Part 9: Puni

I see...Well, I'll go ahead and dig up a FAQ on smithing sometime soon so I can show off how it works when it works right. I'm not sure how much I'll end up doing in the long run - I mean, I don't want to destroy the game, but I also want to demonstrate that it's possible. We shall see. Regardless, thanks for the info.

And now...











Update 9: Puni



As I headed out of Kavoc, I stopped to do my daily annihilation of the town square when a strange NPC caught my eye...





What is it?

Food! Aha! Take this!

Hey! Cut it out! I'm not food!

Ah, I see. My mistake. It seems you're just a traveler. I apologize for my behavior. My mind was...somewhere else.

You scared the crap out of me...Who are you, anyway?

I am Oscar, the fugitive chef.

...Fugitive?

Yes. I've escaped from the harsh confines of the kitchen and embarked on a quest to master culinary arts! Fate must have brought us together. Bring me ingredients, and I can cook for you.







And so we meet our third synthesizing, “shopkeeper”, Oscar the fugitive chef. He seels a few odd, sometimes rare ingredients, and can make these two dishes for us. Sadly, I'm quite lacking in stuff needed to make them, so let's just keep him in mind for later.







I didn't mention it at the time, but the game offers to show the path to the Puni God. He's off a path going west from the Tower of Airfen, as shown here.





It's huuuuge, meow!

We could fit inside that thing...Think it'd eat us?

It isn't moving...I think we'll be okay.

NEVER FEAR...I WILL NOT EAT YOU. I AM A GOD.


...Um. Did he just-

The P-P-Puni is t-talking...meow...

Should we trust him?

The only way to find out is to head inside.





Music: Miraculous Little Universe


Meow! Puni feels squishy soft!

Well, I think we're in its stomach...........technically.

I'm uncomfortable. We should get what we came for.


I love how Arlin and Norn join on the pretense to help me reach Avenberry and the first thing we do is take them inside a giant Puni.





Anyway, this is basically my favorite place in the game because it's a delightful combination of adorable and absurd. The music helps emphasize that. You DID click the music link, right?

Speaking of adorable and absurd, this place has an EVENT BATTLE!





...Who the hell are these guys?


Taro: Bwa ha ha ha ha! What's the matter? Can't handle the challenge of superior warriors? Behold, dashing heroes to Puni everywhere...I'm the first son, Puni Taro!

Jiro: I'm the second son, Puni Jiro!

Kichi: I'm the third son, Puni Kichi!


Taro: Together, we're the...moderately attractive Puni Brothers! You'll pay for what you've done!


…...

…...

…...

They look powerful, meow.


Taro: Heh, what's wrong? Petrified by terrible fear?

Jiro: Let's just fight 'em already.

Kichi: Yeah, bro...let's get this over with so we can get back to the Puni hot tub.

Taro: Yeah! Let's do this!







Taro: Ugh...this can't be! Who are these guys?

Kichi: Hang in there, bro. We'll get you some mouth-to-mouth...

Jiro: We'll be back! We'll get our revenge...watch your back...





I really have nothing to add to that little scene. Freezing Rain is super cool stuff, though. We'll find a use for that in this very update.





This Puni has some neat stuff lying around in its body. I guess it must have swallowed these things. The Dragon Fangs are a decent defensive accessory which I gave to Norn.





The enemies are, of course, all varieties of Puni. These little wizard guys are much less dangerous when Norn is on my side instead of theirs.





We also have the new Invisible Puni. It's hard to hit, and has a bit better parameters than blue and red Puni, but still isn't terribly dangerous.







Ooh, this looks interesting. Unfortunately, I still can't make very many. The Wood cost isn't so bad since Popo handles those fine and I can grind Wood elements in Kavoc, but Evil elements are still hard to find and Plua has a heavy modifier when dealing with them. Oh well, maybe later.





Finally, as if Lita wasn't already a powerhouse, this dungeon offers a weapon that jacks her strength (and magic, curiously enough) up by a huge amount AND makes her deal extra damage to Punis.





You don't belong here! Go! Go away!

What is that thing?

If you value your life, you will leave while you still can!





Video: SUPER PUNI

Music: Popcorn Strategy


Prepare to see the most amazing supreme power you have ever witnessed!





Okay, so we're up against Mr. Super Puni with his three Red Puni and two Gold Puni friends. That's a big group, but they're clustered together kinda close, so let's try out Lita's new skill.





This skill is a bit unusual. It's one of those Other Type skills which temporarily ejects Lita from the battle (though I'm pretty sure the battle won't end if the others fall while she's away, it only works that way for enemies.)

So the Punis beat Klein and Norn up a bit, and then...







...Lita comes back and fucking ruins them. This did about 140 damage to all enemies. This ability is pretty fantastic against groups, though it also costs a kind of unreasonable amount of MP (22, same as Force Blast) considering Lita's lack of it.





After that, the fight's pretty much over. It's just trading blows and healing until it dies.







I got quite a few levels out of this, I think everyone except Delsus leveled up, and Lita even gained two somehow.





What did you expect? Puni are the weakest monsters around.

Huh? Nobody told me. The world must be a much bigger place than I realized.


The Puni disappears in a flash of light.





Is that it?

It's round and puni! Mrowr, I love it!

Let's get this back to that perverted fairy.


It takes one to know one, Delsus.

Anyway, we can leave through this back door, which deposits us on the world map slightly behind the Puni God.





Music: Town Where the Bells Chime


You're kidding...There really was a Super Puni Ball? Man, I bet the girls'll go crazy for this!

…...

This is a treasure of mine. You can have it.


Pilke hands over a key item, the Gust Sphere.


What's this supposed to be? We risked our necks for this?

Well, we fairies never forget a favor, so maybe I'll hook you up later. If you ever need anything, just gimme a shoutout.

…...





Well that was all very arbitrary. Hey, you don't suppose this is one of those self-referential items? This was developed by Gust, after all. Perhaps later we'll find a Gust Cube and a Gust Dodecahedron.


At this point we're left without any direction to go. First, let's see if Norman has any leads.





Wouldn't fish go bad pretty quickly on its way here from the harbor?

Yuck! Rotten fish smells worse than Lita's socks, meow!

Exactly, and that's why I won't be serving rotten fish anytime soon. But I heard an interesting story...Supposedly there's an item called Frozen Rain that never melts. That gave me an idea – with the Frozen Rain, I could easily transport fish without it spoiling.

Makes sense.

I was hoping you guys could track some down for me. I've got 500 Cole. I know it's not the biggest reward, but...

We'll do it! Then you can make us some tasty fish!

Yeah, we'll do it. Next stop, Frozen Rain.

Thanks a lot. Good luck, you guys.


Well, we already have it, so let's talk to him again.





We brought the Frozen Rain you were looking for.

Really? Let's have a look...Whoa, it's better than I thought! It's really cold, and not melting at all! Now I can start importing fresh fish. Here's your reward. Fish is back on the menu, boys! Feel free to order it whenever you want.


...Hmm. Well, that added new stuff to the synthesis menu, but we haven't actually progresses the story any. I decided to try Veola's next, and on the way there...





How do you know my name?

Everyone around here knows about you.

…...Really?

Oh, hey...I found some information on the Flawless Marvel. Long ago, a legendary alchemist created it all by himself! Can you believe it?

An alchemist?

Amazing, huh? One alchemist created an entire city! I'm so excited...I can't wait to discover more. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something new. See ya!


Rurona leaves us with no better ideas on what to do next. However, when I went to Veola's, she told me that the weapon shop guy, Hagel, is looking for us. So let's head that way...





...What's she doing?

That's Rurona. And she's got...Rurona, you're standing on a Mana.

Yes, of course I am. This is the Mana of stone. It makes a lovely stepladder.

I guess Mana come in all shapes and sizes...


That seems so demeaning, and yet this game has enough platforming and out-of-reach stuff that I'm kind of looking forward to finding a Stone Mana of my own to reach new places.





You wouldn't mind running to Arcose to pick up a mineral for me, would you?

Where's Arcose?

Great! I knew I could count on you!

W-Wait...I didn't say yes yet! We're kind of busy as it is.

Meeeow! We have to find the mirrors!

C'mon guys, please?

Going to Arcose wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Oh? And why is that?

Arcose is a port town. People from all over the world pass through there. We have a better chance of finding out about the mirrors in Arcose than in Kavoc.

That makes sense, meow.

I won't lie to you, though...it's pretty far away. We'd have to cross Lake Forwel and Poto's Forest...


The camera shows us the exit of Iris' Resting Place, then pans along the path out of Poto's Forest.





You had a point. We won't fund much information around here.

I've never been to a port town! I can't wait!

There will be yummy mummy fish, meow!

You guys are awesome. I already paid for my order, so you just have to pick it up. There's been less Mana around here lately, so we have to buy minerals form other towns.

Hmm...I didn't know that.

Be careful out there, guys!





That's it for today. Join me next time as we find a new town – and, perhaps, a new shopkeeper?