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 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 shown 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 Horizons Guild Hall.

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.

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.

Both players and non-player characters have taken up residence here and there among the abandoned buildings, and the streets are dotted with temporary stalls operated by NPCs selling food and other goods. . As time has gone on the cities building exteriors have been cleaned up somewhat especially those that are inhabited. At night the city is aglow with thousands of lights.

Post-Catastrophe Situation
After the Catastrophe, the security situation in Akiba deteriorates. Although outright fighting among players is not allowed within city limits, the number of PK incidents in the area around the city increases, and members of the city's large, influential guilds begin throw their weight around and act arrogantly.

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
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 stablize and grow all thanks to Shiroe's efforts. What was once considered by the People of the Land, as nothing more than a disorganized mob of Adventurers, is now being noticed by the major cities, primarily the League of Freedom Cities Eastal.

Due to the fact that the Adventurers are more powerful than most of the native inhabitants, are able to respawn after dying, and are in possession of things that did not previously exist in Elder Tale, the leaders of the People of the Land have become wary, with many seeking to enlist their powers and inventions in order to gain more even footing in negotiations.

Currently, the city has a population of 20,000, with around 15,000 players, and the rest consisting of People of the Land who operate many of the cities mundane functions. A town bath house has been constructed and a daily newspaper was established. The new foods and inventions such as the steam engine, has sparked a demand for new products and the drive to earn more money to buy them. Hunting for ingredients and material now provides more work for the combat guilds in terms of bodyguards and city defense. Taxes collected though use of the Guild Building is used to reseach the now-dormant Fairy Rings and run the Round Tables operations.

Though the new economy still has its flaws, (such as estimating value for labor), the citizens are now given more things to do and the feelings of despair and boredom are alleviated. 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. 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. The economy has also increased the amount of money flowing through the city which has made the city a major economic power which in turn attracts more inhabitants.

Return of the Goblin King
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 fighting force. Additionally, it boasts exceptional support, production and tactical guilds such as Log Horizon, Marine Agency, and Crescent Moon Alliance. Due to their combined efforts during the Return of the Goblin King event, Akihabara is recoginized as the equal to the League of Freedom Cities Eastal, despite being only one city.

After the defeat of the goblin hordes, Akihabara has signed a non-agression pact and free-trade agreement with the League.

Libra Festival
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.

At this point, Akihabara has its first encounter with the League of Freedom Cities Eastal's main rival, the Holy Empire Westelande. Wanting to decredit the Cowen 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 shut down it is stated that patrols by combat guilds keeps monsters out of the city and that players are not fighting.

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.