by Nikita Thorn
Ippei had explained earlier that the armor and the sword they had gotten from the quest were special in that they scaled with you and gained better stats to suit the players’ levels over time. According to Ippei, although there was nothing extraordinary about the stats, the fact that the armor and blade were light-threaded and light-forged meant that they were useful against the otherwise unkillable shadow patches. And at the same time, they forced everyone to be in uniform when doing a war event. “Or, there would be someone trying to ride into battle in a pink kimono,” Ippei had said, glancing at Mairin. “Which destroys realism for everybody.”
“Plus,” Ippei had added, with a sense of authority. “War games are more about strategy, and not gear level. So this makes it fair for everyone when your clan is trying to compete for standing.”
“Told you. War player. Typical samurai,” Mairin had said.
Now that Seiki had received the Shinshioka armor, he started to recognize it everywhere. As he looked around the makeshift marketplace, he remarked that most of the people beyond Level 5 were wearing Shinshioka colors. He also spotted a few Hikari swords.
“Ultimately, if you do high-level dungeons, you’ll outgrow the sword,” said Ippei, as he held up the sword against the light. Its glow was dim at the moment. “But it’s your only option for the moment for battles and missions. If you have it equipped, you can see the health on the shadow patches and you can attack them.”
“You would think that you can get rid of arrows that way as well, but it turns out you can only block them. And if one sneaks through and gets you, you still need to wait for a healer with a light-infused weapon,” Ippei added, referring to Mairin’s quest reward, which was not a sword but a small orb that looked like a lesser version of the Ambassador’s Seed of Light—which the kitsune seemed to like very much.
Seiki was actually excited to find out what a battle looked like, but Ippei told him that it did not open up until Level 14. The only thing they could do now was to keep achieving missions for the Shogun to earn reputation and honor points. “We’re now Honored Citizen, then it’s Highly Honored Citizen, then it’s Member of the Court, then Favored Member of the Court, and that’s when the Shogun gives you your first troops. So, a long ways to go.”
“So these are the honor points that people talk about?” asked Seiki.
“Yeah,” said Mairin. “Honor and reps are different things but people get them confused. Honor is your standing with a faction, like the Shogun, or your clan. Reputation is your standing with a location, like the City, which basically means how nicely the patrols treat you and how much of a discount the merchants give you.”
“Most of the time, getting Shogun honor points also gives you reputation, which is why people think they are synonymous,” said Ippei. He then proceeded to explain that honorable PVP challenges gave you clan honor points and city reputation, while dishonorable PVP activities, like assassinations, or starting brawls outside of a proper challenge, gave clan honors but took away from city reputation. Even noncombat activities like high-level crafting gave city reputation, while Pickpocketing took away from it.
“Pickpocketing?” asked Seiki, guessing this was what the robber Gin had done to get his hands on his pouch contents.
“Not all professions are honest,” Mairin explained. “If you want to go to the dark side, you can go run around dark alleys in East City at night until you come across the Legendary Master Thief, then you can apprentice under him to learn Pickpocketing and Lock-picking.”
“Which is why we need to get to Minami right now,” said Ippei. “Before someone Pickpockets us and get their hands on four hundred gold.”
Many things had happened in quick succession since the end of the quest. First of all, both Mairin and Ippei had seemed appalled that Seiki had not gotten himself the most basic necessity that was an absolute must for anyone who wished to live in the city—or, in other words, the private territory on the second floor of the building right across the pawn shop. Mairin lent him twenty gold, plus ten for the first month’s rent, which he gave to Goro the real estate agent in exchange for a territory deed for Central Crossing, Trade Street.
“Your downtown address,” Mairin had said. Apparently, you could pawn all your unused items and never pay back the so-called loan, as a way to get rid of junk and get a bit of money, which was what everyone did. The building where the territory was located was instanced so that, the moment you stepped onto the stairs to the second floor, you entered the privacy of your own territory, which was a bare medium-sized room with a small window overlooking the intersection.
From there, through the box in the corner, Seiki had access to the articles he had put in the Yanagi Alley room earlier, and he paid Mairin back the rent money. His two friends were delighted to find out that he had a Blood Essence in his possession, and insisted that he had to sell it for gold to get his third ability.
“You were one ability behind,” Ippei had said. “But now that you’re Level 8, you’re two slots behind. Any self-respecting swordsman would seek to remedy that as soon as possible.”
Ippei himself, with prior knowledge of what was coming up, had been saving up for this and had the two hundred gold ready to go. After they had managed to sell the Blood Essence, they quickly made their way to the carpentry shop on Market Street.
Seiki was not sure what exactly was going on with the quest story and why they would need the gold, but since he was so close to finding out he did not bother to ask.
The Market Street was brightly-lit and busy, populated with both people and unnamed citizens who seemed to wander back and forth to give the place a bustling feel. With so much money on them, they steered clear of large crowds.
“You guys need to get yourselves a bag charm,” said Mairin. “Kentaro practically sells those for a living, with his Enchanting and Tailoring.”
“Can’t afford it,” Ippei said. “And I’m going to be dirt poor from now on, so as long as we get this gold to Minami it won’t matter.”
“A bag charm is a crafted charm,” said Mairin, upon learning that Seiki had never heard of it. “It doesn’t even take up your Charm slot. You carry it in your bag and, if someone pickpockets you, they grab it instead of your stuff. You lose the charm but not your items.”
“Doesn’t work when you run into a gang of pickpockets, though, when they chain-pickpocket you,” said Ippei.
“As if that ever happens,” said Mairin. “And, well, you can carry multiple charms. There’s this guy who’s super paranoid and carries four on him at all times.” She giggled. “Kentaro’s most loyal customer.”
Fortunately for them, chain pickpockets were not operating that night, and they made it to the carpentry shop without incident. The shop was empty, save for one Kimiko [Level 15] who had just purchased something from Minami at the counter and quickly left without paying them any attention.
“Ah, Ippei,” cried Minami as they approached the counter. “How—”
Ippei cut him short. “I’d like to contribute to the cost of repairing the dojo please, so kindly take this two hundred gold, and no thanks, yes I’m sure, yes I’m sure again, thank you very much,” said Ippei, as he accepted and blasted through the quest dialog in one breath, cutting Minami off at the first word of each sentence. Minami did not seem to mind the one-sided conversation and put the gold in his drawer.
“Done,” said Ippei. “Your turn.”
Seiki chuckled. If they were talking about realism, this was certainly not how to do it.
Minami had turned his attention to Seiki, and seemed pleased to see him.
“Ah, Seiki! How are you? I have visited Master Tsujihara at his dojo. My, the damage was more severe than I thought!” cried the man. “I’m surprised but glad, of course, that there were no serious injuries! Your Master told me that if it had not been for you, Maeda would have perished in the fire.”
The man was looking at him with such intense admiration that Seiki had to
chuckle. “I highly doubt that.” If he had failed to save him, he was sure he would just have had to do it again and again.
“Your Master has always been extremely protective of that boy,” said Minami. “Took him in when he was a little boy when he started the dojo. Too bad it’s all destroyed now. The students are trying to put together a fund to rebuild it. From my calculations, and the cost of the materials for the repairs, it would be as much as five hundred gold. Master Tsujihara had a bit of savings, and of course I am more than willing to help out, but we’re still about two hundred short. Do you think you can contribute?”
“Sure,” said Seiki. “In full, right now, apparently.” In his hand was a bag of two hundred gold, thirty of which had been re-lent to him by Mairin, and the rest consisted of what they had gotten from the Blood Essence and what Seiki had saved up to this point.
“That’s good to hear!” cried Minami.
Quest accepted: Fund-raising [Level 6].
Fund-raising [Level 6 Quest Information]: find a way to earn 200 gold to contribute toward dojo repairs. Talk to Minami in the carpentry shop on Market Street when you have gathered sufficient funds. You will receive: 85 XP.
“The fastest way to earn money is to learn useful skills that people will pay for, such as woodcutting, mining, fishing and herb-gathering,” said Minami, trying to be helpful. “Or you can pick up crafting skills by apprenticing with master crafters located throughout the city. Talk to me if you want to learn the art of carpentry and woodcarving.”
This, apparently, was the introduction to all the trade skills, Seiki figured.
“Would you like me to tell you more about professions and ways to earn money?” asked Minami.
“That won’t be necessary, thanks. I have two hundred gold here,” said Seiki.
“Are you sure you want to contribute two hundred gold toward the repair of the dojo?” asked Minami.
“Yes.”
“You will not be able to get this money back once you have made the contribution, which means that if you have rent due soon you will need to use money from other sources. Are you still sure you are contributing two hundred gold toward the repair of the dojo?”
“Yes, please,” said Seiki, amused by the warning.
Minami took the money pouch from Seiki and nodded. “I can now purchase the materials and we can start rebuilding the dojo!”
Quest completed: Fund-raising [Level 6]. 85 XP gained.
Minami put the coins into his drawer again, and paid no more attention to them, except to turn and smile at them as he busied himself with some documents. Seiki noticed that there was a half-finished wood carving on his counter, which looked like it was going to become a horse.
“Now what?” asked Mairin.
“Now,” said Ippei, stretching his arms behind him lazily. “We just go for a walk and wait.”
“For?”
“You’ll see,” said Ippei, again being mysterious on purpose.
Since they had no particular goal and Ippei would not tell them what exactly they were waiting for, Mairin suggested that they did something worthwhile instead, and they soon ended up in the crowded ‘Kakigouri’ shop with a bowl of syrupy shaved ice in front of them.
“You call this worthwhile?” Ippei was incredulous.
Mairin giggled. “This is the only thing worth eating in the whole game.”
Seiki laughed as he tried the icy dessert. Perhaps she was right. The fact that it was ice somewhat hid the lack of satiation and made it feel pretty much like the real thing. Apparently, most people thought the same thing, and there was an unending flow of customers coming into the shop.
“Try it. I guarantee you’ll get addicted soon. Guilt-free,” said Mairin.
Before Ippei could say anything, Mairin yelped in surprise as something flashed by and struck the side of the wooden table they were sitting at.
It was a long arrow, with a message rolled around its shaft and tied with a black string.
“Is it mine or yours?” said Ippei to Seiki as he reached for the arrow. As his hand touched it, he smiled. “Apparently, this one’s mine.” He yanked it off the table and picked up his sword as he got to his feet. “Gotta go.”
“What?” asked Mairin.
Ippei pointed out to the roof on the opposite side of the street. “Someone’s waiting for me to chase him.”
Seiki looked. The building opposite was a shop selling fans. The second floor was dark, and there was nothing on the gray tiled roof above it. Mairin narrowed her eyes. “What now?”
“Oh,” Ippei said, suddenly realizing. “You guys can’t see him. Anyway, I’m off.”
With that, he rushed off into the street, still glancing at the invisible man who was supposed to be on top of the roof, earning a few curses from the people he almost bumped into.
Mairin shook her head. “What’s up with—” She let out another yelp as a second arrow struck the table, almost at the same spot. She reached for it but her hand simply passed through the arrow.
“Oh, I see,” she said, playfully waving her hand through the arrow a few more times. “Yours then, Seiki. Probably a samurai-ronin quest thing.”
Seiki yanked out the arrow and opened the message to read. Mairin leaned over to take a peek.
If you wish to know what caused the explosion at the dojo, follow me.
Quest accepted: The Mysterious Messenger [Level 6].
The Mysterious Messenger [Level 6 Quest Information]: follow the messenger! Do not let him out of your sight! You will receive: 25 XP.
Seiki looked out to the building on the other side of the street. On the roof of the fan shop was now a dark shadow. He turned to Mairin.
She waved with her hand. “Go ahead. I promised Kentaro I would wait for him. He should be here any moment.”
After a quick goodbye, Seiki sped out of the shop, and the shadow quickly ran on the roof toward the main street. Seiki followed, keeping his eyes on the shadow. As they reached Trade Street, the shadow leapt over the wide gap. Seiki got a brief glimpse of him in the street lamp and thought it looked like a man with a sword. The shadow landed again on the roof on the other side of the street, before continuing to race.
Seiki dashed after it, absent-mindedly apologizing to people he almost shoved on the way. The shadow, still jumping from roof to roof, took him down a smaller alleyway, before emerging on another street, which it leapt over again with impossible agility.
He was now in a quieter part in West City, with mostly residential buildings and gardens, and a few shops scattered around. A lot of the properties were walled off and seemed to be luxurious residences. The shadow took him down another turn, onto a side street, when in front of him he discovered:
Hibi of the Shadow Manor [Level 19]
Taka of the Shadow Manor [Level 19]
Seiki stopped short. From the corner of his eyes he could see the shadow moving swiftly away on the roof on the left side of the street. The two ninjas took a second to recognize Seiki and seemed as surprised as he was. Immediately, with a cry, Hibi shot out shurikens at him from her right hand.
Seiki threw himself back around the corner as fast as he could, avoiding the metal projectiles. He knew there was no way he could fight them. He then turned back around and struck out with Sweeping Blade around the corner.
The two ninjas had expected him to flee, and were trying to chase him. This move caught them off-guard. As the Sweeping Blade hit both of them backward, Seiki dashed straight down the street ahead, where he saw that it broke off into several smaller lanes. He took an acute turn into one of them as he heard Taka’s silver glaive whisking through the air behind him.
How he wished this had been East City, where the endless twists and turns of the alleyways could have helped him escape.
Keep up with the shadow!
Ignoring the unhelpful prompt, Seiki ran down the road. He randomly took a left turn, and another right, before stopping to listen. He
could not hear them following him, but then again he could not be sure they could not hide their footsteps if they wanted to. They were, after all, ninjas.
Unexpectedly, a sensation swept over him, like a wet cloth being dropped on his skin, and Seiki remembered Hibi’s Sense. “That way!” he heard her cry from afar, and Seiki continued to race, making his way down unfamiliar roads. The occasional passer-by gave him questioning looks.
Keep up with the shadow!
“Not a good time,” he muttered as he felt another Sense on him. He went past a procession of nameless rich citizens with servants holding colorful lamps in front of the carriage—a common sight in West City. Seiki strained his ears and could hear gallops. He assumed that the ninjas had gotten on their mounts.
Quest failed: The Mysterious Messenger [Level 6].
The quest was the last thing on his mind right now. Struggling to escape his pursuers, Seiki made a wild guess and turned left. In front of him was an empty square, closed off on two sides by expensive-looking mansions. He could see smaller streets on the other side which he could take, but in going across the square there would be no protection.
Gallops closed in, leaving Seiki with no choice. He dashed forward over the open space. A quick glance behind showed that the two ninjas had spotted him. He could feel shurikens hitting the ground behind him. Taka’s glaive spun forward past him in a wide circle, before curving back. Still running, Seiki ducked below it, almost losing his balance.
The horses caught up with him and Seiki twisted around to strike out his Hikari in another Sweeping Blade, feeling guilty as the blade left shallow cuts on the horses. The beasts almost simultaneously reared and threw off the riders. Before they could recover, Seiki was already sprinting away. More shurikens followed him even before Hibi had landed properly on the ground.