by Nikita Thorn
“Heard you were looking for people, Chief,” said Genta. “Since you saved all of us from that man-eating demon, our lives are now yours.”
The boy Saburo concurred. “Yeah, Chief, you saved the whole village.”
The four seemed very different from the last time Seiki had bumped into them. Their grief-stricken, fearful demeanor of those under prolonged stress had now been replaced by enthusiastic grins, and their optimistic energy was strangely contagious. Despite not having spent that long with them in the instance, Seiki was not sure why he was so glad to see them again, and he found himself grinning back.
“So…” He tried to recall the exact details of the encounter. At the time, he had thought there was no way he could have killed the demon, and had only hoped for the instance to reset once he left it. “I guess it worked?”
“Of course it worked, Chief,” said Genta. “You led the demon away from the village, and it’s been peace times ever since. We’ve even put up a new rice barn now, after the demon completely destroyed it. You should come visit us one day. I was going to come in and look for you in the city, but then I heard you wanted to join the Shinshioka army, and so we thought we should definitely volunteer, too. At first, I didn’t want Rumi anywhere near demons, but she insisted. Village Chief’s daughter and all, I guess. And, well, talking about that…” The man paused for a moment, before sounding slightly embarrassed. “Chief, maybe you should know that now Rumi and I, uh…”
Rumi blushed. Next to them, Saburo laughed. “They’re doing the ceremony once the war is over. I’ve never seen Rumi-nee-san act so womanly like when she’s around Genta.”
“Hey!” Rumi swatted the boy’s arm. “The Chief doesn’t want to hear about that.”
“Ow,” cried Saburo, still laughing. “See what I’m talking about?”
Seiki found himself staring at them. This was to be his troops, his own unruly band of villagers, bright-eyed, eager, full of life, with their sight firmly set on future happiness after the war. The thought overwhelmed him with a mysterious emotion that was neither joy nor sorrow but felt like both at the same time, and he ended up at a loss for words. So, he simply watched them recount what had happened with the man-eating demon again, in case he did not remember.
Thinking back, Seiki realized now how it made sense. The quest to find volunteers would presumably send him out the East Gate, where he would be instanced into the village. The Onihitokuchi encounter would give him some initial practice with organizing and commanding the villagers. This ‘Volunteers’ quest was Level 14, and if he recalled correctly, the red man-eating demon was an elite Level 17—three levels above the intended player level, which would make the challenge difficult but not ridiculously impossible.
“Okay, at least that’s one mystery solved,” said Seiki to himself.
He wondered if being able to enter the instance at Level 11 had been intentional or an oversight, since he did remember everyone he met in the Wilderness telling him he was too low for the zone. Perhaps the Sheathed Blade had been a reward for tackling content much higher than he was meant to, but then again he was not sure if that was indeed how these things worked.
“So, Chief, you know Ojisan?” asked Genta, gesturing to the older man. Despite his gray hair tied in a short tight ponytail, the man was still strong and muscular, and he gave Seiki a polite nod.
“To be honest, I don’t remember,” said Seiki apologetically. He had mainly talked to Genta, Rumi and Saburo, and although he remembered a few older folks, he was not sure if he ever learned their names.
Genta went on. “So, Ojisan doesn’t talk much, but he’s been a big help to Rumi’s father and he’s been in the village since, well…”
“Since the Sun Goddess herself walked the Earth…” Saburo finished with a laugh. “He’s ancient.”
“Some manners, Saburo.” Rumi frowned.
Ojisan smiled but said nothing.
Genta turned toward Seiki. “So, Chief, what do we do now?”
Seiki had not expected so much eagerness and attention. In fact, he had not been used to any attention at all lately, except for the kind that wanted to offer him assistance that somehow made him feel very handicapped. The attention he was receiving right now was a little overwhelming, though admittedly not in a bad way. “Okay, first let’s do away with this ‘Chief’ thing. Call me Seiki.”
“Or would you prefer ‘young master’?” asked Saburo earnestly.
“No, just Seiki.”
“Commander Nakatani said once you’ve earned some honor or something with the Shogun, then you get promoted to Unit Chief, so we’d better start now,” said Genta.
“And, after you rid the village of the demon, we had a vote like you suggested and voted you the chief of the village,” Rumi said. “So that’s ‘Chief’ as well.”
Seiki blinked. “Do a lot of people have problems with the word ‘chief’, so they actually wrote these lines for you?”
“What’s that, Chief?” asked Rumi.
Seiki chuckled and gave in. “Never mind.”
Genta looked at him. “So, Chief, what do we do now? Our lives are yours to command.”
“We’d die for you, Chief,” said Saburo, with earnest conviction. “And Shinshioka.”
Seiki decided it was a little too much. “Okay, here’s the deal” he said. “I don’t even know what to do with my life right now, so I can’t be responsible for all of yours. When we go fight demons, just… well, fight them but try to stay alive, okay?”
Genta’s cheeks dimpled. “Doesn’t work that way, Chief.”
“Young Master Seiki,” said Saburo thoughtfully, as if trying it out.
Seiki opened his mouth to say something, but quickly gave up. “Never mind. We’ll deal with that later. Let’s not keep my friend waiting.”
“The commander said to go find Captain Sakurai,” Genta helpfully reminded him.
“Captain Sakurai down the hallway,” Rumi added, pointing.
“Right.” Seiki was starting to feel that his upcoming war days were going to be filled with listening to endless chatter from his over-eager troops, but then again it was perhaps not a bad thing.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Seiki quickly led the villagers to their next destination, which was a room at the end of the corridor clearly marked by a black and gold sign that read ‘Armory Office’.
Captain Sakurai, a burly man perhaps in his mid-forties, was sitting behind a floor desk full of paper and scrolls.
The officer looked up. “Ah,” he said, sounding slightly surprised as if wondering where they had come from. “New recruits? Have a seat while I check my records.” He gestured toward the middle of the room.
Behind Seiki, his troops filed in a little nervously and sat down. Rumi hastily whispered to Saburo to shut the door.
Captain Sakurai’s office was filled with messy piles of war equipment: swords, spears, as well as various pieces of armor. Half of them seemed to have been swept to the edge of the room to make space for visitors. Seiki inspected one long sword sticking out of the pile. It was labeled Enhanced Steel Katana [Level 5 equipment]. Beside it was a long polished bow that was Level 8. They bore no stats, and he guessed they were not meant for players, but troops.
“All right, four volunteers from Asano Village,” said Captain Sakurai, fumbling through a pile of parchment. “Is that right?”
There was no way Seiki could have remembered the name of the village, or the fact that it even had a name, so he turned to look at the villagers. Rumi nodded.
Seiki turned back to the armory officer. “Uh, yes, I guess that’s right.”
Quest completed: The Armory Officer [Level 14]. 255 XP gained. You have received: War Tokens [x3].
War Tokens were used to upgrade troops, but Seiki had always thought they were physical items. Since Captain Sakurai had not handed him anything, he checked his standing and currency menu and found that, indeed, alongside his 563 Honor P
oints, 324 Favor Points, and 328 Shinshioka Reputation Points, he now also had 3 War Tokens.
“All right,” said Captain Sakurai as he wrote down a few words on the paper before adding it to the pile of loose parchment on one side. “That one’s done with—” He interrupted himself with a strong curse as he accidentally knocked over the whole pile. Seiki did not fail to appreciate how busy these officials always managed to look.
“Toga!” yelled the captain, and immediately a low-ranking soldier scuttled in. “Bring these to Captain Matsui, will you?” Captain Sakurai loaded a heavy pile of documents onto the man’s arms. “Oh, and go chase after Sugiyama to see where the new batch of tantou I asked for is at now. He said they were coming in last week.” He shook his head. “No good, no good,” he muttered, before looking up at Seiki. “Now where were we? Oh, yes, equipment.”
Seiki chuckled and decided he rather liked this man.
“The Shogun has allocated an equipment quota for volunteers,” said Captain Sakurai as he glanced at the villagers. “First, I suppose you need some armor and weapons for your unit. Yes?”
Again, the villagers said nothing and waited for Seiki to answer for them.
“Yes, please,” Seiki said.
Quest accepted: Gearing Up [Level 14]. Purchase equipment for your unit with your War Tokens. You will receive: 255 XP.
War Tokens cannot be refunded once spent. Are you sure you want to spend 1 War Token to upgrade your unit’s armor to: Level 1?
Are you sure you want to spend 1 War Token to upgrade your unit’s weapon to: Level 1?
He was not given a choice, so Seiki could only guess this was to show him how it worked. After his mental confirmation, two War Tokens were deducted from the menu, and Captain Sakurai yelled for Toga again, who immediately ran in and set two heavy boxes down beside Seiki, before efficiently distributing their content to the villagers.
“That’s not much but it’s all the army can afford right now,” muttered Captain Sakurai, slightly apologetically. “Not like the old days.”
Inside one of the boxes were four hard leather chest armors, and the other one had in it four identical short swords with straight blades.
“Wow,” Saburo whispered in delight as he discovered the weapons, and Seiki remembered something the boy once said about how commoners were usually prohibited from bearing arms. The armors automatically resized to fit the villagers, and after they had finished, Seiki could inspect them to see that they were equipped with Basic Armor Sets [Level 1 equipment] and Iron Tantou [Level 1 equipment].
Captain Sakurai paid them no attention. “According to the allotment rules for volunteers set by the Palace, there should be one more piece of equipment for your unit. I’m sure that’s the current order. They keep changing it, you see. Now let me check if I can find the official paper.” He sighed audibly as he rummaged through the pile of documents on his desk, muttering something about good men rusting behind paperwork.
“Ah, here,” he said, before handing Seiki a red and black scroll with the Shogun’s insignia on the front.
The document only contained a few lines of text:
Available Troops Equipment:
Basic Armor Set Level 2: Equip your unit with shoulder-guards: +4 defense to existing stats. Cost: 1 War Token.
Basic Weapon Level 2: Replace your unit’s weapons with steel tantou: +4 attack, up from current +2. Cost: 1 War Token.
Complete the First Battle achievement to recruit more troops and unlock more upgrades.
Seeing that he had a single War Token left, Seiki guessed he had to choose between the two. Ippei had explicitly said not to over-think this, since he would eventually have to upgrade all of them anyway. Glancing at his so-called unit, Seiki was slightly amused by how three quarters of it consisted of a woman, a child and an elderly man.
He turned back to Captain Sakurai. “At this point, I’d say armor.”
The armory official seemed to have read his thoughts and mumbled something under his breath about desperate times and how the war was going badly if they required civilians to fight, before shouting to his subordinate once more. “Toga, armor!”
Toga, who had a permanent exhausted expression, ran in with one more box, and soon Seiki’s little unit was equipped with a bit more defense.
Seiki was quite certain that realistically no one would have allowed his troops to dress themselves in the armory official’s room, but he appreciated being able to watch their delighted expression. A notification flashed as soon as Ojisan finished strapping his new shoulder guards on.
Quest completed: Gearing Up [Level 14]. 255 XP gained.
Captain Sakurai nodded in approval. “Now, at least they won’t get obliterated by the first Shadow Shock the Demonic Clan throws at them,” he said. “This evil magic is horrible. Don’t you miss the days when it’s straight steel against steel?”
Seiki chuckled. “I wouldn’t know, Captain.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t. They’re sending mere boys to war now. Terrible times. Come back to me when you need more equipment,” said Captain Sakurai. “I will also let you know if there are more volunteers you can recruit to join your unit. Do you have any questions?”
Seiki had already learned from Ippei the basics of what he could purchase with War Tokens. A single token could be used to upgrade the unit’s armor or weapon level by one, which would result in a small and straightforward increase to their damage output or damage reduction. Alternatively, with one War Token he could also recruit one extra troop member to join his unit, up to the maximum number limited by some other ranking system called Combat Valor, which Seiki did not perfectly understand yet. Three War Tokens would unlock a utility slot for the unit, which could be filled with various combat abilities, consumables, or what Ippei called ‘formation saves’—all of which could also be upgraded further.
If he had time, Seiki would have asked Captain Sakurai to explain everything he needed to know about War Games, since, as an experienced war player, Ippei would often fail to mention very basic details that he thought was common knowledge. Sometimes, his friend would also remain intentionally quiet for the sake of avoiding spoilers, but Seiki suspected it was more because he enjoyed seeing people taken by surprise by unexpected events.
“I have loads of questions, but not right now. Thanks,” he told Captain Sakurai. “And I’m sure my friend will find much more interesting ways to explain it all to me later.”
The armory officer nodded. “If you are ready, I think Lieutenant Kato is heading out with his patrols to deliver supplies to our Muraki Fort, so go with him and make yourself useful somehow. Yes?”
Seiki chuckled again at the man’s directness. “Sure, Captain. That’s what I’m here for.”
Quest accepted: To Muraki Fort [Level 14]. Help Lieutenant Kato deliver supplies to Muraki Fort from the outside of the West Gate. You will receive: 255 XP; War Token [x1].
This was probably the tutorial quest where Ippei was at. According to the samurai, the tutorial involved riding to the fort with the lieutenant, and fighting off a group of demon scouts while the lieutenant explained some lore and war mechanics to them.
“Good luck,” said Captain Sakurai. “Be steadfast, and stay alive. War is not for the weak. And bring glory to Shinshioka,” the man added in all seriousness.
There was nothing else for Seiki to do in the inner chambers. Although it was full of complicated rooms, most of them were off-limits to him, and he suspected that moving up the military ranks would open up more accessible areas.
Following a train of people who seemed to know what they were doing, Seiki soon discovered that past a side pebble-laden courtyard was another way out of the Soldiers’ Quarters that put him directly on a road along Shinshioka’s western wall. The route would soon bring him to the West Gate without having to go back through the middle of the city.
Rightly named the Soldier’s Lane, the path was lined with tall pine trees and was full
of war players with troops trailing behind them. Now that he knew what to look for, Seiki recognized several NPC units with slightly more complete but similar sets of armor his villagers were wearing. Players above Level 20 seemed to have moved onto a different set and their units were wearing heavier armor. A serious-looking samurai, labeled Keima of the Honor Warriors [Level 25], had riding behind him as many as thirty men, all on armored horses, and Seiki wondered how many War Tokens it would take to get his unit mounted.
“Do any of you know how to fight?” he turned to ask Genta. He had not thought anything of having people under command when Ippei mentioned War Games, but now that it had come to it, he was starting to worry for their survivability. From what he remembered from the Onihitokuchi instance, their showing had been less than stellar to say the least.
“Well, just stab them with the sharp end of your sword, right?” said Saburo hopefully.
The answer was a little worrying. “Did they give you any special moves?” Seiki remembered someone telling him that ryoushi had archers, and samurai and ronins had swordsmen, so he could only guess his troops would possess at least some of his class abilities. “Like… Focused Strike?”
“What’s that, Chief?” asked Genta.
“Never mind,” said Seiki. “I guess it doesn’t work that way.”
They soon reached the West Gate, whose distinctive grand pillars towered up like giant trees under the large sign that read ‘Gate of the White Tiger’. Peak hours were approaching, and the gate was starting to get busy with players riding to and from war events and weekly missions. Seiki could not help but gaze to his left toward the front of Ichikeya Inn. The location always attracted large crowds, and now the entrance was entirely blocked by players lingering around looking for groups.
“The commander said the lieutenant is outside the West Gate,” said Genta, most likely mistaking Seiki’s stopping for being lost.
“Yes, thank you.” Seiki was slightly amused that he would never have to read quest texts again if his troops were this ready to remind him.