Part 24: Update XXII - Featuring: Poor security
Update XXII - Featuring: Poor securityMusic: Ladyin - Sacred Tranquility
Back on B1F, we know that the northern door leads down, and the eastern door is blocked off.
So we head west first.
...way to rub in that 20 civilian reward, game.
Will the south door have better rewards?
No.
With that taken care of, we can head back to B3F.
Let's check out the south entrance first.
Just past the door is a dragon.
I've settled on Opal chaining Jab into Quartetto for these fights. They just don't last long enough for the debuffs to really matter when I can just blitz them down instead.
If you guessed that the dragon was guarding a four-way intersection, you'd be right!
Future Pop Star: But it looks like I'm just getting in the way... *sniffle*
Sorry lady, maybe in another 11921 years.
Then the left split.
And a dragon in the center of the room.
Music: Battlefield - Furious Predator
But Team 2 has picked up some new tricks.
First up is our first mid-battle AUTO skill with Grace of the Sun. The MN heal on it is small right now, but free resources are free resources.
Also, bizarrely, the voice line for this skill mentions Amaterasu. You know, the Japanese sun goddess.
Considering Fortuners and their arts hail from Atlantis, this raises multiple questions about Shintoism is the world of 7th Dragon.
On a more offensive side, Inoue has picked up her synergy with Valerie.
Valerie sets up...
And there she goes!
Even at level 1, Windy Canopy completely outdamages Aerial Slash, and Maple Tear needs at least level 3 to match it, so this will become Inoue's bread and butter damage skill for the next while.
The only downside is that it means she's tied to Valerie's slow SPD, so any enemies will probably end up going first.
One more finishes it off.
Music: Ladyin - Sacred Tranquility
Despite being in the middle of the room, the center only has a path to the right.
But it still leads to a split.
To the east is a door and a heal spot! Ulania must be past the door.
So, naturally, everything else takes priority.
Like this dragon!
Which, I would like to point out, is dealing single digit damage to Valerie.
No debuffs or status effects or anything are in play here, Valerie is just that beefy.
It also has Power Charge! That might make it actually hurt!
You know, if I didn't have Buddy skills on hand to dispel it.
Or if it didn't immediately die.
Oh, so the floor is cut in half.
The changes to critical hits make the crit accessories much better. Just one of these would give the user a 20% change to deal 1.5x damage with anything they do.
Alright, time to backtrack to the other door.
But on the plus side...
Aria's Revelations have hit level 3.
Being able to completely shut down a fight in the first action is exactly as good as it looks.
Just one more dragon and the floor has been cleared out.
And done.
Plus one more east-west split.
The left has some loot and a civilian.
The right has a blocked door and some ingredients.
Now to backtrack back to Ulania's door.
Eeheehee...
Here we are.
After all, her power doesn't exist so she can destroy the kingdom. It exists so she can save it.
*nods*
The time has come for me to go to the lair of Nyala... As the final descendent of the Atlantis Royal Family, I shall fulfill my duty... and—
Wait... Have you been eating properly? You look like you're just skin and bones... And you are... Eigur!? And the foreigners...!? My apologies, but this is a sacred chamber. We cannot allow outsiders upon these grounds. Please leave immediately, or else I shall summon my guards... Heh, you can call 'em if you want, but they'll be pretty useless. Those guys are weaker than ever. More importantly...What guards? We just cleared out three floors and only saw a guy who ended up in over his head.
Seriously, we killed like 10 dragons to get down here, why doesn't the last Queen of Atlantis have guards on hand?
Eigur...? Please, Ulania! Lend us your strength! What do you mean...? Well, it goes like this...
We get a quick fade to black as Eigur explains.
*nods* That's right! We're gonna fight back against Nyala! So for that we're gonna need the help of your power... The ability to hear the voice of orichalcum. B-But I have never forged in my life... It will surely be impossible! This is the only hope we've got! You wanna just give up without even trying? We are not giving up. We have simply accepted the fate of this kingdom.
Rulers are supposed to protect. You... are correct. My father Utrello gave his life attempting to defeat Nyala. ~
Do you... want Atlantis to fall? Of course not!~~
However... I do not have the power to lead an army into battle. And... Atlantis will be destroyed no matter what we do. The kingdom will fall into the ocean depths. There is no reason to fight a battle with such a small rate of success. There can be no hope.
There's a way to save your people. What...? You know of a way to help the people of this kingdom?~
Let's do it, together. Together...? But how? What can we possibly do to save the people of this kingdom?~~
*nods* We're thinking of evacuating the citizens to the country where Opal's from. To your country...? So... you wish for us to betray our kingdom? *shakes head* Not at all! That's what I thought at first, too. But if we can get the citizens out, at least for now, then beat Nyala... Then maybe we could figure out a way to keep Atlantis from—
So us appealing to Ulania directly is kinda obvious, so why didn't Tallieri do anything to try and stop us? Even a single guard posted in front of the door would have done the trick.
What'd you say!?
Outsiders. If we do not manage to stop Nyala here, the whole world will be destroyed. That is one thing we Lucier shall not allow to happen. We will remain with our kingdom... Our fate has already been decided.
Don't you want to live? You do not understand. The life of the individual is no longer of import. All that matters is that we kill Nyala. Do you truly believe the Dragonslayer is capable of that?~
We can change fate. Can you truly guarantee that you will bring Nyala to its grave? If you fail, not only will this kingdom perish, but the entire planet shall be consumed...Man have you seen our damage numbers? At this point we'll be liable to rip Nyala's wing off ourselves.
~~
Tallieri! We don't know if it's gonna work, but there's no harm in trying! Please, help us! If we can beat Nyala with the Dragonslayer, we won't have to destroy Atlantis! Eigur... Let us say Lady Ulania, does agree... What will you do about the orichalcum? You will need an enormous amount to forge the Dragonslayer. No source that large remains. You're wrong. The Star Crystal in Cladeon is made of pure orichalcum.
But then Cladeon will... Yeah. Without the Star Crystal, the town'll get overrun with monsters. But if you guys take us to your country, we'll be fine. ~
But then your people will... It'll be fine as long as you guys take us over to your country. This plan is the best thing we've got.~~
Please, believe in us! We will succeed! ... I-
Suddenly, a dragon roars!
Music: Endless Attack Cycle
Turns out that letting Ulania hang out in the dragon-infested basement with no guards was a bad idea. Who knew?
Lady Ulania! H-Help... I—
E-Eigur...
And our mystery dragon is...
Music: Battlefield - Furious Predator
This thing!
...how was it floating over the edge in the cutscene when it has no wings?
Anyways, besides this build up and the heal spot just outside...
It ain't a threat.
Even compared to the dragons we fought just to get here, it only has around 200 more LF than an Armanus.
Yuno is also starting to get some new moves!
That was a plot dragon, and it still only lasted three rounds.
Music: Finish Them Off
Next time: The budget starts to run thin.