by Nikita Thorn
The reality of the task was a little more complicated than that. The alleys were winding, with constant blind turns, and at times very dark. Looking for transparent patches of air that could be anywhere at any moment was proving a real challenge.
Seiki took another step forward toward the main road and glanced around. Some distance away to his left was the white glow of a tano-shrine he had previously spotted, a gentle spot of light within the surrounding blackened rubble. Making sure once again that nothing in his surrounding was suspicious, he crossed the road toward a large building that remained unmapped.
Hitsu Village was much bigger than Seiki had expected. The main road ran through the middle of it in a slight curve, from which eight winding alleys branched out, all densely lined with abandoned residences and shop houses. As in all War instances, the layout of the area was unique to every attempt, but the general idea was always the same. There were eight Cursed Spirits hidden within the ruins, which would spawn indefinitely when killed until all eight were kited together to form the final enemy of the stage.
The mention of unappeased spirits had always made Seiki imagine the dead of night, and so he had been quite surprised to discover that it was a daytime instance. That said, the sky was heavily overcast, with a canopy of dark gray clouds hanging oppressively low above the charred ruins, giving the feel of the uncanny calm before a thunderstorm. It was, in its own way, fitting for a world between that of the living and the dead.
Walking through the eerie ruins reminded him of East City, with that disturbing feeling of being watched by something sinister, although here it was even more intensified. He suspected that at least some of the dread was artificially-induced, but, despite the awareness, there was no way to get rid of it. The feeling was highly unpleasant. Seiki could see why the West Defenders had welcomed two low-level strangers taking on the task for them.
Seiki and Ippei had earlier met the West Defenders at Muraki Fort. The Civil Officer’s Seals had worked as intended and they had no problems joining the clan’s war group. Still, in line with the standard NPC attitude towards anyone with the Out of Line debuff for engaging in PVP out the West Gate, Lieutenant Kato had given Seiki a rather stern look as he issued the West Defenders their War Order.
“Pick your enemies wisely, Unit Chief,” the lieutenant had said.
Seiki had smiled at the man. “That’s exactly what I did, Lieutenant. And don’t worry. I’m gonna fix that soon, for good.”
That had earned a worried look from Ippei, who had not been entirely sure about Seiki’s upcoming plans with the East City Bandits, plus a raised eyebrow from Umiko. The West Defender samurai, however, did not ask. “You know, I can’t help feeling that the less we know, the better,” she had said, slightly out of her clan mates’ earshot.
The West Defenders elite team was a standard group of three samurai, three ryoushi, one houshi and one ninja, whose levels fell around the mid-twenties. At Level 21, Umiko appeared to be the lowest of the group, and Seiki wondered if that said something about her skills as a war player.
With brief introductions that were over much too quickly to help Seiki remember the individual West Defenders players, the group was off, riding down the familiar main route out of the fort on their well-armored war horses. They left their troops unsummoned, and so Seiki and Ippei did the same.
Apart from Umiko, the West Defenders did not seem quite sure what to make of their two guests. While they were friendly, they did not go out of their way to make conversation, and most of them stuck to discussing among themselves the various Festival activities the clan had planned.
It might have been for the better, as Seiki himself was in no mood for casual conversation. He had been as prepared as he could, given his limited experience, but, as he watched the backs of well-armored riders and war horses galloping in front of him, he found himself fighting down inexplicable jitters. He was past the point of blissful ignorance and now knew enough to realize how much else he did not know. These were complete strangers who were in a completely different league. It was both exciting and nerve-racking.
There was nothing to be done, so Seiki simply forced himself to breathe and listen in passing about the Shogun’s Banquet, achievements, and something about the schedule for entertainment the City had put on. He also casually observed the terrain they rode past, idly noting it was not as haphazard as the Wilderness, and clear trails led from the main road to where the different war instances were located. Beyond Renkan Mountain, they turned onto an unfamiliar road that led them through rapidly changing scenery, from wild fields and forests to mountain passes with towering cliffs on both sides.
Like the Wilderness to the east, the journey was designed to feel much longer than it actually was. Cleverly placed turns hid things from view and created an illusion of a vast contested area, dotted with military outposts, some manned by NPC Shinshioka troops, and some in ruins as if fresh conflict had recently broken out. With minimal effort Seiki could have convinced himself they had spent at least days on the road to get to their destination.
Ippei casually pointed out landmarks or locations that were too many for Seiki to remember, except the sheer rocky cliffs of Amato Pass that shot straight up into the sky, as if the mountain had been carved by an ancient god to allow passage of the main westward road. That one made a strong impression, and Seiki wondered what it would be like once he finally caught up with the three-stage war instance located somewhere in the vicinity.
“It might look like a lot right now but it’s actually smaller than you think once you get to know the land,” Ippei said to him, perhaps after noting his speechless awe at everything.
The Ruins of Hitsu Temple instance was located much further west than where Seiki had been before. At one point in the middle of the road, the group simply stopped, casually got off their horses and continued on foot into a forest on the side of the road, still discussing Festival quests they had discovered so far.
Ippei explained that the main road was blocked ahead, but players had since discovered a side road into the instance through the thicket beside the road. After dismissing their mounts, they quietly followed the West Defenders into the forest, weaving their way around a short maze of tall, sickly-looking pine trees.
As they emerged on the other side, the first thing Seiki noticed was the disturbing stillness of the place. The trees did not slowly thin out, but simply ended, and in front of him was now a large clearing that sank into a shallow basin, covered entirely in dry grass.
At the center of the instance in the middle of the basin was a small hill, and on top of it was the wreckage of the famous Hitsu Temple—a silhouette of jagged shapes, shrouded in mist, like a black, broken crown. Below it, at the foot of the hill, sat Hitsu Village, a similarly lifeless silhouette of damaged structures.
Nothing moved at all, and the scene in front of him could very well be a painting.
The discovery was meant to be a surprise. According to the storyline, players were initially sent by Shinshioka to retrieve an important parcel from the abbot of the temple, only to find it completely overrun by the Demonic Clan by the time they arrived.
The dramatic effect had long been lost on the West Defenders players and one of the samurai let out a groan. “Can I just say again that I hate this instance,” he muttered. “It’s just so depressing. I can’t wait to be done with it.” The speaker was named Endo of the West Defenders [Level 24], a rather slim, young-looking man.
The man was right, and the sight was beyond bleak. Ippei, however, looked as if he had finally come home after a long journey. “We’re back,” the samurai had turned to say to Seiki, before letting out a long satisfied sigh.
The group summoned their troops then, and, in such a desolate area, it was a strangely heartening sight to see the whole West Defenders army in Shinshioka uniform emerging from the edge of the instance. Seiki’s own troops appeared shortly after, wide-eyed as they looked around, obviously slightly spooked
by the scale of things in front of them. Saburo had a look of disbelief on his face, as if to ask what Seiki had gotten himself into.
The West Defenders wasted no time in getting to the business. Having already extensively discussed the plan with Ippei, there was nothing left to go through. The group’s houshi, a Level 26 girl with bright playful eyes, called Sae, offered to accompany them to map the instance.
“Or I can send a group with you,” she said, most likely referring to an automatic houshi unit she could set to trail other players and provide a basic stream of health.
Ippei had shaken his head. “If we accidentally aggro, you won’t be able to keep us up for long, although it would be incredibly helpful if one of you could do any of the Reveals.” He pointed ahead. “We’re lucky there’s an exposed shrine right there at the edge of the village.”
That term ‘Reveal’ turned out to be the nickname given to a group of War Cards scattered throughout different decks that could show hidden enemies in one way or another.
After some hushed discussion among themselves, the West Defenders agreed, and one of the ryoushi rode to the middle of the field halfway before the ruin of the village and shot an arrow at the nearest tano-shrine to activate a War Card.
“You can do that?” Seiki whispered to his friend. Ippei gave a quick explanation how ryoushi and ninja could unlock that ability to activate a Card from a distance by using a special Seal in one of the troops’ Slots. Other classes could do something similar by having the True Aim ability in one of their Free Slots.
“Or you can just be a really good pitcher. That works, too,” Ippei added. “Anyway, good choice.” The samurai turned to give the West Defenders a nod of approval. They were sensible war players, and despite the deal to make two low-level players map the instance for them, they did not make the task any more difficult than it needed to be.
The effect of the card took up an unobtrusive space at the back of Seiki’s mind.
Card in play: Engraved Card of Familiar Fields
Kitsune Card of the Sky Deck. Natural instincts over the instance are now enhanced as if it was one’s home territory, allowing all players to track enemies who have been noticed by at least one player on their mental map for the entire duration of the instance.
“Don’t use any other tano-shrines,” said Nobuki, the Level 27 samurai, who appeared to be the clan leader. Seiki had a feeling this piece of instruction was specifically directed at him, as the advice seemed obvious to his friend. Ippei simply nodded, and they summoned their horses and started making their way toward the ruins.
“Hey, good luck, new guys,” someone called after them, who turned out to be the ninja, Kisho. “I switched out my advanced Sense, so if you die without mapping the whole thing, we’re screwed.”
“You what?” cried Renna, the group’s sole female ryoushi, turning toward her clan mate.
Kisho shrugged. “If we’re doing a boss fight, a modded Shurikens would be way more useful.”
“Wait, did you okay, this, Nobuki?” said Umiko.
Seiki did not hear the rest of the clan’s argument as he and Ippei made their way across the field away from the group and toward the abandoned village. It was nestled in the shadow of the hill behind it, under the larger, more foreboding silhouette of the temple. Despite having been told exactly what to expect, Seiki could not help but feel his heart beating faster. Ippei casually explained that if players tried to approach the temple without clearing the village first, a thick mist would wrap around them and automatically turn them back toward the first stage. Behind him, Seiki’s unit whispered among themselves, pointing out how the outer wall of the village was intact and counting the exits from the village, perhaps to help him note the key features of the location.
Since their troops would not help with mapping, they were left to wait in the field to assist once the Spirits had been drawn out into the open.
“Any last words of advice?” Seiki could not help asking.
“Aggro range is about fifteen feet. If you aggro early, try to run back out here. If we’re lucky, the West Defenders can kill the Spirit and another will respawn.” Ippei paused for a moment, before chuckling. “But to be honest, if I were them I’d save my resources and just let us die.”
At first Seiki puzzled a bit over Ippei’s last comment, but after thinking about it as he slowly mapped his side of the village, he realized there was no real risk to the West Defenders in letting them join. Ippei had already told them before the start of the instance exactly what to do, and even if their little demonstration did not work out, the clan should be able to attempt it again with the same strategy, and perhaps with more capable players.
It was most likely that thought that made Seiki determined to map this instance as if his life depended on it.
His previous mapping experience included a total of one instance: the tutorial-level Muraki Woods, but at least the Wood Card was helping. Spirits previously seen by either him or Ippei were now marked as purple dots on their mental map, making them much easier to keep track of. A total of six had been spotted so far, leaving only two undiscovered.
Seiki had been keeping a close eye on the moving purple dots, and now noticed one moving slowly in his direction. It was still quite a distance away, but knowing there was no room for mistakes, he got out of its trajectory ahead of time, keeping away from walls to avoid potential surprises. It was still a little strange having familiarity of the location automatically thrust into his head as if he had been through the village every day in the past week, but it was undeniably a comforting perk to have.
Checking the mental map again, Seiki saw that his side of the village had been nearly completely explored, except for a few small areas of nondescript gray, mostly spots that were indoors. Ippei’s side seemed a little more thorough.
“Am I supposed to look through the cracks to map the inside of the buildings?” he wondered quietly. It was these little things that he had no experience with, and had not had the foresight to ask in advance.
It was too late to retrace his steps now, and he filed that question away once again as something to find out later. The largest of these uncharted patches was directly in front of him, hidden within a large two-storied building. His best judgment told him that this one occupied enough area to definitely warrant mapping.
Seiki held his breath as he approached the structure. The front door was missing, and the interior was cool, dark and still. He paused for a moment to wait for his eyes to adjust before venturing inside. Unlike some other buildings, the roof was still intact, and his intrusion was met with harrowing echoes of his own footsteps and the cracks of brittle wooden chunks that broke under his weight.
Strewn across the ground were what must have once been light wooden partitions that separated the space into individual rooms. A few of the structural pillars were still left standing, and between them, the floor was uneven, sinking in several places to form perfectly rectangular pools.
After a few seconds of puzzlement, Seiki understood what it was. “A bathhouse?” he said under his breath, surprised by the details of the place.
Collected haphazardly at the bottom of one of the pools was a pile of something that looked suspiciously like burnt bones. Grimacing, Seiki decided he did not need to look too closely, lest his guess was confirmed that this was all that remained of the villagers.
What caught his eyes, however, was half a broken spear sticking out of the pile, its shaft still oozing a strange purple mist that made it clear who had been responsible for the village’s destruction. Like in many of the war missions, the Demonic Clan had left no one alive. Indeed, checking his knowledge of the place, Seiki recalled a Demonic Clan arrow stuck in a wall somewhere in the southern part of the village where Ippei had mapped, and a splintered demon shield beneath the rubbles, all evidence to suggest what had happened to the unfortunate village.
Being the first players to set foot in an instance must have been an exciti
ng experience. Without any prior knowledge of what the instance was about, they would have had to piece together the storyline from the given clues. Seiki was then reminded that Ippei must have been one of those people once, and he could start to see why his friend had been so desperate to get back to the war frontier.
Seiki swept his glance around. The upper section of the wall on the street side had rotted away, letting enough of the pale light through to create strange shadowy shapes across the layer of debris. In the dark, there was not much else he could make out, but at least it was enough to fill out the nondescript area with a vague impression of the place.
To his surprise, he noticed a tano-shrine at the bottom of one of the pools, covered under a thick pile of broken wood. A white spot lit up on his map to confirm his find. How anyone would be able to reach it, however, was beyond his guess. He supposed it would still be good for a Jade Card, which could be used anywhere as long as there was an active shrine.
Another dot of purple lit up further away on the southern side of the village, where Ippei had located another Cursed Spirit. In his mind, he could picture the wavering patch of air in front of a burnt-down inn he had never seen, simply judging from its location marked in his consciousness.
“And why can’t they give this to me in real life,” he wondered quietly to himself, letting out a silent sigh.
His job at the moment was nearly done. The agreement with the West Defenders was to map the instance, not locate all the wandering Spirits. And the majority of the map had already been filled out. Now, the next and more challenging stage of their task was approaching.
