“But there’s a cheat, of course,” Ippei continued. “You break the locks and let the thing out of the cage before killing the sorcerers and you can skip the Shockburst altogether. So that’s what people mostly do. You miss out on the instant 25% reduction in the lizard boss’s health, but your troops are in much better shape to tackle it.”
“I see,” said Seiki. He supposed there was no set way to do an encounter, and groups had to agree on what strategy worked best for their group makeup. The Shockburst helped with damage, but also forced players to enter the health drain phase immediately.
“Once you out-level it by about five levels, you can simply soak all the damage, so you can just stand there and burn everything down,” said Ippei.
The Standard Mode did not scale, so the samurai explained that well-meaning higher-level people often allowed people to tag along with their steamroll runs, which meant quite a number of people never learned the mechanics.
“Can’t you just keep the sorcerers alive and keep the lizard under their spell the whole time?” asked Seiki.
“If they’re alive, they heal the lizard if it’s missing health, so you end up having to do more damage to kill the boss.”
“I’ve got to say you’re pretty good at this, Reiji,” said Umiko, pulling up beside them on her muscular seal horse in front of her mounted unit of about fifty. “Pretending all this is new. Didn’t think RP was your thing.”
Seiki did not even bother arguing with her anymore on the matter.
They were riding slowly around the small hill into the surrounding woods. Despite the lack of moonlight, the woods were lit just enough in different shades of gray to make visible the majestic shapes of the sparse but ancient red cedar towering high up all around. There was no visible road, but the trees were far apart enough to allow their small army to move through with ease.
The two West Defenders ryoushi girls led two bands of archers, about twenty each. The ninja only had four, and the houshi around eight. Combined with Umiko’s mounted soldiers, they did look like a tiny army on a mission.
Fubuki, still unaware of the danger they were heading toward, walked along casually as she often did when Seiki let her wander on one of his pleasure rides through the Wilderness. Behind Seiki, the Asano villagers on foot were quiet, save for an occasional hushed whisper to one another. Ippei’s four soldiers marched in neat two-by-two rows, dutiful and determined, and Seiki wondered if his friend had explicitly instructed them to do so.
Normally, to start an urgent event, players had to obtain a specific war order from Lieutenant Kato. Fortunately, Umiko and her clan mates had already done so, so all they needed to do was invite Seiki and Ippei into their group and make their way to the correct location.
Their group was hardly the only one going for Muraki Woods. Earlier, Seiki had seen a rather formidable-looking band of two hundred, made of more than fifteen individual players, galloping out of the fort. Even now, if he stopped to listen, he was certain he would be able to hear the woods full of moving troops.
“Yo!” came a call. From behind them, a small mounted group of around thirty appeared, drawing close at a ridiculous speed.
One of the West Defenders ryoushi hastily ordered her unit to move aside as the group burst past, kicking up dust and dry leaves, their armor and weapons jingling brightly.
“Out of the way or it’s not my fault if you get crushed!” yelled a man in samurai armor as he thundered by with his horsemen. Seiki caught a glimpse of him being Level 26.
The man and his troops were gone as soon as they had come. The ryoushi girl scoffed. “Don’t tell me that guy’s gonna try to solo it. This isn’t the normal mode.”
“He’s in for a rude surprise,” Ippei said.
“I hope so.” The girl giggled. “Freakin’ West Hill idiot.”
“Let’s see him soak that explosion without heals,” the West Defenders houshi said, sounding strangely satisfied.
Seiki once again turned to look at the West Defenders’ armed units. This was not the first time he had seen large crowds of players and NPCs. The sheer number of people tackling the giant skeleton world event and the two clashing armies at the White Crane Hall far dwarfed the group of a hundred they were in right now. The difference was, perhaps, that this was the first time he was an official part of an organized group that had a clear sense of direction and purpose, and it was somehow strangely thrilling.
Constant footsteps fell on the dry ground like incessant rain in the dark as they continued to move through the forest. Despite having been told exactly what was going to take place, Seiki could still not quite picture the encounter, and it was making him a little anxious. Fubuki snorted and shook her head as she picked up on his restless mood.
The entrance to the instance was not far, and the insects around immediately quieted down the moment they phased into it. The NPC troops also came to an automatic halt, adding to the sudden ominous silence.
Information trickled into Seiki’s mind.
You are entering: Muraki Woods [War Event]
Group Status:
Umiko of the West Defenders [Level 20]. Class: samurai. Weekly runs left: 1. (Group Leader)
Michiyo of the West Defenders [Level 19]. Class: ryoushi. Weekly runs left: 1.
Kaito of the West Defenders [Level 18]. Class: houshi. Weekly runs left: 1.
Hayata of the West Defenders [Level 18]. Class: ninja. Weekly runs left: 1.
Otome of the West Defenders [Level 17]. Class: ryoushi. Weekly runs left: 2