by Nikita Thorn
“I like the Society,” said Kentaro, in what sounded like a mild protest.
Ippei sighed. “Okay, seriously, there’s nothing to worry about. All it means is that we’re going to have to put up with seeing Rogami flags all over the city for a week, and maybe their members will get some fancy-sounding 1% buff for the whole event, but in the end nothing will come out of it. Just like how when that girl was the first to reach Level 30 in, uh, Calligraphy, I think, the whole Crafters’ Guild got 1% reduced material requirements for all Trade Skills during the whole festival. So, in the end, nothing really changed.”
“Um, except this alleged patch?” said Mairin.
“Probably just bug fixes,” said Ippei. “The game is never down, so this is just when they do their housekeeping. Last time, everyone acted like it was going to upset everything, but the patch only added a few food items available for Cooking, and removed some obsolete drops.”
Seiki wondered if Kentaro’s faulty Rogami charm had been one of those things removed.
Mairin narrowed her eyes. “But why wait till someone achieves some world-first thing to do it?”
Ippei shrugged. “RP opportunities.”
“Oh, come on,” said Mairin. “You can’t just attribute everything you don’t care about to RP.”
The samurai simply laughed.
“Where did this Zengoro person come from anyway?” asked Kentaro. “I’ve never heard of him, and I always thought that girl Rieko and her minions were in command.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Ippei, nodding ahead toward the Palace Gate. They had turned right and made their way through North City, and now found themselves in the formal well-paved street that ran along the Palace’s white walls. “Now that Seiki and I are going out the West Gate, you might never see us again.” He sounded almost serious as he looked at Kentaro. “Muraki Fort has a box, you know, so there’s no need to come back to the city.”
“How heartless,” said the houshi.
Ippei turned toward the northwest. “You can always come find us. The fort is only a three-minute gallop out the gate.”
Kentaro pretended not to understand his actual meaning. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said casually. “Nothing out there except demons and all kinds of unpleasantness. Not even a lot of herbs to pick. And speaking of herbs, my new potions will be hitting the market this Friday, but unfortunately I’ve got real life obligations, so I’m afraid the charm shop will require assistance.”
Kentaro’s charm shop had actually become more of a one-stop shop for all things consumable as the houshi expanded his Trade Skills expertise. His spot at the kakigouri shop was now in business four days out of the week, which meant he was always in need for more people to help out.
Ippei sighed. “Fine. I’ll be there.”
They soon reached the outer Palace gate, where the guards actually stood to attention now that Seiki and Ippei had reached the rank of Favored Members of the Court. The zone was emptier than usual, perhaps because most people were still lingering around West City for further rumors about the upcoming festival. After confirming the shop’s operational hours on Friday, Kentaro and Mairin turned their horses off to the right towards the Servants’ Quarters, where weekly crafting missions were given out.
Ippei let out a little wistful sigh as he watched them disappear around the nearest bend through a pine garden. “And there go our potential healers.”
Despite the samurai’s best efforts over the weeks, he never managed to get them to collect the five hundred Honor Points required to start War Games.
“Maybe write to your secret fans and say you need a few more donations?” Ippei said half-jokingly to Seiki as they steered their horses left toward the Soldiers’ Quarters on the opposite side of the Palace.
Seiki’s mind, however, was on something else. “So you really don’t think we should talk to the Society about this shadow seal?” He had decided the term sounded better than Mairin’s suggested ‘evil rat keychain’. “I mean, they already know we have one, and they also know where we got it from. Or is there any reason you don’t trust them?”
Ippei shook his head. “It’s not a matter of trust. It’s just that, regardless of their intentions, the Society is deep in politics, just like everyone else. As much as they claim to be neutral, they can’t avoid getting dragged into all kinds of drama. People would do anything to get their hands on those records. Not to mention that they also have two uniques in their possession.” His lips curled into a smile. “As you know, that guarantees you constant PVP excitement.”
Seiki had to admit his friend had a point. His first encounter with the Society’s Horn of the Ox Demon ended in a territory invasion. And just a week ago, there was another incident at one of their clan territories, where someone tried to steal their unique crafting dagger that temporary added two levels to any Trade Skill.
Ippei continued after a bit of musing. “I’d even go as far as saying that the Society’s responsible for most of the clan PVP going on just by keeping track of the uniques and making it public knowledge who has them. So let’s just hope they don’t do the same for that… whatever seal we got from the temple.”
“I doubt it,” said Seiki. “Since they’re also keeping very quiet about their own piece. Besides, even if it’s public knowledge, I don’t think the Rogami would bother coming after some toy.”
Sheathed Blades were one thing. Glitch items that gave you occasional shivers would probably not be of much interest to anyone but the Shinshioka Scientific Society.
“It’s not the Rogami I’m worried about,” said Ippei under his breath. “It’s more… ” He paused, and then seemed to change his mind. “I mean, go talk to them if you want to.” A grin then lit up his face as the Soldiers’ Quarters came into view. “But let’s see if after finishing the war tutorial today you’d rather not just stay out the West Gate for good.”
“This had better live up to the hype,” Seiki said with a wink.
Now, as Favored Members of the Court, they could ride all the way to the front of the Hall of Command. The spacious courtyard in front of the building was populated with NPC soldiers in intense combat training, and endless sounds of weapons and shouted orders filled the place with perpetual urgent energy.
As they pulled their horses to a stop and dismounted, two Shinshioka Army Recruits [Level 14] ran up to them and politely offered to lead the horses away. Fubuki did not seem entirely happy about being handled by strangers, so Seiki simply dismissed her and let her trot riderless out of the area.
The Hall of Command at the center of the Soldiers’ Quarters was where military missions were given out. During the in-game day, this was managed by Commander Nakatani, who could be found on the ground floor, dressed in his full Shinshioka armor set that players could one day hope to collect. After sunset and all through the night, the responsibility was passed onto Lieutenant Kato, who could be found in the barracks, a smaller building behind the hall. The Society had once published their findings that there was no difference in the kinds of missions handed out, but a lot of people swore otherwise and most had a preference.
Seiki himself liked going to Lieutenant Kato. The atmosphere in the barracks was less formal and reminded him a little of a certain gym he had at one point in his life spent quite a decent amount of time in. But since his next quest for War Games specified the Commander, they headed into the building at the far end of the courtyard.
As usual, Commander Nakatani [Level Unknown] stood in the middle of the hall, giving orders to NPCs whenever no player was talking to him. Around him, a small crowd of people were milling about, reading mission texts and looking for groups.
“Nara Village, anyone?” asked Kimiko of the Red Dawn Clan [Level 16] as Seiki and Ippei walked past her. “It’s the one with getting supplies over the stream. Quick and easy.”
They had both already completed their military mission for the week, and quickly declined as they continued to weave th
eir way through the crowd.
“Hi again, Commander,” said Ippei as they approached. “We’re back.”
Commander Nakatani turned to face them. “There are no more missions available for you this week, Ippei. Come back later.”
The corners of Ippei’s eyes wrinkled. “Oh, no. We’re here for the real thing now.”
“I see,” said the Commander. “Did you have problems finding Lieutenant Kato outside the West Gate?”
“That’s for later. My friend’s here for his men.”
“I see,” said Commander Nakatani.
The noises in the hall quieted down, as if in consideration of the private conversation that was about to follow, and the player tags in their immediate vicinity were suddenly replaced with ‘Shinshioka Army Officers’—which was a clear sign they had phased into a private instance.
It took a while before Commander Nakatani finally recognized Seiki. “Ah,” he said gravely. “Tsujihara’s student. Yes, Lieutenant Kato has spoken to me about how you’d like to volunteer to fight in our war against the Demonic Clan.”
The man must be talking about the previous quest. Seiki did not quite remember his conversation with Lieutenant Kato, since all he did was answer ‘yes’ to everything the man had said, so now he simply said ‘yes’ again.
According to Ippei, Commander Nakatani would now ask him to go and select four able men from somewhere in the barracks, plus carry out a few more easy quests to gear them up. These quests were meant to show him the location of NPCs he would need to talk to in order to upgrade his troops in the future, after which they would be able to start with the first tutorial war event.
Commander Nakatani hesitated for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “All right, Seiki, is it?”
“Just say skip,” said Ippei. “He has a long speech about war and honor.”
The Commander grimaced. “Seiki, well, how should I put this?” He paused a bit more. “Because of the circumstances surrounding Captain Tsujihara’s death, I’m afraid the Shogun has not yet granted permission for you to lead troops on behalf of Shinshioka.”
“Excuse me?” For the past month, Seiki had been working really hard toward this exact moment, and he had not been expecting that kind of response.
Ippei blinked. “Hey, Commander, what’s this? Uh, Seiki, you’re still a Favored Member of the Court after that prison trip, right?”
While he was quite certain he was, Seiki quickly checked his numbers again. Favored Member of the Court required 500 Honor Points, and he had 563 at the moment.
“Right,” he confirmed.
Quest completed: Report to Commander Nakatani [Level 14]. 255 XP gained.
This quest was supposed to be the final one in the chain, and Seiki looked at the Commander in puzzlement, wondering if there was some part of the previous quests he had missed, since he had admittedly not been paying close attention to the instructions. “Uh, what do I have to do again?”
“Listen, Seiki,” said the Commander. “I appreciate your patriotic spirit, but the Shogun’s command is final. I’d advise you to find a way to prove that you are committed to serving the Shogun and driving back the demonic forces from Shinshioka.”
“Okay,” said Seiki. “Vague, but I guess that’s fair enough.” He had made that choice for personal loyalty after all, and at Level 8 he had been prepared to fight the whole Shinshioka army if it would have saved the old master. As someone once told him, the Shogun was a paranoid man.
His answer registered as acceptance, and the Commander nodded in approval. “Very well. I cannot officially assign men to you, but if you can find like-minded citizens willing to fight for the city, I’m sure I can do something to get you into the army.”
Quest accepted: Volunteers [Level 14]. Find four Shinshioka subjects willing to fight for the city. You can start by asking around the barracks for clues on where to find them. You will receive: 255 XP.
“I just got a new quest.” Seiki turned to update his friend. From the sound of it, it did not seem like something he could achieve quickly, and he was getting a little worried that their War Games might need to be postponed after all.
“What?” cried Ippei. “When I did it in Beta, the commander just gave Ryuta his guys. Okay, let’s double check. So you already completed that one called Report to Nakatani?”
Seiki looked through the quest log again. “Yeah, but I’m on a different quest now, and it’s telling me to go find four—”
Quest completed: Volunteers [Level 14]. 255 XP gained.
Seiki blinked. “And… it seems I just completed it.” He checked again and indeed the quest gave him a tiny bit of XP toward Level 15.
Ippei appeared equally confused. “What? Just now?”
“Very well, Seiki!” Commander Nakatani cried out in delight, his tone cheerful now. “Well done! You’ve found your volunteers. Follow me, then.”
Seiki looked at his friend, who simply nodded at him to go with the Commander.
“Talk about glitches.” The samurai shook his head, but sounded undoubtedly relieved. “No wonder they need a patch. Hey, no more crap like that from you, Commander.” He laughed. “Just give my friend his starting unit so we can get going. You won’t be disappointed. We’ll be on the boards as Shinshioka’s best war players pretty soon.”
Seiki had to chuckle at his friend’s confidence. Considering that someone just reached Level 30, and they were not even half way there, he was not sure how such a claim could be true. In the long run, perhaps, but definitely not soon.
“I’ve already done this bit and we’ll be instanced anyway, so I’ll meet you at Kato out the West Gate,” the samurai called after them as Seiki followed the Commander into the inner chambers behind the large wooden screen at the back of the hall.
“I’ll be quick,” Seiki shouted back.
Players who had not unlocked War Games were barred from entering the inner chambers by a stern-looking soldier guarding the entrance. So, Seiki could not help feeling childishly delighted this time, when the guard greeted the Commander with a bow and let them through without a word.
Beyond the large painted wooden screen depicting an epic battle between men and demons, the inner chambers served as offices for Shinshioka Army officials. The zone was on a raised tatami platform, and shoji rooms tightly lined both sides of the surprisingly narrow main corridor. Shoes were prohibited, and uniformed messengers ran up and down with arms full of documents, filling the place with dull thuds from unshod feet. From behind shoji walls, muffled discussions in various degrees of heatedness rose and fell, and occasionally someone shouted something about demons.
Kentaro had once told Seiki the place was historically accurate, having been modeled after some historical building that was now a museum. Whether that was true or not, it certainly felt real and alive.
“The volunteers you managed to recruit signed up last night,” said Commander Nakatani as he led Seiki down the corridor. “I met them briefly when they came in. Good, willing people, though a little inexperienced, but I’m sure with training they will make able soldiers.”
Ippei had said a big part of war events was the training and upgrading of your own troops, and Seiki was looking forward to it, even when the starting quests seemed to be suffering from a slight continuity problem.
“The Shogun has made allowance for basic weapons and armors for volunteers,” the Commander went on. “So, first thing, fetch your troops from the waiting room and go talk to Captain Sakurai down that way.” He pointed to one of the rooms at the end of the corridor.
Quest accepted: The Armory Officer [Level 14]. Take the volunteers to Captain Sakurai in his office at the end of the hallway. You will receive: War Tokens [x3]. 255 XP.
“I must get back now. Ask any one of the officials if you cannot find your way.” Without another word, Commander Nakatani turned back and left Seiki in the middle of a labyrinth of rooms.
Glancing around, Seiki noticed most
of the rooms bore names, some of which were rather poetic—like ‘Endless Glory’ or ‘Spring Willow’—and he wondered if these were meant to replicate something else. Through the slits in the side doors, he could glimpse courtyards with lush green grass and well-tended trees, patches of green boxed in from all sides by other corridors that wound around them in a haphazard manner, as if the whole place had grown out of organic necessity, with decades of the City being at war.
Since he was curious, Seiki gingerly slid open one of the nearest doors, only to find the frowning face of a uniformed attendant, who was sitting on the floor by the entrance, and who quickly slammed the door shut, saying, “Wrong room, young man.”
It was difficult to believe the whole place was a private instance, given how big and complicated it looked. However, Seiki soon located a room marked simply ‘Waiting Room’, and entered.
The room was small and simple, with plain wooden boards for walls. Sitting in a circle in the middle of the room were indeed four people, dressed in simple commoners’ clothes. At the movement, they turned toward him, and Seiki was surprised to find himself looking at familiar faces.
“Hey, Chief!” cried a stocky man in blue with a cheery demeanor and a hint of a goatee, labeled Genta [Level 14]. Beside him were a pretty young woman in a green patterned kimono, Rumi [Level 14], a grinning teenage boy with a topknot, Saburo [Level 14], and an older graying man labeled Ojisan [Level 14].
Delighted smiles lit up their faces as they saw him.
“There he is,” said Saburo.
Rumi bobbed her head. “Told you it’s the right person.”
Despite not being able to piece together what this meant yet, the sight struck Seiki with unexpected joy—like meeting up with old friends whom he had nearly forgotten about and never thought he would see again. That feeling itself was something he had not felt in such a long time that he had also nearly forgotten it even existed.
“You’ve been well, Chief?” asked Genta.
It still took Seiki a few seconds to remember where he had seen them before. “The unmarked instance in the Wilderness,” he said aloud to remind himself, with a fair amount of fascination.