Complete Eastern Brisshal Breaking News...

[Toko]

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"Uwaaah... your grandma was a shaman, hontoni? Sugoi dess..." While the western world had a particularly negative view on witchcraft and other similar things Nao herself couldn't say that was a fully shared sentiment from where she was from. Sure, they also ad the occasional evil with tale and whatnot, but herbal remedies and using things that nature provided for the benefit of the mind and body was something her own grandmother had practiced deeply... and in a way part of the reason as to why the lepus had picked up nature magic while making her build. "Obaachan was really knowledgeable on plants and herbs, she grew many varieties at home when I was younger... and while some of the concoctions she made were quite bitter I always felt better in no time after drinking them."

Perhaps there was a way to use some of the little knowledge Nao had managed to learn from her grandmother with the system of this game...? It seemed like a pretty flexible and open one after all, and knowing now the dangers that lurked under the surface it was probably a good idea to get better at healing magic now rather than later.

"Hey, Solaria-chan, would you mind teaching me more about healing stuff...?"

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"Well, I grew up calling her my granny, but she's actually my best friend's grandma offline," Solaria soon explained. "I never got to meet my real grandparents. Granny always treats me like one of her own though, so to me, she might as well be my actual grandmother." Solaria was smiling brightly as she spoke of the kind old woman from Chile. They often talked on the phone whether she was at her house or her friend's. The beauty of technology- you could really contact people anywhere!

When asked about healing and such, Solaria put her finger to her chin. "Well, I think it probably depends on the magic type as to how you use it to heal. For example, I use divine magic. It's the power of gods. So, I channel that power through chanting- though I have to read the spell in my spell book first, since I haven't memorized them yet. Then, I use the warm light that comes from the gods to heal wounds and such. It's kind of unrealistic, but it works."

Solaria had to take a moment to think about how Toko could learn to use healing spells with her own magic. "Now that I think about it, have I ever asked what skills you have? I could probably check, but I'd prefer to just ask normally. Oh! But you can use healing potions or herbal remedies either way. I found some good recipes, so I can make you some salves and things if you wanted."

 

[Toko]

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"Well she sounds delightful, I bet obaachan would’ve loved to meet her.”

The Chilean woman sounded like someone her own grandmother would’ve no doubt spent countless hours speaking with… if, of course, there wasn’t a heavy language barrier. While Nao picked up English since a young age due to the military base the same couldn’t be said of her grandmother. She had picked up a few words here and there, but Japanese would always be her dialect of choice and no one would ever change that.

"Mmm, soka...”

While Toko had flipped through a few spells in her UI the lepus hadn’t really given them much though, magic being something she had picked up more because it was an option and it sounded appealing instead of something she had specifically sought out. Still she listened to Solaria’s explanation with plenty of focus, her brows even furrowing together as the fighter was deep in thought.

"You think nature magic could function in a similar way? Like draw energy or vitality or something from the plants around…?”

Oh, right, they never really shared build information between themselves before… and Nao herself often forgot the UI had many useful things within it, it was easy to forget this was a game with game mechanics when everything around you felt so real…

"I didn’t really know what I was doing, so I just picked things that felt familiar. Got martial arts as my form of combat, with nature magic as support stuff… oh, and some geomancy now that I remember.”

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"I bet granny would have loved to meet your obaachan too. She'd also love meeting you, since you're so sweet." Solaria grinned. Complimenting friends was always nice to get to do, but she felt like she didn't do it enough. So, she was glad to be able to tell Toko her genuine feelings. She'd leave out how cute Toko could be, though. That felt inappropriate at this point.

When Toko explained her build, Solaria nodded in understanding. Taking what felt familiar was what she did as well, after all. "I see. I have Slash Weapons to continue practicing my swordplay, Divine Magic as a supportive skill- though I can also fight with it!- and alchemy. I plan to pick up Weapon Arts next. I heard a rumor you can talk to your weapon if you do that. I'd love to talk to my sword."

The girl laughed at her weird reason for her next choice. She'd already planned all her abilities out down to the very last she'd seen she could choose. But, that wasn't the point of this conversation. She returned her thoughts to the subject at hand. "I mean, I don't know nature magic well, but it sounds possible. Why don't we try it?"

 

[Toko]

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The next slot…? "Oh shit, right… more unlock as you go ranking up the masteries, right?” Clearly someone had forgotten all about that…

"Talking to your sword, huh? Yeah, it’s be interesting to see what it would have to say… I wonder if it’s be as organic as the Landers, though.”

At this point anything was possible, though it’d be somewhat hilarious if the weapons turned out to be scripted in their talking points after seeing the true potential they could have from the NPCs and the world around. Nao guessed it all depended on how committed the game devs were when that feature got programmed in.

"Wait… you can attack with support magic?” Solaria might as well grown a second head from the way Toko looked at her friend, the thought having never occurred to the Lepus. "That’s… wow, I thought bring support or defensive magic meant they were stuck to that role and nothing more… hmmm.”

She nodded at Solaria’s idea of testing things out, before reminding herself they still were at the bakery… probably best to move somewhere else before they started sparking magic around, that way if something went out of control they wouldn’t run the risk of ruining the bakery or souring someone’s day.

"Wanna go to the outskirts of the town after here, then?”

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Solaria laughed a little as she imagined talking to a scripted sword. It seemed like a lofty idea though, considering how realistic everything else was. "It probably is organic," she said, extremely intent on her words. She nodded sagely. "Everything else is, so why wouldn't it be?"

Finishing her tea and tart, Solaria stood up once Toko mentioned going out to practice. "That's a good idea. I'd rather not accidentally hurt anyone." A fellow a few tables away seemed to hear her based on his glance. She laughed nervously and decided it time to answer Toko's other question.

"Divine Magic is the magic granted by the gods, so it's not surprising it can harm ill doers as easily as it can heal the injured... But I think most magic has multiple uses, honestly. Nature magic is more supportive I'd think, but you can probably do some neat battle styles using it. Like tying people up in vines or things like that, you know? You just have to be creative."

 

[Toko]

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Yeah, if the game devs had gone the extra smile to even program the whole death thing... it would be absurd that the sentient weapons wouldn't be as organic as the Landers that lived around the land. "Same, plus I don't wanna get banned from this lovely bakery... I'd be forever sad if I couldn't eat their treats anymore." There was a long sigh of relief from the patron that had seemingly been listening to their conversation, something that made the Lepus tilt her head slightly in thought.

"I hope other players aren't being too rowdy around the place..."

The walk towards the outskirts of the town was pretty uneventful and quick as the girls conversed, Toko nodding in agreement to Solaria's words. "True, I hadn't really thought of it that way... there's more ways to support than just healing after all." Maybe with enough creativity, and practice, Toko could even find a way to attack with her nature magic one day.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

A soft giggle echoed from Solaria's throat. True, being banned from the bakery would be a tough blow. She wouldn't like that either. The fresh bread alone was so yummy! "They do have tasty treats alright. We should come here often to fuel up. Though too many sweets could be bad, so maybe next time I'll try a savory treat..." She wondered what kind of savory foods they had there. There was a tavern not far away that had interesting meals, but a bakery would never stop luring Solaria with its sweet smell.

As they walked to the outskirts of the town, she enjoyed just chatting with Toko about the ways magic could be used in interesting ways. "I can even imbue magic into my sword. By doing that, it does light damage to the enemy and not just regular damage. Though... I mostly just use my sword as is."

When they were in a safe place outside of Honeyhome, Solaria turned to Toko with a question. "How do you use your magic, anyway? I have to use a grimoire because I can't memorize my chants yet..."

 

[Toko]

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"Wait… there’s chanting?” A clueless look crossed the Lepus face as Solaris asked her question, Toko tilting her head to the side in response as she mulled over it. It didn’t look like her friend was trying to pull her leg, so Toko could discard the elf trying to make a joke on the topic, but then that meant that there actually was chanting and the beastwoman had never known about it. "I just felt around for the energy and then kind of lured it towards me…?”

Had she been doing it wrong all this time?

"I think there’s some focuses or something that are suppose to make it easier, I saw some in an accessory shop with a Lepus friend shortly after the tavern talk with the Lion Arms that day, but I haven’t made enough gold yet to afford the one I liked.”

With some luck someone else hasn’t snatched the amethyst blossom silver earring she had seen that day…

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"Different people do different magic, well, differently. I figured chanting would be easier than focusing on energy, but... Based on the fact I'm struggling with memorizing the chants, that may have been the wrong move on my part."

Laughing slightly, Solaria pulled her spell book out of her inventory and held it out to Toko. "Since you don't have Divine Magic, you may not be able to read it... But this is my book of chants. I think I'm getting the hang of some of them, but not others."

Solaria pondered over the idea of a focus for her magic. "It does take a lot of focus. Maybe a focus item would be better?" She glanced at the book, laughing slightly. "I guess I figured a book was more feasible for a magic that's seen as a religious thing."

With a swift glance to her friend, she asked, "Shall we take a look at what we have? I'll show you mine too. I promise not to interrupt while you're focusing on the energies."

 

[Toko]

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A peek was taken into the grimoire presented by Solaria, though as the elf had feared Toko wasn't able to make out much of the symbols inscribed into its pages... though they looked really nice. "That's really cool, especially that you're able to read them too. There's a lot of spells in here..." No wonder her friend was having trouble remembering them all, Toko was sure she would've flung the grimoire into a river after a couple of days with it.

"... wouldn't your book qualify as a focus then?"

Granted, she wasn't sure how this all worked, but a part of the Lepus was almost sure the focus shop she had visited with Ru also had some books in a corner... perhaps grimoires similar to the one that Solaria had? "Ah, right..." Right, magic practice... the Lepus drew in a deep inhale, closing her eyes as she tried to focus on the area around them.

'I guess first step is to gather some energy...?'

With no clear goal as to how it would be used Toko found herself struggling a bit more than usual, the beastfolk concentrating on the many plants around the field as well as the sound of the trees as the breeze rustled their leaves. It took a few moments, but eventually her hands begun to glow a soft green coloration, and once Toko felt comfortable it wouldn't automatically dissipate anywhere she opened her eyes to look at Solaria.

"Okay... what should I do with it?"

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Solaria giggled a bit as Toko tried to read her spell book. "There are a lot, but I only really use a few on a regular basis. I've managed to memorize maybe one or two spells? Most of the time, I just take it out when I want to heal someone." She often used her sword to fight and her magic to heal- it was a simplistic way to deal with battles, in her opinion. She wanted to learn to do more without the book, but, well... She had enough to memorize offline for school.

"I guess it could be a focus... I just think of it as a textbook for magic, though, honestly."

Remembering what they were there for, Solaria took off one of her gloves to lightly scratch her opposite arm. It was but a minor scrape, taking off barely one of her life points- but it still hurt a bit to do to herself at any rate. "Try to focus on putting the energy into this scrape."

Normally, Solaria wouldn't harm anyone that didn't earn it, least of all herself- but she had done the same when practicing her light magic. Practical lessons always worked best, in her opinion. "You can touch it, if that'll help. It often helps me. And yes, I know that was dumb- but this is how I learned, and the only way I know how to teach."

 

[Toko]

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A frown formed on the Lepus' face as she suddenly realized what her friend had done, not exactly happy about Solaria harming herself in order to teach Toko… but it seemed the elven girl picked up on it before the fighter could retort as Solaris gave her defense.

"Fine… but I don't like it."

Was it practical? Yes. Was it logical? Also yes. Really, Toko wouldn't be able to find a way to counter her friend's action even if she tried—that didn't meant she had to be in agreement however. A sigh was released before the Lepus nodded, walking closer to Solaris before she placed her magic infused hands on the girl's arm.

"Alright… here goes nothing, I guess?"

Her eyes closed as Toko focused on the energy once more, both her thumbs moving to gently press on the small wound for guidance, before she willed the essence of nature to boost the regenerating capabilities of the body. There was a faint struggle for a moment, Toko finding it a bit harder than she expected to will the energy into her commands, but eventually the small power struggle was resolved as the nature magic slowly dissolved into Solaria's skin.

"Oh…! Did it work…?"

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"That's fine. I wouldn't like it either." Solaria wasn't fond of hurting herself or others doing similar- but it was the only way she could easily test her skills. Besides, it was 'just a scrape'. It wasn't like she'd cut herself open at all. What bothered her was she could imagine doing it. A shiver went down her spine. Maybe she should see a therapist about this way of thinking.

When the nature magic infused itself with her skin, she felt a tickle where the scrape was, before the slight pain slowly melted away. Her health point returned, and the scrape was nowhere to be seen. Her skin felt refreshed, and she smiled.

"See? You did it!" Solaria hugged her friend, giggling a bit. "There's probably other ways you can use it too. You just have to get creative with it." She took out her sword and gripped it tightly, chanting quietly one of the few spells she could remember. Slowly, the blade began to glow.

"Divine magic can be tough to use in combat, but see? I can even add a little energy to my blade. I can also blind my enemies with it, and if they're weak to holy damage, I'm all set. There's lots of ways to use magic. You just have to do what works for you."

 

[Toko]

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"I see..."

Perhaps she had been thinking too inside the box since starting out this game—expected given Nao's zero previous experience with any games actually—but the Lepus nodded in affirmation as she absorbed the teachings and advice that her friend offered. "This game is really flexible, huh?" Another point to the realistic feeling it held, no matter what it seemed they could never find something that they couldn't do... within the expected limitations of a magical world of course.

"Really, it only makes you more curious as to why the game devs would code in an actual death into it after all this work."

Either someone on the developing team had a sick and twisted version of humor, or maybe there was a lot more to this "underground game" than first met the eye. That said this wasn't a mystery the girls were going to solve today, or any time soon if they were honest. "Wanna hear about the other factions, then? I have some pamphlets from the day Ru and I visited them~" A grin lined Toko's lips as she produced the items in question from her inventory, handing them over to Solaria to look over as she shared with her friend of everything she had managed to learn about them thus far.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Solaria nodded in agreement with her friend. "It sure is. I never read many fantasy books as you know, but it does kind of remind me of some of my brother's cartoons." In kids' cartoons, almost anything was possible- minus death, most of the time. This game had a lot of 'free reign' for players. Even alchemy was mostly a trial-and-error type of skill. She just happened to have outside knowledge that helped her with it.

"I've never played a game quite like this one," she soon admitted. "Most games I've played had many more limits." Then again, most games she played- as far as she knew- didn't potentially kill people. The only concern they had was possible health problems escalating, but they had warnings for those!

Toko's grin gave Solaria a bright smile as well, as she was handed the pamphlets of the different factions. "Thanks, Toko! Let me see..." And so, the elf began to read the pamphlets, deep in thought. Which faction should she choose, if any? There was still a lot to discover, and so many people she wanted to protect. The game was no longer just a game to Solaria- but still, it had only just begun...