Part 42: Dessert Overload Imminent

Update 42: Dessert Overload Imminent



I originally had one super huge update here, but I decided to split it in two, mostly so I could keep Blaire and Veola's stuff relatively isolated since we're starting to get in pretty deep with both their plots and I didn't want one story to get eclipsed too much by the other.

Let's go!





Atelier Blaire: For Sale

Music: Spending the Night Together


Meow, you look sad today.

It's that obvious? (yes, the game assigns this line to Delsus even though logically it should be coming from Blaire)

Well, it's not very hard to tell how you're feeling.

Remember what I told you before? Well, I haven't blown her away yet.

It wouldn't be much of a final exam if it was that easy, right?

*sigh* It was just a clever trick to make me give up on sweets.

Huh? That's not fair...What did the owner say?

She told me not to make other people's sweets. “Create your own signature sweet”, she said.

Hmm...Maybe you're just trying too hard?

What's that supposed to mean?

Don't make anything elaborate. Just find something simple that's original.

Exactly. I don't think the owner is looking for the world's greatest sweets...

I know that already! I already have some ideas for my own taste sensation. I don't need your stupid help!

Hey, chill out. Getting mad at your friends is silly. They're trying to help you because they believe in you and your recipes.

...Delsus, can I have a word with you?

Let's get down to business. What did you need today?


Well, I was hoping you'd give me more synth recipes, but I guess that's a no go for now.

Some quality boosting/wandering/battles/etc later...





Haven't you learned your lesson? *sigh* Fine...

...Not this again.

I'm sorry...It looks like they're at it again.

What do you know!? I'll do my best ever, today!

I know you stay up late failing, night after night. She was telling the truth – your sweets aren't original ideas.

As if you have any idea what you're talking about, Villa! I'm trying to improve on the sweets I used to have as a child!

How long have you been studying here? You must have learned all kinds of things. Why are you still talking about your stupid mansion? Why don't you create your own baking legacy? Then you have something to call your own. Oh, and stop staring out your window and crying!...It always breaks my heart.

...Mind your own damn business!

If you love the mansion so much, why don't you just go home!?

!!!


Blaire rushes over to Villa...





Music: Sadness Is Whisked Away by the Wind


...and slaps her across the face.


Ouch!

Oh no...

Get out and stay out! I never want to see you again! Don't you EVER step foot in my bakery again!





Blaire...I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I don't want you to go back home...I'm truly sorry.


Blaire ignores her, and the sisters leave.


Blaire...It'll be fine. I'm sure the owner will let you -

Hmph! Don't worry about me...And, by the way, if you're trying to cheer me up, you're doing a horrible job.

That wasn't very nice.

Heh, maybe she's right.


Once again, our only real option is to just leave, but this time...





Shh, quiet! I'm worried about her...I didn't think I'd upset her that much. Can you swing by my shop later? I need to ask you something.





What is it you want me to do?

I need you to gather some ingredients so I can make candy.


Huh? Wait, does this mean we're synthing with Villa?


Candy...? The same kind I left for Blaire?

Yeah...I can't believe I let myself run out. The main ingredient is lando. Any type of lando should do. I hope this isn't too much trouble.





Oh, so it's just a more conventional kind of sidequest. I went ahead and gave her a Lovely Lando although I don't know if it makes any actual difference.


I brought some lando like you asked.

Thanks so much – you're a life saver! Give me a second...It shouldn't take too long with these ingredients. I learned how to make this candy when I was only eight years old. I always used to share it with Hute. When Blaire first arrived in town, I made a whole bag just for her. At the time, she was staring out the bakery window and crying...





Music: To Each Their Own Way


SOLD!?

That's right. In the far east, Blaire's parents were very wealthy. But they crossed a very selfish man, who put them in a lot of debt. He demanded Blaire as a down payment...After that, her parents fled the country. Blaire escaped and came here, but she was on the run...The bakery's owner found her, and more or less adopted her.

I had no idea...

That's what I remember my mom telling me, anyway. I was very young at the time. Blaire doesn't like to be pitied...That's why she keeps her story a secret. It's also why she has no home to go back to. When she first came here I said something very mean to her...It must have really hurt her feelings. Here, take these. Could you give these to Blaire again? She won't let me into her house.


Villa forks over some more candy, and throws in 500 Cole and 5 Milks in too.

That was kind of a distressing story. Let's see if Blaire's feeling okay.


(I know Villa's trying to be nice here and I appreciate that, but how bitchy is it to tell someone to go home knowing that they were sold and their parents are gone and they can never return? Jesus, Villa.)





Uh, here...This is from Villa.

Candy!? Is this supposed to make me feel better?

...She really is sorry about what she said to you.

...I don't know why...but I love this candy. Villa gave me some when I first arrived here in town. It hasn't changed at all. Even though she can be mean, sometimes, I do know she cares about me...

Blaire...

I know Villa's like that, but I can be so stubborn.





Discussion? Wrong part of speech, sweetie.


I'm sorry I called you a scrub, before. I'm adding your name to my list of potential prince candidates.

Huh!? What's the big idea?

My feelings for Klein are my business, are they not? I thought long and hard about your advice, Klein. I think I finally have an idea. I added the recipe to the list. Please find the ingredients for me...when you have time, of course.


If there's one thing I like about Blaire, it's how every time Lita goes into jealousy mode, Blaire instantly shuts her down. It's a rare talent nobody in our party seems to have.

Anyway, let's check out Blaire's latest recipe!





Uh...huh. Well, that's a problem.

Remember a loooooong time ago when Norn joined and I said that Turn 2 Candy would be vital to completing All The Synthesis? Well, this is one of the reasons why. Most candy type items (Astral Crackers, Bavarian Banana, etc) we can get from the friendly werecat in Poto's Forest. However, there are a couple of high end candies that we can only get by morphing enemies with Norn's spell. Naturally, these also tend to come from the more difficult monsters in the game, when Turn 2 Candy's success rate is lower.





As such, it's time to go where some of the nastier monsters are.









Ta-da! This can take several tries, but the dragon enemies (or at least the green ones, I don't think I managed to successfully morph a purple one) can be made into Golden Sugar.





I also stuck around long enough to nab a Dragon Horn since I know those also drop here. Apparently the drop rate on these is stupid low, but I got this in a couple tries. Maybe I'm just an unreasonably lucky person.


Before we go back to Blaire's, though, I want to switch over to Veola for a while.





Atelier Veola: Annual Spiteful Twilight Rocket

Music: Voiceless Poem


...The Chronolex, I mean.

Really? That's great!

Congratulations!

However, I cannot make it.

Why not?

...I haven't even heard of most of the necessary materials. So...I don't really know what to do now.

Don't accept defeat so easily! There's gotta be another way.

The materials are beyond my area of expertise. However, I did learn to create a number of other things, as well.





The mystical beasts...

They live in an advanced civilization somewhere in this world...According to legend, humans and beasts once traded with one-another...but no more.


Oh, well that's okay, we're pals with a bunny that I bet knows all about this stuff. We'll pay Totopop a visit in a bit, but first, Veola has a few new recipes to check out.







First off, there's the Rocket Flame. This recipe is special for a few reasons. First off, it requires me to hand over one of my beloved Groovecubes. It also calls for one of the larger Craft items. So I decided to substitute in a plain ol' Craft because I was feeling cheap.

Well...





...I got a bomb.

Laaaame.

As you can see, though, this recipe produced a higher quality bomb. If we save this recipe to the menu, the Rocket Flame's recipe kind of replaces the original bomb recipe, but it kind of forgets about the Cloth requirement except the game still consumes cloth, but it fucks up the quality formula in a good way and...yeah, I don't really get it, so have a GFAQs excerpt.



Oy...the point is, you can flub the Rocket Flame recipe and waste a Groovecube if you don't use a powerful enough Craft in the recipe.





This Rocket Flame's ready. Please notice the flame I created with alchemy.

Wasn't this flame in the item list?

Correct. I simply added a jet engine to accentuate the flame.

You really broke the mold with this one, huh?

I wanted to create something to counter the Chronolex. I jet engine should do the trick.





VeolaxKlein is pretty good, but I'm starting to think the game's true OTP is VeolaxBombs.





Now to revisit an old recipe and put that Dragon Horn to good use!

By the way, Gogo Suits require Hollow Pumpkins. I didn't realize how rare those are earlier – Lyla at the general store sells at least one (and gives more in exchange for a Suxital), and you can get them from the pumpkin head poltergeist enemies over at Ka Luda's Playground, but they're still deceptively hard to find considering they only appear in one earlygame synth recipe. I just bring this up because I only wound up with three throughout the game I believe – one to make a suit for Zazzy, one to make a suit for this recipe, and one to make a suit for Delsus to wear.





I've finished the War Tuxedo. This one was fairly challenging.

It actually looks nice! How'd you do it?

Surprisingly, this tuxedo increases your endurance while allowing for offensive mobility. Klein, I'd really love it if you wore this tuxedo to our ceremony.

...Ceremony!?

Careful, or it's going to be your funeral...

...You could wear it to Lita's funeral as well, Mr. Klein.





Hmm...it's stat boosts are still decent (kinda disappointing considering how easy it is to get a Gogo Suit and how hard it is to get Dragon Horns, though), but what really sells it is that MANA UP (XL). That could work nicely for Delsus with his shiny new death move, although even this might not be enough to make that ability practical.





Okay, back to new stuff. The Spiteful Stone requires Gold Legien (thankfully I still had some left over after spending a bunch on quality boosts) and...a...Demon Ring? I don't even remember picking one of these up, but apparently I did. GFAQs says Baphy and Legion enemies drop them so I guess that must be where I got mine.





The Spiteful Stone is ready. This is one of the materials needed to create a Chronolex. Alone, it's useless. But don't handle it too roughly – it's brimming with energy. A Spiteful Stone won't explode on it's own, but if you rupture it, it could destroy a whole town.

Really? You seem to handle dangerous stuff all the time.

In my profession, such risks are unavoidable.

Wow, you could be even braver than I am.

I don't know your bravery level, so I can't confirm or deny that.

...But I don't see why it would matter.


Veola makes a lot of things that could destroy an entire town. Maybe we can just set a Spiteful Stone at the start of the final dungeon and put a real heavy weight above it on a frayed rope, giving us time to run away before it falls, and killing Mull and everyone in his dungeon.

...Or it could just be a basic attack item. Y'know, whatever.





Next up we've got a nice piece of glass. All of these ingredients can be purchased, although the Crystalite comes from the Mana store so you gotta farm them Pendelooks if you need more.





The Magnifying Prism's ready to go. Look through the prism at this desk...see?

Hey, it looks a lot bigger!

This item is helpful when you're working with very small details. I doubt you'd have occasion to use this, Lita.





Next up is the Un-Microfier (?). This requires the Prism we just made. It also takes some form of handle. Once again, I used a Gold Handle instead of a Broken Handle because I had one more on me (this was a bad idea).





The Un-Microfier is ready. It was super hard to make.

Yeah, it looks pretty complicated.

Believe me, it is. Remember how the Magnifying Prism makes things appear larger? The Un-Microfier uses a series of prisms...Now you can see anything you want.

How small are we talking?

Just about anything you can't see with your naked eye.

Really? Wow...

What?

Nothing. I'm just starting to see why you're respected in your line of work. Your job's kind of making the impossible possible.

...Thank you. I find compliments like that help motivate me to continue.


...

...Wait. That's it? Where's the wicked burn? The devastating insults? The threats of imminent bodily harm? What's happening to you two?


Let's head back to Blaire's for a moment.







This is my own original recipe...the Blaire Special!

Hey...It's really pretty! Smells good, too.

Meow! I've never seen sweets like this before!

Hm hm hm...Why, thank you.

I'm sure the owner will appreciate your hard work, too.

...I hope so. Sorry for the trouble I caused. Here, I'll give you this one. I can make another for myself. I'm finally feel free of my past...Thank you, for everything.


Hmm, there's another weird little phrase. I suspect the translators/proofreaders were getting kind of tired when they did Blaire's later scenes. Granted, there hasn't been anything outrageously bad or anything, just a few minor mistakes.


You just concentrate on passing your exam, okay?

Yeah, meow!

Hm hm hm...Don't worry. One day, you'll be dining at “Blaire's Sweets Parlor”!


Sounds good! We'll check back on her in a bit. Now it's bunny time.





Atelier Totopop & Mofuma: Rezareg

Music: Spirit's Hometown


I had a question for you, Totopop, since you're a mystical beast.

What is it, po?

Do you know anything about the Chronolex?

Pooo...Chronolex!

...What is it?

Hmmmm...





Uh...what?

It's great to hear that name again! It's been...over a thousand years, po!

Wow...that is a long time.

Ah...that was before Avenberry even existed...A thousand years ago, wizards used many different magical items. They were all very smart, po!

Are there any wizards still around?

Oh, no, po. Of course not. There were some living near Nelvia, but a monster attack wiped them out.

Could that have been...Veola's home town!?

Mystical beasts created that item for humans very long ago.

Did you make it, Totopop?

Yup, po! Well...I made two parts of it. I created the Twilight Board and the Annual Gear.

Could you make them again?

Of course I can, po! But you'll have to bring me the ingredients.

Don't worry. We know a girl who wants to build a Chronolex.

She must be a very smart girl, po. Just leave it to me.





Any information would be nice.

We used it to open a dimensional rift...it opened a gate to the underworld! Everyone was happy, because they could meet their dead relatives. However, there were a great number of spirits. In order to find the right spirit, you need to have Charon navigate his raft for you. The ride costs one Rezareg!


- - - - > Music: Voiceless Poem


…!?

Po! I almost forgot. We made the Bio Frame at about the same time. The materials are almost the same, but the effects are – huh? Here, here...I wrote down the formulas on this list. I'll also note the materials required for each one.

I didn't think the formulas would be this easy to find. Veola will be happy.





You guys have probably started to clue into what's REALLY going on here by now, but now the gears are starting to grind in Lita's head...







Now we've got Totopop's last two recipes, and we...can't make either of them. In addition to completely missing the Magic Pipe and Moebius Bolt, we also have to dig up another Gold Handle from Iris' Resting Place since I wasted mine on other stuff and this recipe doesn't take a Broken Handle for a substitute.

Alse note the Mana Moebius. This item is absolutely, positively one of a kind – Volco sells one at the Mana shop for nine Pendelook and that is the only one in the game. Subsequently, we can only synth one Annual Gear, and thus only one Chronolex.


All right, back to Blaire's one last time for the update...





Mr...Klein...

Are you crying?

I...I...

You didn't pass?

I passed the exam!


Music: Popcorn Strategy


Wait – huh?

That's great! We're all happy for you!

I'm just so happy...I can't stop crying. Thank you all so much! I couldn't have done this without you.

I think Villa and Hute both helped, too.

That's right.

...Of course. You're right. I guess I owe them a lot, too. But this is only the beginning! Blaire's Sweet Parlor is going to turn the world in its head!

I wish you the best, meow!

Here's a few gifts to show my appreciation.





Ooh, nice, nice! We get a few other pie-based treats as well, like Bavarian Banana and other Turn 2 Candy types of treats.


Meow! Dessert...overload...imminent...

It all looks delicious!

Hm hm hm...They are the first creations of Blaire's Sweet Parlor! Now I can display all my wonderful sweets in the shop window!


And with that, we've made Blaire's ultim-





Bwuh? I don't remember making that. It's not in the synthesis menu, either. Weird. I guess we still have a couple things left with Blaire, too?


That's all for this update. Join me next time for more Veola antics!