PHASE I [ 9 00 ] You open your eyes, and there is a chicken pecking at your face. It's not a very happy chicken, either, but if you can manage to fend it off, then it will be clear that you are in a village. It is... medieval-esque, in that video game sort of way; the details don’t seem too clear, but if you look to your left, there’s a cow! And to your right, a well! Ignore the clear evidence of modern technology in the buildings such as lights, gas, and 21st century plumbing; CERES is dedicated to authenticity.
Looks like the new ViViD level has finally been released, and everyone is invited to play, whether they want to or not.
The game (because this time, that's surely what it is) will start simple. Everyone begins in the same place and every NPC villager will say the same thing: to get out of here, you have to go through the caves. They’ll shove a stick at you (“take this, it’s dangerous to go alone”) and off you go, into the caves… !
Which are full of tiny rats and more chickens. They will try to fight you, but it’s really not very effective when they’re perfectly small and average (especially when everyone still has their typical powers and abilities -- CERES didn't mess with those at all this time). The caves are winding and circular and maze-like, and to make matters even worse, the only ones around are the other poor saps stuck in this situation.
But if you kill enough of the rats, you’ll get to hear the satisfying level up jingle. Congratulations! You are now level 2. It's probably satisfying just for a minute or so until you finally find your way out of those maze like caves and -- You're back in the village again. Great.
PHASE II [ 930 ] You’re carrying a bag. No matter what you do, you can’t take it off, either; it’s stuck with you through thick and thin. But it is awfully heavy. Maybe you should actually open it and see what’s inside?
The problem is, it’s going to take a while.
The bag has clearly tapped into its true hammerspace nature; there are items for days in there, and they’re all very, very strange. You might end up covered in hats of all sorts, buried in logs as you pull out one after another, or look like you have an odd fetish for pickaxes.
Maybe there’s 1/3rd of an evil turnip, half a piece of pie and an egg.
Geez, what in the world are you supposed to do with all of that?
PHASE III [ 1200 ] Eventually, you make it out of the caves the right way despite the harassment of the rats and chickens and the fact you'll keep perpetually getting lost. Hooray! You come out into a large, peaceful, scenic meadow, with a small river bubbling off to one side, and a house.
You'll immediately notice that there’s a bridge to cross the river, but there’s someone standing in the way of that bridge. When you approach to go past him, no matter what you try to do, you won't be able to. Asking him why he won't move will only get one thing in response -- “Bring me a fish. Cooked.”
Then he’ll shove a fishing rod at you and expect you to get to it. You can’t attack him, you can’t get past him -- looks like the only thing to do is to catch and cook that fish. Time to sit back, relax, and get to work. Or maybe you’ll team up with someone else and be the person in the house making sure that the fish gets cooked properly. For some reason, if you leave it too long it turns right into a pile of ashes.
Weirdly though, no matter how good you are at cooking or fishing usually, it’s as if you’re right back at the metaphorical level one. Any sort of seasoning or effort to cook it faster falls flat and in the end you'll only be able to place the fish in the pan and set it on the stove, whole. This may take awhile.
And if you try to cross the river itself, well... no, really, don’t try to cross the river.
At least if you get eaten, you’ll just respawn back in the village, but do have fun traveling through the caves again!
PHASE IV [ 1430 ] You made it through the caves. You made it across the river (with a slightly burnt fish). You’ve made it to the wide open world, and you can finally adventure to your heart’s content. You take a step forward on the road and --
A message pops up, bright red and in your face.
[ Restricted Area: Members Only ]
No matter what you do, you can’t go past that point. In fact, if you’re not careful and you’re going too fast, you might run face-first into it like it’s an invisible wall (which it is).
Then, just like that, you're back in the village. Again. Only this time, there's a nice, blinking message -- Pay a small subscription fee to access member's content. Oh well. No big deal, you can just start again.
Except then you see a cool sword and when you try to pick it up, you'll get that same message, and end up transported back to the village yet again. And again, with some shiny new armor. And again, with that attention-grabbing NPC over there. Looks like you're caught in an infinite loop here but no matter how much you inspect the pop up, there's no... actual way to pay the subscription fee (and why would you want to?). But at least you have company, because you can't be the only person who thought that sword was cool.
(It was really, really cool.)
BONUS [ xxxx ] What’s that on the ground in front of you? It looks like… some bunny ears? Or maybe it’s a chicken head, or a pumpkin head. Either way, the moment you touch it, you have a strong need to put it on your head -- and once it’s on, it’s not coming off.
To make matters worse, each hat has an effect associated with it; the bunny ears will, in fact, randomly turn you into a cute fluffy bunny for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour before you pop right back to yourself, whereas the pumpkin hat will, in a complete reversal, turn you into Cinderella for a bit -- complete with beautiful ball gown and the ability to talk to all of those cute fluffy bunnies.
Also the rats will love you, so maybe you should go back to the caves again.
Meanwhile, the chicken hat won't transform you into any odd creature, but it will inspire in the people wearing them a very real, persistent desire to build a nest. This will involve picking up twigs, trash, shiny things and whatever else catches your eye to try to build a nest out of it. You'll also try to pick up whatever food you find on the ground to eat, have the weirdest desire to lay an egg, and basically have all sorts of odd chicken-like instincts inflicted upon you.
At least you look festive!
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(I DID NOTHING) it is okay i am in Sweden time is an illusion
But gosh, those questions are really KIND OF IMPERTINENT, whatever Souji might have gently inferred there, and he surely can't be blamed for going a delicate shade of pink at the questioning. It's not that there's anything weird about it, of course, or as if most people back home don't know, it's just that it's not something you talk about directly, is it? So it's hard to know how to answer in an appropriate manner, but he will do his best.]
It's the kind of thing where... he and I have always been very close, and he is my superior, and ah, it- I suppose you could say he favors me in a lot of ways.
[THERE. Please understand the inherent social coding, because he's more than just a bit pink right now. Right now it's a both a blessing and a curse that his Hijikata isn't actually around, because he would probably be a lot more blunt about it, and while that would be embarrassing it would mean that Souji wouldn't really have to search for the right words like this.
Tetsu is easier to talk about.
Everyone likes talking about their kids, right?]Mm, Tetsu-kun is around seventeen now, but when we took him in he was around fifteen. But he was so short, he looked about ten! And, well, he was a bit childish too - still is, sometimes, though he's growing up well.
[No seriously, look at this proud smile, even as the blush is fading, and it's followed by a disarming little laugh as he leans in and bumps a shoulder against hers.]
I can't imagine why I wouldn't be kind to someone as nice and cute as you, though. That would be silly.
(DIDNT YOU) ugh holds ur hands...... european timezone buddy
-- Oh!!! [ It's her turn to go pink now. Gosh, that was unexpected! Not bad, of course, she just. Needs a minute. And another to apologise actually. ] I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-- to pry and-- [ If you listen closely, you can actually hear the sounds of her face steaming. Still, part of her would like to hear about them. Another time, perhaps. And not in the middle of nowhere, at that.
But it warms her heart to hear him speaking about Tetsu, nonetheless. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she leans her arms on her knees, and her chin on her arms, she can't help but smile listening to him. ] Tetsu-san and I would be about the same age then... [
That's because you're historical protagonist counterparts.] How did you meet him? ... Was it at Ikedaya? [ Her voice loses its cheerful tone for all but a moment, but she pulls herself together again quickly.How can't she? After all, this Okita-san has been so kind to her! Flushing slightly in joy, she ducks her head shyly at his words. It's sort of like being praised by an uncle or a brother or something... ] T-thank you very much...! ... Ehehe, it's kind of strange to hear that coming from you. [ Here, she pouts slightly. ] Our Okita-san is definitely colder than you, Okita-san...
(im innocent) YOU UNDERSTAND MY STRUGGLES
It's alright, you weren't to know. And it's not really a secret, just...
[A small shrug. Well, she lives in Japan too!!! Hopefully she understands that some things are just Personal and you don't just go around talking about them - and anyway, it's not like it's needed when most people can usually read the signs in their interactions.
Then he raises his eyebrows a bit, tilting his head.]
That's where they met you, is that it? But no, Tetsu-kun joined before then. He actually fought at Ikedaya though, and really well too.
[Look at all that pride. And even prouder still he is of Tetsu's decision, to stick to who he is and to do everything he can not to have to kill. Tetsu isn't like Souji, he's not a born killer, and that is something precious and beautiful. He had still defeated Yoshida, and Souji had been only too happy to kill the man for him.
He lets out a small, soft noise.]
Well, even people who seem cold... sometimes they do so because they want to protect themselves, or protect people who are dear to them. So you shouldn't take it as a sign that he doesn't still care about you, right? [He winks.] But don't put up with him being mean either.