[i]One, two, three, four...[/i] Goodness! Now that she'd found one person, others kept popping up like rabbits, gathering around them and chiming in on the conversation. It made sense: humans were social creatures by nature, and their first response in a time of crisis was often to seek out others, relying on strength of numbers for safety and support. Even in a strange world or virtual reality like whatever this was, the old instincts prevailed.

Yoriko— [i]or is my name Viridian now?[/i] —raised a hand, palm outwards, at the newest arrival, a blue-skinned man even larger than the orc. "Please, don't shout. I know we're all probably very... shocked by this development, but that's exactly why we need to consider our choices carefully." There lay the darker side of human instinct: fear, panic, fight-or-flight responses. Any sustainable cooperation would require everyone to control themselves, to rely on their knowledge and wits rather than raw emotions.

Deneb, at least, seemed to get the idea. Viridian wasn't quite sure what [i]'isekai series'[/i] the girl might be talking about, but she seemed to have a solid sense of the situation, and might even have figured out more than she herself had. 'Skills and abilities' was another thing she could add to the list of what had been copied over, although how she might use her avatar's healing powers without any buttons to press remained a mystery.

Regardless, Deneb had raised another good question, and Viridian already had an answer in mind. "You said it yourself: the problem is our lack of knowledge. So the first thing we should do is try to solve that." She gestured around at all of the gathered players. "As our avatars, do we need to eat or drink? Do we sleep? If we can use our old skills and abilities, can we improve them just as we used to?" She smiled. "There are dozens more questions, but I'm sure I can trust you to imagine the rest on your own. We need to experiment, explore, and share information. Work out what we need to survive here, what the greatest threats might be, and how this whole situation came about."

[@Saarebas][@PKMNB0Y][@Bone Father][@Rabidporcupine]