by Nikita Thorn
Ippei nodded.
“If you manage to convince the West Defenders?” asked Kentaro. “I thought you were just going to show them how to do it. And you already know the mechanics, which is a huge advantage.”
“We’ve decided to try to beat it for real,” said Ippei. “The problem is, the last time I did it, my troops were all maxed out at Level 17. Not to mention I had eight upgraded Slots.”
Seiki shook his head. “No, we’ve got this. We’ve done all the possible homework; we’ve talked about the plan a hundred times. You’ve shown me the possible map layouts. I don’t think we can be more prepared. And we’re gonna beat it with basic Slots and under-leveled troops.”
His sudden ardor took both his friends by surprise.
“Says he who knows not the wrath of the Cursed Spirits.” Ippei chuckled.
The door right then burst open to admit an excited kitsune, with a rather disgruntled Yamura in tow. Behind the two was the attendant who had delivered Irumi’s book earlier, who was trying to say something.
“Okay, sorry, Tada, give us a sec,” Mairin interrupted him with a raised hand. “He’s just trying to tell us our time’s up, but listen to this latest theory.” The kitsune sounded triumphant. “The complete Headband with the Insignia marks you as a member of the Shogun’s secret circle of confidantes, and allows you access to the Shogun’s secret vault, where you can pick… any treasure. And guess what’s gonna be in it?” She paused to look around, eyes sparkling, her voice suddenly dropped low as it often did when she was reaching the climax of her ghost stories. “The two unique weapons that have never been found!”
The rest of the room looked at her for a moment.
“Oh, come on. It makes sense,” said Mairin. “Why a Level 1 Red Headband? Well, because it’s a hint to tell us that it’s not a combat piece. Then you need to find a secret non-combat Achieve that rewards you the Insignia, which has something to do with the Shogun. Yamura was right. An Insignia is some military symbol, right? And who gives those out? The Shogun! The Headband is unique, and so the treasure is also unique. Unique begets unique.”
Seiki had to admit that there was something attractive about the idea.
“And the good news is it’s un-Pickpocketable and unlootable from your dead body.”
“She killed me to test it,” said Yamura unhappily.
“Uh,” the Heiwa Residence Attendant began. “Excuse me, Kentaro-san…”
Mairin turned to interrupt him again. “By the way, Tada, do you happen to know what an Insignia is and where we can find one?”
The man blinked as he struggled to process her question. “I’m sorry, kitsune-san. I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
Mairin looked at Kentaro. “Maybe you have to ask him, since you’re a clan member.”
Kentaro nodded. “So, like she said, anything on the word ‘insignia’ at all?”
“I’m sorry, Kentaro-san,” said the man apologetically. “Omaki-san decided she wanted me to help give relevant information about the Festival to our clan members and also coordinate with many other Festival vendors. I’ve been asked to temporarily stop my archiving duties for this.”
Kentaro blinked. “Oh, so she disabled the search function. Let me see.”
The houshi appeared to be inspecting the Clan Attendant, and so Seiki followed suit. To his surprise, more information was available than he had expected.
Heiwa Residence Attendant [Level 17]
Name: Tada
Skills and Assignments: (5/7, 7/7)
[General Assistance]: I – Rank 1
- Rank 1: Assist clan members on basic tasks as requested
[Non-Combat Clan Defense]: I – Rank 1
- Rank 1: Report on safety issues and raise alarms as necessary
[Archiver]: inactive
[Palace Relations]: I – Rank 1
- Rank 1: Generate a Favor clan quest every week
[Pacchi Festival Ambassador]: IIII – Rank 4
- Rank 1: Give directions and basic information regarding the Festival
- Rank 2: Give advice on Festival activities and report on helpful Festival rumors
- Rank 3: Coordinate with all Festival vendors on behalf of members and guests, providing instant exchange of relevant rewards and currencies
- Rank 4: Generate an additional Festival clan quest every 4 hours
[Skill Slot]: (empty)
[Skill Slot]: (empty)
Seiki realized he had no idea how Clan Attendants worked. One important thing stood out for him at the moment from the details, however, and he read it out loud. “Rank 3: Coordinate with all Festival vendors on behalf of members and guests, providing instant exchange of relevant rewards and currencies.” He looked at the man. “You mean normal currencies? You can exchange Festival Tokens to other things?”
The man, Tada, nodded. “Yes, ronin-san. To save you time, I can act as a go-between between you and Festival currency vendors.”
That got Ippei’s full attention. “What currencies are we talking about?”
“For the duration of the Festival and one week after, Festival Tokens can be exchanged for any other currencies at the rate of one-to-one for the first ten units, three-to-one for the next ten units, and tripling every ten units from then onward. For you, samurai-san, available currencies include: Gold, Honor Points, Favor Points, Reputation with Shinshioka, Reputation with Specific Vendors, Reputation with Specific Notable Persons, War Tokens, War Coins, Crafting Tokens…”
Seiki found himself grinning even before the man had finished his list. The exchange function was probably put in place to allow players to convert their unused Festival Tokens into something useful after the event, but this meant that at least one of their problems had pretty much solved itself.
Seiki looked at Ippei. “What were you saying about having eight upgraded Slots again?”
The samurai was already reaching into his inventory.
Grabbing his seven Festival Tokens, Seiki placed them on the table in front of him, just as he and Ippei said almost in unison, “War Tokens, please.”
CHAPTER SIX
The scroll was made of patterned paper, green on cream, which might have once been white. It was bound tightly with a pale, dirty ribbon. Its slim roller was made of dark wood, carved and polished, but was unlacquered and chipped in several places.
From the flimsy appearance, the Yamashiga Scroll could have easily been mistaken for a common Enhancement Scroll, although it was perhaps a bit more battered than normal. That itself should serve as a warning sign that it had a long history of changing hands without anyone deciding to unroll it. For the fifth time, Seiki studied the item. Nothing at all suggested the kind of power it supposedly held within, and he wondered if the colors and the materials used on the scroll hinted at anything in particular. At this point, however, it was too late to try to find out.
The four members that made up his tiny unit of troops were staring at him, their expressions ranging from deeply concerned to mildly horrified.
“Are you sure about this, Chief?” said Saburo in pure incredulity.
“No, not really,” said Seiki. “But since we haven’t figured out how to make an overpowered Insignia item, getting to Level 16 might be the best we can do before we take on Hitsu Temple.”
The clearing by the cliff that served as the ronin wilderness instance was quieter than usual, especially when compared to the bustle of Shinshioka’s Festival Week. Technically, what Seiki was about to attempt could be done at the Palace Training Ground, which was also instanced for individual players, but at the moment he felt it was best to opt for the absolute privacy the West Plains instance offered.
Seiki looked around again to judge the best spot to activate the scroll. “Let’s get away from the cliff. We don’t want to risk anyone falling off.”
Rumi glanced warily at the inland edge of the clearing. “Well, uh, Chief. We shouldn’t be too
close to that side, either.”
Seiki followed her gaze. “Oh, him?”
The shabby old man, allegedly his Field Officer, was still sitting at his usual spot at the edge of the instance, poking his dying fire with a scrawny stick and muttering something under his breath. According to Ippei, the NPC was supposed to give him quests to upgrade the area into a proper training ground, but so far Seiki had not been able to extract anything out of him except for a list of standard upgrades, which were all a Token more expensive than what was available from the Soldier’s Quarters.
Perhaps noticing his attention, the old man looked up and frowned. “Still here, Unit Chief? Isn’t there a fancy event going on in the City now?” He waved his stick in the general direction of Shinshioka. “I’ve heard there are some lucrative rewards.”
Perhaps the man was actually trying to do his job and give him a useful hint for once. Seiki grinned. “What do you think I was doing all yesterday?”
“Ah, so you’ve been?” The old man lifted his brow.
“Yeah, and you’re totally right about lucrative.” The ability to trade Festival Tokens for War currencies had come at the right time and helped offset some of the drawbacks of not being able to immediately progress through the next War Instance.
The old man looked delighted. “And I take it you’ve got those shiny Coins or Tokens to spend now?”
Seiki shook his head before the man could offer him the overpriced upgrades. “Don’t worry, I’ve already spent all of them,” he said, then added with a smile. “At Captain Sakurai’s, since his prices are a lot more reasonable.”
As expected, that earned him a scoff and a dismissive wave of hand. Seiki laughed. Despite the old man’s determination to be unhelpful, he liked the West Plains instance better. The view was superior, and made him feel like he had the whole corner of the world to himself.
“And, after a while, you kinda need a break from the Festival,” he added quietly.
After the discovery of possible currency exchange at the Crafters’ Guild, Seiki had spent the remainder of the day and the next grinding exclusively for Festival Tokens. That meant taking up any Festival Quest that did not require him to escort a Rogami Clan NPC through an instanced Shinshioka and defend them from robbers. Fortunately, there were many activities structured around the Shogun’s banquets, and the mundane tasks of sorting dishes, transporting live chickens, and delivering purchase orders between the Palace and South City earned Seiki a rather easy 26 Festival Tokens, all of which he traded for War currencies.
The War currency vendor turned out to be none other than Captain Sakurai, the Armory Officer, located in his cluttered office in the Soldier’s Quarters. Since Tokens were used for permanent upgrades, and since Seiki still had a decent amount of Coins left, he put everything into as many Tokens he could get.
After the first ten, the exchange became much more expensive, rising to 3:1. In total Seiki ended up with 19 extra War Tokens, including the original two unspent Tokens he already owned.
From Captain Sakurai, Seiki also bought everything he thought would help with the Ruins of Hitsu Temple run. It turned out to be just as Mairin had remarked. The Festival had caused an unprecedented economic boom in Shinshioka, and Seiki had been utterly delighted to be able to purchase so many upgrades for his troops at once. Even when the traded Tokens did not give him eight upgraded Slots, it was still a massive improvement over what he had had before.
Once again, he inspected them, calling up the full descriptions.
Player’s War Unit [Seiki – Level 15]
Members: 4
Unit Base Level: 15
Weapon: Steel Wakizashi (Level 3). Range: 0.7. Speed: 1.8. Attack: +8. Accuracy: 0.3-0.7
Armor: Basic Armor Set (Level 4). Defense: +16
Utility Slots:
[Formation Slot of Range] – Upslash: Level 2 Formation. Upslash
Base ability: Upslash
Energy cost: 2
Power: +15%
Range: +20%
[Standard Slot] – Stun: Level 1 Formation. Vertical Spike
Base ability: Vertical Spike
Energy cost: 2
Power: +0%
Range: +0%
[Greater Consumable Slot] – Consumable: Greater Energy Potions. Instantly restores 6 (4+2) Unit Energy Points. 10-minute potion lockout applies after use.
Power: +50%
Duration: +0%
Unit Energy: 6/6
Seiki had upgraded the unit’s base Level to 15 at the cost of one War Token per member. The unit base level matched the average level of all troops, and capped at his current level. This had increased his total unit energy points up to 6, from the original 4. His troops’ Level 4 Basic Armor Set now consisted of headgear, shoulder guards, chest armor and lower body armor. There was no real difference between the type of equipment, and each piece of armor he added for them increased their overall defense by +4. Their weapons, upgraded to Level 3, were now nearly 2-foot long, graceful-looking Steel Wakizashi. The blades were nothing fancy, but allowed for a bigger range than their original tantou. Seiki was quite sure this was nowhere near enough for the Hitsu Temple run, but at least they now started to look like soldiers and that made him feel like a better commanding officer.
He had also purchased two more of the starting Standard Slots, which could hold either a Formation or consumables. At first, he was thinking of getting as many utility slots as he could, but then realized that any enemy in Hitsu Temple would be scaled for the West Defenders, whose main team was in the mid-twenties. There was no way his unit would stand the slightest chance of surviving a direct attack. It was unlikely they could contribute much in terms of damage either, and so the only thing left for him to do was to provide utility: his valuable stuns. In this case, energy was everything, and so after much consideration, he double-upgraded one of his new Slots to a Greater Consumable Slot, at the cost of 8 War Tokens, which gave potions an added 50% bonus effect. Filling it with Greater Energy Potions meant he could refill all 6 energy points at once. In such a high-level instance, if anything would happen, it would need to happen very quickly, and he thought it was best if he could have access to do everything he needed in one single burst.
After deciding on his upgrades, Seiki then started to think how he could make them work for the rare monster encounter. He had two slots he could put formations in; one specialized for formations and one standard.
Eventually he put Upslash in the powered-up Slot, since it dealt the most damage on single targets. It required more set-up time for the mental guide than Focused Strike, but since it took the same amount of energy, he thought it was a better choice for burst damage. The extra range of effect would also help offset the relatively long command time.
A stun would be useful for emergencies, and so he kept his Vertical Spike formation in the Standard Slot. What he could not understand was how he could not teach his troops his biggest combination of Slide, Focused Strike and Upslash. No matter how many times he demonstrated it to them, he could not trigger the save prompt for the whole formation. Of course, the old Field Officer gave no useful hints on that.
Seiki also experimented a bit with Blood Rush as a formation, but discovered that it was not ideal at this stage. The formation returned three unit energy points for two energy points spent and cost quite a bit of his unit’s health. He guessed it would only be viable if he had something like a Greater Formation Slot of Economy that would make the exchange ratio more worthwhile.
Looking at his troops, he was rather happy with what he had come up with. The build was incredibly unbalanced, and still excelled at only one thing, but he hoped it would serve the purpose for the time being.
The Field Officer shook his head in disapproval. “And I thought I could be rid of you for at least a week.”
Seiki had gotten used to that attitude and simply chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not done with the Festival yet. I’ve just got somethi
ng more important to do right now.”
The old man scoffed. “What? Like trying to commit suicide?”
“How did you—” Seiki only then saw the old man looking across the ravine to the cave mouth on the opposite side, where the connecting rope bridge had burnt down. “Oh, you mean that jump?” He laughed. “Maybe later when I switch my gear to all energy and speed pieces and try again. No. This.” Seiki showed him the scroll in his hand, trying to judge the old man’s reactions for clues. “I’d really appreciate hints, if you happen to have any.”
“A rare scroll?” The old man contemplated the item. For a second, Seiki thought he might have some advice to offer, but what finally came out of his mouth was a loud cackle. “Suicide it is!”
Seiki grimaced. “I guess that’s a no.”
The Yamashiga Scroll had been an unexpected find. Seiki and his friends had decided to sell whatever they did not need from the Shussebora treasure pile and splitting the gold equally, and, following Kentaro’s instructions, Seiki managed to locate the city’s best scroll trader set up temporarily in a nearby ramen shop after having been crowded off his usual spot on Market Street by Festival stalls at the moment. The trader, a Level 22 ninja from the Merchants’ Guild, looked at people’s unwanted scrolls and offered to buy or trade them for one from his massive collection of Enchants, Enhances, Modifications and other rolled-up knickknacks that happened to have come his way. At first, the trader had offered eighty gold for the Honor Points Free Slot scroll Seiki was trying to sell. Seiki tried to up it to two hundred. The man then offered a hundred and twenty, and threw in a low-level rare scroll as part of the bargain.
An idea occurred to Seiki then and he asked to buy the scroll straight up. “So I’ll buy this one from you with my own gold, and you can bump the price up on the scroll I’m trying to sell you. It’s, uh, different pockets, if you know what I mean.”
Seiki’s explanation caused a decent amount of confusion for the scroll trader. In the end, Seiki paid thirty gold for the Yamashiga Scroll, and sold the Enhance Scroll for a hundred and fifty, and neither party was really sure who had come out on top on the deal.
