⬣//JUST AS A SEED TAKES ROOT.

[cccorp]

>>Secrets // >>Guilds // >>Grunties // >>Carnival // >>Zelkova Corner

⬣//THIS WORLD IS MORE THAN 0S AND 1S.

A team of four courageous adventurers managed to unearth a secret Area unique from the others: the Hulle Granz Cathedral. Unlike other Areas, this one is lacking all the usual monsters, dungeons, and treasure. What might the purpose of this Area be, then...?

Well, if you’re feeling penitent or perhaps wish to hold a sermon of your own, head to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground and knock yourself out. What? Too soon?

Anyway, be not afraid! The cathedral is perfectly safe. Following Ganymede’s little incident in the cathedral, a timely email has been sent out to beta testers regarding health and safety that reads as follows:

To our beta team,

Please exercise caution when playing video games for extended periods of time. Take breaks every thirty minutes and do not sit in the same position for more than two hours at a time. Remember to stay hydrated and play in a well-lit environment.

Failing to take care of your health while gaming can result in a litany of health complications, including but not limited to eye strain, muscle fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and involuntary loss of consciousness and motor functions.

We take the health and safety of our beta testers very seriously. If you have any concerns, please contact us at cccorp.ccmail.com.

Thank you for your continued efforts,
CyberConnect Corporation of Japan.

⬣//ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL.

Guilds have been patched into the current version of Fragment and are now available for players to create their own and join others. While some guilds have opted to go the private route, others are in need of players to fill their ranks!

The admins have kindly supplied those recruiting for their shiny new guilds with a number of goodies to aid in their player gathering efforts:

⬣ A bundle of personalized flyers proudly displaying their guild logo and a description of the guild’s @ home and available amenities.

⬣ Party poppers and streamers. Nothing screams “join my guild!” like a face full of glitter, confetti, and colorful strips of ribbon.

⬣ A megaphone that lets your voice echo far and wide, even across Root Towns and Areas, but with great potential for abuse comes restrictions! The megaphone can only be used five times before it breaks. Use it wisely!

⬣ A unique recipe for a cocktail, latte, tea, or other type of beverage that can be blended up and served in little sample cups to court potential members. These drinks are unique to their guilds and, when consumed, have a special effect that reflects the leader of that guild. Is your guild leader a pretty cheerful guy? Drinking their special brew will make you feel happy too!

Whatever effect your guild’s drink has is up to the leader’s discretion, but if you so desire, drop a comment under the questions top level and we’ll brew one up for you.

Additionally, you may host a guild open house and invite potential guildies into your @ home to let them take a look around! Guild @ homes are typically locked to guild members & their guests only, so use this as your opportunity to put your best foot forward and impress the world with everything your guild has to offer.

⬣//FATHER, I HUNGER…

Also arriving with the newest update are mountable Grunties! Aren’t they cute? ...Well, they’re someone’s definition of cute.

While the ability to ride around town and in Areas at 2x speed is certainly alluring, you can’t just walk up to the Grunty Ranch located in each Root Town and take one out for a stroll. If you want a mount of your very own, you’ve got to commit! Becoming a proud Grunty owner means you must first become a proud Grunty parent, and to do that, you’ll need to raise your Grunty from infancy into adulthood.

Just what kind of adult might your Grunty become? That depends on how you raise them and what you feed them. Those strange "foods" popping up all over Areas might not taste good to you, but they sure do to Grunties!

For more information on how to acquire a baby Grunty of your very own and raise it into a proper — or not so proper — member of Grunty society, head on over to the Grunty Ranch.

⬣//PROPER CARNIVAL WEATHER.

Mac Anu, the City of Twilight known for its gentle ocean breezes, has been uncharacteristically warm lately. Very, very warm. Its usual orange skies have been swapped out for vivid blues, the sun dwelling high in the sky and threatening to burn everything in its wake.

It won’t take much wandering to feel the effects of heat exhaustion sink in, and even after you log out for the day, those symptoms seem to linger. Do Hien and Zelkova know what the hell is going on? Of course not. Unusual occurrences are slowly becoming the norm in Fragment, it seems, but the point of a beta test is to work out any kinks. Report it and move on.

Lumina Cloth is similarly affected by unusual weather phenomena, but it’s much more pleasant and hospitable than poor Mac Anu. The sun hangs just above the horizon, bathing the strip in early evening light. It’s much cooler here too, and what’s more, it appears that a carnival has rolled into town. What fun!

All the usual carnival fare is here: greasy fried foods, drinks served in foot long glasses, and a litany of carnival games that are totally not rigged. Entry is free and so are the prizes, but some of them take a bit of legwork to win.

⬣ Successfully PK another player to win the carnival exclusive Thursday The 12th™ skin. PK’d players will receive an appropriately spooky ghost skin of their own!

⬣ Step on up to the dunk tank and get dunked on to win a sexy swimsuit skin! Both the dunkers and the dunkees will win this skin, but only those who successfully dunk the player in the tank will be rewarded with the chance to show off some skin. The appearance this skin takes is dependent on the player wearing it, so have fun and get creative with it!

⬣ Take a trip through the hall of mirrors with a friend and do some reflecting! Stare too long into the mirrors and you might recall a memory that doesn’t belong to you, but to the person venturing through the hall of mirrors with you. Did that really happen? Surely it’s all in your head. Memories available for memshare are limited to the ones listed on your application.

Additional rewards include giant plush monsters that can be used to decorate guild @ homes and private rooms (limit one per player!) and a pet goldfish that, unfortunately, will die a hero’s tragic death within a week. Womp womp.

⬣//ZELKOVA’S META ROUNDUP.

We’ve had a busy week! It seems like there was a glitch that allowed players to equip other players as weapons, which resulted in a ten player chain, wielded by none other than our hardworking head administrator, Hien! I’ll have a talk with him about not doing this kind of thing in the future, I promise!

That wasn’t all, though. An unknown entity reached out to the players participating in the ten-player chain and issued them a special title: Good Friends Stick Together. Fragment’s not supposed to have titles. Well, at least not in the beta. But you can go ahead and add it to your name if you want to anyway, and it shouldn’t cause any problems! We still can’t pinpoint who sent those messages and how they overrode the permissions to create those titles in the first place, but... Hmm. I don’t want to start any rumors, so I’ll keep looking into it.

There are those armor sets too, which I didn’t know had been handed out to those of you that reached level 25. Oria brought it to our attention, thankfully! There’s not a whole lot we can do about it now, but we know that some of them are pretty invasive. But knowing is half the battle, right?

Our friend Ganymede suffered an accident recently that had him lying unconscious in the hospital for about a day. He seems to be feeling better now, thankfully. Ḩ̵̲̼͆̃͐̆ò̸̧̰͕̥̈́͒̕͜p̷̫͙̯͇̾̄͜ę̸̹̒f̷̠̭͉̱̅͘ǘ̴͎̙̥̭̈́̈́l̵͇̙͍̳̜̇̓̒l̷̬̲̀̆̈̅̂ͅỳ̵̧̻̖ ̷̠̫̭̰̦̋͗h̴̰͕̑͗e̸̦̼͇̾͘ ̴̡̢̝̺̳̊̎̎̔p̴̳̠̼̜͔̂̅̐à̵͕̹̟ͅỹ̴̡̛͝s̶͉̕ ̴̢͕̬̑̆̕͝b̸̹̲͗͒̊͑͠ē̶̛͖͠ṯ̸̻̺́͒͐t̶̻͕͎̑ĕ̶̖̀͗͛͋r̷͙̗̙̲͙̓̚͝ ̷̻̠͉̈́̚a̷̡̙̳̽́̀̋̔ẗ̴̢̨̛̬̺t̴͖̳͝ē̷͇̆͆̍̚ͅn̵̪̜͉͊̉̔̄͐t̵͕̼͈̓͋̈́̕î̷̬o̸͇̐͋͑͌n̶̟̫̟̽̑͒͐͘ ̷̜̈́̈̀̂̎t̶͙̂͛ô̸̠̜ ̶̫͎̎h̶͖̳͛i̸̗͖̖̅̂͆̄͛s̸͔̈́̇̍ ̸̩̗̻̕s̵̬̼̳̲̞͝ù̸̞̺̣͙̾͒͛ŗ̴̻̟̻̭̂̈́r̶̡͈̲̣̣͋̊͗̕o̶̥̝̮̓ų̴̻̯̬̊̑̑͌̉ͅn̶̢̙̦͔͖̈̒͝d̷̰̼̤̥̃̿͒̌̎i̸̯͑̾͊̑͝n̵̦͐g̸̪̾͝͝s̷̛̝͙̣̹̍͛͝ ̸͔̲̠̩͗̓̀͘a̷̛̼̓̈́͊ṅ̵̥͆̎ḑ̶̨̯̱͍̇ ̷̛̗̮̀̆ḧ̴̼̪́͗͝i̵͓̬̤͂͐͒s̶̮̎̿̃ ̴̛͔̋͗̽h̷̝͑ͅē̴̱ȃ̵̝͎ͅļ̷͍̀͐͊̊̽ẗ̸̼̺̟̥̼́̄͛h̶̥̹̬̮̽̅ ̷̟̖̮͛́̿t̸̢̤̤̂͒͋̍o̶̼̟̓ ̵̥̳͙̖̆̈́ả̶̛̳̱͙̖̩̿̽͘v̴͈͉͖͊͘ỏ̶̤͚̅͑͝i̴̱͈̩̳̳̿̇̕͠ḏ̵͙̮͗͆ ̶̯̭̝̹̯͊s̸͍̰͔̔̀͋͋̐u̷̟̠͑̔̏̚c̵̨͖͉͇̀͆͘ͅh̴̨̓͌̄̈ ̶̧̱̻̼̏̃̃i̷̱͉͈̿̎̋͒͜͝n̴̢͓͍̂͝͠c̷̢̢̛̹͚̑̓̅ͅi̶͕̟̻̘̫̾͌d̶͉͉̏̇e̵͉̱̩̯̤͐̎̉̾n̸̡̠̈͜ţ̴̇͑̈́͘s̵̩̼͔̙̙̉͘ ̵̮̯̞̮̾̈́͋̔̈h̵̡̗͉͉͈̉̐̅̚ȁ̵͖͚̖̾p̸̰̬͖̩̀̈́̆̓p̶̢̛̼̈́͆̒͘ͅe̷̟̘̩̲̻̾̊n̵̨̩̜̟͆͘i̵̙͉̺̮͠ͅṋ̷̆ġ̶͙͚ ̴̩̋à̷̄̑̂͝ͅǧ̵͖̜͍͕̒̑͒a̷̧̛̞͐̃̈́͘i̷̯͉̬̯̽̍n̷̘̝͓̽̅̕!̵̩͑

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Comments

[trollophoroi]

i. it's like raaaaiiiin on ur wedding day (mr. 24-hour depressed feels prompt)

[ Mac Anu is hot. Hot, hot, hot, and Fandnaiel can't even bring himself to get up from the shady spot under a decorative tree in the root town. He's sulking. He isn't even sure why he logged on with this dreadful debuff still active. He thought he wanted to go to the carnival but what's the point?

It isn't even real. This is fake. The real world is fake, too, in other ways. Nothing has any meaning. Why even get up to go? Why even log in? Why bother logging off, too?

In the end, he simply lazes about there, leaning back against the base of the tree and picking digital grass out from the little grassy base around the tree he's sitting on. ]

Useless, useless...

[ Pick the grass, crush it between his fingers, and throw it away. Wow, this is so productive. Good job, Fandaniel. ]

ii. lamia assassin wants no scrubs

[ Ah, but once that debuff fades! Fandaniel finally drags himself to the carnival. He finally takes a look through the guild recruitment kit, too. Thus, looking upon both, he decides to do two things: win carnival games and make a Telophoroi drink to spread around. Admittedly, he didn't know what the drink would do besides be garishly purple — which he's delighted by, of course — but after trying it himself, well, it's safe to say he's feeling like causing a little more chaos than usual.

Chaos that can only be spread by him and his brand new waifu, a giant (person-sized) and very busty Lamia Assassin plush. So, be prepared for a bop on the back of the head with said Lamia Assassin plushie. Boop. ]

Hello there, my friend! Might we interest you in a refreshing drink on this warm carnival day?

[ He's partly hoping that the immense silliness of the plush he's toting about will temper the sheer suspicion of him, of all people, going around offering drinks from his inventory. ]

iii. livin' la vida PK

[ But once he's done sowing the seeds of alcoholic chaos across the carnival and has seated his Lamia Assassin plushie at the head of the extra edgy meeting room table in Telophoroi's @ home, it's time to get down to real business. Real player-killing business, that is, and he won't be asking. He lurks about the carnival with digital murderous intent, seeking lower levels or those who've wandered farther abroad from the crowds to target. Either that or people he enjoys annoying!

And if someone looks to fit any of those criteria, he waits for the perfect moment and then strikes. The first spell is a warning spell, a crackle of electricity from a MeRai Kruz crashing down right next to them. After that, he's coming at them directly with a volley of spells, so get ready and defend!

( ooc: this is a pvp option! let me know in the subject line if you want to roll attacks in discord, if you want your character to escape, or just straight up be PKed ) ]

iii. ROLL ATTACKS??

[insinning]

[ Here is Sinclair, minding his own business. He really isn't expecting an attack like that, but out comes the lance as he jumps out of the way, surprisingly nimble for his tank class]

W-wha--wait, what are you doing?

[Sinclair had wandered further away, and being a tank class makes him more vulnerable to magic damage despite his level cap and high HP bar. An easy target, right? He may or may not fight back depending on how things roll]

OKAY uh 10 and under a miss, 11 and over a hit does that work

[trollophoroi]

Why, helping you earn yourself the ghost skin, of course!

[ Says the horrible man who stepped out of an ominous dark alley flinging lightning bolts. Great way to end an evening, right? He follows that up with another spell, not giving Sinclair much more time to think on his feet. ]

GiVak Kruz!

[ And now it's a blast of fire coming Sinclair's way. Look fast! ]

[insinning]

I don't want a ghost skin?

[Vogel yelps, side stepping out of that with a (2) quick movement to the side. He has a feeling he wont just be left alone. Maybe if he knocks this man's hp down enough he can make a getaway. So he dashes back in with a Thorn Dance (17), but there's no crit (1) happening here]

[trollophoroi]

Oh? Well, that's too bad for you!

[ Because Vogel is right. He isn't going to leave him alone. He is slow to react at jumping out of the way of the Thorn Dance, though, the lance grazing his side with a spark of pain through the headset's sensors.

He retaliates with a MeRai Kruz (1), a crack of lightning sparking out at Vogel as he passes by but it doesn't even come close to striking him. Slow reaction time there, Fandaniel! ]

[insinning]

There's an arena for this if you wanted one-!

[ Phew. At least that didn't fry him. He'll go in with a triple wield (16, 11 and 3) hoping the flurry of attacks can distract this would be assassin so he can get out. He doesn't want to get in trouble with Hien again :T]

[trollophoroi]

[ And distract it does. One hit, two! Fandaniel is forced to back off a few steps, retreating in time to avoid the final strike from Triple Wield. Well, this isn't going too well. This Vogel is chipping away at his squishy caster HP. ]

Oh, but there's no real excitement in the arena! I much prefer hunting down my prey!

[ This time, he throws out his area effect attack, BiJuk Rom (5), to try and spread out the damage further afield around Vogel as the wind whips up and razor-sharp leaves swirl around. ]

ii fandaniel is so embarrassing

[weaseled]

[That boop was not at all appreciated, thank you!! Yael swivels around to glare daggers at his assailant. Who dares boop him?]

...Oh. It's just you.

[Well if it isn't that weird Daniel guy. Yael huffs, glancing between Fandaniel and the Lamia plush.]

That drink looks like toxic sludge. Who the hell would drink that willingly?

is yael any better tho

[trollophoroi]

Those who enjoy vodka, most like.

[ Fandaniel withdraws Busty Lamia Assassin™ back and away from Yael and merely smiles up at him. ]

I did try it before making enough to share, you know. Oh, unless... Is this an underage thing? Perhaps you are actually too young to drink?

[weaseled]

This is the first time I've been accused of being young in this game.

[How novel. Yael's largely grown indifferent to the effects this game hits people with, so he considers that sludgy drink with a hum, picking up a sample to swirl it around.]

I don't mind vodka, but I do want to know what it tastes like before I toss it back.

[trollophoroi]

[ Considering he was getting at Yael for being too baby to drink hard liquor, well... But the man has already proven himself to be fairly troll-proof. Alas. ]

Feel free to! I may be no bartender but I do have some pride in making sure I only serve what is enjoyable as far as food and drink goes.

[ It's basically vodka, blue curacao, and grenadine. Overall, a very fruity cocktail. ]

[weaseled]

[Poor Fandaniel has met his anti-type. Whatever shall he do about it?

Well, perhaps he'll gain something out of intoxicating Yael on his weird goopy drink, but the results remain to be seen. Still, Yael is closer to drinking it than not...]

It's a shame you're not nearly as palatable. [He lifts the glass to his lips.] Cheers.

[...Hm. He manages to down it all in one go, but hm. Hmm. Yael smacks his lips, considering the flavor.]

Fruity. I expected it to taste like total dogshit.

[trollophoroi]

Sir, you wound me.

[ Not as palatable? Fandaniel takes a step back and brings a hand to his chest, clutching it as if in pain! Oh, the pain of such an insult! It's all in mockery, of course, and he drops the act immediately after. ]

Do you honestly believe anything in this game would taste of dogshit short of actual dogshit? 'tis created with hooking us on how enjoyable it is in mind, after all.

[ Of course, tasting good and being safe to drink are two entirely separate things. It was the one he mixed up for Telophoroi and, well, those who partake may begin to feel a bit like going out and causing problems on purpose. Having already partaken of the drink himself when taste testing it, Fandaniel is finding himself not quite unable to do anything else but offer Yael another since he didn't seem to mind the first! ]

iii - we can do 11 or above hits 10 or under misses

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun, from behind, probably looks like any other player - his avatar's not remarkable, and he's got his cloak on, for some reason, despite the hellish weather (less hellish in Lumina Cloth, but still). Or maybe Fandaniel targeted him on purpose. Regardless—

The electric strike beside him catches his attention easy, and he pivots on his heel in search of the source. He may not be able to discern the identity of who attacked him from the warning shot, but he scans the vicinity for anyone who's got any kind of spellcasting focus out, unsheathing his broad claymore from his back. )

... Attack me again, and I kill you.

( @ whoever this is ur testing ur luck )

[trollophoroi]

It's a deal!

[ Hi, Mithrun, it's Fandaniel. He reveals himself from the ominous alleyway between Lumina Cloth buildings with another MeRai Kruz (6), lashing out with it as he steps into sight. ]

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun's eyes widen slightly, before he recognizes yeah, he's making good on the threat.

Quick on the pivot, he dashes forward and zips through the lighting toward the caster with a Calamity, with a 14 to hit for devastating damage, but it fails to crit (5). The way he slams down his blade into Fandaniel, it really seems like he's intent to cleave him in two from the shoulder down. )

[trollophoroi]

[ Mithrun slams into him, blade first, and the pain lances through Fandaniel. Will he ever turn off his pain sensors? It's a mystery, but he'll laugh through the pain regardless. ]

Oho, someone is angry!

[ But this close to him, he'll shove his tome at Mithrun directly and throw out a fiery GiVak Kruz (10) from its pages. ]

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun twists his claymore 'round like a shield, the flames singing his skin as they blow past, even if the strike doesn't land true. )

Isn't this what you want?

( He's not an expert at reading people, so he's not going to psychologize Fandaniel. But he is going to guess he derives some satisfaction from seeing his antagonism stick the landing.

Twisting his blade like that to shield, though, does mean his next attack is compromised in its angle - he swings it back around for a horizontal slice, much closer by now, but he misjudges the distance with his lack of depth perception, and his strike - a normal attack, because he's too ticked off to use anything but Death Bringer on cooldown and spam regular attacks in between - doesn't land the way he was hoping it would (9). )

i

[trashtier]

[Levi doesn't spend much time in Mac Anu once he logs in, since the heat quickly becomes too much to deal with. He does spot Fandaniel before he departs, though.]

I figured you'd be off tormenting people at the carnival by now. Isn't that your natural environment anyway?

[Haha, clown joke. It's not like Fandaniel can PK him in retaliation here.]

[trollophoroi]

[ Picking another piece of grass and crushing it up between his fingers, Fandaniel doesn't even bother looking up at Leviathan. ]

Why bother? The amusement wears off so quickly these days. I may as well stay here and waste away in the heat...

i.

[bleatingedge]

[While on his way to the carnival, Leo passes by what appears to be a man down in the dumps.

He's heard things about Fandaniel and maybe read a few of his posts on the forum, but his avatar is a mystery to Leo. With little fanfare, he plops down on the grass in front of the hooded man. Maybe a little companionship could be just what the doctor ordered.]

Hey there. You doin' okay, buddy?

[trollophoroi]

[ If only Fandaniel had the energy to move himself to his guild's @ home. Then he'd be able to sulk in peace! But no, here's someone taking a seat on the grass before him, and he can only look up despondently at Leo. ]

Yes, clearly I am doing perfectly fine. I just happen to hate grass.

[ The sarcasm may as well be dripping off every word. ]

[bleatingedge]

Yeah yeah, I get it.

[Leo gives Fandaniel a tired look.]

I have no idea what you're going through, but if you wanna talk about it, I'm all ears.

[There's absolutely no reason he should, but it's worth a try at least.]

[trollophoroi]

[ Fandaniel rips up another piece of grass, crumples it up, and this time he flings it across the space between himself and Leo at the guy's face. ]

I know the saying is how one hates to be the bearer of bad news but as I delight in it, you should know this is a debuff from an Area. 'tis truly miserable and I fully plan on tricking others into using it.

[ Surely that'll get Leo to leave him alone. See? See what a huge asshole he is? Of course, whether he's actually going to do that or not is very much undecided. This way he's feeling...

Does he really want to make others go through it?

It wouldn't even by funny. ]

[bleatingedge]

[The grass uneventfully flops against Leo's face, then falls onto his lap.

Sighing, he puts his arms behind himself and leans back on them.]

Why though?

[Little does Fandaniel know, Leo is basically a brick wall when it comes to being stubborn.]