Part 4: Update III - Featuring: Job opportunities (and a single virtual dragon)
Update III - Featuring: Job opportunities (and a single virtual dragon)Music: Battlefield - UE77
Killing that Hell Ghost bumped 7th Encount's random encounters up a notch, instantly adding these Sentry Bots to the encounter table, even if we were to backtrack to a lower floor.
Yuno managed to draw into a Trap card, so I try it out for funsies.
Then she never gets hit, wasting the trap entirely!
In fact, Duelist has no skills to boost aggro, so you're entirely dependant to enemies running into you naturally for your traps to go off. This leaves them at odds with God Hands, as their own counter skills naturally draw enemy attacks. The traps can go off on group attacks, at least.
Music: Tokyo - Cascading Ordeals
Anyways, back to running.
Our first standard accessory gives +3 DEF/MDF.
Second floor clear!
See that chest?
We aren't getting it for a good while.
Hell Clouds also become a common mob.
And Yuno finally got Lightning!
In terms of damage, all summons do the exact same per level. The only differences is element and status rider.
Bit hard to make all these samey corridors look interesting.
Especially when the map is on another screen entirely!
Anyways, another heal spot. Here's hoping we get something better than a Hell Ghost.
Oh look, an actual dragon! Here in the game, 7th Dragon!
It isn't even a dragon! Its a pile of 1s and 0s in the shape of a dragon!
And it's way stronger than the other monsters you've fought so far!
How do you know it's so strong? How...? Well, based on its frame and dermal features, it clearly has both power and mobility, so... Wait, how do I know all this!? Even I'm surprised...~
Maybe you missed something. That's impossible... I memorized every page of that manual as I was reading it earlier. Either way, I don't think we'll be able to beat that thing with our stats where they are...~~
Hm, maybe it's a rare monster... No matter what it is, please be careful!
Music: Battlefield - Furious Predator
In older games, your first dragon had ominous names like 'The First Dragon' or 'D1'.
In VFD, you fight an digital baby in an arcade game.
Dragon fights usually last long enough for a hit to connect, so hopefully we can finally see a trap go off.
Opal starts setting up G-Depth.
And Inoue hits it.
This is the first boss, I'm sorta limited on battle strategies here.
Ow.
He then follows up with a second Bite, conveniently not hitting the person with a trap ready.
Until she gets a few more moves, Yuno's the item caddy. Even if she does have healing skills, Opal just doesn't have the Mana to spare this early on when she could be dealing damage instead.
Speaking of Opal, she hits G2.
Oh!
Also, for whatever reason, this attack has damage scaling based on the target's size, ranging from 0.8x against small targets to 1.5x against giants.
There is a powerful use for traps, but that'll come into play later in the game.
And in more important news: Opal has hit max G.
Of course it hits her.
The Burn means her attack is being cut by 10%, so while I'd prefer to heal it up and have her attack for full damage, the Nagamimi Charm means she'll outspeed the others if I have them heal her and having her do it means delaying the pain by a turn. So I'm attacking anyways.
Worth it.
And Inoue gets the kill.
Music: Finish Them Off
Music: None
???: I think we've found ourselves... the second key. Playtime is over.
Music: A Place to Come Home
We get automatically booted from 7th Encount.
You wanted that chest? Fuck you, go back later.
Congratulations! You have been chosen! Chosen...? Now then, come along with me to the headquarters of Nodens Enterprises! Don't worry~! We'll explain everything once we get there! Um, Opal... What should we do...?
It sounds like fun to me. Of course it does! ~
Let's go with it for now. Then it's decided!~~
This is your chance to open the door to a world you could only before dream about! This way, please! Follow me~!
Skilled Man: Wh-What the hell...!? How did someone like that beat my score!?
Music: The Daily Grind
Funnily enough, the doll's name is suddenly listed while on the field.
But it goes back to Strange Doll as soon as you leave.
Also, what?
Um, Mr. Rabbit... Sir?
...Huh?
We just got scouted in a Nintendo arcade by an arrogant, foul-mouthed not-rabbit.
Welcome to VFD.
I'm not some weird doll, and I'm definitely not a rabbit!
*sigh* This is the real me. I hate having to act all prim and proper for work. Now if you wanna survive here, I suggest you stop treating me like some cutesy little rabbit. Or else you'll regret it. I'll personally make sure of that. Get it? Got it? Good. We'll regret it...? And I wonder what he means by survive... How long are you gonna dick around over there? Nodens Headquarters is this way! C'mon, follow me! 
Because Opal has the self-preservation of a drunken lemming, we don't have the option to tell Nagamimi to fuck off and go home, so in we go!
We only just moved from America last month, though, so it's still pretty empty. C'mon, we'll be going to the 3rd floor: the Conference Floor. Get on that elevator and go!
Can you tell what mechanic is being brought over from the 2020s?
The Conference Floor has a new house icon on the minimap.
Which leads to a desk manned by these two girls.
Opal...
*nods*
I don't get what's happening... God damn, you're a pain. Fine... It's your first time here so I guess I can explain.~
Can you tell me what's going on? Grr... Fine, but listen closely. I'm only gonna say this once.~~
Rather, it's a testing device to seek out those who possess a unique ability.
What kind of ability?
According to governmental specifications, you're the perfect fighting specimen.~
You mean... I'm unique? Sheesh... You're a lot dumber than you look. According to specifications, you're the perfect fighting specimen. So yeah, you're unique. More importantly, you possess a very special ability: the power to slay dragons.~~
There are many kinds of strength. You may be absurdly weak, but you do have key navigator qualities. Me...? A navigator...? Back on point, this was all part of the scouting process. We're short on manpower at the moment.So yeah, 7th Encount was made solely to look for people that are strong enough to murder actual dragons.
Although Nodens must not have an HR department is this is how potential employees are treated.
Wait... Haven't dragons been gone for almost a century now...? You can ask all the questions you want to the higher-ups. C'mon, they won't wait forever.
Music: UE77 In Ariake
On no, it really is them.
These three are the ones running the show.
Wha...!?
I'm the director of the development sector at Nodens. It's a pleasure to meet you.
The only name I have is Julietta! That's it!
I think Jurota's a nice name, too★ *sigh* Moving on... This woman here is—
Despite how she looks, she is the president of our company.
This is a game company, right? Hmm, is that what we're going with now? You're correct— Nodens Enterprises is the world's leading game corporation. We craft life-changing experiences for gamers far and wide. However, that is nothing but a front.I find that a bit hard to believe, actually. Hell, if you look at the official artbook:
Nodens got their start by selling at Comiket! Be a bit of a long con if they were just setting up a front.
~
What do you do here? Oh my. Nagamimi didn't tell you? My apologies~! I'm sure you're very confused right now. Nodens Enterprises is the world's premiere game corporation. Game development is just a quick way to build capital, though. Our true purpose lies elsewhere★~~
Anyways, let's all take a seat! It's time for story time with Julietta★ Yes, yes. Please sit wherever you'd like. Sorry for dragging you all in here like this, but there are important matters we need to discuss.
Um... I think I've heard of them before...Uh, you think? Humanity was nearly driven extinct, Mio! Twice over! That's the sorta stuff that should be front and center of every history class going forward!
I mean, yeah, this is just an awkward way to shoehorn in some exposition, but still!
I see. I'd expect you have★ It began with the coming of the True Dragons and the spread of a poison flower called Dragonsbane.'Dragonsbane' is the official translation for Bloom, and honestly? I don't like it.
Like, 'Dragonsbane' sounds like something that would mess with dragons, yes? Wolfsbane can be used to poison wolves, after all. But no, Dragonsbane does fuckall to dragons and instead kills everything else.
Anyways, True Dragons, oh god True Dragons...
See, dragons in 7D are less a unified species like in most media, and more of an evolutionary state. If something can become the undisputed ultimate lifeform of a world, and break past any and all physical barriers in their way, they'll apotheosize into a True Dragon. From there, True Dragons can freely create Imperial Dragons and normal Dragons to do their bidding.
Of course, such growth ends up involves as many mental changes as physical, so the new dragon will inevitably join in on the whole devouring entire worlds thing, regardless of what they were like before.
A planet enveloped in Dragonsbane will become nothing, doomed to be consumed by the True Dragons...
Hence the name, '7th Dragon'.
In 2020 and the year following, two True Dragons invaded Earth. Dragonsbane nearly engulfed us. However, thanks to a team called Murakumo, we were able to fend both of them off★ My grandpa told me about them... Murakumo Unit 13, the dragon hunters...
We've learned a great deal about dragons from samples taken after the Calamity. Anatomy, ecology... All of this analytical data is assembled into a portfolio called the Dragon Chronicle.
But... Why?People new to the series (in other words, damn near everyone who bought VFD in the west) would see this and accept it.
That screaming you might be hearing is from everyone who played the previous games.
You know what the Dragon Chronicle did in 2020? It lets you skip past all that self-evolution stuff and immediately turn the user into a dragon. You know how that ended up? One person ended up becoming the penultimate boss in a bid to surpass all humanity, and another stayed good for like 30 minutes before his new dragon instincts started taking over and he ended up needing to be sealed away for several thousand years.
And that was a Dragon Chronicle made from Imperial Dragons! Nodens' goal is to make one out of full fledged True Dragons, which are an order of magnitude stronger!
That's not even getting into the fact that of the True Dragons previously seen in the series, one of them isn't due to show up on Earth for several thousand years.
Finding all of them is a bit of a tall fucking order, is what I'm getting at here.
Welcome to VFD.
Fun fact: the game never, ever directly tells you what VFD stands for.
Even in this apparent time of peace, the 7th and final True Dragon will soon awaken. The True Dragon responsible for both creation and destruction... We call this ruler of reason VFD. Once it shows itself, our planet will face its demise. Are you wondering how we know all of this? I assure you, we are not the only ones. There are others in the know, though primarily just lSDF and world government agencies. This info is simply not publicly available. However, various signs point to the dragons' return. Global warming, disappearance of the Caribbean Plate, and most importantly, Dragon Sickness....H-
How does a tectonic plate vanish???
And how do you keep something like that from public knowledge???
Dragon Sickness...
What's Dragon Sickness...? Have you noticed anyone around with a particularly bad cold, or a violent cough?Opal nods.
I see... A friend of yours, perhaps?~
I have a friend who's been coughing... I see... So your friend has been infected, too.~~
As much as it pains me to say it, this friend of yours doesn't have much longer to live. ...Welp, Mio's dead.
Dragon Sickness is an untreatable disease caused by the permeation of dragon miasma. Therefore, the thicker the miasma becomes, the more people will come down with Dragon Sickness. Miasma has been here since the Calamity, yet the patient count has shot up in the past few years. This rise serves as another sign that a True Dragon is again about to descend upon humanity. I don't expect we have much time. Once the dragons come, this information will spread. The infestation will begin, the Dragonsbane will bloom, and to see out the end of this planet... VFD will appear.
We can't let that happen. Then let's fight. You have the power... The power to hunt dragons, and complete the Dragon Chronicle.~
How do we stop it? We complete the Dragon Chronicle. You, who stands on the threshold between past and future, have the power to do so.~~
VFD is the ultimate True Dragon. Even while lying dormant, it can bring about global calamities. However, we could turn the tables if we managed to complete the Dragon Chronicle. If we can gain information about the True Dragons and acquire their energy... we'll have a chance. On the other hand, if we fail... humanity will be extinguished. N-No... Hence, the ultimate goal of Nodens Enterprises is the completion of the Dragon Chronicle. I'd bet we'll even be able to find a cure for Dragon Sickness if we manage to complete it★ But in order to do so, we'll need a dragon hunter... That's where you come in.
Oh look, there's the title!
So what do I have to do? Hunt, hunt, hunt! What we need is for you to hunt as many dragons as you can and collect samples from them.~
Hm? I sorta dozed off... My apologies. It must have been boring listening to a girly man and his boss yammer on~. Just hunt, hunt, hunt! We'll need you to hunt as many dragons as you can and collect samples from them.I would like to point out that of the three True Dragons fought in the series so far, two of them were final bosses (one of them twice in a row!) and the other was a penultimate boss that required the world's armies to throw troops into a meat grinder just to buy time for the party to find some means of turning the tide.
Again, they want us to make a career out of killing this level of threat.
Where can I find these dragons? That's, well...~
I'm not much of a hunter... *chuckle* Of course you aren't! It's only natural that you'd say that!~~
U-Um, excuse me... I don't think I can handle all of this... I'm just going to go home. Oh my, please don't think that way. Your navigation skills are quite advanced. But there's no way I can do this. I'm not a navigator... I can't save the world... I'd probably just get in the way... I see... If that's what you wish...
Mio is 14 years old, so her apprehension is kinda understandable. Doubly so when her Dragon Sickness means there might be a very real chance of her keeling over halfway through the mission.
Music: None
I came all the way here to try and find my dad... But... I just can't do it...
Suddenly, explosions!
Next time: Dragons.