《Stars of Gerhana》 A Delivery "Guys! I just fought the hardest boss yesterday!" "Me too!" "Me three!" "Are you talking about ''The Birch''? Did you find its weakness already?" "I heard that the trick was to kill its branches first." ¡­ Bla bla bla¡­ Everyone in class is obsessed with the game. That''s the only thing they''d talk about in class. They''d preach about the most effective way to kill slimes in English class. They''d trade equipment with each other in economics class. All they''d ever do in math class is calculate the most optimal way to deal damage to ingame bosses. Why aren''t the teachers even stopping them? Monday through Friday, it''s all they could think about. I''m surprised they could follow the actual lessons with that amount of obsession. If they''re obsessed about it at school, I could only imagine how bad it is at home. Honestly, I can''t blame them. This game has gone over the whole internet, even the entire world. Every street I visit has at least one or two gamers just walking around prideful of their ingame avatars. You can always tell when someone''s a player of that game. They say that the game developers reward players with free T-shirts if they were able to do something notable ingame, at least that''s what I heard. Players would wear them casually to show them off to other people. My class had never felt so noisy before. Today is especially noisy. They''re all talking about something along the lines of "a raid" and "a big event" that the developers have apparently announced. This is all just hearsay, though. I have never played this game they''re all so hyped about. Don''t get me wrong, I, Lucien Hallowell, am a proud gamer. I''ve been a gamer since birth; thus I am connected by blood to games. A PC runs all day and all night at home, always automatically grinding my stats whenever I''m offline. I have consoles of many kinds, including old ones you can''t even buy anymore. I''ve played games of many genres, of many qualities. Even as a high school freshman, I already have an online job as a game reviewer. I''m just that good of a gamer. The real question is, why haven''t I played this game everyone''s talking about? Simple. This game is apparently in beta testing and is invite-only. The game requires special equipment that no ordinary person could buy for cheap. It''s called a Full Dive Virtual Reality headset (FDVR or VR for short). These headsets are bulky, and cost an insane amount of dollars for us ordinary gamers. Even most rich people have a hard time buying the product. They''re rare and very expensive. The makers of these headsets only give equipment to companies for experimental use. The game in question, however, has developers that are very generous. "Stars of Gerhana" currently has millions of players spanning across continents. The developers give their chosen players a free FDVR headset along with an invitation to play the game. I heard everyone over the age of 15 has a chance to be chosen. Somehow, everyone in class has been given the privilege of playing the game. Everyone was lucky enough that they''ve gotten to play the game for months by this point. Out of the 20 people in class, only 2 people haven''t been lucky enough to get one. I am one of those people. Sadly, since I skipped a grade and is the youngest in class, I haven''t been qualified to be chosen for the longest time because of my age. Thus, I haven''t had the chance to try out the game. Thus, I don''t really understand everyone''s obsession with the game. Thus, very sadge. The other person who hasn''t gotten their chance is the girl sitting right next to me. Coincidentally, she''s also the class president. Phoebe Star, technically a year older than me, hasn''t been lucky enough to get the game either. I don''t quite know why she hasn''t gotten her chance. If everyone already got the game, why hasn''t she? But she doesn''t seem that bothered by it. Her extroverted nature lets her talk to whoever she wants about the game. Even though she hasn''t played the game, she can understand basically everything really well. Today, the commotion in class has left us silently sitting. Everyone''s super hyped about "the event" for some reason. Star has been sitting beside me silently for a couple of minutes now. It is surprising for someone like her. I thought the hype would just fuel her energy. She seems down today. It''s like something is bothering her. "Yo!" I called. "What''s wrong?" Star brought her head up off the table. Her crossed arms relaxed as she replied, "You know, it''s a bit lonely when everyone''s talking without you." She looks at everyone in front of her, loneliness in her eyes. "Hmm¡­ You usually talk to them right? Like, you''d usually just join in on whatever they''re talking about."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Yeah¡­ but¡­ it just feels different today, ya know? I just don''t see myself hyping for something I can''t see for myself." Damn. I''ve never seen her this down before. She just doesn''t seem like the person to be sad about this kind of stuff. I guess even the class president couldn''t fend off the loneliness. "Cheer up!" I said. "You''ll get your turn soon enough," as I pat on her shoulder. Her indifferent expression had turned into a miniscule grin. "Yeah, I know." ---- The 2 o''clock bell rang throughout the school halls, signifying the end of the day. School had finally ended. People packed their bags to prepare their departure from the prison we call "school". Everyone was rushing around, doing everything as quick as they could. I assume they''re doing everything in 2x speed so that they can quickly get home to game. I could be wrong, though. In my defense, everyone except me and Star had already left the room not 1 minute after the bell rang. Well, it is not rare these days for us to be the only ones left. Because of this, it had become a daily tradition for us to walk home together. As I packed my bag, I started a little bit of small talk with Star. "Seems like it''s hot outside. Did you bring the umbrella?" Star turned to me in confusion. "I thought it''s your turn to bring it." "What? No, It''s definitely your turn today¡ª" "Just kidding!" Star pulled out a compact tied-up umbrella. "Brought one!" She said with a big gigantic grin on her face. I was not amused. With the sun at this hour, it would''ve been burning hot if we went without an umbrella. My face turned sour as I realized her making a fool out of me. Star stood up energetically with the umbrella in her hand. "Let''s go!" We walked out of our class towards the gate together. As she unfolded her umbrella, I could finally shade from the intense sunlight of the sun. Her umbrella is deceptively large. I can stand next to her without being too close and still be in its shadow. Throughout the walk, we exchanged a lot about homework and games. She''s as much of a gamer as I am. Her computer has insane specs compared to current standards. Even so, she still has some time to work as a baker with her parents. She''s a local celebrity in our town. Her mastery over cake decoration has gotten praise by everyone. ---- It wasn''t long until we reached our home. Since she brought the umbrella, it would be weird if we went to her home first. We like to switch it up every day. If she brings the umbrella today, tomorrow I''ll be the one bringing the umbrella. This way, I get to see her home, and she gets to see mine. Every other school day that is. "Well, I guess I''ll go then." Star said. "Mhm. See you tomorrow then!" Star waved goodbye as I unlocked my gate. ---- "Hmm?" As I walked to my door, I saw a box lying on top of the welcome mat. It had no address written on it; it was just a plain cardboard box taped close. I couldn''t figure out where this box came from. I don''t remember buying anything online. Since I live alone, it''s definitely a package sent by a friend. But why would they send a box instead of just giving it to me in person? Maybe there was an address under the box. As I raised the box off the mat, I noticed the weight of it. Whatever is inside is surprisingly heavy. Maybe that''s why it was sent to my house. The sender was considerate enough that they expected that I wouldn''t be able to carry it all the way home. But as I looked at the bottom of the box, there was not a single line of text visible. There were no addresses, not the sender''s address, not even my address. How would this package be delivered to my house if there was no address? Then maybe it wasn''t sent by mail. I suspect that some of my friends have something to do with this. I was still too nervous to open the box. I keep thinking that it could''ve been sent to the wrong address. So, I carried it inside without opening it. I quickly took out my phone and texted each and every single one of my friends. The mission was to catch the culprit as quickly as possible. As minutes went by, one by one, they''d deny the package as theirs. Even after texting most of the 30 people I knew, none of them claimed the package. "Who is the culprit!" I whispered to myself in frustration. It couldn''t be from the people I don''t know. Unless¡­ It was a bomb! No¡­ That only happens in cartoons. Realistically, it could''ve been a misdelivery. Maybe it was one of my neighbors''. ---- The curiosity had stormed my mind. What is in the box? Why is it so heavy? Why was it sent to my house? It was just too intriguing. I couldn''t help it any longer. Open the box, I shall! I couldn''t care less if it wasn''t a package for me. It was sent to my house after all! I took out a box cutter from my bag. It clicked as I slid the blade out of the compartment. With a quick jab, I stabbed the tape that was holding it together. Not long after, the box was successfully sliced open, allowing my eyes to see what''s inside. It looked like a helmet. On top of it, there was a single piece of paper. Taking a better look at it, it wasn''t an ordinary piece of paper. It was a letter. " Dear Lucien Hallowell, Congratulations on being invited to our Beta Testing Program. As you might have seen around the internet, our game ''Stars of Gerhana'' is currently doing an invite-only Beta Testing Program for chosen players. We invite you to participate in our program. As you may or may not have noticed, the package delivered to you is devoid of any home or company addresses. This is to protect your privacy, as well as to protect the confidentiality of our company. Inside the cardboard box, we''ve given you the device needed to play the game. Please refer to online manuals for further setup requirements. We''ve also prepared the required cables needed for the setup. The game ''Stars of Gerhana'' should have already been added to the game catalog on your forever running PC. Please use the given VR headset to play the game. Your PC has a high enough specification to support the game. Your participation will help us improve the gameplay experience and immersion of the game. Thank you for being a part of the Beta Testing program. Regards, The Gerhana Project Development Team " ¡­ Now I know this was definitely sent to me. An invitation to "Stars of Gerhana" and a VR headset? This is it! I was chosen! I was chosen for the game''s beta! Who would''ve ever thought? I, the youngest in class, the smartest genius in class, can finally play the most hyped game of the decade! I can finally see for myself what the hype was about. I jumped to my feet and ran around my house carrying the heavy box. I quickly and carefully put together the setup as described on the online manual. As I check my game catalog, I could see the new game on the very top of my page. I can''t believe I was worthy enough to play this game! Maybe I''ll make a review? No. I''ll make a video series reviewing every aspect of the game! Well¡­ maybe not. I want to enjoy the game as much as possible. I don''t want to ruin my experience by reviewing every aspect. But wow! The possibilities are endless. There''s so much hype for this game. Maybe I can finally join in on the others'' conversation in class! Maybe I can optimize my own numbers in class! Maybe I can get my own T-shirt. No! I''m getting too ahead of myself. First and foremost, let''s try starting the game. I shan''t make any assumptions! I shall play this game and see for myself. As my gamer thoughts toned down, I finished setting up the headset. It was finally time. I booted up the game and laid down on my bed. Apparently, all I need to do now is close my eyes for 10 seconds. Well¡­ here goes nothing! A New Player Has it been 10 seconds yet? As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the bluest sky I''ve never seen before. I could tell that it was daytime, yet there was no sun blinding my eyes. There were only silvery clouds floating by as the wind blew. And there was the wind, blowing a gentle breeze wherever it goes. I could only hear the wind blowing around. There were no birds, no leaves, no nothing. I could hear nothing else. I felt like I was floating around. My body felt weightless lying down on the ground. I don''t even know if there was a ground. And I don''t care if there weren''t any. I''ve never felt so calm before in my life. It was a serene experience. I stopped enjoying the scenery and arose from my weightless bed. Just as I had suspected, there was no ground where I lay. The plains of water rippled with every movement I made. My reflection distorted with each ripple. "Where am I?" I can tell that I''ve successfully started the game. No dream or hallucination can create such a pretty scenery in my mind. It all also felt so real. I can touch the water and feel the waves in my hand. As I stood up, I realize how reflective the water is. It was like standing on liquid mirror. I could see my avatar for the first time ingame. My character looked exactly like me. Messy, spiky hair, hazel eyes, and short. But he was wearing a completely different outfit than what I''d wear in real life. His clothes were brown, torn up, very dirty. As I realized the state of my clothes, my body started to itch everywhere. Maybe it was some sort of nocebo effect. I looked around me, expecting some sort of scenery that''d greet me. Yet there was nothing. The same reflective water as where I stood covers all 360 degrees. I was in a sea of mirrors. It was unsettling. As the loneliness crept in, I could feel my hands shake. Though it was calming, it was still very liminal. After a few seconds, something started moving in the water. Text started appearing on the surface. ¡ºWelcome, Hallowell¡» ¡ºWe hope you enjoy our game to its fullest¡» ¡ºWe encourage you to explore the world by yourself, and maybe with your friends¡» ¡ºBefore that, please read the disclaimer, terms of service, EULA, and basic walkthrough below¡» There were a few hundred lines of disclaimer written on the body of water. I think it wants me to read the whole thing, but I couldn''t care less. Text like these are almost read by no one. I assume it''s blabbering something about legal stuff or whatever. But then, I realized that every word I read became highlighted. I think this might be them forcing me to read the whole thing. There wasn''t even a choice. Either I read it, or I stay here for eternity.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. It was really annoying. My eyes started to wander off in the middle of reading the first paragraphs. I mean, really; it is a waste that they didn''t decorate this starting area a little more. Sure, it''s in beta, but it would''ve been a good first impression if it was decorated. It''s such a shame. I took one more 360 scan to see if there was really nothing there. It was as empty as I first looked. Shame. My eyes came back to the gigantic block of text under me. I want to read this in a swift pace. I don''t want to skip play time because I took too long to read the terms of services. It''d be a stupid reason. ---- As I finish reading the ToS, I proceeded to read the EULA. More paragraphs of boring sentences. It already took 5 minutes to read the ToS, why do I still have to read the damn EULA. Are they not the exact same? Who even memorizes the whole text? Who even cares? Splash It was in my boredom that I heard a silent splashing somewhere behind me. I had been standing still the whole time, the water under me was calm. Yet there was a ripple, not soon after the splash. It propagated from behind me, going between my feet as it passed. There was someone behind me. I shivered as I realized that I wasn''t alone. Maybe it was another player? But this opening scenery is probably single player only. The curiosity hit me, I had to see who this mystery person was. I turned around as quickly as I could. "Who''s there!?" There was a girl right in front of me. Her appearance was almost ghostly. She glowed visibly, even in the bright daytime of the scenery. She was wearing some sort of school uniform. Her height not much taller than me. Maybe she was the same age as me. Her hair flowed like a river stream. There was a gradient to it. Mainly white, though the further it went down, a slight tinge of blue seeped in. She was pretty. But even after several seconds of staring at her, she dared not look me in the eyes. Nor did she say anything. She was the first person I ever encountered in VR. Maybe I was also hers. I felt like I should say something. "Hey¡­" She stayed silent. Conversations aren''t really my thing. But even then, I thought the girl would say something to me. I decided that I had to say something else. Maybe a different question might dispel the awkward silence. "So what''s your nam¡ª" !! As I spoke that sentence, my feet began to sink into the water beneath me. Both my feet drowned in the water. My reflection started to shrink as the rest of my body sank. I tried to swim up, paddling my feet as I inevitably sank. Yet it was no use. The water was like quicksand. The more I moved, the faster I went down. "Wait!" The water kept swallowing me as I froze my movements. I thought it was a good chance for me to look at her. This whole time, she had been looking down at the water. Her bangs covered her eyes in a way that I couldn''t look at them. But from down here, I can maybe somewhat see under her bangs. !! "You''re¡ª!" My head sank before I could finish my sentence. You''re crying Tears had rolled down her cheeks and splashed into the water. I could see a river of tears flowing down her eyes as she looked down at herself. Why was she crying? Those eyes looked so¡­ lonely. ---- Wait! I haven''t finished reading the damn EULA! "Hey! Get me back there!" Hmm? I can speak underwater? No¡­ Maybe it was just how I perceived it. I was sinking yet deeper into the sea of water. The girl I saw had gradually blurred out of my vision. At the end, there was nothing left but the plain blue background of the sea. I felt weightless once again as I let go of the EULA from my mind. There was no point in reaching for it anyway. I assume the moment I sunk, there was no going back. I decided I''d close my eyes to savor as much of the serenity as I can. I don''t know when I''m going to feel this calm ever or if I ever will feel this calm in the future. ---- Not so long after, I could feel some sort of wind blowing over me. I could tell that I was lying down on some sort of rocky ground. Sounds of horses and people filled my ear. I opened my eyes to behold the world around me. The Starting Town I was standing in the middle of a busy street. There were people walking around me wearing fantasy attires. Some of them wore armor, some of them wore robes, and some of them even wore suits. Most of them carried their bags filled with items as they passed by me. The ground below me was made of rocks. Each of them was the size of my feet, enough to tile the streets unevenly. The cracks between rocks made for a very textured experience. Bordering the streets were buildings. They have a medieval look to them, but each one had a unique personality from the others. There was a shop next to where I stood, 2 stories tall, painted green, with a sign hanging by the window. Beside that was a very wide blacksmith workshop. There were no less than 5 workers clanking at their metals when I watched them. Across the street, there was a building 5 stories tall. The size of it shows that it might be a hotel or something. I''m not quite sure myself. It was sandwiched in between more buildings that have their own uses. Each and every one of these buildings was so different from one another. Leaves hanging down from windows, little pots of flowers in front of the shops, windows showcasing the current trending attire of the day. It was magnificent! I couldn''t help but keep walking around to explore more and more of this town. There were windows begging to be seen through, there were open shops calling for customers, there were people sitting around casually drinking outside. As I walked through the streets, more and more of this city fascinates me even more. I passed through shops and cafes and restaurants and food courts. Below the arching bridges and above the streaming rivers. There were smells and sounds of all kinds filling the scenery. It was sensory overload! I had never seen such a beautiful town in any game. It''s amazing how immersive this new VR tech is. If every game was like this, I would never want to logout. Everything in this game felt so much better than what real life can ever offer. I have yet to realize how long I''ve been exploring town. ---- My exploring led me to a wider street where people were densely packed. I couldn''t see what they were doing there. It was just so jam-packed and most people were taller than me. Curiosity strikes back as I wondered what they were doing there. Squeezing through the crowd wasn''t easy. People were wearing all kinds of robes and sharp armor. Sometimes these fantasy attires poked and scraped my skin so much that it''d hurt. Moreover, the surrounding people were wearing fancy sandals and shoes. They kept stepping on my feet without noticing my presence. It doesn''t hurt as much as I''d imagine it does in real life, but I was still surprised that the game simulated pain for the players. After a very hard and squeezing crowd, I finally managed to get a peak of what they were doing. There was a sign with the written words "Get your maps here!". A bunch of arrows pointed to a crate filled with folded paper. Looks like people were queuing up to pick up maps of their own. I thought it might be worthwhile for me to get myself one. So, I joined the queue. ---- Though the line moved quickly, I still think I have 5 more minutes before it was my turn. Boredom told me to listen it to the crowd as they spoke to one another. "Is that the new map?" "Yeah! The Scribe just updated it like, today." "You think that coffee shop got its own symbol yet?" "Is this a map for the whole game world?" "No, just for this town." "Come on! Go faster! I need to find this shop ASAP!" There were a lot of random stuff being talked about. It seems like there''s a person who makes these maps periodically. The people here seem to have some respect for this person and their maps. ---- The line before me got shorter and shorter. Until finally, it was my turn to take a map out of the box. Just 5 minutes ago, the crate was basically filled to the brim with maps. But as I looked into it, there was nothing left but 1 piece of folded paper. Looks like I was lucky enough to have been here at the right time. Serves you right foot steppers. As I took the folded paper out of the crate, sparks and colors flew out of the crate, signifying that it was completely looted. Suddenly, someone ran over to the crate and checked it. He then announced loudly, "There are no more maps in the crate! The people in line, please stand back. We will be back in an hour for a 3 crate restock!" I could feel the death stares of the crowd behind me.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A lot of "Aww"-s and "Oh man!"-s were uttered as the crowd disbanded. I slid out of the scene as stealthily as I could. Afraid that they''d chase me for the map, I broke into a sprint and ran away from that general direction. ---- After I was sure that no one was following me, I found an alley that was empty. It was the perfect place to rest and check out the map. I unfolded the paper to reveal a surprisingly gigantic map of the city. It was large enough that I had to place it on the ground to be able to look at the whole picture. A brown-ish color tainted the map, giving it a somewhat old and ancient feel. On the back of the map, there''s an orthographic picture of the town. It was definitely not painted by someone, rather someone probably imported a shot of it onto this paper. Surprisingly, the picture can move! I can faintly see birds flying around and smokes rising from chimneys. It''s like a looping animation of the city. That''s really cool! Looking back at the map, I can see that the city is large. Each and every building has been labeled with a symbol that fits its actual use. There were blacksmiths and shops and hotels all across the city. There was even a marketplace so large that, on the map, it was the size of my palm. It marks streets and alleys where there would be a lot of traffic in weekdays and weekends. It marks important landmarks that players need to progress through the game. Most importantly, it marks a beginner''s area that''s located just southwest of the city center. I just need to go there then. Locating the beginner''s area was easy, it was clearly labeled with a gigantic block of text on the paper. The hard part was figuring out where I was currently standing on the map. Looking around, I can see shops, blacksmiths, restaurants and street stalls. But even with that info, the map was so large that there were a number of clusters that have those buildings in the exact same relative positions as the ones around me. I couldn''t tell where I was even after looking at it for a few minutes. If only I had a vantage point, I could reach where I can tell my surroundings a little better. ¡­ Well. I looked up. There was a perfectly great vantage point right in my line of sights. If I can figure out how to get to the roof, I would have a higher view of the city. I would actually be able to tell where I was. These buildings had a wooden frame that I could definitely climb to reach the top. An added bonus would be if I could reach the beginner''s area by jumping rooftop to rooftop. It would be a shortcut compared to following cursive streets and crowded areas. With my conviction in my hand, determination filled me. I folded my piece of paper and held it in my mouth. If I''m going to climb these buildings, then I''d need both hands. The wooden frames were unexpectedly easy to hold on to despite me having no experience in climbing. With both my hands on the ledges, I took a leap of courage and lifted my feet off the ground. I was successfully dangled off the ground. I thought that my weight would be a problem, but the game was generous enough to make feel less weight while climbing. If I can reach the next ledge, I could climb with no problem. I placed my feet on the wall, hoping that the friction might help me climb. I let go of the wall in one hand and tried to reach for the next ledge. My hand reached the ledge! I was actually climbing! Sure, I looked like a spider while doing it, and this is not how real life climbing works. But I was able to climb in the game, and that''s what matters. Little by little, I moved upward in the same pattern. Grab a ledge, stick my feet on the wall, grab another ledge, stick the next feet on the wall¡­ Until finally, I reached the roof. It was quite the effort, but the prize was priceless. The rooftop view of the city was so much better. Rooftops decorated my scene with colors and shapes I couldn''t''ve imagined before, not unlike a really architectural abstract art. I felt like I was standing on top of a forest of buildings. Telling by my surrounding buildings, I was near the center of the city, to the north. All I have to do is jump from rooftop to rooftop in a straight line to reach the beginner''s area. Another problem has emerged. How do I jump across a street to the next rooftop? Going from one rooftop to another in the same row is as easy as skipping on stepping stones. Meanwhile, there are some roof dead ends that force me to jump to the building across the streets. Even with a sprint, I don''t think I can reach the other side of the street. ¡­ ¡ºWould you like some help?¡» "Bah!" My heart jump when the voice of a girl suddenly rang in my ear. I looked around to see who was talking, but there was no one around me. The voice was so loud I thought it spoke directly into my mind. ¡ºI am speaking directly to you, Hallowell¡» "Whoa, hey¡­ Who''s speaking?" I didn''t even say anything. Was it responding to my thoughts? That''s not possible¡­ ¡ºDo you need help to cross the gap?¡» ¡­ How does it know what I was thinking about?! "Who are you?! Why can''t I see you?!" I kept spinning around to try to find the person speaking. The dizziness kicked in. ¡ºI am your personal AI guide, Celeste¡» Exhausted, I took a sit on the roof as my dizziness tried to settle down. "An AI guide?" ¡ºI will help you in your journey to become a great adventurer¡» An AI guide? I read nothing about this on the online forums about this game. ¡ºYou said you wanted to cross the gap?¡» "Uh¡­ Yes." ¡ºTry sprinting and jumping¡» "What? No! That''s a stupid idea! I can''t get the speed to cross the gap." ¡ºDon''t worry, the game eases the gravity when you attempt a long jump¡» "Really?" The gap was large; it was just barely too far to reach if I sprint as fast as I could. If the AI is right, then when I jump, I fall slower and I could potentially reach the other end. But can it be trusted? ¡ºI am an AI guide, Hallowell. I can be trusted¡» "Wha¡ª" There it is again! I didn''t even say anything! How can it know what I was thinking?! Maybe it was a coincidence? No, that answer is just too on topic. ¡ºI can read your mind, Hallowell¡» "Really? Is that how it is? Why?" ¡ºIt''s handy¡» "¡­ I guess that''s a fair statement." I succumbed to the AI''s will. She must have a pretty high authority if she is allowed to read my mind. I think I''ll trust the AI just this once. "If I fall, I''m reporting you to the game devs!" I backed up, giving myself a little bit of space to sprint. A deep breath in, a deep breath out. My feet released with a burst of energy. Every step I took cracked the tiles of the roof under me. Speed quickly built up as I gain momentum. Just as I was about to reach the edge of the roof, I kicked my foot off the roof, sending me flying through the air. I felt so much air rush around me. As I reached the peak of my jump, I could tell that I was somewhere in the middle of the gap. The moment I sped up downwards; I could feel my body getting lighter. It was like gliding through a sea of air. My speed was much more than needed to cross the gap. As the AI had said, the gravity decreased as I was jumping. It was a miracle! Thud! My feet had landed on the rooftop across. It was exhilarating! "I¡­ I actually made it!" I chuckled, remembering how much I hesitated from doing the jump. ¡ºI told you¡» The Beginners Zone According to the map, the travel to the beginner''s area was a long one. With the pace I was going at, I estimate the journey to take somewhere between 10 to 15 minutes. Though jumping from roof to roof was easy, I needed to be careful when crossing a gap between rows. Though travelling on roofs wasn''t easy, my muscle memory eventually got the hang of it. Every step I took was calculated to not slip off the roof and stall my progress. My steps made a lot of sound on these roofs. I wonder if the people in the buildings can hear every little thud I made on their roof. After 5 minutes of running on rooftops, my mouth couldn''t handle the boredom anymore. All this repetition of jumping and running on roofs was just too repetitive. Words piled up in my mouth, begging for release. I wonder if the AI that spoke to me was still here. There isn''t a reason not to try asking, right? ---- "Hey AI, can you talk?" ¡ºYes¡» "Okay cool¡­ Skipping rooftops is really boring, you know? You have anything you want to talk about?" ¡ºI can respond to any topic you give me¡» "I''m asking for what you want to talk about." ¡ºAs an AI, I can only respond to your prompts¡» "Well then, suggest a topic to discuss." ¡ºHow about introductions? The more I know the player, the better my prompts will fit their needs.¡» "Great idea. I''ll go first. My name is Hallowell, apparently. The game just gave me that name and I hadn''t actually thought about it. I don''t know how it knew to use my name. Maybe the devs just gave me Hallowell because it''s my surname." ¡­ How do they know my real name? Oh¡­ it''s my gamertag on my PC. "Anyway, I am a new player in this game. I''m a guy who likes games and is a genius in class." ¡ºI am Celeste, your personal AI guide in "Stars of Gerhana". My assigned gender is female, as implied by the sound of my voice.¡» "Is that it?" ¡ºDo you have any questions about me?¡» "Umm¡­ Yes, actually. Are you a new feature or something? I''ve never heard of an AI player guide in any forum I''ve seen." ¡ºI am a new experimental feature. Please do not be confused when other players can''t hear me. Most players do not have the privilege of my guidance¡» "Why can I hear you then?" ¡º¡­¡» ¡ºThis feature is exclusive to you, Hallowell¡» "Seems odd¡­" ¡ºDo you have any other questions?¡» "Back before the jump, you said you can hear my thoughts?" ¡ºYes. Please do not be alarmed by the new experimental feature of this game¡» "Oh, don''t worry. The thing is, no one told me I''d have an experimental feature attached to my game." ¡º¡­¡» ¡­ ---- The rest of the trip was filled with awkward silence. We arrived at the clearing about the size of a basketball field. According to the map, this should be the beginner''s area called "Beginner''s Zone". I see they have a very creative naming department. The rooftop view gave me the basic structure of the place. There were 3 rows of stalls, each painted with a different color. The red row seemed to have the most stalls compared to the green and blue ones. There was a logo on each of the rows that contrasted the plain background. The red stall had a sword and shield logo, likely something to do with PVP and PVE. The blue stall had a book logo, I have no idea what that''s about. And lastly, the green stall had gold coins as the logo, likely something to do with money. There was a carpet path that goes from the edge of the beginning of the red row to the end of the green row. I think that''s the intended path. Without further ado, I searched for a quick way down from the roof. There was a conveniently placed ladder just beside the building I was at. I climbed down the ladder in the most anticlimactic way possible. After finding my way out of the alley, I reached the start of the carpet path. There was no one in the area. The streets behind me was brimming with society, but the Beginner''s Zone was completely devoid of people. Well, it is a tutorial. Who would want to redo a tutorial from scratch right? I stepped foot in the zone and began my tutorial. There were no fancy sounds or voiceovers to accompany me. This is because each and every stall had a board with text written on it. The first stall I went to had a creature that looked like a slime trapped in a cage. The text board read: ¡¸Immersion In Stars of Gerhana, you will encounter monsters and people that might attack you when you get too close. Keep in mind, you will experience pain or other effects when you get hit by any attack from any monsters or people. For example, when this slime spits on your face, you will feel slightly dizzy from the attack.¡¹ "Real pain?" I whispered. That''s a strange feature. I don''t see how pain makes the game more fun. If anything, wouldn''t people be too afraid to play the game if the monsters actually hurt you? I was skeptical about the "makes you feel dizzy" line of the sign. How could a little bit of spit from a slime be dizzying? I want to see for myself what this "dizzy" effect actually does to me. There was an open gate at the left end of the stall. I suppose they''re allowing us to try aggravating the slime and get spat on. Well, challenge accepted! I entered the stall, getting myself closer to the contained slime. There was a circular outline drawn on the floor, presumably the attack range of the monster. As I stepped foot inside the circle, the cage started shaking in rhythms. The metal clanks violently as I brought my whole body in its range. Suddenly, the slime squirted an amount of water at me. The liquid flew swiftly through the air, clearly aimed at my head. It was slow enough that I could easily dodge my way out of the situation. But for the sake of science, I had to know what it''ll do if it does hit me. Splash! The handful of water hit my face with a disappointingly weak force. I wasn''t knocked back, nor was I caught off guard by it. It was the first time I could feel water in this world. The wetness of it was surprisingly realistic, soaking my clothes in gross slime water. I wiped my face off with the non-wet parts of my clothes. I thought the dizziness would''ve kicked in as soon as the water hit me, but even as my face dries, I still hadn''t felt any dizziness. The slime cage started to shake again. I forgot that I was still in the range of its attack. Swiftly, I stepped back to outside of the stall, to prevent any further gross spit thrown at my way. "Pfft! Yeah right. I''m not dizzy at all!¡ª" As those words exited my mouth, my whole body suddenly felt so weak. The world started spinning around me, preventing me from making sense of my surroundings. My vision blurred so much; I couldn''t see properly. My sense of balance was thrown off.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I landed on my bottom, close to the stall which I leaned on. My feet tried to stand on the ground, yet everything became crooked in my eyes. I couldn''t find my balance where I was standing. My hands tried to push myself to sit straight, yet I had no strength to do so. My body limped hopelessly as the nauseating sensation barraged me. Everything revolved in my mind, I couldn''t bring myself to speak or move. My ears were sober, yet I didn''t want to hear anything. And though my eyes had cleared up, I closed my eyes as I didn''t want to see anything. The more I''m aware of the world around me, the worse the feeling was. It was excruciating discomfort. The dizziness turned into a headache as I laid there helplessly. Even if I called out for help, there was no one there to come. I laid there left with no thoughts but the hurting headache for an excruciating 2 minutes. As the moment passed, all the dizziness I felt suddenly disappeared in a fraction of a second. It was the weirdest feeling of relief I''ve ever felt. All the strength had come back to my body. Seeing and hearing became bearable once more. "What¡­ what was that?" ¡ºYou were laying on the ground for 2 minutes and 2 seconds. Your discomfort was caused by the "Dizzy" effect of the slime''s attack¡» I brought my whole body back to a standing position. My disbelief was immeasurable. "Why was it so bad? Why was the effect so bad?!" ¡ºThat was just a taste of the immersion in this world¡» I couldn''t believe it. A simple slime could do so much as to incapacitate a player. What could a normal monster in the wild do? ¡ºFocus now. We still have more tutorials to do¡» She was right. Honestly, I''m discouraged to do the rest of it. Sure, I did this to myself; having a slime spit on me or whatever. But it made me more cautious of the rest of the tutorial. What if they want to demonstrate actual pain? The thought sends shivers down my spine. ---- I moved on and read the sign of the next stall ¡¸Weapons The next few stalls let you experiment with the weapons in this game. Even though weapons can be designed in many ways, most are categorized into basic categories. In each stall, there will be a test dummy you can use indefinitely to experiment with the weapons. Beside every dummy will be crates filled with the weapons that fit the stall''s category.¡¹ The text under the sign read "Sword-like weapons". There was indeed a dummy and a crate next to it, filled with swords and daggers. They were made to look as plain as possible. There were no decorations or enhancements on each weapon, as far as I could tell. Intrigued, I grabbed a random sword out of the crate. The shape was generic, the blade about the length of my arm. Its weight was tolerable. Carrying and swinging around the weapon wasn''t much of a problem. The dummy in front of me was made of hay. Its face had a typical target circle, not unlike every other game. It was begging to be stabbed. In one quick motion, I stabbed the dummy with all my strength. The tip of my blade didn''t pierce the dummy, but particles of dried hay were expelled. I kept experimenting with the sword. Swinging it around like a gladiator fighting for his life. Not once did my blade pierce the dummy, even though the floor became covered by dried hay. Maybe dummies in this game are indestructible. There were a few more weapons inside the crate, but they all looked like swords and daggers that were not so different from what I took. In good faith, I placed my sword back into the container before leaving for the next stall. The next stall was for ranged weapons. There were 2 crates this time, one filled with bows and crossbows, along with some arrows; the other filled with guns and bullets. I was a bit surprised by the guns. I didn''t know this game had guns. I thought classic bow and arrow combat was boring. Instead, I thought it''d be fun to play with the guns. Out of the crate, I pulled out a brown gun. By the look of it, I think it was a blunderbuss. I took out metal balls of the smaller sizes, knowing that the blunderbuss was probably a shotgun. Then, I inserted the balls into the weapon. But as I looked in the crate, I could see no bags of gunpowder I could use to power the gun. ¡ºThe guns in this game do not require gunpowder to shoot¡» "Hmm? Really?" Heeding her guidance, I playfully aimed at the dummy and pulled the trigger. Boom! The deafening sound of a gun struck my ear. A spray of bullets shot out of the gun all at once. The recoil caused me to lose grip of the gun as it went flying backwards. As each bullet hit the dummy, particles of hay were sprayed out. The air was filled with so much hay and smoke that I started chocking up. I was both amazed and terrified at what this gun can do. It was a jaw-dropping experience to fire a gun for the first time, but I certainly don''t want to imagine myself on the other side of this gun. I quickly put the gun back in the crate, hoping nobody noticed the loud bang that happened here. ---- The next stall over had no crates, there was just a dummy. The explanation to this was contained in the sign posted there. ¡¸Magic You might have noticed that there are no crates here. Magic skills in this game are obtained through many means. You may find special incantations or special scrolls that might allow you to do magic. In this tutorial, we won''t give you any magic spells to use. Each player has a unique adventure, and therefore their skills will be different from each other. Though some people can use the same spells, most people won''t have the same set of spells as one another. To hype you up and as a motivation for your adventures, here are a couple people who have acquired spells that only they can use: JIMMY98: Quick switch (Lets the player switch positions with another player in their sight) KollerKollen: Polymorphism (Allows the player to copy the equipment, appearance, and/or skill of any player and/or entity in a 60 meter radius around them) Drawmegrey (a.k.a. The Scribe): Copy (Allows the player to duplicate any item provided the sufficient resources to make that item) Explore the world to find your spells! Maybe you''ll be lucky enough to have a spell to your name.¡¹ "Ohh¡­ So that''s who The Scibe is, from the map giveaway. That''s why they can make a lot of maps for other players. Okay. That''s a cool background check." This magic stall, though boring, has intrigued me. It would be so cool if I can get my own spell. I imagine that one spell where I can use but nobody can. It''s mysterious and people won''t expect it. I definitely want one! But alas, I was still a beginner in this world. There were no more red stalls next to this one. Following the carpet path leads me to the blue section. ---- There was one wide stall filled with signs of text. I think they want me to read this whole area, but I was too lazy to do so. I had a better idea. "Hey, Celeste." ¡ºYes?¡» "Summarize this whole section for me." ¡º¡­ Sure¡» Hell yeah! This is the power of AI baby! This makes my tutorial way easier. ¡ºThis section of the zone describes the world as a whole. Stars of Gerhana takes place in a world called Eclipse, a flat world that extends likely to infinity in all directions. Players and NPCs have built cities, landmarks, and megastructures across the land. You are given the map of Eclipse in the crate right next to you¡» I took out a piece of folded paper from the stack. Though she said it was the map of the entire world, it was half the size of the previous map I got. But it had a very clean design, with each landmark, city, and structure labeled with names accordingly. Smaller details were not visible though. ¡ºQuests are an important part of your adventures. If you choose to be an adventurer, you have to encounter quests yourself. You may get your quests through NPCs scattered throughout the world. Rarely, the game might generate a quest procedurally. These quests are expected to be rare and unique to certain players of groups of players. Most procedurally generated quest are time-limited. There is a disclaimer on one of these signs that says: "This explanation was made by players. Quests are all unique and interesting. We don''t really know how they are generated or what causes them to generate. We wish you good luck on your adventures! May you find your own story in this amazing world."¡» ¡º¡­¡» "Is that all of it?" ¡ºYes¡» "Cool! Good job." ---- I followed the red path to the final part of this tutorial, the green stalls. Once again, I was met with stalls of signs and more signs. So, "Celeste, summarize!" ¡ºGold (G) is the currency in this world. Players can use it to trade with NPCs, which is why they also use it to trade with other players. NPCs always use G as an exchange tool. Precious minerals and rare items are almost always exchanged into G depending on their value¡» ¡º¡­¡» "That''s it?" ¡ºYes¡» "Well¡­ that was short." I was doubtful that she had summarized the whole pack of signs, but logically a currency is a currency. She basically just described every single currency in the world. I don''t know how else you''d describe this world''s currency. ---- The path led to the end of the tutorial. All in all, it took around 15 minutes. The longest part was playing with the weapons they had prepared in the red stalls. I rate it a solid 7/10 experience. There was a crate at the exit of the zone. Above it was an arrow with the written words "take your beginner''s set". "Ahh¡­ Freebies!" Inside the crate was a set of clothes, a sword, and a shield that I could use. The clothes they prepared was in a better condition than mine, though not in good enough of a condition to be called good quality. It was a set of shirt and pants, both supposedly white in color, but there was a bit of yellow tinge to it. These were either old or covered in piss. I will choose to assume it''s the former. They had also prepared a bag outside of the crate. It was a nice leather randsel bag. All of the items I had, which were the maps and the sword and shield, were placed into the bag. Though because of the sword and shield being large, I couldn''t really close the bag. But it wasn''t a problem for the moment. With the new clothes in my hand, I discretely found an alley and switched my attire. Apparently the game doesn''t have an equip feature. I had to manually change my clothes. The old clothes I had were thrown away into that same alley. ---- As I exited the alley, I took in the beautiful scenery of a medieval street. I could smell the fish and meat being traded around. I could see people walk and talk with one another. It was such a social space for like-minded players. But while spinning around to take in the view, I noticed something glowing at the corner of my eye. As I glanced in the direction, I saw a girl. She was glowing amongst the crowd, and had beautiful streaming hair. Her uniform looked the same as the one I saw after logging in. The one I saw crying as I was engulfed into the sea of water. Her appearance was that of a school girl, yet she stood in the middle of a medieval city. She looked so out of place. Even without seeing her face, I can already tell how pretty she is. But I remember the tears in her eyes back then. Why was she crying? Why didn''t she say anything when she saw me back then? I was so obsessed by all the thoughts in my head that I just felt like I had to talk to her. But as I took a step towards her, she seemingly noticed and glanced at me. From this distance, I couldn''t see her expression. All I knew was that she saw me and was looking at me. I didn''t know what she was thinking about when she saw me. It couldn''t be anything good because she immediately turned back and ran away from me immediately. I thought about chasing her, but I''d be a creep if I did that. Maybe I should just let her run, even if I leave these questions in my head unanswered. The Social Hub My head is still filled to the brim with thoughts about that girl. All the questions keep on lingering around as the gears ran in my brain. This obsession has jumbled my brain into the edges of madness. It was unhealthy. I needed to take my brain off of her. She''s a girl, she cried, she''s interesting. That''s all I know right now! There''s no logical reason for me to keep thinking about her! So, stop thinking about her! *Clap!* With just a clap, all the thoughts about that girl funneled down into the archived section of my brain. It''s unlikely that I''ll see her ever again, so I''ll waste no time on thinking about her. Sigh Now that that''s over, I wanted to continue my journey in this game. But where do I go now? I have weapons and maps, but what do I do with them? What is the goal of this game? There are no levels, no stats to grind. There aren''t points I can assign to my attributes, nor are there skills I can unlock. There are spells I can discover, as told by the tutorial, but where do I even start searching? What am I supposed to do in this game? "Celeste, what do I do now?" I waited expectantly for her response. But all I heard was dead silence. Thinking that I might''ve said it too silently, I tried asking again. "Celeste? You there?" There was still no response. The voice I expected to hear didn''t come to answer my question. It was strange. Why isn''t she responding? ¡­ Ah¡­ she''s only here to help me do the tutorial Well¡­ that''s disappointing. I kind of hoped that she''d be an AI that I can talk to whenever I''m bored or need help. The loneliness dawned on me as I stood there in the middle of the streets, alone. Sure, she was a robot, but she was fun to talk to when I had her. Without an AI to guide me, what do I do now? What do I want to do? I don''t know. Yeah, I better just ask someone for help At a time like this, where I have no clue what to do, I''d usually use the global chat and ask for help from the other players. But since I haven''t figured out if this game has a global chat or not, I guess the only way to ask is to talk to someone directly. Socializing in a game is not as hard as doing it in real life. The words come to me naturally whenever I''m behind a screen. But I am my character right now. I feel, see, and hear everything my character does. It feels exactly like real life, except with more magic and fantasy elements. Even just thinking about talking to a stranger ingame makes me feel mega anxiety. I''ve never felt so nervous talking to someone ingame. I could, of course, logout and search it up online. That would be a waste of time though. And in one way or another, I''ll reach that point where human interaction is inevitable anyway. Doing it now will properly prepare me for my future interactions with other people. So, I tried pushing through my fears. ---- The street I was at was bustling with people and looked very busy. Everyone looked as if they have more important things to do than help a humble beginner. Some of them carried multiple bags that was full to the brim. Some of them were wearing armor, as if ready to battle the next monster at any time. I couldn''t just disturb them willy-nilly. It was hard finding someone to approach. But eventually, I saw a lady who looked like she was walking casually. She was wearing a striped shirt and jeans-like pants. Her hands were in leather gloves. On her eyes were circular, shining, harry potter glasses. By the looks of it, she was probably just walking around for fun. So, I took the chance and approached her. As I stood there in front of her, my chest tightened with introvert''s anxiety. This would be my first time talking to a real player ingame. All the nerves were tensing in my body. But I pushed on and called for her attention. "E¡ªExcuse, ma''am!" My hands shook as those words exited my mouth. The words came out as if I have never spoken to people before, shriveled and jittery. "Yes?" The woman answered in a soft tone. "Uhmm¡­ I¡ªI''m a new player and I was just wondering if¡ª" "Oh! You''re new here!" She cut me off. I didn''t expect her to answer so ecstatically. "Y¡ªyes. I want to ask about¡ª" "About what you''re supposed to do, right?" She once again cut me off. "Pfft! Don''t worry, you''re not the first person to ask that question."Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I was caught off guard by her eye to eye grin. I''ve never met someone so excited to help me before. That made me even more nervous to say anything to her. But she carried on and said, "Follow me, boy! I run a shop near the Social Hub, we can talk while we walk." There was no other choice but to follow her. ---- "Uhh¡­ The Social Hub?" I asked as I walked beside her. "It''s a place where people hangout and relax." The woman answered. "What''s your name, boy?" "Hallowell." "Ah. Nice name you got. Mine''s Elith17, Elith for short. Nice to meet you, Hallowell." She generously shook hands with me. "Nice to meet you¡­" I walked alongside her through the busy streets. It was a trip of town exploration for me. As we walked past buildings and people, Miss Elith gave some fun facts about them. "Have you walked around this part of town yet?" She asked me. I shook my head. "Well then, I''ve gotta tell you about the cool bits then!" She pointed at one of the buildings as we passed. The building was brown and had empty holes where there should be windows. There was a clock on the highest level of the building. It was like a mini Big Ben "This," she said, "is one of the Wise Clocks of this town. Do you know what a Wise Clock is, Hallowell?" "No¡­" "Perfect! You see, the days in this world pass like days in real life. The time it takes from midnight to midnight is 24 hours. Those clocks keep track of time for this city. You''ll see 4 of them in this town, one in each cardinal direction relative to the town center." She then pointed at a shop near the river bridge we passed. "That''s Carmen''s Shop. She has the best assortment of equipment you can find in this corner of town. She sells weapons on the first floor and armor on the second. I can vouch for the quality. Well, I''ve never bought one. But one of my friends sold his soul to the shop, so there must be some good stuff there." Her random expositions continued on and on from there. She told me about this workshop where young blacksmiths are trained. Next was this mall building that apparently sells potions and materials for alchemy (without telling me what alchemy is). Then this shack which is owned by an old man who sells fishing equipment. She went on and on about a lot of the buildings throughout our trip. I could only nod as she explained things to me. She told everything so enthusiastically that I didn''t want to disturb her. Yes, I was delighted to get the exposition. But I also have other questions to ask to her and it kind of bummed me out. Apparently, my expression had turned a little too sour, so much so that she noticed. "What''s wrong, boy?" she said. "Well¡­ I just¡­ I have questions I wanna ask, but it''s fine if you wanna continue the story about that building." "Oh¡­ no no no. I''ll let you ask away, boy." She somehow got more excited. "Okay¡­ Uh. If you don''t mind me asking, what do you do in this game?" "Me?" "Yes." "Well, I don''t think this is what you expected but, I told you I have a shop yeah? I run a drink shop near the Social Hub. Every day, I make drinks from noon till evening. Excluding weekends, of course." "You make drinks?" "Yeah¡­ Is something wrong with that? Oh, were you expecting something more interesting?" "Ah, no, it''s fine. I didn''t expect a player to be a bartender in an MMORPG game." We share a giggle at that little joke. Still, I had more questions that just popped up. "So, do you not do quests?" "Nah, I tried quests before, but monsters really hurt when they hit you. I don''t enjoy getting hurt, you see. Instead, quite a lot of us do normal jobs that don''t require killing. You''d be surprised how little questers there are in this game." "Ah, I see." "You can ask the others what they do in the game if you''re still curious." "Others?" She pointed at a fountain down the street. "That''s the Social Hub. A few of us players like to relax there. They''re usually friendly enough to talk to you at any time." As we exited the street, we were met with a beautiful clearing with a fountain in the middle of it. Bricks tiled the ground in a circular pattern, centering at the fountain. There were chairs and tables all around the fountain where people sat and chatted. Though some people still preferred sitting on the fountain edge. Every building that bordered the fountain were shops of many varieties. There was obviously a weapon and armor shop. There were 2 different monster themed shop. There was a paper shop, for some reason. And finally, I was pointed to a European-looking shop. "And this is my shop!" Miss Elith said as she proudly presented the building. Her shop had a sign above the entrance reading "P-Elithra of Drinks". Bad pun. Flowers of different colors decorated the windows. An orange light shined through the building, giving it a cozy feel. It looked like a caf¨¦. "What do you think?" she said. I pulled out two thumbs-up and smiled at her. She seemed delighted. "Alright, Hallowell. There are people around here that are sure to help you if you need help. You can ask them anything you want," She said as she opened her shop. "I''m gonna go sell some drinks now. Come here when you need a drink, okay? Also, if you just wanna talk then you can come over any time." We exchanged goodbyes as she entered her building. ---- ¡ºThat went well didn''t it?¡» "Ah!" I was startled as the familiar voice had suddenly returned in my ear. ¡ºWhy are you so surprised?¡» "Heyy¡­ Celeste. You''re back." ¡ºOf course! I am your guide after all¡» Yeah right. You didn''t respond when I asked for guidance just a few moments ago. ¡ºI wanted to see how far you could go without me¡» "Right. I forgot you can read my mind." ¡ºAs your personal guide, I encourage you to ask the other players about what they do in the game. It might give you useful insight on what role you should play in this world.¡» "I was getting to that." ---- There wasn''t a lot of people in the Hub. A few groups of people here and there. Some duo dating on one table. Someone''s reading on another table. It felt like I had walked into a park unknowingly. I thought a good start was to ask some of the groups. This way it wouldn''t feel like a one on one and I don''t have to talk as much. Luckily, there were a few potential groups I could approach. First off, there was a group sitting on the ground near the fountain. They were a group of 5, all wearing basic fantasy clothing. There was a piece of cloth on the ground which they circled around. A lot of weird looking loot was on it. If I had to guess, they just came back from an adventure and are discussing their loot. The second group I saw was a trio. They were leaning on the fountain''s waist level wall while facing into the fountain. The trio consisted of 2 girls and a guy. Maybe they were doing a date or something, I don''t know. Games can be weird sometimes. I wouldn''t be surprised if he has 2 girlfriends ingame. Finally, there was that couple who looked like they were dating. They were just chatting with each other while eating a cake together. I think that''s cute. After thinking about it, I couldn''t decide which one to approach. I needed help from my AI for this one. "Celeste, which one do I¡ª" ¡ºThe trio near the fountain¡» "¡­ Alright."