War Games

by Nikita Thorn

  Ippei motioned a little impatiently toward the crack in the wall as a signal that they should start making their way toward the exit. “You people need to realize that not everyone is into the social aspect of the game.”

  “Group hug?” said Kentaro nonchalantly.

  Laughing, but deciding to help his friend out, Seiki leapt to his feet and started heading out the instance. “Okay, pigeon me your kakigouri orders by noon tomorrow if you want any,” he said. “Max six servings per person.”

  “Six,” said Mairin in affected surprise. “That’s very generous of you, ronin-san.”

  “Don’t I already owe you six?” Seiki said.

  A smile spread across the kitsune’s face. “Cherry,” she said, putting her order in early.

  For whatever reason, the caves on the way out were more brightly lit than before as they walked back, with no trace of poison smears left on the walls, and the air was strangely dry and pleasant. Seiki tried summoning his troops again to ask if they had been successful, but—like the previous time—nothing happened. Eventually, even Yamura’s remaining two archers mysteriously disappeared around a corner somewhere and never returned.

  “I’m sure once we get out, we can summon them again,” said Ippei.

  “The dragon said thrice, so if that means Okamoto and Mitsue, it means they got away, right?” Seiki pondered aloud, before realizing that his friends had not heard the mental conversation with the Shussebora and had no idea what he was talking about. “Okay, never mind. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  They had reached the narrow staircase connected to the metal door, which led back to the first three rooms of the instance. Again, the space was much better lit by an invisible source of light, and Seiki could see that the ceiling was in an almost perfect arc. His troops had said something about the caves being the works of an ancient civilization, and he wondered if Ojisan had been talking about the Shussebora after all.

  Yamura suddenly paused. “Uh, what about the unique weapon?” He turned to look at Kiku. “Didn’t you come down here to find it?”

  “Oh, right,” said Koharu. “I’ve forgotten about that.”

  Ippei was already making his way up the stairs. “Like I said, we might not even be in the right instance for that.”

  “Yeah,” said Seiki. “Maybe this whole instance is just for the unlabeled quest.”

  Koharu laughed. “They wouldn’t put a dragon and a unique weapon in the same instance, now would they?”

  “You know, that’s exactly where I would put a unique weapon. What better place than a super hard dragon war dungeon?” Yamura refused to give up. “And last I heard, uniques are a kind of treasure, and treasures are completely randomly distributed. So they can pop up in any stupid low-level dungeon, so you never know.”

  “You realize that what you just said is self-contradictory?” Kentaro said.

  Yamura shrugged. “Okay, can I just see that poem again?”

  Kiku seemed amused as she handed it to him, muttering something about how young people apparently needed no sleep.

  “Well, you can try looking for it,” said Ippei as he pulled the metal door open. “When they found the Talon of Kashima, it was really something like walk seventeen steps north, then six steps southeast, then a further thirteen steps east, then dig. It’s that precise, so I’ll be—”

  His pause was so unexpected it instantly drew the group’s attention.

  Mairin opened her mouth, but the samurai raised his fist to stop her. For a moment, Ippei hesitated, raising his hand toward the metal door as if he was going to close it, before deciding not to, most likely because he knew it would creak.

  Seiki stopped to listen, but could hear nothing.

  Ippei, still signaling the group to remain quiet, quickly descended the steps to rejoin them. A look of concern was obscuring his face.

  “What?” whispered Mairin.

  “There’s someone else in the instance,” said the samurai.

  Kiku stared at him. “But that’s impossible.”

  Considering how private instances worked, it should indeed not be possible for someone else to wander in, and Seiki was very sure it was his personal instance. At the beginning, Kiku had not been able to see the caves until he invited her to join the group.

  He quickly checked the group member list again, and there were only the seven of them.

  “Who is it?” said Koharu.

  Ippei shook his head. “I didn’t get a chance for a proper look.”

  “A lucky demon that somehow survived?” said Yamura. “Like, you know, they say even if your city gets nuked, you have a chance to live if you happen to be behind a concrete pillar at a certain angle.”

  “Uh, nice knowledge, Yamura,” said Kentaro.

  “No, it’s a player,” said Ippei.

  “How do you know?”

  “Demons’ shadows are a different color,” said the samurai, as if it was common knowledge.

  “What?” Seiki said.

  Ippei glanced at him in surprise. “Thought you knew. Different shades. Subtle, though.”

  From the look on Yamura and Kentaro’s faces, Seiki was sure he was not the only one who had heard this for the first time. But it was probably the wrong time to discuss shadow rendering.

  “Okay, let’s see,” said Mairin. She activated her fox form to listen. Then, without transforming back to report, she dashed lightly up the steps and peered out the door as if she had heard something.

  Seiki quietly crept up after her. And as he reached the top of the stairs, he could hear faint footsteps coming down the corridor. Peering out, he spotted a shadow wavering around the corner, dark gray.

  Without giving him time to ponder the subtle shade of the shadow, a male voice rang out casually. “Kiku-chan.” It was definitely human, and tinted with a hint of mock cordiality. “Still in here?”

  Seiki felt it was vaguely familiar, but could not immediately place it. He did not have to, as a figure then appeared around the corner. Tall, slim, with long straight black hair hanging down past his waist and clad in a gold and purple silk kimono; Fumiya of the Kano Castle [Level 29] had a casual smirk on his face. “Kiku-chan?” he called again, carefully.

  The white fox bared her teeth as if suppressing a growl, and Seiki suddenly recalled the unpleasant interaction he had had with that man, where Fumiya had hidden in Camouflage and threatened his friend as part of a prank to coerce Seiki into drinking a mysterious liquid.

  “Kiku-chan?” the man said, dragging the last syllable long as he continued to peek around. “I know you beat the instance. And don’t you want to know what happened to your hime-sama and the rest of your clan? I’m sure the Rogami had a lot of fun.”

  Seiki turned back toward the rest of the group. Kiku had definitely recognized the voice, and a grim, worried expression was now written across her face.

  Fumiya had paused to listen. Still, his voice was casual. “Come out now, Kiku-chan. Don’t be shy. I know you wouldn’t leave without your prize, would you?”

  He then took a cautious step closer, and Seiki noticed that in his hand was a drawn dagger with jagged teeth, Kaimu, coated with a thin perpetual misty layer of purple, gleaming bright silver, with +102 speed.

  CHAPTER 25

  Seiki stood very still as the world shimmered in vague shades of purplish gray around him, not totally unlike how the stealth Card had felt earlier when he used it against the Spearmaster.

  Kiku’s unknown ability had descended on the group without warning, the only clue being a discreet wave of her hand and a quiet hasty shush. The rest of the group was as surprised as Seiki was when the curious fog appeared around them. Ippei, on the other hand, obviously knew what it was, and seemed to approve of Kiku’s quick decision.

  You are hidden in Cloak of Shadows! Any movement will cancel the effect. [Time remaining: 4 minutes 53 seconds]

  Heeding the warning, no one dared move, and a second
later, Seiki felt a curious force pressing against the purple veil around him—like someone moving their hand across the length of a curtain to catch their playmate during hide-and-seek. That was when he understood what Kiku had done for the group. The standard ninja ability Sense revealed hidden players and NPCs. Under normal circumstances, it felt like a piece of soaking rag moving across your skin. This time, the Cloak of Shadows kept them concealed, and the mental probe found no target.

  As if the feedback from the ability was not enough confirmation, the metal door creaked wider open a few seconds later, revealing the cautious, frowning face of the Kano Castle ninja. Fumiya craned his neck around without stepping through the threshold, letting his knee-length straight black hair fall like thick drapes on both sides of his long, pale face. “What happened here?” he muttered in slight surprise.

  Despite the cloaking effect, Seiki unconsciously held his breath. He and Mairin were on the steps, merely three feet away from the man, and Seiki wondered if ninjas in Camouflage always felt this uncomfortable being so close to their unsuspecting targets.

  Fumiya squinted as he looked straight in their direction, but his sight passed through their hidden forms to the back of the cavern.

  Out of idle nerves, Seiki found himself inspecting the man’s deceptively simple-looking black headband, which boasted +56 dodge and +14% energy regeneration, plus a type of slot Seiki did not recognize which now held something called a Silver-threaded Katsumori. It was perhaps not surprising. The man was Level 29, after all, and his gear naturally reflected that fact.

  Fumiya let out an annoyed scoff when he found no one. Seiki glanced at Mairin standing beside him, who had on an ambiguous expression, as if entertaining a thought that involved a ninja being bitten in the face by a vicious white fox that suddenly appeared out of thin air.

  “Kiku-chan!” the man shouted into the empty room. His voice echoed down the cavern, and he stopped for a moment to listen, before shrugging and finally disappearing back out the door. Judging from the direction of his footsteps, Fumiya seemed to have decided to investigate the Spearmaster’s room first, which was located further to the right, after the sharp bend in the corridor.

  As soon as the footsteps faded away, Kiku turned toward Seiki. The sudden movement broke the obscuring effect and she fully reappeared in the room, her bright yellow kimono a stark contrast to the subdued shades of the purple mist around the rest of the group. “You have the key?” she asked in the loudest whisper she could manage.

  Seiki nodded. That sufficed to shed off the Cloak of Shadows from around him, making him feel strangely exposed. He quickly retrieved the metal key from his inventory to show her.

  In a whoosh of fluttering kimono, Kiku was beside him, her brows knitted in apprehension. She snatched the key from his hand, pushed the door shut, and locked it with a loud click, before letting out a relieved sigh.

  “If he had tried Shurikens, we would all be dead.” Kiku seemed even more flustered than when the whole Rogami army showed up at the White Crane Hall with a siege challenge. “I think we’re safe for a bit, since I doubt the Spearmaster kept a spare key.”

  She put the key back in Seiki’s hand, who looked at her in slight puzzlement at what seemed like an overreaction.

  “I didn’t know obake had a conceal spell,” Mairin said, gawking at her hands as she came out of the cloaking effect.

  “Me neither,” said Koharu in interest.

  Kiku did not answer; she was too busy with testing the door to make sure it was fully secure. Now that they were safe, the group shed off the illusion and returned to the normal world.

  “Weird guy shows up, so now we just lock ourselves in?” muttered Yamura.

  Ippei seemed deep in thought, but he remained silent.

  Satisfied that the door did not budge, Kiku finally looked around at the group. “Did someone accidentally invite?”

  Everyone shook their head.

  “We would have noticed,” said Ippei.

  “How did he get in?” Kiku asked.

  Seiki was slightly surprised by both her and Ippei’s shared expression, which was something between confusion and dread.

  “I’ve heard that Favors can get you anywhere?” said Seiki, quoting someone from the Shinshioka Scientific Society.

  “Not private territories,” Ippei said. “And not private instances.”

  “The only way you can enter is to be in a group with someone else who can enter.” Kiku turned to Seiki again. “Have you ever given someone a permanent invite, like a soul token of any kind?”

  Considering he had never heard of such a concept before, Seiki shook his head.

  “Or any of you?” Kiku asked.

  “I don’t think they drop anymore,” said Ippei. “And they don’t work for instances, only private territories.”

  “What’s a what token again?” said Yamura.

  The question was ignored once more, and the obake let out an uneasy breath. “So it’s impossible that he’s in here.”

  “Glitch?” Yamura suggested.

  “Perfect timing for a glitch,” said Kiku. “Right when we beat it?”

  “He was obviously looking for you, Kiku,” Ippei said. “He knew you were here.”

  The obake nodded. “I know, which is worrying. We didn’t even tell most of our clan mates about this treasure hunt.” She paused for a moment to think. “So I’m afraid that means one thing.”

  “You have a mole in your clan’s top circle,” Yamura blurted out.

  Kiku furrowed her brows in disapproval. “No. We know our people, and I swear none of us would ever betray the clan.”

  “Could be your RP character arc stuff,” muttered Ippei.

  Kiku shook her head. “Absolutely no way. That’s not how we do it.”

  “How would the Kano Castle know, then?” said Yamura.

  “They must have killed hime-sama and the rest of us, and found me missing from the pile of bodies. Then they did a Locate check and saw that I was here,” she said. “It’s not difficult to guess.”

  “Still a very lucky guess,” said Ippei, before clarifying. “It wasn’t just a lucky guess that they ran into your clan mates and happened to see you missing. Remember, someone tipped off the Rogami Clan. Maybe someone tipped off the whole world about it, so someone knew in advance you were coming out for this treasure hunt.”

  Something tugged at Seiki’s mind. The appearance of the Kano Castle ninja, though unexpected, was somehow not surprising, and he felt as if he had been waiting for this piece of puzzle to reveal itself for a very long time.

  Closing his eyes, he tried to recall past clues: from the invasion of the White Crane Hall that eventually led to a full-blown siege, to a Trade Skill scroll that had been switched to a rare-summoning scroll, as well as mysterious disappearing player characters who had max-level Pottery. Despite the lack of firm evidence, they all led to the same conclusion.

  “I think someone deliberately set you up for this,” he said slowly. Then his breath caught as another thought occurred to him. “In the message we looted from Rieko. I think the ‘fu’ character at the end…”

  Mairin gasped. “You mean ‘fu’ as in ‘Fumiya of the Kano Castle’.”

  “That’s still speculation,” said Ippei.

  “And who is that supposed to be again?” said Yamura, as they retrieved the piece of post paper to check the message:

  The white crane flies west,

  Out on mighty Renkan Range,

  Searching high and low.

  ‘Fu’

  Kentaro let out a long exhale. “Okay, let’s assume Seiki is right about this. So this Fumiya guy somehow knew you were on a treasure-hunt, and so… he told the Rogami Clan about it?” The houshi frowned. “What for? Why get the Rogami involved?”

  “Why not get someone else to do the dirty work for you if you can?” said Ippei. “Take advantage of the bad blood between the Rogami and the White Crane Hall to se
t them up for a confrontation, while Fumiya takes the opportunity to slip into the instance unnoticed.”

  “Except that slipping into an instance should be impossible,” said Kiku. “Certain places are meant to be private and safe.”

  Seiki checked the group again. There were still only the seven of them, and while he knew it was not true, the fact that it was his instance made him feel somewhat responsible.

  Another idea then occurred to him. “Since this is my instance, what if I… uh, uninvite you all? You’ll phase out to the real world, and then you can make a run for it.”

  “Oh, I see,” said Ippei suddenly. “You’ve just answered Kentaro’s question. That’s why they needed the Rogami. Outside the instance, the Rogami will probably be swarming these caves. So the moment we phase back out, they’ll catch us.”

  “Well,” said Kentaro. “That still doesn’t make sense. At the beginning, Kiku couldn’t even see the instance before Seiki invited you to the group, and if we hadn’t turned up, there would be no instance here. How could they have known we were coming in the first place? Unless…” The houshi turned to look at Seiki.

  Seiki shook his head. “No,” he said, maybe more to convince himself. “There’s absolutely no way the Kano Castle could have known about the unlabeled quest. That was an on-the-spot decision by us.”

  Even as he said it, he was starting to become uncertain himself, and he glanced at his friends for confirmation, but the group was all too wrapped up in personal theories to understand his meaning.

  Seiki grabbed his chin in thought. If the White Crane Order were as loyal as Kiku had claimed and none of them had leaked the information, it would mean that twice now the Kano Castle knew what they were not supposed to.

  “Maybe they’re… tracking us?” said Mairin.

  “You know, maybe you guys are totally overthinking this,” said Yamura. “Maybe, like Kiku, they thought they could just walk in, solve the puzzle and find the treasure. And it’s just a coincidence that they ran into this particular instance.”

  “Which they’re not supposed to be able to enter,” said Kiku.

  Yamura sighed. “Lucky glitch?”