Bushido Online: the Battle Begins: A LitRPG Saga

by Nikita Thorn

  “One more Heal and I’m out!” warned Kentaro.

  “I’ll kite!” said Mairin. She dashed past Seiki and lured most of the smaller spiders away from his feet, taking a good percentage of toll off his health, and the pressure off the houshi.

  “Pick them off one by one if you can!” said Ippei to the ryoushi.

  The Jorogumo glances at Ippei.

  Seiki caught her eyes and Parried her strike again. More spiders were scuttling around about his feet. He kicked them off.

  The Jorogumo glances at Mairin.

  “Hey!” yelled Seiki.

  As the spider woman raised her leg to block Ippei’s attack, Seiki did a sliding Focused Strike and plunged Hikari into her belly. The blade went in deeper this time. She screeched at him and lurched herself forward, her hind legs knocking Ippei off his balance. Seiki moved back and Parried. That would keep her attention on him for a while.

  For a split second, the spider woman stopped and steadied herself. Again, Ippei yelled, “Run!”

  Seiki turned and fled.

  The Jorogumo shoots out her web!

  This time, the web trapped all of them much faster, and the drag was quicker too. Seiki checked his energy. It was too low for a Slide. So, he struggled to turn himself around so that he could cut through the net with Sweeping Blade as soon as he had enough energy.

  “Feed, my children!” hissed the Jorogumo.

  Seiki planted his sword into the ground, trying to slow the drag as he waited for his energy to recharge. A spider sank its fangs on Seiki’s shoulder through the net, and he could feel more spiky feet all around him. He tried to hit them off with his hand, but they immediately scuttled back, clicking their numerous limbs on the ground. The moment his energy ticked, he flipped himself around with his left hand and swept his Hikari out in Sweeping Blade. The net fell away, but the several small spiders around him exploded all at once, taking almost half his health. One of them was a green spider, and a moss-colored smoke enveloped him and hit him with a short wave of dizziness.

  You are poisoned with spider venom! A strange thrill fills you!

  Suddenly, he realized that his energy was half full, and without time to figure out why, Seiki scrambled to his feet and ran back to the spider woman before she could call more spiders down. His health was dipping and the poison was slowing him down. Mairin was keeping an eye on him though, and her three-burst heal steadied him. Ippei was now in the middle of a swarm of small spiders. He was exploding them all with Sweeping Blade.

  Seiki rushed toward the Jorogumo, who retreated one step to position herself and block with two front legs.

  Jorogumo [Level Unknown]. HP 985/1980.

  From behind him, Seiki could hear Kentaro. “The poison…” This was exactly what Seiki was wondering about.

  “Yeah, it gives you spider frenzy energy or something,” said Yamura. Then the ryoushi grunted as a spider presumably bit him somewhere.

  “This is where Cleanse would be really useful,” said Ippei. He had taken a swig of the antidote to clear the poison.

  Noticing his health was still dropping, Seiki copied him and drank his antidote. The liquid tasted like cold water and instantly stopped the health drain.

  “Careful, after half health she hits harder,” said Ippei.

  The Jorogumo jumped forward, stretching out her double legs as before. By now, Seiki knew how to counter this move without taking damage. However, this time, as he Parried, her hand shot out a web that trapped both his hands and the sword in sticky glue. Before he could do anything, she tossed him off balance, his hands still stuck, and one of her legs pierced directly at him. Seiki dodged as far as he could, but the sharp tip of the leg cut icily across his back. Seiki gritted his teeth and twisted his hands to break free. Unfortunately, the web held tight.

  Ippei ran in to help. “That’s new.” He sliced the web in half, freeing Seiki, and the sticky net fell of his hands. Kentaro’s Heal brought Seiki’s health back up over a half.

  Mairin and Yamura were having slight problems with the smaller spiders. Both were now poisoned and still locked out of antidotes, and Mairin was forced to spend all her energy keeping Yamura and herself alive with her heals, while Kentaro concentrated his efforts on Seiki.

  The Jorogumo lunged at Seiki again. But, afraid that she would use her same web trick, Seiki threw himself aside instead of Parrying this time.

  They could not keep this up for long, however, and he knew the healers were going to run out of energy very soon. As soon as he saw an opening, Seiki slid in and hit her with Focused Strike. Ippei then Parried her next attack, and Yamura’s Focused Shot caught her in the stomach.

  Jorogumo [Level Unknown]. HP 729/1980.

  Out of energy, Seiki turned around and searched for a green spider. This was the only thing he could think of right now. There was one two feet away, and he ran toward it and stabbed it. The creature exploded in a disgusting and very satisfying manner.

  You are poisoned with spider venom! A strange thrill fills you!

  “Parry,” he called, and Ippei Parried her attack, giving Seiki the opening he needed. He slid in again and hit her with another Focused Strike.

  Jorogumo [Level Unknown]. HP 577/1980.

  He ignored how long Kentaro would be able to keep him up, but he needed all the energy he could get right now to end this as soon as possible. Even if he died, Ippei would still be able to tank anyway.

  As soon as he spotted another green spider, he pierced it in the back, and as it exploded he took in the poisonous smoke with a kind of gleeful relish.

  You are poisoned with spider venom! A strange thrill fills you!

  “Careful, poison stacks!” said Ippei.

  With the double poison effect, the dizziness hit Seiki harder, and his health began to drop even more rapidly. Mairin had now started to send him continuous heals to keep him alive, but his life was still draining as if he was getting Life Drained by an obake. With double doses of poison, though, his energy was now full. Seiki screamed, “Parry!”

  Ippei Parried again, giving him the opening he needed. Seiki slid in and plunged his Focused Strike into her ribcage once more. At the same time, Kentaro’s Hinder hit her from afar, slowing her down for few seconds, offering Yamura a chance to strike with a single Focused Shot.

  Jorogumo [Level Unknown]. HP 319/1980.

  The Jorogumo becomes enraged!

  Surprising Seiki, she leapt up very high above him.

  “You can’t take this hit!” said Ippei.

  Seiki trusted his friend’s experience and, with energy to spare, he pushed himself into a Slide out of the way just in time. Beside him, damp dirt burst out in every direction as she landed. The healers could not keep him up anymore, and he could feel his vision darkening.

  Seiki remembered his health potion. While he propelled himself into another Slide, he grabbed it and gulped down the invigorating liquid. It immediately filled his health as he slid forward along the ground. His Sweeping Blade knocked the spider woman backward. She sprang up high again.

  Ippei ran in as the monster came crashing down on them. Seiki heard the samurai grunt, taking the momentum of the fall, and Ippei’s health dropped to below a tenth. Kentaro was shouting something. Seiki’s health was still draining from the double poison and he knew he only had a few seconds left. Pushing all his energy into a short Slide, he pierced upward with Focused Strike. For their part, Yamura attacked with his dagger and the white fox flashed.

  Jorogumo [Level Unknown]. HP 1/1980.

  One was a bad number, he reasoned. A loud screech filled Seiki’s ears, and his head spun, either from the sound or from being so low in health. Next thing he knew, a wet gooey net hit him and threw him across the damp floor. Seiki gasped as a kind of heal kept him just barely alive.

  The Jorogumo emits a poisonous fog!

  Seiki could hear Kentaro shouting, “What is this?”

  “We did it,” said Yamura
in disbelief.

  Mairin’s voice sounded far away. “What? After all this she doesn’t die?”

  “Oh, no, you’ll see her again,” said Ippei.

  The poisonous fog enveloped Seiki, and he passed out.

  For a moment, he believed he had died. But it turned out he was floating in a gray space, and although he could feel the ground under him, he could not see it. His health had stopped draining and was at less than two percent. His heart was still beating fast, and he closed his eyes and breathed in. After all that, he felt utterly spent, and he wanted to go to sleep for a very long time.

  It would be senseless to doze off here, however. Seiki looked around and was taken aback to see Master Tsujihara beside him. His heart skipped a beat.

  As emotion filled him, Seiki took a deep breath. “Am I hallucinating or are they really giving this to me?” he asked, softly.

  His head was clear, and he sat up on the invisible floor. The old man simply smiled at him.

  Not knowing how to begin, Seiki sighed and sat there in silence for a while. “Hopefully there’s no timer on this,” he said.

  Finally, he turned to the old man. “You know, that was kinda unfair,” he started, and he realized he had in fact a lot to say. “Maybe other people won’t take it so seriously, but this whole thing…”

  Thoughts overwhelmed him again. “You know, Master Tsujihara. I was angry at them, and I want to be in the position to say that I quit, but I don’t have anything else. And I’m still here, because I really don’t know what else to do.” He chuckled bitterly. “And in a way, I shouldn’t even care, but I…” He sighed. “I can’t.”

  He knew he was not even making sense any more.

  “I know it’s stupid and I should care more about real things that matter. But I can’t do that either.” He took a deep breath. “You know, they asked me if I wanted to sign up for this new treatment that’s still experimental, and I jumped at it. Then, they came back and said it won’t work, and I’m like, thank you, I’m grateful for what you’re trying to do, but I’m not. I’m so fucking angry, and it’s not even their fault.”

  Seiki did not really know what he was trying to say, but he could not stop himself. “I still don’t understand what happened. Like, I know, but I can’t comprehend, and I wasn’t prepared, and I kept waiting for it to pass, but it never did, and the more I think about it the angrier I am.” His voice shook. “I mean, I never signed up for this. And what’s messed up was that I was really good at it, Master Tsujihara. I was really good, and that was all a lie. Why even give it to me if you’re going to take it away?”

  The sorrow of his loss finally engulfed him.

  “It’s all right to be angry, Seiki,” said Master Tsujihara.

  Seiki remained silent for a long moment, and the old man said nothing. Minutes ticked by, or maybe hours, or the eternity.

  “It actually felt kinda good when I was killing that spider lady,” Seiki resumed. “Either she dies or I die, but maybe she doesn’t die after all. Not that it’s her fault for being a half-spider.” Suddenly, he started laughing, so hard he was almost crying. “This is stupid, isn’t it?”

  “It’s all right,” said the old man.

  Another silence fell, and Master Tsujihara said, “Since everyone is getting a prophetic vision right now, I’m here to tell you that the answer lies in the past. But you don’t really have to remember this, because someone will point you in the right direction in a very obvious manner when the time comes. All you need to remember is to do the right thing. And you’ll know when the time comes.”

  Seiki looked up at the old man. “Do you talk to everyone like this or just me?”

  No answer.

  “This is the last time I’m going to see you, isn’t it?” Seiki asked.

  The old man smiled. “Tell them to raise a shrine for me.”

  Seiki let out a solemn chuckle. “I doubt they will.”

  Master Tsujihara nodded behind him, and Seiki noticed that a circle of light had opened up. “Get up,” said the old man. “Life goes on.”

  Seiki slowly got to his feet. “Unfortunately it does,” he said.

  “You’re actually doing okay, Seiki.”

  “Am I?”

  “Off you go,” said the old man, waving him off. “You’re disturbing my afterlife peace.”

  Seiki looked back at the old man. “Thank you, Master Tsujihara,” he said, meeting his eyes. “For everything.”

  He did not even need to move; the light circle caught up with him and became blinding bright. When Seiki opened his eyes again, he found himself on a hard bamboo mat on a damp dirt floor. His Hikari and Kohagane were sheathed and laid out neatly beside him, and for a split second he wondered if he was in a wilderness graveyard.

  He sat up and observed his surroundings. It became clear, from the dirt walls, that he was still in the same cave somewhere. There was a crack in the wall ahead of him, letting light through. As Seiki’s eyes adjusted to the brightness, he saw a man sitting there.

  Shousei was staring at him with an annoyed expression. “If I hadn’t promised Tsujihara to give you something, I would have happily let you die in that cave.”

  Seiki’s rage had burnt out for now, and he was too weary to argue with the man. Shousei approached him and placed an object on the floor. It was a small bronze badge. Seiki picked it up in wonder.

  You have received: The Master’s Army Plate. +3% energy regeneration. Charm.

  It was a simple identification badge used by army officers. On one side was the old Morishige Army symbol, and on the other side was Master Tsujihara’s name.

  Seiki felt a lump in his throat. “You really know what I want, Master Tsujihara.” Good charms were hard to come by. Seiki did not even have one.

  When he raised his eyes, Shousei was already gone. Seiki walked up and entered the large room where he had fought the Jorogumo. It was now empty and void of any sign of struggle. Only Ippei and Mairin were still there.

  “Sure took your sweet time in the dream,” said Mairin. “That was totally crazy at the end.”

  “I think we skipped a phase,” Ippei mused.

  “Sorry about that,” said Seiki.

  “Well, we didn’t have Cleanse,” said Ippei. “It would have been a decently viable strategy if we had it.”

  “It worked.” Mairin shrugged.

  “Actually, that was good heals,” said Ippei. “Considering he only had two abilities.”

  Seiki looked around. “Where are they now?”

  “Yamura is off doing some stuff with his clan mates, but he told me to tell you to start picking up your post messages,” said Mairin. “And Kentaro has to go to work, and he didn’t get any sleep.” She laughed.

  “Thank him for me,” said Seiki.

  “Activate your pigeons and you can write him yourself,” she said. “And I’m off.” Seiki suspected she did not really have to, since she had waited for him all this time. She popped into a fox and disappeared.

  “If you’re into storyline, the spider puts everyone to sleep and runs away,” said Ippei. “You’ll see her again in some high-level dungeon, but I never did that one.” He got to his feet. “Did you get what you were looking for?”

  “Kind of,” said Seiki. He then remembered something. “You told me about the two pine trees before, so you knew I was going to go look for the cave.”

  Ippei’s eyes twinkled. “Hey, I know a ronin when I see one.”

  “What about them?”

  “That style,” he said, pausing for a moment as he thought about it. “Risky, all-out.”

  “Desperate,” said Seiki.

  Ippei laughed.

  “Now,” said the samurai. “You have to go talk to Kato.” He brushed off the dirt and picked up his sword. “That took longer than I thought. They really upped the dungeons this time.” He started walking toward the exit and he looked back at Seiki. “You better stick around,” he said.
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  “Yeah.”

  Seiki took his time leaving the cave, and he called his horse—still without a name—as soon as he was outside. As he emerged from the forest into the grassland again, the afternoon sun was low in the sky, basking the green fields in its warm yellow rays. In the distance not too far away, across the plain, was Shinshioka, with its red Palace climbing up the northern hill. Somewhere, a tiny temple bell flared as it reflected the sunlight.

  Seiki sighed. It was beautiful, after all.