Exploration Knowledge Exchange

[mayoninofukucho]

[After his and Mukuro's recent hair-raising exploration of one of the newly accessible areas, Hijikata wants to warn his fellow adventurers and exchange other findings besides. He doesn't make open video posts very often (in fact, the last one may just have been when he got eaten whole by an anglerfish will'o'wisp), but now's the time again!]

Hello everyone. Hijikata here. This is a PSA of sorts, I guess... but feel free to add your own. My main message is: Don't go to the 'Heart Will Go On' glacier. There's a door in the ice, but it'll shut and lock behind you, and the place is a nasty, haunted prison with a gateway to hell inside. I'm not joking. Mukuro and I only managed to escape from the demons by teleporting out.

[He's not exactly keen on retelling all the creepy details (though he will if pressed for them), so don't mind him moving on swiftly!]

In other news, I don't know how many people besides the ones we told about it are aware, but there's another magic circle with a ghost guardian in the Winter Segment, in a cave at Wolf's Blood Mountain, like the one near Lake Hange in the Autumn Segment. The ghost told me and my expedition crew about the Knight - yeah, another one of those people. Apparently, he'd been going around burying weird magical items near the old Darkness barrier, and since it reeked of trouble, we went and dug them up to hand in at the Research Centre.

[Let him just casually drop this bomb (for those who hadn't heard of the Knight yet)! It's not like Jean and Mukuro just recently shared information about the Pierrot; what's one more enemy!]

Lastly, if you ever see a big cocoon made of vines in the jungles in the Summer Segment, just avoid it. - Now, what's the most interesting thing you've found out there?

Comments

[roundandaround]

Eh?! Like actual hell? I thought we couldn't go to different worlds as long as we're stuck here!

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah, actual hell, with fire and demons. Remember the demon the old lady summoned? I checked the information from the magical library, and someone found this...

[He takes a moment to find a digital photo he took of the relevant page and read from it.]

"Dark creatures lie in a dimension different from ours. We call this dimension Inferno. Those well versed in magic are able to summon the creatures from within the dimension, but it can also be accessed through dimensional portals." That's got to be it. We weren't aware of going through a portal, but the glacier's got to hold one.

[roundandaround]

Whoa...

[Rinku gulps. Maybe it's just everything she's gone through the past month, but she doesn't look as confident they can handle it as usual. More legitimately scared.]

So maybe that one's attached to this one, so that's how people can still go there... Maybe there are nice worlds attached to this one too!

[mayoninofukucho]

Well, someone did mention the country in the sky... but that didn't work with portals, I think.

[Once more, he briefly searches for the relevant information on his phone.]

"There exists a world above the clouds that's full of different races who talk our language. They're animal tribes, who act like humans but look like animals. The winged mounts come from said place, but only those who receive a blessing from an ancient tree (currently lost to Darkness) can reach the clouds." Huh. We got a lot of territory back now... should we try to look for that tree, Rinku-chan?

[He doesn't like seeing her so serious and anxious. Maybe if they can discover a path to the land of winged animals, it'll cancel out having the Inferno so close at hand!]

[roundandaround]

[She shouldn't. But she's always wanted to. And she's been training so hard, there's nothing else she can do to help...]

Okay! Are we gonna get a whole party to look with us?

[mayoninofukucho]

I'm not sure. We wanted to gather a party to explore the City of Lost Memories, but I heard that a friend of mine already set out there with another friend, so let's see what they'll come back with first.

[Don't die out there, Eren and Hakkai! If nothing else, a titan is pretty much as good as a group of people, he reasons.]

Looking at the new areas, the only tree that stands out to me is the one with the house in it, in the Summer Segment. Or can you think of any others? We probably won't need a huge group for that, but we can take a couple more people along. I'll give you first dibs.

[His sworn siblings only recently got back from their exploration of the abandoned castle, after all.]

[roundandaround]

Hmm... But there's a bunch of the old areas that haven't had a bunch of people exploring them too, right? So maybe something there'll work! Like in Winter or Spring so we'll be strong against their monsters!

[She pauses and rocks from side to side.]

But for trees... yeah, that's the only one. And it sounds exciting! Let's get some people and check it out!

un: galaxyranger - voice

[forkeroni]

Uh, can ya explain what ya mean by another magic circle with a ghost guardian?

[Because he's still relatively new here.]

Does it got anythin' to do with that Temple o' Death me and my group went through?

[mayoninofukucho]

Oh! You went to the Temple of Death?

[He's very interested in how that big expedition went! But first, he'll answer the apparent cowboy's question.]

I don't think the magic circles have anything to do with it. They were set up by the ghosts of former power holders who wanted to share their knowledge with what's left of the world after the Tragedy of Greed. I guess the one most people know is in the Autumn Segment since it's so close to Lake Hange and it's a teleport location, but there are more - the one my group found, and another one recently discovered under the abandoned castle on the border of the Summer- and Autumn Segments. There are almost certainly more.

[forkeroni]

Yeah, I did. No one died, too.

[So, yanno, it went well.]

Uh... run that by me again, partner? I'm kinda knew here and ya just said a whole lotta stuff that's just goin' in one ear and out the other.

[mayoninofukucho]

[No one died in the Temple of Death?! Well, that's good news. Hijikata supposes that the group was well-prepared... still, he can't help but wonder if anyone got injured at least. Mukuro didn't come out of her recent expedition with him unscathed, and he doesn't even want to think back on what that goddamned cocoon monster did to him months ago.]

Okay, let's start with the Tragedy of Greed. Do you know about that?

[forkeroni]

I just told ya I'm fudgin' new here!

[That would be a no.]

[mayoninofukucho]

Did you just breeze past Olwen's hologram and the Welcome Centre?

[Newcomers these days..! OK, Olwen's hologram message merely makes reference to the tragedy, but even so, it'd have been a starting point for research! Not to worry, though. By now, Hijikata has the information dispenser NPC role down pat!]

Anyway, the Tragedy of Greed happened sixteen years ago and consisted of a few power holders stealing their peers' powers, which led to mass death among both the power thieves and their victims as the natural order was thrown off balance. In the wake of that, the Darkness encroached on the world, corrupting everything it touched, and natural disasters, initially born from the power thieves' violent deaths, still plague the Seasonal Segments to this day.

Audio; un: fenrirfang

[corpsewarblade]

Seconding Hijikata’s reports; the Glacier is unsafe for even experienced combatants, and there’s no reward to find. Avoid it.

[She sounds tired- that’d be the painkillers talking. Mukuro had ended that mission in a much worse state than Hijikata had, so she was very glad he’d taken the initiative to make the announcement whilst she rested at the guild.

Something else caught her attention though.]

…A Knight as well, huh? I wonder how many enemies there are in all.

[A small group bearing titles like that, who brought about a tragedy that nearly ended the world- that sure sounded familiar.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Part of why Hijikata decided to make his broadcast as soon as he was sure Mukuro would survive after being treated and stabilised was that he badly needed a distraction. Having been kicked out of her room by the healers and nurses so she could rest, he went and perused his hammerspace room on the guild building's upper floor to relay their findings to everyone.

He's glad to hear her chime in, not blaming her for not coming on video in her current state. He tries to steer his thoughts away from what they'll do about her injury and focus on the matter of the enemies.]

Yeah. The ghost in the Winter Segment - Kai - said that the Knight's enough of a powerhouse to fight even weapon slimes "with ease".

[The though is enough to send a shiver down his spine. He and Shoto dealt with the weapon slimes during the march of the Cherry Blossom Park against the city, and they were a pain in the ass to deal with even for strong fire users like them!]

From what you and Jean found out, it seems like the Pierrot may be their ringleader, huh? If he really instigated the Tragedy of Greed...

Danganronpa Spoilers

[corpsewarblade]

A ringleader? If he did instigate or manipulate them all to start the Tragedy, maybe…

It only takes one commander, if they have enough influence and can recruit powerful people. Then their influence gets larger and larger.

…He reminds me of Junko.

[Mukuro didn’t usually talk about Junko and her actions too openly on network, but the aforementioned painkillers made her mind a little fuzzy.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Under more cheerful circumstances, Hijikata might have snarked that the Pierrot and Junko are both nutjobs to do what they did - but then again, he knows that even now, despite everything, Mukuro still loves and adores her sister and will defend her from insults, so perhaps he'd have swallowed his remarks regardless.

He switches their call to private just in case, and while his next words are sarcastic, his voice is gentle.]

Don't go following him, now. That whole posse is a circus. Besides, we need to get you a new hand first of all.

[Okay, apparently he couldn't not dwell on that, after all - but damn it, who could blame him? She's a soldier, she needs two hands!]

[Private]

[corpsewarblade]

Affirmative.

[Certainly, Mukuro was in no hurry to go working with this group! She already had people she was loyal to, after all… but had she come into this world without her memories or anyone close to her, she knew there was every chance she could have ended up serving them, had they reached her first.

That was the sort of person she was.

Still, at his comment about her hand, a quiet bit of dark humour slipped its way out; ]

I could just strap a knife onto the stump and that’d do fine.

[Mukuro’s voice still sounded strangely detached. She couldn’t make sense of what happened. It hadn’t sunk in yet.]

…

…It doesn’t feel real.

[mayoninofukucho]

It really doesn't. You and I both know that theoretically, we could lose an arm or a leg or whatever else on any given mission, but when it doesn't happen for years and years, you don't think it will anymore, right?

[How would he feel if it'd been him? He'd definitely be bitching and moaning about how it'd have been better to die - at least that way, he'd have come back in one piece! Come to think, how much time is allowed to pass in between the loss of a limb and an unrelated death for the person to still be fully restored? It's not like he'd encourage Mukuro to solve her problem that way - Jean and Makoto would send him to the Flower Yard in turn -, but now he can't help but wonder.]

Anyway, we won't just strap a knife to it. We'll get you some kind of T*rminator hand that can shoot missiles. Or one that's like a Swiss knife, with blades and a corkscrew and a lockpick!

[He's coping!!]

Or you can get a phantom hand. Lake Hange will do that. I've seen it work before.

Video; un: flyer [Private]

[snekeyes]

[Considering he brought those two missions up in the same context as their own traumatic mission to the Jungle of Judgement… Medusa couldn’t help but be concerned.]

…Expeditions aside, are you alright, Master?

[mayoninofukucho]

[He's really glad to see his Servant and hear her voice... what he wouldn't give to rest in her arms for a little while! But of course, he won't say that out loud. He still has a reputation to maintain. and besides, he won't leave before Mukuro can go home too. Even so, his appreciation for her concern carries through in his voice.]

Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...

[Mukuro got hurt to the point where she'll be left with permanent damage - Hijikata knows that there are ways to deal with it, be it through the advanced local technology or the healing waters of Lake Hange, but it'll never be the same as before, will it? What's more, he can't help but notice an increasing sense of desolation among his friends and acquaintances, despite the massive progress against the Darkness. Maybe people have simply gone through too much, and the accumulated weight bears them down... he wonders why he only feels it second-hand.]

Somehow, the mood in the city seems so downcast. But it's probably only us otherworlders, and even then, not all of us.

[snekeyes]

…So you have noticed that, too.

[That was a troubling sign, wasn’t it? Rider too had noticed there was a darkness rippling beneath the surface.

She was worried about her Master, yes, but Evangeline too had been distant from her recently. She’d originally assumed she was the only one to pick up on it.]

The locals and dragons seem in high spirits, but the rest of us less so… it is a little troubling.

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah. From what I see and hear, the natives are still euphoric - humans, dragons, and fairies alike -, but I feel like a whole bunch of us foreigners keep getting targeted by the local criminals, and the crime landscape itself is shifting. As if the "regular" gangs hadn't been enough, now we've got the Nightshade and friends to contend with.

[He exhales.]

Almost all of "those" people are still at large... it drives me crazy how we haven't been able to get a hold of more of them.

[snekeyes]

That group… remarkably difficult prey to pursue, I think.

There seem to also be people here who are harming their fellow Otherworlders without hesitation… but I do not have much information to go on yet.

[She hadn’t kept up with the goings on herself, but hadn’t someone tried to turn other people into weapons recently? Wasn’t that simply another variety of turning them into monsters?

Perhaps she’d have to look into it.

But this… wasn’t helping, was it?]

…My apologies, I did not mean to drag your mood down further.

Um… I assume you are busy reviewing information this afternoon, but do you have time tomorrow? It is nothing important, but I would like to see you.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He glumly nods along. While he was dispatched elsewhere at the time, that disaster was hard to overlook, given what a spectacle the mad scientist made of it! At Medusa's suggestion, his frown eases a little.]

I'd like to see you, too. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?

[Maybe they both just need a break... but then again, what has really happened to them? Are they truly allowing themselves to get so bogged down in what their peers are going through?]