Part 102: Update XCVIII: An Apprentice and the Fateful Encounter

I'm really running out of unique ways to open an update. Oh well. Let's get moving.



So for the final item for Quelei Forest IV, we have to make a Gold Nugget. Unfortunately, I overwrote the one material I needed for that synthesis from Pamela's, so I'm on the road briefly to grab some in Hart Outpost. This video comes up as soon as Gio's friendship hits a certain level in New Game+, and since I haven't stopped by here for a while, a number of his events are backed up here. Video goes until the screenshot of Meruru thanking Gio for telling her about the girl who looks like her.





Hello, my dear. How are you? Are you here to see me?

Actually, I wanted to ask you something. It's about what I heard you and Father talking about in the throne room.

The throne room...?

I didn't mean to eavesdrop! But you were talking about that girl who looks like me, right?

You heard that, did you? We were talking about...your aunt.



Silly names must run in the family. Actually, I don't know if Dessier has a middle name, but that does raise the curious thing that assuming Arls is Dessier's last name, Rufus calls him by his first name, although attaching "Lord" before it. I never really thought about that.

Ah, I thought that might have been it. I've heard that before I was born, Aunt Sofra...

That's right. Every day, you grow older and come to resemble her more and more.

I see... Father never really talking about her that much.



To return the favor, I could tell you some stories about her.

Really!? Yes, please! I wanna hear all about Aunt Sofra!



Like you, she chose a path of adventure despite her royal upbringing.

Whaat!? She did what I did!?

Surprised? Naturally, your father was opposed to it, but she too ended up leaving the castle. In the end, Dessier and I served as her escorts, and we all traveled together. And like you, she was a real handful.

This is from before the events of Rorona, obviously, as in-between being the king and helping Rorona, I don't think he had the time to be traveling across the continent back and forth for adventures. Still, at least his nature as a vagabond has been a life-long thing.

Father went out, too? Wow, I never knew Aunt Sofra did stuff like that.

Haha. I'm sure he was afraid you would want to emulate her. But times were different then. Arls was much worse off.

I guess that makes sense...but still, I can't believe someone as reserved as my father would go out on an adventure!



I see... But if Aunt Sofra was like me, then she must have been really devoted to her goal, too.

Absolutely. It would take days to tell you about all her adventures. So we'll leave it here for now.



So, Aunt Sofra, Dessier, and Gio used to be a thing. Given the fact Dessier has never brought up Sofra to Meruru's face, Sofra is dead, and Dessier reacted with shock and initially got mad at Meruru when she wanted to become an alchemist, I'd say it's a fair bet Sofra was an alchemist herself. It would also explain why the castle had alchemy books lying around.



Well, it's not pretty, but it does say it's a gold nugget. Keep in mind you can drop this off at Pamela's, because it's a synthesis item that is not in the Development category, and is not an accessory. However, it's only really useful for making Ultimate Steel, which in turn is used for Peacemakers.



Now would you look at that. A lovely addition to the kingdom, but it could still use some sprucing up...



A few days later, and a new paper. I'm not a retreat expert! Also, smooth move on identifying Dessier in the last paper. I guess he's a poet? Interesting.



Totori's final weapon, which was also in the last game. If I made things right, I'd be done making her weapons, but noooooo... Anyway, a Hagel scene after making it.



W-Witch!? But...Miss Totori is an alchemist. Not a witch.

I've heard more than my fair share of heroic tales about that kiddo. More than you know...

Heroic tales...? Miss Totori doesn't seem all that strong. Are you serious?

Huh? You mean you don't know? I see... Welll, the kiddo was amazing, trust me!





Ah, now I'm picturing an eldery Totori passing around stories like a war veteran. She's taken the heads of many a powerful beast, but she's not done yet.

And did it!? Er, I mean -! D-Devil King? For really real!?

Yes, for really real. See? So she's less like an alchemist and more like a witch. If you go around doing whatever you want just because you thought the kiddo was all nice... She'll come back at you with a power feared even by the Devil King himself! And then...

D-Don't scare me like that! Miss Totori would never do something like that! Never ever...



Okay, okay, I get the point! I don't need to hear anymore!

You hear that, Meruru? Totori's only a few years older than you, and she already has so much under her belt. Shape up.



But here we go again. There remain some monsters Totori hasn't slain. This is another scene that tends to come up eventually at Hart. Video goes until Meruru says "Okay!"



Kyaaah! What was that sound!? It came from over there...!







...Princess Meruru. I'm sorry you must see me in such disgraceful condition.

I don't care about that. You need to get treated right away. What happened to you?

No need to worry. I can take care of it myself. ...Hurrrg!

*Sterk dislocates his shoulder*

Actually, does it count as dislocating if you're putting back to where it was supposed to be?

(Ewwww, he popped his shoulder back into place by himself! That had to hurt!) Anyway, how could the great and powerful Mr. Sterk be defeated like this?

There is always someone better out there. In my case, it was Lord Gio.

Uncle Gio? Did you fight him!?

As you can see, he escaped me once again.

Uncle Gio was never at the castle, so you always used to go out looking for him, right?



What you say it true, but that is no longer why I pursue Lord Gio. He's a real challenge, to be sure. But I'm drawn to his overwhelming strength and personality.

You're drawn to him...?



To catch the person I long for...and then to surpass him. Have you ever felt that kind of emotion?

To catch up and surpass someone... Yes, I have! I totally understand! Someday, I want to catch up to Miss Totori, and become a great alchemist that can surpass her!

That's a truly wonderful goal. So we must both keep working hard to achieve our dreams.

Okay!

Yeah, good luck with that. All that said, let's move on to Quelei Forst for the final request there.



The only new thing in Quelei is this structure, which houses...



Forest Dew! As wonderful in this game as it was last time, and with the added benefit of high Cost and being able to use on cloth. At this point I don't particularly need it, but hey, might as well pick it up while I'm in the area.



Next up, we head to the Moonlight Forest, where our angry old friend Rage Beast lies in wait. I don't predict his attempt at revenge will end well, but let's see what he can do.



Well, one normal attack by Totori and he's missing about 10% of his HP. Told you this was going to be a quick fight.



I only use them for the points.



Tyrant Bash is back, and wow, that was not a great showing, friend.



Heh, using Stone Skin twice in a row. Not gonna help.



I am surprised he got four turns in a row and KO'd Mimi, but he's not going anywhere.



Look at that...well, he's dead anyway. I gotta say, I'm liking playing an RPG where having KO'd characters doesn't mean they won't get the EXP from the fight.



Totori remains the best, even though Meruru killed the monster here.



The Heart is nice, the other two not so much.



Well, the Rage Beast was a disappointment, especially compared to last time, but let's see if the Dear Element does any better. I could stop by and do battle with the Twilight Maiden, but we'll sit on it for a bit.



Aww, where did the Element battle theme from Totori go? Oh well...



At least she's starting out the same way her bretheren did, and she's not quite as nerfed as Rage Beast was.



But it's still not that great.



She does have the annoying tendency to get a ton of turns in a row, but she's simply no match for the amount of damage I'm doing.



An uneventful fight. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration to call these two barely above random encounters, but as long as you're sufficiently decked out, and you certainly don't need ultimate equipment, you have nothing to fear.



This has just been a very Totori update thus far. Oh yeah, her drops were completely unspectacular.



Although I took this a second too early, I ranked up after that fight. What is this, the fifth time the kingdom has ranked up after a fight? Anyway, remember we still have to stop at Trombe to drop off development there and bring Totori and Mimi on their little date, or whatever might happen there.



Speaking of which, let's get on top of that. Actually, before we have that scene, we got one with Gino. Getting this scene meant we have to re-enter to actually trigger that Mimi / Totori scene.





Maybe I've watched too much Japanese stuff, but I've heard those exact same battle grunts in so many other series. Especially that second grunt.

Such unique shouts... It looks like he's in the middle of training, but... Hey, Mr. Gino!

Oh, Meruru. How unusual to see you around here. Are you out looking for materials?

Yup. And you're doing some sword training. I see. Is this where you always come to train?

You got it. I can't focus if there's too many people around.

But this place is so far. I'm sure you could find somewhere nice closer to town.



Ahh, I see.

This is just far enough away that I can get back pretty quick if I need to. But the right atmosphere is important. So I've purposely distanced myself from the town. It's a pretty good setup.

I see. It's like when I go back to the castle, and it's kinda boring, so I start getting restless.



Fight monsters, go back to training, then fight some more. Eat, sleep, but you're always on edge. It's great.

Wow, you have a really interesting philosophy. I don't think I could ever be like that.

How boring. I'm sure you'd improve a ton if you trained around here like me.

R-Really?



I see...I'm really interested all of a sudden. I mean, I want to get stronger if I can.

So you're up for it? Remember, you might get really hurt, or even die. But you're okay with that, right?



Well yeah, obviously death is a risk. But you don't have to worry about that until it happens.

Yes I do! I can't come out here if it's really that dangerous! I think I'm gonna get going now...

*Meruru leaves*

What? Come on, I was just kidding. Oh well, if that's enough to scare her off, she wouldn't be able to keep up, anyway.

For once, we agree. Anyway, dropping everything off for the last time here results in...



Just a new windmill, but it does give you 65 more points, and the materials here increase in quality again, like in Quelei Forest. That also brings me up to 320 points, which means I can get the statue when I get back. The gathering points near the windmills contain already-synthesized goods, and nothing's stopping your grubby mits from taking them. However, we do need to get that Mimi scene, so I re-entered and got it. Video goes until Mimi says "I want a chance to be like that with Totori, too!"



Ahh, that breeze is so refreshing! This looks amazing. You must have worked really hard to develop it, huh Meruru?

I love Totori's attitude at the start of this scene. She seems so relaxed and out of it.

I didn't do it alone. But now with those windmills, we can harness the power of wind!

Hehe, that's really greaet. Look what you can accomplish with the help of others.

Why are you acting so loopy? It's not like you've never seen windmills before.



Huh? ...Oh! Oh, yeah. Don't worry, I'll look after Totori.

Oh! Hold on, Meruru. I've got some things I wanted to teach you today.

Uh, umm...but we don't have to do it right now...right, Ms. Mimi?

R-Right! Why not get to that after we relax a little bit?

No can do. We dragged you all this way to be our escort, so I have to do my job, too. With you here to protect us, we don't have anything to worry about, right? I'm counting on you, Mimi.



Awww...things didn't work out at all.

*fade to black*



...You see? This grass' stalk is much more effective than its roots. So if you want to gather them properly...

You take just the tops...like this?

Perfect. They'll grow back faster if you avoid pulling out the roots. Remember that.

Okay! Oh, how about this one?

That one is...kind of tricky.



... How'd it wind up like this!? I was supposed to...to talk to Totori about - That thing. And the other thing! Ugh! And now Princess Meruru's asking her all sorts of questions! Did she forget why we came out here in the first place!? But still, I guess...

Okay, just do it like I showed you.

Like this? Okay, and...oh! I pulled it out perfect!



Ehehe, thanks! I'm gonna do it!

I guess Totori's having fun. And if they're both happy, isn't that for the best?



Oh, that's... Well, I guess I'd better go deal with it. Totori is expecting me to protect them, so I just have to suck it up and do my job. But...I'm still kind of jealous. I want a chance to be like that with Totori, too!

With any luck, hopefully you will. This is getting serious.

Actually, there is another scene with Mimi and Totori at Trombe, but you do not have to see it in order to get Mimi's final event. I remember my first time through the game, I wasn't getting Mimi's final scenes, and I thought the second event at Trombe had something to do with it. When I got back to town, I finally triggered her last events, but that was entirely a coincidence. I'll cover it after we've seen Mimi's final event, as it'll be more poignant then, and I'm all about the dramatics.



Anyway, returning back to town, we get another scene.



Oh, that's right...

What's up, Miss Totori?



Four years, huh? It sure doesn't feel like it.

Time really flies. I wonder how everyone in Alanya Village is doing...

Oh...the town where you were born. You were already a working adventurer when you were my age, right?



You're so amazing, Miss Totori. You were so young and already having these amazing adventures!

I don't think so. I still wasn't able to find my mother. And then she just showed up out of nowhere and came home! I was too surprised to be happy in that moment.

Wooow...I wanna hear more about your past! Come on, tell me more. Please?

Umm...well, maybe just a little.



So it's a seaside town, huh? I'm so jealous! I've never seen the ocean. And you lived with your family there. You said you had a sister, right?



My mom had been gone for as long as I can remember. She was a really famous adventurer. Gino was my neighbor. He was the only kid around my age, so we used to play together all the time. But he always wanted to play adventurer, while I wanted to play more peaceful games.

I always had Keina as a playmate, but I wanted to do stuff like the boys were doing. I loved running around.



(Miss Totori...she's always smiling, but I wonder if she misses her hometown...)

We've also got another Peter scene. That was pretty fast. Guess he was pretty motivated this time.



Hey, it's Peter! How are you? I heard you're all finished here.

Hey there, Princess. Yup, I just finished delivering the final package. So now I'm officially dismissed.

Ohh...so you're head back to Arland, then?

Nope. Like I said before, I still have one bit of unfinished business here in your kingdom.



Wow, that sounds great! Tell me, tell me! What kind of research?



I'll tell you all about it when the time is right. Until then, just be patient. See ya.

*Peter leaves*

I wonder what's he's up to. He's so energetic all of a sudden...I'm really curious!

Now then, back to doing jobs at the Tavern, I did get a scene with Filly, but honestly, it's really pointless to cover. It's just Filly thanking Meruru for being a regular patron and helping her getting used to her jobs in Arls. Next up, a scene that at least hints toward future events.



I'm here to work, not talk. Specifically, I've come to report a bit of news.

I see. I forgot you have your own duty as a soldier. So, what's the news?

I've had to settle three different quarrels between the settlers today.



As development continues, people move closer together. It's a good sign, but sometimes problems do arise. Situations like these will continue to come up as we grow. Everyone has their own complaints.

What complaints? The people of Arls were never this aggressive before. What are they unhappy about?

The necessary infrastructure has fallen behind the speed of population increase. We lack housing as well as farmland.

I see...so just working on developing things isn't the answer to everything.



Don't ignore these issues; you must tackle them head-on. This is part of your royal duty.

This is all really overwhelming. But I can't turn back now, so I guess I'll just have to take one step at a time.

You'll be fine as long as you have my brother to help you. Just make sure you do as he says.



Lias! Watch your tone when addressing the princess! Such a brazen tongue is impermissible.

Okay, okay, the princess always comes first. Jeez...

*Lias leaves*



Don't worry, it doesn't bother me. But I do have to do something about these problems.

In cases like that, I will report any issues to you after they are confirmed. Please focus on your job for now.

Sounds good! Okay Rufus, see you later!



I am ruled by the planet Jupiter, apparently, so this rank has special meaning (not really). Regardless, Rank IX doesn't give you any neat bonuses other than +7500 population.

You know, it's a good thing there's not a bigger planet in the solar system than Jupiter, being named after the king of the gods and all. That would have been silly if they found a bigger one nearby.



A Queen's Booming Nation deserves a statue to its great patron, don't you think? Luckily, those 300 points will be put to good use now.

Anyway, another Rufus scene came up after this, talking about unknown monsters in Moyori, but it's another scene that's so short it's not really worth covering. Actually, that goes for a couple more scenes I got very soon after this. The first is Hanna suggesting Meruru talk to Rufus about a patch of undeveloped land near Mt. Velus, and the second is Meruru talking to Filly about the population nearing 100,000.

But let's end this somewhat short update on a high note. One day after commissioning the statue...



And now, a monument to the Legendary Hero and Champion of the People, Merurulince Rede Arls, to stand for eternity.

A touch overdramatic? Possibly, but it does look really nice. Now the level cap gets pushed up to 99 and Arls looks a lot nicer. Actually, this one is kinda unique in that there's a gold PSN trophy attached to completing this, and only this. Other than that, am I really approaching 100 updates? Sure seems like it, and we'll bridge the gap next time.