Part 21: Chapter XVIII: The Overeager Mechanic and Engineer

Hm, you were right, Logy... We should be extra careful if we're going to explore the bottom of the well.



Music: In a Place Where People Once Were

This place is bone dry... There's no trace of water here.

If there was water down here before, then these monsters must have come here recently.

Yeah. Probably to stay out of the heat.



Hm, this area is a bit bigger. Let's be careful...



Ah! Watch out!


Bugs in the deep

Man, that lead bug is really strong... This could take a while.



Escha, watch out for when it charges!



Awin is going to need some help.



This bug is really strong...



Escha, let's try a Double Draw!

Right! I'll select my Eis Ice Bomb!





Wow, you were right, Logy!



Go for it, Brother!



Music: Mugendai Chronicle









Whew...that was a hard fight.

You said it...anyway, we should check out more of this cavern.



This is another lithograph, Logy!

That's nice. Try putting it together with the other one we found. We might discover something.



Well, I'm about ready to go. Unless you have anything left, Escha?

Hmm....no, I can't think of anything. We might want to come back here, though.



Well, we've completed another assignment, but we have a lot to do until we've finished everything.

Let's see...

Gather Water, River Water, and Black Water during the assignment period.

Synthesize a Medical Bandage.

Go an investigation with the Divine Jar, Lava Cube, and Living Bomb.

Deliver some of Lucille's medical bags to an official in town.

Deliver a Music Box with the Terrible Tone effect to someone on the docks.

Deliver some soup to someone in town.

Deliver feathers / animal parts to someone in town.

Deliver some Gunade Rings to an official in town. We only need one if it has the Divine Speed effect.

Deliver Bombs to an official in the Southern Ruins. The more powerful the better.

Deliver some cold items to an official in the Searing Wastes.

Defeat the Bloodstained Saber in the Slag Graveyard.

So we've got a lot to deliver this time.



That's one down!



And that's another! Time to head back and start working on the others.



It's a lot easier to clean without Escha around. I have to make sure this place is always looking good in case Mr. Grumman wants to do a surprise inspection.



Linca, is something wrong?

I just made it. Could you please take a look at it?



...Please try some.

Well, I'll have a bite... Mmph... Huh? What is this?

How is it? I want your honest opinion.

It feels...gritty. Did you make a mistake with the recipe?

I knew it! I don't have any idea where I could have gone wrong, though.

I see... Unfortunately, I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to cooking, either. I think you'd be better off asking Escha about stuff like this.

I suppose that's an option. Very well, I'll ask her later.

Sorry I couldn't be much help. Is this another mission that Marion gave you?

Yes. I'm studying how to cook, but I don't seem to be making much progress. At least it looks like it's supposed to now...

Cooking... I wonder what it is that separates good cooks from regular people.

As do I. Whatever it is, I'm missing it. If only I could figure it out, even just a little...



That voice... Reyfer... No, nobody's calling you. Least of all the two of us.

C'mon now, don't be like that. Hey, sword girl, watcha got there? Let me have a taste of that.

Go ahead, but I can't recommend it.

Oh, I don't mind. I'll just have a bite... Hm, it's...huh. You're missing something important.

D-Do you know what!? Please tell me.



...What? Seriously!?

I...never even thought about that. I didn't try adding any seasonings to it.

Haha, this is a time for my favorite oil sauce. Any food instantly turns delicious if you put a bit of this on it.

Oil sauce... That sounds very useful. Let me try it! I see... So the proper seasoning can correct any culinary mistakes!

No, you don't want to put oil sauce on that... (...She's not even listening anymore. Should I really leave her like this? Linca can really be a lot of trouble. Then again, I've never been much of a cook either...) Oh! I should probably tell Solle about what's been going on with Awin. It's better if he knows about Awin's plans before this gets out of hand.



Awin? No... I haven't spoken to him in a while, really. Has something happened?

Hmm... I helped him finish the blueprints for his plan to modify the airship depot. Strange that he hasn't showed them to you, though. I wonder if there was something missing.

Is that so...? It's troublesome when he goes off on his own... You're a meddler too, aren't you?

I asked for his help. And it was good help at that. I've really been giving it some thought, and the depot does need an upgrade. Take a look at this.

Ugh... You're always doing these things on your own. As I've said, due to budgetary constraints...

Whatever we can do, it will help! Please, just take a look at it for me!

Yes, yes, yes, I understand. Let's see here... ...Hm, I see. Well, nothing leaps out at me right now. ...Oh? It's actually a much better design than I thought.

Really? Then, do you think we'll get the budget we need?

I'll have to crunch some numbers on my end, but it's possible that we can do this on a per-stage basis. Since you haven't run off and started by yourself without approval, I'll see what I can do.

H-Huh...? O-Oh, right... Yeah. Of course I'd never start on it without the proper approval!



Music: Big-Breasted, Melancholic Woman

Whoa! What the heck's going on?

I think the pulley on one of the depot's new foundations came off! Heizman says he should be able to take care of it, but he wants to look at the blueprints...!

Oh, man... I thought we'd anchored that thing really well, but I guess not. Hang tight, I'll come right over...

Excuse me? What was that about a "new foundation"!?

Awin, don't tell me that you...!

Whoa! S-Solle, um, this is...!

Welllll, you know that if I start explaining now, we'll both be here all day. I'm going to go see-- That is, what's happened is, um...



What!? No! You just said you'd try to approve it a few seconds ago!

Ooops... I guess it wasn't a good idea to start construction on our own...

What the heck were you guys doing...? Come on, Escha. We have our own work to do.

Y-Yeah... Sorry Brother...



Really, I know that we need an upgrade to the depot to handle a dreadnought, but Awin gets way too ahead of himself for his own good.

I know... He's always been like this. Remember when he modified that chimney?

Of course... I just have to wonder how well Heizman is managing Maintenance if this kind of thing is allowed to happen. Anyway, are you done with that Synthesis? Let's go see Awin at the depot now that Solle and Awin have had a chance to calm down.

Yeah. I'm ready to go.



I told you so many, MANY times not to get started until you had the proper approval...

In the end, what's going to happen to the depot upgrade?

Solle's pissed at me right now. I tried to convince him otherwise, but the project's cancelled.

I see... That's unfortunate. It would've been nice to see your idea become a reality, you know?

Yeah, it's a shame...but you'll get another chance. C'mon, cheer up.

Thanks, guys. Yeah... It's going to need upgrades eventually, so I'll wait for the next opportunity.

Make sure you submit the proper paperwork and follow the rules next time!

Yeah, yeah. The red tape is important... I think I learned my lesson this time. Oh, right. I haven't been able to give you guys anything in return for all the hard work you did. Since the project got canned, I still have a lot of materials. I was going to give you some of it. I know you two probably have better uses for these materials than I do.

That would be really nice. Are you sure it's all right to just give it to us?



Heizman already said I could, so nobody's going to get in my way this time.

Heh... Well, in that case, we'll take the items we think we can use.

Yeah. It's an offer that's hard to refuse.



Hmm...there's not much that's good for alchemy ingredients, but there are a few things. Can you find anything else, Logy?

No, I think you got everything. Good work.



These Gunade Rings are incredibly powerful. Just wearing it makes you feel like a surge of power is going throughout your entire body.



Wow...you're right.

Yeah! Anyway, I'm going to drop off one of the Rings to the official. I'll be back soon!

Oh, Escha, before you go, I have something to ask.

Oh, sure. What is it?

Has Linca talked to you yet about cooking?

Cooking? No...she hasn't talked to me in a while. Why do you ask?

Oh, no reason...





Do you know if Escha made this? It was just sitting here...

I really don't know.

I see... Well, you probably shouldn't eat this. Don't be fooled by appearances...

What, really? It looks like normal food to me? Wait, were you eating other people's food? Don't complain to me if Marion gets mad at you.

You're right, I shouldn't have done that. Anyway, I'm going to go lay down somewhere.



Oh, was Awin here?

Yeah. I didn't ask him why he came here, but he'll probably be back.

I see...



Wait! Who was eating that food over there?

That would be Awin. ...Did you make that, Linca?

Yes. I tried adding a lot of seasoning, like Reyfer suggested. I thought it turned out well, so I going to have Marion taste it.

Wait, Linca, is the seasoning you used really okay?

I don't think so. I used all the seasonings I found in the kitchen.

...All of them!?

But, this is a problem. Marion should be returning from her meeting soon. I guess I will have to give Marion the portion I was saving for myself.

Do you really intend to give this to Marion?

Of course! I can't complete my mission if I don't make my report to Marion. Also, she has taken good care of me up until now.



Before you feed any of that to Marion, you should try the piece Awin was just snacking on. I don't know much about being a chef, but I do know that they have to try their own dishes.

Is that so? I'd have thought they'd be biased to like their own food. I suppose it does build confidence. Thank you, Logy. I don't know if I made the right decision with this dish, but I will try it.

...I've done all I could. If she tries feeding this to you, Marion, please just give up... More and more I'm glad we don't have to look after Linca while we're in town...



Logy, I just passed Brother. He had in his head in his hand and was just muttering something while walking away...

Oh... He ate some food Linca made for Marion. It...probably didn't turn out very well.

Aww...Linca's trying so hard.



Well, we have a lot to do on this investigation. We have to stop by the Slag Graveyard and defeat the Bloodstained Saber that was rampaging around in the ruins and gather some Black Water. Then, we have to head to the Searing Wastes and deliver some cold supplies to the investigation team in the area, and find the Fire Lord. Do you make sure to prepare some cold supplies?

Yeah! I made two Squash Teas with the Cool effect. It should be a big help with getting through the area.

Alright, well... I think we're ready to go.


Double trouble

Well, at least it's not trying to hide. Let's take it out!



Well, that was pretty simple!



Ah! More enemies!?



Those other monsters don't look that dangerous, but that bear looks incredibly powerful. We need to be very careful around it.



Man...it's so powerful...



Let's do it!

I'm right behind you!





This thing is tough, but we can win.



Whew...that was a very dangerous enemy.

Let's make sure to get some Black Water before we go.



Alright, let's drop off those cold supplies and go see the Fire Lord.



Wilbell told us to find the Fountain of Flame, right?

Yeah. She said it was past the part of the wasteland we went to. If we're going near a spirit with extremely powerful fire magic...

Then it's probably going to be incredibly hot near it. Man...


Raging inferno

Music: Close to the Edge Part 2

According to Wilbell, the Fire Lord is supposed to be here somewhere.

You insolent fool! Have you any idea in whose land you stand?

Wh-What the--!?

Logy, over there!



Eeek! It looks like she's in a REALLY bad mood! We should run away.

Calm down, Fire Lord! Please, tell us what happened!

Humans... You steal the fire from my altar, and yet you have the nerve to speak to me!?

...Altar? Did something happen to your altar?

Um, might you be talking about this? By any chance?



There's nothing inside it. Maybe there used to be something in there?

Now that you mention it, I can see what you mean.

How long do you intend to trespass upon my land!? LEAVE at once!

...Anyway, we'll think about this later. We've got to get out of here.

Right! Let's run, right now!



Whew...that was close.

You said it... Anyway, looks like we need to bring something back to the Fire Lord.

But what? We didn't get to talk to her long enough find out...

Hm...maybe we should ask Wilbell?


Working for the lazy

Do you have any idea what she means, Wilbell?

A long long time ago, it was a practice to build altars to the strongest spirits. I heard that each altar has a jewel that carries the spirit's power.

A jewel? I didn't see anything like that on the altar we saw. Maybe that's what she was talking about?

Someone probably thought it was a treasure and took it away. I'd say that losing the altar's jewel would be reason enough to make her angry...

So we need to get the jewel back and put it back in the altar... Then the spirit will be nice again?

I can't say for certain, but it's worth a shot. Give me a second, and I'll show you how to make one.

M-Make a new jewel!? Isn't this something you should do, Wilbell?

Hm? Well, I suppose I could do it, but...



...So, you don't know how.

Th-That's not true! Besides, you guys are always making things! Just whip one up for me, will you!?

I suppose you're right. Thank you very much, Wilbell. We'll try to make one right away.

Now we're talking. I love sweet little girls like you, Escha. Logy, you could learn a thing or two.

Yes, yes... At any rate, this will calm down the Fire Lord, won't it?





That's another delivery. We still have three more.



Whew...that was a scary synthesis.

Hm? It looked pretty normal to me.

Logy! I had to manage a lot of explosive materials. It was really scary!

S-Sorry...anyway, that bomb looks really powerful. I'm sure the investigators in the Southern Ruins will find a lot of use for a bomb like that.

Yeah! We should be sure to make a lot of copies before we go. Oh, but we also have some of Lucille's bags to deliver to an official in town.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about that.



There we go. 24 more days until the assignment is over...we might not make it.



Alright, only one more to go. We might as well head back and try to make the jewel for the Fire Lord.

Phew...we're not getting any time to relax.

I know how you feel, but let's just keep going.



Hey Logy, I want to make something else first. It'll really help up on investigations in the future!

What is it?



It's the Heavenly Spirits! It's a magical plant that if you wave it in the air, you'll feel like you leave your body, and you'll instantly return to any point you choose. So if we set the atelier as the point we choose...

...We can instantly come back here after we finish our investigation... That does sound incredibly helpful.

Right! The only problem is the synthesis for it takes a long time... Eight days.

That long!?

Yeah, the synthesis is really specific... I can't make any mistakes.

Well, whatever you have to do... Oh, and the homunculi are duplicating those Dire Bombs. As soon as you're done with this synthesis, Escha, we can probably go pick them up.



Hm, this part, I can leave the synthesis going. Let's get something to eat.

Are you sure it's going to be okay?

Yeah. I just have to leave the synthesis going right now.

Oh, my sword got a little bent. To be honest, there's nothing I can do with alchemy here. Awin's probably the only one who can fix it. Let's go to the Balloon Docks.

I didn't know alchemy swords could get bent...



"Specs..."? I haven't heard that in a while. What can I help you with?

Yeah, y'see... My partner here ain't doin' so hot, so I was hopin' you could take a look-see at her.

Your partner? Oh, your gun. Sure, let me see... Looks like the barrel was slightly out of alignment. I've made some adjustments, so it should be fine.

You're a lifesaver. I know how to do some general maintenance on 'er, but nothing specific.

Well, I'm not exactly a firearms specialist, either. I just did what I think would help. I mean, I don't even know how to work with metal this thin in the first place.

Heh, I see. Well, I've just been using what I found in the ruins, that's all.

Hey, Reyfer, you travel all around the world, right?

Why so curious? You wanna switch careers to the glamorous life of a treasure hunter, Specs?

I'd go with "Explorer" more than "Treasure Hunter". Isn't traveling around the world exhilarating?

It sure is! There's really no other profession that's as cool as this. You sure know your stuff.



Aha, the old legend, huh? Okay, okay... I've always admired that particular story... But, uh, I've never actually heard of it before. I was hoping you could tell me all about it.

I see... I thought you might know something about it...

Well, legends and treasure go hand in hand. I'm gonna see if I can find out more about this "edge".

Really? That would be amazing! Thank you very much!

Oh, there you are, Brother!



My gun wasn't shootin' so straight, so I had good ol' Specs here take a gander at 'er for me.

Really...? Wow, you know how to repair guns, too, Brother!?

Honestly, I was just going by intuition. I mean, I could see how it was supposed to work.

Well then, I've taken care of my business here, so I'll be takin' off. Let's work hard and see if we can make our dreams come true, eh, Specs?

...He was in a pretty good mood. I wonder what's gotten into him?

So... What do the two of you want?

Oh, right. About this thing right here...



Hey Logy, have we talked about guns before? I know I've heard that word, but I can't remember when.

Yeah. Remember when I made that gun for Reyfer?





Mr. Reyfer calls his weapon a "gun", huh?

I think they're found in the ruins. I've seen other officials using them from time to time. I think I saw antique pair in Marion's office one time...I don't know if she still uses them, though. Anyway, the mechanism is pretty simple. When you press this switch here, called the "trigger", it ignites what's called gunpowder in the barrel and fires out bullets at very high speed. Anyone can learn how to fire.

If all you have to do it pull the trigger, then I think even I could use that!

No, it's actually really difficult to aim, and the kick-back is powerful. It's not for amateurs. Besides, the bullets can't be reused, so it costs money to keep it supplied with ammunition.

Wow, that must be really tough, then. A weapon that costs money every time you shoot it...



Hey there, you said you were finished with my weapon? Let's give 'er a little look.

Mr. Reyfer, do you mind if I ask you something?

Yeah? What's that...? You know I don't give out my age, right?

No, not that... Why do you use a gun as your main weapon?

It's so I can keep myself out of danger when I'm travelin' by myself. I can pick off enemies from far off, and it makes a lot of noise to scare other beasties away. When you're on your own, you want to avoid as many battles as you can.

Hmm, I suppose that makes sense.

I know I look tough, but I'm not the fiercest dude around. I buy my courage with money.

You're saying that the bullets are your courage? That sounds like something you'd say...





Ooooh yeah! That was a long time ago...



Alright, that's all requests completed for this assignment. That was way too close. Let's try using the Heavenly Spirits.



Hang on tight!



Whoa...it was like I left my body there...

Yeah...that was strange!

Those Heavenly Spirits are incredible...maybe the souls of the fairies we put into the synthesis can move from one place to another instantly?

It's kinda scary to think about...



This looks great. I sure hope the Fire Lord likes this.

I still can't believe we're calling it that.

Well, what else should we call it?

It's just, ah...don't worry about it.





*yawn* Logy, I think we should take a break. We only have two days left until the end of the assignment, and we've done everything.

Yeah, good idea. I need to start working on specs for the dreadnought with Awin. I have to make sure the proposed design is okay.

*gasp* So that means you'll know what it looks like before it's done!?

Um...I guess...

No fair!



Escha, c'mon! We have to go turn in our final report!

Ah! Coming!





Wow, we've already been working here for three years.

That's right! I can't believe how fast time's passing...

When I was in Central City, one year felt like forever.

...I remember time used to fly by when we were doing something fun... My work was a lot better, too. Now, the time flies no matter what I'm doing, and I'm left in the dust... How did I manage back then? I blink an eye, and suddenly it's my birthday. Then I focus on work, and suddenly another year's gone.

Oh, that's nice! It makes you feel like every day is your birthday!



(Marion can get pretty angry easily... Is that what happens when you get older?)

Eek! Why are you so afraid of birthdays?

Escha... You'll understand one day. I promise you.

R-Really...? I don't get why you're mad at me...

I get your meaning, but I've never heard of someone who describes birthdays with such...fervor.

Okay. It's time to see how you did last period... We've reclaimed quite a bit of the apple orchard, and it's stabilized! This is better than I expected.

Heeheehee... Soon... We'll have so many apples...

This settles the apple orchard incident, then. It's important to protect your region's specialty.

They're something that the people here take a lot of pride in, you know? You guys did a great job. You've taken care of some other tasks, too, I see. Very good. Let's keep this up and keep growing. Now, I'm going to give you your assignment for this next period.



...Huh? Aren't these the ruins that you asked us to explore a little while ago?

That's correct. After you first investigation, we discovered that they actually go much deeper. And, while others were exploring, they appear to have awakened a giant Slag down inside the ruins.

S-So... You want us to kill the Slag? That's a pretty straight-forward assignment.

Well, there's the added bonus of getting to explore the ruins, but I don't want that Slag to get out. We don't need it terrorizing the town, so it's a high priority. Promise me you'll be safe, though!

O-Okay... I wonder if we can really defeat the huge Slag...?