《Kichiro's Rampage》 A pigs luck 1 If one wanders the grey breaches that run along the northern shores of the Rising Sun Isles and gazes over the cold, dark waters of the Whale Sea, brimming with fish, plankton and terrible sea monsters of all varieties, one knows that beyond it, beyond even the green mountains and bustling cities of the Morning Peninsula, lies the wild land of Red Earth Country, an uncharted and uncivilized place on the fringes of the known world. Lord Toyotomi, unifier of the Rising Sun Islands, lead his high-Levelled samurai armies into Red Earth Country in the year 229 of the Bright Era (BE). He saw majestic mountains, vast forests teeming with game and savage monsters, and empty steppes with dry earth rich in ochre, which gave Red Earth Country its name. He also encountered the vicious barbarians who called this land their home, whose warriors his samurai struggled greatly to subdue. Yet he did not find a single city worth conquering, only the ancient ruins of abandoned Middle Kingdom colonies. It was somewhere in this Red Earth Country, trudging along the muddy banks of a thundering river, that a son of the Rising Sun Isles was now wearily journeying. His father was a footman in Lord Toyotomi¡¯s invasion force which occupied the Morning Peninsula between 224 and 230 BE who fell in love with a pretty Peninsular woman. In 227 BE, he was killed in one of the bloody battles between the samurai and the Bright Dynasty armies who had come to defend the Morning Peninsula, blown to bits by an exploding cannonball. His unfortunate son, a boy by the name of Kichiro, was left in the Morning Peninsula with his poor mother when Lord Toyotomi and his exhausted warriors sailed back to their homeland. It was now 240 BE, and young Kichiro had struck out to leave the Morning Peninsula, where, as the product of a violent enemy invasion, he was thoroughly unwelcome, hoping to make a new life elsewhere. His sweet mother gave him a good luck charm to bring him fortune in this venture, but as he struggled to take step after step, rapidly approaching the point of exhaustion, he cursed the gods for his lack of that very fortune. Suddenly he dropped onto his knees, clutching the good luck charm tightly in his fist, and glared at it furiously. It was a little pig, cast out of bronze, with a big happy grin on its face. ¡®You¡¯re perfectly happy to watch me die here, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ Kichiro barked, heaving for breath. His eyes stung with sweat and he was trembling. Then, his frustrated face twisted into a bitter smile, as he realised the absurdity of the situation. ¡®You think it¡¯s funny, don¡¯t you?¡¯ He cursed his naivete. He had thought that he could simply walk from the Morning Peninsula to the Middle Kingdom, but he had failed to comprehend how vast the land of Red Earth Country between the Peninsula¡¯s northern border and the edges of the Middle Kingdom really was. Before long, a road he had followed for weeks faded into nothing, and then he came across this roaring, nameless river, that he did not possibly dare to try to swim across. Since then, he was steadily hiking upstream, in hopes of finding a crossing, but he had no luck, and his strength was spent. Kichiro wiped the sweat from his forehead with his browned forearm. The deep blue sky, free from clouds, was darkening slightly. ¡®I better make ready for the night,¡¯ Kichiro said to himself. Talking to himself had become quite a habit, after weeks of solitude. Kichiro had grown up in the slums of the Morning Capital and was not used to solitary treks through the wilderness. He shoved his hand into his leather satchel and pulled out a handful of cheap wooden charms he had bought at a border village of the Kingdom of the Morning Peninsular to ward off the monsters. Red Earth Country monsters were another breed from the Peninsular ones. Since there were relatively few hunters to kill them off, many attained terrifyingly high Levels and many of the dangerous species that had been driven to extinction with much effort by the inhabitants of the Morning Peninsular still stalked the untamed forests of Red Earth Country. Kichiro found a big bed of soft moss a little off the riverbank and scattered the charms awkwardly around it in a rough circle, not being much of an expert on using charms. He understood that they would deter low-Level critters but that any monster higher than that could ignore them without much discomfort and eat him up as he slept. He sighed. There was not much he could about that. ¡®Time to go hunting!¡¯ Kichiro drew an old katana out of its scabbard. This sword was the most prized of his sparse possessions. It was his father¡¯s. A comrade of his had prised it from his dead hands and handed it to Kichiro¡¯s sobbing mother. It was a bit of an unrefined piece of work, a real wartime product rather than a typical family heirloom, but it was magically enhanced to never rust and still sharp enough. A determined expression came over Kichiro¡¯s ruddy, monkey-like face. He trudged back to the riverbank and stared motionlessly at the flowing water below, deep in concentration. After what felt like an age, he suddenly leapt into action, lunging forward and plunging his sword straight into the river. Immediately, he yanked it back out with a victorious cry, as a fat trout flopped about helplessly, impaled on the end of the blade.
You have gained +1 Dexterity!
¡®Yes!¡¯ Kichiro celebrated for a second time. Having grown up in poverty, he had often been reduced to thievery to survive, and a lifetime experience of nabbing coins straight out of people¡¯s purses made him develop an impressive level of Dexterity, not to mention an even more noteworthy level of Agility, honed in the process of extracting himself from the dangerous situations that resulted. Nevertheless, a gain in any Attribute was always something to be welcomed.
General information Attributes Job information
NameIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Kichiro Name Value Name Value Name Level Progress
Species Human AGI 22 STR 12 Thief 13 44%
Sex Male CHA 14 WIL 13 Barman 6 78%
Age 17 years CON 13 WIS 10
HP 67/67(+0.026/sec) DEX 19
SP 89/89 (+0.1/sec) INT 18
Throwing the wounded fish onto the bed of moss, where it flip-flopped around miserably for the last minutes of its life, Kichiro ventured deeper into the forest, somewhat nervously. It was late spring; the leaves were a lush green, birds sung and even in the shadows of the trees it was pleasantly warm, but Kichiro knew the idyll to be deceptive; terrible, high-Level creatures lurked in these woods, and they would love to make a quick afternoon snack of him. Fortunately for Kichiro however, he soon found what he was looking for; some deeply red berries grew amidst some rotting sticks in the undergrowth. Although he did not know these berries, he grabbed a handful and nibbled at one gingerly, and from its surprisingly sweet taste decided that they must be safe to eat. Then he headed back to his little base by the river, his mood largely restored. Soon, he was roasting the trout on a stick, and tearing off its juicy pink flesh with his teeth, before stuffing his mouth with cherries and gulping it all up hungrily. The sun was dipping below the horizon, painting the spotless sky in hues of orange, when Kichiro fell backwards into the soft bed of moss with a satisfied grunt and rubbed his round belly happily. ¡®I might be lost, but it¡¯s not all that bad,¡¯ he declared aloud. He was about to drift off, when he realised that the countless stars in the nightly sky were swaying up and down. Kichiro saw that they had actually turned into cruel spear-points, gleaming as they moved up and down; the spears they were attached to were borne by endless ranks of marching soldiers, their faces largely obscured, but for their yellow eyes, which burned with an inner fury, and their wide, drooling mouths, which were like the maws of beasts, thirsting for blood. Kichiro pressed his head as firmly as he could into the moss, fearing that the soldiers would see him, but then he felt that the moss was not actually moss at all, but the soft, stinking corpses of fallen warriors, still imbued with residual body warmth.
You have been intoxicated!
It must be the berries, Kichiro thought to himself, shaking with fear, To hell with these cursed berries! He found no reason to doubt that these soldiers were demons and that they had come to pierce his hapless mortal flesh in a thousand places with their cruel spears. He thought about his mother and prepared to die. When his vision turned inky black and he slipped into oblivion, he knew he was dead. Until he heard the rustling in the leaves. Kichiro¡¯s eyes snapped open. The soldiers were gone, but the sky was now a blinding blue. It glared at him until his eyes were burning with pain, but he was unable to shut his eyelids. It was as if the very Heavens were challenging him to a mandatory staring contest. At the same time, he could hear the nocturnal noises of the forest, each sound utterly, alarmingly crisp and clear, from the hooting of an owl, to the scuttling of a mouse through some twigs, to the expulsion of hot breath of something big and dangerous a mile away. But then he heard the galloping of hooves, coming closer and closer, and tried to turn his head to locate the horses in question, but was locked in position as warm, golden firelight washed over him. This light felt genuine, not alike at all to the painful blue glare of the sky. The treading of hooves on the undergrowth ceased as two riders reined in and stared with astonishment at Kichiro, who was lying stiffly in the moss like a wide-eyed corpse. ¡®What under the Blue Heavens¡­¡¯ begun one horseman, before he succumbed to fits of laughter, nearly falling off his elegant steed, which detracted considerably from his otherwise profoundly impressive appearance. He boasted a long beard, snow-white as his mount; the beard of a wise and ancient man. His eyes were golden as an eagle¡¯s and pierced like daggers. He was tall and lean, and despite his advanced age he graced the saddle as if it was a second home, and moved as effortlessly as a man in his physical prime. On his skull gleamed a golden helmet engraved with various hunting scenes, and from it dangled a red tassel. This was Nurhaci, ruler of the entire Red Tassel nation, the feared inhabitants of Red Earth Country. After decades of determined struggle he had united all his people under his leadership, forging all the once divided tribes that warred amongst themselves into a single, powerful Red Tassel tribe. ¡®An outsider lying in the middle of Red Earth Country,¡¯ said the other horseman, ¡®And his belly bursting with merry devil-berries no less!¡¯ Nurhaci¡¯s companion was a haggard man, a flame dancing jollily on his open palm to light up the night. He was a Fire Shaman, and although he had aged much worse than his master, an intense vitality emanated from his eyes that seemed almost inhuman. Nurhaci and the Fire Shaman flinched as Kichiro suddenly leapt onto his feet, having finally succeeded in shaking off his berry-induced paralysis, and took in the majesty of the two horsemen with suspicious, irreverent eyes. Then, he hastily bent down, grabbed some sort of rod from the moss and pointed it at squarely at Nurhaci, breathing hard. ¡®Begone, demons!¡¯ shrieked Kichiro, his face contorted in a grimace of fear. A pigs luck 2 ¡®A gun!¡¯ barked the Fire Shaman. His stringy hair immediately burst into flame as he conjured up a white-hot fireball between his palms, its brilliance causing shadows to dance amidst the trees. ¡®Hold!¡¯ commanded Nurhaci, untroubled; ¡®Nikan, you would do well to devote more time to studying the ways of the outsiders.¡¯ He pointed a long, slender finger at the musket in Kichiro¡¯s trembling grip. ¡®He hasn¡¯t even lit up the match cord,¡¯ Nurhaci continued, ¡®He can¡¯t fire that thing.¡¯ Kichiro stared down at his own weapon and paled, having just realised this himself. Here, he found himself, lost somewhere in Red Earth Country, utterly defenceless in front of two clearly high-Level natives whose stern faces were rapidly growing thick green scales. Before he knew it, a forked tongue slipped out of the fire mage¡¯s lipless mouth while the other lizardman, the one with the long white beard, observed Kichiro with sinister reptilian eyes. Mother, thought Kichiro, I¡¯m done for. He let the musket fall and dropped onto his knees, despairing once again. But then, an idea struck him. Perhaps, this pair of lizardmen were the rulers of this wild land. If he were to accept their sovereignty and become their subject, they might well spare his life. Immediately, he bowed his head and kowtowed, his forehead bouncing repeatedly against the merciful bed of moss. ¡®O lizard kings,¡¯ he cried out, determined to live, ¡®I swear allegiance to your highnesses! Be kind and spare your poor servant¡¯s life!¡¯ Nurhaci frowned. ¡®Lizard kings?¡¯ ¡®He must have consumed a lot of berries indeed,¡¯ said Nikan, grinning. ¡®We will take this boy and his musket with us,¡¯ said Nurhaci, ¡®I want to hear what brought him here.¡¯ Nurhaci trotted his horse up to the kneeling Kichiro, who was slipping back into a berry-addled stupor, and hauled him effortlessly onto his steed. This hunting trip had looked to be uneventful, but it was strange to find a foreigner this far into Red Earth Country. What interested Nurhaci even more, however, was the musket, which he thought must be of modern design. In Red Earth Country and even the northern reaches of the Middle Kingdom, ancient gunpowder weapons in use for centuries, such as fire lances and hand cannon, predominated. Muskets of the sort carried by the footmen of Toyotomi¡¯s armies were exceedingly rare. Kichiro awoke the next morning covered in warm woollen blankets, the smell of freshly baked bread in the air.
You are now sober.
Kichiro sighed, relieved. It appeared he had survived his ordeal with the berries. He surveyed his surroundings. He found himself in a little room with mudbrick walls. A fire crackled in the corner, and the smoke danced merrily out of the house through a hole in the thatched roof that gave Kichiro a glimpse of the brilliant blue sky. Despite himself, tears filled his eyes. For weeks, he made his way through untouched wilderness and seen not a single soul, but his little pig guarded him all along and now he was saved. ¡®You¡¯re awake!¡¯ cried out a voice, as clear and as pleasant as the trickling of a brook. Kichiro turned to see a tall and slender woman smiling at him. She had black almond eyes that contrasted with her pale white skin; she was clad in a silken dress that spilled over her rather pronounced bottom, and her jet-black hair was tied up in a gleaming bun. Kichiro wanted even more to cry at his good fortune right then, and returned her smile with a wide monkey-like grin. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re in Glimmering Cave Town, our great Nurhaci Khan¡¯s seat of power in Red Earth Country,¡¯ replied the woman as she heaped hot millet cakes and berries into a little bowl and passed it to Kichiro, who begun devouring his breakfast voraciously, although he first eyed the berries quite suspiciously to the woman¡¯s great amusement. ¡®Who are you?¡¯ Kichiro asked, his cheeks still stuffed with half-chewed cake, caring little as to who this great khan might be. ¡®I¡¯m a mere servant in the household of Nikan,¡¯ said the woman, smiling again. Kichiro stared at her wide-eyed as she passed him a terracotta bowl, brimming to the edge with fermented mare¡¯s milk. He slurped up some of the milk absent-mindedly, but it was so thick and sour that he almost choked. The servant woman giggled. Stupid foreigner, she thought to herself.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡®Hurry and finish your food,¡¯ she told Kichiro, ¡®Nurhaci Khan is expecting you at his court.¡¯ Kichiro felt better than he had for weeks when he walked leisurely in the direction the beautiful servant woman had pointed out to him. All around him were little mudbrick huts with thatched roofs, huddled amidst pines and maples. Suspicious faces peered out at Kichiro from the windows and doorways, shaven foreheads gleaming in the sun and thoroughly amusing him. When he raised his head, he saw great wooded slopes looming above, although the spruces and firs ended at a certain height; the tops of these mountains were bald and grey. The servant woman had told him that Glimmering Cave Town was in the middle of the Freezing Wind Mountains, and it appeared to be at the bottom of a lush valley, a settlement intertwined with the forest itself. Before long, the huts gave way to stone-walled houses with terracotta roofs, and Kichiro realised that he was ascending an earthen ramp. Along the route, red tassels shivered in the wind, torches crackled and animal skulls impaled on poles leered at him. In the distance, he saw the ramp end at a little palace, boasting wooden columns painted red and a roof of teal tiling. Grim-faced guards, clad in head to toe in steel-studded leather armour and exuding the aura of high-Level warriors stood on each side of the palace¡¯s great doorway, brandishing long spears. When Kichiro finally arrived to greet them, he wiped sweat from his brow from the long ascent, and they watched at him with contempt in their eyes. ¡®I¡¯m here to speak with the khan,¡¯ he told them. ¡®You must be that foreigner that our khan brought back from the hunting trip,¡¯ said the first guard, ¡®Enter!¡¯ Kichiro found himself in the throne room, incense smoke wafting through the air. It was dark, but when Kichiro¡¯s eyes adjusted to the twilight, he found a venerable old man with piercing eagle¡¯s eyes perched on a simple wooden throne watching him intently. The khan¡¯s generals stood at his sides, looking quite uninterested in Kichiro¡¯s arrival. To them, the short, monkey-faced youth from the East was a nobody, and hardly worthy of their attention. ¡®Welcome to the court of Nurhaci, outsider!¡¯ spoke Nikan the fire shaman, who stood directly to Nurhaci¡¯s right. Kichiro could feel that all these men, including the khan himself, were seasoned high-Level warriors, and the aura of power they collectively emanated was enough to make him tremble, but he stood proud and upright and bowed deeply to the khan, without deigning to get on his knees. ¡®I will forever be grateful that you rescued me from the wilderness, great khan!¡¯ he said, very much sincere. Nurhaci merely smiled and nodded. ¡®You must be from the Rising Sun Isles,¡¯ said Nikan, ¡®You will show the khan how to operate that musket of yours.¡¯ ¡®The musket is my father¡¯s,¡¯ replied Kichiro perkily, ¡®I grew up in the Morning Peninsula.¡¯ ¡®Very well.¡¯ A squealing Level 13 pig was dragged out into the yard in front of Nurhaci¡¯s palace and tied up. No matter how much it struggled in the mud, it could not escape. Kichiro felt a bit sorry for the pig, but he proceeded to tip a bullet and some gunpowder from his flask into the barrel, pushed it down with his ramrod, sprinkled some priming powder into the pan and lit the match-cord. Without hesitation, he pointed the barrel at the pig and pulled the trigger. The musket thundered and the Red Tassels flinched. Smoke enveloped Kichiro. The round bullet punched violently into the screaming pig¡¯s soft flesh, shattering bones and smashing its organs.
You inflict 53 HP in damage to the Level 13 pig! The Level 13 pig dies!
¡®As you can see, muskets inflict a very high level of damage,¡¯ explained Kichiro to his stunned audience, pointing at the mutilated body of the pig. Nurhaci stroked his beard silently. Nikan looked unmoved. ¡®My fireballs could put an end to a man as surely as this musket,¡¯ he said, ¡®And I would be much quicker about it.¡¯ ¡®How many of your warriors are fire mages, great khan?¡¯ interjected Kichiro. Nikan sent a dirty glob of phlegm into the bloodied mud. ¡®This boy has quite the tongue on him,¡¯ he spat. A giant of a man, bundled in bear furs, spoke up. This was Ayan, one of Nurhaci¡¯s most trusted generals. ¡®The Red Tassels are great archers,¡¯ he begun, ¡®Arrows fly further than bullets, land where we want them to, and kill almost as well. What good is this musket?¡¯ ¡®Think ahead,¡¯ replied Nurhaci, a gleam in his golden eyes, ¡®Invading the Middle Kingdom is no mean task. We could empty Red Earth Country of men and still lack an army of the size we need to defeat the Bright Empire. At some point, we¡¯re going to have to start recruiting southern city-dwellers.¡¯ Kichiro coughed, astonished. He was already persuaded that Nurhaci was not just any barbarian king, but not even Toyotomi, the ruler of the Rising Sun Isles, succeeded in coming even close to seizing the Mandate of Heaven from the Bright Dynasty. Who does Nurhaci think he is? Ayan gazed at his khan, wide-eyed. ¡®You¡¯re right, great khan!¡¯ he said, ¡®Southern city-dwellers couldn¡¯t even shoot an arrow into the ground if they tried! But any idiot can learn how to fire a musket!¡¯ He pointed at Kichiro with a thick, sausage-like finger. ¡®I mean look at him.¡¯ The generals roared with laughter, and even Nurhaci allowed himself a grin. Kichiro made an indignant monkey face, which made the court laugh even more. He spent months risking trouble in the slums of the Morning Capital to master the operation of his father''s old musket. Under the cover of darkness, he would shoot bullet holes into the city wall. After every shot, he would have toflee from the alarmed nightwatchmen and target another part of the wall the next night. On several occasions, he succeeded in splatting rats into bits, first terrifying and subsequently enraging the neighbours. ¡®I will have the weaponsmiths take a look at this device,¡¯ said Nurhaci as he weighed the smoking rod in his hands. Then he glanced at Kichiro. ¡®Now, I will assign you to your place here,¡¯ he said. Kichiro frowned, unsure as to what the great khan meant. Nurhaci saw his uncertainty and smiled venerably. ¡®You did swear allegiance to me, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ A pigs luck 3 Kichiro was assigned to the Teal Banner. Before Nurhaci united the entire Red Tassel Nation under his rule, it was divided between warring tribes. Nurhaci replaced the tribes with the Eight Banners, which were not only modern military districts, but served to break old loyalties by splitting up the ancient clans, securing every Red Tassel¡¯s personal allegiance to Nurhaci and no-one else. However, the system was bound to be imperfect. The Teal Banner was home to a disproportionate number of Nurhaci¡¯s political opponents. It was also the smallest and weakest of the Eight Banners, ensuring that Nurhaci could move to crush it at any moment. The Marshall of the Teal Banner was a hot-headed young nobleman of the Wolf Tribe, the youngest and angriest of the Banner Marshalls. His name was Jirgalang and as soon as he heard that Kichiro had been assigned to the Teal Banner, he was convinced that Nurhaci intended to pollute the Banner through the incorporation of foreigners. ¡®Listen up, foreigner,¡¯ Jirgalang told Kichiro upon his arrival in the Banner¡¯s main camp, ¡®Every true Red Tassel warrior begins their career by developing the Steppe Rider Job. Now, you will never be a true Red Tassel warrior, but if you are to be part of the Teal Banner, you too must become a Steppe Rider. A true Red Tassel warrior is naturally conferred the Steppe Rider Job by virtue of living as a true Red Tassel warrior well before his balls drop or her breasts bud! Luckily for you, as a Banner Marshall, I can grant you the Job right here and now, despite the fact that you will never be a true Red Tassel warrior!¡¯ He roughly shoved his right palm into Kichiro¡¯s forehead. For a second, Kichiro¡¯s vision went white and he stumbled backwards.
You have gained the Steppe Rider Job!
Kichiro rubbed his head gingerly. He got a mild headache, although that was partly due to Jirgalang jerking his head back violently. Kichiro was used to being treated as an outsider, but he was still a little disgruntled. He thought Jirgalang¡¯s hostility to be needlessly excessive, and he knew nothing of the Banner politics behind the Marshall¡¯s behaviour. ¡®The most important skills a Steppe Rider must master are horseback riding and archery, and any passable Steppe Rider must be able to do both proficiently at the same time,¡¯ Jirgalang continued, ¡®You will practice for one week. Then you will return to me and I, as your Marshall, will give you Quests, which will enable you to gain experience as a Steppe Rider faster and give you the Gold income with which you will pay for food and lodging.¡¯ Having completed his little speech, Jirgalang no longer paid Kichiro any heed. Kichiro left his majestic tent and took in the sight of the Teal Banner main camp, trembling with excitement. This was to be his new home. The Teal Banner occupied the western steppe of Red Earth Country, where the Red Tassels lived as nomads. As such, families lived in yurts and herded sheep, goats and horses, subsisting on a diet that was composed of dairy products and meat. The Teal Banner main camp was little more than a vast congregation of felt tents beneath an endless blue sky. It took Kichiro a couple of weeks to journey here from Glimmering Cave Town, traversing rocky mountains, cutting through thick forests, crossing icy rivers and, towards the end, trekking wearily over seemingly immeasurable stretches of featureless steppe.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, Kichiro suddenly felt at loss. Where am I supposed to get a horse and a bow from? He followed the torrent of people and animals that streamed through the ¡®streets¡¯ of the Teal Banner main camp, that is, the wide pathways that ran between groups of yurts. Eventually, he came across a market, and saw a stand that sold bows. After rummaging through his leather satchels for coins, he found 9 Gold and approached the shopkeeper, a muscular moustachioed man. ¡®What bow can I get for 9 Gold?¡¯ The shopkeeper laughed in Kichiro¡¯s face so hard that spittle got into his ignorant eyes. The laugh was so excessively loud that Kichiro wondered whether the man genuinely thought his question hilarious or whether he was just trying to make a point. ¡®Welcome to Red Earth Country,¡¯ bellowed the shopkeeper after he had calmed down somewhat, ¡®It takes a Level 25 Bowyer one year to craft a good recurve bow. And that¡¯s not even taking into consideration that military-issue recurve bows are usually magically enhanced to increase their strength and durability. A good bow will cost you at least 120 gold!¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t afford that,¡¯ replied Kichiro miserably, ¡®I just need any bow right now because I became a Steppe Rider today!¡¯ The shopkeeper¡¯s smile faded and his gaze turned into one of sincere pity. After a moment of hesitation, he picked out a simple wooden bow from a pile at the back of the stand. ¡®This is a self-bow, meaning that it is hewn from a single piece of wood,¡¯ explained the shopkeeper, ¡®It usually costs 11 Gold but since you¡¯ve joined our Teal Banner today, I¡¯m willing to sell it to you for 9 as a welcome present.¡¯ The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes softened with pity even more when Kichiro bought the bow with great excitement, knowing that it would be wholly inadequate for any genuine Steppe Rider. As Kichiro ran off merrily and disappeared into the crowds, he shook his head sadly. Before long, Kichiro found a horse shop, but he was also penniless. An idea struck him. He pulled out the little bronze pig that his mother had given him as a good luck charm when he set off to leave the Morning Peninsula, and stared at it for a long time. Then, holding it tenderly in his hand, he approached the horse salesman and asked him whether he could trade it for a horse. ¡®You want a horse for that stupid little charm? Is it even magically enhanced?¡¯ Kichiro assured him it was. ¡®You can have this mare,¡¯ said the horse salesman, pocketing the charm carelessly. He brought Kichiro a tough little steppe pony, the sort on which the Golden Tassels had once ridden to conquer the known world and beyond. However, this particular horse suffered from an abnormal gait; it was lame and old, worn out after long years of hard service. Kichiro rubbed his eyes furiously as he grabbed the reins. The image of his sweet teary-eyed mother giving him the little pig, her face sad but hopeful, was fresh in his mind, as if it happened yesterday. The pony seemed to sense his weakness and refused to follow him. Kichiro grabbed the reins by both hands and dragged the reluctant pony violently along, his eyes red. The horse salesman watched on coldly. Kichiro looked up at the blue sky, determination welling up in his chest. Don¡¯t be sad, he told himself, You¡¯ve got a bow and a horse. You¡¯ve taken the first step to become a real Steppe Rider of the Teal Banner! Steppe Rider 1 By the time it was high noon, Kichiro reached the training grounds for the Teal Banner Steppe Riders. He strode proudly into the torn-up field, where only clumps of grass remained, his self-bow slung around his shoulder and his horse at his side. The mare had come to obey him, perhaps partly as a result of the bonuses that Kichiro¡¯s Steppe Rider Job gave him to taming horses, which were significant even at Level 1. Promptly, a Steppe Rider hurled past him at full gallop, missing him by a few inches. ¡®Watch where you¡¯re going, you bastard!¡¯ Kichiro yelled after the rider, dusting himself off. He had stumbled and fallen. The Steppe Rider ignored him. There was never actually any risk that Kichiro would collide with him. So sure was he in his mastery over his horse, that it seemed the horse and its rider were one and the same. After effortlessly planting three successive arrows into the heads of the target strawmen scattered about the field, he turned, approached Kichiro, and reined in. Or rather, she. The female horse archer looked down at Kichiro coldly with her dark almond eyes. ¡®From whence do you hail?¡¯ she spoke, her voice even, not betraying in the least the vigorous exercise she had just engaged in. Kichiro leapt onto his feet, stood upright and met her cool gaze with a smile. He was quite impressed to meet a female warrior, and one of such clear calibre no less. There were no female warriors in the Morning Peninsula. ¡®My name is Kichiro,¡¯ he announced, ¡®I come from the Morning Peninsula and I have just been made Steppe Rider of the Teal Banner!¡¯ ¡®I am Ilha,¡¯ she replied, ¡®Steppe Champion of the Teal Banner.¡¯ Kichiro went wide-eyed. He assumed correctly that Steppe Champion must be a 2nd Job. Jobs could be trained to a maximum Level of 50. A 1st Stage Job such as Steppe Rider, upon being trained to Level 50, could be upgraded to a 2nd Stage Job, in this case, Steppe Champion (or Steppe Lancer). Of course, one would start the 2nd Stage Job back at Level 1, but 2nd Stage Jobs entailed much stronger bonuses and Abilities than 1st Stage Jobs, and the skills attained at the preceding Job remained. Ilha seemed to be around Kichiro¡¯s age. To reach a 2nd Stage Job so early in life was rare and suggested a combination of immense talent and total dedication. Kichiro was full of admiration, although it was tinged with a dash of envy.
General information Attributes Job information
Name Ilha Name Value Name Value Name Level Progress
Species Human AGI 17 STR 17 Steppe Champion 7 57%
SexUnauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Female CHA 18 WIL 21
Age 18 years CON 15 WIS 11
HP 92/92 (+0.04/sec) DEX 32
SP 186/186 (+0.3/sec) INT 19
Ilha looked first at Kichiro¡¯s lame pony, then at his bow, and then at him. ¡®You¡¯re going to need a new mount and a new bow,¡¯ she told him. ¡®I just got them today!¡¯ Kichiro protested, stroking his mare protectively. ¡®How experienced are you at horsemanship?¡¯. ¡®I¡¯ve never ridden a horse in my life.¡¯ Ilha sighed. Stupid foreigner, she thought to herself. ¡®Go over and saddle your horse,¡¯ she instructed him, ¡®In the meantime, I will continue my practice.¡¯ It took Kichiro four hours to saddle his horse. Figuring out how to tie up a saddle while keeping her under control turned out to be a greater challenge than he expected. By the time he returned to the field where Ilha was training, he was red-faced and sweaty and the sun was low in the sky, but he was excited. Ilha was taking a break when he arrived, squatting on the ground and chewing on fermented curds. She squinted at him. ¡®Still here?¡¯ ¡®Yes I am!¡¯ ¡®Alright,¡¯ said Ilha, ¡®Now get on your horse.¡¯ Kichiro tried to leap up onto the stirrup, but his mare trotted off. His foot missed the stirrup and he crashed into the ground. Red-faced, he dusted himself off and pursued the horse. After a couple of attempts, he finally managed to get on the saddle with a victorious cry, but he had tied up the saddle improperly and within moments it slid off the horse, taking Kichiro with it. Ilha hardly paid attention to his fruitless endeavours, having noticed that Kichiro¡¯s mare was bobbing her head vigorously with every step. ¡®There¡¯s something wrong with her neck,¡¯ she told Kichiro. Kichiro was busy saddling his mare again, sweat stinging his eyes. His loose-fitting Peninsular coat was soaked. ¡®I¡¯ve a week to gain experience before Marshall Jirgalang will send me on Quests,¡¯ he said, ¡®I don¡¯t have time to take care of her neck right now!¡¯ Ilha looked at him thoughtfully. He¡¯s definitely not ready to do Quests, she thought, What is Jirgalang thinking? Kichiro, however, did his best to prepare himself. The next morning, when the night was still slinking off to give way to the red skies of day, he was already in the training grounds, shivering in the cold. After downing a skin of fermented mare¡¯s milk, almost retching at the taste (Peninsular people did not consume dairy products), he saddled his moody mare and rode her for hours. In three days, he could ride her quite comfortably, although his pace on his lame horse was incomparably slower than that of any of the many other Steppe Riders in the fields, all of whom were pure-blooded Red Tassels who had developed their Job since a tender age. They would watch Kichiro from afar and snigger at his city-dweller¡¯s incompetence. In the last four days before Kichiro was scheduled to go Questing for Jirgalang, he practiced shooting his self-bow from atop his mare. Through a combination of hard work, determination and the bonuses conferred on him by his Steppe Rider Job, Kichiro managed to hit the straw targets on a fairly regular basis. Once again, however, he was riding awfully slowly when doing so and his arrows were nothing like the veritable lightning bolts that the common Red Tassel launched from his or her recurve bow. ¡®You¡¯re not bad,¡¯ said Ilha at the end of the week, ¡®For a seven-year-old.¡¯ Kichiro did not take such comments to heart. He had been treated like an outsider his entire life, regularly beaten to a pulp by the children of Peninsular soldiers who died in the wars against Toyotomi¡¯s samurai. He even took what Ilha said as a compliment. He had not had the privilege of growing up in the endless steppes of Red Earth Country where wild horses and camels roamed to develop the expertise of a Steppe Rider like the Red Tassels did. If you looked at it one way, he took a week to learn what a Red Tassel did in seven years. Besides, he would have liked to see the arrogant riders on the training ground try to carve out a living in the slums of the Morning Capital. In the night before Kichiro was due to visit Jirgalang, he lay under piles of leather, his vision set on the shimmering canopy of star constellations and planets above. A kind tanner had allowed Kichiro to sleep there, given that the young outsider lacked a yurt and knowing first-hand how icy the nights in the steppe were. His fists clenched, he vowed to himself that he would show the Red Tassels of the Teal Banner that he was worthy to ride in their ranks. When a guard came into Jirgalang¡¯s tent the next morning to inform him that Kichiro the Foreigner was there to see him, his face darkened. ¡®Enter!¡¯ Jirgalang was a tall and slender fellow; he had the soft facial features, pale skin and doe-eyes of a Red Tassel noble clan with an excess of beautiful women in its family tree. Quite the contrast to the short and stocky Kichiro with his ruddy monkey face. It¡¯s true what they say about the males of the Rising Sun Isles, thought Jirgalang, They really are little, ugly devil-dwarfs. ¡®Good morning, Marshall!¡¯ declared Kichiro perkily, bowing deeply. Jirgalang ignored him, slowly sorting through a pile of papers. Not deigning to look at Kichiro, he said, ¡®A giant marmot is stalking the lands a day¡¯s ride south of the main camp.¡¯ Kichiro struggled desperately to keep a straight face. A giant marmot? I have to kill a giant marmot? ¡®You are to hunt down and kill it,¡¯ continued Jirgalang, his face expressionless, ¡®Before it comes to terrorise the Teal Banner.¡¯
You have received a Quest: Find and kill the giant marmot!
Steppe Rider 2 Kichiro hummed merrily from atop his mare as she trotted through the swaying sea of grass that covered the steppes of Red Earth Country. In all directions, rolling green hills stretched as far as the eye could see. It was now high noon and Kichiro had ridden for seven hours. Basking in the warm sunshine, he was in a great mood. He was on his first Quest as Steppe Rider of the Teal Banner, and all he had been asked to do was slay a giant marmot! A giant marmot, thought Kichiro to himself, smiling, How ridiculous! Many Quests, once given to a person, would grant that person an inner compass to aid them in locating the area where the Quest was to be completed by way of instinct. Jirgalang¡¯s Quest to kill the giant marmot was one such Quest. Kichiro, having arrived in an utterly nondescript part of the vast grassland, suddenly sensed that the giant marmot was somewhere close. He steered his mare up a nearby hillock and surveyed the surrounding lands. Below him, to the North, a small river snaked through the steppe, perhaps one of the tributaries of the Mother River where Nurhaci found him, high on hallucinogenic berries. Behind the river grew a copse of birches. Kichiro felt utterly convinced that the giant marmot must be somewhere by that river; it was as if the Quest was banging a gong in his head to announce that it was in the area. Suddenly, his eyes locked in on something moving in the grass not far from the riverbed. That must be the giant marmot! Heart pounding with excitement, he unslung his bow and kicked his horse to ride down the hillock. Unsteadily, he let go of the reins and retrieved an arrow from his belt quiver. Approaching the river, he suddenly realised that the thing he had seen moving was in fact a marmot¡¯s head, popping out from its burrow to watch the newcomer. But that¡¯s just a regular marmot! Suddenly, the marmot let out a high-pitched scream and disappeared back into the burrow. Kichiro reined in, unsure of what to do. He could hardly wriggle into the tiny hole and chase the marmot. Then the very Earth begun to shake. Earthquake? Kichiro turned his head left and right, confused as to what was happening. Before he could react, the ground beneath Kichiro¡¯s horse erupted. Loose earth, rocks and clumps of grass were flung into the heavens. Kichiro¡¯s mare struggled to get its hind legs out of the gaping hole that opened and bolted. Kichiro¡¯s eyes went wide as the sun was blocked by an enormous shadow. A giant ball of fur had rocketed out of the surface of the Earth and was now flying through the air in his direction. When it collided with the ground, the shockwave sent Kichiro tumbling off his horse.
You lose 7 HP in fall damage!
Kichiro lay in the dust, head spinning, and watched as a marmot as big as a family¡¯s yurt galloped violently towards his poor horse. The mare attempted to escape, but her neck injury prevented her from fleeing fast enough, and in moments the giant marmot was upon her. Kichiro watched in terror as the monstrous beast pinned his beloved mare down, sunk its door-sized front teeth into her soft flesh, and then ripped her throat out, leaving the hapless animal to bleed out in the cruel steppe. Everything made sense now. Marmots were social animals that lived together in burrows. The regular marmot from earlier had alerted the giant marmot to Kichiro¡¯s presence, and the giant marmot had come to deal with the situation. It was probably the regular marmot¡¯s cousin. The giant marmot now turned its attention to the terror-stricken Kichiro. Its great buck teeth were red with blood and gore. Kichiro saw that this was a Level 16 giant marmot. He knew it was think fast or die. Leaping onto his feet, he grabbed his katana and raced towards the river. Never had he ran this fast before, not even when the guardsmen of the Morning Capital chased him after he had nicked a purse.
You gain +1 Agility!
He heard of the giant marmot¡¯s pursuit, growing louder and louder. He felt gusts of hot air tickle his back as the giant marmot closed in; the monster¡¯s breath. After what seemed like an eternity, Kichiro dived into the icy water of the river. It was so cold he could hardly breathe, and he swallowed about a bucket¡¯s worth of river, but he swam and swam, because his life depended on it. Water splashed on him as the giant marmot leapt into the pool. Kichiro¡¯s heart sunk. It¡¯s going to chase me across the river?Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Kichiro scrambled out of the water on the opposite riverbank and sprinted towards the copse of birches. To his intensified horror, he looked behind him as he ran to see the giant marmot dig claws longer than sabres into the wet mud and drag itself violently out of the river. Reaching the woods, Kichiro pressed his back a tree trunk, clutched his sword with both hands and trembled with fear. He had nowhere to run. He would have to fight and kill the giant marmot. Among the trees he would stand a better chance than out in the open. He stole a look around the tree trunk. The giant marmot was nowhere to be soon. Where under the Blue Heavens is it? Then Kichiro saw a pile of freshly dug-up earth. His heart sunk. The earth shook. A birch or two were uprooted as the giant marmot erupted out of the earth once more, this time inches in front of Kichiro¡¯s feet. Without thinking, Kichiro plunged his katana straight into the giant marmot¡¯s neck.
You inflict 74 HP in damage to the Level 16 giant marmot!
The monster shrieked with pain as it pulled the rest of its fat body out of the hole. It whirled to face Kichiro, splattering the white birches with blood. Kichiro ducked as claws ripped through the air a hair¡¯s width over his head, cutting a tree trunk in half and causing a birch to crash to the ground with a loud thud. Kichiro pushed as much as he could out of his high Agility to dash to the marmot¡¯s left, flanking it. Again, he plunged his katana into its monstrous body, this time into its side.
You inflict 56 HP in damage to the Level 16 giant marmot!
Caught in a panic, the marmot leapt up onto its hind legs and thrashed wildly about with its claws. Several birches were felled and birds fled the copse in a great haste. Kichiro hacked at its feet with the katana, finding every opportunity he could to inflict injury to his gargantuan adversary.
You inflict 22 HP in damage to the Level 16 giant marmot!
This caused a lot less damage in HP than his other attacks, but the giant marmot now found it agonising to stand. It flopped onto its back to take weight off its injured foot, exposing its soft underbelly to Kichiro. Triumphantly, Kichiro leapt onto the marmot¡¯s fluffy underside and sliced open its abdomen. A torrent of hot marmot blood painted him red.
You inflict 141 HP in damage to the Level 16 giant marmot!
The giant marmot screamed so loudly, Kichiro¡¯s ears felt like they were about to pop. Mustering the remnants of its rapidly diminishing strength, the struggling monster swiped its assailant with its right claw, slashing Kichiro¡¯s left shoulder and sending him flying. He crashed into a tree trunk and slid down into a pile of brown leaves. This time it was his turn to scream.
The Level 16 giant marmot inflicts 22 HP in damage to you! You lose 8 HP in fall damage!
When is this stupid thing going to die already? The giant marmot was fed up of fighting. It struggled back onto its four feet and tried to crawl back into the hole it had burst out of, but its insides were falling out of its stomach, landing on the ground with wet, sickening thumps.
The Level 16 giant marmot loses 235 HP to bleeding!
The monster managed to drag about half of its body into the hole, leaving a trail of blood and gore in its wake, before Kichiro stabbed his father¡¯s katana into its backside with his right hand. His other arm was barely functional.
You inflict 2 HP in damage to the Level 16 giant marmot! The Level 16 giant marmot dies!
Kichiro roared in victory and slumped down to the ground, his strength spent. His heart thumped furiously against his chest and he panted like a dog. Never before had he come so close to death. Suddenly, his vision went white and tremors ran through his head.
You gain the Hunter Job!
You¡¯re now a Level 2 Hunter! You¡¯re now a Level 3 Hunter! You¡¯re now a Level 4 Hunter! You¡¯re now a Level 5 Hunter! You¡¯re now a Level 6 Hunter! You¡¯re now a Level 7 Hunter! You¡¯re now a Level 8 Hunter!
Kichiro¡¯s head spun under the weight of all these notifications. Just how high-Level is killing a giant marmot for it to give me a new Job and eight Level-ups at once? Kichiro realised he had no idea what he had signed up for when he took that Quest from Jirgalang, but at this point, he was only glad that he was still breathing. After a few minutes of sitting on the ground in a daze, leaning against the dead body of the giant marmot, he wondered for how long he would still be alive, however. Here he was, half a day¡¯s horse ride from the main camp of the Teal Banner, without a horse. He reckoned that it would take him a full day to walk back, but it was already noon, and at night the steppe was a perilous place. As if that was not enough, his left shoulder was gravely injured and he could hardly move his left arm. What am I to do now? Steppe Rider 3 Since it would take Kichiro a full day to walk back to the Teal Banner¡¯s main camp and it was already past noon, he knew that he would have to spent at least one night on the steppe. The nights here were perilous. Many high-Level monsters were most active at night, but an even greater danger was the freezing cold, which could sneak up on an exposed traveller and kill them as cleanly as any skilled assassin. Kichiro looked at the dead giant marmot¡¯s enormous behind, sticking out of the earth, and an idea struck him. A couple hours were spent heaving the abundant corpse onto its side. It felt like trying to turn a boulder. When the cut Kichiro had made in the marmot¡¯s stomach rolled into view, the stench of its still-warm guts hit Kichiro and he almost puked. Doing his best to ignore the smell, he shoved his right arm deep into the monster¡¯s insides, pulling out stinking ropes of intestines and wobbling organs. Then, holding his nose, he dived head first into the dead marmot with his katana and cut the fleshy bits that connected the marmot¡¯s guts to its body. Now he was able to rip all of its guts out of its corpse and drag the jelly-like mass of organs thirty paces or so away. When Kichiro put his hands up to his nose and took a whiff, he immediately bent over to vomit, but he was pleased with his work. He had successfully hollowed out the giant marmot¡¯s cadaver, and when he peeked through the slit in its stomach, he found he had excavated a fleshy cave as spacious as a little tent within the monster¡¯s ribcage. Unfortunately, brown slivers of half-digested grass had spilled on the bones; Kichiro¡¯s katana had sliced open a part of the intestines. Kichiro snatched some leaves from outside and cleaned up. Then, he went to the river to wash the stinking blood and gore off his arms. By that time, the sun hung low in the sky and the daylight dulled. Kichiro stalked the birch copse gathering dry wood, grunting with pain from his mutilated shoulder, and built a campfire. Fixing some marmot meat onto a stick, he roasted it over the fire and devoured it. The meat was a little tough, but surprisingly juicy. As Kichiro licked his fingers and the sun dipped below the horizon, a distant howl carried across the land, followed by a profound silence. Kichiro frowned. A wolf? The howl came again, and then it was joined by another howl, and another, until Kichiro thought there were about a dozen howls at once. They seemed to grow closer each time they sounded. A whole pack of wolves? Kichiro was now shaking. He glanced at his arm. His HP was fully restored, but HP was not an accurate indicator of a person¡¯s fitness. It merely showed how close a person was to death. A grievously injured person whose condition had stabilised could retain a higher percentage of their HP than a person with a comparatively minor wound who was bleeding out. Kichiro was still barely able to move his left arm, and he wondered how he was supposed to fend off a determined pack of wolves. Clutching his sword tightly, he hurriedly scrambled over to the giant marmot and wriggled through the slit in its stomach. Lying silently in the darkness of his fleshy little hollow, he prayed to Ebisu, the God of Fortune of the Rising Sun Isles, that the wolves would not come for him. Yet his fear mounted. The Rising Sun Isles were far away, across the sea. Would Ebisu even notice his prayer?Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Hours passed and Kichiro was struggling to keep his eyes open when howls pierced his ears again. They were so loud that Kichiro swore the wolves must be upon him. He heard growling, and the ripping of flesh. Curse my stupidity, thought Kichiro, The wolves must be eating the marmot¡¯s organs I left out! Why didn¡¯t I think to drag them further away? He heard rustling in the undergrowth, steadily coming closer. He heard canine panting and sniffing, and held his sword tightly. Then, a grey wolf poked its head through the slit in the giant marmot¡¯s stomach. Startled golden eyes met Kichiro¡¯s. ¡®Big mistake, you worm-ridden dog!¡¯ cried Kichiro as he pushed the blade into the wolf¡¯s throat. The poor wolf was utterly helpless as a waterfall of blood gushed out of the wound, bathing Kichiro¡¯s legs.
You inflict 53 HP in damage to the Level 14 wolf! The Level 14 wolf dies!
Immediately, Kichiro erupted out of the giant marmot¡¯s corpse like an enormous, blood-splattered parasite, screaming like a madman. The pack of wolves who had been feasting on the bloody heap of marmot insides stared at him with timid eyes shining with terror. With only the dull light of the moon to guide him, Kichiro could hardly see a thing, but he hurled at the pack, slicing the air around him furiously with his sword. The pack of wolves yelped in terror and flew, disappearing into the inky night, but not before Kichiro had succeeded in severing the shrieking alpha male¡¯s tail.
You inflict 18 HP in damage to the Level 29 wolf!
When he realised what he had done, Kichiro raised his sword to the heavens and roared, revelling in his victory. He felt like a great samurai champion who single-handedly routed an army. His celebration was cut short, however, when a seemingly human hand slapped him across the face with incredible force, sending him crashing to the ground.
The Level 8 ?b?d? inflicts 3 HP in damage to you!
Kichiro sprawled on the ground, utterly dazed. When his eyes adjusted somewhat to the diminutive humanoid silhouette looming over him, he saw an ancient woman with a face lined with deep grooves, glaring at him from under a red headscarf. It must be a ghost, thought Kichiro, trembling with fear, Old women don¡¯t just walk around the steppe at night! ¡®Be off, you old hag,¡¯ he cried, ¡®Spare me!¡¯ ¡®What have you done to my beloved trees?¡¯ demanded the old woman, looking stern. ¡®Who are you?¡¯ ¡®I am the ?b?d?, the guardian of these woods,¡¯ she replied coldly, ¡®Look what you¡¯ve done!¡¯ She pointed to the side. Kichiro could see little in the dark, but he guessed that she was referring to the uprooted trees, broken trunks and blood-splattered birches. ¡®Forgive me, my good lady,¡¯ he said, grovelling in the dirt, ¡®I had to defend myself from a giant marmot, and that was the result.¡¯ ¡®Yes, you went on to butcher the big, ugly furball and spill its organs all over my home.¡¯ ¡®Forgive me, my good lady.¡¯ ¡®And then to top it off, you¡¯ve added a wolf¡¯s corpse and a tail to the mess!¡¯ ¡®I will leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning,¡¯ said Kichiro, bowing repeatedly in apology and shaking with terror. ¡®You will leave at daybreak or I will turn you into a sapling and trample on you!¡¯ ¡®Yes, my good lady!¡¯ Kichiro snuck back to his giant marmot corpse, looking like a dog with its tail between its legs. The next day, when Ilha the Steppe Champion, riding speedily on her horse, came across a dishevelled, horse-less Kichiro in blood-soaked clothes, trudging wearily across the steppe in the direction of the Teal Banner¡¯s main camp, she was startled. ¡®Kichiro!¡¯ she cried out, ¡®I thought you were dead!¡¯ He merely turned a pair of tired eyes on her and muttered, ¡®The steppe is a weird place.¡¯ Steppe Rider 4 Ilha tried to pull up Kichiro onto her horse by his left arm, eliciting a cry of pain. She looked at his ravaged shoulder. ¡®You¡¯re wounded.¡¯ ¡®Thanks for informing me,¡¯ Kichiro replied sarcastically. Ilha smiled. Kichiro was pleasantly surprised. He had never seen Ilha smile before. It was a pretty smile. ¡®Why are you here?¡¯ he asked. ¡®You were supposed to come back yesterday,¡¯ said Ilha, ¡®I came to collect your corpse.¡¯ Ilha looked a little embarrassed, and Kichiro bit back a smile. ¡®How did you escape the giant marmot?¡¯ ¡®How do you know about my Quest?¡¯ ¡®Jirgalang told me,¡¯ said Ilha. Kichiro looked away, trying to hide the pride in his face. ¡®I didn¡¯t escape,¡¯ he said, ¡®I killed it.¡¯ ¡®Oh really?¡¯ Ilha didn¡¯t let it show on her face but she was astonished. How could a clumsy and ill-equipped Level 1 Steppe Rider like Kichiro possibly have killed a giant marmot? The things were ferocious. Usually, a hunting party of three to four Steppe Riders were assembled to hunt them down before they wreaked havoc in camps, but Kichiro insisted he killed one by himself. When they arrived back in camp and Kichiro ducked into Jirgalang¡¯s tent to report to him the completion of the Quest, Jirgalang¡¯s big eyes went even bigger for a moment before he composed himself. ¡®So you¡¯ve returned, foreigner,¡¯ he muttered, turning away, ¡®You killed the giant marmot? ¡®So I have.¡¯ By notifying the Quest-giver of the fulfilment of its objectives, the conditions for the completion of the Quest were met.
You complete a Quest: Find and kill the giant marmot!
You¡¯re now a Level 2 Steppe Rider! You¡¯re now a Level 3 Steppe Rider!
Although Kichiro did not complete the Quest in the capacity of Steppe Rider, that is, he did not kill the giant marmot by shooting it with arrows from atop a horse, the Quest was technically given to Kichiro with the objective of raising his experience as Steppe Rider. As a result he was rewarded with XP that went towards his Steppe Rider Job. Kichiro winced at the discomfort as his brain developed new skills in an instant. Additionally, Jirgalang threw him a jingling bag of Gold, making a sour face. Kichiro counted it. 200 Gold! Enough to buy a new horse! He remembered his poor mare, and how her throat was ripped out. If I had your neck treated, maybe you¡¯d have been able to escape. Guilt coursed through him, and he offered a quick prayer to Izanami, Goddess of the Underworld of the Rising Sun Isles, that the mare be treated well. Then he remembered that he was in Red Earth Country, and wondered whether beings here went to another underworld than to the one in the Rising Sun Isles. Pondering this for a while, Kichiro snapped out of the reverie when Jirgalang waved his hand impatiently in his face. ¡®Listen to me, foreigner,¡¯ he said, ¡®Go to the abode of Fodo the Shaman and tell him Jirgalang sent you. He will heal your shoulder for free. In three days you will return to my tent and I will give you your next Quest.¡¯ Kichiro felt a little moved that Jirgalang was having him heal his shoulder for free. He seems like a good man after all, he thought to himself.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. When he left Jirgalang¡¯s tent, he saw Ilha outside Jirgalang¡¯s tent, staring at him intently. She was usually on her horse, but now her two feet were firmly planted on the ground. ¡®Kichiro, we need to talk,¡¯ she told him, ¡®Come to my yurt tonight at dusk. We will dine together.¡¯ Kichiro looked down at Ilha. The Steppe Champion of the Teal Banner was actually a head shorter than him. She had the majesty of a queen when she rode her horse, but now it was even more evident to him that ultimately she was still just a young woman around his age, and far from the tall, slender archetype of an aloof Red Tassel lady of noble blood. He could hardly suppress his excitement at her invitation. ¡®What about?¡¯ he asked, trying to look as innocent as possible. Ilha glanced hastily at the armoured guard at the entrance of Jirgalang¡¯s tent. ¡®I will tell you there,¡¯ she hissed at him quietly. Her conspiratorial tone did nothing to quench Kichiro¡¯s anticipation. *** Before Kichiro went to visit Ilha¡¯s tent, he looked for the above of Fodo the Shaman, as instructed by Jirgalang. Making his way through the Teal Banner¡¯s main camp, he coughed as dust blew into his face and clutched his left arm in agony. He felt deeply sorry for himself. He had hardly slept the night before because he was disturbed by hungry wolves and an irritable forest spirit, then he had undertaken half a day¡¯s journey across the steppe, and now he was to trek the length and breadth of the Teal Banner¡¯s main camp, asking for directions every now and again. All he wanted to do was lie down and sleep. After a walk of two hours or so, Kichiro finally arrived at the abode of Fodo the Shaman, or rather, the palace. The yurt he now stood before matched the Teal Banner Marshall¡¯s in size, and outdid it in opulence. The outer cover of the tent was covered in embroidery depicting dramatic displays of shamanism, from the resurrection of the dead to the summoning of storms. All featured a shaman with a red beard and blue skin. When Kichiro entered the reception room of the great tent, there was already several people huddled around a hot stove, their expressions despondent. The majority seemed to suffer from some sort of ailment. One man had a gangrenous foot, another sprouted an unsavoury growth from his neck. One woman looked heavily pregnant. A man with a red beard and blue skin, robed in golden silk, was in the middle of an argument with an old woman, who stared at him with indignant, pleading eyes, seemingly close to tears. ¡®No, it¡¯s 50 Gold for a Consultation,¡¯ he informed her, ¡®That doesn¡¯t cover the treatment.¡¯ ¡®I beg of you, Brother Fodo, I¡¯ve run out of money!¡¯ So that is Fodo, thought Kichiro, Seems like he¡¯s made quite the living out of his medicinal magic. He approached Fodo as the old woman shuffled away, tears rolling down her aged cheeks. ¡®And who might you be?¡¯ asked Fodo. His otherworldly blue skin was weirdly free of any blemish and his beard was impeccably trimmed. It was impossible to tell what age he might be. ¡®I am Kichiro. Jirgalang sent me.¡¯ At that, Fodo smiled at Kichiro, but it was an artificial smile that made Kichiro¡¯s skin crawl. ¡®You must be here to get that shoulder healed,¡¯ said Fodo, ¡®Follow me.¡¯ Fodo pulled aside a curtain, and ushered Kichiro through to an area beyond the reception. It was a lavish place, not unlike the yurt interiors of richer families. However, the walls were lined with gold-lined cupboards boasting hundreds of little drawers. Upon the cupboards rested several cages hosting a great variety of animals; rats, little birds, snakes and huge hissing cockroaches among them. Fodo guided Kichiro to sit on a sofa and had him take off his shirt. He examined the wound for a moment, prying apart the flesh with his long blue fingers to reveal the shoulder-bone beneath. Kichiro winced. ¡®This is nothing serious,¡¯ said Fodo, ¡®It will just take a moment.¡¯ He got up and reached into a cage. With a sudden movement that reminded Kichiro of an attacking rattlesnake, he snatched up a rat by the neck. Then he placed one palm on Kichiro¡¯s wound. The rat squeaked incessantly for a few seconds, but then all it could was weakly gasp for air as it withered alive. Its grey fur fell out and before long it was little more than a bag of skin filled with bones. Meanwhile, the pain in Kichiro¡¯s shoulder subsided rapidly. When Fodo lifted his palm, a satisfied smile upon his indigo face, the wound had completely disappeared, replaced by baby-smooth skin. Kichiro gasped in surprise. ¡®What did you do?¡¯ ¡®The ways of the shaman are a closely guarded secret,¡¯ replied Fodo, his voice like dripping butter, ¡®But I can tell you that I used up this poor rat¡¯s life force to restore your flesh.¡¯ *** Ilha¡¯s home was unremarkable, just another yurt in a sea of yurts. It was approaching sunset and the cloudless sky was painted orange. Kichiro ran a hand through his hair and dusted off his jacket before he knocked on the plain wooden door. A strong-jawed man who looked to be in his late twenties popped his head out and grinned at Kichiro. ¡®Sorry,¡¯ said Kichiro, excusing himself, ¡®Must be the wrong place¡­¡¯ The man interrupted him. ¡®Wait, foreigner! I¡¯m Ilha¡¯s brother. We¡¯re expecting you.¡¯ He ushered Kichiro into the yurt. Ilha was crouched by the stove, warming her hands, and glanced up at Kichiro, her face grave. She had undone the bun she wore when she rode and her long, jet-black hair fell down past her shoulders. With her big pouty lips, she looked cuter than ever. Kichiro couldn¡¯t help but be slightly disappointed as he watched her tall, broad brother cut up some hot mutton. Ilha passed Kichiro a cup of salty goat¡¯s milk tea. ¡®So, what am I here for?¡¯ asked Kichiro as he sipped on the tea. He got the feeling that Ilha didn¡¯t just want a bit of company tonight. ¡®Jirgalang wants to kill you,¡¯ replied Ilha coolly. Steppe Rider 5 Kichiro laughed. ¡®Sending me on that Quest to kill the giant marmot sure seems like an attempt on my life, in hindsight,¡¯ he said. Ilha¡¯s brother grinned at him but Ilha herself remained stone-faced. ¡®It¡¯s not a joke, Kichiro,¡¯ she told him, ¡®Killing a giant marmot is not the kind of Quest you give a Level 1 Steppe Rider.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s only for the likes of you, isn¡¯t it,¡¯ replied Kichiro, a smirk on his face. ¡®Jirgalang belongs to the Wolf Tribe, and they have been the enemies of Nurhaci¡¯s Eagle Tribe for centuries,¡¯ begun Ilha, ignoring him, ¡®Even now, they are convinced that he would grasp any opportunity to undermine and ultimately exterminate them.¡¯ ¡®What does that have to do with me?¡¯ ¡®The Red Tassels are a¡­ proud people,¡¯ interjected Ilha¡¯s brother, looking somewhat embarrassed, ¡®We believe we are the strongest and most virtuous people under the Blue Heavens, and all foreigners are either spoiled and weak, or stupid and savage.¡¯ Kichiro was not surprised. He¡¯d already got the impression that people here looked down at him as something lesser. Of course, he was used to this, as the subjects of the Kingdom of the Morning Peninsula treated him the same way. All peoples under the Blue Heavens probably shared a similar attitude towards outsiders. ¡®Well,¡¯ continued Ilha¡¯s brother, ¡®Jirgalang probably believes that Nurhaci is trying to destroy the purity of the Teal Banner, which houses a great part of the Wolf Tribe, to further diminish this already weak Banner.¡¯ Kichiro stared at the stove, engrossed in thought. Resolve sprung up in his chest. He would show Jirgalang that he was an asset, not a liability, to the Teal Banner. ¡®Jirgalang¡¯s next Quest will likely be even more perilous than the last one,¡¯ said Ilha, ¡®He wants to get rid of you to restore the Banner¡¯s integrity and spite Nurhaci.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m going to accept that Quest no matter what.¡¯ ¡®Good,¡¯ replied Ilha, ¡®Rejecting his Quest would give Jirgalang the right to punish you, including with death.¡¯ ¡®You have a choice,¡¯ said her brother, ¡®Either flee Red Earth Country, never to return, or you accept this Quest and tempt death.¡¯Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡®I swore allegiance to Nurhaci himself,¡¯ declared Kichiro, his face fierce, ¡®I would be an honourless dog to flee; I¡¯m ready for whatever Quest Jirgalang gives me.¡¯ Ilha smiled. This guy had quite the backbone. ¡®In that case, I will accompany you on that Quest,¡¯ she said. ¡®Why would you do that?¡¯ Kichiro was moved. A Steppe Champion of the Teal Banner, and a pretty girl besides, would risk her life to protect him? He glanced at Ilha¡¯s brother. He was not happy. ¡®Don¡¯t believe for one moment that I¡¯m just doing this for you,¡¯ Ilha said, ignoring her brother¡¯s angry gaze, ¡®As a matter of principle, I will not allow my Teal Banner to murder one of its own.¡¯ She shot a defiant glance at her brother. ¡®You won¡¯t stop me, Nesuken,¡¯ she said, her glare softening against her will, ¡®I¡¯m not just your little sister, I am a Steppe Champion.¡¯ Nesuken silently heaped some steaming mutton steaks into bowls and handed it to Kichiro and Ilha. He sighed. He knew he couldn¡¯t stop his sister. She was as stubborn as an ox. ¡®Time to eat!¡¯ After they had cleaned out the bowls, washing down the meat with goat¡¯s milk, Kichiro heard his stomach rumble and swore under his breath. Back in the Morning Peninsula and the Rising Sun Isles, milk was unheard of to people. His stomach couldn¡¯t handle the white stuff and was in utter turmoil. ¡®I¡­ I have to get some fresh air,¡¯ he informed Ilha and Nesuken as he rushed outside into the night. When Kichiro returned, Nesuken shoved a skin of milk liquor into his hand. ¡®Time to drink!¡¯ ¡®Let me show you something,¡¯ said Kichiro, smiling confidently. He used to work as a barman in the seedy drinking establishments of the Morning Capital and had a few tricks up his sleeve. Grabbing Ilha¡¯s and Nesuken¡¯s drink, he cast a minor spell.
You successfully cast 3rd Class Firewater Infusion!
The liquor sparkled for a moment. Ilha took a sip and instantly coughed it out, eliciting asnigger from Kichiro and Nesuken. ¡®Why is this so strong?¡¯ she spat, wiping her mouth. The next morning, as Kichiro ducked into Jirgalang¡¯s yurt, his head was ringing and his breath stunk of sick. Jirgalang looked him up and down coolly, noting the dark rings around his eyes and his dishevelled hair. Boosting the alcohol content of the mare liquor took its toll. ¡®Are you ready to take your next Quest, foreigner?¡¯ ¡®Yes marshal!¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ve had reports of strange happenings up north in Reindeer Country, near the town of Horned Seat. You are to investigate and bring me back a comprehensive report.¡¯
You receive a Quest: Investigate the strange happenings near Horned Seat, Reindeer Country!
When Kichiro told Ilha of the Quest, she frowned deeply, although it could have been the result of the thundering headache that afflicted her in the morning aftermath of the drinking the night before, the details of which she struggled to remember. ¡®Strange happenings sound ominous,¡¯ she commented, ¡®But what is even more concerning that we have to go to Reindeer Country¡­ That weird land is at the very edge of civilization and constantly threatened by unnamed terrors from within the Endless Waste.¡¯ Kichiro grew worried. He thought that Red Earth Country was the edge of civilization, but now he found out that there were lands even more savage than this one. Of course, he refrained from voicing his thoughts to Ilha. ¡®What is the Endless Waste?¡¯ ¡®The total wilderness to the North, beyond the limits of any known map.¡¯