Bushido Online: the Battle Begins: A LitRPG Saga

by Nikita Thorn

  Kentaro [Level 9] looked up at them from the waterside. “Yes,” he said with a smile. “And look what I got.”

  In his hand was a Vial of Toad Poison. Ingredient.

  “Good for antidotes of all kinds,” said the houshi.

  “Which you wouldn’t need if you had Cleanse,” said Ippei.

  “But which you people do need when there’s no houshi around,” he said as he started distributing small ceramic bottles out to everyone. “I have loads of this since I’m leveling Medicine,” he explained. “Maybe I should start selling these, too.”

  The ceramic bottle was exactly the same as the health potion, except that the lid was yellow.

  You have received: Basic Antidote (x2). Cleanses all poison and curse effects and makes the user immune to such effects for the next 15 seconds. Lockout after each use: 5 minutes.

  “I’d still rather have Cleanse,” said Ippei as he pocketed his bottles. “But this will certainly be interesting.”

  It turned out that the waterfall was not that far away. Ippei knew where he was going and, as they followed the stream south, the land slowly sloped upward until they came upon a small hill. On the opposite side was a dense, damp forest. Following a small dirt path, they soon arrived at a medium-sized pond with a noisy two-storied high waterfall at one end, emptying its foamy water into the murky depths below.

  “I thought a waterfall would be pretty,” said Mairin, disappointed at the dubiously green water and the stuffy atmosphere. “This is definitely not a picnic spot.”

  On a rock by the water, idly fishing with a makeshift fishing pole, Yamura of the Honor Warriors [Level 9] was already there. His bow now sported Shinshioka colors and his quiver was leather rather than crude bamboo.

  “No fish,” said Yamura as he saw them. He nodded at Seiki and jumped to his feet. “Okay, I’m ready.” He then looked at Seiki. “You don’t have your post thing activated?”

  Seiki shook his head, and then remembered something. “By the way, the robber guy asked me to tell you you’re welcome to join his group of bandits.”

  Yamura blinked. “What robber guy—”

  Before they could take the conversation any further, the ryoushi was interrupted by Mairin. “Thanks for coming,” said the kitsune, who had burst ahead toward Yamura and made a tight circle around him. “I’m Mairin, this is Kentaro, Ippei. Oooh, nice boots!”

  Yamura looked down at his red-threaded boots. “That was in the clan welcome pack.”

  “I can make that for you if you want,” whispered Kentaro to either Seiki or Ippei.

  Ippei seemed to be concentrating on something.

  Ippei has offered to share the mission Disturbance in the Waterfall [Group Instance Level 9] with you.

  Mission: Disturbance in the Waterfall [Group Instance Level 9]. There are reports of people mysterious disappearances near the waterfall as marked on the map. Investigate it and report back to the Shogun. Recommended players: 4-6. You will receive: 15 honor points with the Shogun and 20 reputation points with Shinshioka.

  As Seiki accepted, they were all automatically put in a group, and Ippei pointed toward a small opening that looked like a crack in the rocks beside the waterfall. It was so small and awkwardly shapen that Seiki would never have suspected it was the entrance.

  Yamura observed each member of the group. “Good that there’s a houshi,” he said.

  “No Cleanse though.” Ippei laughed with dark amusement as he walked past the ryoushi and disappeared through the dark crack.

  “Here,” said Kentaro, as he thrust two bottles of antidotes into Yamura’s hands and followed the samurai through the narrow opening.

  Mairin dashed after them in fox form, and Yamura stared at the two bottles in his hands. “Wait. What do you mean no Cleanse?” He then turned to Seiki. “Seriously? No Cleanse?”

  “Apparently not,” Seiki answered, going through the entrance. The air inside was dark and unpleasantly damp, and the walls seemed wet with mud. Seiki heard Yamura hesitate for a moment before scrambling after them. “Why no Cleanse?” the ryoushi cried. “Is this a dare or something?”

  Once you enter the instance, you will be locked to the instance and will not be able to re-enter it for 24 hours.

  The narrow passage through the rocks led them to a rather small cave, about twenty feet across. Cracks in the rocks that formed its ceiling let through a decent amount of light, and Seiki could see that it was a dead end.

  Welcome to the Waterfall Cavern!

  “Not a very welcoming place, though,” said Kentaro. The cave was uncomfortably humid, and although Seiki could not actually smell anything, he could not shake the impression that the whole place reeked of something putrid.

  “Okay, this is Dungeon 101,” explained Ippei. “Only two rooms. We clear this one first.”

  “Why aren’t we using Cleanse?” Yamura was still asking.

  “Don’t have it,” Kentaro explained. “Sorry.”

  Yamura eyed him in horror. “Oh, man, this is going to be bad.”

  The white fox was already running around the room. “Where’s the bad guys?” She popped back into human form, eager to get going.

  Ippei drew his sword. “Just wait. And you’d better come toward the middle.”

  A silence fell and Seiki could soon hear low thuds, and sounds of loose rocks. Almost immediately, the ground around them seemed to be shaking, before right in front of them an Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite] burst from the ground. It was almost entirely skeletal, yet rotten flesh was still falling off its face and torso.

  “Eww!” cried Mairin and Kentaro in unison.

  In a matter of seconds, two more had emerged, and Seiki struck the first one with Focused Strike right away.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 309/420.

  It had more health than a normal monster at the same level, Seiki noted. The skeleton staggered, then collapsed into a pile of bones.

  Surprised, Seiki examined it. Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 309/420.

  It was not dead, so he hit it again with a normal move while it was still on the ground. His blade flipped it over, but it was motionless and took no damage.

  “This is new,” said Ippei in puzzlement. Seiki looked back and his friends had managed to drop the other two skeletons, but they were not dead either.

  The ground rumbled some more, and four more skeletal figures dug their way through the floor. Mairin and Ippei dashed forward, and Yamura’s arrow flew. Seiki tried hitting one of them again with a normal move, and as soon as his blade touched it, the Animated Corpse collapsed, even under the meager damage.

  The room was slowly filling up with bones. “I don’t like this,” said Yamura. “It wasn’t like this. You used to be able to kill them. This room used to be easy.”

  They were standing in this eerie atmosphere, looking at the piles of bones and each other, when suddenly all six corpses leapt up all at once. Ippei struck three of them with Sweeping Blade, and they collapsed again… but only for a split second this time. A fourth lunged at the samurai from behind, and Seiki ran in to help. His Sweeping Blade hit two of them. His friends were yelling in his back as Mairin was trying to get the other two off Kentaro and Yamura, but one was already attacking the ryoushi, who started running.

  Ippei swore. “We need a plan!” he exclaimed, as the elite skeletons swung their bony arms at him. Seiki swept them off with Sweeping Blade again, but they only stayed collapsed for a split second now. Ippei was out of energy and two corpses closed in on him. Seiki was getting ready to back him up when two more skeletons appeared out of nowhere, forcing him to step away. Something struck him in the back, sending cold numbness down his spine, and his health took a sharp dip. A reminder that elites dealt double damage.

  Seiki turned around and Parried another attack from yet another skeleton, and he found himself surrounded by at least four menacing foes. With a quick glance, he saw that on the floor were already two
corpses and a dead white fox.

  Something struck him again in his lower back and Seiki collapsed into darkness.

  There was no light at the end of the tunnel this time though, and Seiki woke as if rousing from sleep. He sat up, suffered five seconds of terrible dizziness, before finding himself back in the cave. His friends were coming to beside him.

  Ippei sighed as he massaged his head. “Okay, that was a mess. We need a plan.”

  Upon closer inspection, they were in fact in a narrow antechamber with a small opening to the first room. Through the opening, Seiki could see that the room was now empty, with no trace of bones, and Yamura told him that since everyone had died it had reset.

  “I think we need to kill one at a time,” said Yamura.

  They formulated a plan. First round was three skeletons, and Mairin theorized that the second round spawned after all three had collapsed into piles of bones.

  “Maybe it’s like the kitsune quest that has you putting out flames and you have to get all three flames extinguished at the same time,” said Mairin. “So I’ll kite one.”

  “Or I’ll trap it,” said Yamura.

  “Or maybe both, if need be,” said Ippei. “Seiki, we need burst damage at the first connect. See how that goes.”

  Seiki nodded. He knew what to do.

  They stepped out into the room again and waited. Seiki remembered where the first skeleton spawned and he put himself in position. The ground rumbled, and he drew his sword in preparation.

  As soon as the Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 420/420 emerged from the ground, Seiki pushed his energy down in a short Slide, erring on the side of excessive energy. He let go and slid forward, his Hikari striking with Focused Strike directly at the skull as it climbed out of the ground. The impact of blade on bone vibrated through his arm.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 257/420.

  He felt his heart quicken. This was the most damage output he had ever delivered in one single strike, and it felt powerful. The skeleton collapsed, and Seiki glanced around. The white fox was already running around, with one of the skeletons chasing after her. The other skeleton was stuck in a trap, and Ippei seemed unsure whether he should hit it or not.

  No time to think; the bones in front of Seiki were moving again. Quickly, Seiki jumped back into position and, as the monster started to reconstitute, he slid into a Focused Strike—this time with better control of his energy.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 92/420.

  The skeleton dropped again, and Seiki now only had energy to Parry. That was when Yamura ran out of energy for traps, and Ippei started hitting the second skeleton. Mairin was almost out of energy for Dash, and as her pursuer caught up with her, Kentaro hit it with a Hinder, slowing it down for four seconds.

  Sooner than later, they would run out of energy as a group. And if Seiki did not do anything right now, Mairin would be dead. Parry did no damage, so technically it would not collapse the skeleton, but he could not be certain.

  The kitsune was now out of energy for Dash, and made a risky u-turn through the skeleton’s legs. The corpse landed a glancing blow on her body with its kick, and Kentaro’s white Heal immediately topped up her health. Seiki rushed in and Parried the bony arm before it could reach the kitsune. It did not collapse. The skeleton turned on Seiki and swung its arm at him. Seiki moved to the side and started sprinting. He knew he could not outrun it, but Kentaro’s second Hinder helped slow it down again.

  The first skeleton started to rebuild. “Kill it!” cried Ippei. Any special ability from any one of them could have been enough. Yamura let loose a Focused Shot, and it fell to the floor, making a hollow plonking sound this time.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 0/420.

  One down, two to go.

  “I’ll take this one for a while,” said Seiki as he engaged the second skeleton. Parry took relatively little energy, and he could run and turn to Parry and keep it off the kitsune while her energy recharged. The skeleton was fast but, with the occasional Hinder, he should be able to keep up.

  Suddenly, Yamura let out a loud curse. The corpse they had supposedly killed was now moving again. “Okay, that definitely didn’t use to happen. They totally changed this thing!” said the ryoushi in alarm.

  From the corner of his eyes, Seiki could see the skeleton rising from the ground, head-first as if drawn by a string, and its limbs started reattaching themselves to its bony torso.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 420/420.

  By some dark magic, it was back at full health.

  Yamura threw a trap under it before it could come after him. Ippei’s skeleton was still collapsed at less than half health. Seiki dodged an attack from the corpse pursuing him again. The houshi was out of energy to Hinder, and the skeleton was getting nearer now. Seiki was out of even a Parry. Thinking on his feet, he reasoned he could do without energy and afford to lose his Hikari for a few seconds.

  As the skeleton closed in, Seiki was about to turn, when Ippei yelled. “Keep running!” Seiki trusted him and sprinted ahead without looking behind. He could feel Ippei rushing in and Parrying the attack. Then, the white fox dashed past him and leapt at the skeleton, and it collapsed into bones.

  There was no time to rest amid the confusion of what to do. Ippei’s skeleton was getting up again, and the one that had mysteriously come back to life was stuck in what appeared to be the last of Yamura’s traps.

  Ippei had run back to the half-health pile of bones, and he hit it with Focused Strike as it got up, reducing it once again to Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 153/420, on the ground.

  Just as Yamura warned them he was out of traps, Mairin recovered enough energy to pick up the rejuvenated skeleton and have it chase her around.

  “I guess keep hitting these two,” said Ippei, running back to the other bone pile.

  “And then what?” cried Yamura. “They come back at full health.”

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 153/420, was moving, and Seiki knew he could reduce it to zero with one good combo. He had not quite gotten a hang of how to be precise with his Slide yet, but he ran in and finished with a very short Slide and a point-blank Focused Strike.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 0/420.

  Now he was completely out of energy again.

  The thing was supposed to be dead, so Seiki bent down, wincing as he touched it to check if it would vaporize. The bone was cold to the touch, and thankfully dry, pretty much like metal. However, it did not disappear. The white fox was luring the living skeleton through, and Seiki threw himself out of the way as they burst past him.

  The pile of bones he had just killed started vibrating again, and Seiki prepared to hit it with a normal move. Whatever they were doing, it was not working, but he did not know what else to attempt. The skeleton slowly lifted off the ground, skull first… as if drawn up by a string.

  Seiki stared. As if drawn up by a string… That was it! He saw it now! Attached to the top of the skull was a very thin silky thread that went all the way to the ceiling. “They’re puppets!” he cried. Rushing forward, he swung the Hikari at the string. The thread clung to his blade but did not break, and the impact shook the entire skeleton like a limp marionette.

  You needed energy for this, Seiki recognized instantly. “Yamura!” he yelled.

  The ryoushi was already on it, and his Focused Shot flew and severed the string, dropping the bones almost on top of Seiki.

  Animated Corpse slain. 40 XP gained.

  Seiki breathed a sigh of relief, just as about everyone did. Once they had this figured out, it became much easier. The string only became visible once the skeletons were reviving, and there was a small window to cut it. Yamura bared his dagger and rushed at the second skeleton with his Finish—an ability Seiki had never witnessed, which did significant damage but which could only be used on enemies below a quarter health and stuck in his trap. Then, as the skeleton started to rev
ive, Ippei cut the string attached to the skull with Sweeping Blade, and it was over.

  Animated Corpse slain. 40 XP gained.

  “I see,” said Ippei, thoughtful. “They changed it to keep to the theme.”

  With only the third enemy remaining, it was no longer difficult, and they quickly killed it and waited for the next round.

  “I think as long as there’s one standing, it doesn’t spawn the next round,” said Kentaro. He had been away from the combat and had observed everything. “If there’s a next round, that is. So you can keep three on the ground and hit them as they come back up.”

  There was a second round indeed, and it posed a different challenge. They had planned to keep three skeletons grouped together in the middle of the room, while Mairin kited another around, and Yamura and Kentaro helped her with occasional Traps and Hinders. But this second round spawns only stayed on the ground for a second before leaping back up.

  As Seiki and Ippei alternately used Sweeping Blade on the trio, suddenly the ground shook again.

  “Uh oh,” said Kentaro.

  The ground burst open, throwing Seiki and Ippei off their feet, and another skeleton, twice as large, climbed out of the ground.

  Vengeful Animated Corpse [Level 10 Elite]. HP 510/510, roared and swung a large blade at them. Seiki rolled out of the way.

  “They added a freaking boss!” said Yamura.

  The giant skeleton was going straight for Kentaro, who hit it with Hinder as he ran to one side. Yamura let loose two arrows at its back.

  “Kill the small ones first,” said Ippei, his Sweeping Blade—the last of his energy—knocking two back into a stack of bones.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 35/420.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 78/420.

  Seiki slashed the one closest to him without energy.

  Animated Corpse [Level 9 Elite]. HP 147/420.