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⬣//A SINGLE CRACK LETS THE LIGHT IN.
As they say, fortune favors the brave. Five lucky players took part in a Limited Quest: The Mysterious Sky Islands, in which they discovered a brand new Root Town. While the team was largely successful in their efforts to make the mysterious floating town in the sky habitable, not everyone embraced the spirit of teamwork on this journey.
When you gate in to this shiny new Root Town, you'll notice something curious: it has no name. Its name simply displays as "???" in every context menu and there is no signage around the Root Town itself that points to its true name— rather, the name it had before they came along.
Whispers on the wind tell of an evil wizard in flowing white robes who ruthlessly boiled the village elder alive. With him died all of this mysterious Root Town's lore and history, and in its place are tales of the monster who robbed this land of its identity. The elemental sprites that populate this village refuse to speak their name, simply wishing you "good luck, have fun!" as you turn to leave.
While on your journey to check out the island, you'll notice how unstable the bridges are. Unstable might be putting it lightly, because for some unlucky souls, crossing the wrong bridge means plummeting to your death. It seems that whoever was put in charge of constructing these bridges didn't give a damn about structural integrity.
The local sprites are pleading with adventurers to assist them in building better, more stable bridges, but bridging the gap between one island and the next is not a job for a single person. If you have enough of a heart to heed the pleas of the sprites, you'll want to work with your fellow players to get the job done. All the wood, nails, and rope you need to construct better bridges has been helpfully supplied to you by the sprites. You could always sabotage the project too, of course, but what kind of person would you be if you did that?
The professions system has been added to fragment. Rejoice, busybodies, for there is much furniture to be built and dubious potions brewed.
In celebration of the new crafting & gathering system, a crafts festival is being held in the Unnamed Root Town. Take care not to plummet to your death while traversing those rickety bridges.
Players are encouraged to set up a booth of their own and trade their unique handcrafted items with their fellow adventurers. In addition to being supplied with enough level 1 and level 2 crafting materials to give the crafting system a spin, the local NPCs are running a contest encouraging people to come up with their own for a chance to have their creations canonized as real crafting recipes.
To submit your own recipe ideas, you need only fill out this handy form:
Recipe name:
Recipe category: Alchemist, Carpenter, Chef, or Jeweler?
Which two items does your recipe call for? Choose two items to combine. Only gatherable items (refer to the professions page) can be used.
Effect: What does this item do, if anything?
Description: A brief description of your lovely new product.
Fragment's beta test has seen its fair share of unusual bugs and unintended features, and with the latest update bringing many new changes, it's inevitable that some things have broken behind the scenes.
If two players happen to log in at the same time, they might find their avatars swapped with one another's. Thankfully, this issue doesn't lead to the unpleasant exchange of deep-seated memories or anything of the sort, but getting used to a body that isn't yours takes time. Thankfully, this particular bug resolves itself when both players log out.
The windy town of Unnamed Root Town is generally quite scenic and pleasant, but there's just one issue. It's far, far windier than it should be. If the rickety bridges don't kill you, the gusts that intermittently blow across the sky islands might knock you off your feet if you don't watch your footing carefully. Thankfully, the crafts festival on the southernmost end of the island hasn't been impacted by the severe winds. Among them is one voice that you don't recognize: a voice that promises a death, gruesome and bloody, in the days to come.
To everyone's relief, the carnival and its notorious hall of mirrors has packed up and left Lumina Cloth, but your past hasn't finished haunting you. The foul winds carry whispers of the past along with them, uttering words and phrases uncomfortably familiar to you. They're the voices of your past, the voices of people you've known, loved, and lost. Covering your ears won't keep the voices out of your ears. Nothing will.
Finally, on the more mundane some of things, professions have a few kinks of their own that need to be worked out. Occasionally, a crafted item won't come out quite right, instead resulting in one of the following "items":
Alchemist: Truth Serum. Become unable to lie for 24 hours.
Blacksmith: Whatever you're enhancing transforms into a denim disaster. Introducing your new "body" armor, "leg" armor, "head" armor, and "arm" armor.
Carpenter: Mirror Mirror. Reflects the person you're most afraid of becoming.
Chef: Durian Delight. A succulent durian pudding that reeks so strongly that its stench can be smelled all across the Root Town or Area you're occupying.
Jeweler: Crystal Ball. Breaks after one use but allows you to read another player's thoughts for five minutes.
With crafting in full swing, a certain admin has been lured out of his hidey hole by the smell of delicious chef-prepared meals. Hien is hungry, and you will feed him.
Chefs are not limited by the recipes they know like some professions are, so players are encouraged to think outside of the box and combine unique ingredients to cook up something truly special.
Taste, however, isn't the only important part of a perfect meal. Chefs looking to impress the big man himself are expected to present their culinary delights to him with pomp and finesse. You need to impress Hien if you want to gain more from this venture than the participation prize of a chef skin.
Those who successfully woo Hien with their delectable dishes will be given an additional prize: a little black pomchi pet to accompany their avatar around Root Towns and Special Areas. Hien will be giving these out at his discretion, so you better suck up to the dogboss in charge if you want a pomchi of your very own. If you catch Hien in a good mood, he may even agree to give you a different breed of dog if you ask nicely.
Hello, everyone! Can you believe it's been an entire month since our beta test began? Even though we've already been through a lot together, we've still got three months left! I'm rooting for you all!
As of today, the level cap has increased from 25 to 50. That means new armor and weapons will be available to you! Get out there to different Areas and start leveling up! But don't forget to stop every once in a while and enjoy your surroundings, too. Which reminds me—don't forget to check out the new Recreational Areas! We have a beach and hotsprings for you to enjoy now. I hope everyone continues to have fun exploring!
We've also opened up the GP shop, where you can create your own special armor set for a certain price, along with a few other things. Please check it out!
Oh, and don't forget to use these three new greeting cards I've made! Here they are! Make sure you use them so you can connect with your fellow players! We're all friends here, after all.
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[He frowns at the story. Ahhh, he would have had his men string that guy up and break all his teeth one by one for that. Understandable.] I see. Poor kitty. I'm surprised that she would approach people at all, after that.
You are crossed once, and you are cautious after that. That's the smart way of doing things, hm?
[Matoba rests his chin atop crossed arms, grinning at Yael.] So then, how did you win her over?
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In the beginning, it was easy. Spend all your pocket change on canned food and every cat in the neighborhood is your new best friend. Nefurrtiti took a while to come around, but I stayed patient. Shooed the other cats away so she could take her time and eat when she felt comfortable. After a while, she decided I wasn't half bad... until I made the mistake of buying her the cheap stuff.
[This little sliver of a scar was perfectly warranted, in his opinion. You don't mess with cats.]
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[Protecting a favorite. It was survival of the fittest out there if you didn't come from a charmed life, unless someone took a special shine to you. That's just how it is, whether you're a cat or a human.]
[Matoba doesn't know what that's like- as a born and bred heir. The sort of struggle he knows is different; combat within the litter, so to speak.]
You're surprisingly patient and diligent, aren't you, old man? [Even though when he says it with that smirk, it hardly feels like a compliment.]
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Yeah? Is that your type?
[Just curious! Here Yael thought he'd given Matoba no reason to pursue conversation with him again after the first time they met. There has to be some reason why he continues to seek him out, and Yael isn't very generous with his assumptions. You'll get no leniency from him, brat.]
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[Are those words he'd use to describe Shuichi-san.....? Now that he thinks about it, maybe. A diligent student and I mean, you'd have to be patient to put up with Seiji, right??]
[Not the words that he would have tossed out there first, but he can't say it's not accurate, either.]
Even if that was the case, you're not prettyboy enough for me, I'm afraid. [He props his face in his hands, eye narrowing.] You know, on account of being old. You'd better just give up now.
We have a phrase here... "Nice face." That probably never applied to you, huh?
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No? Man, you're harsh.
[So he says, but Matoba's answer is met with a puff of amused laughter. Yael won't dispute being old. If you ask him, he feels more like 49 than 29.]
"Pretty" is what I heard a lot of growing up. I'd say handsome is more accurate now.
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[They are barely a handful of years apart, but age is more about the mind and spirit than the body, Yael! Going by that, he's positively ancient.]
[The constant nagging isn't something that's going to be deterred by violence- especially between fellows like them. Yael is right about that. Because, after all, Matoba enjoys it.]
Complimenting yourself is a little immodest, isn't it...? ["Pretty". huh. As if Matoba hadn't heard the same. Still, though with that eye the way it is, maybe not anymore.] Is that why all your friends are cats?
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[How can you say that with a straight face, Matoba? Calling him immodest in the next breath inspires a huff of laughter, genuine amusement.]
You need to learn to tell more convincing lies. Even a cat could see straight through you.
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Or do you think that I secretly harbor some deep desire towards you...? Talk about a delusional old man.
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[The last thing he needs is someone like Matoba lusting after him. He attracts enough weirdos as it is.]
There's a difference between honesty and lying by omission. That, and for all your talk of modesty, there's nothing modest about you. Don't you ever get tired of blowing smoke up your own ass?
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[Matoba's brow knits in mock-concern. Look, he might not be lusting, but it's a little too late for Yael to shake a brat who's having fun now.]
And after I even complimented you..........
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Another round of sake floats its way over, and picking up the pitcher, Yael upturns it onto Matoba's head.]
Did you expect me to be grateful? I'm rude, you know. A real asshole. If you want to teach me modesty, you've got a long way to go.
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[A faux pax, for sure. But hey, so is literally everything else happening here (a foreigner, a yakuza, and sake enter a hotspring--), so he's sure the digital cops won't come for them.]
That's too bad. But anyway, if you were looking to be taught manners, I'm a poor choice for it.......... in this particular instance.
[He wrings out his hair before piling it up on his head again; the shaggy sides cling to his face.] Drink the next one, and maybe you'll be a little better.
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Ah, but it's fine. No biggie. All this means is that Matoba isn't quick to rile, but he isn't impervious. No man is. This wouldn't be the first time Yael's engaged a shitty bastard just to break through his shell and see what vulnerabilities lie beneath.
Something switches in his mind. Clicks. Another pitcher of sake and spa boiled eggs comes floating their way in an onsen basket and, in a show of good grace, Yael fills a cup for them both. What's this? A peace offering? It's the illusion of one, at the very least. He offers Matoba his cup before taking his own.]
But you know something about your country's drinking culture, don't you? I poured your sake. That means I'm polite.
[Tylor told him so.]
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[His eyebrows raise when Yael actually does as he suggested- and just pours for them. This shitty bastard absolutely is not to be trusted, clearly, so of course now Matoba is going to be skeptical.]
[But. Why waste perfectly good (free) (fake) booze?]
Try eating one of the eggs instead of throwing them, [Matoba cheerfully suggests, snatching one up for himself. He'll drink the sake, too... He just wants to wait for Yael to pour. It'd be rude to drink before they can say cheers. 🙂]
Maybe you'll be a little less cranky with some food, too. [He pops half of one into his mouth, chewing.]
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For what it's worth, he plans to indulge too, picking up the pitcher to fill Matoba's glass first, then his own. What now? Does he have to wait for this bitch to finish his egg before they can toast? Yael lifts his glass and waits. Clink him, motherfucker.]
I've never eaten an egg boiled in used bath water. Is that normal in Japan?
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[But.]
[Yael pours from the same pitcher and so, even if he's eying him suspiciously, he slurps up the rest of the egg and picks up his cup to drink. Without clinking. Kanpai, ossan!]
I feel as though I shouldn't have to explain this to a grown man, but eggs have a shell. [He takes another sip,] By the way, you are supposed to bathe yourself before you get into the onsen. Or do foreigners just plop your entire filthy selves into shared spaces without any sort of cleaning first?
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But.
"Politeness for me but not for thee" seems to be the mantra Matoba operates on, but you know what? It doesn't bother Yael nearly as much as it amuses him, letting out a bark of laughter before downing his sake in one gulp.]
Sure. We roll around in the mud first for good measure. Tell me, is the xenophobia genetic, or did I just get lucky with you?
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[Fake or no, the digital sake isn't too bad... He sips at it, wondering if the alcohol here had been programmed to replicate the effects of being drunk. Good thing he has a decent tolerance.]
Bothered to be returned what you give? I'd have figured you wouldn't have such thin skin, a weathered old man like you.
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Damn, you're brutal, aren't you? I'd ask you what your damage is, but I just realized I don't care.
[How's your glass looking, Matoba? Need a top up? Yael gives the sake pitcher an enticing shake.]
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[Nothing fun for Yael, in other words. He slides his cup back towards him on the floating 'table', deigning to allow Yael to refill it. Is he trying to get Matoba loose-lipped? Good luck, he thinks.]
How about you? [Damage, he means.] Is this what they call shellshock, or something?
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Yael refills his glass right up to the brim, surface tension keeping the sake from spilling right over.]
I wonder. I never got evaluated before leaving Egypt for the states, but I bet killing for hire knocked a few screws loose.
you know what I shoulda done this earlier but cw: racism...
You sorts all gather there.......... Must be the corporate contracts, hm? [Matoba just hooks a finger onto the whole little floating table and brings it towards him wholesale to slurp the top off his cup of sake without spilling it. Brat. He'll send it floating back once it's at a reasonable level.] For the best, I suppose. Better pay. And you'd stick out like a sore thumb in Japan, so no one would hire you. That's why if we need contractors, we get the Chinese and Koreans to kill people for us.
[Sip.]
oh matoba
Rude, uncivilized man that he is, Yael openly laughs in Matoba's face.]
You want to know something? I was stationed in Japan for a couple years. Loved it. Bitches like you didn't have the nerve to say what you're saying to me now directly to my face. Talk about well-behaved.
o matoba
Are you proud of that?
[He holds Yael's eye, unflinching, but why is he really laughing?]
Perhaps we could test the theory someday, if you'd like. Unfortunately, the wonders of VR technology are going to have to do for the moment.
cw racism 2: electric boogaloo
they truly deserve each other
a match made in hell
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