Chapter 80 - The Four Pillar War
And so, as I groaned and reflected on my slightly-too-battle-hungry self, Kagura-san, who had finally started to look at me as if I were a lost cause, decided to bless me with another of his welcome lectures.
The [Four Pillar War] he mentioned was the one and only official large-scale event in the current version of Arcadia—one I’d occasionally mentioned as a “distant future goal.”
Apparently, it’s pronounced Yohashira Sensou. Not Shichuu War, like some kind of stew.
The event is, in a word, a literal all-out war where selected players from the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern factions gather on a vast, dedicated field to battle.
Each faction can select and deploy up to 300 players, formed by linking fifty parties of six.
In this game, a 36-person formation of six-by-six is called a full raid, and anything larger is an over-raid. So basically, it’s a massive festival of PvP where four over-raids of three hundred players each beat the snot out of one another.
Isn't just over a thousand players a little underwhelming for an 'all-out war'? I'm sure anyone unfamiliar with gaming might think that—but no, a game where a four-digit number of players can gather in one place for a festival is practically unheard of.
Just try to create a game with graphics as realistic as Arcadia's, where characters have complete freedom in their accessories and movements, and where a vast number of effects from sword skills and magic—including unique skills only individuals possess—are flying around. A supercomputer would undoubtedly explode.
Yeah, the very existence of [Arcadia] just doesn’t make any sense, does it?
In any case, the Four Pillar War takes place on a grand stage that overturns all gaming conventions. But it offers more than just a festival—it has a prize that would make any player, regardless of faction, go absolutely wild.
That prize is a goddess’s blessing.
I tend to forget if I’m not actively thinking about it, but each faction is granted a different blessing.
East is Istia of Conflict—it provides a buff to all combat-related skills and increases the experience gained from battle, helping players mature faster.
West is Vestol of Peace—it buffs all non-combat skills, such as production and life skills.
South is Sotalm of Wealth—it provides a buff to all monetary matters, namely the acquisition and spending of Luna.
North is Nortalia of Luck—it buffs all phenomena related to the luck status.
That’s the gist of it. So what does it mean for these blessings to be the prize… well, it’s obvious, isn't it? The core of the Four Pillar War is to fight over and steal those blessings from each other.
Can I be honest? Isn't that a recipe for some insanely toxic drama?
"As for that problem… well, each faction is managing it in their own way."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah… I mean, mostly. Aside from a certain group of battle junkies…"
Istia, you guys…
"I knew we were the unpopular faction and all… but to be honest, I was kind of scared of the internal politics, so I never looked into it much. Are we getting beaten up pretty badly?"
When I asked hesitantly, Kagura-san crossed his arms and made a troubled face.
"Nah… they’re actually putting up a good fight, considering they’re being ganged up on by the North and South. They have more losses than wins, sure, but they’re not losing all the time."
"Oh, that's a relief—wait, ganged up on? What? Ganged up on? WHY ARE WE BEING GANGED UP ON???"
"The North and South formed an alliance, and we in the West have a non-aggression pact with the other three."
He said it like it couldn't be helped, but hold on a minute.
I’m curious about the West's non-aggression pact, but what’s more pressing is the fact that the North and South—the number one and two factions in terms of population and popularity—have teamed up to beat us down.
"D-Don't they have any pride, ganging up to crush the weak…!?"
"It’s less that you’re weak and more that… when it comes to combat specs, the Istia folks are actually the strong ones."
"There’s a little something called 'strength in numbers'! There’s no way three hundred people can win against six hundred!"
"Plus, the South has the 'Princess' on their side."
The Princess must be that strongest player, the [Sword Queen] Alicia—wait, was it Ali… Airi? Ali… Alice-something White.
Oh, so the Princess is in the Sotalm faction…
"Doesn't that just make us the weak ones after all?! How did it even come to this!?"
"Because in the very early days of Arcadia, Istia rejected a pact that the four factions were trying to form."
"ISTIA!"
I don’t know the finer details, or even the broad strokes, but I can guess from the direction of the conversation and Kagura-san’s tone. This is definitely the battle junkies' (Istia's) fault.
"Well… I can’t say it was a smart choice, not in a million years, but their reason for rejecting the pact wasn't entirely wrong, either."
Kagura-san, the self-proclaimed lover of interesting things, said this, offering a mild defense of Istia.
Apparently, the pioneers back then, much like me, instantly realized that fighting over the blessings could become a massive source of toxic drama.
So, they tried to intentionally control the outcomes of the regularly held Four Pillar Wars to avoid a future where players from a specific faction would constantly be at a disadvantage due to an imbalance of blessings.
In other words, a fixed match involving all players—and Istia, which champions the blessing of conflict, shot it down.
They reportedly declared, "It’d be a waste when the devs have given us a stage to go wild on."
"Seriously, the battle junkies in my own faction are just… but I don't hate it!!"
"Well, you’re pretty much the same."
Hey, at least I don’t enjoy getting ganged up on, okay?
"Okay, let's set aside that headwind for a moment… What's the event cycle like? I knew it was periodic, but that's it."
"This is more of a hurricane than a headwind you can just 'set aside'… The Four Pillar War is held three times a year. It runs on a four-month cycle, taking place at the end of April, August, and December."
So, if it’s the end of March now…
"That gives me a little over a month to train…"
"The selection matches are in the middle of the month, so you've got two weeks from now."
Two weeks… two weeks, huh…
"Yeah… that still sounds impossible, doesn't it? Like I said, I'm going to be—uh, pretty busy next week, so I can only really go all-out for about a week starting now."
Crap, I almost let “university” slip out while thinking aloud. Spilling personal info like that in an online game is a big no-no for me.
"That’s why you need to spend that time running around this Garden of Divine Creation and whip your avatar into shape. Then, after a week, you give all the materials and whatever else you’ve gathered to me. I’ll take care of your equipment in the remaining week, at the very least."
The red-haired Mako jabbed a thumb at his own chest, flashing his familiar, fearless grin. As always, his gestures had this wonderfully dramatic flair to them that almost made me swoon.
…What’s the Garden of Divine Creation?
"When you put it that way, I guess I have no choice but to get fired up."
Still, one week feels far too short. Even if I go at it like my life depends on it, charging in without any knowledge is just reckless.
"…Since we’re here, would it be alright if I shamelessly relied on you completely?"
Needless to say, I've been relying on him completely this whole time. As I made the decision to swallow my pride and look up at him, Kagura-san’s fearless grin softened into the gentle smile he sometimes showed.
"Of course. We're in this together, right?"
He said it with a joyful look on his face, giving a big nod.