⬣//SPREAD, CONTAMINATE, ERADICATE

[cccorp]

>>Famine // >>Death // >>War // >>Conquest

⬣//AN ILL OMEN

You've had a chance to adapt to your new circumstances and make peace with what your life has become… hopefully. If you haven't, don't expect life to get any easier.

A few things have changed in recent days. Healing no longer works as effectively as it did in the past. If you're in the habit of behaving recklessly, don't expect one of Fragment's few healers to pick up the slack. Broken bones will now remain broken no matter how many healing spells are cast on your shattered limbs. Damage to organs can't be repaired with the wave of a wand.

What's more, HP and SP restoring items have gotten harder and harder to come by. Potions are no longer available for purchase at generic NPC shops and gatherable items needed for crafting have become fewer and fewer in number, limiting your item making options. If you've gotten into the bad habit of injuring yourself heedless of the consequences, it's time to rethink your lifestyle. Playtime is over.

⬣//PAY IT NO MIND

Think of the three core memories that have formed and shaped the person you are today. Some will think back fondly on family and friends while others have been jaded by the ill treatment they've received from important figures in their lives. In any case, it's of little concern to you now. One of those three precious memories has vacated your mind, taking with it a vital piece of you that you can no longer get back.

You may choose one of the three key memories listed on your application to be taken away from your character. Choices are limited to the memories supplied in your application and additional memories submitted for the previous memshare event or not eligible for convenient plot-induced memory loss. Choose wisely, because you aren't getting it back.

⬣//GHOSTS AND GOBLINS

And Sky Fish, and Disco Knives, and Evil Armors…

Has anyone noticed the monsters around town lately? Which town, you may ask? The answer is all of them.

Monsters have invaded Root Towns in large waves, attacking anything and everything in sight. Any lovingly crafted signs or other furnishings you've erected around town are easily torn to shreds and destroyed by the monsters who have come to roost in your once safe Root Towns. On the plus side, PvE and PvP has now been enabled in all Root Towns, which is excellent news for those who wish to combat the monster invasion and those who can't seem to help hurting themselves and others.

These monsters range in level from 50 to 75, and while many of them can be defeated with a bit of ingenuity and teamwork, some of them boast impenetrable shields that no regular attacks or spells can break through. They are also immune to status/potion/armor effects.

When in doubt, turn to your fellow players for support. There may be some among you who know how to deal with these impossibly strong monsters, but there's no guarantee that they'll want to help you.

⬣//WHISPERS ON THE WIND

A lilting, boyish voice sings to you in your sleep. His voice sounds familiar to you, tickling your heart like a call from an old friend, but this is no friend of yours.

"You had every chance to abandon this world and return to your own. What stopped you? Was it ego? Hubris? In any case, it's too late for regrets now.

They say the world is what you make of it. Doesn't the same hold true for reality?"

The voice will periodically visit you and your sleep, but the moral of his message never changes: you did this to yourself. You were trapped here because you chose to look the other way. If anyone is to blame for the current situation, it's you and you alone, but there is a̸̬̲͔̘͈͚̠̫̘̬̗̖̋͑̉̓̿͛̈́̋͐̃̾̈̕̕ͅń̵̩̱̠̫̖̬̲̻͉̝̈́̀̀̚͜͜o̴͍͎̣͔̤̝̲͍̺̿̒t̴̨͚͓͍̜̮̥͊͑̿̈́̉̂̐͜͠͝h̷̨̨̦͕͖̙̞͙̗̗͎̬͛̂̾̋̅͜͜͝ȩ̸͎̭̙̜̯͎̯̳̮̘̲͒ȑ̸̡̧̢͓̠̦͙͇͍͎̭͑̈́̓̿̓̅̑̅̌͑̈́̕͝͝ ̴̧̼͕̟̬̰̞̮̗͔͈̬̙͍̈́̀w̵̗̖̩̘͇͖̲̩̫̣̗̙̲̌͜a̷̛͎͋͑̃͛̆̈̋̑̋͠y̴̡̬͕͈̗̫̯̟̯͊͐̌̀̐͑͘͝͝.

Another h̶̦̘̤̘͐͑̿̂̏̎͋͝o̴̧͖͚̖̜͓͂̏́͒̑̈́͝͝p̶̡͙̏̉̿̎̀̑́̈̆͌̉e̷̡̡̦̣̯̘̺͍̟̰͍̤͛̀́̚͝͠. Will you heed that voice and call to it?

>>Navigation

Comments

NPC - HEAD ADMIN

[selfconcept]

[ There's a guy who's been roaming through all Root Towns that looks like this. Though if you're smart and don't forget the game's basic functions, you can see that this is Hien by checking his character information. His entire head is bandaged and sometimes he looks like he's having a huge headache from his body language, such as occasionally putting the palm of his hand against his forehead.

He can be seen in all root towns, fighting off the monsters with the occasional leaf tornado with a huge AoE. Take care not to get caught up in it. The monsters will also meet the end of Hien's staff as if he's using it like a one-handed mace. He seems to be using physical attacks while waiting between cooldowns of SP regeneration that he casts on himself. He can heal and restore his own SP. He can go on fighting forever. You better be out of his way.

That said, if you're injured and need healing? For an easier time, just ask one of the other Harvest Clerics. Maybe Nanashi? That kid is nice. Because unlike Nanashi, if Hien thinks you got injured due to what he thinks is a stupid/careless/reckless mistake, he will not heal you and tell you to fuck off. That said, if you are currently standing on "good" terms with Hien, he might actually heal you regardless of the reason. Might get scolded though. Lightly. Maybe? But be careful not to take advantage of his "goodwill", because not even his heals can fully mend serious injuries. Just look at him holding his own head sometimes. He wouldn't be like that if he could fully heal himself all the way.

As for the weird monsters with green shields? Hien can buy you some time, but how? Only one way to find out.

Anyway, he can sometimes be seen chugging coffee during the short downtimes. How does he drink coffee with all those bandages around his face? Don't worry about it.

If you want him for anything else, he can be seen at the following locations other than Root Towns until patch 7.0:

- Filmabend Theater, watching one of the movies in complete silence
- Dog Park, being buried in dogs as usual
- Wanderhalle Library, putting a normal-looking book(!!) on the shelf

... or wherever else you want him, really. Let me know! ]

[weaseled]

[Cool, a toilet paper mummy! It's a shame Yael isn't feeling the Halloween spirit quite as strongly as Hien is, but that's fine. He isn't here for fun and games.

When Yael catches Hien skulking around the dog park, he recalls the ball he'd taken from a certain pup and retrieves it from his inventory. His ball arm leaves much to be desired, having favored football over baseball in his youth, but it'll work well enough as an improvised weapon.

Yael patiently waits until Hien's distracted with the doggos before winding up his throwing arm and lobbing the tennis ball right at his head. Please die.]

[selfconcept]

[ That ball hits right on the back of Hien's head while he's playing with his little pomchi and other dogs and he winces behind all those bandages wrapped around his head and face. That really hurts. It hurts so bad.

He doesn't whip his head around, but he turns slowly to see who the thrower and. Who's this? A new beta tester? He inspects Yael and oh, he's not new. That shows how much his memory id deteriorating. Thanks, curse source. ]

... What do you want?

[trollophoroi]

I must say, I love the new look.

[ Who's an asshole who talks in a movie theater while the move's playing? This guy, ayyy. He had shuffled in silently during one of the louder sequences at sat himself right down almost directly behind Hien. He's one seat over from it, meaning he's free to kick up his feet on the back of the empty seat actually next to Hien and rustle his bag of popcorn loudly. ]

So, what is it that we're watching?

[selfconcept]

Jaws.

[ Well, at least Fandaniel is putting his feet up on the seat next to him instead of Hien's. It's the small things. He doesn't really mind to hear him talk either, because he's not really here to watch movies. It's an experience when you watch things in other people's perspectives, how a life could have gone in a fictional world, how other people react... humans learn by watching. ]

And thanks. It was inspired by you.

[ Asshole. ]

closed to matoba

[selfconcept]

[ After killing a bunch of monsters, healing people (maybe), and raising walls to momentarily protect people from the green-shielded monsters, he finally returns to Telophoroi's @.home and knocks on Matoba's door. He's been visiting a lot more lately, mostly because he wants to spend time with him. Yeah, that's right. He actually wants to do that. Amazing.

But he's a little tired even though he does come over with a gift of some sorts--a container full of yakisoba that he'll get out of the inventory when he's invited inside. That's why he knocks on Matoba's door and waits for it to open...

Even after all that, he forgot that his head is fully bandaged apart from an eye hole. ]

[worldbent]

[One can never be too careful with the current situation. Hien's knock is met with the door opening a crack and the point of a blade. Matoba wasn't any class that could handle one, but with the game's status now of PVP enabled practically anywhere (and Telo always being so at that), he has little room to spare for trust.]

[His eye, sharp and cunning and ruthless in the moment, flicks to observe the results of his inspection, and he only relaxes when he sees that the player in question is Hien. His expression melts into mild surprise, and then exhaustion as he takes in the sight of the man and his bandages.]

When I told you not to go breaking any unnecessary bones, that included yours, [He sighs, opening the door more widely to let him in and flicking the large kitchen knife back in his hand. It's deposited into his inventory again.]

Wanderhalle Library

[insinning]

[Sinclair was looking for Hien, but he hadn't expected to find him here of all places. But more importantly]

...Hien? Are...what happened to you?

[selfconcept]

[ He turns to look at Sinclair, his entire head and face bandaged, but it stays inside the hood. ]

An incident.

[ He doesn't seem to be willing on expanding that from the tone of his voice. His finger still rests on the single normal-looking book on the shelf as if he's about to pluck it. ]

[conjecturecycle]

[Pete neither wants to get in the way or help with the monster slaying, so he's waiting for one of Hien's downtimes to come bother him. Pete's wrist has been splinted somewhat haphazardly but he isn't asking about that.]

Ain't it a bit early to be dressing up for Halloween, Boss?
[It's a joke, really.]

[selfconcept]

[ Despite the bandaged head, he still finds a way to drink coffee from a mug. Yes, he chugs it. Is there coffee stain on the bandages? No. Don't worry about it. ]

I got a head injury that I can't fully heal.

[ It must have been severe... Hien doesn't seem too worried about that though. ]

How did you hurt your wrist?

[rebelles]

[ With the energy she would have normally put towards midterm exams, Haru's come to the library to do research on Fragment. She's browsing the shelves to see if there are any useful books on flora and fauna when she runs into the bandaged figure. ]

Admin Hien? I didn't expect to see you here.

[ And with a new skin it looks like! ]

[selfconcept]

[ Unfortunately, there aren't any books on what Haru is looking for, but there are some books on the fairy tales, as submitted by some citizens of Naval Monte. None of them are plot relevant, but they do exist for entertainment.

Hien, meanwhile, is at an empty shelf, putting a book there. The first book of the empty shelf... ]

Oh, hello.

[ ... ]

Yeah, I'm not a reading kind of person.

[ Nailed it. ]

Dog Park

[justonezero]

[Oops, he's scaring away the dogs again, sorry.]

-! Found you!

[He doesn't seem to mind striking the fear of god in a bunch of virtual dogs. And not only that, but his smile seems warmer - not as hollow as before.]

[selfconcept]

[ Boy...........

But there's something different about the way Nanashi is today. ]

... Hey.

[ He still looks a little confused. ]

Did you find a girlfriend?

library

[fatalitea]

[Mami, while not really in need of major healing, definitely gives off the air of being exhausted thanks to the fighting and the general stress of the situation. Still, instead of worrying about herself, her attention is drawn once again to the somewhat surly admin when she spots him in the library.]

Hien-san...? Is that a new skin, or... did something happen?

1/2

[selfconcept]

Candeloro.

[ He turns to look at her. ]

... A little change of pace, I guess. It just so happened that I got injured in a way that not even I can fully heal.

[ He's constantly feeling like his head is about to split open. ]

If real time recovery applies to this game, I should be fine in several weeks.

[ Though he's no biol-- ]

[selfconcept]

[ His expression is hidden by the swath of bandages that covers his entire head except for a small hole for the eye or so, but he cuts himself off as if he just forgot what he was about to say. Happens to the best of us, surely. ]

... I heard it somewhere. Anyway, is there something you need?

[ There's a lone, small book that Hien just put on the shelf, though there are a few books in other shelves too. ]

sometime after the meeting, mac anu probably

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector has heard of what's wrong with Hien's head, and after catching glimpses of him at the meeting, he makes a mental note to seek him out at a time when he can give him proper attention. Assuming the asshole of an admin wants help with his head, that is. So what if their previous meeting didn't really go well? Doesn't matter. He can probably help. ...And he has questions.

Hector eventually runs into him fighting a small group of invading monsters in Mac Anu, and he steps in beside him to help without a second thought. He brandishes his own scepter, calling down lightning bolts to any that happen to stray from the leaf storm, topping up Hien's SP when it strays too low so he can keep dealing damage.

Either way, the Harvest Clerics make quick work of the monsters, and Hector turns to Hien once silence returns to the city streets. ]

You shouldn't be fighting with a head injury, you know.

[ nag nag nag. ]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien had a perfect skill rotation going on, until he realizes that his SP is... capped already when he tries to restore it. Huh? What--

He turns around and finally realizes that Hector is here. This man was too absorbed in fighting to notice him. But all the monsters are gone now, and... Oh. He's nagging. ]

... Isn't that reserved for people that you actually care about?

10/15, closed to matoba

[selfconcept]

MEADOW AND SHRINE DESCRIPTION

[ This open, hilly grassland is filled with flowers and their pollinators, often seen flitting about. While there may be life here, these Grassy Meadows have long since been reclaimed by nature, evident by the abandoned windmills and the occasional vine-covered home taking up residence in these vast fields.

An old shrine, abandoned and with secrets deep within its depths. The further you go into the shrine, the quieter the air around you grows, up until it's completely and eerily still. Or, perhaps, it might be calm. Whatever it may be to you, you're closer to your prize. ]

[ It's Hien's favorite type of dungeon area, due to the lack of environmental hazards and how peaceful it is here--apart from the monsters at least. But really, monsters definitely won't be any trouble for a maxed out Harvest Cleric and a very strong Shadow Warlock. The occasional light breeze blows, and perhaps it would have been a little more refreshing if Hien had the bandages off his head, but he still has them. Fortunately, his entire head isn't covered and the hood covers the bandages around his forehead from being visible. He's back to his usual grim reaper-like attire, but the appearance of his staff has changed. It no longer resembles Caduceus and instead, it looks like there's a clock on top of it. At least it looks like an actual staff now instead of a staff-mace. His actual weapon is the same though. Weapon skins are nice. ]

Ready to go?

[worldbent]

[Likewise, Matoba can't say it's his favorite dungeon type (lacking in a super-effective spell for battling Wood element monsters), but as settings go, it's at least a pleasant one. Once they effectively clear the Area of monsters, it will be much more homey; the closest, perhaps, that he might get to something nostalgic.]

[He's a little surprised when he notices Hien's change in equipment, and his gaze lingers on it as Hien readies his equipment once they gate in. He moves his questioning look to Hien's eyes once he addresses him, frowning slightly for a moment, but then raises and equips his own grimoire.]

[Matoba has new armor and equipment of his own, his previously underleveled kimono replaced with the suit he'd received (now knowing it was from a Certain Someone doesn't deter him in the least; power is power). But, while it was surely extremely powerful, he chooses not to use the accompanying grimoire just yet. No; he doesn't need to use the riskier bit of power in that set for something so minor, so instead he has chosen to use the previous set's grimoire, the one that auto-casts Confuse on his enemies. That should be more than enough.]

[Of course, the skin is the same as usual. He'll read this book to you yet, Hien.]

Yes. Shall we? [He steps forward, glancing up to admire the sunshine and calm of the meadow dungeon, at least until the monsters spawn in.] ...Let's see. It feels like a calm Spring day here, but actually, it should be turning to Fall soon, outside, shouldn't it?

I've almost begun to lose track.

10/16 - mac anu

[gluttoning]

[It's chance that they meet on two separate ends of a swarm, Misteaks deliberately drawing creatures away from the canals only to walk straight into more of them. His HP isn't great, but the Lord Partizan grits his teeth and focuses on restoring his SP instead, despite using no skills whatsoever.

He doesn't get in the cleric's way, even spearing an enemy or two that lose Misteaks' aggro and head off towards Hien instead, to keep them still and give Hien a chance to commit murder. But once the fight has settled, Misteaks looks over him with a coldly neutral expression, carefully feeling out his own arms for injury.]

Are you not willing to talk to me anymore? Or can I ask you a favor?

oct 19, closed to sinclair

[selfconcept]

[ By the time Sinclair already gets to the training grounds, Hien is already there. He's still in the same brown outfit as a mummy head. He doesn't need to look at his expression to spar. Yeah.

He still has a headache, but it's whatever. ]

dog park

[murrmoire]

[ Hello, Hien.

Suddenly, Noé will appear and leave his newly made bowl of stew next to Hien.

Then, he'll sit down next to the bowl and look down at the other who's currently buried in dogs. ]