could be heard, and Commander Nakatani arrived with backups.
“A bit too late,” said Mairin cynically.
“Ambassador!” cried Commander Nakatani as he leapt off his horse and paid his respect to her. “I am glad you are safe!”
Lieutenant Kato gave him a full report, after which the Commander dismissed him, since the lieutenant seemed to be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Matters were then swiftly handled and the Ambassador, eager to return home, was efficiently escorted to the East Gate by Commander Nakatani’s soldiers.
Once that was settled, the Commander turned his attention toward Seiki and his friends. “Thank you, you three. Shinshioka owes much to you. The Shogun—”
Before he could finish, from afar a herald shouted, “The Shogun arrives!” More mounted guards could be seen coming down the road toward them, followed by an ornate black carriage with a gold-gilded roof.
Rear Guards [Level 5] Quest Progress: Stage 4. Prepare to receive the Shogun!
“A bit too late again,” said Mairin, not the slightest bit impressed.
Ippei chuckled. “Here comes the good bit.”
The carriage, preceded by four pairs of mounted guards in all black with a golden five-petal flower symbol on their chests, drew to a stop in front of the Commander. All the soldiers dropped to their knees in a deep salute. Ippei pulled Seiki to the ground.
“Realism,” explained Ippei. “You don’t kneel, the Shogun giveth not.”
“Here too?” Mairin rolled her eyes, and turned into a fox.
“Another kitsune perk,” said Ippei to Seiki, who was not entirely sure he completely understood.
The Shogun of Shinshioka stepped down from his carriage. A man in his late middle years, he was dressed in a full set of well-polished black armor, behind which Seiki could spot a dark red kimono with golden flower patterns. There was a dignified air about him but, for some reason, he appeared thinner than Seiki had imagined, like a man under constant stress.
“My lord, the Ambassador has been escorted back to the Fuoka army, as you have instructed,” said Commander Nakatani. “These people were recommended to me by my friends and they have proven to be valiant patriots and willingly risked their lives to defend the Ambassador.”
The Shogun took a brief look at them. “Very well!” He waved his hand and three soldiers came running, each with a large wooden box in their hands, which they ceremoniously placed in front of Seiki, Ippei, and Mairin, showing no qualms about her being a fox.
The lord of Shinshioka then turned to leave.
“I thank you sincerely, my lord Shogun,” said Ippei loudly. “For the deliberateness of the timing of your arrival so as to make impossible the happenstance of your auspicious presence being in the vicinity of occurrences that may cause your health level to decline.”
The Shogun paused, and said, “Very well!” as he entered his carriage.
“What the heck was that?” Mairin had to turn back into human just to ask.
Seiki chuckled. Ippei just called the Shogun a coward and got away with it.
“This was Ryuta’s whole thing – a guy I used to play with. He ran in the peripherals of the worldbreakers and that’s what they did. At first, the Shogun only recognized direct insults, like you couldn’t call him a bastard, or a pig. Then people got more and more creative, and the list of things he recognizes as offensive keeps growing.”
“Which explains why he is so uptight nowadays,” said Mairin, changing her mind about the man. “Poor Shogun,” she said, looking at the procession that was moving out the way it had come. “And he came all this way just to give us gifts.”
“Told you this was the good bit,” said Ippei, as he sat down cross-legged on the ground and slid his reward box open.
Seiki did the same, and found an expensive-looking piece of chest armor made from linked black leather plates. It was not the first time he had seen ancient armor, but the first time he got to touch one. He held it up and ran his hand over the texture of the armor and could not help but be impressed with the craftsmanship that went into it. Each plate seemed to be double-layered, with a thin metal plate inside. The stitches were very fine, and almost completely hidden.
You have received: Shinshioka Army Chest Armor. +18 defense. Main armor slot. Light-threaded: infused with the power of light essence, reducing damage from shadow magic. Scalable.
“There’s more,” said Ippei.
Under the chest armor, there was a long piece of wood, made from a nondescript gray material that was very smooth on the hand. Seiki picked it up, wondering what it was.
You have received: Sheathed Blade. Unsheathe to reveal its identity!
Ippei was beaming. “This, my friend, is your first named blade.”
The gray sword was very light. As Seiki wrapped his hand around the hilt and slowly pulled it out of the scabbard, he could feel the hilt’s black leather grip forming under his hand, followed by the silver hand-guard that had been styled to slightly curve around the beginning of both edges of the blade, like an image of a chalice. The blade itself was thin and almost white, as if reflecting light. And as he pulled it further out of the scabbard, he could feel its weight increasing in his hand as the blade formed, turning from nothing into metal.
Once he had completely unsheathed it, Seiki discovered that the white on the blade was not a reflection, but its own glow.
You have received: Hikari – The Blade of Light. +25 attack. Damage 2.8. Speed 2.1. Range 1.1. Light-forged: infused with the power of light essence, allowing damage on shadow magic. Scalable.
“This is what we did this for.” Ippei sighed happily as he looked fondly at his own Hikari. “Finally!”
The Commander had walked up to them. “You are now officially in the Shogun’s service. Come to the Palace at any time if you wish to earn more honor and make a name for yourself.”
You have gained 20 honor points with the Shogun.
You have gained 20 reputation points with Shinshioka City.
Quest completed: Rear Guards [Level 5]. 125 XP gained.
And as a bonus on top of everything that just happened, the joy rush flooded Seiki.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 8.
HP increased to 212.
Max energy increased to 140.
New ability slot available.
Chapter 13
In front of them, Rumiko [Level 17], a tall woman in full samurai armor, with her hair in a tidy ponytail, was in a deep frown as she thought about the bargain.
They were standing in a very noisy, crowded space beside the pawn shop at one corner on Trade Street. It was early in the evening. The lamps, which had just been lit, now basked the street in a gentle glow of orange in stark contras
t with the dusky purple sky. People in all sorts of gear rushed in and out of the pawn shop, and a large crowd had gathered outside, calling out advertisement for things they would like to trade.
“Of course, it’s worth more than a hundred,” said Mairin to the samurai. “And whatever you make with it is going to be worth much more than that, so you are guaranteed to make a profit.”
“You only get thirty if you pawn it,” Rumiko pointed out.
They were discussing Seiki’s mysterious Blood Essence, which Mairin was casually rolling around her hand, causing the dark red and purple liquid that seemed to be contained in the orb to swirl silently in the dim lamp light.
“Hundred and thirty,” said Mairin. “Take it or leave it. You know, that Scarlet Robe is pretty in fashion and I’m sure I can quickly find a Tailor who is willing to pay more than this.”
Rumiko grimaced. “Hundred and twenty.”
“Deal!” said Mairin, placing the orb into Rumiko’s hand after they had made the trade. The girl’s sudden enthusiasm made Seiki wonder if what she said earlier about Tailors had been a bluff.
“Enjoy your Crimson Fireblade!” Mairin called after the samurai, who gave her a slightly irritated look as she walked away.
“How do you know that’s what she’s going to make with it?” asked Seiki, as Mairin dropped a very heavy cloth bag, packed full with gold coins, into his hand. Seiki was slightly surprised at its weight, since he had no idea that thing was worth this much.
“If you’re a Blacksmith, that’s all you will ever use a Blood Essence for,” said Mairin. “Everyone wants a Crimson Fireblade, since it’s a very near replica of a unique dagger called Talon of Fire or something like that.”
“Talon of Kashima,” said Ippei.
“Yeah, whatever,” said Mairin. “The crafted blade itself has decent stats, but most importantly it’s one of the few daggers that actually match the black and red of the army uniform.” She tilted her head to the side. “So, in short, it’s for fashion.”
“And, it glows, slightly,” said Ippei. “Not as much as Hikari, but in the West Hill siege event the demons throw so many Disarms at you that you really need a glow effect to see where your weapons drop.” He then unsheathed his Hikari sword to admire it for the fifth time since he had gotten it, swinging it around and testing its weight. “Heavier than I remembered it,” he said, happily.