Part 44: Update XLI: An Adventurer and the Expanding World

Ahoy, everyone. We begin another update with returning to Alanya after our successful attempt to get a license. Fair warning, but the game officially begins now.



Video goes until Guid says "I guess she's a real adventurer now".





Finally! It felt even longer than the trip there.

I think it was shaking harder, too... Urp...

You remember how we were attacked by a monster on the way there? The frame got bent a little from that. I better get it repaired.

This carriage was pretty run down even before it got attacked.

Yep. I tried to take it to its limit, but I think it's time I get it fixed.

Don't mind me. You guys need to go home. Your families are probably worried.



We'll use you when we need to go back to Arland!

*fade to black*





It feels like it's been so long. I wonder if Dad and Ceci missed me...

*fade to black*





Ack! I-I'm sorry...



When is she going to come home? I've been cooking her a feat every single day just in case!

There, there. Calm down. It's great I can eat good food everyday, but my gut's starting to jut out.

Peter's always such a slacker when it comes to that carriage. Sometimes he returns after two weeks, but other times he's gone for months!

Getting mad at him won't help you any.



Of course I am. That's not my point.

Um, Ceci?

Why are you always so cold to her?! What do you think, Totori?!

I dunno... Dad's always really nice...

Why are you on his side?!



U-Um, I'm home...

Huh? Huh? Ahhhh! Wh-When did you come home?!

Just a bit ago. I really tried to hurry back...

Why didn't you tell me sooner? Oh, no. I better warm up your dinner. I also have to...



*Ceci leaves*

C-Ceci, please calm down...

Welcome home, Totori. Did you get to become an adventurer?

Hi, Dad. Take a look at this!



Thank you! So Dad, was Ceci like that the whole time?

Yeah. She's been that way non-stop after about ten days into your trip.

Oh. I guess I made her worry about me.

She'll be fine, now that you're back.



Yeah! Ceci, lemme help.



But I won't get to talk to you if I do that. Can I?

Oh, fine.

She came back a bit more mature than when she left. I guess she's a real adventurer now.

This next scene takes place immidiately after, on 6/17. Video goes until the screenshot of Totori wondering about something Ceci said.



I'm in a fluffy bed... Oh, right. I made it back home.





I'm an adventurer starting today! Let's do this! What should I do first? I can go find materials, synthesize items, or take requests from the tavern! Hmm, that kinda sounds like what I was doing before. B-But, I'll get to explore a lot more places cuz I got a license!

Totori, it's time to wake up... Oh, you're already awake. That's rare.

It's not gonna be rare anymore. I'm an adventurer now, so I can wake up all by myself.

Well don't you sound so reliable? I wonder how long you can keep it up.



My my, Totori's getting cocky about this. Perhaps a bit too cocky.

Oh? Then I guess you don't need me to cook your meals or clean your workshop anymore. What a relief!

Huh? W-Wait... I-If it's not too much trouble, I'd still like you to cook my meals...?

I'm kidding. Now go on and eat your breakfast. I have to go somewhere today.

Okay.

*Ceci leaves*



After this, the game lets you know Melvia and Gino are not in the party anymore, but not to worry. You can just go ahead and re-recruit them, if you remember. In addition, you finally get the option to zoom around town with the shortcut feature, easily reached by just pressing start and choosing where you want to go. Like with Rorona, very handy.



And there's our first license points. Now, the problem is that if you choose to skip the intro and go to this point in the game, Totori, Gino, and Mel all start out at their lowest levels, no friendship points added, and you don't get any license points. This'll set you back for a good month or so, so I would highly advise if you are you going for Gino's ending, Mel's ending, or the True Ending, not to use this option.

But, ultimately it's up to you, of course.



Now we have access to another option. "License" lets you examine all the current adventurer requirements for more points in one easy place. We've only fulfilled two at the moment, but that will soon change.

When you first go to the Square, you get this scene. Video goes until Peter says "I'll tell you when it's fixed, so just wait patiently".



It's getting repaired. Did you forget I said it needed to be fixed after that monster attack?

I guess you did, yeah. So, how do we get to Arland?

I dunno, walk?

We can't! What's going to happen to us?



Well, when is it gonna be fixed?

Beats me.

You really don't care, do you?

What am I supposed to do? I'm not the one repairing it. I'll tell you when it's fixed, so just wait patiently.

So yeah, carriage is out for a while. It's not really that big a deal, though. It takes about the same amount of time to walk to Arland on-foot, and we need to hit up several locations along the way, anyway. Even if the carriage wasn't out, I wouldn't use it.

Another place we need to stop by is Gerhard's Bar. Video goes until Gerhard says "I hope you'll show up often enough so I have something do".



Hiya Gerhard!

Oh, Totori. Welcome.



Huh? Ceci?!

On the job already? I'm impressed.

Uh-huh. But what're you doing here?



But Gerhard rarely has any customers. Can he really afford you?

Are you worrying about how I choose to run my business?

Wah! Gerhard! I didn't see you there.

It's my store. Where else would I be? I don't make much money, but I hired your sister for a reason. Look.

Huh? Oh...



Oh, um. S-Sure, I've have more.

Me, too!

I'll have another, Ceci.



Oh. I didn't know Ceci was popular.

You didn't know?

Nope. But aren't you a lot busier now that there are more customers?

Well, no. Ceci deals with all the customers on her own. I have even less to do now, actually. You might be the only customer I'll deal with for some time to come.

Oh, that's great! Wait, I shouldn't be happy about that. I'm really sorry.



Thank you! Hehehe. I'll be sure to work even harder.

I'm counting on you. I hope you'll show up often enough so I have something do.

But before we attend to Gerhard, let's see what Mel has to say about everything.



You're back, Totori. Seeing how you look so happy...

Yeah! I became an adventurer! Look!

You're right. Congrats. You're finally an adventurer. That means we're in competition with one another.

What? In competition?



We're going to have to fight for work.

W-Well, maybe...

That means you and I are rivals from today on. I won't go easy on you, so be prepared for the worst.

I-I can't! If you get serious, there's no way I can beat you! Besides, I don't wanna fight you.

I'm kidding. I was just teasing.

It was a joke?



Oh. Don't scare me like that!

You don't have to worry about me, but you'll still have to compete with adventurers around the country. You better be prepared.

Ugh... Okay, I'll be prepared for it!

Good. I sounded like some pushy senior, but let's get along as adventurer pals.



Unfortunately for Mel, I have this...



Yeah. As the final bit of DLC, you can have Ceci, Iksel, or Cordelia join you. Ceci here is not an offensive powerhouse like Mel, but she has rock solid defense. It's pretty silly, but it's the truth. I decided to take Ceci out instead of Mel, because Gino's ending events tend to come before Mel's.

Oh, and you may not have noticed any hiring fees. That's because hiring is totally free in Totori. To be honest, it's kind of a pointless mechanic in Rorona anyway, so it is not missed.



Ceci and Pamela are both selling quite a few recipe books between them. However, at this stage, all of these recipes are kinda out of our reach, but they'll be nice to have around.



At this stage, again, I don't need the money, but I do need the points. There's requests for monster hunts, synthesis quests, and gathering requests. It's definitely a good idea to take at least one penguin hunting quest (even though we haven't seen them yet, they're close), one puni hunting quest, one bird hunting quest, one sundry request, and a few others quests to get us up to 10 requests and the Glass Artisan achievement (fulfill 10 requests while ranked Glass).



Strangely enough, you can have Totori raid the wharf of the day's catch. You can get an unlimited supply of Sardines here, but they're not very valuable ingredients and have a pretty low quality. A neat detail, anyway.



And yeah, Totori's lazy father will be hanging out on the wharf constantly, fishing. What else should the man do?

...

Who were we talking about, again?



But hey, time to head out. This village is such a stuffy place these days. You get an alternate version of this scene without Gino around, but I decided to have him in the party for a bit. Video goes until Totori says "Life would be easy if everyone could get stronger so quick".



Yup! Our first adventure!

Where do you wanna go? It should be a real journey! We could go to the desert, the jungle...even a volcano!

Sorry to disappoint you, but there are no volcanoes in this game. Maybe next time...

Let's try going to where we couldn't before. We can see those other places eventually.

And when is that gonna be? Let's go now!



Fine. Let's hurry up and get stronger so we can go to those places!

Life would be easy if everyone could get stronger so quick.

You know what they say, Gino. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.



So after leaving Alanya, a whole swarm of locations open up. There's a road that goes north to Arland, but we'll ignore that for the time being. Locations to the east and north of Arland are also available, with another bunch of locations opening up west of Alanya and a new one northwest of Nuse Grove. We'll be tackling the western areas first.



I'm going in a clockwise fashion starting with the southwest location we haven't opened up. No particular reason, though.



Every now and then, you'll run into something like this on the overworld, where Totori notices something like ingredients or Cole (no greater amount than 100 Cole, I believe. Not much at all) and picks them up. By all means, take them with you.



Music: Following the Footsteps ~ The Caves

The first area you go to allows you to take a tutorial on a few things with maps in this game. Nothing I can't explain when it'll be more relevant.



Again, pretty small area. There's nothing too crazy around here. Just some Fests and Snow Stones for making new equipment, but that's the least of our concerns at the moment.



One area north has our prey, the penguins. But before that, a small scene, if Gino is in the party.



What? Don't just stop in the middle of the road.

Look at that, Gino.

What? That yellow fruit? Oh, fine...



There we go. Here, is this what you wanted?

Thanks. I know I can count on you.

Don't just count on me for that. You'll have to be able to get it yourself one of these days.

I know, but climbing trees is hard.

The next time we find one, you have to climb up yourself. Yeah, let's do that.

What? I can't!



All right. It's a plan. Let's look for stuff really high up.

*Gino leaves*

Wait! You'll trip if you don't watch where you're going, Gino!



Music: Following the Footsteps ~ The Wilderness

Well, let's see what our new foe has in store for us.





Ceci has the unique ability of helping her sister out in battle by increasing the effectiveness of the items she uses. It's not too handy at the moment, but it can definitely tip the odds in a battle that relies heavily on items. I can think of a few...



Our buddies don't have much going for them outside of a simple peck attack, which does virtually nothing to Ceci. They're not quite as strong as the Audras, especially since they don't have an area of effect attack.



Ceci actually gained three levels from that fight. Even at level one, she was still stronger than either Gino or Totori. Maybe that brush makes a better weapon than I thought...



I should also state that battles have a base time of one bar of the Day Time, but if a battle drags on really long, you lose more. Not sure what the requirements are, but it does happen.



There's nothing super valuable in the Dry Sea, but these are not exactly irreplacable days. A few days off from the goal (rank up in mid-September) never killed anyone.



Our final trip in the west is to Hunter's Forest.

But first, another small scene.



You're tired already? Come on, Totori.

I walked a lot and I'm hungry...

Now that you mention it, I'm kind of hungry, too. Do you have any food on you?



Thanks! Let's eat!

Wait! You can't eat it like that!

Why? I always eat it like this.

The ones in our stores might be okay, but this one hasn't been washed. Let's peel it first.

That's a huge pain. Blegh, fine. Let's use my sword.



Why? You want it peeled, don't you?

It's dangerous with a big sword. Why would you point the tip at it if you're gonna peel it?

Uh, I don't know... I didn't really think about it.



*peeling sounds*



I'm not clumsy! I help Ceci cook a lot.

But I'm better than you when it comes to cooking fish.

What you do isn't really "cooking." You just roast it over a fire.

But fish tastes best like that.



The bitterness makes it so good. And the bones give you, uh...

Calcium?

Yeah, that! They have calt-seeum, so it's good for your bones!

Here, I finished peeling it.

Nice! Thanks! Mmm, this is good.





*Gino leaves*

Okay. Be careful over there. Gino's so simple-minded when it comes to food.



So, another small forest. The materials here are of surprisingly good quality. B's, A's, even S's are lying around. Feel free to take what you need and go. Waste a bunch of Green Punis, too, if you accepted a request for them while back in town.



Now, in addition to random material encounters on the road, you'll also occasionally run into battles. These aren't random battles like say, Dragon Age has (goddamn those son of a bitch wolves), where they'd usually show up for a reason and not because you got unlucky. They're just random, and usually filled with fairly easy to beat enemies. This is not always the case, however...

In any event, this came up when I got back to town. Video goes until Totori says "Aww, tell me what you said".





We're back! *sigh* I'm so tired...

We didn't do anything to tire us out. I'm ready to tackle another adventure right now.

I can't... I'm tired and I'm hungry. Hey, you want to eat dinner with us?

At your place? Are you sure?



Sure, I'll go! Your sister's cooking is awesome.

It's settled, then. I'll ask Ceci to make lots and lots of food.

*fade to black*



Oh Totori, you always ask for this kind of stuff out of the blue.

I'm sorry. But you look kind of happy.

Well, of course. It always feels good to haev someone that really likes my cooking.

I'm hungry! Where's my food?!



Sorry. I'll...be quiet now.

Good boy. Just be patient. It'll only be a little longer.

*fade to black*



That was good!

Hehe. It makes me happy when I see someone enjoy my cooking so much.

You ate like a horse, Gino. That was like five times as much as me.

I did? Ugh... It hurts to move... I think I ate too much...

Just rest up a bit. Totori and I will clean up.



Sleep over...? I really can't.

Why not? You slept over all the time just a few years ago.

That's when we were just kids. Anyway, I'll get going now.

But I thought it hurts to move.

I'll be fine... Ugh...



I said I'll be fine... Thank you for the dinner.

*Gino leaves*

I wonder what's up with Gino?

Gino seems a bit more mature than our little Totori.

What was that?



Aww, tell me what you said!



Oh yeah, I bought the recipes from Ceci. Totally forgot...

Oh, and like I mentioned, Pamela is selling recipe books, too. Trouble is, they're all at a considerably higher alchemy level at the moment, and it'll really put a hurt in your wallet to get them all. We can wait.



I turned in that penguin quest, and picked up a few Puni bounties. We've got time, and we'll can Ceci. Although she's plenty useful, we do need to have Mel around for a while to get all of her events.

After I got Mel back on the team, I returned to the atelier to make a few Supplements. This scene came up when I did. Video goes until Totori says "Her name's cute, but she's kinda scary".





Wah! What?

I can't believe you fled to the middle of the boonies. Have you any idea how hard it was to find you?

Um, who are you again?

Don't play dumb with me! You stole my adventurer's license right under my nose and you dare take that attitude?!

Stole it? I never... Oh, you're that girl!



Revenge? But I didn't steal anything...

No excuses. Prepare yourself and look at this!



Hey! Open your eyes and look!

Huh? That's an adventurer's license?

That's right. I got it right after you.

O-Oh...

...

...

Is that it?

What do you mean?



Huh? What do you want me to say?



Hmph. Getting this was easy.

Okay, I'll be going now.

Where do you think you're going? I thought this was your home.



I don't have that much free time. I'm here for something more important. Didn't you say you were an alchemist?

Um, yes. I guess you can call me that.

Oh... Hmmmm...







I love Totori's face here. She doesn't look like anything's on her mind.

W-Why are you glaring at me so hard?

Alchemists are exceptional people where only three exist in this nation. You, however, look hardly exceptional.

What am I supposed to say to that?

Your face is plain. You look clumsy and mentally slow. A fool. No, solid foolishness.



However, that's irrelevant. You're an alchemist, so I will hire you.

I know I'm not that smart, but "solid foolishness"? Wait, you want to hire me?

You should be honored to work under me. Now come with me.

H-Hold on! It's all so sudden! I have other jobs to take care of.

You're not satisfied with working for me?





I-I'm sorry! Why am I being yelled at? I'm Totooria Helmold.

I am Mimi Houllier von Schwarzlang.



Music: Ms. Clumsy's Sincere Feelings

Mimi...hm. Mimi is a character I think the developers really wanted you to like, especially since her ending requirements are by far the hardest of any of the other characters with endings, and she also has the most character events. Whether or not that works is out is something I'm not really qualified to comment on, so I'll just present her as is.

I will say, though, she has plenty of great interactions with Totori.

You sound like an aristocrat... Wait, Mimi?

What? You got a problem with my name?

N-No, that's not it... It sounds kind of cute. Mimi.

Who said you can call me by my first name?!



Case in point. I love Totori's turn around is entirely based on the fact she finds her name cute.

Cute?! Ahhh, fine! I'll come again another time!



W-Wait, Mimi.

Stop calling me that!

*Mimi leaves*

I made her mad... Her name's cute, but she's kinda scary.

Went out to get some water, came back to get this scene.



Wh-What's wrong, Ceci? Why are you staring at me?

Looking at it again, I really think your outfit is cute.

Th-Thanks. So why do you look mad?





But if you think it's cute, why not leave it at that?

I'm mad at myself because it's cute. I'm going to make an outfit cuter than that one of these days.

I like to think Totori's new outfit in Meruru is a direct outcome of this scene. Certainly explains why she'd have all-new clothes, at least.

*Ceci leaves*

I still don't get why she's mad... Maybe I should wear something else once in a while.



This is an unusual achievement in that the way you get it is to complete three requests before Gerhard stocks new ones. There's another one for Six Totoris, and one last one, one of the harder achievements in the game, Nine Totoris. A rather difficult one to get, actually.



I tried to make a Honey to boost my alchemy level, but it did not turn out well. This is not an auspicious start.



Huh? This reaction feels familiar... Ahhhh!

*explosion*



Ugh... I did it again. Ceci's gonna be mad...

Another scene that's voiced, but it's way too short to necesitate having a video of it. Oh well...greatness from small beginnings, and all that.



I'd recommend starting very small, Salt and Honey and such to get your alchemy level higher. It's not like we have the ability to make great things at the moment, but we have to start somewhere.

After I made a Honey successfully, I got this scene. Video goes until Totori says "I hope she's not passed out on the ground again".





Huh? Wah! Ceci, I didn't see you there.

Yup. I kept watch to make sure you don't try to run away when you mess up.

You're being mean again...



When you do it, this alchemy stuff looks really easy.

That's because I can only do simple syntheses. Teacher can do more!

Really? When Rorona showed up, I thought...

*fade to white*



What's wrong? Did something happen?

There's some weird person collapsed in front of our house.

Collapsed? Weird person?



She said she's too hungry to move or something.

I-I don't really understand it, but let's bring her inside for now. Help me get her in, Totori.

Sure.

*fade to black*



You should slow down. Plenty more where that came from.

Th-Thank *chew* very *munch*!

*slurp* If you didn't help me, I could've died back there!

We can talk when you're done eating.



So, who are you? What do you do?

Hey, now. Don't be rude and pushy.

Hehe. It's okay. I'm an alchemist traveling the country to teach alchemy to everyone.

Alchemy...?



A cauldron? I think there's one in our storage we don't use anymore.

Can you let me use it? I want to make something for you as thanks. It'll be easier to explain that way.

What?

*fade to black*



There we go. So is this what you need?

Yes, it's almost too perfect! Off I go. Also, um, can you leave me alone until I'm through? I get so nervous when people I don't know are watching.

Sure, we don't mind. Let's go over there, Totori.

Sure...

*fade to black*



...

*Totori leaves*

Okay. Let's go somewhere until she's done... Totori? Where did she go?

*fade to black*



Hmm-hmm-hmm. I haven't mixed something in a cauldron for such a long time.

Mixing? Is that all you're doing?



I'm sorry. You looked like you were having a lot of fun, so...

Well, it is fun... Oh, hold on. This is where it gets kind of hard.

I want to try. Can I help?

You could, but...

*white flash*





It's pretty...

Ahhh! There's no time... Run!

Huh?

*massive explosion*



She really was something else.

Yeah... That was amazing...



Well...looks like even though Rorona became a great alchemist at the end of the last game, she's still not quite there yet. Just goes to show even making the Philosopher's Stone can't make you a great alchemist, but only if you're Rorona.

I have an extra room to clean up thanks to that.

But the cleaning isn't Teacher's fault. It's because I...



Calm down. I'm not blaming her for it. I just wonder if that's how alchemy is supposed to be.

What do you mean?

It's actually really amazing... Even though it doesn't look that way.

I don't think I understand.



Then let's just leave it at that. I think I know what you mean...

It's only been a year, but it feels like it happened such a long time ago.

I wonder how Teacher is doing. I hope she's not passed out on the ground again.

Hm, that sounds plausible, actually. But what would be even crazier if she fell into a river and floated downriver the entire continent, but what are the odds of that?

Anyhow, one last scene this update. This happened when I went to the Square after yet another check-in with Gerhard. Video goes until the screenshot of Mimi by herself.







Ahh! S-Stop yelling that! We are in a public place here. I thought I told you to stop calling me by my first name!

Why can't I?

Because I said so.



Come again?

Call me Totori.

Totori...

Yes, Mimi?

Aghh! You cannot be serious! Why would I want to?!

So can I call you Mimi?





You're hard to deal with... Do you have an answer for my offer from before?

Um, what offer?

How could you forget?! It's about me hiring you!

O-Oh, right. I remember now. I'm sorry, but I can't accept. My hands are already full, so...

I figured as much.

Oh, that's it? I thought you'd be steamed.



Wahh! See? You got mad again...

You're the one irritating me! Ahem. Whatever. I know I was being bit a forceful. Besides, I don't think you're worthy of being in my employ anyway. That's why I decided to test you.

Don't think you're getting that fourth sentence past me, either.

Test me?



Depending on the situation, we might even journey together. If you insist, I don't mind helping. A little.

So, you'll go adventuring with me?

Well, it depends. If and only if you insist.

...

Don't just stand there. Say something.



T-Thank... No! I'm not saying... Oh, fine. Just leave it at that! Anyway, be sure to tell me if you're going on adventures. You won't get another chance to receive my help. You understand?

Um, okay! I hope we can be friends!

*Totori leaves*



Don't we know it, but Rorona is contagious. You'll just have to deal with it. Anyway, next time we'll be heading back to Arland for our first rank-up.




Atelier Totori
Mimi artwork


Ms. Clumsy's Sincere Feelings
Following the Footsteps ~ The Wilderness
Following the Footsteps ~ The Caves