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⬣//JUST AS A SEED TAKES ROOT.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!̵̩͑
no subject
Pft-! Haha! [ She starts laughing again. ] It's cool, it's cool! Don't worry about it. We're all good. I appreciate you just telling me in the first place, y'know? Instead of being all shady about it.
[ It...well, it is and it isn't fine. She'll have to think about this when she logs off, but for now, it's easier to shove it aside and save her thoughts on this for later. ]
If you really want to make it up to me, why don't you join my guild? Yeah, I know it seems pretty social, but I won't force you to go around and talk to people. Honestly, if you just wanna team up with people and go on loot runs or something, that's good enough.
no subject
Yeah, I get you. That's why I finally said something. I was worried about the thoughts getting way too personal and that I'd see them without you knowing.
["An MMO, of all places... The perfect escape from reality...is where I encounter people who..."
The thought that finally made him speak up... He doesn't know if he should admit to seeing that one or not. But he does know it's a sentiment that he's beginning to agree with.
Though he came here for the escapism, he didn't think he'd run into so many real encounters.
But with the air cleared, he's able to perk up when Kara mentions her guild.]
I was hoping you'd ask! I, uh... I saw you calling me "guild material". [He can't help but laugh again.] I'm not gonna lie, it made me really happy. I couldn't work up the courage to ask on my own, but how am I gonna refuse an invite from the leader herself?
no subject
[ She folds her arms over her chest and grins a little wider. ]
Even so, yeah, it's true! You -- well, your avatar's cute and stylish, and you clearly like digging for new outfits. I remember the one you scored on our first day here. So...yeah! I'm real happy to have you.
no subject
I like to look good in games with character customization. There's nothing like this kind of fashion IRL save for like, cosplay. Not the kind of stuff you can wear around in public without getting tons of stares, y'know?
Anyway, thanks for the invite! I'll be around to grind dungeons for glam pieces anytime.
[A thought crosses his mind.]
O-Oh, and...would it be okay to shoot you a friend request too?
no subject
[ Sorry for being uncultured, Levi!!!
At his question, she nods and puts her hands on her hips. ]
Anyway, yeah, of course! Feel free to message me anytime! I'm always down for exploring stuff or whatever.
no subject
Honestly, though? He's actually willing to overlook the normie status for once. Kara's been nothing but nice to him, after all. He'll just have to see if she's willing to learn more about the wonders of the otaku world.]
Yeah, anime cons are the premier place for cosplay. But here in The World, we can dress like it's cosplay time 24/7! It's the best!
[The fashion talk gets sidelined for a second as he goes through his menus to excitedly send a friend request.
...when has he ever been excited about that?
This is a question he won't actually consider until later when he's offline and screaming into his dakimakura.]
I will! It's, um...easier for me to text over talk most of the time. B-But I've liked this a lot, though.
no subject
[ But, you know, she's never really considered doing it herself. It's not a topic she discusses with her peers. This is nice, and her thought bubble doesn't hide that, either. ]
Text is fine with me, so feel free to send something over whenever you want.
no subject
[Gamer neurons...activating... Keep it together, Levi, don't gush...
He clears his throat.]
It depends on what characters you wanna cosplay. Even then, it gets easier as you keep at it. I could tell you more about it sometime, if you want...?
[He's actively trying not to talk her ear off, help.]
no subject
They're pretty big time sinks, after all.
[ She's a casual, but she enjoys them when she can. ]
But yeah, tell me what you know! I'm a pretty good seamstress, so I can probably make an attempt at cooking something up sometime, if you tell me about the process.
no subject
Levi's tail giddily wags back and forth.]
O-Okay! Um, you know, I'm actually planning on opening a guild about this kind of thing. Not just cosplay, but the whole otaku subculture...which includes games, too! I could give you a whole primer on cosplay once it's open!
no subject
[ She tilts her head and shifts her weight to one side. This kind of thing usually isn't enough to get her to join a guild, but...he's so excited. It's nice to be personally recruited! And honestly, she should return the favor.
Time to learn how to be a nerd. ]
Cool, sign me up! I'll be there!
no subject
[Hehehe...he's so elated that Fandom Foodies has its first member before it even opens!
Speaking of which...]
Oh, yeah! There's gonna be plenty of snacks and stuff, too. I've been brainstorming with my brother and he's not big on the otaku side of things, soooo I decided to put a spin on it that'd please him too. I'm planning on preparing some recipes for fandom-related treats.
no subject
[ She can talk to them about the monthly snack boxes she and Hani get, too. Too bad that's not transferable to an MMO. ]
If you ever wanna do a joint thing with Glamour, let me know? Could be fun! Fandom food at a cosplay-esque fashion show or something?
no subject
I'm hoping the promise of a safe space for otaku is more than enough enticement, but snacks do always help...
[He's just a little worried that there'll be more food than fandom going on in Fandom Foodies. Still...who's to say he can't convince them to look into anime and games while they're there?
The prospect of working together with Glamour is an exciting one.]
You mean like a collab? I hadn't even thought of that! Man, I wonder how much of the gear here is perfect for cosplay now... Let's put a pin in it!
no subject
[ FUNNILY ENOUGH, she was thinking about this, too. Gotta be strategic when you're running a guild! ]
I'll be looking forward to the inevitable collab, then! And your guild sounds like it'll be fun – I think this is the perfect audience for it, since we're all playing a game, anyway. You know? I might even be able to rope my roommate into joining.
no subject
[Is that a hint that Kara will be inundated with recommendations?
Yeah. Yeah it is. Wink wink.]
A lot of the beta testers here aren't really gamers, but...I figure there's gotta be a decent amount of us in spite of that. If you think your roomie would be interested, I don't mind you roping them in. I don't plan to have the guild be private or anything, so.
no subject
[ Which is a surprising sentiment in itself. ]
Looking forward to it, though! And thanks again for the skin, Levi! I'll rock it whenever I can.
no subject
And really, I should be thanking you! For like...everything. B-But especially helping me with the dunk tank, obviously!
[Did he seriously just become friends with a rare and mythical cool normie? He's going to log off after this and wonder if it was all a dream.]