Akiba

Akihabara, usually shortened to Akiba (アキバの街), is the largest of the five main cities (五大都市 go daitoshi) on the Japanese server of Elder Tale and is the hometown of half of the Japanese players. The others cities are Shibuya, Minami, Susukino, and Nakasu.

Overview
In Elder Tale, Akiba is located where Tokyo would be on the map according to Japan's Half GAIA Project. It is the also location where new players on the Japan server first appear after joining the game.

Akiba has the appearance of an old, overgrown city with streets lined with crumbling, derelict buildings and rough stretches of asphalt buried under carpets of moss and entwined with vines. Annexes and additions have been stacked organically onto the ruins, and the roots of trees spread out across the roads. Considered the holy land of the Ancients, it is an old ruined concrete city now smothered in verdant green.

Shiroe notes at the beginning of the series that a warm, moist wind rustled refreshingly through the treetops beneath the dazzling early summer sunlight. More than just heat, the radiant light burst from sky with an overwhelming intentness over both trees and buildings and cast deep shadows on town's main road that wrapped around itself the dark soil and dilapidated asphalt.

Despite its underlying concrete framework, Akiba is quite organic. On multiple occasions, Shiroe makes note of the smell of the damp earth, the whispering of leaves and grasses, and the humid breeze that sweeps between the abandoned buildings. Ginko and Elm trees have grown up around the old buildings, splitting the showy multi-colored signs and breaking down walls. The side streets are covered in leaf mold and emerald-green moss.

Later in the series, as most people have adjusted to their new lives and purchased buildings, Akiba appears more livable. The city has been cleaned and repaired to a degree; streets are swept clean of debris, and buildings repainted or decorated. The outer districts of the city are still overgrown and degraded, though some buildings have been refurnished such as Log Horizon's Guild Hall. The flood of immigrants from Shibuya has also made the city less barren and abandoned. The city's inhabitants, instead of clearing away the foliage, have incorporated it into the city's design. At night, the city is aglow with Magic Lights.

Geography
As Akiba the starting location on the Japanese server, many guilds use the city as their home base. To cater to the resident and transient Adventurer population, the city is filled with inns and bars. It also possesses almost every other conceivable thing a beginner adventurer may need such as weapon and armor shops, potion shops, food and drink shops, along with many other related businesses. This made it a very important destination for adventurers.

The center of the city is a large intersection behind the train station plaza (駅前広場). A large monolith-shaped "intelligent building" made of complex materials stands at the corner of the intersection. The atmosphere is of a lively open-air market, and players often congregate here to kill time, recruit for quests, and sell or buy items and trade information. Many people of the land run shops alongside adventurers here.

Both Adventurers and People of the Land have taken up residence here and there among the abandoned buildings, and the streets are dotted with temporary stalls operated by Landers selling food and other goods.

Noteworthy Locations

 * The Big Bath: A public bathhouse, it was created after the establishment of plumbing and immediately became popular.
 * Crescent Moon Refreshment Stand: A food stand created by the joint efforts of Log Horizon and the Crescent Moon Alliance, it revealed the secret of real food preparation to the Yamato server. It created a huge sensation and became quite popular.
 * Guild Meeting Hall
 * Akiba Central Plaza: Located in front of the Akiba train station and adjacent to Akiba's central main intersection. The plaza is full of vendors and shops.  It also contains enough open space to provide a common place for adventurers and Landers to meet.  Is nearly always full of people and very busy even at night.  It is decorated with many colored magical lights and lamps which create quite the spectacle

Other Locations in Akiba. Areas Surrounding Akiba
 * Fleig's Tavern
 * Birdland Duvacha: A path through a small forest, this area, around 40 minutes outside of Akiba, is host to level 80 monsters. The Black Sword Knights train there in small groups, and Akatsuki goes there to train as well even though she can't gain any EXP by killing the monsters due to her high level.
 * Small Stone Herb Garden: A small zone near Akihabara. The zone has an ancient gaming facility which provides more topographical variety than the usual surrounding ruins in other zones, making it a harder place to fight. Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki trained here soon after the Catastrophe to hone their combat skills. Common monsters found here are Triffids, Brier Weasels and Venom Moths- most at Level 50.

Ruins Located in Akiba
 * SUFTEC
 * Yashikayama Electric
 * Kuruta Tower

Post-Catastrophe Situation
After the Catastrophe, security in Akiba deteriorated badly. Although outright fighting among players was not allowed within city limits, the number of PK incidents in the area around the city increased drastically, and some malicious players discovered ways of getting around the Royal Guard system to abuse and intimidate others even in the city. The general despair created situations where PKing was seen as something to occupy time with since nothing else was happening. Eventually, the situation settled somewhat as the city's large, influential guilds took hold. Although cases of PKing and assault dropped as a result of the guilds throwing their weight around, this also meant that those large guilds had priority in the market and were free to do whatever they wished in the city. Intentionally the people of the land were seen only as NPC's and were treated very badly as people assumed they had no emotions or feelings. Only later was this treatment changed in a meaningful way to the point where they were treated as normal people.

Significantly, after the Catastrophe, all zones in Elder Tale became available for purchase. In Akiba, this amounted to about 50 zones within the city and 300 hunting grounds outside of the city.

Round Table Alliance arc
With the creation of the Round Table Alliance, along with the discovery of actual food creation and inventions, the city of Akihabara has begun to stabilize and grow all thanks to Shiroe's efforts. The new discoveries created a renaissance within the city changing nearly every aspect of life. What the Landers had seen as nothing more than a disorganized mob of Adventurers was recognized as a major regional player and massive economic force.

Due to the the Adventurers' immense strength, immortality, and now knowledge of techniques and technology that did not previously exist in Elder Tale, the leaders of the Eastal League of Free Cities became wary and curious, with many seeking to enlist the Adventurers' powers and inventions in order to gain more even footing in negotiations or gain advantage over their rivals. Food preparation techniques spread through the land on its own transforming the lives of all the people of the land.

Currently, the city has a population of 20,000; 15,000 players, and approximately 5,000 People of the Land who operate many of the cities mundane functions. An influx of economic immigrants has increased the population, the people of the land. A town bath house has been constructed and a daily newspaper was established along with other pieces of daily life from the world the adventurers once knew. The new foods and inventions, such as the steam engine, have sparked a demand for new products and the drive to earn more money to buy them. Hunting for ingredients and material now provides far more work for the combat guilds in terms of bodyguards and city defense to keep the city clear of monsters and other enemies. Taxes collected through use of the Guild Building is used to research the now-dormant Fairy Rings and run the Round Tables operations to facilitate the cities elevated status. The resurgence has also bred loyalty among the citizens of Akihabara who see the city as a home and safe haven in a world that is largely dangerous and unknown. Any enemy hoping to attack the city will find that fifteen thousand adventurers and five thousand people of land to be far more then they could handle. Most monsters with any intelligence stick to the far corners of the city away from the population.

Though the new economy still has its flaws (such as estimating value for labor), the citizens are now given much more to do and the feelings of despair and boredom have disappeared in the rush to invent, explore, and fight. With the rumors of good food, new inventions, and the establishment of the Round Table Alliance to govern the city, the number of People of the Land has increased significantly. Many have traveled from distant regions to work as employees at the Guild Meeting Hall or to start a new life and experience the foods and innovations. Others have journeyed to learn the new techniques that have so transformed peopleslives. The lure of a new world has been viewed as a threat by many of the cities neighbors. The economy has also increased the amount of money flowing through the city which has made the city a major economic power. In turn this attracts more inhabitants who bring more work to the bustling metropolis and provide more sources of labor.

Return of the Goblin King arc
In addition to the new food recipes and inventions, Akihabara is also considered as a major military power, due to the high number of Adventurers residing within its boundaries. With strong combat guilds such as D.D.D, Black Sword Knights, Honesty and West Wind Brigade, (with most over Level 70), the city has a formidable, though unofficial and disjointed fighting force. Additionally, it boasts exceptional support, production and tactical guilds such as Log Horizon, Oceanic Systems, and the Crescent Moon Alliance. Due to their combined efforts during the Return of the Goblin King event, Akihabara is recognized as the equal to the Eastal League of Free Cities, despite being only one city. As proof of its prowess, an army of only fifteen hundred adventurers defeated a force of goblins twenty times its size and fight all the way back to the goblin lair.

After the crushing of the goblin hordes, Akihabara has signed a non-aggression pact and free-trade agreement with the League creating a potential powerhouse alliance that threatens to upset the balance of power throughout Yamato.

Libra Festival arc
By the time of the Libra Festival, Akihabara has become a huge center for exports and imports. The products made by the Adventurers are highly sought after and their production methods are great sources of interest to nobles and merchants alike. Due to the difficulty of obtaining ingredients and materials, the Adventurers prefer to purchase these items in bulk from the People of the Land, then use their skills to create products for sale and distribution. Although many combat guilds regularly harvest resources from the surrounding lands around Akiba along with honing their skills.

At this point, Akihabara has its first encounter with the Eastal League of Free Cities's main rival, the Holy Empire Westelande. Wanting to discredit the Corwen Family and weaken the authority of the Round Table Alliance, spies were sent in to cause random disturbances, while Lord Marves suddenly arrived with supposedly 500 tons of cargo for storage. This scheme quickly fell apart due to Shiroe's counterattacks and the apparent stupidity of the nobleman which caused quite a bit of embarrassment to all involved.

Fallen Guardian arc
Akihabara's main defensive system against invading monsters and inner-city violence was turned off in order stop the Mobile Armor's advantage, which was being exploited by a rogue member of the Royal Guard who was killing Adventurers out of spite and hatred. As a result, the city is now vulnerable to any monster attacks, unless the Adventurers themselves fight them off. The system cannot be restored for over 10 years. The cities defense is now solely reliant on the guilds. A week after the shutdown, it is stated that patrols by combat guilds keeps monsters out of the city. The players are not fighting as a result of the mutual cooperation of the many guilds and/or the threat of the city's combat guilds.

However, this fact, combined with Westelande's desire for war with Eastal, has left some of those in Akiba aware of this fact wary of war. However a potential war is becoming more and more of a threat.

Collapse of the Round Table arc
Eins of Honesty continues deadlocking the Round Table meetings with his protests that the faction was doing nothing for members of the city who weren't able to adjust to the new world. This group of adventurers unwilling to adept were becoming a growing though unseen problem within the city. At the same time, the guild did nothing to hide the fact that agents of Minami were constantly visiting them, leading Charasin and Shiroe to suspect that the two were working together. After another fruitless meeting, Eins was suddenly declared "Akiba Duke". This threw the council into chaos.

Meanwhile, Rayneshia was told that she was to be wed into the Saikyuu Family, Westelande's ruling family and the other Dukedom with roots to the Westelande Imperial Dynasty. Together with the above events, this was a clear attack on the Round Table's authority and power.

Trivia

 * Akiba is named after the a real life district of the same name in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. The real life Akihabara is known as a center for electronics and anime culture.