Frontiers ~Chronicles of Bucket-san’s Detailed Pioneering~

Chapter 134 – Ehehe

 

It’s December 25th now, as in, Christmas.

It’s also the day where the first major update of Frontiers will be implemented.

Or rather, it’s been over eight hours since it was implemented, and as in-game time passes three times faster, a whole day already passed in-game.

People who have been playing all-night should have already been kicked out due to the time limit that one can stay logged in for.

Well, I’m going to log-in now, so it doesn’t matter to me!

Usually, when I log-in to the game, everything goes dark for a small while, but this time it felt a bit different.

Probably because we just got a large update, so it’s a special log-in.

“It’s been a while, Pioneer.
There is something I wish to tell you.” The Goddess told me.

In most games, you’d probably just see a pop up showing what changed with the update, but as Frontiers is a VR game, I’m instead seeing the Goddess telling me about it in the same majestic way that she did in the opening of the game.

Though differently from the opening, I can actually skip this cutscene.

But well, I will listen to her to the end instead of skipping.

That said, it’s a bit strange to hear the Goddess talk about the updates, because she is saying some pretty meta things right now.

Wasn’t there a better way to handle this?

******

I finished listening to the Goddess who was explaining about the updates.

She gave me a bit more information that what was on the official announcement… Is this a bonus for people who didn’t skip the cutscene?

Though well, this information will surely be posted on the forums, so it’s impossible to monopolize it.

Then, my sight went dark, and now I was back in my familiar workshop.

Well, I already know what I’ll do next.
It’s time to collect information!

I opened the forums as usual, and there were many new threads since yesterday.

By default, the forums seem to still be divided by country, but you are now able to customize the display as you like, so as to show them all together, favorite some subforums and the like.

It’s certainly nice to be able to see the forums of other countries now.
I’m curious about what is being said on those, but for now, let’s first open the ‘Update General Thread’ and see what’s there.

Most of the relevant information should be compiled here, after all.

And other specific details can be found in other threads without a doubt.

… And sure enough, lots of info were already gathered.
I guess it can’t be helped since a whole day already passed in-game.

Quite a few people shared information that wasn’t on the announcement.

And of course, the information provided by the Goddess is there too.

The main feature of this large update was the highways to other countries being opened, but as expected, they were still blocked at the time of the update.

However, the NPCs told the locations of the highways in an easy-to-understand manner, so the Pioneers were able to quickly cut through the Demon Trees and open the path for everyone.

A video of the woodcutting was attached, and I took a peek at it… It truly was quite impressive to see the mountain of players cutting through the trees to see what the other country was going to be like.

Overall, everyone’s mood seems to be quite festive, onlookers included.

Mobs attacked during the woodcutting process, of course, but they were beaten down as soon as they appeared.

There weren’t any strong mobs attacking, but it’s still quite amazing to see mobs dying as soon as they spawn.

And then, once the area finished being cleared, it became a long, long highway.
Some people started rushing through it, while others moved leisurely through the path, and some others disbanded and started moving to another place.

The video ended there, so I don’t know what happened afterwards, but it seems like not everyone went to the new country right away.

However, an event seems to have occurred once the highway was cleared, so we now have an added benefit for going to another country.

It’s the ‘International Stamp Rally’ event.

Basically, an event to incentivize you to visit the other countries.

If you arrive at a country other than the one you started at, you’ll receive one stamp.
And if you visit both countries you haven’t gone to yet, you end up receiving a commemorative medal.

I don’t know what the medal is used for, but some people on the forums already obtained it, and it’s apparently just a memento.

It might be nice to display it at my Room or at the store.

There also seems to be a carriage that can take you to the other countries, so you don’t necessarily need to walk there.

Apparently it became usable after one day of in-game time passed since the highway was unlocked.

In other words, the service started just a small while ago.

Walking all the way there would be too troublesome, so I’ll use the carriage.

And once I get there, the location will become available on the Teleportation Gates, so I can just go back to Zabrina through it.

“Good morning, Bucket!” Suddenly, Lolita called me.

“Good morning, Lalalu, what’s up?” I asked her.

“It’s the first day of the major update, of course! I was waiting for Lulu, and now you’re here too, so do you want to go to the Ljungsmelis Republic together?” She asked me.

That’s the country that was on the end of the highway that I saw on the video.

There is another country available, and the roads to that one have also been fully developed and carriages can go there too.

“We can get the stamps for the International Stamp Rally together!” Lolita told me.

“Seems good.
I’ll go with you.” I told her.

“Yes! We were planning on using the carriage, but it still seems to be a pretty long trip, so try bringing something to pass time.
I’ll bring some things myself too.” Lolita said.

“Got it.
Then, where do we meet up?” I asked.

I was planning on going to the other countries after gathering more information, but this was a special invitation, so we might as well!

Mii and Muu said yesterday that they wouldn’t be available to log-in today, and Mukaida was also busy.

They seemed to be disappointed, but it can’t be helped that real life comes first.

So, those of us who have more free time will now enjoy the major update to the fullest!

******

“And that’s a three-game winning streak.” I said.

“Ugh… You’re way too good at this…” Lolita groaned.

“At Othello… You’re really strong…” Lulu muttered.

“Ehehe.” I giggled.

The Othello game where we bet Lulu’s sweets ended with my overwhelming victory.

As expected of Lulu, her sweets are absolutely delicious! They melt in my mouth and leave a refreshing aftertaste!

It’s wonderful, Lolita! They’re absolutely delicious!

“Ugh… I thought I could win because I made this Othello board myself…” Lolita groaned.

“… I don’t think crafting the board helps you win.” Lulu commented.

“Agh! But I also wanted to eat Lulu’s new creations!” Lolita exclaimed.

“You could have eaten it if you didn’t suggest betting the sweets on those matches.” I told her.

“Don’t bring that up!” Lolita groaned.

The carriage trip was quite popular, so all seats were completely filled.

We were able to secure seats for three people next to each other, so we were now relaxing while playing Othello and eating Lulu’s new creations.

Well, Lolita can’t eat them because she lost.

Nonetheless, this board was a pretty nice one.
It was made of felt fabric and the pieces don’t move even as the carriage shakes, so they probably have magnets keeping them in place.

I wonder how she made those magnets.
Is it a new material perchance?

And well, an Othello board is definitely an incredible original creation.

“Then, how about playing chess next!” Lolita suggested.

“Ah, I don’t know how to play it.” I told her.

“I can play to some extent…” Lulu said.

“Alright, then it’s a match between me and Lulu! Look closely at it, Bucket, so that you can learn how to play!” Lolita decided.

“Well, if you explain things to me as you play, then it should be fine.” I said.

“It’s a serious match, so that’s impossible!” Lolita told me.

There are quite a few people other than us in the carriage.

Most of them seem to be player Pioneers, and almost all of them seem to be happily chatting with one another.

That’s why it’s not a problem for Lolita to make a bit too much noise.

That said, Lolita’s is being fairly loud about her disappointment over her loss, so if I pay attention to it, I can hear other people whispering about us.

Well, they don’t seem to be badmouthing us or anything, so it’s fine.

Or rather, as information about my mini-retirement had been posted on the forums, the people who noticed us are now talking about how I returned to the game.

They’re saying stuff like ‘steel items with two Options should start appearing on the store again.’

And I actually did a small restocking for the store today, so some people will have the chance of buying them already.

Though well, that will be impossible for the people riding the carriage with us.

Coming to think of it, how many player Pioneers are craft-focused in other countries?

I guess I’ll try browsing the forums of the other countries a bit to find that out while watching Lolita and Lulu’s chess match.

After all, I can’t really learn how to play it just from watching!

I can play a bit of Shogi, but chess is too different!

“Hey, this opening variation is… Lulu, can you really play it only ‘to some extent’!?” Lolita exclaimed.

“I’m just… A bit good at it… Just a bit…” Lulu muttered.

“That sounds like a total lie!” Lolita replied.

I’m not sure why, but their match seems quite exciting.

I don’t know the movements though, so I don’t really understand what’s happening.

Let’s go browse the forums then.

Do your best, Lolita, because I’m sure Lulu’s ‘I’m a bit good’ means that she is quite good at it!

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