Euphoria Hypermall

> "*The mall is now closed. Please return when we open at ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!*"
>
> **- Occasionally heard around the premises**
>
>

The **Euphoria Hypermall** is an abandoned shopping and entertainment complex in Hypraxidonia's Syndelia Ward. Once the most anticipated development project of its time, a mixture of poor luck and mismanagement caused its financial ruin, and it was eventually sold into an endless cycle of ownership, realization of the gut-wrenching investment required to refurbish or demolish it, and subsequent resale.

As few buyers have even bothered to improve the site's external security any more than fencing it off, it has become something of an attraction for a mixed crowd of urban explorers, squatters, artists, and criminal organizations who view its safe zones as neutral ground. Outside of these, however, many of the mall's automated systems remain fully functional—if not dangerously malfunctional.

## History

Originally an attempt to cash in on the "hypermall" boom of the prewar decade, Euphoria was promised to be one of the biggest and most ambitious of its kind—complete with top-of-the-line automated maintenance and security systems, underground fabricators to keep stores stocked around the clock, a menagerie floor of lifelike robotic animals, an exclusive virtual reality lounge at its heart, and of course, an internal rewards system linking everything together under the oversight of a next-generation AI. It even featured a hotel wing for visitors from off-world.

Unfortunately, the grand opening would be marred by two even grander misfortunes: the Ascendancy invasion of Naer'si beginning that very same day, and the subsequent realization that the experience promised by the mall fell significantly short of what was promised. Not that it was *bad*, per se, but the hype surrounding the mall had far outpaced the experience delivered: the rewards system was too byzantine for most to even try to engage with, the hotel and many restaurants weren't even finished with construction, and the cheaply-produced menagerie bots teetered atop the Uncanny Valley.

While Euphoria would churn out a meager enough profit to make some initial improvements, ultimately the bottom had already dropped out and investors began jumping ship. Poor management through the latter half of 1 NE saw many of its in-progress sections languish in favor of fruitless marketing schemes, and eventually the retailers themselves began to pull out, taking rapid cancellation fees over the expenses of moving their product out of the mall. Following several agonizing legal battles, the site of the mall was repossessed by the Hypraxic government and sold off to a private developer, who found the AI core missing and most of the manual controls for security, maintenance, and fabrication drones prone to disastrous malfunction.

The mall has changed hands numerous times since then, a developmental hot potato due to the lose/lose expenses of either refurbishing or trying to demolish it.

## Sections

This page is under construction. Author considers this article to be unfinished or in need of an update or a revamp.

### Neon Promenade

The **Neon Promenade** comprises the upper 3-4 floors of the Hypermall: the entry floor, the floor above, and the floor below, with elements of it extending down to the Arcadian Menagerie's initial floor. The bulk of Euphoria's storefronts and restaurants are/were located here, lit by multicolored neon lights streaming across the walls and ceiling.

**Difficulty Tier:** 0-1
**Dangers:** Mall security, other trespassers
**Safe Houses:** Hypraxis Glamours, second GladreBurger
### Arcadian Menagerie

The **Arcadian Menagerie** was among the Hypermall's most ambitious attractions—an immersive, multi-section zoo of lifelike animal drones. The remaining animal automatons continue to behave like mechanistic caricatures of their wild counterparts in the now-overgrown middle floors of the mall. Unfortunately, they are also programmed to attack trespassers.

**Difficulty Tier:** 1-2
**Dangers:** Menagerie automatons, hazardous terrain, deep water
**Safe Houses:** Oceanarium gift shop
### Dreamer Suite

The **Dreamer Suite** is a virtual reality center comprising the lowest floors of the Hypermall. From here, mallgoers who could afford the luxury were allowed to experience the rest of the mall in holographic form or purely digitally, and play a number of "high-sensation" arcade games which were made exclusive to the mall.

Even seasoned explorers are uncertain what remains of the Dreamer Suite. Currently, the only known route to it is a pit buried somewhere in the undergrowth of the Arcadian Menagerie.

**Difficulty Tier:** 2-3 (estimated)
**Dangers:** Unknown
**Safe Houses:** Unknown
## Travel

 Kharna Kamia | MagBoard
 Kharna Kamia | Bullet train + walking