Welcome back to The High Life!

Highstreet's team is excited to share development updates. Check out what we've been working on, and how this will all lead up to amazing VR gaming experiences. The Arena is ready for heroes who are eager to prove their worth—and has a few surprises for those who are inventive about their combat style.

Let's dive in! ⬇️

Portal to the Wildest Fight in Solera

Nestled deep in the wild heart of the Gardens, the Arena is more than a battleground; it's a manifestation of controlled chaos. What started as a routine development zone spiraled into something much stranger after an explosion of Green Lunarite triggered aggressive, uncontrolled growth. Now, a dense jungle blankets the area, and at its core lies the Arena Portal, an overgrown amphitheater that thrums with strange energy.

The Arena is where lore meets the leaderboard, a space built for competition, exploration, and the kind of moments players will be talking about long after the match ends.

👀 For a closer look at the Arena, check out our Walkthrough video.

The Path of Heroes — A Tale Champions Seeking Glory

The Adventurer was hardly the sort of hero who had ballads and melodies authored to record her deeds, but she yearned for the day when her brave acts were retold by bards in taverns across Highstreet City, perhaps even across Solera.

For now, the Adventurer had become an expert at clearing fields that were overrun with Titan Truffles. The bounties were handsome—two weeks' worth of surgical slashes and a few elixirs to keep her energy going were enough to pay for a newly crafted pair of gauntlets and a cuirass.

She still needed new greaves. The steel plates on her legs were battered and chipped along their edges. She could feel dents pressing against her right shin, the result of barely dodging a tree trunk that was tossed at her in a battle that was lasting just a few minutes longer than she'd like.

“Why does every plant here seem to always want to eat us? It should be the other way around,” said her companion, the Apprentice. He lobbed arcane blasts as quickly as he could channel the otherworldly energy. The Adventurer could see that he was strained, beads of sweat trailing down veins that bulged on his forehead.

“The Titans are the bounty, as usual. Everything else is just aggressive landscaping, pro bono.” The Adventurer wielded her short swords in a flurry in hopes of landing a blade's edge on the last Truffle standing, but the beast was unexpectedly agile for its size.

Two purple energy blasts from the Apprentice exploded the Titan's temple, stunning it briefly. The Adventurer had her chance. As the beast stumbled, hands cradling its face, the Adventurer ran a few steps and glided forward on her worn-out greaves. As she slid toward her target, she thrust the tips of her short swords up in one smooth motion, piercing the Titan Truffle's larynx.

It stumbled back and fell, the cacophony of battle giving way to a quieted field in a cloud of dust.

Cassidy the Duck had issued the bounty. It wasn't clear why a braumeisterin cared about the Truffle population half a day's journey away from her tavern, but the Adventurer and Apprentice weren't about to question the intentions of their regular patron and quest giver. Besides, the Adventurer's share of the reward from the day's work would be enough to commission new pieces of armor, with a few $HIGH tokens left for weapon repairs and a hearty meal. The food would come first. They'd visit the local smith tomorrow.

The Adventurer and Apprentice nursed a few stouts and cleared their plates quickly at The Thirsty Hatchling, Cassidy's beer hall. In the lull after filling their bellies, the Adventurer noticed a human shuffling in. The warm glow in the hall was just bright enough for her to see his silhouette, but much of him was concealed—not only the contours of his face but also the general air that he carried around him. Seeing his S.I.M.U. was almost like looking into a void.

“Look,” said the Adventurer. “Not too obviously; slowly. That man over by Cassidy. Something is off about him.”

Their gaze both landed on the stranger's back. “He looks like he hasn't seen the inside of a shower booth in a—” Before the Apprentice could finish, the sharp shattering of broken glasses broke his concentration. Cassidy was mediating flared tempers by offering a round of drinks on the house. By the time the middling heroes looked back toward where the stranger was seated, he was already gone, a few $HIGH tokens left by his empty pint for the barkeep.

“Big tipper, and he left just like that. Curious…” the Adventurer mused.

“Here we go again,” the Apprentice grumbled. He liked the warmth of the beer hall, but knew they would both be out in the cold, damp night in mere moments. “I guess the greaves will wait then.”

The Adventurer was already halfway out the door, scabbards strapped to her back crosswise. Her companion dashed after her, wondering if they were on a path to greater deeds that would cement their place in the great songs of Solera.

Highstreet Chronicles: Into the Chaos Gardens #12

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