War Games

by Nikita Thorn

  Card in play: Inscribed Card of the Life Spring

  Houshi Card of the Sky Deck. Revives all players who die in the next minute and calls them back into combat with a Fatigue penalty.

  Seiki emerged again with the last of his strength to land a final blow on the second lock. There was unfortunately not a lot of satisfaction to be had when the demons around were too happy to cut him down in a series of sickening, wet, icy gashes.

  This was what mapping was all about, Seiki finally realized, as his Strength of Will kicked in for a brief second at 4% health: nothing but a good old suicide mission.

  CHAPTER 09

  Seiki gasped awake on the forest floor with the usual half health and half energy. Just as advertised, the revive was automatic, and so there was no sensation of floating in the dark and no circle of light to go through. One second he was being viciously ripped to shreds by eager high-level demons, and the next he was on the ground in the dim, calm atmosphere back at the main army at the beginning of the instance.

  You are now slightly Fatigued. 239 minutes to Moderate Fatigue.

  That, too, was just as it had been promised. Seiki had not felt the Fatigue effect for a while now, but the first degree was more a mere warning not to drop lower and did not too badly affect the replenishment rate of his energy.

  Before Seiki could do anything else, his unit fell upon him with concerned cries. “Chief!” said Genta. “You all right?” Ojisan’s hands were on his shoulders, again trying to help him up.

  Still slightly dazed, Seiki simply waved and willed them to leave him alone for a while. Surprisingly, it worked, and the villagers retreated quietly to the side, allowing him a moment of peace to check the state of his gear. As it was often the case when tackling monsters that greatly out-leveled him, damage was heavier than usual, and on his chest armor were several new tears that did not look like they would mend themselves over time. Seiki could not help thinking that if War Games continued with this degree of damage, no amount of charm-selling would make it worthwhile for Kentaro to repair their gear for free any more.

  As Ippei had said, they had resurrected back at the start of the instance. Around him were the dark shadows of Umiko’s mounted unit, who were waiting patiently for orders. Ippei was already on his feet, conversing with the samurai girl.

  Seiki looked across the woods toward where he had just died a few seconds ago. The firelight again glowed dimly in the distance. The demons seemed to have quieted down now that they thought they had successfully killed the intruders.

  Umiko was sitting casually on her horse, gazing at something internal. “You missed the bit in the middle,” she said. Despite that, she sounded pleased.

  Seiki checked his mental map and found that the West Defender samurai was right. All the information was there, except for a small area directly in front of the cart they never managed to get to. He counted three remaining active tano-shrines scattered through the instance: one on the right not too far away from the cart, and another two near the top and bottom edges.

  “We got two locks,” said Ippei.

  Umiko shrugged, pretending not to be impressed. “Well, I guess you can’t expect much from two barely-equipped freshies.”

  “One card from the raid drop, if any, or first pick of gear,” said Ippei. “Plus a flat two hundred gold.”

  Umiko blinked. “What?”

  “Our price for future runs,” Ippei said with a wink. “What you’ve been meaning to ask.”

  Umiko cracked up, the way girls often did when Ippei managed to convince them to buy charms, and Seiki had to chuckle in disbelief. Again, whatever his friend was doing seemed to be working.

  A warm and powerful Heal filled his health as Seiki got to his feet. Turning to thank the West Defender houshi, he saw Hayata—the ninja standing beside Kaito—studying him with an unreadable expression, as if not sure what to make of him.

  “We’d better get going,” said Umiko as she noticed Seiki walking up to her and Ippei. “We’re cutting it a bit close right now.”

  Seiki checked the timer.

  Muraki Woods – Urgent [Time remaining: 38 minutes 38 seconds]

  He doubted they had been able to map the whole thing in five minutes as Ippei had claimed. But at this point, it hardly mattered as the West Defenders seemed to be warming up to them. When he glanced at Otome, standing in front of her unit of nearly all-female archers, the ryoushi girl even gave him a brief smile.

  “Let’s go.” Umiko nodded to her clan mates, who quickly gave mental orders to their troops. Her own mounted unit started stirring as they readied themselves for battle.

  The West Defender samurai looked over to Seiki and Ippei. “Stay back with the archers for now, but come bait the thing when it’s out of the cage.” She then turned to the ninja. “Wait for my signal for the Ambition blade.”

  Once they had completely mapped the instance, stealth was perhaps no longer necessary, and the West Defenders made no effort to conceal their presence as they charged ahead in full speed. Umiko’s mounted unit led the way, hooves hammering the ground, the riders with grim expressions like true professional men and women of war.

  Seiki had to admit, fifty soldiers on horseback bursting forward with bared swords was quite a sight to behold. The two ryoushi units followed right behind them, running lightly on their feet after their commanders. The ninja’s and houshi’s elite—but much smaller—troops were lost somewhere in the crowd.

  Seiki called in Fubuki and nodded at his unit to follow him. Then, he and Ippei galloped after the main army in relative safety, hoping that his energy would fill by the time he needed it.

  It was obvious the West Defenders were very experienced players. Even when slightly outnumbered, Umiko’s sword unit efficiently took on the demonic soldiers, and in the initial stage seemed to be surviving rather well. The leader herself wove in and out of the group, giving verbal orders, striking demons away with Sweeping Blade whenever they were too close to killing her individual soldiers. At times, she waved her free left hand to motion the troops into different positions, and her unit quickly responded to her gestures as if they were a group of dancers being choreographed.

  “Don’t touch the boss yet,” Umiko said, perhaps to her clan mates, signaling her troops to make a little clearing around the cage. “We don’t want to accidentally trigger the defensive stance. And don’t touch the Demonic Sorcerers.”

  The two ryoushi, Otome and Michiyo, had positioned their units further away from the fight, with their ryoushi subordinates forming two straight lines, one in front of the other, but neither of them had joined in on the action yet. The West Defenders were trying to keep as many Demonic Swordsmen alive after all, to maximize the damage they would do collectively once they were charmed by the Ambition blade.

  Umiko was playing it defensively, with her soldiers attacking only when necessary, as she tried to keep injuries light on both sides. This, however, was making it a little difficult to get to the locks, as the troops were ordered to fall back whenever they were sustaining too much damage.

  The West Defender samurai finally found an opening, and she rode in and cut away the third lock in one decisive stroke. The giant lizard hissed as Umiko got near, lashing its tail against the metal bars.

  Seiki only now had time to study the caged lizard. Fifteen feet in length, covered in purplish black scales, it had a wide lower jaw that protruded like an enlarged chin. Its short but sturdy legs ended in long sharp claws and jagged spikes ran in a straight line down its back to the tip of its tail. Its eyes, like any demon, glowed crimson in the dark.

  Yamiimori [Level Unknown]. HP 85530/85530.

  Somehow, the thing looked very familiar. After a second, Seiki realized he had killed quite a few much smaller versions of this same lizard, back in the forms of Kakura Village’s Level 1 Cursed Geckos. The Yamiimori in the cage looked exactly like them, save for its color which was black and not brown, but the resemblance could not
be accidental. Seiki was certain there must be a bit of lore somewhere that explained how this giant lizard was responsible for spawning all these little Level 1 nuisances.

  Seiki turned to Ippei. “Is this—”

  “Yeah,” Ippei said. “The first thing you kill in the game is a Cursed Gecko, so the first thing you get to kill in War Games is a giant Cursed Gecko.”

  “Cute isn’t it,” said Otome darkly. “I freakin’ hate that thing.”

  “Well, I hope you haven’t turned it into a superpowered Cursed Gecko,” said Michiyo, who was situated on her white horse in front of her ryoushi troops slightly further away. “So let’s hope the extra random boss ability is just a timer or an enrage.”

  Kaito, the houshi, had placed his eight healers on the peripherals of the combat, and Seiki finally got the answer to his question about how war healing was done. It turned out simple enough: players healed players, and NPC healers healed the rest of the troops. Occasionally, when Umiko’s unit was taking more damage than usual, Kaito turned his attention to them, but most of the time the houshi seemed to be conserving his energy.

  “Okay, since the demons are 20% stronger, I think we can burst as soon as it’s free,” said Umiko.

  Seiki figured out now why she had been taking her time. To end the encounter efficiently, she had to make sure that the demons and her group would be able to deal eighty-five thousand points of damage in fifteen seconds—during the time when the effect of the Ambition blade was active. Seiki had guessed that if they were planning to kill the boss quickly, it would cycle rapidly through its attacking and defensive stance as its health went down, which might mean three successive periods of heavy damage as the lizard went from 80% to 40% and 10%.

  “Hayata, ready?” Umiko called.

  The ninja and his unit were nowhere to be seen, and Seiki could only guess they had used this time to Camouflage somewhere with the Ambition blade ready for the ambush.

  Umiko looked over her troops toward where Seiki and Ippei stood. “Bait location,” she said as she cut away the fourth lock with her sword. Seiki could not help noticing that she only needed one strike to destroy the locks, when it had taken him and Ippei two.

  Umiko wishes to share a location on the map. Accept?

  Seiki confirmed silently. The West Defender samurai had marked a spot near one of the climbable red pine trees, past the cage on the other side of the path. Seiki instantly knew the tree was climbable, but it was too dark to see the ninja.

  “Don’t worry,” Umiko said. “You’re in good hands. Right, Kaito?” She looked over to the houshi.

  “I’ll try,” said the houshi. “Don’t forget that lizzy boss is now 20% stronger too.”

  “That’s not very heartening,” said Ippei.

  Umiko giggled as she turned to Kaito. “You’ll be fine. I’ll do three groups of sacrifices for the three phases. Just keep the archers alive.”

  “Yeah, we’ll stay as close as we can,” said Michiyo.

  Seiki was certain he was missing a lot of what they meant, but, again, he had something more important to worry about. “How do we, uh, bait again?” he asked Ippei in a low voice.

  Michiyo obviously heard him. “Nice one, Reiji.” She laughed as the houshi groaned in anxiety.

  “It’s not pretty,” said Ippei. “You noticed how you can’t really tank things in War Games? Unlike what you see in dungeons, these demons aren’t stupid, so a ‘Hey, over here’ and eye contact won’t work. Generally, in their attacking stance, they want to kill, so they go after whoever they think they can kill the easiest, which means whoever is the closest, or at the most risk of dying. In their defensive stance, they want to live, so they attack whoever is dealing the most damage to it. Although, to make it more realistic, it’s a bit haphazard. There’s a theory that they pick two or three targets that match the criteria and randomize the attacks.”

  “Ah,” said Seiki. It made sense. It also made sense now why Umiko had wanted both of them to do it. “So to tank—”

  “There’s a reason why people call it baiting and not tanking,” said Ippei. Seiki could guess why. If the monster went after whoever was easiest to kill, that meant that the best chance to keep its attention was to hover at a very low percentage of health.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s as bad as it sounds,” Ippei said. “But it allows you to do the common retreat strategy to lure enemies into a dead end and cutting them off from reinforcements, like in real battles. Plus a bunch of other things with the right Cards.”

  “Come on, Reiji,” Umiko called from the middle of the combat. “We haven’t got all day.”

  Ippei played along as he burst into a gallop, “Yeah, let’s go, Reiji.”

  The four villagers sprinted after them as Seiki spurred Fubuki forward after his friend. “These demons look quite dangerous, Chief,” shouted Saburo, perhaps to indirectly warn him of the considerable level difference.

  “Unfortunately, this is what we’re doing,” said Seiki, almost apologetically, since he had a horrible feeling that none of them would last two seconds against the demon swordsmen, and even much less against the lizard boss.

  Seiki also suspected something else. “Just like last time, we’re not trying to live through this, are we?” he asked Ippei.

  Ippei chuckled grimly but said nothing, confirming his suspicion.

  “Just cut through the group,” shouted Umiko as she saw Ippei turning his horse to go around the combat. “We’re not going to let you die before you get to the spot.” She then pointed with her sword and yelled an order.

  As if reading her mind, her troops parted in the middle, creating a small straight gap in the midst of the chaotic crowd. Ippei grunted and steered his black horse straight through the narrow opening, with Seiki following right behind.

  At first, Seiki was worried that his little unit would not survive being led directly through the heat of higher-level combat, but it seemed that Umiko’s troops were keeping the demons thoroughly engaged. Only a few had enough time to turn and slash at them as they ran past, and the Demonic Sorcerers were too busy maintaining the seals to keep the beast sedated to pay them any attention.

  Halfway through the crowd, a stray sword cut Genta on his side and he almost stumbled. Rumi caught him in time, and a priest in light armor marked Shinshioka War Healer [Kaito – Level 18] quickly topped him up.

  Ippei kept his sight set on Umiko, who had positioned herself next to the last of the locks. “Cutting the fifth lock,” she said, her eyes gauging their speed of approach. “Now!”

  The sound of metal rang clear as the samurai brought down her blade.

  “Pull!” said Umiko. Several of her soldiers already waiting by the cage swung the barred metal door wide open.

  The lizard spun around as it found a sign of freedom, before letting out a delighted hiss. Seiki felt his heart beating fast as he was about to put himself right in its path. Fubuki tensed up with fear, but Seiki pushed down his energy into a full gallop.

  Umiko’s troops had managed to clear a small opening in front of the cage door. Seiki and Ippei steered to the edge of it as the lizard leapt clumsily out of the cage, landing on the ground with a thump. Its glowing eyes blinked once, like quick red shutters. Still under the effect of the charming spell, it swept its tail at the nearest soldiers.

  Umiko’s horse jumped into the safety behind the cage. The tail caught a few nearby men and dropped both horse and rider onto the ground, before striking the metal bars with a loud clang. The samurai grunted. “Kill the sorcerers!” she cried.

  Apparently, the ryoushi had been prepared for this. Even before she had finished her sentence, several precise arrows flew, expertly finding their black-robed targets in the middle of the crowd.

  The Demonic Sorcerers screeched in an inhuman language as they fell, and the spirit seals stopped oozing smoke. The lizard’s eyes shot open as it was liberated from the charm. And in that split second when Seiki burst past the front
of the cage, he could see its glowing pupils locking themselves on him and Fubuki.

  “Brace!” yelled Ippei from beside him.

  Brace was normally an individual ability, but Seiki felt the air waver around them, not exactly unlike a houshi’s Ward, but more internal rather than external. Seiki then was quite certain he also felt a houshi’s Ward on him a split second after that, just as the lizard leapt up at them, its clawed front leg stretched out, ready to strike down with all the force of its bodyweight.

  Seiki winced as the dark mass of the reptile crashed down on them, and the world became a mixture of numbness and falling motion. The next thing Seiki knew was that he was out of breath, on the ground, alongside everyone else, including his unit and Fubuki. Surprisingly, the snowstepper picked herself up and did not look like she was going to bolt, even when she had clearly taken damage.

  There was no time to wonder why. The lizard was right there, lashing out at one of Ippei’s men, who fell back onto the ground and went still.

  Yamiimori [Level Unknown]. HP 84912/85530. Attacking stance.

  “Now run!” shouted Ippei. The samurai was already on his feet, jumping onto his horse.

  Seiki scrambled back onto Fubuki, who had recovered quite well. With the snap of the fingers, they were in a full gallop again, with the lizard charging after them, hissing in anger. Seiki’s health was below half, and his unit’s below a third, which was exactly almost the same case with Ippei and his three remaining men.

  “Disengage!” said Umiko, ordering her unit to abandon the band of Demonic Swordsmen and switch to pursuing the lizard instead. This perhaps counted as a retreat, and the demons gave a battle cry and ran after the mounted soldiers.

  Thundering hooves, metal clanks, hisses and growls filled the air. Seiki had no time to glance back beyond making sure his villagers were keeping up, and it suddenly felt like he was leading the deadliest parade in history.