Part 91: Update LXXXVII: An Apprentice and the Strict Teacher

You might recall last time I messed up the first request for Trombe Plateau and ended up leaving with my tail between my legs. Well, we've got plenty of new events this time, but first I must cover a couple I skipped over last time. This scene happens I guess after Lias' friendship level is high enough. I dunno.



Oh, hey Lias. What's up?

I just wanted to see what you're up to. Any big adventures planned?

Today? Nope, sorry. I was gonna spend the day synthesizing...





Hey, if you have some extra ointment, could you spare a little for me?

(I think I have some Healing Salve... Should I give it to Lias?)

You don't have to give him some, but c'mon, guy seems a magnet for monsters and tons of his requests are for Salves, so obviously this is kind of a theme for him. I decided to give him some, simply because I'm not hurting for Salves.

Sure, I have some in stock. It'll work perfect every time, I guarantee.

Wow, I can have all this? Thanks a bunch. Now I'll be fine even if I do get hurt. See ya!

*Lias leaves*



I'm not holding my breath. But now we have another skipped over scene, with Gio this time.



Hello, Uncle Gio. What are you - oh, are you here with a job request!?

Sorry, but no. I just wanted to see how the Princess of Arls' alchemy training was coming along.



Oh, is that right? I see your estimation of your own ability skyrockets when Totori's not around.

You think so? Well...I'll leave that up to you to decide. Gosh, you're always such a big, mean uncle!

Sorry, sorry. Just a little joke! I really was worried about you, though.

Oh yeah? Are you sure you're not just saying that?



No worries. Miss Totori and everyone else has offered me tons of help. So you don't get a turn!

Heavens...can't you just forgive me already?

Ehehe, now I'm the one joking! I'm not mad, honest. Thank you for caring so much about me.

Haha...you got me that time.



...She's grown stronger than I realized. I guess I really have nothing to worry about.

Did you say something?

Oh, no, nothing. Well, I suppose I'll accept your invitation and make myself more comfortable.

Please! I'll go put some tea on, and you can tell me some more stories!

And now we return to the present, after I returned from my big ol' adventure. Video goes until Totori says "You make me worry..."





Once again, shaking is hard to portray in screenshots, but rest assured it's rumbling quite a bit.



Ahh, earthquake! Oh no, oh jeez...everyone, find someplace safe to hide! Or wait, no...maybe we should all go outside!

Calm down, Miss Totori! It's not an earthquake.

Huh? But...the ground is shaking! Oh, but it does feel different somehow.

That's the sound of Ent. The forest must be moving around again...

Call me stupid, but I didn't realize the name "Ent" was a Lord of the Rings reference until just a few years ago or so. I cannot recall at all where I first heard the name "Ent" in relation to a moving tree, but that's where the name comes from.

No, I still haven't seen The Two Towers, even though I have seen Fellowship and Return of the King, or else I might have known Ent was a Tolkein reference. One of these days...

Huh? The forest...moves!?



A forest that moves...boy, Arls really is full of amazing stuff!

But still...it hasn't been that loud in a long time. I wonder if it's getting closer.





Ent is basically just a big ass tree that walks around. It looks like a forest, but when you actually go there (yeah, shock of shocks, that's a new area), you can climb on the branches and stuff.





Yeah. It's Ent, right? It seems like it came really close this time.

It did. A soldier outside town just informed me that it has settled nearby. Princess, I trust you realize that -



Please don't. By all accounts, the Forest of Ent is a very dangerous place. However-

However! We can't let it get any close to Arls, or we could be in real trouble, right!?

Could you please let me finish? As long as we don't go into the forest, the surrounding area is in no danger. So don't even think about stepping foot in there. Sooner or later it will uproot itself and move to a new area. It's far too dangerous for a person with inadequate skill to head in out of idle curiosity. So don't go near it. Okay?

*Rufus leaves*



What!? Meruru, I don't think that's what he was saying at all.

Don't worry! I'm well aware of my own skills.

I'm...not sure that you are. You always act without thinking. You make me worry...

Although Rufus is more than correct in that going to Ent is very dangerous at the moment, there's nothing stopping you from doing so. It's actually a pretty good idea to go there at the moment for a certain material you can only find there, good for a later assignment, but I can explain more later.

As for Ent moving, it does. It has about...I want to say about five different places it can be on the world map, and it changes location every three or four months. I like to let it complete one cycle around the world map, when it resettles near Arls, to go in and actually conquer it, with vastly superior equipment.



Now then, this request comes up after you complete Quelei Forest I, and only then. Thing with monster battles is that once the letter arrives does that monster actually exist. You don't have to turn it into Rufus if you already know where the monster is, and you'll still get the points for killing it.

Later on in this update, when I actually fight the Dragon, I'll explain why it's a very good idea to do battle with him soon. Going to the Tavern gets us this scene. Video goes until Filly says "Errg...I always get yelled at like that"



Oh, hi Ms. Esty. Watcha up to?

Hello, Meruru. I was just observing my sister's performance.

You mean Ms. Filly?





I will. Thank you again.

...Oh, Esty. And Meruru, too.



Why are you both grinning at me like that?

Sister observation. I'm just enjoying watching my sister grow from a distance. The girl would cry at the mere sight of a stranger has matured into a confident receptionist.

Well, yeah. I'm all grown up now. You can't be afraid of strangers forever.

I wonder about that. You've always had a weakness against...all different kinds of people.

I'm telling you, I'm not-



Kyaaah! Miss Mimi!

Oh, for the love of - could you please stop screaming every time you see me?

B-But Miss Mimi - I mean, Mimi...your face is so scary.



Ms. Filly, Ms. Mimi isn't all that scary.

Nng...I know that. I just can't get used to people with such...sharp personalities.

Perhaps, but when you scream like that, you've failed as a receptionist. I guess my kudos were premature.

Errg...I always get yelled at like that.

Up next is a DLC scene at Pamela's.





Kyaaah! Ms. Pamela, don't scare me like that!

Heh heh heh...I curse thee! Welcome to my store!

Meruru, thanks goodness you're here! Ms. Pamela won't stop scaring me! Please help!

H-Hey! What are you doing, Ms. Pamela!?



As a ghost, it made me really happy.

Nevertheless, you have to stop it! Keina's a real scaredy-cat. But also...Keina, Ms. Pamela really isn't that scary. You have to try not to be so afraid.

Nng...sorry. But I just get creeped out every time I remember she's a ghost...

That's not very nice! I'm a very impressive ghost, you know. I have a long list of experience, and I get respect from other ghosts, too!





Does that include people?

People are more difficult. There can be compatability issues, and it's hard to go into something that stuff in it.

"Stuff" in it? You say that like people are dolls.



Oh, but compatability is pretty important. So sometimes it's a good match. Like...Keina.

What!? M-M-Me!?

Ms. Pamela inside Keina...? That sounds kinda fun! You wanna give it a shot?

Absolutely not! What if she turns ME into a ghost!?



Okay! And...go!



Wh - Keina!

...

Keina...? Are you okay?



Th-That voice...Ms. Pamela? So you really went inside Keina?

Yup. I guess we have really good compatibility. I'm actually surprised. Hmhmhm. I haven't felt flesh and blood in ages. It kinda tickles...

I-It's too cramped in here! Please, get out, Ms. Pamela!

Cramped...? I wonder what that feels like...



Maybe I should eat something.

...Or change my clothes?

Wh-Why change your clothes?



Sooo...maybe I should start undressing?

What - !? No! Don't you dare change right here! Ahh, stop pushing. If you're too forceful, you might push yourself out.



It's so warm and cozy in here. Maybe I should just stay here for a while...

D-Don't even joke about that!

Wow...this is so weird. It's like Keina's putting on some artsy-fartsy one-person show.

Meruru, this is no time to be enjoying yourself! Help me!

Pamela is and always will be best ghost. Speaking of DLC, let's add another one!











Approval is...well, I think it might be difficult for you to understand.

Nooo, tell me!

...Oh, a stamp! I wanna stamp something. Bam!

Hey, don't -! That document is -! *sigh* I was going to approve it anyway.

So stamping is approval right? Then I can do it, too! I'll approval everything for you!



I can't be too disrespectful toward Ms. Totori's teacher. Where's the princess when I need her...?





Ah, Meruru!

Excellent... Princess, I need you to keep a closer eye on Ms. Rorona.

I just brought her here 'cause she said she wanted to see the castle. But you scared me, running off like that. Don't do that again, okay? Rufus is working right now, so you can't bother him.

I wasn't bothering him! I was approvaling stuff for him. Like this...wham!

*stamping noises*

And this! And this!

Agh! Not again! Please stop!



Nooo, that's boring. I wanna keep approvaling! Stamping's so much fun!



Negotiate? Agreement?

Rufus, listen...Rorona's only 8 years old right now. She can't understand those complicated words.

Ah, excuse me. I'll try to reword what I said... Like you always do with the princess, I need to go and talk to them so everyone's happy.

Oh! Then Rorona and Meruru will go and do it for you!

What!? Th-That's not-



I-It's not that...

I see...she may be right. Perhaps that would be more efficient. Hmm...it's certainly worth considering.

Rufus! A-Are you serious!?

Of course. I need to investigate the details of the development sites.



...Or is there some other complication that makes you not want me to accompany you?

C-Complication? Of course not! N-Nothing like that!

Then it's settled. I shall accompany you for the time being.

(Gah...why is this happening? I can't really blame Rorona, though... Working with Rufus...I'm getting tense just thinking about it.)



Let's gooo! Oh, and let's bring some snacks! This is gonna be fun, huh Meruru!?

Y-Yeah...it sure is...

So Rufus is an absolute badass in battle. Lias was not kidding about Rufus being really strong, even as a kid. But, I do hope I can demonstrate this by the end of this update.

Upon returning to the Tavern, another scene. Video goes until Esty says "I worry about her as her sister, too..."



Hi, Meruru. Did you come to look for work?

Yup! But where's Ms. Filly?

Right over there. She's facing off against her ultimate opponent, so give her a minute.

Her ultimate opponent?



And so, um...what I mean to say is... That case is still under investigation, so-

I don't understand what you're trying to say. Can you be more concise? I'm on here to find out how many requests were accomplished yesterday.

Yes, well, to be concise...we were so busy - I mean, we had so many customers... I haven't had time to add them up yet.





But she's still the receptionist. She can't work like that. I worry about her as her sister, too...

Poor, poor Filly. In town, for another scene. Video goes until Meruru says "Masked G...he's so cool!"







Meoow. Meow meooow.

I'm sorry, little one. That's all the food I have for you, honest.

Huh? Someone's talking to a cat. Let's go take a look!

Meow!



But if I give you the rest, there won't be anything left for me. And to make matters worse...I'm all out of money. I can't afford to buy anything after this is gone...

No doubt he has given out the rest of his money to the poor and downtrodden!

Meow...

Gah, don't make that sad sound. Fine, I shall give you everything I have!



No need to thank me. It is my duty to protect the weak!





Ng...damn, I've been spotted. And you're -!

Waah, you're Masked G! I see you're still hard at work in the name of justice. Wh-Who are you really? And what's that mask? Where'd you get it!?

T-Too many questions! I can't answer anything personal, but the mask is from a shop in Arland.



Told you she's easy to amaze.

Gh...I'd better not stay here any longer. I need to get going... Well, it looks like my work here is done, so I'll be going. See you next time. Farewell! Oh, uh...but, uh, let me say this before I go. I'll always be watching out for you!

Oooh, he's gone! Masked G...he's so cool!

Yet another scene. Video goes until Meruru says "It seemed like she had something to say"





Oh, I bought us some Mushroom Pie. Why not take a little break and have a -

Okay...put this in, then put that in... Stir it up, and when it boils...I put this...

Kyaah! Meruru, why are you holding your breathe!? Breathe! You need to breathe!



Y-You don't need to concentrate so hard, you know. Just relax. Well, no, don't relax exactly. It's more like...hmm.

What is it, Miss Totori? Did I do something wrong?

No no, nothing like that. It's just that...



Of course! Why? Oh...am I starting to get in your way?

No, not at all! You always work hard, and the workshop is much more fun with you around. But I just thought...it must be hard balancing the workload of an alchemist and a princess.

Oh, I'm fine. I'm overflowing with energy!

I see...well then, I guess that's good. Just do your best, okay?

*Totori leaves*



Hmm...I wonder what's going on with Miss Totori. It seemed like she had something to say.

But I wonder what it could be.



Our next step up when it comes to attack items is the Magic Sword. Soul Steal is a general debuff attack, while I was lucky enough to find a Wispstone with Rank Boost Lv2 and Quality Lv3. This will serve me well.



Also will be registering with Pamela this. While not a great step up, we're long overdue for upgrading our armor.



I just can't seem to get away from this tacky thing. Well, at least Meruru can use it.



Also on the agenda is another weapon upgrade. This scene came up afterward.



Thanks! Sorry to make you guys watch over the workshop. Did anything happen while I was gone?

I found a rare ingredient while I was gathering as you requested. Please take this.



Oooh, that looks fancy.

Is it truly that rare? All mushrooms look the same to Hom.

Can't you tell? That rich aroma...ahh. It's spreading through my nose. Man! I've never seen one of these in person. Such a rare treat...what should I do with it? I have the urge to eat it... But I wanna use it for alchemy, too!



Kyaah! Ms. Astrid! Once again, please stop sneaking up on me!

What's so bad about letting myself into my own pupil's workshop?

It's bad for my heart, that's what!

I got yelled at...I'm devastated. *sniff sniff*

Please don't fake-cry like that. It's obnoxious.



Ah - no...



Umm...

So then, I'll be taking that ingredient Hom found to make up for it.

You know how I said Caster was a much more evil character than Astrid? It appears I was mistaken. Caster may be a masochist, indiscriminately drags people into a conflict they have nothing to do with, and just generally delights in tormenting others, but she never had the temerity to steal valuable mushrooms.

Hey, stop being a bully! Give it back!

No can do. I created Hom, right? So whatever Hom finds belongs to me. Okay, see ya!

*Astrid leaves*



Mini Master is painfully sad. It is making me sad, as well.

I see...I now understand the true value of that mushroom.

Waaah! My mushroom! I was gonna eat it! Waaah!

Ms. Zexis, you will regret this day. That said, you can actually go and buy it from Astrid after this scene, but as of right now there's not much to do with it. Let's go have a fairly lenghtly scene at the castle to make up for it.





You don't remember? It's the memoirs of you, me, and Mr. Lias.

Memoirs...? Oh, now I remember! Our sketchbook!

Lemme see, lemme see!

...Wow, I've missed this! It says, "Dream of the Future".

Mr. Rufus told us to do this, so that we could live with a goal in mind and not wander around aimlessly.

Let's take a look at yours. "Become a splendid maid". Yup, you got that one.

It's kind of embarrassing to go through and read it now. What did you write, Meruru?





Looks like you haven't changed all that much. I guess that's the great thing about you.

Hahaha. Surprisingly, I think I've accomplished most of these! Oh, here's Lias'. Let's see...



There's more. "I hope everyone respects Rufus". "I hope Rufus goes out and sees the world".

Everything's about his brother. I guess Lias hasn't changed much, either.



We were just talking about our past. You never wanted to leave your brother's side, Lias.

...I don't remember that.

I do. When we first met, you were like...

*fade to black*



Helllooo! Woohoo, I have another friend now!

I don't know about friends...perhaps my brother would be more suited for that.

Hmm? That boy there?

Yes. That's my brother, Lias. Come now, Lias, introduce yourself.

...



Lias, can you not even say hello? You'll be serving her someday, you know. I'm very disappointed.

...Hi.

Hellooo! I'm Meruru. Nice to meet you!

And I'm Keina. Very nice to meet you.

...

Why are you hiding behind your brother, Lias? Playing hide-and-seek?

...No.



...I wanna stay here with my brother.

Lias! Rejecting an invitation from the princess is-

NO! I wanna stay with my brother!

Oh no, please don't cry! Then...why don't we all play together?

*return to present*



How do you still remember that? Anyway, that was then, this is now. That's all there is to it.

Yeah, I know. So what was your dream for the future?

I told you, I forgot. Listen, I still have work to do. If we're done with the mindless chatter, I'll be going.

*Lias leaves*

Jeez, Lias is so mean. Oh, Keina... You're still looking at the sketchbook?



He really loves his brother. I'm kind of jealous he has someone like that to look up to.

Ah yes, since this is the first time I've talked to Rufus since we ranked up, time to find out where our next rank is...



We're still just a town. Clearly, we are not doing well enough. Also, as a bonus to ranking up, we no longer use LP while traveling around, and get another recipe book.



For the rank up, we can overhaul the school to make characters not in battle gain the same amount of experience as the characters who did fight, which is very valuable.



But we also have our first revenue facility, the Factory. How this works is pretty simple. With the Factory constructed, every month on the 25th you get a certain amount of money delievered straight to your coffers. This amount depends on the population, so the more the game goes on, the more money for me. Sounds like a nobrainer, but that's because it is.

There's two other facilities that do the same thing, so it just makes sense to get all three. Luckily, 245 points is enough to both overhaul the school and build the Factory. Another scene upon returning home.





Chim. Chim chim.

That is a serious issue. Population increase is good, but it also increases the size of the problem.

Chim...



Chim? Chim chim?

As more people gather, problems will increase. How they are dealt with is a task that must be confronted.

Chimim, chim!



Indeed. Now on to Hagel's.



Hi there, young miss. Full of energy like always. How goes your work?

Great! I'm developing slowly but surely. And I'm building up my alchemy skills, too!

It does seem like the town is more lively than before. So maybe now's about time...



Yeah, I sure do. So have you finished breaking it in?

Yup, without a doubt. It's working really great. So... I was thinking about boosting it more. You know, making it hotter and adding some more features.

Ooh, so the time's finally come! I'm super pumped now!



If you do, I can do as much or even more work than I was doing in Arland.

Got it! I'll do my best!

You gave me such an amazing furnace to begin with, I'm sure you'll knock it out of the park this time.

Just leave it to me. You're gonna love it!



With this, Esty will be getting a 20% boost to her skills, have the chance to inflict Sleep, do extra Earth damage, and do more damage in general, of course. And in time, everyone I will bring out will have an upgrade.



But now our butler shall be joining us.



He has two really awesome passive skills. Iron Will allows him to decrease his chance of bad status effects and give him a small chance of KO recovery. Godspeed, on the other hand, makes his normal attack crazy strong. Basically, it gives him a super high chance of getting an extra turn. You want to see how crazy this is in practice? Just hold on a bit more...

For the record, the recipe book just had a bunch of development items and items we can't make yet. Bah.



Music: The Big Moving Tree

You get this notice every time Ent has moved. Sometimes Ent can show up in a place you can't actually get to, but that's the breaks.



Now then, Rufus in battle. He uses a lash, which is similar enough to a whip to make my Belmont comment about him in the first update at least somewhat relevant.



The hiding place of the Dragon is in this underground cavern, south of the Mine.



There he is. Let's bury this fool.



The Dragon is a very dangerous foe right now, and under normal circumstances it would be near suicide to fight him. But there is a method to my madness.



Rufus' Iron Fist Mandate is not only a pretty cool gigaton punch, but also reduces his WT pretty substantially. As you'll sson see, Rufus gets to move a ridiculous number of times.



The Magic Sword is not only a decently powerful attack item, but it can also restore a lot of the user's HP. How nice.



Now then, Godspeed. If Rufus does a normal attack, he can move up to about five or six times in a row. It's nuts.



Oh c'mon!



Well, I'd bring up how unfair I was being to the Dragon, but I just remembered he's a horrible scaly beast, so I don't feel so bad anymore.



Congraulations on your single attack. I hope it was worth it.



And Rufus moves four times in a row, giving him a total of about...oh, 11 turns in a battle lasting about two and a half minutes.



I swear, the Dragon is way harder than this, normally. If you're not using DLC characters, he puts up a much better fight. But, que sera sera and all that.



Some nice materials, but the real reward is something we can't see quite yet...



Sea Puddles! More specifically, after you beat the Dragon once, Sea Puddles start showing up here. The traits on these are very nice, so don't be afraid of coming back several times, just to see what you get. You normally shouldn't be getting materials and traits of this quality until quite a bit later, but hey.



Next stop, Ent, for preparation for a request that will come up in a few months' time. The resulting scene.



Music: Living Forest





So this is what it looks like on the inside. It feels so strange... Definitely not like a normal forest. I know Rufus said it was dangerous, but I wonder what kind of scary monsters I might see... Well, it doesn't hurt to be cautious. I'll just move nice and slow. And maybe find some rare materials!

Ent is appropriately dangerous at the moment, but fighting is not the reason we're here. The reason you want to come here is...



The Iron Tree. Later on, there will be a request for (Lumber) items that have a trait called Resist Fire Lv2. You only need five of those, but your other option is just to gather 50 (Lumber) items and hand those over. For such a short diversion, it's definitely worth your time.

I just wish I could say it was my idea...



Well, we will meet with the master of Ent soon enough. But that day is not today. Sayonara.





Meruru's Room
Behind my Brother
Weapon Shop


Living Forest
For Ent. They wanted to make this eerie, but I also added some playfulness to keep it in the Atelier world. There were a lot of "forest" songs, so it was a challenge to create a different feeling for each.

The Big Moving Tree
For the mobile Ent. I wanted to make it a little relevant, so I started by working with the opening of "Living Forest". ...No, it's not that I got lazy. Don't you trust me? I-It's true! Honest! ...I think