War Games

by Nikita Thorn

  “No,” he told his troops. “Go back the way we came.”

  CHAPTER 15

  “What was that, Chief?” said Rumi, her iron tantou clutched tightly in her hands as she strained her eyes against the darkness in front of them in search of the source of the threat.

  They had quickly retreated back into the instance, as Seiki reckoned it was a terrible idea to fight an unknown enemy without any energy to start with.

  Scanning the woods ahead, Seiki held his Hikari low, in case he needed to Parry another arrow. But now that they had crossed the threshold back into the instance, the wide ledge in front of them was quiet, the only movement being the ankle-length grass ruffled by the night wind.

  “Demons again?” said Saburo.

  “I’m not sure,” said Seiki. “But unlikely.” The Rogami warning charm had gone off, and Seiki doubted it was a coincidence. He tried recalling whether a high-level ryoushi could poison their arrows like a ninja dart, but could not remember having heard anything of that sort before. Thinking back, he was certain that the energy drain had not been instant, but had happened only after he had inhaled some of the smoke. “It’s weird. The arrow drains—”

  Seiki paused in surprise as he realized that his energy was now completely full. Since he had been focusing on locating the source of the arrow, he had no idea when that had occurred. “Instance boundary glitch?”

  “What’s that, Chief?” said Saburo, who unsurprisingly did not understand the statement. “Are there more demons?”

  Seiki shook his head. “I don’t know.” He took a few cautious steps forward to where the instance boundary was, stopping just a foot short of it. Turning to look behind his back, he could see the beggar’s dim campfire not too far away.

  The troops, now on high alert, short swords in hand, followed him, glancing left and right for any sign of danger. The wide grass ledge ahead was still empty, and the woods remained deathly quiet. “Maybe we can’t see out,” said Seiki, entertaining a slightly disturbing idea that it could very well be the whole Rogami army on the other side. “And people outside can’t see in.”

  As Seiki wondered if he should try stepping out again to check what would happen, Saburo jumped as something rustled in the tree line in front of them.

  “Chief, something’s coming.”

  Seiki tensed. He was rather certain all private instances were completely safe and invisible to other players, but he also did not like the idea of hiding from what could very well be an imagined threat—especially the kind that came with a black and yellow flag.

  The rustling continued for a few seconds, but then quieted down. Seiki pondered if this was a way to warn him that something had taken place outside.

  Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out. Seiki crouched down behind the low bush that marked the edge of the instance. “Wait here,” he told his unit, before taking a careful step forward, making sure to stay in the shadow.

  As soon as he crossed the boundary, a group of people in identical red and black uniforms burst out from the tree line. They sprinted at top speed, before coming to a sudden stop in a tight cluster in the middle of the ledge, like expert actors taking positions on a stage. Judging from the rather unnatural movements, Seiki guessed that they must have been in the middle of the ledge for quite some time, but the phasing effect attempted to show him how they had gotten there smoothly, to avoid having them simply appear out of nowhere.

  The soldiers, men and women, were all NPCs with slim black bows strapped to their backs. One member stood out in their midst, a young woman in blue and white leather armor, who appeared to be the leader of the unit. Aina of the Fuoka Army [Level 24] had her hair held up in a high ponytail, and wore a blue cloth band across her forehead. In her hand was a small silver metal bow, marked Tsukiakari, which seemed to glow white as the reflection of the moon. The Fuoka Army ryoushi bore no wounds, but seemed to be injured, as more than a third of her health was missing.

  Seiki was sure he recognized her from somewhere before, in one of his several run-ins with the Fuoka Army, although it was admittedly a little hazy when that had been.

  Aina was casting a hesitant glance around as if trying to decide which direction to take. Her eyes passed over where Seiki was, but he was well hidden in the darkness and she showed no sign of noticing him.

  The ryoushi drew a troubled breath and started turning back, when a female voice rang out from within the darkness of the tree line. “Dead end, Aina.”

  Seiki’s breath caught. He never forgot voices anymore. This one he had not heard in a while, and he now understood why the locating charm had given him an alert earlier.

  The Fuoka Army ryoushi grimaced as she, too, must have recognized the voice. With a slight motion of her hand, her ten archers immediately fell into positions.

  “Fire!” cried Aina.

  The archers aimed and released, and a bout of arrows whisked towards the tree line. Seiki could hear them ruffling the thicket. A brief moment of silence fell as Aina then stopped to listen.

  The silence was short-lived. A second later, an angry hum rose from within the thicket as countless bows twanged in unison and a hail of arrows shot out in retaliation toward the ryoushi group.

  “Shields!” said Aina. Out in the open, she was completely vulnerable. Seiki noticed her unconsciously drawing a shape in the air with her finger, and her unit quickly clustered together around her. Large wooden shields had materialized in their hands.

  The group raised their shields in time as the swarm of arrows rained on them, some piercing deep into the thick wooden shields. One of the ryoushi at the front let out a cry as her shield shattered, leaving her exposed. Two subsequent arrows hit through her chest and she dropped limply to the ground, before fading away.

  Aina gnashed her teeth as she saw her fallen unit member. Vicious hums sounded again from the woods, and follow-up bouts of arrows flew, giving her unit no respite.

  “Shields!” The ryoushi moved another unit member into position, just in time before the second wave of arrows struck.

  With surprised grunts, two more of her unit members fell.

  Seiki clenched his fist as he glanced toward the tree line. He knew the scene in front of him was going to end up in a slaughter. And although the Fuoka Army were not exactly friends, they were at least allies of allies—if he could call the White Crane Order that. Rushing out would do them no good, since Aina’s ryoushi unit—at Level 24—was having problems staying alive, meaning that whoever was commanding the enemy archers must have been at least the same level.

  Aina had turned rather pale. She was low on energy, and Seiki guessed she was saving it to be used as a last resort.

  “Hey,” said Seiki as loud as he could without being heard more than a few feet away. “Aina! Over here!”

  Aina batted her lashes in surprise as she glanced around for the source of his voice. But before she could locate him, a figure slowly stepped out from the shadows of the tree line ahead of them.

  Dressed in a red and white patterned kimono, with long black hair that fell over one shoulder, Rieko of the Rogami Clan [Level 27] appeared almost like the faint ghost of a drowned girl, her whole body glowing slightly in the night.

  The Rogami Clan obake stopped right in front of the first trees and crossed her arms. “Nowhere to run, Aina,” she said, her voice icy cold, tinted with anger. “Now where is your little four-legged friend?”

  Aina scoffed. Seiki found himself tightening his grip on his Hikari. The last time he had seen the obake girl had been in a spirit shrine somewhere out the East Gate Wilderness, and the memories were less than pleasant.

  Beside Rieko, Youta of the Rogami Clan [Level 24] followed her out onto the edge of the woods: a well-built man in the ryoushi Shinshioka armor set, with a long wooden bow in his hand. Behind him was a group of more than twenty ryoushi, all in Shinshioka uniforms, who must have been responsible for the arrows earlier.

  From be
hind him, Seiki heard Saburo whisper unhappily. “Shinshioka soldiers shouldn’t fight one another.”

  “Leave adult matters to adults,” said Rumi. “Sometimes, it’s complicated.”

  “But we have demons to worry about,” said Saburo.

  Seiki turned to shake his head and willed them to remain silent. He was not sure if anyone else could hear them, since, technically, they were still within the private instance, but he would rather be safe.

  Luckily, no one else seemed to have caught what they said.

  “Aina,” said Rieko warningly.

  The Fuoka Army ryoushi silently observed the enemies in front of her. She was well aware that she was outnumbered and out-leveled.

  Seiki’s mind raced as to what to do. At Level 15, fighting Rieko and her clan mate was still very much out of the question. It was a little frustrating to think that after a month of very dedicated work, he had only managed to close the gap by two levels.

  Neither Rogami Clan members had spotted him hidden in the shadows of the low bush.

  “Where is he, Aina?” said Rieko. “I know you’ve got clan loyalty, but after what he did, he pretty much brought it upon himself this time.”

  Aina let out a short breath. “You’re acting like you’re the victim.”

  Rieko sighed in annoyance as she glanced at her clan mate. “Kill her unit.”

  Seiki had to fight himself from taking a step forward. He knew this was mission impossible, but he had been in this exact situation before, and at the time he had wished that someone had stepped in.

  “Can’t fight them, Chief,” said Rumi quietly.

  Seiki’s expression closed up. She was right.

  Youta, the Rogami ryoushi, hesitated. “Is that necessary?” he muttered. “I can get away with Rapid Shots, but if I actually aim, that’s definitely sixteen Honor Points.”

  Rieko sighed. “Fine. Just Rapid Shots into them.”

  “But if I actually hit her, that’s sixteen Honors.”

  Rieko glared at her clan mate. “The kitsune killed all my troops and half your unit, and you’re still worried about that?”

  Sighing, Youta motioned to his unit to draw their bows once more. Aina clenched her jaws as she discreetly rearranged her remaining unit members to survive the next wave of arrows.

  Rieko took another step forward, a cold smile on her red lips. “Takeru!” she shouted, looking around as if searching the woods for movement. “Your lady friend here is about to die. You’re just going to let that happen?”

  Seiki gauged the distance. Ryoushi had much more range than obake, and where Aina was, none of Rieko’s abilities could reach.

  “She’s out of energy now, even when she’s bluffing a formation.” Rieko pursed her lips. “Come on, Takeru. Both you and I know where the nearest spirit shrine is, and it’s less than five minutes away.”

  Seiki knew exactly what that meant, and that was finally what it took.

  Still crouching, Seiki took a step back into the instance. As soon as the people on the ledge lost their unique labels and were simply shown as ‘Shinshioka Soldier’, he turned and shouted at the tiny dot of light further along the ledge. “Hey, old guy, I need to use the training ground for a bit.”

  Are you sure you want to spend 3 War Coins to use the training ground for 60 minutes?

  “Yes,” said Seiki.

  You may now use the area to test out formations and train your troops. Time remaining: 59 minutes.

  Leaping to his feet, he turned to his unit. “Do this,” he said, as he swept up his Hikari in a full Upslash. The troops immediately copied his move.

  Formation discovered! Without a free slot available, this formation will overwrite the existing formation saved in your available [Standard Slot]. Would you like to save this formation for future use at the cost of 1 War Coin?

  “Yes,” said Seiki.

  The instancing apparently blocked all noises, and Seiki had heard none of the following conversation between the Rogami members and Aina, but for smooth phasing, it still showed the players where they were. Outside the instance, Rieko turned to nod at her clan mate.

  Formation saved. Please name this formation.

  At the tree line, Youta’s archers were already drawing their bows.

  “Shield,” said Seiki, and he immediately burst out in a very long Slide toward the Fuoka Army ryoushi girl. His unit dashed after him, their weapons in hand.

  [Standard Slot] – Shield: Level 1 Formation. Upslash.

  Noises returned as soon as he crossed the instance boundary, and the scene was in motion. From the tree line, Youta yelled an order and his ryoushi unit released, letting loose a series of fast shots, three arrows flying from each bow.

  On the left, slightly ahead, Aina winced. “Sorry, guys,” she said, before shouting, “Miri, Yume, Kenta, duck!”

  In that split second before the arrows reached, Aina and three of her unit members dropped to the ground, and Seiki understood what she was trying to achieve. Out of unit energy to spend on more defensive formations, she was trying to save the unit members least injured by sacrificing the rest of them as human shields. The NPCs seemed to understand and clustered together to protect their comrades as the arrows whisked toward them.

  Seiki’s Slide had put him and his troops right in front of Aina’s surviving unit.

  “Shield,” he said, his unit falling into position without him having to tell them.

  A mental guide appeared, a glowing vertical white line, almost like a lightning crack in the air right in front of him. Seiki dragged the upper tip of the guide straight right and down, before drawing it back to connect the shape. As soon as the lines met, his troops stepped forward in unison and drew their weapons in a diagonal slash up. A strong gust of wind burst out through the guide.

  “Duck!” cried Seiki, and his troops dropped to the ground, just as Seiki spun around and dashed back where they had been. Seiki knew the incoming arrows were too high-level for the troops to handle on their own, but luckily his ability lockouts had automatically cleared once he left the training area, and his Upslash was available for use.

  In one swift movement, Seiki stepped forward and drew his own Hikari in an Upslash in front of Aina’s unit, sending forth the second wave of Upslash right after his unit’s. His personal ability had less range, but was more in control, and the arrows whisked past them on both sides. Even when out-leveled, the double shielding effect had managed to ward off the majority of the ones most in danger of hitting Aina and her troops.

  “Come into my instance,” said Seiki to Aina, who was staring at him in confusion from the ground.

  You have invited Aina of the Fuoka Army [Level 24] into your group.

  With two layers of Upslash, even the arrows that hit had slowed enough to cause very little damage, and the unit members Aina had been prepared to sacrifice were still standing, looking a little spooked.

  Aina’s eyes widened at his unexpected appearance.

  “What the hell?” said Youta from the tree line, equally surprised.

  “Hey, come on,” said Seiki. He knew they had no time to waste and was already preparing a Slide back into the instance. With her in his group, he hoped she would also be able to enter and phase away from her enemies.

  “I… I can’t. I need to be in a different group.” Aina finally found her voice as she started to comprehend what he was proposing.

  Seiki cursed. He could hear Youta ordering his ryoushi group to shoot again, which he knew he could not afford to take. Letting loose the Slide back toward the instance, he dashed off. “I’ll be back.”

  With no need for a verbal order, his unit was on his heels, scrambling back into the safety of the instance. A split second before they reached the threshold, however, a black arrow shot through the air and exploded right next to him, sending out a cloud of acidic smoke.

  Again, Seiki’s energy completely emptied. But as soon as he crossed the threshold ba
ck into the instance, it automatically leapt back up to full. Seiki had been paying attention this time, and he noticed when it happened.

  Having no time to wonder where the black arrow had come from or whether Youta had been the one responsible, Seiki glanced back toward the scene.

  The Rogami ryoushi had ordered his unit to shoot again. However, before the arrows could reach Aina’s defenseless unit, a trail of blue fire suddenly blazed out from the edge of the woods in a straight line, zigzagging across the ground. The majority of the arrows swerved toward the blue flames as if attracted by a magnet.

  A red fox burst out from the trees, leading a unit of about fifteen men and women in dark red kimonos, before transforming into a young man clad in black, with a series of thin red bracelets around both his arms.

  Seiki crouched down again and stepped back out of the instance to take a peek. The red kitsune, Takeru of the Fuoka Army [Level 25] drew his main weapon, a black fan, from his obi. “Dust,” he yelled, pointing at the Rogami members, his bracelets jangling noisily. Immediately, his unit turned and descended on Youta’s twenty ryoushi, white smoke exploding as they clashed, very much like Mairin’s area ability Fox Dust.

  At the same time, Takeru raised his left hand, and eight or nine phantom foxes—tinted slightly red—burst out from thin air, running in random paths. This was like Mairin’s Kindred Spirits, but hers healed. So Seiki was slightly surprised that these red-glowing ones viciously went after the Rogami NPC ryoushi like hungry foxes, exploding into red smoke as they hit, doing rather significant damage.

  “Finally.” Rieko smiled. She appeared to have been waiting for this, and at the kitsune’s appearance she raised her hand in what Seiki knew was the obake’s infamous Life Drain.

  Fortunately, Aina took this opportunity to draw her bow. She shot three successive arrows at the obake, forcing her to Disperse to let them pass through her harmlessly.

  Youta, the Rogami Clan ryoushi, left his unit to fight off Takeru’s troops, while he himself tossed out quick Traps at the red kitsune, who had turned back into fox form and was making a leap at Rieko.