by Nikita Thorn
Seiki was faster and he dashed to the pile and picked it up. Yamura groaned loudly. “Well, I guess that’s fair. Don’t you hate those stupid quests?”
Seiki couldn’t help but burst out laughing. There was something equally glorious and tragic in competing for firewood with a stranger in a virtual ancient Japan that he laughed until he almost cried.
Yamura was looking at him with mild curiosity. “You’re new, huh? First time?”
Without waiting for an answer, Yamura went on. “This is my third. Been playing since the old version without all this virtual stuff. Max level on that one, but they said they couldn’t transfer me over. So I started another on Beta. Then that got all glitched. So here I am again. Thought I could go straight to Komura without doing the starting quests, but it turned out Old Manji won’t talk to me to start that cape quest line. So what are you going to be?”
Seiki shook his head, still laughing. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, new new, huh?” exclaimed Yamura. Suddenly, he stopped short as something else caught his attention. “Yes! Done!”
Yamura flew forward and bent down to pick up his last pile of firewood, which had just appeared out of nowhere on the ground. He turned to Seiki. “Hey, get five piles, okay? If you take fewer, Manji will just send you back again. That crank.” The man then rushed off, shouting. “See ya around!”
Seiki looked at the sun in the sky, which was now halfway on its journey toward the horizon, and he took note at how time seemed to go faster than in real life. He walked around and casually looked for four more piles of wood.
He had now ventured further into the cluster of pine trees. From in front of him, he heard the rustling of dry leaves. A boy appeared out of a bush, running as fast as his short legs could carry him, absolute terror showing on his face.
“Help!” cried the boy. “Help! Will you help me?”
Seiki responded out of instinct more than anything. “Yes. What—”
Quest accepted: Inoshishi [Level 4].
Seiki cursed when he realized what he had gotten himself into, but there was no time to regret. Right behind the boy a gigantic boar had appeared, charging at full speed. It was the largest boar Seiki had ever seen, twice the size of a horse and as wide as it was tall. Its two razor-sharp tusks broke through the low branches as it tossed its head left and right in fury.
Seiki looked at it and waited for the information.
Inoshishi [Level 4 Elite]. HP 80/80.
Unsure what to do, Seiki threw the dry branches in his arms at the boar. That got him the beast’s attention. Seiki dodged its first charge and kicked it as hard as he could on the flanks as it passed him. Scrambling into a better position, while the boar turned around for another charge, he looked again.
Inoshishi [Level 4 Elite]. HP 76/80.
“Great,” he muttered. Taking the stance he just learned from Manji, he dodged the assault again and landed Focused Strike on the boar. The beast did not even flinch. Seiki leapt out of the way as it swung its tusk at him. It missed, hitting a pine tree instead and splintering the tree trunk. Rolling underneath it, Seiki got up on his feet and used Focused Strike again.
Inoshishi [Level 4 Elite]. HP 40/80.
Half-life left. But now Seiki was out of energy. He could almost feel it drain out of him. It did not affect his normal moves or running speed, but it would be a while before he could use the special ability again.
He looked at his surroundings, thinking fast. The giant boar had already turned around again to face him. Seiki’s eyes suddenly fell on a pine tree formation, and he dashed toward it. He could hear the boar thrashing behind him. From its momentum, it was faster than him, but he didn’t need to outrun it.
A few feet into the tree cluster, he could feel its hot breath on the back of his neck. Seiki suddenly dropped low and slid under the beast in the opposite direction. It was a gamble. He braced himself as the massive deadly body flew over him. Its hind legs slammed down around him, kicking up clouds of dust. Seiki rolled out of the way. Still, one of its hooves grazed him on the side. He gasped as he felt his health drop to one-third of its total. An unhelpful recollection flashed through his mind as he remembered from the manual what an elite monster meant: they dealt double damage!
He checked his energy and found it still a few points below what was required. Leaping to his feet, he ran after the boar.
The pine tree formation he had noticed consisted of two almost parallel rows of large trees. It was only wide enough for the boar to go through, but not for it to turn around, or at least so he thought.
The boar was struggling between the trees. Seth kicked again at its hind leg, aiming for the joint. It roared in pain and started jerking around violently. He kicked again, then ducked to avoid as its tail, thick as an arm, lashed around like a whip.
There was a loud crack as one of the trees broke in half and fell to the ground. The boar could now turn its head. It twisted around, trying to connect with its tusk. Dodging around a tree and back behind it again, Seiki kept striking at its injured hind leg, realizing he could do a little more damage if he focused on one spot.
A second tree broke. The boar was almost free now. Seiki waited for his energy to reach 12 and, as soon as it did, he rushed in. Using his left hand to block its tail, he performed the special move. The tail lash drew blood and immediately dropped his health to a single digit. Seiki’s sight darkened, but his right hand managed to connect with Focused Strike after all. The giant boar let out a long monstrous scream as it fell to the ground in a thunderous crash.
Seiki also collapsed. In the next few seconds, everything happened.
Inoshishi slain. 36 XP gained.
Quest completed: Inoshishi [Level 4]. 38 XP gained.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 3.
HP increased to 52.
Max energy increased to 35.
Congratulations! You have reached Level 4.
HP increased to 69.
Max energy increased to 46.
New ability slot available.
“Gaaah,” Seiki cried, as surprise, joy, relief and exhaustion rushed through him all at once. It felt like he had been dunked in ice-cold water, but it lasted only for a split second and then all was fine again. His health automatically filled with the level increase. Remembering his injuries, he checked his side and found no markings. He had been sure it had been bleeding earlier. His arm, where the beast’s tail had struck earlier, also showed no trace of a wound. He tried to remember if it had been painful. As a martial arts fighter, he was not unused to physical pain, but now for some reason he could not really recall how it had felt.
Amused laughter rang out from somewhere above him. Looking up, he saw a woman in a long robe of white and red sitting on a high branch in one of the pine trees. “Taking on Inoshishi without a weapon or armor?”
Sayahime of the White Crane Order [Level 27] smiled. “There are better ways to level.”
“I didn’t mean to,” said Seiki. As he was taught by the old couple, he got up and went to touch the boar’s corpse. Black smoke swirled around him as it dispersed, revealing a blood-red pearl about the size of his palm on the ground.
Blood Essence. Ingredient.
He was not sure what it meant, but thought he would keep it for now. As he picked it up, two more people materialized in front of him. Seiki looked up and saw a large man in black armor with a long sword strapped across his back: Taiyora of the Rogami Clan [Level 27]. The other was a young woman in a bright yellow kimono: Rieko of the Rogami Clan [Level 26].
“Better hand that to us, boya,” said Rieko with a cruel expression. “You wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
Seiki recognized the insult. He stood up carefully. If this had been real life, he would not have been intimidated in the slightest by these two but, in this virtual realm, he was not sure what he could do.
“Give us the Blood Essence and we’ll
let you walk away,” said the man Taiyora. He slowly unsheathed his sword. It was longer than a real-life katana and the blade was much wider.
A voice could be heard from high in the tree. “The Rogami Clan spends their time picking on the weak now?”
Rieko looked up. “Sayahime,” she said coldly. “Glad to see you alive and well after Osu Valley.”
The girl in yellow was slim and pretty. She carried no visible weapon, but the air around her seemed to shimmer in a peculiar way, giving an overall sinister vibe.
“I appreciate your concern,” said Sayahime in an equally icy tone, not moving from her spot on the branch. “But I’d like to remind you that the White Crane Order’s internal affairs are none of your business.”
Rieko snickered. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten that Akihisa is no longer one of your people.”
“Watch your tongue, bakemono.” Sayahime’s voice grew menacing.
Taiyora, the man with the sword, took a step forward. “Watch your tongue, or I’ll—”
Sayahime interrupted him with a piercing laugh. “What? Is that a challenge?”
Seiki stared in wonder at how serious everyone was, and an uneasy thought crossed his mind. It all seemed so real, that he wondered if it was real after all, like a kind of alternate universe. He then quickly decided it was ridiculous.
Rieko stopped her companion with a subtle hand signal. “Well,” she said. “I’ll give the White Crane Order some face and allow this boya to live, for now.”
Shooting Seiki one last mocking look, the girl waved her hand, and her and her companion disappeared into thin air.
The woman on the tree leapt down, landing gracefully on her feet. She studied Seiki up and down. “New?”
Seiki nodded. He looked at the alleged Blood Essence in his hand. “What is this thing?”
Sayahime shrugged. “It’s pretty rare, but not that rare. Among other things, you can grind it up to make poison, or you can sell it to the alchemists in the capital for a few golds.”
“Why did they want it then?”
“Trust me, they didn’t. They were just giving you a hard time.”
“Oh,” said Seiki. He guessed that the virtual world was just like the real world when it came to bullies. “Would they have killed me for it?”
The woman said no. “You can’t kill low-level players in Kakura Village.”
Seiki was not expecting that answer. Their threat had seemed valid. “So they were just bluffing?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Where are you heading next? I’ll give you a lift.” Sayahime whistled and a white horse came running toward her. Once it drew near, Seiki could see that its mane and tail gave off a soft ethereal glow. The end of each hair seemed to keep unwinding into perpetual cloud-like smoke.
“Thanks,” said Seiki. “But I need to finish this firewood thing.” He wondered if the pile of branches he had gathered earlier had already disappeared.
Sayahime was surprised. “You’re already Level 4. Why bother?”
“I always finish what I start.”
Sayahime leapt lightly onto her mount and turned to give Seiki one last long look, seemingly pleased and amused. “Seiki,” she said, weighing the syllables carefully in her mouth. Without another word, she kicked at the stirrups and rode off.
Chapter 03
Seiki learned that it was a peaceful life in Kakura Village. Most people were farmers, who had very little to say, except to complain again and again about the monsters running amok and how much better it used to be when the Emperor was still in power. The old couple Manji and Sumiko had a few tales to tell, but once they had exhausted that, they started rambling about the same thing as everyone else. Seiki took his time exploring, walking in the fields, wandering in the woods, enjoying the sunrises and sunsets, and occasionally drinking Sumiko’s free hot medicine even at full health just for the sake of it.
He saw a few fresh Level 1s appear in Manji’s house, but most of them seemed to have their mind set on getting out of Kakura as fast as possible and usually rushed out without a word.
Seiki took his time to complete every quest he could find, from digging up vegetables to defending a house from Level 3 bandits that were much easier to defeat than his opponents in the real world. Every night, a few cursed geckos, wolves or boars came wandering through, which Seiki killed to practice his moves until they yielded no more experience. From the quests and drops, he acquired better leather boots that gave him +7 defense. And he soon found upgrades for all his clothes, which were more comfortable to wear and gave additional stats while looking pretty much identical. One of the cursed wolves dropped a pair of studded hand-guards that gave him +5 defense but also came with a -4 attack penalty, so he decided against wearing them.
Finally, one day Manji gave him a letter and asked him to follow the road north to deliver it to someone in the capital city of Shinshioka. Seiki just kept the letter.
Seiki was not sure why he lingered. Perhaps it was because he wanted the whole experience to last as long as possible, and that if he stretched out the present, he could stretch out the future too. Deep down, he was terrified that he would go through it all too fast, and that in the end there would be nothing else new left and that he would be forced back into the ever-lasting darkness. And there was something profoundly peaceful about the simplicity of Kakura that gave him refuge from turbulent thoughts. Plus, it was not like he had anything else to do.
Seiki sighed and sat down on Manji’s tiny front wooden porch, his back against the wall, looking at the setting sun that was dying in the sky.
Suddenly, he heard very faint movement from the back of the house. At first, he thought it was one of those nightly creatures that he could now easily kill with a single strike, so he got up to investigate.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The tiny patch of training ground behind Manji’s house was empty. Then, he heard a whisper. “Hey, Level 5.”
Seiki, who was now more than three quarters into Level 5, looked around but could not locate the source of the voice.
“Is there anyone coming?” asked the voice. “Probably three or four of them, from the Shadow Manor.”
Seiki squinted at the road. There was nothing in sight. The only movement around was the sparrow perched on top of Manji’s thatched roof. “No,” said Seiki, still trying to figure out where the person was standing.
The air wavered like a mirage, and a man slowly appeared in front of him, clad in all black, crouching on the ground under the back porch. His hair and half his face were hidden behind black cloth as well.
“Ninja’s Camouflage,” said the man as he saw that Seiki was mildly impressed with the appearance effect.
Seiki studied him. His eyes were blood-shot and his pale face showed a hint of purple. Kage of the Shadow Manor [Level 14]. HP 175/1248. Poisoned.
“Poisoned?” asked Seiki. Then he saw the man’s health drop to 173/1248.
Kage pulled a face. “Slowly killing me, yeah. You don’t happen to have Pearl-Powder Antidote on you, do you?”
Seiki shook his head. “Will a Healing Tonic help?”
Kage mused. “That’s just going to buy me a few minutes, when maybe I should be dying as quickly as possible.” He seemed to have an idea. “Hey, do you think you could guard my dead body for ten minutes?”
“Depends on against who,” said Seiki, not knowing what the man was trying to get at.
“Right, right,” Kage chuckled. “You’re only Level 5. At least they can’t kill you yet.”
The ninja brightened. “Hey, I know. You’ve got to kill me.”
“What?”
“Yes, that’s right!” cried Kage in excitement, seemingly very pleased with his idea.
Kage has challenged you!
“Hey, wait a minute,” said Seiki.
“Just accept,” groaned Kage. “I’m not going to kill you.”
Kage has challenged you! Kage has challenged you!
&nbs
p; It appeared that the man was going to keep spamming until he got what he wanted. “All right,” cried Seiki. “I accept.”
Challenge failed. Players must be within 3 levels of each other to initiate a challenge.
Kage let out a loud, frustrated curse. “I swear this would have worked in Beta!”
Seeing Seiki’s slightly puzzled look, he went on. “If this poison kills me, it’s going to give the guy who poisoned me the right to loot my body. If you kill me instead, you’re going to have looting priority, and since you’re such a lowbie, they won’t be able to kill you to take over that right, so you can just stand here and they won’t be able to do anything. Then, ten minutes after I resurrect, I can reclaim my stuff from the Bureau. Got it?”
Seiki vaguely remembered something from the manual about this, but it had all been too new for him so he had not paid it much attention.
The man then cursed again, this time softly. “They’re coming,” he said under his breath.
Seiki looked around. Still, he could see and hear nothing out of the ordinary. “Where?” he asked.
Kage ignored the question. He took a deep breath, as if weighing something in his mind. “If you help me with this, I’ll owe you a big favor.”
Kage wants to trade.
“What is it?” asked Seiki.
“Accept it!”
Kage wants to trade. Kage wants to trade.
“Fine,” cried Seiki, before the man could spam him further. “Accept trade.”
Kage has given you: Ornate Wooden Box. Crafted item. Made by Isaki.
Kage seemed satisfied. “Take this to Mimura at the inn by the West Gate in Shinshioka. He’s a Level 20 samurai. Tell him it’s from Kage.”
The place name sounded very familiar. “Where’s that exactly?” asked Seiki.
“The capital. Shinshioka. Don’t tell me you’re Level 5 and you’ve never been.”
Seiki shook his head. “Nope.”
Seiki saw yet another idea flash through the man’s eyes. “So this means you still haven’t done Quest: Letter to Shinshioka,” he cried.
Kage squinted, apparently pleased with his own idea again. Seiki remembered now that Quest: Letter to Shinshioka was Manji’s letter quest whose purpose was apparently to send players onward to a different area. Seiki still had the letter in his cloth pouch.
