by Nikita Thorn
They sprang into action. Ippei’s Hikari flashed from the side, hitting the man out of the doorway and into the room with Sweeping Blade. Seiki, who had positioned himself right beside the door, stepped out almost at the same time, using his Sweeping Blade to defend the doorway and push back the other men before they could pour in.
It was perhaps fortunate that the doorway was narrow enough. Seiki’s bluish silver Jade Steel blade struck the three other men crowding the opening, sending them stumbling back onto their comrades behind. Mairin was already waiting, and as Seiki slammed the door shut, she thrust the bolt into place once more.
Seiki looked down in surprised delight at the Jade Steel in his hand, feeling a strange rush of excitement, partly from having a real sword to use again, and partly from the novelty of how it felt. The Jade Steel was somehow faster, and a little cleaner and more powerful than the Hikari at this level.
“Nice range, isn’t it?” said Ippei from behind him.
“Yeah,” said Seiki.
The door shook violently and angry shouts rose outside.
The lone attacker inside the house, cleanly shaven and perhaps in his thirties, was dressed in all black, with a strip of unmarked cloth bound over his long forehead. He carried a nondescript long sword. “Where is the book?” he asked, as he saw Iyo.
“What book?” answered Iyo.
The attacker took a step toward her, and Ippei moved in to block his way. The man then rushed in to attack. Ippei winced as he chose not to Parry in order to avoid sacrificing all his energy, but to trade an attack and use Brace to survive.
“Foxy,” said the samurai, as the man’s sword left a bleeding gash on his thigh, dropping his health very low.
Armed Attacker [Level 16], HP 1364/1620. Attacking Stance.
Seiki hurried to aid with his sword. The ground stove was right in the middle of the house, making moving a little challenging, but the house was tiny, and within a few steps he was there.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Seiki pierced the black-clad man on the back of his leg, below his armor, with a sliding Focused Strike. He was a little taken aback that it felt like stabbing through cloth rather than flesh, and he wondered if it was an effect from the Jade Steel. The man staggered a little forward, just as Ippei ran around the ground stove to avoid the man’s strike.
Ippei—his health filled from Mairin’s heal—wasted no time and also pressed in again with Focused Strike, as the man turned to swing his blade at Seiki. The attacker was quick with his reflex and spun around to parry. The white fox dashed through and leapt at the man’s throat with her Bite.
With a loud grunt, the attacker swung his fist at the kitsune. Seiki knew she could not afford to take the slightest graze. Sweeping Blade was one of the most natural moves to use and Seiki struck out with it, and his blade hit the man on his flank.
In such a limited space, their repeated footsteps thudded heavily on the wood floor, interspersed with alarmed gasps from Iyo and the wail from the infant, who had woken up to a chaotic scene.
The kitsune landed safely on the other side of the room, and Seiki finally had time to check the numbers.
Armed Attacker [Level 16]. HP 846/1620. Attacking Stance.
“Unload everything on my signal,” said Ippei.
Before Seiki could wonder what the signal was, the samurai shouted, “Now!”
There was a strange ring to this particular word, and at that very moment Seiki felt something lift in his heart. Strength filled his muscles, and his thoughts appeared incredibly clear and focused. This was the samurai’s Battle Shout, which benefited the user and allies within range.
Taking advantage of the positive rush, and with his stats slightly boosted, Seiki slid in with Focused Strike again. This time, his sword pierced through the man’s back armor, dealing a little more damage than expected. The white fox flashed by with her Bite, and Ippei confidently ran in with a forward diagonal cut down the man’s chest, before twisting his wrist and following through with an immediate downward cut in the opposite direction in a move Seiki had never seen.
The move apparently dealt a lot of damage, and the attacker’s body thudded onto the ground.
Armed Attacker [Level 16]. HP 0/1620. Lootable.
Armed Attacker slain. 82 XP gained.
The dead body burst into smoke almost immediately.
“That wasn’t bad,” said Seiki, remarking how much easier it was when he did not have to fight things alone.
They were all without energy, and pretty much all their abilities were on lockout. But if they could keep to one enemy at a time, it was perhaps going to be doable after all.
“Wasn’t bad at all,” said Ippei to himself, seemingly surprised and rather pleased with his number on the last ability he did.
“What was that?” asked Seiki.
The samurai puffed out his chest. “Our Level 12 Swerve Cut,” he replied. “Or people call it the x-cut. You only need one hand on the sword, so it’s quite flexible.” He demonstrated the move again without energy. “After two boring utility abilities like Brace and Shout, we finally get something worthwhile. Pretty long 2-minute lockout though.”
Seiki now remembered vaguely that he had seen Master Tsujihara use the move in real combat before. It was essentially two strikes in quick succession, which was presumably very difficult to defend against, as you could perhaps Parry one but not the other.
From outside, someone was banging on the door again. “Open up!”
The white fox turned back into Mairin, looking slightly confused. “I think there are still eight of them outside. Did I miscount?”
Seiki tried to recall when he had seen them at the doorway. “No. I’m pretty sure there were eight.”
Ippei frowned. “Or maybe they’re endless?”
“Or maybe we need to kill them all at the same time?” suggested Mairin.
The samurai shook his head. “No. They can’t expect even a Level 16 to fight eight Level 16s at once.” He glanced around, before taking a peek at his Hikari sword.
“I think I know what it is,” he said after a little while, before holding up his sword. “No blood.”
“Which means?” Mairin said.
Ippei smiled, as he usually did when he knew something no one else did. “How many people are there in this room? Four, right? Counting the baby, five.”
He paused for effect, and Seiki had no idea where he was going with this.
“How many shadows?” the samurai asked. Before Seiki could completely grasp the implication, Ippei answered his own question: “Three.”
Seiki glimpsed at the new mother in the corner, who now had a serene smile on her lips. Her dark long hair fell about her gentle face as she looked lovingly at the infant in her arms. He could see now that under her dark green kimono was a clear lack of shadows.
“We got it completely wrong. The old woman was trying to warn us,” said Ippei. “She’s a ghost.” He then gestured toward the door, which was still shaking violently from the attackers. “And this is how she died.”
Chapter 19
How was Seiki supposed to feel about being trapped in a house with a dead mother and baby? If they had not conversed earlier, this would have been a bit creepy. But a little while ago, this woman was just innocently eating Mairin’s grilled rice balls, and it was difficult to imagine that she would all of the sudden turn malicious.
“What do you mean she’s a ghost?” said Mairin.
Iyo was humming a lullaby and did not seem to be paying them any attention.
“They’re all ghosts.” Ippei shrugged. “I remember a similar quest about a woman in the snow where she’s out to get revenge on the man who abandoned her.” He glanced toward Iyo. “I think we’re trapped in her memory, possibly until we figure out how to appease her.”
If this was true, Seiki was relieved to discover that Iyo seemed to be a rather peaceful ghost, and that the revelation had not prompted her to
act any differently, as he was not quite certain how he would feel about fighting a mother with her newborn in her arms.
“We can just ask her, right?” said Mairin, walking up to the ghost. “Did these people outside kill you?” She pointed toward the door.
Iyo looked up at her, seemingly confused. “What are you talking about?” she asked, before frowning. “And what an inauspicious thing to say on my son’s first day of his life.”
“Okay, so she doesn’t know she’s dead,” said Ippei.
“Who are they?” asked Mairin. “And why are they trying to, uh, kill you?”
“My danna-sama had many enemies.” She frowned again. “And what an inauspicious thing to say again!”
“The man wanted a book, right?” asked Mairin. “What book?”
The black-clad men outside were still shouting empty threats at them. Now that this stage of the quest had drawn out for so long, it was most likely that the door was going to hold forever, and the sense of urgency was evaporating.
“My danna-sama was well-read, and an avid collector,” said Iyo. “He had in his collection a book of… rare poems.”
“Okay. We’re making progress. These guys are after your husband’s book,” said Mairin. “Where is it?”
“My danna-sama said poetry belonged to the people, so he tore it up and scattered its content throughout the land.”
“Wait,” Seiki said. “You’re talking about puzzle poems?” Perhaps this was a little backstory to explain why these poems existed in the first place.
Iyo had no answer for that.
“Treasure poems?” Seiki tried again.
“The world is full of hidden treasures,” said Iyo, not really answering his question.
Mairin tilted her head as she thought about the quest. “Okay, so these people killed you, but you don’t have the book. So, are we supposed to, well, avenge your death so you can be at peace?”
“What an inauspicious thing to say in front of my baby!” Iyo said again.
They tried a few more questions, but Iyo would say no more except to praise her husband, praise her baby, and explain that people should pay attention to poetry.
“Maybe this is a hint to get people to understand that there are puzzle poems?” Seiki guessed.
“Except now it’s become common knowledge,” said Ippei. “But I guess if you’re soloing the whole thing, this is how they give you that piece of knowledge.”
“I’d say just try to avenge her death,” said Mairin. “Kill eight and see what happens?”
They had no better idea. So, using the exact same strategy to let one in at a time, they slowly got rid of the attackers, who unfortunately kept replenishing themselves at the door, even after the eighth one. Ippei let out a little exclamation at one point, and Mairin looked at him suspiciously as if wondering if he had figured something out. But Ippei simply told them to keep going, with a kind of resolution that was strangely a little uncharacteristic.
“Well, this isn’t working,” said Seiki, after they had killed a few more. It was starting to feel like an alternate version of wandering in the fields killing random wild boars with Yamura just for experience.
“Yeah, it’s kinda getting a bit pointless,” Mairin agreed. “Maybe you’re right,” she said to Ippei. “We should just try to die and get out of here.”
“Couple more,” said Ippei with a little smile, and Seiki only now started to suspect that his friend had a hidden agenda.
Something flashed through Mairin’s head and she brightened. “Couple more?” she said. “Great idea!”
It took Ippei a second to register what the kitsune girl meant.
“No, wait!” said the samurai, a bit too late.
They had worked out a perfect combination of moves between themselves to turn the house and the door into an efficient death trap for all the unfortunate attackers, and Mairin knew exactly when Seiki was about to use his Sweeping Blade. The moment she opened the door to let through one attacker and Seiki stepped out to push back the rest, she grabbed hold of his right sleeve, delaying his Sweeping Blade by a split second and allowing a second attacker in at the same time.
“Couple more!” Mairin announced.
“Whoa,” said Seiki, as he quickly corrected his form and managed to throw the rest back and slam the door shut.
“Hey, we’re not trying to die yet!” said Ippei, as he unexpectedly found himself facing two lethal attacks at once. The house was not big to start with, and now with an extra person, it was starting to feel very crowded.
Mairin bolted the door, Seiki spun around and hit one of the attackers with Focused Strike to ease the pressure on Ippei. It worked, and the man turned toward him to return an attack. The room was much too small, and there was no way to properly dodge or Parry without losing all energy. So, Seiki found himself with no other option than to throw himself against one of the walls to avoid the man’s descending blade.
The attacker’s sword lodged itself into the wall. Seiki reached out to grab the man’s wrist and yank him to one side, before leaping back out of the way, grimacing at the man’s rather disturbing lack of body heat.
The white fox was dashing by in high spirits, apparently enjoying the spiced up situation. Her soft fur brushed against Seiki’s arm as smoky Fox Dust exploded around her.
The attacker was trying to pick himself up from the floor, and Seiki threw a quick glance at Ippei, at half health, who was fighting the first invader. Knowing his friend would not be able to handle two at once, Seiki turned back to the man on the floor and stabbed his Jade Steel vertically down through the man’s sword arm, pinning him in place, slightly grateful for the lack of blood in this encounter. The attacker let out an angry yell but, for a moment, he was trapped.
Armed Attacker [Level 16]. HP 1331/1620. Defensive Stance.
“What’s this defensive stance?” said Seiki.
“They just take less damage but deal less damage as well,” said Ippei. “Usually, it’s not that important. After Level 15, they start to have stances, like mini phases.”
Seiki’s opponent on the ground grabbed hold of the Jade Steel with his free hand and, with amazing force, pulled it vertically up from his arm in a manner normally not possible. Seiki cursed as the man lunged at him, and he threw himself out of the way and almost tripped over the white fox.
With two attackers in the house at the same time, the space was tight to say the least, and with their coordinated rotation messed up, it was complete chaos in the sea of sleeves, blades and flailing limbs. Seiki found himself having to keep hitting the attackers with Sweeping Blade as soon as the lockout expired, just to survive.
In that time, Seiki learned that he could just about take a few grazes from a Level 16, but nothing more. Luckily, the respawn point was just by Iyo’s mattress. Even with Mairin’s constant heals, all three of them managed to alternately die a few times before the two attackers were dead on the floor.
Armed Attacker slain. 93 XP gained. Armed Attacker slain. 79 XP gained.
Armed Attacker [Level 16]. HP 0/1620. Lootable.
Armed Attacker [Level 16]. HP 0/1620. Lootable.
Ippei, who had finished the chaotic fight with a sliver of his health and very bloody clothes, stared at Mairin. “Was that necessary, Foxy?”
Mairin popped back into a giggling human girl. She, too, was missing a lot of health, but did not seem to care. “At least it was fun, don’t you—”
Mairin has reached Level 11.
The kitsune shivered as the joy rush filled her. Suddenly, perhaps to shake off her excitement, the white fox sped around the interior of the house in a wide circle, jumping over the newborn baby on Iyo’s lap, before proceeding to unleash her Kindred Spirit healing foxes—all eight of which were also very eager to join in her celebratory run. In the dim cottage, they seemed to sparkle a little and light up the place.
“Okay, that’s enough,” said Ippei, laughing.
Within the confines of the room, three of the phantom kitsune instantly dispersed like cool mist on Seiki’s skin, closing his wounds and filling his energy. Seiki only now had a chance to see what the ability actually was:
Kindred Spirit [ability information]: call on the spirits of powerful kitsune ancestors to release eight mirror images of the user, which circle the area within a radius of ten feet around the user and heal allies that come into contact with them for 60% of the user’s current health as well as give them 40% of the user’s current energy level.
He understood now why Mairin often drank a potion right before she used the ability. It was rather powerful, but came with a long 4-minute lockout.
“All right,” said Mairin, her cheeks flushed. “Three at a time?” she suggested. “See how far we can go until we die?”
“No,” said Ippei. “Time to move this forward now,” he said with a mysterious smile. “You’ll see.”
When Ippei knew something others did not, he was definitely not giving it away. So, they did as he told them to and let one attacker through. After the chaos earlier, taking care of one was very clean and easy. Mairin being one level higher also made a noticeable difference.
Armed Attacker [Level 16]. HP 0/1620. Lootable.
“Okay, loot,” said Ippei, as soon as the body hit the floor.
“Why?” Mairin asked, as she turned back into human right beside the body. “You think they’re gonna give us potions or… Oh.” She now held a small carved nameplate in her hand, made of thin bronze and decorated with a small black tassel, which was labeled Shinshioka Army Nameplate [Instance Item].
“Okay,” said Mairin, after flipping the metal plate around in her hand a few times to take a good look. She turned toward Iyo and her baby in the corner. “Whatever your husband did, he must have pissed off the Shogun, since these people coming after you are apparently Shinshioka soldiers.” She thought for a moment as she tried to piece together the story. “Did your husband rob the Shogun’s treasury? Is that where he got the poetry book from?”
Iyo simply smiled, and Seiki could not tell if that was confirmation.