⬣//A SINGLE CRACK LETS THE LIGHT IN.

[cccorp]

>>UNTITLED ROOT TOWN // >>FUTURE // >>PROGRESS? // >>HE HUNGERS // >>Zelkova Corner

⬣//BRAVELY SAILING INTO THE UNKNOWN

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?

⬣//BUILDING THE FUTURE

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.

<b>Recipe name:</b> <b>Recipe category:</b> <b>Which two items does your recipe call for?</b> <b>Effect:</b> <b>Description:</b>

Submit your recipe contest submissions here.

⬣//ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

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.

⬣//WHAT ARE YOU, AN IDIOT SANDWICH?

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.

Feed the local Hien here.

⬣//ZELKOVA’S CORNER

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.

>>Navigation

Comments

[insinning]

[Sinclair dozes off, still shivering now and then. The nap doesn't last too long, because he's up again, rubbing his cheek against Oria's thigh as he tries to work out where he is...

And his head is still pounding.]

We're still here?

[dissimulative]

[ That didn't take too long... Oria frowns a little. ]

Of course we are. Can't sleep?

[insinning]

[Shaking his head a little, as he presses his face into Oria's lap a little more]

Mm...my head is killing me. And I'm cold. Stupid dungeon...

[dissimulative]

The dungeon isn't cold, Emil... maybe you're catching a cold.

[ There, there. Oria will let Sinclair bury his face against his lap as much as he wants. ]

Don't forget to take some medicine after you log out.

[insinning]

The previous dungeon I think...

[ Made him sick? This is worse than the waterfall. He huffs and tries to close his eyes some more]

I should, but there's so much to do.

[dissimulative]

You wanna get dumped in the hot springs?

[ That's what it sounds like!! ]

Let other people handle it right now. You need to rest, or you're gonna collapse.

[insinning]

Ah--no, that's okay. [He might still be embarrassed about last time. Also, he doesn't want Oria to drag himself somewhere he can't be comfortable in.

Oria isn't wrong. He's being logical. But...]

It's frustrating.

[dissimulative]

I know.

[ He understands wanting to help, but there being a feeling of helplessness that always creep up the moment you stop doing anything is overwhelming. ]

You'll do better once you rest up—recharge your batteries so that you can go all out again.

[insinning]

Mm...is that how it's supposed to work?

[Plucking at some blades of grass. He's not unfamiliar with taking a break. But he's unfamiliar with being told to stop while feeling like he's racing against the clock. It's an odd feeling]

I'm not used to that anymore.

[dissimulative]

Yup! Geez... what kind of company lets a clerk run with that mindset? What things do you even do as a clerk that needs to be rushed so much?

[ It is time to rest. Maybe not permanently like Mithrun, but rest is good. ]

[insinning]

A lot of record keeping I guess. [His head hurts, he's achey with chills (is it the dungeon effect or his own body?? who knows anymore), and he's tired. It makes him a little less willing to bite his tongue about what his job actually entails] They like to send our team out into the field to look into things. Missing persons related to technology mishaps, recovering missing data and stuff like that.

[dissimulative]

[ ... ... ...

Well, that explains Sinclair not getting sick the moment he saw Mithrun's corpse. ]

Why do you make it sound like some sort of espionage combined with trauma cleaners?

[insinning]

Espionage makes it sound cool. [ How does he explain it properly...?]

We spend a lot of time sitting around and waiting, and liaising with other companies.

[Just not going to address the trauma cleaners comment. There's an After Team for that okay]

[dissimulative]

So they still send you out to do things like that even though you're a record keeping clerk...

[ What the fuck....... ]

[insinning]

Mm. I guess that's how my job started...? They really like us doing our own record keeping though.

[Why does Oria sound like this is a bizarre job]

[dissimulative]

Incredible. Doesn't it get dangerous sometimes?

[ Oria brushes his fingers through Sinclair's hair some more, but this time, he raises his hand while doing so. So much hair... ]

[insinning]

It does. But I got used to it

[ This is why he can only have long hair in the digital world where it's not a pain to dry]

...what are you doing to my hair?

[dissimulative]

[ Getting used to the dangers... It makes Oria worry, but he knows Sinclair is capable. (Looks at his kill count) he will try to have faith in that.

That's why with a bunch of hair slipping between Oria's fingers, he takes some of them and puts them to his lips to kiss his hair. ]

[insinning]

[ ...!

Sinclair blushes a little in confusion but he doesn't react beyond that]

... Oria?

[Prompting just a little.]

[dissimulative]

[ Oria lets go, letting Sinclair's hair spill on the lap and smiles down at him. ]

I was just thinking that this is something I could do only in the game.

[insinning]

Oh...

[ Sinclair reaches up to touch his own hair, smiling up at Oria in turn]

Mm... you know, when I set this for my avatar, I was really just thinking it'd be nice to see what it was like to have long hair for once, since a few of my coworkers do.

[Admiring Gregor tbh ]

[dissimulative]

I'd probably play with it if I could mess around...

[ Alas. No hair style changes allowed. ]

So, what do you think? About having long hair.

[insinning]

I don't think it suits me very much.

[Hmmmmm. He does like Oria playing with his hair but]

And it took forever to dry when we fell in the river.

[How do Rodya and Hong Lu do it?? He already knows Gregor doesn't take care of his own hair]

[dissimulative]

[ He laughs a little. ]

You could probably whip it around like a rattail when it's soaked. That would hurt. My sister, Iria, has really long hair too, and she spends forever in the bathroom to get it nice.

[ Must be nice being the most beautiful in the family--even Oria can't deny his sister's beauty despite everything. Not like Oria doesn't spend forever in the bathroom too... Anyway. ]

But at least in the game, it kinda goes back to how it was before without care at all. But whether it suits you or not, you should try asking other people.

[insinning]

And you don't?

[And Sinclair has naturally wavy hair - imagine how much time he'd have to spend to get it right if it was long. Or maybe he'd be one of the lucky ones? No effort needed. Sinclair hums with soft laughter, sitting up to bump shoulders with Oria playfully]

Mm, I should. My hair's getting longer offline already, anyway. I can ask about it before I visit the hair dresser.