Part 22: Update XIX: An Alchemist and her Triumphs
Howdy again, goons and goonettes. Terribly sorry about the delay between last update and this. Hard drive issues caused the downtime in a series of incidents that heaven knows I'd rather not recall, so let's just move on. As a total aside, thank God I saved the video that had all the scenes from this update. Life would have really sucked if I didn't, but things could have been worse, I guess... Anyway. I've been amusing myself by playing a lot of Record of Agarest War Zero. It'll be nice to go back to this game, a game I'm actually GOOD at.Like I mentioned at the end of the last update, we're going to Orthogalaxen to conquer the last 9/10s of it. This scene triggers if Gio is not in the active party and you know he's the king. Location doesn't matter. Video goes until the screenshot of Rorona talking about Sterk getting stressed out.
Oh, it's you. What a coincidence.
Are you here by yourself? What are you...? As you can see, I'm training. I felt like I was losing my touch, so I'm going back to the basics.
Oh...is that true? Of course. Would you want to follow someone who is weaker than you?Divine Right of Kings? Mandate from Heaven? Malarky. "Being able to kick the most ass" is the best theory of kingship I've ever heard of.
I guess that makes sense... Anyway, does Sterk know that you're out here training? Well...as always, will you please keep this a secret?
Ortho...in a word is boring. It's boring becuase it's very long, and there's just not much variation between the areas. Which is not to say it's terrible, because there's still neat stuff happening the background every now and then, but the fact of the matter is there's just not much to talk about in it.
Goddamn! The reason Tantris' stats are so absurd is because Rorona and Lionela are the other members of the party, and his second passive skill is Manly Motivation, which boosts his stats depending on the number of female members of the party. Rorona is always a party member, of course, so Tantris' stats are permanently boosted. As you pump more points into Manly Motivation, that bonus increases more and more. It's absurd. And he's only level 31!
And now, the final Chimera enemy. There's basically no difference between the Storm Beasts and the Black Fangs, aside from the Beasts being slightly stronger and having more HP.
Trust me, you're not missing anything exciting here. 90% of Ortho features high-tier enemies that are lucky to survive more than one normal hit, and treasure chests with random stuff. First real landmark is on Floor 9.
The big spinning cube is pretty neat, but that sucker in the distance is also in our way. As an aside, even though I'm doing run-through videos of each area, I'm not including Ortho in that list. There's not enough money in it for me.
Even though he looks kinda menacing, he's nothing. You can see for yourself how nothing.
Look how passe this guy is. Fire breath, from a dragon!
Was there a fight here? Someone please tell me.
At least the teleporters look pretty neat.
But here I got bored and decided to switch teams to Gio and Cordelia. Now that we're past the Dragon (who?), we're going to want a more effective team for the second half of Ortho. Upon returning, I got this scene. Happens a week or so after the event with the bandits. Video goes until the screenshot of Astrid talking about Gio as the King.
Excuse me. Ah, whoa, w-welcome...! Um, Mr. Gio... No, Sir Gio...? Uhhhh, no...? Ummm... Relax. Please, just treat me like you always have. N-no, please, keep your head up! Awww, what should I do!?
That's a harsh opinion. And I don't take my title that lightly... Um...so you knew that Mr. Gio was the King, Master?
Mhmm. I've seen him before with my master when I was younger. With Master's master... If you knew, you should've told me! It's no fun to reveal someone's secrets right away. I had been waiting for the perfect timing. But there's no point to that!
I'm not gonna allow you to keep taking away the important things in my life. ...I never knew if your sarcasm is a joke or if you're serious. That was supposed to be an insinuation. About 30% of it was serious and 70% was a joke. Umm...what are you guys talking about? Don't worry. It's only boring stuff that grown-ups talk about.
Enough of that... Nevermind. First of all, I'd to apologize for lying to you. I'm sorry. Really. And really, it's okay! I made our King help me with my work... I should be publicly prosecuted by guillotine!
It's no wonder Rorona is such a goofball.
So, um, well... We're even! We're even, huh? ...That's a good way of putting it. So, neither one of us has to feel guilty about anything.
That's right! Oh, wait... Am I being impolite again?
I'm just an old man from town trying to help you with your work. Sounds good to me. Huh? But that's... Do you have a problem with that? Ugh...as long as you're okay with it... But can you tell me something? Why are you helping me? It's really all a coincidence. It just happened. I happened to have met you, and you looked like you could use my help. That's all.
Well, this is all because of Master to start with... Sure, it would be easiest to give an order to retract this situation... But would that really make Rorona happy? Oh, m-me...? Umm... 
Did you hear that? I knew her answer before you asked the question. I am her master, after all. I see. Well, I'm glad we got to talk. I shall excuse myself now.*Gio leaves*
Hmph. Leaving with a smile on his face, huh? How annoying... He's such a weird king...
Well, as good a commendation as any. Well, let's get a move on.
Ah, another thing I should mention. As you raise friendship levels with the characters, they greet you with different dialogue when you talk to them and when you ask them to help. I particularly like this little detail, because it's nice seeing the results of your work spanning over the entire course of the game.
A weapon fit for a true king. This blade shall slay many a foe. Cordelia's getting a CSP made from Tantris' Risky Gauntlet that he was just using.
Since this is the third time I've taken Cory and Gio out, we get this scene. Video goes until Rorona says "...Why does she like him so much?"
That would've been disastrous. You must more careful when handling fire, Rorona. R-right... I'm sorry. (She didn't have to tell Mr. Gio about that...) Anyway...ahem...
Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't realize... Well, I'm gonna take a look around the area. You two should rest here. Oh. May I come with you!? No, this is a man's job. Let me handle it.*Gio leaves*
Ummm... Cory? Huh, what? Whoa, you even sound different... Um, so do you like him or something?
Cordelia's so cute. Too bad we're not going to have very many more scenes with her around.
...Speaking of which, how old is he, do you know? Ummm...I thought he said he's about thirty years older than us. Thirty years? That's not so bad... Really!?
*Cordelia leaves*
...Why does she like him so much?
Well, here we are back on Floor 10. We're going all the way this time.
Another big area with a lot of demon enemies. I like purple stuff.
Now, on Floor 13, we actually get an important choice. First exit leads to the area that has the Emerald Plate recipe. You absolutely need that for Pie Ending, but we'll blow it off for the moment.
I wanted this screenshot simply because I thought those gears in the background there were a pretty neat detail. Anyway, the exit we want is just slightly off-screen in this shot.
And here's the last of our dragon foes, Fran Pfeil. Let's do it.
Fran is markedly harder than the Dragon, but that's not saying anything at all. Still, he's nothing we can't handle.
Thing is, he is extremely resistant to Fire damage. Don't even bother.
But, the same cannot be said for Wind damage.
But hey, we already have Einzelkampf ready.
That's already pretty nice. Multiply that by 13 (I'm about 90% sure that's how many times Einzelkampf hits), and you've got a hell of a move.
Thanks to Friend Power, Cordelia's support attacks hit a hell of a lot harder than normal.
But that's all for Arland's dragon population. They're going to have a few years to recoup their losses in the past 11 months.
But like a good sport, he gave us some really nice stuff. Especially that Scale. I'm even giving that Sun Cloak to Rorona, because it's a small improvement over what she's using now.
Now we're finally near the end of Ortho. Our main foe is just beyond.
That's how far we've come in Ortho. Night's Domain is better in every way, naturally.
This next area goes on for a bit, but once we hit the bottom...
That treasure chest seems oddly placed...
Music: Cyclone
Our first official boss. A storm is coming.
Alright, time for some introductory notes. In my humble opinion, the Iron Giant is the hardest boss fight in the game. He has the highest HP total at 19,800. His defense isn't particularly high, but he hits very hard, and even buffs himself when he's about halfway drained of HP. At the very least, he doesn't regain any HP.
Oh, and I was going to do an Iron Giant joke for this guy, but The Dark Id beat me to it
Seriously though, nice to see him back to work. Funny guy.
For unknown reasons, I bought a whole bunch of Nectars instead of Elixirs, which are better in every way. No man alive can explain why.
The thing that makes him hard is every other attack of his hits everyone in the party, and for a pretty sizable amount of damage that adds up very quickly.
We can't hold back here. Besides, a king should be a guy who can kick ass, no matter what the situation.
Actually, I think this might be a side effect of Friend Power. There's no way Cory should take that little damage from an Iron Giant hit, even in Defend. I think it's for Assists in general.
This is his other major area of effect hit. It can really sting, but you have to hand it to Gio for dodging electricity.
The Iron Giant's most powerful single target attack. It hits hard, but it only hits one character. Better than everyone losing HP.
Looks pretty cool, though. What's not cool is Rorona was very nearly KO'd. That would have really been a problem.
Einzelkampf of course runs circles around the fool.
Well, that was lucky.
There he goes. Still, if we've thrashed him so far, there's nothing going to stop us from turning him into scrap metal.
Sorry, Cory, but you're just about entirely out of the fight. I have no one to blame but myself...
Remember I used Lethal Bomb for something that's coming up after our showdown.
Behold the might of the true King.
Gold! Iron is the only enemy who drops it, but you don't have a guaranteed chance of that, so I got lucky here.
Was it really worth it, Iron Giant? Was it worth it?
But that's about all we want to do around here. Let's head back.
But hey, here's a rare scene for you. Basically, this has a small chance of triggering if you use Lethal Bomb out in the field.
Good, you're back. Do you have anything for me? I was being good, staying home all alone. Um, no? Anyway, have you seen Homhom?Just off the screen. You can see her poofy sleeve right there.
When I...? Oh, that time!? Since you're not with it, I guess it's lost. Boy. I guess it's still a little child after all. This isn't the time to sit around! We have to go find Homhom! Don't be ridiculous. We don't even know where to look.
*Rorona leaves*
Well, it's probably lost because that ability isn't working... Hmm. I should examine it once it comes home.*fade to black*
All's well that ends well.
I decided to stop in with Hagel because I need some new weapons made, when this scene came up.
Hurrrmph! Arrrgh! Hohhh! Is that...Pops?*fade to black*
...Ninety-eight!...Ninety-nine!
...One hundred! *huff* *huff* Nice. I wore it for a hundred seconds... But that's not long enough to master wearing this wig! Alright, one more set!
*fade to black*
But now that we know Gio is the king, we really need to take Sterk out with him. You get this scene the first time you talk to him after all those events. Video goes until Rorona says "I'll think about it".
Oh, it didn't bother me at all. I was surprised to see you all worked up, though.
I still need some training... I have a tendency of losing control when I get too excited. Ah, so was everything okay after that? You were really harsh on the King.
Well, that's good to hear. I know I've said some rude things to him, too... It's better to be rude to him sometimes, anyway... He doesn't listen to anything I say. Maybe if you said something to him instead... Ha-ha-ha...I'll think about it.
I recycled the CSP into Sterk's ultimate weapon, because he'll need it for the next big battle we're fighting. Now, there are two scenes between Gio and Sterk. First one is any time before you discover Gio is the king, second scene is any time after.
I'll be covering the latter here in the main update, but put the first scene under Bonus Content next update, . I didn't get it already because Sterk spoils the fact Gio is the king. It's recommended watching, but I just couldn't logically put it anywhere. Video goes until Rorona says "Maybe this was a bad idea."
Rorona asked for my help. What about your work? I finished everything for today. And, you're not one to tell me about my work. ...You're still mad? No. I've already given up...on many things. Then don't look so upset. You're going to scare her. And whose fault will that be!?
Well, I have something to say to you, too...*fade to black*
... ... ...This doesn't look good. Umm, remember what happened last time? I invited both you today so that you two can make up and get along...
*Sterk and Gio leave*
Um...you two? Hmmm. Maybe this was a bad idea...If I may borrow the words of our own Louisgod, goddamn kids these days. No respect.
Now, we return to where we left off in Night's Domain. We have to challenge its ruler, see.
We're definitely getting closer. His time is almost up. Oh yeah, that Black Fang is in our way. Or very quickly won't be.
Hmm, here we are at the throne of Night's Domain, but no one's here. Are we sure we're in the right place?
Something's coming!
Music: Devil's Tango
He who rules the night will die.
Time for another little introduction. Iron Giant and Demon take two different approaches to the battle. Iron focuses on overpowering you through sheer force, while Demon likes to cripple you with status effects and then defeat you in a weakened state. That means he's not quite as powerful as Iron was, or has as much HP or defense. He's certainly no pushover, of course.
Smoke those skills while you got 'em. You're not going to have them as a practical option much longer.
Still, I don't think highly of his skills if he can't hit with a spell.
But hey, Elixirs! I'm finally well prepared for a boss fight.
I believe after he deals some damage to any party member, regardless of what exactly he does, this happens...
Do you remember those skill costs being so high? Neither do I, but that's one of Demon's gimmicks. He can cause skill costs to skyrocket, to prevent them from being of any effective use. Oh yeah, Sterk's HP ended up at 666. How appropriate.
In addition to looking pretty sweet, Demon's ultimate attack does have a nasty side effect...
Yeah, see what I mean by cripple? He can be a real pain, especially since he inflicts status effects as soon as you (might) get rid of them.
I made this Purifier just because I didn't remember at all what it did. Also, One Hit Wonder is an interesting effect. Basically, if the enemy is sufficiently weak compared to the party's average level, it'll instantly kill anything in the blast radius regardless of HP. Obviously, Demon doesn't even come close to that, but let's see what it does anwyay.
Pretty damn sweet, I gotta say.
And his poison is really mean. It adds up quickly.
As an aside, I really like Devil's Tango. It's a nice cacophony of instruments, including the ever-lovely accordion.
And of course, I have to bail the kids out.
Gio could use a little help. Not a lot of help, or even some. Just a little.
When he starts getting really low on HP, you can ignore the skills costs and just go nuts. Best to stop playing around with him.
As if he was never there...
But he didn't drop anything neat. Unfortunate.
Unfortunately, in that chest, he threw his life away to defend a cloth. Boring.
But since we have a couple weeks left on the Assignment, I decided to take Lionela to Traveler's Way for the remainder of her character events. First, a minor scene. This scene is kinda weird to make happen, but basically, starting after 4/1 and if Lionela's friendship level is 25 or greater, if you gather a [Food] item in the field with Lionela, this triggers. Doesn't seem to have a cut-off date. Video goes until Rorona says "Maybe I'm just thinking too much..."
What can you use that for? A lot of things. Mostly for cooking, but it can also be used for medicine. Oh... Are you interested in alchemy? Well...you're the only alchemist in this town, right? Master is an alchemist, too...but I guess she doesn't practice anymore...
Hmmm, right now everything's pretty tough... I'll have to leave town if I don't pass every assignment I get from the castle...
I see... Liona? Oh...sorry for asking a weird question! I'm gonna go search over there for a while... ...Liona. She looked disappointed. Maybe I'm just thinking too much...Sounds like we touched a nerve... Anyway, this upcoming scene is one of Lionela's big ones. Basically, all you need is to get Lionela's friendship level to 60 or greater, then bring her to a random area of Traveler's Way. Basically if you just wander around enough, you'll trigger this scene. Video goes until Rorona says "Okay..."
...Oops, where are we? Did we take a wrong turn? Actually...am I alone? Where is everyone? ...Oh no, I need to find my way back.
...Rorona?...Roronnnaaa?
Liona? Over here!
Oh, good! You disappeared all of a sudden. I didn't know where you went... I'm sorry... I spaced out for a sec and before I knew it, I was...
What does that mean? Were you sleep walking or something? Come on... ...I'm sorry.
Anyway, let's head back now.
What's wrong? ...How did I get here?
*fade to black*
I'm sorry...this is all my fault for getting lost... No, it's mine for not remembering how I got here... I'm so sorry!
No, it's all my fault! Really! I wonder how long they're gonna keep apologizing to each other?
Whoa! Monsters! Man, there sure are a lot of them. Should we run? On second thought, that probably won't help much. ... What should we do, Liona? ...We'll be okay. Are you sure? We'll be able to run away, so don't worry. Okay? Okay...but... Are you sure, Lionela?
Hang on tight. ...Ready?
Huh? Whaaat!?
*fade to black*
Y-yeah... Um, was I...? Were we just flying right now? ... Yup. That's her speciality What? But... How did you...!? ...
This is another instance of a line that can be filled by any party member other than Lionela and Rorona. I just happened to have Cordelia on the team when I recorded this scene.
Everyone's waiting for us. Um...I'll explain some other time. So... Okay...Hm, Lionela can do magic, huh? Sounds like a juicy detail. This next scene happens three days after the previous in the atelier. Video goes until the screenshot of Lionela thanking Rorona.
Oh, welcome. What's going on? Um...well...I thought I should come by and explain to you about the other day. The other day? Did something happen?
Monsters...? Ohhhh! That! Right! Looks like she completely forgot about it. That's horrible. It took so much courage for Lionela to come here to talk to you. N-no! I didn't forget... It just slipped my mind... That's the same thing. I'm so sorry! I didn't know this was so hard for you!
So, um...we were surrounded by monsters, and then we were panicking, and then... Oh yeah! We escaped by zooming across the sky, right? That's about right... But I wouldn't call it zooming... That was your doing, right, Liona? Yes...I threw you through the air. How did you do that? You weren't using any tools or anything.
Wow... So is that how you do your puppet show? That's amazing! It's like magic! Magic...? Do you really think so?
I love how proud Rorona sounds of this. She's very impressed with herself.
What...? The people hated me because of my power, so they kicked me out of town.
Awww...poor Lionela. Good thing we've been so nice to her.
Liona...?
Liona...it's okay now... I thought I could mask my power and fix my personality by doing puppet shows... But people start to catch on after a few performances. I could get called out on it at any time. Everything seems fine here now, but eventually...even you...
... ... So...you're not afraid of me? Not at all. But I have a strange power... No matter what kind of power you have, you're still you.
Lionela does look normal compared to those two. Hey, we're being serious here. Don't joke around. Ugh... *sob* Huh? Uh, why are you crying? B-because...I've never met someone who wasn't scared of me before... Oh, come on... No one in this town is gonna think you're scary. So don't worry.
But that's more enough for this Assignment. Let's wrap up the second-to-last.
You're right... I think I'll miss it. You look so relaxed now. You used to get so nervous that you couldn't even speak right. Oh, is that right? It's still too early to be sentimental. We'll do this after the last assignment. Now let's see your results...3-5 stars
This came this far, with this result, huh...? You're always making me nervous... I-I'm sorry...but you know... At least I didn't fail...hehe... That's true, but... Nevermind. There's no point in saying anything now. I'm just worried about you. Here's your last assignment.6-7 stars
It's not bad. I didn't expect you to be perfect. No one is, anyway, in case you didn't already know that. Ugh...but I tried my best... I'm sure you'll get through your last assignment just fine. Here's your last assignment...8-10 stars
...There's nothing to be said. There's no need for me to lecture you on anything. Th-thank you. (I kind of miss his lectures...but I shouldn't tell him that.) I'm sure you'll do great on your last assignment, too. Here it is.
Alchemy's innermost secret...? That's right. Show us what you've been working so hard on for the last three years as an alchemist. If you fail at this one, your past three years will have been a total waste... I mean, sorry, I'm not trying to put any pressure on you...but... Don't worry. I know what you're trying to say. I'll do my best. All right, sorry about that. Good luck. Thank you!
Road to Arland at night
Rorona and Lionela art
Devil's Tango
It's a tango with some choir mixed in for dynamic effect. I needed to make it longer, so even though I originally only had the choir at the beginning, I added it to the middle as well.
Cyclone
Originally, the melody was played with a different instrument, but it didn't sound right, so I re-did it using a synthetic sound. It has a little Brecker influenced sound to it with filtering. This one didn't turn out how I had it in my mind at the beginning.