Mickey opened his eyes—he was underwater. He panicked. The coldness of the water was a shock. There was light coming from above—the water’s surface.

He swam quickly, breast-stroking for dear life. Mickey broke through the water’s surface and took a huge gulp of air, panting heavily soon after. Shaking off the sudden panic, and still treading water, his eyes went skyward.

“Blue skies…” His eyes went off to the distance until they reached the boundary of the open sky and came across the wall of dark clouds. “There it is… Asniels. It’s even more menacing when you’re down here.”

“Yoohoo! Mr. Trailblazer! Over here!”

With a startled jolt, Mickey looked ahead of him and spotted someone waving at him from the shore. Actually remembering his predicament, he quickly swam to shore, noting that he had been transported to the bottom of a lake.

Catching his breath, Mickey was on all fours over the sandy shore, his hands digging into the coarse sand, another reminder of how real everything was. The gentle breeze chilling his wet body further, his arms throbbing from sudden exercise and his windpipe burning—it was all too real. He told himself this was a natural consequence considering everything else, but it was still shocking him to his core.

“Mr. Trailblazer?” called a gentle and sweet voice, speaking to him from above.

Mickey looked up. Obscuring the blue skies was a woman with two blonde braids dangling over her shoulders. She extended her hand to Mickey and he took them, noting how warm it felt. She helped him onto his feet and smiled once the task was done.

“Hello, Mr. Trailblazer!”

“Hello,” Mickey responded, giving a light nod.

The woman smiled and began searching her person frantically. She was rosy-cheeked and green-eyed with a skin tone that said she got enough sun. Her attire was what you’d expect a video game village to wear—a brown dress over a white blouse with puffed sleeves. Her boots, too, fit her look, being brown and scuffed.

The woman pulled out some cards from the pocket at the front of her dress and began reading with an ecstatic smile. “Welcome to Torea—a small town of the Asniels Realm. You have arrived at our Spring of Welcoming.” She shifted through the cards and continued. “Ours is a small town hidden within a small forest. Our specialties are our lumber—still blessed by the sun—and the furniture made from it. Our crafts and carving are also top-notch.” She flipped through the cards one more time. “Down the road behind me, you will find our town square where you may find many amenities that can aid you along your journey. We humbly request that you make use of our services as we, the people of Asniels would be honored to help you.” She tucked away the cards and smiled. “Any questions?”

“Yes,” Mickey replied, “what is your name?”

The woman replied with a blank stare and reddening cheeks. “I forgot to say my name—oh no—oh no, how embarrassing!”

Mickey observed her behavior, taken aback. She’s really flustered. How life-like. She’s even kind of adorable…

The woman found her cards and began flipping through them again frantically.

I shouldn’t be surprised given everything else, but having such responsive NPCs—it's a little jarring… And she’s definitely an NPC…

Mickey recalled one of the points from deeper in the first guide he read. Trailblazers would have a dim glow around them and if one stared at them for longer than ten seconds, they’d see a Level over their heads.

“Hey, you don’t need the cards to tell me your name, do you, Miss?”

She froze, looking at Mickey. She coughed and recomposed herself. “I guess I don’t! I’m Mary! I’m the Trailblazer greeter! It’s my job to welcome you to our town! I sit over there in that booth by the trees.” Mary pointed to a small, carnival-like stall that was in front of many pine trees. “If you need anything, feel free to talk to me there!”

“S-Sure…”

Mary nodded and quickly turned and walked back to her stall.

Huh, that info-dump seemed pretty NPC-like. Maybe they aren’t THAT life-like.

Mary stumbled with a yelp and dropped all her cue cards. She, with a pitiful whimper quickly bent over and started picking them up, only to drop a few more in her haste.

Or maybe not. She might just be nervous... To model nervousness that well, though...

Mickey briskly walked over to her, all the while taking in his environment. He had been transported to a healthy-looking lake. That lake was surrounded on all sides by a thick, pine forest. If he was thinking in terms of a video game, the pine trees were forming the map boundaries. Those same pine trees lined the path ahead of him—the one going to town.

Of course, because this game was so immersive, Mickey guessed he had the freedom to cross the forest if he wanted to.

“Where would you recommend going first, Mary?” Mickey asked as he stooped down to pick up some cue cards.

Mary blinked repeatedly, quiet the entire time, and then hastily, she flipped through the cards that she had. “In event of… Ahh, there it is. Yes.” She looked at Mickey and cleared her breath. “Torea has many shops to assist Trailblazers on their journeys! We have a weapon shop, an armor shop, a quest dispatch, and a blessing shrine. I recommend stopping by the dispatch so that you can pick up your Adventuring Bag, and a map of the Asniels Realm. You can also take your first jobs—err—I mean—ahh, sorry.” Mary froze up, the only part of her moving being her fluttering eyelids. The fluttering stopped and she spoke again. “I mean quests. Trailblazers pick up quests! You can pick up your quests and aid Asniels!”

Mickey eyed her for a few moments before replying. “Right. Got it. Thank you for the information… You’re an excellent greeter.”

Mary lit up and bowed her head slightly. “Thank you for your kind words! I’m happy to be of help.”

With Mary and her cue cards recovered, Mickey bid her farewell and walked down the footpath. A little bit ahead, he could see wooden posts—probably marking the entrance of the town proper. All the while, he wondered about Mary’s behavior.

Those moments when she froze up—she seemed like a robot that ran into a small bug… But… I’m having trouble telling if that’s the sign of faulty AI or if it's a sign of a great AI—one that could model such weird behavior.

As Mickey wondered, he crossed into the town, only noticing when he felt the harder cobblestone beneath his feet. Mickey looked around, taking the sights in. It was an actual town square with rustic buildings adorned with very colorful signs lining the square's perimeter. At the center of each side, was a path leading away from the square. These four paths intersected at the square’s center, effectively dividing the square into four smaller squares. On the two exterior sides of each smaller square, were a set of three adjoined buildings, making for a total of eight sets of buildings. Some were just stall-like storefronts while others looked like a more traditional store with an explorable interior.

Upon closer inspection, Mickey noted that one set was just one larger building—it was the dispatch. Recalling Mary’s words, Mickey approached the dispatch, noticing the townsfolk along the way. They were all dressed similarly to Mary and were going about their lives. Some would smile at Mickey and nod. Some would call out to him with a “Hello,” or a “Hey,” and finally, some were too preoccupied with their tasks to notice.

As Mickey approached, he noticed that, while having a door with an “Open” sign hanging from it, the dispatch also had an exterior front with a counter, and had their shutter up. A young lady with tied-up brown hair and a white, shoulder-exposing, low-cut blouse appeared behind the counter-front and waved at Mickey.

“Hi! New Trailblazer?” the young lady asked, wearing a warm smile.

“Y-Yeah, I am. I just want to get my bearings here.”

“I can help you with that!”

***

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Locales

Torea

The Starter Town of Asniels. Has all the basic starter facilities. Many Trailblazers' adventure started here.

"So they have lumber, right? I wonder if the economies are fleshed out in this game... The greeter was really adorable."