Part 33: Update XXXI - Featuring: The consequences of our actions

Update XXXI - Featuring: The consequences of our actions



Music: The Daily Grind










Would you please come meet me on the Conference Floor?



...Why are we getting an upgrade to the Skylounge so soon?



Meh, it only costs 4 Dz.





All it does is make the night ambiance of the dates the default setting.





So now it'll magically become night time whenever we enter the lounge.





Music: Re:Vanishment (code：VFD Ver)






I even did a date to see if anything changed there.



Music: UE77 In Ariake


*nods*

Julietta finally managed to find our next target. He's setting up the Portal as we speak★ The 3rd True Dragon Nyala specimen that you guys brought back really helped the development process. It's been quite a long time since I've seen him this excited about something. Meanwhile, Nagamimi's very busy with post-processing for the Atlantis evacuation plan.

Now, the 2020s had Intermission chapters, but those were still had you doing important things, and focused on plot threads that weren't fully dragon-related.



In VFD, Intermissions consist of Unit 13 being given a day off.

A little jingle plays and everything.

You can do whatever you want until we tell you things are ready!



I don't know what to do, though...

You can do anything, anywhere! Maybe you should travel! We'll let you know when we need you★ *chuckle* I guess if you really can't think of anything, there are some quests that need doing★

~

Does anyone need help?

*chuckle* I love how concerned you are about other people★ Right now, the quest counter could probably use your assistance.

~~

I heard things have gotten really busy over there! They apparently haven't even been able to sleep★ Alright, I should get back to work as well!





The president must work most efficiently when her employees aren't watching! *chuckle*



Music: The Daily Grind


I would help out, but I'm bogged down with presidential duties. What a shame★





My heart is already in pieces... It cannot be broken any further...

You can do it! I'm gonna keep work work working as hard as I can! Work hard, Chika!



A successful person once said that things only get harder when people tell you to work hard...

A successful person also said that anything is possible! Things only seem impossible cause people quit!

Urgh... That person is an idiot. By law, workers are supposed to be given breaks every so often...

We should all aspire to be like Chika.

The law may say so, but our company doesn't! Anyways, I love this! Who needs sleep, anyways!?

Between the sexual harassment jokes, crunch culture, and blatent disregard for the law in a game development company, this game has... not aged well, let's say.

*sigh* This company is evil...





Huh!? You guys look so bored! What's going on!?



You seem busy...

Rika! You can't get out of your responsibilities by pleading insanity!

Sigh. If only Unit 13 was here to help me... I hear they're really bored...

~

Anything I can help with?

Y-You want to help us...? For free...!?

Way to go, Unit 13! You guys are great workers! You still wanna work, even on your break! My salary thief of a sister Chika should learn from you guys!

Unh... Your inconsiderate words have addled my mind... Ahh, I can see it now... The entrance to the medical clinic, the white jackets, the medicine...

~~

*sigh* Just ignore Chika for now. Let's see, what can we have you do?



Oh hey, a joke that makes absolutely zero sense if you didn't play the first game!

...Do you want Unit 13 to die? I will not allow that.

In that case, I guess I can leave it to you, Chika!

Wait, what...?

Hmm... It looks like there are three requests that ask specifically for Unit 13. Could you handle those?

*nods*



Chika uses her ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU voice line here.

You cannot escape it.

We'll be counting on you!

Music: Let's Get to Work!!


The Intermission gives five new sidequests, but as Rika said, we only have to do the ones marked with a star to progress.



And despite the money DLC saying it needs Chapter 3 cleared, it counts Chapter 3.6 as part of it, so we still can't do it.



This is a continuation of your employee training from earlier... Before you begin, I'll give you a lecture on basic knowledge every Nodens employee should know... Don't look at me like that. I don't want to do it either, but rules are rules... Basic Nodens knowledge, part two... Today I will teach you about the president of our company, Allie... Using all of her hard-earned money, President Allie started Nodens in order to bring happiness to the world... In doing so, she also brought the joy of employment to many workers... The people of Nodens hope to work for President Allie until the day we lay on our death beds... Urgh... My stomach hurts just from thinking about working for the rest of my life... Today's lecture is finished... Please go, to the War Room... President Allie is waiting...



A tropical fish has disappeared from the company aquarium. I wonder if it ran away... I'm jealous... I wish I could just pick up and abandon my work... Regardless, Nodens employees are not allowed to go missing. That fish is an employee as well, so we must find it and bring it back. The person in charge of finding the fish, Chiharu, is in the Entrance Lobby.



Awww, Mio...

This one is from Mio Nagumo... It reads: *giggle* Want to hang out today? Wait... Is this just... her asking you out on a date...? What's with all the giggling...? *groan* She filed it with the request department, so I guess it's part of your job. Anyways, the client will be waiting in the Main Plaza. Don't stand her up...



Yuma Kisaragi submitted this request... He plans on doing some combat training in 7th Encount... He said that he'd like Unit 13 to participate as well, if possible... The client will be waiting for you at 7th Encount. Please do your best...



Hmmmm, I wonder who the quest giver could be...

This request is made by an anonymous client from Atlantis... They said they had their own special reasons for not including their name... Anyways, the goal of this request is counseling to cheer up Queen Ulania... They will be waiting for you at the Atlantis Evac Ward... Please hurry over there...

Okay, we just killed a True Dragon and saved a civilization, so let's start with something simple on our day off.



Like finding a fish! What could it do, hop out of the tank and flop away?

Chiharu: I'm still only part-time, though. Right now I'm handling odds and ends for the Atlantis Evac Ward. Anyways, the number of fishes in the tank in the Atlantis Evac Ward doesn't match our records. The one that's gone missing is a species called the Polypterus Bellocchio... Here's a picture of it. Could you go look into this for me?



Polypterus is an actual fish genus! Bellocchio is made up, however.

Chiharu: There's an old man in the Atlantis Evac Ward who loves Bellocchio. He taught me tons about them. He seemed almost like a teacher... I think he should be able to help you!



The quest marker points us to the Talkative Scholar, but didn't Chiharu just say that he loved Bellocchios?

Talkative Scholar: ...I see. This looks quite similar to the fish that lived in the sea surrounding Atlantis.



...Excuse me?



Did Chiharu make a mistake?

Talkative Scholar: ...That may not be the case. This fish did indeed exist, but at some point, it ceased existing.

~

What does that mean...?

Talkative Scholar: Let me explain.

~~

Talkative Scholar: The flapping of a butterfly's wings may cause a storm in the sea hundreds of miles away. Unit 13 defeated the True Dragon Nyala 12,000 years ago, and rescued the people of Atlantis. What storm may that large flapping of wings have caused in the present day of UE 77?



Talkative Scholar: You mentioned that I was quite fond of these Bellocchio, yet... I have no memory of such a thing.



Talkative Scholar: Wh-What!? Take a look at the photo.



what

Talkative Scholar: Could this mean... Hmm...

And if we talk to him again...



So yeah, remember how the game very heavily implied that all this has been part of a stable time loop?



Turns out that was complete and utter bullshit.



We have fucked up the timeline.



Wasn't it Polypterus Bellocchio...?

Chiharu: Huh? What do you mean...? I asked you to investigate the missing Polypterus Pasolini.

~

The fish in the photo disappeared...

Chiharu: Photo? Oh, silly me. I must have accidentally given you a photo with nothing in it!

~~

Chiharu: I'm so glad the problem is all sorted. Here, this is a thank you!



You obtained Lesser Bracer x1.

The Lesser Bracer gives 15% ailment resist.





Hey, Allie? We kinda need to talk.



Oh right, the quest.

The 2000s are quite recent, but not much is known about them. Let's start from the beginning! Come back once you've studied up in the Reference Room!



Asuka: The books you'll need are... The Great Dragon War, Parts 1 and 2. They should be in the back left.



System Message: It appears The Great Dragon War, Pt. 2 is out on loan.





Asuka: Hm... It appears to have been checked out by a Ms. Light from Atlantis. If you go get it from her, you'll be able to read right away instead of having to wait...



'From Atlantis' means that she's in the evac ward.

Light: We all took turns reading it. It was really interesting! Do you think you could return it for me?



Light: It seems Tokyo was hit quite hard as well... But people were atfie to rebuild so much in just 100 years. The people of Atlantis won't give up, either! Our courage is unstoppable!



Asuka: Thank you for retrieving part two. Please utilize the desk provided and study the books carefully. The key sections are the beginning of part one, and the end of part two. Don't forget the afterword!



Now we can finally study.



This quest is pretty much a cliffnotes version of the 2020 games.

Pt. 1: Murakumo and the Dragon

System Message: In the year 2020, Earth was inundated by a sudden influx of dragons. However, the Japanese government fought back with the help of the courageous Murakumo Unit 13. Humanity was brought to the brink of destruction due to the power of the Half Dragon Mizuchi...



System Message: The name of the True Dragon has been obscured by a smudge...

I'm sure that the last reader was just careless with their books.

Certainly this is in no way related to how we murdered a True Dragon with a weapon explicitly designed to permanently kill True Dragons.

That'd be silly and nonsensical!

Pt. 2: Indomitable Spirit

System Message: A year after the Dragon Calamity of 2020, Tokyo once again fell into the hands of a True Dragon. This dragon's name was Fomalhaut. It brought along with it a black poisonous flower: Dragonsbane. The people of Tokyo were in despair, yet once again, Murakumo Unit 13 stood to fight. Emel, the head of Murakumo, unfortunately died before the mission was complete. However, duties passed to a man named Kirino, who went on to revive the Lucier Marina. With Marina's help, he created the Dragonslayer and successfully defeated the True Dragon!

This part is slightly off, however. Marina was already alive by the time Emel died, Kirino just took over the plan to create the Dragonslayer.

Funnily enough, the way the book is worded implies that Kirino himself killed Fomalhaut.



System Message: 2020 AD, and the year following, 2021... Due to the invasion of two True Dragons, the world lost 85% of its population and over 100 nations. However, these Calamities were put to an end thanks to the action and willpower of the dragon hunters. After that, mankind unified their calendar, which was renamed United Era (UE), and began to rebuild. Behind the scenes, Murakumo was absorbed into ISDF, the International Self Defense Force. ISDF then established a special research team led by the former head of Murakumo, Kirino.



That's not even 30 years ago, how do you lose all the work of one of the guys responsible for the continued existance of humanity?

System Message: Presently, the global population has rebounded explosively to 50% of its pre-Calamity total. Having overcome great adversity, mankind once again finds itself in a time of peace and prosperity. Records of Murakumo may fade over time, but their determination will live on in the heart of humanity. This will was steeled by the efforts of our predecessors, and so shall press on into the future.

Going from 15% of the population back up to 50% is a hell of a boost.





And now we can check back in with Allie.



Now then, Opal... What do you think of the 2000s?



I'm interested in Murakumo.

I, too, am greatly interested in Murakumo. They formed 100 years ago, so it seems unlikely that any of them would still be alive. But if they were, I'd certainly want to meet them★

Girl, we literally have three members of Murakumo's Unit 13 on staff.

You hired them.

~

Those people were amazing!

Indeed! To stand tall in the face of destruction not once, but twice is truly an incredible feat! But what's even more impressive is that they were able to repopulate to this extent in only 100 years. The possibilities for humankind are truly endless!

~

There was a smudge in the book.





So yeah, Nyala? Died at Atlantis. End of discussion. He does not pass Go, he does not collect 200 Az.



The game itself will never elaborate on what impact that would have on other games. Who was in charge of the 2020 invasion? Hell, who was in charge of the 7D1 invasion? Fuck off, don't ask such silly questions.

I'm sure everyone thought I was overexaggerating about how bonkers the plot gets. After all, everything up until now has been a fairly standard time travel plot, aside from that hamfisted 12000 year limit on the time machine!

But as of right now, everything starts to break down at breakneck speeds in a perfect blend of bizarre decisions and a budget consisting of belly button lint and an expired coupon for Radio Shack.

Welcome to VFD.

~~

OK OK★ Employee Training 2 has also turned out to be a resounding success! Here, this is your reward. Use it wisely★



You obtained SP Up 100 x3.

You obtained SP Up 300 x3.

As long as you continue to learn, you will continue to grow★



Next time: A filler dungeon. Also cats.