Chako was in a bit of a bind.
She wanted to know more about the world and the Landers as a whole. She wanted to talk to them. Experience what the highly advanced AI of Terrasphere really was about. Maybe make some friends and the like. Chako had been quite excited about it when she first started playing.
But then she talked to Bluebird and heard about how Starcalled messed up and now Landers didn't have as much of a good view on the Starcalled because of how they spared a big bad or something.
Chako didn't remember the exact details, but she remembered the important parts... Which was why she was a bit nervous about talking to the people that seemed to live in Honeyhome, which were most likely Landers, like... It was probably pretty obvious to them that Chako was a Starcalled. What if they disliked Chako? What if they didn't want to speak to her? What if they were rude to her?
It made Chako hesitate a lot... And then it also made her overthink stuff, like how was she even supposed to start small talk? Was she just supposed to go to the nearest person who seemed to be kinda free and ask, 'Hey, what is life in Arcia like!?' or something? She felt like she had completely forgotten how to start up a conversation with people.
Still, she really wanted to make at least one Lander friend. She really really wanted to see what this super advanced AI was all about and... Well, just get to learn how things were from the perspective of someone who lived in this world, like... Wasn't it just wild? To see people coming out of nowhere all the time, recklessly hunting monsters and defeating crazy big bads and whatever? Chako was quite curious about how all that felt like to someone who was just trying to live a normal life.
And it was with this kind of thought in her mind that she was walking around Honeyhome. No destination in particular. Just trying to see where her legs would take her... On the times she wasn't tripping and falling, of course.
As she walked, she came upon a construction site of sorts. It seemed like there were some people working on building a new house... And there was also a small girl playing near it... Wasn't that dangerous? Shouldn't someone take the kid away?
Chako decided to approach the small child, "Hey-"
Chako heard something. A strange noise coming from right above her and the kid... The noise of something particularly heavy slipping.
"Watch out!" Chako pushed the kid away without a second thought... And then, Chako felt a sharp pain on her head, and everything went black.
Is this how death feels like... Goodness, I can't believe my first death was for something as silly as a big block of wood falling on my head... Or whatever that was. Didn't have time to look up to see it.
... Shouldn't I be respawning already or something though? Do I have to do something to trigger the respawn? I'm not gonna stay forever in this black space, am I?
... Maybe I should try opening my eyes.
When Chako opened her eyes, she saw... Something she did not expect. It was... The inside of a home? It was warm. There was a lit fireplace, and Chako was covered by blankets.
Chako thought that was strange... She didn't know much about how those things worked in Terrasphere, but she figured she'd respawn on a temple or something, not inside a house.
Still, Chako tried getting up from the bed she was in... Only, she was immediately assaulted by a strong headache, "Ugh..." Chako groaned.
"Mama! Mama! She's awake!" Chako suddenly heard a childish voice, followed by a small girl quickly entering her field of vision.
... Chako recognized this girl, "You're..."
Chako's words were cut short by the girl suddenly holding her hands tightly, "Thank you very much, miss kitty!"
This was definitely the girl that Chako pushed away when she heard something fall off from the house construction... She didn't know how to feel about being called 'miss kitty' though.
"Well... You're welcome. I'm Chako." Chako smiled at the girl. She was happy that the girl was safe at least... Landers shouldn't be able to respawn, right? So it was good that it was Chako who was hit instead of the girl.
Still... What was this girl doing here? And what was Chako doing here? This really felt way too weird. Respawning should not be like this.
"Oh, good. You're awake." Chako's words were cut short by a door being opened, and an older woman entering the room with a... Plate filled with food in her hands?
Chako suddenly became quite aware of her own hunger... How troublesome. She needed to leave here to go fetch some fruits or something in the nearby forest, but leaving now would be rude.
"You hungry, miss?" The woman asked Chako while offering the plate filled with a porridge and a spoon.
... That's for me?
"Uhn... Post-death service here seems to be really nice." Chako commented more to herself than to anybody else, as she gratefully accepted the porridge.
... What? No comments? Why are they both just staring at me like that-?
"You are not dead! Chako is no ghost!" The girl suddenly exclaimed and hugged Chako, "See? Alive! Alive!" The girl hugged Chako harder as if to make her point clearer... But more importantly, she was screaming at Chako's ears and adding a big ear ringing ache on top of the headache.
"O-okay, I get it! I'm alive, I'm alive!" Chako said, trying to ease the girl in order to stop her ears from getting hit by any more accidental attacks, "So uhn... Where am I?" And had Chako just fainted then, instead of dying?
... Chako was surprised that it was actually possible to faint while playing a game. This really was quite realistic, alright.
"My home. My husband brought you here after he dropped that huge wooden board on your head." The woman sighed, "Thank you for what you did there. We would have lost our daughter if it wasn't for you." The woman gave Chako a very troubled smile, "It's not much, but I hope you can appreciate the food at least."
"Yes! Thank you very much, Chako!" The girl exclaimed.
Chako blinked a few times as she heard those words... Sure, she was happy to have food being given to her. And happy that she helped the little girl, too, but... "Do you really... Not mind me eating this?" Chako couldn't help asking.
"... Who else would eat it? It was made for you?" The woman seemed confused.
"No, I mean... With me being a Starcalled and all... Don't you hate me? I heard Landers really disliked Starcalled due to something bad they did..." Chako muttered.
"Anyone who hates Chako is a really meanie bad person!" The girl instantly exclaimed... Chako was a bit surprised. The girl seemed to already care for her even though they didn't know each other at all... Was this just because she pushed the girl away? "Nobody should dislike a cute adorable kitty that purrs while asleep!"
... I do what when I what!?
Chako suddenly blushed a lot while imagining herself purring as the little girl played with her ears while she was fainted... It was a mortifying mental image.
Meanwhile, the girl's mother sighed, "You mean like, that stuff involving the Magia invasion in Astorea?" Chako nodded to those words... She wasn't sure if that was the event in question, but she thought it was that, "Look, you were not involved in that, so there's no way I would hate you for whatever the Starcalled who were involved decided upon... And even if you were, I'm not gonna hate someone that just saved my daughter, you know? It takes a special kind of stupid to hate on the people who keep your family safe.
"Moreover... I don't think anyone who lives here in Honeyhome hates Starcalled. We deal with your kind all the time, you know?
"Anyways, if you don't start eating soon, it's gonna get cold."
"A-ah, right. Uhn... Thanks." Chako nodded, then started eating... It was tasty. Far better than the wild fruits she had been eating for most of her time in Arcia. The food was definitely the thing she had been disliking the most in the game... But even something as simple as a porridge already got rid of any regrets she could possibly have about playing Terrasphere.
So, as Chako ate, she thought a bit about the woman's words... Perhaps she really was overthinking it way too much before now... A human-like AI would naturally be able to understand that innocent people shouldn't be blamed for the sins of others, so... Chako shouldn't have assumed that she was going to be hated by Landers wherever she went... Especially because nobody mistreated her at all in Honeyhome.
Looking back on it, Chako felt like she was really stupid for even worrying about that in the first place.
"Uhn... Hey, do you mind if I ask you some things? Like... About Arcia. Falderen, Astorea and... Well, whatever else comes to mind? I'm just... Well, I'm kinda new here. I want to know more about things..." Chako mustered the courage to ask.
The woman smiled, "Sure. Ask whatever you need."
"Lily sensei will answer aaaaall of your questions! I'm really really smart, you know!? Dad always praises me for that!" So the little girl's name was Lily.
Chako smiled, "I'll be in your care, then."
And like this, Chako felt like she was finally making her first Lander friends.
She wanted to know more about the world and the Landers as a whole. She wanted to talk to them. Experience what the highly advanced AI of Terrasphere really was about. Maybe make some friends and the like. Chako had been quite excited about it when she first started playing.
But then she talked to Bluebird and heard about how Starcalled messed up and now Landers didn't have as much of a good view on the Starcalled because of how they spared a big bad or something.
Chako didn't remember the exact details, but she remembered the important parts... Which was why she was a bit nervous about talking to the people that seemed to live in Honeyhome, which were most likely Landers, like... It was probably pretty obvious to them that Chako was a Starcalled. What if they disliked Chako? What if they didn't want to speak to her? What if they were rude to her?
It made Chako hesitate a lot... And then it also made her overthink stuff, like how was she even supposed to start small talk? Was she just supposed to go to the nearest person who seemed to be kinda free and ask, 'Hey, what is life in Arcia like!?' or something? She felt like she had completely forgotten how to start up a conversation with people.
Still, she really wanted to make at least one Lander friend. She really really wanted to see what this super advanced AI was all about and... Well, just get to learn how things were from the perspective of someone who lived in this world, like... Wasn't it just wild? To see people coming out of nowhere all the time, recklessly hunting monsters and defeating crazy big bads and whatever? Chako was quite curious about how all that felt like to someone who was just trying to live a normal life.
And it was with this kind of thought in her mind that she was walking around Honeyhome. No destination in particular. Just trying to see where her legs would take her... On the times she wasn't tripping and falling, of course.
As she walked, she came upon a construction site of sorts. It seemed like there were some people working on building a new house... And there was also a small girl playing near it... Wasn't that dangerous? Shouldn't someone take the kid away?
Chako decided to approach the small child, "Hey-"
Chako heard something. A strange noise coming from right above her and the kid... The noise of something particularly heavy slipping.
"Watch out!" Chako pushed the kid away without a second thought... And then, Chako felt a sharp pain on her head, and everything went black.
Is this how death feels like... Goodness, I can't believe my first death was for something as silly as a big block of wood falling on my head... Or whatever that was. Didn't have time to look up to see it.
... Shouldn't I be respawning already or something though? Do I have to do something to trigger the respawn? I'm not gonna stay forever in this black space, am I?
... Maybe I should try opening my eyes.
When Chako opened her eyes, she saw... Something she did not expect. It was... The inside of a home? It was warm. There was a lit fireplace, and Chako was covered by blankets.
Chako thought that was strange... She didn't know much about how those things worked in Terrasphere, but she figured she'd respawn on a temple or something, not inside a house.
Still, Chako tried getting up from the bed she was in... Only, she was immediately assaulted by a strong headache, "Ugh..." Chako groaned.
"Mama! Mama! She's awake!" Chako suddenly heard a childish voice, followed by a small girl quickly entering her field of vision.
... Chako recognized this girl, "You're..."
Chako's words were cut short by the girl suddenly holding her hands tightly, "Thank you very much, miss kitty!"
This was definitely the girl that Chako pushed away when she heard something fall off from the house construction... She didn't know how to feel about being called 'miss kitty' though.
"Well... You're welcome. I'm Chako." Chako smiled at the girl. She was happy that the girl was safe at least... Landers shouldn't be able to respawn, right? So it was good that it was Chako who was hit instead of the girl.
Still... What was this girl doing here? And what was Chako doing here? This really felt way too weird. Respawning should not be like this.
"Oh, good. You're awake." Chako's words were cut short by a door being opened, and an older woman entering the room with a... Plate filled with food in her hands?
Chako suddenly became quite aware of her own hunger... How troublesome. She needed to leave here to go fetch some fruits or something in the nearby forest, but leaving now would be rude.
"You hungry, miss?" The woman asked Chako while offering the plate filled with a porridge and a spoon.
... That's for me?
"Uhn... Post-death service here seems to be really nice." Chako commented more to herself than to anybody else, as she gratefully accepted the porridge.
... What? No comments? Why are they both just staring at me like that-?
"You are not dead! Chako is no ghost!" The girl suddenly exclaimed and hugged Chako, "See? Alive! Alive!" The girl hugged Chako harder as if to make her point clearer... But more importantly, she was screaming at Chako's ears and adding a big ear ringing ache on top of the headache.
"O-okay, I get it! I'm alive, I'm alive!" Chako said, trying to ease the girl in order to stop her ears from getting hit by any more accidental attacks, "So uhn... Where am I?" And had Chako just fainted then, instead of dying?
... Chako was surprised that it was actually possible to faint while playing a game. This really was quite realistic, alright.
"My home. My husband brought you here after he dropped that huge wooden board on your head." The woman sighed, "Thank you for what you did there. We would have lost our daughter if it wasn't for you." The woman gave Chako a very troubled smile, "It's not much, but I hope you can appreciate the food at least."
"Yes! Thank you very much, Chako!" The girl exclaimed.
Chako blinked a few times as she heard those words... Sure, she was happy to have food being given to her. And happy that she helped the little girl, too, but... "Do you really... Not mind me eating this?" Chako couldn't help asking.
"... Who else would eat it? It was made for you?" The woman seemed confused.
"No, I mean... With me being a Starcalled and all... Don't you hate me? I heard Landers really disliked Starcalled due to something bad they did..." Chako muttered.
"Anyone who hates Chako is a really meanie bad person!" The girl instantly exclaimed... Chako was a bit surprised. The girl seemed to already care for her even though they didn't know each other at all... Was this just because she pushed the girl away? "Nobody should dislike a cute adorable kitty that purrs while asleep!"
... I do what when I what!?
Chako suddenly blushed a lot while imagining herself purring as the little girl played with her ears while she was fainted... It was a mortifying mental image.
Meanwhile, the girl's mother sighed, "You mean like, that stuff involving the Magia invasion in Astorea?" Chako nodded to those words... She wasn't sure if that was the event in question, but she thought it was that, "Look, you were not involved in that, so there's no way I would hate you for whatever the Starcalled who were involved decided upon... And even if you were, I'm not gonna hate someone that just saved my daughter, you know? It takes a special kind of stupid to hate on the people who keep your family safe.
"Moreover... I don't think anyone who lives here in Honeyhome hates Starcalled. We deal with your kind all the time, you know?
"Anyways, if you don't start eating soon, it's gonna get cold."
"A-ah, right. Uhn... Thanks." Chako nodded, then started eating... It was tasty. Far better than the wild fruits she had been eating for most of her time in Arcia. The food was definitely the thing she had been disliking the most in the game... But even something as simple as a porridge already got rid of any regrets she could possibly have about playing Terrasphere.
So, as Chako ate, she thought a bit about the woman's words... Perhaps she really was overthinking it way too much before now... A human-like AI would naturally be able to understand that innocent people shouldn't be blamed for the sins of others, so... Chako shouldn't have assumed that she was going to be hated by Landers wherever she went... Especially because nobody mistreated her at all in Honeyhome.
Looking back on it, Chako felt like she was really stupid for even worrying about that in the first place.
"Uhn... Hey, do you mind if I ask you some things? Like... About Arcia. Falderen, Astorea and... Well, whatever else comes to mind? I'm just... Well, I'm kinda new here. I want to know more about things..." Chako mustered the courage to ask.
The woman smiled, "Sure. Ask whatever you need."
"Lily sensei will answer aaaaall of your questions! I'm really really smart, you know!? Dad always praises me for that!" So the little girl's name was Lily.
Chako smiled, "I'll be in your care, then."
And like this, Chako felt like she was finally making her first Lander friends.