War Games

by Nikita Thorn

  “Rez us,” Hayata the ninja had shouted as he ordered his unit to cast something called Confounding Illusion. The spell temporarily hid other friendly players and units from enemies, which Seiki guessed was the war units’ version of the ninja’s Camouflage. The downside to this was that they had to stand in place during the casting, just like how a ninja had to stay stationary when attempting Camouflage. So the lizard, having finished killing Michiyo’s unit, quickly closed in and finished them off. Kaito the houshi, who was trying to keep the ninja group alive, had also used his Sacrifice to top up the rest of the players before he, too, was caught by its swinging tail.

  This had allowed enough time for Umiko, Seiki and Ippei to climb the nearest pine tree, and for the Level 17 ryoushi Otome to turn and flee on her horse toward the northern edge of the instance. Judging from the lack of noise at that end, they guessed she had managed to hide away somewhere.

  All around was now quiet save for a few of Michiyo’s surviving archers. Unclaimed by other players and left wandering aimlessly without a leader, it was these soldiers whose desperate cries could be heard in the distance as they were slowly stalked down and killed by the invisible lizard.

  “I think it only got three or four of my guys,” said Umiko. “The rest were taken care of by Michiyo’s Friendly Fire.” She sniffled. “Didn’t think Michiyo had it in her to do that.”

  Seiki had learned one thing about War Cards. Most of them had nicknames, and the Friendly Fire Card was actually not officially called such. Listed in the menu for active cards in play, under the Carved Jade Card of Demonic Terror that Ippei had activated at the beginning of the instance, it read:

  Inscribed Card of Unhappy Accidents – Obake Card of the Calamity Deck

  The Demonic Clan calls down the spirit of vengeance. Player and troops abilities now damage allies and enemies alike. Successful completion of the event results in a flat 5% increased gold reward and chance of gear and instant upgrades from loot.

  Even when it was an effective strategy, Seiki doubted he would ever feel comfortable killing his own NPC fighters—who, by the way, had not been seen since they fled with the rest of the soldiers. Witnessing how the card had been used, however, was starting to clue him in on the kind of things possible in War Games.

  At first, Seiki had wondered how players were even expected to deal with an invisible enemy, but as he listened to Ippei and Umiko, he learned that there were indeed several War Cards they could employ in this situation. There was one that marked the Camouflaged enemies on the map, and one that temporarily revealed them. Better cards could also cancel the effect altogether. Apart from War Cards, ninja and kitsune units also had the option to equip their units with some sort of a sensing ability that could pinpoint the location of invisible enemies, which Hayata unfortunately did not have, since they had not expected the lizard to have Camouflage in the first place.

  The possibilities seemed endless, depending on the group combination and what War Cards players had at their disposal. Seiki wondered if the Society had a published list somewhere with details on all the known War Cards that he could use to educate himself on what was possible.

  Umiko did not seem particularly bothered by the fact that all her unit was dead. The West Defenders were veterans after all, and she obviously had plenty of cards she could utilize to turn the event around. The question was, perhaps, which ones.

  “Talk about the worst combination of cards and the worst timing,” said Umiko, shaking her head.

  Something rustled in the distance and yet another poor soldier’s wail was cut short. More than thirty seconds had passed, so these kills did not further heal the lizard. Perhaps they only served to give the instance the kind of atmosphere found in horror movies, which Seiki could not help feeling Mairin would greatly enjoy.

  The West Defenders samurai was chewing on her lower lip. “This is even crazier than our normal Hitsu Temple runs.”

  There were two more active tano-shrines left: one to the east of the instance and another one near the beginning.

  A thought seemed to cross Umiko’s mind and a little smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. “Talking about progression, both of you are coming to ours when we run Hitsu Temple next week.”

  Before Ippei could look delighted, she added. “On your own Seals.”

  Umiko had said it with emphasis, her smile widening.

  “Oh, come on,” Ippei said in protest.

  “Same deal,” Umiko continued casually, as if it had already been agreed on. “Map and bait. And if we clear it, you’ll even get a fair share of the raid loot.”

  “That’s not a fair deal,” said Ippei.

  “Who’s talking about fair?” Umiko said. “It’s your fault we’re in this situation right now.”

  Ippei looked at her seriously. “You only need to burn one more card for this, and you’ll still come out at a profit with all the upgrades you’re getting.”

  Umiko shrugged.

  Seiki could not help feeling that she was rather enjoying ruffling Ippei’s feathers, perhaps as payback for his Jade Card stunt earlier.

  Despite not having perfect understanding about what was being negotiated, Seiki soon learned from the conversation that players could buy a single-use item called a Civil Officer’s Seal from the Shogun’s Palace. The item, which cost a ridiculous amount of 300 Favors, allowed players to join a War Event they were not yet eligible for, provided they had a group willing to take them.

  The Seal came with several major limitations, of course. First of all, it used up the weekly progression run quota, which meant that afterward Seiki and Ippei would need to trade their other two for another progression run should they want to advance their own War Games. Secondly, players on the Seal were considered guests and were not entitled for any of the personal drops from the event. And thirdly, even if they managed to clear the first stage of the Ruins of Hitsu Temple, it did not count as a progression achievement; so when the time came, they would need to clear it again. Ippei explained that the Seals were there only to allow curious people on the civil side of things, like crafters, to experience War Games with the rest of the war players.

  “Or if you’re rich and can afford tossing Favors around, it makes for some very spectacular entertainment,” added the samurai.

  Umiko smiled. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to come.”

  “I do,” Ippei admitted. “But that doesn’t make it fair.”

  Umiko decided to change the subject. “How far did you get in Beta anyway?”

  “Hitsu Temple? Second stage.”

  “Ah,” said Umiko, a spark of interest lighting up in her eyes. “So you probably know how to clear the first.”

  That was allegedly where the West Defenders and apparently the rest of the world were currently stuck at.

  Ippei thought about it. “Well, they gave the wandering spirits a new area drain, so it’s probably more difficult now.”

  The samurai had been keeping close watch of the Society’s reports ever since the first players managed to clear Kakoku Fields and got to Hitsu Temple. “I do have a theory on how you can get past them with enough health left to tackle the boss,” Ippei said. “So buy us our Seals and we can talk.”

  While Seiki would not mind checking out what advanced War Games looked like, he was not sure he was ready for all that yet, considering they were having difficulty clearing their very first event. He could still see the destruction the lizard had caused in its path from the cage, whose door now hung listlessly on the nearly-broken hinges, giving ghastly creaks whenever a wind lifted.

  Umiko opened her mouth to continue the negotiation, when something rustled beneath the tree. They all gave a start and went quiet.

  Whatever that was, it was much too small to be the lizard.

  A soft hasty whisper followed. “Chief!”

  Seiki blinked. “Saburo?”

  In the shade of the red pine, the boy carefully stepped into view
. He was at a third of his health, his left arm covered in dark bruises and long scrapes. Beside him was Ojisan, who was not in much better shape with a bleeding temple. Again, Seiki secretly wondered if the whole War Games really needed to look so realistic.

  “I don’t know where Rumi and Genta went,” the boy whispered worriedly. “We hid behind a tree when everyone ran.”

  Seiki was quite certain the other two were dead, with the rest of Umiko’s soldiers, but inspecting his two remaining unit members revealed no additional information to confirm or negate the suspicion.

  Something else stirred a bit further away, sounding like a massive beast dragging itself over dry grass, and the boy shuddered and started climbing up the trunk of the pine tree toward Seiki.

  “That thing is almost as bad as the man-eating demon back at the village,” muttered Saburo.

  Ojisan quickly followed the boy up the tree.

  Seiki was surprised. “You can climb?”

  The old man pulled himself onto a slightly lower branch. “What you can do, we can do, Chief,” he said with a little smile, perhaps as a hint.

  Thinking back, Seiki now recalled that during the fight, the unit appeared to know exactly how to perform a Focused Strike and a Vertical Spike—even when they did not know the names of the moves. They only needed him to demonstrate first.

  Seeing that there was no threat, the two samurai turned their attention back to negotiating Hitsu Temple, and Seiki took this chance to check his unit’s new ability again.

  [Standard Slot] – Stun: Level 1 Formation. Vertical Spike.

  Now that he was not pressed for time, he realized he could pull up more information.

  Base ability: Vertical Spike.

  Energy cost: 2.

  Power: +0%.

  Range: +0%.

  There was no lockout. So, perhaps, the only thing he needed to manage was his unit’s collective energy bar, which he could swear had not been there before. Currently, it sat at 4/4, and Seiki was rather surprised it capped at so low. After thinking about it, however, he decided it made sense that it would be that simple, considering he already had to keep track of his own energy and personal lockouts.

  He guessed the energy cap was also something he would be able to upgrade with War Tokens, and the thought made him feel a little excited.

  “Stun,” he said quietly to test out the command. Saburo and Ojisan straightened on the branch below and drew their swords, as if readying themselves for the ability.

  Seiki’s suspicion earlier was correct. Similar to a Slide, where he mapped his path on the ground like a charge and then released it to activate the ability, the so-called formation ability worked the same way. On the forest floor below him, a small circle of light had appeared, and with some concentration he could modify its size. The larger he imagined it, the thinner its border became, until it vanished completely once it got too large. Seiki guessed that a smaller circle meant a more powerful stun. The initial circle guide this time appeared much smaller than it did during combat when he first saved the ability, and Seiki guessed again that it was because he only had half his unit at the moment.

  As much as he wanted to experiment, trying to train his injured half-dead unit right now while the boss was still roaming about was probably not very wise, and so he continued to observe the situation.

  Below the pine tree was where the damage was heaviest. Dead troops littered the ground, and again, perhaps for realism, none of the bodies had despawned. He could still spot Hayata’s body next to three of his black-clad ninja subordinates lying on the ground around him. Seiki could not help wondering if they would simply get up where they had fallen once resurrected.

  A pigeon fluttered down beside them, which Umiko quickly grabbed. It was a message from Otome saying she was alive near the northern edge of the instance, but the bad news was that the lizard had killed most of her troops. Being rather soft-hearted, she had been reluctant to kill her own troops while the Wild Fear was in effect.

  Umiko looked up from the post paper. “Otome said it killed seven of her unit members while they were affected. So at 200%, it must have healed at least twelve thousand points.”

  Umiko closed her eyes as if trying to recall more information. “If I have to guess, the lizard should be around 20K, slightly below 30% its original health.”

  “Does it go into a defensive stance again at 10%?” asked Seiki. That would make all the difference.

  Umiko hesitated.

  “Yes,” said Ippei.

  “You sure?” asked Umiko.

  Ippei nodded. “Unlike the Shockburst that’s limited to only once every instance. That health drain is on a charge system. Three charges. Five minutes to charge up each. Triggers at 80%, 40% and 10% health. People run this instance so much they never have to deal with it anymore, so they don’t realize this.”

  The West Defenders samurai did not seem entirely convinced.

  “This forces you to kill the sorcerers early,” explained Ippei. “Some people have tried letting the gecko out without killing the sorcerers to keep it a bit dazed and less accurate with melee attacks, which is a viable strategy. But, you risk having it heal back up to the trigger points and you have to deal with the health drain over again, since five minutes is a short window.” Ippei chuckled. “Trust me. There was once a time when Muraki Woods was the progression frontlines.”

  Seiki was starting to really grasp now how there was no fixed way to do an instance. In these earlier ones, people must have tried so many different strategies before they finally agreed on the most effective one, which then became common knowledge of how you tackled an event.

  “So that means we’re not going to be able to chip away,” said Umiko. “And that means we have to burn one of my Woods. Maybe the normal group rez.” She seemed to have made her decision. The West Defenders samurai then looked at Ippei and smiled again. “And that means you’re spending those Favors to get yourself the Seals for our next progression run.”

  “Yeah, right,” said Ippei.

  Umiko seemed amused. “I can’t believe you. Do you know how many people are begging to pay us for a group invitation just for a chance to see what the Hitsu first stage looks like? We’re offering an invitation for free and you’re still acting like you’re doing us a favor.”

  “Unfortunately, I already know what the first stage looks like,” said Ippei. “And we are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is pay for the tickets.”

  Seiki had a feeling the deal had already been done a long time ago ever since Umiko mentioned it, since Ippei was clearly excited to get to the forefront of the current War Games. Now both of them were just bluffing as they ironed out the finer points of the agreement.

  “I don’t think you have a choice here,” Umiko pointed out. “So your services during our next progression in exchange for me burning a Wood Card and turning this around right now. Or this entire run goes to waste.”

  Ippei looked at her. “Seriously? You’re willing to throw an Urgent run?”

  “I know you need this more than I do,” she said with a shrug. “And you need my card.” She suddenly had a Wooden Card twirling between her fingers, which seemed to be a magic trick every war player had mastered.

  Seiki doubted Umiko would really follow through with the threat, but she was perhaps right. They really needed this much more than the West Defenders did, since failing it meant they would have to trade their two remaining weekly runs for an attempt at Muraki progression again.

  Seiki looked at the destruction below them. They had gotten this far and very close, with everything but the lizard at a third of its health. It would be a shame to let it all be for nothing.

  Ippei grimaced. “I suppose we do.”

  Seiki nearly jumped as an idea jolted his mind. “No, we don’t,” he blurted out, his eyes still on the evidence of the carnage.

  Umiko raised an eyebrow.

  Seiki was still looking at the empty
cage on the slightly tilted cart not too far away. The door hung loosely open, but the cage was pretty much intact. Seiki took a deep breath as he wondered whether it was even a feasible idea. “The lizard never got off that Shockburst…” he began.

  Ippei followed his gaze to the cart and back at him. “That’s… risky,” said the samurai slowly as he figured out what Seiki meant.

  “That would never work,” said Umiko. “The explosion only takes a quarter of its total health, and if it doesn’t kill it, we enter the drain—” That was perhaps when she remembered that Ippei’s Jade Card had given all demons an extra 20% increase in damage after all. “Ah,” she said.

  They all glanced toward the cage again.

  “The cage needs to be closed with the boss inside,” said Umiko after she had thought about it. “No way you can pull that off.”

  “Well, one of us will need to shut the cage from the outside,” said Seiki, looking at Ippei.

  Umiko shook her head. “Even if you go straight for the cage, there’s no way you can last long enough for someone else to run from the tree to the cage and shut it. And if you’re both in the same vicinity, there’s no way you can guarantee that the lizard is not going to get you both.”

  She had a point. Tanking was less reliable in War Games.

  Seiki drew another deep breath and glimpsed towards Hayata’s body on the ground. “Uh, uniques are always lootable, right?” he asked.

  Umiko looked at him warily.

  “Yes,” said Ippei.

  It was starting to dawn on Umiko now what Seiki was thinking. “You’re not planning to…” She trailed off and shook her head again. “No way.”

  A corner of Seiki’s mouth lifted. “Okay, if we don’t pull this off, you burn whatever card you need to and rez everyone, and we’ll buy our own Seals to your event,” he said. “If we do pull this off, you buy my friend his Seal. One Seal.”