Part 23: Selfless, charitable deeds

Update 21: Selfless, charitable deeds



Music: Castle in the Sand

When we last left off, Savyna had started to open up a bit about her past...


Hold on Kalas, Legion. Let's not talk about it anymore. We should just focus on getting to the Lava Caves. Geldoblame could be unsealing the last End Magnus as we speak.

All right, Xelha. Let's move on.


Oh, fine, listen to her. Jerk.





It's hard for me to talk since I don't know your whole story, but that mission was just...

That's enough, Lyude. Everyone's done something they're not proud of. No use digging it up now. People have gotta take responsibility for what they've done. If Savyna has something she's gotta make right, let her do it her own way.

I see what you're saying, but...

Lyude...

Very well...The Lava Caves are through the village towards the back.






All right, time to go. I believe I mentioned that Azha is a desolate, depressing wasteland, and this picture sums the mood of the village quite well.

There are some guards blocking the Lava Caves, and while Kalas suggests that we eviscerate them, Lyude won't let us because he's afraid the villagers might get hurt that way. So we get to go event flag hunting for I don't even know how many times this makes now.




There are these three girls that hang out on the outside screen of Azha. They'll follow us around everywhere and when you talk to them they beg for food. Fortunately they don't ever seem to block you or anything.

By the way, you can actually give them stuff. More on that later.





This girl, on the other hand, freaks out and runs away...


Sheesh! What's her problem?

...







What's that on your back? A Winglet, huh? You must be from the Empire! And that guy behind you...I've seen that uniform before...That day I saw many men wearing that uniform...They came and did horrible things! My mom and dad – you killed them! You came to murder our villagers again, didn't you? Get out of here! I'm not gonna let you murder anyone again! This is my vilage!

Wait. We are not...

Shut up! I said get out of here!


I hate most of the kids in this game, but I have to give this one some credit for having a spine made out of steel. Sadly, he won't let us into the area behind him. We'll have to come back with something to get him to let us through. Since there's nothing else for us here, let's get going...





-flasbhack-











You know how kids tend not to die in video games?

Yeah, this isn't one of those games.










The little girl runs off again. Savyna pauses for a second, and then storms out of the house...





...and up to the guards outside the Lava Caves.




My own battle is waiting up ahead. If you don't move, I'll be forced to remove you.


The guards manage to avoid bursting into tears and move out of the way, never to be seen again. Savyna walks into the Lava Caves, and the others follow suit.





Thanks for your help, Legion. We couldn't have made it this far without you.





Ha! I knew you'd say that. I wanted to thank you one last time. There may not be another chance...Once the five End Magnus are together, my final wish will be granted. Then our journey together...will come to an end.


...um...I have no idea what you're talking about. Could you elaborate on that for me?





Don't forget that...ever...

...Yeah. You're right, Xelha!

We can stop Geldoblame from unleashing the final End Magnus.

And then we take back others! Understood?

Listen up, troops. No one goes down without permission. Keep up or go home. Got it?

Sounds like a plan! Let's get going!




Yes, let's get going to the item shop.




I like this Magnus store. The lady isn't totally scary, and there's some decent equipment to be found here. But before I buy, I'd better sell.




I forget if I've mentioned this or not, but the couple Chump Change magnus I had have aged into this. It is both a powerful Chronos attack and can be sold for a healthy profit. I sold this one, but I still have one in Lyude's deck.







Wow, my picture of Ayme turned out horrible. I wonder what happened? This would be from the Kalas/Lyude/Mizuti fight. I guess I got the light level really high from Lyude's light attacks before I took the photo, but I would have thought Mizuti's Dark Flares would have canceled that out. Oh well, I have plenty of cash anyway.





Ooh, very nice. I'm still rather limited in my ability to deal Chronos damage, so this makes a lovely addition to Kalas' deck. I also bought some new weapons for Gibari and Savyna, an Aqua Burst IV for Xelha, and a new equip magnus for Mizuti. With all that done, I think I'm ready to move on.





No good...it won't budge.

Come on, really? I think we've sat through enough exposition to at least get in the dungeon proper.

(I am wrong)


Georg?

Yeah, he was my grandfather.

I knew it! I could tell right away. In all the world, no one but Georg would be able to make such a thing...Wait. Did you say he “was” your grandfather?

Yes. He died two years ago.

Died? Georg is dead? Are you sure about that?


Are you stupid or something?


Now he's dead too...Oh my! Hey, listen...Why don't you come to my place?

Thanks for the offer, but we're in a hurry. We don't have time to hear about the good old days.


Come on. I know you want to get through this door. Those Imperial imbeciles charged into my cave all of the sudden and just did as they pleased...I'll deal with them in a moment. But first, come to my place, eh?


Yep, this man is going to totally waste our time with some exposition that really could have just waited. I guess I can't blame him too much, though, since I'd have spent this time grinding or playing minigames or something anyway.





Once upon a time, I worked under your grandfather, Georg. This is his hometown, you know. Ever since he was a boy he'd make various devices, gizmos, contraptions, you name it. I'd never met such a skilled mechanic in all my life. He was a quite man who kept to himself most of the time...and there was something rather mysterious about him. It must've been more than twenty years ago, that he just picked up and left, disappeared without a trace. Georg must have been evaluated by the Empire for his mechanical skills. I believe they took him in. It's only logical the Empire would want him considering his extraordinary talent.


Get to the good stuff, pops. Nothing you've said so far is interesting me on any level.


I remember Georg had a thirteen year old son at that time named...Giacomo, if my memory serves me. If you claim that Georg is your grandfather, does that make you Giacomo's boy?

No way! Don't make me sick! I have nothing to do with that filthy coward!

I see...well, you must have your reasons for saying that. Since that news I hadn't heard hide nor hair of Georg or Giacomo. Oh, and what about Larikush? He left together with Georg. I wonder how he's doing?

Larikush? That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard that? Do you remember, Legion?





Really!! I'm impressed! Where did you hear about him?




You see, Kalas, my memory is just fine.





For those of you who don't remember, Larikush is the doctor with the improbable explosives who showed a surprising interest in Kalas grandfather. And now we have explanations for both of those things!



You have a good memory, Legion! But, does that mean...That doctor knew Georg? He knew my grandfather?

So he's alive and well. If you ever see him again, tell him “hello” for me.

I will. By the way, sir, the door...?


And so the old windbag finally agrees to unlock the door leading in. But hey, that information actually wound up being kind of neat. I don't resent him so much now.





This is Kalas' level 6 finisher, and my personal favorite of his.





This is another pen. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'm going to load Lyude up with all these. Maybe when he classes up again.









Music: Dead Beat

Alright, here we are in the Lava Caves. This is a short dungeon, presumably to make up for-





...ugh.





He tells us to go back in and get some Flame Ice, which is Ice that doesn't melt, even in extreme heat.











All right, that should help...I guess. I take two because you need two.









Progress!




Since I now have access to all of the enemies, let's take a look at them. These cat creatures' attacks are weak, though they will sometimes bust out a finisher that can induce Flames. They also occasionally attack twice in a row, but at the expense of those two attacks being very, very weak. All in all, nothing special.





These bugs have low health and are massively weak to both water and chronos. However, their attacks regenerate their HP (so if they do 126 damage, they will also recover 126 damage), and they also have a self-destruct attack that is kind of painful.




The plants are probably the most dangerous enemies. They hit harder than the previous two enemies, can poison, and have relatively high health and their weaknesses aren't quite as exploitable as the other enemies here (which is to say Water doesn't completely destroy them).




And then there are thew bulls. They have alarmingly high attack power, and can more or less match Folon in damage output. Couple that with them having decent HP, and you'd THINK they would be a huge threat...

Except that the majority of the time, they will use this attack. “Fuzzy Wuzzy Coat” inflicts sleep. On the bull. It also doesn't seem to have any beneficial effects for them.

They're total pushovers.











I've always been a sucker for “many weapons attack from different angles” kinds of attacks.









An equip magnus, a class up magnus, and a kind of jerk magnus. The Solar Saber is extremely powerful, having 133 attack power (that's in between a level 4 and level 5 finisher, and about 20-30 attack higher than my next strongest weapons).

However, it is an aging magnus. After about an hour-maybe less-the energy is drained and it turns into a Saber. As in, starting equipment with a whopping 8 attack power.

I didn't bother with them, but they can be handy in the upcoming boss battle.






...Yes. The one Ayme stole from me in the Labyrinth of Mirrors. Finding it here must mean...

They don't need it anymore. Geldoblame has already summoned the guardian of the final End Magnus...They must be somewhere up ahead.

We don't have much time. Let's hurry!




What evil awaits us inside? We'll find out later, but first...


-






Hey kids! I've brought you a treat!





HAVE SOME LAVA!





Don't you love it? Not only is it tasty, but Lava also contains seven essential vitamins that promote strong bones and sharp minds!





Not only that, but Lava is free of sugar and gluten, so everyone can enjoy it! Furthermore, it's extreme heat disintegrates any potential traces of peanuts, so you don't have to worry about allergies!











I appreciate this, sir, but it's not necessary. Virtue is it's own reward.


















...Okay, that was kind of a letdown, but the point is I put smiles on the faces of children.

















–

Decision Time!


Who will fight the boss of the Lava Caves?


Also...the next section is going to involve a lot more Guardian Spirit questions than I can really split up, and most of them are in the same vein anyway. I also cannot really explain the nature of the questions, so instead I will ask this.


Are we resistant or accepting?

Are we comforting or dismissive?