LACUNA

LACUNA (ラクーナ, Rakūna) is the virtual space where Digimon Liberator takes place. It's a cyber world formed from a complex fusion of mapping data from the real world. Users can access it through a Full Dive using a Translation Another Life Engine, or T.A.L.E., metaverse pods available at amusement facilities nationwide, where they set their D-Storages and put on goggles to start the machine..

According to the lore, LACUNA was once a highly-advanced civilization, a city that reached the height of prosperity. However, 300 years ago, the original inhabitants, Digimon, were sealed into cards and vanished, and robots and androids (NPCs) have since proliferated as the new ruling species of LACUNA.

LACUNA was discovered by Cool Boy, who then used its source code to create the foundation of the Liberator system. Few people seem to know this, and most players believe that LACUNA is merely a game world created and managed by humans.

LACUNA is divided into seven distinct areas, each forming an island composed of various cities.

Areas

Emerald Coast, the Invasive Forest City

It's a vast city encroached upon by nature. It primarily features skyscrapers, but there are also places resembling Southeast Asian ruins and Japanese-style buildings, all of which are taken over by plants.

It functions as a tutorial area for beginning players embarking on their first adventure, with most of the battle NPCs encountered being low-level. It's beloved by many players for its quiet atmosphere relatively peaceful setting, making it useful as a base of operations.

There are two types of quest in this area:

1. Defeating a set number of low-level NPCs within a designated time limit, designed so that new players can get accustomed to the battle system. The NPCs notably use Green cards and are programmed to let the players win unless they make significant mistakes.
2. Answering NPC quizzes about the Digimon Card Game. These quests are unique to the Emerald Coast and feature various levels of difficulty, ranging from deducing the names of cards and Digimon to more complex problems. They're designed to be enjoyed by both beginners and seasoned players, with rewards varying by difficulty level, though they primarily consist of decorative items that enhance the players' appearances and D-Storage units. However, successfully solving high-difficulty questions may also yield ability items that can be used to create new Tamer Cards. There is talk of an NPC which specializes in quizzes with exceptionally high rewards, but it remains a rumour.

NPCs that act as conduits to the episodes of the Main Scenario's prologue are located in the Emerald Coast. One of these is Makina, a robot on the brink of shutdown who entrusts several cards to the players starting the Main Scenario, before exhausting its power.

Ruby Mountain

It's a high-level area within LACUNA, located far from the central city, on the distant outskirts of the realm. No NPCs normally exist in this area. Due to the smoke and ash billowing from clusters of active volcanoes, the sky cannot be seen, the only light coming from rivers of flowing magma, casting everything in a glowing red. The dull pop of bubbles forming from the lava and the savory sizzle of the molten stone serve as makeshift background music.

The Central District of Jewel

E.G.G

Lapis Marine, the Ever-Sunny Seascape

Appearances

Manga

Digimon Liberator

In "Welcome to LACUNA", Owen Dreadnought entered LACUNA at some point after his defeat to Zenith in the Digimon Card Game World Championship.

Kazama Shoto entered LACUNA for the first time alongside Kinosaki Arisa following Owen's example, using a T.A.L.E. at an arcade. When he did, he found himself falling, as welcome messages appeared in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese Simplified. As he fell, Shoto saw an orb with two crossing rings, and screamed in terror as he kept falling. He managed to land on his feet in LACUNA, and later met Arisa and her Partner Digimon, Junkmon.

Several more players and Digimon were shown in LACUNA in "DigitalGate Open". Shoto and Arisa themselves landed in the Emerald Coast, where they were attacked by a Battle Type NPC that should not exist in that area.

Novel

Digimon Liberator

Yuuki and Impmon go to Ruby Mountain in "Yuuki" to take care of a rogue NPC. Despite their loss, Yuuki still obtained an ability item and some new cards here, which she'd use to build her Dark Dragon deck. With it, they fought the NPC once again in "HEAVY METAL PLAY", winning this time.

Saikiyo and Funbeemon go to Emerald Coast in "Saikiyo" at the latter's suggestion, though only because the former wanted to fight an NPC that defeated Yuuki and Impmon earlier, as he saw it as good practice for his new deck. He fought the NPC in front of a vine-entangled stone pyramid reminiscent of ancient Central American civilizations, ultimately winning the fight.

Additional Information

References	Notes