Part 18: Update XVI - Featuring: Studying

Update XVI - Featuring: Studying

Music: Cladeon - An Undersea Shimmer


Just past that incredibly angry dragon is the exit.



Retired Blacksmith: Try not to overwork yourselves, alright?

But first, we have to grab this old man and kill one more dragon.





Said dragon.



It dies.

On top of everything else Buddy skills bring to the table, they also deal a respectible chunk of 100% free damage on their own.

Granted, Buddy skills are all ATK-based, so magic classes get screwed on that, but still.



This place is cleared out, on to the next.



A heal spot means that we're probably halfway to the forge.



Hey look, another dragon!



Most of these guys are taking just three turns to kill, and I'm walking out with barely any damage on my own forces.

We haven't even gotten to the really broken stuff yet.



This makes, what, three Guard Rings we've obtained in this dungeon so far?

I guess the devs had to ramp up how many accessories they give you, now that I have to fill out 12 slots instead of 6.







There's not much I can really say about this outing.



7th Encount was entirely ripped from 2020-II. Atlantica, despite its baffling lack of dragons and absolutely no boss, was at least pretty to look at.



But in general, the dungeons in VFD just feel like a step back from the 2020s.

Like, the first dungeon in 2020 was an inverted building, with a bit where you're traversing the exterior while falling 'up'! 2020-II had a transit station trapped in fucking hyperspace!



Cladeon is just... generic caves with pretty water.



Oooh, I can have people make bentos now!



Well the Hammer Dragon is already in the general pool, so what's our next barrier fight?

Music: Battlefield - Furious Predator


A Megamouth.

We've already killed several Megamouths. There was one not even 30 feet back. Why even have barriers if there isn't going to be a challenging fight to take it down?



Aiden gets another Quick Hack proc on a dragon, but it fails to land this time.

He still gets MN for it.



On the plus side, I finally bought the right TROY.





Now when Yuno sets up X BurnMass Driver...



We get the tiny initial hit.



They the TROY goes off.

With an ideal hand, this means that every TROY will get 5 procs from Yuno: 3 from meteors and 2 from Yuno herself. Even with the TROY at level 1, that adds up to a free 400 damage with every TROY.



And then everything was fine.



Totally. Fine.

Music: Cladeon - An Undersea Shimmer


Less fine, however, is the return to all these samey caves.





We finished this area, at least.



Oh thank god we're nearly there.



As nice as having the map on the touch screen is, it does make it hard to keep track of where we are with these top screen only shots, which is why I've been showing the full screen every time I hit a point of interest.



Also Land Anglers start showing up.

Poor guys were full on dragons in 7D1, only to get demoted to normal enemies ever since.



And in case you were wondering, despite the map being on the touch screen like 7D1, they did not bring back the ability to tap a dragon icon on the map and have it list what dragon it is.

Which is actually kinda annoying, now that any dragon can be in any spot and have any behavior pattern.





While all this has been going on...



Aiden has been using scapegoat.exe every time Quick Hack goes off.



Which restores 20 MN with every use.

While Aria may have Moonlight Poetry, it still requires multiple turns to make use of. Aiden can slap someone with this on turn 1 if Quick Hack lands. Fortuners may be better at MN restoration while in boss fights, but Agents are the undisputed kings of mid-dungeon recovery.



Ahead is a wandering dragon.



Look at this, we're at the start of the game and the dragons can do nothing to us!

It sorta puts us in an awkward spot where nothing can really challenge us, but all we have to use are the boring starter moves. We'll be getting the actual fun toys later.



Get to that barrier dragon on the left.



This one also chumps.



Wandering Lucier: I hope my mom and dad are OK...

Man, how bad is your luck when a dragon puts up a barrier entirely to trap you?





With all that cleared, we take the right path.





One final barrier dragon between us and Mayhem.



Aiden makes it kill itself with madstrife.exe.



A cutscene starts just past the barrier.



A dragon roars.





Yuma, this dragon shouldn't pose a problem with your power, but don't let your guard down.

I know. Now, let's hea— Ngh...



Oh look, the guy who can one shot High Dragons suddenly falls ill at the 11th hour, forcing the plucky new recruits to face it on their own. What are the odds?

I-It's nothing, Admiral.

... All members, prepare for battle. We've almost reached the High Dragon Mayhem. Press on!

The entire team nods.



We have a save point and two chests, but no warp point to head back.





For whatever reason, the devs want you to use this Escape Kit to head back if you need to, then use the Camouflage to cut down on random encounters while you run back.

Now, I could go fight Mayhem now...



But I got a pocket full of Dz and a reward to go get.

Music: UE77 Tokyo


With that, Mayhem is the last dragon in Cladeon.

Music: The Daily Grind


Kino: Oh! You've saved 13 people! As promised, here's your reward! Thanks a lot!



Oh hello. A second EXP booster will never go amiss.



Now to build stuff.

Music: UE77 Tokyo














The Lounge in the 2020s was pretty much a way to try and unwind while the literal apocalypse and end of humanity was going on just outside.

In VFD, you get to make it for funsies.













All this also opened up some sidequests.



Including a heart quest? This early?

Heart quests are quests dedicated to the quest giver that'll eventually lead to them giving you their number and a great piece of gear in the end game. I guess Nodens is the type of place to not have any policies against bosses and employees dating.

...Considering Allie, that makes a lot of sense.

7th Encount is currently down for maintenance... One of the bug testers has been so overworked that she literally passed out from exhaustion... My stomach hurts just thinking about having to do that much work... Anyways, our profits have gone down 75% since we closed 7th Encount for maintenance. If it stays closed, not only would our research budget get slashed, but our wages would, too... Please log into 7th Encount right away and help out with the bug testing. I need all the money I can get...

Haha you guys get paid? Unit 13 has to harvest the organs of whatever they fight to get pocket money.



This is a request for participation in employee training... To be a resource worthy of working here at Nodens, you must know history... We will start with the basics: the history of this company... Nodens Enterprises began fifteen years ago when President Allie bought a game company... The company had been on the brink of bankruptcy, but with the release of 7th Encount, we had a huge hit... In the blink of an eye, the employee count shot up and Nodens morphed into a multinational corporation. Anyways, for this quest, you'll need to talk to the living history book of Nodens, President Allie... She'll be waiting for you in the War Room...





It's totally leftovers.

Music: Let's Get to Work!!


We get the usual batch of upgrades.



I then realize that I completely forgot about that Rune Knight weapon we got right before we unlocked them.

The price of having to wait a month between recordings, I guess.



Also we get two new items.



And seriously, what is up with the cat food?

Music: The Daily Grind


I'm sorry Valerie, I know we're just a few steps away from killing the dragon that's been making a mockery of your forge and all, but sidequests take priority.

The textbook you'll need is in the Reference Room, so go ask the librarian, Asuka, about it. Do some studying by yourself for a while. After that, come report back to me. But don't slack off just because you don't have me breathing down your neck! *chuckle*



Now that I think about it, why does Nodens have so many unused basement floors?







You do know that there are more accessories than just Guard Rings, right, devs?

~

Asuka: Ah yes, you came for the training. President Allie told me you'd be coming. The first session will involve a book called “The Sunken Kingdom”. Nobody has it checked out at the moment, so it should be somewhere in here. Please go retrieve it.



Minato: Though it'll likely be difficult to clean the blood and dirt off of some of them...

h-

has nodens been robbing atlantis while we aren't looking



And now we aren't even trying to hide all the Lucier we've been taking in.



Mortzich: It's way too difficult for me. I couldn't understand much... Here, you can have it. Good luck.





The door up top is locked.



Asuka: The key parts are Chapters 1, 5, and 8. Please study them carefully over at the desk.



The table glows now that we have the book.





Ch. 1: A Rare Species

System Message: Compared to land-based societies of the time, Atlantis was quite an advanced civilization. However, no genetic discrepancies have been confirmed between the Lucier and the modern man. Some people believe that humans developed a mutation that allowed them to form the sea kingdom. However, some schools advocate the theory that the Lucier are in fact the progenitors of mankind itself.

That doesn't explain why the guys have elf ears and the girls have cat ears, though.

Ch. 2: The Voice of the Stone

System Message: One key feature of the kingdom of Atlantis was their knowledge of minerals and smithing techniques. Their prosperity would have been impossible had they not known the secret of the alloy orichalcum. However, both orichalcum and even Atlantis itself were previously believed to be mere legends. That is, until the Dragon Calamity of 2021, when ancient Lucier genetic data was discovered. Researchers were then able to bring Lucier clones to life using this genetic code as a basis. Their ability to create orichalcum in turn provided the first actual proof of Atlantis's existence. The clones have since joined the World Relief Corps and now assist those affected by the Calamity.

The World Relief Corps is the official translation for Sharon's organization from the 2020s. Nice to see that she pretty much adopted all the clones.

Ch. 8: The Hero and the Queen

System Message: Around 12,000 years ago, Atlantis faced imminent destruction at the hands of the True Dragon Nyala. However, they chose to fight Nyala in hopes of protecting the other land-based world civilizations. Ultimately, though Atlantis was destroyed, Nyala was repelled by Queen Ulania and a legendary hero. Without this sacrifice made by the people of Atlantis, modern prosperity would be impossible.





*nods*

OK OK★ Now then, Valerie... What do you think of Atlantis?

lmao she's asking this to an Atlantis native.

God the multi-team system really could have used some work.



Ancient civilizations are amazing.

Indeed, who doesn't like a good ancient society complete with geoglyphs and buried treasure? I'd love it if we could find other ancient civilizations to study★

~

I appreciate what they did.

...Indeed. Modern civilization was only able to develop to this point because they were able to stop Nyala. But the one who actually defeated Nyala... Who could that have been? *chuckle* What a mystery★

~

Could the hero be...

Did you act according to legend, or was the legend born according to how you acted...? Who can say? It's truly a chicken and egg situation.

...

Di-

~~

You clearly studied quite hard, meaning you've officially completed Employee Training 1! This is your reward! Be sure to use it wisely~!



You obtained Medis II x3.

You obtained SP Up 100 x3.

Let's study some more when we get the chance★



Did we just create a stable time loop???

Next time: Nodens Enterprises creates something from nothing.