Complete Eastern Brisshal Breaking News...

[Toko]

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After the sudden news delivered by the Lion Arms Nao had decided to end her play session for the day, the woman having much to think over—not to mention some IRL compromises and duties she still needed to fulfill. She was still unsure about the accuracy of the information as well and, to Nao's surprise, whenever she had tried to Google up anything about the original TerraSphere her search results kept coming back blank... or to totally unrelated things. Instead of disuading her from continuing to play this only seemed to peak her curiosity further, and for the first time in months the woman had found herself actively interested in something once more.

"Seriously... just what exactly did the devs do for this level of realism?"

Needless to say it didn't take long before Nao had doned her VR headset once more, marveling again at the details of the world as she embodied the avatar of Toko. A few hand gestures had her palm UI brought forth, and after inspecting it closer she realized her one friend seemed to be online at the time. Had Solaria heard about the stuff related to the in-game deaths and UI locking...?

Voice Mail

Hey Solaria-chan, if you're free... wanna grab a bite to eat at the local bakery we saw on our first day here? My treat~

With a sigh Toko confirmed the latest attempt at a voicemail, having recorded and erased at least three previous ones, before clicking confirm and sending it in Solaria's direction. She had a feeling it would be best to talk this topic in particular in person with her newfound friend... considering the elven girl had a little brother back home, not to mention her aspirations to become a nurse one day, Nao wanted to make sure she didn't accidentally become trapped in this game due to not being informed of what seemed to be a well hidden secret of TerraSphere 2.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Kelly was a busy girl that day. She had to commute to Boston from Concord to attend a few classes, returned to Concord to pick up her brother from kindergarten, then returned home to make him some food and play with him for a while. When early evening sank in, though, she wasn't Kelly much longer. She got her brother settled and read him a story, before he went to take a nap- something he often did before dinner for some reason.

Since their father was coming home early that day, Kelly opted to log into Terrasphere, embodying herself as the elfin Solaria once more. To her surprise, she quickly got a voicemail from one of her friends. "Wow, I can hear Toko's voice so clearly!" She smiled, stretching her arms.

Voice Mail

Hey, Toko! I actually just logged in and am in Honeyhome right now. I'd love to see you again! I'll meet you at the bakery, okay?

She left the inn she'd stayed at in game that evening and ran as fast as she could to the bakery. Once there, she looked around for the familiar face of her friend. "I wonder if I rushed too much? I hope she's not coming from too far away..."

 

[Toko]

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The reply arrived quicker than the lepus expected, her ears perking up instinctually even though the message was one only she could hear. It was quite amazing how crisp and clear the voice was, not even voicemails in the phone seemed to sound so neat as these did. Still the happy smile that originally lined her lips was soon replaced by a faint frown as her stomach twirled inside of her. She wasn't sure how Solaria would react to these news, or if the elven girl would even believe the lepus in the first place, and what if this lead to her first online friend alienating herself from Toko...?

"Ochitsuite, it'll be alright... tabun."

The beastfolk stopped in her tracks then, taking a moment to smack both her hands onto her cheeks loudly to snap herself out of the sudden rut. A deep inhale was taken, followed by a long sigh, before Toko finally resolved herself to see this true... hopefully her friend would understand that she was just concerned for their own well being, and nothing more.

Voice Mail

"Haaai, see you there!"

Soon enough the scent of freshly baked sweets reached her nostrils, her stomach rumbling reflexively in response, before the lepus shoved the thought of absolutely delicious food out of her mind in order to look for a familiar blonde shade of hair. She quickly spotted the elf, a hand rising up and waving to try and catch Solaria's attention as Toko called out to her friend.

"Over here, Solaria-chan!"

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

She got a response fairly quickly in her opinion- a familiar sound of mixed languages making her giggle ever so softly. When she heard Toko's voice in person, however, she ran towards it with vigor and a smile. "Tokoooo!"

Normally, Solaria wasn't a fan of formalities- but she could handle being called 'chan'. After all, Kelly's kendo teacher always called her that. Originally, she was used to him calling her Richardson-san, but she eventually got him to see her as someone he could call less formally over time- or rather, over years.

"It's so good to see you again, Toko! I've met a number of people since we started playing, but no one is like Toko at all. I'm not sure if it's because of when and how we met, or if it's because of who you are- but I think it's the latter. Either way, I'm just super happy to get to see you again!"

Her stomach growled loudly. Her cheeks flushed pink as she heard it, sure that Toko heard it too. "Shall we go in? I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on!"

 

[Toko]

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The sight of the elf bounding in her direction, a happy smile on her face, was enough to warm the lepus’ heart—regardless of how this conversation played out Toko wouldn’t regret her decision of telling her first TS2 friend about the things she’d found out. "You’re too kind, Solaria-chan, but I also enjoy our time together the most—” It was then a rumble echoed between them… and the elven’s stomach wasn’t the only one protesting at how long the girls were taking to get some delicious treats into their bellies.

"I guess we’re both really hungry… wanna try the fresh tarts today along with their tea?”

Already the bakery has become a fond place for the beastfolk, and how could it not with the delicious baked goods the owner managed to produce? Toko had been absolutely delighted the first time around, both due yo the quality of the treats and also amazed at the fact the VR carried so much flavor and feeling when consuming them. Some of these could have even rivaled the baked goods Nao’s grandmother had used to make in her youth…

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"I'm not being too kind, not at all. I'm just stating facts." She put her hands on her hips, still grinning. After she heard Toko's tummy rumbling as much as hers, she giggled a bit. Then the beastfolk made a recommendation for their hungry bellies.

"Fresh tarts and tea sounds good to me!" Solaria chimed in a sing song voice. She held a hand out to grasp Toko's before walking inside. In Solaria's hometown, it was common for girls to hold hands when going places together. Well, it was normal for friends, at least. But that was what Toko was to her, after all! Toko was her important friend. So why not hold hands going inside?

Inside, the smell of freshly baked bread had her salivating further. "Oooh I can't wait! What kind of tea are you going to have, Toko? Actually, I wonder what kind of tea they have today? I hope they have mint tea. I think its refreshing taste should go well with the tart."

 

[Toko]

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"Hai haaiii… let’s get some food in us before our bellies decide to do an encore~”

She chuckled at her friend’s playful scolding, the offered hand given afterwards taken without much of a question as the girls headed into the bakery to peruse the menu for today. "Right? Mint always goes so well with fruity treats—although hibiscus tea with lemon and ginger is also pretty good, I wonder if they had something similar here…” Before long the girls had managed to acquire some delicious baked goods and accompanying beverages, the lepus leading her friend to a more secluded corner of the shop so they could enjoy their food—and the eventual conversation—away from the bustling behind the counter and the chatter from the line of customers.

"Mmm…! Umai!” Toko couldn’t help the delighted sounds as she bit into her choice of the day, a scrumptious blackberry and almonds tart, before she looked over to see if Solaria was also enjoying her treat. "Honestly I still think this is the best bakery around~”

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Upon the mention of an encore of their stomachs growling, Solaria giggled a bit more than before. It just sounded so cute!

Getting herself an interesting sounding blueberry ganache tart, Solaria followed Toko to take a seat in the back corner of the store. Taking her first bite, she grinned like a goof. "It's so tasty! I'd never heard of such a thing before, but it's delicious. Do you want to try some, Toko?"

She eyed the blackberry tart curiously, then shifted her focus to Toko. "It really is a great bakery. I wish I could bring some home with me." She giggled shyly, imagining how her brother and father would react if she brought tarts home from a video game. Her brother would probably be delighted, actually. The boy loved sweets, especially baked ones.

"So what have you been up to lately? Find anything exciting? I fought off some bandits the other day with a really strong newbie. He was so protective it was almost funny, because he reminded me of myself in a way."

 

[Toko]

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Damn, was it that obvious she’d been eyeing her friend’s tart with curiosity? "Only if you also try a bite of mine, a fair trade ne?” The plate in question was pushed towards the center of the table, free for the elf to grab if she agreed.

The lepus had been about to ask Solaris about her time so far in the game, a part of her wondering how her friend’s shop was coming along but also wanting to slowly edge closer to a specific topic. However Sokaria beat Toko to it, and the lepus had been about to reply when she suddenly choked on her tea.

"B-Bandits…?!”

The words were choked out before a small coughing fit raptured the beastfolk for a few moments, hot tea going down the wrong pipe wasn’t the best of feelings after all, but after a bit Toko was finally able to speak—and, most importantly, breathe—again. "A-Ah, that’s good to hear, that means you weren’t harmed then…?” Had she been over worrying over nothing? Maybe her friend had also been yanked into the Lion’s den and given the death briefing already…?

"Sounds like you’ve been pretty busy then… joined any factions?”

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"Absolutely! I'd love to taste it!" Solaria pushed her plate into the center of the table as well, before getting herself a bite of the blackberry almond tart her friend had ordered. "It's so tasty! You can tell how fresh the ingredients must be!" She grinned, taking a sip of her tea. As she thought, mint tea with fruity snacks was the best combination. At least for her.

"I mean, they did hurt us, but only a little bit. Besides, I have healing magic and medicine on me at all times, remember?" Solaria laughed nervously. "I mean, getting a knife in my arm hurt plenty, but once it was healed, it was all good. The guy with me was hurt a lot more than I was anyway. It made me feel kind of bad. I'm the senior player, so I should be the one protecting him, but it was the other way around."

She took another bite of her food, sighing as she remembered the fight. "Killing is still hard. I get a lump in my chest remembering it."

Then, the topic turned to factions- and Solaria stared blankly at her friend. "So there are factions in this game? I hadn't even noticed them yet. Did you join one, Toko?"

 

[Toko]

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"Mhmm, gosh these are always just sooo good!" Solaria's treat was also delectable, having a sweetness that was just enough to be thoroughly enjoyable without reaching a cloying point. "To think that this is just the first village we've come across in the game... I wonder what other flavors the rest of TerraSphere is hiding."

Although no hibiscus had been available for her tea they did have a local flower that had a similar profile, and after mixing some honey and a squeeze of lemon into her cup the lepus found it was the perfect refreshing combination for Toko's particular taste... though she almost choked on it a second time as her friend mentioned being knifed in the arm.

"You got stabbed?! Is your arm okay...?"

As the elf confirmed she knew absolutely nothing about factions, coupled with her very calm demeanor about getting injured while fighting and killing a game bandit, Toko felt confident in her assumption that Solaria probably was still very much unaware about the death secrets the Lion Arms had revealed in the tavern to the lepus and others not too long ago.

"Y-yeah, there's four factions apparently... got the chance to talk with some of them not too long ago, seems they were doing a little bit of recruiting among the new players here in Honeyhome."

Oh gosh, how was she gonna put this whole death thing into words for her friend...

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"Part of me wants to travel around trying different foods now," Solaria mused with a soft laugh. "But I should probably avoid having too many pastries. Sweets are okay in small amounts, but I try not to eat too many, even in games like this. It'd be bad if the habit leaked into the real world."

When Toko seemed to exaggerate her concern, in the elf's mind, Solaria could only blink in surprise. That would normally be her reaction. She wasn't used to it the other way around. "I'm fine. I used healing magic on both of us once the bandits were down for the count. I mean it hurt, but it wasn't too bad."

Why did Toko seem so worried all the sudden, anyway? It was just a game, wasn't it?

"I didn't know there were factions in this game too... I guess they're basically like guilds in other games? Did you decide to join one, Toko?"

 

[Toko]

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She had been about to argue that eating sweets in this world wouldn't have any real consequences, until her elven friend made a really valid point. "O-Oh... that's actually something I hadn't thought about. Haaaaah but it's so hard to resist them here, especially because you get all of the flavor and textures but none of the calories...!" There was a pout in the lepus' face from the internal conflict inside her mind, before a resigned sigh left Toko as she shoved another mouthful of her pastry into her mouth. Food here was just too good for her to pass up...

"Y-Yeah, I ended up joining the Adventurers Guild after... uun... eeto..."

Another sigh, the lepus mentally kicking herself for the poor way this conversation was about to happen—but she had never been the best at putting things into words in the first place, and much less if it was to deliver possible terrible news to someone else.

"W-Well... some members of the Lion Arms shared unexpected news with a group of us in a tavern not too long ago." Probably best to skip over the fact most of the players present had basically been kidnapped right from the street and brought over to the meeting in the first place. "They said that, well... apparently if you die too many times in this game then you also can die in real life too...?"

Real smooth Toko... the lepus almost cringed as the last words left her mouth, cautiously looking over to her friend to see how Solaria would react to them.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"I suppose that's a good point," Solaria chimed, eating happily as she mulled it over. "But with how realistic this game is, it wouldn't surprise me if our health had to do with similar factors as reality, you know?"

When she heard the news, Solaria's jaw dropped slightly. "So, this game is secretly killing people?" Well, it wasn't as secret now, but for Solaria, it made her growl and tighten her hand into a fist. "I know what my role is now," the elf mused, standing up. "I'm going to protect everyone I can! If no one dies in the game, no one dies in real life, right?"

She knew what she was saying was dangerous. But what was more dangerous was her newfound determination to 'beat' the game. "If I can beat this game, maybe something good will happen. If nothing else, maybe no more people will die. There's a lot I don't understand about what you're telling me, but... The point of the matter is, death here is reality. This world is reality all its own..."

 

[Toko]

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Damn, she hadn't thought of that either... could eating too much sugary treats in-game affect her fighting abilities and skills too? "Shit, you think they truly went full realism on this...?" Toko wasn't sure if to be in awe or upset about the insane amount of time and attention to detail it would've taken a team to do something liek that in a VR game... which made her question what was exactly was the end-game the developers were going for with TerraSphere2.

"Ch-Chotto matte kudasai..." While she couldn't fault the logic her friend went for upon hearing the news, it wasn't too different from Toko's own decision after all, there was something else that concerned the lepus. "Are you sure about that idea, Solaria...?"

Even the usual honorific had been dropped subconsciously, the topic at hand taking priority over any formalities or general speech etiquette that Nao was used to in the real world. Besides the elven girl had quickly become someone important to the lepus, whether it was due to her personality or just because she was the first friend Nao had made in a long time was up in the air, but she knew that—unlike herself—her friend could lose important things back home if her idea went south for any number of reasons.

Didn't games have random factors, such as critical hits and other stuff, that could sometimes flip the tables on even the best pro gamers at times?

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"If they made death real- though I'm still not sure how they did that- then... It's all the more possible. I mean, you basically get stuck in the game like one of those anime, right? So..." Solaria began to ponder. What happened once your data self, the self that was in the game and UI locked, died? Did you live on forever? Or was death permanent there too at that point?

When asked about her decision, she nodded and stared firmly at her friend. With a sad smile, she said, "If I don't do it, who can I say for certain will? A nurse gives life, or at least a chance at life. And I'm not just a nurse-to-be... I wield a sword for a reason. It's not just to protect myself, you know? Now I just have a new set of people to protect."

She took a seat, realizing she was drawing attention. "Anyway, point is... Now I'm more determined than ever. But... What do you think, Toko? You took the time to warn me, but... What is it you want to do with this information yourself?"

 

[Toko]

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There was no denying the determined look on her friend's face, the lepus letting out a long sigh in response before giving a faint smile and a nod in affirmation to Solaria. She could easily tell the elven girl wasn't about to change her mind any time soon, and it looked like Solaria understood what was at stake for her too.

"Honestly? I'm not sure if I truly believe it yet..." It didn't look like the Lion Arms had been lying about the whole thing, or even that other traveler that added his own claims into the mix, but at the same time... it was a hard concept to wrap one's mind around. "Like why even go through the trouble of coding something like that into a game...? Not to mention how could they even pull that off in the first place?"

It just didn't add up, wouldn't the developers lose profits is their players became stuck in a game unable to get out? What if the news spread? That would mean even less people willing to play the game... would a game developer truly want something like that, especially after pouring who knew how many hours into creating something like TerraSphere 2?

"I... I want to find out more about this game and, if it's true, then understand why it's the way it is."

A lofty goal for sure, especially considering Nao wasn't an expert in games to begin with—and while she had some basic website coding experience it was certainly nothing like whatever knowledge was needed to produce a game like this one.

"It might be silly, but I wanna know why this world feels so real..."

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"I get that feeling. I don't know why anyone would put a system like that into a game- or how they'd do it, even. But I'm not a programmer. They know a lot of things I don't." Solaria was lucky to have the equipment to play this game, for crying out loud. It was so strange to think about for the health nut that didn't normally use much high-end technology like VR.

She shook her head when Toko mentioned her goal might be silly. "I don't think it's silly at all. I'd like some answers about that too." Taking a bite of tart, she sighed softly. "I know it's not real, but it's still delicious. I'd like to know how they made it... Like how they really made it."

With a sip of tea, she calmed herself more fully. The thought that this world was a murderer in disguise hadn't even appeared to her until now. The curiosity, however, had always been there. She paled, remembering something a bit worrisome. "I wish I'd known about this before. I could have told that new guy to be careful... But at least I can say it to both of us. Let's do our best to figure this game out... but not die in the process."

 

[Toko]

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Well, it seemed they were both in for the long haul then with this game... certainly more than what Nao had originally bargained on when she first decided to try it out along with the VR headset, but she couldn't deny the curiosity eating away at her insides. "You know, this is probably the type of thing that would get labelled as witchcraft nowadays... maybe a witch is behind the whole creation of TerraSphere?" A laugh soon followed the wild speculation, meant to be more of a joking jab at the whole situation than an actually deep and insightful thought.

"I just hope they don't tamper with the food codes ever, they have them nailed down just right~" As Solaria lamented then the fate of her fight buddy the lepus ears lowered in response in sympathy, before a hand reached out to squeeze Solaria's own. "It's okay, it looked liek all teh factions were doing the best to inform all the new players as quickly as possible about this... I'm sure they'll be fine, word of mouth always travels fast after all!"

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"I think even most witches have a better heart than to make something like that," Solaria mused with a soft laugh. "But it's possible there's one with a dark enough heart." She had always had a distaste for the negativity over the idea of witches. Some people thought of her family friend's grandmother as a witch- but Solaria knew better than to think that of the Chilean native. "If this game weren't a secret of sorts, I'd talk to granny about it. She's a shaman of sorts."

Solaria shook off the thought and smiled as Toko took her hand. She squeezed gently back, thankful her friend was such a kind person. "I see... I'm glad to hear the people in the know are protecting others. It makes me more confident that I can too."

It was all she wanted now- to protect the lives of innocent players whether aware or not of the circumstances this game entailed. If a nurse's job was to help protect the lives of her patients, then Solaria too would protect innocent lives with all her might.

"Looks like I have more reason to get stronger now, huh? I better put in a lot of energy into practice. Well, a lot more."