Part 10: Bread and Bread Related Things

Update 10: Bread and Bread Related Things






Alright, it's time to head to Arcose. The path there is much the same as the path to Zeldalia's. First, we must cross the waters at Lake Forwel...





...Make a pit stop at Lector's to make more money (to buy more items to show her to make more money to buy more items to show her to make more money to-)...





...And make our way through Iris' Resting Place. I stopped by that little power room with the fairy in it from before, but it looks like there's still nothing going on there.





While I traveled, all of my equipped Mana leveled up, so Klein, Lita, and Norn got points deposited into one or two of their abilities.

Then I got to Poto's Forest, and almost immediately I was besieged by a new monster...





Music: Dota!


Werecat: Purrr...It's not often I meet another one like me...


Meow!? Norn is NOT a cat!


Werecat: Sure you are. See? You have ears, a tail...meow. Maybe we can be friends?


Hmm...They DO look similar...


Werecat: Okay, it's settled! We're friends, meow.


Okay, meow! Nice to meet you. Purr...


Werecat: I'm a werecat, meow. I want to do something for my new friend.





...Uh...huh? Well, presents are good, I guess. Let's go with that.


I'm hungry, meow. Can you bring me food?


Werecat: Okay, meow. Here is my best food...


MEOW! Thank you, meow!


And so the “battle” ends, and we have a Pumpkin Tart! This werecat pops up frequently in Poto's Forest from now on, and she's a helpful source of extra candy. If you ask her to do something, she'll restore your health, but that's not really that helpful since Zeldalia's hut has a safe zone right nearby.





Anyway, Zeldalia's is to the left of the exit from Iris' Resting Place, and the world map (and thus Arcose) is to the right. Let's go!







This mine is important for a few reasons, but we don't have to worry about going there for now.







Music: Anchor and Pickaxe


You could say I'm on vacation. Or, possibly researching new items. Hey, that girl's...

Meow? Is there something on my face?

She is sooooo CUTE!!





Lector lunges forward in an attempt to, um, touch Norn. Norn wisely dodges.


Stop that! Hsss!

Can I feel your fuzzy ears? Just once? Please!

No way, mrow! Only close friends can touch my ears!

Aw, c'mon. I wasn't even going to squeeze them or anything...

NO MEOWING WAY!

...Fine. But one day I'll feel those fuzzy ears of yours!


Lector leaves, to return with this distressing subplot later...





Think of it as a compliment, Norn. She thought you were cute.

Hmph! Why do people have to be so pushy, meow?





One of the stores has some Karikari and/or Garigari nuts growing on the wall. This is a great place to farm them, and Karikari Nuts are particularly important for something later so it's nice to have an infinite source of them right here.





The item shop has some oddball antique type items. This fellow also sells Pretty Stained Glass, which can be used alongside Mini Pendelooks to synthesize yet another important thing, but I don't need any right now and I'd rather wait for the spot where I can farm Stained Glass, too. Still, some of these items are really cool and will find use in some new and exciting synthesis someday.







And now that we've reached Arcose, the teleport system is open! This list of destinations will grow more as we travel. It's nice not to have to go back and forth through Poto's Forest every time we want to get anywhere.

Now let's try the grocer.





This is Villa. She doesn't do shop synthesis, but she does factor in to both the main plot and another shopkeeper's story.


Oh...What am I supposed to do now? Oh, hello there. Are any of you strong?

Oh, we're not just strong...We're invincible.

Could you find my missing sister?

Where is she?

She left to gather minerals in the Alexia Cave...but that was days ago.

Minerals? Wait, is you sister-

She runs a shop near the mine...I wonder if something happened to her.

No problem. We'll bring her back safe.

This may also accomplish Hagel's errand.

Don't worry about your sister. We'll find her.

Oh, I'm not really worried. It just gets lonely around here. It was nice at first...but she's been gone too long. At any rate, I'll give you directions to Alexia Cave.





Villa also sells things, mostly foodstuffs. She has a different selection than Norman, so it's nice to have an opportunity to stock up on new stuff.

And now for the third shop...It is time for...





Atelier Blaire: Night of the Living Bread

Music: Fun Shopping in Arcose


Once I've had my revenge, she won't have anything to say...

...?





You're going to fight me!?

Huh?





…

_*cough*

Welcome to my high class bakery!

What revenge were you talking about?

...Oh, just a girl who's jealous of my position at this bakery. Forget what I said. Oh, I haven't introduced myself...I'm Blaire, the bakery manager. Help yourself to some of our delicious breads!


Veola is the best character, but I have to admit Blaire also holds a special place in my heart. Of course, since we're just meeting her, we can't get very far into her story arc, but let's see what stuff she's got for sale and synthesis.





Curiously, Blaire has a few proper baked goods that are all sold out, so we have to synthesize some anyway before she'll have any in stock. Otherwise she has a few cooking goods for sale that will be quite useful for synthesis.





We can synthesis Blaire's three main dishes (the sold out ones), and these two things are completely new. Let's start with Baking Powder. It requires some kind of other powder (Flour) and either Fresh or Old Smoking mushrooms.





It's alive!? But...it's powder.

Is it going to move?...Eww! You touch it, Klein.

Me!?

Heh, don't worry...It's not quite what you're thinking. There's yeast in the powder, and it's technically a fungus...meaning it's alive.

Hmm...I never knew that about baking powder.


I guess this is the obligatory moment where I say video games are secretly educational. Is yeast technically alive? I never really thought about it. Does that mean any mushroom I eat is alive?





Now that I have access to one of the fundamentals of baking, it's time to make some bread! Let's start with a standard Fluffy Roll.





Hey, I got separate reviews for sweet and sour. How strange.


Here are your Fluffy Rolls.

Wow, they're really fluffy! It's fun just touching 'em. I've never had bread this soft before.

Really? Softness is a key factor in quality bread. Seeing as we're the best bakery, our bread has to be soft.

Mmm...eow! The smell's making me hungry, meow!

Looks like you impressed them.

Oh, I hope not...This is the easy stuff.


All right. The Fluffy Roll calls for Flour, Baking Powder, and Goat Milk. But let's try regular Milk instead...





I'm glad I could use all those great ingredients you brought me. This is some of my softest bread yet! I think I'll call it Poofy Bread.

Wow, it's incredible! I'm touching the bread, but it feels like there's nothing there at all!

Meow, it's like a cloud! And it's even bigger than the Fluffy Roll, meow!

Hm hm hm...I like your enthusiasm.

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it's soft because it's completely hollow?





All right, it's time to try and bake a nice pie. As you can see, I'm missing an ingredient, the Sour Block. However, Sour Block is a kind of candy, and I happen to have other kinds of candy that I can substitute for it. So, by using the standard ingredients but swapping the Sour Block for a Pumpkin Tart...





And there's the dreaded “Too Hard” again. That's not really a good quality for a pie, is it?


Here's something more traditional, a freshly Baked Pie.

Oh, it looks so good!

Huh? I thought you only baked bread.

Well...pie is KINDA like bread...I enjoy making it, anyway. Oh, and I can make different kinds of pie, so try bringing me different toppings. Seriously, I'd like more ingredients.


Sure thing, Blaire. Let's see what I've got.





Can you believe this combination of ingredients makes a completely standard Baked Pie? Ugh.





Okay, let's try using a fruit instead of nuts as an ingredient.





”Relaxing Smell”? Okay, I can live with that.


Careful, this Fruit Pie is really really sweet!

My tongue's tingling already!

Blech...Just looking at it takes away my appetite.

You really don't like sweets, do you?

Of course not. I like things a little more...spicy.

Sorry to hear that...I don't think bakeries are really your thing.





Now that we have some bread products, we can make a new ingredient...





Here you are, some Bread Crumbs. High quality bread crumbs can really enhance the taste of foods. If you want to improve the quality of your food, try adding some bread crumbs.

Really?

Definitely. And if you add a fragrance to the bread, your dish will smell better, too. That's the secret recipe behind my extra delicious fried foods.


Oh man, I hope we can make fried stuff. Bread Crumbs are yet another powder ingredient we can add to things.





The last item for today requires a Fluffy Roll, a form of sugar or honey, and a fruit or veggie. Prepare yourself for one of this game's cutest items, it's...





...the Teddybear Roll! Oh my god I just want to give it a great big hug.





It's adorable! I didn't know rolls could be cute like that...

It's a special pastry I make for kids. It's only that cute because I'm skilled enough to pull it off.

It's so cute...that I feel kind of bad eating it.

Meow! Don't hurt the roll!

Yeah, if you eat a teddy bear, you'll be cursed. Some crap like that.

That isn't funny! Don't listen to him, Norn.

Stop by anytime! There's really nothing wrong with the roll, I promise!


This is one of my favorite scenes. I love how Blaire manages to make our team spiral into chaos just by baking something.

Well, that's all for today. Next time we'll look for new ingredients, key items, and Mana in search of Villa's lost sister.